Sticky: Dramatis Personae
Jun. 22nd, 2034 01:36 amTo wit: a running list of the characters and places that may or may not appear regularly in my posts
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Five Things As Proof of Life
Sep. 5th, 2024 10:40 pm1. The academic year has begun again and Fuzzbucket is over the moon to be back in the office full time. I begin to suspect that my service dog likes my job more than I do.
2. The Empress, on the other hand, is - per usual - FURIOUS with me for having returned to working 5 days a week and every night she tries to convince someone else at the barn (who isn’t me) to take her home with them. Which is equal parts hilarious and hurtful.
3. As I commented elsewhere, I’m fairly certain that fully half of what’s wrong with me as a person can be attributed to the fact that I was introduced to both Jorge Luis Borges and Elizabeth Hand at a tender age.
4. Himself jumped over some jump filler he’d never seen before on the first try WITHOUT having the vapors about it like a Victorian maiden, which earns him the Good Pony Award for the week. (At the farm, we jokingly refer to Himself as “Brave Sir Robin” because … yes. And if you’ve not seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail and are mystified by the reference, Google the lyrics and all will make sense).
5. There is a stage of editing a long work that resembles the part of closet cleaning where you’ve emptied your closet and all your worldly possessions are scattered all over the floor and you are questioning every single one of the obviously terrible life choices that have led you to this point, and that is currently where I am living with the Big Fic. This too will pass. I hope.
2. The Empress, on the other hand, is - per usual - FURIOUS with me for having returned to working 5 days a week and every night she tries to convince someone else at the barn (who isn’t me) to take her home with them. Which is equal parts hilarious and hurtful.
3. As I commented elsewhere, I’m fairly certain that fully half of what’s wrong with me as a person can be attributed to the fact that I was introduced to both Jorge Luis Borges and Elizabeth Hand at a tender age.
4. Himself jumped over some jump filler he’d never seen before on the first try WITHOUT having the vapors about it like a Victorian maiden, which earns him the Good Pony Award for the week. (At the farm, we jokingly refer to Himself as “Brave Sir Robin” because … yes. And if you’ve not seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail and are mystified by the reference, Google the lyrics and all will make sense).
5. There is a stage of editing a long work that resembles the part of closet cleaning where you’ve emptied your closet and all your worldly possessions are scattered all over the floor and you are questioning every single one of the obviously terrible life choices that have led you to this point, and that is currently where I am living with the Big Fic. This too will pass. I hope.
Rip Van Winkle Awakens
Aug. 23rd, 2024 03:52 pm*Pokes head out from hole, only to discover literal months have passed*
Oops.
How are all of you?
I’m fine, ponies are fine, dogs are fine. Fuzzbucket is ready for summer to be over and for me to be back in the office full time because my service dog is a Flaming Extrovert who misses all the people.
Meanwhile, back in late June my fic muse bit me hard for the first time since like 2019 and I started working on what I thought was going to be a fun little exercise in worldbuilding that would probably take a couple weeks and run me like 12,000 words. Hahaha no; rip me. Sneaky, sneaky fic muse. Because what this project very quickly turned into was a raging case of “Whoops, I guess I’m writing a novel now.” As one does, apparently.
I am now feverishly trying to finish the last section of this thing before summer break ends at Institute of Higher Learning because staying up until 3 AM writing during the academic year isn’t particularly conducive to a happy or well-rested life. So anyway, that’s why I’ve been living in a hole since the end of June. I intend to deal with the contents of my DW inbox presently (by which I mean hopefully in the next week or two lol). Stay tuned.
In the meantime, as proof of life, have a couple of short vignettes that were very early sketches for the monster fic. They’re actually set in the AU just next door since the actual story ended up taking a rather different turn.
archiveofourown.org/works/58110475 Sentient, If Not Precisely Wise. [Babylon 5; Delenn & Shaal Mayan, Master Draal, pre-canon, friendship] Where Delenn went, Mayan was sure to follow. This was not always such a good thing.
archiveofourown.org/works/58390441 Like A Shadow Untethered. [Babylon 5; Delenn & Shaal Mayan, pre-canon, long-distance friendship, mutual pining (kinda)] Girls became young women. Young women became priestesses and answered the calling of their hearts.
Oops.
How are all of you?
I’m fine, ponies are fine, dogs are fine. Fuzzbucket is ready for summer to be over and for me to be back in the office full time because my service dog is a Flaming Extrovert who misses all the people.
Meanwhile, back in late June my fic muse bit me hard for the first time since like 2019 and I started working on what I thought was going to be a fun little exercise in worldbuilding that would probably take a couple weeks and run me like 12,000 words. Hahaha no; rip me. Sneaky, sneaky fic muse. Because what this project very quickly turned into was a raging case of “Whoops, I guess I’m writing a novel now.” As one does, apparently.
I am now feverishly trying to finish the last section of this thing before summer break ends at Institute of Higher Learning because staying up until 3 AM writing during the academic year isn’t particularly conducive to a happy or well-rested life. So anyway, that’s why I’ve been living in a hole since the end of June. I intend to deal with the contents of my DW inbox presently (by which I mean hopefully in the next week or two lol). Stay tuned.
In the meantime, as proof of life, have a couple of short vignettes that were very early sketches for the monster fic. They’re actually set in the AU just next door since the actual story ended up taking a rather different turn.
archiveofourown.org/works/58110475 Sentient, If Not Precisely Wise. [Babylon 5; Delenn & Shaal Mayan, Master Draal, pre-canon, friendship] Where Delenn went, Mayan was sure to follow. This was not always such a good thing.
archiveofourown.org/works/58390441 Like A Shadow Untethered. [Babylon 5; Delenn & Shaal Mayan, pre-canon, long-distance friendship, mutual pining (kinda)] Girls became young women. Young women became priestesses and answered the calling of their hearts.
The Friday Five: Midpoint
Jun. 28th, 2024 10:58 pm1. Have you gotten everything done that you had hoped to do during the first half of 2024?
Given that my goals were basically “survive,” “keep the nonhumans alive and happy,” and “don’t drop any absolutely crucial balls”, I guess I’ll say yes…?
My dad passed in early January and given that it was not remotely unexpected (he’d been ill a long time) and that our relationship was complicated at best, I was really unprepared for the extent to which it threw me for a loop. Work was also utterly wretched in all sorts of interesting (but thankfully expected and totally temporary) ways for about five months, so that was also cool [/sarcasm]. But I’m on the other side of it now, everyone is still alive including me, and I learned a lot in the meantime about how asking for help is Really Okay and also how great my colleagues at Institute of Higher Learning really are.
2. Did anything exciting or unexpected happen to you during the first half of 2024?
Himself and I were on a team that took top-three placings in the first flight division at two huge hunter paces a week apart, so that was fun. He and I both live for a good gallop in the great wide open, and doing it with friends is even better! For the uninitiated, a hunter pace is more or less a horse race that you do in teams of 2-4 on a course over some pretty significant terrain, sometimes with obstacles to jump. It’s supposed to mimic the track of a fox hunt, and the goal is to be the team to that finishes closest to the optimum time (which is not disclosed for the riders; part of the test is how well you’re able to read the terrain).
I take no credit for our placings other than being brave and having a super game horse who’s more than able to keep up with the big guys; we had a FABULOUS team captain who called the shots.
3. What big plans do you have for the second half of 2024?
I’m kind of just angling for a quiet, non-sucky rest of the year with a schedule (and a spoon allotment) that’s more conducive to me being able to ride both ponies most days (Princess P got rather back-burnered during the suckfest that was the last six months on account of she’s the one who doesn’t forget how to be a riding horse with significant time off).
I’d like to finish reading the Grishaverse series, and I have a long fic I’d like to get done and posted.
4. Have you taken, or are you planning, a vacation this year?
Fuzzbucket and I went and spent a little over a week with my Mamacita earlier this month. It was the most Autistic of vacations and incredibly relaxing: she and I hung out and did our own thing in different parts of the house most of the day and chatted at dinner. She entertained her parrots (did I mention she has two parrots?) and did whatever it is she does all day on her computer, and I read and colored and started a Babylon 5 rewatch.
Mamacita says she likes it when I come to stay because I’m nice company but don’t insist on talking to her all the time. So I know where I get it from…
Fuzzbucket loves Mamacita (she feeds him whatever he wants, whenever he wants it) and also loves her backyard, so he also had a fabulous vacation.
5. Have you ever wanted to be one of the people writing and posting these questions?
Honestly that seems like an awful lot of pressure lol
Given that my goals were basically “survive,” “keep the nonhumans alive and happy,” and “don’t drop any absolutely crucial balls”, I guess I’ll say yes…?
My dad passed in early January and given that it was not remotely unexpected (he’d been ill a long time) and that our relationship was complicated at best, I was really unprepared for the extent to which it threw me for a loop. Work was also utterly wretched in all sorts of interesting (but thankfully expected and totally temporary) ways for about five months, so that was also cool [/sarcasm]. But I’m on the other side of it now, everyone is still alive including me, and I learned a lot in the meantime about how asking for help is Really Okay and also how great my colleagues at Institute of Higher Learning really are.
2. Did anything exciting or unexpected happen to you during the first half of 2024?
Himself and I were on a team that took top-three placings in the first flight division at two huge hunter paces a week apart, so that was fun. He and I both live for a good gallop in the great wide open, and doing it with friends is even better! For the uninitiated, a hunter pace is more or less a horse race that you do in teams of 2-4 on a course over some pretty significant terrain, sometimes with obstacles to jump. It’s supposed to mimic the track of a fox hunt, and the goal is to be the team to that finishes closest to the optimum time (which is not disclosed for the riders; part of the test is how well you’re able to read the terrain).
I take no credit for our placings other than being brave and having a super game horse who’s more than able to keep up with the big guys; we had a FABULOUS team captain who called the shots.
3. What big plans do you have for the second half of 2024?
I’m kind of just angling for a quiet, non-sucky rest of the year with a schedule (and a spoon allotment) that’s more conducive to me being able to ride both ponies most days (Princess P got rather back-burnered during the suckfest that was the last six months on account of she’s the one who doesn’t forget how to be a riding horse with significant time off).
I’d like to finish reading the Grishaverse series, and I have a long fic I’d like to get done and posted.
4. Have you taken, or are you planning, a vacation this year?
Fuzzbucket and I went and spent a little over a week with my Mamacita earlier this month. It was the most Autistic of vacations and incredibly relaxing: she and I hung out and did our own thing in different parts of the house most of the day and chatted at dinner. She entertained her parrots (did I mention she has two parrots?) and did whatever it is she does all day on her computer, and I read and colored and started a Babylon 5 rewatch.
Mamacita says she likes it when I come to stay because I’m nice company but don’t insist on talking to her all the time. So I know where I get it from…
Fuzzbucket loves Mamacita (she feeds him whatever he wants, whenever he wants it) and also loves her backyard, so he also had a fabulous vacation.
5. Have you ever wanted to be one of the people writing and posting these questions?
Honestly that seems like an awful lot of pressure lol
Underwater creatures are cool
Jun. 26th, 2024 02:36 pmBusy last couple of days, including a Very Adventurous Monday which rather wiped out the contents of the spoon drawer.
On Monday my friend M and I made an Expedition to neighboring!city for lunch, a bit of a walkabout, and a visit to the aquarium. Which meant that Fuzzbucket ALSO made an Expedition to neighboring!city for lunch, a bit of a walkabout, and a visit to the aquarium.
Lunch was at an Aggressively German biergarten sort of place that played nothing but entirely-too-cheerful oom-pah music that gave me flashbacks to Fantasyland at Disney in the 1990s. I kept expecting to look up and see bearded men in lederhosen and little hats sitting at the bar with steins the size of their heads singing drinking songs.
Fuzzbucket’s rating: 8/10 stars. Everyone ignored him, he got to snooze under the table, and occasionally The Human slipped him a piece of bratwurst on the sly.
With an hour and a half between lunch and our aquarium entry, we took a little stroll around the downtown area. Upon discovering that our intended destination for the stroll was closed, we adjourned to an indoor shopping and entertainment venue which was nice and cool but disappointing in terms of window-shopping options.
Fuzzbucket’s rating: 4/10 stars. Too hot outside, also too many joggers and bicyclists that he couldn’t bark at because he was On Duty and In Public. Very disappointing. Tile floors in the shopping center were nice though.
The aquarium was amazing. Absolutely as many huge pufferfish as my little puffer-loving heart could possibly desire, plus stingrays, weedy sea dragons, and cuttlefish that actually changed color while we watched (!!!!!!). M got her seahorse fix in spades. M is the perfect aquarium companion - she’s no more of a talker than I am, and ALSO wants to stand in front of an exhibit until we’ve identified every. single. species. listed on the information placards.
Fuzzbucket had an adorable encounter with a stingray through the glass of an exhibit. It seemed to be as fascinated with him as he was with it.
Fuzzbucket’s rating: 9/10 stars. The Human was mostly relaxed and happy so his job wasn’t particularly difficult, the fish were interesting, and the rest of the human-type people ignored him and let him work. Would have been 10/10 stars except that the sharks were mildly concerning and he had to ignore some shrieking children.
And here is where I note that while a certain corner of The Socials would have you believe that service dogs and their handlers are constantly battling People In Charge trying to deny them access to venues, inconsiderate randos trying to sneak illicit pets, and aggro, attack-y pet dogs dressed up in service dog vests bought off of Amazon, that has not been my experience at all. Outside the occasional clueless person making kissy noises at Fuzzbucket in the grocery aisle, folks are generally super respectful and not at all weird about him, and we’ve only ever had one pet dog encounter (in the Apple Store of all places; IDEK). And as far as access goes, Monday was actually kind of an exciting day - the first time I’d EVER been asked the Two Questions businesses and institutions are allowed to ask service dog users before granting them access (‘Is this a service dog required for a disability’ and ‘What tasks does the dog perform?’). Prior to this point, the closest I’d ever come to the Two Questions was the one time the security dude at my polling place asked, “Is that a service dog?” when I went in to cast my ballot. [Now I will ALSO note for the record that I live in a college town, I carry a number of layers of privilege - to wit: white, cis, middle class, professional, and solidly in the middle part of middle age, and that Fuzzbucket is really, REALLY cute. But I also think that The Socials aren’t always the most reliable place to go for information about the world, and that most people are generally trying to be pretty decent humans even if they get it wrong sometimes. So.]
Yesterday I sat down and wrote 1,200 words on a new fic. My muse has been really shy since covid lockdown, so I’m trying to move very slowly and not scare it …
On Monday my friend M and I made an Expedition to neighboring!city for lunch, a bit of a walkabout, and a visit to the aquarium. Which meant that Fuzzbucket ALSO made an Expedition to neighboring!city for lunch, a bit of a walkabout, and a visit to the aquarium.
Lunch was at an Aggressively German biergarten sort of place that played nothing but entirely-too-cheerful oom-pah music that gave me flashbacks to Fantasyland at Disney in the 1990s. I kept expecting to look up and see bearded men in lederhosen and little hats sitting at the bar with steins the size of their heads singing drinking songs.
Fuzzbucket’s rating: 8/10 stars. Everyone ignored him, he got to snooze under the table, and occasionally The Human slipped him a piece of bratwurst on the sly.
With an hour and a half between lunch and our aquarium entry, we took a little stroll around the downtown area. Upon discovering that our intended destination for the stroll was closed, we adjourned to an indoor shopping and entertainment venue which was nice and cool but disappointing in terms of window-shopping options.
Fuzzbucket’s rating: 4/10 stars. Too hot outside, also too many joggers and bicyclists that he couldn’t bark at because he was On Duty and In Public. Very disappointing. Tile floors in the shopping center were nice though.
The aquarium was amazing. Absolutely as many huge pufferfish as my little puffer-loving heart could possibly desire, plus stingrays, weedy sea dragons, and cuttlefish that actually changed color while we watched (!!!!!!). M got her seahorse fix in spades. M is the perfect aquarium companion - she’s no more of a talker than I am, and ALSO wants to stand in front of an exhibit until we’ve identified every. single. species. listed on the information placards.
Fuzzbucket had an adorable encounter with a stingray through the glass of an exhibit. It seemed to be as fascinated with him as he was with it.
Fuzzbucket’s rating: 9/10 stars. The Human was mostly relaxed and happy so his job wasn’t particularly difficult, the fish were interesting, and the rest of the human-type people ignored him and let him work. Would have been 10/10 stars except that the sharks were mildly concerning and he had to ignore some shrieking children.
And here is where I note that while a certain corner of The Socials would have you believe that service dogs and their handlers are constantly battling People In Charge trying to deny them access to venues, inconsiderate randos trying to sneak illicit pets, and aggro, attack-y pet dogs dressed up in service dog vests bought off of Amazon, that has not been my experience at all. Outside the occasional clueless person making kissy noises at Fuzzbucket in the grocery aisle, folks are generally super respectful and not at all weird about him, and we’ve only ever had one pet dog encounter (in the Apple Store of all places; IDEK). And as far as access goes, Monday was actually kind of an exciting day - the first time I’d EVER been asked the Two Questions businesses and institutions are allowed to ask service dog users before granting them access (‘Is this a service dog required for a disability’ and ‘What tasks does the dog perform?’). Prior to this point, the closest I’d ever come to the Two Questions was the one time the security dude at my polling place asked, “Is that a service dog?” when I went in to cast my ballot. [Now I will ALSO note for the record that I live in a college town, I carry a number of layers of privilege - to wit: white, cis, middle class, professional, and solidly in the middle part of middle age, and that Fuzzbucket is really, REALLY cute. But I also think that The Socials aren’t always the most reliable place to go for information about the world, and that most people are generally trying to be pretty decent humans even if they get it wrong sometimes. So.]
Yesterday I sat down and wrote 1,200 words on a new fic. My muse has been really shy since covid lockdown, so I’m trying to move very slowly and not scare it …
Today’s ten minutes of writing (which turned into a lot more than ten) revolved around my absolute favorite story in the entire Bible. And true to form my favorite Bible story is kind of an obscure one, buried 1 Kings. But it’s so good, so human, and so darn relevant that I feel like it should way less obscure. So here you go. (I’ll put it behind a cut so those of you who are not Bible-inclined can just pass right on by. Also it’s long.)
[Beneath the cut: a retelling of the story of Elijah under the broom tree and what happened after. With a number of asides and a liberal sprinkling of f-bombs, because that’s just how I roll.]
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[Beneath the cut: a retelling of the story of Elijah under the broom tree and what happened after. With a number of asides and a liberal sprinkling of f-bombs, because that’s just how I roll.]
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Five Things Make A Post
Jun. 22nd, 2024 02:55 pmIs that even a thing anymore? The last time I was active on a journaling site at all was back when iPads were the shiny new thing. At any rate, if it’s gone out of style I’m all about the vintage stuff anyway so here you go.
1. No matter how many times I visit my little mamacita, I always manage to forget how much spending a week plus on West Coast time messes with my circadian clock when I return to home!state.
I would like to stop falling asleep at 3 AM and getting up at 11 please and thank you. I would ideally like to do so yesterday, given I’m supposed to be at church at 9:30 tomorrow morning for a Daughters meeting (will our heroine actually make it to church? Jury still out) and back in the office at Institute of Higher Learning on Tuesday. Good times. Whee.
*
2. Pursuant to item #1 The Empress stayed here in town with some barn friends and is emphatically NOT on West Coast time. She gently awakened me at 6 AM by barking in my face demanding a walk. Which she got, because if The Empress ain’t happy there ain’t no going back to sleep.
*
3. Approximately ten years late to the party but yours truly has fallen headfirst into the Grishaverse. What started as “hmm, that looks like something interesting to read on the plane” (Russian-flavored magic and a badass, reluctant heroine? Count me in) has turned into me bingeing half the second book in the course of 24 hours. Since I’m a (very) slow reader that’s saying something.
Trying to pace myself because I know I’m going to be Very Sad when I don’t have any books left in the series that I haven’t read.
Is this going to be an “I like it so much I can’t bring myself to write fic for it” kind of fandom or an “I’d like to literally move here so let me write ALL the fic” kind of fandom?
*
4. As befits someone who’s just come home from a trip I’ve spent most of today doing laundry. Laundry is the scourge of my existence, second only to grocery shopping.
*
5. I’m on dinner-and-turnout duty at The Farm this afternoon. It is very (very!) hot but at least I’m told there is a near-endless supply of popsicles in the freezer and a bunch of the resident horses are at a show for the weekend. Also most of the boarders who aren’t showing don’t want to deal with the heat so I should be able to suffer in blessed solitude at least. And with that, I’m off to gird my loins, collect the dogs, and go do farm girl things.
1. No matter how many times I visit my little mamacita, I always manage to forget how much spending a week plus on West Coast time messes with my circadian clock when I return to home!state.
I would like to stop falling asleep at 3 AM and getting up at 11 please and thank you. I would ideally like to do so yesterday, given I’m supposed to be at church at 9:30 tomorrow morning for a Daughters meeting (will our heroine actually make it to church? Jury still out) and back in the office at Institute of Higher Learning on Tuesday. Good times. Whee.
*
2. Pursuant to item #1 The Empress stayed here in town with some barn friends and is emphatically NOT on West Coast time. She gently awakened me at 6 AM by barking in my face demanding a walk. Which she got, because if The Empress ain’t happy there ain’t no going back to sleep.
*
3. Approximately ten years late to the party but yours truly has fallen headfirst into the Grishaverse. What started as “hmm, that looks like something interesting to read on the plane” (Russian-flavored magic and a badass, reluctant heroine? Count me in) has turned into me bingeing half the second book in the course of 24 hours. Since I’m a (very) slow reader that’s saying something.
Trying to pace myself because I know I’m going to be Very Sad when I don’t have any books left in the series that I haven’t read.
Is this going to be an “I like it so much I can’t bring myself to write fic for it” kind of fandom or an “I’d like to literally move here so let me write ALL the fic” kind of fandom?
*
4. As befits someone who’s just come home from a trip I’ve spent most of today doing laundry. Laundry is the scourge of my existence, second only to grocery shopping.
*
5. I’m on dinner-and-turnout duty at The Farm this afternoon. It is very (very!) hot but at least I’m told there is a near-endless supply of popsicles in the freezer and a bunch of the resident horses are at a show for the weekend. Also most of the boarders who aren’t showing don’t want to deal with the heat so I should be able to suffer in blessed solitude at least. And with that, I’m off to gird my loins, collect the dogs, and go do farm girl things.
Is this thing on?
Jun. 21st, 2024 11:08 pmHello world, I’m new here. More or less. Maybe. Kinda.
Just your average service dog using, reject kids’ pony riding, American Girl doll loving, Babylon 5 obsessed, super introverted writer looking to make some new friends (and maybe to accidentally catch up with some old ones).
My fic journal lives here:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
un_finished
Just your average service dog using, reject kids’ pony riding, American Girl doll loving, Babylon 5 obsessed, super introverted writer looking to make some new friends (and maybe to accidentally catch up with some old ones).
My fic journal lives here:
un_finished
