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darkrosaleen) wrote2025-01-13 09:11 pm
darkrosaleen) wrote2025-01-13 09:11 pm
Fall 2024 in Fandom
Trying to keep this one short and sweet, let's see if I can accomplish that (reader, I did not accomplish that).
Media Consumed
Anora
Watched this on election day, and it was so funny and charming that I saw it a second time in theaters. Ani is one of my favorite protagonists of 2024, and the supporting cast are excellent too. This was my first Sean Baker film, and I appreciated the non-sensationalized depiction of sex work as a job that Ani is good at and relies on to support herself (and which gives her the physical dexterity to fight off goons much larger than her). I've seen a lot of reviews of this movie with weird opinions on sex work, though.
Fannish relevance: I thought Ani and Igor had a cute, prickly, tender relationship and wanted to read fic about what happens next.
An American Werewolf in London
I'm surprised it took me so long to watch this movie, because I have a well-documented kink for cute dog boys and David Kessler most certainly qualifies. This is a classic for a reason--the balance of truly funny comedy and truly upsetting horror is great, and the effects still stand up almost forty-five years later. I'm very picky about werewolves who are just guys in costumes, but the wolf effects look great and are shown with the perfect amount of restraint.
Fannish relevance: David/Jack is a cute, classic friends to lovers ship with lots of spooky and tragic supernatural potential. And I've never seen a hot werewolf who wouldn't make a good BDSM pup.
The Lighthouse
The Witch is my favorite Eggers film for subjective reasons, but I think The Lighthouse is his best film. The striking visuals, the twisting unreliable narrative and mythic/symbolic elements, the oppressive sensory feeling of being in a cold wet 19th century cabin in the northern Atlantic, the extremely funny fart humor. I read the film as mostly about Tommy Howard's violently suppressed queerness, but I'm sure if I watch it ten more times I'll have ten completely different interpretations.
Fannish relevance: If you didn't want these two guys to fuck hard and then tenderly make love, you had a very different read on this movie than I did. Also, canonical puppy play. I'm delighted to report that there is more readerfic on AO3 for Willem Defoe's character than for Robert Pattinson's.
Nosferatu (2024)
I liked this movie a lot, but I don't think it lives up to the astronomical hype. Like all of Eggers' films, it was visually stunning and dripping with tactile historical detail. I loved everything about Ellen and Orlok, both their relationship and their individual characters. Lily-Rose Depp's Ellen brings the subtext of the silent film to the surface, exploring mental illness and trauma and repressed sexuality in a very raw, visceral, but also otherworldly performance. It's a very tall order to reinterpret one of the most iconic monsters in horror cinema, and Bill Skarsgard's decomposing Romanian nobleman is a horrifying, disgusting, upsettingly erotic take that's unique enough to stand on its own. Sitting in a packed theater the day after Christmas and seeing Orlok for the first time in the pre-title jumpscare, after his appearance was deliberately left out of all the promo material, is one of the most magical movie theater experiences I had all year (hot take: the mustache is sexy).
The pacing suffers in the second half, and a bunch of the scenes without Ellen or Orlok felt repetitive and inessential to me. This movie adds back in the Dracula plotline of all the male characters hunting down the vampire to protect Ellen, and I think that lessens the impact of Nosferatu's divergent ending and Ellen's final choice, even if the men ultimately fail to kill Orlok. I like the ending better when Ellen is the only one willing and able to take heroic action.
Fannish relevance: I'm all in on the toxic throuple of Thomas/Ellen/Orlok and every permutation thereof (I'm always into the toxic throuple of Jonathan/Mina/Dracula). The fandom is chugging along with some wonderfully dark monsterfucking, but there isn't enough femdom for my tastes yet. I should be the change I want to see in the world.
Fic Posted
Someone That Dug - M, Like Real People Do (Hozier), Honey/Narrator, Bog Mummies + Dream Sharing + Human Sacrifice
Natural's Not In It - E, The Terror, William Gibson/Cornelius Hickey/Solomon Tozer, Puppy Play + Humiliation + Mutineer Era
Gifts Received
I only signed up for one exchange this quarter, and I received an abundant 4 gifts for Trick or Treat:
from the earth by embraideryart - Not Rated, Like Real People Do (Hozier), Fanart
The narrator resting peacefully in his peat grave.
Ice Walk by Impala_Chick - T, Polar Explorer RPF, William Braine + John Torrington + John Hartnell
Will gets lost out on the ice.
Kegstand by Missy - M, Re-Animator Movies
This Halloween rager is not Herbert's fault, and nothing that happens here is his responsibility.
disaster in motion by numismatium - Not Rated, The Terror, Harry Goodsir & Thomas Blanky
Starved of blood for weeks, Goodsir finally breaks. He does not expect to be caught.
Exchanges Etc.
Trick or Treat 2024 was fun, but it didn't hit the Best Exchange Ever highs that I hit multiple times in previous rounds. Maybe it's because 2024 is the first ToT round where I only wrote my assignment; maybe it's because the rule change allowing ship requests made the event feel more like every other exchange; maybe it's that my year of high creative energy naturally burned out in the fall. I still enjoyed myself, and got to write spooky bog mummy fic for a Hozier song that I fell in love with ten years ago (I bought that Hozier record the month I signed up for my first Trick or Treat round in 2014). My gifts were a great mix of new, old, and very old favorite fandoms.
I also picked up a post-deadline pinch hit for Hickeyshipping, because I've been itching to write a toxic D/s threesome between those characters since I rewatched The Terror. I'm happy with the fic I wrote, but I'm not thrilled with the title--I wrote the fic to my Daniel Molloy horny seventies punk playlist, and I titled it after a song from that playlist because I didn't have time to think of something better. On the other hand, both Solomon Tozer and AMC Daniel Molloy have moments of submitting to an awful toxic dom because they're too horny and desperate to turn him down.
In Progress/Upcoming
I'm taking some time off from exchanges, but I haven't decided how long yet. I hope to get some WIPs finished and posted in the new year, starting with some freaky Nosferatu fic while the fandom's still hot. I also have a 2024 fandom recap coming soon.
Media Consumed
Anora
Watched this on election day, and it was so funny and charming that I saw it a second time in theaters. Ani is one of my favorite protagonists of 2024, and the supporting cast are excellent too. This was my first Sean Baker film, and I appreciated the non-sensationalized depiction of sex work as a job that Ani is good at and relies on to support herself (and which gives her the physical dexterity to fight off goons much larger than her). I've seen a lot of reviews of this movie with weird opinions on sex work, though.
Fannish relevance: I thought Ani and Igor had a cute, prickly, tender relationship and wanted to read fic about what happens next.
An American Werewolf in London
I'm surprised it took me so long to watch this movie, because I have a well-documented kink for cute dog boys and David Kessler most certainly qualifies. This is a classic for a reason--the balance of truly funny comedy and truly upsetting horror is great, and the effects still stand up almost forty-five years later. I'm very picky about werewolves who are just guys in costumes, but the wolf effects look great and are shown with the perfect amount of restraint.
Fannish relevance: David/Jack is a cute, classic friends to lovers ship with lots of spooky and tragic supernatural potential. And I've never seen a hot werewolf who wouldn't make a good BDSM pup.
The Lighthouse
The Witch is my favorite Eggers film for subjective reasons, but I think The Lighthouse is his best film. The striking visuals, the twisting unreliable narrative and mythic/symbolic elements, the oppressive sensory feeling of being in a cold wet 19th century cabin in the northern Atlantic, the extremely funny fart humor. I read the film as mostly about Tommy Howard's violently suppressed queerness, but I'm sure if I watch it ten more times I'll have ten completely different interpretations.
Fannish relevance: If you didn't want these two guys to fuck hard and then tenderly make love, you had a very different read on this movie than I did. Also, canonical puppy play. I'm delighted to report that there is more readerfic on AO3 for Willem Defoe's character than for Robert Pattinson's.
Nosferatu (2024)
I liked this movie a lot, but I don't think it lives up to the astronomical hype. Like all of Eggers' films, it was visually stunning and dripping with tactile historical detail. I loved everything about Ellen and Orlok, both their relationship and their individual characters. Lily-Rose Depp's Ellen brings the subtext of the silent film to the surface, exploring mental illness and trauma and repressed sexuality in a very raw, visceral, but also otherworldly performance. It's a very tall order to reinterpret one of the most iconic monsters in horror cinema, and Bill Skarsgard's decomposing Romanian nobleman is a horrifying, disgusting, upsettingly erotic take that's unique enough to stand on its own. Sitting in a packed theater the day after Christmas and seeing Orlok for the first time in the pre-title jumpscare, after his appearance was deliberately left out of all the promo material, is one of the most magical movie theater experiences I had all year (hot take: the mustache is sexy).
The pacing suffers in the second half, and a bunch of the scenes without Ellen or Orlok felt repetitive and inessential to me. This movie adds back in the Dracula plotline of all the male characters hunting down the vampire to protect Ellen, and I think that lessens the impact of Nosferatu's divergent ending and Ellen's final choice, even if the men ultimately fail to kill Orlok. I like the ending better when Ellen is the only one willing and able to take heroic action.
Fannish relevance: I'm all in on the toxic throuple of Thomas/Ellen/Orlok and every permutation thereof (I'm always into the toxic throuple of Jonathan/Mina/Dracula). The fandom is chugging along with some wonderfully dark monsterfucking, but there isn't enough femdom for my tastes yet. I should be the change I want to see in the world.
Fic Posted
Someone That Dug - M, Like Real People Do (Hozier), Honey/Narrator, Bog Mummies + Dream Sharing + Human Sacrifice
Natural's Not In It - E, The Terror, William Gibson/Cornelius Hickey/Solomon Tozer, Puppy Play + Humiliation + Mutineer Era
Gifts Received
I only signed up for one exchange this quarter, and I received an abundant 4 gifts for Trick or Treat:
from the earth by embraideryart - Not Rated, Like Real People Do (Hozier), Fanart
The narrator resting peacefully in his peat grave.
Ice Walk by Impala_Chick - T, Polar Explorer RPF, William Braine + John Torrington + John Hartnell
Will gets lost out on the ice.
Kegstand by Missy - M, Re-Animator Movies
This Halloween rager is not Herbert's fault, and nothing that happens here is his responsibility.
disaster in motion by numismatium - Not Rated, The Terror, Harry Goodsir & Thomas Blanky
Starved of blood for weeks, Goodsir finally breaks. He does not expect to be caught.
Exchanges Etc.
Trick or Treat 2024 was fun, but it didn't hit the Best Exchange Ever highs that I hit multiple times in previous rounds. Maybe it's because 2024 is the first ToT round where I only wrote my assignment; maybe it's because the rule change allowing ship requests made the event feel more like every other exchange; maybe it's that my year of high creative energy naturally burned out in the fall. I still enjoyed myself, and got to write spooky bog mummy fic for a Hozier song that I fell in love with ten years ago (I bought that Hozier record the month I signed up for my first Trick or Treat round in 2014). My gifts were a great mix of new, old, and very old favorite fandoms.
I also picked up a post-deadline pinch hit for Hickeyshipping, because I've been itching to write a toxic D/s threesome between those characters since I rewatched The Terror. I'm happy with the fic I wrote, but I'm not thrilled with the title--I wrote the fic to my Daniel Molloy horny seventies punk playlist, and I titled it after a song from that playlist because I didn't have time to think of something better. On the other hand, both Solomon Tozer and AMC Daniel Molloy have moments of submitting to an awful toxic dom because they're too horny and desperate to turn him down.
In Progress/Upcoming
I'm taking some time off from exchanges, but I haven't decided how long yet. I hope to get some WIPs finished and posted in the new year, starting with some freaky Nosferatu fic while the fandom's still hot. I also have a 2024 fandom recap coming soon.