Fic : The Gift of the Dioscuri - Anteros' birthday fic belated

[nodbear]

This is a belated birthday fic for anteros_lmc and follows in time and universe directly after the scene in her fic A Year which she posted for Sir Edward's birthday earlier this Summer

Comments

[anteros_lmc]

I'm so glad you posted this :) You already know how much I love it of course. And as I said before it's the careful way you've woven so many apparently disparate strands together to make something so moving that makes this really special.

Even there in all that awful carnage when it should not be so, still our humanity - our care, our love falls short.
That still brings a lump to my throat even though I've read it half a dozen times now.

And the choice of the Rowing Song of the Wooden Galley is just so very perfect for both Horatio and Archie.

Thank you so very much again :)

[nodbear]

ah - the boys by candlelight - just so!

The Rowing Song is so delightful - is it known whether a melody survives - Carmichael presumably only had the words given to him ?

There was something very absorbing in trying to joinhtreads together - it took a while to weave together in my head before making it anywhere near the page .

anyway I am delighted to post it up in the same evening as part 2 of your rather amazing new fic!

[anteros_lmc]

I don't know if there is a melody associated with this song. Leave it with me and I'll try and find out.

it took a while to weave together in my head before making it anywhere near the page .
I love the way all the different strands have such different and various significance but they come together to make such a beautiful whole. It's like a tapestry :)

[nodbear]

That would be good to find out

tapestry - an art that is very age of sail in terms of fabric pattern
anyway , somewhat sleepy so signing off here !

[eglantine_br]

Oh what a treat! Strange, about a week ago my son and I were talking about Gilgamesh. The echo of the two older men, with the luminous boys, and the gentle sense of regret, just did me in.

I love the treatment of Bracegirdle. He fathered where he could, and was needed, obviously.

[nodbear]

Thank you so much - Gilgamesh was once desribed to me as the earliest buddy movie of all time-and it is certainly a recurring motif in all kinds of places

Yes, the quote of the unnamed lady on the Island settled the parallel pairs - but it has always been my hope to feature Bracegirdle a little more - he is in some ways his tV character and in others an incarnation of his real life counterpart John Thompson who was Pellew's first lientenant eventually - however he had his son on board - John Thomson the younger was masters mate and then Master on the Indy. All Bracey's backstory is fiction - but I feel it fits the nature he has - and I wanted the - gentle sense of regret about sums it up - thank you!

[esmerelda_t]

There's a lovely world weary serentity to Pellew and Bracey's conversations, I particularly enjoyed the parts about their children and what they would do in peace time.

[nodbear]

Thank you - "I like world weary serenity"- that is what I was after - in contrast to the over excited loving and hopeful lust of the youngsters!
Edward's attitudes to his children are partly drawn from real life where he wrote about them in almost every letter to Alex Broughton his best friend - and indeed enquired always after other people's kids in his letters to them.he was a fairly doting, if absent parent.
the real life Bracey - Lieutenant John Thomson was on board with his eldest son who was Acting sailing master and then master of the Indy