You can see my OTP from my domain name~ My name is Zia and my dream is to archive all hetalia arts and tag them in detail. I only have one NOTP in hetalia and I've stopped posting it since months ago, but any pairing other than that, I will post it on my blog. I love drawing (with a pace of snail) and reading fanfics. That's all I guess. *Queue Schedule : 10 posts from 7am - 12am GMT + 7*
Tracking flags since 2015 Jul 27
“We need soldiers rather than philosophers.” -Il Popolo d’Italia, 1928
One of the reasons why I made this comic is because I see stuff like this every so often:
And yes sometimes it’s done in a genuinely funny but a lot of times I think it’s because people forget that nation-tans are characters on their own too, and not just robotic manifestations of their leaders or government policies–after all, most nation-tans have been through multiple differing governments in their lifetime, but every time there’s a coup it doesn’t mean their personality immediately changes. Regarding Italy in particular, I find him really fascinating because, well, he certainly does not fit the description of Mussolini’s cult of virility and heteronormativity, which encouraged aggression and implored males to be the “military, uncouth, and virile” beings that they “naturally” were, as opposed to the “feminized” intellectual bourgeoisie that was looked down upon. “The fascist regime pursued a pedagogy of virility potentially aimed at every male of every age, proposing once again the ideal masculine model of the combatant devoted to action; in this way it aimed to fight the negative product of modernity: the reflexive, hypersensitive and frail man whose passive and uncertain character derived from an excess of rationality.” (Sandro Bellassai, “The Masculine Mystique”, 2005) In light of this, while it’s been shown that Feliciano can be an efficient fighter if he wants to, he’d much rather be cooking, flirting, reading and making art and music. He’s much more interested in exploring other cultures rather than dominate them, and while his exact sexuality is unconfirmed, he is definitely not straight. (my head canon is he’s ace pan/quoiromantic!!) Rather than being a contradiction, this is probably a good representation because, even with all the propaganda and militaristic programs Mussolini put into place, inevitably not everyone could live up to the standard, and some people of course just blatantly ignored it. (There’s also some question about the effectiveness of the regime’s early military training, due to the Italian army’s actual performance during the war, but that’s a whole other issue–and probably)
For all the times he’s the butt of all the jokes, both in canon (ESPECIALLY in the dub), and in fandom, who just want to make him out to be nothing but Germany’s whiny uke, (the very TITLE of the series is a pun on how “useless” he is) Feliciano Vargas really is one of the wisest characters in the series. Despite, or maybe because of said “uselessness,” Italy seems to have stumbled upon an important truth as well–the truth that the pursuit and lust for Power is ultimately detrimental, and it’s just so much worthwhile to try and learn about and appreciate the wonderful things about people, even if they’re different than you, and even if it means being considered foolish. It’s the little victories in life that are much more important to celebrate than the conquering of others. Whatever shady things his government might be up to at any point in history (colonization *cough cough*), Feliciano couldn’t be less concerned with chasing after power and glory–for all his ditziness and for all the times he’s made fun of in canon for being “weak,” remember that as a child he turned down Holy Rome’s offer to “become the greatest nation in the world” because he saw the effect it had on his grandpa. Italy knows that power, while it sure might feel good in the meantime, only leads to more stress and devastation, and it never lasts. It’s something that Grandpa Rome himself learned as well, as seen in the episode where he visits Germany and is asked why he disappeared. “I thought my wealth and power would last forever,” he says. The Rome that Feli remembers, the old man scarred by age and time, is so different than the Duce’s imagination of a sublime, godlike being of unstoppable force and glory. It’s not just about the physical resemblance, but the attitude and meaning behind the representation as well…
And I speculate that Mussolini probably viewed Feliciano more as “the grandson of Roman Empire” rather than as an individual in his own right.
Extra Notes:
-On the first page: in 1925 Mussolini gave permission to Cesare Mori to start an intense and violent crackdown on the Mafia, which while at the time was purported by the government to be successful, when in actuality… it was not. It also caused several mafia members to move to the United States.
-idk my perspective and scenery game is pretty rusty but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t inspired by the vast architectural interiors of “The Conformist”…
-The Rome Statue is holding the Fasces, which was the symbol of authority in Ancient Rome and from which the Fascist party adopted as its symbol (and name) as well.
-The whole suspicion of intellectuals was kind of the most incredible thing for me, like I’ve always known that dictatorships are suspicious of intellectuals, but the sheer lengths they went to demonize it was just…kind of ridiculous. Mostly because they demonized intellectuals by associating it with being an “infertile intelligence,” and (*gasp*) associating it with femininity “but in the worst sense, for it is a femininity that will never be maternal.” Um yeah. The tenets are just rooted in misogyny…
‘tsk, look at you- all battered and bruised. it’s a good thing your caring big brother beat his ass for you, no?’
‘hyung, please don’t talk to me like i’m five…alright, i needed help but come on- he gave up because of my naval blockade too.’
‘fine, fine. still, the nerve of that delusional boy, why, who does he think he is-’
Joseon dynasty!Yong Soo and Ming dynasty!Yao at the end of the 1592-1598 war with Japan, where Japan basically invaded Korea but was defeated after China intervened. This was because Joseon Korea was a tribute state to Ming Dynasty China, not to mention Japan was attempting to use Korea as a staging point to invade China. Still, the naval blockade run by the Koreans was also important to starving the Japanese army of supplies, which led to eventual surrender. And as a descriptor, big brother/little brother is quite…literal:
“At the end of the day, its forward elements stood deeper into France than those of any other division. The opposition the Canadians faced was stronger than that of any other beach save Omaha. That was an accomplishment in which the whole nation could take considerable pride.” - John Keegan, British historian.
On June 6, 1944, now known to history as D-Day, Operation Overlord, the long-awaited invasion of Northwest Europe, began with Allied landings on the coast of Normandy. The task was formidable for the Germans had turned the coastline into a continuous fortress with guns, pillboxes, wire, mines and beach obstacles - and on it depended the outcome of the war.
The military planners had given Canada a major role on D-Day: to take one of the five designated beaches where Allied forces were to land to begin the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany. The Americans had Utah and Omaha beaches in the west, then came the British at Gold, then the Canadians at Juno Beach and finally the British at Sword on the east.
The greatest seaborne invasion in history was aimed at 80 kilometres of mostly flat, sandy beach along the Normandy coast, west of the Seine River, east of the jutting Cotentin Peninsula. Canada’s objective was right in the middle.
There were about 155,000 soldiers, 5,000 ships and landing craft, 50,000 vehicles and 11,000 planes set for the coming battle.
Before dawn on D-Day, 230 heavy bombers from RCAF No.6 Group pounded German shore batteries with 860 tons of bombs. And in the daylight hours, RCAF fighter squadrons flew top cover for the invasion beaches. Fifty Canadian destroyers, frigates and corvettes assisted in covering the invasion, providing anti-submarine escort and bombarding shore targets. 14,000 Canadians stormed ashore on Juno Beach and were the only force to capture all their initial objectives that day, at a cost of 1000 casualties, of which 350 were fatal.
In preparation for the invasion, Americans, British and Canadians underwent months of special training. Supplies were amassed in southern England. Ground, sea and air forces rehearsed endlessly to ensure perfect timing and co-operation.
Ever since Sweden left the Kalmar union in 1521-23 - and to some extent before that as well - Sweden and Denmark has been arch enemies. They hold the world record for being the two countries at war with each other the most. If an opportunity for one to attack the other appeared during the 16th and 17th centuries, you bet they would take it. Even in the late 18th century, Sweden was referred to as the “Arch enemy” in Denmark
However, by the 18th century, the political climate in norhtern europe had changed. Denmark’s power had only gone downhill since the 16th century. After several attempts failed to win it back after 1656, Denmark had come to terms with the fact that Scania was most likely lost to sweden forever, along with Halland, Bohuslän, Härjedalen and Jämtland. Things had also changed for Sweden. Russia had suddenly become a lot more dangerous in the beginning of the 18th century, after Sweden suffered a crushing defeat, Russia took over as the major power in the baltic. Hence throughout the 18th and 19th centuries (and also the 20th for that matter, the Soviet union isn’t exactly harmless either) Sweden was constantly fearing and hating Russia. Denmark, on the other hand, once the tyrannic and posessive older brother whom Sweden had to defend himself from in order to survive as a country after finally breaking free, was not really much of a treath anymore. Hence, Sweden had a new arch enemy - Russia.
so though they were still enemies in the 18th century, Sweden and Denmark weren’t particularily keen on fighting each other. Denmark was forced into declaring war on Sweden in 1788 as a result of a treaty with Russia. The “Theatre War”/“lingonberry war” ended pretty quickly when the Danes/Norwegians gave up, and has later been viewed as “not a real war” (hence the silly nicknames). Maybe they should both give up on the enemy thing and try being friends instead.
The clothes in this comic are not completely accurate; Denmark and Norway are wearing military uniform-ish things, while Sweden is dressed in some fancy stuff i pretty much made up. I also tried giving them some more 1700s-ish hairstyles, because they look a bit more historically correct that way and also long hair is pretty :)
