I Suddenly Remembered My Charlemagne

The "Ask Me About My Writing" meme! As seen just about everywhere on my flist.

Just ask me general questions because I don't know how I would answer the suggested ones. :P

Yeah, the Hobbit gets its own post. I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS. Also, I haven't talked about the Hobbit in a while, and I miss it.

This is going to treat the book and the movie as the same entity, for the most part, because I think it will be more fun.

my favourite female character

Ahahahahahaha, oh god.

So "The Hobbit" is a great book, but it suffers for Tolkienism, which is to say it suffers from "I was a white British dude in the early-mid 1900s", and therefore it's KIND OF TERRIBLE when it comes to anything BESIDES white dudes.

That said, I am going to love Tauriel if I have to re-invent the entire internet to do so. I have already decided.

my favourite male character

When I was a kid, I would have said Bilbo in a heartbeat, and while I think I'd still give the same answer now, I give it for entirely different reasons. Back then, Bilbo was how we saw the world, the centre-pivot for the entire adventure. Of course I loved him. Now, though, even played by an actor I don't particularly like (as a person, I mean. It's hard to fault his work here), Bilbo is my favourite character because he never stops. Well, he never stops for very long. He's tired and hungry and alone for a lot of time in this book, and those are three things Hobbits aren't great at, but he keeps going. He keeps thinking. And when he's helped them save the world (or at least part of it), he has the courage to go back home and live his quiet life however the hell he wants, regardless of what his neighbours think. I just love it.

my favourite book/season/etc

Ooooh, boy. OUT OF THE FRYING PAN, INTO THE FIRE, probably. When I was a kid it was the part where the book finally got EXCITING for me, and as an adult, I like that the dwarves and Bilbo (and Gandalf) act like a team on PURPOSE for the first time. Dori, Dori, Dori.

Anyway, I also love "Fifteen Birds", and the eagles grabbing Gandalf just before he can jump to his (probably) death.

In the movie, they brought in some new characters to give Thorin a plot, which I can't really argue with. I will basically watch the dwarves fight in their family groups and with their new friends FOREVER.

my favourite episode/issue/chapter, etc

I'm going to go with a "cut scene" here, which appears in the appendix for RotK. Gandalf is talking to Gimli and Frodo about how Dain and Brand died defending Erebor in the last stand against Sauron's forces, and how they're not really mourning Dain because he was SUPER OLD and basically got the best death a dwarf can have. Gandalf muses that he's really, REALLY glad they did the whole dragon-killing thing half a century before, because it meant Smaug was taken out of play: "But that has been averted - because I met Thorin Oakenshield one evening on the edge of Spring in Bree. A chance meeting, as we say in Middle-Earth."

This is a nice mirror of the scene that made it into the movie ("The dragon has long been on your mind"), but also of the scene at the end of The Hobbit, where Bilbo is all "Hey, we got super lucky, eh?" and Gandalf is all "Really? You think it was luck? You don't think there were bigger things in play?" and Bilbo is all "Quiet life, starting five minutes ago, dude! Have some more tobacco."

One of the things GRRM tries to put in his books is "realism", hence The Red Wedding. I politely invite him to bite me. I will take my chance meetings and pre-destined quests every time.

my favourite cast member

I refuse to answer this question, on the grounds that it might serve to incriminate me.

my favourite relationship

ALL. OF. THEM. Seriously. Just watch the fight scenes, the way they work together. Or the scenes at Bag End where the family groups are still insulated (highlights here are the way Thorin smiles at an off-camera Kili, and the way that Dori watches his brothers during the singing, instead of Thorin, like everybody else). MY HEART.

Also I love the interplay between the four present at the White Council. Elrond is just SO AMUSED, and Gandalf is SO PISSED ABOUT SARUMAN, and Saruman is SO PISSED about everyone else, and Galadriel is just SO THERE AREN'T WORDS FOR GALADRIEL.

In the book alone, it's probably Bilbo and Gandalf, or the way that Tolkien talks specifically to me as he's telling me the story.

a character I'd die defending

Thranduil. Dude watched his grandfather get murdered by dwarves, and then watched 1/3 of his people (including his father) get slain in the Dead Marshes (well, they're the Dead Marshes now, anyway). He probably could be nicer, but I get that he wants to protect his people as much as Thorin does.

a character I just can't sympathize with

Thorin. I mean, I get that he wants to go home and stuff, but he is SUCH A WINDBAG in the book, and then he goes insane and tries to get everyone killed! And in the movie, HE IS EVEN WORSE. BabyKate had no sympathy for Thorin at all, and adult Kate can just see too many other ways he could have solved his problems.

a character I grew to love

Thorin. NO WAIT, I PROMISE. I mean, I still think he's kind of a moron about important things, but I like him more now? I have no idea.

my anti otp

Um...kind of all of them? Which makes no sense, I realize, because I read AND WRITE them all the time, but when push comes to shove, it has to be an EXQUISITELY written fic to make me not be just a little side-eyed. SOMETHING BLUE is the best example of this, obviously, but generally speaking I think Tolkien did enough background* on this that we don't have to.




*on their love lives, I mean. I am already writing Tauriel fanfic, so I can't really talk about the rest. ;)

Snurched from tielan but seen elsewhere.

I have 135 works archived at AO3. Pick a number from 1 (the most recent) to 135 (the oldest and most venerable), and I'll tell you three things I currently like about it.

Fandoms: Sanctuary, Alanna/George, the Avengers, um...A:tla or Korra.

Pick a pairing (het, slash, femslash are all okay) and I'll write a short scene where they share a kiss. I might decide to write a sweet romantic kiss, or a rough, demanding one, it might be a very innocent kiss, or something completely smutty - I'm letting the muse decide.

Mostly I just want other people to do this too...

I have completed one Yuletide Treat. Therefore, it's MEME TIME!

Your main fandom of the year?

It may surprise some of you to learn this, but it's probably Sanctuary. :)

Your favorite film you watched this year?

I think I saw...one movie this year. So Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, but that's mostly by default.

Your favorite book read this year?

I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that trying to might kill me.

Your favorite TV show of the year?

Um...Sanctuary. But not really the seasons that aired this year.

Your best new fandom discovery of the year?



Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?

It's inevitable, but probably Sanctuary.

Your fictional boyfriend of the year?

James Watson, but I don't think he'd like me very much.

Your fictional girlfriend of the year?

HELEN FREAKING MAGNUS

Your biggest squee moment of the year?

Tempus. Or Normandy. It might be a tie.

Your biggest fan anticipations for the coming year?

YOU GUYS! I can't even THINK about "The Hobbit" without wanting to pass out a little bit.

For this meme, pick seven of your fics and provide a one sentence DVD-style commentary of each one.

1. Paralysis (Sanctuary): There are words I associate with James/Declan, all of which I got from penknife, and in this fic, I did my best to flip them, particularly the word "knees".

2. Chasing the Dragon (Sanctuary): I wrote this story while I asleep (I'm not even kidding).

3. With My Shield (Or On It) (Sanctuary): This was my attempt to be subtle (like artaxastra), and work in a Sparta reference while no one was looking (like the Faustian touches in "Golden Apples"), but I'm not sure if it worked.

4. Lines in the Sand (Sanctuary): I cried in Starbucks writing this.

5. Another Queen is Coming (SGA): I have no idea why I love Jeannie Miller so much, but if the Wraith are matriarchal and concerned about Rodney, they have to be terrified of Mrs. Miller.

6. Far From the Tree (Chronicles of Narnia): Sooooo many tree jokes, sooooo little time (also, Diggory and Edmund should talk more).

7. Making Light (Highlander): I wrote this entire piece confusing Amanda with Alexa. WHOOPS!

I guess we'll find out if brevity really is the soul of wit...

1) Give me a fandom (Sanctuary is probably your best bet, but I'm willing to throw it completely open) plus character/pairing, and FIVE one-word prompts
2) I'll see if I can write you five one-sentence ficlets based on them

At least I managed to hold off almost fifteen minutes.

I haven't got around to doing that "10 Most Popular Stories on AO3" meme (not that I haven't checked, of course, because I am obsessed with numbers, but still). penknife has invented a new meme where you post the stories that haven't necessarily got hits, but that you adore to pieces anyway and wish people would read. (And if you cannot limit yourself to 10, you can go higher. I will do my best to stick to 10.)

1. Great Friends (~6K, SGA, "gen", Teyla)

I say "gen" because the story was supposed to be Teyla/Lorne, but then they decided to make it all profound and talk about Athosian culture, and then Halling showed up with all these suggestions about Athosian kinship traditions and I was pretty much screwed. Basically, though, this is the story of how Teyla decided to have a child, and how she has really, really great friends.

2. Adversus Luna Ne Loquiter (~20K, Harry Potter, Remus/Tonks)

Another story that didn't do what I thought it would, I wrote "Adversus" to explain not only why Lupin leaves Tonks, but also why he goes back. Instead I wrote how they met and got over each other's issues (mostly with Sirius), an then chickened out before the actual angst started. I also made up a lot of stuff about werewolves, but I think it's okay.

3. Until You Are Dead (~8K, Criminal Minds)

I could write SO MUCH FIC for this show! Well, I could have. But all the stories would be the same: team solves crime in a way that makes me feel better about it, so I held myself to one.

4. Transcendence (~6K, Angel)

I wrote the first three parts of this series in 2003 and this instalment in 2007. You can actually see the exact point at which I stopped writing for four years. I'm still a bit surprised I finished it. You can probably blame eolivet. Anyway, I like this story because I am still very much in love with the idea of Hannah, even if the actual writing in the first three parts makes me cringe.

[for the record, I feel similarly about my SG-1 story "Harceisis", which is not on this list because...I feel *really* cringey about the writing!]

5. Dreams of Convenience (~10K, SGA, gen)

I wanted to write a huge team!fic story where they have to deal with The City Itself and it maybe tries to kill them (or just teaches them a lesson?). I put Radek and Kate together because I needed Kate to be able to talk to SOMEONE, and Radek is smart enough to not freak out on her. I kind of love the title.

6. Beetle's Nothing (~15K, SGA-1, "gen", Daniel/Janet)

I wanted to bring back Janet. I wanted to write Gates and archaeology. I actually gave myself lines (though, really, you'd have to know what I look like). But I still really adore this story.

[Funny Story: #4-6 were all stared in 2003-2005 and completed during the same weekend in 2007. 15+K in two days. It's still one of my favourite weekends of all time.]

7. An Agony In Eight Fits (1.5K, Sanctuary, Gen)

I wasn't going to put any Sanctuary stories on this list because they're still...percolating, but this story nearly KILLED me, and I am desperately, desperately proud that I managed to make (nearly) the whole thing rhyme without bashing my head into the wall (too many times).

8. Paper, Scissors, Yak (~2K, SG-1, Daniel)

Arguably my most popular SG-1 story ever (I say "arguably", because somehow "Let Them Eat Cake" is still popular), I have no idea why this story pushes so many buttons. I literally wrote it in ten minutes during a lecture on the degradation of leather artefacts in peat bogs.

9. Thorn In The Side Of Man (~1.5K, SG-1, Ba'al)

Oh, I loved Ba'al. Back when he was all posturing and ridiculous. And so I loved him in Continuum. And then I wrote this in my head on the way home from work when I was in Korea (by the end, I was nearly running up the mountain, because I had to get to a pencil before my head exploded). It has a couples lines of which I am particularly fond (and have already lifted to use in original fic), but mostly, I love the myth-parts of SG-1, and this was my attempt to write it.

10. Ninety-Nine Days (3K, SG-1, gen)

Not my best work, really, but Window Of Opportunity is just SO MUCH FUN, and I wanted to write a story about what the heck happened to everyone else while Jack and Teal'c were looping. It still makes me giggle.

11. Alfred the Great (~2K, Batman/Narnia)

I was going to stick to 10, but I'm including this one because it's a BATMAN/NARNIA crossover, and...I think it works?

Seriously, though, if you're only going to read one of my stories? Read "Great Friends".

Taken from a bunch of people...

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