Rundown of Five Things story (by request) and other stuff
Just got back from people-watching the crowd at our local Barnes & Noble; lots of good costumes, protesters ("Harry is Satan! 666!") and people all wound up for the latest HP book. I pre-ordered mine very late on Amazon, so I'll probably be the first person on my friend's list to get spoiled, since my copy won't be getting here 'til Friday at the earliest. I'm not going to make demands on not spoiling me here, since it's my own fault. But you'll probably be getting burble from me next weekend.
I had a job interview today! Which went mostly well, but... well, it's a local company, they don't have an open position, they just liked the resume' I sent them. So we were kind of interviewing each other, and much as I'd like to worth with them, they're a little intimidating. Lots of design work. Lots of heavy-duty overtime. I'd be up for either, I'm just not sure how steep the learning curve would be. Soooo. We'll see. I don't expect to hear back soon, they said to give it a couple weeks while they thought it over. Either way, the resume's still working for me, and they said some nice stuff.
ElaineMc wanted to know where I got the ideas for the Five Things story I just posted, and so explanations and references below....
I love AU's. I actually was trying to write a completely different Pretender AU last year-- one where Catherine Parker lived-- that was just not going anywhere, and got on the subject of the ongoing Five Things That Never Happened challenge on AIM with a friend. The general concept of how many different ways you could apply an alternate universe to Pretender was brought up-- both of them being Pretenders, Parker being a Pretender-- and then we got onto, "what if they never met if when they were kids?" Which is a huge, huge part of the show; their sibling-rivalry/flirtationship/friendship/ex-friendship always traces back to when they were best-friends-forever, and both too innocent to really get how Jarod's life was being ruined, or suspect how Parker's mom really died, or understand how they were being set up to be on opposite sides. Somewhere in there, they stopped being friends. Common fanon is that Parker got set away to boarding school, but we have no idea how old they were or how the break was accomplished. If you take out that factor, then all of their subsequent interactions have to change, to some extent.
I changed the Five Things challenge for myself to their first meetings, in order to keep some continuity between the set-ups. Otherwise there wouldn't have been a lot to connect them together. I also *tried* to use a line from an ep in each story, out of context, but only managed it for about half of them.
"1. Meet Cute" ends with Parker finally shooting Jarod, as she kept threatening to for 88 episodes but never did. If they hadn't been friends first, *tell* me she wouldn't have pulled that trigger six or seven times over. And of course, 'meet cute' is the classic romantic comedy cliche' of boy-meets-girl in some improbable yet adorable fashion. Not so much the case, here.
"The Centre wants him alive."
"Preferably." - Sydney & Miss Parker, Pilot
"2. Tommy Girl" assumes that Parker broke with her father over some issue a lot earlier in her life, went to law school, met Thomas Gates (her lover in 3rd season, murdered after three months), married him, and lost him. Parker's always seemed to me to be a classic D.A./special prosecutor type; if she weren't stuck at the Centre, she'd probably be still pursuing justices for *someone*. Spenser is the name of the Robert B. Parker detective in his ongoing series of Spenser for Hire novels. Robert B. Parker named him in the tradition of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, another P.I. named for an Elizabethan poet. Jarod always picks aliases that should be questioned a lot more closely than they are. So I couldn't resist one more reference in there. Tommy Girl is also a perfume, in case you're not up on your Helfiger status symbols. I picked out Miranda for Parker's first name (since we don't know it, aside from the M) based on Shakespeare's Tempest heroine, talking about the brave new world, with such people in it. It's a fairly common fanon pick for her first name anyway.
"You're a liar. Always were." - Parker to Jarod, Keys
"3. Stockholm is for Suckers" is a play on "Virginia is for Lovers" and the well-known Stockholm Syndrome, in which captives become friends/lovers/protective of their captors in hostage situations. I had to do this one because there are far too many Harlequin romance novel fics in this fandom, of Jarod kidnapping Parker for her own good, or getting stuck in a cabin together, or... well, you get the idea. The Desert Island trope, of, if they could just be alone together, it would all work out. Which isn't to say I don't see the appeal, some of those stories are very good, but honestly, it would probably play out a lot more like "The Ransom of Red Chief" than "The Sheik." Parker dislocating her thumb to get out of handcuffs is canon from Keys, and her inability to not throw a temper tantrum when deprived of nicotine with no warning was already shown in Jaroldo!.
"4. Prisoner's Dilemma, Extended Dance Remix" - refers to the Game Theory classic set-up of two prisoners who have to trust each other in order for both to escape. If both betray, both stay prisoners. If one betrays the other, and the other does not, the betrayer goes scot-free, and the remaining prisoner can be executed. At extended play, prisoners can forgive past 'betrayals' and move on to win even more rounds-- which is counter-intuitive to the idea that all self-interest is pro-survival.
Mira here is still Miranda; and is still Parker. But she's been in Raines' hands for some time, and he usually re-named his (victims)(experiments) Pretenders according to his own internal logic. What if, instead of grabbing the boy, the nurse took Catherine Parker's girl baby to NuGenesis instead? What if she was returned to the Centre later on?
Parker calls Jarod a moron, and insane, far too many times to count, so that *almost* counts for a direct quote here. This one I could not start, and could not start... until I got the image of Parker holding a gun on Jarod. Then it rolled out like a red carpet.
"5. White Leopard Habitat" refers to a phone conversation Sydney and Jarod had during first season. Part of Sydney's conditioning and logic that helped keep Jarod within the Centre for so long was the idea that Pretenders were white leopards, unable to truly blend in and function in normal society, because they stand out and become prey. Jarod pretty much exploded that idea during the series, the way Mia does here; the habitat in question becomes the entire world.
This one was tough for transferring those qualities which are uniquely 'Pretender' to Parker-- the obsessiveness, the planning, the manipulation-- and leaving the uniquely Jarod qualities to Jarod. The one or two times I've seen Parker written as a Pretender, and Jarod as a Parker, they turn him into a bad guy. Evil. Another Lyle. And they turn Parker into a beaten-down victim of the Centre. Please! If Parker can grow up to be a hard-as-nails-bitch who still has a basically good heart, Jarod wouldn't be any worse as the heir to the Centre. And if he can break out after thirty years, don't tell me she wouldn't do the same, possibly in even less time.
How did Jarod get to be Mr. Parker's son? Adoption. NuGenesis handled those too, remember. The exact circumstances don't matter, and I may turn this one into a longer story, so I won't get too involved in how I think it happened here. But Jarod's not Miss Parker, and he wouldn't have the same relationship with Mr. Parker as his father that she has with the guy. If only because he's a boy, and that would have made a huge difference to the old bastard.
"6. Unique Snowflakes" is the one I actually wrote first. Mostly inspired by the idea that I had for 2 seconds while watching Bank, that they were *always* conspiring together offscreen. I stuck with them not knowing each other as kids for this part of the AU, but I admit to thinking of it along the lines of, "how would it have happened in canon, if she had helped him break out?" The snow, and Jarod's memories of it, refer to Not Even a Mouse, and a thwarted attempt he made just to get outside the Centre when he was about eleven or twelve. The 'unique' part of the snowflakes is a play on that whole 'everyone is a special unique snowflake' trope, because as snowflakes go, Jarod and Parker are more unique than most.
"You know the dance, Miss Parker. Quid pro quo. You help me with one of my secrets, I help you with one of yours." - Jarod, Bank
There. Far too much explanation of the stories, but hopefully it entertains some of you. :>
I had a job interview today! Which went mostly well, but... well, it's a local company, they don't have an open position, they just liked the resume' I sent them. So we were kind of interviewing each other, and much as I'd like to worth with them, they're a little intimidating. Lots of design work. Lots of heavy-duty overtime. I'd be up for either, I'm just not sure how steep the learning curve would be. Soooo. We'll see. I don't expect to hear back soon, they said to give it a couple weeks while they thought it over. Either way, the resume's still working for me, and they said some nice stuff.
ElaineMc wanted to know where I got the ideas for the Five Things story I just posted, and so explanations and references below....
I love AU's. I actually was trying to write a completely different Pretender AU last year-- one where Catherine Parker lived-- that was just not going anywhere, and got on the subject of the ongoing Five Things That Never Happened challenge on AIM with a friend. The general concept of how many different ways you could apply an alternate universe to Pretender was brought up-- both of them being Pretenders, Parker being a Pretender-- and then we got onto, "what if they never met if when they were kids?" Which is a huge, huge part of the show; their sibling-rivalry/flirtationship/friendship/ex-friendship always traces back to when they were best-friends-forever, and both too innocent to really get how Jarod's life was being ruined, or suspect how Parker's mom really died, or understand how they were being set up to be on opposite sides. Somewhere in there, they stopped being friends. Common fanon is that Parker got set away to boarding school, but we have no idea how old they were or how the break was accomplished. If you take out that factor, then all of their subsequent interactions have to change, to some extent.
I changed the Five Things challenge for myself to their first meetings, in order to keep some continuity between the set-ups. Otherwise there wouldn't have been a lot to connect them together. I also *tried* to use a line from an ep in each story, out of context, but only managed it for about half of them.
"1. Meet Cute" ends with Parker finally shooting Jarod, as she kept threatening to for 88 episodes but never did. If they hadn't been friends first, *tell* me she wouldn't have pulled that trigger six or seven times over. And of course, 'meet cute' is the classic romantic comedy cliche' of boy-meets-girl in some improbable yet adorable fashion. Not so much the case, here.
"The Centre wants him alive."
"Preferably." - Sydney & Miss Parker, Pilot
"2. Tommy Girl" assumes that Parker broke with her father over some issue a lot earlier in her life, went to law school, met Thomas Gates (her lover in 3rd season, murdered after three months), married him, and lost him. Parker's always seemed to me to be a classic D.A./special prosecutor type; if she weren't stuck at the Centre, she'd probably be still pursuing justices for *someone*. Spenser is the name of the Robert B. Parker detective in his ongoing series of Spenser for Hire novels. Robert B. Parker named him in the tradition of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, another P.I. named for an Elizabethan poet. Jarod always picks aliases that should be questioned a lot more closely than they are. So I couldn't resist one more reference in there. Tommy Girl is also a perfume, in case you're not up on your Helfiger status symbols. I picked out Miranda for Parker's first name (since we don't know it, aside from the M) based on Shakespeare's Tempest heroine, talking about the brave new world, with such people in it. It's a fairly common fanon pick for her first name anyway.
"You're a liar. Always were." - Parker to Jarod, Keys
"3. Stockholm is for Suckers" is a play on "Virginia is for Lovers" and the well-known Stockholm Syndrome, in which captives become friends/lovers/protective of their captors in hostage situations. I had to do this one because there are far too many Harlequin romance novel fics in this fandom, of Jarod kidnapping Parker for her own good, or getting stuck in a cabin together, or... well, you get the idea. The Desert Island trope, of, if they could just be alone together, it would all work out. Which isn't to say I don't see the appeal, some of those stories are very good, but honestly, it would probably play out a lot more like "The Ransom of Red Chief" than "The Sheik." Parker dislocating her thumb to get out of handcuffs is canon from Keys, and her inability to not throw a temper tantrum when deprived of nicotine with no warning was already shown in Jaroldo!.
"4. Prisoner's Dilemma, Extended Dance Remix" - refers to the Game Theory classic set-up of two prisoners who have to trust each other in order for both to escape. If both betray, both stay prisoners. If one betrays the other, and the other does not, the betrayer goes scot-free, and the remaining prisoner can be executed. At extended play, prisoners can forgive past 'betrayals' and move on to win even more rounds-- which is counter-intuitive to the idea that all self-interest is pro-survival.
Mira here is still Miranda; and is still Parker. But she's been in Raines' hands for some time, and he usually re-named his (victims)(experiments) Pretenders according to his own internal logic. What if, instead of grabbing the boy, the nurse took Catherine Parker's girl baby to NuGenesis instead? What if she was returned to the Centre later on?
Parker calls Jarod a moron, and insane, far too many times to count, so that *almost* counts for a direct quote here. This one I could not start, and could not start... until I got the image of Parker holding a gun on Jarod. Then it rolled out like a red carpet.
"5. White Leopard Habitat" refers to a phone conversation Sydney and Jarod had during first season. Part of Sydney's conditioning and logic that helped keep Jarod within the Centre for so long was the idea that Pretenders were white leopards, unable to truly blend in and function in normal society, because they stand out and become prey. Jarod pretty much exploded that idea during the series, the way Mia does here; the habitat in question becomes the entire world.
This one was tough for transferring those qualities which are uniquely 'Pretender' to Parker-- the obsessiveness, the planning, the manipulation-- and leaving the uniquely Jarod qualities to Jarod. The one or two times I've seen Parker written as a Pretender, and Jarod as a Parker, they turn him into a bad guy. Evil. Another Lyle. And they turn Parker into a beaten-down victim of the Centre. Please! If Parker can grow up to be a hard-as-nails-bitch who still has a basically good heart, Jarod wouldn't be any worse as the heir to the Centre. And if he can break out after thirty years, don't tell me she wouldn't do the same, possibly in even less time.
How did Jarod get to be Mr. Parker's son? Adoption. NuGenesis handled those too, remember. The exact circumstances don't matter, and I may turn this one into a longer story, so I won't get too involved in how I think it happened here. But Jarod's not Miss Parker, and he wouldn't have the same relationship with Mr. Parker as his father that she has with the guy. If only because he's a boy, and that would have made a huge difference to the old bastard.
"6. Unique Snowflakes" is the one I actually wrote first. Mostly inspired by the idea that I had for 2 seconds while watching Bank, that they were *always* conspiring together offscreen. I stuck with them not knowing each other as kids for this part of the AU, but I admit to thinking of it along the lines of, "how would it have happened in canon, if she had helped him break out?" The snow, and Jarod's memories of it, refer to Not Even a Mouse, and a thwarted attempt he made just to get outside the Centre when he was about eleven or twelve. The 'unique' part of the snowflakes is a play on that whole 'everyone is a special unique snowflake' trope, because as snowflakes go, Jarod and Parker are more unique than most.
"You know the dance, Miss Parker. Quid pro quo. You help me with one of my secrets, I help you with one of yours." - Jarod, Bank
There. Far too much explanation of the stories, but hopefully it entertains some of you. :>