I know there's someone out there feeling just how I feel
Yesterday, when I went grocery shopping, the front stoop was covered in sheets of sheer ice, so when I got home without mishap, I said to myself, says I, Self, don't go back out there. No use tempting fate! And then I realized I didn't have enough flour to make the cake or bread I wanted to make, and also didn't have enough chicken stock to make risotto. Oops. This is what comes of not being home for two weeks. There was basically nothing in my fridge or my cabinets (I'd say pantry, but I have no delusions of grandeur. I wish I had a pantry. Sigh.). Oh well, I will stop off tonight and remedy that. Hopefully before the temperature hits the single digits, which it is supposed to. I DO NOT APPROVE. Friday night, I ended up putting my old comforter on top of my new comforter and sleeping in a fleecy. (My apartment is drafty and I am always cold anyway.) POLAR VORTEX: DO NOT WANT. People in more northern climes, STAY WARM AND SAFE.
Anyway! On Friday, when it was snowy and cold and gross and I had a SNOW DAY, I spent most of the day curled up on the couch doing a Justice League rewatch, which I absolutely recommend. When I hit "The Savage Time" - aka, the one where they go back in time to fight Vandal Savage during WWII and John joins Easy Company - I was like, "I wish Diana had met Steve Rogers instead of Steve Trevor" and I posted to tumblr about it. And then on Saturday morning, I realized it wasn't going to write itself, sadly, so I wrote it:
The Lucky Ones (@ AO3)
DCAU/Captain America (2011); Diana of Themyscira/Steve Rogers; pg; 1,765 words
He's tall and broad and wears a star upon his chest, the same as the one on his shield, the same as the ones on her uniform.
I think the beginning does rely a little too heavily on the episode for context, but overall, I like how it turned out. I was surprised at how much my Bruce/Diana feels came through, and also was pleased to be able to have Peggy meet Diana, even if it gave the whole thing kind of a wistful feel. Captain America/Wonder Woman is my current crossover OTP, so I was happy to finally have written it, and happy that other people seemed to like it. There are so few stories pairing them and there should always be more.
Then yesterday, I decided I really did want to finish the ugly Christmas sweater story this holiday season since it was in the nature of a gift, so I buckled down and voila!
The First Annual Avengers Ugly Christmas Sweater Party (@ AO3)
Avengers; Ensemble (background Steve/Bucky, Tony/Pepper, Thor/Jane; Clint/Natasha); pg; 2,240 words
"Darcy assured me it was the height of Yule fashion on Midgard." He presses one of the snowflakes on his chest and a tinkly version of "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" plays while Rudolph's red nose lights up in time. "Is it not magnificent?"
Earlier in December, before yuletide and the holidays overtook all, I had scrapped a couple of different beginnings (Steve's POV, Tony's POV, Thor's POV, Darcy's POV) and mentioned to
snacky that I was having a hard time figuring out how to write the story so the holiday teaminess was more centered than the Steve/Bucky feels, and she suggested Natasha's POV. I was skeptical, but after a brief false start (it wanted to be all Steve/Natasha/Bucky feels, and while I am fine with that, once again, I didn't want it to swamp the shenanigans, and also,
angelgazing only ships Steve/Bucky and
laurificus ships Clint/Natasha, so the ot3 was going to have to wait), it went pretty smoothly.
I'd emailed myself the various texts from Laura and Nichole detailing scenarios they wanted to see, so it was just a matter of getting them all included. And figuring out what sweaters each of them would wear (of course Bucky got bears. Come on, who do you think you're dealing with here?). It amused me anyway, and I'm glad to see it amused some of you as well. If anyone wants to do fanart of all of them in their ugly holiday sweaters, I would be thrilled.
So the weekend was surprisingly productive, writing-wise.
Now I want to concentrate on the three works in progress that I am bound and determined to see finished before Captain America/Winter Soldier comes out, and hopefully by posting them here I will be inspired (or shamed) into doing so:
= with your pockets full of rain (Steve/Bucky/Natasha)
A low greenish light emanates from the tube, throwing a sickly cast over Steve's skin. The tube hums softly and steadily. The glass is clear, and she takes a couple of steps towards it, her mind refusing to accept what she's seeing.
Steve's expression has gone from shock to horror, and he raises the shield, obviously planning to smash the glass. Natasha grabs his arm, feeling the muscles and tendons shift under her fingers, like he's thinking of throwing her off, but she holds on.
"Wait," she says, her voice sharp. "You'll kill him." She takes short shallow breaths through her nose and clamps down on the feelings that want to escape her iron control. She looks over the console attached to the tube, dials and gauges and blinking lights, all labeled neatly in Russian. She doesn't know what to do, but knows she has to do something to calm Steve down.
"I watched him die," Steve says. He's wild-eyed and she can feel him trembling. "How is he still alive?"
= In the Shadow of Two Gunmen (gen, MCU/DCU crossover)
"Be still," says the Winter Soldier, his voice surprisingly soft but almost completely flat and unaccented today, "and be patient." Neither of which are Jason's strong suits. It's another semi-familiar situation that makes Jason want to run off at the mouth, all bad jokes and sarcasm, as if he's still wearing scaly green panties and a domino mask. But he's not Robin anymore and this guy sure ain't Batman. Though he's certainly got the humorless brooding part down.
So Jason just smokes another cigarette and rolls his eyes again when the guy frowns at him and says, "The smoke will give away our location." Jason puts the cigarette out, but that's the last straw.
"I'm done with this guy," he says to Talia at their next meeting. "I know he's one of your pets, and he doesn't seem like too much of a dirtbag, so I'm not gonna kill him, but I am done."
= Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me in (Steve/Bucky)
The nothingness surrounding him shatters like glass, and then there is light and noise and freezing air against his skin. He stumbles out of the cryo chamber and cuts his hand and knees and feet as he falls, leaving behind bloody smears along the walls and floor as he drags himself free.
The base is unfamiliar, nearly deserted, but they all have the same basic layout, and it's easy enough to find a locker room in which to dress himself and an armory from which to arm himself. He searches, but there is no one to tell him what the mission is, why he was woken out of the dark and dreamless sleep that has held him in its grasp since--He will find a newspaper, figure out when and where he is, and what work they have for him, what name he is to use.
He finds an old truck abandoned in the garage and coaxes it, sputtering and coughing and smoking, to life. The smell of burning diesel coats the roof of his mouth and his tongue, thick and oily and familiar.
He picks a direction and drives.
I have other wsip (the one where everyone thinks they're dating! the Steve/Natasha undercover married! etc.) but these are the ones I'm most invested in and will hopefully spend most of my energy on, since they're the ones that need the most done (and already have the most written).
Hopefully, I can do it.
***
In other news, last night's The Good Wife was slight but enjoyable. I was not expecting Peter Bogdanovich, and while that is ridiculous, I'm so glad it was all just a red herring for the ELECTION FRAUD storyline to pop up again. Holy crap, who leaked it? Did Will do it to get at Alicia? Did Kalinda's creepy girlfriend find it on her laptop? I still don't like Damian - that storyline needs to go away and we need to see more of Kalinda and Eli or Kalinda and Will or Kalinda and Diane or even Kalinda and Robin if they're not going to give us Kalinda and Alicia or Kalinda and Cary.
I was glad to see Diane call Will on his shit, but less happy to see her resign herself to his self-destructive tendencies.
I thought the main case was pretty funny, since I knew it was basically Jonathan Coulton vs. Glee, but it was almost as weird to hear Cary and Alicia arguing for transformative works as it was that time they mentioned Diane's housekeeper writing Vampire Diaries fanfic. Oh show, you cross the streams in really weird ways! But the best part about it is this ridiculous video the cast and crew made. Wow, Julianna Margulies cannot dance. And Christine Baranski looks great even with her hair all up in curlers.
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/630490.html.
people have commented there.
Anyway! On Friday, when it was snowy and cold and gross and I had a SNOW DAY, I spent most of the day curled up on the couch doing a Justice League rewatch, which I absolutely recommend. When I hit "The Savage Time" - aka, the one where they go back in time to fight Vandal Savage during WWII and John joins Easy Company - I was like, "I wish Diana had met Steve Rogers instead of Steve Trevor" and I posted to tumblr about it. And then on Saturday morning, I realized it wasn't going to write itself, sadly, so I wrote it:
The Lucky Ones (@ AO3)
DCAU/Captain America (2011); Diana of Themyscira/Steve Rogers; pg; 1,765 words
He's tall and broad and wears a star upon his chest, the same as the one on his shield, the same as the ones on her uniform.
I think the beginning does rely a little too heavily on the episode for context, but overall, I like how it turned out. I was surprised at how much my Bruce/Diana feels came through, and also was pleased to be able to have Peggy meet Diana, even if it gave the whole thing kind of a wistful feel. Captain America/Wonder Woman is my current crossover OTP, so I was happy to finally have written it, and happy that other people seemed to like it. There are so few stories pairing them and there should always be more.
Then yesterday, I decided I really did want to finish the ugly Christmas sweater story this holiday season since it was in the nature of a gift, so I buckled down and voila!
The First Annual Avengers Ugly Christmas Sweater Party (@ AO3)
Avengers; Ensemble (background Steve/Bucky, Tony/Pepper, Thor/Jane; Clint/Natasha); pg; 2,240 words
"Darcy assured me it was the height of Yule fashion on Midgard." He presses one of the snowflakes on his chest and a tinkly version of "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" plays while Rudolph's red nose lights up in time. "Is it not magnificent?"
Earlier in December, before yuletide and the holidays overtook all, I had scrapped a couple of different beginnings (Steve's POV, Tony's POV, Thor's POV, Darcy's POV) and mentioned to
snacky that I was having a hard time figuring out how to write the story so the holiday teaminess was more centered than the Steve/Bucky feels, and she suggested Natasha's POV. I was skeptical, but after a brief false start (it wanted to be all Steve/Natasha/Bucky feels, and while I am fine with that, once again, I didn't want it to swamp the shenanigans, and also,
angelgazing only ships Steve/Bucky and
laurificus ships Clint/Natasha, so the ot3 was going to have to wait), it went pretty smoothly.
I'd emailed myself the various texts from Laura and Nichole detailing scenarios they wanted to see, so it was just a matter of getting them all included. And figuring out what sweaters each of them would wear (of course Bucky got bears. Come on, who do you think you're dealing with here?). It amused me anyway, and I'm glad to see it amused some of you as well. If anyone wants to do fanart of all of them in their ugly holiday sweaters, I would be thrilled.
So the weekend was surprisingly productive, writing-wise.
Now I want to concentrate on the three works in progress that I am bound and determined to see finished before Captain America/Winter Soldier comes out, and hopefully by posting them here I will be inspired (or shamed) into doing so:
= with your pockets full of rain (Steve/Bucky/Natasha)
A low greenish light emanates from the tube, throwing a sickly cast over Steve's skin. The tube hums softly and steadily. The glass is clear, and she takes a couple of steps towards it, her mind refusing to accept what she's seeing.
Steve's expression has gone from shock to horror, and he raises the shield, obviously planning to smash the glass. Natasha grabs his arm, feeling the muscles and tendons shift under her fingers, like he's thinking of throwing her off, but she holds on.
"Wait," she says, her voice sharp. "You'll kill him." She takes short shallow breaths through her nose and clamps down on the feelings that want to escape her iron control. She looks over the console attached to the tube, dials and gauges and blinking lights, all labeled neatly in Russian. She doesn't know what to do, but knows she has to do something to calm Steve down.
"I watched him die," Steve says. He's wild-eyed and she can feel him trembling. "How is he still alive?"
= In the Shadow of Two Gunmen (gen, MCU/DCU crossover)
"Be still," says the Winter Soldier, his voice surprisingly soft but almost completely flat and unaccented today, "and be patient." Neither of which are Jason's strong suits. It's another semi-familiar situation that makes Jason want to run off at the mouth, all bad jokes and sarcasm, as if he's still wearing scaly green panties and a domino mask. But he's not Robin anymore and this guy sure ain't Batman. Though he's certainly got the humorless brooding part down.
So Jason just smokes another cigarette and rolls his eyes again when the guy frowns at him and says, "The smoke will give away our location." Jason puts the cigarette out, but that's the last straw.
"I'm done with this guy," he says to Talia at their next meeting. "I know he's one of your pets, and he doesn't seem like too much of a dirtbag, so I'm not gonna kill him, but I am done."
= Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me in (Steve/Bucky)
The nothingness surrounding him shatters like glass, and then there is light and noise and freezing air against his skin. He stumbles out of the cryo chamber and cuts his hand and knees and feet as he falls, leaving behind bloody smears along the walls and floor as he drags himself free.
The base is unfamiliar, nearly deserted, but they all have the same basic layout, and it's easy enough to find a locker room in which to dress himself and an armory from which to arm himself. He searches, but there is no one to tell him what the mission is, why he was woken out of the dark and dreamless sleep that has held him in its grasp since--He will find a newspaper, figure out when and where he is, and what work they have for him, what name he is to use.
He finds an old truck abandoned in the garage and coaxes it, sputtering and coughing and smoking, to life. The smell of burning diesel coats the roof of his mouth and his tongue, thick and oily and familiar.
He picks a direction and drives.
I have other wsip (the one where everyone thinks they're dating! the Steve/Natasha undercover married! etc.) but these are the ones I'm most invested in and will hopefully spend most of my energy on, since they're the ones that need the most done (and already have the most written).
Hopefully, I can do it.
***
In other news, last night's The Good Wife was slight but enjoyable. I was not expecting Peter Bogdanovich, and while that is ridiculous, I'm so glad it was all just a red herring for the ELECTION FRAUD storyline to pop up again. Holy crap, who leaked it? Did Will do it to get at Alicia? Did Kalinda's creepy girlfriend find it on her laptop? I still don't like Damian - that storyline needs to go away and we need to see more of Kalinda and Eli or Kalinda and Will or Kalinda and Diane or even Kalinda and Robin if they're not going to give us Kalinda and Alicia or Kalinda and Cary.
I was glad to see Diane call Will on his shit, but less happy to see her resign herself to his self-destructive tendencies.
I thought the main case was pretty funny, since I knew it was basically Jonathan Coulton vs. Glee, but it was almost as weird to hear Cary and Alicia arguing for transformative works as it was that time they mentioned Diane's housekeeper writing Vampire Diaries fanfic. Oh show, you cross the streams in really weird ways! But the best part about it is this ridiculous video the cast and crew made. Wow, Julianna Margulies cannot dance. And Christine Baranski looks great even with her hair all up in curlers.
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/630490.html.
people have commented there.