cookiegirl

Day 9

Post at least three recs for fanworks that you have created.

Ugh, self-recs, always a joy! I mostly post White Collar fic and art, so here's a few recs for works in other fandoms, just to mix things up a bit!

The Walking Dead: Like Home (Beth, Daryl) - Tiny dialogue-only ficlet featuring Beth, Daryl and some hypothetical cushions. I love the challenge of the dialogue-only format, and I miss seeing these characters together onscreen. At only around 200 words it's a quick read and might make you smile!

How to Get Away With Murder: In Control (Michaela/Asher) - Short fic about Michaela struggling both with coming to terms with her own desires, and opening up to Asher. I enjoyed writing this and feel like I captured some of the awkward power struggle at the beginning of their relationship.

Suits: Stop the World (Mike, Harvey, Donna) - This was a fandom stocking gift and I'm not sure anyone other than the recipient ever read it. It's not something I would have normally chosen to write, but I'm pleased with the way it came out. Might be worth a read if you're not looking for a happy ending!

Day 10

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

I love a good trope. There's a whole ton that I adore. I get excited when I see them being set up on screen or in a fic. "What's that, you guys have to pretend to be a couple while undercover on a case? Or you're lost and cold and you're gonna need to strip down and cuddle? Or wow, you're trying to book into a hotel and there's only a double room left even though you need two single beds? EXCELLENT NEWS."

Basically, anything like pretending to be a couple, cuddling for warmth or having to share a bed works so well for me because I love the way those scenarios test friends-who-secretly-have-feelings-for-each-other. I love it when the situation starts with reluctance, sniping, bickering, etc, and develops into something else: a slight softening or progression in the relationship, a begrudging revelation of something about themselves that makes the two grow a little closer, or even occasionally a full-on move from friends-to-lovers. I'm a shipper at heart, so a situation that makes the two people I ship spend time in awkwardly close proximity is a win.

If you have any fics like this, please go ahead and rec :D

Day 11

Share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life.

There are three that come instantly to mind. Firstly, Buffy. Buffy had such a strong influence over the person I grew up to be. I started watching when I was around twelve and it was my favourite show throughout my teenage years. It affected everything from my sense of humour, to my moral compass, to my speech patterns, to my perception of fantasy and storytelling. And, years later, when on a Buffy forum, it finally introduced me to the concept of conventions, something I didn't even know existed in this country until then. I went to my first couple of conventions and a love was born.

Secondly, Torchwood. It brought me back to Livejournal, and to writing, and to being fannish. It was really the first show I read or wrote fanfiction for, with a couple of small exceptions beforehand. It was my first experience of being a fan online at the same time as part of a show was airing, and that experience was wonderful.

And thirdly, White Collar. I discovered White Collar when the Torchwood fandom was waning, and it helped me stick around Livejournal. It helped me to make some more amazing online friends, and it helped me to develop from writing short ficlets to proper stories. It gave me characters to believe in, and who inspired me. <3

Happy New Year, all!

To kick off 2018, I'm going to try the snowflake challenge. Join me?




Day 1

In your own space, talk about why you're participating in Snowflake and, if you’ve participated in the past, how the challenge has affected you. What drew you to it? What did you take away from it? What do you hope to accomplish this year?

I haven't properly participated in the challenge before, though for the last couple of years I've seen friends doing it and thought it looked like a brilliant idea. I've loved reading other people's take on fandom, looking at their recs and just enjoying their enjoyment of the wonderful fannish world we inhabit. Each year I've intended to participate too, and then it's got away from me, as so many things do. But this year I've at least managed to start it!

I love that this challenge is all about celebrating fandom, and the connections we make within it. I'm not sure how I would have gotten through the last few years without knowing that fandom, and the lovely people I've "met" through it, were there. Knowing that there are others out there who share your passions, who aren't afraid to declare their love for a show or a movie or a book or a celebrity, who get happiness from finding others who love the same thing, is wonderful. Having a space to do those things, that encourages discussion the way that journaling platforms like dreamwidth do, is something to be very thankful for.

There is so much bad to see in the world. So much heaviness and sadness both personally and internationally for so many of us. I think in these times it's even more important to celebrate the things we love and to support and encourage each other in enjoying fandom, creating works and sharing them. And to appreciate and nurture the friendships we make through fandom, and the way that they extend beyond that.

I am looking forward to sharing 2018 with you guys, and to getting to know those of you I've only recently connected with.

Back in December 2012, I added a cute wintery snowy-tree header to my journal. I thought, I'll leave that on over the winter, and then I'll put a nice spring one on later, and then a summer one, etc. Of course, 25 months later, the snowy trees were still there /o\

BUT now I have a new header and it is very exciting! Courtesy of christinaa88 :) My journal feels all fresh and rejuvenated, and it looks like it's looking forward to the new episode of Suits in five and a half days as much as I am! YAY :D

Which reminded me, I have a whole load of new shows in my heart and I haven't babbled about them on here o.O So, here we go.

Suits
I started this last January, and wasn't too impressed at first. I was all: meh, I was promised this was just like White Collar, but there is no Neal or Peter or hats so I'm not pleased. But then, sometime after the first few episodes, I realised I'd fallen totally in love with Harvey, and Harvey/Donna, and Harvey/Mike, and even Louis! And now I think it might be the best thing left on TV. But I can't really find the fandom for it. There's some old fics on LJ, a mostly-abandoned kink meme, and some stuff on Ao3/ff.net, but apparently most of the action takes place on tumblr, and I'm just...not doing that. Why is there not an awesome h/c community here? I think I've been spoiled by the White Collar fandom.

Chasing Life
Oh it's adorable! I thought a show about leukemia would be depressing, but I tried it anyway because I saw the picture of Italia Ricci and had an instant crush, and ohhh it's so lovely :) And shippy. WATCH EET.

How To Get Away With Murder
Eee. It's smart and sexy and the mid-series finale totally wrong-footed me, and SERIOUSLY, CONNOR. He is so hot and deliciously sarcastic. And I am very much shipping Connor/Oliver.

Scorpion
Hee, so cute, and preposterous. And Paige/Walter! And Happy/Toby! And alll the daddy issues. It's total escapist fluff and I love it.

Faking It
This is awesome and a lot of fun. I love how it's actually exploring bisexuality instead of just using the 'you must be either straight or gay' thesis that most shows adopt. And Shane and Lauren are such great characters. Also, I might be in love with Katie Stevens, especially when she wears a corset.

Jane the Virgin
I turned off the first episode after ten minutes, once I realised what was about to happen to Jane (I hadn't heard the plot beforehand) and was appalled. But then a few months later, I'd heard so many good things about it that I gave it another chance, and it is really lovely and beautiful and funny and inspiring, even if I still have some problems with how the original issue is dealt with. I love watching Gina Rodriguez too, she is just mesmerising.

Also, last summer there was Finding Carter and The Last Ship, both of which have to be mentioned because a) they were brilliant, and b) they got renewed, which is kinda shocking for shows I like! I was so excited to see Eric Dane in a lead role :D

I'm also enjoying Eye Candy, Girlfriends Guide to Divorce, Stalker, Red Band Society, Mulaney (sooo bad at first but now it's pretty funny) and I've started watching series 2 of Broadchurch, despite not seeing series 1, because it has Eve Myles. Evieee. And David Tennant. And I keep expecting Barrowman to pop up and say GWEN! DOCTOR! FOUND YOU!

Wow, I watch a lot of TV. OK, so squee with me if you watch any of these too :)