something queer going on

As the "reblogging" culture of Tumblr becomes more pervasive, I thought I'd better make it clear what I'm okay with you doing with my public posts. Everything listed here is in addition to commenting on my journal, which is always welcome.

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My Fanfiction

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Title: A Profession of Lies
Fandom: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011 film)
Characters: Peter Guillam, Jim Prideaux
Rating: Teen
Warnings: (skip) Mention of suicidal thoughts, period-appropriate homophobic language.
Word count: 2726
Summary: Jim wants an end to lies; Peter's not so sure.
Notes: This story is definitely movieverse, but I've imported the odd bit of book canon that seemed to fit. Although this story is complete in itself, there may eventually be a sequel. Many thanks to halotolerant for an awesome beta and Britpick.


( click here to read )

I've been reading a lot of Sherlock fic and I have some recs. (Interestingly, I've had more success finding fic I like by just randomly going through and trying things that sound interesting than by selecting the stories that have received the most kudos and bookmarks. Go figure.)

Eight recs below the cut, five post-Reichenbach and three that predate S2.

( click here to read )

That was ( spoilers )

I've been tentatively exploring in this fandom; here are a couple of stories I've especially loved.

Lift Up Mine Eyes To The Hills (15939 words) by AJHall
Fandom: Sherlock (TV), Withnail & I (1986)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: John/Sherlock; Withnail/Peter Marwood(I) (unrequited); Withnail/OFC (ill-advised)
Characters: John Watson; Sherlock Holmes; Withnail; Uncle Monty; Peter Marwood (I)
Summary: In the aftermath of an intensely stressful case, John takes a depressed and exhausted Sherlock to the Lakes to recuperate. However, ghosts from Sherlock's family history intrude upon his recovery, confronting him with a mystery which has an unequivocally personal dimension.

Yes, this is a Withnail and I crossover. Trust me, it works. There's a lot of melancholy in this story, but tenderness and hope, too. Married a bit, in my view, by the author's evident dislike of Mycroft.


The Physics of Present Tense (37850 words) by paxlux
Fandom: Sherlock (TV)
Rating: Mature
Warning: Underage
Relationships: Sherlock/Mycroft, the Holmes brothers
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft Holmes, Lestrade (Inspector), John Watson
Summary: It happens instantaneously, but it takes years. It’s like looking up at the stars and spinning around with your arms out and letting gravity take you.

This story blew me away. It's not a pairing I was looking for or inclined to fancy, but Paxlux does an amazing, amazing job of getting into both brothers' heads and showing what draws them together as well as the tensions between them that we see onscreen. (This story fits seamlessly into Sherlock canon; it's not an AU.) I was a bit worried there would be Watson-bashing, but Watson is written with respect and affection. (If anything, I think he fits so effortlessly into Sherlock's and Mycroft's lives that it strains plausibility a bit, but it's a deserved happy ending after what the characters go through, and the emotional groundwork is laid even though I think the ending could have used another few thousand words of development. Anyway, the story overall is so strong that this is a relatively minor point. Read it if you possibly can.)

I got a bit behind on these.

Day 5

In your own space, share something non-fannish you are passionate about with your fannish friends. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

You know, I'm not sure I'm passionate about much besides fandom. I'm passionate about a lot of things in fandom, but outside of fandom I don't really have hobbies or consuming interests.

Cooking is probably the closest thing I have to a non-fannish passion. I enjoy it, I'm always interested in learning more about it, and if I didn't restrain myself I would spend way too much money on it. Sometimes I spend too much money on it anyway (*sadly contemplates collection of "ingredients I may need someday," such as palm sugar and tamarind paste*).


Day 6

In your own space, rec at least 3 fanworks you thought you wouldn't like (because they weren't your fandom or they pushed against your boundaries or you thought you just wouldn't be interested) and that you ended up loving.

Honestly, if I think I'm not going to like something, I just don't read it. As a reader I'm picky as hell, and what I'm willing to read on any given day depends on my mood as well as my general likes and dislikes. (I've been having real trouble getting through the Yuletide stories, for example, because at the moment I'm only in the mood to read fic in a few fandoms, not to explore.)

I realize this is hypocritical of me, because I'm constantly wishing that more people would dare to try new/tiny fandoms or unusual pairings when I write them. *wryface*


Day 7

In your own space, create a list of at least three fannish things you'd love to receive, something you've wanted but were afraid to ask for - a fannish wish-list of sorts. Drop a link to your wish-list in this post. Maybe someone will grant a wish. Maybe you will grant a wish. If any wishes are granted, we'd love it if you link them to this post.

( wishlist under the cut )

Day 8

In your own space, talk about a talent (or talents) you have. Everyone's got something they're good at. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Oh boy. Um, I'm a pretty good home cook, but I wouldn't call that talent so much as a lot of practice. And I'm not a bad writer, although I feel like I hit a plateau several years ago and haven't really improved since then in the way I'd have wished to. But again, writing is also largely a matter of practice. I think most things are. There are studies showing that the thing that separates high achievers in, for example, classical music from the rest isn't their innate talent, it's how much they practice.

(Follow up from my last post.)

3. Paul McDermott/Tim Ferguson RPS (6700 words, not sexually explicit). I'm still attached to this fandom, but the unfinished part of the story was just too big and complicated, and I lost momentum. Do try to forgive the mawkishness of the ring scene at the very beginning (I'd have rewritten it to be less so), as some of what comes later, I rather like. Tim really did used to wear a claddagh ring (you can see it in Dead and Alive) and Paul at the same time was wearing a ring that looked similar but not identical.

( click here to read )

4. My Beautiful Laundrette fic (Omar/Johnny, 500 words, nothing sexually explicit). This is the Yuletide 2010 story I started and couldn't finish, eventually dropping out of Yuletide.

( click here to read )

I haven't included two substantial stalled WIPs that I still hope to finish (in Hot Fuzz and X-Men: First Class, both of which only need editing).

I saw Tintin a few days before Christmas but didn't get around to posting about it until now. I don't actually have a whole lot to say. It was fun! I was worried about the animation, which looks very weird in still photos/screencaps, but it worked beautifully in motion without any uncanny valley effect. The 3D was sometimes worthwhile and never terribly annoying. Jamie Bell's voicing of Tintin was charming; I was less enamored of the movie's Haddock than a lot of other folks, because I think he was played a little too much for broad comedy. There was moderate slashiness, but less so than the comics. One particularly telling moment for me was the scene where (mild spoiler) (skip) Haddock sets fire to the lifeboat. In the film, he does it because he's drunk and cold. This is true in the comics too, but there, his primary motivation is that he thinks Tintin is cold. By taking that out, the movie both makes Haddock looks more selfish and ridiculous than in the comics and downplays Haddock's immediate and intense devotion to Tintin. And in general the movie downplays how lonely and broken and depressed Haddock was before Tintin happened to him.

My main problem with the movie was that the action sequences just went on and on and bloody on, to the expense of coherency and character development. I was reminded a bit of the ending of Hot Fuzz (also directed by Edgar Wright), except that in that case there's a layer of parody. (ETA: Oops, Wright didn't direct this, he co-wrote it. Still, my main point stands, I think.)

So, it was enjoyable, but I haven't felt any particular urge to watch it again. I remain primarily a comicsverse fan.


In other movie news, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is finally going to open here this weekend, so I finally will get to see it. I'm looking forward to it, although I'm sure this is another case where I'll prefer the bookverse.

Before the Yuletide reveal I mentioned wanting to talk about something in my source that I'd noticed (I wrote TTSS bookverse fic). It was (not a major spoiler, but cut anyway) ( click here to read )

The Day 2 challenge is:

In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you did not create. Drop a link to your post in the comments. See if you can rec fanworks that are less likely to be praised: tiny fandoms, rare pairings, fanworks other than stories, lesser known kinks or tropes. Find fanworks that have few to no comments, or creators new to a particular fandom and maybe aren't well known or appreciated. Appreciate them.

My bookmarking habits have never been good, and since Delicious went all weird it's even harder for me to keep track of stuff. But I've tried. Mostly I focused on the "small fandoms" aspect of the challenge, with the additional element of only including creators who are not personally known to me, i.e. are not on my LJ f-list or my DW circle.

( recs under the cut )

Or, you know, not. But it's the Yuletide reveal!

I wrote Journeys End (In Lovers Meeting) (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Jim Prideaux/Bill Haydon), and also [REDACTED, oops, the Madnesses haven't been revealed yet.].

And as I suspected, the amazing halotolerant wrote both of the stories I received: The Wine Dark Sea (Tintin, Haddock) and With the Wild Geese (Colditz, Dick Player/Pat Grant). Wheeeee! Thank you, Halo!


ETA: Okay, I guess the Yuletide Madness stories have been revealed too, it just took a little bit longer. So, I also wrote a short treat, Occam's Foxtrot (Colditz, Pat Grant/Dick Player).