Shiny Things

New Year, Dusty Blog

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 21:40:35 GMT

I exist! I live! I've posted basically nothing here for months, but I'm here. Maybe 2026 will be less busy and I'll have things to say.

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Agent Carter rewatch - season 2

Sun, 24 Aug 2025 09:15:12 GMT

I waited a few days too long to type this up and now I've not got very strong impressions anymore, lol.

( Cut for length )

And now, back to fanfic! There must be something on Ao3 I haven't read yet, it's been years since I looked for fic in this fandom... Anyone have recommendations? (sholio I'm already rereading a some of yours. Still good :) )

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Agent Carter rewatch

Sat, 16 Aug 2025 09:58:24 GMT

That MCU meme made me realise it's been 10 years since the Agent Carter show came out, and while I know I've watched it at least once since the first airing, I couldn't recall when. So I decided to rewatch it.

( Random musings on Agent Carter season 1 )

I'm still processing, will probably have more thoughts later, but this was so delightful, I wish I'd done it sooner. I fully intend to rewatch S2 over the next week (Ana Jarvis! Cannot wait). And then, no doubt, go and re-read all the fanfic I bookmarked, because aside from one or two favourites, I don't think I've reread those in years either. Something to look forward to :)

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MCU meme

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 03:28:48 GMT

From sholio

Bold = Watched Entirety

Italic = Watched Part

* Watched more than once.

† Watched in the first few weeks of release (at least initially, for TV shows).

( Cut for length )

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Locking Ao3 fics :(

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 06:03:07 GMT

Yesterday I saw there'd been another scrape of fics from Ao3, including mine, and for a reason I can't define this was the time that I decided it was too much, so I've locked all my Ao3 fics to logged in users only. I hate that we have to do this.

Edit: I changed my mind and unlocked them. What the hell.

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Fandom 50 #4: Game of Thrones fic rec (the cracky video game fic)

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 05:23:22 GMT

Fic rec for Game of Thrones this time, which is weird because I've read maybe 5 fanfics for GoT in total ever, but I stumbled across this one and it's stuck with me, because it's absurd but fun? Cause it's basically a video game.

Game of Thrones fanfic rec:

Sew Long, Fair Well by Sanctified_Jasper

My summary: This earns the "Crack taken seriously tag". It's weird but somehow works.

Some godlike entity that wants entertainment gives adult!Sansa the chance to fix the past by sending her back in time to her child body (just before season 1) and basically letting her live as a video game protagonist in a game themed around embroidery. Which honestly? Works kind of well somehow. She gets a magic embroidery hoop that acts like a game menu, and the more quests she finishes the more powers she gets, to the point that she can actually influence world events.

It's unfinished and abandoned (at an awkward spot mid-quest, too), which is a shame, but what's there is fun to read.

Warning for suicide in the first chapter as that's the method of going back in time (via human sacrifice). For some reason. The first chapter is dark but the rest is significantly lighter. I generally forget about the first chapter when I re-read,

...huh it looks like the author's made some edits since the last time I checked. I get to re-read it now too! :D

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Fandom 50 #3: Posting regularly is hard (aka Nostalgia Time)

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 05:18:52 GMT

Fic recs seem a like an okay way to go as a fortnightly posting default, but I wish I had more interesting things to say. Way back in the day I had so much enthusiasm, but I guess I can't expect the same of myself nowadays. And that's okay. Fandom Grandma vibes suit me well enough nowadays - siting back quietly enjoying me thing while ignoring the flame wars and occasionally yelling "get off my lawn" and all that - but it gives me less to say, and therefore less to interact with you all about, and that I do miss.

Anyway, this counts as a post, so I haven't failed yet.

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Fandom 50 #2: MCU Agent Carter rec

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 08:08:51 GMT

So far I'm sticking to this! Today's rec is:

Agent Carter fanfic rec:

A Lady of Value by Eienvine

Author's summary:

Captain Daniel Sousa had resigned himself to an uninteresting Season, full of insipid social engagements - until the day Miss Margaret Carter came along. A tale of manners, intrigue, spycraft and romance among the beau monde.

My summary: An Agent Carter Regency AU that really delivers on both the Regency/Austen-like setting and the AC-style plot.

It's a fun story, ~150K long. The two settings are blended really well, combining a Peggy/Daniel fake relationship trope with a "stop the Russian spies" plot that has the vibe of AC's season 1 plot but is well adapted for the setting (of course it's Dottie).

It's all from the POV of Daniel Sousa, ex-Navy captain, and features - besides Peggy of course - basically all the AC s1 characters in appropriate roles. As the story climax approaches the rules of acceptable behaviour (especially for the women) are bent a bit, but it's cool and I don't care. The romance plot is sweet, the setting is enjoyable to be in, and the spy story is well crafted.

I reread it at least once a year.

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Shipping meme

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 05:42:29 GMT

( 15-question Shipping meme )

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Fandom 50 #1: Intro + Star Wars rec

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 21:26:55 GMT

For this year I've decided to try an adapted version of Fandom50 / Fannish50 just to get myself posting again. The original challenge description is:

This is a challenge to make fifty posts about fandom things. They can be whatever kind of posts you’d like - movie reviews, recs, a story about meeting a fellow fan, cosplaying … anything!

As I'm historically bad at keeping up with things with a high workload, I'm going to make this very easy on myself. Goals:

Once a week (day flexible, can do 2+ in a later week if I fall behind)
A post about something to do with fandom, fanfic, or my fanfic
Default / fallback to a rec for a fic I like because I've got well over 50 of them

And for this week....

Star Wars fanfic rec:

Don't Look Back (series) by acuteneurosis.

My summary: Timetravel fixit AU where Leia finds herself on Tatooine before Ep2 and sets out to save the galaxy from Palpatine - not by force, but in her arena: politics. Things like campaigning for clone citizenship, moving refugees, keeping trade routes safe to keep the economy stable, and all the million small things that can affect a war. It's a delight to watch Palpatine gnash his teeth and seethe as her quiet undermining of his power grab gets more and more traction, making bigger and bigger changes to the war.

I say politics, but this is in no way a dry fic: Leia first meets Shmi, who essentially adopts her, and their grandparent/grandchild relationship is a backbone of this story. They end up on Naboo, which leads to Leia working in Padme's office and eventually alongside her in the senate, eventually figuring out that this is her mother through a mix of the embarassing/awkward way Anakin interacts with her and Leia's own growing Force powers. Cue lots of feelings. Also watch her heart break a little whenever she has to be in a room with Bail Organa and struggle not to call him "Father", but on the flip side we get some beautiful moments of interacting with her parents and being on Alderaan again.

Also featuring Luke as a ghost in Leia's mind providing both a comfort for his stressed-out sister and a peanut gallery commentary in lighter moments.

This is seriously one of the best fics I've read for any fandom in the last ~30 years. The characterisation is spot-on, the situation is unique, and every character and plot thread is well considered and weaves back and forth into the story nicely, if sometimes fifty chapters later. Leia's struggle to see Anakin as a human separate from the Vader of her nightmares takes the time required to be believable, and her (unwitting) influence eventually leads to a much healthier, slower-paced and genuine relationship between Anakin and Padme. Shmi surviving to mother him, Leia, and half the clone troops is done well too, as is the slow-grown trust that brings Leia into working with Padme's handmaidens and eventually the Jedi.

There's a lot of anticipation of a Big Reveal moment when someone will find out Leia's from the future, but so far (and did I mention it's 500K+ long already?), Leia has steadfastly refused to tell anyone, and I think it makes the story better. This isn't a fic that leans into tropes or stereotypes, and while we've been assured of a happy ending, I genuinely do not know what's going to happen next.

And, the author is very punctual with their posting schedule: They write in small chapters and have a dozen or so written ahead of posting, and so post pretty much on the same day every week. Three of the four(?) major arcs are posted and the next is on its way (early this year), so nothing is being posted right now, but if you jump in, by the time you get through the existing text, the rest will be incoming.

Go read, please, I want to talk about this with someone :D

(... So much for a low-effort first post, huh? lol)

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End of Year (but no meme)

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 21:48:25 GMT

Alas, I did nothing creative in fandom this year, so no End Of Year meme works for me, but my one and only New Year's Resolution this year is to post more often here on DW, and thanks to delphi I think I'll try using the Fandom 50 format. Fingers crossed :)

(And who knows, maybe this year I'll be able to write again too).

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! May it be a very good one <3

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Online safe spaces

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 23:26:45 GMT

Just a note to all that I use online fandom spaces like DW and tumblr as my safe spaces in which to relax and escape stressful things, so I have blocked all the words/tags I can think of and will ignore pretty much every post or comment mentioning Certain Topics for the indefinite future. It's not personal and I'm not ignoring any of you individually, but I've got to look forward to being here, not dread it.

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2005 Movies

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 05:03:43 GMT

author_by_night has been doing a fun thing where they list all the big blockbuster movies of a given year and thoughts on it in retrospect. My replies have gotten a bit too long so I thought, why not post it here?

So here's the major movies from that I've seen and my thoughts on them. Feel free to share your thoughts on any of these movies too, or thoughts on my thoughts.

( 2005 Movies )

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Ao3 Tag Meme

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 06:57:52 GMT

Found at delphi 's blog:

Go to AO3 and find the following (in your tags):
( 5 questions )

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Fanfic trope meme

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 23:32:42 GMT

Seen on sholio 's blog: Fanfic trope sorting meme
( Cut for large image )

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Damsel

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 06:20:27 GMT

Guys! I just watched Damsel (on Netflix) and I really liked it. Really, really liked it.

No spoilers below beyond what's in the trailer, brief summary under the cut if you don't feel like watching it.

( Cut for length )

So have any of you seen it? Want to see it? Thoughts?

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Snowflake Challenge #15: Fandom Wrapped

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 07:31:39 GMT

Challenge #15: Fandom Wrapped!

My top 5 fandoms for 2023 were: Critical Role (mostly Mighty Nein), Jedi Fallen Order/Survivor, Forspoken for a while, and... that's kind of it. Most of my old favourites got attention but none were The Current Obsesssion.

My top 5 fandom spaces in 2023 were: In terms of time, Ao3, with Tumblr close behind. DreamWidth had much less going on, but it's my most social space.

The top 5 things I did to contribute to fandom in 2023 were: Ha, very little. I scribbled out two very short fics, and other than that, I think commenting on and reccing fics is most all the interaction I've done.

My top 5 most appreciated fandom contributions were: Eh, I don't think I've contributed anything appreciable. Unless this means things that I appreciated? I appreciate SO much that other people havedone, I couldn't possibly pick 5, lol.

Bonus questions:

My fandom personality in 2023 was: The Silent Lurker(?)

In 2023, I discovered: I actually don't hate modern setting AUs, it's the (inevitably American)High School and (inevitably American)College (student) AUs that I hate.

My fandom home in 2023 was: Tumblr and Ao3 again, I'm really not very varied!

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3 Sentence Ficathon

Sat, 13 Jan 2024 02:41:56 GMT

This year's 3 Sentence Ficathon has started! I'm going to try to participate this year. Anyone who's interested is welcome to participate, just be sure to read the intro post to understand it all first.

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Snowflake Challenge #6: A Favourite

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 21:49:43 GMT

Challenge #6: Share a favourite piece of original canon (a show, a specific TV episode, a storyline, a book or series, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much.

( Hard to pick a favourite... )

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Snowflake Challenge #2: Goals

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 23:26:12 GMT

Challenge #2: Set yourself some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private.

2023 was a slow year for me for fandom, so I'd like to do more this year. I'm not going to set hard or high goals because that's the fastest way to feel like I've failed, but just more in general, in little ways.

I want to:

Interact more with people in fannish spaces, both with the people I'm already mutually following and, hopefully, making new friends.
Write a little fic here and there, maybe nothing finished/posted, but at least put some words on 'paper' here and there. Of course, this kind of needs me to be inspired and somewhat enthusiastic about a fandom again, which leads to:
Enjoy fandom more, get enthused about at least one of my (existing or new) fandoms again. You know that feeling when your brain just won't stop spinning on a story or character, when you sit up in bed several times a night to write something down, when you lose yourself in hours of reading people's meta and headcanons and such and diving head-first into the A03 tags until you've got a huge stack of Marked For Later fics that'll take a few months to read through? That. I had that a little last year with Jedi Survivor, so this one shouldn't be too hard.

Fingers crossed!

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Meme: 20 Questions for Fanfic Writers

Sun, 31 Dec 2023 03:40:32 GMT

Borrowed from delphi:

( 20 Questions meme )

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Surprise fic

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 09:32:13 GMT

You ever come across a draft in your WIP folder that you'd mostly forgotten about, and it turns out it was basically done, you just overshot the ending and needed to pull it back a few lines? Yeah, I did not expect to be posting anything at all in the near or far future, partiularly for this fandom; I haven't watched new MCU stuff in years. Surprise for me I guess?

Title: One More Stray
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hawkeye (TV 2021)
Summary: Yelena loved American Christmases. She never expected to get another one, let alone with the Bartons.

Hope all of you are having a happy holiday and that you feel loved <3

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December Meme: Talking about stuff

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 06:00:05 GMT

Meme borrowed from the kindly author_by_night, and I'm picking and choosing questions to answer, since I don't do real life stuff online and some of them just aren't applicable.

December 3, 4, 5, 8 & 9 : talk about movies, television, books, games, art this year

( Huh, looks like I can still talk a LOT when I get going )

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Fic Recs: Good Omens

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 05:27:03 GMT

Starting this rec series off with a popular fandom for which I have surprisingly few recs, but slow starts are good.

From Your Lips to God's Ears by Luthe
Summary: Aziraphale really needed to stop listening whenever he heard Crowley talking to God. (Or five times Aziraphale heard Crowley talking to God and one time Crowley heard Aziraphale)
My notes: Nice canon gapfiller that's at times a little heartbreaking but mostly just good character moments as Aziraphale and Crowley get to know each other, with the requisite funny endnotes throughout.

Blasphemous by anticyclone
Summary: Crowley probably shouldn't have accepted the invitation to dinner, but then he would have missed out on the earthly mother of the son of the Lord saying, "Between the two of us, the Archangel Gabriel's a total prick." And that would have been a real loss.
My notes: Short, funny, and a nice take on these Biblical figures as normal-as people.

Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach by Nnm
Summary: As soon as Aubrey Thyme, psychotherapist, had opened her office door and seen her new client, Anthony J. Crowley, sitting in her waiting area, she was observing and assessing him. [...] What Aubrey Thyme, a professional, thought, upon first seeing her new client was: you’re going to be a fun one, aren’t you?
My notes: Long and at times very heavy, but clearly written by someone who knows their shit and has done a thorough dig into Crowley's psyche, with Crowley being very much Himself the whole time. The POV original character is surprisingly well-rounded and manages to carry the story well enough that I genuinely got emotional about her at the end.

A Christmas Princess by Jupiter_Ash
Summary: Sara had always known that her uncle was a narrow-minded bigoted arsehole, she just hadn’t realised he was an idiot as well. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, her uncle’s idiocy led Sara all the way to a cosy Christmas cottage in the South Downs.
My notes: Sweet Christmas fic from the outsider POV of a trans woman with a not-great family who gets treated wonderfully by our resident angel and demon. It's part of a long series about Aziraphale and Crowley settling in a small village, which I've read in full and is fine overall, but this is the one I keep coming back to, and it can be read on its own without much issue.

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Raise your hand if you remember

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 22:02:47 GMT

So if you're seeing this, you probably follow me here on DW, and I might be following you too, either because I have been for years or because, in the last few days, I saw you're currently active on DW and followed you back.

But here's a thing that's awkward: I haven't been around in so long that I don't remember how I met most of you, or what our mutual interests are/were, or... honestly that much detail about you. Which feels like being a bad friend, but that's not quite accurate, so I'm trying to think about it more like we met at an event years ago, kept in touch for a while, and now I recognise your face but can't connect any names or or details, and we just ran into each other again.

(Most of you, not all: sholio, I know you and I met through Agent Carter, and I started following rthstewart after binge-reading your lovely Narnia fics, but you two are also the ones I've interacted with here and there (mostly there, being tumblr) in the last few years, so my less-than-perfect memory has a bit more to go on.)

So... tell me about yourselves? If you remember, how did we meet - a friending meme? Did I read your fic and follow you? Did you read my fic and follow me? What are you interested in now that we could maybe nerd out over now?

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