Playing with words

Fic/meta with links and mini-summaries here. Comment if you would like me to add you too- I f-lock more personal entries.

Feel free to translate, podfic and/or create fanart, fic or fanmixes based on my fics. Please just let me know, and link back to mine!

Similarly, all icons I create can be used as bases and re-transformed if you give me credit (and comment, so I don't call you out!) If you want to use my GIFs in your meta post, just credit.

Please do not archive or re-post any of my creative works elsewhere. This includes icons or GIFs into a tumblr set. (It's also against tumblr's TOS.)

If you need an AO3 invite, PM or comment! Comments on this entry are screened, so nobody will see it but me. 
 

( WandaVision (MCU) ) 

( The Queen's Gambit (TV) ) 

( Black Widow (MCU) )
 
( Chocolate Box 2021 (Howl's Moving Castle, This is How you Lose the Time War) ) 

( Talents series- Anne McCaffrey )

( The Folk of the Air )
 
( Terminator: Dark Fate )

( Avatar: The Last Airbender )
 
( Nolanverse Batman (The Dark Knight Rises) )

( Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse )

( Yuletide 2019 (The Little Mermaid, Spirited Away/千と千尋の神隠し) )

( Game of Thrones (TV) )

( Thor (MCU) )

( Kimi no Na wa | 君の名は | Your Name )

( Moana )

( The Martian )

( The Originals )

( Star Wars )

( HTGAWM )

( Daredevil )

( The Hobbit (movies) )

( Guardians of the Galaxy (MCU) )

( How to train your Dragon/Dreamworks Dragons )

( Pacific Rim )

( The Vampire Diaries )

( Batman/The Dark Knight )

( FFVII )

( Bartimaeus  )

"We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to." W. Somerset Maugham
 

Books/Webcomics:
Made a goal of 50 books for the year and have already made a good start towards that! All of the ones I read this month were in series, which I didn't do on purpose - in retrospect, my choices seem based on a philosophy of Pirates Float My Boat. 🏴‍☠️⚓

( Books )


TV:
I finished a couple of series in January: S1-5 of 911 and Andor. I've also been rewatching Castle, which I can honestly say, I find a lot more fun than Mentalist. 911 feels a lot like Grey's Anatomy to me, with the Crazy Storylines built around the theme of the ep. I can also see why everybody on tumblr (and I think somebody on my reading list) ships Eddie/Buck - they're like Wednesday/Enid on Wednesday: sure they have obligatory hetero romantic interests but it's pretty obvious the cornerstone of their hearts, the person they have Intense Emotions for, is actually the "best friend"? (The writers seem to acknowledge this with Eddie and Buck being mistaken for a couple in series too, LOL.)

Andor was honestly amazing - how does it exist in the same Universe as that last movie that Shall Not be Named because it was so bad? Or Obi-Wan which was all hype, overacting, and plotholes big enough for the Death Star to slip through. Andor just had so much to say about societal control and politics, about human flaws and love in spite of that, and its characters are so real, even the Imperial bad guys. The impenetrable bureaucracy too, hahahaha too real! Plus how the tension started out as a trickle of unease that kept ramping up as things got revealed! I am just despairing at how the next season won't be coming for about two years, but I'm sure it will be amazing too. I will probably re-watch this soon, but next on my TV list is Interview with the Vampire. 

Any thoughts on these series, oh reading list? Or pirate-y book recs? LMK!

'Twas the day after Christmas, so nothing to do
but take the expressway and bid home toodle-loo~

Just kidding - Kid #2 watches a lot of YouTube and wanted to check out the Glico man and eat food from certain shops, so we left first thing in the morning and basically wandered around and ate all day. It was great!😁
 

( Cut for pics )

Hope you are all having a great holiday! I've been chilling at home reading now that I have two weeks off work, so I might even have a book post up before year end! 🙌

 So! I know it's been ages since I've done a reaction post but I wanted to share about the following things:

1. Neil Gaiman's Masterclass on Writing is FREE if you have Hoopla through your library! I've been watching the episodes and getting my notes together to maybe actually get the book written. One of the pieces of advice he gives: "You learn more from finishing a failure than you do from writing a success." 

So I gotta get off my butt and just finish failing, I suppose. One cannot edit nothing, as I often tell my kiddo when they are bemoaning The Absolute Trash they have written and wanting to just scrap everything. Taking one's own advice is so annoying though; I'd much rather take his. :P

In the Masterclass he also mentions quotes (about fairytales and the reality of defeating dragons) and an anecdote that I recognized (the one about wasps and what constitutes bravery) and so

2. I went and re-read Coraline, which is the first proper book I have read in a while! I think it helped a lot that it was paper and you know, an easy read. Creepy in a good way and OMG I am actually Coraline's parents now even though I used to be her. LOL But it leads me to believe I should get back into reading books again via the ones on my shelf instead of ebooks, just because I think they'll be easier on the eyes. 

3. I watched Wakanda Forever with my kiddo and we loved it! I know opinions out there are mixed. But I think they did a really solid job of it, considering they probably had to scrap whatever the original plan was before. And to me, that sense of "it wasn't supposed to be this way" bewildered grief made a lot of sense for Shuri's struggle throughout, and maybe it was meant to be cathartic for the audience too? I thought it was a great coming of age story, and I really liked the parallels (and shocking mirrors) in it. Yes, they could have done more development - I thought there would have been more Riri and Shuri screentime together, considering the way they act in the trailer? But all in all, I loved seeing so many women have their own journeys and literally one hopelessly outclassed Tolkien white guy again, hahahaha. The music is amazing too - Rihanna has two songs on the soundtrack and ugh, they are beautiful. 

Anybody else watch it and have thoughts?

Challenge #10 In your own space, rec a fanwork (fic, art, vid, playlist, anything!) you did not create.

😅 Well, I recced 24 fanart from various fandoms in Snowflake #9 here, and I made some AU Gendrya recs for Snowflake #3 already! Here's a shout out for fancake too, which is a recs community here on DW you might want to check out! This month's theme is Essential Starter Recs, so in that spirit, these are my can't miss canon AU fics for Game of Thrones! GoT type action-y clashes and twists, amazing dialogue and characterization and attention to detail. Warning for canon-typical violence.

the fury by nymja (Game of Thrones, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, E, Major Character Death, 138333 words) - This is my favourite fic ever according to my AO3 history, so I have to start with it! Yes, I have added more than 250 of those hits myself, thank you. This is not yet complete but a new chapter just got added a week or so ago and there are only 8 more chapters to go!

If you prefer Braime, every GoT fic by astolat is similarly Epic for the same reasons. (Between 1765 and 30000~ words)


But if you are like me and you usually prefer shorter fics, here are some highlights from my recs tag and/or AO3 Bookmarks from last year, sorted by length, all from various fandoms.

Life Lessons by ambiguously (Loki TV 2021, Loki&Frigga, Loki/Sylvie, T, No Archive Warnings, 100 words) Longing and Angst and Love being the reason for both. Ouch. So good.

echoes never ceased by afterism (The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes&Sam Wilson, G, No Archive Warnings, 401 words) - SOOO funny! Their dialogue/banter is SPOT ON.

Starring Matt Damon by saiditallbefore (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Loki & Matt Damon, G, No Archive Warnings, 480 words) - Such Cracky fun. How DID Matt Damon end up starring in that little production on Asgard?

I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) by boasamishipper (Ted Lasso, Keeley Jones/Roy Kent&Phoebe, T, No Archive Warnings, 727 words) - Hilarious Halloween fic. The unexpected twist will make you LOL because it is sooo in character.

A Thousand Shades and One by Rodo (Enola Holmes, Enola Holmes/Viscount Tewkesbury, G, No Archive Warnings, 1590 words) - Language of flowers, a 5+1 format and epistolary all in one. This fic is as sneakily sweet as it is cleverly done, just like the canon. 

Goes Up in Smoke by fourteenlines (The Queen's Gambit, Beth Harmon/Benny Watts, M, No Archive Warnings, 2119 words) - Perfectly pitched angst from the part the series sorta skipped over.

sweetheart, they're suspecting things by sbsq (The Queen's Gambit, Beth Harmon/Benny Watts, E, No Archive warnings, 2489 words) - from FWB to something a little more defined, one tryst at a time. This is smutty as hell and so well written!


Okay, and now the meatier ones!

A Tie We Cannot Break by MissMorwen (MCU/Marvel 616, Bucky Barnes/Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson, E, No Archive Warnings, 11147 words) - Soulmarks AU with lots of pining! Sadly this one hasn't been updated in ages, but I live in hope because it is as gorgeously written as the author's other BuckyNat works.

The Year in Biscuits by greyathena (Ted Lasso, Ted Lasso/Rebecca Welton, T, No Archive Warnings, 14082 words) - So in character, and with that gorgeous slow-burn sense of fate leading them to each other with loving inevitability and understanding. This gets not just the characterization/dialogue spot on but also captures the exact tone of the TL series. 

pawn and knight (watch your words) by ShadowSpellchecker (The Queen's Gambit, Beth Harmon/Benny Watts, G, No Archive Warnings, 43547 words) - This isn't done yet and hasn't been updated for months (*sobs*) but it was my favourite fic last year. Soulmarks AU with lots of attention to Real World detail and Beth and Benny warily circling each other in the chess world and colliding more and more often as Beth grows older. 


Challenge #11

In your own space, Interact with someone.

Well, this isn't my first snowflake, so I've done this loads already (on both my DW and other's) so I consider it done! 🙌😁It's honestly one of the best things about Snowflake - it's like a giant potluck party all month! 🥰

Challenge #9: Fandom Wrap Challenge

What are your top five fandoms for 2021 based on the amount of time you interacted with them?
1. The Queen's Gambit (by a landslide)
2. Ted Lasso
3. MCU
4. Game of Thrones
5. Shadow and Bone

( Cutting the rest! )

 GIF icons are sized for DW and won't work on LJ (but should work on AO3!) Stills should work everywhere. Please credit me if used! 😊💜

Challenge #5

In your own space, talk about an idea you wish you had the time / talent / energy to do.

So I think rodo  named this aptly: The White Whale challenge. Who knows - maybe I'll find the motivation one day to throw myself back into research and get the work done on these, but LBR - I doubt it! 😁So this is probably more of a "Let it go" post! ❄️ Although! I have to admit that I actually did finish a longfic in 2020 after not writing it for 8 years, so never say never! 😅

The Original YA fantasy book - I had this all researched and roughly planned out, and wrote a few chapters, only to stop. I tried to finish this for Nano one year and still got only a little further before giving up again.

A Third Path - Anakin/Padme. This was a Canon AU diverging right at the end of AotC, and I was going to explore the idea of Anakin becoming a Grey Jedi instead of going all Darth and their little family running across the galaxy far far away to keep the twins out of Palpitine's hands. I left it on a cliffie too, oops. Sorry, totally my bad! 😅

Honestly, I think that once that kind of blazing itch inside your brain has fizzled, it's really hard to get it stoked again? What do you guys think?

Hello! Thank you for creating something for me! 🥰

Here are my AO3 and tumblr links if you want to get an idea of what kind of fics/visual styles I like! Anything shippy is going to be awesome and make me squee! Hugs, leaning on shoulders, brushing hair - anything where they are showing affection and/or attraction, please! Reinterpretations of scenes from canon are a fave too! I am okay with any rating - G to E. 

Some general DNWs:
Graphic gore, Scat/Watersports, A/B/O, Mpreg, Cheating on a partner, High School AUs, misogyny, major character death, non-con sex, character bashing or humiliation, incest (unless it's already established in canon), non-requested pairings, hurt without comfort, unrequested pairings, owner/slave, teacher/student or employer/employee dynamics. No oral sex where one partner is choking/gagging either, please.

Things I love:
canon-AU, 5+1 and missing scene type fics, worldbuilding details, female characters acting with agency and awareness, badass couples being badass together. I love action, angst with a happy ending, fluff and soulmate AUs, fairy tale/literary/mythology references/AUs, epistolary formats. More loves: humour, witty banter, pining, family bonding, everybody lives!, respecting boundaries, sexytimes, feminist themes, competency, respectful relationships.


Canon specific prompts:

( Arcane )




( MCU )


( What if...? )


( Spirited Away )

 
( This is How You Lose the Time War )


( Murderbot Diaries )

Challenge #1

In your own space, update your fandom information!

Done! I pruned my interests a bit and added the ones acquired this year. The Master List should also be complete now (and thank you for the nudge about that; I do get lazy about updating it! 😅)

I think my Master List sticky post pretty much explains what fandoms I am into, and if it doesn't, my 2021 in review one one post down on my journal should! 😊If you like Ted Lasso or The Queen's Gambit, please comment so I can friend you! Those are the two fandoms I'm most active in now, though I am a constant MCU/Disney/Ghibli consumer as well.


Challenge #2

In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private.

1. Read more. I missed my goodreads goal this year and I hope to actually hit it next year! 

2. Finish the second half of Playing the Rush. It's at 5000 words and promises to be 5000 more and it's been stuck there for a month.😅I haven't abandoned a fic for years, so I don't think I'm in any danger of that, I just get Distracted and need to get my butt in gear.

3. Try to recover my borked harddrive. 

4. Reinstall my old library for iTunes. Yes, I know they want me to just give in and sign up for Apple Music instead of going to the trouble. I bought all those CDs though, and dammit, I have a right to just import music I bought already.

5. Actually watch some of the things on my to-watch list! Especially Reply 1997, Someday or One Day, everything on my Netflix list. 

6. Keep B2 fandom active. I know we're tiny but I don't want us to die. 🖤🤍