What happens if someone tries to pull your curl?

Fun fact: if you try pulling out a canadian curl, it won’t actually do anything but the Canadian will look back at you and say something like « ayo? »

“Moi! Finally online! Haha! Get it? ^^”

“Hello! I’m the representative for the nation of Finland, human name Tino Väinämöinen, and welcome to my very own (and very first!) Ask Blog! I have to say, this is pretty nerve wracking! I mean, I’ve never really done anything like this before! I wonder if I’ll get any asks at all…! Surely someone has a question for me! Oh but if not that’s fine too! Really I’m just excited to…..”

psssttt

While he rambles, let’s go over some ground rules!

No NSFW questions please!

Please try not to spam!

This blog is Hetalia centered (more specifically Finland and Nordic centered) so please try to keep asks on topic!

I can’t really think of anymore rules to put, but if something comes up, I’ll add to this post! So, rules are subject to change!

“Ah! Sorry! Did I start talking too much again? I guess I do that when I’m nervous…! ^^; Anyways! I look forward to answering any burning questions you have for me! Maybe while you’re in my mailbox, you could recommend me a new metal band? ^^”

[Disclaimer! This blog will be a healthy mix of canon and personal interpretation! Also, I am not an expert in all things Finland/Finnish History, so please bear with me!]

Ask Box: 10/10!

“Please be patient while I think up my answers! ^^”

"I'm still learning how this thing works, since my oh so patient brother really wanted me to do this. Ask me whatever, I'll try my best."

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Hello everyone and welcome to my first attempt of making an ask blog! The inbox is currently open, so feel free to send Romano an ask :))

A side note worth mentioning: this blog won't be 100% canon-compliant, so some of the answers will be based on my personal interpretations of the character. That being said, let's all be respectful and have fun!

what's your favorite book? or books, if it's hard to choose.

"I can't name a favorite, but I can offer a reading recommendation instead, if you'll have it. Recently I've been reading L'homme au masque de fer, The man in the iron mask, which is very popular right now... Of course, to my shame it's entirely and exclusively in French, but it's such a good book that it can be forgiven this shortcoming. If you've read Les Trois Mousquetaires, this is a mandatory read. (PS. If you had told me I'd be wholeheartedly recommending a French book maybe a decade or two ago, I'd have laughed at you)"

Thomas Edison introduced Christmas lights in 1882, and by the early 1900s they had become a popular decoration in many American households. This was especially true in cities, where previously used candles risked fire. Of course, modern innovations create modern problems- namely tangles.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and a Happy New Year!

Happy birthday Japan. Have one of the best screenshots of him I got hitting a heart down

"It was like watching a car crash unfold in slow motion, but worse. Worse, because no matter how hard I tried to piece together her symptoms in my head, I was coming up blank. What use was all the knowledge I'd built up over years, CENTURIES, if none of it could help my own child?

... No matter. It isn't about me - Gisella's currently being taken care of at Dr. Rapoport's new neonatal clinic at Charité. Ingeborg hasn't exactly worked with Devai children, but she's the best in her field, and our best shot at figuring out what's wrong. She, Erzsi, and I will figure it out. I refuse to give up hope, because if I do...

... I don't know what I'd do,"

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I'll answer the additional lore stuff in a separate ask, but I will add a little history note about Dr. Ingeborg Rapoport! She worked at Charite from 1959 to 1973 and founded the first neonatal clinic in Germany. She was also appointed as a Professor of Neonatology in 1969. Prior to this, she worked at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital in the US, where she met her husband Samuel Mitja Rapoport.

Rapoport was denied her medical degree in 1938 because she was half Jewish. Despite this, she was able to pursue medical schooling in the US and in 2015, Hamburg University finally granted her a doctorate. It was supposed to be an honorary one, but Rapoport insisted on doing it the proper way and presented her thesis on diphtheria, which was the same topic she wrote about originally. She received a "magna cum laude", the second best possible result for a doctoral thesis. (x)

Germany: “Did you drink again?...” Prussia: “.....Noooooooo.” Germany: “...I told you not to!! It’s not good for your health!” Prussia: “You deprive me of every joy in my life.” sob @ask-mr-germany (I hope it’s okay lending your muse once again!)

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(Fun facts: Prussia is not a fan of modern movies. Especially action movies. He prefers old “Heimatfilme”, post war movies which often depicture a peaceful, rural world. Like the very successful Sissi-Trilogy he is watching right now.

Also, Prussia wouldn’t be still here without the care of his younger brother. It “stretches” his lifespan. Though Prussia doesn’t always agree on Germanys caring methods.)

Morning.

Do you have a girlfriend?

((shirt src))

Canada: We’ve been away from this blog for a while but sometimes it’s good to take a break and enjoy what life has to offer !

Kumajirou: It was anxiety I think.

Canada: 😊

Kumajirou: Right now, we're enjoying Quebec city's winter carnival !

Canada: We went to see bonhomme at his palace ! Bonhomme ! 💕

Kumajirou: Quebec seemed embarassed because you were so excited to see him. Waiting in line along with the children.

Canada: Oh I'm sure he secretly enjoyed it too, hehehe...

Finland!! What are your favorite things to do in your spare time when your not busy?

“Thank you for being my first ever asker! Is that the term to use…? I’m really pumped up, getting to respond and all! ^^ My heart is racing!! But maybe that’s from all my dancing around…! Kiitos! ^^”

(“P.S. my method of listening to music is not outdated!!! It’s just… simpler! ^^;”)

What do you call your land in singapore? Motherland or fatherland?

We call it 'Home'

"Lord and Lady Kirkland"

Alfred, what is your favorite thing each of your roommates has brought over to your country? And to Ireland, Romano, and Lithuania, what is your favorite thing about America? (the country not Alfred.)

As for the others...

Alfred can afford to be a little more idealistic, but that's just his way.

**Historical Note: Though immigrants from each of these groups contributed in a variety of ways, these are some of the ways in which they contributed most prominently.

Irish Americans were incredibly active in the entertainment industry, especially in music. Irish Americans were very prominent in vaudeville, and eventually Broadway. However, this was due to a pre-existing music tradition that stemmed from Irish immigrants bringing over their folk music. Many Irish airs became popular parlor songs in the UK, America, and Canada. The strong Irish presence in the Union Army during the Civil War also further popularized folk songs such as "McLeod's Reel." Though the Potato Famine caused the decline of traditional music in Ireland, many songs and playing styles were preserved by Irish Americans in the United States and later carried back to Ireland in the 1890s-1920s when recordings began to become accessible. These recordings were also among the first to be sold in the United States.

Italian American cuisine is one of the most influential marks left by the community, especially from Southern Italians. Many innovations in Italian cuisine occurred in the United States, and many Italian immigrants became successful restauranteurs. This explosion occurred due to previously inaccessible foods suddenly being affordable in the United States, such as meat and imported cheese. Today, Italian American food is still one of the most popular cuisine choices in the United States.

Though all of the groups mentioned had involvement in labor union activity, Lithuanian Americans were particularly prominent activists. One of the most famous of these activists was Emma Goldman, but there were several others who formed the United Mine Workers and the Amalgated Clothing Workers Union. Sydney Hillman, a Lithuanian immigrant, was the head of the Amalgated Clothing Workers Union from the 1910s to the 1940s. Even in fiction, in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, Lithuanian workers and their union activity are the central focus. Lithuanian Americans' strongest import really seemed to be their activism!

For all of these groups though, one big part of what made American so attractive was the comparative plenty to what they had in their countries of origin. Though many immigrants worked long, difficult manual labor jobs, they were able to afford new goods in the United States that had previously been unimaginable. This is mostly due to the United States' ability to produce goods en masse, which made them cheaper. Furthermore, in Ireland and Southern Italy, land ownership had become virtually impossible (through landlords hiking rent prices in Ireland or land distribution after the Risorgimento in Italy). Even if their positions were not enviable in the United States, from a financial standpoint, their salaries and the resources available put them in a slightly better position.

"On the bright side, I think this one's no longer active. I suppose I'll have to thank him for that later. Two decades of this shit and it's honestly getting more annoying than anything,"

@mauerfrau Thank you for the ask!

More notes / headcanons under the cut!

History Stuff:

Erich Mielke was the head of the Stasi from 1957-1989 and oversaw their extensive, and at times brutal, surveillance operations. Shortly after the wall fell, Mielke was brought to trial and was charged with high treason, embezzling public funds, and the murder of East German citizens shot while trying to defect to the West according to his command. The proceedings were adjourned, however, as in 1994, the presiding judge deemed Mielke mentally unfit to stand trial due to dementia. He died in a nursing home in 2000. (x)

Headcanon Stuff:

While Gilbert did spend a gross majority of the 50s-60s living on-site at Charite, he began to live more frequently at his actual apartment in the 70s onward. A big contributing factor to this was finding out that he and Erzsi were expecting after a night of too many beers and not enough thoughts

Despite the latter, Erzsi and Gilbert didn't live together permanently during the cold war. Instead, they would take turns visiting each other and staying at each other's places. They remained active in their respective careers and underground resistance movements in their home countries all the while.

Erzsi was instrumental in pulling Gilbert out of the depressed and apathetic state he fell into from the 50s to the mid 60s. For better or for worse, they've become each other's life line during a turbulent period of their lives.

The "Him" Gilbert is referring to is Reiner. After the uprisings of 1953, Gilbert found himself sanctioned from job opportunities. Reiner struck a deal and agreed to work as an agent for them in exchange for allowing Gilbert to resume his medical practice. This is inspired by a story I read in Anna Funder's book, Stasiland, about a young woman who suddenly found herself being rejected from universities and jobs because she refused to break up with her Italian boyfriend. I highly recommend the book if you were ever interested in hearing more stories from people who lived under Stasi surveillance on the East Side!

Being under constant surveillance means Gilbert developed some paranoid tendencies. He tended to be incredibly cautious around people he didn't completely trust and habitually checks his surroundings for listening bugs and hidden cameras. This is a habit he hasn't completely shaken off, up until the modern day. If he were to go stay at a hotel or somewhere else out of his everyday norm, he will check every single nook and cranny for potential bugs.