Both covers are taken from artwork for the show, just with text added... because when you've got pix this gorgeous, why not use them? This is also the quickest set of covers I've made in ages... maybe it's the artwork, but these are both my first draft - I was just really happy with the font and colours and blocking I chose first try!
Fandom: Fate Stay/Night: Unlimited Blade Works (anime tv series) Subject: The Fifth Holy Grail War, and some of the Servants and Magus who fight in it. Title: Our Unholy War. Warnings/Notes: mentions of violence, and some truly sickening child abuse. Major spoilers for the show!
Characters shown: Centre are Shirou and Archer, back to back. Clockwise are: Illyia, Beserker, Lancer, Saber, Rin, Gilgamesh, Assassin (though you have to squint) and Caster.
Mashino Ayano - Ideal White 30 Seconds to Mars – Conquistador celldweller - It makes no difference Queen - Gimme the Prize Marionette - Yes, Prisoner Avril Lavigne - Nobody's Home O Fortuna Fireflight – Unbreakable celldweller - blackstar Paper route - Glass Heart Hymn Aimer – Brave shine
A friend/ship mix for Nita and Kit was the second idea I have EVER had for a fanmix – no, really, most of this tracklist is the second entry in my potential fanmixes file. I’ve edited the file more than a few times, but the entry after this is for my fave anime, Full Metal Panic!, which came out in 2002, though I think I discovered it a couple of years after that. But yes, I’m sure I’ve had this particular fanmix on the boil for around thirteen years.
Young Wizards isn’t quite my first true fandom – that honor goes to Agatha Christie, or maybe Doctor Who – but this was the first fandom I found stuff about when I when first ventured into the strands of the World Wide Web (anyone else remember when it was called that?)… sometime in 1996, I think.
Again experimenting with a single-image cover for 8tracks purposes. And I really will get around to actually uploading something any time now (whistles innocently) In this case, I just found the cover of the first book and did some crop, cover, and type. Yes, this is a scene from the book. Not quite as good as riding a zombie dinosaur, but it's still a pretty awesome moment, isn't it?
So, despite Avengers: Age of Ultron crushing my BlackHawk shipper dreams, I still signed up as an artist for couplesbigbang (still not sure why it doesn't get more participants). I really meant to write something for it this time, but my now-traditional June-August malaise got me again. Maybe next year???
I haven't kept up with this particular author, but apparently this is several stories down the line in the series she started with 'Betting on You' (which I did artwork for last year). Have to say, I think I did a better job last year... getting my due dates mixed up and finished this in a rush is no excuse. Hope she likes it anyway.
Story: Heart's Changes (link at AO3 to be added) Author: Cassandra S Fisher
fanmixes: From Dusk till dawn season 1 (Gecko Bros & Seth and Kate) Okay, as day 29 of my project 31 Nights from Dusk till Dawn, I finally finished off the two EP fanmixes I've been percolating since last... what, August? When I finally realised this show existed and how awesome it was?
I've put both of them together this time for ease of access. Tracklistings are behind the cuts
I did the Seth & Kate cover in just one pic, because I want to start uploading all my fanmixes to 8tracks eventually, and they only allow one pic. Think I might edit it a little to make the songlist clearer first, though. ETA: now edited and improved!
fanmix: Junk Science (Walter/Paige of Scorpion) So after just over a year, waywardmixes is back!!! So for the #28, they chose the theme 'shiny and new' - or mixes about shows, books, movies, or other fandoms that have been released since July 2014, when the last round was supposed to end.
It was a tough call between two of my shiny new fandoms, Daredevil and Scorpion, but the second won out because... well, I thought that someone else would be doing Daredevil anyway, because it's been such a phenom. But at least I can do it later!
I picked a ship!mix for Walter & Paige, because they're the couple I'm shipping right now that have actual progress, albeit at a very slow burn (Matt and Karen are still very much in the friend zone. But the Avocado trio are an awesome friendzone!), and aren't currently sunk in the Bermuda Triangle in canon (unlike SkyeWard from Agents of SHIELD, or Victor and Lily from Penny Dreadful). Although from what little I'm seen of FDTD season 2, I have some actual hope for Seth and Kate. But given that show, I'm just hoping they both make it to the end of the season alive....
Anyway, onto the mix! The explanatory bit for waywardmixes is below the covers, with the full tracklisting below that.
I was trying to get some of the pics to overlap each other at strategic points; I thought it looked interesting. Not sure how well it turned out. (sigh) I really need to properly learn how to use photoshop or something and lift my graphics game.
Anyway, since my last two fics for casestory were both crossovers with 'Grimm', and I had a great time with both, I thought I'd keep the habit. Wise choice! 'Take the stars from my eyes' is a really interesting fic - I'm looking forward to reading the complete story.
'Take the Stars from my eyes' by karennia_rune: read it here on AO3
Did a title page, and fanmix - which probably would have been longer, if I'd had a longer draft, but oh well. I originally had an idea about using all Irish artists (thus the two U2 songs), since this fic focuses on the Celtic myth/legend of Cu Chulainn.
I used a shot of a forest for the fanmix cover because forests seem to be a bit of a running theme in the story - and in both shows, come to think of it.
Song tracklisting (no real spoilers here, for once) Blood of Cuchuulainn - Jeff & Mychael Danna (opening credits and scenes. It's from the Boondocks Saints movies; I tried it for the title, and found the music worked really well)
Elevation - U2 (Rory's POV on how Maggie makes him feel)
I still haven't found what I'm looking for - U2 (meant to be a 'montage' song, with Nick, Hank, Dyson and Kenzi all looking for answers they're having a lot of trouble finding! And yes, this is my sense of humour coming out again)
Moondance - Nightwish. (Rory's flight and the Grimm Fae Gang's pursuit. Something about this track always makes me think of running through the woods)
Take it Home (Riley's Siren Mix) - thenewno2 (end credits. Since Dyson and Kenzi's secondary mission during all this is just to get the heck home, I thought it fit. And I really like the song)
ARTWORK: (couplesbigbang 2014) Betting on You Well, I wound up dropping out of the couplesbigbang as an author (though if I'd realised how long I had from rough draft turn-in to posting, I would have just begged off the artwork and taken the time to turn in my story!) but I did manage to contribute as an artist, at least.
My story was about one of my fave couples, Clint and Natasha of the MCU. 'Betting on You', by Cassandra S Fisher, can be found HERE, and the couplesbigbang LJ community - if you want to join in next round - can be found HERE
I was really taken with the 'betting' part of the title, so I knew right away I wanted to play with the gambling concept. I do wish I'd found a more complete picture of the gun though, to symbolise Russian roulette; not only as a way of not only illustrating the gambling metaphor, but also the stakes Clint and Natasha are playing for - not only their love, but their lives.
I wanted to do a contrast of either a black and white background with colour pictures to stand out boldly, or the other way around. I couldn't make out my mind, so I did both!
The series final of IPS was such a damn clusterfuck - for every Mary/Marshall shipper, and to a certain extent most fans of the show - that the shipper mix I was working on HAD to go past the series and fix things... so this mix is part 'shipper, part fix-it, and actually always has been!
For those who've never seen it, In Plain Sight (which features in a few other entries here in my LJ, if you click the tag) is a TV show that ran from 2008-2012, about two US Marshals who work in the Witness Protection Program, played by Mary McCormack and Fred Weller.
Mary Shannon is fiery, stubborn to the point of death, prickly, intensely loyal (mostly to people who don't deserve it), downright phobic of change and terrified of any kind of committed relationship, and very, very damaged by her shitty childhood (more on this in a minute). Marshall Mann (yes, he's Marshal Marshall!) is laid-back, a font of trivia and interesting hobbies, intensely loyal (mostly to people who DO deserve it) and while he has some family angst of his own, is far more stable and well-adjusted than Mary - and an unofficial part of his job is following Mary around and picking psychic shrapnel out of everyone who she mows down in the course of her average day. They are both utterly badass (though Marshall hides it better), superb at their jobs, and a near-matchless team.
The title comes from their Marshal's badges, and a long-standing love of pie that has become part-tradition, part-running gag between them; one of Marshall's many catchphrases is 'Pie makes everything better'.
FANMIX: Double-edged Blade: Triela and Victor Hilshire (Gunslinger Girl) another wayward mixes #24. The tragedy and just plain beauty and irony of this ship just gets me. The most razor-edged version of falling in love with who someone is on the inside, not what they look like. The most impossible of loves, because one half can't even admit it to himself without possibly plunging into insanity. The most doomed of loves, because the other half won't live long enough for that to change.
WARNING: this fandom combines the tragedy levels of William Shakespeare with the violence of Quentin Tarentino. Triggers for sexual abuse of and violence against children (including torture for profit and fights to the death), human trafficking, child soliders, psychological brainwashing and control, terrorist attacks, PTSD… the list grows even longer if you throw some of the other characters into the mix!
ANOTHER WARNING: spoilers for the whole of the series, including the epilogue. Includes character deaths.
Vermilion part 2 (acoustic) - slipknot Check please - Cold Saint Simon - The Shins Elegy - Carina Round Razorblade kiss - H.I.M. Cuts both ways - Gloria Estefan Cold (but I'm still here) - evans blue Makes you happy - The Levellers For everything a reason - Carina Round Witness - Sarah McLachlan Wherever you will go - The Calling
Anam Cara: a fanmix for Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sargeant Barbara Havers (fandom explanation and tracklisting under the cut) Turns speculative at the end, because of the show's abrupt cancellation halfway through S6.
Another day, another bigbang. This time I signed up for AngstBigBang, and got the fic 'Out of the Dark' by flipflop_diva. It's Harry Potter fandom; Harry and Hermione fall in love during the Horcrux Hunt, but are unable to pull themselves away from the gravitational pull of One Big Happy Weasley Family. But they can't end their connection or fall out of love either, resulting in a great big mess with a bittersweet ending.
I got a bit carried away with this one, making three pieces of art instead of one! It's meant to be three different pages from Hermione's me-and-Harry photo album. (I did another piece where I made a pic into a 'photo' as part of a bigger display, but I can't remember how I made a frame, unfortunately (pulls face at self); because I think the second 'page', especially, would have come out much better with borders or frames around the pics.)
Quotes come from 'At the Beginning', performed by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis (yes, from the Anastasia animated film!), 'Burn' by We are the Fallen, and 'Halo' by Depeche Mode. Also I stole the title of 'Here comes the sun' by The Beatles; 'happy days' or something similar seems churlish, because it's clear at the end that Harry and Hermione left a lot of wreckage behind them, and they know that; it's the main reason why the messy situation continued so long.
I actually made this mix ages - as in years ago - but for some reason, I never posted it anywhere (probably because I was thinking about using several of the songs on other mixes at the time). waywardmixes has yet again prompted me to get the lead out! (I've got at least three other mixes that are not-quite-finished that I'm going to post, too!)
zip file containing front and back covers, tracklisting, and songs HERE at mediafire
(explanation for waywardmixes and tracklisting under the cut)
I thought it would be SO EASY to assemble a fanmix for Phryne Fisher - umm, not so much. About 1/3 was easy; another 1/3 was cannibalised from my potential Jack/Phryne shipper mix, and another 1/3 I just couldn't work out until today.
The covers gave me some issues, too - I really wanted some Art Deco fonts for this. Finding them was relatively easy, so was installing them once I read the instructions properly. But the program I do my initial runs on wasn't registering them, so I switched to paint which won't let you alter the text once you click off it! I spent four attempts trying to get it right, until I tried my initial program again - guess once paint acknowledges it, so will the other. Really need to look into photoshop at some point.
But I am really proud of how the covers turned out! The art deco wallpapers came out rather nicely, didn't they?
This includes all songs and the 3 covers. I didn't put in the tracklisting, this time, because wayward requires a short blurb about the fandom - naturally, mine ended up being a full page in Word! *eyeroll*
Well, no - I decided to do an Eliot/Parker fanmix, because I've always shipped them (no offense to Hardison - I like you too! Just think she's a better match with Eliot). I was a bit worried no one would pick it, but i did get someone and she has also written a great fic! (I've been really lucky that way so far, with reverse bangs.)
The title is a quote from one of the Nightside books by Simon R Green - actually, I think it might be a paraphrase, pretty sure I got it off an LJ icon originally. I picked it because, well, it sort of sums up one of the primary reasons I think Eliot and Parker would work as a couple; they're familiar with the darkest parts of themselves - they've lived in those parts of themselves, and come out the other side. They're willing to cross lines that Nate, Sophie and Hardison won't even consider.
Title: The Double Solo Job Author: walking_tornado Beta(s): nessataleweaver, dutch_chick674 Disclaimer Nothing from Leverage belongs to me. No money is being made. It's all made up. Don't sue. Characters/Pairings: Parker/Eliot, Hardison, OCs Rating: PG-13 (series-level) Genre: Drama, Post-series Warnings/spoilers: some violence, language, brief mentions of involuntary drug use, implied torture, OC death Word Count: ~13k Summary: Months after the three remaining Leverage team members part ways, Eliot's appearance complicates Parker's solo heist. (Post-series) Link to fic: http://walking-tornado.livejournal.com/16398.html
artwork: The big bang job part 1 - the unexpected guest I love Leverage, but never seem to have any real fic ideas - but when the Big Bang Job came up, I realised that since it was a reverse bang, I could participate as an artist with a bit more creativity than usual. This first piece was based on the only real fic idea I've ever come up with - and the authour wrote it out in a different way (but it's really good!) so I might still write it out sometime.
The basic idea was '5 times the Leverage crew had a near-death experience (or, 5 times Death had a near-Leverage experience)'. Yes, I shamelessly ripped off Sir PTerry, and DEATH will be making an appearance if I ever write up the idea myself. Basically, all 5 of the crew would meet a different fandom's 'Death' - I could only fit in Death/Didi from the Sandman comics, and one of the opening credits grim reapers from Dead Like Me. As for the title - well, one of Agatha Christie's plays is called 'The Unexpected Guest' - the tagline being 'The Unexpected Guest - is DEATH!'
(story details beneath the pic)
Summary: Five times each member of the Leverage Team met Death and the one time they helped her/him… it? It’s kind of complicated. Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Warnings: Major character death, minor character death, oc death, a lot of violence, tried to make it as kid friendly as possible despite the material Rating: T for teen, [technically PG-13 but rather safe than sorry] Pairings/Characters: Team, canon pairings, oc's, and a surprise! Genre: Supernatural, fantasy, teamfic, casefic-ish, angst, drama, family Word Count: 30,352 [Oh, good lord why?] Spoilers: Pretty much the series. If you haven't seen Season One or Five be prepared for a shocker.
SOUNDTRACK: Getting lost and finding you (for 'Come Near' by Topaz119); marvelbang Honestly, I need to get back to actual writing - it feels like all I do these days are fanmixes! Not that those aren't fun, too, but I think I'm a little burnt out for awhile - despite how good the story I was assigned is, I couldn't get really enthused about the music or covers. I just hope I managed to put together something worthy of the story anyway.
So, this one is for marvelbang; the story is called 'Come Near' and it's by Topaz119. It's all Clint and Natasha, immediately after The Avengers, and about how they redefine their partnership in the wake of Clint's epic mind-frelling, and what her desperation to rescue him has revealed to Natasha.
It also includes a fairly epic road trip, along the famous Route 66. Never got around to mentioning this to Topaz, but I actually tried this myself recently, when a couple of friends and I went to the US to attend the 20th Otacon (which was AWESOME!!). I meant to actually use one of my photos of Route 66 for the back cover, but to be honest? The one I found via google was better.
Also? I don't know what it's like along the part from New York to the Midwest, but the part I travelled, in California/Arizona? ROYALLY SUCKED. It runs alongside the Interstate in that section, so there's no maintenance of the road at all. The first section we drove along, we only went about a mile before the friend who was driving apologetically had to get back on the Interstate, because the road was so lumpy that he was afraid we'd wreck the shocks on the rental car! The second section we attempted had more dips and rises than the Dow-Jones Index. I'm very prone to motion sickness, and I only just managed to get to my pills in time. As I said in the postcard I sent to Mum 'In my case, I nearly got my sicks on Route 66!'
I don't even have a Tshirt to show for it, either - there were a couple of stops which had lots of souvineers, but I decided to hold out for the Route 66 museum. Problem was, when we got to Bairstow (actually the second time, but the first time we were en route to Vegas and only there from late evening to early morning) we found out it was the ONE day of the week the museum was closed, wouldn't you know it? Oh, well. I came back with too many souvineer Tshirts anyway.
Anyway, enough bitching - my point is, the story is fantastic, and every BlackHawk shipper should read it at least once. (the authour was also kind enough to say some nice things about this mix!)
WARNING: scene-specific listing is after the cut, including lyrics.
There's quite a few acoustic or near-acoustic tracks on this mix; the scenes that struck a chord with me, or were simply important enough to merit a song, tended to be dialogue-heavy or otherwise intense moments where I didn't want to overwhelm the story itself. I also really wanted to add in something from the ballet Coppelia (you'll understand why when you read the story), but I could not for the life of me find somewhere I could download any recording of the score. It's not that I object to paying for music tracks (I prefer it, actually. Better for my karma), but the problems with living in Australia - I can't buy anything audio off amazon (US or UK), and I don't belong to Australia iTunes *helpless shrug*.
Getting lost and finding you A mix for ‘Come Near’ by Topaz119
Avalanche - Matthew Good Band Let go (acoustic) - Boys Like Girls Are you havin' any fun? - Tony Bennett (featuring Elvis Costello) Maybe - Stereophonics Route 66 - The Rolling Stones Let's Get Lost - Amanda Marshall Stripped - Shiny Toy Guns Umaretate no Shiro - KOKIA I feel you - Depeche Mode One thing is for sure (acoustic) - The Spill Canvas
Still wish I knew how to 'cut out' a single image from a pic; (I have found instructions, but only for a program I don't have!) I would have liked to have done that with Steve and Peggy's pics on the front cover, rather than just colour out the background. Also think that maybe I should have done that in blue shades instead *thoughtful look*.
'A Single Yesterday' is a great fic by tigerdreams, which lets Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter have that date at the Stork Club, courtesy of the Eleventh Doctor.
WARNING: The tracklisting beneath the covers (and the cut) gives details of specific scenes, so you might want to read the fic first.
I'll be seeing you - Billie Holliday Courage is - The Strange Familiar Fly me to the moon (Neon Genesis Evangelion Director's Cut) - Claire Our remains - Bitter:Sweet 40 miles from the sun - Bush Beyond the sun - shinedown Home - Vanessa Carlton
HETBIGBAG 2013: ARTWORK for 'My Girl Sarah' by frea_o What the subject line says, people! From what I could tell from the scenes I was sent, 'MGS' is a noir-version of Chuck, set in 1949. It sounds really interesting, so I'm looking forward to reading the whole thing.
Again, two pieces. I didn't do much at all with the second, and that seemed a little like cheating, so I did the first one as well. But I like them both!
I didn't do anything much with the second piece, just added the text; but I really love the pic, so I wanted to use it somehow.
HEROINE BIGBANG: 'Here I dreamt I was a soldier', by sugar_fey (two artworks) First up, we have one of my rare (but increasing in number) straight artworks. I was thrilled to get one of my favourite authors, sugar_fey. Again, I got a little carried away - I did two pieces instead of just one. Mostly because the main plot was about Carole and Jessica, (at least in the draft I worked from) but I'm such a diehard BlackHawk fan I couldn't resist doing one for them two.
Loved working with the WW2 setting, especially the code-breaking work at Bletchely Park; the movie 'Enigma' is one of my favourites, and I'm in the middle of the mini-series The Bletchley Circle. (Thank God I wasn't born back then, I would have gone bonkers from the constant sexism and pressure to marry and breed.) I knew from the start I wanted to work in photos of the complex itself, and play with a mix of black and white and colour pics.
I racked my brains for imaginary casting (see my fanmix), but the author got back to me with her ideas, which I think worked out much better for this piece. (the hairstyles, for a start) If Jessica (Emilia Clarke) looks familiar but you can't place her, try imagining her as pale blonde and hanging out with dragons. Katee Sackhoff, on the other hand, should be easily recognised by anyone who's been hanging out in the sci-fi TV community the last few years.
The central image of this is one of the very few photos actually taken inside Bletchley Park during the war. It was surprisingly easy to find pics of these two actresses in period-appropriate hairstyles and dresses; I just needed to crop, and in Katee's case, colour over the background.
Had a blast de-colouring/colouring various pics for the two; not sure where Clint's 'photo' came from, but I just needed to angle it and 'draw' a black line around two sides (it might be a little off-centre, sorry). Natasha's pic is from The Black Dahlia (which is why she's blonde in the photo). The photo is a current one of Bletchely Park.
HEROINE BIGBANG: FANMIX: We don't bother with bubblegum First of my two works for Heroine bigbang. I think I was on a roll after finishing my other works so quickly (relatively speaking), either that or I just got carried away with the pic-manips; I meant to do artwork for a cover and a tracklisting, instead I did a front cover and artwork/lyric sets for each 'pair' of the main characters, as well as the team!
This fanmix is for the story 'Who Run the World', by coffeesuperhero & shadoweangel (at least, I hope that's the names they're using for this, because that's all I got).
My fanmix title comes from the movie 'They Live' (see below).
As for casting - the two roles I 'cast' myself are Ksenia Solo (from the tv show 'Lost Girl') as Kate Bishop, aka Hawkeye junior, (I saw the shot of her in the purple pants, and thought 'Score!') and Victoria Pratt (among other things, I know her from the 90's/00's shows Cleopatra 2025 and Mutant X, though judging by her pictures results on Google, she's mostly known for modelling or bodybuilding stuff now) as Carole Danvers, aka Ms Marvel.
ZIP file includes all eight songs, all five covers, (front, Natasha & Maria, Carole & Sif, Kate & Pepper and the team) and a full tracklisting.
‘We don’t bother with bubblegum’ A FANMIX FOR: ‘Who run the world’ by coffeesuperhero & shadoweangel
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum." - They Live (1988)
sleepy
bouncy
calm
pensive
