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While you’re right in that I’m manga-centric, there is actually a direct strip reference that mentions the Norman Conquest over England. What we learn is that France acted as England’s chef during this time [x]. 

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Tonight, I’ll explore England’s childhood inferiority and how this also led him to develop a superiority complex in which he played himself off to be overly confident, despite lacking such certainty. 

Post coming up tonight!

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Anon 1

😂

😂 We have the same sense of humour and I’m living for it. 

Anon 2: It’s because Canada sheltered the Dutch Royal Family during the WW2 German Occupation of the Netherlands 🙂 

Anon 3: Thank you so much! Ha, I haven’t been on tumblr for long. I used to be more of a fic writer!

Anon 4: Oh oh oh, thank you <3. Now I’m super pumped to post a Spamano one-shot next week. It turned out a little longer than expected and needs more time…(6500 words and I still have three more scenes to write, oops.). 

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PART 2

Italy: 

Loneliness–

Ex: During the Second Industrial
Revolution, Italy breaks down crying when England asks him for help, citing
that it had been a long time since someone had last trusted him. At the time,
he had just unified with Romano, so their relations were even rockier than they
are now.

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Fear of being useless and
unwanted, abandonment–

Ex: When Germany makes an
alliance with Russia, Italy gets anxious and suffers from a nightmare. He imagines that his allies, Germany and Japan, want nothing to do with him.

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Ex: He makes Germany reassure
him several times that he’s not hated.

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Discontentment with looks–

Ex: Italy panics when he gains
weight. Germany has to reassure him by drawing up a poll that confirms that it’s okay for handsome Italian men to have a bit of stomach.

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Ex: He worries that he’s not
macho enough.

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Prussia:

Fear of being alone + single

Ex: He never married.

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As such, no matter how much he
tries to convince himself that he likes being alone, the fact that he cries
when he sees Austria and Hungary on Christmas proves otherwise.

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Fear of being weak + inferior–

Prussia’s life cycle is full
of peak and weak moments.

When he’s weak, he’s meek and
down in spirits.

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When he has power, he becomes
cocky and will degrade others to make himself feel better.

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Romano: 

Inferiority over being
compared to his brother–

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Russia: 

Fear of being alone +
inability to make friends–

Ex: He’s put-off by America’s ability to make friends.

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Ex: He grows disheartened
when many nations are unable/ choose not to visit him during the New Years’ break. A blizzard plays a part in this too.

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Ex: He’ll call anyone his
friend, even General Winter who abuses and attacks him on an annual basis.

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Ukraine:

Discontentment over looks

She doesn’t like her big
chest. One strip in Volume 2 is literally titled:

“I Hate my Big Boobs!”

Ex: During the 2013-2014 Halloween
Event, others point out that her costume is too tight and restraining. (It’s to prevent
them from bouncing).

When other nations point this out, she grows uncomfortable and tells them not to mention it.

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That said, you can’t say that
these characters don’t have their flaws or complexes, hardly any of which that
you see depicted in the anime. So no, Hetalia isn’t simple. The fandom didn’t
make it any deeper than what it already was.

Yo!! Ms. Ella I had sent you an ask on the mis(characterization) of aph Austria, could you atleast post a link if you have already done it? So that like I can read it……

I haven’t done an Austria characterization post yet. I’m very busy with requests and I ask for two things! 

One, patience. And two, if you’re not sure if I’ve done a post before, I have a directory with all the links to my posts. Please check there before you send in an ask. 

On another note, everyone is always free to message me. I just don’t answer asks on content I’ve already covered. 

Hey Ella! I love your work. I know this is going to be an odd question, but, I saw somewhere that Canada is a HUGE Naruto fan, and mentioned that he asked Japan how to do a fictional ninja attack. Is there any strip that confirms it? I do not know where to find it.

Thank you, and 100% canon! It’s a request from the 2013-2014 Halloween Event [x]

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He’s also spotted wearing a ninja outfit when he stars on America’s cooking channel to make sushi. 

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Note: This is an example and reference post. By no means does this cover every case or detail in the manga. 

PART 1

America:  

Fear of Criticism–

Ex: In earlier strips, he’s
depicted to be reluctant to show England his movies.

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This changes as he later
warms up to showing England his latest movies, only to have it be brutally
ripped apart, again. He’s gotten so used to being criticized by England that he’s normalized it all together.

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Perhaps because of these
criticisms, on top of how poorly his movies are rated, is what caused him to
begin “laughing off the negative as something positive.”

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Fear of Being Challenged

He likes to be the #1 at
everything. 

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While it’s not made explicit, it’s clear that others’ opinions
threaten him.

Ex: He claims to want to hear
alternative opinions but later refuses to accept them.

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Ex: He crushes bundled
spoons, likely as a form of intimidation, to prevent other nations from
disagreeing with his world defense plan.

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Fear of Being Alone–

Due to England’s long absences,
he grew lonely.

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This translates into adulthood,
where he pesters other nations into hanging out with him.

Ex: He breaks into Japan’s
house + desperately tries to convince himself that at least Japan likes him,
despite all other nations ‘hating’ him.

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Discontentment with his
weight–

Ex: He doesn’t like being
called fat.

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Ex: He refuses to acknowledge
the ‘number’ on his scale and instead convinces himself that it’s broken.

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Austria:

Fear of Being Plain–

Ex: He doesn’t need to wear glasses
but feels simple without them [x].

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Canada: 

Fear of Being Ignored/
Forgotten–

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Canada was neglected in his
childhood and consequently developed low self-esteem and self-worth.

Ex: He mistakenly believed that
the then colonizing England was looking at
him as a person
and not as a resource when they first meet. If anything,
this fleshes out how young Canada wasn’t accustomed to being valued on a
personal level. As such, he doesn’t value himself later on in life.

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Ex: He at one point believed
that America was disinterested in him.

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Ex: He was once too shy to communicate
with America directly, so he used England as a mouthpiece.

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Ex: He cries when Seychelles
remembers that he’s a member of the G8 .

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Discontentment with Looks–

Ex: He doesn’t think he’s
good looking.

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England:

Fear of being weak + inferior–

Ex: After being conquered
several times over, young England aspired to become strong himself.

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Ex: He longs for the golden days of his empire [x].

Ex: He especially feels
inferior when America surpasses him in manufacturing during the Second Industrial
Revolution.

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Ex: In “England’s Plan to Be
the Strongest”, England trains to become stronger – an implicit acknowledgment
that he’s lost power.

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Low self-esteem–

Ex: As a child, he took France’s teasing
insults to heart and believed that he was “unrefined.”

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Ex: While he’s critical of
others, he’s just as critical of himself. He’s self-deprecating.

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Fear of Being Alone–

As the “Black Sheep of
Europe, he was constantly isolated from other countries.

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Ex: The American Revolution.

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