A Fan's Playground

My recs for the month of February! This month included festivids getting posted so there are a lot of small-fandom vids in this batch, as well as the usual run of various mxtx fanfic plus other stuff. The lineup:

Romeo+Juliet – 2 vids
Taskmaster UK – 1 vid
Jesus Christ Superstar – 1 vid
Catherine Called Birdy – 1 vid
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – 1 vid
Moby Dick – 1 vid
the Knives Out series – 1 vid
Shakespeare’s As You Like It – 1 vid
Hikaru No Go – 1 fic
SVSSS – 3 fics
MDZS/CQL – 4 fics

Romeo+Juliet

Trust+Fall, by sandalwoodbox

- it's festivids time!!! this is probably the first of SEVERAL vids I will be reccing today

- this one is for the film Romeo+Juliet, and focuses on the Romeo/Juliet relationship

- set to the song "Parachute" which I previously knew from an extremely cute Leverage vid, so it was fascinating to see how this vid pulled out very different themes from the song and made a much darker, more painful vid, though cut through with moments of cuteness and levity, as the tension ramped upwards towards Romeo and Juliet's inevitable end

- it was so good!

- 2:52 in length. Music only, no added sounds/dialogue. No subtitles.


Magnetic, by sandalwoodbox

- another Romeo + Juliet vid, this one focusing on Mercutio

- it's about how magnetic a character and a person Mercutio is and like. YUP. AGREED.

- 0:58 in length. Music only, no added sounds/dialogue. Subtitles are available.

Taskmaster

Blood in the Cut, by findmeinthealps

- Taskmaster UK vid focusing on Alex and the uhhhh dynamics in the show that he created

- I love the way the editing turns so many of the weird visuals into something that the camera has an erotic focus on. it's so effective! and the song really amplifies it.

- 3:13 in length. music only, not added sounds/dialogue. no subtitles available.

Jesus Christ Superstar

Hope on Fire, by aguntoaknifefight (swirlingvoid)

- a Jesus Christ Superstar vid which draws on many different productions of the musical, both stage and film, to look at Judas's relationship with Jesus

- I love how it gets across how intense and agonising a relationship it is, and the use of many different sources helps hammer home the inevitability of its tragedy too

- 3:45 in length. music only, no added sounds/dialogue. subtitles are available.

Catherine Called Birdy

Jackrabbit, by Tafadhali

- vid for the movie Catherine Called Birdy, about Birdy and her relationship with her parents

- I haven't actually seen the movie but I have loved the book for many years!

- and this vid felt like it exactly captured the feel and the mood of the story. It's lovely.

- 3:24 in length. music only, no added sounds/dialogue. no subtitles.

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Disaster Party, by Scribe

- so I have not actually seen the dungeons and dragons movie yet but this vid about the adventuring party was just so fun and charming to watch

- upbeat and loving look at the characters and their various misfortunes as they make mistakes and keep going

- 3:12 in length. music only, no added sounds/dialogue. no subtitles.

Moby Dick

Here it Goes Again, by eruthros

- Moby Dick vid featuring as many different adaptations and inspired-bys as the vidder could fit in

- here it goes again! the story keeps repeating itself! you can't escape it!

- so much fun and so impressive

- 3:01 in length. Music only, no added sounds/dialogue. Subtitles are available.

Knives Out series

'Til You Hit A Nerve, by stardust_rain

- about the heroines of Knives Out and Glass Onion

- idk that I have anything insightful or interesting to say about this one but it's a good vid! I liked it!

- 2:27 in length. Music only, no added sounds/dialogue. No subtitles.

As You Like It

Boys Keep Swinging, by Tafadhali

- a vid about Rosalind in many different productions of Shakespeare's As You Like It

- a vid that is just having SO much fun leaning into being as queer about gender as it can manage

- and I had just as much fun watching it!

- 2:00 in length. Music only, no added sounds/dialogue. No subtitles.

Hikaru No Go

Dragons and Other Metaphors, by esama

- canon divergence genfic about Akira's pov on Hikaru, and like, it's been SO long since I've been in this fandom that I've forgotten all the contextualization to recognize what the point of divergence is lol

- but it's a REALLY good fic about how large a figure Hikaru is in Akira's life, and the rivalry experience Akira is so committed to

- 3k words in length

- I saw this fic thanks to a rec from Rozzychan on fedi so thank you!

SVSSS

Small Fish in an Unsettled Pond, Violent_entertainment

- this is part of a series of unconnected works the author is writing, each one focusing on the relationship between Shang Qinghua and a different one of the various Cang Qiong peak lords

- today's is about Shang Qinghua and the Ku Xing Peak Lord! yes, one of the peak lords who doesn't even get a name in canon

- sqh and the kx peak lord are friends and unlikely allies in the effort to make sure lbh doesn't destroy the sect and mash the realms together

- I love how the author comes up with so many different backstories for sqh in the different fics

- and I love this vision of the kx peak lord! and what lbh would be like under this lord's tutelage!

- 4k words in length


stuffed with fluff (and blood and bones and rage), by nyoomerr

- it's always a good day when nyoomerr posts a new svsss fic!

- this one is about original lbh, beginning in his abyss years, visiting shen yuan in his dreams

- lbh can't move or act or speak in these dreams but he gets to hear/read about everything sy says about lbh

- over years lbh gets more and more obsessed with sy (obvs)

- I love watching lbh's growing realizations of the nature of his frustrations, mediated through getting to hear sy express things that are so different from what anyone in his waking life ever says

- I love how much he craves someone who SEES him like sy does, and yet sy can't see all of lbh because the parts of lbh's life he gets to see are all mediated through the nature of what a stallion novel will focus on!

- and the ENDING. it is perfect! I'm feral at the thought of what will happen next

- 17k words in length


Help! My Ex-Boyfriend Transmigrated And Now He's My Shixiong! by kitschlet

- just reread this fic and it's as fun as it was the first time!

- in which sqq and sqh were exes back in the real world

- they figure out who each other are and immediately fall to bickering over what actually happened in their relationship

- these two are SO FUNNY and SO RIDICULOUS and my heart gave a pang anyway! truly the magic of cumplane

- I love them and they're the worst <3333

- 2k words in length

MDZS/CQL

The light that he brings, by raitala

- mdzs/cql modern au where wwx reappears after many years and lwj wants to keep him in his life in whatever way he can

- I love! how much they care about each other, and how they try to navigate the new/old dynamics between them with the additional perspective that being older will bring

- though lwj still hasn't entirely figured out the framework to understand his attraction to wwx

- they're both trying so hard to not overstep boundaries between them but they can both agree that whatever is best for a-Yuan is worth doing

- watching them slide into intimacy and intertwined lives, and how lwj comes alive with wwx and a-yuan in his life! endless delight

- impeccable under-negotiated d/s vibes between them

- I love the glimpses into all the other people in their lives as well!

- ahhh there are so many things I could keep saying about this fic! it's so good

- 106k words in length


the beauty of maturity, by hisevilforest

- mdzs/cql

- look this is uhhh not a common ship so I just smooshed the names together for the hashtag and called it good

- Lan Jingyi and Xue Yang run into each other alone in all the fog of yi city

- their dynamics with each other are SO fun, neither of them trusting each other and yet both having a great time in their various ways

- jingyi's pov is GREAT

- I think the author's tags are a great look into what the fic is like: hostage situations, poisoning, making out, frottage, mind-games, mouthy jerks who escalate, sexy swordfighting, being walked in on by hanguang-jun specifically, blink and you miss it glimpses of xue yang's angst, but mostly humour

- this is a reread for me and it's just as worth it the second time (or third, or fourth, or --- )

- 6k words in length


moored, by fluffysocks

- mdzs/cql

- Because Of Reasons, wwx and jc are both married off to lwj after the destruction of lotus pier. wwx is blissfully happy about it; jc struggles with it on a NUMBER of fronts

- from jc's pov, about him figuring out how to have a successful relationship with his husband, with his place in his new sect, with his brother and co-spouse, with himself and his struggles in cultivation these days

- jc's pov obviously doesn't like to think about any of these things straightforwardly, he's too busy being tsundere about everything lol

- I love seeing him finding his own way, figuring out how to have a life that works for him even if it isn't what he would have chosen!

- 17k words in length

- (also: fuck jkr and all, but if you also fondly remember helenish's hp fic "theft of assets, destruction of property" then this is the fic for you!)


Lans Never Kiss and Tell, by FeelsForBreakfast

- mdzs/cql modern AU wangxian fic wherein wwx finds out that lwj has kissed all of their friends except him
- obviously he immediately goes insane about this

- I'm very charmed that this is a "mutual pining" trope fic wherein the two of them never doubt for even a moment that they are each other's most important person

- the writing is extremely funny. such good comedy bits overlapping with the genuine emotions in ways that make both parts better!

- 31k words in length

wow it's a new year! gosh. well let's talk about the IMPORTANT things, like this round-up of all the recs I did over the course of this month on mastodon! this month you will find:

3 article recs
6 tgcf recs
6 cql/mdzs recs
4 original short story recs
1 multifandom rec
1 doctor who rec
1 2ha rec
29 yuletide recs

(yuletide fandoms are: My Cousin Rachel, Jane of Lantern Hill, Sunshine, All the Horses of Iceland, Gods of Jade and Shadow, Debrief, Deeplight, Yudah Cohen, Winter's Orbit, Goncharov, Left Hand of Darkness, Mr Queen, Ocean's 8, I Want To Go Home!, Knives Out, Tortall, When the Angels Left the Old Country, The Blue Castle, Vespertine, Jeeves & Wooster, Chess (Musical), Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Ocean's Echo, The Goblin Emperor, Temeraire, and the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.)

ARTICLES

ARTICLES

Black Silk, Brown Silk: China and Beyond—Traditional Practice Meets Fashion, by Abby Lillethun, 2008

just read this interesting article on a technique for dyeing silk fabric a black colour in southeastern Asia, which can be called gummed silk or mud-treated/mud-dyed/mud-coated silk or a variety of other names

The article is about the socio-cultural context of the fabric's use in the last century and a half, which is fascinating, but now I want to know more about the chemistry of what goes on in this dyeing process. Especially since this is a process that involves iron in creating the black colour, and my understanding is that iron-rich dyes tend to corrode fabric over time, but gummed silk is specifically noted as being durable!

TELL ME MORE, INTERNET!

(the internet only wants to provide me fluff pieces about chinese fashion when I try searching)
anyway the article is worth reading in itself even if it doesn't do everything I want it to!



Blue to black: Hypotheses on plant use complexity in traditional dyeing processes in Southeast Asia and China, by S. Li, A.B. Cunningham, Y. Shi, Z. Qiu, A. Hartl, X. Ding, S. Wu, Y. Wang.

I just read this paper on traditional indigo dyeing methods in Southeast Asia & China and it's so INTERESTING.

- did you know: humans have been dying textiles with indigo dyes for at LEAST 6,000 years? despite it being a very complex multi-stage process? I am so impressed. (I'm also impressed we manage to have evidence of this! archeological research into the history of fibre arts is always a trial, for obvious reasons)

- an indigo dye vat needs to be an alkaline environment that has been fermented to grow anaerobic bacteria

- the dye vat will need various ingredients included to promote the fermentation and the correct type of bacterial growth, as well as to create the alkaline environment, and is monitored and maintained over time to make sure it goes right

- the reason you need all this is because indigo particles don't actually penetrate the fibres; you need to reduce the size of the indigo particles, and when they're small enough you can turn them into leuco-indigo which CAN penetrate the fibres. then when the material you're dyeing is exposed to air, the leuco-indigo turns back into indigo and is trapped in the fibres!

- if you want to overdye the indigo to create black, you also need a source of tannins as well as hyperaccumulator plants to be a source of metal mordant

- so if you have indigo you can dye fabric black without using iron! iron corrodes fabric over time, and is the other main way to create a black dye, so this is amazing

- modern industrial indigo-dyeing uses toxic reducing agents instead of the fermented dye bath, and this paper is intended to provide information on how sustainable dyeing could be done in a modern context as well. which, rock on. I love this.



Mickey, Disney, and the Public Domain: a 95-year Love Triangle, by Jennifer Jenkins

really enjoyed this article about Mickey Mouse and what it means practically speaking for Steamboat Willie to join the public domain in 2024!

TGCF

TGCF

Ming Yi's Monologue, by Zdenka

- The original Ming Yi doesn't get much attention in fanworks, perhaps understandably since he never appears on-screen in tgcf while alive (or as a ghost, or otherwise able to exist and communicate), but he's a fascinating character to speculate about through what we know of him!

- This short work is from Ming Yi's pov, a poem addressed to He Xuan from after death

- it's so much fun! I love the pov, and I love the air of menace and resentment from ming yi towards his usurper. Perfect ending.

- 300 words in length



party city, by verity

- rule 63 modern au hualian

- it is so SOFT and suffused with care that I am all emotions!!!!

- also. the outfits. I die.

- 3k words in length



My Love for You is Crimson, by elfowlgirl

- xie lian gets an idea for a fun adventure and hua cheng loves to indulge his husband's mischievous side (I LOVE THIS)

- the idea: if hua cheng went to heaven wearing clothes that aren't red, would anyone recognize him?

- a charming and cute fic!

- 3k words in length

- thanks to xieliansbignaturals@blorbo.social for the rec!



Double Trouble, by corduroyserpent

- wow?!?! jun wu is such a disaster and this is amazing

- post-canon, jun wu has a qi deviation that splits off a younger version of himself as bai wuxiang

- mei nianqing suggests that jun wu can fix it by dual cultivating with himself. jun wu is NOT into it but makes it work with mei nianqing's help.

- 3k words in length

- thanks to to xieliansbignaturals@blorbo.social for the rec!!!



we all have a hunger, by spicecandy

- beefleaf modern reincarnation! reincarnation isn't usually my thing but I liked how it was handled here

- he xuan has not developed any more chill over the years between when sqx dies and when sqx is finally reincarnated

- he xuan's pov is very fun. the drama! the pathos! meanwhile sqx is clearly just having a nice time bonding with he-jie. beefleaf always about contrasts :)

- I believe in u, he xuan! you can do it! have an actual relationship with sqx!!

- also the gender stuff is great.

- 6k words in length

- thanks to roland@federatedfandom.net for the rec!



shadowplay, by bloodletter

- a postcanon beefleaf reconciliation fic; it's a wip and the first chapter was just posted today

- sqx wakes up in a mysterious cave and finds that hx has saved her life and taken her there

- the gothic vibes are out of this world and I love it so much, I am just eating this up, it's delicious. there's even a bit where sqx is standing on rocks looking out over a tempestuous sea!

- hx is peak drama kid, peak capital-R Romantic, peak cannot-let-things-go. and sqx is unable to look away

- I cannot wait to watch the rest of this unfold!

CQL/MDZS

CQL/MDZS

For the Love of Quilting, by Scrippio

- a super cute modern au where wangxian are quilters! I love how much the author is clearly familiar with quilting and is able to imbue the fic with insider perspectives on the art/hobby

- I love when writers port "these characters are super skilled at The Thing The Show Is About" into a completely different domain like this, especially when it's a domain that doesn't get much attention from fandom usually!

- the dynamics between wwx and lwj are also so fun, the way they click so easily, and push each other, and inspire each other, and love each other

- also I dearly want to see all the quilts that are described in the fic lol

- 5k words in length



It's Only Time, by soupytwist

- wangxian fanvid set to "It's Only Time" by the magnetic fields

- I tend to be a hard sell on vids set to slower songs but this one totally captured me

- a gorgeous look at the endlessness of lwj's love

- thanks to lookitmychicken@blorbo.social for the rec that brought this one to my attention!



Hold On, I'm Coming, by inkjunket

- wangxian fanvid set to "Hold On, I'm Coming" by Book featuring Ndidi O

- damn this vidder is so good at using the motion of clips with the music to create and build intensity!

- I love how clear the arc is of what the vid is doing, even with almost no words in the song

- thanks to lookitmychicken@blorbo.social again for reccing this one!



Ready For It?, by wrensandroses

- fanvid focusing on jin guangyao, especially his relationships with lxc and nmj and qin su

- set to "Ready For It" by Taylor Swift

- this was so much FUN. the song makes it a real bop, experiencing jgy and his uhhhhhh Choices. the vid makes excellent use of his patented customer service smile also!

- thanks yet again to lookitmychicken@blorbo.social for the rec!



like a virgin (feels so good inside), by wildwestwind

- modern au where wei wuxian is a camboy and wen ning is his roommate

- wei wuxian is bad at recognizing boundaries and wen ning is bad at having them and it leads to them having sex together on camera

- they are both disasters and I love them very much!

- 3k words in length

- thanks to Betty@fandom.ink for the rec!



Salt in Our Sentences, by hansbekhart

- exploring the relationship between Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji; the three months of almost-friendship when they were searching for Wei Wuxian together, and then the many years of hatred that followed

- and yet lwj saves jc's life when he's injured in a night hunt. but they still hate each other.

- the deep well of bitterness on both sides, as both feel fully justified in their hate! god it's so good. the vibes in this fic are impeccable.

- 2k words in length

- thanks lookitmychicken@blorbo.social for the rec!

ORIGINAL SHORT STORY

ORIGINAL SHORT STORY

Maladaptive Camouflage, by Ann Leblanc

- a woman with a gun is faced with two identical people who both claim to be her wife

- it's a fascinating short horror story about shape-shifting monsters who can duplicate human forms

- told through the pov of a shape-shifter!

- 2k words in length



Catch and Release, by Nemainofthewater

- an original xianxia short story on ao3

- in which an unorthodox cultivator gets himself adopted by a small child who turns out to be part of a major righteous sect, despite the unorthodox cultivator's attempts to remain a lone wolf unencumbered by attachments

- totally adorable and delightful!

- 1k words in length



My Bonsai Lover in Winter, by Rachael K. Jones

- I'm not quite sure what to make of this short story but it's odd and lovely and I enjoyed reading it so I'm sharing it with you as well.

- content note for body horror I think

- 1k words in length



There’s a Door to the Land of the Dead in the Land of the Dead, by Sarah Pinsker

- about queer intergenerational friendship and mentorship, about being a young adult trying to find your place, about death and what it means to you, about living through the death of all your peers and coming out the other side, about hope and love and making connections.

- holy shit this gave me so many emotions. READ IT READ IT READ IT.

- also I adore the title. pinsker writes great titles.

- 6k words in length

MULTIFANDOM

MULTIFANDOM


Bicycle Race, by seekingferret

- multifandom vid set to Queen's "Bicycle Race"

- no serious deep meaning, just a whole lot of different people bicycling in a whole lot of different fandoms!

- charming and fun to watch

DOCTOR WHO

DOCTOR WHO

Rest, by Aria

- I left the doctor who era of my life behind in 2012 but when one of my beloved doctor who friends posted a new fic today inspired by the newest doctor who happenings, I had to read it

- and guess what I had SO many feelings! the doctor! and donna! and finding ways to rest and live a linear life on earth with people he cares about and learning how to find the mundane things worth paying attention to!

- 3k words in length

2HA

2HA

oh, to be in love (and never get out again), by verity

- rule 63 modern au f/f ranwan

- chu wanning has atticwifed taxian-jun

- cwn is SO horny for her wife (wives) but can't let herself just enjoy that

- CHU WANNING.

- 1k words in length

YULETIDE

YULETIDE

The Collar Tightens, by nemali

- fic for My Cousin Rachel

- post-canon fic from Louise's perspective!

- Philip is haunted by the ghost of Rachel!

- Louise struggles to keep up the mindset that of COURSE she must be happy to be married to Philip!

-1k words in length



Longest and Lasting, by Jougetsu

- fic for Jane of Lantern Hill

- fic about Aunt Gertrude through the years, her relationship with her mother and siblings, and growing into the person we see through Jane's eyes in the book

- so good and believable! poor Gertrude. she never had an opportunity to escape, or to learn how to want something other than her mother's approval!

- 1k words in length



under our skins, by Wildcard

- fic for Robin McKinley's novel "Sunshine" featuring Mel and Mel's tattoo artist!

- told through the notes kept by the tattoo artist on each tattoo associated with Mel

- Such a great glimpse into Mel's side of Sunshine's world!

- 1k words in length



The Nameless Mare and the Mountains, by tryfanstone

- Take the beautiful novella All the Horses of Iceland, and tell it from the perspective of one of the horses!

- just as beautiful and numinous as the original!

- 1k words in length



descent, by misura

- fic for Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Gods of Jade and Shadow

- such a fun pov choice to have it from Vucub-Kame's perspective!

- I loved the arguments between Vucub-Kame and Hun-Kame, and between Hun-Kame and Casiopeia!

- 2k words in length



Souls in the River, by primeideal

- Fic for the two-person roleplay game Debrief (I LOVE DEBRIEF!!!!)

- featuring Dora and Jean, the wives of the player characters in the game, and I love how it makes them real people with their own complex relationship with each other!

- I also love what it does with footnotes, it is a GENIUS way of doing pov things for this particular canon

- ahhhh there are so many great details in the fic too!

- 3k words in length



the lord survives the rainbow of his will, by XenomorphLiebe

- fic for the Frances Hardinge book "Deeplight"

- focusing on the friendship between Hark and Jelt

- absolutely perfect creepy vibes, and capturing what's compelling to Hark about his friendship with Jelt despite everything

- also perfect bits about Quest as mentor-figure!

- 4k words in length



An Occasion On Which Yudah Cohen Was, Shockingly, Not Required To Meddle, by whetherwoman

- fic for the Yudah Cohen series of short stories by Rebecca Fraimow

- ft. exactly what the title describes

- and ahhhh what a DELIGHTFUL story, a perfect little addition to the world of Yudah Cohen that feels exactly right!

- it feels like Yudah Cohen and his family and the people around him are the kinds of people about whom endless stories COULD be told, and this is simply another absolutely correct story about his life.

- 2k words in length



Groundhawk Day, by Caracalliope

- fic for Everina Maxwell's book Winter's Orbit

- a timeloop on Kiem and Jainan's wedding day! oh noes, what will they do!

- I love the timeloop as an external factor they have to face together

- Kiem is so KIEM! I love him so much. the way he is delighted every time by whatever Jainan's done with his hair and clothes!

- and I am so glad the fic cares as much as I do about the external non-romantic relationships for both of the romantic leads. how Bel is an integral part of things no matter what, and how much Jainan and his sister love each other

- 4k words in length



Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Goncharov, by berlincorpography

- fic about the made-up film Goncharov, by which I mean, fic about the made-up academics who study the real-in-their-world film Goncharov and have fights about it in academic journals, and also write fic about it

- told entirely via text messages, ao3 comments, academic paper abstracts, and emails

- yes obviously it's enemies-to-lovers

- it's completely delightful, I love everything about it

- 6k words in length

- thanks to bloodripelives@fandom.ink for the rec!



Uncautionary Tales, by Roadsterguy

- fic for The Left Hand of Darkness, set generations after canon!

- a young person of Gethen dreams of journeying out to join the rest of the Ekumen; their parent tells them the story of the Envoy and of Estraven

- I love this outside perspective on the characters we know and love from canon, and what must have/might have happened to them, and the stories they've become in the generations since!

- the original characters are wonderful also, bringing a great dynamic to the discussion of what it means to be a Gethenian vs an Outsider, and to the consideration of what a story means and what it means to tell that story

- yuletide always brings fabulous left hand of darkness fics and this one is no exception!

- 2k words in length



Some Things that No One Teaches You, by DachOsmin

- another Left Hand of Darkness fic!!! just as good as the other one! god I love fandom

- genly and estraven on the ice, while estraven is in kemmer; a classic premise

- this one is so sweet and loving, so full of genly being obtuse about things but trying so hard regardless, and estraven wanting him despite it all!

- 2k words in length



Instructions for those who have relocated in space, time and/or genitalia, by Jang Bong Hwan - by halotolerant

- have I watched Mr Queen? no I have not. but I HAVE had friends tell me about it and that's nearly as good, in that it means I could read this fic and understand and appreciate it

- Jang Bong Hwan is writing down maxims about how to survive the experience of bodyswapping through time and space, for reference for future people in the same situation

- Jang Bong Hwan gets a little off topic. a lot.

- Jang Bong Hwan loves Cheoljong so much!

- delightful and charming throughout, such an engaging and endearing narrative voice

- 7k words in length



Double Down, by chasesstarlight

- pre-canon story for Ocean's 8, telling the story of how Lou and Debbie met each other and the first con they worked together!

- a fun story with a con that does a good job of fulfilling the story's needs

- I really enjoyed the Debbie/Lou dynamics!

- 6k words in length



The boys are back in town, by scintilla10

- post-canon fic about I Want To Go Home! featuring young adult Mike and Rudy going back to the camp for a reunion weekend

- super cute and sweet, and I loved how much camp turns out to be just....camp. Chip is a reasonable person who's grown up some more and was embarrassed about how at a loss he'd been as a counsellor, the new camp director is making changes to the programming, the other attendees are into the group bonding activities but don't force Mike and Rudy to do anything

- and it leaves Mike and Rudy a lot of time to just hang out and figure out what they mean to each other!

- 8k words in length



the most riveting intermission, by 061828

- cute little fic for the Knives Out universe, about Benoit Blanc and Phillip's first meeting!

- from Phillip's pov and I loved seeing Benoit Blanc from his perspective

- 2k words in length



The Duke's Curse, by Ghostinthehouse

- Tortall fic set in the Alanna era, about the ways different parts of the country deal with the famine, in the year after the use of the dominion jewel

- I liked the realistic look at what the differences would be in how hard the famine is depending on the main sources of food, eg in Pirate's Swoop which can look to the sea, vs Trebond with its field crops, and the people who have to go hungry vs the people who merely have to eat less deliciously than usual.

- I would have loved the inclusion as well of a place where the people in charge don't care as much about the well-being of the commoners through the famine, but I understand why the fic didn't want to go there!

- 2k words in length



if it were physical, it would show, by orthostatics

- a Tortall fic set during the era when Duke Roger is dead the first time, from Alex of Tirragen's pov

- omg I am OBSESSED with this minor canon divergence au that takes seriously the question of what Alex's motivations are

- the fucked up relationships between Alex and Delia, Alex and Roger, Alex and Thom! Alex's obsession with and failure to understand Alanna! Roger continuing to be horrible from beyond the grave!

- HELLO I AM HERE FOR ALL OF THIS

- 5k words in length



Known, by Kass

- a lovely post-canon fic about Uriel after When The Angels Left the Old Country, as its relationship with Ash evolves but remains the cornerstone of its life

- also full of Jewish geekery (as the tags of the fic say too!) which feels so right for fic of this book!

- 3k words in length



Zichronam Livracha, by azhdarchidaen

- another fic for When the Angels Left the Old Country, this one set 200 years later in the present day

- Ash and Uriel have continued to live in the US, and have brought Essie and Rose's papers to donate to a Jewish archive

- I love the archivist, and I love Uriel and Little Ash, and I love that from both sides there's kindhearted delight at seeing young people interested in preserving history!

- 1k words in length



a place where joy is known, by redgear

- a fic about The Blue Castle! a fic about Abel and Barney's friendship!!!

- I love this look at what their friendship is like - and at what Abel's perspective on Valancy is like!

- 1k words in length



the place you need to reach, by go_gentle

- Artemisia/Marguerite fic for the book Vespertine, a post-canon adventure

- look I have a terrible memory and don't remember most of what happened in Vespertine but I DO remember I loved the book, and this felt like a great addition to it

- Artemisia stops getting letters from Marguerite and immediately knows it means something is wrong and goes after her

- investigating a creepy group of people with the help of her revenant!

- Marguerite isn't just a damsel waiting for rescue!

- I really enjoyed it

- 8k words in length



Supporting Partner's Suit, by Persiflager

- a delightfully charming Jeeves/Wooster story wherein Wooster is bodyswapped with Honoria Glossop

- I loved the original character Tilly and I was SO cheering on the Tilly/Honoria ship!

- and of course Wooster and Jeeves are beautifully themselves as always

- 6k words in length



Building Bridges, by the_alchemist

- fic about the musical Chess!

- Anatoly/Svetlana navigating their relationship in the aftermath, in all its complexities

- navigating the feelings and the realities of their lives and what they are and aren't capable of being for each other, but being connected on some level despite it all!

- second person pov

- 6k words in length



A Winter Wood Warming, by Terrantalen

- post-canon Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell fic, about Arabella and Emma and a trip to Faerie

- much of it told through letters and journal entries

- I love the developing relationship between the two women, how important they are to each other, and how Arabella's relationship with the missing Jonathan is treated at the same time

- and the sense of the numinous fits just right into the way it's handled in canon!

- what a good fic. one I will definitely want to return to to reread.

- 9k words in length



Secrets Kept, by softboypassing

- post-canon Temeraire fic about Laurence/Tharkay exploring Tharkay's estate for the first time

- really good at vibes and the themes and the narrative voice! loved this one!

- 7k words in length



Guidance Lights and Caffeine Shots, by lc2l

- coffee shop au for Ocean's Echo!

- wherein Tennal runs a froofy indie coffee shop and Surit is on a budge that doesn't allow for froofy drinks

- super cute!

- 4k words in length



Interregnum, by Samizdat

- Goblin Emperor fic set during the period between the crash of the Wisdom of Choharo and the coming of Edrehasivar VII

- featuring various other people whose lives were changed by what happened!

- I loved seeing all these other little perspectives on the upheaval of that time

- 5k words in length



Procrastinating with Princesses, by azurefishnets

- an Enchanted Forest Chronicles fic that takes place post-canon, about one of Kazul's grandchildren

- featuring a dragon who doesn't want to have to choose a gender in order to be considered an adult, and a princess who's also a prince

- the next generation finding their own ways to be "improper" and shock the the older generation! gender experiences outside the binary! a very fun dragon-and-princess relationship! I loved it all

- 8k words in length

lirazel expressed interest in a rec list of some of my favourite vids and I am very suggestible when it comes to rec lists so here you go! :D Unfortunately a few of the older vids that I remember fondly are no longer available online for me to share with you (the batman vid set to johnny cash's cover of hurt! the highlander vid about methos/lord byron! and more!), but there are still plenty of excellent vids up and about, and new ones worth watching keep being made!

Yes this rec list is 22 vids long, shush, I couldn't cut any of these out. I just got so emotional in the process of making this rec list at how wonderful an artform the fanvid is! It can do so many different things! It can be so powerful in such a brief space of time!

I've ordered the list below alphabetically by fandom. I go through a lot of different fandoms here!

And it was so fun too to work on practicing my skills at describing a vid and explaining what's good about it; I have many years of practice at talking about written narratives, but interpreting and talking about visual media is still a skillset that I'm not instinctively good at and don't have as much experience with. But I think I did pretty good with these vids. I hope you enjoy them!

( cut for length )

A while ago kiki-eng made a post about ten sga fanworks they still think about sometimes. And I was like OOH WHAT A GREAT IDEA and started writing a draft list of sga fanworks I still think about sometimes and...the list got to be a LOT over ten.

LOOK I JUST HAVE SO MANY SGA FEELINGS STILL.

So I will start by giving you the unadulterated list of nearly-thirty fanworks I still think about sometimes (still incomplete; there's plenty of other fics I also still think about sometimes! I just made myself stop), and then I'll narrow it down to ten that I'll actually talk about.


What Is Eternal
Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose
the one with the atlantis queer community John isn't part of but needs to be
the one where Ronon becomes Canadian
unidentified and its dvd commentary
the hard prayer
written by the victors
girl scout cookies
the one with the lesbians
soccer practice
postcards to jeannie
verity's pretend relationship fic
a beautiful lifetime event
marines to the rescue
the one with khama nuts
the one where john reinvents pizza
absurdity theory
black helicopters
if you want to kiss the sky
the one where john has a kite shop
healing station argh
the one where Rodney's using a time machine thing to constantly interfere with John's life to keep him from dying
the one where they meet in a museum as teens and Rodney writes John a ref letter pretending to be a prof
the sedoretu one
found poetry
the one where John is Rodney's mathematician
the yeshiva au



So let's narrow this down! (narrowing this down was REALLY HARD.)



What Is Eternal, by gnine
SGA fandom dates back to the days when I still thought I just wasn't into vids - this turned out to be because I hadn't yet watched enough vids to have learned how to read them, because following visual narratives or visual arguments does not come naturally to me. But this vid was one of the few from SGA days that struck me enough that I rewatched it regularly, until I had figured out how to parse it. I think there are a few things about this vid that made it work for me back in the day. First: the song has very clearly articulated lyrics that allow me to actually follow what the singer is saying, and the song has a very strong through-line of actually saying something which I could then use to map onto what the images were saying. Second: I knew that I couldn't expect to understand everything, because I'd never seen the episode (s) in question, so I went in without expectations of it actually making sense to me. And I'd read enough fic that obliquely or otherwise referred to the events of the episode, that I could follow the overall arc if not the details. So between the strong song choice and just enough in the way of clear visuals for me to be able to have feelings, I ended up watching the vid on repeat a ridiculous number of times. Rewatching the vid now, there are still a LOT of clip choices that are absolutely incomprehensible to me because the brief clip stands for something larger that I'm not aware of, refers to something in the episode that I can't draw the connection to. And yet despite the holes in my understanding, the vid still works as a vid. And I still have lots of feels. (and I still love the song.)

Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose, by synecdochic
How do I even begin? THIS FIC. THIS FIC. I just. It's a masterpiece and I have a million feels. This was one of those fics that made bb!me feel like fanfiction can be genuinely quality literary work, and this fic is genuine quality but it has to be fanfiction for it to work. Your ability to understand the emotional through-line of the story requires you to understand both what happened on the show AND what fandom thought was a likely result for the characters of what the show was doing. All of that backstory is so lightly and delicately sketched, and yet so monumentally important for informing all of the things Rodney does in this fic. So I admire the hell out of this fic and also fall to emotional pieces over it because auuuuuugh what a good everything.

the one with the atlantis queer community John isn't part of but needs to be - Friendly, by speranza
It's a fic about QUEER COMMUNITY and that is not something I'd seen much of before first reading this fic, iirc. It's like, so much fic is about two dudes being gay in isolation and that is not my experience of being queer AT ALL. (though I wasn't yet identifying as queer when I first read this fic) But the bit from this fic that sticks with me the most is the moment where John is carefully removing from himself every symbol of his military status so that he can be a person instead of a symbol of dangerous oppressive authority. That is just a really great moment.

the one where Ronon becomes canadian - My Home and Native Land, by copperbadge
Look, what isn't there to love about this fic! iirc I came to this fic later, not in my SGA heyday, so it feels a little weird to group it with most of these other fics, but I mean I definitely think about this fic a lot so! I love that it has a really good outsider perspective from a non-earth character that respects the cultural traditions he comes from and also respects Earth's, and it's about kind of an inter-cultural dialogue and inter-cultural friendships and coming to find a place where you can feel like you fit when your home culture is no longer an option. Also it's about Canada so obviously that's a draw too.

DVD commentary of Unidentified, by fiercelydreamed
This was so revelatory to me as a young fan, this kind of really thoughtful analysis of a fic by an extremely capable writer. It's this kind of thing that opens a reader/aspiring-writer's eyes to what can go into putting together a quality story. I liked the fic a great deal, but it was the dvd commentary that I reread over and over and over again. I no longer remember much of what the dvd commentary actually said, but that's not really the point - the point was the writing nerdery. And I was so there for it, and I still think about it a lot.

The Hard Prayer, by rheanna
Frick, too many feels. I remember that when I was first recced this fic (I think Essie recced it to me?) I was kind of leery because post-apocalyptic is not really a genre calculated to excite me. But I was drawn in so fast. Rodney and John are so clearly deeply affected by the trauma they've gone through, and the ways they're affected are treated with such respect by the narrative, and the two of them help each other through the tough things but don't fix each other with the magic of true love or anything like that. And the apocalypse itself is so evocative and real-feeling and awful, and basically this fic is super emotionally harrowing and not one I could reread often but wow does it stick in one's mind.

verity's pretend relationship fic - paper cranes (upstairs, downstairs), by verity
Verity got into SGA fandom long after I'd left it but just for them I gleefully fell right back in. And for a long time I got regular fic updates in my email from them of the SGA fics they were writing. And all of the fics were so great and so up my alley. But this one was my favourite. So on top of being a wonderful piece of writing, this fic also reminds me of my SGA renaissance and of my friendship with Verity, and basically it's a happy place.

A Beautiful Lifetime Event, by astolat
...This is the fic that dragged me into SGA fandom. It's not even one of my top-fifty favourites anymore, probably, because SGA fandom has SO MUCH GOOD STUFF, but it is still a fic that is very important to me and that I will never forget.

If you want to kiss the sky, by siegeofangels
This is the first fic I have tagged in all my bookmarks ever as being about asexuality, so like, obviously it's gonna have stuck with me. It's a fic where "normal" is dudes having sex with each other all the time, and this is something John has had to put up with forever if he wants to be in the military, if he wants to be able to fly. It's a fic about not wanting sex in a hypersexualized culture, and how that's okay, and about finding a person with whom he can be himself.

Absurdity Theory, by julad
It's just so perfectly Rodney and Radek! And it's the right kind of ridiculously silly premise treated with a (relatively) straight face that makes for one of my favourite kinds of fics. I don't know, I don't have anything meaningful to say about this one, I just love it. Such adorable nerdery.

Jack Layton is dead. I can't even.

Other people are saying far more eloquent things than I could, so I will leave it there.

Here, have a recs-set of HAPPY THINGS:

every aching old machine, by longtime_lurker. Bandom; Pete/Patrick. OLD MEN IN LOVE.

Dolphin-Borne, by carmarthen. The Eagle/Dinotopia; Esca, Cottia, Marcus. DINOTOPIA FUSION.

The Adventures of Lily and Severus (BEST BUDS), by theopteryx. Harry Potter; Lily, Severus. ADORBS WEE COMIC.

Public Displays of Affection, by philomytha. Vorkosigan; Cordelia/Aral, Alys/Simon. MIDDLE-AGED PEOPLE IN LOVE.

untitled, by dakotaaaa. Doctor Who; Amy/Rory. ADORBS DRAWING OF KISSING AND BUNKBEDS.

Choice of Broadsides. NAPOLEONIC WAR CHOOSE-YOUR-OWN-ADVENTURE, WHERE BEING QUEER IS AN OPTION. ALSO IT IS RIDICULOUSLY FUN.

Lose My Breath, by deirdre_c. White Nights; Kolya/Ray. Vid, to a source you don't need to be familiar with (and it's not just me saying this). TWO DUDES. DANCING. IT IS AMAZING.