behind-the-scenes of two of my fanfics - "Tough Enough" & "Figures"
(Director’s behind-the-scenes version at the request of the very smart and wise Belle, I have written up a behind-the-scenes look at one of my recent fanfictions.
(directly following this, is another behind-the-scenes, that one of a Life fanfiction by the title of "Figures")
Title: Tough enough.
Pairing/Characters: Nicky Parsons, Jason Bourne.
Requested by: Belle
Prompt: Nicky and Jason.
Rating: PG.
Summary: It was the second-hardest thing Nicky Parsons had ever done, to get on that bus. I knew I didn’t want to write a coda, so I just had to re-watch my copy of the movie, to see what grabbed my muse’s attention.
Word Count: 203.
Spoilers: Bourne Ultimatum.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of this. Seriously.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was hard for her, for Nicky to get on the bus… leaving Jason behind. It doesn’t matter *what* their past history was - he’d just saved her life. And eaten dinner with her. Second-hardest thing she’d ever done. But she did, knowing that she’d only be an impediment in the accomplishment of his quest…or worse, a hostage used against him. To me, that’s the main reason why she was at all willing to get on the bus - she knows how Treadstone and Blackbriar operate (even before Morocco, she knew). She got on the bus, and the doors closed.
The first-hardest came to mind as Nicky watched Jason see her off: staying at arm’s length from him after he emerged from the Treadstone-Blackbriar training. Before then, they’d been friends - just friends, good friends, no benefits - through everything. I’d written before with the assumption that the two of them had been an item (look at Nicky when she’s eating with Bourne); I figured I would try something different, but I didn’t want to discount the diner scene…from that was born the idea that they were friends, but not intimate or “with benefits.” (and the pun only hit me after I wrote that bit of commentary). After then, he and she were colleagues, and barely that. It wasn’t that Jason Bourne was blithe and hostile with meanness in his eyes; to the contrary, he struck her as being so unflinching as to be blankfaced and unreactive; Jason Bourne isn’t mean or violent - but he’s incredibly focused and driven, single-minded once he has a plan of action…in all three movies, you can see this on Bourne’s face; in later films, he’s showing more of what we might call humanity in his expressions, but he never loses the look of total concentration. the night after first meeting Jason Bourne, Nicky’d gone to church and considered lighting a candle for David. This was mostly to answer my own question: “what do you do when the personality you knew is dead, replaced by a new personality in the same person?” (yes, I do wonder these things - not often, but it happens).
The question is, she knows as she gets off at a bus stop a goodly distance from where she’d boarded, is what to do now. Well, she had to get off sooner or later. ;) Now or next or both. Jason could always land on his feet, no matter what transpired. David had terrific balance, rarely faltering. Volunteer or not, he wouldn’t have been approved if he couldn’t think on his feet and make snap judgements. But what of Nicky Parsons? We can hardly fault the trilogy for its focus on Bourne…we see his reaction to pretty much everything. Every now and then, we see Nicky’s reaction to events - and while we learn enough about her to write her into fanfics, we always have to guess as to where she’ll go from the final scene (or even how she gets *to* the final scene).
She said, “We’ll see.” I felt it best to let Nicky answer that, even if it cost me replies that would’ve consisted of other peoples’ answer to the final question.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End
Author’s note: another draft had the optional replacement of ‘church…candle’ with ‘synagogue and considered saying a kaddish’. Seriously; that was the second draft. The first draft didn’t have that sentence in any form.
and now, a behind-the-scenes at my own request:
Title: Figures. That was the suggestion of - not sure whether it was my Dani- or Crews-muse. Probably Crews…the double meaning of “figures,” both as “it figures”…and a word for the human body.
Fandom: Life.
Author: Keenir.
Rating: Mature.
Warning: if the idea of Dani/Charlie squicks you, you may want to be careful.
Warning: on this side of the Pond, “drawers” are what you put clothes into. Disclaimered so I don’t get a “what - the - hell?” from an irate and heavily confused Briton…or from anyone else.
Spoilers: season 1.
Word Count: 380.
Written for: me.
(sign up here so I can write one for you)
Summary: A quiet night in, the possibility of romance…and is Dani Reece surprised? :)
-------------------------------------------
“I don’t believe this,” Dani Reece said to herself as she faced herself in the mirror. On the plus side, I still fit into this, as she made sure her lace teddy hadn’t gotten moth-eaten or anything else equally horrific during its time away, back in the back of her drawers. Reese strikes me as the sort of person who is, at her heart, always prepared. At least physically prepared.
(and Crews is helping prepare her psychologically now)
C’mon, she told herself, it’s not like you’ve never done this before. Usually without even so many dates. Though it was primarily Bobbie who called them dates - her and Charlie, on the other hand, didn’t name them...just went out and they were both quiet. Usually we watched the city. If it’s not at a restaurant or someplace, it’s not a date…so says my Dani muse.
That and Charlie had, in Bobbie’s words, “looked at her like that.” Once I heard that line on the show, in the finale, I knew I had to find it a home. Dani liked it.
The Captain was right, Dani was starting to sound like Crews, like Charlie. More than that, Dani found herself liking Charlie. The second sentence grew out of a typo in the first sentence - I forgot to type ‘sound’…and I read it, and thought “yeah, that.”
Grudgingly liking the part that rambled on and on about the nature of reality and time., and the only part she didn’t like at all wasn’t really him: all the girls he’d brought home after he’d been released from prison, the gold-digging prats. What’s she going to call them? 1. they’re half Crews’ age. 2. one of what almost all of them ask is “did you really get all that money?” 3. (there was a third reason, but I think it just had to do with the fact that “prat” sounded applicable). And the DA, who she still couldn’t figure out. And *that,* I figure, has *got* to annoy Dani. We don’t need to pigeonhole everything in minute detail, but more than a general idea would be good (again, from my Dani muse). And Dani knew Charlie had plans, reasons for everything he did - however oblique he was in carrying it out. But now that the real perpetrator of the crime Charlie’d been accused of was behind bars, there was a chance that Charlie would give up on those kids. Yeah, not that I can cast accusations when it comes to taking people to bed..acknowledging that she’s got no place to throw stones, but is expressing hope that he’s done with them...but this is a new page.
For both of us. And it is. Both in terms of their work relationship, their off-duty banter, and (for those of us who ship) in terms of their relationship relationship.
Tossing her hair back, exposing her bare throat, Dani gave herself a confident smile, and whispered, “Wish me luck,” before leaving her bedroom. No makeup, no perfume. Just her. Without any additions or cover-ups, she’s going out and it will just be her standing before him.
Striding into the living room with confidence, Dani found she was alone. “Crews?” she called out, and got no reply. At this point, my Dani muse started getting irked.
Her tv was playing ‘The Birdman Of Alcatraz’ on the American Movie Classics channel It really was on AMC when I was plotting this fic. - it’s a good movie, she agreed with his taste, even if it wasn’t the on the list of the top ten movies she would've thought he would’ve watched. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the film - the fact that the man retains his sanity by doing good works, probably appealed to Crews even before he was arrested.
Sitting on the tv was a handwritten note. ‘Had an idea’ it read. Again. Typical, ain’t it, of him? :D
“Of course,” Dani muttered as she padded back to change into some comfy sweats. Why waste a good movie, right? And since the teddy won’t be needed for the immediate future, best get comfortable.
-------------------------
The End
(directly following this, is another behind-the-scenes, that one of a Life fanfiction by the title of "Figures")
Title: Tough enough.
Pairing/Characters: Nicky Parsons, Jason Bourne.
Requested by: Belle
Prompt: Nicky and Jason.
Rating: PG.
Summary: It was the second-hardest thing Nicky Parsons had ever done, to get on that bus. I knew I didn’t want to write a coda, so I just had to re-watch my copy of the movie, to see what grabbed my muse’s attention.
Word Count: 203.
Spoilers: Bourne Ultimatum.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of this. Seriously.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was hard for her, for Nicky to get on the bus… leaving Jason behind. It doesn’t matter *what* their past history was - he’d just saved her life. And eaten dinner with her. Second-hardest thing she’d ever done. But she did, knowing that she’d only be an impediment in the accomplishment of his quest…or worse, a hostage used against him. To me, that’s the main reason why she was at all willing to get on the bus - she knows how Treadstone and Blackbriar operate (even before Morocco, she knew). She got on the bus, and the doors closed.
The first-hardest came to mind as Nicky watched Jason see her off: staying at arm’s length from him after he emerged from the Treadstone-Blackbriar training. Before then, they’d been friends - just friends, good friends, no benefits - through everything. I’d written before with the assumption that the two of them had been an item (look at Nicky when she’s eating with Bourne); I figured I would try something different, but I didn’t want to discount the diner scene…from that was born the idea that they were friends, but not intimate or “with benefits.” (and the pun only hit me after I wrote that bit of commentary). After then, he and she were colleagues, and barely that. It wasn’t that Jason Bourne was blithe and hostile with meanness in his eyes; to the contrary, he struck her as being so unflinching as to be blankfaced and unreactive; Jason Bourne isn’t mean or violent - but he’s incredibly focused and driven, single-minded once he has a plan of action…in all three movies, you can see this on Bourne’s face; in later films, he’s showing more of what we might call humanity in his expressions, but he never loses the look of total concentration. the night after first meeting Jason Bourne, Nicky’d gone to church and considered lighting a candle for David. This was mostly to answer my own question: “what do you do when the personality you knew is dead, replaced by a new personality in the same person?” (yes, I do wonder these things - not often, but it happens).
The question is, she knows as she gets off at a bus stop a goodly distance from where she’d boarded, is what to do now. Well, she had to get off sooner or later. ;) Now or next or both. Jason could always land on his feet, no matter what transpired. David had terrific balance, rarely faltering. Volunteer or not, he wouldn’t have been approved if he couldn’t think on his feet and make snap judgements. But what of Nicky Parsons? We can hardly fault the trilogy for its focus on Bourne…we see his reaction to pretty much everything. Every now and then, we see Nicky’s reaction to events - and while we learn enough about her to write her into fanfics, we always have to guess as to where she’ll go from the final scene (or even how she gets *to* the final scene).
She said, “We’ll see.” I felt it best to let Nicky answer that, even if it cost me replies that would’ve consisted of other peoples’ answer to the final question.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End
Author’s note: another draft had the optional replacement of ‘church…candle’ with ‘synagogue and considered saying a kaddish’. Seriously; that was the second draft. The first draft didn’t have that sentence in any form.
and now, a behind-the-scenes at my own request:
Title: Figures. That was the suggestion of - not sure whether it was my Dani- or Crews-muse. Probably Crews…the double meaning of “figures,” both as “it figures”…and a word for the human body.
Fandom: Life.
Author: Keenir.
Rating: Mature.
Warning: if the idea of Dani/Charlie squicks you, you may want to be careful.
Warning: on this side of the Pond, “drawers” are what you put clothes into. Disclaimered so I don’t get a “what - the - hell?” from an irate and heavily confused Briton…or from anyone else.
Spoilers: season 1.
Word Count: 380.
Written for: me.
(sign up here so I can write one for you)
Summary: A quiet night in, the possibility of romance…and is Dani Reece surprised? :)
-------------------------------------------
“I don’t believe this,” Dani Reece said to herself as she faced herself in the mirror. On the plus side, I still fit into this, as she made sure her lace teddy hadn’t gotten moth-eaten or anything else equally horrific during its time away, back in the back of her drawers. Reese strikes me as the sort of person who is, at her heart, always prepared. At least physically prepared.
(and Crews is helping prepare her psychologically now)
C’mon, she told herself, it’s not like you’ve never done this before. Usually without even so many dates. Though it was primarily Bobbie who called them dates - her and Charlie, on the other hand, didn’t name them...just went out and they were both quiet. Usually we watched the city. If it’s not at a restaurant or someplace, it’s not a date…so says my Dani muse.
That and Charlie had, in Bobbie’s words, “looked at her like that.” Once I heard that line on the show, in the finale, I knew I had to find it a home. Dani liked it.
The Captain was right, Dani was starting to sound like Crews, like Charlie. More than that, Dani found herself liking Charlie. The second sentence grew out of a typo in the first sentence - I forgot to type ‘sound’…and I read it, and thought “yeah, that.”
Grudgingly liking the part that rambled on and on about the nature of reality and time., and the only part she didn’t like at all wasn’t really him: all the girls he’d brought home after he’d been released from prison, the gold-digging prats. What’s she going to call them? 1. they’re half Crews’ age. 2. one of what almost all of them ask is “did you really get all that money?” 3. (there was a third reason, but I think it just had to do with the fact that “prat” sounded applicable). And the DA, who she still couldn’t figure out. And *that,* I figure, has *got* to annoy Dani. We don’t need to pigeonhole everything in minute detail, but more than a general idea would be good (again, from my Dani muse). And Dani knew Charlie had plans, reasons for everything he did - however oblique he was in carrying it out. But now that the real perpetrator of the crime Charlie’d been accused of was behind bars, there was a chance that Charlie would give up on those kids. Yeah, not that I can cast accusations when it comes to taking people to bed..acknowledging that she’s got no place to throw stones, but is expressing hope that he’s done with them...but this is a new page.
For both of us. And it is. Both in terms of their work relationship, their off-duty banter, and (for those of us who ship) in terms of their relationship relationship.
Tossing her hair back, exposing her bare throat, Dani gave herself a confident smile, and whispered, “Wish me luck,” before leaving her bedroom. No makeup, no perfume. Just her. Without any additions or cover-ups, she’s going out and it will just be her standing before him.
Striding into the living room with confidence, Dani found she was alone. “Crews?” she called out, and got no reply. At this point, my Dani muse started getting irked.
Her tv was playing ‘The Birdman Of Alcatraz’ on the American Movie Classics channel It really was on AMC when I was plotting this fic. - it’s a good movie, she agreed with his taste, even if it wasn’t the on the list of the top ten movies she would've thought he would’ve watched. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the film - the fact that the man retains his sanity by doing good works, probably appealed to Crews even before he was arrested.
Sitting on the tv was a handwritten note. ‘Had an idea’ it read. Again. Typical, ain’t it, of him? :D
“Of course,” Dani muttered as she padded back to change into some comfy sweats. Why waste a good movie, right? And since the teddy won’t be needed for the immediate future, best get comfortable.
-------------------------
The End