Perfect Duet's paid account and the Oakum Meme (II)

[esteven]

Some lovely person was so kind to gift perfect_duet with two months of paid time. Whoever it was, please pm me, so I can thank you properly. :D The gift makes the Oakum Meme so much easier because it brought the subject headers back.

So, once more onto the breach:

Here at this post you will find all prompts/requests we have so far received on LJ and on DW

Comments

Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

Just in case there is anyone out there who would have preferred this strictly canon and with no slash... Not many I'm guessing!

Alternative non-slashy endingAlthough he would not acknowledge it, the wound inflicted by Diana was no less raw today than the day it had been given, and he would indeed have found it entirely too painful to be at the centre of such a concentrated domestic joy as this when he had been denied the chance of a similar happiness. And yet, underneath all this pain and it’s loathsome accompanying jealousy and self-pity, there was the tiniest acknowledgement, only very newly hatched, that perhaps it would never have been possible with Diana anyway. He could never have stood before a Church of England altar as Jack, waiting anxiously for his bride with his eyes fixed eagerly on the church doors as they opened to admit her, now did. And nor, as the organ sounded its note and the congregation rose to its feet, could Stephen imagine Diana walking so quietly down the aisle of his own church towards him as Sophie,

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

It is charming canon, and I like it very much because your writing is so very good.
*nods*

I adore the real ending though! :D

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

I didn't really think many here would actually want it to be non-slash, but I did it anyway! :-)

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

I like non-slash.

The slash bit of the first ending was touching, yet seemed... odd somehow. A little out-of-place? I dunno... maybe just me I wanted a HAPPY JACK/SOPHIE WEDDING!FIC! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?! ONE BIT OF LIGHT JOYFUL SWEETNESS BEFORE TEH ANGST? DOES STEPHEN HAVE TO RAIN THE SORROW AND THE WOE EVERYWHERE HE GOES*?! D: D: D:

Oh, er-coughs-uh, sorry about that. My comment seems to have run away with me there - Wonderful fic! Well done, brava! :D

*Oh yeah, he does. Canon, that ;-) Poor Stephen!

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

Well, to be fair, he keeps his angst to himself and Jack and Sophie are happy... :-(

So - is what you are saying is that you want a third ending where Stephen is full of the joys at his best friends wedding? *puts head in hands*
Riiight - leave it with me, I'll see what I can do...

Slash ending in the first version was out of place because there was no indicators earlier in the fic that Stephen thought that way about Jack - it was a bit of an experiment tbh to see if I could get the 'wow, didn't see that coming' effect... which didn't quite come off! Worth trying though!

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

Aw, the first ending came off. Both endings do! *pets you*

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

Actually I expect Stephen was quite cynical about Jack and Sophie's long term happiness in wedded bliss. But he could have been happy in the moment. Maybe. This is Stephen we're talking about here ;-)

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

I had not trouble with the slash ending, and it did not give me any whiplash. It was fine where it was, and I took Stephen's continued refusal to stand as friend, or to hand Sophie to Jack as indication of his feelings for Jack. Therefore the first ending is just fine withing canon.

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

Well, some people may find that there was "not yet" any indication of Jack and Stephen being a couple. Not I *g*
*thinks of Melbury House* ;D

Either ending suits well.

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

The original version was beautifully canonical until it wasn't, and yeah the change was unexpected (nearly gave me whiplash!). Personally I liked being surprised, but the new version is more consistent... Either way, thank you for giving us a choice of heartbreaks :-)

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

You are entirely welcome! Personally, in this case, I prefer the non-slash end because it is more consistent.

One of these days I'll do one of those complicated 'wiring diagram' kind of stories - what does Jack and/or Stephen do now - if answer a go here, if answer b go here etc, then people can choose their own version of events! (and I will then retire to a corner with a large bottle of brandy and maybe some laudanum too...!)

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

That's an AWESOME idea! We could make it a whole meme - you start, and then provide options for what happens next - then someone picks an option, and writes that bit, then provides options for what happens next, then someone else picks up from there.

Different people could pick different options at each decision point, and write what happens for different choices.

Whoa.

That'd be cool :D

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

A wonderful idea! Where do we sign up? :-D

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

At Perfect_Duet I should hope, once the oakum meme is finished. Always provided someone will take the gauntlet up. :D How about you?

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

Me? I'm anonymous ;-)

There is the womenfolk meme to fit in sometime, too.

Re: Dearly Beloved Alt Ending

[anonymous]

Feel free to chose which one to do first, anonymouse, dear!