So I've read this again, and I'm still not coherent other that to goggle at how awesome this is, and metaphorically clutch it gleefully close to my heart, but. Here goes:
I love the title to bits; the lietmotif of Don's door, of permission - and exclusion - of crossing a boundary, and what being on the outside of that boundary means to Pete, causing him to create this mythical Don, this fantasy that builds and builds... It's so beautifully tied together, and yet is completely organic, and unobtrusive.
What does it take to have a drink with the man?
Pete gets the next round. LOVE. One of the things I found hardest to deal with about the show when it first started was how relentlessly it showed you all the things going on uder each character's perfect facade. There's always more than one level, and everyone - Don, Pete, Peggy - all have to operate on all these levels simultaneously, knowing that no other person will ever completely understand them. Pete's phantom-Don is his way of dealing, of getting closer, and yet, he's perfectly able to act like one of the guys when he needs to. It's also such a nice throwback to Pete's disconnection in the bar in the Pilot.
[...]and Don's holding him down, back. Down. Holding him down. Oh, the wealth of information and innuendo in that phrase. I love your writing style here; it mirrors the show so well: very spare, yet all the information's there, and half the fun is decoding it. ♥
Heeeee! Don as Batman is disturbingly apt. Harry's too perspicacious for his own good.
I can't seem to stop flailing, but. This fic is FANTASTIC. I CAN'T STOP THE CAPSLOCK OF GLEEEEE.
Wow. Thank you, this is really generous feedback. I just hope that I can respond adequately.
Yes, Don's door is a boundary. Don himself is a boundary, the gatekeeper for what Pete wants. And it's not just career and power, although he wants that, but acknowledgment and kinship, to feel a part rather than apart. He really does feel disconnected from his peers, his own social class and his co-workers. He doesn't even seem to feel particularly connected to Trudy. I get the feeling he married her simply because that's what one does.
He feels something for Peggy, but she becomes a rival and threat. Not only in terms of the office, but his rival with Don. If Pete's capable of loving anyone, he's in love with Don. Man-crush is a modern term and too simple to describe the dynamic. And given the times, Pete doesn't acknowledge the sexual undercurrent that comes with that. His mythical Don, of course, that he has vague fantasies about and even brings to bed with him.
But the real Don, tantalizingly, does have things in common with the fantasy one. He is Batman, in a way (good call, Harry *g*) - powerful and mysterious, intelligent and creative. Everything he touches turns to gold. And that's reinforced when Pete tries to blackmail him and Don ends up winning. In a weird way, Pete feels a stronger connection to Don after that, rather than less.
I love the title to bits; the lietmotif of Don's door, of permission - and exclusion - of crossing a boundary, and what being on the outside of that boundary means to Pete, causing him to create this mythical Don, this fantasy that builds and builds... It's so beautifully tied together, and yet is completely organic, and unobtrusive.
What does it take to have a drink with the man?
Pete gets the next round.
LOVE. One of the things I found hardest to deal with about the show when it first started was how relentlessly it showed you all the things going on uder each character's perfect facade. There's always more than one level, and everyone - Don, Pete, Peggy - all have to operate on all these levels simultaneously, knowing that no other person will ever completely understand them. Pete's phantom-Don is his way of dealing, of getting closer, and yet, he's perfectly able to act like one of the guys when he needs to. It's also such a nice throwback to Pete's disconnection in the bar in the Pilot.
[...]and Don's holding him down, back. Down. Holding him down.
Oh, the wealth of information and innuendo in that phrase. I love your writing style here; it mirrors the show so well: very spare, yet all the information's there, and half the fun is decoding it. ♥
Heeeee! Don as Batman is disturbingly apt. Harry's too perspicacious for his own good.
I can't seem to stop flailing, but. This fic is FANTASTIC. I CAN'T STOP THE CAPSLOCK OF GLEEEEE.
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Yes, Don's door is a boundary. Don himself is a boundary, the gatekeeper for what Pete wants. And it's not just career and power, although he wants that, but acknowledgment and kinship, to feel a part rather than apart. He really does feel disconnected from his peers, his own social class and his co-workers. He doesn't even seem to feel particularly connected to Trudy. I get the feeling he married her simply because that's what one does.
He feels something for Peggy, but she becomes a rival and threat. Not only in terms of the office, but his rival with Don. If Pete's capable of loving anyone, he's in love with Don. Man-crush is a modern term and too simple to describe the dynamic. And given the times, Pete doesn't acknowledge the sexual undercurrent that comes with that. His mythical Don, of course, that he has vague fantasies about and even brings to bed with him.
But the real Don, tantalizingly, does have things in common with the fantasy one. He is Batman, in a way (good call, Harry *g*) - powerful and mysterious, intelligent and creative. Everything he touches turns to gold. And that's reinforced when Pete tries to blackmail him and Don ends up winning. In a weird way, Pete feels a stronger connection to Don after that, rather than less.
Now if Don would just open up his damn door...*g*
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