Deep Conversations

#10: Fandom Firsts

•My first fic bookmark on AO3 was the Kris Allen/Adam Lambert RPF Fic They Come in Threes from Yuletide 2009. I have no recollection of this fic, but I vaguely remember being into Adam Lambert RPF. It's got plenty of crack/humor, which was definitely one of my favorite tropes back in the day.
•My first post on Livejournal was made on 04 December 2006! I wrote how I was excited to join LJ and I used a ton of exclamation points and smiley faces, so I guess some things never change.
•My first fanvid bookmark on AO3 was the Scott&Stiles vid From Here On Out by mithborien from 2014. It's still so good! ♥

#11: Share your love for a trope, cliche, kink, motif, or theme.

Outsider POV! I love how this trope (also called Bystander fic?) makes use of actually having a narrator - either another character or an OC - showcase how in love and/or unhinged a ship is.

From fanlore: The removed point of view often serves to highlight how unusual the characters' lives are when compared to the life of an average bystander, or to otherwise explore how someone who doesn't know all the details would parse the information they have access to.

The format of outsider POV fic can vary from non-traditional fic, to overhearing canon quotes from characters, to kink fic that might lead to voyuerism or a threesome. I love them all. But my favorite is when there is a somewhat oblivious narrator who eventually realizes what they're seeing, and this leads to some great insight on all three (or more) characters involved. There is a tiny bit of controversy with this trope because the narrator may be viewed as a character getting shoved aside for the sake of the ship, but I don't think this happens nearly as much as people think. The narrator is arguably the most important character in the fic because it's the narrator's thought process that I'm interested in.

Some of my favorite outsider POV fic:
Daniel LaRusso, karate, and the soul of the San Fernando Valley, Cobra Kai, LaRusso/Lawrence, Rated Mature
This fic practically defines the genre for me!! A man's man of a reporter comes out to interview Daniel the karate legend, and Johnny's there too, and the writer goes on this journey with his subjects and it's absolutely a fantastic read.

The Death-Defying Mystery of the Brothers Winchester, Supernatural & Buzzfeed Unsolved, Rated Gen
The crossover of my dreams! What if Shane and Ryan dissected Dean and Sam on Buzzfeed? This is witty and funny and I definitely laughed out loud.

It's All in Print, Band of Brothers, Winters/Nixon, Rated G
A collection of "primary sources" like news articles that showcase Nix and Dick's lives after the war! So creative and interesting.

Artificial Intelligence, MCU, Steve/Tony, Rated Gen
A little crack treated seriously where Tony's smart appliances play matchmaker!

Some Outsider POV fic that I've written:

Are They Serious?, Supernatural, Sam/Rowena
Crowley realizes that his mother and Sam are dating. This one is mostly crack but I still think it's funny :P

The New York Institute’s Shadowhunter-in-Training, Shadowhunters, Simon/Jace
Where I shamelessly borrow the idea from the above LawRusso fic, and have a reporter go interview Jace and Simon about becoming a Shadowhunter.

The Fate of the Underworld's New Hellhound, Crossover with Teen Wolf and Ancient Greek religion and lore, Lydia Martin/Jordan Parrish
Persephone goes to find the Hellhound Parrish, and observes Lydia and Parrish's relationship.

It turns out I've also written three different fics where an OC demon character is observing Shane and Ryan!

snowflake_challenge #1: Update Your Fandom Information

I updated my profile using code from killthecake. I will probably change the background image because I don't like the way it's displaying but at least I've got my fandoms list and the transformative works policy.

Upcoming fandom things:
-Looking forward to the rec fest at tv_talk starting January 12, since I'm sort of due to fall in love with a new fandom. Also looking forward to halfamoon!
-Working my way through bestof_icons. It's so fun to look back through everyone's icons posts!
-Also I want to finish at least one more challenge for lands_of_magic before the round wraps on January 17.
-I need to read through the Heavy Artillery holiday exchange fic collection still.
-I got my card for comment_bingo here.

I did read the Shane/Ryan Advent Calendar fic collection though! Here are my favorites:

almost like i miss you by transfreak.
An ethereal drug-induced feelings realization that fits so well!

In a New Old-Fashioned Way by drunkkenobi.
I love all the relationship history packed into this and the banter is hilarious.

hear me out by bergoose.
Based on a TikTok that I have not seen, but the flirty hijinks at the drive thru are super fun!

This reminded me that last snowflake I wanted to make a Cobra Kai themed rec list! It seems like there is a disproportionately high number of great vids in this fandom - and maybe that's because they were posted on AO3, which makes it way easier for me to search for and find them. It's almost impossible to search on Youtube these days.

( Fanvid Recs under here )

For the five things challenge, here are five books I read in 2023.

1. The Molly Southborne Trilogy by Tade Thompson.

Thriller/horror series that had me on the edge of my seat! Molly is so competent and badass, and the whole story line is genuinely freaky - without saying too much, there are spies and clones and a bunch of Mommy issues. There's a lesson in there about only being able to trust and rely on yourself - except that's made easier when there's more than one of you. This is a trilogy I actually wish they'd turn into a violent movie. I have so many AU ideas from this premise.

2. All Systems Red by Martha Wells.

I finally was able to read the first murderbot book, and I get what the fuss is about! Such a great sci-fi premise. Murderbot's growing personality is so distinct, plus I love the gender neutrality of it all. Definitely too much to hope for when it comes to ChatGPT?? I am waiting for the second book on Libby.

3. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy.

OOF. I'm STILL thinking about this book. This is some heavy shit. She discusses her mental health issues in DEPTH and her eating disorders and I definitely cried reading it. There is some dark humor in it to lighten the mood, but I don't get why people are describing it as a comedy book. Make no mistake, this is a book about how deep mommy issues can go, and how hard it is to dig yourself out of childhood stardom when it goes badly for you. It is very well-done, and I'm glad Jeannette seems to be in a better place - and she's getting to live out her dream as a writer!

4. Pageboy by Elliot Page.

The nonlinear timeline was a challenge to keep up with at times, but everything was so heartfelt and earnest that I couldn't put it down. It's interesting reading about someone else's gender experience, because some of it I could really relate to (for example, wishing I could hide my boobs or have people ignore them), and some of it I couldn't (his boobs made him feel ill until he could actually get them removed). This difference doesn't make his experience any less valid, I loved that this book was willing to give so much detail. This was also interesting to read back to back after the McCurdy book, because for Page acting was an escape and a calling, instead of a prison.

5. A tie between Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark or We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.

Both were completely different but great horror stories. The twists and turns were a blast. I think Ring Shout had a more satisfying ending but these are two authors very good at their craft.

My fandom wish list for Challenge 3:

-An updated or completely new Sam/Dean (Supernatural) fanvid to the Halsey song Drive that includes clips from the series finale. That song would be such a good vehicle for looking back at their journey.

-Also, an SPN fanvid to the song Hallucinogenics by Matt Maeson because I'm obsessed with the lyrics: 'Cause I carried on like the wayward son//And now through and through, I've come undone

-A multi-fandom anon kink prompt meme with comment fic! It could be general or themed. I think I saw one going around last year for a brief time, and I'd love to see another one. Along the same lines, I'd love for something to replace seasonofkink. I loved the bingo style, but the prompts could even be a tad more specific: maybe kinks + locations? I just hope that something else will emerge to fill that void.

-More icons from The Great (TV). That show is so beautiful, but I haven't seen many icons/fanart from it.

-Speaking of The Great, please do rec me your favorite fanfics (self-recs are fine!). I have many ships, including Peter/Catherine and moresomes, so I'm open to reading what you rec.

-Icon textures/bases with lyrics from Halsey and Hozier songs. I'm not very good at incorporating text into my icons, so I'd love to be able to use bases made by someone else.

-Lastly, more Roswell New Mexico friends on Dreamwidth! Even though the show ended, there is a fun community on Discord. I'd love to transfer some of that energy to DW.

For Challenge 4, here's a moodboard I made about myself recently:

I read through a lot of the comments/posts others made for this Snowflake Challenge, and I was feeling pretty down. It's so sad to hear how people have been bullied and harassed in fandom spaces. I went away for just a bit, and watched some comfort shows, before I typed this. Because a vast majority of the time fandom makes me happy!!

-I am very fond of fic exchanges. BUT I don't think they encourage engagement the same way other events do. Bring back comment fic challenges and watch/re-watch reaction posts and kink memes where people can keep commenting and building on each other!! On that note, I wish more of us were watching the same shows!! There are too many shows and they finish airing too quickly!! If it drops all at once, I have to get through the whole show before I can engage with fandom!! (because I don't like major spoilers)

-I get SO annoyed on tumblr when I see all those posts about how reblogs are important and "likes" mean nothing to them and they get mad about the ratio of likes vs. reblogs. The OPs seem to think we don't get that reblogs share the content and likes don't? That's not the case, I know how tumblr works, I'm a tumblr old. But I am the curator of MY blog. That's the whole point: I get to choose what I want on my blog, and I mostly only share things that bring joy. So I give a 'like' if I want to be encouraging, or if it's not my fandom but I can appreciate the post, or if it is interesting but I don't necessarily agree with the sentiment, or if I can't stand that character but the gif is nice. Those posts make me not want to even give likes. It's not my job to be your promoter. If the campaign was for more comments, I'd be happy to do that!! But they don't care about engagement it seems like, they just want to win the reblog game!!