#italian regions personification

[temtamtom]

Do you headcanon the other Italian city states as dead? If so. How do you think the brothers reacted to their deaths? (Also, from one Italian to the other, Ciao!!!)

Hehe ciao!

Okay tbh I don't have a concrete answer EBGJFJ I do have regional/City State OCs, but they're not really part of my "main canon", if that makes sense?

I play around with them a lot. Whether they exist or not, if they live or die, what relation they have with the itabros, it all really depends on what I'm in the mood to explore! So for example I have some lore/story ideas where the Northern City States exist and then die off, and other ones where they stay alive as regional personifications.

Lately my friends and I have been super self-indulgent and playing with the idea of regions being Feli and Romano's respective kids. Does it make much sense? Eeehh it depends. Is it fun and silly? Hell yea 😎 I love myself a big chaotic Italian family DBFJR

Anyways, to answer your question more properly- I imagine, in this scenario, the only southern personification would be Romano (though you could argue there would be another one alongside him, but I digress). So the ones to die off would be the northern (and some central) city states, who Feliciano has interacted with a LOT throughout his life. They didn't always get along, and they fought pretty often, but I'm sure the loss would still be incredibly painful. They were a constant in his life, and now they're gone. They couldn't even fully experience unification and independence, something they fought long and hard for before passing away. It feels more than a little unfair, and I wouldn't be surprised if Feliciano experienced "survivor's guilt." It certainly doesn't help that he lost HRE decades prior.

Like I said, there are many ways to go about city states and region OCs. I never have a "set" answer because I like exploring these characters in a myriad of ways.

Anyways, I don't have any pretty art yet of the OCs, but here's an early exploration of Miss Lombardy (formerly the Duchy of Milan). She sees herself as the "bread winner" and tries her best to be serious at work, but she's honestly very easy to distract and is generally a lively woman. So don't let her stern mug fool you.

In an AU/Scenario where she's one of Feliciano's kids, she'd definitely be his golden girl.

Don't look too close or I'll explode EBFIRHF <3 /lh

[perilleonedisanmarco]

Italian Regions Aesthetic | Seasons AU | Repubbliche Marinare | Campania → Estate | Toscana → Autunno | Liguria → Primavera | Veneto → Inverno

“Every season has its own character and charm.”

[atanapotinija-moved]

Happy Holidays! I am not a very festive person, but I wanted to give it a try and draw something cute to celebrate. So, I drew Puglia as San Nicola and Alto Adige (on their left) and Trentino (on their right) as two Krampus.

[goldtracing]

Relationship Study - Hetalia

Because history is nuanced and very so simple, I’ve decided to put together a pallet of relationships between the personifications that are not as simple as plain love or hate. Might add some more on a later date or make a part II; these are just the ones I have knowledge on at the moment.

Austria – Italy

Italy was once Venice and Venice was powerful enough to wage successfully wage war against Austria. In turn, Austria has ruled over vast swarths of what is now Italy, at times pressing his own culture on those regions. World War I is an especially sore spot for both of them, Austria in particular. Roderich still curses Feliciano for having taken South Tyrol himself – it is a matter over which they go at each other’s throats. Italy insists the region is Italian, and Austria insists it is Austrian.

Then there are their differences in values – Italy is more opportunistic and far more prone to disregard rules. Austria on the other hand, has more pride and cynicism.

Yet they can also get along splendidly at times. Both are Catholic and have a taste for the finer things in life to the point of snobbery. They value history and while both of them can wage war when it is called for, they prefer the pen over the sword.

China – Vietnam

China has never been a big brother figure to her. Rather, he acted like an uncle or stepfather would. Not sexually or outright physically abusive as the stereotype goes, rather condescending with a lot of tough love. He came to her as a coloniser and impressed his Confucian values upon her. For a long time, she was just another prefecture that had to pay tribute to an Emperor she despised. She had to fight for her freedom. And while she doesn’t typically hold grudges, she is very weary of China, because she knows the older nation to be very dangerous.

She remembers having coffee with France in the mid-19th century, during one of those days when the empire was in an indulging mood and relayed how Napoleon Bonaparte had said that China was a sleeping giant that would shake the world upon awakening. While Francis had laughed, Chung Lien had always known that those words couldn’t be truer.

Yao saw Chung Lien as a wayward girl from the very start, a barbarian that he took in to civilianize out of power-hunger and paternalism. Warding off both America and France garnered some respect from him, enough for him to remain cordial when conversing with her on hot-button topics. That doesn’t change that he still sees her as beneath him.

Nevertheless, they have had their better moments where they discuss literature and socialism and mythology. China sometimes offers advice and Chung Lien weights it against gold before applying it.

England – Scotland

These two are brothers and they fight like they are. Arthur has long been regarded as the Germanic changeling by his siblings, the product of too many invasions and migrations and wars to be of Celtic heritage. England also has a different temperament in contrast to them – more ambitious, cupid and prideful and at times, romantic. Also, more impatient, and temperamental, willing to crack down on rebellion with an iron fist. That included Scotland and his queens and Catholicism, the streak of self-determination that was never fully compatible with England’s dreams of Empire.

Yet they hold a complicated form of love for each other. Scotland played his own part in the imperial project, and they grew pineapples together when they were all the rage in Europe. They have both been constants in each other’s lives for over a millennium. When Arthur is in one of his isolationist phases, Allistor is one of the only people that can get through to him. One of the few that skin thick enough to deal with England on a regular basis and not be entirely put off, one of the few that know how to bite back with razor-sharp words of his own.  

Prussia – Russia

Gilbert and Ivan have a long history together and in their own ways, they have been close. Both of them are rough around the edges, not fitting in neatly in the other European nations. Russia has saved Prussia’s life in the past, a result of the strange attachment he has for the other nation. Russia adopted many Prussian/German customs and linguistic traits in the past and has held a lot of respect for the Kingdom in the past. Gilbert has also returned these sentiments, just not so strongly.

They’ve held strong alliances in the past, at times held the same convictions. They’ve held long conversations about everything that comes to mind, or “über Gott und die Welt” as Gilbert likes to say. Yet, ultimately, Russia has sometimes been too alien for even Prussia to deal with. There were the World Wars, and all the consequences and politics and fearmongering that came tied with it. Afterwards, during the DDR, Ivan was gracious enough to give Gilbert a lot of autonomy to largely govern himself. Yet East Germany was still a pawn to Soviet Russia, an unspoken dynamic that they were both very conscious of. A strained relationship, yet an essential one.

[potniaposts]

Working again on a project I started years ago and I abandoned years ago as well feel strange, but I am happy to return to it since I am spending a lot of time on it!

This character is the personification of Puglia and don’t kill me if I made her a little bit chubby, but I actually think that this body type really fits her uwu

[roamingpoffin]

Mr. Genova: Instructions for Use

Hello there! I recently got to re-read Hetalia’s story about Napoleon in occasion of a trip in Corsica, and suddently remembered this adorable little guy. While there are a lot of wonderful people that took the mantle and tried to give character and story to what are actually just 2 sketches from 3y ago, I also noticed some disappointment (understandable) and…. misinformation from lack of context and historical knowledge about the topic. I know that seeing the 4th italian brother when maybe your country isn’t in yet can be frustrating, but trust me when I say that Genova is a very important character for many of the events that occurred between the middle-ages and WWII (does Colombo ring a bell?).

With that said let’s try to discover together who actually was is Mr.Genova!

Why Genova and not Genoa? Genova is the correct italian name of the republic/city while Genoa is it's english version and, incidentally, the name of Genova's most renowed football team. So just like for Venezia and Roma we'll keep the original pronunciation.

In this first part we’ll talk about Genova design

[Original sketch by Hima, I just polished and colored it to better convey my ideas about his design.]

I’ve heard people complaining that “he just seems like a fusion of Romano and France”, funnily enough not only the comparison is quite on point, but it’s coherent with Genova’s history and probably intentional on Hima’s side.

To understand what I mean let’s look at a little map of modern Italy

We can immediatly notice some things ->

1) Liguria (the name given to Genova’s historical territories after the city became “capoluogo di regione” in 1948) borders with France and Monaco. For all it’s life Genova had to fend against France and would often end under it’s dominion for brief periods; at the same time their vicinity favored a similar culture and language (with one BIG exeption we'll see another time): Monaco and Corsica, previously territories of Genova, retain a great resemblance with Ligurian when speaking their actual language, aka Corso and Monegasco. At the same time Ligurian presents some elements common in french that are actually absent in standard italian.

2) Genova is situated in front of the Ligurian sea and has open access to all of west-Mediterraneum, becoming the most important harbor in north-west Italy since it gained his autonomy from the HRE around 1096 A.D. Due to Liguria peculiar geografical conformation (no plains and the Alps-Appenines isolating Genova from the rest of north Italy, favoring a climatic bubble that makes the region a greener version of the south) our republic decided to limit it's expansion towards northen countries and instead focus on the Mediterraneum sea, becoming Spain and by proxy South Italy best commercial/political buddy till (almost) the end of it’s indipendent life.

3bonus) Yes guys Seborga is a little town in the Ligurian hinterland and was part of the Genovese republic. While Seborga's story is really interesting (might do a focus in the future) the general history and culture of the 2 is the same.

NOTE: every time I use the term “Italy” during any period pre 1861 consider it only as the geographical meaning of the peninsula (Italy as a country wasn't a thing till then).

PALETTE AND DESIGN

With this introduction in mind it makes sense for little Genova to have his hair styled similar to France and a darker shade compared to Veneziano. While the dark gray used by Hima could hint at both black and dark brown, the latter is by far the most common color in Liguria so I decided to go with that.

His eyes are anybody’s game to be fair, but I decided to be as faithful as possible to the average ligurian so, just like Feli and Lovi when Hima decides that his eyes aren’t olive anymore, brown/light brown is the most common color in Italy (+ we already have Seborga as the random flashy neighbouring brother).

To end our palette the skin tone could be an in between: probably darker that a Northener but lighter than a Southener (no mayor arabic nor germanic influences here)

CLOTHES AND ACCESSORIES

clothes -> nothing too important to say, the clothes are fit for the XVIII sec., they shows Genova’s status as a wealthy commercial republic and unofficial bank of Europe (yup, before Switzerland Genova had that role and it’s banks are considered the oldest in Europe). As long as the colors used aren’t too flashy everything is fine.

crown thingy(?) -> now this is where things become interesting. There are 3 possible options I could think as of why Genova, of all the possible accessories, has a crown when it wasn’t even a monarchy. Pick what you prefer or feel free to add your personal interpretation if you want.

1) money and superbia: as written before, during it's prime Genova was a wealthy republic, lending money to half of Europe and being the indiscussed queen of west-Mediterraneum (ofc Venezia was the queen of east-Mediterraneum, but that’s another story for another post). The city even got the nickname “Superba” to enanche the grandiosity and way too much pride of it’s people. A crown would be a fitting choice for someone who is probably a bit narcisist.

2) city status: in ancient paintings the personifications of countries and cities were made recognizable by the presence of a little crown on their head. Adding to that, in Italy to be a full fledged town or city you must receive a crown symbol to put on your emblem, maybe Hima is hinting at Genova actual predicament.

3) the Lanterna: I’ll admit the first thing I tought while looking at Genova was “that looks like a little tower”. A bit strange, but actually not farfetched; if you have ever visited Genova you’ll know what I mean when I say this city has a lot, and I say A LOT of towers positioned trough the historical center. The reason? To protect themselves from the French/Ottomans/eventual pirates, in the XVI sec. Genova decided to build a massive system of walls and towers that surrounded the city. There is also a specific tower that is considered the symbol of Genova itself “la Lanterna”. The Lanterna is the oldest Lighthouse still in function trough Europe; maybe if you glance at its modern look it doesn’t scream “tower”, but before it was semi-destroyed by the French army in 1513 A.D. Lanterna beared a striking resemblance to what Mr.Genova is wearing.

“MUGUGNO LIBERO”

Last but not least, the infamous pout that gave Genova the label of “Romano 2.0”. It’s not random, it’s not wrong, it’s such a toughtful and unexpected touch that Hima would be declared honored guest by any Genovese (and made me personally laugh like an idiot for an hour).

What Genova is doing here has a specific term in the local language, mugugnare!

What is “mugugnare”? Mugugnare is a peculiar way of complaining and rambling specific of the Ligurians. This act is soo ingraned into the culture of the region that it’s considered an art and will take a good part of any conversation you’ll have with a local.

I’ll be more specific when we’ll touch Genova possible characterization, just you know that where Romano is loud, pretty offensive and direct the mugugno is more subtle and passive-aggressive. It can and WILL BE directed at anything, from the weather to jobs to Venezia and the rest of the north.

This finally brings us in what defines most of the characters of Hetalia, the wonderful land of stereotypes.

See you in the next part where we’ll talk about the temperament and culture of what is often considered the “black sheep” of north Italy!

[ask-risorgimento-italy]

Main Story Masterpost

I decided to make a masterpost for everything one might need to know in order to understand this blog and its story - historical background, characters and crucial plot points. I also added information that was not yet included on this blog but has been discussed on Discord.

Important terminology:

“Risorgimento”

(1) the 19th century movement for Italian political unity

(2) a time of renewal or renaissance, revival

“National representative”/”Representative” - the officially approved personification of a region

“Personification” - a semi-immortal being who embodies a region/culture akin to the idea of a “Leviathan” (Hobbes). Their origins are unknown. They might lead a very public life or prefer to stay anonymous. Usually they're somewhat obscure - most people wouldn't recognize them on the street. Some might believe them to be guardian spirits, pagan Gods, angels sent from Heaven or the spawn of Satan ...depending on who you ask.

“Fusion” - A personification gives up their immortality and allows another representative to “take over” their region. 

“Brother”/”Sibling”/”Partner” - personifications usually have multiple overlapping relationship dynamics. None of them are truly related by blood, but some will consider each other to be siblings. Some might consider each other related in the first half of a century and denounce it in the latter or vice versa.

What happened so far...

1798 - The Fall of the Republic

The story of this blog begins after the fall of the Serenissima. The maritime republic has been independent for centuries and is now in the hands of Napoleon. Even though Venice has been struggling to maintain power before, this is considered its death blow. Art is looted or burned and symbols of power destroyed. It is in the very moment Feliciano’s house is vandalized by French troops where he realizes that his life would never be as it was before.

1815 - The Kingdom of Venetia-Lombardo is founded at the Congress of Vienna 

Napoleon’s reign is over and Europe is drawing new borders at the famous Congress in the capital of the Habsburg empire. The Veneto is paired with its neighbor Lombardy to form a kingdom that now belongs to the Austrians. Feliciano and Benigno (the representative of Lombardy) have to agree to something akin to an arranged marriage.

1845-47 - The Prelude and the Financial Crisis

Famine, fiscal troubles and the demand for reforms all over Europe turn the continent into a powder keg. Feliciano and Benigno are no longer in a forced partnership. Instead, they are both angry soon-to-be revolutionaries, supporting each other in their struggles.

1848 - The Revolution

Revolutions erupt all over Europe. New governments are formed. Venice becomes the Republic of St. Mark. Lombardy goes through the Five Days of Milan. Feliciano and Benigno often fight in separate places, but are united in spirit. 

This is the first time in centuries where Feliciano personally gets his hands dirty in a conflict - he is angry and full of spite. Death to The Austrians is written on the walls with red paint.

1849 - The Fall of the Republic, Act II

After a long siege, starvation and sickness ultimately beat the city of Venice into submission. Feliciano’s fighting spirit is broken and his mental and physical health is at an all-time low. He is forcibly separated from Benigno and does not see him again until 1866.

1848-61 - The Predecessor State

After the failed revolution, the unification takes a much different form. 

Tactical warfare and treaties soon replace guerilla warfare. The driving force of this process is the Kingdom of Piedmont. It is sometimes called the predecessor state of Italy. Its personification is a woman called Cassandra. Her goal - to be the sole representative of the peninsula - is considered madness by some and visionary by others.

1861 - The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed

After almost half a century of political struggles the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy marks the beginning of a new era. Cassandra, now referred to as Italia by most, offers great benefits to the remaining region's representatives if they “fuse” with her - fusion being an euphemism for a personification giving up their immortality and status as a representative and transferring it to Italia instead.

While many have agreed to the deal, others stay hesitant - namely Benigno (Lombardy), Romano (Naples) and Chiara (Sicily). And then there’s Feliciano, who is still under Austrian occupation...

1866 - The Veneto becomes part of Italy

Venice had somewhat of a special role in the Risorgimento. In 1861, it was not yet part of the Kingdom of Italy. The Habsburg empire has the city and the surrounding region in an iron grip for five more years.

Due to shared goals in their unification process, Italy and Prussia form an alliance against Austria, and the Prusso-German war finally decides over the fate of the Veneto. With Austria losing, Venice becomes Italian territory.

Feliciano as this point is all too happy to hear Cassandra’s offer about “fusion”. He feels tired and weak. Being able to shift the responsibility of nationhood on someone else’s shoulder sounds promising. It would not take long for him to finalize his decision.

1868 - And then things go wrong

Feliciano has decided: he would no longer be the personification of Venice. He says Goodbye to his family and friends, as he would forget his old life and start a new one as an ordinary citizen. Some don’t take these news well. Benigno especially reacts with anger, as he has believed that Feliciano would not agree to Cassandra’s offer. At some point they have a fight that causes Benigno to storm off teary-eyed. 

From this point onwards we witness the story from Benigno’s and Romano’s  POV.

Benigno is the one to discover Feliciano’s and Cassandra’s corpses. They lie on the floor of Feliciano’s villa in Venice. There is dried blood and flies. No one knows what has happened. The government is shocked to find out about this and tries everything to cover it up. Cassandra’s death could be a fatal blow to the new nation’s political landscape. Her body is preserved with formaldehyde and other heavy chemicals and hidden away in a house somewhere in Turin. Feli is buried in Venice. Benigno is the only one to visit his grave regularly. 

He is the sole north Italian representative to survive, and soon takes over Cassandra’s duties. This is where he also clashes with Romano, who is pissed off for not being considered a fitting substitute for the role (the anger is very much justified).

For a whole year, it seems like everything has gone to shit.

1869 - A mali estremi, estremi rimedi

Benigno and Romano are guided to Venice by a mysterious call for help. Neither the caller nor the call is ordinary in nature - it is their (presumably) dead sibling Feliciano somehow infiltrating their thoughts with garbled nonsense. When they finally open the mausoleum, Feliciano is in a bad state. Skin thin as paper, eyes sunken in and comatose - and yet, somehow, with a beating heart. They bring him to his old house where they try to nurse him back to health while they struggle to figure out what this means for Cassandra, themselves, and wherever...or whoever Italy is.

1870 - The Trespasser 

Some weeks after the gruesome discovery of Feliciano’s body, Romano and Benigno have yet to figure out how to make Feliciano wake up from his “slumber”. At the same time, a stranger is rummaging through the streets of Venice. The representative of Prussia, Gilbert, is onto something. After some digging (and bribing two police officers) he finally finds what he was searching for - the address to the old abandoned villa where Feliciano has once lived. 

When Gilbert decides to break into the place, assuming no one is home, he kicks the door open with a loud bang. Feliciano unexpectedly wakes up in a panicked rush. The situation quickly escalates. There is a bloody fight on a stairwell between Feliciano (who is extremly confused and attacks everyone in sight) and basically everyone else. 

Gilbert manages to subdue him, but not before Feliciano has managed to knock out Benigno. As only Romano and Gilbert are left to clean up this mess, they agree to work together and for now ignore the fact that Gilbert tried to break into the house. They would deal with this later. For now, caring for Feliciano and Benigno was their top priority.

And this is where we catch up with the current chapter of the story, where Benigno wakes up and wants to know what the hell Gilbert is doing here in the first place. We will soon find out!

[english-kirkland]

Some rough headcanoning I’ve been doing around the ‘births’ of the members of the Italian family. Includes an OC, San Marino, and Vatican City

San Marino - born in 301BCE, when San Marino declared independence from the Roman Kingdom, making him the eldest brother.

Romano - born ~338BCE, after the dissolution of the Latin League, potentially forming to represent the area after the previous personification was defeated by Rome. Might also be something of a personification for Rome, the region, and its people as the empire expands and Rome himself shifts to a broader representation.

Veneziano - born ~100BCE, sometime around when the Veneta region was incorporated into the Roman Republic. At this point the Second Pompeian Style is starting to dominate art, and when Veneziano shows an aptitude for it (and the subsequent Third and Fourth styles) Rome decides to help him foster this artistic talent.

Vaticano - born ~200CE, at a rough point where Christianity is starting to spread through Rome, but about 100 years before it converts.

Seborga - boasts that he was born in 954CE, but probably he was born in 1963 when the Principality declared independence.

[kyokyo866]

Dear Kyo and Lubo, I want to address your most recent game, Hetaculpa. I would like to address various issues that make me and many I have talked to uncomfortable. The way you use the 2ps as a way to, what someone told us in a easy way to explain, represent the main personifications regrets felt very wrong and mildly racist in some way. I’m gonna adress 3 that we’re mentioned through your game making, going from the one I have the least amount of detail to the one with the most. Many of us actually have issues with 2p Veneziano representing what I was told fascism. While I didn’t mind at all (seeing how I thought it was cool to use 2p to represent a side of history that’s opposite of the main characters ideals) many found it offensive. Next was Japan, and from the let’s plays and streams, 2p Japan represents Imperialist Japan. While I don’t remember this ever being said, someone else told my group that Imperialist Japan was due to western influences, and while that might be correct on some aspects, it feels like it’s a way to take away responsibility off of Japan and onto a new character (aka 2p Japan) and it really feels like the characters pushed away that history rather than grow from it. Last was the main issue. CSA. I know you guys have States, so I’m not gonna say anything about Hawaii and Texas some others kept saying. The main issue followed with 2p America’s skin color, and while i don’t know if your using Alex skin pallet or a completely different looking 2p America OC, making viewers assume your using the default 2p America isn’t good. He is a brown character, which usually is taken into the fact that he’s mixed most likely. While he could be seen as racially ambiguous/white passing, he’s not white, which, mostly in Civil War standards, wasn’t something praised about, but was looked down on. This also wouldn’t help if he was mixed black person (they can be brown skin toned) because black people are already portrayed as aggressive and mean and this character isn’t helping those racist stereotypes. And along side the fact that he’s CSA also doesn’t bode well. CSA really shouldn’t be a character choice to make and with many in the Statetalia fandom, like me, CSA OC’s in general, are things we as a fandom want to step away from, but knowing a well known YouTuber and influencer has made one, is really upsetting and it will influence others to do the same. If you want to personify CSA history, then make it a southern rep, not a CSA rep. Mostly this issue is because CSA reps make way to light of that history that still effects POC (mainly blacks) today. While I didn’t want to come off as rude, I personally thought a critique from a POC who loves watching your videos, and a few others within my community, would maybe help. As someone who’s been in this fandom for a long time, it was a surprise to see these coming from you and Lubo. While the game concept is really good, I think fixing the characters (mostly the 2p) would help more colored and non white and/or american fans appreciate this little spooky game. Personally, I look up to you both, and I still will. Just that, the fandom has changed and the collective agreement to avoid these topics unless approach maturely or educationally, has bet a set thing within this fandom. I don’t know about you, but when you did hetaIpseity and said that the fandom has been quite, I thought it was strange that you never learned about the Nazi America Maker, the Racist and Transphobic writer, all these callouts many POC fans have been making just so we get proper recognition and not brushed under the rug. You said about the Canada birthday thing, but ignored that it was also Hong Kong’s birthday. Sorry if I got ranty there but please understand where we are coming from. A place where whitewashed Seychelles is no more, where Nazi’s aren’t welcomed, where other groups aside from East Europe, Canada, America, Japan, and China aren’t the only important characters, where we stop villainizing POC characters. Please don’t take this as hate, but more as critique from a different view point.

holy shit wow this is a lot to take in aight lemme just break this down as simply as I can

1. the 2ps arent the same country but like... evil side. our 2ps in this are parts of the nation who once were yet no more, for example 2p russia being the republic of novgorod, a high standing trade city who was in line to be the capital next to moscow before ivan the terrible slaughtered the whole thing into oblivion. like 2p Italy is the Republic of Salo (Italian Social Republic) which was a puppet nation during the tail end of ww2 while the actual italians gtfo outta there. So it’s NOT italy venecizano but oo evil facist. No. It’s more like.. a region thing. Like picardy or osaka, but having had huge influenctial power at the time of being alive, but it doesnt change the fact he died.

2. there IS NO 2P JAPAN goodness gracious i dont know how this keeps being spread and while it was a concept idea at first if we wanted a cameo or not it was easily dropped a loooooong time ago. Its just Japan wrestling with his guilt over being thrust into a conflict that he as the human man kiku honda wanted no part in.

3. Aighty so. Okay. Alexander (mr csa) is caucasian. he’s white. the brownish tone is from a tan since he’s a farmer for most of his life before joining up with military. I’mma just say that out right. He’s not mixed, it’s just the sun. I’ve gotten a lot of dm concerned about him and rest assured we were going to make that very clear. Despite ya know, all of our concept arts not even having his skin colored in, but I can assure you as one who’s worked on his character sprite, he’s caucasian. So its not ‘oo villainized poc’ oh no, not at all. I apologize if it seemed that way but again, if we need to make it more obvious so not to confuse the audience, we will.

[dwellordream]

“The ugly old woman is defined by her deformed, beastly, almost masculine body. The hybridism of the old woman’s gender again signals her transgression. ...The adjective ‘barbuta’ points to the figure of the hairy wild woman that in folklore was believed to inhabit the woods. In her study of sexual difference and the construction of gender in the Middle Ages, Joan Cadden points out that prominent body hair signified masculinity; moreover, hairiness was associated with sensuality and lust.”

“Richard Bernheimer, in his classic study on medieval folklore and popular tradition, claims that in medieval demonology witch and wild woman were the same thing (35). Tracing the origin of this figure, Bernheimer identifies the ancestors of the wild woman in the Lamia of Greek antiquity, a blood-sucking, child-stealing female demon; in the Lilith of Jewish mythology; and in the first Eve of biblical tradition - all figures who embody feminine negativity and power.

In the Middle Ages, according to Bernheimer, many texts make Lamia coincide with strix, that is, the witch or the Italian ‘strega.’ The Lamia and the witch also have points in common with the wild woman. In medieval folklore the wild woman is believed to have a distinctive physical aspect that evokes some of the old women encountered so far: she is hairy, sometimes has an enormous body, has a wrinkled face, and appears naked but fully covered with thick hair; since she inhabits the forest and woods she typifies an individual at the boundaries, who can assume transgressive behaviors.

In some depictions of the wild woman her disgusting physical appearance is compounded by drooping breasts dragging on the ground, so long as to be thrown over the shoulders, a feature that in medieval sculptures defines the personification of Luxuria or Lust. In the wild man and woman’s hunt, a medieval popular ritual of the Alpine regions, the wild person is compared to a bear and often the hunt is extended to a horde of individuals, including women, who are likewise wild and hairy.

As Bernheimer (50-84) notes, the wild man’s hunt in its prehistoric past was a gathering of ghosts guided by a female goddess; later on, this ritual gave rise to a witch’s sabbath. In medieval times the wild horde was part of the Carnival and Epiphany festivities, where sexual inversion (woman-on-top) and gender blur would typically include men disguised as wild beasts or grotesque wild females, often performing wanton gestures.

The Epiphany and Carnival are also associated with the figure of the ‘Befana,’ the ugly old woman who is also called ‘striga’ or ‘marantega.’ Today the effigy of the ‘Befana’ is still burned in city squares on the last day of the Carnival. The distinctive feature of the wild individual seems to be exuberant sexuality.”

- Patrizia Bettella, “Transgression in the Trecento and Quattrocento.” in The Ugly Woman: Transgressive Aesthetic Models in Italian Poetry from the Middle Ages to the Baroque

[ask-team-clst]

OC Bio: Alba Erebus

Appearance:

Gender: Female

Age: 22

Species: Human

Nationality: Mistrali (Greek/Italian)

Hair color: White/pale blue (dyed undercut fauxhawk)

Eye color: Red

Skin color: Pale

Height: 6′0”

Personality: Alba is generally calm, cool, and collected. She’s also very reasonable, displaying great patience in the face of obstacles and making it a personal point to keep whatever promises she makes. However, she hides an explosive temper which manifests whenever she believes she’s been cheated or someone threatens what is hers. While usually stern and unyielding ‘on the clock’, Alba also possesses a sarcastic sense of humor and quick wit. 

Clothing: Alba typically wears a sleek-looking black suit with pale blue accents and a white dress shirt with the top two buttons undone

Emblem: Three dog heads which resemble Dobermans, facing left, right, and center; negative space beneath the central head forms the astrological symbol for Pluto

Semblance: Alba’s Semblance is called the Unseen, and not only does it render her invisible, but also completely imperceptible by hearing or smell.

Weapon: Agetes (Collapsible Combination Bident Rifle)

Description: Agetes takes the form of a black rifle with gold inlays, reminiscent of an M1 Garand. In bident form, the barrel becomes part of the body and extends outward to form the shaft, while the stock unfolds into the tines.

Background: Despite being the heiress to Erebus Holdings, one of the most powerful finance companies in Mistral, Alba chose to enroll in Haven and earn her Huntress license. Following that, and working freelance for a year, she joined Erebus Financial’s “Asset Protection Department”, commonly known as The Shades. Officially, this group serves as a private security force dispatched to protect the company’s high-priority investments, but they also serve as debt collectors and corporate spies/saboteurs.

Trivia:

Alba is loosely based on Hades, the Greco-Roman god of the dead and wealth, who ruled the Underworld

The bident was a weapon commonly associated with Hades. Its name is one of Hades epithets which translates to ‘The one who conducts’

Her Semblance is a reference to Hades’ Cap of Invisibility.

Alba is a feminine name in Spanish which translates to ‘dawn’ or ‘sunrise

(OOC: I might have made her just for a ‘Dawn of the Dead’ joke.)

Erebus can be translated to ‘deep darkness’ in Ancient Greek, and may refer to either the personification of primordial darkness, or a specific region of the Greek Underworld.

[gnostic-heretic]

i totally agree with your whole point on respecting people and what they ship, but i have to ask why you don't see the personifications as a summary of their country? to me, the personifications are a symbol of their people and hold the views of the majority. they work for the government. if they didn't have their people, they wouldn't exist. 1/2

for example, i don’t agree with the ship of the netherlands/indonesia bc of how poorly the dutch treated indonesian people when they were under dutch rule, and so it think that the personification of indonesia would still hold grudges towards the personification of the netherlands over such things. hetalia is also a show about history when it comes down to it, and i don’t think it makes sense to ignore history for the sake of ‘yaoi’ or pairings

okay… if your first message ticked me off already that bit about “yaoi” pairings is making me go feral, especially with the not so subtle trend of calling gay trans men “fujoshi” seriously you better not mean to imply what i think you’re implying :/  

and honestly the key here is “to you”. your view is not universal.

let me tell you why i disagree so much with that view of countries. i am italian, like, i live in italy, the country.from the 20s to the 40s. my country was a fascist dictatorship. the government committed heinous crimes. the majority of people either agreed with those crimes or stood by, merciless. there was a resistance, but that’s beyond the point…do i seriously want to project something so horrible on a low budget anime man… look at me in the eyes and say, “aph italy, the guy, the one who says pastaaaa and shit, would have been a fascist”. i cannot, i’m sorry. your example with the netherlands is also like… i mean if that’s your feelings about it, they’re valid, it’s not my place to police anything. i also have some issues with how some people, for example, decide to portray the above mentioned historical period just “cuz gerita”. but the netherlands as a nation has a horrible history of colonialism that goes far beyond indonesia. are we saying that aph netherlands, low budget anime man, is responsible for it like, personally? if so, i don’t understand how people who see it like this can even enjoy hetalia at all.every country has at some point in history violated some human rights or has been a massive racist, a lot of countries still incarcerate or even kill lgbt people, every country in this world has been involved in wars, even just from the sidelines. i could go on forever, if you seriously feel like this represents the characters how can you find these same characters … likeable. like at all. how is this so different from people who say that hetalia is “ww2 crypto propaganda”. 

to me personally, the hetalia nations are people.do they represent a nation? what is a nation?is it the land, the borders? they have varied WILDLY throughout history. and some hetalia characters who werent even “nations” at that point (see: italy in the renaissance) are portrayed in the manga in periods when technically, they shouldn’t exist. is it the people, the culture? there’s enormous cultural variation from one region to the other, from one city to the other, even. different cultures live inside every country in this world. in italy, even just here in the north we have whole regions, cities, towns that speak german or slovenian or french, with their own traditions– are they not italy? should they be their own separate thing? but what if they’re within the borders?the same culture and language might be shared by more than one country, also.

again, what is a nation? land is land. dirt and trees and water, animals, including humans, humans that happen to be born on that land, in that context.

the borders we put on maps are a human construct. a human thing. while they mean a lot to a lot of people (those who want to abolish them included, they’re a symbol of sorts), they’re still something that changes.what remains, in the end, is humans. people… but even in an ideally homogenous culture you will find different faces, different beliefs, different interests, different feelings on the shared culture…

the conclusion i’ve reached personally (and i’m not asking anyone to agree) is that the hetalia characters are people.are they nations? what is a nation, especially to someone who has seen borders change, culture change, language change, governments fall, over hundreds if not thousands of years?in the end, only people remain, humans and humanity. and i choose to write them as people, humans who represent nothing (certainly nothing stable or certain or eternal) and no one but themselves, just like me and you. 

if your question is “well, but if they’re not nations, what’s the meaning?”, the point is that people don’t have a meaning, human life doesn’t have an inherent meaning. we have to look for it– and i love writing the characters as they try to look for it. yes, even through shipping. not because “hurr durr yaoi shipping hurr” but because love is and has always been one of the most powerful drives, for humans, in looking for that meaning. 

[perilleonedisanmarco]

Italian Regions Aesthetic | Italian Regions as Zodiac Signs | Veneto as Leo

Strengths: Creative, passionate, generous, warm-hearted, cheerful, humorous

Weaknesses: Arrogant, stubborn, self-centered, lazy, inflexible

Likes: Theater, taking holidays, being admired, expensive things, bright colors, fun with friends

Dislikes: Being ignored, facing difficult reality, not being treated like a king or queen

[ofchargers]

1ST  RULE   —   tag some muses you would like to know better.

2ND  RULE   —   BOLD the statements that are true for your muse.

muse.    italian  republic  /  south  italy .    lovino  vargas . occupation.    personification  for  the  southern  region  of  the  italian  republic ,   typically  recognised  as  “  romano  ”  to  differentiate  him  from  his  little  brother ,   who  is  usually  referred  to  as  “  veneziano  ”  if  not  his  human  name .    outside  of  his  role  as  a  personification ,   he  either  works  casually ,   or  volunteers . age.    his  real  age  is  unknown ,   but  an  approximate  would  be  somewhere  around  the  2000  mark ,   having  existed  for  a  short  time  before  the  roman  empire  fell .    physically  however ,   he  is  22 . sexuality.    bisexual  with  a  strong  woman  leaning . pronouns.    he  /  him .

BOLD   =   true . ITALIC   =   somewhat  true .

APPEARANCE:

i  am  5'7"  or  taller.

i  wear  glasses.

i  have  at  least  one  tattoo.

i  have  at  least  one  piercing.

i  have  blonde  hair.

i  have  brown  eyes.

i  have  short  hair.

my  abs  are  at  least  somewhat  defined.

i  have  or  have  had  braces.

PERSONALITY:

i  love  meeting  new  people.

people  tell  me  that  i’m  funny.

helping  others  with  their  problems  is  a  big  priority  for  me.

i  enjoy  physical  challenges.

i  enjoy  mental  challenges.

i’m  playfully  rude  with  people i  know  well.

i  started  saying  something  ironically  &  now  i  can’t  stop  saying  it.

there  is  something  i  would  change  about  my  personality.

ABILITY:

i  can  sing  well.

i  can  play  an  instrument.

i  can  do  over  30  push–ups  without  stopping.

i’m  a  fast  runner.

i  can  draw  well.

i  have  a  good  memory.

i’m  good  at  doing  math  in  my  head.

i  can  hold  my  breath  underwater  for  over  a  minute.

i  have  beaten  at  least  2  people  in  arm  wrestling.

i  know  how  to  cook  at  least  3  meals  from  scratch.

i  know  how  to  throw  a  proper  punch.

HOBBIES:

i  enjoy  playing  sports.    (  soccer  /  football .  )

i’m  on  a  sports  team  at  my  school  or  somewhere  else.

i’m  in  an  orchestra  or  choir  at  my  school  or  somewhere  else.

i  have  learned  a  new  song  in  the  past  week.

i  work  out  at  least  once  a  week.

i’ve  gone  for  runs  at  least  once  a  week.

i  have  drawn  something  in  the  past  month.

i  enjoy  writing.

i  do  or  have  done  martial  arts.

EXPERIENCES:

i  have  had  my  first  kiss.

i  have  had  alcohol.

i  have  scored  the  winning  goal  in  a  sports  game.

i  have  watched  an  entire  season  of  a  tv  show  in  one  sitting.

i  have  been  at  an  overnight  event.  (  italian  festivals .  )

i  have  been  in  a  taxi.

i  have  been  in  the  hospital  or  er  in  the  past  year.

i  have  beaten  a  video  game  in  one  day.

i  have  visited  another  country.

i  have  been  to  one  of  my  favorite  band’s  concerts.

RELATIONSHIPS:

i’m  in  a  relationship.

i  have  a  crush  on  a  celebrity.

i  have  a  crush  on  someone  i  know.  

i  have  been  in  at  least  3  relationships.

i  have  never  been  in  a  relationship.

i  have  asked  someone  out  or  admitted  my  feelings  to  them.

i  get  crushes  easily.

i  have  had  a  crush  on  someone  for  over  a  year.

i  have  been  in  a  relationship  for  at  least  a  year.

i  have  had  feelings  for  a  friend.

MY LIFE:

i  have  at  least  one  person  i  consider  a  “ best  friend ”.

i  live  close  to  my  school.

my  parents  are  still  together.

i  have  /  had  at  least  one  sibling.

i  live  in  the  united  states.

there  is  snow  right  now  where  i  live.

i  have  hung  out  with  a  friend  in  the  past  month.

i  have  a  smartphone.

i  have  at  least  15  cd’s.

i  share  my  room  with  someone.  (  sometimes  he  shares  with  feli .  )

RANDOM SHIT:

i  have  break–danced.

i  know  a  person  named  jamie.

i  have  had  a  teacher  with  a  last  name  that’s  hard  to  pronounce.

i  have  dyed  my  hair.

i’m  listening  to  one  song  on  repeat  right  now.

i  have  punched  someone  in  the  past  week.  (  a  playful  punch .  )

i  know  someone  who  has  gone  to  jail.

i  have  broken  a  bone.

i  have  eaten  a  waffle  today.

i  know  what  i  want  to  do  with  my  life.

i  speak  at  least  2  languages.

tagged by :    nah  i  stole  it  from  @pluralis  lmao tagging :    uhhhhhh ...    people ?

[ellawritesficssometimes]

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].