Weekly Chat and Spectre Prompt Fest - 24/7/2015 - 31/7/2015

[mi6-cafe-mod.livejournal.com]

It’s Friday which means that there is a new Weekly Chat! Don’t forget that the weekly chat is open until Friday of next week.
Anon commenting is on so you don’t need an account to join in the fun! If you are using anon comments, if you could put your name/handle in the subject line/body of the comments that would be fab (just so everyone knows who they are talking to!)

Weekly Recs

It’s time again for you to give your weekly recs! This week we’re looking for your favourite fics/art you’ve seen over the past week and those fics/art that fit into the genre of the week!

This week the genre of fanwork recs we’re looking for is: Prompt fills! The 00Q tumblr community has many people who write short pieces for prompt fills, so this week we want your recs for those art and fic prompt fills that fill up the 00Q tag with lovely creativity.
When reccing fic/art, please can you make a separate comment with ‘Week Rec’ in the subject title. If you’re commenting anon, then just put your handle in brackets after the ‘Weekly Rec’ bit - eg Weekly Rec (cass). This just helps your friendly mod hunt down all your links and put them into the weekly rec post!

Spectre Prompt Fest!

The MI6 prompt bingo table continues! We’re releasing a new prompt every week up to when Spectre is released in the UK on November 6^th. You can  write/draw/create anything of your choice in response to the prompt, and you can post fills for any of the revealed prompt!

This week the prompt is: Possession

Exploding Objects	Love doesn’t solve everything	Broken	Health and Safety	Possession
Hidden	Hidden	Hidden	Hidden	Hidden
Hidden	Hidden	Hidden	Hidden	Hidden
Hidden	Hidden	Hidden	Hidden	Hidden

You can post your fills anywhere you like – tumblr, in the comments section of the weekly chat, to your own LJ! Feel free to link your fills in the chat, and don’t forget to tag your prompt fills with #mi6cafeprompt so everyone can share the 00Q love!

Don't forget there is now an A03 collection for the MI6 Cafe!

MI6 Café Book and Film Clubs!

Don’t forget that the MI6 Café Book and Films clubs start in August, so why not get ahead with your reading and watching before the events? See the schedules and resources list links on the sidebar on the right, underneath the calender, for more information!

Note about tags for fic/art posts
Yay! We've seen some wonderful fic being posted to the comm! The tagging system is slowly being built, but if there is a tag you want to use for your post that doesn't yet exist (eg for a character/genre we haven't got) then just make a note in the header of the post that you would like a tag and your friendly mods shall give you one!)

Also, after you post first time we'll make you a special author/artist tag for you to use at your leisure :) Don't have to request it, we just see that you haven't got one so we add one for you!

This week’s questions

1)      Whose your favourite – James or Q? Why is this?
2)      Q and James are going out on a date! How would they dress up and why? Would James have to persuade Q to loose the cardigan?
3)      Describe each of the members of MI6 in five words. Why did you pick those words?
4)      What are Q and James’ favourite books?

Bonus Question - What do you think of the Spectre Trailer?

Feel free to add more questions below!
 

Comments

Castillon

[(Anonymous)]

Which do you find easier to write--a character like Bond, who has a characterization with a lot of details and history you can draw on, or a character like Q, where you have to sort of color in the lines quite a bit with your own ideas and headcanons? I love writing them both, but they both present their own challenges and opportunities!

One of Q's presents to Bond: "Yes, you can dress me in the suit of your choosing." I think Bond would obviously enjoy that Q is wearing traditionally fashionable clothing, but would also like that Q is letting Bond outfit him with the proper suit in the same way that Q issues Bond with the proper equipment. Also: That is an excellent pic. JEANS AND JACKET BOND=YES.

Bond is so often aligned with water imagery that I think it's natural that Moneypenny, who almost killed him in Skyfall and has a history of resisting and challenging him in the canon, could be associated with fire. Plus, IDK. She's just that badass.

Is Tanner the true Hufflepuff of the series?

Mallory: Lol, perfect. I'm actually curious to know how much of a time skip there'll be between films. Surely Bond did some missions to earn his holiday before gallivanting off to Mexico? But yeah, I have a feeling that with the Andrew Scott character and Bond going off the map Mallory is really going to feel what it's like to be in the shoes of his predecessor.

OMG HARRY POTTER NERD!Q=INSTANT HEADCANON. And that image of young Bond lugging around LotR is so cute; I can see him liking it, especially as a kid. Do you think Bond would have taken strength as a kid from having people like Aragorn and Frodo as role models of strong males who also lost their parents when they were young?

Re: Castillon

[isthisrubble.livejournal.com]

I like writing both, for different reason? I like working through, with or around canon with Bond, and having so much canon (book, film, spin-off etc) to fall back on and/or inspire me, and as far as Q goes I can do whatever I want, so I can avoid things that annoy me in fanon that have become tropes, or self insert a teeny tiny bit (Q has my glasses prescription, for example). However, sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm writing about characters that are people, not just vessels for whatever awful thing I'm writing about. My Bond accidentally becomes too introspective and overly emotional, while Q tends to veer into one dimensional territory sometimes.

Bond gets to choose what colours and styles suit Q best - he's basically designing his own eye-candy, oops. But Q doesn't mind, because if he wears the suits James will also be wearing a suit. And yes, I love that look on Daniel Craig, so good.

I actually think of Bond as a fire kind of person? I read in a fic once that Bond is a fire and Q is the ocean, and that's always stuck with me. Maybe what I was thinking for Eve was more spark than fire, idk. All my Eve headcanons are tangled and confusing, and mixed up with fic-specific ideas.

... Tanner is literally the Hufflepuff, yes, omg

I think Bond probably liked the adventure of the Lord of the Rings (I've only read the Fellowship, though I've seen the movies, so I didn't even know about that correlation), because I bet he was bored while being dragged around the world by his parents for his dad's job, and I bet he wished they could travel somewhere interesting. And then in later life he wishes he'd paid more attention to where they went and what he saw.

Re: Castillon

[(Anonymous)]

OMG, I relate so hard to that regret of not paying more attention while traveling as a kid. But of course Bond's regret would sting stronger, and differently, tinged by the fact that these were times he had with his parents that he took for granted. ANGST.

(Now I really want Bond going back to his child-self's body and trying to prevent his own orphaning. Since that seems to go okay, he also tries to prevent a bunch of other things as he grows up, like, IDK, Vesper's boyfriend being kidnapped or whatever else Quantum did that resulted in her death. However, eventually it becomes apparent to him that he needs help, but he also needs help that isn't a threat...and that's when young!Q comes in with his genius, and Bond suddenly knows more about Q's backstory than he ever had in the future. Conveniently enough, it sucks, making globetrotting with Bond a semi-viable alternative. AND THEN THEY FIGHT CRIME AND HELP EACH OTHER DEAL WITH THEIR ANGST. Or whatever.)

Bond's favorite LotR character: Aragorn or Eowyn? (Or other?)

What a great, thoughtful answer about how you find writing Bond and Q! I love that you are able to be so specific about your own challenges. Does a beta help with noting those instances? Or is it usually more of a vague feeling that "this doesn't feel right" and you realize why it didn't after you do a rewrite or something?

I love that Q's backstory is something I can make different in every fic if I want to; there's so much possibility to play around with. For myself as a writer, I am always having to pull back from being too ridiculous and fully indulging my absurd gadget and mother-henning ideas for Q--sometimes the freedom of possibility can get a little TOO heady! (Important question: "Does it NEED to be electrified?") Since one of my favorite themes is unconditional positive regard, which is kind of...not a prominent canon theme...the Bond canon also serves, like you mention, as a useful touchstone for me re: trying to keep them IC and hopefully not too sappy, etc. I think that reading the books with the book club will also serve as inspiration re: Bond's POV, which can be tricky!

-Castillon

Re: Castillon

[isthisrubble.livejournal.com]

I think Bond liked Aragorn the most.

I hash things out with a friend if I'm struggling, and having a beta familiar with Bond also helps a lot. Sometimes I'll leave her a note: there's something wrong here, but I can't work out what and then we work it out together. I rarely do full on rewrites, they take too much time, but often I go back and change something a million times before I'm happy with it. My problem is usually that I've made Bond too emotional. Because I love making him suffer, apparently.

I tend to turn Q into a bit of a self inset, sometimes - not in personality or interests (I am not a tech person) but in background, etc: one of my WIPs has Q's extended family, and I based it on my own, as well as always giving Q my glasses prescription because I know how to describe it.

I think that reading the books with the book club will also serve as inspiration re: Bond's POV you've discovered me evil plan...