Fic: That Hallmark Jazz (PG-13)

[dark_dreymer]

Title: That Hallmark Jazz
Author: Dark-Dreymer
Recipient: starryskies
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 8250
Warnings: Little hints of neglectful/abusive parenting
Summary: AU where Will is the student and Finn is the teacher.
Author's Notes: This was going to be a lot longer, but timing is not my strong suit. This may develop into a little 'verse because there's all this

Comments

[alicebluegown16]

Ooooh, I really, really hope you do continue with this as it totally fills my trifecta of kinks: AU, age swap, and single parent!Finn

[dark_dreymer]

Ooooh, I really, really hope you do continue with this as it totally fills my trifecta of kinks: AU, age swap, and single parent!Finn. I have so much I want to do in this 'verse that I don't think I'm going to be able to leave it alone, so there's a good chance there'll be a lot more to come.

EMMA AND BRYAN AS SIBS! See, I'm glad you liked this too, because when I thought of this I just loved it. I thin Bryan would be the perfect big brother who pulls on her pigtails, but gets into a fight with anyone who does the same.

Sue's Corner taking over the school paper. When I was writing the concept notes for this 'verse I knew I needed to get Sue into it somewhere and I obviously couldn't put her in the Glee club, and somehow I don't think she'd actually be one of the cheerleaders either. So when I had the thought of the school newspaper, with Figgins in charge, and it occured to me that I could mimic the power vaccuum where Sue gets away with a hell of a lot, I just knew I'd found where she was gonna fit into the story :3

[hopenight]

Oh bebe!

I loooved it.

Especially Finn the psychology teacher and the single parent of summer. And I love the interwoven dynamics between everything done in the way that feels real and believable to the reader.

And I loved how everything was presented (especially Emma's crush on Will). And I was cheering when Terri got what was coming to her in the end.

“You can call me Finn,” The teacher remarks.
“You can call me Mr. Schuester,” Will quips. “But that would be a bit weird.”
The nervousness on Finn's face falls away as an amused grin replaces it, the teenager feels a rush of daring and leans up to press his lips against the older man's again. It's little more than a touch of lips on lips, but it leaves a cheerfulness thrumming through Will like a well-played violin and the brightness doesn't leave him as he bids goodnight to Finn and sets off to catch the bus home.

Perfect ending. LOVED IT. <3

[dark_dreymer]

Thanks you very much, darling :3

I remember talking some of the details through with you all those months ago when we first got our prompt lists, and I just recall how something clicked when I thought of Finn as a Psychology teacher; it just seems to fit my idea of him a little better than going the obvious route and making him teach gym.

I love the interwoven dynamics between everything done in the way that feels real and believable to the reader. I really was trying to condense a lot of plot down into this oneshot, so it's reassuring to hear that it didn't seem messy or forced at times.

And I loved how everything was presented (especially Emma's crush on Will). Emma is an interesting character to explore in this 'verse. There's aspects of her canon behaviour in her crush, but she's also been Will's best friend since they were little kids so there's a lot of depth in their relationship that complicates matters. I kind of see it a little like Willow and Xander in the early seasons of Buffy

[tawg]

Okay, Will is freaking adorable in this. He has a smart mouth and he's not quite on the same level as everyone around him, and he's a little isolated because he's smart and cultured, and why is teenaged Will not a regular on Glee? Probably because TPTB could never do such a good job.

I liked that you age swapped the two years - teenaged Emma was so cute, and Bryan being her stepbrother was something I liked. Oh, Terri, I loved her scenes - she seemed a nice mix of Quinn (wanting to be popular), Santana (a bit of a bad girl), and Rachel (desperate to steal the show and get the guy).

Mr Hudson was really interesting - I can actually see Finn getting an interest in psych, and going in guns blazing for his students, and I think his perception as an adult works well with his hyperactive ditzyness as a teen (my own head canon is that Finn is a little slow because his brain is going in all directions at once).

[dark_dreymer]

Writing Will as a teenager was a lot of fun. He's not exactly the same person as he is in canon because he's still going through the maturing process that will lead to his adult self. It was interesting to think about which aspects of his character would already be apparent, which would come later in his life and even consider the stuff that he'd later grow out of once the teen angst had run its course. I really tried to create a character rather than rely on a stereotype and from the feedback I've been getting it looks like I did a good job :3

See, I don't know if canon will support me on this one, but I always got the impression that Bryan is supposed to be older than Will. The way I figure it, Will joined Glee club at the start of his Sophomore year and Bryan was cock-of-the-walk with April and her boyfriend gone, so he tormented the newbie and was generally superior to Will in every way, or at the very least that's how Will perceived it. I figure that year would be '92, with Bryan making his rendition of Piano Man and just

[tawg]

Re: Bryan Ryan, in the VO at the beginning of Dream On, Will says that Bryan was two years older (though he doesn't specify if that's age, or classes). In The Rhodes Not Taken Will mentions that he was a Junior when April was a Senior. Have I watched the related scenes too many times? Quite possibly.

[dark_dreymer]

See, I couldn't remember the specifics, but I rewatched the whole first series with my mum after I got the boxset for my birthday and I made sure to look out for little details in order to do some math and work out the dates Will was in high school for, get a rough estimate for his age, etc.

As for April though, I thought Will was a Freshman when she was a Senior. Maybe I'm recalling the dialogue of that scene wrong, but I swear it's what he says when he goes to meet her at the house she's squatting in.

[starryskies]

Thanks so much for writing this! I've always had this prompt in my head, but never thought it would actually get filled. And now I have what I always dreamed of. Thanks so much, I love it.

[dark_dreymer]

Since there were about three of us who had this idea in our prompt lists, I think it's fair to say that several people wanted to see this plot played out. I was very pleased to be able to do so and I'm glad you enjoyed it :3

[broccoli831]

This was awesome!!

I hope you'll write another part!