Not every fic!Jon would necessarily say that! (Though many of them would, particularly yours. Still.)
And this. This was an "oh god, Stephen" moment:
At least one man hits on him as well, but Stephen, being Stephen, completely misses the subtext, and his pursuer eventually gives up.
because he definitely doesn't miss the subtext, not really, and Bobby doesn't see that, and ow.
The way Stephen loses it at the bar with Bobby, and his screwy relationship with his family. Again, could be any Stephen, but it makes a lot of sense that it's this particular one. (By the way, there's a stray "Evelyn" in there.)
Also I am thinking about the ghost as a projection of Stephen's fears rather than something inherent in the studio - it fits in with his Wørd and God Machine powers - and what ghost-Jon's attempt to play on Stephen's nostalgia and fear, and then his anger, have to say about Stephen's very real fears of letting Jon know him too well, and how all that plays out down the line ...
And now I wonder (don't remember!) if those abilities all go away after Stephen re-integrates, like a poltergeist. Hmm.
(And, hmm - Stephen gets a new couch between this story and Expecting. Interesting! Also I have now noticed that Bobby loses his stubble in between, too.)
So I guess the connections are still a little subtle, and might not be immediately clear to people who read the whole thing chronologically and only once, but there definitely *are* thematic, textual connections running both ways.
no subject
Take care of Stephen for me.
Not every fic!Jon would necessarily say that! (Though many of them would, particularly yours. Still.)
And this. This was an "oh god, Stephen" moment:
At least one man hits on him as well, but Stephen, being Stephen, completely misses the subtext, and his pursuer eventually gives up.
because he definitely doesn't miss the subtext, not really, and Bobby doesn't see that, and ow.
The way Stephen loses it at the bar with Bobby, and his screwy relationship with his family. Again, could be any Stephen, but it makes a lot of sense that it's this particular one. (By the way, there's a stray "Evelyn" in there.)
Also I am thinking about the ghost as a projection of Stephen's fears rather than something inherent in the studio - it fits in with his Wørd and God Machine powers - and what ghost-Jon's attempt to play on Stephen's nostalgia and fear, and then his anger, have to say about Stephen's very real fears of letting Jon know him too well, and how all that plays out down the line ...
And now I wonder (don't remember!) if those abilities all go away after Stephen re-integrates, like a poltergeist. Hmm.
(And, hmm - Stephen gets a new couch between this story and Expecting. Interesting! Also I have now noticed that Bobby loses his stubble in between, too.)
So I guess the connections are still a little subtle, and might not be immediately clear to people who read the whole thing chronologically and only once, but there definitely *are* thematic, textual connections running both ways.