France/Vichy - Battle of France [1/?]
anonymous
July 15 2009, 08:19:47 UTC
The Ring:
First there’s a library. There are three men here, a table between them, a white sheet, a golden pen.
The air is heavy. There’s an overload of emotion here, floating up, closing in, bitterness, fear and barely disguised hate, threatening to burn them all and the books, the carpet, the whole world outside. A fire will start any time now, they can feel it, but every time the flame goes too high there’s this pair of icy blue eyes to tame it, and the fire never comes.
The Boxer:
Francis moves slowly, partly because this gracious step is his style and he doesn’t plan to change any time soon, and partly because something in him still hurts and he doesn’t want to push his own body too hard. For now.
He almost doesn’t blink. Watches Vichy intently, every nervous, spasmodic gesture the kids makes, and he bites the corner of his lip. Francis thinks of what he’d like to do to him now, what he will do when all this is over, because it will end someday, mark the words, it will end and then the brat will pay
( ... )
France/Vichy - Battle of France [2/?]
anonymous
July 15 2009, 08:22:59 UTC
The Referee:
The fist thing Ludwig does, after Vichy signs the armistice (with a shaky hand and a nervous smile, not that he cares) and Francis loses his status of sovereign nation (with a frown and a dangerous glint in his eyes, not that he cares) is to ask Vichy to read the whole thing aloud
( ... )
Re: France/Vichy - Battle of France [2/?]
anonymous
July 15 2009, 23:34:07 UTC
OP here, and delighted! It wasn't at all what I expected when I made the request, and I'm pleasantly surprised to see it!
Vichy is a rat, but Francis knows exactly what you do with pests like him. This is a beautiful line. The subtle allusion, the quality of the insult, the imagery.
but he will, later, maybe. Vichy's such a kid that you almost feel sorry for him, and then you remember what he's doing.
I'm also not sure if you did this intentionally, but the use of Vichy's name - that he doesn't have a personal name - is I think indicative, as is the fact that Francis is referred to using his human name in conversation - that is, he has been made less than a Nation and only human, but in reality (in the eyes of the narrator) Vichy is the lesser, being only a Nation (a City) and not a person. Um. Maybe I'm interpreting too much. Or wrong. But that's how I saw it.
Re: France/Vichy - Battle of France [2/?]
anonymous
July 16 2009, 20:13:44 UTC
Thank you so much for commenting! Erm- I really hope you enjoy this, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be what you were expecting, but I hope it works anyway (I also hope you don’t mind psycho!Germany. Just saying).
As for the names... I didn’t do it on purpose, but now that you mentioned, I think it ended up showing part of what I believe. I mean, technically, Vichy is Free France, but even so, I can’t see him as France. He is a Nation, but he doesn’t have the spirit, or whatever is called, that makes France be what it is. And Francis does. So, in the end, Occupied France was freer than Vichy, because they were dominated, but at least they weren’t puppets. I guess that’s why Francis didn’t disappear - he was still there, even if powerless and so much less than a Free Nation.
Anyway, thanks again. I really liked your comment. ^^
France/Vichy - Battle of France [3/?]
anonymous
July 19 2009, 22:53:21 UTC
1. First Round: Travail, famille, patrie
Vichy sits in his office and pretends to be working.
Francis stands before him. His legs are tired, but Vichy doesn't offer him the chair. I would, he says, but see, you need to stretch your legs a bit, I think, after all the time you spend on your knees for Germany and Italy, and France smiles - shows his teeth, actually- and declines to answer, because he has no energy for this now. And so he stands
( ... )
France/Vichy - Battle of France [4/?]
anonymous
July 19 2009, 22:54:47 UTC
He has to. Vichy has all the authority here, this petulant child who know it all too well. Vichy gets up to face Francis, to glare at him more effectively:
“Shut up,” he says, again, and he looks almost sulking “If anything survives here, if there's anything of our- of my culture is left from this war, it will be because of me, because of my work! Because while you're lying there spreading your legs to half the Wehrmacht I am here, trying to keep things working, which is more than you ever did! And anyway what's so wrong in trying to learn with the winning side, uh? They obviously know more than you ever did!”
“I can see that,” Francis whispers “Work, family, the oh so precious fatherland. Ideological trash, that's what you're making of the richest culture in the world-”
“I told you to shut up!”
“Yes, I noticed. And you like this so much, don't you, cherie? Playing German, almost having an orgasm just because now you can raise this screeching voice of yours to give me orders
( ... )
op is back again!
anonymous
July 19 2009, 23:18:01 UTC
You think you'll turn France into Germany, don't you? Yes. Yes. This is the best line, I think - although the sexualized violence is beautiful too - I'm just. Oh. You cannot make a Germany out of a France (and I do not mean the characters in Hetalia, I mean the nations, lowercase n) because they are not like that, and trying will break you, will make you mad. And I think Vichy is going there, a little. A lot. In a way that Francis is not, and will not.
I also see a different side to Francis's philandering ways here - yes, he wants to sleep with everything that moves and is self-aware, but that gives him something, that he can transcend sexual behavior because it's not all there is of him despite it being how people view him. Whereas Vichy is not, has not, and for him the sexuality is the root of his behavior - whereas Francis is far deeper than that. If I'm making sense here.
Re: France/Vichy - Battle of France [4/?]
anonymous
July 19 2009, 23:43:45 UTC
This is incredible. I love the tension in the dialogue between Francis and Vichy, the hatred is just palpable. Am eagerly awaiting the rest of this fic!
Or, alternatively, talking about each other to others.
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First there’s a library. There are three men here, a table between them, a white sheet, a golden pen.
The air is heavy. There’s an overload of emotion here, floating up, closing in, bitterness, fear and barely disguised hate, threatening to burn them all and the books, the carpet, the whole world outside. A fire will start any time now, they can feel it, but every time the flame goes too high there’s this pair of icy blue eyes to tame it, and the fire never comes.
The Boxer:
Francis moves slowly, partly because this gracious step is his style and he doesn’t plan to change any time soon, and partly because something in him still hurts and he doesn’t want to push his own body too hard. For now.
He almost doesn’t blink. Watches Vichy intently, every nervous, spasmodic gesture the kids makes, and he bites the corner of his lip. Francis thinks of what he’d like to do to him now, what he will do when all this is over, because it will end someday, mark the words, it will end and then the brat will pay ( ... )
Reply
The fist thing Ludwig does, after Vichy signs the armistice (with a shaky hand and a nervous smile, not that he cares) and Francis loses his status of sovereign nation (with a frown and a dangerous glint in his eyes, not that he cares) is to ask Vichy to read the whole thing aloud ( ... )
Reply
Vichy is a rat, but Francis knows exactly what you do with pests like him.
This is a beautiful line. The subtle allusion, the quality of the insult, the imagery.
but he will, later, maybe.
Vichy's such a kid that you almost feel sorry for him, and then you remember what he's doing.
I'm also not sure if you did this intentionally, but the use of Vichy's name - that he doesn't have a personal name - is I think indicative, as is the fact that Francis is referred to using his human name in conversation - that is, he has been made less than a Nation and only human, but in reality (in the eyes of the narrator) Vichy is the lesser, being only a Nation (a City) and not a person. Um. Maybe I'm interpreting too much. Or wrong. But that's how I saw it.
Reply
As for the names... I didn’t do it on purpose, but now that you mentioned, I think it ended up showing part of what I believe. I mean, technically, Vichy is Free France, but even so, I can’t see him as France. He is a Nation, but he doesn’t have the spirit, or whatever is called, that makes France be what it is. And Francis does. So, in the end, Occupied France was freer than Vichy, because they were dominated, but at least they weren’t puppets. I guess that’s why Francis didn’t disappear - he was still there, even if powerless and so much less than a Free Nation.
Anyway, thanks again. I really liked your comment. ^^
Reply
Reply
Amazing.
Reply
Vichy sits in his office and pretends to be working.
Francis stands before him. His legs are tired, but Vichy doesn't offer him the chair. I would, he says, but see, you need to stretch your legs a bit, I think, after all the time you spend on your knees for Germany and Italy, and France smiles - shows his teeth, actually- and declines to answer, because he has no energy for this now. And so he stands ( ... )
Reply
“Shut up,” he says, again, and he looks almost sulking “If anything survives here, if there's anything of our- of my culture is left from this war, it will be because of me, because of my work! Because while you're lying there spreading your legs to half the Wehrmacht I am here, trying to keep things working, which is more than you ever did! And anyway what's so wrong in trying to learn with the winning side, uh? They obviously know more than you ever did!”
“I can see that,” Francis whispers “Work, family, the oh so precious fatherland. Ideological trash, that's what you're making of the richest culture in the world-”
“I told you to shut up!”
“Yes, I noticed. And you like this so much, don't you, cherie? Playing German, almost having an orgasm just because now you can raise this screeching voice of yours to give me orders ( ... )
Reply
Yes. Yes. This is the best line, I think - although the sexualized violence is beautiful too - I'm just. Oh. You cannot make a Germany out of a France (and I do not mean the characters in Hetalia, I mean the nations, lowercase n) because they are not like that, and trying will break you, will make you mad. And I think Vichy is going there, a little. A lot. In a way that Francis is not, and will not.
I also see a different side to Francis's philandering ways here - yes, he wants to sleep with everything that moves and is self-aware, but that gives him something, that he can transcend sexual behavior because it's not all there is of him despite it being how people view him. Whereas Vichy is not, has not, and for him the sexuality is the root of his behavior - whereas Francis is far deeper than that. If I'm making sense here.
Reply
Reply
Reply
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