Story [Multifandom] "exit, stage left" (thematic drama vignettes | stylistic experiment!)

Idrelle_Miocovani · May 29, 2011

Title: "exit, stage left"
Author: Idrelle_Miocovani
Fandom: Multifandom (The Departed, Mistborn, Gladiator, ?)
Genre: drama, angst, speculation, romance, etc.
Summary: Sometimes a person is merely a puppet on a string, bending to the will of forces beyond their control. Call it fate, call it destiny, it eventually catches everyone.
Notes: This is a stylistic experiment. A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to the lovely Mira_Jade about different ways of writing multifandom. I wanted to see if I could do a multifandom fic that was not 50 Sentences or drabbles. So, I came up with an idea for a series of ficlets linked together thematically (or by similar characters), written in various installments. For example, the first installment will be looking at three characters from different fandoms who have suffered the loss of loved ones (be prepared for some angst). I have some more romance-inspired installments saved for later, a whacky installment about ?do as I say, not as I do? characters, and some alternate universe scenarios. And who knows what else my crazy muse will come up with!

This is multifandom, but not crossovers, so the characters stay strictly in their respective fictional universes. The beauty of multifandom is that you never know what ?verse is coming next, so be ready for some surprises. I?m not entirely sure where I am going with this, but it will be an interesting experiment while it lasts! Enjoy!

[b]?exit, stage left?[/b]

[hr]

[i]i. puppet strings[/i]

[blockquote][i]the tick of the clock, the pain of the wait
(Madolyn || The Departed)[/i][/blockquote]

She does a lot of staring at clocks these days.

There is something obliquely fascinating about waiting for time to change; waiting for the little numbers to suddenly snap to one greater (or lesser) than the previous one; waiting for the hand to turn. A mark of passing time ? [i]tick tick tick[/i] ? in a world that seems to be stalled forever.

There is probably a good metaphor buried in there somewhere; she just doesn?t feel like digging it out.

Metaphor or not, clocks are becoming a small obsession. She likes to think of it as healthy ? it keeps her mind off certain events she would rather not ponder, and besides, other people collect worse things than clocks ? but friends and colleagues would say otherwise. She is constantly hearing how distracted she has become. Whenever she goes out, she checks her watch on a regular basis, looking as if she is constantly waiting for the timeliest ?right time? to exit. When she has a patient in her office, she looks as though she maintains eye contact with them for the most part; it is not true. Instead, her eyes are fixed somewhere over their left shoulder on the analogue clock by the door.

Not including her watch, she has three clocks in her bedroom. She hasn?t placed them on purposed; her new landlady says that one of them belonged to the previous tenant, and the second is a permanent fixture of the room.

The third, of course, is hers ? a small digital ?dream machine? that is scheduled to wake her up at six o?clock in the morning with an annoying series of beeps blasting into her ears.

There may have been a time earlier in her career when such a thing would have concerned her. Now, she doesn?t care. The clocks, the watches ? they are all small reminders that her world is still working, that the days are still passing, and they give her the smallest sense of hope without being overly obtuse.

Well? as unobtuse as a set of clocks can be.

Sometimes it embarrasses her that she needs something as sappy as ?hope?. It is what people in films and books talk about. ?Hope? is a word for oily politicians looking to stir the hearts of their people to convince them to support a war; ?hope? belongs to regular church-goers, who want to provide salvation for everyone they meet, whether the person wants it or not. ?Hope? is one of those romantic ideals, something that no one in the real world ever truly talks about.

Her office i

NYCitygurl · May 30, 2011

I think this was a great idea

I like how you tie the three together, both with the theme of crushing despair and that the last line from one is similar to the first line from the next.

And, of course, I loved the Kelsier scene I think you captured him perfectly!!

I feel bad for Madalyn. I hope she can do something to drag herself out of her despair, even if just for the baby's sake.

Lucilla's story is heartbreaking as well. Even if she finds no comfort in life, I hope she does in death!

Great start!! I'm very much looking forward to further installments

Mira_Jade · May 30, 2011

Oh my goodness Idri - FEELINGS! So many of them.

First off, I loved that you went through such genres - gritty real life, to fantasy, to historical epic, and still kept a common thread alive and real between the characters. It was not only the theme of grief, but that of time - ideas and hope and everything that we need to continue on but loose so easily either way.

Just . . . yep.

One of my favorite things was how Maddie and Lucilla mirrored each other - Maddie and her fascination with clocks (I totally had a Sylar flashback there. Which is completely wrong in the context!), and Lucilla watching the sun count her days away. Each had the outlook of a mother, and each mourned a man who was never really theirs to claim.

This:

He will not be waiting for her in the next life, she knows it; he had his own family, until it was murdered by her brother. Whatever it was the two of them had, it was nothing compared to what Maximus felt for his family. Otherwise, he would not have found himself on such a path to revenge. The gods would not have let him succeed.

Yep. I need a heartstrings comment to fully express my appreciation of awesomeness.

And then the twining theme of ideas - this:

A final thought comes unbidden. Perhaps philosophers and idealists are one and the same, and perhaps he has no business pretending to be either.

and this:

Her office is an exception. She happily spews ideas about ?hope? to her patients ? the troubled officers, the ex-con artists, the arsonists, the criminals who have ruined every inch of their lives ? but once she is outside those four dull beige walls, ?hope? turns into nothing.

Except an idea.

and this:

Those with ideas were the ones of which she had to be careful. Ideas were much more powerful than the sword, for once an idea was planted, it was unstoppable. She had seen the results of many ideas play out in the battlefield that is Rome; someone?s blood is always spilt.

(And this last one totally had Inception ideas spewing all over. )

These were masterfully twined together on so many different levels. Somehow, with very different characters, and very different fandoms, it read like a cohesive story - for the feeling it wrought and the ideas it explored.

Now, as for their individual merits:

the tick of the clock, the pain of the wait

First of all - your titles! So pretty and twisty and perfect!

This one was a twisted and . . . cold character study. You could feel her unraveling, and trying logically to fix herself. The poor girl is just a mess. The section about her moving was wonderfully done - I was uncomfortable and on edge while reading this, which means it is just brilliant.

And this:

Damn cops. Damn them.

That?s all she can think at the moment ? coldly, deadly, and assuredly.

Shivers.

in the shadow of love and power

I've fallen so behind with my reading. These books will be read by me soon, I swear, and then I can leave constructive feedback.

For now -

He is not happy. He is not content. He wishes it were different, but at the same time he almost lustfully enjoys the path he has carved for himself. But he lost Mare to arrive at this place, and it makes him wonder what kind of heartless man he has become.

That stood out the most to me. Power is its own curse, and you played the fine line between regret and revelment well.

and when the dust has settled

Okay, so I had a fangirl flailing when I saw the Gladiator section - but something tells me that that will not surprise you in the least.

This one was beautifully done. Lucilla was just so broken here; they won in the movie, they beat the badguy, but she's lost so much and has to stand so tall - her weariness sounds through so clearly here. It left a lump in my throat to read.

Now both men are dead and another Emperor has risen, she c

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Story [Multifandom] "exit, stage left" (thematic drama vignettes | stylistic experiment!)

Idrelle_Miocovani Jedi Grand Master

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