Black and Blue

I posted this meme the other day, in which I invited people to name a character from an array of fandoms (Harry Potter, Pet Shop of Horrors, House, Jeeves & Wooster or any of the Star Treks except for Enterprise), and in return, I would supply some backstory or a take on how I see/interpret the character. I posted it as a bit of fun, but it's actually proved to be a very good writing exercise for me, so I thought I'd gather the responses here (cleaned up a little) for those who haven't seen them.

( Three Facts about Minerva McGonagall )


( Five Things That Never Happened to Ronald Weasley )


( Three Facts about Rowena Ravenclaw )


( Five Things That Never Happened to Lisa Cuddy )


( Three Facts about Elim Garak )


( Why Data is Awesomecakes )


( Three Facts about Jean-Luc Picard )


( Three Facts about Luna Lovegood )


( Why Q-Chan is Awesomecakes )


( Three Facts about Madeline Bassett )


( Why Gul Dukat is Both Awesomecakes and Awful )


( Three Facts about Severus Snape )


( Three Facts about Julian Bashir )


( Three Facts about Bertie Wooster )


( Three Facts about Reginald Jeeves )


If you'd still like to play along with the game, just drop a comment asking for a character from one of the fandoms listed and suggesting which letter you'd prefer!

I never thought I'd actually say this, but thank God the weekend's over. I'm actually happy to see Monday morning for once, because that was... not the most fun I've had on a weekend; let's just say that. Between Dad's problems and my insomnia and the horrible headaches I was having (the kind that radiate down into your neck and shoulders and make you feel as though a boa constrictor is squeezing your brains), it was not a restful time.

The good news: Dad finally passed the stone yesterday, and he's now at home, resting. Or at least he's supposed to be resting; he's so damned glad to be feeling good that he's already called me to report that he's done the vacuuming without any pain. (If only my mother could get him to always be so enthusiastic about the chores.) He's been warned by his doctor to be alert for signs of further stones (once you have them once, you're more likely to have them again), and he's been warned by me and my mother that if he ever again ignores mysterious pain for more than a day before mentioning it, he won't have to worry about whether or not it's fatal, because we'll kill him. ;-)

Anyway, thanks again to all of you for the support. I can't tell you what it meant to me to see your messages when I checked in, and Dad was touched when I told him that my online friends were pulling for him as well. (He knows that I blog; he just doesn't know quite what I write about. Which is probably fortunate for all of us.) Once again, I marvel at the greatness of the flist!

I spent last night unwinding and trying to get some ideas from my poor muddled brain to the page. Strangely, with all the sitting and waiting and not-really-sleeping, it was a fruitful weekend for ideas, so I hope that will translate into some productive writing when I have the time. I was also cheered and enthralled last night by the wonderful Jeeves/Wooster story keladry_lupin recommended last week, and I finally had a chance to read: The Long Road, by tridenture. THANK YOU for the rec, Kel! I adored it, and it was the perfect distraction. Highly recced to anybody on the flist who has even a passing interest in Jeeves and Bertie.

( Why you should read The Long Road )

Right. I need to get some things in order, and then I'm off. Good Mondays are wished to all of you!

had a wonderful 4th of July, and hope the rest of you did as well. I had some family and friends over, including the Godkids, and we laughed, listened to music, soaked up the sun, played croquet and lit some sparklers. We stayed out after dark to watch the glittering displays by neighbors whose fireworks were larger, more impressive and decidedly more illegal than mine, and the kids were completely awestruck.

We also ate and drank very well! The menu:

*Homemade guacamole with equally homemade corn chips
*'Georgia Caviar' dip, made with black-eyed peas, jalapenos and diced tomatoes.
*Grilled corn on the cob with fresh herb butter
*Scallion-Shitake Turkey burgers, seasoned with garlic, ginger, sesame oil and tamari, and studded with diced sauteed shitakes and scallions.
*'BLT' Salad, made with Boston lettuce, fresh grilled tomatoes and grilled bread that was then cut into croutons. It was dressed with a sprinkle of bacon and a white wine vinaigrette with minced shallots.
*Blackberry-peach streusel-topped pie
*Berry Cheese-cake, which featured a golden butter cake layered with raspberry puree and fresh blueberries, and then topped with cream cheese mousse. I decorated with more raspberries and blueberries, in the shape of a patriotic 'quilt.' (Did this in a 13 x 9 pan, because it's easier for outdoor events than a layer cake.)

Everything came out fairly smoothly (aside from some tears shed over the shallots), and I was especially happy with the cake. It was sort of my twist on my Grandfather's classic berry cheesecake, and I wanted it to be special. For all that we weren't related by blood, I have a lot in common with him, including a sarcastic bent and a love of cooking. He passed away nearly twenty years ago, but the 4th of July will always be his day to me; his birthday was on July 3rd, so we always celebrated his birthday on the 4th of July with his favorite berry cheesecake. I like to think he would have approved of my adaptation!

Here are a few photos of the cake: ( Cake pic spam )

After everybody had gone home and the mess was cleaned up, I was inspired by the starry night and the moon outside to work on a moon-themed Severus/Luna drabble I'd started for duniazade a few weeks ago. I sat down and wrote about 95% of an actual Snuna story--turned out there was more than could be contained in a drabble! Look for that to be posted soon, after I tighten it up and give some polish.

I hope you all enjoyed yourselves yesterday, and continue to enjoy yourselves this weekend. I'm off to Partridge Creek now to meet my cousin for lunch and shopping--it's time for me to start phasing out my old 'college student' wardrobe and start expanding my professional wardrobe. I already have a nice core of billowy black coats and stompy black boots, but I do need to find something to wear in warmer weather.

Well, now you can. At least, you can if you place the highest bid on my offer for livelongnmarry, which is a fandom-organized auction site designed to raise money in support of equal marriage rights.

I've offered to write a minimum 5,000-word story in either the HP or PSoH fandom, and for the occasion, I'm opening myself up to any pairing/prompt/rating the winning bidder wants to see (except for BDSM/heavy kink/darkfic). If you'd like me to write a Snape/Luna that features them hunting for Snorkacks in the Andes mountains, or a Slughorn/Hooch set in the Chamber of Secrets, or a Filch/Hagrid set in a historical AU, then now is your opportunity to crack the whip!

You can see my offer here, if you're interested, or know somebody who would be.

Whether you want to bid for my story or not, I'd urge you to also check out the other amazing offers that have already been listed on the community. There are some great things being offered, from stories by wonderful authors to baked goods to jewelry to... well, you name something material, and chance are fairly good it's being offered.

Bidding opens up 1 July and ends 15 July, so keep your eye out for whatever catches your fancy, and be ready to bid in service of a good cause.

I've been so busy and stressed the last couple of days that I forgot to squee about how thrilled I am to see so much of my flist represented amongst the New Library Awards finalists! But ShallyShilly made this wonderful banner and Angel Mischa just customized it for me, for my Best Slash PWP nomination for "Come Undone." See?



I'm still sort of shocked (pleasantly!) that my story was nominated, much less seconded, but equally thrilled. Thanks to whomever it was who nominated/seconded me.

I'm sorry I didn't get to shout this out earlier, but huge and hearty congratulations to all the nominees on the flist: angelmischa, camillo1978, drachenmina, emmeline33, cecelle, juniperus, juno_magic, lariopefic, machshefa, mad_queen_mab, melusin_79, pokeystar, pythia_delphi and sc010f. Wonderful work, all of you!

It's not actually raining outside, but the sky keeps being broody and dark and grumbling and rumbling worse than Severus in a sulk. I imagine it'll get around to being a spectacular cloudburst eventually. In the meantime, it's just making my head throb.

I feel good creatively, though, so I'm going to see how much I can accomplish in my free time today. I have half a "Wanderlust" chapter to complete, six drabbles remaining from the Drabble Meme, and a first chapter for a new SS/HG historical fiction-esque WIP that I'd like to polish off, so I can get started posting. Wish me luck! Dark storminess tends to inspire me.

Hope you're all well and not stressed and basically happy in what you're doing.

But I'm doing it anyway. I've been so busy with my behind-ness that I haven't properly pimped my two wonderful fests; I plan to rectify that now.

First of all, HP Beholder is already posting on IJ, and if you aren't watching this fest, you should be. It's devoted to giving some love and affection to the HP characters who tend to be left out because they're considered to be too old/evil/ugly/not nice, and the participants have done amazing things with lesser-known or liked characters! There are already some fabulous stories and art pieces posted, with more to come, and there's something for everybody: het, slash, femslash. (I don't have time for recs just now, but rest assured, they will come.) I'm absolutely thrilled to have participated in this one, and I hope you find as much enjoyment in it as I do. Special bonus: many of the stories involve Snape, even though he wasn't on the 'undesirable' list. Hmm, funny how that happened... *g*

Go here to check it out and give the participants some love for their unique and thoughtful contributions! bethbethbeth is even posting regular round-up posts of everything that's been posted each week, so it's easy to catch up if you've missed something.

As for my other fest... well, I think this tasteful banner says it all:



The Snarry Games officially open tomorrow, and they are going to be fantastic. Team Phoenix will naturally be more fantastic (heh), but with all the talent involved here, I feel fairly confident that both teams are going to provide some amazing new stories. Come check it out, and don't forget to vote for Team Phoenix! (Special thanks to alisanne and unbroken_halo for the fabulous banner.)

In non-pimping news, I have actually met one of my deadlines! Squeeee! ~bounces and wheezes~ Now I just have one more to go...

Meh News: the antibiotics make me feel like there's a little beastie inside my stomach, trying to claw its way out.

Good News: the fever is almost gone. Only 99 degrees today!

Great News: my wonderful Dad brought me two of the books from among the awesome selection of recs you all kindly contributed. I can now look forward to reading Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair (recced by camillo1978) and Matt Ridley's Genome (recced by blpaintchart). He also bought me a book of NYT Sunday crosswords, which should be great fun. I can't wait to dig in!

Awesome News: I felt well enough to actually write today, so while I was working out the tangles on one of my horribly behind-schedule pieces, I wrote out a little gennish, Snape-centric drabble: Learn to Fly. I also jumped off the fence and officially joined the Order at grangersnape100, since keladry_lupin made the very generous offer of doing a drawing of my choosing, in exchange for my allegiance. I'm not made of stone; I can't pass that up.

Stupendous News: Hockey playoffs have officially started, and the Red Wings play tonight. I can now look forward to at least six solid weeks of intense, bare-knuckled, blood-and-guts hockey, where tensions run high, fighting is likely and bitter rivalries are born. Oh, sweet hockey playoffs, how I love you. :D (Note to self: need Red Wings icon...)

Plus, there is every hope that my beloved Red Wings will take the cup this year. It's been five years since they racked up their last one; they're due. ~hopes~

Also, the Last Word Drabble Challenge is still ongoing here, for anybody who's interested in writing a little drabble or two. This week's word is fever, or a close variation like 'fevered' or 'feverish.' There have already been some very clever contributions, so please check them out and consider participating yourself!

My interview is up at the Snarry Games, if any of you are interested in having a look. It still feels completely surreal to see my name in connection with the Games. ~marvels~

I still have work to do on my story, but it's coming along. Still, the next couple of weeks are going to be tense. I can't tell you how thankful I am to have my thesis (basically) done and out of my hair, because otherwise I'd be going insane.

I spent the weekend getting things ready for Easter: assembling Easter baskets for the kids, some food shopping, choir rehearsal, etc. Yesterday, I played Easter Bunny for Grosse Pointe's Easter Egg Hunt, so I spent the morning wearing a bunny suit and having my picture taken with little children. I learned several things from this:

1) I hate hate hate bunny suits. Also, I am apparently claustrophobic, because at first, the closeness of the bunny mask gave me a freaking panic attack--pounding heart, shortness of breath, the whole deal. I had to rip the mask off and try to get control of myself. Thankfully this happened in my "dressing room," so I didn't traumatize any children. ("OMG, the Easter Bunny's head came off!!!") I made it through the hunt, but next year, I think I'll take pictures instead. Besides, I am finicky enough to be squicked at the thought of how many other sweaty people had probably worn the bunny suit before me.

2) No matter how cold it is outside, the person inside sweats buckets. Ew. Ew. Ew. Also, all the crouching and sweating and setting up of the Easter egg hunt wiped me out so much that I spent the rest of the weekend recovering.

3) Easter egg hunts are over in approximately five minutes. I was shocked at how quickly the kids sucked up every single egg, even the well-hidden ones. They're like little Hoovers!

4) Kids are incredibly adorable, which makes up for a lot of the ickiness of wearing the suit. Even some of the older children were genuinely happy to see the Easter Bunny, and there was one boy who delightedly shrieked, "The Easter Bunny's REAL!" I got lots of hugs and I-love-yous, and there were even a few sweet souls who offered me the eggs they'd just picked up. One little girl gave me a bag of carrots and lettuce, in case I got hungry later. XD Even though I know they're not really smiling at me, it made me feel all warm and uncharacteristically squishy.

When I got home, there was a very real bunny hopping through the bushes out front, with a cotton-tail and everything.

I also watched some movies this weekend, all of which I enjoyed. Good batch this time! I'll do a review post tomorrow.

Reluctantly, I had to set aside one of my Trading Places stories, because it's still clogged up in a frustrating way and I think the story and I need to take a break from one another. It was preventing me from working on my other things on a deadline, so even though I feel horribly guilty about it, it had to be done. I will get back to it; I just want to finish it well.

In any case, it seems to have worked, because I've been writing tons over the weekend and into this week. This is good news for my Snarry Games and hp_beholder stories, and my PSoH story for the Ides of March is nearly finished, too. Isn't it amazing how one troublesome story can sap all your creative energy? All that guilt and frustration was like a millstone around my neck. Now that I've given myself permission to step back, I feel rejuvenated creatively.

This creativity has also expressed itself in the form of a little drabble series that I wrote for grangersnape100. I originally imagined one or two drabbles, but it ran away with me and before I knew it, it was a story. I must warn for gender-bending and mpreg, but honestly, it's not as bizarre as it sounds. Really. You can read it here, if you haven't already seen it: Backwards and in High Heels. A sequel might be up by tomorrow; it's already partially written.

So, this is what I have been doing, aside from cursing about a) snow and b) having to be back in class and at work. Hopefully, I'll have something more interesting to post later this week. In the meantime, have a meme from mundungus42:

Please post a comment with an entirely fictional and made-up memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad - as long as it is fake. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised about what people don't actually remember about you.

I said I'd post the story and some more coherent Exchange-related thanks today, so I'm doing that. I'm on break this week, so I actually have some time to step away from working on the Thesis of DOOOM and post this all now.

(Also, by the by: Hello to any newcomers! If you're checking out my journal and would like to friend, by all means do! One can never have too many friends, and I friend back. Promise!)

This post is for some thoughts about the story, some extended gushing about the wonderfulness of my helpers and also for some bonus extras, for those of you interested in photos, links and research materials. I worked extensively with photo references on this story, because I didn't want to just rely on my own faulty memories of France in general and Paris in particular. I wound up finding a lot of beautiful, fantastic photos to supplement the reading (thank you, Google Image Search!). I'd like to share them all with you, and also give you an opportunity to see these places as well, if you never have. They were too great for me to just pitch them out! I also have links that will enable you to learn more about the sights Hermione and Severus visit, as well as their respective lodgings, both of which truly do exist.

If you're not interested in this sort of thing, the story will be posted immediately following, so feel free to skip! For all others, here's what I have:

( First, the gratitude )

( Next, 'Behind the Story' )

( And finally, the bonus photos and links. Warning: image heavy! )

I'm feeling much, much better, physically and emotionally, than I was when last I posted. Hooray for antibiotics and codeine, chicken soup and chocolate, sympathetic ears and therapeutic whining!

I have much more energy, and although I'm still hacking (probably will be for some time), I'm having a much easier time breathing, which means that I get better rest and am consequently in a better mood. At this time, I will gratuitously plug those Shower Soother tablets that you put in your shower, to fill your bathroom with billowing clouds of mentholated mist. I started taking a shower with those before bedtime and they made a big difference in my congestion levels. Also, Othello took a hitherto never-demonstrated interest in sleeping under my covers, curled up against my chest like a furry water bottle. I don't know that that served any medical purpose, but it did make me feel good.

As far as my case of self doubt... can I just say how wonderful you all are? ~hugs flist~ Thank you so much to all of you who extended your support and your sympathy! I never open up that way, and your kind thoughts meant so much to me. Extra special thanks to duniazade and ozratbag2 for chatting and commiserating with me, and to lithiumdelusion for the wonderful Anti-Valentine that made me grin.
( My Valentine's Day: It Didn't Suck As Much As Usual )

My writing mojo is also back, thank goodness. Thanks again to everybody who advised me to give it a bit of a break before going back to look over what I had in a saner frame of mind. I did have to prune out a few bits that actually were rubbish, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I feared. I am giving it a last few look-overs and then it will be on its way to beta readers. ~throws confetti~ As a bonus, I got another bunny for a short, rare-pair story that I will have to finish soon. I also wrote a handful of drabbles (for the Final Word Challenge and psohdrabble, which seems to have unstoppered whatever was giving me problems before.

Last but not least, I have finally caved and joined grangersnape100. I may lurk just a bit to get a feel for the way the comm works, but I'm sure I'll be participating soon.

First, the meme:

The Letter meme: Comment and I'll give you a letter; then you have to list 10 things you love that begin with that letter. Afterwards, post this in your journal and give out some letters of your own.

keladry_lupin gave me the letter M. ( And this is what I did with it )


On another note, I was inspired last night, and I've spent most of the day working on my Ides of March fic as well as one of my entries for lupin_snape's Trading Places. Both should be done by tomorrow, and I'm wondering if anybody is interested in quick-and-dirty beta work ? You needn't take on both fics, naturally.

The Trading Places fic is Snape/Lupin and will probably be 5,000 words or less; it could use a spot of Brit-picking and I'd like some feedback about the content, especially since I've never devoted so much time to Remus' POV. The Ides of March story is PSoH and Leon/D. That obviously doesn't need Brit-picking, but I'd appreciate if a few people would give it a look and see if it works the way I'd like it to work. It's only about 1,000 words, so it's a very quick read. Both pieces are slash, but neither is graphic (which I know will disappoint some of you and relieve others). Nothing very squicky in either.

Any takers? Let me know if you're interested and I'll e-mail it along.

Ooh, and in other news? A new chapter of 'Wanderlust' will be up soon!

My gift for the Trading Places challenge at lupin_snape has been posted, and I couldn't be more thrilled! It's a gorgeous illustration of my drabble Snow Day, by none other than karasu_hime: Cocoa Goodness. It perfectly captures the mood I had in mind, all warm and sweet and contented. It also features an adorable Teddy and a funky-sock-wearing Severus, both of which are beyond wonderful. Go check it out!

I was already thrilled when Karasu picked "Snow Day" for an illustration, both because I love her art and because I specifically had her visual style in mind when I wrote the drabble, but the finished product has exceeded all my expectations. What a treat this is!

If you haven't guessed, I'm feeling much better today. Possibly this is because it's gone beyond merely 'frozen' outside, all the way down to a temperature most charitably described as 'arctic.' This provides me with the perfect excuse to stay in, eat pizza, drink beer, enjoy a roaring fire and write to my heart's content. Ah, bliss. *g*

Now that I'm feeling better, I'm finally in a proper writing mood, too. I'm polishing up a new chapter of "Wanderlust," which should be posted in the next few days (~crosses fingers~), and I'm also making headway on my two fics for Trading Places: one based on skitty_kat's wonderful Bribing the Ferryman and the other based on osmalic's very hot Only Walls. I think the latter will be done first; it's very different from most of the things I've written, but the idea grabbed hold and I had to go with it. "Bribing the Ferryman" is threatening to become a lengthier fic, so I might be a bit later on that one. I just can't resist the opportunity to explore all that mythology and the illutration is just crying out for a touch of hurt/comfort.

Oh yeah... and I'm working on a story for Dicky, and another Snuna bunny that bit me hard last week, and that sequel to "Take Two," and another HG/SS bunny... you get the idea. I also wrote a semi-naughty drabble which is all Shiv's fault.

I never get ideas one at a time. They have to come in a stampede.

The good news is that the cake I baked for my mother's birthday (which just happens to be Snape's birthday) was a huge success: I was really pleased with the way it looked and everybody liked the way it tasted, so score one for the poll. ;-)

In the end, I combined most of the more popular answers into one cake: a Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cheesecake. The interior of the cheesecake was stuffed with cherries (fruity), the batter was laced with amaretto (nutty) and the finished cake had a thick layer of dark chocolate ganache over the top (chocolatey). It was a fiddly and rather time-consuming recipe, so I suppose that fulfills the ridiculously difficult category as well. It's also tart rather than sweet, which was a refreshing change after all the sugary holiday desserts. (If anybody wants the recipe, I'll post it.)

The bad news? I let somebody else take the pictures of the cake, and now that I'm looking at them... do not want. I'm posting the best one, but I'll warn you right now that it does the cheesecake no justice; it looks like a giant black blob on a plate. ( Click here for a giant black blob on a plate )

Lesson learned: if you want something done right, do it yourself.

Besides cake baking, writing, classes and work, I'm also making a valiant effort to stay on top of the SS/HG exchange; my goal (almost certainly destined for failure) is to read and comment on each piece. This is my first time in an anonymous fest, so I'm trying to get into the spirit. I will no doubt be defeated at some point, but hey, at least I'm trying.

After all the fest reading I've been doing, one of the things I've been paying attention to is the huge variance in prompts. And that got me wondering: what constitutes a good prompt, and how do you go about writing one? ( Other thinky thoughts about prompts and such )

Your thoughts about prompts; show me them.

Glitter Graphics - GlitterLive.com


Happy New Year, everybody! This has been my first year as an active participant in the fandom, and thanks to all of you and the support and encouragement you give, it's been a great one. Thanks for offering such a warm welcome, and I wish the best to all of you in the new year.

( My Fandom Year In Review )

First things first: I seem to have several December birthdays on the flist; samanthavimes, keladrylupin, mysduende and sander123 are all listed. I'd be happy to write birthday drabbles for each of you, but in the interests of giving you something that you'd like, I'm taking some requests. If you have something you know you'd really like, leave a comment here with a prompt and the characters or pairing you have in mind, and I'll see what I can do! If there's anybody else with a December birthday that I've missed, you're welcome to do the same. (Hell, even if it's not your birthday and you want to commission a drabble, I won't mind. I'm in that kind of mood!)

Now for the squee: "To Make the Heart Grow Fonder" was named a Featured Story at Occlumency! I'm stunned, but I'm also admittedly thrilled. That's a nice sort of surprise, especially heading into the hellish week in front of me.

This meme is all over the slashy side of my flist, so why not try it? I'll try to refrain from any wise-ass reasons like, "I'm listed as the author," or "You're reading it on my LJ." I don't know that I've really written enough to have a distinctive style, but I'll give it a go.


1. Severus Snape is the main character (unless it's PSoH fic, and even then, he's possibly involved *g*).

2. There's a high probability that Severus is young--either at Hogwarts or even younger.

3. Severus feels things deeply, but Does Not Talk about his feelings and will go to great lengths to avoid such discussions.

4. He does, however, amply demonstrate his feelings through his actions, not always consciously.

5. He's also tremendously socially awkward...

6. ... Unless he's in a position of power. Then he plays the role of All Powerful Potions Master to the hilt.

7. There is at least one section stuffed with purple-prose-like sensual description, probably about scents. (Alternatively: at least one passage of wannabe-lyrical imagery.)

8. The Weasley family might as well not exist, except for a few incidental mentions.

9. Severus is Muggle-savvy and knows how to get along in the Muggle world.

10. Severus is never Lord Snape, and he doesn't have a manor house. EVER.

The Exchange fic is done!

Thanks to a short extension, I was able to get the fic whipped into shape. The magnificent Beta had her way with it, and the fic is now submitted and out of my hair. ~is pleased~

Will anybody know it's mine? (Besides, that is, the people who helped me with it?) Probably not, just because I don't think I've written enough fic to be recognized for a distinctive 'style.' Honestly, I'm not certain that I even have a distinctive style. I certainly don't think of myself as having one.

My own feelings about the fic? Overall, I'm pleased. Some parts were hard to write; others popped into my head fully-formed. There are parts that I'm quite proud of and parts that I'm less certain about, but I still like it and I think it accomplishes what I set out to do. Hopefully, the recipient likes it as well!

In any case, this is huge load off my shoulders, and just in time for three weeks of sheer hell. This semester has been one of the most stressful in recent memory, and I'm running on fumes by this point. I'm quite looking forward to Thanksgiving, because it'll be a chance to relax and have fun and give myself permission not to worry.

What does it say about the state of my life, that I'm looking forward to cooking a full Thanksgiving feast for the family because it'll be less stressful than my usual routine?

I'm busy chopping away at the exchange fic, trying to make the bloody beginning behave. I've just had a brainwave that I hope will make the difference, but I'm coming up for a little bit of air to post this amusing little meme. From sylvanawood:

Leave a list of fictional characters in your journal that you would love to get a message from. It is your friend-list's mission, should they choose to accept it, to write you an in-character "letter" from a character on that list. Then they post their own list in their journal and the process continues!

sylvanawood listed five characters, but I went for ten, so you all have a variety to select from, if you decide to participate. Why not?

1. Severus Snape (really, this one was obvious)
2. Lord Peter Wimsey
3. Sherlock Holmes
4. Count D (PSoH)
5. Morpheus, AKA Dream of the Endless (Sandman)
6. Jack Sparrow
7. Becky Sharp (Vanity Fair)
8. House
9. Alexander Dane (Galaxy Quest--whether you write him as Dr. Lazarus is up to you)
10. Hamlet


I wrote a note to sylvanawood as Data, from Star Trek: TNG. See it here: ( Drinks? )

Have fun! And wish me luck on finishing this story, as I wish the rest of you luck on finishing yours...

I don't know how I've managed it, but I've had an exceptionally prolific weekend.

I did a ton of reading, and wrote loads. I completed an angsty new chunk of "Wanderlust", nearly finished off my snape_after_dh contribution, made headway on my SS/HG Exchange fic, and fired off two drabbles: a Snuna one for snape100 (Solace) and a D/Leon one for psohdrabble (Armistice). I even got some real-life writing done, of the dry, academic sort.

All this, and I still had time to watch my Spartans spank Notre Dame. Ah, good stuff. Touchdown Jesus wept...

I'm crossing my fingers that the productive trend continues, and I can finish off the snape_after_dh fic tomorrow. About time, isn't it?