X Never Marks the Spot

So a lot of my BTS fanning is about the music, but of course it's also all about the feels for these random Korean guys. And last week was an exciting one in boraland. June always is -- their debut was June 13, 2013, and they make a big event out of the anniversary. This Festa was extra special, though, as we got our Jin back! As the eldest member, he was the first to start his mandatory military service back in December 2022, and on June 12th he was officially discharged.

Which was a joyous countdown celebrated around the world. And the other members (who are all doing their own service now) took leave to be there at the base when he got out, so we got a minute of sweet reunion hugs and some amazing looks-photoshopped-but-it's-real shots:



courtesy of Namjoon, who was PLAYING THE SAXOPHONE for the entire time??

Yoongi due to his civil service wasn't on the scene, but they posted a pic with all seven of them later that day. And Jin did a fan meet the very next day (at his insistence, because you can't spell BTS without "overachiever") and then a couple days later Namjoon put up this group selfie:



It's hard to explain how much this last pic meant the fandom, especially when it's so far from what anyone pictures as "idols," just a bunch of ordinary guys hanging out? But it's the first pic we've gotten of all of them together and unmasked since 2022. And just seeing them so casual and comfortable with each other...

It's funny because a while ago I was talking about my BTS fanning with a friend (longtime media fan but, like me until now, not into RPF), and she mentioned something about how with idols you only ever see them made up and posed -- when that's actually one of the reasons I really starting fanning on BTS? ( Read more... )

When I got into BTS, I was expecting to have fun with silly variety shows and blatant fanbait, and to appreciate their dancing (which I have and I do!). I seriously was not expecting to love their music as much as I do.

I also assumed that however much I enjoyed myself, I was too old to become one of those fans who gets all excited because their bias* changes his haircolor.

Then there was the sound I made when I went on Instagram yesterday...

(but it's black! it's never black, he always bleaches! awww! :D :D :D)

* One of the things I've liked from the first is the use of "bias" instead of "favorite" -- while I'm not sure it's the intent, to me it carries the implication that you don't have a favorite; of course they're all your favorites! Just that you have a bit of a lean in a certain direction. But after being in fandoms where picking favorites led to fandom rifts *cough*SPN*cough* I very much appreciate the prevailing opinion that true ARMYs love** all seven.

** I will spare you (for now) the extended ramble about parasocial relationships and the differences of having favorite characters in a fictional creation vs having emotional investment in real human beings who you know on a one-sided, controlled, commodified basis...but guys, being into RPF is so interesting!

(and he looks so cute with black hair!!!)

Writing has been less than happening so I don't have a Sunday snippet, but I did post a short fic last week for DMBJ/Reunion:TSotP/The Lost Tomb Reboot (the last seems to be sticking the most in English-speaking fandom, as "TLTR" but who knows if that will last!)

--And I need to post a longer thing on that, because s1 ended and it was completely ridiculous and I didn't enjoy the second half nearly as much as the first, but what I love in the show I REALLY love, making everything else worth it, and I want the second half so badly, you have no idea.

In the meantime, fic! Extremely gratuitous gen h/c, and yes it feels as comfortable as an old pair of slippers.

a place of refuge (2113 words) by Xparrot
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Wang Pangzi & Wu Xie, Wang Pangzi & Wu Xie & Zhang Qiling
Characters: Wu Xie (DMBJ Series), Wang Pangzi, Zhang Qiling
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Gratuitous Wu Xie Whump, Nightmares, migraines, Holding, all I want is Iron Triangle cuddles okay?, Present Tense, Podfic Available
Summary:

Wu Xie has nightmares. Fortunately he also has friends.

[Podfic read by Naye]

Also Lucifer s5 dropped -- only have seen a couple eps but it's definitely still Lucifer and so I'm enjoying it -- and we're finally catching up with s2 of the new DuckTales and it makes me happy. And we watched The Mandalorian and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, not only because Baby Yoda was so cute I was in paroxysms of squee every time he was on screen, but also it proved to be in a genre that seems to be growing in popularity, of shows that have the trappings of grimdark and then are actually not that, because the supposed antiheroes are really just heroes and completely, catastrophically fail at pretending to be otherwise. The Expanse is like that, too, and I hope to see more like it!

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate, and happy fanning likewise!

--And I am planning on doing days 4-6 of WeiLan week eventually, but for now:

Weilan Week 2019 day 7 prompt: Say one Weilan/Guardian thing you're grateful for, and wish Guardian a happy birthday!

Happy birthday, Guardian! I'm grateful to be in a fandom with so many other creative people to collaborate with and enjoy what they make!

Such as my marvelous naye, who recently got into reading podfic -- and not only did she read several of her own awesome stories (I especially enjoyed her poetical rendition of This heart I gave you to hold is still beating), but two of mine as well:
Scars, and 'Twas Brillig -- which is over 20K words; the podfic is almost two and a half hours long!! I think it works even better in audio form, especially the end; the first time you actually hear Shen Wei's name is so affecting.

Then, frith_in_thorns is almost done posting Goblin Fruit, just one chapter to go, and I...cannot give a coherent rec of this fic, it is such a direct shot to my id, the most incredible mix of angsty h/c and devotion and magic-drug-altered POVs. But so much gratitude to Frith for letting me pre-read/beta and putting up with reactions that were 40% incoherent gibbering, 40% ridiculously overthinking nitpicking, and 40% shameless begging for even more (yes that's 120%. I'm so sorry, Frith! ^^;;;)

Finally, dzenka , who translated several of my fic into Russian and has been sharing with me a taste of the squeeful, seagull-screeching crack that is the Russian Guardian fandom (e.g. a Black-Cloaked Envoy vid...to the Darkwing Duck theme...in Russian) and is now posting their first English-language fic (a translation of their own fic from the original Russian) which I am helping beta: Where All the Light Burns Out, a long fix-it that diverges from canon in the last episodes, and I am so looking forward to seeing where it's going!

WeilanWeek2019 is hosting a WeiLan Week to celebrate the Guardian novel's 7th anniversary! I have been meaning to do the 30 Days of Guardian thing but haven't gotten to it. But a week, maybe I can manage a week!

( the prompts )

Day one: Beginnings, firsts, fluff / What made you pick up Guardian?

Not long after the show dropped, in August 2018, it went like a wave through a bunch of fandom peeps I knew. In particular naye got into it and fell hard -- and it had been too long since we shared a fandom, but I had mostly broken up with SPN and also thanks to RL really needed something shiny and distracting so she was pushing it hard -- and my sister gnine had a friend equally into it. And those enthusiastic recs on both sides made it sound like the most delightful cheesy fun slash show. So I was looking forward to it anyway, then I saw a promo pic -- it might've been this one:



and (to the shock of no one ever) me and my megane kink went OKAY I need to see more of that beautiful man in the Harry Potter glasses.

And then the first gifs I saw were from the taxi scene in episode 8...



So Gnine and I started watching, and ended up diving headfirst into cdrama and danmei and everything Zhu Yilong has ever done (and he is still gorgeous without the glasses, but oh, Shen Wei...!) and I'm learning a bit of Mandarin and it has all been totally worth it (yes, even Dreamlike Life!)

In silly fandom news -- we just watched the FOX show Lucifer. And now I want there to be more of a fandom for it, because it tickles me in just that fannish way.

In some ways it's a hard sell because it's not exactly a good show; it's tropey and cliche and even at its best, it's a cautiously shallow dive into some deep waters. Though based on the Lucifer of Gaiman's The Sandman and other DC comics, those horror/philosophy stories are a very loose antecedent; the show is a lightweight police procedural -- albeit with supernatural elements, but those arcs are usually the B-plot to the murder of the week. It follows that established genre of the main het pair of a by-the-books (usually female) cop teamed up with a wacky (usually male) "civilian consultant" with a mysteriously vital skillset, and plays it straight, UST and all.

The civilian consultant in this case is the fallen angel Lucifer, recently retired from Hell and looking for entertainment and purpose on Earth by helping solve crimes. He owns a night club and goes to therapy (one of my favorite parts of the show, poor Dr. Linda) and hides his divine nature under the most impenetrable cover, which is that he tells anyone who asks that his legal name is Lucifer Morningstar, you know, Satan, and the reason that identity only goes back five years is because that's when he came up from Hell, which he used to rule, because he is in fact the Devil, and also he would appreciate it if people would stop blaming him for all their sins. And yes, those scars on his back are from when he cut off his wings. And no, he is not a method actor. Really.

The procedural cases are run of the mill and the angelic mythology isn't anything too original -- but it's developed nicely, and the cast is beautiful and has fabulous chemistry. It's one of those shows that just feels like everyone has fun making it together. I don't have any OTPs in particular, but most combos of the characters are entertaining. I lowkey ship pretty much any relationship that isn't blood-family (and those platonic relationships I naturally adore).

And Lucifer himself is pure fannish catnip for a certain type of fan, that is, if you have a thing for the devil-may-care lunatics and wildly inappropriate hedonists with darker backstories who secretly care more deeply than they ever should, and are slowly realizing they want and want to be more, and occasionally shatter into a glorious mess of angst...yeah, he pushes my buttons hard. The star Tom Ellis does a great job with the part; he deftly walks the line between obnoxious and charming, projecting confidence, glee, and menace without losing comedic lightness. He is supposed to be supernaturally attractive and he sells it well -- he's not the hottest guy on TV (which isn't to say he's any trouble to look at, and the directors -- many women among them -- know how to shoot those dark eyes and fitted suits to excellent advantage) but he carries himself like he knows he's irresistible, which is what counts. And he is so very good at maniacally smirking at people like he's about three seconds away from either going down on them or going for their throat.

He's also great at being completely emotionally devastated. I can point to the exact scene I really fell for the character and with him the show; it's partway through second season and I would be embarrassed by how cliche a fangirl I am, except that unabashed fanning like this is really just fun. The Lucifer show is such a marvelously old-school fan experience for me, a so-so but cute show with a fun cast and a few shining moments of fannish delight.

(It's old-school in less fortunate ways as well -- especially first season is problematic, with obvious and oblivious racism, sexism, consent issues, etc. That improves, but other issues remain. Throughout the show it all but ignores other faiths -- like Supernatural, it's not exactly Christian in that Christianity or Christ is never name-checked; but Christian mythology is all that's explored (I actually prefer no mention to badly handled dismissal or appropriation, but ymmv.) Like most procedurals, it tends to tilt more conservative than I'm really comfortable with, in the politics of crime and also socially -- like, Lucifer is canonically bi/pansexual, but we see him with way more women than men, while the demoness Mazikeen we also see being sexy with more women than men.)

The first season is on the slow side -- actually it feels bizarrely old-fashioned; without contextual clues I swear I'd have mistaken it for late-90s TV, down to how it's shot.

The second season is when the show hits its stride -- not only does it have a stronger story arc, but it expands the cast (including adding the gorgeous and hilarious Tricia Helfer; with her and another, the main cast is more female than male) and develops all the character relationships, mixing and matching in unexpected ways and giving everyone a chance to shine, such that a lot of chars who start out annoying end up becoming awesome. Maze especially is by-the-numbers seductive torturer in season 1; in season 2 she starts making friends and the actress gets a chance to show her range, particularly her comic side. Also Dan, who starts out as the stereotypical 'douchey cop still hung up on his ex-wife' but moves into a more solid supportive friendship with Chloe (exes who have genuinely moved on romantically but are still friends/family is so one of my kinks) -- and also ends up in ridiculous situations with Lucifer, which I suspect is because the actors play off each other so well they started writing to it.

The third season (which the show is finishing up now) has been extremely erratic; the plot arc isn't as directed as 2nd season's, and the characters are regressed somewhat. But it's had some good stuff, too, enough that I'm hoping it gets renewed.

And meanwhile I'm looking for fic, which is pretty slim pickings -- it's a mid-sized fandom, but the focus is nearly all on the main het pairing of Lucifer and his detective partner Chloe, and while I don't mind the ship, it's one of the less interesting aspects of the show to me. As is my wont, I mostly want gen team-Lucifer stories. (That or Lucifer/Dan stories, because it would be too funny. There needs to be an episode that Lucifer and Dan wake up naked in bed and handcuffed together and have to solve a murder by figuring out what happened to them, which might be easier if Lucifer would stop suggesting that they should have sex (again?) to see if it sparks any memories...)

So gnine was just up in Vancouver for work and happened to go to a SPN shooting this afternoon! And I am torn between being thrilled for her and being SO JEALOUS - I've always wanted to see TV/film shooting anyway, but of a show we're actively fanning on...!!! J2 were being silly together and Jensen was driving the Hero Impala (Baby is apparently as crazy loud as everyone says), plus Nina Lopez-Corrado was directing (new director on the show, this is only her second ep, but her first was "Red Meat," the h/c extravaganza I was squeeing about before) and just, eeee! waaaah! If only I'd known for sure it was happening, I could've driven up myself...(it's about 3 hours plus a border crossing...the fact that I'm seriously considering it should another opportunity present itself, well, such is the fangirl life...)

gnine is here for the moment, so we've been trying out some new shows! We've seen the first four eps of Sense8 (fascinating, can't wait to see more) and Syfy's Killjoys (want it to be better than it is, sigh) and a bunch of recent anime, two of which I have to recommend for anyone who's into that, or would like to be.

The first is Ore Monogatari!! aka My Love Story!! aka the cutest cute that has ever cutely cuted. This anime should come with a sugar warning for diabetics. It's a shoujo about a high school boy who is the polar opposite of the attractive shoujo hero, both in his colossal manly body and face, and his straightforward personality. Due to his looks, he's never had a girlfriend; they all fall for his bishounen best friend. Then one day he helps out a girl, and you can guess where the story goes from there. Except whatever you're imagining, it's cuter than that. It's a fun, sappy, quietly silly show focusing equally on Takeo, his best friend, and his girlfriend, and the relationship developing between them (don't worry, it's not a love triangle; not a threesome either, but equally about friendship as romance), and most of the stories are basically about which one of the three can be the sweetest (spoilers: it's all of them.)

Also the brother (who not-so-secretly enjoys school shoujo comedies) was honestly wondering about the gender of the mangaka - the writer is female, it turns out, but we guess she might have teenagers, because she captures a particular sort of low-key teen boy friendship in a way that felt very true to him.

If you like Ore Monogatari, I'd also recommend last year's Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun/Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, which has similar character dynamics, though is a lot goofier, more a straight comedy, bordering on parody - of the gentle and loving sort; if you're a shoujo fan I wouldn't miss it. Both are up on Crunchyroll.


The second is Ansatsu Kyoushitsu/Assassination Classroom, which has to be seen to be believed, but I'll try to explain why (and the summary is going to sound more spoilery than it really is - the basic idea is laid out in the first five minutes of the show - but if you want to watch it cold, go ahead, do it, you won't regret it. Provided you have a tolerance for certain shounen tropes, crack, and crack played straight(ish). And a basic grasp of Japanese schooling would help. But seriously, this show is amazing, I fell for it so much harder than I was prepared for.)

So Assassination Classroom is yet another take on that educational classic, the class of troubled teens getting an unusual new teacher who turns their lives around, à la GTO, Gokusen, etc. The twist - and it's a doozy - is that this teacher is a super-powered tentacle monster who blew up most of the moon and is going to do the same to the Earth in a year...unless this class of plucky young junior high students can assassinate him first.

This is quite the challenge, as he can move at Mach 20 (and the brother is thrilled by how cleverly and accurately his superspeed works), he's immune to most weapons, and also he's the best teacher the kids have ever had.

On the other hand, if they can kill him, they get a ten-billion yen reward from the grateful nations of the world. And (hopefully?) save the planet.

And if you're thinking this sounds completely absurd - absolutely yes! and yet the series makes it work. It's crack played straight - not realistically, and it's not a dark series; half the time it's a comedy and it keeps hitting the expected hopeful and triumphant chords of kids overcoming adversity with the help of a few adults who really care. But the emotional tension is all over the place and off-kilter from the tropes it's deploying, and that's deliberately and effectively done, often hilariously, occasionally disturbing. The kids are all the standard types of failures and delinquents, but they're well-sketched and lovable and you can't help but cheer them on...even when you're not quite sure you should.

(As a bonus Sugita Tomokazu is playing the PE teacher/special forces agent teaching the kids assassination skills and becoming way more attached to his students than he should be, considering the stakes. I apparently have a thing for Sugita-voiced characters who should never in a million years be mentors for kids and yet end up mentoring the hell out of them, though otherwise Karasuma-sensei is a 180 from Gintoki.)

The end of the season falls down a bit in how it goes more overtly action-shounen; but there's another season coming next year and I can't wait for it. Not the least of which because there are so many questions about the whole scenario, and it's offered enough hints to imply answers may come. In the meantime you can watch the first season on Hulu. And then come here and talk to me about it, because yes, so many questions!! (I'm debating whether or not to read the manga or be patient...)

For years now, whenever I complained about the lack of space opera on TV (which is every other month or so - and right now is more just "why are there no shows in space at all, argh?!" - but glorious sprawling epic multi-world culture-clashing space opera is my joy) my brother's answer has always been, "PLAY MASS EFFECT!"

So last month I finally did. And now I'm a couple hours away from beating the third game, and. Yeah. This is where the space opera has gone, and it is amazing. (Doesn't hurt that of all ME's influences - which range from Star Wars to Niven's Known Space - the strongest might be my beloved Babylon 5.) Being a game, it has elements in common with both visual and literary scifi - while it has the cinematics like TV and movies, it also has a ton of background text that fleshes out the universe, explaining details of aliens and technology in a way TV can only do in tie-in books. And yes, I'm one of those geeks who has to read the entire Codex.

And it's worth it! The alien species are fascinating, and not just in the character designs - though those are great, being a video game they aren't limited to humans in makeup. (Actually the aliens look better than the humans, who tend to live in that point in the uncanny valley where their fixed-plastic features don't quiiiiiiite ruin the dramatic scenes, but it's close.) All the species have distinct, complex cultures, and the story manages that difficult trick of having alien characters who are representative of their species, and yet are also unique individuals - their personalities are shaped by the societies they were raised in, but not determined by them. ( More random babble, no real spoilers )

Caught up with the anime with the sibs (to ep 601) and then out of impatience caught up with the manga (to the just-out ch.712) and this series is still ridiculous and too long and so shounen it hurts (...especially for Sanji in the last chapter, ow) and the latest arcs haven't been quite up to Water 7's standards, but I still love it forever and endlessly.

In addition to my adoration for everyone else I now also am madly in love with Trafalgar Law. (Well, I was before. But moreso after Punk Hazard. His interactions with the Strawhats are amazing "You understand that your definition of 'alliance' and his are different, right?" and he's super-hot by OP's very special standards.)

(What's up with his hat, though - why does it keep matching Chopper's style? Is there some special fashion trendsetter for doctor's hats on the Grand Line???)

But for the love of little fishes WHEN ARE WE GOING TO MEET VEGAPUNK, ALREADY???