New York State

New York (ニューヨーク, Nyūyōku), often referred to as Upstate or New York State to differentiate him from his brother New York City, is a fan-made character in Hetalia: Axis Powers. He represents the state of New York. His human name is Eric Alexander Aaldenberg-Jones (エリック・アレクサンダー・アールデンバーグ・ジョーンズ, Erikku arekusandā ārudenbāgu jōnzu).

Appearance
He has short brown hair, along with a slight beard, and he has dark blue eyes. He also has a long curl that rests on the left side of his head which is said to represent Long Island. Though many have commented on his curl, it's apparently quite important to him, and he'll never cut it, with the only exception ever having been during the Battle of Long Island in 1776, during which it somehow fell out. He's been described as being pretty lean, almost athletic in build. New York tends to dress modestly, choosing practicality over flamboyance. His favorite casual wear is his NYU hoodie, and he often wears a beanie, though his old Yankees cap is another favorite of his.

Personality
New York may have a loud voice, but he's a very mellow and cool-headed young man who enjoys the simpler things in life. His brother, New York City (NYC), more aptly fits the stereotypical loud, brash, and blunt New Yorker. Upstate loathes nothing more than to be confused for his brother, something that happens so very often that he has gotten tired of correcting people and will just let them figure out their mistake on their own. New York seemed to have inherited the Netherland's shrewd businessman instincts, and though financially successful he has been quite bogged down by work, especially in the past few decades, leaving him scant free time. Even so, New York has a strong pining for a rustic life in the countryside, and he particularly loves autumn in the Catskills, and retreats to the lakes of his state whenever he can during the summer. With all his achievements, New York understandably carries himself confidently, and he has a tendency to condescend to others, even if he really means well.

He has a more subtle passion for the arts, and is also a very skilled writer, having published a few novels under a pseudonym in the past, to varying degrees of success. His preferred genre is mystery and horror. He has also tried branching out into music, though begrudgingly admits that his brother overshadows him in that arena. New York is very educated and can speak French, Spanish, Italian, Mohawk, and partly understands Japanese, Mandarin and Arabic. He also remembers how to speak Dutch, though his skills are very rusty as he hasn't actually had to speak it for a long time. His favorite food is halfmoon cookies.

Relationships
New York City: NYC and New York State couldn't be more different despite being twin brothers. NYC's loud, bold personality tends to get on New York's nerves, and he simply cannot stand whenever people mistake him for his brother and vice versa. Despite everything, NY really does love his brother, and wouldn't really know what to do without him around.

Connecticut (Archie B. Winthrop-Jones): New York finds Connecticut to be just a little irritating sometimes. He swears that he's always trying to imitate him, though Connecticut will just deny this, though his case maybe isn't helped by the fact that he used to refer to NY as his big brother when they were children.

Pennsylvania (Annie C. Williams-Jones): Pennsylvania and New York have a friendly rivalry, but have been close for as long as they can remember. Despite her being technically younger, New York will often refer to Penn as "big sis." He is nostalgic for their childhood days, but often finds himself too busy to spend any lengthy time with her.

New Jersey (Broderick S. Murphy-Jones): New York simply thinks that New Jersey is [CENSORED].

Maine (Gertrude M. Kingston-Jones): New York finds most of the New England states to be a bit difficult to tolerate, with the exception of Massachusetts's younger sister, Maine. He adores Maine for her sweet and quiet nature, always being sure to be extra kind to her.

Utah (Aaron Gideon Jones): New York once ran into Utah during a road trip. He noted that Utah faintly smelled like honey, that the boy had this "look" in his eyes, and kept asking him weird questions about "providence." New York hasn't been back to visit Utah since.

Netherlands: He used to live with Netherlands as his colony, under the name "New Netherland." Netherlands taught his sharp business senses to New York, teaching him how to trade and negotiate with ease.

America (Alfred F. Jones): A young America actually sought governing advice from a number of individuals after his independence, with one of these individuals being New York himself. America credits New York for apparently keeping him somewhat grounded during those first few years, and even trusted him to be the seat of his government for a time.

France (Francis Bonnefoy): New York finds France to be a little gaudy, but still lots of fun to be around. Once he accidentally showed up to a private party hosted by France, not knowing that it was his brother, NYC, who had actually been invited. To this day, he's never let his brother know about the mix up.

Trivia

 * New York's birthday corresponds to the date that NY was admitted to the U.S. as a state.
 * NY's curl of hair suddenly "falling out" during the Battle of Long Island is a reference to the fact that the British captured the island, holding it and Manhattan for the duration of the war.