Hetalia fanon
Aug. 9th, 2010 03:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
transemacabreThere's tons and tons of fanon for Hetalia, some of which is based on history-canon, and some of which is just plain made up. Unfortunately, sometimes its hard to tell what is and isn't canon. With that in mind, I'm trying to document FANON that is commonly mistaken for CANON.
1. America and Russia hate each other. This is pertinant to my interests as a Russia/America shipper, because a common argument against my OTP is that it's 'OOC' because America and Russia allegedly hate each other.
The truth is there's not much in canon to suggest that they DO hate each other. All that Yandere Cold War smut is based on very little -- there's the strip where America and Russia are sending each other boxes of extra-small condoms to psych each other out, which to my mind is hardly the basis to portray them as having a crazed hatred. There's not much evidence to suggest that they're in love, but neither is there much to suggest that they hate each other.
2. Canada being portrayed as delicate or petit. Poor Canada gets stuck with being 'the girl' because of his wallflower personality. He is shown in the manga and anime to be the same approximate height/build as his brother, America.
3. Poland crossdressing. He DOES crossdress a couple of times in the strips, but its a bit of a stretch to portray him as a transvestite. He is, if anything, turned into 'the girl' more than Canada is, which is a shame because he has unique personality traits of his own, such as his shyness, his utter refusal to die, and the fact that he appears to be the only character who isn't afraid of Russia.
4. Russia stole Finland from Sweden. Not touched upon by Himaruya yet, but there's been several fics that portray Russia snatching Finland away from Sweden in 1809. Historically, Finland willingly left Sweden to join Russia. I imagine this upsets shippers who prefer to look at Sweden and Finland as being happily married lovebirds, but I think this has waaaaay more potential for interesting fic than yet another Ebil Rapist Russia keeps Sweden from his True Love Finland scenario.
5. Russia notices Canada. I've seen this in several Russia/Canada fics. Russia straight up sits on top of Canada in one strip, people. Canada is totally invisible to him. It's canon that PRUSSIA notices Canada, not Russia.
6. America is stupid. America is without a doubt self-centered and sometimes an asshole, albeit one with good intentions. But at least some of his idiot/oblivious persona is an act -- if "I'll just pretend I can't read the mood" in WDC World Dancing doesn't convince you, Himaruya has stated that America pretends to be stupider than he is.
7. There's no such thing as state-tans! There are no known personifications for America's states, but other personifications have been shown: Japan's prefectures is an obvious one.
8. Nazi Germany/Nazi Prussia. Himaruya was sensitive enough to sidestep this issue and he doesn't portray Germany or Prussia as being passionate Nazis, even during the WW2 storylines. Its canon that Germany thought Hitler was crazier than a shithouse rat. Because Hitler was his boss he couldn't go against him, and there's not much to suggest that he or Prussia are passionate Nazis. This is a major pet peeve of mine because so many braindead fangirls use this as an excuse to draw 'sexy' pictures of Germany and Prussia in Nazi uniforms, or to cosplay as Nazi Germany and Nazi Prussia and go around seig-heil'ing like idiots at cons.
9. America is a jock/popular kid. I see this one a lot in AU stories, but it crops up in regular fic, too. Canonically, America's only real friends are Lithuania, England, and Japan. Clearly, several other characters such as Canada are important in his life, but this idea that he's super-popular or 'rules the school' or something is totally uncanonical. I think its plain that he bugs the shit out of most of the other characters.
1. America and Russia hate each other. This is pertinant to my interests as a Russia/America shipper, because a common argument against my OTP is that it's 'OOC' because America and Russia allegedly hate each other.
The truth is there's not much in canon to suggest that they DO hate each other. All that Yandere Cold War smut is based on very little -- there's the strip where America and Russia are sending each other boxes of extra-small condoms to psych each other out, which to my mind is hardly the basis to portray them as having a crazed hatred. There's not much evidence to suggest that they're in love, but neither is there much to suggest that they hate each other.
2. Canada being portrayed as delicate or petit. Poor Canada gets stuck with being 'the girl' because of his wallflower personality. He is shown in the manga and anime to be the same approximate height/build as his brother, America.
3. Poland crossdressing. He DOES crossdress a couple of times in the strips, but its a bit of a stretch to portray him as a transvestite. He is, if anything, turned into 'the girl' more than Canada is, which is a shame because he has unique personality traits of his own, such as his shyness, his utter refusal to die, and the fact that he appears to be the only character who isn't afraid of Russia.
4. Russia stole Finland from Sweden. Not touched upon by Himaruya yet, but there's been several fics that portray Russia snatching Finland away from Sweden in 1809. Historically, Finland willingly left Sweden to join Russia. I imagine this upsets shippers who prefer to look at Sweden and Finland as being happily married lovebirds, but I think this has waaaaay more potential for interesting fic than yet another Ebil Rapist Russia keeps Sweden from his True Love Finland scenario.
5. Russia notices Canada. I've seen this in several Russia/Canada fics. Russia straight up sits on top of Canada in one strip, people. Canada is totally invisible to him. It's canon that PRUSSIA notices Canada, not Russia.
6. America is stupid. America is without a doubt self-centered and sometimes an asshole, albeit one with good intentions. But at least some of his idiot/oblivious persona is an act -- if "I'll just pretend I can't read the mood" in WDC World Dancing doesn't convince you, Himaruya has stated that America pretends to be stupider than he is.
7. There's no such thing as state-tans! There are no known personifications for America's states, but other personifications have been shown: Japan's prefectures is an obvious one.
8. Nazi Germany/Nazi Prussia. Himaruya was sensitive enough to sidestep this issue and he doesn't portray Germany or Prussia as being passionate Nazis, even during the WW2 storylines. Its canon that Germany thought Hitler was crazier than a shithouse rat. Because Hitler was his boss he couldn't go against him, and there's not much to suggest that he or Prussia are passionate Nazis. This is a major pet peeve of mine because so many braindead fangirls use this as an excuse to draw 'sexy' pictures of Germany and Prussia in Nazi uniforms, or to cosplay as Nazi Germany and Nazi Prussia and go around seig-heil'ing like idiots at cons.
9. America is a jock/popular kid. I see this one a lot in AU stories, but it crops up in regular fic, too. Canonically, America's only real friends are Lithuania, England, and Japan. Clearly, several other characters such as Canada are important in his life, but this idea that he's super-popular or 'rules the school' or something is totally uncanonical. I think its plain that he bugs the shit out of most of the other characters.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-30 09:37 pm (UTC)Even so, I wanted to say...
1. America and Russia hate each other
I'm a hardcore AmeRus shipper, but I truly think there are hints that they dislike each other in the present. When America celebrates his birthday party, the tension between them makes (what looks like)!Latvia tremble with fear and say "scary"...at least after the Cold War, it seems the waters are still troubled. Which doesn't mean they don't have feelings for each other from their speculated friendship during the 1800s, or that they can't learn to get along again, long to do it, or even develop lust for each other (either new or carried from the Cold War, which most of the fandom usually consider just a huge case of UST xDDDDDDDD)
7. There's no such thing as state-tans!
I'm also a huge fan of the state-tans, especially as America's kids with other nations. But the fact that Texas exists as America's glasses kinda justifies this fanon belief, doesn't it?
8. Nazi Germany/Nazi Prussia. Himaruya was sensitive enough to sidestep this issue and he doesn't portray Germany or Prussia as being passionate Nazis, even during the WW2 storylines. Its canon that Germany thought Hitler was crazier than a shithouse rat. Because Hitler was his boss he couldn't go against him, and there's not much to suggest that he or Prussia are passionate Nazis. This is a major pet peeve of mine because so many braindead fangirls use this as an excuse to draw 'sexy' pictures of Germany and Prussia in Nazi uniforms, or to cosplay as Nazi Germany and Nazi Prussia and go around seig-heil'ing like idiots at cons.
While I agree that Germany, in canon, was definitely not a nazi (and poor Prussia wasn't even around in those strips), it doesn't mean they didn't wear the uniform or salute as they should back then. Germany clearly has to obey his boss' orders whatever his personal feelings are, probably because he was elected by the people, and because his boss was extremely controlling; if he has to obey, he probably follows dress code and salute code for a person of his status and job in his country at that time.
9. America is a jock/popular kid.
This one's funny, because in a way it's totally true, America is actually a lonely nation in terms of friends (I'd go as far as saying that his supposed friends are so...very reluctantly, except for Lithuania. And Lithuania hasn't interacted with him in the present strips at all, except in his birthday strip, where he interacted with everybody).
But the thing is, I kinda see where people are coming from. America has the atittude of a popular person; and because he's the most powerful of the countries, and imposses his will with his exuberance on others, it's not that far-fetched to think that, in a verse where most of the others weren't vastly older than him, he'd become the popular type. Other two facts that aid this fanon theory is that he's gorgeous in the most conventional way (contrary to most of the other characters; the only ones that conventionally attractive would be Spain and Germany), and that he was fought for by the others --> the others want America --> America is popular. I realise this was when he was a kid, but stillXD. And it just occurred to me that his Friend To All Living Things status probably doesn't help discouraging the notion that he's popular...even with Mother Nature! xD)
The rest, I completely agree with. There are many more, actually, like everybody and their mother calling England 'Iggy', or asuming that his friendship with Japan survived to the present. Hetalia fandom is full of them, because there's very little canon to draw from.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-07 06:16 pm (UTC)8. Oh, C'MON, you and I both know that the fanbrats who dress up in Nazi costumes and prance around seig-heiling at cons aren't doing it out of a dedication to being 'true' to the character (there's nothing to suggest that its particularly true to either Germany or Prussia) they're doing it because they like fetishizing the Nazi costumes! It's a weak rationalization to justify their behavior, and I'm calling bullshit on it. Would people say its okay for me to dress up in a Confederate uniform and run around cons waving a Confederate flag at the black people if I claimed I was doing it to be 'true to history canon'? When you utilize imagery and costumes like that to get your jollies in public, its gross and disrespectful.
9. One of the things I find saddest about Hetalia fandom is that when Himaruya subverts our expectations, the fanbrats ignore it and reduce the characters to stereotypes. Yes, America is the type of personality who, stereotypically, would be portrayed as the popular kid. But the fact that he obviously annoys the shit out of most of the other characters, and is a bit of a handful to deal with, and has a tendency to go in all gung-ho and hog the glory for himself, that's characterization. That's WAY more interesting to explore than flattening his character to fit the Idealized Jock Hero mold.