#I kinda really like how Feliks looks here

[luderailing]

“Can you stop? I don’t sound like that”

“Really? Because that’s what you sound like right now”

Fanart for @kyuhu's lovely au that I have been thinking about for the past week

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Finally finished the outline of Daughter of the Rain and Snow and I know exactly how the ending is going down almost pretty much (details are blurry, but plot and character arcs are completely outlined and ready to write instead of just bullet points or vague ideas) so out of interest (won’t necessarily stick to it 100% but would still like to know) what would anyone like to see next if you would like to continue reading my stuff?

Explanations below cut

Sequel

I have every intention to write this one, I have characters but thus far not a main plot more of just the premise. Would follow Ahra, Evan, Yara, maybe Vix, and maybe Lilia as our young Dregs and start around when Kaz and Inej left for Ravka since the Dregs was kinda on the verge of collapse whoops. Can’t go into too much detail or they’ll be spoilers for the current fic but there’d be the opportunity for some Aimee and Kiada, and Kanej would still be present but they might not be in focus (again, can’t explain too much or they’ll be spoilers). There might even be some Fiona or some Maya stuff who knows

I really want to write this bc I really want to write Ahra’s story so it’ll probably end up coming around at some point but I realise it might not be the most interesting to y’all when it’s mostly ocs so yeah

Feliks had been more than lenient with Ahra. He’d been the only person who ever gave her a real job - playing her violin in the reception of the White Rose - and when things had predictably gone haywire he’d been good enough to only turn her away, not Evan too. Ahra hadn’t much cared for the job, she loved her violin but she did not enjoy watching the Rose’s clients come and go and she certainly hadn’t cared for having her skin paled and her hair Tailored white for such purposes, but it was easy money and enough to keep them ticking over as all of Evan’s funds petered away on overpriced little medicine bottles. She studied the thin stack of kruge in her hand, thinking of Kaz standing opposite her in the alley by the Slat.

“I don’t need your charity, Brekker,”

“And far be it from me to offer you any,”

Not charity, but she didn’t doubt Dirtyhands had his own purposes in paying her for a job she failed to finish. Still, cash was cash. And medicine was medicine. She tucked it back into her breast pocket and tapped it lightly, slipping round the corner and pulling a bone light from her jacket.

What Evan didn’t know couldn’t hurt him.

Helnik

This was an idea I had a looooong time ago and I shared a little snippet scene on here, but then I started writing Daughter of the Rain and Snow and never looked back. I really want to write this one I think it could be pretty cool, it would be relatively short set in between Crooked Kingdom and King of Scars and take place in Ravka; based on a headcanon I have about Nina learning how to use her new power and as a result of it experiencing hallucinations of Matthias being with her that she is fully convinced are real. Following Nina, Zoya, and Genya as they try to navigate this and worry that they shouldn’t let Nina got to Fjerda in this state.

“What time is it?” she mumbled into the cushions.

“A little after seven bells,”

“Saints, how disgusting,”

Nina sighed, in a mixture of content and tiredness. The luxury of the Little Palace was a mostly welcome change from crawling in next to Matthias in the tomb at Black Veil - or even of the hotel room at the Geldrenner. They’d shared a sofa, so close to each other; limbs entangled, chest against her back so she could feel his heart beating. A steady rhythm, no matter what he was feeling. The big bed here was more comfortable, but the closeness felt like an aching absence, as though the few feet between them spanned for miles. She reached out behind her and found something soft that she decided was his arm.

“Come closer,” she whispered, and she imagined the way he’d smile.

He would press her fingers to his lips and she would roll over to face him. She’d reach out and touch his cheek, and he would catch her hands in his.

“Witch,”

“Barbarian,”

“Little Red Bird,” he would say, just before his lips met hers

The sunlight would be warm and soft on their skin as they moved closer, as she felt his heart beating beneath her fingers.

But he hadn’t moved. He hadn’t come closer, or kissed her fingers, or brushed his lips against hers. He had not gently pushed her hand down towards his wrist so their fingers could intertwine.

“Matthias?”

Nina made the mistake of rolling over, and began to scream.

Wesper

There’s a line in Crooked Kingdom where Jesper says if Van Eck really couldn’t cope with Wylan not being able to read he could have told people he was blind, the point being that still would’ve been wrong but that everything he’d resorted to was unnecessary and Wylan shouldn’t feel like it was his fault. So this would be an au where Van Eck did exactly that and Wesper attend Ketterdam university together; Wylan grapples with his father being the worst and falling for Jesper as he fears telling him the truth, Jesper grapples with addiction and wanting to stay at university partly for the sake of falling for Wylan.

Jesper leaned in, pushing one of Wylan’s curls back off his face.

“It’s pity you can’t see how beautiful your eyes are,”

Wylan blushed, letting Jesper run his hand over his cheek and tilt his face up towards his own. Jesper leaned forward but then Wylan squirmed, just slightly, and Jesper tensed as he pulled his hand away.

“And me, of course,” he added, letting his voice take on a teasing lilt to brush past the moment, “It’s a shame you don’t know how gorgeous I am,”

Wylan almost smiled, but he had stepped away.

“I- erm,” he brushed his fingers through the lock of hair Jesper had moved and cleared his throat, “Excuse me,”

And then he was gone.

[council-of-beetroot]

Polpru CEO, you gotta tell us what their wedding looks would be, it's a classic staple of shipping

Somewhere, I have an explanation of the polpru wedding

Some background I have never been to a wedding however I have watched all of Four weddings and much of 90 day fiancé on TLC so my perception on weddings are skewed.

Also note I am insane and therefore like weddings where you know deep down this is a terrible decision but you are kinda curious how married life will be like for them so you don't object

Finally keep in mind that a lot of this would not fly by today's standards but this is the 19th century and Gilbert is Gilbert who is even by 19th century standards is an ass.

And I'm really sorry if you wanted nice cute Instagram photoshoot wedding

Anyway on with the wedding! 💍

(This occurs after the partitions)So, Gil needs to get married. Problem is no sane woman would marry him (tell me I'm wrong) and Hungary is taken. So Gil sees Feliks and is like hey Feliks is like lady adjacent right? This could work not like Feliks has anything better to do now that he doesn't technically exist lmao. Plus what better way than to get back at your rival (Tolys) than by fucking their wife. (Of course sex before marriage is a sin and all so Gil being a model God fearing Christian has to get married before he can sleep with his enemy's wife)

Gilbert isn't one for low-key celebrations he needs to go all out with this wedding. Decor with his national colours, everyone is invited to the glorious occasion!

Reminded me of this post of mine here

Okay side note why has Google search gotten worse like I look up weddings in Prussia and they give me wedding venues near me.

Okay so what about our dear bride? Well Feliks learns of this and is like "wtf, I'm not marrying your pathetic ass." Gil's like "perfect we'll get your measurements for the dress and we'll be married in no time!"

The wedding day arrives and Gilbert basically tells Feliks that he better commit to the fuckin' bit or there will be hell to pay.

It's a very awkward ceremony even if this was a perfectly normal wedding, Feliks is a little freaked out because this is a big social event, But the people doing his makeup and stuff are like it's okay everyone is nervous before the wedding you'll do great! so he decides okay let's just get this over with, play my part and discretely piss Gilbert off somehow to make it worth my wild and then I can go back to whatever I was doing previously (going through an identity crisis) He, however doesn't realize that Gil is committed to the marriage bit.

Now their first night together? Well that's a whole other story

Here's another post going a bit more into the domestic side of things for them here

I really need to plan out the wedding and venue more though. Also how well do they pull the charade off. Any ideas would be lovely 😊 also any information on standard Prussian marriage practices would be appreciated.

Now a modern polpru wedding would probably be quite different than this.

[kyuhu]

Man I’m not super into Hetalia anymore outside of the nordics, but i found you a while ago on my second account, and just now you got recommended to me again and i once again discovered the way you draw Poland and

I am

I am genuinely absolutely amazed at the personality you give him in your art, and I think yours is my favorite interpretation of him? Your art is just so soft, and has its own personality (I love the thing you do with those little colored hatches!), it’s so pleasant to look at and I’m gonna stop myself from rambling much more here, but I think I’m gonna have to go back and find some more Poland content now because you just rekindled my love for him 😭😭

Ohhh this is so so kind of you 😭💕 I've been reading this ask this morning and it really kept my mood up the whole day! Thanks a million.

It makes me so happy to hear you like how I draw Feliks! Ahh he's my favorite and I always feel like I want to add 100 little details everytime I draw him but I never manage to portray everything! If that makes sense ;v;

What I kinda like about hetalia and the little screentime characters get in canon is that it leads to everytime someone writes or draws a character it feels like this

Which makes it so cool to see fandom content ;v; also in my case it's probably not shit I made up entirely myself but that got influenced by different Feliks portrayals of other fans and mutuals 😂

So thank you so much again for this ask ;v; it made me super happy!

[incorrectquotesconaisseur]

SO GUYSSSS I JUST FINISHED READING RULE OF WOLVES AND WHAT THE HELL???? I am a MESS

(so here are my thoughts that I had while reading it)

❗❗RULE OF WOLVES SPOILERS❗❗

• Lol Nikolai has a horse named Punchline, I love him so much

• Sankta Zoya Y E S

• Nina is sooo badass I love her - Brum needs to die btw

• Fjerda is a little shit

• "If not for Nina, their blessed termite eating at the heart of Fjerda’s government" - did I mention I love Nina?????

• Nikolai is a freaking mastermind and I love him

• OMG THEY HAVE AN ANTIDOTE FOR PAREM NOW???? HELL YEAH take THAT Fjerda!!!!

• Nina adopting Kaz's mindset when back at the Ice Court is what I live for

• UGH THE APPARAT

• Nikolai is soooo in love with Zoya I AM GOING CRAZY

• Zoya's "you forget that in Kerch greed is a virtue" gave me MAJOR Kaz vibes... I miss my crow babies

• Maybe it's an unpopular opinion, but I don't really like Ehri

• ZOYALAI NATION, HOW ARE WE??? ARE WE CRYING?

• I just REALLY love the found family trope and seeing everyone gathered in Zoya's rooms and Zoya curled up on the couch next to Genya I just AAAAAAAAA

• I absolutely adore the whole concept of the Darkling's prison and the CONSTANT sunlight he has to face HA - Alina vibes

• OMG "bring me Alina Starkov" WHAT THE FUCK I have literal chills ESPECIALLY after seeing the S&B trailer:)

• Nina being so confident in everything she learned from the Crows gives me so much serotonin I WANT MY BABIESSS

• Oh my god... I like prince Rasmus, he gives me major Nikolai vibes

• I draw immense satisfaction from Kaz and Zoya using "podge" as their preferred curse word :))))

• NIKOLAI CAN SEPARATE HIMSELF FROM HIS DEMON???? King behavior

• HOLY SHIT ALINA AGREED TO THE MEETING here we go again, fam

• I'm seeing Nikolai talking a lot about accepting his death and being undisturbed by the prospect of it and it feeaks me out - if he dies, I die with him

• Random, but: they need to get the thorn stuff from the Order of Sankt Feliks or whatever, right??? Maybe they have to steal it... and they would require expertise... MAYBE SOME CROWS PLS???????? (I am such a clown)

• Okay wait... so the letters that prove Nikolai is a bastard are in the druskelle sector... PLEASE TELL ME NINA HAS TO BREAK IN THE ICE COURT the fact that she is back there ALONE makes my heart clench so hard... I MISS MY CROWS

• FUCK ALINA SHOWED UP (also Oncat apparently and now I want to cry about Harshaw again)... AND MAL I can't take this I AM HYPERVENTILATING

• I AM LEGIT ON THE FLOOR Yuri is still there FINALLY understanding that the Darkling is evil AND NOW MY MAIN MAN GOT HIS POWERS BACK oh, I love the chaos

• NIKOLAI FUCKING CARRIES ZOYA'S RIBBON IN HIS POCKET nobody fucking touch me

• THE WEDDING IS FOR GENYA AND DAVID????? I AM SOOO CONFUSED what the heck

• Nikoali is the most fucking badass amazing cunning freakishly intelligent idiot I have ever seen in my entire life, my love for him is immesurable, I cannot put into words just how awesome his awesomeness is TAKE THAT MAKHI YOU BITCH

• OH HELL NO the demon is trying to escape SMACK THAT BITCH NIKOLAI BABY

• Oh wow, Rasmus is crazyyyy af he isn't anything like Nikolai my perfect boi SORRY

• OMG Nikolai's dad us a good guy??? I feel so sorry for him... SO NIKOLAI WAS RIGHT TO BE A ROMANTIC huh

• FUCKING HELL again with the nichevo’ya???? Darkling bby, what the HECK

• Nononononooo NO NOOOO NOT DAVID WHAT THE FUCK LEIGH

• "This is what love does" one of the most powerful quotes tbh

• Wait... they want to???? STEAL??? titanium from the Kerch??? .... DOES THIS MEAN.... C R O W S?????

• Okay but... the Darkling's POV? POWER MOVE I love it!!! And the fact that he uses Aleksander as his name with zero reticence now is just *chef's kiss*

• I'm sorry but... I don't like Mayu's chapters I AM SO SORRY I DON'T

• Nina is my badass queen STEP ASIDE PEASANTS

• All these SoC Easter Eggs and mentions are driving me insane

• Idk why but imagining the Darkling drinking beer is sooo funny to me

• I AM LOSING MY SHIT they are in Ketterdam KETTERDAM does that mean ....DOES THAT MEAN ....I better see my Crows or I am throwing hands

• The Zoyalai conversations in this book are KILLING me

• OH MY FUCKING GOD so Kaz took the Emerald Palace over and renamed it THE SILVER SIX???? LIKE???? I AM LEGIT CRYING???

• Ummm...Zoya, honey, WHY do you want to VOLUNTARILY stay away from Nikolai, HUH?????

• THE ONLY REASON HE AGREED TO HELP NIKOLAI WAS BECAUSE HE GUARANTEES INEJ'S PROTECTION if that's not L O V E idk what is YAAASSS KANEJ

• FUCKING SHIT JESPER!!!! IT'S JESPER!!!! WYLAN!!!! I AM FAINTING MY BABIESS

• The Crows' banter is WHAT I LIVE FOR

• Kaz is the most cold, badass and calculating motherfucker on the planet, I love him soooo much

• No NO NOO JORAN IS THE ONE WHO KILLED MATTHIAS????? HOLY SHIT I am sooo scared LEIGH WHYYYY

• Kaz's reaction to Nikolai's demon is legit the funniest shit ever

• Kaz and Nikolai are bffs - THIS IS HEADCANON LEAVE ME BE

• Queen Leyti has severely disappointed me

• I am having waayyyyy too much fun reading about the Darkling among blindly faithful monks - this is the stuff of sitcoms

• (I know the Crows only had a cameo and they won't pop up again, but I can't help desperation wanting to see Nina reunite with them and PLEASE GIVE ME INEJ!!!)

• Honestly, it's pretty cool getting to have a look in the Darkling's head - it's SUPER fucked up

• OOOOO the blight vs the Darkling = the only confrontation I want to see

• FATHER AND SON REUNION

• I don't care much for Hanne x Nina, but I have to admit that they make a very cute couple

• FUCK THEY BROKE STURMHOND'S BLOCADE FUUUUCK

• WAIT NO it was their plan all along HOLY SHIT electricity RULEZZZZ who knew physics would prove THIS useful???

• UUUGHH FUCK THE APPARAT I am so sick of this guy - Zoya was right, they should have killed him

• I am really pissed at the Darkling- YOU FUCKING ACKNOWLEDGE HOW MUCH RAVKA NEEDS YOUR HELP, YOU SEE NIKOLAI'S BRAVERY, YOU KNOW YOU CAM HELP, AND YOU DO NOTHING??? BRO WHAT THE FUCK

• HELL YEAH ZOYA IS A DRAGOOON fuck some shit up sweety Y E S

• MY SKIN IS CLEARED AND MY CROPS ARE WATERED BY THE DARKLING RAISING A MOB TO CALL ZOYA "SANKTA"

• Also... the Darkling winking at Nikolai? FLERT

• WHAT THE FUCK???? HANNE DIED??? holy shit, why???? WHY CAN'T NINA BE HAPPY???????

• Nikolai is an absolute SAVAGE in a debate

• Idk what to think abt Rasmus... he was kinda badass for standing up against Brum

• SOLDIER. SUMMONER. SAINT. slap me and call me a hoe I SCREAMED WHEN I READ THAT

• ZOYA AS QUEEN, SIGN ME THE FUCK UP

• Okay I stan the Darkling again

• ZOYALAI IS CANON I REPEAT ZOYALAI IS CANONNNNN

• OKAY WOW HANNE IS A FULL-ON BADASS yep, I stan

• I really???? LOVE??? this ending for the Darkling??? Idk but it is VERY fitting

• ALINA!!!! AT ZOYA'S!!!! CORONATION!!!! my life is complete

• FUCKING SHIT INEJ!!! INEEEEEJJJJ my queen my love AAAAAA

• The conversation at the end between Alina, Zoya and Genya DESTROYED ME

• STEALING THE HEART OF SANKT FELIKS yes please BRING THE CROWS BACK!!!!! I NEED ANOTHER CROWS SEQUEL!!!!

• I fainted, I ascended, I DIED at the last page

• NOW I NEED A SEQUEL!!!

• Leigh, you ARE goig to write what happens next, right? RIGHT? RIGHT????

[k-mraz]

Natalja, please. I feel like i already know what Youll say but i like it when You draw and talk her

Got 3 asks about bela oh boy (understandable tho)

Here we go

Where do i even start.... First of all i don't like canon Bela. At all. Every time i see her in canon i get more confused about what hima is even trying to portray here.

Hima's urge to put a lolita dress on every female character is kinda ridiculous, especially in my eastern European eyes. I personally decided for myself to just put her in a european-style dress like the nobles liked in the times of Russian empire. Partially solves the problem in my eyes. I personally like her hair to be long, straight, in a perfect condition and with a few baby hair pieces just to give her some character. Plus more of a classical Slavic model appearance, it wasn't considered pretty traditionally, but now... I'm basically using her for aesthetic purposes mostly, reshaping to my taste. I had a really hard time figuring out how i want to portray her and contrary to my usual "method" writing and character exploration i used for example for my versions of Tolys Feliks and Gil, i decided to take a look at her from the "outside", i tried to make her a girl you can easily fall in love with, kinda looking at her through Liet's eyes, and i actually did fall in love with her accidentally.

Regarding her personality and character uhhhhhhh. I don't like canon nor fanon. Like, some in*cestuous jokes are pretty funny especially regarding it's legal status in both Russia and Belarus, but it being the butt if the joke in the canon all the time is pretty exhausting. I also don't like the takes being "she's actually a pretty cute and nice girl, she's just tsundere/doesn't know how to communicate her feelings properly". I'd like to disagree on it in a sense and say that she just fucking hates Tolys with no remorse and pretty much everyone else and isn't afraid to show it. Also yeah it's not her angry face she just has a severe case of a resting bitch face, you don't want to see her angry.

Whew, it's not every single thing i think about her, but it sums it up to some extent, good luck on reading this!

[ladypurplejanewrynn]

Hetalia AmeLiet: A troublesome situation chapter 11

It was a beautiful and shinning mornning, Alfred opened his eyes and looked at Tolys who was softly sleeping next to him. He smiled and was about to get up when suddently Tolys caught him by the arm:"Please, don’t go yet dear. Stay with me in here a little longer." The American did as the Lithuanian said. "The last night was amazing, wasn’t it?" asked America. "Yeah, it really was. I love it, even thought i’m currently in a female body." answered Lithuania with an adoreble smile. "You know, you really suprised me when you asked me for doing it. And i’m even more suprised that you didn’t mind doing it while having a woman’s body." said the American. "To be honest, i’m suprised too as well. Looks like i’ve gotten kinda used to this body. But it doesn’t change the fact that i wanna go back to my old body." said Tolys. "I know love, i know. Don’t worry, as soon as the cure will be finished, you’ll be back to normal. We can survive one more month." said Alfred. Lithuania noded:"Yes, we can." They layed next to each other in silence until Alfred proposed his lover taking a shower together. Tolys agreed to that and they both got up and went to the bathroom. They step in to the bathtub together and start it cuddling with each other. The water was hot but not too hot. Both of them in their arms start it kissing with so much passion and desire. A moment later they stepped up to a next level and start it french kissing. Suddently Tolys softly bitten Alfred’s neck, leaving a small mark on it. "I love the way you show me the affection hun" said Alfred. He placed his hand on his lover’s cheek making him blush a little. The American leaned on and placed a gentle kiss on one of his lover’s breast. Tolys bitten his lips to not let a moan escape from his mouth. Alfred placed another kiss on the other breast. A soft moan escaped from the Lithuanian’s mouth. "I see you’re enjoying this dear" said Alfred to tease his lover a little. Tolys became a complet blushing mess:"Yeah... i guess so..." After the shower they dressed up and dryed their hair.

Alfred braided Tolys hair into a beautiful braid and then they went to the kitchen to make breakfeast. This time they cooked together some steak with some eggs. After eating, America’s little sister Filadelfia came along with her boyfriend Switzerland for visit. "Hey guys, so how are you doing?" asked Filadelfia. "Oh, we’re doing well. How about the two of you?" asked Liet. "We’re good. By the way we came to annonce you that we’re planning to get married." answered Vash. "Really? That’s kickass dude. My dorky little sister is getting married." said Alfred with excitement. "I know right. But we still don’t know when we want to get married thought. Also we’re here for another reason. We wanted to ask the two of you if you wanted to go to beach to have some fun." said Rose. "That’s a great idea. Let’s invite some of our other friends as well." said Alfred. They invited Feliks and Alice and Audrey and Roderich. On the way to the beach, they stopped by a shop, for Tolys to buy a bikini since he didn’t had one for the beach. When they arrived, they went to toilet to dress up into their swimming suits. After dressing up, Warsaw, Feliks, Alfred, Tolys and Rose jumped into water, while Vash, Audrey and Roderich stayed on the shore. Audrey was sunbathing while Roderich was reading a book. And Vash was just watching the rest of the group having fun in the water, he watched over his beloved to be sure she’s all save.

The rest of the group was having a lot of fun in the water, by splashing each other. A moment later Rose came to ask Vash to join them. In the beginning he didn’t agree, but Filadelfia splashed him a little with water to tease him a little. "Do you wanna play like that? Alright then. You made a grave mistake by splashing me darling." said Switzerland with a sassy smile and jumped into water. He splashed his lover with a lot of water. "Hey, i didn’t splash you that much hun." said Rose. "Maybe, but that was for revange my sweet little idiot." said Vash giggling a little. A moment later they had a splashing fight in duets. Alfred and Tolys together. Feliks with Alice and Vash with Rose. The wild fight began. All was fine until Warsaw splashed Liet with so much water that the top part of the bikini fell off. Tolys covered his chest with embarressed, luckly nobody saw what happend. Alfred found the top part of the bikini and help his lover to put it on. "I’m really sorry Liet. I didn’t mean to do that. I swear." apologized Alice. "All is fine. It was just an accident." said Tolys comforting his friend. They took a small break and all of them went to eat something for lunch. After lunch, they went back to water. Versailles and Austria joined them as well. After splashing each other with water and playing with a ball, they all came out to sunbath a little too. When it was almost evening they all came back to their homes.

[lamentalia]

Alfred - Ch 5. pt 4.

★

Alfred hums vaguely as he licks the last bit of his arm that he can reach, and with that he’s finished his grooming routine. He’d done what he could with his tail, but his long fur is too tangled up to do anything about without his comb. His comb that is presumably still in his pack, which could be anywhere.

Urgh, forget about the comb; his blackout has cost him so much more than that and created so many problems. At least he ended up at this ‘Sanctuary’ place. His welcome may be dubious at best, but if he had ended up anywhere else, he may not even be alive.

Alfred sighs and stands up carefully. He’d emptied his cup of water already so he was slowly making his way to the barrel in the back corner for a refill when—

-SLAM-

By the time Alfred looks up to see what had nearly broken the door down, a scowling blur of reddish brown hair and olive skin is already halfway across the room in his direction. Something about the intrusion doesn’t ping his instincts to dodge or counter, and so when Lovino grabs his arm roughly and slams his back into the nearest wall, Alfred merely lets it happen. His head knocks into the wall pretty hard and he hisses in pain as his injuries are aggravated.

“—Yeowch!”  Ow ow ow ow! When his brain catches up to the situation he finds that Lovino has him pinned to the wall, blocking him in with the one hand still gripping his arm and the other planted on the wall beside his face.

Alfred is surprised he hadn’t heard or sensed him outside the room. Surely his condition hadn’t dulled his senses that severely. No… earlier in the other room Lovino had been perfectly loud and stompy, so what’s up with this stealth mode all of a sudden?

“You and I are gonna have a talk.” Lovino says through a visibly tense jaw. Actually, his face is so close that Alfred can see his pupils constricting into thin slits and his golden-green irises twitching and shifting minutely. Woah… Alfred swallows.

“O-okay??” Alfred rasps, his voice breaking. Not scared so much as he is astounded, Alfred recognizes that, despite this aggressive display, Lovino has very little offensive intent. However, his defensive aspect is so high, there’s hardly any loss in the intensity of his threat. This is possibly the reason he’d been taken off guard. Momentarily enraptured, Alfred finds himself wondering how Lovino fights and what kind of counter measures would be necessary against him.

“I want to make one thing very clear.” Lovino says, his grip tightening on Alfred’s arm and interrupting Alfred’s train of thought. “You are only alive right now because the mollies here have deigned to let you stay and recover.”

Total agreement! Alfred nods emphatically. He’d just been thinking that himself. Lovino’s eyes only narrow suspiciously.

“If you intend to leave this place in one piece, I suggest you forget it even exists.” He continues. “If you even breathe one word—”

“I wont!” Alfred interrupts. He wants to put Lovino’s worries to rest for good, and so he speaks earnestly and looks back into Lovino’s, now slightly startled face. …Oh. He may have shouted. He does that sometimes. “I wouldn’t! I know I’m a complete stranger, and all, but I owe my life to everyone here. I couldn’t betray that!”

Alfred’s tone brightens a little and he smiles, satisfied that he’d defended his honor. Now for the other reason he can be trusted.

“Heck. Even if I didn’t owe my life, I wouldn’t tell anyone! I don’t know the full situation here or anything, but Katya told me that everyone’s safety relies on this place remaining secret, and that, y’know, you work really hard to keep it that way, right?”

Lovino’s grip on Alfred’s arm twitches slightly along with the scowl on his face. His face goes a little bit red.

“I mean, that’s so awesome!! There are some seriously badass cats here who trust you to help them. It’s like... You’re basically a hero.” Alfred finally looks away, a little embarrassed about his gushing, so he laughs to try and cover it up. “I think I’d really like to help cats, too! I’d offer to help you guys out right now if I didn’t... need to find my bro a.s.a.p….”

He’s sobered up by the end of that last thought. Remembering that finding Mattie is his highest priority right now puts a damper on his mood.

Lovino finally releases Alfred’s arm. Alfred looks back at Lovino only to find that he’s lowered his head and covered his face with that hand. Alfred relaxes a bit into the space that’s opened up and watches Lovino curiously. It’s hard to tell what kind of reaction this is. Shortly after, the fingers on the hand covering his face part to reveal another intense glare. One that bores into the floor then slowly rises up Alfred’s half naked form to meet his eyes before darting away again. And also he’s red again. Alfred cocks his head to the side, thoughtfully. Could it be this guy doesn’t take compliments well?

“Fuckin’… dumb looking kid. You wouldn’t be much use, anyway.” Lovino says stiffly, taking a step back and setting his hands at his hips like he doesn’t know what else to do with them. “And don’t think you can buy my favor with that kind of shit flattery.”

That’s… kinda rude. Alfred raises an eyebrow at Lovino’s profile, not knowing how to respond. On the other hand, Alfred’s been called worse by cats much closer to him, so it doesn’t sting all that bad. Besides, it wouldn’t take much to prove him wrong. Alfred’s quite confident in his patrolling and combat skills! Lovino, too, looks like he’s at a loss for words, so they stand there in awkward silence for some time.

“…I heard from Feliks about your situation.” Lovino says finally, and it takes Alfred by surprise. “You’re looking for your brother, right?”

Alfred nods, watching with wide eyes as Lovino sets his jaw and finally looks back at Alfred.

“Tell me what he looks like and where you were separated.” He demands in an even tone. Alfred’s ears perk up and his tail rises with hopeful excitement.

“We’re twins! Identical twins. His hair is a little longer and wavy and his eyes are a little more purple but otherwise we look almost exactly alike. His name is Matthew.” Alfred says quickly. “We got separated up in that, uh. The village set into the mountain side, you know? The one out west?”

Lovino squints at Alfred. “Karo? The hell were you doing out there?”

Alfred shrugs. “Passing through?”

“‘Passing through’?” Lovino repeats incredulously. “They’re fuckin’ cannibals, dumbass, you don’t just ‘pass through’ Karo.”

“Well, obviously things broke bad… That’s where I blacked out.” Alfred says a little defensively, though he feels guilty remembering Mattie’s anxious protests to his plan. “Besides, all other travel routes from our home to Achena were cut off by the Void.

“Your home?? Where did you— you know what? Nevermind. I don’t want to know.” Lovino sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “If you started in Karo and ended up on the river bank near here, It’s possible you fell in the river somewhere along the way and were washed down here. Hell knows how you’d have survived that while unconscious, but if that’s all you have to go on…”

“Y-yeah…” Alfred replies. He’d thought the same thing and had the same doubts. “I was literally next to it when I blacked out. And I can’t think of any other scenarios that make better sense.”

Lovino gives him a deadpan glare for another silent moment before lifting his finger to point at Alfred.

“Don’t get closer to the mollies than is absolutely necessary. And you’re leaving here the moment Katya clears your health. Got it?”

Alfred nods, chewing the inside of his cheek, feeling a confused emotion somewhere between hope and disappointment.

“Good.” Lovino says and then makes his way out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Alfred blows out a breath he’d been holding and looks down at the cup still clutched in his hand. As he finally refills and drinks a few times, he wonders about Lovino asking him about Mattie. He can only hope something good comes of it.

★Ch 5 end (?)★

Woo! This came MUCH faster and WAY easier. I am now very sleepy tired, however.

Hope those Romerica fans enjoy, and don’t worry to everyone else. All other suitors are gonna get a dokkiri moment before the routes start, too.

Comments. Critiques. Welcome! :D

[kvothe-kingkiller]

wtf is Nephelai

aight so if you’ve been following me for a bit you probably have Noticed me posting about the Thing I am writing which is called Nephelai.

so I thought I’d give a lil primer on it just for uhhh fun? I guess?

anyways. if you want it in a sentence its ‘gays out-science the competition’

if you want a little bit More info than that 4-5 word (depending on ur opinions on hyphens) blurb, here u go. I will put her under the cut so it does not clutter up the dashes of anyone who isn’t into this kinda thing. I am shit at brevity so this in itself is kinda long.

Just as far as vague genre/feeling stuff goes, it’s a sci fi and it kinda combines adventure with slice of life? Idk man. Its very much character based and a lot of it is dialogue. If you’re looking for pretty, poetic writing you’re not gonna find it here, I tend to just get to the point lol. It deals with some pretty heavy/dark stuff but I will tell you upfront that the ending is happy. There’s too many dark edgy books that end sad. Plus we don’t have enough gay stories that end well. It’s also quite R rated, though more in the violence/sweary way than the sexy way. 

Given that it does deal with some Rough Shit (child abuse, racism, depression, etc.) I have a list of all the chapters and their possible triggers here. (its at the bottom of the post)  I just put in general things but if you have a specific/more obscure trigger I would be happy to inform you if/where it shows up.

Also, just so you know, this fucker is Long. its at 180+K and I still haven’t gotten all the chapters out yet. As well as that, this is essentially a first draft. I know its slow to start and choppy in some places but currently Im just trying to get it out, and uploading the chapters as I go gives me incentive to do that, cause otherwise I’d never even get the first draft done. Basically I write a chapter, check for spelling and grammar mistakes, miss most of them because grammar is my kryptonite, then upload it. I will be editing it a Lot in the future. 

anyways.

Setting

The story is set in our universe in The Future. How far in the future? don’t ask because I don’t know. I don’t want a 2001 space odyssey situation. A lot of the technological advancements would take wildly different times to achieve so I don’t want to put a number on it especially because we are very bad at predicting how fast things will advance. It is at Least 150 years I’d say.

Humans have moved on from earth and colonized new planets. They’re still on earth, it’s just that they’re also in other places. Namely Mars and proxima centauri B which has been renamed Salus to keep up with the whole roman god thing (she’s the goddess of safety). Both planets have colonies from multiple different countries. Not all countries, I mean lets be real lichtenstein isn’t colonizing mars anytime soon. The two american colonies on both planets are Lincoln (Mars) and Roosevelt (Salus). The way that people travel between these planets which are v far away is through electromagnetic radiation powered engines and the use of man made wormholes. Let’s ignore relativity and pretend that when you get close to the speed of light your timeline Doesn’t slow down because I don’t want to deal with that.

However, those planets are not where most of the book takes place. The main planet they are on is Nephelai (shocker I know.) It is a planet with a small research colony on it. Before the colony was put in place, it was a barren planet with some water that was in the zone for life, and just didn’t have any. They terraformed the fuck out of it so the atmosphere is the same as earths then installed a Beyersdorf around it. A beyersdorf is basically a time machine. Anything inside it will have it’s timeline sped up. Uses some black hole jiggery pokery I don’t want to explain because it would be... impossible. Anyways, they placed some organic molecules on it and sped it up until life evolved then slowed it back down to normal time to go in and observe. It has tall mountains and a surface that is so hot that water boils. So all of the life lives up in the clouds around the peaks. Most of it is adapted for life in the air. Such as: giant borzois with wings and living blimps that are basically guppies. Its very cold and people have to have specialized gear to go outside.

Plot

I don’t want to go too much into the plot because... thats why you Read books, but I’ll give my best summary. Basically the main character, Nadia, is getting her masters in evolutionary biology and has to do a year long research project. She goes with her professor, Brenley, to Nephelai to do the project. While there, the planet is invaded by uhhhh neo nazis (whoops) and they basically create a hostage situation that is very hard to get out of in order to get the third main, Krupin, a celebrity trash man, to work for them and make some very dangerous biological weapons that his company’s products would be able to produce. Obviously they don’t want this to happen so they have to come up with a plan to escape. However a lot of what happens is more based around the emotional toll it takes to be trapped for so long with no contact to the outside world and the uncertainty of whether they’re gonna make it out or not.

Characters

Alright so now the characters. As I said, this is very much character based. So its more about their interactions than anything else really. Again, lotta dialogue.

Nadia Waters

She is as said before, the main character. A 23 year old dork who is a complete nerd (they all are). She is bi and also a bit of a disaster, naturally. Quite smart but doesn’t think she is, very loyal to the friends she has, and can be a bit shy at first. She is also stupidly brave to the point where its a problem. Her need for adrenaline is Real and she does very stupid things to get it. She describes herself at one point as “just a grad student with a very poor sense of self preservation.” While she doesn’t go looking for fights she will definitely stand up for herself and others and throw down against people who could very easily kill her.

Elias Brenley

Nadia’s professor, also a dork, also a nerd. A lanky french weirdo with an obsession for physics and a love for 80s music. Very spontaneous and doesn’t give a shit about embarrassing himself. He has aspergers and even though he is very smart and can do some savant-like tricks, that isn’t the only aspect of his personality (what a novel idea...) He Also isn’t just a ‘robot’, he cares a lot about others, especially those who don’t mind his quirks. Also I took the expected subplot of ‘male professor gets with female student’ and threw it in the garbage where it belongs cause he’s gay as hell. He and Nadia do become very close but it is 100% platonic

Feliks Krupin

Also a nerd, also gay (seeing a pattern?). He is pretty much a public figure as he owns one of the biggest biotech companies out there, Vozmet. Kinda like if you took elon musk and removed the asshole-ness. Annoyingly perfect in every way, charming, pretty, v smart, all those. Struggles with a good amount of mental stuff that most of the world doesn’t know about and came from a pretty shitty background. Him and Brenley have some History though at the beginning of the story they haven’t seen each other in 9 years. Tends to be noble to a fault and will sacrifice himself for basically anyone. 

Some other characters who aren’t the main three:

Kristina: The president of Vozmet to Krupin’s CEO and his best friend. About five foot nothing and has the appropriate amount of concentrated rage. She’s not mean, she just doesn’t let anyone push her around and knows how to get what she wants. 

Heidi: One of the only sane ones. Was determined by others to be the leader of the hostages so to speak and has Way too much on her plate. Is often the one voice of sanity or the one to actually get the others to stay on task

James: Drinks that respect women juice all day every day. Very nice. Doesn’t deserve this situation. Has a bit of a thing for Nadia.

Scott: Is the other only sane one along with Heidi. The doctor of the group who almost acts as a father figure to all of them even though he’s not That much older than some of them.

Saoirse: Dumb irish lesbian. ‘Nuff said. 

Links

so if you like the sound of any of that you can find it on 

fictionpress: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

or AO3 here

if u took the time to read this massive post, and/or read some, I luv u. *mwah*

[literallyusuk]

Cowboy Casanova (USUK) Chapter 5

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] Also on AO3!

Arthur woke in the middle of the night. He lay there, in the dark and confused, until he heard a soft tap coming from the direction of his window. He sat up but didn’t get out of bed and waited. A small round pebble flew up and hit the windowpane, producing the tapping noise. Warily, Arthur rose and approached the window, opening it. He stuck his head out and his eyes widened.

“Alfred?” he hissed.

The cowboy, seated atop Star, looked up and grinned. “Hey, Artie!” he called brightly.

“Keep it down!” Arthur whispered to him, listening to make sure no one had woken up. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Wanna join me?”

“What?”

“I’m patrolling ‘round the town an’ got bored so I wondered if you’d wanna come out and keep me company?” Alfred tilted his head back and smiled, his eyes sparkling even in the moonlight.

“So you just come here in the middle of the night and wake me-”

“Please?”

Arthur stopped. He looked closely at Alfred and then sighed. He quickly shut the window and moved back to the bed. Stripping from his night clothes he pulled on the clothing he wore the day before. After grabbing a slightly thicker coat from the dresser, he carefully opened the door. Here came the tricky part; getting down without waking Elizaveta and Roderich, or anyone else who happened to be staying for the night.

He was pretty sure he knew where all the rickety spots were by now, after being her so long. The hallway wasn’t as big a problem as the stairs, and indeed he stepped on one of the squeaky spots as he was nearing the bottom. He froze, and only resumed when he was sure nothing had stirred. It felt odd to see the saloon when it was completely dark and empty, and it was even a bit creepy so he hurried outside. Turning and walking to where his window was located, he was startled to see Star slowly walking away from the building, Alfred slumped on her back.

“Oi, Alfred!” Arthur hissed, brows furrowing in indignation.

Alfred twisted around in the saddle and brightened considerably when he spotted Arthur. Whirling Star around, he trotted towards him, grinning broadly. “You came!”

“Of course I did!” Arthur huffed and took a step back as Star came to a halt before him.

“Well, ya kinda just vanished on me so I figured you didn’t wanna do it.”

“Oh.” Arthur shifted on his feet. “Well I apologize for misleading you.”

“It’s alright!” Alfred urged the mare forward another two steps. “Here, c’mon, I’ll pull you up.” He held out his hand.

Arthur looked up at it apprehensively for a moment before taking it and letting out a gasp when Alfred easily pulled him up. He found himself sitting in front of the cowboy, with Alfred’s chest and stomach pressed against his back. “Y-You really couldn’t have done this on your own?” he asked, and cursed the way his voice faltered.

“Well I guess I could… But it’d be boring!” Alfred lightly nuzzled to him.

Arthur further stiffened. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Your affections.” Hearing a train far off in the distance, he recalled what had happened during his delivery. “I saw Ivan recently.”

“What?!” Alfred’s protests to Arthur’s previous words immediately cut off. “Where was he, what was he doing?”

“He was going after a train. I don’t think he saw me.”

Alfred gritted his teeth. “This is why I gotta patrol, even if Ludwig thinks he’s got it and I’m wasting my time.” He spurred Star into a canter to do a loop around the town.

“Wh- Alfred!” Arthur gasped and leaned back against him. “A little warning would be appreciated!” He heard a low chuckle next to his ear as Alfred leaned forward.

“You gotta relax- Move with her and with me.”

“I know how to ride,” Arthur snapped at him.

“Then ride.”

Huffing, Arthur relaxed and leaned forward as well, starting to move his hips to the motions of Star’s gait. He blushed a bit – horseback riding could look and feel so sexual, and Alfred moving with him did little to help – but he tried to ignore what was going on with their bodies and focused on where they were going. The landscape passed by in a blur, and in less than half an hour they were right back where they started.

“Phew, nothin’ so far!” Alfred crowed, voice victorious.

“May I go back to sleep now?”

“No!” Alfred wound his arms around Arthur’s waist, keeping him there. “I…I wanna tell you a story.”

“A story?” Squirming slightly in the sudden grip, Arthur tilted his head back to look at him. “About what?” He was startled to see Alfred looking so nervous.

“About me.”

“…Oh.” Arthur’s brows furrowed. “Your past?”

Alfred nodded.

“Why now?”

“Seemed like a good time now,” Alfred explained. “If we’re gonna be together, I figured you should know. Plus, you’d find out anywa-”

“Pardon me?” Arthur interrupted him and twisted more around. “What did you just say? Together? We aren’t together, nor are we going to be.”

Alfred’s face turned to one of hurt. “Well we aren’t now, but in the future? I like you, Arthur.”

“I…I will not be one of your passing fancies, Alfred,” Arthur said.

“You won’t be! But- Can we talk about that later? Before I lose my nerve about the past thing?”

Arthur stared at him. A part of him refused to let the issue go, but another realized he might not get another chance to hear about Alfred’s past for a while. “…Fine.” He turned back around to face forward.

“Thanks.” Alfred’s voice was quiet next to his ear. He dug his heels into Star’s sides and turned her head back out into the desert. She shot off in that direction, heading for a small dead tree about half a mile away.

When they reached it he slowed the horse to a stop and dismounted, leading her over to the tree. He slung the reins loosely over Star’s neck and lay down on the ground beneath the tree’s branches, staring up at the stars. He patted the ground next to him as a gesture for Arthur to join him.

Arthur got off slowly and sat down next to him, bringing his knees up to his chest. “Well?”

“C’mon, lay down too, the stars are pretty.” Alfred tugged on Arthur’s shoulder until the Englishman obliged. “So…what have you heard so far?”

“That you were involved with Ivan.” Arthur lay rigidly on the ground, very aware that Alfred hadn’t removed his hand from his shoulder.

“Yeah, that’s basically it.” Alfred let out a low laugh. “I was kinda raised hearing about all these awesome and heroic cowboys out here an’ I wanted to be just like ‘em when I grew up. There have always been a lot of foreigners here. Toris’s family has been here for a long time, over twenty years, and Feliks had come with him. After that it was Lizzy, Roddy, Gil, and Ludwig. Well, you know what happened with them. But they came from Western Europe through New York and stuff, but-”

“This is all very interesting,” Arthur interrupted, “but what’s it got to do with Ivan?”

“I was getting to that.” Alfred shifted slightly, and his hand finally moved away from Arthur’s shoulder. His eyes never left the stars. “As I was sayin’, not many people ever came out here from the west. None from California for some reason. But then Ivan arrived. He was with two sisters, one crazy and the other sweet but overworried. People were wary of them at first cuz they were kinda weird and from Russia, but then I started tryin’ to be friendly with Ivan. Y’know, be nice an’ stuff.”

“I see…”

“Eventually I told him about my dreams an’ he said they were cool. Things were quiet for a while, but then Ivan was caught almost killing a man. He told us it was a criminal and we all believed him, but now I kinda doubt it. But he managed to convince all of us and everyone loved him for it and when I didn’t really believe him at first he told me he was just being a hero and saving the town so of course that got my attention and became alright. He started going off on these adventures and then told me I could join him and we could be heroes together, catching criminals and outlaws and stuff like that. And of course I agreed, cuz it was my chance to live out my dream. At first we’d just ride out into the desert for a few days, do the stuff, an’ then come back, but then he convinced me we could do more by staying out all the time and again I agreed. I stayed out for maybe a year and a half; he influenced me a lot in the beginning, seemed to always know what to do. But slowly, without my realizing it, we started to attack innocent people.” Alfred’s fists clenched and his voice became somewhat strained. “Rich people were bad because they had money and didn’t share it, the poorer were evil because they were coming here and taking over and stuff, everyone did something wrong.” He cut off and closed his eyes for a long while.

“…Alfred?” Arthur asked lowly.

“Huh-” Alfred’s eyes shot open and he looked over at Arthur, his gaze bright and sad. “Right, right. I noticed after a while that what we were doing was really screwed up and tried to get him to stop, but he wouldn’t and he threatened me a little bit, but at that point it just pissed me off more. Eventually the tension became too much, and I left him. I came back to find my parents dead and Mattie fending for himself. They- They didn’t trust me at first, but Mattie convinced ‘em to give me a chance. Around the same time, Gil got pissed off at Lizzie and Roderich, and Ivan picked him up by fuelling his anger. They also took Toris, said he’d come in handy due to his medical training. I dunno where the other two came from though. Since then I- I warned him I’d take him down for what he did, and I plan to.”

“…And you’re doing all this good to clear your name, I suppose?” Arthur asked neutrally.

“Yeah. I gotta fix what I did wrong and someone’s gotta be the actual hero, y’know?”

Arthur shook his head. Alfred was Alfred, he supposed. He suddenly paused. “Wait, what happened to Ivan’s sisters?”

“The crazy one got killed and the other left once things got kinda insane,” Alfred said, shrugging lightly.

“I see. Well, thank you for telling me. I appreciate it.”

Alfred turned to look at him again. “‘Course, Artie. You- You don’t think anythin’ different now?”

“We all do things we’re not proud of.”

“Heh. Guess that’s true.” Alfred rolled over onto his side, so he was right up against Arthur, and smiled softly at him.

“Wh-What?” Arthur was startled by the sudden attention.

“Thanks. And well…you look real pretty in the starlight.” Alfred’s smile softened further, and he leaned over.

Arthur leaned away at the same time. “What are you doing?” His cheeks filled with red at the compliment, and he only hoped it was dark enough that Alfred wouldn’t see. “Don’t just go tossing around such words.”

“Why not?” Alfred leaned in even more, so he was looming over Arthur. “You know I like you. An’ I know you like me, cuz if you didn’t then why would you keep comin’ to bandage me, and why would you come out here?” He lowered his head more, until their noses were just barely brushing.

“I told you, I’ve no intention-”

“I know.” Alfred gently cut across him. “You’re different, Arthur. I swear. I look at you and I just- I promise you, I won’t hurt you.”

“…And I’m just supposed to believe that?”

“What do you want me to do to prove it to you?” Alfred asked, drawing away from him to look him properly in the eye.

“I- I don’t know.” Arthur looked away. “Could you take me back now?”

A flicker of hurt passed over Alfred’s face, but was soon gone, replaced with attempted neutrality. He moved away and got up, then offered his hand to Arthur to help pull him up as well.

Taking it, Arthur allowed himself to be tugged upwards, and once he was standing he dusted himself off. He was surprised when, as he approached Star, the horse seemed to look at him with reproach. He patted her neck in an attempt to placate her and then mounted.

A moment later, Alfred swung up behind him, though he wasn’t quite as close as before. “…Sorry,” he muttered as he kicked Star into a gallop.

“Alf-” But the motions and whistling of the wind cut off the rest of his words. He waited until he was back on the ground to quickly place a hand on the cowboy’s knee. “Alfred.”

“Yeah.” Alfred met his gaze with some difficulty.

“Thank you for telling me,” Arthur said. “Really. I just- I don’t know about…”

“Yeah.” Alfred attempted a smile and then leaned down to press a quick kiss to Arthur’s cheek. “See ya ‘round, then.”

Arthur didn’t have time to react to it before Alfred spun Star around and galloped off. He stood, frozen for a moment, and then slowly headed back inside. His thoughts were in a whirl, and it took him a while to fall asleep. He didn’t sleep much even after he did manage to drift off, and woke just after dawn.

“Good morning!” Elizaveta said cheerfully to him during the morning rush.

Simply nodding to her, Arthur turned back to his work. In the mornings he had a high demand for tea and coffee, with only an occasional request for a morning beer or spirit. He found himself glad for the distraction of many people, and then thought it wasn’t the first time he’d felt that way- and he didn’t know whether that was sad or not.

Elizaveta glanced at him worriedly, but couldn’t stop. She did slip him an extra piece of bacon in his breakfast, though.

“Thank you,” Arthur told her at the next opportune moment, and she grinned.

“Arthur.”

The Englishman glanced around and started slightly to find Matthew seated before him. He hadn’t even noticed the seat vacating. “Hello, Matthew.”

“Good morning,” Matthew replied. There was a small smirk on his face.

“What?” Arthur raised an eyebrow.

“I dunno what you did to Alfred last night, but he’s been moping since he returned. Give me an extra strong coffee, I’ve been up since the middle of the night,” he said, sliding money across the counter.

“Oh.” Arthur frowned as he turned to make the coffee. “I merely told him that I wouldn’t be another of his passing interests.”

“You wouldn’t be.”

Arthur stilled.

“Really. Trust me, I’ve been in a house with him for weeks.”

“W-Well…” Arthur trailed off and jolted back into action. Moments later, he slid the cup across the bar. He glanced up to meet Matthew’s eyes and immediately regretted it; the other man’s face was truthful and sombre, with a hint of encouragement.

“He’ll probably still be sulking later, if you’d like to come by.” Matthew took the cup and rose, smiling, before he turned and walked to the corner table to talk with another man.

Arthur watched him, brow furrowed, until someone else came up to the bar. He didn’t notice Matthew leaving, and was busy until past noon. After that the saloon emptied, and Elizaveta closed it down so she could go visit Feliks. It was the perfect opportunity for him.

Sighing, Arthur pulled on a hat and exited the building. The sun was beating down harshly as usual, but Arthur took his time, thinking heavily about what he should do or say. He trusted Matthew and Alfred had seemed sincere, but could he really risk his heart like that? But then he had no more time to think because he was in front of their house. Matthew wasn’t anywhere to be seen and no one answered when he knocked, so he hesitantly entered.

“…Alfred?” he called. He made his way to Alfred’s room and stopped in shock in the doorway. “Star?!”

Indeed, the pinto mare was standing in the corner of the room, quietly snuffling around a bucket mounted into the wall. When Arthur spoke, she nickered and nodded at him, stomping her hoof.

“Wha-?” The lump on the bed stirred and blue eyes poked out. The American drew back slightly when he saw who it was. “Whatcha want?”

“May I come in?” Arthur asked, tearing his gaze from the horse to the human.

“Bit late to ask that, ain’t it?” Alfred let out a too-loud chuckle.

“Still.”

“Yeah, guesso. Whatcha want?”

“To talk. Alfred, last night…” Arthur moved to the bed and sat down lightly on the edge. “Matthew came in this morning. Said you were sulking- I can see that’s true.”

“What about last night?” Alfred asked, voice muffled by the sheet covering his mouth.

“Tch.” Arthur reached up and gently removed the sheet from Alfred’s head, exposing his face. “At least stop hiding when you’re talking to me.”

Unconsciously, Alfred leaned his head into Arthur’s hand. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“It’s alright.” Arthur traced light patterns into Alfred’s skin. “Matthew, he convinced me to take your words more seriously… Do you really mean what you said?”

“‘Course I did.” Alfred’s reply was instantaneous. “You really are different, Artie, I really, really like you.” He moved forward, the sheet slipping further down his body to expose his bare chest.

“I’ll admit I’ve been interested as well.” Arthur reached out with a hand to stop him before he got too close. On the side, he noticed how warm the American's skin was. “I also realized it wasn’t fair of me to judge you on rumours and whispers that came from other people instead of by your actions.”

“Oh, I know.” Alfred grinned, but it soon softened. “But thanks. That really means a lot.” His arms shot out to wrap around Arthur’s waist. At the same time he moved back so he was resting against the headboard, Arthur held against his chest.

Letting out a low gasp, Arthur glared up at him, though his expression held no real bite. “A little warning, please! And…are you naked?”

“Heh, nah, I got pants on. Can I finally kiss you?”

“You’re so crude,” Arthur told him, but tilted his head up. “You may, however, kiss me.”

Alfred smiled, his previous sulky mood gone, and leaned up to brush his lips to Arthur’s. He was pleased when Arthur moved to meet him halfway, and pulled the Englishman closer in a way that he ended up practically straddled by him.

It wasn’t a particularly long kiss, as Arthur pulled away after a few seconds, but that made it no less sweet. Alfred refused to stop grinning, and he ran his hands over Arthur’s back and sides as if memorizing all of the curves and dips beneath his fingers. There was extreme care in his touches, and reverence usually reserved for priceless treasures, and he only paused when he felt Arthur chuckling on top of him.

“…What?” he asked.

“No, nothing.” Arthur shifted a bit so he was off to the side, and he lightly traced the faint outline of the chafe scar. “Does it hurt?”

“It’s fine, not one bit of pain. You healed it up real nice.”

“Yes, well you be careful so not to undo all that,” Arthur warned gently.

“Yeah, yeah.”

After a moment, the smaller man shifted again. “I’d like to tell you about my past, if that’s okay.”

Alfred’s brows furrowed. “Do you have a secret dark past too?”

“No,” Arthur said with a chuckle. “Well, perhaps it can be seen as a bit sad. It’s more that I want to tell you to return the favour. I know about you now, so you should know about me. If you’d like to, of course.”

Alfred reached up to cup his cheek. “I’d love to know all about you.”

Arthur smiled a bit and shifted atop him. “Are you comfortable like this?”

“Yeah, it’s good.”

“I was born in England, as you well know. My family is my mother, father, and four brothers. Three are older, and one is younger.” As he spoke, Arthur kept his eyes on Alfred’s throat, and his hands were splayed over the tanned chest to prop himself up. “The Kirkland family is very old and prominent in high-class London society. There are…certain rules and customs we must follow when it comes to public appearances and relationships. I know that must seem ridiculous to you and looking back on it now it’s not a pleasant way to live, but at the time I was perfectly content to stay where I was.”

“It kinda…sounds like you were in a cage or somethin’.”

“A cage, yes. That’s an accurate way to put it. It’s a beautiful cage, all gilded and luxurious, but a cage nonetheless.” Arthur glanced up to meet his eyes for a moment. “I was very privileged. Probably someone you and Ivan would have robbed in a heartbeat had we met two years ago.”

Alfred’s gaze hardened, and his sudden grip on Arthur’s wrists was tight. “Don’t say that, not in that tone.”

“Tone?” Arthur’s eyes went wide.

“Like you think you would’ve deserved it or somethin’. Bein’ born rich ain’t a crime. It’s how you use your money is what matters, is what I think. ‘Sides, I wasn’t a good person either two years ago, dunno if I could’ve been a good judge of character.” Alfred gave him a crooked smile.

Arthur leaned down to press a kiss to the corner of that smile. “A little misguided, perhaps. But I think you were still a good person.”

“So were you,” Alfred challenged, though his grip on Arthur’s skin loosened.

“It’s okay, Alfred,” Arthur murmured as he straightened up again. “I never said I thought I wasn’t. I was just closed off to the world, indifferent to anything outside my bubble.” He looked down again, traced the line of Alfred’s collarbone with his index finger. “As with most good things, it didn’t last. My brother Scott fell in love with a Frenchman and vanished off the map. My father was furious and tried to conceal it. Then one of my other brothers found me…in a somewhat compromising position a few months later.”

“Hell yeah, Artie, get it!”

“O-Oh hush.” Arthur reddened and pinched his skin. He couldn’t help the small smile from appearing on his face, though it was gone a few moments later. “One Kirkland being queer was bad enough, but two? Dear Father couldn’t handle that. My remaining older brothers gleefully informed me that I was to be disowned and sent off somewhere ‘to live out the rest of my life in disgrace’. I grabbed what I could and took off for America before that could happen. I stayed in New York for close to a year, and then slowly started making my way out West.”

“Your brothers sound great.” Alfred grimaced.

Arthur laughed. “They were always like that, even as children. I spent many an afternoon tending to my own scrapes. We were supposed to be the perfect family, so I suppose I thought it was my fault that they picked on me, that I’d done something wrong. That guilt kept me from seeking help from anyone.”

“Arthur…” Alfred’s eyes saddened.

The Englishman just shook his head. “It’s alright. I had a better childhood than a lot of other people, it was just lonely. And I’m here now, hmm? Far away from them.”

Though Alfred looked as though he wanted to argue, in the end he sighed and nodded. “How’d you end up here specifically?”

“I was in Chicago with no clue where to go next, so I walked up to the ticket counter, got out all the spare change I had, and asked the clerk for a ticket as far as I could go on the next train out of there. I suppose that ended up being here.”

“Lucky for me,” Alfred said, grinning. He slung an arm around Arthur’s shoulders to better hold him close.

“Lucky for me, too.” Arthur allowed himself to be tugged down and rested his head against Alfred's chest.

Alfred pressed a soft kiss into his hair.

They laid there for a few minutes, but eventually Arthur started shifting around again. “As nice as this is, were you planning on rising today at all?”

“Nope. That’s why Star’s in here.” At the sound of her name, the mare glanced over at them and nickered. “Plus it’s cooler.”

“…I see.” Arthur still found the set up incredibly odd, but the area seemed clean enough and the pinto was quiet so he saw no real problem with it. “Well I for one have work to return to soon, so I can’t stay and laze around here all day.”

“I wasn’t lazing around! I was moping!” Alfred protested.

“Was.”

“Ugh, fine, I’ll go help Mattie when you leave. But for now we res-” He was interrupted by a loud grumble from the direction of his stomach. “Eat.”

“Do you have food?” Arthur asked, fighting to keep a straight face.

Alfred noticed the twitch of his lips. “Don’t laugh at me! I was busy! But yeah, Mattie left some pancakes. I can heat ‘em up real easy.” He gently pushed Arthur away and flung the sheets off, exposing the rest of his body.

“Busy with what? Moping?” Arthur’s eyes admittedly flicked downwards, but he masked it by turning his head to the side and sitting up himself.

“It’s hard work.” Alfred pouted and hopped out of the bed. He grabbed Arthur’s arm and pulled him up. Before stepping out of the room, he also took hold of Star’s lead to take her outside.

The sound of the mare’s hooves was loud in the enclosed hallway, and Arthur felt a bit nervous in the small space, but Alfred was relaxed. Star also was walking with her head down, stepping deliberately. They entered the kitchen moments later and Alfred let go of him to let the mare out.

“So!” he said cheerfully, turning to Arthur again. “Take a seat and enjoy the view!”

“The view?” Arthur raised an eyebrow.

Alfred just winked, bustling around with the leftovers. He had them ready in less than ten minutes. Sliding the two plates across the table, he settled down and flashed Arthur a quick smile before digging in. “Good?” he asked after a few bites.

“Yes, of course.”

When they were finished, Alfred just placed the plates to the side and disappeared down the hall to get dressed. Upon his return he offered to give Arthur a ride back to the saloon, which was accepted. It took a little while to get Star saddled because the mare put up more resistance than usual – after all, her promised rest day was taken away – but eventually she was set and Arthur mounted. Alfred settled down behind him, wrapping his arms around Arthur’s waist.

“Mmm, Artie…” he mumbled, pressing his nose to the skin of Arthur’s neck while his lips grazed the Englishman’s shoulder. His arms tightened.

“Alfred…we have…somewhere to be,” Arthur returned, but he leaned back against him more.

“There’s no hurry.” Alfred unabashedly peppered his shoulder with kisses.

“There is for…” Arthur’s eyes fluttered shut. “For me…”

Alfred let out a low groan. “You’re spoiling it, Artie,” he complained, but moved his head away and took the reins. A moment later, Star was moving at a steady walk.

“Patience is a virtue, and besides, we’re out in public.”

“Patience is stupid.”

“Of course you’d think that.” Arthur ignored the few looks sent their way, concentrating on the motions of the horse and the feel of Alfred’s hips rubbing against his backsi- He turned his attention to the passing buildings.

Luckily, Alfred didn’t do anything else, simply pressing a kiss to his cheek before helping him off when they arrived. “I’ll come by later, okay?”

“Sure.” Arthur looked up and gave his knee a pat. “See you then.” He turned and walked into the saloon, receding hoofbeats ringing in his ears as Alfred and Star galloped off.

“Aww, are you and Alfred finally together?” Elizaveta popped up behind him, a large smirk on her face.

“Wh- What?” Arthur jumped. “Were you watching us?”

“I just happened to glance outside, and who do I see but you two coming slowly down the road, looking adorable?” The Hungarian woman gave a content sigh. “Congratulations!”

“It’s still tentative,” Arthur muttered, his face reddening.

“It’ll all turn out well, you’ll see,” Elizaveta assured him. “Anyone can see he cares very deeply about you. And besides, he’s always preferred boys to girls, at least when it came to being serious about them.”

“We’ll see,” Arthur told her as he straightened his clothes and took up his position behind the bar.

“You’re so cynical,” Elizaveta said, but she left him alone and disappeared into the kitchen.

Arthur huffed after her and made himself some tea. He was lucky that he came back when he did because the afternoon crowd had started trickling in not long after that. The number of people steadily grew, as usual, and the time flew by quickly for him. It was late in the evening when the cowboy came in and he immediately smiled, going right to the stool in front of Arthur.

“Hey there,” he said brightly.

“Evening, Alfred.” Arthur gave him a small smile of his own. “Would you like anything to drink?”

“The light beer.” Alfred looked at him, a twinkle in his eye. “But I’m more hungry, if anything…”

“Oh. Would you like me to call Elizaveta…?”

Alfred rolled his eyes. “Hungry for you,” he explained. “Give me a kiss?”

Arthur blinked. “…I see.” He glanced around, and only when he saw no one was paying them any attention did he lean in a bit, eyes fluttering shut.

A moment later, a pair of warm, surprisingly soft lips was on his. Alfred’s mouth moved slowly, sensually, against his own, and then he felt the American's fingers tangle into his hair. He was pulled forward slightly, and heard Alfred moan into him. He pulled back again not long after that, and after a moment of resistance from the grip in his hair, he was allowed back. They pulled away slowly, and Arthur’s eyes opened at the same time Alfred’s did. They stared at each other, both of their gazes warm.

“That was nice,” Alfred said softly, licking his lips.

“I suppose so.” Arthur swallowed and pulled back more, Alfred’s hand slipping from his hair.

“Heh.” Alfred’s grin broadened and he leaned back in his seat, letting out a sigh of contentment. “The drink?” he probed.

“Right.” Arthur moved down the bar to get the bottle, and as he glanced around to see if anyone else was in need of assistance, he caught Jane’s eye. She was standing by the door, looking right at him and shaking her head in disappointment before leaving.

Pausing for a moment, Arthur then shook his head and dismissed the thoughts that came to mind. He quickly got the beer and strode back to the cowboy, setting the glass down before him. He watched Alfred quaff it for a moment before getting himself some tea.

“What did you do today?” he asked. “Did you find Matthew?”

“Oh, yeah!” Alfred dragged the stool a little closer to the bar and draped himself across it, one arm stretching out to start playing with and touching Arthur’s hand. “He was with Feliks- his horse started bucking and stuff. When I got there they sent me on him and set him loose.” He chuckled. “Almost fell off but eventually we calmed him down – seems he was just missing company – and he an’ Toris’s horse were real friendly and now that Toris is gone… Anyway, Mattie left his mare with him, so it should be fine for now.”

“I see. Well, that’s good, then.” Arthur smiled. “But are you alright? You didn’t actually fall, did you?”

“No, ‘course not. You worry too much.”

“I worry just enough. You have to be one of the most reckless people I’ve ever come across, if not the most reckless.”

“Heh, you do know I managed perfectly fine before you came here.”

“Yes, but now I am here.” Arthur brought his hand down lightly but firmly atop Alfred’s hair. “And you would do well not to foolishly put yourself in danger.”

Alfred rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I think I’m gonna go out lookin’ for the broomtail tomorrow, see if I can find her.”

“Y- You-” Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s exactly the opposite of staying out of danger! Why are you so obsessed with that horse?”

“Well…you need a horse, yeah?”

“So you’re going to stick me on a wild mare?”

“No!” Alfred sat up, grabbing Arthur’s hand between his two as it fell. “I’m gonna catch her and train her, and you can come along too! Just not tomorrow, though, cuz I have to go see if she’s there. I know she looks like just a buncha wild crazy muscle, but I can feel she’s gonna be awesome once we work with her.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow and surreptitiously curled his fingers to lace them with Alfred’s. “If I do go, it’ll be to keep an eye on you.”

Chuckling, Alfred brought their hands to his mouth and nuzzled to Arthur’s fingertips. “Sounds like a plan, though I don’t need it!” He abruptly let go and drained the rest of his bottle. “I should get going- I’m gonna need an early start tomorrow.

Arthur leaned in to kiss him goodnight and tasted the alcohol. “Good night, then,” he told him as he pulled away. “You stay safe tomorrow, you hear?”

“Mhm!”

Once Alfred was gone, Arthur closed down not long after that. When he climbed up to his room, a small smile appeared on his face and wouldn’t go away no matter what he did. In fact, as he thought about the events of the day, it only grew. He absolutely did not let out a little squeal, nor did he fall back into his bed with a happy sigh. Not at all.

[inkstaineddove]

The Difference Between Nations

Pairing: USUK, GerAme. Background Spamano, Franada, PruHun

Characters: America, Germany, Britain. Brief appearances by Romano, Spain, Canada, France, Prussia, and Hungary

Summary: America's been noticing Germany's rise back to the forefront of Europe and the power it holds over the continent. He decides to try and relate to a nation who he sees as very similar to himself.

Alfred sighed, staring at his reflection in the mirror. "Do we really have to go to this? It sounds so lame, dude." He adjusted his bowtie and attempted to flatten down his cowlick. He rolled his eyes, frustrated at its persistence to defy gravity. "A ball sounds really old and stuffy and like something that should've been left in the eighteen hundreds." Arthur stood at the sink, putting on some cologne. "We don't have to, but I'd prefer we're not the only two nations that skipped. People are talking about us enough between Trump and Brexit. We don't need any more bad press." He straightened up and put on his diamond cuff links. "It's a good opportunity to warm up to all the European countries again so I get a better deal once the divorce is finalized." He winked at the American. "If it helps, you look dead sexy in a suit. Almost makes me want to blow the party early to start one of our own." America smiled and wrapped his arms around the Briton's hips, pulling him closer to him. "You think flattery's gonna work on me? Because it totally will, please keep going." Alfred kissed the nape of the other man's neck, moving up towards his lips. "Why not have a pre-party before?" 

Britain pushed him off and started moving for the door. "As enticing as that idea may be, we have to go. If we show up too late, the frog will be all over us and insinuating a lot of things that he doesn't need to know about."

"He's gonna insinuate anyway!" Alfred grumbled, but followed his lover despite his objections. He kept complaining the whole drive from London to Vienna. Alfred rolled his eyes when Roderich's house was in sight. "Ya'know what's bullshit? Homeboy's owned this place for centuries and it must cost a fuckton of Euros, but he still needed loans after both wars. I should've refused." "Ah, yes. You could've refused after the Great War and brought the second one upon us sooner or refused after the second and have him be a satellite state for the USSR. That would've been so much better for Austria, Europe, and the world as a whole. Dammit, Alfred, why don't you make even more brash decisions?" America flipped him the bird. "I hate you so much." Britain handed the keys to the valet. "Then get out of my car." The two walked up and into the house. Before stepping into the main ballroom, Alfred offered Arthur his arm. That elicited an eye roll and blush from Arthur. Nonetheless, he gratefully took it. The ballroom was an explosion of color and sound. Vibrant paintings were hanging throughout, surrounded by jeweled frames that sparkled in the bright lights of the various chandeliers. Above the hum of the other nation's voices, a full orchestra could be heard playing a variety of classical pieces - both contemporary and from centuries past. Arthur shook his head. "This takes you back to the Enlightenment." Alfred shrugged. "Needs more revolution to fit my memory of the time." His partner elbowed him as France, Canada, Spain, and Romano walked up to them. "Matthew, Lovino, great to see you," Arthur then groaned in response to the sight of their dates. "Great, the three musketeers are here. Wait, where's the third? How are you not lost without your frightful leader?" Francis took Arthur's hand and kissed it. "Angleterre, you look as dreadful as always. Your eyes, the shade of fresh vomit. Your complexion, that of a ghost. Your voice sends a shiver up my spine like one, yet you are about as threatening as Casper." He smiled genuinely at Alfred. "Amèrique, so good to see you again. How's your country going? When should I expect the announcement of a union between you and Ivan?" Matthew sighed. "Do you have to start a fight? We're all supposed to be friends..." He was so tired. He wished everyone would grow up and find peace within themselves to not be petty all the time. "I'd give you a proper response, but I heard you're on strike from all common sense so I won't waste my breath. Though you're awfully mean tonight. Who spiked your wine? Normally you're funnier than this. Where's my comedy?" Arthur sighed. "He's pissy 'cause that piano bastard rejected his wine. I don't blame him, French wine tastes like piss," Lovino shrugged. Antonio gave him a look. "He rejected yours as well." Lovino took a sip from a bottle of red wine. "The bastard's loss is my gain. I'm happy I was smart enough to bring two." He pointed with the un-open bottle. "The albino bastard was helping Elizaveta help the piano fuck with something." He turned around and started walking away. "I'm gonna get hammered. I hate these things." America saluted him as he walked away. "Godspeed, dude." Gilbert came sauntering up to them with Erzsébet. His shirt was a bit untucked in a way that was meant to look effortless, but he'd spent at least ten minutes working on and his tie was loosened. Erzsébet's usual flower had been replaced with one matching her green dress. "Alright! Now the party can actually start! Francis, 'Tonio, Al, and we'll get ol' Artie a little drunk so he can relax and have some fun. Matty, are you in or are you in? I saw Lovino had already started so we gotta start catching up to him." Prussia grinned wickedly. "Either that or we can take Silesia for old time's sake. It's not too far from here. I remember the route." Hungary hit his arm. "You're not getting shit faced here! If you do, I won't hear the end of it from Roderich or Feliks! You'll also embarrass your brother-" "I embarrass him all the time. But, if it means so much to you, I'll be sober enough to function throughout this whole boring thing." Gilbert kissed her cheek. He then turned his attention back to the group. "So what's up?" Arthur and Francis had been glaring at each other throughout the whole ordeal. Alfred and Matthew were sharing apologetic looks. Antonio was rocking back and forth on his heels, feeling out of place. Gilbert and Erzsébet looked at each other. "I'll catch up with you guys later. We're gonna not be here." He pointed some finger guns at them and the couple left as quickly as possible. Antonio saw that the deadlock remained between the two rivals. He figured they weren't even paying attention and slipped away to find Lovino so they could dance. Meanwhile, Britain and France had come up with more insults to hurl at each other. Canada and America sighed. "You think they'll ever grow up?" Canada asked, not caring if they heard. He knew they wouldn't though. They were too absorbed in themselves. "At their old age? Hell no, bro. We're stuck with them like this. Forever." They both groaned at that prospect. Out of the corner of his eye, America saw Germany by himself, going out onto the balcony. He remembered the mental note he'd made to talk to the other nation at this thing. Alfred patted his brother on the arm. "Hey, I gotta talk to Germany real quick about something. Make sure they don't start a brawl." The American swiftly moved between the sea of nations, apologizing whenever he bumped into someone. He paused before the entrance to the balcony and fixed his jacket and bowtie. He put on his most winning smile and stepped outside. He found Germany with his back to the entrance, staring out over the horizon. The German stood tall and erect with his hands behind his back, showing all his years of military training. America chuckled. "Ya'know, you remind me of what I imagine Jay Gatsby to look like." Germany turned around. He had heard the other’s footsteps so he wasn't surprised at his sudden company. "Hallo, Amerika," he smiled. "I hope I'm not wrong in taking that as a compliment." America walked up besides him. He leaned against the railing. "You're not. Fitzgerald wrote him with sexy in mind. You're not my type, but you're definitely a New York nine." Ludwig raised an eyebrow, but didn't object. He wasn't foolish enough to reject a compliment, even if he didn't believe it's validity. He watched his companion fish for a packet of cigarettes and a lighter out of his pockets. "What's your motive?" Alfred almost dropped the cigarette out of his mouth. He lit it before speaking. "And they say I don't have tact. Dude, what are you talking about?" "We're not friends. Our alliance is one of mutual beneficence. We only talk at meetings or when we have cause due to work. The most I've said to you in a casual setting was thanking you for inviting me to your Christmas party and hoping you had a happy holiday season. You saw me out here alone and came out here alone when you could've easily brought along Britain or Canada to get either away from France." He smirked at the American's shocked expression. "Ja, I saw. The three of you are rather loud. I feel bad for your neighbors." America blinked for a few seconds. "Ok, a lot of questions. First, you actually made a sexual innuendo? Second, why do you always call us by our nation's names? I've got no problem with you calling me Al or Alfred, but I do reject Alfie." "It's not professional. We're nations. Those names are a guise for our people and to make our bosses more comfortable when they're with us." He scoffed. "You act like I have no sense of humor. You know who my brother is. But we're sidetracked. What do you need? Whatever it is, I'll do my best to help you." "Honestly, it was nothing serious. Kinda just wanted to get to know you better. And make up for the bad taste my new boss may have left in your mouth." He smiled sheepishly. Germany laughed softly, unable to help himself at that fresh memory. "I appreciate that. It was quite a bitter one. Frau's worried, but I'm not. We can survive four years." He led America to a bench that was on the other side of the balcony. "If we're going to be here for awhile, may as well be comfortable. Why stand when you can sit?" America leaned back against it. "That's weird coming from you. I thought you were all anal about exercise." "I am, but standing isn't exercise. Also, it's foolish to waste any resources you have readily at your disposal." The two sat in silence. Germany sat expectantly, waiting for America's line of questioning to begin. It took Alfred awhile, but he finally figured out where he wanted to start. "You've been doing real well lately. You're the golden boy of Europe, holding everyone up." "I have to. Your boyfriend leaving the EU makes me the only one with a strong enough economy to help the others. Not like he was always much help anyways, but I can handle it. France will have to pick up some slack though." Ludwig paused and thought for a second. "Schiessen. This better not be some sort of pep talk. Gilbert's given me plenty and Russia tried giving me one a few weeks ago and it was the worst thing I've endured in a long time." Alfred laughed. "For real? Like hell I'd do that. I ain't much older than you. It'd be weird to put you through that. I'd only ever give you advice if you asked and I don't think you would. The only thing I could tell you how to do is win a world war, but you seem to be done with those." "Nein, I've had plenty of time to figure that out as well. Don't back the wrong horse and don't invade other countries under false pretenses then break your treaty with the country that will crush you. It's shockingly simple, but hindsight is twenty-twenty." He joked, but there wasn't a hint of amusement in his voice. America ignored it. "Seriously, dude. I don't get how you do it. If I had that many countries I was responsible for, I think I'd kill myself." Ludwig raised an eyebrow. "You are responsible for more nations than I am. The difference is I do my job better." "Technically I am, but no one realizes unless they have to. Listen to the news, you hear about something in Europe, you're gonna be involved in someway. It's always positive too. That's what blows my mind. None of them hate you-" "Practically all of them hate me." "But they work with you! They'll talk shit about you, complain about you, make some pretty good jokes, but you get stuff done! They don't like you, but they trust you. How?" "You're not at the EU meetings. A lot of the times, stuff doesn't get done that was on the docket. It's the G7, G20, NATO, and UN meetings on a much smaller scale. You're hyping up headlines." The German glanced at the American's cigarette. He had kicked the habit years ago, but this conversation was making him want to pick it back up. America shook his head. "Whatever dude. You know what I'm trying to say. All the others listen to you and you don't even have nukes! I don't get shit done anymore. It's like I'm past my prime. I gotta go into retirement, hang up my jersey." Germany rubbed the bridge of his nose. "If the whole purpose of this was for you to try to get me to reject football and embrace baseball, I'm throwing you off the balcony." "I used to hear all this talk from my old boss about how you kept moving up and moving up," Alfred ignored what the other had said, too lost in his own thoughts. "Even on the news and in some of my paper's. And shit, dude. I can't deny it. For fuck's sake, I see it first hand every month or so!" He laughed and took a drag off his cigarette. He looked up at the night sky. "Makes me think that you should've been a superpower instead of me." There was silence for a long time between them. America was happy with himself. He'd given Germany the best compliment he possibly could. Anything that may have happened between their bosses would now be smoothed over and they could continue working like they had for decades now. He silently congratulated himself on his brilliance. If America had bothered to look at the man besides him instead of at the stars, he would've noticed that he was wrong in how he thought his words would be received. Germany's body was tense and rigid. He ground his teeth together. His hands twitched to smack the proud expression off the other nation's face. He let out a shaky breath. "Go fuck yourself, Alfred." Alfred's gaze snapped at Ludwig. "Huh?" He tilted his head to the side. Germany rose and began pacing the length of the balcony. His body trembled, trying to contain all his anger. "Ja! I should be the one with the nuclear codes! The world would be so much better! I mean, I did have two shots at it. Prussia would be happy if the Hohenzollerns, a family that's slightly less inbred than the Hapsburgs, were making all the important decisions. The 1910s would've been so much better under a kaiser who would've fucked a navy vessel if he could've found an available hole!" America had his arms crossed. He rolled his eyes as the other spoke. "You're being overdramatic. It was a compliment!" "Nein! It's not. It's really not. Oh, how could I forget! The more likely outcome of me being a superpower! We'd all be fucking Nazis! Either Nazis or communists because I wasn't gonna take Russia down. Now that, that's the world I wished we lived in! Danke, Amerika. I no longer have guilt because I know that people would've preferred a genocide to never end!" He paused, finally calming down a little. He also realized he was shouting. "Do you ever think before you speak? Ever consider the meaning behind what you say?" "I thought you'd wanna hear that! I'm saying you could do my job better than me! Who wouldn't wanna hear that?" "A person who wanted your job and screwed the world over twice as a result. Maybe in your world that really means a lot. You can say that to Britain or France and they appreciate because they were good at their job. You can say that to Poland or the Italys and they feel like they're not the butt of the joke to the world. But you can't say that to me." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, slicking it back more. "Danke. I work hard. I appreciate that it gets noticed. I don't want the world though. I'm not Gilbert or Roderich. I can't...I won't rule the world. I don't want to. I don't deserve to. Ja, I may do a better job of it than you or Russia or China. All three of you terrify me." America scoffed. "Come on. I'm harmless." "I fought against you in two wars and I was your buffer zone in the Cold War. You've dragged the Middle East into chaos for oil and as revenge for one terrorist attack. You have arsenals of nuclear weapons. You're the biggest threat of anyone at this unfortunate social gathering and, if it wasn't for Mutually Assured Destruction, I think you'd be blowing up nations left and right." He sighed again and shook his head, muttering curses in German. "Can you please go? Danke. I understand what you meant. Just...don't talk to me again for the rest of the night. Or unless you have to. I can't deal with this much stupidity." Germany moved back to where he was standing when America first walked out. America rose and stomped out his cigarette. He began moving towards the door. When he reached it, Germany's voice stopped him. "America, before you go. I figured I'd pay you a compliment that I know will get my message through your head. You're one fantastic empire and remind me a lot of Rome. Getting close to the same age as when he fell as well. I'd keep that in mind if I were you." Alfred's hand hovered over the door knob. All the tales he'd ever heard about Rome flashed to mind. The scarred body, the constant battles, how quickly everything crumbled once the invasions began. He then imagined the same happening to him - his states with too many rights rising up, his territories rebelling, Canadian and Mexican invasions. Shuddering, America quickly exited the balcony. He leaned against the door, closed his eyes, and sighed. Alfred decided he'd had enough of this party and quickly left with Britain, breaking up a fight about to happen. Meanwhile, Germany found himself caught up in the past. He remembered the vision Hitler had sold to him of German dominance of the globe. He saw the globe being covered in a swastika and shivered. He could taste how close he was to that vision before the image of Hitler's dead body in the rubble of the bunker flashed to his mind. He then tasted the disgust and hatred for himself as everything came to light, as he found the extent of the damage his actions had caused, that he could still taste strongly on certain days. Ludwig shook his head, freeing himself of the past. "I am not meant to rule the world," he whispered to no one in particular. "But I will make it a better one. I owe it that much. That's where you and I differ, America. You have no reason to see yourself as the villain while I have no reason to see myself as anything but." 

[powstaniefeniks-blog1]

continued from x

@derhaifischderhattraenen

Gilbert was in a quite funny mood that day. It was a mix of dread and curiosity. He never was quite the art fan but he sometimes visits historic museums. This particular exhibit was about paintings regarding the 18th century. Bert had intended to go visit it for a while and today was finally the day. He had wandered the halls for at least an hour before Poland caught him.

Feliks’s arrival was unexpected, thus, Gilbert was in a short moment of shock when hearing the other’s voice. “Feliks, the world is quite small isn’t it.” He gives a weak smile then glances back at the painting he has been staring at. It depicted Catherine the Great. “ Well, I guess that is true. Though a lot of times I think it is curious the way the painter warps the truth in their portrayal. Or I wonder if I forgot what it really looked like. Which is probably the reason I am here. To remember what it was like…”

Feliks nodded “Yeah... When you’ve been alive for like almost a thousand years, you begin to forget many things...“ He gazed away, thoughtful “Though I have to admit that I’d like to forget some stuff that happened in the past...” Feliks looked back at Michi, realizing that he was just rambling vainly and decided to change the subject “Oh but, you seem surprised to see me here, huh? I can only hope it was a good surprise... By the way, how have you been? I kinda miss our adorable sword fights!” He smirked.

[usuknetwork]

USUK Christmas Countdown 2017: December 20

Title: Of Ugly Sweaters and New Friends Day 8: Baking/Cooking Summary: Arthur has a crush on school poster boy Alfred, and in order to get closer to him, he decides to join the Baking Club, because they share a similar passion for the kitchen. Rating: PG Warning: None

(Written by: @apanphanfanwithaplan and Art by: @kurisutythehero)

High school consisted of three main things is what Arthur always thought. People, parties, and clubs.

He himself was a part of several clubs, such as the Magic Club, Model UN, and Gardening Club. Not very interesting hobbies, people always thought, but they were his.

He had friends, like Lukas Bondevik and Francis Bonnefoy. No matter how annoying the latter was, they were friends, and friends introduced friends to cute new boys in Model UN.

Alfred F. Jones was five feet, six inches tall, had a nest of messy blond hair, and god, was he loud. He carried a somewhat authoritative aura that clashed with his impulsive personality and made Arthur Kirkland fall head over heels. He was the new captain of the football team, America in Model UN, student council President, and part of the Baking Club.

The Baking Club was not for kids like Alfred. Kids like Alfred joined sports teams and played the trumpet. Kids in the Baking Club were like Feliciano Vargas and Feliks Lukasiewicz and Emma Maes, who were sweet and kind and as soft as their desserts. But all desserts had their secret ingredients, and Alfred's was his real personality.

Alfred thought only the Baking Club understood who he really was and how different he was, because he definitely was not like the other ‘jocks'. He helped at his grandmother’s animal shelter on weekends, cheered for his brother at chess matches on Wednesday, went to baking Tuesdays and Thursdays, and did football on Mondays and Fridays. He played flute in band, was in HRC in Model UN, and picked up trash around school as president of his peers during school hours. All in all, he was absolutely perfect, and it gained him a one way ticket to Arthur’s heart.

And now, Francis was teasing Arthur endlessly at lunchtime.

“Get your eyes off Captain America over there and onto your pizza. You haven’t even touched your grapes yet! I swear, Artie, if I wasn’t your bestest friend, I would seriously be supes worried,” the Frenchman complained.

“Okay, one, shut up, and two, who said you’re my bestest friend?”

“Who bailed you out of jail when you had some fun at that amusement park?”

“Okay, yeah, but that was holding. There’s a difference. So shut up.”

“Besides, who else would be your best friend? Lukas? He spends more time with that weird Lego Robotics kid. What about that vampire? You still friends with him?”

“Vladimir isn’t a vampire, he’s just Romanian.”

“Yeah, right. And there’s something in the Kool-Aid making us gay.”

“That’s it, for once, you’re right. I need new friends. I’m joining the Baking Club!”

“Not to interrupt your ‘starting today I’m going to be a host' moment, but last time you ‘baked', you set the kitchen on fire. You were literally heating ramen in the microwave, and you burnt my house down!”

“Is that why you stopped inviting me over for sleepovers? Just because I burnt your house down? I said sorry!”

“We’re getting off topic. So, how are you going to get loverboy to love you back?”

Arthur blushed a deep shade of crimson at that.

“Hopefully my charm will take over if not my obviously amazing cooking skills.”

“Arthur, you’re my best friend, so I’ll say it one more time, just to get it through your thick skull. YOU BURNT MY KITCHEN DOWN MAKING RAMEN, YOU PRICK!”

“Details, details.”

And with that he walked off to sign up for the Baking Club.

Soon enough, Arthur had signed up, the rest of the school day had passed, and he was standing at the door for Baking Club, which was covered in mistletoe and holly in celebration of the Christmas season, it being mid-December.

Definitely not the kind of club he thought he’d ever join, but here he was.

He gently rapped on the door and pondered if it was too late to run away when none other than his reason for joining this stupid club answered the door in a super cheesy Minnie and Mickey ugly sweater.

“Hey! Arthur, man, I didn’t think you were into clubs like this! Come on in, I’ll introduce you to everyone!”

He grabbed Arthur’s ugly-sweatered wrist and dragged him in, and he saw the kindest club in school in all of their ugly-sweatered glory.

“This is Feliciano Vargas, whose specialty is cannoli!”

A young man with dark brown hair and an obnoxious curl in a two person sweater with a blond male waved energetically.

“And this is Emma Maes, and her main dish is waffles with boysenberry syrup and strawberries inside, and she’ll be adding some extra stuff to her usual waffles today for holiday stuffsies!”

A girl with mid-length blonde hair and a kind smile wearing a punk sweater the same colour as the patterned blue and black bow in her hair waved nicely, and then turned back to her measuring cups and holly.

“Here’s Ludwig Beilschmidt, who’s a little grumpy, but really nice when you get to know him, and he loves to make bread pudding, and he’s making a plum one today for the Christmas celebration, which isn’t as terrible as it sounds!”

The tall stoic guy next to Feliciano and in the couple’s sweater with him calmly waved and smiled ever so slightly.

“Feliks Lukasiewicz, my man! He specializes in making this thing, it’s like funnel cake! You know what funnel cake is, right Artie?”

Arthur nodded.

“What’s it called again, bro?”

Feliks, who was wearing a slightly less dramatic sweater than the others, rolled his eyes and sighed, flipping his blond hair from his eyes. “I’ve told you like, at least five times, Al! It’s called skruzdelynas! It’s a Lithuanian dessert, and yes, it is like funnel cake, I suppose.”

“I don’t know how to pronounce that, so Feliks specializes in funnel cake, and he’s making a cherry one with powdered sugar today for Christmas!”

“Ugh, you could, y’know, at least try!” called the Pole to Alfred as he went on to introduce the other members.

“Love you too, bro!”

“Ugh, whatever.”

“Is he actually your brother?” Arthur asked Alfred.

“Who? Feliks? Nah. My brother is Matthew, and he’s at a chess meeting today. He’s got a tournament tomorrow! So proud of him. But his twin is in this club, and my twin is in Swim Team. Which brings me to our next member… Madeline!”

A shy girl with pigtails and a red beret with maple leaf hair clips who greatly resembled her brother Matthew waved a little before looking back down at what she was doing.

“Maddie is the beeessstttt at maple pops!”

“Maple pops?”

“Yeah! And maple donuts! And maple bacon biscuits! Just a lot of maple, I guess. I don’t know where she gets it.”

He lowered his voice.

“But between you and me, I think she has a dealer.”

Arthur had to stifle a laugh.

Only Alfred would think his own sister had a maple drug dealer.

To his surprise, Madeline, in her The Nightmare Before Christmas sweater, laughed at that. “Alfred, mom and dad and Matthew have all told you, there is no dealer! We can talk about this later, I’m making muffins.”

“Fine. Bye sis!”

“She seems nice and calm, at least for being related to you,” Arthur laughed out.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Eyebrows? What if I said your brothers were pretty sober, at least compared to you?”

“Then I'd call you a liar.”

Alfred laughed, and it made Arthur think of home.

“Annnndddd last but not least, in our fabulous baking club, we have our longest here members, Antonio and Matthias! Toni is best at chocolate flan, and Matthias here rocks at making rice pudding with cherry sauce, and he’s even adding sugar plants to it!”

Matthias waved politely in his stoner themed sweater, but then looked back determinedly to his pudding, which he was decorating with edible sugar holly.

“Hey, Arthur! I haven’t seen you since forever man!” Antonio, himself, in an incredibly tacky sweater, waved and spoke cheerfully to him.

“Oh, hello, Antonio. Fancy seeing you here,” Arthur spoke quietly.

“What’s wrong Artie? Did you two have an argument or something?” Alfred asked, puzzled.

“Hmm? Oh no. We’re just old friends. We used to play pirates on playgrounds, but we kinda grew apart, I guess,” Arthur said to him sadly.

“Well now, since you’re in the same club, you can grow back together as friends! Wouldn’t that be awesome?” Alfred asked excitedly.

Arthur smiled at his enthusiasm.

“Totally.”

The tour of everyone in Baking Club was now over and Arthur finally got to sit down and start baking his own something. Scones were always his favourite. And Alfred mentioned something about liking boysenberries, so boysenberry scones it was.

For an hour or two, he sat there in his area making and cooking scones, just for Alfred. These had to be perfect, because he probably wouldn’t get another shot to impress him.

Francis was right, he thought. I can’t cook, and I certainly am not handsome enough for the likes of Alfred, he sighed sadly.

Soon enough, the scones were done, and with only minimal burning!

“Al, Alfred?” he called out.

Alfred was over there in a heartbeat.

“Something wrong, Arthur?” He sounded worried.

“No, no, I just, uh, I made you some scones?” he stuttered out.

“For me? Really?”

“Yeah. I heard you say something about boysenberries, and I kinda suck at anything but scones, so here’s some boysenberry scones, I guess.” He sheepishly handed him the plate of scones.

Alfred cautiously picked one up and took a bite. He first made a slight face of disgust, then corrected himself. “Wow, these are pretty good!”

Arthur frowned. “You hate them. I suck at baking. Sorry.”

Alfred looked upset at Arthur being sad. “No, no! These can get better with just a little bit of improvement! Here, I can help you!”

Alfred went over to Arthur’s cooking area, which was covered in flour and hearts drawn in it.

Alfred laughed. “You like hearts, huh?”

Arthur blushed like mad. “I, uh, I, like the design?”

“It’s fine, I like hearts too!” Alfred replied cheerfully and flashed him a wink.

That did not help Arthur's blushed state in the least bit.

For two hours the duo worked together on new boysenberry scones, and some Christmas cookies as well, and both drew more little hearts on the flour around the area, laughing at shared jokes and throwing berries and sprinkles at each other joyfully.

Soon, they were done.

“Wooo! These look great Artie! Try one!” Alfred exclaimed.

Arthur took one and started nibbling, and was surprised at how good they tasted. “Wow! Al, you’re, well, amazing!” He finished it up.

Now Alfred blushed. “Oh, it’s nothing. You did most of it anyway.”

Arthur grabbed another from the tin.

“Hey Artie, close your eyes, I made you a surprise!”

“Alright…” he agreed suspiciously, closing his eyes.

Within two seconds, he felt a pair of warm lips against his own. They tasted like berries and soft vanilla crumbs.

He opened his eyes and almost gasped. It was Alfred.

Alfred pulled away slowly but kept his hand on Arthur’s back.

“Heh, sorry Arthur. I have been wanting to do that for forever. Plus, mistletoe, y’know?”

Arthur looked up and laughed at the plant hanging above the two and then, without thinking, immediately pulled him back in, and there they stood for a few more seconds before breaking apart again.

“I guess we match my sweater, huh?” Arthur said sheepishly, and Alfred looked down at his KISS sweater and chuckled.

“We should probably go share these scones and cookies anyway. Come on, and today is actually club picture day, in case you forgot. We haven’t taken a Baking Club picture for the year book yet, so it’s good you came here today,” Alfred spoke first.

“Good idea.”

The two shared their scones and when everyone was done, Alfred ran to get Francis, in his own ugly wine themed sweater, from Photography Club to take their group picture.

The group of only but nine huddled together for their picture, Alfred and Arthur side by side, holding hands.

“Everyone say ‘merde'!” exclaimed Francis from behind his camera.

Everyone took French, so they all laughed cheerfully, and said “Merde!” into the camera, the group of mismatched friends smiling ever so brightly, because they had found their home, right here, in this silly high school baking club, with more friendship and adventures to hold.

He originally joined it for the boy toy, but stayed for the friends and fun.

Arthur had changed his mind.

There were actually five things that high school was made of.

Sweets, friendship, clubs, ugly sweaters, and love.

And he couldn’t be happier that he had found all of them here.

[kyuhu]

This post kinda made me think about some stupid Feliks +B.altics humor headcanons so I wrote them down and I know I’m actually not great putting things like this into words but now that I did why not post them?

This turned out to be kinda long so it’s under the cut ;v;

Feliks:

Laughs about his own jokes way too much.

The type of person who has a hard time even telling the joke because he’s already dieing of laughter inbefore he even got to tell the punch-line.

Gets the worst laughing fits. He’ll be crying of laughter slapping his knee/the table not beeing able to finish a sentence.

Is definitely very loud. Also I think he’d have a weird/kinda unique laugh one can recognize from a crowd of people very well.

Will not stop laughing. A funny thing could have happened two hours ago and he’ll probably still sit there snorting/restraining another laughing fit until it bursts out again. Sometimes he probably fakes it and people are like „okay we get it, you thought it was funny!“

Makes fun about everyone and everything but is a bit thin skinned as soon as someone jokes about him.

Actually the biggest party pooper if he’s in a bad mood.

Usually it’s pretty easy to make him wholeheartedly laugh though.

 Liet:

Tries to be funny sometimes but rarely suceeds.

Makes some decently funny puns/dad jokes at best if the situation arises. Maybe Feliks would laugh about it, but he’d laugh about almost everything if he’s in a good mood so that doesn’t really count.

Makes finger guns but it’s kinda awkward.

Tries to memorize jokes he read in the newspaper to tell them later but he forgets half of it and it usually turns out to be just a flat story without a punchline. (Everyone looking at Liet like …….??? Liet: „no, wait… uh I think I missed something.“)

Tired smiles are his default reaction. Someone would tell him a joke and he’d just be like „oh, I see c:“ and that’s how they know he didn’t get it.

Questions jokes with „but why would they do that?“ „Oh that sounds pretty bad, I hope everyone is okay?“ like you’re supposed to laugh at the made up people’s stupidity here Liet, stop worrying about it.

The only beeing who can always make him laugh or smile is his wolf/dog.

Probably very rare to see him really laugh at something, but if he does everyone will be like  💖💗 💕 ❤ 🥺 because it’s beautiful. Like you really feel like nature is healing if this guy starts laughing wholeheartedly.

Lat:

The spirit is there but he sometimes accidentaly spoils his own punch-line before he gets there if he’s nervous. Tbh he’d spoil other people’s punch-lines as well mostly on accident unless it’s Ed telling the joke sfdgaf.

Is a suprisingly charismatic person if he gets the chance to be in the spotlight.

Will mimick other people’s voices when he’s telling a funny thing they did and is incredibly good at it.

Tells somewhat unsettling morbid jokes at times but laughs it off in a way that makes everyone forget he even said something strange in the first place.

Can question jokes similar to Liet if he’s in the mood™️. Will lie on the couch staring at the ceiling thinking loudly about how a person in a joke someone told him hours ago might felt like and everyone wonders what he’s even talking about.

Will complain about bad jokes.

Ed:

Probably the only one of them who’s able to just,,,, tell a joke.

Seems prude but can be super funny if he wants to. He’ll smirk, push up his glasses and you already know the whole room will just die of laughter in the next two minutes.

Gets a bit flustered if the jokes are to far below the waistline though.

Is completely unphased when people make jokes about him. You just can’t mock him that way, he’s way to cool for that. Unless you’re Lat and you’re very dedicated on making Ed flip, then it might work on very rare occasions.

Would never, like never ever tell a dad joke.

Adds on other people’s jokes and makes them even funnier.

Has a a polite customer service laugh. But can also be dieing of laughter in a way Feliks does if a joke really hit his nerve.

Will make fun of certain people if they are not around. But pretends to not remember anything about that as soon as someone mentions it again.

Has 100 insiders with Tino.

his stomach hurts if he laughs to much.

[lietpolsecretsanta]

This is for gnostic-heretic.tumblr.com I’m easterneuropeswife and I was your Secret Santa! Hope you enjoy!

Sit up straight, Your Highness. A prince does not slouch,“ One of Toris’ servants scolded him, which just made him feel more nervous. He was already sitting up as straight as he possibly could; he felt rigid and knew if he sat up any straighter, he’d probably pop something. "You’re nervous,” One of Toris’ guards, a brunette named Elizabeth, observed. Toris simply nodded in response. “It’ll be fine, you know. I bet half of the candidates will just show off fancy stunts in the hopes they can work for you,” Ever since a mysterious illness had swept through the kingdom, Toris had found himself in need of new servants since many had dropped dead suddenly. He remembered the illness quite well, it was only two years after all. People would suddenly be overcome with huge bouts of profuse sweating before just dying. It was terrifying, sudden, and most of all, mysterious. No doctor or mystic in the entire continent of Europe had an answer. Luckily, Toris himself hadn’t contracted the disease, and neither did his parents,  but many of their staff did, including many of their guards. So Toris found himself reluctantly agreeing to oversee finding a new one while his parents attended a professional meeting in Russia to discuss a new treaty. ‘Reluctant’ being because…he wasn’t the best at maintaining conversation. “Bring in the first candidate,” He announced, clearing his throat. He felt like his voice was too shaky and nervous, but apparently, it still did the job, as Elizabeth and her partner nodded and opened the doors, allowing the first guard to walk in. This guard seemed even more nervous than Toris did at the moment, if that was even possible. He seemed to be a few years younger than his nineteen years, with blonde hair and striking blue-violet eyes. “State your name,” Elizabeth directed, gently nudging the boy closer to the throne. “R-Raivis Galante,” He stated, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “I decided to become a guard to prove myself. Everyone thinks I’m so weak and helpless…..but I thought if I managed to train and become better, then perhaps the prince would notice me and nobody would call me weak!” Raivis rambled, pushing some of his hair back. “And by the prince, you mean me, right?” Toris clarified, placing a hand on his head and leaning on one of the armrests of his throne like that. Raivis nodded, a bit too eagerly. “Then show me what you can do! Please.” Raivis nodded again and pulled out his sword, obviously trying to do some sort of fancy trick, which resulted in the sword clattering unceremoniously to the floor. Elizabeth still motioned to his armor, having a lot of hope for this boy. Toris, however, already had made his decision. As Raivis was slowly picking his sword up from the floor, Toris gently waved him away. “I’ve seen enough,” He said nicely, though Raivis still looked extremely nervous. “You still need more practice. In a few years when you’re older, you might make a fine guard for a local noble,” Some other guards escorted Raivis out, who nervously nodded to show he had absorbed Toris’ advice. “Next!” He called once Raivis was gone. The next man was certainly memorable in appearance, if nothing else. He had silverish short hair and red eyes; a combination Toris had only seen portrayed in paintings. The man also had a super cocky grin and stance to him, which made Toris frown. It was the super confidence that he disliked, the kind of confidence that turned its owner into an absolute jerk. “What is your name?” He asked anyway, hoping to be proven wrong. “Gilbert. No need to know my last name. If you need me to return, you’ll remember my looks,” Gilbert gloated, pulling out his own sword. It had a golden handle on the end, and sculpted to look like angel wings. “What will you have me do?” “Just show me how good you are at handling opponents,” Toris stated, snapping his fingers. Instantly, Elizabeth turned serious and was upon Gilbert, making him hold his sword in front of his chest to block her own attack. She managed to catch him off-guard, however, by placing a well-timed kick to his knees, knocking him to the ground. She flipped her hair with a smirk, putting her own sword back. “He oozed of over-confidence. I knew he wasn’t going to be a good fighter,” She said simply, helping him to his feet anyway and shoving him towards the door. “How many more of these must I sit through?” Toris asked, leaning back in his throne some more. It wasn’t his intent to whine, but the stress was getting to him. “Just one more for today. Then if he’s not the one, then we break for lunch,” Elizabeth took her usual spot to the right of Toris, making him nod. “Hopefully he’ll be good. I hate being rough on these choices, I hate crushing their dreams of working for me, but I don’t need inexperience or over-confidence. I need good guards,” He explained just as the last guard came in, making Toris look at him. Right away, he could tell he was different from Raivis and Gilbert. Much like Gilbert, he too oozed overconfidence, but there was a duller, hidden side to it, almost as if this guy was putting up a front. He had shiny blonde hair worn in a similar style to Toris’, though not nearly as wavy, and emerald-green eyes brighter than Toris’ own deep green ones. “Hey there, Your Highness!” The man broke into a huge grin, though Toris detected more of that nervousness sneaking out. “Ready to see what I can do?” “State your name.” Toris cleared his throat, finding his face suddenly hot. Why was it hot? Was he blushing?! “A-and don’t refer to me so casually!” He quickly added for good measure. “Oh, like, right. My name is Feliks. Can you pronounce my last name? Probably not. Anyway, I am kinda here to show off my prowess of being a guard and hopefully earn a spot in your barracks, and your bed,~” Feliks winked, making Toris’ face heat up again. Elizabeth, on the other hand, simply laughed, finding the whole scene humorous. “You want the job? You have to fight me first,” Her tone changed into her more serious one again, and she lunged at Feliks, her sword drawn. Feliks managed to sidestep her and draw his sword in all under a second, then kept blocking her attacks, keeping a solid stance she had trouble breaking. Toris’ eyes widened and he leaned forward in his seat slightly to watch, amazed at how good Feliks’ skills were. Truly, he was correct in saving him for last. Feliks managed to disarm Elizabeth by swinging his sword upwards, knocking her own weapon out of her hands. He then placed his sword at her chest, making her kneel to him. He then smirked and spun around, staring at Toris. “Like, how was that, Your Highness? Did I earn that spot?” Toris nodded and stood up, clapping slightly. “That was…amazing, to say the least,” He praised, handing Elizabeth her sword and helping her to her feet. “I would be honored to have you in my army. Come with me, we will show you to the barracks and give you something to eat,” “Great! But does she have to come with us?” Feliks asked, glaring at Elizabeth slightly. “Lady Elizabeth? She is one of my most trusted knights. Sure, she has….certain limitations to her, but overall she is loyal, hardy, and a far better fighter than twenty of my men. So stay she will,” Toris eyed Feliks back, signaling the end of that conversation. “Now, let’s go to the barracks!” Elizabeth slid her sword into her holder and hurried after Toris, Feliks following soon after. He walked a bit too closer to Toris for comfort, and he couldn’t help but to notice the self-sure aura he radiated earlier was almost gone entirely. He was also looking down at the ground, making a point of not looking at anyone else. Was he secretly shy around strangers? Suddenly, a lot of stuff about him made sense. The trio walked through Toris’ palace for a bit, Elizabeth still trying to make conversation with Feliks and point out some of the older servants, some of her favorite paintings, or where certain doors and stairs led. Feliks seemed disinterested in a lot of it, making Toris frown slightly. Surely a knight would hold more interest in learning about his future home? “The barracks are out here,” Toris explained, pointing to a door that led into the gardens. “Lady Elizabeth is more familiar with them, so she’ll get you settled in,” He then spun around, his red cloak spinning with him, trying to leave before a soft hand grabbed his arm. “No.” Feliks pouted quietly, pursing his lips out. “What?” Toris asked in confusion, spinning back around. “I said, no. I want you to show me around the barracks,” Feliks said louder, giving Toris a really pouty look. Really, he looked like one of the gossipy girls in the village who announced their innocence by the flower crowns in their hair. It was kind of….cute to Toris to see a grown man give that look. “Alright, but I’m not as well-versed as Lady Elizabeth is. I might make us go around in circles!” He warned, stepping out into the garden himself. “Lady Elizabeth, go inform the cooks we’re taking lunch a bit later than expected,” He ordered, and she bowed and hurried off to do so. “I don’t care about that. I don’t want to hear about her perspective of the barracks. I like, wanna hear about yours!~” Feliks perked right back up when Elizabeth left, making Toris blush when he realized the two were left alone. “Mine? Uh, alright,” Toris blushed even more and hurried through the garden, not taking the time to really admire the flowers like he normally did. The barracks were off to the left part of the garden, hidden behind some low-hanging trees. Toris pointed to the dark building and walked inside, covering his face slightly in embarrassment. “This is the main area, where the guards hang out, eat, and things like that,” He could feel a nervous stutter threatening to break out, but he forced it down with a swallow. He would not break his composure in front of this man. “Oh, I see now. Those tables are like, for that!” Feliks nodded, peeking over Toris’ shoulder, making him blush even more. He hadn’t even noticed how much he towered over the blond until that moment. “And those hooks are for our coats and stuff, right?” He questioned, looking at Toris’ face closely. “Wait, Your Highness….are you like, blushing?!” He asked in disbelief. “What? Of course not! A prince never blushes!” Toris declined immediately, clearing his throat several times. However, his face never stopped feeling hot, making Feliks grin in triumph. “You are!~~~~ Just admit it, Your Highness, you got a little crush on me!~~~” He popped in front of Toris and put his hands on his hips, doing that cute little pout again. Toris cleared his throat several more times for good measure and walked ahead, pushing Feliks out of his way. He then walked down a hallway with several doorways on either side of him, his golden heels making little noise on the floors. “These are sleeping quarters. There used to be a lot more guards here, but now….there’s only a couple. So you’ll likely have a room to yourself, isn’t that lucky?” Toris laughed nervously, making Feliks huff. “I suppose. Though I tend to share with people I like. Like my friends,~” He gave Toris another smirk at the end of that phrase, making Toris’ entire face heat up again. He covered it up in embarrassment and hurried out of the barracks, having quite enough of their tour. Feliks followed after him and looked at a few flowers. “Normally, you eat with the other guards, all of your meals. But since you’re new here, today I’m going to make an exception and let you eat at my table,” Toris explained, making Feliks gasp. “Seriously? You really, really mean it? Like, no joke?” He asked in disbelief, and when Toris nodded in confirmation, he found himself in a giant hug-tackle from Feliks, knocking the two to the ground. “Like, you’re amazing! Way better than the last noble I worked for! I promise, I like promise, I’ll never let you go,” He whispered the last part, then seemingly remembered his position and got off Toris, this time blushing like crazy. “Sorry….” “It’s okay…” Toris said quietly and quickly, standing up in a rush and smoothing out his green robes. “It was an accident,” He started heading back into the castle, wondering about Feliks’ back-story. He wondered if this man was the best choice to protect him, and what kind of person he would eventually reveal himself to be. And finally, just what kind of feelings was he stirring up for Toris? Nothing he had any experience with, yet….it didn’t feel entirely bad. In fact, it kinda felt….good. A small smile broke out on his face as he watched Feliks run ahead of him into the palace to get some food. No matter what kind of person he turned out to be, one thing was certain. Feliks was an interesting person, and he was the only person who had managed to make Toris’ heart flutter.

[doodlebug-aboo]

"My mom knitted you a jumper" w relmer bc buggy I want u to know that elmers mother 100% would knit sweaters for her kids and their various friends and romantic partners

Sammy ily this prompt is beautiful. It’s kinda short, honestly, but I still really like what I wrote, I hope you like it too!

Read it on ao3 here!

“Hey, Race? What exactly is your shirt size?”

Race and Elmer had been sitting together at lunch, when Elmer randomly burst out with that question.

“I’m sorry, what?” Race asked. “Why do you ask?”

Elmer flushed and he scratched the back of his neck nervously. “N-no reason! Don’t worry about it.”

Race looked at him, confused, but he shrugged. “I’m typically like, a medium?”

Elmer nodded. “Cool.”

Race shook his head amusedly, and they went back to their lunches and continued like normal.

The question bugged Race, though. For a while. He kept thinking about it, and he couldn’t think of any reason why he’d need to know his shirt size. He thought, maybe, he was asking because he was thinking about a gift to give him for Christmas? But Elmer didn’t celebrate Christmas, he was Jewish. He was very confused. He didn’t like it. He tried to bring it up to Elmer again, but he had avoided the question like the plague. That only caused Race to be even more curious. He was certain he was dying. He was such a curious person and he just needed to know already.

He finally found out, two days before Christmas. Elmer showed up at Race’s apartment with a gift bag in hand. “Hey Race! Happy holidays!” He shoved the bag into his hands.

Race raised his eyebrows and opened the bag to look inside. He pulled out the contents, and he laughed. “Elm, what is this?”

Elmer flushed and looked at his feet. “My mama knitted you a sweater. She made one for all of us. She made a big one with two head holes for Feliks and Florian. She thought it was funny. She made me ask you for your size, so she could make it. Do you like it?”

Race nodded. “Yes, I love it. Your mom is so sweet, I love her to death. Though, you said she made one for all of you guys. Where’s yours?”

Elmer bit his lip. “At home. At the bottom of one of my drawers.”

Race shook his head. “Nope. That won’t do. You need to go get it and put it on immediately, or I’m telling your mom that you didn’t like yours.”

Elmer gasped. “You wouldn’t.”

Race crossed his arms. “I would. Now come on, I’ll drive.”

Elmer grumbled as he left Race’s apartment, Race grabbing his keys and following close behind, smiling happily. They went out to Race’s car and drove back to Elmer’s house, which really wasn’t far. They could have walked. They walked in, and Race was immediately greeted by Elmer’s mom.

“Anthony Edward! There you are! Did Eliasz give you the sweater?” She asked with a smile.

Race grinned back and gave her a big hug. “He did! And I love it, thank you. You’re so sweet. We came back here because I’m making Elmer put his on.”

Elmer’s mom laughed. “Oh, he hates it, I can tell. A mother’s gift.” Elmer came out of his room just then and made his way to where Race and his mom were. Race snorted when he saw him. “Thank you for this gift,” Elmer’s mom had whispered in his ear. The sweater had one thing on it, and Race saw a theme between his and Elmer’s. Elmer’s sweater had a glue bottle knitted into it. Race’s had had a racecar.

Race walked towards him. “Elmer, you look absolutely adorable.” He wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned in to give him a quick kiss.

Elmer pushed him away. “Nope. You have to put yours on now.”

Race grinned. “Oh, happily, Elmer. Though, I left it at home.”

Elmer sighed. “Fine, back to your place then.” Race waved to Elmer’s mom before leaving. They climbed back into Race’s car, and drove back to Race’s apartment. He grabbed the bag with the sweater in it from the counter once inside, and slid into the bathroom to quickly slip it on.

He came out with a proud smirk. “How do I look?”

“Like a dork,” Elmer laughed. That only made Race grin wider.

Race walked over to Elmer, and wrapped his arms around his waist once again. “Can I kiss you now?”

Elmer giggled at him. “You may.”

Race leaned in happily and kissed Elmer softly. “You’re adorable, you know that?”

Elmer shrugged. “Only because you tell me about one hundred times a day.”

Race laughed. “Because it’s true! Now, we definitely have to take a thousand pictures in these sweaters because I’m seriously living for them. I love your mom.”

Elmer groaned, but complied. They didn’t take a thousand, but they did take quite a few. Race posted a few to his Instagram and Snapchat, and sent one to the huge group chat.

Higgs: snapchat-120887652310.jpg

Higgs: guys i LOVE elms mom

Elm: guys i hate race

Higgs: u love me

Elm: incorrect

Bi Disaster: aw what cuties. relationship goals! lol

Brooklyn is Better: i will kill u myself, kelly

Jacobs One: pls dont i kinda like this one

Jacobs Two: do it. end our suffering.

Elmer and Race laughed at their friends together, and ended up curling up on the couch with hot chocolate, still in their sweaters. What Elmer didn’t know, was that Race was already planning on how he was going to print out one of the pictures they took and frame it. He couldn’t wait to see his reaction to that.