I literally sat up until three o'clock to finish this story. It's so goddamn perfect. Historical accuracy is one of my biggest kinks when it comes to fanfiction, and by god, did you do it. I want to write a longer review, but my brain is kinda fried from the awesomness. Love it.

Beautiful! Bravo!

By the Gods, this is amazing! It has such an interesting and original plotline, and all the research you put into it really shows. You also don't have any spelling or grammatical errors that I could see, which is more than I can say for most of the authors on here, and makes me love this story even more.

Sweden and Denmark's gender confusion throughout this was hilarious! Throughout the whole thing, I was half expecting Roma to randomly pop up one day and be all 'SURPRISE! You're both chicks!' That, or have them randomly wake up one day and realize they're going through a much different puberty than they expected -

This whole story was just great, and now I have to go read all the other parts of the series! Keep up the amazing job!

Wow... Amaizing. I'm truly speechless. I loved genderbending, characters, details of history, cultures and myths (expecially Väinämöinen warmed my heart). Just wow... I have to calm down a pit and come back later to give better review about this. Now I just can't think properly. Wow...

I am, as of this moment, speechless. This is ASTOUNDING. AWESOME. AMAZING. And many other positive adjectives beginning with "A".

I am blown away. Completely and utterly. This is perfect. Perfect.

But you probably want a more constructive review than simply my many adjectives beginning with "A", so here it is in convenient list form:

1. Characters: I usually stay away from genderbend fics, mostly because many authors cannot make that transition without gender stereotypes getting in the way of the characters in some way. You, on the other hand, have no problem with this. Norway and Finland are completely believable and in character as girls, and Sweden and Denmark are completely believable as boys who are actually girls. The strength of your characterizations goes far, far beyond gender, which is something I rarely see and is extremely refreshing.

And just the characterizations in general are excellent as well. They are well rounded, three dimensional, with motivations and needs and flaws. Sweden is not just silent and strong, she is shy, insecure, but kind. Finland is soft, gentle, but has hidden strength. Denmark you especially did justice to. He (/she) is so often portrayed with silliness and obliviousness as his/her only character traits. You certainly preserve the sense of playfulness and rashness, but he is a complex character too. As you say so aptly "buried beneath his brother's rambunctious, impulsive surface is surprising canniness and depth". (As a closet Denmark fangirl, this line made me very squealy.)

The relationships between them is perfectly written as well. I especially like the sibling rivalry/friendliness between Norway, Danmark, and Sweden. It is very well portrayed. And Sweden's indescribable longing for Finland is excellent too. Strong enough to be powerfully effective, understated enough to be believable.

Anyway, all of the characters you write with accuracy and believability.

2.) History and Culture: Oh. My. God. You did this so well. I am a history major, and you must know that I WORSHIP YOU FOR ETERNITY for putting such incredible historical and cultural detail into this. For being a manga and an anime about history, it is surprising how little accurate historical Hetalia fic there is out there. Most of it is either badly researched, plotless, boring, or AU. Hell, the only fic I've ever written for this fandom is AU, because it's easier. This fic is none of previously mentioned things. It is extremely well researched, it's plot, though long and complicated, is very present and uses history to its great advantage. The entire thing is so very engaging. And you incorporate the fact that they are the embodiments of lands so well and so creatively. The rivers as veins, the feelings of others like them, the awareness if their people.

And OH MY GOD the mythology! Especially Väinämöinen. I cannot really accurately describe to you my reaction when I read that. There were tears of pure geeky glee involved. And flailing. And much squeaking of the words "OMG Kantele! She wrote about the kantele! And she referenced the Kalevala! I'm so happy!"

And you have a colour-coded timeline. The effort you have obviously put into this is absolutely astounding. I am floored. You inspire me.

3.) Writing: There is obvious effort here too. The present tense is an odd choice, and a bit jarring at first, but I think it s executed very well. After the first couple of paragraphs I didn't even notice it anymore, and it adds a certain rawness to the impact of the story which makes it emotionally intense.

Additionally, your writing excellent. You have a wonderful style: descriptive, complex, and highly philosophical without being overbearing or boring. Your sentences flow seamlessly together. You have a lovely, poetic turn of phrase, almost Tolkien-esque while still your own, which I love. You certainly write very serious prose, but you are not above having humour in your story as well. I don't really read very closely for grammar or spelling, and the small errors I noticed (typos mostly, it seems) were not distracting in anyway. And you use VOCABULARY! Wonderful words! You make this geek most happy.

Okay. This review is getting wicked long, so I will close with a fangirlish rant.

I cannot believe I did not read this sooner, I think it deserves much more praise than it has gotten, and both this work and you are going on my favourite and/or alert lists immediately. I wait with great anticipation for what you come up with next, and I wish I was in your headcanon, because it's obviously awesome there.

Okay. I am done with this monstrous review. I'm sorry that it's so long. I don't usually review, so I wanted to make it count.

Thank you for this lovely story and the hour or so of intense enjoyment that it brought me!

-The Madly

I absolutely love your all aph works, this one in particular! Story involving history and Nordics, what could be better? Only thing I could ask more is... more stories, please!

(I have to mention this (even if it makes me a nitpicker), but in your story Sweden started his travel in Turku/Åbo and ended up in Lieto. The Problem with this is that while there might've been a market place of sorts in Turku area, the real living center of the time was in fact Lieto and the narrow area around river Aura (archaeologists call this Aurajokilaakso Aura river valley) was probably the most densely populated area in Finland (Proper). The river itself was an important waterway to Old castle of Lieto.

wiki/Old_Castle_of_Lieto)

Okay, you know what? If you EVER put down your writing again where I can read it I will attack you with a spoon. Which is like a knife, only more fun, because it's dull. Get that "Probably a major fail" warning out of my face, and stop poisoning the well.

Firstly, I really like the Germania teaching Sweden scenes. It's just so, eh, perfect. Germania knows her practical stuff, and she will teach you the important parts and you can pick up the rest. The impractical however, such as all that gender crap, you're on your own. "This time, Svíþjóð does more of the work setting up the fire, and the hand she rests on his head once it flares up into life feels better than a thousand words of praise," by the way, this line is made of all kinds of love. It is pure love, and just works so well with the reserved personalities of both characters. Gesture and deed are worth so much to Sweden, and it is righteously adorable.

Denmark's introduction was also hilarious. Sweden notices it because the trees are extra silent. Oh Den, you might be capable of being quiet, but you'll never be subtle.

On that note, and because your other reviewers haven't really talked about it, I adore the parallels that one can draw between all of those Norse myths and the favorite sister/brothers. "Heat and cold bringing forth existence creates such a lovely duality, and really you could read that as Roma and Germania, setting the stage for a myth that is about what has already happened, and what will happen in the future. "It all comes down to cycles, little one," oh WOW! Such beautiful paralleling. I could go on and on about this. In fact, I think that I will.

Again, the dualism of "the abyss at which lay the frosts and ice of Niflheim, opposite the burning heat of Muspellsheim" could be either the older generation, or the younger. Admittedly with my reading of the two characters, Sve ends up actually being on the side of the giants, what with all the cold and tallness, while Den ends up with the fire and the light, and the gods. Which really messes with my mind, and probably was not what you intended but authorial intent is unnecessary by all the laws of pomo, and I like having my messed up mind. Plus, it might be true that Sweden feels a bit like an evil giant now and again.

Nar. Anyway, now that I've subjected you to my disturbing theories, let me say once and for all that this was awesome, and I enjoyed reading it.

~ MF

Oh my god. Just... oh gods...

*exploded from historical epicness*

You have put my own little plannings for a historical gender-bender to SHAME, woman. D:

The amount of effort you put into this is kinda staggering.

The fall of the Roman Empire... and Germania... and and and...

*speechless*

I salute you. (And thank BE7 for sending this to me.)

Oh, my god. Historical geekery ftw! A timeline and plenty of maps... and gender bending... I love you so much!

The Nordics are all so cute, and the interactions between everyone and the mentions of the other regions of the world-!

You're amazing.

... You be incredibly happy I have no idea who you are or where you are and that my wallet is too thin to afford an all-through America search for you, 'cause if I did I'd hug you and kidnap you.

Oh dear sweet heavens above, all the references! The Dalahäst! Väinämöinen! Audhumla! Everything! Even the otherwise obscure Ullr got a mention!

It's all so amasingly interesting with the old North, and even still to this day there are things to be uncertain about. Like the Old Norse word Finnr that is still debatable. Some people claim that it actually might not be what it sounds like, that it actually might have been a word for the Sami people and not for the Finns regarding the stories about "Finnr" you can find in the old scriptures like the Edda and so on, given that the magic spoken about in those sources seem very similar to the shamanism-like magic of the Sami people. Not to mention, anyone who hasn't ever heard the Sami language or Finnish could probably confuse the two of them, but that's more an idea of my own so it could be that I'm bullshittin', but I wouldn't say it if I didn't think it was possible. That there might have been some confusion in which one's is which when it comes to Sami and Finns in the old age, I mean.

Also an interesting think about Norse magic; it was primarily used by females, and was seen as "Ergi" (/unmanly) for most part, despite the headgod Odin having some great knowledge in it. This belief lived for many years in the north, even around the 16th century it was a great shame for Swedish troops to be accused of using magic to win a battle, since it was, as mentioned, unmanly and cheating.

Gah, why am I babbling on about that? I can't resist, when I finally come across someone who seems genuinely interested in these things!