Er... I hope you're in the mood for some long fic *crosses fingers*

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

For my second post on the Christmas Stocking Challenge, there's a book sticking out of the top of the stocking (or possibly stuffed down the side...)

Yes, folks, I have finally finished that Scarlet Pimpernel (well, Chauvelin, actually *g*) fic that I seem to have been writing forever.

And it's long, if not quite a novel,(62,000 words!!) so many thanks to byslantedlight who volunteered not only to put it up at palelyloitering, so it didn't have to be broken into multiple posts (I said it was long, didn't I) but who then sat in front of her lappie *all evening* editing line breaks and lord-knows-what into the RTF file I'd sent over, so that it's readable, and has now headed for bed with her eyes bleeding... quite understandable, say I!

So - THANK YOU BSL!

She also sent me the link to the story at palelyloitering, which I have (as per her instructions) carefully cut and pasted here:-

Breaking the Chains by SAC

So hopefully that will work.

Meanwhile the trailer/header with the story information is under the cut below.


Title: Breaking the Chains
Author: SAC
Format: Novella. Scarlet Pimpernel/Pros
Archive at Circuit/Proslib/Hatstand: yes
Slash/Gen: Slash
Pairing: (Bodie/Chauvelin)
Warnings: NC-17. Torture, rape, references to past physical and sexual child abuse.
Summary: What happens when Major Bodie meets the man of his dreams, and he is an enemy of Bodie’s closest friend...?


I hope I got all that right - and that you enjoy the story.

Happy 8th December, all!

ETA: Several people have said they intend printing this out - so, just for info, I've just added this to the Automated Hatstand, with all the html tags and stuff, and divided into chapters.

Comments

[erushi.livejournal.com]

Congragulations on finally finishing it! And just in time for me to print it out and to read it on my way to Paris after Scarsdale too. *g* I've just snuck a read of the first few paragraphs, and I'm already feeling terribly excited. Cheers!

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

You're off to Paris!? Lucky you. I hope my story isn't an anticlimax after that! Enjoy your visit - and your read. *g*

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

Oh, yay, it's finished! I'm so looking forward to it! Now, the thing is, given my life as it is right now, and my life as it will be in the next few weeks...I'm putting reading this on hold until I'm on holiday. Thank you for the lovely anticipatory holiday reading!!

Well done!

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised that you don't have the time to spare at the moment, and flattered that you're going to find time to read it later!

I hope you enjoy it! *crosses fingers again*

And good luck with the weather - I'd love to have snow before Christmas (not that there's much chance in this part of the UK) but then, our snow isn't nearly as vicious as yours - or as persistent.

[siskiou.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm so looking forward to reading this!
Yeah! I'm very much in the mood for a long story! :)

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Oh, good! I hope you enjoy it!

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Wow, a novel from you - how wonderful! I shall start this evening.. Well done. I'm so impressed.

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

well, erm... I hope it's worth being a novel, and not just me rambling on and taking thousands of words to express what hundreds would have done just as well.

I'm also a tad confuzzled - I thought that a novel was 80,000 words, and that what I'd written was a novella? Not that it matters, of course - it's as long as it is, as byslantedlight kept telling me every time I started to panic over how long it was getting (ooh, matron!)

whatever, I do hope you enjoy it!

[firlefanzine.livejournal.com]

I'm always in the mood for a long fic!
That's great, thank you!

But first I have to print it! Nothing better than to make comfortable in a chair, with a good fic and a bottle of wine and a cat... :-)

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Nothing better than to make comfortable in a chair, with a good fic and a bottle of wine and a cat...

Absolutely! That's far and away the best way to read fic, IMHO. I hope my story turns out to be worth the special treatment!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

There - the link should be working, and I've checked them both ways from here and they do!

And NaNoWriMo would think 62,000 words was a novel, and if it isn't then I don't know what I was doing in November... *g* Hurrah for finishing, and I'm looking forward to printing it out and having some quiet time!

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Thank you for all the hard work to get it loaded up and linked and everything!

After all that, I really hope you like it...!

[angel-ci5.livejournal.com]

Oh well done finishing it!
I'm looking forward to printing it out and reading it, thank you!

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Oh, God.

I just hope people like it, now... *is beginning to panic - just a bit...*

[rosie55.livejournal.com]

Oh, yum - can't wait. What a very cheering prospect for this evening.... if I can wait that long. And Chauvelin....., oooohhhh, double yum!
Well done, you!

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

I really hope you like it when you settle down for a read!

I am panicking a bit now - what if it's awful?? *gnaws fingernails*

[constant-muse.livejournal.com]

Yay! The link works, and my eye strayed down the first few paragraphs and OMG I can't wait to read more of Major Bodie (and the man of his dreams).

(Thinks) The train journey to London on Saturday might be a good opportunity. *g*

Thank you so much for all your hard work, I'm sure it will be completely ravishing.

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Phew! I hope it's worth all this planning...

I really hope you enjoy it, and it makes the train journey go quickly!

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

Oh wow! A great big long darling of a fic from you! Thank you! I'm squirreling it away for a day when I'm not doing a headless chicken impersonation (sometime in January at this rate *g*) so thank you in advance. ::bounces::

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

I only hope it's worth waiting for! *g*

I've never written anything this long before, so - fingers crossed!

[cloudless-9193.livejournal.com]

I've made the most of a dreary, rainy holiday (in my country) and I'm halfway through. I just wanted to pop in to tell you that I think it's great. Let's see, how far I'll get this evening. :-)

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! I hope you enjoy the rest of it as well!

Gulp - just glanced at your profile and found out where you live! Lawks!

I'll be interested in what you think of the final few scenes... *crosses fingers and toes - metaphorically speaking, that is...*

I'm apologising right now for any major errors!

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

mutter mumble grumble... late for work... 3 am...

I started reading last night and I couldn't stop. The first few chapters just dragged me in and I had to read the rest.

Fabulous work, m'dear. I really enjoyed it. One adventure led seamlessly to the next and you drew the characters extremely well. I may have to reread over the holidays to say anything more coherent than that, but I wanted you to know... *yawns*

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Thank you! You liked it! *breathes huge sigh of relief*

And thank you for commenting so quickly as well - I'm really grateful!

Now - get to bed and sleep well (hopefully dreaming of a certain Army Major and a Frenchman...*g*)

Chauvelin!!!!

[heliophile-oxon.livejournal.com]

OMG I was hoping for this!!!! and you've made it happen!!!! ::flails::

Re: Chauvelin!!!!

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Hee! Hope you enjoy it after waiting so long!! *crosses fingers*

[lysimache.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this! I loved the adventure-y feel of it, and Major Bodie was just *delightful*. It was exciting and fascinating and a terrific story.

Thank you so much for sharing it!

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Glad you liked it!

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

I have to say, I'm into Part 4 and I love this story. You've got the characters down pat. Percy is perfect! I can definitely hear that soppy tone of voice he puts on. Major Bodie is wonderful, and I love your Chauvelin. I can't wait to read more. I just wanted you to know that I'm reading away, but I have to pause for sleep. I will finish tomorrow!

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

I worked hard on getting Percy right, so I'm glad it worked for you! As for Major Bodie and Chauvelin - well, they were just fun to write. I'm so pleased that you like it so far, and I hope you enjoy the rest of it, too!

Thank you for comenting!

[cornishcat.livejournal.com]

What a fabulous story! I think I finished it at about two this morning and then had to get up for work a few hours later - but it was so worth it. Your attention to historical detail was so well written that it flowed throughout, making it interesting as well as exciting. Thank you.

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

I was afraid the historical detail might be a bit too much, but I did find the research fascinating, and I tried to make it interesting for the reader as well - I'm glad it worked for you!

Thank you!

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

You already know how much I love this story! *g*

The great feedback that it's getting is thoroughly deserved. Well done, you!

*thinks* I've got a fortnight's holiday coming up in a month's time - perfect for reading it again!

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Heh. Just replied to your e-mail... and Yes, oh great one, you were right! I bow to your superior knowledge... *g*

Thank you for all your comments and stuff - again!

[cloudless-9193.livejournal.com]

So, I just finished it. It's fantastic and I really enjoyed reading it. I love your characterisations of Major Bodie and Chauvelin, and as to my home city featured in your fic: you captured the atmosphere beautifully (*the ruler-straight Hauptallee, the Wiener Prater chestnut trees*). I really have the impression you were there :-)

[orypeci.livejournal.com]

Ah, that was beautiful. I mean, I feel in love with as soon as I realized that it was a crossover between the Scarlet Pimpernel and The Professionals, but it's so went beyond my expectations. (I love a good long fanfic)

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've always liked the Scarlet Pimpernel, but when I saw Martin Shaw as Chauvelin I completely forgot about Sir Percy! MS just walked off with the whole series, and his Chauvelin demanded some fanfic of his own.

I was happy to oblige, and I am very relieved that people seems to like it. I've never written anything this long before!

[ariss-tenoh.livejournal.com]

This was superb writing! I enjoyed it very much^_^ even if I've not seen the Scarlet Pimpernel. Loved the romance between the two and that you didn't shy away from the more gritty aspects of the time period.

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

you didn't shy away from the more gritty aspects...

The version of SP that had Mr Shaw as Chauvelin was much grittier than the usual adaptation, so it seemed right for the story to be like that too.

Thank you for commenting - I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[lukadreaming.livejournal.com]

I've just re-read this and it's fabulous! I love the totally realistic period feel to it, and also your attention to detail.

*Saves it memories*

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

You've read it again!!

Good grief - a glutton for punishment! *g* But thank you... and for your hard work beta-ing, as well!

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

Wow, what a rattling fine read that was! Now, first off I should come clean and admit that I very rarely (oh OK, never) stray into other MS/LC characters and am a bit of a miserable git when it comes to AUs altogether ... BUT ... cos this was you and because I am in awe of longfics and because it's Christmas (*g*) I kicked my own butt and dived in. And am so glad, because it totally carried me right from the very first para which, btw, I love to bits. I loved the style and the construction and the characters and the detail. It was all delicious. I take my (rather beautifully plumed) hat off to you. Heh! I won't be watching Scarlet Pimpernel mind you, especially now, because I like your Chauvelin and his Major Bodie too much :-)

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Sorry I've taken so long to reply to this - finally into a quiet time, back at work after the usual wander around Britain doing the relly-thing for Christmas, and slooowly catching up with LJ...

so, thank you for reading something which isn't usually your cup of tea! I prefer longfics myself, but I never used to go near AUs - so to find myself actually writing one...!

However, people do seem to like it, so it's all turned out OK after all.

And I'm so pleased you enjoyed it, even though you very rarely (oh OK, never) stray into other MS/LC characters!

If you're ever feeling a tad adventurous, though, I can recommend MS's Chauvelin, as I had no intention of writing this until I encountered him!

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

This sounds amazing so I have downloaded it to read next time I'm in Portugal (we're offline there for up to a month at a time).

Incidentally, novels are 50K words up - so it definitely is!!

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

novels are 50K words up

Hee - yes, byslantedlight has informed me of that - quite firmly, too! *g*

I do hope that you enjoy the fic when you get to read it. And Portugal, of course...!

[przed.livejournal.com]

I've finished this at last. Thank you so much for a lovely read. I loved it, start to finish. The details wonderful. You take us right into revolutionary Paris, and likewise Vienna. Your characterizations are spot on. You completely nailed Shaw's take on Chauvelin. I love how you made him sympathetic, but without entirely whitewashing anything he did in the miniseries. And I love the way you've built the relationship between the two of them. It's believable and tender, and by the end I was completely rooting for them to get together.

The only thing I could have asked for was a teensy bit of an epilogue with them living happily ever after on Bodie's estate. But I suppose it's better to be left wanting more, non?

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the feedback - I'm especially happy that you think I got the characterisation right, and the relationship believable.

And I left you wanting more! *g*

...a teensy bit of an epilogue with them living happily ever after...

Ha! I never know when to stop writing - and I was worried at how long the story was getting by the time I'd got to Vienna, I was afraid it was dragging. I figured that the happy ending was implicit and I thought that the fight and the reunion would be a good place to stop... but you're the second person to suggest that I could have gone on a little longer. (though that other reader wanted some kind of climactic sex scene at the end... um, no. I don't feel that I write sex scenes all that well - hence the unapologetically 'romantic' approach here. I don't agree with her argument that because there wasn't a great deal of sex in the fic I shouldn't have classed it as a slash story, though!)

But an epilogue... hmm. It's an intriguing possibility - I'll have a think!

Oh yes - and there is definitely intended to be at least one (hopefully more than one) more chapter in my Young Ray saga. My trouble is that although I know vaguely what happens to him, I can't get the detail sufficiently clear to make a story out of it. Not yet, anyway. That won't be part of the Big Bang challenge, either - the Young Ray episodes are all supposed to be relatively short - snapshots rather than fully-developed fics.

I'm still pondering a plot and/or story for the Big Bang and desperately hoping that inspiration will strike before the closing date for submissions!

[mysteriousaliwz.livejournal.com]

I've just read this and really enjoyed it - i haven't seen MS in his role as Chauvelin other than in a fanvid, but your story gave me a very vivid view of his character. A very compelling story.

[greengerbil.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It's great to hear that the characters were real to you even though you haven't seen the series.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!