Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam )

The Republic of Vietnam (ベトナム共和国, Betonamu Kyoowakoku), or South Vietnam (南ベトナム, Minami Betonamu) is a somewhat posthumous character for the series Hetalia: Axis Powers. She is sometimes referred to as  Nam-Ha ( ナムハ)  reflecting her older twin sister 's ''Bac-Ha. ''Her human name is Nguyễn Thiên Hương.

Formerly Cochinchina, she became more colloquially known as South Vietnam after the 1950’s. Prior to 1471, she was referred to as the Kingdom of Champa.

While deceased in canon, she has made several appearances. Usually, she appears in strips set before the 1970's; most of which have an amusing focus and take on historical wars and battles in Asia. Her ghost appears in other strips set in modern day.

(Please read the note in the trivia section!)

Appearance
South Vietnam has a near identical appearance to her sister North Vietnam, with honey gold eyes and black/brown hair. A key difference however, is that South’s hair is in a bob with middle-parted bangs. She also wears an ao ba ba, with a scarf hanging around her shoulders. Sometimes, South is seen wearing a non la. She tends to get quite messy from enthusiastic farm work. Despite this, she’s described as having the aura of an elegant princess. This part of her appearance is conveyed through how she's often seen with lotus flowers blooming near her. She's seen as beautiful even among the human-nations, who are generally considered beautiful/handsome by default. It's said that the main reason was this was due to her famous aloe exports, as well as Frances tendency to doll her up while she was living with him. Even so, South’s face of anger is also noted to be incredibly terrifying, and that it's easy to tell when she's angry because even her neutral expression is horrifying.

Before the two were split, South wore her hair in a messy half-bun, with thick middle part bangs. The half bun was set with a white ribbon that matched with her older sister’s red ribbon. South’s former boss forcibly cut her hair into a short bob since she 'looked too much like her sister'. America later tidied it up for her.

Other than general differences such as hair and clothing, South Vietnam is often mistaken as Vietnam’s twin due to similar heights and facial structure. However, it’s been remarked by America that South is a lot more softer and slender, with her face being “much gentler” than that of her older sister’s. South also weighed more than North. For how she carries herself, she tends to be seen as older, which North Vietnam complains about.

Around the time of her death, South was said to look worn out and had longer, messier hair which was tied in a loose ponytail. She was also more scarred and bruised, despite being a country capable of healing in a day, and had lost weight. All of this was a byproduct of losing her status and power as a result of North Vietnam’s actions. Wearing military garb, South looked a lot more like her sister at that point than in any point in history.

 (Her appearances have been updated since 2014 [2019]) 

Personality and Interests
Originally a noble turned farmer, South was described as a doting crybaby, yet terrifyingly unpredictable. An incredibly patient woman, and in spite of her surroundings and tendency to get messy, she had a unique elegance and charisma to her that was magnetic. She had tendency to take things a bit too personally sometimes. She's noted to be a little bit more romantic than her sister and had a flowery way of talking, perhaps an effect of staying in France's house for so long. She viewed a lot of things with the big picture in mind and considered worldly effects. She had a strong sense of what was right and wrong, which compounded into a somewhat naiive and innocent outlook despite the war-torn history she had. The girl was generally more open to the foreign world than North Vietnam, though she was incredibly insecure and frustrated with her own strength; both admiring and resenting her sister for being what she couldn't. Despite this, she often fretted about North's struggle to make proper friends.

When the situation needed South Vietnam to be serious, she gave off a serious noble hero type of an aura, being very diligent and determined. She had a way of remaining optimistic in the face of adversity, though this was arguably a kind of stubbornness she didn't want to admit. She spoke her mind and scolded those around her for doing wrong, having a kind of maternal sternness to her. On more civil occasions with the other Asian countries, it would've appeared as though South Vietnam was the older sibling. She was aware of her own beauty, and after coming home from France often fretted about her looks.

However, there was a strange period during South Vietnam's life where she was quite aggressive while her sister calmed down; during which she started and won wars with Thailand and Cambodia at the same time. She was obsessed with conquering and spoiling herself, which ironically lead to North Vietnam taking advantage and consolidating power over their shared land. Like an underdog protagonist however, South Vietnam learned from her old ways and matured, while North Vietnam became an increasing nuisance and bully in the Southeast Asian sphere. After beating North, South proceeded to unify both of them into one whole Vietnam. Her maternal, dream girl personality came to form around this period. She was somewhat like her usual self during her days as Champa, however, she often engaged in pirating and raiding.

She harbored an interest in Western Culture and in spite of how she was spoiled by France over her sister, disliked anything that was too expensive to afford. South Vietnam was noted to have been frugal with her money, but often sold things at cheap prices. Out of the two, South Vietnam was often seen as weaker and more submissive. This resulted in South getting bullied multiple times from all angles, impacting her self-esteem and augmenting her doubts in her own strength. South was much happier spending time in her garden or on the river. As a former noble, she was quite talented in dancing and singing as well.

Other nations also noted how there was a certain kind of bravery to her; referring to how she rose up against her sister and succeeded in the unification of north and south after the Trinh-Nguyen war. Though, South often found herself needing to rely on others to get by - a trait she despises. According to France, it was almost terrifying how capable and brutal South Vietnam could be in combat, and how skillful she was in diplomacy — though these traits were something she never fully realized herself. While she's older than most countries, the memory of being Champa feels more like a dream to her, and she tends to forget she was ever a royal country.

Towards the end of the Vietnam War and despite initial popularity among others, South Vietnam was eventually looked down upon by most countries for continuing to fight for a doomed cause. South's outlook on the world had also changed, rendering her peaceful disposition to become more hostile. It was during this time the peaceful and tender country grew increasingly catatonic and paranoid, swinging between immense fits of rage and bitter crying; unable to accept the reality of it all. She feared her weakness and her certain doom, yet continued to fight more vigorously than ever. In the end, she became desperate and violent, and was eventually killed by her own sister. Around the time of her death, South Vietnam truly believed that no one was on her side, and that she was fated to die alone. Still, she was described as having a calmness to her in the final days leading up to her demise. According to Thailand, the last country to properly interact with her, she carried herself with the grace she possessed fighting underneath the Nguyen, but had a sadness and regret in her eyes she wasn't able to convey in the fullest. She barely spoke, and barely registered much other than the occasional forced smile of reassurance; it had seemed that at that point, she had accepted her death.

As a ghost in modern day, she's watched the world evolve and grow, and has mostly returned to how she was before the war. She's a lot more wistful and tends to follow other countries around to observe what they've been doing. There's a gag that despite not being able to be seen by most countries, her presence is felt more often than Canada's. In recent times, it seems the only countries who can see her are the ones who were affected by the Vietnam diaspora post-war, and even then it's only occasionally. Strangely enough, Romano and Prussia can see and interact with her normally. On the other hand, it's implied that Vietnam can see her sister, but doesn't acknowledge her.

(North) Vietnam
A pair of complicated, close, tragic siblings. North Vietnam quickly established herself as the older and powerful sister, moving out of China's house though she often fought with him. On the other hand, South Vietnam remained with China, who in contrast to how he treated North, doted on her. During this era, she was known as Champa. As South Vietnam began positive relationships with the world around her, North Vietnam intended to take South Vietnam back to her house so they could be together again. Due to the Cham-Vietnamese wars being so horrifying and traumatic, Champa had something akin to induced amnesia (seen in some large kingdom countries that quickly turn into a singular one ie. HRE). She was taken back to North's home, and renamed South Vietnam. Throughout their lives, even in times of conflict and civil war, the two sisters had both loved and admired each other. Still, there was a kind of resentment and envy between them for not having what the other did. They were described as having completed each other; the peaceful but dependent South, and the fearsome but lonely North. Because of this complex yet affectionate relationship, it was almost surprising that North Vietnam had it in her to kill South Vietnam at the end of the 2nd Indochina War.

In the first few centuries of adopting South Vietnam, North was quite awful towards her, with South not really being receptive or obedient of her sister. As a result, South and North often fought, underneath the influence of Nguyen (of the South), and the Le-Trinh (of the North), and eventually the Tay Son, the sisters had trouble properly unifying in the struggle for control and power. North Vietnam and her bosses often denied South and her bosses any influence, asserting dominance as the elder sibling. However, with the help of Nguyen Ahn, Thailand, and France, South was finally able to beat some sense into North, and made peace. Thankfully, their relationship began to improve tremendously shortly after 1800, with the arrival of the prosperous Nguyen dynasty. Before the end of WW2, the two spent almost every second with each other. Out of the two, South tended to be heavily favored by other countries for her agreeable nature, something North would often get annoyed with South for. North was incredibly stern when it came to South Vietnam's personality, often scolding, and instructing her to be more harsher with others. At the same time, North would always rush to her sister’s rescue, due to how frequently other countries bothered South. In return, it was said that the other only person who could properly 'deal' with North Vietnam was South. South Vietnam was North Vietnam's greatest weakness, as North couldn't really bring herself to say no to her little sister, and while she didn't show it often, did care for South dearly. North also enjoyed getting showered with affection by South immensely (though she would often hide it), and would be vehemently against South offering the same treatment to other countries. There was a certain kind of possessiveness North Vietnam had over South, which was something the younger tended to find troublesome.

After rescuing South from France’s place, North Vietnam and South kicked France out of their home— but the consequences and negotiations that followed cut down on a lot of the personal time they spent together. While both had hoped they’d be reunited soon, they knew that their differing ideologies, as well as their companions, would complicate things. The Hien Luong Bridge was where the two parted as individual countries rather than sisters who shared one, and from there, they were known as North and South Vietnam.

While the Trinh-Nguyen war caused a temporary split, and a war that South Vietnam won. It ended in treaty, which allowed the two to continue to coexist. North however, repeatedly and forcefully made attempts to take back and be with her sister as a singular Vietnam, though she was always stopped by USA or other allies present in the offer to protect South.

As the years dragged by, fighting with her sister took a toll on her emotionally. Often, South Vietnam would express a desire to go back to her sister, but that desire was overtaken by a need to be strong and independent. While she had only hoped to have her sister see some sense like she did before, at some point during the war, South Vietnam realized that North Vietnam wouldn't hesitate to kill her for standing in the way of being a unified Vietnam. By the time USA left with a measly treaty, South Vietnam was emotionally broken; she knew that North Vietnam would not respect the peace negotiations, but now had no one to help her. She continued to fight two years after everyone had left, out of desperation, and survival instinct kicking in. North Vietnam’s power and strength, as well as the desire to be one Vietnam had quickly and inadvertently caused South’s power as a nation to fade. Though the war was tiresome for both sides, it was South Vietnam that was killed by North during the fall of Saigon. Without the South sister, North Vietnam eventually came to embody a unified Vietnam. Realizing what she had done, despair and guilt wracked North Vietnam as she attempted to destroy any trace of her sister left in their home, save for South Vietnam's diary and a picture.

South Vietnam still exists, but only as a ghost living in Vietnam's house. She's noted to be proud of her sister for softening up and making friends, and for continuing to grow as a healthy country. For how humble and shy her sister is now, South Vietnam finds the difference between that and how she was in the past staggering, but not unwelcome. All in all, she's quite pleased with how quickly Vietnam has matured since her death. Vietnam doesn't seem to realize or acknowledge the ghost; whether or not this is on purpose to block out the guilt is debatable. In fact, North Vietnam seems quite prickly if she's reminded of South Vietnam, asking "who?", but really getting reminded of her just makes her sad.

On a somewhat lighter note, and amusingly, Vietnam's shyness and self-conciousness towards her appearance stems from how most countries tended to shower South Vietnam with compliments over her (as evidenced by how historically, most countries often paid nicer attention to the southern areas of Vietnam while the north was attacked).

America
Her former mentor and closest friend, America and South Vietnam had a powerful, tragic, and bittersweet relationship which resonated with the rest of the world, even after her death. He had met with North Vietnam during WW2, but did not actually get to see South Vietnam until the first Indochina War. It's implied that seeing South Vietnam for the first time made him feel things, so he left the battle immediately to think - despite France asking him for help in suppressing the sister's revolution. He started keeping a special eye on her after that, getting worried about how because of his war with Russia, China and North Vietnam would attack South (and eventually, the rest of Asia). In a way, he was doing his best to keep South Vietnam safe from the shadows; North Vietnam even noticed him, to which he'd usually warn her against introducing South Vietnam to Russia and China. After the establishment of the State of Vietnam, he was formally introduced to South Vietnam alongside the rest of the Southeast Asian family. Fortunately for him, South Vietnam was already quite the fan of his even before even they met - something he didn't expect, and it was socially and emotionally overwhelming for both sides to finally get to talk to each other. USA, improvising a way to protect and watch out for her more reliably, announced the decision to constantly visit and maintain close contact with South Vietnam until the reunification - but after the death of their bosses, he moved in with her and stayed until 1972.

America moved in with her shortly after the 1954 Geneva conference. South Vietnam saw this as odd, and despite already liking him on a fangirl level was slightly concerned. To ease her worries, USA put it for her simply; he did not want to lose her to China - such was the beginning of their partnership. He began to put in a lot of effort modernizing her, investing a lot of his time and money into her. He truly wanted to make her happy being with him, since he knew that she missed her sister, and often surprised her with gifts. He described himself as something like her bodyguard, or even a hero making sure the damsel is kept safe from a threat; later, he promised South Vietnam that as long she was with him, she wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt. On a more human level, it seemed as though America had puppy crush on South Vietnam, something he didn't really know how to deal with. Each day spent with her, and listening to her vent about the troubles of being independent, he became even more determined to keep her out of harms way from both inside and outside forces. After their bosses were assassinated, he moved in with her.

Slowly but surely, the pair was rarely seen without the other nearby. She grew to regard him as one of her closest and only friends, as she was having trouble actually interacting with other countries as herself instead of a French colony. By his side and at least in their early decade spent together, South Vietnam was the healthiest (economically) and happiest she was in her life - having some degree of freedom, albeit without her sister. He would often try to impress her with his 'hero' talk, though South Vietnam very much preferred it when he wasn't trying to do just that. South was notably, and surprisingly, one of the few countries who could actually put her foot down around America and scold him without much resistance or complaint. On the other hand, he sometimes made fun of her for talking like an old lady, and treating him like he was younger when he was a lot bigger than her. They had fun for a time, and according to the rest of the Southeast Asian countries watching them, had fallen very much in love with each other (whether this was romantic or platonic, who was to say).

For South Vietnam's sake, USA brought the world together in their fight against North Vietnam; a move which benefited both of them and brought the two into world spotlight - though, South had her apprehensions about the USA doing that. He also took the role of being her mentor, training alongside together. Even as the war escalated and grew increasingly violent by the day, the two found comfort in each other. However, USA had grown increasingly protective and defensive of South Vietnam, determined to hunt down North Vietnam if it had meant that South and her family were safe. On the other hand, South Vietnam grew worried about how USA seemed to be tuning everything out other than protecting her, and realized that at some point he had stopped using that wide hero smile of reassurance. Watching him, she knew that psychologically the fight was taking a toll on him, and parts of her began feeling afraid.

America kept insisting that he knew best, and that the best option was for both of them was to stay together. She also began to fear for America hurting her sister seriously, culminating in an incident where she shot America's hand to buy her sister time to escape; a scar he still has to this day. Other nations began to see the situation as hopeless; to America, this was only a long term fight he had with Russia, where he was fighting for a moral cause, whereas South Vietnam was fighting to stay alive. Even South Vietnam herself had begun to lose faith in him after a series of attacks he failed to prevent. He genuinely believed that there was no way South would've survived being a country without him; in doing so, he had put so much pressure on himself for both him and South Vietnam to win, and other countries who had initially supported the pair saw that. Her trust in him wavering, she was still convinced that he was the only one who could pull her out of this mess, and believed that he wouldn't abandon her - not after how it was made very clear that North Vietnam would stop at nothing to reunify with her, whether South was alive or dead. Despite this, the backlash was so intense, and privately, America began to make plans to withdraw from her completely - albeit slowly, and to ensure her survival. In short, America and South Vietnam's deep attachment to each other became their downfall.

America, trained South Vietnam intensely so she could defend herself, as he made plans to gradually stop supporting her. However, after a failed solo mission and several violent stalemates, America knew that the only way South would be kept safe was through negotiation with North. He had North Vietnam promise him to leave South Vietnam alone in peace, and with that, left. South Vietnam, feeling betrayed and falling into the depths of bitterness and depression, knew that North would not stop until she completely took over. She was right, and North Vietnam continued the attack for 2 more years; a fact America knew but was powerless to stop.

On the day North Vietnam stormed Saigon, South Vietnam had Thailand give USA a letter expressing her feelings. Written inside was how she never wanted an untouchable hero, but someone who could be by her side and support her- with whom she could offer a love that only a non-immortal being had the right to possess. She thanked him for being that someone, at least for a little while. 'Hương' also expressed her wish for both her sister and him to rebuild what was broken in her wake. She finishes the letter by asking 'Alfred' that regardless of happened next, to keep smiling for her, as that smile had become her most precious treasure. She was killed several hours later.

Shortly after her death, America developed Vietnam Syndrome, falling into a deep depression. He was unable to handle the grief and humiliation of failing to save South Vietnam, and questioned whether or not he was actually a hero capable of protecting the people dear to him. Until that point, the rest of the world had been quite cruel to him in regards to how he handled South, and he was even blamed for her death; a thought he couldn't properly defend himself against. Other countries however, recognized that America had shown a level of incredible involvement and devotion to a country that no other had even dreamed of, or even witnessed having or doing (at least in a long time). The man was pitied, and was left to grieve for a short while. He went back to Vietnam shortly after her death to save some things that belonged to her - as the now unified Vietnam was destroying whatever she could of South Vietnam remnants. In modern day, while his Vietnam Syndrome had allegedly faded with the gulf war victory, America is shown to get uncharacteristically somber remembering South Vietnam. He still seems to regard her dearly, as he keeps a picture of her on his dog tag, and some of her things that he saved in his attic.

Being one of the few countries to feel her spirits presence, he wonders if she's still mad at him, or if he's still that someone she could've loved. Thinking about her often makes him cry however, so he tends to avoid places that remind him of her/where her spirit might dwell.

Cambodia
As there are many OC's of Cambodia, i'll leave them gender neutral.

A weirdly complex relationship. As Champa, Cambodia often came to her house asking him to marry her, and would throw a tantrum whenever she declined. The two had a good relationship however, until she was stolen away by North Vietnam. Still, they tried to keep in contact with her, but to no avail due to North Vietnam's influence slowly forcing South Vietnam to forget her existence as Champa. During their time as a weakened Khmer Empire, South Vietnam took care of him, though it carried the pressuring atmosphere "if I do this for you, you'll do this for me''. She also defended them from Thailand, albeit to have them for herself. During the Trinh-Nguyen war, Cambodia planned to aid South Vietnam in the bid to place her boss on the throne and unify Vietnam after she helped him with Thailand once again. That said, Cambodia ended up supporting North's control over South.  With the conclusions of the Trinh-Nguyen war, South Vietnam arranged for Cambodia to live with her. Their time wasn't exactly the best, but they were still spoilt; with South Vietnam's weird obsession with keeping things for herself kicking in full force. She often dressed them in her clothes, had them sing and dance for her, and had them accompany her everywhere - effectively, Cambodia was treated like a child despite roughly being the same age as South Vietnam. After rebelling against her, South Vietnam let Cambodia go home, under the condition they send her gifts and to update her every now and then or else she'd cry. Thailand eventually stepped in wanting Cambodia for himself, and the sisters and him fought over them. In the end, it was decided that all of them would share Cambodia as their vassal.

The joint ruling ended when France stepped in. While it was assumedly no better, he did promise to keep Cambodia safe from the Vietnam Sisters and Thailand. Communications between South Vietnam and Cambodia became scarce after that.

The next Cambodia heard from South Vietnam was during the Vietnam War, and while there were still some heavy and awkward tensions, Cambodia tried to cater to South Vietnam by showing support to her. However, this support stopped when USA raided their home looking for North Vietnam. Shortly after, Cambodia worked alongside North Vietnam in expelling USA's presence from Southeast Asia. Tragically, Cambodia had fought with the intention to tear South Vietnam apart to the point she'd remember being the Champa they were in love with.

France
During the time of French Colonization, South Vietnam was called Southern Indochina, or Cochinchina. During the civil-war with her sister, she came to him for help. He continued to act as her mentor and advisor until she finally reunified with her sister. After 1800, South Vietnam thanked him, but had no more use for him; expecting him to leave. However, France continued to pester both South and North— with South apologizing to her sister for introducing him to her, and North not trusting him at all. After about 100 years of hanging around their place, he stole South from her home to keep as a colony.

While originally showing resistance towards him, she dejectedly submitted to him after a crushed uprising in 1916. France on the other hand, found her more gentle, cuter, and less of a problem to deal with than her sister; who was instead a protectorate. As a result, he spoiled her — almost condescendingly so; dressing her up and taking her to fancy parties to show off. He doted on her almost annoyingly, with South Vietnam wondering if this was how Cambodia felt living with her. He held onto her during North’s uprising, but she ditched him, and together they humiliated him. Other than that, South Vietnam had a mostly quiet life as a French Colony, though she was incredibly aware of the constant rescue attempts by her sister. She was given International Diplomatic Recognition in 1950. It was after the first Indochina war that he introduced USA to South Vietnam - an action he still wonders was the right thing to do.

The last time he saw South Vietnam was during the Paris Peace Accords, where he realized she looked completely different. According to him, the last he saw her, it seemed South Vietnam was still quietly processing the awful truth that she was signing away her last hope of survival.

China
The actual older brother of South Vietnam, when she was originally named Champa. Unlike how he treated Vietnam as a child, he spoiled Champa incredibly, and treated her like a royalty. Before Vietnam took her away, Champa and China got along incredibly well, where she would often provide him with comfort during the times China struggled. When North Vietnam conquered her, China tried to defend Champa only to fail multiple times. In the end, China ceded Champa, and she was renamed South Vietnam. As a nation working underneath the Nguyen, South worked with China for anti-pirate activity, and their friendship was rekindled - though he despaired over how South was gradually forgetting her existence as the kingdom of Champa.

When the Ming dynasty fell, South Vietnam would often invite China to her house to make sure he was doing okay. Despite her closeness to the two however, South Vietnam often stayed out of the arguments and fights her sister and China had with each other, and would stay by the sidelines for the sake of her sister whenever he asked for her assistance. It's mentioned that he aided and trained North Vietnam in orchestrating the rescue of South Vietnam from France during the first Indochina War, and the Vietnam claim to independence. He was also one of the few countries encouraging North's desires for unification during the second Indochina War, but had privately hoped it would be done in peace. For a time, he was also the messenger between the sisters private correspondence.

Thailand
A former rival turned good friend, with a possible one-sided crush. South Vietnam fought with him over Cambodia, and for a while fought with him for land, but came to him for help with deposing her sister’s bosses. While he had hoped to impress her and win her over by aiding her, the campaign was a disaster; with South Vietnam feeling bad for Cambodia and helping Cambodia with his uprising against Thailand. He returned to give her assistance again in defeating the Tay Son-backed North, but he wasn't really impressing her; especially since his presence intensified North Vietnam's harassment of her. She eventually just started ignoring him in favor of pursuing her own goals. Still, she did aid him in the fight against Burma, something he greatly appreciated but she really saw nothing to. In short, she was quite cold and condescending to him in contrast to her maternal smile and words; something of hers that somehow seemed to egg Thailand on.

During the Siamese-Vietnamese wars, he often stole South with an intent to marry; usually ending in an angrier North Vietnam fighting him and taking her back home. Generally, Thailand often playfully flirted with South as a joke (usually), prompting the rage and protectiveness of her sister - who he also hit on. Eventually, the sisters got sick of him, and North and South chased him out of their home, as well as Cambodia's.

This changed again when Thailand tried to take over Cambodia and force the sisters influence out, but ended in the Vietnam's and Thailand agreeing to share Cambodia as their vassal. They eventually established a fairly friendly relationship, where they would joke and mess around. During her time as a lone South Vietnam, Thailand and her got quite well. Having watched her and the situation from afar, he became one of the main six countries fighting alongside her during the Vietnam War. He was present during the Fall of Saigon, aiding in USA's evacuation process, and met with South Vietnam briefly. Aside from North Vietnam, this would've made him the last country to interact with South Vietnam before her demise.

South Korea
A friend of South Vietnam and one of the main six countries fighting for her during the Vietnam War. While he was quite determined to impress South Vietnam, like the USA he often ended up hurting her instead. However, the two nations enjoyed each other's company; weirdly enough bonding over their situation of sibling fights peppered with western intervention. He would often proclaim he saw himself in South Vietnam, which would confuse her greatly -- though she appreciated him nonetheless. South Korea promised to keep South Vietnam safe, but like USA, he caused her more grief than reassurance. He was vehemently against the withdrawal, and abandonment of South Vietnam; a topic that negatively impacted his relationship with America, and an indicator of how deeply he cared for South Vietnam. He stayed by her side until the Paris Peace Accords forced him to leave.

Australia
An ally made during the Vietnam War, and one of the main six countries fighting alongside her. He joined the fight out of respect and as a favor to the USA, but found South Vietnam charming. Initially keen on supporting her like the other countries, Australia eventually became increasingly uncomfortable towards the conflicts. He was vocal about the moral ambiguity of the conflict, and was more than relieved to be withdrawn from the battle. While he pitied South Vietnam incredibly, but didn't see the point in fighting for her sake; a point which he often argued with America over. The aftereffects of the effort to help was awful on his home as it was key to the downfall of his boss at the time. As such, he admits some regret in his involvement with her.

England
England was North and South Vietnam's caretaker shortly after WW2; France being too weakened to take care of the two Indochinas. It was described that the two sisters were a mess when he saw them, and that Britain tried to ease things off of them. This was when a 6 month operation began however, as Britain had gotten into a fight with North Vietnam in South Vietnam’s house. Similar to France, he found South Vietnam a lot more warmer than North, and was his favorite out of the two. He also observed how close the sisters actually were, and quietly admired that. England ceded control over to France in 1946, and basically ignored Frances calls for help in controlling the sisters. He headed the conference overseeing the girls reunification. Believing that war could break out with the sisters and considering their strength of being capable to hold their own in a western power fight, England encouraged America to do whatever it took to preserve and secure the safety of South Vietnam against North, with unification being set at a later date, and to take control of North Vietnam's forces before she attacked Laos and Cambodia.

Japan
During WW2, he had the two stay over at his place as his maids. Due to North Vietnam's tendency to go against him, he favored the presence of South Vietnam. Still, both sisters equally resented him for controlling them, albeit they conveyed it very differently. Despite that, Japan promised them independence after the war was done -- though, France continued to hold onto South Vietnam.

Taiwan
South Vietnam and Taiwan had only met once or twice, though Taiwan was one of South Vietnam's first supporters. Sending her support during WW2, Taiwan thought well of her, and saw South as a 'beautiful girl that needed all the help she could get'. She often sent gifts to South Vietnam during the war with North.

Republic of Nikoniko
It's mentioned that while the Republic of Nikoniko was looking for a way to quite being a nation, he stumbled upon records of South Vietnam's physical health being more similar to a regular humans the more power and influence she lost. Thanks to that information, Nikoniko found the answer to quit being a nation without risking himself.

Manga
South Vietnam and North Vietnam share the central focus for the amusing strips on the fights between the Southern and Northern Dynasties of Vietnam, up until the the end of the Trinh-Nguyen War, entitled "Nam-Bắc; How We Became Trung Quốc, Or A Whole Vietnam" .
 * North Vietnam takes a somewhat amnesiac South Vietnam she just conquered under her wing, and South Vietnam feels quite awkward; unable to tell what North Vietnam is feeling. She then realizes that due to how North is behaving, she's very enthusiastic about being an older sister; though, her stoic and strong nature makes it hard to tell.
 * China and Cambodia make multiple attempts to take South Vietnam back home with them. North Vietnam always sends them flying, however. They yell for South Vietnam to remember her true home, but North Vietnam tells her little sister to ignore them. South Vietnam is a bit concerned, but decides that maybe she shouldn't pry.
 * North Vietnam takes South Vietnam around the Vietnamese court, and the nobles spoil and fawn over the South, who they deem cute and a symbol of Vietnamese success. North Vietnam has a plain face in the background, feeling a bit ignored.
 * South Vietnam sees North Vietnam bloodied, and asks her what happened. North Vietnam casually says that an assassination just happened, which freaks the younger sister out; she rushes through a series of questions as she wipes away the blood from her sisters face. North Vietnam reassures South Vietnam that it's normal and that the blood isn't hers. This causes South Vietnam to freak out even more and cry.
 * North Vietnam encourages and cheers on a still hesitant and gentle South Vietnam in their shared rebellion against one of the Mac dynasty emperors. South Vietnam asks North Vietnam why this uprising is so important after countless others, and North says that this one means that the North will finally have powerful influence over the rest of the country. South Vietnam has an inspired, star look in her eyes as she asks if she'll have it too if they win. North Vietnam cuts her off with a sharp "no.".
 * In an omake, South Vietnam cries and North realizes this, quickly comforting her and saying that of course they'll share the power. An authors note is written below this omake, saying that despite agreeing to share power, both sides hoped to gain more influence than the other.
 * South Vietnam picks a man named Le to be the Emperor in the South to go against the Mac, and tells North Vietnam to be proud of her; the older sister congratulates her with a head pat. China suddenly bursts through the door saying that he already took control of the Mac situation by ordering the Mac emperors that they'll have North Vietnam, but not South since she has Le. Satisfied and believing he has saved the day, he wishes the two goodbye and leaves. Both North and South ignore him, and agree to just put Le on the throne.
 * South Vietnam and North Vietnam celebrate finally having peace, though they somewhat ignore the Le emperor, and talk about their bosses. North Vietnam suggests that since her boss ended the main problem, so naturally she should be the most influential. However, South Vietnam disagrees, saying that without her boss and her support, North wouldn't have been able to do much. North Vietnam sees this as South Vietnam implying she's weak, and the two begin to throw hands, arguing with each other as every noble in the court watches; a shady trio of brothers sneak by to take control of power. An authors note below this strip says that while the roots of the Trinh-Nguyen rivalry and the rise of the Tay-Son were much more complicated, it was basically this.
 * South Vietnam is seen having been mercilessly been beat up by North Vietnam, but her boss, Nguyen Anh, assures her that they'll be fine. He contacted some friends who could support them, and South Vietnam tears up with hope. She then sees Thailand happily waving to her in the distance, and she thinks "Ah."
 * Same plot as above, except it's Cambodia being smug. South Vietnam asks Nguyen Anh if there was really no one else, to which he asks if she wants them gone. She says "yes".
 * South Vietnam is in a foreign palace, wondering what her new potential ally, France, is like. Nguyen Anh introduces France to her, and she realizes he's a flirty trash man. Disappointed and frustrated with the lack of actual support, she tearfully yells the Vietnamese equivalent of "GODDAMMIT."
 * South Vietnam spends time with France and realizes that he's actually okay as a teacher, and with his help it's possible that she could win against North Vietnam. France makes a dirty flirty french joke and laughs, expecting her to laugh along. South Vietnam holds back tears with a polite smile, and thinks to herself that she's strong.
 * In another strip post-Trinh-Nguyen War, the two Vietnam's and other asian countries discuss how the sisters keep changing their names with nearly every turn of the century.

As Cochinchina, she sometimes makes appearances residing in Frances house being quite cold towards him while he fawns over her like she's a little child.

South Vietnam and North Vietnam appear in a comic strip together entitled "Vietnam Sisters Fighting!" where North expresses some concern over how South tended to be favored. South tries to help North Vietnam be liked by other countries - though, they just mistake North Vietnam's change in demeanor as South Vietnam changing her look. This depresses North Vietnam, but South continues to push her sister to fight on (while also apologizing).

In a skit titled "1954 Geneva", North and South Vietnam are involved in a discussion when France throws shade and salt about America's lack of direct intervention in Asia; more specifically, on the Vietnamese reunification. North speaks for both the sisters at first in that they want to be unified, and South Vietnam agrees under the condition that they don't listen to China and Russia. The two get into an argument in front of everyone (though it's played as a more sibling style argument). The other countries try to step in but the sisters tell them to shut up, and continue arguing about several things, with little tidbits such as; 'of course' North Vietnam is going to win the reunification vote because she's bigger and how unfair it is since North definitely won't let her have a say in anything if it goes down that way, North criticizing South Vietnam's economy as 'daddy France's' money, South says that at least she has an economy she can live on etc. The other countries present in the conference shrink away, fearful of the sisters and how personal their insults are getting. USA laughs and says that their fighting is hot, France tells US to shut up about that. Russia suggests that the girls should be separated to think about what they want, and the sisters simultaneously yell that they're not going to be separated under any circumstance. A note at the ending says that the other countries decided to seperate the sisters anyway.

America is the main narrator in a series of skits entitled Hero America and (Somewhat Reluctant) Sidekick South about how he was given a mission by his bosses to oversee the development of South Vietnam by moving in with her, and helps her get settled into her new life;
 * USA tries to show South Vietnam cool things that Americans do, but South Vietnam is already a fan of the US so she knows what he's talking about (a bit too much).
 * China arrives to pick up some things on behalf of North Vietnam and talks to South Vietnam briefly, but America is getting pretty weird about it. He later gets pretty pouty about South casually interacting with what he sees as the 'bad guy'.
 * America hums that he's bored, and tries to motivate South Vietnam to do something - which she says she'll do. He realizes she usually puts off his requests for later since she's so busy trying to run a country without her sister for the first time in a while, and is about to annoyingly complain about how he's meant to be the center. She scolds him like a stern older sister which shuts him up pretty quickly, and he apologizes. Thailand and Laos, who are watching, comment that despite the wild changes, South doesn't really change how she treats countries.


 * America styles himself as a hero protecting South Vietnam when she gets concerned about the sudden increase in military personnel around the city, saying that it's a hero's job to defend the girl, maybe even get her. She tries to play along, inviting him on a date since he technically already has her (in the context he moved in with her). He gets red, flustering and quickly making an excuse before running off.
 * In an omake, he calls his bosses and gushes over her, they tell him to stop fawning over her and get on with the mission.

In a more emotionally driven comic titled "Oh How I've Missed You, My Old Friend", Thailand visits South Vietnam a few days before the fall of Saigon. He realizes that in the moonlight how much South Vietnam had changed since America left, and how much she looks like her sister. He tells her to talk to him, not as a nation but as a friend. Everyone has been worried about her after all; South had dropped all contact with everyone once America left. There's some quiet before South begins reflecting on her life; remembering all the details of the southeast asian family, of her older sister scolding her for not listening, of France and how he made her dance for his guests, and of her feelings towards a man she never thought she would miss so dearly. Still, she says that in spite of how tragically it all had to end, she's proud of the life she's lived; of the love, joy, sadness and turmoil she encountered, no matter how fleeting it seemed to be. She also reflects on the existence of being a nation, and what it all means; how they came to existence, and what happens to their people when they die. Following a pregnant silence, South Vietnam asks Thailand if it was right for her to still hold love in her heart considering everything. Thailand tells her "not at all", and she's expresses relief. She hands him a letter to give to America, and says that she'll talk to North Vietnam in person herself. Thailand asks her if she's forgiven both of them, or even all of them. She doesn't answer him immediately, instead finally smiling; a small and pathetic, but genuinely warm smile. South Vietnam tells him that with the years they've shared, he should already know. Thailand leaves the house in silence, and crumples up crying in the middle of the street.
 * America comes back home smiling and laughing with blood running down his temple. South is horrified and panics, but he laughs and says North Vietnam was just mad at him. He quickly adds that the shot was a good excuse, but when South asks him to repeat himself he says it was nothing.
 * North Vietnam and Cambodia try to spy on South Vietnam. North Vietnam looks through binoculars and starts crying with a neutral expression; Cambodia asks what she sees and takes the binoculars from her. They see America laying on South Vietnam's lap with his hair being stroked. Cambodia also starts crying, wishing that it were him - North Vietnam agrees.
 * France accuses America of having favoritism among the Southeast Asian family members he's meant to be protecting. America says he doesn't! A hero protects and cares for people equally. France asks him who he's meant to be looking after, and America can only list South Vietnam.
 * At the Many Flags Campaign meeting, America introduces the main 6 countries who are to support her throughout the war; Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and himself. South Vietnam splutters, thinking to herself that they look more like a boyband than her defenders.
 * In a party, America brags about being the technical creator of South Vietnam. South Vietnam gets upset at him, and angrily rants to him; forcing him to sit down and listen to her about how she didn't fight for nearly 300 years with her sister, constantly reunifying and unreunifying, get taken over by other countries and kick all them out just on their strength alone, just for an outsider to take credit for all the blood, sweat, and tears it took for her just to get here. All America can do is meekly and repeatedly apologize, calling her "ma'am", and how he won't do it again. Once again watching them, Thailand and Laos reaffirm what they said earlier; South Vietnam hasn't really changed in the last thousand years or so. England says it's just impressive that ladylike South Vietnam was able to succeed where so many others failed; putting the USA in his place without the use of physical force.

Modern day Vietnam references South Vietnam in a throwaway line. While Taiwan and the others point out how Vietnam incapable of smiling and laugh, Vietnam admits the reason why is because the only person who could make her smile is dead. Vietnam flusters afterwards, and doesn’t understand why the atmosphere became uncomfortable.

Prussia and Romano are confirmed to be one of the few countries who can actually see and interact with the ghost of South Vietnam. For no particular reason other than they also represent other parts of a whole country; they form a club in the skit "Full Package Countries" and realize a somewhat depressing truth when they remember that South is dead.

In Gakuen Hetalia, in the strip "The 7 Wonders of World W Academy, the newspaper club follow up on shady school rumors. One of these rumors is that the spirit of South Vietnam, a former student at the academy, is often spotted wandering the halls and classrooms. Germany, and Italy are somewhat cautious/afraid of her presence as they search for her, though Japan enthusiastically takes pictures. In a nod to Fatal Frame, Japan spots her through his camera lens and takes a picture. The others see her as well once the flash is taken. She ignores them, and continues walking away. The trio try to follow her, only to lose her as they turn the corner. Japan realizes she can't be seen through his lenses anymore, and when he puts his camera down, South Vietnam is standing behind the group with her eyes shadowed. Italy, unable to handle the sudden jump scare runs away, with Germany and Japan giving chase. Now revealed to actually be a nonthreatening presence, South Vietnam worries that she scared off some students again. America calls out to her and tries to greet-tackle her with a hug, which she dodges. She scolds America to stop doing that since all he does is get hurt. Having tumbled to the floor, America laughs in response; brushing off his accident and saying the reason why he does that is because her scolding is cute. That only seems to annoy her more, though in a more 'irritated but still affectionately patient older figure' sort of way. America continues to bother South Vietnam, now following her as she walks away in a huff. Italy, Germany and Japan watch all of this unfold around the corner, and are taken aback by the bizarre situation; Italy wonders if the story between those two is worth a scoop in of itself, saying that tragic romance always sells - Germany hits him despite Japan agreeing with the sentiment, suggesting they interview South's twin sister for her thoughts. In another classroom, Vietnam sneezes, with Taiwan asking if she caught a cold. Italy and Japan start discussing the potential drama that unfolded with the spirit of South Vietnam, but Germany says that what they're doing is in bad taste and disrespectful to the girl's spirit. Canada sees them arguing, still in their hiding position. He greets them, but is instead mistaken as a ghost, and the newspaper club flees.
 * An omake has Japan interviewing Vietnam for the story of the ghost, who says that she dropkicked America while he was asking her sister out. She dragged South Vietnam away from the recovering boy before her twin could give her straight answer. Japan fervently writes this down, sweating and panting to himself about how the springtime and romance of youth is both mischievous and fleeting. Vietnam asks him if she can leave.

Trivia

 * Her nickname of Nam-Ha literally means 'South of the River'. It is the alternate name of Dang Trong; the historical southern region of Vietnam ruled by the Nguyen, which would expand and be renamed to Cochinchina. Vietnam's nickname of Bac-Ha, meaning 'North of the River', is also an alternate name assigned to the northern region of Vietnam formerly ruled by the Trinh; Dang Ngoai. While Dang Ngoai/ faded out of use with the conclusion of the Trinh-Nguyen war, Bac Ky was an alternate name of Tonkin, meaning 'Northern Region'.
 * The whole thing with South Vietnam being attractive to other countries only for North to scare any one that comes close to her is meant to be a nod at how throughout her history, the Southern regions of Vietnam were often attempted to be taken by foreign countries but were often driven away by the militarily powerful Vietnamese (who tended to be located in the North).
 * IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING the comic strips mentioned here are fake? They don't exist.
 * Nguyen is an incredibly common last name, and was the ruling family of the South for a very long time! Her first name name of Huong, meaning fragrance, is a reference to Song Huong, the Perfume River which was very near the 17th parallel of North and South Vietnam, and runs through the resting place of the Nguyen imperial family. Her middle name of Thiên/Tien - meaning heaven - is meant to rhyme with canon Vietnam's common fanon name of Lien, meaning lotus. It is also meant to be a reference to Lady Po Nagar, the goddess founder of the Cham. After conquering Cham, the Vietnamese adopted her as a goddess, and translated her name to Thiên Y A N.
 * Lien and Huong, should you swap the first letters turn into the Hien Luong, the name of the bridge that separated North and South Vietnam.
 * South Vietnam's birthday corresponds with the founding of the State of Vietnam in June 14th 1949 (which later became the Republic of Vietnam in 1955). However, the date of the State of Vietnam referendum (which was the official day that a new government would be decided for the State of Vietnam) was October 26th 1955, which could count as a birthday. Another birthday could be July 20th 1954, when South and North were split in the Geneva conference. As the State of Vietnam was the root of the two latter dates, I went with the founding of the State of Vietnam.
 * She may be referred to as South Vietnam or the Republic of Vietnam. Her former title was State of Vietnam until the State of Vietnam referendum.
 * Her ideal japanese voice actress would be FumikoOrikasa.South VIet Ref.-0.png
 * Her original design was a young woman wearing an orange ao dai with long front bangs and a short back. Another was quite similar, but her hair was chopped messily to chin-length and had two Hoa Mai flowers placed between both her ears. - New Addition: Her original design on her wikia can be seen on the right - also, I recognize how popular this design was, and also, I've seen people steal my drawings of her over the years. PLEASE DON'T DO THAT!


 * During the Vietnam War, many countries supported her whether or not they were actually involved in the fighting, but eventually began to lose focus; deciding to focus more on the Nations who were dealing with the situation. They demanded that the countries stationed there should just leave due to the lack of progress and damage they were causing to themselves and the Vietnam sisters. By the time her allies left, many found South Vietnam to be unimportant both strategically and economically; many countries even considering her to have been a lost cause from the start.Aph oc republic of vietnam aka south vietnam by otakuhime chan d7cvm91.png
 * The list of countries which supported Vietnam out of the main 6 (Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, and the United States), were Afghanistan, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela and West Germany.

'' OH HEY it's been like 5 years and i'm still not sure what to do with this, or what to think of it. I commend 14 year old me, she definitely pulled through with researching the history of Vietnam. That said, my opinion on a lot of things have changed a lot, yet i've updated a lot of things to be more historically accurate including the design/ Shout out to that one person who didn't like how she looked before, i did this for you. However, I'm very uncertain and unsure of all this now. In short, I think my perspective has changed a little? I now prefer to view Hetalia as solely comedy with a touch of bittersweetness (see the Davie comic strip, or the dog bite comic strip with Prussia), so the chances of incredibly dark and depressive topics such as the Vietnam War would only be alluded to, most likely.There's also the uncomfortable fact to realize that's not so easy to do as someone getting lost in the fandom; a lot of this was real and happened to real people - and applying that respectively to a personification of a country (especially one that's been dissolved) is tricky. Maybe I only feel this way because rereading my history notes makes me feel incredibly awful, realizing how terrible things are. Though, I suppose that's why Hetalia is a comedy. I've left a mix of what I've written as a 14 year old, rewritten some 'oof' bits, and added new things as well - i've tried to write respectively as I could and be historical accurate. I've also tried to add in a bit of 'Himuraya flavors' in there as well, though I don't believe I succeeded. In short, I apologize if this OC was incredibly weird and uncomfortable to read about. ''
 * South Vietnam's creator (Nononon) is aware that her character is a bit too depressing and serious for the actual series. Please forgive me for any mistakes made and tell me if a thing is off historically. Though, I did try my best to make this character be as accurate as possible. My deviantart is Otakuhime-chan, which is silly because I had that deviantart since I was like 11 years old but i still use it (i dont like my username on deviantart but it has been 3 years since then).
 * My plans for South Vietnam is for her to feature in a fan comic (either drawn or written) about the Vietnam sisters and their life dating from the French Colonization to the aftermath of Reunification called "Hien Luong Bridge' . It might feature a few countries that are canon and non-canon. However, it's still in the planning stages but i'm probably going to be too lazy to do anything with it. Cheers and don't forget to stay awesome, my dears. - Nononon / Gwyneth (◡‿◡✿)