[fanfic] Ships and their Makers' Follies
Though you might like it. So I decided to stop being lazy and post it here too, and not just in the main Hetalia comm. :) Sweden probably doesn't agree about me spreading his embarrassment around, but he's used to it. This is old news, after all!
Title: Pride of the Navy
Author/Artist: Myself
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Berwald, brief mention of Tino, Actual Historic People
Rating: Child-safe
Warnings: ... foolishness?
Summary: Berwald muses on his misgivings about the ship his boss, King Gustav Adolph (Gustavus Adolphus) has demanded be made into a symbol of Sweden's new greatness.
It was a very beautiful day, this August the 10th in the year of the Lord 1628, when the pride of the Swedish navy was to set sail. Or rather, Berwald thought, deep in the recesses of his mind, when the folly of his boss was to set sail. Vasen was most definitely a majestic ship, where she was slowly steering out from the shore with three of her ten sails weakly fluttering in a mild, warm breeze.
"Isn't it most fantastic, Berwald?" her voice lightly accented by her native German, Queen Maria Elenora smiled brightly at the shape of the ship, her smile infinitely deeper and more soft-eyed than a ship might warrant. It was clear the Queen wasn't really talking about the ship, but rather the man ultimately behind the idea of the ship.
About to nod, but realizing she wasn't looking at him, Sweden sighed, just minutely, and answered verbally instead.
"Abs'lut'ly, Your Highn'ss," he mumbled and was rewarded with a quick flash of smile from that sweet, oval face that had been described as the most beautiful in Europe. (And she might well be, but Berwald really could do without Gilbert appearing every now and then to hammer this home and threaten him to "treat her right".)
Vasen, now far enough away from the shore, fired a cannon salute, which had the little girl in Sweden's arms squirming, though she didn't cry. Shifting her further up on his chest, Sweden resolutely didn't flinch as not-yet-two-year old Kristina grabbed at his hair and giggled, tugging at it in time with the further cannon salutes.
"Oh, she knows what's important, all right, doesn't she? Just like her father!" Maria Elenora exclaimed as she laughed behind her fan at Berwald's predicament, before she again diverged her attention to the ship, and, in her mind most surely, to her absent husband.
A ship, in Berwald's opinion, that, while impressive, there was something wrong with. Shipbuilding was in his veins, and the measurement was wrong for her size, the extra deck that had been squeezed in made nothing better, there was most certainly something insufficient with the ballast and... well. He was having a bit of trouble with accepting the bright and top-heavy decorations of the transom. He understood the message, which stirred heat in his heart, but the decorations themselves... Shaking his head, then reminded of Kristina's iron grip on his hair, stilled and sighed again.
Sweden was, secretly, glad Tino wasn't here to see the finished ship, because while part of him was proud of it, an even greater part had huge misgivings. And if Tino had been there to see the great ship make her way ponderously further out on the glittering water, he would doubtlessly give in to the urge to be proud.
Frowning at the ship as a sudden, harsher wind further out made her list, Berwald wondered why no one had raised more concern about the King's ideas and measurements for Vasen. Berwald himself been too busy, but he knew he'd heard members of the council, and even the Dutch master shipbuilders themselves, the old as well as new ones, express doubt, but no one had, still, cared, or dared, to defy the King's orders. And as the wind out over the water stilled again, Berwald became more and more unsettled. Kristina jerked sharply at the fistful of blond hair she had caught, having been playing with it against her own dark strands, displeased as his grip tightened.
"Fr'låt, Kristina," Sweden's muttered excuse got him another, gentler, jerk as the little princess went back to trying to braid their hair together. Maybe he should demand they call the ship back in, make more tests concerning her stability in dock, and this time follow the logical conclusions about said tests, no matter how much the King needed ships, especially one as powerful and impressive as Vasen.
This was Berwald's thinking as a stronger wind yet again blew, and Vasen tilted. The mass of people gathered for the festive occasion gasped, almost as one, as the ship this time didn't right itself. Rather, as the wind held, she listed more and more, the swooning of a lady in a too-heavy dress. The sound as the great ship's hull met, broad-side, the surface of the water, was at once deafening and very quiet. The onlookers gave a cry, people started to shout and jostle for better view, and the small boats out on the water hurried close to the sinking ship to rescue what men they could.
Cold, like the waters of the sea even this late in the summer, swept in over Sweden's heart, and he could feel a cold sweat... or was it sea-water? break out on his skin, familiar from the many naval battles as of late. Men and women lost in war and its consequences were bad enough, but this..? This useless, foolish--- Gritting his teeth as he stared at Vasen as she slowly disappeared, flags and banners still swaying above the surface even as most of her had sunk beneath, Berwald finally gave in.
A quiet groan forced itself out between gritted teeth and he hid his face against one hand. Kristina let go of his hair and patted the abused locks instead. The greatest ship of the age, now as good as gone beneath a still and glittering surface, sunk by foolishness and a stiff breeze.
***
For those of you who might have no idea, "Vasen" was the contemporary name of the ship that is now known as Vasa. :)
This thing could of course have been written in other ways... but since I had a rather firm image of Sweden going *facepalm* as Vasa sinks, I wrote the fic after that instead of anything else.
*edit* Hahahaa... Seems this one always gets wrong. In the main cmm. I forget the cut entirely, here I mess up the coding of the cut. :D; Sorry sorry.
Title: Pride of the Navy
Author/Artist: Myself
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Berwald, brief mention of Tino, Actual Historic People
Rating: Child-safe
Warnings: ... foolishness?
Summary: Berwald muses on his misgivings about the ship his boss, King Gustav Adolph (Gustavus Adolphus) has demanded be made into a symbol of Sweden's new greatness.
It was a very beautiful day, this August the 10th in the year of the Lord 1628, when the pride of the Swedish navy was to set sail. Or rather, Berwald thought, deep in the recesses of his mind, when the folly of his boss was to set sail. Vasen was most definitely a majestic ship, where she was slowly steering out from the shore with three of her ten sails weakly fluttering in a mild, warm breeze.
"Isn't it most fantastic, Berwald?" her voice lightly accented by her native German, Queen Maria Elenora smiled brightly at the shape of the ship, her smile infinitely deeper and more soft-eyed than a ship might warrant. It was clear the Queen wasn't really talking about the ship, but rather the man ultimately behind the idea of the ship.
About to nod, but realizing she wasn't looking at him, Sweden sighed, just minutely, and answered verbally instead.
"Abs'lut'ly, Your Highn'ss," he mumbled and was rewarded with a quick flash of smile from that sweet, oval face that had been described as the most beautiful in Europe. (And she might well be, but Berwald really could do without Gilbert appearing every now and then to hammer this home and threaten him to "treat her right".)
Vasen, now far enough away from the shore, fired a cannon salute, which had the little girl in Sweden's arms squirming, though she didn't cry. Shifting her further up on his chest, Sweden resolutely didn't flinch as not-yet-two-year old Kristina grabbed at his hair and giggled, tugging at it in time with the further cannon salutes.
"Oh, she knows what's important, all right, doesn't she? Just like her father!" Maria Elenora exclaimed as she laughed behind her fan at Berwald's predicament, before she again diverged her attention to the ship, and, in her mind most surely, to her absent husband.
A ship, in Berwald's opinion, that, while impressive, there was something wrong with. Shipbuilding was in his veins, and the measurement was wrong for her size, the extra deck that had been squeezed in made nothing better, there was most certainly something insufficient with the ballast and... well. He was having a bit of trouble with accepting the bright and top-heavy decorations of the transom. He understood the message, which stirred heat in his heart, but the decorations themselves... Shaking his head, then reminded of Kristina's iron grip on his hair, stilled and sighed again.
Sweden was, secretly, glad Tino wasn't here to see the finished ship, because while part of him was proud of it, an even greater part had huge misgivings. And if Tino had been there to see the great ship make her way ponderously further out on the glittering water, he would doubtlessly give in to the urge to be proud.
Frowning at the ship as a sudden, harsher wind further out made her list, Berwald wondered why no one had raised more concern about the King's ideas and measurements for Vasen. Berwald himself been too busy, but he knew he'd heard members of the council, and even the Dutch master shipbuilders themselves, the old as well as new ones, express doubt, but no one had, still, cared, or dared, to defy the King's orders. And as the wind out over the water stilled again, Berwald became more and more unsettled. Kristina jerked sharply at the fistful of blond hair she had caught, having been playing with it against her own dark strands, displeased as his grip tightened.
"Fr'låt, Kristina," Sweden's muttered excuse got him another, gentler, jerk as the little princess went back to trying to braid their hair together. Maybe he should demand they call the ship back in, make more tests concerning her stability in dock, and this time follow the logical conclusions about said tests, no matter how much the King needed ships, especially one as powerful and impressive as Vasen.
This was Berwald's thinking as a stronger wind yet again blew, and Vasen tilted. The mass of people gathered for the festive occasion gasped, almost as one, as the ship this time didn't right itself. Rather, as the wind held, she listed more and more, the swooning of a lady in a too-heavy dress. The sound as the great ship's hull met, broad-side, the surface of the water, was at once deafening and very quiet. The onlookers gave a cry, people started to shout and jostle for better view, and the small boats out on the water hurried close to the sinking ship to rescue what men they could.
Cold, like the waters of the sea even this late in the summer, swept in over Sweden's heart, and he could feel a cold sweat... or was it sea-water? break out on his skin, familiar from the many naval battles as of late. Men and women lost in war and its consequences were bad enough, but this..? This useless, foolish--- Gritting his teeth as he stared at Vasen as she slowly disappeared, flags and banners still swaying above the surface even as most of her had sunk beneath, Berwald finally gave in.
A quiet groan forced itself out between gritted teeth and he hid his face against one hand. Kristina let go of his hair and patted the abused locks instead. The greatest ship of the age, now as good as gone beneath a still and glittering surface, sunk by foolishness and a stiff breeze.
***
For those of you who might have no idea, "Vasen" was the contemporary name of the ship that is now known as Vasa. :)
This thing could of course have been written in other ways... but since I had a rather firm image of Sweden going *facepalm* as Vasa sinks, I wrote the fic after that instead of anything else.
*edit* Hahahaa... Seems this one always gets wrong. In the main cmm. I forget the cut entirely, here I mess up the coding of the cut. :D; Sorry sorry.