SNOWFLAKE CHALLENGE: DAY 1 (Yes I'm a day behind : ) (I may try to catch up, we'll see?))
I really, really want to connect back in with people more, and I'm LOVING the spurt of actual posting that's been going on as a result of the questions memes, etc. I didn't do the Snowflake Challenge last year, but even though I'm not sure I will stick with it due to the effort involved (everything seems like a lot of effort rn haha), I'm going to try it this year, because it is so flexible and I can talk about some of the things I probably want to talk about anyway.
So, with no further ado... Day One
In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that you've created, or fanworks you feel no one ever saw, or fanworks you say would define you as a creator. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Okay, so this is... really difficult for me, for a number of reasons. But I'm determined, so. Since this is my first year doing this challenge, I'm going to sort of combine the prompts for this.
First, under the "define you as a creator" category, here's a Brokeback Mountain fic. I'm not linking to the first fic I ever posted publicly, because it's massive (and kind of unfinished, sort of), but instead to this Five Things fics, which I think can kind of stand in. Also, it reflects me trying out different voices/styles/formats. I believe I was trying out a sparser style in addition to the Five Things format. I have such bittersweet feelings about Jack and Ennis, the first characters I publicly posted fic about - and still remain thankful for many of the people I met through that fandom (though like all fandoms, it has its problematic elements). Reading it over (a reason for picking shorter things!), there are definitely things I would do differently now, but it definitely brings me back feeling-wise, so:
Five Things They Never Talk About, Plus One More Thing (803 words) by cathalin
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ennis Del Mar/Jack Twist
Characters: Ennis Del Mar, Jack Twist
Additional Tags: Rimming
Summary:
Over the course of all those years, there are some things they never talk about. And one time they talk about one of those things, kind of.
The second fic has to be something from Stargate: Atlantis. I will never forget posting my first fic in that fandom - sooooo huge and having already been in existence for years when I did. And I will never forget the kindness of many people - or forget the many, MANY awesome people I met there! I considered linking to some of my lesser-read stories, particularly Fly Wishes to the Sky, which is relatively un-read, but in terms of "defining me as a creator," I think it has to be this one, because I learned SO MUCH in the process of writing this thing. I learned that:
-I could actually conceive of and finish a close to novel length story
-It takes massive, massive amounts of work to do so on any kind of good level
-having the absolute best writers as editors is GOLD
-listening to those editors is critical
-my weird inability to plot things out in advance works okay after all, so long as I outline ~as I go and keep going back to that outline (it's more like a checklist)
-having a deadline is motivating for me
-writing is a mysterious and amazing process, where things often become clear as you go (I had actually learned this in writing Dreamin, my first posted fic, in the BBM fandom, because all of a sudden I'd realize, oh whoa, that... that thing there looks like I planned it to match the ~symbolism in this earlier section!)
The Price That Life Exacts (63369 words) by cathalin
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Jennifer Keller, original child character, Original Characters
Additional Tags: Presumed Dead, Kid Fic
Summary:
When John disappears without a trace during a routine mission, people in a beleaguered Atlantis eventually have to try to move on. Rodney never completely gives up hope of finding John, and though he soldiers on to help Atlantis, a year later he still lives every day with his grief.
The story opens with a shocking discovery that may help Rodney come to terms with some truths about himself and his relationship with John, and will have consequences beyond what anyone might predict.
Okay, third. Hmm. I'm going to go with this Bond/Q fic, which was one of those things that rose up and took charge and insisted on being written, stat. I think this shows my attempt to be less scared - this is one of my two writing resolutions for 2014, actually - to play with content and style and subject and just... try things.
Next Year's Words (4893 words) by cathalin
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: James Bond (Craig movies), Skyfall (2012)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: James Bond/Q
Characters: James Bond, Q (Bond - Craig movies)
Additional Tags: Phone Sex, Voyeurism, Voice Kink, Consensual Kink, Dirty Talk, Prompt Fic, Porn Battle
Summary:
Sometimes Bond has to seduce someone for the job. Occasionally he needs help with the details. Q enjoys giving directions. Bond likes taking them, sometimes, from the right person.
“Does she like long walks at sunset or is she more of a ‘fuck me against a wall’ girl?” Bond breathes quietly into the mic, following the glimpse of crimson silk flitting its way through the dark bar.
Brought to you by the prompts: voice, voyeurism, phone-sex, glasses. (Also orders, cardigan, smart mouth, technology, gadgets, against the wall, heat, blow-job, sleepy, morning, snark, talking, drowsy, pretend, control, public, snark, wall-sex, and probably quite a few others *coughs*).
Well, that's the three. Except, I'm going to link to one more, which is the current main fic I'm working on. It's a WIP, which - yeah, I don't read WIPs any more myself, except for the few that I do lol - but I gave myself permission after a long period of feeling so crappy about writing, to post an un-betad WIP because I knew unless I did, I wouldn't be posting anything ever again, for a very long time. It's part of trying to give myself permission to take more risks. It's at the stage now where in a way it's become stressful, because there are so many threads and things to sustain, plus, the ~guilt of having it out there unfinished, but, I'm actually still excited about the story and the characters, and working on it again, so, yay! Also, it represents how I fall in love with characters when I write them. Not because I'm so hot or anything, lol, but because I think about them so much, carry them around with me so much. I also do research! And a lot of that was really interesting and made me like Steve more - something that at first I wasn't sure about. Now, he's my woobie haha.
I'm pretty determined to finish this, but even so - WIP WARNING!
who favor fire (35932 words) by cathalin
Chapters: 7/?
Fandom: The Avengers (2012), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Avengers Movies Universe
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Characters: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Pepper Potts, Natasha Romanov, Phil Coulson, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Thor (Marvel), Original Male Character
Additional Tags: Angry Sex, Friendship, Older Characters, Work In Progress, From Sex to Love, Hate Sex, Veterans, World War II
Summary:
Steve and Tony spend most of their time fighting. Eventually, when they are both at a low point, sparks of a different kind fly and they have sex, with serious impacts on the team, their working relationship and them as individuals. They vow "never again," and have to piece back together a working relationship. In the process, they learn new things about each other, and themselves.
Basically, this grew out of my response to the blistering tension between these two guys, plus how they have far more in common than they realize. Plus, their baggage.
Tony’s hands tighten fractionally in Steve’s shirt. He can feel the adrenalin racing in his veins, the desire to wipe that judgmental frown off Steve’s face for once. It’s a danger signal, that feeling, and he knows it. He’s supposed to do some deep breathing or adjust his chakras or walk away or something. Be mature.
Final thoughts: Ugh, it's kind of killing me to stick to three (four haha)! Thing is, every fandom I've written in, every character I've written, every Yuletide fic I've done - they are all pretty important in various ways, and I really want to talk about Natasha and Zach and Shaun and Adam and all the others and all the things I've learned or tried or failed to learn in the process.
If anyone actually made it here reading, you have my absolute <3, but then you have it anyway, because fandom.
Also posted at My Dreamwidth. Comment in either place. <3