Saiunkoku: The Age of Silver: Peaches and Thorns

[branchandroot]

Fic post from my archive.

Peaches and Thorns

Shoukun and Seien talk about freedom, and she gathers a promise from him. Drama, I-3

She sighed. "My little Seiran." Very quietly she added, "If the palace will be such a cage to you, I will be sad to see you walk back in and pick up your chains again."

Comments

[lazulisong.livejournal.com]

♥

I love how Seiran mentally qualifies everything.

Also I looked it up and it's specifically 'a yellow close to white' that Ryuuki gives Shuurei for the roses.

[branchandroot]

*heartsback* Thank you! *wry* Seiran is /such/ a cynic, by this point.

Oo, now that's fascinating. Innocent affection, perhaps? She might be the only one he /can/ feel something like that for, besides his Aniue.

[lazulisong.livejournal.com]

Possibly. The funny thing about the scene is that it's stated explicitly that Ryuuki is acting childlike several times -- he holds the flowers like a child, for one thing. He isn't just holding them, he's got his fist wrapped around them. And then he gets scolded by Shuurei and sits down and gets thorns taken out of his hands. >____>

ALTHOUGH this is also the scene where you realize he deliberately went to her quarters dressed in a thin nightrobe specifically so she would feel that she had to let him in.

[branchandroot]

Yeah, when I thought they were just white, I was pretty much thinking "oh, hey, what a /thorough/ ploy to look innocent". It's one of the things that fascinates me about Ryuuki, that he can scheme so well and be so genuinely childish and tactless and poorly socialized in the next moment.

[senbonbongenma.livejournal.com]

the thing I like about ryuuki is that there is this fine line (which he plays oh so well) between innocence (or idiocy) and cunning (or genius). so, he knows some things - but not all things.

which i think is very realistic considering his upbringing and his status in SaiMono society.

[senbonbongenma.livejournal.com]

sorry to interrupt... but... in a way, Shuurei and Ryuuki are alot alike b/c they lack maturation in love - to differing degrees.

So that, when it comes to heartfelt romance, it could be argued that both are quite hopeless - and don't know how to go about it the right way! :P which is quite adorable!

[majochan.livejournal.com]

Drat! Almost got first comment!

Much love and squee again. I adore your Seiran, so angsty yet cute. *squeezes him* And.......adopting Ryuuki..........*_* The combined cute of the Kou and Shi families would take over the world, I say.

Shoukun really shouldn't tease.;_;

I look very much forward to more.^^
Majo

[branchandroot]

*laughing*

*and sparkling* Great to hear you liked this! Shoukun seems like such a deep character, and yet we know so little about her--she's hard to work with. *chuckles* And I swear, she was /totally/ serious about kidnapping Ryuuki. But, for all his angst, Seiran seems set on going back to the palace, so she'll let him.

*wicked grin* There will be united Shi-Kou cuteness in another two stories or so.

[majochan.livejournal.com]

Indeed, I fear my comments are probably on the side of unproductive, as filled with just squee and love as they are. In an effort to change, I'd like to mention (forgotten in my initial bout of squeeing^^) that I really love the hawk comparison. And 'tame' really is the way to describe him when around the people he loves. It's a great parallel, along with the cages.

Majo

[branchandroot]

Oh, excellent! I was hoping that wouldn't be too over the top. The setting seems baroque enough to support it, but I know every now and then my imagery runs away with me. ^_^ Given who Shoukun is, the cages/chains thing almost had to come in, but Seiran is so... /feral/ when he comes out of Sa; I wanted something to echo that.

And, hey, squee and love is a perfectly wonderful thing.

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

Seiran as feral is also another excellent image. Actually you're having a lot of success in comparing Shi family members to animals so far; last story you described Ryuuki as "alert as a wild animal," and this time around it's hawks and tameness. I like it very much. :-D

[branchandroot]

Ah, thank you! The Shi boys really make me think of wild animals a lot, especially with their sensitivity to danger, poison, etc. And Seiran... he used to be tame, and went wild during That Year, and now he's slowly coming back; but I have to wonder if he'll ever be truly domesticated again.

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

I'm just as happy if he never does, personally, I like the wild animal imagery.

[written-in-blue.livejournal.com]

*sparkles some more* Ohhhhh, Shoukun is very, very cool. And tame!Seiran is wonderful. And the idea of kidnapping and adopting Ryuuki is eeeeeee heart heart heart. Yes. *clears throat* Eeeeeeeeeeee.

[branchandroot]

*hearts* I think she is immensely cool; be sure to read the sidestory Shadow summarizes, about everyone's dreams. Shoukun just kicks butt.

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

She kicks immense amounts of rear end. Ah, I adore the scene she has with young Reishin where she's talking about the flaws in his character, it's so funny . . .

[branchandroot]

Oh yes, and the scene in that novel winter sidestory where she nails Eigetsu with her fan to make him shut up and not wake baby!Shuurei. *giggles* She is just infinitely cool.

[lazulisong.livejournal.com]

okay now I gotta know -- where's that at?

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

Uuum . . . I'm fairly certain it shows up in the anime, because I can see the scene perfectly in my head, but I don't recall which episode it was. And since I know what was said, that means it must be in the already-subbed episodes. ::frowns, trying to recall:: I don't think I'm making this up, though I'm deeply suspicious of my mental capacity when it comes to memory-related questions. Nor am I going to be able to check my eps for another couple of hours, but when I find it I'll let you know . . .

[branchandroot]

Not that one; it's the most recent summary/translation Kage's done, out of the latest issue of Beans. *wry* I have to admit, though, it's such a vivid scene it really does feel like we've already seen it animated. I can totally hear Shoukun's tone of voice.

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

It's seriously not in the anime? ::unnerved:: But . . . I can totally see it, sepia flashback-tones and all, and Reishin holding Shuurei, and Shoukun playing the erhu . . . I could have sworn it was in the anime . . .

All right, that's it. ::grits teeth:: My memory is to be taken out back and shot, post haste.

[branchandroot]

Ah, /that/ is a real anime moment, the one with Reishin and Shoukun. The dream-story, where Eigetsu finds Shoukun with Shuurei is novel-only. *grins* Perhaps you can let your memory live.

[branchandroot]

*fishes around* I memoried all Kage's translation posts I could find. That story is here and my memory category for the whole lot is here. It's a bit out of order; also, some of the /best/ stuff is in the comments. Shadow really needs to be fed cookies or truffles or something for doing all this.

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

aaaaaaah happiness. A very peaceful feeling to this installment, with everyone relaxing (kinda) in the garden. No wonder Seien's so happy, it's an entirely different world from the one he grew up in, and his situation in Sa Province.

I thought Shoukun's random kidnapping idea was quite amusing and very well done on your part; somehow I get the feeling that she actually would have gone through and done it, too. Shoukun's morality and generally held morality do not seem likely to coincide, and somehow I feel like she could make it happen, and make it work somehow.

And the idea of Shoukun and her two royal hawks is also a lovely and poetic one.

I don't think you're at all over-the-top with the language or the imagery, and I adore the way you've written Shoukun. She's definately one of the most intriguing characters in the series, to my mind, and I'm only sorry that we get to see so little of her.

It amuses me the way you're taking care of Seien's personal hang-ups one after the other, too- his lack of personal motivation in the last segment, and this time his tendancy to take everything on himself. At this rate he might even end up (gasp!) well-adjusted!

As always, looking forward to more! Hope you won't leave me in suspense for too long. ;-)

[branchandroot]

*heartheartheart* Thank you!

Ah, it's good to know the imagery is working out. I dearly love poetic description and always squee when I hit a series that totally justifies using it. ^_^

*laughing* The boy has a while to go before he actually reaches well adjusted, especially since Shou and Senka are about to kick his feet out from under him, but he's getting there. And I really think that, once the Kou family knew he wanted to head back into the palace fray, they would do their best to make sure he was sane enough to succeed. I mean, anyone who raised Shuurei to be herself have got to be good parents.

... albeit definitely apart from common mores and morality. ^__^

More coming! I wrote like a madwoman this weekend, and have about nine stories/chapters stacked up.

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

Ooo, Shou and Senka. ::very happy:: No one's written either or those two yet, that I know of (well, with the exception of myself and majochan, and none of that's been posted yet) . . . I'll look forward to it very much.

::amused:: Speaking of wild animal allusions, in terms of my own writing I tend to liken Shou to a fox. It just seems so fitting. He even has yellow eyes . . . ah, he's fun to write for too, the smug bastard.

[branchandroot]

*laughing* Fox completely suits Shou; especially since people keep calling him 'tanuki' when they're annoyed with him. He is fun, isn't he? I keep wondering when Seien's going to snap and strangle him.

[majochan.livejournal.com]

*glee*

Am VERY happy to hear that!

/comment spam

Majo

[hidden-gems.livejournal.com]

Whaaaaa, my heart skipped a beat when she talked about kidnapping Ryuuki!! Shoukun, you're such a tease DX

Truly wonderful, as usual. I'm really looking forward to seeing where you take this.

And I want more chibi!Ryuuki!! ♥

[branchandroot]

*hearts* Thank you! Isn't Shoukun the greatest? I really want to see more of her.

Chibi!Ryuuki adorableness will happen, not in the next story, but in the one after! And, wow, he's just /dripping/ with cuteness; I think it's intrinsic to him as a chibi!

[hidden-gems.livejournal.com]

He drips with cuteness all the time, as far as I'm concerned, but certainly even more than usual as a chibi ♥

[hisoka44.livejournal.com]

Nice! No, really. I'm always happy to discover those little ficlets of yours when I opne up my 'Friends' Page. <3 And I absolutely adore Seien interacting with little Ryuuki! <3 <3
(Am still confused about the existing number of chapters of "Age of Silver", though. *hangs head* Help? ^^;;)

[branchandroot]

Thank you! *chuckles* And it's not a problem. In order, the stories so far are: "The Road Not Taken" and the Omake that got added to it, "The Wind Cries", "Paper Dust", and this one. The lot of them cover about three years, so far, but I have yet to decide exact timing. ^_^;

More Seien and Ryuuki soon!

[staccatos.livejournal.com]

I like how they compare things with nature/animals. =)

[branchandroot]

Thank you! I love that kind of description, and a show that calls out for it always sucks me in. ^_^