The Good Place and Yuletide
Sep. 29th, 2017 10:58 pmI just saw the second episode of the second season of "The Good Place," and OMG this show! I would say that I absolutely did not see that coming, but the truth is I absolutely never see anything coming on this show. It is continuously innovative and surprising in all the best ways.
In other news, I have a new job! I really like it so far, which is fantastic. But as I'm not sure yet how demanding it will be, I'm not sure if I should commit to Yuletide. I'm really in the mood to do it this year, though, especially as I didn't participate last year, and I see stuff in the tag set that I would like to request and offer. I guess I have another week to decide.
And, just to bring this post around full circle -- "The Good Place" is in the tag set, and I am toying with requesting it even though I have no idea how to request something that keeps upending everything you think you know about the show. Imagine if last year I had requested back story on Real Eleanor? Although she's become a very interesting character now, and I wouldn't mind back story on her at all this year, but it would be very different than last year's back story. At least, as of episode 2 . . . who knows where they're going with this whole thing? Certainly not me.
In other news, I have a new job! I really like it so far, which is fantastic. But as I'm not sure yet how demanding it will be, I'm not sure if I should commit to Yuletide. I'm really in the mood to do it this year, though, especially as I didn't participate last year, and I see stuff in the tag set that I would like to request and offer. I guess I have another week to decide.
And, just to bring this post around full circle -- "The Good Place" is in the tag set, and I am toying with requesting it even though I have no idea how to request something that keeps upending everything you think you know about the show. Imagine if last year I had requested back story on Real Eleanor? Although she's become a very interesting character now, and I wouldn't mind back story on her at all this year, but it would be very different than last year's back story. At least, as of episode 2 . . . who knows where they're going with this whole thing? Certainly not me.
Public Call and Yuletide updates
Dec. 3rd, 2016 05:56 pmPublic Call has started posting stories, and I am discovering the benefit of a low number of participants: there is an almost 50% chance that the story for me will be revealed next week! There is also an almost 50% chance that the story I wrote will be revealed next week. There is around a 75% chance that at least one of these two will be revealed next week. And, there is almost a 25% chance that both will be revealed next week.
I can't even decide which one I'm looking forward to more. My favorite thing about writing fic is getting the feedback, and I want the feedback! But then, someone wrote a story just for ME, and after shamelessly shaking tags, I am tremendously excited to read it.
In the meantime, I have started writing a Yuletide treat. Not sure yet if it will be long enough to go in the main collection or if it's going into Madness, but it's very liberating to not have to care about the word count. Also, I can laugh at the default deadline, muah-ha-ha-ha! In fact, I can miss the whole thing and still put my fic into NYR when it's finished, although obviously I would like to get it in by the 25th if I can.
I can't even decide which one I'm looking forward to more. My favorite thing about writing fic is getting the feedback, and I want the feedback! But then, someone wrote a story just for ME, and after shamelessly shaking tags, I am tremendously excited to read it.
In the meantime, I have started writing a Yuletide treat. Not sure yet if it will be long enough to go in the main collection or if it's going into Madness, but it's very liberating to not have to care about the word count. Also, I can laugh at the default deadline, muah-ha-ha-ha! In fact, I can miss the whole thing and still put my fic into NYR when it's finished, although obviously I would like to get it in by the 25th if I can.
What should I offer for Yuletide?
Oct. 4th, 2016 01:18 pmFlist, I am once again having trouble finding 4 fandoms to offer for Yuletide. So, I'm looking for suggestions! What should I consider offering?
My favorite thing to do for Yuletide is write humor, so I am particularly looking for humorous fandoms, or fandoms with a cracky premise, where recipients are pretty likely to be requesting something in that tone. I realize you won't know if I'm familiar with a particular fandom or not, but if you think of something, suggest it, because maybe I know it!
Basically, I'm asking: anything I might be overlooking in the tag set? Or any 5-minute fandoms out there that I should check out?
FYI, you can find the tag set here.
My favorite thing to do for Yuletide is write humor, so I am particularly looking for humorous fandoms, or fandoms with a cracky premise, where recipients are pretty likely to be requesting something in that tone. I realize you won't know if I'm familiar with a particular fandom or not, but if you think of something, suggest it, because maybe I know it!
Basically, I'm asking: anything I might be overlooking in the tag set? Or any 5-minute fandoms out there that I should check out?
FYI, you can find the tag set here.
Best laugh of the day
Sep. 23rd, 2016 12:41 amI was reading over at the ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
yuletide_admin comm, and someone mentioned a problem they had with one of their nominated fandoms getting categorized as RPF:
"I just noticed on my nominations page that birdsrightsactivist (Twitter) has had Real Person Fiction added to the fandom name.
I just wanted to clarify that Bird (birdsrightsactivist) is a fictional bird with a Twitter feed, not a real bird with a Twitter feed."
This makes my day, and not just because of own struggles with AO3 wanting to categorize my fic as RPF.
yuletide_admin comm, and someone mentioned a problem they had with one of their nominated fandoms getting categorized as RPF:"I just noticed on my nominations page that birdsrightsactivist (Twitter) has had Real Person Fiction added to the fandom name.
I just wanted to clarify that Bird (birdsrightsactivist) is a fictional bird with a Twitter feed, not a real bird with a Twitter feed."
This makes my day, and not just because of own struggles with AO3 wanting to categorize my fic as RPF.
Yuletide writing and wrangling
Jan. 8th, 2016 03:10 pmFor the first time this year, I wrote for a 5-minute fandom for Yuletide. In fact, it's really more of a 1-minute fandom; the whole thing is contained in this Tumblr post. The name of the fandom is "Incompetent Time-Travelling Saxophone Haters," and the conceit is that since Adolphe Sax (inventor of the saxophone) had multiple mishaps growing up, there must have been time-travelling saxophone haters out to kill him before he invented the saxophone, who must also have been incompetent because they didn't succeed.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lost_spook told me about the fandom when I was looking for something else to offer, and at first I was sure that I couldn't write for something like that, but after giving it some thought, I decided to offer it. I knew it would mean writing original characters, which I don't usually do, but I kind of like when Yuletide gets me to do new things, and as it turned out, my recipient's prompt really inspired me and it was one of my easiest Yuletide writing experiences ever. I also really like how it turned out: From the Desk of [Insert Mad Scientist Name Here].
Ironically, the fandom was originally wrangled with a parent tag under "Celebrities and Real People," and I was really afraid for awhile that I was going to have a repeat of last year, when I wrote Five(ish) Doctors Reboot fic that got wrangled as Doctor Who RPF, so no one could find it as its own fandom. I had visions of Incompetent Time-Travelling Saxophone Haters being renamed to "19th Century Belgian Musicians" or something equally obscure, which would also have been very ironic as Adolphe Sax isn't even a character in my fic. So I emailed the mods for the first time ever, and they were super nice and super helpful, and as a result, the fandom also got "Other Media" as a parent tag, and in the Yuletide collection the fandom actually appeared as it was nominated, which was a huge relief. Because, to be honest, I'm still not over what happened with my Five(ish) Doctors fic last year.
lost_spook told me about the fandom when I was looking for something else to offer, and at first I was sure that I couldn't write for something like that, but after giving it some thought, I decided to offer it. I knew it would mean writing original characters, which I don't usually do, but I kind of like when Yuletide gets me to do new things, and as it turned out, my recipient's prompt really inspired me and it was one of my easiest Yuletide writing experiences ever. I also really like how it turned out: From the Desk of [Insert Mad Scientist Name Here]. Ironically, the fandom was originally wrangled with a parent tag under "Celebrities and Real People," and I was really afraid for awhile that I was going to have a repeat of last year, when I wrote Five(ish) Doctors Reboot fic that got wrangled as Doctor Who RPF, so no one could find it as its own fandom. I had visions of Incompetent Time-Travelling Saxophone Haters being renamed to "19th Century Belgian Musicians" or something equally obscure, which would also have been very ironic as Adolphe Sax isn't even a character in my fic. So I emailed the mods for the first time ever, and they were super nice and super helpful, and as a result, the fandom also got "Other Media" as a parent tag, and in the Yuletide collection the fandom actually appeared as it was nominated, which was a huge relief. Because, to be honest, I'm still not over what happened with my Five(ish) Doctors fic last year.
Fic: Into the River (Press Gang)
Jan. 4th, 2016 03:09 pmTitle: Into the River
Fandom: Press Gang
Rating: All ages
Characters: Lynda Day, Spike Thomson
Summary: In the river, there are crocodiles.
A/N: Written for lordbeatrice for Yuletide Madness 2015.
Many thanks to my beta, lost_spook, who is also the person who introduced me to this wonderful show.
( story here )
Fandom: Press Gang
Rating: All ages
Characters: Lynda Day, Spike Thomson
Summary: In the river, there are crocodiles.
A/N: Written for lordbeatrice for Yuletide Madness 2015.
Many thanks to my beta, lost_spook, who is also the person who introduced me to this wonderful show.
( story here )
Yuletide reveals have happened, so I can claim ownership of my fic! Here's what I wrote for the main collection:
Title: From the Desk of [Insert Mad Scientist Name Here]
Fandom: Incompetent Time-Travelling Saxophone Haters
Rating: All ages
Characters: Original characters
Summary: It began, innocently enough, with an email address.
A/N: Written for team_fen for Yuletide 2015.
"Incompetent Time-Travelling Saxophone Haters" is from this Tumblr post. Thanks go to those people for creative inspiration. Thanks also go to Starrie Wolf for fantastic help on the laboratory chemicals used here for saxophone-hating purposes.
Finally, many thanks as always to Persiflage, my wonderful beta. Additional special thanks go to lost_spook, who introduced me to the Incompetent Time-Travelling Saxophone Haters Tumblr post.
( story here )
Title: From the Desk of [Insert Mad Scientist Name Here]
Fandom: Incompetent Time-Travelling Saxophone Haters
Rating: All ages
Characters: Original characters
Summary: It began, innocently enough, with an email address.
A/N: Written for team_fen for Yuletide 2015.
"Incompetent Time-Travelling Saxophone Haters" is from this Tumblr post. Thanks go to those people for creative inspiration. Thanks also go to Starrie Wolf for fantastic help on the laboratory chemicals used here for saxophone-hating purposes.
Finally, many thanks as always to Persiflage, my wonderful beta. Additional special thanks go to lost_spook, who introduced me to the Incompetent Time-Travelling Saxophone Haters Tumblr post.
( story here )
Sarah Jane Adventures for Yuletide!
Dec. 25th, 2015 01:45 pmI got not one, but TWO marvelous SJA fics for Yuletide. Best of all, they are both obviously written by people who know and love the fandom. There is more SJA fic in the world! There is more Gita!fic in the world!
The Kraftur, by Anonymous. This reads like an episode, and it's everything I love about Sarah Jane Adventures wrapped up in one glorious package. Really well written, interesting alien, great character moments for everyone, Gita saves the day, bonus Mr. Smith/K9 rivalry . . . go read it!
Alien Estate, by Anonymous. You're not supposed to have favorites in your Yuletide letter, but sometimes you can't help it, and I'll now confess that Alan selling his house to Gita and Haresh while hiding the neighborhood alien activities was my favorite out of the prompts that I left. And this fic fills it, with all the rompy fun I was hoping for.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to be re-reading both of these fics multiple times over the next few days. Apologies in advance for inflating your hit counts. :)
The Kraftur, by Anonymous. This reads like an episode, and it's everything I love about Sarah Jane Adventures wrapped up in one glorious package. Really well written, interesting alien, great character moments for everyone, Gita saves the day, bonus Mr. Smith/K9 rivalry . . . go read it!
Alien Estate, by Anonymous. You're not supposed to have favorites in your Yuletide letter, but sometimes you can't help it, and I'll now confess that Alan selling his house to Gita and Haresh while hiding the neighborhood alien activities was my favorite out of the prompts that I left. And this fic fills it, with all the rompy fun I was hoping for.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to be re-reading both of these fics multiple times over the next few days. Apologies in advance for inflating your hit counts. :)
( Face the Raven spoilers )
After all my hesitation about doing Yuletide this year and not being matchable, I got a great match and had the easiest writing experience I've ever had. My fic is back from beta and I think it might be ready to post. And it's not even December yet! How did this happen?
In the meantime, I'm late on my promised contribution to the 52nd anniversary fanworkathon atwho_at_50. Partly this is because I got on a roll with my Yuletide fic and didn't want to interrupt it, and partly it's because I have no idea what to post. My original idea was to do a kind of retrospective on SJA, talking about all the little nods to Classic Who (plus some big ones -- SO glad that we got the Brig in SJA!), but now I'm wondering if I should write fic or something instead. Of course, if I try to write fic, there's no telling how long that will take me. Except that I am apparently on a roll, as I just finished my Yuletide fic in record (for me) time.
After all my hesitation about doing Yuletide this year and not being matchable, I got a great match and had the easiest writing experience I've ever had. My fic is back from beta and I think it might be ready to post. And it's not even December yet! How did this happen?
In the meantime, I'm late on my promised contribution to the 52nd anniversary fanworkathon at
who_at_50. Partly this is because I got on a roll with my Yuletide fic and didn't want to interrupt it, and partly it's because I have no idea what to post. My original idea was to do a kind of retrospective on SJA, talking about all the little nods to Classic Who (plus some big ones -- SO glad that we got the Brig in SJA!), but now I'm wondering if I should write fic or something instead. Of course, if I try to write fic, there's no telling how long that will take me. Except that I am apparently on a roll, as I just finished my Yuletide fic in record (for me) time.Yuletide indecision
Oct. 23rd, 2015 03:17 pmI have enjoyed Yuletide every time I've done it, but I'm just not feeling the Yuletide spirit this year. I am especially depressed about the fact that no one seems to be sharing my fandoms. I know, it's silly to moan about the smallness of your fandom for a small fandom exchange, but here we are.
( cut for length )
( cut for length )
SJA is in Yuletide!!!!!!!!!!!
Oct. 3rd, 2015 10:30 pmSarah Jane Adventures wasn't a fandom for last year's Yuletide, and I'm not sure why, but I'd gotten it into my head that it had grown too big. Okay, I'm partially sure that it has something to do with the old AO3 cut-off numbers, which SJA was on the verge of reaching two years ago, but with the newer "1000 fics on AO3 plus ff.net" rule, it was eligible this year. And, probably eligible last year. Anyway, I checked the counts and confirmed that it was eligible, and nominated it . . . but I have to confess that part of me was still waiting to hear back that I was wrong, and it wasn't eligible after all.
Except MY NOMINATION HAS BEEN APPROVED AND HOORAY SARAH JANE ADVENTURES IS IN YULETIDE!
I'm definitely going to request it, but what should I request? More Gita!fic? I got some great fics two years ago, but then again, can the world ever have too much Gita!fic?
Except MY NOMINATION HAS BEEN APPROVED AND HOORAY SARAH JANE ADVENTURES IS IN YULETIDE!
I'm definitely going to request it, but what should I request? More Gita!fic? I got some great fics two years ago, but then again, can the world ever have too much Gita!fic?
Yuletide reveal
Jan. 6th, 2015 12:55 amYuletide is over, and I've posted my fic to my journal. The fandom was Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, which was a fandom I did have to think about before deciding to offer, as RPF is one of my squicks. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I really was completely fine with writing Five(ish) Doctors fic, because the characters are so obviously not meant to be the real people. (I'm pretty sure that John Barrowman is not a closet heterosexual.) Ironically, AO3 disagrees with me, and my fic is officially tagged as Doctor Who RPF, and although I did send a ticket to support about it, the wrangler refuses to change it. I guess, coming from the RPF side, Five(ish) Doctors feels like a cracky RPF sub-genre? I wouldn't know since I'm not familiar with the RPF culture at all. Anyway, hopefully the people who actually like Five(ish) Doctors will still manage to find it, and either way it's a Yuletide fandom, so the readership is bound to be small.
Once I got assigned Five(ish) Doctors, I had a blast writing it. (Well, except for the times when I got stuck, but that goes for all my fic.) My recipient gave me a great prompt, and told me to have fun, and I really did. And it's something I would never have written if not for Yuletide, which for me is a large part of the exchange. Even if it was once again Whoniverse-related, like almost all of the rest of my fic.
This time around, my fic actually was recced by someone on my flist while it was still anonymous, which was an interesting experience. Basically, I discovered that it didn't make any difference. I guess I've always felt that when I get a rec from someone on my flist, it's not because I'm the author, but because they really like the fic, and the only thing being on my flist contributes is that they're more likely to have seen the fic. So my reaction to the rec was feeling happy, but not at all "I can be sure they're not pretending to like it just to be nice because they don't know I'm the author." In other words, I don't think anyone on my flist is ever just being nice? ; ) But I mean that in the best possible way.
Once I got assigned Five(ish) Doctors, I had a blast writing it. (Well, except for the times when I got stuck, but that goes for all my fic.) My recipient gave me a great prompt, and told me to have fun, and I really did. And it's something I would never have written if not for Yuletide, which for me is a large part of the exchange. Even if it was once again Whoniverse-related, like almost all of the rest of my fic.
This time around, my fic actually was recced by someone on my flist while it was still anonymous, which was an interesting experience. Basically, I discovered that it didn't make any difference. I guess I've always felt that when I get a rec from someone on my flist, it's not because I'm the author, but because they really like the fic, and the only thing being on my flist contributes is that they're more likely to have seen the fic. So my reaction to the rec was feeling happy, but not at all "I can be sure they're not pretending to like it just to be nice because they don't know I'm the author." In other words, I don't think anyone on my flist is ever just being nice? ; ) But I mean that in the best possible way.
Title: The Day(ish) Night(ish) Time(ish) of the Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
Fandom: The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
Rating: All ages
Characters: "Peter Davison" (5ish Doctors version), "Colin Baker" (5ish Doctors version), "Sylvester McCoy" (5ish Doctors version), "Steven Moffat" (5ish Doctors version), other cameos (5ish Doctors versions)
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction, offered freely.
Summary: Steven Moffat wants to do another multi-Doctor special. Will Peter, Colin, and Sylvester get any voicemail messages this time? Read on, because this fic is not about some flash-in-the-pan 500-million-dollar picture! This is important!
A/N: Written for thinkatory for Yuletide 2014. If you've wandered in without knowing the fandom, please be aware that character names notwithstanding, this fic is not about any of the actual actors or creators of Doctor Who. These are parody characters who appeared in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. Which you should go watch right away, because the real Peter Davison (writer and director of that special) is a comedy genius.
Thanks go to Persiflage for the beta.
( story here )
Fandom: The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
Rating: All ages
Characters: "Peter Davison" (5ish Doctors version), "Colin Baker" (5ish Doctors version), "Sylvester McCoy" (5ish Doctors version), "Steven Moffat" (5ish Doctors version), other cameos (5ish Doctors versions)
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction, offered freely.
Summary: Steven Moffat wants to do another multi-Doctor special. Will Peter, Colin, and Sylvester get any voicemail messages this time? Read on, because this fic is not about some flash-in-the-pan 500-million-dollar picture! This is important!
A/N: Written for thinkatory for Yuletide 2014. If you've wandered in without knowing the fandom, please be aware that character names notwithstanding, this fic is not about any of the actual actors or creators of Doctor Who. These are parody characters who appeared in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. Which you should go watch right away, because the real Peter Davison (writer and director of that special) is a comedy genius.
Thanks go to Persiflage for the beta.
( story here )
Happy New Year!
Dec. 31st, 2014 10:07 amI'm going out of town for the weekend, and I may not have internet access, so before I leave, I'd like to wish everyone on my flist a very happy new year!
I'll post my Yuletide story to my journal when I get back, although if anyone wants to know which one it was before that, they can of course just go to my AO3 page after the 1st. If anyone wants to guess, I only wrote one story, and it was once again in a fandom that will surprise precisely no one.
I'll post my Yuletide story to my journal when I get back, although if anyone wants to know which one it was before that, they can of course just go to my AO3 page after the 1st. If anyone wants to guess, I only wrote one story, and it was once again in a fandom that will surprise precisely no one.
My Yuletide gift fics
Dec. 27th, 2014 10:16 pmI got "Curse of Fatal Death" fic for Yuletide! Twice!!!
One is this great Madness treat that takes a seriously brilliant, cracky premise and follows it through to its glorious cracky completion. (As a side note, I will never be able to use a whisk with a straight face again. Never.) Bake Cake Not War
The other is my main Yuletide gift, and it's as if my author looked at all the various CoFD prompts in my letter and said, "That's what you want? Okay, I'll give you ALL OF THEM." It's just completely ridiculous, and cracktastic, and full of win: title to be explained later
I've been having fun reading through the rest of the archive, too. As for the guessing game of Yuletide, I think that, for the first time ever, I might have identified the author of a Yuletide story before reveals. (Not one of my gifts, though; this is a completely different fic.) And, for the first time ever, I'm wondering if I've been identified by someone as the author of my fic. Wondering about that is almost as much fun as wondering if I'm right about my own guess. Even if it means that I wasn't very stealthy this time around. (I wasn't very stealthy. I am never very stealthy. I have lack of stealth.)
One is this great Madness treat that takes a seriously brilliant, cracky premise and follows it through to its glorious cracky completion. (As a side note, I will never be able to use a whisk with a straight face again. Never.) Bake Cake Not War
The other is my main Yuletide gift, and it's as if my author looked at all the various CoFD prompts in my letter and said, "That's what you want? Okay, I'll give you ALL OF THEM." It's just completely ridiculous, and cracktastic, and full of win: title to be explained later
I've been having fun reading through the rest of the archive, too. As for the guessing game of Yuletide, I think that, for the first time ever, I might have identified the author of a Yuletide story before reveals. (Not one of my gifts, though; this is a completely different fic.) And, for the first time ever, I'm wondering if I've been identified by someone as the author of my fic. Wondering about that is almost as much fun as wondering if I'm right about my own guess. Even if it means that I wasn't very stealthy this time around. (I wasn't very stealthy. I am never very stealthy. I have lack of stealth.)
Stop-and-go Yuletide
Nov. 13th, 2014 12:42 amMy Yuletide fic is driving me slightly crazy. I get an idea for the next bit, I write it, then I get stuck. Then I'm stuck, stuck, stuck . . . then I get an idea for the next bit, I write it, then I'm stuck again. It's like my muse is wading through a pool of treacle or something.
On the bright side, I've passed the magic 1,000-word mark, and it's only mid-November, so odds are it'll actually be finished early despite the crazy stop-and-go progress. I just wish I could keep the writing going for more than a small bit at a time. Flow, damn you, flow!
On the bright side, I've passed the magic 1,000-word mark, and it's only mid-November, so odds are it'll actually be finished early despite the crazy stop-and-go progress. I just wish I could keep the writing going for more than a small bit at a time. Flow, damn you, flow!
Yuletide reveal
Jan. 3rd, 2014 12:26 amYuletide is over, which means I can now reveal that I wrote The Recorder in the Room, a Sarah Jane Adventures fic. My recipient requested a fic on the development of Rani and Clyde's romantic relationship, which was a bit of a challenge for me because although I do ship them, I also am not someone who generally writes shippy fic. The result is probably the least romantic fic ever written about a romance, but fortunately my recipient seemed to like it, so whew!
It turns out that one of my gift fics was from someone on my flist,paranoidangel42, who wrote me fic about Gita saving the world after reading my two recent fics about Gita saving the world. We have now decided that Gita Saving the World should be A Thing, and so I am hereby Declaring It So. There is even a Teaspoon series for it, here. If anyone reading this is inclined to write fic about Gita saving the world -- and you know you want to *g* -- please feel free to add your fic to the series.
It turns out that one of my gift fics was from someone on my flist,
paranoidangel42, who wrote me fic about Gita saving the world after reading my two recent fics about Gita saving the world. We have now decided that Gita Saving the World should be A Thing, and so I am hereby Declaring It So. There is even a Teaspoon series for it, here. If anyone reading this is inclined to write fic about Gita saving the world -- and you know you want to *g* -- please feel free to add your fic to the series.
