Part-time Flower Girl

This year’s theme is when fandoms collide – my bread and butter, really. So, without further ado, this year’s IFD reclist:

Alex Rider (AR) × Rise of the Guardians (RotG)

Kindling Wonder by control of chaos Beautiful and incredibly uplifting. In most fics, Alex is quite jaded and hardened by the things he’s seen from being forced to grow up too quickly but this fic reminds us he can still be a child – he can still have hope and wonder, remember the good times, dream and have fun. Despite everything he’s been through, he can be the kid he should’ve been allowed to be.

Rise of the Guardians (RotG) × Avengers

Clashing with Legends by routavaurio The two source media are blended very well despite being rather different in tone. There’s humour but also seriousness, the characters feel true to themselves and the fight scenes are easy to follow. Even with a pretty large ensemble cast, everyone got their time to shine. There’s also a sequel, Mythical Intervention, and both fics are now also on AO3!

Winter Gods by avearia This starts off funny and lighthearted, gradually layering in plot and as of the latest chapter (20/02/2019), hints of horror building up to quite the cliffhanger. The worldbuilding is intriguing, with explanation for the discrepancies between Norse mythology and the MCU’s Asgardians as well as incorporating backstory from the GoC books.

So this year’s theme is classic fanworks so here’s a list of fandom classics. I think I’ll probably do them in rough chronological order I’ve read/seen them and by fandom.

My Little Pony (MLP)

Lullaby for a Princess (Animation) by WarpOut, (technically scored by Ponyphonic) Pretty sure everyone’s cried watching this for the first time. The artwork is absolutely stunning: the detail in the background is beautiful, the characters’ movements are nice and smooth, and the dynamics of the fight scene were incredible. And how the colours just kind of bled into her hair as we were coming down from the climax; I saw somebody’s interpretation of that moment comparing it to someone’s hair going white due to stress from a traumatic event and yes. Imagine, in the far future when everypony admires her rainbow mane when to her, it’s just a reminder of her greatest failure. Ponyphonic is probably one of if not the most talented musician(s) in this fandom, the sheer emotion in Christina’s voice brings you to tears and his work was brought to sight so masterfully here.

Children of the Night and The Moon Rises by Duo Cartoonist These two fan-animations were the most well-known of this animation duo’s works. Everyone from way back when must have watched these. The first one, Children of the Night, emulates the show’s art style so well, if I didn’t know otherwise, I would’ve thought it was from the show. The Moon Rises was posted three years later and was apparently animated with the same program for the film that came out in 2017? From what I remember, there was more depth than Children of the Night which was rather 2D so some growth there.

Snowdrop by Silly Filly Studios I cried when I watched this and I am not ashamed to admit it. The animation style looks just like the show’s so that’s great but really it’s the storyline that got me. Snowdrop realising her self-worth and that moment she had with Luna. The parallels between winter and the night. I know their friendship was only really implied but at the end when Luna’s back and she never got to say goodbye to her friend because she was still sealed away in the moon… 😭😭😭. Those last lines from Luna though, so moving and I’ve only just realised that the last snowflake she ever made was actually that first one she presented to the princesses so there’s that full circle feeling. Heartwarming with a slightly bittersweet ending.

Past Sins by Pen Stroke, Batty Gloom This is probably the first fic I’ve ever read in my entire life. I was very young when I read this and I didn’t even know what fandom was at the time. From what I remember, it was alright. Nice mother-daughter relationship in there and a decent character arc, I think; I’m pretty sure I read the revised version so I got to skip most of those initial concerns people had or whatever.

Undertale (UT)

Undertale: The Musical by Man on the Internet A whole goddamn musical! God, I remember going through the whole playlist and then watching the whole production. I actually used to know the whole soundtrack by heart and sing along. The art, the lyrics, the playthrough footage, the cast!!! Those voices are pretty much how I imagine all the characters sound like (not that I had really any pre-existing concept beforehand). The amount of time, love and care put into this makes it a brilliant four-hours-or-so of a masterpiece.

AUs by Various This fandom is all about the AUs. Afaik, they’ve been the backbone of a large amount, probably a majority of the content produced by the fandom as a whole. From the top of my head, we’ve got Inktale, Dreamtale, Aftertale/Errortale, Underswap, Underfell, Horrortale, Reapertale? And the list goes on… AUs upon AUs upon AUs, so much so that there are crossovers between AUs now. Imagine how the recursion of all those recursive works, well, works. It’s insane.

Miraculous Ladybug (ML)

You Don’t Know Me by Ferisae Okay, so this was the first ML fic I’d ever read and it was amazing! Literally, what with Feri having actually gone on to work at ZAG, I think everybody knows this fic.

Always a Hero, No Matter the Miraculous by imthepunchlord I know this is technically a series, but it’s the kwami swap fics of kwami swap fics! ‘Lucky Fox Paradox’, I feel has got that old fandom classic vibe, but ‘Rise of Mariposa’, I think still stands the test of time. Just checked (10/02/22) since I’ve not been active in ML for years and it’s been rearranged? Like, I could’ve sworn Caught in a Cycle used to be in here.

Under Lock and Key by EdenDaphne, Maerynn This is probably one of the most well-known multimedia collabs from the earlier days. The art is amazing as always, courtesy of EdenDaphne and Maerynn’s prose still stands the test of time. I don’t think I read anymore past the point around when Maerynn passed away as I had basically phased out of ML years ago but it’s since been completed by Eden so I’m definitely going back to finish reading it one day.

Alex Rider (AR)

Hell Is Other People by amitai The origin of the Brecon Beacons fic. This completely changed the fandom at the time, it was completely crazy. I’ve already made a post about this so really, no need to go on.

In Loco Parentis by amitai The origin of the K-Unit guardianship fic. Ah, the nostalgia of these days. Wolf and Alex’s dynamics are brilliant here (to be fair, amitai’s characterisations are always spot on so no surprise there) and really, you know you just want to keep reading.

An Object Lesson by amitai The origin of the SCORPIA attacks Brookland fic. Only a true genius could come up with three fandom-specific tropes. Wolf and Alex’s budding partnership – again, characterisation and dynamics never disappoint.

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by pongnosis I’m going be honest and confess that I’ve not actually read this but it is still one of this fandom’s classic works so I felt it should have a place here. Thankfully, I don’t need to even try to wax lyrical about it because that’s what everyone else in this fandom is for.

Fran Bow

Words that look different, Yet sound practically the same.

Thoughts and feelings we don't know about, Through special effects come pouring out.

A painting of another mind, A window to everything we cannot see From the outside.

Since HIOP's updated today, my procrastinating ass does not want to revise, I've already finished reading the latest chapter and I never actually put anything on those fav lists, I'll do it right now. Done.

I love HIOP. Can words express just how much I love that fic, honestly? The fact that it's a fandom classic while still being a WIP (though not for long because I think amitai mentioned an epilogue in chapter 33) is truly iconic.

I'm going to miss this fic when it's finally completed. (┬┬﹏┬┬)

But I can't wait to read the rewrite on AO3 when that ball finally gets rolling. I've already read the first chapter that's already been up for a while now and the growth is amazing.

So, the cherry pirozhki fic is now out! I'm feeling quite tired now, those two all-nighters turned into three. I had intended to post it in time for Yassen's birthday which is apparently on the 5th of April?

I actually finished writing the second draft of it in the morning on the 6th but I spent the rest of the day trying to find that old tweet about Yassen's birthday.

By the end of the day I was pretty sure the person who asked AH about it deleted their account so… the closest thing to a source I have is an old screenshot somebody took.

Water dripped down from the ceiling of a small cell, dark and damp. Chains rattled with every slight movement of the room’s sole prisoner: a fifteen-year-old boy, sitting on the cold ground with his arms wrapped around his knees.

Goddammit. It was just a bit of surveillance, his arse. For someone of his skill level, he really shouldn’t have gotten caught but there he was. How embarrassing, hopefully no one would think too much of it when he got back. Lady Luck was not on his side today, the security was actually somewhat competent for once – they’d frisked him properly and left him defenceless.

Well, almost. He still had one more trick up his sleeve.

The boy pulled at the neck of his shirt, shoving a hand down. After a few seconds of digging around, he pulled out a long chain hung around his neck. On the chain was a pendant, a metal capsule reminiscent of the suicide pill. Inside was a large red pellet, or as Mother Mabuka liked to call them, magic beans.

He fumbled around with the necklace, bringing the pendant up to his mouth. Cracking the capsule open with his teeth, Alex swallowed.

A snippet of my latest project: AR × Fran Bow! I'm probably going to scare myself to death trying to make this happen lol. I don't even have a cohesive plotline, so it's just me writing little excerpts of whatever ideas come to mind. This will probably get revised and rewritten many more times by the time I post this on AO3 but oh, well. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I'm too much of a wimp to even think of playing the game, so the most of my familiarity with it comes from watching a playthrough with my little sister. Guess who was yelling at the other to stop screaming for five seconds so she could watch the damn thing? Because it wasn't me.

So now for my important question: does Mabuka ever call the Duotine pills "beans" or did I just hallucinate reading that somewhere?

In salty smoke, and bitter choke Dark treacle made of bile clogs up my throat A flush of blistering heat spreads, Throbbing aches and pains Fill the veins in my head

媽咪 says I must drink the stuff The only one who can stand the heady vapours Of Sarson’s Malt Vinegar lingering in the kitchen My potatoes are extra sharp tonight I always put too much on, nowadays For the cuts on my tongue, there is no respite

Many years ago, in an apartment that wasn’t mine I huffed and I puffed, made a grown woman cry Now, I wrap my temper in a web of sticky lies

醋. Bitter acidity. Need to sort things out quickly, Clean my dirty laundry And bleach my sincerity

My inner rage is seething. Jaded and disillusioned, Down here, I find my faith lies bleeding.

I’ve just had the weirdest theory but it kind of has some merit. In truth though, I really only came up with it when my occult/paranormal/psychic!Alex AU demanded some shenanigans for séances with certain assassins which I will eventually sort out.

Anyway, I present my brain’s latest invention:

It is said Yassen’s actual name is Yasha

Yasha (Яша) is a diminutive form of Yakov (Яков), equivalent to English James

Yakov is equivalent to English Jacob and is apparently a fairly common name

Looking back on when we did Macbeth in English Lit, I remember the time period of the reign of James I’s is called the Jacobean Era

Hence, the two names are clearly related

Further research on Wiktionary and Wikipedia tells me that James is descended from Late Latin Iacomus, a derivative of Latin Iacobus, which is the Latin form of the Hebrew name Yaʿăqōḇ (יַעֲקֹב‎)

Jacob also comes from Iacobus

My brain now realises the etymology is not actually relevant to the theory (┬┬﹏┬┬)

Iirc in Eastern Slavic (and by extension, Russian) naming customs, the full tripartite name (legal name) is too formal for everyday usage

It’s very unlikely that Yassen was ever addressed by the forename on his birth certificate

Conclusion:

What are the chances that Yassen’s actual given name is, in fact, Yakov?

However, Wiktionary does categorise Yasha as a Russian male given name so it could just be that I’m looking far too much into this and to be fair, this was for a bit of fun. Besides, the only potential use I have for this is so Alex can find out Yassen was formerly known as Yasha. But you could just use his USB-stick-diary as an token-object.