(no subject)

[skygiants]

I am still doing the icon fic meme (and also still accepting requests, if anyone else has them) but I can write comments at work in a way I can't usually write actual fic, and therefore: ANOTHER MEME. Stolen from gramarye1971!

Give me the title of a story I've never written, and feedback telling me what you liked best about it, and I will tell you any or all of: the first sentence, the last sentence, the thing that made me want to write it, the biggest problem I had while writing it, why it almost never got posted, the scene that hit the cutting room floor but that I wish I'd been able to salvage, and possibly a short excerpt as well.

As Shannon says, silly or serious is fine. Distract me from my work, I will thank you!

Comments

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

The Curious Adventure of the Half-Grown Panda

I didn't know I'd been waiting for someone to write a Howl's Moving Castle/FMA crossover! The fact that Sophie, Winry and Mei have to take control of the situation from their respective husbands before they destroy the multi-verse was not one I would've considered. And the sly aside to The Restaurant at the End of the Universe was hysterical!

[skygiants]

You know, I really wanted to write a much more serious fic about the aftermath of the war between Ingary and Strangia that sort of echoed the military problems in FMA, but once I realized just how horrified Howl would be by Ed's fashion sense (and vice versa) it all sort of spiralled downhill into duelling temper tantrums and sheer crack. Actually, the whole bit where Sophie accidentally chats the automail to life that doesn't really seem to fit with the rest of the plot came out of that, but I couldn't bring myself to cut it - I'm kind of way too entertained by the mental image of Winry being shocked, shocked at anyone daring to believe her top-grade automail would need to be enchanted to work.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

*doffs hat in your general direction*

Marvelous!

[gramarye1971]

I freely admit that I spoiled the hell out of myself just so I could read 'Médecins Sans Frontières', because I could not wait to finish FMA: Brotherhood before reading the fic. Normally, I have a hard time with the 'Character A is suddenly dropped into World B! Oh noes what will happen!' fic trope, but post-series Tenma in the FMA-verse is one of those premises that makes me drop any reservations just to see how it will turn out. And oh good lord you did not disappoint, if the pile of tissues around me at the end was any indication.

I wish I could fangirl it more without going into major series and fic spoilers, so I'll stop here and just make shiny eyes at you some more.

[skygiants]

Ahhhh, you say such nice and such undeserved things about this fic, when the fact is that it is the ETERNAL MONSTER OF MY LIFE because I will never break hearts the way that Arakawa and Urasawa can and I don't know why I even try, I am always afraid that it is just maudlin.

I mean, the question, the one I am still grappling with, is really whether Tenma's determined idealism says anything new about the horror of being a doctor in that situation that Arakawa didn't already say with the Rockbells and Marcoh and Knox. And I think, I think it is worth doing, because Tenma as an outsider to both sides has a freedom to make moral choices in a way that none of the others do, not even the Rockbells, who do get to make the moral choice but have to die for it. And that can and does have an impact.

Now, if I'd been really mean, I would have gone on to write the second part instead of just implying it, you know, the one that shows how Marcoh's execution after Tenma convinces him to resist his orders and draw the moral line changes the future of the FMA-verse so completely that the bad guys win, the apocalypse happens, and all is doomed . . . because, I mean, that's what would happen if Marcoh wasn't in the picture. But even though having Tenma's best moral intentions result in mass catastrophe yet again is horribly fitting in a way, it's also just too awful even for me to write out, so we can just pretend that the universe found some other way to compensate for Marcoh's absence and everything turned out okay? UM.

Ask, and you recieve (SOMETHING INCONVENIANTLY LONG!)

[blacksheep91.livejournal.com]

Well, if were talking about your best work, I'd have to make special note of "Child-like in Nature". Never would I have thought someone would be able to give such an interesting introspective on Ennis and Chez's life as "brother and sister" post-series, not only showing how they come to bring out both the best and worst of their "natures" if you will (I see what you did there.), but also how their perspectives on humanity are altered and shaped by this new relationship and the roles they're forced to take. The way you added so many layers the Chez's character beyond "tortured paranoid iron woobie" was excellent. (You actually had me shipping him with Mary. Amazing! But that made it all the more bittersweet when she refused the elixir in the end. You tug at my heart strings in the most masochistic way, really. Why do I keep coming back?) And of course, all of the restaurant scenes are hilarious. :) (Mixing hip hop into the 1930's Harlem scene was...so Samurai Champloo somehow.)

You also managed to work in philosophies from many different religions while keeping them balanced, without favoring one over the other.(Although I have to admit, I wasn't sure about the gruesome scene with the balloon in the ice cream parlor. Like, was that symbolism relating to Taoism or am I completely misinterpreting it?)

It's little wonder you have stories featured on the Fanfic rec. page of TV Tropes. One can only watch in awe as you blow everyone else out of the water.

Re: Ask, and you recieve (SOMETHING INCONVENIANTLY LONG!)

[skygiants]

Oh, well, if you're going to talk about MY MASTERPIECE.

Actually, I probably should have made the scene with the balloon clearer - I guess not everyone instantly recognizes a Zoroastrian parable about active participation when they see it! But, you know, given the ridiculous amount of time I'd spent on Buddhism in the bit with Ennis and the bullfighting, I didn't really see how I could do it any other way.

I think my favorite religious reference, though, is still the reprise of the Battle of the Maccabees in Central Park - that and when Czes calls Maiza out for being the worst Christ figure ever.

Anyway, all that aside, I really am proud of this fic - thanks for singling it out!

(But, okay, I have to ask, did you catch the sneak crossover with The Secret Garden? I wasn't sure whether anyone was going to pick up on that . . .)

[vivien]

I have to say that I adored "The Sartorial Adventures of Mr.(?) Hsu" a great deal. It was witty while remaining introspective about gender roles and fluidity. But my favorite part was the description of the twenties-era costumes.

[skygiants]

Oh, you mean the one that begins, It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single gentleman in possession of a poorly-tied cravat, must be in want of a valet? Yeah, I'll admit I maybe had a little bit too much fun with that. >.>

Here's a secret, actually: it actually started life as a Jeeves and Wooster fanfic, before I decided to GET AMBITIOUS (or, you know, stupid) and talk about the intersectionality of race and gender issues for an immigrant girl, instead of just the cross-dressing thing. And at that point having Bertie and Jeeves wandering around the edges was just distracting from the main story, but it really tore my heart to let them go! I had to write in a whole emerald-and-orange-checkered suit to make myself feel better.

[kindness_says]

I...am not sure enough of your fandoms/do not currently have time to actually do this.

BUT I THINK IT IS A TOTALLY BRILLIANT, HILARIOUS MEME.

[skygiants]

EVERYONE SHOULD DO IT. Getting to make up hilarious fake fanfic for other people makes me laugh even more than receiving hilarious fake fanfic myself!

[kindness_says]

I have written two super-long entries (okay, one entry and one Giant Edit) twice in the last twelve hours. I think I need to wait.

Also, I'd have to compile a list of fandoms they could draw from; no one knows me well enough yet. -sigh-

[kindness_says]

But make no mistake. I AM TEMPTED, TEMPTED I AM.

[skygiants]

Well, hey, the beautiful thing about memes is they can always be around waiting for a rainy day . . . and then that starts off a new round for people to enjoy ALL OVER AGAIN. :D

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Gochorai brain du fur caer [He fed black ravens on the rampart of the fortress]

You know I love all of the stories in your Eirias sequence. But the one where Bran gives a speech to British troops on their way to Iraq (or was it a different war? I've forgotten) is still one of the best. Of course Bran praises the soldiers' courage and devotion to Wales, England and Britain while subtly acknowledging the moral ambiguity of the war. And of course Will hears the voice of the war leader Bran might have been.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

uh. That was totally not your story. Let me go repost it on Gramary'es page.

[skygiants]

Thanks, Rym, NOW I FEEL LOVED. *cracking up*

[genarti]

CLEARLY YOU NEED TO WRITE AN EIRIAS STORY NOW.

*helpful*

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

And clearly I have to pay better attention, because not only did I post the story in the wrong place, I included a hideous typo in my apology note!

[skygiants]

Yes, the overlay of quiet numinousness and Welsh politics is JUST MY SPECIALTY.

[genarti]

Hey, if I can write bickery Baccano! ensemble fic at an amusement park...

[skygiants]

Yours is the superior form of adaptability! This is a level I would not attempt. *laughing*

[genarti]

To tell you the truth, I wouldn't want to write Gramarye-level Welsh politics either.

...But I still want you to write at least half these fics now. *giggling*

[skygiants]

Yes, I will write Zoroastrian-themed Baccano! fic JUST FOR YOU. *laughing also*

[genarti]

:DDDDD

[gramarye1971]

Guys, you are making me flail and blush like mad over here. ^_^

(But have to say, I also want these fics!)

Let me try this again

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

I've always thought part of the reason the Dalemark fandom seems to be a bit separate from the rest of Diana Wynne Jones fandom is that it isn't quite as cracky. People who enjoy the meta humor of Howl's Moving Castle or Dark Lord of Derkholm aren't always interested in the true and generation-spanning love of Mitt and Maewen. But your fic "Lawschool Towers" brings hilarity to Dalemark. I love the wacky hijinks that roommates Hildy and Biffa get into. Hildy really gets short shrift from her author in Crown of Dalemark. Your Hildy isn't nice, exactly, but she's a more well-rounded character than we see in Crown, and you've convinced me that she and Biffa have a true and mutual friendship.

this veers dangerously close to fics I actually want to write!

[skygiants]

Hahaha well, Rym, you know that my favorite thing is to launch a defense of cranky, bratty, mean-spirited girls, so . . . well, really the thing that made me most nervous about posting this fic is how much Hildy's characterization is stolen from a certain RP character of mine, you know the one. I do like the last bit, though: "I have a confession too, Hildy," said Biffa cheerfully, as the wind blew the last remaining shreds of the List of Self-Improvements out across the grittling lawn. "I've never really known what barlay is, either."

And see, if I was better at writing romance, this fic would have had Hildy/Biffa undertones that would set up the postcanon sequel that I will never write in which Hildy and Biffa and Mitt have a complicated emotional triangle that mirrors the Arthur/Gwen/Lancelot triangle, except crankier and more lesbian. But I'm not, and so that fic will never exist.

[izilen]

I cannot tell you how much I loved your Inda/ATLA crossover! I am amazed at how well some of these characters get along and it's a shame some things in your story did not really happen in canon. Iroh's friendship with Sindan and subsequent influence in the Sierlaef's life is probably my favourite thing.

EXCEPT I DON'T THINK I CAN CHOOSE A FAVOURITE THING!! I was so excited when Inda's group was ashore and they met the Gaang. I looooove how Toph and Jeje strike up a quick friendship, and how despite bonding over RIDICULOUS CRUSHES ON THEIR BFFS their time together is totally Bechdel-passing. I would have liked to see more about Aang and Inda - it seems like they would be good friends. Have you considered writing a fic about them?!

Omg, I have no words for how awesome Hadand and Katara discussing women's fighting was, really!

NOW, if you asked my shippy heart, of course my favourite part was when Inda got that letter from Tdor. Good thing the Gaang had Hawky. It was DELIGHTFUL to hear more about their shared childhood and wonderful to see them communicating now that they are nearly grown. YOU NEED TO WRITE MORE Inda/Tdor.

IN SHORT, WHAT AN EXCELLENT FIC, and I wish you would write more! <3 I'm definitely looking forward to that fic about Queen Wisthia and Sindan you referenced!

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

DAMN IT why does this fic not exist.

[izilen]

I KNOW RIGHT?! (I'm not trying to make Becca write it, noooot at alllll)

(Why does no fic about Inda EVER exist?!)

[skygiants]

WAIT WAIT WAIT, Rym, have you actually read the Inda books? Why didn't I know this? :O

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Yes, late last year. I was actually rereading them this weekend because muchabstracted just finished The Fox and was talking to me about it.

I found myself justifying how everyone loves Inda and how Inda is a military genius to her by saying... uh... Inda's not nearly unrealistic as Lymond? I realized afterward that this is not much of a defense.

[skygiants]

Damn it, Rym, did you miss the part where I am having an enormous love affair with these books and wish to babble nonstop at everyone about them? (I mean, I guess it is possible that you were avoiding this on purpose . . .)

I actually am thinking quite differently about Inda's super-genius after a revelation in the fourth book, but I don't want to say here because there are people who may read it who haven't read the fourth yet!

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Me too. I'm pretty sure I saw what you saw, but the characters don't have the vocabulary to discuss it properly so we all have to read between the lines.

[skygiants]

Yes, I suspect we are talking about the same thing. It is a fascinating way to do it, anyway.

- and the difference here is, if we had been given that kind of lens through which to view Lymond (which we wouldn't have, because Lymond is super-special along MANY MORE axes, but hypothetically) it would just have been fodder for several more chapters of angst.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Well, it is angst! ... but not for Inda. The people who have to deal with the consequences, as I understand it, are Evred, Tdor and Signi. Inda has no idea, so it doesn't bother him.

[skygiants]

Well, it's not like it makes things all that much worse for Evred either, honestly . . . I mean, he would be stuck in pretty much the same position regardless. I'll admit that Tdor and Signi probably have to deal with some more awkwardness on that account than they would otherwise, but, let's face it, it was going to be awkward no matter what. And if Inda wasn't the person he is, then none of them might care as much as they do anyway, so the point is sort of moot.

So actually, I think probably the only significant angst-factor related to that is the one going all the way back to poor Tanrid. Which is a bit Lymond-ish, when you think about it!

[skygiants]

Haha, man, that fic is the self-indulgent crossover OF MY HEART. If I had enough time I would write ALL the Inda crossovers, you don't even know. BUT I DIGRESS.

I'll tell you actually one thing I thought of just too late to include it in the fic - I had all these scenes where Iroh is kind of lurking around being genial at the Sierlaef and slowly earning his respect, and it was really satisfying to write, but what might have been even BETTER is if ZUKO, recognizing the Sierlaef's tendencies towards jerktastic self-centeredness, realized he had to BECOME A ROLE MODEL FOR HIM. I mean, think of it. TERRIBLE HILARITY. I even wrote a bit of it out:

"F-f-father," the Sierlaef forced out, through gritted teeth. "D-doesn't respect -"

"Your father doesn't know how to talk to you, so he sends someone he trusts to watch over you," Zuko retorted. "My father didn't know how to talk to me, so he taught me a PERMANENT LESSON -"

"ON YOUR FACE, I KNOW," snapped the Sierlaef, who had heard this so often by this point he could get it out without the faintest hint of a stammer.

So basically there is an alternate universe where that is what happened, and Zuko spent a lot of time babbling things about clouds and silver lining in Iroh-vision, and the Sierlaef rolled his eyes A LOT but was sort of able to relax around him because all the same he was someone in an equivalent position, and then they became unlikely shouty friends and the Sierlaef realized it might be hard to be good, BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE.

- and sorry for the long digression about a section of the fic that does not actually exist! As for the rest, Toph and Jeje was probably the hardest part to write, because I love Toph like burning but I am always afraid of not being able to adequately convey her awesome on the page. And because I spent so much time on it, they sort of took over the fic! You're right that Aang and Inda deserved more time together. I wish I was better at writing fighting, honestly, because if I did write a fic just about them I think it would have to focus on how Inda reacts to Aang's style of air nomad martial arts and compares it to the Odni and thinks about how to incorporate Aang's principles into his own training, because, you know, that's what Inda does, and I'm just not skilled enough to write that.

Hawky is also my favorite deus ex machina EVER. And - is it bad etiquette to admit I made myself laugh in my own fic? - I did crack myself up a little at Sokka and Katara's smugness about their role in getting the letter across. This bit will always make me laugh:

"Look how happy he is to hear from her," Katara whispered to Sokka. "Just look at his face, it's adorable. We should play matchmaker more often."

"Awwwwww yeah," agreed Sokka, enormously self-satisfied. "Just call this the Boomerang of Love - ow! What was that for?!"

"Katara's already a meddling addict. Don't enable her!"

Haha, I don't know if I'm subtle enough though to write the Wisthia-Sindan fic. WE'LL SEE.

[izilen]

It is my humble opinion that you should indulge yourself more often! ONLY GOOD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN YOU DO. Case in point: that delightful military part Roy/Riza fic, and that Fakir/Ahiru you wrote for Yuletide!

It's a shame you didn't think of that!! THAT IS SIMPLY THE BEST THING I'VE HEARD. Hahahaha, I have no words for how much the idea of Zuko being a role model to the SIERLAEF hilaritizes me, but I have no doubt it would be good for both of them! THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT WONDERFUL EXCERPT. (ON HIS FACE!! Haha. Well, who knows, the Sierlaef might learn how to say honor without stammering as well!)

I was thinking that having to be role model, and seeing how Iroh's advice might apply to somebody else Zuko might be able to see beyond the tragedy of his situation quite a bit earlier. IT IS NOT ALL BAD, ZUKO. You and the Sierlaef can both be good people!!

TALK ALL YOU LIKE about fanfic that doesn't exist! By now you should know that I don't mind in the least!

No complaints on the Toph and Jeje bits at all! I think it was a nice respite from Zuko and the Sierlaef and their ANGST. You know, Katara and Toph are friends, but it certainly isn't because of their personalities. Toph and Jeje would be able to get along on a completely different level! It's good to see Toph making more friends, too.

I HAD NOT ACTUALLY THOUGHT about the Odni and airbending, but now I want that fic like burning! I'm sure Aang would be able to pick up Inda's fighting style relatively fast, which should be pretty interesting. Both of them are very talented people. I'M SURE YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO DO JUST FINE, but really, any fic about them, even if they just talk, would be amazing.

Hahahaha. I THINK SOMETIMES CHARACTERS DESERVE A DEUX EX MACHINA OR TWO. An eucatastrophe to balance the catastrophe, if you will. I LOVED THAT PART, ahaha, not least because like Sokka and Katara I too was thinking that IT WAS ADORABLE. I'm not sure I would want to encourage them as matchmakers. Who knows what they would do with poor Sponge, say.

Friends and family are for enabling, don't you think?

Awwwh, it's true, it would have to be a very well written fic, but again: I TRUST YOUR CAPACITIES.

[ojuzu.livejournal.com]

I've never read the Inda books (who's the author, again?) but I want to read this fic anyway. Like, A LOT.

[pseudo_tsuga.livejournal.com]

I will always have a special place in my heart for when you wrote about Isaac and Miria in 60's San Francisco. Their cheerful obliviousness contrasting with the summer of peace and love was hilarious. Other people thinking they had chemical enhancement was expertly done, with none of the usual clumsiness present when people misunderstand each other (though it would be funny to think of them high). I also loved the research you did because so many people think that "Chinatown, fog, hills" is all that they need to know.

This is the fic I would write if I had any writing ability, sob

I DON'T WANT TO SAY TOO MUCH HERE BECAUSE YOU SHOULD TOTALLY WRITE IT

[skygiants]

Honestly, the only reason I could write this fic really is by frantically emailing everyone I knew at Berkeley and going "SEND ME YOUR BERKELEY RADICALIST HISTORY PLEASE." I love California, but most of my SF history background comes from a century or so before when this fic had to be set!

But you're right, Isaac and Miria bopping through the 1960's, sowing peace and love all around them, was just something that had to be done. My favorite part is definitely when they tell Alan Ginsberg the story about Henry VIII's forbidden love for Annie Oakley and indirectly end up inspiring the Human Be-In in Golden Gate Park - I just have too much fun doing the history mash-ups, okay?

On the topic of Chinatown, though, I also couldn't resist having a branch of the Daily Days located in San Francisco - because, much as I love Isaac and Miria, too much concentrated Isaac-and-Miria tends to warp my brain as much as anyone else's, and I'd always wanted a chance to write about all the weird canon in the novels with the Daily Days being so grounded in NY-Chinatown. (And do it better than whoever is translating the light novels. I mean, I appreciate what they're doing, but OH GOD WHY THE DIALECT.) Also, it meant I could sneak in cameos from aged Elean and Rachel!

[ojuzu.livejournal.com]

Wow, your Gokusen/Utena crossover is so much cooler than mine! :D And how did you know exactly what I love about both of them?

Shin was just so DEADPAN, it made me laugh. And I loved Mikage trying to psychoanalyze him. Sorry, man. Shin's already come to terms with all his complexes.

I may have kind of laughed so hard I cried at the scene where Akio realizes he's been trying to shoehorn Shin into entirely the wrong role. (I will never get tired of Shin being a damsel. NEVER. Though it must have been hard for you to resist titling this Shoujo Kakumei Shin.)

And I must say, you write Yankumi kicking Akio in the face far, far funnier than I could have imagined. PLEASE DO THIS MORE.

(Sorry; this isn't really proper feedback. Will do it right later, when I'm not BLINDED BY AWESOME.)

[ojuzu.livejournal.com]

I would write this for you if I had any ability for comedy.

[skygiants]

YOU SHOULD DO IT ANYWAY

[skygiants]

You flatter me, IT COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE COOLER THAN YOURS. But I'll be honest, totally got myself through this fic just by repeatedly picturing Akio's face when he realized that Shin and Yankumi were basically just their own fairytale subversion, no psychological deconstruction required. In and of themselves they invalidate everything he has worked for!

Hahaha, I enjoyed writing Mikage trying to psychoanalyze Shin, but I enjoyed even more Yankumi telling him off after she broke into the elevator to rescue him. (Because, I mean, of COURSE he would need rescuing from Mikage, is Yankumi's thought process, he's SHIN.)

"You get away from my precious student! What kind of educator do you think you are? Show yourself, you coward!"

Mikage's elevator isn't supposed to hold two people at one time; Shin, faintly red, is holding himself carefully against the wall and facepalming. Yankumi solves the problem by kicking open the elevator door and grabbing the faintly stunned Mikage by the collar.

"The kind of person who makes themselves feel better by putting down the self-esteem of others is the most despicable kind!" she sneers, and lets him drop. "I hate that kind of person the most - and you! Kid!" She wheels on Mamiya, still holding a black rose in his hands. "Who are you? I haven't seen you around campus since I got here. How old are you, twelve? You're coming with me to register for classes at the elementary school right now!"

Mamiya's face is very carefully blank, as always, but if Mikage didn't know better he might think he was amused.

I think the most satisfying part for me to write, though - aside from the KICK IN THE FACE, most satisfying thing EVER - was the reformation of Saionji via Yankumi's hard-knocks style of teaching. The part where Saionji slaps her (Saionji slaps EVERYONE) and Yankumi doesn't even flinch, and tells him she won't hit him because he's a student, but if he tries that on any of her other students ever again she will beat him down, and then she tracks him to one of his midnight egg-and-sulking campfires and they have a hilarious bonding moment and she eats half his food - I really enjoyed writing that. (Also, Shin getting to be very quietly badass when he confronts him afterwards. You know, in between damsellings.)

The hardest part to write of course was Akio being SO SKETCHY at Shin. THE SKETCHIEST.