#Natallia Arloŭskaja

[meliissa-art]

Belarus' human name

Shout out to @/belarusismymom (tiktok), as this post is inspired by one of their tiktoks.

So... In canon, Belarus is called Natalya or Natalia. But actually, that is not accurate, as that is a name that is more Russian than Belarusian.

How can we name her instead?

We can call her Natallia (in honor to the Belarusian poetess Natallia Arsenneva), and her surname would be Arloŭskaja (instead of Arlovskaya).

For her nyo! version, his name could be Mikalaj Arloŭskij (which is more accurate)

These are small changes, but I think it improves the character. Small details like these make characters memorable and more enjoyable, at least that is what I think.

Besides, Belarusian is becoming more and more Russified, and even though I love Russian culture, the Belarusian language is crucial for their culture as well, and sadly it can disappear if it keeps being heavily Russified.

As I said, the idea is not mine. It's Shina's (@/belarusismymom). Follow them on TikTok.

[littlesistersti]

To Fans of Nyo!Belarus...

To any of you who named him “Arlovskaya”, do you know how surnames work in Russian-speaking countries? Also, did you read the kitawiki? It never said “Arlovskaya”, it said “Arlofsky” or “Arlovski”. Although, Arlovski is a real person, and I’m pretty sure Natasha’s surname isn’t Arlofskaya with an f. 

Can any Russians and Belarusians confirm if Natalya/Natallia is still relevant? Is it an outdated name or still going? I feel most of the characters have old people name.

Update: Wikipedia said the Belarusian spelling is feminine “Арлоўская” (Arlouskaya, Arloŭskaja, Arlowskaya) or masculine “Арлоўскі” (Arloŭski, Arlowski) but I know every Belarusians will write however they think is correct, because we all think differently according to the language we understand. You know that internet meme what language do bilinguals/polyglots think in? The better question is what language rules do they think in? Example, came across a name on a social media handle “Bitl” and I thought “wait, I thought your name is Zhuk?” Turns out, Zhuk means beatle. (Edit: I mispelt beetle)

PS. Why did people name Romania “Vlad” after Vlad Tepes then proceeded to name him “Vladimir” when that’s a Russian name and Vlad Tepes the Impaler’s full name is right there, “Vladislav”. How did we fail that one?????

PPS. I forgot when I wrote this. This sat in my drafts forever. 

[meliissa-art]

My headcanons for Belarus

Belarus is a character that I dislike in canon. Hima did her dirty :(

So here are some headcanons I have for Belarus <3

Her human name is Natallia Arloŭskaja/Arlievič (the last option is gender neutral)

Her nyo! name would be Mikalaj Arloŭskij/Arlievič

If you are interested in knowing why I think those names would suit the character better, check out this post:

Ok, back to the headcanons!

I ship her with Romano or with

Could talk for hours about knives with Sakha/Yakutia

Has a complicated relationship with Russia

She is not his sister. I don't think nations are related to each other. Sure, nations can call each other "brother" or "sister", but because they are close to each other and have no romantic feelings, not because they are genetically related.

Perhaps she had a close relationship with him in the past and called him "brother" during that time. But nowadays their relationship is more complicated.

Belarus is extremely worried about her language, as it's getting more and more russified over time.

She is very protective of her own culture and tries to preserve it as much as possible.

She could have been close to Lithuania, as she was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (I need to do more research about this though...)

I know little about Belarus' history, but she is an interesting character! I will probably talk more about her in the future