Braindump, continued...

[blythechild]

Okay, so as promised, here's the rest of the post I've been trying to do for nearly four days. To begin with there will be memeage, so if that's not your thing, just skip the cuts (see how user friendly I've made this?).

First, here's one stolen from draycevixen:

Ten Things About Fan Fic
The rules: Make a list of
1. Ten things you think are common in your fan fic.
2. Ten things you think are uncommon in your fan fic although commonly found in fan fic in general.
3. Ten things you wish were more true of your fan fic.


Ten things you think are common in your work

1. Angst
2. Hurt/Comfort (honestly, I feel a little like a one-trick pony in this regard)
3. Relationships (romantic, pre-romance, unrequited, loss of partner...)
4. Dialog of a snarky ilk
5. Misunderstandings
6. At least one genius or unusually intelligent character
7. 'Missing' scenes (scenes that readers ask about but I have purposefully excluded because I found them boring or unnecessary)
8. Violence
9. Internal musings
10. Isolation (either environmental, physical, or psychological)

Ten things you think are uncommon in your work although commonly found in fan fic

1. Multiple POVs in the same scene. I really hate that.
2. Colourful descriptions of the characters' appearance. Repeatedly.
3. Feminizing one person in a slash pairing
4. BDSM (I don't have a problem with it if it's done well, but uneven power dynamics during sex doesn't appeal to me on a general level)
5. Kink fic. I'm just bad at it.
6. From-out-of-left-field AUs. Drayce referred to these as "and now they're all penguins" stories - I've read some that rock *cough-Inception Viking AU!-cough*, but mostly I don't think I'm imaginative enough to pull them off.
7. RPF
8. Woobiefication (or something equally victimizing like non-con, rape fic, emotional trauma that leads to mental regression... all in the name of coddling a character)
9. Food descriptions
10. Mary Sue OCs

Ten things you wish were more true of your work

1. Style. It's hard to tell if I'm developing a style, but I suspect not. I read some things that are so utterly original in tone and style that it makes me pine to get better at this.
2. Plotty stuff. I'm good at crafting stories around relationships but need to work on my ability to plot non-relationship elements without telegraphing the hell out of them.
3. Scene description. I might describe what a character is wearing once in a whole story, or just outline the elements in his home that he interacts with. I feel like I'm only painting half a picture sometimes.
4. Fewer adverbs.
5. More varied characters. I tend to stick with less than four because I feel like I'm not doing them justice if I add any more to a story. Also, I don't write women a lot as platonic characters and that seems... I dunno... I'm trying to not fall into a SJW trap here...
6. Stuff I could show my mother. Seriously. She's always asking to read something but how can I send her a link to my FBI, tentacled, bathroom smut drabble that I've just finished?!? This falls under the broader heading of 'Why can't I write more stuff that doesn't make me blush?'...
7. Historical fiction. I love reading it but I may be too lazy to do the research it requires.
8. Subtler love scenes.
9. Structure. I realize that I'm winging it most of the time - I need to fix that.
10. Reduce my verbosity.

The next one is taken from fireheart13: Reversing the typical AO3 meme - pick stories with low stats yet were favorites of the writer... the little "hidden gems". Here's ten of my stories that, for whatever reason, were lost in the crowd.


In no particular order...

1. Again [La Femme Nikita (TV 1999), Michael/Nikita, R] There's an obvious reason why no one read this: I wrote it 10 years after the fandom died *facepalm*. Also, there are 2 films and 2 TV shows involving these characters but they all have different canons/flavors and the fan base doesn't crossover at all. I reread this recently and loved what I achieved with it (which was, in a word: doom). There are grammatical snafus that I could clean up, but I wouldn't change anything substantial about it, and that's quite something. I did a lot of description in this (because the characters don't talk much) and though that's not my strong suit, I feel it worked here. I'd love to write more in this fandom, but what's the point?
2. The Funeral [original, gen, PG 13] I wrote a side story between two characters that are from a much larger original story, which isn't posted. So, yeah. Why would anyone read this, right? Basically, it's about a cop (who may or may not be a serial killer) and his boss who has a certain amount of social impairment. The cop crashes a funeral for his boss's foster father. Tension and snark ensue. Inside my head, this is a much fuller universe so this is an interesting piece when seen in that light. However, no one else can see inside my head, so... no reader hits. I get it :(
3. An Experience of Limes [Person of Interest, Reese + Finch, PG 13] Maybe my story summary is too boring. This story has the lowest reader count of my POI stuff and I think it's very satisfying. It's in character and a little cheeky and doesn't conform to a particular point in the show's canon... but still readers didn't come. Maybe it's the lack of "payoff". I've always found these two to be more satisfying when their attraction is unresolved, but that flies in the face of fandom, doesn't it?
4. We'll Never Get Our Deposit Back [SPN, Sam + Dean, PG 13] I can't remember if I crossposted this one anywhere - probably not. Anyway, no one reads this one and that makes me sad. Perhaps it's because it's gen, perhaps it's because it doesn't involve any season-specific show angst, or maybe it's just 'cause it's a Christmas fic. At any rate, I don't write the boys that often but I enjoy it when I do. I thought this was a sweet bro-moment fic.
5. Re-Gift [The X-Files, Mulder + Scully, PG 13] THIS IS THE ONLY X-FILES STORY I'VE EVER WRITTEN & NO ONE LOVES IT LIKE I DO. *sniffles* 'Nuff said.
6. Escape Velocity [V for Vendetta, V/Evey, PG 13] Words cannot describe how much I love this story. I've sorta grown cold over most of my V stuff, but this one lingers. It's almost all internal description as V evaluates Evey from a distance. And it has a bunch of physics metaphors! C'mon people... SCIENCE! ANGST! ATTRACTION! No? Really? Okay then...
7. East and West [Criminal Minds, Reid/?, R] The whole concept behind this one was the fairytale, East of the Sun West of the Moon, in which a couple has a relationship that exists only at night in their bed chamber. They are forbidden from knowing who the other is or to recognize each other in daylight. So, I did that within the Criminal Minds canon, with some voodoo thrown in for good measure. Because Reid's nocturnal visitor has to remain a secret for the length of the story (and I have doubts about how successful I was with that), it's hard to create a summary or AO3 tags that would lure readers in. Regardless, I love this story for it's intimacy and it's quirks. I also think that this fandom could use more 'out of the box' stories like this so I wish more readers had taken a chance on it.
8. One Cup, No Waiting [Criminal Minds, Reid/Prentiss, PG 13] This is part 1 of a 3-part fic that has received little love. Yes, it's a canon divergent story, and yes, it's with an unpopular pairing. I GET IT. But I found the whole set to be like comfort food on a bad day, and yet few others have. Basically, I could pick many of my Reid/Prentiss stories and say the same things, so it's probably just the pairing that turns people off.
9. ICWUDT [Criminal Minds, Hotch + Blackwolf, PG 13] This is a one-shot between a canon staple and a character who appeared in ONE EPISODE in season 2. I challenge anyone to find more than a dozen Hotch + Blackwolf fics anywhere. Honestly, the low hit count doesn't shock me at all, but I like the dynamic here. It also addressed some of Hotch's latent rage over Haley's murder in a way that felt pretty in character to me (somehow, Hotch opening up to a stranger rather than a team member makes sense to me). Anyway, no one reads this.
10. Intolerable Me, Despicable You [Criminal Minds, Hotch/Prentiss, NC-17] This is a good story - I'm soooo proud of it (can I admit that?). It was my only attempt at Hotch/Prentiss and it was a bitch to write (partially because I never believed that Hotch and Prentiss would ever get together without a lot of canon wrenching and handwaving). But, once again, it involves a character that is no longer on the show, and has a certain amount of personality divergence that would possibly offend Hotch purists. Regardless, it is one of the best things I've written and it hurts me every. single. time. when I realize how few people feel the same way about it. Sometimes I'm just waaaay off, I suppose.

So, what else is going on? Hmmmmm... I finally saw Jupiter Ascending and I can now appreciate the general hilarity that happened when it was released. I love Wachowski films - truly - but this one will not make the rewatch list. It WAS NOT AWFUL - it just wasn't very good. It was gorgeous to look at (even the OMGWTF? outfits Mila Kunis had to wear) and I enjoyed the diversity of the universe they tried to create but... honestly? It was an action film about a torts case. And the casting was way off. Kunis is a talented comedic actor but wasn't given much to do in this other than to fall off buildings and hang on to Channing Tatum (who was as wooden as they come - in some scenes it looked as though they awoke him from a nap moments before shooting). Eddie Redmayne was actually annoying - I'm not sure what he was going for. Anything this ridiculous needed more intentional humor to make it palatable - there were sparks of it (the universal bureacracy scene was especially good), but not enough. On the upside, I need a pair of floaty boots like burning. It's 2015 - floaty somethings have to be available soon, right?

I also recently saw Paddington and was completely charmed. It was everything I wanted this film to be (part Wes Andersen-ironic, part unrealistic British humor, and ALL Ben Whishaw as Peru's best bear). As someone who grew up having these books read to her (and with a mountain of Paddington toys), I was prepared to have part of my childhood ruined, but the opposite happened. It just lovingly grafted itself into the memories I had of the books and characters. And while it is a children's movie, adults will find lots to enjoy about it. The performances are great across the board, the world is beautifully rendered and utterly charming, and there isn't a disconnect between the animations and the live-action elements. If you have even the slightest interest in it, see it.

Has anyone watched Outlander (the tv series, not the film[s])? I just recently watched 8 episodes (is that all there is for season 1?) and I'm not sure about it. It's not the hot mess I expected it to be, but I'm not sure that I like it either. I've read most of the book series (books 1 & 2 are acceptable, 3 is filler, and 4 ties up the weirdness at the end of book 2 - all the others are just a steaming pile) and I can just imagine the freakouts going on with the hardcore book fans (women who have become fluent in Gaelic, learned to cook 18th century Scottish dishes, knit authentic wraps, and have strong opinions about how to birth babies in the wilderness - you think I'm kidding, don't you?). So far the series sticks pretty close to the book 1, which leads me to the uncomfortable knowledge that a tv show will attempt to *SPOILER ALERT****** show an extended SM, slash rape scene. In fact, I didn't realize how often the threat of rape ocurred in the book, but it happens a little more frequently than I'm comfortable with. The casting is fairly good (especially Tobias Menzies, who has the difficult task of playing two, related characters with polar opposite personalities), and care has been taken so that the locations have a genuine feel to them. The two leads are suitable, both physically and professionally. But still. I dunno. Why don't I like this more?

I have convinced my husband to watch Vikings with me *is bouncy*. I watched season 1 by myself but fell behind after that. Now, because of MB, I can rewatch it and rope him into another obsession (yes, I may be a bit nuts about vikings in general. What's yer point?). Unlike Outlander, Vikings is a historical epic that I bought into right away, and it similarly has good casting and location verisimilitude.

Holy crap, did I just do a whole posting about tv shows and movies? Apologies, f-list. How shallow can you get on a Thursday afternoon?

♥