WMG regarding America, England, Russia, France, and China
- Played with in one piece of fanart that showed America's and Canada's potential mother.
- Only that Alfred isn't descended from Native Americans any more than Canada is, the two come from the European colonists who settled in North America. There is a Native American-Tan, and chances are he lives on a reservation right now while America has run of the rest of the country. Eskimo-Tan, Inuit-Tan, etc., would be in their respective states/provinces/territories, they wouldn't be either Canada or America.
- Alternately, Canada and America could have originated from the Norsemen who first made their way to the North American continent in the 11th century. Could help explain why little America looked a lot like Finland.
- Norsemen are still European...
- Perhaps the nations of the Americas are descended from Native America(s?), but have been raised so long by the Europeans that they've been assimilated? I don't know about America, but In Canada, we have a decent-sized population of Native groups that have adopted French and English culture.
- Wouldn't it make more sense that those native groups are represented by the Native-Tan?*** Perhaps America and Canada were born to a Native America, and then were stolen from her when they were still young, and their white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes were omens that they would be raised by Europeans. They were too young to remember her when they were taken away, and England (or whoever was taking care of them at the time) raised them to believe that she's just a crazy savage who used to live there, and is of no relation to them.
- Native America wasn't just one nation. Multiple tribe-tans would make a lot more sense.
- But under that logic Germania wouldn't exist, though in all honesty, I don't believe in one Nation-tan for all the Native American tribes collectively either...Maybe it's more one Nation-tan for every individual group of relatively similar tribes...
- The same would be for Ancient Greece. I always imagined that there would be one main one, and a bunch of others representing the individual nations.
- Only that Alfred isn't descended from Native Americans any more than Canada is, the two come from the European colonists who settled in North America. There is a Native American-Tan, and chances are he lives on a reservation right now while America has run of the rest of the country. Eskimo-Tan, Inuit-Tan, etc., would be in their respective states/provinces/territories, they wouldn't be either Canada or America.
- Alternativly......
- The movies and other lore are real adventures of America.
- The outfits look alike.
- Dark brown jackets
- During Raiders Indiana is shot in the arm. America has an airplane in that same spot. So that airplane patch is really there to cover the bullet hole.
- The only color changes are the boots and gloves. Indiana wears brown, America wears black, but small details.
- They can take a beating
- He survives a NUKE in a FRIDGE!
- He likes IKE- his boss
- Dislikes Communists *cough* Russia *cough*
- Supernatural freaks him out
- Ghost are wicked scary- they came out of THE ARCH! So it scared him for life
- The outfits look alike.
- When they gave the movie a title they kept the last name but the first name was picked from one of his "kids" states so that no one would suspect something.
From there, their Governor, John White, traveled back to England to beg for help. But he got back at the same time Spain declared war on England, and couldn't return for three years. In the meantime, the colonists split up. Half went to Croatoan Island (the home of Manteo, their translator) to wait for the Governor, where they intermarried with the natives and were totally absorbed. Even today Croatoan Indians often have blue or grey eyes. The other half traveled to Chesapeke Bay, not realizing that that area had been taken over by the Occaneechi, a hostile native tribe generally hated by even their neighbors. They were kidnapped and forced into slavery in the Occaneechi copper mines. Three or four captives, apparently almost all children, escaped and fled to Jamestown.
The thing is, this would explain so much. America held a grudge against England for leaving his people to die over petty politics, and later rebelled as soon as he was strong enough to live on his own. He also took his anger out on Spain for A) invading England at such a crucial time and B) Simon Fernandez. He eats so much and overproduces (as England said, out of childhood memories of poverty) because he remembers a time when his entire people was in danger of starving to death. He's so overenthusiastic about freedom, even pushing it on the rest of the world, because he remembers what it was like to be a slave. He also took out his anger against the Occaneechi on all the other native nations. And he developed his recklessness and adventurous nature when he and ~three other children escaped and walked hundreds of miles to an English settlement they probably weren't even really sure existed.
- It's hard to know where to correct this one first. The English were one of the most powerful military units at the time, and the American victory (miraculous as it was) had more to do with the benefits of guerrilla warfare than with Super-Strength. By the point the scene took place, the interest in continuing to fight to hold the colonies had waned. The English had pulled most of their forces, and a large number of loyalists had fled the country, so the fighting would have been with small numbers on the English side anyway. That doesn't mean that the English were any less of a fighting force, or that England was weaker than America, just that the motivation to continue the aggression was all but gone.
- You might be misunderstanding a bit. In that particular scene England is shown by himself, without any soldiers. America however, had at least 20 guys standing behind him, guns all pointed at England. America has been shown being able to swing a wildebeest around by the tail at 4 at the oldest. England knocks the gun out of his hands like it's nothing.
- It's not a misunderstanding. England's lack of men represented a lack of interest by the British people in holding the colony, not the strength of the colonists (it was a war won by luck and coincidence, more than anything). Had the British come at full force, they could have slaughtered the colonists.
- We're talking about the characters in the scene, not the context about the real world that it's representing.
- You might be misunderstanding a bit. In that particular scene England is shown by himself, without any soldiers. America however, had at least 20 guys standing behind him, guns all pointed at England. America has been shown being able to swing a wildebeest around by the tail at 4 at the oldest. England knocks the gun out of his hands like it's nothing.
- Except that England didn't give up most of his territories until he was forced to by treaties surrounding the World Wars, and in cultures like India he was oppressive from beginning to end. The reason the American Revolution happened was because a peaceful solution simply couldn't be reached (despite both party's attempts), and the reason it ended was because England didn't have the time, money, or interest to continue trying to hold the colony when he had issues like fighting France on the European front. It wasn't that he mentally broke, nor is it unlikely that he would have gone to war with another territory if the same situation had occurred.
- Well, he managed to be involved in a three-year guerrilla War of Independence with Ireland after WW1, and Ireland was part of the British Empire for much longer than America, so he can't have been that broken. Mind you, he refused to admit it was a war...
- Isn't Ireland one of England's actual brothers? They've apparently never gotten along at all, since the brothers would drive England off with rocks and arrows when he was a child (and sent [send?] curses in the mail). If anything, the Irish War of Independence would be a brotherly spat that escalated to that point. England raised America and was betrayed. I think the feel of the two different wars would be completely different if Ireland and the other brothers get portrayed in the future.
- Not quite. In canon it has been mentioned that England has three brothers - Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland - implying that the Republic of Ireland is not related to the other four.
- Republic of Ireland could be a girl and therefore be his sister.
- Isn't Ireland one of England's actual brothers? They've apparently never gotten along at all, since the brothers would drive England off with rocks and arrows when he was a child (and sent [send?] curses in the mail). If anything, the Irish War of Independence would be a brotherly spat that escalated to that point. England raised America and was betrayed. I think the feel of the two different wars would be completely different if Ireland and the other brothers get portrayed in the future.
- But England was still colonizing after America. Although there's the fact that Australia was colonized to replace America (direct quote from the Other Wiki "Following the loss of the American Colonies after the American War of Independence 1775-1783, Great Britain needed to find alternative land for a new British colony. Australia was chosen for settlement, and colonization began in 1788." ) so take from that what you will. Regardless, there were also other colonies like Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Jamaica, and others that have tried to revolt against England as well, except he cracked down on his other colonies to stop any revolutions breaking out. Also, I believe it was just before 1960 but he also had a war with Cyprus when Cyprus had wanted to go back to living with Greece, and England only backed out of that war because Greece and Turkey FINALLY agreed (on something) that they didn't want England having Cyprus. I know this isn't the same as the relation between England and America, but certainly it does show he didn't just back down after that one war. In my opinion, England probably only hardened after the Revolutionary War with America, because he hadn't wanted another nation to get that close to him and hurt him again once they betrayed him. Yes, he did let his other colonies have Independence gradually and peacefully, but only after he tried everything else to oppress the smaller ones until he had no option but to give it to them or go to war (and no one wanted that after the World Wars). There were also many other factors involved, which you'd have to look up when the first British Dominions came about to actually understand these factors.
- The Chinese and Koreans don't like each other, but they've become significantly closer allies because of their hatred of Japan. China tends to side with Korea, if given the option.
- Ireland probably has his or her own spot at the world meetings now. North Ireland is likely a child embroiled in a custody battle.
- ...you meant it the other way around, no? Britain = the UK. Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. England = England. In any case, Ireland used to be its own country before being conquered by England, so it's more than possible that he was there all along, with Scotland and Wales, it's just that in those times there were no world meetings.
- Not a theory, it's already canon. Word of God says that Arthur is England, but he represents the UK at meetings because his brothers get too rowdy. Ireland is its own country, and would represent itself.
- Considering how there has been evidence found for early Viking settlements in Canada that predate Columbus by a few hundred years, having America and Canada descended from the early Nordic warriors wouldn't be that much of a stretch.
- Columbus' landing had nothing to do with either America or Canada. He dind't land anywhere near them.◊ It more has to do with the eventual Spanish domination of South America than anything.
- Didn't it say somewhere that America got looks from Germanic heritage? It would make sense, with how much of the population and culture can boast it, but am I remembering incorrectly?
- It didn't say anything about his looks, just that he mixed with a lot of Germanic blood. It's probably just in reference to German-American being the biggest ethnic group in the US. Chibi-America still looked like non-chibi-America, anyway, before he got more German settlers.
- But that depends on whether something like immigration can alter a nation's personal appearance. The US population is becoming increasingly Hispanic/Latino, so does that mean America could, theoretically, look like a Latino in the future?
- It didn't say anything about his looks, just that he mixed with a lot of Germanic blood. It's probably just in reference to German-American being the biggest ethnic group in the US. Chibi-America still looked like non-chibi-America, anyway, before he got more German settlers.
- In the Christmas Bloodbath 2010, Finland tells America he can think of him as his father, because "You've got some genes from my people". I think Himaruya is definitely leaning towards this.
- I just pictured a family photo with Finland, Sweden, Sealand, America and Canada. It's actually a fairly cute image.
- Lets see, the Heptarchy was made up of seven kingdoms,Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex and Wessex, although Northumbria itself was made up of two kingdoms, Deira and Bernicia, and there was another seven or so smaller kingdoms/sub-kingdoms. Add in the rest of the British Isles and you've got a really big family which based on history suffered from a serious case of sibling rivalry.
- Given that the word 'England' was first used long after the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms came into being, they were probably his older siblings, who depending on which kingdom had the most power at the time took turns raising England after their mother died until they ceased to exist round about the time of the Norman Conquest (some might have gone before then) and kiddie England went from being the fought over and possibly much loved baby of a large, unruly and frankly somewhat dysfunctional family to being on his own apart from three surviving siblings (Scotland, Wales and Ireland) who didn't like him. Poor Arthur.
- Well, most things were made up of multiple parts; what became Germany was made up of 39 different states after the HRE collapsed. What happened to them is really up to how small of a body fans want to mandate a Nation-Tan require. Most say that once a culture stops recognizing them, they die; so chances are a great deal of them are dead. But then there are others who say that there are those that change into regions (in the way that states for the US become personified), so depending on how you read the canon some might still be alive...
- Hmm, good point. Let's see, Wessex no longer exists in any capacity so he's a goner. Kent managed to survive more or less intact, territory wise, so they might still be hanging around, although I don't know if they fit the culture requirement. Speaking of which, given the fact that northeners consider themselves separate from southerners, at least one or two of the Northumbrias might still be hanging in there, although on the other hand they got put through the wringer more then the others because of the whole Danelaw thing. Gah, this whole thing's getting the better of me. If I could draw properly I'd probably be drawing the various personifications in question by now.
- Seeing as how Alfred the Great and his descendants, being the kings of Wessex, were the ones to unite England as a Kingdom, maybe England is Wessex. Or at least his immediate Successor. Seeing as how Mercia was the predominant kingdom of the Heptarchy, based in central England, Iggy could have started out life as him (the rulers of Mercia often took the title "Bretwalda", meaning "Britain Wielder", roughly meaning "High King of Britain/England"). Alternatively, England is the result of an amalgamated Wessex and Mercia (definitely them, but possibly including some of the other kingdoms) merged into a single kingdom. Supporting this is the fact that Alfred allowed the Mercians to keep some of their autonomy, rather than outright annexing them to Wessex. This, combined with his patronage of vernacular Old English and a focus on unification, would have caused Wessex, Mercia, and the others to be subsumed into a larger English identity.
- The term 'bretwalda' wasn't just applied to the Mercian kings, it was used to refer to the king of whichever kingdom held the most power, something which, given that the Anglo-Saxon period was basically a series of brawls, changed rather frequently. The first one to really earn the title was Edwin of Northumbria. Not that it really matters, just thought I'd provide some free education. Incidentally, out of the Hepetarchy the Northumbria brothers are the ones who are most likely to still be around.
- Hmm, good point. Let's see, Wessex no longer exists in any capacity so he's a goner. Kent managed to survive more or less intact, territory wise, so they might still be hanging around, although I don't know if they fit the culture requirement. Speaking of which, given the fact that northeners consider themselves separate from southerners, at least one or two of the Northumbrias might still be hanging in there, although on the other hand they got put through the wringer more then the others because of the whole Danelaw thing. Gah, this whole thing's getting the better of me. If I could draw properly I'd probably be drawing the various personifications in question by now.
- I like to imagine England killed most of his siblings, just for the amusing mental image of him and some of the other nations sitting around drinking tea and calmly discussing the days when this was normal. Beware the Nice Ones.
- You've gotta admit, the resemblance◊ is uncanny.
Alternatively...
- Not content with the Cold War simply being over and done with, Russia decided to continue the confrontation on another front—namely, professional figure skating. Plushenko was cloned, educated, and trained as the world's first potentially superhuman figure skater, having been cloned from Russia's body so that he would develop all the optimal traits of the Russian people but also be saner.
- Plushenko's performance at the Vancouver Olympics exposed a few flaws in the cloning technology, allowing Russia's original personality to leak through in the event of a loss or breakdown.
- Or, if the whole gods/demigods WMG is true, Plushenko is really Russia's son.
- Which would mean that nations can have kids with humans. Hmm. This requires further thought.
- They were very close, and their names were Alfred and Alex. But they had such a bad argument over slavery (Alex was racist) that Alex moved out. But since Alex convinced several of Alfred's states (who are pretty much his children) to leave with him, Alfred went after him to get them back, and War Ensued. Finally, after a very bloody and difficult war, Alfred was forced to kill Alex. He was so upset and traumatized by it he threatened war on anyone who even MENTIONED Alex ever again. And since he's a superpower, no one does.
- Case in point◊ (Better data is available here for download). When you're talking the United States, you're fairly hard pressed to find not only a culture that isn't represented, but isn't represented in bulk. It stands to reason that, with the settlers concentrating more strongly from these two areas than others, Alfred would most likely be fluent in Spanish and German. If we're going to make smaller regions a representation of the whole, he'd also have French, Chinese, Russian, and Italian (and others) under his belt.
- Or, at least, he had them at one point. Alfred isn't exactly known for being the most culturally aware, and it could be that he took them all and assimilated them as quickly as possible so that he could stick with what he already knew. With Hispanic immigration as high as it is, though, there's at least one he can't avoid...
- I'd have to disagree with this theory. Not only for one does it go against America's personality (his world map is only of North America, thus I doubt he'd actually realize that there are languages other than English or the common language that all the nations use to talk to each other) but also Americans are not exactly known for being culturally accepting. Not meaning to insult any Americans here, but most of the world does see (or at least stereotype) the American populace as being ignorant of other cultures. As Hetalia is playing off that stereotype, making America Multi-lingual would throw off the ignorant stereotype he's portraying. Also, when studying Linguistics (hence a link can't be supplied if anyone wishes to see for themselves), we were given statistics of the percentages of the three main English dominate speaking nations (Britain, America and Australia) and on a "national" (meaning how many people in the nation they got to do the survey) scale only 41-2% spoke a language other than English. This shows a surprisingly low amount of bilinguals living in America, although it is very culturally diverse. In comparison, in the less culturally diverse nation of Britain, 86% spoke a language other than English. This doesn't support America being a multi-lingual if someone like England - who sees smaller immigration rates per year (America sees 2.92 immigrants per 1,000 people, whereas the UK as a whole sees 2.17 immigrants per 1,000 people according to this site = [1]) - has double the amount of citizens who speak more than one language. Also, America has not federally established any Multicultural Policies, despite other Western nations like Canada, Argentina, the UK, Netherlands, Australia (despite not being in the West is still counted), and most other nations in central Europe have done so. Going to the other Wiki, and looking up "Multiculturalism" then scrolling down to the section about the US will reinstate this, and also mention that there's a prominent national myth about going to the US and having one's culture assimilated into the American culture. Statistically and just on the basis of stereotyping, there is too low a chance of America being multilingual - if Himaruya does bring multilingualism in the US up at all, then my best bet would be as a side note, rather than an actual depiction of it in the series itself.
- I disagree with the above troper. I am of the opinion that the Nation-tans represent the PEOPLE not the government. Regardless of the stupidity of many of my fellow U.S. Americans regarding other cultures, a good portion of immigrants still retain their original heritage and beliefs and pass them down through the generations, though admittedly, they may be altered. Since America represents all who live in the United States, I believe, based on this, he would be multilingual and such things would be Hidden Depths. The Nation-tans would have to understand their people so it's only logical they know whatever language(s) their people speak. I agree that this is trait is unlikely to appear in the series itself and only in footnotes but beneath every stereotype, there are hidden depths.
- Alternatively America is multilingual but is unaware of it and can only speak other languages with his people, thinking that he's just speaking different dialects. This Troper read a very good fanfic working off this theory.
- In terms of linguistics, that'd be one hell of a stretch. If nothing else, keeping a sentence agreeable in gender is quite a new experience for English speakers (and that's hardly scratching the surface of the differences between English and everything else). That he could switch into something else when speaking to, let's say, his Spanish-speaking population (the roughly 30 million of them) without realizing it was something beyond dialect isn't really possible. Even for Alfred.
- Especially now, with all the arguments of English vs. Spanish, he's well aware.
- In terms of linguistics, that'd be one hell of a stretch. If nothing else, keeping a sentence agreeable in gender is quite a new experience for English speakers (and that's hardly scratching the surface of the differences between English and everything else). That he could switch into something else when speaking to, let's say, his Spanish-speaking population (the roughly 30 million of them) without realizing it was something beyond dialect isn't really possible. Even for Alfred.
- If America, who prefers the 'melting pot' approach to culture, is multilingual, (He may very well speak Spanish or German.) then Canada most certainly speaks languages other than English and French. These would include Chinese, Portuguese, Punjabi, Spanish, Italian and Ukrainian, as well as First Nations' languages, almost all of which are preserved, and many are still taught in schools.
- Would relate to the Black Panther is the Nation-tan of Wakanda theory above. The identity of Steve Rogers was invented as a cover-up so nobody would suspect the very personification of America would be doing something so risky as to fight alongside his own men. The super-soldier formula never truly existed and and was conveniently "lost" after being used on "Steve Rogers." On one hand, it kept the Germans on their toes knowing that America had found a way to create super soldiers, and on the other, allowed and explanation for Captain America's powers. During the Cold War, he was placed in Cold Storage and temporarily replaced as Captain America by somebody else to keep him safe in case Russia decided to fire his nukes or something. He was later taken out of storage and now operates a double identity both as Alfred the nation and Steve Rogers the superhero because he's "The Hero."
- He bugged every director he could find, and he finally did it. He got a movie made about himself.
- So... Did Germany or Prussia know about the whole H.Y.D.R.A. thing, or was Red Skull working independent from the country at the time and therefore didn't know about the personifications?
- What if Peggy Carter was actually an alias of Nyo!England, who resigned from her work early and eventually faked her death to take up another alias? If so, then the news about a certain "Steve Rogers" turning up could lead to more than a few interesting questions...
- Those with English eyebrows are those who were English to begin with. Those with French characteristics started as French colonies. And, in the case of America, he was born before France and England arrived, so he has neither of their genes in him.
- When you say English to begin with, do you mean colonised by England first? Because the British were the first colonizers in New Zealand, but New Zealand doesn't have the eyebrows. If you meant it as claimed by England first, then how does that explain Australia having the eyebrows when he was first claimed by the Dutch, French, Spanish, Russians, etc before the British decided to just go there and colonize anyway? Also there's the native Indigenous peoples of these countries, which are arguably the first settlers of these nations before the Europeans even came around. Sorry, I'm just not seeing your point clearly because I'm not sure what you meant by it exactly.
- I think what the OP meant was that Britain's culture was the dominant one - which, as this part-Australian troper attests, is fairly accurate. And New Zealand does have the eyebrows.
- What about Hong Kong? This troper lives in Hong Kong, and the dominant culture is Chinese, yet Hong Kong also has England's eyebrows.
- Hong Kong was cursed with the eyebrows.
- Those with English eyebrows are those who were English to begin with. Those with French characteristics started as French colonies. And, in the case of America, he was born before France and England arrived, so he has neither of their genes in him.
- Given that China's seiyuu had roles occasionally dropping bridgets on other people, this come at no surprise.
- Oh, I would really like this to be true, but it would ruin the tension!
- If China was secretly a girl, it seems doubtful that he would ever take off his shirt in front of anyone else◊, even if - or especially if - it was another nation. Also, when he turns around a little in the link, he appears to lack female breasts. (Sorry, Korea.)
- Sort of impossible, but it would explain Hong Kong. Daddy!England and Mommy!China?
- It occurred to this troper while watching the episode where China meets Baby!Japan that...well, China has very small feet. Although, obviously after the 2010 Bloodbath and that cute Mandarin dress, China's got to a be a guy...or seriously flat chested.
- This troper likes to think that he went through a gender-swaped version of what I like to call Hungarian Gender Confusion-that is, (as the name implies) when one has an Unsettling Gender-Reveal about themselves.
- We have seen his chest, but depending on when that strip was set it may not rule out post-top-surgery FTM.
- Ohh.... I see what you did there.
- To England and France, historically, them being of different heights in actuality but not in number is a very real possibility. There was a good period of time in which the English measuring system and the French one were different, with the French feet slightly larger (which is why we get myths such as Napoleon being very short). I can't think of an explanation for America, so it could be very well that he maintains this due to his self-consciousness.
- I always thought of the corn belt as his digestive system, personally.
- This troper declares this canon. No objections.
- He was always referred to as male, though, long before he even attempted to a acquire Florida.
- Everyone (in-universe) referred to Italy as a girl before finding out (even Italy), and they also thought Hungary was a boy. Clearly nation-tans are a bad judge of gender.
- Italy never said he was a girl, as far as I know. Heck, he even almost reveals his true gender to HRE in that strip about his dream meeting Japan, not to mention getting all flustered and allowing Hungary to go bathe before him in Hungary-san and her Maiden's Heart and then in another strip showing no concern about getting nude and swimming with HRE. Not to mention that even though Austria thought was female and thus bought him dresses and such, he was technically raised by his granddad Rome along with Romano, and I'd sure as hell hope that he'd know his own grandson's gender. Of course, I could always be missing out on something (like an official statement by Himaruya, for example) but there hasn't been any indication that Italy was "gender-confused".
- True, but the logic to make him female originally is faulty, and asserting literal gender change moves well beyond mistake. The theory is saying that expansion would mean body parts would be added for each gained territory, and that makes no sense especially in context of characters like America who expanded from about 375 thousand miles to almost 4 million. That, and it suggests that for a character to be male they need a phallic body of land, which is again in contrast to the series which makes genitalia (male or female) an important region rather than a suggestive one.
- Three things; One- It was kind of a joke theory anyway, for some reason my joke theories (regardless of fandom) are always taken dead seriously and nitpicked even when (I think) it should be obvious it's a joke. Two- I'd say making two islands someone's nipples is a little on the suggestive side, although admittedly not on the level of what I'm suggesting would be. Three- I'm not saying that a nation-tan needs a suggestive geographic feature to be a particular gender, I'm saying that if a nation-tan is already particular gender and has a suggestive geographic feature that correlates to that gender there may be a relation. This theory came from fridge logic related to that.
- Joke theories don't work when they're no more ridiculous than the normal ones...
- Everyone (in-universe) referred to Italy as a girl before finding out (even Italy), and they also thought Hungary was a boy. Clearly nation-tans are a bad judge of gender.
- We've already seen this same thing with Germany, Japan, and the Italys, and it's been shown that the Nation-Tans will be allowed to cry, scream, and eventually be hit if they don't agree. I'm pretty sure that's how it is for everyone: they don't get so much explanations as orders for what they're supposed to do. In the same way, they never seem to be consulted about what they'd feel towards a certain action before they have to carry it out.
- As if there weren't already enough reasons to dislike politicians.
- For some reason, the idea of Russia being friends with the land of Everything Trying to Kill You seems weirdly fitting.
- From the Aussies With Artillery page, regarding why invading Australia is a bad idea: "It's like Russia. In Russia if you invade you can keep marching until you freeze to death. Invade North West Australia and you can keep marching until you die of heatstroke." They have things in common!
- Russians were also guests of honor in Australia for many years. Australians once let Russian visitors survey the land of Port Jackson and Botany bay including Military Fortifications which did not raise any eyebrows with Australians at the time (Though for the Brits and the rest of Europe it caused a Red Scare) and the city of Darwin was owned by the USSR for three days due to communication problems.
- From the Aussies With Artillery page, regarding why invading Australia is a bad idea: "It's like Russia. In Russia if you invade you can keep marching until you freeze to death. Invade North West Australia and you can keep marching until you die of heatstroke." They have things in common!
- If India is ever created he or she might be good friends with Russia, or might be someone that Russia is quite protective of as is more in character for him and also historically canon.
- Ireland is another possibility, though they might have had a falling out by now due to Ireland apparently supporting Georgia in the fairly recent conflict between Russia and Georgia. But since Russia (well, the USSR) was the first nation to recognize Ireland as an independent country, I could see that being the basis for a good relationship between the -tans.
- France. Around the time Russia began being exposed to European influence under Peter the Great, Russians (aristocrats especially) showed a fascination in France. Dressing like the French and speaking it was apparently the cool thing to do. Just as well, the communist party was apparently very strong in France in 1946, later joining NATO in 1949. Even after joining there was apparently higher sympathy towards the communists in France than there was the U.K. or the U.S..
- Also, when in the episode where Russia after a meeting reveals his fantasies of deforming the other Allies' faces to France. If this troper remembers correctly, Russia repeatedly refers to "them" rather than "you all", allowing one to wonder if Russia likes France more than the others.
- Alternately because Kaida also voices Taiwan, it may also be the case that Taiwan is narrating the thing from the Future as well.
- Jossed in the dub, where China's voice actress is not the Narrator.
- Alternately because Kaida also voices Taiwan, it may also be the case that Taiwan is narrating the thing from the Future as well.
He realised, of course, that Sealand hated him, and is trying to get him to like him, which is why in strips he's always trying to convince him to come to his house. He secretly quite likes the fact that he has to help Sealand out sometimes, as it stops him from cutting England off entirely.
This is supported by the strip where he has a nightmare that Sealand grows up. Even if just thought Sealand was being an idiot, calling himself a country, he'd hardly have nightmares about it. Also, the fact that Sealand suddenly becomes taller than him is reminiscent of the strip where he says goodbye to a small America, comes back a short time later, and finds America is now taller than him.
England does love Sealand really, he just doesn't want to admit it. His reaction of horror to seeing Sealand had put himself up for sale on the internet could quite easily be seen as fear for what his little brother could be getting himself into.
- I think England might love Sealand just a little more if he'd stop shooting at his commercial fishing already.
- Russia appreciating the violence makes even more sense when you consider the covers that the Russian publishers use. American Kirby Is Hardcore might as well be renamed Russian Warriors Is Hardcore.
- Come to think of it, China seems to like the series a lot, too.
- Bit of a misconception there: The books that everyone believes are from China are actually published in Taiwan. The Simplified Chinese translation, which is published in China, only goes up to the first series, so Taiwan is likely a much bigger fan. This also raises the possibility of Russia and Taiwan secretly being obsessed with England, being the Warriors authors' home country.
- Official list of nations who have at least encountered Warriors: America, Canada, England, Taiwan, Japan, China, Russia, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Finland, Slovenia, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Korea, Hungary, Vietnam, and France. Germany, too, seems to be particularly fond of the books.
- So England is Ben Collins?
- Well, no, but there is speculation that there's more than one Stig, right? England can't always have time to do this secret side-job, so he lets Ben Collins fill in for him and throw everybody off his trail. After all, a proper English gentleman doesn't recklessly drive really fast cars.
- Spain gave America his Florida.
- We didn't even need the states to make that assumption. America "Fuck Yeah!" Jones!
- The French have always been thought of as sex-hounds, though.
- Wordof God says France had completely forgotten about Joan of Arc until Napoleon mentioned her, and there's no reason to assume he was any closer to Marie Antoinette than he was any of his other queens.
- A recent strip seems to suggest otherwise.
- Which is hilarious because the French people blamed Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Princess, for running their finances into the ground, which inevitably started the French Revolution.
- A recent strip seems to suggest otherwise.
- It definitely sounds like something Russia would do. At the very least, I could see him doing it as a symbolic gesture, to the utter horror of any nation-tan who witnessed the act or heard about it later.
Now then: China, like many nations, likely appeared as a small child when a form of cultural and national identity appeared among the people living in this region. This may have happened during the end of the "San-huang wu-ti", as it eased into the Xia Dynasty Period. He may have been "found" by one of his earliest bosses, and brought to live in the courts with the most important members of their society. China's growth probably mirrored Italy's◊ over the intervening centuries, with "Chibi China" representing the late "San-huang wu-ti" and early Xia, older kid China during the later Xia Dynasty and the Shang Period, young teen China during the Zhou Dynasty (likely the Western Zhou Period), and his older teen form during the Eastern Zhou (known to us as the "Spring and Autumn Period" and later the more famous "Warring States Period"). This would be when he was truly maturing as a nation, and began seeing himself as the "Middle Kingdom". He would fully mature into his adult form upon the accession of Qin Shi Huang as the first emperor of Imperial China, under the "Qin Dynasty". This would mark a turning point in his life, being that it was founded around 221 BC (when he was roughly 2000 years old). From this point on, after being unified under the Qin (and later the Han), China began acting as a "Big Brother" figure to the other East Asian nations. Japan is, after all, first mentioned by the Chinese in the "Book of Han" (a collection of writings detailing the later Han period). He would not, however, begin taking serious lessons from China until after he meets Korea and begins borrowing culture and knowledge from them later in the 1st millennium AD.
Addendum: During the early history of China, such as during his "chibi" days and the Warring States Period, there may have been "rival" Chinas. These small states, if they had any regional identity, would have had to have been either killed by or absorbed into China, possibly helping to facilitate his growth. However, it is unlikely that any rival states appeared during later periods of unrest. By the time of the Three Kingdoms, or the Southern Song, the idea of "One China" had long since been established. Any rulers of rival kingdoms saw themselves as contenders to the Mandate of Heaven, not the founders of their own national states. Thus, China merely suffered from the fatigue of civil war, or possible split-personality disorder at worst. The reason there is a Hong Kong and Taiwan is because Hong Kong existed as a British colony for many years, has a fusion of Chinese culture and British Colonial society as his background, and is treated as a special zone in China (Macau may also exist as a Portuguese equivalent). Taiwan, meanwhile, had its own indigenous cultures which still exist on may parts of the island. This, on top of having a similar experience with Japan as Hong Kong had with Britain, as well as merely being settled and Sinicized rather than an inherent part of China's boundaries (remember, the ROC government is merely hosted in Taiwan, considering itself rightful ruler of all China. Many Taiwanese are fine with independence, as well). This is why a Tibet- and Mongolia-tan also exist.
- Given how the Warring States all had their own identity which were retained by their successor provinces, they could have just been China's older siblings who passed on their skills and personality and currently live in his house as retired nations. The reason that China doesn't remember his first dynasties very well was because he almost died during the Warring States period and thus experienced memory problems when he was re-unified.
- So his memory problems could be similar to those following the HRE=Germany theory... interesting.... Of course, for all we know, the other Chinese siblings may have in fact moved up in the cosmic ranks... and have become China's Dragon! Also, his memory loss could be due to the book burnings that took place when the first Dynasty of the Imperial China came about. Shi Huangdi didn't want there to be any history that preceded him, after all.
- It goes without saying that this is pretty much history canon. It would also explain, along with the Mongol Hordes, why Russia is as completely insane and dangerous as he is.
- I've seen several fics with this pairing. Really, it was just too good to pass up.
- Link to a great one, please?
- Freedom!
- Fuck England!
- It's a reference to Alfred E. Neuman!
- Fuck yeah!
- Fernandez
- France/Francis made him add it as payment for helping him in The American Revolution!
- The F doesn't stand for anything. Alfred just thought it would make him sound important.
- It's probably reference to Alfred E Neuman, as said on his page but troper considers it either Francis or Franklin. The Other Wiki also said that the 'F' is for John F. Kennedy.
- Odds are, the Alfred comes from the ship, Jones comes from one or all of the Jones mentioned, and "F" stands for ALL of the above, that way the fans can choose which one they like most and stick with it. On another note, I like how one possible explanation for Alfred is the USS Alfred, since it fits with Canada's name coming from the Matthew.
- It's probably reference to Alfred E Neuman, as said on his page but troper considers it either Francis or Franklin. The Other Wiki also said that the 'F' is for John F. Kennedy.
- Word of God says about this:What does the F stand for?According to my first note, it seems like Foster.But I wrote a lot around it, like Franklin and F*ck,the mystery of F deepens and deepens...
- Owch. Yes, Russia is The Woobie, but way to ruin the mood of those strips.
- History disagrees with you very much, my friend; the name 'America' is based of the Latin form of the masculine name 'Amerigo.' Plus, the name was coined by a German.
- There's no Plot Hole. Europeans were colonizing, and because of that a new Tan was born.
- On the other point, England didn't father America. America was running around before England even showed up on the continent (that's canon). Because of the original settlers in his territory his lineage is, in fact, Nordic (regardless of which colony believed to have founded him, they all pretty much came from the same area). England's contribution was to colonize effectively, which allowed America to age up, but it had nothing to do with his birth.
- Their official connection is 'brother' as well, so...
- Alternatively, all of England's insistence that he's their parent leads Canada and America to tease him.
- Netherlands/Holland might be the father. The Dutch had a significant impact on American culture.
- Except England is not and has never claimed to be their parent. Guys, remember to check the actual manga sometimes.
- It was a joke, geez.
- On the other point, England didn't father America. America was running around before England even showed up on the continent (that's canon). Because of the original settlers in his territory his lineage is, in fact, Nordic (regardless of which colony believed to have founded him, they all pretty much came from the same area). England's contribution was to colonize effectively, which allowed America to age up, but it had nothing to do with his birth.
- There is some proof of continued Celtic influence on English culture, as well as there having been the (now mostly extinct) Cornish and Cumbric languages. So it could be possible that England is Germania's bastard son with an earlier Celtic nation-tan. Alternatively, England is in fact Celtic by birth, but has become one of the Germanic family through adoption similar to America (this could have also happened to Prussia, a Baltic state that became Germanized).
- I'm inclined to go with the adoption theory, because, as said, we know that Scotland and Wales, at least, are his brothers, and Himaruya has never given any indication that he may be related to Germany. We could really do with knowing when England actually appeared; whether it was after the country was established or if he just got a name change when that happened.
- And so can we. (Everyone can be America.)
- Himayura has stated that while he and his brothers act as the UK, England is the one who represents them as a whole in the meetings. Or something like that.
- It's because his brothers are too rowdy, but you're right. With how much people take pride and identify themselves as Scottish, Welsh, and Irish, they're definitely still alive. It would be interesting, though, to see the state of his brothers (since England has so much power in the UK, and even strips which take place in the Isles never show the others).
- Sorry, I didn't explain the guess properly. The theory doesn't mean the other UK nations are dead; rather, it's based on an idea I've come across where the UK as a whole has a personification as well as the individual contries within it. That applies here, except that the UK is a split personality of England, rather than a completely separate person, based on the aforementioned stereotypes thing, and the fact that English people are more likely to identify themselves as British than people from the rest of Britain. Also, that many people seem to think 'England' and 'Britain' are interchangeable. Really, no matter how rowdy they are, I think England would have difficulty convincing Scotland in particular to let him represent all of them. If the other UK nations knew that the person representing them was actually the UK, it might go down a bit better, as that person would represent all of them. Although the other nations thinking they were talking to England might still cause some issue...
- With the clarification, this theory makes sense. I'd think that the other Tans might not know he's still England, though. Consider that, after the point the nations united, everything became known as British with who had been England as the head. Everybody, after not seeing his brothers as much if at all, might just figure he'd gone through a very-common name change.
- It's because his brothers are too rowdy, but you're right. With how much people take pride and identify themselves as Scottish, Welsh, and Irish, they're definitely still alive. It would be interesting, though, to see the state of his brothers (since England has so much power in the UK, and even strips which take place in the Isles never show the others).
- He uses it to cover a nasty scar on his neck.
- Russia was very close to the Romanovs, who were executed, many by being shot in / near the head, in July 1918. The scars his hair doesn't cover, the scarf does.
- It reminds him of the warmer memories of his childhood.
- It's keeping his head on. He was actually decapitated at some point and somehow managed to survive (well, if he can survive his heart falling out...) but he doesn't want to alarm the other nations.
- It's canon (or, at least, he says it's canon) that it's a body part and he literally cannot take it off.
- Jossed He is shown without it in the first volume of the manga [2]◊
- I'm just repeating what Russia, himself, said. The quote about him not being able to remove it comes from the CD's, though, so comes down to exactly what level of canon you consider them.
- And just how reliable you consider Russia's word to be...
- Jossed He is shown without it in the first volume of the manga [2]◊
- He's Russia and he can do what he wants.
- (Referring to the above Body Part theory) It's a removeable erogenous zone. And whenever someone touches it, he gets all nice and dere like in the strip where Lithuania falls asleep on his shoulder and they talk about their dreams.
- But he's not wearing it in the first few minutes of paint it white...
- (Referring to the above Body Part theory) It's a removeable erogenous zone. And whenever someone touches it, he gets all nice and dere like in the strip where Lithuania falls asleep on his shoulder and they talk about their dreams.
- In 1956 Hungary had a falling out with Russia... And it's worth noting that in 1848 Russia "bringing them together" involved rushing in and literally crushing Hungary's army. (That's hardcore shipping for you...)
- It said in the notes that after the 1956 rebellion was crushed, Austria had a "hostile attitude to communist Hungary", and that Russia helped to reconcile them.
- Well, and there were some pesky little things called World Wars...
- That doesn't discredit the guess, does it? The guess was that England started to subtly age, realised what that meant, and it was decided to get rid of the empire (although some people grasped the seriousness of the situation better than others). How does it affect the guess if the wars contributed to that situation?
- Well, the wars kind of made Britain weak and nearly bankrupt. Which is why it didn't even try to keep its empire together anymore, it just didn't have the money and the resources. Just before WWI Britain fought the Second Boer War trying to expand its empire. After WWII it pretty much let go most of its colonies because it had to focus on rebuilding Britain itself.
- Yes, it couldn't keep the empire together, so it didn't try. Why can't that translate to Hetalia terms as England looking like he might die if the empire didn't go peacefully? Am I just missing the objection here?
- The point is, the empire didn't fall apart because England noticed a couple of wrinkles or a grey hair and thought that at this rate he would die. The Second Boer War was fought technically "minutes" before WWI to expand the empire. It was because the war left Britain weak and exhausted.
- OK, I get the point now. Still, I think the guess has some merit if I'd worded it so that it said that after the wars England started to age, which corresponded to the real life problems in Britain. So as well as the issues in terms of the country, the nation-tan also seemed to be in trouble.
- That doesn't discredit the guess, does it? The guess was that England started to subtly age, realised what that meant, and it was decided to get rid of the empire (although some people grasped the seriousness of the situation better than others). How does it affect the guess if the wars contributed to that situation?
- That makes sense considering Japan was showing signs of old age (high blood pressure and a bad back) during WWII.
- As an alternative theory to the castration one above, so far there are four confirmed ancients in canon, and two of those four are female. Considering the fact that women had more outlets and chances for some type of power in the ancient world even if they still weren't equal to men, a lot of the ancient nation-tans were likely female. Presumably China, at 4,000 years old, is one of the "younger" ancients, so he could very well have grown up around female -tans and assumed that he too was female. Obviously he no longer believes this, but he might still be more comfortable in more feminine clothes/still considers himself feminine in some ways. This would explain both his androgynous style and his drawing of himself that looks like a woman. Supported by Nyotalia China having tomboyish clothing in her sketch (though YMMV, I guess); she would have grown up around primarily male ancients and made the exact same error as Hungary.
- This has a logical conclusion. Why doesn't Gakuen!England want anyone to know what his Christmas is like? Well, if Doctor Who and Hetalia are the same universe then England gets invaded by aliens at Christmas! He doesn't want anyone to know because he's utterly convinced that they won't believe him.
- That... that is just brilliant.
- Regarding America, maybe he has some other method of time travel, like Tony? I doubt the Doctor would let America take a friggin' computer back in time with him.
- Um...the heart is normally located in the left side of the chest. That's why, when you sing your national anthem, you usually put your right hand across your chest onto the left side and over your heart.
- It's slightly to the left, but closer to the center than most people think. When you cover your "heart" for the national anthem, you're more likely covering a lung.
- That makes too much sense to be ignored.
- Actually I had always thought it had come from Indiana Jones.
- Evidence? Not disregarding the theory, but there needs to be something to back this up.
- The problem with this theory is that the legend of King Arthur is of Celtic origin, and he was supposed to have fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons - that is, the English. So if anything Wales was King Arthur.
- But your issue depends on England actually being originally Anglo-Saxon, when I'd say the evidence points towards him being a Celt who was adopted by the Germanics. After all, the rest of the UK, at least, have been confirmed as England's brothers, the other British Isles have been stated to have the bushy eyebrows, and he doesn't share any features with the nations that are definitely Germanic, nor has there been mention of him being related to them. It's quite possible that England before he was England wrote down his diary while he was still resisting the invaders, and got captured by them afterwards. Or maybe it wasn't a diary at all, just a fairy story he wrote to keep his hopes up that someone would come save him and his people.
- The problem with this theory is that the legend of King Arthur is of Celtic origin, and he was supposed to have fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons - that is, the English. So if anything Wales was King Arthur.
England and Wales are related to Rome and the Italy brothers. Scotland is related to Germania, Germany, Prussia, and possibly Holy Roman Empire. Historically, the Romans never managed to conquer what is now Scotland, and were actually terrified of them. However, several Germanic tribes migrated there, and spread the English language.
- In that vein, does he also have Cornwall living with him? They have the independence party, the distinct culture and hey, they even have their own language!
- It gets worse. There was an official comic strip released where England very directly states that America's habit of overproduction when it comes to his economy is almost certainly due to childhood memories of poverty. This theory isn't just Alternate Character Interpretation, it's also damn close to being Canon.
- When the Europeans started fighting over the land in the new world, the Nation-Tan of American Indians used her spiritual powers to create America. He considers her to be his grandmother, and has since put her in a home, where she spends her time gambling.
- Texas was originally Mexico's daughter, but her fierce rebellious streak led her to run away from home. Mexico was furious about this, and tried to force her to come back, but America later stepped in and let her stay in his house for a while. Mexico eventually gave up and let her be his problem. Over time, she took over at least half of America's house for herself, and when he objected to her lifestyle, they divided the house between themselves... with an attempt to literally split the house in two. When this didn't work, "Dixie", as she'd changed her name to, apologized and reluctantly helped with the reconstruction.
- Hawaii was America's neighbor, who had a small house, but a really great backyard. At first, he wasn't happy with America's constant uninvited use of his pool and barbecue, but when America finally realized he was being rude, he invited Hawaii inside for a visit. Eventually, they came to an agreement that Hawaii could live with America in his great big house as long as he and his other roommates could use his backyard unrestricted.
- The first personality for China as the Republic of China, which was mostly suppressed by him. However, Taiwan inherited that personality instead.
- The second personality for China is China as the Chinese Soviet Republic, later as the People's Republic. This is the dominant personality today. It is a militant personality, but later it was tempered by reforms in the Chinese economy.
- The third personality is the Nanjing Government of the Republic of China, a Japanese puppet state in China. It represents the subservience of China to Japan. It is also China's default personality when ruled by an alien country like Mongolia and Manchuria/Qing. Now, this personality arises merely on cross-cultural relationships with other Asian countries in which China is the junior partner, although this was no longer the case.
- It's possible that Korea saw America's true self in the Koreanwar and has tried to help keep him grounded as well. It would explain how America is protective of both Japan and South Korea. (While he doesn't show it in canon, I believe he is protective of both of them) because if he were to lose the two people he trusts and cares for the most, he'll surely go into his crazy side.
- Alternatively, America is a Blood Knight.
- In terms of Hetalia, no matter which side England was on, he would most likely be going through a great deal of stress with few people to talk to. Most of continental Europe was in a war of their own, the 30 Years War. His siblings were around and involved in the wars, but it's made clear that he was much closer to America at the time. He would've had a lot to say too; in addition to becoming a republic, his people were throwing ideas around about full equality between rich and poor, women were leading sermons and churches for the first time, along with some demanding the vote, and there was much more religious freedom (not for Catholics, unfortunately, but for Jews, Muslims and other types of Christianity). If he was blurting out all of this to America just to try and get his mind clear, could it be that some of this stuck with the younger nation?
- It could also be why America thinks of England as "so big..." These ideas were next to unheard of in Europe, and while not all of them stuck at the time (after the Restoration in 1660, very few did) they were loud enough to shock many. Maybe, America thought that England would understand why he declared independence over a century later, maybe even proud, just to be surprised and disappointed when England took it personally and fought against him (especially considering many Englishmen were sympathetic to the Thirteen Colonies at the time).