Fanfic Reading Club Discussion: Christmas in the Pitts
Slight change in plans. My discussion will focus solely on zortrana's Christmas in the Pitts.
I love Season 1. I often call it the season of my heart because it is the season that made me fall in love with QAF and Brian and Justin. It is also the season I know best in some ways because I have watched the episodes many, many time. However, I don't read much fic set in S1. I find the S1 dynamic between Brian and Justin hard to capture especially now that we see how their relationship develops. Too often S1 fics give Brian and Justin a level of emotional awareness they didn't develop until future seasons. When I do find a fic that really makes me feel like I'm back in S1 without the knowledge of what is still to come, it's special treat for me. And this fic does that perfectly.
One of the things I love about this story is that it doesn't hit you over the head with the fact that it's set in S1. It does through character interaction and references to where Brian and Justin are in their lives that fit the story. From the opening lines, I was back in S1: It starts, of course, with Debbie at the diner: “What’re you getting Sunshine for Christmas?”
“Deb,” Brian sighs, “You know I don’t do Christmas.”
Debbie regards him with unveiled disgust. “No, you just do Sunshine and the rest of gay Pittsburgh.” Brian throws a twenty on the counter and stalks out.
I also appreciate stories that incorporate characters other than Brian and Justin, that feel more like an episode with "the gang." Brian has some great moments with Lindsay and Debbie and Michael. What was your favorite?
Jennifer is a character I struggle with. Sometimes her deep love for Justin makes me want to cheer, but some of the decisions she makes about him baffle me. I think this captures that contradiction well: “Debbie, you told me that Brian would use Justin and discard him. Break his heart and never look back. When is that going to happen?” For a second Jennifer wonders when her son’s heart being crushed became an attractive alternative. What did you think of her conversation with Debbie and the attempt at a Taylor family Christmas?
Brian's feelings for Justin are just as complicated in this story as they are in the show. He wants him, can't seem to get enough of him, but he doesn't want a relationship. He doesn't want Justin to love him or depend on him, but also does feel some obligation to him. He can't cut him loose the way he thinks he wants to. This paragraph really says it all: Justin sighs, “I do, it’s just that I haven’t seen HIM since, well, you know.” Brian does know, he remembers very well indeed the day he tried to get rid of this relentless blond and took the brat back home where a kid of that age belongs, only to find that Justin didn’t belong there anymore. And Brian doesn’t do regrets, so he doesn’t regret taking him back out of there again. Briefly, he wonders if the kid regrets following him--any of the times. How did you feel about Brian in this story?
And I can't talk about this story without mentioning this moment: “It’s okay to beat up faggots, but a cell gets you expelled?” Brian has never forgotten Justin’s split lip.
“St. James prides itself on how well it prepares its students for life,” Justin says a trifle sarcastically. He heads toward the bedroom stripping as he goes and the subject is forgotten. It's a tiny, subtle bit of foreshadowing that's easy to overlook, but when I let the words sink in, it breaks my heart and I just love it.
What makes a good S1 story for you? What are the hallmarks of characterization that you look for, and did you find them here? Did you feel like you back in S1 when you read this? Tell me your favorite parts and anything else that comes to mind. Thanks for reading with me.