ohhhhhhh, oh holy fuck. i want to leave a comment on this that really does justice to how much it's affected me, but the scope of it is just so large that i fear i really cannot. so:
- your brad/nate dynamic, as well as your individual characterizations of brad and nate, are my favorite in the fandom. i'm much more of a brad/ray shipper myself, but you always manage to write these two in a way that matches the show so beautifully, without woobifying or exaggerating any of their character traits. this fic is no exception. brad is incredibly difficult to write well, because his voice is so distinct, but you managed it really, really well. nate is difficult to write too, but for a different reason, and that's because he's a lot less distinct in the way brad or ray are, but you really capture his essence here.
- man, i was not expecting nate to tell the doctor that he recognized he had PTSD. i don't know why i didn't expect it, because as soon as i read it, i realized what an in-character move it was for nate to make. that is exactly what he would do. where most fics would have him not admit it to himself and not go to therapy and use that to ramp up the drama, you took a completely different turn that was so brilliantly right that i was left speechless by it.
- GK was made in 2008, so i always forget that it was set in 2003-2004. the DADT details here, as well as the reaction of the woman in the doctor's office and the contrasting reaction of the therapist, were perfect.
- brad's parents. god, brad's mother's characterization was really perfect here, just the right mix of patient and accepting and loving. gosh! i loved the way you spun out brad's relationship with his father, too, in just a few paragraphs, and yet we got the sense of their entire relationship in a lifetime. also, relating to that, the scene starting with this: "You're not holding Linus. Linus isn't here." had me fighting back tears, because oh, god, that is such a sacrifice that parents have to make, and it's the hardest thing in the world.
- ray!!! and the inclusion of humor into the story. ray's texts when brad and nate were in the hotel? perfection. the one about linus liking waylon more than johnny cash had me rocking back and forth with silent laughter for a couple of minutes, because oh my god RAY. he so would. also, the scene with the pasta, where nate calls him a "slack-jawed baby licking degenerate." absolutely perfect.
there's a lot more stuff but this comment is already embarrassingly long, so i'm not going to take up any more of your time. i just really want to thank you for writing this, because it was absolutely incredible. it was really an honor to read. thanks so much.
Thank you so much! I have been coming back to your comment for a week and feeling happy every time I see it, so--thank you so very very much! You picked out a lot of the things that were really important to me in the story, and I'm so glad it all worked so well for you. <3
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plotdevice Thu 05 Jul 2012 03:10PM UTC
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Dira Sudis (dsudis) Fri 13 Jul 2012 01:16PM UTC
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