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bethefirst2024-03-05 08:48 pm
galerian_ash) wrote in bethefirst2024-03-05 08:48 pm
Fandom Promos
Have you already decided what fandom(s) to write for? If so, how about doing a little promoting? :D
We've all chosen tiny obscure canons, needless to say. But by posting here you might be able to entice someone else to give it a try — or perhaps you'll even run into a fellow fan, who can't wait to read your coming fic.
Your promo can be long or short, and contain whatever you feel like. Want to post a couple of intriguing screencaps from a movie? Quote a few paragraphs from a book? Rec the best episode of an anime or a TV series? Talk about why you love your favorite character and/or pairing from your fandom? It's all good; anything goes!
We've all chosen tiny obscure canons, needless to say. But by posting here you might be able to entice someone else to give it a try — or perhaps you'll even run into a fellow fan, who can't wait to read your coming fic.
Your promo can be long or short, and contain whatever you feel like. Want to post a couple of intriguing screencaps from a movie? Quote a few paragraphs from a book? Rec the best episode of an anime or a TV series? Talk about why you love your favorite character and/or pairing from your fandom? It's all good; anything goes!
The Way to the Stars (1945)
For once with a John Mills film, it's not his character (Peter Penrose) I mean to write about, although from his arrival as a fairly hopeless pilot officer through his growth to a first class pilot, not to mention his relationships with other characters, he is, as always, a delight.
However, I've been forever meaning to write about David Archdale (Peter's friend and flight commander to begin with, played by Michael Redgrave) and Johnny Hollis (one of the American pilots arriving later in the film, played by Douglass Montgomery).
Under here are screencaps you can peek at safely. However, if you don't want major spoilers, don't scroll down past the blank area to where I go on about why I feel the need to write about David and Johnny.
This pairing requires a magic wand to manipulate time and/or place to bring them together while both are actually alive, though I may well go for writing a ghost romance here. They share no scenes, directly. Flying bombers during WWII was a very dangerous job. :(
These two characters really get to me on account of how their canon-separate existences are tied together, through David's poem (which is blatantly about Johnny without him ever having met him, at least in that life - soulmate AU with reincarnation very much on the cards), and Johnny stepping respectfully and reverently into every void left by David by taking over his room and bed at the airbase, his best friend (Peter), his silly sign on the wall, his child, and his "lucky" cigarette lighter. And even the platonic relationship with Toddy, who's more of a link and catalyst between David and Johnny than a hindrance; I love the way gay directors make films! :)
There's no happy ending for the main characters, except for Peter, but both David (who's too sensitive and tense for his own good, and rather out of his depth as a husband and father) and Johnny (who, despite his cheer, can't make everyone happy but at least saves as many lives as he can) have somehow inevitable storylines. It's very poignant and touching, and the characters really stay with you. And hey, this is where fanfic comes in. :)
Re: The Way to the Stars (1945)
Re: The Way to the Stars (1945)
no subject
And one thing that is frequently mentioned in the cartoon is the Great Tea Trolley Disaster.
I intend to fix (fic?) that.
A Woman Appeared to Me (1904/1905)
A Woman Appeared to Me (une femme m'apparut) by Renée Vivien, psudonym for the British writer, Pauline Mary Tarn, who lived in France and worked in the French language, is a pseudo-autobiographical novel originally penned in 1904, but undergoing vast revisions later and re-published in 1905 under the same title, although in many ways, they are two different books. Until recently, English translations were hard to come by (for the longest time, I survived on an old copy of the Naiad Press' 1970s translation of the 1904 version), but a couple of years ago, Brian Stapleford did extensive work on the material and had a back-to-back translation released of both the 1904 and 1905 editions in English. I warmly recommend it!
"A Woman Appeared to Me" is, in both editions, a story about unfulfilled love between the female narrator and a woman called Vally (in the 1904 version) or Lorely (1905 version), as well as their lives and shared group of friends in early 20th century Paris. The novel is written in the Symbolist style and reads very poetic (which is one reason among many to love it), working with themes such as happiness/unhappiness, religion/doubt, friendship/love, 1st wave feminism, history and art in various forms (music, poetry, etc.)
If you love Victorian flower language, I promise, this book is for you!
I haven't quite decided what edition of the book to work with yet. If I end up going for the original 1904 version, I'll be writing something about Vally, the unattainable love interest, and if I go for the 1905 version, I'll be writing about Ione, the childhood friend of the narrator, who gets a story arch of her own in the revised edition. It very much depends on what mood I'm in on the day I start writing, since Vally is all playful, cruel allure, whereas Ione is pious, melancholy loneliness.
In any case, I would like to leave you with a quote by Vally in the 1904 edition, taken here from my loyal, steadfast Naiad Press translation by Jeannette H. Foster:
Re: A Woman Appeared to Me (1904/1905)
no subject
Re: A Woman Appeared to Me (1904/1905)
no subject
For all that it sounds like a David Drake plot, it's rather analytic and spare; more world-building exercise than Terminator. A tidy sketch with lots of white space inside and out to play with.
Lost Lad London
Lost Lad London vol. 1, vol.2, and vol.3 is a completed 2021/22 manga series by Shima Shinya with an English translation by Eleanor Ruth Summers and English lettering by Abigail Blackman.
It starts with a murder. The Mayor of London is stabbed on the Underground at the same time that university student Al Adley is heading home from his part-time job. Two days later and moments before DI Lenny Ellis arrives at Al's flat to question him as a witness, Al discovers a bloodstained knife in his jacket pocket.
Things look bad for Al, but luckily, Detective Ellis believes him that the evidence was planted. Ellis's investigation then diverges from his official orders as he seeks to find out why someone would want to frame a mild-mannered psychology student for a political assassination.
What follows is a mystery but also a quiet drama that touches on themes of identity, discrimination, and what people owe to themselves and to others. Ellis takes Al into unofficial protective custody at his flat, and a lot of the story is about two otherwise solitary and resolutely independent people living together and putting their futures in each other's hands.
(I ship Al/Ellis for their general vibe and little moments of unexpected domestic intimacy when they're living together, and while I won't spoil things, I'll also say there's a lot of great darkfic potental involving the killer.)
no subject
There's a particular romantic rendezvous between a character and his favourite actor on this really terrible telenovela (who happens to be moonlighting as a freedom fighter?) that is just begging for more attention. Very excited to get into the nitty gritty of how that fateful night turned out...
Event sign up
(Anonymous) 2024-03-09 01:54 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Event sign up
Posting two works of the same fandom
(Anonymous) 2024-03-09 02:12 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Posting two works of the same fandom
no subject
It's a tragic romance about a centuries-old vampire named Alex who's obsessed with the innocent Virginia, the woman whom he loved and lost centuries ago after turning her. Alone and unable to die, Alex spends his nights in modern London doing heavy research in a rare book room, occasionally feeding off of criminals and stray animals in the alleyways on his route home. At the library, he meets a new librarian named Anne, who has also lost a lover tragically and who heavily resembles Virginia. Anne, however, is sexually forward and cynical where Virginia was innocent and romantic. Alex struggles with his blooming feelings for Anne, and all the while they're both stalked by the mysterious-at-least-to-Anne Edgar, who may be manipulating things from behind the scenes.
It's available for rent and purchase at Prime Video, and there is a bootleg up in the Usual Sources. Am I giving them the happy ending they deserve, Supremely Heavy Poe References be Damned? Yes I am.
Revenge 1990
Anyway, who cares about that when there is a side character played by Miguel Ferrer for me to project on?
Literally, that's the only reason I sat through this movie, which was otherwise kind of gratuitously boring (however they managed that, I couldn't say). Ferrer's character, Amador, is motivated by his sister's death, which was caused (directly or indirectly; the film never makes it clear) by the crime boss. He and his friend Ignacio meet Kevin Costner's character and offer their help in avenging Costner and finding his ladyfriend. Then I write fanfiction about Amador's relationship with his sister and his being secretly gay because, like I said, I'm projecting here. Should be fun!
no subject
The plot isn't very original but I deeply love Hikaru's trauma, and the overall hope and optimism of the whole plot, about friendship, healing and reconciliation.
I might ship a bit Hikaru's entity with the one it's chasing after, but maybe I'll end up writing gen, I'm at the rereading phase.
no subject
Azuma and Takayama used to be friends when they were children, but then Takayama moved with his father to America suddenly. Three years pass and suddenly one day, Takayama shows up again at Jouhoku Academy to be a boarding student. Azuma is...less than pleased to see him. Or is he?
Both of them have grown up a bit, but they're each struggling with their own problems. Azuma especially is keeping a lot of secrets very close to his chest, while Takayama struggles to fit himself back into his friend's life. But Takayama deals with his own scars and some of the reasons he's come back to Japan without saying a word.
ETA: The title is connected to the book "Demian" by Hermann Hesse, which actually does play a role in the manga as well, although a minor one. It's not necessary to have read the book to understand the manga.
I'm genuinely surprised there's no fic for it. I think as of last year there was none at all and now there are two Russian-language fics, but I hadn't found anything else by the time of signups. The manga should be available at all the usual manga reading sites, but be aware that this is a typical mid aughts shounen ai manga which features a few scenes that are at best dub-con. No clue if it was ever licensed in the US, it was released in its entirely (7 volumes) in Germany though.
no subject
The game I wrote for is Divi-Dead, and it was one of the earliest visual novels/ADV games translated to English. It falls somewhere under adult horror, and has a healthy dose of surrealism.
Unfortunately, the English translation leaves a lot to be desired. While the original game is already rather out there, the English version mistranslates a lot of things. I wouldn't recommend playing it, for the most part.
I've been a visual novel fan for over a decade now, though, and Divi-Dead was one of the first "adult" games I played. The dream-like atmosphere and the visuals of the game itself are striking, and it influenced a lot of what I currently enjoy. So... I guess it'd feel weird if I didn't write something for it, since no one else has.
Exordia / The Majesty of Colors
1. (I Fell In Love With) The Majesty of Colors
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Majesty_of_Colors
Riffing off Wikipedia, this is a pixel-horror game that's short and simple but very atmospheric and can be completed in 5-10 minutes. "The user is a tentacled sea creature and they interact with humans, creatures, and objects in and around an area of sea. The player's actions can be benevolent towards the humans and creatures, or destructive. The actions of the player determine which of five different endings will be shown. "
2. Exordia
I love this book very much and this is my secret ploy to siren more people into reading it. It's A LOT and I'll admit straight up it's YMMV and very niche.
On its surface it's a "first-contact sci-fi novels full of physical and metaphysical mindbending, along with an (un)healthy amount of Alien-esque body horror, neatly wrapped up by a good ol’ fashioned extinction-event apocalyptic threat." (https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/19ai1li/review_exordia_seth_dickinson/?rdt=35916)
But it's not just hard scifi -- it's got lots of soul and a good critical evisceration of American imperialism and consideration of the ethics of drone strikes. I'm not a STEM bro at all and this appealed to bits of my id. Also there's a snake alien woman who's really hot.
I'll just link these two reviews (one of them mine):
https://meikuree.dreamwidth.org/15959.html
https://canmom.art/crit/baru/exordia-advance-review
no subject
Zevo 3 is a superhero cartoon that ran for one season (2010-2011) that was created and funded by Skechers (yes, the shoe company) to star their sneaker mascots and serve as advertising. Because of this, the show has a ton of bizarre elements, but a surprising amount of care and effort was put into this show by the writers and animators and it explores some shit you would never expect (like the episode with a cult trying to sacrifice the main characters? hello???). Just... don't set your expectations too high, and it'll be fun.
If you're interested in watching the show based on this, my one request is please don't watch the episodes in the order they aired, the timeline is objectively incorrect (they meet a villain for the first time after they've fought him like 3 times, etc) - I have a youtube playlist with a better order I'm happy to share
Tactical Breach Wizards
Here are some screenshots from the beta:
no subject
(Anonymous) 2024-04-28 08:20 pm (UTC)(link)Across The Obelisk is a deck builder RPG on Steam in which you can pick between 16 (+4 DLC) characters each with unique passives to battle your way through 3 different modes.
The Adventure mode which is the story mode where you also unlock different characters, pets and items. Each one can be a new challenge based on which characters (and their unique conversation options and buffs) you pick as well as which path you go down in what order.
The Obelisk challenge, which is basically just a full randomizer. And the Weekly challenge, which is a special mode with set characters provided weekly by the devs.
The thing that made this deck builder stand out from a lot of other deck builders out there, is that you can play it with up to 3 people in online co-op. With the bonus that not all need to purchase the DLC for you to play it (though they can't select any of the DLC unlocks unless they're playing with someone who has it).
Lorraine is a short horror game by ABNOCTO on itch.io. It's about Lorraine Barker, a woman whose recently deceased husband comes back from death. But his return doesn't come without consequences. It's sadly a short game (around 30 minutes), but the visuals are beautiful, and the story is one that has stuck with me for a while now.
- Firebull
Metamorphose no Engawa | BL Metamorphosis
(Anonymous) 2024-04-29 02:08 am (UTC)(link)Media: manga
Genre: slice of life
Length: 5 volumes (all available in English)
BL Metamorphosis is a series about the unlikely intergenerational friendship of a teenage girl and a 75-year-old widow who end up bonding over a certain BL manga said elderly lady reads by complete accident.
Things I really like in it
- the bond between the two MCs is heartwarming and adorable, they both support each other in different ways that realistically show their ages
- the manga features various aspects of fan culture, from conventions to making your first doujinshi (self-published works, here it means printed fan comics) and the author's love for fandom really shines through the work
- it addresses aging and how age and (and life expectancy and illness in general) affects hobbies, how liking slow updating series feels like a race against the time you have left or scouting out con venues and having to face the reality of crammed cons being impossible
- simple but pretty art style that really fits the series' mood
- the manga-in-the-manga they're reading are incorporated as snippets
- the platonic bonds between various characters (friendship of the elderly characters, the neighbors, the elderly MC and her calligraphy students)
- the author of the series the MCs are fans of is an actual recurring character (along with her assistant and editor)
- it explores the joys and hardships of creation and storytelling, both the teenage MC's first work and the professional artist's
Unfortunately the pacing falls apart in the last parts and it skips over some things that I (and other readers, from what I've seen) felt that should have happened on screen or expanded upon. (And there are quite a few post-canon fanwork possibilities.) This is what I was planning on writing, but life happened and I ended up writing f/f shipfic for the manga artist x her editor instead.