FIAB Reveals!

FIAB revealed this Sunday and I am squee about my gifts! I got an entire treasure trove of beautiful fics and puzzles, all of which are fantastically in character and well thought out and a PLEASURE to read/solve. I kept gushing in DMs to my bff about how lucky I am and figured I'd share the wealth:

My Gifts:

In order of how they appear on my gifts page

Title: Where the Heart Finds Nourishment
Fandom: Dimension 20 - A Crown Of Candy
Ship: Saccharina & Caramelinda
Medium: Fanfic
Words: 2.9k
Tags: Deliberate Child Acquisition, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Family Issues
Summary: Saccharina is discovered by Candian agents and brought to Castle Candy as a child. Caramelinda deals with the child that's both the main threat to her own children, and the last connection to the love of her life.

My thoughts:

This was everything I could have hoped for! I love love love the political considerations and implications of Saccharina being recognized as Amethar's legitimate daughter. Caramelinda being a stiff royal and protective of her own children and worried about the line of succesion was so in character, and I love how this creator explored her relationship to Saccharina. I didn't even think about the connection between them re: Lazuli! It makes so much sense and gives Caramelinda a good reason to soften towards Saccharina where otherwise she's mostly a threat.

And I'm extra happy that I got to share this with my bff Kays because she shares my love for this series and Saccharina <3

Title: Feedback to NFG Conference 2023
Fandom: Guardian (drama)
Ship: Professor Zhou & Shen Wei & Li Qian & Science
Medium: In-Universe E-Mail
Words: 1.2k
Tags: Outsider PoV, E-Mail, Academia, Conferences, Humour
Summary: Dear Professor Zhou,
[...]
I was hoping you’d do me an additional favour and pass on this email to Shen Wei – he asked the attendees to send in any feedback at the last breakfast session, but understandably forgot to hand out or collect the feedback forms before the end of the conference. I tried contacting him directly, but I kept getting error messages informing me that my email had bounced. It’s nice to see that IT issues transcend individual universities!
[...]
Do PhD graduates at Dragon City university get swords??? That’s unfair; is it too late to switch universities? I want a sword as well!

My thoughts:

Absolutely hilarious! Outsider PoV is some of my favourite things, especially the misunderstanding types (the ice on the wall comment still makes me giggle!). Whoever my lovely creator is definitely has experience with academia because there were so many spot-on details, it was just luscious to read <3 Science shenanigans + epistolary style works so well for these sort of fun fics, and were some of the first I sniffed out when I joined the fandom, and now this lovely person created one specifically for me <333 so happy!

I hope everyone in fandom gives it much love! I will absolutely rec it on the comm next round-up post, and I already threw the link into the Dixing discord!

Title: Good Neighbours
Fandom: Grimm (TV)
Ship: Bud Wurstner & Juliette Silverton, Nick Burkhardt/Sean Reanard/Juliette Silverton
Medium: Fanfic
Words: 1k
Tags: Friendship, Neighbors, Established Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary: Just a simple morning for Juliette while her men are at work gets interrupted with a cute visit from the neighbors.

Title: Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown
Fandom: Grimm (TV)
Ship: Nick Burkhardt/Sean Reanard/Juliette Silverton
Medium: Fanfic
Words: 1.1k
Tags: Responsibility, With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility, Established Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary: Nick and Sean discuss responsibilities over a cup of coffee late one evening.

Title: In the Woods
Fandom: Grimm (TV)
Ship: Nick Burkhardt & Hank Griffin & Monroe
Medium: Fanfic
Words: 1.2k
Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Diplomacy, Interspecies Relationship(s)
Summary: Nick is on the job and in the forest with Hank and Monroe. Just an average day with the local Grimm.

Title: Being Home
Fandom: Grimm (TV)
Ship: Nick Burkhardt/Sean Reanard/Juliette Silverton
Medium: Fanfic
Words: 1k
Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Domestic
Summary: Sean reflects a little on the unexpected life he finds himself in.

My thoughts:

I love that these stories are standalone, yet interconnected that they easily paint the same 'verse into a fuller picture. Especially "Being Home" is great for connected the individual stories and picking up the same details again. The headcanon of Juliette and Rosalee making it a project to scan all the bestiaries and grimmoires is fantastic and works well with how research oriented they both are in their own ways in the show. The characterisations are great, too, and I definitely felt the character voices and actions reflected from my recent rewatch of the earlier seasons <3

I'm very curious to learn who the creator is! I don't know many people in this fandom, or who amongst them is in the exchange scene, but I want to read more of their stuff :D!

Title: Of Truths & Falsehoods
Fandom: Deja Vu - Dreamcatcher (Music Video)
Ship: Yoohyeon/Jiu
Medium: Logic Grid Puzzle
Summary: In a temple outside of space and time, four options present themselves before Yoohyeon. Only one of them leads to a happy ending. Solve this logic puzzle to help Yoohyeon choose the right timeline for her and Jiu.

My thoughts:

What a wonderful idea to use the idea of various timelines for this puzzle! The different deaths being one category really suits the MV's narrative and I love that the creator involved the other members (and at first I was sad that Dami was missing, but bringing her back in for the additional hint in case one gets stuck was a great idea!)

The puzzle was fun to solve, it wasn't too easy or obvious, and I had to think around some corners to figure it out without using the extra hint (and I'm smugly proud that I managed it :3). Using the "3 Truths and 1 Lie" device was really clever - but also makes me guess they're the same creator as the Hunter x Hunter one (and maybe, the INTO1 one, but not as sure. They do use the same interactive grid and hint in that one, but not the 3L1T format, though the last clue is an either/or 🤔)

Other Recs:

• this Guardian Logic Grid Puzzle of the SID's Secret Santa was delightful and not easy to solve! I took a leap to assume that "handmade" had to match "inkwash painting" at some point by excluding the other remaining options :')
• this Guardian fic in which Shen Wei makes sure ZYL eats well before they officially meet xD
• Foresight, a Kakashi & Obito & Rin & Minato-centric time travel fic that is exactly the right slighty crack-y, doesn't take itself too seriously vibe I love in Naruot fic!
• this post-canon YGO! Ryou/Yugi fic of how they get together in the aftermath of the anime/manga. Absolutely adorable!
• this A Softer World remix for NiF's Lin Shu/Mu Nihuang is an emotional gut punch
• this genderbent mdzs: f!Jin Zixuan/Mianmian/m!Jiang Yanli does a great job of keeping everyone in character while playing around with how gender would affect the characters
• cute art of a witch's cat napping on the witch's broom
• a steamy Good Omens A/Z fancomic, nsfw and very beautiful art!