Hiding fandom in the underwear drawer since 1977

I received three, THREE wonderful Yuletide gifts.

Two stories that feature, yes, you read this right, dinosaur point of view!


They Remember... (1408 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Jurassic Park Original Trilogy (Movies)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Clever Girl (Jurassic Park), Ellie Sattler, Robert Muldoon, Ray Arnold
Summary:Clever Girl (and her raptor sister, Clever Gal)'s POV leading up to their first coordinated hunt

It's delightful to get Clever Girl's I'm so over this perspective. Also the names of her siblings are hilarious. She'd kill for a good puzzle.

YT Madness
We shall not cease from exploration (1179 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Jurassic World Trilogy (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Original Non-Human Character(s)
Additional Tags: Crack Treated Seriously, Crack Crossover, Yuletide Treat
Summary:A traveler is displaced in time to a world where humanity and dinosaurs coexist. When confronted with an unknown environment and nebulous mission, she attempts to approach things as a good scientist should: with observation, analysis, and sharp teeth.

A raptor travels to Jurassic World and things very poorly of Own Grady, who she deems an inferior person.  And then she perceives A Sign.  A bit of a Narnia xover.  Wonderful. 


Star Wars!! XWING BOOKS! This one is amazing and hits a number of my favorite parts of Star Wars -- fraud, politics, humor.  My favorite characters.  It's awesome.
An Immodest Proposal (2321 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars Legends: X-Wing Series - Aaron Allston & Michael Stackpole
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo
Characters: Wedge Antilles, Wes Janson, Han Solo, Leia Organa
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat
Summary:To Wedge Antilles, few things are worse than asking politicians for funding. Wes Janson's new scheme is one of those things.

ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS.

So I was trolling for prompts before the holiday and cofax7  suggested something about Star Wars, Beru Whitesun Lars, and aunts, and adventures.

So I wrote something.

A pattern and example (4171 words) by rthstewart
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Beru Whitesun, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca (Star Wars)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family, Beru Whitesun Lives
Summary:For Cofax, for the prompt of middle aged aunts having adventures, too.

Patty Jenkins will be directing the Rogues. I started sobbing when I saw this, thinking how long it has taken for us to get here, how many didn't make it, including Aaron Allston, and how happy I am to be able to share this with my Star Lady friends, my Club Jade friends, my Narnia friends who love SW, my nieces, and my son. It's incredibly moving and I'm so happy that Ms. Jenkins is bringing this to us.

Mike Stackpole Tweeted at Patty Jenkins and she responded back. Just a class act.

Three more,


This one... hmmm. will, at some point, get a post all its own. I knew WingedFlight wanted witchy Jill and I had no idea until I read their Dear NFE Author that edenfalling liked my two stories with Letty and Mrs. Lefay and then Polly and Letty. This wasn't the story I'd intended but is much much better for it. To emphasize it is not part of my TSG series. It's a gift for two fabulous people and I hope they enjoyed it.

This one was for the wonderful syrena_of_the_lake for her birthday and guardyanangel and reader Eva. Eva had written me after the posting of the Star Husband really wanting some comfort for Susan -- even if some of her siblings return to Spare Oom, Susan herself has been deprived of the time with loved ones, the agency of making her decision, and the comfort of Aslan. Eva made a compelling case and several people have, over the years, wanted a scene with Susan and Lambert reunited. So, here we are.
And last, the one that absolutely wrecked and ruined me, where I, completely out of the blue, ended up shipping Susan and that rat bastard Obi-Wan Kenobi.
( more ranting about this story and the life-ruiner OW )

I wrote Star Wars! I've never written Padme before and I haven't written Obi-Wan or Leia in over 20 years. It was amazing to do this and I love this story.

I fixed a couple of things that have been bothering me about A New Hope since 1977. It was awesome and I'm thrilled. Larm and Syrena both helped me enormously. I didn't know anything about Force-sensitive Padme as a trope or anything else that I ended up including.  completely winged it and I've fallen in love with Obi-Wan Kenobi that manipulative rat bastard all over again. I loved writing Padme and got to spend two parts in Leia's head which was also amazing. Bechdel passing.

Also, syrena_of_the_lake  did art for the story.

I have seen it.  Twice.  The first time, I saw it with Intrikate, Knitress and Econopodder and this is the third time that Knitress and I have watched the end of the Star Wars trilogy.  We've been watching Star Wars together since ESB in 1980.  And then I got to watch it again with my spawn, who was born the year TPM came out and syrena_of_the_lake 

I'm traveling and sleep deprived and really wish I could respond more to the excellent commentary of all of you.  I don't seem to have brain for it at the moment.  But thank you for sharing your excellent thoughts.

( spoilers etc. and woops sorry the cut didn't work before )

So, two VERY important things.

Important thing 1. Can anyone provide links to helpful hints about how to make DW more useful and mobile friendly? I know there was lots last year during the great migration?

Important thing 2. Econopodder, knitress, intrikate and I agreed yesterday that the prospect of an Obi-Wan series starring Ewan McGregor might be the only thing that would get us to buy Disney streaming. Because HELL YES.
Now, in honor of the return of dunc yav14 and hollywdliz to DW (go check them out, they're awesome and I hope other old SW fen join us), I would indeed be remiss if I did not pause a moment to reflect upon the awesomeness of Obi-Wan Dressed As Ewan (ODAE) who was the subject of collective INTENSE interest and devotion upon the release of Phantom Menace. (I don't precisely remember why we hit on ODEA but I suspect that it was because our devotion was so... devotional ... we all felt a little more comfortable adding an extra layer of fiction to maintain separation between the role and the actor. Also I suspect the Sith Academy was responsible. AND OMG IT'S STILL UP) (the immortal line. "He'd slept with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Again.")

Strutting, twirling, angsty, sarcastic ODAE. "No one bitch slaps my Padawan except me!" There was fic, SO MUCH FIC, there were 12 inch action figures dressed in silks and velvets, and there were many mini-cons and movie marathons where we pulled out VHS tapes, bootlegs and a very few things that could be seen on CD rom -- the making of TPM was a 2 disk set. And glitter. More on that below. We knew, INTIMATELY, each and every piece of art in the ODAE oeuvre where he was naked. In those days, ODAE took his clothes off for the sake of art, a lot. Full frontal. We were deeply appreciative.

I rather liked the following from Twitter, source: starwarsunderworld



Now, of course, there is a critical omission, as every Obi-Wanton knows:
Friends, tell me are you not aware of Curt Wild? Let me assure that, in those heady days of the late 90s, early 2000s, Obi-Wan Kenobi doused in body glitter was a VERY IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT.


O
source

You're welcome
Just imagine that with a padawan braid.

Because all the cool kids are doing it and it seems like fun,


Day 1 - Talk about your Happy Place - the things that give you joy, calms you or keeps you sane.

Day 2 - Rec at least three fanworks that you didn’t create.

Day 3 - Share a favorite piece of original canon.

Day 1 -- Happy Place
My spousal unit grills me on this all the time, in the form of, where do you want to retire. My happy place involves four things: reliable internet access and my computer; dog; a well stocked and supplied baking kitchen; and some place with natural beauty and abundant wildlife. My favorite places in this regard are the areas around Grand Teton National Park and parts of Yellowstone (without all the people), Hatteras National Seashore, and the deserts of Joshua Tree and Anza Borrego.

Day 2 Recs --
This is so hard. Basically I have to rec all the fics that are posted in the annual Narnia Fic Exchange, such as these amazing Susan stories by a writer that I've followed for 10 years.


Also, this amazing Killjoys vid,
Level Up [vid] (270 words) by Scribe
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Killjoys (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Dutch (Killjoys), Johnny Jaqobis, D'avin Jaqobis, Pree (Killjoys), Alvis Akari, Pawter Simms, Fancy Lee
Additional Tags: Fanvids, Festivids, Team Feels, warning: physical triggers (flashing lights), Video Format: Streaming, Download Available, Video Format: MP4, Author's Favorite, Vidder's Favorite
Summary:
Team Awesome Force goes to war.

I"ve also received some pretty spectacular gifts.


Day 3 - Share a favorite piece of original canon.
I'm not sure why this one is so hard...I'm going to go with Star Wars.  I'm pretty happy with Luke's recognition in TLJ that the Jedi Order contributed significantly to its own demise through arrogance and blindness.  They are AWFUL in the prequels and I liked someone actually acknowledging it. I also like how the prequels seem to get so bogged down in dumb plot -- trade negotiations, really? Clone army?  what?  where?  Why?  Who?  Except that it is all part of Palpatine playing a very long game to manufacture the pretext for a war (that also marginalizes non-humans), then creates an army in order to fight that war, then isolates the Jedi who must lead that war so that no one can defend them when they are surrounded by and murdered by their trusted troops and then uses that pretext to declare himself Emperor.

I liked that everyone in Rogue One died and that Rogues became Rogues thereafter to honor that sacrifice.  In the same way, I'm still pretty pleased that Vader killed the younglings in the Temple  and I really thought that George wouldn't go there.  And that it's all Obi-Wan's fault and his a rat bastard liar. 

Also, it's Legends, so technically only EU canon but Mara Jade.  She's awesome in her very first incarnation and nothing every really improved on Mara in the first Thrawn trilogy.  Mara is an icon for self-determination and agency and I'm the person I am today, with the friends and hobbies and life that I have due to Mara Jade. 

I owe my amazing remixer another review for 5.  I'm having difficulty processing my delight that someone went back to something that is so old (I now remember I posted Stuff in late 1996-1997) that was so hugely important to me and to the direction my adult life would take.  I was messaging with petra  last night, shocked to learn that here was yet another person I meet a decade or more later who had read that story in the 90s.  And as I looked at my Twitter timeline (another advantage of all my self indulgent squee is that it drove everything else off my TL for a little bit ugh ugh ugh), I realized that the vast majority of my peeps have come from two places -- the pool of folks I met while writing and posting Stuff and in the subsequent development of Club Jade and, and then 10+ years later through writing The Stone Gryphon.  Apart from neighbors and work colleagues the vast majority of my nearest and dearest have all come through communities built around fic.

amidst the haze of last night some thoughts that kept me up too late.
About Stuff-- ( more babbling )

About communities -- I keep seeing those things on Tumblr about OMG what are old people doing in fandom.  Why are you STILL HERE?  I joked to Petra that we're like mildew.  They said it "People with a rich fannish history aren't mildew, we're the mysterious plant-like organism that grows in all caves everywhere and glows with an unearthly light, allowing stories to flourish."  the experience isn't unique.  I'm just blessed to have been able to do it twice, in a different way, different era, with TSG, and again have the privilege of meeting wonderful people through fic, bonding over it, and then the bonds of friendship endure when the fic fades.

SPOILERS

Several lovely people have emailed over the weekend asking, did I see it? Did I like it?

SPOILERS AHOY – GO NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT

( Much TFA blathering behind the cut )