APH OC Profile - Philippines

BASIC INFO:
Name: The Republic of the Philippines, Philippines
Human name: Maria Clara Dela Cruz y Carriedo
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Birthday: June 12
Hair color: Black (or extremely dark brown)
Eye color: Chocolate brown
Height: 160 cm (5' 3''ft)

APPEARANCE:
Philippines is a tan-skinned young lady with long black hair that reaches her waistline and bangs that flow to the right side of her face. She is often seen dressed in her national clothes, the Baro't Saya (barong at saya), but at times wears a dark green military uniform. Her eyes are of the color dark brown (described as chocolate brown by a certain someone~), and a few locks of hair are tucked in behind her left ear by her national flower, the Sampaguita.

During modern times, she wears a dark red tank top and denim shorts, especially during the summer because of the heat in her homeland.

If you look closely, you will notice that she wears a pearl choker necklace, a silver charm bracelet, and a cross necklace. These were given by Japan, England and Spain respectively to remind her of her time with them.

PERSONALITY:
Philippines is a very energetic and cheerful young lady. Even though she is faced with many problems, she tends to look at the bright side and still keep a happy disposition. She may seem quite dense at times, but she is very clever and also hardworking.

Philippines is also a very loving and caring country. She is incredibly hospitable, being considered one of the most hospitable countries in the whole world. She has a bubbly personality (a trait which she kind of inherited from America), but can be very lady-like when it is needed.

She isn't the girly type of person, since she loves sports, nature, and staying outdoors. She has a particular fondness for wildlife as well, having owned a pet carabao as her companion throughout most of her life, and even a pet chicken.

She is also very religious, after being Spain's colony, and gives great importance to family, culture and traditions.

Although she appears to be good-natured, Philippines can turn out to be very aggressive when pissed off. One example would be whenever France attempts to grope her in any fashion. With this, she would immediately bring out her infamous itak, a Philippine weapon which she used during her war-plagued years, and threaten to stab the bewildered Frenchman with them. There would also be times when she would use a large wooden spoon and fork (a decoration often seen in traditional Filipino dining rooms or kitchens) for comic relief or the tip of a walis (broom in English) in order to whack anyone who would annoy or tease her. She also tends to be increasingly stubborn and short-tempered, especially when it comes to America's antics.

During her times as a colony, other countries pictured her as a weak and powerless child. Despite this criticism, Philippines proved that she had the ability to be brave and fight for what is right, all due to her passion to gain freedom. It was during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, wherein she mostly served as a medic, her profession in the field of medicine greatly helpful towards her allies. In the present, she continues to practice the field with most of her people following suit.

After having been briefly colonized by England during the 1600's, she became quite superstitious thus creating many mythical creatures such as kapre, manananggal and aswang in her legends. And just like England and Norway, she has the ability to see these creatures.

From all the Southeast Asian countries, Philippines became the most westernized after being taken over by mostly western countries, except for Japan. Her culture is a mix of her former colonizers' cultures, mostly influenced by Spain, and America coming in second.

She is also fluent in speaking in English and dislikes it whenever she is discriminated upon or when other countries look down at her. Despite this, her naive persona can lead her to become easily tricked by others.

Philippines tends to have the verbal tic of "po" especially when addressing to those older than her. It is somewhat a Filipino honorific to express respect to ones elders.

INTERESTS:
Philippines is actually very fond of singing. One of her past times would be singing karaoke, after Japan introduced it to her. She enjoys cooking as well, even though other countries may find some of her food bizarre. She is also into dancing and pop music, majority of her favorites coming from America.

After being introduced to technology, the Filipina apparently obsessed over gadgets, her love for the internet, music, and texting overwhelming the Philippine population. Nowadays, you can never see her without her cellphone within 1 meter radius from her.

Due to her being an island nation, the Philippines loves the ocean. She tends to collect shells every time she stays in one of her beach houses.

RELATIONSHIPS:

SPAIN
Spain is considered to be Philippines' father figure or elder brother. During his times as her colonizer, he became very protective of her and called her his "Pearl of the Orient Seas". Philippines became quite comfortable with Spain, his kindness attracting her at first. But as time passed, the more his grip on her tightened, and her trust in him began to slowly deteriorate. He became quite cruel and there came a time when she began to fight back. Philippines wanted to gain her freedom but of course, Spain wouldn't allow it. For more than a century, the colony became quite bitter towards him, with her constantly fighting for her independence.

The time came when Philippines grew to become a young lady. She became quite stronger, her revolts leaving a bigger mark on Spain. He was aware of this but since she was one of the key parts of his trade and economy, he remained stubborn and still did not accept her pleas of independence.

Soon, the Spanish-American war broke out, with the result of Spain losing and having to surrender Philippines to America in exchange of 20 million US dollars. He did not want to do it of course, for separation from his pearl was the last thing he wanted to do. Yet, he had no other choice. So, Philippines declared independence from Spain in 1898, the end of 333 years of Spanish rule.

In present, Spain and Philippines' relationship is now better, the older one still being a bit protective of her at times. She sees him as a father or older brother and continues to care for him, still remembering everything he taught her whether it came to religion or culture. Their great share in culture also kept their friendship.

Spain gave Philippines a cross when she was a child, to make her remember the culture and religion he taught her, and also a token of his love for the girl.

AMERICA
During the turnover of the Philippines from Spain to America, Philippines considered America to be somewhat like her "hero" after being freed from Spanish colonial rule. America on the other hand, was secretly glad to be taking care of the pretty and young nation, commenting that she was "a gift from the gods". But due to the tension and hostilities between the two and a possibility that the Americans came to her homeland to colonize her, the Philippines chose not to trust him at first despite him saying that he was only with her to help (because he was the hero).

The tension grew and a war between the two broke out, but with America colonizing her in the end. Trust was quite an issue during the early times of his rule, with the Filipina remaining hostile much to America's dismay. But in the course of months, Philippines learned to trust him more after he constantly helped her economically and politically. She saw him as a big brother at first but this gradually turned into a secret attraction. America of course was oblivious to this, much to her frustration.

They became closer as time passed and pretty soon, America promised her independence.  It was a hard decision for him to make, unbeknownst to Philippines, since he grew quite too attached to her. Philippines of course was excited, for she finally proved that she could stand on her own.

Unfortunately, World War 2 broke out, with Japan suddenly attacking America and Philippines and saying that Eastern control must be put back in Asia. America, since he was the hero, constantly fought back Japan's troops with Philippines' help.

By the end of the war, America finally gave Philippines her independence. He recalled a time when he actually thought that she'd be his forever, that she would see him of more than a colonizer or big brother. He knew that that would be too good to be true, yet he could not help but feel bad that they will be parting ways from now on. Philippines too felt the same way, and in the end took the courage to give him one goodbye hug.

In the present, America and Philippines remain very close friends, their attraction to one another is still kept a secret. America continues to help Philippines when she has problems and their bosses seem to be in good terms. America is Philippines' closest ally and she also offers any help she can provide him. She became greatly influenced by the superpower, being the most westernized Southeast Asian nation, and speaks fluent English because of him.

There was a time when hostilities between the two were deteriorating (American Occupation), wherein America took the liberty to tuck in a sampaguita flower behind Philippines ear to prevent some of her locks from covering her face. For the young woman, that alone was already a sweet reminder of her time with him.

JAPAN
Philippines and Japan had some previous encounters before, but the longest time she ever spent with him was during World War 2.

She was shocked after he suddenly invaded her, and was weakened by his short yet painful occupation. It was unknown to Philippines at the time that Japan was quite attracted to her, but his interest was heavily masked by the cruelty he pushed upon her and her people(For he had to follow orders as well). Because of this, she hated him a lot, resulting to many revolts and of course guerilla attacks.

They remained hostile with each other throughout the war, but as it came to an end, Japan gave her a pearl choker necklace as an apology gift and something to remember him by. It was because of this that Philippines learned to open up to Japan and forgive him.

During the early post-war years, there was still some tension in between the two countries, but they soon learned to get along quickly.

In the present, Japan and Philippines are good friends and sometimes see each other as siblings (due to the ASEAN), both helping one another in times of need. Japan's anime and manga took Philippines by storm, causing the Philippines to be quite the otaku. Because of him, karaoke became a favorite past time of hers and she is interested in the many new gadgets Japan has to offer. Even though they seem to be opposites (with Japan being the silent type and Philippines being the energetic one) the two get along well.

ENGLAND
There was a time during the Spanish rule when England attempted to colonize the Philippines, because of his rivalry with the Spaniard. She was in her mid-teenage years at the time and was taken by surprise by the new colonizer. Unfortunately for him, England was only able to take over her capital (Manila) and a few other provinces.

So, England stayed with her for a short period of time (around two years), and resistance occurred. Since he did not seem as intimidating as he usually was, Philippines took the time to get to know him and vice versa. The two got a long fine, with England trying to teach her some English. Even some of his stories of fairies and magical creatures came to her, causing her to become superstitious.

It was during this short period of time that England (just like other countries in the future) grew to get quite attracted to her, with Philippines feeling the same way towards him. His occupation of her capital did not last long and the two parted ways by the end of the Seven Year's War.

He gave her a charm bracelet made of shells, after learning about her love for the ocean. He considered it to be his parting gift and as well as a remembrance.

In the present, the two of them are good friends. They seem to have gotten over their attraction to one another but their true feelings are still unknown. Though he often questions her hyperness at times (to the point of comparing her to America), England could not help but admire her kindness and compassion, not to mention her well-known hospitality.

CHINA
Before Spain knew about the Philippines, China was the first one to take her under his wing. He found her alone as a little child, wearing native clothes that seemed of Malayan origin. He took good care of her during her early childhood days, being an older brother to the little nation, with the latter originally seeing him as one. They loved trading with one another and despite him constantly visiting her, China did not colonize the Philippines.

Soon after Spain's sudden rule over the young Philippines, China attempted to take her back, but failed. He still visited her, even though he was looked down upon by Spain, and continued his trade with the colony.

In the present, Philippines still sees China as her big brother. The two countries are still good trading partners.

AUSTRALIA
Australia is a good friend of the Philippines', being a large military defense training provider second only to America. They helped each other during the Second World War, and are both strongly against terrorism. The two nations enjoy visiting one another a lot and share an interest with beaches and the ocean.

SOUTH KOREA
South Korea is a close friend of Philippines' whom she sometimes considers as a brother. They are close and they get along well, especially during the Korean War when Philippines promised that she'd help him out. He visits her often usually just to talk about the one thing they are in common with: loving TV drama.

VIETNAM
Vietnam is considered to be Philippines' older sister among the ASEAN nations. The two are very close, especially since the end of the Cold War. There would be times when Vietnam and Philippines would argue, but these would be quickly resolved. The two nations tend to call each other by nicknames; Philippines calling Vietnam "Viet", and Vietnam calling Philippines, "Phili" or "Piri".

NAME:
Philippines' human name is Maria Clara Dela Cruz y Carriedo. In the Philippines, long names are quite normal, this being the same as those in Spain. Because of the long Spanish rule, many Filipinos have Spanish surnames. In Philippines' case, "Dela Cruz", this is by far the most common Spanish surname in her homeland.

Her given name "Maria" on the other hand is a popular or common first name given to girls. "Clara" was added and inspired by the well-known character "Maria Clara" in Noli Me Tangere, a famous book written by Philippines' national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

The "y Carriedo" in the end is of Spanish origin. "Carriedo" is Spain's last name. Since Philippines considers him as a father-figure, this was added. The y stands for the Filipino term at which means and in English. This is usually added in Spanish names to depict a middle name (which is the name following the y). So in western styles, her name is read "Maria Clara Carriedo Dela Cruz".

TRIVIA:
*Though her birthday corresponds to her date of Independence from Spain which was on June 12, 1898, her true independence was declared on July 4, 1946: America's birthday.

*She shares her Independence Day with Russia (also June 12, but a different year of course).

*Many other nations call her by her nicknames "Phili", "Piri" or "Piri-tan".

*In 1899, Philippines declared war against America after hearing news of one of her people being shot by one of America's soldiers. She fought at a disadvantage, but it took him three years to completely colonize her.

*Philippines was originally called Las Islas Filipinas or Filipinas during the Spanish colonial rule, being named after Philip II of Spain (who later became King of Spain).