App for Monad
Feb. 26th, 2015 03:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
btw_theymean_noOOC Information
IC Information
Name: Chet
Timezone: PST
Journal:lorelessmoon
Player Contact:
•AIM: wuldorbane
•Plurk: Guilen
•Skype: worldisdespair
Timezone: PST
Journal:
lorelessmoonPlayer Contact:
•AIM: wuldorbane
•Plurk: Guilen
•Skype: worldisdespair
IC Information
Name: Kiku Honda (Japan)
Canon: Axis Powers Hetalia
Gender: Male
Age: unknown, probably ~2675. Physically he appears to be in his late twenties or early thirties
History:
•Wiki history
•Hetalia info
Personality:Japan is a reserved Nation, quiet and introverted. He doesn't stand out in a crowd, more likely to blend into the background, and that's how he prefers it. The nail that sticks out will be hammered down, after all. He'd rather observe and assimilate, taking in what is going on around him instead of actively taking a part. If he's asked his opinion, he'll usually just state he agrees with whomever has the most popular, or perhaps just most dominant, opinion. Most often recently, this has tended to be America.
That doesn't mean Japan has no opinions about things, though. He actually has quite a lot of thoughts about just about everything, it's simply that he likes to keep them to himself, especially in large groups. Japan tends to be a conformist, so he doesn't often say what he is thinking, trying instead to say what he thinks others would want to hear. He really doesn't like to be the center of attention, and he would never choose to raise his voice in opinion, above all if it happens to be dissenting. It's easier for him to go with the flow and bring up concerns to individuals later.
Even so, he isn't likely to argue with others, and his insults are usually hidden by an appearance of politeness or thoughtlessness. He tries to be agreeable at all times, couching his arguments with might bes, possiblies, and difficulties, bringing things up in terms of generalities instead of stating them as his own opinions. And usually he won't even confront the person he disagrees with, choosing to go to a third party to state his thoughts. In the end, though, he'd rather let disagreement lie and move on. This sometimes gets him in trouble, for he prefers to completely ignore his own wrongdoings, causing rough spots in some of his relationships with other Nations.
Japan lives by the phrase 'go along to get along,' and it's simply easier to do as everyone agrees and keep his comments quiet. Sometimes this is a bad thing, as he'll feel forced to do something he doesn't want to do, but it can be good as well. Japan is a master cooperator, and that can shine through in such situations. To avoid conflicts, he often uses his politeness as a defense mechanism when he doesn't know how to react to a situation.
Manners are extremely important to Japan. He has a hard time getting along with people who aren't polite, although they might never know it. He's more likely to think poorly of an ill-mannered person, but he would rarely allow that to change his own behavior. If anything, it'll make him more likely to agree with them, in the hopes of being able to withdraw from the situation more quickly. He's always courteous himself and tries to never be inconsiderate or offensive, and will do his best to respect others' traditions when he visits their countries, even if it means pushing himself out of his comfort zone.
Although he thinks of himself as unchanging, and old grandpa stuck in his ways, Japan is actually very adaptable. He picks up new things very quickly and easily incorporates them into his life. In fact, he was the first Asian Nation to modernize to the West's standards in the 19th century, despite having been almost a total recluse for over two hundred years before that.
However, Japan has a general attitude of taking only the good or useful components of things he borrows from other Nations, changing them to fit his own needs and ideas. When China taught him to write, he took the characters he was taught and derived two syllabic writing systems from them, more fit for his own language. Thus he's a very modern Nation, with all the trappings of 21st century society, despite still seeming peculiar to others. He has a great enthusiasm for learning new things, and he is diligent about perfecting them. He continues to work at things until he perfects them, and learns best by rout and practice. He is more than willing take instruction. If there's something that he thinks would be useful, he puts all his energy into mastering it. However, he often only takes elements he finds interesting, useful, or relevant. When he borrows other people's customs, he changes them to suit his own purposes.
There are many things other Nations find odd about him, but Japan thinks himself quite ordinary. He tends to do things in ways different from others, but looks at his own traditions and idiosyncrasies as the typical way things are done. Really, he thinks he's normal, and it's the other Nations who do things strangely. He's skeptical of other Nation's abilities to do things correctly, when they visit, but equally finds himself bewildered at how to act around others, trying to change his behaviors when corrected by them but largely finding it overwhelming.
Japan is a very clever and capable Nation, a hard worker who does any job he takes on thoroughly. He loves thinking up solutions to things, so though he may not put forth his own ideas in the moment, if you were to ask him later, he would probably have one. If not, he'll earnestly work to come up with one. Despite that, he sees himself as easily discouraged by difficulties, and often feels like things might be impossible to overcome. That doesn't stop him from trying, however. He will diligently work at whatever tasks he's set for himself. Japan is very industrious, and can efficiently produce things in large quantities, as long as he has the resources to do so. If he agrees to do something (or more likely, feels pressured into doing it) he can be relied upon to get it done.
Japan tends to defer to others, even if he thinks he knows best. He can be supremely indirect, to the point where he often comes off as passive because people aren't able to understand his 'no's. He doesn't like to commit to things verbally, although his arguments are often not understood or ignored by others. Because he is so circumspect with his words, he gives off the impression that he is hesitant when really it's just his manner to talk around subjects. He may seem self-defacing, critiquing himself constantly and often comparing himself unfavorably to others, but it's important to him to appear humble and not ever come off as big-headed. He is often vague, for reasons ranging from avoiding giving a negative answer to covering a lack of knowledge to feeling that vagueness is simply more polite.
In some ways, Japan comes off as a contradiction. He loves quiet, contemplative activities like nature gazing, tea ceremonies, and taking walks, but is equally comfortable in a huge crowd or noisy game center. He claims to be religious, Shinto at birth and Buddhist at death, but really neither affect his day-to-day life. He can be extremely stylish, having all the latest fashions and being a trend-setter in music and entertainment, but he loves his old, battered things for the history they contain. Although he believes wholeheartedly in progress, Japan is still very traditional in many ways. Even though he's having trouble seeing spirits lately he still believes in the spirit world, and he also believes in luck, charms, and fortune telling. He has a nostalgic longing for the past and for the countryside way of life, and has a love for natural things. He enjoys taking the time to see the sad and bittersweet sides of things.
Though he wants to have friends, Japan has a hard time making them. While not exactly shy, he often has difficulty approaching people on a personal level and has trouble knowing how to react to people with overpowering personalities. He usually resorts to gift-giving to try to work things out, falling back on the nuance of his own traditions. He can be easily flustered, though he generally takes pains to attempt to hide it, with varying levels of success. He really isn't accustomed to physical interactions with others, and although he is slowly growing used to it due to all his interactions with the Western Nations, it still makes him extremely uncomfortable. Japan is more likely to show his closeness to someone through the ability to spend time quietly with them.
Above all, Japan greatly dislikes being embarrassed, and especially dislikes other people to see his embarrassment. He has a hard time time accepting compliments and even more trouble praising himself. He hates looking foolish, although he can be flustered fairly easily when trying to deal with things he doesn't understand, and so he usually tries to hide it as best he can with a polite facade. He tries to hide embarrassing things from his past, so threatening to tell others about it often works as effective bribe against him.
Japan follows a rather strict set of rules for his self conduct, and generally he's the only one who truly understands them. He has a rather stringent code of honor, and he believes in taking responsibility for one's own actions and that one should take the consequences upon oneself. He enjoys activities that take a lot of concentration and repetition, especially as a way to center himself. He enjoys having structure and rules to follow, and often gives routines to activities, even to the point where they becoming nearly ritualistic.
When it comes to entertainment, Kiku's interests are quite varied. He enjoys horror films, especially those that are creepy and suspenseful, and that deal with the supernatural. He has a big appetite, especially for his own food, and he enjoys drinking, and while he can drink a lot, he usually won't do so in front of others. While he loves traditional plays and music, he's also a fan of pop idols and dramas. He likes comics, anime, and cute, fluffy things. For comedy, he enjoys puns and wordplay, variety shows, comedic duos, jokes that can be repeated endlessly, and things that are outright odd. Although he enjoys foreign films and tv shows occasionally, over all he prefers those he produces himself.
Powers/Abilities: Being a Nation, Japan is exceptionally long-lived and has a very quick healing rate. He is virtually unkillable - anything that Japan as a country can recover from, Japan-as-Nation will ultimately survive. He can revive from anything that kills his body but doesn't destroy the country.
Through long study and training, Japan is a master at various martial arts and is quite skilled with both bow and sword.
In more mundane skills, Japan is a good artist, strong in math, and good with electronics. He likes cooking, cleaning, and traditional Japanese arts. He's very good at making scale models of things and things that are cute.
Keepsakes/Mementos:
•Green tea, miso, and white rice
•An old set of tea cups and a kettle
•Miku Hatsune figure and/or body pillow
•Art supplies for drawing manga
•Video games and system (Nintendo or Playstation)
•Anime merch
•His dog Pochi or a facsimile
Sample:
Pain.
The first notice Japan had was a sharp pain in his side. For all appearances, it was a typical Thursday morning. There was a hint of spring in the air, but it was still cool enough that Japan had put on his overcoat before he'd ventured outside. Vehicles passed by on the road as the sidewalk swarmed with salarymen, schoolchildren, shoppers, and the myriad others on their way through the busy downtown area.
Pain.
The pain knocked him from the flow of his thoughts, the quiet stream of meetings to attend, groceries to buy, and anime he may or may not have time for after everything else was settled. It took his breath away, doubling him over in the middle crowd as he gasped and fought to right himself. A few children stopped to stare, and a handful of adults turned a curious gaze his way, but everyone continues along the street and he worked to pull himself together and get back on track.
Pain.
With a sudden shock, his knee gave out on him, and Japan collapsed onto the pavement. The throng parted around him, caught up in their own agendas, everyone busy to reach their destinations. A few whispers reached his ears, and he is vaguely aware of a girl in gal dress complaining loudly to a companion, "Tch, what a nuisance." Here, out in the city, Japan is just another citizen, no one aware it is their country they pass by.
Japan righted himself on shaky legs, one all but unable to support him, and pulled himself to the wall of a nearby building. If he could just take a moment to compose himself, he would be fine.
Pain.
Just like that there was chaos in the street, surrounding him. It was hard to make sense of it, at first. There was noise and light, and a weak shock wave rocked through the crowd. There were screams of surprise, and, just barely audible, the sound of a distant siren. Everyone had stopped, looking around in consternation and trying to make sense of what had happened.
Japan couldn't say who had spotted it first. It seemed one moment was confusion, and the next all were turned to face the telltale cloud, just rising and still largely blocked by skyscrapers. There was a moment, stretched infinite, when everything seemed to come to a halt. The clattering sound of someone's dropped cell phone broke the horrified stupor, and everyone was running pellmell, to, away, anywhere just to be doing something.
Pain.
A rush of adrenaline has Japan heading back the way he had come from originally, his heart pounding, a stumbling run. There was a plan for this. He was supposed to be home, fielding calls from affected cities, calming his prefectures, sending citizens to safety, summoning a defense, gathering rescue crews to help once the dust settled. His boss would arrive soon with a report, determining who had sent the attack, how many targets there had been, what formal declarations of war might have been brought against him...
Pain.
Japan had to stop briefly to catch his breath. He couldn't feel his right arm anymore, and refused to examine it. Worrying about himself would come after he had taken care of his people.
His house wasn't far now. He pushed himself the last few blocks and opened the gate with his shaking left hand. His whole body ached and he could do no better than a stumbling gait to the front door. A lone aide stood inside the entryway, shifting nervously but trying his best to keep his composure. "Japan-san," the man addressed him, holding out a stack of papers with both hands. "Although it's an unfortunate circumstance, I'm pleased to meet you. I'm called Ebinuma."
"Please hold onto those," Japan didn't ask where his boss was. Either he couldn't be spared, even for protocol's sake, or this man was the most senior to make it, and thereby his unofficial boss. It didn't matter. "For such a terrible occasion, certainly it would be better to discuss this seated."
Ebinuma bowed, waiting for Japan to take off his shoes and enter the house before working off his own shoes, saying a soft, "pardon the intrusion," before following him inside, emergency not breaking habit.
Pain.
Japan came around on the floor of the hallway, Ebinuma supporting him. He tried to heave himself to his feet, but instead started coughing uncontrollably.
"Please, Japan-san," Ebinuma said when Japan's coughing spasm stopped, "if it isn't too presumptuous, allow me to help you."
With a nod, Japan allowed himself to be pulled upright, Ebinuma taking his weight as he directed him with a small hand-gesture into the sitting room. Once he had been settled onto the couch, Ebinuma spread the papers out on the table before him.
Leaning over to read, Japan caught sight on his sleeve, blackened by his fit. He remembered that from last time, too, coughing up black phlegm for days. Ignore it, there were important matters at hand.
North Korea was emblazoned on top of one sheet, a list of six cities and nothing else on another (though he could suppose a seventh would need to be added), other sheets with statistics, plans, contingencies, officials, anything that might be needed. He picked up the first sheet.
The rest of the sheet was a lot of bluster, a list of grievances and ultimatums. It all came down to revenge for the difficulties in their relationship for the last hundred years. In a way, it shouldn't even be surprising. North Korea had been threatening him with a nuclear attack for so long now. But Japan had always thought it was posturing. Although it was unfortunate anyone felt the need to keep their nuclear weapons, he had assumed no country in their right mind would ever use them, after the example that had been set last time. Visitors to his memorial museums could see the horror of it for themselves, his citizens spoke many places around the world about it. He had thought the nations stood in solidarity with him, never again.
But none of that accounted for North Korea.
"For an unprovoked attack, certainly we must contact America-san and the others immediately," Japan said, settling to the task at hand, Ebinuma nodding along and making notes. "The defense force must be sent out to intercept any foreign aircraft, our airspace closed to all traffic, citizens must be evacuated from the cities-"
Pain.
Japan isn't able to continue, pain like nothing before wracking his body. He turns his head to look out the window, and his house is on fire around him. The last thing he sees is the tree outside, black as charcoal. He isn't aware of anything more.
Mindset: How does your character react to the world? How much of their death do they remember? Do they think this is all normal? A believable afterlife? A dream? Do they react calmly, or will they panic?
While Japan will accept that he has died, as Nations do now and again, he will be in intentional denial about the method of his death. If pressed, he'll remember some sensations about it, but he'd prefer not to dwell on it at all. At least, on a personal level, for he'll still remember his people who died with him and the terrible manner of their deaths, and grieve for them instead.
This won't be at all the afterlife Japan was expecting, but the thought of a digital afterlife will be intriguing to him.
G̶̶l̨͡i̵͢t̷c͝͠h̕é͠s̷̷͡: Japan loves scary stories and horror games, so things of that sort won't get under his skin. Instead, interpersonal relationships are his greatest weakness. He sometimes gets sucked into other people's paces, and when it comes to people with flamboyant personalities, he can be easily overwhelmed to the point where he'll withdraw to find some peace. If he gets sucked into the pace of someone more relaxed, however, he can almost lose himself and become a copy of the other person.
Japan is afraid of being unable to get along with people. He wants people to like him, but doesn't have confidence that he's interesting enough for people to pay attention to him.
Close physical interaction is very difficult for Japan, and he can easily freeze up when people are in his personal space.
His ambitions have previously gotten him into a lot of trouble, so Japan worries about over-stepping his abilities again. He hates to be confronted with reminders of what he did in those times, and would prefer if it were forgotten entirely.
Japan hates confrontation, and would prefer to have everything go smoothly. He also hates having to be direct, and prefers to talk around subjects that make him uncomfortable.
Although he's well known to be interested in games and manga, Japan would be ashamed if anyone were to label him an otaku for it.
Food that is weird colors, textures, or consistencies freak him out, and he really, really doesn't like cockroaches.
Canon: Axis Powers Hetalia
Gender: Male
Age: unknown, probably ~2675. Physically he appears to be in his late twenties or early thirties
History:
•Wiki history
•Hetalia info
Personality:Japan is a reserved Nation, quiet and introverted. He doesn't stand out in a crowd, more likely to blend into the background, and that's how he prefers it. The nail that sticks out will be hammered down, after all. He'd rather observe and assimilate, taking in what is going on around him instead of actively taking a part. If he's asked his opinion, he'll usually just state he agrees with whomever has the most popular, or perhaps just most dominant, opinion. Most often recently, this has tended to be America.
That doesn't mean Japan has no opinions about things, though. He actually has quite a lot of thoughts about just about everything, it's simply that he likes to keep them to himself, especially in large groups. Japan tends to be a conformist, so he doesn't often say what he is thinking, trying instead to say what he thinks others would want to hear. He really doesn't like to be the center of attention, and he would never choose to raise his voice in opinion, above all if it happens to be dissenting. It's easier for him to go with the flow and bring up concerns to individuals later.
Even so, he isn't likely to argue with others, and his insults are usually hidden by an appearance of politeness or thoughtlessness. He tries to be agreeable at all times, couching his arguments with might bes, possiblies, and difficulties, bringing things up in terms of generalities instead of stating them as his own opinions. And usually he won't even confront the person he disagrees with, choosing to go to a third party to state his thoughts. In the end, though, he'd rather let disagreement lie and move on. This sometimes gets him in trouble, for he prefers to completely ignore his own wrongdoings, causing rough spots in some of his relationships with other Nations.
Japan lives by the phrase 'go along to get along,' and it's simply easier to do as everyone agrees and keep his comments quiet. Sometimes this is a bad thing, as he'll feel forced to do something he doesn't want to do, but it can be good as well. Japan is a master cooperator, and that can shine through in such situations. To avoid conflicts, he often uses his politeness as a defense mechanism when he doesn't know how to react to a situation.
Manners are extremely important to Japan. He has a hard time getting along with people who aren't polite, although they might never know it. He's more likely to think poorly of an ill-mannered person, but he would rarely allow that to change his own behavior. If anything, it'll make him more likely to agree with them, in the hopes of being able to withdraw from the situation more quickly. He's always courteous himself and tries to never be inconsiderate or offensive, and will do his best to respect others' traditions when he visits their countries, even if it means pushing himself out of his comfort zone.
Although he thinks of himself as unchanging, and old grandpa stuck in his ways, Japan is actually very adaptable. He picks up new things very quickly and easily incorporates them into his life. In fact, he was the first Asian Nation to modernize to the West's standards in the 19th century, despite having been almost a total recluse for over two hundred years before that.
However, Japan has a general attitude of taking only the good or useful components of things he borrows from other Nations, changing them to fit his own needs and ideas. When China taught him to write, he took the characters he was taught and derived two syllabic writing systems from them, more fit for his own language. Thus he's a very modern Nation, with all the trappings of 21st century society, despite still seeming peculiar to others. He has a great enthusiasm for learning new things, and he is diligent about perfecting them. He continues to work at things until he perfects them, and learns best by rout and practice. He is more than willing take instruction. If there's something that he thinks would be useful, he puts all his energy into mastering it. However, he often only takes elements he finds interesting, useful, or relevant. When he borrows other people's customs, he changes them to suit his own purposes.
There are many things other Nations find odd about him, but Japan thinks himself quite ordinary. He tends to do things in ways different from others, but looks at his own traditions and idiosyncrasies as the typical way things are done. Really, he thinks he's normal, and it's the other Nations who do things strangely. He's skeptical of other Nation's abilities to do things correctly, when they visit, but equally finds himself bewildered at how to act around others, trying to change his behaviors when corrected by them but largely finding it overwhelming.
Japan is a very clever and capable Nation, a hard worker who does any job he takes on thoroughly. He loves thinking up solutions to things, so though he may not put forth his own ideas in the moment, if you were to ask him later, he would probably have one. If not, he'll earnestly work to come up with one. Despite that, he sees himself as easily discouraged by difficulties, and often feels like things might be impossible to overcome. That doesn't stop him from trying, however. He will diligently work at whatever tasks he's set for himself. Japan is very industrious, and can efficiently produce things in large quantities, as long as he has the resources to do so. If he agrees to do something (or more likely, feels pressured into doing it) he can be relied upon to get it done.
Japan tends to defer to others, even if he thinks he knows best. He can be supremely indirect, to the point where he often comes off as passive because people aren't able to understand his 'no's. He doesn't like to commit to things verbally, although his arguments are often not understood or ignored by others. Because he is so circumspect with his words, he gives off the impression that he is hesitant when really it's just his manner to talk around subjects. He may seem self-defacing, critiquing himself constantly and often comparing himself unfavorably to others, but it's important to him to appear humble and not ever come off as big-headed. He is often vague, for reasons ranging from avoiding giving a negative answer to covering a lack of knowledge to feeling that vagueness is simply more polite.
In some ways, Japan comes off as a contradiction. He loves quiet, contemplative activities like nature gazing, tea ceremonies, and taking walks, but is equally comfortable in a huge crowd or noisy game center. He claims to be religious, Shinto at birth and Buddhist at death, but really neither affect his day-to-day life. He can be extremely stylish, having all the latest fashions and being a trend-setter in music and entertainment, but he loves his old, battered things for the history they contain. Although he believes wholeheartedly in progress, Japan is still very traditional in many ways. Even though he's having trouble seeing spirits lately he still believes in the spirit world, and he also believes in luck, charms, and fortune telling. He has a nostalgic longing for the past and for the countryside way of life, and has a love for natural things. He enjoys taking the time to see the sad and bittersweet sides of things.
Though he wants to have friends, Japan has a hard time making them. While not exactly shy, he often has difficulty approaching people on a personal level and has trouble knowing how to react to people with overpowering personalities. He usually resorts to gift-giving to try to work things out, falling back on the nuance of his own traditions. He can be easily flustered, though he generally takes pains to attempt to hide it, with varying levels of success. He really isn't accustomed to physical interactions with others, and although he is slowly growing used to it due to all his interactions with the Western Nations, it still makes him extremely uncomfortable. Japan is more likely to show his closeness to someone through the ability to spend time quietly with them.
Above all, Japan greatly dislikes being embarrassed, and especially dislikes other people to see his embarrassment. He has a hard time time accepting compliments and even more trouble praising himself. He hates looking foolish, although he can be flustered fairly easily when trying to deal with things he doesn't understand, and so he usually tries to hide it as best he can with a polite facade. He tries to hide embarrassing things from his past, so threatening to tell others about it often works as effective bribe against him.
Japan follows a rather strict set of rules for his self conduct, and generally he's the only one who truly understands them. He has a rather stringent code of honor, and he believes in taking responsibility for one's own actions and that one should take the consequences upon oneself. He enjoys activities that take a lot of concentration and repetition, especially as a way to center himself. He enjoys having structure and rules to follow, and often gives routines to activities, even to the point where they becoming nearly ritualistic.
When it comes to entertainment, Kiku's interests are quite varied. He enjoys horror films, especially those that are creepy and suspenseful, and that deal with the supernatural. He has a big appetite, especially for his own food, and he enjoys drinking, and while he can drink a lot, he usually won't do so in front of others. While he loves traditional plays and music, he's also a fan of pop idols and dramas. He likes comics, anime, and cute, fluffy things. For comedy, he enjoys puns and wordplay, variety shows, comedic duos, jokes that can be repeated endlessly, and things that are outright odd. Although he enjoys foreign films and tv shows occasionally, over all he prefers those he produces himself.
Powers/Abilities: Being a Nation, Japan is exceptionally long-lived and has a very quick healing rate. He is virtually unkillable - anything that Japan as a country can recover from, Japan-as-Nation will ultimately survive. He can revive from anything that kills his body but doesn't destroy the country.
Through long study and training, Japan is a master at various martial arts and is quite skilled with both bow and sword.
In more mundane skills, Japan is a good artist, strong in math, and good with electronics. He likes cooking, cleaning, and traditional Japanese arts. He's very good at making scale models of things and things that are cute.
Keepsakes/Mementos:
•Green tea, miso, and white rice
•An old set of tea cups and a kettle
•Miku Hatsune figure and/or body pillow
•Art supplies for drawing manga
•Video games and system (Nintendo or Playstation)
•Anime merch
•His dog Pochi or a facsimile
Sample:
Pain.
The first notice Japan had was a sharp pain in his side. For all appearances, it was a typical Thursday morning. There was a hint of spring in the air, but it was still cool enough that Japan had put on his overcoat before he'd ventured outside. Vehicles passed by on the road as the sidewalk swarmed with salarymen, schoolchildren, shoppers, and the myriad others on their way through the busy downtown area.
Pain.
The pain knocked him from the flow of his thoughts, the quiet stream of meetings to attend, groceries to buy, and anime he may or may not have time for after everything else was settled. It took his breath away, doubling him over in the middle crowd as he gasped and fought to right himself. A few children stopped to stare, and a handful of adults turned a curious gaze his way, but everyone continues along the street and he worked to pull himself together and get back on track.
Pain.
With a sudden shock, his knee gave out on him, and Japan collapsed onto the pavement. The throng parted around him, caught up in their own agendas, everyone busy to reach their destinations. A few whispers reached his ears, and he is vaguely aware of a girl in gal dress complaining loudly to a companion, "Tch, what a nuisance." Here, out in the city, Japan is just another citizen, no one aware it is their country they pass by.
Japan righted himself on shaky legs, one all but unable to support him, and pulled himself to the wall of a nearby building. If he could just take a moment to compose himself, he would be fine.
Pain.
Just like that there was chaos in the street, surrounding him. It was hard to make sense of it, at first. There was noise and light, and a weak shock wave rocked through the crowd. There were screams of surprise, and, just barely audible, the sound of a distant siren. Everyone had stopped, looking around in consternation and trying to make sense of what had happened.
Japan couldn't say who had spotted it first. It seemed one moment was confusion, and the next all were turned to face the telltale cloud, just rising and still largely blocked by skyscrapers. There was a moment, stretched infinite, when everything seemed to come to a halt. The clattering sound of someone's dropped cell phone broke the horrified stupor, and everyone was running pellmell, to, away, anywhere just to be doing something.
Pain.
A rush of adrenaline has Japan heading back the way he had come from originally, his heart pounding, a stumbling run. There was a plan for this. He was supposed to be home, fielding calls from affected cities, calming his prefectures, sending citizens to safety, summoning a defense, gathering rescue crews to help once the dust settled. His boss would arrive soon with a report, determining who had sent the attack, how many targets there had been, what formal declarations of war might have been brought against him...
Pain.
Japan had to stop briefly to catch his breath. He couldn't feel his right arm anymore, and refused to examine it. Worrying about himself would come after he had taken care of his people.
His house wasn't far now. He pushed himself the last few blocks and opened the gate with his shaking left hand. His whole body ached and he could do no better than a stumbling gait to the front door. A lone aide stood inside the entryway, shifting nervously but trying his best to keep his composure. "Japan-san," the man addressed him, holding out a stack of papers with both hands. "Although it's an unfortunate circumstance, I'm pleased to meet you. I'm called Ebinuma."
"Please hold onto those," Japan didn't ask where his boss was. Either he couldn't be spared, even for protocol's sake, or this man was the most senior to make it, and thereby his unofficial boss. It didn't matter. "For such a terrible occasion, certainly it would be better to discuss this seated."
Ebinuma bowed, waiting for Japan to take off his shoes and enter the house before working off his own shoes, saying a soft, "pardon the intrusion," before following him inside, emergency not breaking habit.
Pain.
Japan came around on the floor of the hallway, Ebinuma supporting him. He tried to heave himself to his feet, but instead started coughing uncontrollably.
"Please, Japan-san," Ebinuma said when Japan's coughing spasm stopped, "if it isn't too presumptuous, allow me to help you."
With a nod, Japan allowed himself to be pulled upright, Ebinuma taking his weight as he directed him with a small hand-gesture into the sitting room. Once he had been settled onto the couch, Ebinuma spread the papers out on the table before him.
Leaning over to read, Japan caught sight on his sleeve, blackened by his fit. He remembered that from last time, too, coughing up black phlegm for days. Ignore it, there were important matters at hand.
North Korea was emblazoned on top of one sheet, a list of six cities and nothing else on another (though he could suppose a seventh would need to be added), other sheets with statistics, plans, contingencies, officials, anything that might be needed. He picked up the first sheet.
The rest of the sheet was a lot of bluster, a list of grievances and ultimatums. It all came down to revenge for the difficulties in their relationship for the last hundred years. In a way, it shouldn't even be surprising. North Korea had been threatening him with a nuclear attack for so long now. But Japan had always thought it was posturing. Although it was unfortunate anyone felt the need to keep their nuclear weapons, he had assumed no country in their right mind would ever use them, after the example that had been set last time. Visitors to his memorial museums could see the horror of it for themselves, his citizens spoke many places around the world about it. He had thought the nations stood in solidarity with him, never again.
But none of that accounted for North Korea.
"For an unprovoked attack, certainly we must contact America-san and the others immediately," Japan said, settling to the task at hand, Ebinuma nodding along and making notes. "The defense force must be sent out to intercept any foreign aircraft, our airspace closed to all traffic, citizens must be evacuated from the cities-"
Pain.
Japan isn't able to continue, pain like nothing before wracking his body. He turns his head to look out the window, and his house is on fire around him. The last thing he sees is the tree outside, black as charcoal. He isn't aware of anything more.
Mindset: How does your character react to the world? How much of their death do they remember? Do they think this is all normal? A believable afterlife? A dream? Do they react calmly, or will they panic?
While Japan will accept that he has died, as Nations do now and again, he will be in intentional denial about the method of his death. If pressed, he'll remember some sensations about it, but he'd prefer not to dwell on it at all. At least, on a personal level, for he'll still remember his people who died with him and the terrible manner of their deaths, and grieve for them instead.
This won't be at all the afterlife Japan was expecting, but the thought of a digital afterlife will be intriguing to him.
G̶̶l̨͡i̵͢t̷c͝͠h̕é͠s̷̷͡: Japan loves scary stories and horror games, so things of that sort won't get under his skin. Instead, interpersonal relationships are his greatest weakness. He sometimes gets sucked into other people's paces, and when it comes to people with flamboyant personalities, he can be easily overwhelmed to the point where he'll withdraw to find some peace. If he gets sucked into the pace of someone more relaxed, however, he can almost lose himself and become a copy of the other person.
Japan is afraid of being unable to get along with people. He wants people to like him, but doesn't have confidence that he's interesting enough for people to pay attention to him.
Close physical interaction is very difficult for Japan, and he can easily freeze up when people are in his personal space.
His ambitions have previously gotten him into a lot of trouble, so Japan worries about over-stepping his abilities again. He hates to be confronted with reminders of what he did in those times, and would prefer if it were forgotten entirely.
Japan hates confrontation, and would prefer to have everything go smoothly. He also hates having to be direct, and prefers to talk around subjects that make him uncomfortable.
Although he's well known to be interested in games and manga, Japan would be ashamed if anyone were to label him an otaku for it.
Food that is weird colors, textures, or consistencies freak him out, and he really, really doesn't like cockroaches.
