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crack_van2005-09-21 10:02 am
ivorychopsticks.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2005-09-21 10:02 am
The Complete Book of Questions by Cam (R)
Fandom: THE OC
Pairing: Ryan/Seth
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
aflowerinrain
Why this must be read:
I seem to be focusing on the slash here in the OC fandom. Partially, I think, because although there are as many good het writers as there are slash writers, there's a lot more bad het writers, so there's more to dig through to find the gems.
But back to Cam's great story. It's set after the S2 finale. Trey, Ryan's brother, is dead from Marissa's gun shot, and Ryan is reeling. Cam portrays a vulnerable Ryan, one trying to find his footing again, and a Seth who trys to be the best friend he can be. I like this story because it portrays how difficult it can be to be a friend to someone who is grieving, how hard it is to do the right thing. The author goes for the quiet moments, the spaces in between big emotions, to show the negotiation of long term relationships.
The conceit of the story, that Seth buys "The complete book of questions" and uses it to talk to Ryan because he can't figure out how to talk to his friend anymore, works well. Cam shapes the story so that the questions seem random and not jerry-rigged by the writer to bring about any a-ha moments. The structure of the story is subtle and the pace works with the plot.
So, enjoy, feed the author!
“Hey, Ryan.”
“What’s up, Seth?” Ryan replies automatically, mechanically, as he rubs the last traces of shaving cream away from his jaw.
Seth stands up and crosses the room awkwardly. He drums his fingers against the counter. “So, question. And you’re probably going to think I’m weird, but-.” Ryan gives Seth a look from underneath his towel. “Right, okay. So, do you squeeze your toothpaste tube in the middle? Or do you, like, roll it up from the end?”
Ryan hangs up his towel and grabs his toothbrush and toothpaste. He waves the tube at Seth. It’s rolled up carefully, neatly, with the curl flattened carefully so that no toothpaste gets wasted.
“Yeah, I figured. I squeeze mine. And it gets all crusty around the top. The cap barely fits on it any more, because there’s all this gross dried toothpaste-.”
“Seth?”
“Right.” He swallows thickly.
“Goodnight, Seth.”
?
Seth stays in bed an hour after he wakes up, staring at his walls and wondering when you become too old to consider posters a good form of interior design. He’s pretty sure people have posters on their walls in college. And maybe after college, when he gets that crummy studio in anywhere-but-Newport he’s always dreamed of, he can have some really cool indie movie posters and his signed Death Cab poster on the wall. But after that, when he’s a real grown up, with like, a house and a job – where is he going to put his posters?
He pulls on his t-shirt and jeans and heads downstairs, making a mental note to ask his dad if he has any crazy Led Zeppelin posters tucked away somewhere, like in the basement or the attic or something. With his bong.
Ryan’s stirring his cereal and staring at it like the Alpha-Bits might spell out the meaning of life.
“Hey,” Seth says, grabbing the bagel slicer.
“Were you drinking last night?”
Seth almost slices his finger off. “What?”
“Last night, when you asked me that… toothpaste question. Had you been drinking?”
“Drinking alone isn’t really my thing,” Seth replies. “I mean, unless I’m trying to impress a punk rock lesbian, then it’s kind of my thing.”
Ryan nods a little. “Just wondering,” he says quietly.
The Complete Books of Questions.
Pairing: Ryan/Seth
Author on LJ:
aflowerinrainWhy this must be read:
I seem to be focusing on the slash here in the OC fandom. Partially, I think, because although there are as many good het writers as there are slash writers, there's a lot more bad het writers, so there's more to dig through to find the gems.
But back to Cam's great story. It's set after the S2 finale. Trey, Ryan's brother, is dead from Marissa's gun shot, and Ryan is reeling. Cam portrays a vulnerable Ryan, one trying to find his footing again, and a Seth who trys to be the best friend he can be. I like this story because it portrays how difficult it can be to be a friend to someone who is grieving, how hard it is to do the right thing. The author goes for the quiet moments, the spaces in between big emotions, to show the negotiation of long term relationships.
The conceit of the story, that Seth buys "The complete book of questions" and uses it to talk to Ryan because he can't figure out how to talk to his friend anymore, works well. Cam shapes the story so that the questions seem random and not jerry-rigged by the writer to bring about any a-ha moments. The structure of the story is subtle and the pace works with the plot.
So, enjoy, feed the author!
“Hey, Ryan.”
“What’s up, Seth?” Ryan replies automatically, mechanically, as he rubs the last traces of shaving cream away from his jaw.
Seth stands up and crosses the room awkwardly. He drums his fingers against the counter. “So, question. And you’re probably going to think I’m weird, but-.” Ryan gives Seth a look from underneath his towel. “Right, okay. So, do you squeeze your toothpaste tube in the middle? Or do you, like, roll it up from the end?”
Ryan hangs up his towel and grabs his toothbrush and toothpaste. He waves the tube at Seth. It’s rolled up carefully, neatly, with the curl flattened carefully so that no toothpaste gets wasted.
“Yeah, I figured. I squeeze mine. And it gets all crusty around the top. The cap barely fits on it any more, because there’s all this gross dried toothpaste-.”
“Seth?”
“Right.” He swallows thickly.
“Goodnight, Seth.”
?
Seth stays in bed an hour after he wakes up, staring at his walls and wondering when you become too old to consider posters a good form of interior design. He’s pretty sure people have posters on their walls in college. And maybe after college, when he gets that crummy studio in anywhere-but-Newport he’s always dreamed of, he can have some really cool indie movie posters and his signed Death Cab poster on the wall. But after that, when he’s a real grown up, with like, a house and a job – where is he going to put his posters?
He pulls on his t-shirt and jeans and heads downstairs, making a mental note to ask his dad if he has any crazy Led Zeppelin posters tucked away somewhere, like in the basement or the attic or something. With his bong.
Ryan’s stirring his cereal and staring at it like the Alpha-Bits might spell out the meaning of life.
“Hey,” Seth says, grabbing the bagel slicer.
“Were you drinking last night?”
Seth almost slices his finger off. “What?”
“Last night, when you asked me that… toothpaste question. Had you been drinking?”
“Drinking alone isn’t really my thing,” Seth replies. “I mean, unless I’m trying to impress a punk rock lesbian, then it’s kind of my thing.”
Ryan nods a little. “Just wondering,” he says quietly.
The Complete Books of Questions.
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