#Performance In A Leading Role

[madlori]

A-rewritin' I shall go

I am on FIYAH.

So, for those of you who enjoy Me Talking About Writing, lemme bring you up to speed on what's going on with the Performance in a Leading Role rewrite.

This is not remotely the first rewrite. I did an edit to scrub it for publication, then I did a deeper edit, then I rewrote it to shorten it by like 50K words, now I'm rewriting it again.

I'm putting back some of the stuff I cut but not all.

I am cutting a LOT, but it's like...a word here, a phrase there, a sentence here. I was fucking WORDY when I initially wrote this. I tend to repeat myself, it's probably my worst habit as a writer. A surprising amount of these words just...don't need to be here.

Re-characterizing characters is surprisingly challenging, and a rewrite is really the only way to do it.

I'm not 100% that I'm keeping the title. I'm at like 95%, though.

One debate I've been having with myself and others is whether to change the time in which it's set. It was written in 2010ish. Do I update everything to current? Do I remove references to real-world movie premieres and such? I think I've arrived at a happy medium wherein I'm removing references that could peg it as happening at a certain time and keeping it vague. This means fictionalizing some of the real films mentioned, but half of the films mentioned in it were already fake, so it's whatever. But I'm fucking calling it Twitter and I don't gaf if that's a tell.

Our leads are now Oscar winner Jamie Carr and rom-com king Nick Mackenzie. Jamie is sort of a Henry Cavill type. British but tall and musclebound like a retired rugby player. Nick is American and a boy-next-door type. In my head he's sort of an AI morph of Ed Burns, Matt Damon and Charlie Cox.

Almost all of Jamie's dialogue has been rewritten or at least massaged. He's not a master of deduction although he is known for being closed-off and difficult.

It's amazing how quickly my brain transitioned from thinking of these characters as their fanfic versions and went over to the OC versions. They feel very distinct to me now.

Will I leave the original story on AO3? I'm kicking that can down the road for now. I'm pondering ways I can leave up the posting - so I don't lose the comments - but remove the text, while keeping a way for a reader to obtain the text from me if they want it. If anyone has ideas, I'm all ears.

[dduane]

In the Comfort Reading dep’t…

When nothing else will do.

Mad_Lori’s Performance In A Leading Role

…And also: the classic graphic take, via the inimitable Reapersun…

[sits-bound]

Bound: Performance in a Leading Role by @madlori

I needed something nice to focus on to help with election stress (before and after) and so I decided to bind a fic I love. The cover is kind of insane but I love it. I feel like I should point out that I painstakingly moved or rotated each letter just a teeeeeny tiny bit so it would look more like one of those signs. I'm not just sloppy, ha.

It was fun to typeset, especially the chapters that were transcripts of TV interviews. And I just have a fondness for these grungy typewriter fonts.

The endpapers don't really go, but I just felt like the design gave 221B vibes. I just like them, okay?!?

Now I'm looking forward to reading it again! The best part about reading fic as a physical book is that it's harder to get distracted by your phone, and therefore the state of the world.

[scifrey]

FANFICTION MASTERPOST

Hob Adherent Series

(The Sandman, extended Gaiman-verse)

Hob Gadling is a clingy bastard, and he’s not ashamed to admit it. He clings to life. He clings to hope. He clings to his love of humanity. He clings to his Stranger. He also, unfortunately, has a habit of clinging to his name.

Which means that when the BBC is looking for a new pet history expert to appear in their educational docudrama series “Elizabethan Manor,” they’re overjoyed to find a professor who (according to their meticulous research) is actually descended from the Master of the National Trust building they’re filming in - Gadlen House.

Only Hob knows how right they are.

Cling Fast

Carpe Diem

Hold Tight 

Keepsakes

The F-Words Series (the Rovai-verse)

(Loki, MCU; based on the art of @alicerovai)

Loki has fallen for false promises, fallen for Odin's lies, fallen off of a bridge, fallen into the wrong hands... can he let himself fall into the arms of a potential rescuer? Or will he just end up falling for another trick?

Fall

Fold 

Fight

Flirt 

Forgive 

To A Stranger

(Sherlock, Performance in a Leading Role by @madlori)

Here - for the first time - is the screenplay for the unexpected and sizzling hit which swept awards shows; was lauded in Time, Variety, and major publications the world over; snagged a Best Actor Oscar for first-time nominee John Watson; heralded a revolution in LQBTQA+ cinema; and was the catalyst for the incredible romantic journey of two of the greatest actors of our generation.

The Heart of the TARDIS

Rose: Feels to me like a temper tantrum because it can't get it's own way.

The Doctor: It's scared. Come on, you were a kid once.

Rose: Yes, and I know what kids can be like. Right little terrors. I've got cousins. Kids can't have it all their own way. That's part of being a family.

The Doctor: What about trying to understand them?

Rose: Easy for you to say. You don't have kids.

The Doctor: I was a Dad once.

Rose: What did you say?

--"Fear Her"

Respected

(Stargate: Atlantis, Torchwood)

Ianto Jones only wanted a nice, quiet beer. And maybe some damned respect, already.

Tobogganing Series

(Stargate: Atlantis, Casper)

When Johnny Sheppard was ten years old, he begged his father for a toboggan for Christmas.

He Kissed Me First 

(Stargate: Atlantis, The Farm in Iowa-verse by @sheafrotherdon)

"Rodnies? Rodneys? Rodni? How do you conjugate the plural?" John wondered.

The Once And Future Kingdom 

(Stargate: Atlantis, Merlin)

"I am Prince Arthur of Camelot!" the boy in the chainmail said. For a small, infinitesimal moment, Rodney considered losing it.

"Right, Prince Arthur, the Prince Arthur," Rodney scoffed instead. "And I'm Merlin."

The dark haired boy that stood a few paces behind his golden Prince cleared his throat. "Uh, no," he said, shifting uneasily from foot to foot, "Actually, I am."

Right, of course. Because this totally was Rodney's LIFE.

The Driver 

(Agent Carter, Captain America, British Royalty RPF)

“What?” Dum Dum asked, prodding his seatmate in the ribs with his meaty elbow for the umpteenth time. “Seriously, Falsy, what?”

“Squirfle,” the Brit said, or something like it. His face, under the mustache, had turned an amusing shade of puce that was rapidly verging on the alarming.

“Yeah, buddy, I know she’s pretty, but she’s just a dame, ain’t she?” Dum Dum said. He jerked his head at their driver. She was just a short brown-blonde coif from the back, though from his position against the side of the transportation jeep, Dum Dum could make out a smooth, pale cheek, an archly-painted eyebrow, and impeccable red lips.

The Nihongo Series

(Stargate: Atlantis)

In Japan, it is not too much to say that a great deal is about appearances. It is a habit cultivated over a life-time, and not one easy to break.

*

This is just a partial list of my most popular fics. Please visit my A03 and FF.NET profiles for the full list of fics.

You can also find a master post of my original fiction here.

[1dhq]

what’s the first fic you ever read for your fandom(s)?

[the-lesbianest-batman]

performance in a leading role 🤝 ten times outta nine I'm a hand greande

🤝= the newly outed characters in circa 2010 being harassed by the perez hilton blog

[madlori]

The Comic Sans trick

So I've been attempting to rewrite my publication edit of Performance in a Leading Role for ages now. It's not like it's HARD. I'm retyping the whole manuscript while making some subtle changes, and some not-so subtle cuts.

And yet it has been an embarrassingly slow process. My brain just Did. Not. Want. To. Do. The. Thing.

So I tried the Comic Sans trick. It goes around on here sometimes and it's simple - if you're blocked, switch your typeface to Comic Sans.

IT. FUCKING. WORKED.

I've rewritten two chapters in three days.

I do not know why or how this works but it dooooooo.

[k-wame]

OMAR SY & ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards 🎭 ⋮ 02.24.2024

[sersi]

the ways in which brave new world's box office performance/critical reception is constantly used to attack and question sam's place in the mcu and as leader of the Avengers©️ versus the extensive mental and verbal gymnastics that happen anytime there's new evidence of d*redevil: b*rn again's viewership under-performance 🤡

[ballet-symphonie]

Could you elaborate on your latest post regarding the state of Bolshoi!l? Would love to have an insight to your opinion!

From a politicians' daughter who can hardly dance getting leading roles, Nikiyas who can't do a simple backbend with their leg behind them let alone emote or dance on the music, Gamzattis dancing the jubilant wedding coda at the pace of a funeral dirge just to put their legs by their ears, a corps of girls who can't step into tendu on the same count...it becomes harder and harder to watch.

[fatherramiro]

since today is emmy nominations day i am once more reminded of how, for the 2022-2023 season - and with full acknowledgement that 1899 was never going to get a single nomination no matter what - netflix chose to only submit the 1899 actors who predominantly spoke english in their roles for emmy consideration which like. was certainly a choice.

[melikes-reads]

This gives me such Performance in a Leading Role vibes...

That could easily be Sherlock singing John's praises to the press. @madlori how does it feel when life imitates art?

#Pedro 😭

[unorcadox]

going to be so honest also with regard to the whole like "does anyone want to introduce themselves" thing uh, this blog is Very Visible to say it lightly and in general only the couple of surface-level alters that are contributing to stuff publicly want to reveal themselves like. our gatekeeper won't even say his name on here in case someone finds his nsft alt LMFAO

[gomzdrawfr]

So excited :]

[sarahthecoat]

ixhave read a bunch of these, all awesome, so i can't pick "one best". i will however, point out that the penguin au by cwb is perhaps the "most unlikely" or "most likely to elicit a ?????" however, it is also definitely MOST AMAZING. and well worth the time invested. warning, though, penglings, er, pengwings, er, penguins, will live forever in your heart. <3<3<3

Do you know any Johnlock fics that are long and develop the relationship but in an AU setting? Can be angst and def have sexy times 😉 Thank you!!

Hi, great request! I don’t have that many specifically AU lists yet so I’ll try to put together another one later on but for now I can offer you this although there are only 2 on there that I’d consider “long” (over 50k):

Long-term mutual pining AU’s

[perryavenue]

He did it! He did it!!