America taking care of his friend’s Pomeranian and asking for
Germany’s help.
Canada crying and doing his best to heal England after the
American Revolution [x].
Hungary secretly cleaning up for Austria after their empire
is dissolved.
After telling the story of Germany’s birth, you see a break
in Prussia’s egocentrism – or rather the act of it. He goes from “worship me
all you like” to agreeing to do laundry for Germany. In reality, he’s an
incredibly helpful, hardworking, and diligent person.
Canada: England’s sick, what do I do?
America: Sneak behind his back and sign your independence.
You have transcended good fortune. Congratulations. What the fuck you’re so lucky.
Anon 1: As someone who’s also
extremely busy, my advice would be to break it up into parts. For example,
focus on reading World Stars, then the non-linear strips, then Bamboo Thicket…and
so on. It’s a lot of content, but even if you read snippets here and there, it’s
better than not getting any of the reading you want done!
Anon 2: AusHun without a doubt.
Anon 3: Thank you! (Ah…you must
be reading old fics).
Basically, I don’t care
if people favourite or don’t favourite/ unfavourite. That’s up to you, and it’s something I can’t force people to do. Favourites are one of the most flattering honours, though 🙂
I get offended when
people unfollow only after a fic is finished.
It’s not a nice feeling when you complete a story, only to have 10-15 people
unfollow right afterward. That’s why I feel used, although I used to be a lot
more sensitive lol.
Point is, there’s really no reason to unfollow either since you’re not going to get the alerts anyway. Sometimes –because I’m silly–I’ll follow a story
even though it’s completed, just to show my support for it.
Anon 4: Not being able to answer
all my asks in a timely fashion. It really eats at me, and I feel bad. As
always, anyone is always free to DM me. I’m much quicker with replying (it’s
not months like some asks, yikes).
Anon 5: Did you mean defense
mechanisms? If it’s a defense mechanism, then that sounds like reaction
formation.
There is one strip where
you see something similar to what you’re describing, sans the resentment. Japan
invents mind-reading binoculars and puts them on Italy. He doesn’t believe what
he sees and concludes that the binoculars don’t work [x].
Anon 6: Why not? It’s heartrending.
As someone who has poor self-esteem and is used to being neglected and
forgotten about, this moment is not only foreign but beautiful to him…Perhaps
I’m projecting a bit too because I grew up being ignored by my classmates, but
eh. I like it because I like it.
Looking at potential hints at ships is great, but I’d also like to use this forum to explore some of the most wholesome friendships in Hetalia. Today, let’s look at Japan and America. They’re compliments of each other, representing two polar personalities that balance out perfectly to create great comic relief. Among my favourites are the cultural misunderstandings that the two share.
Autobiographical Easter Eggs:
A lot of Japan’s bewildered reactions to America’s culture
is based on the own reactions that Himaruya experienced himself when he moved to New York.
Ex: Japan takes a picture of the brightly coloured cakes in America.
So does Himaruya, who finds the colouring to be weird [x].
Ex: Through the strips, Himaruya advises Japanese tourists that American
police officers aren’t the best at giving street directions, unlike in Japan
where that’s their main purpose [x].
Where their relationship begins:
When Japan opens his country to the West during the Meiji
Era, Netherlands warns him that because America is young, he may force himself
in.
Despite this, America and Japan hit it off very well. Of
course, this is still exhausting for Japan, who’s both physiologically and chronologically
older.
One moment that really sets the pace for their relationship
is when America introduces table-turning to Japan. He wants to surprise Japan
into believing that it can answer any question.
What America didn’t expect was for Japan to reveal his
anxiety over whether he’ll be able to get along with other countries in the
future.
The sweetest moment is when America doesn’t hesitate to
reassure Japan of this by moving the table so as to say yes.
Since this post covers
their friendship, WW2 will be purposefully glossed over.
Post-WW2:
This one panel here has puzzled many people. When America
proposes a ridiculous world defense plan, Japan agrees without any debate.
Switzerland then reprimands Japan for not voicing his own opinion.
If we’re to take this meeting as occurring right after WW2, this
fits with the Japanese-American relations of the time, where the Japanese
government and society were completely restructured. If this were to be
depicted in the manga, Japan would have become a lackey to America during the
American Occupation of Japan.
Cultural Differences:
Culture shock or accidental misappropriations between them
make up the flesh and bones of their relationship.
Ex: Japan’s version of horror is far different than America’s [x] [x].
Ex: Japan is astounded by how large the food portions are in
America. Meanwhile, America is just as astounded by how small the food
proportions are in Japan.
Ex: Again, Japan likes to take photos of the fluorescent cakes
in America [x].
Ex: America likes to dance. Japan doesn’t.
Ex: America visits Japan on New Year’s day. He
takes it upon himself to study Japanese New Year’s customs, but accidentally
ends up using a wrong reading for “home etiquette.” It comes off as “sword
killing” instead [x].
Visiting:
The two visit and spend time with each other pretty often in
the manga.
Ex: Japan moves in with America for some time. America
kindly greets him with a large meal.
Ex: Japan invites America to come see the sakura bloom in the
spring.
What I also find funny is that there are times where America
becomes too much for Japan to handle.
Ex: Japan runs away when America asks him to sleepover after
watching horror movies. It’s not romantic in context. America’s just a big
fraidy-cat that needs someone there with him [x].
Ex: America invites Japan to his Christmas party, only to
leave the tab of said party on Japan. This prompts a good bout of lecturing [x].
Even more interesting is that we get a small snippet that
expresses America’s fears and secret recognition that he’s not well-received by
other nations. Japan is the only one he believes won’t abandon him [x].
Ex: America unceremoniously breaks Japan’s window. This
prompts another lecture [x].
He goes there to ask for Japan’s help in successfully scaring England on Halloween. (America and England host an annual competition where the two attempt to out-scare each other).
All in all, the relationship that Japan and America share is
definitely a sweet spot in the manga. The two are very close friends, and if
creative inspiration just so happens to dictate it, then yes, they would also
make for a good, well-rounded ship.
America: Aren’t you just the cutest little thing~!
When Japan visits him, there are small pieces of garbage all over his carpet. Because there’s the stereotype that Americans are obsessed with infomercial products, America places too much trust in his vacuum cleaner.
As stated in “In just 2 minutes, you can grasp the exterior of
the European Economy,” a nation’s health is dependent on two factors – the
stability of their economy and their politics.
This post will examine what happens to a nation when their
political situation lacks stability.
Let’s go through some examples.
America:
The recent divide between Republicans and Democrats have
been a cause for concern for America’s health. The fighting between the two
political parties is enough for England to comment that the 2016 election must
have been exhausting for America [x].
America denies this, claiming that his body is strong enough
to handle the infighting.
The running gag is that all parties will bond over
how much they hate the new president once the election is over [x]. Point is, it’s
the fact that England’s worried about America’s health – stemming from his
political situation – that’s significant.
China:
China’s rough history of ups and downs, consisting of many rebellions,
conquests, moments of prosperity and unification, and division was a lot for
his physical body to handle. The consequence of these political conflicts is
that he develops aches and pains [x] [x].
England:
England is notorious for falling ill after/during political
conflicts.
This example is undeniably the most important one.
Remember that nations are representations of their citizens.
They exist because of them. Said body of citizens encompasses all groups within
the population. A German is a German, regardless of their ethnic heritage,
culture, and race.
That’s why I believe that Germany is described to “tolerate
his way through pain” during WW2 [x]. German Jews were still his people regardless of their ostracization and the monstrous atrocities
committed against them. This all had to be felt by Germany.
Not everyone was favourable of the Nazi regime either
(obviously) – the executions of those who spoke out against Hitler, assaults,
raids, and surveillance carried out by the Gestapo created an immense sense of
fear and terror for many Germans. Combine that with air raids. The politics of
this time were far from stable.
As always, I must point out that the nations are
subordinates to their bosses and are forced into complying with their orders, often
against their own free will and conscience. Full post on that here [x].
Ex: Germany didn’t want to annex Austria, but was forced to
by his ‘strange’ boss [Hitler]. [x]
Ex: He’s screamed at by his boss, and yet, still takes down
notes. [Out of obligation.] [x]
Ex: Germany didn’t want to form an alliance with Russia. He
did so out of a sense of duty [x].
Ex: While joking, Finland darkly hints at the real
possibility of Hitler being capable enough of imprisoning Germany should he
complain too much about him. It’s more than just “boss troubles” [x].
Ex: When taken as a prisoner of war, Germany compares torture to a mosquito bite. This is because of the pain he experiences on a daily basis during the war.
With all this in mind, what I want to stress most is that
the nations feel pain for their people in whole, aside from whatever actions
their government decide to take.
I’ll save FrUK for later, but I’d be happy to start a friendship series.
Let’s start with Japan and America. Friendship post coming up tonight!
Ellawritesficssometimes 