flemmings: (Default)
flemmings ([personal profile] flemmings) wrote2005-08-30 06:52 pm
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Fic talk (brief)

Yes, yes, I know everyone was into FMA years ago and I'm a sad johnny-come-lately. No matter. I now understand what this story is about and I'm all snerf snerf weep over it.

And this one does an enviably neat job of bringing dream fluidity into a light-of-day narrative.

I shall mention that before I had to do the consumptive on a sofa routine I was writing a story, and in this story Gouen was flying above the ocean looking for something, and what he saw was a white arm floating in the water below him. I had no idea why a white arm; or rather, I knew the white arm came from The King Must Die, a nasty detail following an eruption on some island, but I had no idea why it was in my story. When I tried to find something not so nasty for Gouen to see I couldn't think of anything, so shou ga nai he sees a white arm, and I wrote on thinking 'I'll change it later when I've got more done." And then the story did a fish-flip as stories will and I realized why it was a white arm: or at least, realized that the white arm worked to an unplanned but very satisfying purpose. And I thought Screw me but I've got a brilliant subconscious. Or ratpack memory, whichever.

Because somehow I think the white arm was somewhere in The White Goddess: but I read that when I was 18, understood none of it, and remember even less. Maybe if I keep on writing, now that I'm allowed to have both feet on the floor again, the white goddess reference will come back as well. Only- well, I'm also on my second round of antibiotics and wiped by two hours' work, so this is all for laters.

[identity profile] kickinpants.livejournal.com 2005-08-30 07:04 pm (UTC)(link)
I think the white arm sounds interesting- morbind but interesting. Is it just floating on it's own? Oh, don't answer. I'll wait. :) It's a neat detail though.

If you like that story, I'm happy. (Those italic tags used to work...) It's one of those with hits, but few reviews. It's a weird pairing though. That episode made me so so sad though, that I needed to write it out. He was/is still one of my favorite FMA characters.

Ah, damn... (sniffle)

[identity profile] flemmings.livejournal.com 2005-08-30 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
There's not much to say to it, actually. It's a perfect little story just by itself, and perfection doesn't leave much room for comment. Even talking about it as a 'pairing' seems the wrong approach, as if it was an arbitrary fandom thing and you could have picked a different pairing. But that's not how it is. There's something quietly right about what happens and how, and I feel it wouldn't have happened any other way, to anyone else.

[identity profile] mvrdrk.livejournal.com 2005-08-30 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm a johnny come lately too on FMA. I believe I'm even further behind than you are ...

[identity profile] flemmings.livejournal.com 2005-08-31 07:19 am (UTC)(link)
Manga or anime?

[identity profile] shiny-monkey.livejournal.com 2005-09-02 06:19 am (UTC)(link)
I have sent you up to volume 10, yes? But not 11?

[identity profile] flemmings.livejournal.com 2005-09-02 06:48 am (UTC)(link)
You've sent me 11 which I'm now reading in avid horror. Though relieved the manga doesn't do any of the WTF anime things like doors into our world or whatever that one was.

[identity profile] shiny-monkey.livejournal.com 2005-09-02 06:52 am (UTC)(link)
I reiterate very crankily (as is my wont) that the manga is better than the anime by far.