The famous DVD commentary meme!

[aragarna]

snagged from elrhiarhodan

Pick a passage from my stories , up to 500 words, - or just pick a story, I'm flexible - from anything I've written in this journal, and comment to this post with that selection (including a link to the story being excerpted). I will then give you a DVD commentary on that snippet: what I was thinking when I wrote it, why I wrote it in the first place, what's going on in the character's heads, why I chose certain words, what this moment means in the context of the rest of the story, awful puns [perhaps], and anything else that you'd expect to find on a DVD commentary track.

The complete collection of my fanfictions is available on my illustrated Master list or on AO3 - yes, all of it, finally on AO3!

Comments

[nywcgirl]

“No touching,” the guard warns.

They both retreat their hands quickly. But the contact happened. Neal smiles and he sees the sparkle in Peter’s eyes.

“You’re rejecting it aren’t you?” Neal asks softly.

“What?”

“Prison. You’re fighting against it.”

“I feel like an alien whose ship has crashed on a hostile planet. No friends, no back-up, no way back home.” Peter shrugs. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Adapt. Blend in.”

“How? I’m not cut for this Neal, this is not… me.”

“Peter, listen to me carefully. First, keep in mind this is temporary.” Peter opens his mouth to protest but Neal raises a hand. “It is. You won’t spend your life here Peter. I won’t let that happen.”

“How? We both know my case doesn’t look good.”

“Trust me.” Neal says softly.

from 'Break me out, dont break me free (http://archiveofourown.org/works/6453343)

[aragarna.livejournal.com]

Oh wow,what a choice! So, first, you have to understand how traumatized I was by the S4 finale. This was probably the worst end of season of the entire show (emotionally speaking). They all lost everything... It all started as your usual, upbeat, "let's take down a giant" White Collar episode, and suddenly, unexpectedly, it all went South. Neal betrayed by his father, and Peter betrayed by his own system and arrested!!!

I think I would have felt much different if Peter had been arrested for something he actually did, but there is was all so very very wrong. And just, that *face*...

For a very long time, I just couldn't imagine Peter actually going to prison. I refused to admit it (I even wrote a post S4 fic where he's cleared before going to prison, where the summary was "the one where Peter doesn't go to prison"... And I read very few post S4 fics.)

In a way, I know that it's just a TV show, and a light one at that, so nothing wrong would happen to Peter in prison. And he'd be cleared, there was a whole S5 announced, and he couldn't spend that much screen time in prison... And I *know* that Neal went to prison, for a long time, and then went back. But Neal being a criminal, this is more expected. Also the show starts with Neal breaking out of prison, so prison is the first thing that defines Neal, so it's easier to accept. But Peter? no, that was just impossible.

Peter doesn't belong there. And that's the idea I wanted to translate in the bit that you picked. Neal, in any environment, tries to blend it, and then works the system into his advantage. But Peter would probably have a much harder time to adjust. Peter would feel like a fish out of water. His mind would fight it, and he'd have a secret rebellious attitude toward the whole prison environment. He'd play by the rules and keep he head down, cause he's not stupid and he wants to survive, but inside, in his mind, he would reject it. That's what Neal reads in his eyes when they sparkle after they're caught breaking a rule by making contact.

Also, once I had finally accepted the fact that we would see Peter in orange, I liked the idea that for once, Neal would be the one to show Peter the way. A kind of reversal of their father/son relationship, that I found very interesting.

And I *know* that Peter is actually a tough guy, and that I was overreacting, that he'd get out and he'd be shaken but wouldn't be actually that much traumatized by the whole ordeal, because Peter is solid, he's rational, he'd move on. But I'm just a softy when it comes to Peter...


(And this was the short version... ;) )

[pipilj.livejournal.com]

Why did you decide to have a softer and more understanding Mozzie in the story DejaVu?

[aragarna.livejournal.com]

I think Neal's death would have affected Mozzie a lot, and would probably change him. I'm assuming it made Mozzie grow up, and maybe put his relationship with Neal, but also Peter, into perspective.
Also, I think at this point, Mozzie doesn't see Peter as the enemy anymore. In the lastest seasons, Mozzie would only hide things from Peter because Neal wanted to, but Mozzie had actually offered a couple times that they'd seek help from Peter. Mozzie would always side with Neal, but at the same time, he has also accepted Neal's friendship with Peter. And in S6, when Mozzie and Peter are working together, Mozzie aknowledged that he understood why Neal enjoyed working with Peter.

And when it comes to Neal's death, Mozzie and Peter shared the same lost and pain, so I felt like in my story Mozzie would try to comfort Peter.

[nieseryjna.livejournal.com]

Ooohh "Strangers in the Park"! I would love to hear DVD commentary on this.

[aragarna.livejournal.com]

This one came from an exchange with leesa_perrie, about my Gen bingo card. She mentioned either Peter and Satchmo, or Harold and Bear for "immovable object", and that made me think of when dogs meet another dog and how hard it is to force a big dog to move when he/she doesn't want to. And I also had the prompt "the company of strangers" on my card, and the whole thing merged in my mind as Satchmo and Bear meeting, in a natural dog way, and their respective masters being forced to play along. And I thought it'd be more fun with John - who is *not* your typical friendly dog walker. So, John would be on the defensive, while Peter would be friendly, but also *very* curious, because he'd catch immediately that John is hiding things. Peter is not the kind of person John and Harold would want to start poking around... Anyway, so as we've talked before, there are lots of potentials for WC/PoI crossovers, and I thought it'd be fun.

Speaking of WC/PoI crossovers...

[nieseryjna.livejournal.com]

They make quite a pair :D


Ps. Crossovers: I'm stuck! Ellen don't want to work with me :(

[aragarna.livejournal.com]

Do you want brainstorming help?