All is Translation, and All of Us Lost in it

Iiiit's the Yuletide reveal! Which means that today I not only get to find out who my authors were (I see you there, lacunarity), but I get to reveal what my own fic was.

This year, I wrote Amateur Genealogy for one of my favorite TV shows, Justified.

This was a really tough one for me to write. The show is so well-written, and the Raylan-Tim-Rachel dynamic is my favorite ever, so I had a lot to live up to. I loved what season two did with the theme of family, and I was really struck by the showrunner's comment in an interview that they had to drive a wedge between Raylan and his 'marshal family' in order to resolve some of the issues with his family in Harlan, so I really wanted to write a little coda for the marshals.

The thing I really love about their relationship is that it's very unique for a crime drama. It takes the badass, gunslinging protagonist and shows how he has to function within this environment, unlike on other shows where the crime fighter has all of his quirks excused because he's so brilliant. Rachel and Tim have treated Raylan as their equal from the start: he gets saddled with an unpleasant informant in season one because he's 'the new guy,' and it's clear that he's expected to pick up coffee and file paperwork like everyone else.

And then in season two, regardless of what's going on in Art and Raylan's relationship, they all have each other's backs. Rachel and Tim each get an episode where Raylan is acting as a support system for them, and later in the season, they do whatever they can for him, even if he's not the type to come to them with his problems. I really wanted to play around with that dynamic, and how Rachel and Tim react to everything that happened at the end of season two. I'm sure it'll get Jossed, but a girl can dream.

I wasn't really expecting the reception I got, and I'm really glad people liked the fic! It seems everyone is as big a fan of Rachel as I am, which makes me happy. I played around with a couple different POVs, but hers was my favorite: I think her family situation gives her a different perspective, and I love that she's fairly warm with her coworkers even though she's not really a warm person in general. That, and she's just so cool. Hello there, raging girlcrush.

In any case, I had a great time, and I hope my recipient had as much fun reading it!

And for posterity's sake, here's everything from previous Yuletides:

( List with links )

2010:
The Lonely Traveler for Mushishi anime/manga


And now to enjoy the last few days of my vacation. It'll be nice to get back to work on the book, even if I don't feel the same about the day job. I'll be finished soon, so if anyone is up for another round of the Original Fic prompt trees, maybe I'll start up another one?

So! Would anyone be interested in a round of the Original Fiction Drabble-thon?

I know I really need it! I'm feeling pretty stuck lately. I did a bit of writing last weekend, but for the most part, I have a lot of half-formed ideas but I can't pin them down. The last round sort of fizzled out, but if you guys are game, I'd love to give it another go!

(For those of you who are new, the Original Fiction Drabble-thon is a prompt tree-style, hopefully low stress opportunity to play around with original fic ideas. Click on the tag to see previous rounds!)

So I am sitting around watching the Oscar pre-show after a fairly low-key weekend. I mainly took time off from writing (though I still wrote a couple scenes) because for the latest time in this story, I think, I'm at a pretty natural stopping place. Or, rather, once I finish this chapter I probably won't really stop until I reach the end, so this is my only chance!

Holy crap, you guys, I can't believe that I'm going to be querying a novel again by late May/early June. I go back and forth on how confident I am every day. Sometimes it's like "I really hope I make it happen this time!" and other times it's like "YEAH, GO AHEAD AND TRY, YOU'LL BE AN INSPIRATION TO HACKS EVERYWHERE." It's more often the former than the latter, at least. Either way, I'm really excited to get started on the editing. I've got a lot of tweaking to do!

Speaking of publishing, I've been devouring books left and right lately! I've been bringing in books to work for when I can grab a quiet moment - I think I'll bring Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet tomorrow so I can finally finish it. I think I'm going to start bookblogging on my tumblr so I can have a record of all my reading in 2011. I still have plenty to get through on my bookshelf, so I can use those to somehow distract myself from all the awesome sequels I'm waiting on later this year. And aren't we getting a new DWJ book at some point? UGH. ALL THESE GREAT UNPUBLISHED BOOKS NEED TO COME TO MEEEE.

Also, randomly, all this Red Carpet footage makes me want to go shopping. Judging by the state of my closet, that is the worst idea ever. Maybe I'll see if anything ready for Salvation Army first.

Yosh, I will now turn my full attention to the broadcast. Got any Oscar predictions, guys?

So as usual, I make no promises - but since it's Valentine's Day, I want to give it a try!

Give me a pairing, original or fannish, and I'll write a little drabble for them.

Well hello there, everyone! I had a rather relaxing weekend, I signed up for Yuletide! My letter is over on DW if you're curious - I ended up asking for HTTYD, Natsume Yuujinchou, Justified, and the Thief of Eddis books. I've offered HTTYD, Natsume Yuujinchou, Mushishi, and PoP '08 so far, but I may add more as the week goes on. I will hopefully finish this next Hungry Ground chapter before assignments go out next week.

But first! I am in full Harry Potter-mode, thanks to the first part of Deathly Hallows coming out this weekend, and my weekend-long marathon of A Very Potter Musical. (Darren Criss is tag-teaming with Chris Colfer to steal my heart. WELL I CAN TELL YOU NOW THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO W-- okay yes, it's totally working, as sotto_voice will be able to tell you. Dammit.)

Anyway, I'm always interested in hearing about people's favorite Potter book, because it seems to vary quite a bit. Personally, I like Prisoner of Azkaban the best because I love me some Lupin, but Goblet of Fire is a really close second for all the sublime trauma it inflicts. What's your favorite book of the series?

Fair warning: probable discussion of spoilers in the comments!

Good evening, flist! How are you tonight? I am laying around after a delicious Ma Po Tofu dinner and watching Hawaii Five-0 in order to ogle Daniel Dae Kim. Mmmmm, Jin.

OH HI THERE MASI OKA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE. ♥

Anyway! We are heading into one of my favorite times of year - the holiday season! The weekend after next should be fun, what with the Halloween potluck at work on the 29th, Jon Stewart's rally on the 30th, and I plan to have a quiet Halloween with a couple movies and perhaps a teeny pumpkin. It's not going to be as much fun without Sarah and Miranda, but I'll make do.

But then after that! Much more fun things begin. I'm talking, of course, about NaNo and Yuletide.

As per usual, I will be using NaNo as an excuse to step up my productivity, since I'm already working on a book. I did a full outline of Hungry Ground while stuck on lunch receptionist duty yesterday, and it looks like it's going to be 17 or 18 chapters, and I want to see if I can't get two or three done in November.

(I also usually use this time to work on holiday drabble requests, but between the book, Yuletide, and the new job, I definitely won't get those done this year. I will, however, be able to do holiday cards more efficiently, since I spend a lot of time at work sitting on my butt waiting for my diplomats to need something.)

And then, of course, there is Yuletide. ( Yuletide babble! )

And now we return to your regularly scheduled Daniel Dae Kim. Have a good night! ♥

OOF. Last week really knocked me on my ass - ten hours of sleep and I still feel dead. Unfortunately, it won't get much better, since I'll be doing the work of two assistants until my "partner" assistant of sorts returns from vacation on the 14th, but at the very least, my bosses will be occupied with the delegation until Wednesday.

Anyway! Like many of you, I signed up for Original Fic Bingo. Here's my card:

( Mah card, ladies and gents )

So I'm seeing a lot of you saying "I need inspiration" or "I need to warm up." Now, if only there was a convenient way we could all do that together?

OH, BUT THERE IS. :D

Anybody up for a shiny new Original Fiction Drabble-thon?

My first week is over, and I'm enjoying the hell out of my downtime! I'm also in a 'blab about writing' mood, so here's a meme that inarticulate came up with:

So! Give me a character*, or two, or however many, and I will give you:

A) An OTP
B) A runner up
C) A ship I dislike
D) My take on said character, unpopular or otherwise
E) If relevant, my happy ending (AU or non) for that character
F) A bit of headcanon about how I view their sexuality
G) A character from another fandom I would love them to meet

*Original characters would be great, but if you're not familiar with any/want to hear about a fannish character, I'm game for that, too. ♥

Imaginary Beasts #22: Oceans and Seas, is live! ♥

My story: five days with the bride of the ocean, aka Femslash by the Sea

Enjoy! ♥

Varied entry for a varied weekend!

- I bought my first pair of fancy jeans today! I've always been wary of buying the more expensive brands, but this was really worth it. Normally I can't stand it when something is that close a fit, but they are super comfortable and make my ass look fantastic. And I love when people realize that girls can be short and curvy. Definitely a great purchase. ♥

- My work wardrobe in general has expanded quite a bit! My closet is embassy-ready. That's a nice feeling.

- I never thanked you guys for your great drabble suggestions. So thank you! They totally got me inspired... although not in the way I thought! I spent most of my trip last week thinking up ideas for the drabbles, and then after I wrote one on Monday, I then wrote about 4000 words of The Hungry Ground instead. The chapter will be done early this week, and then I'll definitely return to the drabble prompts. I at least have to write the Possession ficlet about Felix and Lady Gaga.

- imaginarybeasts #22 will go live next weekend, and I have a story in it this time! It's funny how so far, I've been in the winter issue and the summer issue. Anyway, the new story is called "five days with the bride of the ocean," and I hope that y'all will like it.

- Have I not screamed about Legend of Korra yet? This is a grievous oversight indeed. Let's try this again: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. This is going to be awesome, guys. SO AWESOME. ♥ ♥

So that's what's up with me. What's going on with you guys?