some tricky politics

• Dio is NOT dead! http://ow.ly/1LClH :D :D :D :D #

Mirrored from some tricky politics.

• Glad some zoos are starting to turn into conservation setpieces; assuages my guilt about going to look at imprisoned critters. #
• And while I loathe most of the perennial #BPAL favorites, I don't think I will ever get sick of Dorian. #
• You know, I honestly don't remember at this point if it's okay for me to make mp3s out of CDs I own. That's not good. #
• For funzies, check out the text of the international copyright act our governments are going to sign in a few weeks. http://bit.ly/9ZTkIE #
• For extra funzies, consider that "inaudita altera parte" means "without prior hearing of the other side". That side being you. #
• Also note that the US government was very committed to keeping this silent and that we only know about it now due to pressure from the EU. #
• And for those of you who don't believe ontological evil exists: http://bit.ly/91wVwI I think I have actually hit outrage fatigue. MONDAY. #
• I thought you were supposed to get more conservative as you got older. Yet I am gaily rocketing toward full-blown Marxism. #
• I just lectured someone on how capital was attempting to suborn their labor. Not something I ever saw myself doing, but I meant every word! #
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks makes me hope one of her descendants invents a virus that kills white people. #
• I guess I'm just furious this week. #
• @jimbrayfan I didn't even think of that! Has the ash scotched your plans? #
• Have been tolerating massage pretty well lately, but tonight killed me for some reason. Blech. #
• Finding cat vomit with your butt second thing in the morning: not a good start. #
• "It's a man's world, and sometimes… men make things that are stupid." http://bit.ly/9wpIjC Awesome tampon commercials! :D #
• Let's try letting the Canadians have Detroit for a year. It'll be fun watching their national crime rate spike within a day! #
• Have you forgotten about the West Virgina mine disaster already? Good! http://bit.ly/cTfRVM #
• Don't worry, though, soon there won't be any kind of better life for the workers to contrast their situations with. #
• Hey, the Deer Hunting With Jesus guy has a blog. Go get some learn. http://bit.ly/9t58IE #
• Awww, the man who assassinated George Tiller doesn't like prison. http://bit.ly/cR73qV #
• …aaand the oil rig decided to celebrate Earth Day by exploding. http://bit.ly/99ojPn Okay, I quit the internet for today, goddamn. #
• Was so sore at life today I had to see a cartoon to take the edge off. How To Train Your Dragon really is THAT friggin' adorable. #
• Also contains the only (arguably) tasteful boob joke I have ever heard in my life. #
• Former slave trolls the bejesus out of former owner. http://bit.ly/c7xHsd <3 If it is a hoax, it is at least a contemporary one. #
• A friend upon seeing The Neverending Story for the first time: "Is that Appa's gay uncle?" #
• @jimbrayfan The lingering terror of Gmork is enough to overwhelm the earworm capabilities of that song. #
• Mockingjay has been in my library's system for all of maybe 11 hours and there are already 26 (now 27!) holds on it. JFC. #
• #BPAL of the day is Embalming Fluid. I think this may be edging June Gloom out as my favorite warm weather scent. #
• I don't know what's worse: thinking your child is consciously choosing to rebel by being gay,or thinking the kid is possessed by gay demons. #
• The most petrifying trailer I have seen in a long time. http://bit.ly/cQAUb7 Way, way too plausible. Nerds tend to be Nice Guys. #

Mirrored from some tricky politics.

• Reminder: we only know about this because they're white first-world reporters. http://bit.ly/bJjgHm This kind of thing happens every day! #
• Y'all are looking at the new Johto champion. No autographs, please. #
• Will LOL forever if Pokemon Black and White end up featuring PokePETA as the villain team. #
• So apparently most of Poland's government just died in Russia. We are alarmed. #

Mirrored from some tricky politics.

• Happy healthcare day, Americans! It's better than a sharp stick in the eye! #
• If your go-to argument is a Star Wars quote, you really, really need to rethink your position. #
• I think one of my cats just put an actual sleeper hold on me. JFC. #
• #BPAL of the day: Candles Moon. Still excellent; the blackberry is becoming wonderfully prominent. #
• THERE ARE KOREANS IN MY DS. :D #
• Anyone know anything about this "Lady Gaga is bigoted against transwomen" meme I keep encountering? Is it just the joke from Telephone? #
• Beyond Heaving Bosoms has pretty much the greatest flowchart ever in it. #
• I just heard a commercial about using ass effects to treat ass and reflux disease. he;lp #

Mirrored from some tricky politics.

• I pretty much just want to crush all Americans over the age of 55 at this point. Get in the fucking chipper shredder. #
• Holy hell, it's MARCH! #
• Seriously, I lost a week, this is freaky. #
• So apparently, Lost Boys sequels = death. :/ #
• Love Never Dies has an aria about how awesome abusive relationships are. Literally and explicitly. Christ have mercy. #
• Y'know, I was trying to like it anyway, but after Beneath A Moonless Sky I can't even kid myself. This is SO BAD. #
• I spent two whole hours of the only life I will ever lead listening to that. I feel bad! #
• I don't care if it's racist, I will never stop being delighted by Engrish. My package is indeed glory; the happiness never surrenders. #
• I'm sorry I neglected it for so long; Super Princess Peach is really cute, and deeper than you might guess. #
• Mr. Victus and I are going to drink soda, eat candy, watch cartoons, and play with our new Pokemon tomorrow. #
• I can never decide if we are awesome or should be ashamed of ourselves. #

Mirrored from some tricky politics.

• Fuck me, I over-iced. :/ #
• Breakdancing Predators. http://bit.ly/aj3RXc #
• BPAL's prices have raised approximately 4% a year since the last price jump. Pretty reasonable when you think of it that way. :) #bpal #
• So bummed about Black Death. Almost all my favorite notes… with a hot mess of patchouli dumped on them. D: Maybe it'll age well? #bpal #
• My massage therapist has progressed to some serious Abu Ghraib shit on my knees. I didn't fight back or run away or anything. #
• This is one of the most amazing things I've ever done in my life. My knees have been murdered and are in hell being punished for their sins. #
• I now understand about hardcore martial artists training by beating themselves with bricks and metal pipes and shit. HOLY FUCK. #
• My Lupers are here! The only 'meh' is Signior Dildo; so glad I splurged on decants of bottles I didn't order. Candles Moon is amazing! #bpal #
• Epica's new album is p. much Consign to Oblivion, Pt. II. I am extremely pleased. #
• Joe Hill's Horns is an only slightly exaggerated version of what going out in public with Mr. Victus is like. #
• And, come to think of it, he's got stigmata scars. Hmm. #
• …and the one about his stigmata is my 666th tweet. :D I truly didn't plan that! #
• Greece really just needs to give Blackwater a letter of marque against Goldman Sachs at this point. #
• @jimbrayfan Yuck. :/ #
• Infesting a whole new media server. Mmmm. #
• The Victus technology standard: if it does not play my crappy old Subspecies .avis, it is unacceptable. #

Mirrored from some tricky politics.

• I knew we had to be missing a big chunk of the story about Macmillan, but I didn't think it would be THIS bad. http://bit.ly/9E3Oc1 #
• Roger Corman: making his own fun since before you were born! #
• It is amazing how much internet can sneak up on you in two days. #
• And in other news, people, cease carpeting your bathrooms immediately. It's really, really weird. Get a bathmat, goddamn. #
• I am ENTHUSED. #
• Savatage's The Wake of Magellan really is one of my best albums. 15+ years on, The Hourglass still makes me pick my head up. #
• In the desert, look for water; on the ocean, look for land. #
• So now Aang is not only white, he has crosses tattooed on him; good job M. Night! http://bit.ly/cyH6dH Damn shame, like the rest of it. #
• For every 1 person who dies in a terrorist attack globally, 58 people in the US die due to lack of healthcare. Invade a hospital today! #

Mirrored from some tricky politics.

• Displeased that it's a Barbie, but happy there's a Joan Jett doll. :) http://bit.ly/6SIfyl #
• Even Margaret Atwood hates furries! :D #
• My physical therapist is turning me into a masochist. #
• A school in California really did ban dictionaries. LOLing forever! http://bit.ly/8b39ng #
• Graveyard Strippers is not what you think it is. http://bit.ly/5KVQaQ #
• I will never stop being grateful that I got to grow up before the internet was really a factor. #
• Do you want to read about vampires having sex? Hope so, because that and The Victors are all that's getting published in 2010! #
• Well, okay, and Horns. And I think some of them might be about werewolves having sex. But Jesus, what an arid year it's going to be. #
• Today I saw a 37 page resume. You read that correctly. #
• I think I am going to write an instructional picture book for grown-ups called Everybody Fucks. Die, Texas, die! #
• Furry decapitates neighbor's pet dog. http://bit.ly/d2SVuN But it's just a harmless subculture! #
• I just had a straight-up Paranormal Activity experience. BRB, being scared forever! #
• Totally underwhelmed with this year's crop of Phoenixes. Surprisingly, I quite liked Tin; super lemongrass-y. #bpal #

Mirrored from some tricky politics.

• @jaborwhalky Get both in one! http://bit.ly/8RcAl8 I own a pair of the 40oz ones and they are pretty much the best things ever. #
• One of the cats has figured out how to slam doors when she's angry. This worries me. #
• Definitely going to Mardi Gras this year. Huzzah! #
• Still cannot get over the fact that the 11th Doctor is younger than me. #
• I am starting to believe in fibromyalgia. #
• I may have mentioned this before, but I seriously believe that Bentley Little is a joke the universe is playing on me. #
• He keeps getting recommended by people whose opinions I usually respect–and yet each book is more ridiculous and offensive than the last. #
• Putting on joint cream while listening to Devin Townsend sing about how great his therapist is. What a drag it is getting old. #
• What is up with realtors here having these incredibly sexed-up posed glamour shots on their websites? Seriously, it's creepy. #
• @jaborwhalky Otherkin are, sadly, very real. For extra trainwreck, look into otakukin! #
• My dream is that, one day, a knitter will show me something they've created without immediately pointing out every tiny mistake they made. #
• I am deeply petrified by the idea that I got better sex ed from Catholics twenty years ago than kids get from public school today. #
• The only thing better than having your own swift and winder is having somebody else to use them for you! #

Mirrored from some tricky politics.

Attempting to make a yearly tradition of this one as well.

I suppose the big statement for 2009 is: Man, I sucked. I try not to get hung up on wordcounts too much, but 60k is not a hell of a lot for me, particularly when you realize I didn’t do much other writing besides. I completely blew my Get Your Words Out challenge, I only managed to get a single chapter of the novel-length work I hoped to have completed done, and was just generally swamped. I even flaked on Yuletide this year, since I didn’t remember it existed until after sign-ups were closed; I actually had to go to radu_fics to jog my memory as to what I had written this year. I’m a mess!

The list:

Subspecies:
Limerence, Radu/Lillian
The Trick Is To Keep Breathing, Sophia
Cathexis, Radu/Lillian
Subspecies: Bloodloss, cast
Apologia, Radu, Mara
Amphictyony, Radu, Ash
May Your Sorrows Have A Name, ahem

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted?
Way, way less. I could offer a zillion excuses, all of them legitimate, but the plain fact is that fic comes dead last on the priority list. Sucks, though, as I have a ton of fun with it!

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January 2009?
Not a pairing, per se, but I never expected to have much to say about Sofia; she always struck me as the genre-required damsel in distress, which is how I picked her up in Bloodlines. But, as usual, once I got to thinking about it… that’s the thing I love about the Subspecies movies, everybody has pretty realistic reactions to things. Sure, she was petrified and traumatized and didn’t really have a lot of agency–do you seriously think you wouldn’t/would, if you were in her shoes? We’re also talking about a woman who had the ovum to pack up and move to a pretty sketchy place in pursuit of her art. There’s gotta be some depth there.

Then, of course, there is May Your Sorrows Have A Name, but I’ll get to that later on.

What’s your favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?
I like Limerence a lot, because it’s PWP that actually sort of does have plot (the world will never know how close it came to having to read a Radu/Lillian AU, but I eventually realized that would pretty much just be long-form creepy porn, and did not have the heart to inflict that on the internet).

I also think Amphictyony is pretty genuinely funny, but clearly, I am biased. Ash is another one of those characters that had to grow on me, but he’s just such a scuzz, I can’t help but like him any more.

Did you take any writing risks this year? (See above for unexpected pairings, etc.) What did you learn from them?
I am actually having a hard time fessing up to this–and since my rule of thumb has always been “if you are embarrassed to tell people about it, you shouldn’t do it”, the answer should be obvious–but I did start a story with a major OC in it. Yes, yes, I know. Me. Writing an OC. Yep.

And, of course, the problems inherent in that became immediately apparent. I sincerely do believe it’s a hell of a good yarn; but, at the same time, I found myself taking out more than I was putting in. Yes, when you’re talking about characters that live for centuries, they have a lot in their backgrounds; yet, with a little bit of massaging, this particular story would work perfectly fine as original fiction. And it probably should. But I envisioned it in this specific way, so… gah. Clearly I am still way on the fence about this!

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?
Bloodloss, Bloodloss, goddamn Bloodloss. This isn’t cute any more. Other than that, considering how spectacularly I failed to meet my goals this year, I am hesitant to set myself up for further disappointment.

From my past year of writing, what was…
My Favorite Story: Bloodloss. That would have been a stunning intro had I not immediately flaked and not posted the follow-up!
My Best Story: Bloodloss again. I always have a hard time with beginnings, but my God, I slaved over that. Count the callbacks and references in that one single chapter! I dare you!
Story Most Underappreciated by the Universe: Once again, I don’t really think I have one; tiny fandom = tiny audience. I suppose I would have liked Amphictyony to get a little more love, but it’s not like it got ignored.
Most Fun: Limerence. It’s pr0nz!
Most Disappointing: The Trick Is To Keep Breathing. The ending really sucks, and I am wholly aware of that, but I could not figure out how else to put the brakes on before it turned into a big huge story of its own, which I just was not gonna do.
Sexiest: Limerence!
Story with a Single Sexy Moment: Going to buck the trend here and say, surprise surprise, Cathexis. Beware what lurks in the subconscious!
Hardest to Write: Bloodloss was certainly the one that got the most effort, but I think Apologia was actually the most difficult to get right. Radu is really a horrendous excuse for a person, and it’s tough to inhabit that kind of headspace without going cartoonishly evil or falling back on comic relief.
Most Unintentionally Telling: You know, even throwing an OC into the mix this year, I really don’t think any of them are. The Trick Is To Keep Breathing, maybe, as I have certainly had some awful hangovers in my time, but I don’t think the rest of it is particularly clever. :)

Mirrored from some tricky politics.