Comments | valhalla37: The Blood Runs Red

valhalla37

The Blood Runs Red

Jul 29, 2009 13:22

Title: The Blood Runs Red
Characters/Pairings: Desmond; Claire, Daniel, Charlie, Penny
Summary: Desmond rides out a fever, and remembers.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Up to 5x14.
Word Count: 503
Warnings: References to character deaths.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: For luau queens lostpuffin and jenthegypsy, who both wanted Desmond, and in particular heat/shivers/quivers.

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( Read more... )

character: charlie, story: fic, lj: luau, character: daniel, character: claire, character: penny, character: desmond

Comments 21

buongiornodaisy July 29 2009, 18:34:46 UTC

OH MAN BLESS THIS LUAU AND IT MAKING YOU WRITE LOTS AND LOTS

:3 :3 :3

valhalla37 July 30 2009, 13:56:54 UTC

LOL -- thank you so much! I was actually going to post (again!) apologizing for all the recent spammage, so now I feel like less of an a-hole for constantly foisting my fic onto the unwilling masses. ;P

buongiornodaisy July 30 2009, 15:42:45 UTC

If anyone complains, send them to me. I will take care of them.

Godfather style.

valhalla37 July 30 2009, 16:15:31 UTC

OH GOD. THAT ICON.

I *heart* the velvet painting. I ... I don't even understand it, but I love it so much.

(And thanks! Will do. ;P)

jenthegypsy July 29 2009, 18:48:05 UTC

I'm taking punches to the gut like a drunken prizefighter today ~ between you and hendercats, I'm certain to be ded from teh angst by dusk ~

The paths of Desmond's fevered memory and insight twine together to make this story both mesmerizing and heartbreaking, but the true power lies in the last two lines ~ those that I didn't see coming and that took the breath from me, feeling both sorrow and validation, for this is what I've said all along ~ Desmond must go back.

It's a wonderful gift ~ thank you so much!

valhalla37 July 30 2009, 13:59:43 UTC

Oh god! I know! Can there never be a happy ending, ever?! It's just that Desmond + angst makes for such a great combination. ;D

Thank you so, so much for that, especially in regards to the ending -- I initially had something completely different planned, but it got overruled by my solid belief that the only right (in my mind) ending to Desmond's story would be to somehow return. If it does happen in canon, I imagine it'll be motivated by something like Charlie or Penny in danger, but I'd personally love it to simply come to Desmond as his own realization.

Thanks again -- and thank you for the opportunity to give Desmond's perspective a try!

tellshannon815 July 29 2009, 21:09:23 UTC

They so need to go back! Loved the images here, great job!

valhalla37 July 30 2009, 14:00:22 UTC

Thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear the imagery worked! :D

bold_seer July 29 2009, 21:15:59 UTC

The whole fic was powerful - hallucinatory and nightmarish, but beautiful. What stood out the most to me, though, was this:

Daniel at the creek, scrubbing blood and sticky sand from between his fingers, palms almost stained red. "I thought, maybe, there was something. Something ... special. Different. It's not your fault I was wrong."

Ouch.

valhalla37 July 30 2009, 14:03:57 UTC

Thank you so, so much for the wonderful feedback!

My thoughts on it are, in all the ways someone could argue that Desmond "betrayed" the people he left behind (at the very least, by forgetting about them) I think the fact this whole "miraculously special" thing -- and the fact it hasn't really played out since Daniel said it at the beginning of S5 -- is the most intriguing. To me, I think that would manifest in Desmond as self-doubt -- he's christened this almost-saviour figure for the people on the island, and then doesn't/can't do anything about it? Pretty harsh.

lostpuffin July 30 2009, 00:27:21 UTC

This.
I'm a little stunned right now and not sure what to say, how to form in words how much I loved this.
First of all, I'll tell you that I love a good, angsty nightmare fic. You have nailed that, making me want to read through quickly to get to the end, but at the same time wanting to go slow and savor every word, every little bit of it.

"You left." She smiles, thin-lipped and cruel, from her perch inside the shack's shadows. "And we died. It's your --"

"-- fault." Daniel at the creek, scrubbing blood and sticky sand from between his fingers, palms almost stained red. "I thought, maybe, there was something. Something ... special. Different. It's not your fault I was wrong."
Chilling!! Perfection. Going the way you did from Claire to Daniel. ♥

And Charlie! Oh dear Charlie. How Desmond wanted to stop him but couldn't, and then the 'ocean's filling his lungs...'

But of course Desmond has to go back.
It's his fate.
♥

I love this. Thank you so very very very much.

valhalla37 July 30 2009, 14:12:09 UTC

Wow -- thank you so, so much for the very kind words! It was a pleasure to write; I should be thanking you for the prompt!

I'm so glad to hear that you're an angst fan -- this actually ended up being a little more on the downer side than I originally intended, so that's a relief! ;D

I'm also really pleased to hear you liked the "appearances" by the other characters; for me, I think they're the people Desmond would most associate with his failures, as they were. And yes -- he has to go back. It makes me sad for Penny and Charlie, but I think it's the only way to bring his story full-circle.

Thanks again for the wonderful, thoughtful feedback!