{Posting for caduceus03 }

Title:  Kingdom of Heaven
Fandom:  Axis Powers: Hetalia
Pairing:  gen, Italies-centric with some implied N.Italy/Germany
Categories:  drama, angst, action
Length:  Medium [~7,000 words]
Warnings:  some historically accurate violence, WWII misbehavior


Author on LJ:  adesso
Website:  rumbling_rose

Author's Summary: 1943-1945: Italy is a battleground.  After Mussolini is deposed and the new Italian leadership signs an armistice with the Allied Powers, German forces seize control of most of the country.  Veneziano goes quietly; Romano does not.

Review:  This rec would be the polar opposite of my previous Hetalia rec - serious, historically accurate & grim with it.  Yet there's something uplifting in the stubborn tenacity of South Italy, a.k.a. Romano, and the contrast between his strength and his brother N.Italy/Veneziano's compliant endurance is very interesting to see play out.  I particularly liked that the author drew attention to the issue of Catholic piety; they are the Italies, after all, and Nations reflect their people in appearance and beliefs.

[Note, for the confused:  some modern countries, especially ones that required centuries of unification, are depicted in Hetalia as having regional personifications instead of just one Nation.  Furthermore, while many countries have "human" names, some also have fan nicknames.  So, since South Italy includes the Rome area, his nickname is Romano, his official "human" name is Lovino, and he is the Nation of South Italy.  Ditto, Venice --> nickname Veneziano, "human" name Feliciano, and identity = the Nation North Italy.] 

Kingdom of Heaven