[oo0; how's my driving?]
how's my driving♡
TALK TO THE GIRL BEHIND THE WHEEL.
Advice, criticism, suggestions, praise? Too something? Not enough something?
::THE CHARACTER::
NAME: Finland, Suomi, Suomen Tasavalta; human alias is Tino Väinämöinen.
CANON: Axis Powers Hetalia
PERSONALITY: While Finland is a sweet, eager young man with a gentle nature and a simple sort of perserverence and determination, he is by no means weak or a pushover and such an assumption will be quickly corrected (although according to England, he's known for making a grand scene for something tiny like when he trips, so he's at least somewhat clumsy). He's held his own against other nations before! Just ask Russia! Even so, he's usually quite shy, and prefers peacemaking and negotiations over warfare.
Like the other Nordic nations, Finland is very emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is still mostly unheard-of. He loves spending a long time in a lovely hot sauna outside, and he's really quite strong in the cold.
Despite appearing to be the most normal of his neighbours, he could be considered the most eccentric; some really weird things are perfectly normal to him, like salting liquorice or naming a dog "Blood-smeared Flower-Egg" (although the name "Special Attack! Bombsquad Punks!" is clearly too cool for a cute puppy. He has limits.) and as such is one of the top two hosts of weird festivals in the entire world. His friend Estonia is first though, and he likes to think up even more weird ones with him.
Speaking of his friends, he's been best friends with Sweden since he ran away from Denmark with him (or rather, tagged along behind him) and although he still finds Sweden really scary and confusing after all these years, he sticks with him because he knows he's not really a bad person. Finland talks enough for the both of them, especially when you get him started on something he's very interested in. However, even though they're good friends, Finland is very competitive with Sweden, and will do anything to beat him!
HISTORY: Finland finds his early history blurry and uncertain, filled mostly with influence from other Northern nations, particularly Sweden. In fact, most of Finland today was entirely Swedish land until between the 15th and 18th centuries, and he used to just be considered an extension of Sweden anyway. As such, it was really only natural that Finland would follow Sweden to freedom after Sweden left Denmark's control. They spent close to six hundred years together. Unfortunately, a lot of Finland had also been part of Russia at one time...
As a result of a war between Sweden and Russia, Finland became completely split from Sweden and was a part of Russia's empire. Although he didn't like being taken from his close friend, Finland did rather well for himself under Russia's control. Russia was very nice to him at first, giving him lots of independence and helping to make Finnish the national language equal even to Swedish! However, after several decades of being actually a pretty good ruler, Russia became very harsh to him all of a sudden, and spent twenty years trying to force Finland to become like him, which caused Finland to resent him quite a bit. During the first World War Russia's empire collapsed while Finland was still a part of it, so he took the chance and ran away to start establishing his freedom. Unfortunately Russia's collapse affected his health even after he ran because he was still considered part of the empire; not long after his independence a civil war over control broke out between Socialist and conservative parties, supported by the Soviet Union and the German Empire respectively.
Because Finland had no police and or any other sort of way to arm himself, each party built their own forces and the violence between them escalated. In the ensuing civil war, the German-backed conservatives won and tried to give Finland a monarchy headed by a German king, but when Germany lost the Great War that plan was abandoned, and a battered and torn Finland declared himself a fully independent democratic republic. His economy had been demolished by the wars, however, and only after years of compromises between parties did they ever fully reunify.
In the years before the second World War, Finland kept careful eye on the Soviet Union and its actions, and was horrified by the partitioning of Poland and devouring of the Baltic states. He became (rightly) convinced that he would be next, and begged the West to help him. He joined into an alliance with Germany out of desperation, not any kind of agreement with his actions. He refused to give in to Russia's demands that he give over one of his ports so Russia could better defend Leningrad, and Russia retaliated by declaring war.
In the beginning, Russia hugely underestimated the tiny nation, believing that war with him couldn't last more than a few weeks, but Finland dragged the war on for months, asking other nations for aid. A few Western nations offered supplies, but Finland had expected Sweden to join the war on his side and his official rejection came as a huge shock. Eventually Sweden sent over volunteers and aid, more than any other nation, but in Finland's general opinion it was too little too late, and he still has some residual bitterness thanks to that. (He understands now that it was all Sweden could do, but still, don't bring it up.)
Finland held strong for many months but he simply couldn't stand up under Russia's constant assault, because Russia had the one thing Finland didn't: enough men to throw in front of the bullets. Finally he and the Soviet Union signed a peace treaty, which lost Finland a section of his northern land and the land of Karjala, which caused the displacement of at least 8% of his population. There were two treaties, in fact; the conditions of the first one angered Finland so much that he attacked the Soviet Union again a few months later, which didn't go so well for him. But that wasn't the end for Finland. Germany rewarded his former ally's peace treaty with the enemy by turning against him, and Finland was ordered by the Soviet Union to fight him. Though he managed to get Germany out, the tactics Germany used against him left northern Finland scorched and leveled, and took him decades to rebuild.
After the second World War, Finland decided that he would avoid all conflicts between superpowers and become friends with both the Western nations and the Soviet Union. Though he was essentially entirely Westernized, there was no getting around the fact that the Soviet Union was right around the corner and that every move he made could be seen by the larger nation as a threat to the Union. He carefully balanced his relationships with both the West and the East, and has built his way up to being one of the most successful and stable nations in the world.
yaranaika?
Character Notes!!
(for personal reference)
OUTLOOK;
Finland - A Nation Caught In The Middle
( Despite its current sociopolitical drift toward the West, Finland knows it cannot become complacent about Russia, which it now sees more as an opportunity than a threat. )
We Finns
( That attitude reflectss [sic] something essential about Finnishness: low national self-esteem combined neatly with a sense of intellectual inferiority. )
Estonia According to the Finns
( Humble Finland bashfully gazes at its own shoes when addressing countries of the world - but with their southerly neighbors, Finland stares at Estonia's shoes. )
ENTERTAINMENT;
Finland, What's Up With Your Public Events?
( It's debatable why the Finnish seem to have a knack for the wack; could be their sense of humour or creativity. Or, maybe there isn't a bloody thing to do there. )
WINTER WAR MISC;
Finnish classic war film The Unknown Soldier opens old wounds in Russia
( interview with Russians re: classic Finnish war movie. )
Meet Us, Suomi-beauty
( "The song main idea is that The Red Army is entering Finland to liberate it from capitalists that supressed [sic] Finnish revolution and now are fooling Finnish people." )
Fire and Ice: the Winter War between Finland and Russia
( information on various battles fought between Finland and Russia. )
Finland saved by mittens
( "One of the reasons Häyhä was so successful, believe it or not, was because of his mitten ensemble." apparently. )
TALK TO THE GIRL BEHIND THE WHEEL.
Advice, criticism, suggestions, praise? Too something? Not enough something?
::THE CHARACTER::
NAME: Finland, Suomi, Suomen Tasavalta; human alias is Tino Väinämöinen.
CANON: Axis Powers Hetalia
PERSONALITY: While Finland is a sweet, eager young man with a gentle nature and a simple sort of perserverence and determination, he is by no means weak or a pushover and such an assumption will be quickly corrected (although according to England, he's known for making a grand scene for something tiny like when he trips, so he's at least somewhat clumsy). He's held his own against other nations before! Just ask Russia! Even so, he's usually quite shy, and prefers peacemaking and negotiations over warfare.
Like the other Nordic nations, Finland is very emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is still mostly unheard-of. He loves spending a long time in a lovely hot sauna outside, and he's really quite strong in the cold.
Despite appearing to be the most normal of his neighbours, he could be considered the most eccentric; some really weird things are perfectly normal to him, like salting liquorice or naming a dog "Blood-smeared Flower-Egg" (although the name "Special Attack! Bombsquad Punks!" is clearly too cool for a cute puppy. He has limits.) and as such is one of the top two hosts of weird festivals in the entire world. His friend Estonia is first though, and he likes to think up even more weird ones with him.
Speaking of his friends, he's been best friends with Sweden since he ran away from Denmark with him (or rather, tagged along behind him) and although he still finds Sweden really scary and confusing after all these years, he sticks with him because he knows he's not really a bad person. Finland talks enough for the both of them, especially when you get him started on something he's very interested in. However, even though they're good friends, Finland is very competitive with Sweden, and will do anything to beat him!
HISTORY: Finland finds his early history blurry and uncertain, filled mostly with influence from other Northern nations, particularly Sweden. In fact, most of Finland today was entirely Swedish land until between the 15th and 18th centuries, and he used to just be considered an extension of Sweden anyway. As such, it was really only natural that Finland would follow Sweden to freedom after Sweden left Denmark's control. They spent close to six hundred years together. Unfortunately, a lot of Finland had also been part of Russia at one time...
As a result of a war between Sweden and Russia, Finland became completely split from Sweden and was a part of Russia's empire. Although he didn't like being taken from his close friend, Finland did rather well for himself under Russia's control. Russia was very nice to him at first, giving him lots of independence and helping to make Finnish the national language equal even to Swedish! However, after several decades of being actually a pretty good ruler, Russia became very harsh to him all of a sudden, and spent twenty years trying to force Finland to become like him, which caused Finland to resent him quite a bit. During the first World War Russia's empire collapsed while Finland was still a part of it, so he took the chance and ran away to start establishing his freedom. Unfortunately Russia's collapse affected his health even after he ran because he was still considered part of the empire; not long after his independence a civil war over control broke out between Socialist and conservative parties, supported by the Soviet Union and the German Empire respectively.
Because Finland had no police and or any other sort of way to arm himself, each party built their own forces and the violence between them escalated. In the ensuing civil war, the German-backed conservatives won and tried to give Finland a monarchy headed by a German king, but when Germany lost the Great War that plan was abandoned, and a battered and torn Finland declared himself a fully independent democratic republic. His economy had been demolished by the wars, however, and only after years of compromises between parties did they ever fully reunify.
In the years before the second World War, Finland kept careful eye on the Soviet Union and its actions, and was horrified by the partitioning of Poland and devouring of the Baltic states. He became (rightly) convinced that he would be next, and begged the West to help him. He joined into an alliance with Germany out of desperation, not any kind of agreement with his actions. He refused to give in to Russia's demands that he give over one of his ports so Russia could better defend Leningrad, and Russia retaliated by declaring war.
In the beginning, Russia hugely underestimated the tiny nation, believing that war with him couldn't last more than a few weeks, but Finland dragged the war on for months, asking other nations for aid. A few Western nations offered supplies, but Finland had expected Sweden to join the war on his side and his official rejection came as a huge shock. Eventually Sweden sent over volunteers and aid, more than any other nation, but in Finland's general opinion it was too little too late, and he still has some residual bitterness thanks to that. (He understands now that it was all Sweden could do, but still, don't bring it up.)
Finland held strong for many months but he simply couldn't stand up under Russia's constant assault, because Russia had the one thing Finland didn't: enough men to throw in front of the bullets. Finally he and the Soviet Union signed a peace treaty, which lost Finland a section of his northern land and the land of Karjala, which caused the displacement of at least 8% of his population. There were two treaties, in fact; the conditions of the first one angered Finland so much that he attacked the Soviet Union again a few months later, which didn't go so well for him. But that wasn't the end for Finland. Germany rewarded his former ally's peace treaty with the enemy by turning against him, and Finland was ordered by the Soviet Union to fight him. Though he managed to get Germany out, the tactics Germany used against him left northern Finland scorched and leveled, and took him decades to rebuild.
After the second World War, Finland decided that he would avoid all conflicts between superpowers and become friends with both the Western nations and the Soviet Union. Though he was essentially entirely Westernized, there was no getting around the fact that the Soviet Union was right around the corner and that every move he made could be seen by the larger nation as a threat to the Union. He carefully balanced his relationships with both the West and the East, and has built his way up to being one of the most successful and stable nations in the world.
yaranaika?
Character Notes!!
(for personal reference)
OUTLOOK;
Finland - A Nation Caught In The Middle
( Despite its current sociopolitical drift toward the West, Finland knows it cannot become complacent about Russia, which it now sees more as an opportunity than a threat. )
We Finns
( That attitude reflectss [sic] something essential about Finnishness: low national self-esteem combined neatly with a sense of intellectual inferiority. )
Estonia According to the Finns
( Humble Finland bashfully gazes at its own shoes when addressing countries of the world - but with their southerly neighbors, Finland stares at Estonia's shoes. )
ENTERTAINMENT;
Finland, What's Up With Your Public Events?
( It's debatable why the Finnish seem to have a knack for the wack; could be their sense of humour or creativity. Or, maybe there isn't a bloody thing to do there. )
WINTER WAR MISC;
Finnish classic war film The Unknown Soldier opens old wounds in Russia
( interview with Russians re: classic Finnish war movie. )
Meet Us, Suomi-beauty
( "The song main idea is that The Red Army is entering Finland to liberate it from capitalists that supressed [sic] Finnish revolution and now are fooling Finnish people." )
Fire and Ice: the Winter War between Finland and Russia
( information on various battles fought between Finland and Russia. )
Finland saved by mittens
( "One of the reasons Häyhä was so successful, believe it or not, was because of his mitten ensemble." apparently. )