Comments | zebra363: Last Outpost Of All That Is 2

zebra363

Last Outpost Of All That Is 2

Feb 25, 2012 22:10

I went with option 2 from my last post and finished rereading Last Outpost Of All That Is at work on Friday, and then had to stay until almost 9pm to finish what I was supposed to be doing. Well worth it though, since I wouldn't have been able to concentrate very well with the last part still un(re)read ( Read more... )

recs: fanfic, supernatural

Comments 16

cricketk February 25 2012, 15:14:12 UTC

I dont' think I can ever read this story now, as I will inevitably be waiting for the chicken-fucking scene.

zebra363 February 25 2012, 15:42:45 UTC

It's really good, and could perhaps be enjoyed as a post-apocalyse story even by someone who wasn't into the pairing, or slash at all. The relationship stuff doesn't overwhelm the horror of the situation, at least not until very late in the piece. It certainly got me thinking about what it would be like to be one of the last people alive!

I'm afraid the chicken fucking is going to make an appearance in all my future rereadings, too. It's hard to unsee something like that, even if it wasn't there in the first place!

ash48 February 25 2012, 15:58:48 UTC

I'm planning to re-listen to the podfic of this story. I started it a while back but got a little impatient with it, so stopped. Possibly my mindset, so I'm going to listen to it again. It's a story that is famous in the fandom and I am determined to find out why...

I'll keep your questions in mind when I do. :)

zebra363 February 25 2012, 16:17:39 UTC

I find the almost total isolation of the post-apocalyptic scenario really compelling, but I can see that if that doesn't grab you, it could drag! For the majority of the story they're just driving around looking at deserted places, but I was captivated throughout. Twice now!

I've sometimes found in the past that I'm just not in the right mood to appreciate something that I'm reliably informed is great, and I form a definite opinion that I don't like it, complete with reasons why. At least once I've rediscovered one of those stories years later, LOVED it and wondered what on earth I was thinking the first time round.

(Still missing comment previews!)

ash48 February 25 2012, 16:27:26 UTC

Oh yeah. I've been there. Mostly with vids. Having to take a look later on and then seeing what everyone is raving about. I think when I was listening I just wasn't in the mood for it. I've read quite a few of her stories and love them.

ooh.. I still have preview...I wonder if it's a "style" thing...?

zebra363 February 25 2012, 16:29:36 UTC

I still have preview...I wonder if it's a "style" thing...?

I've been meaning to experiment with styles and haven't got around to it. That's more incentive to do it!

Thread 5

malnpudl February 25 2012, 21:26:34 UTC

I skipped much of this post since I have a no-incest boundary (to each her own, etc and so on), but I was curious what you had to say about horses, so I peeked under the cut.

Have you seen this? Worldbuilding with horses

I want to send the link to every writer who ever tries to write about them.

zebra363 February 26 2012, 02:29:37 UTC

Interesting blog post. I smiled at He doesn’t make a lot of noise on his own - one of the reasons I like them!

I don't think it would have helped with what most struck me as inplausible in the story, though, because it says He doesn’t form a pack. I think she's trying to say there that horses don't form packs to hunt, but they most definitely form herds. The story has one solitary horse showing up on its own. Unless it was a colt that had just been driven out of a stallion's herd and was looking for others, I can't imagine a horse in a rural area, where there would presumably be other horses, would choose to wander around on its own months after people vanished. It would have found others by then and be leading a closer-to-nature life.

The second time the horse shows up it behaves like a dog, and the blog might have helped with that! But I don't mind it too much, really - it kind of fits the less-bleak mood of the last part of the story.

zebra363 February 26 2012, 02:44:33 UTC

Actually, what I said about the horse joining others and forming a herd presupposes that they'd be able to get out of their enclosures at all. There's some famous study that showed most horses will stay in their yards/paddocks and starve rather than jump a low fence to get to food on the other side. I'm guessing most horses wouldn't be able to get out until the fences failed. With any luck, big tree branches would fall and flatten the fences like they do mine on a regular basis!

black_samvara February 26 2012, 12:19:22 UTC

1. Misogynistic language? Yes, I think Dean uses very misogynistic language and has no idea it is.

2. Hydroelectric dam - I don't think they would have been able to keep it running but I think they could have done OK with power cells on the roof and keeping generators running

3. Passive voice - now that I think about it I think it adds to the alienation and sense of distanced horror that they, especially Sam are experiencing

4. Diff with last sex scene? I think the desperation!sex was something they could always write off and pretend it hadn't happened or that it didn't mean anything, and that last scene was Dean emotionally acknowledging it in a way that told Sam he wasn't going to pretend it wasn't real.

5. Horse - If it was a very lonely horse? *grins* you're far more of an expert on this than I am.

zebra363 February 27 2012, 03:45:19 UTC

1. If he has no idea it is, I guess I don't mind it so much! If he's consciously thinking that he's dominating and disrespecting Sam (that part's fine, if they both like it) like he dominated and disrespected every woman he ever had sex with, then I really don't like it at all.

2. It's really interesting to think about what you would/wouldn't be able to teach yourself from books if you had to, and had plenty of time. I was also wondering how much medical stuff they could learn beyond what they were doing before.

3. Distanced horror - nice way of putting it.

4. I formed the impression that they moved past the desperation!sex between the furniture store scene and the last one. There was blowjob the next morning, which I took to mean they were more comfortable with it from then on, and Christmas seemed pretty cosy! However you must be right, because the last scene only makes sense if they were still awkward about it prior to that time.

Thanks for your thoughts, and your original rec!

redteekal February 28 2012, 07:35:05 UTC

Okay I think I have read this one a while ago but of course with a little bit of prompting I was wrapped up in it again for the last two days ( ... )

zebra363 February 28 2012, 08:27:22 UTC

Oh, wow! Thanks for the long response and let's read more of the same stories! (I have the one you recced the other day open in a tab, but I'm not sure I'm up for 35k words of Cas-centric gen until I run out of Sam/Dean!)

1. I'm perfectly happy with "bitch" in the context of their affectionate jerk/bitch routine, but it definitely gave me pause in the face-down sex scene.

2. In the story I don't think they talked at all about learning to maintain the dam, only about using the power for as long as it lasted. You're no doubt right that a smaller scale is all that would be required! It just got me wondering about what two people could do if they tried. Producing antibiotics is a good idea!

4. I honestly think this was the moment where they were aware that the entire planets' population could be missing or not and they still would choose this. Prior to this I always felt this sense of "everyone needs touch and there's no one else left but you and me" as at least partially fueling the motivation to evolve into a physical relationship. ( ... )