1983: Doomsday Stories/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Alternative Character Interpretation: Invoked, especially in the case of Austria and Prussia.
  • Broken Bird: Both Austria and Prussia are shown at some points as on the very brink of becoming this.
  • Complete Monster: The Soviets in the 1980s stories, who attempted to invade Austria and all but raped Hungary to no end.
    • Which goes a long way to explain why Russia went into hiding.
  • Cruel to Be Kind: Switzerland's efforts to rehabilitate Austria and convince him that Hungary's Dead All Along may come across as this.
  • Deus Sex Machina: Averted. Angelic!Hungary didn't have to go all the way to help Austria get over the pain caused by Doomsday. Rather, both of them just missed each other for too long.
  • The Dog Bites Back: Austria and Prussia are mentioned as having done this with a vengeance.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending
  • Fan Service / Fan Disservice: The implied sex scenes between Austria and Hungary.
    • The fight scene between Prussia and Hungary in Dreams of Another Time, especially once she strips down to her old and revealing formfitting armor. Which is soon averted once Hungary reveals her decayed form similar to her remains in A Wasteland Melody.
    • The "deleted" sex scene between Switzerland and Liechtenstein in An Unexpected Union may also come across as this.
  • Fridge Brilliance: Austria's yearning for his old Imperial power may come across as a bit hypocritical, given his position in the Alpine Confederation. Then again, Austria during the (real life) Cold War was pretty much a powerless buffer in the wider standoff between America and the USSR. Which would also explain why he was absolutely helpless in saving Hungary during Doomsday, regardless of what he might have done...
  • Fridge Horror: Anything to do with Doomsday itself and the Alt!1980s in general. If The Day After or Threads are any indication, it's not a walk in the park...
    • Particuarly bad when you take the Survivour Nations into account. Most of them were 'born' during the Eighties and at least one was shown to have been ill as a child. It's not stated outright but there's a good chance that it was radiation sickness. Add in the isolation of the newly formed nations and you have a large number of kids whose earliest memories would be of being deathly ill and alone in the world since some of them didn't even see another nation for decades.
    • A lot of the Survivour Nations are implied to have matured abnomally fast by nation standards, from chibi to pre-teen in under thirty years. Doesn't seem like much until you start thinking about why that is.
    • Even worse when you account what the last moments of the Old World Nations who died, having implied to have suffered in their last days societal collapse, radiation poisoning and the widespread chaos and bloodshed associated with the breakdown of civilization in large parts of the world. Those who died later on could be described as suffering from at lease some of these in a slow burn. Especially with Hungary, (West) Germany, England and eventually, Austria.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: Whether it's certain bits of untranslated German (Scheiße) or the carefully worded references to both Switzerland and Liechtenstein's relationship and Austria and Angelic!Hungary's intimate lovemaking in the 2000s-era stories.
  • Heterosexual Life Partners: Austria and Switzerland. Sort of.
  • Humanoid Abomination: If The Expeditionary Report is anything to go by, this is how the human protagonist views "Herr Edelstein's kind." Hungary can comes across as this in the same story.
  • Iron Woobie: Austria, though by 2009 the facade was on the verge of breaking. Even Poland post-Doomsday qualifies.
  • Kick the Son of a Bitch: Subverted. Many of the surviving "old world" Nations clearly wish to have their revenge on the USA and Russia for pretty much nuking the world. Then you get to see things from America's eyes...
  • A Lighter Shade of Gray:The Alpines in general are this. Though they are a largely benevolent beacon of civilization in Central Europe, they're also rather self-serving and not all that altruistic. And that's not counting forcing out refugees at gunpoint just because there wasn't enough food.
  • Like Brother and Sister: Hungary and Poland are implied to be like this.
  • Mood Whiplash: Given the perspective flips and time jumps, this was inevitable.
  • Moral Event Horizon: Arguably Doomsday itself.
  • Never Live It Down: Invoked in-verse. Especially with how Russia and America are remembered, being the instigators of Doomsday.
    • This arguably can also apply to Austria and Prussia as well, with their obsessions for finding Hungary and (West) Germany respectively.
  • Not Afraid to Die: Austria by 2031 has all but quietly resigned to a slow, possibly painful death as a Nation. At least Hungary's waiting for him at the other end.
  • Not Quite the Right Thing: In order to survive the initial years following Doomsday, the Alpine Nations decide to close down their borders for the sake of security. This also meant leaving swarms of refugees to either die or be killed on sight. Even Switzerland wonders whether it was ultimately such a good idea in the first place.
  • Only Sane Man: Switzerland and Austria try to be this.
  • Resurrected Romance: Hungary chose to come back for Austria, though knowing fully well that their relationship would never be the same.
  • Sex for Solace: Arguably played with in the case of Austria, who vents decades of repressed emotions through passionate, if somewhat desperate lovemaking in A Symphony for a New World as he tries to cope with Hungary's death. Coincidentally, the lady he goes to bed with also happens to be her.
  • What Could Have Been: Earlier ideas for the AU would have made it much more bleak and depressing than what ultimately came out. Austria's arc alone would have involved him becoming a mentally scarred Yandere who despises his own daughter. And Hungary being little more than his subconscious...which he subsequently kills.