VASH "SWITZERLAND" ZWINGLI

VASH (SWITZERLAND) ZWINGLI

You don't believe in God, I don't believe in luck.
They don't believe in us, but I believe we're the enemy!

I Feel Like We're Summoning The Devil

[/color]:[/b] Vash Zwingli
Nickname/Alias: Vash, Switzerland, Big Brother, Shorty, etc.
Gender: Male
Character Type: Country
Country or Country of Origin: Swizerland
Canon or Original: Canon
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When I look into all of your stupid faces

I think how fun it will be to pound them into dust

[/color]:[/b] Green
Hair: Blond
Height and Weight: 5'7" / 150 lbs
Other Distinguishing Features: Cross shaped scar on left shoulder.

Overall Appearance: Vash's appearance does not make for a very intimidating one. He barely makes five feet and seven inches, so he's small enough to be passed over by others without a second glance. His light blond hair and bright green eyes don't contribute much to proving that he's anything but 'soft', either. That being said, there's obviously much more to Vash that immediately meets the eye. Years and years of combat training have made him surprisingly muscular underneath all of that green heavy clothing, and his stare can be quite intimidating when joined in part by one of his many guns, automatic weaponry, and rifles. He maintains the look of a soldier at all times of the day, except for when he wears his frilly pink pajamas (a gift, i swear it!). Strangely ironic considering he strays away from war, but such an appearance is probably what helps keep other countries away.
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Man up or I'll beat you with my peace prize!

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• Silence.
  
• Solitude.
  
• Going home.
  
• Liechtenstein.
  
• Being useful.
  
• Cartography.
  
• Money.
  
• Alcohol.
  
• Cheap cheeses (or so he claims).
  
• His pet goats.
  
• Working.

Dislikes:

• Outsiders.
  
• Interacting with others.
  
• Disorder.
  
• Shopping.
  
• Loud noises/people.
  
• Conflict.
  
• Being teased for his appearance.
  
• Being away from Liechtenstein.
  
• Laziness.
  
• Smiling.
  
• People that invade his private property.
  
• Austria
  
• North Italy.

Strengths:

• Military / Combat genius.
  
• Helpful to the weak.
  
• Hard worker.
  
• Cooking.
  
• Keeping order.
  
• Never missing a target.
  
• Quick thinker.
  
• Protective.
  
• Tactful.

Weaknesses:

• Hot tempered.
  
• Has trouble keeping calm.
  
• Xenophobic.
  
• Emotionally disconnected.
  
• Recluse.
  
• Overprotective.
  
• Rude.
  
• Trigger happy.
  
• Violent.
  
• Grudge holder.

Fears:
Losing Liechtenstein:

• After all, she is the only country in the world that he seems like, and everybody, even Switzerland, needs a friend. This is the reason why he is as over protective and doting over her as he is.

Loosing His Money:

• When somebody actually observes an experience at the supermarket with Vash, they realize just how much her treasures every last penny of his money. And while he rarely accepts help, if it saves him money, then he'll gladly take up another person's helping hand. His fear of being broke has guided him to become an excellent banker, with Switzerland leading the pack in banking.

Secrets: Vash very secretly misses his past held friendship with Austria. In truth, one of the reasons that he took so quickly to Liechtenstein was because of how similar their dynamic between one another was to the friendship he once held with Austria.

Any Quirks/Habits: Always manages to keep a gun on hand.

Overall Personality: As true as it is that Vash is smaller than your other run of the mill nations, that doesn't mean he isn't someone you should go out of your way to piss off. First and foremost, Vash has a horrible temper. While he's rarely openly emotional, it's easy to get him riled up. He's easily annoyed by immature and loud antics; he can even be annoyed by his own thoughts. He lashes out by resorting to violence, usually pulling out a gun and becoming delightfully trigger happy. So yes, it's been a while since Vash had fought in any wars, and yes, he seems to put up a very neutral front, but perhaps you should be grateful that he does. He refuses to grant personal emotional responses to other people, or at least, he tries not to warrant anybody the pleasure of seeing him react normally to any type of situation. He has a hard time keeping his cool in general, and is always in some sort of stressful state of mind.

No matter how hard he may try though, Vash still has his moments. These moments are rare in number though, but best seen when he puts himself around his little "sister", Liechtenstein. He cares for her deeply, and she remains the only person that he is actually attached to. She is literally the one exception to his xenophobic like behavior, and he plans to let her stay as the only exception, regardless of how much she reminds of him Austria. He takes care of her, providing anything she may need, teaching her how to fend for herself in small ways, and shielding her from any type of corruption.

Quality time spent with Liechtenstein has become scarce as of lately, though. This can be blamed on his naturally stressful and strict worth ethic. Vash is a very dedicated worker- he's a very dedicated person in general. Most of his time is spent improving and perfecting his military, which he is determined to make a well oiled machine. At one point in his life, Vash was even a mercenary for the Vatican, and when he was young and without an army, he dedicated his time to teaching Austria how to defend himself (though this was basically done in vain).

When he spends money, he does so responsibly (and he does so because of his irrational fear of becoming a broke country), and even attempts to train Liechtenstein in the ways of good banking. He's very frugal, yes, but his economy is fair, his people are heavily taxed, and his country is well off.

TL;DR:
He's violent, angry, organized, and reclusive, but after a great period of time anybody can get used to Vash's behavior.
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I'm the hero!

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1291-1515: Old Swiss Confederacy
1291: Switzerland is born
1315: Battled at Morgarten, Decisive battle against Habsburgs
1332: Lucerne joins Swiss Confederacy
1351: Zurich joins Swiss Confederacy in a strategic alliance
1352: Glarus and Zug join Swiss Confederacy, all located around Lake Lucerne
1353: Bern joins Swiss Confederacy
1386: Battle of Sempach
1388: Battle of Nafels; Habsburgs defeated

1403-1440: Ticino conquered, Switzerland expands to the south
1415: Aargau conquered, Habsburgs banned from Swiss Confederacy
1440-1446: Old Zurich War, Zurich allies with Habsburgs against Schwyz and Glarus
1460: Thurgau conquered, Pope bans Duke Friedrich IV
1474-1477: Burgundian Wars, Duke Charles of Burgundy defeated by Swiss Confederacy
1481: Fribourg and Solothurn join Swiss Confederacy
1499: Swabian War: Switzerland becomes de facto independent

1501: Basel and Schaffhausen join Switzerland against German Empire
1513: Appenzell joins Swiss Confederacy
1515: Battle of Marignano, Swiss defeated by French and Italians
1523-1536: Protestant Reformation
1523: Reformation in Zurich, Zwingli
1524-1528: Reformation movement spreads to Northern Switzerland
1529-1531: Civil War, Zwingli dies in Battle of Kappel
1536: Reformation in Geneva, Calvin
1536: Vaud conquered by Bernese troops
1545-1563: Start of Catholic Counter Reformation
1577-1580: Jesuit colleges establies in Lucerne and Fribourg
1597: Appenzell split into two half-cantons due to religion

1600-1798: Ancien Regime, Swiss Confederacy of thirteen cities
1618-1648: Thirty Years’ War, Switzerland remains neutral
1648: Treaty of Westphalia, Europe accepts Switzerland as an independent nation
1653: Peasants’ War, revolt of peasants between Lucerne and Bern against undemocratic rule, rebels are defeated
1656, 1712: Civil Wars, religious antagonism, end of Catholic hegemony

1700-1800: Private postal service connects Lucerne and Milan once a week
1717-172: Wilchingen peasant revolt
1719-1722: Werdenberg peasant revolt
1723: Peasant revolt against domination of Vaud by Bern
1726-1739: Jura revolt against rule of prince-bishop of Basel
1755: Leventina revolt against rule of Uri
1761: Helvetic Society formed by Swiss scholars, advocates for political reform
1764: Textile machines invented in the UK
1773: Jesuit order dissolved by Pope
1777: Johann Georg Stokar pleads to Helvetic Society for centralized republic with equal rights for all citizens
1781: Chenaux revolt against rule of Friebourg
1789: French Revolution
1790-1797: Revolts all over Switzerland, peasants demand equal rights and against taxes
1798: Swiss Revolution, Farmers in occupied territories become citizens, French troops support revolutionaries in western Switzerland
1798-1802: Helvetic Republic

1801: Swiss engineers construct their own textile machines
1803: Start of chocolate production
1803-1815: Mediation, civil war brings Helvetic Republic to an end, Napoleon enforces a moderately federalist constitution
1805: Simplon Road is first modern alpine crossing road useable for wagons
1807: Ramparts razed in Bern to boost traffic
1814: Jesuit order restored by Pope
1814: Textile machines replace hand production
1815: Canton laws in Zurich and Thurgau prohibit child labor below ten years
1815-1830: Restoration, Loose Confederacy reestablished with twenty-two cantons, liberals as minority, international Congress of Vienna confirms Switzerland’s borders and neutrality
1817: 3 000 Swiss leave for North America, South America, and Russia to escape starvation and entrepreneurs
1818: First steamboat in Switzerland on Lake Geneva
1830-1848: Regeneration, Second French Revolution, increase of liberals in Switzerland, some cantons with liberal governments create new constitutions, revolutions occur across Europe
1831: Traditional textile works in Ulster burn a new factory
1832: Anti-modernism, Pope Grego XVI condemns modern culture, Catholic clergy against liberal reforms
1833: Basel split, peasants demand political rights and declares autonomy
1833: Zurich introduces ramparts
1839: David Friedrich Strauss, liberal protestant theologian, appointed professor at Zurich University
1840-1860: Large numbers of people fall into poverty
1841: Dissolution of Monasteries, liberal Catholic Augustin Keller protests against church propaganda and proposes dissolution of monasteries in Aargau
1844: Lucerne adopts conservative parliament and Jesuits are put in charge of educating priests
1845: Armed radicals march for Lucerne, defeated by standing army
1845: Catholic politicians falls back into old schemes of religious antagonism and create Special Alliance (Sonderbund) of Catholic cantons with conservative governments, frustrates conservative and liberal protestants
1846: Glarus limits daily work to fifteen hours for adults and fourteen hours for children under fourteen years
1847: First railways from Durich to Baden
1847: Civil War, General Dofour leads federal troops to victory, leader of conservatives flees to Rome
1848: Revolutions in France and Austria
1848: New Federal Constitution
1849: First asphalt road from Val de Travers

1850: First Swiss stock exchange opens in Geneva
1850: Geneva introduces ramparts
1855: Zurich to Winterthur line introduced
1858: Hauenstein Tunner on railway line Basel to Olten
1863: Thomas Cook organizes tours to Switzerland, start of mass tourism
1864: Zurich to Lucerne line introduced
1864: Synthetic colors produced in Basel
1866: Babyfood based on milk, sweeteners, flour introduced
1866: Equal rights for Jewish minority in Switzerland
1871: First Vatican Council declares infallibility of Pope, over 400 000 Swiss Catholics leave church, Bishop Lachat of Basel tries to exclude priests against the dogma, forced to resign by canton governments along with supporting priests
1871: Cogwheel Railway to Mt. Rigi, invented by Niklaus Riggenbach
1874: Total Revision of Constitution, end of religious struggles, Marriage, birth/death certificates all controlled by state instead of Church, Jesuit order banned from Switzerland
1874: Optional Referendum introduced, 30 000 citizens may demand for a referendum on any law passed by parliament, unique element to Switzerland’s Direct Democracy
1876: Stock exchange in Basel opens
1877: Federal Factory Law limits daily work to eleven hours for adults and restricts work at night and prohibits work for children under fourteen years
1877: Thomas Edison adds microphone to telephone invented by Philipp Reis and improved by Alexander Bell
1877: Stock exchange in Zurich opens
1880: Public Telephone Networks in Zurich
1880-1881: Johanna Spyri writes Heidi
1881: Public telephone network in Basel and Bern
1882: Gotthard Tunnel, first alpine railway line (Basel to Lucerne to Gotthard to Bellinzona to Milan)
1882-1883: 13 500 people leave Switzerland to the United States of America, Argentina, Canada, and Brazil
1883, 1886: Soup powder in bags and soup cubes are invented
1883: Public telephone network in Geneva
1875: Milk chocolate invented by Daniel Peter in Vevey
1879: Melting chocolate invented by Rodolphe Lindt in Bern
1891: Popular Initiative introduced, 50 000 citizens may demand for a partial change to the constitution and enforce a referendum on the proposal against the will of parliament and the government
1891: Joseph Zemp elected as first conservative member of the government
1896: Start of Car production
1898: Parliament decides to nationalize all major railway lines

1902: Swiss Federal Railways starts operation
1903: Start of truck production
1912: Jungfrau Railway is highest railway station in Europe
1914-1918: World War 1, Switzerland remains neutral, population split in terms of sympathy
1918-1933: Economic Crisis, conflict, strikes, world economic crisis
1918: General Strike, Social Democrats and Trade unions demand for change to proportional representation and women’s suffrage, limit of working time to forty-eight hour week, social security insurance, governments puts down stroke by force, eventually complied with proposals
1919: Proportional Representation introduced for National Council election, Free Democratic Party loses majority
1920: League of Nations founded in Geneva
1922: Lausanne Radio is the first Swiss radio station to broadcast a public program to a third of Europe
1926: Automated Public Telephone Exchange in Bern
1929: World Economic Crisis hits Switzerland severely, Rudolf Minger represents farmer’s and craftsmen’s party and elected member of the government
1931: National Radio Transmitters are built in Beromunster, Sottens, and Monte Ceneri
1933-1939: Spiritual Defense, Hitler is seen as a danger to Swiss independence, German refugees accepted, Socialists and trade unions seek to cooperate with liberals against fascism
1937: Peace Agreement between trade unions and entrepreneurs in Swiss machine construction and electric industries
1939-1945: World War II, Switzerland remains neutral, some trade with Hitler to survive, rigid refugee politics, uncritical collaboration in cases of looted assets and accepting stolen gold
1943: Ernst Nobs elected first social democrat member of Swiss government
1948: Social Security Insurance introduced
1959: Magic Formula concerning election of Switzerland’s government, all major parties (Free Democrats, Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, Swiss People’s Party) represented with 2+2+2+1 membership
1963: Switzerland joins the Council of Europe
1971: Women’s suffrage accepted in national referendum
1979: Conton Jura separates from Bern
1984: Elisabeth Kopp elected first female member of federal government
1992: Switzerland decides not to join the EU
1999: Revision of Constitution does not change any rights or competences, replaces original paragraphs in a more modern structure

2000: Bilateral Accords with EU approved in a referendum
2002: Switzerland joins the United Nations
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You've got it backwards! Backwards!

Hurry up and throw it! If you don't hurry up and throw it, you'll go "boom"!

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Family affairs, outings, days, and dinners all meant the same thing to Sera. It all meant that she was going to have to spend hour after hour preparing herself for the few glances her mother would give her, and spend the rest of her energy on making sure everything was perfect. But this was nothing particularly new at all. It was just another piece of the past seven years. She stared at herself in the mirror, eyes fixed on her bangs with such intensity that her reflection threatened to bend underneath her stare. Each piece of hair and been placed and sprayed into a balanced and even line that rested on top of her eyebrows. Symmetry was a thing of the past, and this hairstyle had cut preparation time literally in half.

Little trivial things like the parting of her hair mattered. The outfit she wore, a white sundress, that mattered too. The way she carried herself mattered. The way she walked in a room mattered.

Especially in front of her mother.

She sat on the creme colored couch in the all too familiar den of her mother's home, legs crossed and hands folded neatly across one another. Other people, not necessarily family, but who could tell the difference, circled around her, chatting with each other, occasionally offering her a nod, or even the casual greeting.

"Sera! It's been too long!"
"It has, hasn't it? How have you been, (insert name here)?"
"Good, good, yes." (They then proceed to touch up on their business life. Nothing personal in the slightest.)
"I remember when you were just a little girl. Just seeing you grown up makes me feel old!"

But before Sera was allowed to carry on the conversation, one that resembled many conversations had in the past, the doorbell chimed, and she abruptly stood up.

"Excuse me for a second! So many guests!" She chuckled, turning lightly on her heel towards the door. When she arrived at the grand white door (so many things were white in her mother's house. white, and plain, and pure.), she rested her hand on the handle of the door, and like instinct, she unlocked, locked, unlocked, locked, and unlocked the door.

Five times.

Every time.

She slowly opened the door, and the surprise on the other side... caught her with full force.

"Oh."

The word was curt. Unwatched. Unguarded. It was like looking in a rude mirror, and she hated it.

"Hello there," she refused to let her uncomfortable position be reflected in her voice. The greeting was light, casual, and absolutely as normal as she could force it to be.
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I Summon thee from far away lands, come forth!

You called?

[/color]:[/b] Cait
Timezone: Central Standard Time

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