Cri du chat

Review – About Nine Months

Review – About Nine Months

About Nine Months captures a lost cause. From October of 2176 to June of 2177, the short life of Kevin Madden-Beckett.

Background

So after writing Fortune, I had wanted to expand on Kevin Madden-Beckett‘s story for a while, but the opportunity kept failing to present itself. It did scream out for some more detail, not only about his existence, but also about how the family felt about him. At the end of Fortune, the siblings make it clear they love him. And in Seven Women, Tommy sees Kevin as a kind of spiritual guide to the other side in his (Tommy’s) last living moments.  As a result, Kevin matters a great deal, even though Q dismisses Kevin’s tragic and short existence as being somewhat like a mayfly’s short life (mayflies live for twenty-four hours). But the family sees more; I felt the need to honor and express that.

Plot

Barking up the Muse Tree | Jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Later Days | About Nine Months

Later Days

It is later in everyone’s life. The kids are nearly all grown. Doug and Lili have settled into comfortable married life. Malcolm is busy fighting a cold war, but otherwise things have fallen into an established pattern. Norri is writing her book. Melissa gets some small piloting assignments, as their nest isn’t quite empty yet. Joss is already at Cornell.

Then comes Kevin.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

Kevin is a child with no chance, but he has a place, as both Lili’s spirit guide in Fortune and Tommy’s in Seven Women. For someone with such a short time among the living, Kevin proved to have what I feel is a compelling story.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, In Between Days series, Review, 0 comments

Portrait of a Character – Kevin Madden-Beckett

Portrait of a Character – Kevin Madden-Beckett

Kevin Madden-Beckett has more importance than you might think.

Portrait of a Character – Kevin Madden-Beckett

Children with Cri du Chat Syndrome; image is from the Cri du Chat Support Group of Australia, http://www.criduchat.asn.au/

I wanted for there to be a tragic figure, a child who would not survive a month. This would, in many ways, be a direct statement about Doug and his origins in the Mirror Universe, where he was forced to memorize the Five Signs of Weakness. Those are a part of Paving Stones Made From Good Intentions. This child, symbolically, would be a complete and utter rejection of that twisted philosophy.

Origins

As I was writing Fortune, I hit upon the idea of a sixth child. Portrait of a Character – Kevin Madden-Beckett I had had Kevin O’Connor in mind for a while, so to have a consanguineous ancestor he was named after was an idea I wanted to explore.  A baby entering the family’s lives at this time is quite the disruption. Had Kevin lived – and even if he did not have genetic issues – it would have still caused a great deal of upheaval. After all, at the time of Kevin’s conception, Neil is nearly fifteen.

Kevin’s tiny, difficult life was not made clear until About Nine Months, although he acts as a spirit guide to Tommy in Seven Women.

In Fortune, Doug, Lili, Malcolm, and Norri all see Kevin as a child in the afterworld, and I always depict him as holding a seedling in his hands.  There is loss, yes, but the seedling is symbolic of growth, and of hope.

Portrayal

There is no actor to portray an infant who dies so young. None of the above images are meant to be of him. So there are no relationships, and there is no truly understood personality. And there is no theme music. There are no quotes.

Mirror Universe

Kevin’s existence in the Mirror is impossible, but he has an analogue, Takeo Masterson Sato, as they both symbolize hidden potential.

Upshot

I wanted very much for the Beckett-MaddenDigiornoO’DayReed family to not be utterly perfect. Cri du chat is a very real issue and in some ways Kevin Madden-Beckett is a sign to fellow writers to lay off the perfection and wish fulfillment. Kevin’s life is tragic, but he teaches the people around him about love and acceptance and, after his death, he even assists them in the afterworld, comforting and guiding Tommy at his end, and being a signpost for Leonora and a bit of proof to Lili that there really is something there, beyond the end.

Please give generously to Cri du chat charities and support those directly affected. The Cri du Chat Support Group of Australia is a great place to start.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, In Between Days series, Portrait, 2 comments