#i grew up hearing cookies called biscuits etc.

[rhys-ravenfeather]

Listen, it’s 2023 now.

I think that we, as a species, have grown past making fun of American and non-American people alike for what they call things.

[a-writing-bear]

[PruCan] Chapter 11: Soft-Spoken Calling, They Want Their Shyness Back

Ao3 Link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11159997/chapters/48552656

This Has been cross-posted onto FF & Ao3 under Aliases: BearBooper

You can read this Fic on Tumblr under ‘Keep Reading’ - Ao3 version is formatted, tumblr version is not. Ao3 is recommended.

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Fandom: Hetalia Axis Powers

Main Pairing: Gilbert Beilschmidt & Matthew Williams (Prussia & Canada)

AU:  College AU - Art Student Matthew and Media/Film Student Gilbert

Age Rating/Mature:  Teen And Up Audiences (12+ due to mentions of mature themes as well as swearing)

Trigger Warnings: Recreational Drugs & minor connotations of anxiety (Future addiction to mention themes such as addiction, rape etc.) WITHIN THIS CHAPTER - Mentions a lot of Weed. Unwanted touching (just mentions but slightly uncomfortable) 

10 pm was a good time to arrive at a party, they decided. Vanilla milkshakes always made Matthew feel better- however maybe it wasn’t a good idea to have one after that coffee from earlier, and especially considering he was about to jacked up. Oh well. That’s something I'll deal with tomorrow. The Dutchman and himself had been on their way to Matthias & Lukas’ house, music-making his head pound already and feeling antsy over the prospect of more socialising. They had made very little conversation as the Mattie drove- only vaguely keeping attention to Tim’s random commentary and occasional directions. The Nordic couple had been renting out some house in the suburbs with 3 other students- very obviously avoiding living anywhere near the student dorms or the student housing as they liked to prevent interaction with the rest of Himaruya Academy; when you were hosting smoke outs and various amounts of overzealous drinkers and gambling, you tend to want to avoid the loud crowds. These events were closed doors, invite-only per se. Nothing like Alfred’s big bash parties that turned the university dorms into the likes of open summer festivals. They had only just touched the gravel of the house pavement when Matthew was hit with the familiar whistle of a certain Cuban man who had recognised their red car.

“EYYY LUKAS, TIM AND MATTIE ARE HERE.” the Cuban accent used to make Matthew shiver but was meaningless once he learnt Carlos was very straight, and if evidence needed planting then Carlos already on the porch with some girls he didn’t recognise and was flagged to go in after a friendly wave as he was too busy flirting to give Matt and actual hello. Tim had followed behind, loosening his tie as they sauntered up the door, only to have it ripped open by an unimpressed looking face of the shorter man known by Lukas.

The Norwegian seemed to raise his eyebrows to see that they both arrived together, usually, it would always be Tim first before Matthew came coming in. “Hej. Earlier than usual. Matthias is already down in the den with Jack.”

Tim had disappeared into the kitchen, making haste to avoid the heavy drinkers that surrounded the living room and especially avoid that Russian dude that seems to be pouring what looked like half a bottle of vodka into his cup. Meanwhile, Lukas had offered to stash away Matthew’s precious hoodie in the closet as he made their way down to the basement. The hypnotising dragging voice of Tame Impala's Kevin Parker grew louder as Matthew's sneakers hit the staircase floorboards down into the dreary but comfortable den. Jack must have picked the music, but I can dig it. Already he could smell the stink of imported kush, the haziness of what seemed like a spiked stream flowing around- only placated and diluted due to the small basement hopper window that let the smoke out. Matthew kicked off his sneakers at the bottom, already enjoying the vibe- or perhaps already being affected by secondhand smoke. Matthias had opened the basement bathroom to double steam the first few sessions of weed but it proved worthless as there seems to be a continuous stream of smokers mingling in and out of the den. Matthias was a tall blonde mess, a big optimist who wore long shirts under brightly coloured tees- a stark contrast to the bland wardrobe that Lukas wore (Opposites do attract I suppose) and the Danish guy was laying belly up on some very tacky shag carpet, at the feet of Jack who was lazed around on some beanbag, bong in his lap haphazardly.

“Oi Mate- bout time you showed up, I was getting bored. Where’s Timtam?” Matthew shrugged and sat cross-legged right near the dazed Dane’s face.

“Don’t call him that, he’ll throw a fit. What’s this? Yours or Tim’s?”

Jack snickered, the Australian clearly buzzed on something, “Buddy if this was Tim’s hooch I wouldn’t be sharing with goldie over here” he pointed and laughed as he listened to Matthias whine in offence. To be fair, the guy did go through more weed than Jack and Matthew combined so it was a fair enough statement. Matthew leant back, arms behind him as he dug his hands into the soft and a bit scruffy faux fur of the carpet- Matthias was giggling high about something and had pushed his head into Matthew’s lap.

“Hold kæft! I’m not that shit! Fuck Mattttt where’s Tim?”

“Upstairs I think- please pass the bong Jack” Matthew carefully stroked the hair that weaselled its way into his lap, he didn’t mind touchy stoners, he was the same whenever he got a hit- he just wished the big couch wasn’t full of clothes so he wouldn't have to sit on the floor. Just as he had the glass bulb in his hand Tim had marched in from upstairs, throwing a bag of chips and lots of biscuits into the beanbag next to Jack. Matthew tutted as Matthias apologised about not having those maple cookies he liked, whereas the Australian was more pleased to see some recognisable red liquorice. The green-eyed man had pulled out a pipe and dragged the spare beanbag to be behind Matthew, and it was not long before all four of the boys had taken a few hits and became a bunch of giggling messes.

“So whattya been up to mate?”

“Maybe he finally went back to Canada or something right Mattttt?

“Ahaha yea seen any geese or something mate?? Shit, we should have gone- BC bud hol-y” the conversation seemed disjointed and Matthew was already too far gone to think about going back to Canada. He notes that yeah, it’s been a bit since he’d come for a smoke out, and he didn't answer as he was too preoccupied with the stem of his bong and the noise of shouting celebrations of poker players upstairs.

“Schatje has a new uh...gig” Tim snorted, he, however, was definitely less jacked than the 3 who seemed to light up at the sentence.

“Oooooooo who be it?? Who is it, Mattie?” Matthew let out a wail of disapproval at the conversation, Tim was supposed to be his friend yet he’s pushed him into a corner of answers.

“Some dude..guy...fucking cute- uh Gil..red eyes oof real red...shiny eyes.” his mind wandered as he let himself lean on the edge of Tim’s beanbag, Matthias had already stumbled off the floor, excited and eager to hear like some high school girl. Jack had his eyebrows raised and the singlet wearing man moved closer from his position to meet Matthew’s rosy expression.

“Wow, Matties got the giggles for someone huh? Hah Timtam good luck mate.” Tim avoided any eye contact and instead focused on his pipe and refilled it with some mary jane from the communal bag nearby. An indignant noise came out of Tim as he growled at the stupid nickname.

“Wait- Gil? Gilbert? The band shirt guy? Isn’t he the one who got wasted at Francis’ big blowout last time” Matthias mentioned, arms waving and dismissed as he continued to squirm along the floor.

“Oh Gilllly boy, mates with uh Antonio or something, that bitch?”

“Fuck I don’t know...he listens to uh...mom jeans too ya know- fuck me.” the two laughed at Matthew’s comment but didn’t push for more- it’s been too long since Matthew had shown interest in someone, who were they to question. Especially not while they were all getting smoked. Tim looked disinterested in the topic anyway and was more concerned with tangling his fingers in Matthew’s strawberry blonde hair as the Canadian had sat between his legs. God fuck cuddles were nice. Matthew's voice broke out into more wailing as he sung along to Snowy Dunes. The music was soothing. He hoped there was more.

The music melted out into something he didn't quite recognise: “Who the FUCK put Queens of stone age on the queue?” Jack complained. ah fuck. he agreed over the change in the artist. shame, he quite liked Snowy Dunes more than Queens of Stone age At some point, Lukas had dragged his very giggly boyfriend upstairs and Jack had been huddled in a corner snacking by himself. Matthew didn’t know what time it was but he’d wiggled his way from his scarf-wearing friend and clambered up the staircase, laughing at the terrible decor on the walls- he could paint better graffiti than the shitty art pieces the house owners had displayed. He didn��t realise how he’d find himself on the couch near Ivan and some other foreign sounding students. Ivan was cool. Weird. Haha, I V A N. fuck ‘ee van.’ who names their kid Ivan anyway? Doesn't get more Russian than that. Shit ice hockey. Russian players are always so grabby. Man, I’d kill for some Cheetos right now.  

There were about 10 people in the room- and some Matthew only recognised by name. Everyone here barely attempted to talk outside of this safe house. What happened on Saturday nights never got passed the lawn, it was an unspoken law. Matthew always wondered was that because of the copious amount of shagging that happened? The excessive card games or maybe the fact that all these people were just kids who can’t bear to go to the bigger parties. Matthew couldn’t decide. He couldn’t even figure out why he was here. Why was anyone here? Why are we still here? Just to suffer? He laughed at his inner joke.

The teen’s mind wandered in circles and had been offered a drink by some Finnish kid he recognised as Lukas’ housemate. The music up here was incessantly blasting rock- something that he’d love if it wasn’t so dizzy. He melted further into the couch, barely turning to watch the poker match of some guys a few meters away. Matthew liked this house. Even with people here, it wasn’t suffocating. He could feel someone touching his hair again. Hosers. Why always my hair. The fingers started roaming his shoulders...and his thigh. Suddenly Matthew felt more sobered as he shuffled away and tried to find a pillow to hide behind. He felt woozy and extremely giddy despite his anxiousness to escape anymore touching. He stood up throwing the pillow outside and went hunting for some water. He didn’t want to feel this light anymore. Not now. Matthew couldn’t remember feeling this light and heavy all at the same time. And suddenly, he just couldn’t remember a lot of things. There was a lot of loud singing. He laughed.

---

Alfred had been dropped off at his dorm building at around 9:20 pm, and by 9:30 he’d launched his discord chat and set up his microphone so that he could huddle on his bed without having to jostle his laptop so much later. The blue-eyed American had only one reason to not be out partying like he usually did with his cousin Francis, only one other reason why he was studying with his brother and one other reason why he hadn’t been chasing up local girls and guys

“Hey, Keeks!”

His voice rattled with poorly disguised joy as his Japanese friend had picked up. Alfred and Kiku had hit it off foundation year, and while it was upsetting that eventually, the black-haired beauty had to transfer back to the other campus, Alfred had made it his job to stay in contact. Kiku was a genius. On par if not smarter than Alfred and that was considered high praise. The two shared stories, For the Asian man it was only just the start of the day so Alfred accompanied him through his breakfast as they shared concepts for different additions to each other’s current project. Robotics has always intrigued Alfred but there was no secret that his wonder had not been merely just been present because of the technological prowess that his crush displayed.

“Alfred-kun. I thought you said you had something with your Brother tonight.” Kiku’s soft voice filtered through the screen, he knew all about Alfred’s personal life and was under the impression the call was cancelled for some family bonding.

“Nah, dude. He’s out with his not-boyfriend. I don’t know what he’s up to. Probably exchanging spit or reading together again.” Alfred Sighed. Knowing his boring brother, he was just watching some movie with Tim again. He’s probably just sleeping.

[thebestplltheories]

LOCKING IN MY FINAL PREDICTIONS FOR THE FINALE

Here is everything I expect to happen in this finale. Some dot points are kind of vague... some things I literally have no idea what to expect! The main one I’m locking in is that A.D. is Twincer, the rest is extra fluffy commentary. 

There is no such thing as a filler scene. Even if we get a scene with Spencer and Alison frickn baking cookies talking about good books they’ve read lately. That is not a filler. Don't look at that scene literally, and say “I couldn't give a damn if they make chocolate chip cookies or raisin cookies”. Look at the symbolism behind every scene: it could be serving as that character’s farewell scene (the last time we’ll ever see them) or it could be serving as showing character development from the pilot to now; how the writers want this character to bow out. I repeat: NOTHING is a filler. Everything is important, if you look at the meaning behind the scene, rather than what it conveys literally. For this reason, I think every scene will have me emotional. 

Ezria, Haleb, Emison and Spoby will all be endgame.

The entire episode will be set in the future. “1 year later” will pop up at the beginning of the episode. And we find out our precious answers via flashbacks. We go from seeing Emison’s babies in the present, to flashing back to A.D.’s reveal, to going back to the present to see married Haleb, to flashing back to Ezria’s wedding, etc. Followed by another one year forward at the end of the finale.

A.D. is Spencer’s twin. A.D. stands for A_____ Drake, so Twincer is Mary’s third child. Twincer was never adopted by the Hastings, rather she grew up in Radley where she met her sister Charlotte. Mona came to Radley and told Charlotte and Twincer about the A-game, which the duo played together from season 3 onwards. Now that Charlotte is dead, Twincer is playing the game solo for once, trying to avenge the death of her only friend (and sister). On top of this, Twincer is angry at the Hastings for not adopting her, and is jealous of Spencer’s marvellous life. Twincer is harassing the other liars, because she wants to cause a divide in the group, ultimately to hurt Spencer. (Edit: but just like Mona thought CeCe was Ali... Mona had no idea it was Twincer, because she was on her meds. Unrealistic, I know, but they’ve done it before, they can do it again)

If A.D. is not Twincer, it will be another secret sibling. I get the vibes it will not be as simple as “the Ezra/Caleb/Wren/Melissa/Paige you’ve known this whole time is evil”. 

Something controversial will happen that will spark conversation in the media. If they made Big A be transgender, imagine what they’ll do to Uber A?

WHEN WE FIRST SEE WHO IS UNDER THE HOODIE... I WILL NOT BELIEVE THAT IS TRULY A.D UNTIL A MASK COMES OFF. I am not accepting that person as A.D. until a mask comes off. It won't be that easy.

A.D. has not been around since season 1. As elaborated above, I think A.D. was simply Charlotte’s team-mate, and this story only goes back to season 3. Seasons 1 and 2 will be completely irrelevant.

Mona will die. As we saw in the “1 day to go” promo by Freeform, Mona is still investigating who A.D. is. I think Mona will solve the game, and as she's on her way to tell the girls who A.D. is, A.D. will kill her. This will not only be a move to protect their identity, but also as revenge for killing Charlotte.

A.D. will die in the end.

The father of Emison’s baby will not be important. AD stole a random donor’s sperm. Lame, I know, but I feel like this will be a repeat of the barrel story from 5B, where Marlene said Charlotte stole a cadaver from medical school. 

Wren is Twincer’s helper. Twincer asked Wren to shoot him, so that when she goes over to Toby’s house and has sex with him, she’ll have that wound just like Spencer does. 

Jenna is another AD minion.

Bethany Young will be mentioned in a really important way. I can't pinpoint how, though. (x)

Charlotte was lying to the girls when explaining her story in 610. She never returned to Radley after Charles’ funeral. She was free to roam the streets of Rosewood. The only person who could verify Charlotte’s story is Jessica... and she’s dead. So, nothing Charlotte said in 610 can be proven as true. To fill the plot holes, they need to reveal that she lied.

They won't fix the plot hole of Marion Cavanaugh’s death :(

Addison and Jenna are connected in some way.

Shower Harvey will not be mentioned at all... even though we still need to find out why she helped Charlotte... we will never know.

The final scene will be Hanna announcing she is pregnant and one of the liars going away. Still using the formula from dot point #3 - it’ll be the final scene, but technically still a flashback. 

The ending has been described as “typical PLL” - I really think they’re setting up a spinoff with Addison. I pray not. If this isn't the ending, then I hope it’s a cinematic shot of Mona’s grave, Charlotte’s grave, and AD’s grave lined up next to each other, with the girls declaring “we won”.

We will not find out about Wren’s shady phone call in 4A “we have a problem, you take care of your end and I’ll take care of mine”

We will never hear of Eddie Lamb again

Archer took on the identity of Doctor Elliot Rollins so that he can be with Charlotte. 

Toby killed Yvonne by feeding her poisonous biscuits in 713, so he can be with Spencer. (Edit: but Spencer will never know this)

“That night” is 100% done and dusted and has no relevance to the finale. I hope I’m wrong though.