Fic; Life and Times of Author B.A. Dalton (Epilogue)
Title: Life and Times of Author B.A. Dalton (Epilogue)
Author: oncetwiceforevr (formerly Tara1031)
Word Count: Epilogue: 1,012 words / Full Fic: 20,000+ words
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Kurt/Blaine
Summary: Blaine Anderson (aka B.A. Dalton) is a writer from Los Angeles. Kurt Hummel changes him. (Aptly nicknamed the Writer!Blaine AU)
Author's Notes: THANK YOU to Megan and Zoey for reading super early versions of this (it's evolved a lot, definitely) and most importantly, Monica, who's been nothing but supportive. Also any of you that stuck with me as I live-blogged writing this. Forever. I would also like to note I know very little about the publishing business. Carry on.
If you have any interest, my tumblr is here.
Epilogue.
New York is the sort of place that seems like it should only exist in storybooks, in places of imagination. There's the most beautiful buildings the most colorful of people and the most exquisite art. Blaine Anderson drives one day from Los Angeles to New York in his lame slate gray Prius with his dog in the back and finds a life there, on the East Coast amongst the craziest backdrop.
He hadn't given Kurt Hummel a warning, you see. Once upon a time, Blaine Anderson and Kurt Hummel- they had a thing, a crazy two week romance that only exists in subtle romantic comedies by Wes Anderson and they'd let one another go, because life - it's not those romance novels. But Blaine, he'd forgotten that he could write his own story; that his words and emotions and actions did not need to be restricted to the words he wrote on the page. He'd forgotten that he was the protagonist in his own world, and he could go for it - he could go for happiness and it could happen (or it might not).
So he drives with his husky dog Ramona across the country to land in a state he's only just visited once. He gets lost on the subway a lot those first days, and once in Central Park. He falls asleep on the bus downtown and gets pick pocketed, of course, and he also forgets that it gets cold in New York City, that it's not Los Angeles, not in any way.
But he's there, and Kurt's there (somewhere) and it's only been six months but he's fearful he's forgotten who Kurt is, that Kurt's forgotten him, that life moves too quickly and because it's NOT that romcom or romance novel, he might be too late. In his darkest nights, laying awake in an unfamiliar brownstone in Park Slope with it's unfamiliar sounds he worries maybe Kurt was just a figment of his imagination - his greatest character ever developed, the perfect guy just for him written by his overzealous imagination. (The same one, that as a kid, had given him such vivid dreamworlds of exciting adventures he used to cry when waking.) That first week he settles in (tries to) and gets over his fear (tries to) and in week two he goes out with Kurt in pursuit; an address and a phone number at his disposal. They weren't completely not in touch - there's always a random text there, and an instragramed photo here, but they don't do much talking. Blaine alternately fears it's because Kurt's moving forward and hopes it's because it just hurts too much to talk to him.
In the end, he shows up the address with a rose and a hopeful smile. In the end, the door opens and Kurt's there, eyes wide, shocked, then elated.
In the end, their story continues, even if it will eventually end (it won't). In the end, Blaine Anderson gets that stupid happy ending.
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"B.A. Dalton Shreds Anonymity; Emerges with Stunning New Work
If I was told that the same guy who'd written such tragedies (great tragedies, moving tragedies) as Mediocrity and Subject was the very same who penned Looking Glass, I would call your bluff. Where both freshman and sophomore novels were unrepentantly sad, written to drag you down and leave you with your own lonely thoughts (while marinating in the novel's), Looking Glass does the opposite, starting quiet and leaving with you with feelings of elation and the kind of giddiness that comes with reading something truly inspiring.
Telling the story of a lonely gay teenager in middle-American Ohio, Blaine Anderson's (fka as B.A. Dalton) junior novel takes you through the journey of self-discovery and finding love in an unlikely place, in a world that's not the most accepting one. And while yes, this book is remarkably lighter than Anderson's past work, it does hold the grace of his prior pieces. Like Mediocrity and Subject, Looking Glass does feature a protagonist that's led a terribly lonely life. There's something so remarkably sad about Mark, the boy of a million locker shoves and petty, undeserved insults. He stands tall even when he's so clearly screaming for help. He is all of us, gay or straight, who'd felt helpless during those most formative years.
And while ultimately Mark is given a light in another person (who's equally as lost and complex, despite his seemingly put-together exterior), nothing is given easily to them. It reads so much like the average, unremarkable love story that you leave wondering why it's so powerful, but know that it's really quite stunning in it's own way.
In the end, some might say Anderson's tone has changed, that his spirits are brighter, and that his work has become more mature. I say, however, that nothing's really changed. Anderson is still writing dynamic, tragically moving characters, and just like the writer himself, they have just found their footing. This is a read for anyone who's a fan of characters, of relationships, of life and moving forward and learning, and while some critics and bookstores might shove it simply into the LQBT-works section, it's beyond orientation and beliefs. It's about two people, and that's that." -- Leslie Hunter, New York Times.
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And on the very last page of Looking Glass:
About the Author:
Blaine Anderson (fka B.A. Dalton) likes to write these days at a little coffee shop in Park Slope, Brooklyn, outside in the New York sunlight with his dog, Ramona, at his feet (weather permitting). If not at Java Jim's he's usually stuck in the little corner office of the home he shares with his husband, Kurt Hummel, whining (always teasingly so) about missing the sunny days of California. One day Kurt will actually believe him. (Probably not.) They are expecting their first child.
He wishes to thank said husband for getting him to stop hiding behind the Dalton moniker, and even more so for loving him so fiercely, and supporting him so strongly. Without him, he's sure this one would've been the hottest mess there ever was.
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Author's Note:
Thank you all for reading :) If there's anyone who may think the ending feels a bit rushed, I totally understand -- but know I had my reasons !! If you have any questions, feel free to send me an ask on tumblr :)