18 January 2013 @ 06:15 pm
All The Things Friday: Let's See How Far We've Come  
Welcome to another All The Things Friday! Your co-hosts this week are [livejournal.com profile] inkvoices and [livejournal.com profile] workerbee73.

First off, a note to say we have a thread at the top of this post for signing up to host, co-host, and/or to suggest themes for future All The Things Fridays. At the moment we have [livejournal.com profile] jacedesbff for February 1st and [livejournal.com profile] noblealice for February 8th (not sure what topics you folks are going with?) so raise your hands and bring your ideas :D

The theme for today, though, is a three part rec extravaganza. You can do one, two, or all three, or just join in the chatter!

1) rec a newcomer’s or underappreciated story (or artwork, or creative work) that you feel deserves some love.

2) tell us the first thing that you wrote/made in this fandom. (We’re thinking of doing a list of people’s first works that newcomers can add to, kind of a first time not-necessarily-rec list thing, so we can use these to kick off that list. You can tell us your first thing and then tell us that you don’t want it on the list though if you like.)

3) rec something you wrote/made in this fandom that you’re most proud of, or that’s your favourite.

Discussion Ideas: how have your thinky thoughts or creative leanings changed since that first thing you wrote/made? How far have we come since the film was released? What is it about the shiny new things coming through that are different, that have changed your thinking?

For my underappreciated/newcomer rec I’m going to rec two things from the same person, in case you don’t like WIPs: galaxies in our halos and hands by [livejournal.com profile] sweetwatersong (PG, warnings for injury, short one-shot) is a gorgeous circus AU with a theme of the two-sided coin that is the magic and reality of circus life, echoing the two-sided coin that is Clint/Natasha. humanity (n) by [livejournal.com profile] sweetwatersong is a WIP (link is to chap. 3 with links to previous installments; eventual R, paranormal AU), but it’s fascinating and there’s a good chunk to sink your teeth into.

My first fic in this fandom was And Time Yet (PG13, chosen not to warn), a post-movie look at all the team from Natasha POV with a focus on Clint. I can see hints and implications in there of how dark the territory of Master Assassins can be, but since joining this fandom I’ve definitely gone further when it comes to dark tones and gotten more confident in doing that. I also think that, thanks to some fantastic discussions, I’ve gotten better at putting my meta and thinky thoughts into my fic. Most recently I’ve had a brain full of AU and fusion ideas. Maybe because I’ve read a lot of pre-movie and post-movie things and I want to sail in unchartered territory? I don’t know, but I do find myself wanting to fuse Clint/Natasha into everything *grins* and loving all the AUs.

The work of mine that I’m most proud of at the moment? My Secret Santa fic. Because I think I managed to get some meta and thinky thoughts in there, do an AU that works, and I stuck with it when the length it was getting to scared me.

What’re your three things for this Friday?


And a few things to keep in mind:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment has is graphic/images/gif heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)
 
 
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http://lar_laughs.livejournal.com/: HP - I believe in magic[identity profile] lar_laughs.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2013 08:05 pm (UTC)
I am the Queen of random pairing! Also, I'm not a stickler for who hooks up with who. If the story grabs me, I don't much care what pairing it is!
[identity profile] anuna-81.livejournal.com on January 18th, 2013 08:07 pm (UTC)
Aaaah awesome! Some of my friends side eyed me for these stories, giving me Really??! O_o looks. I hope you'll like them, let me know! :)
http://lar_laughs.livejournal.com/: Firefly - the boys - to the Batmobile[identity profile] lar_laughs.livejournal.com on January 19th, 2013 04:14 am (UTC)
I will!!!! Thank you!
inkvoices: hp:hufflepuff badger[personal profile] inkvoices on January 18th, 2013 08:19 pm (UTC)
This! I knew I liked you ;)
http://lar_laughs.livejournal.com/: HP - to define is to limit[identity profile] lar_laughs.livejournal.com on January 19th, 2013 04:14 am (UTC)
I am the girl who had a rare impulse to ship Gregory Goyle with just about every girl in the books... until I realized that would be a lot of words and I was really lazy back in those days. It still might be a thing with a select few.

I just really dislike that so many people are missing out on good stories because they don't read certain pairings. Pairing wars are SO STUPID. Reading is not a right, it's a privilege and we shouldn't waste our words on hate. They should be spent on love so that we get more of the good stuff! gah! This is why I should comment more...
inkvoices: dr who:everyone is important[personal profile] inkvoices on January 20th, 2013 01:55 am (UTC)
Heh, I wrote a so many things about Luna fic once and Luna/Greggory slipped into it. Didn't even plan that *grins*.

I don't want to miss out on anything because it isn't 'my ship' or doesn't look like my cup of tea, because new things, y'know? My criteria are generally: a decent grasp of writing (mistakes, sure; text speak and things like that, hell no, not unless you're being funny), an idea that grabs my interest, and that whatever is written the author makes me believe in it. However AU, however different from canon you want a character to be, whatever pairing, but you have to make me believe. And that's it. ...seriously, I don't even limit myself to my own fandoms if something looks interesting enough. Which can be confusing if you have no idea what the source material is about lol.
[identity profile] shenshen77.livejournal.com on January 20th, 2013 06:07 am (UTC)
My criteria are generally: a decent grasp of writing (mistakes, sure; text speak and things like that, hell no, not unless you're being funny), an idea that grabs my interest, and that whatever is written the author makes me believe in it.

Can I just commentcrash real quick to say that that I totally agree with you here? I stumbled into most of my fandoms because I read something an author I liked decided to try writing in a new one. And I usually had no idea what they were talking about, but it made me curious about the source... And none of the fandoms I previously read in had as many quality AUs as this has, they are somehow starting to turn into one of my favorite things ;) Because people here make me believe them.
http://lar_laughs.livejournal.com/: Marvel - I Still Believe[identity profile] lar_laughs.livejournal.com on January 20th, 2013 06:24 am (UTC)
I've discovered a lot of good things that way, too! If I like you and you love something, I want to share that with you! Maybe I don't learn to love it the way that you do but maybe I do. Converts because of mutual love are the best kinds of converts!

I discovered how much fun AUs can be from my last fandom. I still mock the "bakery AU concept" from time to time but AUs are really just character studies in a different setting. Or they should be.
[identity profile] shenshen77.livejournal.com on January 20th, 2013 06:32 am (UTC)
I think it is a wonderful way to get into something new!

My previous fandoms didn't really lend themselves to AUs as much and I was mainly reading on FFN. Not the place to go for quality AUs, it seems ;) And yes, most of the time I come out of reading an AU with a better understanding for what makes the characters tick, as it is reduced to the bare bones... Or at least to the interpretation of the author as to what the bare bones of this character are ;) (Also, "bakery AU" sounds wonderfully whacky ;))
http://lar_laughs.livejournal.com/: Marvel - Bruce the science guy[identity profile] lar_laughs.livejournal.com on January 20th, 2013 07:09 am (UTC)
When I was getting back into fandom again, I was bouncing around as I tried to find somewhere I wanted to hang out. I kept running into these "Character A runs a bakery and Character B is in love with him and things run amok" stories from all these different fandoms and it just became a thing. So silly!

I love discovering what other people consider to be the bare bones of a character. It helps me come to terms with how I deal with those bones.

I'm glad you're enjoying the AUs! It's sort of fun to be able to play in other settings.
[identity profile] shenshen77.livejournal.com on January 20th, 2013 07:37 am (UTC)
Those, yes! In this fandom it seems to always be Clint running a bar or a cafe, Nat being his partner or ex... and then he ends up with Loki or Phil ;) I remember seeing and reading at least two or three of those ;) Silly indeed ;)

Absolutely seconding that! I see better from a distance, to quote Hawkeye, and seeing a character through someone else's eyes helps sort ones own assessment of said character. Especially if the character is taken out of the original context.

I don't think I could ever write one, but I really like reading them now :) And to think that in that AU ATTF months ago I was one of those saying I don't really like AUs... I've come a long way :D And I blame this bar for broadening my horizon and getting comfortable enough to write and post <3
http://lar_laughs.livejournal.com/: DW - we're all stories in the end[identity profile] lar_laughs.livejournal.com on January 20th, 2013 06:51 am (UTC)
Luna/Greg!!!! Hmmm...

Making people believe is a great challenge! Sometimes it's easier to make people believe an AU of a well known couple than it is to make people believe a regular story of little known couple.

I'm not brave enough to start reading something that I don't know but if I see that someone is enjoying something or writing something, I'll try out the show or the movie or the book. And then I RUN BACK to the story or whatever it is. Like a banshee, screaming the whole way! I think it has something to do with my obsession of starting with something at the beginning. Have you ever stuck with a fandom after reading something in it without previously knowing the source material?
inkvoices: avengers:sjohanasson thinky grin[personal profile] inkvoices on January 25th, 2013 01:14 am (UTC)
Different skills, I guess - believability of place/scenario as opposed to believability of characterisation/character compatibility or commonality. I read a Harry Potter fanfic by Maya back in the day that had Ron with Pansy as an opposites attract couple that worked perfectly, showed them to be a real couple with all the mess that entails. I don't know which was the first fic I read that made me believe in a couple I hadn't thought of before, but I always remember that one :)

Sometimes I went looking for the source material, some I put on my to watch list but haven't gotten round to them (I'm terrible for keeping up with tv really), and some I won't go looking for. I follow a few rec sites and rec journals, so sometimes something will come up that I don't recognise but it looks interesting and I know the reccer has similar taste to me. AUs are easier to run with, but yeah. Sometimes I just can't resist!