Comics read recently
10 Oct 2012 01:25 amWhere were we?
Ah yes, first, Alan Davies' run on Excalibur wrapped up. It was cute, it had some great Nightcrawler and Rachel moments and Phoenix lore that would be utterly ignored in future crossover events, but it was also high on a wacky, and to be perfectly honest, I retain, at most, a very fuzzy memories of it. Oh, and suddenly Brian wasn't an ass anymore. I guess there was that.
I actually read the first handful issues of Lobdell's run too. Because, that other arc he wrote, with Doom, that was actually good. But then he tried to be grimdark, with Excalibur, and well, that didn't work out so much.
Judging by the fact he wasn't awful on X-Factor either; I think that's an on going issue with Lobell. He's good when he allows himself to be fun and light, but if he tries to be serious, he this subtlety problem in which that he has none. 'Tis very sad. So yeah.
Which brings us to Fatal Attractions. The thing is, it isn't awful. By which I mean there's a bunch of good scenes in it. All the stuff with Kitty, for one. Quite a few with Storm. Some of the scenes of pathos in general - around Illyana's death - are pretty good for all that they are awfully forced and "subtle". And there's even some interesting things with Xavier's characterisation and his discussion with Magneto - except most of it didn't make sense in the end -- but between that and a few other things, I do actually rather like Lobdell's Xavier. At least when he isn't trying too hard to be edgy and nineties. And the summary of Magneto's backstory is actually pretty damn good which makes the absolute breakdown in characterisation later on all the more baffling and frustrating.
The story structurally is quite weak because both in terms of actions following from actions and from the characters acting out their motivation, it makes no damn sense. Stuff just happen because the writers thought it'd be cool for them, I guess? The overall result is a handful of gems amid a confused mess of crap. Sad.
Bloodties is at least better structurally; although it of course also suffers from the SUBTLETY problem, and apparently decided that after going through the troubles of showcasing Pietro and Crystal all along and bringing them in the centre of it, they were now going to stop allowing them any agency and let everyone else resolve the story. I dunno.
Anyway, to answer Yo!'s liveblogging '90's question; I have actually for some time done something similar to that on tumblr; and since I have recently fixed a tag problem I've had; I can now even link you right away to those stuff: http://demoiselledefortune.tumblr.co.../reading-x-men. If you want to see me flail a lot about Magneto & relatives, that's the place!
Moving on!
Black Widow: the Things they say about her suffer from the same problems as Homecoming except worse.
Black Widow: Deadly Origin also suffers from similar problems except it's also not as good a story and rather on the confusing side. Just - most flashback scenes are cool.
Ironman: Doomquest and Legacy of Doom are wonderfully hilarious and fun stories.
I also liked the Doom miniseries (2000) and its contingent F4 issues (by Claremont - I didn't know Claremont had done a F4 run!!) also loads of fun.
I also tries reading Spider-Woman: Origin and Spider-woman: Agent of SWORD which I found both pretty boring. The Bendis idiosyncrasies were getting on my nerve, I guess, and on their own do not sell me on the character (I guess if I had already liked her, I could have enjoyed them much more).
Ah yes, first, Alan Davies' run on Excalibur wrapped up. It was cute, it had some great Nightcrawler and Rachel moments and Phoenix lore that would be utterly ignored in future crossover events, but it was also high on a wacky, and to be perfectly honest, I retain, at most, a very fuzzy memories of it. Oh, and suddenly Brian wasn't an ass anymore. I guess there was that.
I actually read the first handful issues of Lobdell's run too. Because, that other arc he wrote, with Doom, that was actually good. But then he tried to be grimdark, with Excalibur, and well, that didn't work out so much.
Judging by the fact he wasn't awful on X-Factor either; I think that's an on going issue with Lobell. He's good when he allows himself to be fun and light, but if he tries to be serious, he this subtlety problem in which that he has none. 'Tis very sad. So yeah.
Which brings us to Fatal Attractions. The thing is, it isn't awful. By which I mean there's a bunch of good scenes in it. All the stuff with Kitty, for one. Quite a few with Storm. Some of the scenes of pathos in general - around Illyana's death - are pretty good for all that they are awfully forced and "subtle". And there's even some interesting things with Xavier's characterisation and his discussion with Magneto - except most of it didn't make sense in the end -- but between that and a few other things, I do actually rather like Lobdell's Xavier. At least when he isn't trying too hard to be edgy and nineties. And the summary of Magneto's backstory is actually pretty damn good which makes the absolute breakdown in characterisation later on all the more baffling and frustrating.
The story structurally is quite weak because both in terms of actions following from actions and from the characters acting out their motivation, it makes no damn sense. Stuff just happen because the writers thought it'd be cool for them, I guess? The overall result is a handful of gems amid a confused mess of crap. Sad.
Bloodties is at least better structurally; although it of course also suffers from the SUBTLETY problem, and apparently decided that after going through the troubles of showcasing Pietro and Crystal all along and bringing them in the centre of it, they were now going to stop allowing them any agency and let everyone else resolve the story. I dunno.
Anyway, to answer Yo!'s liveblogging '90's question; I have actually for some time done something similar to that on tumblr; and since I have recently fixed a tag problem I've had; I can now even link you right away to those stuff: http://demoiselledefortune.tumblr.co.../reading-x-men. If you want to see me flail a lot about Magneto & relatives, that's the place!
Moving on!
Black Widow: the Things they say about her suffer from the same problems as Homecoming except worse.
Black Widow: Deadly Origin also suffers from similar problems except it's also not as good a story and rather on the confusing side. Just - most flashback scenes are cool.
Ironman: Doomquest and Legacy of Doom are wonderfully hilarious and fun stories.
I also liked the Doom miniseries (2000) and its contingent F4 issues (by Claremont - I didn't know Claremont had done a F4 run!!) also loads of fun.
I also tries reading Spider-Woman: Origin and Spider-woman: Agent of SWORD which I found both pretty boring. The Bendis idiosyncrasies were getting on my nerve, I guess, and on their own do not sell me on the character (I guess if I had already liked her, I could have enjoyed them much more).
(no subject)
24 Sep 2012 09:28 pm*plugs*
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
amberkink
*plugs*
Because the 9 Princes of Amber & the however many they are Princesses (I know, there are more than 9 Princes of Amber, shut up) need to get laid. A lot!
amberkink *plugs*
Because the 9 Princes of Amber & the however many they are Princesses (I know, there are more than 9 Princes of Amber, shut up) need to get laid. A lot!
stuff I wrote on tumblr
10 Sep 2012 06:34 pmand it was the closest thing to meta I wrote in years so I thought I might as well repost it here:
cleromancy asked: this isn't an assumption so much as something you've explicitly stated, but you're really into fucked up/self destructive relationship dynamics, romantically and otherwise; i'm actually pretty interested in your thoughts on why that appeals to you in fiction, also your thoughts on jealousy/possessiveness of the self-destructive type? :D
Why it appeals to me… oh boy, you’re in for a novel.
I think there are three big axis that make me mainly intrigued by fucked up relationships: power, self-destruction & deconstruction/liminality.
( Read more... )
cleromancy asked: this isn't an assumption so much as something you've explicitly stated, but you're really into fucked up/self destructive relationship dynamics, romantically and otherwise; i'm actually pretty interested in your thoughts on why that appeals to you in fiction, also your thoughts on jealousy/possessiveness of the self-destructive type? :D
Why it appeals to me… oh boy, you’re in for a novel.
I think there are three big axis that make me mainly intrigued by fucked up relationships: power, self-destruction & deconstruction/liminality.
( Read more... )
Mage of the Caribbean
7 Sep 2012 10:04 pm(reposted because I f-ed up the first time)
So, finished the first scenario of the Mage: Ascension with hacked rules inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean.
( rpg rambling )
So, finished the first scenario of the Mage: Ascension with hacked rules inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean.
( rpg rambling )
Pick a number and I'll answer the question. Crossed-out questions have been asked by someone already.
1 - Your current OTP
2 -A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind
3 - A pairing you have never liked and probably never will
4 -A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t
5 -Have you added anything stupid/cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what
6 - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom
7 -Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it
8 - Do you prefer characters from real action series or anime series
9 -Has the internet caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why
10 - Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr/LJ/DW
11 - How do you feel about the other people in your current fandom
12 - Your favorite fanartist/author gives you one request, what do you ask for
13 - Your favorite fanart or fanartist
14 -Your favorite fanfiction or fanauthor
15 - Choose a song at random, which OTP does it remind you of
16 -Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas)
17 - A ship you’ve abandoned and why
18 - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships
19 - Show us an example of your personal headcanon
20 - Do you remember what your first fanwork was?
21 -Self-rec: What's your favorite fanwork you've created?
22 - Are you one of those fans who can’t watch anything without shipping
23 - 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms
24 -3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms
25 - A fandom you’re in but have no ships from
26 - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go
1 - Your current OTP
2 -
3 - A pairing you have never liked and probably never will
4 -
5 -
6 - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom
7 -
8 - Do you prefer characters from real action series or anime series
9 -
10 - Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr/LJ/DW
11 - How do you feel about the other people in your current fandom
12 - Your favorite fanartist/author gives you one request, what do you ask for
13 - Your favorite fanart or fanartist
14 -
15 - Choose a song at random, which OTP does it remind you of
16 -
17 - A ship you’ve abandoned and why
18 - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships
19 - Show us an example of your personal headcanon
20 - Do you remember what your first fanwork was?
21 -
22 - Are you one of those fans who can’t watch anything without shipping
23 - 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms
24 -
25 - A fandom you’re in but have no ships from
26 - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go
Miscellaneous stuff I picked up at random at the library / borrowed from friends, etc. :
Avengers Kree - Skrull War
Rather weak. The storytelling is just wayyyyy confusing and muddled. (And I don't think it's just the Silver age aspect). I think the most amusement I got from that was seeing the parents of Teddy and Billy on the same panel... >_>
Korvac Saga
Also pretty weak, this time more because there's just too many characters for it to go anywhere. Has a couple of good moments though.
World War Hulk - Damage Control
Sheer brilliance.
Gaiman's The Eternals
I'm too much of a Zelazny fangirl to love part of this; buuuuuut I do resent how it's all premise, very little concrete payoff. I believe there was another series that did follow from there but that seems a bit little (also not exactly something I've seen recced around). And I'm not certain it works very well with the Marvel Universe.
Enigma
A bit aged. Lots of cool stuff though. Mostly enjoyed it.
Back on point:
The first 12 issues of Priest's Black Panther
Funny story: that book at my public library? Started in a very confusing way with a story called "The End". After some puzzling around, I figured it skipped the first 12 issues for some reason. I guess it's nice to know that not only does DC and Marvel hate us, so does Paninin! Anyway, I managed to procure myself those 12 issues by other means, and that was much less confusing, despite the anachronological storytelling. Also it was pretty awesome. Except for the way the narrator talks about the under age bodyguards/bethrothed girls in a disgustingly leering tone that is
Let's see if the story called "The End" makes more sense now
Black Widow - Web of Intrigue
Decent enough story. Didn't exactly blow my mind though.
Black Widow - Homecoming
You know when I said that from past experience I didn't think I liked Richard Morgan's handle of gender issues? I think I should have kept it at that. He makes Sheri Tepper look subtle, and manages to be more dis-empowering at the same time. It's not a bad story otherwise, there are so good bit, but huh, yeah, whatever.
Black Widow - Itsy Bitsy Spider & Breakdown
Now that's something else; pretty brilliant story and characterisation. Loved it.
Black Widow - Pale Little Spider
A bit more on the nose, but a very solid story still.
PAD's original run on X-Factor
Loved it. Excellent mix of humour and a sharp take on X-Men themes. Great gallery of characters. I never really warmed up to Guido in the current run of X-Factor but this totally did the work. Also Maddox to a lesser extent. Quicksilver's brilliant, I fell in love with Lorna in two seconds (they have the best bickering sibling relationships even if they weren't supposed to be siblings yet or were they? I suspect PAD had plans), & so on. Then it ends abruptly, which is a shame.
X-Cutionner Song
Kind of liked this more than I expect, actually. Not that it is good exactly, and it has a few bits that totally made me facepalm; however I mostly enjoyed it. Overblown soap opera family melodrama - my one big weakness.
Avengers Kree - Skrull War
Rather weak. The storytelling is just wayyyyy confusing and muddled. (And I don't think it's just the Silver age aspect). I think the most amusement I got from that was seeing the parents of Teddy and Billy on the same panel... >_>
Korvac Saga
Also pretty weak, this time more because there's just too many characters for it to go anywhere. Has a couple of good moments though.
World War Hulk - Damage Control
Sheer brilliance.
Gaiman's The Eternals
I'm too much of a Zelazny fangirl to love part of this; buuuuuut I do resent how it's all premise, very little concrete payoff. I believe there was another series that did follow from there but that seems a bit little (also not exactly something I've seen recced around). And I'm not certain it works very well with the Marvel Universe.
Enigma
A bit aged. Lots of cool stuff though. Mostly enjoyed it.
Back on point:
The first 12 issues of Priest's Black Panther
Funny story: that book at my public library? Started in a very confusing way with a story called "The End". After some puzzling around, I figured it skipped the first 12 issues for some reason. I guess it's nice to know that not only does DC and Marvel hate us, so does Paninin! Anyway, I managed to procure myself those 12 issues by other means, and that was much less confusing, despite the anachronological storytelling. Also it was pretty awesome. Except for the way the narrator talks about the under age bodyguards/bethrothed girls in a disgustingly leering tone that is
Let's see if the story called "The End" makes more sense now
Black Widow - Web of Intrigue
Decent enough story. Didn't exactly blow my mind though.
Black Widow - Homecoming
You know when I said that from past experience I didn't think I liked Richard Morgan's handle of gender issues? I think I should have kept it at that. He makes Sheri Tepper look subtle, and manages to be more dis-empowering at the same time. It's not a bad story otherwise, there are so good bit, but huh, yeah, whatever.
Black Widow - Itsy Bitsy Spider & Breakdown
Now that's something else; pretty brilliant story and characterisation. Loved it.
Black Widow - Pale Little Spider
A bit more on the nose, but a very solid story still.
PAD's original run on X-Factor
Loved it. Excellent mix of humour and a sharp take on X-Men themes. Great gallery of characters. I never really warmed up to Guido in the current run of X-Factor but this totally did the work. Also Maddox to a lesser extent. Quicksilver's brilliant, I fell in love with Lorna in two seconds (they have the best bickering sibling relationships even if they weren't supposed to be siblings yet or were they? I suspect PAD had plans), & so on. Then it ends abruptly, which is a shame.
X-Cutionner Song
Kind of liked this more than I expect, actually. Not that it is good exactly, and it has a few bits that totally made me facepalm; however I mostly enjoyed it. Overblown soap opera family melodrama - my one big weakness.
TV shows that I watched lately
20 Aug 2012 11:14 pmLet's try to get it under order.
I don't think I ended up saying what I thought of Community S2 & S3. Basically S2 was brilliant and even had glimmers of characterizations here and there that made me think those were real people, but then S3 was a let down.
Then I watched Downton Abbey, which wasn't exactly what I expected it to be. Given the glowing terms in which I had heard spoke of it, I was thinking it would something quite sharper and deeper - Gosford Park or Mad Men it ain't. It was pure sentimental soap and sometimes of a quite conservative bent. However it was ridiculously and additcively entertaining, with solid storytelling, and lots of fun dialogues; so there was that.
Finally wrapped up Mouretsu Pirates. It is definitely solid, fun, and sometimes even refreshingly clever, despite the too leisurely for my liking pacing and sometimes overplayed cuteness. I probably wouln'd mind reading some Marika/Chiaki fanfics.
X-Men Evolution S3 finally gets some more proper plotting on board. And yet still completely miss the beat in term of how it addresses X-Men themes. However some of the stories aren't bad. Definitely liked X-23 showing up. I still hate how they do some of the characters.
Otherwise I've started watching Damages, I gobbled down both first seasons at a ridiculous fast space - that was some delicious mindfuckery and intriguing storytelling. Grounded down to a crawl for the third season however, it just starts feeling too depressing for me, I think. But it is a brilliant show.
Started watching Sinbad. So far I am not very convinced. There are a few things I like in the premise - historical fantasy adventures, lots of PoCs in the cast, rag tag band of misfit - but the storytelling is really not up to par. Still, I'd like to give it a chance. Besides, I watch it for the pretties.
Anyway, I failed to check on any anime series this season. Did I end up missing anything good?
I don't think I ended up saying what I thought of Community S2 & S3. Basically S2 was brilliant and even had glimmers of characterizations here and there that made me think those were real people, but then S3 was a let down.
Then I watched Downton Abbey, which wasn't exactly what I expected it to be. Given the glowing terms in which I had heard spoke of it, I was thinking it would something quite sharper and deeper - Gosford Park or Mad Men it ain't. It was pure sentimental soap and sometimes of a quite conservative bent. However it was ridiculously and additcively entertaining, with solid storytelling, and lots of fun dialogues; so there was that.
Finally wrapped up Mouretsu Pirates. It is definitely solid, fun, and sometimes even refreshingly clever, despite the too leisurely for my liking pacing and sometimes overplayed cuteness. I probably wouln'd mind reading some Marika/Chiaki fanfics.
X-Men Evolution S3 finally gets some more proper plotting on board. And yet still completely miss the beat in term of how it addresses X-Men themes. However some of the stories aren't bad. Definitely liked X-23 showing up. I still hate how they do some of the characters.
Otherwise I've started watching Damages, I gobbled down both first seasons at a ridiculous fast space - that was some delicious mindfuckery and intriguing storytelling. Grounded down to a crawl for the third season however, it just starts feeling too depressing for me, I think. But it is a brilliant show.
Started watching Sinbad. So far I am not very convinced. There are a few things I like in the premise - historical fantasy adventures, lots of PoCs in the cast, rag tag band of misfit - but the storytelling is really not up to par. Still, I'd like to give it a chance. Besides, I watch it for the pretties.
Anyway, I failed to check on any anime series this season. Did I end up missing anything good?
Finally watched Dark Knight Rises
11 Aug 2012 06:26 pmIt is a good thing I only wanted to watch it for Catwoman, because she was awesome, but everything else was very mediocre.
( spoilers )
( spoilers )
I don't think i'd posted yet on Black Widow (2010)
So, the Black Widow run by Liu was, like, really, really good. Hmm, why was it so ridiculously short? Great art too, and a great balance of atmosphere and badassness.
Then Swierczynski did a story too, which was okay, I guess.
Then I tried reading Widowmaker but I got bored so I gave up.
And I've finally concluded my reading of the Claremont era of X-Men.
The whole Outback - Siege Perilous era was mostly very weak, messy and aimless, with some highlights like the introduction of Jubilee and Gambit and it does get better by the ending though, when the team start gathering again. (although to my disappointment they never really acknowledge how douchy it was to play dead for such a long time)
Louise Simonson's X-Factor is overall mostly very solid, with a few weaker issues here and there, but I found myself surprisingly interested in those characters (given that I'm hardly a fan of the O5 as a team), also great art
Wish I could say the same of her New Mutants, but she's obviously more interested in her own characters (the X-Terminators one) than any of the previous ones. I do love Boom Boom and Rictor, though, so there's that. And the return to Asgard arc at least was okay.
Excalibur, I kind of love the character dynamics and characters period (well except for Brian), but I usually found it pretty hard following the plots and as a result caring for the stories. Lots of great art though.
Days of Future Present was very good.
I also read Vision Quest and Darker than Scarlet while I was at it, which were okay as stories if... wince worthy at times.
If anyone's still reading and has suggestion for 90's X-Men stuff that are worth bothering with, I'm all ears. Obviously, i'll try PAD's original X-Factor run, I'll continue Alan Davies' Excalibur and will try the Warren Ellis one, there's Lobdell's Generation X and the whole Age of Apocalypse I'll check out. And someone on tumblr persuaded me to try Nicieza's X-Force (I think they have psychic power). Beyond that...
Oh, and for something completely different, I've started reading Starman, which is very good.
So, the Black Widow run by Liu was, like, really, really good. Hmm, why was it so ridiculously short? Great art too, and a great balance of atmosphere and badassness.
Then Swierczynski did a story too, which was okay, I guess.
Then I tried reading Widowmaker but I got bored so I gave up.
And I've finally concluded my reading of the Claremont era of X-Men.
The whole Outback - Siege Perilous era was mostly very weak, messy and aimless, with some highlights like the introduction of Jubilee and Gambit and it does get better by the ending though, when the team start gathering again. (although to my disappointment they never really acknowledge how douchy it was to play dead for such a long time)
Louise Simonson's X-Factor is overall mostly very solid, with a few weaker issues here and there, but I found myself surprisingly interested in those characters (given that I'm hardly a fan of the O5 as a team), also great art
Wish I could say the same of her New Mutants, but she's obviously more interested in her own characters (the X-Terminators one) than any of the previous ones. I do love Boom Boom and Rictor, though, so there's that. And the return to Asgard arc at least was okay.
Excalibur, I kind of love the character dynamics and characters period (well except for Brian), but I usually found it pretty hard following the plots and as a result caring for the stories. Lots of great art though.
Days of Future Present was very good.
I also read Vision Quest and Darker than Scarlet while I was at it, which were okay as stories if... wince worthy at times.
If anyone's still reading and has suggestion for 90's X-Men stuff that are worth bothering with, I'm all ears. Obviously, i'll try PAD's original X-Factor run, I'll continue Alan Davies' Excalibur and will try the Warren Ellis one, there's Lobdell's Generation X and the whole Age of Apocalypse I'll check out. And someone on tumblr persuaded me to try Nicieza's X-Force (I think they have psychic power). Beyond that...
Oh, and for something completely different, I've started reading Starman, which is very good.
quick reviews
6 Jul 2012 08:22 pmLupin III - The Woman named Fujiko Mine ended up on a high note, actually fixing many of the issues I was starting to have with the narrative. Mind, it's still a very trashy story, but sometimes I love that. And it was stylish and cool, and the voice actress for Fujko Mine was AWESOME and mostly I loved it. I think the main weakness was the lack of cleverness in plotting, too often resorting to a sort of surrealistic plotfiat to drive the ending. Sometimes it was fun, but often I like better thought out stuff from heist/con stories
Sakamichi no Apollon was a very good coming of age story revolving on romance polygon + jazz. It was especially very well realised as far as characterization go in a very touching way; and the soundtrack was amazing. I wish the jazz part had been more at the forefront though, because I just didn't have that much interest in the romance triangle, well realized though it might have been. It also kind of felt like some plot threads and themes were just dropped, which was a bit disappointing, good at the anime in itself was.
I've also finished watching the second season of X-Men Evolution. The writing quality does take a huge bump, to the point I wonder if they've added a few better writers to their team at this point XD There's a couple of episodes that really work great in term of tension and characterizations. Loved the addition of the second class, especially Boom Boom. However, it does feel like they've stretched thin the stuff they can do without Mutants being public knowledge, sorts of feel they should have gone ahead and out them at the end of S1. Xavier continues being a hilariously creepy headmaster, this time by failing to try to recruit the abandoned brotherhood. >_> Also i continue to hate what they do with Magneto in this series. A LOT. Oh, and Storm finally gets an episode that focused on her and they use it to 1/ damsel in distress her, 2/ get her attacked by a bunch of racist stereotypes. WTF, XmenEv
Sakamichi no Apollon was a very good coming of age story revolving on romance polygon + jazz. It was especially very well realised as far as characterization go in a very touching way; and the soundtrack was amazing. I wish the jazz part had been more at the forefront though, because I just didn't have that much interest in the romance triangle, well realized though it might have been. It also kind of felt like some plot threads and themes were just dropped, which was a bit disappointing, good at the anime in itself was.
I've also finished watching the second season of X-Men Evolution. The writing quality does take a huge bump, to the point I wonder if they've added a few better writers to their team at this point XD There's a couple of episodes that really work great in term of tension and characterizations. Loved the addition of the second class, especially Boom Boom. However, it does feel like they've stretched thin the stuff they can do without Mutants being public knowledge, sorts of feel they should have gone ahead and out them at the end of S1. Xavier continues being a hilariously creepy headmaster, this time by failing to try to recruit the abandoned brotherhood. >_> Also i continue to hate what they do with Magneto in this series. A LOT. Oh, and Storm finally gets an episode that focused on her and they use it to 1/ damsel in distress her, 2/ get her attacked by a bunch of racist stereotypes. WTF, XmenEv
Legend of Korra S1
24 Jun 2012 02:45 amLegend of Korra was for me, in the end, largely a disappointment. ( no real spoilers but i'll cut anyway since the finale is so recent )
Superheroes fanvid recs
24 Jun 2012 01:51 amMultifandom
Movies that come to the rescue mashup by sleepyskunk
ALL THE SUPERHEROES MOVIES. Or at least A WHOLE LOT OF THEM. Including some very bad and cheesy and old ones; but put together in a way that fills you with joy and enthusiasm for the whole genre of super. Just a very fun and dynamic vid.
Hollow Heroes by castor
Capturing the darker and edgier side of super movies. Very nicely done and atmospheric.
My Body is a Cage by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nel_ani
You how fans sometimes ask "why do they keep making origin stories?"; well this is why. A gorgeous, rivetting vid capturing the super hero journey with Ironman, Captain America, Hulk & Wolverine.
( more recs under the cut )
Movies that come to the rescue mashup by sleepyskunk
ALL THE SUPERHEROES MOVIES. Or at least A WHOLE LOT OF THEM. Including some very bad and cheesy and old ones; but put together in a way that fills you with joy and enthusiasm for the whole genre of super. Just a very fun and dynamic vid.
Hollow Heroes by castor
Capturing the darker and edgier side of super movies. Very nicely done and atmospheric.
My Body is a Cage by
nel_aniYou how fans sometimes ask "why do they keep making origin stories?"; well this is why. A gorgeous, rivetting vid capturing the super hero journey with Ironman, Captain America, Hulk & Wolverine.
( more recs under the cut )
I don't post enough anymore.
1: Your favourite character:
Deadpool
2: Your favourite villain:
Magneto
3: Your favourite diva:
Loki
4: Your favourite royal:
Luna of the Inhumans
5: Your favourite team
Young Avengers
6: Your favourite organization
X-Factor
7: Your favourite creature
Those hellwolf cubs kid Loki was distributing around.
8: Your favourite movie
Avengers
9: Your favourite classic character
Wanda
10: Your favourite costume
Jean Grey's Dark Phoenix costume.
11: Your favourite power
Storm's
12: Your favourite weapon
The Staff of One
13: Your least favourite character
Fantomex
14: Your favourite romance
Rictor/Shatterstar
15: The best rivalry
Emma/Kitty. May the best ethics teacher win!
16: The most powerful character
... I don't know?
17: Your favourite god
Balder
18: Your favourite comic to screen character adaptation
Loki
19: Your least favourite comic to screen character adaptation
Poor Emma Frost. She was such a badass villain in the comics. Sad.
Not crazy of Shaw either, considering.
20: Your best casting of a character (if you were casting)
As in, my thinking of an actor for a role? Hmm, I'm not very good at that, sorry.
21: The most memorable death
Anya's.
22: Your favourite universe/dimension
House of M!
D23: The best form of transportation
Teleportation, duh.
24: Your favourite cartoon adaptation
Hmmmm at this point I think I'd say the 90's X-Men cartoon.
25: Your favourite video game
Sorry, don't play.
26: Your favourite elementalist
Storm.
27: Your favourite non-human race
The Kree or the Skrulls? Hmmm. Tough choice. I'll just *waves hand* leave them to fight it out.
28: Your favourite comic time period
The 80's do seem to have had a lot of the best stuff.
29: Your favourite series you would suggest to read
Incredible Hercules!
30: Your favourite Marvel Event
You know I've yet to read an event I really loved. I did find Secret Wars hilarious though, so that.
1: Your favourite character:
Deadpool
2: Your favourite villain:
Magneto
3: Your favourite diva:
Loki
4: Your favourite royal:
Luna of the Inhumans
5: Your favourite team
Young Avengers
6: Your favourite organization
X-Factor
7: Your favourite creature
Those hellwolf cubs kid Loki was distributing around.
8: Your favourite movie
Avengers
9: Your favourite classic character
Wanda
10: Your favourite costume
Jean Grey's Dark Phoenix costume.
11: Your favourite power
Storm's
12: Your favourite weapon
The Staff of One
13: Your least favourite character
Fantomex
14: Your favourite romance
Rictor/Shatterstar
15: The best rivalry
Emma/Kitty. May the best ethics teacher win!
16: The most powerful character
... I don't know?
17: Your favourite god
Balder
18: Your favourite comic to screen character adaptation
Loki
19: Your least favourite comic to screen character adaptation
Poor Emma Frost. She was such a badass villain in the comics. Sad.
Not crazy of Shaw either, considering.
20: Your best casting of a character (if you were casting)
As in, my thinking of an actor for a role? Hmm, I'm not very good at that, sorry.
21: The most memorable death
Anya's.
22: Your favourite universe/dimension
House of M!
D23: The best form of transportation
Teleportation, duh.
24: Your favourite cartoon adaptation
Hmmmm at this point I think I'd say the 90's X-Men cartoon.
25: Your favourite video game
Sorry, don't play.
26: Your favourite elementalist
Storm.
27: Your favourite non-human race
The Kree or the Skrulls? Hmmm. Tough choice. I'll just *waves hand* leave them to fight it out.
28: Your favourite comic time period
The 80's do seem to have had a lot of the best stuff.
29: Your favourite series you would suggest to read
Incredible Hercules!
30: Your favourite Marvel Event
You know I've yet to read an event I really loved. I did find Secret Wars hilarious though, so that.
Lessee...
The Good Wife has been very, very good. Not a perfect season still, but I think one of those I enjoyed most. Easily my favorite show currently.
The second season of Game of Thrones I have found disappointing, mostly. It was badly paced (may have been a problem with the books already), and the adaption really focused on stuff I was less interested with in the things they changed. Theon's story is the only part I felt was done really well. Tyrion was okay, mostly, but I'm really not sure about what they're doing with Shae (some of the changes have been interesting in making her more easily sympathetic,but I'm afraid that sets up a worse turn in the end) ; Sansa's story (one of my favourite in Clash of Kings) was shamelessly dropped; I hate the changes with Cat and Robb - they are insulting; Arya was good thanks to her actress being great and the chemistry with Tywin's actor but still rather weakened her character. Cersei was also very much weakened. Can't say I'm crazy with the changes in Jaime either (kinslayer, lol); and while Stannis is pretty great, I don't think Davos comes across with enough charisma. The changes with Daenarys are probably the worst - while they needed to buff up her storyline, the way they did it was incredibly weak and boring and barely coherent. Her scenes in the finale had a nice atmosphere to them at least, even if they came very short of the power of the visions in the book.
Overall I find that this post sums up a lot of my feelings.
Mad Men was very good this season; although I feel it is a bit aimless, like the main story's already done, and now we're just going on, and it's still interesting to watch, but I'm not sure it's been adding anything of note. I'm not sure I'll be able to watch the show if we don't have Peggy as core cast either, so I'm a little bit dubious about what they're going to do next.
Miss Fisher Mysteries was overall a very nice and very fun series. As I got more attached to the cast (and they are very charming) I found myself enjoying it much more. The plots weren't great, and sometimes felt too "issue of the week", but otherwise lots of fun. Dot was my absolute favourite, she is totally adorable and such a fierce one when called on to. I rather feel like she's totally wasted on Hughes, though, who does nothing but irritate me with his bumbling sidekick act. I'd ship her with Phryne if I didn't love Phryne's interaction with Jack so much (he's so cute when he gets flustered and long suffering). Anyway, I look forward to a second season (we do get one, right?).
Anime wise, I'm currently watching Sakamichi no Apollon and Lupin the Third - Mine Fujiko to I Onna, which are both very good. Mine Fujiko is a little bit on the trashy/exploitation-y side with how not coy it is with the main character's use of sex & sex appeal to do things - but I don't really mind that - Sakamichi no Apollon is just, very well done. Often I felt I wasn't in the mood for a love triangle / high school romance kind of deal, but it works anyway because the characterizations and storytelling and of course the soundtrack is just that well done. And the OT3 is strong in this one ♥ Also I think I'm going to give Mouretsu Pirates a second chance (I had initially dropped it after the 3rd episode because I found it too slow/boring) since it continues to get a lot of enthusiasm. And, apparently, canon lesbians.
Otherwise, I've been trying to watch the kdrama Emperor of the Sea, but I have had troubles getting into it. Not because it's bad or anything, but I don't seem to manage to invest myself in the storyline. I think the problem is I find the main character to be utterly blah. There's an awesome female villain, and the female love interest is also pretty cool, but I'm not sure it's enough to keep me hooked, and i'm afraid I'm going to end up dropping it out of lack of motivation.
I've finished watching the X-Men series from the 90's, which, yeah, does get a big drop in quality by the last seasons. Although it continues having a few great episodes and I very much don't regret watching it - it really goes to the heart of the characters and the themes most of the time, I really dig that. And of course all the Magneto episodes are awesome ♥ (I found it hilarious the 4th letter did a blog post mentioning:
Because I was thinking the same thing XD And he still works great as a foil to the X-Men!
So of course I move on to X-Men: Evolution, which, yeaaaaah, doesn't work so much for me. I've just finished the 1st season so for now, besides that I don't like what they do with Magneto, I find it quite a bit too shallow. I don't dislike the high school thing as much as I thought I would (although having both the "good" kids and the "bad" ones in the same school really stretch the suspension of disbelief. What, did they concerted each other for that sake for some... purpose?), their Mystique comes across as wayyy too weak, Kitty feels also like she lost a few levels in badass, Rogue's better than I thought she would be despite how I dislike the goth charadesign; but she still comes very much short from the 90's X-Men series' Rogue, and Storm has yet to really demonstrate a personality (whereas Wolvy has had plenty of focus, grrr). Also Xavier comes hilariously creepy in his methods of recruitment. Scott and Jean are pretty good, and Nightcrawler is absolutely adorable. Oh, and then there's Spyke. He's, errr, there. As for the villain team kids, I reserve judgment; they come across as overly petty in a way that feels hamfisted at times, but they also seem to have potential, so I'll wait and see (at least unless the portrayal of Magneto doesn't make me drop the show before that).
So sad that Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes has been canceled. Although the second season has been weaker and especially uneven, it was still a very entertaining show, and I loved getting Ms Marvel on the team. Depressing that all of Marvel's good cartoons seem to get canceled so easily x_x
I've also watched the Archer cartoon series (for those who don't know, it's a flash animated parody of spy stories with a very dark & sarcastic sense of humour. Think South Park like. Everyone in the cast are assholes.) which is absolutely hilarious and well done. If in a frequently horrible way (and sometimes offensively, though I think they got better on that as they went).
And I've started watching Community, which is also very funny and well written, but in neat contrast with Archer, I don't feel at all anything for the characters. Which is funny considering Community actually tries to do some heartwarming scenes/characterizations and I feel like they all fall patheticaly flat. But still an entertaining show to watch, especially for Abed.
The Good Wife has been very, very good. Not a perfect season still, but I think one of those I enjoyed most. Easily my favorite show currently.
The second season of Game of Thrones I have found disappointing, mostly. It was badly paced (may have been a problem with the books already), and the adaption really focused on stuff I was less interested with in the things they changed. Theon's story is the only part I felt was done really well. Tyrion was okay, mostly, but I'm really not sure about what they're doing with Shae (some of the changes have been interesting in making her more easily sympathetic,
Overall I find that this post sums up a lot of my feelings.
Mad Men was very good this season; although I feel it is a bit aimless, like the main story's already done, and now we're just going on, and it's still interesting to watch, but I'm not sure it's been adding anything of note. I'm not sure I'll be able to watch the show if we don't have Peggy as core cast either, so I'm a little bit dubious about what they're going to do next.
Miss Fisher Mysteries was overall a very nice and very fun series. As I got more attached to the cast (and they are very charming) I found myself enjoying it much more. The plots weren't great, and sometimes felt too "issue of the week", but otherwise lots of fun. Dot was my absolute favourite, she is totally adorable and such a fierce one when called on to. I rather feel like she's totally wasted on Hughes, though, who does nothing but irritate me with his bumbling sidekick act. I'd ship her with Phryne if I didn't love Phryne's interaction with Jack so much (he's so cute when he gets flustered and long suffering). Anyway, I look forward to a second season (we do get one, right?).
Anime wise, I'm currently watching Sakamichi no Apollon and Lupin the Third - Mine Fujiko to I Onna, which are both very good. Mine Fujiko is a little bit on the trashy/exploitation-y side with how not coy it is with the main character's use of sex & sex appeal to do things - but I don't really mind that - Sakamichi no Apollon is just, very well done. Often I felt I wasn't in the mood for a love triangle / high school romance kind of deal, but it works anyway because the characterizations and storytelling and of course the soundtrack is just that well done. And the OT3 is strong in this one ♥ Also I think I'm going to give Mouretsu Pirates a second chance (I had initially dropped it after the 3rd episode because I found it too slow/boring) since it continues to get a lot of enthusiasm. And, apparently, canon lesbians.
Otherwise, I've been trying to watch the kdrama Emperor of the Sea, but I have had troubles getting into it. Not because it's bad or anything, but I don't seem to manage to invest myself in the storyline. I think the problem is I find the main character to be utterly blah. There's an awesome female villain, and the female love interest is also pretty cool, but I'm not sure it's enough to keep me hooked, and i'm afraid I'm going to end up dropping it out of lack of motivation.
I've finished watching the X-Men series from the 90's, which, yeah, does get a big drop in quality by the last seasons. Although it continues having a few great episodes and I very much don't regret watching it - it really goes to the heart of the characters and the themes most of the time, I really dig that. And of course all the Magneto episodes are awesome ♥ (I found it hilarious the 4th letter did a blog post mentioning:
I always found it weird how despite being the X-Men’s #1 bad guy and leading the villain army in the intro, Magneto did shockingly little in the villainy department on that show. He fought them in the third episode (where Xavier defeated him by MAKING HIM RELIVE THE HOLOCAUST, which is extremely fucked for a kid show), but all his subsequent appearances had him fighting alongside the X-Men in some fashion. Granted, there was a lot of reluctance from both sides, but he was there.
Because I was thinking the same thing XD And he still works great as a foil to the X-Men!
So of course I move on to X-Men: Evolution, which, yeaaaaah, doesn't work so much for me. I've just finished the 1st season so for now, besides that I don't like what they do with Magneto, I find it quite a bit too shallow. I don't dislike the high school thing as much as I thought I would (although having both the "good" kids and the "bad" ones in the same school really stretch the suspension of disbelief. What, did they concerted each other for that sake for some... purpose?), their Mystique comes across as wayyy too weak, Kitty feels also like she lost a few levels in badass, Rogue's better than I thought she would be despite how I dislike the goth charadesign; but she still comes very much short from the 90's X-Men series' Rogue, and Storm has yet to really demonstrate a personality (whereas Wolvy has had plenty of focus, grrr). Also Xavier comes hilariously creepy in his methods of recruitment. Scott and Jean are pretty good, and Nightcrawler is absolutely adorable. Oh, and then there's Spyke. He's, errr, there. As for the villain team kids, I reserve judgment; they come across as overly petty in a way that feels hamfisted at times, but they also seem to have potential, so I'll wait and see (at least unless the portrayal of Magneto doesn't make me drop the show before that).
So sad that Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes has been canceled. Although the second season has been weaker and especially uneven, it was still a very entertaining show, and I loved getting Ms Marvel on the team. Depressing that all of Marvel's good cartoons seem to get canceled so easily x_x
I've also watched the Archer cartoon series (for those who don't know, it's a flash animated parody of spy stories with a very dark & sarcastic sense of humour. Think South Park like. Everyone in the cast are assholes.) which is absolutely hilarious and well done. If in a frequently horrible way (and sometimes offensively, though I think they got better on that as they went).
And I've started watching Community, which is also very funny and well written, but in neat contrast with Archer, I don't feel at all anything for the characters. Which is funny considering Community actually tries to do some heartwarming scenes/characterizations and I feel like they all fall patheticaly flat. But still an entertaining show to watch, especially for Abed.
Teaser: 
Black Widow (Name of the Rose) x17
Loki (kid Loki, quotes) x16
X-Men (Mystique/Destiny, Kitty, Emma Frost, Hope) x4
Magnus family (Magneto, Children's Crusade, House of M - Civil War) x10
Demon Knights (Xanadu) x1
( under the cut )
If you want, please, comment & credit ♥
Black Widow (Name of the Rose) x17
Loki (kid Loki, quotes) x16
X-Men (Mystique/Destiny, Kitty, Emma Frost, Hope) x4
Magnus family (Magneto, Children's Crusade, House of M - Civil War) x10
Demon Knights (Xanadu) x1
( under the cut )
If you want, please, comment & credit ♥
ladyk_d_azrael finally finished writing this epic fic:With Open Hand (56120 words) by
Chapters: 10/10
Fandom: Thor (2011), Thor (Comics), Marvel
Rating: Explicit
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Loki/Thrym, Loki/Thor
Characters: Loki (Marvel), Thrym, Laufey, Odin (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), Helblindi, Warriors Three, Býleistr
Summary:
Thrymskviða reimagined with single-gendered Jotnar, cultural relativism, political machinations and bodice ripping.
which I highly recommend. It's heavily inspired from Left Hand of Darkness in term of the depiction of the Jotunn's society, and there is a lot of superb world building and characterization of original characters, awesome plotting; and all in the service of terrific Loki characterization, with a lot of nuances & cleverness. Read it!
A.) Your current OTP.
Xavier/Magneto
B.) A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind.
Pretty much any Harry Potter pairings fit in there, since I didn't really consider them until I read fanfics that pulled me in. Snape/Lupin being the first fanfic that dragged me into the fandom, let's make it my answer.
C.) A pairing you have never liked and probably never will.
Snape/Lily
D.) A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.
I vaguely feel this way about Magneto/Rogue.
E.) Have you added anything stupid/cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what stupid crack.
"Mpreg Clow Card"
F.) What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?
ASOIAF, 12 years. Although I'm starting to feel like the TV show will be the death toll of that.
G.) Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it.
... hard to say. You know how you can look back to old stuff you like as a kid and realise "oh, actually I kind of slashed them but I didn't know what slash was at the time so I wasn't aware of it but i ttly was intrigued and into their relationship?' I get that a lot. But, at the same time, I can't remember a romantic relationship I was all that obsessed from when I was a kid. So, no, I guess I can't say I remember.
H.) Do you prefer characters from real action series or anime series?
I love text first, then sequential art & animation; and then liveaction.
I.) Has the internet caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why.
Never completely, but sometimes it does make it harder to like it. Bashers of ships and characters especially do get to me; much as I'd rather ignore them. Also collectively, I think the general emptiness and badness of anime/manga series fanfics is one of the thing that drove me away from this fandom. Especially for series like Pandora Hearts.
J.) Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr the internet.
Avatar the Last Airbender would be the main one I'd never have checked if not for some hyping and which I loved the most.
K.) How do you feel about the other people in your current fandom.
My current fandom being comics & Marvel movies fandom; errrr, it is a very heterogenous fandom at present. There are some people who are young and enthusiastic, sometimes in a rather hyperbolic way although many of them are very cute; there are some people who are blaséed and a little bit condescending, sometimes in a very witty way; and there are some excellent writers and some terrible ones; and some people who aren't as interested into comics as I wished they were, but that's totally their prerogative not to. Look, I hadn't meant to get myself into the lattest big, hyped fandom - it just happened this way because of my reading comics. I feel a bit weird about it. There are some cool very people though, both old and new to me; and that's the most I can ask for any fandom (also: being active).
L.) Your favorite fanartist/author gives you one request, what do you ask for.
Huh.![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
busaikko, can you write me an epic Ivan/By fanfic of doom; with plotty goodness as well as the sort of breathtaking characterisation work you do?
M.) Your favorite fanart or fanartist.
shit, i don't know.
N.) Your favorite fanfiction or fanauthor.
I just namedbusaikko, I guess?
O.) Choose a song at random, which OTP does it remind you of.
How do you even choose a song at random?
P.) Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).
This just crossed my mind so: Mad Men as cookie cutter AU.
Q.) A ship you’ve abandoned and why.
I think Buffy/Spike is the only ship I ever really fell out of love with.
I'm not sure which was really to blame for it, Seeing Red, or Spike's characterisation after that.
R.) A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships.
anyone else? Those are hard to come through. OKay, maybe Haggard/Unicorn.
*waits to be proven wrong*
S.) Show us an example of your personal headcanon.
I don't do headcanon a whole lot. (In fact I'm starting the hate the phrase as memes keep asking for it and it keeps making me feel stupid and lacking in imagination).
Saionji's mother was domestically abused by his father.
T.) If you mostly have same sex ships, do you have any het ships.
Yes. Zuko/Azula for example.
U.) If you mostly have het ships, do you have any same sex ships.
I don't think I apply.
V.) Are you one of those fans who can’t watch anything without shipping.
Nope. No shipping required. I don't ship anyone on The Wire. Or Mad Men.
W.) 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms.
Deadpool
Helena Bertinelli
Anthy
Damien Vryce
Kalinda
X.) 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms.
Balder/Loki, Fakir/Ahiru, Seishirou/Subaru
Y.) A fandom you’re in but have no ships from.
... Legend of Korra, I guess? Does it count as being in the fandom if you're not reading fics, only reading discussions though?
Z.) Just ramble about something fan-related, gggo.
I'm sometimes taken by impulse of trying to draw a comparison between Suzaku/Lelouch & Xavier/Magneto ( & perhaps Shion/Nezumi for good measure) as pairings of characters where both characters are contrasted on political issues along a cynicism/pragmatism vs idealism/peacefulness also stuff about showmanship and melodrama and ruthlessness and twists. I dunno, perhaps I'd need to add a few more pairings for it too.
Xavier/Magneto
B.) A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind.
Pretty much any Harry Potter pairings fit in there, since I didn't really consider them until I read fanfics that pulled me in. Snape/Lupin being the first fanfic that dragged me into the fandom, let's make it my answer.
C.) A pairing you have never liked and probably never will.
Snape/Lily
D.) A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.
I vaguely feel this way about Magneto/Rogue.
E.) Have you added anything stupid/cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what stupid crack.
"Mpreg Clow Card"
F.) What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?
ASOIAF, 12 years. Although I'm starting to feel like the TV show will be the death toll of that.
G.) Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it.
... hard to say. You know how you can look back to old stuff you like as a kid and realise "oh, actually I kind of slashed them but I didn't know what slash was at the time so I wasn't aware of it but i ttly was intrigued and into their relationship?' I get that a lot. But, at the same time, I can't remember a romantic relationship I was all that obsessed from when I was a kid. So, no, I guess I can't say I remember.
H.) Do you prefer characters from real action series or anime series?
I love text first, then sequential art & animation; and then liveaction.
I.) Has the internet caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why.
Never completely, but sometimes it does make it harder to like it. Bashers of ships and characters especially do get to me; much as I'd rather ignore them. Also collectively, I think the general emptiness and badness of anime/manga series fanfics is one of the thing that drove me away from this fandom. Especially for series like Pandora Hearts.
J.) Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr the internet.
Avatar the Last Airbender would be the main one I'd never have checked if not for some hyping and which I loved the most.
K.) How do you feel about the other people in your current fandom.
My current fandom being comics & Marvel movies fandom; errrr, it is a very heterogenous fandom at present. There are some people who are young and enthusiastic, sometimes in a rather hyperbolic way although many of them are very cute; there are some people who are blaséed and a little bit condescending, sometimes in a very witty way; and there are some excellent writers and some terrible ones; and some people who aren't as interested into comics as I wished they were, but that's totally their prerogative not to. Look, I hadn't meant to get myself into the lattest big, hyped fandom - it just happened this way because of my reading comics. I feel a bit weird about it. There are some cool very people though, both old and new to me; and that's the most I can ask for any fandom (also: being active).
L.) Your favorite fanartist/author gives you one request, what do you ask for.
Huh.
busaikko, can you write me an epic Ivan/By fanfic of doom; with plotty goodness as well as the sort of breathtaking characterisation work you do?M.) Your favorite fanart or fanartist.
shit, i don't know.
N.) Your favorite fanfiction or fanauthor.
I just named
busaikko, I guess? O.) Choose a song at random, which OTP does it remind you of.
How do you even choose a song at random?
P.) Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).
This just crossed my mind so: Mad Men as cookie cutter AU.
Q.) A ship you’ve abandoned and why.
I think Buffy/Spike is the only ship I ever really fell out of love with.
I'm not sure which was really to blame for it, Seeing Red, or Spike's characterisation after that.
R.) A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships.
anyone else? Those are hard to come through. OKay, maybe Haggard/Unicorn.
*waits to be proven wrong*
S.) Show us an example of your personal headcanon.
I don't do headcanon a whole lot. (In fact I'm starting the hate the phrase as memes keep asking for it and it keeps making me feel stupid and lacking in imagination).
Saionji's mother was domestically abused by his father.
T.) If you mostly have same sex ships, do you have any het ships.
Yes. Zuko/Azula for example.
U.) If you mostly have het ships, do you have any same sex ships.
I don't think I apply.
V.) Are you one of those fans who can’t watch anything without shipping.
Nope. No shipping required. I don't ship anyone on The Wire. Or Mad Men.
W.) 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms.
Deadpool
Helena Bertinelli
Anthy
Damien Vryce
Kalinda
X.) 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms.
Balder/Loki, Fakir/Ahiru, Seishirou/Subaru
Y.) A fandom you’re in but have no ships from.
... Legend of Korra, I guess? Does it count as being in the fandom if you're not reading fics, only reading discussions though?
Z.) Just ramble about something fan-related, gggo.
I'm sometimes taken by impulse of trying to draw a comparison between Suzaku/Lelouch & Xavier/Magneto ( & perhaps Shion/Nezumi for good measure) as pairings of characters where both characters are contrasted on political issues along a cynicism/pragmatism vs idealism/peacefulness also stuff about showmanship and melodrama and ruthlessness and twists. I dunno, perhaps I'd need to add a few more pairings for it too.
(no subject)
25 May 2012 06:07 pmI think there's special hell for people who hand code their posts (usually fics) in fancy fonts rather than the viewer's default.
Essays & meta:
coffeeandink on Avengers (especially liked the bits on Thor and Loki):
brownbetty on Loki in fandom
experimentalmadness on Magneto and the Frankenstein's Monster in XMFC:
I think everyone's seen this one already but just in case,cluegirl On Sentiment:
minnaway on the Avengers movie. I especially loved her observations about the way food/drinking was used in the movie and a few other things like:
Greg Rucka on writing women. (I have such an admiration crush on Greg Rucka)
rexluscus's page of Loki fanfics recs.
And some fics recs of mine own:
Móðir (2559 words) by
what_alchemy
Summary:
Beautiful story about Frigga and her relationship with Loki.
When I Say Jump (12539 words) bylc2l
mindcontrolled!Hawkeye/Loki. Wonderfully twisted and yet very honest.
and get him to swap our places (28734 words) byMici
Fandom: Young Avengers
Relationships: Billy Kaplan/Teddy Altman, Billy Kaplan/Other (sort of), Teddy Altman/Other (sort of)
Characters: Billy Kaplan, William Lensherr, Tommy Shepherd, Thomas Lensherr, Teddy Altman, Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang, Eli Bradley, Jonas (Young Avengers), Julio Rictor
Summary:
Great exploration of the House of M reality, and especially what it would mean for Billy and Tommy (if, you know, they had been in it as anything more than shadows). I just love characterisation here, they have a lot of subtlety. The only criticism I'd make against it is that it has no real plot and it gets resolved too easily. I especially love how, while not appearing in this story, Magneto casts a large shadow.
Zhashtar (3095 words) byepistolic
Fandom: The Avengers (2012), Thor (2011)
Relationships: Loki/Thor
Characters: Loki (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), Clint Barton
Summary:
I just love the writing/atmosphere in here. Very evocative and sort of... sword & sorcery in a way that feels almost poetic. You know, Tanith Lee-like. Very & short insta portrait.
Family Ties (84560 words) byskiesovergideon
Fandom: Thor (2011)
Characters: Loki (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), Iron Man, Captain America - Character, various and sundry OCs
Summary:
Pre-Avengers movie Loki redemption (mostly) epic fic. Lots of OCs, very ingenuous plottig with a kickass finale and it mostly works well in term of characterisation without cheating (too much, and what cheating there is has intra-story justification).
coffeeandink on Avengers (especially liked the bits on Thor and Loki):
Loki is both Thor's brother and an alien, a friend and a traditional enemy, every strangeness and every unfitting (unfit) aspect now an answer instead of a puzzle. So long as Thor can only comprehend the Asgardian narrative, the Allfather's narrative, he cannot acknowledge that Loki the Liesmith has been lied to all his life; Loki the usurper has been kidnapped from his home, Loki the ambitious has always been treated as innately not-quite-right.
brownbetty on Loki in fandomThe thing is, I have the idea that what Loki is suffering is among other things, a crisis of morality. The Asgardian moral decision making flowchart seems to look more or less like this:
Should I do $thing?
Is it something Odin would do?
if yes: Goto 2.
if no: Goto 3.
Are you Odin?
if yes: You're Odin! Do what the hell you want!
if no: No way, man, that shit ain't right.
Will it make you sound awesome when it is immortalized in epic verse?
if yes: Do it! Definitely the ethical course.
if no: Don't do it. Unless it's punching a Jotunn. That's alwayshilariousright.
experimentalmadness on Magneto and the Frankenstein's Monster in XMFC:
The thing that all these stories have in common is whether it’s a Monster, a Golem, or Magneto, you are dealing with the pure unadulterated result of what happens when you ostracize a minority to the breaking point and then instead of realizing that you created this destructive force to begin with, you turn around and blame the very creature itself and call it the monster.
I think everyone's seen this one already but just in case,
cluegirl On Sentiment:
When I saw The Avengers the first time, Loki's scornful "Sentiment" as he shanks Thor, (accompanied by the tear he will deny until the last breath is wrung out of him,) is the one I remembered. It was a beautiful line, and it was a beautiful, breathtaking moment, and it was meant to shine.
However upon second watching, I noticed an even more beautiful pattern to Joss's use of that word in other places. Sentiment. It's not a two dollar word, really, is it? You don't lay even odds on getting to hear it on any given day, because it's not an everyday word, or notion -- unless you own or work in a gift shop that specializes in engraving.
But that word is used in the Avengers four times. And each time it's spoken with scorn about something the speaker is trying to disprove -- and each time, the speaker fails to disprove anything at all, and in fact that point goes on to be staggeringly proven later on. It is, if I may say so, a beautiful evidence of Joss Whedon's actual skill as a writer well beyond snappy dialogue.
minnaway on the Avengers movie. I especially loved her observations about the way food/drinking was used in the movie and a few other things like:
9. If Loki/Bruce/Tony are one triangle, Bruce/Tony/Steve are another. Coulson tells Steve that Bruce isn't just the "thing" but a very smart person; Tony tells Steve that even without the suit he's a genius etc. etc. etc.; Bruce was trying to be Steve; Tony says everything special in Steve came from a bottle.
10. And Odin/Thor/Loki are mirrored by Fury/Steve/Tony. Loki notes that Odin had to summon...dark energy? dark matter? something or other? whatever, the point is, expend a shitlot of energy to get Thor to Midgard without the Bifrost; Fury has to call in cards and negotiate with the powers above him to get the Avengers Initiative in process. Odin traded his eye for ravens; Fury has a zillion electronic eyes keeping the earth under surveillance. Fury and Steve and Tony post Coulson's death, marking out the points of a triangle, and Tony with his chair half swiveled away.
(And Loki and Clint steal an eye specifically.)
Greg Rucka on writing women. (I have such an admiration crush on Greg Rucka)
Gender isn't simply a biological trait; it's a societal one. The female experience is different from that of the male, and if, as a male writer, you cannot accept that basic premise, then you will never, ever, be able to write women well. A man walking alone through Midtown Manhattan at three in the morning may have concerns for his safety, but I promise you, it's a very different experience for a woman taking the same walk, and it's different again for a man wearing a dress. Think about it. That's a societal factor, and it's a gendered one, and this is not and can not be subject to debate. If you're looking to argue that sexism is a thing of the past, that the world is gender-blind, you're not only wrong, you're lying to yourself.
rexluscus's page of Loki fanfics recs.And some fics recs of mine own:
Móðir (2559 words) by
Summary:
When Odin places his Jötunn foundling in Frigga's arms, she knows what is to come.
Beautiful story about Frigga and her relationship with Loki.
When I Say Jump (12539 words) by
AVENGERS SPOILERS!!!
One minute Clint's reaching for his gun to stop Loki stealing the Tesseract, the next he's shooting Fury and taking it. Easy as switching sides.
mindcontrolled!Hawkeye/Loki. Wonderfully twisted and yet very honest.
and get him to swap our places (28734 words) by
Fandom: Young Avengers
Relationships: Billy Kaplan/Teddy Altman, Billy Kaplan/Other (sort of), Teddy Altman/Other (sort of)
Characters: Billy Kaplan, William Lensherr, Tommy Shepherd, Thomas Lensherr, Teddy Altman, Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang, Eli Bradley, Jonas (Young Avengers), Julio Rictor
Summary:
Billy casts the most dubious of spells and gets into a shitload of trouble when he switches places with William Lensherr, Prince of Genosha, member of the House of M.
Great exploration of the House of M reality, and especially what it would mean for Billy and Tommy (if, you know, they had been in it as anything more than shadows). I just love characterisation here, they have a lot of subtlety. The only criticism I'd make against it is that it has no real plot and it gets resolved too easily. I especially love how, while not appearing in this story, Magneto casts a large shadow.
Zhashtar (3095 words) by
Fandom: The Avengers (2012), Thor (2011)
Relationships: Loki/Thor
Characters: Loki (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), Clint Barton
Summary:
Love is for children.
I just love the writing/atmosphere in here. Very evocative and sort of... sword & sorcery in a way that feels almost poetic. You know, Tanith Lee-like. Very & short insta portrait.
Family Ties (84560 words) by
Fandom: Thor (2011)
Characters: Loki (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), Iron Man, Captain America - Character, various and sundry OCs
Summary:
After his fall from the Bifrost, Loki finds himself taken in by a suburban family and lacking most of his magic. He resolves to escape them as soon as possible. This does not go the way he planned.
Pre-Avengers movie Loki redemption (mostly) epic fic. Lots of OCs, very ingenuous plottig with a kickass finale and it mostly works well in term of characterisation without cheating (too much, and what cheating there is has intra-story justification).
Game of Throne s2e7
14 May 2012 10:41 pmI believe I've reached the point when I'm not even looking forward to Games of Thrones episodes. I feels like a duty, and then I look forward to the discussion; but I actually stopped the last episode twice while watching from boredom and cringing. The OOCness is out of the wazoo. ( spoilery )
Books read recently
14 May 2012 10:33 pmInda, The Fox, King's Shield, & Treason's Shore by Sherwood Smith
A very interesting series which I am at a loss as how to sumarise. It's about this guy who we follow from his childhood to adulthood, and as we do the story expend to include a whole lot of characters and the scope of the plot widens in nifty ways; but it's still mostly about this guy, Inda, who is kind of a tactical genius, born of a noble family in a country that turns out to be the barbaric, warlike and imperialistic upstarts of the region, which scares more than a bit their more civilised & peaceful neighbors and are also feeling threatened by the big byzantine Empire (- and at this point I start cracking myself because I guess that makes them the fantasy Barrayar, which is funny because asides from being a tactical genius, and, well, gathering himself his own army out of sheer happenstances and charisma while very young and away from home, Inda is nothing like Miles. Although Evred is a little bit like Gregor.)
The narration was told in omniscient 3rd person PoV, which i've realised that I've grown very unused to, and I generally doesn't like. It works for the sake of this story though, although it frequently left me feel a bit remote from the emotional action. In particular, despite having romantic & sexual relationships having a strong effect on the plot (in very various ways, this is a world where heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, demisexual, polyamourous, monoamourous, & so on people all clearly exist and are represented at some point in the text) it never feels like a romance, because we're often plainly told of shifts in relationships. It's a bit off putting at times, but definitely not bad either.
The plot is overall very good; focused on the military and political events as well as how they affect all sorts of characters. In the end quite affecting.
Fearless by James Campbell
Sequel of Dauntless. Don't have much to add from what I said of it, it's more of the same.
Rivers of London & Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
Very good urban fantasy crime stories set in London about a freshly minted cop who ends up apprenticing as a wizard to deal with weird crimes. I especially enjoy the writing, in those, very nice quality of atmosphere and mood. Very, very British in ways both modern and old for all you guys on my flist who seem to like that sort of things. And the protagonist is a smartass which I always enjoy (also biracial, which is nice).
Dangerous Grounds, Old Poison, Blood Heat by Josh Lanyon
Two elite partner cops having arguments about their relationships and whether they should have one while fighting bad guys, etc. Mostly decent.
Storms & Stars by Jaydon Neena
Space opera stuck on a desertisland planet. M/M novel. It was... err, not very good yet kept me entertained for some reason.
Smiley's People by John Le Carré
Third & last of the George Smiley series. I... don't actually have much to say about it? But it was good. Probably as good as Tinker Tailor. Great conclusion.
A Strange Place in Time by Alyx Shaw
A M/M fantasy novel with very little plot, and mildly entertaining banter & characters. I feel like I was much more entertained by it than its quality warranted, actually.
Archer's Heart by Astrid Amara
The Mahabharata as a M/M romance novel. Asides from the fact I feel it short changes Hindu philosophy quite a bit, this is a pretty solid M/M novel and an entertaining read.
Bundori by Laura Joh Rowland
Boring crap. I remember way back when I read Shinju I thought ti was boring too. Why did I try this series again?
Shadow of the Templar by M Chandler
Pretty good M/M caper series about a FBI and a catburglar. The catburglar character is very good as a cross between the mild-mannered badass & the smooth & smug badass character type ; and there's some very fun banter (if sometimes overly indulgent). I also like the solid use of the supporting cast; and there some very emotional twists here and there to keep the plot entertaining. Also a plus, Amanda Waller makes an appearance as a supporting character at some. (I mean, not really, but hardass middle-aged CIA agent who is an awesome pain in the ass of our FBI protagonist - I couldn't not picture her as Amanda Waller OKAY).
A very interesting series which I am at a loss as how to sumarise. It's about this guy who we follow from his childhood to adulthood, and as we do the story expend to include a whole lot of characters and the scope of the plot widens in nifty ways; but it's still mostly about this guy, Inda, who is kind of a tactical genius, born of a noble family in a country that turns out to be the barbaric, warlike and imperialistic upstarts of the region, which scares more than a bit their more civilised & peaceful neighbors and are also feeling threatened by the big byzantine Empire (- and at this point I start cracking myself because I guess that makes them the fantasy Barrayar, which is funny because asides from being a tactical genius, and, well, gathering himself his own army out of sheer happenstances and charisma while very young and away from home, Inda is nothing like Miles. Although Evred is a little bit like Gregor.)
The narration was told in omniscient 3rd person PoV, which i've realised that I've grown very unused to, and I generally doesn't like. It works for the sake of this story though, although it frequently left me feel a bit remote from the emotional action. In particular, despite having romantic & sexual relationships having a strong effect on the plot (in very various ways, this is a world where heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, demisexual, polyamourous, monoamourous, & so on people all clearly exist and are represented at some point in the text) it never feels like a romance, because we're often plainly told of shifts in relationships. It's a bit off putting at times, but definitely not bad either.
The plot is overall very good; focused on the military and political events as well as how they affect all sorts of characters. In the end quite affecting.
Fearless by James Campbell
Sequel of Dauntless. Don't have much to add from what I said of it, it's more of the same.
Rivers of London & Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
Very good urban fantasy crime stories set in London about a freshly minted cop who ends up apprenticing as a wizard to deal with weird crimes. I especially enjoy the writing, in those, very nice quality of atmosphere and mood. Very, very British in ways both modern and old for all you guys on my flist who seem to like that sort of things. And the protagonist is a smartass which I always enjoy (also biracial, which is nice).
Dangerous Grounds, Old Poison, Blood Heat by Josh Lanyon
Two elite partner cops having arguments about their relationships and whether they should have one while fighting bad guys, etc. Mostly decent.
Storms & Stars by Jaydon Neena
Space opera stuck on a desert
Smiley's People by John Le Carré
Third & last of the George Smiley series. I... don't actually have much to say about it? But it was good. Probably as good as Tinker Tailor. Great conclusion.
A Strange Place in Time by Alyx Shaw
A M/M fantasy novel with very little plot, and mildly entertaining banter & characters. I feel like I was much more entertained by it than its quality warranted, actually.
Archer's Heart by Astrid Amara
The Mahabharata as a M/M romance novel. Asides from the fact I feel it short changes Hindu philosophy quite a bit, this is a pretty solid M/M novel and an entertaining read.
Bundori by Laura Joh Rowland
Boring crap. I remember way back when I read Shinju I thought ti was boring too. Why did I try this series again?
Shadow of the Templar by M Chandler
Pretty good M/M caper series about a FBI and a catburglar. The catburglar character is very good as a cross between the mild-mannered badass & the smooth & smug badass character type ; and there's some very fun banter (if sometimes overly indulgent). I also like the solid use of the supporting cast; and there some very emotional twists here and there to keep the plot entertaining. Also a plus, Amanda Waller makes an appearance as a supporting character at some. (I mean, not really, but hardass middle-aged CIA agent who is an awesome pain in the ass of our FBI protagonist - I couldn't not picture her as Amanda Waller OKAY).
