Okay, I lied...WW recs
Jun. 22nd, 2003 12:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
out_thereI'm still up reading fics. *g*
Questions and Answers is a Sam-centric, Post "Somebody's..." fic. What I like is the description of Lisa and his relationship with her. It's very easy to see just why he was attracted to her, why he would consider marrying her, and just why it would never work.
But he's never been bad at anything and refuses to be so now. He becomes the kind of boyfriend that makes Lisa's colleagues say "where did you find him?" and "where can I get one?"
And Lisa becomes the kind of girlfriend that never gets along with his friends.
There is a lovely view of Lisa as just as much a good person, without the same lofty ideals of parliment. It's easy to see why she is intriguing, even if neither of them are happy together.
"You have all the answers don't you," she says. "You think that if you're just given the opportunity you can change everything where better men and women before you could not. Well I tell you that politics is not about changing the world and making a difference, it's about winning and losing and being able to say on your CV somewhere that you worked in Congress, while the real work is being done on the streets by Samaritans and volunteers. None of which will be given consideration at the next election."
And,
He thinks about Lisa with her dour look and cynical tone, representing battered women and evicted drug addicts, and the way she comes home at night and showers, willing it all down the drain with her shampoo.
It's sweet, and sad, and just right. Plus, it offers a different reason for just why his father's betrayel hurt Sam so much. Not so much because he saw his father's flaws, as he saw his own.
Summer of a Boy is a wonderfully bittersweet reflection on the Sam/Josh thing, and it's written in a very close third person POV which really gets to me.
He doesn't call summer lovers and he definitely doesn't call boys but he calls Sam because he can't forget him and there are bits of him scattered in Josh's imagination that he can't piece together.
A Campaign Thing by Candle Beck. I like her descriptions of the characters, the way that she can use a sentence to place you right in the thick of the story, as if the characters were literally in the room with you.
And then Josh would come swinging through the doors, bee-lining for the senior staff's table, already a mess of hair and bright ideas, talking about what they were doing now, what they would be doing later, what they should be doing next, what they could be doing if they could just go five minutes at a stretch without pissing off the entire political system.
Because that is Josh, full of energy and ideas the way that Sam is full of idealism and belief. (I love these boys so much at the moment.) There's also a delightful description of Toby:
`If multiple abstract concepts could somehow produce offspring, Toby would be the spawn of Disgruntlement, Sarcasm, Poetry, Tactlessness and Wisdom. Wrap it all up in a sports coat, slap a beard on it, give it a shot of whiskey and a cigar, and that's Toby.'
The other thing I love about this fic is the relationship between Sam and his father. The obvious hero-worship, the genuine love and the personal insecurities that feel so right for Sam. The hurt that he takes to heart, and the words of wisdom that he cherishes. It's a touching fic, utterly believeable with great characterisation and a very satisfying ending.
It's Called Spring shows a Sam who's waiting for his life to come together, and watching it fall apart. I'd like to say that this isn't real, isn't right, but there is more than a grain of truth to the idea that Sam and Josh don't communicate. (It's not so clear in S1 & S2, but certainly is there in S3.)
...it's because of the fact that they never finish a conversation; not about anything that matters. Not about things like life and death, or why he left a city and a good woman for rain and eyes and nothing more.
Really, this is the friendship that we see in S3.
Sam's voice sounds thick. "You know, you've never understood the way I do things, Josh. But you understand the way you do things even less, and I think, I think that's why we work; why we're friends."
I like the way that the scenes meld together, the very smoothness which is surprising in a fic that is made up of small moments over time. I like the way that it's soft, gentle and understated. The way that the friendship falls apart because they can't communicate, becuase Sam can't let Josh help him, and Josh can't trust Sam enough to be vulnerable around him. The way that they both try, but they just can't force themselves to make enough effort.
"Sam. Listen, I'm fine. I mean, I'm not fine. But I will be. The guy said so. And, uh, that didn't sound nearly as convincing as it did in my head, but--"
"Josh."
"I just, I don't want to talk about this."
"Ever?"
"I don't want to talk about this with you."
Monster got to me a good deal more than I'd like to admit. I started out being rather amused and intrigued by Josh's delusional logic, but Sam's reaction was very touching. For a fairly short fic, the ending packs a lovely punch.
Three Times was a fic that I enjoyed because some of the lines made me laugh, simply because they were so very suited to Josh. It felt like him.
It was easier in college, Josh thinks, when he wasn't high up in the line of succession, when he wasn't going to be saved in a bunker in the event of nuclear war, when didn't have to treat the Christian Right as a legitimate influence in his life.
Of course, I have to say that the Sam dialogue was good too. I especially liked this line, because it could almost have come from one of the scripts.
There was a second before Sam answered, grabbing his coat in the process. "I'm coming but I want you to know it's only because I love beer. You were still wrong."
I'm very intrigued by the relationship between Sam and Josh, and the fact that they are both the Good Guys, even though they're not always good guys. They're both flawed and lacking, imperfect and more than slightly screwed up. They match, and they fit, but not enough to acheive the impossible and really make it work.
Okay, now I'm going to bed. Just going to quickly reread Te's Ethan/Steerpike, and then I'm going to sleep... ...or possibly watching Parkinsons...
Questions and Answers is a Sam-centric, Post "Somebody's..." fic. What I like is the description of Lisa and his relationship with her. It's very easy to see just why he was attracted to her, why he would consider marrying her, and just why it would never work.
But he's never been bad at anything and refuses to be so now. He becomes the kind of boyfriend that makes Lisa's colleagues say "where did you find him?" and "where can I get one?"
And Lisa becomes the kind of girlfriend that never gets along with his friends.
There is a lovely view of Lisa as just as much a good person, without the same lofty ideals of parliment. It's easy to see why she is intriguing, even if neither of them are happy together.
"You have all the answers don't you," she says. "You think that if you're just given the opportunity you can change everything where better men and women before you could not. Well I tell you that politics is not about changing the world and making a difference, it's about winning and losing and being able to say on your CV somewhere that you worked in Congress, while the real work is being done on the streets by Samaritans and volunteers. None of which will be given consideration at the next election."
And,
He thinks about Lisa with her dour look and cynical tone, representing battered women and evicted drug addicts, and the way she comes home at night and showers, willing it all down the drain with her shampoo.
It's sweet, and sad, and just right. Plus, it offers a different reason for just why his father's betrayel hurt Sam so much. Not so much because he saw his father's flaws, as he saw his own.
Summer of a Boy is a wonderfully bittersweet reflection on the Sam/Josh thing, and it's written in a very close third person POV which really gets to me.
He doesn't call summer lovers and he definitely doesn't call boys but he calls Sam because he can't forget him and there are bits of him scattered in Josh's imagination that he can't piece together.
A Campaign Thing by Candle Beck. I like her descriptions of the characters, the way that she can use a sentence to place you right in the thick of the story, as if the characters were literally in the room with you.
And then Josh would come swinging through the doors, bee-lining for the senior staff's table, already a mess of hair and bright ideas, talking about what they were doing now, what they would be doing later, what they should be doing next, what they could be doing if they could just go five minutes at a stretch without pissing off the entire political system.
Because that is Josh, full of energy and ideas the way that Sam is full of idealism and belief. (I love these boys so much at the moment.) There's also a delightful description of Toby:
`If multiple abstract concepts could somehow produce offspring, Toby would be the spawn of Disgruntlement, Sarcasm, Poetry, Tactlessness and Wisdom. Wrap it all up in a sports coat, slap a beard on it, give it a shot of whiskey and a cigar, and that's Toby.'
The other thing I love about this fic is the relationship between Sam and his father. The obvious hero-worship, the genuine love and the personal insecurities that feel so right for Sam. The hurt that he takes to heart, and the words of wisdom that he cherishes. It's a touching fic, utterly believeable with great characterisation and a very satisfying ending.
It's Called Spring shows a Sam who's waiting for his life to come together, and watching it fall apart. I'd like to say that this isn't real, isn't right, but there is more than a grain of truth to the idea that Sam and Josh don't communicate. (It's not so clear in S1 & S2, but certainly is there in S3.)
...it's because of the fact that they never finish a conversation; not about anything that matters. Not about things like life and death, or why he left a city and a good woman for rain and eyes and nothing more.
Really, this is the friendship that we see in S3.
Sam's voice sounds thick. "You know, you've never understood the way I do things, Josh. But you understand the way you do things even less, and I think, I think that's why we work; why we're friends."
I like the way that the scenes meld together, the very smoothness which is surprising in a fic that is made up of small moments over time. I like the way that it's soft, gentle and understated. The way that the friendship falls apart because they can't communicate, becuase Sam can't let Josh help him, and Josh can't trust Sam enough to be vulnerable around him. The way that they both try, but they just can't force themselves to make enough effort.
"Sam. Listen, I'm fine. I mean, I'm not fine. But I will be. The guy said so. And, uh, that didn't sound nearly as convincing as it did in my head, but--"
"Josh."
"I just, I don't want to talk about this."
"Ever?"
"I don't want to talk about this with you."
Monster got to me a good deal more than I'd like to admit. I started out being rather amused and intrigued by Josh's delusional logic, but Sam's reaction was very touching. For a fairly short fic, the ending packs a lovely punch.
Three Times was a fic that I enjoyed because some of the lines made me laugh, simply because they were so very suited to Josh. It felt like him.
It was easier in college, Josh thinks, when he wasn't high up in the line of succession, when he wasn't going to be saved in a bunker in the event of nuclear war, when didn't have to treat the Christian Right as a legitimate influence in his life.
Of course, I have to say that the Sam dialogue was good too. I especially liked this line, because it could almost have come from one of the scripts.
There was a second before Sam answered, grabbing his coat in the process. "I'm coming but I want you to know it's only because I love beer. You were still wrong."
I'm very intrigued by the relationship between Sam and Josh, and the fact that they are both the Good Guys, even though they're not always good guys. They're both flawed and lacking, imperfect and more than slightly screwed up. They match, and they fit, but not enough to acheive the impossible and really make it work.
Okay, now I'm going to bed. Just going to quickly reread Te's Ethan/Steerpike, and then I'm going to sleep... ...or possibly watching Parkinsons...
