round 3 overflow post

[starkmodistries.livejournal.com]

Round 3 Overflow Post

This post is for Round 3 fills only. We ask that when a round hits 8500 comments, fillers begin moving their fills to this post.

Format:
SUBJECT LINE -- Round #, short description of fic (ex: "Alex/Hank, lab partners")
--- Link to the prompt
--- Text of the prompt

--- Link to the fill
OR
--- Entire text of the fill

EXAMPLE:
Prompt: http://xmen-firstkink.livejournal.com/6437.html?thread=1038472#t2038174

Charles/Erik -- Charles is a bakery owner whose most frequent customer is Erik.

Fill: http://xmen-firstkink.livejournal.com/6437.html?thread=0139482#t4502942

Charles started off the morning the same way he always did...

Comments

Re: FILL: Everyday Love in Stockholm 154/?

[levitatethis.livejournal.com]

Just so you know your updates are becoming a bit of a Friday night ritual for me.

Do I even need to say this is another fantastic update? Once again you manage to balance so many things at once and so in a way that's compelling to read. I'm really enjoying the whole political backdrop that's still unfolding and the fact that things are imperfect, a constant struggle forward. So many stories go the "happily ever after route" and I always find myself wondering, "but what comes next? After the 'so-called' end?" because that's what fascinates me. In your story Magneto's rise to power and the mutant cause are constantly evolving and there are as many steps back as there are steps forward. To see Erik having to balance the public and private sphere, the international politics and the domestic politics makes for a great read.

The utter happiness you convey with Kurt's birth (in the midst of so much political upheaval and uncertainty -- and how interesting that for all the "mutant and proud" chanting there comes a time when certain powers/abilities are more beneficial than others and unintentionally may become of greater value) is beautiful. Love Erik's anxiousness at this new incredible mutant life (one so very much connected to him through those he loves dearly), the quiet mental note Raven conjures by bringing up the family Charles would certainly have wanted -- and him ultimately wanting to do right by all of them.

Which brings me to a rather intriguing evolution for Erik. When Charles is understandably ranting and raving about not being able to see Raven and the baby (and though I understand why he couldn't go my heart still broke for him in frustration) the very fact that Erik considers not going himself if it means some sort of emotional solidarity with Charles is HUGE. Along those lines the fact that later on Erik thinks about the world he wants, one that his godson AND Charles can be proud of is incredible because this is not the same Erik we knew before he met Charles. That Erik was missing something. This Erik is more whole -- more complicated, more layered, more conflicted yet more realized. It's not black and white for him anymore. That's a journey that's been slow but sure because somewhere along the way he discovered he had a heart, realized he deserved to be loved, and most importantly he has come to realize he is capable of love -- utter, unapologetic love.

The final sentence in this update speaks volumes:

And Magneto helps build a new railway system between some of the remaining cities where the tracks have had to be redirected around the devastated zones, lifting the metal from where it used to run and laying down new lines, new connections spreading outward, linking people together, for better or worse.

Connections. Linking people together. There's no guarantee it will all end well, but there has to be hope, something to strive towards, something worth fighting for.

Re: FILL: Everyday Love in Stockholm 154/?

[tahariel.livejournal.com]

Hee, thank you! I'm quite liking having a regular day, myself - it helps me to know how much I need to do each day to have the right sort of amount, and helps me stick to my discipline.

I like complex stories where things don't just go smoothly, where you see things step back and forth and they don't always happen right off, so I'm really glad you feel that's working here. Politics is not my usual ouevre so it's always good to feel that I'm handling it okay!

I was so looking forward to getting to Kurt, because it is just this little ray of sunshine peering in and showing that really good, family-oriented things are still happening, that this is part of regular life and they're living their lives around all of these events. Plus it's such a new experience for Erik that he has no associations to work from, good or bad. He has to discover for himself how he feels about it.

And hee - I'm so glad you picked up on that little bit of psychology, because I wasn't sure if people would. It IS a big step for Erik, and it shos how far he's come in the balance of his feelings for the two of them, too - in effect he's picked his side, and it's Charles', not Raven's. Though of course he doesn't tell Charles this. Charles will just have to intuit it for himself!