Since you asked, I'll repost what I posted in the latest headcanon thread:
Finland - was totally bros with John III back when he was the duke of Finland (John was only 18 when he first came to Finland, and they did all kinds of boy stuff together) - had a distant crush on Catherine Jagiellon - felt like an honorary uncle to Sigismund (son of the two above people btw.), even after he was dethroned - cue conflicted feelings - had a mutually tsundere relationship with Per Brahe, but deep down they cared a lot for each other - fanboyed Alexander II so much it was like an infatuation (and borderline embarrassing for Alexander) - was somewhat scared of Urho Kekkonen, but also completely emotionally dependent on him
Sweden - thought Gustav Vasa was one scary guy, but he also made Sweden feel strong, so he clinged to him - was slowly going nuts even himself when ruled by the crazy king Eric XIV - had such a boycrush on Gustav II Adolf it's not even funny except it is. And never got over it. - hated Gustav III's fashion sense. With passion. (Because Gustav forced him to follow it.) And felt iffy about the guy's dictatorial rule as well, up until the Anjala conspiracy, when he felt Finland was going simply too far and took Gustav's side. - saw Per Albin Hansson as a kind father figure - won't be quite over Olof Palme's death for a long time
Russia - was scared shitless of Ivan the Terrible, but also thought Ivan was his only guarantee of safety, and tried to be tough to make him happy. Ivan's reign was the point when he seriously started going insane. He still sometimes hears Ivan's voice talking to him, or thinks he does. - a bit like that with Stalin, too - admired Peter the Great a lot but wished he didn't make him cosplay Holland and move his capital around... (but he didn't dare to do anything oppose him, though Peter's new ideas drove him nuts sometimes, in that less scary way)
It's like everybody has someone in their history who scared them but kept them safe from outer enemies... and they had a screwed up relationship to that person.
no subject
Finland
- was totally bros with John III back when he was the duke of Finland (John was only 18 when he first came to Finland, and they did all kinds of boy stuff together)
- had a distant crush on Catherine Jagiellon
- felt like an honorary uncle to Sigismund (son of the two above people btw.), even after he was dethroned - cue conflicted feelings
- had a mutually tsundere relationship with Per Brahe, but deep down they cared a lot for each other
- fanboyed Alexander II so much it was like an infatuation (and borderline embarrassing for Alexander)
- was somewhat scared of Urho Kekkonen, but also completely emotionally dependent on him
Sweden
- thought Gustav Vasa was one scary guy, but he also made Sweden feel strong, so he clinged to him
- was slowly going nuts even himself when ruled by the crazy king Eric XIV
- had such a boycrush on Gustav II Adolf it's not even funny except it is. And never got over it.
- hated Gustav III's fashion sense. With passion. (Because Gustav forced him to follow it.) And felt iffy about the guy's dictatorial rule as well, up until the Anjala conspiracy, when he felt Finland was going simply too far and took Gustav's side.
- saw Per Albin Hansson as a kind father figure
- won't be quite over Olof Palme's death for a long time
Russia
- was scared shitless of Ivan the Terrible, but also thought Ivan was his only guarantee of safety, and tried to be tough to make him happy. Ivan's reign was the point when he seriously started going insane. He still sometimes hears Ivan's voice talking to him, or thinks he does.
- a bit like that with Stalin, too
- admired Peter the Great a lot but wished he didn't make him cosplay Holland and move his capital around... (but he didn't dare to do anything oppose him, though Peter's new ideas drove him nuts sometimes, in that less scary way)
It's like everybody has someone in their history who scared them but kept them safe from outer enemies... and they had a screwed up relationship to that person.