Well now that you're on my f-list, I need a new fifth fic. Fortunately, I read 102.5FM yesterday and that one would work.
It was the one where they were angry, and then suddenly consumed by the fires of passion blah blah blah.
The Lucky Ones (proceeding into Coyote Child) descends into what I call OC-wankery, where an author gets so caught up in the wonder of their own characters that they target the niche audience created for them and start to move away from the fandom their work is based in. (See: Sueric, Captain Applesauce, and Eowyn Organa for strong examples of this.
The characters just don't have enough interesting going on to support that much extension of the story. Mother Earth Hippie Saint Kagome can do no wrong, and Inuyasha has two settings: proud and angry. Yukio is a good kid who is having trouble moving on from his dead wife (this is more Coyote Child), but the inevitable outcome is so obvious that there's absolutely no suspense, but a boring slog to how exactly the author will get those two crazy kids together.
Anyway, the back half of The Lucky Ones struck me as 100,000 words of cute dullness with enough believable conflict (Kagome and Inuyasha having a biological child drives one of the kids crazy) to fill a 7,500 word one-shot. Epic. Yawn.
The premise of the fic was great, and it's deservedly a classic, and I like it. I think if she'd broken it into two fics, the first one would be deservedly legendary, the second decent, and Coyote Child an enormous waste of time.
You know, I've tried to read 102.5FM, like, four times, but I've never been able to get past the first few chapters (I think the last time I got as far as Kagome waking up at his place with a hangover after nothing in particular happened). I love the premise, but I get bogged down by the writing. Maybe I'll take a stab at it again...one of these days...
I started to read Coyote Child too (right after I first finished The Lucky Ones, a few years ago), but after I realized just how far from finished it was and how slowly it was being updated, I decided I wouldn't read any more of it until it was finished. But assuming it gets finished within my lifetime, I probably will read it eventually. One of the things that bugged me most about the end of The Lucky Ones was that that thread with Yukio and his dead wife never really did get resolved -- and that alone would be enough reason for me to read the sequel. I suppose the story just appeals to my sappy side... (*grin*)
As for Inuyasha's two settings -- LOL...yeah, I'll concede that one... (*grin*)
102.5FM is a good story...in that it entertained me for a couple of hours. Couple of big complaints.
Kagome is schitzophrenic. This happens a lot in certain fics. She hates him hates him but can't help falling in love with him so there's this sawtooth pattern where it's love-hate-love-hate-love etc. Now, one or even two jumps works, but 10 or 12, a little trite.
Bigger problem. The author uses Inuyasha's radio show to wax philosophic on his/her own (conservative) political views. It is very, very discomforting to hear Inuyasha talk about Iraq, abortion, and other social policy.
Oh yeah! I think the part I read only included a small glimpse of Inuyasha's radio show (and his comments were very rapid-fire and off-the-cuff), but I remember running across a few things that made me do a double-take. It was like Inuyasha channeling Rush Limbaugh...a little creepy...
It was the one where they were angry, and then suddenly consumed by the fires of passion blah blah blah.
The Lucky Ones (proceeding into Coyote Child) descends into what I call OC-wankery, where an author gets so caught up in the wonder of their own characters that they target the niche audience created for them and start to move away from the fandom their work is based in. (See: Sueric, Captain Applesauce, and Eowyn Organa for strong examples of this.
The characters just don't have enough interesting going on to support that much extension of the story. Mother Earth Hippie Saint Kagome can do no wrong, and Inuyasha has two settings: proud and angry. Yukio is a good kid who is having trouble moving on from his dead wife (this is more Coyote Child), but the inevitable outcome is so obvious that there's absolutely no suspense, but a boring slog to how exactly the author will get those two crazy kids together.
Anyway, the back half of The Lucky Ones struck me as 100,000 words of cute dullness with enough believable conflict (Kagome and Inuyasha having a biological child drives one of the kids crazy) to fill a 7,500 word one-shot. Epic. Yawn.
The premise of the fic was great, and it's deservedly a classic, and I like it. I think if she'd broken it into two fics, the first one would be deservedly legendary, the second decent, and Coyote Child an enormous waste of time.
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You know, I've tried to read 102.5FM, like, four times, but I've never been able to get past the first few chapters (I think the last time I got as far as Kagome waking up at his place with a hangover after nothing in particular happened). I love the premise, but I get bogged down by the writing. Maybe I'll take a stab at it again...one of these days...
I started to read Coyote Child too (right after I first finished The Lucky Ones, a few years ago), but after I realized just how far from finished it was and how slowly it was being updated, I decided I wouldn't read any more of it until it was finished. But assuming it gets finished within my lifetime, I probably will read it eventually. One of the things that bugged me most about the end of The Lucky Ones was that that thread with Yukio and his dead wife never really did get resolved -- and that alone would be enough reason for me to read the sequel. I suppose the story just appeals to my sappy side... (*grin*)
As for Inuyasha's two settings -- LOL...yeah, I'll concede that one... (*grin*)
Reply
Kagome is schitzophrenic. This happens a lot in certain fics. She hates him hates him but can't help falling in love with him so there's this sawtooth pattern where it's love-hate-love-hate-love etc. Now, one or even two jumps works, but 10 or 12, a little trite.
Bigger problem. The author uses Inuyasha's radio show to wax philosophic on his/her own (conservative) political views. It is very, very discomforting to hear Inuyasha talk about Iraq, abortion, and other social policy.
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