This Savage Land: Feedback

[resplendissante.livejournal.com]

Sooo I just finished This Savage Land (no accusing looks, I spent the weekend industriously failing to understand regime theory, we're all feeling VERY sorry for me right now) and I wanted to take a moment to say how absolutely great it was, from start to finish. Speaking as a non-participant in it, just watching it grow from the first logs to the last was fantastic. Of course I can't do justice to the whole thing (I think I saw the figure 50,000 words tossed around somewhere - holy God), but I thought I'd try. This may be disjointed, but remember that I am tired, and it was very VERY long.

1. Forge and Laurie, and their interaction. These two were really cute, and it was nice to see them make up - and Laurie being awesome the the makeshift weapon was pretty fantastic too.

2. Forge in the medlab. "I've smarted myself out of existence." Way to go, Nute. Forge is hilarious when high. Forge throughout this plot was pretty fantastic, honestly. I liked how he worked the whole thing. And on the topic of Nute, how awesome was he for organizing all this? Pretty awesome. It all flowed together pretty seamlessly, and made sense, and the bad guys were just so classic. This all felt like a hip, updated Claremont New Mutants / X-Men crossover, and that's a big compliment coming from me. :)

3. The kids being awesome. (And then slightly creepy in the Marius/Yvette log - good job, guys.) I'm still giggling at Marius's "I can't help but feel I've missed something", and I liked seeing Crystal in this setting - it showed her off, in a really good way. Not to mention Angel and Sooraya - I don't know why this sticks with me, but Angel grabbing Sooraya's hand in one of the very first logs was great. And Kyle... poor Kyle, and poor Kyle's fingers. These guys all had great moments through the weekend, and like Scott's post said - they all got to be very impressive, which is always nice to see. Mondo ordering the kids about was hilarious. :) Edit: Oh, and Alicia reminded me. Medusa and the dinosaur... so great.

4. The chaperones - I kind of love the picture of Ryan Reynolds defeating dinosaurs. Somehow it just works. And Marie being protective of the kids... aww, guys.

5. Pete in the coffee shop. One of the best vignettes in the whole thing. Oh, that poor, poor barista.

6. Pietro, and particularly his and Crystal's emails after the fact. Is it wrong to want Pietro to have to teach something like fourth-grade gym? Wrong, and yet right.

7. Those in the city: Monet's shoes. Monet in the Mini. Monet, essentially. M and Wanda and Amanda were so fabulous together. So, so fabulous.

I'm afraid to say some of the MA/Doug stuff (I'm assuming it's WoW?) went right over my head, but who cares? It's Angie and Doug, together again, so I'm pretty much thrilled with that scene.

Lorna and Alex. Lorna's shirt. Yuck, but... that's pretty much exactly what my concern would be. ;)

Julio, Scott, and the Hellfire Club. Sorry, I love the safari line. Yes, it's exactly like that! Only, with dinosaurs. In the middle of the city. Well done. ;) And poor Julio. Did he ever get his driving papers?

Bizarre cowboy Angelo! A plot device previously only seen in bad slashfic. (Oh, god, sorry Kate. I mean, I loved it, but I couldn't resist... ;) You know I heart you a lot.)

8. Teehee, Sam and the rescue team. I love the immaturity. Never change, anyone.

9. Special shout-out to Rossi for the Yvette stuff that followed, with Jean and then with Crystal. Wow - understated and yet it just hits you right in the chest.

This is a very VERY long post, appropriate to the plot. Needless to say, it was FABULOUS, and if I've forgotten anyone it's because my brain is like swiss cheese. This was great - and thanks to Nute for organizing it, because I can only imagine the effort and time it took, and he did it creatively and fluidly and yes. I will stop eventually. Well done, all. :)

Comments

[x-cable.livejournal.com]

I liked a lot of things about this plot, and if I was more ambitious, I would list them all. But since I'm half-asleep enough to be too lazy to log out and back in as myself, I'll just mention a few... Forge and Laurie's interaction, which I thought showed off both characters beautifully. Crystal's level-headedness throughout. Pete in the coffee shop (I didn't think I was ever going to stop visualizing the scene). Medusa commandeering the dinosaur. Lots more, definitely, but it's too late in the evening to go on forever. ;)