Xavia

Art: "The Exs" by Pairatime-- Small Fandom Big Bang Round 14

Sat, 19 Apr 2025 15:00:37 GMT

Fandom: Defying Gravity (1997)
Fic Title: The Exs
Fic Authors: pairatime
Type: digital cover
Media: MS Publisher
Art Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Griff/Pete, OCs
Art Warnings: none

Ahh, sorry I'm late! It's Small Fandom Bang time again, and this year I got pairatime's fic, which you can read here! I was interested in this idea of how jealousy distorts perception and went with a sort of fragmented approach with a palette that wouldn't be out-of-place in the 90s. Marcus is a stock photo by Tanya Volt and Andrew is Paul from The Object of My Affection, also about queer jealousy in the 90s.

( The Exs )

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Art: "Love's not time's fool" by Melime and Bruna_G-- Small Fandom Big Bang Round 13

Sun, 14 Apr 2024 15:08:14 GMT

Fandom: First Kill
Fic Title: Love's not time's fool
Fic Authors: melime & bruna_g
Type: traditional cover
Media: coloured pencil on paper; MS Publisher
Art Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Calliope Burns/Juliette Fairmont
Art Warnings: none

It's that time of year again: Small Fandom Bang! This round I got paired with melime & bruna_g who wrote a wonderful fic you can find here. It's much more introspective and evocative than action-based, so I figured a more Symbolist take would suit (which was totally intentional...). I imagine this as the moment directly after the fic. Enjoy!

( Love's not time's fool )

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Trans: "Free Advice" by colorcoded-- WIP Bang 2023 Round

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 00:05:42 GMT

Title: 🆓🗣🗒
Fandom: Star Trek DS9
Language: 😀
Original Title: Free Advice
Author: colorcoded
Original Language: English
Rating: NC-17
Characters/Pairings: Odo/Quark
Warnings: explicit, first time, body horror, cops
Summary: Set during the beginning part of The Ascent. Stuck on an 8-day shuttlecraft journey with only Odo for company? Quark is starting to crack. And so is Odo.

hey... so as part of WIP Big Bang, I claimed art for the sequel fic by Colorcoded, and it took me forever to figure out what I wanted to do, until I realized I really needed to immortalize this story in Emoji. I took my inspiration from Emoji Dick and from this iconic SPN post. I always forget it takes FOREVER to translate something, so I only managed to get this part done, which is essentially the Prologue, but I'm proud of it. Some things were pretty easy to transliterate/translate (I'll leave debates about whether Emoji are their own language to cunning linguists), but some things were surprisingly hard like random body parts or parts of a room. Also it is EXTREMELY frustrating that Emoji look so different across platforms and some don't even recognize certain ones, this was written in iOS but filtered through whatever set AO3 uses. Anywho, I learned way too much about Emoji for this, so here, enjoy my shitposting and the author's smut

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Art: "I'll Find Him Through the Depths of Space" by Broken_Twisted_Lullabies-- WIP Bang 2023 Round

Sun, 24 Sep 2023 03:14:11 GMT

Fandom: Supernatural, The Mechanisms
Fic Title: I'd Find Him Through the Depths of Space
Fic Author: Broken_Twisted_Lullabies (AO3)
Type: diorama
Media: plastic display case, fabric and thread, stuffing, marker, tape, glue, craft foam, ink, cardboard
Art Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: (spoilers)
Art Warnings: nudity, imprisonment/medical abuse, coma, fic spoilers

Ahhh, I can't believe I got this wipbigbang art claim done, and on time! This piece kicked my ass and it's not quite what I envisioned but it still came out pretty cool if I do say so myself. This is from the climax of Broken_Twisted_Lullabies' intriguing fic, which you can find here! The main submission is the first pic, the rest are some detail shots and a glimpse at my process making this.

( I'll Find Him Through the Depths of Space )

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Meta: Brenda My Beloved (Rules s5)-- DFvQ

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 20:10:47 GMT

CW: pregnancy, homophobia, heterosexism, transphobia, alcohol, fat-shaming, food

Starting out as a joke about Jeff’s softball team whose absence requires Audrey to join temporarily, by the end of s5 Brenda has become a pivotal person in Jeff and Audrey’s lives. She’s not the first openly queer recurring character but she is the longest lasting (not including leads). Brenda agrees to be Audrey and Jeff’s surrogate, which deploys queer reproductive technologies in service of heterosexuality and also serves to contrast her relationships with Audrey and Jeff’s. Brenda injects a queer sensibility into the show that frankly makes it more watchable as a queer fan. Welcome to my Brenda appreciation post.

( Read more... )

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Meta: What Makes a Love Interest? (Rules s4)-- DFvQ

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 05:52:26 GMT

CW: queerbaiting, arranged marriage, toxic relationship, workplace abuse, cultural imperialism, amatonormativity, implied pedophilia, implied incest, fatphobia, misogyny, Orientalism, racism, codependency, BDSM

As we saw, structurally Timmy’s introduction puts him forward as a love interest for Russell, albeit as a queerbaiting joke. That said, an appeal to romantic structures is really the only plausible justification for why their relationship is so all over the place given how infrequently Timmy appears in s3, and s4 only expands the bierotic space their relationship occupies. We’ll return to how their story troubles the amatonormativity of romantic plots, but currently I want to focus on how s4 builds up their relationship as a complicated interpersonal connection instead of simply a plot device, a connection that troubles the idea that becoming the love interest is a good thing.

( Read more... )

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Meta: Gay New York (Rules s3)-- DFvQ

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 05:01:44 GMT

CW homophobia, biphobia, sexual harassment, hostile work environment, racism

As originally conceived, Rules was intended to be a show about heterosexuals doing straight people stuff. And while there are references to queerness in the first two seasons, there are few explicitly queer characters. Because the first two seasons were establishing the characters’ relationships to each other, their relationships to others outside their group weren’t really explored. But with s3, we start to see them interact more with the world around them, and given they live in NYC, their social context is a lot queerer than they might have expected. The queer characters in Rules are often props to showcase the characters’ tolerance for difference (or lack thereof) instead of complex subjects in their own right, but this does change somewhat as the show progresses, especially if you consider some of the mains to be queer.

( Read more... )

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Meta: Bi Marriage (Rules s2)-- DFvQ

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 02:11:39 GMT

CW: heteronormativity, biphobia, bi erasure, sexism, toxic masculinity, transphobia

The main point of contrast in Rules is between Jeff and Audrey’s relationship and Jennifer and Adam’s. Jeff and Audrey’s lengthy experience with heterosexual marriage gives them strong opinions on how to make a marriage work, whereas Jennifer and Adam’s relative inexperience means that they encounter many obstacles for the first time. The two couples help each other become better partners, though usually not without getting worse first. There are several axes on which the two couples are foils, such as income level and age, which shapes the difference in their responses to issues. But I also argue that part of the reason is that Jennifer and Adam have more fluid conceptions of sexuality and gender roles that make the hyperheterosexuality of Jeff and Audrey’s relationship unrealistic and uncomfortable for them.

( Read more... )

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Meta: The Straights Are Not Alright (Rules of Engagement s1)-- DFvQ

Sat, 03 Jun 2023 01:40:49 GMT

CW: heteronormativity, compulsory heterosexuality, sexism, reproduction and infertility

Rules of Engagement is a guilty pleasure of mine because it’s so problematic and also just so very straight. Its humour skews a lot more conservative than most of the other shows in this study and it’s definitely not as thematically dense either. Usually this is the kind of show my parents would have on in the background at home, it wasn’t necessarily something we would drop everything to watch. Like most non-soaps of the 2000s and earlier, Rules is designed to be watched in such a way that you can miss a week and not be totally lost, and in fact you aren’t expected to have seen every episode, certainly not right before the next one. Episodic appointment television, especially a laugh-track sitcom, works better with conservative themes because the story is expected to regress to the mean at the end of the episode, meaning character and audience growth have little expectation of permanence. The audience needs to be able to understand the relationships and storyworld at a glance, which rewards stories that conform to stereotypes and well-worn tropes and that maintain a status quo as long as possible. That lack of persistence of memory affects the type of fandom that emerges around traditional sitcoms compared to soaps or sci-fi; cult fandom tends to be less drawn to these types of shows because there’s little payoff for such systematic devotion. Thus, applying a cult fandom approach to watching this is tedious in some ways and illuminating in others. The main takeaway doing so for Rules has given me is this: the straights are Not Okay^TM.

( Read more... )

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Meta: Delusions and Moral Entanglement (BM: "Bandersnatch")-- DFvQ

Tue, 02 May 2023 20:53:26 GMT

CW: unreality, paranoia, schizophrenia, psychosis, suicide, graphic depictions of violence, mind control, delusions, gaslighting, experimentation, child abuse, medication

( Delusions and Moral Entanglement )

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Meta: Cookie Rights Are Disability Rights (BM: "RJ&A2")-- DFvQ

Sat, 29 Apr 2023 00:11:04 GMT

CW: ableism, body horror, gaslighting, emotional and financial abuse, euthanasia, drugging, overdose, genocide

( Cookie Rights Are Disability Rights )

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Meta: Queer Strategies for Surviving Suburbia (BM: "Striking Vipers")-- DFvQ

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 23:46:04 GMT

CW: infidelity, heteronormativity and compulsory heterosexuality, problem with no name, suicidal ideation, sexualized violence, assimilation

“Striking Vipers” is clearly a love story, but what’s less clear is whose love story it is: Theo and Danny? Danny and Karl? Roxette and Lance? All five together? The episode neatly wraps up the immediate question—how do the five of them move forward—without addressing the larger issues at play both before and after their lives collide. Most reviewers have noted how the scenario presented in the ep raises several provocative questions about digital sexuality (Mellor; Shaw-Williams), virtual gender (Handlen), Black masculinity (Grant, Young, and McKenzie; Paul), queer fantasy (Griffiths and Jeffery), and bromance (Lodge), among others, none of which are definitively resolved. But I think that’s actually one of the strengths of this episode: an understated approach allows for all these themes to remain complicated and holds space for the messiness of adult relationships. Furthermore, the indeterminacy is part of the point in the queer aesthetic permeating the show, however much it ostensibly is about heterosexuality. Because of the inescapable backdrop of straight suburbia, the contingent, playful approach they take towards navigating it together is satisfying and retains a resistant queerness.

( Read more... )

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Meta: Racial Politics of Audiencing (BM: "White Bear", "Black Museum")-- DFvQ

Sun, 23 Apr 2023 21:55:27 GMT

CW: racism, blackface, torture, incarceration, racialized violence, Nazis, body horror, sexual assault, ableism, euthanasia, death, white supremacism, self-harm

( Racial Politics of Audiencing )

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Art: "Desencuentro" by sweety_mutant-- Small Fandom Big Bang Round 12

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 18:57:22 GMT

Fandom: The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Fic Title: Desencuentro
Fic Author: sweety_mutant
Type: traditional banner
Media: pastel on paper
Art Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Chris Adams
Art Warnings: religious imagery, death, fic spoilers

Right, yes, that's today! I also claimed a fic by sweety_mutant for Small Fandom Bang, which you can find here. It took a couple drafts to get to something I was happy with, but I think it turned out okay!

( Desencuentro )

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Meta: All Real Love Is Queer (BM: "Hang the DJ")-- DFvQ

Sun, 16 Apr 2023 23:27:34 GMT

CW: amatonormativity, surveillance, manipulation, compulsory heterosexuality, dissociation, kink

( All Real Love Is Queer )

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Meta: Revolt of the Dolls (BM: "USS Callister")-- DFvQ

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 05:35:19 GMT

CW: torture, body horror, dehumanization, sexual assault, misogyny, racism

( Revolt of the Dolls )

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Meta: Queer Afterlives (BM: "San Junipero")-- DFvQ

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 20:50:04 GMT

CW: death, spirituality, toxicity, ableism, euthanasia, homophobia, bury your gays, unreality

( Queer Afterlives )

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Meta: Queer Precarity (Black Mirror: "Nosedive")-- DFvQ

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 21:47:18 GMT

CW: compulsory heterosexuality, bullying, ableism, commodification, femmephobia

~~my meow meow beanz!~~

( Queer Precarity )

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Fic: "Mr. Jumpy Legs: The Unauthorized Documentary"-- Small Fandom Big Bang Round 12

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 17:26:04 GMT

Title: Mr. Jumpy Legs: The Unauthorized Documentary
Type:gen, crack, crossover, mockumentary, academia
Word Count: ~10.1K
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Mr. Jumpy Legs, Tara, Michael, the Doorman, Janet, Eleanor, Original Human Characters, Original Frog Characters
Warnings: canon-typical (Sex House) torture, imprisonment, abuse, exploitation, atmosphere of sexual coercion (no coerced sex acts depicted), amatonormativity, cruelty to animals, non-consensual drug use, cults, mental illness; graphic depictions of animal death, animal experimentation
Summary: On a fateful trip to Earth, Michael Realman gifts the Doorman an actual, living frog. *campaign attack ad voice* But who is Mr. Jumpy Legs? Who indeed.

A/N: At last, I can post one of my favourite fics I've ever written! This was written for smallfandombang Round 12, and the fucking fabulous art by dejesss can be found here. (I'm begging you check it out it's such quality shitposting and I can't stop staring at it) Missed out on being the first Sex House fic on AO3 by six weeks, but I finally finished a fic for Small Fandom Bang!
LMAO almost forgot to link to the fic, does help.

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Meta: In Defense of Fluff (Family Shatters)-- DFvQ

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 06:43:08 GMT

Okay, unpopular opinion time: I think Family Shatters is better than Zero, and I actually kinda like it. It’s still not the best spin-off miniseries, but I get what they were going for. I think to understand and appreciate Family Shatters, you have to be familiar with and enjoy fluff as a genre. In one sense, I think it knows what their audience wants, but because we don’t really care about the characters beforehand and crucially we don’t create the fluff ourselves, it falls short of its intentions. But I think Family Shatters points out an important tension between what fans want a show to do and what they want to do to a show.

( Read more... )

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Meta: The Right to Conclude (RvB s19, PSAs)-- DFvQ

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 06:35:28 GMT

CW: death, exploitation, capitalism

( The Right to Conclude )

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Meta: Biomechanics, or Why Zero is Like ThatTM (RvB s18)-- DFvQ

Sun, 02 Apr 2023 22:18:21 GMT

There are many reasons I don’t like RvB: Zero, but I’m so not alone in that opinion that I almost feel bad talking shit about it: it’s taken enough of a beating. Its writing is tired, its characters are unremarkable, its characterizations of Wash and Carolina are off, it looks and sounds completely different from the rest of the series (with very different theme music), to which it has an unclear relationship, and it also just feels unnecessary. That said, I think one reason it’s so off-putting is that the switch to the Unreal Engine sets up an uncanny valley where the movements are too fluid to read as RvB, AND, because I’m in Performance Studies, I can (over)explain why! To understand why the body acting in s18 looks so different and why it matters, we need to talk about avant-garde Russian theatre.

( Read more... )

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Meta: The Self-Reflexive Archive (RvB s17)-- DFvQ

Sat, 01 Apr 2023 05:13:40 GMT

CW: suicide, homophobic microaggressions

One thing time travel narratives allow is the ability for a series to revisit earlier parts of the story from a different historical moment. Because TV is episodic, it airs over a longer period of time, which means the audience and culture age faster than does the show. Especially for a long-running show like RvB, what a 2003 audience might have found funny is different from what a 2023 audience finds funny, and when viewers have access to these episodes side-by-side, it creates disconnects that showrunners often want to resolve so as not to alienate fans who are put off by aspects of older episodes that didn’t age well. By creating chances to comment on past episodes, they can recontextualize the story, demonstrate how far the characters have come (or not), and address—or refuse to address—controversies in the fandom. It also provides an opportunity to complicate ideas of nostalgia and memory.

( Read more... )

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Meta: Taking Trauma Seriously (RvB s16)-- DFvQ

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 20:00:01 GMT

CW: trauma, ableism and internalized ableism, gaslighting, TBI, suicide, slut shaming, DID

By the time a show gets to its 16^th season, enough canon has built up that reflecting on where we started and taking the accumulated trauma seriously become fruitful and often crucial projects. This is especially prudent for several of the shows in this study (RvB, SPN, Archer), which started in the 2000s and were still airing episodes in the 2020s. Audiences in these decades have/had very different expectations of character continuity, especially in sitcoms, partially as a consequence of the move to a binge-watching format where it’s not only possible but expected to watch a series in its entirety. Next post I’ll consider how shows interact with their own archive, but in this post I want to talk about something Shisno Paradox gives us that other arcs rarely do with consistency: RnB character development, especially Red team.

( Read more... )

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Meta: Why Are We Here, AKA the Grimmons Manifesto (RvB s15)--DFvQ

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 19:49:44 GMT

CW: body horror, dubcon (Temple of Procreation)

*doors close and lock behind you* hello, thank you for coming to my TED Talk, I have prepared a 300-slide presentation on why Grimmons is 1000% canon and also my OTP in this fandom and I am making it your problem.

( Read more... )

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