#also I still don't know what to think of Hima's interest in the roman empire. I don't know what to make of the anime emperors.

[breitzbachbea]

1, 6 and 26!

Thank you for asking!

Hetalia Ask Game

What got you into Hetalia?

I honest to god don't remember anymore. I somehow must have stumbled over it somewhere and thought "Oh! An anime about countries and history!!! How COOL!!!" I remember that I definitely still watched it on some German anime pirate site called proxy dot to or something.

6. How has Hetalia affected history for you?

Not at all, if I'm truthfully. I've always absolutely loved history. Ancient history especially, all thanks to my mother. I wanted to become an egyptologist when I was in primary school, then an archaeologist and since I was 14 or so, 'history professor' was the avowed goal. These days, I don't exactly know what I'll end up doing, but it is definitely within the field of historical sciences and everybody pray my school keeps up its super cool Masters programm that basically qualifies you to work as a public historian.

Hetalia has definitely opened me up more to contemporary culture and a wider interest in the world. I love the manga for its tidbits still, even if I don't save them as genuine information lest I looked them up myself. And writing fanfiction really gives me an outlet for my curiosity and encourages me to learn about the world! I can apply knowledge to stories about charming, little characters and because I want to write about all the charming, little characters, I have concrete avenues within which to seek out knowledge about other parts of the world! I love it, it's really cool.

(Also, I did bring my Hetalia mangas to school and had my teacher read them. Luckily, he found it very funny and in retrospect, it was much less cringe than you'd expect.)

However - I think people who create historical hetalia content are very cool people and put a ton of effort into their things. But I do think that Hetalia isn't a very good tool to really discuss history. It starts with how you define a country. Is it the concept of a modern nation state? When do states start? What is the difference between peoples and states? Do they represent solely their peoples or also their government? To which degree can they act independently? If you asked me on how to write historical - or even contemporary - Hetalia correctly as an exploration of the world, I would have you write a clear definition of your terms at the beginning of each fanfiction. The same way you have to define the terms you're using at the beginning of a book or paper. This is the only way that the history then depicted can be correctly interpreted and analyzed by everyone who engages with it.

'But isn't it just historical fiction -' It is not, because historical fiction deals with fictionalized events and real people, not with personifications of entire countries. Difference. I do think though that both hetalia and historical fiction can be a great way to make people emotionally attached and attuned enough to something that they then start to care about the facts. I tell ya what, I don't care much for American history, but Hamilton got me into reading a wholeass Wikipedia article on the whole scandal. Historical fiction, especially if it's popular, does make its own statements regarding the past and the present and has its own stances, which then shapes public discourse. It's still art and needs to be treated as such and 'historical accuracy' often misses the point. But it is art and not historical scholarship.

History is very, very complicated and messy, by virtue of it being a product of human existence. Trying to cram that into a human being is impossible.

26. Who would be the one character you would love to meet?

Oh, hm, good question! They're all rather silly, though, aren't they, by virtue of it being a comedy slapstick manga. I could say one answer for solely not safe for work reasons, which I won't. But it starts with T and ends with y.

I think I'd like to meet Romano somewhere in South Italy. The man is so fretful and self-conscious in the manga, I'd just wanna show him that I don't think his self-worth as a country is tied to the economy. Find Salvini parassita grafitti and approve of it. Eat cannoli and Neapolitan street pizza and enjoy the place I love the most on earth right after my homecountry.

#beareplies #kitaychan #aph #hws #hetalia #I have always been a nerd and hetalia was a consequence of that not the other way around #also it is really good if you're mad with someone like say. the roman empire #you can put a face to it and direct your useless anger there. the hetalia personification of the roman republic and empire is going in the #same jar as Marcus Claudius Marcellus from the 2nd punic war. And then I am going to shake that jar REAL HARD. #also I still don't know what to think of Hima's interest in the roman empire. I don't know what to make of the anime emperors. #but if you like the octavian one then FUCK YOU!!! he is not a pretty boy he is a menace and I HATE HIM #he kept caesars ghost alive. crime. bring back ovid EXILE augustus