Day Twenty-Four

[aruan]

All the Joey/JC love from the Celebrity tour makes my toes curl. From sharing stools to sharing laps, from the ruffling of hair to hooking chins over shoulders, they were wonderfully adorable to watch.

Know I'll Stay by Velma

"I'm sorry, Lance," JC says. "It's just, I can't. Not like this."

Lance considers him for a minute and his eyes are clearer than they were just a moment before. "Stupid to save yourself for him, Jayce."

JC flinches.

"I've already asked," Lance says. "He's not interested. Me. You. Dicks in general. I don't get why you do this. Set yourself up for this. Not when you could have something else."

JC walks away.

Uh, mostly I just thought he made a really good point there. It's not indicative of the rest or theme of the story. Which is, you know, ow, but oh. Yeah, one of those.

Comments

[viasaintpaul.livejournal.com]

hey, thank you for this. :)

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

What you should really do though is scroll up and read what I had to say for Come Back New because yeah, that story haunts me (in a good way!)

I feel sheepish every time I rec a story of an author I haven't properly feedbacked and she finds my little three-sentence ramble during Month festivities because I'm all, 'no, really, I have intelligent and glowing things to say about this to you, not just the pseudo-coherent worshipful blurbs posted here!'

But, you know, since we're all here, you're entirely welcome, and really it's thanks to you for posting. Joey and his tragic straightness is a common enough theme, but you did it with the kind of compassion on his part that few writers remember - he's a good, loving person, even if he's not compelled to shag his crushing bandmates. And JC! *hugs him tight* Made more poignant by the fact that I know what he means by that kind of connection that doesn't break or fade, just becomes tolerably buried under the skin. Loved this, truly - I felt you did right by everybody and didn't turn a concept rife with just that kind of prospect into a pity/sapfest. Respect for one's characters and appreciation for their integrity is integral to good writing, and that came across in spades here.

[viasaintpaul.livejournal.com]

Wow, okay, so I'm blushing like crazy here. Thank you for both recs, and the kind words in both, and everything you've said here.

Joey and his tragic straightness, man. It's such a dual-edged sword. I mean, fandom conspiracy to resist slashing him aside, it's sadly the way he is in my head, and that was before Bri or the engagement or any of that. His friendship with JC, though, endlessly fascinating because they constantly push the limits in terms of their *physical* affection with each other.

In a lot of ways this isnt' all that different from the loving your best friend stories, except here it's orientation that's keeping them from making a leap. A divide which is both comforting and frustrating, I'd think.

Anyway, I ramble. Thank you again. :)

[gjstruthseeker.livejournal.com]

Thinking back, it's ironic that it's Lance who says what he does in your story. Because that's the Lance in my head. Not so much with the saving himself necessarily, but holding out for Joey in his own way.

Joey is, like, every single glaring stereotype of the comfortable gay man - he's such a cliche that, going backwards, he couldn't actually be gay: it'd be too stereotypical! Like lifestyle profiling or something. Seriously though for a moment, objectively, and I'm laughing as I type this, but objectively (if such a thing even exists), Joey's the gay one and Lance is quite possibly the straight one. JC seems too mellow with everything to not be cool with everything.

All that aside, the facts do stand the way they do, which is to say lots of Joey/JC as well as Joey/Lance (note the only common variable! But I digress) and yet it's the latter two who come out the most often slashed ones.

The fact that it's orientation and not just unrequited love does make it more comforting. It's logical, where unrequited love tends to be wholly irrational, as emotions tend to be. But then there's the fact that it's an insurmountable difference, so not only is the reason understandable, it's wholly hopeless as well, and that's terribly difficult to accept, especially since it doesn't change the way JC feels. *hugs him tight*

Thank you again for sharing your lovely story. :)