Title: Compline
Author: akatolstoy,
Rating: R
Genre: S/V Romance/Angst, Alt-Season 2
Distribution: Please email me for permission.
Disclaimer: I don't own Alias, or any of its characters. It all belongs to JJ Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, ABC, Touchstone, etc.
Spoilers: entire 1st season, some spoilers for season 2 & 3
Feedback: Please read and respond. I am eager for feedback!
Summary: alternate Season 2—"If insight into one's own destiny, much less the destiny of all of humankind, can be gained, it is done slowly and torturously, at great cost, and more often than not, understood only in hindsight. If one wants to know the heart of another person, the journey is even more arduous, the process of discovery of far greater importance than the knowledge derived." Sydney, Vaughn, Jack, Dixon, Francie and Will deal with consequences of Irina's reappearance and the revelation of a second prophecy.
For Linda, whose courage and indomitable spirit will always inspire me
------------------------
Now that Compline is--finally--complete, I want to thank everyone who took the time to review and send me emails. My writing has had to take a back seat to real life health issues over the past year, so your encouragement and extra support means a lot to me. I am very fortunate to have so many patient, loyal readers!
New readers might be asking themselves how relevant a fan-fic that took its impetus from the Season 1 cliff-hanger is now that we have officially ended Season 3 of Alias. My answer is this: Starting in Season 2, the writer's began to assassinate Vaughn's character in order to provide "dramatic" tension for the series that culminated with the revelation that Vaughn had married someone else shortly after Sydney's abduction. In Season 3, the assassination was virtually complete and Vaughn became almost unrecognizable: petty, indecisive, and petulant, unworthy of Sydney's love or our sympathy. Compline is for everyone who misses the sensitive, strong, ethical man we saw in Season 1 who truly was Sydney's ally and had faith in a true and abiding love.
This story is the first installment of what I hope will be a four-part epic, using the Divine office as an underlying structure. The four parts will be entitled Compline, Matins, Nones, and Vespers. Unlike Compline, I will not post Matins until it is complete or almost complete, so that I don't torture my readers with long gaps between updates. So please know that I am continuing to work, even if I don't post for awhile.
I can't thank Alliecat, Sirona7, and Claudia enough. They have given me wonderful feedback on Compline. I have discussed pacing, tone, phrasing, characterization, plot development with them, and they have each pushed me to become a better writer. Compline has truly been a labor of love, and I have been honored by my association with these three wise, beautiful, and giving women.
I would also like to state how deeply honored I am by Sirona7's generosity in lending me the indubitable Mrs. Zhang for "Risk." Mrs. Zhang is Sirona7's creation, and appears in her series of Jack POV vignettes: "Backward," "Associations," "ID," "Confrontations," and "Between." If you haven't read these superb stories, RUN, don't walk, to my "favorite authors" list and look them up. You will not be disappointed! She has been my touchstone for all things related to Jack Bristow. No one writes Jack better.
I will never be able to express all that I owe Alliecat, friend, muse, confidante.
Just a few facts for those of you interested in my research on Brittany and Breton culture. I wanted Vaughn and Sydney to meet up in France, but since Souris had already set her incredible story, "Une Nuit," in Fleury, I started searching for a new location. An isle off the coast of Brittany seemed ideal. There is no Île Mariette. I made it up, but it is based on the Île D'Ouessant and Île Molene that I mention in the chapter. I accessed an Breton-English dictionary online and found several websites that gave me information about the Breton island culture by punching Île D'Ouessant into Google. I don't actually know Breizh, so if anyone finds any mistakes I should correct, let me know.
Speaking of language help, thanks to Froggie who corrected my French. If you look back at "Reunion Part I," you will see that Vaughn's French dialog now reads: ""Ne pleure pas. Ça va aller. On est ensemble, mon amour. Je suis là. Ne pleure pas. Je t'aime."
The information I give on the Ordre de Saint-Michel in "Haven" is accurate and jives remarkably well with the Rambaldi timeline established by the show. However, don't expect to see the Delorme crest on Michael Vartan's upper arm. MV's tattoo only inspired the tattoo Vaughn has in Compline.
The e.e. cummings poem Irina quotes to Jack in "Recollections" is poem 149 in his Collected Poems, 1922 – 1938. The line "i carry your heart" engraved in Jack's wedding ring is from the first line of a poem which can be found on p. 156 of e. e. cummings: a selection of poems, Harvest, 1965. It is the most beautiful love poem I know, and I had it engraved in the wedding ring I gave my husband.
Enjoy!
akatolstoy
Author: akatolstoy,
Rating: R
Genre: S/V Romance/Angst, Alt-Season 2
Distribution: Please email me for permission.
Disclaimer: I don't own Alias, or any of its characters. It all belongs to JJ Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, ABC, Touchstone, etc.
Spoilers: entire 1st season, some spoilers for season 2 & 3
Feedback: Please read and respond. I am eager for feedback!
Summary: alternate Season 2—"If insight into one's own destiny, much less the destiny of all of humankind, can be gained, it is done slowly and torturously, at great cost, and more often than not, understood only in hindsight. If one wants to know the heart of another person, the journey is even more arduous, the process of discovery of far greater importance than the knowledge derived." Sydney, Vaughn, Jack, Dixon, Francie and Will deal with consequences of Irina's reappearance and the revelation of a second prophecy.
For Linda, whose courage and indomitable spirit will always inspire me
------------------------
Now that Compline is--finally--complete, I want to thank everyone who took the time to review and send me emails. My writing has had to take a back seat to real life health issues over the past year, so your encouragement and extra support means a lot to me. I am very fortunate to have so many patient, loyal readers!
New readers might be asking themselves how relevant a fan-fic that took its impetus from the Season 1 cliff-hanger is now that we have officially ended Season 3 of Alias. My answer is this: Starting in Season 2, the writer's began to assassinate Vaughn's character in order to provide "dramatic" tension for the series that culminated with the revelation that Vaughn had married someone else shortly after Sydney's abduction. In Season 3, the assassination was virtually complete and Vaughn became almost unrecognizable: petty, indecisive, and petulant, unworthy of Sydney's love or our sympathy. Compline is for everyone who misses the sensitive, strong, ethical man we saw in Season 1 who truly was Sydney's ally and had faith in a true and abiding love.
This story is the first installment of what I hope will be a four-part epic, using the Divine office as an underlying structure. The four parts will be entitled Compline, Matins, Nones, and Vespers. Unlike Compline, I will not post Matins until it is complete or almost complete, so that I don't torture my readers with long gaps between updates. So please know that I am continuing to work, even if I don't post for awhile.
I can't thank Alliecat, Sirona7, and Claudia enough. They have given me wonderful feedback on Compline. I have discussed pacing, tone, phrasing, characterization, plot development with them, and they have each pushed me to become a better writer. Compline has truly been a labor of love, and I have been honored by my association with these three wise, beautiful, and giving women.
I would also like to state how deeply honored I am by Sirona7's generosity in lending me the indubitable Mrs. Zhang for "Risk." Mrs. Zhang is Sirona7's creation, and appears in her series of Jack POV vignettes: "Backward," "Associations," "ID," "Confrontations," and "Between." If you haven't read these superb stories, RUN, don't walk, to my "favorite authors" list and look them up. You will not be disappointed! She has been my touchstone for all things related to Jack Bristow. No one writes Jack better.
I will never be able to express all that I owe Alliecat, friend, muse, confidante.
Just a few facts for those of you interested in my research on Brittany and Breton culture. I wanted Vaughn and Sydney to meet up in France, but since Souris had already set her incredible story, "Une Nuit," in Fleury, I started searching for a new location. An isle off the coast of Brittany seemed ideal. There is no Île Mariette. I made it up, but it is based on the Île D'Ouessant and Île Molene that I mention in the chapter. I accessed an Breton-English dictionary online and found several websites that gave me information about the Breton island culture by punching Île D'Ouessant into Google. I don't actually know Breizh, so if anyone finds any mistakes I should correct, let me know.
Speaking of language help, thanks to Froggie who corrected my French. If you look back at "Reunion Part I," you will see that Vaughn's French dialog now reads: ""Ne pleure pas. Ça va aller. On est ensemble, mon amour. Je suis là. Ne pleure pas. Je t'aime."
The information I give on the Ordre de Saint-Michel in "Haven" is accurate and jives remarkably well with the Rambaldi timeline established by the show. However, don't expect to see the Delorme crest on Michael Vartan's upper arm. MV's tattoo only inspired the tattoo Vaughn has in Compline.
The e.e. cummings poem Irina quotes to Jack in "Recollections" is poem 149 in his Collected Poems, 1922 – 1938. The line "i carry your heart" engraved in Jack's wedding ring is from the first line of a poem which can be found on p. 156 of e. e. cummings: a selection of poems, Harvest, 1965. It is the most beautiful love poem I know, and I had it engraved in the wedding ring I gave my husband.
Enjoy!
akatolstoy