Talking meme: Days 11 and 12
December 23:Tell me about the long, delicious fanfic you love that I haven't read yet (or you don't know if I have) and why it is awesome. Pls! Pining, slow burn and h/c a bonus, oh SURPRISE SURPRISE. for 
marycrawford
December 24: What is your favorite fan story of all time? What stays with you about it? for
meri_oddities
Both of these are horrifically difficult questions, but the answers are probably the same, so I'm going to tackle them as one. :)
It's actually far easier for me to talk about books that I love, since I read relatively few new books in any given year. They tend to stand out. Fanfic, I read almost constantly (with random months-long breaks every year or so). A lot of fanfic sort of floats around in the back of my head, forming a little OTP cushion of fannish love that supports and fleshes out the show it's based on. After a while, I tend to forget titles and authors, even if the story sticks with me long-term. It sort of runs together.
This shouldn't be taken as a sign that I don't pay much attention to the fanfic I read. It's just the way my brain works. A few weeks ago I saw a Teen Wolf gifset on Tumblr with dialogue from a Stiles/Derek story that seemed really familiar to me; when I looked for a link so I could go read the whole story, I realized it was from one of mine. Not even an old one! It was pretty recent! I just don't have a lot of long-term memory to spare, I guess. It's all taken up with the titles of old Sentinel and Highlander episodes. :)
I should start with what I love in a story, probably. As
marycrawford knows, I'm a big fan of the pining and the slow burn! Basically any story where one partner is holding back and gazing with love and longing from afar upon the other, oblivious (but also secretly wanting) partner is going to work for me on some level. I'm also a big fan of mixing comedy and drama - so smart-ass, smart-mouthed characters in tense situations are always fun for me.
I like for the moment when partners realize they can be together is both sudden and a long time coming. I like for the story to linger in that moment for a while; if it happens too quickly, or god forbid off-screen, I lose interest almost instantly and probably won't read the story. And I like for there to be time for pay-off after -- I like to see the characters adjusting to the new reality of having each other, at least for a little while, so I can really feel that they got what they were fighting for all that time.
Another important thing to note is that I don't have to love 100% of a story to really love the story. There are a lot of flawed jewels in my bookmarks that I read again and again. If the important things are there, the things I really need to feel like the story was worth my time, I'm not terribly picky about the rest. Like - if the plot is dramatic and engaging, I'm not really all that worried if it doesn't totally make sense. If the dialogue is snappy and fun, I won't be overly concerned with picking the grammar and punctuation apart.
It's really hard for me to pick a favorite, or even a few favorites (sorry!!!). The problem is, I'm fickle - the story I love most of the stories I read TODAY is usually my favorite story (until tomorrow!) But I can name a few that have worked for me really well over the years!
The Long Run, by Tiffany Rawlins (
wearemany). Popslash, Chris/Lance. I think what I love best about this story is the warmth and the sense of slow unwinding of the tension between the two main characters. As the story begins, Chris and Lance seem worn down, disappointed, maybe even a little old. But as it continues, it's like they breathe life back into each other. I couldn't quote you anything from it, and I don't fully remember the plot points, but the atmosphere has stayed with me since the first time I read it. (And this is actually the best thing in the world - it means it's a great time for a reread, to discover it all over again!)
A Beautiful Lifetime Event, by
astolat. Stargate SGA, John/Rodney. Surprise! It's kidfic. I'm actually kind of a fan of kidfic (and even of mpreg, if it basically leads to kidfic). But I like for the kid in the fix to be both a fun character in her own right and a catalyst for relationship change for the pairing. That's what I get in this story, plus angst and pining, smart/fun dialogue, and generally awesome storytelling. This is the best kind of "wallow" fic for me - the kind where I can admit I loved it in public. :)
I got me a nice little space in the stars, by
laurificus. Supernatural, Sam/Dean. I know, Laura and I are tight, so you could be forgiven for thinking I was just reccing this story because I like her. But the actual truth is, I'm pretty sure I read this story first and then stalked her like a creeper until she agreed to be friends with me. (Now that I realize she is a terrible tagger and doesn't archive properly, such that I could only find this story on freakin' INSANEJOURNAL, I may have to rethink our relationship.) However, even if she is the worst person ever, this story is still exactly the kind of thing I love: A long, emotional, slow-burn first-time slash story with awesome dialogue, mutual pining, slow faltering steps toward each other, lovely descriptions, and a happy ending. I love the writing, especially the way this story seems to get into the spaces between the main characters and fill them out with love and longing and hope. (Link fixed because Laura finally answered a text. Or a billion.)
I tried to find something in Teen Wolf that fits the bill, but here's the deal with Teen Wolf right now: There's just very little Stiles/Derek over 20k in this fandom that doesn't fit the bill for me right now. I just love the fic in this fandom, and there's a TON of long, witty pining fic with happy endings. I literally cannot choose; it's like the writing in this fandom was made for me personally.
So - to conclude, I'm sorry I can't pick just one favorite - I have a different favorite every day. If nothing else, these two questions have proven to me that I need to do more recs, so I can remember the stuff I love and go back and reread it over and over. Uh, and also to share with others. Yes. That, too.
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marycrawford
December 24: What is your favorite fan story of all time? What stays with you about it? for
meri_oddities
Both of these are horrifically difficult questions, but the answers are probably the same, so I'm going to tackle them as one. :)
It's actually far easier for me to talk about books that I love, since I read relatively few new books in any given year. They tend to stand out. Fanfic, I read almost constantly (with random months-long breaks every year or so). A lot of fanfic sort of floats around in the back of my head, forming a little OTP cushion of fannish love that supports and fleshes out the show it's based on. After a while, I tend to forget titles and authors, even if the story sticks with me long-term. It sort of runs together.
This shouldn't be taken as a sign that I don't pay much attention to the fanfic I read. It's just the way my brain works. A few weeks ago I saw a Teen Wolf gifset on Tumblr with dialogue from a Stiles/Derek story that seemed really familiar to me; when I looked for a link so I could go read the whole story, I realized it was from one of mine. Not even an old one! It was pretty recent! I just don't have a lot of long-term memory to spare, I guess. It's all taken up with the titles of old Sentinel and Highlander episodes. :)
I should start with what I love in a story, probably. As
marycrawford knows, I'm a big fan of the pining and the slow burn! Basically any story where one partner is holding back and gazing with love and longing from afar upon the other, oblivious (but also secretly wanting) partner is going to work for me on some level. I'm also a big fan of mixing comedy and drama - so smart-ass, smart-mouthed characters in tense situations are always fun for me.
I like for the moment when partners realize they can be together is both sudden and a long time coming. I like for the story to linger in that moment for a while; if it happens too quickly, or god forbid off-screen, I lose interest almost instantly and probably won't read the story. And I like for there to be time for pay-off after -- I like to see the characters adjusting to the new reality of having each other, at least for a little while, so I can really feel that they got what they were fighting for all that time.
Another important thing to note is that I don't have to love 100% of a story to really love the story. There are a lot of flawed jewels in my bookmarks that I read again and again. If the important things are there, the things I really need to feel like the story was worth my time, I'm not terribly picky about the rest. Like - if the plot is dramatic and engaging, I'm not really all that worried if it doesn't totally make sense. If the dialogue is snappy and fun, I won't be overly concerned with picking the grammar and punctuation apart.
It's really hard for me to pick a favorite, or even a few favorites (sorry!!!). The problem is, I'm fickle - the story I love most of the stories I read TODAY is usually my favorite story (until tomorrow!) But I can name a few that have worked for me really well over the years!
The Long Run, by Tiffany Rawlins (
wearemany). Popslash, Chris/Lance. I think what I love best about this story is the warmth and the sense of slow unwinding of the tension between the two main characters. As the story begins, Chris and Lance seem worn down, disappointed, maybe even a little old. But as it continues, it's like they breathe life back into each other. I couldn't quote you anything from it, and I don't fully remember the plot points, but the atmosphere has stayed with me since the first time I read it. (And this is actually the best thing in the world - it means it's a great time for a reread, to discover it all over again!)
A Beautiful Lifetime Event, by
astolat. Stargate SGA, John/Rodney. Surprise! It's kidfic. I'm actually kind of a fan of kidfic (and even of mpreg, if it basically leads to kidfic). But I like for the kid in the fix to be both a fun character in her own right and a catalyst for relationship change for the pairing. That's what I get in this story, plus angst and pining, smart/fun dialogue, and generally awesome storytelling. This is the best kind of "wallow" fic for me - the kind where I can admit I loved it in public. :)
I got me a nice little space in the stars, by
laurificus. Supernatural, Sam/Dean. I know, Laura and I are tight, so you could be forgiven for thinking I was just reccing this story because I like her. But the actual truth is, I'm pretty sure I read this story first and then stalked her like a creeper until she agreed to be friends with me. (Now that I realize she is a terrible tagger and doesn't archive properly, such that I could only find this story on freakin' INSANEJOURNAL, I may have to rethink our relationship.) However, even if she is the worst person ever, this story is still exactly the kind of thing I love: A long, emotional, slow-burn first-time slash story with awesome dialogue, mutual pining, slow faltering steps toward each other, lovely descriptions, and a happy ending. I love the writing, especially the way this story seems to get into the spaces between the main characters and fill them out with love and longing and hope. (Link fixed because Laura finally answered a text. Or a billion.)
I tried to find something in Teen Wolf that fits the bill, but here's the deal with Teen Wolf right now: There's just very little Stiles/Derek over 20k in this fandom that doesn't fit the bill for me right now. I just love the fic in this fandom, and there's a TON of long, witty pining fic with happy endings. I literally cannot choose; it's like the writing in this fandom was made for me personally.
So - to conclude, I'm sorry I can't pick just one favorite - I have a different favorite every day. If nothing else, these two questions have proven to me that I need to do more recs, so I can remember the stuff I love and go back and reread it over and over. Uh, and also to share with others. Yes. That, too.
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