Nowhere Man [Russia]

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Friends | His friendships are commonly one-sided and not in favor of the other party, on account of him making his own decisions as to who he will claim as his friends. He is close to clueless on how to actually make and keep a friend, unable to tell the difference between right and wrong in his actions, and often ends up doing something he might not mean to. He sees potential friendship in just about anyone or anything he sets eyes upon, putting forth all efforts he can to get closer to them, but when such efforts tend to be forcing himself upon another and terrifying them away with strange yet blunt statements and brute actions, he will end up only with what he started with; no one at all. Members of the family are among the few people he could bear to see hurt, and as much as he hates to get hurt himself he will go out of his way to protect them and destroy anything that causes them harm.

Enemies | No nation can ever possibly get along with every other. And not every one whom counts him as an enemy does he consider an enemy in return. It can be hard to tell what he thinks of another person just by facial expressions and mannerisms, as the usual offhand smile can be present even around someone loathed, trying to remain unnervingly calm in situations where he shouldn't be. There is always the chance of repairing relations with anyone, though he is indeed prone to getting into arguments here and there and pointless tussles, but there aren't any nations to which he will keep a crude and grudging nature toward all the time. Though, still, causing harm to another preferably with the use of something other than bare hands is a strange delight, whether or not it is done for amusement. It is particularly satisfying to lash out on those he dislikes, though he is certainly not immune to receiving the same treatment himself, but will always do his best not to give the opponent the pleasure of knowing that they are causing him pain.

Romance | There can be little that will waver his mind when he has himself set on someone. He will do what he can to make sure this someone will end up belonging to him and him only, and said someone will have to be capable of putting up with someone so possessive, so easily made jealous and occasionally clingy if he needs to be.

America and Russia

Ohhhhhhh this one's gonna be a doozy. XD

So, Russia traded with the colonies early on, but I don't see much happening between Alfred and Ivan at that point. The way I see it, still being a colony/child, Arthur takes care of pretty much everything, and Alfred doesn't see much of the other nations early on.

It's the American Revolution when things start getting interesting. ^^

Now, Russia declared neutrality, but yet Catherine II took actions that seemed to be in favor of the colonies. England actually asked Russia for assistance, going so far as bribery by the looks of it, but rather than go with the bribe, Catherine II actually published the attempts at bribery and informed officials in France and Spain of the proceedings. Of course, something similar could happen with the nations themselves...but anyway, what I'm trying to say here is that Russia seemed pretty roundaboutly supportive of the colonies gaining their independence.

There was also the issue of the Civil War. Russia was actually cited as the only European power to give rhetorical support to the Union during the Civil War. Now, considering I depict Alfred as having a split personality during this time, only one side of him will be particularly pleased about the proceedings at the time, but overall I think Alfred will greatly appreciate that Russia declared support for the efforts to keep him whole (as Alfred sees it in the end). Their relations are described as 'very good' during this time, so...I'd say they'd get along pretty well?

Something else to note is the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. We actually have an Alaska on here, so that could be interesting (especially since Alaska holds a grudge against both Al and Ivan).

In 1900, the two were allied for the Boxer Rebellion...

And that about sums up the good relations before shit starts to take a turn downhill.

-Even has to click on an entirely different wikipedia page to do research on this part =P-

Considering the wikipedia goes so far as to state that "following the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, the US government was hostile to Soviet Russia," I'd say Alfred wasn't a big fan of Ivan from there on out. We're talking some pretty outright dislike here, considering the U.S. put an embargo on Soviet Russia and even secretly funded its enemies, apparently.

World War II, the two were on the same side. Sorta. XD Alfred I think would have viewed Ivan as an ally but not a friend at that point. It was essentially teaming up with the enemy to defeat what was considered to be a greater enemy. Still, tensions were there...I cite the infamous quote where Truman states that he doesn't care if a German soldier or Russian soldier dies, so long as one of them is losing.

...we're finally at the "fun" part, aren't we?

I almost forgot to mention something else about how Alfred would view Ivan throughout most of the 20th century. He doesn't like the guy, and he's made that much clear already (and I haven't even gotten into the Cold War yet), but yet I see a grudging respect. He may not like the guy, but he still sees him as a formidable foe.

Ahem. Without further adieu, the Cold War!

Alfred enjoys a few short years with a monopoly over the atomic bomb, until Ivan pops up going 'I GOT SOME TOO!' Enter the arms race, a battle of the brawn, and Alfred and Ivan basically glaring daggers at each other at every world meeting (if not worse). Another headcanon that I should note is that, in my head, only one other nation has been able to counteract Alfred's super strength with something similar...and I think you can probably guess who that is. I don't know if you see it the same way or not, but I think it makes sense, considering.

Gets worse in the 1960s, along with Alfred fully comprehending the scope of the situation during the Cuban Missile Crisis. That is when the idea of mutually assured destruction hits home for him, and he discovers the one thing that terrifies him more than ghosts. Don't know what would happen with Ivan during that time, though suffice to say, I think if either of them had a meeting during this tumultuous time they'd both have their poker faces turned on to the max.

There's also the space race, which we discussed doing a thread on! I'd certainly like to do that, but we need to figure out what. I do remember finding something a while back where the U.S. and Soviet Russia teamed up for a space venture in the middle of the 70s...that might be something worth looking into. Either that, or we could have Alfred spazzing out when he finds out Ivan launched Sputnik, or Ivan freaking out when he finds out Alfred's flag is on the moon. Plenty of opportunities here!

Oh God, there's so many opportunities during the Cold War in general...I don't think I could cover them all, if I hope to keep this all confined into one post. So...I think I'll leave that part off there. We know the general atmosphere during the Cold War, we know there are numerous events we can rp, and we have the internet to use to find things we can rp. Besides, I do want to get into their relationship now a little.

I still see there being hard feelings. Relations have not completely thawed, after all, and probably won't for a while. Regardless, the two can be in the same room without thinking about killing each other (huge step in the right direction), although they still greatly annoy each other. I know at the very least Alfred would purposely try to annoy Ivan by calling him commie. Yes, he knows that Russia is no longer communist, but...hey, this is his former enemy. Let him poke at the guy a little. Not like it's gonna start World War III, right?

Oh wait...

This won't be as long as Alfred's and Ivan's, even though there is a lot of history between these two. XD

Belarus and Russia

Essentially, there's a lot that happened between these two. Given that they're brother and sister, they go back quite a bit. I'm not sure whether to have the two of them meet when Belarus becomes a part of the Russian Empire or before then.

Being passed from country to country before she ends up with the Russian Empire, I can see why she'd want to cling to Ivan once she finally got to him. She finally sees some stability, and wants to keep that all for herself. The formation of the Soviet Union only makes that worse.

She's an independent republic now, but recently so, and I see her having conflicting emotions now. She very much prides herself on the image of being a strong woman, but she's so used to being part of other countries' empires that she's still struggling. She's also still incredibly close to Ivan and Ukraine...though that goes without saying.

If we go by canon...well, we know how that goes. XD Natalya is so bluntly forceful when it comes to Ivan that she scares even him (and that's a feat in itself). At the same time, though, as twisted as it is, it's a testament to how much loyalty she feels toward him. Ivan is probably the most important person in her life, with Ukraine as a VERY close second. It's a messed up relationship...but it's one of Belarus' only close ones, and she's going to do her best to make sure she doesn't lose it.

Paris will be in a separated account for plottan, but for now...

[atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=vAlign,top][atrb=style, width: 300px; background-color: FFFFF7; border-right: 1px dashed #333333; border-left: 1px dashed #333333;][style=padding: 10px; background-color: #333333; text-align: center; color: #f0f0f0; text-transform: uppercase; font-family: georgia; font-size: 22px;]♔ SHANGHAI & RUSSIA[/style][style=background-color: fffff7; padding: 20px; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 9px; line-height: 95%; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/5o6Ig.png); text-align: justify;]China. Basically, if Russia and China are kahoots (one way or another), then there's no way he can avoid China's biggest city, Shanghai. Of course, despite how Shanghai caters for the Russian Jews when Russia is still in the Soviet Union, she also became a communist thanks to Russia. Asides that... there's also the Opium war and the actual plot I'll leave for China himself. But, back on the case. Shanghai. Deadly scared of Russia. Unlike more Europeans where she is very brave and not scared to banter them, she seems to be quite a scaredy cat when Russia is around and goes 'Ogawd, where do I hide, I can't fight THAT!' mode on him. She doesn't hate him or anything, but maybe it's just a self-registered fear of the big guy because either he's one of the biggest or because he has connections with China or something along the lines. She's not exactly scared of him like the Baltics do but she's very much going to keep her back in check just in case, y'know. Otherwise, I think she doesn't really have anything else to hate on him or anything. Ten cents of thoughts or anything to add? [/style]

[atrb=width,410px,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,border:5px solid #050505; background-color:#0b0b09; padding:5px][style=background-color:#161612; border:8px solid #161612; float:right; height:100px; width:100px][/style][style=padding-top:4px; height:20px; border-bottom:8px solid #161612; font-family:georgia; font-style:italic; font-size:28px; letter-spacing:-2px; color:#435e49; text-shadow:#000000 1px 1px 2px; text-align:center; text-transform:lowercase]Caroline De Beaumont[/style][style=border-top:1px dashed #142113; background-color:#050505; font-size:10px; font-family:courier new; text-align:center; letter-spacing:-1px; color:#7d7d7d]My real face which I seem to have forgotten.[/style] [style=margin-top:-21px; width:260px; background-color:#050505; border:1px dashed #142113; padding:3px; font-size:10px; color:#7d7d7d] ► CAPITAL: PARIS ► SEXUALITY: HETEROSEXUAL ► GENDER: FEMALE[/style] [style=margin-top:-30px; height:20px; border-bottom:8px solid #161612; font-family:georgia; font-style:italic; font-size:28px; letter-spacing:-2px; color:#435e49; text-shadow:#000000 1px 1px 2px; text-align:right; text-transform:lowercase]To Russia,[/style][style=border:1px dashed #142113; background-color:#050505; font-size:10px; text-align:justify; padding:3px; color:#7d7d7d]► The actual history plot, I'll leave that to France to figure that out. But it is safe to say that since France and Russia both have the good-bad relationship, I think this merits for Paris to be involve as well, considering the French Invasion also comes to play. But, again, I'll leave the history-wise to the other half. Well, in retrospect, I think the French Invasion didn't go well as planned since Russia won. Who knows? Paris, back then, will probably be involved somewhere along the war (disguise as a man, no less) though, mostly she'll just aid France because she has to. But I don't think their relationship's all too much antagonistic; as long as Russia doesn't do anything bad to France, I think Caroline can be pretty nice and polite to Russia after all. Probably a lukewarm thing. And, considering, Paris is a little bit scared of Napoleon, but.... Ten cents of thoughts? [/style]