Fic [MM]: her voice is full of money (Betty)

[fallen_woman]

Title: her voice is full of money
Fandom: Mad Men
Characters: Betty, Francine
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~500
Summary: S1 throwback. Kinsey and Campbell aren't the only failed writers on Mad Men. Bonus: passes the Bechdel test!

Comments

[fallen_woman]

Gosh, thank you! I'm thrilled you liked the line about describing things, because it's definitely an issue I've grappled with in the past, both in the writerly, "unrrgh I haz no plot" sense and the IRL "why is there such a divide between the person I am and the person I pretend to be" sense.

[pen_necklace]

ahh! your Francine is wonderful

and Betty really is an interesting character, sometimes you feel they should give her more to do in the show. very nice piece :)

[fallen_woman]

Glad you liked it! Francine is -- well, flat-out terrible, but *SO* entertaining, given her limited screen time. "How would you like to be in Helen Bishop's family portrait? There's a big hole there, believe me." /love/

As for Betty, while she is far from my favorite on the show, I do wish that the writers gave her more to do. Or rather, I wish that she gave herself more to do.

[fallen_woman]

Thanks! Hah I don't like Betty either, but she's kind of fun to write, and I wanted to give Francine a whirl. Francine's bitchery is refreshingly ordinary -- not the Queen Bee type like Joan's, but more like that of the head cheerleader's best friend on the squad. The girl who had a plain face and slightly stumpy legs, but since her family was rich, never had a lack of suitors.

Also, I love Anne Dudek's chubby face. It is so elegant and quirkily memorable that I want to graft it over my head, provided Alison Brie's face wasn't available. Or maybe I could have them both and just alternate.

[fallen_woman]

unfff and the actor(s) on your weekly masturbation sketch show could use the same kind of crank to rotate their faces, you know, to cut down on production costs.

so i originally imagined this story as having femmeslashy undertones, but Betty stamped her feet and hissed, How am I supposed to live without penis, and I rolled my eyes and said, Ugh you are such a pain in the ass look at Peggy, she's sitting nicely in the corner playing with Joan's vagina. Srsly.

[waitingforjimmy]

I always love your writing. And I love that you don't hate Betty in your writing, you give her a fair shot. Those two always danced around some type of understanding and 'in the trenches with flowers' mentality and you've exposed both of them so perfectly here. I do hope you write more and more in this fandom. Your writing spoils me. <3

[fallen_woman]

goodness, your kind comments spoil me. :) i'm v. v. happy that you think i gave betty a fair shot; if i had to be completely honest, my inner landscape (inner, obvs, since i'm not a pageant-perf ex-model) probably resembles betty's more than it does joan's or peggy's.

"in the trenches with flowers" is PERFECT for describing betty and francine. their friendship, for all their individual flaws, is so genuine and moving. one of the best same-gender bonds on MM.

thanks for the wonderful comment!

[lz1982]

Not that I was ever a real "fan" of Betty's, but she does seem to be more of a cliched villainess than she used to be. So this was a nice change. Also, I miss Francine.

[fallen_woman]

Thanks! I hated the characterization of Betty in Season 4. Considering how nimbly the show usually handles the interior lives of its stifled female characters, I think it was lazy to portray her solely in terms of evil mother / harridan ex-wife who is still secretly hot for Don's cock. Ugh.