The Women, pt. 3
Title: The Women
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (Ritchie films), Sherlock (BBC)
Rating: Currently G, could be R in later parts
Warnings: Some racism (from a 19th C. character)
Notes: The unquenchable so_shhy promised to write me notes from a multi-Sherlock crossover orgy if I set up the scene. I am easily led by temptation.
Summary: Irene and Mary are each more ( Read more... )
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (Ritchie films), Sherlock (BBC)
Rating: Currently G, could be R in later parts
Warnings: Some racism (from a 19th C. character)
Notes: The unquenchable so_shhy promised to write me notes from a multi-Sherlock crossover orgy if I set up the scene. I am easily led by temptation.
Summary: Irene and Mary are each more ( Read more... )
HAHAHAHAHA oh man WHY DOESN'T CYBERNETICS HAPPEN UNEXPECTEDLY IN MORE MOVIES. That would be hilarious. Although - I suppose when/if cybernetics become commonplace, they might experience prejudice and therefore wouldn't appreciate their disabilities (superabilities?) being used for comedy material. "Pure-organic privilege"?
What did I expect... I suppose I expected something closer to canon that just ended with angst and/or maiming, but I loved that it went way off in completely its own direction. Possibly that's just the default expectation, is that what you expected from the fluff? MAN WAIT SHOOT I'VE JUST REALISED I HAVEN'T GONE THROUGH ALL YOUR FIC JOURNAL STUFF D: I'm sorry I'm actually really hopeless at reading fic, I sometimes read about one drabble a week, especially if it's a busy week. I'M GONNA HAVE A GO BUT DON'T THINK IT'S YOUR WRITING IF YOU DON'T HEAR ANY MORE ABOUT IT, I'M JUST THAT TERRIBLE X-/
Yaaay experimenting :D except for the part where I didn't fluff enough XD
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And that totally came across as a hint about my other fic, didn't it? I swear, it wasn't meant to be - not that I wouldn't love you to read them, but they are... on the fluffier side of fluff. I few, you could probably cope with, but going through the entire back catalogue might actually kill you.
OH, OH, OH, but I am excited about something, do you mind if I squee? So I did this completely ridiculous and bizarre fill on the meme which is basically lyrics (yes, not what I should have been writing. How does that happen?) and someone said that they might record it as a podfic... with lots of people singing... and it would just be so groovy, all collaborative and wonderful, and even though I'm not actually collaborating with anyone it would make me feel that I contributed to collaboration, and... and I'm excited. So it may never happen, but even the possibility is enough to make me happy, as you may have guessed.
Right, having got that out of my system a little I will bid you goodnight (or lunchtime). *waves* See you in a few days!
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Re: your fic: Oh it didn't come across as a hint, it just occurred to me that I never look at other people's stuff enough - I want to understand other people's process. Especially when they're writing different things from me! I am actually super critical at the moment (not about your stuff!!) because I'm watching an un-edited documentary on YouTube about the original movie that became The Emperor's New Groove, and it's pretty fascinating. I could go on forever but I think it would take a long time to my thoughts. It's really, really interesting.
i look forward to Tuesday! :DDDD
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Darn, that video is gone... (embarrassingly enough, i can probably quote whole scenes of that movie, as can almost everyone I was at university with...)
ONE DAY WE WILL DISCUSS THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN DEPTH! You should tell me more, because I haven't thought about it that much really, excapt for "JFC this is harder than it looks!"
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Ah yeah I thought it might get taken down quickly, never mind. The reason I thought it was so fascinating was partly just to watch other people creating something as huge as a Disney movie, but also because it kind of shocked me that every single person they interviewed was a white male over thirty. Every single producer, character designer, scriptwriter, musician, executive, all of them. I'm sure there were some women and PoC working on the film (the blog I got the link from is a female cartoonist who works for Disney right now) and maybe this particular production was even atypically unbalanced, but it still kind of hit home that even if they have the best intentions, the people creating mainstream media really are not that diverse. The only woman interviewed and credited was Eartha Kitt, who did the voice of Yzma, and interestingly enough her take on Yzma's character was very different from everyone else they talked to; all the white men talked about how the film's themes were 'learning humility' and how great it is to be a peasant, whereas Kitt talked about how she loved Yzma's ambition and confidence. Later, two of the high-ups (I think musical producers?) were talking about how they'd never been fired (or in one of their cases, "Once, in the eighties"). I'm quoting all this from memory but it felt like a really unfiltered look at the divide between the people in power and the people who've had to fight tooth and nail for their success. ANYWAY blah blah blah, art is a mirror to humanity, you know the story XD
HEY HEY WE TOTALLY *CAN* DISCUSS THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN DEPTH AND IT WON'T BE "ONE DAY" IT WILL BE IN LIKE A WEEK! WHEEEEEE!
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OMG, WHY? I mean... it's Disney. It's supposed to be a perfect world where everyone is happy and good prevails. WHY DO THEY HAVE TO SUCK TOO?
*sigh*
OMG, so looking forward to that discussion! (We will spend at least part of the time not getting depressed about inequality.)
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj6OwU2CgnI&feature=plcp&context=C451edb8VDvjVQa1PpcFMN3l8GC6ekF725fwfc56UgWkETDVbGpoI=
This seemed like the perfect accompaniment to cyber!Sherlock. You might have picked up that I watch a lot of fanvids. But this one is so gorgeous. I am not actually familiar with Ghost in the Shell but i had major flashbacks to your fic while watching this. I need more cyber!Sherlock in my life.
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Hmm... interesting. IDK, it depends - if cybernetics was something you took on in order to do a job, I can definitely see the prejudice arising, since it would be linked to class, but if it's a voluntary improvement available to the rich, you'd be discriminated against for not having improvements.
Heheh, I can see why you'd expect Sherlock angst to be close to canon, because ANGST IS CANON AND CANON IS ANGST - but XMFC fluff is pretty varied between oh-but-it-all-turns-out-well, and fuck-it-it-can't-turn-out-well-INSERT-EMERGENCY-AU, so I had fewer expectations on that score. It was just the realism that surprised me.
OH MAN, ok, I've said this before, but if you read my stuff be prepared to drown in fluff. Most of the little ones at least have commedy value, but approach Downtown with extreme caution if at all.
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Oh, that's such a good point re: class! I didn't even THINK of people getting cybernetics for that reason, like you might get a tertiary qualification or even the way you get sponsored by your work to go on a course. I imagine for tradespeople especially, like rubber skin for electricians and that sort of thing, would be really useful. That is a whole socio-political novel waiting to happen.
I love the XM:FC-AUs. There are so many and they are so good. I don't think Sherlock lends itself to massive AUs that well (which is kind of a surprise, given how many official AUs have been made of the original canon). Maybe because I think the power dynamics between the characters have to stay the same for me to enjoy it. Particularly the lack of any concrete difference between John and Sherlock - I feel like that relationship is too open to abuse, that if Sherlock has some kind of significant privilege over John (like in an omega verse, say) he would take too much advantage of it for me to enjoy it. Whereas if the roles were reversed, well... I just can't see Sherlock EVER being, say, an omega or in any way socially weak, because if that happened he would simply reject that society altogether and end up either dead, in an insane asylum, or a homeless addict on the streets. So an AU fic that played on that would be great, but that's not really the point of an omega!verse fic where Sherlock's the omega. Anyway. Mindpoo.
OKAY I'm GONNA CHECK OUT THIS DOWNTOWN THING ASAP :DDD
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OMG, work-sponsored tertiary qualification. Yes. That is beyond creepy. And the really big modifications probably make i difficult for a person to do ordinary real life things, so they have to give up a lot of themself in the process. A person halfway to being a tool, sitting in their room at night because there's nothing else they can do until work begins again.
But they're not slaves. It's just what you do to put food on the table for your family.
I would totally read that novel.
Yeah - I feel the wealth of separate canon behind Sherock has a lot to do with the dearth of good AUs. You have to stick quite close for it to be both recognisably Sherlock-the series and have recognisable links back to ACD - which is still important, I think. And Sherlock's character doesn't really lend itself to any other power dynamic. He's obsessive and emotionally distant, and thrill-seeking and a genius, he's always going to be an expert on something, pprefferably something dangerous. There aren't a lot of AUs you can do while still leaving his character intact.
And Omega!Sherlock on the streets - it's very wrong, but somehow I feel like that could be written as comedy and be hilarious.
In XMFC you have the delightful get-out clause of a no-powers AU, in which you can change the characters as much as you want and blame it on Charles not being a telepath and Erik not being fucked up by genocide. YAY! IT'S SO EASY! XMFC is a great big fandom slut.
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CYBORGS WITH WORK-SPONSORED BODY MODIFICATIONS. AND HE'S SITTING AT HIS TABLE AT HOME AND HE CAN ONLY HUG HIS KIDS WITH ONE ARM BECAUSE THE OTHER ONE IS A HYDRAULIC DRILL. You and me need to write this novel. Now. It's from the point of view of this mouthy kid and it starts with him getting mangled in a construction accident and his parents sign off for him to be cyberdised even though the dad (or the mum - or his two mums!) don't like the implants because one of them had to get them for work. And then it's about the kid coming to terms with his engineered body, and he hacks into it and gives it sweet modifications, but he faces harassment from school peers, and his best friend is a rich girl whose parents want to have implants put into her brain to make her smarter, and together they solve crime. Or social injustice. And did I mention he's a cheeky little fuck with a cynical streak and his rich BFF is ridiculous amounts of fun because she has no concept of risk assessment and thinks everything will be fine all the time (maybe she was responsible for his accident in the first place?). Also, class divisions. Important theme.
Okay, okay, I need to stop. I am getting way too excited about this. STORIES <333
Oh yes, that's very true about Sherlock's character being a bit rigid in the AU roles he fits into. And also the need to keep him as a detective, because how is he Sherlock Holmes if he's not a detective? Lots of the classics - Bakery AUs, High School AUs, historical AUs, vampire AUs - would only squeeze him into the detective role with some awkwardness or a lot of skill. And "bread detective" is the kind of thread that restricts your story options a bit. Whereas, Erik/Charles or even the Avengers could take up just about any occupation you like (not that I've found any good Avengers AUs yet... any recommendations?? OOOH they all run an Empire Records-type indie music store together!) and still maintain key identity traits on the side. (for instance, Fury is the owner/manager of the record store and Coulson is the supervisor on the floor. Tony's a genius for predicting what's going to be big in the charts and with making top-notch guitars. Steve's popular country band was all killed in a tragic bus crash five years ago, leaving him with a large fanbase but a deep well of loneliness that has prevented him launching a solo career. Bruce is the security guard who's scared of customers because of his anger management problems. Natasha, meanwhile, is still a master assassin: she Yoko Ono'd three up-and-coming bands on behalf of musical rivals. Thor is just the store's barrister. He makes the coffee and lifts heavy boxes. Clint is um. Uh. He uh. Oh look over there, Loki is head of marketing for an MP3 business trying to push the records stores out of the game).
BUT XMFC IS DEFINITELY STILL THE FANDOM SLUT XD
Okay, gotta reign myself in again. Haven't had a chance to write freely in three months. My fingers have missed the sweet, sweet tap of the keyboard. There are many more tabs open that I will reply to, but for now I really need to have another crack at getting to bed at a not-at-all-decent hour.
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HE CAN ONLY HUG HIS KIDS WITH ONE ARM BECAUSE THE OTHER ONE IS A HYDRAULIC DRILL
Yes, this, exactly this! OMG we will write this novel (or you will because I CAN'T WRITE). What is his name? How did he meet his BFF? When do the rich get their first modifications? OMG it's totally a rite of passage - the debutante ball where they all show off their new cyber-implants. And what has this done to concepts of female (and male) beauty? (And how many men get the cyber-cock implant? AND HOW MANY WOMEN??)
Oooookay, maybe I am also getting a little too capslock about this idea. Also I am amused that you're exploring serious themes of social injustice and I am very definitely lowering the tone of the discussion.
Hah, yes, the only Sherlock AU that really sticks in my mind (I haven't read many) was one where he made truly bizarre flavours of ice-cream. And it sort of worked. Great story, awesome evil sneaky ice-cream sabotaging Moriarty, and yet...
It's a bit like the SGA stories I used to read back in the day. (Did you watch that show? Or are you not a Stargate fan? Or are you WAY TOO YOUNG?) Anyway, there was uber-scientist Rodney McKay, and he didn't quite fit as anything else, except for the get-out clause that he almost became a concert Pianist. And that one awesome fic where he was an Olympic ice-skater, because... Sports AUs. My biggest AU weakness. And I hate watching all sports, what the hell?
I am rambling.
But yes, the Avengers was TOTALLY MADE FOR IT. College AUs are the big thing, but there are some others. There's a 90s boyband AU WIP and I have no idea if it'll turn out to be good, but 90S BOYBAND AU! Clint is the Talent, Stark is the Bad Boy, Thor is the Hot Dancer, Steve is the Pretty Boy, and Bruce is... eh, the other one. They'll work it out later. Natasha, obviously, is actually a successful pop star. IT IS THE BEST IDEA EVER.
Except for yours. Which... will you write? I totally would if I knew anything at all about music. Steve and his tragic loss, and NATASHA the band assassin, OMG, I need this in my life. Also, Clint? So many options. FOR EXAMPLE, he's a self-taught guitar maestro who lost his hearing and hides his bitterness behind humour as he works for Coulson on the shop floor. OR he's the punk kid who hangs around the store the whole time making quips and fucking around on the guitars and is secretly an orphan trying to stay away from his abusive foster parents. OH COME ON PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.
Now I wish to write an AU because I am easily distracted by shiny things. BUT NOT HIGH SCHOOL, for the love of god. And not until I've finished... everything else.
Hehehe, I'm glad you have your keyboard again. I don't think I could survive that long without one these days. *tries to resist the lure of an iPad*
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IT'S OK IF YOU HATE IT
IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS I'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO SHARE WITH SOMEONE BEFORE
We need to write this novel. His name is James. Jeremy. Toby- no not Toby. That's my baby first-cousin-once-removed's name and his Aunty Sophia wouldn't do that to him. Jeremy and Freya met in a floodway off a river at the bottom of the Rich Person Suburb. Jeremy was checking out a bird's nest in the tunnel. He didn't want to touch the babies in case the mother abandoned them. Freya told him it was okay the mother wouldn't abandon them, that was an urban myth, but he probably shouldn't touch them anyway because she'd seen something on TV by this religious fundamentalist who said "everything humans touch, they destroy". Then there was a flash flood and Jeremy heard it coming and Freya pulled them both out because she could swim better. The nest was destroyed.
Yes! Yes! A debutante ball! I get to write about CLOTHES! And robots! The key difference in the rich peoples' implants is that they're invisible, you have to talk to them to realise that they're augmented. Because in this society the rich are assured that it's their minds that set them apart from the working class. Like that's not a metaphor for the real world at all no.
CYBERCOCK... NOW WITH HANDY RETRACTION SO YOU'RE PREPARED FOR WHATEVER YOUR PARTNER WANTS. Um yeah I wouldn't mind trying that out if it wasn't too expensive. Can you test drive these implants? And yes, this is a future where the body is so malleable that sex as a physical trait is a thing of the past! ...and at the same time, gender roles are even more extreme and enhanced, because people can take them to such greater heights! AND YOU WILL WRITE THE SEX SCENES PLZ.
Fuck my PhD let's run away to Italy and write this novel.
Stargate was awesome, I am a huge fan. I remember watching the original movie several times before the TV show came out, and then being really confused because Richard Dean Anderson and Kurt Russell played the same character? Or am I making that up? Anyway, the point is, I watched the odd episode of Atlantis and I LOVE Rodney McKay. Have you seen the actor in The Cube? All I remember about that movie is "Canadians make fucked up horror, man". It's good though, definitely one of my favourite horror/sci-fi movies.
And I need to read more sports AUs. It makes me sad that there aren't more roller derby AUs because there aren't enough awesome female characters. Derby is the only sport I really love watching. We should just genderswap everyone solely for the purpose of derby AUs.
90s BOYBAND AU. "THOR IS THE HOT DANCER". I DON'T NEED TO HEAR MORE. LINK PLZ. NOW.
Omg Clint ;_; deaf musician and/or orphan. Don't hurt me like this, Clint. Why you gotta exist being all sad-history and all.
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Oh the baby birds! And Freya's family was horrified that she risked her own life to save this wothless lower-class boy who would only end up as a mindless mobile power tool anyhow. What was his life worth compared to their little girl, who would grow up into a worthwhile member of society, as intelligent and beautiful as money could make her?
Clothes and robots... awesome combination.
OH GOD, that sex scene. Oh man, it's totally when she does get the cyber-cock implant because that's one of the most expensive (high status) ones. Her parents force her to get it. And once when he was angry about something he'd yelled that all upper-class augmentations were freakish, and the cyber-cock the most freakish of all, so now she has one she's humiliated. And he feels incredibly guilty and tries to convince her that there's nothing wrong with it, and asks to see it so he can tell her it isn't ugly... and OH MY GOD THIS IS SO WRONG WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
Someone will read this over our shoulder in a cafe and Italy will kick us out.
Yay, Stargate fan high five! Rodney is wonderful in Atlantis in that he gets things wrong a whole lot through his arrogance, which never really gets smoothed out over the years in the way that most characters do, but he has these moments where he really is the only one who can save the day and he's working really hard and will you all please SHUT THE FUCK UP, IT'LL BE READY WHEN IT'S READY. Being smart is badass and I love him. I haven't seen the cube but I have heard it described by trembling friends with horror in their eyes, so I assume it makes an impression. Someone gets sliced into bits and lots of people die in other inventive ways, that was the take-home message. But I did see the actor in A Dog's Breakfast, which was bizarre and hilarious and generally just the right side of cringeingly embarrassing. I recommend it!
Heheh, I will dig out the 90s boyband AU for you, I think I subscribed to it on AO3 when the last chapter came out so I should get an email when it's updated.
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OMG YES. Holy shit, you're a genius. That is the saddest thing I've ever heard, because it's got self-hatred of one's sexuality wrapped up in a body image issue and soaked in the need for love and respect from one's friends. These poor babies, I really hope they're tough characters because otherwise they are not going to make it to the end of the book.
Rodney sounds amazing, I wish I could go on the TARDIS for a year and come back on the same day just so I could spend the time watching all the TV shows. The Doctor would find me in my TV nest and he'd just be like "Who are you and how long have you been squatting in my time machine???" and I'd be like "plz don't make me have adventures with you, I'm only up to season two of The Wire".
I LOOK FORWARD TO THE BOYBAND AU
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