secretsolitaire (secretsolitaire) wrote in qaf_coffeeclub, @ 2008-05-29 20:54:00 |
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Current mood: | excited |
Fanfic Reading Club: Licking the Man Upstairs; or, Happy Fucking New Year by ou_topos
Hi, everyone! It's time for the next meeting of the Fanfic Reading Club. Hope you've all had a chance to read Licking the Man Upstairs; or, Happy Fucking New Year by lj's ou_topos. I picked this fic to discuss for a few reasons -- I love it, I think it's underappreciated in fandom, and (IMHO) there's a lot here to discuss even though it's a relatively short fic. I hope you'll agree!
I've put together a few questions to get us started. Please feel free to answer or ignore whichever ones you wish. If you'd rather just squee, that works too! And the usual disclaimer applies -- it's fine to say what didn't work for you as long as it's done with respect for the author and for the other folks here. :-)
1. This fic was written after season four, but I didn't read it until I'd seen all five seasons. Other than the few small references to Hollywood (such as the line about "flying queers and the spandex bulge"), it occurred to me that this could also be imagined as a post-513 fic. Do you agree? Why or why not?
2. The author uses the second-person point of view here -- i.e., the protagonist is "you" rather than "I" or "he." It's a relatively rare POV in fiction, perhaps because it's so intimate. Does it work for you in this story? How does the author make this voice sound like Brian's?
3. This is a B/J fic, but the gang has a major presence, from Ted's breakup with Blake in the opening scene to the family party at the very end. What do these non-B/J scenes add to the story?
4. At the end of the fourth section, the author quotes the following passage from A Streetcar Named Desire:
Where are your pearls and gold bracelets? ...And here you are. Diamonds. A crown for an empress... Here's your plantation Stella, right here...
I confess, I have never seen the movie and I don't know anything about the plot or characters. Can anyone explain the context of the quote and what it might mean to this fic?
5. Brian has several flashbacks to earlier points in his relationship with Justin -- first to "the time of the fiddler," and then to Justin's Pink Posse period. Why does he think of these relatively unhappy/uncertain moments rather than happier times in their relationship?
6. There are a lot of religious references in this fic, starting with the title. How do you interpret the phrase "Licking the Man Upstairs"? Why has the author chosen this as the title -- particularly the word "licking," with its multiple meanings? How does this title fit with Brian's feelings about God (and, perhaps, about Justin)?
7. One of the most striking passages in the story for me is this one:
Down the street from the diner, people pray, rising and falling and rising and falling, and you scoff, but cannot keep the goddamned (ha!) voice from saying: I want that. Just a little.
What is it that Brian wants here -- certainty? Hope? Something to believe in? And do you think he's found it by the end of the story?
8. Another interesting passage I'd love to hear your thoughts on:
Working with artists, you know that portraits are a risky business. Even photographs aren't always truthful, certain. The cry of presence. But this - the curve of Jennifer’s arm and the way she sits, as if she was pushed happily into position - just certainty. And what more - once the experiment is over, once people stop fucking in the dark with their eyes closed, once honesty tumbles out - what more is love than that?
How do you interpret this passage? How does it relate to the questions of faith the author raises throughout the rest of the fic?
9. Finally, what do you make of this description of Justin from the very end of the fic:
And Justin is stepping forward, he is smiling, he is radiant, what else is to be expected from a man for whom the answer could be no but was not, dangerous, who stayed not out of need but choice...
Why is he "dangerous" -- because he could choose to leave? Because he's risky but Brian believes in him anyway? Do you think Justin has his own sort of faith in Brian that's just as strong as Brian's faith in him?