czi

I figured I'd have a go at doing a bingo, since I write better with prompts. cottoncandy_bingo was a good choice for me to start, because I'm pants at writing angst and the point of CCB is fluff! (Thanks to lilly_c , who has also signed up and who unknowingly prompted me to do the same.)

I've got my card already, so I guess I'd better get going on filling it! [P.S. I guess we're going for blackout? Who knows!]


( CCB Fills )

It's a little weird, because for a long time I was totally into the canon pairings of FFIX: Garnet/Zidane, Beatrice/Steiner and (implied, later) Eiko/Vivi. I never did like Lani, though.

I don't know. Amarant is so... snarky. He doesn't take shit from Zidane and they have weird not-quite-flirts in their dialogue. Plus Zidane is the reason Amarant is a wanted man and they still get over that (and other issues) to save the world together. I guess I just figure... Zidane is too much of a wanderer. He has thieving and traveling in his blood. He wouldn't be able to sit down and help rule a kingdom without some major political upheaval. Sure he's a hero and personal friends with Cid, Hilde, and Eiko, but that doesn't mean he'd make a good king. Amarant himself is a wanderer too and I feel like they would come together out of their shared experiences and challenge eachother to reach new heights.

Whatever! This is a long justification for the fact that I love me some Amarant/Zidane and there's just not enough of it in the world! The drawing below is from a Final Fantasy IX crossover that I'm not sure I'll ever finish (but I'm trying!). Zidane gets injured when Eiko messes up an experimental summons and instead flings the bounty hunter and the thief through dimensions. So here's a pissed and worried Amarant with an injured Zidane, going to look for help.

So I finally got around to setting up the all-in-one printer my parents got me for Christmas. Late as I am, it does mean that I won't have to go around to their place every time I want to scan something or print references and whatnot.

To prove it works, I scanned in one of two super-secret presents for ashesandghostff. Of course, because it's a secret, I can't post that until it's time to reveal them, so I also scanned a new icon for myself as well as bust of a suitless Kal'Reegar concept I've been working on. (He's totally saying "Yes ma'am.")



Aside from that, I haven't actually had much time (read: will) to do... fannish things. I started a new shortfic (Avengers, I've never written them before so it's a little weird) and got some done on Legacy: Prodigal (IY/HP worldbuilding, basically) but not much else.

I really just need to sit down and watch a playthrough of the Ochu fight in FFX so I can finish off that scene in AMoDS, but I've been saying that for weeks and, well... Fight scenes are hard guys. Especially from the POV of someone unused to the usual terms of the world. In light of that, I think tomorrow will be Tea and Writing Day. (I will probably succeed until lunch, after which Sola might drag me off, but..!)

In your own space, create a list of at least three fannish things you'd love to receive, something you've wanted but were afraid to ask for - a fannish wish-list of sorts. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your wish-list if you feel comfortable doing so. Maybe someone will grant a wish.

Oh, wishes? I have enough to fill the ocean.

1. More rarepairs. I love me some m!Shep/Tali and Harry/Hermione but what about all those poor lonely others? I'd love to see something like Kaiden/Jack or Theo Nott/Luna. Even Antimony/Jack (from Gunnerkrigg Court) and Zidane/Amarant (FFIX) don't get enough love.

2. More rare characters in general. I know that the basis of games like Mass Effect is their ability to let you mould the main character how you want, but what I'd like to see is a story focused on, say, Kahlisa al'Jilani or Kal'Reegar or Amy Wong with little to no interactions with the main cast. What do these people get up to in their spare time? What happens to them in the spaces where they're not tracking down the main character? It's not just Mass Effect, either. I want to know what happens to Gunnerkrigg Court's Jack Hyland after the Spring Heel chapters. Has the Court forgotten him completely?

3. In that same vein: more character studies. What makes these people tick? I know there's a lot of canon on Jack Harper/The Illusive Man, but how did, say, Kai Leng factor into the equation? How did Mordin (or Kirrahe) become so famous, even within the STG? What made Pip Bernadette (from Hellsing) even get started as a mercenary?

4. Fix-it endings and what-ifs. Mostly applying to Mass Effect, but what about V for Vendetta? I love 'V lives' fics. How about some 'Desmond lives'? Or Haytham never becomes a Templar? Saving Sidonis? Mordin? Kal'Reegar? Canon divergences are my bread and jam, lovlies.

5. On a different track, coffee shop/bakery AUs! They're so cozy! I just love them, so I'd love to see more of them.

I'll leave it there for now, because otherwise I'll keep going forever.

In your own space, create a fanwork. A drabble, a ficlet, a podfic, or an icon, art or meta or a rec list. A picspam. Something.

I was going to wait until I finished the sketch of Kal'Reegar I started a few days ago, but then I filled out the goals entry for day thirteen and decided to just sit down and do something about it.

So I finished Angel's Chorus. I started the fill for the kmeme back last April, and it was getting to have been an embarrassingly long time since I'd done anything on it. Well now that's fixed!

All the details about the fic are in this post!

(And now I just need to power through the next part of AMoDS, eh?)

In your own space, rec at least 3 fanworks you thought you wouldn't like (because they weren't your fandom or they pushed against your boundaries or you thought you just wouldn't be interested) but you ended up loving.

Okay, here goes!

all just bones and a long way from home by Nagia (FFN). A really amazing Sandman/Mass Effect cross. I was a little leery of this one because, really? Sandman fic is hard to pull off. Mashing the dreamy, mystical vibe of the comics with the hard and bright science of the game didn't seem like something that could really work, but oh my c'thulhu it's glorious and makes me want to draw it all out, Sandman-style.

On The Wings Of An Eagle by FernandelDeLaFrance (FFN). Similarly, this is a beautiful Assassin's Creed/Zero no Tsukaima crossover. I don't actually know much about ZnT except that it's a bit of a harem-style fanservice anime with pantyshots and chest-ogling galore, which I can't really stand. However, replacing the teenage male 'hero' with an end-of-life Ezio Auditore da Firenze transforms it into something much more... plotful. He still flirts and cracks jokes and is a badass but, having been married and lost his family twice, he's not inclined to skirt-chase (or stand for it in some of the other students). I only hope it updates soon.

The Wee Doctor series by thursdayplaid (FFN). Consisting of The Wee Doctor, Small Families, and Bantam Wars, this series is Sherlock with a twist. I wasn't too keen to start it, seeing as it noted in the description of the first that it was based around a crack premise and featured a child!John rather than the adult we all know and love. However surreal (and some of the language is so metaphor-heavy you need hip waders and three read-throughs) it's been though, this series has transformed the way I look at Sherlock, Mycroft, Lestrade, and especially DI Dimmock. Give it a go.

Well now, let's keep current, then move backwards!

In your own space, talk about setting yourself a fannish goal. Big or small, it doesn't matter. Some great examples include: complete a bingo, sign-up for a Big Bang, write that fic you've been thinking about for years, podfic that story that you love, make a fanmix for your fandom, post that bit of meta or reclist you keep postponing. Maybe resolve to be better at leaving feedback, or answering comments.

Setting goals has been something that I struggle with a little. I seem to have an issue with finishing projects at all sometimes. However! I will do this and then, at the very least, ashesandghostff will stare at me disapprovingly until I do what I said I would. (Sometimes it takes a village, eh?)

This is, by far, an incomplete list, but it contains my fifteen top priorities at the moment.
Unfinished Works:

1. A Memory of Distant Stars (FFX/ME; Fem!Shepard rather than Tidus)
2. Angel's Chorus (ME; Save Sidonis) Done!
3. Pinky Swear (IY/HP; Sesshōmaru raises Harry)
4. This Unimagined Life (DW/ME; ME2/3 sequel to This Fantastic Life)
5. A Clamour of Rooks (SW:KotOR; Canderous finds Revan before Carth)
6. Soldier and Spy (ME; Twin!Sheps take on the games)
7. Recreans Legio (ME; Post Control, Shepard restores Legion)
8. Given What You Know (ME; Androgynous!Shep confuses everyone)
9. Legacy: Prodigal (IY/HP; Marius Black becomes Grandpa Higurashi)
10. Ad Femina (HP; Fem!Harry, good!Dursleys)
11. Eagle Hawk (AC/HP; Assassin!Harry)
12. Untitled (FFIX/HP; Amarant and Zidane cross worlds)
13. Untitled (SW:KotOR/ME; The Omega 4 Relay doesn't return to where it should)
14. Untitled (ME; Quarian First Contact AU)
15. Untitled (Sherlock/HP; Fem!Harry is Harriet)

So the goal here is, within the next year, to finish at least A Memory of Distant Stars and Angel's Chorus. Angel's Chorus should really be top priority, since it's been sitting undone for almost a year and, for a relatively short kmeme fill, that's... a little too long. After those, Pinky Swear and on down to number 14 I'd like to get at least a few chapters of each out and somewhere they can get feedback. Number 15, the untitled Sherlock/Harry Potter cross, I'd like to finish as a treat for AshesandGhost's ExtraGhost (Ghost+? SecondaryGhost?). She gave the biggest puppy dog eyes and, really? (I'm a sucker)

For shorter term goals, I have two super-secret presents for AaG that I can't say anything about because..! Also, I'm currently signed up for space_swap, so I will do that magic when assignments come out in mid-February. If I feel like I have time, I'd like to sign up for more challenges and swaps and the like, but I'm pitifully bad at finding them.

All in all, a bit of a full plate for the year (at least it seems so to me) and here's hoping AaG doesn't have to beat me up on our coffee dates to get me to finish.

Oh, I lied, I'm going back to two now!

In your own space, promote three communities, challenges, blogs, pages, Twitters, Tumblrs or platforms and explain why you love them.

When I first started writing fanfiction (beyond those halting, high school, 'haha, I totally know how people speak and act' pieces that will never see the light of day without extensive editing) I really wasn't sure where to start. Okay, Dawn and Dusk flowed pretty well, but there was always an end to it and even fitting After Dark between my own lines there wasn't going to last forever. But I'd been snagged. I needed to write more and desperately required hints. Enter, the Mass Effect Kink Meme. I found the ME kmeme almost by accident. Trolling the FFN and AO3 archives for my favourite pairing (underrepresented, I'm sad to say) I came across a few that referenced this mysterious and unknown community. A little bit of searching led me to what amounted at the time to mecca. Plot bunnies galore - not even all porn! - and I fell in love.

When I started reading fanfiction, there were several ports I paid call in. Aside from a fledgling FFN, Mediaminer.org and AO3 (which I had heard of but not applied for an invite to), I found a good chunk of my fanfiction either on individuals' sites or here: Darkness Rising. Despite not having been updated since around 2009, the site still archives a lot of my first loves in Slayers and Weiß Kreuz fic, as well as others.

Now, because I don't really have a third community to share as such, allow me to give you a few places where you can find a focus on the individual pairings I enjoy. For all your Hermione/Severus needs, there is Ashwinder; for your Sesshōmaru/Kagome desires, Dokuga (who absorbed the smaller A Single Spark a few years ago); and for a mess load of glorious Slayers fic, mostly Lina/Zelgadis, there is Theria's work archived on her own site Event Horizon Delta.

Out of order, here's day three!

In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you did not create. See if you can rec fanworks that are less likely to be praised: tiny fandoms, rare pairings, fanworks other than stories, lesser-known kinks or tropes. Find fanworks that have few to no comments, or creators new to a particular fandom who maybe aren't well known or appreciated. Appreciate them.

Original author's summaries for the fics are in bold; art is at the bottom~

For the Love of Saki (FFN) [Genshiken; Madarame Harunobu/Kasukabe Saki]: Madarame is a hopeless romantic, still in love with Saki after all this time. After college, when the real world kicks in, how will Madarame and Saki interact? Everyone else can see the truth, so why is it so complicated? Both a rare series and a rare pairing within it, these two have a ridiculous chemistry that this fic brings to life in exactly the way I wish canon would. It's not finished yet, but despite slow updates, I have hope it'll be finished eventually!

Kill the Cliche (FFN) [Calvin and Hobbes with Peanuts cameos; extremely slow build Calvin/Susie]: There's been an interesting development in the usually drone patterns of the university campus. Susan Derkins, note: childhood nemesis, has transferred to NYU. Will await further development. Signed, Dr. Calvin. Also incomplete, this story needs all the love possible to help the author finish.

Shoes of Velvet Green (AO3) [War for the Oaks, Emma Bull]: The touch of the Seelie Court leaves marks. The book is amazing and comprehensive but, beyond this being a rare fandom, I love this story for the simple fact that it focuses on Dan (a side character, no matter his importance) rather than Eddi, the Phouka, or even Willy Silver (all central, pivotal personalities). It's expected that Eddi will change to suit the Court she now finds herself a part of, but her friends? The ones drawn in by accident and circumstance? This fic shows what might have happened even if they hadn't been chosen by the Queen herself.

In terms of art? I absolutely love this picture:



Yotsuba&! isn't that rare of a fandom, but it could always use more love! The relationship between Mr Koiwai (black hair), his adopted daughter Yotsuba (green hair) and his kohai Yanda (blond) is almost perfectly captured here. I adore the use of colour and lines. (The artist is on Pixiv here.)

The last image I want to share is spoilery, really large, and also in Japanese so I'm linking to its post on danbooru, where's its been translated by one of their generous members. This image is both heart-breaking and at the same time a softly depressing (alternate) end to the gory horror series Umineko no Naku Koro ni (also known as Umineko: When They Cry in English). Nothing in the image itself is violent, though it does involve sinking into the ocean so if you have a fear of drowning, following the link may not be for you. (This image is rated safe, but not everything on danbooru is so. Please be warned that porn abounds on that site, even if I didn't directly link it.)

Honestly, I'm not that picky. Overall, whatever you give me, I’m down for! No worries that I’ll toss you out the airlock or anything. (I might leave a gizka in your cargo hold though, no hard feelings!)

Things I adore? A good adventure, for one. Gimme a little plot if it’s gonna be porn, but epic bromances are are victory-fist-worthy! I love humor. It makes my day when characters can joke around and tease each other. I’m a sucker for romance as well; established or not, I am down with relationships. Worldbuilding, alternate universes, canon divergences, happy endings, saving canonically doomed characters, deliberate misdirections and plot twists… all of these things make me pleased!

Things I’m not so keen on? Angst, most character bashing (I enjoy the villains more than the heroes, sometimes), extreme gore/guro, scat/watersports, torture, bestiality, pregnancy, futanari and non-con. I’m not that big of a fan of poly relationships either, though it’s not a total turnoff. Cheating, on the other hand, is a bit of a no go.


Mass Effect
Characters: Any

Actual request: Shepard, being a player character, has so many ways to be interpreted, I don't think there's really much that could go wrong. Epic bromances with either man or fem Shep, a little romance (preferably with Zaeed, but I don't really care!), just a good old shoot-em-down and take-em-out ride through the galaxy, whatever floats your boat!

Mass Effect, while not the series that got me into fanfiction, is one of the closest ones to my heart. That sounds super-cheesy, but! To that end, though, I’m not really particular about what comes out of this. I do like to see the rarer characters used a little more. Kal’Reegar, Kai Leng, Kolyat (these all start with K, what am I doing?) would all be welcome, even if they weren’t on the nominated list.

If it’s romance, I’ve read it all, A(lenko) to Z(aeed) and everything in between, but my OTP is Shep/Zaeed. If you want to give me someone else though, I will not say no. In fact, I've been longing for a man!Shep/trap!Jack fic for a little while now. I'd love for m!Shep to be romancing Jack and find out he's been a guy all along. He's just been using femininity as one more tool in his killing arsenal and hopefully Shep finds that pretty hot.

As for plot-types? Go nuts. I’ll take AUs and canon adventures all the same. You want to show me the crew as Wild West gunslingers or hobbling around a broken London after the endgame? I’ll take it all. (Synthesis bugs me as an ending - that whole diversity of the galaxy being wiped out thing - but I understand the reasoning and have seen it work, so.)


Star Wars
Characters: Any

Actual request: Mandalorians are my bros, so mostly I'd love to see/hear something about them. The Old Republic is the timeline I know best, but Boba is a great guy too so really, whatever!

Star Wars is my first space-love, if not my only. The Old Republic, as stated above, is the area I know best and I would love to get more works set in that timeline out in the world. My EU knowledge after the movies extends only to vague notions of the Vong Invasion, some general marriage/children announcements, and whatever came through the Vector timeline cross in the comics. I have not played The Old Republic MMO (outside of the tiniest bit of one starting zone) though, so the characters and situations introduced in that game are still a mystery to me.

If you don’t want to do Old Republic, fair cop! I’ll take me some Boba Fett horsing around the galaxy, or maybe he and Han are secretly drinking buddies and they meet up to talk through the years. Even if you just show me some Mandies messing around in their downtime between battles, I’ll be happy.


The Fifth Element
Characters: Any

Actual request: I love Ruby and his flamboyancy; Korben and Leeloo and their adorably awkward romance; Zorg with his greed that must have arisen somehow; but all the background characters (military, flight attendants, the mangalores... even David and the Diva) give infinite ways to move around the world and create something beautiful. Whatever you give me here, I'm sure I'll love.

There’s not much more I have to say than what’s above. You want to do a character study on Zorg or tell me how he first got in contact with Mr. Shadow? Okay. You want to show Korben and Leeloo trying to escape the media and attention for a little alone time after the movie? Sure. You want to tell me how Ruby and Father Cornelius become the bestest bros and hang out all the time, with David alternately fretting and joining in? I would love you forever.


I realise I don't have much up here (on dreamwidth) but you can find my works on AO3 or FFN under Czigany or at czi.livejournal.com if you’re curious how I write.