Fic: Whispers

[thelilalbatross]

Title: Whispers
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Guy/Marian, Robin, The Sheriff
Spoilers: Up to 2x10, Walkabout.
Summary: Sometimes, when Marian lay asleep, the wind whispered secrets. And sometimes, a man was not always what he first appeared to be

Comments

[dollsome]

!!! I am FREAKING OUT with love for this. I so desperately wish that I could manage to be articulate about it, but that seems very, very unlikely. So just know, first and foremost, that OH MY GOD, THIS IS AMAZING AND PERFECT IN ALL WAYS.

Ahem. Coherence. Right. I CAN DO THIS!

I just . . . love the way that you've gotten into Marian's head here, first and foremost. It's so hard to walk that fine line, to figure out what she feels for Guy and make it plausible, and not romanticize it or exaggerate it just because we want her to feel so much for him -- this just NAILED IT, perfectly. I love the observation, too, that Guy knows what it is to feel hopeless and Robin doesn't; I think that's such a big part of Guy/Marian vs. Robin/Marian, that Robin/Marian seems to be holding out for that perfect fairytale ending circumstance, but Guy and Marian connect on the level that no, this world is not perfect, it is not ideal, it will never be as good as Robin's cause strives for it to be, and it's like . . . they are mature enough and jaded enough that they can both consider finding some fragment of contentment in a bleak and far less than perfect world.

I looove the way that you depicted her relationship with Robin, too; you didn't cheapen her feelings for him to make the story work, which I really admire because, again, it's so easy to just write them off to make the story work. I particularly loved the line Robin was somehow both risk and safety, and that was enough. It rings so true.

And, just, gosh, what else to say? The whole plot was just AMAZING. I got so ridiculously swept up in it. The way that you handled the scene where he found out Marian was the Night Watchman just TORE ME TO PIECES. Guy's reaction just . . . oh, God, I was ruined! It was so perfect. “Tell me this isn’t true,” he said. “You are trying to trick me, you are covering for Hood!” He sounded almost wild, and he began to pace, like a tiger thrown into a cage. “Tell me!” RUINED ME.

And then “If I did not need it, would I have you?” . . . just . . . DEAD. I was dead. So painful and aching and completely Guy.

And then OMG, the scene with the Sheriff! First, I know that you were having a bit of trouble writing him (and who wouldn't?), but he was PERFECT, so props for that. And then WHEN GUY SAID MARIAN HAD BEEN WITH HIM. I freaked the hell out like crazy, dude!! (I am so articulate.) That was just . . . like a slap in the face, the impact that twist had, and the repercussions of it were GENIUS.

Love-love-loved the scene with the skeezy guard -- seriously, I was so entirely freaking out; you are excellent at suspense! -- and then Guy showing up and his reaction were just PERFECT.

And I love that at the end there is this sense of succumbing, of giving up, of Marian embracing that life is complex and there are shades of gray and she cannot be strong all the time, that she's somehow too grown up to see the world the way that Robin does without it eventually exhausting her -- and the way that her feelings for Guy just fit into that truth so well. It's not really a happy ending, but it's not sad either; it's weary and bittersweet and somehow defiant and feels so right for them.

And, er, now that I have rambled insanely, let me just say that I may now be forced to bug you to write more Guy/Marian fic UNTIL THE END OF TIME. Yep. That's right. Until the end. Of time.

Prepare yourself, honey.