So, in a sort of Jack Frost-esque style, I imagine the reason ordinary people don't usually see the Nations is because of, not the lack of belief in the country, but the lack of belief in THEM.
So... how did they deal with this lifestyle in the past? Who were the people who could see them, and why could they? How do they deal in modern times? And, as I know you're wondering, how did the creation of Hetalia affect them and how did it come to be in the first place?
Bonus: Various Nations trying to find 'cures' for the problem. Bonus: A young Nation having to be taught why nobody seems to see them.
(Total LJ novice here- this is only my second fill. I was listening to an ROTG fansong as I perused the 'meme - http://tindeck.com/listen/bavm/ - and the inspiration struck me.)
"I don't mind being by myself, having fun, causing trouble, but three hundred years is pushing it! ... They all walk right through me, can't help but feeling like nothing I do really matters in the end..." - Lily Sevin, "Something Different"
He'd taken to the woods to escape the people, escape blank eyes and gazes that slid right over him. He stayed because the animals could sense his presence and his connection to the land. Some attention was better than none, even if rabbits couldn't speak back to him. But the world tilted on its axis one day, with the arrival of two on his land that he could feel were just like him. And not the other little boy to the north, either, with his wide eyes and omnipresent polar bear- this pair were older, wiser, and harsher. Each had an aura of battle about them, and it did not come from the armor they wore. "Can't we keep him, Su-san?" "S'not a good idea, Fin. Y'know we can't support a colony'f this size, even if y'want him." The little boy stared at the two blond men from his meager cover, the bushes he hid behind rattling their leaves with his nervousness. People... had never seen him before! (A nagging voice recalled again that child in the gown like his, far away in the arctic wastelands, but it was promptly dispelled.) But before he could work up the courage to call out to them, ask how they could see him when no one else could, his hiding place decided to give him away. With a -snap!crack!thump!- the brittle branch in front of him broke, sending him sprawling in the dust, and even worse, in plain view of the strange men. The shorter one crouched down in front of him, smiling, gently. "Hello, little one," he greeted, fingers twitching in an attempt to stay calm and not spook the younger Nation. The boy stared unabashedly, and then mimicked the kindly blond. "Hello?" he asked, confused at the greeting as much as if he was supposed to reply. The elder nodded happily. "That's right! Good job. I'm Finland, and this is Sweden." He gestured behind him to the second man that the child was quite glad had come no closer. "You must be America," Finland continued. America nodded. "Yes," he confirmed. "Not always, but... now?" His words were halting and stilted, because he had had no way to practice them before today. Finland glanced behind him with a grin, seeming to shout at Sweden, 'look! how cute!' "Is this the first time you've spoken to someone?" "Ye- No? There are a... boy, north, he talks too," America managed, all the words in his head jumbled together by fear and excitement. Never mind that he was forgetting some words- Finland considered each he spoke as a triumph, and lavished the boy with praise. The sun had lowered in the sky, dipping towards the treetops at the edge of the meadow where the trio stood, and Sweden tapped the older of his two companions on the shoulder. "S'time, Fin," he sighed. With a nod, Finland engaged America again. "America, you're probably wondering why we can see you." "Yes!" the child exclaimed, nodding his head solemnly. "Why's no one else got seeing?" It took Finland a second to decipher the child-speak, but he soon replied, "We're very different from them. You- how do I say it?- you feel the land, yes? You are... connected to it?" America leaned in closer, craving the answer as he replied in the positive. "Not everyone is like that. Sweden and I have our own land far away, so we can see you. But most people have no land, so they have no Sight." A wobbling lip and scrunched eyebrows seemed to herald tears, but Finland tried to stall them. "We're not the only ones who can see you, don't worry, but you're very alone here. You won't have a lot of people around. But we will remember you, and see you again the next time we meet." The wobbling stopped, suddenly, and America's eyes lit. He pulled a dark ribbon from around the collar of his gown and pressed it into Finland's hand. "So you don't forget!" America grinned. Maybe a physical reminder would get these two people to come back to him- this was the best day he'd ever had!
Finland smiled tremulously and searched his pockets for a gift in return. Finding nothing to share, he unfastened the locket around his neck. "Keep this safe for me until you see me again," he instructed. "It has my most precious people in it. See, there's Su-san and I, and those three are called Norway, Iceland, and Denmark. They are like us, and they are my family." America accepted the gift like it was a boon from Christ himself, freshly risen. "I'll safe-keep it. Promise." Neither Nation mentioned an 'if I see you again', but it stirred at the surface of the clearing. "I'll miss ya," Sweden commented. "An' so will Fin." He shot the shorter man a Look, significant in a way America couldn't quite understand. That Look passed a conversation by itself- we have to go, what if we don't come back, do we have to condemn this child to loneliness- but when it was broken, Finland stood up. "Don't forget us, little Nation, and we'll see you again when you're bigger."
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Ensemble - A Shadowed Life
(Anonymous) 2013-04-09 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)So... how did they deal with this lifestyle in the past? Who were the people who could see them, and why could they? How do they deal in modern times? And, as I know you're wondering, how did the creation of Hetalia affect them and how did it come to be in the first place?
Bonus: Various Nations trying to find 'cures' for the problem.
Bonus: A young Nation having to be taught why nobody seems to see them.
Understanding Achieved, Loneliness Abated
(Anonymous) 2013-06-05 07:37 am (UTC)(link)"I don't mind being by myself, having fun, causing trouble, but three hundred years is pushing it! ... They all walk right through me, can't help but feeling like nothing I do really matters in the end..."
- Lily Sevin, "Something Different"
He'd taken to the woods to escape the people, escape blank eyes and gazes that slid right over him. He stayed because the animals could sense his presence and his connection to the land. Some attention was better than none, even if rabbits couldn't speak back to him.
But the world tilted on its axis one day, with the arrival of two on his land that he could feel were just like him. And not the other little boy to the north, either, with his wide eyes and omnipresent polar bear- this pair were older, wiser, and harsher. Each had an aura of battle about them, and it did not come from the armor they wore.
"Can't we keep him, Su-san?"
"S'not a good idea, Fin. Y'know we can't support a colony'f this size, even if y'want him."
The little boy stared at the two blond men from his meager cover, the bushes he hid behind rattling their leaves with his nervousness. People... had never seen him before! (A nagging voice recalled again that child in the gown like his, far away in the arctic wastelands, but it was promptly dispelled.) But before he could work up the courage to call out to them, ask how they could see him when no one else could, his hiding place decided to give him away.
With a -snap!crack!thump!- the brittle branch in front of him broke, sending him sprawling in the dust, and even worse, in plain view of the strange men.
The shorter one crouched down in front of him, smiling, gently. "Hello, little one," he greeted, fingers twitching in an attempt to stay calm and not spook the younger Nation.
The boy stared unabashedly, and then mimicked the kindly blond. "Hello?" he asked, confused at the greeting as much as if he was supposed to reply.
The elder nodded happily. "That's right! Good job. I'm Finland, and this is Sweden." He gestured behind him to the second man that the child was quite glad had come no closer. "You must be America," Finland continued.
America nodded. "Yes," he confirmed. "Not always, but... now?" His words were halting and stilted, because he had had no way to practice them before today.
Finland glanced behind him with a grin, seeming to shout at Sweden, 'look! how cute!' "Is this the first time you've spoken to someone?"
"Ye- No? There are a... boy, north, he talks too," America managed, all the words in his head jumbled together by fear and excitement. Never mind that he was forgetting some words- Finland considered each he spoke as a triumph, and lavished the boy with praise.
The sun had lowered in the sky, dipping towards the treetops at the edge of the meadow where the trio stood, and Sweden tapped the older of his two companions on the shoulder. "S'time, Fin," he sighed.
With a nod, Finland engaged America again. "America, you're probably wondering why we can see you."
"Yes!" the child exclaimed, nodding his head solemnly. "Why's no one else got seeing?"
It took Finland a second to decipher the child-speak, but he soon replied, "We're very different from them. You- how do I say it?- you feel the land, yes? You are... connected to it?"
America leaned in closer, craving the answer as he replied in the positive.
"Not everyone is like that. Sweden and I have our own land far away, so we can see you. But most people have no land, so they have no Sight." A wobbling lip and scrunched eyebrows seemed to herald tears, but Finland tried to stall them. "We're not the only ones who can see you, don't worry, but you're very alone here. You won't have a lot of people around. But we will remember you, and see you again the next time we meet."
The wobbling stopped, suddenly, and America's eyes lit. He pulled a dark ribbon from around the collar of his gown and pressed it into Finland's hand. "So you don't forget!" America grinned. Maybe a physical reminder would get these two people to come back to him- this was the best day he'd ever had!
Understanding Achieved, Loneliness Abated (2/2)
(Anonymous) 2013-06-05 07:39 am (UTC)(link)America accepted the gift like it was a boon from Christ himself, freshly risen. "I'll safe-keep it. Promise." Neither Nation mentioned an 'if I see you again', but it stirred at the surface of the clearing.
"I'll miss ya," Sweden commented. "An' so will Fin." He shot the shorter man a Look, significant in a way America couldn't quite understand. That Look passed a conversation by itself- we have to go, what if we don't come back, do we have to condemn this child to loneliness- but when it was broken, Finland stood up.
"Don't forget us, little Nation, and we'll see you again when you're bigger."
OP
(Anonymous) 2013-06-05 02:04 pm (UTC)(link)Thanks so much for filling! I loved it!