//Recurring and Reverse, please. ovo
Hetalia Headcanon Prompts
Recurring: A fear of your character’s… that has come true. How do they deal with it? How does it affect them?
// I’m in a WWII mood lately, so, yeah.
From his early days, France has always felt in the center of the world. He likes the idea that much of the History of the western world was related to his decisions and fate. His self image depends a lot on how relevant, powerful and influential he thinks he is. So, a great fear of his is the exact opposite: to feel unimportant, to be toyed with, to lose all power and will. This all happened during WWII. It was not only because of the invasion —he’d been invaded before anyway; he was born as a Roman Province after all, and during the climax of the English rule in the continent during the Hundred Years War, almost a half of nowadays France was occupied by the English— but the fact that he was unable to fight back openly, and the way he felt he was treated by the rest: used by Germany, partially abandoned by the UK and ignored by the Americans until rescued only when, finally, it was convenient. He was no longer writing History —he was no more than a pawn in a game others were playing.
He tries not to think a lot about it now, because it makes him feel alone and insecure and ashamed of himself. Plus, he gets along pretty well now with Germany and he and England have returned to their usual love-to-hate-you relationship, and that makes the memories from the war seem like a surreal nightmare.
But it happened, no doubt, and it left deep scars not only in France’s body but in his mind and behaviour too— scars that only an experienced observer could discover.
France still tries to be influential —and who could deny his success? He just had to acknowledge the fact that he was no longer one of the major military forces in the new world that came into being after the great wars. So he focused on exporting his culture instead. His language, fashion, architecture, cuisine, way of life, and his very own land are now a reference worldwide. He is loved now where he was feared before. And he likes it even better.
However… there is a dark side of the story. After the end of WWII and in the beginnings of the Cold War, France decided that he was going to be no pawn again. He would be better prepared for the next war; he would fight for himself and wouldn’t depend on anyone ever again. And so, he created his own nuclear arsenal. Nowadays, France is the third country in the world in number of nuclear weapons after the two major players of the Cold War— the USA and Russia. Nice way to deal with defeat, huh?
Reverse: If your character could change one thing their country has done in the past, what would it be? Would it be how they treated a certain group of people, religion, something with politics? Why or why not?
// OMG after 2000+ years of existence you can bet that there are a lot of things he would change. I’m focusing only in one of them here.
Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier. Keep that name in mind. Born in Paris in 1743, he was one of the greatest scientist in History; in fact he is considered to be the father of modern Chemistry. He challenged the traditional knowledge and changed the way people thought about chemical reactions and elements. His works still have an effect on us today. Seriously, he was to Chemistry what Newton was to Physics. This man discovered (well, recognized) Oxygen and Hydrogen, described how combustions worked (thus laying the foundations for the Industrial Revolution) and developed the first list of chemical elements, among other achievements. He was important in the field of Biology too, because of his works on respiration physiology. The principle of mass conservation? The one that states that no matter or energy is created nor destroyed during a reaction. The one that sets the basis for even the most basic Chemistry taught at schools all over the world. Yes, it’s his.
The problem was, Antoine Lavoisier was and aristocrat working for the Ferme Générale (the tax collecting company in France) when the Revolution broke out. He was eventually accused, convicted and executed at the age of 50 after a short trial.
Executions in the Revolutionary France had become rather... random at that point, and back then France failed to understand that the importance of Lavoisier’s works transcended his goals. It wasn’t until later, when France could calmly go through his works some decades later, that he understood their relevance. But then it was too late for regrets.
yourenglishgentleman ; thanks for the ask ;-;