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crack_van2006-03-10 08:28 pm
caz963.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2006-03-10 08:28 pm
Entry tags:
Galatea by Pix, (R)
Fandom: THE WEST WING
Pairing: Josh/Donna
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: no longer available (linked below)
Why this must be read:
This is a "golden oldie" of West Wing Fanfic, written around the end of the halcyon days of Season 2. Pix stopped writing in the fandom sometime during S3 I think - and sadly took her website down so that the only place to find some (not all) of her stuff is at the Yahoo State of the Union (SOTU) list. It's a great shame because she's a wonderful writer. (And if anyone out there reading this has any of her stuff archived, I'd love to hear from you!)
Anyway, this story is probably my favourite of the stuff of hers I've read. As you can probably tell from the title, it's a variation on the Pygmalion myth - no prizes for guessing who's Henry Higgins and who's Eliza! The writing is absolutely beautiful - almost poetic - and it's interesting that the story here, about Donna's personal growth and development into an individual separate from Josh (although here she doesn't leave him to do it) is what's been sort of happening in the show more recently...
In the story, he is brilliant and talented and utterly alone. He creates her using all of his gifts, falls in love with who he imagines she is, then receives the divine gift of reciprocation.
In a later version of the story, he is brilliant and talented and alone, and he
makes the mistake of telling her he has no doubt she'll always be there. How could she not? He created her; where would she go?
She shows him, leaving while appearing to stay by his side.
* * * *
In their story, he is brilliant and talented and skilled at deflecting intimacy.
He is passionate and charismatic; women are drawn to him because it's so easy to imagine what it would be like to have that intense attention focused on them. There is a string of ex-lovers who would be more than happy to tell them that he never quite turns that radiant regard on them, and the day they realize it's not their fault is both heartbreaking and liberating.
He is an artist at the top of his form; his muse is America and he serves it like no other.
In their story, she is coltish and tentative, utterly unaware of her strength and all too aware of her weaknesses. She is compassionate and quixotic; men are drawn to her because it's easy to imagine her making them the center of her world. There is one ex-lover who can attest to the loving attention she paid to him. The day she realized she could be more than the pedestal for his achievements was both heartbreaking and liberating.
She is still growing into who she could be; her muse is potential and she's oblivious to it.
To read the story, I think you need to join the SOTU list - but it's easy to do and it's worth it for this story alone! But there's a lot of other stuff there you might be interested in once you join, so don't let that put you off!
Here's the link - enjoy!
Galatea
Edited because someone kindly sent me another link to this story:
here
Pairing: Josh/Donna
Author on LJ: n/a
Author Website: no longer available (linked below)
Why this must be read:
This is a "golden oldie" of West Wing Fanfic, written around the end of the halcyon days of Season 2. Pix stopped writing in the fandom sometime during S3 I think - and sadly took her website down so that the only place to find some (not all) of her stuff is at the Yahoo State of the Union (SOTU) list. It's a great shame because she's a wonderful writer. (And if anyone out there reading this has any of her stuff archived, I'd love to hear from you!)
Anyway, this story is probably my favourite of the stuff of hers I've read. As you can probably tell from the title, it's a variation on the Pygmalion myth - no prizes for guessing who's Henry Higgins and who's Eliza! The writing is absolutely beautiful - almost poetic - and it's interesting that the story here, about Donna's personal growth and development into an individual separate from Josh (although here she doesn't leave him to do it) is what's been sort of happening in the show more recently...
In the story, he is brilliant and talented and utterly alone. He creates her using all of his gifts, falls in love with who he imagines she is, then receives the divine gift of reciprocation.
In a later version of the story, he is brilliant and talented and alone, and he
makes the mistake of telling her he has no doubt she'll always be there. How could she not? He created her; where would she go?
She shows him, leaving while appearing to stay by his side.
* * * *
In their story, he is brilliant and talented and skilled at deflecting intimacy.
He is passionate and charismatic; women are drawn to him because it's so easy to imagine what it would be like to have that intense attention focused on them. There is a string of ex-lovers who would be more than happy to tell them that he never quite turns that radiant regard on them, and the day they realize it's not their fault is both heartbreaking and liberating.
He is an artist at the top of his form; his muse is America and he serves it like no other.
In their story, she is coltish and tentative, utterly unaware of her strength and all too aware of her weaknesses. She is compassionate and quixotic; men are drawn to her because it's easy to imagine her making them the center of her world. There is one ex-lover who can attest to the loving attention she paid to him. The day she realized she could be more than the pedestal for his achievements was both heartbreaking and liberating.
She is still growing into who she could be; her muse is potential and she's oblivious to it.
To read the story, I think you need to join the SOTU list - but it's easy to do and it's worth it for this story alone! But there's a lot of other stuff there you might be interested in once you join, so don't let that put you off!
Here's the link - enjoy!
Galatea
Edited because someone kindly sent me another link to this story:
here