Playing with words

Okay, so this is actually a reaction post in retrospect but:

My favourite authors (Ilona Andrews) have had one of their books (Clean Sweep) adapted into a webcomic on Tapas, so my sisters and I all downloaded the app a few months ago so we could keep throwing money at them for more awesome content support them in this new way! So I actually have been reading, just not the reading I used to do? ( Tapas recs )

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! )

This was me! I actually matched on a pairing but this prompt struck me so much more: What was it like to be caught in the Hex, especially for Monica?


Truth (556 words) by NRGburst
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: WandaVision (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Geraldine (WandaVision), Monica Rambeau
Additional Tags: trapped in the hex, Character Study
Summary: Geraldine knows her life is in real Technicolor. She's just not sure if it's true.

Recs:
Fics:

( Fic recs: mostly MCU, 1 Howl's moving castle, 1 Ted Lasso )

Fanart:

( Fanart recs (2 WandaVision, 1 Game of Thrones) )Such a wonderful exchange! Can't wait to see what you f-listers made! 🧡🖤🎃

So I wrote my chocolate box letter on Jan. 4th requesting B^2 soulmates and not only did I get B^2 soulmates fanart out of the exchange, 4 soulmate AU fics have been posted since! Most of them are still incomplete, but I do enjoy how we all seemed to share one brain cell about this. :D

( 1 fanart, 4 fic links under here )

Watch me keep snowballing these so I only have to put up one post for like, the last five challenges. LOL


Challenge #9
In your own space, brag about yourself. Tell us what things you've done that you're proud of; the things that make you the wonderful person you are.

I feel like I do enough repetitive self promo on tumblr, but for people new to my DW circle (Hiiiii! Welcome!), this is the fandom stuff I'm probably best known for:


( Moana, FFVII, HTTYD, Game of Thrones, Kimi no na wa, The Originals, Star Wars, MCU  )


Challenge #10
In your own space, write a love letter to Fandom in general, to a particular fandom, to a trope, a relationship, a character, creator, episode, or it could be your fandom friends. Share your love and squee as loud as you want to.

Okay, I always do a Trope That I Love for this challenge, and this year I am going with Rivals to Lovers.

First of all, this trope is obviously derived from Enemies to Lovers, but they have to actually be COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER IN SOMETHING to fit this trope specifically. And the thing that makes both of those tropes so utterly delicious is the simmering tension between the characters. Think Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe in Anne of Green Gables- she is GOING to take the top grade and that annoyingly smart *sshole is NOT going to take it from her or she might actually spontaneously combust.

( Rivals to Lovers- The Queen's Gambit GIFs and meta under the cut )

Challenge #11
In your own space, create a fanwork.

I made a Beth Harmon & touch set on tumblr here, partly because I needed a GIF for challenge 10 meta up above. :DDD

Films- watched more kids movies than usual because the kiddos were home too. Also re-watched a lot of old faves for comfort.
( 2020 movies  )


TV- watched less than I would have expected, but that is mostly because the kids were home a lot more, I think, so obviously what was on the main screen had to be kid-friendly

( TV in 2020 )

Books- link to book post here


Music- still soundtrack heavy and TAYLOR BLESSED US SO MUCH THIS YEAR. <3

( 2020 music )


Fic recs- I'm just linking to my bookmarks- I've been all over different fandoms this year. Some that wowed me were in The Old Guard fandom, and there are some amazing GoT ones. My biggest !!! was being told that astolat is actually Naomi Novik. Which OF COURSE SHE IS NO WONDER THE WORLDBUILDING AND CHARACTERIZATION AND TIMELINE DETAILS IN HER FIC WERE PERFECTION.

My own stuff:
Fic/Meta -16 fics this year, 15 of them complete, one of which was a previously abandoned fic! 6 of them have a POC (or two) as the main characters, and two are femmeslash because I know I tend to write het (or slash) for white mains but I really don't want to write just one kind of story? Wrote about 30000 more words than last year, and for far more fandoms than usual. Also participated in March Meta Matters challenge, uploading 16 meta to AO3 for the first time. I think I'll do it again this year, but since it'll only be new meta there should be less of an inbox flood to my subscribers.

( 2020 Ao3 stats page under here )

I'm particularly proud of Metamorphosis because it had/still has no audience and I wrote ten thousand words of fic anyway just so that it could exist. Also Love is a Wild Thing was an experiment- combining prompts from Gendrya week in August to make a single, cohesive post-canon fic. I actually like it better than my previous post-canon fics too, which might explain why I feel like I'm kind of done with Gendrya fandom? Check and Mate was my surprise hit- it's doing better than all my Gendrya fics combined, and since people were already following me for Gendrya content, it's kind of wild. It was one of those fics I wrote in a fever of inspiration like Smitten and Deep Tie Knot and I think it also gives that feeling of post-canon catharsis that people are looking for when they go trawling for fic? It also goes counter to a lot of (misogynistic) fandom assumptions, so it's gratifying that people seem to like it so much.

GIFsets- I think I've come pretty far in my skill at making these even over the past year. Even though I had no idea tumblr had changed the max size from 3MB to 10MB until my last set of the year I managed some pretty things! Biggest jump in quality was when I stopped skipping frames and just went with a shorter but smoother GIF- it might not be terribly noticeable to anybody but GIFmakers, but well. I'm one of those. LOL Got better at playing with brushes and transparency and layers this year too.

Proudest of these:
long story short x The Queen's Gambit (I hadn't done delayed subs for forever. Also included a Matrix reference that has whooshed over people's heads BUT IT'S FREAKING THERE. How perfect is this song for Beth's journey in TQG?!)
cowboy like me x Beth/Benny (TQG) (OK, I should have done another transition sequence back in the second GIF but I was so pleased I'd remembered how to do it at all that I plain forgot. THIS SONG FITS THEM PERFECTLY.)
asoiafnet underrated characters: Meera Reed (Time consuming to put two GIFs in one, but so pretty! Also brushes are fun and that last scene took so much coloring to not be dark, you have no idea)
asoiafnet underrated characters: Missandei of Naath (I don't know why the source on the first is so blurry even though it's 720px, but it's pretty despite that.)



I realized that I'd completely forgotten to link my holiday wishes list! If you have one and I've missed it, please link me too! :D Happy to send out green tea Pocky and washi tape etc.


Fannish plans for the next year: A Beth Harmon GIFset, finish An Exchange of Kings and a NYR fic for Yuletide (I defaulted on my PH. My first default ever but I just couldn't think story and didn't want to half ass it.) and as usual:




I'm sure we're all eager to put this year in the rearview- wishing you all a healthy and Happy New Year! (良いお年を）

fandomgiftbox finally went to reveals and I got the most amaaazing fic! Julie/Derek 5+1 based on the Blood Heir chapters that were going up on the Ilona Andrews website (that sadly have now been taken down because the authors have decided to release it as a proper book) and it is so good it could be canon. I am just thrilled to bits! The decision to 5+1 based on senses (especially since they both have supernatural ones) is just !!! Please go read it! The author has also written some incredible rebelcaptain fic, so I plan to go through their whole back catalog soon! <3

Another Time by ivyspinners(M, 2326 words)

Also have to rec this amazing modern AU Gendrya fic because it is hot AF and also gets that angsty longing/fear from making that friends to lovers leap spot-on perfect. Everything from the characterization to the smut is just fantastically done.

that slow burn wait while it gets dark (3369 words) by keepthemclose
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Game of Thrones (TV), A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Characters: Arya Stark, Gendry Waters
Additional Tags: Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Friends to Lovers, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dirty Talk, Sexual Tension, Fluff and Smut
Summary:

The candles cast warm glows on Gendry’s skin, shadows dancing in the room all around them. Time is syrupy and slow and it’s all Arya can do to hope that the power stays out for a little longer.

Arya and Gendry have a deal: he'll help her assemble her new couch and she'll cook him dinner. When they're hit with a summer blackout, tensions boil over.

I also recently finished Enola Holmes and both seasons of The Umbrella Academy and I loved both! Seriously, Netflix: thank you for supporting awesome content! While I cross my fingers hoping for news of a sequel movie and S3+, I suppose I should get GIFfing! :D Some of Millie Bobby Brown's reaction shots are DYING to be made into GIF icons (and Henry Cavill was so droolworthy gorgeous I just about died.) My faves in TUA are: Klaus, Ben, Lila, Diego, Vanya. If you want icons of anybody else, let me know!

I'm actually editing a history of Canadian citizenship right now for the Lost Canadians and surprise! There were lots of racist laws designed to disenfranchise our Indigenous people and Asian immigrants. The most annoying thing is that they still affect our laws today. Of course I'm still proud to be Canadian! I just think we need to make sure our laws reflect who we are as a society now, instead of say, a vehement racist like Mackenzie King. (Who is on our $50 bill. Which is red.) Which brings me to:


 First year doing this!


This is one of my favorite colors and I've made lots of past fanworks with a red theme or totem:

Red String of Fate GIFset (Taki/Mitsuha, KNNW/Your Name)

Red String of Fate/Red Comet in Bound (meta) (Arya/Gendry, GoT)

ETA: OMG HOW COULD I FORGET THIS INCREDIBLE FANART?! (Arya/Gendry, Asoiaf with the Red String of fate)

I'm going to make a KNNW Red themed set later- this prompt came up in the evening for me so I don't have time to cap and GIF now. DONE HERE

The song Red by Taylor Swift is literally the first thing that pops into my head when you mention the color. She refers to it in Daylight on Lover too, and that specific lyric is the epigraph for 結び in Bound. ("I once believed love would be burning red. But it's golden like daylight.") BUT of course I made a GIFset with the lyrics from Red:

Loving him was Red GIFset (Kol/Davina, The Originals) 

And because I associate Red with Vadar specifically here is my Kolvina set with Anidala quote after Kol killed Davina. FUN TIMES WITH OTP PARALLELS GUYS

Speaking of Vadar, who views the world in red:

Deal with the Devil GIFset (Anakin to Vadar, Palpatine, Star Wars)

and here is a drabble rec: Favorite Color by Merfilly 



Not sure if I'm doing this right, but I'll make the KNNW GIFset later if this is supposed to be limited to new works. Just wanted to dip my toe in, so to speak!

Noms are open now at everywoman Go nominate! Also fandomgiftbox signups are now on!


I loved every book I finished in the last three weeks! (Been having troubles focusing my attention, so some books have been going back to the library only partly read.) Also back to reading fic too- this Gendrya Modern AU WIP is a fun, funny (and sexy) read! 

Let's Fall in Love for the Night (16364 words) by Kelleesi
Chapters: 4/10
Fandom: Game of Thrones (TV), A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Characters: Arya Stark, Gendry Waters, Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, Theon Greyjoy, Meera Reed
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - College/University, FWB, Friends With Benefits, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, Explicit Sexual Content, Explicit Language, Smut & Humour & Idiocy, Multi-POV, Slow Burn Feelings-Wise, Angsty in the sense that they are both insecure idiots, not in the sense that anything actually happens lol, Lovers falling in love, Drinking
Summary:

She awoke to birds chirping in an infuriatingly cheerful fashion, a splitting headache, and a growing sense of impending doom. The more she took stock of her surroundings and the clearer her hazy memories from the night before became, the more sure she was that she was completely fucked.
Literally.
And also, you know, in a more general sense.

OR

Arya & Gendry accidentally spend the night together. Once. But it won't happen again. Obviously.

Book reviews:

Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews
Kate has to race to avert a prophecy where she either loses her unborn child or Curran. This was an awesome setup to the finale and as always, filled with top notch action, drama and humor.

Educated by Tara Westover
One of those memoirs that will just blow you away. The abuse she suffered and her frantic reactions of denial are so heartbreaking. Plus of course, her realization of how narrow her world has been, her whole perspective dictated by both poverty and her fanatically religious family is truly humbling. You can practically feel her taking the wheel at last as she gives her narrative from her perspective, despite the persistent gaslighting and ultimatums from her family.

The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan
I really love her writing style and her atypical heroines! June goes out of her way to make herself as unappealing a marriage prospect as possible by doing things like pretending she has horrific taste in fashion and being utterly socially inept so men desperate for her fortune are properly put off. Engaging story with great, clever banter. I'm currently reading the next book in this series.

Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews
I can't believe I'm done this series now! (Well, sort of- they've been publishing little Ryder snippets online, centered on Julie some years after the ending.) Great finale- Roland's fate was really well thought out, and how Kate led him to it makes lots of sense. Also Curran majorly redeemed himself in his final arc. Loved it. I definitely think the best book in the earlier part of the series was the Magic Burns, where Atlanta went to War during the Flare, and this echoed that brilliantly. Going to buy the last three books and Magic Burns for the shelf!

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Gripping. I remember High School being markedly less awful than this- teenagers can be petty and selfish, but the ones in this novel are especially cruel, and I'm not even talking about the perpetrator of the crime towards Melinda. That binds her silent, cripples her in every aspect of her life for the school year, but isn't actually revealed until almost the end. Powerful and haunting- this book is going to stick with me for awhile.


The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
The POV in this is really different- it's a whole bunch of women speaking from first person perspective. At first it was confusing- like an odd sort of Greek chorus. But it's an effective way to vividly depict the varying experiences Japanese Picture Brides had once they stepped on that boat to America. The thing that bothered me was the ending- we no longer get the chorus POV of the Japanese women, but that of the whites that stole their farms, shops and houses once the Japanese were shipped off to internment camps, silencing them in their own book.

Next up: The Countess Conspiracy, The House on Mango Street, The Time of Contempt

Hope all of you are healthy and safe out there, especially you Americans on the f-list. We are getting good supplies of surgical masks back in stores, so if anybody would like me to send you some, please PM me. 

Challenge #14

In your own space, share your love for a trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme. (Or a few!) What makes it particularly appealing for you? What do you like in fanworks featuring that trope?

I always love this particular challenge!

I still remember bumping into this in Trope Bingo a few years ago and going huh, new word, what does that mean? And now it is one of my favorite things, although I wouldn't call it a trope? It's more like a narrative device: a story told through diary entries or letters, and so associated tropes are often long distance relationships and/or body swap.

( Burn before reading )