What did you think about the ways in which the author introduces or subtly hints at canon elements in the AU storyline? There's one in particular that gives me chills every time I read it. Can you guess which one?
This is one of my absolute favorite things in an AU when done well. I like them to catch me off guard. She does it superbly several times in the fic. The one that affected me most because of the contrast to actual events was:
Daph went with some friend from another school instead, and said it was boring as shit.
Was this yours? Or was it the right arm tingling?
To say this story is superbly written doesn't even begin to cover it. The phrasing, the precise use of words, the things the author doesn't need to spell out directly - it all comes together in a fic that leaves me breathless with new discoveries each and every time I read it. Did you feel this way as well? And what were some of your favorite passages?
I’ve read the fic twice since you posted the discussion. Before this, I’d read it once, maybe twice so I didn’t really remember it other than the friendship to lovers theme. What struck me, especially on the second reread, is how tight the fic is. Nearly every sentence is important or meaningful. There are no fillers, no extra words, no throwaway lines. This is amazing in a 13,000 plus word fic. For sheer appreciation of language and imagery, these are some of my favorites: Daily, he hopes she will be evicted. Replaced by some considerate mute.
He feels the bass like hands sliding messy through his hair, grinding through his bones, shivering through his cock. He feels concrete trembling beneath his feet.
Screwing flabby, pale-assed men in the House that Brian Kinney Built.
Justin had been seventeen and out of his mind in love. Brian had been twenty-nine and mostly just out of his mind.
Brian shrugs and sniffs at Justin’s suspect milk.
I really liked how the author describes Justin here because it reminds me of Michael and absolutely drives home the nature of Brian and Justin’s new relationship:
And happy. So fucking happy, back here where it started, dancing stupidly and hearing his friend laughing beneath the music. His friend. His best fucking friend.
My favorite Brian moment:
Justin’s cell phone is sitting on the table, and Brian picks it up and flips it open. Justin watches, fascinated, as Brian’s long fingers work the keys. Later, when he looks, there’ll be a new entry in his contacts.
and this:
“It’s our business, Deb.” Brian smiles pleasantly, but there’s a deadliness in his eyes. “And that means it’s not yours.”
The reference to Brian’s door in this sentence is brilliant. The door which opened to his new life as a gay man, and the door which closed on his relationship with Brian. I think he still hears it grinding shut in his dreams:
Lights overhead turn blue then white, and Justin thinks of Brian’s loft, Brian’s sheets, Brian’s shower, Brian’s door.
In the midst of all the angst, this was a pure moment of joy:
Justin laughs more than he has in forever, and finds new light and angles in the world outside his window, in the sleek lines of buildings beyond the glass.
Finally, I’m not sure if anyone’s mentioned the Brit-speak in the fic. The first one I ran across, “deck” for pack of cigarettes made me do a double take and wonder if it was a typo. I looked it up and learned that, in fact, ‘deck’ is the correct word. In general, I am either unaffected or slightly put off by this (using ‘lift’ for the loft elevator), but in this case, I found it charming and it gave me a warm feeling toward the author. Almost like I was grateful for someone from so far away writing about people in Pittsburgh and New York so beautifully. I know this sounds strange as this is routinely done and there is no geographical boundary on love of characters/places or the ability to write about them, but I felt the feeling just the same. Call me crazy!