Post by alphyn on Dec 12, 2010 2:11:54 GMT -5
(((My Reflection)))
Nation: Confœderatio Helvetica < The Swiss Confederation >
Name: Vash/Basch Zwingli
Gender: Male
Appearance Age: 18 (cannon)
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Teal (varies from being green to blue in drawings)
Height: It’s unknown though I would range it anywhere between 160 cm – 170 cm
Weight: Again it’s unofficial, but given his lean stature I’d estimate it ranges anywhere from between 60 to 55 kilos
Appearance: Starting at the top, Vash Zwingli has very shaggy, ash blonde hair in a semi bob-cut just gracing past and around his defined jaw line. Although it varies on drawings, I took the liberty to give Switzerland teal eyes. They appear more blue when calm, like the crystal lakes and pure snow in his home. They can then turn very green with almost a yellow rim around his pupil when provoked, showing the Swiss' people's temperament. His mind is his capitol Bern, where the capitol's symbol of the bear can sometimes come forth in both Vash's actions and mind set.
His skin is fairly pale -- a creamy milk white, like the snowfall in the Alps. The Swiss nation’s lips almost blend in with his skin in their paleness. His skin is soft and smooth almost like the infamous milkmaids residing in the Romansch regions of his home. Vash, while masculine in appearance outwardly, seems to have more of a feminine likeness to his body under the entire military huff he puts on. The only time his skin tends to change from its pale state is when he blushes in either embarrassment or rage. Sadly for the Swiss, this tends to happen more often then he’d like as he often finds himself flustering at another nation's idiocy.
His chest is fairly defined, often hidden under thick military uniforms or business attire for meetings. While he is a powerhouse, Switzerland is by no means a world super power as far as strength is concerned. His moderate build for his torso highlights this.
Vash nearly always has a gun strapped to his back, like many of his people, and often carries a more concealed shotgun on his person. Usually his shotgun resides on his lower half as well as his trusted Swiss army knife.
Switzerland’s arms are more defined then his chest, being essentially his lifeline with all of his exports and trade. On one arm is a cross shaped scar most likely received from war. His hands, representing the city of Zürich, are very rough to the feel. Calloused by war and the rugged terrain, they're at the same time very flexible and artistic in design given his world renowned craft in exports.
Vash’s heart is Lucerne, the birth place where his three original cantons united and where the centre for the country’s love and many memorials to their history reside. Switzerland’s heart, despite seeming so cruel and cold to the world, is extremely delicate in nature. However, he’s placed many metaphorical walls around it to protect it from being broken anymore after the Napoleon era.
Almost always dressed for his land’s harsh and unpredictable weather, Vash almost always wears heavy pants, tucked into combat boots laced halfway up his calf. His legs are probably the most well built and defined muscles on his body given the numerous mountains he’s had to scale and conquer to survive. He’s not exceptionally fast, but his legs could definitely do some good damage with a well earned kick.
Coinciding with that, Switzerland’s feet are very well adapted to terrain having a near vice like grip on almost any surface. Again this makes him an excellent climber with brute force in his legs. It’s very hard to knock Switzerland down given his tightly rooted feet. This may or may not explain why he almost never budges on any issues.
Lastly is Switzerland’s spine. Oddly enough, it’s very hypersensitive. Each vertebra represents the Alpine mountain chain in his home, as well as the Rhine River weaving through the upper half of his body. Some of the Alps higher peaks include the Jungfrau and Eiger as Vash’s shoulder blades and Monte Rosa at the base of his spine. Switzerland’s back is probably the clearest patch of skin on his body as far as scars and typical nation weathering goes. Switzerland has always and even to this day, protected them and praised them to a nearly excessive level, though he tries to be modest about it.
(((Know Thyself )))
Personality: When people first get a glance of Switzerland their initial concept would run along the lines of harsh and intimidating. Always quick to retort and speak his mind directly, the Swiss Confederation is a man of power and control. In this day and age in order to survive you have to be strong. The weak never survive in Switzerland's view, and Vash finds them one of the greatest embarrassments to the world… or at least he’d like to. Given his strong foundation as a mercenary growing up, even when he desperately desires to, he cannot overlook the weak and injured. He was never able to do so.
Switzerland is not solely the heartless nation others perceive him as. Though he’d refuse to admit it, it is simply a defense. He’s never been good at social interactions and these insecurities whenever brought up, back him into a corner. Vash lashes out with his fierce temper to protect himself. This fierce temper can sometimes take a physical form if he has access to a gun—shooting down his opposition. This becomes especially apparent if being questioned about his past or any of his relations with other countries. Due to the rejection from the ancients he suffered when he was Helvetia, as well as his experience when under ‘rule’ of the Hapsburgs and Napoleon, Vash has become insecure and fearful of getting close to anyone. There are even limitations with Liechtenstein, that force him to get flustered easily and shy away. The only difference with his sister from other nations, is Switzerland senses a strong connection of kinship with her, and refuses to see her have to share the same hardships he had to endure.
Beside his own personal vendetta, Switzerland’s first and sole focus is his people. Without them he wouldn’t even be and he feels indebted to them for this. Had his cantons not united, despite their differences in order to survive, Vash would’ve been lost to the world long ago. His cantons are his heart and soul and he refuses to act upon selfish human desires. He often reminds himself nations are not humans and our first and only concern should be those who created us. Some may perceive this as why the Swiss Confederation is so stuck up with himself, but that’s for them to decide. To Vash, he is simply hard working and loyal to his people.
Having been born with so little assets himself, Vash has learned to live frugally. Saving money is one of the highest of virtues, and he can’t stand seeing it go to waste. Even on something as simple as food and clothing, money must be spent wisely. Being raised almost completely alone in the Alps taught Vash only to get by with the barest necessities and do whatever it took to make an honest living for his people. He found most wars foolish for similar reasons, not willing to risk the lives of his own for another’s cause. Switzerland has remained neutral for hundreds of years, and that’s not about to change. Again, many find it prudish Vash refuses to fight or assist their causes but Switzerland knows war is not the answer. Instead, he goes about peaceful and unbiased assistance such as the Red Cross or other various peace movements. His home is surrounded by forces that have always been against one another, and picking a side could be signing his own will.
Likes:
★ Money
★ Neutrality
★ Guns
★ Sciences
★ Edelweiss
★ The Alps
Dislikes:
✖ Foreigners
✖ War
✖ The EU
✖ Foolish behaviour
✖ Stereotypes
Fears:
☣ Losing Independence
☣ Economic Recessions
☣ Bias (be it friendship or love)
☣ Almost irrational fear of open bodies of water, and or water activities (land-locked country)
Secrets:
♦ Still thinks about Austria from time to time
♦ Envies other fruitful nations
♦ His erogenous zone is the undersides and bottom of his shoulder blades (in my head-cannon to depict Switzerland’s high defense and perpetual love of the Alps)
Strengths: Switzerland has a variety of strengths that helped him not only rise to the current status he has managed to achieve in the world standing, but to hold onto that position as well. His determination for one certainly shows that. As a proto-nation, Vash took any job he could get in order to start his economy. From there he held on tightly to every piece of conscription he earned and used it for only the barest necessities.
His strength as a military power later on, earned him a good reputation as a mercenary as well as more wealth. This also honed his skills for fighting, although Switzerland doesn’t participate in arms much anymore. It was finally his skills in math and sciences that earned Vash a solid foot in banking, and also as one of the world’s best craftsmen for guns and watches. His skill with firearms is nearly unrivaled by any other country.
Being bordered by Italy and France has also given Switzerland a rather good background in the culinary industry, mainly with his chocolate and cheese. Helping him, although some may view it as a disadvantage, is Vash’s proficiency in several languages. This includes his native Romansch, German, Italian, and French, as his official languages. He’s also adapted to English well over the past few years, even though it’s still spoken as a second language.
Weaknesses: Being raised Catholic and in isolation does have its drawbacks. Vash never gained great social skills and is essentially a recluse hermit in his Alps. However, he doesn’t see much problem with it. Any social situation beyond business relations, or anything new such as ideas and reforms on his ways make him nervous and upset. It makes Switzerland worry about possibly ruining all the progress he’s made as a country. Put simply, social interactions and ideas of change do not make for happy Switzerland.
(((A History )))
History: 1500 – settlements of Celtic, Raetian, and Helvetic tribes moved into the Alps
58 BC – Helvetic tribes pressured to migrate by Germanians only to be slaughtered by Ceasar’s army when arriving near Gaul. Later they were Romanized.
4th Century – Western Roman empire falls and Germania takes over Helvetic regions. Christianity is also introduced by Irish monks.
843 – The Treaty of Verdun, relinquishing Switzerland ( Upper Burgandy) to the Holy Roman Empire
1218 – Death of Berchtold V relinquishing control over the western most part of Switzerland, making tensions rise between Kyburg and the Hapsburgs for control over Switzerland.
1273 – Rudolph I of Hapsburg takes over the Holy Roman Empire and revoked the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden to be governed by the Hapsburgs and not the Holy Roman Empire.
1291 – The Cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden unite to rebel against the Hapsburg Rule, forming the Old Swiss Confederacy.
1315 – Battle of Morgarten
1386 – Battle of Sempach, defeating the Hapsburg army and allowing the Confederacy to continue within the rule of the Holy Roman Empire again.
1353 – Glarus, Zug, Lucerne, Zürich, and Bern join into the confederation.
1440 – Zürich is expelled from the confederation due to the Old Zürich War
1470 – The Swiss mercenaries gain recognition from the rest of Europe
1499 – Swiss Victoury against the Swabian league gaining independence from the Holy Roman Empire
1506 – Pope Julius II hires the Swiss Guard to serve Vatican City
1515 – The strong reputation of the Swiss army is tainted by their defeat at the Battle of Marignano
1523 – Zwingli’s Reformation, changing civil life and state matters in Zürich significantly, which then spread to five other cantons in the country. The Reformation caused tension between the other cantons of Roman Catholic faith, leading to Kappeler Kriege in 1529 and 1531. Zwingli died in battle.
1618 – Switzerland, a land of peace and prosperity in the Thirty Years’ War, being hired by the majour powers in Europe to fight simply so the country wouldn’t fall into the hands of their rivals, and tried to influence them unsuccessfully.
1648 – Treaty of Westphalia, letting Switzerland gain independence from the Holy Roman Empire.
1653 – Lucerne, Bern, Solothurn, and Basel revolted due to currency, leading to the Swiss Peasant War, which broke out again during the Battles of Villmergen.
1798 – Switzerland is overrun by Napoleonic French invasion, becoming the Helvetic Republic. This brought the country to a state of war with itself including several civil wars between its cantons, and frequent coup-attempts to overthrow their own government.
1799 – Switzerland is the battle zone for the French Revolutionary wars between France, Austria, and Imperial Russia. Zürich fell to each nation several times, refusing to fight with the French army in the name of the republic as well.
1803 – The Act of Mediation by Napoleon gives Switzerland’s cantons their sovereignty back along with equal rights, for fear of the Helvetic throwing Europe into a state similar to theirs. This ended the life of the Helvetic Republic, however there was still much tension between the cantons and Napoleon had to make frequent returns to settle disputes.
1815 – Congress of Vienna re-establishes Switzerland’s independence and is recognized as a neutral and official country, along with adding in its final cantons to its territoury.
1847 – The last armed conflict in Switzerland breaks out as a civil war between Catholic and Protestant cantons, leading to Switzerland’s adopted federal constitution from France in 1848.
World War I – neutral (armed), attempted invasion by France ending in failure. Grimm-Hoffman Affair with Russia almost threw their neutrality into question. Switzerland also aided Liechtenstein and assisted their government after the war, now representing the principality's interests abroad.
World War II – neutral (armed), acted as a mediatour between allies and axis powers. Trade was blocked in attempt to sway Switzerland to one side or the other. Germany had plans to invade, but never carried through. The Swiss currency (franc) also became one of the most convertible currencies, earning much for their economy, mostly from Germany. During this time Switzerland also took in many refugees, and came close to a break down of it’s unification due to the mixed cultures, but held strong.
1958 – Switzerland gains the technology to build a nuclear bomb, but one is never made.
1959 – Switzerland’s Federal Council is elected
1963 – Switzerland joins the Council of Europe
1979 – The canton of Jura gains independence from Bren
2002 – Switzerland becomes an official member of the United Nations
2005 – Switzerland joins the Schengen treaty and Dublin Convention
Allies: Although Switzerland has no allies it seems to hold the deepest and most intense relations with Germany, Italy, France, Austria, America, and Russia to some degree. However these are mostly economic bilateral agreements in nature.
Enemies: Again no active enemies due to neutrality, but Switzerland does hold some turbulent relations with Libya, Austria, and again Russia.
Sample Post: < decided to go with a World War II esque post for this c: >
He swore to god it was the same every time. Every single time his neighbours went to war, Switzerland always got hell for it. The economies around him would falter, more would collapse, and then his trade would be horribly affected. If it weren't for his exports of weaponry and dairy products, and of course his banking power house for all the nations in war or not, Vash would be virtually broke. However, even his banks weren't doing as well these days. Who had the money to afford the high praised Swiss banks, when they were spending all their money just to keep a light on with bread to feed their family? The numbers expressed in his economic documents kept the Swiss nation up at night with worry--- but he wouldn't show it. He had to remain strong, and he would; not only for himself, but for Liechtenstein and his people. The strong, unshakable Swiss Confederation that had always stuck to its guns... this was the image he'd die maintaining.
Gazing over the stock in the aisles of the grocer's mart, Vash could feel his stomach rumble with want. He'd been reduced to having only two meals a day, to suffer as his people did. Switzerland wasn't hurting like some of the other nations were, but nor was he at the zenith of economic bliss.
He lifted free a budget sheet from his pocket, skimming down his numbers to his total for the week to spend.
"Only 80 francs..." Vash sighed looking down at the cheese, "...Guess I'll even have to pass that up this week," he mumbled to himself looking to his hand basket of already acquired groceries.
In the cart lay a litre of goat's milk, one loaf of bread, a kilo of cheap ham, and a few vegetables. Anything sweet was out of the question.
Lifting the list back up, Vash flipped the small parchment over in his hands and crossed of cheese with a pen.
"So next we have... flour. I don't want to cut that... Baking is probably one of the few stress-free things we have left to do at my house,” Switzerland ran a gloved hand through his hair, biting his bottom lip.
Looking at all the groceries, it was probably going to consume at least half of the money he had to spend for the month, and he still needed to buy some new parts for his guns. If he couldn’t make them, he couldn’t sell them. Vash was fed up with this, people couldn’t live under this kind of stress and neither could he. How could anyone live happily like this? Even if they went at war, everyone suffered. And yet people called Switzerland grumpy for it all.
Well… for now he’d figure out what parts he needed later. He didn’t like being away from Liechtenstein too long with threats of embargoes by America being thrust in his face, as well as Germany and Russia knocking on his back door. Being away from his home any time, even if it was just for a moment was a moment his defenses were down, and anyone could try and take advantage of it. The proof of that still aggravated him from World War I.
Did you read the rules and Dark Reflections Canon? Italian Pasta
Random fun fact about yourself: I change my hair colour about every 2 weeks to something wild and fun c:
Nice attention to detail in your appearance section, and I could really feel his frustration in the sample-post. Everything looks good. 