The Way the World Goes

Yuletide 2019

mmmdraco — Sun, 03 Nov 2019 15:52:04 GMT

First off, thank you, nonnie! I look forward to seeing what you'll manage.

This was the first canon that I specifically watched because of femslash potential so I'd love to see a focus on that relationship as it builds. It can be fluffy, weird, wild... whatever. Do smut! Attempted murder! Base it on the movie and write deeply symbolic carwash intimacy! You can bring in whichever other characters you like (including into sex as long as it doesn't break up Utena/Anthy). Go in the other direction and write a quite evening in. A compare and contrast on how they do chores.

Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy - any

As a hoopy frood who totally knows where my towel is, I'm looking for something that echoes the spirit of the original but it needn't be set in anything you would need to call a "timeline". The Guide's timeline is notoriously wonky anyway so just have fun! Is everyone an amoeba? Are we examining an event from the viewpoint of a tardigrade attempting (and failing at) genocide of its own species? Does the spirit of a blue whale mourn the loss of a petunia it once killed? I'm open to crossovers of other well-known space things from this. Does the Cowboy Bebop crew encounter Zaphod Beeblebrox? Captain Picard had a youthful fling with Trillian and now it's uncomfortable when they meet? R2-D2 meets a certain android and the conversation does not go as planned?

Nancy Drew Files - any

What I'd love here is case fic. But! I'll take some girlpower bonding sessions, Nancy/whoever smut (because that girl totally has handcuffs and knows how to use them), a vignette of Nancy and her Dad having a moment of missing her mom, etc. Obviously I like a Nancy focus because that's the series... but if you want to write Bess and George when Nancy's not around or Hannah Gruen's view on something? Totally cool.

American Assassin - Mitch, Ghost, Stan

I honestly want some lovely kinky Mitch/Ghost sex with Stan walking in and getting pissed off because... didn't he teach Ghost better than that. Alternately, Mitch and Stan interrogate Ghost. You may leave out Ghost entirely and use Victor from the books as a source of antagonism if that's more your thing. Mostly I just like Mitch being BAMF and Stan being this set-in-his-ways teacher who needs a lesson himself, so however you want to put that in? I'm cool with it. Mission fic is totally fine here. I've read like half of the books, so you can work in some of those details if you have, too, and are feeling that.

Mulan - Mulan, Shang

Anything at all is good here. Growly moments from early on? Yass~ Shang's post-revelation thoughts? Good. Shang's first dinner with the Fa family? Totally. Shang and Mulan blushing but ogling each other before their first time? Here for it. Introducing Shang to Mushu? Sure!

*Anonymous commenting should be enabled here so that you can ask questions directly to me if you'd like. If I've screwed that up, you can email me at [my username here]@gmail.com from some sock puppet account and I'll get back to you as long as it doesn't go to my junk folder.

Yuletide 2017

mmmdraco — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 02:45:38 GMT

First off, thank you, nonnie! I look forward to seeing what you'll manage.

I have a very short DNW list: scat, non-con, and watersports that occur above the neck. All other things are probably going to be okay. I lean significantly more toward happy and fluffy, but I certainly don't mind having my heart ripped out by a good story. Character death isn't a preference at all, but, again, it can be done well. Dub-con can be very okay, but I really need it to be at least somewhat consensual (so things like Sex Pollen, the X made them do it, lowered inhibitions, bonding, etc. are all quite okay as long as there's still a little choice left in the matter). Any kink other than that if you choose to write porn (because, yes, I'm totally receptive to porn *and* gen *and* fluffy ship fic) is great. I adore size kink and cumplay and dirty talk and power bottoming and double penetration and sex that reads like real sex because it isn't perfect but it's still fun. I love kink (a lot), but vanilla sex is good too as long as you're into writing it. I don't care about length as long as you feel your story is complete. I know full well that sometimes a fic that's 1000 words exactly can be a million times better than one that's 50k.

I guess I should also say that I have a significant preference for third person, but that any tense is okay. I tend to prefer things set in canon, but AUs can be excellent as long as that's what you're into writing. If there are additional characters/pairings that you want to throw into the background, that's welcome. I like het, slash, femslash, etc. and ensembles are awesome, so if you're wanting to write sixteen people in a scene that still just focuses on a few of them? I'll probably enjoy it. I will guarantee you a comment that will gush about the things I love about the fic.

Now, to detail the actual requests I made:

American Assassin - Mitch, Ghost, Stan

I honestly want some lovely kinky Mitch/Ghost sex with Stan walking in and getting pissed off because... didn't he teach Ghost better than that?

Alternately, Mitch and Stan interrogate Ghost.

You may leave out Ghost entirely and use Victor from the books as a source of antagonism if that's more your thing.

Mostly I just like Mitch being BAMF and Stan being this set-in-his-ways teacher who needs a lesson himself, so however you want to put that in? I'm cool with it. Mission fic is totally fine here. I've read like half of the books, too, so you can work in some of those details if you have, too, and are feeling that.

Sense8 - Wolfgang, Kala

My preference here IS for ship fic, not gonna lie. I'd love something where Kala realizes her own worth and how her values conflict with the life she's currently living but that the conflict with Wolfgang should be greater, but somehow isn't. I know the show touches on that a little, but obviously the way s2 ended makes it where that wasn't fully resolved. Feel free to just give me an AU if that's your thing. Meeting in a bar in Paris, maybe?

If you don't want to write something like that or a Sensate Mind Fuck or their first time really together or something, then feel free to bring in the other characters for mission fic, or a coffee shop bitch session, or whatever. Just please keep Kala and Wolfgang in the focus because they're easily my favorite characters in the show. (I'm not much for Riley and Will, though.)

Great British Bake Off RPF - Mary Berry

I would love Mary Berry/alcohol. I would also love insight into how Mary Berry sees the world. Or baking fic, but please only do so if you are likewise well-versed in baking or can at least write it like you are. I am quite a baker myself and small errors there throw me out of the moment quite terribly. Should this be our matched fandom and you're now hating me, please feel free to write whatever you'd like and I'll suck it up and deal. You may toss in Paul, Sue, and Mel as you like.

iZombie - Liv, Ravi

I am not caught up on the most recent season as I write this, sadly, but anything for this would be good for me. (I'm going to do my damnedest to be caught up by Christmas, though!) Liv eats a brain and suddenly wants to have sex with Ravi. Ravi wants to try a cure on Liv. They're part of a larger thing where it's mission fic. As long as these two are there, it'll be golden. Any and all (or no) ships are fine.

*Anonymous commenting should be enabled here so that you can ask questions directly to me if you'd like. If I've screwed that up, you can email me at [my username here]@gmail.com from some sock puppet account and I'll get back to you as long as it doesn't go to my junk folder.

Yuletide 2014

mmmdraco — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 16:29:39 GMT

First off, sorry I couldn't have this up when you got your assignment! My laptop is currently in the throws of great woe and, as such, I just didn't have the access needed with the time allotted, so I hope this isn't too late for you!

I have a very short DNW list: scat, non-con, and watersports that occur above the neck. All other things are probably going to be okay. I lean significantly more toward happy and fluffy, but I certainly don't mind having my heart ripped out by a good story. Character death isn't a preference at all, but, again, it can be done well. Dub-con can be very okay, but I really need it to be at least somewhat consensual (so things like Sex Pollen, the X made them do it, lowered inhibitions, bonding, etc. are all quite okay as long as there's still a little choice left in the matter). Any kink other than that if you choose to write porn (because, yes, I'm totally receptive to porn *and* gen *and* fluffy ship fic) is great. I adore size kink and cumplay and dirty talk and power bottoming and double penetration and sex that reads like real sex because it isn't perfect but it's still fun. I love kink (a lot), but vanilla sex is good too as long as you're into writing it. I don't care about length as long as you feel your story is complete. I know full well that sometimes a fic that's 1000 words exactly can be a million times better than one that's 50k.

I guess I should also say that I have a significant preference for third person, but that any tense is okay. I tend to prefer things set in canon, but AUs can be excellent as long as that's what you're into writing. If there are additional characters/pairings that you want to throw into the background, that's welcome. I like het, slash, femslash, etc. and ensembles are awesome, so if you're wanting to write sixteen people in a scene that still just focuses on a few of them? I'll probably enjoy it. I will guarantee you a comment that will gush about the things I love about the fic.

Now, to detail the actual requests I made:

FAKE - Dee/Ryo

I love these guys together in any way, so case fic or sweet moments or porn is all good. Something I'd love to see is maybe an investigation into an ex of Dee's or possibly a hooker who seems to know "Randy" all too well. Domestic fic would also be amazing (cooking together, decorating for the holidays, even talking about adoption... though I'd prefer you only do straight up kidfic if you keep the focus on Dee and Ryo) and I wouldn't mind reading about them taking a vacation together (maybe to Japan?) that goes better than any they take in canon.

Maze Runner - Thomas, Newt, Minho

I've only seen the movie for this and haven't spoiled myself with the books, so if you want to incorporate the canon of the later books? Just explain it for me a bit. Anyway, I really appreciated the dynamics between Thomas and everyone else and would love to see more about the dynamic between these three characters together all at once. I would not be upset with porn at all, but I'm also cool with anything else (if you only want two of them actually together, any variation works as long as it's from those 3 characters). I'd love an AU where Thomas' neighbor and/or landlord (Newt) and his new work buddy (Minho) both end up joining him at a bar. Or canon drinking around the fire followed by skinny dipping. Maybe a quiet walk around the perimeter at dusk, talking about the little blips of things they remember about "before". I would also be cool with Thomas getting some kinky consensual "punishment" for his actions.

Mulan - Fa Mulan/Li Shang

I'm specifically wanting post-movie fic here. I love these two awkward idiots and would prefer adventure and/or sweet silliness over angst or porn. You can go directly post-movie where Shang does stay for dinner and ends up being the one to pour the tea, or maybe they spar and Mulan schools Shang. Does Shang ask for Mulan's hand in marriage from her father who laughs and says he can't give permission for that and to ask her himself? (I know a Mulan II exists, but I haven't seen it so feel free to forget that canon if it gets in the way of what you want to write.) I'd be okay with Shang helping Mulan with a loss (maybe Cri-kee dies of old age or Mulan's father dies and Shang realizes he hasn't truly processed the loss of his own father?) though I'd beg for at least a happy ending there.

How To Get Away With Murder - any
I want worldbuilding here~ I'm not a huge fan of Connor/Wes, but anything else goes (you can certainly write about them interacting, even Connor flirting, but I just don't quite like them as actually being together). Some Laurel/Michaela would not go awry. Connor/Asher or Bonnie/Annalise would also be fab. I'd love to see Wes get into a situation where he has to learn to listen to more than just the loudest voice. Also amazing would be seeing Michaela get schooled on why her fiance didn't need to tell her about Connor before they were even dating (because, seriously, as a bi woman? That pissed me off!) Maybe Annalise realizing she's a hypocrite for her relationship with Nate when her husband's infidelity bothers her so much, but that's why she fights for her clients because guilt by law and by feeling are different things. I'm staying caught up on canon for this, so use as much or as little of the stuff airing now as you'd like.

Catherine - Catherine/Vincent
For me, Catherine > Katherine always. She's who I always end up going for. Anything's good here from Vincent angsting over things to the two of them banging as demons. You can have anyone else in as a character, just don't have Vincent choose Katherine in the end, please. Maybe post-game Vincent remembers a night with Catherine from "before" and muses on why he chose her. Maybe Catherine joins the boys at the bar one night, flirting with Erika to make Vincent jealous. Or maybe Catherine learns to reign in her own jealousy once she realizes just how much Vincent willingly gave up to be with her.

*Anonymous commenting should be enabled here so that you can ask questions directly to me if you'd like. If I've screwed that up, you can email me at [my username here]@gmail.com from some sock puppet account and I'll get back to you as long as it doesn't go to my junk folder.

Hikago Rare Pair Exchange placeholder

mmmdraco — Sun, 25 May 2014 23:24:38 GMT

I have a very short DNW list: scat, non-con, and watersports that occur above the neck. All other things are probably going to be okay. I lean significantly more toward happy and fluffy, but I certainly don't mind having my heart ripped out by a good story. Character death isn't a preference at all, but, again, it can be done well. Dub-con can be very okay, but I really need it to be at least somewhat consensual (so things like Sex Pollen, the X made them do it, lowered inhibitions, bonding, etc. are all quite okay as long as there's still a little choice left in the matter). Any kink other than that if you choose to write porn (because, yes, I'm totally receptive to porn *and* gen *and* fluffy ship fic) is great. I adore size kink and cumplay and dirty talk and power bottoming and double penetration and sex that reads like real sex because it isn't perfect but it's still fun. I love kink (a lot), but vanilla sex is good too as long as you're into writing it. I don't care about length as long as you feel your story is complete. I know full well that sometimes a fic that's 1000 words exactly can be a million times better than one that's 50k.

Now, to detail the actual requests I made:

Shindou Hikaru/Shirakawa Michio
I have only recently found myself kind of enamored of teacher/student relationship stuff, and I love the idea of Hikaru thinking that Shirakawa is a good go teacher and therefore asking him about other things, whether it's sex or a good place for lunch or what to get his mom for her birthday.

Hong Suyeong/Ko Yeongha
So much of what we see of Ko is contextualized in a view where we don't know what he's doing and Hong provides some of our best insight into him. Their relationship is very much so one of a kind of mutual respect even though neither of them are the respectful sort. I love anything with them working together. Maybe they room together a lot? Maybe there's a giant bug in Hong's room and Ko helps him get it out?

Touya Akiko/Touya Kouyou
I love this pair for how strong and kind of sweet they are. I'd love a story of them getting together, or one early on in their marriage where Akiko comes to the Ki-in to bring Kouyou an umbrella and he leaves it there for the future and walks home with her sharing hers. Or, show me them in China adapting to something new, or even reflecting on their lives. (I think they'd be pretty vanilla, but I'm also okay with that for them.)

Isumi Shinichirou/Ogata Seiji
I like to see these guys talk and tease each other. Like, a lot. Banter and not-so-quiet touching. Maybe Ogata being obvious in public and Isumi trying to kind of hide it a little and failing miserably because he's the one people are noticing? Or, perhaps the relationship is being talked about to a third party by one of them and there are all kind of horrible questions?

Not Prime Time placeholder~

mmmdraco — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 00:52:14 GMT

I have a very short DNW list: scat, non-con, and watersports that occur above the neck. All other things are probably going to be okay. I lean significantly more toward happy and fluffy, but I certainly don't mind having my heart ripped out by a good story. Character death isn't a preference at all, but, again, it can be done well. Dub-con can be very okay, but I really need it to be at least somewhat consensual (so things like Sex Pollen, the X made them do it, lowered inhibitions, bonding, etc. are all quite okay as long as there's still a little choice left in the matter). Any kink other than that if you choose to write porn (because, yes, I'm totally receptive to porn *and* gen *and* fluffy ship fic) is great. I adore size kink and cumplay and dirty talk and power bottoming and double penetration and sex that reads like real sex because it isn't perfect but it's still fun. I love kink (a lot), but vanilla sex is good too as long as you're into writing it. I don't care about length as long as you feel your story is complete. I know full well that sometimes a fic that's 1000 words exactly can be a million times better than one that's 50k.

Now, to detail the actual requests I made:

Request 1
Chuck (TV)
Chuck Bartowski, Sarah Walker (Chuck)
Chuck, from the very beginning, felt like it was a show made just for me. I love nerdy things. I love spy stuff. I love will they/won't they that takes a reasonable amount of time. So, anything that you write involving these two characters set wherever you want during or after canon is going to make me smile. But, if you want some ideas? I'd love to see Chuck and Sarah actively comparing their relationship to Ellie and Awesome and realizing that they're happier with what they have. I'd love Sarah's view of Chuck along the way as she falls in love or how things go as she falls in love with him all over again after the end. (If, in your view, she remembers? I'm cool with that, too.) But spy stuff is also amazing. Mission fic is gold. (You can throw Casey in there, too, or any other cast member. I'm even okay with Jeffster sometimes.)

Request 2
Hikaru no Go
Any Character
Hikago is the fandom of my heart and anything you write from it will delight me. If you want to write gen about Ochi learning how to control his emotions? Awesome. Want to write HikaAki PWP where they try something new? Very cool. Want to write about Kaneko and Mitani raising a kid? Great. There is not a single Hikago character that I don't think has the potential to be interesting. That said, though, I signed up for "Any" before even actually looking at who was available. So, I think it's important to say that Sai is my least favorite character by miles, but if this is where we matched and that's who you offered? Then tell me things from Sai's point of view, either from the Heian era or adapting to new things or whatever. Other than Sai pairings because I'm just not into that, I am okay with literally anything you want to write as far as a ship. I have written Ochi/Kuwabara, okay? What you like? Imbue it with your own feelings and make me love it.

Request 3
Persona 4
Kujikawa Rise, Tatsumi Kanji
Anything between these characters is awesome and amazing. Whether you ship them like I do and love that snarky banter between them and how Rise would totally top from below in all aspects of their relationship or want Rise demanding that Kanji make her an outfit for an awards show and him grudgingly going along with it or maybe deciding to study together... I will love it.

Request 4
Veronica Mars (TV)
Logan Echolls, Veronica Mars
Part of me wants to see Veronica and Logan back in the early days, before Lily's death, bonding as friends and forging the beginning of their relationship. Part of me wants something set in the middle of canon where Veronica actually gets to ask for Logan's help with a case. The rest of me wants something set post-movie where Veronica moves back and actually tries to make a life in Neptune again. Anything goes, seriously.

Day 23 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 17:08:14 GMT

Today's topic: Harlem Beat!

Harlem Beat is awesome and amazing and is one of the first sports series I read. I know I started picking up the manga around the time that MIXX Media became Tokyopop, much like several other series that were in the reversed format. I fell in love with the characters, the art, the way it approached everything... It wasn't long before I was really starting to get into other sports series and truly recognized just how different Harlem Beat was in a lot of aspects. It's a little on the dirtier side, one of the main characters pretty much screams "not heterosexual", it's written by a woman and actually has women's basketball in the later volumes, etc.

I really need to go back and read the series again. (Well, what very has scanned since I gave her my volumes to demolish and scan so I can share them with the world.) I can remember quite well the feelings that the series brings up in me and things like loving how one of the main character's best shots is learned from a hairdresser, and how the basketball is slightly more realistic than you often see, and how all of the characters are utter dorks and just... Wow. It really makes me happy to think about the story, but sad to think about how few fans it has.

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here. Otherwise, this is the last one.)

Day 21 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 17:10:45 GMT

Today's topic: Youtube recs!

I'm boring. The only things I watch on Youtube other than recommendations are music videos and I'm pretty stringent in my adherence to watching mostly Hello!Project PVs. Other people can intelligently discuss all kinds of Youtube bloggers and LPers and everything and I'm over here more concerned about the fact that there's a Biyuuden PV that I had to upload because the only version that was on Youtube had been mirrored for someone to learn the dance.

It certainly doesn't help that, at the moment, my internet sucks too much to really support streaming video.

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 20 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 04:38:40 GMT

Today's topic: Persona 4!

Let me start off by saying that I am not much of a gamer. Puzzle games? Awesome. Ace Attorney? Totally. Cooking Mama? Yes! But RPGs were the kind of things that I might like to watch, but didn't really play. I'd lose interest or they'd be too hard or just... something kept me from getting involved with them when I was younger, so when I got older, I just let talk of a lot of games just pass me by.

Then... several friends from Hikago started talking about Persona 4. I was linked to the Giant Bomb Endurance Run. I watched all of it and generally groaned at how bad the guys playing were. I kind of got a little obsessed. XD Then I got the game as a gift (just the PS2 version) and went to town. I also got P4A at the same time and went to town on that. I discovered I was actually pretty decent at both which helped bolster my love. (Nevermind that I went in a little later and played some Twilight Princess and did pretty damn well at that, too.)

So, yeah. Tried the anime and didn't really like it? But the game... <3 I don't love all of the characters, but I love most of them quite a lot. I'm pretty fond of the game mechanics, too, and it was just a ton of fun to play and a ton of fun to progress down different paths.

I adore Yosuke, Rise, and Kanji above all of the other characters and I really dislike Chie and Yukiko in the relationship sense. You go down that route with them and they just get so... blah. Rise gets clingy, but stays fun and just, uh, wow. I love idols so I think maybe that's why I understand her character so well? I don't know~, but I adore her. Kanji's just adorable. And then there's Yosuke who's an ass, but he's such a "real" character.

I went on to borrow Persona 3 FES from a friend and played it. (P3 is much easier to try to do all of the social links without a guide; even dicking around, I finished almost all of them. The battle system is fucking annoying even for how similar it is to P4, but that's mostly just because setting character X to heal/support always seems to make it where they do zero healing! And, seriously, fucking Marin Karin. But, the really shallow stories everyone had in P3 made me appreciate the depth of the stories in P4 even more.)

I have a newfound appreciation of houndstooth and the color yellow. It's crazy. I don't normally fangirl this hard about something so consistently for so long, but... I figure that I invested all of the time into the canon so I kind of have to geek out about it for a while, right?

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 19 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 00:17:36 GMT

Today's Topic: Top 5 favorite fics!

Standard edition:
* Limitless by solaciolum - Assassin's Creed - This is literally the only bookmark I have on AO3. It's Altair/Malik and is affectionately referred to as the "stump fuck" fic. Yup. I love it.
* Constructive Criticism by aoigensou - Hikaru no Go - This is probably one of my favorite non-serious fics. Liz never disappoints.
* Pine by very - Hikaru no Go - Legit my favorite "solo exploration" fic of any fandom. So good I had to podfic it.
* Boys and Girls by Bianca & Ariana - Gundam Wing - Heero magically changes sex. It's humorous, but it's also a really great look at how a few of Gundam pilots might view gender.
* Five Times Kyoko Did Not Expect Fannish Shipping Explosions by ryfkah - Skip Beat! -

Hard mode(above 50k):
* Falling Into College by TheBugGuy - Daria - This is the best fic I've seen that follows Daria after high school. It's very long, fleshes out a lot of characters, has OCs who don't suck, etc. It gets a little cliche at times, but never so much to override my enjoyment of it. All told, it's closer to 500k.
* And Then There Were Three by Amy - Harry Potter - The Courtship of Severus Snape, basically, but ends in an OT3 scenario with Harry/Draco/Snape.
* Lingering Days by Kumiko and Tzigane - Gundam Wing - AU wherein Wufei is a Chinese boy from Georgia and Zechs is a Minnesota Viking type working as a goatherd and a schoolteacher at a historical compound. Full of silly stuff and in-jokes, but tons of fun.
* Nocturne - Harry Potter - AU wherein Snape is a vampire and Harry basically helps find the cure? Really interesting world building.
* In Which Tony Stark Builds Himself Some Friends (But His Family Was Assigned by Nick Fury) by scifigrl47 - The Avengers - Flying Roombas, sentient toasters, and Stark Snark. <3

Vanity recs (by which I assume Liz means stuff I wrote that I'd rec?):
* Skinship - Hikaru no Go - There might only be a few people who love this fic... but I'm one of them.
* Sharing is Caring - Hikaru no Go - Because smut? Ogata and Isumi and Waya and Yashiro. Oh my!
* A View of the Sunset - Assassin's Creed - Written for Porn Battle, but I like it. Altair/Malik rooftop handjobs!
* WANTED: MUST LOVE CATS - Prince of Tennis - I don't know why, but I really like this InuKai fic I wrote. It's an AU, but it makes me smile.
* Heart Beat - That Thing You Do! - Of all of the fics I wrote last year for Yuletide, this was my favorite.

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 18 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Thu, 26 Dec 2013 21:54:59 GMT

Today's topic: Favorite Christmas traditions!

I don't think I go too crazy with Christmas traditions, so a lot of it is stuff that a lot of people do, I think? But my favorite thing is just the Christmas meal which, well, is basically just the same as the Thanksgiving meal but sometimes with ham. As far as the new traditions? I like that penguin stuff is what everyone has glommed onto to get for me. <3

I also have a tradition of annoying the heck out of my husband by singing Christmas songs all the time. XD

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 17 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Thu, 26 Dec 2013 19:53:54 GMT

Because of things being crazy for the last few days, I'll be doing 3 of these today. XD

Today's topic: Harry Potter!

My very first exposure of Harry Potter was in 11th grade. I was editor of the school paper and had to proofread the article a girl wrote about it. I remember cutting out paragraph after paragraph and thinking that it really didn't sound like my thing at all. Fast forward a little bit to where I was getting into Gundam Wing hardcore and the friend who introduced me to that was talking about writing Harry Potter fanfic and had me read little pieces she was writing. That summer, I went to visit her in Tulsa and, that first night while she had a remedial geometry class? I read book one. In the week I was there, I read the next two, as well. (The fourth had just come out, but I got it from the library ASAP once I got home.)

I started out loving Harry/Draco and thinking a lot of other pairings were pretty meh, though I've read some of a little bit of everything, I think. JayKay's "Too Wise To Woo Peaceably" was my first Harry/Snape and it was mainly just because of the Shakespeare. Suddenly, I found myself loving that pairing. A lot. XD

A lovely artist named Yukipon has actually done art for 2 of my fics: my first Harry/Snape called "Chalk Dust" had a few sketches in an art compilation doujin she did and then, later, she made a whole doujin based on my Harry/Draco fic called "Erised Never Lies". They are doujin that I will never sell. :)

I have quite a bit of Harry Potter "stuff". Hardcover and paperback versions of all of the books except Beedle the Bard. Over a dozen shirts. A bunch of little knick knacks scattered here and there... I used to have a lot more, but a lot of it was stuff people got for me because they knew I liked HP, but not necessarily what I liked about it.

So, what I do like? Quidditch. The successful balancing of something like 4 generations of characters. The foreshadowing. How many levels of villains there are (because the villainy of Pansy Parkinson is not like Bellatrix Lestrange's, but Dolores Umbridge will eat your heart with a grapefruit spoon off of a mewling kitten plate). That there are female characters who are significantly more awesome than their male counterparts. People being complicated and stupid and never so inexorably badass that they cannot fail.

The world is so deep in HP that it really feels like an immersive experience to me. There are problems, sure, but I tend to not like high fantasy but I still really like HP. <3

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 16 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 06:15:01 GMT

Today's topic: Talk about your writing process!

I am the type of writer who gets an idea and then just goes full-tilt at it until it's done. Start to finish. I might go back afterward to do some edits to make it flow better, but even my longest fic (Skinship) was done that way. I don't do rough drafts or outlines or really much of anything. I have a bare bones idea and I start to write and just try to fold it all in together. I'm very much so an "ideas" person, so that's what works for me. I swear I talked about this some more earlier this month? I don't know~. It's 1am and I'm tired. XD

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 15 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 05:50:08 GMT

Today's topic: Latest anime/manga recs!

I'm so horrible and haven't kept up with, like, anything? The only newish thing I've watched is Free! which I do recommend, but pretty much everyone does.

The last thing I remember making a point to watch before that was B-Gata H-Kei or something like that which was cute and fun and ecchi because it's about a girl who wants to go ahead and lose her virginity so that she can have sex with a ton of guys, but then she keeps having silly problems.

My internet connection right now is crap for streaming and my toddler goes full tilt at all times, so I just keep not watching things. But... I'm also really picky? XD

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 14 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 15:06:31 GMT

Today's topic: Kuroko no Basuke

People who know me even a little bit for my fandom ways know that I gravitate toward sports/games anime/manga. It's just my thing. So, seeing other people get excited about this basketball series made me decide to give it a shot.

Now, I've had experience with a lot of other series involving basketball (Harlem Beat, Slam Dunk, I'll/CKBC, Dear Boys, etc.), so coming into KnB, I found myself being maybe a little overly critical. I found the first half season of the anime a little dull (probably in part due to the overuse of the Kuroko-being-invisible gag), but I found that I really liked a lot of the characters (Midorima, Kagami, Aomine, Riko, etc.) so I stuck with it and did find myself really invested by the end of the first season. Then I went and read the manga, though I fell behind at some point because life happened.

The second season of anime has started and because of things like crap internet and my computer being choppy when trying to play the downloaded episodes, I've only seen the first episode. I will watch more, definitely, but I just haven't yet.

Some of the things I really like about the series? The guys are not super skinny. To a point, they're almost drawn a little too thick in the waist? But that's better than the waif-thin!super-muscular!type that exists in a lot of things. The relationships tend to be pretty dynamic. Kuroko can be a bit of a wet blanket and Kagami is true to type as that Sakuragi Hanamichi-like character (but instead of being girl crazy, he's afraid of dogs, and also further along in his "journey"). The series does a good job of making it obvious that every other Generation of Miracles member kind of forgets about teamwork which is what tends to be their downfall. That said, though, the very idea of the Generation of Miracles seems a little silly. Even for as good as they were, they were in middle school. Yet, in the series, they are treated as some mythical phenomenon or something. Does their skill deserve mention? Yes. Does it deserve the pious devotion the series gives it? Probably not.

KnB will never be my favorite basketball series, but it probably is in third place after Harlem Beat and Slam Dunk? And several of the characters really won me over. I'll never like Murasakibara and I will likely roll my eyes at Momoi and Akashi a lot before the series is over, but the series has definitely won over a piece of my heart all its own. <3 (And, seriously, I ship it. All of it.)

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 13 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 14:40:46 GMT

Today's topic (and I missed yesterday, so I'll be doing another one right after this): Share one of your favorite recipes and why you like it!

I don't normally do recipes except for baking, but I was at a friend's house and she made white chicken enchiladas. They have become a staple in my house because, wow, delicious.

For this, you need:
Tortillas (I usually make about 8-10 of these enchiladas at a time because that's what fits in my casserole dish)
Shredded cheese (the original recipe calls for monterey jack, but I find colby jack is easier to find already shredded; you'll need at least 2 cups)
Shredded chicken (pull off of a rotisserie chicken or toss a boneless skinless chicken breast or two in the oven with a little seasoning and then chop it into long thin pieces)

Take a tortilla. Sprinkle some cheese across it and then layer chicken on top. Roll up and place, seam down, in the pan. Do this until your pan is full. Don't crowd them too much so there's room for the sauce to get between them. (Spraying your pan with cooking spray first is a Good Idea, but I almost always forget and it never makes too much a mess because of that.)

Now, the sauce (this amount will cover a traditional lasagna-sized casserole dish):
[PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 350F WHILE YOU'RE MAKING THE SAUCE!!!]

3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth (hot)
1 cup sour cream
1 small can green chiles, chopped (optional)

Make a roux of the butter and flour. (So, melt the butter and stir in the flour.) Add the chicken broth a little at a time until it's a nice thick sauce. Turn off the heat and add the sour cream, mixing it until smooth. (You can add the green chiles here if you want them; I'm a spice wuss, so I go without.) Pour this over the tortillas in the pan and then add cheese over the top of them.

Top in the oven for 25 minutes. If you like a softer enchilada, leave it at this point. If you like your cheese browned, turn your oven to broil for a few minutes.

These are such a warm and hearty meal. I make up a package of "Mexican Rice" mix with them, maybe some roasted potatoes (I chop them up in a large dice, add a fair bit of seasoning salt and a good drizzle of oil, then toss them and bake for about 25-30 minutes (so, if you get them going first, they can just roast while you're baking the enchiladas), and I have a nice Mexican-influenced meal that doesn't burn my tongue off (becaus, seriously, I'm a spice wuss).

The sauce on the enchiladas is really nice and thick and tangy and compliments everything with it. It's pretty simply to make, doesn't require buying a ton of ingredients (generally, I have to buy the tortillas, cheese, sour cream and then some rice mix, but that's $5 I'll spend for a meal for 2 plus leftovers that actually reheat pretty well), and it's easy to make for a crowd. (You can make less enchiladas and still the same amount of sauce, too, and then have extra to mix into the rice or dip potatoes in.) I actually made this yesterday, but had a sweet potato on the side instead of the roasted potatoes. I just tossed the sweet potato in the oven in foil while I started to defrost chicken, then tossed it in the pan I'd be using for the enchiladas covered in foil and baked until done, then used the resulting "drippings" as part of my chicken broth.

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 12 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 01:56:12 GMT

Today's topic: Hikaru no Go!

Other people who are fanatical about Hikaru no Go already understand exactly why I'm fanatical about it. But other people kind of nod and smile and just don't get it. Even people who enjoyed the series don't seem to understand what it is that elevates it up, for me, to my favorite.

It's basically everything, though. I already like things about sports/games. That dynamic between characters who are a team versus ones who are rivals is great. But, since go is an individual thing, you get these various alliances that sometimes get trumped because of that desire to win. Additionally, the characters are pretty much all amazing. There are a lot of series about sports/games that don't really get in depth about what makes the characters who they are. Because of that, sometimes they read like caricatures. Hikago has a few characters who end up falling into caricature territory, but they're almost all older characters. The younger ones might show, at first, that they're like thing X, but they are dynamic characters. They change. They turn everything on its head. That is why they're the New Wave.

Also, there's just so much heart in the series. Plus, AkiHika. Shippy or non-shippy, however you see it, it's just an amazing relationship. The way they grow and develop? <3<3<3 I can recognize the problems I find in the series, but they just never even begin to overcome what I adore about it.

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 11 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 01:50:28 GMT

Today's topic: What is the best way to seduce you into a new fandom?

Show me pretty art, explain to me what you love about it, relate it to a fandom I already love, and catch me when I have the time/energy/etc. to watch it. There is a fine line between hype and overhype, but if you cross that line a little? I probably won't hold it against you. If you have a proven track record of reccing things that I don't like, however, you're probably going to need other friends of mine to rec the same thing. <3

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 10 of Decembermeme

mmmdraco — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 00:36:10 GMT

Today's topic: Getting old (I'm making up stuff now since no one else gave me topics.)

I'm 30 now and part of me is definitely starting to feel it. I'm sure part of that is just the various things wrong with my body that manifest as pain or discomfort. Arthritis in the ankle that broke, bursitis in my right shoulder, plus MS... There's a lot of suck there.

But at the same time, the rest of me feels younger than ever because passing 30 seems to have let me give considerably less fucks about what people think of me. At 30, I'm more of a fangirl than I've ever been and encompassing a far broader range of fandoms. Basically, life is interesting and I enjoy it? XD

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here. Otherwise, I'm out of things to post about.)

Day 9 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 14:02:03 GMT

Today's topic: Favourite Mythical Animal?

Veela. :p Oh no, my Harry Potter love is showing!

Seriously, though, the Veela feel like a modern-day interpretation of Sirens. In the books, you don't really see anything about male Veela, but they kind of have to be there? Anyway, what interests me is that they're closely related enough to humans for there to be people who are part Veela, but then there are full-on Veela who will fuck you the fuck up if you don't do what they want because, wow, the fact that you can even get over their power of suggestion or whatever...

Your more "traditional" mystical animals like unicorns and phoenixes and even dragons... I find that my interest just lies more in people. Any work of fiction that has those elements, I've always felt more interest in characters as they have an interest in those creatures rather than in the creatures themselves.

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here. Otherwise, I'm out of things to post about.)

Day 8 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 01:30:19 GMT

Today's topic: Baking or cooking?

If I look at this solely as a case of which am I happier with the results of? Cooking. However, which do I enjoy doing more? Baking.

It's easy enough to season something. It's pretty hard to screw up a lot of things when cooking them unless you get distracted. For baking, though, it's amazing how it all comes together. Earlier this evening, I decided to throw away the idea of recipes for pizza dough. Instead, I went by the techniques I knew and made what ended up being some of the best pizza I've ever had (my husband and a friend also agreed it was really tasty). But I also made a cake today. It's a simple one. Just a coffee cake. But I get a lot more joy out of the process of baking. Even when the final result is pretty horrendous, I enjoy the process of watching a dough or batter come together. I like combining flavors and figuring out where I can make substitutions. When it comes to baked goods? I'm usually perfectly fine to just have a single serving of whatever I've made and then to watch other people enjoy it. Especially if they tell me how much they like it.

When people like anything I've cooked for them, it makes me smile. But baked goods are such an iffy beast sometimes that it's far more rewarding to be told I did something good there, I guess?

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here. C'mon. I only have 1 more days worth after this!)

Day 7 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 18:10:40 GMT

Today's topic: Your favorite character POV to write from

I'd be lying if I said anything other than Shindou Hikaru. There's just something about him. He's such a big dork in the best of ways and I relate to him in a lot of ways, too, like the ghost that- Oh. Wait. No. But, seriously, I do relate to things like how much he is able to focus on just one thing, sometimes to the detriment of everything else going on in his life.

Additionally, I enjoy that, as Hikaru, I feel like I can just blather without having to be too clever. ^_~

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here. C'mon. I only have 2 more days worth after this!)

Day 6 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 19:12:44 GMT

Today's topic: How did you get into anime?

During the summer before high school back in 1997, I got into the musical group Hanson. In trying to find info about them online, I got into fanfic. Once I did that, I got in with other Hanson fans my age online, one in particular who called herself Aspen. If I have any Hanfic fans following me, yes, the author of Devil Angel is who I'm referring to. I was vaguely familiar with anime before all of this. I'd seen some Sailor Moon and knew a girl who loved it, but this was back before it really hit on in the US. Still, Aspen would talk about loving this show on Toonami called Gundam Wing. It was slowly pulling her away from our joined fandoms and I decided I'd give it a shot.

Hilariously, the episode I ended up seeing first was the final episode of the series. But it intrigued me enough that I then ended up watching every episode as it showed on the next run (except the episode in the middle that recaps the story). It was my gateway drug. I bought fansubs online (this being before the days of torrents) and tried a bunch of things.

When I saw a guy from my neighborhood at college when I was trying to get away from a guy who was bothering me, I found friends for life in two of the girls sitting with him. They happened to all be talking about anime and before I knew it, I had anime friends. We went to our first con together a few months later and I cosplayed from the get go.

Basically, it was not a slow slide into this madness, but it was a pleasant one that has honestly enriched my life with good friends and memories.

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 5 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 15:36:47 GMT

Today's topic: If you had to live in an anime, which one and why?

This one's tough. XD

With that said, however, I think I'd like to live most in a world like Kodomo no Omocha or Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou. They're both such fun series. There's just enough distortion of reality that it never feels too odd when things get serious but neither does it lose impact.

The series I find that I gravitate most toward anyway are the ones that are indelibly about relationships. Plot is good and a very good one will make up for a lot of things, but if the focus isn't on people and what makes them tick, I lose interest pretty easily.

(If you'd like to make a suggestion on something for me to post a day this month, add it as a comment here.)

Day 3 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 17:10:40 GMT

Today's (other) topic: What you love to eat but won't/can't cook.

There isn't much I won't/can't cook, but the thing that comes to mind here is steak.

I love steak every now and again but I tend to overcook it for how I like it and really, as far as food goes, steak tends to have less markup in restaurants than a lot of things. I don't eat a lot of it, but when I do, it's almost always at restaurants.

Actually, I think that's about it? XD

(If you want to add a topic for me to babble about, add it as a comment here.)

Day 2 of Decembermeme!

mmmdraco — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 16:57:25 GMT

(Since I missed doing this yesterday, I'm going to do two today!)

Today's topic? Writing habits. <3

I do not do structure when it comes to writing, so it's a little difficult to talk about? But, I'll try.

Deadlines are my friends. Ideas are my friends. If I have one of those, I can fic. I don't really plan much of anything (and if I do, it's the most bare-bones kind of scribbled outline as I like to have a lot of revelations as I write. If I know I'm going to be writing about something I don't really know enough about, I research ahead of time and let that mold my ideas a little, or I Google Fu on the way and let things shift as they need to.

I don't really procrastinate when it comes to writing. I sit down as soon as possible and just write. I start at the beginning and go to the end without much jumping around almost always. My style lends itself better to short fics because of that.

Writing happens better for me when it's quieter (so, late evenings or when my son is napping are best) but if I can step away from things (like when my husband watches my son for a bit), then it also works well enough. I switch positions quite often (laying down on my stomach, sitting crosslegged, etc.) and while I often bring coffee with me when I'm writing, I tend to then focus so hard on what I'm writing that it goes pretty cold by the time I remember it's there.

I don't really get writer's block? I just occasionally have times when I'm not enamored enough of anything to brainstorm about it or there's too much else going on for me to put my focus on fiction and that's when I don't write.