Favorite Fic Meme
Nov. 6th, 2008 09:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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clawofcat, whom I love, adore, and worship like the rising sun, tagged me to do this meme that's been floating around LJ. Goes something like: Sometimes it's ok to pimp yourself out. Post a list of your top five fic-favorites you've written, regardless of fandom or the reason you love them. This isn't about the BEST things you've written, but what you LOVE most. Then tag five other people to do the same. That, actually.
So, in no particular order, my five favorites are
1.) Devil's Leap: R, The Night Travelers, Torchwood.
This is my one and only Torchwood fic. I love the show, but slash is canon. Where's the challenge? I read a comment inhello_spikey's journal the other day wherein someone said that they hated any story that deviated from established canon (or at least that they didn't enjoy writing said stories). I have to admit that got my back up, but I'm an emotional place right now so I left quietly and didn't disturbed the funtimes. But one of the things I enjoy about writing fanfic is that I start at canon and see how far I can go without veering into OOC/Superpowered Xander/Emo Bitch Spike/Pretty Princess Angel territory. Torchwood's already its own OOC crackfic...why bother?
But this one episode, "Out of the Rain", really drew me in. I loved the Night Travelers, particularly Pearl and The Ghost Maker. How do you go from being an ordinary person to stealing souls and using them to fuel your immortality? It was one of the few Torchwood shows that made Capt. Jack and Ianto sympathetic instead of overblown shag bunny boys and I loved it for that. I love this fic because it took me forever to get the tone and the attitude of those characters. Besides, writing a story about a completely irrelevant side character appeals to me, somehow.
2.) Erthe Upon Erthe: PG, Spike-centric, AtS S5 NFA
I love Spike. The journal might give it away a bit, but I love Spike. I love him as Big Bad because Emo Spike, to me, misses the point. He's got a soft center but he doesn't share it randomly with the world. Spike exists because William suffered so much rejection in his life that, in death, he rejects those things and armors himself with leather and harsh words. That said? I love write about Spike's inner self and this story let me do that. "Not Fade Away" was a wonderful episode (and it would have been better had it not been the last. What a crap way to end a whole series) but there was so much we didn't see, the final moments so pregnant with unsaid words and unacknowledged emotions. I wanted to see Spike say his real good-byes. That's what this story is and that's why I love it. It's inner Spike.
3.) Between the Spirit and the Dust: R, Angel/Darla, AtS S2 "Dear Boy" AU
For all that I say Spike is my favorite character, I write Angel just as much and in some ways, I think my Angel is better. This was written forgirlpire who wanted to see some Angel/Darla fic. At first, I just wrote for her and to see if I could. But I have to admit that I like the idea of Darla and Angel together in a non-angry, non-evil way. I think that Darla is probably the only person who sees all of Angel's flaws and loves him anyways. Buffy loves Angel for the hero he's become, but Darla loves him for the ne'er-do-well he was, the monster he created, and the good man he struggles to be. I never understood the Darla hate in fandom because I adore Darla. So I suppose I love this story because it shows Darla the way I think she deserves to be shown: as a flawed women in love with a deeply flawed man.
4.) I'll Sing You One-O: R, Drusilla-centric, A:AtF future fic based on known comics canon.
I think the setting scares a lot of readers off. Comics canon isn't something everyone is familiar with or even enjoys so I imagine a lot of my comics canon fic gets the brush off based on that alone. But I love this fic. I love Dru and I love writing Dru because she is So. Damn. Hard. to get right. Tip too far towards crazy prescience and you've got an incomprehensible loony raving about Miss Edith's tea time. Wander just a smidge too close to childlike and you've got fanon Dru talking about the stars and Spike's precious kitty with a face like a poem. Either way, badness.
But I still love writing Dru. This fic was about her final desire, to have her little family together again and how she might accomplish that. Plus Spike and Dru together, no matter your preferred pairing, is beautiful. They compliment each other in so many ways and if I asked, I'll admit that I think no matter what happens, in the end, hundreds of years from now, Spike and Dru get back together. So that's what this: how Spike and Dru get back together and rescue Angel from himself. And that's why I love it.
5.) Crossing Paths: PG-13, Buffy and Spike, BtVS comics canon future fic based on the Buffy (Paley) reunion.
I do love future fics, don't I? Well, I love it because it starts at canon and goes from there. This was my attempt at writing an older (and wiser) Buffy. I started reading fanfic as a fan of the Spike/Buffy pairing. I have to admit that most Spuffy fics turned me off the pairing because most fics refuse to acknowledge all the damage and the wrongness that exists between these two characters. Not to say it can't be done, because it can and I've seen it done well by very talented authors. But for me to enjoy the story or at least to suspend disbelief on the pairing, there must be some acknowledgment that the relationship itself is fucked up. She beats him, he almost rapes her, he dies for her, she moves on...there's a whole dysfunctional list of issues between them. But most people just want their HEA and they don't mind how they get there. So I don't read much Spike/Buffy.
That said, I'm not against the pairing and I like to think that an older and wiser Buffy meets up with a post-Hell A Spike and they've both changed and it's a good change and they can start to rebuild from there. This the cautious first step towards a healthier relationship but also Buffy admitting that she'll miss the man Spike used to be: The Big Bad. James Marsters said that Spike was appealing not in spite of his monstrous qualities but because of them: "He might be a monster but he's my monster" and I think that's exactly right. But still, even vampires grow up and this is what happens when a grown-up Big Bad meets a grown-up Slayer. And that's why I love it. Because even all grown-up, there's still a happy ending.
And not only not all in one fandom, but no porn fics among the lot! Huh. I think I've just defined myself as a writer and in a very weird way. I tagkidcyclone, tamakin (for art instead if she so chooses), spankspike, jaded_jamie (for his top five fav fics period), and sparrow2000. Much loves to all of you and thank you again for your messages of support. I know I didn't reply but I did read all of them and while this won't ever get easier, I appreciate the good wishes.
clawofcat, whom I love, adore, and worship like the rising sun, tagged me to do this meme that's been floating around LJ. Goes something like: Sometimes it's ok to pimp yourself out. Post a list of your top five fic-favorites you've written, regardless of fandom or the reason you love them. This isn't about the BEST things you've written, but what you LOVE most. Then tag five other people to do the same. That, actually.So, in no particular order, my five favorites are
1.) Devil's Leap: R, The Night Travelers, Torchwood.
This is my one and only Torchwood fic. I love the show, but slash is canon. Where's the challenge? I read a comment in
hello_spikey's journal the other day wherein someone said that they hated any story that deviated from established canon (or at least that they didn't enjoy writing said stories). I have to admit that got my back up, but I'm an emotional place right now so I left quietly and didn't disturbed the funtimes. But one of the things I enjoy about writing fanfic is that I start at canon and see how far I can go without veering into OOC/Superpowered Xander/Emo Bitch Spike/Pretty Princess Angel territory. Torchwood's already its own OOC crackfic...why bother?But this one episode, "Out of the Rain", really drew me in. I loved the Night Travelers, particularly Pearl and The Ghost Maker. How do you go from being an ordinary person to stealing souls and using them to fuel your immortality? It was one of the few Torchwood shows that made Capt. Jack and Ianto sympathetic instead of overblown shag bunny boys and I loved it for that. I love this fic because it took me forever to get the tone and the attitude of those characters. Besides, writing a story about a completely irrelevant side character appeals to me, somehow.
2.) Erthe Upon Erthe: PG, Spike-centric, AtS S5 NFA
I love Spike. The journal might give it away a bit, but I love Spike. I love him as Big Bad because Emo Spike, to me, misses the point. He's got a soft center but he doesn't share it randomly with the world. Spike exists because William suffered so much rejection in his life that, in death, he rejects those things and armors himself with leather and harsh words. That said? I love write about Spike's inner self and this story let me do that. "Not Fade Away" was a wonderful episode (and it would have been better had it not been the last. What a crap way to end a whole series) but there was so much we didn't see, the final moments so pregnant with unsaid words and unacknowledged emotions. I wanted to see Spike say his real good-byes. That's what this story is and that's why I love it. It's inner Spike.
3.) Between the Spirit and the Dust: R, Angel/Darla, AtS S2 "Dear Boy" AU
For all that I say Spike is my favorite character, I write Angel just as much and in some ways, I think my Angel is better. This was written for
girlpire who wanted to see some Angel/Darla fic. At first, I just wrote for her and to see if I could. But I have to admit that I like the idea of Darla and Angel together in a non-angry, non-evil way. I think that Darla is probably the only person who sees all of Angel's flaws and loves him anyways. Buffy loves Angel for the hero he's become, but Darla loves him for the ne'er-do-well he was, the monster he created, and the good man he struggles to be. I never understood the Darla hate in fandom because I adore Darla. So I suppose I love this story because it shows Darla the way I think she deserves to be shown: as a flawed women in love with a deeply flawed man.4.) I'll Sing You One-O: R, Drusilla-centric, A:AtF future fic based on known comics canon.
I think the setting scares a lot of readers off. Comics canon isn't something everyone is familiar with or even enjoys so I imagine a lot of my comics canon fic gets the brush off based on that alone. But I love this fic. I love Dru and I love writing Dru because she is So. Damn. Hard. to get right. Tip too far towards crazy prescience and you've got an incomprehensible loony raving about Miss Edith's tea time. Wander just a smidge too close to childlike and you've got fanon Dru talking about the stars and Spike's precious kitty with a face like a poem. Either way, badness.
But I still love writing Dru. This fic was about her final desire, to have her little family together again and how she might accomplish that. Plus Spike and Dru together, no matter your preferred pairing, is beautiful. They compliment each other in so many ways and if I asked, I'll admit that I think no matter what happens, in the end, hundreds of years from now, Spike and Dru get back together. So that's what this: how Spike and Dru get back together and rescue Angel from himself. And that's why I love it.
5.) Crossing Paths: PG-13, Buffy and Spike, BtVS comics canon future fic based on the Buffy (Paley) reunion.
I do love future fics, don't I? Well, I love it because it starts at canon and goes from there. This was my attempt at writing an older (and wiser) Buffy. I started reading fanfic as a fan of the Spike/Buffy pairing. I have to admit that most Spuffy fics turned me off the pairing because most fics refuse to acknowledge all the damage and the wrongness that exists between these two characters. Not to say it can't be done, because it can and I've seen it done well by very talented authors. But for me to enjoy the story or at least to suspend disbelief on the pairing, there must be some acknowledgment that the relationship itself is fucked up. She beats him, he almost rapes her, he dies for her, she moves on...there's a whole dysfunctional list of issues between them. But most people just want their HEA and they don't mind how they get there. So I don't read much Spike/Buffy.
That said, I'm not against the pairing and I like to think that an older and wiser Buffy meets up with a post-Hell A Spike and they've both changed and it's a good change and they can start to rebuild from there. This the cautious first step towards a healthier relationship but also Buffy admitting that she'll miss the man Spike used to be: The Big Bad. James Marsters said that Spike was appealing not in spite of his monstrous qualities but because of them: "He might be a monster but he's my monster" and I think that's exactly right. But still, even vampires grow up and this is what happens when a grown-up Big Bad meets a grown-up Slayer. And that's why I love it. Because even all grown-up, there's still a happy ending.
And not only not all in one fandom, but no porn fics among the lot! Huh. I think I've just defined myself as a writer and in a very weird way. I tag
kidcyclone, tamakin (for art instead if she so chooses), spankspike, jaded_jamie (for his top five fav fics period), and sparrow2000. Much loves to all of you and thank you again for your messages of support. I know I didn't reply but I did read all of them and while this won't ever get easier, I appreciate the good wishes.