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sunshine_revival '25 Challenge #1: "Talk about your goals for July or for the second half of 2025."

My fannish goals for the rest of this summer include:

Participate in everywoman, the fanfic exchange starring women characters, when it comes along. I will definitely offer D&DC, TLOZ, and BSG78; others' requests will influence what else I may list.

Build a pattern of recommending something once per week on recommendation communities, and then including a wrap-up of my recs here in my own journal in my monthly "Enthusiasms" post. (Or give it its own monthly post?) Probably usually in recthething, but it could be any suitable recs community. (Is it appropriate to cross-post recs to multiple recs communities? Maybe at staggered intervals?)

Finish writing and post an odd TLOZ piece I'm thinking of as: "Three Gerudo Ficlets in the Past of Tears of the Kingdom, Before Age of Imprisonment Totally Josses Them." ( Read more... )

At the end of the year, of course I plan to participate in

hlh_shortcuts, the annual Highlander fanfic exchange.

Catching up on TV whenever, I plan to watch Andor (season two) and Ironheart (season one). I wish that they released one episode per week, not tranches of episodes! I find one-episode-per-week so inviting, and these tranches so overwhelming, that I end up putting off watching these, while I am of course wholly caught up on the current season of Grantchester. Back-watching TV, I will continue my one-episode-per-week first-time viewing of Babylon 5. (Again, if you mentally classify the special effects as meant for stage instead of screen, this show does much more than merely "hold up;" I feel that it beats the heck out of most of what we have today. Storytelling, acting, episodicness and continuity...)

I already have my pre-sale tickets for Superman (2025) and The Fantastic Four (2025), of course. (Please let me say again that folks should consider watching Thunderbolts*; it's rich and satisfying in multiple layers. I'm disheartened that so many people skipped it. It's well-made and deserves better.)

How about you...?

Here are some recent fannish things I've happened to see and would like to share!

Spotlight: With strict scrutiny and nervous caution, wary that perhaps it was only nostalgia and rose-tinted goggles after all, Overly Sarcastic Productions brilliantly examined "The Lost Art of Marvel's Phase 1." ( Spoiler: Phase 1 really is as good as we thought it was! Yes, even that one! )

Ficathons, fests & communities

Create & engage
- fkficfest, the Forever Knight challenge, is in progress revealing its stories (one per day).
- justmarriedexchange is an exchange for marriage tropes. Nominations through June 10; sign-ups through June 22; due August 17.
- epidemfic is an exchange for illness themes and depictions. Sign-ups through June 8; due July 6.
- beauty-beast-week is a week-long open celebration of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Posting is August 18-24.
- trope_of_the_month's June theme is "time loops."
- pinchhits is a forum for pinch-hits in exchanges. For example, whumpex is seeking pinch hitters.
- whenisitdue tracks many more events than I note here!
Enjoy & share
- fancake (themed fanfic recs); June theme: "female relationships"
- gensplosion (gen fanfic recs)
- het_reccers (m/f fanfic recs)
- fanart_recs (fanart recs)
- recthething (fanwork recs)

Sidelight: This spring, I posted one recommendation in recthething (for "the gears of time turn on" by LadyHoneydee (TLOZ:BOTW)). I used to have a recommendation-of-the-month project for FK fanfiction, long, long ago. I've been thinking of getting back into recommendations, via such communities, perhaps with mirroring in my AO3 account, definitely no longer limited by fandom. I'm wondering whether and how people really use recs these days. Would it be a good use of my time for others?

Here are some recent fannish things I've happened to see and would like to share!

Spotlight: No, I didn't manage to snag a Switch 2 pre-order
( I did try... )

Ficathons, fests & communities

Create & engage
- fkficfest, the Forever Knight challenge, comes due May 24. (I'm the mod!)
- saturdaymorningex, the cartoon/anime exchange, has sign-ups through May 9, with works due June 20. (I'm signed up!)
- earlybirdgetstheword, an exchange for small, inactive fandoms, has sign-ups through May 14, with works due June 22. (If it didn't overlap with others, I'd like to do it!)
- allbutromance, focused on platonic relationships, has nominations through May 5 and sign-ups through May 24.
- sholio is running a May Multifandom Commentfic Promptfest. Check it out!
- genprompt_bingo's 28th round has sign-ups through June 30, with indefinite posting.
- rewrite_a_fic, a challenge to rewrite one of your own works, comes due November 30.
- lyricaltitles's "album challenge" asks participants to write a story for each song on an album of their choice.
- summerofhorrorexchange, multifandom and multimedia, has nominations through May 5 and sign-ups through May 14.
- monstersmashexchange, focused on relationships with monsters, has nominations through May 5 and sign-ups through May 17.
- justunrequitedex, focused on unrequited feelings, has sign-ups through May 9.
- domaystic, a promptfest for domestic themes, runs through May 31.
- fic_promptly is an ongoing promptfest community.
- trope_of_the_month's May theme is "gender or sex swap."
- allbingo's May theme is "colors."
- pinchhits is a forum for pinch-hits in exchanges. For example, sakuraexchange is seeking pinch hitters.
- whenisitdue tracks many more events than I note here!
Enjoy & share
- fancake (themed fanfic recs); May theme: "angst (with a happy ending)"
- gensplosion (gen fanfic recs)
- het_reccers (m/f fanfic recs)
- fanart_recs (fanart recs)
- recthething (fanwork recs)

Sidelight: The MCU is on an upswing (no spoilers)

I'm happy to say that Thunderbolts*, seen in a theater last night, was much better and more appealing to me, personally, than I'd expected, with strong theming, a coherent plot, no visible executive notes, and the best post-credits scene in years.
Daredevil: Born Again is still much too violent for me, personally, so I hide my eyes a lot, but it is also still well-written and getting better and better as it leans away from its [mis]conception under the previous Disney leadership and back into being a direct continuation of the original series. I love/hate its current relevance.
The trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps makes me feel all the feelings that the best of the MCU ever brought me, including tearing up a little at the end. Edge of my seat. Fingers crossed.

Here are some recent fannish things I've happened to see and would like to share!

Spotlight: TVA: Time Variance Authority #1-4
I had no intention of picking up this comic. Then I learned that the Sylvie character from the Loki TV show would be in issue #2, and I thought, well, I'll try that one issue... and here I am now with all 4 issues to date, having enjoyed Katharyn Blair's writing enough that I'm recommending it. ( Read more... )

Ficathons, fests & communities

Create & engage
- fkficfest elected 5 prompts for this year's stories, which come due May 24.
- all_worlds_of_mccaffrey is a new community celebrating Anne McCaffrey in the lead-up to her 100th birthday in 2026.
- saturdaymorningex is an exchange for cartoon/animated fandoms, with nominations through April 18, signups through May 9, and works due June 20.
- caseficexchange is an exchange for investigations of all kinds, with nominations through April 13 and works due July 11.
- spring_renewal is a spring-themed prompt fest, with prompting through April 6 and fills through April 30.
- idproquo is an exchange for self-indulgent (well, recipient-indulgent!) works, with signups through April 7 and works due June 1.
- bitesizedfandomsex is an exchange for canons consumable in ≤8 hours, with signups through April 8 and works due May 25.
- whumpex is an exchange for "whump"-themed works, with nominations through April 12, sign-ups through April 27, and works due May 27.
- unconventionalcourtship is a challenge for stories based on a Harlequin (Mills & Boon) novel summary.
- sweetandshort is a challenge community for weekly small creations with 4 prompts/month.
- fic_promptly is an ongoing promptfest community.
- trope_of_the_month's April theme is "crossovers."
- allbingo's April theme is "aesthetics."
- pinchhits is a forum for pinch-hits in exchanges. For example, the_mane_event is seeking pinch hitters.
- whenisitdue tracks many more events than I note here!
Enjoy & share
- fancake (themed fanfic recs); April theme: "outsider POV"
- gensplosion (gen fanfic recs)
- het_reccers (m/f fanfic recs)
- fanart_recs (fanart recs)
- recthething (fanwork recs)

Sidelight: TLOZ on Nintendo Switch 2
Price and release issues aside -- neither of which are Nintendo's fault -- I am still hoping to be able to buy the Switch 2 I saved for. Even if I can't, someone will, and there will be transcripts, YouTube videos, and wiki updates sharing the new stories, which is the important thing! ( Read more... )

Here are some recent fannish things I've happened to see and would like to share!

Spotlight: Captain America: Brave New World
I saw Captain America: Brave New World in a theater on opening night, and... ( Non-spoiler personal opinion with vague allusions to real events )

Ficathons, fests & communities

Create & engage
- fkficfest, the annual FK ficathon, has prompt nominations 3/08-3/14, with voting 3/15-3/21.
- marchmetamatterschallenge is an annual March-long project to preserve fannish non-fiction of all kinds (not just essays).
- womansplace is a March-long call for fanwork meta and recommendations celebrating characters who identify as or align with women.
- bethefirst, the annual challenge to write the first fanfiction on the AO3 for a fandom, has no sign-up deadline this year. Stories come due 4/20.
- hurtcomfortex, the annual exchange for hurt/comfort stories, has sign-ups 3/01-3/16.
- unsent_letters_exchange, the epistolary fanfic exchange, has sign-ups through 3/08.
- trope_of_the_month's March theme is [not yet posted].
- allbingo's March theme is "Tolkien."
- pinchhits is a forum for pinch-hits in fannish exchanges. For example, fffx is still seeking a pinch hitter.
- whenisitdue lists many more events than I note here!
Enjoy & share
- fancake (themed fanfic recs); March theme: "non-sexual intimacy"
- gensplosion (gen fanfic recs)
- het_reccers (m/f fanfic recs)
- fanart_recs (fanart recs)
- recthething (fanwork recs)

Sidelight: Pokémon GO's rumored sale
I still play rather a lot of Pokémon GO. PvP has been my niche; I ran local meet-ups for Silph Road tournaments before Niantic started Go Battle League and the pandemic came. That said, I don't know whether or not I will stop playing if Niantic succeeds in selling its games division, as is currently rumored, to a subsidiary of a company known for aggressive micro-transactions and funded by Saudi Arabia's government. I am thinking about it. If this potential sale is news to you and you play, check out this concise, pointed article from The Verge.

(FYI, we can move our GO Pokémon into Pokémon Home, owned by The Pokémon Company, not Niantic, if we want to "take them with us" for future use in other Pokémon games while leaving GO.)

The trailer for Daredevil: Born Again dropped yesterday. Watch it on YouTube. The show will premiere in March. This, of course, is the Disney+ re-launch of the Netflix Daredevil TV show; it got retooled in development to more closely resemble the Netflix incarnation than what the previous Disney+ boss demanded during the pandemic (which retooling contributed to the very unfortunate post-production gutting of Echo, but was otherwise much desired).

The coming of the trailer reminded me to go back to finishing up my watch of the Netflix run, which I'd dropped away from. I've never had Netflix, so I didn't get around to those shows until they appeared on Disney+, which of course I got for WandaVision ("shut up and take my money").* The Netflix shows (except poor Danny's) were always highly praised and discussed, so I was surprised neither at the excellent quality nor at the extreme violence. And I knew enough from fannish osmosis to hide my eyes a lot. Especially certain scenes. Even so, I often cringe at the violence coming to me through my ears alone.

I personally have a love/hate relationship with the Netflix Daredevil. In so many ways, it is the perfect show for me. So well written, acted, filmed. So full of symbols, metaphors, themes. So powerfully aware of friendship, faith, grief, responsibility, choice, community, striving, mortality... Yet it is far, far too violent for me. I cannot look. I know the world can be a violent and terrible place; that tragically belongs in my news, not in my entertainment. (Highlander's action is almost ballet-like by comparison, gesturing through fantasy metaphor toward real violence and its consequences. Similarly, Forever Knight, and yet there are things in FK that I don't like to watch, also; the vampire metaphor is violent and icky, and is supposed to be.) And, yes, I am aware of the irony that my reaction is precisely the reaction the creators wished to evoke. Matt is the perfect "man for others" in service and is also inhumanly destructive in self-centeredness. Matt honors life and deals [nearly]death. Matt is angel and devil. I know. I know!

In comics, of course, every reader is her own director (for more on this, see Scott McCloud's non-fiction). Unlike any other narrative art form, the comics audience almost fully dictates the pace; it's in the reader's hands, not the creator's. So when I read a comic, a battle panel may flash by in a split-second, while a scene-setting or conversation panel may linger long, and that is my own seamless experience of the story. Yet even given that, Doctor Strange is usually as far as I go toward that side of comics.** I rarely wander into the orbit of characters like Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Blade, Moon Knight, and certainly not The Punisher! etc. (give or take when a particularly awesome writer gets hold of them) (*cough* Jed MacKay *cough*). I hunkered down with Captain America and The New Mutants and Elfquest through the era of anti-heroes and came away mostly unscarred.

Still. I'll keep watching. And I'll keep covering my eyes.

* I don't need Netflix to know these characters. I read my first Daredevil in first grade (same as my first Green Lantern). Natasha was in it, btw; she was Matt's sidekick at the time of that issue's printing, not yet an Avenger. I watched the Affleck and Garner movies in theaters, for goodness sake.

** I started reading Monstress without knowing how violent it was. I may yet continue. We'll see. Beautiful and intriguing, but so very violent.

Here are some recent fannish things I've happened to see and would like to share:

Spotlight: OSP's JttW
December brought Overly Sarcastic Productions's annual new "Journey to the West Kai" installment! To explain my joy: ( Read more... )

Ficathons, fests & communities

Create & engage
- fanart_recs no longer requires sign-ups to post recommendations! (It does still require using its template and following its rules.)
- hlh_shortcuts has released all its '24 stories and is now in its annual author-guessing game phase.
- snowflake_challenge '25 has begun! They post a modest challenge every second day to help build fannish community. Challenge #1 is to update your fannish info and post to say you did so.
- whenisitdue is a running list of deadlines for assorted writing communities, challenges, and fests.
- inkingitout is a challenge community for writing >75K words in 2025, though they also welcome lower wordcount goals.
- sweetandshort is a weekly challenge community for fics up to 500 words, tiny poems, userpic icons, and small banners.
- goals_on_dw is running Fannish 50 in 2025, a challenge to make 50 fandom-related posts by the end of the year, among other assorted challenges.
- lyricaltitles is an event community that uses song lyrics as fic titles.
- candyheartsex is an exchange with emphases on relationships, both gen and otherwise.
- trope_of_the_month's January theme is an amnesty (that is, fill any previous theme).
- allbingo's January theme is "Public Domain Day."
- pinchhits is a forum for pinch-hits in fannish exchanges. For example, heroexchange is currently seeking pinch hitters.
Enjoy & share
- fancake (themed fanfic recs); January theme: "(not really) unrequited love"
- het_reccers (m/f fanfic recs)
- gensplosion (gen fanfic recs)
- recthething (fanwork recs)
- fanart_recs (fanart recs)

Sidelight: MCU's What If? season three
All episodes in order of how much I personally, subjectively enjoyed them on first viewing:

0304: "What If... Howard the Duck Got Hitched?"
0303: "What If... the Red Guardian Stopped the Winter Soldier?"
0307-08: "What If... the Watcher Disappeared?" + "What If... What If?"
0302: "What If... Agatha Went to Hollywood?"
0306: "What If... 1872?"
0305: "What If... the Emergence Destroyed the Earth?"
0301: "What If... the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?"

(I appreciate the insight -- credit YouTuber TheNandoCut -- that this series, all three seasons, has actually been trying to simultaneously embody both What If? and The Exiles comics; that really explains its series structure for me.)

Challenge #9: Rec your newest thing -- enthusiasm, obsession, fandom, earworm, etc.

Yesterday, I read an impressive Journey to the West AU fanfic, told from the dragon-horse's perspective, in which Monkey is mute. (This is a sober re-imagining, not the bonkers humor I often go for in JttW.) This change makes humanity (and Heaven) take him even less seriously (though Buddha treats him exactly the same). Removing his voice swallows his patter and boasts and exposes his foundational motivations in new, evocative ways. Killer final line. "Spring Unheard" by

Idonquixote (T, gen, ~8K words).

A few days ago, I finished watching the five episodes of Echo, the latest MCU show on Disney+, the first officially under the "Marvel Spotlight" imprint for standalone, don't-need-to-know-canon, adult-aimed productions (Werewolf by Night belongs there, too, imo, if they're willing to relabel it). The title sequence -- theme song and graphics -- is absolutely fantastic, ten out of ten. ( Further opinion is a high-level spoiler )

I'm presently spacing out the final few episodes of season one of My Adventures with Superman because I don't want it to be over. This is my kind of Superman! A very good guy being good! This is a show that deeply understands why Superman must rescue the cat. The story is so clearly told by people who love the characters, and who change them only in ways that make them more essentially themselves for today's audience. I adore how they addressed and subverted certain tropes, like Lois finding out Clark is Superman. Fundamentally, this is a story where he is Clark to the bone, and Superman is just his work clothes, his "customer service voice," and I am there for that. (I think that the "my" in the title is Clark's.)

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