Disappointing fic: [link]!

Well, crap. I just started it yesterday, and I did like the opening scenes a lot (although I was a little confused about where exactly in the story she was starting, and the whole dragons! and apocalyptic shit raining from the skies! was a little startling, too.)

she's all "Fellow cock-a-roachies, we must save DEAN!"

He's Alec. He's being menaced by White. It's not about his personality at all--it's totally about hers. It's pretty inevitable.

Amy, I am so hurt by that fic. I mean, in fic-proportion. It was so great. I think I can rec the first chapter, which is pretty damned lengthy. It almost stands alone. But the second chapter is pretty tied into the completely bogus revelation in the third (which also derails the main plot quite a bit), so I can't say as much nice about it--but at least the characterisation doesn't go off the deep end until everyone completely fails to deal rationally with DEAN HAVING ALWAYS BEEN MICHAEL AND NOT JUST SAM AND JOHN AND MARY'S DEAN.

I guess that just doesn't come across to me, as someone not totally familiar with the show. I'm not recalling, and certainly not strongly or in detail, the relationships on the show. I bailed a third of the way through the first season. And that's the pitfall of fic: relying on familiarity with the show and being able to shorthand it.

See, I don't even want to read any more if that's where it goes. WTF? Bummer, though.

In coincidental news, Home was on this morning. Mary says "I'm sorry" to Sam with a little more gravitas than I remembered, but I stand by my initial reading.

Then I clicked a link the CW tweeted about Jared and Jensen reacting to fan turnout at ComicCon, and was surprised when it turned into remarks about S6. Off button! Sheesh, people. Warn for spoilers, even if they are vague.

I guess that just doesn't come across to me, as someone not totally familiar with the show. I'm not recalling, and certainly not strongly or in detail, the relationships on the show. I bailed a third of the way through the first season. And that's the pitfall of fic: relying on familiarity with the show and being able to shorthand it.

Ah. Yeah. There's needing a grounding in S2 and her complicated relationship with Alec, plus the backstory with Ben probably needed here.

Hey! Can I get a link? I feel I should now read this.

that's the pitfall of fic

I don't think it's a pitfall, I think it's a characteristic. It's perfectly reasonable to not do all the character and relationship groundwork with every writing job and to assume fair familiarity with canon, I think.

It's nice when you can get a story across without it, but that's a luxury, not a requirement, IMO.

And it's precisely why I haven't read any Good Omens crossovers on purpose yet. But I'll do the homework eventually.

Of Desire And The Status Quo, Plei.

I wiki'd Ben and Alec, but I don't think the nuances are there.

I'm not totally in love with this fic. I feel like it's a bit long-winded, and while I'm a fan of whump, I'm actually getting exhausted the long painful steps to get anywhere. It's: plot point, whump, whump, meet-cute, whump, whump, plot point, whumpwhumpwhump, recover, whump, go to hospital, whump, whump, still haven't actually recovered from the first two whumps, whump, plot point, whump...

I made myself two huge burgers reading this fic, because it had been days and days and the author still hadn't let Dean eat.

It's perfectly reasonable to not do all the character and relationship groundwork with every writing job and to assume fair familiarity with canon, I think.

I think so too, when dealing with one singular canon. I think it gets trickier to assume your audience will be intimately familiar with two or more canons smushed together,and I think a little less inference and little more explicit footwork is needed.

I think it gets trickier to assume your audience will be intimately familiar with two or more canons smushed together

So which one does she do the groundwork on?

Honestly, I think canon is on me, even in crossovers. That's why and how I pick what I read the way I do. Every single chapter of her fic lists the episodes it references. She's pretty damned clear about stuff.

I get that it's too h/c (well, more h than c) and whumpy for you, but I think the characterisation is pretty damned spot on, and I don't think she skipped any steps there for people who've watched all the relevant eps of the shows in question, and she's perfectly clear that's who her audience is.

It really doesn't take intimate knowledge of DA canon to get Max and Alec and Max's saviour complex.

I think it gets trickier to assume your audience will be intimately familiar with two or more canons smushed together,and I think a little less inference and little more explicit footwork is needed.

I don't read crossovers if I don't know both canons well, though. I don't actually read much crossover anyway, but I can't imagine being interested enough in a fic that crosses with a show I don't know and love to read it. YcrossoverMV, of course.

I think it's also pretty easy to shortcut through characterizations and some basic facts without realizing you're doing it, though. It's hard enough writing original fiction to make sure everyone knows what you mean, but you're starting with a familiar base, you're probably going to assume most readers know what you do, and there's no need to explain it.