all right.. I think this needs some explanation.

I've really wanted to do a piece of hetalia fanart since last september but never really got around it, not including all the ....scribbles I made with my friend in the class.

Anyway I've been through a lot of APH fanart and most of it is cutesy boylove or great fan comics, but .. you don't see pictures like this very often do you? Yeah I'm just no good with all that moe stuff and it's a shame since I'd really like to just go with the crowd for once.. too bad it's beyond my power.

It's supposed to represent the WW2, after my home country, Finland, got his ass handed to him by Russia. In the first sketch there was Russia included but I scratched it, leaving just this..

And there's actually some other stuff too. Finland is covered in forests, actually, you can drive through our whole fucking country without seeing any signs of civilization. It's been only like 60 years since we emerged from the countryside to cities so we're still very nature-friendly. Hell, there's a goddamn swarm of woods around my house and I'm supposed to live in the suburbs. So not many Finns realize that we do respect the forest, we've lived in there for hundreds of years. Most of our folk lore, even sayings and little every-day things have something to do with the nature, especially forests. Forests are a safe haven for us, hence Finland's attempt to hide there. From what I've gathered, for the central Europeans, forests mean danger and something dark, as for us they mean peace and safety. Finns, have you ever noticed how everyone just goes SILENT when you go to the woods with your friends? That's because we're so used to respecting it.

So anyway yes, my country is pretty cool after all... and I just thought I'd bring out the un-happy side of war for a change. Because some Hetalia fans just go crazy over this shit and forget that this is not only political satire, this stuff actually happened and it wasn't as funny in real life. Cuba is my favourite character from the hetalia bunch but in real life, that country has some god damn major problems. So please, have as much fun as you please with Hetalia, but being a history/politics fag as I am, I just stop it there.

Well actually I can't stand the swedenxfinland pairing because I fucking hate Sweden. No offence, Swedes. I just have this grudge against the country that has been trying to bring my culture down for decades and still does (mandatory swedish classes for example).

Oh, and the title translates to "safe soon" and the lyrics in the picture are taken from "Finlandia-hymni" ( [link] ), a stunningly beautiful composition. It was SUCH A SHAME it never became our national anthem as it was supposed to (instead we got some bavarian beer song, eh). The lyrics are just.. amazing. The particular sentences in this picture translate to "Oh rise, Finland, raise your head, veiled with grand memories".

This turned out to be a long ass commentary, I'm sorry about that.. It's a crappy picture. Bleh. And for the love of God don't take anything personally.

Axis Power Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya

Edit 22/08/2009: Wow this piece attracted a lot of attention. I see it provoked feelings in both native Finns and foreigners, which is kind of what I was aiming for. I just wanted to tell something about my forgotten and not well-known home country. Even someone who doesn't like anime found it interesting just for its patriotic side! I'm really glad about how a lot of people wanted to comment on my views whether they agree or not, and I don't know if it's because of this piece but there has been a huge rise of stuff like this. I've seen a lot of sad and violent Finland pictures recently.

And to me, this means success. I love making people feel things with my art, it's what its all about. Thank you all, Finns and outlanders, for enjoying my small participation.

edit 1/10/09: Swedes, this is for you: Yes, I said I "fucking hate Sweden". I don't really care if you love my country, it doesn't change my opinion. Yes, I was harsh and very offensive. I was going to answer to all your comments but... I didn't really see the point. You just have to live over here to understand it. If you really want to talk about it, feel free to send a note.

And for the Finns, since I just love my language: Ja ei, te suomalaiset, vaikka rakastaisitte RuotsixSuomea Hetaliasta.. niin ei. Ei. Tutustukaa tekin aiheeseen ja koittakaa ymmärtää. Sen sijaan että perustaisitte tietämyksen sööön poikaparitukseen niin.. joo. Ei tästä tule mitään. Voisin mäkin tässä sanoa että Suomi on Venäjän niemimaa mikä on muuten enemmän todellista kuin se että Suomi olisi osa Skandinaviaa. Anteeksi että loukkasin.

Ja teille suomalaisille vaikka tämä: [link]