Post by kongeriketnorge on May 15, 2011 20:59:46 GMT -5
(((My Reflection)))
Nation: Kongeriket Norge/Kongeriket Noreg/Kingdom of Norway
Name: Vidar Landvik
Gender: Male
Appearance Age: Early- to mid-twenties
Hair Color: Ashy blond
Eye Color: Dark blue
Height: No canon height given – around 5'9”, although the average Norwegian male stands around 5'10 3/4”.
Weight: No canon weight - skinny, around 135lbs
Appearance: Vidar is a scrawny, whispy little thing with ashy blond hair, and dark blue eyes that are similar to Japan's 'dead stare.' He has rather feminine features, and could easily be mistaken for a woman, even in close proximity (although his voice is a rather startling baritone).
Some of his most prominent features involve a small curl that seems to float independently behind him, thought by some to represent the islands of Svalbard and Jan Mayen, and a cross-shaped pin he keeps in his hair
Typically, he prefers to wear his uniform, comprised of light blue pants, a dark blue shirt, and a navy collar, the anchor on his sleeve indicative of the Norwegian Navy. He has sailed with his military before, and he likes that service to be recognised. When not in uniform, he tends to go for practicality over fashion, although he does know good and bad outfits when he sees them.
(((Know Thyself )))
Personality: First and foremost, Vidar is rather whimsical, often getting distracted during work by the fair folk that visit him, watching the clouds out the window, or even skiving off his job altogether (It's not like he can get fired, after all). He enjoys being alone with his day dreams, or the supernatural that seems to be attracted to him, much more than he likes being stuck in an office all day, surrounded by technology and people. That being said, he's not lazy. He has his priorities, and prefers to stick to them, even when it irritates everyone else. Although he appears cold and aloof, there is emotion, if one knows where to look for it, and he can be fiercely loyal if the right relationship is fostered with him.
From a very early age, Vidar has been isolated, living mostly among the trolls and sprites that inhabit his nation. Because of this, his socialisation was not like that of the other nations', making him cold, calculating, and leaving him with some of the suspicion of humans that many of the supernatural creatures around him had. However, things aren't all bad for him. Raised among the prankster trolls, he has a keen sense of subtle humour, often finding the little gestures much funnier than the grand jokes. However, hiding that whimsical nature is a rather cold, unfeeling face, one that would rather spend time with books than people, especially if said people are particularly loud and obnoxious. Between the suspicion of humans and the magic that keeps him keenly aware of the entire room's thoughts and emotions, he finds it very difficult to make his own self known among everything else that's going on; a silent room to someone else is too loud to him if it has more than a few people in it.
Alone, though, he is an odd combination of studious and lackadaisical, often skiving off his budget paperwork to read an old mythology book, or going to watch the tide come in on the shore. Working hard, or hardly working, though, everything he does is done wholeheartedly, to the best of his ability.
When it comes to his family, Vidar is fiercely loyal, his subtle teasing the only way he knows how to properly convey affection; humans and sprites react so very differently to various gestures, making it hard for him to really say what he means. Although he claims to dislike everyone equally, it's quite obvious that Iceland is his favourite person, the only blood relation he has that he can prove.
Touching on his magic, it forms a significant part of who he is, from his habits to his interaction with other people. Able to pick up on what others are thinking and feeling, it is hard to surprise him, but also hard to get him to open up; he knows what you're thinking, in an abstract sort of way, so he feels no real need to get terribly open with people. There's no point, to him. However, as much as he'd like to some days, it's not something he can control, further adding to the frustration he feels when people speak to him, having a general sensation that he's being told the same information more than once.
Likes:
★ Coffee
★ Being in nature, away from cities, and even human presence
★ Magic
★ Reading
★ Having his sibling relationship acknowledged
Dislikes:
✖ Loud noises
✖ Stupidity
✖ Destruction of nature
✖ Close spaces, feeling like he doesn't have an escape
✖ Iron
Fears:
☣ Enclosed spaces; Norway is very claustrophobic, hence his attraction to nature, which has significantly more openness to it.
☣ Every day, Vidar is terrified he'll wake up to discover his magic, the sprites, the trolls, all of the supernatural experiences he has, are a lie, a delusion. He hears the jokes the others make about England, and is scared to death that he'll be next, or end up being asked to seek help.
☣ Although family is important to Vidar, he is afraid of becoming reliant on any one person or thing, preferring to rely only on himself
Secrets:
♦ His hairpin represents the city of Oslo.
♦ His hair curl is similar to the Italy Brothers'
♦ There is a small flower in a small vase on a shelf in his study that would be utterly forgettable if not for the fact that every petal is white – except one, which is jet black. What it represents, though, he'll never tell...
Strengths: Vidar has always been an exceptionally independent person, preferring to rely only on his own strengths whenever possible. Coupled with his intelligence, it's very hard for him to fall into a situation that he can't worm his way out of somehow
As far as talents go, he is quite the accomplished musician, having learned the Hardingfele/Hardinger fiddle at some point a few centuries ago (Please see this link for information as to how he learnt it). He's also not terrible in the kitchen, and can brew the best damn cup of coffee you've ever tasted.
Weaknesses: Independence aside, Vidar has problems asking for help, even when he truly needs it. His pride and his ego tend to get in the way of being able to admit he was wrong, or even being able to admit that others could possibly be on the same level as him, intellectually and physically speaking. In short, Vidar thinks he's better than everyone else, and it gets him in trouble from time to time.
His devotion to his little brother often puts him at odds with his government, too; it's not unusual for him to try and secretly divert money to help out Iceland, knowing that his lillebror needs it a lot more than he does.
(((The Pages of History )))
History:
Around 800 A.D., the Viking Age of Norway began, with colonizations of Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the British Isles, with King Harald Fairhair being the one generally credited with the unification of Norway, ruling from around 872-930 A.D. Up until King Olav's death in 1387, the kings of Norway could trace their lineage back to Harald I; after Olav's death, the country became divided again, ruled by a combination of Harald's descendants, various local earls, or under the suzerainty of Denmark (a situation in which the country's international affairs and major governmental decisions are made by another, more powerful nation, while still leaving considerable local autonomy to the weaker nation).
At this point, Christianisation of Norway began, mostly likely filtering in from the British Isles. King Håkon the Good is considered to be the first Norwegian king to adopt Christianity, although he did not subject ordinary citizens to the religion (much to Vidar's relief). His successor, King Olaf Harroldsson, was the first king to subject his citizens to Christianity. Revered after his death, Olaf eventually became the patron saint of Norway.
Between 1130 and 1240, the country was divided by civil war, with the various factions arguing over which of the many kings had a legitimate claim to the throne (the laws at the time allowed any son of the previous kings, including illegitimate sons, to ascend the throne).
By 1319, the line of Norwegian kings had died out, leaving a power vacuum that was eventually filled by Olav of Denmark in 1380, which marked the beginning of the Kalmar Union, in which the entirety of Scandinavia was under the de facto rule of the kingdom of Denmark.
Norway remained part of the Kalmar Union until 1536, at which point Sweden and Finland broke away, with Denmark declaring Norway to be a Danish province (although the Norwegian government did not recognise the declaration), which it remained until 1814, at which point the Treaty of Kiel forced the Danish crown to cede Norway to Sweden. It was between 1770 and 1814 that the Norwegian national identity truly began to blossom, and in 1905, after years of political unrest, Sweden peacefully recognised Norwegian independence.
Although Norway technically remained neutral in World War I, 829 warships were sunk, resulting in the loss of around 2,000 soldiers. Despite the neutrality, Norway went to great lengths to aid Great Britain due to a combination of British pressure and anti-German sentiments among the population.
In World War II, Norway insisted again on staying neutral, but in a sneak attack, the Germans invaded Oslo, along with the major port cities, on April 9, 1940, beginning Nazi occupation. The Norwegian army, through sinking the German warship Blücher on June 7, managed to buy enough time for the royal family, the parliament, and most of the treasury to escape to London, where they remained in exile through the occupation.
Although the Norwegian resistance movement was small at first, it became very widely active toward the end of the war, smuggling people out of the country to Scotland (via the 'Shetland Bus') and to neutral Sweden, along with various espionage and sabotage operations. The resistance, called the milorg, kept the Germans busy, despite continuous troop fortifications due to the German belief that Great Britain might invade through the north of Norway. After the fall of Berlin, the end of the war, and liberation of Norway, the country was listed among the victors of World War II.
Since the war, Norway's economic prosperity has boomed since the 1960s. The nation became a member of NATO in 1949, and is part of the Nordic Battle Group (despite not being an EU member-state), along with Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Ireland. Discovery of large petroleum reserves in the nation's territory has only added to the economic stability and well-being of the country, and today, Norway has the highest average income of any nation in the world, and is ranked second on its shrinking of the gender gap in a study conducted by the World Economic Forum. Since the turn of the millennium, the nation's main internal focus has been on culture and traditions, opening many new museums, with the Munch Museum and the Historic Museum as the state's main focus.
Allies: Over the course of Norway's history, he has had many allies, not the least of which being his Nordic brothers. Politically, Denmark and Sweden have contributed the most, but on a personal level, Iceland and Denmark have been his closest friends.
In particular, his allies during the Kalmar War and World War II centered mostly on Denmark (as Sweden was the belligerent in the Kalmar War), along with experiencing German occupation during World War II. During the period of Denmark-Norway, when Norway was a protectorate of Denmark, they were more or less automatically allied during the various wars (Such as the Thirty Years' War against the Hapsburgs).
Although not nations, the sprites and trolls that he knows have also aided him in times of need.
Enemies: Although Denmark and Sweden have been his allies, they have also been Norway's enemies, occupying his territory and claiming him as their own. The German occupation in the 40s didn't exactly endear him to Ludwig, although at this point, he's more or less moved past that.
Again, although Denmark and Sweden have been some of his closest allies, they have also been on the opposing sides of the various international conflicts, such as the Kalmar War (again) and the Second Northern War, in which Norway was ceded to Sweden.
Some of the supernatural creatures he knows are malevolent as well.
Sample Post: His first impression was of bitter cold, although he was too young to really put it into words how cold he really was. He was unsure who he was, or where he'd come from; this coldness was all he knew, and the rough stone of whatever this was he was sitting in. Shivering, he curled in on himself, unsure of what to do with himself now that he was aware.
He wasn't sure how long he sat there, cold, lonely and hungry, before the face appeared next to him, eyes bright with curiosity and mischief. With the rest of his body plopping next to the tiny boy in the cave, the hairy green man simply waited, watching and hoping for a reaction like the other humans that could see him – panic, and they all made such a funny squeaking sound.
But this boy bored him, eyes flicking up to stare before resting his cheek against his knees again. Troll pondered; this boy was clearly different, unafraid, and clearly with a touch of the earth in his spirit, weary and tiny though it was at the moment. Scooping him up and ignoring the terrified squeak that came from him (the only sound Troll had heard so far), he placed the boy on his shoulder, letting him clutch at his long hair before walking away, knowing his home would be warmer than this dank, cold, wet cave. A tiny voice echoed in his ear after a while of walking, fearful and quiet. “Who?”
Chuckling, Troll placed him inside his tunic, wondering how he should answer. The boy clearly didn't have a name yet, too quiet to have attracted the attention of his people as his brothers had done. Although, his answer seemed to make more sense, perhaps, in this context. A silent name for a silent boy. “Viðarr,” he answered, the Quiet God's name rumbling from his chest. He would know the name, Troll told himself. Although he'd yet to be found by humans, their gods were second nature to his kind.
Clutching as he pondered the answer, the boy nodded a little. It was not his name. But it had been given to him, a gift among the cold, barren fields that he knew were his lands. “Viðarr,” he echoed, reaffirming it in his mind and in Troll's, the first smile of his short life coming to his own face, the expression just as quiet as the rest of him as he slowly dozed off, wrapped in Troll's long, green mane, the only other word on his mind never passing his lips. Venn.
Did you read the rules and Dark Reflections Canon? I think it's something about Italian Pasta...? I'm bad at these rule checks, but I did read them.
Random fun fact about yourself: I currently play thirty-two individual Hetalia characters, most of them being official, canon characters.