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Happy Birthday, Sounis!

Posted by checkers65477

https://sounis.livejournal.com/880087.html

It was 20 years ago today Sargent Pepper taught the band to play...

Wait, that's not right. It was 20 years ago today that Rowena and the elusive Eddis created a little page on Live Journal to talk about a couple of books they loved--The Thief and The Queen of Attolia, both written by an author named Megan Whalen Turner.

Who could have known that their site would turn into a group of the smartest, most fun-loving, most welcoming people on the Internet. With hugely in-depth discussions, tremendously funny in-jokes, and so much excitement as each of the following books were published over the years.

I wish I knew how many real life meetups have happened between people who met here on Sounis. How many book recommendations have been passed along. How many meetings Megan graciously did (and still do) with fans from Sounis, some of which turned into years of friendship and communication. Or how many members have grown up, gotten married, had children or grandkids. Some have, sadly, passed away.

20 years! I'm so grateful for this place and all the fabulous folks here. Happy Birthday to us all!

https://sounis.livejournal.com/880087.html

Halloween Pix I Wish I Had

Such vivid memories! But when I was a kid, the camera was pretty much reserved for visits from rarely seen relatives, which required us to stand on the lawn facing the sun ("Stop squinting! Smile!") in a stiff cluster with said relations. I do treasure those pix, but how I wish I had visual backup for vivid memories. Like the year we put our bulldog into my little brother's pajamas. How people laughed to see him trotting proudly along!

Then there was the horse costume I made with a friend when I was ten or eleven. I designed it and we sewed it by hand--by then I had designed and made so many doll clothes out of scraps that coming up with a horse costume didn't seem all that hard, just more stitching. Our trick or treat bag was held by her dad, who insisted on coming along.

It was a huge hit around the neighborhood, but! Though we each had had to model the body in order to get into it, we hadn't thought to practice very long. We soon found out that one person bent over, hanging onto the other's waist was super hard on the back. When we first took off, her mom did want to take a pic, but we were too impatient, and promised to stand still at the end of the evening. When we got back, we were both so sick of bending over we refused to pose, so we never did get a picture, though her mom was willing. Ah, well!

When I was a teen, and deemed too old to go out, I made a robot out of cardboard to deliver candy down a chute. That was fun. my little brother adored it. Some of the neighbor kids came round a couple of times just to see it work.

In those days, pretty much all costumes were homemade. There were some for sale in stores, but they were flimsy, made of really cheapo material, and few parents in our neighborhood wanted to waste the money. I remember my first Halloween, when I was little, my dad had mom divide an ancient sheet and cut out holes for eyes, and we were supposed to save and use the sheet ghost costumes, but mom made some for us when I was about six. I remember a bride dress, which I loved. I kept sneaking out to the garage to put it on afterwards and getting scolded. (We--friends and I-- later scored give-away cocktail dresses for acting out our stories.) I started making my own costumes with the horse.

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New Worlds Theory Post: Real Biology Is Stranger Than Fiction

It seems fitting for Halloween that the traditional fifth-Friday New Worlds Patreon theory post should focus on weird critters -- but in this case, real ones! Let's talk about drawing inspiration for science fictional and fantasy species from the aliens we share a planet with: comment over there . . .

(originally posted at Swan Tower: https://is.gd/HJO91g)

Current Mood: pondering
Current Music: Guster, "Perfect"

Entry tags:

30 days, 30 K

On reflection, I've decided against the 60K November challenge on AbsoluteWrite. I've done the 50K of NaNo a couple of times, I know I can do it, but I don't see any need to make it harder. Also, the book really doesn't need another 60K (ghod, I hope it doesn't!), and while I certainly could finish the book and pad out the rest with short stories or whatever, I think I will have earned myself a nice break when I finish this thing, and it would be a lot healthier to take it.

So instead I have signed up for thirty30K, to see if it's worth signing up for. It looks like a very stripped-down NaNo: there are badges and words-per-day calculations and a progress chart, yay!. Not much community, at least not yet; there don't seem to be open forums, though there are groups you can join. Overall it looks worth a try, and like something that might grow into a decent NaNo-replacement given interest and time. At the very least it will give me structure for doing 30K (which should, please ghod, finish the book) in November.

In preparation, I thought it would be nice to get the book up to 90K, a nice round number, which needed about 3400 words in the last four days of October. I pulled off 1125 on Tuesday and 1360 yesterday, leaving a very achievable <900 for tomorrow. (Today was otherwise spoken for.) This is reminding me of something I've learned before, but keep forgetting: having a specific word-count goal for the day works to keep me at the page, and if I try just a little more I often find I have another batch of words in me after I've run out the first time. I can do this.

I've kind of abandoned the monthly word quota; for a long time it worked for me, but then it started being more harm than help. I've never really done a daily goal, outside of NaNo. But maybe I should try it. I mean, if a day is really not working, I don't have to chain myself to a quota; sometimes there are days when it's just not happening. But it might not hurt to try a modest daily goal for writing days, to give myself a more specific target than just "write some".

We'll see how November goes.

Entry tags:

travel,
vp

Boston

I love Boston so much, especially this area around Harvard. The trees are rich with color, the air is brisk, requiring all my layers of flimsy California-wear, and the sidewalks brick with lumps of tree roots. I love it all.

Yesterday I went with Nine to the Mapparium on the other side of the river. (The bus ride down Massachusetts Ave is great for scenery!) If you've never heard of it--I hadn't until one of the Viable Paradise workshop writers clued me in--it's an enormous glass globe that you can walk into, to see the entire world, worked in jewel-toned glass, as it was in 1935. It was constructed to be a reminder that we are all in this world together; a needed warning then, as now. (Naturally those who need it most won't see or hear.)

We had a great time looking, then testing the amazing sounds created by voices enclosed in glass.

Afterward we met up with Rushthatspeaks for tea and chocolate at L.A. Burdicks. Oh, they know how to do chocolate so, so right. Delish. We chatted and reminisced and cackled like maniacs. Today we'll visit the Fogg to see a Botticelli that is usually hidden in a private collection. I can hardly wait!

I'm coming down from the high of a very successful workshop, and a month of splendid visiting and seeing and fast-lane busy. The workshop writers are so talented and so focused, and all this in beautiful Martha's Vineyard.

Tomorrow homeward bound!

Rexy says "Happy Halloween, Y'all"

Posted by eachase

https://sounis.livejournal.com/879755.html

Rexy was thrilled to join her first Masked Chat as the Witch of Urkull.

She's not sure if everyone inched away from her because she's a witch or because she's 22 feet tall. But she still had fun.

https://sounis.livejournal.com/879755.html

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New Worlds: The Retired Life

How many people have ever been able to afford to retire, and what has "retirement" meant through the ages, anyway? The New Worlds Patreon has some thoughts -- comment over there . . .

(originally posted at Swan Tower: https://is.gd/79omGz)

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Yuletide 2025 Lettter

Have fun, dear creator---I'm really excited by all of these requests! I've included prompts for these fandoms, but they're mostly there to give you an idea of the kind of fanworks I like. Please feel free to go in a different direction.

I am open to treats!

Please note that due to Yuletide admin and real life commitments, I may not have much extended quiet time to read and comment in the first couple of days after reveals. I look forward to reading your work when I can savor it, even if that's a few days into the anon period!

General points:

Things I love:

Stories with a sense of motion (plot is great, or anything with characters working to accomplish something or solve problems)
Complexity in characterization and relationships, particularly when two characters’ priorities and interests are in agreement at some times and in conflict at others
Deep caring and respect between characters, even if they disagree, and even if the caring and respect aren't expressed in so many words
Stories where the characters have goals other than romance, even if a romance is included in the fic
Ruthless competence (and just competence in general)
Genuine moral quandaries
Worldbuilding, or plotty fic, or fic that really digs into characters' relationships--or (<3 <3 <3) fic where worldbuilding informs plot or plot informs relationship developments or any combination of those elements!
Tropes:
- Always-a-woman Rule 63 AUs (for literally any canon male character, particularly the ones I've requested; fine if this makes a M/M or F/M pairing F/M or F/F)
- Canon divergence AUs
- Hurt/Comfort (my favorite version of this is where an emergency lets you see the cracks in the characters' usual reserve, so you get unusual vulnerability and expressions of emotion that are still in character without extended woobification); and, relatedly...
- Life-or-death situations leading to unspoken feelings (romantic or platonic) becoming more obvious
- Casefic, or characters otherwise getting to the bottom of mysteries/intrigue
- Competence porn
- Arranged marriage or marriage of convenience
- Mutual pining (when there are character-based reasons for characters not realizing the other is also in love; or when there's an unspoken understanding that it's mutual but they have logical reasons for not acting on it)
- Enemies to allies (or friends, or lovers)

Please no:

Sexual violence, noncon, dubcon, or underage, unless specifically noted
Suicide or suicidal ideation (except when specifically noted)
Infidelity (exceptions/ways to handle this listed in the canon-specific sections. In general, open or V-shaped poly relationships are fine, and I don't need a lot of negotiation; also usually fine to handwave canonical relationships. What I don't want, unless otherwise noted, is fic where the characters are obviously cheating on someone with whom they're in a committed, exclusive relationship)
Unremitting angst
PWP (including sex is fine, especially if the style is in keeping with the tone of the canon, but it’s not a big draw for me without something else going on, too)
Exposed genitalia in art (though again, sexual content is fine)
AUs (except for canon divergence and genderswap, as mentioned above)

Things that are fine and/or encouraged:

Longfic, tight 1k-word fic, any length is fine
Gen, f/f, m/f, m/m, and any combination thereof, unless specifically noted
Fic that plasy with POV and narrative styles, especially if it’s in keeping with the source material (ex: epistolary fic; nested stories; found materials)
Interactive fiction
Canon-typical levels of character death and nonsexual violence

The Thorne Chronicles - K. Eason

Characters: Samur | The Regent-Consort (The Thorne Chronicles); Rupert | The Vizier (The Thorne Chronicles)

Okay, asking for two side characters in a fandom that doesn't yet exist on AO3 is probably a long shot, but what else is Yuletide for?

A friend gave me the first of these books, and almost immediately, I found myself absorbed less by our heroine's adventures than by the dynamic between her mother and her mentor. Mutual respect and trust heavily underlaid by unspoken, yet obvious, longing for more? Significant use of names vs titles? Characters who put political goals and other loyalties ahead of their personal desires and the serious conflict that results? Complementary competence? Yes please!

I wish we had gotten so much more of Samur, and of this relationship, in the second book.

I'd love to see any missing scenes between the two of them during or between the books, or maybe a future political situation that throws these characters together again and forces them to work through their disagreement--the second book left off with plenty of opportunity for that. There's also lots of scope for canon divergence AUs, with Samur making different choices in the first book as just one branching off point. I absolutely ship this, but I'm good with anything from canon-typical interactions to the two of them reconciling and finding a way to get together despite the political situation.

I'm really interested in further exploration of everything we don't see about Samur, in particular, both in her backstory and through the events of the books. It's mentioned that combat training is important to people from Kreshti--what does that mean to her? Who was she before her first marriage, other than motivated by duty above all else? Why would someone in her position keep, effectively, a mood ring in a pot on her desk?

Re: my rape and sexual violence DNW, I don't count obligatory sex between participants in political marriages, even if they aren't particularly attracted to one another, as long as they enter into both the marriage and the sex with some degree of personal choice. Basically, feel free to talk about Samur's second marriage

Re: my infidelity DNW--if you write attraction between Samur and Rupert during her first marriage, please make it entirely unspoken and not something either would consider acting on. If you write shipfic during her second marriage, I'd prefer it to occur after an informal separation from her husband or in the context of an open marriage.

I am open to treats!

Merlin Series - Mary Stewart

Characters: Any

These requests are written with the original trilogy in mind, as I'm most familiar with Crystal Cave through The Last Enchantment, but feel free to refer to events in the other books.

I love the setting, the prose, the particularly numinous quality of the magic, the depictions of music, the characters' sense of history, the loyalty and love Merlin has for Ambrosius and Arthur (and Arthur in particular has for Merlin), all the mentor/protegee dynamics, the way Merlin uses both magic and mundane tools (and luck) the beauty and tragedy of the whole thing. Also--these books were terribly good to me in delivering the "I thought you were dead but you're not!" trope, and I absolutely would not say no to more of that.

I'd love some canon divergence for this fandom. Maybe Aurelius doesn't die so young, and he and Emrys have more time to build a kingdom together; or Merlin sees Arthur through to the end of his reign; or Niniane finds a way to achieve Merlin's power without draining him of it all; or a take on Morgause that isn't so harsh to her--what if Merlin had agreed to teach her? (I know these sound like more positive divergences, but I don't need happy endings or positive spins on this fandom! Feel free to go a tragic route.)

If you're into missing scenes, what happened during any of the years we don't see in detail--Emrys on the road before he comes to raise Arthur, or while he's helping to bring the boy up? Or fic set after The Last Enchantment with Niniane/Nimue as Arthur's seer, or during the book as the two of them develop a working relationship and sort out where they each stand with Merlin. I'd also really love to see Arthur's perspective on events leading up to, and after, he becomes High King.

If you're into Rule 63, I'd be particularly interested in seeing a female Merlin and would be curious about how that changes her role before and after she meets her father, with the concept of "women's magic", and with her relationships to all the women in the series.

I'd adore any kind of worldbuilding. More of the mythology and mysticism and magic, please! Or just a story with a strong sense of place and of the history that's led to the events taking place (or the future that will result from them).

I love the way Stewart writes about music, and I'd love to see it incorporated into the story, if that's a theme that interests you.

100% there for the sort of intense gen we get in canon, but I honestly don't have preferences when it comes to shipping or gen for this fandom. Please no parent/child incest, though. (Rumors about Emrys as Aurelius' catamite are fine; Morgause/Arthur is fine; Merlin/Arthur could be really lovely but would prefer it to occur after Arthur's well-established as king, ideally at least 18 or so.)

Re: the infidelity DNW, fine to write about canonical infidelity such as Uther/Ygraine and Bedwyr/Guinevere. If you're into Merlin/Arthur and want to set it during Arthur's marriage after there's an understanding between Bedwyr and the queen, that's fine.

References to canon instance of underage sex are fine, but please nothing on-page.

Shogun (TV 2024)

Characters: Toda Mariko, Yoshii Toranaga
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags

This was one of my favorite shows of 2024! Atmospheric and visually stunning, twisty politics everywhere, and the personal inextricably caught up in the political in ways that are absolute catnip to me.

I found Mariko's character incredibly compelling and was fascinated by her relationship to Toranaga. I would love to see further exploration of that--not only by seeing the two of them interacting directly (though I wish they'd had more one-on-one scenes and would love to read some) but also by seeing them respond to or affect one another from more of a distance. It would be fine to have a story focused on Mariko's perspective where Toranaga is rarely present on-page, for example, as long as his influence is felt throughout. That could include missing scenes from Mariko's youth, details of her father's death and Mariko coming to understand Toranaga's plans afterward, the development of her loyalty to him and the ways in which that's due to family duty vs. personal inclination. How much of her obedience to him is reluctant, and how much comes from genuine trust?

I love canon divergence AUs, and there could be loads of interesting ones for this fandom with all kinds of domino effects. Mariko's marriage is arranged to someone else, for different advantages--perhaps she becomes consort to the late Taikō instead of Ochiba, and Toranaga finds ways to use this? Or she's even married off to Toranaga himself? Her father isn't the one to kill Lord Nobuhisa?

Ships for this fandom: I'm fine with explorations of Mariko's canonical relationships with her husband and Blackthorne as long as the main focus is on Mariko herself, or how those relationships are useful to Toranaga. I'm also interested in her history with Lady Ochiba and am very very open to Mariko/Ochiba. Other references to canon ships are totally fine.

Re: my DNW of rape, sexual violence, and related threats, references to canon-typical instances are fine in the context of an arranged marriage or a consortship, but please restrict depictions to fade-to-black.

My usual DNWs of infidelity and suicide/suicidal ideation don't apply to this fandom.

Current Mood: pondering
Current Music: Metric, "The Risk"

Entry tags:

apocollapse,
nanot

NaNoWriMo Replacements

So, November's coming, and I'm thinking it would be good to take the twice-NaNo-project novel (Apocollapse) and use a NaNo-like thing to get it bloody finished. I could simply set myself a goal for November, but there are a plethora of NaNo-replacements out there, and I am tempted to sign up with one.

So I'm rounding up links here, mostly for my own reference but others are welcome to use, or to suggest more.

- AbsoluteWrite has the November Novel challenge, in which you write 60K of a novel during the month. That's 2000 words a day, folks. (Because NaNo's 50K wasn't insane enough, I guess?)

- There's Thirty 30K, with the less intimidating goal of, you guessed it, 30K words in November (aka 1000 words/day). This sounded pretty cool in the Brandon Sanderson vid I heard about it from, but there seems to be no way to get a taste of the site/process without creating an account.

- Chris Baty, the originator of NaNoWriMo, has lent his name to NaNo 2.0. There are... issues... around this, some of which I'll let this reddit thread go into so I don't have to.

- This one, Novel November, I happened across... somewhere. It looks like not a bad structure, but very very beta and with almost no participants yet. (That being the biggest challenge for any replacement: much of old NaNo's appeal hinged on the vast number of participants, and no start-up is going to be able to replicate that out of the gate.) Despite the name, this is not to be confused with Novel November by ProWritingAid, which is just, ewww.

There are lots more floating around out there, I'm sure. (https://fic.fan/sitenews/31 and https://www.o2wchallenge.com/november-challenge came up in a quick search; none of this constitutes an endorsement.)

So far I'm most likely to try to AW one -- not that I need an additional 10K, ghod no, but I'm already on AW and it seems like the most active community of those I've investigated. What I really want is that bloody progress chart from pre-f'd-up NaNo (not a progress bar, please note, but an actual chart, which I can replicate in Excel but theirs was more fun and of course public). The public accountability of potentially failing in front of a lot of other people is motivating for me, so just declaring it here doesn't quite do the trick. (Though I'm sure all three of you who read this would either cheer or point and laugh, as appropriate!)

If you know of another November novel writing challenge that's worth investigating, let me know in the comments.