Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the long delay, but here's the next chapter!
Just a reminder~
Virginia: Victoria
Texas: Samuel (Sam)
Massachusetts: Maxwell
California: Camillo
Delaware: Dylan
New York: Emma
New Jersey: Johnathan
And now, an introduction:
Ohio: Oren. The name Oren means pine tree. He has some angst about it, because he has pine trees within his state, and he feels as if his "dad" only named him Oren because it started with an O and had to deal with his foliage. Even if it's true, Alfred would never admit it. Ohio is an avid airplane researcher (in his own respects) and his love of flying can only be challenged by North Carolina and his love for the air. He is 5' 9" and has the appearance of a 16 year-old. One of the few states not of the original 13 to be at least 16 years of age, Oren has tanned skin from working on the farm a lot and has short, spiked blond hair so that it won't get messed up due to his aviator helmet, which he wears (basically) religiously.
And now on to the story~
North Carolina and Ohio both at times claim to be where aviation originated. Ohio is where is where the Wright brothers grew up and did most of their calculations, but North Carolina provided better terrain and weather to test their flying machine.
But one of Ohio's nicknames is the "birthplace of flight," so I think they might have won the fight.
It was that time again, when the two eldest and Texas had their bi-monthly meeting about anything and everything that could pertain to the states or the country in general. Really, the only reason that the three did this was due to their boss and 'father' was busy with the federal government and meetings overseas. It might also be due to the fact that most of the states were completely irresponsible if given authority over issues relating to multiple states at once, for they assumed that the other states would do their part of the work. Inherent laziness, some of their bosses, the governors, have called it.
But, whenever the three states (Virginia, Massachusetts, and Texas) had their meetings, two of the elder states always had to take care of Alaska and Hawai'i, but one state could not take care of both at the same time. That would be preposterous. It was almost as silly as telling New York not to go into her apple for an entire week. Alaska and Hawai'i were the only two who had physical bodies that looked to be under seven years old. About ten of the states had bodies ten and under, and this count included Wesley (West Virginia) who, no matter what occurred, has proceeded to look like a ten year old ever since he broke off from Virginia. But due to one of his late Senators, he did appear to be more mature in an acting sense, at least.
This particular time it was Ohio's turn to take care of Alaska, and North Carolina's turn to take care of Hawai'i. When the bi-monthly meeting occurs, all of the states have a 'vacation' that their bosses give them, where they can do anything they want to within legal bounds. The 'vacation' became mandatory after the bosses found out that Pennsylvania, Washington, and Oklahoma never took their vacations and ended up inadvertently doing their jobs by 'volunteering' at important companies within their respective states.
Ohio now sat on the floor, aviator goggles on top of his head, flight jacket on, cross-legged, staring at Alaska who was also cross-legged but sitting on his squishy couch. The couch was against the wall that was, if one could phase through the wall, right next to the garage, and faced the wall with the fireplace, which above the pit was the flat screen television, currently turned off. A coffee table and air marked the distance between the two states, and somehow, as Ohio noted, this had turned into a staring competition. The problem was not that he couldn't find a topic that both he and Alaska could talk about, but the fact that by now, he has already talked about most topics with her already. And her manner of speaking matched her physical age, which was the case for basically all the states, sadly, so a highly intellectual conversation was almost out the window. Ohio reasoned that she would likely understand what he talked about, but it was unlikely that she would care enough to pay attention to him ramble on about anything.
Raising her arms into the air, Alaska proceeded to do a little victory dance, which consisted of a blend of raising the roof while fist-pumping, turning her body slightly to either side, all the while remaining seated. Blinking, Ohio failed to notice that he had blinked previously, but then again he was not paying attention.
All cheering abruptly stopped, and Alaska proceeded to point directly at Ohio in a demanding manner. Ohio thought that she must believe that a prize was in order for winning against him. It was quite cute, really, with her eyes a blend of iced violet and Ciel blue, almost sparkling in the mid-morning sunlight that streamed through the windows. Times like these really bothered Ohio, partly for the fact that his parental instincts wanted to kick in, and mostly for the fact that he hated the feelings of being like a parent to his sibling. He wasn't that much older than her, really… Oh, who was he kidding? Just counting statehood, he was over a hundred years older.
Well, Ohio cared for most of his siblings in this manner, but kept himself in denial about his thoughts of parenting any of them. He was not Virginia, he always told himself, over and over again every time he felt his wanting to parent his siblings rise from the pits of his being.
"Hai-ee!" the younger sibling demanded, her pointed finger shaking with determination.
Ohio's eyebrows rose, knowing by her childish mannerisms that she wanted to play with Hawaii, who was at North Carolina's place at the moment. If she wanted to play with him that badly, the fastest way to travel was flight. Something struck a nerve, and he pondered why for a moment. Then, as suddenly as it came, he realized why. Well, f*ck.
Pausing, Ohio checked to make sure that he did not say that word out loud, for his 'father' would kill him if either of the youngest learned that word. Well, he wouldn't be murdered, but there was a good chance that unbearable torture was plausible, seeing as how if he really ceased to exist, then an entire state would be gone from the union.
Alaska looked at him with pleading and confused eyes, wondering why he had yet to respond. Not noticing her facial expression, Ohio was thinking that he was lucky to have not said the rotten phrase out loud.
"Let's call your older brother to see if Hawai'i can come over," Ohio said with a grin plastered on much too tight to be sincere. If Alaska had noticed, she didn't make any motion that hinted to her knowing. She was one of the few states who actually could read the atmosphere in a situation, and effectively drown out anything she deems unimportant. Most of the states guessed that this was due to who was her father before America obtained her, but none had ever actually asked.
"Y'ello?" A voice called out, with the small sounds of dripping water splashing on the tile floor, too soft to be heard over the phone. "Oh Hi, Ohio! How're ya' doin'?" For some reason, saying that first sentence always amused North Carolina. He didn't bother listening in on what his brother was saying, for there was a noise behind him that seemed more important at the time.
A screen door slid open, and hot air from the outside filled into the kitchen. Two small heads poked into the room, one belonging to a small, tanned boy and the other belonging to the head of a bright yellow duck-shaped inner-tube. Cute, the older state thought to themselves. The younger one tentatively looked up at North Carolina from the doorway, as if asking whether it was okay to come in and disturb his phone conversation, but once he realized that it was just one of the other states, he walked casually into the room.
A phone call and a few hours later, a small plane began its descent into the small runway in Ohio's back yard. The plane was named Kitty Hawk, which was fitting for North Carolina. Sadly. The bastard, he would do something asinine like that.
"Hello dear brother~" an annoying (at least in his opinion) voice called out. Goggles lifted above another's face as they jumped out of the plane, and stood facing the plane with arms open wide. A few seconds later, another person emerged from the plane, landing almost gracefully in the other's arms. The child's dark complexion contrasted with the other three greatly, but none paid it any mind as he scrambled out of the embracing arms and leapt into the arms of his other elder sibling. With an 'Oof,' Ohio held his ground, for his brother would never let him live it down should he fall over.
"Good morning to you too, Hawai'i." His younger brother nodded at him cheerfully, then noticing his sister's pleading eyes and outstretched arms, jumped out of Ohio's arms and embraced her. It was quite adorable, but neither Ohio nor North Carolina would ever admit that, for their manliness would be questioned if they indeed said that. In fact, besides the interaction between Hawai'i and Ohio, the two older states had been holding a glaring contest of sorts throughout the entire time between the time it took for getting out of the plane and into Ohio's house.
It was now after lunchtime, and the two younger siblings were worn out from their excessive playing around the house. They had wanted a story, so the two of them proceeded to run, jump, and latch onto Ohio's legs.
After a moment of regaining his balance, Ohio stared blankly down at his younger siblings. "May I help you?"
"Story time! Story time!" the younger ones chorused. Ohio sighed, fidgeting with his goggles that were still resting on his head. Somehow, North Carolina joined in the chant, if only to annoy his brother.
"Fine, fine, I'll tell you a story." It was useless to argue with them, for it'd be his head on a platter if the Virginia found out that the two had cried at all. In an instant, the younger two and North Carolina were seated excitedly on the comfy couch, fidgeting with excitement.
"Okay," he began, "I'm going to tell you the story about the Wright brothers. Do either of you two know or remember what contributions they made to the world?"
"Duh, they made the airplane."
Ohio stared blandly at his brother. "North Carolina is being a big poopy head, for I did not ask him the question." Both Alaska and Hawai'i snickered at this, a sign of a victory on Ohio's part.
"But yes, they made the first working airplane!" Since both of his siblings use planes as primary transportation to see the elder siblings and their 'father,' two pairs of eyes were wide with anticipation.
"They grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and at one point owned a bicycle shop on…" Ohio began to ramble on about the brothers and their awesomeness, playing gleefully with his aviation goggles while he told the story. He didn't seem to notice that every so often, North Carolina wished to interject something into the story.
Finally, after what seemed like forever for North Carolina, he spoke aloud.
"Ah, but they first tried their manned gliding in North Carolina."
This began a number of things. One was that Ohio, who had seated himself to tell his story, stood up. Two was that the two elder siblings began a verbal argument, using arm gestures and slang insults.
The age old argument came up, and the two bickered like children.
"One of my nicknames is "Birthplace of Aviation," dipshit."
"Yeah? Well I have "First in Flight" all over my license plates!" A punch to the face, and North Carolina stumbled back a few feet.
"That's because you like being a whore about things, beach-freak!" The Carolina's eyes grew dark, and that was the last straw for him. Without a second thought, North Carolina launched himself at Ohio, who stood ground. The two got so involved in their fight that they forgot the fact that they were supposed to be taking care of their younger siblings. They threw insults at each other, not even bothering to stop the usage of curse words. Last, and not least, Alaska became bored with the sight, looking out the window now, and pulled on her darker sibling's arm.
Hawai'i looked to Alaska with confused eyes, wondering why she was tugging his arm towards the dock. Trusting her, he proceeded to follow her out the door to where they couldn't hear their siblings argue anymore.
"Moose," Alaska demanded, pointing directly to the water raft that had been painted brown and given antlers, courtesy of their 'father' during some random escapade. It was probably to torture Ohio, but the smaller states just thought it was a cool raft that happened to look like a moose. Its name was originally something along the lines of Super-Airplane-Nighthawk-Speeder, but it was silly to keep the name after the awkward metamorphosis.
The smaller states walked towards the raft, which was on the dock next to the water, resting gallantly as a moose faces a watering hole. Or something like that. Honestly, Hawai'i didn't know what moose did for water, for he didn't have moose at his house… He had nice flowers and volcanoes, though. The latter was something both he and Alaska could talk about, for they were both on the ring of fire. Although, for some reason, neither of those two owned any rings, so he didn't understand why it was called a ring. His daddy told him that it was about geography, but Hawai'i didn't like geography so he didn't pay attention.
All in all, while Ohio and North Carolina argued, fought, and acted like a pair of morons, Alaska and Hawai'i spent the rest of their afternoon playing on 'Moose,' the awkward looking blow-up raft, playing pretend and occasionally using it at a moon-bounce. And all the while, 'Moose's' face looked oddly pleased, with his antlers facing the sun as it gently set.
If California were a country, it would rank among the ten largest economies in the world, with a GDP similar to that of Italy. It would be the 35th most populous country.
Camillo noticed at some point that much more frequently than before, random nations were visiting his land. Yes, he knew that his state had tourist spots in almost every nook and cranny possible, long beaches with completely epic waves, glistening storefronts with shiny baubles in every window, the ever-famous Hollywood Boulevard, but chances were unlikely that the personifications of these great nations were visiting because of that. Chances were highly likely that they were trying to find out to see if someone like them was around, trying to see if California, in itself, would break off from America at any point in the relative future.
In his mind, not only was that an impossibility, since he knew that he was still mentally linked with his 'father,' he would never betray either him or the wonderful siblings he 'grew up' with. Actually, the two nations that would really know about Camillo's existence, if they believed he even existed anymore, would be España and Mexico, since they did "find" him and whatnot.
They were the ones who really helped Camillo's life get started... But, for some unexplained reason, Camillo knew that if España knew he still existed, he would have come to visit at completely random times, and coo over how cute he used to be. And then the two would probably talk about fashion and dancing and cute guys. Or at least, that is how Camillo liked to picture a reunion with him. He secretly knew that it would not end up like that, but one was always free to imagine possibilities. Mexico, on the other hand, would be a bit different. Interactions with Mexico varied completely on whether or not she was sober (in all senses of the word), whether she was utterly pissed off at America (which seemed more often than not nowadays), and whether or not she would be fuming over what's going on in Arizona right now.
Alfred had gone to extreme lengths to call each of the 50 states to tell them all what was going on, and that should they see Mexico walking about their state, to not be alarmed, she is just proving a point and that bigoted people and the authorities should stay away from them unless they want a beating from Mexico. The reason that their "dad" didn't want Mexico in trouble with the law was that it would cause even more political strain upon the two countries, for although Alfred could be serious when need be, it just "wasn't his thing," to put it in simple terms.
Camillo's mind went to other things, varying from topic to topic, until he thought about his own personal history. He remembered the wonderful, blissful days of when those miners originally came to his land. Actually, those days were not blissful, for the happiness was a small shroud that covered the miners eyes as they searched for the elusive pieces of gold or other precious minerals. So many died on the way, trying to get rich quick, and their clothes were not durable enough to last the rough territory. With the "invention" of the jeans, the terrain appeared a bit more friendly to the travelers, and the gold and the happiness those people experienced impacted their own reality into the rocks they found.
It was then that he remembered why he chose not to think about that time period. It was absolutely depressing. The First Transcontinental Railroad construction didn't help at all, either. Those dipsticks. So much racism and hatred, boiled into one even that proved a stepping stone for our apparent greatness. The poor Asians, having to deal with the idiocy the white people enforced. At least there is equality now, for all. His breath always smells of oriental food, anyway, so that didn't help at all.
Camillo stood in front of a quaint café, though it was more of an actual restaurant despite its name of Café Paz y Pan, and smiled to himself. This was the one place he prayed would never go out of business, for it was where he went whenever he was feeling down or reminiscing over the sadder parts of his history.
Besides, the churros this place had were phenomenal.
Judaism is the largest non-Christian religion in Maryland, with 241,000 adherents, or 4.3% of the total population.
Maryland was not a Jew, for none of the states had religions. Sometimes, a state had to slightly favor the tolerances of one religion over another because of their boss's opinions, but they never were affiliated with a specific religion. New Jersey, for example, was more tolerant of the people of the Jewish faith than most people that Maryland knows... Well, scratch that. Johnathan was basically a Jew since he took offense to random things that he should not take offense to, as well as his habits on Saturdays. Slacker. The reason Marlow called Johnathan a slacker was not because he took off for Saturday, but because he also took off for Sunday, making sure to only do work on the other days in the week. And Marlow definitely did not want to know what Johnathan did during the weekends, either. It was probably something sketchy that dealt with the mob or something, anyway.
Marlow never really stopped working, and took only half-days on Sundays just to please his bosses (whom almost always argued that he took his job too seriously, and that rest was necessary to maintain a healthy body). He wasn't Pennsylvania, for crying out loud! He also was not a thing like his sister Emma, who never really slept due to either working or partying or hanging out with her locals. The latter option was not always …clean, to say the least. Well, the men (and ladies) she worked with showered daily, and if they had not taken their shower, they would at least have the decency to attempt to mask the odor with another, more pleasant one. But it was really the morals that were being questioned. She was also particular... to multiculturalism, that is. Honestly, the imbecile tried to celebrate as many holidays and holy days as possible, yet at the same time helping backstage with theatre productions and dealing with the paperwork her boss gives her. Well, she was just an idiot. Who happened to know more languages than any other state in the union.
In all honesty, though, Marlow did know Hebrew. As well as Korean, but that was a different story. He just didn't understand why his siblings brought this up as complaints to their 'dad' by saying it was not a separation of church and state. It was not as if it was in the government of his state, in fact, it was quite the other way around. These days, a whole lot of other politicians and half-crazed enthusiasts were using the founding fathers words for their own religion, stating that it was how Americans should live. Like their own religion, whatever that happened to be. What they fail to realize however, is that the founding fathers words were used to influence the idea that church and state should never, under any circumstance, become one with each other. A person who is religiously conservative is completely different from a person who is religiously conservative, and hundreds of thousands of people do not seem to realize this, blindly following whoever they think cares for them the most.
Marlow sighed and closed his eyes, for after a long personal monologue, it would be best to have a nap – but only because he knew that his most obnoxious siblings would be over soon and he would definitely need his energy for that.
Delaware has been home to professional wrestling outfit CZW, particularly the annual Tournament of Death, and ECWA, particularly the annual Super 8 Tournament.
Dylan was never one to brag about any of his feats in sports, particularly wrestling. He was the best out of all of his siblings in that one respect, but never really wanted to mention the fact out loud. Of course, what happens during wrestling matches are not of his control; to be specific – he acted very rowdy and tended to lose himself while wrestling. It was quite uncharacteristic of him, to say the least.
There really was a competitive side to him, something that most of his siblings showed openly. It is just one of those things that is innately American, although in what is something that varies depending on the citizens of the country. In all honesty, his siblings had told him that if any person would glance at him on the street, they would see a nicely built man, not with too much muscle on his body, for he fit comfortably in a suit jacket, but just enough muscle for one to notice that with a jacket off, he probably went to the gym at least once a week. His attitude, by New York at least, was described as meek, but if one really thinks about it, anyone compared to her is probably meek in comparison. She's such a firecracker, and gets ticked off every time she hears a random tourist say that the Statue of Liberty was in New Jersey, for although it fell within his boundaries, Liberty Island was in fact an exclave and a part of New York City.
Delaware raised a hand to his mouth and chuckled at where his thoughts were going. Stream of consciousness was definitely a trait shared by most, if not all, of the states. But back to the arena that was in front of him. In only a few short hours, people would be packed in, screaming, yelling, causing a ruckus, cheering for whom they wanted to win. It honestly is a very gruesome sport. His 'dad' once told him that Canada, his brother, once said that wrestling was like if one took a hockey fight, removed all pads and skates and sticks, and changed their clothes to spandex. Basically the same level of testosterone, and it apparently is an honor when Canada compares something to hockey, for New York, Texas and Ohio, began complaining and whining to 'dad' for weeks afterwards, moaning that their favorite sport wasn't compared to hockey. Honestly, the dorks.
But what confused Dylan the most was when his 'dad' visited him and went to the matches with him. The entire time, Dylan would go into 'wrestling-watching' mode, and let the heated mood of the room get to him, and began cursing openly at the other fans and the opponent, and Alfred would smile and chuckle to himself. It was frustrating, to say the least. It did not even seem that he was enjoying it, so there was a question in his head if Alfred was just spending time with him in hopes that it would be a 'bonding' activity. Or he was just shirking off his duties. That was more than likely the correct answer.
But there was that one time, during an all-states get-together, when Victoria pulled him aside and confided in him.
"You do realize the real reason he giggles while at your matches is-"
Needless to say, Dylan's calm expression changed to one of embarrassment, bringing a hand up to cover his face to hide his blooming cheeks. Much like what he was doing at that moment, for his cheeks were flaring just at the memory.
If anything, his 'dad' was the biggest dork of them all.
In a distant past (well, distant in American standards... Compared to the rest of the world it would probably be more recent past if one thinks about it) I'll let you deduct this segment on your own.
Cold wind glided across the frozen landscape, making the falling snow linger before finally coming to rest upon the ground. A few wooden, shack-like houses littered the makeshift road, but no lights came from the inside. Close by, a dock was seen, with ships proudly displaying their flags, symbols for their respective countries. Only two designs littered the waters that day, and the usual clamor of seafarers was slimming, dimming, as the hours trolled on. If the night sky could be seen, those aboard could have probably seen stars peeking out, glimmering and grinning down upon them.
A small indent was seen in this pleasant scene, as if a paintbrush gingerly stroked a dark, layered figure among the white and cold snow upon the road. The jacket upon them was layered, and impaired the movements of the extremities, the hat, made from some furry animal, covered their head from the frost, the small scarf covering and protecting their neck, the mittens keeping the hands alive with warmth. They lifted their right foot up as far as they could, and attempted to place it in front of its counterpart. Unknown to those who are not native to those parts, the wind that resides that far north has a dark sense of humor, for it picked speed up suddenly and the poor thing fell into the ground, taking up no more space than a white clad wolf upon the snow.
The small being shivered in their heavy clothes, able to retain their lack of moisture, and pulled their arm out from underneath themselves, steadying their body over the snow. Using their knees, they attempted to stand up again just as the wind picked up again. The pattern of rise and fall continued on, with no human on the ships noticing and no one inside the houses seeing through their darkness the struggle occurring. Eventually, the person had fallen enough times that their clothes underneath their layers had begun to have moisture within. From the ground or from the failed attempts at moving, one could not tell.
Unknown to the small world surrounding the small one, two even smaller orbs of desert sky blue gazed onward from the recluse of an alley between two of the structures upon the street. An innate desire to help those in need thrived within the orbs, and they longed to help the small person in need. Scar tissue behind those eyes, where they could not see, were scattered upon their being, wounds from a recently ended war had left the container wary of why a predicament such as this was occurring. Questions fogged the orbs like clouds upon a summer sky. Questions like why not, who, and where were all focused around this small supposed ink stain that broke the layers of snow they were upon.
Without thinking, the orbs had moved into the light, and the small person, nearly frozen with cold and wetness, stopped suddenly upon hearing the noise of feet crunching on the snow. The person on the ground cautiously looked up, shivering as they did so, their iced blue eyes covered with a layer of violet in the light. It was then that the darker, deeper orbs realized the danger of the situation for the smaller being. Loud crunches were heard in fast succession, and the larger orbs found themselves a great deal closer to the person than before. Kneeling on the ground next to the fallen person, the orbs reached out, hoping to be accepted by the being less than half their size.
A shiver ran through both bodies, as if an invisible thread was being sewn, connecting in a mysterious and inhuman way. Cold, trembling arms flung up and attempted to latch around the taller one's neck. Their cheeks brushed against each other, and the taller noted that the shorter one's body was as cold as the weather conditions outside.
Softly, almost unheard, the little voice whispered, "Это холодное." Blue eyes warmed, and arms circled around the shorter one, lifting them up with little effort. He cradled her shivering body, and attempted to rock her to sleep by humming lullabies that flittered and surrounded the pair in a serene calmness.
"It's alright." A free-sounded tenor voice came from the taller of the two. "We're going to get you inside and warmed up. Then, we're…" He began to ramble on, knowing that she probably did not understand his language, yet fervently trying to get the small child to not focus on her predicament as he silently walked to the makeshift house he had been staying in. Snow breezed over, and filling in the spaces as he moved, leaving no trace of anyone ever being outside that night.
After the two were safely inside, any light left in that night disappeared, leaving the scenery completely dark, save for a pair of purple orbs gazing somberly from one of the ships nearby.
Author's notes~
Not much to say here except that again I am terribly sorry for the super long delay. I promise at least one more update by the time Otakon comes around! (I have work, so time I can spend on this is not unlimited) There will be more of the bar scene and the colonial scene in the next chapter. The bar scene might (finally) have its last piece, but we'll see if it turns into four pieces. The colonial piece might last a long while, though. But we'll see. Please request as many events or facts (that are actual facts) as possible please~
P.S. - Hey Montyinuren, I'm perfectly fine with doing some pieces on Colorado. Right now, I just can't think of whether to make it a girl or boy, and I would like it very much if you had any preferences on gender or name. As soon as I have that much figured out, I will be sure to make at least a few pieces (not all at once) on the state. Also, I've never been to Colorado, so I don't know how to write them. Any help will be greatly appreciated!
P.P.S. I was totally planning on introducing South Carolina this chapter, but that one segment about Ohio and North Carolina became longer than I anticipated. Thank you 15animefreak15, I couldn't have written the aviation piece without your advice. XD