Tis the Season!
Happy Halloween, everyone! Alas, I had to wear a backup backup costume today. My initial plan to make Minmay's iconic outfit from Do You Remember Love? fell through this year due to lack of time and funds (to be resumed next year), so I had planned to just wear one of my kimono to the office. Then with the storm blowing past, the temperature suddenly dropped about thirty degrees -- aka, too cold for any kind of jacket I can wear with a kimono, or really for any coat except my heavy wool coat. So, this morning became a mad dash of, "Crap! What can I wear for Halloween that fits under my coat and is more eccentric than what I wear on a daily basis?!" ::grabs petticoats and frilly skirts, tosses clean laundry around for something that isn't a t-shirt, rifles through drawer for a sash:: "Crap! This is only reaching the level of eccentric costume-y-ness that I'd wear on any random day when I was feeling eccentric!* It has no particular character!" ::looks around nervously -- GRABS HUGE PURPLE CAPE!:: "Now this is a costume! ...But what is it a costume of? Crap!" ::gets to work, pins up hair with bobby pins found in coat pocket, and googles lyrics so as to be able to sing more than just the refrain from "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again"::
I am now dressed as Christine Daae. PROBLEM SOLVED FOREVER.
* - Yes. I have randomly worn skirts with fluffy petticoats to the office. Not often, but enough times that my supervisor no longer does a double-take.
And speaking of the storm, our neighborhood survived Hurricane Sandy far, far more intact than anyone around us expected. The power was down for quite some time, and we had no way to get to work for two days (unsafe driving conditions, Metro closed, etc), but we were well stocked with candles, canned goods, and other such necessities. I hope everyone that was hit harder than us gets all the help they need!
Due to the timing of the power outage, I've decided to put off my media review (already scheduled to be on hiatus until after November) until the first Monday in December. Not having access to the internet, I spent the power-less time frantically storyboarding manga scenes for my vid projects, and the time after the power came back on propped up in front of a computer trying to make my end-of-October deadline on the Infinity video for Tsubasa. Which is done! I'll show it to my test audience (
sumeria) tonight, and should have it up on YouTube to share before midnight. Now, my schedule and conscience are 100% clear for diving into my "Finish BUYO First Draft or Bust" November Not-a-NaNo.
Also,
sumeria has convinced me to do Yuletide this year. It's not just my first Yuletide, but I believe also my first fic exchange. I was worried that I wouldn't have enough time, but she pointed out that it was something we could work on together while we're doing cat therapy, and really... I've always wanted to do Yuletide, but I get so nervous about whether I'd be able to write something that would make someone happy! Anyway. Long story short, I'm in this year, and still nervous/worried, but armed with a solid December gift fic schedule. And now for a few words to the kind, generous person who's in for the perilous task of writing something for me:
Dear Yuletide Author,
Whoever, wherever, and whenever you are... First of all, thank you! This is my first year participating in Yuletide, first time participating in a fic exchange of any kind, and I'm on the edge of my seat to find out how this all works. Thousands of entries! And thousands of fandoms! My IT-trained brain imagines the databases and queries and logical processes to match up every one of those fairly, and starts spinning in loops. O brave moderator taming the teeming tides! O fearless author whom the algorithms have presented with my little hodgepodge of fandoms! Whatever you do, I can't wait to read it.
When it comes to saying what I like to read, I have a little trouble putting it into words. I am open to all kinds of stories, moods, and prose styles (or if the muse moved you, blank verse, Norse epics, or any other kind of poetry). The thing I like most about fanfiction is finding out what the author thinks is important, interesting, or unexplored about the canon of the original work -- something that makes you want to go to a friend and say, "What if this happened?" or "What do you think is going on with this character?" and end up having the kind of discussion that makes everyone in the coffeehouse look at you funny while you and said friend bury the table with notes scratched on napkins. My favorite plots are the one that develop from the author's pet curiosities, which is why I've tried to be as open-ended and general as possible in my request details for each work. They're there if you want to use them, but please ignore them if you'd prefer. Whatever it is about the work you choose as your subject that drew you to put it on your Offers list, that's what interests me.
Here are my personal quirks in a little more detail:
LIKES: I adore characters who can geek out if geeking out is appropriate to the story, whether the topic is traditionally geeky or no, and seeing characters who have lives and relationships outside of their love affairs. While I have enjoyed a number of vignettes, stories that have a beginning, middle, and end that follow the development and resolution of some struggle (internal, external, against friends, self, or foes, no barbarian overlord to big, no stubborn cake recipe too small) will always be my true love. Third person, literary past tense narration in a non-AU setting strongly preferred (but not necessary if your imagination pulls you in another direction). I am slash, het, and gen friendly! In pretty much every world, I prefer canon ships, with two exceptions for the stories I've requested this year. For Kings, I consider Jack/David to be a direction canon was headed even if the story hadn't yet included it, and even as friends/rivals/brothers-in-arms I like them together more than David/Michelle. For Hakuouki, I prefer Hijikata/Okita, with Chizuru as everyone's platonic friend.
DISLIKES: Soul-crushing no-win scenarios. The character doesn't have to win, but if they lose, they should do so with dignity. I'm big on the indomitability of the human spirit despite our moments of weakness and all that jazz. And I guess I'm not really an NC-17 person. Sex in itself isn't a DQ (or a must-have -- it's as optional as pancakes), and I wouldn't be squicked by characters engaging in (consensual) bondage, but if you happen to decide that the story you want to tell ought to include sex, less explicit is better. My dealbreaker trigger issues are: mental health problems, especially clinical-level crippling anxiety, self-doubt, and overbearing feelings of worthlessness; graphic depictions of physical trauma or mutilation; any kind of rape; abuse of persons or creatures.
And I think that's that. Once again, thank you! Wishing you kind muses and hot holiday beverages of your choice.
Yours truly,
Skinner
This entry was originally posted at http://psiten.dreamwidth.org/95886.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
I am now dressed as Christine Daae. PROBLEM SOLVED FOREVER.
* - Yes. I have randomly worn skirts with fluffy petticoats to the office. Not often, but enough times that my supervisor no longer does a double-take.
And speaking of the storm, our neighborhood survived Hurricane Sandy far, far more intact than anyone around us expected. The power was down for quite some time, and we had no way to get to work for two days (unsafe driving conditions, Metro closed, etc), but we were well stocked with candles, canned goods, and other such necessities. I hope everyone that was hit harder than us gets all the help they need!
Due to the timing of the power outage, I've decided to put off my media review (already scheduled to be on hiatus until after November) until the first Monday in December. Not having access to the internet, I spent the power-less time frantically storyboarding manga scenes for my vid projects, and the time after the power came back on propped up in front of a computer trying to make my end-of-October deadline on the Infinity video for Tsubasa. Which is done! I'll show it to my test audience (
sumeria) tonight, and should have it up on YouTube to share before midnight. Now, my schedule and conscience are 100% clear for diving into my "Finish BUYO First Draft or Bust" November Not-a-NaNo.
Also,
sumeria has convinced me to do Yuletide this year. It's not just my first Yuletide, but I believe also my first fic exchange. I was worried that I wouldn't have enough time, but she pointed out that it was something we could work on together while we're doing cat therapy, and really... I've always wanted to do Yuletide, but I get so nervous about whether I'd be able to write something that would make someone happy! Anyway. Long story short, I'm in this year, and still nervous/worried, but armed with a solid December gift fic schedule. And now for a few words to the kind, generous person who's in for the perilous task of writing something for me:
Dear Yuletide Author,
Whoever, wherever, and whenever you are... First of all, thank you! This is my first year participating in Yuletide, first time participating in a fic exchange of any kind, and I'm on the edge of my seat to find out how this all works. Thousands of entries! And thousands of fandoms! My IT-trained brain imagines the databases and queries and logical processes to match up every one of those fairly, and starts spinning in loops. O brave moderator taming the teeming tides! O fearless author whom the algorithms have presented with my little hodgepodge of fandoms! Whatever you do, I can't wait to read it.
When it comes to saying what I like to read, I have a little trouble putting it into words. I am open to all kinds of stories, moods, and prose styles (or if the muse moved you, blank verse, Norse epics, or any other kind of poetry). The thing I like most about fanfiction is finding out what the author thinks is important, interesting, or unexplored about the canon of the original work -- something that makes you want to go to a friend and say, "What if this happened?" or "What do you think is going on with this character?" and end up having the kind of discussion that makes everyone in the coffeehouse look at you funny while you and said friend bury the table with notes scratched on napkins. My favorite plots are the one that develop from the author's pet curiosities, which is why I've tried to be as open-ended and general as possible in my request details for each work. They're there if you want to use them, but please ignore them if you'd prefer. Whatever it is about the work you choose as your subject that drew you to put it on your Offers list, that's what interests me.
Here are my personal quirks in a little more detail:
LIKES: I adore characters who can geek out if geeking out is appropriate to the story, whether the topic is traditionally geeky or no, and seeing characters who have lives and relationships outside of their love affairs. While I have enjoyed a number of vignettes, stories that have a beginning, middle, and end that follow the development and resolution of some struggle (internal, external, against friends, self, or foes, no barbarian overlord to big, no stubborn cake recipe too small) will always be my true love. Third person, literary past tense narration in a non-AU setting strongly preferred (but not necessary if your imagination pulls you in another direction). I am slash, het, and gen friendly! In pretty much every world, I prefer canon ships, with two exceptions for the stories I've requested this year. For Kings, I consider Jack/David to be a direction canon was headed even if the story hadn't yet included it, and even as friends/rivals/brothers-in-arms I like them together more than David/Michelle. For Hakuouki, I prefer Hijikata/Okita, with Chizuru as everyone's platonic friend.
DISLIKES: Soul-crushing no-win scenarios. The character doesn't have to win, but if they lose, they should do so with dignity. I'm big on the indomitability of the human spirit despite our moments of weakness and all that jazz. And I guess I'm not really an NC-17 person. Sex in itself isn't a DQ (or a must-have -- it's as optional as pancakes), and I wouldn't be squicked by characters engaging in (consensual) bondage, but if you happen to decide that the story you want to tell ought to include sex, less explicit is better. My dealbreaker trigger issues are: mental health problems, especially clinical-level crippling anxiety, self-doubt, and overbearing feelings of worthlessness; graphic depictions of physical trauma or mutilation; any kind of rape; abuse of persons or creatures.
And I think that's that. Once again, thank you! Wishing you kind muses and hot holiday beverages of your choice.
Yours truly,
Skinner
This entry was originally posted at http://psiten.dreamwidth.org/95886.html. Please comment there using OpenID.