Fic: the furthest stars came thundering at the door

[thisbluespirit]

As I said, I tried to write a second treat for yuletide, and didn't quite make it. But I got it ready to post today when the New Year's Resolution collection went live.

With many thanks to persiflage_1 who not only agreed to beta in like 0 minutes available on Christmas Eve, but put up with 3 emails of "Here's the fic to beta; No wait, not that version, HERE'S the fic to beta" and then finally, "No, don't beta the damn thing, it's a mess, sorry, i'm going to bed," and then finally beta-ed it today, by which time it had grown 1.5k words over what I told them it would be. (♥ Pers, you're a star!)

I had fun writing it, I should say! I just swithered over what I was doing with it, and then it turned into one of those silly situations where every change begs more change. I'd have sorted it sooner if I hadn't exhausted myself with the zombies already, because what it really needed was just have the time to sit down and rewrite of the first half properly. And then fix everything I'd messed up by rewriting the first half, lol.

ANYWAY, edwardianspinsteraunt had prompted about getting a reversal where Sir Robert was involved in a scandal this time, and also forced proximity tropes and for some reason I got absolutely fixated on combining the two, which was why the original idea of being stuck on a train in the snow got shelved because there had to be the scandal bit (my brain, idk) and that necessitated it being late July 1914, when, cool as the weather was, it would have been unlikely to snow in the south east of England. (Even granted that even as little as one flake might cause a British train to halt, if it were the wrong kind.)

What I'm blathering about and towards is, the whole thing about simultaneously thinking about how hard they were to apply tropes and I couldn't do a daft AU for them + "stuck on a train in the snow" led me to the distracting idea (NOT ever for the gift, do not worry, edwardianspinsteraunt) that OMG what about MURDER? They would have exactly the right skill set between them and Sir Robert would absolutely hate it, it would be amazing.

Me: Someone should write a series of 1920s cosy crime novels where the protagonists are a former suffragette and a posh lawyer.
Me: (reflecting on how many cosies there are) ... one almost certainly already exists, doesn't it?

Anyway, I couldn't put them in a fake relationship, I couldn't strand them on a train in the snow, but I listened to the commentary (which I was taking notes from for sovay, if they still want them) and that got me to an actual fic, rather than a slight ficlet, and here it is.

(I watched TWB too many times again, I'm sorry. I apologise for the wittering. I've just had this fic nearly done stuck in my head and having to rewatch the film extra to keep it there for a week and a half and now I can talk again.)


the furthest stars came thundering at the door (4455 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Winslow Boy (1999)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Robert Morton/Catherine Winslow
Characters: Robert Morton (Winslow Boy), Catherine Winslow
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat, Edwardian Period, with World War I approaching like the down express, Trains, Smoking, Post-Canon, Scandal
Summary: Catherine and Sir Robert find themselves on the same train, but travelling in quite different directions.

(The title is from a poem about London Bridge Station, written in 1909.)

Comments

[edwardianspinsteraunt]

Oh my gosh, I NEED a series of cosy crime novels where Sir Robert and Catherine pair up to solve murders!! It would be AMAZING xD (One must only beg the question: are they married in these stories? Or do they get together halfway through the series after much intense pining?)

And ah, I love the poem you've linked! (And trains. In general, I love trains.) I wouldn't want to mention it on such a public avenue as Ao3, but I happen to have travelled on the same journey as you put Robert and Catherine on literally hundreds of times (I grew up in that part of the country, and actually went to school - travelling there by train - at one of the changeover stations you mention) - so it was simultaneously a very fun coincidence and also quite evocative to have the characters take a route which I personally know so well. :D

[thisbluespirit]

One must only beg the question: are they married in these stories? Or do they get together halfway through the series after much intense pining?

Oh, if that's kind of series, they have to be pining for the first half! It's obligatory.

Oh my gosh, I NEED a series of cosy crime novels where Sir Robert and Catherine pair up to solve murders!! It would be AMAZING xD

XD If someone wants an idea of what to file the numbers off next, well... heh.

I feel like this would be his ANOTHER murder, Catherine??? face:



I wouldn't want to mention it on such a public avenue as Ao3, but I happen to have travelled on the same journey as you put Robert and Catherine on literally hundreds of times (I grew up in that part of the country, and actually went to school - travelling there by train - at one of the changeover stations you mention) - so it was simultaneously a very fun coincidence and also quite evocative to have the characters take a route which I personally know so well. :D

Oh, how funny! I hope I didn't commit any solecisms - I just did my usual trick of reverse engineering via current lines & travel planners, and then using that to check the historical details. But I didn't have a lot of time (originally) & wanted somewhere in the SE that had a straight-forward enough route for me to do that and a few other things that matched requirements, and that was the one that worked in all details!

I did see your train likes, but I like trains too, and I think it was my first idea for the forced proximity thing. When I was dreaming of my own fic ideas in the summer, they were mainly around them both being on a train journey, only much more war-centric, so it was both coincidence and your letter together.

[edwardianspinsteraunt]

I feel like this would be his ANOTHER murder, Catherine??? face

Oh gosh, it so would, I can see it! xD

Oh, how funny! I hope I didn't commit any solecisms

Not to my knowledge! Your description of the journey out of London was incredibly accurate (there's a bit of nice countryside around Sevenoaks, with the North Downs, but you're going through tunnels for most of that), and then Tonbridge station - at least in its modern incarnation - has the exact dreary, impersonal and moderately grim atmosphere that you'd want for that scene.

When I was dreaming of my own fic ideas in the summer, they were mainly around them both being on a train journey, only much more war-centric

Ooh! Might I enquire a bit more into your war-centric train ideas - that sounds very compelling? :)

[thisbluespirit]

Your description of the journey out of London was incredibly accurate (there's a bit of nice countryside around Sevenoaks, with the North Downs, but you're going through tunnels for most of that), and then Tonbridge station - at least in its modern incarnation - has the exact dreary, impersonal and moderately grim atmosphere that you'd want for that scene.

Aw, well that is good to know! (I did look up specific details for some things but I wrote the description of the scenery with an airy confidence that that's the basic London perimeter scenery anyway, I don't even need to look, ahem. But clearly also, it is. XD)

Ooh! Might I enquire a bit more into your war-centric train ideas - that sounds very compelling? :)

Well, it was summer when I am always pretty ill, and there were reasons why Sir Robert wound up taking Catherine back on a train from France, and it was probably all quite tragic for other characters and h/c stuff. I was thinking about it again the other day, differently, and I think I could pull something workable out of it perhaps, but OTOH, I might want to do something else entirely. I think I would like to write them again at least once. Maybe I'll do the murder in the end, heh. I worked out some of that, although not unimportant details of exactly where they were trapped in the snow and how, who got murdered or whodunnit. Catherine was Unnecessarily Brave though. XD

[edwardianspinsteraunt]

Well, if you ever choose to write another fic about these two, you are guaranteed one enthusiastic reader at least xD

there were reasons why Sir Robert wound up taking Catherine back on a train from France, and it was probably all quite tragic for other characters and h/c stuff

Oh, I am intrigued! I have a bit of a weakness for angsty hurt-comfort and tragedy in general, so this sounds like something I'd really enjoy. And now I am wondering how Catherine would end up in France, or Robert for that matter - in my personal headcanons about what happens afterwards, I've never really contemplated sending him to war or even putting him anywhere near the front lines in a non-military capacity, but I'd be curious to see a future!fic where that does happen...

I worked out some of that, although not unimportant details of exactly where they were trapped in the snow and how, who got murdered or whodunnit. Catherine was Unnecessarily Brave though. XD

Of course she would be Unnecessarily Brave! (And really, the important thing about this scenario would be Catherine and Robert and the Pining (TM), it hardly matters why they'd end up in this situation or what sort of murder they'd have to solve :P)

[thisbluespirit]

in my personal headcanons about what happens afterwards, I've never really contemplated sending him to war or even putting him anywhere near the front lines in a non-military capacity, but I'd be curious to see a future!fic where that does happen...

Oh, yes, he's only there briefly for one specific thing; Catherine's the one out there being a VAD.

And really, the important thing about this scenario would be Catherine and Robert and the Pining (TM), it hardly matters why they'd end up in this situation or what sort of murder they'd have to solve :P)

XD I'm very flaky quite often with writing, but I do feel like I may have to work this out properly, because it is such a tempting idea, so I do sort of have a Where & Why now and Who got murdered maybe, if not Whodunnit.

[sovay]

Anyway, I couldn't put them in a fake relationship, I couldn't strand them on a train in the snow, but I listened to the commentary (which I was taking notes from for sovay, if they still want them) and that got me to an actual fic, rather than a slight ficlet, and here it is.

Of course I would love your notes on the commentary, but also w00t the fic!

[thisbluespirit]

Thank you! And I typed up the commentary notes while I was contemplating the fic, so I've now checked them again and posted them. :-)

[executrix]

When I have my Blakes7 hat on, TWB is of course The Way Back, and Blake *did* have a lawyer (for all the good it did either of them) and I suppose you could think of Cally as a suffragette...

[thisbluespirit]

LOL, the B7 AU of The Winslow Boy would doubtless be a whole lot more cynical and depressing! Although Blake and Cally would fit all right in a full Winslow Boy AU of B7, you have a point.

[elisi]

3 emails of "Here's the fic to beta; No wait, not that version, HERE'S the fic to beta" and then finally, "No, don't beta the damn thing, it's a mess, sorry, i'm going to bed,"

Me:

[thisbluespirit]

LOL!

[liadt]

Phew, a busy Yuletide! Well done for beating the zombies to get on the train in time!

[thisbluespirit]

Well, I did not, in fact, get the train on time, but it was at least only a reasonable delay!