what’s the creepiest thing about Russia to you?

I don’t think there’s anything in particular that stands out to me. It’s more of a scene that comes to mind.

Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., Oct 24th, 2014).

The purpose of this post is to delineate the fact that
nations that have cultural influences on each other are not biologically
related. While the influencee may adopt traits from the influencer in some
cases, it doesn’t always constitute a biological relation. What’s even more
confusing is that there are specific adopted traits that the nations use to
mark a biological relation.

I know this sounds obscure, but it’ll make sense when I go
through some examples.

Romania and Bulgaria
vs Romano and Veneziano:

A gag with Romania in the series is that he claims that he’s
a descendant of Rome, and, therefore, an Italy brother.

However, even though Rome did, in fact, instill significant
cultural influence in Romania, Romano is quick to reject this claim. He
identifies the presence of a curl as proof of biological lineage from Rome.
Remember that Rome is said to have had many grandchildren and adopted
grandchildren.

Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 163 + Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., October 30th, 2014).

Later, we see the same rejection occur with Bulgaria, who
has Roman ruins.

Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., Oct 22nd, 2014).

England, America,
Finland, and France: (+ more)

As I’ve stated before, England and America are not
biologically related. England is stated to be the fourth and youngest sibling
in his family, consisting of Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.

Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., Aug 4th 2010).

In the Battle for America, it’s explicitly stated that
England becomes America’s brother. We also learn that because America was a
“melting pot” of several cultures at the time, he inherited certain physical
traits from his colonizers.

Source: Hetarchive, The Battle of America.

For example, in the trio’s feud to make America their little
brother, Finland notices that America looks like him.

The distinction between cultural influence and blood
relation is necessary otherwise it would lead to a slippery slope where all
nations are related to each other. So, unless explicitly confirmed by Himaruya,
nations aren’t related to each other regardless of their histories. Arbitrary
as the biological relations may be, you work with what’s given to you.

Lastly, I’ve seen people comment that there’s a confirmed
biological relation between America and Finland. That’s not the case. Finland says that America has some genes from his people. Remember that America emerged as a personification representing several cultures. The genes are the traits, but because America has so many cultural influences, they don’t consider each other to be blood-related.

The fact that America didn’t identify with Finland as a
family member in the first place is telling of this cultural influence, as well
as the fact that Finland offers to become a father figure for America, who in
the context of the strip had been feeling jealous of kids who get presents from their fathers on Christmas.

Source: Hetarchive, Christmas 2010 Event.

France and Canada:

Similar to the situation with England and America, Canada
inherits France’s hair.

Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 192.

France, America, Canada, and Seychelles vs England, Hong
Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Hutt River, Sealand, and Wy:

We learn that France’s cultural influence is a dominant trait
that prevents America, Canada, and Seychelles from inheriting England’s bushy
brows. Although, interestingly enough, Seychelles had initially been designed
to have one thick eyebrow and one bushy one to represent English and French influence.

Source: Hetarchive, Seychelles profile.

Meanwhile, without French influence, Hong Kong, Australia,
New Zealand, Hutt River, Sealand, & Wy inherited the bushy brows.

Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans.,Nov 12th 2013) + Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 269.

Of most importance and what I can’t stress enough is the
example of Hong Kong. It proves, with the most clarity, that cultural influence
does not have a causal relationship with biological relation.

After becoming English territory, Hong Kong’s eyebrows grow
bushy from the resulting English influence on his culture.

Source: Volume 6, A wise man has no specialty.

It’s said that England put a curse on him to have his eyebrows become so thick, but you also have to remember that England’s eyebrows themselves are cursed. The implications would be that his influence caused the curse to pass on.

Source: Volume 5, Special Booklet.

Point is, as far as Himaruya’s concerned with his
characterizations:

Cultural influence ≠ biological relation.

Q & A

A good majority of the fan-fiction I read about
Belarus is about how she’s obsessed with Russia. Is there more to her than just
her obsession? I know she’s really really likes Russia but I want to believe
that’s not all to her character.

Honestly, no. Her
obsession is what shows up in most of her appearances. This doesn’t mean that
she can’t act normal, though. I have a post dedicated to showing that [x]. However,
even in the moments where she’s not hostile or aggressive, the gimmick still
ends up relating back to Russia.

It’s unfortunate, but
that’s just how it is. I’m still waiting for Himaruya to do something with her
character, as she’s only had one appearance in World Stars. It’s not even a
full appearance…

Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 235.

I’m not an expert or anything, but I think
Canada has some symptoms of having abandoned child syndrome (ACS) or something
similar to it. Almost any official story arc involving him is about how he’s
neglected by everyone, his own family too. Poor baby I just want him to be
happy D’:

Without a doubt, Canada
was neglected as a child, but it’s not to the extent of abandoned child
syndrome. I’m also iffy on your claim that he’s neglected in every arc he’s
portrayed in. In fact, a key theme of America and Canada’s relationship—which
is depicted in more depth in World stars—shows that Canada is actually taken
for granted by America. America relied on Canada to follow his every command;
Canada’s character development revolved around him learning how to stand up for
himself.

I’m always hesitant to
medicalize characters because often enough labels like abandoned child syndrome
are thrown around without any substantiation, leading to exaggerated and
inaccurate conclusions (very similar to false claims that Chibitalia suffered
from Stockholm Syndrome).

The only symptom I would
say that Canada does have is guilt and believing that he did something wrong/
something is wrong with him that caused the neglect + accompanying
feelings of depression. Otherwise, he doesn’t have clinginess, he doesn’t
experience withdrawal from social activities, he isn’t resistant towards
others, he doesn’t have any sleeping or eating disorders, and he doesn’t have a
problem with substance abuse.

Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 180.

Oh, and I’m not an expert either ^^

Hey,
why do you think Germany doesn’t share the same last name as Prussia?

I agree with Hetarchive’s perspective on this. They believe
that the last name wasn’t given in order to leave more ambiguity in the relationship
between Holy Rome and Germany. They also go on to point out that the founder of
the Holy Roman Empire was named Ludwig (actually Louis, but Ludwig is the
German name version of Louis).

Hey Ella, do you have a theory as to why
Veneziano and Romano call Rome grandpa and not father? Is it a term of
endearment like “big brother” or are they actually blood related? And
if so do you think there was another nation between them and Rome that would be
their parent but didn’t last long? I’ve been wondering about that since day one
😅

No theory needed. It’s confirmed that they’re biologically
related. Their descendancy is confirmed through a curl of all things. It’s used
to discount Romania’s claim that he’s biologically related to Rome in spite of
being largely influenced by the latter’s culture.

Based on what I’ve seen in the manga, I think
the grandpa label is interchangeable and they just used what felt right to
them. Rome was older when the two of them were born, so ‘Grandpa’ likely felt
more appropriate in spite of the fact that he was their sole parent figure.

Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 163.

Another example: Ancient Egypt had a more
youthful appearance, which could explain why Egypt refers to her as Mom.

Is it true that England once hired China and India
to cook for him?

Yes. It’s meant to represent their cuisine’s
growing influence in his country.

Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 291.

Out of context, it looks like a sitcom…

*insert laugh track*

Me: I’m not a violent person.

Also me:

Q & A

Are Seborga
and Genoa related to anc.Rome too? Since They have the curl.

(The Italy brothers use a curl as proof of a
blood relation to Rome [x].)

By the logic vested in the manga, I would say
so. It’s similar to how Himaruya approached the German states. They were all
considered to be brothers.

In your opinion,
are there any secret/low-key stoner characters?

No one is confirmed to be a stoner lol. However,
Canada has smoked pot once.

Source: Christmas 2010 Event, page 5.

Although he’s never been shown to smoke pot in
canon (therefore it’s not canon), Netherlands would be another contender. There’s
a panel even depicting how some “coffee shops” in his country sell it.

Source: Bamboo Thicket (Eng trans., Hetarchive, February 24, 2015).

Is there
enough evidence to say that Prussia is an albino? Or Iceland or someone else in
the series for that matter

This is actually a mistake I’ve made in the
past in my own fics. Pale eyes and hair doesn’t automatically make someone an
albino, even though Prussia is sometimes depicted with characteristic red eyes—point is, it doesn’t automatically make him an albino.

Source: Christmas 2007, Hetarchive, page 5.

Canon evidence has actually pointed otherwise since
Prussia’s color scheme varies. He’s had blond hair and blue eyes, and his eye
color can range from hues of red, blue, and purple.

Edit: I’m aware that albinos can have blue/ purple eyes, but the fact still remains that Prussia hasn’t been confirmed as one.

Source: Bamboo Thicket (Eng trans., Hetarchive, Nov 22nd, 2011).

slightly
personal question for mun: what do u think the most endearing trait of your
favorite character is?

I don’t have a favourite character!

…The first character that comes to mind is
Finland.

He’s just a genuinely wholesome person that can
cheer up anyone [x].

Where did the
Netherlands and Taiwan ship come from? Is there any interaction between them in
canon?

There is no interaction between them.

I’m not favourable of the “they must have an
interaction in order to be shipped” mentality, though. People are free to ship
what they want, and they shouldn’t have to justify it based on canon material,
ya know?

Q & A

I strictly base my
opinions on the information presented in the manga [x].

From what we’ve seen,
Norway can see and communicate with fairies (including England’s fairy friends), and Iceland can see these creatures but chooses not to let people
know this to avoid being seen as childish and weird [x].

There’s no indication
that they can perform magic, unlike Romania and England who are in the magic
club in the Gakuen AU and are depicted with spell/fortune books in other blog updates [x] [x]

Given the legends, it’s
possible that Himaruya will decide to give them the ability to cast spells, but for now,
no. That doesn’t mean you can’t headcanon this, though!

Russia and America are distinctly
singled out as the strongest as the nations, but Germany is noted to possess
significant strength and muscles too [x].

This doesn’t go to say that
Germany wasn’t strong enough to defeat America or Russia in different battles (obviously), but
Himaruya has been consistent in elevating Russia and America’s strength above
other nations [x].

As a title of endearment, yes [x].

Do you have some favorite Finland strips?

The fact that he cuts Iceland’s hair [x] and his love for nature [x].

Which Hetalia mochi or
cat would you keep as a pet?

No mochis
for me. Too much of a hassle.

I like
Spain cat because he’s super cute and Franchat, mainly because of the pun.

Over the course of the series, I’ve
found several clever ways that Himaruya uses the nations physical bodies and
interactions to reflect wider historical, social, and political circumstances.

Political pressure and suppression:

Typically, I’ve noticed that the
use of physical force between a dominant and subordinate nation reflects
political pressure and suppression. Russia is a prime example of this. You’ll
often see him squeezing, bending, and pressing down on other nations—obliviously,
of course. Remember that he’s unaware of his cruelty [x].

Ex: I’ve speculated before that
the reason Latvia is so short is a symbolic representation of how he has been
politically marginalized and controlled for a significant part of his history [x].

In other words, he lacked the
independence and autonomy that would have allowed him to achieve growth and
flourish on his own. His growth was stunted by virtue of him being pushed down
into submission.

Latvia citing the reason for his
shortness as a result of Russia pushing down on his head, to me, acts as a
wider metaphor for political suppression.

Ex: Russia squeezes and hugs Czechia and Slovakia to end
their dispute over whether they should include a hyphen in their name. In this
context, the hug is Russia asserting pressure over not what he thinks should be
their name but rather what their name will be [x].

Ex: Russia hugs Bulgaria from behind [x].

Ex: In the strips depicting the Baltics path to independence
from the USSR, Russia squeezes Lithuania’s shoulders [x].

Conflicts:

Wars and battles can also be depicted in seemingly trivial
interactions between nations. The battles occur literally but are repeated figuratively
in these interactions.

Ex: To symbolize how France picked at the remains of some of
Austria’s lost territories after the War of Austrian Succession, France also
loots from Austria directly [x].

Servility and Class:

Different classes and social status are reflected in the
clothing that dominant and subordinate nations wear. Nations who are
conquered, annexed, or made to be under the control of another nation are
adorned in servants’/ maids’ clothing.

Ex: Chibitalia becomes a servant to Austria after being
conquered [x].

Ex: Lithuania acting as Russia’s servant while the latter
attended a world meeting on both of their behalves.

Ex: Romania and Bulgaria during the Soviet era.

He can see and communicate with supernatural beings with his barrette but hasn’t been shown to be capable of using magic (e.g., he’s not part of the magic club in the World Academy AU). [x].

So far, it’s only England and his three older brothers and Romania whose magic-performing abilities have been confirmed.

In an earlier post, I talked about the fact that whether or
not Romania has magical abilities is left unclear due to contradictory pieces
of information.

Ex: He’s part of the Magic Club in the World Academy AU.

Ex: A later character note in chapter 163 of World Stars
leaves his capacity for magic – not to be confused with fortune-telling –
open-ended [x].