Post by anything on Jan 17, 2013 2:17:59 GMT -5
My Reflection
Nation:
English: Kingdom of Norway
Bokmål: Kongeriket Norge
Nynorsk: Kongeriket Noreg
Name:
Lukas Bondevik
Gender:
Male
Appearance Age:
25
Actual Age:
Since Independence: 108
Since Constitution: 199
Since Viking Age: 1313
Appearance
Hair Color:
Blonde
Eye Color:
Blue
Height:
1.78m
5'10
Weight:
65.9kg
145Lbs
Appearance:
Norway is very concerned about his looks, nowadays. This comes probably from years of wearing fur, looting, rolling around on the dirt fighting his enemies and not having a mirror to see what a mess he was. He makes sure to always look presentable, if he’s only crossing the street to get himself a cup of coffee, or going to work, he’ll always be well dressed and well kept.
On a very young age he acquired a cross shaped hair clip he’s been using ever since, both because it’s a good memory and reminds him of his roots and because it’s useful to keep his long bangs partially off his eyes. He’s heard people say it gives him an androgynous look, but that’s really the least of his concerns. As long as he’s clean and well kept, he doesn’t care.
Compared to his Scandinavian fellows, Norway has a lot less muscles than them. He fancies the thought that all he’s kept comes from his viking days, where physical use was more demanding. Even back then he barely used arms and legs to lift things and carry heavy weight, the perks of being able to use magic. All this, combined with the years he starved and all the diseases he’s been through left him with an average frame. Not extremely thin, and not full of muscles everywhere.
Defining Features:
What probably makes him stand out the most from other Nordics is the floating strand of hair on the back of his head. This, combined with a cross shaped hair clip he’s never seen without, used to keep part of his bangs off his face.
He’s always serious, but not to the point of having a permanent frown, he just doesn’t put much effort on making different facial expressions.
Who Am I?
Personality:
The first impression he gives on people is of a grumpy young man, given his closed facial expression and how little he speaks. It’s rare for him to be the one starting a conversation, or wanting to socialize. He’s not recluse, or an introvert, he’s just downright shy. Specially if you don’t see him often, or you don’t talk on a regular basis, he’ll always sound distant and quiet, but once he warms up to you, Norway is actually a very kind person.
It’s not difficult to see him cracking subtle jokes when he’s around the other Nordics, or picking on some of them for his own entertainment. After all he’s been through, growing to become one of the richest nations is a great accomplishment, he has no need to run around being mean to
Norway acts humble, and rarely brags about himself to the others, only doing so when he gets angry or needs to prove his point on something. Not many things get on his nerves enough to rile him up to this point, but when it does and he’s angry people better run for cover. He’ll usually do something stupid, say things he doesn’t mean, and push away everyone around him to spend a couple days with himself, thinking about his actions and finding a way to apologize without actually apologizing. He’s too proud to do so, and even when he knows he’s wrong he’ll find a way to make it look like he isn’t.
He enjoys quiet and his own company. Norway drinks by himself most of the time, and spends his evenings watching games on TV or building jigsaw puzzles he never finishes or frames. He enjoys tending the berries in his backyard to later turn them into jam.
In a nutshell, Norway holds dear all his friends and neighbors, and tries really hard to forget all that happened to him and to forgive himself for all the things he did to his friends in their past. He knows he hadn’t been a saint for most of the time, and he believes to have grown up a lot with all the good and bad experiences he had.
Likes:
- Nature
- Biathlon
- Coffee
- Alcohol
- Tomato Juice
- Berries
- Cake
- Cute things
- His creatures
Dislikes:
- Noise/Chaos
- Invasion of his personal space
- To have to talk
- To receive orders
- To answer phone calls
- Busy places
- Delays
Fears:
- Compromise - Other unions, EU, etc...
- Crisis in his fishing and oil industry
- Epidemics - Like the Plague, that killed so many people
- Radicals - That might cause a problem among his people
Fun Facts:
- Norway’s just calm and composed during the first three pints. After that he starts cracking up swedish jokes.
- He buys everything online. If it’s not something he needs immediately, he’s most likely to buy it online.
- He drinks a lot of coffee.
Strengths:
- His Economy (or do you really think he doesn’t shove his HDI on people’s faces when he’s in the middle of an argument?)
- Creativity
- Strategizing
- His magic
- Seamanship
Weaknesses:
- Shyness
- His pride
- Hot weather
- His family
Your History
Bronze Age
- 3000 - 2500 BC - New settlers arrive, introducing farming, fishing and hunting.
- 1500 BC - Bronze is introduced. Weapons start to go from stone sculpted only to a mix with the new element.
Iron Age
- 500 BC - The dead are cremated. The contact with southern countries bring the the knowledge of runes, and settled areas increase.
Viking Age
- 793 - Viking attack on Lindisfarne (England).
- 872 - When the Battle of Hafrsfjord is believed to happen and western Norway, for the first time, was unified under one monarch: King Harald I.
- 874 - First settlement in Iceland by Ingólfur Arnarson. The settlement of Iceland may also be viewed in the context of the general Viking expansion of the period, plausibly linked to population pressure in Western Norway and increasing scarcity of farming land.
- 995 - Olav Tryggvasson attacks London with 390 ships. Back home, he lands in Moster and builds the first Christian church there.
- 1000 - The Battle of Svolder was a naval battle fought in September 999 or 1000 in the western Baltic Sea between King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway and an alliance of his enemies. The backdrop of the battle was the unification of Norway into a single state, long-standing Danish efforts to gain control of the country, and the spread of Christianity in Scandinavia.
- 1030 - Battle of Stiklestad, in this battle King Olaf II of Norway was killed. At Stiklestad, Olaf met an army led by Harek of Tjøtta, Thorir Hund from Bjarkøy and Kálfr Árnason, a man who previously served Olaf. The year after the battle, his grave and coffin were opened and according to Snorri the body was incorrupt and the hair and nails had grown since he was buried. The coffin was then moved to St. Clement's Church in Trondheim. Olaf came to be venerated as a saint and given the name Saint Olaf.
- 1066 - Battle of Stamford Bridge, cause of King Harald Hadrada's death.
- 1262–1266 - Scottish–Norwegian War; The conflict arose because of the disagreement over the ownership of the Hebrides. The "war" contained only small skirmishes and feuds between the kings. The only major battle in this small war was the Battle of Largs, an indecisive battle. The Battle of Largs (2 October 1263) was an indecisive engagement between the kingdoms of Norway and Scotland near Largs, Scotland. The conflict formed part of the Norwegian expedition against Scotland in 1263, in which Hakon Hakonarson, King of Norway attempted to reassert Norwegian sovereignty over the western seaboard of Scotland.
Kalmarunionen || The Kalmar Union
- 1319 - With the death of Haakon V, King of Norway, the three year-old Magnus Erikson inherits the throne as King Magnus VII of Norway. At the same time a movement to make Magnus King of Sweden proves successful. Elected by their nobles, both Sweden and Norway are united under King Magnus VII.
- 1349 the Black Death radically alters Norway, killing between 50% and 60% of its population and leaving it in a period of social and economic decline.
- 1350 - Haakon VI, son of Magnus VII is placed on the throne.
- 1363 - Haakon VI marries Margaret, the daughter of King Valdemar IV of Denmark.
- 1379 - Upon the death of Haakon VI, his son Olaf IV who is only 10 years-old, has already been elected to the throne of Denmark. Thus, upon Olaf's ascension to the throne of Norway, Denmark and Norway entered a personal union. Queen Margaret, managed the foreign affairs of Denmark and Norway during the minority of Olaf IV.
- 1388 - Upon the death of Olaf, Denmark makes Margaret their ruler. Norway follows suit and crowns Margaret. Knowing that her power would be more secure if she were able to find a king to rule in her place, she settled on Eric of Pomerania. Thus, royal politics resulted in personal unions between the Nordic countries, eventually bringing the thrones of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden under the control of Queen Margaret when the country enters into the Kalmar Union.
- 1397 - The Treaty is signed in the Swedish castle of Kalmar, on Sweden's south-east coast, in medieval times close to the Danish border. The treaty stipulates an eternal union of the three realms under one king, who was to be chosen among the sons of the deceased king.
- 1523 - Sweden leaves the Union (taking Finland too).
Union with Denmark (400-Year Night)
- 1536 - Christian III demotes Norway from a Kingdom to a mere Danish province. Then, there's the introduction of Protestantism, the archbishopric in Trondheim is dissolved, and Norway effectually becomes a tributary to Denmark, and the church's incomes are distributed to the court in Copenhagen instead. Norway loses the steady stream of pilgrims to the relics of St. Olav at the Nidaros shrine, and with them, much of the contact with cultural and economic life in the rest of Europe.
- 1544 - a deal is struck with the Netherlands (then part of the Holy Roman Empire) and the Dutch controlled the export of Norwegian timber for the next 150 years.
- 1695–96 - The famine kills 10% of Norway's population.
- 1709 - They enter The Great Northern War.
- 1736 - Elementary Education is introduced.
- 1807 - They enter the Napoleonic Wars on France's side. This has a devastating effect on the Norwegian economy as the Royal Navy hinders export by ship and import of food.
- 1808 - Sweden invades Norway, but after several Norwegian victories a cease-fire is signed in 1809.
- 1811 - The University Of Oslo is established.
- 1813 - Enters the Napoleonic Wars, even with all the efforts on staying neutral all this time, and is promised as a prize for Sweden (by the United Kingdom, Russia and Prussia) if they win against France and Denmark-Norway.
- 1814[1] - Norway is given to Sweden because they manage to loose the war.
Union with Sweden || Treaty of Kiel- 1814[2] - Christian Frederick, the resident viceroy in Norway, founds a Norwegian independence movement. With the clandestine support from the Danish Crown, he's succesful and on May 17 they declare Norway's independence, with their very own constitution. A war with Sweden happen, resulting in the abdication of Christian Frederik and the election of Charles XIII of Sweden as King of Norway.
- 1844 - Oscar I becomes king of Sweden and Norway.
- 1905 - Declaration of Independence caused by the rise of nationalism during the late 1800s.
World War I- 1914 - Norway was exporting fish to both Great Britain and Germany alike, which made the British Government and the Allies increase the offers on fish and other products from Norway to avoid Germany from getting them.
- 1916 - The Government is put under great pressure by the British. They inform that British exports of coal to Norway would cease unless trades with Germany stop. The Norwegian Government felt they had no option but to comply with the demand.
Norway sustains its neutrality, though.
Meanwhile...- 1931-1933 - East Greenland Case: Norway goes to court against Denmark to claim its right
upon Greenland. Loses.
World War II- 1940 - Invaded by German forces and resists for two months. The Royal Family and the government fly the capital to London, and Vidkun Quisling - the leader of the Norwegian
Nazi party - points himself out as the Prime Minister via NRK radio broadcast. His party
gains no support, though. With this, Reichskommissar Josef Terboven takes over power by
forming his own cabinet. Terboven attempts to negotiate an arrangement with the remaining
members of the Norwegian parliament that would give a Nazi cabinet the semblance of
legitimacy, but these talks fail. - 1941 - The Shetland Bus - the nickname of a clandestine special operations group that
made a permanent link between Shetland, Scotland, and German-occupied Norway - is created. - 1942 - Quisling is re-instituted as head of state.
- 1944 - Operation Crofter: Exiled Norwegian troops liberate Finnmark.
- 1945 - The occupation by Nazi Germany ends, and Norway declares war on Japan.
Nowadays...- 1949 - Becomes a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
- 1957 - King Olaf V succeeds to the throne.
- 1959 - Joins the European Free Trade Association.
- 1965 - 1971 - the Labor party stays out of power for the first time since 1936.
- 1972 - Norwegian voters reject membership in the European Community (now the European
Union) - 1977 - Gro Harlem Brundtland is Norway's first woman Prime Minister.
- 1991 - Harold V succeeds his father, Olaf V, as King of Norway.
- 1992 - Norway refuses to conform to the International Whaling Treaty.
- 1993 - Norwegian government facilitates secret negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which leads to agreements on Palestinian self-rule.
- 1994 - Norwegian voters again reject membership in the European Union (EU).
- 2000 - Jens Stoltenberg forms a new government after Kjell Magne resigns.
- 2005 - Jens becomes Prime Minister.
- 2008 - Nordic Battlegroup is established. And Norway legalizes same-sex marriage.
- 2009 - The Norwegian spiral anomaly initially shook thousands of witnesses in Northern Norway, as well as people across the globe, when what was later explained as a misfired Russian missile caused a spectacular light formation in the sky. The phenomenon was observed in the dark morning sky from Trøndelag through Finnmark.
- 2010 - Norway tops the UN human development index.
- 2011[1] - The country is stunned by the bombing of government offices in Oslo, which killed eight, and the killing of 68 people at a Labor party youth camp; the attacks were by an extreme rightist who accused the government of allowing the Islamization of Norwegian society.
- 2011[2] - A Norwegian MP nominates WikiLeaks for the Nobel Peace Prize, saying "Wikileaks have contributed to the struggle for human rights, democracy and freedom of speech globally, by exposing (among many other things) corruption, war crimes and torture — sometimes even conducted by allies of Norway".
- 2012 - A second psychiatric evaluation finds that Anders Behring Breivik is sane enough to face trial for the 2011 Norway attacks and serve a prison sentence if convicted.
Sample Post
Oslo, 1940
Norway, like most people and nations all around, had never been the one to think things could happen to him. He was actually sure he was completely safe from the moment he stated he wanted nothing to do with this war. He had had his share of fighting and action, thank you very much. Now all he wanted was some peace and quiet, and if the rest of the World felt like breaking each others faces they might as well do it, he couldn’t care less.
Thing is people wanted him to take part.
Other nations wanted to get him involved in this, and the pressure was starting to take some effect on him. Since his independence Norway valued every second of his freedom, making sure to let it clear to everyone around that he wasn’t to take orders or accept requests to do something he didn’t agree with.
This whole war was a good example of one of the things he didn’t want to accept joining.
Still, there were external forces blackmailing him into it, putting up threats and making it look like he was doing this willingly.
His house was - unfortunately - settled on a very strategic place for both the Axis and the Allies, and whoever got there first would have a big advantage against their enemies. They didn’t want him, they wanted to plant bases on yet another territory. They had all been quiet for some time now, though, which made him a little less uneasy, feeling less in danger of being dragged in the middle of the fire against his will.
The weather was just starting to warm up, and snow had started to melt, become less frequent, and he predicted last night’s wet snow shower had been the last of the season. His backyard had this calming look to it, a couple white spots still visible around the rose bushes, and the pine trees holding water drops that would fall now and then. It was early in the morning, and Norway was going through his ritual of a big cup of black coffee before he started his errands when a frown crossed his features.
He had heard something.
And then another noise that made the floor under his feet shake a little. Just a little, almost nothing. A regular human being wouldn’t have felt that, but he was that land, he was connected to it, he could feel even the slightest changes. The third noise followed by the earth shaking got him putting the cup on top of the sink.
This couldn’t be... could it? Could they be entering his land like this?
Putting on his boots, Norway only took the time to pick up a coat on his way to the door. He wasn’t ready for this! He wasn’t expecting such audacity from the Nazis, or anyone else, in fact. On his way out he wondered if he had been wrong on not taking a side, or if he would take long to come back home. He really needed to put that coffee aside, or insects would find their way into his kitchen.
Little did he know he would take years to come back home.
The Player
Name: Lainey
Age: 24
Fun Fact: Despite the fact that my boyfriend is Norwegian, I can’t speak a word of his language. - 1814[2] - Christian Frederick, the resident viceroy in Norway, founds a Norwegian independence movement. With the clandestine support from the Danish Crown, he's succesful and on May 17 they declare Norway's independence, with their very own constitution. A war with Sweden happen, resulting in the abdication of Christian Frederik and the election of Charles XIII of Sweden as King of Norway.
