#I have an uncontrollable need to yap about how the fandom has grown and changed

[jamtlandsarkiv]

you ship densu, right? do you get a lot of hate for it? (i saw your comment saying people in 2012 would be hateful about it and be mean to anyone who doesn't ship dennor or sufin, so i guess times haven't changed...) it's so rare to see densu art in this fandom but they are the best nordic ship!!

Thankfully not! I was a lurker in the fandom for a decade and only started posting in 2022 when the English-speaking Hetalia fandom was way past its prime. The remaining active fans had matured and left the ship wars behind them, especially as the fandom's reputation became intensely negative. This spawned the overarching trend in the fandom of "veteran fans cringing at their childhood interests" where the former big ships are seen as too childish, so they either lose their popularity or have their relationship dynamics updated to subvert the "old way".

Take SuFin as an example: The "Sweden stern husband, Finland shy wife" dynamic that was everywhere in the 2010s is now extinct. Sweden is currently the one getting placed into the "shy wife who takes care of the kids and does domestic work" role while Finland is the father of the house. DenNor fell off because it became bad style to ship a country with its former colony (and Norwegians hate it). DenSu subverts the "old way" by putting two masculine guys together, so the modern fandom is relatively cool with it. Unfortunately, DenSu never got its turn in the spotlight, because people quickly figured out that the most subversive thing you can do in a fandom best known for shipping is to not ship.

But don't worry, I have shipped DenSu from the beginning and will keep doing so regardless of how the fandom feels about it. They are indeed the best Nordic ship. Neither of them ruled over the other, and they have plenty of historical interactions to take inspiration from. Also, them speaking Danish and Swedish to each other is the cutest language combination ever. I am not biased.