I’ve already touched on this before. My opinion hasn’t changed.
– Feedback
shouldn’t inherently be expected. You’re not entitled to someone’s thoughts
just because they read your work. However, if you like a creator’s work,
feedback is the best way to keep them going.
– I think
engagement is more important. This includes likes, follows, reviews,
favourites, reblogs etc., Yes, there is a hierarchy in how some are more
valuable than others, but I’m not favourable of the “likes do nothing”
argument. They’re still a show of support and they do do something. Be grateful
for any level of interaction you receive.
– I saw @feyna-v
bring up an interesting point in reference to how the fandom is fragmented into
“niches.” That is, people will gravitate towards specific content. Since
popularity levels have dropped, these niches have become smaller. You can find
their post here [x].
While this is true, my only
qualm is to look at follower counts for specific blogs and to analyze the
engagement levels at a localized level = meaning, look at the engagement levels
of your followers. Then take the engagement levels of one niche and compare
them to others to verify if this is a fandom-wide issue. From my experience,
Hetalia does have an issue of low engagement. It’s not about how many people
are here. It’s about the ratio of engagement of the people in the fandom, compartmentalized as it may be, that
matters.
– Personally, I think a
1:10 ratio is healthy, and it’s what I believe this fandom should aspire for in
supporting our creators. This would entail 1 follow/ like/ reblog/ favourite
per ten people.
– If you write solely
for feedback, Hetalia isn’t the place for you. I learned that the hard way when
I wrote for nearly two years on ff.net, garnering 100s of readers and yet I was
lucky to get between 2-5 follows, favourites, and reviews. I’m not going to lie
and say that it wasn’t discouraging.
It’s a horribly shitty
feeling to write a 10k chapter (a minimum of 40 hours of work) and get excited
about potential responses, only to feel like you’re sending your heart and soul
into an unappreciated and empty void. What I had to learn before I came here is
that people read your work for a reason, and while they may not overtly show
it, they still appreciate it.
However, I would be lying if I said that the low levels of
engagement didn’t affect my confidence as a writer. Perhaps it was because I
began writing during such a vulnerable and lonely time in my life, but I now
have a colossal aversion to uploading fics. I’ve since moved towards private
writing but would like to begin updating again when I get my life back in
order.
– Last
point: If you complain to your
favourite author about not updating and don’t support them at all (i.e., no
follows, no likes, no reviews etc.) you have a lot of nerve. We’re not obligated
to create anything for you, just the same as you’re not obligated to support us.
It’s the same thing as the
working in a service sector argument.
To avoid the chronicity of rude, entitled customers, there’s the
belief that every person should work in the service/ food industry at least
once in their life. That way, they don’t treat the workers like shit because they know what
it was like to be one.
It’s the same thing for fanfiction. Become a creator and you’ll
see for yourself how much time and effort is put into it. It’s why I’ve noticed
that other creators are the best at giving feedback/support if they like something because they know the process
and what it’s like to be on the other end of the screen.
Do you have a theory on Germania? It seems weird
that Rome is still his friend in heaven if he did kill him. Also Himaruya wrote
something along the lines “it’s ‘believed’ he killed Rome” so… he
didn’t really kill him?? Also he says they’re friends, but later says they hate
each other, with Persia and Germania being all buddy-buddy taunting Rome. And
why is he Prussia and Germany’s dad when Rome is a grandfather?
– Yes, it is weird. You are right that the matter
of whether Germania really did deliver a fatal blow to Rome is left open-ended.
It’s neither a yes or a no.
– That’s also true. His character notes do tend to
contradict each other. I covered this more in detail in my characterization
post of Rome, although that was written after you sent in this ask 😊 [x].
– That last question isn’t necessarily true. The
relations between them is incredibly wonky. Germania’s referred to as both the
father and grandfather of Germany in different pieces of canon material. Search Hetarchive’s profile of Germania.
Image: Grandpa Rome’s Visit Home, Hetarchive.
I genuinely learn so much more about the manga
after you analyze it and uncover those hidden messages that have been embedded
into Hetalia ❤ Any chance you know a little something about India and/or
Thailand? Thanks anyway!
I’m glad!
I do know some things and anyone can too if they search the relevant character tags on the English translation
of Bamboo Thicket, provided by Hetarchive! (ah geez, I sound like a
telemarketer…)
Not all information can be found on the blog, though!
Just for fun, here’s one
fact each.
India: He has
considerable stamina.
Source: Halloween 2011 Event, Hetarchive.
Thailand: He’s somewhere around 22
years old according to Himaruya.
Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., Nov 26th, 2010).
I got a question about the U.S. states. I
know they are not officially canon, that’s not what I wanted to ask. In the
sketch Hima showed what they’d be like, am I mistaken or did he confirm that
they would not be America’s children but his relatives, like Germany’s states?
And that they were all male (brothers I think the state shown said)? I may be
wrong though, it’s been awhile since I seen it, but my friend got into it with
me over whether it disproved the whole his children thing.
Note: Originally in my
State-talia post, I accidentally cropped and posted an image from the question
below in the same Q & A where Himaruya created a hypothetical dialogue with
the states. Nothing about the information I gave or said was incorrect (again,
total accident and you can verify in the initial reblogs to see that I haven’t
changed what I said), but the image was misleading (it had to do with computer
programs/software being personified). Still not sure how that managed to slip
past me [x].
Anyways, no. They’re not personified. We got a dialogue of
what it would be like if they existed. There is no confirmation of their
relation. All we know hypothetically is that while some possess “mixed feelings,” they still “love America very much.”
Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., Jan 10, 2015).
Tbh, I don’t even know
where to start with this lol. This blog is pretty much dedicated to proving
that whole assertion, so I would recommend checking out my post directory 🙂
People have yelled at me before for me asking
for them only to give me proof for things, since i dont believe just from
someones word. No one ever wants to give proof and gets angry from me not
wanting to believe them until I get proof. So I’ll ask you, does Belgium have a
cannon nyo? And does France have a canon mother (Gaul i think it was)?
I’d suggest removing
those people from your life. If they can’t respect you, then they’re not worth
your time.
Belgium has a canon nyo. Just remember that the nyos that have made appearances in the manga don’t exist
in the same world. There is no canon Gaul. While it’s still not canon, Himaruya
has pondered over the idea of the Kingdom of the Franks being a parental figure to
France.
Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., April 1rst, 2011 + May 6th, 2008).
America: You need to stick up for yourself more.
Canada: What are you talking about? I’m a lean, mean, assertive machine!
Also Canada:
In this post, I set out to prove against claims that Hetalia’s narrative promotes division and necessitates hatred among the
characters. Quite the contrast, Himaruya’s writings have shown that while
history may be rough, filled with grudges and periods of hostility, friendship
and camaraderie will always prevail. It’s for this reason that characters who may
experience a sudden, turbulent, heated, and disastrous pit in their
relationship will eventually gravitate toward the other and find it in
themselves to reconcile over time.
It’s much more complicated than hatred. Grudges exist but
they aren’t permanent. Political relations add more complexity to how the
nations negotiate their personal lives, which, in turn, adds more nuances to
their relationship. Some common themes, or rather stages, depicting the
aftermath of these fall outs include: resentment, external hostility to hide
feelings of nostalgia and longing, reminiscence, and reconciliation.
Point is, because history is a central tenet in depicting
the nation’s lives over time, their relationships are made to be dynamic. While
I have touched on this before, I would like to go into more depth with two specific
relationships. That is, China and Japan, and England and America.
That said, let’s tie this back to the strips.
China and Japan:
China raised Japan and considered him to be his younger
brother, albeit Japan’s denial of this. The two nonetheless shared a very close and
emotionally intimate relationship.
Even in the midst of rising political
tensions between their nations and other conflicts, it didn’t compromise their
personal relationship.
The breaking point in their relationship was Japan’s
betrayal of China. Japan enters an unsuspecting China’s home, asking for
forgiveness before stabbing the latter in the back.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, the Japan in this panel seems
to be forcefully dissociating himself from the situation, divorcing his
emotions with a blank face to complete the task.
I say this because later, we
see China crying about how war has changed Japan. At the time, Japan wanted to become stronger. What’s important to note is that the strip portrays Japan as the antagonist, highlighting the consequences of greed and an imperialist mentality.
We then learn that China developed a strong grudge against Japan for this betrayal.
However, it doesn’t end there. While we don’t get much insight
or interactions between them in the interim, they are able to reconcile.
China’s character song “Aiyaa four thousand years” gives us the best
perspective on China’s feelings over the matter, as it nostalgically covers his
early relationship with Japan and ends on a note of forgiveness with his wish
to be able to gaze at the moon with Japan again.
Source: Hetarchive, The Story about the Early Days of China and Japan
Skip forward and this reconciliation becomes apparent as
they openly interact with each other with no hostility. While they aren’t as
close as they used to be, notable steps have been taken to improve their
relationship [x].
England and America:
Just like the above example, England and America go through
several bumps in their relationship. However, what defines them best is that
they swing back and forth in a pendulum of hostility, bickering, longing, and a
need for the other. In the present, the bickering is still present, but it’s
playful in nature rather than hiding a latent grudge from the past.
Personal vs Political
Ex: After the Revolution, the two had tense relations. This
doesn’t stop America from becoming distraught after hearing that England fell
ill as a result of the conflict [x].
You’re not my friend, but I still need you
Ex: America refuses England’s offer to be friends, yet in a
volume 2 character note we know that America wasn’t well liked following WW2
and that only Japan and England were considered to be his real friends.
Source: Hetarchive, Black Ships Have Sails + Volume 2
Longing vs Refusal to Acknowledge
Ex: America gets
nostalgic when he cleans his storage closet and recovers items from his childhood
with England.
Source: Hetarchive, Cleaning Out the Storage.
Ex: England
dreams of his time spent with young America and sleep talks, making fond
remarks.
Meanwhile, this is the same person who would go out of his
way to criticize and nitpick at every little thing America did. While England can
be incredibly rude, it’s not for no reason. There’s a deeper meaning to it;
it’s a symptom of the heartbreak he experienced and his poor way of coping with
it.
Source: Volume 3, England Dreaming of Long Days Passed.
Ex: Bedridden and
gravely ill, England’s last wish is to have America say “England” like he used to.
Source: Comic Diary 3, Hetarchive.
Reconciliation
As mentioned, their relationship in the present has moved
more to that of teasing.
All in all, I often use these two relationships as examples to
illustrate how time makes relationships in the series dynamic. They aren’t
static in the sense that the past defines their present experience. Without a
doubt, the past does have an impact, but the fact that they’re immortal has to be
factored in if we’re to analyze how they are granted more opportunities to
overcome their grudges.
Me: Time to go to sleep.
Brain: Overthink every embarrassing and awkward thing you
did today.
Ellawritesficssometimes 