Date: 28 Sep 2013 20:20 Title: Chapter 1
Poor Andy, he so mess up in the mirror universe and this story is another excellent piece of work by you, the darkness of what he done and had done to him in that room, and how his desired ice assassin don’t fit that world. So he flip between hate and desire, is a sign of this Andy mess up life and mind state.
I felt Andy thoughts of wanting some proper family out of the people in that room, despite knowing it’s a mess and then the flip thought that he doesn’t want to ever come back and yet know he will, rings with the painful truth of the Mirror Universe
Your prose is health as good as ever and ever word is needed.
Author's Response: Nailed it, Bill. Thank you.
Date: 28 Sep 2013 16:28 Title: Chapter 1
Well, you weren't kidding. That was very...intense. And I guess I moved on to clean Andy and got so engrossed with that character that I forgot this is who he was at the start of One Minute. You hint at his life going on in the background, and at how empty he feels in that life, but here you very clearly show that emptiness. Just a scratch to the surface of the man, but enough to see that need, that desire, for something to change, for something different. That need and desire to know his shadow, that start for him trying to get his one minute with him.
And an interesting reversal for the character as well; with the incredibly fragile, he wants to be dominating and abusive...but with his stone-cut shadow, he wants to be gentle. Or, is he saying he'll be gentle because he hopes his obsession will be the dominating and abusive one? Throughout One Minute we see Andy, for the most part, stay very cautious with Scott. There's no danger of him ever hurting the man, not really; the true danger is in Scott hurting him. I feel like he knows this, and wants that to happen (again, this is still messed up Andy).
Or, is it he wants to be gentle because for the first time, and like we see in One Minute, he found someone who would be gentle with him as well? That desire for a change, that desire to not only know Scott as a human being but to rekindle that flame of life in him, does Andy want that tenderness of another human being he can love in his life?
But how very haunting the previous statement is. "I know it'll never come to be." For as much as he tries (and even succeeds) in bringing Scott back to humanity, One Minute ends with probably the most violent and hurtful thing he could do to Scott.
Scott actually cared about him, in the end, and had to kill him.
Uggh...I need more rainbows and puppies now. Still love this entire mini-series you made in the middle of ESPG. Thank you so much for this.
Author's Response: Andy's -- screwed up. He wants to MATTER. He's not actually abusive to his drug buddies in their fueled orgies, just really messed up and so are they. His attempted dominance over Scott early in One Minute, or in Conditioning, are because he wants to matter for something. Even if something bad. But he also wants to be something good, too, and can't quite reconcile the two. Hence here. Thanks so much for the incredibly thoughtful review!
Date: 12 Feb 2009 00:41 Title: Chapter 1
::sighs:: Good one. ::sighs::
Author's Response: ::laughs:: Why are you sighing? You're making me feel like I'm killing people!
Date: 11 Feb 2009 22:08 Title: Chapter 1
Okay, a bit more "enlightened" than I am comfortable with but very evocative. Dredges up memories of other places and times... very effective.
Author's Response: It was supposed to be disturbing. ;-) It really was. I'm sorry it dragged you to any dark spots, but thanks for the comment.