The Shadow Box

[5thofficial]

by applegnat

Comments

[calzamante]

(I am saving this for later, when I have peace and quiet, but I did have a small squee at the mention of Billy in the first paragraph.)

[bustedflush]

I'm really totally overwhelmed, Nol. I have no idea how to even articulate my reactions in anything less than a slaved-over essay, but I'm truly awestruck by the scope of this piece, and how gracefully you handle it -- 20+ years of Milan, explored with amazing depth, in a few thousand words. Wow.

You sketch out Paolo's relationship with his father so beautifully, I grasped it within just a few words -- "a father like that is never really anywhere else." And the same is true of Billy, and even Baresi. You build that relationship upon dozens of details and layers, but the feel of it permeates the piece, and it feels just effortless. (And your choice to save that final picture for the end is perfect -- you have me choked up, and over Milan's for god's sake.)

Your craftsmanship is just astonishing, Nol. Thank you for writing this.

[applegnat]

I am really so, so happy you liked it, Martha. Thank you! Yes, this was my crazy cat lady fic. 'cat' being 'Milan' in this case, of course.

[rose_of_rouen]

I don't know what to say, I can't really take this in in one reading, but I want to tell you how I feel about it as well. So many echoes in it, of Paolo growing up and having to say goodbye to people and things before he's even started, and the similarities and differences between him and Baresi. I don't suppose we'll ever know how Paolo really feels about going, but I wonder if it's like this.

I love your writing, and I run out of ways to say it differently, it's so complex and wide ranging, and I read your stories over and over again.

[applegnat]

That's the best I could hope for -- I'm so glad you find enough in them to return to them. Thank you so much.

I really enjoyed writing this story more than I expected I would because it's fascinating. Paolo's life has been so simple in some ways, and that's because he's made it so simple for himself. I wonder if you can ever write him a successful coming-of-age story, his entire footballing life seems to be graduating from one stage of life to the other as though he's been born to them all. It's not just privilege -- it's just part of who he is, the way I see it, and he's had both the luck and talent to continue undisturbed on the course he's set for himself.

[rose_of_rouen]

I think that he has the ability to make the right choices about things, and that he uses that innate intelligence of his. I don't usually find people like Paolo interesting, but he doesn't seem to have any front to him, as they say, he is who he is, and that is interesting.

[louis_quatorze]

Oh, wow. This is fantastic and detailed and wonderful. I love the whole feeling of it, the way you draw history and players. It's just wonderful.

[applegnat]

Ah, yay -- thank you so much! It's lovely to hear that worked for you.

[finnygan]

I am still just lost in squee that you included the "do you want to be a footballer or a playboy?" episode. But I've told you that already. And I've told you how amazingly well you blend the history of Milan and the history of Maldini, and how touching your characterisation of Maldini and Baresi's relationship is, and how downright fantastic your writing is. And I'm still very inarticulate about it, because it's just that good. YOU WIN, omg. ♥

[applegnat]

No, YOU win. Thank you for the hand-holding and all the advice. Lots of love.