[FIC] "Orchid and Rose" (Clovis-centric, PG)

[hopechan.livejournal.com]

Title: Orchid and Rose
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word count: 6,000 (jeesus)
For: vicks111 on cg_flashfic, who requested a Clovis fic, because the only person who doesn't love Clovis is nonexistent.
Comments: Whyyyy is this fic so close to my heart, God.

Summary: Being caught between greatness and goodness will tear you apart.

( She had pink lips and pink cheeks and hands that felt soft and fragile like flower petals. Her eyelashes were long and her eyes were blue and always open wide. Clovis knew a lot about her but very little of her, and he wondered if that should make him sad. )

Comments

It's close to my heart too!

[realms-of-life.livejournal.com]

Hope, Hope, Hope, this is genius. You have no idea how obsessed I am about this fic. I don’t even care there is no Suzaku. Your portrayal l of the royal family through Clovis’ eyes is breathtaking. And you know what a sucker I am for mother stories. I love how you don’t let Clovis know too much, but at the same time have insights his peers couldn’t have. I love Gabriella’s background and Lelouch as an adult! child, and Euphie as a child, and Marianne, and… wow, so many interesting things worth mentioning. I’ve been going back to this fic all day. This is one of those which stay with you because of the tiny details – such as Odysseus’wife - and dynamics between the character. If I had to choose the thing I liked most, I guess it would be Clovis and Lelouch’s interaction, especially the three first encounters and what they represented for Clovis, and the ring of fate they have, since they will be murdered and murder one day. Another scene I really love is that sad, sad party for Schneizel’s promotion and how Clovis understands Schneizel is the odd one out. Most of all, I love the beautiful imagery, with colors and drama and staged paintings, which convey very nicely the way your Clovis sees the world.

I guess I will fangirl this fic for a long time! Absolututely adorable, Hope. I’ve been jumping people on msn since yesterday to pimp this. Your fic is so harmonious and perfect that, knowing my brain, I bet in two months I will forget all this characterization and info is not canon, and I guess that’s the best praise I can give to a fic. :)

OH GOD THANK GOD

[hopechan.livejournal.com]

You like it...even without Suzaku? =DDDD (Though I should note that I spent quite a while trying to shoehorn in a little something about Suzaku...but it didn't really work, I'm afraid. Fuu. I love their childhood interactions something awful, and wish there were more of them...)

BUT ANYWAY. Yes. I know how you love the mother stories. ♥ I felt, at times, like I was cribbing off the Suzaku/his mom dynamic from "The Fool Ascendant," not least because I set them both up to counterbalance Marianne - though a slightly different Marianne back then from the one we met in canon, I'm afraid. For all that I cribbed the dynamic, though, I feel like Gabriella is her own person: crazy, yes, but crazy in a different way, driven insane by that family, and by life, and the pressures that can break anyone, while Suzaku's mom...had other shit.

And I think it is that family that drove her crazy in a lot of ways. It can do that to pretty much anyone. Lelouch, certainly, and the Emperor, and also sort of Schneizel and definitely Clovis and Cornelia and even sort of Nunnally and even sort of, indirectly, Suzaku. Each one was made lonely, stripped of what they had, and compelled to excel for various reasons - for country, for love, for expectations, and that drove them sort of insane. Plus there has GOT to be some mental illness running through the family, jesus.

And it is a curious dynamic Clovis and Lelouch have, isn't it? The way that Clovis loves Lelouch, even though Lulu shows him up in every way? I can't imagine there's not a lot of hatred tied up in that, as well, especially among the fiercely competitive royal family. It's an odd dynamic, and one that is not explored nearly enough. As you can probably tell, it was hard for me to limit this fic to only 6000 words. =D

THANK YOU, BY THE WAY, for noting the imagery. There's nothing I love writing more, but I worry sometimes that people don't much care about a 200-word portrait of, like, the dark clouds behind the illuminated mountains, they just want to get to the porn already.

...I think I should re-assess my priorities.

Re: OH GOD THANK GOD

[realms-of-life.livejournal.com]

I can imagine how Suzaku wouldn't really work here, since Clovis and Suzaku probably never met and even if they did, Clovis would probably forget him the moment after. But who knows? The ghei Britannian brothers seem to have a thing for the cute Eleven. XD

Ah, and I can see how you would refer back to Fool Ascendant, but I assure you those are very different relationships. It's just that we ficcers tend to go back to old themes. :) Gods help me, but I think I will go back to crazy! Lelouch, since he is canon after all.

And I completely agree with your view on their family. It's hard to not be crazy in that place and yes, there must be tons of mental illnesses going on. Crazy, inbred royals. They remind me a little of the Turkish Empire, with its many wives, demented children and whatnot.

Thank you so much for exploring that particular dynamic. One thing I love about Clovis' love/hate for Lelouch, is that it only became possible because Lelouch was close enough for him to love/hate. He was not an ideal like some of his siblings. He was just a kid and Clovis saw that right from the start.

I guess one wouldn't be able to write a Clovis fic without tons of imagery. I commend you on your decision. :) THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR PRIORITIES.