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brightknightie) wrote2021-03-23 09:19 pm
brightknightie) wrote2021-03-23 09:19 pm
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Pondering our '21 FKFicFest prompts #1: "interrupted by a disaster"
One of the 3 prompts we elected to our ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fkficfest pool this year is "interrupted by a disaster." I actually nominated that one, myself. I had seen a version of it on a list of prompts on a site discussing how to write, and thought it looked versatile. Fingers crossed.
A "disaster" can of course be huge, like Vesuvius erupting or an asteroid crashing ("A More Permanent Hell"), or tiny, like missing the bus or dropping something fragile. Hmmm. A quick Google search pops up these definitions:
Apparently, the word "disaster" itself comes from the "mid-16th-century" Italian: "disastro, ‘ill-starred event.’" Stars have a Lacroix association ("Be My Valentine"). Italy is associated with the "Partners of the Month" and "Crazy Love" flashbacks.
I found an article listing what it claims are the worst [natural] disasters in Toronto's history (read the article), including an ice storm, hurricane, heavy snow, and several floods. Of course there are also political, social, economic, health, environmental, marketing, communications, and all kinds of other disasters. And on a personal scale, what rises to the level of a disaster can depend on how well or poorly you can cope in the moment you're confronted with it, not on an absolute measure.
"Interrupted" presupposes another element, some event, process, experience, or expectation that is (probably temporarily?) derailed by the disaster.
Nick's quest for humanity comes to my mind as something that could be interrupted and resumed. Yet so could any conversation at all, perhaps one that was just about to get to something juicy before it was interrupted. A performance could be interrupted. An interrogation. A dance. A fight! An argument. A seduction. A journey. A movie night. A competition. A sincere attempt to actually do the paperwork this time, honest.
From Lacroix's perspective, the outcome of his "prank" with Sylvaine was certainly a disaster, driving Nick decisively away ("Love You To Death"). From Janette's point of view, Lacroix's early stewardship of the Raven may well have seemed a disaster, if she'd known of it (e.g. "Hearts of Darkness"). Natalie, of course, suffered a horrendous string of personal disasters among her loved ones. Feliks depends on electricity to light his plants; a prolonged power outage would be a disaster for them. Nick, Lacroix, and Janette would all agree that Nick's association with the doctor in "The Fix" flashbacks was a disaster, though they would place the blame differently.
What does "interrupted by a disaster" bring to your mind for FK characters...?
fkficfest pool this year is "interrupted by a disaster." I actually nominated that one, myself. I had seen a version of it on a list of prompts on a site discussing how to write, and thought it looked versatile. Fingers crossed.A "disaster" can of course be huge, like Vesuvius erupting or an asteroid crashing ("A More Permanent Hell"), or tiny, like missing the bus or dropping something fragile. Hmmm. A quick Google search pops up these definitions:
- a sudden event, such as an accident or a natural catastrophe, that causes great damage or loss of life ("159 people died in the disaster")
- an event or fact that has unfortunate consequences ("a string of personal disasters")
- a person, act, or thing that is a failure ("my perm is a total disaster")
Apparently, the word "disaster" itself comes from the "mid-16th-century" Italian: "disastro, ‘ill-starred event.’" Stars have a Lacroix association ("Be My Valentine"). Italy is associated with the "Partners of the Month" and "Crazy Love" flashbacks.
I found an article listing what it claims are the worst [natural] disasters in Toronto's history (read the article), including an ice storm, hurricane, heavy snow, and several floods. Of course there are also political, social, economic, health, environmental, marketing, communications, and all kinds of other disasters. And on a personal scale, what rises to the level of a disaster can depend on how well or poorly you can cope in the moment you're confronted with it, not on an absolute measure.
"Interrupted" presupposes another element, some event, process, experience, or expectation that is (probably temporarily?) derailed by the disaster.
Nick's quest for humanity comes to my mind as something that could be interrupted and resumed. Yet so could any conversation at all, perhaps one that was just about to get to something juicy before it was interrupted. A performance could be interrupted. An interrogation. A dance. A fight! An argument. A seduction. A journey. A movie night. A competition. A sincere attempt to actually do the paperwork this time, honest.
From Lacroix's perspective, the outcome of his "prank" with Sylvaine was certainly a disaster, driving Nick decisively away ("Love You To Death"). From Janette's point of view, Lacroix's early stewardship of the Raven may well have seemed a disaster, if she'd known of it (e.g. "Hearts of Darkness"). Natalie, of course, suffered a horrendous string of personal disasters among her loved ones. Feliks depends on electricity to light his plants; a prolonged power outage would be a disaster for them. Nick, Lacroix, and Janette would all agree that Nick's association with the doctor in "The Fix" flashbacks was a disaster, though they would place the blame differently.
What does "interrupted by a disaster" bring to your mind for FK characters...?
no subject
In fact, I have started something with this prompt, but I'm not sure yet if it will work out.
no subject
When I was writing this post, I kept remembering the second-season scene in which Schanke's car breaks down, but I could not connect the scene in my head with an episode. That's another kind of event that can certainly feel like a disaster in the moment.
And I'm reminded now that I should perhaps re-read Susan G.'s "Assignment Knight"("Knight in Hell)," while thinking about disaster. That is a cascade of incidents that become the worst possible disaster in FK. She wrote it as a "party favor" for a convention -- there were 2 versions of the story, one happy and sweet, one horrific and tragic; people at the convention got one or the other, not knowing there were two -- but I didn't know that the first time I encountered it, and I took it seriously as a tragedy...
no subject
Yesterday I rewatched "Black Buddha", which has the plane crash in the present and the Titanic in the flashbacks, both horrible disasters.