dragonyphoenix

Challenge #9: In your own space, promote at least one canon that you adore (old, new, forever fandom). Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I'm not sure if these are supposed to have fandoms are not. I first learned of the Mermaid Love Songs story from a fanfic. AO3 has fanworks of Carmilla. And Mr. Spider, from The Magnus Archives, has his own Tumblr page. Technically, The Deep could be considered a fanwork of the music of an experimental rap group.

Not too long ago, I noticed I had three books on mermaids in my reading queue. So I decided to make it a thing. First up is Mira Grant's Into the Drowning Deep. This falls into the ancient monster from the dawn of time chases scientists through the Smithsonian genre except the monster is mermaids and the Smithsonian is a luxury cruise ship set up for scientific research. Mira Grant nails the genre which is no surprise if you've read any of her other works. The science seems right (for someone whose closest encounter is computer science), the characters spot on, and the monsters scarily plausible. It's definitely an excellent read.

In Rivers Solomon's The Deep there is no scientific rationalization for the existence of mermaids because they are not a scientific people. in fact, most rely on instincts over memories. Only one, the narrator, carries the burden of the memories of her people and it is overwhelming her. This is her story, of how she gives the memories back and flees, perhaps to find a better way for all of them. Mermaids as the descendants of pregnant women thrown off slave ships makes for a really interesting origin story, and the themes of generosity and denial work well with the plot.

In The Mermaid's Daughter by Ann Claycomb, Kathleen, a promising young opera singer, is plagued by inexplicable maladies - stabbing pain in her feet and the feeling her tongue is being ripped out. She follows a strange calling, voices heard in the sea, back to her mother's homeland. Will she find an explanation and cure or is this the same madness that has struck her motherline down generation after generation? It's been over a year since I've read this book but I loved it so much that I asked Dad to get me a copy of my own for Christmas.

A Ladies' Guide to Collecting Mermaid Love Songs by Aimee Pichee: I'm not sure how to describe this one. Once again there's science but in this case it allows the narrator to distance herself from desire. It's a fantastic story. I highly recommend you check it out.

Mayticks draws incredibly sensuous images of lesbian mermaids. At this point I'd like to mention that all the stories recced above have lesbian characters. I didn't realize that until just this moment. I thought most, but not all, of them did. Back to mayticks' art, yeah, it's incredible. Check it out.

Aaand that all for mermaids. How about a bit of horror with comedic undertones?

Rusty Quill presents The Magnus Archives. This podcast starts out as recordings of supernatural events by an archivist at the Magnus Institute. But of course supernatural entities aren't just going to sit there to be read about. They start coming into the Institute and following people home and taking them over. And then the real twists start. 

The vlog of Laura Hollis, a student investigating odd goings on at Silas University, shows her falling for her new roommate - the old one having disappeared under mysterious circumstances - and learning that Carmilla has led other girls to their deaths. It's more comedy than horror and quite fun.

Day 10
In your own space, share your love for a trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme. (Or a few!) Tell us what makes it work for you, and why it appeals to you so much. Talk about what you like to see in fanworks featuring that theme most. Feel free to include recs and examples! Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Hmm, I'd never given this any thought but the stories I return to, time and time again, all contain close relationships, usually romantic but not always.

Cabin Pressure's Martin Crieff dating Tony Stark seems a terribly unlikely relationship but flawed amethyst makes it work in the Seduction By Winglet Series.
( As they walked out of the Arrivals gate, Tony was there waiting, looking hopelessly suave and sophisticated in a suit that probably cost more than GERTI and holding a sign that said, Captain Spitfire. )

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Coneycat's Housemates series puts Loki in the middle of Being Human. It's a great match because they show him how to be monsters without being monstrous. It's really a delightful series.

( He landed in the back garden dressed like an extra from Star Wars, his name is Loki, and you still brought him into the house? )

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In Sands of Time, Giles adopts Xander and turns his life completely around. Lovely twist at the end. Giles makes such a great Dad for Xander. Oooh, which reminds me of the scene where Xander first calls Giles "Dad". Eee!

 

( OK, weirdness, right. You probably mean me moving out of my folks' place and in with Giles because I'm tired of my father using me as a punching bag. That weirdness? )

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In Of Old Mystics, Giles rescues Ethan from the Initiative. As they build a new relationship, they learn they are at the center of a prophecy. 

 

( Ah. It was to be the valiant rescue fantasy then. As his hallucinations went, this was quite possibly the worst.  )

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In Shade More Than Man, Sirius tries to apologize to Snape before tranforming himself, forever, into his animagus form.

 

( Do you remember how you were before Azkaban? )

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In Tenebrae, the author Mary Sue's herself into season 5 of Buffy. Doesn't sound appealing, I know, but she's an excellent writer and the story is awesome.
 

( Her throat was dry. “Oh my God,” she uttered. “I’m in—Sunnydale—” )

 

 

I've been sick so I'm a bit behind ...


Day 3: In your own space, post recs for at least three fanworks that you did not create. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

BtVS vid: Transparent, a brilliant look at Willow's insecurities.

Firefly vid featuring Wash: When I'm Up, I Can't Get Down

Unravelled doodle. In the author's words "Some doodles from an AU I will probably never write to any sort of completion. The memory spell unravels, and by the same loophole that allowed him to see through the Ben-is-Glory trickery, Spike is the only one that remembers Dawn (and only her actual 9 month existence, no forged memories). Cue a coming-of-age road trip". It's rather unfinished but still tells a delightful story. I wish there were more.

Booster's Ten Things That Never Happend in the BtVS Fandom asks the question "what if the spell to create Dawn was farther reaching than we think" leading to an insert where Dawn was in the storyline from the beginning. Eee, it's just so awesome!

In Her Beauty and Her Terror, Wednesday Addams and Harmony are dating. No. Really.

Hammer Time. Ah, Marcus Rowland, king of the crossover, does it again. 100 words. Three fandoms: BtVS, Galaxy Quest, and The Avengers (the Marvel Avengers, not the super-cool one with Emma Peel).

In Bread, Willow, Tara, and Dawn try to rebuild a family after Buffy's death. There's a bread metaphor running through the story that is absolutely amazing. I also like that we get a sympathetic look at Buffy and Dawn's Dad.

Carmilla, based on Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's lesbian themed vampire novel of the same name, puts the vampire, Carmilla, into the present and has her fall for her next victim. Set on a campus where supernatural events run rife, it's quite a bit of fun.

Star Trek Continues gives us the last year of the five year mission.

 A Student Has Created A Gripping And NSFW Photo Series With Trump’s Quotes About Women
WARNING: This post contains graphic content.

I hate tagging this as a "favorite thing" because the quotes are awful but as art this is a brilliant idea.

A friend was talking about Eddie Redmayne and how she and her husband had never seen any of his films. Not sure who that actor was, I looked him up. He was in The Danish Girl which I have seen and adored.

I'm not big into DnD but damn this is funny.

These comments are the funniest thing I've seen in ages, possibly ever.

Reed,

I've been reviewing stories to rec for the WIcked Awards and just finished rereading Bread. It's a Tara/Willow story where making bread is a metaphor for living your life. It's a beautiful story.

Gee, no, I've never gotten tea wrong! *whistles innocently*