ext_1598 ([identity profile] ianmcduff.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] crack_van2004-07-11 09:54 pm
Entry tags:

‘Over the Sea to Skye,’ by Tarowen (PG-13 to mild NC-17)

Fandom: POPSLASH (STREETSLASH)
Pairing: Kevin / Nick.
Author on LJ: Surely don’t look as how, y’all
Author Website: Restless Eyes
Why this must be read: This is our weekend for AUs (or ARs, or AHs).

If one of the things about AUs is the idea that ‘character is destiny,’ that there are some constants that persist even in whole new worlds, another dominant theme is that of the soul mate or the Irresistible, Inexorable, ‘Schmoop-Happens’ Great Love.

Don’t laugh: Wagner got a lot of mileage out of it; so did Willie the Shake. No matter how bitter and cynical we are, or wish to believe ourselves to be, I think we all truly want to believe, deep down, that there’s such a thing: destined love that WILL find its way, transcending any barriers, any alternate worlds, and even our own screw-ups. I know that even I like to believe that in secret, probably because I know better.

One of the best exemplars of this theme is Tarowen’s ‘Over the Sea to Skye,’ quite as much as is her oft-recced fantasy ‘Talliswood.’

Why? Probably because of a positively tactile realization of the setting, believable characterization and motivation, real, flawed, human characters, and technical proficiency in writing … plus the whole Destined Love shtick. On the other hand, I may just be a sucker for Scots mist. But judge for yourself:

READ … ‘Over the Sea to Skye.’