Post by duckie on Mar 23, 2011 14:26:01 GMT -5
(((My Reflection)))
Nation: The Republic of China // Taiwan
Name: Lin Meixiu
Gender: Female
Appearance Age: Late teens, early twenties
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5'3.5"
Weight: 110 lbs
Appearance: Meixiu looks very much like the standard sum of her people. She stands at a perfectly average height for both her Chinese populace and what is left of her Aborigines, though a bit shorter than most foreigners who have come to live within her borders, and, as most of her women, she is rather small-statured. Her limbs are long only if you look at them compared to the rest of her body, but they are also supple and soft, containing a delicate strength that most underestimate, even amongst her nation-brethren.
Her features are nothing remarkable- her mouth is small, her lips slightly on the thin side of average, nose rounded off and curved ever-so-slightly upwards at the tip. Her wide eyes hide the slight fold of skin that her eyelids form, and short, thick lashes frame the near liquid brown of her irises nicely. Much of the time, at least one of her eyes is slightly-obscured by the way her bangs part, dark brown strands of hair slipping into her line of vision and tangling with her lashes, while the rest of it is tucked back behind tiny ears and slim shoulders, falling in one neat line to her lower back.
Influenced from many years amongst her brothers, both of whom at the time advocated that the less flesh shown, the better, Meixiu's closet consists mostly of high-necked shirts with sleeves that cover her hands in excess, and long skirts that never come higher than her knees. However, that's not to say she's not fashionable- that is far from the truth. Every outfit is coordinated to match or contrast in just the right way, every little detail from the lace at her collar to the fabric of the socks to the flowers dangling from an ornament tucked into her hair creating just the right combination to look beautiful and complementary.
(((Know Thyself )))
Personality: As with most people, there are many facets to Meixiu's personality. The most obvious are the ones that people take for granted, such as her shyness and her tendency towards being polite to everyone. And it's true that she is quite shy. Though she's not afraid to talk to people, whenever she's not perfectly calm, she tends to stammer, repeating syllables or hard sounds. This, of course, causes her to be embarrassed at her lack of self-control, which causes her to stumble over her words even more... it's truly a vicious cycle.
And it is also true that she is polite, almost unfailingly. She always has a warm, if slightly distant smile for anyone she's talking to, and always shows interest in whatever her companions are saying to her, even when she couldn't possibly care less. She has retained some of Kiku's habits, bowing to show respect and keeping her eyes from making contact with others' being a couple of the more obvious ones, but even without that, she strives to never be outright rude.
However, there are other things past that surface-thin veneer, such as her natural inclinations towards manipulating those around her. Oh, to be sure, she's quite innocent and sweet, but it is simply in her nature to use those traits to get what she wants. Ever since Holland first came to her shores, she's been taught that a bat of those dark lashes, a widening of the eyes, or a slight cringe away if she thinks things are heading towards violence can get her out of just about any trouble, as well as get her just about anything she wants, when she's amongst her citizens.
Her ever-present anger is also something that few ever get to see. Because she so fears making others angry with her, she rarely snaps, and when she does, she almost instantly recoils and apologizes, even if she really meant what she said. But she is brilliant in her anger, eyes flashing, limbs waving in large gestures, so different from the shy, withdrawn Meixiu most people see. And she is always angry, even when she hides it under other emotions.
What most people also don't see, though, is the aching loneliness at her core, and how she wants nothing more than to love and be loved in return. Oh, sure, her love for her brothers and their (dubious) love for her is all well and good, but she is a romantic at heart, and would love nothing more than to be swept off her feet by someone who could tell her that it's okay to be angry, someone who would sit by her side and accept her for all that she is.
Likes:
★ Her 'brothers'
★ Swimming
★ Sunlight
★ Soft Colors
★ Fashion
★ Asian dramas (All)
★ Music
★ Singing
★ America
★ Rain showers
★ Satin
★ Cute things
★ Her people
★ Soft things
★ Independence
Dislikes:
✖ Being touched
✖ Thunderstorms
✖ Being proven wrong
✖ Yelling
✖ Loud, harsh noises
✖ Harsh fabrics
✖ Dull colors
✖ Being alone
✖ Her stray curl
✖ Ugly things
✖ Her past
✖ Holland
✖ Violence
✖ Being controlled
✖ Her scars
Fears:
☣ Being pulled into a war with anyone.
☣ Being forced to become part of China or Japan again.
☣ Her need for independence driving everyone away.
☣ Being helpless.
☣ Losing the support of America.
☣ Holland. Just. Holland.
Secrets:
♦ Meixiu has trouble sleeping without something/someone to hold onto. Her arms feel empty, her chest aches, and she always remembers how when she was a child, untouched by anything to do with bosses or 'nations', her people would take turns letting her sleep with them, especially those that were mothers.
♦ There's nothing in the world that terrifies her more than the idea of Holland deciding he wants Ilha Formosa back. It's not that much of a secret, but she tries to make it less known to others.
♦ Though she dislikes being touched, if someone she knew and cared for were to offer, she would take up an offer to cuddle in a heartbeat. Holding someone in her arms makes her feel warm and safe.
♦ Her shyness is a mask so complete and total that even she believes it's true. Though she may stomp her feet and scold her brothers, she will always apologize immediately after, and her 'temper' is short-lived, because she so fears driving others away.
♦ She's not a virgin, but still believes that virginity is an asset, thanks to her many years with China and Japan, and so pretends to be. She is also extremely uncomfortable with the idea of sex in general. It's too much of yourself to give to one person.
♦ She loves bugs, especially crickets, but if a cockroach touches her, she will scream and cry until it is removed from her person.
♦ She wants desperately to be in love, and for a while, fancied that she loved America. Eventually she realized it wasn't so, though, and she took it rather hard. She still considers him a friend, though, possibly the best that she has.
Strengths:
✓ Sneaky. When she was first brought to live with China, she often snuck out and ran away, which called for her to learn how to walk near-silently, breathe shallowly and quickly, and learn just how deep shadows needed to be to hide her slight form.
✓ Compassionate. Like many women, Meixiu has a soft spot for cute things, such as babies and puppies, but she also happens to be a sucker for those who appear to be injured or wounded, whether physically or emotionally, and it doesn't take much to wrench at hear heartstrings.
✓ Determined. When she sets her mind to something, very little can cause Meixieu to change it. Even a temporary death in the cause of something she wants badly will just bolster her resolve.
✓ Cute. Though in terms of world affairs this does approximately nothing for her, when amongst her people, her physical appearance often will have others moving out of the way for her without even thinking about it, standing up for her if she gets into an argument with someone, and smiling back just as brilliantly as she smiles at them.
✓ Manipulative. She knows just when to bat her lashes or avert her eyes and hide her face, when to blush and stammer or when to stand straight and speak her mind. That isn't to say it's not sincere- she does it, most of the time, without even thinking of it. It's just in her nature.
Weaknesses:
✘ Shy. Though she's not afraid to approach strangers, she will blush and avert her eyes, and will always fear that she's doing something wrong. This makes her stammer, and when she's especially nervous, small, breathy sounds like 'haauuu' can escape her, much to her mortification.
✘ Nervous. She's always scared that something's going to go wrong, no matter what it is that she's doing, so unless she's at home alone, there is really never anything that can be done to make her completely at ease.
✘ Weak. As a small island nation who has never officially had a war of her own, and has not exactly been helpful in others' wars, she is not the strongest of nations by far. She's barely stronger than a human woman, but she doesn't let this discourage her. Someday, she'll be strong- she just... needs time to build up her military and resources again.
✘ Unsure. Her status as a nation is dubious at best- though America used to recognize her, he stopped in 1979, which was a great blow to her quest for independence. Furthermore, only 25 nations recognize her as a nation in and of herself, and those that do recognize her as 'The Only China'... and 'China' is not what she wants to be.
✘ Angry. Ever since he gave her to Japan as 'spoils of war', she's been oh-so-angry at China. Likewise, when Japan lost the war to China and gave her back, she grew angry at him. But her affection for the both of them leads her to still call them 'big brother' in their repective languages- Gege, Onii-san. She tries not to be angry, but it's so hard...
(((The Pages of History )))
History:
~ 1540s: Kingdom of Middag established. Taiwan, as a nation-person, is born, though has no name yet.
~ 1544: Portuguese sailors sight Taiwan in passing and name it 'Ilha Formosa', or, Beautiful Island. Taiwan is intrigued at their passing, but it is little more than a moment of interest, for she is a girl-child with much to do.
~ 1582: Survivors of a Portuguese shipwreck attempt to take shelter on the island, only to have the aborigines drive them away, unwilling to share the land. Taiwan aids by throwing stones at the men, believing, as her people do, that they have come to bring ruin upon the island.
~ 1592: Japan tries to take over Taiwan, or, as they call it, Takayamakoku, or, High Mountain Country. The attempt fails, repelled by the aborigines, and, again, Taiwan.
~ 1604: Dutch envoy sent to trade with China occupies the Pescadores (off the coast of Taiwan). Taiwan meets Holland for the first time, but runs away, scared of the large, pale man. China sends the envoy away.
~ 1609: Feudal Lord Arima Harunobu is sent on an exploratory mission to Taiwan. She meets Japan for the first time, and rather likes him, but doesn't like the way his people look at her land.
~ 1616: Japanese official Murayama Toan leads troops on an invasion of Taiwan. Again, they are driven back like last time by the Aborigines, though this time Taiwan does not aid them, feeling bad, because she liked Kiku.
~ 1622: Another Dutch enboy occupies the Pescadores again, trying to persuade China to open trade, but again, the proposal is rejected. This time, the pale man doesn't leave. Taiwan does her best to avoid him and his men.
~ 1624: Changing his mind, China opens trade with the Dutch. The Dutch establish a base for trading with Japan and Coastal China, beginning the Dutch rule of Taiwan. Taiwan is okay with this, as he teaches her people fascinating things, such as how to read his written language.
~ 1626: Spain sends an expedition to Taiwan and builds a fort, to prevent the Dutch threat to Chinese and Japanese trade with the Spanish Philippines. Two years later, they establish a settlement there- this is Taiwan's first encounter with Spain. Much like the tall, pale man, she fears him, and flees.
~ 1633: The Dutch build a castle on the main island of Taiwan, and, to punish the aborigines that opposed them in the beginning, burned down the village of Mattauw. Three years later, one of the aborigine tribes killed a shipwrecked Dutch crew, and in retaliation, the Dutch removed the entire population from the island, sold as slaves and wives for the Dutch officers. In addition, 327 of the aborigines on Lamay Island were trapped in a cave and suffocated by smoke pumped in by both the Dutch and the other aborigines. Unsure what to do, Taiwan hid, emerging only when it was over and aching from the pain of her peoples' wills tearing her in two.
~ 1642: The Dutch drive out the Spanish, and Taiwan soon becomes the second most profitable trading port in Asia. However, the people are distrustful of the Dutch Empire after the events nine years ago, and Taiwan herself is fearful that it'll happen again.
~ 1662: Chinese merchant/pirate Koxinga lays siege to Fort Zeelandia, and the Dutch surrender nine months later, fleeing the island. Taiwan is taken under the control of Ming Dynasty China.
~ 1683: The Qing Dynasty, having assumed control of the mainland, now also takes control of Taiwan. She is unperturbed by this, as she's already adapting to China's strange ways, though she does not, per se, like them.
~ 1732: The Qing forces conquer what was left of the Kingdom of Middag, leaving Taiwan fully under the control of China. A relative peace ensues.
~ 1867: American forces are sent to the island to in response to the Aborigines killing survivors of a wrecked American ship. Taiwan is in awe of the tall, pale man who shines like the sun.
~ 1874: Japan returns to Taiwan, testing the situation and hoping to be able to colonize the land. Though she still likes him very much, Taiwan clings to China, unwilling to leave.
~ 1875: Tawain is split into two prefectures, North and South, causing much disrest in her. However, being told that it is the way of things, she settles.
~ 1884: Taiwanese harbors are blockaded by the French Navy during the Sino-French war.
~ 1895: Being defeated by the Japanese Navy in the First Sino-Japanese War, Qing Dynasty Era sings teh Treaty of Shimonoseki, ceding Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan. Taiwan is reluctant, and backs the Pro-Qing officials declaring the island as the Republic of Formosa to avoid Japan taking over.
~ 1899: All opposition is suppressed and summarily executed by the Japanese.
~ 1905: Taiwan begins to become financially self-sufficient, and is weaned off of subsidies from Japan's central government, more or less leaving them to their own devices.
~ 1915: Over 100 protesters against Japan's rule are killed by Japanese Authorities in what becomes known as the Tapani Incident, and though she is passing fond of Japan, Taiwan withdraws, angry that he has hurt her people so.
~ 1921: The "Petition to Establish a Taiwan Parliament" movement begins, vying for freedom of the Taiwanese people.
~ 1930: Japan crushes rebellion by the Atayal aborigines, caused by the mistreatment of the people in the first place. It is a massacre that sends Taiwan into shock, and she is forced into bedrest for many months until she can fully recover.
~1945: Japan is defeated in World War Two. The Japanese Instrument of Surrender is signed, and the United States forces the Japanese to surrender to the Republic of China. Taiwan falls into Chinese hands once again.
~ 1949: The Kuomintang army is defeated in the chinese Civil War, and flees to Taiwan in exile with 2 million refugees. The capital of the Republic of China is moved to Taipei, while China itself becomes the "People's Republic of China".
~ 1951: Japan officially renounces all claims to Taiwan, but no country is designated as recieving control of Taiwan.
~ 1958: Mainland China fired artillary at the islands of Quemoy and Matsu. The US Eisenhower Administration arrives to help. On October 6th, the People's Republic of China finally called a ceasefire.
~ 1972: The United States acknowledges the One China Policy, leaving Taiwan without allies in her bid for independence.
~ 1979: The United states passes the Taiwan Relations Act, which affirst US commitment to defent Taiwan militarily and to treat Taiwan as a state of China at the same time.
~ 1987: Martial Law is lifted. Shortly after, so are bans on publishing newspapers and establishing new commercial banks.
~ 1995: The US allowes President Lee Teng-hui to visit. Mainland China responds by launching a series of missiles into the waters off of Taiwan's coast.
~ 2005: Mainland China passes an "anti-secession law", authorizing the use of force against Taiwan should it ever formally declare independence.
~ 2007: Taiwan applies for membership in the UN under the name "Taiwan", and is rejected by the General Assembly.
Allies:
China - First Sino-Japanese War
Japan - WWII
America - Second and Third Taiwan Straits Crises
Enemies:
The Allied Forces - WWII
Japan - First Sino-Japanese War
China - Taiwan Straits Crises
Sample Post: He loves me... he loves me not... He loves me... A soft sigh escaped the young girl's lips as she plucked petal after petal from a barely formed rose, making sure to neatly rip each one so that the barest edge was left visible against the backdrop of the other pale pink wedges. It wasn't that she was pining- honestly, she knew very well that Kiku loved her as his sister, and she loved him as her brother, and that should have been enough. But they had lost the war, and Kiku couldn't even stand on his own two feet after what had happened to Hiroshima and Nagasaki... and if there were ever a profitable territory that he would be forced to give up as a condition of his surrender, it would be Taiwan. Her own lands, her own self, sent away. So, more than assuming a flower would know whether or not her elder brother loved her, she was merely... hoping that it would lie to her, and tell her that Kiku loved her enough to fight for her right to stay with him.
He wouldn't, and she knew it. No, not even that he wouldn't- he couldn't.
And it hurt.
It hurt more than anything she could imagine. It hurt more than it had when she'd watched Yao as he retreated, his slender back turned to both of his younger siblings, reed-thin and willow-straight, as composed as could be despite having to give his little sister away. It hurt like it had hurt when Holland had convinced her own people to kill their own kind, suffocating them with smoke in a dark, cold cave- it wrenched at her heart and made her lungs burn with the effort of holding back the tears that wanted to come forth. 'Please,' she mouths, lips forming carefully around the word, teeth biting off the end of it, not a whisper of sound leaving her throat, 'let me stay.'
But she can't fight it either, her resources as drained as his, as all of theirs... No one can afford a fight, anymore. So she stands when she feels him approaching, aided by men who might as well be faceless, for all that she cares about them. She turns, and goes to him, uncaring of the stiff protocol that he follows, slipping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder, feeling the words building up in his chest, knowing that soon, he will tell her that she has to leave, but for not, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, because he's in her arms, warming her heart through skin and bone, and he loves her, and this moment... this moment will be enough to last her forever.
And in the grass, a rose bud lies, petals scattered around it, forgotten. It will lay there and wither into nothing, to be someday crumbled under someone's uncareful footsteps.
"Aishiteru, Onii-san."
Did you read the rules and Dark Reflections Canon? If I did, can I have some Italian Pasta too? ;A;
Random fun fact about yourself: I come from many a forum where no one likes me. Hopefully I'm a bit more likeable here~ On an /actually/ fun note, I usually play Hungary or Lithuania! This is my second time playing Taiwan~