Date: 27 May 2014 04:35 Title: Deep Silence-Complete
Bravo Mac! This was a wonderfully written piece full of raw emotions. I actually felt like I was there with Beverly, seeing her go through her own private grief on the anniversary of Jack’s death. I felt like I was seeing through her eyes, going what she was going through. The pain she has to go through every year mourning the loss of her husband as if it had just happened yesterday is very real. Loss is something that everyone deals with at various levels. Beverly is one of those people that would rather keep to her own thoughts when grieving. That is clearly stated throughout this whole story. I applaud you for writing this piece. Emotional and riveting. Thanks for sharing. :)
Author's Response: You do me a great disservice and you're most kind :) It was a tough one to write but somehow it came together. I always figured deep down, what you never saw on screen, was this pain. I also figure she's a strong character in her own right or she wouldn't be CMO of the biggest ship.
But it worked. :)
Date: 07 Dec 2011 15:17 Title: Deep Silence-Complete
I have one word for you Mack - WOW!! This is by far your best character study piece IMHO. While I know who Beverly is, you know I'm not all that familiar with TNG, and yet her pain and anguish clearly resonated, and her desire to get away from it all and deal with her grief on her own terms felt true to life.
You found just the right balance, too - not verbose, not overly sappy, but powerful images of what she was thinking and feeling that I found to be heart-wrenching and profoundly sad. Exceptional work!
Author's Response: You doth make me blush intensely. I appreciate that TNG is not your forte and for it to have some effect must be something :) My thanks indeed.
Date: 06 Dec 2011 21:35 Title: Deep Silence-Complete
Really well done Mac. In a short space you were very effective in porttaying Beverly's lasting grief. Especially so since in reality, grief is like that, it steals up on you and consumes you in so many different ways and even though it shouldn't seem to be the case, specific dates or anniversaries do seem to make the grief more palpable when they come round. You dealt with this very effectively, showing Beverly in a strong way and in a far more interesting manner than she was ever represented in canon. Kudos.
Author's Response: Thanks awfully MF. I've likely made her a bit more 3D in some ways than she was in the series and much more so than the movies. My thanks again.
Date: 03 Dec 2011 04:52 Title: Deep Silence-Complete
This was absolutely haunting, and I'm glad to have read it. I always that it was ridiculous the way that the TNG writers completely glossed over Jack's death and what it meant to Beverly, in favour of the romantic tension between her and Picard. True, I know that it was supposed to have happened many years earlier, but the fact that she was...how do you say...so close with the man who got her husband killed always seemed odd to me. I think this should have been part of an episode. To see something like this would definitely have made her a better, more rounded character.
Author's Response: firstly, thanks for reviewing and secondly quite agree with your comments overall. I mean alright when I started off it was a crush on Beverly when I was a kid but the writers never spent time on her. I think Memory Alpha have a note on that about how little there is to her character notes. Then they focus on her and Picard which never washed with me, as you say the man who got Jack killed however accidental...And yet, and yet...I always feel that what she felt for Jack would have stayed around for years rather than just ignored bar the odd moment.
And if that's worse look at what they did to her in the movies :)
Date: 20 Nov 2011 04:49 Title: Deep Silence-Complete
An interesting idea with small mess halls in the engineering. Is it to let engineers have a meal while not leaving their posts for too long?
I had a feeling that she needed that moment of undisturbed peace because it was the anniversary of Jack's death even before it was clearly state. It just seemed a logical assumption that she might need such quiet moments in those days.
I see this silence as a symbol of emptiness. Emptiness is silent too and emptiness is what Jack left. She goes on with her life, but how different it would be had he not died? And the fact that her life goes on doesn't mean she doesn't need those moments of silence once every year. I think it's important to her; it's like being with him for a moment, recalling good and worse moments and emphasising that none of those moments will happen again.
Author's Response: I always thought that maybe like aircraft carriers starships of a certain size might have other mess halls dotted here and there throughout the ship. Sure turbolifts are fast but Ten Forward is away away from engineering. Glad it's had some reaction. Story that is. You sometimes get the impression (she wasn't the most filled out character) that she and Jack were for each other. The manner and suddeness of his death would have been quite emotional and traumatic. No one else might fill that void. Being alone on the date is important. As for Jack surviving I sort of figured about that in my AU TNG. All stemmed initally from the rumour that Stewart was leaving after Best of Both Worlds Part 1. So, what if Jack and Beverly never married?...Anyway, thanks for reading Gul.
Date: 19 Nov 2011 17:32 Title: Deep Silence-Complete
A beautiful story, lovingly done.
Author's Response: thanks kindly.
[Report This]Date: 19 Nov 2011 03:28 Title: Deep Silence-Complete
:(
Very wonderfully done. It sounds odd to say I enjoyed it, given the subject, but it was very well written, and made me connect with Crusher emotionally. Everyone knows about Crusher's loss but this put a very bright neon light on the emotions for any spouse who has lost a loved one on active duty. Well done.
Author's Response: thanks very much. I'm a little it's had some effect for when you're doing the writing you don't always think you're doing it right. Beverly has far more critics than those who praise so just a little something storywise.