Name: quirky_vixen reviewed
The Many Means of Uselessness on Feb 06, 2017 11:17 pm
What a beautifully written piece. You ought to be proud of it. So much was implied in such few words. A joy to read. Thank you.
Name: Periwink reviewed
The Many Means of Uselessness on Feb 05, 2017 02:11 am
Loved this story! I think not describing the actual conflict was a wonderfully poetic way to write this. Perhaps you could say not expressing it helped in expressing how fragile such a subject is?
Name: Marinka reviewed
The Many Means of Uselessness on Jan 18, 2017 02:42 pm
Very sad, but at least they are back together. It was nicely done but of course one want to know more, or if we don’t know more we can imagine what has happened and why they have lost the baby…
Name: Desertisle reviewed
The Many Means of Uselessness on Jan 17, 2017 08:15 pm
I love this story. I'm sure you will recall our chat on ff. Looking forward to reading more fics by you.
Author's Response: Haha. The pressure is on now. XD I hope I don't disappoint, and yes I do. Thanks for reading and reviewing again.
Name: Anise reviewed
The Many Means of Uselessness on Jan 17, 2017 06:38 pm
I love this fic!! Thanks so much for posting it here. :) It's such a perfect snapshot of the D/G relationship, and of how they managed to find meaning in each other again after a loss. Also, kittens should be added to everything. ;)
Author's Response: Apparently. This made me want to write about kittens more and look up kitten images and watch kitten videos. They are a perfect addition to everything. I'm especially glad you enjoyed your gift, since that was what matters most. :D
Name: hatebelow reviewed
The Many Means of Uselessness on Jan 16, 2017 10:36 pm
What a sweet little story. I love how you framed the narrative around the kitten. There was nothing overt in this story and that mde it interesting. Loved this.
Author's Response: I'm glad to hear you loved it and found it sweet. Most people tend to focus on the sad points, but you seemed to have really took the good out of it, which I appreciate since that was what I wanted to be the focus.
When I think about how I wrote it I never tended things to be extremely hidden in the story, but I guess not wanting to be too overt made things appear somewhat like a mystery. If anything I just wanted it to feel like you as the reader were coming upon a moment in their lives that could only be started with a completely oblivious kitten. And if Draco and Ginny had already been dealing with the situation themselves and we were coming upon them in the middle of all that, then addressing it as if it were new would make the moment inauthentic.
Hmm.... It's funny how a lot of times when you're writing you don't realize too much the mindset you have as your writing. You just want to make something good that people will enjoy.
Name: Silvryn reviewed
The Many Means of Uselessness on Jan 16, 2017 08:40 am
A sad story, but still winds up being optimistic for their future. Overall quite nice - especially because kittens are always a wonderful addition to a tale, lol.
Author's Response: Haha. I unfortunately can not take credit for Ara. That was all Anise and her prompt. Fortunately, at the time I received her prompt a friend of mine had just had an addition of her own baby kitten to her family and had been telling me all the cute stories and sending me videos, that it was not hard to be excited to write about a kitten. You're definitely right though, kittens are great in any tale, and Ara brings a lovely warmth to this one. I don't think the story would be a sweet and optimistic without him.
Name: b1elliot reviewed
The Many Means of Uselessness on Jan 15, 2017 09:39 pm
Absolutely beautiful! You dealt with the loss of a child so delicately and how it can easily affect both parities. Definitely a good read. Thanks!
Author's Response: Thank you. "Delicately" is actually a word I wasn't expecting to describe the writing and emotions in this story, but the more I think about it and how fragile the moment between Draco and Ginny are and their state of minds, I can't help but think that word suites everything perfectly. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Name: idreamofdraco reviewed
The Many Means of Uselessness on Jan 15, 2017 09:30 pm
I loved reading this again. The writing is so powerfully understated. Even though you never say the words 'miscarriage' or 'baby' once, you know exactly what happened, and, in fact, *not* spelling it out makes it more heartbreaking. You can see Draco and Ginny avoiding thinking about what happened, haunted by it, but the signs of their loss are everywhere: in the nursery in which Ginny has isolated herself, in the Christmas decorations, the presents under the tree, the unmet expectations. And you so emotionally parallel that by never actually saying the words. You as the writer avoid confronting their loss just as much as Draco and Ginny avoid confronting their loss. The signs are all there, though.
I'm so glad they finally came together, that Ginny recognized Draco's own grief and how they can comfort each other. And even though they don't have their baby, Ara is still in their lives.
Thank you for sharing such a sweet story. :)
Author's Response: I'm glad you enjoyed it so much to read it again, and you mentioned some things that I didn't quite notice myself actually. As I was writing it I knew I didn't want to talk about the 'what' behind the moment. I felt even mentioning it would take the away from the true point of the story, but it wasn't until you said it that I realized I didn't even mention the word 'baby'. I had to read through it again because I was genuinely surprised by that, but I guess in a sense while writing it I also realized such a word would be just as painful as anything else.
I like to imagine in the long run that they won't always have just each other and Ara, but at this particular moment it's good to know that even in their loss they'll be able to depend and derive comfort from each other.