Wilby fic: Points In Common, Part 4, by kuonji (R)

[kuonji14]

Title: Points In Common, Part 4
Series: Points In Common
Author: kuonji
Fandom: Wilby Wonderful
Characters: Duck MacDonald, Buddy French, Carol French, Dan Jarvis
Pairings: Duck/Dan, Buddy/Carol
Category: character study, drama, humor
Rating: R
Words: ~5890
Summary: Goddamn the timing of the justice system of Nova Scotia.

Comments

[demon_bride_]

You know, I did a few of those 'lists of a hundred' myself (not concerning other people, though) and the funny thing is, after the initial bit you can really go on forever. And I think Duck, especially, might be a person who needs the help of pen and paper sometimes to, I don't know, find the right words, maybe.

You're right! I hadn't thought about Carol's position in this, but yeah, she must have had a difficult time, too. And with the would-be lover? I love that you wrote the scene where they met at the Watch :) And how Duck tries so very hard not to screw it up for Dan (especially, his: he wanted to think of Dan as a decent, and honest person. And yes, the reason we all like to think so well of others, is because we are all afraid for ourselves ^^)

Oh, yeah. Sure I read the Interlude. I just didn't comment because I was so dead tired that I couldn't even hit the correct keys on the keyboard ;) No, I do like it. And you're absolutely right about your assessment of using Buddy's voice. This is also what I liked most about 'Looking Forward' (looking back on it now *g*) that we get Dan's perspective.

The things I most distinctly remember were the falling out of the boat scene, because I loved it so much, and that Dan wants to leave and that Duck must have come to that conclusion somehow. I loved that "Points in Common" fills the gap between "flaring temper" and "realizing that Duck would go with Dan if he wanted to leave" (the lists were perfect).

I think, my favorite Erik moment is when Buddy finally manages to talk about it with Duck and his reaction to Duck's story (which is also why I loved "Say the Word" so much... you see, it comes full circle with your stories in all ways :D )

[kuonji14]

the reason we all like to think so well of others, is because we are all afraid for ourselves What a good point. :)

Re: Looking Forward
I love that you wrote the scene where they met at the Watch
You know, I completely forgot that I mentioned that in Looking Forward! Thanks for pointing that out. :)

I kept waiting for someone to point out the sheaf of yellow lined paper Duck was reading when Dan got home at the end, b/c I really expected that to be the big 'aha' moment. I don't know if people didn't notice it, or if it was so unsurprising by that point it wasn't worth mentioning. Did you happen to notice it?

The boat and some other things were actually leftover ideas from Points In Common that I found a home for in the side stories. I'm glad you like the boat scene; it was one I was fond of before cutting it out. :)

Re: Buddy's reaction to Erik
I was worried that scene might seem too melodramatic. I tried to work it like the guys know it's all sappy but cover for it at the end with the joking around. But I do think that it was something Duck needed to deal with before he could fully commit to Dan.

I tried to leave it somewhat ambiguous what Duck and Erik's relationship was really like. The way Buddy reacts to Duck saying 'No' is rather counterintuitive, on the face of it. I wanted the reader to wonder why he reacted that way. Did Duck say 'No' in a way that was suspicious? Is Buddy just projecting? Does Buddy somehow 'know better'?

Part of the ambiguity is that Duck's 'No' is also along the lines of Dr. Tucker's telling Buddy, "No, her hip's fine, but there's something worse..." I think for Duck, getting outed to his Dad would have been worse than being beaten up or badmouthed on a regular basis. So it's hard to tell what really happened, how much of it was a dysfunctional 'angry' relationship, how much of it was what we might call 'abuse', how much was just a poor match between two people.

I don't think Duck considers himself a victim. His primary concern is not fear of Dan hurting him but rather the other way around. That was also what the closet scene in Looking Forward was about. He's nervous and reacting instinctively in violence to Dan, who is starting to feel and evince 'ownership' of him, but what worries Duck when the dust clears is that he hurt Dan because of it, and that's what freaks him out.

[demon_bride_]

I didn't notice the yellow paper but that was because I read the other part first and in the Duck/Dan story line it doesn't crop up again so I kind of dismissed it. Had I read the main story line first (yeah, as one is supposed to do) I think I would have noticed immediately : D

I didn't even think that the relationship between Erik and Duck had been totally dysfunctional or abusive until, really, Buddy does his 'no' thing. That was when I went 'oh-oh'. But again Duck's reaction didn't really make it clear if Buddy was simply over-reacting or not. I didn't think that Duck considers himself a victim, either :) I really think he's glad that he left Erik behind but that he knows people well enough to know that sometimes people are just designed to make each other unhappy, it just took him a while to have the guts to walk away from it.

I just love this series :)

[kuonji14]

he knows people well enough to know that sometimes people are just designed to make each other unhappy, it just took him a while to have the guts to walk away from it Oh, nice, ouchy observation.

That was when I went 'oh-oh'. But again Duck's reaction didn't really make it clear if Buddy was simply over-reacting or not. Thanks for sharing this! There were references to the fact that Eric hurt Duck physically, but I did want to leave the specifics ambiguous.

I'm just really fascinated with that scene where Duck -- with really no thought at all -- throws a teenage boy against the wall. Repeatedly. I mean, who does that? Obviously, Taylor was being a jackass, plus Duck was all frustrated after having just bombed out with his apparently-not-interested-in-being-his-boyfriend. But, really, who commits physical violence on a kid, unless he's seen some form of violence in his own life? So I made Duck's childhood a little rough-and-tumble, and then I thought, wouldn't it be interesting if he had actual experience getting tossed against a wall himself, and how would that inform his reactions? So, that's how that happened. I think this idea was a big factor in exploding out this story from 2000 words to 20,000. :)

[demon_bride_]

Huh, funny, I never thought much about this scene. But you have a point there, the reaction is really a bit much considering that Taylor is a teenager... Except Duck had some previous bad experience with violence. Makes perfect sense to me, really. Heh, and anything that could make one of your stories turn from 2000 to 20.000 is a good thing in my book :)

[kuonji14]

Awww, thank you!! :)

I like how that moment of violence is so at odds with a) the rest of the movie up to that point and b) what we'd seen of Duck thus far. And nobody sees it except Taylor, who may or may not tell anyone about it. If Duck picked up those habits on the mainland, and he's used to hiding them, then it's probable that nobody really knows he's capable of it at all. And I don't think they do, judging by how Sandra (a single, arguably defenseless, woman) and Buddy (a depressed but presumably competent police officer) react to him. It's not just Duck being gay that he keeps under wraps, and I was interested in how maybe it could all come out together -- his issues with being gay, his relationship issues, his parent issues, etc.

P.S. I've always found it weird that Duck is assumed to have left Wilby for a while. I didn't get that from the movie at all, even though every actor takes it for granted when they talk about Duck in interviews. I wonder if something was cut out of the script?

[demon_bride_]

I also don't think they think he's capable of it. I guess it's mostly that they just don't even consider whether or not he might be because he's such a quiet and - yeah, composed man (or as you put it, he has it together compared to most of the others).
I don't get why he should've left. In my mind he is the one with the best grip on what's going on behind the façade, maybe besides Buddy. But Buddy has his own pressing matters with his marriage and he also acts in an official capacity whereas Duck simply observes and... knows. I just get the feeling that he understands Wilby.
You know, there are only a handful of movies with such depth to their characters - and it doesn't even get fully explored in Wilby, you just know it's there and that there is this multitude of issues behind everything -- countless, possible side stories, much like your story, really :) There are obvious more issues to be dealt with when one considers Duck than just the obvious, gay one. Just like with Carol or - anyone, really XD they are all just waiting to tell the story that led up to the moment of the movie

[kuonji14]

Re: Duck leaving
I think it's reasonable that he would have left as a young man. Being gay, it would have been natural to want to explore himself in a less judgmental (or at least more anonymous) place. But like I said, I didn't get that from the movie itself.

Random: Another thing I was surprised by was the Duck-as-soul-of-the-story theme that all the interviewees mentioned. I saw Duck as that poor guy who keeps trying really hard to find (stalk) the guy who's unfortunately just as determinedly trying to kill himself -- and other people keep falling into his path, needing help. Maybe I'm the only one who sees it this way, but it cracks me up that, just like Dan, Duck has this goal in his mind throughout the movie that he's trying to achieve, but the other characters keep getting in his way! :) Buddy, meanwhile, has this sit-back-and-laugh-at-the-ridiculous-people attitude going, which is why I thought it would be fantastically funny to put the two of them together. :)

there are only a handful of movies with such depth to their characters
Yes, yes! I adore this movie! You get just enough of a glimpse of everyone to make them each more than cookie-cutouts, but little enough that your imagination is left open. I just watched Past Perfect and Whole New Thing, and they were excellent, but imo didn't come close to Wilby. Wilby has a fantastic synergy of character, setting, themes, and plot that appeals to me. I also love this particular balance of angst/dark/drama vs humor/light/farce. It's similar to the balance in DS. I originally put this down to 'Canadian humor', but it might just be certain writers that do this. (Have you seen the TV series, Castle?)

[demon_bride_]

I definitely haven't watched the movie enough times but I can't recall Duck having left for the mainland. But it gets treated as common knowledge in almost all fanfictions I have read so far.

Lol. You know I hadn't thought of Duck as being on his own quest, just like all the others. But putting it like that makes it hilarious - why had I never thought of that? I always thought he more or less ended up in the "right" places and by this he managed to be the one constant that linked the different events together. Funny, if you think about it. Because he is actually not of any importance to most of the characters and yet he is the one that functions as a conjunction.

I really adore your love for this movie :D I really have to watch it again. I've seen it... Hm, two? Maybe three times so far and talking with you about it makes me want to watch it again. Confirm some things and figure other stuff out :)
I haven't seen or heard about the Castle - but feel free to enlighten me :)

[kuonji14]

I think Wilby is a very rewatchable movie. :) Yes, you are going to watch it again~~~~ aren't you~~~? :D

Castle is about a mystery novel writer who latches on to a female detective as his 'muse'. He sort of becomes a de facto part of her team in solving crimes. They solve cases where things happen such as finding a dead body in a washing machine. Everyone kind of comes to expect that their team will get all the strange cases. :)
http://abc.go.com/watch/castle/SH559040?CID=google_sem_1

[demon_bride_]

I did re-watch ist actually :D so much stuff I had already forgotten again, this movie is just rich on small details.

Ha, the Castle thing is hilarious. I recently read a story by helens78 (I think) in which Castle comes to Chicago for a book tour and Fraser is strangely reluctant about it, Ray notices some similarities between one of Castle's books and Fraser's life and goes to investigate. Ray ends up in bed with Castle and finds out that there's something between Fraser and him worth pursuing and he can guess at what brought Castle and Fraser together in the past. Funny, I really thought Castle was just an original character XD I never would've guessed. Thanks for the piece of trivia

[kuonji14]

Found the fic, in case anyone else is following this thread:
http://archiveofourown.org/works/130219

I am certainly interested in reading it. Thanks! :D