fresh start [1/2]
anonymous
July 10 2010, 21:45:18 UTC
[Warning for delicate historical themes and discussion of suicide. Apologies for being so long-winded and melodramatic.]England is nine hundred twenty-nine years old, and he has been England since he was four, and he has forgotten how to be anyone else. Feliks is sixty-three years old and he knew how to be Feliks before he was ever Poland. He had fifteen years of practice. This is probably why England is drunkenly railing at the world and Feliks is calmly reflling his glass, and the ranting echoes off the walls of Feliks's kitchen and the calm seeps out and around and keeps it from going any further
( ... )
fresh start [2/2]
anonymous
July 10 2010, 21:46:28 UTC
With England safely seen off to his hotel, Feliks draws a bath. He forgoes his usual smelly things in the water, although he leaves the bottles open on the edge of the tub, to spread the scent of roses and lavender and all other sorts of flowers with no significance than that he likes the smell. The razor goes next to the shampoo.
Latvia and Estonia will have no problem finding the new Lithuania; Feliks has e-mailed them her address. Contrary to what England thinks, the old Lithuania did not do this casually, or without a plan. They had spent weeks in Vilnius, watching, divining, going over the candidates as carefully as marriage brokers. They chose a history student - patriotic but not zealous, friendly but without close attatchments, mindful of the past but looking to the future. Young enough to be optimistic, old enough not to break under the stress. They had asked permissionThey hadn't wanted it to be like it was for them
( ... )
Re: fresh start [2/2]
anonymous
July 11 2010, 05:46:07 UTC
Whoa, whoa. That was so interesting. I'm intrigued. I'm very, very intrigued. That was an amazing insight into Poland, and England. I'd kill to hear about the other nations too.
Re: fresh start [2/2]
anonymous
July 21 2010, 18:21:18 UTC
Christ, this is beautiful. Really, really heartsinkingly beautiful. And you deserve SERIOUS props for the "keep calm and carry on" line. Oh, I see what you did there, anon.
Re: fresh start [2/2]
anonymous
July 27 2010, 19:08:13 UTC
Wow. This is. Wow. Feliks. And England. Oh, England. Somehow, my heart went felt for him more. Poor Arthur, who never remembered how it feels to be human (in a way, that is merciful), bled over and over when his nation was hurt in many wars. He must be very resilient, to have managed facing many battles & storms (across the sea) without dying.
I have some confusions. Like, after being 'chosen', the substitute immediately takes on the appearance of the deceased one? Because a nation's facade is symbolic and therefore it only changes if the characteristics of the nation herself change? And what if, say, Arthur lost a limb in one of his many wars - would they grow back as long as he's alive?
Anyways, this is very touching, well-written, and inspirational. I'm itching to write a scene where Arthur bleeds from the side-effects of one of his wars, and mull over not knowing how to quit from being a nation because the idea is just unthinkable from him...
Re: fresh start [2/2]
anonymous
July 28 2010, 03:12:26 UTC
The way I imagined it, they don't take on the appearance of their predecessor, except if there was something symbolic or relevant about it - any version Italy probably gains the haircurl, for example, and any version of England would have green eyes (if there ever were another). Scars hang about, they can recover from anything short of death, but it simply wouldn't be possible for them to sustain a disfiguring injury, absent something truly horrible happening to their people - in which case, they'd be more likely to be killed outright by it.
Please do! I'd love to read it. Always pleased to know I've inspiried someone.
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With England safely seen off to his hotel, Feliks draws a bath. He forgoes his usual smelly things in the water, although he leaves the bottles open on the edge of the tub, to spread the scent of roses and lavender and all other sorts of flowers with no significance than that he likes the smell. The razor goes next to the shampoo.
Latvia and Estonia will have no problem finding the new Lithuania; Feliks has e-mailed them her address. Contrary to what England thinks, the old Lithuania did not do this casually, or without a plan. They had spent weeks in Vilnius, watching, divining, going over the candidates as carefully as marriage brokers. They chose a history student - patriotic but not zealous, friendly but without close attatchments, mindful of the past but looking to the future. Young enough to be optimistic, old enough not to break under the stress. They had asked permissionThey hadn't wanted it to be like it was for them ( ... )
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Have all my internets, please.
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I have some confusions. Like, after being 'chosen', the substitute immediately takes on the appearance of the deceased one? Because a nation's facade is symbolic and therefore it only changes if the characteristics of the nation herself change? And what if, say, Arthur lost a limb in one of his many wars - would they grow back as long as he's alive?
Anyways, this is very touching, well-written, and inspirational. I'm itching to write a scene where Arthur bleeds from the side-effects of one of his wars, and mull over not knowing how to quit from being a nation because the idea is just unthinkable from him...
Reply
Please do! I'd love to read it. Always pleased to know I've inspiried someone.
Reply
Here: http://aria-dc-al-fine.livejournal.com/7805.html
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This is amazing. I am in love with this concept. And that's all I can really say at this point.
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