If I had the reins of Hetalia, I’d lean into the dead relative angle a lot, and also Prussia would explicitly be one of them, just the most active ghost.
[the drawing is about two years old, i don’t like it, but you can have it anyway]
Idk when I’ll have the time to write this bc I really want to but fuck… the idea of Romano being present and old enough(more like traumatized enough???) to remember Rome’s death/murder and THATS why Romano hates Germans always gets me.
BUT!!
What he remembers is a ruthless killer out for bloodlust, driving his weapon as far as it can go into his grandfather’s body. He remembers this large scary man covered in his grandpa’s blood looking straight at him with piercing blue eyes as if he were his next prey. He remembers running and trying to find his little brother, thinking the whole time he was being hunted for sport.
How it actually went was Germania was in deed seeking out Rome to murder him. It’s been his intentions ever since he could remember, even when he was his bodyguard. Yes he fought Rome. Yes he stabbed him to death— but the final blow was not done by him per se. Rome did it himself.
Rome knew he was dying from the get go. There was so much internal unrest going on in his empire, he could feel himself collapse, he was essentially on his deathbed— a very slow deathbed. Hence the depression, hence the heightened anxiety, hence letting himself go so badly in the end, hence the rapid aging. He was dying. He’s hardly fighting back against Germania’s onslaught of attacks. So with what strength he has left, he grabs Germania by the wrist and thrusts his blade deep. And by that, The Western Roman Empire has officially collapsed. Germania is satisfied.
But Romano doesn’t know this. He will never know what really transpired between these two in that moment. He’ll always see it as senseless bloodshed. He will always place blame on Germany, the man who happens to share the same face as his grandfather’s killer.
Okay, so we all know Germania is a big family man based on this older strip:
Now, I hc him as the Grandpa for most of the Germanics, some as the dad, but either way?
Just imagine how SOFT he would be upon Kugel and Ladonia popping up. Those two would either be his great-grandchildren or grandchildren depending on how you headcanon Germania.
They're the tiny babies of the family, and holy smokes, you can't convince me Germania wouldn't be over the moon about that.