dreams of pirate ships and patty hearst

Hello again. Back around, doing a meme that looked like fun (stolen from singedsun) to get back into the groove.

"If your fic were an album, what would the track list be?"

The popular, catchy one: Wreathed in Smoke, Wound in Heather, the Perc'ahlia Beauty & the Beast AU I'm cowriting (present tense, I swear we're going to finish it!) with Elena. If you had told me 4 years ago that the most popular fic I'd ever write by miles would be for a D&D campaign streamed on the internet, I would have laughed at you. But here we are.
The obscure early one no one bought at the time: Something of Value, my very first Yuletide fic, for the 2009 SyFy Alice miniseries. I remember being really proud of it, then kind of disappointed because I got the impression that the recipient wasn't terribly into it. But now it's got more hits than I honestly expected, and I'm still proud of it.
The "experimental" one, written when you were possibly on some substance: Carry Moonbeams Home in a Jar, bandom, Ryan/Spencer. "Aliens made them do it" has never been my thing, so I have no idea why this happened.
The slushy one: If "slushy" means "all the porn ever," it has to be the beast you made of me, my most recent work, which is 100% an excuse for Perc'ahlia werewolf sex.
The brash, loud one, mid album: when the wicked play another Perc'ahlia WIP I swear to god I'm going to finish, I know exactly what happens in the next two chapters, I just need to get past the fucking scene I've been stuck on for a year.
The bitter one about your ex/former manager/cat: Children of a Lesser God, a Dragon Age 2 story pairing bitter post-game Warden Bethany with bitter post-game Templar Cullen. I still love this story a lot, all these years later.
The one only you like, you insular weirdo: Matches to Paper Dolls, a Baphomet-centered WicDiv story written for Yuletide. I'm apparently bad at Yuletide, which is why I don't participate anymore, because I'm pretty sure I saw the recipient complaining about this on _coal. I still like it, though, so ... *shrug*
The genre-hopping crossover hit: lost in the falling dark, the bandom Pete/Patrick/Mikey werewolf story Lars and I wrote that was the most popular thing I've ever written by far until Critical Role came along. Counting it as a crossover because a) that's an OT3 that only has 58 stories on AO3, b) it was cowritten, and c) included more Frank/Gerard than maybe any of my other stories.
The one where you tried to be "modern": Multi-Purpose, the one and only MCU story I've ever written, and maybe the only X Times fic I ever posted? I think?
The anthemic final track: Chasing Starlight, a bandom (Bob/Mikey) space opera AU. I love this universe SO MUCH, it's been in my head for almost a decade now and I still want to do something original with it, and the story - like most of my bandom stories - is me allowing myself to write all the romance tropes I love. Bandom will always be my favorite past fandom for giving me that freedom.

So hey. I'm here. Because Tumblr and Facebook are terrible, natch. I don't know if this is where I'll land long term, but it's a good place to start. The goal is to delete both Tumblr and Facebook by the end of the year. We'll see how it goes otherwise.

I'll probably rename this account, since I'm not using this user name anywhere any more, but we'll see.

Anyway. Hey! Who's reading over here, anyway? I'll have to start going back through my reading list to see who all is here.

I'm going to take a page from owlmoose this year, since I'm rededicating myself to writing, and try a monthly roundup and goal post. This will not only cover fiction, but some online writing I'm hoping to do this year.

I'm participating in getyourwordsout again, which gives me another layer of accountability, but a personal post also lets me do some individual accounting for my writing time.

So, overall 2016 writing goals:

1) Hit my 150,000 word pledge goal for GYWO.

2) [Secret project]

3) Set up book blog, and maintain it until the end of the year.

4) Write and submit an article/guest post for at least one blog/site I enjoy.


And my January goals:

1) Write at least 27/31 days.

2) [Secret project]

3) Finish the setup of my book blog.

4) Sign up and write story for chocolateboxcomm.

Your main fandom of the year?
For most of the year, DA:I.

Your favorite film watched this year?
Definitely The Force Awakens, though I think Jupiter Ascending runs a fairly close second.

Your favorite book read this year?
Three (plus) different choices:

Dearest Rogue by Elizabeth Hoyt, for appealing to pretty much all of my favorite romance tropes in one single book.
Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear, for being unadulterated fun with bonus lesbian happy ending.
The Wicked + The Divine (both trades, plus the recent arc in single issues) by Kieron Gillan and Jamie McKelvie, because the story is just so fucking good and tears my heart out now on a monthly basis.

Your favorite album or song to listen to this year?
Like about 75% of the rest of the universe, I have to go with Hamilton. It's been a while since something - especially a Broadway show - kicked me in the teeth like that.

Your favorite TV show of the year?
Star Wars Rebels, by far.

Your favorite video game of the year?
Despite the ongoing DA fandom-ness, it's gotta be Elder Scrolls Online. This is a game I can see myself playing for several years to come, if they keep releasing good content.

Your best new fandom discovery of the year?
I'm not sure - there are a lot of things I've loved this year, but I haven't been descending quite as far into fandom as I have in the past. We'll go with my renewed Star Wars love, between Rebels and TFA.

Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?
Marvel, between the underwhelming experience that was Age of Ultron and my utter lack of interest in Ant-Man.

Your fandom boyfriend of the year?
I think Cullen probably wins this one.

Your fandom girlfriend of the year?
I'm going with Hera Syndulla here, because she's amazing.

Your biggest squee moment of the year?
Sitting in the theater on opening night of TFA. It's everything I wanted and more.

The most missed of your old fandoms?
I've been feeling very nostalgic for bandom recently, or at least the community. It was a very different sort of fandom experience, and I miss the type of storytelling I did (and read) there.

The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to?
I think, once I get farther in watching the series, I might have to see what Miss Fisher fandom has to offer. Otherwise, I intend to further explore Star Wars fandom.

Your biggest fan anticipations for the coming year?
Star Wars: Rogue One. Mass Effect: Andromeda, if it makes it into 2016. Captain America: Civil War. Seanan McGuire's Once Broken Faith. The Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood expansions for ESO.

... but also, I hope something totally new and unexpected comes in and punches me in the face, and that I fall desperately in love with something that isn't even on my radar right now, because that is always the BEST feeling.

Nearly late, but today I'm thankful for you.

Yes, you. Some of you have been reading my random ramblings for a few weeks, or a few months. Some of you have been with me for most of the 4+ years I've been on Tumblr. Some of you have been with me since the LJ days, all the way back to 2001. Some of you were around even before that. It's pretty wild, to think that there are people I met on the internet who are still here after nearly 20 years.

I'm glad I'm not typing into the void. I'm glad you're listening. I'm glad you care, to whatever extent you do.

Happy Thanksgiving, Americans. And happy Thursday to everyone else.

I'm grateful to have my creativity back.

A couple of months ago, I started to cut back on my Effexor, with my doctor's blessing. I'm now down to 37.5mg per day (along side my daily Wellbutrin), and the difference has been astonishing. I knew I'd been a little cloudy, especially in creative terms - and I figured it wasn't a coincidence that the last substantial thing I wrote was finished right before I started the Effexor, back in 2013. But I didn't quite get how much my mental processes were muted until I scaled back on the Effexor.

I have stories in my head now, stories I feel are actually worth writing, for the first time in what feels like forever. And better, I've actually started putting words down on a couple of them.

The Effexor probably got me through the end of my old job without feeling suicidal, so I can't regret being on it. But FUCK, I'm glad it's mostly gone now. I don't know when I'll go off it completely - I'm at least waiting until after the holidays, because there'll be some ridiculous withdrawal symptoms - but right now, I feel like I'm at a good place. Thank all the gods.

Monday again.

- I've been off Tumblr since ... last Tuesday? Wednesday? And honestly, I feel a million times better. I don't know specifically what it is, but for some reason I've reached my breaking point with the way people interact on Tumblr (at least in my corner of it, anyway). I've been getting my social media fix on Twitter, and for the most part, it's felt much healthier. I did take a hiatus on Friday/Saturday, because the amount of Paris speculation and misinformation really got to me, but for the most part it's worked better for my current mindset.

- We finally got rid of all the old bookshelves and furniture that have been cluttering up our house/garage for YEARS on Saturday. It feels AMAZING. Well, except for the part where I'm so out of shape that I still hurt today from the lifting and moving on Saturday morning. But still.

(I am the complete opposite of a hoarder. I want to get rid of EVERYTHING. If it's not working, if it doesn't do me any good right now, if it doesn't serve a purpose, GET IT OUT. Clutter makes me anxious, makes me feel lethargic and hopeless. I need space to breathe more than I need a second winter coat, or more shelves in which to allow my physical belongings to spread out.)

- Yesterday, the group of us started our new Numenera campaign, which is shaping up to be super fun. I'm loving Numenera as a system in general - the rules system allows for more storytelling and character development and fewer 3 hour battles that depend on the whims of the dice. Also, the setting lets you go in whatever genre direction you want - non-technological fantasy, apocalyptic sci-fi or horror, steampunkish weird science ... you name it, you can probably play it. I'm looking forward to getting more into the game.

- I've reached the uncomfortable point in my therapy where I can't tell if I'm on the verge of breaking through my own stubbornness and blocks, or if my therapist is not understanding what I really need. This is usually where I just abandon therapy all together, but I'm trying to push through this time, at least until or unless I figure out that the latter is true. We'll see.

Happy Monday, all. How are you?

- I feel kind of terrible this morning, for no good reason.

- New kitten has some kind of upper respiratory thing, poor baby. She doesn't seem sick, really, but she's got the most terrible sounding cough, and we keep having to scrape snot off her tiny nose. I have to call the vet today and get her an appointment.

- I'm having all of the Hamilton feels today, about how out of everything "Wait For It" is the song I relate to the most, and I'm not quite sure what that says about me. Also about how ridiculously hot Daveed Diggs is, but that's nothing new.

- Speaking of Hamilton - and of Dragon Age, because everything is Dragon Age - because fanart just popped up on my dashboard that reminded me of the character, Leslie Odom Jr as Ser Barris, y/y?

- Anti-rec for the Ulta Matte Lip Cream, it lasted only until I put my lips on a glass this morning. I'm much happier with the LASplash matte lip products.

- Oh, I know why I feel terrible. Because asthma sucks, and I didn't use my inhaler this morning. Smart, Jaime.

(Take two, since I think I messed up the IFTTT recipe the first time?)

Testing the cross-posting to Tumblr mechanism here on Dreamwidth. If it works, I may switch to posting longer text posts here.

I will also start to keep my DW entries public, so that Tumblr folks can come and comment. You should be able to comment anonymously, if you don't have an account.

If you follow me, and you have a Dreamwidth account, feel free to follow me over here!

Dear Yuletide Writer:

As usual, thank you in advance for whatever you choose to write. I’m incredibly excited about all the fandoms/characters mentioned below this year, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

I include some prompt-type things with each fandom, but don’t feel like you’re limited to those ideas. Those are just in case you want a jumping-off point - if you have your own ideas, I’ll be super excited to read them!

If you’re the sort of person who likes to stalk your recipient, I more often live on Tumblr as shadowedhills. I’m seimaisin on AO3.

To porn or not to porn: If I say I ship something below, or if it’s otherwise a canonical pairing, I’m absolutely open to porn! Consider anything that’s not listed in my dislikes as fair game. However, if you’re not a porn kind of writer, that’s 100% okay too! Just know that I’m open to either, whatever your preferences and inspirations are.

General likes: happy/hopeful endings, domestic fluff, found families, BDSM (especially fem!sub), heists and shenanigans, hurt/comfort, friendship between women,

General dislikes: tragic endings, rape/non-con, watersports, character humiliation, incest


Elder Scrolls Online - Razum-dar, Ayrenn Aldmeri

I am not the person who nominated this fandom, but I literally pumped my fist in glee when I saw it in the tag set. ESO has eaten up hundreds of my hours over the last year and a half, and Raz and Ayrenn are probably my favorite NPCs in the whole game. Ayrenn is such an interesting example of the Altmer - so young, in their world, and so determined to push past the typical Altmer superiority complex. And I love Raz’s devotion to her, as mysterious as it is, given how little of himself and his past he reveals to the player.

If you’re writing this fandom, I really just want fic about their relationship. Ship or no ship, either way is more than fine. I’ll take stories of their adventures before she came back to take the crown, or stories about the Queen and her spymaster. Want to speculate about what happens after Molag Bal is defeated? Be my guest! Seriously, I don’t care when you set it, or what direction you go with their relationship, as long as you keep the obvious affection and loyalty they have towards each other.

Potential prompts: What happens behind closed doors after Naemon’s death? How exactly does Raz survive in those ruins in Reaper’s March if you leave him behind? Or what was that whole story about riding a guar naked? Or how exactly did a runaway Altmer princess end up under the wing of a Khajiit … assassin? Or whatever Raz called himself in those days?


October Daye - Sylvester Torquill, Luna Torquill

Toby’s surrogate parents, with whom she now has a very contentious relationship. But they’ve both been alive for infinitely longer than Toby, and have their own histories, their own motivations for everything they do, things that Toby is unable to see. I want to know what they are, what their relationship is like when Toby’s not around.

I’d especially love to see something that happened before the start of the books. Maybe even pre-Rayselline, pre-Toby, when “parent” wasn’t a role either one of them needed to play. Maybe something about Sylvester’s days as a hero, or something expanding on who Luna is other than “child of a Blind Michael, wife of Sylvester, mother of Rayseline.” They’re fascinating characters with a long, storied history, and we don’t get but a small glimpse of it in the books. I will happily read anything you want to write about the two of them and their loving, but complicated relationship.

Potential prompts: I’d read about their courtship, or about how Sylvester finds out Luna’s true identity. Or if you want to use this opportunity to expand on their relationships with other people in their circle outside of Toby’s limited POV, feel free!


Star Wars: Rebels - Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus

So yes, I ship it 110%. I adored everything about the start of their relationship in A New Dawn, and I love the way their relationship progressed to comfort and trust between then and the TV series. I love the “old married couple” dynamic, the fact that they know each other so well and can find so much comfort in each other. So if you’re inclined to write something shippy, I’ll be delighted with anything - set it during Rebels, set it during the years between their meeting and when they picked up Ezra, speculate about the future, it’s all good by me.

If shipping them isn’t your thing, though, don’t worry - the dynamics I mention above are just as awesome when you’re talking about non-romantic friends and partners! Really, the only thing I ask is that your story keep their closeness intact; or, if you introduce a rift in the story, it’s resolved by the end. Also, I’m happy to read anything with any of the Ghost crew being their fantastic “found family” selves. As long as Kanan and Hera are the main focus of the story, you can bring anyone else along for the ride that you choose!

Potential prompts: If you ship it, when did their relationship change from platonic to romantic? I love falling-in-love stories! Otherwise, for any version of their relationship, I’ll happily read adventure stories, tales about them making trouble for the Empire, slice-of-life down time stories, pretty much anything.


Hamilton - Angelica Schuyler, Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, Peggy Schuyler

Give me ALL THE SCHUYLER SISTERS FIC. THE END.

… okay, you probably want more to go on. But I’m serious, I’ll take anything about any one of the sisters, apart or together. Give me Eliza dealing with her life with Hamilton, or her quest to maintain his legacy after his death. Give me … well, anything with Peggy at all, whatsoever. But I’ll admit, Angelica is my favorite. I want to know what her marriage is like, how she feels about her husband, what kind of life they lead. I want more about her complicated relationship with Hamilton - and I’m open to reading about an actual affair between the two of them, if that’s your thing. Or, hey, I’m also one of those who thinks OT3 is the answer to a lot of shipping problems, so if you want to OT3 Angelica/Hamilton/Eliza, that is also fair game!

Whatever you choose, I just want to read about one or more of the sisters dealing with life in the context of the musical, or in an AU based on the musical, if that’s somewhere your mind goes. The show tells us a lot about how the men shaped the nation. Now I want to see things through the eyes of the women.

Potential prompts: I mentioned some above - an Angelica/Hamilton affair, or an OT3. Or tell me what Peggy was doing while everyone else was embroiled in everything. Or give me bonding moments between any of the sisters, before or after Hamilton walks into their lives. Or, I’d actually really like to see Angelica being happy with her husband; the fact that she loves Alexander doesn’t preclude her also loving the man she married.

Yuletide is one of my favorite times of the year! I can't wait to see what you write!