#reedited

[rootlessly]

newport, oregon — 2020 jan

[no1rubbish]

returned.

[victormalonso]

poema de amor

[old one reedited]

[acid-rain1]

no offense, but this is the first time in the back of your van. 

surveillance babes

[patamon]

Digimon Adventure 2020: Episode 27 | To the New Continent

[c-and-c]

TSK: Howdy hey, I'm TSK! LEMON: Halfway to heaven, I'm Lemon! TSK: And welcome to Criticism With A Side of Coffee, the first wormfanfic review blog! okay now that the Licensed Jingle ™️ is out of the way, let's get into it. Lemon, what wormfic did you bring to the table today? LEMON: Life Bends Down, written by Cpericardium, which I think is one of my favourite Wormfics that I've read so far TSK: Oooh, a fandom...what's the word to describe LBD. I can't say classic because too many people hate the very idea of it, for...some reason. Damn it, there's a word I'm thinking of that I can't remember. Anyway, I've been reading Wire, by maroon_sweater, which is one of the few Terminator crosses I've seen. Let's start with yours: I've also read LBD, but you mentioned it first so you get to give your thoughts first, that's dem rules LEMON: Oooh I've been meaning to read Wire, can't say I'm familiar with the Terminator universe but I've heard good things about it. I definitely have a lot of thoughts about LBD so I'll try to keep it short, but I do think its one of the more unique fics in the fandom in a variety of ways. From the fact that its a no power alternate universe featuring a college age Alexandria exploring life through college after surviving cancer to its focus on the characters, their relationships with one another and the everyday as opposed to the action you typically get featuring Taylor in Brockton Bay. Despite all of that though, I think the one thing that sets it apart the most isn't its novel premise, but instead the unique writing style that very clearly sets it apart from the original source material.  TSK: Oh yes, LBD has a super distinct style! It also sets the fic apart from lots of other fics in the fandom. This isn't mean to be a disparaging remark, but I think a lot of fanfic writers tend to either copy the source material's style or other fanfics and that results in a lot of fanfic authors. reading similarly LEMON: Ye, I definitely agree there. A lot of writers I think try to emulate Wildbow's style without really understanding what the strengths and weaknesses of it are. When it worked best in Worm, when it didn't. So you get a lot of fics that end up falling into the same pitfalls of the source material whilst at the same time failing to imitate the good moments in Worm.  TSK: Yeah, it's an issue in this fandom for sure. Back to LBD, I think something that Peri balances well is having these characters from Worm be recognizable but also showing how the circumstances of the AU have changed them in a number of ways. I think the contrast from canon adds to the fic's surreal atmosphere which is something I always bring up when I rec LBD to people: it leans into surrealist humor fairly heavily at times In fact I'd go so far as to say that it's one of the few issues of the fic, because the fantastic drama sequences are sometimes...lessened, by the fact that we just had some admittedly funny but absurd things happen, so it leaves you wondering how real any of this is Given that the fic hasn't finished, that may be intentional— there's a lot of very dream-like stuff in here,  and LBD is a fic that keeps you guessing more then you'd think for the seemingly mundane no-powers au it markets itself as. LEMON: I can see that, yeah, definitely seen one or two people in the comments who were left a bit confused after reading a chapter in a way that seemed to take away from the experience. For me personally the surrealist humour and style is a big draw. Outside of just being a breath of fresh air when compared to a lot of other stories, Its one of the few I've found that's made me try to read slower to appreciate the words more instead of simply ploughing through to get to the important plot points and drama. It makes the experience of reading it all the more enjoyable when it updates. TSK: Oh, absolutely: Peri's prose is lovely to read, and she really knows how to turn a phrase. There's a level of polish there that's really fantastic to witness, you can tell she cares deeply about every word. I want to avoid spoilers, but I do wanna say that  recent plot developments in LBD have really surprised me: i think a lot of People come in expecting a mundane, "slice of life" (aka not actually slice of life but random filler bs like most "school" au's) fic, but what LBD actually is is far stranger then that. Or rather, it is a Slice-of-Life, but the slices are very irregular, to say the least. LEMON: I agree with that assessment; there's a lot of  people who have a certain idea of what Slice of Life is, expecting filler with minimal plot, so they see the lack of powers and assume the worst despite LBD being one of the best in the fandom. You can tell that every word has a purpose, often more than one, that makes it all the rewarding to read. I've never felt like I've had my time wasted when reading along. The most recent plot developments certainly seem to promise more than the usual mundanity onegets in fics that are classified as Slice-of-Life.

TSK: Yep. I'm definitely excited to see where the recent development is going. And if the readers wanna know what the hell we're talking about, go read LBD! I'll drop a link at the end.

LEMON: You should definitely give it a read, it has one of the best opening lines and paragraphs that I've seen in fanfiction that shows just how well the author can write! Speaking of recent developments, there's a somewhat newish fic on the block by maroon_sweater that you've told me you've been reading TSK: Indeed there is! Wire. I wanna note that I haven't seen any of the Terminator films, and I'm only passingly familiar with the franchise. But, reading Wire is also markedly different from Worm, but in a very different way from LBD. Roon has absolutely zero word bloat, and her pacing is remarkably efficient. There is no wasted words on anything non-essential- the fic borders on minimalist at times, which means that what is\there is nothing but heart-pounding action and some surprisingly fun beats  inbetween. If you're looking for a tightly paced action/family drama, Wire's a great choice. There's something to admire in how little Roon needs to say in order to paint a picture: She pacts a lot of information to very few words; economy of language, it's a rare thing. And also, despite the AU elements, Taylor is more in character then she is in most wormfics set in what is ostensibly canon. LEMON: I can't say I've read Wire, but you're certainly making me want to read it. A tightly paced action/family drama sounds interesting to me, and I can agree with a lot of your views on Roon's writing having read other stories by her such as Terminus (another great fic people should read). She definitely has a talent when it comes to pacing and avoiding word bloat that stands in stark contrast to a lot of other stories. Her ability to write a recognizable Taylor with all of her strengths and all of her flaws is nearly unmatched. TSK: I actually haven't read Terminus! I keep meaning to but also I'm kind of tired of canon worm at the moment, AU's and canon divergences are what my tastes are at the moment.  LEMON: From the way you've described Wire, it seems to feature a lot of the same strengths that Terminus has. I can definitely understand being tired of canon worm, typically I almost exclusively read OC Fics, but Peri and Roon are two writers skilled enough that they can make me want to read stories I normally wouldn't be interested in. TSK: Absolutely agree, the two are fantastic writers, and at this point I'd read almost anything they'd put out. And I can't overstate how nice it is to read a wormfic— actually, fanfic that doesn't waste time. Again, I'm not intending to be disparaging, but I think a lot of fanfic authors in general tend to assume that more words = good, which is very much not the case. Words, in my experience, should be chosen carefully, and with great consideration. I can't tell you how many times I've read paragraphs upon paragraphs in fic and gone: "okay but what purpose did any of that serve?" I get a lot of people write fanfic for fun, and that's great! But a side effect may be not thinking too much about endgoals and what words would service said goal, and so you end up with a lot of meandering or rambling tangents. LEMON: Oh absolutely. When it comes to fanfic there seems to be an inherent value placed in the quantity of words without much regard for the quality in such a way that it becomes actively detrimental, with shorter stories often being relegated to the bottom rung. One thing I can always appreciate in a writer is when they write in a way that respects my time and both Peri and Roon do that wonderfully. TSK: Yes! An author who respects your time, who trusts you is one of the best experiences. and Peri and Roon do both, in different ways. So, in summation: read Life Bends Down, Wire, and the rest of Peri and Roon's body of wormfic works. You won't regret it! If you want wormfics that are markedly distinct from the source material whilst retaining the best elements of them, they're for sure your first stop. Alright, I think that's everything I wanted to say. Any closing remarks, Lemon? LEMON: If you do plan on reading Peri and Roon's fics and enjoy them, be sure to leave a comment! Likes and kudos are always great, but I've found that authors especially look forward to people leaving feedback in the comments.  TSK: Oh yes, 100%. To the fanfic author, a kind comment is gold. Alrighty then, that's it! Thanks for joining me for this, Lemon. Looking forwards to doing more. LEMON: Likewise!

FICS DISCUSSED THIS EPISODE: Life Bends Down by CPericardium

Wire, by maroon_sweater

[onlymywishfulthinking]

Maybe I need to speak a language you understand. 

[she-the-wolf-blog]