All is Translation, and All of Us Lost in it

Iiiit's the Yuletide reveal! Which means that today I not only get to find out who my authors were (I see you there, lacunarity), but I get to reveal what my own fic was.

This year, I wrote Amateur Genealogy for one of my favorite TV shows, Justified.

This was a really tough one for me to write. The show is so well-written, and the Raylan-Tim-Rachel dynamic is my favorite ever, so I had a lot to live up to. I loved what season two did with the theme of family, and I was really struck by the showrunner's comment in an interview that they had to drive a wedge between Raylan and his 'marshal family' in order to resolve some of the issues with his family in Harlan, so I really wanted to write a little coda for the marshals.

The thing I really love about their relationship is that it's very unique for a crime drama. It takes the badass, gunslinging protagonist and shows how he has to function within this environment, unlike on other shows where the crime fighter has all of his quirks excused because he's so brilliant. Rachel and Tim have treated Raylan as their equal from the start: he gets saddled with an unpleasant informant in season one because he's 'the new guy,' and it's clear that he's expected to pick up coffee and file paperwork like everyone else.

And then in season two, regardless of what's going on in Art and Raylan's relationship, they all have each other's backs. Rachel and Tim each get an episode where Raylan is acting as a support system for them, and later in the season, they do whatever they can for him, even if he's not the type to come to them with his problems. I really wanted to play around with that dynamic, and how Rachel and Tim react to everything that happened at the end of season two. I'm sure it'll get Jossed, but a girl can dream.

I wasn't really expecting the reception I got, and I'm really glad people liked the fic! It seems everyone is as big a fan of Rachel as I am, which makes me happy. I played around with a couple different POVs, but hers was my favorite: I think her family situation gives her a different perspective, and I love that she's fairly warm with her coworkers even though she's not really a warm person in general. That, and she's just so cool. Hello there, raging girlcrush.

In any case, I had a great time, and I hope my recipient had as much fun reading it!

And for posterity's sake, here's everything from previous Yuletides:

( List with links )

2010:
The Lonely Traveler for Mushishi anime/manga


And now to enjoy the last few days of my vacation. It'll be nice to get back to work on the book, even if I don't feel the same about the day job. I'll be finished soon, so if anyone is up for another round of the Original Fic prompt trees, maybe I'll start up another one?

The King's Speech

This movie! ♥ THIS MOVIE. It's like they took the usual Oscar-bait formula and made it charming and adorable. And now I know why Colin Firth has been going around calling Geoffrey Rush his "geisha girl."

I saw it with a coworker, and she is rooting for The Social Network for the Oscar pretty hardcore. She loved King's Speech, but she wants Social Network to win because it's 'more personal.' I have not actually seen Social Network - I will probably see it just to stack its chances against the other movies, but it will probably make me angry for various reasons.

But even so! I generally do like to root for the more 'personal' movies, like Slumdog, Little Miss Sunshine, or Juno. But I think that King's Speech, unlike a lot of Oscar-bait movies, was much more focused on the relationships than the historical setpiece or the Important Issues. And that's why I'm rooting for it. ♥

Also, DID I MENTION ADORABLE.


Black Swan

Okay, so I went into this expecting it to be like Perfect Blue: The Ballet Edition. And I really liked it! But as I watched it I thought, "Eh, it's not really that messed up."

You all are probably giving me a look right now. I would also be giving me a look right now. But I thought compared to Perfect Blue, it was pretty linear!

That said, it was delightfully twisty, and I loved the last quarter of the movie in all its trippy glory. I went home a little worried that I was going to find Winona Ryder in my kitchen. Someone more informed than I can provide a better analysis of how misogyny in the ballet world was portrayed, so all I will say for now is, I do believe Natalie Portman will be snagging that Oscar.


Heavy Rain

This is a very interesting game, with even more interesting gameplay. It's basically an interactive murder mystery movie - or as I like to call it, "the most ominous game of The Sims ever."

I'm just sort of getting into the action now, but it's really fascinating so far. There are quite a few different choices you can make, and they're not obviously good or bad like in most games. Said choices even make the plot splinter in different directions. The story can even continue when one or more of the characters dies. I can't wait to see how things go when I get further!

I am still getting attached to the characters, though. There was one I really liked, but then I got the worst spoiler ever and now every time I see them I'm like "WAS IT ALL A LIIEEEEEE." I think I enjoy playing the FBI agent the most, though. He has random futuristic FBI technology, and I am fascinated by his accent.

More on this later!


Justified

I SAW A JUSTIFIED PREVIEW TODAYYYYY. Eee! Raylan being a dork! Boyd blowing shit up! Art being exasperated! RACHEL HAVING SCREENTIME! Next Wednesday! I am so excite! omg this showwww ♥


Aaand recs!

I have a rather terrifying week coming up at work, and I will be lucky to get out of it alive. Therefore, I require things to unwind with after work! I will take anything - TV shows, movies, manga, reading material, anything. ♥ Any suggestions?