[FIC] Für Elise
Here, have some Nyotalia fic, guys!
Title: Für Elise
Author/Artist: miezen
Character(s) or Pairing(s): fem!Germany, fem!Austria, mentions of male!Hungary/fem!Austria
Rating: PG
Warnings: Vague reference to sex, vague reference to Mangary being a yuri addict
Summary: Remember the “Beethoven was Austrian” strip? Well it’s that argument all over again in Nyotalia land.
Status: Finished
Disclaimer: None of this is mine save for the concept to some extent and the atypical choice in human names for genderbends
Author’s Notes: The choices in human names here are integral to the story. I typically dislike Louise/Luise for fem!Germany anyway (because all I can think of is Louise Hardwich from Absolute Obedience. Google it and you will see why this is a problem), and both my choice for fem!Germany and for Femstria are important. Germany = Elise, Austria = Therese. I apologize if it’s confusing in how much I use those names in the fic.
Heaving a sigh, Therese led her guest to the box that she usually occupied at Vienna Philharmonic orchestras. Seeing as she was the nation of Austria and a great appreciator of music, she had been generously given a box at their main concert hall that was reserved strictly for her use and any guests she may personally invite. Usually she’d invite her husband ex-husband lover, János Héderváry or she would go alone, but tonight was different. Tonight her guest was none other than Elise, the nation of Germany. Elise was a good friend and it wasn’t that Therese disliked her company, but she really didn’t understand why Elise wanted to attend this performance. Elise usually didn’t take much interest in classical music; she was an athletic, outdoors-y type, a lot like János, really. Honestly, though, looking at the repertoire for the night’s performance should have sent off warning bells in Therese’s head immediately. They were performing Beethoven. Elise adored Beethoven. But somehow this slipped Therese’s mind as she and the other nation climbed the staircase leading to their private box.
“Typical of Elise to be so professional about everything”, Therese mentally noted. The female nation was dressed in a practical and conservative formal gown. It was rather plain; mostly black with a few areas with a flower design woven into it in army green. It certainly wasn’t meant to be showy, unlike the dress Therese had chosen. Black with lots of deep purple ruffles and a much less modest cut; Elise was far better endowed than she was, and regardless of what János would say, she did have to do what she could to make up for her average bust size when in the company of someone as busty as Elise. Just to make her feel less self-conscious. It wasn’t that she was insecure about her looks, but appearances were important, after all, and Therese had made it her goal to be the most stunning woman in the audience of any performance she attended at this concert hall. It was her way of saying thanks for the special accommodations she had been given; that was all.
Another sign of Elise and her down to business nature was how quickly and silently she’d taken a seat. She proceeded to pour over the program in complete silence as she waited for the concert to start. Therese couldn’t help but smile a little. This was actually quite a relief to have someone with her that was so unlike János at these events. He genuinely enjoyed the music, but he was rarely quiet about it, constantly making comments about the performance, anything from how well executed a particular section of the piece was performed to how cute the soloist was and how he thought the first violinist was making eyes at her and the two of them would make a cute couple. That man could see lesbians at an all boys school. Other times he’d find the music particularly romantic and start making moves on her. It wasn’t that Therese minded his attention; oh no, János was handsome and she did love him and was fine with indulging him, preferably at home in private , but really anywhere besides the concert hall was okay with her. The concert hall, however, was immaculate and she’d have none of that brouhaha taking place in her private box. But Elise? Elise was sensible. She wasn’t here to socialize, and for that Therese was thankful.
At least, Therese was thankful until the end of the performance. Once the orchestra took their final bows and packed up their instruments, taking their leave of the stage, Elise breathed a deep, happy sigh.
“I do love hearing the music of one of my greatest citizens. It’s wonderful that his music is still played, don’t you think?”
Therese raised an eyebrow at this.
“Do you mean to insinuate that Herr Beethoven was German?”
“Insinuate? Therese, he was German. There’s nothing to insinuate.”
“That is a lie and you know it,”
Therese’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“Herr Beethoven was Austrian.”
Elise just chuckled as the other nation scowled. She understood the nation of Austria had her pride in music, but this was getting ridiculous. The two shared a language and as a result the common names of their citizens tended to sound similar, and Therese used this to her advantage to insist that almost every German composer of note was actually Austrian. But then, that woman was shameless. She tried to claim Grieg was Austrian once. She was followed by trolls for days. Norway was cute, but clearly she was not one to be messed with.
“That again? Therese, you’re delusional. Beethoven was about as Austrian as Goethe”
Therese opened her mouth, likely to say ‘Goethe was Austrian too’, but ultimately thought better of it and glared as they left their seats, exited the box and descended the staircase.
“He made his contributions to the world as an Austrian, you know. Held values that were near and dear to every Austrian’s heart”
Therese continued on and on, but Elise had stopped listening. Instead she began to hum as they continued out of the concert hall and onto the streets of Vienna. The tune was probably familiar to anyone, and Therese, being the music aficionado that she was, picked up on it immediately. It was one of Beethoven’s most famous pieces.
“If you think knowing such a common piece holds any ground, you have gotten quite desperate in this debate”
Germany stopped humming and laughed softly.
“You know the name of this piece, yes, Austria?”
“Of course I do, it’s-“
“Für Elise”
Elise cut her off. Therese just gaped. That was an unfair argument.
“Written for me”
The cheeriness in her voice made Therese grit her teeth in anger. She knew better than to continue the argument now. Scholars hadn’t found enough evidence yet that the name of the piece was mistakenly titled and was actually “Für Therese”, and Elise had powerful evidence to back up her claim; the opening notes of the song spelled out E-L-I-S-E in the German note naming scheme. Seething with her defeat, Therese vowed she would find proof that Beethoven was Austrian. Meanwhile, Elise had an annoying extra spring in her step.
That said, Therese did like the other woman well enough to consider her a friend, which was unusual, and she did have fun on this little girls’ night out. Not that she’d say so after the argument. They walked on a little way down the street, quietly admiring the city at night.
“I’m heading back to the hotel for the night. It’s getting late and I need to get back to Munich as early as I can tomorrow for training. Thanks for tonight, Therese! I had fun.” Elise said with a rare smile.
Still slightly irritated from the argument, Therese responded with a clipped “Auf wiedersehen”. Still, she couldn’t help but give an equally rare smile back. The two were a lot alike when she thought about it.
“Gute nacht. Take care on the way home”
Therese bit back her instinct to inform Elise that she could take care of herself in her own capital city, thank you very much.
“Danke schön” she said instead.
The two parted ways from there, ultimately glad for their friendship, despite the other’s quirks.
Historical notes: There is much debate on who Beethoven’s Elise was. The title came from a claim from researcher Ludwig Nohl that he saw this dedication on the piece’s original autograph, which has since been lost. The commonly accepted explanations are either that “Elise” was misread and it was meant to say “Für Therese”, in reference to Therese Malfatti von Rohrenbach zu Dezza, a woman that Beethoven had loved and proposed to, but was turned down by. The other explanation is that it was for Elisabeth Röckel, a soprano singer and close friend to Beethoven.
The opening notes do indeed spell out E-L-I-S-E in the German note naming scheme, which is slightly different from the A-B-C-D-E-F-G scheme that most of us are used to (the difference involves names for sharps and flats primarily). I don’t entirely understand it myself, but from Wikipedia:
“If "note-names" of Elise are played, the first three notes of Für Elise will be heard. E-(L)-(I)-S-E: E-(L)-(I)-E♭-E, which enharmonically equivalent sounds the same as E-(L)-(I)-D♯-E. (An E♭ is called an Es in German and is pronounced as "S".) Furthermore, if the first several notes of the composition are sung with note names, it ends up pronounced as E-Dis-E-Dis-E (...), "Dis" being the pronunciation of D♯, creating a word that sounds significantly similar to the name "Elise" (the "L" sound and "D" sound are alveolar consonants).”
References: http://www.forelise.com/about
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BCr_Elise
Title: Für Elise
Author/Artist: miezen
Character(s) or Pairing(s): fem!Germany, fem!Austria, mentions of male!Hungary/fem!Austria
Rating: PG
Warnings: Vague reference to sex, vague reference to Mangary being a yuri addict
Summary: Remember the “Beethoven was Austrian” strip? Well it’s that argument all over again in Nyotalia land.
Status: Finished
Disclaimer: None of this is mine save for the concept to some extent and the atypical choice in human names for genderbends
Author’s Notes: The choices in human names here are integral to the story. I typically dislike Louise/Luise for fem!Germany anyway (because all I can think of is Louise Hardwich from Absolute Obedience. Google it and you will see why this is a problem), and both my choice for fem!Germany and for Femstria are important. Germany = Elise, Austria = Therese. I apologize if it’s confusing in how much I use those names in the fic.
Heaving a sigh, Therese led her guest to the box that she usually occupied at Vienna Philharmonic orchestras. Seeing as she was the nation of Austria and a great appreciator of music, she had been generously given a box at their main concert hall that was reserved strictly for her use and any guests she may personally invite. Usually she’d invite her husband ex-husband lover, János Héderváry or she would go alone, but tonight was different. Tonight her guest was none other than Elise, the nation of Germany. Elise was a good friend and it wasn’t that Therese disliked her company, but she really didn’t understand why Elise wanted to attend this performance. Elise usually didn’t take much interest in classical music; she was an athletic, outdoors-y type, a lot like János, really. Honestly, though, looking at the repertoire for the night’s performance should have sent off warning bells in Therese’s head immediately. They were performing Beethoven. Elise adored Beethoven. But somehow this slipped Therese’s mind as she and the other nation climbed the staircase leading to their private box.
“Typical of Elise to be so professional about everything”, Therese mentally noted. The female nation was dressed in a practical and conservative formal gown. It was rather plain; mostly black with a few areas with a flower design woven into it in army green. It certainly wasn’t meant to be showy, unlike the dress Therese had chosen. Black with lots of deep purple ruffles and a much less modest cut; Elise was far better endowed than she was, and regardless of what János would say, she did have to do what she could to make up for her average bust size when in the company of someone as busty as Elise. Just to make her feel less self-conscious. It wasn’t that she was insecure about her looks, but appearances were important, after all, and Therese had made it her goal to be the most stunning woman in the audience of any performance she attended at this concert hall. It was her way of saying thanks for the special accommodations she had been given; that was all.
Another sign of Elise and her down to business nature was how quickly and silently she’d taken a seat. She proceeded to pour over the program in complete silence as she waited for the concert to start. Therese couldn’t help but smile a little. This was actually quite a relief to have someone with her that was so unlike János at these events. He genuinely enjoyed the music, but he was rarely quiet about it, constantly making comments about the performance, anything from how well executed a particular section of the piece was performed to how cute the soloist was and how he thought the first violinist was making eyes at her and the two of them would make a cute couple. That man could see lesbians at an all boys school. Other times he’d find the music particularly romantic and start making moves on her. It wasn’t that Therese minded his attention; oh no, János was handsome and she did love him and was fine with indulging him, preferably at home in private , but really anywhere besides the concert hall was okay with her. The concert hall, however, was immaculate and she’d have none of that brouhaha taking place in her private box. But Elise? Elise was sensible. She wasn’t here to socialize, and for that Therese was thankful.
At least, Therese was thankful until the end of the performance. Once the orchestra took their final bows and packed up their instruments, taking their leave of the stage, Elise breathed a deep, happy sigh.
“I do love hearing the music of one of my greatest citizens. It’s wonderful that his music is still played, don’t you think?”
Therese raised an eyebrow at this.
“Do you mean to insinuate that Herr Beethoven was German?”
“Insinuate? Therese, he was German. There’s nothing to insinuate.”
“That is a lie and you know it,”
Therese’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“Herr Beethoven was Austrian.”
Elise just chuckled as the other nation scowled. She understood the nation of Austria had her pride in music, but this was getting ridiculous. The two shared a language and as a result the common names of their citizens tended to sound similar, and Therese used this to her advantage to insist that almost every German composer of note was actually Austrian. But then, that woman was shameless. She tried to claim Grieg was Austrian once. She was followed by trolls for days. Norway was cute, but clearly she was not one to be messed with.
“That again? Therese, you’re delusional. Beethoven was about as Austrian as Goethe”
Therese opened her mouth, likely to say ‘Goethe was Austrian too’, but ultimately thought better of it and glared as they left their seats, exited the box and descended the staircase.
“He made his contributions to the world as an Austrian, you know. Held values that were near and dear to every Austrian’s heart”
Therese continued on and on, but Elise had stopped listening. Instead she began to hum as they continued out of the concert hall and onto the streets of Vienna. The tune was probably familiar to anyone, and Therese, being the music aficionado that she was, picked up on it immediately. It was one of Beethoven’s most famous pieces.
“If you think knowing such a common piece holds any ground, you have gotten quite desperate in this debate”
Germany stopped humming and laughed softly.
“You know the name of this piece, yes, Austria?”
“Of course I do, it’s-“
“Für Elise”
Elise cut her off. Therese just gaped. That was an unfair argument.
“Written for me”
The cheeriness in her voice made Therese grit her teeth in anger. She knew better than to continue the argument now. Scholars hadn’t found enough evidence yet that the name of the piece was mistakenly titled and was actually “Für Therese”, and Elise had powerful evidence to back up her claim; the opening notes of the song spelled out E-L-I-S-E in the German note naming scheme. Seething with her defeat, Therese vowed she would find proof that Beethoven was Austrian. Meanwhile, Elise had an annoying extra spring in her step.
That said, Therese did like the other woman well enough to consider her a friend, which was unusual, and she did have fun on this little girls’ night out. Not that she’d say so after the argument. They walked on a little way down the street, quietly admiring the city at night.
“I’m heading back to the hotel for the night. It’s getting late and I need to get back to Munich as early as I can tomorrow for training. Thanks for tonight, Therese! I had fun.” Elise said with a rare smile.
Still slightly irritated from the argument, Therese responded with a clipped “Auf wiedersehen”. Still, she couldn’t help but give an equally rare smile back. The two were a lot alike when she thought about it.
“Gute nacht. Take care on the way home”
Therese bit back her instinct to inform Elise that she could take care of herself in her own capital city, thank you very much.
“Danke schön” she said instead.
The two parted ways from there, ultimately glad for their friendship, despite the other’s quirks.
Historical notes: There is much debate on who Beethoven’s Elise was. The title came from a claim from researcher Ludwig Nohl that he saw this dedication on the piece’s original autograph, which has since been lost. The commonly accepted explanations are either that “Elise” was misread and it was meant to say “Für Therese”, in reference to Therese Malfatti von Rohrenbach zu Dezza, a woman that Beethoven had loved and proposed to, but was turned down by. The other explanation is that it was for Elisabeth Röckel, a soprano singer and close friend to Beethoven.
The opening notes do indeed spell out E-L-I-S-E in the German note naming scheme, which is slightly different from the A-B-C-D-E-F-G scheme that most of us are used to (the difference involves names for sharps and flats primarily). I don’t entirely understand it myself, but from Wikipedia:
“If "note-names" of Elise are played, the first three notes of Für Elise will be heard. E-(L)-(I)-S-E: E-(L)-(I)-E♭-E, which enharmonically equivalent sounds the same as E-(L)-(I)-D♯-E. (An E♭ is called an Es in German and is pronounced as "S".) Furthermore, if the first several notes of the composition are sung with note names, it ends up pronounced as E-Dis-E-Dis-E (...), "Dis" being the pronunciation of D♯, creating a word that sounds significantly similar to the name "Elise" (the "L" sound and "D" sound are alveolar consonants).”
References: http://www.forelise.com/about
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BCr_Elise