#cloraweek2023

[cry-stars]

Clora Week 2023: day one (and two)

“no apologies”

...

“I wish that I had said I was sorry. I wanted to so badly.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Because my apology might hurt you more than my silence would. Your smile is always so bright. I didn’t want to rip open an old wound.”

“I’m not always happy, even if I’m smiling. Sometimes I smile because I have to. Because I want to make other people happy.”

She’s smiling now.

A pained sigh escapes him, hissed between gritted teeth. “I know. Or, I should have known.”

“How could you have known, if I never told you?”

“Because I was an actor too. From the moment I lost everything, to the moment I hurt you. It’s only now that you see who I really am. Nothing but a despairing fool.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I saw the real you in Future London. He was there, hidden behind your mask. I was scared that I’d made a mistake, that he wasn’t real. I think… that would have hurt more than anything. Even more than the lies and the betrayal. It would have hurt so much to know that the friend that I made wasn’t real.”

“Friend.”

“Yes. Is that not enough?”

“It is enough.”

“Then why are you crying?”

Hot tears burn trails in his skin. They melt him away until there’s nothing left of him but his heart.

“It’s more than I deserve.”

“But it’s not what you want, is it?”

“What you want is the most important thing to me. That’s why I never apologized.”

“I don’t think I understand.”

“I wanted to apologize, because doing so would make me feel better. But I was afraid of hurting you, so I wouldn’t.” 

“Clive…”

The way she says his name kills him.

“I want you to be happy.” With every word from his mouth, another knife stabs between his ribcage. “My plans all fell apart, and even if they had succeeded, I know now that they were pure evil. There is so little left for me on this earth anymore, but that is one of the few things that keeps me alive. That’s all I want.”

It’s not all he wants. But it’s all he should want. 

Selfishly, he wants to be with her. Cruelly, he wants to see her smile, to hear her stories, to hold her close. Unforgivably, he wants her love.

But he deserves none of those things.

“Do you think I’d be happier if you weren’t here?”

The anguish in her voice jolts him out of his stupor.

“Is that what you’re thinking? Clive, do you… do you really think that I’m that horrible? Do you really believe that I would be happier if you… if you…”

Her voice breaks, and so does Clive’s heart, for the thousandth time.

Any words he says now would be far too cruel. To tell her the truth would tear her apart. But to deny her words is impossible.

She would be happier without him.

[clivexfloraweek]

Are you guys going to do Clora week in January for 2023, as well?

Hello, thank you so much for asking!! The holidays snuck up on me and I've been so busy that I almost forgot January was coming up so quickly. But yes, we will be doing Clora Week again at the end of January! We are thinking that it will be January 22-28, 2023, and will soon put up the prompts; they are already decided on but just need to be organized and put into a graphic. Thank you so much for getting me back on track, anon!

[clivexfloraweek]

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this year’s Clora Week!! There were so many lovely fics written, and I really appreciated the art drawn as well!! I still have yet to comment on some fics and will do that when I have time; I encourage others to do the same and to leave nice comments on the art too!

If anyone wants to make late posts based on the prompts, or any other Clora-related creations, by all means please do!! I will reblog everything here. Let’s turn this into Clora month! (or year!) 

I appreciate everyone’s hard work and dedication more than I can express. Thank you for creating for such a wonderful ship 💖

[clivexfloraweek]

Drabble collection by anonymous on Ao3! 

[clivexfloraweek]

It’s getting close to the third annual Clora Week! This year, the week will be held from Sunday January 22 to Saturday January 28. The prompts are in the lovely graphic above drawn by the wonderful @clora-feels, and I’ll also write them below:

Day 1: Angst OR Wedding/Honeymoon Day 2: Cooking OR Years Later Day 3: AU OR First Kiss Day 4: Family OR Romantic Cliche Day 5: Missing Scene OR Making Amends Day 6: Things In Common OR Hurt/Comfort Day 7: "Take my arm, Flora" OR Free Day

I am so excited to see what everyone creates! Please @ this blog and/or use the tag cloraweek2023, and I will reblog it here. Late entries are also very welcome! I reblog all clora creations that I can find onto this blog, so it will end up here eventually no matter what :)

If you have any questions, please message or send asks to this blog or to my main @sixtyfourk. Have fun creating!