Notes:

"The position of Prussia in Germany will not be determined by its liberalism but by its power [...] Prussia must concentrate its strength and hold it [...]. Not through speeches and majority decisions will the great questions of the day be decided—that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849—but by iron and blood." – Otto von Bismarck, 1862.

For Bismarck, the architect of the modern German nation-state, force and violence were not excesses of nation-building but its very foundation. As a result, the path toward German unification in the 19th century was an undeniably painful one.

This story grew out of a fascination with that pain, and how the abstract forces of history can be made intimate, personal, and embodied. What first drew me to Hetalia, and to Germany and Prussia in particular, was the possibility of telling history not only as a sequence of events, but as a relationship: one shaped by dependence, coercion, protection, violence, and the promise of survival and unity. A way to explore how nations are not simply born, but made.

At its core, this fic treats German unification as a violent coming-of-age story. A birth forged through trauma. Innocence and individuality are not preserved but stripped away in the name of unity; identity is not chosen but hammered into shape. Germany is molded to fit into Prussia’s uniform—disciplined, sharpened, and rendered useful—whether he resists or not.

Beneath that central idea run several interwoven themes that dominate the narrative: power as an intimate, coercive force; nationalism as something seductive, erotic, and dangerous—offering belonging, purpose, and unity at the cost of total submission; and the tension between fate and choice, where history advances relentlessly, indifferent to personal suffering. The story asks what it means to survive such a process, and what parts of oneself must be sacrificed to do so.

The plot is twofold: On the one hand, it follows the historical events of the 19th century—the wars, reforms, and political shifts that led toward unification; on the other, it portrays the abusive relationship between Gilbert and Ludwig on a deeply personal scale. These two layers are not separate; they intertwine, mirroring and reinforcing each other. The logic that justifies domination in politics finds its echo in the private sphere, and the same wounds are carried in both body of a man and the soul of a nation.

This is not celebratory historical fiction. It is a dark, critical examination of how nations and people are broken, reshaped, and claimed in the name of survival and greatness.

_________

This story is structured as a long, canon-divergent retelling of German history, divided into four parts:

Rheingold (1812–1850)
Nibelungentreue (1850–1871)

And if time, energy, and life allow, this will be followed by:

Siegfried (1871–1914)
Götterdämmerung (1914–1945).

Update schedule: Every second Friday. That said, life happens. If there is a delay or a longer break, I’ll make sure to leave a note at the beginning of the most recent chapter.

POV: Alternates between Gilbert and Ludwig, depending on whose perspective drives the stakes higher.

Tags: Will be edited and expanded as the story progresses. A fair warning—without spoiling too much—this fic will include violence (physical, psychological and verbal, also against minors), sexual acts (consensual and dub-con/non-con), and clear references to Germancest as I take German unification quite literally at some point *coughs*

Canon-Divergence: My portrayal of Prussia/Gilbert leans heavily into his historical roots as a rigid, militarized, authoritarian state, without flattening him into a mere villain or stripping him of his canon traits completely. Germany/Ludwig, however, leans into the image of the 'land of poets and thinkers' during his adolescence while grappling with his own identity. Note that some names and family dynamics have changed; specifically, Gilbert and Ludwig are not blood-related in this story. See the glossary for further information.

_________

Enjoy 🙏❤️