thefourthvine | Eight Days of Happiness: Old Self, Meet New Self

Entry tags:

Eight Days of Happiness: Old Self, Meet New Self

A long time ago, I was in a creative writing class with a person named Kelly. (And, seriously, why isn't there some service for finding fangirls if you only have their RL names? If she's not in fandom, she should be. And if you're reading this and you're named Kelly and you're a librarian and you once took a poetry class from a professor named Pat, I want to talk to you.) She wrote a poem about wishing she could send a videotape (See? A loooooong time ago.) back to a younger version of herself. I thought about that a lot. I still do.

And in these two stories, it actually HAPPENS. Sort of. In both cases, a reset (or Retcon) button gets pushed, and younger versions of Ianto and Rodney get inserted into the lives of current Ianto and Rodney. I cannot tell you how much I love this. I want this to happen to everyone. (Okay, not everyone. In Teal'c's case, lots of people would die, because younger-Teal'c would likely not be behind this whole killing-the-gods thing. And some people are so young already that it would be more like a de-ageing story - Clark, Merlin, I'm looking at you. But Depot-era Benton Fraser, oh my god. Ronon Dex before he was a runner. Jim Ellison before he joined the military!)

So, on to the specific stories.

The One That Demonstrates Why People Should Not Plan Like Action Heroes Unless They Happen to Be in an Action Movie. (If You're Not Sure, Assume You Are Not in an Action Movie.) Rewind, Reboot, Restore, by Rheanna, aka

rheanna27 and

rheanna. Stargate: Atlantis, Rodney McKay/John Sheppard.

This story - well. If I had to pick just one character who got to see his new life as his old self, it would have to be Rodney. Because - okay. I used to complain that the Gateverse canon writers did not exactly get this novel concept we call "character development," but in Rodney, they totally prove that they do get it (they just mostly don't like it, and try to avoid it when they can, sort of the way some people are with cilantro). Rodney of pre-Atlantis really is a very different person than the Rodney we know and love, and that makes for quality drama when the two Rodneys meet. And in Rheanna's hands, it is quality indeed. If I had imagined how this might work, well, I don't think I could have imagined anything as wonderful as this.

Also, this story has one of Those Lines. The ones that stay with you and define the story for you, and that you think of often. (I cannot be the only one who has these. I refuse to believe it.) I am not sure if I should include it or not, so here it is, behind the cut:

Rodney let out a long, low groan. "I hate myself," he said. "I literally hate myself."

For one thing: hurray, a use of "literally" that actually means literally, and if you don't think that's something to celebrate, I would like to live where you do, please.

But more - that line is the story. Except the story is so very much more. And if I listed all the things I love about this, I would spoil every last plot development, so instead, how about you just read it?

The One That Proves That If You Spend a Lot of Time near Jack Harkness, You Should Plan Like an Action Hero. It Might Be Fun, and It's Not Like You Could Make Your Odds Worse Than They Already Are. The Theory of Two Centres, by

sam_storyteller. Torchwood, Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones.

This one fascinated me. See, I have never seen Torchwood, and I don't read huge amounts in the fandom (although that is changing, especially since people keep writing nice long stories for me to put on my Kindle, and TW folks, I will totally take any recs you might have for those), so I really don't know much about Ianto. I know he wears suits. I know the entire fandom seems riveted by him. I know he's the guy who did right by Jack after the Master knocked him up. (Okay, maybe that isn't canon, but it should be.) Beyond that - well, I have a seriously hard time telling the Torchwood people apart, and they seem, from the posts I see on my friends list, to spend most of their time having massive team orgies, so it's not like there's been a pressing need in my life to know who's who.

In this story, though, Ianto is awesome. He seems kind of like Giles, except a) he went through his transformation from Ripper to the Librarian with the Core of Steel in four years instead of twenty, and b) it's not magic and demons, it's the Rift (and excuse me if I have some difficulty telling the difference sometimes). I - I have a weakness for characters who had wild youths and grew up to be staid individuals, for reasons that might be apparent to those who know me pretty well, and this makes me like Ianto so much. I just really admire those who, sure, they could have the sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll and dangerous leather outfits, but they'd rather have this spreadsheet. After all, it's an awesome spreadsheet.

So I love that, and I love the point of view factor here. (Rewind, Reboot, Restore is from the loved one's point of view, and Theory of Two Centres is from the actual rewound person's point of view, and it is fascinating to me the difference that makes in the tone of the story.)

And, most of all, I love that this story gave me the chance to get to know both younger-Ianto and, by the reactions of people around him, canon-Ianto. For people who don't actually know the canon, this story really cannot be beat. And that is very happiness inducing for me.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

I - I have a weakness for characters who had wild youths and grew up to be staid individuals, for reasons that might be apparent to those who know me pretty well, and this makes me like Ianto so much. I just really admire those who, sure, they could have the sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll and dangerous leather outfits, but they'd rather have this spreadsheet. After all, it's an awesome spreadsheet.

I heart you so much!!! OTP!!!

I love Doctor Who Torchwood fandom...so many LONG stories. :) And many of them in single file format. I read a lot on my Sony PRS and it's amazing how many more people in fandom are getting Kindles and other e-ink devices. I was worried for a while there that the technology wouldn't really take off.

Um, I may track this post to see if anyone has other Torchwood recs.

Awww, man! Unexpected Rec is Unexpected. What a lovely way to start the day! (And it's even better because I've just been off work for a week and this is my first morning back, so I'm in need of cheering.)

The One That Demonstrates Why People Should Not Plan Like Action Heroes Unless They Happen to Be in an Action Movie. (If You're Not Sure, Assume You Are Not in an Action Movie.)

John Sheppard, we're looking at YOU.

It pleased me a lot to be able to use 'literally' in its, um, literal sense. Incorrect use of the word 'literally' bugs me hugely.

If you're in the mood for long Torchwood fic that continuously skirts the edge of crack but somehow never quite goes over completely, even when it seems like it should have to, I recommend the series Yours, Mine, and Ours. Three main arcs complete, with side stories, and a fourth that's just started posting.

Starring your regular cast of orgy-participants (not an exaggeration; of course Torchwood archives the alien sex pollen in easily breakable jars) plus the Doctor, Martha Jones, PC Andy, John Hart, and the occasional alien and/or human baby (birth control in the rain; not nearly as effective as Jack was hoping). In which the Chameleon Arch works both ways, sleeping with Owen is an occupational hazard, and there is a truly amazing amount of screwing with the timelines.

they just mostly don't like it, and try to avoid it when they can, sort of the way some people are with cilantro

HMMM. I don't know about this! I thought people generally fell into two camps: those who like (or passionately love) coriander, and those who HATE IT WITH THE PASSION OF A THOUSAND FIERY SUNS. On coriander, the most divisive (yet delicious) of spices, there can be no in-betweens!

Or maybe I only know extremists.

Actually, I think people are only argumentative about it in its herb form -- I do know coriander-haters (pfft) who like the ground dried seeds.

I have already read and loved both those stories -- good choices! I'm mainly commenting because TW is totally my new fandom and I'm happy that we seem to be on collision course for sharing it (it is addictive, I tell you).

Also I may be writing in it (and for "may" read "omg yes"), because I share your love for Ianto's spreadsheets. It is proving to be extremely happymaking. For me that is; so far there are no epics for you, so I will just point you to my recs instead. :)

But Depot-era Benton Fraser, oh my god. Ronon Dex before he was a runner. Jim Ellison before he joined the military!

John Cooper at twenty - son of a murderer and newly a cop, married to a woman and gay and closeted. (Southland. Which probably you are not watching, all things considered - but oh, is it good.)

Actually, Jack Harkness would be interesting to send a retcon videotape to, too.

WORD on the "literally" thing. I hear that from surprisingly intelligent and word-conscious people - the sistergirl, for one thing - and it makes me want to choke puppies.

Ooh, The Theory of Two Centres may just restore my faith in Torchwood canon. Lovely, thanks.

You've also confirmed my thought that we need to make this years TARDIS Big Bang stories into single files somehow (probably .pdf, but I think research will be required to ensure maximum compatibility) so that people can read them on Kindles and similar. Hopefully we can arrange that from the website once we go live in [a worryingly short period of time]. The average story length looks to be about 25k (based on drafts), so hopefully some of those will keep you going for a while :)

Actually please don't use PDF, the Kindle can't read that format without the user sending the file to Amazon for conversion to mobi, and you can't convert PDF using Calibre without the story getting messed up. Honestly, your best bet is HTML or RTF because those are easier to convert to format of choice, it basically gives the users more options on how to get the stories onto their e-ink device. PDF is very limiting because it doesn't reflow well and only the Sony PRS line of e-ink devices support PDF (and not well at that either) Unless you know how to create a PDF that's formatted for a 6 inch screen...the story won't look good when it's moved onto the device. And yeah Kindle owners won't be able to take advantage of the correctly formatted PDF anyways.

but it would be awesome for the Tardis Big Bang stories to be in a single file.

As someone that formats a TON of stories, I highly recommend HTML or RTF (which can be added to the Sony PRS line of readers without problems but you'd have to make sure the Author and Title were correctly entered into the property fields...) I run the Ebook Library and I'm willing to help if you'd like for getting stories converted to html, rtf, or even mobi and LRF.

If you do want to make the stories ebook friendly it may just be best to actually provide a ebook ready format. Mobipocket is the format Kindle uses and LRF is the format the Sony PRS e-ink devices use. Sadly neither device can read the other devices preferred format.

Ooh, that's all good to know thanks. You may have handily just saved me the "research required" part :) I think our web-goddess codes everything to HTML, and they come to us as a single file, but we put them on the site according to the author's wishes. Some people like it all on one page, others like it split up, but I'd really like to offer ebook readers the chance to get them all in one go, easily and simply.

I'm a little under the weather right now, so can't look at a screen for too long, but we'll natter as mods and I'll get back in touch if/when we need help.

Thank you so much! This is something I'm keen to do but am aware mostly of my ignorance :D

I've seen authors with very long stories offer both options, a chaptered version and single file version. If it's possible to go that route I know I'd really appreciate it. It makes it so much easier to convert to add to my Sony PRS...I still haven't finished reading all the SPN big bangs from last year because I just got sick and tired of merging 12 part stories because everyone posted their fics on LJ and the 10k limit was rather limiting for longer stories.

So basically any big bang challenge that has single file stories gets bumped to top of list because it's just easier to acess the stories to read away from the computer. (and lets face it sitting in front of computer to read a 50k word story isn't exactly comfortable) (Um but for me it was the carpal tunnel and extreme neck pain that greatly influenced my decision to get a e-ink portable reading device) :)

Um, i'm going on vacation the 16th of May until just after MediaWest...so if I don't respond quickly during that time period that's why.

There is nothing wrong with giving up sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, and leather for spreadsheets, am I right? We are the few, the proud, the extremely staid old people who are happy spending the night with a good book.

And I heart you so much, too. Like this:

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3!

Ooo, do you have any files to share?

(And, yes, YAY for single file format. I get so little time at the computer that there are a number of stories I really want to read that I haven't yet, just because I don't have time to pasted together ten or twelve entries.)

Well, if you gave up ALL of those things ABSOLUTELY I would worry. But giving up the wild-n-crazy lifestyle for stability and engagement with the more serious things in this world, that I am cool with.

(most days.)

And it's even better because I've just been off work for a week and this is my first morning back, so I'm in need of cheering.

Yay! My day of happiness brought YOU happiness, too!

John Sheppard, we're looking at YOU.

Obviously. I think we could produce an entire set of Big Bang stories based entirely around the concept of action movie plotting (and why Sheppard shouldn't do it).

Ronon can get away with the action movie plotting. I think it's the size of his gun that does it.

It pleased me a lot to be able to use 'literally' in its, um, literal sense. Incorrect use of the word 'literally' bugs me hugely.

Once, I was in a checkout line at the supermarket, and a woman in front of me said, "I am DEAD from hunger. Literally DEAD."

I think she heard me say, "I wish." *shame*

Can I just say, excellent idea for a recs pair? I don't even read in these fandoms much any more, and yet I still have them both open (during finals week) because the idea is so awesome.

Oh, thank you! I will have to Kindle that instantly.

And, yes, I am quite sure Torchwood would store the sex pollen in easily breakable jars. It's probably regulation. Jack probably wrote the regulation, in fact.

But I myself am "meh" on cilantro! (And you're right. People are only averse to the herb; the ground seeds don't have the soap taste.)

Jack did, in fact, write the handbook. While drunk. That's what lists 'sleeping with Owen Harper' as an occupational hazard that's not covered under the supplemental insurance plan, and it also has a part about 'clothing-optional Fridays'.

I have over 1000 fan fics converted to RTF and with Calibre now able to create mobipocket formatted ebooks I can't recommend the program enough for anyone that has a Kindle, Sony PRS, or Cybook. it's a great program for file conversion and management.

Email me at amalthia at gmail.com and I can send you some direct links to my backup directory. It's not perfect because it's really easier to download everything at once, but my directory is organized by fandom, then author name and title.

there is a LJ community called http://community.livejournal.com/kindle_fanfic/profile?style=mine

I'm co-moderator for another fan fic ebook community. http://community.livejournal.com/fanfic_ebooks/profile?style=mine

The kindle ebook community may be what you're looking for the one I'm co-moderating is mostly information and tips and tricks and I share my personal collection there.

And there is the Ebook Library

The archive has over 800 stories archived there...

Yay! Sharing a fandom with you is always fun. And double yay that you're writing in it.

Even if you are not yet POSTING your writing. *sulks, but only very slightly*

John Cooper at twenty - son of a murderer and newly a cop, married to a woman and gay and closeted. (Southland. Which probably you are not watching, all things considered - but oh, is it good.)

I have not even HEARD of Southland. *fails at television yet again* What's it about? And is he canonically gay?

Actually, Jack Harkness would be interesting to send a retcon videotape to, too.

The awesome part there is you wouldn't even HAVE to Retcon him. You could totally do the Five Jacks (and, hmmm, why does that sound dirty?) and have him run into himself five times over. The man has irregular access to a time machine and quite a lot of life to play with, after all.

WORD on the "literally" thing. I hear that from surprisingly intelligent and word-conscious people - the sistergirl, for one thing - and it makes me want to choke puppies.

I'm horribly afraid it will be catching. (Like, you know how if you see something done incorrectly more often than you see it done correctly, you end up having to pause and think to make sure you're doing it right? If that happened to me with literally, I think I would have to cordon myself off from the internet for a while. Literally.)

I'm going to second

amalthia on the no pdf thing. The most useful format for me for a long story is:

All on one page.
No extraneous elements on the page, like random graphics or a big long sidebar full of links.
No tables used in formatting.

That's because I use Mobipocket Creator (which is what most Kindle users use, I think), and for that, I generally cut and paste into a Word document and then build the book from that.

And, YAY, long stories coming! When are they expected? *hopeful hopeful hopeful look*

Oh, thank you! And, yeah, these are totally worth reading - and I think would be worth it even if you'd never read in the fandoms. They are awesome, awesome stories with an awesome, awesome central idea.

That's so useful, thank you. The mods are in mid "aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh we need to do stuff yesterday!!!!" mode at the moment, but once we're out of that, this is definitely something we'll get sorted out. *adds to list*

Final drafts are due 14th June, and depending how many formatting issues we have, the site should go live some time late June/early July. (announcements at

tardis_bigbang and the sigh of relief will be audible on the moon) Er. *looks at calendar* I should probably get writing, shouldn't I?

We've had 46 submissions this year which is incredible, and over 70 artists. Just in time for everyone to have long reads for the summer :D

If you can get past the Cops-style camera work (which suits the show really well and isn't quite as nausea-inducing as it is in Cops itself, but still takes getting used to), Southland is fucking awesome. Not least because John Cooper is (1) a bad-ass training cop with a past the degree of damage in which we're only just beginning to see, (2) played by the awesome and drop-dead sexy Michael Cudlitz, and (3), yes, canonically gay - a fact the show handles fascinatingly (no announcement, no whispers, no feather boa or sequins - just Coop in an all-male bar at the end of a bad day, Coop being improbably [if stone-facedly] tender with a drag queen shop-owner [this is LA, by the way] who's just been beaten and robbed).

Five Jacks. Oh, man. You could write that, y'know.

I'll crochet you a comfy cordon, honey.

Get Loved, Make More, Stay Alive - Kidfic! Timetraveling kidfic! It is amazing.

Shades of Ianto - Massive and wonderful. Ianto has bigger secrets than Lisa. I love this fic so much (psychics! time travel! family secrets! creepy alien puppetmaster things!), but there is one spot that makes me cringe. Skip the eulogy. You will know it when you see it.

Parts of the Process - Ianto goes traveling with the Doctor.

I Am What I Am - Mostly a "Xander wakes up in the body of his younger self" story (with flashforwards that make up one of my favorite BtVS future fics), it also has "Willow plays with magic and accidentally meets her future self" and "Buffy lives the life of her other self in dreams".

Ooooo, thank you! I know and love Get Loved, but the others are new to me and shall soon have a home on my Kindle.

there is a single file version of Shades of Ianto here

http://amalthia.mediawood.net/ebooks/viewstory.php?sid=721

It's in RTF but it shouldn't be hard to convert to mobi

I know he's the guy who did right by Jack after the Master knocked him up. (Okay, maybe that isn't canon, but it should be.)

He would! he's a stand up guy, that Ianto Jones!

No clue if you've read these, but my Torchwood (http://delicious.com/macey_muse/torchwood) (& my epic (http://delicious.com/macey_muse/torchwood+epic) & long (http://delicious.com/macey_muse/torchwood+long) Torchwood) tags ^_^ (although some are split over an annoyingly large number of posts. viva la dw revolution!)

after the Master knocked him up...

This? *points*

This is what I love about fandom---that I didn't even have to click on the link in order to know the vid you're referencing.

Cilantro is good with fried rice!!!

*wanders off to be random somewhere else*

Heyo!

I'm one of the lurkers on your FL, I have an Ianto!rec for you if you haven't read it already - Shades of Ianto by Sarcasticchick http://www.whofic.com/series.php?seriesid=910

Lovely and epic and just a brilliant read.

I love getting a rec post from you - there is always at least 2 stories I really enjoy!

Catch ya round

M

but you may like this real life example. Stephen Fry to his 16 year-old self.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/30/stephen-fry-letter-gay-rights

Definitely. The Doctor, he's in and out, the Master, he's up and down, but Ianto Jones sticks around. *g*

Oh, thank you!

(And, man, I am so glad that DW post limits will be longer. I don't have TIME to paste together millions of pieces. *whines pathetically*)

Enjoy ^_^

(I know right? the sheer amount of /time/ I spent copy-pasting bad ff.net HP fic into word docs at the library whenever Mother Dearest confiscated my internet... 't was dire. looks like this summer will be limited-dial-up, too. *sadface*)

I know! Seriously, it's AWESOME.

Except now I think I have to go watch that vid.

*eyes you suspiciously*

I am pretty sure cilantro should NOT be in fried rice. That sounds like a horrible perversion of herbs.

Hi, lurker! *embraces*

And, ooo, thank you. I will have to prepare that for my Kindle immediately.

I'm glad you're liking the rec posts - though the eight days of happiness ones will be weird enough, and short enough, that I can't promise you'll find much you like there. Still! We can hope.

*waves*

Ooo. Interesting. Thank you for the link. *ponders*

*eyes you like you're crazy*

I have a recipe for chinese fried rice! It says "cilantro" right here (added at the end with the spring onions)! *points at book* Plus, it tastes good. Mmmmm.

Hi! I meant to drop by days ago and say thanks for the recc (I'm

sam_storyteller in a parallel universe). I'm glad you enjoyed Two Centres!

We don't have much actual canon for Ianto before he started work in London (indeed, before he came back to Cardiff), but what we do know does tend to suggest a rather Giles-ish existence: he had a likely working-class childhood, was arrested on misdemeanour theft as a teen, didn't go to university, "drifted" for two years after leaving school, got picked up by Torchwood London, and then came back to Cardiff after Torchwood London fell.

And yeah, the Rift is basically the Hellmouth, except instead of attracting the occult it attracts aliens and spits out random time-and-space-traveling junk. :D

Oh also -- Torchwood reccs:

http://delicious.com/tw_fic

That's my personal reccspage. It doesn't list the lengths of things, but it's guaranteed to be either high-quality writing or good concepts and a warning. :D Sorted by era, 'ship, characters, and rating.

it's not magic and demons, it's the Rift (and excuse me if I have some difficulty telling the difference sometimes).

I use Anomaly/the Hellmouth/the Rift/Stargate interchangeably, no matter what show I'm watching.

Like a lot of people have mentioned above, I have all my Torchwood fic recs tagged here (http://gwynevere1.livejournal.com/tag/fanfic+recs:+torchwood).

If you're looking for nice long stories, in particular, I highly recommend The Place That Didn't Exist (http://ficslasheuse.livejournal.com/2127.html) by

slasheuse (NC-17). It's a crossover with Lewis, but all you need to know about that fandom is that it's a British buddy cop show, where the two leads so *clearly* want to be doing it with each other but needed the amazing slash abilities of Jack Harkness to inspire them to take that final step. Otherwise, DI Lewis and DS Hathaway could just be really interesting OCs in a Torchwood fic. (If you do like them, though, you might want to check out the

inspector_lewis community.)

Another superb story is Cheating Time (http://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=15901) by

dark_aegis and

wendymr (Teen). It's Doctor Who-centric, actually, but Team Torchwood does put in a good appearance. It also makes *wonderful* use of time travel (which I know is one of your kinks), as the Doctor crosses his own timeline, in an attempt to get Rose back. Needless to say, it all ends in tears.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Eight Days of Happiness: Old Self, Meet New Self

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Torchwood Recs

And One "Self, Meet Self"

Re: Torchwood Recs

Re: Torchwood Recs

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Slightly OT

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Re: Slightly OT

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Torchwood fanfic recs