Q & A

Hey there, love your blog! What do you have on Belarus and
Ukraine’s relationship?

Thank you!

To be honest, I get a lot of mixed messages from it.

Since Belarus is obsessed with Russia, you get panels like this
(i.e., she’s indifferent to Ukraine).

But then you have panels like this…

Sources: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., Nov 10th, 2011 + Jan 6th 2010).

It is a silly thought I’ve had but I have to
ask an opinion. Do you think our hetalia ladies experience menstruation? Did
they experience it very shortly or extended due to the fact that they are
countries? Do they experience at all??? Strange thought. What do you think?

No idea. There’s no canon
material that would be indicative of it.

Although, we do know
that biologically, the personifications aren’t that much different from humans.

Source: Hetarchive, Christmas 2010 Event.

Still, there isn’t
reproduction in Hetalia, so I’m not sure. The nations—with the exception of
Germany—are born as babies.

Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 12.

Iceland’s birth depicts this rule.

Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 114.

Hello there miss ellawritesficssometimes hope
you are in good health. I have a query Is it possible for a nation to have
attributes similar to that if their people such as smoking, drinking, usage if
caffeine etc. Because I was reading some statistics and this thought struck me.

I’m in good health,
thank you ^^

I’ve already done a
longer post going into the details of the relationship between personifications
and their populations’ demographics if you’d like to check it out [x].

Hi there! I was
just wondering, but wasn’t there a whole strip of comics dedicated to Romano
wanting to be a cat?

There are, yes! Starting
from World Stars Chapter 353.

Source: Hetascanlations.

It’s been years
since I saw the anime, but am I right that England says France & Italy
share a love for smoking? Was that the dub? I know Hima drew Italy with a
cigar, but I don’t recall France smoking anywhere, tho it’s a big stereotype

None are depicted smoking, but France and England
both love their alcohol (France = wine, England’s just a messy drunk). Thus
far, while it does make sense for the stereotype model, they haven’t been
depicted that way. I think it would be a good addition for a more accurate
fanon characterization, though.

The sketch with the cigar is just him and Romano
dressing up as fake mafia members.

Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., Nov 6th, 2013).

Q & A

Hallo Frau. Ellawritesficsometimes..Would you
be able to make a post on the relationship between India and China. Well I have
been researching about relations and have found that even though India and
China don’t have an amazing diplomatic relations they have a lot of cultural
relations such as cinnamon and fishing nets and also a lot of trade.

Sorry, friend. I can’t
make a post on that given that they’ve had one canon interaction. It should be
more, but that’s all we have to work with [x].

wait…I was going through your blog and I saw
you tag a post with ‘taiwan x ukraine’ what’s that about? keep up the good
work!

Mhhhmm.

I’ve made a post on
that. Taiwan has had some considerably gay moments. [x]. With Vietnam too.

America’s hero is
George Washington I will drown and die with this headcanon GLADLY goodbye-

Considering that Prussia sees Fritz as a role model and father figure, it’s not entirely impossible.

Here, have American presidents dressed in
steampunk attire.

Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., Oct 29th, 2014).

Hi! Could you explain why
England didn’t want little America to call him big brother. I remember in an
episode he starts remembering spain, france, and his own brothers when America
asks if he can call him that. I didn’t really get why he was bothered by it.

I’ve already done a post on this 🙂 [x].

Hi, I hope I’m not bothering. I just wanted to say something
maybe obvious(??). With Genoa being a republic of its own as some kind of
city-state first and soon being brought in history to be part of the whole
kingdom of Italy in the unification, does it make sense that the
personification is still there as Genoa but the nowadays version? As an Italian
we have lots of stereotypes on Genoans (like with uhh every bigger city and
region and part of Italy) could that have changed its personality?

The personifications are
cultural personifications. It doesn’t matter if they aren’t official countries.
The word nation is a much broader term. If Genoa’s culture is truly unique and
the people there identify with it, there’s no reason for him not to be alive. We
just haven’t seen a confirmation in canon yet.

Anyways, this post fleshes out what I’m saying in more detail [x].

Q & A

For those curious,
it’s 116 f or more up there. Yikes. I’ll take our 83 to 96 f later today. I
wanted to ask yesterday, but the ask box didn’t seem to
be connected to the server (at least that’s what it told). How do you think the
Republic of Ireland is related to the UK brothers? It’s not been stated they
are a sibling, or even a relative, so that makes me curious. Happy Canada Day
up there 🎆

[Thank you! The ask box situation has been fixed, but the
read more coding issue still hasn’t been resolved! I’m so sorry, but I can’t
always answer asks right away….]

Himaruya isn’t sure what to do with Ireland, so no relation
has been confirmed [x]. Thus far, we only know that England is the son of four
siblings, including Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland [x].

If I’m to speculate here, they could be siblings if Himaruya ever decides to elaborate on the
character. Aside from historical relations, geographic proximity is
occasionally used as a defining factor for sibling relationships.

Given that Northern Ireland is England’s sibling and was originally
partitioned from Ireland, I don’t think this is too much of a stretch. Things get even
more complicated when you see that Northern Ireland is listed as England’s older brother… what a can of worms, eh?

Do you happen to know why people say APH
England doesn’t know how to swim? I’m pretty sure that was a joke in the comic
strips, but everyone seems to consider it canon.

Like you said, it is a joke, stemming from how British
people in horror films have a tendency of not being able to swim. I know I’ve
talked about this before, but my opinion has since shifted. I personally wouldn’t
consider it to be canon given the context [x].

Which Hetalia character has the biggest amount of
ships/harem? Why is it that a lot of the characters can be shipped with everything?
(including fridges apparently).

(Fridges aren’t even the
brink of some of the madness in the fandom :P)

In my experience of
reading fanfiction, I would probably say England. He’s very versatile and fits
well in several dynamics. (e.g., FrUk, UsUk, AsaKiku, EngSey, EngBel, EngIta, and SpUk).

People have different tastes; of course it’s going to vary.

How do you think the Eastern European countries (Ukraine and
Hungary in particular) would interact with their Romas/Gypsies? What would
their relationships be like?

From what I can recall, there is no canon
depiction of this. It’s difficult to say due to the fact that citizenship in one country
doesn’t have meaning in their way of life.

However, given that the nations
represent all people within their territories, including those of different
ethnicities, race, religion, and class, Hungary and Ukraine would personally treat them the same way as they
would with any other citizen, even if they don’t possess citizenship. Citizenship
is a social construction. I believe what’s more important is the fact that
these people live in certain jurisdictions.

I know you said Luxembourg was referring to Belgium and
Netherlands as older siblings are terms of endearment rather than him being
biologically related but, do you think he could at least be related to Belgium
considering that a lot of his former land now belongs to Belgium and their countries
have close relations? (sorry for this being long.)

(Please don’t be sorry!)

The corroborating source
I mentioned in an earlier post [x].

The post [x].

It’s complicated because
as I mentioned before, the Bamboo Thicket post and the corresponding Hetarchive
page state two different things. The post is listed as a rough
translation, but the fact that Himaruya refers to Luxembourg using terms of
endearment instead of directly confirming a sibling relationship to Netherlands
and Belgium in the question is pretty clear.

I don’t know what else
to say. If it doesn’t claim that they’re biological siblings, then they’re not. I’m not a translator and don’t speak Japanese either. Still, what I would like to look into more is why that translation is cited
as rough…

Note: This post will explore the mystery behind why Russia
covers his neck. This isn’t a theory, as I use facts to come up with a
speculation that, while probable, hasn’t been substantiated in canon. I find it
very important to distinguish between facts, theories, headcanons, and
opinions.

What’s the deal with Russia’s heart?:

I know, I know. This
post is about Russia’s neck, but I have to do some backtracking first.

All right. In canon, it’s normal for Russia’s heart to
spontaneously burst out from his chest.

In earlier posts, I’ve speculated that
this acts as a metaphor for how Russia’s conception of love has been equated
with violence.

He grew up being routinely conquered and chased after.

Not
only that, but General Winter – who acted as Russia’s de facto parent figure
due to the protection he provided the latter with – also attacked [abused]
Russia on an annual basis [x].

As such, what Russia
grew to understand as love and friendship became irreparably warped.

Ex: He thinks that anyone he meets is his friend. This
includes General Winter, his abuser.

Ex: He uses violence as a solution to his problems. He’s
normalized it [x].

In conjunction with the first reason, I also believe that
Russia’s heart falling out so violently symbolizes being cut up from the inside.
Since the personification’s body is a physical representation of their nation’s
landmass, this would relate to the act of partitioning and being partitioned. The
heart and soul of a nation are tarnished upon being conquered.

Ex: Russia’s hobby during WW2 is partitioning Poland [x].

Ex: When he exerts political pressure on Japan, notice how
Russia sends a heart. Again, I interpret this as another example where Russia
has conflated love and violence [aggression], confusing the two of them.

Russia’s Neck:

As many others in the fandom have pointed out, there is a mystery
surrounding why Russia takes great lengths to cover his neck, most notably with
his scarf. It’s not just his neck, but I’ll get back to that in a moment.

Originally, the scarf was a gift given to him by Ukraine.
While she wanted him to keep warm, she also did this to get him to make Kiev
successful in return.

On the other hand, the scarf has taken on a much darker
meaning in Russia’s adulthood.

Ex: In Italy’s Chest Test Series, instead of his usual
scarf, Russia’s wearing bandages around his neck [x].

Ex: In the History Copy Book, there’s a strange panel with
an angle that reveals Russia wearing a single bandage around his neck [x].

What I haven’t seen people mention is that it’s not just his
neck that Russia tries to cover.

1) He’s often spotted clutching his chest, an
action that I believe is done to prevent his heart from falling out.

2) Russia takes great lengths to cover his chest
too [x] [x].

Putting this all together:

The answer I have that possibly explains all this isn’t
grandiose or complicated. It’s simply medical. I think that by covering up his
chest and neck, Russia’s concealing the physiological effects of heart failure.
The heart failure here is his heart falling out.

Conditions like Congestive Heart Failure occur when the
heart is unable to pump enough blood to give your body the sufficient oxygen it
needs. A symptom of this failure in the right side of the heart can cause
bulging tube-like veins to appear on the right side of the neck – jugular vein
distention.

If that’s the case, then no wonder Russia wants to cover up
his neck. Not to mention that he would without a doubt have massive scars and
damaged unhealed tissue from his heart popping in and out like a revolving door.

Misconception: She has big breasts because fanservice

Reality: She’s characterized this way since Ukrainian news supposedly
often focuses on breasts.

If anything, Ukraine is insecure about her breasts. It’s to
the point that she’ll wear restrictive clothing that prevents them from moving
too much [x].

There’s also a strip in volume 2 titled “I hate my big
boobs!”

The ironic comic gag of this is the childhood advice she
gives to Russia. When fighting her enemies, Ukraine speaks to their hearts by
showing them her breasts– I’m dead serious here. [I can’t believe I’m actually writing this…]

She also advises Belgium to show off her breasts
to get noticed [x].

Misconception: Belarus hates her.

Reality: While Belarus would rather be with Russia, there
are moments where their sibling relationship shines.

Ex: They take a cute Christmas photo together. The fan
request is to see a happy Ukraine [x].

Ex: Another fan request wants to see Italy interacting with female nations. When it’s her turn, a weird shadow appears behind Ukraine.
Some have speculated that this is Belarus being protective of Ukraine,
especially because Belarus is included in the panel right above [x].

Misconception: She’s a weak crybaby.

Reality: While she is a crybaby, she’s not weak.

Ex: She cries when she has to leave the Soviet Union,
knowing that it’s the best for them politically, but perhaps not personally as
siblings.

Once again, the differentiation between a nation following
their bosses’ orders against what they want is shown as Ukraine remembers that
her boss forbade her from giving milk to Russia. Although the subject of the order
is trivial, it’s the fact that she’s been ordered to avoid her own brother
altogether that’s important. It takes a lot of resilience for a nation to
juggle personal and political lives.

Ex: She cries when her attempts to establish relations –‘friends’
– in the EU doesn’t work out right away.

Ex: In a Volume 4 character note, she’s described as “Russia’s
fearsome sister who will stand her ground to the last” [x].

Ex: A young Russia perceives Ukraine to be evil-minded when
she gives him his infamous scarf. The reason she does so is not only to keep
Russia warm. She also wants him to thank her by making Kiev successful.

Bonus facts:

She herself is poor as a result of her country’s poor
economic performance.

Ex: She delays paying her oil bill to Russia.

In the World Academy AU, she’s part of the Choral Club along
with the other Baltics.

Her nyo – male version – looks almost exactly like Russia [x].

Me any time I voice a controversial opinion on the internet.

Forget Spain’s butt what about Ukraine’s?

I mean, you’re not wrong.

Some opinions on Ukraine? There is so few information about her.

Agreed. While there’s hardly any information about her, there are still a few misconceptions I’d like to clear up. I feel like I’d need more appearances for me to form a proper opinion on her. Although, she is very lovely and caring from what Himaruya’s shown.

Characterization post coming up tonight!

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Prussia:

Fear of being alone + single–

Ex: He never married.

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.

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.

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

Romano:

Inferiority over being
compared to his brother–

Russia:

Fear of being alone +
inability to make friends–

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

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.

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

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.

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.

What are some of the other nation’s insecurities?

I’ll go over these in greater detail in separate posts, but here’s a basic chart of what I’ve got jotted down.

America – Wanting to be liked, fear of criticism, fear of being hated, fear of being challenged, his weight/ muscles.

Russia – Wanting to be liked, being alone, fear of being hated, fear of exclusion.

England – Uses biting sarcasm in order to hide feelings of inferiority, feeling like an outsider despite being included, being lonely, can actually be really sweet but is too shy to openly help or give direct advice to the other nations, loss of power.

Canada – Not being unique or relevant enough, not being recognized for his own accomplishments.

France – Loss of power, being alone, worries of becoming irrelevant.

China – Fears being left behind in a more modern world (he’s doing just fine), fear of abandonment (earlier with Japan, now with Hong Kong), feeling like an alien due to his old age.

Germany – Problems with expressivity of happiness, being alone, worries that he comes off as cold to others, works hard but quickly becomes flustered when praised (relates to low feelings of self-worth).

Prussia – Being alone, melancholy over having never married, low self-worth and loss of superpower status.

Romano – Feelings of inferiority in comparison to younger brother, regret over snapping at people and not being seen as agreeable and likeable.

Ukraine – Size of breasts, ambivalence over leaving the Soviet Union and distancing herself from Russia.

South Korea – Wanting to be liked, unhealthily perfecting physical appearance, wanting to be unique despite following in the footsteps of Japan, China, and America.