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My Thoughts on Remix in General, and My Remix in Particular
First, I think I should point out the fic that I wrote.
Title: Imperfect Contrition (the "Skeletons in the Closet" Remix)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wizefics
Summary: A killer stalks mutantkind.
Rating: R
Fandom: X-men AU (comics verse)
Spoilers and/or Warnings: Contains some violent and sexual content.
Title, Author and URL of original story: A Confession byalara_r
A/N: I owe thanks to several people for this one. First, thanks tolikeadeuce and escritoireazul for talking me through picking a fic and a concept. Then, thanks to second_batgirl and pdantzler for holding my hand as I wrote. Lastly, thanks again to escritoireazul for the (as always) amazing beta job.
Imperfect Contrition (the Skeletons in the Closet Remix)
On Remixing
This is my second time with remixredux. While I had fun both times, the first time taught me a few things that I wanted to make sure I implemented this time.
1. I work best with an alpha reader. It really helps me to bounce ideas off someone, get their thoughts, let the ideas germinate and grow. Plus, I like to write things that people are interested in reading. I think my first remix experience was hard because I couldn't figure out a direction and I really floundered.
This time, I read all of my remixee's fics, there were about a dozen fics that were in a fandom that I was comfortable writing, several of those were about original characters and I was not comfortable writing about an OC. (I'd be interested to know if it's been done, though.)
2. I approached the fics by asking "what is the story here." I think this was an important difference between this time and last time. Last time, I looked at the fics to find ones that I liked and ones where I thought there were "holes" that I could help fill.
Once I found the story, I asked how I would tell it. That's when the idea for my fic starting coming together. (More on this below.)
3. I kept working with my alpha reader(s). Some people may not need this step, but sometimes I need someone to give me a reality check on the story that I'm telling. Also, since I have a hard time writing "short," I'd rather know sooner that something wasn't working than 5,000 words later.
4. Beta readers. I cannot express enough how much I think this helps. My beta reader read the original fic and then read my fic and was able to make suggestions on ways that I could more closely make the two align, in addition to just suggesting general improvements and catching errors.
On My Remix
The story I ended up choosing was titled A Confession, which was a short first person narrative that was barely 2400 words. It was written from Xavier's POV as he "confessed" his sins to an observer that we never heard speak. The entire fic was told in Xavier's words and he described an alternate history, whereby he realized how dangerous mutants could be to the world. Instead of deciding that he should put together a team to fight those dangerous mutants, he felt that God was telling him that he, and he alone, was charged with simply getting rid of the mutants altogether. After witnessing the corruption of his friend Magnus, he killed him. It wasn't the first mutant he'd killed, but it was the first time Charles had killed for a reason other than self-defense. His continued confession revealed that he had killed hundreds of mutants, and the story ended with his murder of Father Kurt Wagner.
alara_r commented that she had wanted to write a story about an "evil" Xavier that she could believe might have occurred. What if Xavier had decided that the only way to protect mankind was to kill mutants. And that was the story she was telling.
That story idea germinated in my mind, and suddenly, I wanted to know what would happen in a world where Xavier was a mutant serial killer. I felt likealara_r had told Xavier's story pretty well. I knew his motivations, I knew his goals. And I wanted to explore the world around him - how would it be different if he hadn't put together the X-men.
And that's how my cast of characters came together.alara_r didn't mention any of the original five X-men in her story, leaving me free reign to do with them as I would. As a fan of the original team, this pleased me immensely.
Most ofalara_r's fics are told in first person, which was interesting to me. After reading through all of her stories, I knew that I was going to end up in first person POV, which is not something I often do (except in Burn Notice). That left me with the decision of how to proceed. And this is really where I started.
First person POV stands out in my mind as a noir technique. I love noir and I loved the X-men Noir comics - and that stuck out in my mind. There were things about that comic that I really liked, and things that I didn't. That aside, I was absolutely gleeful at the idea of telling a noir story using the X-men characters.
I confess - my initial instinct was to use Scott as the POV character. That lasted for about 30 seconds. I dismissed him because I couldn't figure out a way that he could stop Xavier from killing anyone. Xavier killed using his telepathy. It stood to reason that it would have to be a telepath who could stop him - and not just any telepath, but a strong one.
Jean Gray. She was the obvious choice, and once I'd thought of it, I got really excited about telling a noir story (traditionally focused on a male detective), using a female detective.
Since this was a remix of a story where Xavier never formed the X-men, I started to think about how each of them would have been affected had he not been a part of their formative lives.
Hank was the easiest. In his youth, he would have passed completely as human, with the exception of a few physical differences that wouldn't have stood out much. Plus, Hank is incredibly smart - he would figure out that he was a mutant, and that alone would drive him to study mutants. I don't think that his life would have changed that much, until he used himself to experiment, triggering the blue fur.
From that point, I imagined that he would become withdrawn from main society. He wouldn't have had a big support network, but he would still be driven to study the science of mutation. And so, with regret, I didn't think that he would be a focus character.
Next was Warren. I read a lot about Warren on Wikipedia and was really struck by the fact that he outted himself to the public as a mutant. I began to toy with that as a focus point for the fic. I had some hesitations because I think that Angel has been portrayed as a feminized victim in the past, but the situation worked for me. If Warren went to Jean for help, then it was a classic noir set up, only with the genders reversed. I decided that I would just have to do my best to keep Warren from being "victimized" and make sure that I portrayed his agency as clearly as I could.
Then came Scott. Scott was more difficult. I cut down to the basics - if he hadn't been rescued by Xavier, what would have happened to him? He had been "rescued" by criminals, forced to work in a criminal underground, and provided the ruby glasses that allowed him to see. So then what?
The Scott that I know wouldn't be satisfied with that life. He's not a victim; and I believe that he has an inherent desire to help people. The more I thought about that, the more I started picturing him as a police officer. I didn't delve too deeply into his past, because I don't think he'd be very forthcoming with it. But, I did have fun making allusions to it in the story, especially with Jean.
In a totally random discussion that I had with a friend about the current run of Uncanny and Utopia, I mentioned my theory that Scott is more dangerous than most of the mutants are, but not because of his mutation. He's smart. He's calculating. And if he were hard on top of that, than I think he would be an incredibly dangerous adversary. Jean alluded to that in the story, but I believe its true. Scott's mutation isn't what would kill you, if he wanted you dead. But I'm pretty sure it would be his plan that did it. That's why I think even a powerless Scott would be a force to be reckoned with.
After Scott, came Bobby. I admit - one of the things I didn't like about X-men Noir initially was the way Bobby was portrayed. He came across as a complete thug. Since he's my personal favorite X-man, I was really thrown. But then I thought about it. In a world where Xavier hadn't played a part in his life, what would have happened to him?
More than any of the others, Xavier played a part in who he would become. When Bobby's powers emerged publicly, he was nearly lynched. He wasn't, because Xavier (and Scott) intervened and saved him from the mob. Without Xavier (and Scott), Bobby would have faced that crowd on his own. I actually tend to think that he might have been murdered right there, but for the purposes of this story, I needed him alive. I've never been the object of a mob before, but I can imagine that the only way to send away the locals with the pitchforks is to scare them away. And, given that his powers were young and uncontrolled, I think that it's very likely they would have blown out of control.
Jean comments on the rumors around the Iceman and says that there were three dead bodies - and I think that's probably accurate. Bobby is dangerous. His personality is what keeps him so under-considered, in my opinion. But he could kill someone by freezing their body tissues - frozen lungs, frozen heart, frozen brain - and it'd be over.
If he had killed someone like that though, I think it would change him forever. That's why I wrote him the way I did. In the 616-verse, Bobby is afraid of his powers. But in a world where they had taken over, I think that he would lose himself in them. I confess it - Bobby as "The Iceman" scared the crap out of me. I have never freaked myself out writing a character before, but I could so easily see him as the mob boss that it bothered me, and made me rethink Bobby in general.
Lastly, Jean. She was the focal point of the entire story, and like Bobby, probably more directly affected by Xavier than some of the others. Xavier helped her control her mutation and rescued her from a psychiatric hospital. In a world where he didn't do that, I wondered what it would have taken.
Jean's strength is often underplayed, I think. Because Xavier "hamstrung" her initially, it's hard to imagine that she was always as strong as she was. But it worked for me here, because I think eventually she would figure out a way to control her own powers. It would take time, and it would come at a high price, but she would manage it.
If Jean had spent most of her youth in a hospital, I doubt very much that she would have gone on to college. Also, if she hadn't had Xavier forcing his sense of telepathic ethics on her, I think she would have developed them a little differently. It really worked, in my opinion, for her to be a detective. She would know more than anyone else, because of her mutation. She's smart, she's pretty, she's determined, she's harder than she would have been with Xavier, and she's very focused on "the mutant problem."
Those were the character sketches I began with and they feel genuine to me, in this world. Other things that showed up in the fic were there to mirror the original X-men history.
I tried to hint that there was an attraction between Warren and Jean. I wanted there to be a shadow of the original triangle in the fic, and I hope that some of Scott's reaction played into that as well.
The one aspect that surprised me, though, was Jean/Scott. I did not originally intend for them to be together, but once they were in the same space, I couldn't help but feel like they had a real chemistry. But it wasn't the puppy love chemistry that I think they began with in the 616 verse. I think that both Scott and Jean are much harder, much less approachable people in this noir-verse, but I think they would have been attracted to each other.
Jean's thoughts reveal that she was the aggressor in this world, instead of the other way around. I think that fits her here, though, because she's had to learn to go after what she wants. Also, I think that Scott is much more closed off in this verse than he is in most of the others. He wouldn't open himself to someone very easily, not after what he'd been through, which is why he investigated Jean shortly after meeting her (also, perhaps a weird way to show his interest in her).
I'm not sure that they are "happily ever after" material here, but I can't help but think they might be, simply because they are more honest with each other (in some ways) here than they were in the original verse. Also, they don't work together in the traditional sense - they work together as colleagues and not as teammates, and uneasy colleagues at that.
Finally, the title: Imperfect Contrition (the "Skeletons in the Closet" Remix). I did a lot of reading about Catholicism after reading the original fic. Imperfect contrition in Catholic theology is a desire not to sin for a reason other than love of God (e.g. having a conscience or being a decent person). This jumped out to me, because that's sort of what the story was about.
Would the X-men be the X-men without Xavier guiding them? What would drive them to do it?
The "Skeletons in the Closet" part of the title is pretty self-explanatory. All of the characters have their own secrets, and none of them are confessing.
So, that's my thoughts on Remix in general and on my remix fic in particular. The only thing I'd add is that I had so much fun writing this year and I really love the noir verse that sprang up. I hope to write more in it at some point, and I wouldn't be adverse to reading about it either, if anyone else ever felt the urge to take a crack. :)
Title: Imperfect Contrition (the "Skeletons in the Closet" Remix)
Author:
wizeficsSummary: A killer stalks mutantkind.
Rating: R
Fandom: X-men AU (comics verse)
Spoilers and/or Warnings: Contains some violent and sexual content.
Title, Author and URL of original story: A Confession by
alara_rA/N: I owe thanks to several people for this one. First, thanks to
likeadeuce and escritoireazul for talking me through picking a fic and a concept. Then, thanks to second_batgirl and pdantzler for holding my hand as I wrote. Lastly, thanks again to escritoireazul for the (as always) amazing beta job.Imperfect Contrition (the Skeletons in the Closet Remix)
On Remixing
This is my second time with remixredux. While I had fun both times, the first time taught me a few things that I wanted to make sure I implemented this time.
1. I work best with an alpha reader. It really helps me to bounce ideas off someone, get their thoughts, let the ideas germinate and grow. Plus, I like to write things that people are interested in reading. I think my first remix experience was hard because I couldn't figure out a direction and I really floundered.
This time, I read all of my remixee's fics, there were about a dozen fics that were in a fandom that I was comfortable writing, several of those were about original characters and I was not comfortable writing about an OC. (I'd be interested to know if it's been done, though.)
2. I approached the fics by asking "what is the story here." I think this was an important difference between this time and last time. Last time, I looked at the fics to find ones that I liked and ones where I thought there were "holes" that I could help fill.
Once I found the story, I asked how I would tell it. That's when the idea for my fic starting coming together. (More on this below.)
3. I kept working with my alpha reader(s). Some people may not need this step, but sometimes I need someone to give me a reality check on the story that I'm telling. Also, since I have a hard time writing "short," I'd rather know sooner that something wasn't working than 5,000 words later.
4. Beta readers. I cannot express enough how much I think this helps. My beta reader read the original fic and then read my fic and was able to make suggestions on ways that I could more closely make the two align, in addition to just suggesting general improvements and catching errors.
On My Remix
The story I ended up choosing was titled A Confession, which was a short first person narrative that was barely 2400 words. It was written from Xavier's POV as he "confessed" his sins to an observer that we never heard speak. The entire fic was told in Xavier's words and he described an alternate history, whereby he realized how dangerous mutants could be to the world. Instead of deciding that he should put together a team to fight those dangerous mutants, he felt that God was telling him that he, and he alone, was charged with simply getting rid of the mutants altogether. After witnessing the corruption of his friend Magnus, he killed him. It wasn't the first mutant he'd killed, but it was the first time Charles had killed for a reason other than self-defense. His continued confession revealed that he had killed hundreds of mutants, and the story ended with his murder of Father Kurt Wagner.
alara_r commented that she had wanted to write a story about an "evil" Xavier that she could believe might have occurred. What if Xavier had decided that the only way to protect mankind was to kill mutants. And that was the story she was telling.That story idea germinated in my mind, and suddenly, I wanted to know what would happen in a world where Xavier was a mutant serial killer. I felt like
alara_r had told Xavier's story pretty well. I knew his motivations, I knew his goals. And I wanted to explore the world around him - how would it be different if he hadn't put together the X-men.And that's how my cast of characters came together.
alara_r didn't mention any of the original five X-men in her story, leaving me free reign to do with them as I would. As a fan of the original team, this pleased me immensely.Most of
alara_r's fics are told in first person, which was interesting to me. After reading through all of her stories, I knew that I was going to end up in first person POV, which is not something I often do (except in Burn Notice). That left me with the decision of how to proceed. And this is really where I started.First person POV stands out in my mind as a noir technique. I love noir and I loved the X-men Noir comics - and that stuck out in my mind. There were things about that comic that I really liked, and things that I didn't. That aside, I was absolutely gleeful at the idea of telling a noir story using the X-men characters.
I confess - my initial instinct was to use Scott as the POV character. That lasted for about 30 seconds. I dismissed him because I couldn't figure out a way that he could stop Xavier from killing anyone. Xavier killed using his telepathy. It stood to reason that it would have to be a telepath who could stop him - and not just any telepath, but a strong one.
Jean Gray. She was the obvious choice, and once I'd thought of it, I got really excited about telling a noir story (traditionally focused on a male detective), using a female detective.
Since this was a remix of a story where Xavier never formed the X-men, I started to think about how each of them would have been affected had he not been a part of their formative lives.
Hank was the easiest. In his youth, he would have passed completely as human, with the exception of a few physical differences that wouldn't have stood out much. Plus, Hank is incredibly smart - he would figure out that he was a mutant, and that alone would drive him to study mutants. I don't think that his life would have changed that much, until he used himself to experiment, triggering the blue fur.
From that point, I imagined that he would become withdrawn from main society. He wouldn't have had a big support network, but he would still be driven to study the science of mutation. And so, with regret, I didn't think that he would be a focus character.
Next was Warren. I read a lot about Warren on Wikipedia and was really struck by the fact that he outted himself to the public as a mutant. I began to toy with that as a focus point for the fic. I had some hesitations because I think that Angel has been portrayed as a feminized victim in the past, but the situation worked for me. If Warren went to Jean for help, then it was a classic noir set up, only with the genders reversed. I decided that I would just have to do my best to keep Warren from being "victimized" and make sure that I portrayed his agency as clearly as I could.
Then came Scott. Scott was more difficult. I cut down to the basics - if he hadn't been rescued by Xavier, what would have happened to him? He had been "rescued" by criminals, forced to work in a criminal underground, and provided the ruby glasses that allowed him to see. So then what?
The Scott that I know wouldn't be satisfied with that life. He's not a victim; and I believe that he has an inherent desire to help people. The more I thought about that, the more I started picturing him as a police officer. I didn't delve too deeply into his past, because I don't think he'd be very forthcoming with it. But, I did have fun making allusions to it in the story, especially with Jean.
In a totally random discussion that I had with a friend about the current run of Uncanny and Utopia, I mentioned my theory that Scott is more dangerous than most of the mutants are, but not because of his mutation. He's smart. He's calculating. And if he were hard on top of that, than I think he would be an incredibly dangerous adversary. Jean alluded to that in the story, but I believe its true. Scott's mutation isn't what would kill you, if he wanted you dead. But I'm pretty sure it would be his plan that did it. That's why I think even a powerless Scott would be a force to be reckoned with.
After Scott, came Bobby. I admit - one of the things I didn't like about X-men Noir initially was the way Bobby was portrayed. He came across as a complete thug. Since he's my personal favorite X-man, I was really thrown. But then I thought about it. In a world where Xavier hadn't played a part in his life, what would have happened to him?
More than any of the others, Xavier played a part in who he would become. When Bobby's powers emerged publicly, he was nearly lynched. He wasn't, because Xavier (and Scott) intervened and saved him from the mob. Without Xavier (and Scott), Bobby would have faced that crowd on his own. I actually tend to think that he might have been murdered right there, but for the purposes of this story, I needed him alive. I've never been the object of a mob before, but I can imagine that the only way to send away the locals with the pitchforks is to scare them away. And, given that his powers were young and uncontrolled, I think that it's very likely they would have blown out of control.
Jean comments on the rumors around the Iceman and says that there were three dead bodies - and I think that's probably accurate. Bobby is dangerous. His personality is what keeps him so under-considered, in my opinion. But he could kill someone by freezing their body tissues - frozen lungs, frozen heart, frozen brain - and it'd be over.
If he had killed someone like that though, I think it would change him forever. That's why I wrote him the way I did. In the 616-verse, Bobby is afraid of his powers. But in a world where they had taken over, I think that he would lose himself in them. I confess it - Bobby as "The Iceman" scared the crap out of me. I have never freaked myself out writing a character before, but I could so easily see him as the mob boss that it bothered me, and made me rethink Bobby in general.
Lastly, Jean. She was the focal point of the entire story, and like Bobby, probably more directly affected by Xavier than some of the others. Xavier helped her control her mutation and rescued her from a psychiatric hospital. In a world where he didn't do that, I wondered what it would have taken.
Jean's strength is often underplayed, I think. Because Xavier "hamstrung" her initially, it's hard to imagine that she was always as strong as she was. But it worked for me here, because I think eventually she would figure out a way to control her own powers. It would take time, and it would come at a high price, but she would manage it.
If Jean had spent most of her youth in a hospital, I doubt very much that she would have gone on to college. Also, if she hadn't had Xavier forcing his sense of telepathic ethics on her, I think she would have developed them a little differently. It really worked, in my opinion, for her to be a detective. She would know more than anyone else, because of her mutation. She's smart, she's pretty, she's determined, she's harder than she would have been with Xavier, and she's very focused on "the mutant problem."
Those were the character sketches I began with and they feel genuine to me, in this world. Other things that showed up in the fic were there to mirror the original X-men history.
I tried to hint that there was an attraction between Warren and Jean. I wanted there to be a shadow of the original triangle in the fic, and I hope that some of Scott's reaction played into that as well.
The one aspect that surprised me, though, was Jean/Scott. I did not originally intend for them to be together, but once they were in the same space, I couldn't help but feel like they had a real chemistry. But it wasn't the puppy love chemistry that I think they began with in the 616 verse. I think that both Scott and Jean are much harder, much less approachable people in this noir-verse, but I think they would have been attracted to each other.
Jean's thoughts reveal that she was the aggressor in this world, instead of the other way around. I think that fits her here, though, because she's had to learn to go after what she wants. Also, I think that Scott is much more closed off in this verse than he is in most of the others. He wouldn't open himself to someone very easily, not after what he'd been through, which is why he investigated Jean shortly after meeting her (also, perhaps a weird way to show his interest in her).
I'm not sure that they are "happily ever after" material here, but I can't help but think they might be, simply because they are more honest with each other (in some ways) here than they were in the original verse. Also, they don't work together in the traditional sense - they work together as colleagues and not as teammates, and uneasy colleagues at that.
Finally, the title: Imperfect Contrition (the "Skeletons in the Closet" Remix). I did a lot of reading about Catholicism after reading the original fic. Imperfect contrition in Catholic theology is a desire not to sin for a reason other than love of God (e.g. having a conscience or being a decent person). This jumped out to me, because that's sort of what the story was about.
Would the X-men be the X-men without Xavier guiding them? What would drive them to do it?
The "Skeletons in the Closet" part of the title is pretty self-explanatory. All of the characters have their own secrets, and none of them are confessing.
So, that's my thoughts on Remix in general and on my remix fic in particular. The only thing I'd add is that I had so much fun writing this year and I really love the noir verse that sprang up. I hope to write more in it at some point, and I wouldn't be adverse to reading about it either, if anyone else ever felt the urge to take a crack. :)