Birdwings

Still trying to catch up...

Challenge #7

LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good.

1. I leave pretty good comments for people. I try to apply the principle that they could be having a very drab, sucky day. This feels even more valuable to the world with scam and bot comments everywhere.

2. I write fairly well. Not in a timely fashion, or as a great wordsmith, but I don't quit when it's difficult, or phone it in. Whatever I write is always done to the best of my ability, I take pride in it, and I always work toward finishing projects. Eventually.

3. While I am not the greatest at plotting, I am quite good (knock wood) at navigating out of the blind corners and logical implosions I find myself in and fixing my blunders before they reach the public. Sometimes I even discover places to retroactively apply foreshadowing! That's always handy.

I hate leaving things unfinished, or partially done. I started Snowflake with the intention of doing every challenge, but I'm gonna have to bow out of Challenge #5, a wishlist venture. Asking for things? Nope. Sorry. Not happening. I am bad at that.

So, on to Challenge #6. Top 10 Challenge.



And I'm gonna have fun and talk about ten tropes I love. Which I guess could also count as a sneak wishlist, just without the actual request feature.

They're numbered but not ranked. I thought about giving canon or fanfic examples for each, but this post is long enough as is.

1. Conversations with dead people

An emotional trope. Things left unsaid, fears unspoken, last regrets to acknowledge. Literal ghost, or a dream sequence, or a hallucination. The question: Is it real or the character's subconscious? What does the visitation signify? The possibilities range from spooky to redemptive. It is a heady brew of emotion and mystery, breaking reality and showing facets a normal conversation never could.

2. Best friend with a death wish

Pure loyalty in every situation is a beautiful thing. Unfortunately for one half of this partnership, the other half is running pell-mell for the cliff. Cue angst. Cue anguish. Cue agony. This is a first rate shipping dynamic, when one half of the pairing is bent on self-destruction and the other half can only watch in dread. It's supposed to be ride or die, not ride and die. How do you save your partner from their own demons?

3. Redemption equals living

I hate the Redemption Equals Death trope. Hate it. It's a punitive narrative action that says redemption isn't actually possible, that all attempts will fail and the only real value to the reformed is to conveniently remove themselves from the picture, letting everyone else get on with their lives. It's why I love the Angel and Faith dynamic, where Angel spells it out clearly. Laying down and dying is easy, one big gesture and it's over. Living with your actions, that's the hard part. Getting up every day to fight the good fight, knowing it won't undo what was done. That's the bread and butter of a good character arc.

4. Hidden identities/spies

The perfect umbrella trope for all manner of exciting developments. Spy vs spy! Spy vs handler! Truths within lies and lies which contain truths! False lovers getting lost in character! Once you introduce spies, it is a delightful playground of difficult relationships, but I also love all the classic accessories: the hidden compartments, masquerade balls, secret codes and smiling facades. And thinking it over, I realize this is one of the reasons I am eternally fannish about Jeremiah: lots of double agents. My earliest fics centered on that topic. This is my JAM.

5. Token evil teammate

There's nothing better than the merciful heroes allowing a villain to live, from dire necessity against an existential threat or compassion as the antagonist falls on hard times. Then we get this trope, which I mostly call "villain in a cage." Literal or metaphorical, the important thing is they are momentarily captive. A good villain is a dark reflection of one or more good guys, a path not taken, a worst outcome. They sit there, unable to harm anyone physically, so they use truth as a weapon, they find every insecurity and push buttons just by being present. And since a good villain is highly competent, they are useful, the ultimate double edged sword. And maybe the heroes start rubbing off on them, by proximity, by humanity, by lack of other options, but there's always the question - is it all an act? Lots of great character work can result from this pressure cooker. Always a good time for me.

6. Amnesia

Total amnesia is fine, but it's more interesting when it's selective. The person is mostly the same, but there are missing pieces. Accidental or deliberate, the result is a great crisis of identity and free will. It can increase paranoia in the victim, or anguish in a loved one. It can cause questioning or reaffirmation. It can propel a mystery. It can unveil psychological horror, if it was deliberately caused. It is guaranteed to cause a whirlwind of angst.

7. Enemies to lovers

As I said, a villain should be a reflection. That means commonalities. A subconscious ability to relate. A worthy opponent deserving respect. But with lines crossed and bad histories, every single interaction is a battlefield which facilitates character growth and ethical debates (hell yeah). Also, part of what makes villains villains is that they WANT things, and won't stop till they get them, so seeing that hunger turn toward someone they can't acquire by normal methods tends to bend them out of shape in a delightful way - and can be exceptionally cathartic if the character they covet is generally overlooked by the rest of Team Good. There is no more powerful depiction of the transformative power of human connection.

8. Slow burn

I can't tell you how many times I'm reading a shipping fic and they arrive at the whole "shut up and kiss" moment, and I'm sitting there going "no, hang on, go back, that conversation was interesting! It wasn't finished!" The best romances take forever. Skilled writers can actually do what feels like a slow burn in a brisk twenty thousand words, so it's less about the time spent reading for me and more about giving the yearning and pining and fighting of the inevitable its proper due. Don't skip to the good stuff when what you're skipping is the good stuff!

9. Dramatic declarations of love

This can be romantic or platonic love, but moments of peril and high stakes where love is unequivocally declared, preferentially through action, are great. Lifesaving! Emptying an entire clip into the enemy who dared threaten the object of affection (yes, my favorite hostage scene of all time is Wesley on the roof with dear old dad in 'Lineage'). Rescue missions! Thousand to one odds are no object. Those are the obvious ones, but it can be tailored to different characters and their wants. Meaningful action, synergy, sacrifice, all that good stuff. I gravitate to it because... Well, a lot of my favorite characters aren't the sort who are likely to say "I love you" easily, but could channel it into action without hesitation.

10. Found family

We'll end with a gimme. I mean, who doesn't love found family? Is this even a trope? It feels ubiquitous. Great though, isn't it?

Fell behind a little.

Challenge #4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page

Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!

This one stumped me, as I don't get out much, so here are some literal last pages:

Last new to me song I discovered was... Los Lobos, who I only knew from their mildly pleasant cover of 'La Bamba,' decided to earn a thousand cool points by getting Richard Thompson to guest star on their song 'Wreck of the Carlos Rey,' which I had somehow never heard. I have clearly unfairly ignored these guys. Their sound works seamlessly with Thompson's.



Last fanfic I read was... You've Given Me Back My Life (Downton Abbey, of all the random fandoms I haven't thought of in years). Unfinished, Edith/Anthony fix fic with a marriage of convenience which makes more sense than that awful "wreck the lives of loyal tenant farmers" plot the show writers went with instead. Does not matter to me if it's ever finished, it was fun if you like Downton Abbey style melodrama.

As seen from *checks list* brightknightie, teratornis, argentum_ls, and rhi.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Turn to page 126.
3. The 6th full sentence is your life in 2026

The nearest book on my nightstand was The Code of the Woosters, which seemed unlikely to deliver the Cassandra goods—but that being the assignment, I located the page in question, began counting down the highly detailed, robustly elegant Wodehouse sentences, each describing ridiculously specific situations and spirits, only to land on the instructed sixth full sentence (by this point halfway down the page), read it, and promptly started recounting.

There was no mistake. Here is the sentence:

"It was the same with me."

This genuinely made me laugh. I'll take the black comedy aspect of all of this. Not like it's telling me something I couldn't have guessed!

Challenge #2: Pets of Fandom

Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!

I took this challenge to involve canon pets, and it ended up being half about my writing choices, and half some Highlander meta.

Because of the difficulties of working with animals, they rarely feature in shows, especially older low budget fare. Pets appear and then disappear, written off quickly (or years after being forgotten, as in the case of Miss Kitty Fantastico). Theo has a cockatoo in one episode of Jeremiah, but it is tragically killed. Kurdy considers adopting a puppy, but decides against it right before credits roll. All because it is difficult to feature animals. This is understandable, but it also means there are gaps in the worldbuilding that fanfiction is perfect for exploring.

Generally I like to add in mentions of pets and animals both wild and domesticated whenever possible, because it adds verisimilitude. In the post-apocalyptic landscape of Jeremiah, for example, redomesticating livestock should be high on every sensible person's agenda. Jeremiah shouldn't wander through town without stumbling over a flurry of chickens. So I add in details like an OC slowly taming an untrusting pair of dogs, for the natural alarm system they offer.

However, the only proper pet I have written about is Prada, Lydia Martin's adorable papillon from Teen Wolf. Teen Wolf did a better than average job remembering that animals exist. Scott's job at a vet clinic features in several scenes: Falling for Allison over an injured dog, scaring all the cats in the clinic after he's bitten, teaching Isaac how to take a dying dog's pain away (one of the most heartfelt scenes in the show). And unlike all the other characters, Lydia has a pet, who is only depicted during season two, but who gets mentioned a few times afterward before finally vanishing altogether. So whenever I write a scene taking place in Lydia's house, I figure out where Prada is likely to be and mention him wherever possible, because he's part of the family and WOULD feature. She would cuddle him when upset and seeing him waiting at the screen door would brighten her day.

Also, an evil detecting dog is a great horror trope, and it's easy to lean on that in a place like Beacon Hills.

And now, some Highlander meta, because that's a different and rather unique scenario. This show depicted horses in its flashbacks with great frequency, but only one horse was ever treated as "important" - the beautiful and lucky Double Eagle (in the best comedy episode of the show). However, I have always believed that Immortals of a certain age are not only knowledgeable about, but deeply love horses. None currently living would be so if they hadn't been saved countless times by the flight of a nimble steed. Truly, an Immortal would have to be deeply far gone to lose that attachment, although the show never addressed this in any way.

It's partly the same reason I think Immortals were probably over the moon about the personal automobile. It's why Corey loves his Packard, and Richie will always adore motorbikes. Heck, would Brian Cullen have been singing a staggeringly wasted 'Danny Boy' if he'd been approaching Richie on foot? No way. Immortals spend half their time running away from their fellow headhunters. Before the car, and for far longer, there was the horse to facilitate this. It's a concept the show never really spells out, but it seems right to me.

On the other hand, it is notable that modern Immortals are never depicted owning pets. Cats, dogs, birds, all are unfair to own. It is perhaps another part of how Immortals end up cut off from humanity, as they have to not only raise stakes quickly, but they could always lose a fight and not come home at all. Helpless dependents are at risk from their lifestyle, so it makes sense they would rarely indulge in keeping one (although a few Immortals have raised orphaned children, which is also insanely risky without some secondary caregiver, so perhaps a compelling enough case would make one adopt a forlorn animal as well). And so the horses they once were required to travel with might have been many an Immortal's only real experience with something akin to a pet, an experience now cut off as horses no longer aid but hinder the mobility they need to survive. Of course they would be wistful and affectionate when faced with them.

I wonder how many Immortals quietly own a fully-staffed stable somewhere...

I didn't do a year retrospective, because the year was from hell, but I would like to make a statement on this first day of the new year. Because, if you reading this don't know, you are amazing. Everyone who commented on any of my posts or fics, who hit the kudos button or who just lurked and enjoyed reading. Everyone I talked with on Discord, IM or Google docs. Everyone who posted on my reading list. You gave me support and distraction. You kept me writing when the real world threatened to make all my efforts on DW and AO3 feel completely meaningless. You are truly the best.

So some resolutions.

1. To read more fic. I already instigated the policy that when I liked a fic, I should always comment, but this resulted in me sticking most things on my Marked for Later and reading very infrequently, because I had limited mental energy. However, it's something I really have learned to enjoy doing (compared to my early AO3 life, where I wrote timidly, with the subtext of "hope you don't think I'm weird for saying this, or for reading more than one of your fics" - yeah, introvert learning the internet over here), and I resolve to do better.

2. To interact more on DW and Discord. Make more posts of my own, and comment whenever I can. To be here.

3. To increase my media consumption. Watch more shows (and write about them). Try to aim for at least an occasional fandom heavy-hitter, not just the willfully obscure cancelled television I fancy. :)

4. To write more fic. Again, I have to thank the people who have read my stuff, who commented, kudoed, subscribed or just lurked and drove up the hit counter. Because I nearly stopped. Because writing brought me no joy. Finishing and posting did nothing for me during the vast majority of this year, and I was going through the motions. But I kept going because I was obligated by my works in progress, and then I saw that this thing I could do, which no longer mattered to me, still mattered to others. And that got me through the worst of it, to where I could feel a bit of my own energy coming back.

I am truly thankful for this place and the people in it. ♥

Now that the saddest Christmas I've ever had is over, here is a super lightweight post:

Got three TV shows from my mother. She says it's never been easier to score cheap DVDs, since everyone wants BluRay, so I now own...

All seven seasons of The Mentalist.

All six seasons of Lucifer.

All fifteen seasons of goddamn Criminal Minds.

The first two sound like guilty pleasures but that last one I have significant doubts about. But it was on network television, so I really hope the emphasis is on a quirky ensemble busting cases and not on graphic serial killer content.

The latest Forever Knight episode saw Nick team up with discount Patricia Arquette to take down actual David Hewlett for his tendency to commit really creepy murders with telephone cords. A couple baffling editing choices, and a surprising amount of torture aside, this was a fun episode but oh, it missed an opportunity with Nick's hilarious skill at hosting late night talk radio. Imagine if Janette called, just to make him squirm!

I love how Nick has gone from hating Schanke to being like this adorable little kid around him. I think Schanke is better for his quest to be human than Nick realizes, because he certainly seems most human around him. And Schanke keeps accidentally being right about stuff. Nick should just ask his partner (theoretically) how to cure (theoretical) vampirism. I bet the show would end right there.

I keep running across this Buffy take on Tumblr, which is that Buffy should have brought up the Ted incident with Faith. And if it was brought up at the round table with the Scoobies, sure, excellent continuity. But bringing it up with Faith? Like that was going to help reach her? Honestly, not mentioning it was one of the smartest things Buffy did during 'Consequences.'

Faith was already bitter about golden girl Buffy, forgiven for everything Faith could ever do wrong. How would Buffy saying "I've been there. In fact, I did worse! I killed a man because I was angry and went at him with slayer strength and wouldn't stop hitting him until he was dead because I never liked him anyway. Oh, and then he turned out to be a robot! Whew! Lucky for me! But I totally get how these things happen."

Obviously, Buffy wouldn't have said it that way - but that is what Faith would have heard. It would not have helped, not even a little. Buffy, the girl with all the luck, didn't kill a man even when she tried.

Not bringing it up was the smartest thing Buffy did in that messy situation.

The argument I haven't seen is for what Giles should have said. Lots of people blame him for Faith's living situation, but I've never seen anyone point out he had the golden opportunity to deescalate Faith's panic at the outset. She went to him first (to sell out Buffy, but still). Why didn't he give her the same spiel he later gave Buffy? "It's tragic, but accidents have happened."

Faith would attempt to counter. "You're only saying that because it's Buffy who killed him. If it was the other way around..."

And Giles would say, in his most soothing voice, that if their positions were reversed and Buffy had come in telling him that Faith had accidentally killed a man, Giles would tell her the same thing (because he does, in canon). And he won't be involving the council, and he doesn't care which slayer killed the man. This is exactly the point where Giles letting his mask slip and being a bit of a cold bastard would help Faith.

"Nightly war" is a philosophy Faith could get behind. Sure, it's morally gray (like Giles himself) but it might have kept her from running to the Mayor. She was right there. Wesley wasn't in position to eavesdrop yet. The whole thing could have been avoided.

I love Giles. I will defend him in most things, including many choices that fans smack him around for, but this oversight was really bad on his part. Of course, her accusing Buffy probably put his hackles up and things rapidly snowballed afterward. Perhaps his British reserve simply needed another cup of tea to thaw, and he'd planned to approach Faith with that very line of reasoning after she had a few hours to calm down and he'd had equal time to gear up for the conversation.

(There I go, defending him, because he was never the most skilled at understanding teen girls, and because of his own deep shame about what happened to Randall, and because he was not at his best emotionally after the earlier events of the season, to say nothing of the previous one).

Anyway, Giles had the potentially winning argument here. Buffy, with regards to Ted, absolutely did not. That is all.

How come it is when a story is "finished" and about to be seen by a second pair of eyes, suddenly you're seeing it as if for the first time yourself and you need to embark on a panicked last minute rewrite to make it yet more finished?

I have noticed the same effect from putting it in the AO3 text box and hitting preview. Suddenly it looks different. Suddenly that sentence I said was fine as is actually belongs in a completely different paragraph. Suddenly there's a much more cogent way to state my theme. And suddenly there's a typo I never saw before.

Anyway, the story in question is now More Done.

Hmm, I think I hit the early season rough patch! I'm cutting my text if you want to skip the snark. ( Read more... )