scrubjayspeaks

Challenge #6

Share your favourite piece of original canon. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I've been revisiting The Lord of the Rings books, and I recently finished Two Towers. This was previously the section I found least interesting, but this read-through hit different.

Éomer and Faramir both have speeches about what they will decide to do when they capture, more or less, members of the fellowship. Éomer has to decide if he will let Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli go on their way--with loaned horses, even--when he has orders to detain and bring back to King Théoden anyone he hasn't summarily killed. Faramir is under similar orders from Gondor when he meets Frodo, Sam, and Gollum.

They monologue their way through the moral dilemma, weighing options and motivations. Both of them invoke ideas of manhood and honor in a way that really grabbed hold of me. They ultimately both decide that trust, and compassion, and solidarity are more important than blind adherence to rules and authority. It's not that they're disloyal to their leaders. But they decide that their honor will not let them betray vulnerable strangers.

I've been paying particular attention to what being a good man means in the series. It's full of men who recite poetry, and speak tenderly of friends, and feel deeply the sufferings of their times. They're brave and steadfast, prepared to endure terrible things. They don't glory in the terrible things, though, or even in their ability to bear up under them. It is strength without hardness. It is strength that longs for, and works toward, the days when it will not be needed.

There's a lot of advice floating around about how to pass as a man. And a lot of it amounts to "wear drab colors, be less expressive, be harder and more withdrawn." Which all seem like a wretched way of defining manhood. They might be necessary to pass, since those do seem to be the expectations of men in our current overculture. But I keep looking for models of manhood that don't settle for this flattening of a person.

Challenge #4

Since this is the start of a new year, this challenge will be e to set your own goals! Of course we can all make large or ambitious goals, remember that small and/or short goals are also good! Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

*sigh* So, my goals for last year were very gentle, "let's expand slightly on the current baseline" targets. Unfortunately, my life also went off the rails last year. I did exactly none of my fannish goals. They can all roll over to this year.

That being said, I'm sort of...reluctant to get too enthusiastic about goal-setting right now. My entire life currently revolves around the logistics of taking a month off work to get top surgery in February. Everything else is taking a backseat to that.

I will say, in an entirely un-timed way, I am working on learning Swedish so I can read Moomin books in the original language. Obtaining said Swedish language versions is also a goal, though Kobo seems to have me covered for a lot of it as long as I'm fine with digital versions. This is a truly pointless, self-indulgent project, which is the best kind of fannish behavior.

Challenge #2

In your own space, talk about your fannish origin story. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Some fandom firsts~

First fan creation: after I saw a live production of Cats for the first time as a small child, I wrote a script for various OCs having a dramatic adventure

First encounter with fannish community: met my eighth grade best friend, who showed me anime and fanfic and emulated games and doujinshi scanlations

First convention: Anime Expo Los Angeles, 2003--didn't cosplay, but did make iron-on transfer t-shirts with art from Yu Yu Hakusho

Challenge #6

In your own space, share a favourite piece of original canon (a show, a specific TV episode, a storyline, a book or series, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much. . Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I'm a latecomer to the Discworld books. (I knew they were excellent as a sort of received wisdom. However, in my feral loneliness during college, I had no one to tell me that I absolutely should not read The Colour of Magic first. I bounced off that and only recently started reading them properly, ie in a nonsense order.) At the moment, I'm reading The Wee Free Men.

"What’s magic, eh? Just wavin’ a stick an’ sayin’ a few wee magical words. An’ what’s so clever aboot that, eh? But lookin’ at things, really lookin’ at ’em, and then workin’ ’em oout, now, that’s a real skill."

"Aye, it is," said William the gonnagle, to Tiffany's surprise. "Ye used yer eyes and used yer heid. That's what a real hag does. The magicking is just there for advertisin'."

There's a lot in this that speaks to me in ways I wasn't expecting. (As opposed to Monstrous Regiment, which I knew going in had obviously been written directly to me personally.) I'm frequently frustrated at work by people's stark inability or unwillingness to use their eyes and heads. I don't actually consider myself especially intelligent. Other people must, it therefore seems, be unusually dim witted.

My sense of frustration is comforted by that of Pterry, who obviously spent a lot of time hopping mad at other people in much the same way. What other people regard as magic (such as "magically" being able to make a machine work) is really just paying attention. So I'm apparently a gear hag.

Challenge #3

Create a wish list of fandom things (podfic, graphics, playlists, canon recs translations, research help, vids, sky's the limit!) that you'd like to receive. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I would love some podfic recs for Stranger Things. I'm mainly here for Steve/Eddie, though Steve&Robin platonic stuff and found family stories for the group in general would also be very welcome. Light and funny is good, as is quiet and introspective. Not looking for anything too heavy right now.

I would especially like some shorter podfic. There's some truly glorious long fic/podfic out there, but I sometimes want to get my fix with something shorter than 7+ hours! I know some of my favs from the Marvel fandom have been putting out ST podfic as well, but I'm not familiar with most of the people out there podding for ST.

Relatedly, does anyone have any short fic for Stranger Things, fitting the above criteria, that they want to hear recorded? I'm looking to get back into podficcing, and choosing stories is often the real stumbling block for me. Having help narrowing the field would be great.

Challenge #1

Update your fandom information. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

So, first, a quick wtf note--I...didn't do anything for Snowflake last year??? Huh. That...actually, that tracks, this time last year was Not Great for me mentally. In that case, wonderful, very low bar for my participation this year!

So here's the thing: I'm not actually going to update my profiles, and I'll tell you why. I went through not long ago and updated my bio on various services, as well as my interests on DW. There isn't much of anything to add. At the moment, I'm instead debating the question of do I want to rename my various usernames?

( Read more... )

Challenge 13: In your own space, share a favorite memory about fandom: the first time you got into fandom, the last time a fanwork touched your heart, wild times with fellow fans (whether on-line or off-line), a lovely comment you’ve received or have left for someone.

I went to my first convention in 2003, which was Anime Expo L.A. I went almost every year for a decade. I no longer live so near to it and so haven't been since I moved in 2014. I would truly love to go back. I'm not even that actively engaged in anime fandom anymore, but it always felt like home all the same. My second year there, 2004, I cosplayed for the first time.



(screencap via YuYuCaps)

I went as Koto, a fox youkai and the cheerfully bloodthirsty MC of the Dark Tournament in Yu Yu Hakusho. It was almost a closet cosplay, using a lot of premade clothing items. But I made the little neckline-and-tie thing and the mysteriously-unattached-to-anything coattails. And the ears and tail, of course. I still have the tail, too, oddly enough. I wasn't there to compete or anything, just to have a bit of fun as an obsessive fan of the series. When I went by the Funimation booth, though, they gave my a shiny Koto from the card game in appreciation.

I cosplayed four more times at that con--Rinku from YYH, B.T. and Macha from the .hack games and series, and No-Face from Spirited Away. They got more elaborate over the years and more thoroughly handmade. No-Face got a lot of requests for hugs, and Macha (who looks like this) was the most impressive overall. But nothing will ever quite compare to the fannish glee of cosplaying for the first time, dressed up as someone I loved from something that was the most thrilling thing I had in my head back then.

Challenge #9: In your own space, list your Fandom Wrap categories.

What are your top five fandoms for 2021 based on the amount of time you interacted with them?

1. Marvel - regrettably, still my hell of choice
2. LotR - I still don't read fic for this (totally open to recs, though), but I haven't met a piece of Tolkien meta I wasn't deeply into
3. Leverage - while I haven't watched Redemption, I've been enjoying the uptick in meta
4. Teen Wolf - it was the autumn of binging TW fic
5. DC - increasingly present as a crossover element
6. Pokemon - honorable mention as the fandom I reblog the most fanart from

What are your top five fandom spaces in terms of time spent? (AO3, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Dreamwidth, and others)

1. Tumblr
2. AO3
3. Dreamwidth
4. whatdoyoumeanothersitesexist.nope

What are the top five ways you interacted in these fandoms? (Reading fanfic, writing, commenting, watching videos, chatting with friends, making art, or anything else you can think of).

1. Reblogging meta
2. Reading fanfic
3. Commenting
4. Devising amusing fandom foods, if only in my head
5. Communicating entirely through movie quotes

What are the top five things you did to contribute to fandom in terms of time? Did you write? Comment? Send positive energy into the universe? Create art?

1. Write fic - *hollow laughter* sort of...
2. Book report-level comments - seriously, I leave very good comments
3. Reblog fanart instead of just liking it - I am given to understand this is An Important Service

What things did you create that took the most time?

1. SIX YEARS FOR THE SEQUEL *mic drop*

Challenge #3: In your own space, put some favorite characters into an AU, fuse some favorite canons together, talk about your favorite AU/fusion tropes, or tell us why AU/fusions aren’t your cup of tea.

Oh, biscuits--see, that's what all my recs were going to be about this year. No, no, I'm not dropping them right now. It's hard enough for me to scrape together recs. We shall speak in general terms instead!

I love me an AU. There's always something nice about the idea that so much of the world can change, but these people will still find each other. Since I'm a sucker for teamwork and found family, anything that reinforces the inevitability of these characters coming together will get me right in the tender heart bits. For reference, when I think AU, I'm not usually thinking of fix-it fic (glorious on its own merits), but more sweeping changes to the known universe.

I don't generally go for mundane AUs--the coffee shops and colleges and whatnot. (With the exception, perhaps, of essieincinci's No Finer Mess To Be Found series, aka the Chubby Punk universe, which features tattoo artist Steve and the aforementioned chubby punk Bucky. There: a rec after all.) I'd be lying if there haven't been a few to win me over. But if anything, I want to inject even more weirdness into my fictional worlds, not subtract what canon already gave me.

Also, I worked in food service myself--why would I do that to fictional characters I like? Can't I just torture them lightly and toss them into the arms of their loved ones instead? Wouldn't that be kinder?

Since I'm mainly in superhero-based fandoms, I've got a pretty thrilling range of weirdness at my disposal already. So to add more, I quite like adding magic that is a bit more high fantasy--witches and curses and kingdoms at war. Psychic powers (not originally attributed to the character in question) are always fun as well. Soul bonds, as one of the AUs du jour lately, are a solid option as well.

Despite being otherwise indifferent to zombie stories, a fandom-based zombie apocalypse has a good chance of doing it for me. Apocalyptic settings in general, when handled by fandom people, are a lot of fun. I can generally trust them to give me happy endings and only the sorts of suffering I like to read about, which is not something I can safely say about the publishing genre.

I also enjoy a good alternate timeline AU. The gang's all here, they just met up at a different stage of their life or at a different point in the storyline. See owlpostagain's Stilinski's Home for Wayward Wolves and, in a more general canon divergence, KouriArashi's Adult Wolf. (Where did all these recs come from???)

Of course, you can also just turn the whole cast of characters into, idk, stray dogs or something. Cracktastic AUs are an extremely valid life choice.

Now then: the semi-exception to my no-mundane-AUs preference. Hockey. All I can say is, damn all you weirdos* for making me not only know things about a sportsball for the sake of seeing more superheroes kiss, but for making me actually. care. about. a sportsball. Do you realize, I have started watching hockey games on tv when one of my meager selection of channels carries one? I have seriously considered paying actual monies for ESPN+ to be able to see all the games said meager channels DON'T carry? All because certain people had the bald-faced audacity to take a whole assortment of Marvel characters and put them on ice skates and make them punch and/or kiss each other in deeply compelling ways. Unbelievable. Who let you in here?

*It's thepartyresponsible. They're the weirdo. More on that later.

Challenge #1: In your own space, update your fandom information!

Once again duplicating my standard intro and link-spam. Added a bunch of new interests in my profile, though! DC joins the list of fandoms I know enough to squee about!

The Basics: I'm Joyce Sully, aka freshbakedlady. (They/them pronouns, please.) I write fic and record podfic, not as often as I would like. I also publish original fiction; some of it is free. I'm chronically ill. I have a lot of animals and even more plants. I have a day job in manufacturing, and I used to work in a restaurant.

I'm on tumblr, where I mostly reblog photography, social commentary, weird stories, and fandom stuff.

I'm on dreamwidth, where I mostly post microfiction, art and photography, life updates, and fandom commentary.

I'm on AO3, where I mostly post traumatized superheroes, found family, and hurt/comfort.

I'm technically on twitter, where I mostly don't do shit because twitter is terrifying.

I'm on my own website, where I mostly sell original fiction.

Fandoms: I've accepted that my fandoms are, for now at least, mostly in cryostasis. I read very occasionally, I make sure I add one new thing to my AO3 a year, and I trust that I'll get active again when the time is right. So the following list is fandoms in which I am some level of conversant, even if I'm not active in any of them just now.

MCU, Teen Wolf, Yu Yu Hakusho, Gundam Wing, Stargate Atlantis, Harry Potter, Supernatural (early seasons only), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sailor Moon, The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, Leverage, Losers, Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Files, Sherlock Holmes (various iterations), Jurassic Park/World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Good Omens, Studio Ghibli movies (various), Pokemon, The Old Guard, DC comics (increasingly, for my sins, and of ambiguous canon source)

Lately, I've been very into crossovers and AUs. (There will, I'm sure, be a challenge for recs at some point, and I've got a few in my back pocket for once.) That's how DC has steadily wormed its way into my life, despite my better judgment. I do love the comics fandoms (which is to say, Marvel and DC) for being such clusterfucks of canon. Literally anything you might want to do will make as much sense as anything else that has ever happened in their extensive back catalogue of stories. Throw all the characters together! Make them witches or cats or hockey players*! Do whatever! Have fun!

*Oh gods, don't get me started on how fandom is slowly turning me into someone who cares about hockey...