#tldr. 'guy who has only interacted with online teenagers seeing anyone else: getting real teenager vibes from this'

[allbeendonebefore]

I was kind of under the impression that this is just a widespread thing in Alberta, especially because of the Angus Reid fractured federation survey (I cant include the link here, but you can Google it, its from January 24th 2019). When got back into Hetalia, I imagined the dynamics kinda changed to this, which would be pretty bad tbh. I hope its not that aggressive in Alberta, I will never be able to go check tho, too expensive :( I loved the bad french btw

i see you guys sending these asks super late at night and i wonder whether any of you sleep - idk where you’re writing from and i may be on the west coast but are you guys ok wherever you are? I just woke up but I have my tea and if I’m not caffeinated now I surely will be as I answer this.

I’m sure I’ve seen the survey you’re speaking of before and before I address it in any specific detail I just want to back up and re frame Why I’m Being Like This in regards to recent events and my orientation towards answering these questions in terms of Hetalia the way I do, because I think it’s the heart of how I answer.

the tldr of it is:

1. I have an opportunity to make interpretations of reality in unexpected and challenging ways, therefore widespread opinions don’t govern anything but my stupid gag comics in the simple sense that if everyone was represented by widespread opinion alone all the time, nothing would change and

2. if i can answer dozens of asks about ralph and oliver hanging out there’s absolutely no reason I can’t answer asks about ralph and jean hanging out, lol.

3. If you’d like a shorter, more concise “vision statement”, I have one on @battle-of-alberta here. (although now I notice the links don’t work on mobile so you’ll have to be on desktop for that one)

I’m assuming this will be long so cut time

(and yes, alas, the bad french is my legacy and I’m afraid it has not improved much although i swear i was an A student when i was actually taking it) (and no please don’t visit now, purely for pandemic reasons, it would be really expensive And you’d have a bad time) (and talking to me is free lmao) (I do not mean to say that you need to have feet on the ground to understand a place at all, i mean, at the moment I don’t lol)

headings because I say a lot

what even is hetalia

At the most basic level, Hetalia is a tool that can be used in a variety of ways. It can be for memorization, current politics at a glance or historical relationships in different settings. I use it for all of these things, of course, I certainly use it a lot in comics that take place in the much more distant past in @athensandspartaadventures. When I was writing that, I was in undergrad and AaSA was a tool to help me pass my exams, I didn’t think of how it might be read or interpreted by people who have lived in or experienced those places these days, or what kind of political and cultural tensions it might reveal. (Not to say that it has gotten me into sticky situations, exactly, but I am more aware of where things like that would arise now).

These days I look back on a lot of my experiences - both in IAMP/Hetalia and just as a person, and I think that if Hetalia is a tool it should be used with some awareness of intention and responsibility. Things in the fandom have changed as it became more mainstream and more well known and I think there’s a definite worry about screwing up or not representing Everything or not pleasing Everybody or not doing it Right. I have a simple, insufferably academic principle.

(That said, yes, you can still do it very wrong if you write a methodology.)

Still, it’s a comfort to me that I’m just doing the things the way I say I’m going to do them, and that is the underpinning of Inspired But Not Constrained By Hetalia. I don’t do things Himaruya’s way, I can’t do things the way IAMP would do them if it were running today because it’s not and things have changed, all I can do is do them how I would do them.

I have hurt people in the past because they sometimes couldn’t tell whether I was writing From an Albertan Perspective or not, and I’ve evoked some preeetty spicy comments over the last decade, and I realized that tone and perspective are something that really shapes how people understand and interact with my work and I’m trying to use that understanding in a conscientious way)

what even is alberta

So when you’re me and you’ve grown up in a province that is the Angriest in the country and the most Misunderstood in the country and the most Entitled in the country and nobody outside of maybe Saskatchewan has a good thing to say about you half the time and maybe you’re tired of that... you get kind of depressed thinking about how every year some kiddo comes on the internet ready to be excited about making or celebrating characters that represent themselves and No Matter Where They Go running into everyone else’s negative impressions first and foremost.

We joke about how everyone hates Toronto, though I’ve always understood it in a teasing way because I’ve never ACTUALLY met someone (outside of our current legislative assembly) who REALLY hates Toronto, but it does feel like I’ve encountered (directly or indirectly) people who do Genuinely hate Alberta and hoo boy is That a strange feeling. I mean, there’s an understanding that BC also ‘hates’ Alberta but half the people in BC are originally from Alberta so it’s a, uh, different feeling.

The story of Alberta from everywhere else is always the story of that Angus Reid article and the memes and comments and listicles that spin out around mainstream media. Alberta is giving too much. Alberta is getting too little. Alberta is too stupid to understand that equalization payments are a good thing actually, and Alberta is too dumb to understand you don’t really need EI if you make enough money in six months to own a house and multiple vehicles Just Because you own a house and multiple vehicles. Alberta is destroying the environment for everybody. Alberta has a huge concentration of white supremacists. Alberta is the Texas of Canada* and has the conservative streak and bible belt to match. Alberta should get annexed by the US. Oh, but Banff! We like Banff, though.

And like I said, politicians use these widespread feelings to stir up the sentiments of people who can’t afford to travel, people who are naturally suspicious of mainstream news, people who have barely even left their hometowns let alone the province and have no other means of validating what they hear, but people who’s emotions are genuinely tied to real feelings of alienation that really exist and HAVE existed for generations. And when the so-called “laurentian elites” in ontario and quebec make fun of them for being uneducated red necks, well, you hit a wasps nest and expected what, exactly?

what even am i doing

And like I’m faced with this question every day I decide to pick up my stylus and badger you all with unsolicited comics: do I want this to continue? Do I want to wear the mask that fits? Do I want to stand aside and say #notallalbertans #notlikeotheralbertans and stand over here on the island** patting myself on the back for not? being? there? Do I say yes, you’re right, and stand aside and watch loud mouth white supremacists co-opt wexiters and let them lead the perception of the province I grew up in just because that is what’s currently happening? Do I acknowledge the widespread sentiment and then pick apart every other province to say Well Actually You’re Equally Problematic Hypocrites, So There?

Obviously I’ve been saying no for a while. I’m perfectly happy to acknowledge the reality and when I draw stupid gag comics like this or this you can tell (hopefully) from my style that it’s tongue and cheek. When I draw less stupid not-gag comics like this or this I am trying to explore the Real Sentiments in a way that doesn’t completely polarize the issue and spin it out of control. I’m more of the opinion that even though Current Sentiments do get in the way that as personifications they 1. have some perspective and as people they 2. have some interest in not throwing out a friendship that was a struggle to build up every time the polls change or some new radical party seizes power. I do a lot of research and I want that to be reflected in my understanding of each characters deep seated beliefs and motivations, but I don’t want to let either the history or the current realities dictate the future if I am going to try to do that myself. 

why even am i doing it for

So like really the heart of the matter is: I am writing what I write for my thirteen year old self. She was the me who moved back to Canada from the United States, who’s first introduction to living there was a hellish surge of nationalism after September 11th. Who’s defense against that was to hide behind a shield of Canada is Better, Actually and who returned to Alberta during the boom years to realize that, oh wait, the rest of the country thinks we’re assholes just like they think the United States is. Who spent her teenage years learning that, boom or bust, the widespread sentiment in and out of the province is just as narrow, shortsighted, self interested, and stubborn as her own fiction of What Canada Was Supposed to be Like. Who learned that propping up that image at the expense of her friendships was not worth it, that propping up that image at the expense of people who are suffering and dying under that image is not worth it. Who found herself rehashing the same sort of gut reaction defensiveness online because the Guilt and Apologizing on behalf of her province compared to others felt Really Heavy for a kid who didn’t have any clue what to do about it and was just there to have fun and learn some stuff.

So I’m writing for anyone else who finds themselves exhausted and saddened by coming online and seeing that the only way that people can imagine Alberta is as an antagonist. I’d like to challenge everyone to start to imagine it better. It’s my little “escape” from reality, and for me it’s much easier to talk to people here where the stakes aren’t as high and the grievances a little less personal.

I’m also writing (in a more secondary way) for everyone who’s ever looked at alberta from afar and wondered What is going On inside your Head and is it always This

(no comment at this time)

as always, I’m here to explain At The Very Least what goes on in My head because at the end of the day, that’s all I can do. And though there are some things that make me angry and emotional, I’m happy to explain why. Happy to answer asks or chat on discord or whatever, any time I have the time. :)

footnotes

*This is just a footnote to say something I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of my comments, but this is an annoyance that me and my Texas Tomodachi share lol

**You’ll notice angry Albertans online have a favourite tactic, and that’s pointing out hypocrisy. They can justify A N y T h I n G by calling another province a hypocrite “so there” (i.e. BC can’t claim to be environmentally conscious because of Victoria’s sewage problem or Site C) - and while I am interested in shattering the image of Alberta vs. the Perfect Rest of Canada a little bit, I feel like it’s a very lazy argument that is used to deflect and not to help. I think it is more useful to unpack the sentiment of Why Alberta Still Feels Taken Advantage of rather than mudslinging, and when the mud starts flying no one seems interested in addressing problems anymore.

[friendomover20]

Friendom Advice (updated)

Remember this? Pretty sure it’s about time we updated it a bit, considering all the new fans we have due to recent events!

To start from the top, here’s some advice that might be helpful to the now-budding Andi Mack fandom:

-Yes, you can ship characters together -That can include het couples, gay couples, poly couples, etc. -But, please oh please, DON’T ship the actors Be wary that these actors are portraying young teens, so if you ship something, try not to sexualize the characters involved (an easy out in fandoms like these is to age-up the characters when writing smut, or to tag it #underage but you’ll likely still hear plenty of flack for it--and rightfully so)!

To older fans, think back on Lizzie Mcguire. Remember when that came out? You shipped Lizzie and Gordo and people didn’t get up in arms about it! Weren’t those the days…? But how would your young self have felt if you went online to try to talk to others about that ship or the show and you saw a bunch of porn of it? It would have been downright traumatizing to some of you, I guarantee it! So, be CONSIDERATE and remember that the majority of the Andi Mack fans are currently in middle school and high school. And those kids live online even more than you probably did back then, so be careful HOW you go about enjoying the show, especially in ‘shipping’ underage characters, okay?

Now, for you younger fans, this show is literally aimed at you, it wants to teach you about different family dynamics, standing up for yourself, and a big topic that was recently introduced in season 2 is sexuality. You can ship Jonah and Andi all you want, it’s adorable as all get out so go right ahead! But you will see others shipping characters like Cyrus and Jonah together, too. Now, maybe you spend plenty of time in other fandoms on Tumblr and seeing gay ships doesn’t bother you because you’re used to it, but there are still a lot of kids out there NOT on tumblr, being raised by families that are strict or don’t accept the LGBT community, or simply just haven’t been made aware how truly normal it is. Just because someone doesn’t know about it, or has been raised to believe it’s ‘terrible’ does NOT give you permission to berate them for it or bully them. We are already seeing this creep into the fandom, so let’s nip it in the bud! Educate through kindness, guys!!

On Mack Chat, some kids have said that they like Cyrus and Iris together, while rejecting how obvious of a crush Cyrus has on Jonah. Just be aware that while some of us can see a ship even when there’s NO interaction at all and can easily tell when a show is trying to push for potential of romance, doesn’t mean someone else will see it that way. Does this give me a right to say that person is stupid and is against my ship for believing something else? NO. Not only can they think what they want, but some people don’t have that crazy ability to read between the lines (even when those lines are nonexistent)!

An aside here, but some people are going to watch this show and not want to ship ANYONE at all! Maybe they think Andi should stop worrying about Jonah and just live her life. And, guess what? That’s super okay! So just because someone doesn’t agree with your ship, or doesn’t ship anything at all, doesn’t mean you get to be mean to them for no reason, got it?

In addition, tumblr is a great place for the LGBT+ community to thrive, so you will see posts that claim characters are gay/lesbian/bisexual/asexual or trans/nonbinary/etc and so on. This is completely okay, headcanons are always welcome, and if you come across a term you’re not familiar with, you can take the opportunity to learn more about it! And it’s called a headcanon because it’s something the fan believes or wants to be true, while the canon is something given by the show and its creator (for example, cyrus liking jonah is CANON, but saying jonah is bisexual is a HEADCANON because it’s not been proven to be true in the show or by the creator).

Next, there’s a chance there will be polyamorous ships in this fandom, so I want to address this, too. You will come across people who think that the #goodhaircrew should forget about Jonah and just all be together instead, or that Andi, Jonah, and Cyrus could all be together, or maybe Amber and Jonah with Andi? And Buffy, too? Maybe even throw in didnt-eat-a-live-frog guy, just for kicks! I don’t know, there’s lots of possibilities, and that means some people don’t just ship 2 characters together, sometimes it’s 3, or 4, or even more! This can seem odd and even unheard of to those who might even be familiar with homosexuality or the LGBT+ community. But polyamorous relationships DO exist, and they can be portrayed healthily, so some fandoms do have poly ships. There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s not ‘cheating’ or anything like that! Just remember, we don’t judge others for who they ship or HOW they ship it.

The exception comes when you ship real people. Do people do this? Yes, A LOT. Is it okay? Not really. A lot of people like to ship celebrities and some celebrities are so disconnected from their own fan clubs that they don’t really care, but you HAVE to remember that this is still a person who lives their own life! Yes, the actor might portray a character in a show or movie that you really like, but while you can play around with a character by drawing and writing about them all you want, you have to have RESPECT for the real person behind that character. Especially when they are still a young teen themselves.

The problem with shipping real people is that you are dictating someone’s actions based on what little you know about them. Just imagine if someone saw you act out a play at school, and suddenly this fan followed you around and tried to be your friend and asked you a million questions about yourself. They say they ship you with the person who played your counterpart in the play. Even if you DID like that other person, having someone else dictating how you should feel about someone else isn’t just annoying, it’s WRONG. This fan saw you in a play, but that play was NOT your life and that character you portrayed was NOT you!

Now, there’s nothing wrong with being a fan, and some people really like the limelight and being asked questions, but you should still stay out of their personal life unless they give permission or if they are already very close to you (by being a friend or relative, for example). You can admire a celebrity all you want, there’s no harm in that. It’s when you become invasive, or dictate their actions and emotions, that it becomes a major problem. They are their own person and get to do whatever they want to do.

You can like Asher, but you don’t get to send him hate mail just because his character broke up with Amber and then got back together with her. Not only is he just following the script of the show, he is NOT the character he portrays. You can chat up Josh on tumblr and joke about memes, but you don’t get to harass him or demand anything from him simply because you’re a fan. Let these people live their lives. They are people, too, with their own lives, just like you!

Sometimes, the best way to curb this behavior is to ask yourself how YOU would feel if a stranger asked you the question you’re about to ask this celebrity, or how YOU would feel if a stranger put up a post about shipping you with one of your friends when they know nothing about you, etc. Just, please, PLEASE, remember these actors are PEOPLE, and are also teenagers themselves right now.

tldr; BE RESPECTFUL! Always take a second look at your actions before you do anything, and try to be responsible while also having fun!!