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OK... finally attempted a Hetalia fic.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 12:31:44 GMT

Smoke In Your Eyes (Sometimes, America thinks it's not worth it)

1953, June 19th
Alfred wonders if this is what it means to be a hero, watching the couple brought out from their cells and into a brick-walled stage. Tonight’s show is the execution of two traitors, murderers jeopardizing the people of America.

They are the first.
They will be the last.

It is nearly sundown.

1951, March
The condemned sit in a far corner of the room behind bars, while the rest of the court circles, like vultures, stalking closer and closer.

The trial begins.

It goes like this:
“He said that he wanted my husband to give him information to be passed on to the Russians –”
“– I received further telephone calls from the person describing himself as Julius…”
“… Ethel was typing the notes when I entered the room –”
“– Yes, your Honor. I explained my notes concerning the atomic bomb to her.”

They will pay for their crimes.
For America is the Land of Freedom, and Russia isn’t.

1989
Russia smiles that simple smile of his and croons you sat them in the electric chair for nothing, all childish glee and cruel mocking.
“We got nothing from them.”

1951, April
By April they are sentenced to death.

“Citizens of this country who betray their fellow-countrymen can be under none of the delusions about the benignity of Soviet power that they might have been prior to World War II. The nature of Russian terrorism is now self-evident…

“I believe your conduct in putting into the hands of the Russians the A-bomb years before our best scientists predicted Russia would perfect the bomb has already caused the Communist aggression in Korea... Millions more of innocent people may pay the price of your treason.”

The Judge paused; America is rigid with tension.

Somewhere far off, there are wails and tears piercing the skies. Like sirens, like warning bells.
(– He tenses, sucks in a frozen breath, waits –)
I hereby sentence you to execution under the Espionage Act.
(–and Alfred allows himself a feral smile then.)

Russia will not win this.

1951, May
There are messages from all over Europe.

From France: You are afraid of the shadow of your own bomb.
From England: America has betrayed his own principles.
From Italy: Pope Pius XII condemns the execution. So let them go!

Mexico paints. Things like: the sky was painted in flames; Liberty burns like a heathen on sharpened stakes and many others besides, and makes sure he sends them to Alfred with a note to put them up on you bedroom wall. Sweet dreams.

From France again: Do not let this crime against humanity take place!

America can only scream; phrases like:
“Worse than murder”
“Betrayal”
“Diabolical conspiracy”
“Treachery”
tumble out of his mouth, again and again.
He can’t be wrong.

(But he starts to listen. Just in case.)

1953, June 19th
The sky is dyed orange and red; flames burning on stone and cotton of snow.
They trembled, defiant.
Their eyes say: there will be others who fight for freedom without cost, after us.
We know this with a conviction that defeats the executioner!

1951, August
The hours and minutes count, ticking backwards.
He can still hear Francis and Arthur and Romano shouting, and echoed whispers spread like wildfire among his people. The National Guardian published a series of papers. Questioning –
The trials.
Freedom.
Truth.
People ate it up – something rolls in the bottom of his stomach, something burns under his skin.
A defense committee formed soon afterwards.

The whispers turn into shouts, like France and England and everyone else. Louder.
Louder.

Alfred crawls into bed.

1953, June 19th
Silence rang in the hall like a paean.
The sun sinks as a new year approaches.

1953, February
The President had refused the appeal from the Pope, and his people are rioting outside the White House.
Snatches of song floated up, and the chant of bloodthirsty/hysterical fear/injustice rings in the flurry of activity like a fluttered breath. Like words that don’t mean anything – he heard them all before.
He imagines he will hear them long after.

Oppress'd so hard they could not stand, Let my People go.

Alfred feels sick, but America needs to be firm – or the Communists will overrun him.
Justice will be delivered.

1953, June 19th
America is a hero, he cannot be wrong.
No.
So –
They deserved it for betraying their country.
It’s the commie bastard’s fault.
They brought it on themselves.
– he watched them, strapped into chairs, and flicked the switch on.

Smoke rises around her head like a halo.

***
Notes:
_{On June 19th 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for espionage (accused for leaking the secret of the atomic bombs in particular). The trial began on March 6th 1951 and by April 5th they were sentenced to death. Picasso had written “The minutes count. The hours count. Do not let this crime against humanity take place” in L’Humanité (a French newspaper) and Sartre noted that America “was afraid of the shadow” of its “own bomb”. There were protests in London, Paris and Rome. Many people from all over Europe and South America were against this execution. After the National Guardian published a series concerning them, a defense committee was formed in August 1951. However, in February 1953, the president vetoed the appeal from Pope Pius XII and the execution went ahead.
The Rosenbergs were Jewish, and they were executed just before Sabbath (meaning that they died right before the Jewish New Year begins). Recent documents show that Julius Rosenberg was really a spy for the USSR, but there was very little evidence for Ethel’s involvement. In 1989, the NYT interviewed Boris V. Brokhovich, who said the atomic bombs were developed by trial and error with no assistance of leaked secrets.

Italy refers to Romano/S.Italy (since most of the rallies seemed to take place there).}

ConCrit more than welcome!

Northstar -- He Who Gets No Action. At All.

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:46:35 GMT

'ello, your friendly neighborhood ranter whaleabc is here! Aren't ya'll excited?

... I don't care if you say "NO! Please sweet Jesus/Father Zeus/the Almighty/Jade Emperor/*insert deity here*, MAKE HER STOP!" The show must go on, and that's final.

And yes, I'm perfectly aware that I'm speaking to myself. Thank you very much *glares*.

Ahem. Anyway, let's get started.

Rightio, so who's Northstar exactly? Well, Northstar, aka Jean-Paul Beaubier, is a mutant with super-speed and light generation abilities. Due to his speed, he appears to defy gravity and fly.

He is also probably Marvel's most iconic gay superhero, being the first openly gay hero in the Marvel universe. He was officially outed in 1992, but there were hints of his sexual orientation in the earlier issues of Alpha Flight (the team which Northstar first joined as a superhero, which also serves as their comic title). It had been stated by John Byrne, the 'creator' of Alpha Flight, that

"I settled on Jean-Paul, and the moment I did I realized it was alreadythere. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I must have been consideringmaking him gay before I 'decided' to do so. Of course, the temper ofthe times, the Powers That Were and, naturally, the Comics Code would not let me come right out and state that Jean-Paul washomosexual, but I managed to 'get the word out' even with thosebarriers."

way back in 1983.

At that time (1992), this outing caused quite a controversy, which isn't that surprising. There were bigots writing in to say how "disgusted" they were, and how Marvel shouldn't "promote the homosexual lifestyle" (note: these exact same phrases appeared in the Young Avenger letters pages, which debuted in 2005. And here I thought we've moved on and become more open-minded, but you just can't cure people of their bigotry).

Anyway, that was then, this is now, you'd expect people to be less uptight about it, right?

Nah. In all the time that he's been outta the closet, in all 16 years worth of Marvel comics, he had never ever - and I mean never - hooked up with anyone. There was a (one-sided) crush on Iceman (... you do know who he is, right?) and former teammate Walter Langkowski (aka Sasquatch in Alpha Flight), but that's about it. You'd think there would be an ex or something, but zip. Nada. The closest he'd ever gotten any action was at the wedding of Rick Jones, where he was seen to be chatting with Hector (mostly forgotten gay character in the Incredible Hulk). You know things are bad when the only time he had ever gotten close to being in a relationship is flirting. And even the flirting is a one-time incident. That's a sad, sexless life, innit? No wonder he's so uptight all the time.

Furthermore, Northstar had suffered countless cases of bad writing - he's either shelved, gets no screen time, cannot fulfill his potential, or - during the few arcs in which he is featured - constantly PMSing. They also bring up his homosexuality every single (ok, fine, 9/10 times) time he appears in the book. I know it's shocking, but there's more to the character than his sexuality and catty behavior, ok? Yeesh. I'm beginning to suspect that Northstar's sexuality is treated like a joke.

Oh yes, before I forget, he had also been killed in 3 different realities in the span of one calendar month. A single calendar month! That's almost as many times Jean Grey (aka Phoenix, Marvel Girl, White Phoenix, Has-So-Many-Codenames-That-I-Can't-Keep-Track...) has ever died, over the span of at least 20+ years. So Northstar's the condensed version, I suppose. ("As many deaths in one single month! Saving 20+ years of cash spent on comics! Buy now! Only at Marvel!")

... Okay. I've cheated a bit, as I've only mentioned the Earth-616 version of him (the main Marvel Universe). The Earth-1610 (or more commonly known as the "Ultimate Universe") version of him - let's call him Ultimate Northstar - is happily dating Ultimate Colossus (who is not homosexual in Earth-616. He hooked up with Kitty Pride for a while). However...

In the latest arc, Northstar was paralyzed from the waist down (and shown 'dead' in the issue before). This basically means stripping him of his powers, as I don't really see much use of going superspeed above-waist only. And they just have to ram the 'sexless' thing down our throats, don't they?

Ah, such is the way of mainstream comics. Remember kiddies: you just can't cure people of their bigotry.

Extra reading:
Northstar
Ultimate Northstar
Ultimate X-Men
I'll also include the link to Jean Grey, just so you can count how many times she had died.

Similar articles:
Who Cares About A Dead Gay Superhero? - This article points out how gay superheroes are treated in today's mainstream comics.
Northstar, a Redshirt in every universe - It is here that I learned of Northstar's quick multiple deaths
A Challenge to Marvel - An account of Northstar's bachelor life... kinda.

PS. Don't think I took what was in those articles at face value. I checked on stuff, from multiple sources (wikipedia is my friend). So it's not some part of a "gay agenda'' or something silly like that.

'Sides, you just don't mess with comic geek wannabes.

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:41:04 GMT

Hiya, I'm back with more fandom stuff (soz tymewi , you've read this already...) Anyway, let's get going...

Fandom: Pandect
Character: Venus
Summary: She says yes, yes, yes, and forgets how long forever is...
Warnings: Um, spoilers-ish

Forever

Venus isn’t sure about this ‘dating’ thing. She is attracted to Nelson, yes, and even maybe loves him (she is still unsure about this human concept, but she thinks she does, when her heart skips a beat seeing him in class and her chest tightens when he’s not around), but she doesn’t know what to expect, and she doesn’t know what to give. Will they continue on as they did now, or will their song be sung in a new rhythm? Will they mate, even though it is against Mother’s will?

And what about Nelson? Will he mind that he would be dead and gone (his body rots and his bones turn into ashes and Venus can’t bear to think about it anymore) as she lives on? Will he hate her for it? Will he leave her?

Will he keep the Aces a secret? Or will he laugh and think she’s ‘pulling his leg’? Or worse – will he be repulsed by her and send her away?

Venus is beginning to think that maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all, butbutbut –

But Nelson smiles shyly at her in class. But Nelson holds her hand (it is so warm). But Nelson said she is the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. But Nelson kissed her sweet and soft under the moon.

But Nelson promised to love her for eternity.

So she said yes, and forgets to ask herself just how long is forever.

AN: Lulz, I just noticed that I got something wrong... forgive me minna-san, Venus had no idea that humans and Aces weren't supposed to have sex... T.T

Legendz Fic

Sun, 18 May 2008 03:24:58 GMT

I come bearing more fic.

Fandom: Legendz: Tale of the Dragon Kings

Characters: Dino Sparks

Prompt: “Whenever you see a flame, remember that I’m always with you.” (Translated from the Chinese dub)

Warning: Cussing, mentioned drug usage, and probably much OOC-ness.

Summary: “Remember that I’m always with you.” But what do these words mean half a decade later, when you can’t even remember?

Notes: I wrote this based on the 2^nd half of the last episode, especially when the Legendz beasts (dunno what they’re called) are fading back into their elements, and Greedo’s little speech to Dino gave me ideas. Granted, I’ve only watched about… 2 episodes put together from all the bits and pieces, so it not surprising that I might have butchered Dino’s character completely.

Ashes To Ashes

Dino Sparks – or just Dino, now that he had finally ran away, once and for all – held the lit cigarette in his hand, staring at the glowing cinder with a blank expression on his face. “Yo, ya smokin’ that?” one of the other street kids asked, and he just stared silently. “Che. Ah hate it when ya get yer hands on a lighter, man. Fuckin’ scary, them empty eyes.” The speaker continued, muttering under his breath.

He didn’t care what the others think, not really. He’s just waiting for his dragon to appear (reappear? Dino doesn’t know anymore).

His dragon is red like the glowing embers, and he wears a denim jacket (Dino felt retarded. Dragons don’t wear clothes, you dumb shit!) A horn jutted out of his snout, and his wings are pure flame. Dino even made up a name for him – but it felt more like remembering – and it was Gre – Gree? Greg? Gre – (God damn. Goddamnit! Fuck his memory! Dino wanted to cry.) Gre-something. It felt familiar, and right, even though Dino couldn’t explain it – couldn’t even remember it.

Damn. The weed – or whatever the hell it was – must have gone straight to my head, Dino thought wryly.

Already, half of the cigarette had dissolved into ashes. Dino absently flicked it away, and felt like he was killing something precious, the half-buried memory fragile and delicate as a butterfly’s wing.

So he sat, staring, until the amber glow died like his memory, dissolving into ashes.

A/N: Please R &R! Feedback is always appreciated!

More SSCM ficcies!

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:46:46 GMT

Hi! I'm back with more of my own stuff! (Yes, writing fanfic about my own project... sad i know)

Prompt: Cotton candy

Pairing: Natsuya/Midori

Warnings: None - wait - Disgustingly sappy and fluffy, i guess

Summary: My addiction is cotton candy, and your addiction is…

Cotton Candy

Aww, come on! Please? All I want is a piece of cotton candy. Over there. The pink one, especially.

I can’t help it… every time I see it, soft and fluffy, I just want to –

Hey, don’t laugh! Everyone’s got some sort of addiction, right? Mine just happens to be cotton candy. There’s nothing wrong with that!

H-hey! Don’t do that in public! It’s really embarrassing! Shikidou Natsuya! If you – !

Mmph… that’s nice… Wait! Natsuya!

Hehe, you’re blushing. And fidgeting. And… Huh? Your addiction is… me?! Natsuya! Don’t say this kind of stuff in public! I mean… I don’t mind – ehehe – if you say these things when we’re… in private, but in the open…

Now I’m blushing, and it’s all your fault! Humph!

And no, cotton candy wouldn’t help one bit.

… Fine, maybe just this once. I still want the pink one.

.: sugar, spice, and everything nice :.

And here's another one that's more serious (and I'm more proud of)...

Prompt: Nightmare
Pairing: Er... Faintly Takeshi/Akiko, but not really
Summary: You are a stranger, but why do I dream about you?

Nightmare of You

A nightmare of you woke me up at a quarter past two. You smiled in a way that meant you hated me. Except… You loved me too. The gleam in your eyes told me that.

I don’t even know you. But it felt like I should.

“Aneki?”

“Nothing, Natsumi… go back to sleep.” And I lie on my bed, staring straight at the ceiling, thinking long and hard.

It is now a quarter to five, and sleep crept up on me unknowingly. Well, goodbye for now.

I close my eyes, trying to forget you, knowing that I’d fail.

.: if there is a way to find you, i will :.

SSCM Drabbles

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:14:10 GMT

I've written a few drabbles/side-stories for a joint project with my friend. The settings are based on Feudal Japan, so there are a few (so much more than a few, really) references to Japan. I hope you enjoy them and please leave some comments (even if it was just "OMG I'm gonna kill you for writing this rubbish!")

Characters: Takeshi, mentioned Akichi

Theme/Prompt: Kannazuki

Warnings: Implied prostitution

Summary: You’re not here with me tonight, under the godless moon.

Night under a Godless Moon

Tonight’s the first night of the tenth moon, and the gods are away. You ain’t here with me, admiring the pitch-black moon. You’re still out there somewhere, earning more more more, securing my place at the inn, even if you’ll awake sore all over in an unknown futon.

The gods are away tonight under the blind moon. I sometimes wonder if they were ever here, or in any of the places we were ever at. I’ve lost my faith in the gods long long ago, and I see that you are beginning to. How could you not, after everything?

Especially after everything.

Tonight is the first of many nights under the godless moon. The gods are not here, and neither are you. But you’ll come back, I’m sure, even if the gods are away.

As always.

.:you always come back in the end:.

AN: Kannazuki literally means ‘the month without gods’, the name of October in the old Japanese lunar calendar. The Chinese lunar calendar starts with a new moon, so assumed the same for the Japanese lunar calendar.

Theme/Prompt: Children; Namesake

Character: Takeshi, mentioned Akichi, Midori, Natsuya, Otonashi, Yaneko

Warnings: Er... Death?

Summary: For each of his beloved friends, he will honor with a child of his.

All the Children

Everyone else has gone; off to a place that neither he nor she could follow. To follow means to leave the other alone in this world, after all, and somehow he didn’t think the person who matters most will be pleased by this –

But their memories are fading. He needs to pin down each and every one of them, before he forgets. So –

To the beautiful, cunning Akichi, he will dedicate the eldest, Akira; Midori, full of zest and bold as brass, will be delighted by sweet Kaede; little Yuuhi will be just like Natsuya, timid but gentle; the youngest, Kouka, will show maturity beyond her age, like the solemn Otonashi; and Yaneko…

Only Yaneko is here with him now.

.:it’s only you and me, to the end of this world:.

Shadowed Sun Crimson Moon

Sun, 01 Apr 2007 08:18:52 GMT

Hi. This is my official writing journal. Right now I am planning a feudal Japan/ reincarnation fiction with my friend. This series is called Shadow Sun Crimson Moon (SSCM).