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caprishiz · 2 years ago

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would Love to know what Auguste's deal is! I love fics where he lives because it's so interesting to see how Laurent thinks of him without the rose tinted glasses of the past!

Hehehe thank you for asking this question that I begged to be asked 😂

The inspo for this fic came from a lot of places, but Auguste living and the subsequent shape of his and Laurent’s relationship as adults was a huge one. Similarly, this reply is going to be a huge one.

(CW for discussion under the cut of Laurent’s trauma and Auguste’s reaction to it)

It has always been really interesting to me that the Auguste we get access to in the books is almost a mythological figure: he is the idolised, idealised version of an older brother from the perspective of a little boy. Younger siblings often idolise their older siblings, seeing them as aspirational, unreachable, perfect. The perception of the younger sibling shifts as they get older and realise that their older sibling is simply a person. It doesn’t lessen the love! But as we mature, our perception of our loved ones starts to accommodate their complexities and nuances. Laurent in the books never got to see Auguste for who he really was as a person — because Auguste was taken from him, he was forever fixed in his idea of Auguste as his unimpeachable protector.

This, to me, is the area where Laurent truly reveals his vulnerability and naivety: the reality of abuse is that even a loving family member is often not a protection, especially when dealing with an abuser who is adept at manipulation and grooming. This is why I haven’t changed that aspect of the canon narrative (also because it is the reason for so many parts of why Laurent is the way he is as an adult).

In even in another time, the sequence of events that you have likely picked up on through Laurent’s memories is that their father died, both Laurent and Auguste spiralled into grief, and their uncle took advantage of the situation in the way that he, of course, would. In Laurent’s reflections, I am deliberately not explicit regarding their uncle, and try not to identify him except through absolute necessity. This is because Laurent has “dealt with” him, as he says to Damen in Chapter XIV, and is still actively engaging in an ongoing effort to put him out of mind and stop giving him control.

But take, for example, Laurent’s reflections on Auguste’s grief in Chapter XIII: “He had been sulky and stung for a near week afterwards, as Auguste had been surly and stiff. The offers of help from family started to be accepted, not long after.” We learn that a grief-stricken 21-year-old Auguste, struggling to cope, had invited their uncle to support him in looking after his brother. Then, in the following chapter: “Blood will make even the most powerful man fail to notice the viper beneath the roses; Laurent has seen it firsthand, his own brother using genealogy as a standin for critical thinking.” It is confirmed why Auguste would trust their uncle to look after his brother at all. In Prince's Gambit, Laurent says Auguste "had no instinct for deception; it meant he couldn't recognise it in other people."

Auguste, the first son, set to inherit, striving to live up to his father’s expectations, but only 21 when his father is removed from the equation and no longer able to mentor him — and who is the closest thing to his father left available to him? Why would he not trust his father’s brother with his own brother, and the family business, while he himself finishes up his studies and tries to get himself ready to helm a multinational corporation in his 20s? Remember as well that their uncle is an abuser and a manipulator, and Auguste was also vulnerable. He was still groomed, just not in the same way as Laurent. And think about it: a golden child wanting desperately to do his dead father proud, to prove himself a worthy successor — Auguste threw himself into study and professional development, doing things like taking a one month internship in Bazal and leaving Laurent alone with their uncle for extended periods of time.

The details that have been included in the fic so far are that Auguste’s functional (and often literal) absence and their uncle’s abuse of Laurent lasted for roughly three years, from Laurent being age 13 to age 15. At this point, Auguste has finished his Masters studies and is ready to assume more responsibility in the company and with his brother’s care; their uncle has lost interest, as Laurent is growing up. What Auguste expects, as older siblings often do, is for his little brother to still be sweet and innocent and naive, and idolise him above everything else. What he gets instead, as has been developing under his nose the whole time, is a Laurent who is flinty and shrewd and adept at slinging vicious insults, and who is angry with Auguste for some (apparently) unknown reason. Laurent is aware of Auguste’s diagnosis at the time: teen angst, still grieving their father. Auguste tries his best to reassert their brotherly bond, and make things as they once were. He continues, as older siblings sometimes do, to treat Laurent like a child.

This is only compounded when, at age 17 in the timeline (26 for Auguste), Laurent tells him everything that happened - the exact circumstances and outcome of this conversation will be revealed in a future chapter. Laurent mentions attending therapy in his later teen years — Auguste’s idea. Confronted with the evidence of having failed his brother in the most devastating way, Auguste doubles down on his protectiveness.

Laurent observes in Chapter II, “much of what Auguste does is driven by guilt, and the impotent anger over how something which is supposed to be under his care (read: Laurent) has been interfered with and he has had no chance to stop it. A more generous brother would see it as noble, as doting, as a manifestation of how highly Auguste regards Laurent’s personhood. Laurent sees it for what it is: vanity. Laurent has his hair products; Auguste has his protectiveness.” And then in Chapter XIV, “The ultimate embarrassment for Auguste, evidence of his ultimate failure, the ultimate insult against him levelled by their own uncle.” Yes, some of this commentary is fuelled by Laurent’s trauma, but is also a level assessment of Auguste’s character, the way he sees himself as a leader and protector, and the way he sees Laurent as his to protect and care for.

Sounds sweet on the surface, but think about it: he behaves protectively toward Laurent from a position of ownership and possessiveness (his brother, who he is responsible for - the way a lot of parents think about their children) rather than out of actual respect for Laurent’s personhood. This is where, obviously, Laurent sees the difference in Damen’s protectiveness: Damen doesn’t infantilise him or undervalue his strength or maturity. Damen doesn’t treat him with condescension when he asserts himself. Auguste, still seeing Laurent as a little boy, defaults to being overbearing and coddling — and also never lets Laurent forget that he has been victimised.

Think about the pepper spray in Chapter I; something Auguste gave Laurent for his own protection, simultaneously underestimating Laurent’s physical capabilities and capacity for self-defence, and almost feminising Laurent in a way — a defensive weapon largely associated with women and rape prevention, a reminder of the way in which Laurent has been most abused and also the way he is still vulnerable. When Laurent calls him out on this (albeit very crudely), he can't hear it: he wants to forget about what was done to Laurent, but he won't let Laurent forget it.

Just as Auguste’s feelings about Laurent as a helpless child in need of swaddling endure, so does Laurent’s idolisation to an extent. He wants, more than anything, to prove himself to his brother (time is a circle — Aleron and Auguste, Auguste and Laurent). Laurent has grown up entirely in Auguste’s shadow, and is forced to remain there by Auguste’s protectiveness (and, to an extent, his own guilt; not wanting to cause Auguste further problems, wanting to make up for years of “teen angst” by being the perfect brother). Laurent’s desires to be dutiful and supportive are at odds with his own ambitions, his own inherent leadership qualities, his own aptitudes and accomplishments. He is destined for greater things than Auguste has planned for him. It is narratively crucial to Laurent’s character development, both in the books and this fic, that Laurent loses Auguste. His love for Auguste binds him to his brother, and only removing Auguste could be the catalyst for Laurent finally accepting and rising to his own potential.

The crux of it all is that Auguste loves Laurent, and Laurent loves Auguste. That hasn't changed; just because siblings get older and cause each other hurt doesn't mean they stop loving each other. But trauma will always complicate relationships, and to use Damen's phrasing about himself in Chapter VII, Auguste is "just one man." He isn't perfect, and Laurent's image of him as such was shattered in a pretty unceremonious and horrible way. As much as Laurent blames himself for the abuse (as victims often do), he also blames Auguste to an extent. He doesn't want to, and feels guilt about it, but you have likely picked up through his narration that he resents Auguste's protectiveness given that Auguste all but abandoned him. The thing is, Auguste blames himself too, and that is exactly why he is so overprotective.

I could go on about this for another dissertation-length post omg, there is truly so much to say. Auguste truly is The Guy for me - given so few details about him in the books, and those details being filtered through Lauren'ts idolisation, I've really enjoyed giving him this personality and motivation, even if it is mostly through memory. I can't WAIT for you all to see the other details about Auguste and Laurent's relationship as the chapters unfold! You may have to pick through layers of Laurent's obfuscation to get to them, but they'll be there for sure hahaha

Thanks again for this question!! Ugh I loved getting to type all this out so much hahahahaha

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