Title: The Long Road Author: scowilily Rating: R Pairing: Alan/Kevin Summary: The love story of Alan Bradley. Author's Note: How digital jazz turned into an experiment of one.
Somehow I missed part 4a when it was posted, so I'm just catching up now. Sorry about that!
I like this quite a bit; Gem and Yori are just heartbreaking, and the idea that Clu wanted to protect Flynn makes a lot of sense. The hall of mirrors does, too. I love Alan's acceptance of Clu: it's so much like Flynn at the end of Legacy, and there's something beautiful about that.
I feel like the ending is a little too abrupt, but I bet you'll make good on it with the next chapter... and that only makes me want to read it even more! :)
Alan digs his fingers into the protruding bone of Clu's shoulder blades, holding on. He's holding on to Kevin. He's not letting go.
Part 4a wasn't officially up until now; I didn't want to release it separately from Part 4b for reasons of continuity. The themes are really the same.
The ending is abrupt... There are probably a ton of flaws in Part 4, to be honest. It was a monster to write; some of the harder aspects of Yori/Gem almost didn't make the final cut because my mind just kind of recoils from misogyny that falls out of the brutal reinforcement of traditional male sexuality. But, yes, Part 5 will pick up what we left dangling in Part 4b. In fact, there's a lot of unfinished threads in Part 4 to be wrapped up. Our boys get some love before the final tragedy.
Thanks so much for being a return customer :) I really do love reading through these remarks and mulling over what you like/notice.
Clu protecting Flynn is, as I see it, a natural extension of their personalities as seen in the movie. In Legacy, Flynn isn't powerful enough or clever enough to outwit Clu in the war. Clu is stronger, more creative, and more temperamental/moody. Flynn is patient, sensitive, and wise (which isn't necessarily the same thing as creative or clever). So, if you put them together, it just seems natural that Clu would use his powers, even submit himself, for Flynn's sake. Yeah, I'd agree with this. No matter what you envision happening back in those days, I think it's obvious that Clu gave everything he had for Flynn -- that apple-flashback of his is just painful. I think it's more-or-less canon that he's the strongest thing on the Grid, also (Tron hit him. With a disc. He didn't care. QED
( ... )
Oh, God. You're really killing me here. This just gets more twisted and beautiful the more I read it, and it was definitely worth the wait for this part.
I think what really got me was the fact that Kevin's desire to escape from the real world and build his perfect system eventually became his undoing, and his (assumed) unreturned love for Alan was the basis of everything he did on the Grid, especially with regard to the ISOs. It's such a wonderful, almost classic sort of tragedy. And it hurts so much but guh. So good.
Also, I love the way that Alan's being so much more honest with himself this time as well, and how he's admitting how much he needs Kevin and... *flails* Love it.
And then there's Tron! The fact that he doesn't want the Rinzler coding removed is so intriguing. Can't wait to see what you might do with that.
So, so good. I squealed a little when I saw you posted more! /dork
God, I'm just glad to hear you liked it! Writing is a love, tis true, but happier times abound when someone actually notices your ranting. So so ridiculously happy right now
( ... )
LOL I so know what you mean. I think reviews are half the reason we write fan fic anyway. ;P It is for me, anyway!
I really like that you've used the dichotomy of prison/freedom (and it being of our own choosing) as Kevin's motivation, now that you've explained it! It just seems so natural that he'd want to recreate his own perfect world because he couldn't get through to Alan and then, for him to be trapped by his own creations... it just seems like such a double-edged sword and argh... the angst! Will they both ever be truly free? *hopes*
Oh good. Looking forward to the Tron/Rinzler resolution now! Along with, you know, the rest of the story.
I really like how you're incorporating so many ideas into the fic as a whole! It makes it even more fun to just pick them out and talk about them :D
I think reviews are half the reason we write fan fic anyway. ;P It is for me, anyway!
Curse and blessing of the writer, I'm afraid. I will say this: a fic of this length makes me cherish every single word of a review. Because, holy cow, if no one understood... that would be pretty sad.
I'm sure you know exactly what I mean!
So in summary: <3
It just seems so natural that he'd want to recreate his own perfect world because he couldn't get through to AlanThe funny (or not so funny) part: Kevin was trying to preserve his friendship with Alan, and Alan just wouldn't let it rest one way or the other! Poor Kevin. His optimistic/creative nature drove him to try for a solution in a truly bizarre fashion
( ... )
I can't even tell you how much I enjoy this story. It's epic! It's a joy to read.
You have so many layers to each character. And your ability to paint a decimated grid in my minds eye- perfect. I could see everything so clearly because your writing style was flawless.
I need to go an reread this chapter in order to digest eveything- then I'll have some specific comments and questions.
Mmmm, yum, I'm so glad you enjoyed the decimated Grid. I had flashbacks to the grittiness of the cyberpunk genre (hence the appearance of cyborg Gem a la Donna Haraway). I mean, I like the sexy flash/bang of Tron technology as much as the next person. But I was going for the political and personal jugular... I wanted it to reflect the twistedness of Kevin's dream--that he'd tried for something Utopian and futuristic, and instead ended up with a world beyond his control... one not absent of the nightmares. (It's also another nod to Clu's strength that he kept it going as long as he did. Once he left, what progress had been made went bye-bye.)
I can't wait to hear your questions/comments! :D And thank you so much for sticking with the story.
Comments 19
I like this quite a bit; Gem and Yori are just heartbreaking, and the idea that Clu wanted to protect Flynn makes a lot of sense. The hall of mirrors does, too. I love Alan's acceptance of Clu: it's so much like Flynn at the end of Legacy, and there's something beautiful about that.
I feel like the ending is a little too abrupt, but I bet you'll make good on it with the next chapter... and that only makes me want to read it even more! :)
Alan digs his fingers into the protruding bone of Clu's shoulder blades, holding on. He's holding on to Kevin. He's not letting go.
This is a really lovely couple of lines.
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The ending is abrupt... There are probably a ton of flaws in Part 4, to be honest. It was a monster to write; some of the harder aspects of Yori/Gem almost didn't make the final cut because my mind just kind of recoils from misogyny that falls out of the brutal reinforcement of traditional male sexuality. But, yes, Part 5 will pick up what we left dangling in Part 4b. In fact, there's a lot of unfinished threads in Part 4 to be wrapped up. Our boys get some love before the final tragedy.
Thanks so much for being a return customer :) I really do love reading through these remarks and mulling over what you like/notice.
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I think what really got me was the fact that Kevin's desire to escape from the real world and build his perfect system eventually became his undoing, and his (assumed) unreturned love for Alan was the basis of everything he did on the Grid, especially with regard to the ISOs. It's such a wonderful, almost classic sort of tragedy. And it hurts so much but guh. So good.
Also, I love the way that Alan's being so much more honest with himself this time as well, and how he's admitting how much he needs Kevin and... *flails* Love it.
And then there's Tron! The fact that he doesn't want the Rinzler coding removed is so intriguing. Can't wait to see what you might do with that.
So, so good. I squealed a little when I saw you posted more! /dork
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I really like that you've used the dichotomy of prison/freedom (and it being of our own choosing) as Kevin's motivation, now that you've explained it! It just seems so natural that he'd want to recreate his own perfect world because he couldn't get through to Alan and then, for him to be trapped by his own creations... it just seems like such a double-edged sword and argh... the angst! Will they both ever be truly free? *hopes*
Oh good. Looking forward to the Tron/Rinzler resolution now! Along with, you know, the rest of the story.
I really like how you're incorporating so many ideas into the fic as a whole! It makes it even more fun to just pick them out and talk about them :D
Reply
Curse and blessing of the writer, I'm afraid. I will say this: a fic of this length makes me cherish every single word of a review. Because, holy cow, if no one understood... that would be pretty sad.
I'm sure you know exactly what I mean!
So in summary: <3
It just seems so natural that he'd want to recreate his own perfect world because he couldn't get through to AlanThe funny (or not so funny) part: Kevin was trying to preserve his friendship with Alan, and Alan just wouldn't let it rest one way or the other! Poor Kevin. His optimistic/creative nature drove him to try for a solution in a truly bizarre fashion ( ... )
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You have so many layers to each character. And your ability to paint a decimated grid in my minds eye- perfect. I could see everything so clearly because your writing style was flawless.
I need to go an reread this chapter in order to digest eveything- then I'll have some specific comments and questions.
But for now- as always- can not wait f
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Cannot wait for the next chapter!
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I can't wait to hear your questions/comments! :D And thank you so much for sticking with the story.
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I'm seriously lacking coherent thought right now. Just know I love it. <333
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heartbreakingly good!
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<3 from the author for commenting :D
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