Fic: Scratch 12/12

[antelope_writes]

Title: Scratch Part 12
Characters: John Hart, Blowfish, Woman from KKBB, numerous OCs
Rating:  NC-17 for violence, murder, drug abuse, and language.
Summary: A retelling of the Faust myth using TW characters. 
Disclaimer: All canon characters are property of the BBC, all OCs are my own, and Faust is the property of Mephistopheles.

Kind thanks to

Comments

[kenazfiction]

I'm really just speechless. This has been such an intense ride, and the ending is as swift and brutal as a headshot. Even knowing it was coming didn't prepare me for the sheer shock of it

[antelope_writes]

Thank you so much. This fic took a long time to write, had several major sessions of writers block, and so on. Plus, there's a hell of a lot more canon there than first appears, and I had to be true to it. (Like the Safri being at the Bidlah Mountains--John told that to Jack in Exit Wounds.)

I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I'm as flattered as can be that it made the "this could be canon" list.

[antelope_writes]

And I loved that, for just a brief and subtle moment, through all of John's petty cruelty and selfishness and duplicity, that he really must have loved Jack, and had good intentions-- if not concurrent ulterior motives-- when he found Gray.

One of the most difficult things in this fic for me to write was making Jack an integral part of the story without his ever making an appearance. The first blatant Jack reference was in part 6, with steadily increasing references until his appearance at the end. The entire middle section with Coyote Walker was written to bring Gray into the story in a plausible, continuous way, and where Gray goes, Jack follows.

In terms of the original Faust myth, Mephistopheles was a lesser demon who answered to Satan, and when Faust was taken, it was Satan himself who took him. The ending with the crackheads was one of the first parts I wrote, and I had Jack set up as Satan from the beginning.

[kenazfiction]

Level upon level upon level. Or should I say layer below layer below layer? Going down? Yes, please.

I'm so impressed that there was so much conscious planning and intention. That's one of my (many) weaknesses as a writer-- I have a general idea of where I want to go, and I'm impatient enough to get there that I'm not always as methodical as I'd like to be, and I always discover in hindsight that I could/should have laid my groundwork more carefully.

Again: applause.

[fmanalyst]

Wow

I'm well satisfied.

Now that's NC-17 as it should be. Intense and adult doesn't have to be porn.

[antelope_writes]

I'm very glad you enjoyed it.

[shane_mayhem]

HOLY shit. That was great..what a slam-bang finish! Just...dropped off a cliff, there. Awesome, awesome, awesome. I love how you wove in all the correct details. This was great. It's going on my list. ;)
I see it as my duty to spread good fic to the world.

[antelope_writes]

Thank you!

The last 2 chapters are actually some of the first ones I wrote. I'm glad they pack just as much punch now as they did when I wrote them!

Also, I friended you, because there's not enough good fic in the world and you write some. And also because you're cool and work on boats.

[shane_mayhem]

Aw, yay! I shall friend you back. I'm really glad you like my fic, too! I'm still struggling away at that series...sigh...

[antelope_writes]

OMG, is that you up a mast with bright blue hair?

[used_songs]

Well, you know how much I have enjoyed this, but I'll say it again. This was such a fun and tough and thought-provoking read. I love the ending; it's so brutal. I also love the characters that you create - including making the blowfish a fully rounded person, not just a guy in a mask who was there for one scene. It's not often I really care about an OC in a fic, but I really ended up caring about a lot of these characters.

Thank you!

[antelope_writes]

Thank you SO MUCH for your help in all this. It was a fun and tough thing to write, especially since there is actually quite a lot of canon that has to be accounted for.

[used_songs]

I just finished reading your author's notes - I'm going to go back and read the entire saga again sometimes this week!

I really enjoyed betaing this, and I'm glad that I was helpful to you. This was really an immense and complex piece!

[antelope_writes]

Yeah. 57k words.

If you read/watch anything on the list that you haven't already done, get some margaritas and watch Gandahar. It's weird as hell but I really, really like it.

[athenyl]

Wow...

I love that you wrote a long multi-part fic in which the "blowfish driving a sportscar" is a main character
I love that you made him a sympathetic character
I love that you based the whole thing on Faust
I love that you managed to tie it all into canon
I love that you created entire species and worlds, with enough detail and consistency to make them believable

...I just love this whole fic! :-)

[athenyl]

...and did I forget to say "poor Fjoaan Tsuhn!" *cries* I hope there's some sort of fish-heaven for him to go to...

[antelope_writes]

Thanks so much!