To the Stars and Back - Author Notes

[cleflink]

Notes
Well, there it is, my first Big Bang story. I have never hated HTML coding more in my life.

The spirit of this story was inspired by a not-so popular film from the early 90s called Undercover Blues. Those who have seen the film will probably have recognized the loving appropriation of at least one ongoing joke and a distraction, while those who haven't should check out some memorable quotes to see what it is about this film that made me want to write irreverent J2 fic after watching it.

Their various code names are mostly my trying to be clever; if they actually correspond to the personalities of any of those characters, I shall be very surprised.

When I was flailing over how to describe the Barrier Station, peppervl graciously pointed me towards this picture of the atrium of the Atlanta Mariott Marquis. So, if you had no idea what I was talking about, hopefully that helps. *wry*

Oh, and when you're not taking the dazzling liberties with reality that are a prerogative of a fiction writer, a trip from Earth to Mars would take closer to five months than five days. Just in case people were curious.

Acknowledgements
A huge thank you to my lovely artist cryptaniac! We had some time zone challenges, darling, but we got it all sorted out in the end. *massive hugs* She tackled the challenges this story presented with amazing skill and I am so delighted with all the art she produced. Everyone should check out her Art Post - there's a lot more art than what appeared in the story and you'd really be missing out not to look!

Thanks and hugs to peppervl for being a fabulous beta and insisting on internal consistency, logical progressions and the exploitation of super secret spy gadgetry. Thanks for not letting me imprison a city full of people hon and I hope to continue bothering you with all sorts of everything in the future!

Hugs also to loverstar for general cheerleading and encouragement!

This story wouldn't have happened without all the hard work that wendy and thehighwaywoman put into making spn_j2_bigbang the success it is. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first time participating, thank you!

And finally to all of y'all who've made it this far: a million thanks for reading! I sincerely hope you enjoyed!


Master Post

Comments

[blackcat333-99.livejournal.com]

There are so many specific moments that I loved in this fic. Rather than quote them all, I will sum them up thusly: This was FUN!

The characters were fun, but still felt grounded enough that they felt real. The drama elements were the part that kept up the reminder that we were reading about real people, facing dilemmas and emotions that were relatable, even if the setting was a bit fantastical (in a good way). I just raced from chapter to chapter -- so much grinning at bits and sucked into the mystery and more, the unwrapping of a tension that was unwrapped piece by piece and then faced and dealt with amid the juggling of other plotline resolutions and mini-arcs. Fantastic read!

[cleflink.livejournal.com]

*nods* Spies are people too. Just with cooler day jobs. Mostly it means their arguments are going to cover everywhere from 'you forgot to take out the garbage' to 'you didn't leave any bad guys for me to throw in the river'.

I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks very much! ^_^