Kurt Hummel's so bright I gotta wear shades

Internet privacy in Russia

Fri, 09 Jun 2017 16:29:31 GMT

I recently started subscribing to Meduza, the Russian-English news site based in Latvia because of press freedom concerns.

If you came to Dreamwidth from Livejournal because of Russian laws affecting internet usage and freedom of speech, guess what? It's getting even worse: Russian lawmakers move to ban VPNs and Internet anonymizers.

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How to Donate to the Russian LGBT Network if you can't read Russian

Sun, 30 Apr 2017 23:56:04 GMT

With so many people moving over to Dreamwidth from LiveJournal because of human rights issues in the Russian Federation, I thought folks here would find the following illustrated tutorial for making online donations to the Russian LGBT Network helpful:

How to Make a Donation to the Russian LGBT Network If You Can’t Read Russian (But Can Read English): https://dalecameronlowry.com/how-to-make-donation-russian-lgbt-network/. This version is the original and images there are labeled for use with screen readers for the blind.
Crossposted on Tumblr at https://dalecameronlowry.tumblr.com/post/160132671391/how-to-make-a-donation-to-the-russian-lgbt-network.

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Fic: To Be Myself, PG-13 (Kurt Hummel 1980s AU, eventual Klaine)

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 03:35:42 GMT

On AO3

On Tumblr:
1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985

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Title: To Be Myself
Author: wowbright (username on tumblr, lj, ao3 and dreamwidth)
Beta: A zillion thanks to corinna (ao3)/chiasmuslovesme (tumblr) for helping me find the fic's voice and finish it!
Artist: hopelesslydevotedgleek (tumblr) made amazing art for this. Look! Look! Isn't it beautiful? She made art for my story I'm still swooning.
Additional thanks: To everyone who responded to weird random questions I posted to tumblr and encouraged me in the writing of this fic.
Word count: ~48,000
Rating: PG-13
Summary: What if Kurt had been born 25 years earlier? A story about Gen X Kurt Hummel learning about love and, most importantly, learning to be himself, 1976-1985.
Pairings (most unrequited in one direction or another, in order of appearance): Kurt/Rachel, Kurt/OC, Kurt/Finn, Kurt/Mercedes, Kurt/Dave, Kurt/Blaine
Some other characters include: Burt Hummel, Sandy Ryerson, LeRoy Berry, Hiram Berry (but with a different last name), Noah Puckerman, Santana Lopez, Will Schuester
Warnings: This story reflects the era in which it takes place; homophobia, racism, sexism, AIDS-phobia, sex negativity and tolerance of bullying and other bad things are par for the course. Off-page death of Kurt's mother; Sandy Ryerson is just as awful in this fic as he is in the show. Please contact the author if you have specific questions about triggers or pairings.
Author's notes: Wondering about the towels in Rachel's bathroom or what Kurt's alarm clock looked like? Want to see the cover of that Newsweek Kurt reads in 1983? I have a lot of extra headcanon and many historical notes and photos for this fic. I've posted some of them already on tumblr and will be posting more. You can find them under my 2014 khbb fic headcanon tag.

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On AO3

On Tumblr:
1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985

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Fic: Hearth & Home

Sun, 24 Nov 2013 23:42:55 GMT

5.06 reaction fic. A follow-up to Blaine’s conversation with Kurt about his fears over getting into NYADA. Spoiler for the end of West Side Story. Thank you nachochang for the beta and the silly title brainstorming! PG, 1,000 words.

Night is so different here from what it is in Lima: brighter and more alive. Light from the pale streetlights and the red “Automat” sign on top of the building across the way filter through the curtains and onto Kurt’s bed and onto their bodies. Blaine looks down at his own arm, watches the light shift over his skin, making it glow soft whites and oranges like a hearth fire.

It’s not just the lights and sounds of the city that make it more vibrant, of course. Lima has felt this way sometimes, too, when Blaine’s been wrapped in Kurt’s arms the way he is now: skin against skin, warmth stoking warmth. Blaine is home now.

( Read more... )

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Fic: Ring, Ring (Klaine, NC-17)

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 00:02:37 GMT

Title: Ring, Ring
Characters: Kurt/Blaine
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~2,700
Episodes: Through 5.05, "The End of Twerk"
Summary: Kurt decides to take out his tongue piercing and tells Blaine via Skype. Somehow they both end up getting hot and bothered. Thanks Nachochang for betaing! Author's note at end.

tumblr | dreamwidth | livejournal | ao3

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Ring, Ring

Twenty-three days after the tattoo guy stabs a hole through the center of his tongue, Kurt takes the barbell out.

It’s not that he doesn’t like the way it looks. And he certainly likes all the dirty fantasies Blaine’s whispered over Skype about what that barbell’s going to feel like when they’re together in New York after graduation and Blaine gets to feel it his mouth and on his cock and against his balls and maybe his … (At that point in their first cybersexual encounter after Kurt's piercing, Blaine blushed and ducked his head and Kurt raised his eyebrows in question and Blaine, breathing erratically as he stroked the tips of his fingers around the head of his cock, right there on screen for Kurt to see, sputtered out, “My, my … I’d really like you to lick me down there, I mean, if you wanted to, if –” and Kurt stuck out his tongue and touched the barbell to the camera and, momentarily forgetting about his lisp, said, “I wanna tathte you everywhere,” and Blaine’s face flushed as deep as his cock and he came all over his stomach.)

So yes. That’s quite the perk of having a tongue piercing.

And it’s exhilarating to know that Kurt can take this kind of risk, endure this kind of pain, and still survive. It’s a reminder that he’ll eventually get to the other side of his grief over Finn’s death. He can do this. He’s done it before with his mother. He can do it again.

But sex and symbolism aren’t enough to make the piercing stick.

( Read more... )

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Fic: Fidelity, Alternate Scene - Passing

Fri, 18 Oct 2013 15:37:20 GMT

Summary: Kurt and Dave text their worries to each other during Blaine's eye surgery. Canon-parallel AU where Kurt and Blaine have become friends with Dave. Set in episode 3.11"Michael." ~1,700 words, PG.
Notes: This is from an earlier draft of Chapter 8/"Starting to See" in Fidelity. Presenting the conversation verbatim seemed to slow down the pacing. But with the word-for-word you get a little more insight into Dave's home life and some other stuff.

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Passing

By Monday morning, the scratch in Blaine's eye still hasn't closed. His mother cancels her appointments for the day, calls the specialist in Cincinnati, and loads Blaine in the car for the long drive. Surgery seems inevitable. He’ll stay with his relatives and, if all goes well, he’ll be back by Valentine's Day.

He sends all this information to Dave and Kurt via group MMS, peppered with plenty of opiate-induced misspellings and smiley faces

Kurt sends his first text to Dave during third period.

Kurt: I'm freaking out. (9:27 a.m.)

( Read more... )

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Fic: Fidelity, Deleted Scenes - Scarves and Topping

Thu, 17 Oct 2013 22:56:43 GMT

Summary: Dave reads through the sex ed brochures Burt got from Planned Parenthood a year ago, and Blaine tries to explain the stuff they don't cover. Bromance, awkwardness and feels. ~2,000 words.
Notes: This is a short chapter I wrote for Fidelity but ended up cutting because I didn't feel it moved the plot forward. After getting some questions from readers about the ways in which Dave expresses his sexuality, however, I'm wondering if it might have helped to leave it in. It happens sometime after Chapter 11/"The Long and Winding Road" and sometime before Chapter 15/"Learning to Play Rachmaninoff." It won't make much sense unless you've read through Chapter 11.
Rating: PG-13/R for discussion of sexual fantasies

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Scarves and Topping

Blaine and Dave get in the habit of racing through their homework so that Dave can either play the piano or they both can go upstairs to Blaine's room to sit around and do absolutely nothing useful, like play computer games or flip through magazines like they’re doing this afternoon.

Okay, Blaine is flipping through magazines from his perch on the bed. Dave is in the red chair reading those embarrassing sex ed brochures that Kurt's dad gave him, and that Kurt, in turn, handed to Dave a few days ago without looking him in the eye. "If you care about me, you will put those in your backpack immediately and direct any questions you have about them to Blaine," Kurt said before breaking a cheesecake out of the refrigerator and acting like nothing had happened at all.

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Fic: The Contract

Thu, 03 Oct 2013 21:15:42 GMT

Summary: The afternoon that Kurt agrees to be his boyfriend again, Blaine writes up a no-cheating contract. 5.01 reaction fic. Thanks to Jamie for the quick beta! PG-13. ~2,100

On Tumblr | Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3

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The Contract

It turns out that Oprah’s website does not actually have a no-cheating contract.

Blaine is disappointed, but not defeated. He’s determined to prove himself, and if Oprah hasn’t already written the contract for him – well, he can write it himself. After all, it’s not like it needs to say much. Just, “I, Blaine Anderson, love Kurt Hummel and will never cheat on him again.”

So he opens up a blank document on his desktop, types the sentence, and sends the file to the printer. Thirty seconds later, it’s staring back at him in black and white.It doesn’t look right. The paper is too flimsy and the font doesn’t look serious enough – probably because it’s sans serif, he thinks. This is a weighty declaration and it calls for a weighty paper and a weighty font.

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Fic: Coming Home

Wed, 02 Oct 2013 13:19:08 GMT

Title: Coming Home
Author: Wowbright
Rating: NC-17
Characters/Pairing: Blaine/Kurt (Kurt POV)
Word Count: 770
Summary: anonymous asked for post-5.01 long distance masturbation with feels.

On tumblr

( Read more... )

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 31/31 - Defying Gravity

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 19:08:29 GMT

Fic summary: An unlikely friendship forms. Dave learns to love himself, Blaine learns to trust love, and Kurt learns that love is both simpler and a lot more complicated than he expected. AU from 3.05 with canon elements.
Chapter summary: ~2,750 words.
Chapter notes: This is the last chapter. Thanks to judearaya, nachochang, gingerandfair, and anxiousquirrel for the hours and hours of betaing and cheerleading. I could not have done it without you. And to likearumchocolatesouffle, who gave me the kernel that grew into this story. And to those of you who left encouraging comments on the way.
The journey is not completely over. There are deleted scenes to follow, and one-shots I am entertaining, and I welcome prompts in this ‘verse.
Rating: PG-13

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 31: Defying Gravity
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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 30/31 - Learning to Fly

Thu, 26 Sep 2013 01:15:36 GMT

Fic summary: An unlikely friendship forms. Dave learns to love himself, Blaine learns to trust love, and Kurt learns that love is both simpler and a lot more complicated than he expected. AU from 3.05 with canon elements.
Chapter summary: The Hudmels have a barbeque and everyone’s invited. ~9,150 words.
Chapter notes: This is the penultimate chapter. Gonna do my best to get the last one up before the season starts again, barring hell and high water.
Rating: NC-17

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 30: Learning to Fly

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 29 - Lost, Found

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 19:58:42 GMT

Fic summary: An unlikely friendship forms. Dave learns to love himself, Blaine learns to trust love, and Kurt learns that love is both simpler and a lot more complicated than he expected. AU from 3.05 with canon elements.
Chapter summary: Dave learns how to take a compliment. ~12,230 words.
Chapter notes: There are two piano pieces mentioned in this chapter. They are Milonga del Angel and Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit. Chubby Hubby is a kind of ice cream. You don't have to understand Euler's equation to read this chapter, but if you're curious it was previously mentioned in Chapter 3, and is explained here and here.
Rating: NC-17

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 29: Things Lost, Things Found

A week after graduation, Carole joins Burt in D.C., and Finn goes for one last hurrah with Puck on the shore of Lake Michigan.

Kurt shows Dave his room for the first time: the drawer where he keeps the Webelos scarf, the ampersand sculpture that means so much to Kurt for reasons he still can't explain, the spot on his drapes where he hangs the cerulean warbler brooch when he's not wearing it.He's about to show Dave one of his mother's old perfume bottles on the vanity when he realizes Dave is no longer next to him. He's at the bookshelf, his eyes fixed on the glittering plastic skull behind it – or rather, the crown from last year's prom that Yorick is wearing.

( Read more... )

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 28 - Commencement

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 13:06:02 GMT

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 28: Commencement

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 27/30 - Simple Gifts

Sun, 22 Sep 2013 02:25:57 GMT

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 27: Simple Gifts

Kurt doesn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but if he could plan the perfect way to spend his birthday, this wouldn't be it.

( Read more... )

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 26/30 - Lovebirds

Sat, 21 Sep 2013 01:39:46 GMT

Fic summary: An unlikely friendship forms. Dave learns to love himself, Blaine learns to trust love, and Kurt learns that love is both simpler and a lot more complicated than he expected. AU from 3.05 with canon elements.
Chapter summary: One of the greatest gifts of friendship is discovering something new together. ~7,200 words.
Chapter notes: Here are pictures of cerulean warblers and more pictures of cerulean warblers. Kurt’s birding outfit looks kind of like this, except the boots are actual boots in Kurt’s get-up.
Rating: NC-17

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 26: Lovebirds

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 25 - Wild Ginger

Thu, 19 Sep 2013 23:33:22 GMT

Fic summary: An unlikely friendship forms. Dave learns to love himself, Blaine learns to trust love, and Kurt learns that love is both simpler and a lot more complicated than he expected. AU from 3.05 with canon elements.
Chapter summary: That old truism about finding beauty in unexpected places is, in fact, true. ~5,500 words
Rating for this chapter: PG-13

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 25: Wild Ginger

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 24 - Floating

Wed, 18 Sep 2013 13:52:44 GMT

Fic summary: An unlikely friendship forms. Dave learns to love himself, Blaine learns to trust love, and Kurt learns that love is both simpler and a lot more complicated than he expected. AU from 3.05 with canon elements.
Chapter summary: Sometimes you just need to go out on a ledge. ~7,000 words
Rating for this chapter: NC-17

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 24: Floating

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 23 - Waiting

Mon, 16 Sep 2013 13:03:57 GMT

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Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 23: Waiting

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 22/~30 - Imaginary Numbers

Sun, 15 Sep 2013 15:26:45 GMT

Fic summary: An unlikely friendship forms. Dave learns to love himself, Blaine learns to trust love, and Kurt learns that love is both simpler and a lot more complicated than he expected. AU from 3.05 with canon elements.
Chapter summary: Math, metaphors and hand-holding. ~900 words
Chapter notes: If you want a refresher course: square roots; negative numbers; imaginary numbers
Rating for this chapter: PG

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr
Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 22: Imaginary Numbers

Maybe this whole situation is like learning about imaginary numbers.

The first time Dave heard of them, he thought they were his teacher's idea of an April Fool's joke.
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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 21/~30 - Dream

Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:35:12 GMT

Fic summary: An unlikely friendship forms. Dave learns to love himself, Blaine learns to trust love, and Kurt learns that love is both simpler and a lot more complicated than he expected. AU from 3.05 with canon elements.
Chapter summary: Blaine sometimes does things without thinking them through first. ~8,100 words.
Notes: Title from Dream by John Cage. Poulenc's Sonata For Four Hands also appears in this chapter. Also, have a prothonotary warbler and a sign language "f."
Rating for this chapter: PG-13

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

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Chapter 21: Dream

Dave's been more distant the last few times Blaine’s talked to him. It's not really what he says or doesn't say; he'll still talk at length with Blaine about baseball, about players' stats, about why he likes (of all things) the Chicago Cubs. He'll complain about how much extra studying he needs to cram in before the AP American Government exam or laugh about something one of the math girls said at lunch.

But it's also different. There's this hesitation before he speaks – a quarter beat or a half beat – like he's mulling over whether he's about to say the wrong thing.

( Read more... )

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 20/~30 - Tantalus

Wed, 11 Sep 2013 14:07:45 GMT

Fic summary: Blaine is drunk at Scandals and asks Dave Karofsky to tutor him in math. An unlikely friendship forms among Dave, Blaine and Kurt. AU from 3.05 with canon elements.

Chapter summary: They go to Scandals. Things happen, and don’t. ~6,400 words
Rating for this chapter: NC-17

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 20: Tantalus

Kurt kicks ass at his NYADA audition the next week and Blaine and Dave take him to Scandals to celebrate. Everything is good and sweet and laughter and the dull heartache that has been an undercurrent to Dave’s life as long as he can remember seems to have vanished. Dave is no longer the guy in the Greek myth who was condemned to stand hungry under a grape arbor for eternity, the fruit always out of reach.

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 19 - Hello, Columbus

Mon, 09 Sep 2013 16:23:08 GMT

Summary: Kurt and Blaine go to Dave’s house. ~5,400 words
Warnings: homophobia
Rating for this chapter: R
Pairings this chapter: Kurt/Blaine, Dave/Kurt crush, Chandler/flirting

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 19: Hello, Columbus

Blaine spends an afternoon with Kurt looking up long-distance relationship survival tips on the web and jotting down the ideas they like: Text twice a day. Have a scheduled phone call or Skype session each evening. Send each other care packages. Sing karaoke online. Support each other’s friendships. Send love letters and Instagrams. Share their lives with each other.

“We should definitely have a long-distance date night at least once a week,” Kurt says, glancing up from the browser on his iPhone.

Blaine smiles, typing the suggestion into his laptop. “You mean phone sex?”

“Um, actually I meant watching a movie together.”

Blaine blushes. “Oh, yeah, of course.”

Kurt nudges Blaine’s foot. “I was hoping we’d have phone sex more often than that.”

( Read more... )

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 18 - Waiting For You

Thu, 29 Aug 2013 22:05:32 GMT

Summary: Not even the best-laid cheese tray can prevent a misunderstanding. ~6,500 words
Chapter notes: This chapter continues to parallel 3.17 “Dance With Somebody.” All the songs mentioned in this and the next chapter are on this YouTube playlist in order of their appearance.
Warnings: sensory descriptions of eating, sp0ilers for “The Way We Were” movie, sp0ilers for Yentl if you watch the playlist
Rating for this chapter: NC-17
Pairings this chapter: Kurt/Blaine, Dave/Kurt crush, Chandler/flirting

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 18: Waiting For You

On Friday morning, Kurt’s dad texts that he’s going to be stuck in Washington yet again tonight, so Kurt invites Blaine over for a private dinner and movie.

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 17 - Love Is a Friendship Set to Music

Sun, 25 Aug 2013 00:24:17 GMT

Summary: Kurt makes a new friend (kind of), Blaine is acting weird, and Dave just wants everyone to be happy.
Chapter notes: This chapter and the next parallel 3.17 “Dance With Somebody,” but you don’t have to have seen the episode to follow what’s going on here. (Needless to say, this is an AU and events pan out differently.) Title of this chapter is a Joseph Campbell quote from a bumper sticker displayed at Between the Sheets in 3.17. All the songs mentioned in this and the next chapter are on this YouTube playlist in order of their appearance.
Housekeeping: I’ve been having some health issues lately. I hope not to have as big a posting gap in the future and still want to finish posting before the end of hiatus if for no other reason than my own sanity. However, I can’t guarantee my good health; stuff happens.
Warnings: sensory descriptions of eating, sp0ilers for Yentl if you watch the playlist
Rating for this chapter: NC-17
Pairings this chapter: Kurt/Blaine, Dave/Kurt crush, Chandler/flirting

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 17: Love Is a Friendship Set to Music

As soon as Mr. Schue declares Whitney week, Kurt knows exactly what song he wants to sing – until a different Whitney song pops into his head and that becomes the perfect one. By the time rehearsal is over, Kurt has a shortlist of more than a dozen Whitney Houston songs, all of which are absolutely sublime.

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Fic: Fidelity, Chapter 16 - Amends

Fri, 02 Aug 2013 15:29:50 GMT

Fic summary: An unlikely friendship forms. Dave learns to love himself, Blaine learns to trust love, and Kurt learns that love is both simpler and a lot more complicated than he expected. AU from 3.05 with canon elements.
Chapter summary: Dave and Burt have a talk. ~2,800 words
Notes: This will likely be the only chapter I’ll be posting this week as I have spontaneously decided to take a mini-vacay with my partner. I should be back to the semi-regular schedule next week.
Rating: PG this chapter

Livejournal | Dreamwidth | AO3 | tumblr

Note: Chapters on AO3 are numbered differently due to factors beyond my control.

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Chapter 16: Amends

On an overcast Saturday afternoon in early April, Dave drives his father's car to Hummel Tires & Lube and asks for an oil change.

The guy who waves him into the garage is not Burt Hummel. Neither is the guy who's working on a tiny Volkswagon on the next lift over. But when Dave steps out of the car and hands his keys over, he spots Mr. Hummel standing in the doorway of the front office, studying a stack of papers in one hand and scratching under the bill of his cap with the other.

It's the first time Dave has seen him in person since making his insufficient apology in Principal Figgins' office a year ago. But he couldn't have forgotten what he looked like, even if it hadn't been for all the campaign ads and interviews and photos that, for a while, popped up on Dave's homepage a dozen times a day along with the oft-repeated phrase The arts were my son's refuge.

Burt Hummel never specified who Kurt needed refuge from. Dave didn’t need him to. He already knew.

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