Community Recs Post!
Oct. 9th, 2025 10:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glitteryv posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
recthethingEvery Thursday, we have a community post, just like this one, where you can drop a rec or five in the comments.
This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)
(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)
So what cool fanvids/fancrafts/fanart/fics/podfics/other kinds of fanworks have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.
BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here
This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)
(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)
So what cool fanvids/fancrafts/fanart/fics/podfics/other kinds of fanworks have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.
BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here
my recent reading has all been very cold
Oct. 8th, 2025 09:41 pmsnickficThe Book of Lamps and Banners by Elizabeth Hand. The fourth and most recent Cass Neary book, in which Cass meets up with old flame Quinn again and sets off on a wild goose chase in Sweden to steal a treasure / save a techbro (gender neutral) woman who suffers from similar trauma to Cass / save the world from the worst possible techbro idea of trauma therapy. Which of these is serving as Cass's motivation at any given time is very much up in the air.
This book takes Cass on an actual arc of sorts and leaves her someplace new, while still leaving her open to further adventures. I appreciate that Hand understands one of the essential elements of these books is Cass suffering through miserable, cold, wet weather. I also appreciate that despite a surfeit of Quinn in the middle, the finale of the book is all about Cass and Tindra the techbro. And despite Cass giving away(!!!) her camera in the last book, she does come into a new one here, also very important. There is less photography in this book than previous, and it is less central to the story, but we still get some here and there.
Overall, very much a Cass Neary story, and I like those, so.
--
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Journalist joins a guided group climbing Everest, is conveniently on hand to document the worst loss of life on the mountain up to that point.
I've been hearing about this book for years and years and was pretty sure I would love it; I just hadn't gotten around to it. Well, I finally got around to it, and indeed I loved it. I DMed someone within the first twenty pages and said, "I can already tell this is going to be deliciously horrible," and it was! Krakauer is a great writer, immensely readable, great at building tension.
Honestly, the actual deaths in this book are unsurprising. Mostly they're due to exposure, which seems a likely way to die on a mountain higher than the cruising altitude of jet airplanes. What I found really gripping was how miserable everything else was, especially the effects of being at such high altitudes. Not just the addled thinking from getting so little oxygen, although that's a nightmare in itself, but the fact that above a certain altitude, people basically stop eating because they can't get enough oxygen to digest the food, so it just makes them feel sick. And this while they are expending enormous amounts of calories! Climbing Everest just sounds like an absolute slog, which Krakauer hammers home continually. Weirdly enough, the closest reading experience I can think of is The Long Walk by Stephen King, which is also about putting your body through absolute hell and possible (/probable) death for no good reason.
There's an incredible horror-style stinger about 4/5 of the way through the book that I did not see coming at all, and it really brought home the nightmarish feeling of the whole thing. A++.
Combine that with the fact that there's no good way to get a body off Everest, and it's much too cold and low-oxygen for anything to decay, and you end up with situations like a sherpa who goes up the mountain every year and passes by the preserved frozen body of his friend who died on the side of the trail. (Death in the clouds: the problem with Everest's 200+ bodies.) Grim!
--
K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain by Ed Viesturs. A world-famous climber and the first American to summit all fourteen mountains taller than 8k meters tells the stories of some of the most memorable expeditions to K2, as well as his own experience climbing it.
Yeah so after Into Thin Air, I've been on a whole mountaineering journey, lol. Generally I enjoyed this a lot. It lacks the propulsive narrative flow of the Krakauer book, not least because there's a half-dozen expeditions here, so less time to really sink into a single experience, but I enjoyed Viesturs's balance of meticulous sourcing of historical documents and his own perspective as an experienced climber. If you want an introduction to the history of climbing K2, you could do much worse. He's done another one on expeditions to Annapurna that I will get to at some point.
Incredible factoid from this book: the first attempted climb of K2 included ALEISTER CROWLEY. What the fuck. I feel like at some point I need to learn more about him, because he's adjacent to a number of my interests. Including this one, somehow!
--
Savage Summit: The True Stories of the First Five Women Who Climbed K2 by Jennifer Jordan.
After the two extremely dude-focused books above I thought I would like to read about some women. This seems to be one of the major works on high-altitude women climbers, but unfortunately I didn't get on with it at all. Jordan has an enormous bibliography in the back but doesn't cite sources for literally anything, which makes the whole thing feel untrustworthy (I am not in general a fan of narrative nonfiction) and also means it's mostly summary. Which is boring! Please lady, put in some direct quotes once in a while! Even in translation, since many of your subjects are Polish! The fact that Jordan does not seem to be a climber herself, or at least is unwilling to include that expertise in the narrative, also makes the book less engaging than the previous ones.
I DNFed this one. I'm now into Arlene Blum's book on how she led the first women's expedition to Annapurna. It's slow going because the library only has it on audiobook, but I'm enjoying it so far. Lots of interesting stuff on leadership within the group, group dynamics, lack of institution support for the trip, the logistics of managing the porters to get all their stuff to the mountain.
This book takes Cass on an actual arc of sorts and leaves her someplace new, while still leaving her open to further adventures. I appreciate that Hand understands one of the essential elements of these books is Cass suffering through miserable, cold, wet weather. I also appreciate that despite a surfeit of Quinn in the middle, the finale of the book is all about Cass and Tindra the techbro. And despite Cass giving away(!!!) her camera in the last book, she does come into a new one here, also very important. There is less photography in this book than previous, and it is less central to the story, but we still get some here and there.
Overall, very much a Cass Neary story, and I like those, so.
--
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Journalist joins a guided group climbing Everest, is conveniently on hand to document the worst loss of life on the mountain up to that point.
I've been hearing about this book for years and years and was pretty sure I would love it; I just hadn't gotten around to it. Well, I finally got around to it, and indeed I loved it. I DMed someone within the first twenty pages and said, "I can already tell this is going to be deliciously horrible," and it was! Krakauer is a great writer, immensely readable, great at building tension.
Honestly, the actual deaths in this book are unsurprising. Mostly they're due to exposure, which seems a likely way to die on a mountain higher than the cruising altitude of jet airplanes. What I found really gripping was how miserable everything else was, especially the effects of being at such high altitudes. Not just the addled thinking from getting so little oxygen, although that's a nightmare in itself, but the fact that above a certain altitude, people basically stop eating because they can't get enough oxygen to digest the food, so it just makes them feel sick. And this while they are expending enormous amounts of calories! Climbing Everest just sounds like an absolute slog, which Krakauer hammers home continually. Weirdly enough, the closest reading experience I can think of is The Long Walk by Stephen King, which is also about putting your body through absolute hell and possible (/probable) death for no good reason.
There's an incredible horror-style stinger about 4/5 of the way through the book that I did not see coming at all, and it really brought home the nightmarish feeling of the whole thing. A++.
Combine that with the fact that there's no good way to get a body off Everest, and it's much too cold and low-oxygen for anything to decay, and you end up with situations like a sherpa who goes up the mountain every year and passes by the preserved frozen body of his friend who died on the side of the trail. (Death in the clouds: the problem with Everest's 200+ bodies.) Grim!
--
K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain by Ed Viesturs. A world-famous climber and the first American to summit all fourteen mountains taller than 8k meters tells the stories of some of the most memorable expeditions to K2, as well as his own experience climbing it.
Yeah so after Into Thin Air, I've been on a whole mountaineering journey, lol. Generally I enjoyed this a lot. It lacks the propulsive narrative flow of the Krakauer book, not least because there's a half-dozen expeditions here, so less time to really sink into a single experience, but I enjoyed Viesturs's balance of meticulous sourcing of historical documents and his own perspective as an experienced climber. If you want an introduction to the history of climbing K2, you could do much worse. He's done another one on expeditions to Annapurna that I will get to at some point.
Incredible factoid from this book: the first attempted climb of K2 included ALEISTER CROWLEY. What the fuck. I feel like at some point I need to learn more about him, because he's adjacent to a number of my interests. Including this one, somehow!
--
Savage Summit: The True Stories of the First Five Women Who Climbed K2 by Jennifer Jordan.
After the two extremely dude-focused books above I thought I would like to read about some women. This seems to be one of the major works on high-altitude women climbers, but unfortunately I didn't get on with it at all. Jordan has an enormous bibliography in the back but doesn't cite sources for literally anything, which makes the whole thing feel untrustworthy (I am not in general a fan of narrative nonfiction) and also means it's mostly summary. Which is boring! Please lady, put in some direct quotes once in a while! Even in translation, since many of your subjects are Polish! The fact that Jordan does not seem to be a climber herself, or at least is unwilling to include that expertise in the narrative, also makes the book less engaging than the previous ones.
I DNFed this one. I'm now into Arlene Blum's book on how she led the first women's expedition to Annapurna. It's slow going because the library only has it on audiobook, but I'm enjoying it so far. Lots of interesting stuff on leadership within the group, group dynamics, lack of institution support for the trip, the logistics of managing the porters to get all their stuff to the mountain.
current fandom comms/events
Oct. 8th, 2025 12:02 pmsvgurlmcu100 is a a bi-weekly MCU themed community challenge where you join a team and write as many 100 worded drabbles to earn points for your teamallbingo is hosting Fall Fest through the month of October. There are both pre-made bingo cards or you can create your own with the available prompts. ficortreat is open for another round. You can create a "door" (instructions at link) and offer what you're willing to create and then go around other people's "doors" and see what they're offering too. booknook is still accepting sign-ups for October Review-a-Thon 2025, where you pick a book and sign up for a date to post your review.cap_ironman, a Steve/Tony community, is running 2025 Holiday Exchange and Community Gifts. Sign-ups for the exchange close on October 9th, 10PM EDT.koreanfandomsex, a multifandom exchange for Korean fandoms, is open for sign-ups until October 12th, 11:59PM Pacific. be_compromised, a Clint/Natasha community, is running Secret Santa 2025. Sign-ups are open until October 13th, 4PM GMT. julybreakbingopresents is running for Halloween Horror Bingo. Sign-ups are open until October 13th, 11:59PM Eastern.amperslashexchange, a fic and art exchange for ambiguous relationships that are hard to definitively classify as either platonic (&) or romantic/sexual (/), is open for sign-ups until October 14th, 11:59PM UTC.holmestice, a gift exchange for all Sherlock Holmes fandoms, has opened signups for Winter 2025 until October 14th. Rainbow Connection Flash Exchange is a multifandom flash exchanged hosted on AO3, dedicated to rainbow or colour themed fics. Both nominations and sign-ups are open until October 16th, 3PM EDT.
seasonsofdrabbles is accepting nominations for their Fall Round. Nomination will remain open even once sign-ups open and will close on October 19th, 11:59PM Eastern.smallfandombang, a Big Bang challenge for small fandoms (less than 2000 works), is open for author sign-ups until October 31st.elasticella is running Hotties Haunting the Narrative: a festive femslash ficathon until November 1st. fancake's theme of the month is: uncommon settings. Click on the banner below to learn more. 
fic or treat!
Oct. 6th, 2025 11:23 amsvgurl
ficortreatsvgurl's Door
DW username:
svgurlLight is on for: anybody
What's in the Bowl? fic, fic recs, simple icons (fandom & stock; see examples in my icon tag), baking recipes, picspam, fanmix
Let Me Know: A fandom/pairing and a prompt or some likes for fics and screencaps for icons if you want something I don't have access to/want a specific moment or scene. Also your AO3 account if you want fic gifted to you there :)
Fandoms/Ships I can/am willing to write for: (all fic is posted on AO3, username
9-1-1: Buck/Eddie, Buck/Eddie & Christopher, Buck & Christopher, Buck & Maddie, Eddie & Chris, Eddie & Maddie [you can ask about other gen dynamics - with icons, I am open to requests for anyone currently on the 118, Dispatch, Madney, Bathena, and HenRen)
All My Children: Aidan/Greenlee, Kendall/Ryan, Bianca/Maggie [you can ask if you want a specific gen dynamic and I'll see if I'm open to it]
DCEU: Lois & Diana, Lois & Martha, Clark & Lois & Martha, Clark/Lois, Diana/Steve
Gilmore Girls: Rory & Lorelai, Rory & Lane, Rory & Paris; Rory/Paris, Rory/Jess
MCU: Bucky/Natasha, Bucky/Sam, Natasha/Sam, Peggy/Steve, Steve/Tony
One Tree Hill: Brooke & Peyton, Brooke & Haley, Brooke & Karen; Brooke/Lucas, Brooke/Peyton, Brooke/Rachel, Brooke/Lindsey, Haley/Nathan, Peyton/Jake
Power Rangers: Kimberly/Tommy
Smallville: Clark/Lois, Clark/Lois/Oliver, Clark/Oliver, Lois/Oliver, Lois/Lana, Lois/Tess, Lana/Tess [you can ask about gen dynamics]
Superman (2025): Clark/Lois
If there is a fandom/ship/dynamic you think I may like/be familiar with/have written before, you are welcome to ask!
Other info: I will not write explicit/pwp, character/ship bashing, sexual assault/rape, violence, domestic/child abuse, underage, omegaverse, kinks involving non sexual bodily fluids, horror themes, villain AUs, reader fics, cheating/adultery. There may be things I've forgotten which I will tell you if you ask for them.
Saturday Night Recs
Oct. 4th, 2025 11:51 pmdoranwen posting in recthethingAll of these are fics I read (re-read, really) in the past week and added to my fanfic database, and which I flagged for being a favorite fic. (For all fics I added this week, leave a comment and I can make a special post for you, or you can browse the regular posts linked in my master recs post.
( Icon guide )
( Explanation of ratings )
( Ships )
( Content warnings and spoilers )
Below are the recs:
( Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman )
( Rookie Blue RPF )
If any of the links above no longer work, please let me know so I can flag them as "Dead" in my database, thanks!
Enjoy! :)
( Icon guide )
( Explanation of ratings )
( Ships )
( Content warnings and spoilers )
Below are the recs:
( Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman )
( Rookie Blue RPF )
If any of the links above no longer work, please let me know so I can flag them as "Dead" in my database, thanks!
Enjoy! :)
multifandom questionnaire pt 4
Oct. 3rd, 2025 11:01 pmsvgurlI forgot I was doing this. Well, here's part 4 of maevedarcy's 72 Multifandom questions to ask a fangirl
Favorites and Preferences
1. Who is your favorite character or member within your fandom, and why?
When it comes to Smallville, well, Superman has always been my favorite hero and even SV Clark had my heart early on and then Lois once she showed up. I think as I got older, I somehow got more sympathetic towards him. He's so young and tried his best, even when he made mistakes. With the MCU, it's Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson. Again, the "boy scout" characters tend to have my heart, especially when they're more complex than on paper. With my current fandom, 9-1-1, that would be Eddie Diaz. I was really drawn to him from the first episode he was in and he just kept growing on me. He's just fun and snarky and competent and such a good dad.
2. What is your favorite installment, episode, or album from your fandom?
I do like the early seasons of Smallville, specifically 3, but even though it's wacky, for a long time, 4 was my favorite. Probably because it leaned into the really weird and I kinda enjoyed the cracky moments. I don't love the doom and gloom all the time. The first half of s8 was strong and then it weakened. 9 was my favorite after that.
I don't love the handling of SHIELD but CA: TWS is probably my favorite MCU movie.
Season 3 and season 4 are tied for my favorite 9-1-1 seasons.
3. Do you have a favorite quote, lyric, or saying from your fandom?
Clark's "I stand for truth, justice, and ... other stuff" does still make me laugh, because of the delivery.
Athena's voice over in the s2 finale of 9-1-1 (I miss the voice overs), specifically, "This is how we save ourselves, by saving each other, because nobody, not anybody, has ever been saved alone."
4. Whatโs your favorite fan-created content (art, music, video, story) related to your fandom?
Yeah, there's no chance I can narrow it down to one or even five for any fandom. :D
5. Who is your favorite pair or group within the fandom in terms of chemistry or dynamics?
I've always been drawn to Clois in most versions of Superman and Smallville wasn't an exception. I did start writing fic for Clark/Oliver, a ship that snuck up on me and then inspired me to join fandom because barely anyone else was writing them and I figured I would give it a shot. I love a bit of a push/pull dynamic with ships so Steve/Tony after The Avengers and Sam/Bucky post CACW. With 9-1-1, it's Buck/Eddie. I actually didn't expect to ship them when I started watching the show. As much as I like friends to lovers, the best friend ships rarely appeal to me and I tend to prefer them as just friends, and my brain can be a little contradictory in general when it comes to the juggernaut, but this one really stuck.
6. Do you have a preferred genre when it comes to fan fiction or fan works in your fandom?
Probably romance/drama. I like canon level action fics (can't handle anything too violent), and while I enjoy fluff, if it is longer than a couple of thousand words, I need some sort of plot.
7. Whatโs your favorite piece of lore or backstory within your fandomโs universe?
With Smallville, I've read that Lois's nickname for Clark (calling him "Smallville") was an accidental slip by Erica Durance and it just stuck, which I love. I also like that it was her idea to nix the kiss in 8.15 "Infamous" and to jump on Clark after the secret reveal in 10.05 'Isis'.
When it comes to 9-1-1, the fact that Ryan Guzman and Oliver Stark seemed to have a hand in naming "Buddie" is my favorite. I wasn't in the fandom/watching back then, but I found a screencap of an old post from the official 9-1-1 account asking people if they were on "Team Buck or Team Eddie". And I think Oliver Stark must've called them "Beddie" because RG's replied, correcting it to Buddie, and OStark agreed that they can go with that. So if that was the first showing of the ship name, that's pretty great.
8. Is there a particular scene, moment, or episode that always makes you emotional or excited?
With Smallville, Clark & Ryan always gets me emotional, especially in the hot air balloon moment. There are a ton of Clois moments I love, but one of my favorites will always be the Dunk Tank scene because Clark & Lois have such good chemistry already and it's just a few episodes in. Plus she is a pro at getting him to smile, even when he tries to be annoyed with her. Even Tom Welling had said that Lois brings out a different side of Clark. It's true, she does. The Piggy Bank conversation also gets to me because she understands him so well even without knowing his secret, and isn't afraid to be firm while being sympathetic at the same time (which is something I love about her). There was also a moment toward the end of 9.04 "Echo" with Clark & Oliver talking on the balcony and the way Clark told Oliver he still believed in him was so good, even if they handled Oliver's very real suicide attempt badly. s8 was such a rough go for their relationship and I was frustrated. To see them have a moment like this in s9 really gave me hope.
In 9-1-1, all the Tsunami scenes in early season 3 get to me, especially the one where Buck is explaining to Eddie that he lost Christopher. It's so painful to watch Buck try to explain and the resignation, moving on to grieving look on Eddie's face, before Chris is found. Of course Eddie telling Buck about his will remains a top moment too.
9. Whatโs your preferred platform for engaging with fellow fans and content (forums, social media, etc.)?
I've always preferred journal based sites, probably because I was mostly on fandom in the peak LJ days, so I still love Dreamwidth best, but I do like Tumblr for the gifs, and it is nice to chat on Discord from time to time, even if I can't really keep up with any of the servers.
10. Can you name a favorite moment when the community came together to support the fandom or a cause?
I've seen a lot of works created for a 9-1-1 for Gaza event but I can't say I know the origins, but that was awesome. I generally think it's great when fandom does that kind of thing. Whether it's thesunflower_auction or Marvel Trumps Hate or Fandom Trumps Hate.
11. Whatโs your favorite way to show your fandom pride (cosplay, apparel, tattoos, etc.)?
I don't know if I really have a way. I don't really go out searching for fandom merch, mostly because I know it will collect dust somewhere and I'm so bad about being organized already. The only time I actively went out for something was Tom Welling & Erica Durance were featured on the TV Guide cover. I still have that issue.
12. Whoโs your favorite content creator, artist, or writer within the fandom, and what do you love about their work?
Fanfic is hard to narrow down, but I've enjoyed watching fanvids again once I got to 9-1-1/Buddie so a couple of vidders I like are:
![[youtube.com profile]](https://youtube.com/favicon.ico)
butchdiaz
JuliGrisel
akapotatogirl
maevedarcy's 72 Multifandom questions to ask a fangirlFavorites and Preferences
1. Who is your favorite character or member within your fandom, and why?
When it comes to Smallville, well, Superman has always been my favorite hero and even SV Clark had my heart early on and then Lois once she showed up. I think as I got older, I somehow got more sympathetic towards him. He's so young and tried his best, even when he made mistakes. With the MCU, it's Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson. Again, the "boy scout" characters tend to have my heart, especially when they're more complex than on paper. With my current fandom, 9-1-1, that would be Eddie Diaz. I was really drawn to him from the first episode he was in and he just kept growing on me. He's just fun and snarky and competent and such a good dad.
#2-12
2. What is your favorite installment, episode, or album from your fandom?
I do like the early seasons of Smallville, specifically 3, but even though it's wacky, for a long time, 4 was my favorite. Probably because it leaned into the really weird and I kinda enjoyed the cracky moments. I don't love the doom and gloom all the time. The first half of s8 was strong and then it weakened. 9 was my favorite after that.
I don't love the handling of SHIELD but CA: TWS is probably my favorite MCU movie.
Season 3 and season 4 are tied for my favorite 9-1-1 seasons.
3. Do you have a favorite quote, lyric, or saying from your fandom?
Clark's "I stand for truth, justice, and ... other stuff" does still make me laugh, because of the delivery.
Athena's voice over in the s2 finale of 9-1-1 (I miss the voice overs), specifically, "This is how we save ourselves, by saving each other, because nobody, not anybody, has ever been saved alone."
4. Whatโs your favorite fan-created content (art, music, video, story) related to your fandom?
Yeah, there's no chance I can narrow it down to one or even five for any fandom. :D
5. Who is your favorite pair or group within the fandom in terms of chemistry or dynamics?
I've always been drawn to Clois in most versions of Superman and Smallville wasn't an exception. I did start writing fic for Clark/Oliver, a ship that snuck up on me and then inspired me to join fandom because barely anyone else was writing them and I figured I would give it a shot. I love a bit of a push/pull dynamic with ships so Steve/Tony after The Avengers and Sam/Bucky post CACW. With 9-1-1, it's Buck/Eddie. I actually didn't expect to ship them when I started watching the show. As much as I like friends to lovers, the best friend ships rarely appeal to me and I tend to prefer them as just friends, and my brain can be a little contradictory in general when it comes to the juggernaut, but this one really stuck.
6. Do you have a preferred genre when it comes to fan fiction or fan works in your fandom?
Probably romance/drama. I like canon level action fics (can't handle anything too violent), and while I enjoy fluff, if it is longer than a couple of thousand words, I need some sort of plot.
7. Whatโs your favorite piece of lore or backstory within your fandomโs universe?
With Smallville, I've read that Lois's nickname for Clark (calling him "Smallville") was an accidental slip by Erica Durance and it just stuck, which I love. I also like that it was her idea to nix the kiss in 8.15 "Infamous" and to jump on Clark after the secret reveal in 10.05 'Isis'.
When it comes to 9-1-1, the fact that Ryan Guzman and Oliver Stark seemed to have a hand in naming "Buddie" is my favorite. I wasn't in the fandom/watching back then, but I found a screencap of an old post from the official 9-1-1 account asking people if they were on "Team Buck or Team Eddie". And I think Oliver Stark must've called them "Beddie" because RG's replied, correcting it to Buddie, and OStark agreed that they can go with that. So if that was the first showing of the ship name, that's pretty great.
8. Is there a particular scene, moment, or episode that always makes you emotional or excited?
With Smallville, Clark & Ryan always gets me emotional, especially in the hot air balloon moment. There are a ton of Clois moments I love, but one of my favorites will always be the Dunk Tank scene because Clark & Lois have such good chemistry already and it's just a few episodes in. Plus she is a pro at getting him to smile, even when he tries to be annoyed with her. Even Tom Welling had said that Lois brings out a different side of Clark. It's true, she does. The Piggy Bank conversation also gets to me because she understands him so well even without knowing his secret, and isn't afraid to be firm while being sympathetic at the same time (which is something I love about her). There was also a moment toward the end of 9.04 "Echo" with Clark & Oliver talking on the balcony and the way Clark told Oliver he still believed in him was so good, even if they handled Oliver's very real suicide attempt badly. s8 was such a rough go for their relationship and I was frustrated. To see them have a moment like this in s9 really gave me hope.
In 9-1-1, all the Tsunami scenes in early season 3 get to me, especially the one where Buck is explaining to Eddie that he lost Christopher. It's so painful to watch Buck try to explain and the resignation, moving on to grieving look on Eddie's face, before Chris is found. Of course Eddie telling Buck about his will remains a top moment too.
9. Whatโs your preferred platform for engaging with fellow fans and content (forums, social media, etc.)?
I've always preferred journal based sites, probably because I was mostly on fandom in the peak LJ days, so I still love Dreamwidth best, but I do like Tumblr for the gifs, and it is nice to chat on Discord from time to time, even if I can't really keep up with any of the servers.
10. Can you name a favorite moment when the community came together to support the fandom or a cause?
I've seen a lot of works created for a 9-1-1 for Gaza event but I can't say I know the origins, but that was awesome. I generally think it's great when fandom does that kind of thing. Whether it's the
sunflower_auction or Marvel Trumps Hate or Fandom Trumps Hate. 11. Whatโs your favorite way to show your fandom pride (cosplay, apparel, tattoos, etc.)?
I don't know if I really have a way. I don't really go out searching for fandom merch, mostly because I know it will collect dust somewhere and I'm so bad about being organized already. The only time I actively went out for something was Tom Welling & Erica Durance were featured on the TV Guide cover. I still have that issue.
12. Whoโs your favorite content creator, artist, or writer within the fandom, and what do you love about their work?
Fanfic is hard to narrow down, but I've enjoyed watching fanvids again once I got to 9-1-1/Buddie so a couple of vidders I like are:
Fancake Theme for October: Uncommon Settings
Oct. 3rd, 2025 08:26 amrunpunkrun posting in fandomcalendarfancake is a thematic recommendation community where all members are welcome to post recs, and fanworks of all shapes and sizes are accepted. Check out the community guidelines for the full set of rules. This theme runs for the entire month. If you have any questions, just ask!
Fannish 50 S3 Part 43: CDramas I've DNF'd Part 3
Oct. 2nd, 2025 12:27 pmglitteryvThe Princess Gambit
A 2025 36-episode historical drama.
The story is set during an undetermined time in China's history. There is a main kingdom and two smaller ones. The empress of one of the smaller kingdom arranges a marriage between Princess Cheng Ping | Jiang Taohua (played by Meng Ziyi) and Mu Wuxia, the main kingdom's emperor's fourth son, (played by Biang Cheng.)
As soon as the princess and her entourage arrive at the main kingdom, weird stuff begins to happen. Including the convoy getting attacked by giant feral wolves (!!). Jiang Taohua manages to escape into the city only to get knocked on the head by someone.
AT THE SAME TIME, Shen Zaiye, the main emperor's Left Chancellor, (played by Liu Xueyi) is meeting someone in secret at a brothel. He drinks something he's poured himself and then faints.
They both wake up in one of the brothel's rooms with Jiang Taohua in her underdress and Shen Zaiye on top of her. As they begin to regain consciousness, who walks in but Mu Wuxia (Jiang Taohua's fiance) AND the crown prince Mu Wugou (played by Zhu Jian)!
So, because of all of that, the original engagement is dissolved.
However, Jiang Taohua is determined to stay put. Unbeknown to everyone else, she's actually a spy for her stepmother and was tasked to find some items for her empress. And as an "incentive", the empress not only threatens Jiang Taohua's younger brother's life, BUT also forces Jiang Taohua to take a special poison. This poison is dormant for most of the month until it's not and then she has to meet her handler in order to get a temporary antidote or, you know, DIE.
After some back and forth, Jiang Taohua comes up with the idea of marrying Shen Zaiye so that everyone saves face (but especially her.) Shen Zaiye is NOT into it since he has a Main Wife and 2 other concubines, etc. In the end, the emperor agrees and thus she joins his household as his 3rd concubine.
Jiang Taohua's arrival to her new home kicks off a WHOLE LOTTA DRAMARAMA!
I'll say that the premise was cool. I also found the majority of the cast to be quite standard actingwise. Tip of hat to Liu Lingzi as Meng Zhenzhen (Shen Zaiye's Main Wife.) At some point, I started to watch the show for her cuz her storyline was ridic good.
It's also a well-done drama in terms of cinematography. Lots of beautiful shots. Overall, I was FEELING IT up to a certain point.
Do I have any criticisms?
I do, indeed-y!
My issues begin around episode 16. Prior to that, I'd enjoyed the three mini-arcs. But then, things began to take a lot of weird turns that annoyed me.
My first problem had to to do with the CP. #Womp-womp Up to ep 15, the story was building them up into becoming a Power Couple. And, as y'all know by now, that's MY JAM.
However, during episode 16, the show drops a misunderstanding between Jiang Taohua and Shen Zaiye that keeps growing until their earlier alliance breaks. AND THEN, Jiang Taohua ends up with amnesia. *sigh* FTR, I don't mind amnesia plots, but the way it's handled in this story was NOT vibing with me.
My gut was telling me the drama was gonna piss me off. So I called it quits right around episode 19. Funnily enough, based on comments I read from ppl who finished the drama, everyone pretty much agreed that the series took a nosedive between eps. 17-19. Which I call the "transition episodes" between arc 1 and arc 2 of the drama.
I didn't like the villains in arc 2. To me, they were all roar and no bite.
Adding to my NO, PLEASE STOP feelings abt the villains, there is an extremely gross (yet weirdly surface level) exploration of a character who was SA as a child and the person who abused and groomed them. Once those two characters appeared, I got one of those "wait a minute cuz something isn't quite okay abt XYZ and ABC's dynamic" feeling whenever those two interacted. And then, when I read the spoilers as to what happened in the second half, I was like ๐ ๐พโโ๏ธ๐ ๐พโโ๏ธ๐ ๐พโโ๏ธ. FTR, NOTHING GRAPHIC happens onscreen, but it's still v. uncomfortable to witness the horrible dynamic between the abused character and their abuser.
Then, I was never convinced by the CP. ๐ I liked that both characters have complicated stories (she's a spy working against the emperor he's loyal to; he has a v. twisty background and a v.specific goal he's worked his whole life to achieve). And they're deffo a FREAK4FREAK couple, but it takes AGES for them to establish an actually romantic relationship. I have to admit that part of my I'M NOT SURE ABT THESE TWO comes from something that happens early in the dramaโฆ
So, Shen Zaiye is RUTHLESS. He will kill anyone (yes, including children--this isn't shown, only alluded to as something in the character's past) who stands in his way. And this is shown by the v. rough way he treats Jiang Taohua. By which I mean he LITERALLY TRIES TO KILL HER AT LEAST THREE (YES, 3 TIMES) within the first ten or so episodes. Including their first meeting back at the brothel (where he nearly strangles her death.)
Dude is the REDDEST OF ALL RED FLAGS OUT THERE, IJS.
After the third attempt, things begin to settle between them.
Usually, I'd have bounced by the second attempt, NGL. However, I was never actually worried for Jiang Taohua (the way I'd have been abt anyone else) because the show had given viewers enough of her backstory to feel reassured she'd make it to the end somehow. Had this been her first experience on the receiving end of violence, I'd have been more concerned. *Hands*
The other reason was me being v. curious as to how the show was gonna flip Shen Zaiye's characterization into one of a someone who is in lurve with a person considers an enemy/doesn't trust. And it happened! He most deffo fell first. Something that made sense because Jiang Taohua's situation was more urgent (the poison and her little brother being in danger) than Shen Zaiye's long goal.
IMO, the show takes a bit too long (and/or perhaps it's too subtle at first), but they do eventually manage to switch Shen Zaiye's flag from oxblood red to a light orange, LOLsob.
Speaking of the slow burnโฆ
Based on what I've read (after admitting to myself that I wasn't going to sit thru approx. 14 more hours hatewatching this drama), it's not until ep. 30 or 31 (out of 36 eps total) that Jiang Taohua acknowledges that she's in love with Shen Zaiye.
They are meant to be a Power Couple and the show does a lot to set that relationship during the first 14 eps. But, instead of staying on track, the drama decides to hit the pause button around eps. 16-18 and then make everyone wait until the last 6 eps for the romance to get fully reactivated?
NAH, BRUH, I'M GOOD!
Another thing that doesn't help this situation is that there's not a lot of chemistry between the actors. Both are at the same level talentwise (which is fine) and are good looking. However, once the kissing scenes began, I could only go "I guess?" while wondering why was this the least swoon-worthy "romance" scenes I'd seen in a while. :|
What's the FMC's plot armor level?.
Medium.
By the time the story begins, it's stated that Jiang Taohua has endured a lot of psychological and physical abuse from the empress. And, throughout the story (or, at least up to ep. 19), bad things happen to her.
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
It's a little complicated cuz it's abt the actual!succession line, I gotta 'fess up that I wasn't invested at all. *Hands*
Do I recommend it?
No, LOL.
There are some v. random turns that lead to plot holes, the story meanders a lot, the drama pulled back from the romance just as everything was ready to go, the CP chemistry was nonexistent, etc. What a disappointment.
Queerness level
It's at a low-medium level (though quite unsatisfying.)
OTOH, there are are 4 characters who could be read as queer couples.
One of the couples is HORRENDOUSLY TOXIC and
they're related by blood
The other couple is extremely wholesome, sweet. and fun. But then,
that couple only lasts 3 episodes after which one of the character ends up getting murdered.
So I would NOT rec it watching it for the M/M ships (subtle as they might be.)
Le trailer
IMO, this trailer is kinda misleading. The tone leans heavier into comedy than what is actually shown in the drama. Still, I share it cuz it does give a good idea of the dynamic between Jiang Taohua and Shen Zaiyen.
A 2025 36-episode historical drama.
The story is set during an undetermined time in China's history. There is a main kingdom and two smaller ones. The empress of one of the smaller kingdom arranges a marriage between Princess Cheng Ping | Jiang Taohua (played by Meng Ziyi) and Mu Wuxia, the main kingdom's emperor's fourth son, (played by Biang Cheng.)
As soon as the princess and her entourage arrive at the main kingdom, weird stuff begins to happen. Including the convoy getting attacked by giant feral wolves (!!). Jiang Taohua manages to escape into the city only to get knocked on the head by someone.
AT THE SAME TIME, Shen Zaiye, the main emperor's Left Chancellor, (played by Liu Xueyi) is meeting someone in secret at a brothel. He drinks something he's poured himself and then faints.
They both wake up in one of the brothel's rooms with Jiang Taohua in her underdress and Shen Zaiye on top of her. As they begin to regain consciousness, who walks in but Mu Wuxia (Jiang Taohua's fiance) AND the crown prince Mu Wugou (played by Zhu Jian)!
So, because of all of that, the original engagement is dissolved.
However, Jiang Taohua is determined to stay put. Unbeknown to everyone else, she's actually a spy for her stepmother and was tasked to find some items for her empress. And as an "incentive", the empress not only threatens Jiang Taohua's younger brother's life, BUT also forces Jiang Taohua to take a special poison. This poison is dormant for most of the month until it's not and then she has to meet her handler in order to get a temporary antidote or, you know, DIE.
After some back and forth, Jiang Taohua comes up with the idea of marrying Shen Zaiye so that everyone saves face (but especially her.) Shen Zaiye is NOT into it since he has a Main Wife and 2 other concubines, etc. In the end, the emperor agrees and thus she joins his household as his 3rd concubine.
Jiang Taohua's arrival to her new home kicks off a WHOLE LOTTA DRAMARAMA!
I'll say that the premise was cool. I also found the majority of the cast to be quite standard actingwise. Tip of hat to Liu Lingzi as Meng Zhenzhen (Shen Zaiye's Main Wife.) At some point, I started to watch the show for her cuz her storyline was ridic good.
It's also a well-done drama in terms of cinematography. Lots of beautiful shots. Overall, I was FEELING IT up to a certain point.
Do I have any criticisms?
I do, indeed-y!
My issues begin around episode 16. Prior to that, I'd enjoyed the three mini-arcs. But then, things began to take a lot of weird turns that annoyed me.
SPOILERS for a specific storyline during episodes 16-19
My first problem had to to do with the CP. #Womp-womp Up to ep 15, the story was building them up into becoming a Power Couple. And, as y'all know by now, that's MY JAM.
However, during episode 16, the show drops a misunderstanding between Jiang Taohua and Shen Zaiye that keeps growing until their earlier alliance breaks. AND THEN, Jiang Taohua ends up with amnesia. *sigh* FTR, I don't mind amnesia plots, but the way it's handled in this story was NOT vibing with me.
My gut was telling me the drama was gonna piss me off. So I called it quits right around episode 19. Funnily enough, based on comments I read from ppl who finished the drama, everyone pretty much agreed that the series took a nosedive between eps. 17-19. Which I call the "transition episodes" between arc 1 and arc 2 of the drama.
I didn't like the villains in arc 2. To me, they were all roar and no bite.
Adding to my NO, PLEASE STOP feelings abt the villains, there is an extremely gross (yet weirdly surface level) exploration of a character who was SA as a child and the person who abused and groomed them. Once those two characters appeared, I got one of those "wait a minute cuz something isn't quite okay abt XYZ and ABC's dynamic" feeling whenever those two interacted. And then, when I read the spoilers as to what happened in the second half, I was like ๐ ๐พโโ๏ธ๐ ๐พโโ๏ธ๐ ๐พโโ๏ธ. FTR, NOTHING GRAPHIC happens onscreen, but it's still v. uncomfortable to witness the horrible dynamic between the abused character and their abuser.
Then, I was never convinced by the CP. ๐ I liked that both characters have complicated stories (she's a spy working against the emperor he's loyal to; he has a v. twisty background and a v.specific goal he's worked his whole life to achieve). And they're deffo a FREAK4FREAK couple, but it takes AGES for them to establish an actually romantic relationship. I have to admit that part of my I'M NOT SURE ABT THESE TWO comes from something that happens early in the dramaโฆ
MAJOR SPOILER FOR THE CP (which includes mentions of Intimate Partner Violence
So, Shen Zaiye is RUTHLESS. He will kill anyone (yes, including children--this isn't shown, only alluded to as something in the character's past) who stands in his way. And this is shown by the v. rough way he treats Jiang Taohua. By which I mean he LITERALLY TRIES TO KILL HER AT LEAST THREE (YES, 3 TIMES) within the first ten or so episodes. Including their first meeting back at the brothel (where he nearly strangles her death.)
Dude is the REDDEST OF ALL RED FLAGS OUT THERE, IJS.
After the third attempt, things begin to settle between them.
Usually, I'd have bounced by the second attempt, NGL. However, I was never actually worried for Jiang Taohua (the way I'd have been abt anyone else) because the show had given viewers enough of her backstory to feel reassured she'd make it to the end somehow. Had this been her first experience on the receiving end of violence, I'd have been more concerned. *Hands*
The other reason was me being v. curious as to how the show was gonna flip Shen Zaiye's characterization into one of a someone who is in lurve with a person considers an enemy/doesn't trust. And it happened! He most deffo fell first. Something that made sense because Jiang Taohua's situation was more urgent (the poison and her little brother being in danger) than Shen Zaiye's long goal.
IMO, the show takes a bit too long (and/or perhaps it's too subtle at first), but they do eventually manage to switch Shen Zaiye's flag from oxblood red to a light orange, LOLsob.
Speaking of the slow burnโฆ
Based on what I've read (after admitting to myself that I wasn't going to sit thru approx. 14 more hours hatewatching this drama), it's not until ep. 30 or 31 (out of 36 eps total) that Jiang Taohua acknowledges that she's in love with Shen Zaiye.
They are meant to be a Power Couple and the show does a lot to set that relationship during the first 14 eps. But, instead of staying on track, the drama decides to hit the pause button around eps. 16-18 and then make everyone wait until the last 6 eps for the romance to get fully reactivated?
NAH, BRUH, I'M GOOD!
Another thing that doesn't help this situation is that there's not a lot of chemistry between the actors. Both are at the same level talentwise (which is fine) and are good looking. However, once the kissing scenes began, I could only go "I guess?" while wondering why was this the least swoon-worthy "romance" scenes I'd seen in a while. :|
What's the FMC's plot armor level?.
Medium.
By the time the story begins, it's stated that Jiang Taohua has endured a lot of psychological and physical abuse from the empress. And, throughout the story (or, at least up to ep. 19), bad things happen to her.
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
It's a little complicated cuz it's abt the actual!succession line, I gotta 'fess up that I wasn't invested at all. *Hands*
Do I recommend it?
No, LOL.
There are some v. random turns that lead to plot holes, the story meanders a lot, the drama pulled back from the romance just as everything was ready to go, the CP chemistry was nonexistent, etc. What a disappointment.
Queerness level
It's at a low-medium level (though quite unsatisfying.)
OTOH, there are are 4 characters who could be read as queer couples.
One of the couples is HORRENDOUSLY TOXIC and
HUGE SPOILER
they're related by blood
The other couple is extremely wholesome, sweet. and fun. But then,
here's another SPOILER
that couple only lasts 3 episodes after which one of the character ends up getting murdered.
So I would NOT rec it watching it for the M/M ships (subtle as they might be.)
Le trailer
IMO, this trailer is kinda misleading. The tone leans heavier into comedy than what is actually shown in the drama. Still, I share it cuz it does give a good idea of the dynamic between Jiang Taohua and Shen Zaiyen.