#amefre

anon he'd be so angry he'd have a fucking manic episode.

but before I get to that: I think US/France is a really interesting pairing, though I don't think they'd last long outside of specific time periods, namely the American Revolution and aftermath years, maybe have another fling in WW1 if Alfred really, really pities how pathetic Francis is after getting hit by the war and the Spanish flu. I can see Alfred getting taken in by how charming and romantic Francis is, and Francis really enjoying the opportunity of getting to protect and mentor someone so genuinely sweet and idealistic. I'm not really sure how far this relationship actually goes, though I imagine their dynamic during the Revolutionary War, the French Revolution, and WW1 are all dramatically different. hm, this isn't even something I ship but you've got me thinking about it now.

the earlier the time period, the worse I see Arthur handling the relationship, especially since I have Arthur and Alfred's dynamic be father-son instead of brothers or as a ship.

honestly, Francis just allying with Alfred during the American Revolution is enough to make Arthur hit the ceiling. he's angry with Alfred because not only is Alfred turning traitor by rebelling, but he's joining their worst enemy too? like I do want to point out that during the Revolution, the Americans did not consider themselves Americans, and neither did the Brits- they were all British (and most of them English at that) and they'd all fought for Britain against the French barely more than a decade ago. so the betrayal there is a double-whammy as the Americans reject not only king and but also country. so Arthur is deeply upset with Alfred for the alliance.

but as for Alfred possibly being in a relationship with Francis.... Alfred is still pretty young, whereas Francis is even older than Arthur; also Francis raised Matthew, who is nearly identical to Alfred, up until Arthur took custody of him. Arthur is deeply disgusted at the whole thing. he feels like Francis betrayed Matthew and that Alfred betrayed Arthur, and that Francis is taking advantage of Alfred to get back at Arthur. I do think Arthur would genuinely be upset enough to accidentally trigger a manic episode and then he'd just be in a manic rage and at that point he's beyond reason.

but after the American Revolution... well, my headcanon is that Arthur spent the period between the American Revolution up until the end of the Napoleonic Wars having off-and-on intense manic episodes, so he'd continue to be angry for awhile, but once the French Revolution breaks out he does have calmer moments where he's just scared. now Francis is the one spinning out of control and Alfred definitely does not have the experience or maturity to help him but he wants so badly to help and Arthur does not like it one bit. Arthur wants Alfred to stay the fuck away from Francis until the whole thing gets sorted. Arthur doesn't know if Francis would intentionally hurt or be cruel to Alfred but he's still suspicious of Francis's motives given the American independence and it's not like Francis is exactly in his right mind at this point in time anyway. so the whole thing is rather painful for Alfred but Arthur does, for the most part, successfully get him to stay on the other side of the Atlantic.

the post-Napoleonic period is.... hmmm. the non-hetalia, historical/political tldr is that between 1815-1860, US-France relations are okay. cordial enough. I'm going to skip to WW1 because that's more interesting, and the dynamics between Alfred, Francis, Arthur, and Matthew (because he is kinda involved) are radically different in WW1 than they were in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

the (highly simplified) historical rundown is that now it's Britain and Canada who have an alliance with France, with the US refusing to actually fully commit to the alliance even upon entering the war, which the US did as an "associated power" rather than a formal ally. functionally they were all allies but the US spends the entire war extremely reluctant to get too 'entangled.' still, the Americans are deeply sympathetic to the French suffering during the invasion and much of the American action during the war is dedicated to defending the French forces and civilians which, unsurprisingly, endeared the Americans very greatly to the French public. politically, the American leadership and French leadership infuriate and drive each other up a wall while the Brits mostly try to mediate.

so the translation into hetalia makes the whole thing pretty complicated but also very interesting: Alfred is dealing with the mutually exclusive desires to remain aloof and to come running to help and protect Francis, while also wanting to punch him for being such a stubborn asshole. Francis is basically half-dead from the Spanish flu and the war, so he's overjoyed and very grateful for Alfred's help, but struggles with how frustrating Alfred is to deal with politically. they're both dealing with a sense of having to take the other off a pedestal because they've both romanticized the 'yay republics!' thing for a long time now and the reality of how difficult it is to cooperate is disappointing for them. but they do WANT to cooperate. Alfred does WANT to protect Francis, to pay him back for his vital support and trust over a century ago, and Francis is genuinely grateful and does WANT to show that appreciation. but man. man, it's a little rough going for them both.

Arthur meanwhile also has the flu and is extremely exhausted from basically carrying the Entente for a few years when he was expecting to fight a mostly naval war, he's depressed and just wants the whole thing to be over with but now he's stuck trying to de-escalate between Alfred and Francis. at this point, Arthur is so damn tired that even once he realizes they're having a fling or relationship or whatever it is, he can't really bring himself to feel much about it. Matthew is deeply irked and upset. but Arthur is just too tired. if anything, he probably uses their relationship when he's mediating to get them to cooperate and compromise. and in any case, Arthur has spent the last 20ish years trying to reconcile with Alfred so he's not looking to ruin that by pitching a fuss, and anyway now Alfred is older and (crucially) is much more experienced and less naive than he was in the American Revolution so Arthur is less anxious about it anyway. if Alfred wants to make stupid choices regarding his love life, well, it's probably because he takes after Arthur.