PSA to all Hetalia fans

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Please do note that I most certainly did not make this. I got it from here: vriska-and-the-sekrets.tumblr.…

I just thought I'd share this to you guys, since I've been seeing a lot of issues in regards to the rather not-so-sane Hetalia fans. To make matters worse, a lot of wonderful, talented, respected and sane Hetalians have started to lose interest and are leaving the fandom, fast. Sure, I'd understand if these fans only grew out of it and have moved on to a newer fandom, but no, most of them are leaving because of the fans.  We cannot let this happen now, can we? We sane Hetalia fans probably make up only 25% (or less) of the fandom, we can't afford to lose any more people! What would happen if the insane ones fully take over? That would hurt this potentially amazing series. :iconcryplz:

Anyway, I don't want this journal entry to be further lengthened by my rant, so we'll go on ahead to this gem. Spread  the word, you guys~!

PSA: Greetings, Hetalia Fandom!

Hello, people of the Hetalia fandom (and Tumblr). It has come to my attention that there is an increasing number of weaboos and disrespectful people in the Hetalia fandom.

Many people have associated our fandom badly. The prejudice they get from our bad reputation is what deters people from our fandom, and what makes the older fans leave. I may not be able to rectify all of that, but at least, I can make more people aware of what they might be doing in this fandom that may be wrong.

While I may not be the best fan out there, let me show the people the ways of a proper Hetalian. Call me an elitist, I don't care. I cannot simply allow this to continue, not to a fandom I've grown to love ever since I entered.

(trigger warning inside, slight mention of rape)

Respect.

The golden rule. "Respect begets respect." Learn this, and it will take you to places. Respect your fellow Hetalian. Respect the fanartists, the fanfiction writers, the cosplayers, everyone. Respect people from other fandoms. Respect other fandoms. Respect other people's ships. Respect other people's opinions. Respect other people's headcanons. Respect the current and historical events of your country, and other countries as well. Do not ridicule other people because of what they believe in, what they ship, what they like, etc.

Do not use stereotypes to label other people.

Do not ridicule someone who is from (x) country and then apply (x) Hetalia character's or (x) country's stereotypes onto them. This person is an American? Great! They are American, and that is that. Them being American doesn't mean they are a glutton, or they are loud, brash, and annoying. No. Do not assume that upon the first meeting. That is disrespect. In the wise words of a certain singer, "Just because you know my name, doesn't mean you know my game."

Research.

Many times have I seen roleplayers who roleplay every single character out there, and man, there is at least one problem. Either the character is portrayed really badly, or they did not research well. Even just a quick run-through of a character and how they act would go a long way. History is optional, really. But it'd be disrespectful to the country, to the character, and to the people who spent so much time working hard on improving and making that character accurate, if the other roleplayers just bullshitted their way through the character.


Do not make lightly of tragedic events, be it in roleplay, fanart, fanfiction, or any other kind of media!

I am serious. Boston Marathon Bombings, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11… Do not treat it as a joke. Do not ridicule those events. People were injured, and people died in those events. It is not a joke. In the very least, take it seriously. I have observed that in the Hetalia fandom, it is more acceptable to roleplay past wars such as The American Revolution, or The Hundred Years' War, or The War of Austrian Succession, rather than roleplay recent events such as the Haiti Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, or The Boston Marathon Bombings. To most, it is because the former happened in the past, while the latter is still fresh in today's news, or rather, the people who have gone through it, or have loved ones gone through it, are still alive, so it is more triggering. In the very least, please, please, please, be mindful of others. Respect. Do not treat it lightly, don't ridicule the tragedy, or butcher it. Please, for the love of God.

Credit.

More of a… general rule, rather than a Hetalia rule, but needs to be reminded nevertheless. Credit the fanart you post on Tumblr or on Facebook or on Twitter or wherever! When you edit something, always give credit where credit is due. Don't edit a picture, re-post it, then claim as yours. Don't take a drawing off someone's Tumblr, re-post it, then tell people it is yours. Um, hello? Reblog? Ring a bell? Basically, if it's not yours, don't say it is; just credit whoever did it. Google Image Search and saucenao are your friends.

Don't play God.

If it's not canon, don't act like it is. Stick to headcanons. Don't say, "Oh, RomaBel will never happen because Romano is only gay for Spain/Italy/Prussia/whoever-the-hell!" Excuse you, but there is no 'Word of God' regarding the characters' sexualities. Remember kids, the only confirmed homosexual is Sweden (he is in love with Finland), but still, that doesn't mean you can shove it down people's mouths just because it is canon. At the same time, don't alter everything about the series or a character, unless it's an AU, then shove it down other people's mouths as well then tell them it is your right as a person, or all that First Amendment crap. You get me?

Don't bash ships.

One of the recurring problems in the fandom. I already mentioned this in #1, but I believe it needs its own number. Don't ever, ever bash ships. Everyone is entitled to shipping what they want, be it cracky, implied-in-canon, canon, or historical. If you bash other people's ships, it'll either make you look like an elitist or a weeb. Take your pick. Neither of them are good anyway. Each pairing is good in their own way, okay?

Do not call France a rapist, Spain a pedophile, Prussia a pervert, etc.

This is very sad. These characters are more to this than what canon has portrayed them as. In fact, canon did not even say that France is indeed a rapist, and etc. France was actually portrayed as a man passionate about love, therefore argument is invalid. And another thing? Don't portray rape in a light way. "oh noes run away france is gonna raep j00!!" NO. You stop that right now. Not only is it disrespectful, it is also triggering to some people.

The characters are people too, so don't forget that.

In connection to number 8, characters are more than what they were seen as in the anime or webcomic. Belarus might be 'crazily-obsessed' with marrying her brother, but please don't think it's the only thing she does with her time. She is not a psycho. It was just exaggerated in Hetalia so it'd be humorous. Same goes for Russia being a 'total psychotic bipolar creepo', or England as 'a tsundere uke', or Italy being a 'stupid klutz', or whatever. You base it off canon, not clone canon. They are a round person, not a flat plane. Kinda like, 2D and 3D. What you see in front is not what it all is. No, Belarus does not go around saying "KekkonKekkonKekkon" all the time, nor does Russia say "kolkolkol", ad infinitum. They have other aspects of their character, too.
(Plus, it's really annoying to other fans, just saying.)

Remember what Hetalia is about.

(Wikipedia definition of Hetalia: Axis Powers)

Hetalia: Axis Powers (Axis Powers ヘタリア Akushisu Pawāzu Hetaria?) is a Japanese webcomic, later adapted as a manga and an anime series, by Hidekaz Himaruya (日丸屋秀和 Himaruya Hidekazu?). The series' main presentation is as an often over-the-top allegory of political and historic events as well as more general cultural comparisons. Characters are personifications of countries, regions such as Hong Kong, and micronations such as the Principality of Sealand, with little reference to other national personifications such as Uncle Sam or John Bull. Both positive and negative cultural stereotypes form part of each character's personality, since the series is based in Japanese cultural views of the world.

Where in the world does it say that Hetalia is about gay nations/the world engaging in one big orgy/yaoi/yuri/etc.? First of all, Hetalia doesn't even have any of those. As far as I can remember, all of those are implied, and not canon, therefore, you can't tell someone that that's what they will see in Hetalia. This is one of the reasons why we have a bad name; people think we're all kids who dabble a little bit too much on the Internet, watch this anime, and then think about gay sex a lot. Repeat after me: THAT IS NOT WHAT HETALIA IS ABOUT. Hetalia is what Hetalia is canonically. Hetalia is a comedic anime about personifications of nations in historical events, or sometimes interacting with one another. What the fandom does is a different thing. Make sure you know the difference.

That's all I could pull out of my head right now. I sincerely think it wouldn't hurt to be reminded every so often about these things. Have any of you noticed that one of the key things I keep on mentioning is 'respect'? It is a common human value and yet we keep on forgetting it. Trust me, respect will go a long way, not just in this fandom, but in other fandoms. I really can't stand seeing this fandom have a bad name, especially because of what some fans do.

I hope this has taught you guys even just a bit, or made you guys aware of some things. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me (vriska-and-the-sekrets). Thank you, and have a nice day/afternoon/night/whatever-time-of-the-world-it-is. ♥

EDIT:: If you guys have anything to add, feel free to reblog this post and add it! Or, message me so I can add it to the main post. Thank you!

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Once again, I've found this blogpost here: vriska-and-the-sekrets.tumblr.…
I take no credit whatsoever. I've just posted this for the sake of the people who don't have tumblr accounts and for the sake of spreading the word.
© 2013 - 2024 Silver-hues
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Mikijoi's avatar
I love how you stay calm rather than rant plus i love rule about dont play god since everyone argues about canon pairings