love ur takes on historical hetalia!! it too is a fandom i always circle back to (heheh get it??) bc the junction btwn nation and personhood in these characters is so juicy and im never not fascinated by history
rlly enjoy ur thoughts and takes!! and ur art is so expressive! this is just a fan letter of appreciation haha
hey, thanks so much for the sweet message!
and yes, that's exactly why i always find myself returning. what i like about hetalia is that unlike some other variants of the personified nations trope, i feel i can strike a better balance between the Being Immortal Eldritch Concepts and the Flesh and Blood, very much flawed and human emotional aspect. you can make it slice of life, you can also make it incredibly serious. i always have a weakness for immortal characters with eons of history between them, and hetalia is just the perfect sandbox.
one nice thing about being in a fandom for so long is that it really does feel like the characters have grown up with me a lot; both in how my art and headcanons changed, as well as acquired more layers. one thing i really enjoy is being able to just develop such hyperspecific headcanons and backstories about any special personal possessions they carry throughout the centuries, or how they'd dress and look during a particular time period. i think my headcanons about yao's hair length throughout the 20th century and alfred's bomber jacket patches have changed forms so many times haha.