Moonlightaholics

Fleur de Lisa wrote:

wpgrace wrote:

redwinter101 wrote:Okay, Lisa, that made me cackle. Very undignified. I am at your mercy, ladies. So be kind to me (who said anything about difficult, Grace???!!!)

Red

Why, WE did Red! And may I point out, YOU opened the door...

Honestly, all I want is a hot, steamy MickBeth fic with NO Cora. She doesn't have to be dead, just nonexistent. Other than that, I have no requests. Take it away, grace.

Oh I dunno... how 'bout a fic where Cora runs into Lisa in a dark alley under a full moon... after having not fed for several days... and Lisa is wearing a "I LOVE MICKBETH" button... how 'bout that???

Wow! It's come to an end...what a journey that was..I can't believe it's done..

Josef's letters were so beautiful...Red, I have to tell you, you obviously have a gift of writing but also of letters...You write exquisite letters such as Josefs' and Mick's to Beth..I loved them all..

And finally, Josef is gone..It's so sad but a sort of an appropriate ending to this story..

I love this story so much...I have taken away with me a wonderful, well-crafted, magnificent story that will stay in my mind forever...A beautiful job!

Also, I know this would be asking for alot but I have to give it a shot....will there be an epilogue? if there is..that would be just wonderful but If there isn't, Afterglow is perfect as it is.

wpgrace wrote:

Fleur de Lisa wrote:

wpgrace wrote:

redwinter101 wrote:Okay, Lisa, that made me cackle. Very undignified. I am at your mercy, ladies. So be kind to me (who said anything about difficult, Grace???!!!)

Red

Why, WE did Red! And may I point out, YOU opened the door...

Honestly, all I want is a hot, steamy MickBeth fic with NO Cora. She doesn't have to be dead, just nonexistent. Other than that, I have no requests. Take it away, grace.

Oh I dunno... how 'bout a fic where Cora runs into Lisa in a dark alley under a full moon... after having not fed for several days... and Lisa is wearing a "I LOVE MICKBETH" button... how 'bout that???

Bring it on, Cora. Bring. It. On.
Now, back to red's Afterglow thread......

OK... after all that... and you knew we'd have to act our daughters' ages for a little while, but now we're sleepy so we're mercifully giving it all a rest... we've actually come up with something nice....

Our prompt is "lyrical" and we're just giving the one word... tho if we could sway you to do something, as Fleur puts it, "lovey dovey" that would also be delightful... but just the one-word prompt, so you take it from here, Red.

We also agreed you could write an amazing, moving, and beautiful fic no matter what prompt we gave you... as we all well know and as this final chapter of Afterglow well proves.

Ball's in your court now... thanks for letting us play in your thread... tho I bet you never make THAT mistake again...

one from Fleur.... one from me... and this one from Mick.

This is so good, and I know I've already said that, but it bears repeating.

Because it's so good, it leaves me with questions. What do you think Mick would have done if he had realized, as Beth did, that their reunion was only temporary. Beth was willing to die for that short time together. Mick, I think would also have been willing to forfeit his life. But what would he have done if he suspected, as Beth did, that she would be the one to die?

Josef didn't sacrifice himself for them, but for a greater good, however, the result is that now Mick and Beth can be together. But I have to think that given Mick's penchant for angst, he's going to be blaming himself to some degree for Josef's death. After all, if he had just sent Beth away, Josef would still be alive. In this story universe will Josef's sacrifice cement their relationship or tear it apart?

And lastly, as a rule I have never believed that Mick would turn Beth - he truly sees himself as a monster. But in this story universe, assuming that Mick and Beth's relationship is strengthened by Josef's solution to the impossible problem - would Mick turn Beth? In a way I could see Mick seeing it as the ultimate way to honor Josef for what he has given them.

Thanks again. And I hope you continue to write and keep these amazing characters alive for all of us. (Well, except for poor Josef in this story, but you know what I mean)

Red: I just found this. It's past midnight. I'm sobbing. But I want to read all 5 pages of comments before I add mine. And I have to regain my composure before I can comment anyway. So I'll be back tomorrow.

/MLC reaches for another tissue/

How sad and yet how Josef. I had to catch up fast, having missed this until now. Someday, Josef will be born again. Mick and Beth will find him. Nothing, not even death, lasts forever. You wrote words to be read and reread. Thanks for your work and enjoy a restful interlude. Penina

Ah, it's perfect that Grace and Fleur are the ones who figured it out. I thought of Bizet, but I don't know that opera. I even asked my opera-singer hubby if he knew, and he didn't. So they win fair and square...and we all win, because they chose a fabulous story prompt. So it's all good!!!

OH! NO! Joseph Dead............. :























11111

Grace and Lisa, thank you. "Lyrical" is lovely and I will see what I can come up with.

alle, The Pearl Fishers has been a favourite of mine since I first heard "Au Fond du Temple Saint". It's an old-fashioned tear-jerker and just somehow seemed appropriate - the image of Josef sacrificing himself for Mick and Beth to be together just worked for me. In the opera, the "Josef" character is in love with "Beth" too - that didn't work for me at all, hence it was only a very loose homage. If you get the chance to check out the music, I'd recommend it.

sabazzz, thank you - I'm delighted you enjoyed the letters and approved of the ending. As for an epilogue, I had no plans as the story really does feel finished to me - was there something in particular you felt needed covering? The only bit remaining is the posting of Mick's letters, as Moonlighter requested, which I'm working on.

Lupine, if Mick had realised that Beth's life was at risk for them to be together, in this story, where he has moved on a bit from broody, self-sacrificing Mick, I think he would have been all about the action. He would have discussed it with Beth - they would have argued, probably repeatedly and determinedly, before deciding to take the offensive. Mick would have been hurt and angry that, for once, it wasn't him making a decision about their future, but it was Beth (by tacitly giving Josef the OK to have her killed, but not telling Mick). He would have gone to Josef, threatened him (assuming he knew Josef was involved in the plan somehow) and convinced him to be part of an assault on the Legion. Failing that, he'd have convinced Beth to run away with him, somewhere new and out of reach.

As for blaming himself, that was one reason why the final paragraph of Josef's letter tells Mick that he doesn't get to assume responsibility for Josef's death. Josef knew his friend too well and wanted to avoid adding another reason for Mick to blame himself. In this story, these events definitely cement their relationship, rather than tearing them apart. They are married, strong, determined, facing the future - and in my mind, that future ends in Mick turning Beth. In case you haven't guessed by now, I really am a romantic soul and I have to believe that the power of love is enough to force Mick to overcome his fears and face the possibility of eternity with Beth.

MLC, thank you, sweetie, for the read and the tears. I look forward to your comment.

Penina, that's so lovely, thank you. As a friend once said to me, death isn't the opposite of life, it's the opposite of birth. Life endures.

tucutecats, 'fraid so. There was always going to be a price - and Josef paid it, in his own inimitable way.

Red

Yay! Grace & Fleur got the opera.

I found that one last night and thought it sounded like it could be the one but it didn't seem very well known so I didn't post it.
I really should learn to stay up later for the clues.

Well done ladies. Can't wait to read what Red comes up with.

....and red, by "lovey dovey"---I mean: hot, steamy and possibly smutty. Just a suggestion........

And talk about timely, in our newspaper this morning, a review of Bizet's "Carmen" in the opera review section.

The perfect ending to this wonderful story!

I know we’re all devastated to see Josef go but he wanted it that way and he went out with a bang having outdone the legion in LA and provided enough evidence for their demise in Washington too. What a man!!

And Mick and Beth are so sad but grateful for his sacrifice and now they may get to have eternity together living a better life because of him.

Brilliant writing throughout the entire story! I just loved it and although I’m happy to get the conclusion, I’m sad it had to come to an end.

Thank you!

Oh, Red. Part twelve, conclusion is less than a day posted and there are five pages of comments! I echo all the praise. Your talent causes a willing suspension of disbelief in all these intelligent readers. You take the fantasy that is Moonlight and make it real. We weep, we tremble with horror, we laugh with humor and swell with joy over these people we know and truly love; what a magician you are!

coco, you should know by now, sleep is bad.

Lisa, duly noted.
dreamcatcher, that's just about the most perfect reaction anyone could hope for. Thank you so much.

seamus, I confess, I was waiting nervously for your reaction, so I'm happy and relieved that you enjoyed the ending (and a good chunk of the comments have been me, Grace and Lisa twittering away ). Thank you, as always.

Red