Disclaimer: I don't own it, I just ship it
Warning: AU, strong language, boy x boy pairings, violence (more so bullying in the beginning), and because this was inspired by the manga Iris Zero, there may be some minor spoilers for it.
There may also be slight spoilers for Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin, but nothing that wasn't given away in the trailer for it.
Still not operating at my original updating speed, so apologies for that. It jumps around quite a bit, so let me know if something doesn't quite make sense. Thanks again for being so patient! :)
oOo
"What the hell was that picture?!" Lovino asked as he walked to the designated meeting place with the Jones-Williams brothers.
"It's the future, Lovi!" Alfred exclaimed, a little starry-eyed. "Let's just hope it does what it's supposed to!"
"What's that? Impale people?" the Police Commissioner knew nothing good could come from something Gilbert created. "Are you in on this one too, pancake bastard?"
"Not this time," Matthew shook his head, trying to keep pace with his practically-skipping brother. "I really don't have any idea what they're up to."
"Great…"
17 HOURS EARLIER…
"And so, your mid-semester group projects will be due at the end of this month," the Multimedia professor reminded her students. "Remember the topic must relate to the school and your intended audience are the students. The genres and group sizes are up to you."
A certain over-ambitious trio was already sitting next to each other before the teacher finished speaking.
"Well, obviously the Awesome Me is going to be the Director," Gilbert gestured to himself proudly. "Keeks, you can be Cameraman and Lizzy can be Writer."
"Actually, I'd prefer to be the Director-Writer, so we can stick you with Engineering and Props, where you belong," Elizabeta smirked.
"Are you insane?! I'm an awesome Director!"
"A certain Police Force dance video says otherwise."
"How'd you even—no! Nevermind! I don't wanna know! But I'm still Director!"
"Is there a way you could settle this with a simple competition?" asked Kiku.
"We could arm wrestle," Elizabeta arched an eyebrow.
Gilbert, blinded by his desire to win the Director's chair, accepted in a heartbeat. Within minutes, the two were sitting opposite each other, game faces on. Soon, a battle would commence to determine the fate of their grade…the transfer of power… the amount of insanity that would bombard the Student Council this week…The two simultaneously brought an elbow to the desktops and locked hands in a showdown neither could afford to lose.
"Don't think I'll take it easy on you because you wear dresses."
"Likewise."
"That doesn't even make sense!"
"That's not what Matthew told me…" Elizabeta flashed a crooked smile.
For an instant, doubt was evident on Gilbert's face. Was it possible that he was missing something on the few nights he had a little too much smuggled beer? He ultimately decided his brunette frenemy was bullshitting him, but couldn't do anything about the blush on his face.
"Stop trying to psych me out, Héderváry!" he howled.
"But you'd look so pretty in a matching floral bonnet~"
Kiku quickly redirected them to focus on the contest, so they could begin. Playing referee, Kiku dropped a handkerchief and the games began. Gilbert was putting his all into the contest. He swore he'd never fail as painfully as the last time Elizabeta suckered him into this sort of thing. The self-proclaimed Prussian built up his strength, stamina, and determination in preparation for this day. He smirked, thinking all that hard work finally paid off. Elizabeta's knuckles were centimeters away from her side of the desk, losing ground the longer the match went on. Even her face was showing exhaustion. It wouldn't be long now before a champion emerged victorious.
'I can do this!' Gilbert thought. 'This will finally be the day I beat this crazy bitch at her own game!'
"What's the matter, Lizzy?" Gilbert managed to laugh through clenched teeth. "Is your heart just not into it today?"
"Can I be honest with you?" her head was down.
"Sure, since you're about to lose, anyway."
"I'm just bored," she tossed her hair back effortlessly, all signs of fatigue were erased from her face. What once was a shaky grip, just barely hanging on, became a steel wall in an instant. Gilbert's eyes widened.
"Oh, shi—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Elizabeta reinforced her grip and slammed his arm into the opposing desk. She made sure to hold back enough that his arm didn't go through it like last time, however the amount of force still sent him tumbling to the floor in a heap.
"Shacho, if he's to build all our props, we may need his hands in working condition."
"Ah, you're right, Kiku!" Elizabeta blinked and helped her fallen opponent up. "Suck it up, Gil! You're stronger than that, right?"
"…I hate you so much…!" the albino fought back tears as he rubbed his sore arm.
oOo
"You still haven't explained the picture in the text, Alfred," Matthew reminded him.
"Or why you started giggling after you saw it," added Lovino. "Actually, that bothers me more. Start with that."
"You guys really didn't recognize it?"
Matthew watched a wave of happy blue bounce off Alfred, as he laughed at them. He didn't have a designated color for 'pride,' but was fairly certain it would be on his twin brother, if he did. The annoyed red energy starting to form around himself and Lovino needed no explanation. Neither boy was very fond of being dragged around in the dark.
13 HOURS EARLIER…
"So, what are we going to do our project on?" Gilbert asked. He had a knack for creating special effects and equipment to beef up any multimedia project, but wasn't one for coming up with main topics himself.
"Well, since we have Kiku on our side, I was hoping we could do a focus on the Student Council," their Director smiled. "With a man on the inside, nobody else could even hope to get the same level of detail as us."
"I could make that happen," the current Student Council Secretary agreed, flipping through some papers. "My initial reports also suggest that most groups are focusing on World Academy's history, interviewing alumni, and focusing on individual student clubs…Although there was one brave soul who requested an interview with the Student Council for this project."
"Shut them down."
"Understood."
"Uh…isn't that a little harsh?" Gilbert scratched his head nervously. He was starting to have second thoughts about working with Elizabeta again so soon. She looked up at him in disbelief, while Kiku stopped typing something into his phone. "I mean…what's the problem if another group covers the same topic as us? Ours'll still be better."
"True…" the brunette grinned evilly. "We can use them to make ours look even better!"
"That's totally not what I meant!" Gilbert's complaints fell on deaf ears.
"Kiku, set them up with Ludwig, yourself, and Alfred to do the interview. Tell Alfred that group's grade depends on his reciting a 'script' and make that 'script' answers prepared by yourself to their questions in the blandest way possible."
"I'll have Ludwig look them over to proof them."
"Good, I want this so boring, it would put even a pasta-high Feliciano asleep."
"Then why don't you have your boyfriend write them?" Gilbert snickered.
"What was that about Roderich?" the Hungarian turned her fury on him. The albino withered under her gaze.
"Dammit! Why do you only hear to me when I don't want you to?!"
After preventing his One True President from breaking Gilbert's other arm, Kiku got his groupmates to focus on deciding their theme. He had hoped they could find common ground to proceed and feel motivated to begin the planning stages of their project. The black-haired boy had no idea that his laptop background would hold the key to everything...
oOo
Alfred, Matthew, and Lovino had nearly arrived at their destination, but couldn't be farther from the concept behind the picture of the 3-D Maneuvering gear sample Elizabeta sent them. Upon inspecting it closer in person, Matthew thought it was related to some kind of Mavel/DC cinematic universe, whereas Lovino had plunged straight into dystopian survival movie territory. Their Japanese friend regarded them politely, but with an air of disappointment. He supposed the grappling equipment used to swing warriors across bridges, walls, and buildings would have been right at home in either option, but given how symbolic it became for the anime/manga series, no company in their right mind would steal the idea.
"Sorry, Kiku," the President shrugged. "Somehow, my own boyfriend and brother lived their entire lives without knowing what Attack on Titan is."
"How unfortunate," the black-haired boy gave them a look of pity. "Shingeki no Kyojin is a classic and one of my personal favorites…"
"How good can it be if Alfred likes it?" retorted Lovino.
"That's true," Arthur smirked, arriving with Francis and Ludwig. "He likes you, after all."
"Ah, that's almost as offensive as Francis's taste in boyfriends…" smiled Antonio, arriving last with Feliciano. "But even elite French Nobles have faults like the rest of us."
Kiku cut off another argument by pulling out his tablet and showing them all snippets from the show. Images of brave men and woman whizzing across a city landscape at impossible speeds filled the screen. Several David and Goliath-like battles took place, with the humans triumphing over the giant evils before them. Next, an entire courtyard of soldiers saluted the camera and some of the more powerful quotes were played, instilling their friends with the courage to confront the seemingly mightier foe. Kiku's selection of shots from the series ended with more heroes using twin blades and the power of parkour to defeat the evil Titans. The captivated audience watched the display, but Alfred gave Kiku a disappointed look.
"Kiku…"
"Yes?"
"If you're going to show off Attack on Titan, then you need to show off all of it!" Alfred crossed his arms. "It's not all badass Spiderman stunts and flying human buzzsaws!"
"Very well," sighed the tabletmaster. His fingers tapped the screen a few times, then paused. "Feliciano, I suggest you look away…These scenes aren't exactly… suitable for you."
"I think I can handle it, Kiku," he laughed. "I'm not a baby who needs to—oh, my god! What is that?! Did it just bite that guy in half?!"
On the screen, the Titans did what they do best – rampage through villages, eating all of the human snacks they could get their hands on. Blood flew wildly through the air, like a child flinging paint, staining the background a deep crimson color. It unnerved several of the viewers that many of the Titans did resemble giant, creepy children. During the carnage, Feliciano had moved his brother's hands in front of his eyes for comfort. Even the stronger-stomached of the group were looking at the screen, mouths agape. One could interpret the central theme of Attack on Titan to be 'Fighting for Change' or the 'World Being a Cruel and Beautiful Place…' another interpretation was Slaughter All Humans. Kiku made a mental note to keep them far, far away from Elfen Lied.
"I thought the angry guy was the main character…?" Antonio asked warily. He wasn't familiar with anime, but didn't it follow the same type of 'hero saves the day' plot as comics or superhero movies? "W-Where's the main character?"
"That was the main character," Kiku closed his tablet screen somberly, ignoring the meeps from a few of his friends. The two or three others familiar with the series snickered to themselves.
"Why the bloody hell do you psychopaths want us to reenact that?!" Arthur shouted.
"Not the plot, knuckleheads, the action!" Elizabeta exclaimed, eyes glittering at the opportunity. "We're going to use this to advertise the teamwork, compassion, and friendship that binds our school's Student Council together!"
"Have you read the actual meeting notes or the fanfiction Kiku has to submit every other week to make us look presentable?" sighed Arthur.
"Publicity aside, there's no way you'll get permission to do this crazy shit on campus," Lovino crossed his arms.
"Aww, Lovi…" Alfred's smile fell.
"H-Hey, I'm trying to be realistic, here!" the Italian defended himself. "Pretty sure there's something in the school rules prohibiting any kind of action that could result in a stunt double requirement or lawsuits.
"I guess that's true…" the blond sighed.
"And Roderich 'Stick-Up-His-Ass' Edelstein would be all too happy to look it up for you," continued Lovino. "If he gets off on explaining the truth behind Santa to small children and kicking puppies, he'd probably die of bliss when given the chance to destroy this."
"Not to worry," Kiku patted their shoulders. "I made a special legal agreement with Headmaster Shinawatra to give us more…leeway for the next week."
"What?!" both exclaimed, one excited and the other horrified.
"That's amazing, Kiku! Kickass job!" Alfred praised him.
"Whose soul did you sell to get that?" Lovino groaned.
"Thank you," the black-haired boy nodded to his President before addressing the Commissioner. "I secured a contract with a fully-certified stunt team to supervise all action scenes and oversee construction and application of the 3DM gear and ziplines."
"Ziplines?" Matthew spoke up. Had he heard correctly?
"As much as we would have liked for Gilbert to create the real things, ziplines made for an easier and safer method of performing the stunts."
"Kind of like the wire stunts they use in superhero movies?!" Alfred beamed.
"Exactly," Kiku nodded again. "We also plan on editing them out in a similar fashion."
"I still don't see why we have to help you three, after what you put us through," Arthur frowned, aiming the icy words primarily at Elizabeta and Gilbert.
"Because we submitted this though your Student Request Board?" Gilbert grinned.
"Because it would mutually benefit both parties and be fun?" Kiku chimed in.
"Because we own your asses," Elizabeta flashed a toothy grin. "And there's no way President Jones is turning down a chance to be a superhero on wires like in the movies, so stop wasting my time with your petty arguments?"
"Hmm…She's got us there…" Alfred laughed weakly. "Annnnd, I might have accidentally signed off on it already during the video montage…"
The combined glares from his tsundere officers nearly froze him on the spot.
oOo
The Japanese boy and his Sempai gave the group a run-down of what they wanted to do – namely showcase the good looks and athleticism of the current Student Council for their own benefit. Of course, they would superimpose good character boosting words ("Cooperation" "Strength" "Team" …Elizabeta had literally told Gilbert to add whatever superhero nonsense came out of Alfred's mouth into the shots) and have the school as the backdrop, as if the boys were protecting it. One of the opening themes for the anime would be covered by Gilbert and sung by some of the cast. Elizabeta felt that a duet would be appropriate. It would also eliminate the need for lines and ruin the production with crappy acting.
"Who's going to sing it?" asked Feliciano, curiously. He was excited to be included in his future role of Inspired Student B…whatever that meant. Since he dodged the bullet of not having to do the zipline stunts, he had no problem helping in other areas.
"That's where this comes in!" the Hungarian proudly held up a picture of a microphone next to a computer.
"I don't understand," Ludwig furrowed his brows. Was this some kind of riddle?
"Apologies, Gilbert insisted on meeting by the Clocktower, where there was no extension cord long enough for our sound equipment…" Kiku trailed off.
"We're having a Sing Off in the Sound Room!" the albino fist-pumped the air around him.
"Never repeat those words…" the Supreme Overlord of SHIP cringed.
Obviously, Gilbert chanted them the entire way there. Instead of plotting how she would strangle him with a microphone, Elizabeta eyed up her newfound actors to gauge their motivation. Kiku would have no trouble giving his all. He wanted a good grade, but overriding that (for once), he had a project that stirred his otaku side. Alfred was similarly bribed with the show their video would be based on as well as the chance to do heroic stunts. Ludwig may not be fond of the idea yet, but Elizabeta knew he'd still cooperate to help his brother out. Antonio, Francis, Matthew, and Feliciano were all in the same boat of not feeling 100% confident in what they were doing, but would do it anyway to help out their friends. It also didn't hurt that they were attention-seekers too. As usual, neither tsundere seemed particularly fond of the event ahead of them, but the manipulative Hungarian could easily find a way to make it work by using their boyfriends or enemies against them, depending on if they were feeling tsun tsun or dere dere.
Given the ease at which the Multimedia partners had agreed on the rest of the project (after Elizabeta won the Director's chair), Kiku was almost surprised at how difficult initial casting of the singing duet had been. Even with the limited number of possible choices, each person wanted a different duet. For once, Kiku couldn't even agree with Elizabeta…
Jiyuu no Tsubasa was an iconic, inspirational opening theme primarily in Japanese with some German lyrics sprinkled throughout. He felt that Ludwig and Alfred captured the power and patriotism behind the lyrics, while she wanted Arthur and Kiku to capture the song's essence. Gilbert's opinion of Ludwig (for the German parts) and Kiku (for the Japanese parts) was also well-defended. They couldn't compromise, even when they opened it up to include the BTT, Matthew, and Feliciano. Kiku refused to budge on his selection, while Elizabeta started leaning towards Francis over Arthur. Knowing what he did about their musical capabilities, range, and fluency, Gilbert disregarded everything and voted for himself and Matthew if for no other reason than "Birdie has a sweet ass" and he wanted to sing with him. That particular tangent had completely derailed their earlier lunch planning session, as the brunette and the albino spent the rest of the time discussing Canadian booty.
That being said, they told the auditioners that everybody would get a chance to sing to be 'fair.' After all the voices were recorded, Kiku would splice them together and the group would vote on which combinations sounded best. Everyone learned the same two lines from the middle of the song to sing into the microphone and when the entire group had been recorded a half hour later, they gathered around to listen to the results.
Francis had talked himself up the entire time in the studio, but had the skill to back it up. His voice had the range and passion that Antonio had for dance, Feliciano had for cooking, and Alfred had for anything released by Marvel. It was the musically-gifted duo of Feliciano and Antonio who made him sweat. Being active in the Car Karaoke scene had helped both Gilbert and Alfred during their auditions and made their overall confidence hard to beat, whereas Kiku and Ludwig both relied on perfectly nailing their native language whenever those sections occurred. Even more impressive were the underdogs. Few had actually heard Matthew, Arthur, or Lovino sing before who weren't family or the shower, and all were amazed by how good they were. It was really anyone's game until voices were combined and then had to sound good together. Unsurprisingly, most of it was funny, but there were several who sounded very sweet together.
Ludwig was pleased that his singing capabilities far outweighed his dance skills (or lack thereof) and that his deep, commanding voice went well with Feliciano's cheerful, lighter tone. Elizabeta was disappointed it didn't fit the theme of the song, but made sure she repeated 'Kiku, make me a backup of that version' several times in her head, knowing his Iris would pick up on it.
Alfred was especially fond of his energetic mash-up with Lovino. Neither of them had much experience with German and he laughed when he realized they both mispronounced 'freiheit' the same way. Kiku caught his Shacho's eye/thought bubble 'That one too!'
Francis had thought he and Arthur's audition had it in the bag, until Feliciano jokingly pointed out how it sounded like the boyfriends were fighting over who got the lead. Based on knowing them outside of their music recording, the rest of the room cracked up and couldn't take them seriously after. Francis couldn't prove it with certainty, but he was fairly sure Feli did that intentionally.
Gilbert and Matthew's duet started well, but fell apart for the same reason as everyone else's mash-up with Gilbert—his ego. Halfway through his performance, the albino really got into the song and started singing too quickly, so he could hum the guitar's part. Not that any of that mattered to him.
"Kesesese!" Gilbert laughed. "I told you Birdie's sweet ass would save our audition!"
"Wait, what?" Matthew felt his face heat up uncomfortably.
"Yeah, well no amount of physical beauty can save us from the physical pain it was to listen to your section, mon ami," Francis snorted, still upset about his earlier results.
"I agree," nodded Elizabeta. "Stick to making the music, not singing it."
And then they got to the tsundere mix.
"Be careful," Francis warned Kiku as he loaded it. "Their stubbornness may crash the program."
This earned a few laughs until both voices began singing, harmonizing effortlessly. Even the terribly mangled German phrase was glossed over by how confident their voices sounded. If they hadn't seen everyone go into the recording room individually, the rest of the group would have thought both recorded their voices together to begin with. What had started out as laughter turned into words of praise.
"I believe we have our winners," Kiku smiled at his embarrassed friends.
"I can't believe how amazing you two sound together!" Elizabeta clapped excitedly, replaying the song over again.
"Me neither…" Alfred admitted, feeling a twinge of jealousy that Arthur beat him.
"Yeah, whatever, can we move on now?" Lovino snarled.
"Agreed," the Brit nodded.
"Sore winners…" Antonio whispered to Feliciano, making him giggle.
oOo
According to Elizabeta's timetable, everyone had jobs during the time it would take the professional stunt team to arrive and build the ziplines. After those two days were up, it was a race against time to transform the Student Council into an army of dual-wielding, building-swinging soldiers.
Poor Gilbert drew the short straw. In addition to building all the 3-D Maneuvering gear with Ludwig, Alfred, and Matthew, he had two days to train both Arthur and Lovino for the song's lyrics. While both sounded great musically (and their Japanese was passable), their German was laughably bad. This meant two days trapped in a recording room with two of the angriest people on the planet.
Gilbert was not looking forward to that.
While their albino partner was busy being thrown under the bus, Kiku and Elizabeta would be focusing on costumes and accessories with Francis, Antonio, and Feliciano's help. They would also finalize the movie scenes together, so the 'script' was ready in time for filming. Kiku had already taken sample shots of the various angles they could use from the zipline platforms, so Elizabeta was reviewing them and deciding who would be zipping across and various poses they would use.
"Hmm…I suppose I should have asked them more about their experience with ziplines…" muttered the brunette.
"I have no doubts that you'll be able to make it work," Kiku assured her, as he pinned up the completed drafts on their large storyboard.
"I'm really going to be counting on the magic of your special effects for this one!" she smiled back.
"Of course," he nodded, stepping back to see their progress.
With the focus of the presentation being the Student Council, Alfred and Lovino had their fair share of scenes together. Upon closer inspection, the two rarely appeared in a shot without the other. Elizabeta wouldn't have it any other way. She also used her creative genius to work Feliciano and Francis into the scenes by having them play students/civilians in need of protection. This allowed for their significant others to take center stage and shine alongside their boyfriends. Gilbert, Matthew, and Antonio also made cameos as background officers when they needed the extra bodies during the inspirational speech scene. The most difficult job (besides nosebleed prevention) was figuring out how to get all the council members to be flying together with the limitations of the ziplines and that pesky promise she made to the Headmaster about not injuring any of World Academy's star students.
oOo
Tucked away in the recording studio from hell, Gilbert was about ready to rip out his awesome hair in frustration. No matter how many times he replayed the German parts for Lovino and Arthur, they still sounded like a garbled mess of mispronunciation. Slowing the song down only threw off their pacing and writing out the lyrics phonetically for the green-eyed devils only made them criticize his handwriting. Admitting defeat to Elizabeta was starting to sound good right about now. Hell, drinking an entire jar of arsenic was starting to sound good right about now.
"Cut! Cuuuuuuuut!" he shouted into the intercom connecting the two rooms.
"You're not really a director, bastard. Stop being a big bag of dicks about it."
"Wankers like you are just cymbal-banging monkeys for the real people in power."
A snippy retort. There was always a snippy retort. Twice as many, actually, since he was working with the physical embodiments of pain and suffering. Gilbert grinded his teeth for a moment before responding.
"Arthur! You sound like you're hacking up a hairball!"
"Yeah, I didn't know you spoke fluent German, eyebrows bastard!" Lovino responded with mock surprise.
"Well, you sound like you're singing underwater, Lovino!" Gilbert didn't give him time to gloat.
"Imagine my surprise that you also speak fluent German, git!" snickered the blond.
"You both are impossible!" the albino threw his hands up in the air, stomping off for some fresh air. "Take five and find that supply closet broom!"
"Why?"
"To clean up your shit performance!"
"You're not the director, you're the asshole!" they both complained in perfect unison.
Gilbert didn't know if he wanted to scream or to cry that they could do that in any language except the one he needed to record them in.
"Gilbird, you handle this," he commanded his loyal bird. "I'm going to go hurt a wall with my head."
oOo
Since Gilbert ended up spending longer than he cared to in the recording studio, he left detailed notes with the others assisting with the 3-D Maneuver gear props. He had also walked them through the completion of one, so they had a better idea of what they were doing. This ended up being for the best, as his blueprints for the gear that supposedly housed two grappling hooks and a gas propulsion system to swing the user around resembled a picture of Spongebob, as illustrated by a young child given far too many cupcakes.
"It's no wonder they never got busted for any pranks…" Alfred squinted at the blueprints, trying to make heads or tails of them. "Are those…sprinkles?"
Ludwig watched the professional stunt crew set up ziplines around the school under Kiku's artistic eye. He felt a small sense of relief that his Japanese friend was the one overseeing that, but it didn't do much to quell the feeling of unease growing by the moment. He set down the completed gas propeller he had been working on and shook his head.
"Someone is going to die…" he sighed.
"…Of fun!" Alfred interjected, one of the fake grappling hooks popping out of the prop he was working on.
"None of this worries you in the slightest?" Ludwig raised an eyebrow. "After all of the crazy stunts Elizabeta, Kiku, and Gilbert have pulled before?"
"A-At least you got a nice boyfriend out of it, eh?" Matthew tried to smooth things over, taking note of the red taking root in Ludwig's wings whenever he mentioned the camping fiasco. For once he was grateful for others overlooking or outright forgetting about him. He really didn't want to make an enemy of Ludwig.
"I'm not defending their actions then, but this is different!" the American grinned, holding up his completed 3-D Maneuvering gear up with pride. "This is Attack on Titan!"
"Yes, wonderful," the vice-president brought his hand to his face. "Their source material is a show filled with violence, death, and fear…I'm sure nothing will go wrong."
"That's the spirit!" Alfred cheered him on.
Ludwig shot him a look before going back to work on the gear he would need shortly for his scene.
oOo
"U-Um, Elizabeta…I don't know about this…" Feliciano whimpered.
"About what?" she replied sweetly.
"A-About this…" he gestured to the small platform he was standing on nearly 20 feet up in the air. A breeze went through the support beams, causing it to sway ever so slightly. He collapsed to his knees and hugged the edge of the platform. "Elizabeta…!"
"Relax!" she waved off his concerns. "Your knight in shining armor will be here soon enough!"
Sure enough, Ludwig had been climbing to the starting point of his zipline stunt. He had been grumbling to himself about the lack of direction he was given for this scene. Simply, a 'you'll know what to do, when you get there.' What was this, a Michael Bay movie? Once again, he shook his head, as a staff member hooked up his gear to the wire. Looking down the line, Ludwig realized he was set up just above where Feli was precariously wobbling.
"FELICIANO!" he shouted, not even waiting for his cue. The pulley on his zipline gear nearly started sparking from the force of Ludwig's launch towards his terrified boyfriend.
Feli looked up to see his savior blasting towards him at speeds that probably came very close to breaking the sound barrier. The Italian barely had time to lift his arms up before he was snatched up by Ludwig, who held him securely in an iron clad grip. Ludwig's pulley made contact with the bungee brake, causing the attached bungee cord to slowly stretch and give them a gentle stop at the end of the line, even with the additional weight. The duo landed safely and Elizabeta addressed them both casually.
"See?" she shrugged. "I told you that you'd know what to do."
"What if he would have fallen?!" an enraged Ludwig shouted at her.
"I trusted you~!" the Hungarian smiled innocently.
"Any number of things could have gone wrong, Elizabeta! The wind! The equipment! Feliciano's balance!"
"Fine, fine, I didn't want to show you this because I knew it would affect your acting, but…" the brunette picked up her walkie and spoke into it. "Smith, give me a 'Save Our Baby' at the base of Platform 3."
A crackly "Yes, ma'am" responded briefly before a large inflatable duck instantly came to life at the bottom of the platform Feliciano had been standing on. Ludwig openly stared in disbelief at the response time as well as the particular life-saving model chosen.
"Gilbert insisted on the duck," she rolled her eyes.
"Uh…"
"Ve~ It's so cute!" exclaimed Feliciano, running over to it. He glomped it and waved to the others. "Look, Lud! Isn't it the cutest?!"
"Yeah, Lud, isn't it the cutest?" Gilbert appeared next to his younger brother, resting an arm on his shoulder. "Kesesesese!"
"Shouldn't you be working with your singers, bruder?"
"If I don't have a break from them, I'm seriously going to get some kind of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder!" groaned Gilbert. "Besides, nobody flies without me checking on them first."
"Huh?"
"Did you really think we'd let a bunch of noobs like you guys zip around without me double-checking your shadows for a possible injury?"
"Just because you guys have chiseled abs and stunning features doesn't mean you can't die in a freak zipline/cosplay/anime reenactment accident," nodded Elizabeta.
"That's…"
"Brilliant? Comforting? Exemplary Senior behavior?"
"I was going to say surprisingly well-thought out for you two."
The albino shoved his brother while the Director huffed and left for her next scene.
oOo
"Annnnd…3, 2, 1, smolder!" Elizabeta called out.
"What the hell kind of direction is that?!" Lovino shouted back, slightly flustered.
"Seduce the camera!"
"Screw this!"
"Are you comfortable going that far?" the Director grinned. "Or should I get Alfred to—"
"You know what I meant, dammit!"
She spent the next five minutes trying to get the older Vargas to smolder on command, despite the fact that he insisted he couldn't. She wanted Blue Steel. He wanted to go home.
"Okay, then try not thinking about the camera crew…think about what's behind the camera instead."
"Your disappointed professor?"
"The audience!" she managed to keep her voice professional. "Imagine the sexiest person alive is watching this video and you only have one look to win that person over!"
"Cazzo…"
"This is it, Lovino!" she exclaimed, shoving him back onstage. "Your chance to win them over! Action!"
Initially looking away, Lovino spun around and gave the camera a look so fiery and magnetizing, that even she felt a little weak in the knees. And that was looking through the camera! Elizabeta was glad they avoided anyone staring directly at the gorgeous sight before them or there would be piles of bodies from people fainting on the spot. Being the prideful Italian he was, Lovino walked off the set smugly, not even waiting to be dismissed. As proud of him as she was, Elizabeta knew she had to keep him in line.
"I'll bet you were thinking of Alfred~!"
This instantly wiped the smug look off his face and he blushed furiously instead, proving her point. He started yelling afterward, demanding she erase it now, while the Director only laughed in response (and backed it up twice). Elizabeta knew that if she could continue to get footage of this quality, they'd surpass any project in the history of World Academy's multimedia class.
"Yes…This is only the beginning…" the Supreme Ruler of SHIP mumbled to herself. "Mwa, ha, ha, ha, ha!"
Lovino and the miscellaneous staff members wisely got the hell out of there. Anytime Elizabeta's inner voice became her outer voice was a good time to bail.
oOo
A/N – As much as I love the other characters, I decided to have tsundere boys sing something because their voices are fucking magical together! No, I'm serious, if you haven't heard Hetalia Fusion's mash-up of their lovely voices combined for Hattefute Parade, Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo, or Hetalian Jet hop on Youtube and do it. There's tons of other fusions as well (including a cute Romerica Hattefute Parade), but the tsundere versions were my favorite.
I had hoped to write more of the filming portion in this chapter, but dialog ended up going long and yeah…next time. I'm also thinking about doing a bonus side story of movie outtakes at the end of the next chapter, if there's enough interest. Feel free to let me know what you think.
-Rajikka
Translations
Fratello – Brother (It.)
Bastardo – Bastard (It.)
Tsundere – A type of character seen in anime or manga known for appearing cold or hostile, but having a hidden sweet side. "Tsun Tsun" is the aloof or irritable side, while "Dere Dere" is the lovey dovey side. (Jp.)
Shachō – President (Jp.)
Shingeki no Kyojin – The Advancing Titan, the original title of Attack on Titan. (Jp.)
Mon ami - My friend (Fr.)
Freiheit – Freedom (Ger.)
Cazzo – Shit, dick, damn, etc. (It.) Your standard Italian swear word.