pink bows and the apocalypse

remixing:2011

I love reading about the remixing process so I thought I’d put in my two cents. This year I wrote four: one assignment, one pinch hit and two madness. However, I think only two of them really worked as remixes.

I took different approaches to how I actually went about remixing each of them

First up, the Madness fics.

friend of mine (the guess what, i'm not a robot remix) (1644 words) by kristin
Fandom: Social Network (2010)
Relationships: Eduardo Saverin/Mark Zuckerberg
Characters: Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin
Summary: Okay, maybe that should have been Dustin's first clue that something was wrong. Because A) Mark could do his own research and B) well, when had Mark ever wanted to know anything about another person? A friendship found in texts.
I wrote this in about an hour on the last day, right before I was due at work. It is a remix of no child of mine, aka the epic hooker!fic/stalking!fic/bamf!wardo!fic. I had read it before and was looking for an excuse to write TSN fic, so I was thrilled when ninhursag signed up for Remix Madness.

As for the process of remixing, it basically went, well, I don’t have time to tell Wardo’s part of the story (though I really wanted to) but wait, outsider PoV!

Naturally, given how quickly I wrote it, it was my most popular fic this year. I like it when people read my stuff, so I was delighted to watch the hit count go up and up.

However, it really really doesn’t work as a remix.

No, Seriously.

One of the main criteria for remixes, in my opinion, is that it can stand on its own. It should tell a similar story, and draw from the original, but at the end of the day, if it can’t be read and understood on its own, well, it is just a sequel/missing scene/extension of the original. For it to be a remix, you should be able to read either one first.

So while I had fun writing Dustin and Wardo texting each other, I am annoyed at how far off the mark I was.


sleep apraxia (the land, sea and sky remix) (1160 words) by kristin
Characters: John Watson, Sherlock Holmes
Summary: “This is just so-” John paused, quite obviously searching for the right adjective. Interesting. His face was, almost impossibly, more open this way. Expressions exaggerated rather than drug dull. Atypical. (Must keep that in mind for assessing other reactions.) “Sherlock.” Three times Sherlock slept in a moving vehicle.

On the other hand, this fic does work, at least in my mind. I remixed saraht’s recreational aphasia, which is a lovely quiet little fic from John’s POV. I had never written Sherlock fic before, and I knew I wanted to write from Sherlock’s PoV, so this worked perfectly.

Now as I mentioned, I have read a bunch of remixing meta in the past. One of the best bits of advice I took was to take something away from the original, but then also add something new. In this case I took away John’s PoV and added two additional times Sherlock slept.

Not anything groundbreaking or wonderful, but I think this fic worked well enough.


Wait for the Sunrise (The Quantum Entanglement Remix) (1193 words) by kristin
Fandom: Firefly
Characters: River Tam, Zoe Washburne
Summary: At the end of the 'verse, River has a conversation with Schrödinger's cat.

For my pinch hit I a remix of Strength of the World by escritoireazul.

The alternate title of the fic should be: How Kristin Confused Herself.

So, I initially planned on writing from the PoV of the cat. However, when I was rereading the fic, I realized that the cat wasn’t real, or maybe it was. I went back, reread it yet again and still couldn’t figure it out.

From there it was obvious there had to be at least a mention of Schrodinger. And... well, after that, it was taken care of it really was just a simple PoV switch. As to the cat, still no clue if it was a metaphor, real, Serenity, a communal madness.


There is No Relativity (The Fright Fest Remix) (2974 words) by kristin
Fandom: Veronica Mars (TV)
Characters: Wallace Fennel, Veronica Mars, Lilly Kane
Summary: “You know you are my best sidekick.” Wallace paused while Veronica settled back down onto the couch. “At least until I build that robot.”Veronica Mars watches horror movies with her BF(F).

Lastly, though it was first written, there is my assignment fic, a remix of azurejay’s Our lives will not flash before our eyes.

I lucked out on my assignment this year. There were 5+ fandoms xe had written in that I knew. I decided to go through them all systematically, and I actually did. I started a txt document where I copied the info of all fics I liked/thought I could remix and made notes there.

But for all of that, I still remixed the first fic I read. (I blame fandom march madness, as it had rekindled my VMars love.)

I knew I wanted to write Veronica&Wallace fic, so I jumped right in and wrote about them hanging out and discussing their lives as movies, which is a scene that is briefly mentioned in the original. (Sidenote: this was the first fic where I wrote all the dialogue first, then went back through and added tags. Not quite sure I liked that approach.) I finished it pretty quickly and merrily sent it off to be betaed.

If you like this fic, you should praise snow. Because she read through the fic and informed me it didn't work and, most importantly let me know what the fic needed, aka Lilly.

The thing is, I am still not 100% sure this works as a remix either. I am not sure it relates enough to azurejay's awesome original.

First! I drabbled. (Which is less disgusting than it sounds. I know it is a legit term I just always read it as something not that pleasant.) And as I am bit of a purist, yes, it is exactly 100 words, at least according to Ao3.

So here is a tiny fic about Rory that I knid of hate. Not because of Rory, but because I am sure I fucked up his voice. (Wow, I am sure selling the shit out of this fic, aren't I?)

Knowing (100 words) by kristin
Fandom: Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Amy Pond/Rory Williams
Characters: Rory Williams
Summary:

Rory has heard the comments. Hard not to. “You let your girlfriend/fiancee/wife go around kissing other blokes?” (As if he ever let Amy do anything.)

Secondly, I am in the finishing process of two fics, one for an exchange one for fun. Each will clock in at under 1k (or just about that range) and each needs a beta and (if I can get it) Brit-picking. The fics:

• Doctor Who, River Song and Donna Noble gen.


• Sherlock (BBC), Sherlock and John gen.

Please let me know if you can help out over the next couple days! (They won't be ready for anyone else's eye until tomorrow morning.)

Once again I've done character20n20. This time I claimed Joan from Mad Men.

Teaser:
. .

( the rest are under the cut )

So, yes, I wrote a bunch of fics for Purim Gifts in a bunch of different fandoms. (Specific, aren't I?)

( fics for firefly, hunger games, doctor who, community, psych, southland and psych/southland under the cut )

Also! I have seen this meme floating and it is never not fun. (Except when people don't comment, so please do!)
1. Make a list of fifteen characters first, and keep it to yourself for the moment.

2. Ask your flist to post questions in the comments. For example: 'One, nine and fifteen are chosen by a prophecy to save the world from four. Do they succeed?', 'Under what circumstances might five and fourteen fall in love?', 'Which character on the list would you most want on your side in a zombie invasion?'

3. After your flist has asked enough questions, round them up and answer them using the fifteen characters you selected beforehand, then post them.

I am beginning to fret about finishing purimgifts. So the obvious step was to procrastinate and make icons. At least they were for a challenge and not just for fun?

Fandom: The Wire
Character: Stringer Bell
Challenge: character20n20
Teaser:
. .

( icons under the cut )

number of fics: 8
number of fandoms: 7
total wordcount: 22.5k words
number of pictures created (for myself and others): 4


I wrote, well, quite a few Yuletide fics. I’m going to go in more detail on the individual fics below, but it was interesting experience.

Assignment: Phalangeridae Didelphimorphia (or an Opossum’s Adventure) (Fantastic Mr. Fox)

My assignment was for a Fantastic Mr. Fox fic for Satchelfoot. They didn’t include any details, or put up a letter, which made things interesting. They did, luckily, use the Gen tag in addition to the characters (Kylie, Badger & Coach Skip) so I didn’t end up stressing about writing a threesome between an opossum, badger and … whatever the coach is. Instead I just wrote a gen adventure in which Kylie goes on a quest to find the wolves.

I spent a lot of time figuring out exactly what I was going to do with this one, rather than actually writing it. It was my first Yuletide assignment with no details, so I had to just guess what my recipient would like. I also had an issue in that when I offered this fandom I didn’t realize how much of love of this fic is about the visuals. I love the characters and the whimsical plot, but really; I see this fandom rather than hear it, and had a hard time getting the visuals across in my fic.

I also included two images with that fic (under the cut at the end of the post) illustrating two of Kylie’s dreams. I did this mostly to make up for my lackluster prose.


Pinch Hit Number One: Bordellos, Brothels and Berries, Oh My! (Pushing Daisies)

OK, so here is something you need to know about me. I am a pinch hit addict. I can’t help it. I see the emails come flooding into my inbox and I click reply as quickly as I can. The first pinch hit I picked up was very early in the process, which gave me time to write this a Pushing Daisies fic for hllangel.

This fic was notable for two reasons: A. It is very much NOT GEN. (My first non-gen fic!) B. I managed to make it exactly 6666 words. (Unintentional? Yes. Awesome? Also yes.)

I love Pushing Daisies and had fun mimicking the narrator voice. It is the fic I fretted over the most, because it was so very far out of my wheelhouse. I am not sure the emotional resolution happens, or if my fade-to-black was satisfying. Also, now I can’t say I’ve never written anything but gen.


Pinch Hit Number Two: Honey Pie (Pushing Daisies/Telephone music video)

So yes, I also wrote this year’s crazy crossover for ladyofjest, which is a Pushing Daisies mash-up with Lady Gaga’s Telephone video. My rationalization? They are both bright, colorful, over-the-top with occasional song and dance bits. (Also, when I snagged the pinch hit I realized I could do either and couldn’t decide.)

Now, I knew I wanted to write Emerson fic. Not only because Emerson is awesome, but because I had been failing to write much that fit the dark_agenda challenge. I already had been working on my Pushing Daisies narrative voice for the previous pinch hit, so I knew I was going to use that. From there, this was actually pretty quick to write. I banged it out over the course of a couple days and am pretty satisfied with it. (I am, however, ticked that I misspelled a main character’s name through out. Honey B, no Honey Bee, self!)


Pinch Hit Number Four: Just Moments (Mad Men)

(Yes, I can count. I just want to discuss the third one a little later.)

This was a very very very last minute thing. I have said before I don’t feel the need to read or write Mad Men fic. And for the most part, that remains true. But a couple hours before the collection closed, elyn sent out last frantic pinch hits, including one for bowdlerized, who wanted “I'm interesting in seeing Don and Rachel Menken together again--either in a flashback or in the future, if you can find a way to wrangle it. If that doesn't appeal, I also love Don and Peggy's working relationship, and I love Joan, too. In general, I'm most interested in life at Sterling Cooper (Draper Pryce) and not at home..” And I thought, I can do that.

So I did. I wrote a 5 Times fic about Peggy and Don and the growth of their relationship. (OK, really, mostly just Peggy.) It is rather sparse, as my fics tend to be anyway, but due to time constraints it was especially abbreviated. But I think I did well enough under the circumstances. But this is one I would love to expand at some point, if only so you can tell who is saying what.


Treats 1&2: Waiting to Play, Practical Legends (The Wire)

I am sure you are all suitably shocked. *crickets*

OK, yes, I realize I am not subtle. There was no chance in hell I wasn’t going to write Wire treats for mjules and novembersmith. I suggested (forced) both of them to start watching the Wire as well as to request it. ILTHEM FOR THAT (as well as just in general.)

Jules wanted high school Bunk and Omar and so she got them! My darling huckleberry wanted Omar and Ziggy and so she go them! (See, you should watch the Wire, yes you, so you too can get what you want.)

Both of these were quick things. I actually started and finished both of these on the same day. There is not really much to say about them.


Treats 3: Fine Dining in Baltimore (The Wire)

You know who is awesome? Elyn is awesome. everywherestars is awesome. I couldn’t choose who to write for, so I wrote this fic for both of them. Again, this was a last minute thing written on the 20th at about 3am. (I wrote an awful lot that day.)

It is a 5 times Wire fic featuring four times meals were missed and one that wasn’t. I still haven’t decided if the last section is ridiculous or awesome. Again, I wish I had started writing this, say, oh, at the beginning. Because each section is so short. If I had time there would be more letters of the alphabet and more fully realized scenarios rather than the tiny snippets.

There is actually a lot I was trying to do with this stylistically, that because of the time management issues I was not able to work in. The alphabet thing (the POV characters are in alphabetical order), the no one actually eating etc. Originally, all the vignettes were meant to tell the story of Randy’s death. But I never actually managed to get that plotted well enough to include it.


Pictures!!! aka Something I don’t suck as much at!

Click to be taken to the full sized images
( fantastic mr fox )

( haven: for novembersmith )

( love, actually: for mjules )


Pinch Hit Number Three: Meta Yuletide Fic (The Fic You Wish Your Fic Smelled Like)

So yeah. That happened?

Seriously, I am so overwhelmed by the response to this fic. I have never ever received so much fannish love at once. (I am predicting that most people will see who wrote it will go: Who? Or maybe: The crazy Wire lady?) I am not going to lie. When I came up with this idea I knew it would get hits. I just wasn’t sure people would actually like it rather than just wanting to see the train-wreck.

You know how people are always talking about who the most popular this is the quickest thing they wrote? Yeah. That was completely the case for this one. I sat down, typed it up and had it done within a couple hours (except for the footnotes which were a later addition).

But I am thrilled with the response (and I’ll admit, a little scared by it). So:

Hello, Yuletiders. I see you have descended on my journal of thoughts and icon thingies. Are you here to see me write things for you while whistling a tune that perfectly mimics the song of that rare bird you once saw a television special about? Or do you come to witness the perfection I render in pixels of the icon variety while baking cookies that melt in your mouth with bursts of the flavor of awesome?

Oh, it doesn’t matter. I am here (and, I suppose, you are too.). Let us go forth with the merry making and fresh water fish.

Dear lovely Yuletide author,

Most importantly: you are awesome.

Thank you so much for writing a fic for me! I am sure I will love whatever you create! I want a fic that the author was happy writing, so feel free to ignore this if you work best without extra info.

I've included my requests as well as some additional information about why these fandoms are awesome. But first here is some non-fandom specific stuff that might help you.

• If you include porn in your fic I will probably scroll past it.


• I am ok with character death and I love apocafic. If you run out of other ideas, kill (almost) everybody in the world off and I will love it.


• I also love positive racial diversity lots. If you want some beta help in that regards, or just want to check out an awesome project, go to dark_agenda. (Also, should go without saying, but please don't racefail.)


• I like: plot, ensembles, banter, found families, fully realized settings, adventures, interesting narrative voices and people who bring the funny.


• I dislike: character bashing, romance-centric fic, infidelity, kidfic, ignoring women and characters of color, introspective character pieces, incest, schmoop, gratuitous angst, h/c, pwp, and mpreg.


• How to stalk me: It is a time honored Yuletide tradition to stalk your recipient. To that end: my delicious & my fic. I can often be found in the #yuletide chatroom. I use the nickname kristin, so you can avoid or stalk as you please.

( The Wire )

( Strange Days at Blake Holsey High )

( Kanye West )

( Runaway )

Wow! Ok, so this yule letter is long enough to qualify to be a Yuletide fic. Congrats for making it through, and again, thank you for writing for one of my small fandoms.

So many deadlines this month! I am trying to get some out of the way, so here are my rather early icons for character20n20. This is my first time participating in this, so let's see how it goes. I chose to icon Carver, who is not so secretly (one of) my favorites.

Teaser:

. .

( all 20 under the cut )

Comments are lovely, credit attempt_unique/kristin if you snag.

Teaser:
. .

( the rest under the cut )

Feel free to snag, please credit.