If Vietnam knew the man she was talking to a lot better, she wouldn't be very surprised by his internal reactions to her words. After all, he's been content to be ruled by others for quite some time, so of course her desire for independence is not something he has much reason to share with her. She herself has spent quite a bit of time being ruled by others - mostly by her brother China, and of course more recently by France and then Japan. But unlike him she has never and will never be content to be anything less than a fully independent nation, so her conflict with her own brother will not end until he releases her from his grasp.
And though it's probably difficult to tell for anyone who is first meeting her as she appears to be quite young and vibrant, even though she's physically just a little older than most of the nations here, but she is over a couple millennia old and during that time she's become a keen observer of others. Not that she doesn't miss things, especially if someone hiding things from her on purpose, but if they're not she has a lot of insight into their reactions. Of course she has a harder time understanding Europeans and other nations that are vastly different from the cultures she's most familiar with (mainly her own family, the Indians, and the peoples of the Pacific Islands), but then again she did learn much about Europeans by being ruled by one.
So when he steps away from her, she can read much into that. "Ah, I see - it is not only that you don't want to see your brother hurt, but the mere thought of conflict frightens you," she smiles and laughs lightly, "That's okay - not everyone has what it takes to be a nation." She bows slightly to him, as that is the polite way to leave a conversation. Not that she's leaving or won't continue it if he wants to, but he appears to not want to.
Post by Southern Italy on Mar 22, 2017 9:37:02 GMT -7
"Ah, I see -"
The Italian male found himself stopping at those simple words that the female nation started with, having already turned away to leave her to her own business. She didn't seem like the type he wanted to stick stick around and hold a conversation with; no personal hard feelings of course, but it was just more difficult to hold a chat with someone who's views were completely different to the level of not agreeing with anything at this point. Lovino gave a quick glance to the Asian nation and scowled deeply as she continued on with her words.
"It is not only that you don't want to see your brother hurt, but the mere thought of conflict frightens you," He watched as she smiled and gave an innocent laughter at her own comment, before continuing, "That's okay - not everyone has what it takes to be a nation."
It was all true. No false assumptions were made of Lovino by the girl, but regardless, the brunet found his digits curl into his palms. The scabs that already decorated the once soft but toned flesh luckily didn't reopen, that was a relief, but his own nails longed to dig deep in by Lovino tightening his fists. If this wasn't at a party, or maybe if this nation was not a female, Lovino may have found himself throwing his own body against her's and maybe even swinging a punch in her face. Perhaps he would've screamed at her to shut her mouth, to stay out of his business. Luckily, the Italian had more composure than such idiotic and childish act to come into play. He instead took a deep breath and let it out slowly to hopefully relieve some of the strain that took place in his muscles. No doubt he would be stuffing his face later with snacks and fruits to keep himself calm.
Lovino didn't want to see his brother hurt, there was no lie in that fact. Regardless of his current position, of how the younger brother treated him, the elder brother still wanted to keep the younger safe. If not for Feliciano's safety or happiness, then for the sake of Nonno. To keep Lovino's favorite grandfather's treasured grandson safe; it would be the only way Lovino could feel better about himself and hopefully Rome would accept him as his own kin, or at least remember him even after his death as much as the man remembered his old gramps. And, he also wanted to avoid conflict if possible; being in no position to guard or fight off troubles himself, he rather just keep away. He wanted to take the peaceful route regarding the treatment of himself and their territories, and his hope of one day waking Feliciano up from this foolish game he is playing. Despite speaking of wanting to crumble the Italian empire himself, Lovino was far from strong enough to actually accomplish such goal that. He was too much of a coward to pull through.
However, being said so in such manner was what ticked the Italian off. As he watched her bow as if it was a polite and friendly comment, he finally turned fully back to her from looking at her over his shoulder.
"...You're right. Not everybody is fit to be a nation." He muttered, a grin coming to his face. Whether it was a real one or just a sarcastic facade was unknown even by the owner of it himself. "Especially those who can't see their own position and act accordingly around the appropriate members around. Despite what you think, I am in a position above you; this is just a fact. I may not own or rule over you, but I still deserve the respect you would give to your own leader?"
Vietnam would be very slow to regret the words that she has just said, which is true most of the time. She's lived a long time and regretted many of the words that she's spoken at many times in her life, but because of that she has learned from her mistakes she's generally very deliberate with her words. At least when she's paying attention to them, anyways - which isn't all the time but is far more often than one might expect, and certainly includes an occasion such as this.
And while she might admit that her words at the moments are not the kindest thing that she could say, she certainly isn't of the opinion that one should be kind to absolutely everyone at every single moment. There is, after all, great utility in being mean - there are some things that you simply can't accomplish with kindness, and there are other things that can be done but are much faster and more effective if you set such an ideal aside. And she was raided to be polite, not kind, and there is quite a bit of difference between the two. In this particular case, she sees a man who is choosing to allow others to walk all over him, and she is attempting to point this out to him and thereby see if she can't convince him that this is a problem.
Not that she expects her words to ultimately work, but that has a lot to do with her poor opinion of Europeans in general. Still, the fact that he's giving off visible indications of anger is a good sign. In fact, if he'd responded to her words with the physical violence he's holding back, her opinion of him would have gone up. Yes, it would be an idiotic and childish response, but it would have at least showed passion. As it is, if she knew that a part of the reason why he didn't had anything to do with her gender then she would have been greatly offended.
Instead, it seems that he has chosen to fight back with words, and she blinks as if in surprise as she is informed that his position is above hers. For a moment she seems to be confused, but then she smiles as if in realization. "Ah! You said before that you have heard of me, but you have not heard very much, vĂ¢ng?" she says, nodding to herself, adding, "That is okay, I can fix that!" Her expression becomes quite a bit more serious as she continues, "I am several thousand years old. I remember meeting your grandfather when I was young and he was at his peak. I have my own language, my own art, my own food, my own clothing, and so forth - all derivative of my brother China's, I am willing to confess, yet still distinct and different enough to be my very own. I am a fierce warrior - I beat my brother China in war four times in spite of the fact that I have always been much smaller. And I also defeated Mongolia while he was rampaging - even though I am not an island country like my brother Japan. My people are stable and hardworking - any weakness I have at this moment are merely due to the recent wars and in this time of peace I expect them to thrive. And yes, I currently live under the rule of my brother Japan, but the more powerful one's opponent is, the more honorable the defeat."
Having said all of that, she tilts her head curiously over at him and smiles in a somewhat embarrassed way as she asks, "I'm sorry that I have this question, but is your nominal position within the smallest of the world's empires your only claim to my respect?"
Post by Southern Italy on May 30, 2017 7:33:39 GMT -7
It was hard to say Lovino was paying any attention to the girl's words at this point. Sure, it could be classified as disrespectful, how he clearly dismissed her words as background noise, but perhaps for the sake of his sanity, it was for the better. The Italian wasn't sure if he could stay up strong if he were to hear her continue on and on pridefully of her own bullshit, seeing at this point that was all it really was. It was a weak nation trying to bark up the wrong tree and act strongly despite her current stance. A grin cracked on Lovino's face; he was being nice to even talk to her in the first place. It was clear Lovino himself was not in the high position himself when it came to regards of the empire's standings, but he took a deep breath and stayed calm on the ground that he was, in fact, at least higher in the monarchy than this girl was.
Rolling his eyes, he dismissed all the was bragged on and on about the history of this female nation's... Well, territory, now, under Japan's rule. In the end, the strongest were the ones that came out alive, standing on the corpses of all the others. That's how his own grandfather rose to where he stood until his unfortunate fall. With that in mind, Lovino waited until the background noise the girl provided with her rapid words came to cease, before he opened his mouth for his own retort. And this time, he was done.
"Well then, I suppose you'll show me one day in the future just how worthy you are. Because at this moment, you are a nobody. All you mentioned, all you told me, it's all meaningless because you are not standing on top. Of course, that can always be fixed if you can gain independence from Kiku, but at the moment you are nothing more than a territory that has no say. So sure, you may not wish to respect me, but in no time you'll see you'll have not another choice... Unless again, you prove me and, the other empires, otherwise." With that, he gave a small bow, ignoring the pain in his back and legs as he did so. "Now if you'll excuse me... It was nice speaking to you, m'dear bella."
At his response, Vietnam straightens again and looks surprised by his words, though her head and expression fall in sadness after only a moment. "Oh, you set such a high standard for you to see me as worthy!" she complains, her voice nearly a whine. But almost as quickly as that mood came it shifts again - this time to one of resolve. "But if that is your standard, then I will of course achieve it," she states, her determined voice making that practically a promise.
But only another moment later her expression has become thoughtful, and she seems to be speaking out loud as she comments, "Of course, if that is your standard, then it would only be fair for me to apply the same standard to you. After all, you are not an empire - you are nothing more than a territory that has no say as well. You probably have the same amount of influence on your brother as I do on mine, after all."
Nodding once to that line of logic, she smiles and announces her conclusion, "Then that is how it shall be! You will not have my respect until you become an independent nation." An idea that she implements immediately, as she completely fails to return his bow, which is something she'd normally do practically automatically. But a bow is a sign of respect, so he doesn't get one. Instead she simply watches him, prepared to see him leave without another word spoken unless he's inclined to say anything more.