Horn-tootin'
The "I'm so awesome" meme, via likeadeuce:
Guys, what do you think is the best fic you've ever written?* The one you wish you could show everyone you meet so they would know how awesome you are? Not the fic that's gone over best or gotten the best reviews, but the one that you reread, nodding your head and thinking, "Damn, I'm good!"
Link me in the comments. I really want to know! It doesn't matter if I know the fandom. And tell your friends to come over and link theirs, too, or just do this in your own journal so I can ~*peruse*~. Don't worry if you think it's too self-indulgent or silly or whatever. THIS IS A JUDGEMENT FREE ZONE. It is about whatever story makes YOU feel good, whatever story has that turn of phrase that makes you smile each time and the plot that tied itself up neatly with a little bow. This is about the story that you wish you could proudly show everyone you've ever met (and maybe you do!) and also some strangers on the street.
*Feel free to link art or meta or other works, too; doesn't have to be limited to fic as long as you're proud of it right now!
I love talking about myself! Yay!
I'm actually really proud of a few fics I've done in DC fandom: La Vie en Rose, in which Ted and Booster go on their first not-date; the Justice Riders-verse ...And the American Way; Hard for the Money, a kink meme fill that is secretly ALL MY FEELS about Super Buddies; and of course my Green Lantern/Green Arrow naval AU for comicsbigbang, O'er the Dark-Green Sea.
But the one I'm most proud of - the one I think might be the best thing I've ever written, to an intimidating degree because it makes everything that came after it look crappy - is my 2009 boostlethon fic, 'Twas the Groundhog Day Before Christmas. Set in a pure Super Buddies universe where Ted never died and the subsequent various Crises never happened, it is, as the title says, basically just Groundhog Day: Ted is stuck reliving Christmas Eve Day until he finds a way to break the loop. (Hint: it just might have something to do with his smoochy feelings towards Booster!)
I have a lot of meta about Ted that I've never written, and this fic (and in a sort of beta way, "Hard for the Money") is why: almost all of my Ted feels are in here. His sexuality, his relationships with women, his relationship with his father, his relationships with other superheroes, his sense of himself as a superhero, and of course, so much of how he feels about Booster and how little he's actually aware of it. (It's telling that both of my "meta disguised as fic" stories are Ted POV; Booster is much more "what you see is what you get" and also much more self-aware, both in positive and negative ways, and thus I've just never felt the need to explore him in the same way.) That's another reason this fic is hard to follow up; I feel like this is exactly how Ted would process his feelings for Booster, and so how many times can I write that? (Haha, just kidding; I can write that a thousand times.)
It's also very much the kind of story that I love as a reader and that I don't see as often as I'd like, both in fic and canon. Specifically, the cameos. I love the DCU because there are so many characters, each of whom have a narrative that intertwines with a hundred others, and I love stories that make use of that. I love the networks of relationships the superheroes have, and the murky ways those networks intersect with the villains. One of my favorite parts of writing this was researching all the minor dinky villains I used and thinking about how they fit in with people Ted knew. Oh, the Time Commander fought Metamorpho in one of his only two appearances? Ted and Rex are friends! Oh, Clock King would've been on the Suicide Squad at the time? That means Amanda Waller, and I know Ted would have strong feelings about her, not to mention the Clock King/JLAntarctica connection. I'd like to imagine that the story's still enjoyable even if you don't know who the hell I'm talking about half the time, and I'd like to imagine that's a mindset that can be reapplied to the comics themselves, but that's my own little axe to grind.
Also: SO MUCH BANTER. Banter and feelings. THAT IS ALL I WANT:
Booster shrugged. “Eh, my schedule was pretty free. And you need me. This pretty face?” He pointed to his chin. “It unlocks doors like you wouldn’t believe.”
Ted snorted. “Oh, yeah, I’m sure the Wall let us in because she’s got your Tiger Beat spread up in her office.”
Booster preened. “She’s got Gold Fever, baby.” At Ted’s disbelieving laugh he grinned. “Anyway, yeah, I was pretty much free. I mean, it’s a family time of year, and my family won’t even be born for five centuries. You’re - ” He cut himself off. “Let’s go back to the Bug.”
“I’m…?” Ted prompted, trotting after him. “I’m what?”
Booster looked embarrassed, which was incongruous; the man usually had no shame to speak of. “You’re the closest I’ve got.”
Basically, this story is all I want from Boostle and all I want from comics all in one happy feel-good package (I even managed to shoehorn in the Superkids!). I'm not gonna lie: I've reread it like ten times since I wrote it.
Now tell me yours!
Guys, what do you think is the best fic you've ever written?* The one you wish you could show everyone you meet so they would know how awesome you are? Not the fic that's gone over best or gotten the best reviews, but the one that you reread, nodding your head and thinking, "Damn, I'm good!"
Link me in the comments. I really want to know! It doesn't matter if I know the fandom. And tell your friends to come over and link theirs, too, or just do this in your own journal so I can ~*peruse*~. Don't worry if you think it's too self-indulgent or silly or whatever. THIS IS A JUDGEMENT FREE ZONE. It is about whatever story makes YOU feel good, whatever story has that turn of phrase that makes you smile each time and the plot that tied itself up neatly with a little bow. This is about the story that you wish you could proudly show everyone you've ever met (and maybe you do!) and also some strangers on the street.
*Feel free to link art or meta or other works, too; doesn't have to be limited to fic as long as you're proud of it right now!
I love talking about myself! Yay!
I'm actually really proud of a few fics I've done in DC fandom: La Vie en Rose, in which Ted and Booster go on their first not-date; the Justice Riders-verse ...And the American Way; Hard for the Money, a kink meme fill that is secretly ALL MY FEELS about Super Buddies; and of course my Green Lantern/Green Arrow naval AU for comicsbigbang, O'er the Dark-Green Sea.
But the one I'm most proud of - the one I think might be the best thing I've ever written, to an intimidating degree because it makes everything that came after it look crappy - is my 2009 boostlethon fic, 'Twas the Groundhog Day Before Christmas. Set in a pure Super Buddies universe where Ted never died and the subsequent various Crises never happened, it is, as the title says, basically just Groundhog Day: Ted is stuck reliving Christmas Eve Day until he finds a way to break the loop. (Hint: it just might have something to do with his smoochy feelings towards Booster!)
I have a lot of meta about Ted that I've never written, and this fic (and in a sort of beta way, "Hard for the Money") is why: almost all of my Ted feels are in here. His sexuality, his relationships with women, his relationship with his father, his relationships with other superheroes, his sense of himself as a superhero, and of course, so much of how he feels about Booster and how little he's actually aware of it. (It's telling that both of my "meta disguised as fic" stories are Ted POV; Booster is much more "what you see is what you get" and also much more self-aware, both in positive and negative ways, and thus I've just never felt the need to explore him in the same way.) That's another reason this fic is hard to follow up; I feel like this is exactly how Ted would process his feelings for Booster, and so how many times can I write that? (Haha, just kidding; I can write that a thousand times.)
It's also very much the kind of story that I love as a reader and that I don't see as often as I'd like, both in fic and canon. Specifically, the cameos. I love the DCU because there are so many characters, each of whom have a narrative that intertwines with a hundred others, and I love stories that make use of that. I love the networks of relationships the superheroes have, and the murky ways those networks intersect with the villains. One of my favorite parts of writing this was researching all the minor dinky villains I used and thinking about how they fit in with people Ted knew. Oh, the Time Commander fought Metamorpho in one of his only two appearances? Ted and Rex are friends! Oh, Clock King would've been on the Suicide Squad at the time? That means Amanda Waller, and I know Ted would have strong feelings about her, not to mention the Clock King/JLAntarctica connection. I'd like to imagine that the story's still enjoyable even if you don't know who the hell I'm talking about half the time, and I'd like to imagine that's a mindset that can be reapplied to the comics themselves, but that's my own little axe to grind.
Also: SO MUCH BANTER. Banter and feelings. THAT IS ALL I WANT:
Booster shrugged. “Eh, my schedule was pretty free. And you need me. This pretty face?” He pointed to his chin. “It unlocks doors like you wouldn’t believe.”
Ted snorted. “Oh, yeah, I’m sure the Wall let us in because she’s got your Tiger Beat spread up in her office.”
Booster preened. “She’s got Gold Fever, baby.” At Ted’s disbelieving laugh he grinned. “Anyway, yeah, I was pretty much free. I mean, it’s a family time of year, and my family won’t even be born for five centuries. You’re - ” He cut himself off. “Let’s go back to the Bug.”
“I’m…?” Ted prompted, trotting after him. “I’m what?”
Booster looked embarrassed, which was incongruous; the man usually had no shame to speak of. “You’re the closest I’ve got.”
Basically, this story is all I want from Boostle and all I want from comics all in one happy feel-good package (I even managed to shoehorn in the Superkids!). I'm not gonna lie: I've reread it like ten times since I wrote it.
Now tell me yours!