that's ok :-) i had an intense theoretical debate the other night and only halfway through realized that i was way too drunk to do so :-)

yes, Syne's story is awesome, and there's definitely a deep and crucial love there...I think it's simply a matter of degree and centrality...and that determines whether you read the story as ultimately sad or life-affirming...b/c if John is Rodney alpha and omega, the story has to be sad...in a way Syne's playing with us and or slash aesthetic expectations...b/c that's how most death stories *would* go...that's the trope. And then she teists it, not by making John less important but by making Rodney and Rodney's life more complex and multi-faceted, more *real*!!!