prpl pen

10:16 pm: Okay, people are leaving me happy birthday comments on the one and a half-month old meme that is the last thing I posted, so it's probably high time to actually update again. I've been distracted, what can I say. I have a new power cord again, yes. So that's good! Also, autophanous arrived, crashed on my couch for a couple weeks, and now we've rented a bigger apartment together, in the same building (which reminds me...updated address, again--it's just a different apartment number). So as moves go, it was relatively easy, since it was just down the hall. Still, moving apartments twice in the span of like three months isn't exactly awesome, and I'll be glad not to have to do it again for (hopefully) a good long while. We JUST got the internet hooked up again here.

Ugh, and it's been such a while since I've updated, I feel like there is a lot to say, and yet nothing terribly important that warrants livejournaling. Or maybe it just feels like that because I tend to tweet about things while they happen, and then it feels like I've already talked about them, so I don't in LJ. Meh.

Right now I am trying to decide if I want to sign up for Yuletide this year, and kind of cursing that I didn't nominate fandoms, because a few of the ones I searched for aren't in there. Blast. Kekkaishi is, but so far that's the only one I'd really like to request in (though I'm still making my way through the list). And it occurs to me that the fandom I'd most like fic for is still One Piece, which wouldn't qualify for Yuletide in the first place, so...I may just opt out this year.

I am just kind of generally headachy and anxious-feeling and blah right now. My laptop wasn't starting up properly earlier and it took forever to get it to, and I still haven't figured out what's causing it. Today was really underwhelming in general, which is a little depressing. I dunno. I'm in kind of a funk, I guess.WHAT A GREAT TIME TO CHOOSE TO UPDATE.

Hm. Well. autophanous and I totally saw They Might Be Giants on Tuesday, so that was amazing and exciting. There are probably other things I could mention, but they all slip my mind just now, and TMBG is probably the most important thing anyway, so just focus on that.

Tags: moving, real life, writing, yuletide

04:29 pm: The "You Should Write..." Meme!
my thread here

It somehow ended up being a month again since I last wrote in my LJ. Whoops.

Life has been...challenging lately. I'm trying to stay positive and get through it.

Anyway, I have some memes I intend to answer, but right now, the big order of business for this LJ entry is...

( suspense... )

That's it for now! Though if everything goes as planned, I will have pictures of niece #2 within a week or so.

Tags: meme, picspam, real life, writing

07:17 pm: Why the hell not; let's do some bullet points.

• I disappeared again for a while. I actually had a good reason for it, though! The power cord/AC adapter for my laptop just randomly up and died about a month ago, and I was extremely strapped for cash, so I couldn't replace it right away. My laptop had to sit there and be a paperweight in the meantime. Aaand, I kept meaning to make a post in here mentioning that, but never got around to it. Oops. I think partly because I mentioned it on Twitter when it happened, so it felt like I'd already told everyone about it. Never mind that the majority of my flist are not on Twitter, that I know of. Double oops. Anyway, I've replaced the cord, so I'm back now!
  
  
• ...Speaking of Twitter, if you have one and I'm not following you, feel free to add me. (If you don't mind the occasional extreme late-night manga-reading reaction tweet spam, that is. I think I'm not too obnoxious about it? I hope?) I have to say that another reason I haven't been updating my LJ nearly as much these days is because I will tweet small tidbits and feel sated, whereas before I would save a few of them up for an LJ entry.
  
  
• Quite a few people on my flist were doing cliche_bingo; it looked like fun, so I decided to give it a shot too.
  
  ( my bingo card )
  
  
• Finally, I am in a letter-writing mood lately, so it's that time again: LETTERS! Anyone want a letter from me? You wouldn't even have to write back (though I'll be honest, I would love you forever if you did). If you'd like to get a letter from me, comment in this post saying so, and drop your address in my contact post, if you haven't already. People outside the States are totally fine as well; I have a ton of international stamps that will take forever to use otherwise.

That's it for now.

Tags: addresses, attempting to be productive, computer woes, letters, real life, twitter, writing

09:55 pm: So! Here is some stuff I wrote in the past six months or so (it is mostly One Piece):

• Roughing It (Bleach; PG-13) A YoruSoi drabble for longleggedgit.
  
  
• Experimenting (One Piece; PG-13/R) A Sanji/female!Zoro one-shot for maxine_chan/serasarahhhh. Yes, it is genderswitch.
  
  
• Wardrobe Malfunction (One Piece; PG-13) A Luffy/Nami bodyswitch one-shot for xredribbon.
  
  
• Tradition (One Piece; PG-13/R) A Robin/Nami one-shot written for vilani in a Secret Santa.
  
  
• Straying From the Path (The Company of Wolves; PG) No one will know this fandom! Anyway, this is what I wrote for Yuletide last year, for seren_ccd. It's based off the short story and film of the same name; kind of a take on Little Red Riding Hood. I'm actually really proud of how this one came out.
  
  
• Lipstick (One Piece; PG) A Luffy+/Usopp drabble.

Figured I might as well link these, since I hadn't here (though a few of them I did link in one_piece when I first posted them.) I was decently productive for a while there. Hm. Aiming to be productive again. To that end, prompts are appreciated. ♥

I had a question, but now I can't remember what--oh wait, never mind. I just remembered. Does anyone know if there is a One Piece daily digest comm on LJ, similar to bleach_news or atla_press?

...It's painfully obvious that One Piece has taken over my brain, isn't it? It's nice, though. I haven't felt this excited about a fandom since I first started getting really into Bleach.

I kind of feel like writing right now actually, so...I'm gonna go with that urge.

Tags: bleach, one piece, writing, yuletide

01:03 am: I linked this in Twitter already, so some of you will have already seen it, but basically...I'd love for all and sundry to spam me with prompts over at my writing journal. I know when I take requests I rarely end up finishing them all, even though I try...but this is a little different. I'm hoping to find inspiration, but I'm making no guarantees on writing everything. Because of this, I'd actually prefer you leave a lot of prompts, because it'll give me more to work with. Think of it as doing me a small favor. Anything goes!



Tags: attempting to be productive, writing

07:40 pm: I don't even know. Apparently it's been almost a month since I last wrote in here so...oops? Things have been busy, but in a slippery way where I didn't really feel busy, or rushed, but was just preoccupied enough with various tasks that I'd look back at the end of the day and go, "Whoa, where did the time go?" This has resulted in me being extremely neglectful of my LJ, my flist and commenting (as well as RP), not to mention various other things.

Holiday cards, for one. They are still going out, but a lot later than planned. In years past, they would have long since arrived for everyone by now, excepting maybe a few overseas people. This year, not so much. They'll probably not be in the mail till Friday, so most domestic people should get them before New Years, at least. I hope. There are a few of you also getting packages (you probably know who you are), and those won't be going out till sometime in January, but I'll send your cards with the rest so you'll at least get those sooner. I'm sure it's not even a big deal to most people, but I wanted to give a status update, because I feel bad for being so very not-on-the-ball.

And while we're on the subject of cards...ariyanaforever, dawnrune, feenekks, fightfair, lintsister, and the_firefly: I got your cards/packages! ♥

( Some talk about writing and fic exchanges )

To finish this entry off, some random pimps/recs:

• Jumping out of cakes should only be done by professionals. [Gintama; Sacchan/Kondo, R] Somewhere along the line, this became my Gintama crackpairing of choice. Sacchan is one of my favorite Gintama characters in general (dunno; she just cracks me up), and I like Kondo a lot, but not with Otae, and...they are both stalkers, so it just kind of clicked for me? Unfortunately, I could find zero fic for it. I even started writing my own, just so there would be some, but it's not really the same, you know? Then danbi surprised me with this for my birthday and just...endless hearts. *cough* Literally, apparently, or at least as endless as the character limit allows. >.>
  
  
• The Best Cure for Homesickness [One Piece; Usopp + Chopper, G] I'm still pretty new to One Piece, but I just love love love so many of the dynamics between the characters. I love that it's not just the Straw Hats as a group (though that one is there, obviously & importantly), but that among the crew they all have their more individual, one-on-one dynamics and just...guh. So well-defined and so much love. And one of my favorite duos is Usopp and Chopper (doesn't hurt that individually they are two of the four tied for my favorite OP character), so I squealed to see that abarero had written about them for me. It's a cute, sweet story; a perfect little winter holiday treat.
  
  
• The Roots of Heaven [multi-chapter Bleach, ARish; Ichigo+Renji+Rukia (with eventual IchiRukiRen), PG-13 to R] This story, you guys. This story. I've been doing some beta work on it for hallowd, and let me tell you, it was a struggle to keep mum about it before she started posting because it's just so good. Now there is no reason for me not to shout from the rooftops: READ THIS! It's set post-winter war. Rukia was believed to be KIA, but Ichigo and Renji find evidence to the contrary and mount a retrieval mission. Don't expect anything like a rehash of the Soul Society arc, though. This is an original, genre-bending, tightly-plotted and wonderfully-written fic; part buddy film/travelogue, part horror, part mystery, with smatterings of other good stuff, and all awesome. The main focus is of course on Rukia, Ichigo, and Renji, so don't expect to see a lot of other Bleach characters, but that shouldn't be a deterrent, in my opinion. I think the main thing someone might balk at is the length: it's already weighing in at eighteen healthy-sized chapters and still ongoing, and to be quite honest, I have no idea how long it will end up being before it's done. I'm pretty sure once the story gets its claws in you, though, you'll be just as hooked as I am. The link above goes to her directory of sorts for the fic; all chapters can be reached from there.

Enjoy~

Tags: bullet point time, fic rec, holiday cards, writing, yuletide

03:15 am: Thanks so much to the people who wished me a happy birthday! ♥

And oh man. Oh man. adesso drew Beatrix/Steiner for me njkhadhfs [go here and tell her how awesome she is :3 ]

I also got a polar bear! :D

Moving right along...some bullet points; writing-related, mostly.

• Still behind on my NaNoWriMo, though I am pretty confident I can catch up easily now, because I think I've finally figured out what is happening, and things are going easier now. I still don't have have a clue what the major plot is going to be, but I think things will Reveal Themselves as I keep writing. Not really sure what my word count is, though, as today's and Monday's writing are both in notebooks right now, waiting to be typed up.
  
  
• Signed up at himitsu_santa. I hesitated for half a minute, thinking maybe I shouldn't attempt it because I may very well be burnt out on writing by December, but...I was already sad about missing participating last year. Plus, I am really excited for my prompts and I'm totally looking forward to seeing what my Santa ends up writing.
  
  
• ...also signed up for Yuletide. Debated about this one for a liiiiittle bit longer, because in addition to the above-mentioned concern, now I had to add the fact that I was already signed up for one December fic exchange, plus Yuletide is a little...intimidating, I think. I've seen so many amazing fics come out of it. That's inspiring too, though. And considering that I've been meaning to do Yuletide for years and have just always managed to miss the sign-ups... I didn't want to let the chance slip by, I guess. Also am super-excited about the things I requested, though there is one prompt I am contemplating changing, just because I thought of something else that fills me with even more glee. I'm a little upset that somehow Genshiken was deemed ineligible, though; I can't quite wrap my brain around how that works, since the fandom is pretty much non-existent. I was going to request Tanaka/Ohno otaku cosplay love too. Alas. DESPITE THIS, STILL VERY EXCITED~~!! I hope I don't burst before I get my assignment.
  
  
• Also still chipping away at these. I am working on them in between NaNo-ing, and yes, I am counting the words I write on them in November towards my word count. This seems like a good compromise to me, since I want to do both my origfic NaNo story, but also am compelled to keep working on those prompts. I'm in the midst of two One Piece fics now, and am amused that the first OP fics I'm writing involve gender-/bodyswitch. I feel lame that I wasn't able to just whip these out like I'd hoped, but they started wanting to get longer and I wanted to put more effort into them, so... I'm going to try really really hard to finish them all, though, and not just abandon half of them unwritten, as has unfortunately become a habit with me recently. Oh, and feel free to toss in a prompt, if you want to and haven't already.
  
  
• NOT related to writing, but my watch strap cracked and is about ready to completely break. Contemplating whether to do a quick duct tape repair job, or just buy a new watch. Hm.

I think that's about it.

Tags: birthday, bullet point time, nanowrimo, writing, yuletide

04:44 pm: NANOWRIMO
This is the first time ever for NaNoWriMo that I didn't start right at midnight. Maybe that's why I am sooo incredibly nervous right now. I dunno.

I had been intending, since last year's NaNoWriMo (wherein I failed horribly and barely broke 10k) that I would try writing a fanfic this year for NaNoWriMo, a first for me. Yet, as November crept closer and closer, I realized that I wanted to do original fiction again. The prospect of origfic just excites me more where NaNo is concerned, I guess. So, I switched gears and decided to just go with origfic again. However, I had NO clue what I was going to write. I still don't. I have literally NO idea what my story will be about, beyond that it will likely be fantasy/specfic (because that is my Genre of Choice and 99.9% of everything I write falls into that category). This could turn out well, though. I mean, the first year I did NaNoWriMo, I purposely did absolutely no planning beforehand, just sat down and wrote at midnight, and it ended up working really well. I won that year, and I ended up liking my story--it would've needed work, editing mosly, but the characters and how the plot fit together was pretty cool. This year I did intend to do a little planning--overplanning things tends to handicap me, I think, but a really bare-bones idea would have been a good jumping off point. I just...never actually did. So here I am. More than halfway through the first day, and no plot, no plans, no words written yet.

Actually...I DID write a good chunk while I was at work this morning...on a fanfiction drabble request (yes, I fail and did not finish those right away before NaNo like I intended). I think what I might do this year is work on fanfic drabbles when I need a little break from the actual NaNo novel, to hopefully give my brain a chance to rest and refocus. Even though it's technically cheating, I MAY count whatever words I write in those towards the NaNoWriMo wordcount goal. Haven't bothered with counting how much I wrote this morning, though, because I want the first words I count to be for NaNo proper--besides, I haven't bothered typing it up yet and that's time I can be using for...starting my novel.

Oh, and might as well mention one last time, I guess...since it actually IS November now: my NaNoWriMo website profile is here; my NaNoWriMo LJ is here.

But yes. My stomach is absolutely churning right now, which is just dumb, but I can't stop it. I think part of it is just excitement, with a good chunk of nervousness that I have no plot & got a later start than I normally do. Still, sitting here worrying about it even more won't help. The only cure is probably to start writing, I guess.

So.

Rest of the day: free.

Notebook: brand new and empty and just waiting for NaNo to fill it.

Laptop: charged & ready.

Candy cane tea: plentiful.

Okay. Let's do this.

Tags: nanowrimo, rambling, writing

05:09 am: This looked like fun, so I stole it from nickelodeon:

Out of your Comfort Zone Drabble Meme
Now is your chance to request something short from me! Pick a fandom you know I know, pick a character/pairing, pick a prompt and pick a rating; try to make it something I wouldn't usually write! I will write a short drabble for you!

Going to sleep soon, but I'll write them tomorrow. I'll try to write and post everything on the fly, so quality is not guaranteed.

EDIT: These are actually still being written. I just fail at being timely.

Tags: meme, writing

03:00 pm: This entry is extremely disjointed and contains random flailing about various series. Be forewarned.

Finally watched the first episode of Clannad ~after story~ ( and... )

Oh, but! ( Bleach )

Kekkaishi is also amazing. The scanlation group just released a batch of like six or seven chapters last weekend, and...need more. Now, please. I am both excited about and afraid for when the scanlators catch up with the Japanese release, because while it will probably mean more regular scans, it will also mean no more big batches of story being released all at once. Ugh, and I keep forgetting to make that download post for the manga. I NEED TO DO THAT. Because this series is amazing and one of my favorites and it seriously needs and deserves more love and fandom attention. I should make a serious effort to do up that post before November, because once NaNoWriMo hits, who knows if I'll have time to do much of anything.

Speaking of NaNoWriMo; I mentioned this in my last entry, but figure I will again, since we're getting closer to the actual start date: NaNoWriMo account here, NaNo LJ account here; feel free to add both! I still have no idea what I'm going to write, but that worked for me before (the year I won, I purposely started at midnight on November 1st having done absolutely no planning/plotting/brainstorming of any kind beforehand. even though I had no clue what it was even about at first, all the threads started to come together pretty neatly. it was cool). Anyway, this year I want just some rough ideas to work from, though still minimal planning. We shall see.

Hmm. I really need to go through and organize my tags a little better. </random>

Apropos of nothing, everyone should download this song: EA Choir - Oh No You Didn't

Tags: anime, bleach, fic rec, kekkaishi, manga, nanowrimo, writing

02:55 pm: Not doing so well about the "being around more on LJ" thing. Still working on that. I wish it were easier to change habits. I'm still trying to get myself to sleep at 1 or 2am instead of, oh say...5am. Or worse.

Aaanyway, November will be a scarce month, because (wait for it...) I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year. I won in 2004, and failed pretty spectacularly last year but...it's FUN. I'm excited for it, and have been more excited about writing in general recently. Being writing buddies with Bri really helps me, because I don't feel alone, and feel more compelled to meet my goals, I guess. I've been trying to do the "write every day (even if it's just a little)" thing again, and it's nice. I started two new fics in the past few days (a Bleach one and a Gintama one) and have been working a little on some of my unfinished ones, and while in the grand scheme of things it's not all that much, it just feels great and productive. I'm proud of myself, and I'm liking what I'm writing. That's kind of a weird feeling to me, honestly. And hopefully I don't come back to it in a day or two and read it and go, "ugh"--I'm trying not to be so critical of myself. That's easier said than done, of course. But I'm going to do my best to keep it up, and writing every day in October is gonna be good practice for NaNoWriMo, too. I love feeling excited about this.

So...who else is in this year? There are a few I know of, but my flist is large. Let me know! For anyone who might want to add it, my account is here. Also, I'm not 100% sure yet I'll be using it this year, but if I do post up what I'm writing (before it's edited, I mean) and you have any desire to read it, it'll be at with_a_key.

And just because...

THE "HEY, YOU SHOULD BE FRIENDS WITH____!" MEME.
MY THREAD HERE!

Tags: meme, nanowrimo, writing

05:36 am: Anyway. I've been meaning to do this for a while, but I'm gonna spiff up my userinfo at prpl_prose and link to affiliates. So, if you have a writing journal and would like to be linked, let me know in the comments (& your writing journal name, natch).

There is a two-tailed cat here at work. I mean, I'm not sure if he's a stray, or if he belongs to a family somewhere in the neighborhood or what, but I've seen him in the parking lot off and on for like a year or so. Actually, I hadn't seen him for a few months now, so I wondered what happened to him, but he's been showing up again the past few nights. He's used to people, and very friendly. It probably helps that I feed him. And he seriously has two tails. Like, about halfway up the regular tail, there is a smaller, shorter, thinner one that branches off. They move independently of one another, so when he's being purry and lovey, they both twitch out of sync. Hee!

( Writing and Avatar rambling )

Also, here's a meme I stole from bolshevists:

Name a series and I'll tell you the character(s) I would:

1. Bake cupcakes for:
2. Trust with the keys to my car:
3. Put thumbtacks on the chair thereof:
4. Have a crush on:
5. Pack up and leave if they moved next door:
6. Vote for President:
7. Pick as my partner in a buddy movie:
8. Pair up:
9. Vote off the island and into the volcano:
10. Wheedle into fixing my MP3 player:

Tags: avatar, meme, real life, writing, writing journal

02:52 pm: Happy birthday takewing & (a little early) parsnip_chan!!!
If you give me a character/pairing & prompt, I'll do my best to write you a birthday drabble. ♥ I hope your birthdays are awesome!

Talking about animelist the other night with Bri and Meg got me thinking about trying to catalogue my books again, too. I used to use a site to do that, but the interface was nightmarish and I eventually stopped bothering. Anyway, I went looking again and found LibraryThing.com. Seems all right, from what I've seen. I've started entering my library there, but most of my books are still in storage, and it's kind of hard to go by memory. Anyhoo, does anyone else have an account there? Add me if you do, or go ahead and give me your username if you want me to add you.

I'm waiting to hear back on a job, but I'm hopeful. If I get it, that means I can finally move (albeit behind my self-imposed schedule; OH WELL). Granted, I supposed I could crash at a friend's place for a week or two to look for work, but I'd really rather have something lined up before I quit my job here and move to Minneapolis. Eh. I'm just so ready to get back to a bigger town. The place I'm living now is not without its charms, but it's so rural and there's, like. Nothing, honestly. Except nature. Nature is good. I like nature. I just would like some convenience and culture, too. And a new apartment to put my stuff into again. I miss my books. ;_;

I've been talking Gargoyles on and off with shiinabambi lately, and it's making me want to A) rewatch the series and B) possibly write fic again? Dunno. I've been feeling more inspired and productive lately in general, and I think it has a lot to do with doing the writing buddies thing with danbi. Yay! I'm currently working on a Genshiken futurefic. The fandom seems to be just this side of non-existent, but that almost makes it a little easier. Mentioning it here because then I have more reason to actually finish it. Baccano! is a fandom that I love and ideas for, but I feel reluctant to actually write for it, just because...I know there's a ton of canon out there for it that I have no access to (since I can't read Japanese). I wish that didn't bother me, but it does. I don't want to end up speculating on things that may technically already have an answer (or not; but once again, I can't read the novels to find out). I basically have to rely on fan translations for now and hope they do another season of anime.

faemous and I are supposed to be writing longfic this summer, too; Avatar for me, IshiHime for her. Fae, we should totally start on that, y/n? :D

...This turned into a lot of rambling.

Kekkaishi pimp post forthcoming (probably within a day or two).

ETA: Anyone have a copy of "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison handy? I have the album at home, but I'm not there and I really want to listen to it right now, for whatever reason.

Tags: baccano!, books, gargoyles, rambling, real life, writing

07:09 pm: Being a pimp:
jump_exchange reveals went up today, so now is as good a time as any to shamelessly pimp things out!

First off, the gift I received:

• In for a Potato, In for a Pound - by tehlils! [Bleach fic; Tatsuki/Orihime, PG] Really cute and sweet. ♥

Things I did for jump_exchange:

• Like Rubies on the Sand - [Bleach fic; Nnoitra/Halibel, R, warnings for language and violence] This one ended up being for the community, so I don't know if the person it was originally intended for ever even saw it, but I'm actually pretty pleased with how it turned out.
  
• Partners - for orangenoslide! [Zombie Powder art; Smith/Gamma, G] I ended up doing art for my pinch hit when the fic I was writing didn't work out. I don't know how many people actually know Zombie Powder, but it's a pretty general picture.

And you can see the complete list of everything HERE! There's a lot of awesome stuff, so check it out and please leave comments to let the authors/artists know you did! (I for one, fell behind on reading and commenting on the fandoms I know, so I need to start commenting again myself. >.>)

And since I'm pimping anyway, here are a few other random things I've done recently:

• Her Prisoner - [Avatar: The Last Airbender fic; Ty Lee/Sokka, PG] Some very vague spoilers for "The Boiling Rock, Part Two" (...I actually have no idea what has aired by now. Maybe it already has?)
  
• untitled - [DOGS art; Haine/Badou, PG-13] Done for faemous for her birthday. ♥
  
• Got You Covered - [DOGS fic; slight Haine/Badou, R, warning for language] Just kind of slice-of-life DOGS fic. I'm still getting a feel for writing for this fandom, so any suggestions are very welcome.

That's it from me. Carry on.

Tags: avatar, bleach, dogs, fic rec, writing, zombie powder

08:28 am:

Yes, I am a little behind the times in posting my dot-thing.

I've been sucking with the commenting lately (moreso than usual) and even the flist reading. I've been kind of busy, with more scarce internet time lately. Lately I really miss people, though. I'm gonna make a valiant effort to catch up today, or as much as I'm able to. Possibly I'll be spammy during the day and update again.

There's been one thing in particular that's been on my mind since Monday, and I probably will write about it at some point, but right now I just don't want to dwell on it. And I don't even know why I feel compelled to mention it at all right now, since it just seems like I'm being willfully mysterious or something. No, actually, I think I won't feel at ease without knowing that I've made some mention of it, however oblique, even if I intend to write about it later. That probably doesn't even make sense.

I randomly started rereading Kekkaishi from the beginning yesterday (well, mostly because it had been a pretty long time since I read the beginning chapters and my memory on certain details was getting hazy--yes, I am ficcing). Why don't more people know this manga? I guess maybe the beginning seems nothing special, at least I thought that at first, but I don't even remember at what point I realized I was totally loving it. Anyway, on a reread, I have even more appreciation for how the story develops. One thing remains the same: my overwhelming urge to give Gen an enormous hug. He frequently could use one. I might take the time in the near future to do a pimp post and upload scans, just in the hopes it will win me a few more people to flail with.

Writing has been going pretty well lately; Bri and I try to set weekly goals to work on, and mine has been to write every day. For now one of my biggest problems is just trying to get back in the habit of writing regularly, and this is helping a lot. It's kind of the same idea of what I was hoping to get from NaNoWriMo last year, except that turned out to just not work then. I dunno, maybe then I was feeling too much pressure? But this is nice. It's motivation, because it's not just me by myself, but it's also laid-back enough to not make me feel...I don't even know how to describe it. I just have a tendency to seize up, especially in the last year or so, when I feel like I'm under an obligation, of sorts, to produce something, I guess? It kind of irks me, because, while I have kind of always sucked at finishing things on my own time, I used to be really good about making deadlines for fic exchanges and whatnot. Lately I've had things I've signed up to do, intended to do, even felt inspired to do...and still failed to complete them or turn them in on time. I used to like doing fic exchanges because they were a good motivator to get me to finish things; now I think perhaps it's best if I take a break from those and concentrate more on...whatever I happened to feel inspired by at the moment.

In conclusion, have a meme, stolen from scrawled:

01. Think of the first word that comes to mind when you think of me.
02. Go to Google Images and search for that word.
03. Reply to this post with one of the pictures on the first page of results (don't tell me the word).
04. Put this in your own journal so that I can do the same.

Hopefully I don't just get a million pictures of pens. >.>

Tags: kekkaishi, meme, writing

01:39 am: This is hilarious.

I haven't forgotten about those request ficlets! I was just asked to do a pinch-hit for jump_exchange, so I'm working on finishing that first, then I'll go back to them. (Feel free to request something if you haven't, btw.)

Aaaand, speaking of jump_exchange, I totally forgot to link the totally sweet gift I received. [Bleach, Tatsuki/Orihime, PG]. Honestly, if you like JUMP titles ( One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, Prince of Tennis, and some others have been represented already), you should totally check out the whole comm, because there's been lots of awesome art and fic.

WTF, how is it almost the end of May? Still planning on moving, but I haven't been as on-the-ball about that as I should be, honestly. I need to FOCUS and do stuff and make things happen.

ETA: Wait, wait! This is also hilarious, if you know Bleach! O-or maybe I'm alone in finding Ishida and his father's terrible relationship to be comedy gold. >.> By scrawled! (here)

Tags: bleach, fic rec, i am far too easily amused sometimes, real life, writing

04:25 am: I kind of...ehehehe. Forgot to write anything this week. But, it's been a while since I've done this, so:

Ficlet requests.

Pick a fandom, a pairing or character, and a word/phrase prompt, and I'll reply with a line or so of fic. Any fandom you know that I know is fine; check my interests list or ask if you aren't sure (though to be honest, I'm really not feeling Inuyasha much anymore). It may end up anywhere from one sentence long to several paragraphs, depending on inspiration. One at a time please, but feel free to request another after your request is finished. Quality not guaranteed, but I'll do my best.

Tags: meme, request fic, writing

08:15 pm: Somehow or another, it's mostly about reading.
I've been lax in updating again. (And reading/commenting on the flist, too; I actually intend to go back and catch up somewhat tonight/tomorrow, so don't be surprised if you get a comment from me on an older entry.) I actually have a few things I meant to talk about, but FIRST!

( Yeah, I'm gonna talk about Bleach here [some very vague spoilers, I guess]... )

On to other things! BULLET POINT STYLE! :O

• I've been working on my jump_exchange fic pretty diligently the past few days, which is good! For a long time, I was just failing at coming up with the motivation to actually write, though I've had the idea for a good long time. I'm almost done with the first draft (thanks in large part to danbi being awesome and encouraging), and it's actually shaping up to be quite a bit longer than I originally thought it would be. Not a bad thing, really, I just need to work on it double-time this weekend to make sure I can finish in time to have my betas look over it (btw, anyone else who's current/nearly current on Bleach, I wouldn't mind another pair or two of eyes to look it over--let me know!) so I can get it all fixed up by the due date. Not too worried just yet.
  
  
• via mekosuchinae: bottle_of_shine is hosting a reading challenge on her journal, which looks double-plus good awesome. The jist of it is:
  
  
  * Sign up!
  * Compose a list of ten books you love, then share it.
  * Read at least three books recommended by other participants, then review the books you've read.
  
  I'm totally doing this, and you should too! Seems like a great way to get book recs! :D
  
  
• Oh, and in that vein, remember the whole "reading journal" thing I was planning to do? I got sort of sidetracked on that, in large part because the last one I tried writing (focused on the Twilight series, and especially Eclipse) was so disjointed and hfdsahfs that I had to give up on it for a while. Well. The other day I started doing a write-up of it again. It's not done, quite (I set it aside to concentrate on my jump_exchange assignment), but expect to see it soon. And since so many people on the flist have read the series, I'm looking forward to having some good discussion when it's posted. So be on the lookout for that. Though, uh, just a warning, not all of my thoughts are flattering. >.>
  
  
• The Persona -trinity soul- anime may not be that particularly astounding, but I lovelovelove the ending theme. I'll upload it later tonight from work, where I have access to a better internet connection, but in the meantime, check it out here
  ETA: Okay, it's uploaded now! -->Suicides Love Story<--.

Mmkay, I think those are the main points for now!

P.S. -the_firefly! I got your package! ♥!!! --but, uhm. The DVD you sent me is apparently. Blank. Tried it on three computers and none of them can read anything on it. :\

Tags: bleach, books, bullet point time, pimp, reading, reading challenge, writing

02:16 pm: Excuse my spazziness.

• I haven't slept yet today and maybe I won't at all and it is all the_firefly's fault! I started watching Baccano! thinking I'd watch maybe an episode or two before sleep, but then once I started, I couldn't stop watching. I'm just taking a little break now, and then I'll have to finish it, because...damn. I had absolutely zero idea what it was about before I started watching, and saw the OP and thought, 'ooh, looks like silly crime capers,' and...there is that, but there's also: mystery, horror, alchemy, crazy mafia guys, immortals, RAIL TRACER, and a few random decapitations. Oh, and it mostly takes place during the 1930's. hjkhfsklafkdh I'm sure I'll have more to say about this once I've finished it.
  
  
• I got my jump_exchange assignment and just went "wow...are you kidding me??" because it was the one I had been eyeing. Well, there were a few, but this was the one I really, really wanted but didn't think I'd end up actually getting. OMG YES.
  
  
• I'm picking up a new character in Brawl and I'm really excited about it! I've been fairly 'meh' about roleplaying lately so this is good news. I'm also going to be playing anon, mostly just to see how soon I fail horribly at it. I have a feeling it won't take very long because I forget when I am supposed to be incognito, and also I get excited and just want to tell people.
  
  
• I have been doing a lot of these random memes lately, but. EH. Why not.
  
  
  MATCHMAKER ♥ MEME
  
  
  
• Urrrrk. Need to post another book entry, but my thoughts are so all over the place and messy on this one that it's hard for me to make a coherent post of it. I actually haven't been reading as much as usual lately, not sure why. (Well. Partly because I'm playing too many video games. >.>)

Okay, off to finish Baccano! now.

Tags: anime, baccano!, brawl, bullet point time, meme, writing

09:53 am: The high yesterday was -8° F. Right now it's -24° F. This is without the windchill. Sometimes I just love living in Minnesota.*

My computer looks to have something seriously wrong with it, and so I'll probably be sending it in for maintenance. Hopefully that won't take too long, but I expect to be pretty scarce until it's fixed. I can get online from home, but it's only a pretty awful dial-up connection on a shared phone line, so not that convenient and not something I can use a lot. Oh well. I'LL SURVIVE.

I've actually been relatively productive in the past few days, despite somehow managing to get sick again. I made a bunch of icons (this one included; I like it a lot!), finished knitting some hats and scarves for various people, and am almost done with some (already woefully late) things for yuri_challenge.

...And then there's the Bleach fic I wrote for Howie's birthday. Bless me Father, for I have sinned. Uhm. I wrote Ichigo/Kon-in-Rukia's-gigai. ...snuzzie GIVES IT HER SEAL OF APPROVAL.** :D

Looks like most people don't mind if I do the book blog thing in this journal, so I'll probably start that up...as soon as I work up the motivation to type out the first one. Yay, books!

I swear I actually had a LOT more I meant to write about, but now that I'm actually sitting down to do it, nothing else springs to mind. Isn't that always the way.

Instead, have a meme! Give me a fandom and the title of a story I haven't actually written, and I'll tell you a little more about the story in question!

Going to sleep now, but I'll reply when I wake up. ♥

*For those keeping score at home, that was SARCASM.
**Or...something.

Tags: attempting to be productive, bleach, books, computer woes, frigid sub-arctic temperatures, icons, meme, reading journal, writing

03:15 am: Well, I'm officially out of NaNoWriMo. I basically was as of...a week or so ago now, when I got sick and slept for pretty much two days straight. I'm a little disappointed, but it wasn't worth it to make myself really crazy over it, so instead of frantically trying to catch up, I quietly retired. I am hoping to continue being mildly productive, though. Aaand...visions of epic Avatar fic have been dancing through my head since watching episode eleven. I may indulge it. Of course, if I go with the idea I have in mind, it will be rendered AR as soon as the new episodes start airing again, though that's likely not going to be until 2008, at least. Hmm...

( My weekend. )

Anyway! Holiday cards! Some people maybe just haven't seen it yet, but in case anyone is hesitating because they can't send one in return, or feel like we don't know each other really well, I am completely serious when I say everyone on the flist is encouraged to sign up. It's starting to get closer, and sooner than later I'll probably begin to prepare and send these out, so please sign up, if you haven't!

Oh, and for those who asked about a wish list for me...I'm too tired now, but I'll try and make up one of those wish list posts soon. ♥

Tags: avatar, holiday cards, nanowrimo, real life, writing

09:07 am: My thoughts are so jumbled and disorganized that I'm not even sure where to start. On occasions like this, bullet points come in handy, I guess.

• I am totally going to try NaNoWriMo this year again. I feel like last year didn't really count, because even though I signed up, I never started writing. The timing was just horrible. I am more hopeful about this year. Anyway, I'm here if anyone else is signing up. Add me if you like. I'll probably be posting it in with_a_key this year, so feel free to friend that if you want to read it. ugh, yes, I am still super-self-conscious, but whatever. I'm trying to get over it.
  
  
• I've decided that I'm going to move to the Twin Cities come spring. This is an idea I've been going back and forth on, but last night things kind of clicked into place for me and it seems like something I really should do, even if it's not permanent. With that decision made, a lot of things seem clearer or easier now, I suppose because I have something specific to be working toward. So for now I'll be trying to organise what things I can at this early stage, and concentrate on saving as much money as I can. I'm looking at some jobs, but I'll work on that more when it's closer to me actually moving, haha.
  
  One of my friends said something not long ago that really struck me, about how I need to realize again that I deserve happiness, and that was something that got me really thinking again about what I want. I don't know. Last year was rough, and I have a tendency to blame that on myself, though I know logically that I couldn't help most of it. After that, I think I kind of got stuck in a transitional part of my life; like, it was never meant to be permanent, but somewhere along the way I lost sight of everything beyond that. Now I can see the horizon again. I'm feeling hopeful right now.
  
  
• I am going to be productive this month, I've decided. Finish things that need finishing. Fics are included in this, as are sketches. I'm not just trying to force myself; I feel like accomplishing things.
  
  
• And, finally, I've been saying forever that I was going to upload this...
  
  
  
  ( Koukou Debut pimp! )

That's all.