ataraxion app with zodion memories

[fourseasons]

P L A Y E R   I N F O R M A T I O N
Your Name: Ashley
OOC Journal: cardioid
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: Nope
Email + IM: chrysanthemumhero@gmail.com (email) | shemurai (aim)
Characters Played at Ataraxion: Used to play Japan a while back! N/A now.

C H A R A C T E R   I N F O R M A T I O N
Name: Japan
Canon: Axis Powers Hetalia
Original or Alternate Universe: AU (Previous game history)
Canon Point: 1933 (+7 in game months)
Number: 049 (if not, then random is fine!)

Setting: Here.
History:

Because Japan is so old and has so much history, I know I'll be very vague in certain areas. I personally believe those areas that I don't touch on as much don't have as heavy as an impact on his personality or goals as the other things that I mention (they still have an impact!! just not as much), but if you'd like an expansion on anything in particular please feel free to ask!

The early years of Japan were definitely years of growth, with heavy influence from China. In canon it's shown as China finding Japan in the forest and adopting him as a younger brother, teaching him his ways, and essentially that's what happens. Japan takes many things from China (who takes notice of Japan when he wants to brag, but otherwise doesn't pay much mind for a long time) without much grattitude. This comes to a height in the Heian period (794-1185), where Japan is shown to really "age" as a nation. Japan begins to truly stand on its own two feet in a sense, and the increase of things like Buddhism, Taoism, and other things from Chinese culture show that Chinese influence was at its height. The Heian period was named for "peace and tranquility," which might reflect all of the art and poetry that came from it.

The end of the Heian period however was a shift in power from the Emperor and his court nobles to the heads of warrior families. In other words, the beginning of the shogunate. Though Japan continued to keep things like its Emperor as a sign of tradition and stubbornness, the power did not stay there, and went heavily with whoever could carve out the land themselves with their strong sword skills.

This kind of warrior-led government continued for quite a long time. Meanwhile Japan dealt with things like the attempted invasion of the mongols and the typhoon that stopped that, a renewed interest in Shintoism as well as Western influence from countries like Portugal, and a large impact from Christianity. But a country lead by a warrior class could only go so long before conflict, and so came the Sengoku period, or the Warring states period (which takes place in late Muromachi period from 1467-1573). It was a period of social upheaval and pretty much continuous military conflict that lasted over a century and a half until it became very close to being unified by Oda Nobunaga. However, Nobunaga was betrayed by one of his own generals, Mitsuhide. This provided the chance for Hideyoshi, Nobunaga's successor, to come into power over the rest of the daimyo and rule for 16 years before passing away. Once again the country faced plenty of political turmoil and conflict until Tokugawa Ieyasu took advantage of the situation and was able to establish Japan's final shogunate which would last until the end of the Meiji restoration.

Before Meiji, though, was the Edo period. Essentially the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate, and most importantly the period that includes the Sakoku time of Japan, or the time where he was in seclusion. This is a topic touched by Himaruya various times, as it was a large decision for Japan to refuse trade from any Westerners other than Holland (the Netherlands).

Japan didn't want to lose its tradition, or fall victim to the West. It became suspicious of outsiders, considering many things a threat to the country. Japanese weren't permitted to leave or return, and Westerners who showed up on their soil without permission were put to death without trial. Not only that, but within the country there was a sense of fear or uncertainty and suspicion, as even things like Catholic Christianity was considered destabilizing and persecuted. Hetalia explains this event in a much simpler way, showing Japan as a recluse who's too afraid to leave even his room. Some days are worse than others. Strips from the later parts of this time and into Meiji have Japan reluctantly opening the door to peer outside and question about the visitors, or even standing outside only to retreat back inside shortly after. But earlier strips show Japan as bad as wrapped in a blanket, claiming that sunlight burns him and falling into a sort of fetal position the moment Holland even utters "open."

Seclusion ends with America "forcing Japan to open his borders." Matthew Perry is the one to manage this (after numerous failures from others) but in Hetalia it's shown as America coming over with a large list of demands and Japan being unable to refuse. And so Japan is forced into the Meiji period, or mainly, Westernization. This is possibly the most important period in history for Japan as a country, setting up the base of the contradictory "old and new" land it is today and has been for quite some time. Japan struggles to hold onto old traditions while adapting to the "shocking" ways of Westerners and become more of a name in the world.

It takes more of an interest in Western ideas, when it previously wanted to ignore it and hold onto tradition. Now Japan believes he can adapt new things and still be Japan. (This is really just Japan as a character wanting to keep an ego and so finding a way to stay on top of the situation, and a very similar thing for the country itself.) He grows and adapts in a very quick time, actually, which is why Japan as a character is said to adapt so quickly. (In his character songs he mentions Meiji specifically and says if you give him 10 years he can adapt to anything!) But aside from all of the knowledge in that area, there is also the large improvement in Japan's military. Watching Westerners leads to more than just learning English and learning nudity is embarrassing. Japan received much help from countries like England and America and even Germany with things like military, navy and medicinal knowledge.

Mainly, Japan wants to be stronger. It wants to keep itself safe and has this huge pride about itself that if it doesn't protect itself, people will invade. The Russo-Japanese war is essentially started with this sort of paranoia (shown very well in a comic where he's spying on Russia and Germany, an quite literally flipping out at the idea of the two of them being friends). He goes so far as to leave tacks on Russia's chair and try to cook him suspicious treats. This is shown in real history as Japan having the first attack on Russia. It wins that war but by a narrow margin, and Japan is the one left feeling it afterwards, as Himaruya references in the strips. Japan leaves that war feeling it's not enough, he must get stronger in order to make more of a name for himself and stay safe. And so with the end of Meiji comes the first Sino-Japanese war.

This is shown in the comics as Japan just showing up to China's and stabbing him in the back (leaving a nasty scar) and uttering "forgive me." That's a very light way of putting it. Japan would stop at nothing to advance itself in the standing of the world, and so when it felt China was a threat or COULD be a threat, it made sure to avoid that at all costs. Japan was told that Korea is a dagger pointed at the heart of Japan. And so he didn't want any other country to have that dagger.

This sort of attitude only grew through World War 1. Though Japan didn't do much in the war itself, it made sure to gain what advacements from it that it could. Power in Asia was the main thing accomplished, and specifically Japan continued to sort of press against China in tension and conflict. As time passed and Japan's actions in the east became more and more of something that the rest of the world (almost entirely) disagreed with, Japan actually quit the League of Nations. This was a large sign that no matter what happened, no matter how many countries were telling Japan that what it was doing wasn't right, it wouldn't stop. Japan was going to keep fighting for what it believed in with its pride and never stop even while it was standing alone. The second Sino-Japanese war was a devastating war for China. Japan was needlessly ruthless, using policies like "kill all, burn all, loot all" and many other horrible things that I won't go into detail with. (And which, to this day, Japan doesn't address to its own people enough.) It's no wonder the world was in disagreement with Japan.

Taking Japan from 1933, the Second Sino-Japanese war hasn't happened yet (so there's some overlapping in that last paragraph) but it's important to see where Japan's mindset was at this time. Japan grew increasingly upset that they were basically being walked all over by the west and treated as less, and regretted not standing by more for its demands after the first world war, which would have given Japan more of a real "place" in the world. Basically Japan backed down on some things it shouldn't have and this has lead to the tension that's felt from the 30s on into the second world war. From this timepoint, pride is a huge thing, and the country is struggling to be treated as equal, which it really hasn't received the treatment of. Of course their idea at this time is that Asia should be theirs, it's their "right" and they deserve it, not the west. And this leads to plenty of conflict around this time and leading into the future. So in summary, there's a lot of sources for conflict with Japan at the time I've pulled him from, and he's clearly very determined to keep who he is and not let that change for others.

Personality:

Japan is a very quiet and modest character. He relies heavily on traditions and "old ways," and because of this mindset, comes to view himself as an old man. He will often trap himself in thoughts of both the past and the future; a trait that leaves him feeling very alone in the world as he doesn't believe anyone can understand his level of thought. It's this mindset that guides his life, essentially. Being so caught on the past while trying to fit in for the future is a combination that leaves him a very contradictory person; someone who, in his opinion, can't possibly connect with anyone on the level he wishes he could due to cultural differences and other such things.

At the very core of Japan is pride. From the past to the present, it's something that stays consistent though its way of showing itself does change from time to time. In terms of the comic and history itself it could be shown as Japan being rude to China from the start, making things (like the language) his own and showing no real gratitude, acting selfishly (like attacking China) in order to do what's best for the country, secluding for the same reason, and even in his current time period, he's resisting being forced out of seclusion and into modernization. He's torn between clinging to the past and making room for the rest of the world's ideas. This sort of contradiction is shown mostly in his complete irritation with America, and yet moments of thinking "Maybe he's not so bad", and then forgetting creatures like kappa lived with him at all by the time England visits. They're all a sign of just how prideful he is of himself, or his country. And this pride is what motivates nearly everything he does.

He's shy, hard-working, determined, and easily flustered. He's overly polite, as well, even in the worst of situations. These ways of presenting himself are what lead to many misconceptions about how he is. He may appear stoic and calm, formally replying to situations even when he's quite upset on the inside, but his words could be saying much more than what they sound like. His answer is always "no," after all. And though he believes himself to be quite clear in the most subtle sense while saying things like "I'll consider it" and "Perhaps next time," not everyone seems to realize his true intentions, which causes him great despair. Only a few years prior to this time specifically, and a bit still now, he's even more startled by the rest of the world and their lack of understanding him. He feels like there's much to learn, and in a sense for him, there is.

Though he is stubborn and quite set on his own ways, it has been shown that Japan is very easily influenced. He even admits this himself! In Meiji specifically, he's shown to mimic other countries and seem clueless about things like nudity being embarrassing (that is until England quickly teaches him that it is!). Along the same lines of being easily influenced, he's someone that reacts quite easily to even the smallest things. He can go into culture shock at the smallest things, even more accented by this time period of attempting to westernize and get to know the world. Though anger isn't something seen from him by many (except America, probably, in many subtle ways), he is said to have the "scariest kind" in a strip with Greece. So basically, there are many emotions and naive beliefs behind his old man act, leaving him more childlike than he would ever admit.

He really has trouble properly expressing himself to others, which is the largest part of why he gets frustrated and isn't shown socializing much unless he feels obligated to. He claims his hobby is to sense the mood and determine when not to speak, but when he does have to speak, he can be clumsy and extremely unclear. Even in normal situations, he speaks overly polite and in a way that sort of covers his true intention, and often holds back his own opinion (or doesn't have one) because he'd rather stay out of conflict and listen to things without dedicating himself to any firm decision. It's joked at in the movie that his government is equally indecisive, as while other countries are preparing their weapons and armies, they don't even come to a decision to fight or not by the time the aliens turn them into faceless versions of themselves. (At least at this point even Japan can realize how ridiculous it is.)

Japan is very good at adapting to technology and learning. This is a key point in time for that sort of change that he's so good with, so while he is even more easily influenced, he's more determined to go out and learn about things as well. It's because he feels that he needs something he helps contribute to the world in a big way, and he's searching to find what he could do to be "seen" in this way.

Lastly, his personality and views on things make him a very lonely nation. Because of things like his pride and clear definition of "cultural differences," Japan doesn't believe anyone truly understands him for who he is. He feels no one else can appreciate him and so he appreciates himself, which is sad on its own. He spends time sitting alone with his dog, staring at the moon and thinking back on old times and holding many feelings he does not entirely feel are worth expressing, as no one can really understand them. He doesn't even seem to open up to his prefectures, seeming to keep a certain distance from them and maintaining a business-like attitude. The one person he's opened up to recently is Holland, and even then he tries to skate around the subject and there's a point where he's not sure he can say anything and be understood. Really it's just that old man side of him that puts himself in this state. He can enjoy his time with others, as shown when he shares his culture with others specifically (like his excitement over playing the taiko drum in the movie) but it always takes a bit to open him up.

Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:

Aside from being a nation and so having a body that can (mostly) withstand the test of time, Japan has a few strengths and weaknesses that go along with being "Japan." That is, things that reflect who he is and show in his talents... and also in talents he lacks. However, they're nothing too exceptional or extraordinary. In fact, they're very much human for the most part.

If you consider rather "material" strengths, Japan has a variety of things. Cooking, cleaning, art, technology, sword fighting-- anything "Japanese" is an obvious strength of his, though they can just as easily translate into weaknesses as well. For example, despite being skilled with a sword and practicing such things well enough, he is shown to be physically out of shape thanks to his diet. In training with Germany he always seems to struggle (but sometimes gets to sit out anyway since he's not the biggest problem!) with running and the like. Stretching also is a problem, since he's so old... On top of that, he can be pretty gullible with things like marketing, cute things, salt or other cases like that. He can be pretty childlike in his thinking, basically, and is shown to be manipulated through things as simple as a commercial on TV.

His skill with a katana is good, but nothing extreme or out of shonen jump or anything, so it's nothing that needs to be powered down. In Zodion, he was given air powers by the gods that will be gone once again. He had been training with them and grew proficient in creating air currents and levitating, so he may have the occasional moment where he tries and forgets he can't, but it's not a huge weak point.

There are plenty of strong points about his character, as well, though. Firstly is his determination. No matter how difficult things are, Japan will continue on! He pushes himself to every limit, and is often shown enduring even in the most ridiculous of circumstances. In defeat he only gains more determination, vowing to become stronger and beginning to practice immediately! He also has a lot of ambition which he shows through things like pride, fights, standing up for what he believes in and basically any of his actions nowadays.

Inventory:

• katana
• uniforms (black and white)
• 2 changes of clothing (modern from zodion & kimono)
• photograph (from zodion)
• betta fish (from zodion)

Appearance: Here
Age: "Unknown." Older than he looks. 2,600+ years old, appears maybe 19.

AU Clarification:

Zodion is a sex game where characters are sorted by their western zodiac sign and have to deal with various aphro-filled situations and events or the more political actions of "The Twelve" and their enemies. And though Japan was in this sort of environment for 7 months, he hasn't lost sight of who he is as a person or nation at all, even with the changes in character and development he has gone through.

When he first arrived, Japan was very angry with those who brought him here, taking it as yet another group of people (or "gods") trying to hold him down and not let him be an equal against others. He spent most of his time trying to find a way to get out on top of this situation. At first he tried to avoid the sex, very determinedly, but a shadow event took place around the week where he was aphro'd that make him act out exaggeratedly his "darker side". For this event he was more blunt than usual and openly insulting or critical, rather than holding it back, and it lead to quite a few conflicts with castmates or CR there. He ended up having sex while his "shadow" self, and later tried to cover his actions with the fact that it wasn't really him. He tried to avoid the blame of his actions and later had to face that it was in fact still him, he still did things and had to take responsibility for them. So this was really the first instance where Japan learned a lesson enough to sort of change something. That is, he learned to understand that he can't pass the blame to others for his own actions. It reinforced his confidence in himself, actually, and ended up being the leading force in guiding his mind to finding it acceptable to have sex, so long as it was his choice and not forced by the Twelve. He wanted to maintain his own choices in this world, and stand by them no matter what.

Time passed and not too many events were large enough to cause any huge change in Japan's character, since most of them were simple sex events that determined what type of sex the character suddenly craved or that sort of thing. But there were actually many instances of other characters bringing future events to Japan's attention. They didn't outright tell him about them, but they did treat him differently to the point where he noticed it, criticized his thinking, or tried to change his way of thinking. He reacted defensively to all of these initial encounters, even startling some characters at the level of anger he was able to show. (Passively, but it was still very obvious.) It was these encounters that caused Japan to really wonder about the future in relation to his current goals. He has worries, even if he has a lot of pride, and his greatest fear is losing himself. What he's fighting for all along is to make things better, after all. For Japan and for all of Asia, even if he doesn't take time to realize that his thoughts may not match up with other nations and therefore he CAN be wrong. He's not thinking this at this time in the game (which has already been a few months by now). For now this built up as a tension. It was a very defensive, stubborn and worried tension that caused him to sort of want to distance himself from others in order to keep a hold on himself.

This distancing, which he always does as a character, lead to in cast encounters that forced him to address it. Hong Kong's worries about him leaving became apparent, and Taiwan's treatment of him during her time there was clearly a worried type of action, not one meant to push him down. After a couple months of various conflict addressing this, Japan was able to realize that he was trying to think for others. That he has more of a family than he originally thought he did, and that though he can't see "family" in the same level of importance as the chinese part of the hetalia cast, he does realize there are those wanting to be his friend or be with him, and he doesn't have to separate himself and be alone in dealing with things. This was really the major change that Japan takes with him from Zodion. He doesn't want to walk away from things in order to deal with them. He recognizes now that that's just avoiding them, putting hands to his ears and pretending not to hear as he does his own thing. It's a character trait that happens mostly when he's dealing with conflict of another country disagreeing with his view on things, but Japan from Zodion will now be much more likely to try and address things like this a little more directly.

Only a "little" more directly, because Japan is still in fact Japan. He always goes for a passive aggressive approach first. It's more that he's quicker to want to deal with things instead of avoid them, more open to the idea that others also have thoughts on these issues and to pay attention to them, and to be more observant in general! He likes to think he always knows what he's doing and is doing it the best way, but in all honesty he never was very observant of his surroundings, no matter how often he said he read the atmosphere.

These 7 months of developments have made him more open in this way to seeing others, but it's something that's really still ongoing with him. He's not peaceful, and he doesn't want to give up his path. But he is more careful about his actions, and that's about it. His ideas have actually only been influenced by events in Zodion, so he's more confident in the person he is and doing what he thinks is right, although now while more carefully going about deciding what's "right."

S A M P L E S
Log Sample:

As they were released from the pods, Japan fell to his knees, coughing and gasping to regain his breath. What...!? His vision still wasn't in focus, and he was struggling to recall where he had just been. All that came to mind was that this was wrong. Something was wrong... And he felt so horrible.

He stared down at the backs of his hands, slowing his breathing as he thought. It continued on like this for some seconds before he found himself intensely focused on the back of his right hand. The clear skin of his hand. Clear... "It is gone?"

The words are raspy as they escape him and he blinks a few more times to try and clear his vision, raising that hand closer to his face. No tattoo at all. He recalled now that one should be there. Or not should, but that there had been before. For so long. This distraction was so large that he didn't even take time to notice the numbers now added on his arm. He was scrambling to his feet, caring little for his underwear-only state and trying to find out where he was. Who these people were.

This was something from the gods, wasn't it? The Twelve? Punishing him, or losing in some fight... Something had happened, he was nearly certain, and the thought irritated him beyond belief. How incompetent. Doing all of those things, and now this..! Couldn't they stop acting like children?!

Ah... But in the middle of his panicked rage he slowed and steadied himself against a wall, eyes following the crowds heading towards a doorway. Another room. It seemed as if a number of them knew where they were going, as well, and it was this fact that lead Japan to push off from the wall and follow them, determined to find answers. If only his head could clear faster, if he could remember things a bit better. Everything was coming back so slowly.

But still he moved to the locker room.

Comms Sample: (My latest post from Zodion to show how he used the communicator and will continue to use it.)

[The video turns on to Japan in what appears to be his apartment. He has the phone leaning against something so it can view him properly and looks to be in near full uniform, missing only his hat. A gloved hand dusts his opposite shoulder off, adjusting the decorations on the uniform there before he returns his attention to the video and lifts his head a bit.]

For those who were able to speak to him, may I ask your opinions on Tauros-san? [He looks a little stiff, but he's standing tall like normal and frowning deeply. Really, that 'god' showed up in a crowd of people he forced to be here and had the nerve to act like they should be grateful? Chill and eat cake?!

Yes he's mad okay.] I noticed he showed himself publicly. Were there any actions against him? Or perhaps was there any more specific information or proof given about our situation? I am quite curious.

[Actually it's pretty clear he's doubting it. B( But he wants to know if anyone bothered to do anything about it, or got mad at him like he did! He's sort of preoccupied with adjusting his gloves now, but he does look back to the phone one last time.]

Ah, one more thing... As for kissing, and more intimate acts like that. Are the customs of such things varied much between worlds? Or perhaps are there techniques that make these things more enjoyable in general, or by person? I am very much interested in learning as much as I can on this topic, so any and all replies would be appreciated. [He needs... to be the master at this... So he'll be carefully noting replies to this, too. But anyway, reaching over he picks the phone up and turns it off.]