Three things
ONE.
The CBC (a.k.a. The Canadian Boadcasting Company, for those of you who do not live in Canada) has made a miniseries of The Best Laid Plans. The Best Laid Plans won Canada Reads and the Stephen Leacock award for humour a few years ago. It is a truly delightful (fictional) book about a young political speechwriter in Ottawa who changes careers and goes back into academia, but agrees to do one more favour for his party and essentially find a Liberal candidate to run in the safest Conservative seat in the country. It really gets Ottawa right, as far as I can tell. The details about the city itself are definitely excellent. And I love the book. It's hilarious, and genuine and just great.
The miniseries is also pretty much excellent. Not only can you totally play the "HEY! It's that Canadian actor!" game (always funtimes), but many of the actors are amazing (Mark McKinney! Barbara Gordon! Peter Keleghan, aka that guy who's in every Canadian thing ever, aka the guy who plays the board member who sells water and dresses up as Cardinal Richelieu in Slings and Arrows for his costume party). AND speaking of Slings and Arrows, one of the co-writers of the miniseries is Susan Coyne, who is also one of the Slings writers (and plays Anna). So obviously, I adore this miniseries. SO EXCELLENT. I am going to be depressed when it is over. YAY CBC for this though. They have been knocking it out of the park with their adaptations of Canadian novels recently (also really enjoyed their adpations of Still Life, the first of the Inspector Gamache mystery novels by Louise Penny).
If they decide to adapt the Flavia de Luce mysteries, my cup will runneth over.
TWO.
The Mentalist this week was surprisingly delightful. Okay, so I really hope this reboot isn't going to involve the FBI refusing Jane's every request, no matter how minor, because that will get seriously tedious. It's particularly bad when it's Fisher, because Abbot I am indifferent to, and quite frankly, if this show continues on beyond this season(admittedly doubtful), am fully expecting to find out he was in RJ's network, because I will be SHOCKED if show ever lets that plotline completely die. I mean, I am genuinely uninterested in this weird power thing Fisher and Jane have going on. Jane resents authority and likes to mess with everyone. We get it.
THAT SAID, I am loving a lot of the other stuff this reboot is chosing to be.
Lisbon got a magic FBI badge! I was not expecting that, and her status was rather grey. I mean, it's a bit ridiculous that she now has a magic FBI badge, but I will take it. Mostly because it is about time the handwaving that this show does constantly actually works in Lisbon's favour. And also, she was so happy about it and it was charming.
Lisbon got to be competent and actually solved the case independently of (and concurrent with) Jane. WHAT IS THIS SHOW COMING TO? Then, THEN, Cho ALSO got to be competent and non-annoying. And he and Lisbon have gone back to their lovely dynamic. Not that they ever really lost it, but a lot of the time Cho was an annoying employee (cough... Blood In, Blood out... cough...). So, to sum up, TWO people OTHER THAN JANE got to be competent in one episode. I KNOW.
Then, Cho, Lisbon and Fisher banded together at the end and called Jane out on his being a moron and the fact that he is a terrible communicator (Cho's words). It was amazing. More of this Fisher, Cho and Lisbon as a team of three calling Jane out on his stupidity. THIS IS A SHOW I WANT TO WATCH. MORE OF THIS.
THEN, THEN (and this is the part I really can't believe), FISHER AND LISBON LOOK LIKE THEY ARE GOING TO BE FRIENDS. They had a scene where they were acting that way. There was bonding. There were multiple scenes of them together, solving the case and just being awesome female FBI agents. THIS IS ALL I HAVE EVER WANTED FROM THE REBOOT. I am not even kidding. I want them to be friends, and, and go to the FBI shooting range together, and swap stories of favourite cases, and Lisbon to give Fisher advice on Jane-wrangling, and then they can exchange stories of top five tackles, and then they can go watch rom-coms and eat the desserts of their choice. I HAVE IT ALL PLANNED OUT IN MY HEAD. And if show takes it away, I will cry and cry and cry. (Why do shows never understand that female friendships that make sense are awesome?)
I do not care about Fisher and Jane, but MORE FISHER AND LISBON. Because that is delightful.
THREE.
The End of the Year Fic Writing meme (because why not?)
Fics Written
Stand (The Newsroom)
Making Yuletide Bright (The Mentalist)
Reassurances (The Mentalist)
Whirligig (The Newsroom)
Come Back You'll See (The Newsroom)
Tell me Something Nice (The Mentalist)
Duologue (Crossover: The Mentalist and Elementary)
Feel Again (The Mentalist)
Unimportant and Unexpected (The Mentalist)
Threads (The Mentalist)
The Infinite Sonnets of Margaret Murray (A Wrinkle in Time) - and the fic that is only on AO3
To you my dear, I wish no harm (The Newsroom)
Black In (The Newsroom)
Questionable Offer (The Mentalist)
Rearrangements (The Mentalist)
I am too lazy to link them all individually, and I didn't put them all up on LJ, but you can find almost all of them HERE, on my Fanfiction.net page.
And the one that isn't there is HERE, on AO3.
(I really should consolidate...)
WIP's = 1 or 3, depending on how you count. 1 if you only count fic I started this year (still have one chapter left on Stand), but 3 if you count other fic. Because I swear, I'm going to finish Selected Writings AND the Repelling Ever Closer verse at some point. I swear I am. (And yes, I know I am a terrible author.) Actually, I think I may try going back to Selected Writings once I finish Stand. Because the letter-writing in the Mentalist re-boot has inspired me to finish my own J/L letter-writing fic, at least the companion piece from Jane's perspective (since the original fic is finished).
Total = 15
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?: More. For some reason, I didn't think I wrote that much this year, and a few of those (well, three) are multichaps, and fairly long ones at that.
Where did you publish/archive your stories?: A weird mix of AO3, LJ and Fanfiction. Mostly Fanfiction, as you can see. I really should consolidate somewhere, but I probably won't. Not anytime soon.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2012?: The Newsroom, Will/Mac. Because I hadn't even seen the show in January 2012. Mostly, because I don't think it had aired yet.
What's your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest.: Ooooh. That's really tough. I wrote a lot of fluff this year, or maybe not fluff, but feel-good fic, this year. Reassurances pleases me a lot. I always love writing in the Restraints!verse. I have decided that the Restraints!verse is how the Mentalist is going to end, whether it actually ends that way or not. I also really like To you my dear, I wish no harm, which is the first of my three Newsroom multiparters, and in many ways possibly the best. I wrote it through the perspective of Will in therapy over several months, which in and of itself is kind of a Sorkin-y framing device. Also, I really like both Will's dynamic with Mac (obviously) and with Dr. Habib, his therapist. Also, it takes place before the whole depressing mess that is Genoa. Not that the entire second season is bad, but it is problematic.
Okay, NOW your most popular story: Of 2013? Depending on how you count popularity, probably either Questionable Offer or To you my dear, I wish no harm. Probably Questionable Offer though. With Rearrangements being up there.
Story most underappreciated by the universe?: Maybe Whirligig. Based on the amount of work I put into it, I guess. I mean, people like it. It's not unnapreciated. I feel like I'm generally fairly lucky in how my fic is appreciated. My Mentalist fic is definitely not underappreciated. Some is appreciated more than others, obviously (some are also better than others, SO). But it's not underappreciated.
Story that could have been better?: Technically they all probably could have been. Maybe Whirligig. Maybe it could have been tightened up? I don't know. Probably Making Yuletide Bright actually. That one probably could have used another readthrough.
Sexiest story?: Oh boy. Of my fic? Erm... OH WAIT. The end of Reassurances is somewhat sexy, right? LET'S GO WITH YES. (Let's also see how many of these questiosn I can answer with Reassurances)
Most fun story?: To write? Probably Questionable Offer, because that was definitely fun. Parts of Whirligig I found unbelievably enjoyable. Writing from Mac's POV is delightful. Also, To you my dear, I wish no harm, their were scenes in that that I really enjoyed writing. A lot. Some of the Will/Habib dialogue was such fun, as was setting up the reveals.
Story with single sweetest moment?: I don't know that I'll be able to narrow this down at all. I WRITE A LOT OF ROMANCE. I enjoy my romance on the sweet side. Sweet, and simultaneously sarcastic. Will is pretty damn sweet to Mac in parts of Stand though. Between the Mentalist fic, it's toughter. Because BOTH Reassurances and Rearrangements have sweet moments (it's the Restraints!verse, that is how it works), as does Questionable Offer. So flip a coin between those three.
The story that made you cry?: I don't cry when I write, generally. I occasionally get pangs of UGH. And I didn't write a lot of angst this year. Although, actually, parts of Reassurances were effective, at least for me (seriously, that is going to be the answer to ALL of the questions). And parts of To you my dear, I wish no harm, particularly the chapter surrounding Will's reaction to Mac's stabbing, and the chapter after that. Whirligig has its moments to. I'm a bit of a fan fo the (somewhat indirect) declaration of forgiveness.
Hardest story to write?: Probably Whirligig, because I deliberately wrote it from Mac's POV, based on the idea that her brain was a bit of a Whirligig, always moving. Not sure how successful I was in doing that, but it wasn't particularly easy to write. Stand hasn't exactly been a walk in the park either though.
Easiest story to write?: They're all easy at times. Tell me Something Nice is all dialogue, so easy-peasy. Questionable Offer was spectacularly easy as well. And actually, I'm going to say, NOT Reassurances, because that one was trickyish. Of Newsroom fic, it's definitely To you my dear, I wish no harm, because parts of that really flowed. I mean, that's a long fic, so I hit a few snags, but on balance...
Most overdue story?: None of the above? Or possibly Reassurances, because it had been almost a year since installments in the Restraints!verse? I've got nothing.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?: I don't know that I took too many risks this year. I'm not much of a writing risk-taker. I did finally buckle down and try to write Sorkin in a serious way. I've written The West Wing oneshots in the past (and not many), but nothing on the level of some of my Newsroom fic. It's a challenge getting the dialogue down. I'm not sure I'm there yet, but I think I'm getting better. That's something.
Do you have any fanfic goals for the New Year?: Attempt to write angst again, maybe? In 2013 there was a lot of fluffy fic, and happy fic, and such like. If I do go back to Repelling Ever Closer this year, that would take care of the angst problem. Hmmm... That's a thought. Maybe get prompt suggestions again? I enjoy that. Although, I think timelines would have to be highly fluid, AND I will need veto power. Because I didn't finish all of the ones I offered Christams 2012. Partly because I was uninspired, partly because I lost momentum.
And that's it for me!
The CBC (a.k.a. The Canadian Boadcasting Company, for those of you who do not live in Canada) has made a miniseries of The Best Laid Plans. The Best Laid Plans won Canada Reads and the Stephen Leacock award for humour a few years ago. It is a truly delightful (fictional) book about a young political speechwriter in Ottawa who changes careers and goes back into academia, but agrees to do one more favour for his party and essentially find a Liberal candidate to run in the safest Conservative seat in the country. It really gets Ottawa right, as far as I can tell. The details about the city itself are definitely excellent. And I love the book. It's hilarious, and genuine and just great.
The miniseries is also pretty much excellent. Not only can you totally play the "HEY! It's that Canadian actor!" game (always funtimes), but many of the actors are amazing (Mark McKinney! Barbara Gordon! Peter Keleghan, aka that guy who's in every Canadian thing ever, aka the guy who plays the board member who sells water and dresses up as Cardinal Richelieu in Slings and Arrows for his costume party). AND speaking of Slings and Arrows, one of the co-writers of the miniseries is Susan Coyne, who is also one of the Slings writers (and plays Anna). So obviously, I adore this miniseries. SO EXCELLENT. I am going to be depressed when it is over. YAY CBC for this though. They have been knocking it out of the park with their adaptations of Canadian novels recently (also really enjoyed their adpations of Still Life, the first of the Inspector Gamache mystery novels by Louise Penny).
If they decide to adapt the Flavia de Luce mysteries, my cup will runneth over.
TWO.
The Mentalist this week was surprisingly delightful. Okay, so I really hope this reboot isn't going to involve the FBI refusing Jane's every request, no matter how minor, because that will get seriously tedious. It's particularly bad when it's Fisher, because Abbot I am indifferent to, and quite frankly, if this show continues on beyond this season(admittedly doubtful), am fully expecting to find out he was in RJ's network, because I will be SHOCKED if show ever lets that plotline completely die. I mean, I am genuinely uninterested in this weird power thing Fisher and Jane have going on. Jane resents authority and likes to mess with everyone. We get it.
THAT SAID, I am loving a lot of the other stuff this reboot is chosing to be.
Lisbon got a magic FBI badge! I was not expecting that, and her status was rather grey. I mean, it's a bit ridiculous that she now has a magic FBI badge, but I will take it. Mostly because it is about time the handwaving that this show does constantly actually works in Lisbon's favour. And also, she was so happy about it and it was charming.
Lisbon got to be competent and actually solved the case independently of (and concurrent with) Jane. WHAT IS THIS SHOW COMING TO? Then, THEN, Cho ALSO got to be competent and non-annoying. And he and Lisbon have gone back to their lovely dynamic. Not that they ever really lost it, but a lot of the time Cho was an annoying employee (cough... Blood In, Blood out... cough...). So, to sum up, TWO people OTHER THAN JANE got to be competent in one episode. I KNOW.
Then, Cho, Lisbon and Fisher banded together at the end and called Jane out on his being a moron and the fact that he is a terrible communicator (Cho's words). It was amazing. More of this Fisher, Cho and Lisbon as a team of three calling Jane out on his stupidity. THIS IS A SHOW I WANT TO WATCH. MORE OF THIS.
THEN, THEN (and this is the part I really can't believe), FISHER AND LISBON LOOK LIKE THEY ARE GOING TO BE FRIENDS. They had a scene where they were acting that way. There was bonding. There were multiple scenes of them together, solving the case and just being awesome female FBI agents. THIS IS ALL I HAVE EVER WANTED FROM THE REBOOT. I am not even kidding. I want them to be friends, and, and go to the FBI shooting range together, and swap stories of favourite cases, and Lisbon to give Fisher advice on Jane-wrangling, and then they can exchange stories of top five tackles, and then they can go watch rom-coms and eat the desserts of their choice. I HAVE IT ALL PLANNED OUT IN MY HEAD. And if show takes it away, I will cry and cry and cry. (Why do shows never understand that female friendships that make sense are awesome?)
I do not care about Fisher and Jane, but MORE FISHER AND LISBON. Because that is delightful.
THREE.
The End of the Year Fic Writing meme (because why not?)
Fics Written
Stand (The Newsroom)
Making Yuletide Bright (The Mentalist)
Reassurances (The Mentalist)
Whirligig (The Newsroom)
Come Back You'll See (The Newsroom)
Tell me Something Nice (The Mentalist)
Duologue (Crossover: The Mentalist and Elementary)
Feel Again (The Mentalist)
Unimportant and Unexpected (The Mentalist)
Threads (The Mentalist)
The Infinite Sonnets of Margaret Murray (A Wrinkle in Time) - and the fic that is only on AO3
To you my dear, I wish no harm (The Newsroom)
Black In (The Newsroom)
Questionable Offer (The Mentalist)
Rearrangements (The Mentalist)
I am too lazy to link them all individually, and I didn't put them all up on LJ, but you can find almost all of them HERE, on my Fanfiction.net page.
And the one that isn't there is HERE, on AO3.
(I really should consolidate...)
WIP's = 1 or 3, depending on how you count. 1 if you only count fic I started this year (still have one chapter left on Stand), but 3 if you count other fic. Because I swear, I'm going to finish Selected Writings AND the Repelling Ever Closer verse at some point. I swear I am. (And yes, I know I am a terrible author.) Actually, I think I may try going back to Selected Writings once I finish Stand. Because the letter-writing in the Mentalist re-boot has inspired me to finish my own J/L letter-writing fic, at least the companion piece from Jane's perspective (since the original fic is finished).
Total = 15
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?: More. For some reason, I didn't think I wrote that much this year, and a few of those (well, three) are multichaps, and fairly long ones at that.
Where did you publish/archive your stories?: A weird mix of AO3, LJ and Fanfiction. Mostly Fanfiction, as you can see. I really should consolidate somewhere, but I probably won't. Not anytime soon.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2012?: The Newsroom, Will/Mac. Because I hadn't even seen the show in January 2012. Mostly, because I don't think it had aired yet.
What's your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest.: Ooooh. That's really tough. I wrote a lot of fluff this year, or maybe not fluff, but feel-good fic, this year. Reassurances pleases me a lot. I always love writing in the Restraints!verse. I have decided that the Restraints!verse is how the Mentalist is going to end, whether it actually ends that way or not. I also really like To you my dear, I wish no harm, which is the first of my three Newsroom multiparters, and in many ways possibly the best. I wrote it through the perspective of Will in therapy over several months, which in and of itself is kind of a Sorkin-y framing device. Also, I really like both Will's dynamic with Mac (obviously) and with Dr. Habib, his therapist. Also, it takes place before the whole depressing mess that is Genoa. Not that the entire second season is bad, but it is problematic.
Okay, NOW your most popular story: Of 2013? Depending on how you count popularity, probably either Questionable Offer or To you my dear, I wish no harm. Probably Questionable Offer though. With Rearrangements being up there.
Story most underappreciated by the universe?: Maybe Whirligig. Based on the amount of work I put into it, I guess. I mean, people like it. It's not unnapreciated. I feel like I'm generally fairly lucky in how my fic is appreciated. My Mentalist fic is definitely not underappreciated. Some is appreciated more than others, obviously (some are also better than others, SO). But it's not underappreciated.
Story that could have been better?: Technically they all probably could have been. Maybe Whirligig. Maybe it could have been tightened up? I don't know. Probably Making Yuletide Bright actually. That one probably could have used another readthrough.
Sexiest story?: Oh boy. Of my fic? Erm... OH WAIT. The end of Reassurances is somewhat sexy, right? LET'S GO WITH YES. (Let's also see how many of these questiosn I can answer with Reassurances)
Most fun story?: To write? Probably Questionable Offer, because that was definitely fun. Parts of Whirligig I found unbelievably enjoyable. Writing from Mac's POV is delightful. Also, To you my dear, I wish no harm, their were scenes in that that I really enjoyed writing. A lot. Some of the Will/Habib dialogue was such fun, as was setting up the reveals.
Story with single sweetest moment?: I don't know that I'll be able to narrow this down at all. I WRITE A LOT OF ROMANCE. I enjoy my romance on the sweet side. Sweet, and simultaneously sarcastic. Will is pretty damn sweet to Mac in parts of Stand though. Between the Mentalist fic, it's toughter. Because BOTH Reassurances and Rearrangements have sweet moments (it's the Restraints!verse, that is how it works), as does Questionable Offer. So flip a coin between those three.
The story that made you cry?: I don't cry when I write, generally. I occasionally get pangs of UGH. And I didn't write a lot of angst this year. Although, actually, parts of Reassurances were effective, at least for me (seriously, that is going to be the answer to ALL of the questions). And parts of To you my dear, I wish no harm, particularly the chapter surrounding Will's reaction to Mac's stabbing, and the chapter after that. Whirligig has its moments to. I'm a bit of a fan fo the (somewhat indirect) declaration of forgiveness.
Hardest story to write?: Probably Whirligig, because I deliberately wrote it from Mac's POV, based on the idea that her brain was a bit of a Whirligig, always moving. Not sure how successful I was in doing that, but it wasn't particularly easy to write. Stand hasn't exactly been a walk in the park either though.
Easiest story to write?: They're all easy at times. Tell me Something Nice is all dialogue, so easy-peasy. Questionable Offer was spectacularly easy as well. And actually, I'm going to say, NOT Reassurances, because that one was trickyish. Of Newsroom fic, it's definitely To you my dear, I wish no harm, because parts of that really flowed. I mean, that's a long fic, so I hit a few snags, but on balance...
Most overdue story?: None of the above? Or possibly Reassurances, because it had been almost a year since installments in the Restraints!verse? I've got nothing.
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?: I don't know that I took too many risks this year. I'm not much of a writing risk-taker. I did finally buckle down and try to write Sorkin in a serious way. I've written The West Wing oneshots in the past (and not many), but nothing on the level of some of my Newsroom fic. It's a challenge getting the dialogue down. I'm not sure I'm there yet, but I think I'm getting better. That's something.
Do you have any fanfic goals for the New Year?: Attempt to write angst again, maybe? In 2013 there was a lot of fluffy fic, and happy fic, and such like. If I do go back to Repelling Ever Closer this year, that would take care of the angst problem. Hmmm... That's a thought. Maybe get prompt suggestions again? I enjoy that. Although, I think timelines would have to be highly fluid, AND I will need veto power. Because I didn't finish all of the ones I offered Christams 2012. Partly because I was uninspired, partly because I lost momentum.
And that's it for me!