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Fandom-Agnostic

On finding new fandom communities | 1893 words | Dec 2018 🔽

Originally posted to Dreamwidth on 31st December 2018 (and my first non-Yuletide-letter post to my journal). Assorted personal reflections on fandom 'migration' and fandom communities inspired by Tumblr's NSFW purge and the shifts it sparked off.

Hi, Dreamwidth! Like a lot of people in the wake of the Great Tumblr NSFW Content Purge, I've decided to give this journalling thing a go.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about fandom communities since the first dregs of Tumblr's purge began back in November, and have been reading a lot of discussions about them, along with most of the rest of fandom. I find the conversations that are happening right now - about fandom migration, fandom platform(s) of the future, decentralised fandom, and how we can own the servers on social media to prevent this happening (yet) again - absolutely fascinating. (I've also been documenting them on Fanlore, which is my obligatory plug/invitation for you to join me if you're interested in that kind of thing. It's a lot of fun :D)

They've also made me think a lot about my own perspective on all of this, my fannish history, and my participation in fandom. Here's where I'm at right now.

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That fandom feeling | 661 words | May 2023 🔽

Originally posted to Dreamwidth on 9th May 2023. Personal reflections on what it means to be "in the fandom" for something.

What does it mean to be "in the fandom" for something? I think everyone has a different personal answer to this question. I've spent a lot of time mulling over the question of which fandoms, past and present, I can say that I was "in"; in a way I think it's easier to define in hindsight, because the fandoms I distinctly remember spending a lot of time interacting with are definitely fandoms I would count. But if I could go back and ask my past self at the time, would I give a different answer? (More likely I'd just be confused by the question, because I feel like it's something I didn't think to define until I'd been in fandom for some time).

My personal criteria that I've alighted on usually involves creating fanworks, because that's how I know that I'm definitely Fandoming, but at the same time, there are fandoms I would say I was in that I never published a single work for, but I was interacting with a lot of fanworks and thinking fannish thoughts and generally engaging with the fandom for a solid block of time. There are also fandoms I've published at least one work for that I wouldn't necessarily count as one of my fandoms.

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Thoughts on fandom social media (about Tumblr, but also not about Tumblr) | 535 words | Feb 2024 🔽

Originally posted to Dreamwidth on 21st February 2024. Further personal thoughts on fandom migration and the use of social media by fans prompted by Tumblr management toxicity/transphobia.

So, things are looking a bit dire over at Tumblr dot com. (Again). I planned to post something about this during the last Demise of Tumblr episode, back when they announced that Tumblr's dedicated staff was being downsized to a skeleton crew, but I didn't get around to it.

This time, I want to throw some thoughts out there, but I don't want to write a properly fleshed-out essay, so for the details on what sparked this off, check Tumblr itself and look for summaries/round-ups (there are several). From here on in I'll assume you either have context or are content with knowing that "shit's going down" without further detail xD

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Baman Piderman

The Ultimate Gender-Ambiguous Love Affair? | 913 words | Feb 2014 🔽

Originally posted to my WordPress blog, A Footprint in Cyberspace, on 9th February 2014.

One of the positive aspects of fanworks and fandom that’s often brought up in discussions is their openness to and frank celebration of romantic relationships which don’t receive much mainstream attention or exposure. Say what you want about slash fics; at least they (mostly) take queer relationships seriously and treat them as the norm rather than as sideshows or tokens. Frankly, I’d rather be the position of complaining about too many gay relationships than too few; and anyone who is upset because those relationships go against canon should really think hard about why canon relationships are so rarely queer.

But anyway. I’m sure that point has been made plenty of times already far more eloquently than I ever could. In this post I wanted to bring to your attention a truly beautiful relationship (which is canon within its little odd series) which transcends notions of gender, sexuality and even humanity in the most adorable way.

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Beasts Frustration | 1364 words | Nov 2018 🔽

Originally posted to my WordPress blog, A Footprint in Cyberspace, on 18th November 2018.

Yesterday, I went to see the latest installment in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

I was a big fan of the first Fantastic Beasts film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I know the film had its flaws, and they were plenty - and I know that the film passed up on a lot of excellent opportunities to make the Harry Potter universe more diverse and inclusive. (For more detail on this and a better perspective than I could provide, I recommend checking out the extremely on-point meta essay by Stitch, Fantastic Beasts & Invisible Diversity in the Harry Potter Series).

But in spite of this (well, a lot of these were issues that I read about in depth after I'd seen the film, so I wasn't as attuned to them on the first watch) I really enjoyed watching Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. On the whole, I found it really fun, endearing, enjoyable and a lovely addition to the wider Harry Potter universe. I loved Newt's character and adored seeing a Hufflepuff in the starring role (I can't remember whether I've said it on this blog before, but I'm a proud Puff). I shipped the heck out of Queenie and Jacob. I really enjoyed their characters and the various magical beasts that we see introduced over the course of the film.

The ending was a huge disappointment to me: not just because of the apparent cold-blooded murder of a young Obscurial, not just because of Thunderbird Ex Machina, but because of its introduction of Grindelwald as the series' main villain - honestly, I'd thought Percival Graves was one of Grindelwald's followers, and so to me the revelation that he was really Grindewald in disguise felt like a huge let-down. Can't we have more than just one compelling, powerful villain in this universe at a time?

But all in all, I still liked the film, and dove eagerly into the rich and varied world of Fantastic Beasts fanfic, where many of the issues that I'd had with the film were either fixed or given a much better resolution. I dove into making Fanlore pages for the film and for my favourite ship, Percival/Newt.

I didn't exactly avidly follow information about the upcoming second installment to the franchise, but I was looking forward to it. I was excited to see the introduction of Jude Law as young Dumbledore, and for more antics from Newt and his beasts. My expectations weren't high for the plot or for things like the introduction of Nagini, a character whose existence completely contradicts a significant part of the canon from the later Harry Potter books and suddenly makes it a whole new level of horrible and wrong. But I still expected to enjoy the film.

In hindsight, I should have known better.

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Megamind

On 'Megamind' character archetype reversals | 266 words | Feb 2019 🔽

Originally posted to Tumblr on 8th February 2019 in response to a reblog by @ultraericthered.

...And then we have Roxanne and Minion. They start as the typical comic book damsel and the sidekick character respectively…and they stay that way to the very end. Say what?...

@ultraericthered This is a really interesting take. One thing that I would say in counter-point is that Minion and Roxanne don’t actually “start as the typical comic book damsel and sidekick character respectively”. In fact, it’s the opposite: they’re both shown to be atypical for those archetypes. Roxanne is not in love with the hero, isn’t scared of the villain, and probably just lets Metro Man rescue her instead of breaking out herself because it’s quicker. And Minion is the sidekick with common sense and more social awareness than the villain, instead of being the stereotypical dumb lackey.

It’s true that it would have been nice to see Roxanne break more out of the damsel role in particular, since she still needs rescuing from Titan (more so than she ever did with Megamind), but then again, Megamind also goes to her for help defeating Titan because she’s the “smartest person he knows”, she provides the crucial info that leads to them discovering Metro Man, and while Megamind is off having a crisis, she goes to confront Titan by herself.

Minion is just Minion all the way through, but his relationship with Megamind evolves to the point where Megamind finally starts to respect him as an equal. So in Megamind’s eyes he has moved beyond the “sidekick” role.

Tl;dr - I think that not everyone in the film needed to take on a completely different archetype by the end of the story, as they still have meaningful character evolution. But I would also have loved to see Titan abducting Minion disguised as Roxanne, I can’t lie xD

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

I also wouldn't put it past the IGR... (on Arkady's probable age when enlisting to fight in the Human-Dwarnian War, pre-season 2) | 310 words | Jun 2019 🔽

Originally posted to Tumblr on 6th June 2019 as a reblog from @p-contorta.

what do we think are the odds Arkady was at least 18 when she enlisted to fight in the war? bc uh, it seems like they might be upsettingly low...

I also wouldn’t put it past the IGR to make the age of enlistment 16 or something in order to get as many recruits as possible. I mean, young people are probably the easiest to fire up and motivate for a cause. In the UK, you can enlist in the Army at 16 (with parental consent). So needing to be 18 to fight in a war is… not a given in many respects.

I think Arkady was 16 at the oldest, because she says she was 14 when Cresswin Landing stopped taking new inmates - i.e. when it was shut down. Let’s say she was an old 14, and then the Landers spent a few months trading with Dwarnians until their agreement broke down (I think that’s what Arkady was referring to, in Episode 7). The war didn’t start for a “good 10 months” after that, so say it was a bit over a year, a year and a half, maybe. Arkady could have been a young 16.

And I imagine she would have jumped on the opportunity to fight in the war, because hey, food and pay, and no-one is going to look too closely into her background as long as she can fight, right? I’m pretty convinced that she went straight from Cresswin into enlistment.

I think the guard duty came later; maybe it was part of the military, or a separate job after the war (”rehabilitation” for former soldiers, maybe?) And she was on Telemachus, so that’s where she might have “re-met” Sana.

I’m assuming Arkady and Sana met back up at some point, because Arkady says that Sana didn’t know who she was on Cresswin, so I think their friendship really began later on. And Sana wasn’t on the front lines during the war, so presumably she and Arkady were in different places during the fighting.

Response to 'sana’s confrontation with ricky q + archetypes + genres' by iris2chorechart | 629 words | May 2021 🔽

Originally posted to Tumblr on 18th May 2021 in response to a post by @irischorechart2.

I’ve been thinking about Sana’s confrontation with Ricky Q and subsequent truck drive monologue and trying to put my finger on what made those scenes so surprising and satisfying when I first heard them...

This meta deserves soooooo much more attention!! I particularly loved your comparison of Sana to traditional male media action heroes - Sana is her universe’s Sylvester Stallone 😂 I mean, I’ve often headcanoned that she has a bit of a mythical reputation because for the Rumor crew as such a small smuggling outfit, they can obviously hold their own against lowlifes like the Fowleys, and I think their ability to stay off the radar and still deliver the goods must have built them up *some* reputation, even before they became internationally wanted galactic criminals. Also, it’s even more amusing when you think that Arkady accompanies Sana on jobs to help intimidate their clients, but I reckon everyone who’s been in the biz for a while knows that Captain Tripathi is the one you *really* don’t cross.

(I think we had a joke in the Discord about how, although Sana is popularly headcanoned as being among the tallest members of the crew, maybe she’s actually tiny and when they go out on a job people look at Arkady and assume that *this* must be the fearsome Captain Sana Tripathi. And then Arkady steps to one side and they realise that this??? is SANA TRIPATHI???)

I don’t exactly remember if I had any specific expectations when I first listened for how Sana’s arc would play out - I think I was just going along with the flow and shipping Vikady like nobody’s business xD But your analysis here hits on a lot of why I find Episode 7 SO DAMN SATISFYING to listen to, and how it’s actually my favourite episode of the podcast (6 used to take that spot, and it’s reaaaally close between the two because they’re both genius pieces of storytelling, but I really love Episode 7).

One thing that surprised me a little was this:

a gentle, self-sacrificing woman leader going alone to meet an evil man from her past for whom she once had romantic feelings would pretty much *always* be taken captive and rescued

Do you think Sana used to have romantic feelings for Ricky Q? It’s definitely possible, I just didn’t really read it that way myself. I do think she *liked* him when he first arrived, but in my head she seems like she was disillusioned with him too quickly for that to ever have developed into something more. But I might just be saying that because I’m very into the idea of Ricky Q having had an unrequited attraction for Sana, which to my mind fuels his petty digs at Campbell - “running around with guys named after soup!”

(I’ve thought about writing a ficlet set on Cresswin Landing that explores this dynamic, but it would require me to invent too much stuff about Cresswin wholesale, so I’m not sure I would actually write it).

Anyway, all of this is to say that even though Ricky Q is Super Awful, I would love it if he reappeared as an antagonist later on because he’s really fun to hate on and his dynamic and history with both Sana and Arkady are fascinating.

I also love how you analyse the little exchange about the body where Ricky disappoints Sana even further; and your commentary on the reactions of the rest of the crew! Yes! They’re *worried* but they *know* she can make it back under her own steam, but they’re *worried*. And the way that Arkady says “Not an option. We need you” in response to “wartime protocols” aaaaaaaaa my heart

(Does anyone else really want to learn more about the Rumor crew’s colour code system and how it got developed? Because I sure do!!)

Anyway, in conclusion, LOVE your analysis and long meta is such a gift in this fandom, thank you for writing it 🥰

You know what I actually really want to add onto this with some analysis of the conversation with Other Violet in Episode 9... (on Other Violet's description as friendly and well-liked versus her brusqueness towards the Rumor crew) | 1531 words | Jun 2021 🔽

Originally posted to Tumblr on 27th June 2021 as a reblog of observations by @violetren.

Other Violet is described as charismatic and well liked/sociable when the Rumour crew first look her up when they start getting hooked into the conspiracy. Then when we meet her she's brusque, impersonal, and she's got a metaphorical finger on the hang up button the whole time...

You know what I actually really want to add onto this with some analysis of the conversation with Other Violet in Episode 9, because there’s so much we can infer about her character from it and some of it seems to really stand in contrast to Our Violet’s assessment of her character, but also not? FOR EXAMPLE:

“You have five minutes before I sever the link. Explain.”

@violetren mentioned that Other Violet has “a metaphorical finger on the hang up button the whole time” during this conversation, but that’s mainly true during the beginning of the call. And yes, she’s absolutely brusque here, but given her status as a revolutionary spy and ringleader who is definitely on the run/in hiding permanently, it’s not that unreasonable for her to be very very careful who she spends time talking to. What I like is that we then get:

“So, you’re the reason Connors knew Dwarnian coding languages. Changed my mind, you have six minutes.”

“You know someone I knew and hold in relatively high esteem, and so I’m going to grant you an iota more of my time/trust.” (Sidenote: thinking about the relationship that Alvy and Other Violet might have had is fascinating and honestly so is thinking about the entire grouping of Emily Craddock, Alvy Connors, Boss/Other Violet and Thasia, and their interactions prior to the series).

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The Murderbot Diaries

On Murderbot, Mensah, and fear in Exit Strategy | 848 words | Oct 2022 🔽

Originally posted to Tumblr on 21st October 2022 as a reblog of thoughts by @cephaliarch.

I have a lot of feelings that I can’t quite put into words about how important it is to Murderbot that Mensah isn’t afraid of it (as mentioned in Exit Strategy and Network Effect)...

 

Going back to the scene in Exit Strategy, I also really think that moment was probably an important step in Murderbot realizing/accepting its own personhood, even if it didn’t consciously think of it that way (plus there was the whole Everything Else going on, obviously). It wasn’t “Oh, I’m a person deserving of trust and help” but it was “This person thinks I’m those things, and I care enough to not want her to stop”.

Not only that, but I think that this scene is Murderbot feeling sure that Mensah will become afraid of it now that she’s seen what it’s really capable of, and instead she responds not by recoiling, but with unflinching acceptance (and by telling it in no uncertain terms to simmer down, but not in a patronising way. She’s very frank in this exchange, which I think is the only thing that Murderbot would respond to. She doesn’t pull any punches).

There are other instances in the series where Murderbot is sure that humans are only unafraid of it because they haven’t seen its true nature - in Network Effect, Murderbot thinks that Ratthi only believes that it isn’t dangerous/that the propaganda is wrong about SecUnits because he’s “never seen [it] kill anyone close up”. Later on, Murderbot has this conversation with ART:

I said, You told your humans about me.

ART knew exactly what I meant. I told them I helped an escaping SecUnit get to RaviHyral. I didn’t tell them about Tlacey and her employees in the shuttle.

So you lied to them and made me sound … I didn’t know how to put it. Sound like the person Tapan, Maro, and Rami thought I was, and not like what I actually was. You made me sound safe.

Murderbot believes that any kind of description of it that isn’t “this being is a horrible mass murderer” is a “lie”, and that ART’s humans wouldn’t have chosen to trust it if they hadn’t been deceived about its true nature. Just like it believes that Tapan, Maro and Rami should never have trusted it, and only did so because they thought it was a human and “safe”. There’s also something that could be said about Murderbot’s relationship with Gurathin and how, even though they very much got off on the wrong foot and their initial interactions were pretty mutually hostile, Gurathin has clearly moved past his initial distrust of Murderbot, but Murderbot assumes that Gurathin could never have any other opinion of it because he knows what it is capable of. And in Network Effect, even after Thiago clearly revises his opinion of Murderbot when he understands the situation with Mensah more fully, Murderbot continues to expect the worst.

Anyway, in That Scene in Exit Strategy (which is probably my all-time favourite, perhaps after the ART-comes-back-to-life scene in Network Effect), this is Murderbot showing its True Nature to Mensah in a moment of extreme stress, expecting the worst - I think after the fear and adrenaline of the fight against the Combat SecUnit, immediately followed by the terror of having to board a Company gunship and being sure that it will be at the Company’s mercy, Murderbot is in a “fuck it, I have nothing else to lose” state of mind, and it’s not trying to appear “safe” any more.

The bot pilot was curious and friendly, but it was no ART, it couldn’t stop me. I could take over the ship’s SecSystem before this human with the temptingly large familiar projectile weapon could blink. I could get that weapon before that human could blink. I wanted to do it, and it bled through into the feed.

Mensah turned, gripped the collar of my jacket with both hands, and said, “No.”

Murderbot tells Mensah, You have no idea what I am. because it’s still sure that if she knew, if she really understood how terrifying and horrible it really was, then there was no way she would ever want to be in the same space as it again, much less trust it, much less like it. But Mensah responds by getting “more mad” because How can you say that, I do know you, and I trust you, and I know that you’re better than this. And when Murderbot really realises that Mensah isn’t afraid and that she’s not going to start being afraid, that’s when it backs down. I mean, there’s an element of “she might start being afraid of me if I escalate this situation”, when I think it’s more likely that Mensah would be upset and angry that MB ignored her to jeopardise their collective safety. But Murderbot believes that it’s showing the worst of itself to Mensah, and she doesn’t flinch because she knows it, and she knows that this isn’t who it really is.

Also, on the tail end of that scene, this never fails to amuse me:

Ratthi drew back nervously. (Me, Ratthi wasn’t afraid of, but when Dr. Mensah was mad it was better to be in another room.)

Murderbot’s not the terrifying one here, Mensah is xD

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

We have everything we need... | 179 words | Apr 2023 🔽

Originally posted to Tumblr on 9th April 2023.

Thinking about how if Zia had known that Edgin was planning to steal the Red Wizard's treasure to better provide for their family - or if she'd known that he was planning to do anything drastic to serve that goal - she probably would have said, "We have everything we need."

And when Edgin is about to leave on the quest to rob the Harpers and get the Tablet of Reawakening, Kira begs him to stay by saying, "We have everything we need."

Something about how one of Ed's overriding flaws, despite his overall desire to do good, is his inability to see that what he has is enough. He can't be content with that - he has to provide his wife and daughter with a better life, even when they're happy. He has to bring back his wife and undo his mistake, even when his daughter is happy. And in the process he almost loses everything twice. (Three times, if you count the near-death of Holga by Sofina's blade). Until he finally realises that they have everything they need, right here.

After rewatching Honor Among Thieves... (on Kira's affection towards Holga, and Holga's usefulness to Forge) | 175 words | Apr 2023 🔽

Originally posted to Tumblr on 19th April 2023.

After rewatching Honor Among Thieves I couldn’t help but notice that Kira is still warm and affectionate towards Holga while thinking that her dad abandoned her for riches. But they were both on the heist, and both were gone from her life for two years while locked up in jail, so why does her dad get the brunt of the bitter emotions?

You could theorise that Kira and Holga had a stronger bond to begin with that it was harder for her absence to dent, but Forge also had two years to turn Kira against both of her parental figures, and yet it seems like he only bothered to lie about Edgin. Why? Did he position Holga as collateral damage in Edgin’s terrible plan, and that’s why Kira doesn’t see her as culpable? Did he bother to mention her at all?

When Edgin accuses Forge of setting a trap for him and Holga, Forge corrects him by saying that the trap was for him and Simon. So did he not see Holga as a threat?

#I have many questions about this #Simon was supposedly a mediocre sorcerer whereas Holga is... Holga #so why bother trapping the apparently weaker one of the two? #and you KNOW that if Holga had been free and discovered Forge's deception she would have annihilated him and not stopped at anything to free Edgin #so why not trap her?

I like to think that at least part of the reason Edgin was going to leave Holga behind... | 198 words | Apr 2023 🔽

Originally posted to Tumblr on 20th April 2023 as a reblog of observations by @masala-and-thunderstorms on Holga's loyalty to Ed.

...One of the very first choices we see Ed make is to run away when Holga’s trapped, and as far as we know he isn’t secretive about it (as evidenced by the fact that it’s included in his opening speech while stealing the Red Wizards’ gold isn’t) but she never holds it against him...

I like to think that at least part of the reason Edgin was going to leave Holga behind was so that at least one of them would be able to take care of Kira. (Plus the principle that if you get away, you’ll be in a position to break the other person out later). Actually, the idea would have been for him to escape not only so that he could look after Kira, but so that he could use the Tablet and revive Zia. Holga must have reconciled herself to the fact that Edgin’s escape would not only let Edgin get back to Kira but also ensure the return of Kira’s real mother. Which was what they came for.

With that in mind, the scene where Edgin uses the Tablet to revive her is even more shocking/even more of a direct inversion of that situation, because that’s the second time her sacrifice should have enabled Edgin to bring back Zia and resume the life he’d longed for so much. And not only did he fail to do that, he instead used up the tablet to bring her back instead, thus choosing her over that life permanently. What???

#possibly stating the obvious here but laid out that way the parallels/choices are even more interesting

Peter Pan

On Peter Pan live-action remakes | 1099 words | May 2023 🔽

Originally posted to Dreamwidth on 1st May 2023 as part of Three Weeks for Dreamwidth 2023.

Well, I said I wouldn't set out to post every day during Three Weeks for DW, but then I immediately found something else that I wanted to post about, so here we are two days in a row!

Disney is building up a real head of steam with its unnecessary live-action remakes of classic animated films, and while more people are talking about The Little Mermaid at the moment (understandably given the very real uncanny valley horror of the realistic sealife), its Peter Pan remake, Peter Pan & Wendy, has also just dropped. Not in cinemas, mind you, but straight to Disney+, which doesn't say a lot for Disney's confidence in the whole production. So last night, in retaliation, I decided to rewatch one of my all-time favourite films: the 2003 live-action Peter Pan, starring Jeremy Sumpter and Rachel Hurd-Wood.

I've been more than a bit obsessed with Peter Pan ever since I was little; I have early memories of me and my brother being allowed to stay up late to listen to a radio drama serialisation of the book, and I watched the Disney animated film on endless repeat. I once went to our local church fête dressed up as Peter Pan (the outfit was actually a Robin Hood costume belonging to my brother, with a Peter Pan hat that my mum sewed with a little red feather in it). My greatest wish was to be able to fly, and of course to never grow up. (I'm sad to report that second one did happen, at least in part. Growing up is a state of mind). I even have a dedicated Peter Pan section of my bookshelf with a Peter Pan bookstop :D (It only has a handful of books, but still).

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FENCE comics

On supportive!Aiden in FENCE: Redemption | 296 words | Sept 2023 🔽

Originally posted to Tumblr on 14th September 2023 as a reblog of commentary by @angst-iguana.

...Aiden instantly drops his mean boy antics and helps Seiji without a second question or thought...

YES I WAS SO STOKED

This seems particularly remarkable when you look back at Aiden and Seiji’s epic slapfight argument in Issue 2 - I never would have predicted this dynamic just two issues later, but I guess Aiden is quite different when it comes to romance and not fencing. (There’s definitely something up with the way he treats fencing that I hope we get some backstory to explain, because his resistance to giving it anything approaching his all is pretty obnoxious - and it stands to reason that he’d clash with Seiji, a guy who can’t fathom giving it anything less. Aiden’s right about Seiji’s blind spots and I’m sure it’s aggravating that Seiji doesn’t want to listen to him, but if he really didn’t care he would just leave Seiji to make those mistakes because why does it matter anyway, right? But - I digress).

The Aiden we get when Seiji asks for date appointment advice is more like the Aiden we see around Harvard, though. Maybe it’s because Aiden, for all his apparent callousness when it comes to his own romances, recognises that Seiji is making himself vulnerable with the request for help, and it would be genuinely hurtful to mock him or score points. Aiden criticising Seiji’s fencing is punching up; Aiden criticising Seiji’s lack of romantic wherewithal, not so much.

And maaaaybe it’s also because Aiden can relate to the situation Seiji’s in: spending time with a friend (technically he doesn’t know it’s Nicholas, right? But I’m also pretty sure he’s guessed) on something that’s absolutely not officially a date, while clearly hoping that it could be.

I really really do hope we get more on Aiden soon, but then I also want more on EVERY character and ship so just - MORE, FENCE, PLZ

You know what we were robbed of? (On the off-screen Harvard vs Aiden match in FENCE volume 2/3) | 523 words | Sept 2023 🔽

Originally posted to Tumblr on 18th September 2023.

You know what we were robbed of?



The match between Harvard and Aiden at the end of volume 2/beginning of volume 3.

I knowww that we can’t show EVERY match in exhaustive detail and that the narrative focus was on Nicholas and his prospects for the team, which is why the main information we get about it is that Aiden lost:



But I REALLY REALLY want to know what that match was like! Especially as we rarely get to see Aiden fence. We know that he won against Seiji and that he lost to Nicholas, and we know why both of those things happened (loosely, Aiden’s use of mind games against Seiji versus his inability to use them on Nicholas combined with Nicholas’ unpredictability as a fencer), but what about Harvard?



All we can see from this resulting “post-match” shot is that Aiden lost 15-9 and looks put out about it, or maybe he’s just (for once) focused, while Harvard is sweating with effort but looks a bit less tense, possibly relieved. Aiden said to Harvard, “your next opponent isn’t going to go easy on you”, and I think he respects Harvard enough to give the match his genuine all, but we know that Harvard is a very good fencer, and still above Aiden in skill level.

But they also both know each other extremely well, and I think that a match between them would be fascinating in terms of their respective tells and tendencies and their very different styles. I wish we could have seen it!

(Aiden would probably be even better adapted to Harvard’s style, of course, if he applied himself more to training, but that’s a different subject…)

#this speculation is several years late but I've been doing a reread of the previous volumes #so you get my delayed observations on them

 

Additional thoughts in response to @sensurround11's point about Aiden being a piste above Harvard at the Halverton training camp:

Hmmm! I didn’t remember that detail but you’re right. I think there’s a solid reason why Aiden can beat fencers that Harvard can’t, namely that he’s an unknown quantity (example: Aiden taunts Seiji with the fact that Seiji has no idea what his weakness is, whereas everyone and their cat knows Harvard’s weakness is in the low lines xD). We do have evidence that Aiden has competed in SOME matches with the Kings Row team but certainly not as many as Harvard.

And we know that the more you fence against certain opponents, the more effectively they can beat you. We also have evidence that Harvard isn’t improving as much as he could be because he’s giving too much time to other people, so, while he’s a very competent fencer, he may have stalled a bit in his personal development. I’m still not confident enough that Aiden is “better” than Harvard as it currently stands but I’m sure he has the potential to be (or at least to be as good as Harvard) but he doesn’t apply himself consistently. Of course if he DID, that would do away with the “wildcard” advantage and I do think that could be one reason why he doesn’t. It lets him be a mystery to other fencers and fits with his lazy, insouciant persona to boot

Why I love Harvard/Aiden (a close reading of a Harvard-Aiden interaction in FENCE volume 2 (and quasi-ship manifesto), written for the 2024 Snowflake Challenge) | 837 words | Jan 2024 🔽

Originally published to Dreamwidth on 20th January 2024 as part of the 2024 Snowflake Challenge.

For the FENCE Secret Santa last month I had the pleasure of writing Harvard/Aiden, my favourite ship in FENCE. Harvard/Aiden is a brilliant ship pairing the fencing team captain with the 'school playboy', which you can imagine is a very fun combination of personalities. Despite this, it doesn't really have much of a dedicated fandom - it's one of those ships that everyone is happy to ship but that kind of plays second fiddle to the main canon ship (Seiji/Nicholas), usually appearing as a side pairing in fanworks.

As part of canon review for my Secret Santa, I enjoyed re-reading Harvard and Aiden's interactions in the comics (they are also a canon pairing in the spin-off novels by Sarah Rees Brennan, but I'm not a fan of the books) and so for Challenge #6, I'm going to break down a scene that shows why I love Harvard/Aiden so much. I think this also works for Challenge #9, which is all about reccing a thing you love!

But first, who are our characters?

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Superman (Movies & TV)

Reflections on 'Superman' (2025) and being a Superman girlie | 1581 words | Jul 2025 🔽

Originally posted to Dreamwidth on 30th July 2025.

Last week I went to the cinema to watch James Gunn's Superman reboot. I went with two friends, one of whom is a fellow Superman enjoyer and the other of whom doesn't even really do superheroes - but all of us had a great time.

As someone who was very much a fan of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) but has since dropped off following it almost completely, I would definitely say I had superhero adaptation fatigue. But I'm glad I went to see it - and it's also given me a cause to reflect on my past Superman fandom and the fact that I am, in fact, a Superman girlie at heart.

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Reclists

While I haven't made many, I enjoy making the odd reclist and so I decided to start archiving them and housing them here. Note: while I'm generally a fan of including archived links, out of respect for the agency of the authors of the fics featured, I do not intend to archive any of the links included here. This means they may break if the authors remove their works. I won't be checking regularly, but if I do notice that a work has been orphaned or the name next to it changed, I'll update my list as well.

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

• Uplifting TSCOSI fics: a rec list (Jun 2021)

Peter Pan

• Snowflake Challenge #13: My favourite Pan-fics (Peter Pan fics) (Jan 2024)