I don't warn for character death, but I do try to flag for triggers. Please let me know if I could do a better job of that. In general, actually, if you notice I'm being ignorant or asinine about something important, please feel free to tell me.

Feedback is love, and courteous concrit is always welcome.

Sherlock (BBC)
Boston Marriage: 75,000 words of plotty genderswap with art by sleightofhand  and mix by crediniaeth
"Cut-and-Cover": written for sherlock_flashfic Round I
"For Great Justice": This...was an experiment. The link goes to AO3.

Should have done this sooner.

Am at Wiscon this year, too, if any of you are around! I had plans tonight and will be fairly busy on Sunday, but I'll be at the con most of the day tomorrow and Monday morning. I don't know if any of my flist is attending, but feel free to PM me with a cell number if you want to meet up, or I have my LJ/DW handle on my badge, too.


comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/152925.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

Oh, dear--I owe so many emails and comments! I really do have to catch up at some point. I probably won't be able to do it today, though--I've got a few hours to myself, but I haven't written properly in ages, so after making a long-delayed post or two I think I'll get to that.

I've been feeling pretty terrible lately, due in large part to work. We were already being asked to do far more than I'd ever taken on before, and then a series of escalations of varying scope and urgency derailed what hopes I might have had of accomplishing everything I needed to before last week's deadline. I finished everything I absolutely had to, though, and managed to pass most of what remained to other people (cue crushing guilt) and work out a plan for finishing the rest, but I can't do any of that right now, because I'd already scheduled two weeks of vacation. It'll all keep.

In other news, my brother got married two weeks ago! He's several years younger than me, and his wife is younger than him, and some of her other bridesmaids (she asked me to be in the wedding party, which was very sweet) are even younger than her, so the whole thing made me feel older than I probably have a right to. I made my excuses and did not go to the bachelorette party (again, cue crushing guilt), but it was really the right move, as I was exhausted and stressed and wouldn't have enjoyed myself much at all; the wedding, on the other hand, was perfectly lovely. My extended family is quite close, and I hadn't seen many of them in quite a while. It's also been ages since the five of us siblings were in the same place at the same time, and it would have been worth it just for that.

I'm in the UK for another week or so. I'd really hoped to see loads of people while I was here, but that hasn't worked out; on the other hand, I am now feeling rested and relaxed and very like a functional human being again. I'm sitting in a sandwich shop on an island in the Outer Hebrides, drinking quite decent coffee and eating an oddly chewy sandwich. I did laundry and some cleaning at B's this morning, and tonight we'll break out some wine; this weekend we'll make our way slowly back to the mainland and then to Edinburgh until I fly out next Sunday. I wish I had my cello and a heavier coat, and I'm a bit preoccupied with how to interpret a rather enigmatic email from a particular someone, but in all other respects I'm infinitely better than I've felt since about December.



comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/152208.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

They're playing Loreena McKennitt's setting of "Lady of Shalott" on NPR. It's a very pretty song, if you enjoy that sort of thing, but every time I hear it I just wind up thinking, "Lancelot, you tool."

comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/151827.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

A Psalm; a Song at the dedication of the temple.

sherlock_remix is up! Cheers to innie_darling for splendid organisation in getting them all in a day early.

First, the story written for me--hold on a minute, I need to flail around here.

...

Okay, I'm good now.

My author remixed "For Great Justice", aka the one where I tried to write PWP with a quirky hook and ended up writing about negotiations of power and consent, sex and asexuality, and the expression of affection. Or, you know, about porn; maybe I'm overthinking the issue.

The author rewrote the story from the opposite character's perspective, but zie didn't just play it straight--instead we get an exploration of the way Sherlock deals with pain; his own, and other people's. And oh it is good.

The story is not particularly explicit, but my favourite line is not G-rated, ( so I'll stick it below a cut. )

Yes, that exactly--clinical more than sexual, with evocative (rather than provocative) imagery, and exactly the sort of thing Sherlock would do if he ever happened to be in that particular position. (Also, fingers. I have a thing for hands. Possibly the original version of the story made that apparent?)

I also love the end, though; just the right dash of humour, which is good, because the original really was meant to be funny; and there's also the nice, understated sense of hurt-comfort. I decided ages ago I wasn't really into the sort of h-c where one character's down with a fever and needs some TLC, but I am a sucker for oh-you-almost-died-you-are-important-to-me-but-I'm-still-emotionally-constipated, and there's a nice bit of that as a grace note. So, so happy with my remix.

Here's the link. Warnings are at the top of the page.

As for my own story...

This remix kicked my ass. It took me approximately five minutes to decide what to do, weeks to work out how to do it, several feverish days (non-sequential) to write most of it out, and then until the eleventh hour to figure out that it just wasn't working. So I took an axe to it, changed my approach, and finished up with something quite different than what I'd expected.

Still, I'm pleased with it, and it seems to have been well-received by the original author, and what can you really ask for beyond that? It's probably the height of something to write a "why I wrote this story" post, but I think I'll do that after the reveals; I think the reasons the original attempt didn't work are actually quite instructive, and I have Things to Say about the remixed story and my final product. Any excuse for meta.

So, generally, that was pretty fun. :) And I haven't even had time for the other stories yet! Head on over--there's lots to see.

comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/151081.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

Oh, you guys, work has been brutal. If it feels like I've been ignoring you, I'm sorry. Trying to catch up a bit this weekend.

To perk myself up, here's a list of things that are making me happy.

1. Work, actually! The bad stuff is mostly just that there is far too much to do, and it's coming at me from all directions. For context, I test software, which is far more interesting than it probably sounds. The good stuff, see, is that it's an amazing job at a great company, and sometimes I look around and have to ask myself how I get to work with these amazing people. I get to make real, substantive changes not only in our software but in the way we do things, and I have fantastic relationships with the other testers and with our programmers. I love my job. Most of it.


2. Cello! I'm so glad I've decided to do this. It's so much fun--and also an exercise in frustration, but that's sometimes good for me. I'm not good at admitting incompetence, so starting something from the ground up is often hard, and telling someone, "Hey, I don't have the slightest idea what I'm doing here. Can you show me?" is really difficult. I really like my teacher, though. He's immensely talented (also a bit of a flake), but lessons are really fun, and they don't make me feel inadequate. Usually. (When they do, it's at least not his fault!)
    
3. via_ostiense has posted the second part of Boston Marriage, aka the bit where I got to read a lot about really expensive violins but still probably got stuff wrong! There are spoilers under the header, and I got to geek out a bit about Doyle in the comments. This podfic thing is ridiculously cool.


4. Concerts! Last week, I needed some downtime after work got so stressful, so I drove back into Madison on a whim and got a last-minute nosebleed ticket. I love heading into the Isthmus at night, with the Monona Terrace and the Capitol all lit up across the lake. I got to hear this guy and these people play this, and then he played this (I'm pretty sure--I may have the wrong movement, but I know it wasn't the Chaconne) as an encore, and then they finished up with this. I still haven't recovered. The soloist was just phenomenal, and the WCO is always great, but I'd never heard any of the pieces live before. What a difference it makes--with the Bach particularly, there's something about hearing it in person. Maybe my headphones just don't do the solo violin justice.


5. sherlock_remix! I'm definitely not done, but it didn't take me long to come up with an idea. It's the execution that's going to be difficult. Things finally seem to be rolling along, though. If I say any more I'm sure I'll give it away, so I'll stop myself now.

comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/150775.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

No, this isn't late, why are you looking at me like that?

So! One of my requests was for Tiffany and Granny Aching, and NYCScribbler filled it with "Like a Wave", which is just a lovely exploration oftheir relationship, and I am so pleased to have been gifted it. It's also a meditation on the Chalk, which a fic like this would almost have to be, and contains lines like the following:

Tiffany knew she was smarter than a sheep, but she wasn't sure about some of the other girls she'd met. She'd said that once to Granny Aching, and gotten back, “Then someone'll tend them too.”

General audience, no warnings. Hop over and share the love!

There were loads of great fics this year, but if your'e in the mood for something short and hilarious, I was vastly entertained by "The Case of the Fat Goose with a Stone In". The fandom is Hark! A Vagrant. Stupid!Watson writes up "The Blue Carbuncle". Watson!Watson does some editing.

Also, jam.

I wrote for Sildominarin, who wanted Iselle and Cazaril:

I'm really craving sort of an introspective piece for this one, preferably Iselle looking back on everything Cazaril has done for her. But if you have a great idea of your own, feel free to use it. I'll love anything from this subject.

I was so pleased to get this prompt, partially as it was the chance to explore a relationship of mutual love and respect that is neither romantic nor sexual. This gets a general rating.

Housekeeping: The Royina Iselle dy Chalion attends to some domestic matters.

At A03 | On DW

comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/150111.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

There are 36 hours left in the Con or Bust auction, "which helps fans of color/non-white fans go to SFF cons". There's a really interesting range of items up for grabs, and some can be shipped internationally.

The link goes to LJ, where there are more details on how it works!



comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/149936.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

There is an entire tumblr devoted to Sherlock genderswap.

That is all.


comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/149661.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

I have now heard the Scottish Symphony live.

Today has been a good day.


comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/149267.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

Watch this. It is gorgeous and happy and Oscar-nominated and full of books, and it made me cry a little. (Okay, I was in a mood.)

(Also, why has nobody on my flist linked to it yet? Share the happy, people!)

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

*** ETA that I watched it again and...cried, again. Clearly I need more wine. (Or maybe it's the wine that's the problem?)

comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/148869.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

Speaking of happy fannish things, via_ostiense has gone and recorded a podfic of "The Element of Surmise", the first casefic in Boston Marriage. It is over two hours long, and I can't imagine how much time must be required for all the recording and editing. (Also, she's working on the rest of the story, and a bit of quick arithmetic tells me it'll probably come in at about seven and a half hours. !)

I am thrilled about this! I kind of don't know what to do with myself. That's four people, now, who have used their creative talents to expand what I wrote, and that's not even counting my lovely betas.

The temporary link is up at her post.


comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/148499.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

Still alive! And it's still January, so it's clearly not too late for the year in fic meme.

I'm calling this the Year I Rediscovered Fandom (and incidentally met lots of incredibly lovely people). I did a Big Bang! Then I did another one! And I beta read, participated in challenges, attended a con, migrated (partially) to DW, started a comm, and generally did lots of things that were entirely unprecedented. Go me. And also all of you, you wonderful people, some of whom I've known for ages and others I've just recently met.


Fic I wrote posted this year (links to A03):

Sherlock:
Boston Marriage, the genderswap triple!casefic.
Cut-and-Cover
For Great Justice
Compromised
Everything is Backstory, the kinkmeme fic I haven’t got round to revising yet
Structural Integrity, the continuation to Boston Marriage

Vorkosigan Saga/Queen’s Thief Series (yes, really):
On the Desk of Simon Illyan
The Well-Born

Chalion Saga:
Housekeeping

That comes to about 116,000 words, not counting over 20,000 words of the Nikki!fic and related stories, various other odds and ends, and my work on Unlettered, the original novel.

( Questions: )


Well, that was fun! Here's to a brilliant fannish year.



comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/148401.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

I hate to dump this and run, but I don't have the spoons for a long post right now. My Grandpa had a stroke two months ago, then was released; then they found multiple pulmonary embolisms right after Thanksgiving, but then he was released again; now he's been admitted with a blood clot in his leg. I spent most of yesterday evening over there, but I've had to work (and will again tomorrow), and there's so much other family stuff going on right now. And Christmas in there somewhere, in theory.

Had dinner with some of my dearest friends tonight and forgot about it for a few hours, but then I came back to a long update from my mother, and I don't even know. We're all exhausted and stressed, and things are just...crap. I love him so damn much.

Prayers and good thoughts appreciated. For my mother, too--she's been maintaining a painful balancing act with my grandparents as things have started to get difficult, and it's really hard on her.


comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/148088.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

This has been a rough week, I won't lie. But I am back to writing and back online, catching up to things very slowly. Also, there is snow. And Christmas. But I'm not ready for that yet, so I'm not thinking about it. Procrastination is an excellent technique until it isn't.

Today I am working on my Yuletide fic, which I anticipate finishing tomorrow, and about which I really have nothing to say that might not violate secrecy, except that it explores a character dynamic I adore so yaay. :)

I'm also working on a beta for a project about which I am terribly excited, so that is also good.

I'm also...freaking out a bit over a particular brand of social interaction in which I have practically no experience, and even less positive experience. I'm very good at reading people in some situations, but in this one...not so much. I just. Can we set up parameters for this interaction so I know where we stand? I would like to be proactive and ask (respectfully) for what I want, but there are situational reasons why that might be inappropriate at this juncture (agh), and even then--I am just not very good at asking for what I want.

In other words, I'm starting to see the appeal of Betan earrings. Facebook can only get you so far, people.


comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/147826.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

There's nothing quite like coming home from a live concert by serious musicians and scratching out "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star" to put you firmly in your place.

String players always seem to have such lovely hands....

***

In other news, still alive, though I got eaten a bit by Thanksgiving and subsequent work-related business, and my inbox has yet to recover. My major public speaking event of the month is done, however, and was largely successful, by all reports!


comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/147619.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

My Yuletide letter started to get a bit long, but I got interested in analysing the things I love about fic. Here they are. So tell me, O flist--what do you most like to read?

( Fic preferences )

I love--hmm, I’m not sure how to word this. I have a deep appreciation for a sense of grace in fiction. I don’t mean this necessarily as a religious thing--I think Bujold’s very good at it in the Vorkosigan Saga, for example, though she doesn’t deal directly with theology in those books the way she does in the Chalion trilogy. I think Grossman gives us glimpses of it in The Magician King, though one of the things I liked least about The Magicians was how starved for grace the characters were. I think we see it over and over in the Tiffany Aching books, as Tiffany learns how to be a witch when it’s damned difficult and far from glamorous and finds herself reaching for something deep in the Chalk. It’s in the Thief books, too, in Eugenides’ exhausted acceptance of the hand (er, no pun intended) he’s been dealt in The Queen of Attolia and his realisation both of what he’s won and what he’s had to give up to win it. This isn’t about happy endings; it’s about giving the characters something to hold onto.

comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/147185.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

Matching on any of my requests means you clearly have good taste, but on the off chance our minds aren't already operating as one, and in case you actually want to listen to me babble at excessive length about what I like to read, here's a bit about my preferences.

( My requests )

This is my first year, and I'm ridiculously excited. All the above is just in case you find this easier with additional guidance, but really I hope you'll write something you enjoy writing and you'd enjoy reading yourself. Feel free to stalk my journal and fic to your heart's content. Thank you so much for signing up!

comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/146914.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.

I just tried to submit my Yuletide nominations and found someone had already put in Julia and Alice from The Magicians. So then I switched the fandom to The Lion in Winter, and there my duplicates were cross-referenced with 12th Century RPF (!!!); Eleanor of Aquitaine was not a surprise, but someone nominated Geoffrey. *hearts*

(Oh, wait, that could just as easily be Henry's father as his son, couldn't it? Well, presumably one can clarify which Plantagenet one wants in a request.

My first nomination was for the Vorkosiverse, which is already nominated, but I wanted Dr. Riva, who doesn't have a tag at the archive. She's my absolute favourite one-off character from that series, and I'd love to see more of her. (Others were Nikolai Vorsoisson, Simon, and Alys, since Ekaterin and Cordelia were already covered.) I was honestly a little hesitant with this one, because it seems like it has so much activity already, but I think my perspective may be skewed by recent obsession.

I also nominated the Queen's Thief series, even though I think someone said they'd already covered Eddis and the Magus. The others were Agape (poor thing, doesn't even have a tag) and the Minister of War.

Third was Discworld, which is almost certainly covered, though I suspect some of my character choices were not. Tiffany Aching, of course, and Granny Weatherwax, but I also added Sarah Aching and Jeannie.

Now I need to decide what I'm going to request. *bounces*



I have my first cello lesson this afternoon. I've been playing around with it all this week with the help of some online tutorials, figuring there are only so many bad habits I can learn in such a short time, and the calluses are developing nicely. It's so much fun, and I'm struck by how resonant the instrument is. I spent about five whole minutes just tapping on the sides when I got back from the rental place, and when you play it you can feel the notes right through your knees.



comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/146371.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.