Huh. I like this. I find Ethan positively swoonworthy, and there was something... delightfully honest, almost crass about it. Um, that's not the right description.
It's just... it *feels* like a nice mix of poetry and reality, of the contrast between Ethan's romantic/unrealistic side and the observations of Justin. I liked.
Less is more, and Ethan was beginning to learn that Justin didn't really want to hear an hour long description of what rehearsal was like, that Justin didn't care what his teacher thought about the increased vibrato on the D. Justin liked quiet, and he liked sex, and he actually seemed to like fucking techno dance music, because there wasn't any other reason Ethan could come up with that Justin would have it turned up loudly one afternoon as he painted, and blush and quickly fumble it off when Ethan burst through the door with his violin case.
I like the inherent deception going on in that paragraph. That Justin isn't who Ethan thought he was, not really. Regardless of how happy or how smitten Justin appeared, at heart, Justin isn't the same type of romantic that Ethan is. I like that it's not that Justin's outright lying to Ethan, he just isn't standing up and saying 'this isn't who I am. I like techno, and sex for the sake of it, but the romance thing seemed fun at the time.'
But he didn't know it would take 27 days for Justin to go back to Brian. He didn't know that it would be after dinner in Brian's office, and not in the middle of the night at Babylon or Saturday morning at Brian's loft. He didn't know that their first time, Brian would come too soon and Justin would know that this wasn't about sex, about performance, about fucking art or music or shit, but that this was about lust and need and love. He didn't know that it would be forever, that ten years later they'd fight about colors for ad copy and new tile for the bathroom floor and Brian being in denial about botox treatments.
Because Ethan still didn't know love, really.
To be totally honest, I have to admit that bit jarred. I mean, I would have expected the fic to end without it, on the line of "Ethan sort of knew this would be the last time, somehow" and to keep the focus very tightly inside Ethan's head, and very much looking at Justin and evaluating his past actions.
*shrugs* Maybe it's just a mindset thing. I don't *see* Brian and Justin in love, or ending happily ever after, so it jars me. I *see* the flaws in the Justin/Ethan relationship, so I can understand and appreciate the rest of it. And I flat out disagree with the last statement, in that the logical inference is that if Ethan knew love, he'd look at Justin/Brian and *see* it there.
The last bit just seems oddly tacked on. It feels different from the rest of the fic - it's suddenly distanced from Ethan, like I was reading about *Ethan's* reactions to Justin, and then the focus suddenly switched to Justin.
I am about to fall asleep here, so I shouldn't be commenting, but I think you're really insightful about the end of the fic here so I'm going to chatter real quick before I topple into bed.
The end is different. And it is tacked on. :) Jenn wrote most of the fic with me providing occasional lines (though oddly enough I wrote all of the lines that you've quoted) and I wrote the whole ending when we got sort of bored of torturing him. The first thing I told Jenn about the ending was that it switched to a more omniscient pov and was she okay with that. As I was writing the ending, I did realize that the fic could end quite conclusively with Ethan thinking that this was the last time, and that could quite possibly be more organic. But I was sort of attached to this idea (unrelated to Ethan's introspections) of what sexual clues signalled to Justin that this was different, and I've been musing recently how Brian thinks of sex as a performance, and how Ethan is (as a musician) a performer, and how Brian's failure to "perform" during sex, because he's overwhelmed emotionally or too excited or whatever, is a powerful statement to Justin, who has been learning a thing or two about performers from his whole experience.
Anyway, my comment here is to basically say you're right. The fic would end most naturally at Ethan's realization that this is the last time. The paragraphs after that are sprung from my own introspections and some sappiness. :)
(though oddly enough I wrote all of the lines that you've quoted)
Hee! How coincidental!
The paragraphs after that are sprung from my own introspections and some sappiness.
Well, the important things to remember whenever I comment on QafUS fic (as Jenn knows): 1) I swoon over Ethan 2) I dislike Justin rather intensely 3) The only person I dislike more than Justin is Brian. 4) I haven't watched S3, and probably won't.
Hence, my outlook can be *extremely* biased because I just don't get the appeal of Brian/Justin that seems to hold so much sway over Jenn and her fellow fen.
So, it may be a perfectly valid way of ending it, and it certainly does put the Ethan/Justin relationship into stark relief, it just jarred me. But half of that could be my lack of canon knowledge...
Anyway, in case I didn't say it before, I did really enjoy it, and it takes a bit for me to enjoy QaFUS fic. *g*
I like the inherent deception going on in that paragraph. That Justin isn't who Ethan thought he was, not really. Regardless of how happy or how smitten Justin appeared, at heart, Justin isn't the same type of romantic that Ethan is. I like that it's not that Justin's outright lying to Ethan, he just isn't standing up and saying 'this isn't who I am. I like techno, and sex for the sake of it, but the romance thing seemed fun at the time.'
*bites lip*
I've been thinking about that. I've just never believed that Justin's a *romantic*, not really. Like exactly what you said. Though I tend to think he *thought* he was, because it seemed like that was how it was *supposed* to be.
He confuses me sometimes.
The last bit just seems oddly tacked on. It feels different from the rest of the fic - it's suddenly distanced from Ethan, like I was reading about *Ethan's* reactions to Justin, and then the focus suddenly switched to Justin.
*thinks* I go back and forth. Sometimes, I think it works really well, and sometimes, I'm not so sure. I usually don't switch pov, so it tastes different than I'm used to.
I've been thinking about that. I've just never believed that Justin's a *romantic*, not really. Like exactly what you said. Though I tend to think he *thought* he was, because it seemed like that was how it was *supposed* to be.
He confuses me sometimes.
Heh. Yeah, I can see that. He's not exactly... a straight forward character...
*thinks* I go back and forth. Sometimes, I think it works really well, and sometimes, I'm not so sure. I usually don't switch pov, so it tastes different than I'm used to.
Huh. Come to think of it, I've spent years reading fic and I'm really used to a set pov now, so that could have been part of it, too. I'm used to close third-person pov's, especially from you and Te, so... that's probably part of the reaction. Not that it's bad, just that it jars because I'm not used to it.
(Well, that and my Justin/Brian hatred issues... *g*)
It's just... it *feels* like a nice mix of poetry and reality, of the contrast between Ethan's romantic/unrealistic side and the observations of Justin. I liked.
Less is more, and Ethan was beginning to learn that Justin didn't really want to hear an hour long description of what rehearsal was like, that Justin didn't care what his teacher thought about the increased vibrato on the D. Justin liked quiet, and he liked sex, and he actually seemed to like fucking techno dance music, because there wasn't any other reason Ethan could come up with that Justin would have it turned up loudly one afternoon as he painted, and blush and quickly fumble it off when Ethan burst through the door with his violin case.
I like the inherent deception going on in that paragraph. That Justin isn't who Ethan thought he was, not really. Regardless of how happy or how smitten Justin appeared, at heart, Justin isn't the same type of romantic that Ethan is. I like that it's not that Justin's outright lying to Ethan, he just isn't standing up and saying 'this isn't who I am. I like techno, and sex for the sake of it, but the romance thing seemed fun at the time.'
But he didn't know it would take 27 days for Justin to go back to Brian. He didn't know that it would be after dinner in Brian's office, and not in the middle of the night at Babylon or Saturday morning at Brian's loft. He didn't know that their first time, Brian would come too soon and Justin would know that this wasn't about sex, about performance, about fucking art or music or shit, but that this was about lust and need and love. He didn't know that it would be forever, that ten years later they'd fight about colors for ad copy and new tile for the bathroom floor and Brian being in denial about botox treatments.
Because Ethan still didn't know love, really.
To be totally honest, I have to admit that bit jarred. I mean, I would have expected the fic to end without it, on the line of "Ethan sort of knew this would be the last time, somehow" and to keep the focus very tightly inside Ethan's head, and very much looking at Justin and evaluating his past actions.
*shrugs* Maybe it's just a mindset thing. I don't *see* Brian and Justin in love, or ending happily ever after, so it jars me. I *see* the flaws in the Justin/Ethan relationship, so I can understand and appreciate the rest of it. And I flat out disagree with the last statement, in that the logical inference is that if Ethan knew love, he'd look at Justin/Brian and *see* it there.
The last bit just seems oddly tacked on. It feels different from the rest of the fic - it's suddenly distanced from Ethan, like I was reading about *Ethan's* reactions to Justin, and then the focus suddenly switched to Justin.
But, as I said, could just be me.
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The end is different. And it is tacked on. :) Jenn wrote most of the fic with me providing occasional lines (though oddly enough I wrote all of the lines that you've quoted) and I wrote the whole ending when we got sort of bored of torturing him. The first thing I told Jenn about the ending was that it switched to a more omniscient pov and was she okay with that. As I was writing the ending, I did realize that the fic could end quite conclusively with Ethan thinking that this was the last time, and that could quite possibly be more organic. But I was sort of attached to this idea (unrelated to Ethan's introspections) of what sexual clues signalled to Justin that this was different, and I've been musing recently how Brian thinks of sex as a performance, and how Ethan is (as a musician) a performer, and how Brian's failure to "perform" during sex, because he's overwhelmed emotionally or too excited or whatever, is a powerful statement to Justin, who has been learning a thing or two about performers from his whole experience.
Anyway, my comment here is to basically say you're right. The fic would end most naturally at Ethan's realization that this is the last time. The paragraphs after that are sprung from my own introspections and some sappiness. :)
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Hee! How coincidental!
The paragraphs after that are sprung from my own introspections and some sappiness.
Well, the important things to remember whenever I comment on QafUS fic (as Jenn knows):
1) I swoon over Ethan
2) I dislike Justin rather intensely
3) The only person I dislike more than Justin is Brian.
4) I haven't watched S3, and probably won't.
Hence, my outlook can be *extremely* biased because I just don't get the appeal of Brian/Justin that seems to hold so much sway over Jenn and her fellow fen.
So, it may be a perfectly valid way of ending it, and it certainly does put the Ethan/Justin relationship into stark relief, it just jarred me. But half of that could be my lack of canon knowledge...
Anyway, in case I didn't say it before, I did really enjoy it, and it takes a bit for me to enjoy QaFUS fic. *g*
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*bites lip*
I've been thinking about that. I've just never believed that Justin's a *romantic*, not really. Like exactly what you said. Though I tend to think he *thought* he was, because it seemed like that was how it was *supposed* to be.
He confuses me sometimes.
The last bit just seems oddly tacked on. It feels different from the rest of the fic - it's suddenly distanced from Ethan, like I was reading about *Ethan's* reactions to Justin, and then the focus suddenly switched to Justin.
*thinks* I go back and forth. Sometimes, I think it works really well, and sometimes, I'm not so sure. I usually don't switch pov, so it tastes different than I'm used to.
Much thinking on this bit.
Thanks for commenting!
*hugs*
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I've been thinking about that. I've just never believed that Justin's a *romantic*, not really. Like exactly what you said. Though I tend to think he *thought* he was, because it seemed like that was how it was *supposed* to be.
He confuses me sometimes.
Heh. Yeah, I can see that. He's not exactly... a straight forward character...
*thinks* I go back and forth. Sometimes, I think it works really well, and sometimes, I'm not so sure. I usually don't switch pov, so it tastes different than I'm used to.
Huh. Come to think of it, I've spent years reading fic and I'm really used to a set pov now, so that could have been part of it, too. I'm used to close third-person pov's, especially from you and Te, so... that's probably part of the reaction. Not that it's bad, just that it jars because I'm not used to it.
(Well, that and my Justin/Brian hatred issues... *g*)
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