The Fandom Top Five List Meme
Sep. 10th, 2007 09:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
small_henI’m going to give this meme thing another shot – see if anyone takes this time.
Top five lists are the best! Long enough to include several favorites, short enough to not eat up all of your time. Reply to this post and I’ll give you a list topic. Then, post this in your journal and make a list of your own.
I’ll get the ball rolling. Don’t feel like you have to leave long descriptions; I just got into it:
Top Five Fanfics That Shouldn’t Have Worked, But Did:
5. Oh Very Young , by apreludetoanend; Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I can think of 4 reasons why this fic shouldn’t have worked for me. 1) It’s Spike/Xander, a pairing that has spawned fics so unspeakably horrific, they should be set on fire, 2) it has an awful, awkward title that doesn’t fit the story well, 3) it’s an AU in which Spike is human, a teenager, and Xander’s cousin, 4) incest angle aside, a large section of it revolves around guys becoming hot and bothered with one another while pissing together – not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s just not my thing.
So why include it? Well, the writing is top notch, to start – vivid description of Xander’s basement life (but not the basement life he was living in season 4) somehow manage to make his world seem so much more bleak and lonely than the show ever did – without introducing the all-too-common-in-Spander-fics themes of physical abuse, incest rape, cutting, and suicide. The little inside jokes straining on the AU fourth wall (Spike: “All I know is it’s in her blood, and I know fuck all about blood”) are well thought out too. Spike’s allowed to keep his edge, so much so that if Spike, circa early season 4 were actually a vamped-chipped teenager, I think he’d be a lot like this.
And if a writer can write a scene in which two guys pissing can make me feel hot, that’s a good writer.
Sigh. Links will not WORK! http://apreludetoanend.livejournal.com/18520.html
4. The Annals, by nightdog_writes/Plainsdog; House MD. WARNING: WIP, Possibly abandoned.
You know how I brought up AUs in the last rec? How I dislike them? Well, this is the most AU AU I have ever read, and it’s brilliant. Kind of a friendship/slash story about House and Wilson, but not really, because this story isn’t about House and Wilson. The setting is Rome, circa about 200AD, and focuses on Gregorius, a callous and injured healer traveling with the Roman army, and James, the young, talented slave who comes into his possession. Sound weird yet? It is…and it’s not, as well. Nightdog’s attention to historical detail is flawless, and her story of two men bonding over their troubled lives is as moving as anything I have ever read. Even if you have never seen an episode of House, I urge you to read this. You will not regret it.
I linked to the start of the story’s third part – you can trace back to the other two parts from there. I have no idea if this fic has been abandoned, but I certainly hope not.
http://nightdog-writes.livejournal.com/17406.html#cutid1
3. Of Mice and Mayhem , by Chris Fischer; Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers. Graphic Novel (scroll down to the bottom the page to find it).
Okay, I’m a little embarrassed to admit this one. I haven’t watched an episode of Rescue Rangers since I was about six. One day, a few months back, I remembered it, got nostalgic, and went off to see if it had a fandom. It did – a small fandom mostly centered around a 231 page graphic novel, written and drawn by a semi-successful musician who was trying to take his mind off of his impending fatherhood worries. I read it – in one sitting. The story – Gadget is captured by a top-secret CIA project and assumed dead - is nothing amazing. Certainly more adult (in subject matter, NOT sexuality – well, not really) and violent than the show was, and well paced, but rather melodramatic too. What got me was the art. I’ve seen MANY professionally drawn comics that were not as well drawn as Of Mice and Mayhem. If you enjoy Disney-style art, you MUST give this a glance.
Assuming you can stomach a love story between a chipmunk and a mouse – or a chipmunk and a bat, for that matter.
http://www.electricfishmusic.com/001.html
2. And Then Came the Dawn , by Scarlet; Buffy the Vampire Slayer. WARNING: Rape, pre-fic character death, link to Adult fanfiction.net.
I will never get anyone to read this story. Ever. I’ve tried. I’ve explained that it’s one of the best fanfictions I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I’ve explained that the writing is wonderful. I’ve explained that the characterization is fascinating in its extremity. It doesn’t matter – people will click the link, read the AN, get as far as the pairing line, and hit the back button before the page has finished loading.
Maybe it would have been better received if Scarlet hadn’t announced the Giles/Andrew aspect before the fic even begins…
Now that I’ve lost at least half of you, I’ll break more seemingly bad news – it’s a “stranded on a desert island” fic. Oh, there go the rest of you. Sojourning on…
The fic opens in Giles’s grief, and stays there for the duration. He’s on his way to Buffy’s funeral, Andrew in tow, when something goes horribly wrong. Trauma on top of tragedy, and he and Andrew are stranded. How much can Giles stand before he snaps? Scarlet pushes his character past the edge of sanity, and shows what Giles can become when he gives over all of his intelligence, his power, to madness.
On the flip side is Andrew, seen mostly through Giles’s half-crazed gaze – what would he do in a ‘balls to the wall’ survival situation, his only companion one step from comatose? What if he were forced to fight for his life and someone else? Could he rise to the occasion?
This fic is about power – about giving up power and shouldering power, and about reversal of roles. Around ¾ of the way through the story, we come to this line: “[Giles] cannot be alone! He simply cannot! Andrew takes care of him! If Andrew isn't here, then how will he take care of himself?”
The amazing thing? By this point in the fic, you believe it. Now doesn’t that sound worth a look? Anyone?
http://buffy.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=38115
1. Jeeves and the Tale of Abington Chase , by Skyblue_Reverie; Jeeves and Wooster. WARNING: Rape.
When one thinks of Wodehouse, what comes to mind? Innocent tales of 1920’s British aristocracy? Light-hearted stories of a life-long bachelor and his valet? If you thought, ‘dark horror and pedophilic rape,’ then you’re either insane or…a Skyblue fan.
I didn’t know Skyblue very well when she first mentioned her plans for writing “Abington Chase”. Though even then it was all but obvious to me that she was Wodehouse reincarnate, and though I urged her on, I had no doubt, at the time, that the story she had in mind simply could not be done. Not to fit the universe. Skyblue, of course, proved me wrong.
If you’re one of the three people who reads my journal, then you’ve probably read it. If you’ve read it, then you know what I’m talking about. It’s a brilliant story in its own right, of course, a wonderfully written and paced story of loss of innocence and survival and triumph, but I think it tops the list for reasons more than that. Jeeves, in both Wodehouse’s tales and the television series, is something of a control freak. No one from those universes ever lets us in on why. “Abington Chase” explores the why of Jeeves. What sort of childhood trauma could Jeeves have suffered to make him grasp control so tightly, never daring to let go?
I don’t think that Wodehouse intended this. I doubt he ever thought about the why of Jeeves very deeply. Had he thought of Jeeves deeply, I still doubt that “Abington Chase” would be anything close to his considerations. That’s really what makes it so amazing. Skyblue looked at a worldly character trapped in an innocent world and let us – and Bertie – in on the other half of the innocence.
“Abington Chase”, by all rights, should have annihilated Wodehouse’s world. Instead, it took that world and made it real.
http://skyblue-reverie.livejournal.com/7555.html#cutid1
Top five lists are the best! Long enough to include several favorites, short enough to not eat up all of your time. Reply to this post and I’ll give you a list topic. Then, post this in your journal and make a list of your own.
I’ll get the ball rolling. Don’t feel like you have to leave long descriptions; I just got into it:
Top Five Fanfics That Shouldn’t Have Worked, But Did:
5. Oh Very Young , by apreludetoanend; Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I can think of 4 reasons why this fic shouldn’t have worked for me. 1) It’s Spike/Xander, a pairing that has spawned fics so unspeakably horrific, they should be set on fire, 2) it has an awful, awkward title that doesn’t fit the story well, 3) it’s an AU in which Spike is human, a teenager, and Xander’s cousin, 4) incest angle aside, a large section of it revolves around guys becoming hot and bothered with one another while pissing together – not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s just not my thing.
So why include it? Well, the writing is top notch, to start – vivid description of Xander’s basement life (but not the basement life he was living in season 4) somehow manage to make his world seem so much more bleak and lonely than the show ever did – without introducing the all-too-common-in-Spander-fics themes of physical abuse, incest rape, cutting, and suicide. The little inside jokes straining on the AU fourth wall (Spike: “All I know is it’s in her blood, and I know fuck all about blood”) are well thought out too. Spike’s allowed to keep his edge, so much so that if Spike, circa early season 4 were actually a vamped-chipped teenager, I think he’d be a lot like this.
And if a writer can write a scene in which two guys pissing can make me feel hot, that’s a good writer.
Sigh. Links will not WORK! http://apreludetoanend.livejournal.com/18520.html
4. The Annals, by nightdog_writes/Plainsdog; House MD. WARNING: WIP, Possibly abandoned.
You know how I brought up AUs in the last rec? How I dislike them? Well, this is the most AU AU I have ever read, and it’s brilliant. Kind of a friendship/slash story about House and Wilson, but not really, because this story isn’t about House and Wilson. The setting is Rome, circa about 200AD, and focuses on Gregorius, a callous and injured healer traveling with the Roman army, and James, the young, talented slave who comes into his possession. Sound weird yet? It is…and it’s not, as well. Nightdog’s attention to historical detail is flawless, and her story of two men bonding over their troubled lives is as moving as anything I have ever read. Even if you have never seen an episode of House, I urge you to read this. You will not regret it.
I linked to the start of the story’s third part – you can trace back to the other two parts from there. I have no idea if this fic has been abandoned, but I certainly hope not.
http://nightdog-writes.livejournal.com/17406.html#cutid1
3. Of Mice and Mayhem , by Chris Fischer; Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers. Graphic Novel (scroll down to the bottom the page to find it).
Okay, I’m a little embarrassed to admit this one. I haven’t watched an episode of Rescue Rangers since I was about six. One day, a few months back, I remembered it, got nostalgic, and went off to see if it had a fandom. It did – a small fandom mostly centered around a 231 page graphic novel, written and drawn by a semi-successful musician who was trying to take his mind off of his impending fatherhood worries. I read it – in one sitting. The story – Gadget is captured by a top-secret CIA project and assumed dead - is nothing amazing. Certainly more adult (in subject matter, NOT sexuality – well, not really) and violent than the show was, and well paced, but rather melodramatic too. What got me was the art. I’ve seen MANY professionally drawn comics that were not as well drawn as Of Mice and Mayhem. If you enjoy Disney-style art, you MUST give this a glance.
Assuming you can stomach a love story between a chipmunk and a mouse – or a chipmunk and a bat, for that matter.
http://www.electricfishmusic.com/001.html
2. And Then Came the Dawn , by Scarlet; Buffy the Vampire Slayer. WARNING: Rape, pre-fic character death, link to Adult fanfiction.net.
I will never get anyone to read this story. Ever. I’ve tried. I’ve explained that it’s one of the best fanfictions I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I’ve explained that the writing is wonderful. I’ve explained that the characterization is fascinating in its extremity. It doesn’t matter – people will click the link, read the AN, get as far as the pairing line, and hit the back button before the page has finished loading.
Maybe it would have been better received if Scarlet hadn’t announced the Giles/Andrew aspect before the fic even begins…
Now that I’ve lost at least half of you, I’ll break more seemingly bad news – it’s a “stranded on a desert island” fic. Oh, there go the rest of you. Sojourning on…
The fic opens in Giles’s grief, and stays there for the duration. He’s on his way to Buffy’s funeral, Andrew in tow, when something goes horribly wrong. Trauma on top of tragedy, and he and Andrew are stranded. How much can Giles stand before he snaps? Scarlet pushes his character past the edge of sanity, and shows what Giles can become when he gives over all of his intelligence, his power, to madness.
On the flip side is Andrew, seen mostly through Giles’s half-crazed gaze – what would he do in a ‘balls to the wall’ survival situation, his only companion one step from comatose? What if he were forced to fight for his life and someone else? Could he rise to the occasion?
This fic is about power – about giving up power and shouldering power, and about reversal of roles. Around ¾ of the way through the story, we come to this line: “[Giles] cannot be alone! He simply cannot! Andrew takes care of him! If Andrew isn't here, then how will he take care of himself?”
The amazing thing? By this point in the fic, you believe it. Now doesn’t that sound worth a look? Anyone?
http://buffy.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=38115
1. Jeeves and the Tale of Abington Chase , by Skyblue_Reverie; Jeeves and Wooster. WARNING: Rape.
When one thinks of Wodehouse, what comes to mind? Innocent tales of 1920’s British aristocracy? Light-hearted stories of a life-long bachelor and his valet? If you thought, ‘dark horror and pedophilic rape,’ then you’re either insane or…a Skyblue fan.
I didn’t know Skyblue very well when she first mentioned her plans for writing “Abington Chase”. Though even then it was all but obvious to me that she was Wodehouse reincarnate, and though I urged her on, I had no doubt, at the time, that the story she had in mind simply could not be done. Not to fit the universe. Skyblue, of course, proved me wrong.
If you’re one of the three people who reads my journal, then you’ve probably read it. If you’ve read it, then you know what I’m talking about. It’s a brilliant story in its own right, of course, a wonderfully written and paced story of loss of innocence and survival and triumph, but I think it tops the list for reasons more than that. Jeeves, in both Wodehouse’s tales and the television series, is something of a control freak. No one from those universes ever lets us in on why. “Abington Chase” explores the why of Jeeves. What sort of childhood trauma could Jeeves have suffered to make him grasp control so tightly, never daring to let go?
I don’t think that Wodehouse intended this. I doubt he ever thought about the why of Jeeves very deeply. Had he thought of Jeeves deeply, I still doubt that “Abington Chase” would be anything close to his considerations. That’s really what makes it so amazing. Skyblue looked at a worldly character trapped in an innocent world and let us – and Bertie – in on the other half of the innocence.
“Abington Chase”, by all rights, should have annihilated Wodehouse’s world. Instead, it took that world and made it real.
http://skyblue-reverie.livejournal.com/7555.html#cutid1
