Not sick, pirates, and memes

[holdouttrout]

Okay--for all you concerned citizens out there, yes, I am feeling much better today. I actually slept really, really well, waking up early again, but falling asleep right away, and then waking up just a few minutes before my alarm went off. I really like being able to eat breakfast in the mornings. I need to remember that.

I finished the really awful pirate romance novel. The aquamarine-eyed heroine (who was only half-clad or less like...most of the book) and the dastardly pirate with gray eyes (who looked suspiciously like the Lord who was the heroine's actual husband) ended up happy. With TWINS. It's no wonder fic has characters giving birth to twins all the time. I like to think of them as a shortcut to the ideal of "big, happy family."

And Bean's probably rejoicing that she no longer has to hear my glee about this book.

And this fic kink thing is going around, so I thought I'd add to the pile. Ten of my fic kinks--things I really just love in fic.



1) Humor fic/crackfic that makes me laugh out loud and try to explain whole universes/fandom knowledge to whomever may be around at the time.

2) Really good, tension-filled shippy plots. This has absolutely no correlation to the amount of sex in a story.

3) Hot sex that occurs at just the right moment in the plot, at just the right time to fulfill the tension.

4) Awkward sex. Especially if it's funny in some way.

5) Atmospheric prose that sucks you into the mood of the story and doesn't let you go until the story's over.

6) Surprising and sensical plot twists. That moment where the thing you never considered happens and yet it's perfectly right for the story.

7) Characters that are in character--moments where you can just feel their character oozing over the page. Er--screen. Dialogue that hits just right, or a gesture.

8) Characters that are as intellegent as I've come to expect them to be. For instance, if Sam on TV could solve a problem, I want Sam in the fic to be able to solve it as well. Bonus points if the characters are smart without resolving their problems. (I just read a book where this was done extremely well--all the problems forcing the characters apart resulted from a genuine limitation of their situation and/or character, and not on the reader's stupidity, and it made an impression.)

9) Humor in the midst of really, really, really tough situations, where everything looks very grim, and yet someone cracks a joke or does something that references an earlier, funnier action. Bonus points if the characters don't notice or point it out.

10) Subtlety--like a really good painting with lots of detail that's not just plastered on top, but fits naturally into the whole picture.

Comments

[beanpot.livejournal.com]

Oh! I like your list!

And I shall miss talking about the book, I am highly disappointed that her eyes weren't violet. So tell me - was he a lord or just a scoundrel?

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

He was a lord playing a scoundrel in order to get the other scoundrels.

Don't worry-I'm sure her gorgeous little babies' eyes are violet. *grins*

[supplyship.livejournal.com]

1. I'm glad you are feeling better today. Migraines are the worst.

2. Pirate romance! And twins, ftw! I always assume that is why we see a prevalence of twins in fic - to create that Happy Family shortcut. Especially in s/j fic, I think, as neither of them are getting any younger. But yeah, it gets a little old. Though twins and multiples are a lot more common now, what with fertility drugs and in vitro. NPR just had a cool story on the phenomenon.

3. I love your list.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

1. I don't even get really bad ones, and I can't imagine them being much worse.

2. I would LOVE to see the S/J fic where they end up with triplets because they used some sort of fertility treatment. Complete accident. Hmm...

3. Thank you!

[pepper-field.livejournal.com]

I would LOVE to see the S/J fic where they end up with triplets because they used some sort of fertility treatment. Complete accident. Hmm...

Oh! Write eeet! That would be the only time I wouldn't roll my eyes and groan at the twins/triplets/octuplets thing.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

I'll consider it. But there's a lot that would have to go into it--see Julie's and mine conversation below.

[splash-the-cat.livejournal.com]

triplets because they used some sort of fertility treatment. Complete accident. Hmm...

Except that it would never be a complete accident if they were under treatment at a reputable clinic with proper monitoring - it would be a very clear and calculated risk, and very unlikely that they'd, if doing IVF, even transfer three embryos, and if using gonatotropins for hyperstimulation, the monitoring would show the risk of high order multiples from the number of follicles seen in the ultrasound.

Okay, um, maybe I am overthinking this... :)

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Okay, um, maybe I am overthinking this... :)

No, no--that's more what I meant. A "complete accident" would be them just happening to have sex and the birth control failing and then ending up somehow with triplets.

And I started thinking (after I posted the comment) that multiple births would have to be something that was monitored pretty closely with IVF, etc. So then that got me thinking about the liklihood that Sam and Jack would want kids, and especially want them enough to do the associated fertility treatments.

So...now *I'M* overthinking it. :-D

[splash-the-cat.livejournal.com]

Now, twins are incredibly common with fertility treatments, as more women Sam's age who do IVF will transfer two embryos to increase the chances of one implanting, and then can easily end up with twins.

Actually, though, you kind of could have a complete accident triplet birth with IVF and monitoring. What you could do is have two embryos transfered, have both take, and then have one split into identical twins.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Can you imagine Jack's look when he finds out they're having triplets, though? Or Sam's?

I think Daniel, were it him, would sort of be "OH. Well, okay, I guess, I mean--Wow."

Hee.

[gabolange.livejournal.com]

8) Characters that are as intelligent as I've come to expect them to be.

This is so very important. I tried to figure out how to incorporate it into my list, but I kept insinuating that authors who didn't do this were idiots so I left it off . . . :)

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Authors who don't do this are not idiots--I think it's a lot tougher than sitting down and saying, "Okay, gotta remember that Teal'c uses 'indeed' a lot."

It's one of the tougher things about writing, I think. At least, I'm pretty sure I have trouble with it.

[gabolange.livejournal.com]

No, authors who do this are not idiots, and we all fall into the trap--and that's why I left it off, because I didn't want to insinuate that anyone who has ever made a character seem less intelligent than they are is a moron.

Real effort and research has to go into making these characters resemble the people they are on screen, and I know a lot of authors don't necessarily have the time or inclination to take things beyond the, "Teal'c says 'indeed'" stage of things. And that's why I wanted to put it on my list and couldn't figure out how.

But there's also a whole heck of a lot of fic where our very smart characters do such silly things that you do have to scratch your head.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

But there's also a whole heck of a lot of fic where our very smart characters do such silly things that you do have to scratch your head.

That's the kind of fic I don't like, but I can like fic that doesn't go the extra mile. I just LOVE fic that does.

[gabolange.livejournal.com]

I can like fic that doesn't go the extra mile. I just LOVE fic that does.

Oh, 98% of the fic I read doesn't go the extra mile, or even start down it. I'm completely with you--if an author really nails it, I will absolutely adore the story.

[surreallis.livejournal.com]

Wait, was the damsel abducted by the pirate? Or did she disguise herself on his ship? Or was she her own pirate? (much more rare and better)

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

She was rescued/abducted, as their ship had been attacked by another pirate, and he wanted to make sure his wife (since he was in disguise as a pirate, of course) was safe. She'd been married by proxy to him before leaving England, without her knowledge.

And then she falls in love with the pirate, but he doesn't TELL HER that he's really her husband, and so then she angsts about it and is oddly attracted to her husband, and sleeps with him, and then...it just gets more absurd. But it was absurd in a rather fun way.

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

I forgot humor! How could I forget humor? Because yes, the fic that is genuinely funny? YAY!

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Hee. Your list is great, though--I'm just heading over there to respond.

:-)

[http://users.livejournal.com/traycer_/]

Surprising and sensical plot twists. That moment where the thing you never considered happens and yet it's perfectly right for the story.

Oh me too!! I can't tell you what a thrill I get when something comes at me out of the blue. Plot twists really make the story, especially if it's done well.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Plot twists really make the story, especially if it's done well.

I have a few regular fiction plot twists that I still think about, they're THAT GOOD. There was one that was so awesome I was literally hysterical about it. I absolutely adore that flaily moment.

[annienau08.livejournal.com]

I am glad you're feeling better. Migraines are the worst, aren't they?

I love your list! Especially seven and eight. There is nothing that pulls me out of a fic faster than OOC stuff or moments when I'm throwing my hands in the air and yelling "Sam/Daniel/whoever would KNOW how to fix that!"

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Even worse are the OOC moments when I'm yelling, "Even I could fix that!"

[rigel-7.livejournal.com]

*cough* I think I might own this Romance novel... I have a thing for pirates. :D

And I adore your list. Especially the bits about including humor, because the show does it and I love it when fic has it as well.

Also, word on #8

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Sweet! I actually rather enjoyed it, for all it's lovely Mary-Sue-ness.