Entry 600

[virgo186]

...wow, really? Huh.

So it's been a while since the last post, but luckily not as long as some of my other breaks have been. My birthday was two days ago, and it went rather well.

The 'rewrite' gang surprised me with a lunch meetup and gifts, which I really didn't expect...especially on the actual day! I thought for sure they'd both be too busy.

Nothing fancy for lunch, we did pizza and I got to bring home the leftovers. :)

While we were out, we decided to go browse the toy store, and I bought a few new pony blind bags. Five new friends for my display shelves!

As for what the girls brought, well, I'm sure I won't have to worry about buying more starlight mints for a long time, haha. I also got a bar of really nice chocolate (dark with raspberry, sounds wonderful~) and a small bottle of sparkling apple cider.

The crowning glory, however, is the wonderful Princess Twilight plush they created with love for me at the local Build-A-Bear. She currently sits in my room, staring happily at my well-stocked bookshelves. I think she'll enjoy being here. :)

(Hey, with our group? I'm the Twilight, so it all fits.)

Not only did I get a party offline, but I got a party in my Animal Crossing game too! Rather fun to get gifts and celebration from my villagers. Quite a day~

In other news, the house we've been working so hard to clean out? Finally done! The last truckload was brought home this week, so we're officially out and the new owners no longer have to deal with us being around. I finally have my lamp, which I plan on giving a nice coat of paint to and a new plug before I bring it in and set it up.

Also, I've been working on my writing more. It feels good to be spinning stories again, and when I feel ready, I'll start posting chapters of this latest piece to FDD. Things have been quiet in there again, so I suppose I should get back to it. Even if nobody else joins or posts anything, I rather like the fact I've gained enough courage to post my work online. It feels like a step in the right direction. :)

Oh hey, this is another milestone post! Like with the others, I declare this an open-request post. Maybe we can get to high comment counts, maybe not, but if anyone has questions they want answered or just want to chat, or request ficlets, or whatever, drop a message.

Let's hope I can keep going for a long time!

~Virgo

Comments

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Which bit went over your head?

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

'Hellspawn Ana Paris.' Just for a basis for explanation, I heard about 50 Shades, the very basic premise, and BS therein and blocked it as strongly from my mind as possible. It's all foreign to me.

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Ah. The main characters are named Christian Grey and Ana(stasia) Steele. The sporking we've been reading has taken to calling Grey "Hellspawn" because... well, they compared his backstory and actions to a certain serial killer and it was a near-perfect match. Also, he repeatedly rapes and beats Ana.

Yeah, Hellspawn is super-rich, and takes her to a fancy dinner... somewhere in Washington. I don't really remember where because, you know, lack of plot. Anyway, since people haven't actually be reading the book, they just spun a first date out of thin air and decided he took her to Paris on a jet or something, I guess.

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

...Because raping and beating your date is awesome, amirite? I do remember seeing something saying Grey is basically a sociopathic, abusive twit who women still find to be 'sexy' for some very obscure, unknown and likely just as sociopathic reason. His actor for the movie adaptation apparently just stepped down, too.

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Stepped down. Are you shitting me :D DOES HE UNDERSTAND WHAT A PIECE OF SHIT GREY IS

Yeah, Grey repeatedly manipulates Ana into doing what he wants without regard for what she wants. "No" is basically a challenge for him to make her give in, and the book actually uses the words "fuck [Ana] into submission." The way she talks about when Grey beats her for "BDSM" makes it very clear she's not enjoying it, no matter what the author seems to think. And Grey repeatedly uses the threat of beating her more to force her to let him fuck her.

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

Apparently (although I didn't read the article), he did so for 'other reasons.' I'd personally do that over a hangnail if my agent convinced me to sign up for such a POS role in the first place, but there you go.

Also, date rape comes to mind. Strongly. Please tell me she doesn't marry this shithead and the whole thing becomes marital rape. Please.

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Busy TV schedule. Likely story.

...Uh. LET'S CHANGE THE SUBJECT.

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

'I read the script and I found out wtf I'm playing. Screw this, I have something of a conscience.' That's what happened. No one can tell me otherwise.

No. No, damn it to hell, crap, crap, megacrap, makes me want to put Washington's apparently-not-wooden dentures through a chipper CRAP.

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Yeeeeah. Uh. >>; So Ana gets an accidental pregnancy because Hellspawn refuses to wear condoms and puts birth control entirely on her. And I believe that she ended up slipping in taking her pills because of stressful events, so...

(You know. Because birth control pills work exactly the same way for everyone...)

So Hellspawn gets really, really angry at her, and they end up getting married at the end of the third book because... because.

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

Because it's romantic. Why can't you understand their undying, totally not-abusive and future child-environment-friendly love for each other? On a more serious note, I wish more boys (not men, there's a difference) would understand that birth control =/= only the woman's responsibility. These same people who can't seem to grasp that are the first to have a bitch fit when they 'can't get any.'

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Well, not being an idiot with my head up my ass, my hormones screaming at me, and society's training making me feel bad about my sex drive helps in the "not understanding stupid" department.

But Momo, then they would actually have to be made accountable for their actions.

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

Society can piss off, as far as I'm concerned. They're all people. For the most part, I hate people. Individuals are one thing. People are, in my book, another. I'm less tolerant since a commissioner didn't want to pay for extra work given to them and ran off claiming any extra words were a gift. And the fine people of one of the forums I went to understood about a quarter of the situation before jumping to the 'oh, you must be the scammer!' screaming. Because showing someone your commission terms before anything is paid or written, including a clause about how extra work means extra money, and if you have any questions or concerns, tell me before money exchanges hands, is a scammer. Yup.

Accoun--account--what's that? Is that some new made up word?

[amylan.livejournal.com]

That's bullshit and I'm sorry you're having to go through it. If you have a formal contract, I assume there's something legal you can do about it? Which is extra trouble that you might not be able to afford, but still.

Apparently it's an ancient word that people have forgotten and need to have rammed up their asses, letter by red-hot iron letter.

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

I looked into filing a civil suit, but the breach of contract or wrongdoing needs to be committed in the same jurisdiction, ie, both parties need to be physically present in the same state for the case to be viable (even if for one party their presence within the state is temporary). I wrote a journal about it on the same site the aforementioned forum with the 'lovely' people were on, and they suspended my account for giving out the mf's email. Then again, the mods at this site/forum are well known within circles with similar interests to be corrupt and biased as hell when it's their friends involved in harassing others, so I think it's time to gtfo of that shithole. I still have mf's email, but that's all I have to track him down if the situation escalates. It wasn't a lot of money, but it's the principle at this point.

I'll prepare the fire!

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Good luck, and if there's anything I can help with, let me know.

Hm. New topic? Picked up any new shows lately, besides Black Butler?

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

At this point, I think the best thing to do is warn any commissioning artist friends I have about that person so they don't make the mistake of giving him anything he doesn't pay for and have him run off with it 'as a gift.'

Virgo referenced fire-type characters, but LJ is sucking at letting me reply directly. Which ones were you thinking of, Virgo?

I don't watch a lot of TV, so not really. Books, on the other hand, I have a crapton. Want me to list some off?

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Sure. I haven't been able to read as many books as I'd like to lately, though I have some iBooks saved up.

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to get through The Mortal Instruments, I have another called Saving Max about a boy in a mental institution, Tidal which is one of those dumb time-waster romance novels, a dystopian thing called Crossed...There are others, but I need to comb my shelves.

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Oh, gods, not the Mortal Instruments. I have nooot heard good things about the characters in that.

[virgo186]

Wasn't it another example of "horrible fanfic, just change names and publish as original"? I remember it being talked about in the badfic report communities, but then, some of those will report stuff that isn't so bad. Internet and all...

(As for fire-type characters, well...we probably still have most of the OSW list, as well as canon-senshi Mars, and Lan knows another one from a spitefic I'm working on, I think I may have linked you once...)

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

I don't know, I haven't gotten past the second chapter. And I'm not sure how much OSW factors into things anymore, since it kind of died a slow death years ago. The only thing I'd like to do now is finish the important parts of the storylines I've had planned out for three years and move on.

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Well, OSW officially closed shop a while ago, right? Except for private play and stuff (and I kinda want to play with Daniel and Mina, but that's not important...) so yeah, moving on would be good.

Right to my Madoka RPG. >> Movie is coming out this month, have I mentioned? I'll probably open shop mid- to late-November because of NaNo...

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

I haven't gotten that far yet. Some of the stuff seems shallow and not explained too well, but then, that seems to be how fic in general, Internet or not, operates these days, and yet it somehow manages to get popular. I blame the publishing industry dropping the ball in some major ways when it comes to what to publish, what to send to the slush-pile. And, knowing my own fic sucks, people wonder why I abandoned my dream of publication...

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Your fic was good, from what I read. I'm not going to say that you should never give up because your dreams will come true, because this is not Glee and reality is a thing. I will say that it can't hurt to put out your work every so often, and stop fiddling with it.

...Says the one whose still editing her novel. Again.

[virgo186]

Hey, if we need extra fire, we have a huge list of fire-type characters we can reference at this point. :)