Fic: A Candle Put Out by Sopdetly

[shaggydog_mod]

Title: A Candle Put Out
Username: sopdetly
Art: " The Same Boat" by epithalamium
Word Count: ~2,400
Rating: PG-13
Contains: *angst, a growing sense of doom, nudity*
Summary: Now they hadn't had sex in months, and Sirius knew he pulled away from Remus in his sleep, when they managed to sleep in bed together.
Notes/comments: It's been a while since writing a fic

Comments

[brighty18]

When I first saw this exquisite piece of art I fell in love with it. There is such a quiet beauty to it, like a beautiful yet mundane moment captured forever. epithalamium and I have discussed many times how the true beauty of life lies in the moments between the moments, the times when nothing happens, but we simply live our lives truly and unabashedly. You render this feeling perfectly in your story. In fact, you even brilliantly term it as a non-conversation. Heartbreaking as this was to read it was astoundingly perfect both in terms of the art and in terms of their relationship.

The whole piece was embued with such a lovely sense of quiet, and, though their relationship was clearly falling apart, it wasn’t an unsettling quiet at all. Instead, it was the inevitable, familiar quiet of deterioration. Remus kissed Sirius's temple softly. "I drew a bath," he said, letting his invitation hang between them unspoken. More and more was unspoken between them these days, and while Sirius first thought that it was a sign of their strength, by now he

[sopdetly]

Thank you so much for this lovely feedback. You set me blushing! I'm just pleased that I could evoke such emotions in you as a reader. :)

[escribo]

This was quite beautiful. You truly made my heart ache for them both, and rail, where Remus could not, for things to change and for them to find peace.

[sopdetly]

Thank you very much! I hope they found peace in the very end.

[oftirnanog]

Well. I'm trying to think of something to say that will capture exactly how I feel about this piece, but I'm at a loss. It's gorgeous, and quiet, and achingly sad. God it's breaking my heart. Well done. This is stunning and feels terribly real. Jesus. Just, well done, really well done.

(Sorry that was slightly less than coherent)

[sopdetly]

I'll take a lack of coherency as a compliment! Thanks very much for the kind words.

[epithalamium]

Thank you so much for this! Oh god. I feel like I should be saying this in upper case letters, but I think that'll ruin the mood too much. When I drew the picture, I wasn't really thinking much about it: it was set in the 1st War, because that's my favourite era, and it was somewhat quieter than I first wanted it to be. I hope you don't think I'm a total bighead for saying that I loved how the fic worked so well with the art: the deceptively quiet moment between the boys, the way they are so intimate--intimate enough to share a bath--and yet not at the same time. Sirius's thoughts running inside his head and Remus telling him that he thinks too much, that feels so real.

You captured that twilight moment between suspicion and the truth so well, and I'm flattered (and absurdly pleased) to hear that you found something in my fanart somehow that helped you write this lovely fic.

I actually have a lot of favourite lines, but this one really struck me: It had been so long since he'd felt this, and now it terrified him. Sirius's feelings

[sopdetly]

I am so, so glad to hear you enjoyed the fic, and I'm really pleased that you feel it fits your art. There is that delicate balance when trying to write for art, which is part of why I was so excited for this challenge. :)

Your art is gorgeous, and I'm so glad I had it assigned to me. Thank you so much!

[pavlablack]

Others have said, and I agree, that the power of this piece is in the stillness of it. It's like watching a movie scene between two characters without any background music-it just lets you be there, in the moment, and experience what they are experiencing without the distraction of anything else. The scene you create here is so understated it really gives a sense of defeat and powerlessness-and that is, as Brighty pointed out, how most relationships end. The whole piece is just beautiful, but this is the part that really tore my heart out:

"Remus." The arms around Sirius tightened again. "I mean it. What the fuck are we doing?"

"Sirius . . . can't we . . ."

Sirius frowned deeply; Remus was going to suggest they put this aside again, not talk about it, leave it for after the war. "No," he said, soft and determined. "I think that we need to sort this out." He closed his eyes, fighting the pain of the next words he needed to say. "We need to sort this out so we can move on with our lives."This put me right back into the last moments

[sopdetly]

I love that moment when you realize that a scene has had no background music, so I'm quite flattered by the comparison. Thank you so much for the feedback, it's much appreciated!