Falling Stars

I just noticed the other day that my AO3 account has 50 exchange assignments.

It's not an exact count, because there were exchanges I did before AO3 was a thing. And there must be people who have done lots more. But it still feels like a significant number to see on my dashboard!

It's weird to think back to the changes that have happened over that time. Not having to email your story to the mods to upload! The creative use of tag fields, to match not just on fandom and character, but also media type, relationships, worldbuilding, and freeforms! The whole concept of DNWs!

Lessons I have learned for a happier exchange experience:

1. Curate your own experience - If you're stressed, offer what you're most comfortable with and request what you're most excited about. Or if you're bored, offer what's a challenge and request what's a surprise. Change up things that aren't working for you anymore. Sometimes this means cutting back on exchanges or taking a break from them entirely.

2. Focus on what you can control - You can't control how many comments you get, but you can control how many comments you give. You can't control when someone picks up your pinch hit, but you can control how many treats you write. It's painful to be fixating on something that depends on someone else. Anytime you're desperately refreshing the screen for an update, is probably a sign you should go take action on something, anything else.

3. Figure out your limitations and your strengths - I know I'm a slow writer, so I'm never going to sign up for anything that requires speed or volume. I love certain canons where I'm just not confident about the voice, or where I'm realistically not going to have time for review.

4. There's always next time - There are going to be ups and downs. It helps to be philosophical about it and take the long view, instead of pinning all your hopes on this exchange being perfect.

With everything going on with AO3, I figured it was a good time to make a backup archive of all my fic.

It's taken over two months to upload over 120 stories. Which is not as many as some people, but still a fair chunk of work for me.

Anyway! You can find the archive at serenadefic.

I want to ramble a bit about the process, since I've been finding it interesting when other people talk about theirs.


( Why Dreamwidth )

( Journal vs community )

( Tagging )

( Chapters, series, and collections )

( Related works )


There's still things to iron out - some italics formatting is causing extra blank lines, and there are miscellaneous ficlets to be uploaded - but the bulk of it is done and I'm pretty happy with it.

So, here we are again.

( My fandom year )

( 2021 in review )

Happy New Year! Hoping you're all safe and well, and wishing you a good 2022.

Anyway, here's my year in review.

( My fandom year )

( 2019 in review )

Happy New Year! See you all in 2020.

One of my favourite fic authors has orphaned her stories and deleted her accounts, and I'm feeling unexpectedly devastated.

I first ran across one of her stories during Yuletide several years ago, and it blew me away. I've been following her fic through several fandoms since. That something like this can happen overnight has shaken me.

I mean, orphaned is better than deletion, because the stories are still there on AO3. But they're not connected together anymore. If you liked one, there is no way to find other works by the same author. They're mixed in with all the other hundreds of thousands of orphaned works ever.

This is the internet, where pillars of rock disappear into the sea all the time. I should be used to it by now. But it just feels like yet another chunk of history lost.

September here is when the season of spring begins.

September also is when the season of Yuletide begins.

It used to be the only exchange I did, and the highlight of my fandom year. But a few years ago, I started branching out into other exchanges as well. And now I'm waiting for Yuletide nominations to begin, but I'm also hanging out for Trick or Treat signups to open, and I'm working on finishing my Coronation Ceremony assignment.

It's kind of weird to realise that almost all the fic I've written recently has been for exchanges. I guess because time and energy are limited. And deadlines make things get done. Still, I've got quite a few WIPs sitting around that I'd like to get finished and sent out into the world.

I love exchanges. But there's also an incredible rush in thinking, "Whoa, I could just write anything and post it."

I haven't posted a proper update to LJ for a good while now. There are a whole bunch of posts I've been meaning to make: events attended, media consumed, fics recced, etc. I feel like I've sort of faded back into lurking: reading huge swathes of fic, browsing forums and communities, and occasionally commenting. But I miss the interaction and conversation, so I'm going to make more of an effort to post regularly.

Summary:

Fandoms I'm reading fic in:
Hockey RPF, Teen Wolf.

Fic I'm working on:
A Chronicles of Amber AU about if Brand won the Patternfall War.

Shows I'm really into but still way behind on:
Doctor Who, Hannibal, Elementary, Sleepy Hollow, Legend of Korra.

Movies I've enjoyed lately:
Into the Woods, Jupiter Ascending, Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, Mad Max: Fury Road.

Long Live by Llin
Summary: Long live all the magic we made.

All the Star Treks, half a century of story, the torch passed down generation after generation. United by the bonds of friendship and family and optimism about the future. And I love what the first comment has to say.

It ticks me off when I hear people defending grimdark fiction with "because realism". The daily news supplies plenty of realism already. I know about the horrors and injustices that exist. If grimdark fiction mimics reality, then this is a failure of the imagination. Because you know what? Everything great and good that humankind has ever achieved, came from someone looking at the world and thinking, "It doesn't have to be this way." You put a black woman officer on a starship, against the dictates of reality, and you are already changing the future. You have to imagine it before you can make it real.

This is what Star Trek does. It shows us that humankind can make a future, a better future, where we can be our best selves. And that there is a place in it for all of us, whoever we may be, there is a place for us in that future, there is a place on the bridge of the goddamn Enterprise.

Yeah, I have a lot of feelings about this.

I call myself a Star Trek fan, but for me, Star Trek is beyond a fandom. Things like this vid remind me why.

Long live all the mountains we moved
I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you

It feels like forever since I last posted. And it seems like even then, I've mostly been posting responses to media I've consumed. I kind of miss all the conversations I used to have with people here. But then again, I haven't been commenting much either, so it's partly my own fault.

I do miss mailing lists and discussion communities. There are a couple of fandoms I've become excited about lately, and it's hard to find somewhere I can go and squee about them. I'm reduced to trying to remember who on my friendslist was squeeing about them several weeks or several months back, and hunting for those posts. It's so decentralised.

So what have I been doing lately? Well. Writing a hell of a lot of Amber fic. Most of which I will eventually post. (I'm hoping people won't be too shocked when they descend on the archives next Yuletide, to find that Brand/Martin has taken over the fandom.) It's been rather lonely though, the fic community being so quiet. It's like the polar opposite of the massive exploding fandoms.

Other things I've gotten into lately:

* The Hunger Games - Read the trilogy: brilliant and devastating and really just that good. Watched the movie: a great adaptation that captures the spirit of the books. I also want to say that, despite the whitewashing issue, I thought Jennifer Lawrence was fantastic. This time last year, she was Raven Darkholme. But now and always, she will be Katniss Everdeen.

* Revenge - It's the best feeling to watch something that everyone has been raving about, and to find that it really does live up to its reputation. It reminds me of Veronica Mars, of course, and like Veronica Mars, I think it would work best as a show that gives us one perfect season: everything laid on the line, and brought to a satisfying conclusion. I just can't stop watching. Smart people! Elaborate plans! The protagonist and the antagonist being women of resource and presence and complexity. Also, *oh, Nolan*.

* The Legend of Korra - Totally worth the wait. Korra is a great heroine, bold and active and determined, with echoes of the Avatar in her, but also clearly her own person. Plus gorgeous steampunk worldbuilding. Welcome to Republic City!

What I find fascinating about the reaction to Nevermore, the first Supernatural tie-in novel, is that the fans don't ask, "Is it as good as the series?" but "Is it as good as the fanfic?" Which says much about the calibre of the writing in this fandom.

( Musings )