31 days: August 14, "All night long I've held your hand"

[tarigwaemir]

DeWolfe Apts., on the Feast of St. Maximilian

It's odd but every conversation I've had today felt vaguely surreal as if I was speaking into a microphone. Ran into classmate on elevator while coming up from laundry and managed small talk. As I left the elevator, I realized that my face hadn't changed expression once during the entire conversation. Er...

I wrote Anne of Green Gables fanfiction for today's theme. L.M. Montgomery is rolling in her grave as we speak. This fic is...completely not in sync with the style of the books. But I am shameless and posting it anyway.

Wait
Dedicated to lazulisong, who loves these books even more than I do

His mind, it seems, is no longer his own, whirling around and around in circles until his head feels as if it's shattering into pieces. Day and night, he drifts in and out of dreams--/arma virumque cano/--the sweet ripe smell of strawberry apples--moss on a gravestone in the cemetery at Redmond--

But mostly /her/, he dreams of: the line of a long red braid down the back of a new gingham dress, the whiteness of her wrist against her flushed cheek, her eyes furious and ashamed when he rowed her back to shore, a circlet of mayflowers tangled in her hair, the worn covers of the books they lent and borrowed, her mouth opening to say "No, I can't. I never, never can love you in that way, Gilbert."

In a rare moment of lucidity, he asks in a hoarse whisper, "Am I going to die?"

His mother, pressing a cool towel to his hot, dry forehead, pauses to quietly wipe away tears--he does not see because his eyes are closed; his eyelids weigh like stone--and answers in a choked voice, "Of course not, Gilbert, you're going to get better. You'll see."

He thinks of the word "death", and it repeats over and over in his mind; such a curiously short syllable, echoing with finality. He is in no condition to understand--he can only comprehend the "never" in regret, oh the regret, that he had not seen her once more.

"Anne," he says, delirious. "Anne--"

He can almost see her, pale as a ghost, face against the window, eyes large and gray and full of tears. She opens her mouth. "Wait," she seems to say. "Wait, please wait."

He is too tired to move but he nods his head. That night, the fever breaks.

END

Well, it's not all depressing? I think. >_>

Yours &c.

Comments

[delentyevox.livejournal.com]

i love the anne-fic :)

[troisroyaumes]

Yay, glad you liked! ^_^

[tryogeru.livejournal.com]

Um...I don't remember the books very well, so I am afraid I have no idea when/where/if this fever thing happened and is probably not picking up on ...stuff...but even though, I thought the imagery was very nice. I *do* remember her and that guy in a river. On a boat. And Anne being pissed. As usual. um...>_>

It wasn't depressing. Remus going insane or Severus losing his limbs is depressing. This...is actually quite hopeful.

[troisroyaumes]

Haha, clearly I have a fonder memory of these books than you. And yeah, I guess that last line makes it...the opposite of depressing really. (Oh yeah, I haven't gone beyond the first chapter of that Snape/Lupin fic you sent me because I was too busy CRYING for Lupin. Well, at least in my heart, even if my eyes didn't cooperate.)

[tryogeru.livejournal.com]

I really like fics where when people become disabled or something, they don't *magically* recover when their luv interest proclaims his eternal luv..

[troisroyaumes]

Hehe, well in Anne's defense, she didn't proclaim her eternal love to Gilbert until quite some time after he recovered...this is just me being fanciful. (You must understand, Anne/Gilbert was like...first OTP ever.)

[tryogeru.livejournal.com]

Um...I was actually referring to the snupinage...

[troisroyaumes]

Ah, sorry, didn't realize. ^_^;;

[ldmoonflower.livejournal.com]

I like it! Also the Snape one. I wouldn't worry about the lack of Montgomery-like style; I mean, how often is fic in accordance with the author's style, anyway?

[troisroyaumes]

Well, I suppose it depends on the fic. I do try to match the mood if not the style of the fic with the series, and there's a sort of modernness to this prose that doesn't fit Montgomery. But you're right, people have been much more radical. ^_^ And whee, I'm so glad you liked it! XD I have such a soft spot for Anne that I was afraid of desecrating the series. ^_^;;

[moderntime.livejournal.com]

This is lovely and not at all depressing. I'm thrilled that you wrote Anne of Green Gables fic!

[lazulisong.livejournal.com]

I love you so much.

this is not the person who's thinking 'hahahaha WALTER IN THE TRENCHES >3' for 'Alahambra' oh no.

[troisroyaumes]

YAY, MEG LIKED! Oh and wow you linked to it too. ^_^;; And Walter-in-the-trench fic? Doooo it.

Walter's my favorite character actually, after Anne and Gilbert (of course).

[troisroyaumes]

Thank you~! I'm very glad you liked. ^_^

[tokyofish.livejournal.com]

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES 'FIC! Beautiful, love it, and it fits so nicely in context. I think he can only comprehend the "never" in regret sounded very Montgomery but your regular style is just gorgeous so <3333 all around!

[troisroyaumes]

Whee, Kismet liked! XD ::sends ASCII hearts back:: (Your 31_days fic has been amazing; please write more? ^_^)

[ladydaera.livejournal.com]

oh! i like it very much!

[troisroyaumes]

Thanks~ Daera! It always means a lot to me when you say you like my writing. <3

[ayatsujik.livejournal.com]

*squeaking!*

EEE YOU ARE WONDERFUL (and, obviously, so is this.)

[troisroyaumes]

And you are wonderful too! <3 (And wah, you even rec'ed me! ::feels loved:: Thank you!)

[absenceofmind.livejournal.com]

I LOVED THESE BOOKS. i practically memorized every line of them when i was in elementary school and if i use antiquated proverbs, it's ALL LMM's fault. and i loved, loved loved anne and gilbert. my schoolgirl heart damn near broke for him in book three, and i hated christine with a fervor that didn't dampen in the slightest by the time i read book six. (i rolled through the entire series in nearly one night.)

in short, squee. <3

[troisroyaumes]

ME TOO. I have a horrible memory for quotes, and yet I remember lines from Anne of Green Gables because I reread the books so often. I hated Christine-of-the-violet-eyes too. Oh, and that moment in book three, when they embrace by the sunset...WAH. <3 I'm so glad to see that there are so many fellow fans on LJ. ^______^ So glad you liked it!

[matrixrefugee.livejournal.com]

Hey, maybe the style isn't a mirror-image of L.M. Montgomery's, but this fic really works for me. I like it! It wasn't depressing at all: I found it full of hope.

[troisroyaumes]

Thank you! Yes, I guess the last line makes it hopeful after all. Very glad you liked! XD

[aetherangelette.livejournal.com]

Your LJ is so difficult to manuever thru the comments.

I <3 Anne of Green Gables. But I had hated it for the LONGEST time and I don't know why O_O! I'm hungry.

True, it doesn't fit the usual tone of the books, which is strange, considering how you wrote your postboxes like it... oO;; What are we dabbling into? OO;;

I'm hungggryyy... Oh, and the last line seems kind of anticlimax-ic.

[troisroyaumes]

Spell properly, will you? Anticlimactic. And I like understating important things; surely you've figured this out by now. ::shrugs:: But agh, you hated Anne of Green Gables? WHY? O_O;; And what made you change your mind?

[aetherangelette.livejournal.com]

Oooh, so I was right the first time.
And iono -- about that last line, I feel like you just don't need it...=/ Meh
And I did hate Anne of Green Gables and vowed never to read it, until I picked it up again one day and was like, this is good. Why didn't I like it before?

[troisroyaumes]

If you think I didn't need it, you didn't read carefully enough. ^_^ Go look at it again, skimmer.

Why didn't you like it before? ;_; But at least you saw the error of your ways in time. ^________^

[aetherangelette.livejournal.com]

But you KNOW his fever breaks. =/ MEH! Whatevvvver PFT!
Iono why I didn't like it before, but yes, I have seen the error of my ways.

[troisroyaumes]

The point is his fever breaks at that point, silly. ::rolls eyes::

[lush-rimbaud.livejournal.com]

eeee! There needs to be more Anne of Green Gables fic in the world. We likes it, yes, precious.

[troisroyaumes]

Yay, glad you liked! And whoa, you're on LJ again. XD

[snowfire.livejournal.com]

So I've just found this, and I have to tell you how much I love it. Anne and Gilbert were my first OTP [and still one of my favourites] and this fic definitely does them justice. No, it's not in Montgomery's writing style - but it's alike in a lot of ways, and the differences definitely weren't jarring enough to dampen my enjoyment of the fic. [I actually read this last night and bookmarked it, reread it twice again today, and then got around to writing this. Good A/G fanfiction is a rarity to me, alas, and this is one of the few stories I've read about them and loved.]

In short: thank you!