100 Things to Read #27
Random. So random. But so good.
Title: Down and Dirty
Author: dancinbutterfly
Fandoms: Crossover: Entourage and Dirt
Pairing: Eric/Vince
Rating: R
Word Count: ~9k
Link: http://dancinbutterfly.livejournal.com/143233.html
Author's Summary: There are scandals and then there are stories. Vincent Chase is a story.
Dirt. Entourage. Perfection, right? Right.
I loved Dirt. I thought Courtney Cox nailed the role-she was so incredibly hot and sexy and perfect. I was beyond disappointed when it was cancelled.
And lately, I've been reading Entourage, in case you missed that in my earlier posts. This wasn't the Entourage fic I was planning to rec first (I have another one partially written-the damn rec itself is already like 1500 words), but then leashy-bebes posted a really random crossover rec, so here I am, inspired to post this one before the other.
[Babbling and excerpt.]
From what I've found, the majority of Entourage fic was written by two people: fourteencandles and dancinbutterfly. I'll get to fourteencandles in my next one, and dancinbutterfly gets this one. Her stuff is, by and large, really great. Sorta needs a beta sometimes, but that's something I can mostly glaze over if it's not atrocious and if the plots, the dialogue, everything going on are worth it, and they with the vast majority of her work. It's sharp and insightful and enjoyable (what she completed-there are a few things she unfortunately left unfinished). I think I'd read almost everything she had before I read this one, unsure how I'd feel about a crossover, despite it really being a brilliant concept, and I'm sort of glad I saved it. Best for last and all that.
If you're unfamiliar with Dirt, it's about a gossip magazine editor, Lucy Spiller (Courtney Cox). She's ruthless, a bitch, very Hollywood, all that. Her best friend is a photographer, a paranoid schizophrenic named Don. He's awesome, despite (because of?) his issues. There are a few other characters floating around, but you don't really need to know that much about them. And if you're unfamiliar with them but still interested in the fic, you can pretend they're OCs and probably get by just fine. But if you are familiar with Dirt, I think you'll be impressed by how amazingly she nails Don's POV and characterization. So good.
This fic is done from the POVs of the Dirt folks. Willa, Lucy, Don, and finishing up with Farber. There's no Eric or Vince POV, but it's not needed here. This is a story about looking in on them (one of my favorite themes), and you can probably guess what it's about, right? Willa gets pictures of Vince doing something he shouldn't be doing in public, and when Lucy smells blood in the water, she makes a little bargain with Shauna and company. The concept is perfect. There are worlds that deserve to be brought together because it's so natural, and this is a great example.
Hmm, a little excerpt! Well, a long excerpt. LOL.
Don shows up at eleven-thirty with sandwiches and pictures of Claire Leland that gives them direction but nothing serious, and that pretty much fills her morning until Kenny raps on her doorframe.
“Vincent Chase is here to see you?” It’s more a question than a statement.
“Send him in.”
Don’s sitting on her desk when Vince and his little entourage file in. There are three of them, Vince, Shauna and a short redheaded man named Murphy whose first name escapes her. She recognizes him though, from the fight.
“Hello Vince,” Lucy says, smiling at him.
He smiles right back and yeah, he’s got it. One in a million confidence to go with the insane good looks. “Hey.”
“You want to tell us what this is about?” Murphy asks. He’s her height, shorter when she's in her heels. But he’s all Hollywood power under a thick New York accent.
She glances over at Kenny. “That’ll be all Kenny. Shut the door behind you.”
He nods and disappears lightening quick, skittish and nervous, his skin pale and pasty. He’s a good assistant and amusing but he’s just not cut out for this.
“So what’s this about, Lucy?” Shauna asks. Vince has dropped his long frame into one of her chairs and he looks at home there.
She looks at Vince, into eyes that are the same color as pools of water in the Caribbean and asks “Vince, what were you doing at the Factory last night?”
Murphy looks sharply at Vince, who shifts uncomfortably. “What’ve you got?” Vince asks, and Murphy’s mouth actually drops for a second before he snaps it shut and clenches his jaw.
“I’ve got eight by tens of you and some cute bleach-blond twink doing the bad thing in the bathroom.” She pushes the photos his way. “Funny thing, I don’t remember that being in Aquaman.”
Murphy snatches the pictures from her hand and draws in a sharp breath. “Jesus Christ Vince, you’re lying to me now?”
“I said I was going out last night. I didn’t say where.”
“This is the sort of thing you’re supposed to fucking tell me about - as your manager if not as your best goddamn friend.”
“Enough boys,” Shauna bites out. Lucy can see lines of tension in her face. “What do you want, Lucy? What’ve we got to do for you to sit on this?”
“I don’t know? It’s a pretty juicy story.”
“Vince’s movie just came out,” Murphy says. “And it’s Oscar season. If this story breaks you’ll ruin him.”
“Should’ve been more careful,” Lucy says and Don shifts uncomfortably. He gets off the desk and moves to stand by the wall, hands twitching. She knows he hates this part. “But I saw And So We Fall and you were good. Word is that you’re a shoe-in for best leading actor and I want an exclusive. I want the full story from Vince’s mouth - after he wins the Oscar. I want it unscripted and unedited, but it is a chance for you to come out your own way. And I want Don to have unfettered access to you leading up to the Oscars for pictures and anything we might need afterwards.”
“Done,” Vince says and Shauna slaps him on the back of the head.
“Shut up, Vincent.”
“You might want to let Vince decide for himself. Vince, this is the only offer you’re going to get. Exclusivity agreement with DirtNow will make this whole thing go away until you’re ready to control it, and I’m being generous. These pictures are worth millions and I think you know that.”
“You’re a real bitch, you know that?” Murphy snaps and Lucy smirks.
“I did actually.”
“Is he someone special?” Don asks, jarring them all out of the loop they’re caught in. Four pairs of eyes turn to him. He adjusts his hat on his balding head and looks Vince in the eye. “The man in the picture, is he special?”
It’s a leading question, an important one, and Lucy turns sharply so she can watch Vince’s reaction. The cool countenance he’s had since he walked in the door falters some, falls. He shakes his head.
“No. Him… he’s nobody.”
Don tilts his head and this, Lucy thinks, is why she keeps hiring him. Not because they’re best friends, not because she loves him more than her own brother, and not because sometimes - hell, a lot of the time - he needs someone to take care of him. No, he’s damn fucking good at his job and he can get inside people like no one she’s ever seen.
“But there is somebody, then,” Don muses. “A man.”
“Don’t answer that Vince,” Murphy orders.
Vince turns to look at him and Lucy knows. She knows right then and there exactly where her story is.
See? Perfect. And now I want to read it again.
I think this can be enjoyed just for the Eric/Vince aspect (there's some good Johnny and Turtle in there, too), but if you appreciate Dirt, I think you'll like what she does with the characters-how she shows that Lucy isn't really the enormous bitch she sometimes appears to be.
Random? Yes. But only because one's a show I haven't heard about in forever (and probably had the tiniest fandom ever, if it even had one), and because the other doesn't seem to have had much of a fandom presence, either. These shows easily could have taken place in the same world, and reading this fic, I really wish they had.
Title: Down and Dirty
Author: dancinbutterfly
Fandoms: Crossover: Entourage and Dirt
Pairing: Eric/Vince
Rating: R
Word Count: ~9k
Link: http://dancinbutterfly.livejournal.com/143233.html
Author's Summary: There are scandals and then there are stories. Vincent Chase is a story.
Dirt. Entourage. Perfection, right? Right.
I loved Dirt. I thought Courtney Cox nailed the role-she was so incredibly hot and sexy and perfect. I was beyond disappointed when it was cancelled.
And lately, I've been reading Entourage, in case you missed that in my earlier posts. This wasn't the Entourage fic I was planning to rec first (I have another one partially written-the damn rec itself is already like 1500 words), but then leashy-bebes posted a really random crossover rec, so here I am, inspired to post this one before the other.
[Babbling and excerpt.]
From what I've found, the majority of Entourage fic was written by two people: fourteencandles and dancinbutterfly. I'll get to fourteencandles in my next one, and dancinbutterfly gets this one. Her stuff is, by and large, really great. Sorta needs a beta sometimes, but that's something I can mostly glaze over if it's not atrocious and if the plots, the dialogue, everything going on are worth it, and they with the vast majority of her work. It's sharp and insightful and enjoyable (what she completed-there are a few things she unfortunately left unfinished). I think I'd read almost everything she had before I read this one, unsure how I'd feel about a crossover, despite it really being a brilliant concept, and I'm sort of glad I saved it. Best for last and all that.
If you're unfamiliar with Dirt, it's about a gossip magazine editor, Lucy Spiller (Courtney Cox). She's ruthless, a bitch, very Hollywood, all that. Her best friend is a photographer, a paranoid schizophrenic named Don. He's awesome, despite (because of?) his issues. There are a few other characters floating around, but you don't really need to know that much about them. And if you're unfamiliar with them but still interested in the fic, you can pretend they're OCs and probably get by just fine. But if you are familiar with Dirt, I think you'll be impressed by how amazingly she nails Don's POV and characterization. So good.
This fic is done from the POVs of the Dirt folks. Willa, Lucy, Don, and finishing up with Farber. There's no Eric or Vince POV, but it's not needed here. This is a story about looking in on them (one of my favorite themes), and you can probably guess what it's about, right? Willa gets pictures of Vince doing something he shouldn't be doing in public, and when Lucy smells blood in the water, she makes a little bargain with Shauna and company. The concept is perfect. There are worlds that deserve to be brought together because it's so natural, and this is a great example.
Hmm, a little excerpt! Well, a long excerpt. LOL.
Don shows up at eleven-thirty with sandwiches and pictures of Claire Leland that gives them direction but nothing serious, and that pretty much fills her morning until Kenny raps on her doorframe.
“Vincent Chase is here to see you?” It’s more a question than a statement.
“Send him in.”
Don’s sitting on her desk when Vince and his little entourage file in. There are three of them, Vince, Shauna and a short redheaded man named Murphy whose first name escapes her. She recognizes him though, from the fight.
“Hello Vince,” Lucy says, smiling at him.
He smiles right back and yeah, he’s got it. One in a million confidence to go with the insane good looks. “Hey.”
“You want to tell us what this is about?” Murphy asks. He’s her height, shorter when she's in her heels. But he’s all Hollywood power under a thick New York accent.
She glances over at Kenny. “That’ll be all Kenny. Shut the door behind you.”
He nods and disappears lightening quick, skittish and nervous, his skin pale and pasty. He’s a good assistant and amusing but he’s just not cut out for this.
“So what’s this about, Lucy?” Shauna asks. Vince has dropped his long frame into one of her chairs and he looks at home there.
She looks at Vince, into eyes that are the same color as pools of water in the Caribbean and asks “Vince, what were you doing at the Factory last night?”
Murphy looks sharply at Vince, who shifts uncomfortably. “What’ve you got?” Vince asks, and Murphy’s mouth actually drops for a second before he snaps it shut and clenches his jaw.
“I’ve got eight by tens of you and some cute bleach-blond twink doing the bad thing in the bathroom.” She pushes the photos his way. “Funny thing, I don’t remember that being in Aquaman.”
Murphy snatches the pictures from her hand and draws in a sharp breath. “Jesus Christ Vince, you’re lying to me now?”
“I said I was going out last night. I didn’t say where.”
“This is the sort of thing you’re supposed to fucking tell me about - as your manager if not as your best goddamn friend.”
“Enough boys,” Shauna bites out. Lucy can see lines of tension in her face. “What do you want, Lucy? What’ve we got to do for you to sit on this?”
“I don’t know? It’s a pretty juicy story.”
“Vince’s movie just came out,” Murphy says. “And it’s Oscar season. If this story breaks you’ll ruin him.”
“Should’ve been more careful,” Lucy says and Don shifts uncomfortably. He gets off the desk and moves to stand by the wall, hands twitching. She knows he hates this part. “But I saw And So We Fall and you were good. Word is that you’re a shoe-in for best leading actor and I want an exclusive. I want the full story from Vince’s mouth - after he wins the Oscar. I want it unscripted and unedited, but it is a chance for you to come out your own way. And I want Don to have unfettered access to you leading up to the Oscars for pictures and anything we might need afterwards.”
“Done,” Vince says and Shauna slaps him on the back of the head.
“Shut up, Vincent.”
“You might want to let Vince decide for himself. Vince, this is the only offer you’re going to get. Exclusivity agreement with DirtNow will make this whole thing go away until you’re ready to control it, and I’m being generous. These pictures are worth millions and I think you know that.”
“You’re a real bitch, you know that?” Murphy snaps and Lucy smirks.
“I did actually.”
“Is he someone special?” Don asks, jarring them all out of the loop they’re caught in. Four pairs of eyes turn to him. He adjusts his hat on his balding head and looks Vince in the eye. “The man in the picture, is he special?”
It’s a leading question, an important one, and Lucy turns sharply so she can watch Vince’s reaction. The cool countenance he’s had since he walked in the door falters some, falls. He shakes his head.
“No. Him… he’s nobody.”
Don tilts his head and this, Lucy thinks, is why she keeps hiring him. Not because they’re best friends, not because she loves him more than her own brother, and not because sometimes - hell, a lot of the time - he needs someone to take care of him. No, he’s damn fucking good at his job and he can get inside people like no one she’s ever seen.
“But there is somebody, then,” Don muses. “A man.”
“Don’t answer that Vince,” Murphy orders.
Vince turns to look at him and Lucy knows. She knows right then and there exactly where her story is.
See? Perfect. And now I want to read it again.
I think this can be enjoyed just for the Eric/Vince aspect (there's some good Johnny and Turtle in there, too), but if you appreciate Dirt, I think you'll like what she does with the characters-how she shows that Lucy isn't really the enormous bitch she sometimes appears to be.
Random? Yes. But only because one's a show I haven't heard about in forever (and probably had the tiniest fandom ever, if it even had one), and because the other doesn't seem to have had much of a fandom presence, either. These shows easily could have taken place in the same world, and reading this fic, I really wish they had.