I Deleted The Ask Because I'm A Dumdum, But @sneakystorms Asked Me To Talk About Denmark! So Here It

i deleted the ask because i'm a dumdum, but @sneakystorms asked me to talk about denmark! so here it is, my denmark character analysis through history: warning, this is gonna get long and it will be a mix of canon, real history & my own headcanons!

denmark is a SUCH a fascinating character to me, because he has subtle but really important character development over the centuries!! (both in canon and in my crazy little head)

i think earlier on in his life he was for sure on the cocky side, and he had every reason to be! he and his buddies are destroying the british isles, gaining a presence in continental europe, and being all around incredibly powerful forces. as their presence in britain and ireland dwindles, that's still just fine to him, because now you have the kalmar union! where denmark, sweden and norway (with finland & iceland as territories of the last two) were united under denmark's crown! not only are he and his friends together as a powerful kingdom, but within it he is the one with the most power and political control

we see this manifest in him heavily because he begins to identify as the "leader" of the nordics (both then and in modern times, but i'll get to that later)

he is the leader, he makes the decisions, people listen to him. and that's when he gets too cocky, and it's not just cockiness anymore but a refusal to budge on what he thinks is right. which brings the stockholm bloodbath and the multiple battles that brought about sweden's independence and the end of the kalmar union

and denmark is upset. it's fine for a while, but then things get rough: he begins to lose battle after battle and war after war to sweden. here's a comment that i found interesting: even though denmark kept losing, he continued to risk the safety of the kingdom just for petty revenge

and even some of his other motivations are selfish: pride, wanting to protect the slowly crumbling image of a powerful empire

this also brings into the discussion what i think is a fascinating aspect of norway and denmark's relationship at the time. i think of this in a dennor context but it can be platonic if you'd like! but in both instances of denmark & norway that we see in canon during that time, norway is never bitter at him. denmark is having a rough time geopolitically and he's making mistakes over and over again, but their relationship never becomes strained, because norway cares too much

and in return, denmark who has internalized this idea of him as a leader and a protector comes back to this: he needs to get stronger, needs to make sure it doesn't come to this again

it doesn't last forever. in 1814, denmark-norway enter the napoleonic wars on the wrong side, and as war reparations, denmark must now cede norway to sweden. from himaruya's notes on 1814:

this is a clear example of how denmark's cockiness, his selfishness, his want to be the leader, to best sweden, to get revenge raptured his relationship with norway over time. and the word that stands out to me is childish: denmark is always described as a big brother type in modern day, a little silly but mature, a businessman. not one to throw tantrums and cut ties with his best friend, not because he misses him, but because he lost

and what's left of denmark then? an ex-superpower with increasingly dwindling territory and the man he's been in a union with for almost 500 years given away to the man who's only taken for him for 300 years (albeit, denmark instigated a lot of those doomed battles)

this is where denmark and iceland's relationship becomes so fascinating! because i think now is where the shift begins to happen. don't get me wrong - denmark was never a bad person, he's always cared for the people around him, but he's also been selfish and stupid and careless. and now his best friend's brother is under his care, he's lost everything, and the world stage is changing rapidly. what does denmark do?

well, he tries his best.

he's maybe not as tactful or sweet or comfortable with iceland as he is in modern day, but he tries. as he explains later, he believes he raised iceland. he views himself as his guardian!

also, this is just really cute:

this brings us to the denmark we see in modern day, after two centuries of learning how to be a nation instead of an empire. i think a lot of his modern day personality is a reaction to his past which he deeply regrets. he raises iceland, mends his relationship with norway, even mends his relationship with sweden! he's not the selfish cocky ruler that he used to be, and in my opinion, he purposefully overcompensates, making sure that this time he is listening to others, he is taking their feelings into account, he's more selfless:

we also see how he has redefined his "leader" identity! he still identifies with it, but now he uses it to be a good friend to the people he cares about:

and there he is! denmark, ex warrior, ex ruler, ex asshole trying his best, now reformed dad, friend, and boyfriend, still trying his best :)

there's more to get into, like his relationship with iceland and norway in more depth and other historical relationships like him and estonia, him and england, or him and poland, but that's a story for another day!