“But I Should Take That As A Compliment, I Suppose,”

一人のための特別なムードボード !!! <3 @komaewda

“And who are you?,” the proud Lord said “That I must bow so low”

Only a cat of a different coat That’s all the truth I know

In a coat of gold or a coat of red A lion still has claws And mine are long and sharp, my lord As long and sharp as yours

____________________________

Belgium had never seen her brother in such a state before. He was pale and determined as he tore the letter from Spain to pieces. She knew what it had said. It had said that he must pacify William of Orange, or Spain would do it for him.

Spain’s fury was familiar, the look of abject anger on the Netherlands’ face was new. Though he was an imposing man with a stern demeanor, he was rarely angry. A stranger might read his quiet or his blunt nature as anger, she knew him well enough to know that it was not. This deathly silent man, white as porcelain, with a vein pounding in his temple, was truly angry.

She had wanted to say something to him since he had gotten the letter, but it was hard to imagine what could be said. She cleared her throat and tried, “You should speak to him. Surely he will understand if you go to Madrid.”

He exhaled sharply through his nose, and it made her jump. It was the first sound he had made since he received the letter. It only confirmed his deep anger.

Then, he spoke, “I have already told him that his taxes are too high. I have told him that his lack of tolerance for protestants is unreasonable. I have told him so many times that he must respect my nobility. I have said everything to him before, and he still sends me this. No, I am done talking to him.”

He held up the pieces of the letter, like she could not already guess what he was talking about.

She folded her anxious hands together so that they would not shake. His tone was worrying her deeply. She said, “But, what else is there to do? He is our lord whether you like it or not.”

He fixed his eyes on her, and they were deep and unyielding. Silently, he took the pieces of the letter and threw them into the fire. Then, he took every letter and order that he had piled in front of him, and placed them into the fire.

Belgium gasped and put a hand to her chest. He couldn’t mean what she imagined he meant by this.

The Netherlands watched the letters burn for a moment, and then said, “I do not accept his right to rule. I think it is time that we drove him out.”

She repeated, shock seizing her vocal cords, “‘We?‘ This is madness! He owns half of the world, and you think you can fight him.”

The Netherlands scoffed again, and said, “I know I am small, as David was to Goliath. I will win, because God favors me, and I will slay this giant.”

He took the rosary from his neck, the one that Spain insisted he wear, and tossed it into the fire as well.

Seeing the look of shock and horror on his sister’s face, he explained, “Antonio is corrupt, and his church in Rome is rotten to the core. I will have no more of either of them.”

She put her hand to her own cross, scared that he might take that next. Tears, from fear for him, welled up in her eyes. Her older brother, who had been her companion for as long as she could remember, felt like a stranger to her.

He was past her kind words or soothing touch, and it scared her. Nothing she knew would bring him back to reason. She felt tears coming in earnest now.

He stopped in his fit of destruction, and took her free hand in his own. He said, in the soft voice he had always used when she was upset, “Emma, don’t cry. Come with me, and we will make a new Republic for ourselves away from this cruel tyrant with tolerance and beauty.”

She felt like she could not swallow past the thick feeling in her throat. Looking at him hurt. She said, tears slipping down her cheeks as she spoke, “I cannot go with you, and I cannot bear the thought of Antonio hurting you. You know what he did in the New World-”

Her voice broke as she thought of the tales of cruelty that they had both heard. She couldn’t even imagine that happening to her brother.

Her vision swam with tears as she said, “Please don’t do this. Find some other way.”

He shook his head resolutely, “There is no other way for me except this.”

_____________________________

Dutch Revolt (1568–1648), APH Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands

Character Aesthetics: Cliff Booth

“A beautiful face, a vile soul”

Mikhail Kuznetsov as Fyodor Basmanov in “Ivan the Terrible” 1944-5

Photo sequence from the memory trunk

Soooo… I’ve wanted to do this ever since my very very first APH art history dumbness. A parody, of course, off of Velasquez’s Las Meninas. I don’t want to say too much, but even with the changes I made, hopefully the atmosphere is at least similar to the original! Everyone was super encouraging to me through it, and I appreciate that so much. <3

I totally missed my 200th post today, but here’s 201 with the hope that you guys might stick with me through another 200!! <3 <3 XOXO

Not as she seems.

(Aldo Raine x Russian!Female!Reader)

For the lovely @strudelcreme, I hope both you and your lovely friend enjoy this ❤️💛 Happy Birthday 🎉🎉❤️

Smiling wasn't something that (Y/n) was all too familiar with.

Even before all of this, her life back home in Russia wasn't much better. The cold was still very much embedded into her skin, and even the fiercest fire couldn't warm her. The frost of memory was always difficult to thaw.

There were moments of happiness, she supposed, moments she chose to not partake in. But there was always one man that would try to pull her in. And he would never let up.

(Y/n) could still hear his southern twang on the wind.

"Alright, ya Basterds! Gather round!" Aldo ordered, and (Y/n) was the first to move. Once everyone was close enough to hear, Aldo began to brief them. "Now, as most of yall' know, me and Donny hear managed to get some valuable Intel from one of the Krauts we caught." Aldo informed. (Y/n) remembered it well. The man spoke perfect English and was more than willing to speak if it meant getting to live.

Too bad he was hanging off Aldo's belt now.

"There's a small shack just north of ere', and someone there has been handing out supplies to countering war missions." Aldo said. "Kraut also mentioned that the guy's Russian. So (L/n) get your ass over here." Aldo said, and (Y/n) simply nodded and didn't say a word. Her relationship with Aldo was a complicated one. He always tried to make her smile, with stupid jokes and even stupider impressions. At the time, (Y/n) found it terribly annoying, but now, as much as she hated to admit it, it was cute.

She couldn't remember the last man that put so much effort to get her to do something as simple as smiling. His advances made some unfamiliar feelings drudge up as well. Feeling that (Y/n) thought herself too broken to possess. It took (Y/n) a lot of time to accept the fact that she was in love. And it was a beautiful and scary feeling. What if he died? What if she died? (Y/n) couldn't bare all the grim possibilities that could make her love turn into a tragedy.

Once the team had been assembled and the others were stationed on watch, it was Aldo, (Y/n), Donny and Wicki.

The four walked carefully until the reached the edge of the woods, where an opening sprawled into a field. The shack became visible and (Y/n) could see a figure moving on the inside. Maybe this informant of theirs lived there, if that were the case...why did (Y/n) get a bad feeling?

She stopped in her tracks, which also made Aldo stop.

"What's the matter, (L/n)?" He asked, a look of concern washed over his face. (Y/n) knew that Aldo would listen to her. And when you had a man like Aldo listening, everyone would follow. She threw her head at the cottage, making Aldo and the others turn their gaze at the shack. "I don't see anything wrong with it, doll." Donny commented, his accent coming out thicker than ever. "I….I got a bad feeling." She responded simply.

Aldo scratched his head. "Donny, Wicki, you stay on watch and me and (L/n) will get a closer look." Aldo ordered, raising his hand to quickly silence any sort of opposition.

Aldo and (Y/n) began to approach slowly, keeping their eyes on the visible figure. Once they were close enough, Aldo motioned for (Y/n) to speak.

"We are here! Come out!" (Y/n) called out in Russian. The informant seemed frantic in his movements, coming outside and smiling widely. "You have no idea how good it is to see another comrade!" The man announced and that name made (Y/n)'s skin crawl. It brought unwanted memories to her. "Are you armed?" She asked, and the man raised his coat and hands to show no guns or other weapons. Aldo calmed down, and asked the man if he spoke English. The man nodded.

"Good, now...a lil' birdie told us you had some supplies to share? We're kind of in a jiff here." Aldo explained and the man seemed to nod his head. He walked inside and before they all knew it...they were surrounded. The fuckers were hiding in the house. (Y/n) looked at the man, before spitting curses at him in Russian. The Krauts were circling them like they were prey, conversing with one another in German.

Fear and nervousness was heavy in the air, and (Y/n) was wondering where the hell Donny and Wicki were. One of the Krauts crouched in front of (Y/n), taking her chin into his thumb and forefinger.

"So you're the famous Ghost. I have to say, you're too beautiful to be a ghost." The officer complimented and Aldo felt an anger bubble inside him. He had reasons for all his effort in making (Y/n) smile, mostly because he himself had fallen in love with her.

And to see this Kraut fuck try and woo her was absolutely disgusting. The men around them switched positions, talking to each other in German.

The two dog handlers headed toward the back of the shack, seemingly searching for something. The dogs used their snouts around some disturbed snow patches, barking soon followed. There was a basement door, hidden under the snow.

(Y/n)'s "comrade" also seemed very nervous. As the Krauts were busy searching with the dogs, (Y/n) scooted closer to the man. He was surprised. "Now you listen to me very carefully, comrade." She whispered slowly, her accent coming thicker than usual. The man didn't utter a word, fear evident in his eyes.

"You are going to help us out of this...and if you try and betray me again, I'll beat you up so bad God won't even recognize you. Understand?" She threatened. The man began to vigorously nod his head, making promises that he was going to help.

For his sake, he had better.

Donny signaled them to quiet down, as the soldiers returned. The officer's interest had shifted from (Y/n) to Aldo. They hauled the southerner to his feet. "What the fuck!? Don't you fucking touch me you Kraut fu-!" He was silenced by a punch to the stomach. Aldo knelt forward, and the men dragged him inside the newly found basement. The silence that settled could have killed (Y/n).

Her stomach pooled with dread, as her mind came up with alarming scenarios. The dog watcher's began to move around the perimeter. Time was running out, and Aldo could be in danger.

(Y/n) felt her eyes shift to the roof of the house, where she saw more movement. At first, it arose to look like another hidden Kraut, but Wicki was always the more stealthy of the group. Donny used to joke that he should have been called Ghost. Wicki detected her eyes on him, and with swift hand gestures, (Y/n) knew immediately what to do.

She watched the Krauts move toward the basement entrance, where they were unconsciously inching closer and closer to Wicki.

"Give me your knife." She told the man, and he immediately handed it to her. Once the Krauts backs were turned, she rushed the shorter one, plunging the knife into his neck. The dog was swift business as well, and (Y/n) was sure the dog was the only one she actually felt bad for.

The other Kraut didn't even have time to react. Wicki retracted his blade from the German's throat, with a satisfied smile on his face. (Y/n) stood in her usual stoic expression, looking to the basement. It was odd how the commotion didn't bring the officer back, but (Y/n) was going to get him soon enough. Right when she took the next step, a loud bang echoed, catching the trio off guard.

"Fucking hell!" Donny yelled, covering his ears, and Wicki cursed in German under his breath. (Y/n)'s heart picked up in pace, for she would recognize that sound anywhere.

It was a gunshot.

The Russian wasted no time in bolting in the basement, where she was greeted with a fairly large storage area. "Wicki, Donny, get your asses down here." (Y/n) whispered.

The trio descended into the basement, quiet as mice. Which was kind of surprising for (Y/n), seeing as Donny was a literal giant compared to both her and Wicki.

(Y/n) couldn't shake her anxiety.

Please be alive.

For the love of God be alive.

They soon reached a spacey room, it not having been filled with extra supplies. It wasn't until the trio turned the corner that the wave of relief washed over. Aldo was sat against the wall, a freshly fired gun in his left hand and a newly dead Kraut on the floor. He had a wild-like grin on his face. “Took you long enough.” Aldo laughed. He got to his feet, and before he was about to say anything more, he was wrapped in an almost bear-like hug. Needless to say, it caught the men by surprise.

(Y/N) buried her face in Aldo’s chest, muttering words of gratitude. “Thank God, you're alive…” she whispered, like she didn't want the others to hear her. Aldo chuckled softly, wrapping his own arms around the woman. “Im glad i made it too, darlin’.” He said. “Donny, Wicki. Go get the others and lets haul as many of these crates as we can. We gonna need it pretty soon.” He ordered. Donny and Wicki were smiling ear to ear, like a couple of school children, and Aldo was the older kid swatting them away.

“Sure, Lieutenant. We’ll see you two later.” Donny teased. “Much later.’’ Wicki finished before they both exited the basement, not forgetting to scalp the Krauts on their way. Now Aldo and (Y/N) were alone, still in each other's arms. Aldo felt eyes on him, so he looked down and saw something that he never thought he would see.

(Y/N) was smiling up at him.

She looked the happiest she had ever been throughout this whole thing. “Is that smile for ol’ me, darlin’?’’ Aldo teased, earning himself a semi serious punch in the arm. “Be quiet.” She replied softly. “Were you worried about me?” He continued. “Of course I was worried. You were gone and then the gunshot. Oh, you get the idea.” She replied in frustration. Aldo smiled, taking her face in his rough hands. He brought their lips together in a sudden kiss, which made (Y/N) gasp softly. The kiss held desperation, and a longing most beautiful.

People are willing to do wild things, when all seems lost.

They pulled away from each other, eyes peering into one another. Sea blue into (e/c).

“Smile for me again, would ya’?”

And she did.

Everyday.

@strudelcreme @lemairepstuff @sergeant-donny-donowitz @jiejie-eonni-onee-sama @empress-writes @struggling-bee @jokersqueenofchaos @aurelie34-43

junk from my DA account

Regardless of gender or race or political stand，deep in our heart we share a common treasure called suffering🌞

Happy family fruk day!