The ending so much as the start

[valhalla37]

Title: The ending so much as the start
Characters/Pairings: Charlotte; Daniel, Jeanette Lewis, Charles Widmore (Charlotte/Daniel)
Rating: PG
Summary: A life lived isn't always a puzzle complete.
Spoilers/Warnings: Up to S6 finale; character death
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Written both for ineffort's Ladyfest Ficathon, and the lostsquee Luau and insanityjones's request of badass

Comments

[franza]

oh interesting, i enjoyed the mention of the gas, ben, the purge and how they link to her father, very sad. nice one XX

[valhalla37]

Thank you so much! I wishwishwish (one of a million things I would have liked to have seen) that they would have addressed the fact Charlotte probably linked the Purge to her father and the rest of Dharma; I mean, it's one reason that explains how intense she got at the Tempest and it would have been cool if they'd explored that.

[valhalla37]

Yay, thank you so, so much! I'm finding it a little difficult to come up with fresh ways to consider Daniel, Charlotte and Dan/Charlotte, so I super appreciate you saying that! *hugs*

I think one of the things I like most about Charlotte is that she's the perfect balance of science and faith -- she spends her entire life dedicated to searching for this island that may or may not exist, but her methods are so factual and tangible. I also think that sense of isolation -- no one else understanding where she came from -- must have played into the fact she seems to isolate herself from most other people in the regular universe (minus Dan of course); the difference (and I think it's purposeful) is pretty strong in the alt verse.

God, I will never not love the fact their entire story is so chicken-and-the-egg -- Daniel hatched the plan to save Charlotte that actually was the reason she left in the first place.

[ozmissage]

I can't believe I missed this when you first posted it. I think this may very well be my favorite Charlotte fic. Ever.

It's so beautiful and I love the way you play with the twists in the time line. Starting with her death and then winding your way around to the sidewaysverse---amazing.

This bit made me grin so much:

he's older now, and tries not to argue like they used to -- they stick to the weather (too hot for summer in Bromsgrove), her grades (top of the class, even in her last year in Kent's anthropology program), the boy she was seeing (not anymore; she'd laughed off the kids-and-marriage question and stopped returning his calls).

The way she grows into her relationship with her mother felt so truthful and the bit about the boy she was seeing is so very Charlotte. That's exactly how I imagine her.

And then the ending with her suggesting a trip to Fiji? All kinds of perfect. Wonderful, wonderful fic.

[valhalla37]

WOW, thank you so, so, SO much -- that seriously makes my day/week/month to hear that! :D

I'm really pleased you liked the process of the timeline, because it was something I felt unsure about -- I wanted to make a concentrated effort not to have Dan play this enormous role in the fic because it was supposed to be just about Charlotte, but he plays such a big role in her death (in such a cool, cyclical way) I couldn't keep him out of it! ;D

I have so much personal backstory about Charlotte it's foolish. I'd like to think she would have tried to make some kind of peace with her mother as she got older, even those there's still that residual anger (i.e.: her attitude on the island, at least partly in my mind).

Yay, thank you so much! I don't tend to end fics on dialogue, so I'm so happy you thought that worked! *hugs*