ionik27
Friday 1st August 2008 10:21 | The Only Way Out |
Great story! Personally, I think that, although their deaths seem tragic - considering their resolution that the odds for the good guys winning the war are null - the way they handle their situation, working together and fighting to the last minute is exactly why Fred and George are their legacy! The funeral, James trying to let Molly know that he owes his life to her brothers and Lily trying to keep James from drowning in guilt had me on the verge of tears..
Thank you for sharing your stories with us! |
pyromain
Tuesday 17th July 2007 11:53 | The Only Way Out |
I read that Gideon and Fabian, Molly's brothers had died in the last war, this is what I like best in "missing moments" a way to add colour and detail to a story .
I really like the idea that the brothers of Molly saved Harry before he was born an other reason for Molly to care for Harry and to see him as family.
I would rate this story as top of the line. Thanks for writing it so I could enjoy it. |
| Wednesday 18th July 2007 17:51 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
| You're very welcome. Actually I have a version I wrote in which there's an epilogue right after Ginny escapes from the Chamber of Secrets -- Molly suddenly realizes it's Harry who saved Ginny, and that if not for what her brothers did she'd have no daughter now. |
Sovran
Saturday 7th July 2007 00:14 | The Only Way Out |
Beautifully done. Superficially, reading the body of this story feels like taking a glimpse into a few moments of Fred and George's adult lives. At the same time, however, I have the distinct feeling that Fabian and Gideon are very much their own characters.
Of all of the truly moving lines in this story, it's this one that literally made me pause. I re-read it several times for the sheer goodness of it.
“Molly – ” Fabian began shakily. He gritted his teeth. He sputtered. “Molly is never going to bloody see me again, nor you either! Don’t talk about Molly!”
This raises the much larger question . . . how many people saved the world at one step removed? Are Fabian and Gideon the only ones who saved the Potters' lives at some point or another? Who else, from the previous generation or two, should we thank? Dare I suggest that, if we look closely enough, we owe the eventual salvation of the wizarding world to Vernon and Petunia Dursley?
Barring any concrete information from JKR, I will now use this in my mind as a sequence from canon. That is both a tribute to your writing and to your choice in characters and subject matter. Cheers! |
| Saturday 7th July 2007 14:04 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
Thanks, Dave. Interestingly I wasn't thinking very much of Fred or George when I wrote Fabian and Gideon. I was trying to think of Fabian as the "smart one", and Gideon as the "wise one", and to make that distinction real. But many people have commented on the similarities, so they must be there.
I'm so glad you like that line about Molly, because it was really important to me that F & G have a sense of horror and grief at their own impending deaths -- that they not simply charge into battle like classical heroes, with not a fear or a care in the world. They know they're going to die, they hate it, it fills them with sorrow; they're going to lose all that they could be, their beloved sister, and each other, and in so short a time. ...and so far as they know, it will be for nothing. And yet they manage to be courageous anyway. Gideon's the one who points it out -- life is lived from the present forward, and if you've got only ten minutes to live then they'd better be the best ten minutes you can manage.
I like the question you raise. For me it's a much bigger question. I think we forget that every soldier who died in every war was a person with talents, and loves, and a future that could have been rich. And we know none of their names, and look what they gave us.
I'm delighted that you're going to treat me as canon, but I discovered two things upon a re-reading of OotP that honesty insists that I tell you: (1) Moody specifically said that it took five Death Eaters to kill F & G, so my army of fifty isn't canon. And a particular Death Eater was sentenced to Azkaban for the murder of F&G, so that looks more like an ambush or an assassination than a battle like this one. (If I'd shown Christine the first draft, I might not have made the errors -- on the other hand, by that time I liked the story so much that I might've left it in.) |
Neli P
Wednesday 20th June 2007 20:55 | The Only Way Out |
"They ran through the opening, wands blazing" ... I love this quote I can almost picture Newman and Redford bursting out, then froze in an eternal heroes' pose.
You just brought light and life to two rather "obscure" characters, and made it a wonderful, highly creative journey from the first word to the last! Bravo Brilliantly done, indeed |
| Wednesday 20th June 2007 22:44 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
| Thanks, Neli. Especially given your stated preference for happy endings, I'm pleased and flattered that you liked a tragic story like this one. (Most of my other stuff, as you may know, has as much bad news as this one.) I, too, couldn't get Butch & Sundance's last charge out of my mind when I wrote that scene. |
Lady Whizbee
Friday 15th June 2007 08:24 | The Only Way Out |
This is such a wonderful exploration of two completely unknown characters. You did such a perfect job of connecting them into the larger story, while making them believable and fun. Much like their younger namesakes.
And while the whole thing is bittersweet, the ending is perfect because we've just witnessed another sacrifice made so that the one who will ultimately take out Voldemort can be born. Which answered Fabian and Gideon's queries about the futiilty of it all midway through the piece.
The tale you spun was quite refreshing. Well done. |
| Friday 15th June 2007 19:50 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
Thank you for that praise. Initially all I was after was the notion that they'd keep on fighting even in a lost cause. But I just couldn't let it stay that way -- I had to show that their deaths actually led to something good. I'm just too much of a romantic and an optimist to leave it out.
(Actually there was a little snipppet I wrote but cut out, in which, immediately after Harry rescues Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets, Molly is hugging her daughter and suddenly remembers what James told her. Then she thanks her brothers for making it possible for her daughter to survive. "Things come full circle," she says.) |
freshwater
Sunday 10th June 2007 01:17 | The Only Way Out |
| Oh, well done! I wouldn't have thought anyone could put so much personality into a couple of characters about whom we only have minimal info. Loved their banter and their logic! Your description of their last conversation and final act definately had me flashing back to Butch and Sundance! |
| Sunday 10th June 2007 18:10 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
| Thanks! (Actually it's a bit easier to put personality into little-known characters, because then they're entirely original and I can make them up as I like.) \ |
Chatmandu
Friday 8th June 2007 10:29 | The Only Way Out |
Some of the things you described so well are the "Oh !" intitial reaction by the Prewetts; followed by them using every bit of their skill to escape the trap; the dawning horror that THIS time, their best is not enough; fatalistic despair; and a final resolve to make the most of their deaths for the sake of their friends. The Prewetts were dead before Star Trek: The Next Generation aired on TV, but their last charge reminded me of the Klingon ethic "Today is a good day to die!"
All of these mood shifts were done without any character discontinuities. A well done bit of writing.
Lily and James at the end were very bittersweet. What should be a hope for the future is the prelude to a train wreck.
Your narrative also established that Fred and George ARE similar to their uncles, but differences are apparent too. I wondered if the brothers had been in Ravenclaw House.
Too bad there aren't any more weekly or monthly anthologies of short stories any more; the kind with the stories I read in high school English classes. I personally think your thought provoking entries stand with the best of those. |
| Friday 8th June 2007 13:36 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
I see what you mean about the Klingons, although I think they approach the whole thing with more enthusiasm and less grim resolve.
There are still the monthly science fiction magazines, such as Analog and Asimov's; these days they include very thought-provoking, mind-expanding material.
Thanks for the kind (and thoughtful) review. |
honourary_weasley
Thursday 7th June 2007 22:05 | The Only Way Out |
Hey, wow. That was lovely. I really, really enjoyed reading it, so - well, thanks.
sorry I'm not very coherent. I have the flu. But you cheered me up immensely with the wonderful story |
| Friday 8th June 2007 09:17 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
| Sorry about the flu. I'm glad I was able to cheer you up (although it isn't the cheeriest story I ever wrote...) |
Jacynthe
Thursday 7th June 2007 20:29 | The Only Way Out |
| As ever, brilliantly done. |
| Thursday 7th June 2007 20:48 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
| I am honored. |
girlspell
Thursday 7th June 2007 20:24 | The Only Way Out |
| A story about a pair of little known characters with an impact. You made it work with this story. The dialogue was the heart of this and it really pulled the story along. I bet this was tough to write, because of the "boxed in" feel in the narrative. |
| Thursday 7th June 2007 20:47 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
| Thanks, Rachel. Yes, it was hard to write for the reason you ascribe. Dialogue is actually the easiest thing for me to write, but the hard part here was getting believably from the operational, battle mentality of the opening to the tearful goodbye to the decision to die for something that counts. I'm not sure I pulled it off. |
nerd2006
Thursday 7th June 2007 19:13 | The Only Way Out |
| Great story. I don't think I've ever read anything about Fabian and Gideon; there's hardly anything out there from their point of view, which I'm sure you already knew. :-P |
| Thursday 7th June 2007 20:45 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
| Thanks! No, I've never read anything about Fabian & Gideon either -- that was the attraction. |
Grandma Kate
Thursday 7th June 2007 17:53 | The Only Way Out |
A haunting, well written story that makes Fabian and Gideon come alive. They worked so well together and were so inventive that the reader can make a direct connection with their nephews.
Molly's grief is terrible. No wonder she is so afraid that all of her children will die. |
| Thursday 7th June 2007 20:43 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
| Thanks, Kate. Yes, I had Fred & George in mind when I wrote Fabian & Gideon. Molly's grief is the way I remember grief -- numbing and exhausting. |
ibelieveintruelove
Thursday 7th June 2007 14:38 | The Only Way Out |
Oh! That is so sad! I love the characters of Gideon and Fabian, they were so brave. and I loved the ending, I think it ended it on a high note with you having Lily tell James that she is pregnant. It shows how life goes on. Brave men die, and heroes will be born.
Wonderful story, I loved it! |
| Thursday 7th June 2007 20:40 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
| Thank you for your kind words. Yes, brave men die and heroes will be born. Here, though, it was the sacrifice of the brave men that allowed the hero to be born. Without Fabian and Gideon, no Harry. |
Chatmandu
Thursday 7th June 2007 08:48 | The Only Way Out |
| Wow Ken. This continues your string of superb and thought provoking stories. Your narrative ability has never been better. My back is still sore from chunks of that wall. That and I had a nasty flash back to playing Doom. I need to think on this some more. |
| Thursday 7th June 2007 12:35 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
| Thanks so much! You are very kind. |
girlyswot
Thursday 7th June 2007 03:50 | The Only Way Out |
| That's my title!!! *is very excited by the reflected glory of being associated with one of your stories* |
| Thursday 7th June 2007 12:34 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
| Hi, Ros! Yes, take a bow! I hated the original title, and your help was instrumental. |
Arnel
Wednesday 6th June 2007 22:02 | The Only Way Out |
| Great story! You've given Gideon and Fabian great brotherly rapport and a cleverness that later smacks of Fred and George. I loved their ingenuity and creativity for dealing with their situation; the science backing their bomb was really well applied. My heart went out to them in their last moments and to Molly during the funeral. I really felt sorry for James and hope his guilt doesn't make him bitter. As for Lily, her news must really have been a bitter-sweet balm to James' psyche. Thanks for sharing... |
| Thursday 7th June 2007 12:33 | The Only Way Out (Author Response) |
| Thank you! You felt what I was hoping you would feel. I figured that Fred & George were probably named after Fabian & Gideon, and so thought it appropriate to have them resemble one another somewhat. ~Ken |
