Wrote a Highlander story - final thoughts
Mar. 27th, 2023 06:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annavereSo I have now written for Highlander, which means I've produced fic for two of my top five beloved fandoms. It's a wonderful feeling, sort of like collecting in reverse.
Title: No More Reason to Stay
Words: 11,495
Pairing: Duncan MacLeod/Brian Cullen
Rating: Teen and Up
First, I had a glance at what I wrote after finishing my last story, and was met with two instant facepalms:
"Note to future self: Nonlinear structure is a pain in the ass and not to be undertaken lightly."
"Once I got into [the Sims/Libby pairing] it became rather fun (in an angst-filled road to hell way). Next time (there will definitely be a next time) I'll aim for something a little lighter."
Yeah, no. So not only did I fill this story with flashbacks (and a flashback within a flashback), I outdid my previous outing on the Ended Badly Meter. I swear, I do like happy endings! I will write one someday!
Nevertheless, I loved figuring out and writing Brian/Duncan, and being blindsided by this has led me to discover the ingredient which apparently will make me absolutely fall head over heels for a slash pairing: Two good friends, who do pretty much everything together, until one of them starts running headlong toward the brink (for whatever reason), with the other trying everything he can to stop him from self-destructing. It's messy. People get hurt. This is the key ingredient that Brian/Duncan, Cole/Ramse and Jeremiah/Kurdy all share, and which hits me just as hard as 'enemies to lovers' does with het pairings, although I'm not sure there's a catchy trope name for it.
I used to draw the shipping line at murder, but 12 Monkeys made short work of that, at least under certain circumstances. It was therefore actually the use of Darius that I found the most difficult (emotionally speaking) to write. I realized early on that Brian was the only Immortal paranoid enough to be able to accurately predict Darius' death. On the other hand, playing connect the dots with the canon? Incredibly fun, and more than compensated for my occasional gloomy "where is this even coming from?" moments. I had no idea how functionally limitless the Highlander canon was. So now I have a new fandom to write for.
What is strange and humbling is that Highlander has an active fandom. I don't obsess over my statistics page, but it's been really odd to watch it over the last few days. This story has over twice as many hits as my best performing Jeremiah story (which had four chapters artificially inflating the number, not to mention a year's head start).
Of course, I ended up watching 'Courage' an embarrassing number of times during the past few months (along with the various Darius scenes a more sane number of times). Sadly, I have now exhausted my stable of John Pyper Ferguson characters to write about. I may have to look into this.
But for now, I get to decompress and maybe try my hand at writing something where nobody dies. It could happen.
Title: No More Reason to Stay
Words: 11,495
Pairing: Duncan MacLeod/Brian Cullen
Rating: Teen and Up
First, I had a glance at what I wrote after finishing my last story, and was met with two instant facepalms:
"Note to future self: Nonlinear structure is a pain in the ass and not to be undertaken lightly."
"Once I got into [the Sims/Libby pairing] it became rather fun (in an angst-filled road to hell way). Next time (there will definitely be a next time) I'll aim for something a little lighter."
Yeah, no. So not only did I fill this story with flashbacks (and a flashback within a flashback), I outdid my previous outing on the Ended Badly Meter. I swear, I do like happy endings! I will write one someday!
Nevertheless, I loved figuring out and writing Brian/Duncan, and being blindsided by this has led me to discover the ingredient which apparently will make me absolutely fall head over heels for a slash pairing: Two good friends, who do pretty much everything together, until one of them starts running headlong toward the brink (for whatever reason), with the other trying everything he can to stop him from self-destructing. It's messy. People get hurt. This is the key ingredient that Brian/Duncan, Cole/Ramse and Jeremiah/Kurdy all share, and which hits me just as hard as 'enemies to lovers' does with het pairings, although I'm not sure there's a catchy trope name for it.
I used to draw the shipping line at murder, but 12 Monkeys made short work of that, at least under certain circumstances. It was therefore actually the use of Darius that I found the most difficult (emotionally speaking) to write. I realized early on that Brian was the only Immortal paranoid enough to be able to accurately predict Darius' death. On the other hand, playing connect the dots with the canon? Incredibly fun, and more than compensated for my occasional gloomy "where is this even coming from?" moments. I had no idea how functionally limitless the Highlander canon was. So now I have a new fandom to write for.
What is strange and humbling is that Highlander has an active fandom. I don't obsess over my statistics page, but it's been really odd to watch it over the last few days. This story has over twice as many hits as my best performing Jeremiah story (which had four chapters artificially inflating the number, not to mention a year's head start).
Of course, I ended up watching 'Courage' an embarrassing number of times during the past few months (along with the various Darius scenes a more sane number of times). Sadly, I have now exhausted my stable of John Pyper Ferguson characters to write about. I may have to look into this.
But for now, I get to decompress and maybe try my hand at writing something where nobody dies. It could happen.
no subject
Date: 2023-03-27 03:05 pm (UTC)Re: John Pyper-Ferguson...have you seen the movie Hard Core Logo? :D
I used to draw the shipping line at murder, but 12 Monkeys made short work of that
:D :D :D I'm sorry.
Two good friends, who do pretty much everything together, until one of them starts running headlong toward the brink (for whatever reason), with the other trying everything he can to stop him from self-destructing.
Ooooh, yes. Me, too. Thank you for putting that into words! And have you heard of a show called My Country: The New Age...?
(I'm sorry, I'm a horrible enabler.)
no subject
Date: 2023-03-28 02:35 pm (UTC)Haven't seen Hard Core Logo. Name rang a faint bell, probably due to the punk rock connection. Someone uploaded it to YouTube, so I'll have a look. And I had not heard of My Country: The New Age at all. According to the fanvids I have found, it appears to be the story of a bunch of Medieval Korean men getting injured and staring at each other tragically (against very pretty scenery). Let's say that has some appeal. :)
Thank you for the rec, by the way.
no subject
Date: 2023-03-28 03:05 pm (UTC)It is indeed what it says on the tin. :) Childhood best friends to mortal enemies who never stop being each other's person.
no subject
Date: 2023-03-27 03:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-03-28 02:41 pm (UTC)The Buffyverse. I don't think this is cheating, per say. The shows are inextricably entwined, so I count them as one twelve season whole.
American Gothic. Fucked up in every possible way but I love it.
12 Monkeys. :)
no subject
Date: 2023-03-29 04:09 pm (UTC)