Heh, see, I haven't stopped writing, per se... just haven't been writing the correct stories :D
Hope you enjoy my fic about my little bean Wisconsin!
Wisconsin was not a well known state. Sure, he had his moments, but the spotlight was taken over by the big shots like New York, Southern California (nobody was sure why one state was represented by two people; though they were quite different), Texas and Florida. Truth to be told, he was too busy to really care; he was rather proud of his standing in the US, though he sometimes wished to be given more attention by America. The nation was usually with the other countries, but he occasionally came to visit his states. With fifty of them, it was difficult to give everyone undivided attention, which Wisconsin understood completely. Personally, he struggled with giving all his farm animals his own undivided attention. He never thought it was enough.
Then again, there was one thing he was very well known for, and that was cheese.
Wisconsin certainly took pride in his cheese, that was for sure. He had a habit with discretely rubbing it in Southern California's face that they had failed to take claim to the name "Dairy State." Nothing beat his trademark sharp cheddar. He was also a rather calm character, except on the occasion of a football game. Those were always intense, especially when the Packers were against Illinois' team, the Bears. Of course, the Packers more often than not won.
Regardless, none of these traits were the reason behind countries suddenly taking interest in him. The only reason he was suddenly the most interesting thing since France's most recent scandal was because of two main reasons.
America and Mexico.
America had been a little too annoying, a little too outspoken, a little too America, and Mexico was fed up with his whole attitude. It wasn't uncommon for the testy female to lash out at the American in discrete ways like spiking his food with her trademark spices or hiding all of his flags, but this time she was more irritated than usual, and her average annoyances weren't going to cut it. No, she had to strike deep.
Mexico had heard of his states though she had only met a select few, namely Texas, though she was also familiar with the other states sharing her border. And everyone had heard of New York and Cali, especially with all the bragging Alfred did.
She didn't want to bother any of the southern states, or even any of those in what they call "New England" (they sounded rather snobby, in her opinion). And those on the ocean's coast… well, Mexico thought there was only California, but nobody can blame her ignorance. Even America forgot the placement of his states sometimes, albeit seldom and often whilst drunk (poor Nebraska).
No, she wanted someone from what she had heard was dubbed the Midwest.
And that is where our story starts.
-x-
"Ethan! Ethan, can you believe it! The Vikings wo-!"
"Shut up," Ethan, or Wisconsin, interrupted sourly. He knew the Packers had lost. And to the Vikings, no less. It was like a nightmare. It was a nightmare.
"Come on, Ethan. Don't be such a sore loser." Michigan butt in. Ethan wrinkled his nose but stayed silent.
"What's this I hear? Did Wisconsin lose to Minnesota?" Illinois popped up cheerfully. Wisconsin groaned out loud. Illinois was unstoppable when he knew there was a chance at annoying Wisconsin. Of course, Wisconsin was the same, often mispronouncing his neighbor's name purposefully to annoy him.
"Yup!" Michigan piped up.
Wisconsin grumbled and hid behind his brandy.
"Well well well, if it wasn't just yesterday when you were braggin' about-"
"There's a tailgate party for the, uh, Brewers game. Promised I'd go." Ethan stood, glass in hand, and started stalking away.
"It ain't baseball season!" Minnesota called after him. Wisconsin ignored him and left the bar, starting his walk home, gazing at the flat plains with trees in the distance. He had a farm about a ten minute walk from the bar, knowing he would want to be able to go and drink alone without fear of driving drunk. Not like his own people were very concerned about that. His thoughts turned sour as he was reminded how many drunk drivers lived in his state.
He was halfway home when he realized he had taken the glass of brandy with him and was occasionally sipping from it. He wasn't disconcerted; the bar owners knew him quite well and would probably only tease him about it. It was a wonder to others that he was allowed to drink at all, appearing to be only fifteen to seventeen.
His door creaked open and Wisconsin stomped the dirt off his boots before walking in without removing said boots. He rubbed his dog's head absentmindedly as he grabbed a cheese stick from the fridge, one of the farm cats curled up on the window ledge, taking in the dying rays of the sun.
"Hmm." Wisconsin hummed to himself, rubbing his nose subconsciously and watching the sun fall behind a line of trees. The leaves of the trees still retained most of their green color, but the days were ending faster and leaves changing color. He glanced at his gun -which was leaning above the fireplace- with a smile. It's almost hunting season-
His thought process suddenly halted and he tightened his grip on the glass in his hands. There was a noise coming from the front… looks like I'll be using that gun a little early… he thought to himself as he placed the brandy on the counter and reached for the hunting weapon. The shortish state crept forward and leaned against his wall next to the door. His dog, Copper, sensed his tight nerves and nudged his knee with his head, knowing not to whine to alert any game. Though Ethan was sure that the sound was not game, he hoped desperately that it was.
After nothing happened for a good five minutes Ethan peeked out the window. Seeing nothing but the fading light leaving his farm, he snuck outside to see what had made the noise originally, seeing as it was most likely not an intruder. His curiosity and good nature demanded that he figured it out, lest it be an animal in need. Copper followed him dutifully until Ethan waved him back, not wanting to scare whatever it was.
Ethan had the gun lowered and was looking around for an animal, so he was not expecting a hand to clamp around his mouth with a cloth on his lips. He flailed, dropping his gun and trying to elbow the person or pull the hands off his mouth. They expertly held on, keeping the cloth tight as the state slowly lost consciousness. The last image he saw was a darker-skinned human leaning over him with long curly brown hair.
Then all senses failed him and he faded into unconsciousness.
-x-
"Who is this?"
"Mein gott, Mexico, what have you gotten yourself into?"
"He's kinda cute~"
"Cute? Non, he's almost a replica of Alfred! He's adorable!"
Wisconsin groaned and placed a hand on his head. He had a headache unlike any he had had before. The sandy-haired boy sat up and blinked open his murky blue-green eyes. The strange curl on the side of his head bounced slightly from his movement. He stared into the eyes of many eccentric-looking strangers and was instantly uncomfortable. He enjoyed talking to people, sure, but he enjoyed being in his own state, too. And he knew from the unfamiliar twinge he felt that he was nowhere near his state.
"Uhm," he stuttered in face of the silence.
"Awe, his voice is so quiet!" A brunette woman cooed, squeezing his cheeks. He felt a faint blush rush to his cheeks and he sank into himself slightly.
"Elizaveta, give him space." A man with darker brown hair placed a hand on her shoulder while sighing and fidgeting with his glasses a bit. The woman named 'Elizaveta' gave his cheek one last pinch before backing off.
"He really does look like Alfred!" A spanish accent proclaimed, drawing Wisconsin's accent to the tall man with darkish skin and curly brown hair. Wisconsin blinked; he was sure there was a state somewhere that shared most of this man's traits-
"No he doesn't. Alfred has darker hair and a much more stupid face," a british voice broke in bitterly. This one Wisconsin recognized. England had visited America before during his designated 'state time'. Nobody else really knew about the states except for their neighbors (meaning mainly Canada and Mexico), so America had been forced to cut his 'state time' short, to their dismay.
After England's comment, a blonde had taken a jab at the former empire, and the room dissolved into chaos. Wisconsin blinked and was reminded, if only slightly, of the state meetings.
"What is your name, and what is your status?" Ethan's eyes fell on a stoic-looking blonde with a thick german accent. German! He nearly jumped to his feet. This must be Germany, who was behind much of his culture. Many of his people spoke the language as well.
A man with hair as white as snow leaned in close to Germany and said something in german, to which the nation responded sharply in their language.
"I'm Ethan," he said in nearly fluent german. The two nations stared at him in confusion and interest, and Germany addressed him again.
"And what is your status?" He was obviously trying to allude to nation status without giving away too much.
"I'm Wisconsin." He stated proudly. His confidence withered, however, when he saw the two germanic nations exchange confused glances.
"And that is where…?" The man with white hair butt in, also in german.
"America." He said without thinking. Their eyes widened.
"Mein gott, Mexico! You kidnapped one of his states?"
The room dissolved into even more chaos and Mexico tried to defend herself. Nations instantly started taking sides over whether the choice was good or bad.
"So…" The albino man sidled over to Wisconsin, who shifted uncomfortably. "How do you know german?" He was speaking the very language while addressing the uncomfortable state.
"My people are predominantly German, around 40%, ya know. It was, uh, around the 1850s I think, when a bunch of germans came to Wisconsin because of some problem happening across the pond. I dunno what, but they're the reason we have so many brats and beer and-"
"I can see our awesomeness made all the right impressions on you!" The man snickered a strange laugh that sounded like kesesesese. And though he said everything else in german, the word 'awesome' was obviously english.
"Er… could you tell me your name?" Ethan asked awkwardly.
"Me?" The man appeared affronted for a mere moment before his confident smirk was back on his face. "The awesome me is called Prussia! Kesese~"
"Prussia, mon ami, stop corrupting l'Amerique's child, s'il te plait." A french accent interrupted the continuous german being spoken. Prussia placed his hands on his hips and let out another obnoxious laugh, addressing the newcomer.
"The awesome me could never corrupt such a German nation!"
"I'm, ah, not a nation. Just a state, ya know?" He said nervously, fingering the edge of his flannel.
"Of course, mon ami! Remind me of your name? I apologize if you've ever told me it before, though I'm sure I would remember such an adorable face." the frenchman, who Ethan assumed was France, gave him a suave look. He turned red, his brain short-circuiting and forgetting about his own past in lieu of the unexpected flirting.
"Stupid frog, you can't wait a second before flirting with the new guy!" An irritated look passed by France's face before he turned and addressed the newcomer.
"Ah, just as charming as ever, Arthur! But please excuse us, we were having a conversation." And with that France turned his back on the british man. England looked about to make a retort when his eyes fell on the smallish state. His eyes widened ever so slightly and he blinked. England could have sworn he saw a teenage America standing there a moment before.
In the lapse of concentration on England's part, France had managed to get Wisconsin's name out of him. Well, his state name. Ethan wasn't ready to tell them his human name yet. And he was still too overwhelmed to realize exactly who he was talking to.
"What a charming state you are! But I must say, you remind me of someone else… it's almost uncanny…" France frowned, as if trying to wrack his memory for something.
"…Wisconsin?" A soft voice spoke up to his left, and Wisconsin perked up at the familiar voice. "What are you doing here?"
"Canada!" He yelped in happiness, throwing his arms around the quiet nation. Canada stumbled back a bit at his exuberance but caught the teen in time. Kumajiro pawed at the state softly, recognizing him vaguely. "Man, am I glad to see a familiar face!"
While the two interacted in an obviously friendly manner, France, England, and Prussia were staring at the two nations with gaping mouths. They were nearly the same person.
While Wisconsin had the short hair of America it was closer to Canada's hair color, and the two were wearing similar red flannels and jeans, while Wisconsin's did appear to be a bit more used. There was a very similar curl bouncing off of both of their heads. The state was also shorter than the nation, but they could have easily passed as brothers.
"Wow! I knew they said you looked like America, but you're like his little brother!" A kind voice spoke up. Wisconsin looked away from his conversation about the best way to track game to see a pale haired man with a kind face and a strange accent.
"Hello, Finland," Canada said softly. Finland smiled, eyes flickering uncertainly. "Oh, hello, uh…"
"Canada."
"Ah that's right, Canada. It's nice to see you. Is this the boy that everyone's been talking about?" Wisconsin shifted slightly at the nation's words, ears turning pink.
"I'm Wisconsin." He introduced himself to yet another nation. A sudden thought struck him and he winced. America's gonna kill me. Then he briefly wondered where the obnoxious nation and father figure was.
"Finny! We wondered where you'd gone off to!" a man with tall blond hair jumped in grinning.
"H'llo." A tall, intimidating man appeared behind the small Fin and was staring at Wisconsin with an unreadable expression. He shivered; it almost reminded him of Alaska on his bad days. A man with a cross hairclip was also there, but he stayed silent. Then the man glanced around, seemed to spy what he was looking for, and dragged another blonde over by his ear. A puffin landed on the dragged man's shoulder.
"Ah, hello! This is Wisconsin, he's one of America's," Finland explained to his friends, gesturing to the state, who waved.
"'M Sw'd'n," the tall man said, nodding politely at Wisconsin. He nodded back meekly.
"I'm Norway, and this is Iceland, my little brother." Norway pointed to himself and the man next to him, who had a pout on his face.
"And I'm Denmark!" The last man burst out, pushing past the others and sticking out his hand in front of Wisconsin's face. Ethan smiled nicely and shook the Danes hand. While he was shaking his hand, who they were actually registered in his mind and he froze in place. From everything that had been happening he hadn't realized who he was speaking to. Denmark stared at him strangely, as he hadn't let go yet and had just stopped moving altogether.
"Y-you're… you're all…" Wisconsin seemed slightly daunted and overwhelmed by everything. The fact that he was only a state and that he was meeting all these big-shot nations was only part of it.
"Um… are you okay?" Denmark asked gently. This broke Wisconsin from his frozen state and he threw his arms around the confused Dane.
"Thank you!" Wisconsin muttered happily. Denmark had been the closest; Norway or Finland could have been his victim, and maybe even Sweden. Norway the most, however.
"Uh…" Denmark stared at the state with a bewildered expression on his face. He was sure he had never met the guy before, so he was completely in the dark as to why Wisconsin was suddenly very touchy-feely. "What are you thanking me for?"
Wisconsin faltered and drew his arms back, peering at the tall nation. His ears tinged pink when he realized his mistake. "Sorry. I shouldn't expect you to know. I'm just a little state, anyway."
Denmark's heart turned at the sight of the forlorned state and he prodded the teen for answers. "Explain it to us then."
Wisconsin brushed a lock of hair towards his ear but it fell right back into place when he brought his hand back. "A lot of your immigrants populated my state when I was really young. Yous guys are one of the reasons I exist."
"Wow!" Finland perked up, glancing between Wisconsin and Sweden. "All of us? Really?"
Wisconsin glanced at the fifth nation with white hair. "Well, not Iceland. But yeah, the four of you. Mostly Norway, though." Iceland didn't say anything and Norway had a contemplative expression on his face. Sweden's face was still blank though if you were looking closely you would have seen his eyebrow raise infinitesimally.
"When was it? I want to be able to place this," Finland said kindly, making Wisconsin brighten from the attention he was receiving from such an important personification.
"It was when my state was in early settlement, lots of Danes and Swedes and Norwegians came over, the Finns a little later but still important, but yous guys really helped me."
Finland's exuberance was cut off by the snickering of a certain Dane. When confronted with a questioning quirk of an eyebrow on Norway's face, he explained what he had suddenly found extremely humorous. "That's the second time you said yous guys, haha!"
Norway groaned and turned to apologize to Wisconsin while Finland blinked at his friend with a dry yet slightly confused expression. If sarcasm and being 100% done with the world had an expression, that was it. Sweden was staring at Denmark, not quite a glare, but close. Wisconsin himself had sighed; yeah, his accent wasn't the strangest, but it was still rather prominent.
"Sorry for him. He doesn't think before speaking." Norway informed the state. Ethan nodded slowly while Denmark pouted at Norway in jest.
"Ah, but non! That is where you are wrong!" France's loud voice cut into their conversation. The blonde nation was argueing with England and Prussia and the conflict was getting louder and louder, as all their arguments did.
"Of course not! The mere fact that you have the audacity to accuse me of being wrong is completely inane!" England shot back.
"Ugh, I need a beer…" Prussia muttered, already done being in the two's presence. Prolonged exposure could lead to insanity, and he didn't any more of that in his life.
"Oh, can I come?" to the shock of every surrounding nation, it was Wisconsin that had spoken up. They stared at him and his eyes were bright and expecting, though his expression turned a bit confused by all the stares. "Um, is there a strict 'only nations' bar you really wanted to go to er no?"
"No, but aren't you a little young to be drinking?" Finland said gently.
"Oh! Nah, I've been drinkin' since I was this size!" Wisconsin held out his hand to about his chin, which wasn't much smaller than him anyway. "Besides, I'm not really a big lightweight! I am part German, ya know?" His spoke brightly the whole time and Germany raised an eyebrow while Prussia smirked to himself. Without knowing, Wisconsin had set himself up for a challenge. England and France had differing reactions when they recognized the smirk on Prussia's face and the challenging gleam in his eyes; while England rolled his eyes and groaned France suppressed a smirk of his own and elected to go on this trip to see what happened.
"Sure, little German! Come on, I know a great place, just follow me…" Prussia led the innocent state away noticeably up to no good. France followed, as did Germany and England. Finland was held back by Sweden, though he protested with the reason "he needs backup! I need to protect the little boy!" Denmark was not, however, held back by the Swede, so he followed as well, never one to turn down drinks.
Canada also followed, but nobody noticed him leave.
"Get this, it's true German beer, kesese!" Prussia pushed a mug towards Wisconsin, who took in happily. Prussia had his own mug of the same beer, as did Germany. England and France ordered something else, as did Denmark, and Canada tried to get the bartender's attention.
"Like it?" Prussia tested the state, who had drank a bit of the liquid. He nodded with a smile on his face and drank a bit more. Satisfied, Prussia leaned back, waiting to enact the second part of his plan. England and France were almost at each other's throats but Germany held them apart, not wanting to get kicked out again.
"Hey ma'am? Could you come over here real quick and get my friend somethin'?" Wisconsin nodded towards Canada. The bartender came over and got his order, filling something up for the quiet nation a few moments later. Canada shot him a grateful look but Wisconsin just shrugged, drinking more of his own beer.
"So… how is it?" Prussia asked slyly a few minutes later. Wisconsin gave him a sideways glance but told the germanic nation that he was enjoying himself. Silently he wondered if there was any brandy or anything of that sort here, but he decided to keep quiet and enjoy what he had been given. It was just as strong as his normal drink so he was quite comfortable. Ethan enacted some small talk with Canada. Canada had always thought of Wisconsin, as well as a few of his neighbors, as brothers or cousins of a sort. They all enjoyed hunting and winter sports, and they all appeared similar. Ish.
"I just… I don't understand!" A blubbering voice sounded from Wisconsin's left and he leaned to see past the albino seated directly next to him. There he saw the uptight nation of England leaning on France's shoulder with watery eyes. Ethan blinked in confusion. It had only been about a half hour, leaning towards an hour. How was he already shot-drunk? And where had Germany himself gone?
"Drunk England is the best England," Denmark commented. The Scandanavian was directly next to Prussia, the country of love and the drunk nation next to Denmark. From what Ethan could see, France was only a little tipsy while England was mostly gone.
"Um… is this normal, er no?" Wisconsin asked nervously. Prussia and Denmark chuckled to themselves and simultaneously took a drink. Ethan followed suit hesitantly and the two never answered his question. He suddenly realized he was in a strange bar with strange people, and not even Mexico knew where he was. Sure, Canada was there, but without a hockey rink he was never taken seriously.
As the night wore on, Wisconsin became more and more aware of Prussia's plan that the German nation had let Denmark in on. Every time Ethan's glass was empty the albino requested for his glass to be refilled, with something of the same strength or even stronger. The bartender was a little weirded out but Wisconsin had his human ID that proclaimed him of age despite his appearance. And whenever the albino was preoccupied (he kept trying to talk to Canada but always forgot his name, so he had elected to call the lean nation "Birdie", as most of the interactions involved his little bird Gilbird), Denmark made sure that Ethan's glass was always at least half full. Hours later France and England had left, to do what Wisconsin did not want to imagine as both were drunk.
The next time his glass emptied and Prussia called the bartender over to refill it, Ethan attempted to refuse him, saying, "Oh, I'm okay, I've probably had enough anyway-"
"Nonsense!" Prussia scoffed. "Any German nation should be able to hold their liquor! That's what my vati would always say!"
"I'm a state."
"Whatever! You're German, so that's what matters! Not holding liquor is unawesome!" He proclaimed, and Ethan found himself with another full glass. He just about sighed when he realized his initial suspicion was accurate: Prussia and Denmark were trying to get him drunk. And though Wisconsin was very used to alcohol- he was used to drinking during all hours of the day, bloody mary's in the morning and stronger stuff at night- he nearly pushed the glass away, not wanting to involve himself in this.
However, when his eyes caught sight of Prussia's challenging red-eyed stare, a spark of competitive spirit ignited in him. Damnit, if his football team couldn't win a game, then he would win this challenge!
And so he chugged the whole thing without breaking eye contact with the Prussian.
Prussia started laughed and pounded Ethan on the shoulder. "I like you, kid!" A pleased feeling ignited in Ethan at his words. It had been forever since Wisconsin had been able to drink with America, and it was never one-on-one like this. In fact, Wisconsin had only ever spoken one-on-one with America once or twice in his life.
"Prussia…?" Wisconsin started hesitantly. The red-eyed man turned to the state with a "hmm?" and found the formerly fired-up personification slouching in on himself and playing with his glass, avoiding eye-contact. Perhaps his visible emotions were a result of the alcohol, but his brotherly instinct instantly ignited at the sight of the suddenly sad teen.
"What's up, kid?" He said a bit more gently. Perhaps he had been rough with Germany, but he'd be damned if he screwed up another person's life from verbal abuse. Though Germany had still turned out godlike, somehow.
"Well…" Wisconsin swallowed, then steeled himself. The fact that he was talking with an actual nation (the fact that Prussia was dissolved was lost on him) had dawned on him again and he had reverted to a shy nature. "When I go back to America, back to my state, and this whole thing is over…"
Prussia impatiently moved his glass back and forth. A bartender swept passed and refilled both of the personification's drinks.
"Will you visit me?" Wisconsin blurted, looking at Prussia earnestly. Prussia, taken aback, blinked at the state for a moment before the question registered, when his face stretched into a grin and he proclaimed, "Of course the awesome me will visit you in America, little German! Who else can I drink with when Germany is with his little Italy? And I want to see what kinds of awesome beers you have in Wisconsin!"
Wisconsin grinned widely at that and sipped his newly filled beer. The state looked so pleased that Prussia patted himself on the back for handling that so perfectly. He would have to brag to Spain and France later.
And Denmark… was snoring on the countertop, the alcohol taking hold of him and his boredom causing him to fall asleep, cheek smushed in some spilled liquor. Prussia was snapping a picture of his friend when he heard a familiar voice and froze. A few seconds of quick thinking and back decision-making later Prussia was pulling a protesting Wisconsin after him out a side door of the bar, leaving all the beers on his tab. Their discarded drinks were all that remained.
Ten seconds later two countries burst into the bar, one trying to pull the other back.
"Wait- stop, Mexico! This is your fault! I need to find-"
"My fault?! If you hadn't been so stupid and-"
"That doesn't warrant a kidnapping, Mexico!" America argued, pulling out of the insistent country's grasp and slamming into the bar, nearly tripping over a stool in the process. He ignored the knocked out and snoring Denmark and frantically grabbed the attention of the bartender. When she came over with a dry expression on her face he quickly asked if she had seen a man with ungodly white hair and red eyes with a smaller teenager that looked like him.
"Yeah, they were just here," she droned, leaning over the counter leisurely.
"Where are they now?" America demanded, hands on the table and leaning forwards in urgency. To his annoyance, she shrugged in indifference.
"I don't know. They might have left out the other door if you didn't see them."
America's eyes widened and he shot off, Mexico streaming after him and trying to hinder his chase, wanting to simultaneously chase Wisconsin with him and refrain him from finding his state. At the moment the refraining side was winning.
The bartender shrugged and went back to her job.
Denmark snored on.
And Canada pulled out his phone, shot Norway a quick message about Denmark's situation, and slowly started his walk to Prussia's house, where Wisconsin would most likely end up.
No I am not lying we drink an unhealthy amount out here in the cheese state. Well... I'm underage, so... of course I don't :)
*cough*
Okay, a bit of history (for fun):
During the 1840-1860s lots of the people from foreign countries were like "Oh look, America has lots of land. For cheap. And there's famine and death here." so quite a few people migrated to the Midwest, including but not limited to Wisconsin. Around 40% of Wisconsin is of German descent/is German, while quite a few are also/instead Norwegian and of the other Scandinavian countries (excluding Iceland, of course).
And I learned all of this off the internet because I realized how frickin' uneducated I was on Wisconsin history. Also I wrote this history lesson after the fact so I apologize for any missed facts. If there's anything interesting you readers know, leave a comment! I love learned about history, especially since Hetalia makes it so fun!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more, because it's definitely coming!