Fallen Angel - Challenge 120 9/11/10 (PG)

[darkstarrising]

Fabulous.

It gets even better on the reread--I see new insights and more wonderful details.

Brava!!!

Jenna

thanks, Jenna Always appreciate a re-read I've often found the same when I read other's stories. The first time through you often are so anxious to find out what happened, you miss the nuances. The re-read allows me to savor a story more.

[cassysj]

Revisiting old challenges. Josef really shared a lot of himself and a lot of insight that Mick desperately needed.

[darkstarrising]

Revisiting old challenges. Josef really shared a lot of himself and a lot of insight that Mick desperately needed.

Thanks, Carol Of all of the stand alone stories I've written, this is one of my favorites - two friends in pain, one believing he's lost the woman he loves, while the other one knows it.

[BlueEyedMonster]

Wonderful insight DSR . I love Mick & Josef talks.

[darkstarrising]

Wonderful insight DSR . I love Mick & Josef talks.

Thanks, BlueEyedMonster Glad you enjoyed it!!

[jen]

This is so very exceptional!

Both Mick and Josef have come through their separate emotional storms and neither did so unscathed, but in their wake were truths that I don't think they would have been able to learn any other way.

Thank you!

Jenna

[Marigold]

This is very well written, DSR! I love the parallels you've drawn between the three relationships in question: Beth and Josh, Beth and Mick, and Sarah and Josef. Mick and Josef are going through similar situations and feeling similar emotions, and this conversation would no doubt have brought a little bit of comfort to both of them.

I especially like these two lines:

Tonight, I’d fallen from the lofty pedestal Beth had put me on and the landing was hard.

Maybe Beth’s guardian angel had fallen to earth, maybe she would be angry with me for a while, but when she was ready to open her heart to me, I’d be ready to open mine.

Lovely.

Thank you!

[allegrita]

Back to reread this wonderful story. I always wondered why Josef was dedicating a memorial arena to Sarah. (Actually, that was one of my biggest moments of the last 4 episodes... why would Hearst College dedicate a sports arena to some woman from New York who officially died over 50 years ago?! But I digress...) In this story, you have given us another of those perfect Mick-and-Josef conversations, where they help each other through a period of pain and self-doubt. In this case, Josef is the one dispensing wisdom and good advice, and Mick comes to realize that falling from a pedestal is sometimes a necessary part of having a real relationship. Mick comes away a more mature person, and he has a new, more realistic hope for his future with Beth. And maybe in helping Mick, Josef is able to heal his own grief a little bit.

[darkstarrising]

This is so very exceptional!

Both Mick and Josef have come through their separate emotional storms and neither did so unscathed, but in their wake were truths that I don't think they would have been able to learn any other way.

Thank you!

Jenna

Thanks, Jenna, and you're very welcome As different as the two men are, they still face the same pain - losing a woman they love. Only in Mick's case, the love hasn't been lost and his friend helps him see that.

This is very well written, DSR! I love the parallels you've drawn between the three relationships in question: Beth and Josh, Beth and Mick, and Sarah and Josef. Mick and Josef are going through similar situations and feeling similar emotions, and this conversation would no doubt have brought a little bit of comfort to both of them.

I especially like these two lines:

Tonight, I’d fallen from the lofty pedestal Beth had put me on and the landing was hard.

Maybe Beth’s guardian angel had fallen to earth, maybe she would be angry with me for a while, but when she was ready to open her heart to me, I’d be ready to open mine.

Lovely.

Thank you!

Thanks, Marigold and you're very welcome Exactly - Mick and Josef lean on each other, but in this case, Josef has already come to terms with his loss - he's had over 50 years - and still, he's able to show Mick that if he hadn't taken a chance on love, he'd have been the poorer for it.

[darkstarrising]

Back to reread this wonderful story. I always wondered why Josef was dedicating a memorial arena to Sarah. (Actually, that was one of my biggest moments of the last 4 episodes... why would Hearst College dedicate a sports arena to some woman from New York who officially died over 50 years ago?! But I digress...) In this story, you have given us another of those perfect Mick-and-Josef conversations, where they help each other through a period of pain and self-doubt. In this case, Josef is the one dispensing wisdom and good advice, and Mick comes to realize that falling from a pedestal is sometimes a necessary part of having a real relationship. Mick comes away a more mature person, and he has a new, more realistic hope for his future with Beth. And maybe in helping Mick, Josef is able to heal his own grief a little bit.

Thanks, Alle One of the many things I disliked in the last four episodes was the ambiguous handling of Sarah's fate. If I recall correctly, Joel Silver or one of the writers indicated that Sarah wasn't coming back in the second season, so why not be clear about her fate? Unless, of course, they wanted to leave some wiggle room in case they changed their minds

I love the relationship between Mick and Josef, how they're able to open up to and help each other. As such, I love to write these soul baring stories. Mick has allowed Beth to place him on a pedestal and when he 'fails' her and she pushes him away, he thinks she can't possibly love him anymore. Josef, on the other hand, has had four centuries of love and loss, and understands how Beth is feeling and why. In helping Mick, he opens up a little more about his relationship with Sara, leaving Mick with the advice that it's better to have loved and lost than not having loved at all.

[maggatha3]

That is one great moment of Moonlight you have captured here, DSR! Josef is telling Mick all the things we 'd have wanted to tell him at that time, right?

A story with more than one fallen angels, isn't it?

[darkstarrising]

That is one great moment of Moonlight you have captured here, DSR! Josef is telling Mick all the things we 'd have wanted to tell him at that time, right?

A story with more than one fallen angels, isn't it?

Thanks, maggatha This is one of my favorite stand-alone stories I've written as it does just what you say - Josef telling Mick what he needs to hear. Josef also gets to share a little more of his story with Sarah, one he's kept to himself for over 50 years.

This story tries to tie us some loose threads left dangling at the end of both 'Sleeping Beauty' and 'Love Lasts Forever'. We never really find out what happened to Sarah Whitley. We do get some idea at the beginning of 'The Mortal Cure' that Beth is still angry with Mick, but that Mick is trying to get her to understand he's not to blame for what happened to Josh. What 'Fallen Angel' tries to do is give us a peek at Mick's own anger, frustration and maybe just a little guilt in the aftermath of Josh's death. Who better to help him through it than Josef, whose had to deal with similar feelings for a half century?

[francis]

I love it when old favorites come back into the active topics. This is still a great transitional story to connect the odd ends of the back four episodes.

[allegrita]

I love this one as well, and hadn't read it in quite some time! I'm so glad Tula bumped it! DSR, I'm not surprised this is a favorite of yours--it's really exceptional.

[darkstarrising]

I love it when old favorites come back into the active topics. This is still a great transitional story to connect the odd ends of the back four episodes.

Thanks, francis Lord knows there were enough of them!! I would have loved to see a conversation like this between Mick and Josef.

I love this one as well, and hadn't read it in quite some time! I'm so glad Tula bumped it! DSR, I'm not surprised this is a favorite of yours--it's really exceptional.

Thanks, alle I loved the relationship between Mick and Josef - sometimes Josef was the head of the community, sometimes a good 'drinking buddy' (and I don't mean alcohol) but here, he was more like an older brother, sharing his wisdom over love and loss his younger brother.