The Lady In The Tower

 Haven't been here in... God knows how long, OK. 

Time to start making use of this again!

Well, I've been gone forever, back now with a new fic and a new fandom.

Title: We're Given and Denied
Fandom: Avengers
Series: At The Touch Of Your Hand
Pairings: Tony/Pepper, pre-Pepper/Tony/Steve, past-Steve/Peggy
Notes: Part one of a soulmate AU where people bond at first skin-to-skin contact
Summary: Steve never wanted a soulmate - he always figured he'd be dragging them down. Tony secretly didn't want anything more than to find his. Pepper, well, she just wanted to bond to someone who wanted to know her before they got sucked into being bonded. When Tony and Pepper bond, they realize they're incomplete, but there's no way to find their missing third - until Tony does, and then it all becomes a mess because, really, none of them know what to do now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzpr7bL1Iw4

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-3166

Above is a link to Congressman Charles Dent's (R-PA) video where he discusses the bill he is co-sponsoring, the Enemy Expatriation Act (H.R. 3166), followed by a link to the bill's text. The bill, if passed, is meant "to add engaging in or supporting hostilities against the United States to the list of acts for which United States nationals would lose their nationality." (Quote from govtrack.us) Now, Dent says that the bill is meant to take away American citizenship from terrorists, presumably to make the American people safer.

I respect the intention to stop terrorism and protect innocent people. I'm one of the people being protected, I very well should. But things like this scare me. Why? Well, for one thing, the bill doesn't specify how this is to be determined. Someone will lose their citizenship for engaging in or supporting "hostilities" and hostilities in this context means "any conflict subject to the laws of war". It makes no mention of how this is to be proven. I'd like to be optimistic and believe that very strong proof of involvement or support will be needed to strip someone of their nationality, but... This bill gives no indication one way or another.

It's not this bill that is the truly frightening thing, though. The issue here is the precedent it could so easily set. This bill talks about hostilities. But could someone use this bill to write another one where "hostilities" is replaced with "dissent"? I honestly don't know, and I'm not trying to start a panic, but I feel like there needs to be something more concrete. At least tell us what, precisely, counts as support. Tell us how this will be determined, tell us what proof there will need to be before an American citizen loses that title. Because I read this and I wonder if it will end here.

I support anti-terrorism measures. I don't want another terrorist attack to happen in the US, or anywhere else for that matter, not ever. I just wish this bill was more specific. Engaging in hostilities is obvious, but what constitutes support? Sending money, most likely. But what else? Directly saying that you believe in al-Qaeda? Or saying something that runs counter to "America's ideals", a phrase Congressman Dent uses in his video? The former is supporting terrorism, and I can live with that, though I still don't like the precedent it sets. But the latter, that isn't terrorism. That's dissent. "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty." Edward R. Murrow, considered the father of broadcast news, said that in the 1950s, and it's still true.

I would like to think that our government believes that. I would like to think that they would never have that confusion, and will not be tempted to move against those who do not support terrorists, but merely disagree with their country. As American citizens we're allowed to disagree. If that disagreement leads to threatening the safety of others directly or indirectly, then measures should be taken to protect that safety. But if it does not, then there is no justification for punishment.

I've been trying to find a media report on this from a trustworthy source, some sort of report that will hopefully go more in-depth on this issue, perhaps with an interview from Congressman Dent or one of his co-sponsors. I can't find anything, and the news I have found comes from outlets I'm not familiar with and can't be sure are on the level. I tried the New York Times, I tried the Washington Post. There are no articles on either website. I can't say if that is a good or a bad sign. I hope that I'm reading too much into this, and that the intent behind this bill is exactly what Congressman Dent says it is, and that only true supporters of terrorist organizations will be targeted by it should it pass. I just can't find enough reliable information to be certain of that.

Title: To Walk On Stormy Seas
Fandom: Axis Powers Hetalia
Rating: PG-13
Characters: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Northern Ireland, Hong Kong, Canada, Sealand, Britannia, and China
Summary:
Disclaimer: You Raise Me Up seems to be a much-covered song, but it's not mine. Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya. All OCs are mine, however.
A/N: After my last, sad family fic involving this lot, I decided to try for something more hopeful.

 

( When troubles come... )

 

Title: Jericho
Fandom: Inception
Rating: PG, maybe PG-13
Series: Genderbend 'verse, which needs a proper name now...
Pairings: pre-Anita(girl!Arthur)/Eames
Summary: "Don't talk to me about Alexandria." This is what happened in Alexandria, in a time before dreamshare, when Anita Casey and Patrick Eames were just a pair of spies trying to do their job.
Disclaimer: Er... Anita is kinda-sorta mine? She's based off Arthur who is not, though. Alex and Aubrey are mine, Eames is not. Song quote is from a Hilary Duff song, and also not mine.
A/N: A prequel to my genderbend fic "Architecture of Your World and Mind".

 

( This is the right choice. )

So, posting from Dreamwidth, though most of you are probably still reading it via LJ. As a side note, I am fae_boleyn on DW too for anyone who would like to follow me there. :D

Anyway. No updates this Christmas, aiming for New Year's instead for what will hopefully be a multi-post. *crosses fingers*

Following Hetalia Bloodbath 2011 for Christmas, it's so exciting and silly, and just a lot of fun.

Anyway, I want to wish everyone on my flist a Merry Christmas, a Happy mid-Hanukkah, or an early Happy Kwanzaa!

Title: Asking Why This World Can Be So Cold
Fandom: Axis Powers Hetalia
Rating: PG-13
Characters: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Northern Ireland, Hong Kong, Canada, and Sealand; references to France, Brittany, America, China, Japan, the Nordics, India, and Austria
Pairings: Implied and possibly one-sided America/England, Ireland/India, and Austria/Wales; referenced France/Scotland and Cornwall/Brittany
Summary: All of them are broken, in their own ways, but it all comes back to each other in the end, back to shattered family bonds that they don't know how to fix.
Disclaimer: Untitled belongs to Simple Plan, Hetalia to Hidekaz Himaruya. All OCs are mine, however. Title and cut text from Daughtry's All These Lives, and so also not mine.
A/N: I don't know why my fics are all so sad! Hoping to come up with a less depressing one next!

( Broken homes from separation/Don't you know it's violation? )

OK, so, like almost everyone around here on LJ (and Facebook, and Twitter, and Tumblr) I’ve heard about SOPA and what it could mean. I’ve gone through the motions of spreading the word and contacting my representatives, because it’s my right to do that. But, I do want to tell everyone this; it’s not time to panic yet. At the moment, the bill is in the House. But here’s the thing. Even if it passes the House, it has to get through the Senate. The House is Republican-controlled, and the Senate is Democrat-controlled. Partisanship generally sucks, it creates deadlocks and things like that, but in this case it very well might work to our advantage. If SOPA passes the House, that means the Democrats in the Senate might reject it on the simple basis of it having Republican support. Also, it very clearly is to benefit corporations, which is something Democrats tend to frown on. And, even if, by some shocking chance, it does get past the Senate? It has to get signed by Obama. There’s a rumor going around that Obama has sworn to veto it - I don’t know if it’s true. But while I’m ambivalent about Obama and always have been (I liked Clinton in ‘08 and Obama never did win me over, sorry) it does seem like something he’d refuse to sign. So odds are we’ll be all right. Don’t stop spreading the word, of course, it can only help to let the people in D.C. know what their constituents think, but don’t panic or make plans to move to Canada just yet either.

*Also posted to Tumblr

Originally posted by write_light at BAD Internet Laws Heading Your Way

Name a character from one of my fandoms and I will reply saying:

• How I FEEEEEL about this character
• All the people I ship romantically with this character
• My non-romantic OTP for this character
• My unpopular opinion about this character
• One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.