America-Russia: I used to not appreciate this pairing even half as much as I do now. It took exposure to an excellently characterized Russia (see: http://rusamee.tumblr.com/) before I really got into these two and their dynamics. I enjoy them in a loving relationship where they can be dorky and sweet together, since they are both so passionate about the likes they have in common (Space! SPAAAAAACE!). There’s also the fact that they’re both so powerful, so driven, so in the eye of the world that everyone is poised to jump on them if they make the wrong move. It’s like they’re kindred spirits in a sense, each other’s yin and yang, capable of offering each other a challenge or knocking the other down a peg when needed. Ivan’s the older nation that never got to enjoy his childhood, so every adventure with Alfred is like rediscovering what it means to be young all over again.Admittedly, I also enjoy their hateful relationship, too. Like all those Cold War fics out there where they’ve got the tension between them of mutually assured destruction. (I’m bent like that.) It isn’t a healthy relationship in the slightest — more like an unhealthy obsession. America sees himself as the Hero with Ivan as the Villain, and Ivan plays the part because he enjoys the fact that someone is so fixated on him (because Ivan craves that attention, so he’ll play whatever role he needs to if it keeps those eyes looking his way, and even if they’re full of hate that’s at least /something/ that is all his, no one else’s). And when they /do/ give into the attraction between them it’s not sweet, or gentle: It’s two Titans clashing, electric violence, where at the end they’ll pretend it doesn’t mean anything because that is against the /rules/.——-South Italy: Alfred loves a challenge. The fact that Romano is difficult is part of what spurs him on. He can’t be sure if the Italian is unhappy or not. Alfred cannot grasp the concept of people hiding emotions under the surface. He’s too honest with his own. So to see Lovino being grumpy so often leads him to believe that the other man is just /really/ unhappy all the time.Thanks to his Hero complex, he sees it as his duty to try to cheer Romano up. Like, if he can get one smile out of him then that’s practically a Christmas present! He doesn’t even acknowledge the fact that Lovino is /one million/ years older than him. Lovino is associated with Alfred’s love for mafia movies, Italian food, and the ‘gangster’ archtype. His Hollywood brain can picture them standing on a glamorous cliffside near a winding road, kissing Lovino until he stops complaining with the backdrop of a brilliant sunset — interrupted by an epic gun battle with mysterious men in a van that goes driving by.He probably gets hit a lot. It’s doubtful that he minds it much.———England: Yeah. I know. There is such a stigma surrounding these two as a pairing (I am passionate about my alternative pairings for England more but this is about America!). For me, though, it isn’t like I could expect these two to settle into any kind of sweet romance. I suppose it’s more that I love the /complication/ of their relationship, which in its way is just as tangled as Russia x America. Now, this is a ship that I really loved upon first entering the fandom of Hetalia; my gateway drug to becoming a wanton multi-shipper. Since then I have become extremely particular on these two as a ship, after having witnessed far too many poor characterizations. That and people are so vehemently set against this pairing that I feel uncomfortable even discussing my preference for it. Still, there are reasons I love it and always will. Getting into the details of this ship would become a novel for me, and frankly most of it would be from England’s perspective, so I will just leave it at this.Germany-Italy: This one is pretty obvious. They have a solidly bonded relationship. This pairing for me is almost /too/ obvious, and sadly I think I ship it just because it’s there. (Sorry!)——-South Italy: I enjoy this pairing. Though it is really only in AUs and with certain characterizations that I can see it working (See: http://onyourkneessoldier.tumblr.com/). Once getting through Lovino’s guard, however, I think there is a definite benefit in how this relationship works.Ludwig is physically strong, yet he’ll always default to polite responses, or few words. Lovino will speak up when he smells any kind of bullshit. Ludwig is fearless in many respects and would stand proud against any hostile force. Lovino doesn’t have that same intimidation factor aside from just yelling louder. Their strengths and weaknesses act as a good counterbalance for the other. If they were combined together as a couple, then they’d make one hell of a power couple.I think they would both be good influences in helping get each other out of their shells. Ludwig is sensitive about how he is perceived by the rest of the world so he can be self-conscious, and I think Lovino would really help him lose much of that with a general “Who gives a shit about their opinions?” mentality. And Ludwig would be able to sincerely convince Lovino that he is important, that he matters, and that there are people that value him more for just what he shares with a nicer, kinder brother. Basically, he’d treat Lovino as a person instead of an angry porcupine.——-England: I can’t help myself with this pairing. However, I usually only see this working out with someone to bridge the gap (France or Prussia), because just like with Lovino it would take effort to get past Arthur’s guard.I think they would have a relationship that is full of mutual respect. They would be sensitive to the needs and preferences of each other. Both of them like order, both of them prefer the quiet. It’d be a romance suited to quiet evenings curled up near a fireplace while they work on crosswords, or reading, or finishing the last of their work for the day. They’d both be workaholics, supporting each other to be more successful, without constant interruptions questioning their work ethic. Out in public they would be professional in their relationship, neither of them big on PDAs, and I think this would definitely be another example of them helping to strengthen their partner’s weaknesses.In private, though, it’s another matter entirely. Because they are both kinky bastards. So there’s bound to be lots of risque behavior, definitely some Master/slave play, and for my personal preference I definitely see Arthur as being the one to dominate in their relationship behind closed doors. Ludwig would defer to his experience. Of course, everything they do would be done with the utmost discretion because Prussia would probably flip out if he knew half of what England was getting his baby brother to do for him.————-Canada: I could go on about this ship as well. However, that’s another novel waiting to happen stemming from their history. People tend to forget that at one point in time Germany was /scared as fuck/ when it came to Canada. And Matthew loves that fact.Lithuania-Russia: This pairing gets a bad reputation, mostly because people usually can’t grasp the possibility of Ivan being something other than a psychotic rage truck of non-consent. No characterization should ever be that one-dimensional.I think there is genuine love here. Yes, when he was under Soviet rule, their relationship was more one of Master/slave. Ivan was in control of many nations then, and Toris was one of them. Did Toris suffer endless amounts of torture, forced intimacy and other abuse from Ivan? Possibly. Ivan had wanted Lithuania as his own ever since they met as children. However, I think that window of abuse would have been a very short, limited window of time. And I believe that Ivan deeply regrets his actions against Toris during that period of their history.Clearly, Ivan loves Toris. He gets distraught when Lithuania gets taken away from him. And Toris, for all his enjoyment of the lax atmosphere of living with America for a time, is a loyal man at heart. Ivan is motivated out of loneliness, which makes him desperate, and sometimes in that desperation the Russian doesn’t always make the best decisions. The fact that Ivan loved him for so long is important to him, so Toris can’t just pretend that it doesn’t matter to him. There is far more love between them than there is fear, though I think Lithuania is always going to harbor those anxious feelings when it comes to Ivan.———-Poland: This one is pretty easy. They have been leaning on each other for such a long time that there are strong bonds. They’re definitely stronger together than they are apart. It’s nice to have someone he can stand with on (fairly) equal terms even if he is capable of standing on his own. Once again, this is another relationship where Toris is lead by another. Feliks is the one that drives the relationship.When they apart it was obvious to see how much Toris still cared for and worried about Poland. It brought him considerable anxiety to think that Feliks wasn’t looking out for himself as much as he should. His instincts were pretty spot-on in that respect. Toris is very gentle with him and has been ever since Feliks was forced to suffer so much. He’s also considerably proud that despite all the hardships that he was put through, Feliks has managed to stay true to himself.