queenslayerbee: Isabelle Adjany as Lucy Harker in 1979's "Nosferatu the Vampire". She's surrounded by darkness, looking over her shoulder while she wears a white nightgown and a cross as a necklace. A hand with long nails like a claw is reaching for her neck from the darkness behind her. (Default)
Challenge #15

Talk about an unexpected joyous moment you experienced last year.

Snowflake Challenge promotional banner with image of skier kicking up snow on a snow white background. Text: Snowflake Challenge January 1-31.

Without getting into too much detail, last year in the summer I received news that I got entry into a very sought-after course for university graduates -one particularly geared towards my own professional area/goals. The course was from October to December and everything it promised to be. I sent my curriculum not expecting much, but I had nothing to lose (the course is also free btw), so I went with it and luck was on my side lol. 

Over the last year I also made a lot of new friends in the DC fandom, especially on the Jaymia side of things, and it's nice to have people you can shoot the shit there. Its a fandom filled with annoying discourse and sometimes you just want to bitch about it in the chat for a few moments xD

All in all, though 2024 was a very mixed year in other respects, I managed to find some good things there.
queenslayerbee: Isabelle Adjany as Lucy Harker in 1979's "Nosferatu the Vampire". She's surrounded by darkness, looking over her shoulder while she wears a white nightgown and a cross as a necklace. A hand with long nails like a claw is reaching for her neck from the darkness behind her. (Default)
Challenge #14

In your own space, create your own fandom challenge. 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.

Snowflake Challenge promotional banner with image of gingerbread Christmas trees, a silver ball, a tea light candle and a white confectionary snowflake on a beige falling-snowflakes background. Text: Snowflake Challenge January 1-31.

I'm going to rescue a prompt list from my old writeblr. You can send me one of these words and, optionally, a fandom (you can look at my sticky post for inspiration), and I'll write a short drabble/ficlet with it.

PROMPT LIST

  1. Abomination
  2. Astral
  3. Bewitching
  4. Blazing
  5. Bucolic
  6. Candor
  7. Catharsis
  8. Chrysalis
  9. Colossal
  10. Crescendo
  11. Dalliance
  12. Dauntless
  13. Diaphanous
  14. Elixir
  15. Eloquent
  16. Euphoric
  17. Flourish
  18. Fortitude
  19. Furtive
  20. Harbinger
  21. Holiness
  22. Invincible
  23. Jubilation
  24. Labyrinth
  25. Languor
  26. Lyrical
  27. Mellow
  28. Minutiae
  29. Murmur
  30. Omnipotent
  31. Opulent
  32. Panacea
  33. Paradisiac
  34. Penumbra
  35. Petrichor
  36. Pyrrhic
  37. Quietude
  38. Rapturous
  39. Ripple
  40. Serendipitous
  41. Solitude
  42. Subterfuge
  43. Symphony
  44. Talisman
  45. Thunderous
  46. Verity
  47. Vulnerable
  48. Wanderlust
  49. Yearn
  50. Zenith



Challenge #13 was about interacting with someone new, so I didn't make a post, but that I posted a few fills to the Three Sentences Ficathon, one of which fit the bill, a Rosita Bustillos/Waverly Earp drabble that took me right back to one of my old favourites :')
queenslayerbee: Isabelle Adjany as Lucy Harker in 1979's "Nosferatu the Vampire". She's surrounded by darkness, looking over her shoulder while she wears a white nightgown and a cross as a necklace. A hand with long nails like a claw is reaching for her neck from the darkness behind her. (batcat (batman returns))
Challenge #12 Create a Rec Countdown. 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.

a white curve at the top, red below with sequin effect snowflake shapes text snowflake challenge january 1 - 31 in red thin marker pen font on the white curve

 
The post offered a handy list of examples to use, but in the spirit of other rec lists I've made in this journal, I'll post only *one* example of each (and then some).
  • ONE book everyone should read: I read Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente last month. The prose and imagery are absolutely enthrancing, and I love the way it grounds the myth in a historical reality. I live for that shit ngl.
  • ONE comic everyone should read: Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive is THEE arc to get that guy. Really, really good. I want to punch his face in añdslfkjasf.
  • ONE song everyone should hear: "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" by Roxy Music.
  • ONE movie everyone should watch: last Sunday I finally got around watching Hitchcock's Rope. Quite interesting and layered, as what (tragically) little I've seen of his.
  • ONE tv show everyone should watch: Nikita (2009). Do it. I'm doing you a favour rn. That's the best female lead from this century.
  • ONE game everyone should play: getting into videogames remains in my to-do list lol, but whenever I'm with my mother, the Rummy comes out. 
  • ONE fanwork everyone should read: I'm going to recommend A Bat and a Reporter Break Into a Warehouse by HMSLusitania, because it put the idea of a Lois Lane & Tim Drake team-up in my head and that's a WONDERFUL thought to have. 
  • ONE creator everyone should check out: my dear friend Camilla Andrew. She's an indie author whose books I've talked up here before. At the moment she has published the first two parts of a trilogy (with the third one scheduled for this year) about a delightfully doomed romance in an intricately built secondary fantasy world, a short novella/prequel about a harrowing tale of revenge, and a couple of short stories in magazines (one in that same world). She has beautiful prose and a varied array of superbly written female characters that always get to shine.
  • ONE community everyone should join: I'd recommend Get Your Words Out for writers, but it's too late to join in this year (there's always the next one). So I'll tell you guys to come around the Three Sentences Ficathon, where I just posted yet more prompts lol (page 20 :P).
  • ONE rec by myself: we've crossed the equator in the Cassandra Cain Week and I've posted four ficlets so far, of 100 (Stephcass), 200 (Barbara & Cass), 300 (Cassbrenda), and 400 words (Cass & Helena) respectively (I'm doing a Thing). Three more left! The ficlets that are left will be about Cass & Jason, Cass & Duke Thomas (as adapted to my new earth headcanons), and... Cass & Shiva. I'll crosspost a masterlist when it's done!
 

queenslayerbee: Isabelle Adjany as Lucy Harker in 1979's "Nosferatu the Vampire". She's surrounded by darkness, looking over her shoulder while she wears a white nightgown and a cross as a necklace. A hand with long nails like a claw is reaching for her neck from the darkness behind her. (batcat (batman returns))
Challenge #11

In your own space, share your love for a trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme. 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.

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When it comes to character relationships, I pay a lot of attention to First Meetings. 

I'm not one for slow burns. I know, I know. They're a deeply beloved trope in fandom, and I've heard all the reasons why. But I have rarely met one that works for me (I've liked pairings *described* as slowurn that I'd never classify as such, but that's another thing). They're simply... too placid. The more intense a dynamic is, the better. Because that means they'll move mountains or, in this case, the narrative, along. And more often than not, this is decided on the very first scene, or the very first scene of a pairing alone together. 

These first meetings don't have to be Good to pack a punch, which is why The Meet Ugly might be my favourite trope in existence. What matters is that they change things around. There's a before and and after. I'd personally find the idea of meeting someone changing me so much terrifying, but it sure works in a story!

I've talked pairing, but I mean platonic dynamics as well. Memorable first meetings carry the narrative on their backs. If two characters don't need to be convinced into caring for one another (or hating the other so much it circles back around), then there's no pussyfooting around and we can get into the interesting things right away.

It's why Love At First Sight works so well, even if we all knowwwwwww things don't really work like that (must we always bring reality into it smh). You believe Romeo and Juliet do All of That Shit because they are In Love. The real story can get started while someone else is on a will-they-won't-they that barely makes me believe they like each other (I just can't believe they'd do *nothing* if it mattered to them that much!). 

And the chemistry!! When two characters instantly click, the entire scene is alight with it in all the best ways. I wouldn't trade that for anything. These guys don't wander; the romantic pairings often kiss and fuck quickly; sexual harmony is usually a big part of their appeal (EVEN when they don't have sex, or they only get to have it one. Sometimes, especially if they only get to have it once LOL).

So, yeah. Intense First Meeting. Meet Ugly. Love At First Sight. They work. They're marvelous narrative devices. I'll take them all.  
queenslayerbee: Lisa simpson dressed in a multicoloured baggy shirt, with a sideways cap and sunglasses, and a disaffected look on her face. (lisa simpson (the simpsons))
Challenge #10

In your own space, talk about one of your fandom firsts. This could be your first fandom, your first fandom friend, the first fanwork you created, the first fanwork you interacted with... The options are endless! Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

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I talked a bit about some fandom firsts in a past entry (mainly pertaining to my first active fandom a few years ago, the Shadowhunters tv show), so I wanted to talk about something different.

A few years ago, for Femslash February, I decided to open my inbox to prompts and to write 28 f/f drabbles of 100 words for the month. And I did it! Given how inconsistent I can be in such extended goals, that was a first on its own LOL. It also marked the beginning of my taste for drabble-writing in general. Of 100 fics posted, close to half of them have been drabbles (sometimes double/triple/quintuple/etc.) drabbles, sometimes by entering challenges like Seasons of Drabbles, but mostly by challenging myself, like during that month or with last year's Three Sentences Ficathon.

(Today I finally got time to go over this year's posts to identify tropes that catch my eye... soon I'll be at it again. And writing more drabbles for other challenges, too).

Another fun first was in 2022, where I got two one-shots (sfw and nsfw) published in a Black Sails fanzine, which I was pretty proud of. You can find the downloable versions in the ao3 collection, if you're interested.

Anyone else got an odd fandom first they want to share?
queenslayerbee: Isabelle Adjany as Lucy Harker in 1979's "Nosferatu the Vampire". She's surrounded by darkness, looking over her shoulder while she wears a white nightgown and a cross as a necklace. A hand with long nails like a claw is reaching for her neck from the darkness behind her. (Default)
Challenge #9

In your own space, create a fanwork. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

an ice snowflake against a blue background text snowflake challenge near the top in blended text

Yesterday I couldn't finish this challenge because I went out with friends and stayed late watching a film with them (Red Sparrow. Not a particularly good film, but Jennifer Lawrence's character had chemistry with her uncle, if that's your short of thing. The uncle is played by Matthias Schoenaerts, who I didn't recognise until the very end, because shaved he looks like a completely different person).

Anyway. Here are a few icons of Lady Shiva! A few from Richard Dragon: Kung-Fu Fighter, her debut run, but mostly from her appearances in The Question.

Screenshot from the cover of Richard Dragon: Kung-Fu Fighter issue 5. Over a red background, Shiva jumps kicks Richard Dragon's chest. She's wearing a green set of loose long sleeved shirt and pants, with a deep cleavage and a golden belt, as well as a golden bandana in her hair and large circular golden earrings. Richard wears a dogi. The cover announces "Her name is Lady Shiva... and she hates Dragon's guts!"

Icons (200x200 this time) behind the triangle.
Screenshot from Richard Dragon: Kung-Fu Fighter issue 5. Shiva stands proudly, seen from the chest up. She has her long black hair down, with a red bandana on top, and two large circular earrings, and she wears a long sleeved green shirt put together with a large belt. Screenshot from Richard Dragon: Kung-Fu Fighter issue 5. Lady Shiva has a fierce expression as she punches Richard Dragon in the face (with an effect saying "KRAK"), and tells him "Will you beg... pig?" Screenshot from Richard Dragon: Kung-Fu Fighter issue 18.Lady Shiva looking down, judgemental. She wears similar clothes, but the bandana is striped, the earrings are larger, and she wears a blue shirt and cape showing a deep cleavage.
Screenshot from The Question issue 1. Close up to her serious expression. This time she has pixie short hair, wearing golden chain earrings that reach her jaw, and some eye and lip makeup. She's saying "You are half right." Screenshot from The Question issue 2. Close up to Shiva's profile. She has the same pixie cut still, no jewels, a black tank top, and a vaguely amused expression as she holds a maroon fan close to her face, which she uses during a fight scene. Screenshot from The Question Annual 1. Shiva has her hair longer, barely reaching her shoulders, cut in layers and voluminous. She's wearing smaller, golden earrings, barely visible, and a red jacket, this time. She looks unimpressed.
Screenshot from The Question Annual 1. Close-up to Shiva's amused expression. She's holding a gun close to her face, and says "Take another shot now." before giving it to her oponent. Screenshot from The Question Annual 1. Close-up to Shiva's face, as a lock of hair falls over her forehead. This time one of her earrings is visible: golden skulls. Screenshot from The Question issue 28. Shiva from the chest up, wearing a sleeveless pink top with a high neckline, hair long and layered below her shoulder. She has one arm extended, hand making a fist, and the oder crossed over her chest, palm open, ready to fight.
Screenshot from The Question issue 29. Close up to Shiva's profile. Her hair is flowing around her face, in the wind, and she wears various yellow beads adoring it. The neckline of her purple coat is visible. She wears a serious expression. Screenshot from The Question issue 37. Shiva, seen from the chest up. She has long, layered hair and bangs and red lipstic. She's taking out a fucsia scarf, and still wearing a black shirt and a leather coat over it. She looks challenging and vaguely amused. Screenshot from The Question issue 37. Shiva and Renee Montoya stand in the rain. Renee, with a pixie short hair and a white tank top, hovers over Shiva, who's crouched down just a bit after getting shot in the arm. Shiva has her long hair down and wears a black tank top.
 
 

I wholeheartedly recommend looking her up in these runs, btw. She's in Richard Dragon: Kung-Fu Fighter #5-18, and in #1-2, Annual #1, #28-31 and #36-37 of The Question. The Annual is preceeded by Detective Comics Annual #1 and Green Arrow vol. 2 Annual #1, which also include delightful Shiva appearances.

queenslayerbee: anthropomorphic image of an artificial intelligence, mixed with faded images of computer interior parts. (artificial intelligence (the redstart's)
Challenge #8

In your own space, write a promo, manifesto or primer for a beloved character, relationship or fandom. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

 
a gold coloured path through snow covered woodland text snowflake challenge january 1 - 31 in pale yellow fine marker font acros the centre.

I'm kind of desperate for more people to watch (or to find more people who've already watched) "The Expanse" xD

Right now, I'm in the middle of a rewatch of the whole thing; in French, this time LOL. I basically learnt English this way, so I might as well attempt it again.

And it's so good! It's truly a show you can sink your teeth into. The show offers quality in all its aspects: plot, worldbuilding, character. The premise is simple ("A thriller set two hundred years in the future, The Expanse follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history"), but it grows so, so much from there. 

I will forever praise its female characters, especially. I have a soft spot for Holden and an even bigger one for Amos (he, Wolfgang from sense8, John Murphy and Jason Todd appeal a very particular part of my psyche), but the women and their arcs are on another level. All of them unique, from all walks of life; remarkable and written fantastically as individuals, going far beyond the archetypes audiences would have inevitably expected them to fulfill.
 
Chrisjen Avasarala, a powerful high member of Earth's government, and her elegance, her ruthlessness, her arrogance, her competence. Camina Drummer, a freedom fighter from the downthrodden people in the asteroid belt, and her righteousness, her yearning, her dignity, her creativity. Bobbie Draper, a Martian marine, and her defiance, her adaptability, her dutifulness. Clarissa Mao, a former socialite, and the quiet desperation and assertivitity of her journey. Julie Mao and her tragedy. And other, maybe less central ones but each with a key part to play. Like Monica Stuart, sharp and full of integrity and a worthy heir of Lois Lane herself; Elvi Okoye representing the best face of scientific curiosity; Anna Volovodov's rectitude and eagerness to explore. And on and on and on.

But the one that will remain with me for the longest time will be Naomi Nagata. 

It's difficult to talk about her, because the part I appreciate the most pertains the last couple of seasons, and the culmination of her journey in them. And I think those are best to watch unspoiled, as I did. I have never seen motherhood been treated the way that part of her character was; the choices taking, the framing of them never losing its compassion, and I doubt I ever will again. 

It's a slow show. The plot takes its time to build up, the subgenres it uses make it a bit of a niche interest (sci-fi in space, but quite grounded and confined; pseudo-dystopian, but in a too-close-to-home way). I know all the reasons why, good or not, it could not be Someone's Thing and I could list them all, but if any of the above sounds interesting, I recommend giving it a try. 
queenslayerbee: Isabelle Adjany as Lucy Harker in 1979's "Nosferatu the Vampire". She's surrounded by darkness, looking over her shoulder while she wears a white nightgown and a cross as a necklace. A hand with long nails like a claw is reaching for her neck from the darkness behind her. (Default)
Challenge #7

In your own space, create a list of at least three things you'd love to receive, something you've wanted but were afraid to ask for - a wishlist of sorts. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your wishlist if you feel comfortable doing so. Maybe someone will grant a wish. Check out other people's posts. Maybe you will grant a wish. If any wishes are granted, we'd love it if you link them to this post.

a beach in winter with the sand covered in snow text snowflake challenge january 1 - 31 in cursive font colours blended with the skyline

1. I'd love to receive something for the Three Sentences Ficathon (I need to reply to a few prompts myself...).I'll c&p them all:

2. I'd pretty much kill for anyone who drew even a stick figurine doodle of one of my fics LOL. I know it's a tall order, but hey. This is a wishlist.

3. If you have the time and the inclination, read this teaser for the original WIP working on these next few of months, and tell me what you think! Here's the synopsis for the story ("Underground Elysium"):


A visionary vampiress, belonging to a matriarchal society of vampires with praying mantis-like habits, saw the apocalypse as an opportunity to subjugate humanity and elevate her species in a new world order, after the outside world became inhospitable to humans. Between the choice of risking falling prey to the walking, rotting corpses that roam the exterior, and a life of servitude under the civilised blood-sucking monsters underneath, many submitted to the second option. Nonetheless, there’s those even among her own that don’t appreciates living under Lucretia’s iron fist; around every corner a conspiracy against her brews, right as election season approaches.


queenslayerbee: Isabelle Adjany as Lucy Harker in 1979's "Nosferatu the Vampire". She's surrounded by darkness, looking over her shoulder while she wears a white nightgown and a cross as a necklace. A hand with long nails like a claw is reaching for her neck from the darkness behind her. (batcat (batman returns))
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 pondered what to post here. As I feel I'm all talked out about my most favourite things, I will go with something new, instead.

I just finished reading "The Refrigerator Monologues", by Catherynne M. Valente. It's a very meta short book inspired by both the Women in Refrigerators term coined by Gail Simone, and "The Vagina Monologues" play by Eve Ensler (which I should pick up someday). It consist in six monologues, with short interludes, by six woman, each directly inspired by a comic book character: Gwen Stacy, Jean Grey, Harley Quinn, Queen Mera, Karen Page, and THEE Alex Dewitt.

I thought I'd share my favourite quotes with you (click on the triangle):

Chapter 2: "Paige Embry is Dead":

Doctor Nocturne was born.

He built his machine, a great, terrible organ buried deep within the city, on which he could play out his symphony of death. With one chord, he proclaimed to every news station, he could electrify the whole of Manhattan. With another, he would bring it crashing down. Tom kept telling me to stay home. After all, I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t help. Just stay home and wait, Paige. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I understood how hypermercury worked, what Nocturne had done. It was my fault. I had to fix it. The last thing I said to Tom Thatcher was: I am not going to stay home like a good little girl. I am going to beat him.

When Tom says shit like that, the universe rearranges itself to make it true. When I said it, the universe pissed itself laughing.

 


Chapter 4: "The Heat Death of Julia Ash":

Nobody had a problem with the new Julia as long as she did their chores for them. Kept the world nice and tidy, took the rubbish out, dusted off the minimalist black-and-white discussion piece morality had be come.

They turned on me, eventually. Oh, they were so concerned, my boys. Only for my own good, only because they were so worried about my delicate constitution!

“She can’t control it,” Paravox whispered to the Professor.

“No one could,” Bruce hurried to say, so I wouldn’t take it personally.

“The more she uses her powers, the less human she gets,” Hal Cyon sighed, looking so fucking earnest while he called me less than human. So fucking sincere.

“What the fuck, Hal,” I snapped. “You can turn into a time-traveling dragon. How human are you?”

Crucible couldn’t even look at me. “Maybe if you could just . . . hold back a little. Until you can figure out exactly what happened out there and whether it’s hurting her.”

They all stood around Professor Yes’s desk like veterinarians discussing a rowdy horse in need of breaking.

“Since when,” I said softly, “is power a problem for any of you?”

“You don’t understand,” Zigzag pleaded.

I stared them all down. “Sure I do. Hold back. Got it.”

If you could just wait until it’s clear that none of the other children know the answer before raising your hand. Don’t read ahead of the rest of the class. No one likes a know-it-all.

 


Chapter 6: "The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Pauline Ketch":

There was a moment, just before I gave up and breathed in all that dirty, soapy, passion fruit bubble bath–scented death, where I thought I had it wrong. Maybe that day in Sarkomand when Mr. Punch said, I thought you were someone else, he’d meant: I thought you were a crippled baby antelope I could chase down across the veldt and pick the lock to this place with your bones. Maybe I was just a funny little clown in the Punch and Grimdark show. Maybe he never once meant I love you when he called me a cunt, he just meant that I was a stupid, useless, disgusting hole he hated only slightly less than himself. What if we were never any little bit alike, except that we wanted to burn the awful old world down? But it was just barely possible that I was the only one who cared what world we blew up. The world of rich men playing in costumes and electric companies turning on the dark everywhere they went and shithead greaseheart daddies all the way down—that was my tune. Maybe my baby was just trying to fuck his way through me and the bed and the floor and the city to get to him. Maybe Mr. Punch was a Bad Daddy, after all.

NAW.

 


Chapter 8: "The Ballad of Blue Bayou":

God, I made all the Union boys so uncomfortable. I got in between them and the mirror they liked to preen in, the mirror that showed them all as Kings of the Known Universe. They all felt safe with their girlfriends’ ambitions—artists and actresses and scientists. Girls you could brag to the alumni magazine about, but no one they ever had to compete with. They were the sparkly shiny special ones in their houses. After all, science is great, but who can compete with superpowers?

Well, the Queen of Atlantis can.

To tell you the truth, Avast hated Atlantis. Up there, he was a hero. He was totally unique, from New York to New Delhi. Down here, with me, he was just like everyone else. He got so angry at me, over nothing, over everything, over having to spend another second in a place where no one cared that he could tell a whale what to do, where no one knew he was a star. He never touched me anymore. If he came home and saw my chest light up with blue at the sight of him, his lip curled up in disgust and he buried himself in his workouts.

They never once asked me to join their little club. Even after Megalodon opened the floodgates and half a dimension’s worth of our redneck cousins poured through. Even after I defeated Whitewater and the Werekraken in the Battle of the Bermuda Triangle. Megalodon only barely escaped that one. He holed up in Guignol City like a trust fund baby for months after, licking his wounds. Even then, my husband and his friends never said, Hey, you’re pretty handy; wanna learn the secret handshake?

And fucking hell, they hated my crying at night. I hated my crying at night. But I couldn’t help it, could I? John Heron never heard Angus’s little voice in his head. His father was still puttering around, replacing lightbulbs in his cozy little house. Easy come, easy go. They hated hearing the word baby. Child. It messed up the blocking of their play about themselves. Avast could scream, I shall destroy you for the death of my son! and his boys would all cheer. But if I so much as touched my stomach and whispered that I missed my baby, oh, how they’d sneer!

 


Chapter 10: "Daisy Green Says I Love You":

He didn’t mean to. They never mean to do anything in the beginning. But a superhero is like a black hole. They bend everything around them without even thinking about it. And they’d better be lucky as a goddamned leprechaun wearing a rabbit-foot coat on lottery day, or they’ll never get through one single fight with a D-list villain. So, they just . . . suck it up from everyone around them. Trust me, kiss one hero and the coin will never land your way again for the rest of your life. And all that shit, all that horror they can leap in a single bound . . . all that shit has to land somewhere.

Becoming a porn star is pretty much exactly like becoming a superhero. One day, an intrepid, fresh-faced young woman discovers that she has a talent. She chooses a new name—something over the top, flamboyant, a little arrogant, with a tinge of the epic. Somebody makes her a costume—skintight, revealing, a flattering color, nothing much left to the imagination. She explores her power, learns a specialty move or two, sweats her way through a training montage, throwing out punny quips here, there, and everywhere. She inhabits an archetype. She takes every blow that comes her way like she doesn’t even feel it. Then she goes out into the big bad night and saves people from loneliness. From the assorted villainies that plague the common man. From despair and bad dreams. From tedium. Oh, sure, her victories are short-lived. She finishes off her foes in one glorious masterstroke, but the minute she’s gone, all the wickedness and darkness of the scheming, teeming world comes rushing back in. But when you need her, here she comes to save the day, doing it for Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

[...]

But becoming a porn star is pretty much exactly like becoming a superhero. You start strong, bursting out of nowhere, a bird, a plane, your name on a million needy lips, your name in the papers, your name up in lights, your greatest hits on constant repeat. You’re the fantasy—someone so strong and beautiful nothing can hurt them, not even the worst shit anyone can imagine. In the first flush of it all, you’re so convinced of the rightness of your mission statement that you practically glow when the bad guy’s final spasm stains your mask. The camera loves you. It just feels good to throw down. You do it for fun, just to feel your own strength. When you’re new, everyone’s so fucking impressed with your skill and style. All these roaring, power-drunk men line up just to go one round with you. You blow them all down like paper dolls to rave reviews and the key to the red-light district. But time passes and it hurts more than you let on. You bandage yourself after hours, alone, in a phone booth with filthy windows, wrapping your wounds tight so you can keep fighting the good fight day after day. You get tired now. You get jaded. You get older. And after a while, they begin to despise you. It’s not interesting for you to come out on top every time. To watch your Saturday night marquee smile pop-flash at the end of every climactic scene. You need to keep up your numbers. You need to keep those eyeballs transfixed, Miss Thing. It’s not enough to just work on your craft. You gotta keep up with the times, appeal to modern sensibilities. You have to do something more extreme. Darker. Grittier. More real. You need to be cut down a little. Let ’em see you vulnerable. Let ’em see you bleed.

 


Chapter 12: "Happy Birthday, Samantha Dane":

I can’t bear to think of Jason’s face when he finds me. Us. Simon shoved MacArthur in the crisper drawer. I wish I could feel his fur. It would be comforting. But there’s a sheet of glass between us. How will Jason ever be able to get over it? To forgive Simon? To unsee my blue fucking face smashed up against week-old pizza?

But then I think—and it’s almost the last thing I think—about that avenging thing. Because they will avenge me. I know it. I know it because we’re in a movie now and I know how movies work. This is the second-act break. I’m an accepted part of the structure. Jason Remarque will kill Six Figure because Six Figure killed me. It will be an amazing battle. Really fill the seats. And when it’s over, he’ll move on to bigger and better villains. He’ll be the kind of famous I was gonna be. Eventually, he’ll start dating again. Someone who understands the responsibility. The stakes. Though he’ll probably never get another cat.

I try to cry out. One last effort to be not dead. My lips won’t move.

I belong in the refrigerator. Because the truth is, I’m just food for a superhero. He’ll eat up my death and get the energy he needs to become a legend.

 


And for a less meta, heavy one, behold my new blog description, curtesy of the Harley Quinn expy:

Screenshot of a tumblr bio. It reads "batman is an emojock leather-queen fuckmuppet." It includes the icon (Priya Tsetsang from Dollhouse, season 2 episode 4, "Belonging". She's giving her back to the audience, encased in shadows, while she looks at a painting she made (of non-realistic birds, full of colours and shapes) that Nolan Kinnard hung in his wall) and the header (Screenshot from "Red Hood: The Lost Days", issue 6. Over an edited all-black background, Jason holds the Red Hood red helmet in his hand, in a pose resembling holding Yorick's skull in Hamlet).
queenslayerbee: Lisa simpson dressed in a multicoloured baggy shirt, with a sideways cap and sunglasses, and a disaffected look on her face. (lisa simpson (the simpsons))
Challenge #5

Talk about what has improved in your life thanks to fandom. 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.

red, gold and white snowflake shapes against a dark white background the word snowflake in dark yellow at the top and challenge in dark red at the bottom

For one, fandom has done wonders for my creativity. It constantly inspires me, and although I don't manage to complete even a *tenth* of the ideas I do have, it wouldn't even be half as that if it wasn't for fandom. I wouldn't have written as much without it. I wouldn't have met some of my favourite artists, either through recommendations or because, by pure luck, I got to talk to them! To grow as an artist myself, thanks to them.

And that's the other thing. IRL I'm not bad at talking to people, at establishing a rapport with them, but that's almost a Persona (I call it channeling my father, because he's GREAT at that lol). I can turn it on, especially in situations where it's needed, to network and that shit, but it's not my natural state. I'm a misanthropic loner by nature, because I rarely feel like I connect with the people around me, like I have much in common with them. It's been online that I've really met like-minded people I could talk with, starting with fandom and going beyond that; our values, our goals, or lives.

Fandom has definitely helped me feel less alone, less of a oddity. I've met some of my favourite people there; there's definitely drawbacks to online friendships, of course, but I love having people from all over the globe I can talk with on my little phone.

queenslayerbee: Isabelle Adjany as Lucy Harker in 1979's "Nosferatu the Vampire". She's surrounded by darkness, looking over her shoulder while she wears a white nightgown and a cross as a necklace. A hand with long nails like a claw is reaching for her neck from the darkness behind her. (batcat (batman returns))
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.



I have a list of writing goals for this year; it's liable to change depending on how certain IRL developments move, but here it is:

ORIGINAL WORKS
  • Complete a polished draft of "Underground Elysium" and share it to get feedback. Priority level: high.
  • Complete one more standalone WIP. Priority level: medium.
FANFIC
  • Complete the WIPs I left about half-finished from last year (a Jason-centric Young Justice Cartoon WIP; a Jaymia Birthday-themed one-shot for April 27th; the Immortal!Jason + Batclan WIP; Damon & Elena: Marriage of Doom; and a Desperate Housewives/Supernatural crossover). Priority level: high.
  • Participate in various fandom challenges (Three Sentences Ficathon, Cassandra Cain Week, Amazons Week, Jayroytim Weekend...). Priority level: low.
  • Write the first part of my Jason Survives AU (No Death in the Family). This part focuses on the immediately aftermath of ADITF, with Jason (and Sheila Haywood) surviving the blast, Jason waking up from his coma, and the Bats dealing with it all. Priority level: high.
  • Write what I've labelled "THEE Jaymia story". AKA what to me feels like The Definite Shippy Long-fic between those two. A few years after the end of the new earth continuity, the two of them cross paths on a case (read: Mia is investigating a case, Jason secretly leaves him leads like a cat leaving dead mice, she catches onto him). The rest is history. Priority level: medium.
  • Write "Caretaker Red Hood". This is one of those fics where Jason returns in a slightly different way (around the end of Joker's Last Laugh, in this case), kills the Joker, and decides to continue acting in Gotham without revealing himself. In this one, plot happens and Bruce gets horribly hurt, paralysed from the neck down... and is rescued by the mysterious Red Hood, under circumstances that trap the two of them together for a while. Priority level: low.
As it's clear, detective comics comics continues to be the priority lol. If anything in this list catches your eye, feel free to ask me to expand!
And to tell me what your writing (or otherwise creative) goals are for 2025 :D

queenslayerbee: Lisa simpson dressed in a multicoloured baggy shirt, with a sideways cap and sunglasses, and a disaffected look on her face. (lisa simpson (the simpsons))
Challenge #3

In your own space, talk about a fannish opinion you hold that has changed over time. 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.


two log cabins with snow on the roofs in a wintery forest the text snowflake challenge january 1 - 31 in white cursive text

I can't find many examples. I find that my tastes in fandom haven't so much changed as... refined LOL. What I used to love, I continue to love, now with a narrower focus; what I used to hate, now I might hate with even more passion xD. I've come to appreciate new characters, new ships... that I hadn't thought about before, but nothing drastic, I'd say.

I have noticed alterations in my opinions regarding certain canons upon rewatch, but I don't know if that's about changing perspectives so much as changes in the way and the when I watched those shows. Most recently I noticed these past couple of years finally rewatching The Vampire Diaries or The 100 (both "stacked"; aka, instead of watching in order, I watch the episodes on the anniversary of their airing date).

With TVD it was more gradual, but this was the first time I rewatched The 100, this time completely removed from the fandom. In both cases, I enjoyed the lead character's journey a lot more than I did the first time around. My opinions about them as people remain the same: I think Elena Gilbert and Clarke Griffin are both manipulative people who project a false image, sometimes even to themselves, to various degrees of success (Elena is MUCH better at it than Clarke). It's just that now, it's not something that bothers me the way it used to!

Back then, it was less about being bothered by those traits (I have loved my share of manipulative bastards in fiction <3), than about two things: one, in both cases I felt the shows, at least in their beginnings, were trying very, very hard to convince me that I wasn't seeing what I was seeing! That these were totally selfless girls whose Inherent Goodness was just So Special and Unique and The Best of Humanityyyy. Something that got on my nerves; among other reasons, because neither girl needed that to be a good character! But mostly because the cognitive dissonance bothered the hell out of me lol. Especially when this resulted into constant fandom drama. Nonetheless, as I said, this only happened in the beginning of each show, progressively changing later, when the narrative felt more... honest, about who these women were and came to be.

The other reason was more mercenary: in both cases, my favourite characters happened to be people whose narratives found themselves at odds with that of the lead. Characters for whom these was a zero-sum game: the lead could only shine so much because and as long as the others were kept down on their knees. And in both shows, it was the lead's fall that allowed the others, my favourites, the breathing room to ~raise above their assigned stations, so to speak.

So basically: the narrative validated my perspective, and the ways in which these leads interfered with my faves became less effective. Which first diminished my hostility towards them as I first watched the shows, and then largely eliminated it on rewatch. Thus leaving me with two flawed female leads whose narratives I have come to appreciate.

I've given a lot of thought before about how an ending can completely alter a story. It's as if once it's written down, all other possibilities as to how it could've ended collapse and you only have one left that will shape how you see the story at large. I'd argue that a lot of endings on TV are very in tune with the show's beginnings, tbh (think How I Met Your Mother, for a really egregious example), but these two, especially TVD, deviated quite strongly. So it makes sense to me that they're the two examples I can think of where I've noticed a drastic change of fannish opinion in myself (usually when I'm a hater, it's forever xD), and others, though I guess that's a different topic.
queenslayerbee: Lisa simpson dressed in a multicoloured baggy shirt, with a sideways cap and sunglasses, and a disaffected look on her face. (lisa simpson (the simpsons))
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.

Snowflake Challenge promotional banner with image of mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows and gingerbread cookies. Text: Snowflake Challenge January 1-31.
 
 
Ooof. Oh man.

Well, I'm 28 now, and my beginnings in fandom started at... 12? 13? So, do the math xD. It started with the Buffyverse, and shortly after the HP books. I was largely a lurker, thought I commented on some long-lost forums of the Spanish side of things, moving from fandom to fandom whenever I got into something new (ATLA, TVD, DC...).

By then the embryos of the first versions of my original stories had already been brewing (ages 9 to 11 were very formative in that regard!), but I also did write some fics of dubious quality I was too embarrassed to even contemplate showing anyone. OTOH, I'm sure their quality was nothing sort of atrocious xD. On the other, my computer back then was an old, old thing my father had already retired from his office, and it mercelessly crapped on me one day, losing everything 😔, so if they were posted on fanfiction dot net I would've had access to them smh.

Sometimes I remember one of those stories (ff and some of my earliest attempts at original writing), and honestly? Yeah, I'm sure they were messy and unpolished, but my ideas already cooked xD. "Hey, what if I wrote a Bangel fic set on The Wish but I made it even WORSE and SADDER than what happens in that episode?" was a genius idea, and I totally applaud my 13yo self for it. She was going through it and already channeling it through tragedy and catharsis <3
 
My more active fandom beginnings happened circa late 2016/early 2017. At first I didn't have a main fandom, but then season 2 episode 8 of Shadowhunters hit hard lmao. I was REALLY into Isabelle/Raphael. Which, at the time, meant that I suddenly received a ton of anon-and-not-so-anon outright hate! The wank in that fandom was really fucking annoying! BUT. I've always been petty, and vindictive, and it probably fueled me. Before that I had gone through years without really writing, and I was suddenly writing two fics that was 80% shippy enthusiasm and 20% spite.

innocence, your history of silence: The story in which Azazel put Valentine in Raphael's body, instead of Magnus'.

we stand up peerless: All the times Magnus offered his blood to Camille.


Now, my ao3 account reached its 100th fic a few days ago, so hey. That fandom is long behind me; I didn't even finish the last season, and I'll likely never write SH fic again (though I did leave some ideas in the chamber...), but it gave me back that spark, which later extended to other fandoms and reignited my passion for original writing.

All in all, I'm really grateful that one day the SH writers decided Raphael biting Izzy would be sexy (and they were right!).

So. What's that one fandom you've outgrown, but that really helped you along the way?



queenslayerbee: Isabelle Adjany as Lucy Harker in 1979's "Nosferatu the Vampire". She's surrounded by darkness, looking over her shoulder while she wears a white nightgown and a cross as a necklace. A hand with long nails like a claw is reaching for her neck from the darkness behind her. (Default)
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.


Snowflake Challenge promotional banner featuring feet in snuggly socks, a mug of hot chocolate, a notebook with 'dreams' written on the cover, and a guitar. Text: Snowflake Challenge January 1-31.

This is the perfect excuse to update my sticky post!
  • First thing first, I'll link to my author's newsletter. I intend to update it about once every two months, or whenever I have important news. In it I also share some personal updates and recommendations.
  • Last year, I shared a teaser for a a project of mine, "Underground Elysium", a quite sui generis dystopian novella featuring a misandrist vampire society. I hope to have a polished draft of the real thing in a few months; then, I'll see how I go about sharing feedback.
  • My fandom username is laufire; you can find me in tumblr and in ao3. I likely won't be as active on the first in the upcoming year, but I want to continue my writing streak on the latter, where I recently published my 100th fic (!!!), after finally getting rid of all the prompts in my inbox ^^U. You can see them compiled here.
Now, as to my main fandoms; what you'll see around here the most:
  • Detective Comics Comics STILL has me in its clutches. It's terminal, I fear. I read mostly (and write exclusively) post-crisis/pre-reboot canon, though I dabbled in others (DCAU, Batman Returns, the Snyderverse, Batwoman s2... to name a few favourites). Jason Todd is the getaway drug into the rest, but my interests are expansive (other Bats, Arrows, Amazons, Suicide Squads, Talia, Catwoman...). Recently I finished reading all of new earth!Cass comics, and now I'm going through the highlights of Lady Shiva's appearances. During this month of January I also plan to do the same with Duke Thomas (about the one (1) thing I consider a vast improvement in the current continuity), and some key issues from Wonder Woman (1987).
  • My own original stories. My stories are largely focused on female characters (and if there's romance, it's likely f/f). This year, and in the short and medium-long term, I'll be focused on my standalone ideas, leaving aside more expansive series. Other than Underground Elysium, the list of the most advanced ideas includes "Chasing Fanny" (pseudo noir story about a medium, a femme fatale, and a sob-sister wannabe reporter), "The Leech of Wonderland" (a cynic take on the historical romance genre involving a naïve young woman and a dangerous suitor), "A Child's Covenant" (a dark fairy tale about a survivor trying to find some temporary happiness before it's too late), "One Over Many" (my take on the "what if one day you woke up and all the men were gone" speculative subgenre), and "All About Eves" (magical realism + historical realism + time travel).

Other interests and fandoms you might see around here:
  • Authors & Books: Ana María Matute, Angela Carter, "Beauty and the Beast" (Madame de VIlleneuve), Camilla Andrew ("The Essence of the Equinox", "The Sanguine Sorceress"), Catherynne M. Valente, "Carmilla", Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "Dangerous Liaisons", Daphne du Maurier, Devin Grayson, "El cordero carnívoro", Greg Rucka, Hope Mirrlees, "Hymn to Demeter", Judd Winick, Marjorie Liu, Mary Wollstoncraft Shelley, "Medea", Miguel Hernández, Philip Pullman, "Pygmalion", Shirley Jackson.
  • Comics: outside of DC, I tend to go for Image Comics (Monstress, Paper Girls, Saga). I want to get more into Marvel, starting with returning to my Iron Man reading, and to begin on Black WIdow.
  • Films: the Alien franchise, Black Swan, Blancanieves (2012), Colombiana, El verdugo, Jupiter Ascending, Lust Caution, Pan's Labyrinth, Practical Magic, The Handmaiden, The Lion in Winter, The Mask of Zorro, The Terminator.
  • Musical artists: Aaliyah, Amistades Peligrosas, Amy Winehouse, Ani DiFranco, Antonio VIvaldi, Ariana Grande, Bear McCreary, Christopher Beck, Clint Mansell, Dessa, Ennio Morricone, Fiona Apple, FKA twigs, Florence + the Machine, Georges Bizet, Hole, Julie London, Kate Bush, Mariah Carey, Mägo de Oz, Mirel Wagner, Montserrat Caballé, Nancy Sinatra, Nina Simone, Peggy Seeger, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Queen, Richard Wagner, Serguéi Serguéievich Prokófiev, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Pretty Reckless, Tracy Chapman.
  • Shows: the Buffyverse, the Plecverse, Black Sails, Desperate Housewives, Dollhouse, Killjoys, Nikita, Person of Interest, Reign, Scandal, Severance, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Good Wife, The Wire, Underground, Veronica Mars.
  • Others: art history, creative writing, photography, history & historiography, criminal and international law, orcas, owls...

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queenslayerbee: Isabelle Adjany as Lucy Harker in 1979's "Nosferatu the Vampire". She's surrounded by darkness, looking over her shoulder while she wears a white nightgown and a cross as a necklace. A hand with long nails like a claw is reaching for her neck from the darkness behind her. (Default)
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