norwich36 | bigbang day 3 recs

Well, only half of today's stories have even been posted yet, but I had insomnia last night so I read the two that were, so this may be part one of two. Or I might not review the other two until tomorrow, who knows.

Actually, looking at the posting schedule, technically one of these was actually on yesterday's schedule, but whatever. It's not like I'm an Olympic judge or something.

Talking Points by

winterlive (Jared/Jensen) *Flaily hands* This was really fantastic. Jensen is an up-and-coming Texas Democrat who's just been unexpectedly selected as Lt. Governor; Jared Padalecki is an ambitious reporter who has gone undercover to get the scoop on him. But Jensen is the real deal: an idealistic statesman who fights for what he believes in. Though he does have a secret that could jeopardize his political career; will Jared kiss and tell?

This pushed all my Jimmy Stewart goes to Washington/West Wing/virtuous man in politics buttons in a BIG way, and I loved the pacing of it, especially the first 2/3 of the story; it has an urgency like a good breaking news story that pulls the reader forward. Great supporting cast, too, especially Jim Beaver as Jensen's senior advisor and Adrienne Palicki as his terrifyingly competent assistant.

Say You're Mine by

belyste (Jared/Jensen, Jared/OMC, Jensen/various). A very long (50,000+) romantic tale, with lots of complications and a very fun supporting cast. Jared is looking for a lasting relationship, now that his best friends and roommates Adrienne and Allison are getting married; Jensen literally falls into his lap, and Jared becomes convinced that he's the one. Jensen is attracted to Jared, but is definitely not looking for a serious relationship. I enjoyed this a lot, though there was one scene toward the beginning that hit my embarrassment squick hard (certain kinds of romantic comedies do this, if the characters put themselves in situations where they look foolish)--fortunately, that was the only scene that did. Most of the usual CWRPS crew is in this story, with Michael Rosenbaum playing the token straight manwhore, and Adrienne Palicki and Allison Mack being wonderful as Jared's BFFs. A very enjoyable read.

As I was saying to

redteekal in the comments of an earlier post, I feel almost bad calling these reviews, since I'm basically just summarizing the plots of all the bigbang stories and then babbling about how much I liked them, with the occasional caveat about formatting or story elements that bugged me. But since I've been doing that, I almost feel like I should keep doing that, although I don't know what I will do when I start encountering stories I don't actually like. Advise me, oh wise flist!

[Poll #1413876]

(1) Not at ALL in reference to an actual story posted during last year's bigbang, or anything

Edited to add: oops, I see the strike command doesn't actually work in polls. Well, you can probably figure out from context that it should read "Nora, you are far too ~~obsessed with people's opinion of you~~ nice" in the poll options above.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Option c works for me. No time for unliked fics... *runs off to continue reading fleshflutter's totally brilliant the incestuous courtship of the anti-christ's bride that I just have to finish before I go past the minimum hours of sleep required to function at work tomorrow*

Oh, yeah, isn't that story hilariously fun? That first non-sex scene practically had me rolling on the floor.

Realistically, since there are going to be over 200 stories posted and I'm going to get burned out at some point, I think your advice is very sound.

I, for one, relied on you almost 100% when I entered SPN fandom, so my opinion is post as many reviews as you like! And don't feel bad about leaving anything out--it may just not be your thing; it doesn't mean you're telling the author they're a Sam-Killin' Machine of Bad Writing (er... I should say I don't think I've ever read this story, if it actually exists).

The best thing about your episode reviews and your fiction recs is that they're yours--you just say what you like (whether it's a detail or the entire thing), when you like, and you're honest, so I enjoy that about them. I think you should feel free to continue doing just this.

Unfortunately, the story exists. (Even more unfortunately, I was compelled by some badfic curse to read it to the end, my mouth gaping open wider and wider as I continued, wondering just how flamed the author was going to get. The answer was not at all; I think everyone else was wise enough to backspace out after the first few paragraphs).

Realistically, I think I'll probably only review the stories I like (there are going to be so many this summer I can't imagine keeping up with all of them), but if there is something that is awful in a spectacular way, I may post a snarky review under flock. (I kind of love reading other people's snarky reviews, but I cringe in horror at the thought of the poor author encountering them after she worked so hard to put out 20,000+ words, so I doubt I could make myself really post them publically).

And thanks for the feedback--it's good to know these reviews are helpful for people! (I love your icon, btw).

You do what you do how you wanna do it 'cause you do it so well!

I'm not going to get any work done on my day off...*sigh*

*makes coffee and gets comfy*

Yeah, I know that feeling! I'm still in the honeymoon stage with the BB stories; I remember last year, sometime around July, starting to feel deluged like I couldn't keep up with them all, which is so silly; clearly I should read more slowly and save some for the fallow months of the year, but somehow instead I just binge my way through them.

I'd say post whatever you want, and not be worried about what fandom thinks. And I'm not just saying that because I'm curious what you'll have to say about mine. ;)

Well, I'm definitely looking forward to yours, I can tell you that!

You've been labeling these all along as RECS, dear. So it seems fair to assume that you'll only post about the ones you like. I see no reason why you'd be obligated to do more than that.

(That said, if you come across something hilariously bad, I'd love it if you posted a snarky review, both to warn me away from it and for sheer entertainment value. But then, I have a black and shriveled heart.)

Hee! I doubt your heart is more black or shriveled than mine, since I also love snarky reviews, though I would probably post it under flock, since I don't actually like stomping on poor badfic writers' hearts. And I think you are write about mainly posting just about the stories I like, since I don't have infinite time.

Personally I'd be interested in all your reviews, good or bad, but yeah it might be best to flock any harsher reviews to avoid drama *g*

That is wise advice! Most likely I will stick to the positive reviews, but I may post a snarky one now and then under flock.

Oh, the moral dilemmas fandom brings. :)

:D

Honestly I'm probably too lazy to write up negative reviews anyway, even if I had time.

Laziness is a very good way to solve moral dilemmas. *shiftyeyes*

Hee! Sloth is definitely the path of least resistance, and my besetting sin.

I chose option 3, because if you're worried about sounding too mean, that's probably the best option. I almost chose (and wish I could have also chosen) option one, because I think it is entirely possible to post a less-than-favorable review without being mean. I think it's entirely fair to say that 'This fic was not for me. It's probably not for you. I found Jensen's character way to far ooc to be believable because...'

I tend to live by the it's-your-journal-say-what-you-want rule.

Well, I did end up flocking a couple less-than-favorable (though not at all snarky) reviews, just because I didn't want to cause wank, so that's probably what I'll continue doing.

bigbang day 3 recs

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