Flag of Isla Blanca

This is the flag of Isla Blanca.  It comes from a world where the Spanish Armada was slightly more successful than in our world.  Though it failed to conquer England, the armada to manage to capture the Isle of Wight.  Due to a mistranslation, the island was renamed Isla Blanca, or White Island in English.  Isla Blanca proved to be an invaluable strategic location for the Spanish.  Owing to its close proximity to the British Isles, the Spanish were able to use Isla Blanca to keep the British in check.  As a result of this, Gibraltar remains firmly under Spanish control. 

Over the years, the Britain has made many attempts to regain Isla Blanca from Spain.  For example, when Isla Blanca's constitution was being written in the late 20th Century, it was stated that it could not seek independence from both Britain and Spain.  Shortly after that, a referendum was held to decide Isla Blanca fate.  The options were continued union with Spain, union with Britain, or having both nations share joint custody of Isla Blanca.  The people of Isla Blanca overwhelmingly voted to remain part of Spain.  Several other referendums have been held over the years, but the result is always the same, much to Britain's chagrin.

In terms of culture, it is often said that the people of Isla Blanca are more Spanish than even the Spanish themselves.  Recently, following Spain's decision to leave the European Union, some have wondered if Isla Blanca might waver in its loyalty.  For now, however, Isla Blanca remains fiercely loyal to Spain and proud of its Spanish culture and heritage. 

The waves on the flag represent Spain's control of the wave, and a nod to its former world-spanning empire.  Above the waves is a maroon field, representing royalty and the Spanish monarchy.  The monarchy is also referenced in the crown atop the coat of arms.  The coat of arms contains a stylization image of Isla Blanca set against a soft blue sea, as well as two fish.  The fish represent fishing, unsurprisingly, a historically important industry on Isla Blanca. 

Flag of the Russo-American Alliance

This is the flag of the Russo-American Alliance.  It comes from a world where World War II dragged on for long than it did in our world, before ending in a stalemate.  The Allies and Axis signed an armistice, but officially, the war never ended.  For the next few decades there was an uneasy peace as the major and minor powers improved their technology in apprehension for the war heating up again.  One development was the beginnings of colonizing the Solar System.  The other major way this world differs from ours is that the Solar System is teaming with habitable worlds, much like it is depicted in science fiction from the 50s and 60s.  

Colonization of the Solar System got a major boost when the war finally started up again.  By this point, both the Allies and the Axis had developed atomic bombs.  Both sides were more than willing to use their nuclear weapon, along with other new weapons such as remote controlled asteroids.  As a result, Earth's environment was completely devastated.  Numerous cities were destroyed, massive crop failure occurred due to nuclear winter, and overall it was not a good time to be living on Earth.

The nations of the Earth, or at least, the ones with space programs, engaged in a mass evacuation attempt.  New alliances were forged and cultures were intermingled.  By the 21st century Earth remains a backwater planet just beginning to show signs of recovery from the nuclear war.  Meanwhile, Mars and Venus shine as bastion of culture and freedom, and are locked in a bitter war against the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. 

The war continued even into space, but for now at least, things are at an uneasy truce.  The Allies laid claim to the Inner Planets, while the Axis were pushed to the Outer Planets.  The astroid belt was claimed by neutral nations, such as Switzerland, and become something of a neutral zone between the two.  Recently, the Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt have been designated as neutral zones as well. 

The Russo-American Alliance started off as a coalition the United States, the Soviet Union, the British Empire and the French Empire.  However, Britain and France took quite a beating during the thermonuclear war.  As a result, America and Russia came to dominate the alliance both culturally and in terms of political clout.  The official language of the Alliance is Runglish, a combination of Russian and English, with a few bits of French thrown in.  Venusian Runglish is more similar to Russian, while Martian Runglish is more similar to English.  

The blending of Russian and American culture is most evident with the design of the flag.  The flag is a combination of the American and Soviet flags.