Ima give hetalia characters mexican nicknames actually so here goes:
Germany: El Frankie, short for Frankenstein because he was brought back to life from different parts
Prussia: El Fantasma, The Ghost, because he's super pale and should be dead
France: El Ratatoiulle, sometimes they actually call him Linguini and before the movie it was Ricitos de Oro but for short Ricki after the translation of Goldilocks
Spain: El Torito, because he seems to just always be stumbling around dropping stuff and running head first into issues. He also seems to have a hard time looking at someones glaringly obvious flaws so he just runs into red flags. But mostly, he has these two curls that pick up at the sides of his head that look like horns so sometimes they would call him El Diablo but that sounded too cool
Congrats to Spain! I made sure not to watch any of their games just in case I jinxed it lol.
Anyways, I think Ferran Torres would be an interesting choice for a Spain face claim so I based this one directly off a photo of their fifa celebrations! Like, I traced over the photo with line art to get a feel for proportions and then did the filling in and shading. My attempt at digital. On the one hand, yeah it feels like cheating but at least I didnt use AI
In my personal headcannon Antonio sucks at waking up early lol. And Gilbert is being nice because I bet that organized loser gets up at 5 am.
Also biking as a hobby is super funny because like some of us are just casual goers who will wear our jeans and just ride but so many people get the bibs and everything it's crazy. Sometimes I wear my flared jeans and just pin down the side closest to my derailer.
Anyways bike advice, don't just put up with the heat! If you need to ride in it wear something light that will cover your body like a good light, long sleeve to protect yourself from UV rays! And always stop to hydrate! Always best to finish the bottle and see where you can refill or buy a replacement then ration it!
Me personally? I'd rather ride at 9pm then get up early but also I'm usually down to ride at any time anyway so what do I know
Hijo de La Luna (2072 words)
Relationships: Prussia/Spain (Hetalia)
Additional Tags: Fluff, First Meetings, Historical Hetalia
Summary:
Spain is visiting his friend South Italy in Rome and bumps into the newest state of Europe! He decides to help him with some advice on how to impress the humans in charge and tells him a fairy tale as they brainstorm Prussias human name.
There is also no specific timeline here but as Prussia has just become a state it would be about 1525 around the time he starts being known as the Duchy of Prussia but not quite the Kingdom (Thats in 1701). Of course, only Spain has any reason to learn German but I doubt he would be very passionate about the experience considering the absolute horrible husband Philip the Handsome was to Juanna of Castille who I would believe was a close sister to Spain seeing as she lived the longest (right?). But! The Teutonic Knights was a Catholic order so Latin it is! Also I am referencing the fairy tale of The Moons Child (Hijo de La Luna) which is a song by the Spanish pop group Mecano lol. I actually have no idea where the story originates but it is not as old as the Duchy of Prussia. I took a creative liberty there. And oranges were a common staple to Spain thanks the the Muslim rulers who came before!
Spain dusted off his coat and tried to run his hand over his loose curls to look presentable. He never truly paid attention to what he looked like when visiting South Italy but this time of the year he was being more attentive to the Pope as a working representation for the Papal States. It was confusing to Spain but he supposed South Italy knew better about these things and he had lectured him before about his dress when there was such holy company around. He obliged but not without another tight ear clipping from Mama Isabella. She loved that her nation was so close with the Papal States and always scolded him about doing anything to upset him. Today Joanna stood in her place but she had been distant for a while. It was her idea to organize another visit and bring South Italy some oranges to distract Spain from her troubles. There were other gifts of course but Spain was much more excited to split an orange with South Italy and listen to the latest holy gossip.
He fumbled with his velvet bag and counted his oranges nervously. What if the Pope was there and he wanted an orange too? It would be silly to see the Pope near South Italy's quarters but not unheard of. He was so preoccupied that he hardly noticed the clapping of another pair of footsteps coming from the hallway left to him.
Oof!
Their heads smacked each other and Spain almost let his bag slip from his hands as he tried to soothe what would surely be a blooming bruise. His companion grunted and snarled out something in what might have been German. He was a bit rusty when it came to the language. He clutched his bag to his chest and shrunk a bit as he stepped back.
“Oh I’m sorry! I was um I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Great. The last thing he needs is Joanna hearing about him causing issues in Rome.
The other boy looks up with a curled lip and scrunched nose. He barely has any eyebrows with how pale his hair is but his eyelids fold over on his ruby eyes enough for Spain to tell he’s cross. He also notices that he seems about his age. Both of them at an awkward stage when they’re all limbs. Spain's eyes fell back onto the floor and he noticed the dried mud caking the strangers boots. Then they trailed up along the sword at his side and he’s back staring at a cross on his chest.
“Hmp. Italian?” The stranger tries.
Spain blushed. He didn’t even realize he had responded in Italian before trying German! “Oh um.” He clears his throat and tries to remember what Austria had attempted to teach him, “Sorry.” Well, clearly he needed to be more patient with South Italy about his Spanish if that’s all he could try in German.
The stranger's eyes lit up and he said something long and fast in German. Spain furrowed his brows and pouted as he desperately tried to dissect each word. This would have been easier if he was ordering food. The stranger seemed to catch on and his shoulders fell again.
“My Italian is shit.”
Spain blushes again but a small laugh falls out. He clears his throat, “Latin?”
The stranger's chest puffed up again, “Yes! I am fluent in Latin. It is the language of the church after all.”
Spain hummed as his eyebrows jumped up in surprise. “Yes, I learned it from Rome.”
“Rome? Are you close to South Italy? Or do you mean Holy Rome?”
“No no, I mean Rome. The original? South Italy's dad, grandfather? I’m not sure what he was to him. But they were very close!”
The stranger's eyes widened in awe and he gave a small bow, “Incredible. Are you an Italian state too?”
“Oh no! I um I’m actually Spain.” He gave him an awkward smile and tried to straighten up, “I’m here on a diplomatic trip to strengthen our relationship.”
The stranger hummed and nodded as his eyes started to look over Spain's person. Perhaps trying to assess the validity of the claim. “I could be an average human.”
Spain laughed, “But you’re not. You’re like me.”
“How could you know?”
“I just know. Besides, we just talked about Rome and South Italy right?”
He glared but seemed to accept it. “I am Prussia. Er, I only recently became Prussia.” He let a small smile slip, “But South Italy knows me best as the State of the Teutonic Order.”
Spain blinked owlishly as he ran the name through his memory. He gasped and tilted his head curiously at Prussia. “I do know you! You’re always following around Holy Rome!”
Prussia smiled and puffed out his chest, “Yes! I have taken him under my wing of course.”
Spain nodded, “I suppose we should start seeing each other more then. Charles is my sister's son after all.”
“Sister?”
“Oh I mean Juana. I’ve been with the family since she was born so she’s kind of like my sister. She helped me pick out my name!”
“Really?”
“Yes! My human name is Antonio de Castille-Aragon.” He said with a proud smile.
Prussia hummed and tasted the long name. “I haven’t chosen one.”
“What?” Spain's eyes widened, “Oh why not? What do the humans call you?”
Prussia straightened up again, “Schatten! Because I always follow them to wherever they go!”
Spain hummed, “Ahh…” It wasn’t very impressive and Prussia could feel the judgement. He scowled. “Well, shouldn’t you find a human name soon? You are a whole state now. And if you’re going to be helping Holy Rome Charles is going to want you to have a name and be all clean and presentable.” He showed him the fabric of his clothes, “See these? South Italy gave them to me so I would look nice! I try my best because Mama Isabella was very strict about me looking respectable too and she was Charles' grandmother.”
Prussia nodded in thought as his eyes danced along the exquisite fabric and stitches of Spain's clothes. “But I’d start with a nice name first.” Spain added, “Like hmm, Candido! Or Albus sounds really fancy!”
“Why? They’re not even German. I should have a German name.”
Spain blushed and his shoulders slightly fell. “I- yes. That's true.”
Prussia shifted on his feet awkwardly. It felt odd to upset this bright eyed boy. “They are pretty. Are they important names?” He tried.
“They mean white!” Spain beamed. He recovered quite quickly Prussia noted, “Because you’re so pale. Like the moon.”
Prussia lifted a brow and tilted his head to squint at Spain.
Spain lifted his hands to try to explain himself, “Your skin and hair! Very pale. It’s like the fairy tale of the moon.”
“What fairy tale?”
“Of the moon's child?” Spain jumped up on his tip toes in excitement, “Long ago the moon wanted a child but she couldn’t have one because she was not made of flesh. Then a young gitana woman came along wishing for the love of a local man who did not love her back. The moon heard her wish and promised her that she could help her with her lover but she needed something in return. Her first child. You see, she couldn’t have her own children. But she could have a child if a human helped her. So the gitana agreed.”
Prussia stepped forward and focused on the story, “And sure enough the gitano soon loved her back and they were married. She soon became pregnant and they were overjoyed at the news but she forgot her promise to the moon. When her child was born he was very pale. As white as snow with grey eyes. The gitano grew furious and killed his wife in a jealous rage thinking she had been unfaithful with someone else from town. He took the baby and left him in the forest. After he left the moon came down and collected her child and no one knows what she did. What could the moon do with a child made of flesh?” Spain nodded after he finished the story and Prussia twisted his brows up in confusion.
“He killed his own child?”
“Humans can be very cruel. But it’s just a fairy tale. Just something to tell children.”
Prussia shook his head, “That was sad.”
“Yes,” Spain agreed, “But not all stories are meant to be happy.” He smiled again, “You look like the moon's son. So maybe we know what happened to the moon's child afterall.”
Prussia hummed and tilted his head from side to side.
“Maybe you could go by Luna! But that is a girl's name.” Spain scratched the back of his head in thought. “Well Hilal means crescent moon but Mama Isabella never liked me remembering my old tongue.”
“Well in German moon is just moon.”
“Oh!” Spain's shoulders slumped before picking back up again, “What about your eyes? You have very pretty red eyes!” Spain exclaimed and stepped closer to Prussia. He could feel the boy's heat warming up his cheeks, “They’re like rubies!”
He took a slight step back that Spain either did not notice or did not mind, “Well, in German ruby is rubin.”
“Rubin! Yes, I like that. That would be a very pretty name for you!” Spain giggled, “You could be Rubin De La Luna when you talk to Charles! I’m sure he’d appreciate it since his mom is Spanish. And it sounds very very fancy.”
Prussia smiled and stared at the boy for a second. He drank in his joy that seemed to swing from each dark curl and fill his cheeks as they dipped at the corner of his smile. “Well your eyes are very pretty too. Like emeralds.”
Spain dropped his head sheepishly and blushed at the compliment, “But in Spanish Esmeralda is the closest name I know and that’s a girl's name.”
“Pity you’re not a girl then.”
“Well you too, then you could have been Luna.”
They stared at each other for another second. Both of them drinking in this new friendship and thinking about when they will see each other next. Perhaps they could write. Holy Rome would be their connection after all. Surely their leaders would understand that building this relationship was of the utmost importance. Someone cleared his throat behind Prussia and they jumped in surprise.
South Italy watched them quizzically and a small mischievous smirk formed. Prussia coughed and straightened up, “I will leave you two to talk. I’m sure Spain has important business with Sicily and Naples.” He nodded at South Italy and turned to Spain, “I will see you again soon. I’m not sure when but I assure you it will be soon.” And gave him a toothy grin.
Spain bounced on his toes and tilted his head to smile back. He jumped as he watched Prussia prepare to leave, “Oh wait!” He reached into his velvet sack and pulled out two oranges, “For your trip back.” He offered them forward and Prussia eyed them curiously, “They’re oranges. We have plenty back home! You just have to peel them to find the fruit inside. Very refreshing!”
Prussia smiled and took them, “Thank you. I’ll be sure to have something for you next time we meet.”
“Your smile would be enough.”
Prussia’s eyes widened and he grinned again. He waved at him as he walked off and Spain watched his figure retreat. Prussia looked back one more time and Spain excitedly waved back again.
“Hmph, so you’ve met Prussia. He’s turning out to be quite the duchy. I’d keep an eye on him.” South Italy walked up to Spain. “If he learns his manners that is. He still gets pretty loud and has no fashion taste at all!” He shook his head disapprovingly.
“Oh, he was very polite while we talked.” Spain said.
“Yeah whatever. Your smile would be enough.” He teased.
Spain punched his shoulder and South Italy burst out into obnoxious laughter.
“Shut up!” Spain tried to grab his face, “The Pope might hear us!”
South Italy hit his hand back and they wrestled for a small moment before retreating to South Italy's quarters to split some juicy oranges and even juicier gossip. Although South Italy was already planning on spilling the juiciest gossip to his brother in the North.
Spain finds South Italy in his studio while searching for one of his courts royal painters whom he must bring back to Spain. While there South Italy shows him the Roman bust he's cleaning and they reminiscence over their shared childhood and Spain laments his immortality.
This is mainly supposed to be a small exercise for me to start wrapping my head around how I want to explore Spain's yearning for a family through his royal families and the curse of never quite belonging because he will always outlive them. Of course, this compared to South Italy who had a semi stable parental figure and a brother who will always be there for him. I reject the concept of the chibi.
There actually is no specific historical event referenced here! I kept the years quite vague but there are details here and there. For example Isabella of Castille is dead by now and Da Vinci is running around creating flying contraptions. If I did have to pick a historical fun fact it's that a lot of Spain's artists were absolutely obsessed with Rome and the artists Italy has produced. Traveling to Italy was basically proof that they made it as artists and of course many important clients were based in Italy! The most famous of the Spanish artists was Diego Velazquez who was very open about the importance Rome held for his career but unfortunately we have lost several of his pieces from this period to time. My little theory is that they're lost in vaults as most paintings usually are. I believe Standford or Yale recently found a Velazquez within their dungeons that had been mislabeled. Fun!
“I can’t find him anywhere!” Spain lamented as he threw himself onto South Italy’s couch.
South Italy looked up from the bust he was dusting and scrunched his nose at Spain's muddy boots, “Get that shit off my couch. I’m not letting you stain it.” He kicked one of Spain's legs off the couch and heard a muffled ‘oof’ from the pillow Spain had smushed his face into. “It was a gift from France.”
Spain tilted his head to the side so he could speak clearly and idly traced a finger down the swirls of the carved wooden frame, “He always did have good taste.”
“Obviously, that’s why he tries raiding us every chance the bastard gets.” South Italy huffed in pride and walked off to collect some items from his desk, “Who are you looking for anyway?”
Spain tilted his head at an awkward angle and watched South Italy lean back on a chair and start to write something. He squinted at the white bust in front of him and started to vaguely make out familiar lines. “Is that Rome?”
Spain twisted to lay on his back. He let his legs settle on the floor awkwardly. “One of my court artists. He’s here to study your paintings in Rome but they want him back for some portraits.” He started tapping his foot nervously.
“Oh, heh we should just send some copies over to you guys if you’re that desperate to study our styles.” South Italy smiled smugly at himself as he moved over to the bust on his desk with a book on hand.
South Italy didn’t look up but grunted in affirmation, “Yeah, they found him this week. He was buried near a tree they took down but I have no fucking clue why it was there.”
Spain stood up and walked over to see the bust clearer. He stood beside South Italy and let his eyes drift down to his notes. He always had better handwriting ever since they were younger. Of course, South Italy was 10 then and Spain a mere 6. He had a slight advantage. Spain always briefly let his memory fly back to that awkward stage when he was taller and 15 and South Italy was 12 and a head shorter. Now they were both seemingly about 17 and South Italy had hit an unexpected growth spurt. Unfortunately it seemed he would end up having Rome's height and Spain would be Hispanias. Hopefully their heights would level out in his favor soon again.
Spain moved his gaze back towards the bust, “You cleaned him up pretty well.”
South Italy shrugged, “Nothing better to do.”
Spain shook his head, “No I mean it. Rome looks great. You can even see his stubble.”
South Italy tilted his head and grabbed a small towel to wipe at the busts chin, “Fuck.”
Spain let out a short laugh and pushed away in time to avoid South Italy's elbow.
For a moment they just stared at Rome's face. For a moment he was laughing with them again.
“How was he?”
“Hm?” South Italy looked up at Spain with a bored expression.
“Rome. How was he? To you. Growing up.”
“Oh.” South Italy turned his eyes to the ceiling and hummed as he thought the question over, “He was nice. Kind of like a dad but not really. He was, like an uncle? No, that's not right.” He tapped his chin.
Spain took a chair and spun it around to rest his chin on its back, “If I had to describe Hispania she’d be a grandmother.”
“Grandmother? Don’t be an asshole, she was young, you loser.” South Italy snorted smacking Spain's chair with his towel playfully.
“No see, all of my kings and queens were like parents. They looked at me and expected stuff from me. But Hispania? She was just happy to see me. She would hold me and put me on her shoulder to reach the olives above us.” His eyes drifted dreamily, “Yeah, she’d get us in trouble too. But she was pretty nice in the way only grandmothers are. Do you know what I mean?”
South Italy nodded slowly as his eyes glazed over in thought,”I guess. I mean if we really think about it Rome was always treating his Emperors like his kids. They’re the ones he needed to teach to be self-sufficient. Which is hilarious but it’s not like all of them grew up being taught to rule. Some were even farmers. I guess he figured he’d always be around to pamper us.” He turned to the bust, “So what, Nonno Rome? That’s stupid.”
Spain shrugged, “It would have been cool to have a family like that though.”
South Italy gritted his teeth and scrunched his nose, “Ew. You wanted a family? Like to be a dad?”
Spain laughed and shook his head, “No, no I don’t know if I could do that. But I like being an older brother.” He shrugged, “I like taking care of the Infanta. I like getting her pretty dresses and playing with dolls. I just don’t like watching them grow up and me staying right here though.”
South Italy's eyes softened, “Oh, that.”
“Don’t get me wrong! I like being a part of so many families but at some point I wish we could just… I wish I could keep being their big brother.” He smiled wistfully at nothing in particular.
South Italy hummed and leaned back onto his table and stared at Spain. Being an empire meant your royal families hardly stayed together for long. Of course, his states had similar territorial disputes and needed to arrange marriages for the best fortune. But his people were hardly in line to be Emperors anymore.
It must be strange to care for someone for so long and then watch them wither away while you faded in the sun.
“When Isabella had her kids, it was wonderful.” Spain's thoughts cut into the quiet of the workshop. “I used to run after the kids through the halls and you could hear their giggles for miles. I would hold them up on my shoulder to see the mosaics better. And then at some point the guards were putting me on their shoulders.” He giggled, “You should have seen how Mama Isabella would scold us! She was funny when she was nice mad.”
“Yeah, I bet.” He had met her once. Spain had been ecstatic that South Italy was visiting to present himself to his new monarchs. Spain had a chipped tooth back then from a nasty fall and for whatever reason it hadn’t been fixed. His grandpa used to say that to fix chipped teeth you needed to tear it out of your mouth first and South Italy was quick to tell Spain.
They had quickly found a secluded part of the garden and South Italy was holding a hefty tree branch they had hung off from until it snapped. They dressed Spain in an empty sack from the kitchens that they had cut a hole into in preparation.
Spain watched South Italy nervously, “And this is definitely going to work?”
“Totally. Rome used to do it all the time.” South Italy lied. Rome had taught him that sometimes small lies were necessary.
“And is it going to hurt?”
South Italy rolled his eyes. “Do you want to keep your tooth like that?”
Spain shook his head slowly and bared his teeth timidly.
“Keep still.”
Whack!
Spain woke up laying on his chest while South Italy held him up by his hair. He was saying a bunch of garbled words but Spain could hardly hear him through the dull buzzing ringing through his head. He ran his tongue over his teeth and gum. The front teeth were dangling. He spit out the iron taste and got onto his knees shakily.
“Is it out?” He could hardly make out his words clearly but somehow South Italy had understood him.
“Uh, no it’s just kind of hanging there.” He said in a small voice. Spain was an awkward preteen but at least he had always had a pretty smile. And now South Italy had basically smashed his face in.
Spain nodded and reached up to feel his teeth. The runny blood dipped into his nails as he shrunk into himself. He took a deep breath and pumped up his chest. He ripped out his front teeth. South Italy gagged and fell back onto the dirt.
In the end Spain's teeth took a while to grow back in. Both boys were in hysterics after a few minutes of blankly staring at Spain's teeth in his palm and hurried to dig them into a hole in the garden. That day Isabella had been so angry she could barely make out words but she was at least satisfied when Spain told her about how he ripped them out himself. South Italy wasn’t sure if this was the funny lady Spain honestly remembered but he figured she must have been sweeter on him when he wasn’t doing anything stupid. He hoped.
“Mama Isabella was great! If she could see her empire now I know she’d be proud.”
“Right.” South Italy huffed and turned back to his work, “She’d be ecstatic to see your converts if that’s worth anything.”
Spain nodded, “And Rome would be proud of you too.” He added.
South Italy smiled to himself as he stared at the bust. He supposed he was lucky. Spain grew up in a divided territory and was largely kicked around as different people settled into his space. He had Rome there for him though. Nice, forgiving, funny Rome. A Rome who had set him up as the grandson of one of the greatest Empires of the Mediterranean. And of course there was Feliciano. A brother who grew up with him.
He supposed that’s what hurt Spain the most. Watching everyone leave his castles and never come back.
Perhaps he should visit Feliciano soon.
“Let’s go find your artist.” South Italy said, standing up abruptly.
Spain groaned and limply fell onto the back of the chair.
“Get your ass up. We’ll go to a local bar and if he’s not there I’ll pick the lock to any studio in the area.”
Spain groaned again but South Italy gave him a minute. He lazily got up and hummed, “I wish we had little devices that helped us find where people are.”
“Heh, yeah sure. And while we’re dreaming, what about a cart that doesn’t need horses and can fly.”
“Oh, I heard one of your inventors is trying to do that. Congratulations!”
Do we think Walter Keane would've used Ai since he had no issue taking credit for art that wasn't his or would he have been like 'This doesn't count!!! It must be real art!!!' Because at his core he wanted to be a painter and there must be a distinction someone with pride would want to draw the line for. But then again he was a greedy greedy man who knew to sell prints for a quick buck
Anyone want to do the Vat Phou to Angkor trade route with me on bikes lol. Actually would they even let us? How much of it is private property. What if I reach out to the owners and ask nicely
I loved history before Hetalia and I finally have the free time to create more historical based hetalia fanworks! That said I think some of the first fanarts I ever felt really proud of were based on this trio so I wanted to draw a little something for them at least! And I love biking lol so of course I'm going to draw this trio on their bikes! Especially considering the incredible cycling community all three of their countries have cultivated between the street cycling and more formal/professional events like the Tour De France! (Support our Femmes who are scheduled to be racing next!)
If I may:
France cycles for the aesthetic. He has a nice cruiser bike that he decorates with accessories Prussia really dislikes because they 'get in the way' but France wants to look nice! The silliest one is a small vase where he can put a little daisy by his bell. He does also own a cute mountain bike though so that he could give pretty friends rides on his bars! He's not very good so don't take him up on the offer : /. He's basically the stereotypical Parisian that you see ride by with baguettes and other groceries in his basket. Lots of Insta pics with his hair blowing just right that Antoine helps him take. Takes it in to the shop to get checked out because he trusts a stranger more then himself but if Prussia is available to him it goes!
Prussia bikes to get places quickly! He will always take the bike lane if he can but you'll probably see him riding with traffic. Takes hand signals very seriously so drivers are usually pretty cool with him. Carries a heavy backpack so he can change into proper clothes once he arrives at his destination. Never wears earbuds but you'll still see him vibing to a song stuck in his head. Very meticulous about taking care of his bike! He will lube his chain by putting a drop on each link and likely has a chart for maintenance. If you need another tube he probably has a spare but will lecture you about it. Rides a road bike so he can crouch down for more speed! Only one decoration that Germany got him : )
Spain rides to go to the farmers market, enjoy the countryside view, and take a nice nap on the side of the road : ). Prussia and France do lecture him lol. Rides a mountain bike a neighbor was giving away but is a bit more sloppy on maintenance. Likes to slap stickers onto it and if he buys a glass bottle of soda he takes off the taps and bends them onto his wheel pokes so you always know he's biking by by the clinging noise. Has torn good pants on his gears but luckily both Belgium and South Italy can sew but only one of them lectures him. The most likely to almost get hit by a car.
And as always! Despite the lack of helmets on the boys (I just noticed D X) ALWAYS WEAR YOUR HELMETS ESPECIALLY IF YOU RIDE AN E-BIKE. AND GIVE OTHER PEOPLE, BIKES, AND CARS MORE SPACE IF YOU'RE ON AN E-BIKE BECAUSE THOSE THINGS ARE HEAVY AND I PROMISE YOU CAN'T JUST SWERVE AWAY BECAUSE YOUR BIKE IS TOO HEAVY FOR QUICK THINKING!!!
Huzzah! I finished another marriage prompt! This time shared Portugal and Spain history again!
Portugal and Spain shared a lot of history for obvious reasons and tbh I think they both would have been protective of Isabella of Aragon! She spent part of her childhood in Portugal and married into his court where she was very well loved!
Isabella of Aragon was the first daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. She was set to marry Prince Afonso of Portugal in order to tie both nations (he was the only son and therefore the heir of the Portuguese throne). After his death she was married to the next heir in line, Manuel I!
So I always wondered what that was like. Was Manuel always interested in marrying her? Was he crushing on her while she was married to his cousin? What was that like in court? I mean, it's like five years later that he becomes king and he's still thinking about her! And what did he think after seeing her again after that ...
So here I imagine Portugal as a protective older brother trying to figure out what Manuel is thinking and Spain as the gullible little brother being bought out via food! I heard many Spanish royals found it hard to adjust to life out of court because Spain just had better food and almonds and oranges were very much on that list!
More history under the cut! Be warned, it is a sad tale.
There was a proxy wedding for Afonso and Isabella held in Seville where both royals were married without both being present at the ceremony. It was actually a very common tactic to ensure marriages happened quickly since travel was so lengthy. Maybe there are other reasons but this is what my notes say anyway. They would have the fiance present and someone would stand in place for their betrothed but this often shifted based on who they wanted to use. Sometimes it was the present king but I have read about ambassadors being used in place.
She first arrives to Portugal a few months after the proxy wedding and meets Manuel I of Portugal who greets her. She enters via the city Badajoz I believe. And then a bit later finally meets her husband!
And then he dies 1901. It was a riding accident and I'm sure a lot of people were devastated because as it turns out Portugal was quite fond of the new princess. She had spent childhood time in Portugal and knew their culture but further than that she and her husband learned to love each other deeply after their first meeting. Practically love at first sight!
And apparently it also was love at first sight for Manuel I. In 1495 he finally become King of Portugal and almost immediately asks for Isabella's hand in marriage.
However, after losing her first husband so suddenly she had kind of become a religious fanatic who basically did what I would call self harm but under the guise of Catholic devotion and swore off marriage. Her parents were kinda cool with it (no surprise) and offered Manuel one of their other daughters but he was very adamant on marrying Isabella. They surprisingly did not force her into the marriage as far as we know.
The marriage finally took place in 1497 but only after he met her very specific condition. That he expel all of the Jewish population from Portugal that had escaped Spain's own prior expulsion. You see, she kind of became convinced that Afonso died because Portugal took in the expelled Spanish Jewish population and God was mad at them for that. Yeah, she uh kind of went into the deep end there tbh.
But because of her self-harm (that's what it basically was, she was starving herself and doing self-flagellation that's what it was!) she only lived one more year after the marriage and died after giving birth to her only son who died shortly after two years later.
For this one how about we talk about the separation of the New World between Portugal and Spain lol.
[I'm also using lyrics from the Siamese Cat Song! It has it's issues for sure but I can twist enough of the lyrics to make it a proper song for the invasion of the Americas jaja!]
1493; Spain and Portugal agreed to split the New World and turn to the Pope to ask how they should do so. (Both highly Catholic countries running to South Italy about how they should split the cookie lol)
Pope Alexander VI (born in Spain) wrote down a line 320 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands (owned by Portugal) and anything on the West was fair game to Spain and anything to the East was fair game for Portugal.
At a first glance this does seem highly unfair but this was the New World! No one knew what it looked like! They had really no idea that Portugal was only getting a crumb of the cookie.
June 7, 1494; Portugal's king King John II finally throws a fit and Spain and Portugal rewrite the boundary 1,185 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands which allowed Portugal to expand Brazil. This is the Treaty of Tordesillas. Pope Julius II did not formally sign off on this until 1506. (An Italian pope from Genoa this time! Also close to Michelangelo and Raphael!)
Of course, it actually doesn't matter much to Portugal that they don't get that much new land. Portugal already had significant territory in Africa and Asia.
Spain is wearing a little number drawn by Tlaxcalans in "Lienzo de Tlaxcala" from 1550 AD. The specific image was Cortez and La Malinche meet Moctezuma II. Hernán Cortés is of course one of the best known Spanish conquistadors.
Portugal is wearing something from Discovery of Brazil painted by Aurélio de Figueiredo! He was a Brazilian artist painting in a very Romantic style however my notes on him are very limited. But I will find them! His outfit is worn by Pedro Álvares Cabral who is largely recognized as the first European who arrived to Brazil. Saying he discovered it makes me laugh.
Hello Hello! I focused on Mesoamerica through my studies so here we are! In this strip I present my Mexico OC who at this point is going by the name Dolores!
This statue is about 8 feet tall (2.52 m) so you might be pleased to know that I gave Antonio and Dolores accurate height comparisons by making him 5'10 and her 5'2!
Coatlicue has a funny history because she was buried three times. The first time was probably to preserve her, the second was because religious clergy believed indigenous people were praying to her, and the third time was because they had revealed her to study her for a brief period before burying her again likely for the same reason as the second time. She was unburried one final time in 1803 to briefly be presented at an English museum before returning home as a crown jewel to Mexico's first national museum.
Under the cut I'll give a brief history for her, some fun facts, and talk about about Mexican archeology and its relationship to Spain. In my view Spains relationship to Mexico is complicated. They are the reason much of our heritage has been scattered and destoryed but they also helped preserve it and I think the Coatlicue statue represents this.
She was a very scary piece of media to them. It is not up to debate whether Mesoamerican cultures sacrificed people. This was simply a reality much like public guillotine executions were a reality to France. You lived your life believing them to be necessary. If hell is real to Catholics then so was the idea that the world would end if the Emperor did not offer his blood to the Sun.
And yet she was preserved because the clergy recognized this was valuable. Even when they needed her gone to keep a Catholic order they did not destroy her as they easily could have. It is a very funny thing to know they had such a hatred of what they didn't understand and yet human curiosity will always outweigh fear and that's why so much was preserved. What a very complicated situation.
But much to rejoice with Coatlicue! She is a pinnacle of sophistication for Aztec artists as her existence also helps prove that the Aztec Empire did have modern knowledge but also upheld cultural values and actively chose their lifestyle. More of that under the cut of course.
Let's begin with Spain and Mexico's archeological relationship.
Spain destroyed an enormous amount of cultural objects found in the New World; partially out of fear of anything sacrilegious, a misunderstanding of cultural values they believed compromised a universal morality, and greed whether through the melting of gold or the resale of our culture to wealthy Europeans.
However, the Spanish are also a large part as to why we still have a history. As they set out to convert the indigenous population they turned to integration and found ways to connect their European culture with indigenous aspects. This is probably best seen in Mexican churches where we see indigenous arts in display.
They also were fanatics of these new cultures and often worked together with the indigenous to record their histories. Many religious men actively allowed indigenous people to gather oral retelling from older community members to write down in both Spanish and Nahuatl. In doing so many members wrote secret histories within the Nahuatl translation that are still being uncovered today. These were then kept in universities and taken over seas where they were kept safe from the fires clergy men started that would burn codices in New Spain.
Additionally, the church often offered smaller indigenous communities safety from Spanish settlers because they would take in religious orders and house them and therefore these orders would defend them from Spanish men coming over seas to take their land. This also allowed leaders to keep their positions in power. We must also remember that it was the church that defended indigenous communities from slavery by making the argument that indigenous people did have souls and therefore were children of god who should not be exploited. Work conditions were not massively improved but they could present themselves in court as free men.
All this to say that yes the Spanish did destroy massive amounts of our culture we may never recover but the situation is very complicated. Even as the clergy buried Coatlicue she was not destroyed because they knew she was important. We have to remember that any occupying power will destroy the culture of their predecessor. The Aztec Empire did so as well with whom they replaced. I don't intend to thank Spain but with history we can not treat it as a fantastical story. Humans are complicated and so are the events that follow. I can not help preserve our past if I am riddled with a bias that can keep me from entertaining an idea that might lead to something great.
Now, to her history!
In 1790 construction workers found two sculptures. The Sun Stone and Coatlicue. She stands at a massive 2.52 m (8.3 ft) and the Sun Stone had a similar massive size but the most impressive aspect of these discoveries were the incredible condition they were in. It is highly likely that they were buried for preservation purposes as Spain infamously destroyed cultural objects as the Empire invaded the New World. The fact that these were buried instead must have meant that someone hoped they would be found again in kinder times.
The Sun Stone and Coatlicue were then moved into public areas to be admired with the Sun Stone placed in a cathedral and Coatlicue at a university. (I believe it was Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, the predecessor to the National Autonomous University of Mexico). There she was studied by various Mexican scholars. Antonio de León y Gama believed her to be a deity of death and sacred war (Teoyaomiqui) due to her being beheaded with two snakes sprouting from her neck, having clawed eagle feet, having joints with fanged faces and 'death eyes', her hands being snakes, her hands being in an attack position, and because she wears a necklace made of human hands and hearts with a skull pendant. However her more common interpretation today is Coatlicue, the mother of the Sun God, and god of war, Huitzlipochtli. Coatlicue means "Serpents her skirts" (Coat is serpent in Nahuatl!) and this statue has a serpent skirt and in myths Coatlicue is beheaded and two snakes sprout from her neck! This interpretation was popularized by the Mexican architect Alfredo Chavero.
It is disputed if she was created in 1439 or 1491 as a date inscribed in her back could be read as either which is why I made Mexico forgetful about her creation date. We also do know for certain that she was not one of a kind as there do exist fragments of other like statues and another statue by the name of Yolotlicue (her skirt is made of hearts and not snakes!).
More interestingly, this statue is a representation of Aztec society making active cultural choices. Through the hands we can see naturalistic art elements (naturalistic is a term used in place of saying realistic as to not confuse with the art movement of Realism. It simply means 'appearing as it does in a natural state'.). They have human folds and an understanding of anatomy. Even the heart can be naturalistic since we see the blood canals but through this we also see a more stylistic trend of geometric abstraction or simplification. Aztec artists understood methods of creating art closer to life but actively chose a specific art style that simplified it. : ) It can be because of the stone material we have available as any other media that is easier to shape is also easier to be destroyed. Therefore we think one style is more popular because it's all we could find!
But we do know that Aztec society held different values and the art style could have represented a cultural identity rather then disinterest or no knowledge or naturalism in art. We know that many indigenous artist quickly adapted to the Renaissance styles Europe introduced to them via prints and copies! They were so quick to pick up the style of European masters that the Europeans noted it themselves in surprise.
They just really like how they created art : )
It's something we routinely see in Aztec society. They did not use metal because they didn't really want to but we have artifacts that show that they knew how to melt it they just didn't need it. It's the same with the wheel. We have toys with wheels so they clearly understood the concept but it was more culturally valuable to have servants that helped carry large loads rather then create a cart.
Also the comment of the stars is very funny because in myth the stars are all her sons and she only has one daughter. The Moon. Who beheaded her.
The last thing I need is people thinking I think Spain the nation is 'super awesome'. Mexico and Mesoamerican culture persevered because WE made sure we could. WE found ways to work a new system to our favor whether by housing guests and using their authority or by writing down words they dont know to keep our secrets or by simply refusing to give in. WE did that even though the odds were against us.
Hello Hello! I focused on Mesoamerica through my studies so here we are! In this strip I present my Mexico OC who at this point is going by the name Dolores!
This statue is about 8 feet tall (2.52 m) so you might be pleased to know that I gave Antonio and Dolores accurate height comparisons by making him 5'10 and her 5'2!
Coatlicue has a funny history because she was buried three times. The first time was probably to preserve her, the second was because religious clergy believed indigenous people were praying to her, and the third time was because they had revealed her to study her for a brief period before burying her again likely for the same reason as the second time. She was unburried one final time in 1803 to briefly be presented at an English museum before returning home as a crown jewel to Mexico's first national museum.
Under the cut I'll give a brief history for her, some fun facts, and talk about about Mexican archeology and its relationship to Spain. In my view Spains relationship to Mexico is complicated. They are the reason much of our heritage has been scattered and destoryed but they also helped preserve it and I think the Coatlicue statue represents this.
She was a very scary piece of media to them. It is not up to debate whether Mesoamerican cultures sacrificed people. This was simply a reality much like public guillotine executions were a reality to France. You lived your life believing them to be necessary. If hell is real to Catholics then so was the idea that the world would end if the Emperor did not offer his blood to the Sun.
And yet she was preserved because the clergy recognized this was valuable. Even when they needed her gone to keep a Catholic order they did not destroy her as they easily could have. It is a very funny thing to know they had such a hatred of what they didn't understand and yet human curiosity will always outweigh fear and that's why so much was preserved. What a very complicated situation.
But much to rejoice with Coatlicue! She is a pinnacle of sophistication for Aztec artists as her existence also helps prove that the Aztec Empire did have modern knowledge but also upheld cultural values and actively chose their lifestyle. More of that under the cut of course.
Let's begin with Spain and Mexico's archeological relationship.
Spain destroyed an enormous amount of cultural objects found in the New World; partially out of fear of anything sacrilegious, a misunderstanding of cultural values they believed compromised a universal morality, and greed whether through the melting of gold or the resale of our culture to wealthy Europeans.
However, the Spanish are also a large part as to why we still have a history. As they set out to convert the indigenous population they turned to integration and found ways to connect their European culture with indigenous aspects. This is probably best seen in Mexican churches where we see indigenous arts in display.
They also were fanatics of these new cultures and often worked together with the indigenous to record their histories. Many religious men actively allowed indigenous people to gather oral retelling from older community members to write down in both Spanish and Nahuatl. In doing so many members wrote secret histories within the Nahuatl translation that are still being uncovered today. These were then kept in universities and taken over seas where they were kept safe from the fires clergy men started that would burn codices in New Spain.
Additionally, the church often offered smaller indigenous communities safety from Spanish settlers because they would take in religious orders and house them and therefore these orders would defend them from Spanish men coming over seas to take their land. This also allowed leaders to keep their positions in power. We must also remember that it was the church that defended indigenous communities from slavery by making the argument that indigenous people did have souls and therefore were children of god who should not be exploited. Work conditions were not massively improved but they could present themselves in court as free men.
All this to say that yes the Spanish did destroy massive amounts of our culture we may never recover but the situation is very complicated. Even as the clergy buried Coatlicue she was not destroyed because they knew she was important. We have to remember that any occupying power will destroy the culture of their predecessor. The Aztec Empire did so as well with whom they replaced. I don't intend to thank Spain but with history we can not treat it as a fantastical story. Humans are complicated and so are the events that follow. I can not help preserve our past if I am riddled with a bias that can keep me from entertaining an idea that might lead to something great.
Now, to her history!
In 1790 construction workers found two sculptures. The Sun Stone and Coatlicue. She stands at a massive 2.52 m (8.3 ft) and the Sun Stone had a similar massive size but the most impressive aspect of these discoveries were the incredible condition they were in. It is highly likely that they were buried for preservation purposes as Spain infamously destroyed cultural objects as the Empire invaded the New World. The fact that these were buried instead must have meant that someone hoped they would be found again in kinder times.
The Sun Stone and Coatlicue were then moved into public areas to be admired with the Sun Stone placed in a cathedral and Coatlicue at a university. (I believe it was Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, the predecessor to the National Autonomous University of Mexico). There she was studied by various Mexican scholars. Antonio de León y Gama believed her to be a deity of death and sacred war (Teoyaomiqui) due to her being beheaded with two snakes sprouting from her neck, having clawed eagle feet, having joints with fanged faces and 'death eyes', her hands being snakes, her hands being in an attack position, and because she wears a necklace made of human hands and hearts with a skull pendant. However her more common interpretation today is Coatlicue, the mother of the Sun God, and god of war, Huitzlipochtli. Coatlicue means "Serpents her skirts" (Coat is serpent in Nahuatl!) and this statue has a serpent skirt and in myths Coatlicue is beheaded and two snakes sprout from her neck! This interpretation was popularized by the Mexican architect Alfredo Chavero.
It is disputed if she was created in 1439 or 1491 as a date inscribed in her back could be read as either which is why I made Mexico forgetful about her creation date. We also do know for certain that she was not one of a kind as there do exist fragments of other like statues and another statue by the name of Yolotlicue (her skirt is made of hearts and not snakes!).
More interestingly, this statue is a representation of Aztec society making active cultural choices. Through the hands we can see naturalistic art elements (naturalistic is a term used in place of saying realistic as to not confuse with the art movement of Realism. It simply means 'appearing as it does in a natural state'.). They have human folds and an understanding of anatomy. Even the heart can be naturalistic since we see the blood canals but through this we also see a more stylistic trend of geometric abstraction or simplification. Aztec artists understood methods of creating art closer to life but actively chose a specific art style that simplified it. : ) It can be because of the stone material we have available as any other media that is easier to shape is also easier to be destroyed. Therefore we think one style is more popular because it's all we could find!
But we do know that Aztec society held different values and the art style could have represented a cultural identity rather then disinterest or no knowledge or naturalism in art. We know that many indigenous artist quickly adapted to the Renaissance styles Europe introduced to them via prints and copies! They were so quick to pick up the style of European masters that the Europeans noted it themselves in surprise.
They just really like how they created art : )
It's something we routinely see in Aztec society. They did not use metal because they didn't really want to but we have artifacts that show that they knew how to melt it they just didn't need it. It's the same with the wheel. We have toys with wheels so they clearly understood the concept but it was more culturally valuable to have servants that helped carry large loads rather then create a cart.
Also the comment of the stars is very funny because in myth the stars are all her sons and she only has one daughter. The Moon. Who beheaded her.
I just adore the thought of an open feely mushy Spain and his repressed fliches-at-a-hug friend Prussia! This might have been the comic that made me take a double look at Pruspa so I read it as platonic and romantic!
They have been sent to eat in the kitchens because they don't know how to shut up! Not pictured was Portugal flying over the table at him
I used paintings by Giovanni Battista Moroni for their clothing! He was a mannerist painter which surprised me but only the Portrait of Don Gabriel de la Cueva has a name that I could verify so far.
Both are done in 1560 (years can differ on source) and I believe relations are not exactly strained as Portugal and Spain have had two marriages between their royal families by this point. It should be previous to Portugals 'definite' split from Spain.
Ok! By tomorrow I'll have Hetabaria stuff up! I at least have two done but I have ideas for the entire week so hopefully I dont procrastinate finishing up the rest. My challenge will be to make none of them romantic ship related but this has had unforseen consequences. Mainly I am no longer interested in making ship fanworks for hetalia funnily enough lol. I dont know how I finished up Spa/mano week but it must be because of the historicak aspect of my last fic. Dear Eleanor I shall write about you with the focus you deserve!
Also by preparing for this week I realized that Is till hold grudges over Jauna of Castille and Catherine of Aragon which might explain why I was never preening over Sp/uk and Spa/us. Incredible creators! Just not something I get inspired by and I guess its because preteen me hated their husbands
