Fanfiction Fridays: “Stupid” by disorient-me

Today I’m going to post something a little different from my usual fanfic fare. Oh it’s still Big Time Rush, of course, but for once it’s neither romance nor Kogan. “Stupid“, a oneshot written by disorient-me, is a story that was actually written for me, a fill to a request I had made on the now defunct BTR Fluff Meme on LiveJournal, and it’s wonderful.

One of the things I mentioned when discussing the characters on the show is how Carlos and Logan are often foils for each other, between Logan’s straight-laced and restrictive personality and Carlos’ wild inhibition and spontaneity the two make a great dynamic. They butt heads frequently on the show, probably more than anyone else in the band, so it’s important to see their more affectionate interactions which happen on the show, but not all that often.

I also love how much this fic applies to my headcanon of Carlos being this sensitive little boy who feels things much deeper than he lets anyone know because everyone thinks he’s just this wild ‘n’ crazy kid (TM) but he has shown he has the biggest heart and like most people with big hearts he’s very sensitive but his friends tend to forget about that fact because his main personality is so boisterous and he’s really just this delicate little flower and he needs to be taken care of sometimes and… and…

This fic establishes the closeness that’s hinted at between the two but not often fully realized on screen and I love it. All the relationships between the guys are so interesting on the show and I think the show does a pretty good job of presenting them, but of course fanfic fills that need to see those relationships expanded on beyond the constraints of the show.

“In Defense of Big Time Rush”

One of the reasons I post so much about BTR is not because there’s so much to unpack in their show and music (though there IS and I’m not even halfway there) but because I want more people to appreciate these guys and what they do. The Age of the Boy Band has returned, but unfortunately Big Time Rush is very rarely included in anything celebrating this phenomenon, let alone given the credit they deserve for helping to bring it about.

This is why I am so in love with tumblr user keepingupwithnewmusic’s post “In Defense of Big Time Rush”

The article rightly points out much of BTR’s influence, while analyzing some of the possible causes for the band’s lack of recognition. On Big Time Rush being styled after The Monkees:

The Monkees were consistently dismissed by critics and fans as being a “fake” band because they were on a TV show. It didn’t matter that The Beatles also made movies, because they were a band first. This, then, implies that the issue is that the group was not formed organically, but rather, through an audition process . . . Big Time Rush was also formed through an audition process, but in 2012, this shouldn’t be surprising. Most Boy Bands are assembled through an audition process, like *NSync, The Backstreet Boys, The Wanted, O-Town (remember O-Town?!), etc. Everyone got to watch One Direction be put together into a Boy Band after they were competing against each other on The X Factor. So why should the pre-fab origin story hurt BTR?

The article also points out that, in contrast to most current “boy bands” trying to distance themselves from the term and its history, the guys of Big Time Rush have embraced it. Rather than denouncing the boy bands of the late ’90s and emphasising how different they are, BTR has consistently expressed admiration for those who came before them and been honored any time comparisons have been drawn between them and *NSync, Backstreet Boys, etc. They know that the music created by those bands was not exactly favored critically but have emphasized and emulated the hard work done by the performers rather than trying to belittle it in an attempt to make themselves look superior.

What I love most about this article (apart from the fact that the author managed to be fair and level-headed rather than sounding like a bitter fanboy as I know I probably do) is that it points out that BTR was the boy band that got this revival started. They were formed and began performing before there was any market for the boy band and despite being ahead of the game, they are consistently overlooked when websites, radio programs, or talk shows discuss the return of the boy band. Whether you love the boy band and are thrilled to bits that it’s seeing a revival or think it’s a blight on musical history that never should have happened in the first place let alone rear its ugly head again, you have to respect Big Time Rush and the producers behind it for having the guts to try something out that had no readily apparent audience.

That’s really what it comes down to for me, respect. I see and hear Big Time Rush either overlooked entirely or given a dismissive mention in so many media outlets and it kills me. It kills me that these hard-working, talented young men get so little recognition for their efforts and influence.

Web Crush Wednesdays: Big Time Reasons to Smile

So there’s this band I love called Big Time Rush, and they make music and have a TV show and just about everything they do brings me joy. I may have mentioned them once or twice, but just in case my stance on this quartet was unclear, lemme just say that I kind of, maybe, sorta, adore them. Yes, I am what is known as a “Rusher” and as a Rusher many little aspects of this concoction of awesome known as Big Time Rush or simply BTR make me smile, and many these little aspects can be found on the tumblr BTReasonstosmile.

If I remember correctly, the site was started around the time of some fandom on fandom drama which ended with a young Rusher ending his life. The negativity of the situation was felt by all of us in the fandom and this beacon of positivity seemed to arrive just in time to answer the need to remind all Rushers of something good, something lovable, and something uplifting. It brings us together as a fandom to celebrate something rather than defending or attacking anything.

 

Some of the posts are understandable only by Rushers, but many need no explanation. I don’t think anyone needs to know Carlos or his dog to find that picture heartwarming, and Logan’s magic flippy-dippy hair should speak across fandom borders (though a .gif may do it more justice because it’s hypnotic when it moves).

 

So in conclusion, if you’re a Rusher this site is custom-made for you and you would do well to follow it. If you’re not, you may still find some heartwarming sentiments on its pages, and who knows? Maybe you’ll become a Rusher in the process! Then we can discuss/fan about all this stuff together! Wouldn’t that be fun?

Big Time Rush: The Show (Continued)

 

I finally get to talk about Big Time Rush again! After that self-imposed restriction of only talking about Halloween-y stuff last month I can finally post about other things I love which means getting back to BTR.

You were all waiting with bated breath, I just know it.

Last time I talked about the show I gave kind of a cursory glance to various aspects of it and today I’d like to dive a little more deeply into a few of the things I mentioned in that post.

One of the things I have loved about this show from the very beginning is the characterization. This is something I go absolutely crazy for in any media (be it television, literature, film, or theatre) and the writers of BTR put great effort into creating worthwhile, rounded characters in their show right off the bat. I’ve already talked about the four main guys’ basic character traits so today I’d like to talk more about their development along with the other characters in the show.

Fanfiction Fridays: Hanging On (At the End of the World)

Whenever I hear the word “epidemic” in conjunction with post-apocalyptic stories I assume “zombies”. This story does not have zombies but I still chose to write about it as one of my Halloween-themed posts because it’s awesome and the collapse of civilization is still a pretty frightening subject so I think it counts.

Hanging On (At the End of the World) is an AU Big Time Rush fanfic written for this year’s Big Time Big Bang by author CerinityKS with artwork by teh_emowaffle.

WARNINGS: I must warn for violence, a graphic almost-sex scene, and mentions of offstage sexual abuse. It’s rated M for a reason, this story ain’t kidding around, but I think these situations are handled pretty well by the author.

The story follows the four friends as they deal with the aftermath of a deadly black market drug which causes either death or animalistic homicidal rages in its users. The premise has a very 28 Days Later feel to it and definitely has some similarities to other pandemic films but it doesn’t feel unoriginal and Cerinity’s writing is strong enough to make the story very much her own.

I wanted to finish introducing Big Time Rush the show before posting any fanfiction about it but since those posts have been put on hold in favor of my spooky October posts I had to give up on that hope. Thankfully the story is fully AU so it doesn’t matter too much if the reader is unfamiliar with the show’s canon. CerinityKS has written a piece that I believe is complete on its own and doesn’t rely very heavily on the reader knowing the characters beforehand since they have new backgrounds anyway.

The story involves shipping, namely Kendall/Logan (my OTP) and James/Carlos but what I love is that it’s still a story independent of these relationships. It’s not just relationship drama, it’s a story that has relationship drama included. The story gives focus to these aspects but it’s not just one character yearning for another and then confessing his love at the end. Instead, it’s a very character-driven piece which I absolutely love.