![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Five stories I'm proud of
Awhile back I was tagged to do this meme, but I... kind of forgot about it, between one thing and another. Since yesterday's post, I've switched my warnings from adult/not adult to 'explicit sex/graphic violence'/not, with more details when necessary. (If you were confused about the change). ;)
Attack/Retreat 1, 2
New Avengers Pre CW | Steve/Tony | WARNING: Explicit sex
Word Count - 12,224
Steve and Tony work out some relationship problems.
This is a story about two guys in a relationship, who haven't yet made that official. Steve knows they're in a relationship of some kind, though he's a bit confused about its nature, and Tony can't seem to admit there's anything going on at all. Except sex. Tony's definitely comfortable with the sex. There isn't much about this story that's remarkable. It's pretty standard slash fare. But writing it was a challenge for me. Attack/Retreat was the first time I tried my hand at an extended sex scene, the first time I wrote Steve POV, and the first time I took a beloved slash cliche and ran with it. I spent weeks writing it. Weeks editing it. Weeks agonizing over how it just. Wouldn't. End. What I'm most proud of is how much I held back, and how I managed to stick to the original plan: that these two are Guys, and they do their best emoting in some unconventional ways. I wanted to write a story about communication problems, crossed wires, and sex, and I think I did a pretty good job, all things considered.
Holes (Vacillation Mix)
Pre OotP | Draco, Harry | WARNING: Torture (detailed warnings)
Word Count - 3564
He finds it difficult to believe that outside these dusty walls, time passes. Inside, here, without proof of its existence, time has ceased to have any meaning.
Heed the warnings, this one's nasty. Holes is a remix that recycles quite a lot from the original fic, including dialog and all major plot points. It's the same story, but from a different angle. That said, I think it stands alone just fine. Holes is a non-linear suspense story, about Draco's stay in a Death Eater prison. The Death Eaters decide he's of no value, and leave him alone to go crazy. One day, Harry Potter takes up occupancy in the cell across from his. Things look up, and then they look very, very down. A lot of the meat of the story takes place in Draco's head; it's very much concerned with what he's thinking, feeling, and how well he's dealing with it all. It's an unrelentingly bleak and nasty story. I don't have a torture kink, and I'm not particularly interested in writing about the business of torture, so this story isn't about torture; it's about the results. The challenge here was a writing a claustrophobic, mindfuck of a story, with a Draco who was hurt, but not entirely broken, and still Draco. Still stubborn, stupid and full of fight. There are places where the prose veers into, er, violet territory, but as it's from back in the day, I forgive myself. (Especially since I'm a much better writer these days *g*).
Someday They Will Be Scarce
S7 | Xander/Anya
Word Count - 3515
"He finds himself thinking around her, around the edges of the her-shaped hole in his life, because that’s easier than mourning her honestly."
This is a story about grief, love and Casablanca. Xander is in Africa post Chosen, looking for Slayers and not dealing with the loss of Anya. One day, while shopping, he picks up a copy of Casablanca and starts to feel things he'd rather not. I wanted to write a story about Xander's time in Africa. I also wanted to write a story about how he dealt with Anya's death. There's no time for him to grieve in Chosen, and by the time season eight starts, he's dealt with the bulk of his issues. Xander being Xander, I figured he'd not-deal, in some spectacularly unconstructive manner. Xander and Anya had a sweet but screwed up relationship. They spent a lot of time understanding each other too well, or understanding each other not at all. Things don't get any clearer here. My goal here was to keep things subdued and stripped down: no big epiphanies or breakdowns. I think (hope) I managed to keep things from tipping over into ~drama~.
Mighty Dark to Travel (Full Fathom Five)
mid X2 | Bobby/Rogue, Bobby/John, Logan
Word Count - 3333
After John is shot, Bobby loses control.
Another remix. Frosted World is a short, shippy one shot. It's a What if? set mid X2 about John being shot by the cops, and Bobby taking things too far. I decided to kind of... explode the story with multiple povs. We hear from the cop who shoots John, Rogue, Bobby, Bobby's brother Ronnie, and John himself. Derek (the cop) and Ronnie are genuinely scared of mutants, and from their perspective, shooting Logan and John is entirely reasonable. Rogue is convinced that Logan will save them, and that everything will be fine. Bobby is conflicted, and John is a little too interested in what that means. The shippiness is implicit here, rather than explicit, because it got in the way of the story I wanted to tell, which was essentially "five ways to respond to a crisis." Where all five were entirely understandable and reasonable. From a certain perspective.
The Deep
Mighty Avengers | Tony, Carol, Bob | WARNING: Graphic violence
Word Count - 5907
Once upon a midnight dreary...
This is a suspense/horror story where Tony spends some time being haunted, and some time on the brink of death. As you'd expect with Tony Stark, his personal demons are pretty bastardly. It's set during his time on the Mighty Avengers because: a) there's next to no fic for this team, and I thought it was time to fix that; and b) it allowed me play with a Tony who's still reeling from Civil War, and making some really terrible decisions in his personal life. Everyone in this story is raw and hurting, and none of them want to talk about it. Tony is forced to. Which is fully half of the ~horror~ here, ngl. This story was way too much fun to write. In the planning stages, I spent a lot of time visualizing The Scary Avengers. There's a perverse fun in making objects of love into objects of horror. Anyway! I think I managed some classic Bump In the Night moments with this story, so go me. :p
Attack/Retreat 1, 2
New Avengers Pre CW | Steve/Tony | WARNING: Explicit sex
Word Count - 12,224
Steve and Tony work out some relationship problems.
This is a story about two guys in a relationship, who haven't yet made that official. Steve knows they're in a relationship of some kind, though he's a bit confused about its nature, and Tony can't seem to admit there's anything going on at all. Except sex. Tony's definitely comfortable with the sex. There isn't much about this story that's remarkable. It's pretty standard slash fare. But writing it was a challenge for me. Attack/Retreat was the first time I tried my hand at an extended sex scene, the first time I wrote Steve POV, and the first time I took a beloved slash cliche and ran with it. I spent weeks writing it. Weeks editing it. Weeks agonizing over how it just. Wouldn't. End. What I'm most proud of is how much I held back, and how I managed to stick to the original plan: that these two are Guys, and they do their best emoting in some unconventional ways. I wanted to write a story about communication problems, crossed wires, and sex, and I think I did a pretty good job, all things considered.
Holes (Vacillation Mix)
Pre OotP | Draco, Harry | WARNING: Torture (detailed warnings)
Word Count - 3564
He finds it difficult to believe that outside these dusty walls, time passes. Inside, here, without proof of its existence, time has ceased to have any meaning.
Heed the warnings, this one's nasty. Holes is a remix that recycles quite a lot from the original fic, including dialog and all major plot points. It's the same story, but from a different angle. That said, I think it stands alone just fine. Holes is a non-linear suspense story, about Draco's stay in a Death Eater prison. The Death Eaters decide he's of no value, and leave him alone to go crazy. One day, Harry Potter takes up occupancy in the cell across from his. Things look up, and then they look very, very down. A lot of the meat of the story takes place in Draco's head; it's very much concerned with what he's thinking, feeling, and how well he's dealing with it all. It's an unrelentingly bleak and nasty story. I don't have a torture kink, and I'm not particularly interested in writing about the business of torture, so this story isn't about torture; it's about the results. The challenge here was a writing a claustrophobic, mindfuck of a story, with a Draco who was hurt, but not entirely broken, and still Draco. Still stubborn, stupid and full of fight. There are places where the prose veers into, er, violet territory, but as it's from back in the day, I forgive myself. (Especially since I'm a much better writer these days *g*).
Someday They Will Be Scarce
S7 | Xander/Anya
Word Count - 3515
"He finds himself thinking around her, around the edges of the her-shaped hole in his life, because that’s easier than mourning her honestly."
This is a story about grief, love and Casablanca. Xander is in Africa post Chosen, looking for Slayers and not dealing with the loss of Anya. One day, while shopping, he picks up a copy of Casablanca and starts to feel things he'd rather not. I wanted to write a story about Xander's time in Africa. I also wanted to write a story about how he dealt with Anya's death. There's no time for him to grieve in Chosen, and by the time season eight starts, he's dealt with the bulk of his issues. Xander being Xander, I figured he'd not-deal, in some spectacularly unconstructive manner. Xander and Anya had a sweet but screwed up relationship. They spent a lot of time understanding each other too well, or understanding each other not at all. Things don't get any clearer here. My goal here was to keep things subdued and stripped down: no big epiphanies or breakdowns. I think (hope) I managed to keep things from tipping over into ~drama~.
Mighty Dark to Travel (Full Fathom Five)
mid X2 | Bobby/Rogue, Bobby/John, Logan
Word Count - 3333
After John is shot, Bobby loses control.
Another remix. Frosted World is a short, shippy one shot. It's a What if? set mid X2 about John being shot by the cops, and Bobby taking things too far. I decided to kind of... explode the story with multiple povs. We hear from the cop who shoots John, Rogue, Bobby, Bobby's brother Ronnie, and John himself. Derek (the cop) and Ronnie are genuinely scared of mutants, and from their perspective, shooting Logan and John is entirely reasonable. Rogue is convinced that Logan will save them, and that everything will be fine. Bobby is conflicted, and John is a little too interested in what that means. The shippiness is implicit here, rather than explicit, because it got in the way of the story I wanted to tell, which was essentially "five ways to respond to a crisis." Where all five were entirely understandable and reasonable. From a certain perspective.
The Deep
Mighty Avengers | Tony, Carol, Bob | WARNING: Graphic violence
Word Count - 5907
Once upon a midnight dreary...
This is a suspense/horror story where Tony spends some time being haunted, and some time on the brink of death. As you'd expect with Tony Stark, his personal demons are pretty bastardly. It's set during his time on the Mighty Avengers because: a) there's next to no fic for this team, and I thought it was time to fix that; and b) it allowed me play with a Tony who's still reeling from Civil War, and making some really terrible decisions in his personal life. Everyone in this story is raw and hurting, and none of them want to talk about it. Tony is forced to. Which is fully half of the ~horror~ here, ngl. This story was way too much fun to write. In the planning stages, I spent a lot of time visualizing The Scary Avengers. There's a perverse fun in making objects of love into objects of horror. Anyway! I think I managed some classic Bump In the Night moments with this story, so go me. :p