Fic: Left Behind (the Bennet family, Peter Petrelli, PG)

[squills]

Title: Left Behind
Rating: PG
Words: 2400
Characters: Sandra Bennet, Lyle Bennet, Mr. Muggles, Claire Bennet, Noah Bennet, Peter Petrelli
Warnings: Angst - a whole fuckin' lot of angst. Off-screen character death.
Spoilers: Through the end of S2
Disclaimer: Not my characters, not writing this for profit.
A/N: This came to me absolutely out of

Comments

[barhaven]

I read this story twice, and the ending hit me the same way both times. All those very normal and heartbreaking and mundane things about life moving on, tied in with the Bennet family's own special issues. Take away the superpowers and things, and Sandra is dealing with the same things anyone might have to deal with: divorce, being a single mom, kids leaving home, being alone, getting old, the death of a child. (Heck, the death of a pet, too. I remember that one scene at the end of Cautionary Tales, so the bit about Mr. Muggles somehow just made the whole thing even sadder.)

You're always so good at bringing out the emotion and the relationships between characters. While other characters are off playing hero, people like Sandra and Lyle get left behind to deal with it and try to move on. I love that you can make that so compelling. Even when it's angsty, it's wonderful to read.

(Also, on a less angsty note: I love when Mr. Muggles gets listed as a character. He's the star of the show, and we all know it.)

[squills]

Thank you! I was nervous about this one, as I usually spend weeks writing and reading and tinkering, but with this fic, I just pounded it out and posted it within a few hours of getting the plotbunny. One of the things that ran through my head was not just that there are these peripheral characters who aren't involved in the adventures...it's that not everyone wants to have adventures, or to be "special". Some people just want to be quietly happy.

You're always so good at bringing out the emotion and the relationships between characters.
Thank you, so much. That's the thing I find interesting about reading fic. Even with NC-17 stories, I think a lot about the characters and how they wound up here and what's driving them emotionally.

Also? MR. MUGGLES PWNS ALL. ;0)

[aurilly]

Jesus H. Christ. You know it's angst when Mr. Muggles has kidney failure

[squills]

This was gorgeous, a wonderful look into the two most normal characters on the show and how their quiet lives are disrupted in normal ways by all the madness.

Thank you! What I was really going for was the idea that not everyone wants to be in the middle of the action. But that doesn't mean that these people aren't boring, it just means they wish things could be normal. Oddly, I think this fic has roots in thoughts I've had about Mohinder: he's thrown himself into this out of obligation and a need to help others...but does he like it? Or does a part of him desperately long for the days when he was an anonymous young lecturer at a local university

[kalikahuntress]

Oh wow, Lyle's isolation, Sandra's desperate hopelessness, and Claire's desire to do good while never aging and then her death. Man, you've really brought the angst and did a wonderful job. I really want the show to deal with Lyle's resentment towards his dad, because who wouldn't feel it, and the realization for Claire that everyone around her will change and she will outlive her old one's and have to live a different live every 10-20 years to hide who she is. This fic is going to be on my mind for some time, all the implications of what it means to have Claire's ability and being related to someone like her and the impact on her family's life.

[squills]

Thank you! I didn't really touch on Claire much here, but I've been wondering for a while what it would be like to come to terms with that ability. We've seen how Adam ended up, but he had very different events shaping his outlook and also learned about it at a much older age. Plus, we haven't actually seen him go through the process of watching everyone else wither and fall while he goes on.

I think the show needs a little more focus on non-powered people in general, just to keep it from being all about special effects and who's got the neatest power. And we already know Lyle's backstory, and he's already connected to a number of characters, so it would be so easy to explore him a bit. Besides frustration with his father, what kind of resentment might he be hiding about Claire? She's the center of his dad's attention and she's also the reason he had to suddenly leave all his friends and his life behind and start over again under a fake name.

I'm very glad you liked this one!

[rhiannonsbirds7]

Ugh. That was beautiful. Thank you so much for writing divorced!Sandra! That was probably the most fascinating part of FYG for me, the fact that Sandra left Noah, and I think this may be the first fic I've ever read where she actually did it. Bravo! I love how she did it as a last resort, almost trying to call his bluff, but goes through with it anyway.

I love Sandra, absolutely adore her, and you did a great job with her. Her connection with Lyle was amazing (also, thank you for giving him something to do! There is not enough Lyle-love out there...), and oh MAN, killing Mr. Muggles! The poor woman! But she still presses on, gets the job done best she can. She's so great.

This was wonderfully written, absolutely amazing. It's so great to see how the crazy, world-saving adventures of our heroes impact the regular people. We (both the audience and the show) tend to forget about the repercussions of all these huge, climactic events, and this totally brought home the emotional toll it's been taking. Excellent job.

[squills]

I have to admit that I didn't care for Sandra at first - she seemed too flighty. But when the family was thrown into crisis and she showed that she had a cool head and could jump into keeping secrets and dealing with everything, I started to quite like her. And I can understand her desire to stand by the man she loves and has been with most of her life, but there comes a point where I start to feel like she deserves a life where she doesn't have to worry that he'll continue lying and sneaking, and justifying it

[dyaniera]

This was a beautiful piece to read. I loved the way you showed Sandra and Lyle's struggles to be and stay "normal" with all this madness going on. Lyle's fears and coping issues came out so well through Sandra's eyes.

The final scene just tugged at my heart. Again, beautifully written.