fic: Lineage [Guardiola, de la Pena, Xavi, Iniesta] (gen, g)

[stickmarionette]

Title: Lineage
Characters: Pep Guardiola, Ivan de la Pena, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta (and others)
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not true.
Summary: A lot has changed through the years, but that particular truth remained intact, despite - everything. A legacy slowly taking shape in the shadow of the Camp Nou.
Note: very, very late birthday fic for labyrinthically ,

Comments

[labyrinthically]

Aah, Lee, this is just beautiful! I feel so bad for Ivan, losing out on that dream, and even for Pep, for having to deal with everything that comes with it. Xavi and Andres are so wonderful and strong in this, like they can go without embodying the drama that thrives around Pep.

He looked up, saw the space, and made the pass, watching it sail through the air, tracing the path he'd imagined. Like the others used to. Like always.

This is such a beautiful line, and it represents Barca and their ideal play so so well. Thank you so much. ♥

(And as for lateness, your birthday fic is still in the depths of outlines. Um, someday. Someday.)

[stickmarionette]

(Don't worry about it. :D)

You're very welcome. *g* In a sense, Ivan's done okay - in the end, he found somewhere he was comfortable, although it wasn't Barca. On the other hand, Pep's Barca playing career seems to go from triumph to tragedy and right back, but his sheer influence on the way guys like Xavi and Andres developed was a great triumph for him and for the club.

[guede_mazaka]

My brain is really worn out, but let's see: I read a book once that excerpted a bit about a Renaissance artist going out to the hills and rhapsodizing about the different-colored layers of earth, how they showed like a "woman's face." And I think he was talking about how they spoke to him, in a language that was peculiarly resonant with him, about the history of the land but also about the personality of it. And that's what Pep does with Barcelona, how you've shown him with great delicacy and care in this fic. He embodies it and makes it accessible, yet retains that sense of otherness because Barcelona's not a person any more than a hillside is a woman's face. But at the same time there's a beautiful humanity in the way that it touches you, a reason to love it like a person. It's all v. clear and simply evident in your words.

[stickmarionette]

(How are you? Exams over yet?)

I think your review makes my point better than my fic did. *g* Thank you so much - and yeah, much as it's repeated and perhaps a little exaggerated, Pep really does effectively mirror a lot of things about Barca. His own experiences show the club at both its most lovable and its most craven.

[bustedflush]

Reading your fic always fills me with awe (and, of course, a feeling of profound inadequacy *g*) because of the ease with which you convey volumes of history, and how well you seem to hold it in your head; this piece is no exception. The characterizations, particularly, are so sharp, even the incidental ones -- I love, for example, how Cruyff comes across, even though he's hardly mentioned.

Thanks for continuing to share your Barca with us. &hearts

[Mostly OT: I fell asleep last night thinking about Newcastle, realizing (in the context of Shay Given's long, heroic service) that, despite their horribly struggles, I really cannot imagine growing up there as a player and deciding to leave, no matter how bad it might have gotten. So today I understand Pep's confusion about why people would leave with uncharacteristic clarity. :D]

[stickmarionette]

Thank you so much! I do seem to be writing endlessly about this period of Barca history now - there was so much drama and so many big personalities. Cruyff being one of the ones I agonise over getting right. :D

[*nod* I think there is definitely something to that, especially at clubs with a strong sense of regional identity. People might leave - even Pep had to, eventually - but they always come back in some shape or form.]

[meretricula]

I really love this! I'm just easing into Barca fandom and reading your fic is like getting a primer on the recent history of the club. ♥

odd question, but do you still have the references you used for the notes? I know that Xavi calls Andres 'Andresito' but I've been trying to find a source for it and so far I've come up with nothing.

[stickmarionette]

Thank you so much! I'm really flattered that my fic can serve as a primer for you. *g*

I keep a lot of links, yes. Xavi calls Andres 'Andresito' a lot. Here's an example (from a Spanish joint interview of them both).

[meretricula]

I thank you! and so do the footnotes on my cornerflag fic. XD

[stickmarionette]

You're very welcome! Let me know if you need anything else. I really do save a lot of links. *g*