the translations in this chapter (except the filipino ones) are probably inaccurate. please, if you come from those countries or know the language, correct me. enjoy!
[edited: june 30 ;; corrected translation errors at 17 dec 2022]
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Welcome to 1997, the year that would mark a new era for ASEAN.
Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia all joined the organization ever since Brunei's registration and the Cold War. One more country to go-Timor Leste-and they basically have the entire sub-continent. Although, that country didn't pass the requirements for entering yet, he was still accepted as an observer state, just like Papua New Guinea.
Tracing back, it was October.
As per tradition and routine, Philippines was invited to go to a beer festival, at Germany's. This was pretty normal due to him attending and hosting a lot of festivals himself, he would usually get drunk once he gets home to his apartment. It's been 7 years since he came back and fourth to that place, ASEAN was the one dropping Philippines to Germany's place after all. He kind of did didn't drop him off one time though, it was when he wasn't in a great mood to pick him up 3 years back.
For once more, he couldn't drop Philippines back there today, despite his really worried expression. He needed to observe some things around Vietnam, due to its recovery and it's ideology being different to the rest of southeast Asia. This leads him until now.
He was walking around a rice field, signing some papers here and there, but overall just observing every Vietnamese farmer at work. It was late afternoon, so the population of farmers around the area started decreasing, as everyone started going back to their homes, or their huts.
By that thought, he came close to a big rock nearby and decided to sit on it.
The sunset from behind the field looked amazing, it had the perfect transition of yellow-orange-blue colors. The sky basically looked like a painting. There was literally nothing but high, stratus clouds have been around the sky. The birds were starting to get quiet and the small buildings around him started to light up.
The temperature became colder than usual, an indication that it's becoming dark. He didn't know where to go yet, there are still some farmers on the field, doing some finishing touches. The farmers were just there, cleaning up the field as fast as possible. He would go and help, but his purpose was to sign papers at that point.
Agriculture was one of the purpose of his existence, his logo itself even represents strands of wheat. Now he jumped into the thought of his logo, his head went a few months back into an argument within the entire organization.
The colors.
It felt so... wrong?
Light blue and bright yellow doesn't fit together. He's fine with the symbolism and everything... but why those colors? Who knows why the founding five chose them. He hated it.
Crap, he also hated the fact that he needed to live with golden wings and somehow ring. It was normal for organizations, sure. EU literally has them as well. He just didn't think that his colors was ever good with his color combination. He didn't choose the color for his wings, he was technically made to have it and can't choose, the founding five also can't change it.
But why gold?
His argument isn't only the colors, it was also the fact that his icon itself needed a change. It felt outdated now.
The countries kept arguing about it back at June. ASEAN couldn't be apart of the argument, although he did have a side that he wanted to change the logo so badly. Myanmar, Laos and Malaysia had his side of the debate though, he can't just speak out to change everything. That wasn't the first argument about it though, there was one back at summer of 1981 which escalated to a friendly meeting quick.
He made his golden wings rest on the ground as he scanned the area. The sky has officially went dark and the night stars started appearing behind him. It was beautiful.
Why didn't he come outside as often as possible?
He was too busy with something else. He didn't have much free time. He liked nature as much as he supposed to, did he?
After a few more seconds of admiring the beautiful sunset, the 10-country organization stood up, with his wings positioned properly and decided to walk to the nearest hut. He needed to go, it was becoming night. He said his goodbyes to the Vietnamese farmers he can find, and now he was following a path, a rocky one.
He remembered this area, he passed here before. Not a long time ago, just this morning. The sun started to go down, and minutes later, it did.
The night sky, it was colored with black and dark blues. The white and bright stars dominates the sky, together with a probably perfect, crescent moon.
He eventually looked straight to his direction. ASEAN found his way walking in the dark and shallow pavement. No light was around him, except his halo and the faint glow of his wings. He basically couldn't see anything but the night sky and himself. He immediately panicked.
"[Am I even going through the right direction?]" he muttered in Indonesian, slightly hissing at the fact he heard a bat nearby. Yikes, that startled him just a tiny bit.
He walks more through the pavement, then he realizes that he was in a forest. He wasn't in the forest since he first got to the field, this thought made him jump.
"Yikes, [I'm lost]?!"
This wasn't the first time he got lost though, it was the first time he got lost in a dark forest with no companion. He then checked if he brings his own belongings, he brought nothing. He then muttered to himself in not Indonesian this time, but in Filipino, "[Ugh, I should've just brought my bag today, why didn't I think of that- argh!]"
He gets frustrated as he continued walking through the forest, kicking a piece of stone on the way. Eventually, he stopped walking. Now, he's just there. Standing in the middle of the forest.
"It's been thirty years and you still don't know how to handle this," he reasonated himself silently. "No wonder why UN hasn't affliated with you yet..."
He was now at the peak of frustration, guilt, anger towards himself. He has now been lost in this probably Vietnamese forest. Who knows what could happen next, hunters mistaking him for a glowing bird? Birds do fly, and he had wings.
Wait.
He had wings.
Unlike the other organizations he had met or known so far, he never really practiced flying, he was busy with almost everything. It was supposed to be ASEAN's monthly break that day, but what he did was instead serve the community. Everybody had mixed reactions on it, some say that it was kind of him, others kept saying that he needed a break. It's been flowing like that for at least 20, or even 30 years now.
The only time he flew was literally at the first day of his existence, he basically flew his way towards Thailand's house. Never outside though.
He moved on from that thought immediately. He sighed as he gave himself a checklist in his head.
He didn't bring anything but his ball point pen, check.
Nobody near, hopefully check.
Is his hair okay? Who cares, he's about to fly anyways, like it's ever going to be fixed whilst flying, so that's a whatever.
Glasses' safety, he didn't care about his glasses anymore, he can just get a new one.
But, do organizations even fly? They do have wings, he saw UN and EU with them, but do they even use it? Aw man, he couldn't even find the answer to that question in that wild and dark tree cramped place.
His thoughts interrupted as he heard people from his left. ASEAN notices, and eventually swooped his way into the forest, charging... up?
Was this the way to do it? Man, he didn't fly for 30 years straight.
Oh wait, it wasn't.
He felt his energy rushing towards his face as he panted a whole lot. He stopped by behind a tree, and covered his face with his hands off of embarrassment. He didn't need to charge up by running, he just needed to flap his wings and fly.
This made him gave off a wave of shock, what if they saw him? He's going to be in a lot of trouble if so. He hated how bright his halo was at that point onwards.
"Okay, in the count of five, I fly away," he muttered, as he clenched his fists.
The humans were already nearby him, he didn't know where to run anymore. He heard the people from behind him, speaking Vietnamese.
"[Hey uh, did you find it?]"
"[Nope, but it must be here somewhere.]"
He started counting, "Five.... Four..."
One of the hunter's vehicles suddenly appears on front of his view. The hunter immediately looked straight at him as he looked by the vehicle. He immediately took notice.
"Screw this- GO!"