Fannish update

[magnetic_pole]

I had about two full weeks with minimal internet while on vacation last month, and while I'm sure it was a healthy thing, I'm happy to be back and finally breathing normally again. A couple fannish items for you, plus some recs.

IN FANNISH NEWS:

* lgbtq_recs finished up another year of posting! The master list of fun stuff to read or watch or listen to--including everything from lesbian steampunk to queer-themed webseries about twenty-first century life--is over here. Thanks enormously to folks who recced!

* In festy news...I'm moving into second gear with my hp_friendship fic (deadline approaching!) and will be asking for beta help soon...It turns out that even if you missed the deadline you can sign up for minerva_fest through August, so drop by and peruse their list of prompts if you think you might be interested....hp_silencio is open for prompt claiming! Check out the prompt list--this sounds like such a great fest.

* Action item! howifoundfandom fest--Y/Y? Would anyone be interested in a fest (perhaps in August, when fandom is especially quiet?) for autobiographical stories about how we got into fandom? Perhaps posted anonymously, with names added later for those who want to do so (i.e., leaving open the possibility of staying anonymous)? buckle_berry mentioned the idea recently, noting that we all have such compelling stories about how we found fandom and that we love hearing them and re-telling them. If you're interested or have ideas, could I ask you to comment below? With suggestions on how it might work? Thank you!

RECS:

Masked Ball by waid, Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD), Characters: Holmes, Watson, Álvaro de León (OC), Nathan Grey (OC), Friedrich of Havelberg (OC); 32,000 words, gen casefic with background Holmes/Watson
Six months after Holmes’ return from the dead, the delicate equilibrium in Baker Street is disturbed when a stranger walks out of the London fog with a case – for Watson. Holmes is wary, Watson is fascinated. But who is the man calling himself Álvaro de León? And what does he really want?

Perhaps my favorite ACD Holmes fic to date--a clever and rewarding premise (a case offered to Watson rather than Holmes), executed with style. It's a great mystery with compelling OCs and a writing style that retains something of ACD without sounding mannered. (tarteaucitron, do you read ACD fic? If so, read this one!)

From holmestice: You Say Surrender Like it's a Bad Thing by goddessdster; Fandom: Elementary; Characters: Alfredo Llamosa, Sherlock Holmes, Joan Watson, Ken Whitman, Clyde; about 2000 words, gen
The Third Step is just about making the decision. Just that, and nothing more. So why is Alfredo having such a hard time getting Sherlock to do that?

A spare, beautifully written little fic focusing on the relationship between Alfredo and Holmes and Holmes' resistance to the emotional heavy-lifting of recovery.

From queer_fest: Vale of Friendship by queen_ypolita; Fandom: Maurice; Characters: Kitty Hall; 1500 words, gen
Kitty Hall, growing up to understand she loves women.

A brief, quiet character sketch, doing exactly what it says on the tin, which works well in contrast with Maurice's own growing up to understand he loves men.

Comments

[berry]

me! me! i want to participate in the howifoundfandomfest! although i think you knew that already. i am trying to think of a non-labour-intensive way to keep it anon, but coming up with nothing other than asking people to post their stories in a comment. that can be annoying to read, though.

[magnetic_pole]

YAY!!! I even accidentally made a comm for it--howifoundfandom--while trying to figure out if that name was already taken.

Hm. Non-labor-intensive is key, obviously. Does the anonymity matter to folks? I could put up a poll to ask, I suppose--next week, though, since US folks are all about to go on vacation, and Canadians may not be around much right now either.

YAY! M.

[berry]

if anon is not important, people could make posts that would later be unscreened by mods a la rs small gifts - is that very labour intensive? i suppose it all depends on the number of participants.

[magnetic_pole]

Good point--that way's very easy (hence small gifts' survival into this decade). Do you suppose anon matters? Is that just me being secretive again? I'll ask around.

(Also: hope I'm not stealing your idea? Had I realized you hadn't left yet I would have e-mailed to ask first. *sheepish*) M.

[berry]

i feel like anon probably will matter for some folk - it would have for me at an earlier stage in my fannish life, but apparently i am more relaxed these days? who knows why. i think your poll idea is a good one if you have the time and energy to do it.

hope I'm not stealing your idea?

not in the slightest! i can hardly claim it as my idea - it just arose from the discussion - but i am delighted that you are running with it.

[magnetic_pole]

*smooch* M.

[out_there]

Oh, thank you for the link to lgbtq_recs. And, y'know, for running it and everything else. It's one of those things I think is awesome even though I don't really participate.

[magnetic_pole]

Oh, glad you took a peek! Every year someone points out something that I follow up on and love--last year for me it was the movie "Weekend." (Have you seen that?) Hope you find something like that on this year's list! M.

[out_there]

I remember hearing about that, but I never got around to watching it. I take it it's definitely worth the watch?

(Personally, it sounded a bit like Before Sunrise/Before Sunset, and that was enough to make me put off tracking it down. An entire film of people talking to each other stretches my attention span.)

[magnetic_pole]

Mmmmm...it's talky, definitely, which might be a deal-breaker for some folks, but I never got bored. The characters feel amazingly real, and even though the movie's dealing with capital-I issues (At one level: How out should you be, and what does that mean? How strongly do you identify as queer? And at another: What does it mean to be intimate with someone? What does it awaken in you to be in love with someone else?), they feel integral to the plot and dialogue. I haven't felt so close to two characters or seen such a good movie about a relationship in a long time.

They should pay me to sell this movie as enthusiastically and as often as I do! But I think the other reason I want to promote it is that quality of the film made such a difference--I've watched so many queer love stories that didn't come together as films somehow and left me feeling disappointed and a bit embarrassed for everyone involved, as if queer stories were somehow always going to have this not-quite-there, After-School-Special quality to them. There's something important about seeing an aspect of yourself represented on screen, no matter how it's done, definitely, but it's different to see it represented as effortlessly and effectively and confidently as this one does. M.

[out_there]

I've watched so many queer love stories that didn't come together as films somehow and left me feeling disappointed and a bit embarrassed for everyone involved, as if queer stories were somehow always going to have this not-quite-there, After-School-Special quality to them.

And that, right there, sums up how I feel about Australian movies, too. There are a few good ones, but there are a lot that make you cringe and feel apologetic about the whole genre.