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R-ninja β€” APH - Gaul -oc-

Published: 2009-12-04 16:12:24 +0000 UTC; Views: 44485; Favourites: 932; Downloads: 408
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Description After the Rus' essay, I'm going to do what I can to not TL;DR this |'D

Anyhow, Gaul or "Gallia" as Rome named her.

Because she is most likely a girl, though most of the other ancients were never entirely certain (well, except Rome, of course). Oldest child of the semi-mythological Grandmother Celt, Gaul idolised her mother and lived her life as close she could to her legacy, even using her name where she could to declare her rightful heritage.

As with most of the other ancients, she and Rome had something of a love-hate relationship. Despite finding him attractive and intriguing, much of her interest in him was spoiled by his attempts to control her - she was far too much of a free spirit to let him to tell her what to do. That, and much about him just plain pissed her off - they'd been bickering ever since they first met as children, and when they did occasionally come together, their seemingly cheerful and friendly conversations were fraught with underlying aggression . Their relationship didn't escalate into full blown war until Rome tricked her under the pretense of friendship – offering his assistance in fending off attackers before taking the opportunity to strike her from behind.

The years of fighting which followed eventually left Rome victorious. Defeated, Gaul's pride and spirit were mostly crushed, and whilst she readily accepted he had won, a part of her clung to the past, holding on where she could in shame of having failed her grandmother.

Two possibilities for her end - Firstly, she could have stayed until the arrival of the Franks (which Hidekaz has said he has considered making a character of), and was killed when they took over. Alternatively, finding her strength and will growing weaker each day, in the end her only choice was to leave, placing her children under Rome's care (Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland and her successor son of the same name who would grow up to become France under the influence of the Franks). She headed East, joining Great Grandmother Anatolia whom she'd often visited as Galatia where she lived out the rest of her days.

She often comes across as brash, vocal and blunt, but what seems to be a loud and energetic exterior disguises an active and manipulative mind. Rome always saw her as 'feisty', not beyond getting into brutal brawls when words were no longer enough. Whilst she and Germania both had their feuds with Rome, they despised each other all the more - especially when it came to whose kids were whose.

I'd be lying if I said she wasn't inspired just a little by Asterix.

Again, disclaimer that this is a rather simplified version of events (I don't like getting individual tribes involved or everything would just go nuts). played with the idea of making Gaul the same as Celt, but in the end I decided it would probably work best this way due to Celtic origins being so crazy. Though this does mean I now may need to do a Celt portrait orz

Ah, and she does mostly fight with a sword. I just wanted to draw her with an axe :’<

Next on the list - Baltia/Aestii.
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Comments: 1702

Dusk-Kniade [2017-10-22 17:11:51 +0000 UTC]

She looks so cool! (Tho I thought she was a guy first XD Reminds me of Denmark, must be the hair)

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hetaph [2017-07-03 10:37:17 +0000 UTC]

She is so beautiful and I totally imagine her like that, she looks so proud and so wild! I don't see her in a different way!
I wanted tout ask you if I could use her for one fanart (of course I'll say that she is yours) ?

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layandree [2016-10-20 10:05:02 +0000 UTC]

She's pretty much badass ! Just one thing : I think she would wear a torque...Β 

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LaReforma1857 [2015-11-07 22:00:54 +0000 UTC]

The Celts of the British isles also were found in Gaul, would this make France and England cousins?

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layandree In reply to LaReforma1857 [2016-10-20 10:00:58 +0000 UTC]

The Celts were in the whole Europe, you can't try to put logical family things that accord with history, everyone would end up related, all countries are cousins. And I don't even tell you what an orgy it would have been, the conception of France... (Sorry for the bad english, I have no idea if what I'm trying to say is clear enough... and sorry for the family "things", I have no idea how to say "liens de parentΓ©" XD )

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LaReforma1857 In reply to layandree [2016-10-20 13:12:37 +0000 UTC]

Sorry my knowledge of European history is limited.

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layandree In reply to LaReforma1857 [2016-10-20 15:42:40 +0000 UTC]

Don't worry, a lot of Europeans have limited knowledge of their own history, so if you're not european, I totally understand ^^ The only reasons I know about it is because I love Celts and because I'm learning ArchΓ©ology in University...Β 

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LaReforma1857 In reply to layandree [2017-03-15 23:22:36 +0000 UTC]

OK.

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One-of-the-Seven [2015-09-22 03:23:02 +0000 UTC]

I REALLY need more Gaul picture or stories...

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Anime156Artist [2015-07-22 06:45:54 +0000 UTC]

I love all your art pieces they are just amazing

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ImperialC [2015-07-08 23:41:35 +0000 UTC]

She looks so badass!Β 
Too bad Rome killed/exiled her...

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zeynel13 [2015-06-13 22:37:14 +0000 UTC]

Nice!

Normally she should be an inventor as well, one particulary versed in agriculture who create lots of thing to facilitate the work of her people... And good at speaking, people from Gaul were know to be excellent orators (and lawyers in Rome too...)

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Arido-Yuna [2015-05-21 22:33:44 +0000 UTC]

I always felt like Netherlands looked a lot like the German family instead of the French one.
I also felt like Netherlands had a connection with the Scandinavian countries or something.
But I don't understand a lot about ancient history so just ignore my thought process. xD
I can DEFENITLEY see a bit of Belgium in Gaul.
The idea of France and Netherlands being brothers (or half brothers IDK who the father would be xD) is really weird. xD Their personalities are so clashing. xD
Then their is ofΒ course the old Frisian Kingdom who took a big part of the Netherlands before it disappeared. Maybe Frisia and Germania are related or something.
And is Frisia the father. (Although Frisia sounds a bit feminine.)
I feel like a detective. xD
All theories of course. I'll go, until next time: Stay awesome.

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Ragedep In reply to Arido-Yuna [2016-11-29 19:24:35 +0000 UTC]

I don't know if it helps, but in my world the nations are able to switch genders whenever they like, since they've both male and female citizens. So Germania could be mom to one country and dad to another. Thus the androgynous features, so that folks can recognize them in whatever gender they happen to be using at the time. Some happen to like one gender so much they stay in it more or less constantly; others switch back and forth a lot. I see Baltia/Aestii, for instance, as switching a lot. So it could be Frisia switches some, too.
Hope that helps.

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amazon211 [2015-04-29 07:08:33 +0000 UTC]

Definitely looks the kind of country that gave Rome an early headache.Β 

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Gilbert-LesMis [2015-04-12 16:23:56 +0000 UTC]

Its a woman ?!?!!!

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xXCamper61Xx [2014-07-11 22:20:01 +0000 UTC]

Strong and Independent, that's what I like in a Woman

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PrincessLockette [2014-05-24 18:39:59 +0000 UTC]

So, would she be France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland's mom?

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Heart2chocolate In reply to PrincessLockette [2015-01-05 23:09:44 +0000 UTC]

More Netherlands than Switzerlands...

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Ragedep In reply to Heart2chocolate [2016-11-29 19:08:44 +0000 UTC]

*reads off description* Not Switzerland at all. Netherlands.

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pinkalisa [2014-04-25 13:19:40 +0000 UTC]

How she is kawai <3 !!!

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IDGYimagination [2014-03-26 12:44:10 +0000 UTC]

GAUUULL

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Woowme [2013-10-25 04:16:59 +0000 UTC]

You should try to make a hetalia character for the franks :3

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Angel-Kazekage [2013-09-09 05:48:05 +0000 UTC]

when I see OCs for Gaul and Britannia, all I can think about is America's line in the dub, "your grandma sounds hot." x3

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maxvision92 [2013-04-19 14:51:16 +0000 UTC]

As crazy as it sounds, this isn't the weirdest Hetalia nation representative I've ever seen.

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Ragedep In reply to maxvision92 [2016-11-29 19:07:44 +0000 UTC]

Yeah? What's the weirdest? *curious*

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maxvision92 In reply to Ragedep [2016-11-29 19:12:36 +0000 UTC]

Someone did a character based on Elbonia from the comic strip Dilbert.

(Google it)

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Ragedep In reply to maxvision92 [2016-11-29 19:38:22 +0000 UTC]

Now *that* sounds like fun......
(Though it was easier to find it by searching here than through Google.)
www.deviantart.com/art/Axis-Po…

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xXxXLupicideXxXx [2012-12-18 04:20:47 +0000 UTC]

Oh! She's a chick! *Face-palm*

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Chiibasaur [2012-11-04 04:27:40 +0000 UTC]

Can I use this for my Ask Gaul Tumblr account? Thank you.

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cloud-koibito-gurl In reply to Chiibasaur [2012-11-19 21:36:54 +0000 UTC]

Have you managed to create that account yet?

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Chiibasaur In reply to cloud-koibito-gurl [2012-11-20 13:17:28 +0000 UTC]

I need to practice trying to get into character, I'm still new to this ask thing. I truly apologize if I confused you!

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cloud-koibito-gurl In reply to Chiibasaur [2012-11-20 13:55:42 +0000 UTC]

Oh no it's alright. I'm only asking because I RP as 2P!Gaul on tumblr. I don't know if you know what 2P characters are but they are basically the complete opposite of their original counterparts. For example, 2P!France is lazy, sarcastic, and unfriendly. 2P!England is happy and childishly cute, 2P!America likes to play the villian rather than the hero, and so on.

If you get your Ask-gaul thing going, I'll link you my ask-2p-gaul account.

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muggle13 [2012-07-17 21:10:22 +0000 UTC]

i love that hair only i want it in black *fave color*

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PrettyInPolczynska [2012-07-10 14:32:09 +0000 UTC]

Is it bad that my first thought was "Sexy hair flip!"?

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twist-tunes101 [2012-05-17 00:36:44 +0000 UTC]

wow! it looks really good!

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NightshadeULF [2012-02-08 20:41:20 +0000 UTC]

I love GAul She is so cool! Her design is just amazing.

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space6 [2011-12-23 08:17:36 +0000 UTC]

The home of the wild warriors that sometimes almost naked, she'd be a crazy one Gaul would

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0Aliah0 [2011-10-07 06:55:33 +0000 UTC]

Would you mind if I use this design for a fanfic? It centers the relationship between Rome and Gaul, and of course I will credit you.

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R-ninja In reply to 0Aliah0 [2011-10-18 16:39:05 +0000 UTC]

I tend to ask that people who use my designs use the character as well, so as long as you write her as I've described both in looks and personality, I'd be happy to let you use her.

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0Aliah0 In reply to R-ninja [2011-10-18 18:31:23 +0000 UTC]

Thank you it's appreciated.

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0Aliah0 [2011-10-07 05:35:04 +0000 UTC]

Beautiful! I only see her as France's mama and the BeNeLux' grandma. (Parents probably Burgundy and FryslΓ’n)

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AoiHisakata [2011-08-03 06:36:28 +0000 UTC]

it's france's grandpappy

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Fire-Seal [2011-07-19 09:10:02 +0000 UTC]

While I may argue with the genealogy line, as I consider her France's grandmother, I love your Gaul... she seems to be a fun character. If you don't mind me asking, how would you place the Franks in relation to France?

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R-ninja In reply to Fire-Seal [2011-07-19 17:49:46 +0000 UTC]

That could work too, of course Hidekaz himself has said the Franks are a sort of father figure to France, so I'd go along those lines. He either 'stole' Gaul from Rome or accidentally killed her and raised France out of a sense of duty.

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Fire-Seal In reply to R-ninja [2011-07-20 07:04:36 +0000 UTC]

Oh, wow~ Do you remember the link? I've been searching the APH archives for weeks looking for any mention of the Franks' possible existence within the Hetaliaverse, but have been unable to locate them.

~~~~~~~~~
Your speculation does make sense. While I've been thinking of the Franks as a woman(HRE's mom, with the Duchy of Rome serving as his dad), if he really is a man, it does give an interesting prospective on the "intimate relationship"(to use wikipedia's words XD) he shared with the Duchy of Rome which would continue as the later went on to become the Papal states... wouldn't be all that surprising considering the later's reputation, though.

At any rate, I believe that a nation is formed from people because of their history, culture, language etc, but even if they don't have a country they can still see themselves as part of that ethnic group, thus they continue to exist.
My personal theory on Gaul is that she would be in danger of dying when the the vast majority of Gauls eventually became Roman citizens, Gaulish culture was massively submerged by the Roman one, evolving into the hybrid Gallo-Roman culture, and Latin was adopted by the majority of Gauls. After the Gallic Wars, where as many as a million people (probably 1 in 5 of the Gauls) died, another million were enslaved, 300 tribes were subjugated and 800 cities were destroyed, Gaul became a shadow of her former self, and grew to grudgingly "accept" Rome's dominion of her territory. She continued to exist, until the Crisis of the Third Century, where she saw an opportunity to finally break from Rome, taking advantage of Rome's identity crisis by forming the Gallic Empire(Imperium Galliarum), bringing the territories of Germania, Britannia, and Hispania with her. It would be a brief reprieve for her, and she would die at the hands of Rome in the Battle of ChΓ’lons in 274, when he reclaimed her territory. Her son(or daughter), Roman Gallia, would replace her, and his/her relations with the Franks(I honestly can't help thinking of them as being related to France due to how similar they are described as appearing to the French stereotype [link] ) would result in the birth of France(among others).

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R-ninja In reply to Fire-Seal [2011-07-20 18:16:40 +0000 UTC]

Sure, here's the link: [link] (it's rather old, but it also includes early descriptions on Rome, Germania, Greece, Egypt, and Magyar).

But yes, I've always thought of the Franks character being HRE's father too. I can't entirely agree on the nations being formed from their people, culture, language, etc. as these are always changing and evolving, and given the sheer amount of immigration involved in early European history, it would make it very hard define each character (excuse me if I'm misunderstanding what you've said). Rome's 'death' lends itself more to a geo-political basis than a genetic/cultural/linguistic one too, as Latin culture and people have long endured regardless of the Western Empire's demise. Your take on Gaul certainly makes sense, though, and I do agree that that it's possible to interpret history with her being a grandmotherly figure instead

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Fire-Seal In reply to R-ninja [2011-07-21 22:07:58 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much for the link!

I wish Himaruya would elaborate on his works, while it makes for interesting topics for debate, with so many valid points of view, I'm really curious on what his take will be.

Anyway, I'm not sure, I'll try to explain my thoughts further...

Explanation: Take the makeup of Gaul, while the original inhabitants of the land we now know as France were a motley combination of Celts, German tribes, and Basques, the Gallic Celts' culture would take precedence as the Germanic tribes who migrated from the Germanic hinterland adopted Celtic language and customs, not all, of course, but (wikipedia, don't fail me now!) the majority. Yes there were some who would arrive later and claim the land was 'officially theirs', but unless they could back it up, like the Romans, it wouldn't count. The same could be said of immigrants in America, while many assimilate there are some who won't(I've actually met a man whose been a US citizen for 61 years and couldn't unable to read, write or communicate in English without a translator), and then there is the more extreme variant who follow the sentiments of the Mexican President and believe β€œWherever there is a Mexican, it is Mexico”, and support the dissolution of our borders(all the while building a wall between them and Guatemala, the hypocrites), that's obviously not going to happen as long as Americans are able to keep our national identity. On the off chance that the USA has somehow declined economically, politically, and militarily to the point where Mexico(or some other foreign country) is able to successfully able to project military forces into the country, which is extremely unlikely due to the logistical difficulties and military disadvantage involved in mounting an invasion on America(and that's not just cultural posturing, as things stand now at the time of typing would be very difficult, America has the second-largest military in the world, with 1.5 million active personnel, and spends more on its military than any other nation on the planet. Add in the fact that we have plenty of armed citizens in the country due to our liberal gun laws, and our opponents would have one hell of a fight on their hands), however if someone did manage to find a way to conquer us, America would still continue to exist in the fictional hetaliaverse as we would still promote our group identity above that of our oppressors, sort of like a horcrux. A nation's identity will weaken as the nation it represents weakens (e.g. the people who identify themselves as American). So, to use Poland as an example, even though the state of Poland was destroyed for a long time, the national identity of Polandβ€”the idea of being Polish, still existed, as did their language, etc, and so the nation survived. This wouldn't work for some nations, such as Rome, because the eastern and western empires had begun to think of themselves as separate autonomous empires.

I also believe the the adaption of cultures and language is the growth of countries as individuals. For most countries, what keeps them as themselves, without becoming different personalities entirely is the values dissonance between generations. Tolerant and forward thinking way back when, is considered offensive and bigoted now. (Be honest now, even if your grandparents were widely regarded as wonderful human beings-as they no doubt were, at our age would their views on race, gender, sexual orientation, pre-marital sex and several other issues jibe well with current popular thought?) A famous example would be the Papal Inquisition, which is usually portrayed as a sinister and oppressive organization, but upon further examination the Inquisition was revolutionary lenient for its time, as it limited the use of torture (which was very common in secular courts), allowed the defendants legal representation, and issued death sentences much less often than in municipal proceedings where petty thieves usually were sent to swing. However all this pales compared to the fact that the Inquisition was the first legal body to place the burden of evidence on the prosecutor. Yep, Inquisitors pioneered Presumption of Innocence. [link] Anyway, people change, it's a fact of life if not nature. However; change can be gradual, and people may keep the core of their character intact for much if not all of their life, just as a traumatic experience may well abruptly change someone completely, if it's traumatic enough, and/or has the right social factors, etc they won't be able to survive it. Countries would reflect that. When a society changes outlook or personality than when they started, the nation would change with them.

Though, one issue I have been thinking over lately, and your "Latin culture and people have long endured regardless of the Western Empire's demise" comment brought to mind is that if APH's Germany really ends up as HRE with amnesia, Vatican city should be the same, only with the Western Roman Empire(they do have ATM machines that use Latin, you know~). I don't personally believe this should be the case with either as Germany's claim to the title is based on Nazi propaganda(if anyone has a right to HRE's title it's the Principality of Liechtenstein, as following World War I, Austria attempted to annex the principality; however, an international court ruled that Liechtenstein was a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire and, therefore, owed allegiance only to the Holy Roman Emperor. Yet, somehow I don't see Liechtenstein being revealed as HRE...) and Vatican City's was based mainly on the forged Donation of Constantine(which at least the Byzantine and western rulers mostly accepted, as most of it's claims can be based on Charlemagne being crowned Emperor of Romans by the Pope. He won his empire on the battlefield through military genius; he did not owe it to a Pope. Yet the Pope of the time made it appear so, cleverly executing a "coup." In the eyes of all, the Papacy had been symbolically exalted above the authority of the secular power, setting legal precedent. Charlemagne held no grudge-though he is reported to have grumbled about it, however Pope and Emperor had too many interests in common at the time to permit much ill-feeling. There had been what is described as a "marriage" formally linking the spiritual power of the Pope with the temporal power of the Emperor. The two were joint sovereigns on ear, and this was made official when the Byzantine Emperor recognized Charlemagne as co-emperor after he united by conquest nearly all the lands of Western Europe into one political unit.), neither one of them are a sound foundation for basing one's character origins.

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BellAoFire [2011-06-29 20:43:22 +0000 UTC]

she haz no boobz

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R-ninja In reply to BellAoFire [2011-06-30 20:32:23 +0000 UTC]

Nope.

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