Under Heaven [1/2]
anonymous
February 20 2010, 21:40:38 UTC
"Io, Sinae!" The man the politicians called Marcus swept forward, past all the unnecessary advisors and translators to both sides, laughing joyously. His happiness was infectious, and Zhongguo struggled to keep the smile on his face subdued before his own men, to keep his nod gracious and slight. Roma caught his shoulders with a cheerful 'Ave, ave!' and for all the proletarian pleasure beaming from him like light, Zhongguo could see those golden eyes catch on his struggle and mark it
( ... )
Under Heaven [2a/2]
anonymous
February 20 2010, 21:42:07 UTC
The squeeze of a slight hand brought those eyes back to him, and a turn of his wrist, a few firm and slim-fingered strokes, shut them slowly and laid him back against the cushion. Roma, shameless and laughing and so handsome in his foreign commonness, was flushing, tongue searching for words. Zhongguo took that open mouth and kissed it. He tasted like he always had, the salt from skin and spiced wine, and Zhongguo groaned to feel the flavor of him bring up a hot flush of memories: the strange warmth of their first actual meeting, nights in his city of brick and whitewash, entertainment and wine and more clumsy entertainment; the first time those roving hands had found the ugly pink stripe upon his back and hummed approvingly, that all dangerous things were a little marked-
Roma pulled back, panting and torn and so unlike himself. Zhongguo paused in massaging his broad hand in oil, slicking fingers and smoothing down the rough edges of calluses, and lifted a slim eyebrow.
"Sinae - if my dominus sees this-" He cut off with a low,
( ... )
Under Heaven [2b/2]
anonymous
February 20 2010, 21:43:12 UTC
Roma was young yet, the body could lie but the delight glowing in his face, escaping in his whispered adorations, revealed every truth. He was young, with the enthusiasm and reservations of the young; Zhongguo soaked in that vitality like sunlight and surrendered to the blinding heat of eyes that still marveled before him
( ... )
Re: Under Heaven [2b/2]
anonymous
February 20 2010, 22:18:30 UTC
Very nice, anon! I liked the little hitorical details, like calling China 'Sinae', and Rome being worried about the implications of the age difference. It's always nice to be reminded of just how old China is, too; fandom doesn't take nearly enough advantage of that fact, in my opinion. Rome's wanting to live to be two thousand is one of those ripe-with-foreshadowing lines that can only be pulled off in fanfic and historical fiction - both of which this is, of course - and you used it with understated power. Excellent job. Thank you!
[Captcha sez: "Gilbert them". Uh. I think it wants Prussia/China, and I have no idea how that would work.]
Author!Anon
anonymous
February 20 2010, 22:50:47 UTC
Thank you so much! This was a really fun prompt to fill, and I'm glad the historical detail was not too infodumpy or out-of-place. I admit, I have a certain fondness for making Rome his canonically promiscuous self, but with a semblance of Roman sexual mores as well, so I'm glad that came across.
[That's a distressing captcha, considering that Prussia at this point is probably just that one little crazy-eyed kid tearing around Germania's place. you know, one of the kids Rome keeps teaching Latin to when Germania isn't looking. ]
Under Heaven [AN]
anonymous
February 20 2010, 22:36:18 UTC
General note: Well-documented Sino-Roman relations first occurred during the reign of Augustus, to the best of my knowledge, but there was trade ongoing much earlier. I've set this in Augustus' reign (last decade or so of BC, specifically).
Part 1: - Io: A joyful exclamation and/or greeting. The sort of thing that's reserved for parties or holidays, generally. - Ave: 'Hail.' It seemed a proper salutation between personified massive empires. - Zhongguo and Roma: native-language terms for the respective empires - Sinae and Daquin: the Roman name for China and Chinese name for Rome, respectively.
- Romans really did buy up Chinese silk like they weren't making it any more. The Senate, paragons of morality and virtue, very vocally opposed the subsequent rise in women's garments that approached transparent. Somehow, I do not see Roma himself having such a problem with this evolution in fashion.
Part 2: - dominus: 'master,' in this instance it flows better than 'boss' or 'emperor,' I think. Roma is here referring to Augustus, who,
( ... )
Re: Under Heaven [AN]
anonymous
February 21 2010, 00:11:19 UTC
Oh, I loved it so much! I'm such a Rome fangirl, and I think that the idea of him having a more 'elastic' morality than his rulers is extremely accurate. Also I love your portrail of China - most of the fics I read don't even start to make him justice - he's one of the oldest, greatest empires in the world, with a complicated, rich culture, after all. And your sense of description, the level of detail... This was all kinds of fantastic, anon.
HOLY... O____O; This. THIS! It's beautiful!!! writer!anon, thank you thank you THANK YOU for filling this so completely and beautifully! Your style was wonderful, your descriptions exquisite, and my word, that's pretty much exactly how I picture young!China! Epic. Win.
Reply
Roma pulled back, panting and torn and so unlike himself. Zhongguo paused in massaging his broad hand in oil, slicking fingers and smoothing down the rough edges of calluses, and lifted a slim eyebrow.
"Sinae - if my dominus sees this-" He cut off with a low, ( ... )
Reply
Reply
[Captcha sez: "Gilbert them". Uh. I think it wants Prussia/China, and I have no idea how that would work.]
Reply
[That's a distressing captcha, considering that Prussia at this point is probably just that one little crazy-eyed kid tearing around Germania's place. you know, one of the kids Rome keeps teaching Latin to when Germania isn't looking. ]
Reply
Part 1:
- Io: A joyful exclamation and/or greeting. The sort of thing that's reserved for parties or holidays, generally.
- Ave: 'Hail.' It seemed a proper salutation between personified massive empires.
- Zhongguo and Roma: native-language terms for the respective empires
- Sinae and Daquin: the Roman name for China and Chinese name for Rome, respectively.
- Romans really did buy up Chinese silk like they weren't making it any more. The Senate, paragons of morality and virtue, very vocally opposed the subsequent rise in women's garments that approached transparent. Somehow, I do not see Roma himself having such a problem with this evolution in fashion.
Part 2:
- dominus: 'master,' in this instance it flows better than 'boss' or 'emperor,' I think. Roma is here referring to Augustus, who, ( ... )
Reply
Reply
This. THIS! It's beautiful!!!
writer!anon, thank you thank you THANK YOU for filling this so completely and beautifully! Your style was wonderful, your descriptions exquisite, and my word, that's pretty much exactly how I picture young!China! Epic. Win.
Reply
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