Wow. I cannot believe how little I remember how to navigate this type of social media. I spent a decade at least on livejournal! And yes, everything is just a little different here, but still.

Is anyone even still out there? 

Is Dreamwidth finally gonna recapture the glory of the LJ days? Who knows? Not me! 

Anyway, hi, everyone. I'm still here. Hope you are all well.

I bought a kindle a while ago and I am still muchly enjoying it. I kind of hit that slump where I wasn't sure what to read though, and someone somewhere mentioned The Queen's Thief series, and seeing as how I generally enjoy YA quasi-fantasy quasi-historical stuff I thought I might give it a go. The first book, The Thief, was slow going for me at first. (It's the first person thing. I know, I know, we've all done it, it's like the natural starting place for writing narratives, but it generally takes a really awesome story to make me get over that. I'm looking at you, Lady Julia.) Anyway, I kept along with the book with some determination at first, but eventually forgot to force myself to read. It really wasn't until the ending that I finally felt this moment of being impressed. Enough so that I immediately downloaded the sequel. (Oh, kindle, you are instant gratification at its most dangerous.) The second book in the series dumps the first person (thank god) and spends a lot more time with the awesome women of this realm. By the end, I was cackling with glee at the sheer pwnage going on. So, yeah. The second book was pretty damn awesome. Just downloaded the third. Fingers are crossed for more greatness.

So I finally finished all of Medium,( Spoilers for the Medium series finale. )

There's like only a handful of fic for Medium, which makes me pretty sad. Add to that the laws of fanfic percentages, and there are probably only one or two awesome fics out there somewhere. So the search begins.

Though I have already half-invented a fic where Jacob goes and haunts Ariel at school until she agrees to go down to DC and tell Jack about some imminent total destruction of Earth event. There will be a moment where Jacob says to Ariel, "You're talking to a dead person, and it's the aliens you're having a hard time with?" (Oh lord, add this to my pile of wacko cross-overs I am NOT writing. Right next to that Stargate/Leverage one.)

Now back to my help_japan fic and trying to get the next chapter of my Ginny fic at least off to beta before the movie opens tomorrow. Ha.

The internets are flowing these days, my friend. And with a surprising amount of SJ goodness. (Did someone put something in the water? Do it again!)

Pepper wrote more of her closet chronicles!! EEEE!
Best Not to Think About It by pepper_field  (SG-1, Sam/Jack)
In his defence, he hadn't intended to propose to Carter in a storage closet.
Oh, Jack. Hahahah.

black holes and revelations by cata_clysmiic  (SG-1, Sam/Jack)
It’s late and dark and as far as she’s concerned, the world has stopped for them (they’d done the Earth a few favors, it's time one was returned).
Sam angst, flowing prose, great imagery. What more could you want?

The Short Straw by missparker  (SG-1, Sam/Jack)
She hadn't set out to cheat, certainly, but had thought that she'd at least be able to interpret her own work in a way that would lead to victory.
I have no idea how I missed this Shades of Grey fic. It's awesome.

The Space Between by callie (SG-1, Sam/Jack)
There's a little space between them on the bed. Small enough to be close, but enough space to remind them where the line should be.
Death Knell hurt/comfort angst!

++

And in the category of "Yeah, you read that right":

Build Our House on a Mountain by annakovsky  and lowriseflare  (The Office/Dawson's Creek, Pam/Pacey)
Forced to be roommates. It's going to be a thing.
I can't say I am overly familiar with either of these shows, but man, just read it as original fic. I love the slow, gentle fall together. Sigh.

++

And in the category of "The most high-fuckin-larious thing I've read in a while":

Operation Hot Potato by Artaxastra (SGA)
Three missing dildos, assorted UST and lust, the entire cast....
Uh...Hahahahahahahaha. God, Lorne. I love you.

++

And in the category of "I almost fainted because I never thought to read a unbiased outsider view of fanfiction in my lifetime":

The Boy Who Lived Forever by Lev Grossman (Times Arts, July 7, 2011)
Right now fan fiction is still the cultural equivalent of dark matter: it's largely invisible to the mainstream, but at the same time, it's unbelievably massive.

Even though I laughed it off at the time and even took some time to mock it, this complaint comment I got a while back has been lingering and festering even though I hadn't even realized it. (Like the one I got last year on 'Rusted Wheel' saying what a shame it is that I'm such a lazy writer.) The more recent one accuses me of shirking my writerly responsibilities because I basically hadn't written what they wanted me to write and was rather writing, well, whatever I felt like. Which, okay, fanfic. And free will. And everyone being entitled to their opinions. But the thing is, these comments linger in the special snowflake writer brain. And the only thing to really suffer is my writing. Because I get in that head space where I'm subconsciously trying to please someone else and not just my muse, and that never works. Plus, I am also a contrary crazy person, so I'm simultaneously unconsciously sabotaging whatever the mean person wanted me to do just to be perverse and juvenile. (And petulant. How dare you have a negative opinion of me! *stamps foot* God, the writer brain is a diva.) Eventually I either figure out what I'm doing or just get over it. Par for the course, right? Only, I'm getting a little tired of it. I mean, I understand that people are entitled to say whatever they like about me. I'm cool with that. But I also need to stop letting these things hijack me. So. For my own future benefit (one hopes), here are the things I'm not going to apologize for anymore (even subconsciously):

( Three Confessions )

Though, I guess I may apologize for spending time I could have been writing ranting. Lol. *dives back into WIPs*

Let us not talk falsely by lyras  (Harry Potter, gen, Arthur Weasley, Pansy Parkinson)
Arthur takes a reluctant trainee out into the field, and encounters an old friend who has not been treated well by the wizarding world.
Oh, this fic. It's not just the characterization, not just the amazing back story for Arthur, the way Pansy is treated but not excused or whitewashed, this fic's magic is in the portrait of the wizarding world and the not so sparkly bits in its history. Amazing.

Knowing is Half the Batter by romanticalgirl  (Harry Potter, Ron/Hermione)
Ron's thinking that this is a Very Bad Idea.
Short, cute glimpse of Ron and his silly boy brain in all its glory.

Intermezzo by fialka  (Castle, Castle/Beckett)
It's over now, not even any strength left for shouting.
A little missing scene for the finale that is perfect and so definitely missing.

The Things They Remember by bethv2004  (Castle, Castle/Beckett)
The things they remember, the things they try to forget.
A 'Knock-Out' Post-ep dealing with the fallout.

This Wide-Eyed Wanderer (Just to Be With You) by urban_stoop  (The West Wing, CJ/Danny)
four times Danny went to Africa, and one time he stayed home
Great Danny POV fic that not only brings the textures of Africa to life, but really nails the character voices.

Playing the Game: Rules Are Meant to be Broken by justanotherjen (SG-1, Sam/Jack)
Jack visits Sam on Atlantis after she takes command. (With the premise that they didn't get together after Threads.)
Short, sweet fic.

And because I can't stop looking back at this and laughing over and over again. And every time I go back THERE ARE MORE. (I'm sorry, but the Ashley and squirrel hunting one is the funniest one ever. NO LONGER BANGABLE.) Hahahahah.
Texts From Last Night (Sanctuary Style)

I seem to have caught the plague. It's no fun. I mean, who likes to be sick, right? But usually I take illness as a sign from my body that I need a day or two of total wallow and relaxation. Only this is that one where you have no appetite and can't sleep and standing makes everything go dizzy. NOT COOL. What fun is staying home all day if you can't sleep for years and eat comfort food, or at least write fic? (Though I *may* have hallucinated an ending to the next chapter of my Ginny fic last night while I was not sleeping.) At least today I am upright enough to type on my laptop. So, how have I been keeping myself sane? Elizabeth Chadwick's Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion (omg, Isabelle, I love you.) Quite enjoyable reads, though as typical of historical fiction, there is a certain predictability and lack of...style in the books. (Though they would have been less predictable had I not read the afterword of the first book before reading the second. Lol.) Overall well done though. Other than that? Well, here's a hint:



OMG, streaming Netflix. You have reunited me with one of my childhood obsessions. The Young Riders! Josh Brolin, yum. God this show is cheesy, revisionist, white man apologetic, goofy, man-candy wonderfulness.

Ok. Time to lie down again before I pass out. Time for the next ep!

I was re-reading Linda Bedroll's Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife for the millionth time last week, and I'm wondering if it's strange that I want fanfic for this fanfic book? I want Hannah/Goodwin fic to be specific. Because...yes. That would be awesome. And despite the idea for a fic circling in my head, I have neither the writing time nor the period knowledge to do it justice. So, the search begins. I am already sure it is futile.

Speaking of reading... my kindle just arrived! Why don't more of you have your stuff up on AO3? Hmmm? It's time to fill this sucker with a metric ton of fanfic. Oh yes. *rubs hands together* What do you have on your kindle/eReader?

And last, but not least: another writing lesson I refuse to learn, or rather, am forced to relearn over and over again. When I am writing a fic, there is often a passage (or ten, depending on the length) that I absolutely love, one I feel completely encapsulates the point of the fic, that therefore becomes the default fulcrum of the fic. But, to put it mildly, I revise. I mean, the similarities between my first draft and my final posted draft are very few. (I swear, I should post a before and after one of these days. I think it might amuse you all.) So, I revise. I rewrite sections, I move scenes around, futz, futz, futz. And there is always this point where everything stalls out and I am trying to work that Perfect Passage back in to the Perfect Spot and it just isn't working and I begin to assume 1) my writing mojo on this story is stalled out, 2) the fic sucks, or 3) that I just need to let it sit and marinate for a while. But then after much hair-pulling and swearing and bitching to Trout on IM, I usually realize that it is Perfect Passage that is holding everything up. That Perfect Passage is stating the blatantly obvious that is better off NOT being said. Yet, the fic never could have evolved without it, and Perfect Words are rare and special and it is SO HARD to actually delete them, even for the betterment of the fic. So I am forced to remember all over again: the delete key is your friend. (As is the backup draft.)

*goes off to delete stuff*