Research is Important, Hetalia Fans.

Submitted by a Tumblr-less follower:

A Philippine OC found on Deviantart. First response: Do not look it in the eyes.

And he’s pretty damn pale for an archipelago of islands with an environment supporting everything from beaches to jungles.

He is pretty pale for a Philippines OC, but my major concern is his eyes.

Why does he have a yellow eye? Last time I checked, brown eyes are more common in the Philippines. And why does he have one blind eye? What in his history would have justified that? Is it because the US just left its WWII-era chemical waste there, even after the bases were all closed?

I don’t think that’s in very good taste, if it is.

Country: Philippines

Name: Luzvimindo Batac

Age (appears to be): 19

Why does everyone have to crossdress as children? I never imagined Philippines being this young by the time Spain arrives anyway (though it can be seen a plausible, depending on the development of the islands), plus Spain is apparently the reason behind young male nations crossdressing now. At least the Italy brothers could be explained off through the practice of breeching. I don’t know about this one…

I don’t think he would be wearing a dress as a child, either. He would be older than the gown stage of breeching age by the time Spain would have come to the Philippines, and even then, I don’t think the Philippines ever adopted breeching. I know some clothing and fashion was adopted, but I don’t think breeching was one of those.

Hobbies: Looking after his children, going for walks, singing, Staring at the sea.
Favorite food: Halo-Halo
Least favorite food: Scones 

Why, again? Are scones not popular in the Philippines, or is this a statement against Arthur, as most scone-related things among the Hetalia fandom are?

And he has kids. Don’t know if they’re his actual children, but they are apparently Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Luzon, where Manila is, apparently is anti-social towards outsiders. Because it’s not like Manila was called the “Pearl of the Orient” for any particular reason.

And, if I’m not incorrect, isn’t Philippine culture known for its openness and friendliness? I could understand a nation with a history of solitude being anti-social to outsiders during that time, but I don’t think any part of the Philippines would act anti-social IN THE MODERN AGE.

And these three are triplets. Could be argued for, since they are the three main administrative divisions, yet they are all very different, being comprised of different groups with differing histories and groups of ethnicities, so I don’t think triplets are particularly appropriate.

I agree with this, too.

Plus, considering the histories of each region, why are they the children of the Philippines as a single entity? Unless they are different from the ‘tans’ of Pre-Spainish Philippines, then I would imagine them to be more like Prussia living in Germany’s house instead of his children.

Personality: To his children is kind and loving and puts them first but he can be ruthless around others and have trouble sleeping and sometimes has horrible nightmares.

Why is he ruthless around others? Again, the friendliness the Philippines is known for should contradict that.

And why does he have trouble sleeping? I mean, I can see it justified, considering the shit all the nation-tans have seen, but it can’t just be stuck there and not justified.

History: When he Philippine was a young child he was good friends with Japan and the two would trade things together until Spain came and took Philippine as his colony. Phillippine grew up in Spain, later was under British control and so on until he came under America’s control.

The Philippines became Spain’s colony during the age of colonialism, so by its very definition, this OC should have stayed in his own nation and Spain would have come to visit every now and then. I don’t think it’s logical for Antonio to take the Philippines to live with him in Spain. Arthur didn’t take the entire Commonwealth and shove them in his house, did he?

He attempted to gain independence but it was delayed, America built many bases in Philippines which led to him being targeted in WW2. He was attacked by his former friend Japan he fought back along with America and held fast for months until he lost his capitol, he managed to stall the soilders long enough for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to esape to the allies but he was captured and held prisioner for two years.

While I like the idea of a story based on a nation-tan being held as a prisoner and/or being mistaken for just a regular soldier, something about this just feels…poorly-written. And are we not going to talk about Japan’s puppet state in the Philippines? Or, you know, the genocides?

Until he was rescued by the allies. Philippines recieved his scar from japan during that time and he never talks about although he shows signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,

Oh, soJAPAN blinded him. Permanently.

While Japan’s treatment of the Filipino people was horrible, permanently blinding him would suggest major and permanent damage to something in the Philippines. Something that is affecting people to this day.

The reason I mentioned the US’s chemical waste in the first paragraph is because there are people who are still getting sick and still dying because of that chemical waste. Leukemia, for one thing, is extremely common among the peoples who live and work near those chemical waste dumps. And while personifying this as a blind eye may arguably be in bad taste, as well, it makes more sense than him being blinded by Japan during WWII.

Yes, a Philippines OC would be scarred by Japan from the war. But he wouldn’t have his eye permanently blinded.

but he hides it around the triplets and always manages to smile for them.

The PTSD would make sense, but wouldn’t everyone in this series have it, except for maybe those like Wy and Sealand? Also, I don’t get the ruthless part. When pushed, maybe.

I definitely agree with this. If this Philippines OC would have PTSD, everyone would have PTSD. Ludwig would have PTSD. Francois would have PTSD. Both Lovino and Feliciano would have PTSD. Matthew would have PTSD.

All of the nations have lived through shit, except for the newly-formed micronations, but they’re not even actually legally nations.

And PTSD isn’t something you can exactly just smile through. It’s not like being sad on a bad day. The DSM-IV even states that one of its criteria is significant impairment of major life activities.

This might not be the most stark example of it, but this is definitely an example of “watering down” a mental illness or disease to make it more palatable for an OC/backstory. I mean, there is a small degree of accuracy to it, but it’s barely there.

The watering down of mental illnesses is awful. That’s it. It’s an insult to those who actually suffer from the disease, and it almost glorifies the illnesses in its own way. But will it stop? Not likely.

At least it’s not the worst thing on here, right?

Well, yes. I can agree with that. This isn’t the worst OC, by far, but he isn’t the best. His biography needs a little bit of fleshing out, first. And his design and personality need work and some aspects need a complete revamp. There needs to be proper justification for his appearance. Everything mentioned in the above needs to be looked at, if not revamped completely.

But no, he isn’t the worst thing on this blog. Definitely not.