"When Everything Was New" by Brightknightie (PG, gen)

[brightknightie]

Title: “When Everything Was New”
Author: Brightknightie (Amy R.)
Beta-Readers: Friendshipper and Skieswideopen
Characters: Tessa, Duncan, Alexa, Martin Sorrel (from “Eyewitness”)
Prompt: “Alexa meets Tessa at an art show, either pre-series or season one.”
Warning/Rating: PG. Mild violence. ~5K words.
Summary: Tessa exhibits in the juried division of the 1986 Seacouver Art and Wine

Comments

[idontlikegravy]

Rico's chilli-dogs, ain't nothing like 'em. *g*

Thank you so much for contributing such a wonderful, poignant fic. I love the Six Degrees-ness of it, you handled it deftly; it could have felt forced but it doesn't at all.

I also think you did an excellent job in capturing Tessa's feelings and thoughts at what would have been an emotionally difficult time for her.

Thank you again, hope you'll take part in the next challenge too :)

[brightknightie]

>"Rico's chilli-dogs, ain't nothing like 'em. *g*"

~g~ That's the line, all right. ~g~

Thank you very much for reading! And thank you also for your kind comments. I appreciate it. I know that bumping into the recurring characters stretches credulity, but I hate to visit Seacouver and not see them all. ;-) Hopefully, the conceit will register only on those who might enjoy it.

I've posted HL stories in multi-fandom games before, but this is the first time I've ever posted in an HL-specific venue. Thank you for inviting me back for the next challenge. :-)

[sholio]

I still love this story, and I really like the changes you made - I think you did an excellent job of addressing my beta concerns while working within the deadlines. It feels much more tied-together now, and on a small side note, I love the expanded cameo with Anne (something I totally missed before, incidentally).

It's a lovely slice of life. My favorite thing about this is still how grounded it feels -- full of tangible details, very solid and believable. I don't think the cameos stretch credibility at all, particularly in Joe's case, since he would have carefully arranged to be where Duncan is! In fact, seeing other characters casually wander in and out of the scenes is part of what makes this feel so thoroughly rooted in HL canon. Tessa & Duncan's interactions are wonderful, and both Tessa and Alexa as individuals are characterized beautifully. I was happy to beta it. :)

Thanks!

[brightknightie]

Thank you very much for taking the time to read the story again! I appreciate it. And thank you again for your well-considered beta analysis and recommendations; I do wish there had been time to pull apart the second draft, too, and achieve more, but I hope that readers generous enough to tackle the story will find it satisfactory, anyway.

I'm glad Anne's revised cameo works! Thank you. I discovered that she is more challenging to "tip off" than Charlie, Joe and Richie. Heart-shaped face, thick dark hair, perilously short skirts, a brisk, bright manner... :-)

Thank you for your flattering evaluation of the characterizations and canon-resonance, within a day-in-the-life piece.