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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2015 19:31:52 GMT -5
Sweden had been quite content in the north, keeping to himself. The world had gone to hell and even though he wasn’t turning any heads in it he knew that several were either at his door or headed that way. The store was quieter than it used to be but ever since the wars broke out all over the world people had less money. He was thankful he’d done well for his people in this time….Well….As well as he could. No one wanted Ore and gold in these times. Those resources wouldn’t put ammunition in your weapons and feed your people. He had been trying to export them for food but no one wanted them in these times.
He sat at the register of the IKEA store that was his home. He always loved this place. He leaned against the register, watching the exit doors. He couldn’t see the entry way door from here, but he would be informed if someone came in. From above him he heard a large crash of pots and pans, at least the kitchen was busy, but he doubted it was with customers. The kitchen had fresh fish caught from the shore, but it was always fish now. He could remember when they sold all different types of food but now they old had fish. They couldn’t even get a variety of fish, the water were too dangerous with all the Russian subs about. He was neutral in this war but he didn’t want to attract any attention either.
RING RING RING RING!
A loud buzz from the phone near the register echoed through the empty check out line. He picked it up and put it to his ear. “Halla?” He answered in a strict voice. The voice that answered him surprised him and the question even more so. Germany wanted to come over? He let a few seconds of silence pass before he answered. “Yes, you may come over.[/color]” After a confirmation he hung up the phone and stepped out from behind the counter to get ready. He knew that the Germans were quite prompt and he would be there soon. He couldn’t remember a day that Germany had showed up at an odd time to the gym where they both tended to work out. He enjoyed doing that with him and making him the car parts he needed.
But was Germany a friend? He supposed he could be considered so. The least he could do was hear what his friend had to say but something was telling him that this wasn’t a luxury visit, in these times there never would be.
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Post by Germany - Ludwig Wilhelm on Apr 4, 2015 19:33:39 GMT -5
It indeed doesn't take Germany very long to arrive. His official story, if anyone besides Sweden asks, is that he was 'in the neighborhood' and just wanted to visit a friend. Because he too supposes that they count as friends - they share many common interests so they'd spent a lot of time pursuing them before the war began to take up too much of his time. He'd be lying if he said that he was happy that Sweden has chosen to be neutral, but that's something every country is free to decide for themselves.
But that's also something that he means to discuss with his friend. In fact, it's something that they've spoken of before, but only briefly - he knows better than to argue a point for too long if the other person simply isn't going to agree. All that does is make them wish that they hadn't talked to you. But this time he feels that perhaps the situation has shifted into his favor and there's somewhat more to talk about, so perhaps he'll make some more headway. So it's no coincidence that he's such a short distance from Sweden's place when he calls - in fact, it had been a precaution in case Russia somehow hears of it. He'd rather that if that particular nation hears of this visit that it will be after he's left instead of on his way.
Though he's quite surprised at what he sees when his car pulls to a stop. It's been awhile since he's actually visited Sweden at home - during the war he's obviously had his hands full, and before that they'd usually meet up at the gym or something - but he's pretty sure that this is not what Sweden's house looks like. This is clearly an IKEA store. However, though he asks his driver to verify it twice, this is apparently the right address. Sighing, he decides to get out and go inside - at the very least he's sure that he can find someone to point him in the right direction if this is indeed the wrong place.
When he goes inside he has to pause for a moment, simply to look over the wide assortment of things on display. And the fact that he can't see anyone anywhere - it looks like the place is practically deserted. It's easier to hear some distant sounds that might be footsteps, though - hopefully that's a sign that he's not entirely alone in here. Not that he's afraid of being alone, or anything like that. In fact, the moment from when he first steps into to when he steps forward to attempt to find someone in this place is quite brief.
Let's see... If anyone is anywhere, there's probably at least some poor lone employee manning a register, so he'll attempt to find the registers. Which are usually on the opposite end of the front part of the store. He appreciates it when things are made in a standard design, after all. And fortunately, though he's quickly surrounded by things that are too tall for him to see over, he also has a very good sense of direction. Unfortunately, whoever decided how to arrange the store was not as much of a fan of order as he is (and probably not even remotely German at all!), and he quickly discovers that there is no straightforward way to get anywhere. Still, he manages to make some progress in the direction that he assumes is the correct one, though he peers over things as frequently as possible as he goes in an attempt to confirm this.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2015 8:15:14 GMT -5
Sweden was quite proud of Ikea as it had become quite popular in the last several decades before the war. He thought that its design was perfect for exactly what he wanted to accomplish. If you were trying to furnish your home you only needed to make one stop and walk through the entire store, which he’d force you to do anyway. There were a few shortcuts if you followed the arrows on the ground but sometimes they’d lead you in a circle, this was done on purpose. You might forget that you wanted something after all.
A guard came to tell him that Germany had entered the store and Sweden perked up a bit. He expected him to come full of things he needed for his home. Why wouldn’t he buy a few things while he was here? Not that he suspected Germany had much money to spare with the war either….but he certainly had more food than him. The allegiance probably kept their soldiers fed well. It was of course, something that he had considered and that was why he allowed his wife to take sides with them. He could still protect his wife and remain neutral and he had made that clear.
It wasn’t until he saw blonde hair slicked back from the other side of a far shelf that he had come out of his thoughts. Germany had finally made his way there….empty handed. Sweden sighed and walked away from the register to meet him, there would be no point in standing at it now. He met him at the exit of the isle and stuck out his hand to greet him. “Welcome, cousin.” He offered a greeting and then stood in silence for a moment longer.
He wasn’t ignorant of why Germany could have come to visit him, the most likely reason was the very same that all the others had been trying. The Pact was close to his door and it would floodgate into others, but what they didn’t understand was that he didn’t have the means or the desire to get involved in this war, so he decided to detour from the subject. “You didn’t find anything you liked?” He asked about the lack of a full basket, let alone a basket at all. He at least expected him to get a vase or something. Germans liked vases didn’t they…or would it be wases? He had trouble understanding Germany sometimes but he’d never tell him that.
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Post by Germany - Ludwig Wilhelm on Apr 7, 2015 21:05:05 GMT -5
One surefire way of navigating his way through the store quickly: he completely ignores the arrows on the floor. He also completely ignores the things on display - he's here to talk to Sweden, not buy things. Even before the war broke out he wasn't much of a fan of shopping - for most things anyway - and now that he has the war to blame for his disinterest he's been able to avoid the undesired task more frequently. So it's with single-minded purpose that he makes his way to the end.
Though he has to pause for a moment when he actually spots Sweden - he'd been half assuming that he was in the wrong place, but if the nation is here, that theory is disproved. Stepping forward, he nods as he gives the offered hand a firm shake, "It's good to see you, Sveden." A pause, and then he can't help but remark, "...You live in an IKEA store..." It may be stating the obvious at this point, but he finds this odd enough that he's have a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact - letting alone getting to the point of being able to ask why. It's good to be proud of your successes as a nation, but this is a bit much.
Not that he's about to actually verbalize his opinion on the matter - Sweden can live where he wants. So he puts his confusion aside, forces himself to ignore the fact that they're in a store, and puts his focus instead upon the conversation at hand. "I vouldn't say that - I did find you, and you're not objectionable," he answers, "And I'm afraid that I'm not needing any furniture right nov - vhat I need to knov is if you have any preference about vho vins this var you're refusing to take part in?" True to his nature, he's not interested in small talk and would prefer to get right now to business.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2015 13:21:32 GMT -5
It was indeed good to see his cousin, it had been a long time since they’d last worked on anything together. Perhaps he hadn’t come today to pressure him into joining a side but instead to work on a car with him. It would be nice to catch up with him over that. When he remarked about his home Sweden gave him the same blank stare that he always did. “Yes?” He confirmed as if Germany may have been confused about where he was. There was nothing wrong with his store was there?..
But just when he thought that Germany might have come for better reasons the war was brought up. Sweden leaned against the counter and crossed his arms in thought. Germany would have known that Sweden wasn’t a friend of the pact nations and didn’t have any plans on being. Germany wouldn’t have to worry about where his loyalty was…But his neutrality was probably worrying him.
“I do care.” He answered his question simply. He did care about the outcome of the war. He wanted it to end with him and his family doing well in the end of it. “Germany, It had become clear to me why you have come. But I assure you my position in this war was for a reason.” He tried to ease him about the situation, though he doubted that it would have been enough for Germany.
But Sweden was aware of what happened when you took sides in a war. Whenever sides were taken it always came with obligation. Whatever obligation they would want from him he doubted he could fill and on top of that they would push him into doing things against his will because of it. It would all be with smiles and good merit but in the end….It would just be bullying him because they had the means to do so. Sweden had no intention of becoming this way for any reason.
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Post by Germany - Ludwig Wilhelm on Apr 17, 2015 19:18:35 GMT -5
There are a lot of things that Germany could say about Sweden's choice of residence. However, everything concerning that fact that comes most immediately to mind are questions that he wouldn't ask because they're more likely to offend Sweden than they are to get a satisfactory answer. Well, that and observations about the fact that, while he's been extremely successful in a number of enterprises, you hardly see him living in a store - but all such comments are completely pointless. So he decides to let that subject drop entirely. He'll just chalk it up to yet another odd quirk of his cousin's and leave it at that.
There are far more important matters to think about and discuss, after all. And he knows that this will be a difficult conversation, as it's no small thing to keep one's country out of the war when so much of Europe didn't and are all on the same side - he wouldn't accuse his cousin of having made the choice lightly. But as neither of them are really that good at random small talk, he might as well get straight to the heart of why he's come.
Does he question Sweden's loyalties? Not really. If anything, he trusts him to be loyal to himself, which is a fair enough position to take. But that's precisely why he started with the question that he asked, even though he sees that it's made his cousin feel a bit defensive. "There are many good reasons vhy you should stay out of the var, I agree," he acknowledges first, nodding easily, "And that has been good for you so far. But perhaps that is something that is changing. Perhaps there are nov more reasons for you to fight."
He pauses for a moment, a slight frown coming to his face before he asks, "You believe that the Alliance vill vin, don't you?"
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2015 18:57:24 GMT -5
Sweden did have many reasons for choosing the side he did and it was obvious that Germany was aware of a few of them. But still he chose not to buy anything? He supposed it was just as well. Sweden didn’t have a shortage of money they had a shortage of food. Right now, there was no amount of money he could spend that would make food appear in front of him, especially with neutrality….But that wasn’t enough to convince him to join…not yet…His people weren’t dying, they were strong.
He stared at Germany as he asked him if he believed that their side would win. There was no doubt that if he was to join this war he would join the alliance, but Germany knew that. His eyes cast to the ground in thought for a moment, with all the countries that were involved in this massive war nothing was going to go well, no one was going to come out standing tall. Any of them would have been lucky to crawl away.
“There’s no such thing as winnable a war Germany…You know that.” He shook his head and pulled his blue eyes back to Germany’s. Surely he was beginning to tire of this war that wasn’t started by any of them as well. It was something that most of them got dragged into. The only reason now that tempted him to join was his wife. He knew that he could protect Finland but for how long? And the how many countries at his boarder?
“What would you have me do Cousin? Join the war and fight with the rest of you, at who’s direction? My militia is small my resources are scarce, I have nothing to offer you.” He spoke honestly and firmly. As terrible as each thing was, its effect didn’t show on his features. None of these things would prevent him from protecting his family if he had to, but he was not fond of subjecting them to more bloodshed.
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Post by Germany - Ludwig Wilhelm on Apr 28, 2015 8:10:11 GMT -5
The response that he gets not being quite what was expected, there's a pause as Germany considers Sweden's words, but he's quick to nod. "It depends, of course, on vhat you mean by vinning - it's a rare var that doesn't bring suffering to every side," he acknowledges with a grim frown. Which is a fact that most countries come to know quite intimately - and those who don't learn it the moment they win a war only to realize how much they lost in the process.
"I vould have you reconsider vhat vorth you vould be to the Alliance," he responds immediately, then pauses, looking off in the distance as if he can see through a sturdy gray aluminum outdoor bench (only $75!) a section away as he gathers his thoughts. His eyes return to focus on Sweden as he says, "It's been thirty years since it began to fall apart, and in that time ve have not been able to end this. Neither has Russia, but do ve pat ourselves on the back for this vhen every year there are more graves? Every year the Alliance has pushed against the European Front, but ve are pushed back and make no progress. And there's a pattern - in the summer ve usually gain ground, the vinter ve usually lose it. And the reason is simple: even beginning in Poland, the climate becomes different. Both the nations of the Alliance and our soldiers are used to a mild vinter, vhile the Russians know such veather very vell. This has been their protection for centuries - I nearly made it to Moscov myself only to lose because of vinter. And ve can't seem to get even close to it this time."
He pauses, his lips held in a tight frown for a moment before his eyes lower and he quietly admits, "I don't think I can do it, Bervald." As if in a hurry to both justify that and put some space between himself and those words he turns and paces a few steps as he adds, "I don't think ve have anyone vho can - Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltics - all have been taken by Russia. Norvay is on the vest coast - he doesn't get vinter like you. Svitzerland has a taste of it in his mountains, but of course he's staying in them. That leaves you and Finland - do you think Finland could command our armies to victory against Russia?" At that question he stops his pacing and turns to look at Sweden as if that was a serious question.
Allowing that question to hang, he steps back over to Sweden as he adds, "You may be able to end the var - this is not nothing. Vith your men training our men, all guided by you, I vould not be surprised if ve take Moscov this year. And you only need to vorry about advancing the front - the rest of us can get you the men and supplies you vill need - ve are very good at getting things to vhere they are needed." A subtle hint that they can also help Sweden's people with what they're now lacking thanks to the years of neutrality which have cut them off from the rest of the world. Perhaps they don't strictly need that, but he's sure that the people wouldn't mind having access to all of what Europe has to offer again - even if the offerings are a bit more modest than they were before the war changed everything.
"And vith Russia out of the picture, Europe vill be safe again. You can go home and let the rest of us vorry about the rest of the Pact - the Russian is not the only strong one on their side, but it vould be a severe blow, likely leading to the end of the var everyvhere," he states confidently. After all, without the European front taking so much of their time and attention, there would be more to send to strengthen the other fronts.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2015 17:34:17 GMT -5
It was the simple truth and Berwald had considered all sides of it. This wasn’t a choice that he made lightly or at a moment’s notice. This decision took much thought and sacrifice, for himself and his friends, but in the end he knew he made the right choice. Getting the alliance to believe that he did was going to be a different matter. Germany at least realized that in his situation it seemed like the best thing to do. Sweden didn’t think that he could convince him to move on this, he simply couldn’t afford it, but he was willing to hear him out.
He settled and listened carefully to his explanation. His gaze turned to the floor where he counted the dots on the mats below and tried to consider his proposal with open thoughts as a sibling should, as a friend should. His words were true….
Every season…Every day more or less ground would be gained by either side, consistently changing. He had followed the war and saw the patterns. It was only natural that Russia would gain the advantage in the winter because his men were used to the cold. But Sweden saw deterioration of his own….Ever since he had the ties cut off between himself and the world his own home had suffered. With each movement of the war his people suffered, but how much more would they suffer if subjected into the war? For every ground that either side lost Sweden felt like he was losing as well. Each year it was becoming harder and harder to feed his people. Fish were plenty in the sea but with the waters constantly patrolled it is difficult to fish safely. That wouldn’t change even after he joined the alliance, but he would be able to trade for food again. He knew that he had resources that they would need in the war but at what cost in the end?
When he mentioned his wife his eyes came off the floor and pierced into his in a strict motion. He wasn’t going to talk about his wife right now. What mattered was his wife was safe. He didn’t have to answer Germany’s question, they both knew the answer. There was wisdom in his words to an extent, he could train their men better to survive in the winter. Up north in his home suffered some of the harshest winters in Europe. The weather could easily drop below -28 Celsius. He could teach them how to move in these kind of conditions just as they had for centuries. In the exchange for resources….
He rested his back against the register counter and gripped the edge in thought. He felt his stomach rumble, he was hungry. He couldn’t remember the last time he wasn’t now. But his last statement drew his thoughts away. He pushed himself back up and forgot about his hunger for the moment. “That’s it.” He stated plainly as if it were just as simple as he was saying. “I train the alliance men and then I go home with everything that I need?” He asked flatly, obviously not expecting much of a response to that that would be anything worth hearing. Surely his cousin didn’t take him for an idiot that thought they could slip away from obligation so easily. At any moment during this plan the war could change and would they let him go then? It was a pretty offer laid out in lace but the inside was nothing but promises with attachments. “You plan on giving me this in writing.” He stated without question. Surely, his cousin wouldn’t insult him so.
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Post by Germany - Ludwig Wilhelm on Jun 6, 2015 16:33:31 GMT -5
The moment that he's finished saying everything he'd needed to say, Germany simply goes silent and gives Sweden the time to mull it all over. He's knows better to say anything to 'encourage' his cousin even more - the slightest hint of coercion on his part and the other nation would probably refuse to even consider it. Sweden is certainly not one to be intimidated into anything, after all - something that Germany can fully understand as he's much the same way himself. But he feels like he has logic on his side in this - he believes that joining the war in the way that he's proposing would be a genuinely good move for Sweden right now, and that he merely has to help his cousin to see that to get him to agree.
And it would be an extremely good thing for the Allegiance right now as well. While it's tempting to also ask for the men, he knows that knowledge and tactics are far more important than numbers of soldiers and that Sweden is more likely to agree if he doesn't. "You train the men and you offer your advice in our strategy meetings, and the Allegiance vill support you just as ve support each other," he clarifies, certainly wanting to make sure that the terms are clear - he doesn't want any misunderstandings, "And vhen ve have Russia, you are not obligated to do anything more. That is enough." Which is, indeed, putting it too simply. But he wants to make himself very plain.
Because he's definitely not trying to be deceptive at all - he means exactly what he's offering. Yes, he knows that the progression of the war may make it very complicated indeed, and yes he does hope that in time Sweden will be convinced to participate even more fully, but if not he fully intends on living up to what he's saying. So when Sweden asks for it in writing, at first he's surprised by the request. "You don't trust me?" he asks first, but he's also very quick to realize how many potential problems that might solve and nods, "Ja, I vill give it to you in vriting as soon as soon as it can be vritten." Getting these things on paper can be a bit of a process after all - not taking very much time if they're in a hurry, but quite formal. When done properly it's written in both of their languages, scrutinized by experts in international affairs for loopholes and the like, all the particulars are spelled out as plainly as possible, and amended until they're both satisfied that it's all fair and that it will be perfectly clear to everyone if the agreement has been broken.
And it's certainly a good move on Sweden's part to want it on paper - broken agreements, especially among nations who should be able to trust each other and especially ones that are of very real and obvious consequence, prompt so much condemnation by their peers that there's plenty of incentive to satisfy the agreement even if one of them later changes their mind and doesn't want to. And Germany probably would change his mind about being so willing to let Sweden leave the war before it's completely finished, even though he means it now.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2015 18:23:22 GMT -5
The allegiance supports him just as they support each other. Sweden stared at him, wondering how much truth was actually behind his words. He didn’t want to seem untrusting of his cousin, he knew he was only trying to do what was right but right for who? For him? For the Allegiance? For the world? Getting all of this on paper would have made him feel much better.
Sweden nodded in response to his statement. “Then you may send me the papers when they are done and I will decide then, not before.” He cautioned him not to think that he had just jumped into it without having it written first. He wanted to know exactly what they expected of him and if at any point he didn’t like what it said he wasn’t going to sign it. He may have been hungry, but he could hold out….The cost was so much higher otherwise. Either way there was going to be devastation but he didn’t want there to be any more blood.
“Don’t think me indifferent to your plight, cousin.” He reassured him despite the lack of empathy in his voice. He often worried for his family, Germany included, but he knew that Ludwig was capable of defending himself. He was more worried for the ones close to him that couldn’t, his immediate family. “Did you know that my son was visited by Russia?” He asked in defense to his own stand. “If he had been allied…” He left it there and let Germany speculate the rest. He didn’t want to speak what could have happened into reality.
If Sealand were allied there would have been nothing stopping Russia from taking him. His neutrality had spared him in this aspect and his cousin needed to see how deeply this concerned him. There was much more at stake to Sweden than just winning the war for the allegiance and his friends. He had a family to protect and care for.
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Post by Germany - Ludwig Wilhelm on Jul 6, 2015 5:44:07 GMT -5
Though he can see the distrust in his cousin's eyes, what can Germany do about it? He's being sincere, but in these difficult times it's certainly understandable to be cautious when someone is offering even what appears to be a fair deal. In fact, the fairer the deal, the more suspicious it probably looks. And it's certainly not without precedent for one nation to cheat another when they should have been able to trust each other.
Of course, Ludwig is only telling himself all of this in an effort to skirt around the thought that perhaps his cousin's distrust is more personal than that - perhaps he's remembering the previous world war. Perhaps his efforts to change have not been recognized? Perhaps he deserves to be distrusted? Yes - he'll definitely avoid such thoughts whenever possible, though they come to him so easily.
His gaze is steady, though, as he returns his cousin's look - his thoughts may be troubled but that doesn't mean that he questions his course of action. He only worries whether or not it will be enough. Though he's disappointed that Sweden is refusing to give a verbal agreement before the written one can be made, he simply nods in understanding, not really surprised. Though they have a lot of differences, to a certain degree they're actually quite similar and though they make different choices it usually isn't very difficult for Ludwig to understand his cousin's perspective on the world.
"Don't think me indifferent to yours - if it vas possible for me to help you vithout compromising your neutrality, I vould do so," he says quietly. But there really is no way around that - the extensive amount of trade it would take would be enough of a boost to the Allegiance that the Pact would be fools to ignore it. And though perhaps they could have simply given Sweden what he needs without a return, they simply can't afford that - not during a war. The Allegiance is actually doing quite well on the economic front, but only because of careful management.
When Sweden goes on to speak of his son, it actually takes Germany a moment to remember who he'd be referring to - it's not that he discounts the boy for his size, but he has so much on his mind these days that the literally small things can easily slip from it. Or at least the small things that aren't a part of his current war strategies. But he's actually quite well aware of the boy - more than any other nation might guess, actually. And when he remembers his expression becomes surprised. "I did not..." he says, quickly making a mental note to make sure that England knows - if Russia was there than he was practically on England's shores, after all. How would he have gotten so close anyways? Probably by submarine - pretty much any other way would have gotten their attention. Even so, perhaps he needs to rework their undersea defenses - they can't cover the entire ocean or even just the North Sea, but Sealand is really close to England and that should not have escaped their notice.
Forcing his mind back out of the strategy of the situation, he takes a deep breath. "As you knov, the boy is not one to take the safest course of action - var or no var, since he refuses to stay with England he puts himself at great risk. And he's frankly unfortunate to have England for a brother - if he vere my younger brother, it vould have been different. He is a sea fort - if he vas villing, he could be made very capable of defending himself if he was simply given the technology and veapons. Certainly enough to make it not vorth it to the Pact to try to touch him unless they decided to blov him up just for the hell of it - and even the Pact rarely does such things," he says, though he knows he can't say that they wouldn't. A lot of their fellow nations have had their moments of pointless destruction (especially himself...).
"To be honest, cousin," he continues, "I don't think that I understand vhy you have not so outfitted him yourself vhen you are so concerned for him - it vould not be so very expensive to greatly protect something his size. Unless you believe that the Pact really von't touch him just because he's says he's neutral - even though it vould currently be a trivial matter to defeat him and I can think of several strategic uses they could have for him. Perhaps Ivan has simply not thought of them... yet." Even as he says this, however, Germany is giving no indication that he's attempting to use these thoughts as a scare tactic. That's because he isn't - at least not intentionally. Sealand may be small, but he's concerned about what happens to the boy himself, and he'd like to see his safety handled better.
Then again, it isn't as if he didn't notice why Sweden brought this up in the first place, or that he isn't well aware of the implications of his response - at this point Germany can't help but reject the idea that one can rely on mere neutrality for safety. It can keep a nation safe, yes, but it only works until it doesn't - and then you're just as badly off as you would have been anyway.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2015 14:22:40 GMT -5
Sweden listened to Germany, he respected his cousin and where he was coming from. Russia was going to push in hard and soon he would swarm him in the winter but right now Sweden and his people were safe. He handed it up to his neutrality because for the most part he has left the neutral parties alone. It was common to do so in war. He wasn’t ignorant though, he knew that eventually being neutral wasn’t going to be enough but he could only hope in the meantime that the war would end before anything drastic happened.
It would always be a risk to lose people in war. Sweden put his closest family first but he didn’t exclude Germany. Germany was his cousin and he wasn’t going to abandon him. Perhaps his plan was possible, perhaps he could train the soldiers and make the push through the line in the winter. But they wouldn’t be able to use his military. Those that he could spare would be few and even if it worked what then?
What then was the real question….After the work was done and his part had been accomplished. He needed to have it on paper and even then words were just words and paper was just paper.
Sweden remained silent and stoic as he talked about his son. Yes, he knew that the boy was just one small part in a large world and attacking him would give little gain to the other side, except that it would get Sweden’s attention. It would be a chain reaction in his mind that would lead to the worst things. He would rather have him here where he could watch him or remain neutral so he could be safe for now at least. The idea of it all was to wait it out until the nations settled on an agreement of peace. He understood that this may mean some of his friends got hurt but they made the choice to move into the war. Still, he didn’t enjoy the thought, it was something that placed him in a very difficult position. He didn’t have the ability to outfit Sealand like Germany thought he did. He wondered how little Germany actually knew about his military.
“I have not outfitted him myself because there is little resource to outfit myself with. Let alone protect a boy that lives on the waves.” He simply answered to his statement. Sweden was rich with minerals and ores but he used those to sell to other countries in return for things he could outfit himself with. He also sold things for imported food and supplies for his people which had become far more important in the last few decades before the war started. Never everything started to consistently move downhill and Berwald was facing a choice to give in simply because his people were starving. Only recently did the problem with Sealand come up and Germany was making it more clear that if he wanted to keep him safe more had to be done. His cousin was making it more and more tempting as his stomach did more talking than his mind, but he knew that was dangerous. “Come back with the papers Cousin and I will have given the entire situation more thought…In the mean time you can exit on the opposite side of store to make sure you don’t want anything.”
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Post by Germany - Ludwig Wilhelm on Aug 22, 2015 1:52:33 GMT -5
At heart, Germany is a pessimist. Which is actually something that usually works to his advantage - when everything goes right he's pleasantly surprised and when everything goes wrong he was expecting that and he's prepared for it. That philosophy is actually quite key to a lot of his strategies. So he's not surprise by things, especially of a military nature, very often. But he is surprised when Sweden confesses that he can't help Sealand. "But he is so small!" he blurts out in surprise, honestly dumbfounded by the concept. He can understand not having enough equipment to adequately protect a large country like one of them, but the boy is minuscule. He'd have thought that giving him what amounts to a few scraps to them would prove to be more than enough to arm him to the teeth. But he was wrong? Really? It's that bad in Sweden?
But, catching himself, he forces himself to contain any further outbursts on the subject. He doesn't want to sound critical or like he believes that he could have done better or anything like that - he honestly doesn't believe so. He's simply surprised, and that's all there is to it. He's still trying to clear out his more unuseful thoughts when his cousin suggests that he go back the way he came in, which prompts an immediate frown. "I have no need for any of these things! They vould do nothing but clutter up a house I am too busy to be in anymore! The only thing I am here for is you!" he says, almost but not quite yelling. Partly because he really doesn't like it when people get pushy with him, but even more so because there is no amount of things that he could buy from this store that would be enough to even put a dent into Berwald's problems. And he knows that, and he wishes that weren't the case.
Does he want to drag another nation into this war? No. Well, unless it proves to be the key to ending the war - he'd do anything short of surrender to end the war - but if he thought that they could do it without Sweden then he wouldn't be here. Perhaps he's being enough of a pessimist that he truly doesn't but he doesn't think so.
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(Deleted User)
I was deleted!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2015 13:38:19 GMT -5
Sweden didn’t react to Germany comment, not that he ever would. Inwardly he’d decided that Germany didn’t understand what it was like to be in his position. It wasn’t his fault, but Germany wasn’t making an effort to understand it either. It was perhaps because he believed that him and his family should have already been in the war but it should have come as a shock to him. They had avoided almost every war they could. Germany on the other hand was the one person in his family that always seemed to be involved in some kind of conflict, everything from the smallest scale to the largest.
But things were bad at home right now. The resources that they did have they couldn’t outsource because of military contract. Not being involved in the war meant no trade, no trade meant less food and a smaller arsenal, not that they didn’t already have a small one to being with. His cousin was a smart man, surely he could have figured this out if he’d have taken the time.
Perhaps the war had begun to get to him. It seemed that his cousin wanted the war to end so badly he was even willing to pull him into it despite the high risk of it being able to help none….Still his points were valid and he was going to give him the honor of considering them, but he doubted everything was as it seemed.
It was the next outburst that caused Sweden to look behind his shoulder at the rest of his shop. Was it in bad order or was his merchandise not good enough? Perhaps the war had affected even more than he anticipated it was going to. He didn’t consider any of it to be clutter, they were all nice things with a functional purpose. Some of his beds did 3 or 4 things! But at the mention of being here only for him his heart inwardly softened. Despite his had exterior Sweden did feel for Germany’s difficult position in this war, it looked like he wanted to win so badly. Instead of continuing with either of those subject he went back to focus in on the war.
Slowly, Sweden made his way closer to him and set a heavy hand on his shoulder. Germany was his cousin and he cared about him. “What can I do cousin, to put you at ease?....Would joining this war with you really accomplish that for you?” He asked him seriously, wanting to find a solution for both of them without leaving on a bad note. He didn’t want to get sucked into this but he didn’t enjoy seeing his family suffer either. Germany, as distant as he was, was still family.
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do not forget me
About thirty years ago, Israel's boss was assasinated. By who, well, no one knows, but Israel immediately blamed Iran. Of course, that alone wouldn't have started World War III, even though Israel and Iran's various allies declared war in quick succession.
Nah, the nuclear bomb in the middle of Jerusalem probably did it.
Now? Now the rest is history. The world's been at war for thirty years, thirty years of bloodshed and pain. No one else has reached for the nuclear option quite yet, but no one's happy. So if we all die- well, do not forget me, okay?
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Do Not Forget Me was created by Waffles and Jonathan and amazing layout and coding is thanks to SO-4 . Content is copyrighted to Do Not Forget Me unless otherwise stated. The skin is created by Wolf of Gangnam Style. The board and thread remodel is by Kagney The mini-profile remodel is by Trinity Blair of Adoxography. Thanks!
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