Evandar

If my tagging system is correct, I haven't written one of these since March 2015, which is possibly one of the reasons why my life has gone to hell.

Incidentally, the same week I decided not to sign up for any more fests is the same week I got invited to join Daily Deviant. So. Alternate months it is. Not gonna lie, a D_D invite has been a fandom goal for a while. I've also signed up for a one_sentence_only table with the hope that having something tiny to write may actually encourage me to write on the regular, which has been an issue.

( Organisation? On this blog? It's more likely than you think... )

It's honestly getting shorter.

( Tadah~ )

This year's Yuletide marked a year of fest craziness during which I branched out into more genres, pairings and fandoms than I'd anticipated, wrote some extremely rare characters, and drove my poor beta to distraction with my shameless flakiness. I should probably write a list of all the things I did to put it in perspective, but since that requires effort, I'll save it for when I don't have an essay deadline in two days.

Instead, I'll write about this year's Yuletide. This will make a lot more sense if you've read the fic, which can be found here.

This year, I prepared. This year, I didn't stumble across a reference to Yuletide in a fit of depression while half-way through eating a bag of fried insects. I actually nominated fandoms this year, and while no one wrote for most of them, it meant that I was actually keeping track of things. There was a level of organisation which was unprecedented.

This meant that this year, I signed up for fandoms I was more comfortable with and didn't panic over what my assignment would be. I still, miraculously, ended up with Discworld again - Monstrous Regiment, to be exact, because the tagging was different this year. Cool beans, thought I, reading through my prompt. This is awesome. I can totally do this.

So far, so good. Right?

I re-familiarised myself with the book. I read it during the painful, hour-long lunch breaks my employer has only recently started to give, and it brightened my days. I read Carpe Jugulum as well, for further Disc-vampire mythology, and whaddaya know - it mentions Borogravian vampire lore. (Incidentally, I not only got egg wash all over both of these books, but discovered that I am the only person in my workplace to have read them.) I got started, in a fit of enthusiasm, on a 'five times' fic that involved underwired nightdresses.

Now, if you clicked the link above, you know fine well that that's not what I wrote. So. What happened?

As mentioned in last year's version of this post, I have an attention span of roughly the same length as a mayfly's life. I left the fic. I got distracted. I failed.

I flailed about over my degree for a (very necessary) bit, wrote about five (six?) other fics for other fests and deadlines, did all the hours at work, and then worked my way back around to Yuletide only to discover that what I'd started was not the fic that I wanted to write. It's...not terrible, but it wasn't something I could continue. The moment had left me, and in its wake was the cold, sinking feeling of having to start all over again.

So I did. My prompt asked for H/C and vulnerable!Mal, so I gave that as best as I could. I thought about Strappi and the possible psychological effects of slowly losing your mind while trying not to eat the buffet surrounding you; I thought about Polly and her tough-as-nails attitude. I dragged in some references to Borogravian gypsies from Carpe Jugulum, drank a lot of coffee, and wrote.

I ended up with Faith, and you know what? I'm pretty pleased with that.

I had to drop out of two big bangs (Marvel & Team Free Will) just for sheer practicality's sake. I hated deciding to do that - it felt like selling out - but damn if it hasn't made life a little easier.

( Here's what's left... )

That moment when geography kills a plotline.

*headdesk*

Updating this solely because I find it invaluable. It seems to be both getting longer and shorter at the same time. Like, I cross one thing off and sign up for two more.

( So here it is... )

Ah, that wonderful moment when suddenly - bam! - you're halfway to completing a Big Bang and you finally know that it's all going to be okay.

Not that, with a 1st April deadline, I haven't left it to the last minute or anything... Me? Do that? Nooooooooooooo ~

It's a new year and that means there is a new chance to help animals in crisis! Come be a part of the second annual “Help Animals” fandom auction. This time all proceeds will benefit “Barrio Dogs” which ‘focuses on giving proper animal care in low income communities.' Just think of how many animals might be suffering in our tough economic times - going without life-saving vaccinations and surgeries because their owners cannot afford to pay their bills! If you’re passionate about animals and helping to make the world a better place, then please check out this community. Every single penny earned makes a world of difference to the animals helped through this service! THANK YOU.
HELP ANIMALS

Six days left before bidding begins! My fandoms on offer are Harry Potter, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and BBC Sherlock, and for a $3 donation I'll write fics up to 1000 words.