Military personnel in occupied areas most definitely do not hang around "being giant assholes to the locals". While there have been heavily publicised atrocities regarding that sort of situation, which July has helpfully linked to, the other side of the coin is that militaries do not generally look kindly on that sort of thing.

For an example, look at the Special Air Service, part of the UK military force. When they go into an occupied area they often carry out what are known as "hearts & minds" operations - giving medical assistance and other useful advice and help to the local population. Hardly assholish behaviour.

In short, Laburnum, please, please do more research before you even consider writing fics set in war zones of any kind.

For one, no, "being giant asshats to the locals" is not something "all military personnel in occupied areas tend to do". If you think that is the case, you are wrong. Do your research. The military is not like that. It has not been like that. Modern militaries are completely different from what you are suggesting with your statement, which is very offensive to those of us who have family in the military, or are intending to join the military. Any military. Because contrary to your "no offence" it is offensive, and no, you do not know, just because you are a Brit.

For two, describing the actions of the Japanese military in Asia as "being giant assholes to the locals" is appalling. It shows just how much you do not know about what went on during WWII in the areas under Japanese control. What the Japanese did included the Rape of Nanking. The Bataan Death March. Did you know that some parts of the Japanese military were eating their prisoners? In some cases, they cut flesh off of people who were still alive. There were also the comfort women.

So that we're clear, I am not telling you these things so you can use them in your Hetalia fic.

I'm telling you because you think that "being giant asshats to the locals" is a thing that happens, and because you want to use it as background for your fic. It does no justice to the vast majority of military personnel who follow their orders and treat local civilians well- sometimes beyond what their orders entail- and it does even less justice to those who rape, pillage, and murder without care for fellow human life.

If you don't understand how terrible the things done were, you should not be writing a fic involving the Japanese occupation of Asian countries and the Pacific Rim, if your initial viewpoint is "Well, most military personnel are assholes to the locals". You shouldn't be writing a fic involving it if you need to do all of this most basic research. Being a fan of Hetalia does not mean you are a fan of history, or even prepared to learn it. The two are antithetical in concept and theme. Being cutesy about a time period where so many people were killed horribly, and making the personifications of the countries that did these terrible things cutesy is horrific.

WWII Germany isn't handsome or sweet or whatever the hell it is. WWII Germany was an imperialistic and depraved monster that was killing whole swathes of people and performing terrible experiments on some of them- just for who they were.

WWII Russia is a famine monster, responsible for the deaths of millions, possibly beyond even the nightmareish excesses of Nazi Germany. Many of its soldiers were not prepared to even be able to survive a battle- sent in weaponless, without supplies, to fight for their motherland.

WWII Japan had people buried alive. People eaten alive. People turned into genetic experiments for the sake of "science". Prisoners culled and killed. Mass swathes of women raped, and raped, and raped, until the vast majority of them died.

Hetalia and the realities of that era do not match up. Don't write this fic, please. Read up on what you're actually wanting to use in this piece before you even begin considering actually writing it.

They could be looking for signs of rebellion, or checking up on reports of armed soldiers in the vicinity... maybe investigating the area for suspected enemies or weapons stashes?