The Blog

   Oh my goodness, you guys...

Anyone who has seen the Slipper and the Rose needs to go and read Fairy Godmothers and tell the author how amazing they are. Because it's just perfect.

(My own yuletide fic has also been well received. I can see why so many people have gotten involved over the years-it's so satisfying to write and receive stories for fandoms that you thought you were the only member of-and can't wait to write some new year's resolution stories when I go home.)

Labels: fanfiction, magic, yuletide

   Still lazy after all these years...

I've been in the UK a week, and how often have I blogged? Uh, not at all. :( Oops.
I did post some photos to flickr a few days ago, and I'm sure I'll find a few more to put up soon, but I just haven't quite been in the right frame of mind (or near enough to a computer) to do the whole blogging thing. (I did however find the time to get the first draft of my yuletide story done, so I should be able to submit that this afternoon after I go through it with a fine tooth comb and sick James on it to make sure the whole thing makes sense and that the crack is easy enough to follow.)

So in no particular order, a list of things that I've enjoyed so far this trip (which is not to say that I didn't enjoy the other things):

• Meeting James' Aunt Fiona, who I've heard so much about and reminds me of my Aunty Cathy.
• The York Minster, a giant cathedral made of awesome that was somewhat confused as to whether it was a medieval catholic church, a modern church of england church or a war memorial. Loved every second.
• Ice skating in York outside the castle. Magic.
• The Roman bath house at the end of James' street. Oldest building I've ever explored the foundations of.
• The walls of York, which interestingly enough keep the inner city a few degrees warmer than the outer (this may be psychological, and the difference between -1 and +1 C is not that noticeable at the best of time).
• The house in Ribchester - except when it's frozen because the boiler went into an alarm mode while we were away and it was bloody freezing when we got back. Jackets inside is not fun.
• My Fourth Doctor Scarf. I would have died without this.
• Marks and Spencer's. I don't know why, but I love it. At least the food hall anyway.
• Actually, all English supermarkets. They're great (and well heated so they're a good place to hide for a few minutes when you can't feel your toes *grins*). Oh, and they sell grog right there in the last aisle.
• The fact that in lots of places the frost doesn't melt until 3-4pm (after the sun has gone down).
• The fact that the sun goes down at 3-4pm.
• The Cold War bunker. Words cannot convey how awesome that place was. So creepy and yet fascinating. Drew would have really dug it.
• Stumbling across perfect gifts for my peoples in random little stores.

I'll try and do a nice long blog entry before Christmas.

Labels: england, holiday, what toes, winter wonderland, yuletide

   *snoozes*...

Subconscious decided that after a full day's work and 3.5 hours of tutoring sleep would be overrated, so now I look like a panda.

The workshop was severely overrated (I have no idea what they're talking about, so am going to hit the wiki and ask it). But I think it won't be too hard to catch up enough that I can understand tomorrow.

I wrote 500 words for yuletide, which is a huge improvement over the 0 I had yesterday (hooray for not understanding the workshop and being bored). Sure, it needs entirely too much editing, but it's the first writing I've done for any fandom other than DP for about 3 years, so I'm glad I'm writing at all.

Anyway, dinner now, then tutoring, then catch ups for tomorrow. And maybe I'll have a chance to do the research I need for my fic too. Sleep is for the weak and the tired, after all.

Labels: astronomy, losing sleep, yuletide

   Dear Legendary Writer Who Is Stuck With The Task of Writing For Me...

(For the rest of my friends: Yuletide is a multifandom secret fiction exchange for obscure or rarely written fandoms. I signed up as a challenge, because it's been years since I actively dabbled in fandom and I really wanted to get back into the fun side of it. Anyway, you guys don't have to read this, since it's just for my anonymous writer.)

Anyway, dear writer,

Wow, you like your fandoms obscure, don't you? Me too! *grins* I hope I haven't made things too hard for you with my requests, but just in case, this is a post with a bit more detail on my choices. This is my first time participating in yuletide, so I hope you forgive me for any gaffs made.

About me

I love fanfiction. All flavours, all positions, and I'll happily read and enjoy just about anything (well, anything except "Chibi-Usa's seventh birthday"-no, don't google it, losing your sanity isn't worth it and I was squicked by the summary). So I guess there's a not-too-far underage thing. Actually, I think that so long as the characters have hit puberty I'm good with whatever pairing you might decide to come up with.
I'm something of a happy ending person in my own writing, and I tend to lean towards preferring canon pairings by default. Then I get online, and I discover that the universe is full of the most amazing collection of weird-arse ideas, and they're all such fun to read. I thought that "Slave Bear of Care-a-Lot" was the most brilliant and disturbing piece of yuletide fanfiction ever conceived of, but on the other hand fluffy love stories make me smile all day long. And gen stories, things that might just be a moment from the original canon, something the author missed or just another perspective on the original text, how wonderful!
So when I said I was up for anything, I meant it. Go crazy. Yes, I put down suggestions for things to write about, but that's because I personally need more concrete ideas to work from and they were probably the first fics I would write in those fandoms if I ever get to them. If you have an idea for a story in the fandoms I've chosen that isn't covered by my requests, don't worry about it. Trust me, I will love it.
And if it's witty or humourous I'll love it even more, though again that's not a requirement. The *idea* of getting a fanfic written "just for me" is special enough that I don't care what it is.
Oh, I suppose I ought to write a little disclaimer: Please don't waste your time reading over my fanfiction here on my site. It's been years since I updated those pages and they really don't necessarily reflect me as much as they used too, since the majority were written over five years ago. My style has improved a lot too, in case the poor soul receiving a story stumbles across my site.

About the fandoms themselves

The Slipper and the Rose
I grew up with this movie. When I was a child we would watch a battered old VHS whenever we went to visit my grandmother. A few years ago my mother bought the DVD and we were amazed to discover the depth of colour in the film, as we was so used to seeing it in washed-out shades of gray.
It was also as a grown-up that I discovered just how very much was potentially implied by some of those looks John and Edward were giving it each other. (Though I dislike the implication that Prince Charming became straight for Cinderella, so maybe I'll just put that to one side and not think too much about it. (*smiles*)
As I said in my request, the Fairy Godmother is my favourite character, though the Stepmother comes a close second. Then Cinderella (though I do wish something would smack her upside the head sometimes when she's being dumb; on the other hand she's such a *nice* person). The Fairy Godmother is the person I try to channel when I rant, she's the perfect mix of classy and long-suffering. (Any of my friends who have seen Slipper will know that the Fairy Godmother is a grown up version of Palomene. You, dear author, probably have no idea who Palomene is, and should consider that a good thing.)

Frank Beddor - The Looking Glass Wars

I discovered this novel back when it was shiny and new and latched onto it immediately because I've always been a fan of Alice's adventures but thought there should be more to it. Or because it's published fanfiction, though I hadn't realised that before. As of this moment I haven't read the second book, but that's because I haven't found it in any Australian bookshop yet. But don't let that stop you, I've read lots of fanfiction for fandoms I've still not seen any of the original for.
The power of imagination is a theme that's always resonated with me, and I'm not sure why. But the theme I love best (that you might have spotted if you recognise any of my other fandoms) is the idea of someone traveling between worlds, finding a world that is more fantastic and amazing than the one they left behind and growing from the experience.
And of course while Alyss is a really fun character, and I wish I was more like her, I really wish I was more like Redd. She's a strong female rolemodel, even though she's a little bit evil and did kinda kill her sister and take over the world. The problem with teen fiction is that they don't let you dabble enough with the dark side of things, to see how easy it would be for any of us to fall.
Right now I really want to reread this book, but I think I'll wait and see, since I have a feeling you'll write something that will make me love this story more than ever.

Isobelle Carmody - The Legendsong

If I could change anything about my requests, it would be this one. Not that I want to take it back, I don't, I love these books and have read them so many times. And it's been so long that although I haven't read any fanfiction I really want to know what happens in this story. Anything, building on the world here.
What I would change was my request of characters. I put down Ember because she is the character that intrigues me most, but I think Glynn is my favourite. Or Wind. So I probably should have just put 'All', since I do love it all. I think I wanted one request to be a bit more specific, because I was tired of painting myself as a fanfiction whore. *grins*
Every time I read these books I discover something new I hadn't seen the first time. The first reading (when I was sweet and innocent - well, 16 and before my first crush), I never even noticed the strong lesbian subtext between, well, everyone except the boys. But the second time through I couldn't believe I had missed it. So show me something different that was always there in the original, if only Isobelle would get off her butt and actually write it.

Kirsten Miller - Kiki Strike series

Again, I haven't read the second book, but I read the first one a few weeks ago and thought it the most fun thing I'd found in a while. I can't really say why, but I imagine it's more of the same: a girl travels to a different world (or a hidden place in this one) and while having somewhat traumatic adventures she grows up. And she gets to meet a princess, and live a life of crime and play with explosives, all of which appeal to my sense of longing for a life more exciting.
When I was growing up, I wanted to be one of the Irregulars.
I think I would have loved for the Girl Guides (Scouts) to throw me out (though I would have cried endlessly if it had happened); and to break into parties and be a master of disguise would be fun. I dabbled in forgery (which was useful when you consider that I always forgot to bring in permission slips to school) and I really wanted to be a spy when I grew up. Or maybe an investigative journalist, the sort you see on tv.
I sat down and really thought about this fandom, and decided that the character I wanted to know more about was Oona. (As evidenced by the existence of the second book, the author agrees with me on that.) If you feel able, tell me her secrets. Her family, her friends, her pathway into becoming the girl that Kiki was so interested in.

In Conclusion

I think I've waffled on enough for one night, really. I tried to explain my love for the fandoms in my requests, but it's been a long week and I'm not particularly articulate when I'm this tired. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me through the mods, or the "friend of a friend" technique - I promise I won't try to track you down through them - or just by posting anonymously here (though if you could ask several questions and not spoil the fandom for me that would be great).

Don't worry about me not liking what you've written, I know I will love it just because you've taken on my crazy fandoms. We may be the only two people on the planet to think that particular universe is worth writing fanfiction for (and considering that two of my requests ended up with only two offers that seems likely), but I love you for being my conspirator in it.

Oh, one more thing (and this one is actually important): I'm going to be overseas when the stories are posted. And I'm not sure about what my internet connectivity will be like. So if I don't squee with happiness in the first few days after the big event, don't stress. I will. Thank you for the time that you are putting into this, and for signing up to be part of something this much fun. I hope you have a great time.

Labels: 1000 words, deadlines hurt my brain, writing, yuletide