Sorry it's a bit late. I was busy the last few days.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
WaSeb: Ask the Expert
"Alright, class," Mr Williams said. He lifted a box onto the table. "For your term assignment, you'll need to read and research a classical work. And to make it fair, you're all going to draw from the box. Tell me what you got, since you're not allowed to trade your subjects."
Marcello winced. Sometimes, he wondered why he took English Literature. This sounded like it would be a pain to do. And he meant that quite literally. He could already imagine the headache that this assignment would cause.
"Marcello."
He sighed when his name was called, and he went over to draw his assignment from the box. He stared at it for a few seconds.
"I got the Arthurian Legends," he said.
"Aw," one of his classmates whined. "I was hoping to get that."
"Dylan Kirkland," Mr Williams said. "I've had enough conversations with you to know that I would have made sure you got something else. You have an unfair advantage. It's the same with your brother and Shakespeare. When he drew Romeo and Juliet, I made him draw again. Then he got Macbeth, and he had to draw again. Finally, we managed to get The Picture of Dorian Grey."
"Do you really remember all of that?" Marcello asked.
"I tend to remember the students that like to speak to me about their favourite works, and then having to make sure that they don't do assignments on their favourites. You need to do research, after all."
Mr Williams made a note that Marcello would be doing the Arthurian Legends, and continued with the list. Mr Williams was working backwards alphabetically. He would usually alternate going down or going up the list, just to make things interesting, and to make sure that the ones at the top didn't always get the most options.
Marcello listened for Dylan Kirkland's name. Usually, the blond was rather quiet, and so Marcello had a habit to forget about him. But, if he was really such an expert in the Arthurian Legends, then it would be a good idea to approach him and get his help.
When Dylan's name was finally called, Marcello listened carefully for him to announce his assignment.
"Dante's Inferno."
Marcello smirked. He hoped that it would go that way. He knew the Divine Comedy very well. He would also have been happy if Dylan drew Machiavelli's The Prince, or the Aeneid. But he could work with this.
"That's it, then," Mr Williams said. "And just a reminder, even though you have a little more than two months to complete this assignment, you shouldn't leave it for the last minute. Classical works take a bit longer to read than contemporary fiction. Now, I want you to also focus on the following aspects: genre, setting, context, and theme. You will need to write a two-thousand-word essay where you discuss these aspects while giving a summary of the plot. Any questions?"
"Should it be written or typed?" someone asked.
"Written, please. I've dealt with a few students with less than legible handwriting, and I'd rather not do that again."
The bell rang soon afterwards, and everyone was eager to make themselves scarce. Marcello packed up his things quickly and rushed off after Dylan.
"Ciao!" Marcello greeted, making the blond flinch. "You're Dylan, right?"
"Y-yeah," Dylan said. "And you're… Marcello?"
"Si! Anyway, I wanted to ask you… You're a fan of the Arthurian Legends, right? Could I ask you to help me?"
Dylan narrowed his eyes.
"I'm not going to do your assignment for you," he said.
"Not 'do it for me'," Marcello said. "Just help me a bit. Especially with a summary. I found it helps."
"Surely, you know the basics, right?"
"Sword in the stone, Round Table, Lancelot and Guinevere love affair, Holy Grail… I'd just like a little help. In exchange, I'll help you with Dante's Inferno. For example, you'll probably need to be able to list the nine circles of hell, and what earns you a place in each of those circles, and specific punishments. For example, flatterers end up in the eighth circle, where the fraudulent are, and they swim in a river of excrement."
"So… What you're saying is that butt-kissers end up swimming in the stuff that comes out of the butt?" Dylan snorted. "Alright, it's a deal."
Marcello smiled. When entering a partnership, one had to make sure that it was mutually beneficial. And he was sure that he and Dylan could benefit from spending a little time together and helping each other out. Because as interesting as it could be, the classics could still be challenging.
So, I recently read the Arthurian Legends. I fortunately knew the gist, but… The book I read still used antiquated syntax. Anything that still uses 'thou' is going to be tricky to read.
And when I read the part about the flatterers in the Divine Comedy… Let's just say, my brain connected the dots and it was the one part in the entire epic that made me laugh.