All-in-one post: The state of hiyacynth, my Con mini-report, and that meme
Oh hai LJ folk! I am not dead! I am just really busy with work, school, life, and end-of-year rushtasticness. I apologize for being almost completely absent lately. As usual, it's not you, it's me.
The State of hiyacynth is mostly frenzied. See above. Even when I do find time when I could be doing fannish things, I lack the energy or impulse. I'm hoping this changes after the new year, as RL stuff eases up.
That said, and because there are already, like, 4 million wonderfully detailed reports on the Creation Chicago Con last weekend, I'll try to keep mine briefish.
Logistics FTW! liptonrm and baylorsr arrived chez moi Thursday night, and we eventually managed to watch 4x09 together. My VCR punked out completely and has since been declared fair game for any demons looking for a soul-free but still electricty-capable appliance to possess. Friday the baylorsr Sister and Cousin headed to Chicago on their own and hit the first panels while liptonrm, baylorsr, and I had lunch with Marc, who passed Fangirl Muster, I'm happy to say. Also, he really liked you ladies back :-)
Oh. And can I just say? These two are awesome.
liptonrm gave me an early bday present of a Cafe-Pressed book of all my non-SPN fic (see below), and... The woman has a gift, people. She's talking about offering up her mad book-making skillz for Sweet Charity this winter, and I strongly encourage snapping her up. This thing? Is beautiful. It looks like a real, honest-to-god book. Not cheap, not spiral bound, not slapped together from a Word document. A book that you would buy in a for-real bookstore. Anyway, it is very cool.
And baylorsr gave me my Friday and Saturday Con passes and my autograph with Richard Speight, Jr. (also see below) because she couldn't bear the agony in my voice when I heard he had signed on and I couldn't afford anything other than my Sunday pass and had spent all my money credit on my Jared+Jensen+me photo and was considering selling it to see Richard.
Did I mention logistics? katelennon is the queen of them. She arranged for liptonrm, baylorsr, and me to join several other top-notch fangirls in the penthouse suite. We had a room with one bed so huge that there was only minimal "accidental" groping. The other girls were spread out over the other two rooms. Anyway, quick shout out to the ladies. I don't have my list of everyone's LJ handles, but Kate, Jenna, Jenn, Karen, Meagan, Heather... Am I missing anyone? Those six plus us three equals nine, which sounds about right. Anyway, it was AWESOMECRAZYFUNTIME in that suite.
High point for me was definitely Richard Speight, Jr.'s panel, because of my old Band of Brothers fandom and my personal undying love for Skip Muck, and especially Skip Muck as portrayed by RSjr. See liptonrm's post-Con post" for a description of the best of the BoB questions, brought to you by baylorsr. After the panel I waited in line for four and a half hours to get Richard to sign my BoB DVDs. It was totally worth it. He was sweet and charming and so happy to hear from folks who love BoB. Not that he wasn't as attentive to the SPN folk, but he did seem especially jazzed to see my DVDs and Adie's picture. Huge hugs and thanks to baylorsr.
Oh, and also see both liptonrm and baylorsr's journals for various accounts of how The Sister and The Cousin spent hours upon hours both Friday and Saturday nights hanging out and becoming BFFs with Chad, Malik, Gabe, and Richard, and all their entourages. Some kinda fangirl mojo those two have working, I tell you what.
Much fun was had both Friday and Saturday nights, playing two versions of Fangirl Jeopardy brought to us by the baylorsr Clan. See queeberquabbler for an excellent account of Fangirl Jeopardy, and also for just a cool account by one of the excellent women with whom I shared the weekend.
Sunday was Jared and Jensen day--see gazilliointy excellent con reports for details--and for me it was the trauma/anticlimax of disturbingly named "J&J Sandwich" photo. My experience went something like this:
Bouncer: "No bags." *takes my little shopping bag, hands it off to Bag-Bouncer* "Step forward."
hiyacynth: *steps forward to the point where the Js are visible, goes slightly weak in the knees*
Two other weak-kneed fangirls: *get their pictures taken in less than 20 seconds*
Jensen: *looks at me* "Hi. How're you?"
hiyacynth: *steps gingerly between them, trying not to be stupid* "Um. I'm good. Holy cow."
The Js: *put their arms around my back while I try not to accidentally grab their asses while I figure out where to put my arms*
Photographer: *clicks*
hiyacynth: *realizes it's over, looks up (and up, and then up some more) at Jared, smiles adoringly*
Jared: *smiles back*
hiyacynth: "Um. Thanks so much. Holy cow." *steps forward*
Bag-Bouncer: "Here's your bag."
hiyacynth: *exits, notices lanyard that leads to Gold Pass that is not mine* "Hey. This is not my Gold Pass! HEY!! WHO'S GOLD PASS IS THIS?" *runs in circles and eventually hands Gold Pass off to Creation volunteer at the Next-to-Bouncer position.
And that was it. The actual picture-taking experience took about 30 seconds. It resulted in this:
Which is far from the worst picture I've ever taken. It's very true to the moment, in that I really look like all I can say is "Holy cow." I'm not fond of the triangle of fish-belly pale stomach it turns out gets exposed when I raise my arms so as not to grab Jared and Jensen's asses. Oh well. I didn't faint, swear, say anything horrific, or (accidentally or otherwise) touch them inappropriately. I call it a win, but I'm pretty sure I won't do it again. The cost/benefit analysis--$15 per second within arm's distance--just doesn't pay out for me. My milage obviously affected by my chronic case of eternal brokitude.
Right. So that was Con.
And finally: Memage: I got tagged twice, so I'm doing it :-)
Sometimes it's ok to pimp yourself out. Post a list of your top five fic-favorites you've written, regardless of fandom or the reason you love them. This isn't about the BEST things you've written, but what you LOVE most. Then tag five other people to do the same.
I think I did this a while back, but answers change, so I'll go at it again. Most of mine are Supernatural stories, mainly because I think (and am confirming on a recent liptonrm-enabled revisit of my old fic, espcecially X-Files and Buffy) that my writing does, in fact, keep improving, and I find that the stuff I've written more recently--specifically post-Not My Real Life--is a lot better than my older writing.
1. Occasions of Sin
Posted 10/24/06; PG-13; Sam, Dean, John; Gen
This was my first Supernatural story and is unusual because I don't hate it even a little--usually I find that my first stories in any fandom don't hold up so well. There are a lot of things I love about "Occasions of Sin," but mostly it's that overarching theme of tresspass and forgiveness--the idea that you can love people beyond reason and still hurt them, and that they can do the same right back. I love how Sam matures through the story and finally finds a place where he can forgive John and recognize that he himself has done things to his father and brother that need forgiveness. Plus, you know... Winchesters stitching each other up--always hot fun.
2. Milestone
Posted 1/10/07; Adult; Sam/Jess, mentions of Sam/OFCs
You know, I just realized this. I'm not sure I would call it a kink, really, because it has nothing to do with underwear I don't get a sexual charge out of it (except in some cases when it's explored in a sexual fashion), but I think one of my bulletproof kinks in fic, and especially in Supernatural fic, is the loss, grieving, and recovery cycle. Although the last section of "Occasions of Sin" does deal with the early stages of that process, "Milestone" was my first pre-meditated exploration of that theme. Kink-revelation aside, I also have a huge heart-shaped soft spot for Sam/Jess and felt Sam's grief over her murder so strongly in the early seasons, especially (obvi) Season 1, when this was set. Anyway, blah blah blah, I've said this before, but the specific thing I love about this story is that it takes a single milestone in Sam's recovery process--the first stirrings of his libido after Jess's death--and explores its effect on him. Plus, you know... Winchesters in showers--always hot fun.
3. I have a love/hate relationship with "Mockingbird" lately. Love because, wow, I made this! But hate because I've had a really hard time writing since I finished it--both stories outside of and within that universe. I'm coming to recognize that my writing issues are probably less to do with "Mockingbird" than with my own curren life priorities and time-management issues. Anyway. I'm working on it :-)
All that said, "Mockingbird is definitely on my list, and this week, I choose to especially love Mockingbird, Chapter 7 because of all the changes we see in the characters. I almost said Chapter 5 because that's where the plot finally kicks in, and it was SUCH a relief to get to that point, but Chapter 7's really where the characters catch up with the plot and start growing and changing in reaction to it. I love Sam and Dean fumbling back into working a case together; I love Sam and Jem's relationship deepening and opening up; I love finally getting a peek into Sam's head, and instead of just freakiness, seeing how much he cares about Jem; I love Dean starting to understand that about Sam, too, and that he adapts enough to recognize that even in the best of times he can't be the only person in Sam's life; and I really, really love Dean apologizing to Jem and Jem accepting it and making her own amends--the two of them putting their differences aside for Sam's sake. Plus, you know... Winchesters in showers--always hot fun.
(Honorable "Mockingbird" mention to Chapter 9 just because there was a HUGE amount of stuff going on and approximately 894 threads to pull together, and I still kinda can't believe I pulled it off.)
4. Periphery
Posted 4/28/08; Angst; Sam-centric Sweet Charity fic written for shakespearebint; R; gen-het-combo featuring all Winchesters and Sam/Jess. Cover art by chocca2!!
This story. Man. Blessings upon the house of shakespearebint for giving me this prompt for last year's Sweet Charity auction. I was so surprised by how excited I got about the idea of exloring what Sam's version of a djinn-induced wishverse would have been. There are three major things I love about this story. The first is just getting to see a happy, functional, whole Winchester family, however briefly: John and Mary raising their boys; Sam and Jess together; Dean a fireman; Sam and Dean still primary in each other's lives, but without it being all about monsters and sacrifice. The second thing I love is how completely insane Dean's death drives Sam. That gravedigging scene and the police station after it... It freaked me out to write (and I still find it uncomfortable to read), but I loved his stark desperation, and I thought I got it across really well. The third thing I love is how committed Sam is, once he works out what's going on, to saving Dean for real, despite the cost to himself (if he's wrong) his family. Some people say Sam doesn't love Dean as much as Dean loves Sam. You may have noticed that I really, really disagree. Plus, you know... Sweaty Winchesters with shovels--always hot fun.
5. Et Maneat Semper
Posted 2/05/2005
Have been reading through my non-SPN fic recently (see above, re: liptonrm) and in going through my Band of Brothers stuff, this one stands out for me. It's got the grieving/moving on thing going for it, first of all. But more than that, one of maybe two real surprises that I've managed to pull off in my writing. I started out with a precise purpose to the story, and I carefully set the thing up so that once you hit Point X, the whole reason for the narrative device instantly becomes evident, and it changes everything about what you thought was going on. It's kinda awesome. Plus, you know... Skip is love, and grief-stricken, cursing, spoon-throwing Malark--always hot fun.
Geez-o-pete, that was long. Why am I not surprised?
I hate tagging peole for these things, so I'm going to make it a completely optional request.
liptonrm
iamstealthyone
cunien
chemm80
queeberquabbler
Okay. I really have to pee, and then I really have to get on a train and get home before 8 because my VCR is dead and Show is on tonight! Much editing for stupid typos to come.
The State of hiyacynth is mostly frenzied. See above. Even when I do find time when I could be doing fannish things, I lack the energy or impulse. I'm hoping this changes after the new year, as RL stuff eases up.
That said, and because there are already, like, 4 million wonderfully detailed reports on the Creation Chicago Con last weekend, I'll try to keep mine briefish.
Logistics FTW! liptonrm and baylorsr arrived chez moi Thursday night, and we eventually managed to watch 4x09 together. My VCR punked out completely and has since been declared fair game for any demons looking for a soul-free but still electricty-capable appliance to possess. Friday the baylorsr Sister and Cousin headed to Chicago on their own and hit the first panels while liptonrm, baylorsr, and I had lunch with Marc, who passed Fangirl Muster, I'm happy to say. Also, he really liked you ladies back :-)
Oh. And can I just say? These two are awesome.
liptonrm gave me an early bday present of a Cafe-Pressed book of all my non-SPN fic (see below), and... The woman has a gift, people. She's talking about offering up her mad book-making skillz for Sweet Charity this winter, and I strongly encourage snapping her up. This thing? Is beautiful. It looks like a real, honest-to-god book. Not cheap, not spiral bound, not slapped together from a Word document. A book that you would buy in a for-real bookstore. Anyway, it is very cool.
And baylorsr gave me my Friday and Saturday Con passes and my autograph with Richard Speight, Jr. (also see below) because she couldn't bear the agony in my voice when I heard he had signed on and I couldn't afford anything other than my Sunday pass and had spent all my money credit on my Jared+Jensen+me photo and was considering selling it to see Richard.
Did I mention logistics? katelennon is the queen of them. She arranged for liptonrm, baylorsr, and me to join several other top-notch fangirls in the penthouse suite. We had a room with one bed so huge that there was only minimal "accidental" groping. The other girls were spread out over the other two rooms. Anyway, quick shout out to the ladies. I don't have my list of everyone's LJ handles, but Kate, Jenna, Jenn, Karen, Meagan, Heather... Am I missing anyone? Those six plus us three equals nine, which sounds about right. Anyway, it was AWESOMECRAZYFUNTIME in that suite.
High point for me was definitely Richard Speight, Jr.'s panel, because of my old Band of Brothers fandom and my personal undying love for Skip Muck, and especially Skip Muck as portrayed by RSjr. See liptonrm's post-Con post" for a description of the best of the BoB questions, brought to you by baylorsr. After the panel I waited in line for four and a half hours to get Richard to sign my BoB DVDs. It was totally worth it. He was sweet and charming and so happy to hear from folks who love BoB. Not that he wasn't as attentive to the SPN folk, but he did seem especially jazzed to see my DVDs and Adie's picture. Huge hugs and thanks to baylorsr.
Oh, and also see both liptonrm and baylorsr's journals for various accounts of how The Sister and The Cousin spent hours upon hours both Friday and Saturday nights hanging out and becoming BFFs with Chad, Malik, Gabe, and Richard, and all their entourages. Some kinda fangirl mojo those two have working, I tell you what.
Much fun was had both Friday and Saturday nights, playing two versions of Fangirl Jeopardy brought to us by the baylorsr Clan. See queeberquabbler for an excellent account of Fangirl Jeopardy, and also for just a cool account by one of the excellent women with whom I shared the weekend.
Sunday was Jared and Jensen day--see gazilliointy excellent con reports for details--and for me it was the trauma/anticlimax of disturbingly named "J&J Sandwich" photo. My experience went something like this:
Bouncer: "No bags." *takes my little shopping bag, hands it off to Bag-Bouncer* "Step forward."
hiyacynth: *steps forward to the point where the Js are visible, goes slightly weak in the knees*
Two other weak-kneed fangirls: *get their pictures taken in less than 20 seconds*
Jensen: *looks at me* "Hi. How're you?"
hiyacynth: *steps gingerly between them, trying not to be stupid* "Um. I'm good. Holy cow."
The Js: *put their arms around my back while I try not to accidentally grab their asses while I figure out where to put my arms*
Photographer: *clicks*
hiyacynth: *realizes it's over, looks up (and up, and then up some more) at Jared, smiles adoringly*
Jared: *smiles back*
hiyacynth: "Um. Thanks so much. Holy cow." *steps forward*
Bag-Bouncer: "Here's your bag."
hiyacynth: *exits, notices lanyard that leads to Gold Pass that is not mine* "Hey. This is not my Gold Pass! HEY!! WHO'S GOLD PASS IS THIS?" *runs in circles and eventually hands Gold Pass off to Creation volunteer at the Next-to-Bouncer position.
And that was it. The actual picture-taking experience took about 30 seconds. It resulted in this:
Which is far from the worst picture I've ever taken. It's very true to the moment, in that I really look like all I can say is "Holy cow." I'm not fond of the triangle of fish-belly pale stomach it turns out gets exposed when I raise my arms so as not to grab Jared and Jensen's asses. Oh well. I didn't faint, swear, say anything horrific, or (accidentally or otherwise) touch them inappropriately. I call it a win, but I'm pretty sure I won't do it again. The cost/benefit analysis--$15 per second within arm's distance--just doesn't pay out for me. My milage obviously affected by my chronic case of eternal brokitude.
Right. So that was Con.
And finally: Memage: I got tagged twice, so I'm doing it :-)
Sometimes it's ok to pimp yourself out. Post a list of your top five fic-favorites you've written, regardless of fandom or the reason you love them. This isn't about the BEST things you've written, but what you LOVE most. Then tag five other people to do the same.
I think I did this a while back, but answers change, so I'll go at it again. Most of mine are Supernatural stories, mainly because I think (and am confirming on a recent liptonrm-enabled revisit of my old fic, espcecially X-Files and Buffy) that my writing does, in fact, keep improving, and I find that the stuff I've written more recently--specifically post-Not My Real Life--is a lot better than my older writing.
1. Occasions of Sin
Posted 10/24/06; PG-13; Sam, Dean, John; Gen
This was my first Supernatural story and is unusual because I don't hate it even a little--usually I find that my first stories in any fandom don't hold up so well. There are a lot of things I love about "Occasions of Sin," but mostly it's that overarching theme of tresspass and forgiveness--the idea that you can love people beyond reason and still hurt them, and that they can do the same right back. I love how Sam matures through the story and finally finds a place where he can forgive John and recognize that he himself has done things to his father and brother that need forgiveness. Plus, you know... Winchesters stitching each other up--always hot fun.
2. Milestone
Posted 1/10/07; Adult; Sam/Jess, mentions of Sam/OFCs
You know, I just realized this. I'm not sure I would call it a kink, really, because it has nothing to do with underwear I don't get a sexual charge out of it (except in some cases when it's explored in a sexual fashion), but I think one of my bulletproof kinks in fic, and especially in Supernatural fic, is the loss, grieving, and recovery cycle. Although the last section of "Occasions of Sin" does deal with the early stages of that process, "Milestone" was my first pre-meditated exploration of that theme. Kink-revelation aside, I also have a huge heart-shaped soft spot for Sam/Jess and felt Sam's grief over her murder so strongly in the early seasons, especially (obvi) Season 1, when this was set. Anyway, blah blah blah, I've said this before, but the specific thing I love about this story is that it takes a single milestone in Sam's recovery process--the first stirrings of his libido after Jess's death--and explores its effect on him. Plus, you know... Winchesters in showers--always hot fun.
3. I have a love/hate relationship with "Mockingbird" lately. Love because, wow, I made this! But hate because I've had a really hard time writing since I finished it--both stories outside of and within that universe. I'm coming to recognize that my writing issues are probably less to do with "Mockingbird" than with my own curren life priorities and time-management issues. Anyway. I'm working on it :-)
All that said, "Mockingbird is definitely on my list, and this week, I choose to especially love Mockingbird, Chapter 7 because of all the changes we see in the characters. I almost said Chapter 5 because that's where the plot finally kicks in, and it was SUCH a relief to get to that point, but Chapter 7's really where the characters catch up with the plot and start growing and changing in reaction to it. I love Sam and Dean fumbling back into working a case together; I love Sam and Jem's relationship deepening and opening up; I love finally getting a peek into Sam's head, and instead of just freakiness, seeing how much he cares about Jem; I love Dean starting to understand that about Sam, too, and that he adapts enough to recognize that even in the best of times he can't be the only person in Sam's life; and I really, really love Dean apologizing to Jem and Jem accepting it and making her own amends--the two of them putting their differences aside for Sam's sake. Plus, you know... Winchesters in showers--always hot fun.
(Honorable "Mockingbird" mention to Chapter 9 just because there was a HUGE amount of stuff going on and approximately 894 threads to pull together, and I still kinda can't believe I pulled it off.)
4. Periphery
Posted 4/28/08; Angst; Sam-centric Sweet Charity fic written for shakespearebint; R; gen-het-combo featuring all Winchesters and Sam/Jess. Cover art by chocca2!!
This story. Man. Blessings upon the house of shakespearebint for giving me this prompt for last year's Sweet Charity auction. I was so surprised by how excited I got about the idea of exloring what Sam's version of a djinn-induced wishverse would have been. There are three major things I love about this story. The first is just getting to see a happy, functional, whole Winchester family, however briefly: John and Mary raising their boys; Sam and Jess together; Dean a fireman; Sam and Dean still primary in each other's lives, but without it being all about monsters and sacrifice. The second thing I love is how completely insane Dean's death drives Sam. That gravedigging scene and the police station after it... It freaked me out to write (and I still find it uncomfortable to read), but I loved his stark desperation, and I thought I got it across really well. The third thing I love is how committed Sam is, once he works out what's going on, to saving Dean for real, despite the cost to himself (if he's wrong) his family. Some people say Sam doesn't love Dean as much as Dean loves Sam. You may have noticed that I really, really disagree. Plus, you know... Sweaty Winchesters with shovels--always hot fun.
5. Et Maneat Semper
Posted 2/05/2005
Have been reading through my non-SPN fic recently (see above, re: liptonrm) and in going through my Band of Brothers stuff, this one stands out for me. It's got the grieving/moving on thing going for it, first of all. But more than that, one of maybe two real surprises that I've managed to pull off in my writing. I started out with a precise purpose to the story, and I carefully set the thing up so that once you hit Point X, the whole reason for the narrative device instantly becomes evident, and it changes everything about what you thought was going on. It's kinda awesome. Plus, you know... Skip is love, and grief-stricken, cursing, spoon-throwing Malark--always hot fun.
Geez-o-pete, that was long. Why am I not surprised?
I hate tagging peole for these things, so I'm going to make it a completely optional request.
liptonrm
iamstealthyone
cunien
chemm80
queeberquabbler
Okay. I really have to pee, and then I really have to get on a train and get home before 8 because my VCR is dead and Show is on tonight! Much editing for stupid typos to come.