I wish I wasn't so tired that I could comment more coherently on this. I honestly wasn't sure I was going to like it when I saw the premise, and it was possibly only the cover art that got me to try it out, I'm a bit sheepish to admit, because I saw Gaius in the picture and was dying to know what the hell an encounter for the two of in Felix's brothel would be like. ;) I was a little afraid that this was going to be like the aborted RDM plan to have Gina prostitute herself through her trauma on the Pegasus, and I was going to not like it at all, but the relationships between Felix and the people at the brothel was so unexpectedly warm and sweet and just what Felix needed that I found myself pleasantly surprised and caught up in the whole story. And I was fascinated by how you managed to make all of those encounters seem plausible and in character. I really didn't think I was going to buy Lee and Zarek, but I did. And I loved the line Felix had about falling in love with Gaius' idealism, only to find out it was actually Zarek's. ;)
You know, I had a brief moment where I actually thought you might send him off with Dillon and make him a martyr, and I was so chagrined!
I guess what really made the fic fall together for me too was Gaius' speech about why he felt Felix was living this way. I liked what he said about Felix being unable to separate emotion from sex. It explains his heartbreak over Gaius so well, but also explains how he got too tied up emotionally in the Eight, when really, he should have been able to use her dispassionately to get those people out. And the whole rise and emergence from the underworld (both literally and figuratively - I saw what you did there with the symbolic interplay between the pomegranate seeds and the Tauron mafiosos, heh) with Gaius as Felix's guide, was just beautifully played and had me at the edge of my seat.
*Finally* getting around to responding to comments--sorry for the delay.
Thanks so much! Honestly, if I hadn't written it, I'm not sure I would've read something with the premise this fic has, so I totally get where you're coming from. The parts with the OCs in the brothel were what finally convinced me that I was capable of writing this fic, because it just would've been too pitch-black with just the clients. Well, that and I needed some place where I could see Felix's POV, and I wanted to play with life in the Fleet, but they were essential.
Heh, yeah, Zarek wasn't much of a problem (except for the part where he was too interested in frakking to want to talk), but Lee gave me problems. I'm glad that one worked for you in particular, because boy, he and I wrangled a lot over getting that one plausible.
You know, I had a brief moment where I actually thought you might send him off with Dillon and make him a martyr, and I was so chagrined!
Oh noes!! I couldn't have done that to poor Felix! ;) Long before I knew where exactly it would end, I knew it had to end on a hopeful note. I'm really glad you caught (and liked!) the imagery at the end. I worried that the ascension was a little on-the-nose, but eh, Felix deserved it.
I wish I wasn't so tired that I could comment more coherently on this. I honestly wasn't sure I was going to like it when I saw the premise, and it was possibly only the cover art that got me to try it out, I'm a bit sheepish to admit, because I saw Gaius in the picture and was dying to know what the hell an encounter for the two of in Felix's brothel would be like. ;) I was a little afraid that this was going to be like the aborted RDM plan to have Gina prostitute herself through her trauma on the Pegasus, and I was going to not like it at all, but the relationships between Felix and the people at the brothel was so unexpectedly warm and sweet and just what Felix needed that I found myself pleasantly surprised and caught up in the whole story. And I was fascinated by how you managed to make all of those encounters seem plausible and in character. I really didn't think I was going to buy Lee and Zarek, but I did. And I loved the line Felix had about falling in love with Gaius' idealism, only to find out it was actually Zarek's. ;)
You know, I had a brief moment where I actually thought you might send him off with Dillon and make him a martyr, and I was so chagrined!
I guess what really made the fic fall together for me too was Gaius' speech about why he felt Felix was living this way. I liked what he said about Felix being unable to separate emotion from sex. It explains his heartbreak over Gaius so well, but also explains how he got too tied up emotionally in the Eight, when really, he should have been able to use her dispassionately to get those people out. And the whole rise and emergence from the underworld (both literally and figuratively - I saw what you did there with the symbolic interplay between the pomegranate seeds and the Tauron mafiosos, heh) with Gaius as Felix's guide, was just beautifully played and had me at the edge of my seat.
Absolutely lovely fic.
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Thanks so much! Honestly, if I hadn't written it, I'm not sure I would've read something with the premise this fic has, so I totally get where you're coming from. The parts with the OCs in the brothel were what finally convinced me that I was capable of writing this fic, because it just would've been too pitch-black with just the clients. Well, that and I needed some place where I could see Felix's POV, and I wanted to play with life in the Fleet, but they were essential.
Heh, yeah, Zarek wasn't much of a problem (except for the part where he was too interested in frakking to want to talk), but Lee gave me problems. I'm glad that one worked for you in particular, because boy, he and I wrangled a lot over getting that one plausible.
You know, I had a brief moment where I actually thought you might send him off with Dillon and make him a martyr, and I was so chagrined!
Oh noes!! I couldn't have done that to poor Felix! ;) Long before I knew where exactly it would end, I knew it had to end on a hopeful note. I'm really glad you caught (and liked!) the imagery at the end. I worried that the ascension was a little on-the-nose, but eh, Felix deserved it.
Again, thanks so much for reading!
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