schneefink: stickers for all five seasons of the Life series (Life Series stickers)
2025-01-03 04:36 pm
Entry tags:

Wild Life #6-#8

Finally, about a month late, my notes for the last three episodes of Wild Life.

Episode 6: the wild life attacks )

Episode 7: Superpowers! )

Episode 8: Make it wild )

That was Wild Life! It was fun and I enjoyed it a lot. I watched several PoVs for each session, it varied but maybe around half on average, and I'm sure I missed some funny moments and good videos but unlike when Secret Life came out I was working this time.

I also really enjoyed the Wild Life recap on the Imp & Skizz podcast with Grian. It answered important questions like "were the superpowers randomly assigned" (answer: not all of them) and gave nice behind the scenes insights. There was a much bigger team this time for all the data packs and mods and art etc., as already seen in Grian's credits. If there will be another season – which I think everyone wants, including Grian, but we'll see – I think it will be around the same time next year, not sooner.
schneefink: Hotguy and Cuteguy thumbsup (Hermitcraft Hotguy and Cuteguy)
2025-01-01 04:58 pm

More MCYT recs from December: 7x fic + 1x comic + 4x art

Back in 2017 I made advent calendar recs for DD and I have thought about doing them again since but never really found the right incentive, and especially recently because most of what I read is MCYT, a fandom few people here are into.
Then I got the idea to do it on Tumblr instead since the MCYT fandom there is a lot bigger, and I enjoyed that a lot. Sometimes I could even tag the author of a fic directly, that was nice too.
I slightly underestimated how much effort it took. Fortunately I could copy many recs I'd made here before, that made it easier. The others I'll now copy over here.
Complete list on Tumblr

2024 MCYT advent calendar recs, ft. 8 new recs )


I also signed up to rec Life Series art for [community profile] fanart_recs in the last month of assigned fandoms before it switches to open posting in 2025. Copying those here too:
4 Wild Life fanart recs )


Additionally I also did FIAB recs in December, the last of my regular once monthly rec posts, so overall I'm very happy with myself for how many recs I did in 2024, and December in particular. Fingers crossed I'll be able to keep it up in 2025!
schneefink: River walking among trees, from "Safe" (Default)
2024-12-10 09:35 pm

December recs: 8x FIAB

I had a busy week and then I got so distracted by MCCI fishing that I didn't even post about FIAB yet (nor read or commented as much as I wanted, or do Christmas shopping...)

I got two great gifts:
somewhere a clock is ticking by [archiveofourown.org profile] Odaigahara, Life Series SMP
10.9k, gen, Grian & Cleo & Etho, space AU
Summary:
Scar had sounded friendly, over the comm. Delighted to hear Grian’s voice, the longing of a terraformer who’d been stuck away from living planets for ages creeping into his tone. Wait, Grian, are you coming in person? Can’t you stretch your delivery window a little? We could always say there were asteroid beasts trying to eat us. Etho would back me up, and it’s not like they could extend our contracts–
If there’s asteroid beasts, I’m staying right in my pilot’s seat where I can flee them in style,
Grian had retorted.
No, no, only good things here, Scar had protested, the reports of beasts have been greatly exaggerated, and you know, we have algae, we all like algae, we’re all about eating your greens–
Scar had aimed for Grian’s center of mass. His stunner had been set one level below lethal. If it had hit where he was aiming, Grian would’ve had worse heart palpitations than this, bordering on deadly. Trouble breathing.
Certainly trouble escaping.
Why I love it: The worldbuilding is very smart and cool, the action and tension work so well, the character voices are excellent, the mix of serious and banter is great, the writing is so good and so is the pacing, many feelings. (Do mind the "ambiguous ending" tag!)

How to tell if Etho likes you? Asking for a friend by [archiveofourown.org profile] alice_not_alice, Hermitcraft SMP
1.2k, Etho & Scar & ensemble, Hermitcraft season 10
Summary: “I have a question. Don’t ask me why I need to know, that knowledge lies beyond the realm of any mortal mind. My question…is this: how do you tell whether or not Etho likes you?”
Why I love it: This is very sweet and touching, so many of the answers and interactions were absolutely perfect, and the ending is great.

So it has been a very good FIAB for me. I got a very nice comment from my recip on one of my stories; not yet on the other work but I did get some comments from other people which helped me rein in my anxious impatience.


Plus, some recs for FIAB works not for me: 2x Hermitcraft, DSMP, 2x Star Wars, Naruto )


I don't really understand why I got so into MCCI fishing (but at least it happened to many people.) MCCI fishing )
schneefink: stickers for all five seasons of the Life series (Life Series stickers)
2024-11-17 07:55 pm
Entry tags:

Wild Life

I haven't posted anything about Wild Life so far, not because I dislike it – I enjoy it a lot! – but because there is so much, and I don't even manage to watch all the episodes I want to. But I do need to scream about session five so I'll do that, and add some shorter notes about the other episodes that I may or may not expand upon later.
In general I really enjoy the different wild cards every session, the pacing fits, I love the teams, I enjoy all the call-backs to previous seasons, I'm having a great time.

Episode 1: Size Matters )

Episode 2: Om Nom Nom )

Episode 3: HOW many deaths? )

Episode 4: a little bit slower )

Episode 5: Do you still remember… )

I very much look forward to the next sessions! :D
schneefink: River walking among trees, from "Safe" (Default)
2024-10-18 11:22 pm

Hades 2 update + "Real Life"

The first major update for Hades 2 came out and it's great, I love the new boss especially. Hades 2 spoilers )


New Life series starts tomorrow!, I'm very excited.
That reminded me that I completely forgot to post here about Real Life, the surprise one-off April Fools special where they all played Minecraft in VR and it was great.
Some of my favorite moments: Real Life spoilers )
schneefink: Hotguy and Cuteguy thumbsup (Hermitcraft Hotguy and Cuteguy)
2024-09-23 09:12 pm

September recs: Hermitcraft/Life series zines

I recced the HotGuy Comics Zinethology last month, and that reminded me that there are other similar projects in the Hermitcraft/Life series fandom (if not quite at the same scale.) They are all so cool! I don't recall these being such a big thing in any other fandom I've been in. Maybe that's a coincidence of which fandoms I've been in or maybe they really are especially popular in this corner, but either way I enjoy it.
Have a few recs for some of my other favorites, in addition to HGCZ. They're all made by many, sometimes dozens of people, so I'm not mentioning authors.
As for canon knowledge required, yes to fully enjoy it but the art is gorgeous either way. With the exception of the Scarland art book I think, I would be curious to hear impressions from people unfamiliar with the fandom.

The Art of Scarland – A Community's Imagination
An art book for the theme park Scar built on Hermitcraft season 9. Scarland is a gorgeous build and this is a fantastic art book that covers so many things from history to architecture to festivals to merch. It's so pretty and so well thought out! I want to visit. Finding all the other Hermits (and others from MCYT) with their own roles and/or as visitors was also fun.
You can download it for free, but they even made a physical version benefitting charity that's now on my bookshelf (with bonus pretty stickers and a postcard!)

The Hermit Arcana
A fan-made Hermitcraft tarot deck! The art is gorgeous and very cool and the subject choices are inspired. Each card comes with an explanation of why the motive was chosen. I showed a fannish tarot deck (Hades-inspired iirc) to DD once, who's into tarot, and she said that while it was very pretty the subjects for the cards were chosen for the names of the cards and didn't fit the meanings at all; I don't know enough about tarot to judge these ones but the explanations make sense to me.
(They just started an interest check for a physical edition here.

Hermitzine 9: H is for Hermitcraft
The 9th (!) and latest edition of Hermitzine, a project that has been ongoing since 2019. This edition is structured like a children's alphabet book and features beautiful and cute art from several seasons as well as stories, and poems (!), and more.
For both this one and the next one I haven't read most of the older editions yet but I'm sure they're also very cool.

Traffic Zine 5th Edition | Secret Life
The fifth and latest edition of the Traffic Zine (started back when the series was still more often referred to as Traffic rather than Life series), featuring absolutely fantastic art and good stories about the best moments from Secret Life.

Hermitcraft Season 9 Zine
Absolutely fantastic art and good stories (yes I'm repeating myself but so what), this time about the best moments and builds etc. from Hermitcraft season 9.

There are more than these, e.g. the GeminiTay fanzine, the Hermit Horror Zine and the Hermitcraft Colouring Book - I just discovered these and have not had time to properly look through it yet but they look very cool, especially the horror one. And more are currently being worked on, e.g. HermitPost. So many talented fans in this fandom (including many people great at organizing, clearly, which is a very important skill), it's great.
schneefink: River walking among trees, from "Safe" (Default)
2024-09-06 10:43 pm

FIAB letter

Hi! I'm very excited for FIAB :D

General )

Life Series SMP )

Hermitcraft )
schneefink: Hotguy and Cuteguy thumbsup (Hermitcraft Hotguy and Cuteguy)
2024-08-27 09:50 pm

August recs: 4 fics from MCYTBLR AU Fest Summer 2024, + HGCZ

Wdym leaving fic comments does not count as being productive when I should be studying or doing chores, mean.


For my August recs, first 4 recs of my favorite stories from the MCYTBLR AU Fest Summer 2024, and then the Hotguy Comics zinethology, all of which require no canon knowledge.

a faerie AU, a mech AU, a cyberpunk AU, and a zombie apocalypse AU walk into a fandom... )


The HOTGUY COMICS Zinethology by the hgcz team and contributors (Hermitcraft)
410 pages of comics fics and art, gen, Scar & Grian et al, superhero AU
Summary:As with all tales, this one is a labor of love; inspired by the character Hotguy from GoodTimesWithScar, HOTGUY COMICS is an original Hermitcraft au told seamlessly across nearly 60 separate contributors. In it, we give you a peek into the life of Scar Goodtimes, a B-list actor aiming for vigilante fame. With his trusty bow in hand, Scar is ready to take on the dazzling metropolitan streets of Hermitopia—and the villains within—while meeting a few allies along the way.
Why I love it: It's finally out!! They decided to call this a zinethology when it became far too big to be called a zine and that was a good decision imo. It's in turns hilarious, warm, exciting, and/or angsty, with great worldbuilding and storytelling and fantastic art and writing, and just overall excellent. I really love the in-universe social media too.
(My new icon is from the additional merch folder btw.)
schneefink: River walking among trees, from "Safe" (Default)
2024-08-19 10:04 pm

Trip return + Battleship stories

I'm back home from Scotland! The flight back was delayed and I arrived at 2am and had to go back to the office the same day, but at least unlike on the flight there they didn't leave my baggage behind this time.

Worldcon was fantastic, and traveling through Scotland with LB afterwards was also great. I have so much to talk about!
Sadly on the second to last day I tripped and fell while running to catch a bus, scratching my glasses (not bad fortunately) and scraping up my chin, knees, and hands, so now typing is uncomfortable and the long con & travel report will have to wait. But [community profile] battleshipex revealed while I was away and I want to finally post about the four fics I wrote for it.

Shiny Things For Your Bird (Hermitcraft)
Mumbo/Grian/Scar, 862 words, fluff
Summary: Three weaknesses Grian's boyfriends take advantage of and one they don't.
Author's Notes: Look, "buttons," "birdification" and "volcano" were all on the board, of course I had to write about Grian. Not something I would have written otherwise most likely but I think it's sweet.

Four Double Victories (Life Series – Third Life)
Grian/&Scar, 893 words, canon divergence AUs
Summary: Three universes in which Scar won Third Life, and one in which he didn't.
Author's Notes: There was a prompt for Scar/Grian, 3+1, and desert, and then I added betrayal and wrote some Third Life finale AUs, that was fun.
Also, my fic #100!

Once More, With Fewer Secrets (Life Series – Secret Life)
Etho & ZombieCleo, 1k, time travel
Summary: At the start of Secret Life, Cleo offers Etho some insight into the future.
Author's Notes: I've wanted to write Etho & Cleo Secret Life fic for a while (THEM) and I'm glad I finally did. With bonus outsider PoV on time travel, too, and I think it came out well. (Next step: fic ft. the full Roomies.)

Claw Out Your Eyes And Devour You (Hades 2)
~Scylla/Melinoe, 1.4k
Summary: The witch lady is Scylla's favorite fan.
Author's Notes: I saw "mermaids" on a board square and wondered which of my fandoms have canonical mermaids and then what kind of prompts there were, and, well. Another fic I didn't expect to write but I had a lot of fun with it and I'm happy with how it came out.
schneefink: (Hängebrücke)
2024-01-31 09:57 pm

post-Secret Life fic: Various Ways to Victory

Various Ways to Victory (Life Series/Hermitcraft)
1.9k, Pearl & Scar gen, post-Secret Life
Summary:

Spoilers for Secret Life
"You let me win, didn't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Pearl said immediately.

Pearl and Scar talk about their final fight in Secret Life and about their respective victories.


I wrote something! Quickly, too: first draft in one day, substantial edits on day two after some helpful feedback, and only minor edits in the few days after that. I really wanted this fic to exist so I had to do it myself, and I think it does what I wanted it to.

Number 99 of my fics published on AO3! I wonder what #100 will be...
schneefink: River walking among trees, from "Safe" (Default)
2024-01-29 11:18 pm

January recs

January was very busy so I ran out of time to make the long Hermitcraft fic rec list I wanted to make. (Season 10 starts soon! Very exciting.) So instead you get a random assortment of fic I read recently, plus one vid.
That was harder than I thought because it turns out the majority of what I read are WIPs, and I don't like to rec those just in case I don't like the ending later on. But I like the idea, I hope I will remember to log fics to rec as I'm reading more regularly and then just sort them by month instead of of waiting until I find some that fit together somehow. (Unless I have many of a specific fandom or something obvious like that.)

This also fulfils [community profile] snowflake_challenge #13, "Make a rec list." I haven't really had the time to go through other people's snowflake entries yet, much less do more of the challenges myself, I will just have to catch up later.

Misc. recs: Goncharov, Flash/Legends of Tomorrow, and Vorkosigan Saga fic + Life series vid )
schneefink: stickers for all five seasons of the Life series (Life Series stickers)
2024-01-27 05:55 pm
Entry tags:

Secret Life #8 + #9

Fiinally. Took me over a month to finish my notes on the last two episodes. Otoh no wonder, it's over 8k in total. Maybe I'm overdoing it but rereading my favorite parts makes me happy and I had so many favorite parts.
Writing the notes also gave me a fic idea and now a few days later I have a complete first draft already, I hope I can finish that soon.

Episode 8 – calm before (and after) the storm )


Episode 9 – Final Battles )


To sum up, that was another fantastic season that I enjoyed a lot. The Roomies are maybe my favorite team of the series so far, contending with the Clockers.
Fingers crossed there will be a next season! Apparently Jimmy said Grian might already have ideas? So far every new season had a completely new mechanic that I would not have anticipated at all so I'm very excited to see what else Grian has in store.
schneefink: Scarland castle (Hermitcraft s9) with the sun shining through it (Hermitcraft Scarland)
2023-12-18 05:03 pm

FIAB fic I wrote

The only reason why I dared to sign up for [community profile] ficinabox despite the intimidating 10k wordcount requirement was because it's possible to split those 10k up into multiple fic and even, with swap requests, multiple recipients. I ended up writing two stories.

Preparations for a Perfectly Normal Diplomatic Visit for [archiveofourown.org profile] bloop_im_a_frog_now, Hermitcraft
2.7k, pre-ZombieCleo/GeminiTay, royalty & fantasy AU
Summary: King Cleo awaits Princess Gem's perfectly normal diplomatic visit. Nothing is going to go wrong. Definitely not. (Literally jinxed.)

Author's notes: I'm very happy with this one. I like my AU casting choices, I think I did a good job with the character voices, and I think it's funny, which isn't something I write often so I'm pleased with how this turned out.

Loop One Alliance for [archiveofourown.org profile] jaysflight, Life Series SMP
8k, Impulse&Bdubs, Double Life time loop
Summary: Double Life plays again. And again, and again, and each time the bonds of fate are woven differently.
Impulse is the only one who remembers his marriage to Bdubs, but he can't just put it behind him.

Author's notes: I really like this idea but I found it difficult to write. Ultimately I'm satisfied with how it came out but I think it could easily have been longer to really dig into the different character relationships. (Though then that may have been too meandering, idk.) I think I did a good job with the angst for Impulse and I really enjoyed getting to play with several different soulmate pairings. I'm also happy with my solution for how they get out of the time loop.

Tbh I'm not sure I'll sign up for FIAB again, it was very stressful, but I don't regret that I did.
schneefink: stickers for all five seasons of the Life series (Life Series stickers)
2023-12-07 05:48 pm
Entry tags:

Secret Life #5-#7

I'm still recovering from being sick, but I wanted to post my notes for the last three SL episodes before the new one (hopefully not the last one) comes out tomorrow.

Session 5: Be Nice To Bdubs Day )

Session 6: The Hills Are Alive... With Screams )

Session 7: The Apocalypse )
schneefink: Scarland castle (Hermitcraft s9) with the sun shining through it (Hermitcraft Scarland)
2023-12-03 11:25 pm

FIAB is open

[community profile] ficinabox is open and I got so many wonderful treasures! And that after I resigned myself to maybe not getting a gift at all because I was a very late PH and had only requested two fandoms. Lucky me! Behold my riches:

waiting for the fog to lift by [archiveofourown.org profile] Odaigahara, Hermitcraft SMP
2.6k, gen, Etho & Cleo, amnesia
Summary: The zombie definitely saw him, but she just stood at the bottom of the ledge, not bringing out her bow or anything. Etho wanted to go down and stand close to her– she’d be the slightest bit taller, broader, with a cooler body temperature than his, she’d be relaxed as soon as she could see he wasn’t bleeding too much– she would not be those things, because Etho was letting his brain run away with him and this was one hundred percent a trick.
“There, is that better?” the zombie called up to him. Etho tensed. “I literally murdered those other guys, just as I promised I would. Are you finally convinced now that I’m not here to kill you?”

a few chance meetings by [archiveofourown.org profile] TheDepressedCanary, Hermitcraft SMP
1.9k, gen, Gem & Cleo
Summary: Gem was barely a princess when she first met Lady Cleo. Not sure how to carry herself, how to rule - all things Cleo knew herself.
A few conversations between two peers.

Rescue Run by [archiveofourown.org profile] melannen, Hermitcraft SMP
2.9k, gen, Etho & Rusty & Decked Out 2
Summary: Iron golems weren't people. That had to be fundamental, that they weren't even as sentient as villagers or Jellie. Etho had never been enthusiastic about iron farms himself, it was true, but if iron golems were people then Tango in particular was one of the worst monsters in all recorded history. So Rusty the Golem couldn't possibly be worried about Tango.

It Was Always Going To End Like This by [archiveofourown.org profile] HaroThar, Double Life
3.4k, gen, Cleo & Scott, time loop
Summary: Cleo has just finished Double Life, ready to move on to bigger and better---hey wait a minute.
Why is she back at the start again?
And, more importantly: Can she do things differently this time?
An exploration into time loop!Cleo and her relationship with Scott, were it to change.

choice and mercy by [archiveofourown.org profile] WolffyLuna, Double Life
2k, gen, Scott & Cleo
Summary: “Do you feel like you’ve died already?” Cleo asked.
Scott looked up at her from under his fringe, which still had its green streak. “No? Unless you mean—“ he waved his hand in the general direction of the shimmering barrier that marked the limits of this world . “Before before, in which case, yes? But you know that.”
Choice, death and memory.

The Mechanics of Opening a World by [archiveofourown.org profile] joju997, Life Series SMP
1k, gen, Etho & Cleo
Summary: Cleo and Etho have to do some prep work for the next Life Series.
schneefink: River walking among trees, from "Safe" (Default)
2023-11-30 06:49 pm
Entry tags:

November recs

Last day for November recs – almost done with the year! Pretty sure none of these require any canon knowledge.

solving counting sheep by [archiveofourown.org profile] Bee_4 (Evolution SMP)
78.5k, gen, Winter Soldier AU
Summary: Blade-Three, also known as Three, is the living weapon of the Watchers. Conditioned to follow orders, it is meant to use its considerable strength, combat abilities, and total loyalty to obliterate the enemies of the Watchers. Of course, the "following orders" part comes first, which is how, when Listener agent Martyn InTheLittleWood comes along with the right command words, he manages to steal it.
Now, instead of missions that make any sense, Three must navigate as Martyn and his roommate Jimmy attempt to teach it how to be human, or at least enough of a person to be itself. It would help if either Martyn or Jimmy knew how to be human either, and if they weren't falling apart at the seams after the death of an old friend.
(And of course, there's the matter of Three's original identity, a question no one thinks to ask...)
Or: in which Evo had a bad end, and five years later, the pieces that were left behind start to accidentally fall back together.
Why I love it: I love Three a lot. Three is the best. It tries so hard! If you have any interest at all in Winter Soldier or conditioned-living-weapons storylines, this fic is for you. It gives me many feelings and I have reread it several times.

TangoTek Evil Incorporated by [archiveofourown.org profile] onawhimsicot (Life Series SMP)
22k, Tango & Jimmy, superhero AU comedy
Summary: As the supervillain Dr. Blaze, Tango has a penchant for oddly named "ificators" and stylistic flair. He spends his days trying to take over the city, shaming superheroes for their basic costume designs, and then sending said heroes home with better equipment that actually matches their aesthetic because clearly, if he wants a cool fight scene to happen, he's got to do everything around here himself.
For some reason, not many people think he’s evil. On the bright side, his nemesis, the superhero Canary, does and has made it his personal mission to bring down Dr. Blaze! But when Canary suddenly goes missing, his superhero partner, Parrot, is convinced that Tango is at fault. Seeing as this is not true at all (kidnapping is so gauche), Tango is offended that someone is trying to steal his nemesis right from under his nose. If Tango wants to get his nemesis back, he'll have to work together with Parrot to find and rescue Canary from whatever danger he's got himself into this time.
Because, after all, what's a supervillain without a nemesis?
Why I like it: Enemies to nemesis to definitely-still-nemesis-and-not-friends comedy, this one makes me smile and laugh every time. Tango has his priorities, and those include being a supervillain with style, and that includes having a cool nemesis. Not his fault nobody else understands.

closer to another shore by [archiveofourown.org profile] remrose (Hermitcraft/Life Series SMP)
56k, Scar/Grian, fake dating, AU – modern with magic
Summary: "Scar?" Grian repeated, more shifting, like he was sitting up. Tired but gentle confusion in his voice. "Are you okay?"
Scar should've hung up. It was bad enough he'd actually called. He should've lied, should've said it was a misdial and pretended to be okay. He should've done a hundred things and he did the one thing he shouldn't, because despite everything that happened between them, Scar felt safest with the one who hurt him. He said, a trembling whisper, "No."
or: fake dating your ex, what’s the worst that could happen?
Why I like it: Great self-indulgent tropey h/c with plenty of angst, with bonus protective big brother Cub, and every once in a while this is exactly what I am in the mood for.
schneefink: stickers for all five seasons of the Life series (Life Series stickers)
2023-11-15 12:22 am
Entry tags:

Secret Life #3 + #4

I can do better when it is not past midnight but I was tired of not having any Life series icon. More random episode notes.

Episode #3 of Secret Life )

Episode 4 )

Excited for next week! This Friday I will probably have time to watch, which is nice.

Not on Saturday for the livestream with the guests on Hermitcraft for Decked Out 2 sadly, but for a good reason: Vienna Comic-Con is this weekend. I am working on an imagineer!Scar cosplay, it is coming along well and I am very excited.
schneefink: (FF Kaylee excited)
2023-11-01 05:08 pm
Entry tags:

Secret Life #2

Life series time is exciting, I look forward to every Friday for the new episodes. Though this weekend I'm away on a family crafting weekend so it'll be a long wait to watch.

So many favorite parts from session 2 )
schneefink: Taako looking excited (TAZ Taako excited)
2023-10-22 01:12 am
Entry tags:

Secret Life #1

The first episode of the new Life series came out! It's "Secret Life" this time. I didn't have time to watch immediately on Friday but then fortunately I didn't have any other (urgent) plans on Saturday.

many spoilers )
schneefink: Scarland castle (Hermitcraft s9) with the sun shining through it (Hermitcraft Scarland)
2023-09-03 12:26 am

Fic in a box

Hi! Thank you for creating something for me :) This is my first time participating in this exchange and I'm excited.

General )

3rd Life | Last Life SMP series )

Hermitcraft SMP )

I'm hoping to come back in the next few days to add a few more Life Series prompts too (not that I want Life Series less!, I just picked Hermitcraft to start with because I nominated fewer things), but tbh I might forget. I'm sure I'll enjoy what you come up with.