I know 😦 [Thank you for caring enough to send me this.]
Unfortunately, there’s not much I can do about it. I’ve tried reporting accounts both on instagram and pinterest, and only once have I successfully managed to get a post taken down. I’ve just resorted to guarding against plagiarism now by posting more gif or video memes so that their stubby, greedy little gremlin fingers can’t take a screenshot. I also notify anyone I’m following if I see their content being plagiarized.
The problem isn’t with these accounts posting the memes, it’s the fact that they don’t give credit. Either way, I’ll never understand how you can get any sort of gratification from stealing others’ content and being praised for it. I used to care about it more when I was just starting out.
It’s also important to remember that a lot of these account-holders are young, and don’t really understand the implications of what they’re doing. Heck, I’ve made similar mistakes before in the past by posting fanart as my profile pic (I was completely unaware). Of course, I know better now and will never do it again.
What we need to do is inform these people politely to give credit.
If they don’t listen, only then should we be doing something about it. Don’t insult or send them hate; you’d only be stooping down to their level of pettiness. A handful of reports and comments is really all the pressure that’s needed to get most people to change.
These accounts could do a lot of good for the fandom considering how large their platforms are and the potential exposure they can give. Work with them before attempting to work against them.
First off, let’s be clear that Russia’s relationship with
General Winter is not a healthy one. It’s among one of the darkest elements in the manga.
That said, General Winter is both a protector/guardian
of Russia and an enemy.
1) On one hand, he’s saved Russia from invading
armies.
The only setback of this is that his protection doesn’t work
on countries who are used to the cold. It’s for this reason that Russia doesn’t
have high expectations for General Winter, despite calling on him in times of
desperation.
It’s also important to note that at the time this strip took
place, both Russia and his sisters were powerless. He had no one to rely on but
General Winter, and even then, notice how passively devastated he is when he
realizes that he has no choice but to surrender.
“Do whatever you want.”
Those are the words of a child who has been repeatedly let down,
someone that hasn’t had their needs met and is used to surviving under abusive circumstances
– i.e. He was also under the repressive control of the Tatars here.
This brings me to my next point.
2) On the other hand, General Winter also attacks
Russia.
Consider this. You’re constantly being jostled around by
tyrannical controlling leaders, and the one person who protects you also abuses
you. In other words, you have an inconsistent parent who switches back and
forth between a nurturing figure and a physically forceful tyrant with no
regard for your well-being.
How do you think that would affect a person, let alone a
nation who has survived long enough to endure several lifetimes of this?
It’s because General Winter has protected Russia before that
Russia relies on him. What’s problematic about this is what Russia’s taken from
this relationship. It affects everything he does; how he expresses his
emotions, who he trusts, who he regards as his friends, what he expects from
others, how he interacts with them, and what he falsely deems to be a suitable and
healthy relationship.
On top of this, we know for sure that Russia has been traumatized by
his relationship with General Winter.
Ex: When Parallel
France attacks Russia during the 2010 Christmas Event, Russia calls on General
Winter for help. When General Winter is defeated, Russia breaks down into tears
and remarks how “similar” this incident is to the past.
What’s more, notice how screwed up Russia’s relational
perceptions are.
He calls General
Winter a friend.
However, we know that in one of his character notes, he
refers to anyone he meets as a friend. It would follow, then, that Russia doesn’t know what a friend is. Simply put, he doesn’t know how to differentiate between the
good or the bad because he’s normalized this inconsistency. He expects that
others might be abusive, while at the same time provide for him – that’s what
he sees as a friend.
As such, Russia repeats and mimics this inconsistent ‘affection’ in
how he interacts with the other nations.
Ex: He sends political pressure with hearts.
How I see this is that it acts as a metaphor in representing
how Russia has equated love with force; they go hand in hand for him
because that’s what he’s accustomed to experiencing.
Likewise, since he has endured whole winters on his own
without any shelter, this also demonstrates the inconsistencies under which he was nurtured
and cared for during his childhood. Again, his sisters couldn’t always be there for
him.
A happy New Years’ was not freezing to death.
This could also be why his heart falls out.
On top of it literally being frozen during the Winter,
Russia has yet to learn what true love is. The care he received – cold
temperatures – was a double-edged sword in that it simultaneously assaulted and
insulted him. The warped love he knows is both forced on him and forced out of
him as he attempts [and fails] to make friends.
All he needs now is for someone to thaw through his frigid
past and to help him experience a healthy and consistent relationship.
When you have to drag the dead weight of your group partner to avoid failing.
While Finland does note that his and other nations’ physical strength [and physiology] in comparison to humans isn’t all that different, General Winter specifically doesn’t have an effect on him.
OOOOooooooohhHHH. That’s actually a really interesting take! My addition is that he also seems to be alienated from himself with regards to how dishonest he is in communicating what he truly thinks or feels.
This could be a bit of a stretch, but I still think what I’m
about to interpret engages the material in an interesting way. You can take it
with however many grains of salt that you wish. Remember that there can always
be both a figurative and literal element of what characters and objects symbolize – it’s not mutually exclusive.
Before I get into what America’s pets represent, it’s
important to explain why America can see aliens, but not ghosts. This often
confuses a lot of people, but if you refer to the strips, an implicit but
nonetheless consistent logic is used.
England can see ghosts and fantastical creatures because
approximately 70% of his people believe in them. At least, this is the figure
provided in the strips, I can’t attest to how accurate that is. What’s most
important is that this is used in the reasoning behind why Hima characterizes
England to possess these abilities.
Since 23% of Americans believe in ghosts, America is unable
to see them. Although, admittedly, this does seem to change as the strips
become more recent along the timeline. [I’ll get into this in another post].
Similarly, because Americans do not believe in the fantastical
with the small exception of Halloween, this is the only time where America is
able to see magical creatures and ghosts.
Now, given that UFO’s are only “typically seen” in the US,
it would follow that Americans possess stronger beliefs in aliens than they do with
the supernatural. This would explain why America is friends with Tony,
meanwhile England – whose people don’t possess such a high belief in aliens –
is skeptical of Tony.
So…what do America’s pets potentially represent?
It’s not an uncommon trope for authors to make surrounding
objects, people, or pets represent aspects of a character’s mind.
America’s Pet Whale:
In that case, while America did go whale-hunting in Japan
for commercial purposes, the whale he later befriends and adopts could also stand
for his gluttony.
This meaning doesn’t only limit itself to America’s gorging
appetite either.
It can also stand for America’s expansion and befriending of
other nations at the expense of leaving England behind and turning his back on
him.
Ex: When England hears that America is attempting
to befriend a whale, he shyly offers to become his friend.
You can only guess what happens next.
Tony:
If pets, or rather, familiars, represent the inner framework
of a character’s mind, then Tony, as a being of space, could also be equated to
America’s own headspace.
In other words, Tony seems to embody America’s old grudge
towards England.
Notice how when Tony and England first meet, Tony calls
England a “F***ing limey.”
Meanwhile, America stands there uselessly and is
unable to read the situation…
…or rather, what if he is purposefully repressing and
keeping his emotions in check, only for Tony to be the one to express them?
Alternatively, Tony could be reading America’s emotions
without the latter realizing this. It’s not entirely impossible given that
aliens in popular culture often have telepathy or some other kind of
mind-reading power. In that regard, maybe Tony has read America’s mind/memories, and is reacting with hostility towards England because of this…
Consider the whole response now: England asks Tony about his home planet.
“Not going back! F***ing Limey!” could likewise be
interpreted as America’s vehement opposition to the mere thought of being under
England’s rule again. It almost seems as if Tony’s acting as America’s
unconscious mouthpiece…asides from the death threat.
We see this again when England visits America and complains
that there’s a ghost [it’s actually France] in his house.
Notice the difference in reactions between America and Tony.
America laughs it off, while Tony appears to taunt and belittle England for
being easily frightened as if he were a small child.
On the other hand, Tony has been seen to end his sentences with “bubu” so this could just be a misspelling.
More on America’s Emotions:
I’ve also noticed that America’s pets reciprocate his
affection for other nations.
Ex: They are
exceptionally fond of Lithuania.
Ex: When
Lithuania falls back under Russia’s control during the Great Depression,
America seems both worried and sad to see him go.
In sum, while America’s pets are real, there does seem to be
some evidence substantiating the possibility of them also representing aspects
of his inner psyche.
1) We’ve seen the impact that their peoples’ belief
has on their ability to see ghosts or magical creatures.
Hima sourced that 23%
of Americans believe in ghosts; it’s not enough for America to be able to see
them, even though they exist in canon.
Because approximately 70% of Britons believe in
ghosts/supernatural beings, England’s able to see them.
2) Since Americans are really big on Halloween, and
tend to believe in the supernatural on this specific day, America’s likewise only
able to see magical creatures and ghosts on Halloween.
3) England claims that America isn’t “pure” enough
to see his pet unicorn.
However, as I’ll get into in a later post, it seems like as
time shifts, and his people’s belief in the supernatural subsequently grows,
America’s gradually gaining the ability to see them more consistently.
Ex: He goes on a citadel tour with England and mistakes ghosts as staff members.
When he takes a picture of them, they fail to show up. Confused, America still seems unable to make the connection. Perhaps he hasn’t yet realized that he’s acquiring the ability to see them.
Ellawritesficssometimes 