Playing with words

So I’ve given myself some goals during this pandemic so I don’t feel like my life has become completely untethered. And I’m pretty introverted so I think I’m handling this better than say, my husband. I’ve homeschooled the kids before as we moved countries etc. too, so we’re used to keeping a learning routine and looking up stuff online etc. (There’s actually way more free resources now.) But keeping on trucking gets harder as the powers that be keep pushing the end date to this- I have been out of work now for two months. No new teaching contracts coming for obvious reasons. And my kids have been out of school since the end of February, and they are saying the return date is now May 10 instead of Apr. 19. :( Like it's starting to feel really interminable.

So here is a new to-do list now that I’ve finished Revelations and MMM. All subject to change as inspiration hits! Also I usually find PS edits faster to make than writing, but going through 8 seasons of GoT to cap relevant scenes is hard with the kids home. So right now:

1. Bend it- Arya/Gendry ATLA x GoT crossover. Bender tournament in Ba Sing Se.  Starks/Greyjoys are Water benders, Baratheons Earth, Targaryens Fire, Aryyn Air. Tywin Lannister as the conniving head of the Dai Lee and Robert Baratheon as the clueless Earth King- what could possibly go wrong? 

2. For the Dawn- Arya/Gendry follow-up for Bound. I keep stalling on this one. I think I just need to stick to it until it's done.

3. Promo edits for Speechless (Grey Worm/Missandei) and Conciliation (Sansa/Yara)

4. Discretion (Reeve/Rufus)- I finished one abandoned fic this pandemic. Want to see if I can make it two, especially with the remake revving up FFVII fandom again.

5. Fireworks (Podrick/Sansa)- post The Watcher (TTS-verse) and then they were penpals! 

6. Meta (mirrors as a metaphor for self loathing, redemptive arcs for male characters and why I freaking hate it when a woman is used as the primary motivation)

I've been meaning to write a reaction post to Grey's Anatomy 14x10 Personal Jesus because it was just SUCH an amazing ep and I hope it gets an Emmy nod because all three major storylines were relevant and wrenching and so well done- Sarah Drew knocked it out of the park! Here is an article on it. My very minor quibble is that the ep should have been named Losing my Religion. LOL I've been playing the song that played over the final voiceover on repeat because it is also FANTASTIC. 


Small personal note: I'm going to be switching with my sister as caregiver for my other sister (and her kiddo) this weekend, but it might mean I actually have more time to write again! I'm getting nervous about finishing my Chocolate Box assignment on time, but I REFUSE to default over 500 words! *determined*

Ganked from senmut 

I actually just looked at the numbers a few days ago, so this is good timing! (I'm nearing the end of my latest notebook, where I plot out fic arcs, bingos and GIFsets, so I wanted a summary.) Plus OTW is currently doing another drive for funds- I spend a lot of time on AO3, so I was happy to donate. One thing: I wish AO3 did stats by chapter, like ffnet does! 

Total: 31 works, 203489 words posted since 2013. In general: I write an average of 3439 words per piece/chapter (although they range from 100 to 8500 words), and I tend to complete one thing every three weeks or so. 

( Numbers blahblahblah )

Well, obviously my faves are either dead or asleep but if I know myself at all, I'm pretty sure The Originals is going to capture my fannish heart again once it comes back on tomorrow. So I'm going to try to focus on getting Halo out today because otherwise who knows when I'll update. (If ever.) Sorry Grey's- going to watch you later too, although this Japril publicity does have me intrigued. 

Anyway, here are Marcel-centric and Vincent-centric sneak peeks for TO!




One thing that has me ??? is Josh supporting Vincent instead of Marcel in the second!? What is going on with the power dynamics in NO? Also I can't wait to meet Hope, the character, not the object that must be projected onto/protected. :D

Still 5 clues left unsolved in the puzzle meme! Anybody? There are more clues in the comments for #3 in the LJ entry, if you're stumped. 

Also, went to a local fertility festival on Wednesday. Phallic shaped snacks, free sake and carved penises (and foreigners) everywhere! Gotta love living here sometimes! :DDD 

Happy New Year! Starting off the year with the snowflake_challenge .

Day 1

In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that you've created, or fanworks you feel no one ever saw, or fanworks you say would define you as a creator. 


I have 77 GIFsets and 7 fics to choose from in 2016, but I'll focus on 3:


The Martian: Newton's First Law

I'm really proud of this three parter fic because it has a great structure and heart. Also, the theme and conflicts are as science-y and detail oriented as the canon. Plus the love declaration in the second bit is pretty moving. ("This is what falling in love looks like.") I also tried writing in epistolary style for the third chapter and I LOVED IT. 10/10 would do again. Newton's First Law also does what canon (and fandom) doesn't: it focuses on the rest of the Ares 3 crew and the ground crew (although Watney is very much in character thoughts), it fills in that "7 MONTHS LATER" gap, and it challenges fanon theory about keeping Beck/Johanssen secret. I know Watney is everybody's fave, but I think even Weir understated how heroic the crew really were to come back for him.

( More on Newton's First Law )

The Originals: Dear Destiny, F*ck You

I'm proud of this GIF set because of the way the poem and the scenes match up so perfectly. (Also look at that crisp resolution and how I flipped and then merged two GIFs in the 6th!) I think even the text placement makes symbolic sense. 


Moana: Smitten

I was leery of writing this at first because I was really worried about disrespecting the tone and theme of the film. It's SUCH a fantastic movie, with themes about self concept and determination, the importance of family/culture and relationship arcs between family and friends. The heroine is fourteen, she doesn't need a love interest. 

But just as Moana itself solves a historical puzzle (Why did Polynesian explorers stop for 1000 years and then start again?) by mashing up Polynesian myth with an incredible OC, Maui's death myth seemed to be begging for a Disney-fied solve. One does not simply walk into Death's obsidian-toothed vagina without consent. (Also why the hell would he have expected to come out of her mouth? Wrong hole, dude.) Plus I love flipping prophecy on its head and canon fix-its.

( On Smitten )

So FFVII is getting a remake for PS4 and somebody read and reviewed Full Circle for the first time in years. So I re-read it for the first time in years and, wow: 1. The first chap really needs an edit. 2. I'm totally back on the Reeve/Rufus train somehow even though I have actually promised to write something else. Like flip-flopping plot ideas/character arcs in my head, fact checking and wondering where the heck I saved the files I had from 7 years ago. (Also it bugs me that I don't remember the title. Which is usually one of the first things I come up with when I get a fic idea.)

I always thought it was a bit silly, writers going on about their "muse", when really it was basically: this idea is shiny and fascinating right now and the other feels more like work/grind than writing flow. And then I think about this Jonathan Stroud pep talk for Nanowrimo where he just sits himself down and forces himself to write until he forgets that he wasn't absolutely dying to finish the chapter/edit/whatever and it's six hours later and he's got several pages (or at least a few lines) to show for it. And I'm all...oooh, but that sounds like it takes self-discipline... *edges away slowly and sees what TV I haven't caught up on yet* Also this TED talk on how stating your goals makes you less likely to reach them makes me wonder if I should have not said anything. Like I was a good 8 pages and an outline in and then I committed and now it's taken two months for two more pages...

So yeah, I totally feel GRRM on the ridiculous LJ output and zero Winds of Winter updates. LOL 

Well this is the first time I've tried to quantify all this fic writing so here are the stats for the year:

Fandoms written for: 2- this is a new thing for me. I usually do one fandom at a time, so this straddling business is a bit weird.

Fic written: 40240 words for HTTYD fandom, 5015 for GotG fandom. Both long fic and one shots. I'm proudest of the longer pieces, but Starry Eyed Waif was so much fun to write. LOL



AO3:


ffnet:





Like wow, that is a lot of views on Learning to Fly. It's still nowhere near Full Circle or Revolutionary stats, but hey. People are reading what I write. That's awesome. :D

Meta written: 2446 words for HTTYD (mostly posted on tumblr)

Goals for the new year: finish New Romantics and get cracking on the novel. Like, one thing about Learning to Fly and Treacherous: I wrote them like it was my job. I really have to start doing that for this novel, especially once kiddo number two is in preschool.