#grim reader

@hetaween-event

For the Day 2 hetaween event (an HetaliaxHalloween event) : bookshop - horror movie - grim reaper

"England the grim reader"

"They had heard about the strange light in the library at noon. Arthur had warned them himself not to wander past 8 o'clock.

But they didn't listen. They were intrigued by the legend, they wanted, like all young spirits, to be the first to brave the danger.

And thus, the students hid and stayed until the last employee dissapeared, until no sound could be heard.

The path to the oldest part of the building was near, they could smell the books from afar.

And suddenly, one warned " shut the light down!". A greenish glimmer, a fantomatic halo...all the warnings in their head, the contradictory feeling couldn't stop the curiosity, the bravery of the adrenaline.

In a few steps, they came to face a dark, clothed figure, reading, sitting on a pile of books with funny names.

To their dismay, the apostle of death raised its head, fully aware of their presence. The electric green eyed of Arthur, the "librarian", glared menacingly, before he shut his book and growled " I did warn you."

*****

England the Librarian is an old idea of fanfic (I never wrote because I can't see how the story would really end) about England taking a regular job at a library full of students and being seen as a bit too knowledgeable for someone his age. Normaly he is protective of his people, so we could say he's actually just scaring them of.

Nine times Ida Rosenthal thought she was ready, and the one time she really was —

coming to a bookstore near you!

Ok, I’m joking because I’ve not even written it out yet however, this is exactly how I imagine it, and I think each of those non instances are huge, crucial to their growth and going to be amazing to explore.

Literally I wanna have a set number, and each is a vignette of its own. I just need to plot out what those scenarios are.

Because there is so much before the sex.

NSFW BELOW:

Hello my dear, I’ve missed you, *pets head*

I’ve got a rather massive one shot queued up on this very aspect, it’s not the full of it, no, but it’s a massive part of his arc in this story and the bereft feeling that peacetime brought with it. While I have a vague intention for his marriage and family to closely resemble his real one in this AU, it will be postponed, rash as he may be once he marries anyway, it’s simply not at all on the cards in 1945 for this AU, his emotional fidelity is split about three ways in this one, and there was a whole life he has planned and dedicated to himself that didn’t happen, twice over. It is going to be brutal but it’s also one of my fave parts as it explores what a heart this man has, beyond a romantic one.

Here, have a snippet, I haven’t got a title for it yet but it takes place after Jack Brady’s wedding in 1945:

Grim Reader, I raise my glass to you and am turn thinking intensely of how maybe it wasn’t so bad at first or was merely a one off occurrence upon landing, it’s not until after the great escape when the SS take over that the brutality and arbitrary authority reaches new levels that this man is compelled by necessity of protecting others to push himself further and further where he never thought his own pride and principles would allow him.

If not me, then who? Is what haunts him and if it were his own life at stake, it’s not even worth hearing the alternatives but when it’s another’s wellbeing, he’s got no choice…and the Germans know it.

And all the while, Maureen is watching this devolve and know he’s not alone in it and everything he’d once been so enraged for on her behalf he now mutters away as inconsequential as its happened to him. And it makes her blood boil as there’s no arguing with that man when he thinks his choice is his comeuppance and that makes them different.

Uh, Nonnie, I feel like I just met a fellow Grim AF-er and I kinda wanna hug you, for some weird reason.

Because -I’ve been thinking of this and wondering how hated I’d be to add it and I probably need to just man the hell up as an author and realize not many people are reading this series for the fluff -the love, the connections, the human resilience? Sure, and those will always be present. But we also want to put ourselves through it, that’s why it’s set in a POW camp.

I also love some angst. I love some historically accurate horrors. I love impressive people stripped down to brass tacks. The more I love you the more you’ll go through is a very common authoring motto, ha.

So anyway. Was already thinking that.

Because what else are her options? Especially after all other likelihood starts to pass by, stubbornly it stays and her chances for evasion are growing ever slimmer. She’s tried sports and god knows she’s not eating enough and she could try to catch Egan’s elbow to the gut or rile Maureen into a fight but she knows they’d take that guilt on them if her ploy succeeded. So…

…Yeah…

That whole little portion where Rosie's talking about the Brass paying the men to never talk about it? I'd love to see some expansion on that. Is there anyone out of the men that actually WOULD talk about it and the Brass would try to enforce a policy of silence? Statistically speaking, there oughta be at least one man who's unafraid to speak about it, at least to Rosie and Ida. And how do the Brass respond? If he's a military man, are they trying to stifle his career because it's not a good look? Are they trying to pay him off or find ways to buy his silence? Where's the support system for this person who is so willing to talk about it but no one will listen? Just a thought haha.

Holy smokes you’re over the target.

Because, not only are the brass both angry over it and have the leverage to damage and suppress his testimony of the same, I feel that the support group is indeed non existent. Becasue who the fuck wants to bond over that? Hell no, they wanna go home and get jobs and enjoy hamburgers and marry women and have kids and never be suspected of ever being less than a man ever again.

So not only do you have the brass being pissed over this, I think his fellow servicemen would as well. Like, just shut up already so this stops being a subject, ya know?