tomatocages | Entries tagged with fandom

+ I am a little late, but: I received a second fic for Yuletide, and it is for one of my favorite books!

Inflammable Substances
Ronja Rövardottar | Ronia the Robber’s Daughter – Astrid Lindgren
On the fifteenth winter of Ronia and Birk’s lives, Undis’ prediction is finally coming true.

It’s absolutely beautiful, a slow unfolding of Birk and Ronia falling in love. My childhood self is in raptures.

+ It’s almost 2012; I am ringing in the new year with my cousins Esme and Ethan, who are 12 and 10; we’ll be watching family-friendly movies and I will probably be drinking unless I can convince them to watch Anastasia. I’d talk a little about the year that’s gone, but I got carried away below, so: next time.

+ My sister Midge, who is also my roommate and BFF, is getting married on Cinco de Mayo. I’m standing up with her in the wedding, and Midge has given me carte-blanche with regards to my clothes—I’ve been pretty unconcerned about the whole thing, but last night I dreamed that it was the day of the wedding and the ceremony was being held in my bedroom instead of at the church. I still didn’t have a dress, and so, as everyone waited by the bay window, I stood in the entryway to my room, in my underwear, trying on everything in my closet. I woke up in a panic, stumbled downstairs, and started looking up dresses. I still have no idea what I’m wearing, but at least now I’m worried about it. Anyone have any ideas? It’s a morning wedding, and it’s in church, so I need to keep my shoulders covered. Let’s be real: I am not above wearing a cardigan.

( This morning, Midge and mom and I sifted through a huge box of photos from my grandmother Rita’s wedding )

Crossposts: http://kittu9.livejournal.com/10661.html

Dear YuleGoat,

Hi! This is my first year participating in Yuletide, and I am already excited for what you’re going to write! I am positive I will love it.

( details )

Christ is born! Glorify him!

Merry Christmas and Happy holidays, f-list! I am unable to attend liturgy (which is very sad, because the Nativity service is always so lovely and quiet), so I read my Yuletide gift, and it was amazing and full of love.

I am bad at hyperlinks, so for now, here's the information:

Time, Love
Kairos (Murry-O'Keefe, Wrinkle in Time), set between A Wind in the Door and Swiftly Tilting Planet.
Two moments of Calvin's life.

It's beautiful and in-character and Calvin is a perfect human being, as usual. Even though it's all from Calvin's POV, the author does an amazing job of keeping Calvin grounded within the life he lives--it's a wonderful fic and I am so thankful to my Yuletide author for writing it.

http://archiveofourown.org/works/302353

I will fix this entry later.In the meantime, what did you get for Yultide? What have you read so far?

DONE WITH FINALS!!!

+In fandom-related news, I've started watching a couple of new (to me) shows: White Collar (I love it!) and Avatar: the Last Airbender (Delightful!).

The things that appeal to me about White Collar are its usage of art history and characterization--I'm only four episodes in, but I think the actors have fabulous chemistry, and I love the portrayal of Peter and Elizabeth's marriage. Peter reminds me (a very little) of my father, mostly in appearance and in his speech patterns; I also like how he talks to his subordinates. Neal is so charming he of course cannot be taken seriously. Which I'm pretty sure is the point. A cursory glance at the fandom seems to indicate that people are super into the idea of the Burkes and Neal having a polyamorous relationship and I'm not at all into that reading--I think a single person can have a very close and complicated relationship with a married couple without sex and/or romantic love being a component. BUT THAT'S A DISSERTATION FOR ANOTHER TIME, and I am looking forward to catching up with the series.

I think I watched a few episodes of A:tLA back in 2005, but that was right when I was leaving fandom, so I never finished it. After viewing season one, can I just say I love Sokka and Katara? I think they have a very real sibling relationship, and I think Katara is a great character. I'm liking it a lot! It's also a show that I can watch with my younger brother, who I've discovered is a big fan. We have different ideas about what's enjoyable, but this is a decent middle ground. I actually love children's television, I think, because in many ways it presents a coherent adventure narrative focused on both the struggle between good & evil while at the same time creating a poignant and relatable coming-of-age story. Additionally, these narratives rarely display content that I find objectionable or uncomfortable*. It also relies on a lot of folklore staples, as does children's literature--I just finished a class on this topic and it was really enjoyable, in case you did not notice that I am a nerd.

*I got uncomfortable reading The Babysitter's Club, so I have...a low tolerence.

I'm technically a free woman until mid-January, so if you have questions, ask 'em now. We can do that meme where we answer back and forth? I love those. I know. I'm sorry. (I'm not sorry.)

A lot of stuff is happening and I have a lot of feelings, so! In no particular order:

+ My sister got engaged! She says I am her maid of honor and I can wear whatever I want. So that's cool.

+ I am officially applying for the PhD, so between that and finals for the semester (due date for the app and exams are AT THE SAME TIME), I shouldn't be on el-jay at all, but probably will be anyway. Naturally I want to write ALL THE FIC about Young Justice, which brings me to ---->

+YOUNG JUSTICE apparently wants to make me regret that I'm not a robot. Everyone who's anyone has already talked about how <i>Failsafe</i> is devastating, so I won't add my thoughts to the mess. But in case you haven't made up your mind about this show (seriously, it's 20 minutes long and amazing, please watch it),

memlu has a new comix blog AND a review of Friday's episode (see A Speeding Bullet for the deets).

+ Yes, I know no one reads this, but whatever.

+ I mentioned this to

torigates already, but just so everyone knows: I had to read the 1930s Superman comix for class, and Clark Kent/Superman is just not toward. Lois Lane can do better, you guys!

I got nothing else.

Forgot I had homework due today and turned it in by the skin of my teeth, probably. I don't even know how this happens, I am usually really good about keeping track of assignments. Luckily it was just another subject heading/authority exercise, so it only took a few minutes. Although when I had to write out "650 _0 $aDinosaurs $zChina $zMongolia $xHistory" I was really tempted to add another subfield saying "Bitch, Plesiosaur." I didn't actually do this, but I wanted to. Then I included a really snarky note about Latin abbreviations, because my instructor spent like 10 minutes whining about how he couldn't be expected to remember that "S.l." means "sine loco" which means "without location" and stands for "without place of publication." Dude, it's not that hard, and RDA will just give you carpal tunnel. WHATEVS.

( Young Justice! )

Also, am thinking about getting caught up on Fables. I stopped reading it in like 2006/2007; Lmk if it's worth getting emotionally involved in Snow and Bigby or if that thin is a hot mess.

And guys! Do we need to talk about Yuletide? Do I even have time?

Subject headings? They are dead to me. I have to create a ton of them at work and for school and it's just really clear that I suck at it. Whatever~~~I give up, I am not a cataloguer (or am I???).

Currently working on a few new fics (Young Justice! Everybody go watch it I am not going to articulate because I am updating on my phone and it's a pain to wax poetic), writing a few papers on folklore (old women as spiritual guides: see Baba Yaga), and emailing every professor I know to ask about school stuff.

I'm feeling really serious about applying for the PhD program in January, so I need to get my ducks in a row and make sure I'm making an informed decision. I'm an information professional, surely that counts for something.

Lastly, because I am apparently incapable of writing coherent, thoughtful posts, I! Have started wearing eyeliner, mostly because it's fancy (I know that beauty is a myth that is used to imprison women in the West, but my eyeliner has a tiny paintbrush!). Only real problem is I have some serious problems taking it off, my makeup remover doesn't seem to work. It is tough for a lady to learn how to apply makeup in a vacuum, but I guess there's the Internet. I'm just...really tired of YouTube tutorials. All of the coherent ones are done by a Vietnamese lady, and she and I have vastly dissimilar facial structures.

Because I have no self control and also wasn't allowed to watch TV when I was little*, I started listening to

mekosuchinae when she talked about Young Justice. And then I watched a couple episodes of Young Justice.

You guys. This show is the best show.

Also, the three people who I've noticed like the show all say the same thing, which is that the fandom for it is terrible, and full of lady-haters. And it's true! I'm so upset about it! But I'm clearly the kind of person who imprints on M'Gann as soon as she appears on screen, because she is made of magic and wears a cardigan. But the show is better even than M'gann, because even the dudes are hilarious, in the way that fifteen-year-olds are dweeby and hilarious! I can find this behavior cute because I have never talked to a fifteen-year-old boy.

It's so awkward and endearing that even my terrible second-hand embarrassment syndrome is vanquished. I'm in love.

*I'm actually not upset about not watching TV when I was small, I wouldn't have appreciated it the way I do now.

Fannish Things To Do:

-Work on

femgenficathon prompts.

-Work on

fma_ladyfest prompt.

-Edit and start reposting Conographia, aka the Royai 100 themes that took me two years to write the first time around. (I am debating: do I repost the original writing plus edits, or do I take this chance to rewrite all the themes I don't think were well-executed? Do I post the original and just offer DVD extras, so to speak? HALP.)

-Finish plotting Greed/Ling/LanFan story. (Is this secretly for

mekosuchinae? MAYBE. I suck at this.)

-Finish plotting major Team Xing/LanFan backstory + research equivalent culture

-Figure out how to write dialogue. (Argh.)

Current Music: Mountain Goats

Ugh, the power just came back on, after three days of darkness. It honestly wasn't too bad--I got a lot of reading done, and the inability to cook meant that someone sprang for tacos. But it was the principle of the thing, and it is a huge pain in the ass to go anwhere when all the traffic lights are out. Getting to PT took almost an hour, and it's normally and ten, fifteen minute drive.

In the planning stages for two long pieces, plus two femgenficathon sign ups and my fma ladyfest prompt.

explicate has offered to help with ladyfest, happily, but does anyone know where to turn for what promises to be a ridiculous foray into LanFan's backstory, as well as a Sakura-centric Naruto fic? (It's a long story, but suffice to say, I love the idea of the Naruto verse far more than I can stomach the manga. I have a LOT to say about it, so fair warning! Avoid this topic if you don't really care!)

Clearly, I've gone crazy; I'm also looking at another round of internships. And today I taught the baby to crawl, which I'm sure her mom will be thrilled about.

Finished reading State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. I always compare her novels to Bel Canto, which is kind of a gold standard, and usually I find them lacking; however, I really love this new one. I think the plot it a little stronger than Bel Canto, and the writing is glorious, but I don't know if it's better. I need to think about it.

In other news, Farmer's Market tomorrow! And I also finished planting the rest of the garden, I have an insane amount of tomato plants. I am going to can so much produce this summer, I swear the neighbors are going to suspect the end times.