Rebcake-o-rama

Things and stuff

rebcake — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 09:44:12 GMT

First, a fandom thing:

I wrote a story for seasonal_spuffy's "Road Trip" round called We Will Drive Through the Fire. If you want to know anything about my experiences with the California wildfires last month, that will give you an idea.

We were lucky, and only had to flee the terrible air quality. Code purple. Did you even know there was a code purple, to indicate air that is worse than Code Red Dangerous? Neither did any of us. Taking a little road trip is not the same as being evacuated for 10 straight days, as happened to BFFC. Thinking that it would be the standard sort of evacuation — in which you come back the next day to a perfectly fine house — they left their cats at home. When she realized that they wouldn't be let back in for a long, undefined time, BF became frantic. She made arrangements to go in by boat, but when she showed up with the requested fire-fighting gear, they explained that she'd have to swim in the last few yards. Not a happening scenario for my friend or her heart-patient husband. However, a friend of the family, a surfer, volunteered to swim in and then hike to the house — which they knew from drone footage was undamaged — and he camped out with the cats for 5 days. The cats were entirely unfazed when the family got back, of course. Another family friend lost her house in Paradise, but wasn't there. I say again: we were lucky.

In good news — I was off nursing my Dear Old Ma post-surgery (she's doing great!), when McDiva got a grand plan together to go to Japan for six weeks. She and her sweet GF had the most wonderful time, and can't wait to go back. In fact, they are so determined to go back and stay awhile that they are even considering attending university there. This is a great relief to me, and I am constantly trying not to show too much enthusiasm. Pros: college! Finally! Tuition prices there are often lower than in the USA, even at the very good schools. Word is that Japan is desperately seeking international students, so that seems positive. I might get to visit at some point! Cons: It's far, far away. She has to actually research and apply. I don't want to get involved in that process, having been burned before. Then, if there are problems once she's there, I will not be able to do much. Maybe that's a good thing. She managed for six weeks, after all. I worry about her emotional fragility. I can never decide if she's fragile because of my involvement, or if I'm involved because she's fragile. *sigh*

Before they left, we went to Season 3 of the Buffy drag show. Excellent new addition was the gal who played Mr. Trick and Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. She did her own amazing stunts and sang a little opera, too. Marvelous. We've also seen the Marnie opera (simulcast from the NY Met), and been to see a few live music things, including Taylor Mac's Holiday Sauce. I'm almost through Killing Eve and starting the new Mrs. Maisel. Culture continues to be fun. The mid-term elections added the slightest bit of shine to my world, fingers crossed.

In the plans never go how you think department, MiAmor has retired! That part was planned. The other part of the plan was to move to Portland after a three month sojourn in Europe this spring. The Portland plan is still on, but the EU trip is off because our 13-year-old granddaughter moved in with us in October. We are glad to have her — not least because she is watching Buffy with us for the first time — but it does rather mean sticking to the school calendar more than I'd like. It's unlikely that she'll be able to get a passport, for Reasons, so hauling her along, school be damned, isn't likely to happen either. Oh well. We might do a shorter trip to the UK, just MiAmor and I, or we might do the whole thing at a later date.

Work is in a tiny lull, which is why I've finally got a moment to post. Unfortunately, I upgraded my operating system in a mad fit of optimism, and have spent nearly two weeks in talks with various tech support personnel. Never again. (I always say that.)

Finally, another fandom thing: I've been helping hello_spikey post her work at AO3, and while there's still lots to go — that gal is pro-lific — there are 100 stories up now. Gosh. That's a lot of delicious vampire pr0n. Yum.

This entry was originally posted at https://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/47454.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

A year? Really?

rebcake — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 10:13:58 GMT

Yes. It's really been a year since I posted to my journal. Sheesh.

It's not like I haven't been around. Doing fandom stuff. Going to WhedonCon with feliciacraft and rahirah. Fun! Smokin' 'em at Buffy Trivia Night down at the local with thedeadlyhook. Very fun! Going to Season 2 of the Buffy drag show — also with feliciacraft. (Star Trek drag was also pretty entertaining.) Posting to communities, or at least posting to seasonal_spuffy .

I even finished a WIP! Buffy and the Bloodmobile, sequel to The Vamp Around the Corner is done! You can read it at any of these fine on-line establishments: LJ / AO3 / EF / BSV / TSR

I also posted a drabble at SS awhile back: Unintended Prophecy. That's it for fic in the past year. I've got a couple of WIPs that I still plan to finish. Courage!

Work is extra-specially busy, which doesn't leave me with a lot of time for participating in fandom, although I still consume fandom like woah.

Also, there's been weird, scary health things — not my own — that have taken center stage around here. For instance, have you ever heard of Transient Global Amnesia? Check it out. It's total fic bait. I wouldn't have believed it was a real thing if it hadn't happened to someone I live with. Then, someone else I live with had a month-long bout of cannabis-induced paranoia (aka, the screaming memes) sparked on 4/20. Don't be fooled into thinking the chronic is some kind of miracle cure-all, kids! I've spent way too much time in emergency rooms (and not the nice ones, either) to believe it. I'm leaning toward Devil Weed at the moment. YMMV.

Everybody is finally on the mend. We've been walking down to the new local movie emporium to catch all the superhero movies and the old movie emporium for the LGBT film festival. Going to plays, art exhibits, and concerts — Courtney Barnett, Os Mutantes, Pink Martini, among several others. One amazing thing I did was catch 3 parts of Taylor Mac's 24 Decade History of Popular Music here in San Francisco and in LA. Eighteen hours of music/history/politics! Heaven! Check out this video for a taste! I still have the first 6 hours to catch, at some point.

Life's good, if a little too "interesting" at times. I'm off to the beautiful Pacific Northwest next week for a wedding and downtime. Wish me uneventfulness.

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This summer is awesome!

rebcake — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 21:27:33 GMT

Or maybe it's just the past week or so.I went to New Orleans the weekend before last to meet with some awesome fandom ladies. I'd never been there and was just looking for an excuse to go, but as excuses go, it was pretty great. I was the newbie of the bunch, but people are just so nice, you know? The non-fandom highlight was the EARLY Saturday morning Running of the Bulls which took place right outside our hotel. There were thousands of people dressed in white with red sashes, meandering down the street — most with drinks in hand — chased by roller derby queens with horned helmets, who would whack people on the butt with plastic bats whenever they caught them. Some people enjoyed that part quite a bit, it seemed. There were also some Elvises (Elvi?) riding around on sccooters, but I never quite figured out what they were supposed to represent. Ah well, there are always mysteries in life.

The food was good, of course — beignets! turtle soup! gumbo! poboys! — and the afternoon thundershowers very atmospheric. I/we took some tours, which gave me a general overview of the town and its fascinating history. There were nice dinners, cemetery tours, and ghost stories — one in particular grabbed me, based on the actual historical person grandiosely named the Count of St. Germaine. In the NOLA version of the story he is transformed into a vampire in properly creepy fashion. The "actual" story is just as interesting, though, and has been inserted into lots and lots of fictional tales over the years, unbeknownst to me. Barb rahirah knew all about it, though. James Marsters even played a version of him in Warehouse 13! The "Count" was an extremely talented linguist (ha!), musician, raconteur and fraud, but nobody could ever figure out what he was hiding. He even impressed Casanova with his fancy verbal footwork, apparently. Anyhoo, new research project aside, next time I go to NOLA, I'll drag MiAmor along and we'll do a bit more on the music side of things.

But life is not without music back here at home! Last night some friends, Virginia Dare, had a record release show at the Makeout Room. It was very fun, though most of their songs are atmospheric and swoony, rather than headbangers. Link to their new album on Bandcamp: Message from the Watery Machine

But that's not all! I won $10 tickets to HAMILTON in their online lottery! I'd been trying, off and on but mostly on, since the show opened in San Francisco in March, but my number came up for last Saturday night. Oddly, another woman I know also won tickets for the same performance, and my neighbor reports that he won tickets for tomorrow night! Anyway, it was amazing*. We got front row, center seats, which MiAmor likes to call the "nose hair" seats. Heh. It is a breathtaking, non-stop, kinetic performance. If you're familiar with the soundtrack, you've heard all but a minute or so of the show. Benefits of sitting right up front include getting flower petals thrown on you during the wedding scene, and maybe caging a wink from that rake, Thomas Jefferson. (I'll never tell.) After it was all over, I felt like I'd been running sprints, so I can only imagine how it is for the performers. MiAmor was so keyed up afterward that he did some arts and crafts to commemorate the experience:

See the petal?

Other good things: my friend with dementia is doing well in his new digs, and we got all his doctor's appointments and court appearances done last month, so I'm taking this month off from all that. I'll be up there again next month for the TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN! Saying that always makes me feel like Warren Beatty, or at least like Carly Simon. Also, I slid down some stone stairs at Inveraray Castle in Scotland last fall, and my hip/knee as been a bit wonky ever since. Before heading to NOLA, I visited my friendly neighborhood chiropractor, and all is well again! It's a miracle! Why did I wait so long?

So, I'm having a good summer and I hope you are, too!

*Because my inner critic never entirely stops, I would say that our Hamiliton (the understudy) was not the most thrilling. Burr, Washington, and the Schuyler sisters (two of which were also understudies) were fantastic! King George couldn't miss, of course, and Lafayette/Jefferson was excellent as Jefferson, but only pretty good as Lafayette. I will always regret not seeing Daveed Diggs in the role, but jeez, seeing it at all makes me one incredibly lucky gal. Oh, and the orchestra was great. One of my favorite memories is standing at the pit and watching the violinists laughing and playing the "outro" with verve.

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Fan, fan, fannity fan

rebcake — Thu, 25 May 2017 07:51:01 GMT

Whaddyaknow? Yesterday was my 9th fanniversary! And herself_nyc's birthday, not entirely coincidentally. She encouraged me to jump into this fic thing, way back when, and here I still am.

Things in RL have been super busy, so my online life has been curtailed a bit, although I'm still reading most every day. I did start a new WIP for the most recent round of seasonal_spuffy , which means I've now got 3 WIPs over there, about which I should really do something. Anyway, here's where that is:

Title: Buffy and the Bloodmobile
Rating: PG13
Word count: 2115
Setting: During an alternate S5, after the altercation with Glory in “Blood Ties”.
Summary: Property damage has consequences.

The judge glanced at Buffy...

I've been traveling a lot,mostly to help out a dear family friend whose dementia got to a critical point last year. I'm one of his two trustees, from a trust he set up back in 1989, both of whom live in a different state than he. He was such an affable, smart guy that he was able to mask what was going on for a long while. He is fiercely independent, with no family left, so It took some serious work to get him into a safe(r) situation. I have discovered that we want our loved ones to be safe, while we ourselves want to be in charge of our own destinies. Sometimes, both of those things cannot peacefully coexist. I've been spending a week every month in Portland dealing with his stuff, which is making me ever more ready to just move up there. It won't be a hardship for me, as nearly all of my family and many friends are there. It may be trickier for MiAmor, though he seems game. It will be a big change for McDiva, who is less enthusiastic — but I don't think there's any way she can stay in SF, given the current cost of living.

Last weekend, I went WhedonCon 2017, just for meeeeeeee! (Well, sort of. I did do a bit of visiting with MiAmor's family on the way down.) It was a very low key con, but I was entertained.

I really enjoyed hearing the BtVS stunt team's tales. Buffy's stunt double, Sophia Crawford was a delight. She's an Englishwoman who got her martial arts training doing Hong Kong movies. Her big job before Buffy was playing Pink Ranger in the Power Rangers. Awwww. Her husband, Jeff Pruitt, was the stunt coordinator for BtVS S2-S4, and they had lots of good behind-the-scenes footage that sparked all kinds of stories. A couple of other stunt guys were there, including Spike's stunt double, Steve Tartalia. One thing that interested me was hearing that Pruitt got the stunts for the The Initiative wrong. Originally, Spike was going to be able to fight with the chip, but not bite. Joss changed his mind, but because he was busy with Angel, word didn't come down about the change until most of the fight scenes had already been shot. They tried to dial it back in editing, but now we know why Spike was able to fight his way out of the labs. My perfectly good fanwank: not necessary.

They had a couple of fun tidbits about Pangs as well. One was that they tied James Marsters to the chair early in the day, and pretty much left him there — during all the fight rehearsals, shooting, and breaks. He never said anything, so they kind of forgot about him. They had film of the whole thing, including a bit that showed him straightening a droopy arrow. The other bit that kind of blew my mind was that they used a real bear in the episode. It was trained to think that a wire stretched between itself and the actors was electrified. It wasn't. Seeing little Sophia facing off with an actual bear is a little more heart-in-throat than the actual show. Yikes.

There was a panel with Nicholas Brendon and Mark Lutz (the actor who played The Groosalug on Angel), and another with Robia LaMorte (Jenny Calendar), Dagney Kerr (Kathy, Buffy's first college roommate), and Miracle Laurie (November from Dollhouse). All are charming and beautiful, of course, but I don't have much to report. There were other actors there who I never quite caught up with, most tragically James Leary (Clem).

I generally go to these things for the writers, half of whom I also missed for one reason or another. I did make it to the Christos Gage & Georges Jeanty panel. As you may know, I'm thrilled with Season 11 of the BtVS comics, so it was nice to be able to tell them so. I talked with them quite a bit. Perhaps too much from Gage's perspective, but I really do like what he's doing with the book. Jeanty was delightful, and mentioned that one of the sequences he's most proud of is the poolside discussion between Spike and Buffy in S9, which I heartily agree he should be. He says he messed it up, though, by including Spike's reflection in the pool water. Huh.

One of the after hours events was an Across the Whedonverse burlesque show put on by Lusty Kitten, featuring a bunch of beloved characters shimmying down to their pasties. It was MC'd by Anya in her OMWF PJs. There was Captain America (rhinestone shield pasties), Kaylie (strawberry pasties and very frilly pink underthings), Atlantean Princess Kida (luminescent blue pasties), First Slayer (a fellow with very tall heels, no pasties, and very impressive dance moves), Wonder Woman, Thor, and Faith. My favorite was Dr. Horrible, who had a lovely singing voice and a glittery t-shirt proclaiming "I do the weird stuff". The performers appreciated that the crowd got ALL the jokes, which I guess isn't always the case. Silly fun. Some of the performers also attended a Transformative Works/Fanfic panel that I went to and they are definitely transforming the source material.

I skipped the last day to spend a lazy Sunday in Malibu with my best gal pal. It was a wonderful weekend, almost like a real vacation!

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Something slightly less Buffyish

rebcake — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 20:18:28 GMT

I'm excited about this project, and thought some of you might be, too:

Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché
A feature documentary about the life of X-Ray Spex singer-songwriter and punk icon Poly Styrene.

The filmmakers are raising funds through IndieGoGo, with the permission and involvement of Ms. Styrene's daughter. I may be having more feels about this sort of thing, as I just watched Jim Jarmusch's fabu Gimme Danger documentary about The Stooges with my kid. I'd really like to see all the punk stories told, but especially Poly's, and now I can help make it happen!

So, this LJ nonsense is aggravating. I've been crossposting from DW for a long time, and plan to continue doing that, but I'm pretty sure I'm not hooked up with some of my peeps on DW. If you could point me in your direction, I'd be much obliged.

I've been enjoying all the BtVS 20th Anniversary things, but I do wish James Marsters had looked a little happier in the EW photos. Spike's joie de vivre is nowhere in sight, and I know it's something the actor shares with the character. Ah well. This photo of Amber/Alyson/Seth sort of makes up for it. Instant OT3! Twoz?

Meanwhile, there's still time to participate in the spring round of seasonal_spuffy! Check out the details at this post.

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The March of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, part 1

rebcake — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 02:02:08 GMT

In which I reflect on the greatest show evah!

Welcome to the Hellmouth / The Harvest

1. Darla is the best. If I had actually bothered to watch this when it was on the air, I would have been hooked by her opening sequence. Thank you for upending expectations right from the start, BtVS.
2. The Master is ridiculous, but I love that about him.
3. Giles is so keen (in both senses, really) and everybody is so adorable. Or funny. Or both.
4. Speaking of senses, Buffy's fashion sense is stronger than her vampire-sensing ability. "Carbon dated" outfit, indeed. This comes up a lot over the course of the show.
5. Angel appears to have a sense of humor, although he's using it to "neg" Buffy. Not nice, Angel. But what happened to the funny? We don't really see it again until Season 2, if I'm remembering correctly.
6. The world is saved and Buffy gets to do gymnastics and decapitate somebody with a cymbal. I'd say everything is just about perfect.
7. Except for poor Jesse and the doorman at the Bronze. How come they couldn't at least mention Jesse after this?

The Witch

1. Amy makes her first appearance, and it's a doozy. The metaphor of parents living through their children went deep and dark.
2. This also marks the first appearance of drunk!Buffy! Who is doubly adorable. She's a macho, macho man! She also tells Xander he's one of the girls, which...well, he may not like it, but I do. It's nice to not have the heroine immediately assigned a romantic goal.
3. Joyce gets to have her own life, which is a nice counterpoint to the operative metaphor, but also makes for an actual character. She's Joyce, not just "Buffy's mom".

Teacher’s Pet

1. Ms. French is a super fun villain! Bug sandwiches!
2. I still miss Dr. Gregory, supportive guy who sees past the surface. Of course he had to die. *sobs*
3. Xander's fantasy cracks me up and it's wonderful that he immediately becomes the damsel of the piece. But not as damsel-y as blowhard guy!
4. They defeat their enemy with science! Also bladed weapons. But mostly science. ♥

Never Kill a Boy on the First Date

1. This episode sends the show veering in the wrong direction, IMHO. Exhibit A: the Annointed One. Need I say more?
2. Exhibit B: What was so terribly, awfully wrong about Owen Thurman being let in on the secret of the supernatural? He doesn't seem to be in any more or less danger than any of the series regulars, present and future. Is his fascination with Emily Dickinson indicative of some issue with his character that I missed?
3. Exhibit C: Angel being jealous of Owen seems...premature. If he's planning on being boyfriend material, why isn't he around every week? If he's not planning on being boyfriend material, he should just kick back and respect Buffy's choices. Actually, he should respect her choices regardless of their relationship status. Jeez. Feminism 101, people.
4. Pork and beans vamp is pretty scary, and I do like Buffy's relief that Giles is okay.

What do you all think?

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20 Years Ago...

rebcake — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 07:24:42 GMT

Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired on television 20 years ago this month. I did not watch it at the time, because I had seen the movie — which sounded right up my dark comedy alley — and it did not live up to expectations. Also: very small child in the house led to very little TV viewing. Back then, we didn't have such high expectations for TV shows — except for Twin Peaks — so I felt safe in my assumption that the show would not be an improvement over the film. I'm very glad to have been wrong.

To celebrate, I'm going to post any little tidbits I ~~can remember~~ have found interesting about the show, focusing on 4-5 episodes at a time.

But first, THE MOVIE:

1. Buffy does NOT burn down the gym at Hemery High.
2. The historical slayers/watchers (all played by Kristy Swanson/Donald Sutherland) make their debut here and not in "Fool for Love".
3. Let's all be thankful that the movie's menstrual cramp-vamp-radar was scrapped for the show.
4. Buffy's partner-in-slayage/love interest is a pretty greaser called PIKE. Is it really plagiarism when you're stealing from yourself? I say no.
5. Paul Reubens might have been the funnest thing in the whole undertaking. How can he be more entertaining than Rutger Hauer? IDK.

The UNAIRED PILOT, which you can download at Buffyworld.com, has a couple of interesting deviations from "Welcome to the Hellmouth":

1. A different Willow. Questions? Comments?
2. Jonathan makes his first appearance here, but doesn't show up on the air until "Inca Mummy Girl". (Danny Strong also auditioned for the role of Xander. I have thoughts on this.)

What do you remember about these "prequels"?

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Wash that year right out of my hair...

rebcake — Mon, 02 Jan 2017 00:51:11 GMT

Welp, that's over. 2016, I mean.

In some ways, it was good for me, personally. My work life has never been better or busier. My trip to the UK was the best thing ever. Other, mostly family, trips were likewise great, including weddings. The best was a celebration of my Great Aunt's 100th birthday. She still has every single marble she ever had and lives in the same house she had built in 1956. I think she must've been a super hero of some sort, because nobody has that kind of posture!

Politically, I was more engaged than I have been in years, running to be a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and having something (Bernie!) to be excited about for the first time in...forever. T'was all for naught, but perhaps more people have received a wakeup call and we will start to make a difference. I'm not super optimistic, but this message from Brian Eno helped me to put things in perspective this morning:

2016 was indeed a pretty rough year, but I wonder if it’s the end - not the beginning - of a long decline.

From your keypad to Gaia's ears, Brian.

I wrote fic! There were four (4!) ficlets for sb_fag_ends, which definitely fulfilled my 2016 New Year's resolution to post more there than the zilch of 2015. I also wrote some things for seasonal_spuffy. Here's the lot:

Wonders Never Cease, in which S6 Spike takes Buffy to the beach to investigate something unusual.

Happy birthday, you're adopted!, in which Buffy wakes up not herself on her 21st birthday. Extended version on AO3.

The Fun House Doors of Perception, in which S6 Spike's sure he's got it all figured...

Foxy Ladies, in which post-series Spike and Buffy go out on the town in San Francisco, at a drag bar. Comics-compliant, but not required.

Home Free, in which our future-set heroes serve in war time...

What Happens in Canada, in which post-series Buffy, for the good of her sister Slayers, participates in a study (in Canada). She's a giver. WIP with 3 chapters so far. Who knew there was so much to say about sex studies? (That's rhetorical, folks.) This won an award!

All Spuffy this year, though I had high hopes of doing other stuff. I do have lots of story beginnings lying about, so maybe I can finish some of those up. My writing resolution for 2017 is to finish my WIPs, though.

I attended Comic-Con and WriterConUK, did some beta-ing, and modded the heck out of seasonal_spuffy. There were two fantastic new rounds there. Cool new addition, thanks to rbfvid, is a gorgeous archive that has ALL the LJ and Dreamwidth content of the community in one place! Check it out: Seasonal Spuffy Space

The year ended with some whimpers, though. My mom broke her arm on Christmas morning, and is now in a rehab facility for a (hopefully) shortish stay. Another family friend has rapidly progressing dementia, and I and another of his friends are trying to get him the care he needs, as we are his trustees. Neither of us lives in his state, so I'll be traveling for that quite a bit in the next few months. The move to Portland is looking very likely in the next 3 years. However, in spite of all our public and cultural losses, I had only one funeral to attend in 2016 which puts it way ahead of 2015.

The move to Dreamwidth is also looking more likely, although I have my doubts. I'll continue to cross-post to LJ from there/here, but I've had a multi-year problem with notifications from DW that their people haven't been able to fix. I'll give it a go, but if you comment on DW and don't hear back, that's why.

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Sign of the times?

rebcake — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 17:39:14 GMT

We were "mandatorily evacuated" from our house last night by the police. I do not kid.

They said an explosive device had been found "quite nearby" and that they expected to take care of it quickly, but if they couldn't the Red Cross would make overnight arrangements for us.

We had dinner guests over, so that obviously did not go according to plan. And...that's were the drama ends, really. We all walked down to the local tacqueria for dinner, and by the time we were finished with that the whole thing was over. I don't know if it was a legit bomb, or if somebody had just put their kid's science fair project on the curb and it looked weird.

My takeaway? Welcome to the new world. Thanks, Trump.

Everybody here probably knows how I feel about the election, but I don't plan to write about it now. Once I start, I'm afraid I'll never stop and anything I might have to say might be true, but it sure as hell is neither helpful nor kind, so I'm zipping it.

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Passing along the message...

rebcake — Sun, 06 Nov 2016 17:18:42 GMT

shapinglight has asked me to let you know that her internet is broken (probably a bad router) and she'll be back as soon as she can.

Meanwhile, I will be spending the next however long studying up for Tuesday. Not the President — that's what we call a no-brainer — but there are 42 ballot measures to decide in my district. Ah, democracy...

Or maybe I'll just go see Dr. Strange.

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I wrote some Spuffy ficlets!

rebcake — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 20:13:21 GMT

sb_fag_ends did a Halloween challenge, which I failed to meet because of pesky timezones — not procrastination, not at all — but I still managed to post some stories:

Title: The Fun House Doors of Perception
Rating: Mature, 'cos language and S6 shenanigans
Word count: 540
Prompt: Seeing Isn't Believing
Setting: S6, around the time of "Gone"
Summary: Spike's sure he's got it all figured...

and

Title: Foxy Ladies
Rating: PG13
Word count: 650
Prompt: Outfoxed
Setting: S10-ish
Summary: Spike and Buffy go out on the town in San Francisco, at a drag bar.

Let me know what you think!

P.S. thedeadlyhook and I had a blast at the drag version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Live! Very theatrical! We'll be back for the Star Trek: Mirror Mirror presentation in a few weeks. The Oasis (bar, danceteria, cabaret) is a local treasure, sure 'nuff.

P.P.S. seasonal_spuffy has begun and is running all this month!

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A Gen Thing

rebcake — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 22:23:48 GMT

I won an award! Whee!

I am amused that a story (still a WIP, until next month) about slayer sexual response research would win "Best Gen", but it's true that there's very little actual sex in it. Poor Buffy.

So many wonderful friends also won awards, and can I just say, "Keep it up, guys! You're doing great!" Click here to see them all!

I'm pleased that a story that I beta'd won an award in the Angst category: shapinglight's Third Wheel, a fascinating look at what would have happened if Darla was the "lady" Buffy became in Halloween, and what that might mean when she and Angel get together. Another fun one is the other winner in the Gen category, st_salieri's Desert Wonderland, a post-series monster-of-the-week romp. With psychedelic demon goo. Check 'em out!

Tonight, I'm headed to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Live...in drag!

P.S. There are a handful of slots available for next month's 21st Round of seasonal_spuffy! Click here to sign up!

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Determined to have a good time!

rebcake — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 00:21:38 GMT

Yes, the news and politics are horrible, but I just got back from the UK!

I started out in Edinburgh. I tore around town, the high points of which were Edinburgh Castle; Holyrood Palace & Abbey; and St. Giles Cathedral; did a little tour of Castles of the Highlands (Doune, Inverary, and Kilchurn), and just generally had a great time. Then I headed down to writerconuk and met up with shapinglight, gillo, bogwitch, lilachigh, speakr2customrs, along with some newer friends. It's all a bit of a blur, honestly. At the end, gillo gave us a whirlwind tour of the local sites, including Kenilworth Castle and the Bard's birth and burial places.

I dragged poor shapinglight all over the place. We walked all over her very beautiful city, Chester. Totally recommended, btw. The tour guide in Bath called it "the competition" and I can see why. Roman city walls, canals, the most amazing cathedral ever, and a ton of Tudor and Victorian sights of note. We drove around Northern Wales, checking out Conwy Castle, the genteel seaside town of Llandudno, the Great Orme, and the amazing "Stream in the Sky", the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, an 18th century working canal system that is over a hundred feet in the air! The original log ride, I'm thinking.

We ran off to Bath and did all the Bath things: the Roman Baths, the Pump Room, the Abbey, Pulteney Bridge, the Assembly Rooms, the Fashion Museum, the Circus, the Royal Crescent, and tea at Sally Lunn's Buns! It was great. We also dd a silly "Bizarre Bath" tour, which ended with shapinglight in the stocks. She was very brave. Then we went off to see Stonehenge, the Avebury Stones, and the beautiful villages of Lacock and Castle Combe, both of which were absolutely gorgeous and in some cases, delicious. Do try the bakery in Lacock, if you're ever there. Both have been used as locations for films you've seen, like Pride & Prejudice (the good one) and a Harry Potter or three.

Then we were off to London, for an evening at the Victoria & Albert Museum and dinner with the beautiful and intelligent P, SL's daughter. The next day we met up with brutti_ma_buoni for a walk along the Southbank, including the Globe, the Tate Modern, and gorgeous views of all sorts of Thames-side sights. We ended up attending Evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral, because we were in the neighborhood and because those little choirboys were adorable.

On my birthday, we went to the Wallace Collection and the National Gallery before heading off for a wonderful Sunday roast at a nice pub with P and her fella. I even got a present! The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, a tale of a modern London copper who ends up in the 2-person supernatural crimes division. Recommended!

I beat my end of trip blues by scheduling fun things for the very last day. Besides going to the Tower of London and getting the tour from Billy Beefeater, I attended The Libertine starring Dominic Cooper (Howard Stark in the MCU, as well as the eponymous Preacher) and Ophelia Lovibond (Kitty from Elementary). For once, I wasn't moping around the last few days, wishing I was home already. In fact, on the way to the airport I was wondering if it would be so bad if I accidentally-on-purpose missed my flight. I didn't, being a responsible citizen and all that. Tsk.

While there I got a sunburn, so you can all just stop lying about the weather. I am no longer fooled. Scotland in particular is heaven on earth. I'm going back soon, just to make sure.

I've been buried in work since I got back, but last night I got tickets to the touring show of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (thanks feliciacraft!) and I just found out that they are doing a drag version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a couple of weeks at our local drag emporium, so I'll be going to that. There's also a wedding coming up and our buddy's Friday DJ slot.

In short, my reality is brighter and more musical than that "other" reality. *hand waves* What are you guys up to?

This entry was originally posted at http://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/44408.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

None of our friends have any rocks this big...

rebcake — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 23:06:40 GMT

Rebcake and shapinglight do Stonehenge! Da da da DA da da. STONEHENGE!

It was the autumnal equinox, so we went, as one does. If you can't tell, I'm having a lovely time on my first ever trip to the UK.

This entry was originally posted at http://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/44247.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Making It Up

rebcake — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 08:22:19 GMT

I've decided I'm going to WriterConUK next month!

It will be my very first trip to the UK, and I'm all atwitter. I've been asking all my ex-pat friends what I should do while I'm there. One said I should order a drink called a “shandy” since I am a light drinker, and another mentioned Scotch Egg, because bacon, but I am not convinced.

Now I ask you! I'll be in Edinburgh, Bath, and London, when I'm not in Coventry, Chester, and Liverpool. Give me your suggestions about things to see and do, to eat or not eat, and places to stay. I'm thinking near Paddington*/Kensington while in London, but I could be convinced otherwise.

I was notified that I've been nominated for a No Rest for the Wicked Awards, but I have no idea for which story or in what category, so it's mysterious AND exciting!

It reminded me that I haven't posted links on my journal to things I've written for comms, so here goes.

For seasonal_spuffy in May (!!?!!) I started a new WIP, and posted 2 of 4 projected chapters.

Title: What Happens in Canada
Word count: 3100, so far
Rating: Mature — for language, themes, and science
Setting: Unspecified post-series future wherein Slayers and other supernatural things are known to at least some of the public, and Buffy and Spike are a couple.
Summary: For the good of her sister Slayers, Buffy participates in a study (in Canada). She's a giver.

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

For sb_fag_ends last month, I squeaked out a short thing based on the prompt, "I wish Buffy wakes up tomorrow covered in monkey hair." Because, how not?

Title: Happy birthday, you're adopted!
Rating: PG13
Word count: 1000
Setting: S6, Buffy's 21st birthday

That version here

I also made a banner for it! Because those energetic souls at EF have gone hog wild for the banners and it's inspiring.

But then I thought that version seemed too compressed, so I expanded it a little and have posted the new version to the usual places.

AO3 / Elysian Fields / TheBloodshedVerse

I tried to put it up on TheSpuffyRealm, but the site isn't working for me at the moment.

*I'm arriving and leaving from Paddington Station, so it seemed like a good idea to park my luggage right away and then get right to looking around. But if it's awful in that neck of the woods, I will lodge elsewhere.

This entry was originally posted at http://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/43865.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Not all things are terrible, but plenty are.

rebcake — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 03:29:41 GMT

Like many of you, I am most seriously displeased with the way the world is at the moment.

I started to write about all the ways things are horrible, but fuckit. You all know them. Virulent nationalism, xenophobia, racism, violence, and guns. Also economic and environmental fuckery and, as always, the patriarchy. I am thoroughly sick of everything, including anything I might have to say about it all. Not even the BBC gives me anything to feel calm about. FTW, and 3 uses of the f-word in one paragraph about sums it up.

On the lighter side, let me complain, yet again, about howI fail at Tumblr. I had a little time last week, so I thought I would try to enter the BtVS conversation in a couple of places, and that I'd be able to figure it out this time. Almost immediately, I lost track of what was being said where, could not find the threads I knew I had seen someplace, and found posters leapfrogging over each other until I was completely lost. Apparently there is a vast difference between "commenting" and "reblogging" — much more than I knew. I can never find my "comments, which also post before I've edited/finished them. I give up. I can't figure out how to keep track of even my own content/contributions. I guess I'll stick to looking at pictures and following links on the Herald, but not engaging over there. That's where the BtVS conversation is, so it's frustrating.

Um, I don't think I mentioned over here that I posted the first couple of chapters of a WIP at seasonal_spuffy, back in May. If you missed it, and don't mind a bit of silliness, here you go:

Title: What Happens in Canada
Rating: Mature — for language, themes, and science
Summary: For the good of her sister Slayers, Buffy participates in a study (in Canada). She's a giver.

Since then, I've been to some films at the Frameline (LGBTQ) Film Festival. It was super fun, as always. Dear Old Dad was visiting, and we saw the touring company performance of Cabaret (thanks, feliciacraft!), went to the new SFMOMA, and did a bunch of other art-related things. Including this really amazing stealth photography museum, called Pier 24, which has a huge, amazing, super-curated exhibition. There is virtually no signage and it only allows a handful of people in at any given time. You have to make reservations online and then go through an airlock (only slightly exaggerating) to see the marvelous photos. If you are into photography and coming to or already in SF, I highly recommend it! After all that, I went to see Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs at the Castro Theater, which is his live show. I like him.

I am kicking around the possibility of going to the UK in September, partially to attend writerconuk! It's all very sudden, which makes me think I'll probably not pull it off, but the temptation is fierce.

Before that, I'm going to San Diego Comic-Con for the first time in years, ostensibly to flog the new Fantagraphics collection/reprint of Wimmen's Comix. If you will be in San Diego, come to my panel:

The Complete Wimmen's Comix: A Her-story
Groundbreaking women cartoonists discuss the pioneering history of this comic series that covered still-taboo topics like abortion, menstruation, masturbation, castration, lesbians, witches, murderesses, and feminists. Moderator: Trina Robbins.
Sunday July 24, 2016 12:00pm - 1:00pm , Room 29AB

Doesn't that sound like fun?

This entry was originally posted at http://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/43582.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Why I am voting for Bernie Sanders today

rebcake — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 11:35:57 GMT

...and it's not because of some weird hate-on for Hillary.

I'd love to see a woman become the president of these United States. I supported Shirley Chisholm for the office in 1972. Believe me, if Elizabeth Warren or Barbara Lee were in the running, I'd be writing a very different essay.

I'm a feminist. A mom. A grandmother. I've been married to the same man for decades. I'm a small business owner. A home owner. A college graduate. I am a natural-born citizen of the United States of America. I'm lots of things that I'm sure can be plotted on a graph someplace to tell interested parties what I'm likely to buy or if I'll vote a particular way.

I'm also a lifelong left-of-center voter and a lifelong Democrat. This hasn't always been an easy combination. There hasn't been a President of the United States that was left enough for me since Franklin D. Roosevelt, not that I was around to experience his administration first hand. I'm not that old. All of us have benefited from the radical programs started while FDR was in office: minimum wage and other labor laws, the social security program, the enormous public works projects that not only built schools, dams, and public works of art, but employed a nation buffeted by the worst economic disaster we've ever had.

At the moment, we're pulling ourselves out of the second worst economic disaster we've ever had. Some of us are doing better. We managed to hang on to our houses, we weathered the tough times, maybe by leaning on our credit. President Obama's stimulus program made a positive difference for some of us, with COBRA subsidies and extended unemployment benefits. Thankfully, there's been a recovery, but over 30% of that recovery has gone to the people with the top 1% of incomes. The rest went to the other 99%, many of whom are still suffering.

We haven't seen this kind of income inequality in the USA since right before the Great Depression. We also had a serious environmental crisis back then. You don't have to dig very deep to find that income inequality was a contributing factor to both the Dust Bowl and the Depression. There was also a looming fascist movement in various places in the world at the time. Just sayin'. The parallels between then and now are stark.

Cartoon by Tom Toro, visit tomtoro.com

If we think we're not headed for another terrible economic crisis if we stay on this path, we're fooling ourselves. It's still the economy, stupid, to paraphrase the first Clinton (Bill) campaign's focus point.

I've tried to find what Ms. Clinton has to say about income inequality. Searches suggest that she prefers the term “income opportunity”. To me, this indicates that she does not fully appreciate the seriousness of a problem that is at the root of so many of our other problems. It's not surprising, given the circles she moves in. I'd like to think that she knows that opportunity alone will not cure what ails us, but it's hard to tell.

I have a pretty clear picture of the type of society I want to live in, and could be most proud of. It's not some impossible dream. A lot of it we've had here in the not-so-distant past, like affordable public education, and public investment in infrastructure. Other things, like wages high enough to live on, universal access to health care, and time enough off from work to deal with emergencies like, say, having a child, are standard in practically all developed (aka “Western”) countries. Countries with economies much smaller than ours.

I'm not a fan of the “every-'man'-for-themselves”, pay as you go society. Part of the reason for that is that I am one of the Baby Boom generation (very tail end, thanks) and most of us benefited from a tax structure that insured that schools were good, roads, bridges, and airports were shiny and new, and public libraries were all over the place. I was able to pay my University of California tuition from my minimum wage job, without any help from my parents. For reference, minimum wage was less than $2 an hour back then. Such a thing is impossible today. My generation had it pretty good in a lot of ways*. I'm angry when I see people my age telling the millennials that they should just have a little grit, that they are too pampered, that they expect to have things handed to them. It's just the newest version of the “kids these days” refrain, only not as funny. What it really comes down to is “I got mine, you're on your own.” It's despicable.

For me, the primary is rarely about choosing the party presidential candidate, because the primary happens so late in California. That little detail has usually been decided for us by states that vote earlier. It's nice that this year the largest state in the union might have some impact on that decision. It's exciting to see things still this close this late in the race. I am delighted that a candidate that aligns with my politics is still in a national race, for the first time ever in my voting career!

So, yeah, I'm voting for Bernie Sanders, the candidate that shares my vision of the best path for our society. He isn't telling me what I want to hear. He's been saying the same things for decades. He's been consistent and unwavering on the issues that I think are most important.

 But wait, there's more!

The primary isn't the general election. The primary is when we tell our party what we want from them. The general election is when we rally behind our nominee.   I'd love to see Bernie become the POTUS, but that's not the only reason to vote for him. When the Democratic National Convention meets to choose our party's presidential candidate next month, it will also decide what the party stands for. The priorities of the party are spelled out in the party platform. The delegates vote to approve what will become the tenets of the party for the next four years.

I want the Democratic party to stand for more than “Hey, we're not as bad as Trump”. That's a laudable goal and everything, but it sets the bar way too low.  

I want the party to pledge itself to build access to quality education, improve our infrastructure, and combat economic injustice. These are the things I think we need to strengthen our country. I'd rather the party be beholden to the interests of our citizens as a whole than to corporate interests and the extremely wealthy. Is that controversial? If it is, then we have a real problem. 

IMO, the best way to get the platform that reflects the best hope for our nation is to send as many votes to Bernie as we possibly can. Like any other institution, the party will only move in the direction its members demand.

Let's tell it what we want, what we really, really want!

*I'm not saying everything was better then. It clearly wasn't. Some things — a lot of things — are better in this country now than they've ever been. There have been a lot of beneficial cultural shifts and there's less litter, for instance. Also, we have internet now!

This entry was originally posted at http://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/43361.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

What are we doing here?

rebcake — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 07:07:17 GMT

Welcome to friends new and old!

I'm mostly here for the Buffy fandom. I write a little, rec a little, and read A LOT. Most of my posts are fandom-related and not very frequent. I hang out in or moderate several Buffy-related communities, which you can find among the links on my sidebar. I've got lots of interests in various media — literature, music, comics, movies, theater — but Joss Whedon managed to get me actively involved. All my stories have at least one foot in the Jossverse.

I think of myself as a multi-shipper or gen writer. Check out my D'Hoffryn/Skip or Mr. Gordo/Miss Edith works, if you doubt me! Most of my work is cheerful, with just a twist of morbid. I've written a bunch of Spike/Dru historical shorts, because they are great. However, I am probably most identified with Spike/Buffy. I've also written a few wacky crossovers, including a rare non-Buffy The Avengers/Pulp Fiction drabble that IMHO ended up becoming canon in the sequel. *\o/*

I am Rebcake everywhere: AO3, Twisting The Hellmouth, Dreamwidth, Elysian Fields, The Spuffy Realm, The Bloodshedverse, Tumblr, Whedonesque, etc. Finding me is easy peasy. I'm not on Twitter, though. That Rebcake is somebody else.

I live in in a purple Victorian in beautiful-but-changing San Francisco, California. I originally hail from small town Oregon. I am a package designer by trade and work is crazy busy, hence the infrequent updates. I have a husband, a kid, step-kids, step-grandkids, and a huge sprawling extended family, including in-laws, none of whom live in Northern California. Sometimes that's peachy, sometimes not so much. I've been traveling more often lately to deal with family matters. I lean left, politically and socially. I went to UC Santa Cruz at roughly the same time as Buffy writer/producer Marti Noxon, which explains much and nothing at all.

Exciting news! A couple of my stories recently received acknowledgments in Round 11 of the Running With Scissors Awards! Both are Spuffy stories originally posted to noel_of_spike:

When You Wish Upon A Bar won the Unsung Hero Award in the Doomed (Best Guy/Girl) category.
The Vamp Around the Corner was the Runner Up in the Nobody’s Butt Monkey (Best Characterization) category for Joyce.

Thanks again to whoever nominated my work! Several worthy f-listers also won awards. Congratulations to you all!

This entry was originally posted at http://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/42874.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Circling the Wagons

rebcake — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 07:11:59 GMT

Because everybody needs friends, there is the Circling the Wagons Friending meme from teragramm.

Friending meme:

If you answer this post with "I'm in", there are 5 rules.

RULE 1. If you answer this post you must friend everyone else who answers this post and they should friend you back. (I will post a complete list in a week or two, just so you don't miss anyone.)

RULE 2. Being/having been, a part of the Buffy/Angel fandom is suggested but not a deal breaker. (I have some awesome friends who have never been part of fandom.)

RULE 3. After you have "met" your new friends (and given them a fair chance.) If you feel you have nothing in common with them, you are free to unfriend them, with no hard feelings.

RULE 4. You must pimp this post in your LJ (with a link to the post.)

RULE 5. Sometime after you have made new friends, you must post an "all about me" post, as an introduction. In this post give as much or as little info as you are comfortable giving.

http://teragramm.livejournal.com/240375.html

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Buffy isn't everything, I guess

rebcake — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 23:32:19 GMT

There are many, many entertainments!

I'm up to date with (USA airings) and eagerly awaiting new episodes of these:

Agent Carter, The Americans, Castle, Downton Abbey, Elementary, iZombie, Mozart in the Jungle, Mr. Robot, The Muppets, Orphan Black, Sherlock

The Golden Globe wins for Mozart in the Jungle and Mr. Robot? Totally deserved, IMO. iZombie is fun, and based on a friend's comic book, whose drawings make up the credits and the scene transitions, so that's nifty. We finally got around to getting a DVR a couple years back, and so we mostly watch everything in a couple of TV party nights with the neighbors, who have no TV. When Downton is done, we'll be back to once a week.

I'm somewhere in the middle of these, so I probably won't comment elsewhere until I get caught up:

The Bletchley Circle, Call the Midwife, Fargo, How to Get Away With Murder, Jessica Jones, Outlander, Sense8

Yes, I know some of these are old news.

What I'm planning to get to, any day now:

Man In the High Castle, A Young Doctor's Notebook

Movies I saw in the last couple of weeks, thanks to "for your consideration" discs:

Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Dope, The Martian, Mr. Holmes, Trainwreck, Spotlight

I liked them all, although Trainwreck sort of devolved into predictability toward the end. I've still got The Danish Girl to watch.

For some reason, I've got a lot of ex-pat English, Welsh, Irish, and Scots friends in town. One of the cool things about that is the annual Robert Burns Night Supper, complete with haggis! This year's event ended up turning into a David Bowie tribute toward the end, with some really terrible sing-alongs, and also some not-so-bad ones.

But after listening to all those delightful Scots-accented readings from earlier in the evening I was in the mood to watch more Outlander, but it ended up being an episode with which I had some problems. Both Sides Now, the 8th episode of the first season, kind of went off the rails for me, which you would think would have happened earlier in a mystic time-travel romance. But in this episode, the heroine is nearly raped not once, but twice in the same day. By different men, miles and miles apart. Admittedly, she was so attacked back in the first episode and I get that life in the old days was nasty, brutish, and short, but really? And why is it always the redcoats (English) who try to rape her? The Scots are all on best behavior — except when they are so drunk that she can essentially push them away if she's not interested. It's ridiculous. I guess this is some sort of common romance trope and I was fooled by the time-travel into thinking we were in a different kind of story. But now I'm wondering if it's anything I want to spend more time with. I was already sort of poo-pooing the conceit of Diana Gabaldon, author of the books on which the show is based, for cooperating with this project while disallowing ANY fanfic because her characters are so close to her heart. Close to her pocketbook, more like. /rant

This entry was originally posted at http://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/42283.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Fic: Wonders Never Cease

rebcake — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 21:27:57 GMT

I wrote something for sb_fag_ends, so in so doing I've met my 2016 resolution!

Title: Wonders Never Cease
Author: Rebcake
Word count: 980
Rating: PG13
Prompt: Crimson Tide
Setting: S6, Warning for reference to lots of kinds of fluids.
Summary: Spike finds out about something he thinks will interest the Slayer. A stake-out is required, because that always goes so well.

This way to the story:

Spike threaded the motorcycle around the “closed at dusk” sign

This entry was originally posted at http://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/42101.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

What's going on...

rebcake — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 22:19:13 GMT

I finally put my silly crossovers up on Twisting the Hellmouth, and that's been fun. They get lots of traffic over there. Who knew?

If you want to make an author or artist's day, go ahead and share your favorite things from the Buffyverse last year on buffyversetop5. You have until 6 PM GMT on January 18th to share your joy there.

You can also nominate the work you've enjoyed for an award! I'm thrilled that someone(s) nominated a few stories I wrote last year, which is just plain kind and makes me all sorts of happy. The noms:

Time Is Tight in the Best Willow/Other Female Fic, Best Alternate Universe, Best Willow Characterization categories at the Willowy Goodness Awards

Giles and the Mountain in The Watcher Watchers (Best Gen) and The Rather British (Best Characterization) categories in the 2016 Headline Awards, aka tonyhead_awards

When You Wish Upon A Bar in the Doomed (Best Het) and Hairy Eyeball (Readers Choice) categories of Round 11 of the Running With Scissors Awards, aka rwsawards

I managed to get a very mild version of the cold that laid MiAmor out flat, but it's all better now. He missed McDiva's 20th birthday celebration due to feeling awful, but the rest of us enjoyed saying goodbye to her teenaged years. *sniff*

We're mourning both David Bowie and Alan Rickman. McDiva was understandably bereft by both, but she's been so into Bowie the last few years that it hit her hard. At least I can take comfort in knowing that I raised her to appreciate the finer things, I suppose. I'm grateful to have been around to enjoy their work. I don't think I'm in the "saved my actual life" category of fan, but wow did they both have that delicious, seductive, quality that made me watch and listen. I've been really enjoying Bowie's music when it pops up in films the last few years, too. The Life Aquatic was particularly fantastic in that respect, with Seu Jorge highlighting just how good the songs were, even without the cultural trappings of electrification and glamor. I may be watching Velvet Goldmine* again soon, and am holding out hope that Iggy Pop will have a good, long run. With Rickman, I can't even begin to choose a favorite film. Maybe I should try something I haven't seen yet. Are any of you familiar with Bottle Shock or Perfume?

I'm headed to yet another memorial tomorrow. This time a beloved professor who lived large and long.

*Velvet Goldmine doesn't have Bowie in it, but it evokes the fandom of the era like whoa. What with Marc Bolan, Lou Reed, and Bowie (not to mention all of the Ramones and Lux Interior) all gone it's feeling like a real, historical moment, which is what it was, I suppose. Who'd have thought that Iggy and Eno would be the last men standing? Oh, and Bryan Ferry, too. *sigh*

This entry was originally posted at http://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/41823.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

2015 was a mixed bag

rebcake — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 05:02:24 GMT

I don't think I wrote any more (or less) fic than usual. I didn't do any drabbles or ficlets, though, which is odd for me. I promise to do more for sb_fag_ends in 2016! That seems like a manageable resolution, doesn't it?

My fic in 2015:

Time Is Tight for the Nikki Wood round of femslash_minis. (Willow/Nikki, Bernard Crowley, Ensemble, Time Travel, PG13, 5110 words) I rarely write Willow outside of her friend-of-Buffy capacity, so this was new for me.

Fire in the Soul (6a of 9) for the Spring round of seasonal_spuffy. (Spike, Buffy, Dru, OCs, PG13, 2075 words) A continuation of my San Francisco travelogue, wherein Spike and a souled Drusilla come to help Buffy with the latest big, brewin' evil. Still a WIP, alas.

Giles and the Mountain for summer_of_giles. (Giles, OCs, Pre-series, 1950 words) Young Giles and a friend attempt to scale a mountain. Spoiler: It doesn't go well.

Anniversaries Aren't For Quitters for the 10th Anniversary round of seasonal_spuffy. (Spike/Buffy, Ensemble, OCs, PG13, 2800 words) Obviously, you celebrate a 10th anniversary by writing a story about a 10th anniversary. Right? Right!

When You Wish Upon A Bar (4 of 4) for noel_of_spike. (Spike/Buffy, D'Hoffryn, Ensemble, PG13, 2125 words this chapter, 5600 for the story) Spike makes a wish to D’Hoffryn. Silly vampire. Complete, concluded, no longer a WIP! Part 1 can be found here.

I also helped anaross put her stories up on AO3, made a few fandom discussion posts, and had a blast helping to mod seasonal_spuffy. ¡Yay, fandom!

On the personal side, there were highs and lows. Less good: minor-ish surgery (gall bladder), some annoying health things, and more memorials than I'd like to attend. I don't mind attending them, but I dislike losing loved ones. Good: work continues to go pretty well, I took lots of fun, fun trips, and got to spend time with my friends and family! This means you!

This entry was originally posted at http://rebcake.dreamwidth.org/41660.html. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Fic: When You Wish Upon A Bar (4 of 4)

rebcake — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 23:12:31 GMT

One last story before we say goodbye to 2015. Another WIP down! The long-awaited, or perhaps long-forgotten, conclusion to a little noel_of_spike story!

Title: When You Wish Upon A Bar (4 of 4)
Author: Rebcake
Rating: PG13
Word count: 2125
Characters: Spike/Buffy, Dawn, D'Hoffryn
Setting: BtVS Season 6, after Wrecked, but before Older and Far Away. Also after AtS S3 The Vision Thing.
Summary: Spike isn’t getting what he really wants out of his secret “relationship” with Buffy, though things could be worse. Just his luck, D’Hoffryn has decided to celebrate Gurnenthar's Ascendance on the Hellmouth after a romantic disappointment of his own.

Part 1 here / Part 2 here / Part 3 here

A cuckoo in the Christmas tree...

For those of you who'd like to know why it took so long...

I blame anaross.

Not that it's her fault. But while I was writing this I had just begun helping to put her stories up on AO3 and I came across one I hadn't read before, The Choice. As usual, it's a great story, but it pretty much made the same point I was hoping to go for with this Christmas ditty, only pointier. It's hard for me to work up any enthusiasm for treading over the same ground as my betters, so I had to psych myself up to finish this, with just one chapter to go. Hopefully, it's different enough. *fingers crossed*

The holidays have been lovely, if busy. I am looking forward to a long weekend without many obligations, even of the fic variety. Maybe I'll catch up on some entertainment. Maybe I'll take a walk among the trees or drag myself to a museum. Anything could happen!

I wish a wonderful New Year to you all!

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Fic: Anniversaries Aren't For Quitters

rebcake — Sun, 29 Nov 2015 00:19:04 GMT

I hope everybody is having a lovely holiday weekend or a lovely just-plain-old weekend. Earlier in the week was my seasonal_spuffy posting day! If you missed it and are interested in such things, here's the scoop:

Title: Anniversaries Aren't For Quitters
Author: Rebcake
Rating: PG13
Word count: 2800
Genre: Semi-spicy domestic fluff. Contented Spike alert.
Summary: Ten years after their rush job of a wedding, Buffy and Spike try to find time to celebrate. It's harder than it sounds.

A/N: Although it's not necessary to read the previous stories, this is the next installment in the Ring On It 'Verse series. It began with a small wardrobe change on the morning of the final battle of the Hellmouth, and led to an un-sought-for transformation, namely that Spike has a heartbeat. AU from Chosen. The whole series can be found here on AO3. Previous seasonal_spuffy posts are With This Ring, Under My Skin Prologue, and Under My Skin.

This way to the story...

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