Various ramblings by the small hobbit

I was discussing this theme on Twitter with loz  and said I had sufficient thoughts that I would write a blog post.  And then promptly didn't - in part because that was the day I then went to see Titus Andronicus, which isn't condusive to such thoughts.  But now it's come up again as the Trope for the Day on ushobwri  and brumeier  has asked for our thoughts.  So no escape.

It's not a trope I'm that keen on, partly because two of the fandoms I belong to seem desperate to make it happen.  Yes, one is Sherlock (principally the BBC version) and also Lewis.  If that's the way you like things that's fine, I'm not saying it's wrong at all, just that it doesn't appeal to me.  I have come across too many fics where the writer has contrived to bring the two together and suddenly it's wonderful.  There are times when remaining as friends would be perfectly acceptable.

So where does that leave me, and my most written pairings?  Which isn't to say I don't write other pairings for gift fics or for friends, but here I'm concentrating on my favourites.

My first fandom was Life on Mars - the UK version.  And the classic Sam/Gene.  They snark, they argue, they get to know each other better, and the relationship begins.  Now it may be my age, or my outlook, but I don't see that the relationship has to immediately include sex, but this is more than just friends.

Onto BBC's Sherlock.  I don't see Sherlock/John.  John/Greg yes - they see each other in a professional context and realise they want to get to know each other better.  For me it's fairly quick.  I'm currently not writing this pairing.  Sherlock/Stanley Hopkins - again a professional interest moves on to something deeper quite quickly - of course, this is Hopkins of the Met River Police, entirely my own creation based on ACD's Hopkins.

ACD Sherlock Holmes - Nothing will ever take Mary Morstan/John Watson away from me.  This post-hiatus Holmes/Watson is one of my few real friends to lovers, but as the relationship is described only in the Sussex Retirement 'verse it all happened in the past, so doesn't really count as a trope.  Watson reflects on the relationship in the first in the series A Quiet Retirement.

So to Lewis.  I liked Laura Hobson/Robbie Lewis, until the series seemed to spoil it for me.  In Oxford Tales I have Lewis and Hathaway working together and then moving in together, but there's never any description of how it happens.

Two of my other fandoms are both rare pairs.  Adam Carter/Lucas North in Spooks - there's a spark between them from early on, it takes time to catch light because Lucas is mentally scarred, but it's more slow burn than friends to lovers (some might say I'm being pedantic, but they both know what's happening).  And Guy/Much in Robin Hood (BBC) - in my world there's an instant attraction, and since I'm the only one who writes it, I can claim it's the only interpretation ;)

So no, as a trope friends to lovers doesn't particularly appeal.  Friday's Trope of the Day on ushobwri  is Established Relationships and I shall be sharing my thoughts there ;)

First up, I'm not all that taken with Dreamwidth, so I'm back posting directly here.  But because I still don't want to lose anything, I'm copying and pasting on DW.  It's a bit of a pain, but easier than trying to host pictures elsewhere, and with most friends on LJ it's easier to include their LJ names here.  (But for those of you reading on DW, I'm still happy to respond to comments here!)

***

Secondly, why are people so unreasonable?  The boss has cut back on staff at work, so we now have W in the retail shop and myself and C, who deals with corporate accounts, in an office next door - we've moved downstairs which makes it easier.  W has been off sick for two days, so C and I have been covering for him.

One man brought his granddaughter's iPhone in to have the screen replaced, because her horse had trodden on it.  That was yesterday.  We explained W was ill and it couldn't be mended that day.  The man reappeared today, wanting to know how soon it would be done, because she needed her business contacts which were on her phone, and looking at me as if it was my responsibility to sort it out.  If Your horse treads on Your phone it is hardly my problem.

Also, yesterday someone phoned up asking to speak to W and I took a message and said he would phone once he was back.  The man phoned again today.  I explained W was still sick.  "Why hasn't he phoned me?"  Um, because he's sick and hasn't been in?

***

Anyway Happy Valentine's Day to one and all.  It is a time for cards, flowers, chocolates and fluffy fics.  I cannot give you tangible gifts, but have some fluffy fics:
The Hobbit: Nothing Like A Roman God
The Hobbit: Not Really A Bad Hair Day
Spooks (Lucas): Everyone Needs A Hug
ACD Holmes (Broom Cupboard verse): Valentine's Day

My second ficlet is for alafaye who requested "ACD canon -- Holmes/Watson, a Christmas evening together after Holmes returns".  This is Holmes & Watson, rather than Holmes/Watson, because Watson still mourns Mary.  What will happen in the future, who can tell.  Slightly melancholy, but the title should indicate promise for the future.

Christmas Hope

Over the last few months I've taken part in a few exchanges, and received some excellent fics, so I'm now sharing them with you:

The first was for Night on a Fic Mountain: Dinner with the Morgans by ArgyllePirateWD, a Forever fic which hit all my favourites: Henry & Abe, Henry remembering the past, Abe wanting to celebrate Henry's birthday (a childhood tale), Jo being lovely, Lucas being geeky.  It was particularly appreciated, because it was written as a pinch hit.

The second was for Not Prime Time: England is England Yet by lynndyre, an ACD Holmes fic set in the hiatus.  It takes Watson in all his sorrow (post Mary's death) and gently leads him on.  I enjoyed the way the characters were portrayed.

And the last one was not for an exchange, but written for me by okapi1895 It's part of her Cheers series, Pimm's Cup, which, although the series is rated E, this one is G.  It's BBC Sherlock, panders to my competency kink, and features Sherlock encountering Stanley Hopkins' from my River Police 'verse.  Not Stanley himself, but his desk, from which Sherlock makes a number of deductions, including a desire to get to know this particular inspector rather better.  It's absolutely lovely!

About a month ago solosundance posted this meme (which she acquired from saintvic) it seemed fun, so let's see how we go!

The meme:
1. Go to this website: www.random.org/lists/
2. Pick 15 characters from any fandom or whatever you’re into, type them in, then get your randomized list and match to the entries below.
3. Tag five or more people - or, you know, have a go if you fancy it
4. Have fun!

( The meme )

23.  Holmes_Minor.  SCFrankles and I have been discussing running a new ACD Holmes comm since before Christmas and now holmes_minor is almost ready to go live.  Frankles has done the work and I have helpfully made suggestions.  And as of tomorrow there will be a new LJ comm for fanfic and poetry for works of 500 words and less, for all the characters in the ACD Sherlock Holmes ‘verse.


24.  Cake. How can I possibly have got this far through without mentioning cake?  Victoria Sponge, chocolate cake, Swiss roll, fruit cake, walnut and coffee cake, Battenburg, cherry cake, lemon drizzle cake, carrot cake.  To name but a few.


25.  Deutschen Welle. I’ve found a new course for learning basic German.  Very interactive and visual, so ideal for my learning style.  Harry gefangen in der Zeit. http://www.dw.com/de/deutsch-lernen/harry/s-13219


26.  Conducting loud music. Verdi’s Dies Irae, Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, the end of Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.  The last one while sitting in a traffic queue – although possibly the arm action was a little too obvious, but at least the police car which had been behind me had turned off by that point.


27.  The Welsh Rugby Team. World Cup or Six Nations, I’m happily cheering them on.  I’m not even Welsh, but where we are Wales feels closer and friendlier than London.


28.  The smell of clean sheets dried in the fresh air. I’d have them every day if I had enough bed linen, staff to do the washing, and rather better weather than we have here.


29.  Decent cider. Proper draught stuff, not this funny strange berry stuff which comes in bottles.  One of the advantages of living in the West Country.

I'm always happy to make new friends on Live Journal and okapi1895 joined the madness erudition which is sherlock60 which gave me the chance to get to know her.

Her request was "ACD, any pairing or not, slippers".

Demonstration Using Slippers

This is for laurose8 who requested "For ACD Holmes: would your muselet - sorry, muse - find a pre-canon Christmas for Holmes interesting? I admit I first thought of Mycroft and Sherlock as kids; but if you'd rather go with Holmes as a student or starting as a detective, that's fine, too."

I liked the idea of having the Holmes' brothers enjoying a childhood Christmas, but struggled with the angle.  In the end I decided to write it as part of my "Sussex Retirement" series and insert Holmes' memories into the Christmas Day which Holmes and Watson spent with Seth and his family.  I hope this is okay.

Christmas Memories

21: Sequels: Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?

I have.  Legacy was followed by Sick Leave because I liked the set up and wanted to write more of it.  Last year's smallfandombang story A Difference of Opinion is being followed by this year's story, in that it's set about six months afterwards.  And I suppose some of my series, "The Unexpected Family", "Co-operation" and "Sussex Retirement" are all in some ways sequeals.

Why do I do it?  I like writing in the particular 'verses I've created and feel there are further avenues to be explored.  I think this is particularly true for "Sussex Retirement" where, having created Holmes and Watson's cottage, gardener (and family) and housekeeper, I want to stay in their world.


22: Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?

Um, yes.  This will be my third year of Small Fandom Big Bang (all Lewis fics) and I also wrote for lifein1973 when they held one.  Over the last few years I've participated in a number of fests, both Sherlock Holmes and Lewis as well as Life on Mars.  My favourite fest had to be acd_holmesfest which I had great fun in both writing and receiving.

I've taken a step back from participating in exchange fests at the moment.  I've had experiences where what I've written hasn't been what my recipient wanted and equally I've received something which has made me wonder whether the writer has any idea of the sort of thing I like.  This year I have written a pinch hit for holmestice but here I knew who I would be writing for and at least this way they'll get something.  I also beta-ed/Britpicked four of the stories (it was busy last weekend!)


23: When you post where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?

My main choice for posting is AO3.  fan_flashworks are posted to their site first, as per their rules and then when the challenge is finished to AO3.  sherlock60 is again posted to their site, and copied to AO3, this year as additional chapters of Entries in the Marylebone Monthly Illustrated.  comment_fic entries are posted directly as comments, sometimes I will post to AO3 separately later.  And watsons_woes may be posted directly to the community or to AO3 depending on whether it's a rapid prompt response or something I've worked on.

8: Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.

Well yes, but to a certain extent, don't we all?  Unless you're writing in a closed world then there must be additional characters who play a part in the story.  Most of my case fics require a dead body (or two ...) who quite often have relatives or friends.  And then there's the perpetrator.  All of whom have to come from somewhere and really can't be the same as before, or we end up with the old joke "Shoot at will", "Will's getting very tired of being shot at."

These characters may have only a small part in the story and yet to an extent need to have some development, even if it's only "why he was killed" and "what made him a killer".  There are other characters who are important for a story and I suppose I show only what is necessary for that particular story.  In the Lucas/Adam story I'm currently writing Lucas has two members of staff working with him, Jason and Gary, who I suppose could be deemed partially Mary Sues, in that they are good at their jobs and are there to help Lucas.  On the other hand I show little else about them, they are no doubt complex characters (as we all are) but that has no bearing on the story.

I have one major OC, DI John Garrett, who appears in a number of my Lewis stories.  I wanted a second competent inspector in Oxford CID (yes, competency is a kink of mine) and so brought in (literally, he had recently arrived from Manchester the first time he appeared) someone suitable.  Again though, he is only developed as far as necessary for the plot.

My major OCs are ACD Holmes characters brought into BBC Sherlock fics: Victor Trevor and Stanley Hopkins.  Both are written because there are things I wish to explore in that 'verse where the canon characters don't provide sufficient scope.

One of the tropes I dislike most is that of the senior officer not being sympathetic to the junior officer/independent detective (or similar) and said junior having to achieve everything by working around them.  I prefer my seniors to be understanding of the intentions of the juniors, they may be restrictive in order to prevent further illegalities or through budget liabilities, but not downright obstructive.  They may also have good ideas of their own.  So I will create them if necessary.  And they won't need to have a terrible home life to compensate either.  This may be a Mary Sue, or it may just reflect what most of us are like; not brilliant at everything, not awful at everything, but somewhere in the middle.

And of course I couldn't finish a blog post on OCs without mentioning both The Ocelot and Mouselet.  Both of whom seem to have acquired lives of their own.