Fanfic / Grey Skies Universe

"Alfred," Matthew finally ventured again. "Before, when you left the first time, you asked me to come with you. Do you remember? You probably do. I wouldn't go. I was too scared, too comfortable. I let you go out there alone and..."
And you lost.
Those last horrible words were unspoken, but the truth hung over them like a stifling veil. Matthew squeezed Alfred's shoulder and took a deep breath to empower his voice once more. "I won't make that mistake again. I promise."

— Every Generation, Chapter 1, "Beginning"

The Grey Skies Universe is a two-fic series written by Gemini Star01 for the Hetalia: Axis Powers fandom. It consists of Grey Skies Over London and its sequel, Every Generation.

It is based on what might have happened if the American Revolution failed, from a Hetalian perspective: Grey Skies Over London covers the bloody, bleak aftermath of the Revolutionary War, while Every Generation sees to the snapshots of the brewing of a second Revolution against Arthur/England by Matthew/Canada, bringing his traumatized twin brother along for the ride.

Note: Spoilers for the events of Grey Skies Over London are unmarked, but those of the ending of Every Generation are marked.

---

This fic includes the following tropes:

• Allohistorical Allusion: In the epilogue of Every Generation, Matthew muses that Alfred would have liked Kiku/Japan. In the source material following real-life history, America and Japan are indeed fairly close friends.
• Alternate History: An Alternate Universe Fic where the French fail to assist the Americans in their revolution, so the British Empire wins the American War for Independence, for a fandom whose source material has basis in real-life history.
• America Is Still a Colony: Due to the French not assisting in the Revolution, America loses the war and remains a British colony until Canada starts a new rebellion in the second installment.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Because of Arthur's actions and what he did to America, Canada rebels against the British Empire and proves to be a force to be reckoned with. He will be free or die trying. He also trains with Russia to learn how to use his cold weather to his advantage.
• Big Brother Instinct: Matthew's opinion on Arthur starts souring after seeing how his twin Alfred's mental state has broken by Arthur, culminating into him bringing Alfred along to start the second Revolution.
• Bittersweet Ending: Alfred dies, but Matthew wins the war and the United States of Colombia is free of the British Empire. Alfred passed away, but his dream came to fruition.
• Break the Cutie: After losing the Revolution, Alfred is imprisoned by Arthur. He becomes mostly mute and never fully recovers his previous strength.
• Character Death: Alfred is killed by Arthur in Chapter 3 of Every Generation.
• Entitled to Have You: Non-romantic version. Arthur feels like Alfred belongs to him and should only be under his care. Even when he is about to lose the war, he demands Alfred back. Matthew calls him out for treating Alfred like a prize and not a person.
• Expanded States of America: After Alfred's death, Matthew becomes the personification of the United States of Colombia, a country which consists of both America and Canada's land.
• Forced to Watch: Alfred is forced to attend the hanging of George Washington. He collapses in shock and grief.
• I Reject Your Reality: Arthur rejects the truth that Alfred willingly rebelled against him. He genuinely believes Alfred was kidnapped, and when he shows a negative reaction to George Washington's execution, Arthur thinks it is because Alfred is afraid of his "captor" and not because one of his Founding Fathers and Parental Substitute is being hanged.
  Francis: (on Arthur) As uncouth as he can be, his heart is quite tendered beneath its shields. He becomes easily lost in his passions. They blind him to what is real and, when that reality asserts itself, he will fight to return to his happy dreams.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The chapters in Every Generation are titled "Beginning", "Middle", and "End", and the epilogue is titled "After".
• Implicit Prison: After the events of the Revolution, Alfred is left confined to Arthur's house for decades, with British spies to watching to make sure he doesn't leave. Matthew is allowed out to handle household affairs and goes out for both of them, and eventually, the second Revolution brews during his outings in the early 19th century.
• In-Series Nickname: Matthew regularly calls Alfred "Al", who in turn calls him "Mattie".
• Interrupted Suicide: In the first installment, following George Washington's execution, Alfred tries to throw himself out his bedroom window three stories up the moment the window's opened and Arthur's back is turned. Arthur drags him down.
• Kinslaying Is a Special Kind of Evil: Arthur goes from delusional to unsympathetic when he attempts to kill Matthew and ends up killing Alfred. Matthew never forgives Arthur for murdering his twin.
• Laughing Mad: At the end of Grey Skies Over London, Alfred is rendered into such a state after his Interrupted Suicide.
  It was a horrible sound, nothing like his usual laugh that lifted spirits and brightened faces throughout the colonies. This laugh was hollow and cynical, deep in the throat, cracking vocal cords with maniacal callousness. Alfred would not stop the laugh, no matter what Arthur tried, until it finally drove the man from the room.
• Madness Mantra: "Free. Free. Free. Free. Free."
• My God, What Have I Done?: Arthur is horrified after he accidentally kills Alfred.
• My Greatest Failure: France feels guilty for not assisting Alfred and tries to make up for it.
• Never My Fault: Arthur refuses to see he is responsible for Alfred's pain, and that executing the leaders of America's Revolution is hurting his colony. Arthur pins the blame for Alfred's grief and near-silence on the rebels that "kidnapped and tried to brainwash" him.
• Offing the Offspring: Arthur tries to kill Matthew to stop his rebellion. He accidentally shoots Alfred instead.
• Past Experience Nightmare: As of Every Generation, Alfred still has nightmares of the failed Revolution and its bloody aftermath.
• Rule of Symbolism: It's mentioned in passing in Grey Skies Over London that America's voice finally died on the day Thomas Jefferson was hanged, rendering him mute. For context, Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, and given how Nations as People work...
  Arthur called it coincidence. Matthew was not so sure.
• Series Fic: It consists of two fics altogether.
• Shrinking Violet: Losing the Revolution (and what happened afterward) left Alfred quiet, timid, and shy. He begins to come out of his shell again during the second Revolution.
• Taking the Bullet: Arthur attempts to shoot Matthew. Alfred jumps in the way.
• That Man Is Dead: After Alfred's death, Matthew declares Canada is not his name anymore. He becomes the United States of Colombia.
• Winter Warfare: Invoked. Matthew eventually proposes and adopts "the Russian Strategy" of using the natural environment and terrain against the British in combat, after receiving training of it from Russia himself. Among these strategies is allowing the fighting to bleed into the wintertime, and taking advantage of the fierce snowstorms of North America to ravage the Brits.
• You Can't Go Home Again: In the first chapter of Every Generation, Alfred confides in Matthew his desire to go home. In the epilogue, it's all but outright stated that Matthew has brought his late twin's remains to rest in the place he considered home.
  Matthew bit his lip. Alfred's home – the house in sunny Virginia where he grew up and the little farm he'd maintained with his own hands – has been ransacked during the southern colony's period of martial law. All but a few trinkets – childhood toys, portraits and albums that would be worthless to anyone else – were stolen, the house itself all but ruined and the fields scarred from battle. Arthur had abandoned the property long ago and proclaimed that they would never go back.

---