Jesus Christ, you guys are super sweet. Thank you 😀

I would just like to point out that I’m going to be brief here. I’ve already covered this topic and don’t typically re-answer questions. I have a post directory and it’s your responsibility to read it along with the ask guidelines before you send in an ask! [x]

Anon 1: Any material that isn’t deleted is still canon, which includes the old characterizations, unfortunately.

What I can’t stress enough is the use of discretion in recognizing that the way the characters are portrayed is far different now. Years of material have consistently proven that Himaruya’s learned from his mistakes and has grown as a creator.

It’s just as wrong to hold on to previous characterizations as ‘evidence’ as it is to completely ignore and deny their existence.

Anon 2: It’s not a DNA/ deterministic behaviour type of thing. My understanding is that it stems from custom and tradition.

We’ve seen this before with America. How he behaves in world meetings goes against conventional norms.

Notice how Russia mentions that they’re [as in those nations who are older than America] are bound by tradition, (Together with Russia, Volume 5).

From what I can recall, there is one instance where a nation goes against their bosses’ wishes.

Occurs during the Anglo-Japanese Alliance Arc…

Japan claims that his boss “went on his own accord” in speaking to Russia and apologizes to England, who at the time didn’t have good relations with Russia [x].

Anon 3: That’s one thing about Hetalia that’s a bit confusing. Its rules are flimsy and there are several exceptions. Perhaps with France the matter was the question of the legitimacy of the government.

Anyways, we do know what happened to him in canon. He went to live with England after the Nazis occupied him (Volume 5, Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité and…)

I’m a bit confused about the “nations need to follow their boss’ orders” thing. Didn’t France side with his people against his government during the French Revolution? (Or was that a fanart I saw… Oops.) The whole obeying thing’s kinda sad. They represent the people but have to obey the government that does not always do what the people want. I have to thank you for doing all these theories and explanations and things because I’ve learned lots about how the world of Hetalia works through you.

Any time, and not quite!

France sides with his
people after the Revolution. The rule of thumb is that whoever is in power acts
as the personification’s boss.

In the case of the French
Revolution, there was a shift in government from the divine rule of the French
Monarchy to the alleged democratic rule of his people. (Didn’t really play out
that way, oops.)

You see France suffer
from the turmoil of the Revolution on the sidelines as his people overthrow the
government [x].

It’s only after the
people are in power, in the government more importantly, that he sides and celebrates
with them.

He later tries to convince other European nations with monarchies to let citizen-rule prevail. Instead, they perceive him as a threat; abolishing monarchies would be an end to the social order that had organized their lives for so long.

[x] [x]

Russia is a clearer
example of how government changes are depicted.

He’s tasked with
quelling a protesting group of citizens during Bloody Sunday, despite evidently
not wanting to do it. Notice how he’s crying [x].

The process of changing governments
and respective boss changes is well demonstrated in chapter 61 of World Stars [x].

Don’t be sorry!

I don’t have headcanons because I don’t want to exclude or limit the scope of how others interpret the characters. While the nations don’t have any explicit canon sexual orientation that they identify as (Sweden is the only exception), one thing that I’ve always liked about the series is how inclusive its conception of love and attraction is, even in its early years.

Example and reference post coming up tonight!

Anon 1: Yes… I’ve already covered this in
several posts that details how they’re forced to do things against their will. Here are two that I can immediately find from
my directory [x] [x].

@hiyo-art Wow, what an honor! Thank you, and welcome back <333

Anon 2: I’m majoring in Criminology. It’s also good for flaky people like me who are indecisive and have a ton of interests (e.g., law, sociology, feminism, psychology, a bit of history and religion, and political science).

This may just be me reading into too much, but if you’re in that period where you’re considering what to major in, you’re always free to message me.

Figured you would appreciate this scene [x].

I think what Canada meant is that being blood-related doesn’t automatically make siblings close to each other. They’re more than just brothers in the sense that they have a strong relationship as best friends, above and beyond their familial ties [x].

2) Random question… Do Canada and America actually hate each
other in canon?

3) Since you did a post on hetalia misconceptions, can you do
one on the whole “Canada hates America” misconception?

4) I love how Canada and America’s relationship has evolved so
much. It used to be America not knowing Canada existed and Canada yelling at
America and making him cry for three hours to the two being adorable dorks with
an online cooking show together. So beautiful.

5) Hey, I’m new around here so apologies if this has been asked
before, but could I request a post on the relationship between USA and Canada? I’d just love to
hear your thoughts on those guys in any capacity.

6) I feel like a lot of people don’t understand how deep America
and Canada’s relationship is. Do you think you could do an analysis on them? It
would be nice if people stopped portraying them as if they hate each other.

7) Can you analyze the characterization in America and Canada’s
relationship?

8) My friend recently asked me where it’s shown that America and
Canada have a good relationship, and the more I think about it the less
evidence I find that they do. I’m not sure if you’ve don’t this before, but can
you do a post about their relationship with each other, and whether it’s good
or bad? Please?

Honestly, there is no good or bad in America and Canada’s relationship. As Anon 3 and 5 have touched on, their relationship is much more nuanced and shouldn’t be boxed down/ limited to right or wrong. To conceive of them that way is simplistic in my opinion.

And definitely. It’s a major misconception that the two hate each other. It’s far from the truth. What I like best about their relationship is how fleshed out it is. They’re not picture perfect cookie-cutter images of nuclear siblings. They both had unresolved resentment and jealousy to work through before they came to terms with each other and matured in the process.

Post on their relationship coming up tonight!

(Also, I’m sorry. This is reaaaaaaallly long. Whenever I code a read more for both mobile and desktop, it disappears after a while ugh ////)

“makes perfect sense to eat three icecream sandwhiches and then go running for an hour” ella please im crying take care of your body, also in case you didn’t know its free slurpee day at 7/11

Yes mom LOL.

Usually I’m very stringent with what I eat because if I don’t eat healthy it makes working out absolutely AWFUL. You have no energy. On the other hand, these kids were selling icecream on my street, and I have a complex where I can’t say no to people. I knew if I left the treats in the freezer my Dad would eat them and break his diet. Eating them all was my only solution.

~~Translation: I’m a mental case.~~

Oh oof. I just had to google what 7/11 was :O

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.

Lithuania acted more as the maid. Romano cooked for America [x].