I never considered this to be a headcanon, more like basic how-Hetalia-works canon fact, but lately had a small chat with someone that made me realize that this actually can be just my HC and not everybody sees Hetalia that way, so I’m publishing it :)
Headcanon: Human representations of Nations are a rich, complex mosaic of culture, economics, politics, history and many other things, even geography and weather conditions. All that goes into the culture - behavioral norm, fashion, pop culture, books, music, cinema, language - add up to a Nation’s human personality. Because of this, if a Nation falls in love with another Nation, that means they also are in love with all those elements. Of course, even when you love somebody, you don’t have to like each and every part of them, some things may irritate you, but in general, you probably are fond of the person’s personality. In Nation-terms that just means they are in love with the culture and want to consume a lot of stuff from that place and intensely enjoy it. Even when they can’t be with their beloved one-on-one, reading books, watching movies or listening to music that comes from them is a way too fell closer and they simply like it because they think it’s excellent. This kind of fascination with another Nation doesn’t have to mean romantic or sexual love tho, it can be a sign of friendship or a platonic crush. What is really not possible, in my headcanons, is a Nation loving/liking another Nation Spirit, but disliking most of their culture. In human terms that would mean that although you like Annie, you don’t really like how Annie acts, speaks or behaves which doesn’t make much sense. In the same vein, if one Nation deeply dislikes another, they will dislike their culture and country - tho there can be exceptions, in the same way, you can dislike Annie, but still enjoy her cooking. This gets complicated if Nations start off liking each other but due to political reasons stop. All their affection for the cultural things of the other doesn’t just disappear overnight and it creates an unpleasant and disconnected experience of not liking the person anymore, but still appreciate a lot of their stuff. It can be compared to a human experience when you really dislike a person but still think they are funny or smart - not cool!















