FIC: Ten Things That Pull Apart And One Thing That Holds Together

[lettered]

Title: Ten Things That Pull Apart And One Thing That Holds Together
Length: 3,000 words.
Rating: PG-13 for language
Disclaimers: Not mine.
Summary: Snippets of life in a world where B/A are together post-NFA. Devil's always in the details.

Comments

[violaclaire]

I loved this. So many B/A future fics--especially the ones that focus on the mundane details of their lives--are ultra-fluffy, which is nice, but rarely thought-provoking. This, though, is gorgeous. I love the slow build-up to the last piece, although the first nine broke my heart a little, especially,

Talking overbright, humor backlash to hurt, it was a trick Angel never used himself, and Buffy isn't talking about him. Sometimes he thinks she's a rockstar love, that moment in the lime light love, made-to-fade love, then love her from afar. Not like a song, because he can't sing; not like a poem, because he can't rhyme. He's not interactive, not electric, not burning bright and blond.

which is very true and very Angel, and

Buffy lies awake, turning her head to stare blankly at the blue glow from the lit screen illuminating the opposite wall. He’s so L.A., now, straight and sleek and tall, like a building, in his designer suits and shoes. She half expects him to slick back his hair, buy a pair of name-brand sunglasses, shiny like law offices. Whatever happened to that velvet jacket?

--partially because I usually think of that velvet jacked as wildly OOC (it always strikes me as something Oscar Wilde would wear), but this is making me consider the idea that the Angel that would wear that jacket--that ridiculous, twitchy, S1 Angel--is somehow less affected than the Angel of later seasons. Or is more real to Buffy, because that's how she first knew him.

And I love how you take all of those banal, petty arguments that couples have every day, and without flinching away from the reality of the fights show very simply that they're not deal-breakers. Beautiful.

[lettered]

I'm glad you felt there was a build up--I spent a loooong time determining the order of these snippets, and wanted the last one to feel just as real as the other ones.

artially because I usually think of that velvet jacked as wildly OOC (it always strikes me as something Oscar Wilde would wear), but this is making me consider the idea that the Angel that would wear that jacket--that ridiculous, twitchy, S1 Angel--is somehow less affected than the Angel of later seasons. Or is more real to Buffy, because that's how she first knew him.

crazydiamondsue is writing a funny parody fic, Welcome to the Wheels o' Rama, in which Buffy thinks Angel is ultra-cool in his velvet jacket because the fic is set in the 80's. I think the velvet jacket is great for S1 Angel because velvet has had several flings, especially 70s-80s, in which it was "cool" for certain groups. Not realizing it'd gone out of style, Angel carefully buys all kinds of velvet and garish pink lipstick (his make-up artist is always amazingly bad with his lips) and thinks he's gonna look all decked out for Buffy. Instead she thinks he's a little dorky, which turns her on more because he manages to be a total fashion reject and at the same time really hot (and the same can be said for S1 Buffy).

without flinching away from the reality of the fights show very simply that they're not deal-breakers.

Exactly what I was going for, thank you!

[wildrosesings]

violaclaire said it better than I could, so I'm just going to quote her:
And I love how you take all of those banal, petty arguments that couples have every day, and without flinching away from the reality of the fights show very simply that they're not deal-breakers. Beautiful.

You did good, here! "We're fighting here." Brilliant.

[lettered]

Oh, thank you so much! And I'm glad you liked that line!