The Night Starts Here: Part II

[noahjz]

 Title: The Night Starts Here
Author: noahjz 
Rating: PG-13, for some cursing
Pairing/Characters: Rachel/Quinn, some Finn/Rachel, Rachel's dads, Judy Fabray, Puck
Length: ~8000
Spoilers: Up to 2x09
Summary: Quinn discovers that her mother was Jewish before she married her father. She asks Rachel for help understanding the religion.
A/N: Apologies if I messed

Comments

[glee_addict]

First of all, i love how well-written and how well thought of this story is. the character development was so flawless. it was really realistic.

i have read hundreds of stories in this fandom concerning religion or faith. i am a Catholic born and raised as one, a practicing one as well. in my country, even though traditionally homosexuality is considered as a sin, i would think our church here is more lenient than what has been protrayed in so many fics. openly gay people are very much welcomed in church as any straight person. and we have never been taught nor has it been preached that just being homosexual means one is damned.

so much for that...

again, great piece of work!

[noahjz]

Thank you for your comment about the character development. Other than totally butchering Judaism, that was the thing I was most worried about.

I agree with the second paragraph so much. There's a middle ground between being not religious and believing it in a "the Bible is totally literal" way. A lot of people seem to miss that.

[therealval]

Oh I loved this. You did a great job at explaining enough of Judaism to understand but also concentrate on the story. Great job! I loved it.

[noahjz]

Glad I didn't overuse Judaism to the point where it felt like Hebrew School. Thank you!

[allan_93]

It was really awesome to finally see a story that dealt with both Quinn dealing with her sexuality outside of her relationship with Rachel, and Quinn dealing with her sexuality and her religion. Especially a story that did both of these so beautifully, with such a sweet and awesome ending. I loved it.

[noahjz]

I really think Quinn is super gay because her parents hate it, she's such a bitch, especially to Rachel, who is the object of her affections. But I guess that's pretty much a given of anyone in this comm...

Anyway. Thank you for thinking I did a good job of reconciling those things!

[rusty_tiffany]

This is really great. I was raised Jewish and I went to both Orthodox and Conservative day schools through high school, but I pulled away from the religion not long after my Bat Mitzvah for a bunch of reasons, one being that I realized I liked girls and that didn't fit with what I was being taught. It's been almost 8 years since then, and my view of Judaism now is much more like Rachel's; the culture and community is what's really important to me, not the actual faith and practices. I love how you had Quinn comparing Judaism and Christianity and finding what parts of each of them fit and worked for her, and I really loved when Rachel asked her why not focus on the half o the religion that loved and accepted her no matter why, rather than the part that rejected her for being gay. Awesome job.

[noahjz]

This comment makes me think that portrayal of Judaism= successful.

That (which half of the religion to believe thing) always struck me as particularly interesting in terms of people who grow up with the really conservative teachings. I mean, I know it's hard to get away from that, but it seems like you hear so much about "I'm not religious anymore" instead of "I go to a different church/synagogue/temple/whatever now."

[varconc]

Thank you for sharing this

[varconc]

The plot point about her exploring both religions, and what Rachel said about not having to choose was really inspired too.

She looks into the mirror, the Star of David and the cross bumping against each other on her pale skin [...]

This is one of my favorite lines. The image was really powerful, and it was a sort of symbol of Quinn's struggle and and integral part of who she is.

“You don't have to pick.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have two fathers; why can't you?”

The whole idea of having two religions and them coexisting was something that i've never seen explored before, and provided a rare and compelling perspective on religion. Like another reader said, it was "finding what parts of each of them fit and worked for her" and the point it makes about faith vs religion kinda hit the nail for me. Also, the comment Rachel made about focusing on the half of the religion that loves you was really good advice too (:

“Look. I'm trying to say that the whole point of faith is to help people through hard times. And Judaism and

[noahjz]

Wow. This is probably the most amazing comment I have ever received on anything. Ever, whether it be fanfiction or just regular prose.

I'm sorry that you're going through such a tough time, and I hope it gets better.

My goal was to create a sort of middle ground on religion, where the traditional, human-made faiths meet the more abstract and vague concept of just needing to believe in something, and it seems to have come across, which is great.

Simplicity (though not Hemingway levels of it) is often a good thing in writing, and I think it helps to get the point across better.

Rachel is sweetest character on that whole show, and they need to acknowledge how damn nice she is to everyone.

All of your favorite parts are also my favorite bits as well.

I'm glad that you have found something to identify with in this story, and again, hope that you can work things out :)

Thank you once again for the most epic comment ever written!