The Kith and Kin series is a collection of Hetalia: Axis Powers fanfics written by AnAppleOfDiscord
on Fanfiction.net. The series has five installments so far; Wendigo, Elferingewort and Gramarye are complete, while the fourth fic (Banyoles Monster) and a prequel to the series (Sirena) are in progress.
- Wendigo: Arthur was so used to foes attacking him as a nation; he forgot his vulnerabilities as a man. A longtime enemy settles the score; Alfred gets caught in the crossfire.
- Elferingewort: America chafes under England's unwavering attention and the globe's reaction regarding his...downsizing. Will liberty prevail in a world deadset on confining the hero with bedtimes and booster seats? Can he last a Winter Holiday in the U.K. when the Unseelie Court gets dangerously interested in him?
- Gramarye: Distraught over governmental deceptions from both sides of the pond and concerned with America's well-being and his blossoming magic, England solidifies his role in the boy's life. Sadly, his leisure plans for Beltane's Day go awry when Alfred acts on a hidden agenda and a hinkypunk's directions.
- Sirena: "Be wary of America, Tejas. Greater nations and men than you have been dashed on his rocks." In 1823, a cynical Texas accompanies Mexico on a trip to England and is caught off guard when the foppish America's mask slips. Maybe he's not the only one with a streak of mean in him.
- Banyoles Monster: Spain is determined to strenghten the bonds of his familia, even if it means playing host to tagalong UK Celts. Time for food, family and fiestas! He'll show them how to have a safe, good holiday. What are the odds America and Texas could find a dragon in his land? One hadn't been spotted in centuries.
Kith and Kin provides examples of:
- Abuse Mistake: In chapter four of Elferingewort, England sees that America's gotten a black eye after the latter secretly goes to a combat exam. England thinks that people in America's government are beating him (and it doesn't help when America flinches away after England attempts to check if he has any more bruises) until America comes clean and explains the truth.
- Alcoholic Parent:
- Spain accidentally dropped a toddler Texas in the stairs as he was drunk and tired, causing the boy to die for a week. It actually scared Spain into being a more attentive and definitely overprotective dad.
- America mentions having to put England to bed when the older Nation has consumed too much beer. It's Played for Drama in Gramarye when England frets about the Social Services taking America away because a drunkard is considered bad influence on a seven-year-old.
- Baby Morph Episode: America "downsizes" into a seven-year-old; unlike most examples, he needs to grow normally. America struggles with adapting to being a child who has to rely on others to care for him.
- Big Brother Bully: Canada has streaks of this towards America in the times he lets his resentment get the better of him. One particular instance in Elferingewort has Canada give America a pacifier as a Secret Santa gift, accompanied by fifty euros and a sarcastic note telling America to have fun buying more of his "awful Power Rangers movies." The pacifier causes the seven-year-old to burst into tears.
- Big Brother Instinct: Texas to America. He is arguably the most supportive of America's siblings and is the one America confides in the most.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: Let's see...America and England are estranged. England and his three older brothers have issues. Canada resents America. Texas hates Spain, who wants to rekindle his relationship with his former colony. Texas and Mexico also have a tense relationship. And then there's Iroquois...
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: America and Texas suffered so much neglect and violence that they are left baffled in front of their fathers being traumatized by the sheer number of times they brutally died.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Oh God, America. Since his very beginnings as the Lost Colony of Roanoke, he was left at his own devices, reviled for being "unnatural" by the Natives and the colonists, constantly put in danger and oh yeah, he's barely a kid. The more other Nations get hints about his history, the more they are disturbed and upset.
- Didn't Think This Through: A repeated failure of America is his inability to take in accounts the consequences of him doing something reckless. However, it can be excused by his young age — seven-years-old kids are not really equipped with the self-control or life experience allowing to avoid disasters.
- Distressed Dude: Lampshaded by America himself. He is kidnapped and put in danger a lot in this series and is not happy about it in the least.
- Does Not Like Magic: Because he was harassed by The Fair Folk and outright persecuted for his magical potential when he was younger, Alfred is deeply uneasy around Arthur's fairies in spite of his father's attempts to reassure and soothe him.
- Green Thumb: Alfred's magic.
- Historical Fiction: Sirena takes place in 1823.
- The Fair Folk: A lot of classic fairy lore is in the series. The Fae and Unseelie Court range from manipulative to outright evil, and must be dealt with with great caution.
- Immortal Procreation Clause: For a Nation to manage reproducing, they need to be extremely strong as an Empire. Britannia was held in great awe for bearing four children, and Arthur almost bursts out with pride when he learns he sired Alfred.
- I Never Got Any Letters: Part of the coldness between Alfred and Arthur was caused by their respective governments stealing their mail in order to keep the personifications focused on their respective countries, instead of getting "distracted" by familial comforts.
- Infant Sibling Jealousy: After downsizing, Alfred physically is the youngest among England's former colonies — and all the others are more or less upset about Arthur heavily doting on him. It leads Sealand and Canada to actually lash out.
- Jewish Mother: Well, Yao is Chinese and a man, but he certainly has the spirit since he's less upset about the child he lovingly raised for so many years backstabbing him than about said child ghosting him — Japan doesn't write, he doesn't call, he doesn't even visit and would it kill him to send his gêge a postcard, really?
- My Greatest Second Chance: Even if he's pretty unhappy about the circumstances having led to America's downsizing, Arthur cannot help but being happy to be a Doting Parent to Alfred, since he already missed so much the first time.
- Original Character: Texas, who was also briefly known as the Confederate States of America. There are also personifications for Hawaii, Mexico, and numerous Native American tribes.
- Papa Wolf: England to America, past the point of overprotectiveness. It gets to the point where multiple characters call him out for smothering America.
- Parental Favouritism: Anybody with eyes can see how much Arthur dotes on Alfred, and it causes heavy tensions with his other colonies. It's complicated further by the fact that Alfred has genuine problems so Arthur has to give him more time and care, and from Alfred's viewpoint that was everyone else Arthur loved and not him because he wouldn't be an obedient child.
- Parents as People: Oh, boy...
- Exhibit A, for Arthur — he's the first to acknowledge he wasn't ready to deal with a toddler America, leading Alfred to treat him alternatively as a loving, heroic father and a cold colonizer that wouldn't have any qualms to kill him, and the American Revolution (and later the events of 1812) utterly fractured their relationship. Following Alfred's downsizing, Arthur admits he's happy to be given a chance to be a proper dad to the boy, but he's a traumatized, slightly smothering mess whose brothers encourage to get psychiatric treatment.
- His relationship with Canada isn't the best either. Even if England genuinely loves him, Canada still could see how much the older Nation favored America and it caused him to become The Resenter.
- Spain in his conquistador days was vergering on being full-blown abusive towards Texas. He earnestly regrets it nowadays and does everything he can to be a Doting Parent to his estranged son, but Texas' reaction push him in Amazingly Embarrassing Parents at best.
- Iroquois did her best to protect her Dyami and teach him to take care of himself no matter how much the Natives disapproved of her doing so, but she couldn't be always there, leaving him on his own to be abused by her people and later snatched by England who taught Dyami to reject everything she shared with him because it was "barbarian". Unfortunately, her way to get revenge is to abuse America, the grown Dyami, and he later expresses she loves him only because he's doing things she wants.
- Exhibit A, for Arthur — he's the first to acknowledge he wasn't ready to deal with a toddler America, leading Alfred to treat him alternatively as a loving, heroic father and a cold colonizer that wouldn't have any qualms to kill him, and the American Revolution (and later the events of 1812) utterly fractured their relationship. Following Alfred's downsizing, Arthur admits he's happy to be given a chance to be a proper dad to the boy, but he's a traumatized, slightly smothering mess whose brothers encourage to get psychiatric treatment.
- Poor Communication Kills: For several centuries, Arthur believed Alfred was a rebellious, ungrateful brat who would rather spit on him than accept his help, while Alfred believed Arthur was a Control Freak who stopped loving him because he couldn't be a perfect little doll anymore. And the miscommunication was actively encouraged by their governments because they wanted the Nations focused on their respective countries instead of involved with each other.
- Really 17 Years Old: America's human age is seventeen, not nineteen like his ID claims. He had his age at nineteen so he could function self-sufficiently as an adult. When he goes missing, England puts out an Amber Alert for him.
- The Resenter: In a downplayed example, Canada towards America. He hates that America was always England's favorite and how England is so focused on reforging their bond in the present. Most of the time, Canada holds it in, but there are times when his resentment gets the best of him and he acts needlessly cruel to his brother.
- Stepford Smiler: America, particularly in Sirena. Whenever England acts cold or condescending towards America, he laughs it off and pretends not to be hurt by his brother/father-figure's rejection.
- Wendigo: Considering the title, it's no surprise the creatures are a major threat throughout the first fic.
