IWTGH blather
Nov. 16th, 2007 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
inmyriadbitsGosh, lots of Korman stuff today.
I totally just pimped![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fox1013 into Kormanfic, by way of I Want To Go Home! and then A Very Long Summer. I love getting awesome things and awesome people together like that. :) \o/ *cracks knuckles*
inmyriadbits: so, I wanted to go back to what you said before
"I am stuck on the way that Rudy always seems vaguely disappointed at being so much more awesome than everyone. I am trying to figure out where a fic can come from that"
because I love this idea
and I am trying to figure out how to write him
fox1013: That was the hook that drew me in to Rudy. Any time he accomplished something, he seemed more upset by that than when he was abstaining.
inmyriadbits: yeah
and it's weird, he judges everything by his own rules
fox1013: /nods
inmyriadbits: like, he sort of sees everything as a game? only the goal isn't anything other people consider normal
fox1013: right
the goal is what's possible rather than what's desired
inmyriadbits: can you expand on that?
fox1013: his goal isn't to achieve a specific purpose, or a specific outcome. It's to see what he can do.
Which also, I think, covers a lot of his "I don't"s in the story- he knows he can play those games. He doesn't have anything to find out there. He doesn't know if he can build a dam.
inmyriadbits: hmmm
yeah
that's really interesting, i hadn't seen it like that before
fox1013: I feel like I need to do a reread to be sure
inmyriadbits: no, it makes sense
fox1013: but so much of it is outsmarting people and seeing what he can do within specific confines that hasn't been done before
inmyriadbits: and it plays into why so much of his stuff comes out of left field
because there's absolutely no reason to expect it; no one's ever done it before
but
fox1013: right
inmyriadbits: but he doesn't always play like that, exactly. like, that's sort of his default
fox1013: /nods
inmyriadbits: but sometimes he likes to play with others
but he's always playing a game /he/ made up
and he doesn't share the rules
fox1013: Right. Some days, his adventure is Play With the Other Children.
sometimes it's... break the cabin.
inmyriadbits: and the people who keep up are the ones he keeps
hee
I think he gets /bored/
and then there's his odd honesty
that adds such a fun twist
because he would be a total sociopath, otherwise
fox1013: Yes.
inmyriadbits: actually
like, an actual sociopath, now that I think about it
um
fox1013: ...Serial killer AU?
inmyriadbits: DUDE
fox1013: (I would like to note here that I am being SUCCESSFUL at not going into detail about how gifted children frequently underperform whenever they aren't interested because, if they know already, why bother. I AM PROUD OF MY RESTRAINT.)
inmyriadbits: hi, I live that life
/high fives/
fox1013: /high fives back
inmyriadbits: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_know_if_someone_is_a_sociopath
fox1013: Man, I have learned so many important things, *clearly*. This totally outweighs my complete refusal to do my work this semester
...heeeeeeee
inmyriadbits: DUDE, no, SERIOUSLY
fox1013: ...well, he's not a pathological liar.
and he... occasionally feels guilt! He doesn't let people die!
inmyriadbits: no, he does make up ridiculous stories
no, I'm saying he's weirdly close
but he does have a conscience, and that's what separates him
it's just that his conscience is incredibly unusual
fox1013: Right.
He's not using the same moral code as everyone else.
which makes it look like he lacks a moral code
inmyriadbits: he doesn't lie; or, well, he only lies when it's so completely ridiculous that it doesn't count
like his first letter home
yeah
fox1013: and, just from visiting day, it's pretty easy to get the idea that his entire family is fine with this kind of thing
they know what to take seriousyl and what not to
inmyriadbits: and because his moral code is different, it means he's more so in some ways that normal. like, with the honesty thing; he literally can't not do his best if he does something, even if he hates it
fox1013: he's proving something to himself.
inmyriadbits: yeah
again with the games and making his own rules
fox1013: /nods
...man, I love book fandoms for THIS VERY REASON. Hee.
inmyriadbits: like, he has to follow the rules he makes up, but once he changes the rules, it's different
fox1013: Right.
inmyriadbits: Rudy is fascinating
fox1013: he is
inmyriadbits: really, never seen anything like him
fox1013: He is SO my archetype. Hee. (Now I'm thinking of a fusion with Heroes where either Rudy or Mike has powers.)
inmyriadbits: oooh
I would want to give Mike powers
Rudy's already made of awesome
fox1013: it would put him on more equal footing with Rudy. Who I bet would actually be thrilled to see someone he can't beat.
inmyriadbits: yeah
the dynamic between them is really interesting
like, it's pretty easy to see why Mike find Rudy interesting
but figuring out why Rudy like Mike so much is a lot more subtle and hard to pick out
likes(
*
argh
fox1013: hee
inmyriadbits: that's right, mock my pain :P
fox1013: I think it's almost that Mike is so quiet. Mike is willing to go with whatever game Rudy wants. But he doesn't go along mindlessly.
inmyriadbits: I think it's also how openminded he is about it
I mean, everyone else freaks out because Rudy isn't doing what he's /supposed/ to do
but Mike's like Rudy and can see that "supposed to" is really subjective
fox1013: right
inmyriadbits: I've always really liked the exchange between Mike and Pierre at the dance
hold on, let me find it
Pierre walked over and leaned against the wall next to Mike. “Our friend Miller is full of surprises,” he commented.
Mike grinned. “You’d be surprised.”
Pierre laughed. “If he’s not careful, somebody might think he’s enjoying himself.”
“Ha!” said Mike. The thought of Rudy Miller enjoying anything that had to do with camp was absurd. “Rudy hasn’t changed expression since the day he arrived at Algonkian.”
“I stand corrected,” said Pierre. “Look at him now-dancing up a storm with seven or eight girls and looking as bored as if he were reading the telephone book. How do you figure him?”
“I don’t,” said Mike. “And we’re still friends. I have a feeling that’s why.”
fox1013: /grins
inmyriadbits: :D
I <3 Mike
and then there's this
Mike looked at Rudy. “Do you dance?”
“Only at gunpoint.”
“No, I mean can you dance?”
“So I’m told,” said Rudy.
If Mike had not known better, he would have been sure he saw a distinct flush on Rudy’s cheeks.
is there any way to parse that without subtext, do you think?
fox1013: /considers
I am willing to read it either as Mike/Rudy, straight-up, or as Rudy having Issues with being seen as the overachiever by Mike, who has been accepting him as "normal".
...which is pretty much to say "No".
inmyriadbits: haha
maybe not accepting him as normal, but accepting him anyway
fox1013: yes, exactly
inmyriadbits: it's one of the only times someone pins down an answer from Rudy when he's trying to evade it, too
fox1013: It's almost like Rudy doesnt want to be too perfect, because then he becomes a symbol instead of a person- which is what happened with the camp in a single day.
inmyriadbits: yeah. that was so sad
Mike's really the only guy who gets him, and doesn't try to label him or put him in a little box, or make him play by other rules
I mean, he's uncomfortable with it a lot of the time
fox1013: he's uncomfortable but he goes with it. Which is sweet.
inmyriadbits: yeah
I totally just pimped
fox1013 into Kormanfic, by way of I Want To Go Home! and then A Very Long Summer. I love getting awesome things and awesome people together like that. :) \o/ *cracks knuckles*inmyriadbits: so, I wanted to go back to what you said before"I am stuck on the way that Rudy always seems vaguely disappointed at being so much more awesome than everyone. I am trying to figure out where a fic can come from that"
because I love this idea
and I am trying to figure out how to write him
fox1013: That was the hook that drew me in to Rudy. Any time he accomplished something, he seemed more upset by that than when he was abstaining.inmyriadbits: yeahand it's weird, he judges everything by his own rules
fox1013: /nodsinmyriadbits: like, he sort of sees everything as a game? only the goal isn't anything other people consider normalfox1013: rightthe goal is what's possible rather than what's desired
inmyriadbits: can you expand on that?fox1013: his goal isn't to achieve a specific purpose, or a specific outcome. It's to see what he can do.Which also, I think, covers a lot of his "I don't"s in the story- he knows he can play those games. He doesn't have anything to find out there. He doesn't know if he can build a dam.
inmyriadbits: hmmmyeah
that's really interesting, i hadn't seen it like that before
fox1013: I feel like I need to do a reread to be sureinmyriadbits: no, it makes sensefox1013: but so much of it is outsmarting people and seeing what he can do within specific confines that hasn't been done beforeinmyriadbits: and it plays into why so much of his stuff comes out of left fieldbecause there's absolutely no reason to expect it; no one's ever done it before
but
fox1013: rightinmyriadbits: but he doesn't always play like that, exactly. like, that's sort of his defaultfox1013: /nodsinmyriadbits: but sometimes he likes to play with othersbut he's always playing a game /he/ made up
and he doesn't share the rules
fox1013: Right. Some days, his adventure is Play With the Other Children.sometimes it's... break the cabin.
inmyriadbits: and the people who keep up are the ones he keepshee
I think he gets /bored/
and then there's his odd honesty
that adds such a fun twist
because he would be a total sociopath, otherwise
fox1013: Yes.inmyriadbits: actuallylike, an actual sociopath, now that I think about it
um
fox1013: ...Serial killer AU?inmyriadbits: DUDEfox1013: (I would like to note here that I am being SUCCESSFUL at not going into detail about how gifted children frequently underperform whenever they aren't interested because, if they know already, why bother. I AM PROUD OF MY RESTRAINT.)inmyriadbits: hi, I live that life/high fives/
fox1013: /high fives backinmyriadbits: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_know_if_someone_is_a_sociopathfox1013: Man, I have learned so many important things, *clearly*. This totally outweighs my complete refusal to do my work this semester...heeeeeeee
inmyriadbits: DUDE, no, SERIOUSLYfox1013: ...well, he's not a pathological liar.and he... occasionally feels guilt! He doesn't let people die!
inmyriadbits: no, he does make up ridiculous storiesno, I'm saying he's weirdly close
but he does have a conscience, and that's what separates him
it's just that his conscience is incredibly unusual
fox1013: Right.He's not using the same moral code as everyone else.
which makes it look like he lacks a moral code
inmyriadbits: he doesn't lie; or, well, he only lies when it's so completely ridiculous that it doesn't countlike his first letter home
yeah
fox1013: and, just from visiting day, it's pretty easy to get the idea that his entire family is fine with this kind of thingthey know what to take seriousyl and what not to
inmyriadbits: and because his moral code is different, it means he's more so in some ways that normal. like, with the honesty thing; he literally can't not do his best if he does something, even if he hates itfox1013: he's proving something to himself.inmyriadbits: yeahagain with the games and making his own rules
fox1013: /nods...man, I love book fandoms for THIS VERY REASON. Hee.
inmyriadbits: like, he has to follow the rules he makes up, but once he changes the rules, it's differentfox1013: Right.inmyriadbits: Rudy is fascinatingfox1013: he isinmyriadbits: really, never seen anything like himfox1013: He is SO my archetype. Hee. (Now I'm thinking of a fusion with Heroes where either Rudy or Mike has powers.)inmyriadbits: ooohI would want to give Mike powers
Rudy's already made of awesome
fox1013: it would put him on more equal footing with Rudy. Who I bet would actually be thrilled to see someone he can't beat.inmyriadbits: yeahthe dynamic between them is really interesting
like, it's pretty easy to see why Mike find Rudy interesting
but figuring out why Rudy like Mike so much is a lot more subtle and hard to pick out
likes(
*
argh
fox1013: heeinmyriadbits: that's right, mock my pain :Pfox1013: I think it's almost that Mike is so quiet. Mike is willing to go with whatever game Rudy wants. But he doesn't go along mindlessly.inmyriadbits: I think it's also how openminded he is about itI mean, everyone else freaks out because Rudy isn't doing what he's /supposed/ to do
but Mike's like Rudy and can see that "supposed to" is really subjective
fox1013: rightinmyriadbits: I've always really liked the exchange between Mike and Pierre at the dancehold on, let me find it
Pierre walked over and leaned against the wall next to Mike. “Our friend Miller is full of surprises,” he commented.
Mike grinned. “You’d be surprised.”
Pierre laughed. “If he’s not careful, somebody might think he’s enjoying himself.”
“Ha!” said Mike. The thought of Rudy Miller enjoying anything that had to do with camp was absurd. “Rudy hasn’t changed expression since the day he arrived at Algonkian.”
“I stand corrected,” said Pierre. “Look at him now-dancing up a storm with seven or eight girls and looking as bored as if he were reading the telephone book. How do you figure him?”
“I don’t,” said Mike. “And we’re still friends. I have a feeling that’s why.”
fox1013: /grinsinmyriadbits: :DI <3 Mike
and then there's this
Mike looked at Rudy. “Do you dance?”
“Only at gunpoint.”
“No, I mean can you dance?”
“So I’m told,” said Rudy.
If Mike had not known better, he would have been sure he saw a distinct flush on Rudy’s cheeks.
is there any way to parse that without subtext, do you think?
fox1013: /considersI am willing to read it either as Mike/Rudy, straight-up, or as Rudy having Issues with being seen as the overachiever by Mike, who has been accepting him as "normal".
...which is pretty much to say "No".
inmyriadbits: hahamaybe not accepting him as normal, but accepting him anyway
fox1013: yes, exactlyinmyriadbits: it's one of the only times someone pins down an answer from Rudy when he's trying to evade it, toofox1013: It's almost like Rudy doesnt want to be too perfect, because then he becomes a symbol instead of a person- which is what happened with the camp in a single day.inmyriadbits: yeah. that was so sadMike's really the only guy who gets him, and doesn't try to label him or put him in a little box, or make him play by other rules
I mean, he's uncomfortable with it a lot of the time
fox1013: he's uncomfortable but he goes with it. Which is sweet.inmyriadbits: yeah(LJ-ify your IMs before pasting!)
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-18 03:13 pm (UTC)That is all!
♥
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-19 07:10 am (UTC)You are awesome. Let me know if you want to throw around ideas about it! I am at your disposal; it's the least I can do, right? :D
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-23 03:19 am (UTC)Now you just need to get Jess hooked ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-27 01:49 am (UTC)I'm working on her! I've given her the books, now we're just waiting for the List to diminish. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-08 07:28 am (UTC)Sorry to barge in, but as soon as I read that JtHM popped into my mind. :D
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-08 07:12 pm (UTC)But, I'm unfamiliar with the acronym. JtHM?
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-08 10:22 pm (UTC)JtHM = Johnny the Homicidal Maniac
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_the_Homicidal_Maniac
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-10 06:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-10 09:19 am (UTC)I don't think he's violent either, but it just randomly popped into my head...
Never meeting Mike?
I've actually never seen it. :(