25 May 2004
HAS been a while.
I never thought I'd go much into Tenipuri fic, but yesterday I stumbled on Monnie's Hyotei fics, which are great. Never thought I'd like Atobe, but her writing of Atobe and Jirou has proved me to be enjoyably wrong. They're a really fun pair, and I like contrast of Mr. Ego and Sleepy tennis-boy. Her Shishido and Ootori are good, but it's so... sparkly and fluffly. I like her third person POV fics very, very much, but dislike her fairy tales, which seem just a little too contrived (just no way you can work tennis games convincingly into fairy tales, is my opinion).
A quibble I have is the constant characterization of Jirou as 'small'. He's not small! He can be cute, puppyish, and so on, but as a description of (relative) physical size--and impression--'small' doesn't work very well. Because Jirou is definitely not small, diminutive, or any other synonyms. For Atobe or anyone else to see Jirou as 'small', they'd have to be eight feet tall. The way Monnie writes it, Jirou is about four feet high and has the disposition of a deer (a sleepy deer), which is strangely disturbing when she writes the sex scenes.
That's not to say I don't like her stories. Maybe it's all due to her skill, but Hyotei seems to be a much more 'alive' fandom to be. Heh. Seigaku is really quite angsty (except for the Golden Pair--maybe); I guess it's a little difficult to get past the whole Tezuka's injury thing, but that gets old. But Atobe and Jirou, yeah, I can get into that.
19 May 2004
I must have read some fanfiction yesterday, given the way my eyeballs were
irritating me last night, but what?
Eh, am so waiting for good fanfic that I'm descending to bad!fic.
A ray of light comes in the form of Changing Allegiance by Ashkara, chapter ? the newest, anyway. Very erh, apprehension-inducing... I was wondering exactly when the (renewed) screaming about Relena will begin. It hasn't happened yet, but I think by next chapter... Dorothy is fun here, and I actually like her.
Sugar Daddy, more GW, but set in modern day Los Angeles. The writer apologises for local content, but I think she doesn't have to: it certainly adds more substance to the story. My take on GW is that if you can't write post- or pre- AC195 fic, then at least try not to make the AU... so fantastic-like. It boggles my mind when Duo turns up as a prince/beggar-prince/prince-of-thieves/rebel/master-thief, etc., etc., and he's just as perky (or depressed) as in AC-195 fandoms! If there was an argument against cloning, this similarity would be it. Firmly believing that environment and identity affects personality...
Later...
Temporary repository of links (to be edited out later):
Also:
You're a Dialogue/Character Writer!
What kind of writer are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Spot on. Incapable of planning, much less plotting. My characters all end up being in two places at once, v. frustrating, which is why I don't often play with them, and my stories are only for personal enjoyment. But quite an interesting quiz.
15 May 2004
Maldoror's chapters 19 and 20 of The Arrangement. Love GW.
13 May 2004
Have been reading Kel's Basketball, X-files, and now het X-files does
it for me. What a world.
Have comment by A.J. Hall on LJ:
Why do all the billboards for Troy have to show Achilles in bed with a girl? We are talking about the man whose tomb was still being used as the venue for gay marriages some 700 years later. The biggest evidence for Alexander/Hephaistion (and not in the Fandom Escapist Elections sense, though they did have the potential for the coolest slogan even "Vote Alexander/Hephaistion: the only team to go into Afghanistan and Iraq and WIN") is that they sacrificed together at the tomb of Achilles and Patroclus (who, I gather, has been demoted to a bit part and apparently is now Achilles' "cousin").
and
A couple of years ago, a Daily Telegraph commentator wrote about the Macedonian Army being on the move and commented that it was a headline that hadn't been seen for a few thousand years. Then he suggested that to spare Macedonia civil war their army should be sent to Afghanistan, since they were the only nation to actually succeed in a war there. (from clanwilliam on LJ).
6 May 2004
The Petshop of Horrors. Except for Bonne and Von, I hadn't found
other PsoH that I liked, until today.
Unwilling Sleep by
Distich, something of a WIP, but enough is written so that you can enjoy it.
Nicely done; Leon is more devoted than I thought he would be, and less brash
than he is written in some stories. Which is good, because I was wondering how a
detective could do his work if he were really such a hothead. D is great, though
I wonder if he will ever regret his decision.
Chapter 44 of Changing Allegiance, and the action is starting to heat up again. Good.
3 May 2004
And it's Fish Tales! Maybe it's deranged delight caused by Warped
Mirrors deprivation, but have been reading (and enjoying) Mel and Christy's
Fish Tales, starring their fish named after housemates, named after GW-pilots
and co. Also went to Sleep is For the
Weak, reviewers of manga/anime, and got led to
Halcyon Hell, an AU-Saiyuki,
not completed, but quite a solidly-written story.
Then it's Watching You by Maldoror, an 1x5 story, humorous rather than outright funny, with a very cute Wufei, sensible!Heero, and unfortunately to many "third observers". It is possible to show that you're talking about the pilots when you just go ahead and describe them; you don't need to keep repeated "if an observer..." Even if they were being stalked. Occasionally her metaphors get in the way of the story.
28 April 2004
Have been reading but not recording. Yukuro's Tenipuri Phone Messages
(ff.net) are great fun, and the combination of canon and fanon is amusing.
Big Wolf on Campus fics also: Northlight's Option Number Two and
Proposition, hilarious, stories nicely developed, a bit tender and not
corny. Also Wirrrn's An American Werewolf in Condom, full of over-the-top
exaggerations and dramatics (this is a good thing, here) which could have run as
an actual episode, except for the slashy parts.
Northlight's HP fics are excellent, what a pity I haven't come across them before! They aren't slash, but her takes on the relationship between Voldemort's parents, on Neville and even Petunia. Gives a lot of insight (is this a strange thing to say about fanfiction?) into the characters. Of note: Blood Speaks, Casting Shadows, Wednesday
26 April 2004
How Harry Potter Got His Groove Back
by Durendal, which is hilarious and I'm still recovering from the effects of falling off my chair.
It's also deathly important to read Yukuro's Tenipuri fic Tenipuri Phone Messages, at ff.net.
I've also realized that knkfics have not updated for nearly one month. I see it happen all the time, but I still hate it when it happens: undergrad is great at fanfic, write terrific, long stories and updates every two days. Undergrad then graduates, and steps into the chasm that is RL, updates every six months before giving up fandom for good. Sigh.
19 April 2004
I love the GW fandom. Have done so for a long time. It's outlasted
most of my other fannish obsessions. There was a time when I really,
really tried to resist it, on the basis that basic statistics simply wouldn't
allow for all five pilots to be gay. . . . Well, I overcame that mental
challenge (yay me!) and am glad to report that my mathematical intelligence has
since deteriorated.
I think it really helps that so many excellent writers are in the fandom; the really dedicated writers like Mel and Christy help to make it a solid, mature (or on the way, honest!) fandom.
14 April 2004
Have found a bunch of really nice Tenipuri fics, by Aishuu, who seems
to have a gift for writing readable stories with a narrative view that doesn't
seem artificial. Love: Wicked Game, Game, Three Point Game, Lens, Fun, Second
Singles. Have since realised that she's the one who wrote The Language of
Fans (CCD), a good, non-fluffy tale from Nokoro's view. Also, I read and
enjoyed How to make a Bishonen Snap without knowing a thing about Hikaru
no Go.
10 April 2004
So I was acting on Pru's recs, read Petronia's On Ice (Tenipuri) on
her website, and what else do I find? The cutest kid ever. Demi, Duo
and Heero's kid, three and capable of holding the Preventer's network hostage
with a dinosaur named Philbert. I note that the story stopped in 2000, so
barring a miracle, it's destined to remained unfinished forever. I think
that's quite okay, as I fear unbearable amounts of angst and mediocrity if the
story continued.
6 April 2004
Big Wolf on Campus fanfic? I was slightly convinced by Night
of the Leaping Dead, here, but the rest that I've read so far... it's not
that they're bad. Nope, what I don't like is that they're so... high-schoo-ish:
worries about popularity, coming out, does-he-or-doesn't-he-love-me. It's
rather old; I get the impression that the writers are either still in high
school/early college or reliving their memories of these experiences.
NoLD isn't like that, as recommended, it's fun, and all high school romances
(read: fanfics) should be like this.
5 April 2004
This may not be new to you: on tv the other night, an ad of new Guns n'
Roses album, compilation cd I think, with a motif of barbed wire and twisting
rose vine on one side of the screen. Which leads me to think of, of course,
Eroica.
Windsor Blue's The Most Eligible Bachelor, quite fun: I love Heero's open streak of competitiveness--over a magazine listing, no less. Pity it seems stuck at Chapter 6; I'd love to read more.
30 March 2004
Came across A. J. Hall's page for her fiction, including ebooks format,
here,
and discovered that there's a new sequel, The Kindly Ones. Cool. I'm also
amused by the covers she has made for her ebooks, particularly for Lust Over
Pendle and Dissipation and Despair. Very New Mermaids looking.
Also have encountered Susan Hall's The Summer of Boys, wherein Bill Weaseley takes his father to a Quikket (cricket) match in 1981. Dark forces descend. It's a great story, very British, I think, and most of all, fun. I'm tickled by the disclaimer, which adds, "Many sub-sections of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 were harmed in the making of this story."
And a snippet from Arthur Weaseley explaining his job:
"Ministry of Magic - Misuse of Muggle artifacts department. You know, ordinary objects suddenly behaving in a truly bizarre way - shrinking, crumbling, vanishing, that sort of thing - because they're enchanted?"
"Well, there had to be some excuse for the England middle order, I suppose. Are there any more of you in the ground?"
29 March 2004
RL 0, fics priceless
Getting Away, the newest chapter of the Road Trip Arc, is super.
Granted, I miss the edgier tone from the Ion Arc, but I love petting Heero and
Duo (in my head, anyway) too. This is vacation/recovery time for both of them,
and finally getting things back to track for both of them. Definitely something
to savour over and over again. I was strangely disappointed that it didn't give
me a near heart-attack, which Guardian Spirits did... maybe I do need to
get out more.
Trial and Error comes to a smart finish, and who knew, Heero could be direct too. I really like Maldoror's "roboto-Heero" (hey, inner rhyme!).
Speaking of robots, and rehabilitation from, I wonder where Delusions of Normalcy went. It went off to a pretty good start, a bit wordy maybe, but I was longing for the next chapter. Seems to have disappeared completely.
21 March 2004
Trial and Error, parts 6-9
I almost live in dread of what I'd find Heero doing, because it's gut-spitting
hilarious. He's been trying to match so many wrong couples that I'm
amazed he hasn't been kicked out of the matchmakers' guild. The man is
absolutely clueless. I don't care if he's 100% emotionless or 100% repressed,
the biggest shortcoming is his utter cluelessness.
Next chapter of Changing Allegiance, not too bad. I guess it's mostly
some essential linking filler for now, before we get into the action, but at
least it's good filler.
Trial and Error 10, Heero gets a clue! I feel so vindicated. Plus, could his reluctance to tell Duo why he's joined Emma's club caused by his own embarrassment, and if so, does his clue-getting skills get boosted?
19 March 2004
Have been reading through Maldoror's stories. The AU ones are really too...
AU. Not that I don't like 'em, but they usually involve too much OOC and the
setting is rather thin, for me, because trying to twist the GW boys into
recognizable shapes while explaining them is just so complicated.
Nope, what I like is her characterization of Heero. Granted, she does a very specific sort of characterization, "roboto-Heero", but it's good in that it really hits the whole package spot-on. When you add a 1x2 to that, the whole chemistry is just priceless. What's in a name?, somewhat predictable and (dare I say) blah in its Duo-angst, sparkles when it comes to the Heero-Duo interaction. Even without implied 1x2, it's a hoot. And her Whispers Arc is excellent, again with "roboto-Heero", but with a steady, measured pacing that puts everything in balance, leaving me to marvel at Heero's 'evolution' into human society. On/Off takes you into Heero's enviable logical mind as he tries to *seduce* Duo. Lovely.
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover is hilarious and a great take on the old Relena bashing theme. The constant run-on sentences are a little annoying, as they interfere with my enjoyment of the stories. Punctuation and some minor editing would improve the overall tone. Plus, the words "later" and "latter" are different and have distinct spellings and meanings!
15 March 2004
As proof that the gw world is wild and wonderful, we have Heero in the role
of ... matchmaker! Of course, seeing that Heero isn't the most socially-attuned
person (ever), he makes funny mistakes while he tries to match up Wufei and
Sally, while trying to define this elusive thing called love, while Relena's
hints go right over his head, while he misses nuances of relationships between Q
and Trowa, while trying to find if if his team mates are gay, while I sat and
wondered why didn't he ask Duo?!
The funny, stilted, yet serious way that Heero sees himself as 'guardian' of the peace, and the way he plans his tasks as missions are just the icing on the cake. (Oh yes, title is Trial and Error, writer is Maldoror, on the gw-fan mailing list or raygunworks.net). Only chapter 3 (of 15) right now but apparently all 15 parts are Done. Beautiful word, that.
Then Borrowing Books by Solitude, as she promised, the Wufei story. There is no romance, but a final sense of inevitability and heartbreak that is barely hinted at, with bits of Wufei's own personality appearing in bare, limited instances that just forces you to see him in a closer light. (I may be over-reading this.) It takes unusual vision to create/re-create a past that, when told, will tell you more about the person in the future than when the future was occurring.
By the way, as a way of fostering method in this ficblog madness, I'm thinking of making a list. Y'know, a list of authors, maybe a mention or two of their well known stories, as well as websites (distinct from my links page?) so curious people can just look up authors whenever I mention a story I've read, 'cos, well, I never (well, hardly never) insert in-page links in my entries. Ah, more work.
14 March 2004
I think I've mentioned my ambiguous feelings (and speculations) on mpreg
fics somewhere in this blog. I guess part of the problem is that I'm not that
much a babies person. I'd like to coo at them a little, maybe pinch their cheeks
(gently!), but after fifteen seconds I'd be wanting to give the infant back to
its mom. It's even worse with children. Therefore I don't understand the
attraction of mpreg just so pairings can have a family unit.
The attraction of perpetuating desirable genetic material aside, mpreg fics seem to be pervasive for the chance to inflict this nine-month ordeal on otherwise self-controlled, healthy, intelligent men as well as to give them a 'glow', make them act in hysterical, hormonally wimpy ways, and to reveal the spectacle of a rather odd (okay, freaky) circumstance. I keep wondering why the couples don't just adopt.
Diana Williams's HL mpreg fic Misconceptions is well, an interesting (a word that covers a multitude of judgments) look at those facets of mpreg fics. In her story, Methos's pregnancy (just the idea sounds outré to me) is an accident and he and Mac decides to go through with it. Methos maintains his edge despite the morning sickness, the emotional roller-coaster rides, getting married, and he and Mac set up house rather smoothly. As the pregnancy proceeds, the writing becomes slightly sloppy--the household descends into baby-worship and pregnancy-bitching--some of the intensity loses steam, and there is less attempt to tie the whole story together. At the end it becomes rather banal as well. Maybe it's just me. As I mentioned, I don't deal well with (screaming and demanding) babies, and reading about Methos and Mac do the babying just doesn't rouse my interest much. I get the cooing and bitching, really, as well as the fluffy moments, but by then the fizz had gone flat.
11 March 2004
I just read one very bad fic, and a series of very good ones, so I'm having
mixed feelings.
GW is the fandom, and the bad fic (which shall remain unnamed: yes, I'm cowardly that way) consisted of some phony mafia/Hong Kong-ish triad organizations, which were plotting to take over L2, blah, blah. I'm quite ashamed to admit that I read not only the prologue, but the first chapter too (well, only the first two paragraphs of that). 1st problem, fakey "cool" names for the gangsters. 2nd: talking in circumlocutions, aka "the business". 3rd... never mind.
The series of good ones is by someone named Solitude (or is that just the username?). Two Teaspoons wins for having one of the best characterizations of kid!Heero I've read, and that was just in a short story, written through the eyes of a third observer who doesn't even mention Heero's name. Just a Girl of Trowa gave me a nice funny feeling of apprehension, given we know what happens, and Duo in Last Equation was fun. I'm looking for the Wufei one.
Am reserving judgement on Ashkara's new au, though
10 March 2004
Was recommended this SV fic Card One: The Fool - One Man's Journey by
mistressace on crack_van's page. Read it yesterday. Lived up to the 'great porn'
claim, but I kept wondering what it was I didn't exactly like about it. Then
realized a while ago that while the story was, indeed, fun, great sex, good
story, it wasn't really Clex--at least the Clex I like. Obviously Clex stories
are wide and varied, but I like Lex to be evilly brilliant and sexy, observant
and passionate. And Clark would have that messanic impulse no matter what. But
here I only get two (great) characters who might as well be named A and B, whose
lives share quite a bit of similarity to those in SV.
Because really, SV can be slightly clichéd--you have a superhero-to-be and his nemesis, after all--and the only reason SV grows on you is because it fleshes out the clichés to give oh-so-sexy Lex and teenage-angsty Clark, and makes them friends. Truly? The friendship part is so much more important than the lovers part, even though my heart softens whenever friendship turns into True Lurve and Lust. So it was enjoyable, but I'd want more canon
7 March 2004
I was having a crappy day... but lookit here! Underwater
Light 17 and Warped Mirrors 19! It's such a beautiful day...
erhh... evening.
UL 17 first, and we're back into the wizarding opera with Harry (Desperately In Love) and Draco (Hair Care Is Important), who argue, fight, with D making H jealous, more fighting, breakup. I wuv Draco more than Harry. They've got to make a fluffy plush toy version of Draco, so I can pet him and pinch his cheeks and do his hair for him. HP merchandising people, get to work. Oh, yes, the chapter ends in a cliffhanger.
Warped Mirrors 19, starring a three (four?) sided battle-action that needs to be animated, possibly on multiple screens (just like in a Gundam!) and showing signs of intelligent strategy. Because anything else would be letting Mel and Christy, and Dan, Asuka, and Jay down. I know it's Mary Sueish, but in this instance it's been a wonderful journey so far. I like how the quirks of each pilot are fleshed out--at least now they make sense--and I now like Quatre more. I think it says something about GW that the more psycho they are, the more they rock.
5 March 2004
In between being dazed by my computer and skiving off work, I got myself a
shiny new lj, which now has a free, no-frills version, so it'll be interesting
to play with it. It's under my old email name, plus a number, making it "Issen4".
Good not to have to post comments under anon.
Other news, was attacked by nostalgia (yes, they do physical attacks, and yes, I am susceptible) and re-read Mission Arcadia, the massive GW au story that I followed a few years back (has it really been that long?). It's by Bonnejean & Von, Ravenfyre and Katerie Marie, to be found at gwaddiction.com. Also Chasing the Crown, which is even longer (but the action doesn't lag for long at all), where writing credits also go to Diane Davis. Arcadia has two of the most fascinating original characters I've read (though they had to grow on me), Jack and Ripper, and for me, it manages to salvage the entire GW universe and make me love Duo and Heero all over again. Not that much help was needed.
I love Kenny and Duan, their 6-year-old selves and the 16-year-old versions in Orbital Variations. Kenny, in particular, has wiped out all bad trauma engendered by a Mary Sueish character (what's the male version) of the same name that used to run about on the Clamp fanfiction archive. (Not the current one; one of the earliest ones on the 'net, linked to Rabi's X page, if I remember right.) Oh, that/he was truly bad, so current people are lucky not to be subjected to it. I could never decide, back then, whether loser!Kenny's creator was bored by the Clamp X fanfiction springing up from all ends, or just fancied setting 'himself' in a universe that makes zero sense, but where everyone is beautiful and talented and angsty.
And to get back to Chasing the Crown, how is it that of all the lemons of Duo and Heero, I think the reunionish (isn't that from Wufei?) scene of Zechs and Treize in chapter 44 one of the hottest I've read? Is it because I know the characters and their story so well? But I do for Heero and Duo too (and they are great), and their lemons just aren't as hot.