#idk if you can get it elsewhere yet but I got it in Australia and the Author is also Aussie | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rein-ette · 3 years

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Are you still working on your Commonwealth study? Do you have any thoughts on Arthur's relationships with his colonies apart from Canzuk + US?

Not properly, unfortunately with exams and then work I haven’t had mental/emotional capacity to do real research (and probably won’t for a while 😔). But I have continued to think about and develop certain relationships, and I think I also have old hcs I’ve never shared, so I’ll put those down!

Born into the Empire

Australia

@oumaheroes has already done such great hcs on him idk what I can add, but basically he was a little bit of a rowdy child, always breaking windows and shattering fancy pots, never able to sit still. I think rainbow once mentioned that Ken (short for Kenneth, my name for Aus) was a lot like England as a child in his curiosity and energy, and I wholeheartedly agree. But I think Arthur’s intensity was more inwardly directed, pushing him to pursue and master new talents and learn whatever he could, while Australia is a little more carefree in his love for the outdoors, exploring, jumping around and off things, little wild animals. Unfortunately for him, he was born in a period of the empire when Arthur was very serious about his kids education, and therefore often praised those who studied hard and learned fast, which really just wasn’t Australia’s cup of tea. Australia took this kinda hard and thought he was the “dumb” one in the family that Arthur was always scolding, but in reality Arthur knew and appreciated that Australias interests lay elsewhere — he was just a frustrated, tired, parent who really wanted to give his kids the best while also holding his empire together, two goals that were never going to fit well in the end and would completely exhaust him.

As Australia’s grown older he’s realized a bit of this (not entirely, though) and also that 1) he really did break a lot expensive things and cause general mayhem 2) scolding us Arthur’s way of showing he cares, if he didn’t he wouldn’t have payed attention to him at all 3) despite being a penal colony, he was still one of Arthur’s more “legitimate” children (being white and a boy) and was therefore still incredibly privileged — never having to question, for example, why it was that Arthur was his dad, if it should be this way, or if he had a seat at the family table at all (more on this later).

New Zealand

Zee, from birth, was a clear favourite. Obedient, calm, quietly intelligent, he would also later develop a blistering sense of humour which combined with his appearance made it overwhelmingly clear who’s child he was. If Ken questioned his place in the family because of his poor academic record and others did because of their appearance/race/other complications, Kaelan never had such problems; his siblings called him the “prince.” Zee, however, also had a charm that, like Matthew, endeared him to his siblings and mostly protected him from jealousy, though he certainly still had issues with being called a try hard, daddy’s boy, bossy, arrogant. Certainly as a child Zee was a little prideful and, under that unperturbed demeanour, willful, but he grew out of it by the 20th century and became one of those most trusted by Arthur, second only to Matthew. He’s also always been inseparable from his brother Australia despite their differences, and today they both have one of the healthiest and most amicable relationships with Arthur of any nation, let alone former colonies (family road trips, every summer).

Bermuda

I absolute fell in love with this girl after reading about here, once, in this fic by @shachaai, and after that my mind just ran away with me. For me, her human name given to her by Arthur just has to be Ariel — for the little mermaid reference, yes, symbolizing her connection to the sea and stunning good looks, but also because:

1. Ariel is a biblical name, meaning lion of God. This makes sense to me, because Bermuda began as a Portuguese trade post, so Arthur definitely consulted our resident bad catholic Port before naming her.

2. Ariel used to be boys name. This also makes sense, because I hc Bermuda was and still is a tomboy. Bitch is fierce, takes no prisoners, and has zero filter. Her letters to Arthur, which all the colonies sent so Arthur could keep an eye on things, were full of shit like “I swear to god if the Spanish don’t get out of my waters I might eat one of them,” and “father, I asked you for destroyers two months ago, and yet you sent them to Hong Kong — could you explain this most unusual occurrence, surely it’s not that you forgot”, and “thank you for the harpoon on my birthday, I caught a small shark a couple days ago and have sent you some of its teeth for your collection.” Arthur tolerates this attitude because he’s weak when it comes to girls; he absolutely spoils his daughters (and flushes like a 16 year old when a woman so much as bats her eyelashes at him). Yes, p*ssywhipped Arthur is a hill I will die on.

3. It also suits her because? Ariel? Shakespeare? The Tempest? Bermuda Triangle? Shipwrecks? Daughter-like figure of powerful and vengeful sorcerer? Yeah. And this girl is a fire spirit — she is so lively, snarky, clever. As she’s grown older she’s mellowed out a little, but still: a no shit taken, no fucks given type of gal.

4. Speaking of growing up, she’s also become quite the beauty. Shacha, if I’m remembering correctly, described her as dark skinned, wavy-haired, and green eyed and that image has been burned onto the back of my eyelids ever since. Those Iberian genetics really be pulling through for her, that’s for sure. Engport love child if I’ve ever seen one. Definitely one of the prettiest in her family.

Singapore

I’ve already mentioned this to needcake, but I’m not too big a fan of canon Singapore, so this is my oc version. Singapore is fascinating to me because it had only a very small local population before it became a colony (The original settlement had actually been destroyed by the Portuguese about two centuries before the British started building a port there.) So nation-tans like Singapore and Bermuda really are Arthur’s children in the most direct sense of the word. And yet, Singapore is mostly ethnically Chinese, with Malays being the second largest group. Growing up Asian in a white, Victorian era family surely cannot have been easy and more than once Singapore probably wondered if there hadn’t been some mistake. To make up for the constant fear that he wasn’t “really” British, Singapore studied ferociously and had a truly terrifying work ethic. I’m not sure if this is common knowledge outside Asian circles, so I’ll mention that this hc comes from the fact Singapore is well known for having truly exceptional students and some of the most prestigious schools. Singaporeans score highly in literally everything and they have an advantage with good English learning environments, a highly desirable trait in Asia, but these results come from brutally long hours — and its really saying something that they’re known for working hard, considering the studying ethic of students in Korea, Japan, and China aint nothing to sneeze at, either. To me this actually fits really well with Singapore’s upbringing in Arthur’s household, because Arthur himself prizes intelligence and hard work above all else, being a workaholic himself.

As for their relationship, it was probably the best when Singapore was young and peaked in the 1930s with the massive naval base the British built at Singapore, at the time the largest dry dock in the world. Singapore was a well-behaved child, not necessarily introverted but not rowdy either, and all the way into his teenage years he truly admired Arthur and was proud to be a part of the British Empire, despite his lingering unease and insecurities. The British defeat in World War II, however, was a massive turning point. He had worked his ass off to be a good son, a good brother, to contribute to the only family and system he had ever known, and he had thought by the 30s he was finally on his way to becoming a fine adult. And suddenly, the British surrender brings his entire world crashing down. He had followed the rules faithfully thinking it was his destiny, but suddenly it was clear that all rules were made up. Of course, his insecurities exploded. If the empire was a ruse, what the hell was he? A part of the illusion? He couldn’t have a truly Asian identity, because many of the old East Asian nations shunned him for his Western upbringing, and he could not entirely understand their values either. So he was a kid who kinda had to figure out late and very very suddenly who the fuck he was and wanted to be.

And, well, he’s done pretty well for himself, hasn’t he. After having a total crisis and questioning everything, I think Singapore slowly started to realize that just because the British Empire as a political entity didn’t last forever, that didn’t mean that his entire childhood and identity weren’t real. The love he gave to his siblings and the love he got back, the hard work he put in, his bond with Arthur and the safe, happy childhood he had — those memories and feelings didnt have to be diminished by what came after. Essentially, he learned the lesson all nations have to learn, which is that one needs to be able to discern between duties as a nation and feelings as a human being, and to some extent keep them separate to protect both.

Whoooooo ok I’ll stop there because this turned into a dissertation, sorry. Let me know if there are any specifics u want me to elaborate on or anything I missed, but I’ll leave this here for today :)

#hws england #hws Australia #hws new zealand #oc: hws Bermuda #not gonna tag anymore I’m lazy #fun times with the commonwealth #I probably won’t write so much for all of them I just put it there to remind myself #needcake #ask #my hcs

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narrymusings · 6 years

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Hii idk if you still write but i found this quote and i feel like i could be a perfect narry fic "We met at the wrong time. That’s what I keep telling myself anyway. Maybe one day years from now, we’ll meet in a coffee shop in a far away city somewhere and we could give it another shot."

I’m gonna go ahead and call this: time’s never been on our side

Harry startles when he sees him, standing there in the middle of acoffee shop, gaze glued to his phone – probably catching up on the news viaTwitter.

It’s first thing in the morning, Harry hasn’thad his coffee yet, and the last thing he expects when he walks through thedoor of his local Starbucks – the one that’s right around the corner from hisoffice, is to see Niall Horan standing in line. It’s 8:30 on a Friday morning,Harry hasn’t seen Niall in about 10 months, hasn’t talked to him in about six,and yet here he is, the love of his life, standing less than 10 feet away fromhim.

And Harry doesn’t have the first clue aboutwhat to do. Does he approach Niall? Does he pretend that he doesn’t even seeNiall? Does he pretend like he doesn’t see Niall until he turns around and thenact surprised to see him there?

Ten months ago, approaching Niall wouldn’thave been a problem. Ten months ago, they were friends – at least, they hadbeen trying to be friends. Approaching Niall would have made his heartbeatquicken and the butterflies in his stomach come to life – but it would havebeen normal. It would have been easy. Hehad known where he stood, 10 months ago. But now?

He doesn’t know where they stand.

The line in front of him moves, so he moveswith it. Niall is two spots away from the only cash that’s open; Harry is five.He isn’t any closer to Niall than he had been, but the tension in his chesttightens just the same.

They used to be in love, is the thing. And,well- Harry is still in love. Has always been in love. Will probably always bein love, if 10 months apart not having changed a damn thing in the way Harryfeels is anything to go by. They used to be so utterly in love with each other,but they just…never seemed to be able to make it work. And Lord knows they tried.And they tried. And they tried.

It just never stuck. The timing was neverright. At least- That’s what Harry had told himself, 12 months ago. That they’re meant to be together, eventually, it’sjust that the timing is all wrong. That perhaps they just…fell in love tooearly. Or maybe they fell in love at the right time, but they acted on it tooearly.

He wants tobelieve that. He wants so badly to believe that they’ll be able to make itwork, one day, and that every time they failed before was just practice.

Niall is atthe counter, now, and Harry doesn’t have to hear his voice in order to hear it— but hearing it helps. It makes every fibre in his body come to life, makesevery hair stand on edge, makes his heart skip a beat. His voice is likechocolate and Harry would know it anywhere, even if he didn’t already know thatNiall was here.

He rememberstheir last conversation. Remembers how drunk Niall was, in some bar he’dimmediately forgotten the name of in the middle of Malaysia; remembers how he’dbeen home from university to visit his mother. Remembers Niall soundingunusually sad right from the second Harry had picked up. He remembers Nialltelling him that he thinks he needs some more space, that being thousands ofmiles away wasn’t enough space if he still called him every day to hear hisvoice. He remembers listening to Niall sniff back tears whilst saying that hewould keep Harry updated as to his whereabouts, but that he couldn’t keeptalking to him; remembers Niall muttering that it was too hard.

He rememberscrying himself to sleep that night, but knowing that it was for the best.

All too soon,it’s Harry’s turn to order and out of the corner of his eye, just as he startsto tell the barista that all he really wants is a black coffee, he sees Niall’shead snap up. Sees Niall’s eyes widen, sees the hint of a smile tugging at hislips. And, well- Now he has no choice but to approach.

His heartfeels like it’s lodged itself up into his throat, and his stomach churns as hepays the cashier because there’s no getting out of it now. There’s no goingback.

Niall is allsmiles as Harry approaches him, prepares himself to give Harry his undividedattention by slipping his phone into the back pocket of his trousers. “Hey,” hebreathes, reaching out for Harry’s hand, and then- “C’mere.”

And Harry issort of taken aback by the force Niall uses to pull him into a hug. He goeseasily, though. Sort of just falls into Niall’s chest, wraps his arms aroundNiall’s back, digs his nose into Niall’s neck. And every anxiety, every fear,every feeling of uneasiness that he’d felt when he walked through the door not10 minutes ago just- Melts away. It disappears. It’s a Niall thing, that;chasing away Harry’s fears. Always has been.

“I missedyou,” Niall whispers softly before pulling back. He lets his arms fall to hissides, only to then push them into the pockets of his baby blue jeanjacket.

“I missed youtoo,” Harry murmurs back. And for the first time in 10 months, he really seesNiall. Sees how tanned he is, how much thinner he is, how broad his shouldershave become — all from just…travelling Europe. “H-How long have you beenback?”

“Literally anhour,” the other bloke says. He side-steps Harry to grab his drink from thebarista, and pauses to offer her a small ‘thank you’, before he steps backagain. “In my haste to leave the airport I neglected to get meself a coffee,so- But I’m going to settle back in right now.”

“Oh? Who areyou staying with?” Harry finds himself asking — because they haven’t spoken inmonths, and neither Louis nor Liam have mentioned anything to him about Niallstaying with them.

“Just gonnastay with John and his girl for a bit,” Niall shrugs. “That is- Until I can getenough money for first and last months’ rent elsewhere.”

“You’restaying, then?” Harry asks, and he hates the way his heart feels hopeful.

“Yeah,” Niallsays, pausing to let Harry collect his drink from the barista. “Apart fromgoing home to visit the family for a bit next month. I’m all travelled out now,I think. Got it out of my system, so- I’m ready to just be home now.”

They’ve nevertalked about why Niall had suddenly decided that he’d wanted to travel Europe —and Asia, and Australia. And they probably never will. But Harry knows thatit’s because of their last breakup.

“You’ll haveto tell me all about it, sometime.”

“I will,” Niallpromises. “And you’ll have to tell me how things have been back here.”

Harry scoffs,rolls his eyes a bit playfully. “Same old, same old, mate. London is London.It’s beautiful and exciting, but nothing much changes.”

Niall laughs,softly. And Harry sort of wishes that he would keep going. “You’ve been good,then?”

“Yeah,” Harrynods. “Been good.”

“And theboys?”

“Louis gotback together with El,” Harry says. “Freddie loves her, so that’s a plus. AndBear is happy and healthy and Liam is happy and healthy, so-“

“So thingshave been good, then,” Niall finishes. He does that sometimes; finishes Harry’ssentences.

“Yeah,” Harrywhispers. Would have been better if you’d been here too though, iswhat he wants to say. But he isn’t that selfish.

Niall smiles,runs a hand through his hair.

And, as if oncue, Harry’s phone rings from within the pocket of his jacket. “Shit,” hecurses. “That’s probably my boss. I should- I gotta go, I’m sorry.”

Niall shakeshis head. “No, go- Do what you gotta do. I should head back to John’s anyway.It was- It was nice to see you, H.”

Harry smiles.“Likewise,” he murmurs. “Don’t be a stranger, yeah? I really do wanna hear allabout your trip.”

“I won’t be astranger,” Niall promises.

And withthat, despite every fibre of his being wanting to stay, wanting to be close toNiall — despite the little voice in the back of his mind telling him to growsome bullocks and not let time get in the way, he turns to leave.One foot in front of the other. Pure determination alongside the fact that hisboss is going to have his head, are the only reasons he even makes it throughthe exit.

He doesn’teven make it off the step and onto the sidewalk before Niall is there, fingersclutching the sleeve of Harry’s jacket, cheeks flushed, blue eyes wide andbeautiful. Harry decided, then, that he’s never been more in love.

Can I askyou something?” Niall wonders, then, as he lets go of Harry’s arm.

Harryswallows hard around the lump in his throat. “‘Course.”

Are youseeing anyone, currently?”

He tries tofight the smile he can feel tugging at the corners of his mouth, tries to fightthe blush that’s creeping its way onto his cheeks — but he fails. “No,” hesays, almost too quickly, not that it matters. “No, I’m not seeing anyone.You?”

“Nah, meneither,” Niall says with a slight shake of his head. He licks his lips, tiltshis head. “You wanna, maybe, go out sometime?”

“I’m freetomorrow,” Harry finds himself saying. Playing hard to get would be useless,and they both know it.

Niall grins.“Great, me too.”

Harry smiles,runs a hand through his hair. “Alright. Cool. I’ll, um- I’ll text you.”

“Yeah, or- Imean, I can text you.”

“Or we cantext each other,” Harry says, with a shrug.

“Yeah,” Niallagrees, smiling awkwardly. “Okay. Go- Work. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Harry hasnever wanted Friday to end quicker.

“Are you-You’re sure you wanna do this?” Harry asks, his voice soft and hoarse, as hepresses Niall up against the door to his flat, gently.

“Positive,”Niall breathes, gazing at him with lidded, lustful eyes.

“Because, ifyou don’t-“

“Harry, hey-“he murmurs, reaching both hands up – one to wrap around the back of Harry’sneck, the other to push Harry’s fringe back. “I want this. I feel good aboutthis, this time. Fifth time’s a charm.”

Harry smirks.“‘m not Irish, but I’m also pretty sure that’s not how it goes.”

Niall shrugs.“Yeah, well- I am Irish, and I feel lucky.”

#narry blurb #narry prompt #i took this one pretty literally #narry #monkeys

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