Fun and games, concrit, non-con crit

[flambeau]

I seethe with the wrath of the frustrated gamer. I've owned FFVII for years, and it played really badly on my old computer, with which it was barely compatible. So I thought, new computer, yay! Hah. On the new computer, the credit sequence plays in a loop, over and over. That's it. I have a feeling that the game would have run perfectly on the

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[kassrachel]

it's like hearing someone tell a story enthusiastically and fast with many hand gestures

Hee! If you haven't met Ces, then I'm impressed -- good intuition, there. :-)

I totally freaking love Enduring Distance. I can't entirely articulate why, except that maybe I have a soft spot for that story's Fraser. Although sometimes I think my favorite of her dS stories is Scrabble -- it's told in such a bizarre way, but it so totally works for me. I've seen other people try the dual-columned narration thing and they just lose me; the two sides are too alike, or something.

Eight Sessions I like because it makes me laugh. Which I know, is kind of horrible, because dark things are going on, but I just imagine that poor therapist trying to deal with Fraser, and I crack up every time. (Also, I like the way she doesn't show us exactly what the problem is -- that Ray would have killed to avenge Fraser's death, and that they're wrestling with that knowledge -- until way, way into the story.) Though maybe that's why you're not connecting with it? Because the story's hook, as it were, is the realization that in therapy they're working out this thing between them which is not the predictable thing (there was a shooting) or the usual slashy thing (they're secretly into each other and can't admit it), though each of those is also true...? Hm.

fwiw, Sentinel had a great list for non-con crit, back in the day, called Prospect-L. It's probably still there -- I'm sure it's still there -- merryish and flummery (Thing 1) run it. It was a huge freaking deal when they started it. People called us The Mean List, and in response somebody started a grand list of people who didn't want their stories discussed, and we totally ignored that, and it pissed the fandom off. It was so much fun, that list. The conversations were fantastic.

[flambeau]

I've never met Ces in person, but sometimes you can practically see the gestures in chat. *g*

I'm going to have to look at Eight Sessions again to think about it (I haven't quite managed to reread every single Ces story during/after this post, but I'm getting there *g*), but I don't think it's the issue, as such. It's a good issue. ;) Could be something structural, though. Mostly when I think about that story I remember that it felt sort of pale grey, with wall to wall carpeting. (As opposed to Enduring Distance, which has snow and sunshine and a faint smell of detergent.)

I love Prospect - I'm still on it, though it's not quite the hotbed of fannish enthusiasm that it was. It tends to be very technically oriented, focusing on writing styles and story construction and not so much on themes and trends, but yeah, it's still the best forum I've seen for fanfic discussion.

[kassrachel]

You know, as soon as I posted that last comment, I thought, "I'll bet Torch was on P-L, you dope." *g* And sure enough, I was right. Sorry about that. It's been so long since I was active onlist that it's all kind of blurred together in my mind, into this tasty mélange of snarky crit and commentary...

I'm glad it's still around, even if it's not as cool as it was. It was so radical when it first opened up shop -- given Senad and the general trends of Sentinel-fannish culture at that point, who could have imagined 900 people would join Prospect within, like, 3 days? ::happy sigh:: It's kind of nice to feel like a fannish old-timer sometimes.