Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

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rijane
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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by rijane »

It's been a long time since I felt the urge for fanfic. But I accidentally opened Fated to Pretend in iTunes yesterday and the pull of it spilled out again. I had a yearning for MickBeth like none other and so I came here. To Afterglow. To the story that sang MickBeth the whole way through.

I'm being horribly wicked because I sat and read the last five parts all together and I didn't take notes. I couldn't take notes. I was too into the story. It's probably good because this is not a story meant to be picked apart because the sum is greater than the pieces.

I'm selfishly pleased that neither Mick nor Beth had to sacrifice themselves or their love to the Legion. As much as I didn't want to see Josef die, it was a good death. From a purely writerly perspective, I respect that you're willing to kill him. We love him - it's no easy thing to end him in this universe. There are costs, there are sacrifices and the great love that Mick and Beth have doesn't come free.

Ok, just one pull of the tapestry you've woven here. I am so solidly impressed and touched by the ending:
redwinter101 wrote:Hand in hand, they moved out to the balcony as the dying sun pulled the last remnants of the day below the horizon. They stood, Beth pressing back against Mick, his arms tight around her, gazing out over the city. Their city, their home, their future. Curling himself tighter, his chin tucked into her shoulder, their fierce embrace of joy and sorrow, grief and hope entwined.

Bathed in the afterglow of another day, whatever their future held, they would face it together, with Josef beside them, in friendship, in hope, in love.
I want to curl up in that moment, in that bit of bittersweet.

I can't add more than the rest of the crowd has. It's an amazing piece and you should be proud. I am.
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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by redwinter101 »

Ri, I'd hoped for so long that you'd come and read this story - this was such a lovely surprise. And no worries about the lack of notes - I'm delighted you wanted to keep moving from chapter to chapter.

In my head, this story started with Josef's death and everything else tracked back from there - I didn't start the story until I was absolutely sure that was what I was going to do. Of course that didn't please everyone, but, you know what? You're right. I am proud of this. I told the story I wanted to tell.

:heart:

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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by jmc »

Wanted you to know that today at 1:30 p.m., WRJC-FM, Detroit's classical radio station, played my request for Au fond du Temple Saint. :rose:

I have been remiss in posting comments because I read straight through from beginning to end, just couldn't stop. I started rereading to comment and something about the desolation of Mick's howl on the beach has sent me off looking for a scene in a play I vaguely remember from my college years. I saw Johnny Depp's Public Enemies last weekend and a scene where Billie woke up upset that she had slept because she didn't want to miss any time with John Dillinger made me think of Mick and Beth in the early parts of the story before the forced separation.

Part of the thrill of Moonlight for me was that it sent me off to study, reread, think about other things - film noir, set design, music, pre-Socratic philosophy (not kidding), etc. Afterglow is doing the same for me.

:reading: Thanks so much for writing for us.
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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by redwinter101 »

jmc, I can't tell you how happy your wonderful comment has made me. Au Fond du Temple Saint has long been one of my very favourite pieces of music and this whole story was inspired by the depth of fraternal love it encapsulates with such beauty.

To have written a story that lingers in the memory is the highest compliment; for it then to inspire you to other things is an utter joy.

Thank you. :flowers:

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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by jen »

Marvelous.

Not going to say more. Other have said it much better, anyway.

See previous posts.

:flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :flowers: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts: :hearts:
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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by tucutecats »

Oh a world with out Joseph, don't know if I can do it. You are a wonderful writer I'm siting here grieving over a fictional character. That is the measure of your talent.
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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by redwinter101 »

"Marvellous" is marvellous. Thanks, jen. :flowers:
tucutecats wrote:Oh a world with out Joseph, don't know if I can do it. You are a wonderful writer I'm siting here grieving over a fictional character. That is the measure of your talent.
That's lovely, tucutecats. If it's any consolation, I grieved for Josef as I wrote this. This was always how this story was going to end - I just had to do my utmost to give him a fitting send-off.

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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by tucutecats »

you succeeded
redwinter, he died with dignity and grace, thats who he was. Joseph rest in peace. We loved you.
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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by redwinter101 »

tucutecats wrote:you succeeded
redwinter, he died with dignity and grace, thats who he was. Joseph rest in peace. We loved you.
Ah but you know Josef, there are thousands of other stories where he lives on, hale and hearty.

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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by tucutecats »

A world without Joseph is dark and empty..But as a bonified (spell check anyone) Josifite I will forgive you as you gave us a fantastic story.
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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by redwinter101 »

Thanks again, tucutecats. :rose:

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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by Jo1027 »

WOW! Somehow I'd missed this ending chapter and just found it today. What a reat job of writing you've done. You captured all of their emotions perfectly. It left me in tears and there aren't many stories that do that to me. It was upliftling in that Mick and Beth are still together and depressing that Josef is gone. But I can see Josef taking this route. He needs to do things on his terms.
BRAVO!
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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by redwinter101 »

Oh thanks so much, Jo. :flowers:

If you're interested, there is kind of an extra chapter - the letters Mick wrote to Beth, here: viewtopic.php?f=570&t=3248

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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by Jo1027 »

Thank you for pointing me to the letters. I enjoyed reading them. Poor Mick! He missed Beth so much. I can understand that. It's hard to be away from someone you love. You've captured his anguish so well. Hats off to you.
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Re: Afterglow, part twelve, conclusion (M/B/J, PG-13)

Post by Shadow »

Just to let you know, being in between chapters 11 and 12 here is not, not, NOT the time for one's computer to crash.
So I got extra suspense in spite of myself .....

The end of 11 and beginning of 12 - that's one of the most emotionally jarring scenes I've ever read (and I'm not talking fanvic, but anywhere anytime.) Amazing stuff. Looking back, the clues were all there, but I was still completely taken by surprise. And there's just nothing better than that.

What a story this is for Josef. I really admire the way you can take a character like this, and make him grow and change in such huge ways without ever taking him out of character. I can't see the Josef I knew in the show ever going this far to save his friends, but by the time you reached the end scene it was totally believable. He learned a lot from Mick and Beth, I think. Especially Beth, which must have been much to his surprise. (And I loved how she reacted when she believed she was being sacrificed - not just failing to blame Josef, but actively reassuring him. If he hadn't already planned to take it on himself, you could imagine that her actions could have swayed him to do so anyway.)

It may seem a strange thing to say after you've killed off a beloved character in a story - but a story like this is something that really brings Moonlight back to life for me.

:heart: Thank you.
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