fajrdrako | Captain John Hart and other questions from sistercarrion... (Reply)

sistercarrion posted: "Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given."

The subjects she gave me: I'm going to cheat slightly here and use one of my own ones, because, well, it's true! So: Your take on Captain John, your unusual LJ name, Writers Block questions ;), reviews, fanfic

Oooh. Fun.

1. Your take on Captain John Hart

I love him with a passionate passion. Now, everyone knows I love Torchwood, but if the show has a flaw - and yes, it has a few - it's that it sometimes lacks humour. Captain John Hart has enough humour to light up the sky.

But it isn't simple humour. It's dark humour, it's needy humour, it's joking-in-the-face-of-heartbreak-and-fear humour. It's defiant humour, because he's a defiant kind of guy. He's desperate, he's lost, he's vulnerable, he's rootless, he has no anchor - he wants Jack to be his anchor, but Jack isn't having any of that.

I'd love to explore John's ongoing story. I'd love to see him find the kind of redemption that Jack found when he met the Doctor - but I don't want to see John lose his edge. I want to see more of Captain John's adventures, minus interference from Gray. How much of what he said in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" was complete bullshit? And how much was based on truths clear enough that Jack believed it, knowing him as he did?

I wish people would write more Jack/John fic, including myself.

2. your unusual LJ name

I was born in the Year of the Dragon, and I'm fond of them as mythological creatures. I am an Esperantist. So I took the name fajrdrako, pronounced 'fire-dracko', because it means "fire dragon" and I like the image.

It's also a name I can safely assume won't be already in used by others.

3. Writers Block questions

Vary in quality, obviously. An interesting one will spark a train of thought. A dull one... well. Best ignored. I'm glad they exist. I often find them irresistible, and I wish there were more such easily-accessed prompts, because I enjoy that kind of thing.

4. reviews

I love writing them, especially in point form. I enjoy reading them, when the subject interests me - particularly reviews of books and fanfic.

I would like to write reviews of fanfic more than I do, but I hesitate. Fandom is a community of people, non-professionals, and I don't want to give harsh criticism; I've seen honest reactions cause flamewars often enough, and I don't like the results - even though I think any writer (myself included) ought to be able to take harsh criticism with good grace. Experience has taught me that this is not always the case.

But if I only post good reviews, what's the point of that? That makes it a rec list - which has a value of its own, but isn't the same as reviewing. So I hold off, despite many private thoughts.

This leads nicely into:
5. fanfic

I love it. I read it (a lot), I write it (never as much as I want to). I adore the stuff. I search [Unknown site tag] nightly for offerings. I seldom read it online, unless it's really short: anything longer than a drabble, I print out to read in bed or on the sofa, or I convert to pdf form for my new e-reader.

I adore fanfic and can't get enough. That being said, a lot of what I read is bad, and I always analyze in my head why I think so: usually it's a divergent point of view of the characters - I have my own rather strong feelings about Captain Jack Harkness, and what Torchwood is all about. Sometimes it's simple English usage and writing style - and it's amazing how tolerant I am of random mistakes in a good story, or how viciously intolerant I am of spelling and grammatical errors and typos in a story I'm not otherwise enjoying. I can understand not using a beta-reader, though I wish writers would. But not even proofreading? What's with that?

Since there's so much to read, I can afford to be picky. I don't read anything that warns me it will have Gwen-bashing: not that I really mind Gwen-bashing, depending on the story - though I'd rather people wouldn't do it. It's just that if it's bad enough that the writer feels the need or desire to announce it, I don't want to see it.

I don't read stories with original characters. I read crossovers only if I know and like both fandoms and all the characters - which is rare, since I tend to focus on only one fandom at a time. I seldom read AUs, at least, not in Torchwood fandom, though I might eventually read some. I like stories that fill in background, that elucidate a character or a relationship, that feel as if they're in character, and which fit into the ambiance of the show. I tend to prefer favourite pairings (of course), but I'm pretty open in the number of pairings I'll read and enjoy. I particularly enjoy stories that don't go over the same old ground as other stories - I like stories with a new slant on a subject, or a new approach that make me look at a situation or a character in a new way.

With Torchwood I tend to read NC-17 and R stories first, then PG, then G; and stories that don't focus on Jack/Ianto first, though there are so many Jack/Ianto stories I usually end up reading them anyway.

And of course, I love stories that feature my favourite pairing(s) and which play to my favourite kinks.

I usually only read stories in any one fandom for the duration of my involvement in that fandom, though I sometimes reread old favourites in fandoms I have followed in the past.

A few outstanding favourites of all time: "They Say of the Elves" by Brancher (Lord of the Rings), "Object of Desire" by Courtney Grey (The Professionals), "A Nice Friendly Game" by koimistress (Smallville). I've yet to find anything of quite that calibre in Torchwood fandom, but I live in hope and scrutinize rec lits - more, more, we need more!

P.S. Did I just write all that about Captain John Hart without mentioning the word "cheekbones"? Or using the word "sexy"?

I must be slipping.