fic: Until Your Last Heartbeat: 3 -- Because She Came Here With Me (3/5)

[azelmaroark]

Title: Because She Came Here With Me
Author: azelmaroark
Rating: Hard T (harm to animals, language, child abuse, kids killing people, and brief implied underage sex)
Characters/Pairings: Clove, Cato, various D2 OCs
Summary: She's not sorry. And neither are they.
Notes: This is a short series of fics in this universe about Cato and Clove's experiences

Comments

[honorh]

What sort of alchemy is this, that you've got me wishing Cato and Clove could've somehow gotten out together and alive? It's awful, what they do--but you emphasize here that what they are is what they were made into by the Capitol. It's also a very good explanation of why they'd let Peeta join them. I so want to see more of this!

[honorh]

Oh, and this dialogue:

“I’m a precious dollface. What about you?”

“I’m a flawless gladiator, and I’m pretty sure the one with the blue hair wants to bang me.”

“Flawless? They’ve never seen you throw a knife.”

“I hate this, you know.”

“Me too.”

manages to be hilarious and kind of pathetic at the same time. The whole prep experience seems so dehumanizing, like they're exhibits. Or food at a feast.

[azelmaroark]

Yay, I love it when people pick out lines. :D I started thinking about how Katniss literally left her dress in the train and how horrifying that would be to an already-traumatized unsuspecting kid, and then I realized they'd have to be conditioned early to accept it. That's absolutely how I think the prep team views them, and sadly it's how Cato and Clove have been viewed all their lives, so they're used to it even though they so aren't loving being here together.

[azelmaroark]

Aww, thank you! I want them all to live, really, but my heart seriously hurts for these two. Funny you should say that, though, because there's an AU in the works that jumps off this series... ;)

They are very much a product of their training, and "volunteer" is a tricky word here. Also, I was so perplexed by the Peeta thing and had to think long and hard to have it even somewhat make sense, but I think it's better in my head now. Because for awhile there, I was like "...lolwut, Collins?"

[sabaceanbabe]

Another excellent chapter. These two have been so screwed up and so screwed over. And I absolutely love that the title of this fic is a quote from Peeta about Katniss.

[azelmaroark]

"Screwed up and screwed over" is a great description of their short lives, sadly. And yes, that is one of the many reasons why Clove is not really much of a Peeta/Katniss shipper. They thought of it first, and she likes theirs better. =P

[century_fox]

More in-depth review coming soon but for now: I love this chapter SO much. Also, I'm glad you put Clove in a silver dress and not that terrible orange one :P

[azelmaroark]

Hooray, thank you! I saw her in silver way before we got the interview pictures, so it'll be hard for me to un-see that. (I mean, c'mon, masonry = granite = silver, amirite?) I look forward to an in-depth review if you have time. :)

[century_fox]

masonry = granite = silver, amirite?
Word!

The truth is, she hates Twelve more than she hates any of the others for cheapening with romance the words that have been playing over and over inside her head since the Reaping. The truth is, she isn't afraid of the Games, but she is afraid of a lifetime alone with no one who understands, and she doesn't want the Victor's Village as much as she wants to keep stabbing Cato with hairpins. The truth is that every second she doesn’t fall asleep is one more second they can keep each other.

The truth is, she doesn’t think she knows how to live in a world without him.THIS IS MY FAVORITE PART. You capture their relationship here so beautifully, and show that in the midst of their Career-oriented training where they're supposed to be detached from everyone and focused solely on becoming good tributes for the arena, they've developed this strong relationship that means so much to her. And seeing Peeta use his feelings towards Katniss to gain attention from the Capitol audience just makes her angry

[azelmaroark]

That bit was one of those 'dictated straight from the character's mouth' bits that just came out perfectly the first time, you know? Clove had Many Feelings on Peeta's strategy. You might wonder (I did) how their trainers allowed their relationship to get this far, and I think partly nobody realizes how deep it goes, including them. But when this person is your only connection to humanity, you can latch on damn tight. Her annoyance with Peeta is exactly why they didn't use it as their own strategy: besides the fact that it'd give them a weakness, it was something they didn't want the television to have. I think they use acting as a defense mechanism and play up the psychopath-angle because that's a role they understand and it helps them detach. As Caesar discovered in another fic I did, though, they're kinda bad at hiding it. =P

Also, thank you for your thoughts! I love reading them!

[crowdaughter]

"The truth is, she doesn’t think she knows how to live in a world without him."

Waaaaaa!

Talk about Star-Crossed Lovers... (Even if it is not meant sexually - Your Cato reads gay? So, is Clove gay, here, too, or does she just feels towards him as a sibling would, albeit very, very close?)

[tastewithtalent]

God, the first scene of this chapter is so striking. I really appreciate how aware Cato and Clove both are about what is coming; that they are ready for it, expecting it, know what is going to happen. The detail of their scars: 'theirs and theirs alone until this moment,' is particularly breathtaking, and particularly sad, because they feel like something personal that will be stripped like everything else personal they have has been stripped away