Fest: Wayback
May. 27th, 2019 08:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
argentum_lsThere were a lot of tempting exchanges running in the first half of the year. ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
waybackexchange is the one I ended up going with.
I wrote for Vaznetti:
Watch This - Highlander - Gen - 3400 words - Methos, Darius, Ian Bancroft, Don Salzer - The thing about secret societies is they don't just recruit anyone. -Or- How to Join a Secret Society in Five Easy Steps: A Case Study.
Vaznetti's request allowed a lot of room to play, but mostly in the past for Methos since I am not a Duncan/Methos shipper. That's fine; he has a lot of past to play with. A lot of early ideas got discarded, though, because they were too dark and, as my beta pointed out, "plagues aren't compatible with wacky hijinks," the latter of which was indicated in the request. Eventually, I got around to contemplating how and why Methos became a Watcher. We have some clues on the show, but no specifics. At first blush, it seemed I might be able to do a humor piece about his multiple failed attempts to infiltrate the society before finally succeeding.
The more I thought about how he'd join, however, the more it became clear that he didn't have room for error. And, the more I realized how many variables and moving parts he would've had to predict/manipulate/eliminate in order to make joining at all feasible. Something as simple as a chance encounter with another Immortal in front of the wrong person would blow the whole charade. Yet, he was presumably trying to join in Paris which, as we know, is Immortal central. How could he move around among other Immortals and not have anyone identify him? And how could he get noticed by the Watchers without moving around among other Immortals?
The first solid plan was a 5-times story with various Immortals he recruited to help him through the ages. This list included Darius, of course, but also Grayson, Rebecca, and Ceirdwyn. I had a plan for how he'd get Grayson on his side ... and stalled out because I couldn't figure out what each Immortal would contribute that would be unique and worth their own vignette.
A change of focus to the mortal side of the equation helped free up some ideas. But I couldn't leave Darius out! And I was able to essentially save and repurpose his vignette. Alas, there was no saving the wacky hijinks.
I'm very pleased with this story, though. I was able to explore some territory that hasn't been deeply explored in fandom (that I know of) and play with a different structure than I'm used to.
ETA: In case anyone caught it, there was a late stage title change. The story went live with the title "Who Watches?", which I did not like. About a day later, I thought of a better title. Then I waffled on whether it was too late to change it. Obviously, I did.
And I received fromraine:
Making the Most of Night - Highlander - Richie/Cory - 17,261 - A flat tire leads to a first time.
Look, I don't really do ships, but if I did do ships, Richie/Cory would be right on the prow. They are too much fun together, and Cory really gets a shining moment in this story.
waybackexchange is the one I ended up going with.I wrote for Vaznetti:
Watch This - Highlander - Gen - 3400 words - Methos, Darius, Ian Bancroft, Don Salzer - The thing about secret societies is they don't just recruit anyone. -Or- How to Join a Secret Society in Five Easy Steps: A Case Study.
Vaznetti's request allowed a lot of room to play, but mostly in the past for Methos since I am not a Duncan/Methos shipper. That's fine; he has a lot of past to play with. A lot of early ideas got discarded, though, because they were too dark and, as my beta pointed out, "plagues aren't compatible with wacky hijinks," the latter of which was indicated in the request. Eventually, I got around to contemplating how and why Methos became a Watcher. We have some clues on the show, but no specifics. At first blush, it seemed I might be able to do a humor piece about his multiple failed attempts to infiltrate the society before finally succeeding.
The more I thought about how he'd join, however, the more it became clear that he didn't have room for error. And, the more I realized how many variables and moving parts he would've had to predict/manipulate/eliminate in order to make joining at all feasible. Something as simple as a chance encounter with another Immortal in front of the wrong person would blow the whole charade. Yet, he was presumably trying to join in Paris which, as we know, is Immortal central. How could he move around among other Immortals and not have anyone identify him? And how could he get noticed by the Watchers without moving around among other Immortals?
The first solid plan was a 5-times story with various Immortals he recruited to help him through the ages. This list included Darius, of course, but also Grayson, Rebecca, and Ceirdwyn. I had a plan for how he'd get Grayson on his side ... and stalled out because I couldn't figure out what each Immortal would contribute that would be unique and worth their own vignette.
A change of focus to the mortal side of the equation helped free up some ideas. But I couldn't leave Darius out! And I was able to essentially save and repurpose his vignette. Alas, there was no saving the wacky hijinks.
I'm very pleased with this story, though. I was able to explore some territory that hasn't been deeply explored in fandom (that I know of) and play with a different structure than I'm used to.
ETA: In case anyone caught it, there was a late stage title change. The story went live with the title "Who Watches?", which I did not like. About a day later, I thought of a better title. Then I waffled on whether it was too late to change it. Obviously, I did.
And I received from
raine: Making the Most of Night - Highlander - Richie/Cory - 17,261 - A flat tire leads to a first time.
Look, I don't really do ships, but if I did do ships, Richie/Cory would be right on the prow. They are too much fun together, and Cory really gets a shining moment in this story.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-28 02:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-28 03:57 pm (UTC)And, uh, if you need any more reason to practice your paddling of this canoe ... not to be self-serving or anything. :)
no subject
Date: 2019-06-01 02:46 am (UTC)