And That's The Word

Title: Silent (1/4)
Rating: G
Cast: Jon/"Stephen" (eventually), Kilborn, Madeline Smithberg, Steve, Sam, Chuck, Jimmy, Bobby
Disclaimer: #NotIntendedToBeAFactualStatement. Characters belong to the Report. Names of real people are used in a fictitious context, and all dialogue, actions, and content are products of the author's imagination only.

Alternate universe. In 1998, the staff of The Daily Show (including star correspondent Stephen Colbert) gets a new addition: deaf writer Jon Stewart. Cue an otherwise familiar blend of jokes, politics, a young series finding its feet, and a long-term intimate relationship starting to bloom.

For purposes of this story, ASL will be indicated by italics, spoken English by quotation marks, and typed English by being set off in various ways. There's a lot of cross-language communication in here, and it should be easier to follow if it's instantly apparent which lines can be understood by which subset of characters. Credit and thanks to ASLU (Lifeprint) for providing vocabulary and grammar.

AO3 mirror | Part 1

( 'M thinks it's a good fit for my sense of humor, and she's worked with me a bunch so she would know, but if this is going to be a nightmare, I won't shed too many tears if they dump me.' )