Fancake Theme for December: Amnesty
Dec. 3rd, 2025 09:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
runpunkrun posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fandomcalendar
fancake is a thematic recommendation community where all members are welcome to post recs, and fanworks of all shapes and sizes are accepted. Check out the community guidelines for the full set of rules. This theme runs for the entire month. If you have any questions, just ask!
Mary Renault, did you lie to me?
Dec. 1st, 2025 06:45 pmselenakNot being an Alexander the Great fangirl, I had never read the primary sources (which were written centuries later, because all the contemporary sources on AtG were lost) on everyone's favourite Macedon, but now I got around to reading at least Plutarch. And you know, if there is ONE thing not just the late Ms Renault and her trilogy but the entire internet led me to believe, it's that Hephaistion was Alexander's One True Love And Soulmate; even absolute homophobes concede him as the friend of friends, the Patroclos to Alexander's Achilles, etc. So imagine my suprrise when I stumbled upon these few paragraphs by good old Plutarch:
Moreover, when he saw that among his chiefest friends Hephaestion approved his course and joined him in changing his mode of life, while Craterus clung fast to his native ways, he employed the former in his business with the Barbarians, the latter in that with the Greeks and Macedonians. And in general he showed most affection for Hephaestion, but most esteem for Craterus, thinking, and constantly saying, that Hephaestion was a friend of Alexander, but Craterus a friend of the king.
For this reason, too, the men cherished a secret grudge against one another and often came into open collision. And once, on the Indian expedition, they actually drew their swords and closed with one another, and as the friends of each were coming to his aid, Alexander rode up and abused Hephaestion publicly, calling him a fool and a madman for not knowing that without Alexander's favour he was nothing; and in private he also sharply reproved Craterus.
Then he brought them together and reconciled them, taking an oath by Ammon and the rest of the gods that he loved them most of all men; but that if he heard of their quarrelling again, he would kill them both, or at least the one who began the quarrel. Wherefore after this they neither did nor said anything to harm one another, not even in jest.
Craterus? CRATERUS? And he "abused Hephaistion publicly?" Hephaistion - who in fiction shows up eternally chill and calming emo Alex down - was jealous of some guy who wasn't at least Bagoas? Truly, this is not what I expected.
To be fair: Plutarch also later describes the complete breakdown and momentous grief for Hephaistion when Heph dies. (Oh, and he does mention Bagoas as well, to wit: We are told, too, that he was once viewing some contests in singing and dancing, being well heated with wine, and that his favourite, Bagoas, won the prize for song and dance, and then, all in his festal array, passed through the theatre and took his seat by Alexander's side; at sight of which the Macedonians clapped their hands and loudly bade the king kiss the victor, until at last he threw his arms about him and kissed him tenderly. ) Still. I feel let down by the OTPlers.
Not really surprised, though. This kind of thing happens constantly in Frederician fandom.
To celebrate the latest example of research making everyone more complicated, I'm linking this gem, which includes both Alex and Fritz:
Moreover, when he saw that among his chiefest friends Hephaestion approved his course and joined him in changing his mode of life, while Craterus clung fast to his native ways, he employed the former in his business with the Barbarians, the latter in that with the Greeks and Macedonians. And in general he showed most affection for Hephaestion, but most esteem for Craterus, thinking, and constantly saying, that Hephaestion was a friend of Alexander, but Craterus a friend of the king.
For this reason, too, the men cherished a secret grudge against one another and often came into open collision. And once, on the Indian expedition, they actually drew their swords and closed with one another, and as the friends of each were coming to his aid, Alexander rode up and abused Hephaestion publicly, calling him a fool and a madman for not knowing that without Alexander's favour he was nothing; and in private he also sharply reproved Craterus.
Then he brought them together and reconciled them, taking an oath by Ammon and the rest of the gods that he loved them most of all men; but that if he heard of their quarrelling again, he would kill them both, or at least the one who began the quarrel. Wherefore after this they neither did nor said anything to harm one another, not even in jest.
Craterus? CRATERUS? And he "abused Hephaistion publicly?" Hephaistion - who in fiction shows up eternally chill and calming emo Alex down - was jealous of some guy who wasn't at least Bagoas? Truly, this is not what I expected.
To be fair: Plutarch also later describes the complete breakdown and momentous grief for Hephaistion when Heph dies. (Oh, and he does mention Bagoas as well, to wit: We are told, too, that he was once viewing some contests in singing and dancing, being well heated with wine, and that his favourite, Bagoas, won the prize for song and dance, and then, all in his festal array, passed through the theatre and took his seat by Alexander's side; at sight of which the Macedonians clapped their hands and loudly bade the king kiss the victor, until at last he threw his arms about him and kissed him tenderly. ) Still. I feel let down by the OTPlers.
Not really surprised, though. This kind of thing happens constantly in Frederician fandom.
To celebrate the latest example of research making everyone more complicated, I'm linking this gem, which includes both Alex and Fritz:
Fly by rec
Dec. 1st, 2025 10:40 amthisbluespiritMy wrangling got slightly derailed this morning, because I was scrolling down my bins and then suddenly a WILD TAG IN ENIGMA 2001!
And it wasn't me misreading, it wasn't some giant multi-fandom essay, or somehow ASOIAF, Harry Potter, Sherlock or Star Wars, it was real and pretty much perfect. Not particularly spoilery (the only thing this reveals is also evident pretty soon into the film):
de la lune (273 words) by misura
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Enigma (2001)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Claire Romilly, Wigram (Enigma 2001)
Additional Tags: Pre-Canon
Summary: "I've always wanted to be a Claire." (pre-canon)
I got too flaily to wrangle.
And it wasn't me misreading, it wasn't some giant multi-fandom essay, or somehow ASOIAF, Harry Potter, Sherlock or Star Wars, it was real and pretty much perfect. Not particularly spoilery (the only thing this reveals is also evident pretty soon into the film):
de la lune (273 words) by misura
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Enigma (2001)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Claire Romilly, Wigram (Enigma 2001)
Additional Tags: Pre-Canon
Summary: "I've always wanted to be a Claire." (pre-canon)
I got too flaily to wrangle.
Look! I remembered to post before December started this year!
Nov. 30th, 2025 02:42 am![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
denise posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_newsHello, friends! It's about to be December again, and you know what that means: the fact I am posting this actually before December 1 means karzilla reminded me about the existence of linear time again. Wait, no -- well, yes, but also -- okay, look, let me back up and start again: it's almost December, and that means it's time for our annual December holiday points bonus.
The standard explanation: For the entire month of December, all orders made in the Shop of points and paid time, either for you or as a gift for a friend, will have 10% of your completed cart total sent to you in points when you finish the transaction. For instance, if you buy an order of 12 months of paid time for $35 (350 points), you'll get 35 points when the order is complete, to use on a future purchase.
( The fine print and much more behind this cut! )
Thank you, in short, for being the best possible users any social media site could possibly ever hope for. I'm probably in danger of crossing the Sappiness Line if I haven't already, but you all make everything worth it.
On behalf of Mark, Jen, Robby, and our team of awesome volunteers, and to each and every one of you, whether you've been with us on this wild ride since the beginning or just signed up last week, I'm wishing you all a very happy set of end-of-year holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, and hoping for all of you that your 2026 is full of kindness, determination, empathy, and a hell of a lot more luck than we've all had lately. Let's go.
karzilla reminded me about the existence of linear time again. Wait, no -- well, yes, but also -- okay, look, let me back up and start again: it's almost December, and that means it's time for our annual December holiday points bonus.The standard explanation: For the entire month of December, all orders made in the Shop of points and paid time, either for you or as a gift for a friend, will have 10% of your completed cart total sent to you in points when you finish the transaction. For instance, if you buy an order of 12 months of paid time for $35 (350 points), you'll get 35 points when the order is complete, to use on a future purchase.
( The fine print and much more behind this cut! )
Thank you, in short, for being the best possible users any social media site could possibly ever hope for. I'm probably in danger of crossing the Sappiness Line if I haven't already, but you all make everything worth it.
On behalf of Mark, Jen, Robby, and our team of awesome volunteers, and to each and every one of you, whether you've been with us on this wild ride since the beginning or just signed up last week, I'm wishing you all a very happy set of end-of-year holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, and hoping for all of you that your 2026 is full of kindness, determination, empathy, and a hell of a lot more luck than we've all had lately. Let's go.
Unofficial Fandom 50: Terence Rattigan [3/50]
Nov. 29th, 2025 06:47 pmthisbluespiritSince I've been trying to watch (or listen to) all of the Rattigans lately, this seems like a good topic for a post!
Who was Rattigan?
Terence Rattigan (1911-1977) was an English playwright and screenwriter, whose most famous works are The Browning Version (1948), The Winslow Boy (1946), The Deep Blue Sea (1952) & Separate Tables (1954). His works are usually sharply observed, low-key character pieces, mostly v middle-class background*, one of a combination of factors that caused him to fall from favour in the wake of Osborne's Look Back in Anger in the 50s. He wrote for (low-brow!) cinema, radio and TV too, another factor. Since the 90s in particular he's been recognised as one of the 20th C greats, via several major revivals of many of his works and you'd be hard pressed to find a year now when some major British theatre or other isn't putting on a Rattigan.
He was gay, which is evident in many of his plays, although usually more implicitly than explicitly - the most explicit use of a gay character, in Separate Tables, he censored himself prior to its Broadway performance. From 1998, though, happily, modern productions have usually restored the original version. The Browning Version isn't explicit, but is very much about queerness, too.
I came across him when my teacher gave us The Browning Version for A-Level, and instantly fell in love, even if it took me thirty-odd years to finally get up and try some of the rest of his plays. I think I was worried that they wouldn't be as good or would contain aspects that might spoil TBV for me - happily, as you can see, I needn't have worried!
What do I love about his works?
He's very much all about character pieces, especially small-scale, claustrophobic ones (which the theatre naturally tends towards), in a way that I really love.
His first success was the farce French Without Tears (1936), so between that and the screen-writing, he's a very easy watch, in the best sense - his dialogue says so much about character, and often still feels fresh, and he can do light comedy as well as the more serious pieces. You'll often find variations on mismatched marriages, moral choices, people from different positions finding understanding of each other, and trial by the media in one form or another. His characterisation is always well-rounded and complex.
The thing I love the most, though, is his characteristic trick of having so much of the mood or conclusion or character shift on a literal sixpence - one small item, or action, or change of point of view leads to an uplift of hope we didn't expect - and on rare occasions, the reverse, acting as the last spiteful straw. The gift of a book, the discovery of a letter, love of art - how big small things can be to us humans.
I'll talk about specific plays if I carry on with this meme, I'm sure, but I definitely think he's worth trying out if you haven't already. There are a range of adaptations around, new and old, (TV, film, Radio, some of which he wrote the screenplays for himself), as well as current theatre productions.
The National Theatre has a really nice little two-part intro to five of his major works (spoilery, though, as ever with these things) - I presume this means they have some Rattigans on their At Home service, too. If you wanted to try a live production, The Winslow Boy or The Browning Version are particularly good starting places.
(Warnings - not many! He's not a bleak writer at all as a rule, but suicide does crop up in various ways in After the Dance, The Deep Blue Sea, Cause Celebre, and Man and Boy; and In Praise of Love has a character with a terminal illness - leukaemia, which he had himself).
The last thing of his I watched was Heart to Heart, a 1962 BBC TV screenplay written to launch one of their anthologies - it deals again with mismatched marriages, trial by the media, and an attempt to do the right thing that isn't very successful, but at the end, the main character, learning that out of nearly 300 people who phoned into the TV station after a broadcast, 3 of them got the point: "That's something," he says. "They must be very interesting people."
How very Rattigan. ♥
* He attended Harrow, although wiki, if it is to be believed, says that while he was there, he was in its Officer Training Course and started a mutiny, which is brilliant if it's true. <3
Who was Rattigan?
Terence Rattigan (1911-1977) was an English playwright and screenwriter, whose most famous works are The Browning Version (1948), The Winslow Boy (1946), The Deep Blue Sea (1952) & Separate Tables (1954). His works are usually sharply observed, low-key character pieces, mostly v middle-class background*, one of a combination of factors that caused him to fall from favour in the wake of Osborne's Look Back in Anger in the 50s. He wrote for (low-brow!) cinema, radio and TV too, another factor. Since the 90s in particular he's been recognised as one of the 20th C greats, via several major revivals of many of his works and you'd be hard pressed to find a year now when some major British theatre or other isn't putting on a Rattigan.
He was gay, which is evident in many of his plays, although usually more implicitly than explicitly - the most explicit use of a gay character, in Separate Tables, he censored himself prior to its Broadway performance. From 1998, though, happily, modern productions have usually restored the original version. The Browning Version isn't explicit, but is very much about queerness, too.
I came across him when my teacher gave us The Browning Version for A-Level, and instantly fell in love, even if it took me thirty-odd years to finally get up and try some of the rest of his plays. I think I was worried that they wouldn't be as good or would contain aspects that might spoil TBV for me - happily, as you can see, I needn't have worried!
What do I love about his works?
He's very much all about character pieces, especially small-scale, claustrophobic ones (which the theatre naturally tends towards), in a way that I really love.
His first success was the farce French Without Tears (1936), so between that and the screen-writing, he's a very easy watch, in the best sense - his dialogue says so much about character, and often still feels fresh, and he can do light comedy as well as the more serious pieces. You'll often find variations on mismatched marriages, moral choices, people from different positions finding understanding of each other, and trial by the media in one form or another. His characterisation is always well-rounded and complex.
The thing I love the most, though, is his characteristic trick of having so much of the mood or conclusion or character shift on a literal sixpence - one small item, or action, or change of point of view leads to an uplift of hope we didn't expect - and on rare occasions, the reverse, acting as the last spiteful straw. The gift of a book, the discovery of a letter, love of art - how big small things can be to us humans.
I'll talk about specific plays if I carry on with this meme, I'm sure, but I definitely think he's worth trying out if you haven't already. There are a range of adaptations around, new and old, (TV, film, Radio, some of which he wrote the screenplays for himself), as well as current theatre productions.
The National Theatre has a really nice little two-part intro to five of his major works (spoilery, though, as ever with these things) - I presume this means they have some Rattigans on their At Home service, too. If you wanted to try a live production, The Winslow Boy or The Browning Version are particularly good starting places.
(Warnings - not many! He's not a bleak writer at all as a rule, but suicide does crop up in various ways in After the Dance, The Deep Blue Sea, Cause Celebre, and Man and Boy; and In Praise of Love has a character with a terminal illness - leukaemia, which he had himself).
The last thing of his I watched was Heart to Heart, a 1962 BBC TV screenplay written to launch one of their anthologies - it deals again with mismatched marriages, trial by the media, and an attempt to do the right thing that isn't very successful, but at the end, the main character, learning that out of nearly 300 people who phoned into the TV station after a broadcast, 3 of them got the point: "That's something," he says. "They must be very interesting people."
How very Rattigan. ♥
* He attended Harrow, although wiki, if it is to be believed, says that while he was there, he was in its Officer Training Course and started a mutiny, which is brilliant if it's true. <3
Tags:
Ho ho ho
Nov. 28th, 2025 05:47 pmcrantzWinter break is about to start so I'm using Black Friday to nest for the winter - not that it worked for my plan with the DC universe app because it's so user-unfriendly there was no way to actually use the sale code for the subscription.
But I'm still set up for a few months so I'm going to read a bunch of 90s Legion of Superheroes comics because God can't stop me.
I've got games waiting too - gonna be doing a thing in a chat on fridays where I play a game I've never played before that I own/downloaded and people can watch if they feel like it. It's motivation, anyway. Today's game is going to be Paleo Park, a cute little dinosaur ranch.
I don't want to talk about what happened with Buddhism (but my GPA is okay) but I'm doing well in Figure Drawing. Our last class is next week and I've already got my final project done. All I have left is to do the workbooks.
I updated my comic twice after a long lull, so that was nice. Comics at Hamsterwheel.art!
The heat in our house went nuts and it was 76/24 degrees in my apartment for a bit and I did not enjoy it. Everyone was very apologetic for nearly killing my fragile heat sensitive self. I think they were more worried than I was.
I've got a deal going with a crocheting friend where I supply the patterns and raw goods and she turns it into amigurumi for me. I'm going to have so many little colourful weighted frogs.
That's about it in hamsterhaus.
But I'm still set up for a few months so I'm going to read a bunch of 90s Legion of Superheroes comics because God can't stop me.
I've got games waiting too - gonna be doing a thing in a chat on fridays where I play a game I've never played before that I own/downloaded and people can watch if they feel like it. It's motivation, anyway. Today's game is going to be Paleo Park, a cute little dinosaur ranch.
I don't want to talk about what happened with Buddhism (but my GPA is okay) but I'm doing well in Figure Drawing. Our last class is next week and I've already got my final project done. All I have left is to do the workbooks.
I updated my comic twice after a long lull, so that was nice. Comics at Hamsterwheel.art!
The heat in our house went nuts and it was 76/24 degrees in my apartment for a bit and I did not enjoy it. Everyone was very apologetic for nearly killing my fragile heat sensitive self. I think they were more worried than I was.
I've got a deal going with a crocheting friend where I supply the patterns and raw goods and she turns it into amigurumi for me. I'm going to have so many little colourful weighted frogs.
That's about it in hamsterhaus.
Pluribus 1.05
Nov. 27th, 2025 11:43 amselenakIn which the Hive just needs space, okay?
( Figures it would use the voice of Howard Hamlin to demand it… )
( Figures it would use the voice of Howard Hamlin to demand it… )
