Cupid's Bow

Dear Festividder

2021-10-18T17:50:27Z

Thank you so much for making me something, lovely Festivdder.

I have pretty eclectic taste in vids, so make something you love and I'm sure to love it too. I've given some guidance below in case that's your jam, but feel free to do what you love instead if you get inspired.

I'm open to most types of music, but I am partial to a good melody and fast beat. I love experimental and constructed reality vids, so if you've ever wanted to try something unusual, go for it. That said, I really do want you to do something you enjoy, as that will shine through in the finished vid.

My one veto is that I'd rather no audio grabs from the source being directly over song lyrics, please, as I find it hard to track. I'm not a huge fan of audio samples in general, but they can be done brilliantly so use them if it suits the project. In fact, if you want to get experimental with the audio as well as the visuals, that would be cool!

Anyway, here are the sources I chose, in no particular order.

Cleverman (TV)
This is a gritty superhero story, and I'd love anything you do with it, but especially something that focuses on the supernatural elements.

The Changeover (2017) [SAFETY]
I adore the book this movie was based on, and I love the moodiness of the adaptation. Laura and Sorry, and Laura and Jacko are my faves, but Carmody is also wonderfully creepy.

Detectorists (TV)
I adore the friendship romance at the heart of this series. It's so gentle and funny.

The Dry (2020) [SAFETY]
This film captures the feeling of Australia during a drought so well, and I'd love something that picks up on that.

Mannequin (1987) [SAFETY]
I picked this entirely out of nostalgia for silly 80s kitsch.

Seachange (TV)
This series made me laugh when I first watched it. The characters are all so well drawn. Laura and Diver Dan are faves, as are Heather and Kevin.

Venom: Lethal Protector (comic)
I really love the absurdity of Venom, especially when it's mixed with pathos. You probably won't pick this one, but if you do, don't be afraid to animate some bits or take panels from other Venom comics, or generally break the rules. Go nuts. I want a balls-to-the wall vid that does the zaniness of a goo monster justice.

My Octopus Teacher (2020) [SAFETY]
This is gorgeous, delightful and sad by turns. Anything you do with this would be a treat. This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/462709.html.

VID: Space Bees (The Strange Case of Starship Iris, PG)

2021-02-05T22:40:23Z

This was the treat I made for this year's festivids. I've wanted to vid a podcast for a while now by incorporating the audio as the main text to be remixed, and The Strange Case of Starship Iris was a good candidate for it.

It was really interesting, starting from the audio rather than the visual. Even though the skills were the same, it felt like quite a different process. I spent at least as much time editing the audio as the visuals. which isn't usually the case.

As always with a fandom without a visual source, the problem is what to use to illustrate the vid. I was really torn, because if this had been my main assignment, I would have had a go at animating it. That's why I came up with the space bee and ant in a spacesuit that you can see in the title card for the vid (just pop in the password without hitting play and you'll see it). But with the vid coming in at 6 minutes, there was just no way I could make enough animation in the time I had for a treat.

Plan B was using the footage from The Planets. I was considering making a vid of The Planets as a treat anyway, so had it all ready to go, and I could see how I'd make it work. That said, and I've been hesitating to admit this, but I think this vid doesn't quite work. I wanted the visuals to be a kind of dreamy accompaniment that enhanced but didn't overwhelm the audio, and I just don't quite think I nailed it. I do think it's a failure in an interesting and entertaining way, though. It's not a disaster or anything, or I wouldn't have posted it; it just has all the problems of a first-go effort. Now I've tried vidding a podcast, I've had quite a few ideas for how I might tackle this kind of project next time.

Title: Space Bees by cupidsbow
Visual Source: The Planets (see notes below for additional sources)
Audio: The Strange Case of Starship Iris
Rating: PG
Relationships: Brian Jeeter/Krejjh
Warnings: Flashing lights
For: absternr, Festivids 2020

Summary: White-knuckled suspense is the spice of life.

Downloads: TSCOSI-SpaceBees-cupidsbow-sm.zip (MP4, 62.7MB); TSCOSI-SpaceBees-cupidsbow.zip (WMV, 72.2MB)
Streaming: Vimeo (Password = spacebees)

[The Strange Case of Starship Iris] Space Bees by cupidsbow from cupidsbow on Vimeo.

Credits

The Strange Case of Starship Iris: 1x03 In the Deep
The Planets
The Blue Planet
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Musicvid.org audio visualiser effect
BBC sound effect - bbc_electronic_07014126
Space Ambient Mix 33 Frozen Dreams by The Intangible

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/462063.html.

VID: Sorry, Not Sorry (Knives Out, M)

2021-02-05T22:11:27Z

This was my main assignment this year, and I adored making it. I've wanted to make a Knives Out vid since I saw the movie, because the visuals are so gorgeous. As soon as I heard this song, I knew it was Marta's. She's a fabulous character, and one of the joys of the film is watching her navigate the power dynamics surrounding her as someone with less power than nearly everyone else. Capturing that was a delight.

Sometimes editing vids is really hard work, but sometimes the vid almost makes itself. This was the latter. I'd been mulling it over for so long that I had lots of ideas, and I could just enjoy the process, and cackle at some of the clip choices. "You were a prince... or so I thought." Hehehe.

I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Title: Sorry, Not Sorry by cupidsbow
Visual Source: Knives Out
Music: Sorry I'm Not Sorry by Tessa Violet
Rating: M
Relationships: Marta Cabrera/Ransom Drysdale, Marta Cabrera & Harlan Thrombey, Ransom Drysdale & Harlan Thrombey
Warnings: Eating and vomiting, suicide, attempted murder, mild swearing.
For: Tam_Cranver, Festivids 2020

Summary: He's a bulldozer, so get out of the way.

Downloads: KNIVESOUT-SorryNotSorry-cupidsbow-sm.zip (MP4, 66MB); KNIVESOUT-SorryNotSorry-cupidsbow.zip (WMV, 83.3MB)
Streaming: Vimeo (Password = sorry)

[Knives Out] Sorry, Not Sorry by cupidsbow from cupidsbow on Vimeo.

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/461617.html.

Art: A love-heat relationship (Good Omens, G, Aziraphale/&Crowley)

2021-01-09T08:53:07Z

Art for freyjawriter24, in the Good Snowmens exchange, 2020.

Prompts filled include: hiding away from snow, comfort food and sweet treats, being with loved ones, and (hopefully) also angst with a happy ending - the expressions on Aziraphale and Crowley's faces are designed to give one impression when viewed small, and a slightly different one when viewed close up.

Description: Crowley is in snake form, and Aziraphale is lazing in his coils. They are in a room heated by a heat lamp, and filled with plants, and books. Outside it is snowing. Aziraphale is wearing an old-fashioned striped elbow-to-knee bathing suit, and has a plate of mince pies and a glass of wine. Aziraphale is attempting to hold Crowley away from his glass of wine with one leg. When the image is small, it looks a little like Aziraphale and Crowley are annoyed with each other, but when viewed in more detail, Aziraphale looks more fondly tetchy as in canon, and Crowley is smirking at him. The caption reads: A love-heat relationship.

Finally... I am not really an artist. I am a collagist. This was inspired by the wonderful Hilda cartoons, one of which I've transformed and put my own spin on here. I've also used many, many other images as tracing templates. Hopefully I've done this well enough to create a new thing in its own right, but I owe a debt to all of the pieces that helped me along the way.

Link on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28646571

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/461089.html.

Lemon and white wine risotto

2020-10-31T11:37:07Z

Lemon and white wine risotto

I have been experimenting with risotto lately, and this one turned out so well, I want to record the recipe. It's gluten-free, non-dairy and potentially vegetarian if you like, and I honestly couldn't believe how good it was given there's no cheese in it.

I'm not big on constant stirring which you're meant to do with risotto, so this method has minimal stirring, and still ends up with a very creamy texture.

This makes enough for about 3 people, depending on serving size. If you need to make a larger quantity, just remember the magic ratio is 1 cup uncooked rice to 3 cups liquid. You can use any combination of stock and wine you prefer as long as it comes to 3 cups of liquid for every cup of rice. Alternatively, you can use all stock if you don't have wine. I wouldn't use all wine, though, as I think it would be overpowering -- 2 cups of wine max. If you want to swap in some water, I'd limit it to no more than 1 cup out of the 3 needed, as I think you'd start to lose significant flavour at that point.

Tblspn = tablespoon
tspn = teaspoon

Ingredients

2 Tblspns olive oil
1 onion
2 tspns anchovies and oil
1/2 tspn garlic powder
1 tspn Dijon mustard
1 tspn capers
grated zest 1 small lemon, and juice (lime should also work if you prefer)
1 cup Arborio rice (or sushi rice or a similar sticky short-grain rice)
1 cup sweet white wine (dry would probably work too, but the sweetness offset the lemon in a really good way -- I used 2018 Sandalford Element Late Harvest)
1 ear corn kernels, sliced off the cob (optional)
2 cups warm chicken stock (or vegetable or fish stock -- something mildly flavoured)
1 cup frozen peas (optional)
generous crack of black pepper
2 Tblspns margarine or butter, or fat of your choice (this is optional but recommended -- I think coconut cream or oil would work well, especially if you used lime instead of lemon)
chopped fresh parsley

Method

In a heavy-bottomed pan over a low heat, fry thinly sliced onion in olive oil. Once onions have started to soften, add anchovies and some extra anchovy oil and stir well with a wooden spoon.

Once onions are translucent, add in garlic powder, Dijon mustard, capers, and half the finely grated lemon zest. Stir well. Add rice, and mix until it's coated with oil, and cook for a minute or two.

Add a cup of white wine, stir well, and then leave to absorb liquid with occasional stirring.

Once wine is absorbed, add the corn kernels if you're using them and then the warm stock and stir well. Put lid on dish and let cook, stirring occasionally. When liquid is nearly absorbed, add the frozen peas if you're using them and stir well. Alternatively, cook the peas separately and add them right before serving if you want to make sure they don't overcook.

Once liquid has been absorbed and what's left is a thick, creamy sauce with al dente rice, add a generous crack of black pepper, the remaining lemon zest and juice, and the margarine/butter if you're using it. Stir until the fat is melted and all is well combined. The margarine/butter is what takes this from good to fabulous -- it really enhances the mouthfeel and taste.

Add salt if needed (I found it didn't need any). Serve with freshly chopped parsley.

Goes well with pan-fried fish.
This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/460885.html.

GF pancake recipe

2020-03-22T08:19:03Z

I've been reacting to commercial GF replacement flour recently, I suspect because of the soy component. So I've come up with a pancake recipe that uses rice flour as a base.

Ingredients

3/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup ground nuts of your choice (I use almond meal, but it should work with hazelnuts or peanuts or whatever)
1/2 cup shredded/desiccated coconut
2 eggs
1 tsp GF baking powder
1 dessert spoon white wine or cider vinegar
approx. 1 cup milk (or liquid substitute)
# 1/3 to 1/2 cup mashed/grated fruit or veg
++ 1 tspn vanilla essence, or a tsp of another flavouring to match your mashed fruit/veg
++ sugar or salt to taste (I don't add any, as the fruit gives enough sweetness)
++ 1/2 tspn spices/herbs to taste
butter or oil to cook

# Pick whatever fruit/veg you like. You should be able to make these either savoury or sweet, depending on whether you add fruit or veg to the mix. So far, I have made these with mashed over-ripe banana, and mashed over-ripe persimmon. It should also work with mashed stewed apple, or finely grated raw apple, mashed cooked pumpkin, mashed avocado, finely grated raw zucchini or something similar.

++ Optional ingredients. If you add veg, leave out the vanilla essence; you could add something salty instead, like a tsp soy sauce or something that compliments the veg flavour. Same with spices/herbs - add to taste depending on the fruit/veg you've chosen. I don't add any additional salt/sugar, as the topping I eat with the pancake adds enough for me, but you can add to taste.

Method

Mash or grate your fruit/veg and beat the eggs. Add in dry ingredients. Mix in half the milk, slowly adding more as needed until you have a pancake batter. It will take about a cup of milk, but might be a bit more or a bit less, depending on the moisture in your fruit/veg.

On a low heat, melt some butter or use some cooking spray on your frying pan. Ladle in around half to three quarters of a cup of batter. The low heat is important, as the pancakes will be more fragile than those made with wheat flour. As long as you cook each one until the top of the pancake is mostly set (bubbles will appear and pop, and there won't be any jiggle if you shake the pan) you should be able to flip it all in one piece.

The cooked pancakes will be soft and fluffy, and have a cake-like texture inside.

Serve with whatever you usually eat on pancakes. I like marmalade, but you could melt a slice of cheese on top, or use lemon/sugar, or whatever.

This recipe will make about 4 pancakes. This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/458644.html.

Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears

2020-03-02T08:01:04Z

Good fun! Recommended. I particularly like how it inverts so many of the themes of this genre. Funny and delightful.

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/458312.html.

Dear Space-Swap Letter

2020-02-24T10:47:11Z

Dear fellow space-lover,

Thank you so much for making something for me! Hopefully what follows will make that as easy as possible for you. :)

First and foremost, please make something you love. That will always lead to something good, and I will appreciate the love you've put into it. The notes below are meant as a guide to what I like, but not as a prescription you must follow to the letter. I really like stuff that's experimental and takes chances, so by all means use my prompts as a starting point, and then follow your muse!

General stuff

Likes: I love friendship stories, whether they are full-on slash romances, asexual romances, or platonic friendships. As long as the characters genuinely like each other, and end up closer by the end of the story, art, vid or podfic I will be happy. I have wide tastes in terms of story and art genres, so go with your strengths; I particularly like romcoms, plotty case-fics, mysteries and adventure stories, and slice-of-life stories. Any rating is fine. I will mention specific kinds of AUs I enjoy for each fandom below, if AU's or constructed realities float your boat. Finally, if you have an off-the-wall idea, I'm am your audience, as I love stuff that tries out new things. Want to make a character trans or agender, or want to go slightly AU with canon, or mix comic/animated/book canon with movie canon, or want to add a bit of external source to a vid? Or maybe an unusual POV (gossip fics are a particular fave). Fab! That's all cool with me. So is following canon exactly, so don't feel you have to force something experimental into your work -- it's just an option I'm open to if that's your thing.

I like most kinds of music, including instrumental. I'm not big on rap or hiphop, but can be convinced if it has a good melody. I prefer fast-paced action vids and character studies and constructed realities -- not all at once, unless you're feeling super ambitious. :)

I'm fine with music in podcasts, as long as it doesn't make it hard to hear the reading.

Dislikes: No rape or other forms of non-consensual acts, please, except for canon-typical violence. No deathfic for the main characters (unless it's temporary). No A/B/O. No torture, extreme darkness or unresolved angst; a bit of angst is okay, but I dislike over-the-top angst, especially of the “does he like me” type. No incest. I'm not a huge fan of extreme kink, but don't mind a little as long as it's not the focus of the story; that said I’m happy for you to explore alien or Angel/Demon biology which is intrinsically a bit kinky, if that floats your boat. I enjoy sex scenes when they are woven into a plot, but I’m not a fan of PWPs -- I’d rather a PG friendship fic than a PWP. In terms of vids, I really don't like schmoopy romance vids of the characters looking soulfully at each other, as they pretty much make my eyes cross and I pull horrible faces of pain if forced to watch, but I adore funny romcom vids, and most other kinds of vids -- action, character study, AU, constructed reality, etc. I’m also not a fan of soundbites over the top of lyrics, but am fine with them otherwise. And most importantly of all, no stories, art, vids or podfics in which the characters don't like each other, or start off hating each other, or reluctantly put up with each other; not even if they end up in love.

Venom
Relationship: Eddie Brock/Venom Symbiote;   Eddie Brock & Venom Symbiote

Current fandom of my heart! I adore the movie and have dabbled in reading the comics. I'm happy for you to base your fic on just the movie, or a meld of comics and movie.  I’m also a fan of the other characters in the movie -- Annie, Dan, Mrs Chen in particular -- so if you want to include any of them go right ahead. If you need a few extra characters, you're welcome to pick one or two from the larger Marvel-verse as well -- my faves are Fury, Captain Marvel, Thor, Korg, Falcon, and Black Widow. Yes, I do like Spider-man, but I don't generally like Venom fics with him in them, as the balance nearly always shifts away from Eddie and Venom; please only use Spider-man judiciously if you decide he's needed. If you want to see what I've made and recced in this fandom, you can find it under the Venom tag here on DW, or over on my Ao3. I will eat up literally anything in this fandom/pairing.

Specific prompts: Venom and Eddie have an adventure in space. Venom and Eddie meet differently. Eddie and Venom are outed, and what follows (the media frenzy, the Avengers getting interested, etc). Eddie and Venom investigate a story. Earth is invaded by aliens, and how Eddie & Venom react.

Original Work
Okay, so a lot of the tags I've picked for this are influenced by other fandoms I enjoy reading in, like Venom and Star Trek (TOS and AOS), but also fandoms that weren't eligible for Space Swap, like Good Omens. This is not me asking you to make secret Good Omens fic by any other name, but if you're a vidder or artist, I figure knowing that could be of help in finding source footage or models (esp with Tennant having been the Doctor). Basically, I'm interested in how mystical/religious beliefs and/or powers play out in space, but less in a space opera way (which I adore by the way -- points at icon), and more in a practical, "We take this stuff for granted as real, and this is how we negotiate space with that being the case" kind of attitude. I'd particularly enjoy something that is both based in a level of realism and funny, even if you end up going wildly speculative -- think Terry Pratchett and the way he used comedy to make clever points about established rules/norms in his fantasy works. That kind of thing, but in space! With magic! :)

Specific prompts: Angel and demon explore space; Creating the stars or other celestial bodies; Different Sapient Species Living Together; Galactic Law; Magic systems in space; Mythology of alien society; Serpentine aliens.

Star Trek: Alternate Original Series
Character: James T. Kirk
Relationship: James Kirk & Spock & Bones (AOS); James Kirk/Spock (AOS)

Specific prompt: What I really want is something about Kirk and Tarsus IV. I'd prefer an adventure (in space!) while he's captain, in which that experience comes into play. And even more so if there are some positives to come out of having to re-engage with the trauma -- a new peace about it, a new understanding of his child self and what he went through, that kind of thing. As this is AOS, and Spock has now also experienced the traumatic loss of a planet full of people, it would also be interesting if their new realisation of common ground could be explored too. I'm also a fan of Kirk's friendship with Bones. It's Kirk's experience that I'd like to be the focus, but it doesn't have to be adult Kirk if you'd rather explore it another way. If you'd prefer to write an academy fic, or even Kirk as a child still on Tarsus or just after being rescued, that would also be great.

Doctor Who
Character: Thirteenth Doctor

I love 13. Anything you make with her in space having an adventure will please me. I would love a space adventure with any of the current TARDIS team, the TARDIS itself, and/or K9. Any way you choose to approach this is good with me. I'm also particularly fond of Jack Harkness, so if you want to make Jack and 13 besties, I'd cry tears of joy.

The Wandering Earth
This is one of those requests I make on a whim sometimes, as I doubt anyone will be interested. I'm adding it because it was a spectacular movie and deserves love. I've been looking for this movie on DVD but can't find it, so you probably can't either. But if you can, I would adore a vid from this source! So much! I doubt it's possible, but a gal can dream. I'm currently reading the book, so any other kind of fanwork you make inspired by the movie or book would be delightful too. This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/457908.html.

Fic: Saving What We Love (Star Wars, Leia & Rose, PG-13)

2020-02-22T08:24:39Z

This was my entry for Chocolate Box this year. I haven't ever written Star Wars before, which is ironic considering it was my first fandom as a kid. I was expecting to write Venom or Good Omens for Chocolate Box, and really only offered Star Wars as a stretch goal, not expecting it to match, and certainly not on Rose! But it turned out that was the only match I had with Melody_Jade's requests. I'm glad it worked out that way, though. I'll no doubt write more Venom and maybe even finish my Good Omens WiP one day, but I only have vidding ideas for Star Wars so who knows if I'll ever write it again. But once I read Melody_Jade's prompts, I really wanted to write Rose. Leia is my fave, so it was a delight to have a go at writing her as the General, and it was really interesting finding out about Rose as I wrote her.

They are both awesome and fun. Plus, together, they fight ~~crime~~ wars!

Title: Saving What We Love by cupidsbow

Fandom: Star Wars

Rating: PG-13

Relationship: Leia Organa & Rose Tico

Warnings: None

For: Melody_Jade, Chocolate Box - Round 5

Summary: “Tico!” Lazslo, the head tech, strode out from the shuttle’s main bay where he'd been working on the internal wiring, giving her dirty appearance an approving once-over. He was a great believer in the virtues of hard work. “The General wants you.” He held out a cleaning-pad that was already showing signs of use. “Better hop to it.”

Rose was covered in grease. She could feel it, thick and sticky on her overalls, her gloves, the back of her neck. The old GX1 shuttle she was working on still wasn’t fixed, even though her tech team had been cleaning out rust and replacing parts for the last three days. Swiping the sweat from her face with her least greasy arm, she pulled up the work order to check what still needed to be done. Oh, flea-ridden rancors! The next job was fixing the docking tubes. Rose hated docking tubes. They always pinched her fingers.

“Tico!” Lazslo, the head tech, strode out from the shuttle’s main bay where he'd been working on the internal wiring, giving her dirty appearance an approving once-over. He was a great believer in the virtues of hard work. “The General wants you.” He held out a cleaning-pad that was already showing signs of use. “Better hop to it.”

Rose gratefully accepted the cleaning-pad and hastily wiped off what she could as she trotted over to the cave housing the command ship. It loomed out of the jungle, full of bustling pilots, droids and techs.

The General was standing off to one side, speaking to Poe Dameron. Rose tried not to stare at the neat coils of General Leia’s hair, so unlike the way the elder women on Hayes Minor had worn theirs. It had been engrained in Rose since before she had words that short hair was safe hair in the mines. Leia’s hair was indulgently long; sleek and pretty, shot with white that shone in the sunlight, like a princess in a holodrama. It drew attention, a distraction from the General's eyes, which were shrewd and clever, much like the Hayes colony grandmothers who had watched over and scolded a curious, skinned-kneed Rose. (All of them dead now, those wrinkled, clever grandmothers, and everyone else who raised me, a thought Rose shoved down before it could take hold, ignoring the prickle in her eyes. A blink and the pain was gone.)

General Leia smiled as soon as she noticed Rose approaching. Rose smiled back. “You wanted me?”

“Yes, Rose.” Leia motioned for Rose to follow, and led her towards the edge of their landing ground. Poe trailed along too, shooting a big smile at Rose, as though he knew what was coming and was delighted by it. “Commander Dameron brought back a present for you.”

Commander Dameron's grin got even toothier and he winked at her. "I saw it and thought of you."

“A present?” Rose swallowed. (The last time Rose had been given a present, it was a birthday gift from Paige. There would never be another. Rose could still count the distance between them in days, but not for much longer. Paige was falling further and further into Rose’s past. Soon it would be months between them. Then years. Rose’s arms would never be long enough to breach the gap, even if Rose lived long enough to become a grandmother herself. If she could have any present in all the worlds, oh, how she would wish for the gift of more time.)

The General paused, those clever brown eyes taking her in. Rose couldn’t help but meet that gaze, as she'd been taught to do. (She saw kindness, tempering the cleverness, deep as a well. The kind that grew out of pain and loss. Rose thought the grandmothers would have liked Leia. The irritating prickle of tears returned and Rose blinked it away again.)

“More of a challenge,” the General said, overwriting the word present, striking it out. “I think you're ready for it.”

They rounded the Millennium Falcon, and sitting behind it was a T-85, beat to Dagobah and back, with a hole through one x-wing and no landing gear.

“Took a bit of work getting the old girl back here,” Commander Dameron said. When he gazed at the ship, he looked fond instead of cocky and Rose liked him better for it. “We're all hoping you can work some magic on it.”

Rose circled the ship, letting Dameron's running commentary about how they salvaged the ship flow over her. She winnowed out the colourful bits -- a Hutt stole it from the Defense Fleet and then lost it when it was jettisoned by a smuggler? Sounded fake, but it made for a good story -- and mentally noted the technical specs Dameron dropped during the telling. Even a quick walk-around made it clear the ship was a nightmare. Coolant drips stained the T-85’s chassis. Some kind of fungus caked the vents. The fusal engines were covered in laser scores.

It was beautiful.

Working off a glove, Rose laid a hand on the fighter’s scarred side. “Hello,” she said, the way her mother taught her (and her mother's mother, and back, and back, to all those grandmothers in her family who spoke to machines).

She leaned against its skin. It leaned back, steadying her. She waited patiently, letting the shape of the ship's damage flow through her. She could feel the ache in its bones, but it wasn’t quite done yet. It was a fish, darting through the starlight rivers of the void. It was a mynock, eager for the taste of other ships. It was broken, but it could still be made whole. Words hovered behind her teeth. Sweetheart. Darling. You’ll save so many lives once I’ve rebuilt you. You'll save the people I love, won't you?

The General moved near and placed her hand next to Rose's. A vibration went through the ship. Rose could feel Leia's presence through the metal under her palm, fizzing like power through wires. The ship's whisper became rumble, speaking to them in the way of made-things, ready to fulfil its purpose, eager to be a starfighter again. It just needed a little kindness, a lot of hard work, and a small moon's worth of grease.

"You can fix it," The General said. It wasn't a question.

"I can," Rose agreed.

"Good." When Leia lifted her hand, the ship went quiet. "Then pick a tech team. You're in command," she said, turning away to meet the squawking figure of C3PO, scuttling towards them complaining of an urgent problem with the solar array.

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/457578.html.

Fic: Refuge (Venom, Eddie/Venom, PG-13)

2020-02-21T20:47:20Z

I think it's pretty hilarious that I had three WiPs on the go that I was planning to finish for Venomtime's Day, I didn't finish any of them, and I still posted three entries to the fest. LOL.

I wrote this story in about 6 hours, and finished it literally as I was opening up the fest. It didn't even get a proof-read until the next day, after I'd slept.

Honestly, I'm delighted with this story. It's ridiculous fluff, but I had so much fun with it.

Title: Refuge by cupidsbow

Fandom: Venom

Rating: PG-13

Relationship: Eddie/Venom

Warnings: None

For: Venomtime's Day 2020

Summary: Venom faces a deportation problem.

All Eddie was thinking about when he opened the door was pizza. The burning hot stretch of cheese, the crunch of crust, the salty-sweetness of bacon and pineapple. Venom wasn’t much better off, pitifully murmuring Hungry. Eddie had bought him the Family Sized box of fries as a reward for being quiet all day while Eddie hammered out a 5,000 word feature needed to fill a gap at short notice. Pizza, fries, junk TV and a cuddle with his silly-string (Not a silly string!) was everything Eddie wanted after hitting that deadline. So he felt particularly betrayed when he opened the door and reached for the steaming boxes, only to get jabbed in the throat with something that had them both dropping like a discarded puppet, Venom not even getting out a hiss of rage.

*
Eddie woke first. After a period of exhausted half-awareness in which he couldn’t figure out why his bed was so hard, he cracked an eye and found himself face-down on a slatted plastic bench. The tiles he could see through the slats were institution grey, and very clean. He gingerly rolled into a sitting position, and found himself in a cell. A toilet and hand-basin with a push-button tap. No toilet paper. A plastic-covered fish-eye lens in the middle of the ceiling. And a transparent wall like something out of a Hannibal Lecter movie, no door in sight.

Venom slugglishly stirred, their thoughts still foggy but full of an unverbalised question.

Glancing up at the camera, Eddie thought as loudly as he could, Stay inside. We’re being filmed. There’s no threat, so just stay inside.

Venom went quiescent, which was as close to a Yes as Eddie figured he was going to get. He briefly considered getting up and looking around the cell, but decided his legs were far too wobbly. Instead he lay back down, slinging an arm over his face to block out the light, and tried to doze some more in the hope they’d both feel better when he next woke up.

*
Nothing happened for a while. Eddie wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he’d needed to use the toilet, and had risked a drink from the tap, so probably a few hours. He was newly grateful that Venom was a voracious TV junkie and had marathoned every Law & Order episode they could find. Eddie didn’t even have to explain the waiting was probably designed to make them angry and on edge; Venom had figured it out, and then started sharing memories of their favourite interrogation scenes, and which of the perps’ heads they would have eaten. They still sounded sluggish, and Eddie wished he could talk to Dan about whatever it was that might have been used to knock them both out.

Eventually, a door clunked open somewhere down the corridor, out of their line of sight, followed by the sounds of feet and quiet voices. Eddie didn’t bother getting up.

A small, spectacled man took up a position a few feet back from the glass front of their cage. He was flanked by two humanoid figures that looked a little like people covered in Symbiotes, but more like a uniform. One had an orange hue, and the other blue. They both had weapons of some kind in their hands. The final witness stayed well back, but Eddie was pretty sure that red-hair belonged to one of the Avengers.

The spectacled man took out a tablet, and started to read. “Earth citizen Edward Brock, as per subsection 550.2 of the 2012 Earth addendum to the Intergalactic Charter, you have been detained because your body has been hijacked by an alien war criminal. As soon as we can safely remove them from your person, you will be returned home.” Spectacles paused and nervously glanced at Eddie. He took a step back before saying, “Klyntar fugitive: surrender now, or resisting arrest will be added to the charges against you.”

The two aliens tensed, staring at them, weapons poised. Spectacles had started to sweat, and fumbled as he turned off his tablet and moved further back out of the way. Black Widow looked bored, but Eddie was pretty sure that was an act.

They didn’t offer us a lawyer, Venom silently pointed out.

“Right,” Eddie replied. He made eye contact with Black Widow. “I want a lawyer.”

They all stared at him as though he’d grown a second head. Eddie knew he hadn’t, Venom still safely tucked away out of sight. Several seconds ticked by.

“Anne Weying,” Eddie added. “She works for Hemmings, Hemmings, and Zhao.”

They were all looking at each other now, as though Eddie wasn’t following their script. Good.

“In San Francisco. Is that even where I am anymore?”

Black Widow rolled her eyes, “Nice try,” and pulled out a phone.

“Oh, and something to eat.” Eddie said, all too aware of the way his stomach was rumbling. “Your thugs stole my pizza.”

“Why am I always surrounded by smart-arses?” Black Widow muttered as she put the phone to her ear. “Anything else while you’re making demands?” she asked, sarcasm rolling off every word.

My fries.

“And my fries.”

Black Widow sighed, and walked back down the corridor, out of sight. He could hear her talking to someone on the phone.

“Don’t think you can fool us!” the blue alien said. It was still pointing a weapon at them.

“I’ll take that under advisement,” Eddie muttered, slinging his arm back over his face.

*
“What the everloving fuck, Eddie!” Annie did not look pleased to be sitting across from him. To be fair, it might be because the room looked more like the inside of a fridge than a visitors’ room, complete with rubber seals on the airlock, and thick, white, noise-deadening walls.

“You look real pretty today, Annie.” Eddie had planned to say that even if Annie had been dragged here in trackpants and a sleep shirt, but she actually was looking all spiffed up for the office.

“Pretty? I had to sign away my soul to be able to even look at Earth’s space law, so yeah, I’m pretty, alright. Pretty narked off at you right now!”

Eddie gave her his best puppydog eyes. “Space law though!”

Annie ducked her head to try and hide a smile. “That won’t work on me.”

It was totally working. Eddie did the puppydog eyes a bit more, because it was basically all he had.

You have me, Venom shared.

Yeah, and I’d like to keep it that way, buddy.

Annie will find a way.

“Look,” Annie said, the worst of the irritation gone. “As far as I can tell from my first scan through the space law, if you did happen to be harbouring an alien -- not that I’m asking if you are -- but if you were, that alien would be pretty much screwed. The Agents of the Cosmos are a well-known peace-keeping force.”

Eddie sighed and wished he could rub his face, but he was locked up in shackles that looked like they were made for the Hulk. He’d been told that if he so much as looked like he might try to touch Annie, she’d be locked up too, just in case the alien jumped hosts.

Inside his chest, Venom stewed. The Agents of the Cosmos are all pussies! They call anyone who doesn’t do things their way a war criminal. They execute anyone they decide is corrupt. A host uses you to commit crimes -- you’re corrupt! You’re starving and eat someone -- you’re corrupt!

Hmmm. Eddie had written a few stories about despotic governments and how people got away from them.

“I’m having a thought,” Eddie said.

Annie got out a notepad and pen. “I’m all ears.”

“I’m basically being persecuted, right? They admit I haven’t done anything wrong. Is there anything in the space law to help people being persecuted? Like, could I seek asylum against those alien cops? Why do they have more rights than me? What rights do the different parties have? Is the law the same for humans and aliens?”

Annie jotted down notes. “That’s useful. I’ll look into that. Is there any chance they might have been persecuting you before the arrest? Following you around, for instance? Threatening you?”

Yes! They tried to memory-wipe me, and when it didn’t take, they were going to execute me, and when Riot broke us out, they hunted us.

Eddie thought about how to get some of that across. “Um, maybe? My head’s still a bit foggy from when they knocked me out. They really did a number on me with that alien tech. I’d have to think back, see if I remember being followed, or if stuff I passed off as paranoia looks different now aliens are a thing.” He paused, and then casually added, ”Assuming they haven’t mind-wiped me or something.”

Annie paused in her note-taking. “Mind-wiped?”

Eddie shrugged as much as he was able. “There might be a few holes in the old swiss cheese, so to speak. Maybe they tortured me and I wouldn’t even remember it.”

Looking appalled, Annie made another note and underlined it twice. “Okay, that gives me enough to work with for now. I’ll follow up, and come back once I have a better grasp of what your options are.”

“You’re the best, Annie.”

Annie smiled. “You know it.”

*
“The good news,” Annie said, “is that there’s a clause allowing for arbitration in disputed arrests by off-world police corps. I’ve submitted the paperwork, and we have a date, and I think I’ve found enough wiggle room in the law that we can make a decent case of persecution, depending on the evidence you can give. Note that I did not say a good case, but we can at least make the Agents work for it.”

I knew she would think of something. Venom’s thoughts reeked of smugness. Annie is smart.

It did sound promising. Annie was always at her best when it came to exploiting loopholes. Eddie was immediately suspicious. “What’s the bad news?”

Annie tapped a finger against the table for a moment. “First, and I’m still not asking, but the strongest legal arguments only hold true if you really are hosting a fugitive who’s seeking asylum. If it comes to it, they might need to testify to an expectation of cruel and unusual treatment if handed over.”

Good. I’m tired of hiding, Eddie. I will tell everyone the Agents of the Cosmos are pussies!

“Noted,” Eddie said. ”And?”

Annie went on: “Second, if you admit you’re hosting an alien fugitive willingly, they could argue you’re an accomplice rather than an innocent bystander. It makes the stakes higher if arbitration rules in favour of the other party. Earth might hand you over as well.”

Venom curled up into a tense ball inside Eddie’s chest. No!

It’s okay, buddy. No-one’s taking me anywhere. Looking at Annie’s face, Eddie could tell that wasn’t all. “And?”

“And,” Annie said, “There was only so much I could do in negotiating the arbitration team.”

“Oh, god. Who?”

Annie smiled, but it was her war mask, not anything with humour in it.

*
Someone had given Thor a gavel, and he was smashing it against the table and saying, “Order!” even though everyone was present and waiting. The spectacled man had tried to start the session three times, only for Thor to smash down the gavel each time. Eddie figured no-one was stopping him, because who exactly had the balls to tell the God of Thunder and Lightning to stop?

“For fuck’s sake,” Nick Fury said, snatching the gavel away before Thor could bring it down again. “Let’s get this circus underway. I have things to do today.”

Thor pouted, while the rock-covered alien sitting next to him, the third and final member of the arbitration panel said, “Don’t take his hammer away, man, that’s just cruel.”

Spectacles got up again, and this time managed to read out his speech about the rules without interruption. Eddie glanced over at Annie, who was already looking back at him. She mouthed, “Sorry.”

Yeah, this was going to be interesting.

*
“Furthermore,” Annie said, “in 2016 the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea found that the detention of asylum seekers breached their U.N. convention rights to personal liberty and freedom, which corresponds to clause 1082.226 in the Integalactic...”

Trials are more interesting on TV, Venom complained, not for the first time.

Yep, Eddie agreed, trying to get more comfortable in the hard chair without looking like he was wriggling. Annie was doing a good job, though. Thor looked bored, but both Fury and the rock-alien, Korg, were following along, and the Agents looked annoyed. Well, as much as mask-covered faces could wear an expression at all. That had to be a good thing.

“... and that is why, pursuant to 550.2 subsection 248, my client has a well-founded fear of being persecuted by the claimants, known as the Agents of the Cosmos, because of his political opinions on body-sharing, and his pro-alien sexual identity--”

Eddie jerked upright. He reached over and tugged Annie’s sleeve, but Annie ignored him as Thor had also just jerked to attention.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Thor said, looking interested for the first time since the gavel had been removed. “Pro-alien sexuality? Are you saying they...” He gestured in a way that made Eddie’s cheeks burn.

Primly, Annie said, “They are in a committed symbiotic bond. It’s sacred to the Klyntar race. Eddie considers them married.”

Where is she even getting this stuff from? Eddie wondered, feeling equal parts admiration and horror.

Venom was squirming and giving off oddly abashed vibes.

“Cool.” Thor was eyeing Eddie speculatively. “I’m down with spreading the love as intergalactically as possible.”

Eddie realised that he now knew what it was like for a fertility god to imagine him naked. And having sex. With an alien goo.

Over on the other side of the table, the Agents had gone from looking annoyed to enraged.

“Disgusting!” the orange Agent muttered.

Chidingly, Korg said, “No-one should be separated or locked up because of who they love. That’s just wrong.”

The blue Agent stood up and banged the table. “That symbiote is a murderer!”

Annie briefly dipped her head, reining in a smile. Eddie didn't have to wonder why for long.

“Really,” Fury said, clearly unimpressed. “Because so far, you’ve shown no evidence that casts any doubt on the Life Foundation having kidnapped the alien, brought it to Earth against its will, held it captive, starved it, tried to force it to bond with a series of exploited hosts who couldn’t give proper consent, and then chased and attacked it once it had escaped. Everything done in that situation was a clear case of self-defence. And if you’re making such spurious claims about it’s so-called crimes on Earth, it rather casts doubt on the other claims you’re making, doesn’t it?”

“You’ll regret it!” Orange Agent snarled. “When that thing is harvesting you like cattle, you’ll understand we are right!”

Screwing up his face, Thor said, “Yeah, I think we’re ready to vote. I vote we grant asylum.”

“Agreed,” said Korg, casting a disappointed look at the Agents.

“It’s unanimous, then,” said Fury, and pulled the gavel from wherever he’d stashed it, and banged it down on the sounding block that was still sitting on the table in front of Thor.

Anne reached down and squeezed Eddie’s hand. Out of sight of everyone else, Venom poked out a tiny head and stuck their tongue out at the Agents, who looked like they couldn’t believe they’d lost.

“And now I have actual work to do.” Fury stood up and strode around to Eddie. He paused, and in a low voice he said, “Don’t make me regret this, Mr Brock. S.H.I.E.L.D will be in touch shortly to talk over your options.” Then he swept out of the room.

Thor was next, heartily slapping Eddie on the back and congratulating him. “And if you and your bondmate are ever feeling adventurous, you know where to find me,” he said with a wink, and wandered off after Fury.

Korg politely handed them a pamphlet after offering his congratulations, and then followed Thor. It was titled, “On the importance of revolution in fomenting equality, and the negative effects of monarchies.”

Spectacles bustled up to them and shepherded them out, casting nervous glances over his shoulder at the fuming Agents every few steps.

Eddie hadn’t really known where they were, but when they finally wended their way outside, the unmistakable skyline of New York City greeted them.

“Annie,” Eddie said fervently, “You are a goddess. I don’t even know how you did that.”

“I’m just that good.” Annie punched him hard on the shoulder.

“Ow!” Eddie rubbed his arm. “What was that for?”

“You lied to me you asshole! You said Venom was dead!”

Venom popped a head out. “We wanted to keep you safe, Annie.”

“You’re an asshole too.” Annie flicked Venom on the snout. “Frankly, you deserve each other.”

A cab swerved up and stopped right in front of them. Annie hopped in and slammed the door in their faces. She said something to the driver, and then the window hummed down a few inches. “Find your own way home. I’m going shopping.”

“Fair,” Eddie said. As the cab slid away from the curb, he shouted, “I owe you one!”

Annie stuck her middle finger out the window.

Eddie enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine for a moment, and then turned and started walking down the street. They’d been given a stipend and some travel vouchers, but Eddie really wanted a coffee -- Hot chocolate! -- a mocha before he did anything else.

“So,” Eddie said. ”A committed symbiotic bond that’s sacred to the Klyntar race. Where did Annie get that from?”

I don’t know, Venom said, unconvincingly.

“That’s a shame,” Eddie said. “I thought it sounded kind of nice.”

Really? Venom curled around his neck like a scarf, looking up at him bashfully.

"Yeah. I like the way our bodies fit together."

Above them a window slid open and a blond head popped out. "That's so hot!" Thor boomed. He made a phone with his hand. "I mean it, call me any time." This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/457224.html.

Art: Now & Again (Venom)

2020-02-21T20:27:49Z

About two days out from the Venomtime's Day deadline, I realised I wasn't going to finish any of the WiPs I'd been working on. I thought about what I could finish quickly, and realised I'd been collecting motorbike images for a while, without knowing what I was going to do with them. What can I say -- I just really like comparing the images in the comics to the framing choices in the film. So I had a fun day putting these compare/contrast images together.

Also, as the mod of the Venomtime's Day fest, I could see that Bakageta had posted a gift for me. No, I didn't peek at the fic inself (which is awesome!) until the fest opened, but the way the Ao3 is set up, you can't help but see. So I gifted this to her, because I wasn't sure if I'd finish anything else, and I wanted to show my appreciation. Thank you, Bakageta. You're the best! I hope you found some of these images fun.

Title: Now & Again by cupidsbow

Fandom: Venom

Rating: G

Relationship: Eddie & Venom

Warnings: None

For: Bakageta, who is awesome! Venomtime's Day 2020

Summary: Eddie and Venom go for a ride. Click for bigness.

From: Along Came A Spider & Venom (2018)

From: Sony Pictures 2018 Venom Comic & Venom (2018)

From: The Hunger & Venom (2018)
This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/457142.html.

VID: Beware the Friendly Stranger (Venom)

2020-02-21T20:18:34Z

This was the vid I made for Venomtime's Day this year. It's not actually the vid I planned to make, or started to make. But that vid is only about a third done, because it's a freaking monster of a vid. So I re-saved the project, found a short music track I liked, and cut this together in just a day, using the clips I'd already made.

I think it turned out pretty well, although I wish I was better at masking. Most of the effects sequences look okay, but I could not get the one of Eddie to really look decent. Oh, well. Good practice for the monster WiP that's still on the drawing board!

Title: Beware the Friendly Stranger by cupidsbow

Visual Source: Venom

Music: Beware the Friendly Stranger by Boards of Canada

Rating: PG-13

Relationship: Venom & Eddie Brock

Warnings: Some flashing lights

For: Venomtime's Day 2020

Summary: The same meeting, different place.

Downloads: VENOM-Beware-cupidsbow.zip (WMV, 15.86MB)

Streaming: Vimeo (Password = Venom), or YouTube

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/456894.html.

Chocolate Box

2020-02-17T10:59:32Z

I took part in Chocolate Box again this year. I like the low-keyness of it. A 300 word minimum is very cool.

There's over a thousand entries this year. You can find the Masterlist here: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/chocolatebox2020/works

A gold star to anyone who guesses mine. Hint: it's something I've never written before.

I was given a sweet little Good Omens ficlet:

Just Right, Good Omens (G)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22608355

ETA:

I've just discovered I was given a second ficlet as a treat! Hooray!

Unexpected Delight, Good Omens (G)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/22658167

My faves of the fest are:

Herding Cats, Original (G)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22691662

Seasonal Queens, Corpse Bride (2005) & The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) (G, art)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22639507

As Is Tradition, Original (PG-13)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22607017

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/456404.html.

VID: Dance Monkeys (Fred Astair & Ginger Rogers)

2020-02-01T14:15:11Z

I adore Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers.

I want to start with that before I talk about why I made this vid, and what I was trying to achieve, because the fact that I adore Fred and Ginger is the most important part.

When I was a teenager, one of the local TV stations used to play all the Fred and Ginger movies at least once a year, every Saturday night. I was a night owl, so I'd stay up late and watch them, and fall in love with them every time. I still love them, in all their anachronistic glory, and I have wanted to make a Fred and Ginger vid for a long time now. I've never had the right song, though, so it's been one of those aspirational projects sitting on the mental back-burner until the time was right.

And then, a few months ago, shortly after I signed up for Festivids, I heard the song Dance Monkey -- not even the whole song, just a fragment of it while in a taxi on the way to the dentist -- and I knew immediately, even just from that short fragment, that I had found the song for Fred and Ginger. I scribbled down the lyrics and googled them as soon as I could, and when I heard the whole song, yes, yes!

You see, in the years since I was a teenager watching late night TV, both the world and I have changed profoundly. For one, I discovered and fell in love with fan works -- stories about the same characters told over and over in infinite variations. For another, the world has become ever-more corporatised, with fan engagement increasingly seen as a milk-cow by the entertainment industry. It's hard to watch anything without an awareness of that in the postmodern world.

The song was so perfect because it would let me capture both of those elements -- the deep affection I have for the source, but also awareness of the corporate history of these films and the baggage that entails.

When the Fred and Ginger movies were made, there was no TV. Serial movies were a staple of cinema -- an episode of Flash Gordon or Tarzan the Fearless or The Perils of Pauline were part of the package that screened before the feature movie. Similarly, Fred and Ginger danced across the screen with the same cast of supporting actors over and over and over. We get that same fix from TV now, or from fanfic, but in the 30s, film and radio were the media of the moment.

My love for Fred and Ginger is an echo of the love felt by the audience in the 1930s, who drove the creation of these films. I wanted to capture some of that in the vid -- my genuine affection, and the hunger and adoration of all the audiences who have had a similar experience.

But there's that bitter postmodern pill as well, always there at the back of my mind. Not just because audience desire can turn into something frightening, but because of the films' materiality. The original studio, RKO, has long since disappeared, but the Fred and Ginger films are still commodities. They are bundled up as one small part of an enormous media library created out of the legacies of a dozen other studios. They are still making money. These movies are full of flickering ghosts -- nearly a century old now -- who will never be able to rest, because they are still dancing and dancing and dancing to earn their current owners another dime or two.

Fred and Ginger: eternally dancing for us... and for Warner and Universal.

I wanted to capture that in this vid. I think maybe I have.

It's why I had Fred and Ginger start off alone, and then come together (over and over and over). It's why Fred's first dance is a finger puppet and Ginger's is as a clown. It's why I included Ginger's dream sequence where she is directing the dance, and Fred's hypnotism sequence where he's directing Ginger. It's why there's the shadow puppet sequence from The Gay Divorcee. And it's why I ended with their biggest showstoppers -- particularly Top Hat -- because for me the love I feel for the dancing trumps any cynicism raised by the ghosts of postmodernity.

I still adore the movies of Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers. And if I have done my job right in this vid, my affection for the source is inextricably entwined and counterbalanced with those darker ghosts.

Oh, and one final thing to finish off. If you thought this vid was called Dancing Monkeys but it now seems to be called Dance Monkeys, gold star. You're right. I posted to Ao3 before I'd added the credits to the vid, and changed the name before go-live, but forgot to change it on Ao3 as well. I've done so now. :)

Title: Dance Monkeys by cupidsbow

Visual Source: Fred Astair & Ginger Rogers movies

Music: Dance Monkey, by Tones and I

Rating: PG-13

Relationship: Fred Astair & Ginger Rogers

Warnings: None

For: odessie

Summary: I beg to see you dance just one more time.

Downloads: DanceMonkeys-SM-cupidsbow.zip (MP4, 25.39MB) or DancingMonkeys-cupidsbow.zip (WMV, 65.18MB)

Streaming: Vimeo (Password = Dance!), or YouTube

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/455635.html.

VID: Your Teddy Bear (Paddington Bear, Paddington & Aunt Lucy)

2020-02-01T13:48:43Z

The world is so grim at the moment that I just wanted to make something upbeat and cute as a treat. Paddington to the rescue! :)

Title: Your Teddy Bear, by cupidsbow

Visual Source: Paddington 1 & 2

Music: (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear by Elvis Presley

Rating: G

Relationship: Paddington & Aunt Lucy

Warnings: Brief flashing lights.

For: jagwriter78

Summary: Let me be your loving teddy bear.

Downloads: Paddington-TeddyBear-SM-cupidsbow (MP4, 16.61MB) or Paddington-TeddyBear-cupidsbow.zip (WMV, 44 MB)

Streaming: Vimeo (Password = paddington), or YouTube

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/455309.html.

Festiviiiiiiiiiids

2020-01-26T07:41:16Z

Festivids is live, friends. You can find the master list here: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/festivids2019/works

There are a huge number of vids this year, and a lot of good ones not recced below (I've just recced my absolute faves). This year, my impression was that there weren't as many upbeat vids. I'm a bit surprised, as we're in grim times, so I thought there might have been a lot of bubbly ones as a tonic. But no. Some of the dark ones are really, really good, though, so that's okay.

I was given a glorious Moulin Rouge vid. I love that the vidder has made it look almost gritty/dark, but still with that edge of the baroque. It's fabulous.

Victorious, Moulin Rouge! (2001), by magnetgirl

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22305877

And here are my recommendations, in no particular order. Please remember to read warnings and tags, as some of these vids are gruesome or have triggers.

You Should See Me In A Crown, Star Trek: Discovery, by AurumCalendula

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21785587
A fantastic character study. Moody and intense.

Good as Hell, Midsommar (2019), by findmeinthealps

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21838345
This is amazing. It's dreamy and funny in places, and creepy and gory in others. Such a clever vid.

You Might Think, Pushing Daisies, by sisabet

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21881923
Great song choice and clever editing makes this a delightful confection.

Don't Rain on My Parade, Veep (TV), by findmeinthealps

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21884818

Fantastic song choice and brilliantly edited to showcase the physical comedy. This is so much fun.

Tag, You're It, リアル鬼ごっこ | Tag (2015), by winterevanesce

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22062715

Super gruesome, but also super cute. How? Note the warnings on this one.

Hello My Old Heart, Moana (2016), by Scribe

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22227865
Absolutely stunning. Perhaps the most gorgeous vid of this year's fest.

Body Talks, Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers, by odessie (Dessie)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22402849

I adore Fred and Ginger, and we were blessed this year with two vids. This one is upbeat, foot-tapping and adorable.

Dance Monkeys, Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers Movies, by cupidsbow

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22257502
And this one is a little bittersweet, and really showcases the dancing.

Burning, Whitechapel (TV), by bingeling

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22229899

Moody and evocative character study. Mind the warnings in the tags.

Emigrante, The Brother from Another Planet, by Franzeska

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22230313

It's sad that this movie is still so relevant, and this vid really brings that home with a lovely fish-out-of-water character study.

An American Primer - James Baldwin RPF, by JinkyO

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22312129
Perhaps the cleverest vid this year, with a moving combination of spoken word and historical footage.

In The Dark, Hustlers (2019), by elipie

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22231585
Visually gorgeous tribute to friendship and grift.

eyes.lips.face, Jenna Marbles (Youtube), by seinmit

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22405693

This cracked me up. It's a delightful exploration of kooky make-up adventures.

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/454710.html.

Fic: Eat, Prey, Love (Venom, Eddie & Venom, M)

2020-01-18T09:48:08Z

Title: Eat, Prey, Love by cupidsbow

Fandom: Venom

Rating: M

Relationship: Eddie & Venom

Warnings: Cannibalism and discussion of body parts

For: Chaosmanor, it was a pleasure to write "weird alien stuff" for you. Thanks so much for pinch-hitting. You're best.

Summary: Venom starts taking souvenirs.

Usually Venom ate prey in just a few bites. The head first, because that was the best part, and then the body in as few bites as possible because Eddie insisted they eat everything. Venom savoured the moment a little more for Randy “The Ear” Broccoli, murderer of at least four street-people. Broccoli had been a worthy adversary, continually disappearing into packed nightclubs to lose them, living out of at least three different sublets, and seeding fake stories about his whereabouts with his associates so they couldn’t pick up his trail again. They had finally bought a camera-jammer and lurked in his parking garage, taking him down just as he was getting into his shiny orange McClaren. His skin tasted like fruity perfume and cannabis smoke, sweet and tender between their teeth, and Venom had felt a deep pang of need to take something as a memento of this hunt. Dozens of tiny tendrils were directed to the task of separating flesh from bone, and after a moment, Venom pulled Broccoli’s spine back out of their mouth and admired it.

Don’t even think about it! Eddie complained from where he was snugged up inside them. What the hell are we gonna do with a spine?

Running an admiring tendril along the vertebrae, Venom said, “Hang it above the TV.”

Eddie shuddered. Pro-tip: decor should never include body parts.

“I can suck the marrow out, get it clean,” Venom offered, curling their tongue around the bony knobs and slurping.

We’ve talked about this. Getting caught by being dumb isn’t the plan. No DNA in the apartment.

Venom reluctantly stopped licking and looked sadly down at the delicate arc of bone and cartilage. It was so pretty. It would look so good on the wall of a burrow.

Ugh, Eddie said. Eat it, already!

Venom sullenly threw the spine into their maw, all the sweetness of their victory gone. They dragged their feet as they headed towards the window that would take them back up to the roof.

Look at it this way, Eddie said, a spine would only hold us back. Get it? Hold us back?

“Vertebrate humour,” Venom sneered and jumped off the side of the building. Eddie’s scream made them feel a lot better.

*

Kitty Helianthus tasted strongly of glass, waxy lipgloss and garlic, and every-so-slightly of Sarin gas, probably from the half-dozen canisters she’d been digging up in a quiet field on a derelict farm. Eddie had tracked her car using an app. Even though they were quiet as they stalked her across the field, she had turned and whacked them with her shovel before they could bite her head off. The slice had healed instantly, and her head popped in their mouth like a grape. Venom felt hardness between their teeth, and rolled the oddly-shaped piece of glass around their tongue after eating the rest of her head, and then spat it out into their hand to take a look.

Oh, wow. A glass eye.

Venom agreed; it was an excellent prize. In the moonlight, it looked like something from the shore of the bay, curved like a shell and gleaming whitely.

“It would be perfect--”

No!

“--next to our bed.” Venom loved Eddie’s bed. It was warm and soft and layered with Eddie’s scent. It was the best part of their burrow.

First, gross! I don’t want a manky eye staring at me every time I go to sleep. Second, prosthetics can be tracked even easier than DNA. Hard no.

“I could make a pocket and keep it inside me.”

Just eat it. We need to call in a tip to the police about the Sarin gas.

Venom glumly curled a tendril around the curve of the glass, feeling the smoothness of it one final time, and then threw it back into their mouth, letting it drop through to their digestive sac.

Venom waited expectantly as they trudged back to their motorbike, but Eddie didn’t make a pathetic pun about eyes, too busy fretting about how to dump their burner phone after they’d called in the tip.

Eddie said, I guess we could throw it into the Bay as we go over the Bridge.

“Or I could just eat it.” They already knew Eddie would say no, but liked to hear it.

I vote no to you being set on fire on the inside.

Venom loped back to their bike feeling better, but even with Eddie’s concerns about their insides, the meal didn’t feel as satisfying as usual as they digested it.

*

“Okay, seriously, what the fuck.”

Venom glanced away from watching the toaster oven to see what Eddie was talking about. One look at the contents of Eddie’s hand, and Venom quickly turned back to the Tator Tots. They were just starting to turn black around the edges. Another minute and they would be perfect.

“Hey! I’m talking to you, Space Jam!”

“Don’t call me that.”

Three human teeth were tossed onto the kitchen bench right in front of Venom. Each of them were etched with a different face -- Bruce Lee, The Predator, and a big-eared creature that Venom hadn’t figured out yet. Dr Harry Chen had had eclectic tastes, in more ways than one. Venom had enjoyed eating him.

“I found these under the bed. Care to explain?”

Venom considered. “No.”

Eddie crossed his arms and glared at the side of Venom’s head.

Venom continued to watch the Tator Tots char.

“Fine.” Eddie reached out to scoop the teeth back up. “I’ll just chuck them in the trash, then.”

Like a flash, Venom snaked tendril beneath Eddie’s hand and absorbed the teeth, keeping them suspended inside without digesting them. “Mine.”

Eddie sighed and then reached over to turn off the toaster oven. He slid out the tray and placed it down in front of Venom.

Venom watched him suspiciously for a moment, and when all Eddie did was rest his hand gently on Venom’s head and give a gentle rub, they quickly licked up seven Tots at once and crunched them.

“So,” Eddie said slowly, his hand still a pleasant tickle as Venom sucked up another half-dozen Tots, “I’m clearly missing something here.”

Venom cast him a judging look, and pointedly chewed the Tots with their mouth open.

Eddie ignored the bait of the half-chewed food, and instead moved so he was looking them in the eyes and said, “How about this… You explain what the deal is with the trophies, and then I’ll buy you any chocolate you like at Ghirardelli’s.”

Pausing mid-chew, Venom squinted at Eddie, weighing him up. So far, Eddie had dismissed all their treasures as gross, but now he was wearing a worried groove in his forehead, and he usually only tried to bribe them with Ghirardelli when he really wanted something. They gulped down their mouthful, already imagining the taste of chocolate.

“Enemies should know what will happen to them if they come here. We will eat them and cover the walls with their remains.”

Eddie stared at them for a moment, and Venom expected him to say Gross! Instead, he tugged at his hair the way he did when a story suddenly came together, and then he turned and jabbed a hand at the door. “Pile of bodies, pile of heads! Warning colours!”

Venom grinned at him. “Keep our burrow safe.” They let the Doctor’s engraved teeth emerge from the pocket inside their tendril and rolled them onto the counter. “Mount them on the wall above our bed.”

Eddie's nose wrinkled in distaste. “No way in hell!”

“But!” They protested. They thought Eddie understood now!

“I draw the line at body parts in our living spaces.” Eddie pulled them into a hug. “But I get it now, and I promise we’ll find something you can collect that we can both live with.”

“Like what?” What could be better than the remains of the vanquished?

“Dunno yet. We could get a poisonous plant or two, or knife collection, or a dog. Or maybe we can get some paintings of body parts.”

Venom considered. "Painted with blood?"

"Eh, maybe. We'll research it and see." Eddie smacked a kiss on their head. “We’ll figure it out.”

Venom’s surface tension jellied a bit in response to the kiss. Eddie’s lips were squishier than they looked, and somehow sucked away the sting of his refusal to keep the teeth.

They tentatively licked Eddie’s mouth in return. He tasted like warmth and Tater Tots and chocolate. Mmmm. “You taste good.”

“Gross, but I’ll take it.”

“Not gross!”

“Super gross,” Eddie said, but he was smiling at them. “But I’ll take it. Come on, you deserve chocolate.”

Venom grumbled, but swallowed the teeth into their digestive sac while Eddie was grabbing his keys and wallet, and then glooped back into his chest as they headed out the door.

*

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/454215.html.

Venom Holiday Exchange 2019 - final pimp

2019-11-19T15:39:31Z

It's my last pimp post for the Venom fest, as the deadline is this coming weekend.

Hur-ray, hur-ray, don't miss out!!! :)

Fanfic, fanvids and fan art are all accepted, and the only rule for signing up is you should include Venom and/or Eddie. Pretty much anything else is up to you.

Here's the link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Venom_Holiday_Exchange_2019/profile

Sign-up Opens: Tue 22 Oct 2019 01:49AM EDT (01:49PM AWST)

Sign-up Closes: Mon 25 Nov 2019 12:00AM EST (01:00PM AWST)

Assignments Due: Mon 06 Jan 2020 12:00AM EST (01:00PM AWST)

Works Revealed: Sat 11 Jan 2020 12:00AM EST (01:00PM AWST)

Authors Revealed: Sun 19 Jan 2020 12:00AM EST (01:00PM AWST)

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/453721.html.

Terminator Dark Fate

2019-11-02T10:27:35Z

Don't listen to all the grumpy reviews. Terminator Dark Fate is one of the best popcorn films I've seen in ages. Great action set pieces, strong acting, and Granbo Linda Hamilton is worth the price of admission even without all of that.

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/453467.html.

Fall Equinox 2019: Costume Party

2019-10-13T16:03:49Z

The accidental theme for this edition of Equinox is all ladies all the time, and I'm living for it.

Masterlist: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/fallequinox2019/works

And here are my faves:

Sum of Our Parts, Bandidas (2006)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20493944

DJ Got Us Fallin In Love, Dirty Dancing (1987)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20723507

Fuck You, The Dressmaker (2015)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20788343

Bad Guys, 아가씨 | The Handmaiden (2016)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20815901

Themyscira (Where They From), Wonder Woman (2017)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20816546

Problem, Captain Marvel (2019)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20994329

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/452493.html.

VID: Moonsea (Doctor Who, Thirteen & various companions)

2019-04-25T18:20:49Z

I was pretty excited to sign up for Space Swap, because a whole fest about space is just the best. THE BEST. I would have been happy to match on any of my offers, but had my fingers and toes crossed that I'd get either Venom or Doctor Who, because they were the two I had ideas for. Seeing the match for Thirteen was a happymaking moment, because I already knew I was going to make a vid.

I've been wanting to vid Season 11 of Doctor Who ever since I finished watching it, not only because I adore Thirteen, but because the cinematography is so darn pretty. Then I had that wonderful click that sometimes comes with projects you're really keen to do when I read Kira_katrine's prompt to explore Thirteen's flaws.

I already had a song in mind -- Phildel is an artist I've vidded to before and I love the haunting quality of her voice. Moonsea was perfect for Thirteen. Originally I thought I'd cut it down. I've talked before about how I tend to think the perfect vidding length is around 2 to 2 and half minutes, and much longer can drag as the vidder runs out of material. However, I'm planning to make a VidBigBang even if it doesn't formally run again (I may even have already started :) and I decided this Space Swap vid was the perfect practice run at a long form. The song is just over 4 minutes, and Doctor Who has enough source footage that I knew there was heaps of good stuff, even if I needed to go beyond season 11. I very quickly discovered that, yes, I really did need to. Four minutes is a lot of time to fill. I mean, I already knew that, but other vids I've done at around that length are things like the Vorkosigan vid (4:15) or the Supernatural racecar vid (3:34), which are constructed realities and so have slightly different rules. Or the Venom vid at 3:19 which has several breaks in the main song. Or Enemy Mine at 3:25, which I broke into chapters. Or Ever After, at 4:27 which is a tragic remix of Cinderella, and I used a fair bit of repetition in it to bring the point home -- this is the closest I've ever come to a longform vid, and it works pretty well given how early I made it.

Given only two of those are even close to the ballpark of a 5 minute (or longer) vid that's needed for a BigBang, I figured I'd probably need to expand my toolkit a bit to be able to vid longform well. And I was right about that! I really like how this vid turned out, but it has some issues. The first half is much slower than the second, and the colour palette isn't consistent. One of my betas commented that it felt like two different vids. I was actually quite pleased by that, because I'd rather two different vids than one that drags in the second half because I've run out of stuff to say. The difference in pace was because I was trying to create build that worked over the whole 4 minute length, and wanted to start off a bit dreamy and then climax on ACTION! But I'm not sure I got the transition as smooth as I could have. The colour palette issue was mainly that I ran out of time because marking took longer than I expected. I don't think either of those things are really terrible, but I will need to make sure I've got lots of time to revise the BigBang vid, because just having more time to tighten things up and re-think stuff would have made a lot of difference.

The takeaways are that:

For a longform vid, you want a source that has a real depth. A film series, like Star Wars for instance, or a TV show with at least three seasons. A single movie really won't cut it unless you can find a way to thematically repeat visuals without being boring, and one season of a TV show probably won't either.
The chapter idea has a lot of merit. I've been moving more torwards that in my vids lately anyway, and I think it's ideal for longform vids. It means you can tackle sections and get them to almost stand alone in terms of their visual interest. You just have to make sure you build to the strongest chapters for the climax, and still have something left for the grace note at the end.
Thirteen's face is a gift.

Title: Moonsea by cupidsbow
Visual Source: Doctor Who
Music: Moonsea by Phildel
Rating: PG-13
Relationship: The Doctor/River Song, The Doctor/Missy, The Doctor/Jack Harkness, The Doctor/Yasmin Khan
Physical triggers: Flashing lights.
Warnings: Canon-typical violence, such as death by daleks.
Thank you: To mecurtin and sjnt for their excellent beta notes!
For: kira_katrine in Space Swap 2019. For the prompt: "Thirteen being less perfect than she sometimes seemed to be in series 11. I don't mean that in terms of competence, more in terms of internal conflicts and such."

Summary: Don’t share the past, if you won’t share your heart.

Downloads: WHO-Moonsea-cupidsbow.rar (MP4, 60.7MB), WHO-Moonsea-HD-cupidsbow.rar (WMV, 151.88MB)
Streaming: Vimeo (Password = space!)

Password = space!

[Dr Who] Moonsea from cupidsbow on Vimeo.

Doctor Who
1x13 The Parting of the Ways
4x12 The Stolen Earth
4x13 Journey's End
5x4 The Time of Angels
5x5 Flesh and Stone
9x1 The Magician's Apprentice
9x2 The Witch's Familiar
Season 10 Christmas Special, Twice Upon a Time
11x1 The Woman Who Fell to Earth
11x2 The Ghost Monument
11x3 Rosa
11x4 Arachnids in the UK
11x5 The Tsuranga Conundrum
11x6 Demons of the Punjab
11x7 Kerblam!
11x9 It Takes You Away
11x10 The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos
Season 11 New Year's Day Special, Resolution

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/452041.html.

Exquinox - Sources from the 1990s

2019-04-20T21:35:22Z

I didn't take part in Equinox this time around, because I decided to sign up for Space Swap instead. I do love space. :)

Anyway that just means I get to enjoy all the shiny vids without the stress of making something myself.

Masterpost: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/springequinox2019/works

My faves:

Bitch - Batman Returns, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18529435

White Flag - Xena: Warrior Princess, Gabrielle/Xena

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/springequinox2019/works/18461054

You Know What I Mean - The Heroic Trio, Tung & Ching & Chat

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/springequinox2019/works/18386171

Like, Wannabe - Clueless, Cher Horowitz/Josh Lucas

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/springequinox2019/works/18376832

Take Over - The Craft, Nancy Downs/Everyone

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/springequinox2019/works/18173912

Everything In Its Right Place - ER, John Carter

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18536167

Come Away with Me - Northern Exposure, Marilyn Whirlwind/The Flying Man

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18226679

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/451765.html.

Space Swap is Live!

2019-04-18T19:52:42Z

I really enjoyed taking part in this fest. There's something about fest a that allows all different kinds of fanworks that makes it super satisfying.

Anyway, here's the Space Swap masterpost: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SpaceSwap2019/works

And here's the things I've enjoyed most:

FIC: Hunt, Find, Eat - Venom, Eddie Brock/Venom Symbiote
My gift, and a delightful space adventure that's an AU of First Host.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18365111

VID: Come With Me Now - Thor, Heimdall/Thor
Absolutely gorgeous Thor vid.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18439781

VID: Vienna - MCU, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
A kinetic Spider-man character study.

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SpaceSwap2019/works/18426126

FIC: A King's Work - Thor, Loki & Thor
A character study focused on Thor's first days as king, as they flee Asgard on the ship.

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SpaceSwap2019/works/18445679

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/450853.html.

Vidding BigBang

2019-03-07T20:29:28Z

I didn't hear about the vidding BigBang until far too late to take part this time around, but you can bet I'm planning to next time.

Here are this year's entries, and they are all fabulous: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/vidbigbang001

I particularly love the Star Wars one by findmeinthealps -- it's my favourite.

I don't know Hannibal well enough to really get all the nuances of luminosty's diptych, but they're gorgeous.

The Supernatural album by sisabet and sweetestdrain is a gutpunch, but so worth it.

The Fast and Furious vid by AurumCalendula is a glorious love letter to speed, and delightful to watch.

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/449136.html.

Fic: A Partial Treatise on Love 2/2 (Venom, Symbrock, R)

2019-02-24T16:51:38Z

As promised, here is the conclusion of the story about Venom and aesthetics.

Chapter 2 of 2: Additional Attachments by cupidsbow

Fandom: Venom

Pairing: Eddie Brock & Venom

Rating: R

Length: 2,300 words

Note: Chapter 2 of this story is Explicit, but Chapter 1 is rated for Teen Audiences and Up, and can be read stand-alone as a friendship romance.

Full story: A Partial Treatise on Love (6,500 words)

Chapter Summary: Venom gets a clue.

Below the cut or on AO3.

They stop at the market on the way home, and Eddie buys three live crabs. They’re fat and juicy-looking, and Venom can’t wait to eat them.

“One of them is for me,” Eddie says, pointedly.

Venom supposes they can share, as it will make Eddie’s blood thrum with happy hormones.

As they bike home, Venom pretends to be the bungee cord that’s keeping the crabs in place in their cardboard box on the back. The streets aren't very busy, as it's the lull just before school lets out, and so its easy to spot the colourful palette in a Blick store's sign as they go by.

Eddie! I want paint!

Eddie laughs in that way he does when he’s delighted with them, and slows down to pull into a nearby parking space. “Okay, Vincent. Let’s fix you up.”

They take the crab box into the store with them, the crabs making clicking and popping noises. The assistant who turns up to help them raises a studded eyebrow at the box, but Eddie says, “It wouldn’t be much of a romantic dinner, if dinner was pinched off my bike while I was buying the gift.” The clerk shrugs as though that’s fair enough and asks what kind of paint they’re looking for.

“Finger paint,” Eddie says.

Don’t have fingers, Venom points out, but Eddie just adds, “Preferably safe to eat.”

Eddie knows them so well.

“How old is your kid?” Eyebrow Stud asks, as they move towards a shelf with pictures of children with paint-covered fingers.

“Ah,” Eddie says. “It’s a gift for an adult that can’t hold brushes very well, actually.”

The assistant looks sheepish. “Sorry. That’ll teach me to make assumptions, won’t it.” Rallying quickly, the clerk leads them over to one particular display and points out a couple of different boxes. “You’ll want a brand with bigger paint tubs if it’s for an adult's hand, and this brand is on special. They come in six or twelve colours.”

Venom admires the bright colours in the bigger set, and Eddie doesn’t need any more convincing. He also picks up a pad of art paper that fits neatly over the top of their crab box, and manages to pay for it all right before a group of children in school uniforms swarm into the store and fill the aisles with happy chatter.

The rest of their trip is uneventful, and once they get home, Eddie sets Venom up at the kitchen table with the unpackaged paint pots, pad of paper open to the first page, a jar of water, and old teatowel. Eddie sits down opposite with his laptop and gets out his notes from the gallery. Venom can feel him glance over, taking in the way Venom is touching everything, getting a feel for it. Without offering any advice, Eddie starts to work, leaving Venom to figure out the paint for themself.

The paper is very white and has a slightly rough texture when they stroke it. Venom picks up the blue paint pot. They expect to need to borrow Eddie’s hand to open it, but the lid pops right off with just their tentacle. The paint is a bright sky blue and reminds them of Eddie’s eyes. It smells of plastic and a little bit like vegetables -- corn, maybe, or rice. When they dip in a tendril, it tastes like plastic and vegetables too, as well as faintly of crushed beetles.

Venom considers the blank paper in front of them, not knowing where to start. They think back to the blobby painted woman that Rosa had made. It didn’t really look like a person. It was more like… looking at the painting made Venom expect to see a person. It had person-things, like hair and a house and feelings (her nose searching for the scent in the coat) and that was enough to make Venom see a person.

They look over at Eddie, who’s squinting at the screen of his laptop. Eddie has things that make him Eddie. He squeezes his hands closed when he’s upset, and his laugh shakes his whole body when he’s really happy, and he has weird dreams and talks in his sleep. His liver tastes good. His eyes are different when he looks at Venom than when he looks at other things. He's good at noticing details and figuring out stories. His insides are warm.

Venom remembers the expression in Eddie's eyes when he looked at them on the Headlands, right before they kissed him. Near the top of the page Venom swirls their paint-covered tendril in a circle, spreading the blue around in a coil. It’s bright against the page. Pretty. But not quite as intense as Eddie is when he looks at Venom in that particular way. They glance at Eddie, who is trailing one finger along his notepad, brow furrowed, and then add some more blue until they’re satisfied with the depth of colour.

Next they reach for the red. Eddie’s inside are red, and that is their favourite place to be in the world. The steady beat of Eddie's heart is their favourite sound. They stroke long red stripes radiating out from a fist-sized heart in the middle of the page.

They’re trying to decide what to tackle next -- Eddie’s clever hands and the way he touches them, or the winding tracks of their own black tendrils through Eddie’s body -- when the people upstairs start exercising again.

The stereo goes on first, not all that loud, but with a low, deep beat that reverberates down through the walls and signals that they are going to start moving around. There’s some laughter, the sound of two sets of footsteps speeding towards the bedroom. Then bedsprings protest a sudden weight.

Eddie glares up at the ceiling. His cheeks are flushing a rosy red.

The woman upstairs says something too quiet to understand over the music, but then shrieks, "Oh, Haruto!" and her partner -- presumably Haruto -- lets out a growl.

“Jesus Christ,” Eddie mutters.

What are they doing? Venom asks, keen to finally solve the mystery.

Eddie’s eyes go wide as he looks at them. “Uh…”

The woman wails, “Yes! Yes! ” and something starts banging rhythmically into the wall.

You never exercise that hard.

Eddie chokes out a laugh. “They’re not exercising, love.” He swipes a hand over his face which is bright red now, and Venom realises he’s embarrassed, his blood fizzing with it. “They’re having sex.”

Venom considers this new information, and quickly concludes, They must be doing it wrong. They have been trying to breed for weeks and still have no offspring.

"They probably aren’t trying to get pregnant." Eddie flaps a hand, as though trying to wave the whole topic off. “Humans often just have sex for fun. It’s a thing.”

Venom’s focus zooms in on Eddie, because this is entirely new information about humans. You don’t have sex for fun.

Eddie’s expression slides to oh shit, and Venom realises they have stumbled onto something important.

Snapping his laptop closed, Eddie springs out of his chair and lurches over to the sink; Venom has to flex quickly so as not to be pulled along in his wake. Grabbing a glass, Eddie clumsily pours himself some water and gulps it down. Then he stands there, staring at the out-of-date Space Cats calendar hanging on the wall and clutching the empty glass. “We literally just finished round one of this fucking argument. Can’t we just… take a raincheck on part two.”

No! Unacceptable. Venom spent all day coming to terms with the idea of love and that they actually like feeling Eddie’s human affections via their bond. Now Venom wants to know everything about Eddie's feelings, and everything about love that Google and Virtue Falls failed to tell them.

Eddie turns around and faces them, leaning back against the sink. His hands are shaking. “You haven’t shown any interest in sex before.”

I'm showing interest now.

A delicious flush of hormones rushes through Eddie’s blood. It tastes like happiness, but brighter.

“God.” Eddie comes back over to the table, stumbling a bit over his own feet, almost as though Venom’s tether has reeled him in. “It really wouldn’t take much to get my motor revving, fair warning. It’s been a while.” Eddie hesitates, glancing over at the unmade bed. “I could… I dunno if that’s something you’d even… but you’ve liked everything else we’ve...” He swallows. “You could. Watch me, maybe? See if you like it?”

It takes a moment for Venom to understand that Eddie is offering to show them a human sex act. Watch you have sex? they ask, just to be sure.

Another surge of those bright hormones as Eddie nods. "Yeah. Yep." His heart rate is elevated, and he's starting to sweat.

Are you going to call Annie?

“What? No! Just me. Well, and you, if you wanna watch." Eddie presses a hand to the front of his pants, and another jolt of good feeling washes through him. "But solo, you know. No, of course you don’t know, but it’s a thing humans do. On their own. Usually.” Eddie licks his lips. “You game? I’m game if you are.”

Venom is a quick learner, and the lesson from this morning’s argument is still fresh in their mind. This time, they don’t shut Eddie down. Watching him perform a human sex act has to be at least as interesting as watching him pick his nose or piss or any of the other odd things he does. And those hormone surges have made them curious to see what Eddie's sex is like. Okay.

This time the surge of delicious hormones is so swift and strong it makes their tendrils twitch.

“Right,” Eddie says, looking nervous, but his eyes are shining and he looks excited too. He holds out his hand. “It’s easier on the bed.”

As soon as Venom has re-absorbed into Eddie’s body, Eddie starts throwing off his clothes. By the time they reach the bed he’s shucked his hoody and t-shirt and is hopping on one foot, trying to pull off his left shoe. He finally gets it off and flings it aside, then pushes off his pants and kicks off the other shoe all in one move. He throws himself backward onto the bed and wriggles his way to the middle. The good hormones are coming in steady surges now, and Venom is starting to wonder why they have never done this before.

Then Eddie curls his hand around his bare dick. “Ahhh! ” he cries, and Venom’s tendrils shoot out, anchoring them both to the bed.

The spinning/hungry feeling is intense -- bigger than falling off a building or even the Life Foundation rocket -- it’s like they’re about to tip over the edge of the world and freefall all the way down, and it only gets more intense with every stroke of Eddie’s hand.

Eddie! I like this!

“Oh, Jesus,” Eddie moans, “this is going to be fast.” His hand moves again, and again, speeding up, and the feeling is so energising that Venom pops a head out of Eddie’s torso so they can see better. Eddie’s dick is plump with blood and glistening with fluid, and when he strokes it, his whole body reacts, pumping out hormones and sweat and pheromones.

Venom has never felt anything like it.

Eddie husks out, “Are you looking? ” His hand stills, gripping tight.

Venom is dismayed. No! Faster!

“Tell me what you see?” Eddie insists. His heart is racing in his chest, and he is ravenously hungry, but in a different way than for food.

I see you. Venom wants the hungry feeling to stop, but doesn't know how to sate it. They seep out of the skin of Eddie’s hand until its coated, the black of them a stark contrast to the desperate red of Eddie’s dick. We are beautiful, Eddie. Look.

“Oh, fuck! ” Eddie jerks their shared hand against his hungry dick, the slip-slide of them together making the emptiness worse and better at the same time, a messy swirl of you-me-us as the feeling grows, expanding to fill them to the very edges of each tendril, until Eddie squeezes just-so and finally, finally brings them crashing together, Eddie's dick spurting forth salty wetness that Venom catches on their tongue.

They both let go of Eddie's dick with a whimper, and Eddie turns on his side and curls around Venom, basking in the feelings they've made.

Venom lolls in Eddie's arms, hunger sated. Everything is wonderful.

“Wow,” Eddie says, his voice strained, like he’s been shouting for hours.

Outstanding! Venom agrees. In fact... My entire species are losers.

“‘Cept for you,” Eddie says. “You’re awesome.”

We’re both superior examples of our kind, Venom concedes, inching up towards Eddie’s mouth. They want to give this kissing thing another try.

“Love you,” Eddie mumbles as he welcomes them in.

His tongue against theirs feels like the friendly touch of another symbiote, and at the same time nothing like that at all. It's better. Happy and sweet and satisfying. They like kissing Eddie.

Eddie is the best.

Later, while Eddie is cooking his crab, Venom nervously gives him the painting.

It’s you, they tell him.

Eddie takes it and looks at it carefully -- the swirls of blue and red all streaked through with black. He looks at it the same way he looked at Rosa's painting.

"I love it, darling." He smiles and his eyes have the happy look, as though he understands the hungry/spinning feeling Venom doesn't have words for but tried to say with the paint. "I know the perfect place for this."

Ignoring the boiling pot, Eddie walks over to the fridge and puts the picture right in the middle, sticking it there with the big, fluffy, Pussy Magnetthat they bought together at the market last week.

"There," he says. "Perfect.

Back to part 1, on DW or AO3

This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/447761.html.