Because you guys would all think I was ill if I passed it by

[jadesfire]

Apologies for spamming, but I'm catching up on a week's worth of internet withdrawal here...

Meme gacked from unfeathered and fandom_me:

Fandom Meme:

1. Comment to this post with the name of a character that I have written in fic. Or geeked out about.
2. I will comment telling you the following:
a. What initially prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her.
b. One of his/her best traits.
c. One of his/her worst traits.
d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character.
e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character.
f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future.

Comments

[fandom-me.livejournal.com]

JACK.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Gosh, what made you ask that? ;)

a. What initially prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her. I honestly haven't got the foggiest idea. Seriously. I was happily writing Housefic, had been fond of him in Doctor Who, then I wrote my first Torchwood fic and he just seemed to come to life. I'm attracted to characters (like House) who just say the first thing that comes into their heads, or like shocking and surprising people, but I really didn't expect it to take off like this.

b. One of his/her best traits. Single-mindedness.

c. One of his/her worst traits. Selfishness.

d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character. Too damn easy. I don't have any trouble getting into his head, which can sometimes make it hard for me to read other people's versions, if they don't match mine.

e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character. Oh dear...*rummages*...I knew someone would ask so I really should have thought of this in advance. Um...

Okay, this is from near the end of my Buffy/Jack crossover, and is about him rather than from him, but I think it catches what I wanted to say about him, how people respond to him, which can tell you a lot about a person:

"[Giles said] "It's funny, how much of an impression some people can make on you in such a short time."

"He didn't even hesitate." Buffy said. "I think he knew something like this was going to happen. And he didn't hesitate. How can someone hold their life so lightly? To just be willing to die like that?"

"You did it," Giles said gently. "Buffy, you do it every day. Every time you go out on patrol, face a demon or a vampire, you put your life on the line to save other people. It's what you do. Maybe Jack was the same."

"He did something, I don't know." She struggled to put words round what she'd felt. "It was like, somehow, he joined our souls together. I heard the first Slayer again, talking in my head, and he took the power and put it with…something." She shook her head, still not really understanding it. "He was more than he seemed."

Giles nodded, reaching out and picking up the coat. He took it behind the counter, hanging it on a hook, like it belonged there.

"We'll just keep this, for the time being," he said. They waited in silence again, sitting together until the others returned."

f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future. *checks watch* How long do you have? Apart from the crackfic that I'm going to write for the 'come as you aren't' party, there's the end of 'Sic Transit Tempus', the rest of my 'year of hell' cycle, a WWII piece that's been brewing for a while and one that's so nearly done it's almost painful. Most are fairly down, so I'll probably intesperse them with happier stuff until there's more canon to play with...

[fandom-me.livejournal.com]

I really, really, hear you about the difficulty in reading versions of Jack that run counter to your own. I am still a staunch supporter in 'whatever works' and differing views, but the more 'awake' Jack becomes, the more he talks and the more personalized he is, the harder time I have sinking into someone else's version of him. My Jack's not more right than anyone else's, but he does make it hard for me to read other people's.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

I think my 'thing' always is: if you can support your version from canon, then go ahead. I'm happy for us to interpret the same piece of evidence differently, but if there's nothing in canon about it, where does it come from? The general need that seems to abound to make complex, strong characters simple and weak is driving me mad. Although Jack does get off more lightly than Ten...

[fandom-me.livejournal.com]

Oh, hell yes with the support and complexity - and I think you can tell, even when it's not spelled out, where that exists. And when writers talk about their characters motivating themselves/fighting what the author is trying to do - good sign.

Jack does get off more lightly than Ten, I think. Though not always by a lot, depending on what you're reading. The tendancy to make them both weak/shallow makes a bit bonkers. Jack makes me MORE bonkers because he's more alive in my head and can make WTF faces inside my head.

[unfeathered]

And now I'm really, really glad I didn't read your Buffy/Jack crossover. You posted it literally within days of me starting Connection and I didn't want to plagiarise so I tore myself away from the first few paragraphs, which looked really good, and decided to go back to it after I'd finished mine.

Still haven't got round to that, but I will one day :-)

Anyway, my point was, I'm glad I didn't read it because I still know that the comparison I made between Buffy and Jack was all my own idea and not cribbed off you!

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*grin* They work very well together. The story rebelled on me, and refused to be in Jack's POV, which was an interesting exercise... But they're very different stories!

[szm.livejournal.com]

Tosh! I can't actually remember off the top of my head if you've ever really written Tosh but I find her really difficult to write.

So, yeah, Tosh.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Tosh features very, very briefly in my first ever TW fic, so I've tweaked the below accordingly.

a. What initially prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her. I wish I wrote more Tosh, but I find her hard to get a handle on, mostly because of the unevenness of her character in the show.

b. One of his/her best traits. Her sense of honour. You can see her struggling in GBG and then she says it to Suzie. I think it really matters to her.

c. One of his/her worst traits. Trusting-ness?

d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character. Oh, near impossible.

e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character*.

f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future. She's going to crop up in The Watching Years, so I guess I'll find out more about her then!

[szm.livejournal.com]

Thank you. *g*

I really do find Tosh difficult which annoys me no end because I really like her.

I hope you had a good holiday BTW

[http://users.livejournal.com/_medley_/]

I'm going to be weird and ask for Hugh. Which may make a. difficult, but the rest should still work. I think.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

It's a little odd, but yes, it works :)

a. What initially prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her. (This is actually answerable). Hugh was supposed to be a background, supporting character, someone for Jack to bounce off of, to contrast to him. Then I got severely blocked trying to write 'Promise.' I must have had eighteen drafts, none of which worked. Then, in the one I was least unhappy with, I got to a scene between Hugh and Jack and I suddenly realised that this was the point of the story and had to rewrite it utterly. I'm so glad I did though. In making Hugh the perfect foil for Jack, I'd made him the perfect friend.

b. One of his/her best traits. Loyalty

c. One of his/her worst traits. A certain amount of unwillingness to actually confront Jack with things, and to trust him comepletely.

d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character. Very, very easy. I think I've said this to a few people, but Hugh has much in common with my grandfather, who I adored, so I find him very easy to write.

e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character. Although 'Promise' is my first real look at Hugh as a character, I think "The Whole Truth" from the 'Stay with Me' duet says it best. This is after Jack has told Hugh and Marion about what happened with Hywel:

""I-" Jack began, but Hugh, for the first time that Jack could remember, interrupted him.

"There aren't going to be explanations. It happened. It's probably going to happen again, but I'll be long gone by then and won't care. Just look after him, okay? Vanessa, she's not what he needs, but I love him and he's got to make his own mistakes, even if this is one of them. And even if you were. I just-" Hugh shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Damnit, Jack, I know what this would have meant to him and I know what it means to you. And I know those are totally different things and if it were anyone else…"

Moving closer, Jack said gently, "I'm sorry."

"I know." To Jack's relief, Hugh smiled. "Whenever we get some outrageous report back from you or the brass are wondering why we don't fire you or lock you up for what you've been doing, and I come home and tell Marion about it, do you know what she says?"

"What does she say, Hugh?" Jack moved closer, relieved when Hugh didn't back away, but looked up at him with a lopsided smile.

"She says 'it's Jack'. And I can't argue with that. And I don't think I want to.""


f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future. He may appear in some flash-back stories, as there's a lot of leeway in 'The Waiting Years'. But he's a constant presence in the rest of the stories, which just feels right, somehow.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_medley_/]

I'm so glad I did though. In making Hugh the perfect foil for Jack, I'd made him the perfect friend.

I'm so glad you did, too. I adore his loyalty and his friendship with Jack. (Erk--eighteen drafts? Wow. Glad you persevered, though!)

"She says 'it's Jack'. And I can't argue with that. And I don't think I want to."

I love that line SO MUCH.

[pinkamethyst.livejournal.com]

I can't remember if you've ever really written Ianto, but if you have, I'd love to hear about him. Personally, I find him quite an intriguing character.

If not, how about House? I can't remember reading your House fics (possibly because we met via Torchwood and by that point I'd dropped out of the House fandom) but I'm sure they were brilliant. Plus, House is a very interesting character and I've never been able to write him. :)

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

I have written Ianto, but prefer House, so will answer about him instead :)

a. What initially prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her. The performance. Without a doubt. It was just so brilliant, especially for someone who was only used to Hugh Laurie as a comedian. It made the character completely come alive.

b. One of his/her best traits. Directness

c. One of his/her worst traits. Um...too many to choose from...I'd probably say dishonesty.

d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character. Fairly easy. The voice is strong enough that once I tapped into it, it came fairly fluently.

e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character. I think They Also Serve (http://jadesfire2808.livejournal.com/2528.html) was my best effort, as I had him interacting with all the others, and he's both different and the same with each of them.

f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future. I have an unfinished epic that desperately needs serious revision and an ending. But I more or less stopped watching at the end of the second series, so unless I get back into it, there probably won't be any more.

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

Nine. Cos you always write him rather than Ten (well, ok, mostly), and I wanna know what that's all about :)

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

I hadn't noticed that, but yes, I do, don't I?

a. What initially prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her. It's the Doctor. I need to say more? Um...the combination of serious and funny that's always been part of the Doctor came out so well in the performance, that I just thought he was brilliant.

b. One of his/her best traits. Being brilliant Compassion.

c. One of his/her worst traits. Detachment. Okay, that sounds contradictory, but it makes sense in my head...

d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character. Fairly easy, once I can get him talking. Getting him talking can be tricky though, and I've never quite worked out how to manage him properly.

e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character. It's got to be the follow up to "Undone", Endings (http://heretoutopia.livejournal.com/30052.html), just for the way he treats Jack in it.

f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future. Hmmm...I'm concentrating on a Ten-piece at the moment, but I'd love to find the time to research and write a Kyoto story for Nine, Jack and Rose. Maybe at some point...

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

*claps* I couldn't agree more about Endings, I love Nine in that story.