#stamp 2

hey look at me

Alfred obviously being happy for his parents but also sad because he can't stop thinking about Ivan during the wedding. We know this is canon bc he was thinking abt Ivan during the proposal. He's watching the French and English people and governments welcome this with (relatively) open arms and just wants to cry. Because he'll never get that, even ignoring how homophobic and awful both of their governments are they're still Russia and America, even more liberal people would make a fuss. The most he could ever hope for is being engaged in secret. It's something but it will never be enough. He can't even tell his family because if it got out in any way they'd both be in trouble but Ivan would have it much much worse. If it was just Alfred's life in danger he'd do it in a heartbeat, risk it all for Ivan, but he can't ask Ivan to do that, especially not before the new rules for NPs get passed.

they're so tragic 😔🥀

- @canadain-goose

yeah :/ a big big theme in stamp 2 is alfred dealing with this feeling of wanting so badly for his relationship with ivan to not mean anything politically and for it to be normal and accepted, and his sort of outsider-y feeling when watching his parents be together happily and publicly. even tyler and jenny who are now dating. to see anyone happily in love is somewhat upsetting but he has to remind himself that its worth it even with the fear of something to go wrong because to be open with ivan, and it to be their little secret, is so much more than either of them had before.

last ask before im forcing myself to go to bed and its a GOOD ONE. i have said many different things about stamp 2 because the scope of stamp 2 has changed considerably over time. originally, it was going to be a oneshot that was solely from ivans pov that only took place at the same time as the end of stamp 1. stamp 2 has truly evolved to be stamp 2--its the same style as the first one, which means its going to be a mix of alfred, jenny, and ivan pov (ivan taking the place of arthur, and jenny's role being diminished, i think. there will be more ivan pov than there was arthur pov in stamp 1)

the theme here is love once again, this time focusing on alfred and ivan's forbidden rusame situation, and navigating that in 2026. we're juxtaposing the isolation that ivan feels being literally alone in russia, with the isolation that alfred feels surrounded by other couples who dont have to hide (fruk and jyler). on top of this, the russia reveal is happening, and the unnc is starting to meddle in ways that prove to be annoying. alfred continues to step further into the light, and ivan is forced into it. theres fandom drama. its a whole thing. alfreds got this influencer thing going on (that he wouldn't be doing if he didn't feel like he had to) but he still feels so fake because his own father doesn't know that he's been in love with the same person for his entire life. meanwhile, ivans all worried about any of his actions butterfly-effecting alfred all the way on the other side of the planet, esp now that he knows about the lobotomy.

there will be reveals aplenty that happen against the wills of the characters, and reveals that they decided to share themselves. autonomy continues to be a theme here. the parts of yourself that are taken from you, and the parts that you decide to give.

you didn't ask but im already talking. i think that stamp 2 is more action-packed than stamp 1. things are just always happening. people always moving around. theres a wedding to plan.

yessss the first chapter of stamp 2 takes place on february 13, which was in the middle of the Olympics, and itll get a few mentions. but due to Events that take place, it quickly becomes overshadowed by The Plot. alfred just wants to watch hockey without All That happening in the background, poor guy.

Oh Kamala we’re really in it now

i haven't done a crazy amount of reading about this but i know that king charles did make a comment about how if it wasn't for them wed all be speaking french which i thought was funny because once again the idea that the americans ever felt super threatened by the french is being perpetuated #thecylcecontinues. alfred is mortified about arthur seeing his government up close because the last time arthur would have been here on a state visit was 2007. arthur is trying really hard not to make bad comments about trump in front of the cameras because then his bosses would be really mad at him and it would cause a scandal but after the events of affix the stamp hes having a really hard time.

real talk, this state visit has got be thinking a lot about the logistics of my doni sequel. at first, it was an ivan oneshot with less focus on current events. now im thinking its going to be pretty similar to affix the stamp's format, just with a focus on rusame, and with a good number of rusame flashbacks sprinkled throughout. Ivan is still going to be one of the two main characters, but i think there will be more about the UNNC and the resolution of all that stuff than originally planned. its really looking like affix the stamp 2. still, our plot timeline is february to june of 2026. so arthur's visit will absolutely be covered.