Random Fic Thought/Question
Oct. 7th, 2008 05:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
So I was reading some fics the other day, and this thought occurred to me:
There are certain things that can totally turn me off about a story, even if it's something I have really liked right up until that point. For me, if at any point the characters feel the need to clarify their relationship, perhaps by saying, "So are we dating now?" or "Does this make you my girlfriend?", then I am out.
I just totally lose interest in a story at that point. This holds true for any fandom I read fics in.
Do other people have this trigger, (without being specific about stories or authors - this isn't to bash anyone's writing), or am I the only one?
There are certain things that can totally turn me off about a story, even if it's something I have really liked right up until that point. For me, if at any point the characters feel the need to clarify their relationship, perhaps by saying, "So are we dating now?" or "Does this make you my girlfriend?", then I am out.
I just totally lose interest in a story at that point. This holds true for any fandom I read fics in.
Do other people have this trigger, (without being specific about stories or authors - this isn't to bash anyone's writing), or am I the only one?
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Date: 2008-10-07 11:45 pm (UTC)The short list:
- OOC behaviour. Nothing will make me run faster that having characters I know and love act like someone else. Why would I want to read that?
- Bad spelling/grammar. Come on guys, if you can't manage on your own, then ask for help from a beta. I'd like to read something that resembles the English language.
- Brennan getting pregnant. No, no, NO! Very closely followed by Brennan getting raped unless VERY carefully handled. 'Nuff said...
- Brennan & Booth bedding scenes where suddenly both of them start to swear like sailors. Huh? I guess to be fair that actually comes under point #1, OOC behaviour.
- Anything that takes canon and chucks it clear out of the window. Any fic that has Brennan and Booth meeting in grade four or in high school etc. etc. There's taking canon and putting a twist on it and then there's throwing it out the window and I can't stand that. Now, that being said, I've seen some very AU pieces that were good (Jaded Elysium by Seralis comes to mind) but to me that was a good piece about two totally different people, that wasn't Brennan and Booth).
Hmmmmm....am I picky or what? Guess I am!
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Date: 2008-10-08 12:50 am (UTC)I think my peeve is a derivative of your #1 - OOC-ness. None of the characters in any of the fandoms I read would legitimately say, "So are we dating now?" so that's likely why it gives me hives :)
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Date: 2008-10-08 06:04 am (UTC)In the Bones fandom, these people are 35 and 30/1/2 .. never can get a handle on Brennan's age.. seems to change from ep to ep! I think they are a little too mature and, for me, too deeply connected, to wonder about such semantics. The way I see it, right now (in canon) they are not together, and one day (I hope) they will be, and it will be real and serious, and not need labelling in this way.
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Date: 2008-10-08 03:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-08 05:50 am (UTC)LOL! What I was going to say :D I just don't get it. I can understand the odd 'eff' in the moment - from Booth maybe but I read something the other day where it was all going along very nicely and then suddenly Brennan goes, 'Oh God, Eff me Jeaaaaasus, Booth' or something similar and I was like... click away!
ETA: I've seen a trend for general OOCness to pop up when a fic gets to this point actually. I know it is difficult to write this kind of stuff and keep characters IC... I have struggled with it myself, but I find it odd, in a beautifully characterised fic, if they go to bed and suddenly Brennan becomes some wilting, virginal damsel, blown away by Booth's Casanova-worthy ministrations and bleating on about how she's never had it like this before... ;)
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Date: 2008-10-08 10:28 am (UTC)You have such a way with words....'bleating'?? Bwahahahahahaha!
But yes, I'm with you here too. Yes, sex scenes can be hard to write, especially if there is a significant emotional impact behind it (God help me, that's exactly the scene I need to write this week-end...!) but keeping them in character is crucial. Brennan is a sexually experienced woman, Booth has also had his share of partners, he's just more subtle about it; they could likely show each other a new trick or two!
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Date: 2008-10-08 03:29 pm (UTC)That was a hilarious characterization of one of the worst moments of OOCness in a fic. And you're right - it happens far too often (*goes to check if I've ever committed that offense*) :)
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Date: 2008-10-08 10:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 03:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 05:20 am (UTC)Btw... *dies of icon love*
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Date: 2008-10-09 07:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-08 06:11 pm (UTC)Ah, but with Booth, Brennan reverts to her formerly virginal state.
;)
*whistles Mary had a little lamb*
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Date: 2008-10-08 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-08 06:00 am (UTC)I have a lot of similar triggers to Labsquint - all probably hanging around the OOC tag. My biggest pet peeve is people using the wrong name for people.
I can get totally thrown out of a fic if anyone other than Russ or Max or a new character calls Brennan 'Tempe'. Angela calling her Tempe???? *head desk*
I also have got really squicky lately about Brennan suddenly calling Booth 'Seeley' just because they've started scrogging. Disclaimer: I have used this plot device myself in the past... but it now squicks me out so much, I am seriously considering going back and removing it from the offending fics *cough-promises, promises-cough-cough-white flag-cough*
;)
I may return when I think of more!
Oh, I have one.. Brennan/Parker fluff unless handled very sensitively... oh, and with Parker speaking with proper grown up words... and calling her 'Bones' not 'Dr. Bones' *shudders* It's all about namage with me, clearly LOL.
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Date: 2008-10-08 10:23 am (UTC)Oh, I have one.. Brennan/Parker fluff unless handled very sensitively...
Oh! How could I forget that one? I really don't like Parker fics; they always end up being too immature somehow. Parker gets mentioned in my writing, he's out there on the periphery, he's an issue in their hooking up, but you don't actually see him.
And yes, I totally get your name issue. She never calls him 'Seeley' and I really can't see her ever doing it. It's simply not the name that would come to mind for her, especially not in a moment of passion...
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Date: 2008-10-08 03:35 pm (UTC)Namage is HUGELY important with me as well. I think there is a place in certain scenes where she could call him Seeley - like during a moment of passion. Not continuously, but it could happen realistically. But he can never call her Tempe. That just doesn't work for me. (Reminds of that sleazeball Michael).
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Date: 2008-10-08 10:39 pm (UTC)And yes, I can see a point she might call him by his first name - she has at least introduced him that way before, and 'Sir Seeley Booth'd him... and maybe in recognition of him calling her Temperance. But Booth calling her Tempe *shakes head* NO!!
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Date: 2008-10-08 11:28 am (UTC)Aside from various typical storylines that should never have seen the light of day ("OMG, pregnant with twins!!!1!" and "Brennan's daughter that she forgot she had magically shows up one day" amongst others), one of the things that really bugs me is the "love at first sight" moment, where one of B&B looks at the other and instantly falls in love. Usually accompanied by disturbingly flowery description that neither B or B would be caught dead thinking. *shudders*
Another one that really bugs me personally is swearing in fics. I always kind of assume that fics are meant to be things you could see in the show (except smut because there's no way that would be shown at 8pm on Fox) and so having people swear in relation to the case/lab/personal stuff seems jarring to me. (I am kind of hypocritical as I don't apply this rule to smut, but I think my mind's adjusted enough to know that if they're going at it like rabbits, they're allowed to curse a little.) Did that make any kind of sense? :)
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Date: 2008-10-08 03:43 pm (UTC)I'm in the camp that thinks Booth could cuss like a sailor if not for 8pm on FOX. Good Catholic boy aside, I think he has it in him. But I totally see it when he roughs up a suspect, not when he's having sex. I like to think of Booth as being super sensitive and sweet in the bedroom, and he would never use that kind of language when making love. (And we know Booth "makes love")
ETA: I'm in love with that icon!
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Date: 2008-10-08 03:57 pm (UTC)I guess it depends whether you're going for a realistic or a show-consistent portrayal though; again, if he's roughing up a suspect, there wouldn't be swearing in the show, but there would be in 'real life'. (Realism definitely has its upsides though - I wrote something where Booth full-on tortured a guy and didn't curse once. Was so damn difficult to write!)
And I agree with you that he wouldn't really curse in the bedroom (although the occasional "Fuck..." seems fine to me) - I was just mentioning that because, with smut, we've already departed from the show, so throwing in a couple of curse words wouldn't bother me. :) (I'm not entirely sure how sound my logic is here, but it makes sense in my mind... *g*)
ETA: And I heart Statler and Waldorf. :) I'm liking your new selection of awesome icons too...
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Date: 2008-10-09 03:10 am (UTC)You totally got me hooked on
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Date: 2008-10-09 01:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 08:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-08 06:08 pm (UTC)I don't know how MUCH Booth curses, but I can totally see him using some choice words sometimes. He's ex-military, he sometimes seems dangerously on edge, and he had a blue-collar upbringing. To me, it seems that the man who shoves a gun in another man's mouth and says, "She’s my partner, ese, and if anything happens to her, I will find you and I will kill you," almost certainly indulges in some colorful language sometimes. I can see it very easily.
This bit from an interview with DB also helps me see it:
Booth wears very original belt buckles and socks. Was that your idea?
Yes, I wanted Booth not to resemble a classic FBI agent. He’s a blue-collar worker’s son, he comes from a poor background and kept certain habits [from this lifestyle]. For example, he always has a pen on him that shows a naked woman when you turn it upside down. And if you paid attention, it’s not only that. As my character is a former gambler, he also carries casino coins in the inner pocket of his suit at all times, and dice in his pants pocket. It’s not always visible on screen, but it’s what helped me shape the character.
So while we don't see it on the show, in my head, it seems like a completely believable part of his character.
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Date: 2008-10-09 03:19 am (UTC)Oh yeah, totally. I think that there is a blue collar, rough edge to Booth that would come out in heartbeat on HBO. Not that I think he would just gratuitously curse, but more that he would have some very strong language in tense situations. Particularly a situation like you referenced with the gang leader. I think DB would make that very realistic.
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Date: 2008-10-09 05:24 am (UTC)Choice words is the perfect description though. I've seen this written into his character is a working way and a non-working way!
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Date: 2008-10-09 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 05:30 am (UTC)I tend to agree.. and have got around the non-canon thing by having him swear/cuss *delete as appropriate if British/American* in his head only ;)
eg.
"Booth, when you said last week about there being one person out there for everyone. Did you mean you?"
Booth instantly lost his appetite. Oh shit...
...That's not from an actual fic, btw, I made it up... but now I want to write it!! ;)
ETA: Returning to edit your made up fic nonsense = sign of sad sad person.
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Date: 2008-10-09 11:39 am (UTC)Oh, you saddo. *g*
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Date: 2008-10-09 08:03 pm (UTC)But a truly hilarious one I must add. I like the idea of swear/cuss/curse - oh, you know what I mean - ing in his head only. In canon, but with a non-FOX edge.
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