forever we try

Okay, but is this month flying by or what?! Midterms happen this week for me, though I'm lucky enough to have only one class this semester with a midterm assignment--one six-page essay with no secondary sources required--and no midterm exams. So I have been able to catch up with a few of my shows and watch a new movie or two in the meantime. 

Penny Dreadful

Two more episodes to go before the series finale, which I was spoiled for around the the time it first came out--so, well before I was even interested in watching. And now that I am watching and emotionally invested, I'm just very much Not Ready. At all. I mean, I'd much rather have it end after three mostly-solid seasons that see it drag on to the point that they're beating a dead horse with a dead horse, but I've fallen in love with so many of these characters, and the platonic and found family dynamics are lovely, and I know I'm going to miss this show badly once it's done. It's not perfect (not by a long shot, in some ways), but for me it's been just the right mixture of stylish, over-the-top Gothic horror and genuine emotion. I've been rationing out the last few episodes, so I still have a little time left. Not much, though...

Iron Fist

sholio  convinced me to give this another try, and after trying to get back into s1 and failing miserably, I went ahead and skipped to s2 (since I've been spoiled for most of s1 anyway). I definitely think I made the right choice--the first episode of s2 was about 100x more engaging and did end up pulling me in. I love Colleen, found myself shipping Colleen and Danny more than I first expected I would, and I think Ward's very much in the vein of former-asshole-trying-to-do-the-right-thing-while-still-being-a-bit-of-an-asshole, aka one of my favorite tropes ever. I'm honestly a little relieved to finally have found a way in, since I do love messy emotional dynamics and this show promises to be chock full of them.

Black Panther

FINALLY got around to watching this, and I have nothing to say that hasn't been said before, but: it was beautiful and awesome and both realistic and optimistic when it came to its characters--one of the things I loved most was that just about everyone (with a few exceptions) is genuinely principled when it comes to their beliefs, so even if you don't necessarily agree with them, you see where they're coming from and can sympathize with them. The worldbuilding was also fantastic and so, so intriguing from a fic-writing standpoint--I could read about a thousand different stories set in this world. (Though I haven't had time to browse through the AO3 tag yet. Sigh.)  

Thanksgiving Break starts on Monday, yay! I've got two long projects to finish over the week, so less yay, but having a couple days free of any other deadlines makes all the difference. One's a UDL lesson plan and the other's the final paper for my Bible as Literature course; they'll both be tricky but at least not boring. 

The Punisher! My sister and I knocked out the first six (?) episodes last night. It's turning out to be an unexpectedly great show for gen relationships, what with Frank's friendship with Micro, and his friendship with Micro's family, and his memories of his own family. Plus I'm sensing the start of something interesting between him and Agent Madani. Karen's only made three appearances so far. They've all been wonderful, though I can't get over the feeling that something happened between them, post season 2 of Daredevil, that we haven't gotten the chance to see yet. They seem so much closer from the get go. It's a little weird. 

Bit of wacky history I picked up: apparently there was a pretty strong Mafia presence in parts of West Virginia during Prohibition? I haven't found much to read up on, besides this very short Wikipedia entry and two other short articles. It fascinates me, though, because I've lived in West Virginia since I was five years old (admittedly a couple hours away from Clarksburg and Fairmont, the two cities this group operated out of) and never heard anything about this. Too bad I can't find a book (or at least a few more articles); I'd love to learn more.

So, I just got back from the theater and should wait until my thoughts have settled enough for me to write an actual review, BUT...Spider-Man: Homecoming was precious and adorable and so fresh and innocent and fun and good. Just a solid, hilarious, well-made movie. I've got to admit that it didn't quite knock GOTG Vol 2 down from its spot as my ultimate favorite Marvel film, but it absolutely lived up to the hype.

( [Hopefully mild] spoilers under the cut )

In other news, I've had a lot of fun stuff going on this week, with not much time left over for writing. I'll hopefully get back on track either this weekend or next week, at the very latest; I'm absolutely aching to work on the fourth girl!Peter fic, and my Defenders Big Bang fic (which is due at the end of this month) needs some serious work.

I can't believe it's almost July! I always start the summer off thinking I'll have plenty of time to write a billion stories and read a billion books...yeah, not so much. I am happy with what I've managed to get done so far, but there's always more that I could be doing....Oh well.

At this point I've seen GOTG Vol 2 in the theater a grand total of three times, which is kind of insane. I was not expecting to love this movie as much as I did, especially considering that I had a pretty lukewarm reaction to Vol 1; I liked it, but didn't get all that emotionally involved. Then along comes Vol 2 like a sucker punch to the gut. Going back to rewatch Vol 1 now, I like it much better, even though Vol 2 is still my favorite. They're dozens of little moments in both movies that I didn't pick up on until the second time around, and I can't get over how weird, goofy, and beautiful they are. Everything is bright and loud and a little cartoony, and it's all such a joy to watch. Also, Meredith Quill. The world needs more Meredith-centric fics, because that woman is a saint.  

But anyway. I doubt anyone needs to hear me blabbing about how great/amazing/so-good-just-go-see-it-already GOTG Vol 2 is again. 

Driving lessons are going pretty well. I'm getting more and more comfortable going up to 60 mph on the highway. That's a pretty big deal for me, seeing as the last time I got my learner's permit I was too nervous to go on the highway at all and pretty much just cruised around the neighborhood at a brisk 15 mph. Driving's always been something that's given me a ton of anxiety, but I've finally gotten to the point where I get that I just need to buckle down (hah) and get it done. 

My writing hit a rough spot a few days ago; I stalled out on two projects and couldn't make any headway at all. So I took a sort-of-break (worked on another fic that I'll probably never post; it was more of an exercise and a way to keep me writing) which I think helped a lot. It's always been hard for me to set something aside (even for just a few days) and accept that something about it isn't working right now, but that's much better than trying to fix something I can't necessarily fix--and that, nine times out of ten, doesn't need to be fixed, just left to percolate for a little bit.

Otherwise, things have been quiet around here. My life during the summer tends to get really boring really fast.  

This is the month of bizarre crossovers, apparently.

Sisters by marinarusalka: (Pacific Rim, MCU) Natasha Romanov and Sasha Kaidanovsky are trained together as kids in the Red Room. This fic does an amazing job of blending the two worlds, and Natasha and Sasha's friendship feels exactly right; in some ways they couldn't be more different, but they share a terrible past and understand each other like no one else does.

A Star Among the Moons by theladyscribe: (The Lord of the Rings, Firefly) A super-short two-part crossover that ships Boromir and River Tam. Hey--don't knock it till you've tried it. This pairing is beyond weird, but it just works. River is River, and Boromir's bewildered yet charmed by her. This one's a quick read, and very well-written.

Only Held by Gravity (The Chronal Navigation Remix) by Muccamukk: (The Lord of the Rings, Firefly) A remix of A Star Among Moons that explores juts how River ended up in Middle Earth. This one also goes into a little more detail when it comes to her odd friendship/romance with Boromir, and ends on a perfectly ambiguous note.

Or the "Lisa Castle meets Laura Kinney and they work through their issues together" AU of my heart. This is the first fic in what I hope will turn into a series; it ended up being quite a bit longer than I'd originally thought. Still had a ball working on it.

Title: We're All That They've Got
Fandom: Daredevil, Logan
Rating: Teen & Up
Relationships: Lisa Castle & Laura Kinney, Lisa Castle & Frank Castle, Laura Kinney & Logan, Lisa Castle & Logan, Laura Kinney & Frank Castle

Might or might not turn this into a monthly thing. I've read SO MUCH good stuff recently and figured it was time to share. It's mostly gen this time around. Also mostly Marvel. 

Tough Girl is What I Had to Be by angel_deux: (Daredevil) Set some time after season 2. I'm a sucker for Lisa Castle Lives AUs, and this is one of my absolute favorites. Lots of emotion and heartwarming father-daughter scenes. Plus, it ships Frank and Karen. What more could you want?

Kings Among Runaways by Viva Rocksteady: (Jessica Jones, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) The Jessica Jones/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt crossover you never knew you needed. Jessica is hard-edged and cynical, Kimmy is as adorable as they come, and their friendship comes off as surprisingly believable.

it's the skin and bones that keep me on the road by impossibleamypond: (Star Wars) A missing scene between Rey and Han. Incredibly well-written and bittersweet.

our lives umbilical by duchamp: (Logan) Set after the movie, and most definitely not an Everybody Lives AU. Laura moves on, but she never quite gets over Logan and what they could have had. Beautifully written. Also very, very sad.