Assorted Fannish Ramblings/Ficly Updates!
May. 28th, 2008 10:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eponymous_roseBecause it is my day off, rambling!
1. First off, show of hands - who here gave up on House at some point? Eh? My hands are in the air, both of 'em, because while I stuck with the show until the end of season two (and I did watch season three eventually), I only had a couple moments of love for it after, oh, halfway through season one.
And this would be me, admitting that I was dead wrong to stop watching when I did.
That finale? That was amazing. Intense, clever, and wonderfully nonlinear. It's what the second-season finale was trying to be, all deceptive and edgy and such. I somehow managed to be (mostly) unspoiled for this season, so it was doubly fascinating. To me, it beats out Three Stories. Heck, it's right up there in my mythical List of Favourite TV Episodes of All Time.
The season itself had ups and downs, but far more of the former than the latter. I felt like I was back in the show's first year, in that tricky period between high school and university, falling in love with a TV show enough to write fanfic (I'm thinking of editing the one fic I wrote - only![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
imsanehonest and rosa_acicularis have read it, I think - and reposting it at some point) for the first time in ages.
House is changing, really transforming, and it's subtle enough that I'm not sure I would have noticed if I hadn't taken a year off in there. It works. I'm happy. Go watch.
2. I've just started watching Due South, which is an adorable show that I have been meaning to see for a long time. I could mutter about Canadian stereotypes, but honestly? They've established that everyone north of the 49th finds him just as nutty. Hee.
(Also, heck, I've never been any further north in Canada than, uh, Peace River or possibly Grimshaw. I've never lived in a city with a population under 60,000 (and am currently living in North America's northernmost city with a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000), so what do I know about the Yukon? Hee. Plus, cute premise, awesome characters, unexpected depths, and it's about how sometimes you really can believe the best in people and get away with it. I think I could really, really like this show. Although if nobody makes a "Dudley Do-Right" joke at some point, I will be sorely disappointed.)
Edit: Okay, joke's been made. I'm satisfied!
3. Now it's time for that meme where you post bits and pieces of your works-in-progress.
I'm gonna stick to the fics that have stuff on paper, because there are quite a few just lurking word-for-word in my brain, and I'd rather keep them flexible that way than commit just yet.
i. MUNCLE crazy nonlinear pseudo-genfic, tentatively titled How Does it Feel?
Illya watches the tall stalks of grass bend without breaking, wishes for a moment that he could be shredded like the clouds overhead, and gives himself over to the langour, the quiet panic of his partner's breathing.
--
ii. MUNCLE Five Things fic, because yay! Tentatively titled Five Ways the World (Nearly) Ended on U.N.C.L.E.'s Watch.
He didn't need to look up; Illya's scowl was coming off him in waves. "How was I to know he actually had a doomsday weapon? I thought those went out of style years ago."
--
iii. Assorted drabbles in assorted fandoms that shall be posted once I have my relevant userpics back!
It's quick and cold, two shots gleaming against the brilliant varnish of the back of the grand piano - one left, one right, above the wavering hands, now stilled in a strangled cadence.
--
Fitz has become quite good at seizing opportunities, in the years between, and so, for a moment, he finds himself face-to-face with a man calling himself Doctor, with dark hair and darker eyes.
--
iv. Sherlock Holmes/Doctor Who crossover, titled The Empty Planet, which gets lots of excerpts because longfic is long
Despite these few bursts of unusual activity, my life proceeded much as I imagine it might have done had I never given Stamford the opportunity to introduce me to the strange young man in the chemical laboratory all those years ago. For a time I was quite fascinated, in a distant sort of way, by the notion that a life so extraordinary could revert so swiftly to a dull and aimless sort of existence. I had experienced something similar, briefly, after my time in Afghanistan, returning from war and blood and hardship to idleness in a city of strangers.
Now I found myself wondering whether I might be on the cusp of a second adventure, another epiphany that would lead me again into elaborate games and tests of courage and friendships under fire. On my darkest nights, I wondered whether I could survive the détente that came after, the inevitable fall from such great heights.
As a medical man, I could not in good conscience condone Holmes's use of cocaine, but this incessant stream of commonplace events lent me a stronger understanding of its siren song.
--
True to dramatic form, there was a shadowy figure standing in an alleyway away from the hubbub surrounding the house, and it beckoned to Fitz before ducking into the darkness that seemed somehow to be a lot deeper than the still-setting sun would allow. "Oh," said Fitz. "Not the least bit suspicious, then."
The fact that he'd spent so much time with the Doctor, together with his natural capacity for getting himself out of trouble via the ancient art of running extremely fast, meant that Fitz rarely if ever had cause to use weapons. All the same, following a mysterious figure into a dark alleyway in the midst of what the newspaperman on the corner had been proclaiming London's worst crimewave yet, Fitz had a sudden craving for a really big gun of some sort.
The stranger certainly seemed to enjoy sticking to the shadows, and Fitz, feeling as though he'd wandered into some sort of spy film, resisted the urge to cast a glance over his shoulder. He crammed his hands into his jacket pockets, slouched his shoulders, and tried to think of something appropriately witty and dramatic to say.
"Nice weather," he said, and wondered whether real-life spies did a lot of rehearsing in front of the mirror.
"Ah," said the shadowy figure - a man, judging by the voice. "But you'd do well to expect some cloud tomorrow."
"Metaphorical cloud?" Fitz hazarded.
"Er," the mysterious man said, and scratched his chin. "I had meant it rather more literally than that, but I suppose-"
"Look," said Fitz. "I've got a long night ahead of me-" He winced as the figure nodded in a knowledgeable sort of way, because that never boded well. "-and I still haven't figured out where I'll be sleeping tonight. Who are you?"
The man stepped out of the shadows, smiling. "Your future," he said.
--
He met my eyes with a suddenness that startled me into silence, reached out and grasped my arms. "I need you to listen to me, please, just for a moment. I've come to you because- well, because there's nobody else about who might even think of believing me." His grip on my arms tightened, and I frowned as I noticed that he didn't even seem aware of the fact. "I'm hiding, Watson. They've killed me, and I'm hiding, and I have the most terrible suspicion that I know who killed Ronald Adair."
Okay, that's enough of that. I'm giving too much away as it is! But yes. Fic!
4. And here's an offer I've been meaning to make, in the form of a meme, because I write lots of shortfic.
Have you ever read a fanfic that just begged to be expanded, to go beyond the hundred or thousand or ten thousand words into something more substantial? Have you ever come across an intriguing passage in a fanfic that made you want more elaboration, more detail? Well, now's your chance. Dig through my stories and let me know if there's a fic(let), an idea, a character you'd like to see expanded.
The more ideas, the better!
1. First off, show of hands - who here gave up on House at some point? Eh? My hands are in the air, both of 'em, because while I stuck with the show until the end of season two (and I did watch season three eventually), I only had a couple moments of love for it after, oh, halfway through season one.
And this would be me, admitting that I was dead wrong to stop watching when I did.
That finale? That was amazing. Intense, clever, and wonderfully nonlinear. It's what the second-season finale was trying to be, all deceptive and edgy and such. I somehow managed to be (mostly) unspoiled for this season, so it was doubly fascinating. To me, it beats out Three Stories. Heck, it's right up there in my mythical List of Favourite TV Episodes of All Time.
The season itself had ups and downs, but far more of the former than the latter. I felt like I was back in the show's first year, in that tricky period between high school and university, falling in love with a TV show enough to write fanfic (I'm thinking of editing the one fic I wrote - only
imsanehonest and rosa_acicularis have read it, I think - and reposting it at some point) for the first time in ages. House is changing, really transforming, and it's subtle enough that I'm not sure I would have noticed if I hadn't taken a year off in there. It works. I'm happy. Go watch.
2. I've just started watching Due South, which is an adorable show that I have been meaning to see for a long time. I could mutter about Canadian stereotypes, but honestly? They've established that everyone north of the 49th finds him just as nutty. Hee.
(Also, heck, I've never been any further north in Canada than, uh, Peace River or possibly Grimshaw. I've never lived in a city with a population under 60,000 (and am currently living in North America's northernmost city with a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000), so what do I know about the Yukon? Hee. Plus, cute premise, awesome characters, unexpected depths, and it's about how sometimes you really can believe the best in people and get away with it. I think I could really, really like this show. Although if nobody makes a "Dudley Do-Right" joke at some point, I will be sorely disappointed.)
Edit: Okay, joke's been made. I'm satisfied!
3. Now it's time for that meme where you post bits and pieces of your works-in-progress.
I'm gonna stick to the fics that have stuff on paper, because there are quite a few just lurking word-for-word in my brain, and I'd rather keep them flexible that way than commit just yet.
i. MUNCLE crazy nonlinear pseudo-genfic, tentatively titled How Does it Feel?
Illya watches the tall stalks of grass bend without breaking, wishes for a moment that he could be shredded like the clouds overhead, and gives himself over to the langour, the quiet panic of his partner's breathing.
--
ii. MUNCLE Five Things fic, because yay! Tentatively titled Five Ways the World (Nearly) Ended on U.N.C.L.E.'s Watch.
He didn't need to look up; Illya's scowl was coming off him in waves. "How was I to know he actually had a doomsday weapon? I thought those went out of style years ago."
--
iii. Assorted drabbles in assorted fandoms that shall be posted once I have my relevant userpics back!
It's quick and cold, two shots gleaming against the brilliant varnish of the back of the grand piano - one left, one right, above the wavering hands, now stilled in a strangled cadence.
--
Fitz has become quite good at seizing opportunities, in the years between, and so, for a moment, he finds himself face-to-face with a man calling himself Doctor, with dark hair and darker eyes.
--
iv. Sherlock Holmes/Doctor Who crossover, titled The Empty Planet, which gets lots of excerpts because longfic is long
Despite these few bursts of unusual activity, my life proceeded much as I imagine it might have done had I never given Stamford the opportunity to introduce me to the strange young man in the chemical laboratory all those years ago. For a time I was quite fascinated, in a distant sort of way, by the notion that a life so extraordinary could revert so swiftly to a dull and aimless sort of existence. I had experienced something similar, briefly, after my time in Afghanistan, returning from war and blood and hardship to idleness in a city of strangers.
Now I found myself wondering whether I might be on the cusp of a second adventure, another epiphany that would lead me again into elaborate games and tests of courage and friendships under fire. On my darkest nights, I wondered whether I could survive the détente that came after, the inevitable fall from such great heights.
As a medical man, I could not in good conscience condone Holmes's use of cocaine, but this incessant stream of commonplace events lent me a stronger understanding of its siren song.
--
True to dramatic form, there was a shadowy figure standing in an alleyway away from the hubbub surrounding the house, and it beckoned to Fitz before ducking into the darkness that seemed somehow to be a lot deeper than the still-setting sun would allow. "Oh," said Fitz. "Not the least bit suspicious, then."
The fact that he'd spent so much time with the Doctor, together with his natural capacity for getting himself out of trouble via the ancient art of running extremely fast, meant that Fitz rarely if ever had cause to use weapons. All the same, following a mysterious figure into a dark alleyway in the midst of what the newspaperman on the corner had been proclaiming London's worst crimewave yet, Fitz had a sudden craving for a really big gun of some sort.
The stranger certainly seemed to enjoy sticking to the shadows, and Fitz, feeling as though he'd wandered into some sort of spy film, resisted the urge to cast a glance over his shoulder. He crammed his hands into his jacket pockets, slouched his shoulders, and tried to think of something appropriately witty and dramatic to say.
"Nice weather," he said, and wondered whether real-life spies did a lot of rehearsing in front of the mirror.
"Ah," said the shadowy figure - a man, judging by the voice. "But you'd do well to expect some cloud tomorrow."
"Metaphorical cloud?" Fitz hazarded.
"Er," the mysterious man said, and scratched his chin. "I had meant it rather more literally than that, but I suppose-"
"Look," said Fitz. "I've got a long night ahead of me-" He winced as the figure nodded in a knowledgeable sort of way, because that never boded well. "-and I still haven't figured out where I'll be sleeping tonight. Who are you?"
The man stepped out of the shadows, smiling. "Your future," he said.
--
He met my eyes with a suddenness that startled me into silence, reached out and grasped my arms. "I need you to listen to me, please, just for a moment. I've come to you because- well, because there's nobody else about who might even think of believing me." His grip on my arms tightened, and I frowned as I noticed that he didn't even seem aware of the fact. "I'm hiding, Watson. They've killed me, and I'm hiding, and I have the most terrible suspicion that I know who killed Ronald Adair."
Okay, that's enough of that. I'm giving too much away as it is! But yes. Fic!
4. And here's an offer I've been meaning to make, in the form of a meme, because I write lots of shortfic.
Have you ever read a fanfic that just begged to be expanded, to go beyond the hundred or thousand or ten thousand words into something more substantial? Have you ever come across an intriguing passage in a fanfic that made you want more elaboration, more detail? Well, now's your chance. Dig through my stories and let me know if there's a fic(let), an idea, a character you'd like to see expanded.
The more ideas, the better!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 05:39 pm (UTC)I keep wanting to watch Due South, I know a lot of people on the flist like it. But you, you already made me want to watch Sapphire and Steel! Stop being so enthusiastic and making me want to watch things! I'll add it to the list.
I still love Three Stories more, though.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 09:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:41 am (UTC)Hey, and don't let's forget that upcoming MUNCLE picspam of Fandom Conversion! ;-)
I still love Three Stories more, though.
I'm finding it hard to decide which I like better, because the first time I saw Three Stories? No question - absolutely brilliant. But now that I can practically recite bits of it by heart, I find it tricky to stay objective. Hee!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 05:39 pm (UTC)Have you ever read a fanfic that just begged to be expanded, to go beyond the hundred or thousand or ten thousand words into something more substantial? Have you ever come across an intriguing passage in a fanfic that made you want more elaboration, more detail? Well, now's your chance. Dig through my stories and let me know if there's a fic(let), an idea, a character you'd like to see expanded.
I have a request please:
Foul is Fair
I want to know about this:
Laughing, she grabs his arm. "Are you kidding me? After the Blood Monsters of Killadeath-"
"Kilideef," he says.
please !
no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:41 am (UTC)(Who knows - maybe I'll achieve internal consistency in all my fics. Someday!)
no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:56 am (UTC)Internal consistency? Blimey ! :D
no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 06:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:42 am (UTC)Yes, yay for House!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 06:20 pm (UTC)Also, I'd love to see you write more Liz. I adore "What the Thunder Said;" you always write a very solid, fitting Liz voice, yes.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:43 am (UTC)(Great icon!)
no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 07:13 pm (UTC)Um. That's possibly the only coherent thing I can come up with after spending the entire day writing an essay on The Rape of the Lock. I even managed to squeeze in a footnote with a reference to Sherlock Holmes. I'm still wondering how I did that. :P
no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:44 am (UTC)Because you have super-awesome Powers of Footnoting that are superbly awesome? Because that's excellent! :D
Incorporating Sherlock Holmes into anything gets an A+ in my books. I came across a Chemistry text that had a whole section on "once you have eliminated the impossible, etc." So great!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 09:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 07:43 pm (UTC)Wait until you meet Turnbull. XD
no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:45 am (UTC)(It really is like delicious crack! Despite work and such, I am up to episode twelve already.)
no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 08:59 pm (UTC)I loved it so much I watched it in a week. I LOSE AT THIS GAME, BOO.
I think there might've been a point in season three where I would've started sighing and being flaily if I'd watched properly and I definitely would've been all OMG at the loss of Teh Team in season four if I hadn't been so keen to find out what upset everyone in the finale (though I was tripped over there by a cunning Fandom Secret after episode seven.)
no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:47 am (UTC)IF THAT IS LOSING, I DON'T WANT TO WIN, YO.
Seriously - much awesome! I'm a bit disappointed in myself for getting disappointed in House even for a little while, because that's not the sort of thing I tend to do with a show I love to little bitty bits. I'm sorry, show! Forgive me!
But that finale? That'll learn me.
Hm, I need a House icon now.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 11:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-29 02:59 am (UTC)No idea what it's about, but I want it.
The Empty Planet is still happening? Brilliant!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:48 am (UTC)MUNCLE drabble! I shall post it tonight, so as to stop editing what is essentially one hundred words of "I need to stop personifying when I play piano".
And The Empty Planet is very much still happening! Just... delayed. Slightly. Ahem.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-29 06:06 am (UTC)Due South! It is an adorable show. I've somehow managed to watch the pilot three times without realizing it. I've probably watched other episodes when they aired, but haven't gotten back to it. (And Dief is officially my favourite character. Hee.)
4. I keep going back to the ending of your drabble Decay: "The Doctor touches the console, pauses, listens to the terrible stillness. "Shouldn't work this way, either," he says, and they disappear." Paradoxes! Nuclear warfare that never happened!
As for your works in progress, I've been working through SH specifically in anticipation of "The Empty Planet". (And because Holmes amuses me so far, but there you go.) Glad the fic's still on.
Still no particularly discerning thoughts; my brain's melted and I have diplomas coming up, natch. I still don't know how you manage to be so academically awesome.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:50 am (UTC)Yes! I really like this idea - definitely one of those things I'd like to give a shot. :D
I've been working through SH specifically in anticipation of "The Empty Planet".
It makes me so ridiculously happy that a good half-dozen people on my flist have started reading Holmes because of this fic. Hope it lives up to expectations!
Good luck studying for diplomas - hope all goes well! :D
no subject
Date: 2008-05-29 12:00 pm (UTC)Not me, haha. On the other hand, I watched the first three seasons in a row, and when I do marathons like that, I don't really notice the quality (or lack thereof) except if it's really blatant. I mostly notice the shiny. You know, it's like eating a whole chocolate bar in five minutes, opposite to having a nice meal. Mostly what makes you keep going isn't quality, it's THE SUGAR HIIIIGH.
But yeah. That finale was. HOMG. They made me actually like Amber. (I didn't actually say that. Nope. I didn't. *whistles innocently*) And aaaah Wilson I love him more than ever. Same for Cuddy. ♥
Also? IWANNAREADTHEMEPTYPLANET. EEEEE! *runs around hysterically*
no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:53 am (UTC)(Okay, so Doctor Who is the exception to that rule. But it's Doctor Who!)
I have a four-day weekend coming up (well, I say weekend, but I mean Monday - Thursday because of my crazy schedule), and I will spend it attempting to finish Empty Planet! :D
no subject
Date: 2008-05-29 02:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 04:56 am (UTC)I APPROVE OF THIS EXPLANATION!
But I have to say that watching that season finale and then having to ride TOTALLY IDENTICAL CITY BUSES for a couple hours a day (long commute) is really freaking me out more than it should.
("Yay, bus! Ooh. Er. Don't want to sit there. That's where Amber was sitting. Er. Um. You go ahead and take that seat, ma'am. Wait. Now I feel guilty. You know what? I'll take the next bus.")