My Passions
Manga: X, CCS, Basara, KKJ, Rurouni Kenshin, Sensei!, Naruto, Juline
TV: Buffy, WWF, Home & Garden Network,  Iron Chef
Reading: Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones
Biography: Mustafa Kamal (Ataturk)
Biseinen:  Kusanagi (X), Fuuma (X), Touya (CCS), Itou (Sensei!), Kakashi (Naruto), The Red King (Basara), Cho (RK), Bob (Husband)
Cat of the moment: Hickory
Fanfic in progress: "Elemental" (X) "The Other Woman" (X),  Untitled sequel to Wings of Desire (X), "Shinjuku" (X), "Operation Hiko" (RK), "White Devils" (RK).

Where I go
Fortune's Fools
Dreams of Sakura
Sekai Seifuku
Elitist Bastards!
X Island
Anime on DVD
TheOneRing.net
Cyber Shrine
Vulpes.org
Cat-chi Cats (Japanese Bobtails)
Cyber Shrine
The Queen of Cups
Green Man Press (Charles Vess)
Kaluta Studios (Mike Kaluta)
Pitas.com

Who I know
Satsuki-chan +++ pointless +++
Lika Under Thlyali's Thrall
Ammie Castle of Briars
Alison Shinken
Kerianne The Space Between
Kristin Kudaranai
Hokuto-chan Ruby Cookies
Font of wisdom Subterfuge Archives
My Fanfiction Sedition

    

My Husband is an Elitist! Oh, the Humanity!

First, though... Ammie, I think you'll like this old Doctor Who fanfic. It's set during "The Five Doctors" episode. I ran across it and some other stuff that I wrote a loooooong time ago. If you like it, I'll type in one of the other ones I did, that I think was slightly better.

It was kind of strange, reading it again. I didn't realize my writing style had changed so much. I remember working really hard on this fic (when I was supposed to be writing essays about Reza Shah's reforms in 1920's Iran) and being so proud of the ending, which is kinda just stuck on there. If I was writing it now, I probably wouldn't release it in this state. But I thought Ammie might like it.

Anyway, I was talking to Bob last night about a problem I was having with Elemental, ie Aoki's motivation. Bob's not big into fanfic, although he'll read things occasionally, mostly when I wave stuff under his nose asking him what he thinks. But, part of being married is getting to hear your spouse rant about hobbies in which you have little to no interest, and pretending that you care. And Bob is nothing if not a good husband.

(He likes anime and manga, btw. X is not one of his favorites, although he knows enough about the storyline that he can follow what I'm saying. His preference is towards girls with guns or giant mecha dramas, although he professes a weak spot towards Card Captor Sakura that I find endearing.)

So I told him about what I'd written, and how I kept tossing it aside because I couldn't get it to work. He listened patiently as I explained how I was trying to get some action for Karen and Aoki. He shook his head sadly as I explained my new and daring plan for getting them together.

"Hon," he said, "It's not going to work. He's never going to cheat on his wife. He's not that sort of character."
"But...but..but...! Lemon! The point is to get them together!"
"But the whole point of that story is that it's an impossible love! Sure, he may like her, but he's totally dedicated to his family! I don't care how hot she is, a guy like that isn't going to go for her."
"Oh, so he wouldn't go for her, even if she threw herself at him?"
"He wouldn't go for her, because that's totally against who and what he is! And if you write him like that, it won't be him. It won't be right. You'll ruin the story."

Ooookay. Twist that knife, babe.

Bob, it turns out, is a purist. He himself admitted he was a bit elitist about stories, which was why he doesn't like to read fanfic very much. He really doesn't like when things fall too far away from canon. It was really strange hearing that sort of thing come from him.

I asked him then what he thought of the recent fanfic debate. He shrugged. He doesn't like OOC stories. He's not going to go out of his way to flame anybody because he's a nice guy. Most of the time, he just doesn't read the stuff. Even MY stuff. Unless I make him.

However, he was quick to add that he LIKED my stuff and more importantly, liked me, which is probably a good thing, considering we're married and all that.

Not that I want to reopen the debate. I don't. I want to waste my time ficcing instead. But I thought this was kind of funny, hearing the POV that I had been arguing against coming from the man I sleep with every night. He did, too, actually.

I'm still going to write that Karen lemon, though. I'll show him. It WILL be in character. Hahaha!

Friday, January 18, 2002 05:36 p.m.

Elitist Bastards!

Because I've gotten a couple of questions about this:

The Elitist Bastards! is a mailing list (and group of friends) that I've been with since the mid-1990s. We met on the usenet group racmx (rec.arts.comics.marvel-universe.xmen) and we had/have the alarming habit of traveling long distances in order to see one another. Actually, we DON'T talk that much about X-men (or Marvel comics) anymore. Being Elitist Bastards, we tend to bitch about almost everything, although it's been pretty quiet lately. We're mellowing in our old age, I think! But, really, they're lovely, lovely people. So now you know.

Thursday, January 17, 2002 05:11 p.m.

*tears hair*

First, quick social things:

Alison, the Subaru/Kamui card sounds so neat! *claps hands delightedly* Is a scan forthcoming?

Ammie, I think you and Satsuki-chan both made some excellent points about art. However, I do think it takes SOME talent as well as a lot of practice. And both of you are VERY talented! I have to work off of pictorial references when I draw, too. Usually pictures I've pulled out of magazines (ads can be wonderful for this purpose)! You can always tell when I haven't done this, because the picture will look like crap!

Satsuki-chan, THANK YOU for your pep-talk yesterday. I was feeling pretty down. (btw, that WAS the UPS truck, bringing me my copy of Suki Dakara Suki 2 & 3!) Afterwards, I sat down and actually WROTE! Mainly outlining work for that sequel to Wings of Desire, but still, it was WRITING! And speaking of which: I really hope you clean up and continue that ficlet you showed me. It was so charming and original. Very nice work.

Self-indulgent whining here: I think I wrote myself into a corner with Wings of Desire. There's some stuff I want to do that would require me to change my intent, which originally was that this story would not change continuity. It was supposed to fit in between when Yuzuriha returns after Shinjuku and before the Rainbow Bridge incident. So anything that happened in the story was supposed to dovetail neatly into the actual CLAMP storyline. The first two stories do this very well, but the last one is being difficult. It's getting too dark, and I want my WAFF dammit!! I don't LIKE writing angst!! My life has been angsty enough, thank you!*tears hair*

The Karen Lemon Elemental is also giving me fits. I'm finding that Aoki is really, really hard to write. I'm having a hard time locking in on motivation. I may have to alter my original plan for this story as well: WAIT!! Another idea has come to me!!! Oh, ya'll will hate me...hmmm...must ponder this...*shields herself from Lika and Kerianne, who are surely about to pummel her*

Damn, I wish I could write faster. My problem is I tend to juggle stories, so I can jump to something else if I get stuck. So it takes me for-freaking-ever to finish anything. Shinjuku is requiring more research than I thought (I want to use the CCD and I don't have them down very well). The Rurouni Kenshin stories White Devils and Operation Hiko are the same: Kenshin fanfic is VERY hard to write, because of the historical references. (Yeah, I know, you don't have to use them, but I was a history major, and besides, it's fun). But I love that series! Arrrgh!

Alison, I have plotted out the rest of that story I had written you about. I may have to do a bit re-writing, but most of that will be to keep the whole thing internally consistant. Thanks again for letting me play with it.

I keep thinking of that character in Sandman, the writer who kidnaps the muse, then Morpheus curses him with too many ideas. That scene where the writer rubs his fingers bloody trying to get his ideas down--I feel like that sometimes. But not ideas are usable, even if they ARE good. Sometimes, you write pages of stuff that just won't work for what you're doing (I always save it, although I can't say I've utilized those fragments much). Why do I put myself through this?

Because I like it. Because it's fun. Because it makes me happy. And if I do it right, it'll make other people happy as well.

Sorry, the whining went on too long. I'll get back to writing now. I feel better.

Thursday, January 17, 2002 02:59 p.m.

Shamanic Memo

Note to Iowa Weather-gods:
Snow. Now.
While I do appreciate the break on the heating bill, enough is enough. If I'd wanted this wimpy kind of winter, I'd have stayed in Texas.
Thank you.

Quick social blogging:

Happy Birthday, Lika and Kerianne! May the upcoming year be filled with joy and prosperity!!

Alison, the new layout is stellar. You always find the most interesting manga! I'm so sorry about Misha. *hugs* It's so hard when they get sick like that--the poor things are so stoic, and you just want to get them to feel better, and sometimes...*weeps*. I hate it, too!

Kerianne, I very much enjoyed part II of "Broken Wings" and am eagerly awaiting more.

Ammie-chan, thanks! Dubuque is right pretty. Iowa is so associated with cornfields, people don't realize the northeastern part has forests and hills and is rather scenic, in a "down-home" kind of way. Not nearly as scenic as NZ, though!

Tuesday, January 15, 2002 01:27 p.m.

Life is a Song

I just finished watching The Producers. Brilliant. Brilliant. I love Mel Brooks.

Before that, I watched Caberet.

Back-to-back.

Whoa. That's way too many singing Nazis in one day.

Oh, and Zero Mostel was an absolute GENIUS. *pulls out A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum* Looks like it's musical marathon tonight! Watch it, Ammie-chan, I may start singing again!!!


Friday, January 11, 2002 09:24 p.m.

In the Sun

It's so sweet. All the cats are in the office now, lying on the bed, in the sun, fast asleep. These old windows get drafty, but all the sunshine is nice. The winter has been really weird this year, so it's not too cold. I kinda wish it would finally snow, though. We're far enough north now that we could do some cross-country skiing here or here.

For my literary friend, Lika, I think this quote pretty much sums up how I feel:


"Since Cecil came back from London, nothing appears to please him. Whenever I speak, he winces--I see him, Lucy; it is useless to contradict me. No doubt I am neither artistic nor literary nor intellectual nor musical..."
"I--I see what you mean, and certainly Cecil oughtn't to. But he does not mean to be uncivil--he once explained--it is the things that upset him--he is easily upset by ugly things--he is not uncivil to people."
"Is it a thing or a person when Freddy sings?"
"You can't expect a really musical person to enjoy comic songs as we do."
"Then why doesn't he leave the room? Why sit wriggling and sneering and spoiling everyone's pleasure?"

A Room with a View, E.M. Forster, 1923.

Thank you all for your spirited defense. Ya'll are so sweet. And at this point, I say, let's put this to bed. Nothing productive is coming out of this discussion. We must agree to disagree. I don't really have anything further to say except no, I don't think fanfic is more important than the Enron fiasco (ironically, my father lost his pension and almost 2 million dollars when Braniff collapsed 20 years ago under similar outrageous circumstances).

And yes, Kristin, you STILL put things better than I do. Except the part about Remus driving Padfoot across the frozen tundra. They should be frolicking in the snowy mountain air and falling asleep in front of a fireplace. But I'm a romantic. ;-D

And strangely enough, Doctor Doolittle wasn't anywhere near as bad a film as I remembered it to be. There's something to be said for pure whimsy. And the Push-me-Pull-You was really cute.

Friday, January 11, 2002 01:42 p.m.

The High Road

Kristin, I think you put it far better than I could.

Hokuto-chan, Bob said you caught him online earlier. Sorry about that, wasn't dissing you--he occasionally gets on my computer. Usually he'll shut off the messenger when he does so.

Glad you like the drawing, "Ultimate Babe!" From you, that's a high compliment, indeed! But I'm going to have to keep a dictionary of all your names!

Hey, someone take that Eye away from Alison! Someone's gonna get hurt! ;-D *pushes Kakyou over* Get to work, muse-boy!

Kerianne, doesn't your mom realize that it's a big sister's DUTY to tease her little brother? Heck, I still tease mine (a strapping 6'1 high school physics/math teacher). He starts to feel neglected if I don't...okay, he doesn't, but if I'm not giving him a rough time, he's wondering what's the matter with me.

*Big hug to Satsuki-chan* Of course, I did it for you! Besides, being a hausfrau after the last few years of 55-60 hour workweeks in the accounting world, I now have a bit more free time to devote to the arts. Although, I'm thinking I might try for a part-time job at a local framing shop. I've always wanted to learn how to do that. Speaking of art, did you ever get a chance to do any of those fox drawings we spoke of awhile back?

And Bob, sweetie, if you're reading this, thank you for being such a darling. You are a man among men. When I grow up, I want to have your patience and good humour. Just wanted to say that.

Thursday, January 10, 2002 01:04 p.m.

A New Look

You asked for it, you got it. Except that since my fanart is really bad (I cannot for the life of me draw in a proper manga style), you're getting a picture of Artemis that I drew for a Goddess Workshop last year. "Guardian of the Night" is a song by the wonderful Meg Davis, celtic music being one of my other passions.

Wednesday, January 9, 2002 04:23 a.m.