Friday 21 May 2021

Friday Fics Fix - Not Ready

 

'As good as she is at anticipating his family’s actions and decisions, everything always gets a little skewed and unpredictable once the bullets start flying'



'Fics Fix!' with purple background and white lightning bolt shape



I love quirky horror movies with kick-butt heroines - which brings us to the film this week's fic is based on: Ready or Not.

Ready or Not is a super-quirky horror film about Grace, who is marrying Alex Le Domas - a member of the rich Le Domas family, who made their money in board games.

(And yes, there is a vibe here that feels very akin to Knives Out, but that's more of a crime film than this - this is def. horror.)




The thing is that the family's board games fortune comes from a deal with the devil - like... literally.

And wedding nights are when he collects on the debt.

On wedding nights, the new family member has to play a game. You might get something harmless like tiddlywinks or chess... or you might pull the card no-one wants. Hide and seek.

The way this family plays hide and seek? Not good.

One guess for which card Grace pulls.



Grace (Samara Weaving) in her white wedding dress, looking down at the card she just pulled
Via Giphy



Time loop fics are weirdly popular for this film.

Like, it seems like all the fic authors unanimously and with little-to-no-discussion, decided to write time-loop fics for this fandom which canonically has literally nothing to do with time loops.

I wouldn't be surprised if it has more time loop fics than Happy Death Day at this point, and Happy Death Day (also an awesome, quirky, horror film, with a kick-a** heroine,) is Groundhog Day with murder. 

So, y'know, that's impressive.



(Fandom notes: 

canonically = officially in the film/TV series/whatever

time loop fics = fics which take place in a time loop, e.g. a repeat of a single day, but you probably guessed that)




And as I frolicked metaphorically through the glorious time loop fic-age of this fandom, I came across this week's fic.

Why this fic as opposed to any of the others?

Well, aside from the very relevant fact that it's well written (and you know I will forever rec the well-written fics,) it also took a different stance to most.



The beginning of this fic starts with the end of the time loop - Grace is finally free of the repetition of her disastrous wedding night.

It then alternates between what happened in the loop, and what is happening in the aftermath of it. 

Because Grace is now an entirely different person to the Grace she was at the beginning - or even, to an extent, the end - of Ready or Not.



And the other characters? Are who they were at the beginning of the film - not the end.

But knowing what she knows about them now, and holding significant grudges for things they never got the chance to do to her means Grace's relationship with the (entirely confused) family changes - from their perspective, in the blink of an eye.

Interesting, no?



Panning shot of Grace (Samara Weaving), from her converse-clad feet and tattered wedding-dress, up through her rifle and ammunition, to her stunned and grim face
Via Giphy



Her fiance/husband, Alex, and his brother, Daniel, struggle to keep up with the fallout of this new Grace.

This fic, then, is the story of love, loss, and bloody murder. And a bride who swears at the devil.

Enjoy. 😉😈



Of course, before I link there's the small business of warnings to get out of the way, and this is horror dearest nerdlets so please, for the love of God, pay attention:

Also, this fic is full of SPOILERS. SPOILERS, ok? SPOILERS!


It also has:


- GRAPHIC violence, murder, blood, injury, gore, corpses

- technically also domestic abuse, since they're family now

- fire

- violent deaths/murders of children

- children made complicit in violence and abuse

- general horror movie elements, including the devil

- drug and alcohol abuse/addiction

- nightmares

- PTSD-like symptoms

- family issues (...so many family issues)

- references to sexy times


...I think that's everything, but please be careful!




This week's fic, then, is:

Turning the Hourglass by Steph_Puppet






Have you seen Ready or Not?

Are you a fan of time loop stories/fics/whatever?

Talk to me! 😊💬








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2 comments:

  1. I love time loop stories, but I do often find them confusing. Someone in my creative writing class wrote an excellent time loop story and I was just in awe that she was able to write one that actually made sense haha!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, I think the logistics would do my head in, tbh! It's always impressive when people can manage it without it feeling overly-stale or getting too confusing!

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