The Hearth Series

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

The Hearth Series is a series of alternate universe Axis Powers Hetalia fanfictions written by Speaking Through Written Words. The stories all center around a small town named Hearth and the strange people who live there. The series began as a trilogy, with each fanfiction loosely based off of a Shakespeare play, but the author has also written a number of one-shots and a prequel.

Comedy of Errors follows The Comedy of Errors, as newcomer Matthew Williams arrives in Hearth in search of his long-lost father and brother, only to be mistaken for another.

Much Ado About Everything follows Much Ado About Nothing, as Lovino and Antonio prepare for their wedding and chaos unfolds as a result.

All's Fine that Ends Okay follows All's Well That Ends Well, as Matthew and Alfred's birth parents arrive in Hearth, while several of the town's residents deal with issues like finding the secret of immortality.

In all cases, Hilarity Ensues.


Tropes used in The Hearth Series include:
  • Adult Child: Peter, who has a job testing children's toys. Also Maddox, who as Arthur puts it is twenty-one and happy to keep living in his adopted father's basement.
  • A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Played with. iMarcus and iLudovicus aren't evil, but they have developed their own personalities and are capable of screwing with whoever lives in their houses. iMarcus seems to really enjoy screwing with Vash.
  • Bastard Boyfriend: Ivan to Toris, in their backstory.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Pretty much everyone.
  • Cow Tools: The mysterious object Kiku was sent in All's Fine that Ends Okay. He has no idea what it does, except that it turns Hercules and Sadiq - and only them - invisible. It later turns out that the guy who sent it to him only sent it as a joke, and it's never revealed what it was supposed to be.
  • Cute Mute: Angelique
  • Deadpan Snarker: Quite a few characters, but Maddox takes the cake, seeing as he rarely displays emotion at all.

 Vash: What are you doing?
Maddox: Staring at a menu.
[...]
Vash: What were you doing last night?
Maddox: Not staring at a menu.

  • Domestic Abuse: It's revealed in several flashbacks that when Ivan was with Toris, he was very abusive towards him. Fortunately, Ivan listened to Toris and started taking medication for his issues.
  • Everyone Can See It: A good chunk of the series has most of the cast telling Alfred and Kiku to get over themselves and confess their feelings for one another.
  • Frying Pan of Doom: Used by Elizabeta to knock out Ethan, after discovering he tried to kill Muhammad.
  • Genius Ditz: Alfred, who is adorably oblivious to many obvious things, but is also the only doctor in town.
  • Happily Adopted: Alfred and Matthew know that England and France aren't their birth parents, but love them anyway.
  • Hot Dad: Marcus and Ludovicus, who cross over into being hot grandfathers when they make in-story appearances. Being immortal can help one age gracefully. In the third fic, it's also confirmed that Sadiq is one and Roderich will be one.
  • My Beloved Smother: Roderich's mother, who forced her son to be a "proper" gentleman, and who he was glad to escape when he moved to Hearth.
  • Noodle Incident: It's never really explained why Ludovicus took Gilbert and Ludwig away from their dad when they were five, nor the incident that happened at their family's farm when a five-year-old Feliciano visited.
    • There is only one bench remaining in all of Hearth. In one of the notes at the end of a chapter, the author assures the readers that they don't want to know what happened to the other benches.
  • No Sense of Direction: Roderich only ended up in Hearth because he got on the wrong train and got lost. Fortunately, he likes living there.
  • Official Couple: Lovino/Antonio, who spend a good bit of the series hooking up and getting married. Also, Elizabeta and Roderich.
  • Serious Business: Cake baking, for Roderich.
  • Ship Tease: Heidi and Natalia bond over fights with their brothers, become friends, and plan for a sleepover by the end of the third fic. While it's revealed that Heidi is a lesbian, nothing else happens, and Maddox says that Natalia is not Heidi's "type".
  • Sorry to Interrupt: Happens in a one-shot, where Maddox is handcuffed to a lamp post, with his legs wrapped around Vash's head and Ramon walks in on it.

 "Hello," said Maddox, looking at the man at Vash's back.
"Never mind," Ramon said. It did not take long for Vash to hear a front door open and close.

    • Word of God is that compromising situations such as that are the reason that most people already assume that Vash and Maddox are dating.
  • The Alcoholic: Erin.
  • The Gunslinger: Vash, who is the town's constable. The first chapter of the prequel fic explains how he was raised by his father to respect the power guns provide.
  • The Medic: Alfred, who is the town doctor.
  • True Companions: Francis, Antonio, and Gilbert were best friends growing up. When Francis elopes with Arthur, the other two feel horrifically betrayed.
  • Posthumous Character: Helene and Nefertiti, who both died in a fire before the events of the fanfictions. Both are referenced by Marcus, Ludovicus, and Sadiq, and both turn out to be among the seven people of Hearth who became immortal hundreds of years ago.