Thoughts on the Journey

So some parts of that finale hit me in the feels, definitely in the beginning but then it ended with a whimper and not great make-up. And a lot of the feels were basically because of stuff I went through with my sister, and the chemistry between the brothers is a big part of why I started watching. I liked the monsters and road tripping and the found family. And Supernatural will always be connected for me with the weekend that I decided to app to Milliways.

I know that Supernatural’s always been built on cliches but that ending was other than maybe the very last moment was sad and disappointing. Getting to the end without really acknowledging everything that happened is lazy and ignores a big part of the show and what people liked about it. Too much handwaving and don’t look over here involved but I did have a nice cry.

My snow day has mainly been spent working on fact-checking, drinking tea and trying not to get sick. I'm so glad that I traveled yesterday and was able to hermit today. Tomorrow I should be finished with my work and then can enjoy the snow day with reading and writing. I'm so happy for another chance to do the Snowflake Challenge.

Day 1

In your own space, talk about why you're participating in Snowflake and, if you’ve participated in the past, how the challenge has affected you. What drew you to it? What did you take away from it? What do you hope to accomplish this year?

I was first drawn to Snowflake Challenge because I kept seeing it on my flist/circle and liked the idea. Now its become part of how I start my year, connecting with new people and interacting with fandom in ways I don't normally.

Day 2

In your own space, share a favorite memory about fandom: the first time you got into fandom, the last time a fanwork touched your heart, crazy times with fellow fans (whether on-line or off-line), a lovely comment you’ve received or have left for someone.

I have so many great memories so I think I'll share ones of meeting people. One is how I connected with dodger_sister. We kept talking in a mutual friends' comment section and it came up that we were in the same state and she was selling a shredder. I drove out and we had this wonderful conversation that sadly didn't last long enough. It was pouring rain outside, but it was the start of many talks.

Another was when I came back from New Zealand and had a six hour layover in LA and a Milliways' friend met me at the airport, fed me and took care of me. We talked in the car and just clicked.

Since moving to Boston, I keep having more of these. Though I think a favorite was with Bing, who didn't realize who I was since Becca thought we'd met already.

Day 3

In your own space, post recs for at least three fanworks that you did not create.

I always love this challenge and going to look at what I've been enjoying reading. Its hard to pick just three.

Thin Ice by guineapiggie, a lovely rebelcaptain fic in Cassian's head that feels like him and ends with snuggles.

no sweeter sorrow by forochel, a gorgeous Yuletide fic about Sameth, right after canon. He's one of my favorite characters and this fic captures what I love about him and wanted more of from canon; realizing his life has changed, how much he cares and how complex his family is.

Of Cost by quantumvelvet, a powerful October Daye fic about Quentin, the Luidaeg and what it means to take care of Toby.

Day 4

In your own space, create a fannish wishlist. No limits on size or type of fanwork; just tell us what you’d like to see.

This one of is always tricky for me. Some of these are fics I'm trying to write myself and ideas from around fandom. Star Wars is my current big one.

-Someone to actually write the fic where adolescent Cassian reprograms K-2s0 and their journey together. Actually just more fic about the two of them learning to trust and take care of each other. More of why Cassian who has such a complicated history with trust finds an anchor in this droid.

-Fic of Rex and Organa, their thoughts on the Rebellion after living through the Clone Wars. Do they see familiar faces and experiences in the young people around them? How strange is it to deal with Separatists who are now allies?

-Cassian and the Star Wars Rebels' crew and Leia, all of it.

-Moodboard or something to capture Cassian the pilot, I'm actually thinking of asking for this from someone on Tumblr.

I can't believe that Alan Rickman's dead. I've been traveling all day so only learned about it when I was on the train to NYC. He's an actor who's been in so many movies I adore and ones I don't, but he was always worth watching. Also I found out that the actor who voiced Robin Hood in Disney is dead as well from sdelmonte and that's awful, his voice was always my Robin Hood.

For the Snowflake Challenge, the prompt for the 14th actually ties into some fics that I want to rec.

Day 14

In your own space, share your love for something fannish: a trope, cliché, kink, motif, theme, format, or fandom.

I think my favorite trope, the kind that will pull me deeper into a fandom is if the characters feel messy and real. I have a weakness for characters figuring out what they can do and who they are and all the bumps along the way. I think the best example of this for me is Sameth from The Abhorsen Chronciles, his perception of himself feels real and while the situation is extraordinary, his reactions feel real. If you look at my roleplaying roster on my profile or the types of fics I tend to write, they tend to be all about someone making sense and making mistakes and finding what they can do.

Day 13
In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you did not create. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it.

Love and Marriage (3387 words) by shewhoguards
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Christopher Chant/Millie
Characters: Christopher Chant, Millie | Millie Chant
Additional Tags: Arguments, Happy Ending, marriage is hard, Newly weds
Summary:

Romantic it might be, but there was a limit to how much you could smile at each other, how many pet names you could find for each other and how many times people could pointedly leave you alone together before it all got a bit.. dull really. And there was a feeling as though that status had to be maintained, as though the first person to break it by speaking a cross word or even voicing a minor annoyance might be breaking something precious.

I adore Diana Wynne Jones' books because of how she writes messy people and situations. This fic with Christopher and Millie getting married and having their first fight feels like a continuation of the books. Its sweet, sad and funny,

A Noble Heart (1417 words) by Rhiannon87
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: October Daye Series - Seanan McGuire
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dean Lorden/Quentin Sollys
Characters: Quentin Sollys, Dean Lorden
Summary:

Quentin has a confession to make. Dean has no shortage of questions. Set sometime between Chimes at Midnight and A Red-Rose Chain.

This was my Yuletide gift and I've lost count of how often I've reread it. The author captures all that I love about McGuire's writing, the great world and the people. Quentin is one of my favorite characters in the series and I RP him in Milliways as I'm fascinated by his journey. This fic fills in some missing pieces and complements the world.

Like Butter on Toast (7667 words) by SoundandColor
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Hugh Collins/Dorothy "Dot" Williams
Characters: Hugh Collins, Dorothy "Dot" Williams, Tobias Butler, Phryne Fisher, Jack Robinson
Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Season/Series 03, Light Bondage, Canon Compliant, First Time, Sharing a Bed, Rope Bondage, Yuleporn
Summary:

“If I could find someone who looked at me the way your copper looked at you,” Nell says, staring into the bottom of her glass and seeing things Dot isn’t sure she wants to know about, “I wouldn't be standing here waiting. I’d go and get him and I wouldn’t let him go.”

Or, How Dot Decides It's Time to Bring Hugh Home.

Its really hard to pick only three fics but I think this one needs more love. Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is a show where I worry for all of them and this fic is Hugh and Dot trying to sort themselves out. I love how you can see the various found families and orbits of Dot, Hugh and everyone else. That intertwining and care that helps them find their way to happiness.

I hope other people enjoy these fics as they make me happy.

Life has been busy for me. It went down for a bit but I have a new fact checking job which makes me happy and ineedmyfics happened. This is small but one of my favorite exchanges.

In news that I blame Netflix for, I've kind of fallen into Friday Night Lights, I actually own the first season DVD which I bought at some point and only watched the first disc. I think I bought it because someone played Tim in Milliways and then found it on sale. Well, its all on Netflix and I love this show. Its amazing to believe that it was started in 2006 considering the issues they took on and I'm already writing fic. I'm now allowed to play Matt Saracen anywhere or Obi-Wan Kenobi, which is the other fandom I've fallen into. The Clone Wars is so good and I've gotten into some of the novels.

The fic I got was wonderful about Sam Wilson and his friendship with Natasha and a great Clint cameo. I adore the way Sam's POV is written and how much he sees.

trouble needs a home (1765 words) by paperclipbitch
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Natasha Romanov & Sam Wilson, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov
Characters: Sam Wilson (Marvel), Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton
Additional Tags: Fic Exchange, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Friendship, mild descriptions of injuries, Gen Work, Coffee
Summary:

“This is Barton,” Natasha tells Sam.

“Hey,” Barton says from the floor.

Then what I wrote was a fic for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol mainly inspired by banter and Jeremy Renner's face.

Operation Olympus (1679 words) by FiKate
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: William Brandt, Benji Dunn, Jane Carter (Mission: Impossible), Original Male Character(s)
Additional Tags: Team Dynamics, Heist, Seduction
Summary:

Before reconnecting with Ethan at the end of the movie, Brandt, Dunn and Carter spend some time in a hotel in Athens and end up creating their own mission. This time, Brandt seduces the rich guy. Contains banter, more god codenames, a well placed karate chop and a vault that doesn't behave.

Thank you to TL for betaing.

My week is off to a good start, I have plans for my interview tomorrow and am about to buy some new luggage for my trip at the end of the month. Think good thoughts for me tomorrow at 1 pm. Today's question for snowflake_challenge is one that I find interesting.

Day 5

In your own space, talk about your fannish origin story. How did you come to fandom, why did you choose your fannish name, do you have more than one secret identity?

Fandom's always been there for me even though I didn't truly understand what it was that I was connecting to until college.

As a little girl, I fell in love with Paul Creswick's Robin Hood, the N.C. Wyeth illustrations pulled me into a different world. Robin Hood is still that touchstone story for me, I get annoyed at retellings I don't like, but love talking about what works and what doesn't. At the same time and earlier, I was reading through and having read to me the Narnia books. There was a day camp I went to where a part of every day was being read to. This wonderful man named King who had a deep voice and a beard read the Narnia books, that was where I learned the love of sharing books with others. Also at this same time, I was watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, which combined with Robin Hood inspired my first works of fanfic. Will Scarlett ending up on the Enterprise and being friends with Wesley Crusher through weird magic. I used to write in the back of my school notebooks, have the notebook open, flip to the back and write stories there then turn to the notes when I needed to take them. In a box, I still have these old school notebooks and later all the journals people gave me full of words.

At the age of twelve, I went to this wonderful summer program, Longacre where another world of interacting and creating opened up to me through playing Dungeons & Dragons. My first character and still the only one I've ever played in D&D was a half-elf bard and I made up a backstory for her that my GM liked so much, she started at level 5. That GM taught me that its possible to step into a world with words and that dice and all are beside the point, he also lent me R.A. Salvatore books to show me how rich the D&D world was. I was also taking theater classes and thinking about the importance of background, how even if you don't hear the details, every character has their backstory.

By the time I started doing LARPing and entered the World of Darkness, the idea of being able to write a history for my character was natural. The World of Darkness showed me a wider way of interacting as there were rulebooks, novels, pins, all this wonderful stuff that came along with this world. Then the internet was there and I could see other fans, I once even tried RPing in the offical Star Trek chatroom like set ups.

In college, I found Harry Potter and then an amazing friend showed me how to find fanfiction and I had that moment of oh, this is home. In the midst of writing papers, I would spend time on the Sugarquill while I ran my own Changeling: the Dreaming LARP and tabletop game. In my creative writing classes, I tried to slip the fantasy of Changeling: the Dreaming into my work. It only partly worked, Fangirl perfectly captured how some teachers don't get fantasy or fanfiction.

From that same friend after college, I was told about milliways_bar and learned that I could actually roleplay my favorite fandom characters. I began with Will Scarlett and now play ten characters. Milliways brought me friends who shared where they wrote and suddenly I was sharing my own fanfiction, first on my LJ, then later on Ao3 and participating in Yuletide, Narnia Fic Exchange, Ineedmyfics and ficathons.

My user name ceitfianna was created my sophomore year of college, my partner at the time had an LJ invite code. I thought it might be a good way to keep in touch while studying abroad in Greece. Ceit is the Scots Gaelic spelling for my first name, Kate, and one of the few languages I've found where I can find my name as it is. I'm a plain Kate, where its not short for anything. Fianna is the name of a mythic tribe of warriors in Ancient Ireland and a werewolf tribe from Werewolf: the Apocalypse. I honestly don't recall exactly why I decided to combine them, but its stuck and is how I'm known on LJ, DW and Twitter.

On Archive of our Own, my name FiKate is a reference to my AIM screenname which was the name of a character from a Werewolf: The Apocalypse game that only lasted one summer; Fiona. In Milliways, a huge amount of interaction happens in a chat room and since my screenname is Fiona, I was dubbed Fi. Yet there are Milliways' people who call me Kate and when I was creating my Archive of our Own name, I thought that I would combine them.

My Tumblr name on the other hand is something different as I didn't know how much it would connect to other areas of my life. Its atthelamppost as I'm currently feeling at a crossroads while I try to figure out a way to do what I love and be paid for it. Its inspired by Narnia, which is one of my oldest fandoms and one that I'm still a bit weird about. I haven't read The Last Battle, because when I was about eleven or twelve, I decided I didn't want the series to end. I'm 33 and still haven't read even though a little while ago, my father read through the entire series for the first time. Maybe I will someday. I've also considered getting a tattoo of the lamppost as an iconic image for me.

The last name I have online is for my librarian/professional blog, that I really need to update which is called nurturingstories. This is because I consider myself a storyteller and a good teacher and librarian is all about stories. We all have our own stories and children's stories need to be nurtured to allow them to grow.

I don't think I'm going to do the year end meme this year as the majority of my year was spent reacting to what happened in the early part of last year. Instead I'm going to focus on what's ahead and on creating some new roads for myself.

Yesterday I was part of one of the best New Year's Eve celebrations that I've ever been a part of. I helped the children's librarian set up something called Noon Year's Eve, a party for the kids with crafts, food and a balloon drop. We opened the doors at 11 am and I left at around 1 pm and it was fantastic. This is the first time that the library has done this kind of party though they happen at other museums so we didn't know how many people would we get. At the max, we had about fifty kids plus attached family members, it was wonderful and chaotic. People swirled in and out, and entire families stopped by. I did a lot of corralling of kids and families, smiled so much that my mouth hurt and was reminded of how I love being a children's librarian. One of the people there even asked me if I'd organized it all, which was a huge compliment. Then I came home and didn't do a lot until some family friends arrived at 7:30 for some drinks and my parents and I had a quiet night in.

Today I slept in late and I've been slowly spending the various gift cards I got and I'm pushing through The Book Thief. I don't like it at all, it feels very contrived and like the author was going hm, what sort of book will get me the most accolades without requiring much work to write? I'm reading it because the children's librarian had a copy and lent it to me, also at some point its going to be a book for my parent's book club. Normally I would have given up on it, but it was lent to me and I want to write a really scathing review and I'll feel more comfortable doing that if I finish it. I feel like some of you on my flist have read it, but can't recall who. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

In terms of plans for the next few days, I'm going to be writing up the app for vorpatril, finally sending off some holiday stuff and getting back into the world of job finding.

For Yuletide, I had a great year and received two wonderful stories and wrote one in a new fandom for me. NightsMistress wrote me by blood and breath, the post canon Sameth story that I always wanted with the complicated and painful dynamics of the family and Sameth's view on the world. Astolat wrote me Twice Removed, a brilliant Nero Wolfe story that feels like Rex Stout could have written it.

My own shield (1818 words) by FiKate
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Eight Days of Luke - Diana Wynne Jones
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Luke/Sigyn (Eight Days of Luke)
Characters: Astrid Price, David Allard, Luke (Eight Days of Luke), Þórr | Thor, Sif (Norse Religion & Lore), Sigyn (Norse Religion & Lore)
Additional Tags: Families of Choice, Past Relationship(s), Divorce, past imprisonment, Adulthood, References to Norse Religion & Lore
Summary:

The request for this fic was for Astrid after canon with some Loki tossed in and I went with that. I got to wondering about how would she find her way and if perhaps some of those other Norse gods might come and help. This fic ended up being Astrid, Sif and Sigyn have conversations about being your own woman while David, Thor and Loki are off doing other things. I hope you enjoy it as I found it a pleasure to write.

Small warning for references to an unhappy marriage and a home life of neglect.

It truly was armor somehow, captured in the knitting to reflect her true self like how if you looked just right, Thor’s hammer was always on his belt. Astrid had read of her, a warrior who had to prove her worth but respected by all the gods and warriors. And now she was standing in this small kitchen, with the stove that spat fire if it wasn’t lit correctly, having tea.

GloriaMundi wanted a fic about Astrid, who I enjoyed when reading Eight Days of Luke, so I had a beginning right away. Then I got stuck until I started thinking about Norse goddesses and that helped the story to come together for me. Ashie was my wonderful beta. I love being part of Yuletide and I've read a lot of fantastic stories.

I had a good day, I woke up and went to the local library for the volunteer appreciation meal. The food was delicious and there's such a wonderful community there, also my mentor recommended someone else to look over my resume. Then as a gift, I was given a small poinsettia, which made me smile.

Sadly there was a low point when I went to Starbucks before heading to see Frozen. I was sitting and reading and the couple sitting next to me was awful, everything they said was a variation on things used to be better and 'these people' covering migrants, young people, women and even soldiers didn't appreciate what they have. The bit that made me truly consider speaking up was how the man was going on about how in the 1950s suddenly housewives lives were so much easier they had nothing to do but spend their time lazing around all day. After all that was what it seemed like his mother was doing and that women might say they wanted equality but if offered a pedestal, they would hop right up. Somehow the woman he was with kept nodding and not disagreeing, I didn't get it but it did end. It made it hard for me to concentrate on my reading and those of you on Twitter saw my grumbling, because honestly wanting to be respected and paid well isn't being entitled. This shouldn't be that hard.

After I went off to see Frozen which was wonderful. I loved how the heart of the movie was the sisters and trying to fix a broken family along with helping a kingdom. Also the chant/singing at the start and end of the movie gave me chills and seemed almost Polynesian. I don't know if I want the entire soundtrack but I get parts of it.

lady_bols: Favourite TV shows, at least three, and why you like them. <3

Now for the question for the December meme, this is going to be hard one as I love a lot of shows. And the last few nights I've been dipping into Netflix Streaming which always reminds me of shows that I love but have forgotten so as with these others, these are the first few that I think of. If asked on a another day, the answer would be different.

Firefly: Created families and ensembles are some of my favorite things to see in a show and Firefly does them right. I also love cowboys and space cowboys are just better. I didn't see Firefly when it was on TV, but instead was introduced to it in New Zealand. Some of my friends there lent me their set and I marathoned all of them in I think two or three nights and fell in love. I adore all the relationships and thanks to Milliways have been able to see some of what else might happen. This is one of those cases where Milliways made me appreciate the show even more since the incredible players in Milliways expanded the world and added even more depth to what was there to begin with.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I started watching Buffy when it first aired but then stopped before getting reintroduced to it in college. I have a lot of good memories of watching Buffy life with friends and talking about how strange and wonderful it is. The friendships and loves feel real and while sometimes the plots are a bit silly, the heart is always there. Joss knows how to do ensembles. I've been reminded of Buffy mainly due to Tumblr where gifs of it keep appearing.

Elementary: I'm currently rather far behind on this show but I grew up watching Jeremy Brett's Holmes and I feel like this show captures the feel of the Holmses' stories. I love the push and pull of Joan and Sherlock as well as the sense that its actually happening in a New York City that I could visit. The mysteries aren't anything special but to me that's never been the point of the Holmes' stories, they're more about the back and forth of Holmes and Watson.

Teen Wolf: I marathoned this show because I was curious about where alexiscartwheel's Stiles came from. Then discovered it was on Netflix Streaming and lost a few nights sleep to it. I have a soft spot for shows about young people trying to grow up and find their way which Teen Wolf hits in a way I like. I appreciate the variety of families, how nothing is easily solved. It would be nice if the plots made more actual sense but Stiles and Scott, Scott and Allison, Mama McCall, Danny, Isaac, Derek and the rest of them make me happy. This is one of those shows that I would love to actually write some fanfic for as its all about friendship and love and family. I have a fanfic started crossing it over with Sleepy Hollow that I need to write more of.

TaleSpin: This is the show of my childhood from Disney Afternoon and I've bought some of the DVDs and would like to in time get the rest. Its a show about a created family set in a vaguely steampunk world and I love it. If I could ever figure out how to RP or properly write some of the fanfic in my head of it I would, but cartoon worlds are tricky to write.

There, that's the five that immediately come to mind and I feel like they give a good sense of the variety of what I watch. I do love reality TV shows but I don't come back to them as often as I do these.

I forgot to mention that I finally wrote an entry on my librarian blog that I've been meaning to since the start of November; Connecting through Art about the Film Festival I went to and a sculpture garden I went to after Thanksgiving.

I realized that I probably should update as my last one was when I was having a pretty rough day. This week has actually turned out okay, I got a lost trying to find the car insurance place on Tuesday but found it on Thursday and got that sorted. Soon my car will be back with Delaware plates, which feels like another good step. I applied for a job that I wouldn't have even thought about before but Quinn pointed it out and I went I could do that. Whenever it comes to job stuff, I try to keep myself good and open. Last year was tough but it taught me that I can accomplish a good deal and so I know when I find a place where people get me, I'll do even better. It feels better to be here where I know I'm in a safe harbor and really see all the options.

The weather here is wonderful, crisp days with the sun out and my parents are away for a few days so I've been enjoying feeling like I'm getting my writing groove back once more. Expect more EPs in Milliways. I have an idea for a Teen Wolf and Sleepy Hollow crossover that I want to start and also I'm thinking about digging back into my works in progress. My various exchange fics were well received which always makes me feel good about my writing and I wrote some nice little fics this ficFriday.

( Twitter Fics )

So anyone willing to beta my queer fest fic of 3200 words of Charles and Raven dealing with him being bi?

Its pretty rough but I think its all there and there's no rush. My posting date isn't until later in the month.

Also Kevin Kline's Pirates of Penzance is on TV, I need to get the DVD version of this movie as my VHS is useless now. This movie is such a weird part of my childhood. I saw that awful movie The Pirate Movie on TV and had good thoughts about it and at the video store saw this one on sale and bought it. I then completely fell in love with it though thought the last song must have been created by the film as it was so out there. It wasn't until I took a course in college where we studied 19th century literature in which we read Gilbert and Sullivan that I learned that song was canon. It made me love the movie even more and how it just embraced the crackiness of Gilbert and Sullivan. Its been far too long since I played the Pirate King but I'm going to see if I can get around to having him take a bartending shift or something in the near future.

Title: Relearning you
Characters: Kait Galweigh, Sameth
Fandoms: The Secret Texts, The Abhorsen Chronicles, Milliways Bar
Rating: R for nudity, sex and references to past violence.
Disclaimer: No one belongs to me.
Summary: As inspired by thebattycakes posting older fics, I wrote this for ashenkey back in February as she wanted some Kait and Sam being sweet together. This is the fic where they find their way back together and try to understand who they are now and what being together looks like with all their new scars. Its been sitting done for a while and I thought it was time to share it.

( The way he watched her reminded her of when she had watched him work, how he looked at the metal, trying to understand how to bend it, but not break it. )