The Black Triangle Trio

Ludwig wanted another dog, but had to ask his father Germania (Edgar). Ludwig knew he would say no, so he constantly kept changing his father's texts from "no" to "yes" Ludwig: Vati I want a dog Edgar: No Ludwig we have enough dogs [Ludwig changes it] Yes Ludwig we don't have enough dogs Edgar: Wait what Ludwig: I agree with you. There's a pet shop nearby I'll go there now. Edgar: Ludwig no! [changed] Ludwig yes! Ludwig: Alright I'm here now vati, there's a cute dog I saw. I'll buy that one. Edgar: Ludwig Von Beilschmidt do NOT buy that dog! [changed] Ludwig Von Beilschmidt PLEASE buy that dog! Ludwig: Yes vati, I am buying it right now. Edgar: NO! [changed] YES! Edgar: NO!! [changed] YES!! Edgar: NOOOOOO!!! [changed] YESSSSSS!!! Edgar: WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!? Ludwig: Just bought the dog. I named him Aster. He's a Hovawart. Edgar: Ludwig return that dog, seriously! We can't take care of another one! [changed] Ludwig do not return that dog, seriously! We can take care of another one! Ludwig: I completely agree, we can take care of another one. Edgar: STOP CHANGING MY TEXTS AND RETURN THAT DOG IMMEDIATELY I AM YOUR FATHER AND WHAT I SAY GOES.  Ludwig: I destroyed the receipt. oops. Edgar: OH MEIN GOTT LUDWIG I SWEAR-

“Stop trying to ‘save’ me, angel. I do not wished to be saved. Just give up.”

“…!”

“Ivan, you’re a coward! I know it’s not that you don’t want to be saved but you don’t think you’re worthy to be saved.”

Note: This post can be very triggering for some people. Please take care of yourself and don’t read this if you are sensitive to the topic of eating disorders.

To start, let’s lay out one ground rule. We know that population statistics respectively affect the nations’ behaviours, habits, and personalities. When something is common in the population, the personification adopts it too.

For example, America’s people strongly believe in aliens and conspiracy theories.

As such, America also believes in aliens and conspiracy theories.

It would follow, then, that given how big the fast food and dieting industries are in America –what a massive contradiction that is – he would also be affected by this.

Well, he is.

While I can’t attest to how accurate this statistic is, Hima cites that 60% of Americans are overweight. What matters here is that this statistic explains why America is also ‘overweight’. He’s not actually. I’ll get back to that in a minute.

Point is, America has been struggling with weight and dieting issues from some of the earliest strips. Of course, this is because the fast-food industry really took off after WW2. The dieting industry came a bit afterward when people began realizing how much weight they were gaining by eating so much processed food.

The same thing happens to America. Initially, he doesn’t realize the effect that constantly eating burgers has on his metabolism.

This then leads him to inquire about the eating habits of other nations as well as how they maintain their thin figures.

The problem with America is that this obsession with dieting becomes unhealthy, exactly as it is with the American population. Eating disorders and crash diets are chronic in North America. It’s a major problem that isn’t really talked about. Hima, on the other hand, characterizes America to accurately reflect this.

In his introductory chapter of World Stars (chapter 23), the topic of his dieting session is immediately brought up. I don’t think this would be done unless it was something pivotal to his characterization.

The character note claims that America’s gotten over his dieting craze and has accepted that he’s not actually fat but rather muscular and big-boned.

That’s the mental illness aspect of eating disorders. You claim that you’re better despite the fact that you keep relapsing into unhealthy habits. This thought process can be very convincing, as some people with eating disorders truly believe that they’re healthy and that there’s nothing wrong with what they’re doing.

Expectedly, later chapters contradict this.

Not even that, literally the next chapter depicts him struggling with his weight. When he measures himself on the scale and a large number turns up, he convinces himself that it’s broken. If that wasn’t enough, he also calls Germany to fix the scale.

How I interpret this is that America is in denial and is stubbornly fighting with himself over the number on the scale.

In the same chapter, he falls back to his old dieting tactics and asks Italy about his eating habits.

This isn’t the first time the insecurity over his weight is shown either.

Ex: In the strips depicting what each country is known for, America is shown to be painting over the American stereotype of being “fat.” As someone who seems to be struggling with his body image, it makes sense that he wouldn’t want to be known as an obese country.

The problem with America is that he overeats, sets unrealistic body goals, and then doesn’t follow through with these goals. This, in turn, leads to a rigorous cycle of dieting and feeling poor about himself.

Ex: One of his New Year’s Resolution to “take better care of his health” is to have a body fat percentage of 3%. Obviously, this isn’t a realistic goal. It’s far from healthy.

Notice how being slimmer has been his resolution for the past 30 years. It’s not something that’s gone away, as it’s a problem that’s persistently affected Americans over the years.

The cycle continues when, in the same strip, he treats himself to a hamburger and milkshake.

The last that we see of this problem is when he trains China to help him lose weight. [Chinese obesity rates have been on the rise lately.]

Regardless of the fact that America possesses super strength and possesses more physical endurance than normal, a 10,000 corkscrew punch workout is not normal. If anything, this is indicative of another unhealthy dieting tactic.

In sum, America’s dieting/ workout habits and overconsumption of junk food are owed to the prevalence of the fast food and dieting industries of his country. Given the evidence I just presented, it’s not a stretch to claim that he suffers from body issues and has an eating disorder.

So you were just staring at him the whole time?

Hetalia World ☆ Stars Volume 7 - Extras

Translation: spaghettifelice // donamoeba Scanlation: lysandre // eosonera

this is the most accurate thing ive ever seen in my life

average nationsibling activities

Ya'll remember that one panel where Ivan destroyed Arthur's naval blockade just to get to Alfred? (those heart shapes surrounding him too)

WE NEED MORE HAIR DOWN GERMANY

"i dont ship them cuz its toxic and they hate each other" no they're literally besties /j

not besties, but it would be just flat out wrong to call them enemies. As evidenced here (thank you hima) they are friends and apparently hang out alone together sometimes with no problem

Hetalia World ☆ Stars - Chapter 53 Original Translation: y4nderenka // hikari kaitou // donamoeba Scanlation: jammerlea  Please DO NOT upload any of our scanlations onto other websites.

Fantasy Guide to Employment: Household of a Castle

The castle does not run itself. The castle would remain a pile of stones without servants to keep it running. The guide below focuses on the private household of the lord himself, anybody who worked inside the main keep of the castle. I will be expanding outside the walls in a future post.

The Steward/Seneschal

This person was the head of the household staff. They would have the task of running things on the Lord's estate. They are the managers, so it is up to them to keep the staff in line. The steward would keep the castle accounts and keep the lord informed of all of the goings on of the lands and tenants. They would have to be educated needing to do accounts and write letters. Though the castle's Lady would be expected to do all these things, the steward served as a backup and assistant in all the tasks even representing the lord and lady when they were unavailable.

The Chamberlain

The chamberlain is the servant employed to look after the Lord's bedchamber. He would look after the Lord's clothes as well and keep track of the other servants' liveries, the official uniforms of the guards, pages and squires. This was not always the case, some larger households had a separate office but most medium seized manors and castles lumped them together. The chamberlain's main task was ensuring the lord was kept happy. He would even be the last servant a lord would see at night before he went to bed at night. They would be educated.

The Marshal

A Marshal was in charge of the stables as well as the military presence in the castle. They would oversee the household's horses, carts, wagons, and containers. He oversaw blacksmiths, horse grooms and stableboys. He also oversaw the transporting of goods. The Marshal was sometimes in charge of disciplining servants. They would likely come from a middle class background as well as having military experience and education.

The Page

A page was a young noble boy about seven years old who would be sent to serve a Lord. He would be in charge of tidying up after the lord, carrying messages to other servants and occupants of the castle and serving him at meals. Unlike others on the list, the page would not be paid. His experience was his payment as he would learn the running of a castle and manners of a lord.

The Lady's Maid

The lady's maid is be the female body attendant of the castle's noble women. She would be in charge of caring for the lady's chamber and her things. She would dress the lady and attend her wherever she would. (The lady's maid would basically do all the work a chamberlain would but you know the wage gap...)

Maidservant

A housemaid/maidservant works to clean the castle. She would be among the first to awaken every morning. Her first task would be sweeping the floors. The thing with mediaeval floors a that they were often covered with a thin layer of rushes, a kind of grass. Weekly if not daily, a maidservant would be expected to change out the rushes and scatter new ones. If it really needed it, she would scrub the stone floors which would be done with a soap called lye, made from ashes and lard. The maidservant would also be expected to go into the bedchambers when the occupants awoke. She would empty the chamberpots if need be. She would get rid of the ashes from the fire and ready the fire for later. She would make up the bed or strip it for the laundresses. She would wash anything that needed washing including furniture and ornaments.

Laundress

The laundress was responsible for the cleaning of anything made of fabric in the household. The laundress would have to fetch their own water either from the castle well or from a nearby river. They would heat the water in large vats and add lye soap (the most popular of the cleaning agents). The constant exposure to soap and hot water was physically tough on the hands of the laundresses and their backs. When the detergents were added to the water, the laundress would dump them into the vat and stir that shit like soup. To dry it they would pin it out on lines or beat the water from it. The laundress might make money by selling secrets. Since they are handling unmentionables, they knew what happened behind closed bedchamber doors or what didn't.

Nursemaid

The nursemaid was in charge of the castle's children. They would ensure the child was fed, washed and generally kept alive while the parents would either be away at court or busy with the lands. The nursemaid would be a common woman from the surrounding lands who would come in to care for a noble child in the stead of the mother who would be expected to get on with other jobs. The nursemaid would be an underlying of the noble governess, a sort of hands-off nanny.

Cook

The cook was one of the most important servants in the castle. They would have the task of overseeing the running of the kitchens and keeping supplies in order. They would likely be on call at all times. Henry VIII's cook was often woken in the night because his royal master wanted a midnight snack. The cook was a valued member of the household and would have been highly sought after if they were a very skilled cook. Cooks would have been paid a handsome wage.

Scullion

The scullion was the lowest member of staff. They would be responsible for scrubbing and cleaning the servants quarters and the kitchens. They would scrub floors with lye, scour pots with sand, sweep put the fireplace and clean up after the other servants. They were the first to rise in a castle and tasked to light all the fires in the kitchens.

Payment & Lifestyle

Within the mediaeval household, payment came from the hand of the steward. As the Lord's manager of accounts, he was in charge of paying staff.

The grander jobs in the castle such as the marshal, the chamberlain, nursemaid and lady's maid would pay better. They would have certain privileges including better bedchambers.

A nursemaid who was breastfeeding the Lord's children would be a valued member of staff. She would be fed better than the other servants.

The page would sleep in a chamber off the lord's bedchamber or sometimes at the foot of the bed. A page would wear the Lord's livery so he would be dressed on the Lord's coin.

The chamberlain would have rooms close to the lord and lady, just in case they were needed by the master in any kind of emergency.

The cook would sleep near the kitchens so they were close enough just in case they are needed in the night.

The other household servants would all sleep in chambers together. The women would sleep in one and the men would sleep in another. Nightly dalliances were frowned upon massively.

Most servants came from the surrounding lands of the castle. When the lord and his family were away at court or somewhere else, there would be a drop in employment. Everything would be cut down ex. Instead of three laundry maids, only one might stay on after the lord goes. The steward, the marshal, the chamberlain, the page, the cook, the nursemaid and the lady's maid were all important staff so their job would be permanent.