Dubious insights

[resonant]

I just reread Georgette Heyer's Cotillion, and I was struck by the similarity between Freddy Standen and Elle from "Legally Blonde."

No, really! In both cases, you're introduced to them as people who take great -- you might say obsessive -- care of their bodies, their clothes, and their appearance, and initially you read that as vanity. But over the course of the story, it becomes clear that they are people who take care of everything.

Imagine if they met! Elle probably knows some fabulous way to put a mirrorlike shine on a gentleman's topboots, and if Freddy can fold a Regency neckcloth he can probably French braid like nobody's business.

Comments

[minnaway]

I like Freddy so much, and this makes a lot of sense!

[resonant]

He's excellent, isn't he? The first time I read the book, my interpretation was that he was developing from ineffectual to super-effectual. This time around, it seemed to me more that he was getting more opportunities to do things, and getting more credit for doing them, but that he was fundamentally Freddy from the start; after all, he's responsible for getting Charlie out of hot water from pretty early on.

[wychwood]

Ahaha, genius.

Their fathers' reactions to their situations are very similar too, now you make me think of it.

[resonant]

I don't really remember Elle's father! Freddy's father is fantastic, and possibly the only flaw in the book is not getting to see him again at the end of Freddy's journey.

[wychwood]

Elle's father is somewhat less awesome, but is similarly loving while remaining highly dubious of her ability to be serious or achieve serious things.

[carolyn_claire]

Is that the one where Nemesis creeps up on a fellow and there's a choral society caterwauling next door? Just thinking about that one makes me smile; now I want to find and reread it.

[resonant]

Oh, I don't remember any of that! Now I want to know what book you read!

[wychwood]

It's ETA: learn to read, wychwood Friday's Child - Ferdy keeps talking about this chap who creeps up on people and causes trouble, apparently his brother Marmaduke knows him, but it does eventually turn out to be Nemesis :)

[carolyn_claire]

Oh, no, I'm thinking of Friday's Child, according to Google--love that one. I guess I don't remember Cotillion, then--so I've bought it on Kindle and will reread, which will be a treat.

[lobelia321]

Dearest Res

I can't seem to send a private message to you on DW so apologies for posting this as a comment.

Remember when you looked at / kindly commented on an HP fic I was writing with Draco/Dudley?? This is, um, about nine years ago??

I'm skidding into the final straits on it so was just wondering if you would still be up for doing a spot of beta on it in the next little while...?? [It's changed quite a bit.] If too busy, not to worry!

Also, what's the best way of reaching you these days? LJ presumably not but DW? Email? Tumblr? Facebook? Mobile phone txt?

Tons love
Lobelia

[resonant]

Email would be best: resonant8(at)sbcglobal(dot)net.

I would be happy to look at it, but I am crazy busy, so don't send me anything you need to get back quickly! Like, this week and weekend are already completely dead, and next week doesn't look much better (but at least I do get a weekend that time) ...

I'm impressed that you've kept the story alive for this long!

[lobelia321]

You still have the same email you had years ago; that's so sweet and strangely soothing in a world of cross-platform flux. Hon, I've waited *ten years* to finish this fic; I think I can hold on for another few measly *weeks*. (Well, I know that there have been times when after months and years I have had a sudden urge to post NOW and IMMEDIATELY but this has led to regrets so I'm learning to curb myself.) Also, I'm still writing transitions.

By the way, WARNING: the story is now 148,000 words long (yes, I fell over some hours ago and am now prone on the carpet). BUT: I don't expect any beta to look at all these words. Also, I am pruning them. *nods vigorously* So I will have to ponder how to do this. Do you have any experience of anybody who's written longlong-fic and know how they went about getting it betaed? In installments? Sending a sample only? Spreading the load among a beta bevy? Or foregoing and just hitting 'send' (which, now that I've spent all these years, I don't want to do).

This story has been alive on and off. Sometimes it's been dead for several years in a row. But you know, it was Transfigurations that inspired it (and in fact, I've been re-reading Transfigurations in the lasat week, to cool myself down from the excitement of finishing absurdlylong-fic). God, that is one gorgeous story and perhaps only now, looking back on it, I can see how much I took on board from that story subliminally (aside from the obvious things that I was always aware of). In fact, my Draco is possibly just one long exercise of exorcising your Draco from my head canon. :-) He is pointy and gauche and unfashionable and lanky-haired and unkempt and messy and mean and petty (it's like me doing a kind of anti-Transfigurations-Draco - and your Draco was *such* fanon-canon for a while - and I love your Draco so much which is why I maybe needed to do a completely different one or my own story would just have turned into a sort of mimicry of you, *g*). Also, I have Dudley. Once you have Dudley, the whole chemistry changes.

Anyway, who am I telling this? You are Queen of Slash. I've also been thinking about your notes on How To Write A Sex Scene recently and want to dig them up from the bowels of my LJ Memories. I love writing good sex. Unlike many writers whose posts I've read over the years and who find sex scenes a challenge to write, they are often the first thing I do write. For me, they're like the pulsing heart of the whole fic, and the plot sort of echoes out from that.

OK, I must tear myself away. I am delighted and honoured that you are even considering looking at even a tiny little bit of this monster. When you last looked at this around 8 years ago, you had brilliant things to say - some were quite pithy and tough, and I note that in my epic rewrite, all the things you found a bit not quite fitting in, have now somehow disappeared. They were all totally spot on.

Have a good crazy busy weeks! We can aim for March?? :-)

[lobelia321]

I love this take on Ellen from Legally Blonde (a film I have been known to mainline obsessively, watching it several times in a row in installments at lunchtime in my office....) Georgette Heyer: is she any good?