My first love was Avatar: The Last Airbender.

No, love is not the right word for that, now that I've found just how truly passionate about a series I can be. Halfheartedly writing an incomplete fanfic for a series that to this day I have not seen every episode of is not love.

But I can honestly say I'm in love with Hetalia. It's funny to think that I only started watching it because someone told me it was a great way to learn history. When I first started, I never thought it would end up like this, with me reviving this account and seriously writing fanfic for the first time, or venturing onto LiveJournal for the kink meme, or going to my first con. And of course, staying up until 3am to read Hetalia fanfics.

As you may have guessed if you look at my story list, my OTP is SuFin. I love their fluffiness, but I think that it's the angst in their history that makes their relationship truly beautiful. As far as other pairings go, there aren't any that I particularly love or hate, except incest (I find it squicky). And I find most of my fanfic ideas on the kink meme. Also, I can't seem to write long fiction if my life depends on it.

If you want to do a story exchange, drop me a line! I'm here to practice my writing, after all!

Obligatory disclaimer: I don't own the image that is my avatar. If you were the one who drew it, send me a PM if you want me to take it down.

What (Hetalia) fanfiction could really do without:

1. Sweden having no vowels in his vocabulary. If you're writing a fic with Sweden, take a step back from your computer and read what you've written. If the number of apostrophes in anything he says is between one fourth to one half of the number of characters in the quotation marks because y' m'd' h'm sp'k l'k' th's, chances are someone who isn't you will not be able to tell what he's saying.

2. Finland (or any other nation really) as a moe moe uke uke. They're nations, dammit. Almost all of them have survived hundreds, if not thousands, of years trying to beat each other into a pulp.

3. Geographical/historical errors that are easy to avoid if you do just the tiniest bit of research. If it's winter in Sweden or Finland (or anywhere far north enough), chances are there will not be much sun. Likewise, if it's summer, the sun will not set for long, if at all. If a character is in America, it takes at least three hours to get from the east coast to the west coast--by plane. A really fast plane. And so on. Wikipedia is your best friend when writing Hetalia fics--or honestly, any work that you want to be realistic and accurate. Though if you're really serious about what you're writing, Wikipedia is only the start.

4. Statements such as "Germany was just misunderstood during WWII" or "Thanks to Hetalia, wars now seem hilarious/like orgies." First off, if you don't understand why the first statement is at least mildly offensive, go read that statement again. Use Germany the country, not Germany the Hetalia character when thinking about the statement in your mind. If you still don't understand why, go look up the Holocaust. Ooooh, yeah, that. Totally a misunderstanding. Which leads us to our second point. Canon Hetalia may refuse to address the touchy side of history, but dear god, war is not a funny thing. PEOPLE DIE. Heck, nations die because of war. Just think of Prussia. Or HRE.

5. 180 degree attitude turns. For example:
Finland: "Ack! I'm afraid of Sweden!"
Sweden: "Ya don't need t'be scared..." *hugs Finland*
Finland: "Okay!" *smut ensues*

6. Bad grammar. 'nuff said.

What (Hetalia) fanfic really could do with more of:

1. Nuance. History is such a subjective thing. Also important: history is long. The nordics' relationship wasn't always so amicable (hell, Sweden and Denmark hold the record for most wars between two countries). Russia wasn't always so...insane, for lack of a better term. And does Finland actually love Sweden, or is their relationship something much less fluffy? Does Sweden actually love Finland, or is it more just lust for the other nation and his lands?

2. Settings other than a world meeting room for ensemble fics. The world is a big place, you know. Why are the nations always at a meeting even when things other than policy are being done? Why couldn't they just be having a "we're nations and we've known each other for a couple of centuries or more so let's try to coexist even if I hate your guts" barbecue or something?

3. Research. This point is a repeat of #3 in the previous list, but I cannot emphasize this enough. Hetalia is, as someone eloquently put it, "a fanfic of real life." Why not respect the inhabitants of the country that the character you are writing about represents and try to do their language, culture, and history justice?