Red Orchid

New year. Writing-wise, it's been a pretty slow one compared to last year. Then again, last year was extremely productive (26 stories, 176 205 words).

This year, the total is 9 stories and 41 155 words. It's been a busier year, for sure. On the upside though, that total doesn't include two longer stories that I wrote in the fall that haven't posted yet (one for bandomstuffsit, which is secret for another week, and one that's currently with my beta). And then there's always the 100 000+ words of CSI AU fic spread out over three or four different stories that I really need to give myself a kick in the ass about and finish sometime before the second coming rolls around. (Cheerleading anyone? Someone who wants to wave pom-poms and brainstorm with me back and forth over email? I could really use one of those on that project. Meh.)

( Stories I did manage to finish and post in 2010 (in order of posting) )


On a RL level, 2010 will probably be remembered as The Year of Moving And Renovating. We bought a new apartment that was a bit of a fixer-upper (meaning nothing had been done on it since the 50s) and lived with spatulas and paint brushes in our hands for six months. Not fun. Especially since we had to live in the middle of the chaos for two of those months.

High points of the year were definitely fandom-related. Having moku_youbi and Muse come visit in the spring, going to see behindthec in the summer and forming a little bandom unit at home with fannyt and intricate_life, complete with late nights, writing sessions and lots and lots of wine. And in addition, there's the chat sessions and IMs and emails, not to mention all the fics and recs and general flail that have taken place. Fandom has definitely kept me sane this year. If I could, I'd send each and every one of you a pony. ♥

Things I'm looking forward to in 2011:

1) Not renovating. \o/
2) Chilling out at new awesome job and not be stressed all the time.
3) Hopefully going back to the US to visit awesome fandom friends
4) Friends and fic and flail (hopefully with wine added to the mix)
5) Panic putting out their new album. And going on tour somewhere I can see them *crosses fingers*
6) Hanging out on my couch and enjoying the extreme comfort of maternity clothes without the downside of being pregnant. *win*

Happy New Year, everyone.
*smooches*

Result of yesterday's elections to parliament: the extreme right party over here (which politically is probably somewhere to the left of the US democrats, only with more racism mixed in) got 5,7%, which not only gives them seats in the government and stops the winning coalition from having their own majority but actually makes them bigger than both the Christian Democrats (whose decline I approve of since they are the only party left that are opposed to equal rights for gay people) and the Left Wing Party (former Communist Party--I approve of their decline as well). I am suitably ashamed of my country's stupidity right now. *sigh*

I'm back! ( (RL stuff about trip to Russia here) )

In other, more fannish news, my BBB is posting tomorrow! I'm excited. (Anyone who has any recs for other BBBs that have posted in the past week? I need to catch up. :))

Also, I have this new, pretty ridiculous plot bunny for a How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days AU (which might originally be reni_days's bunny, or one that we flailed over together a long while back, lol) where Brendon is the How To-guy at a gay male version of Cosmo (working with Ryan (fashion and trends) and Pete (who keeps getting dumped by his boyfriends after a week and can't figure out what he's doing wrong)) and Spencer is the star advertiser at Firm Something who is about to lose a huge account for a company specialising in luxury gay lifestyle products (no idea exactly what that means yet) to Bill and Gabe (aka the superduo) because, apparently, they have convinced Spencer's boss that a straight man such as Spencer could never know gay men well enough to worm his way into their hearts and wallets with a campaign. (All of which naturally leads to Spencer insisting that he totally knows what gay guys want and is tricked into a bet where he's to make a guy fall in love with him in ten days or Bill and Gabe gets the account. Enter Brendon, out on assignment to find a guy and drive him away in the same amount of time for an upbeat article. And then, well, you've seen the film. :DDD)

My big project in school is finished and posted. *waves happy flag*

(can be seen here if anyone's interested)

Next step: catching up on fic. Any recs for really good stuff? (Especially Ryden and Arthur/Merlin? I have a craving for both :))

panicmydear found my favourite teen movie on YouTube! With English subtitles! \o/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlkhZwZ0c8g

Fucking Åmål (Show Me Love in English)
Agnes is 16, unpopular and in love with Elin, who's 14 and the hottest thing in school. Elin hates living in Åmål, a town so boring that when new things get popular, they're already on the "outdated trend" list in the rest of the world.

I love pretty much everything about this movie. The characters are wonderful (including the supporting cast. Agnes's dad in particular just makes me go <3333 with how much of a typical Swedish dad he is), the script is really good (subtitles are a little weirdly translated sometimes, but overall, they totally work) and this movie is basically my teen years put on film (well, not really mine, because I was a very well-behaved teen who stayed at home reading books and went to ping-pong nights at the local church, but other than that :)). On top of that, it's really funny and the ending always makes me go \o/.

See it. :)

Warning for gross abuse of capslock and insane amounts of fangirly flailing.

( VICKY-T IS A GODESS AND I WANT TO FOLLOW HER AROUND THE WORLD AND THROW FLOWERS BEFORE HER FEET AND BASK IN THE TOTAL GLORY OF HOW PRETTY AND AWESOME SHE IS, JFC. )

( Shelter is a really, really wonderful film and I love it to pieces. )

Also, Happy Valentine's Day. Hope you're having a good one. ♥

Just booked tickets to go see Cobra in London on Feb 10. With intricate_life and fannyt!!! SO EXCITED!!! Anyone else who's going to be there? And if so, want to meet up for fangirly hangouts and/or beer?

So, my day was basically for shits. I'm bleeding to death. Always fun. Looking forward to another week of doing that.

On the other hand, Patrick Stump saying "unscathed" made my mood go up one million points, so I guess things could be worse. Or Patrick is just magic, which is what Pete I've been claiming all along.


It is quite possible that "unscathed" is now my favourite word. Try it out. All soft and sexy and shit. I want fic where people say "unscathed".

I really want to go to the Blink/FOB/Panic concert in Chicago in August. Problem is, I know absolutely nothing about the city and could really need some inside info. Live in Chicago/know your way around? Please help? Where are good (and cheap) places to stay? How do you get around? Where do you want to go? What so see and so on?

I will seriously love you guys forever if anyone could give me some tips on this.

There are few things in the world that make me genuinely pissed off and depressed all at once. Homophobia and other kinds of bigotry is one. Misguided feminism is another.

A while back, me and my guy went to the store and got one copy of a guy magazine (lots of naked chicks, equivalent of Penthouse/Playboy) and one copy of Cosmo. We then compared and contrasted how women were portrayed in them.

The results were frightenly similar, except Cosmo was worse, and I don't understand why the female population as large is not getting this.

Being worth just as much as someone will pay for you (in time and attention) or that you will pay for a purse is not being a strong, independent woman. Building your self esteem on how other people see you ("X said I was beautiful today, now I'm all happy again") is NOT healthy! Valuing your talents and ideas just as high as other people value them is not believing in yourself. Looking down on/Trashing girls who fail to conform (who break the rules in the giant pink rule book) is putting back equality another 50 years.

I've seen a lot of Keltie-praising comments since she and Ryan broke up, and it friggin' scares me. Keltie is not a role model. Are you even reading what she writes? There is enough pain, insecurity and desperation in there to flood a country. She's trapped in the Cosmo lie, just like a lot of the female population, and it makes me really sad, because she, like the rest of us, wouldn't have to be. Stop making your own prisons. Grow some balls. Watch Moulin Rouge again and see Satine for what she is--trapped and insecure, just looking for someone to save her. And it depresses me like nothing else when people look at that think that they aren't worth more, that that's the ideal, how things are supposed to be.

Cosmopolitan is not your friend. Next time you're picking one up, take a Penthouse instead. It will say the same thing, but at least, it will be honest with you.

/end rant