teamwork review:
I just reread the first story and am rereading the second one...please don't have Sakura marry Sasuke...Oh pretty please?

leeeeeeeet me think about thaDENIED.

=________=

Though maybe she's afraid I'll emphasize the sasusaku side so much that the narusaku and/or the narusasu will fall by the wayside and then Naruto will be all alone as they float off in wedded bliss. Which is kind of funny because that's exactly what will happen!

IN NARUTO'S HEAD.



I would have a lot less of an instant *twitch* at this review if she actually explained why, like a plot-related reason, some trope she saw done wrong or that tends to imply unfortunate things and is therefore a pitfall she wants to make sure I avoid.

Because looking at her profile she's a yaoi only girl. Huh... Who doesn't like romance in stories... like there's zero in teamwork as it is? Granted it's kind of more action and character oriented than "oh my love the fruit of our union is growing in your ripening belly i can see our forever in your eyes~" but STILL.

(actually it's probably not romantic ENOUGH for a get-together story. sometimes it really does read as more of a friends and partners who fuck than a real falling in love thing. Blargh. T__T)

But anyway. oh my, what a sincere request, and from such a dedicated fan!

I must be heartless. :/



edit: pffffffffft. same person, another review:

Why does Naruto say "Gaara" when he sees Kisame?

I must have been too subtle. >.>

Also, I think this is one of the only stories that I actually like Sakura in. She is very useless in the beginning of Naruto the show and annoying in the rest of it. But the way you have described, makes me like...

o i c.

I'm really trying not to make a snap judgment here, but honestly the first explanation that comes to mind is that she likes Sakura in this fic honest! just, still not enough to let her marry Sasuke.

:DDDDDDDDD *plots marriagefic* woohoo i'm so inspired suddenly~~~~~~~~~~~~ I need shiny sugary traditions for them to go through~~~~

( garden talk, wherein I whine about vines )

In other news, finished the Chaos series.

3. Fugitives of Chaos by John C. Wright
This was not a bad followup to the first book. In this book, the kids actually manage to escape their captors and grow in their powers. That was actually all that happened. They escaped. It was quite harrowing and exciting, but much shorter than the first book by far. These books should probably have just been one book, tbh.

4. Titans of Chaos by John C. Wright
The last book of the trilogy was a let down, mostly because the first half dragged while the main quintet dicked around, and then literally the last half of the book was one giant action scene wherein everyone almost died multiple times. Though it was well done, by this point I was sick of the endless hyperspace-explanation and could have done with slightly less of that. I also found that my emotional connection to the characters, which was fairly strong in the first book, had unraveled quite a lot by the last book, mostly because the stakes were too ambitious and the situations the quintet found themselves in were too fantastical. The side-trip to fucking Mars? Boring. How do you make Mars boring? Also the little romance bits felt tacked on and I seriously didn't care by the end, even though I did get some Headmaster Boreas fanservice.

And, of course, through it all was the knowledge that the female protagonist was written by a man, and not very well. There were skeevy gender things and skeevy sex things and all in all you could feel the male gaze all over those books, which annoyed me. On the other hand, no one got raped, which is a miracle when you're dealing with the Greek pantheon, but I have the terrible suspicion that even if someone had they would have enjoyed it. Also, for being such a homophobe, the author sure loved to give big sloppy blowjobs to Amurica. USA! USA!

First two books, three stars, last book, two stars. Overall, a fun series to waste some time with, but nothing earthshattering. A library or used bookstore acquisition. (I would like to point out that I did not know anything about the author of these books before I started reading them, and would not have spent good money on them if I had known, because apparently he is an enormous homophobic, anti-women taintstain, and I don't wish to support people being taintstains in any capacity. Google is your friend.)

Currently reading Native American Stories of the Sacred: Annotated & Explained and it is wonderful, worth every penny. I might have to get the Zohar and Hasidic volumes in the series.

edit: Korky had his butt surgery yesterday. It was at ten. He woke up at eleven and then barked until I came to get him at three, so he's fine. Occasionally he tries to scoot since he can't reach the stitches with his mouth, but overall he seems okay.

More statistics! Stuff I read in 2009:

new
Books: 78
Manga: 4
Essays: 111
Original fiction shorter than 20k: 570
Original fiction longer than 20k: 48
Fanfiction shorter than 20k: 985
Fanfiction longer than 20k: 67

re-reads
Books: 67
Manga: 5
Essays: 26
Original fiction shorter than 20k: 85
Original fiction longer than 20k: 11
Fanfiction shorter than 20k: 168
Fanfiction longer than 20k: 25


Conclusion: I read less fanfiction and more books last year. But then, you can't pass final exams in any Literature subject without reading a lot of books.

And another list, though a short one: ( TBR 2010 )

-Wutai being a mix of Chinese and Japanese I kinda tend to pick some things at random and totally make up some others.
-Not sure about the pacing or how interesting it is, but it needs to be there, so ehh.

-> Plz crit away, it's only the first draft.

Table of Contents
Prologue - Previous

( 2 500 words )

2. Orphans of Chaos by John C. Wright
So five teenagers are hanging around at a British orphanage/boarding school, being precocious snots. Except they aren't children and they're not orphans and the school is a prison and they are hostages in a multi-dimensional civil war between the Greek gods. Also, physics and spankings. This book could be terribly triggery for some, but fortunately not for me, or rather I wasn't skeeved enough by some of the strange cross-generational D/s overtones to put down a book narrated by a four-dimensional being who named herself after Amelia Earhart.

( This exerpt almost totally encapsulates why I enjoyed this book so much. )

Then about five pages later the narrator explains the fourth dimension and kind of doesn't stop for the rest of the book.

And this just made me laugh:

( Proteus is a dumbass. )

Anyway, I hope this series has a fandom because I'm almost through the second book and the prospect of Amelia boning her fake headmaster is growing ever dimmer. This must be rectified.

e: Forgot to add there is some disturbing homophobia in the second book. This is a wordvomit on the first book, not the second, but if you want to read, be aware of that before plunging in.

e2: I am also now on GoodReads.

It's time again for statistics. Yay! :D

So here's the first: what I wrote last year.

( Words Written 2009: 119k )


And: writing + meme = ( Writing Meme )

I know I'm a bit late with this but nevertheless:

Happy New Year everyone!!

My new year started out great. I had a friend visiting, and we spent all three days of her stay chatting 24 hours a day. At least, it felt like that. :) Yesterday, I helped the book shop where I did my traineeship with taking inventory and earned 50 Euro. Afterwards, I ordered a couple of books. :D

New Year, Resolution time, and of course I've got some:

1. Write Writewritewritewritewritewrite. ( And then write some more )

2. Comment more often.

3. Rec. I read so much, so fast, and I usually have an opinion. I want to share it. The only problem is, as with the comments, that I prefer to give coherent, intelligent recs/reviews – and writing those takes time. And I’m incurably lazy. But I’ll try.

4. Finally find my courage and go out and try to make the “find a Master” something more than a fantasy.

5 – XX. The usual suspects of more sports, less sweets, keep better contact with family & friends, stay away from the computer more often, etc.

Everything in this town is going a bit more slowly than, perhaps, elsewhere. And so it took the paper until the new year to report on all the donations made. I skipped a lot, but here are two that I liked.

Christmas Cup 09 - A traditional karate tournament. 70 participants from Germany, Sicily, and Belgium. Belgium won, by the way, but "our" team came second. All entrance fees were donated to the children's clinic.

and

The Wooden Rudi - The apprentices of a big carpenter's donated their first project - an animal made from wood - to the children's clinic. It's a reindeer and it has a red nose. :)

Dude.

We had a funeral for, like, five days.

We were frigg'n WAITERS. At a FUNERAL. For FIVE DAYS (I arrived late, so it was three days for me)

I'm never gonna have a Korean funeral.

Ever.

EVAR.

I SAID I WILL TALK ABOUT THE BOOKS I READ AND I'M GOING TO DO THAT.... NNNNNNNOW!

1. Ice by Sarah Beth Durst
I thought I'd start the year off with a good old Beauty and the Beast story, and got... not really a beauty and the beast story. I got half Beauty and the Beast and half Cupid and Psyche, but in actuality it's also a retelling of a scandanavian tale called East of the Sun, West of the Moon and idk, it's kind of a mess, sort of. The love story is rushed, the search for the missing husband is agony after agony, and Cassie is a modern teenager who has lived at an arctic research station her entire life, never getting friends her age, and then ends up pregnant at age eighteen. If this had been put into a historical or fantasy setting, this would not have chapped my ass so hard. But no, pregnant at eighteen. It turns out to be integral to the resolution of the plot, but still. I also never connected with any of the characters emotionally, so it was like watching a bunch of marionettes act out a story. Not the best ten bux I ever spent. edit: I would also, one day, like to read a Beauty and the Beast story that has the fucking cohones to keep the Beast a Beast at the end. Or even in the middle, and, you know, freaking deal with it.

edit2: APPARENTLY THIS BOOK IS ROSE DAUGHTER BY MCKINLEY WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT THIS SOONER ARGH

Anyway. Currently reading The Children of Chaos, and am about a quarter of the way through. Only a minor quibble with it so far, but loving it otherwise.

Ten o'clock and I need to get my writing done for today. PEACE OUT. In case anyone missed it, I posted the first chapter of Underground. Here.

I have one New Years Resolution and that is to write twenty minutes a day. Set my timer and go.

In other news, my brother-in-law is moving out of our house. He's moving in with his girlfriend. Who is eleven years older than he is. And who has an eighteen month old baby. But it's not her baby. It's her step-grandbaby. She stepped up to take care of her while her step-daughter is IN JAIL. Meanwhile, my brother-in-law is now acting as Dad. Which is incredibly odd since he is a) younger than us and b) was a professional poker player for quite a while and as such has been always trying to get back to Las Vegas and now... baby, I guess. Anyway, we all went to a Japanese steakhouse for the BiL's birthday and his girlfriend+baby came along. And you know when they light the oil on fire in the onion to make a volcano? That little baby reached right for him because OMG FIRE BAAAAAAAAD

It was very cute.

So. I am Schrodinger's auntie, I think. But I can't be sure.

Also I posted the first chapter of Underground and it's going to be an interesting ride.


Ramona Gutierrez was the angriest girl in all of post-War Chicago, and that suited her just fine...

Also Dragon Age is kicking my poor ass. FUCK YOU, FADE, FUCK YOU

It's already January 2 around here, but better late than never, huh?

Anyway, I only have one resolution this year -- keep track of how much I write, month by month. Then maybe I can figure out how much or how little I actually write, and find a realistic goal to aim for, and get motivated by watching the little bar fill up. I like progress bars. u.u

I also hope to complete Teamwork 3 but I'm not going to make any promises, we all know what happens when i say "oh it's only x more chapters/scenes, should be done soon".

( what i wrote in 2009 )

TOTAL: 151 400 words.

It would feel more impressive if it wasn't almost all spread out into tiny sidefics and random crack instead of as chapters on my multiparts. DX I mean, random crack is fun, but I'm kind of shocked at how few of my multiparts I added chapters to this year. Also, no big oneshots? Wut?

That's about 12 000 words a month. Slightly less. Which considering that I spent half my nano doing jack shit and still ended up doing twice that much (nano story + crap i wrote to avoid working on nano story) really proves that I could afford to put the bar higher. But I know myself and my need for long periods of laziness. So I think for January I'll place the bar at 20 000 and see what happens. (half of which HAS TO BE one of my multiparts, damn it. >:O That's an order, self.)

( more writy meme )


Anyway, multiparts I have to add at least one chapter to before next year or else I fail forever:
-Newtype
-Enemy Skill
-the DBZ thing
-Crossed Wires

Multiparts I have to add AT LEAST TWO chapters to or else I fail forever:
-Teamwork
-Restore

Also, fix the 2009nano story and Mermaids in Space already. >:(

I have like eight writing projects on my plate all at once and am barely chipping away at one of them. Gah. Also I might possibly be an aunt or something, but not really. It's complicated. In related news, BiL is moving out. More on this later, maybe?

That year in review meme, since I do it every year.

( Blah blah blah )

And this year I'm going to read a hundred books. I have decreed it. Also, with the Kindle, I can cuddle the dogs and not have to move every time I want to turn a page, which Ammy thinks is disrespectful and will usually get up and leave in a huff after five page turns. PUSH BUTAN FOR PAGE TURN. I love this thing.

OH. But anyway, I have also decreed that I am actually going to talk about the books I read, instead of just say "READ X IT SUCKED BAI"

So, to ease into it, I read Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett, and it was pretty nice. Typical Pratchett, nothing to write home about. I did, however, burst into tears when we touched base with Mightily Oats, who is one of my very favorite Pratchett characters ever. Getting an update on him just made me bawl like a baby and I don't know why.

Also just finished Heart's Blood by Julliet Marillier and it sucked. Mary Sue character who spews endless speeches about hope? Check. Cast of characters who fall in love with her? Check. Everyone is very helpful to her except the three villains? Check. Figured out the Big Bad and all the plot twists about ten pages after each set up is introduced? Check. What a waste of a great premise. The only thing I kept reading for were the minor characters, who were far more interesting, in theory, than the main characters. Mary Sue decided to fix everyone's problems also, and did. All with her hope speeches. Oh, and I guess she read some stuff, but really everyone found peace because she liked to talk about how hope was just ducky and made everything possible! *vomits copiously*

Anyway. Will probably start posting Underground soon-ish. Hope everyone's having a great New Year's Eve!

Title: Curiosity and the Kitten
Pairing: Albus Severus Potter/Severus Snape
Rating: NC17
Word count: 6,300
Warnings: chan (13) and sex; teacher/student, if you want
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. I make no money with this story.
Summary: If his Patronus can do it, so can Al.
Author’s Note: Written for Santa's Lap 2009 on IJ, prompt #11 – Albus Severus has just learned how to create his own Patronus. The trouble is, it keeps wanting to have sex with the Patronus belonging to a sexy older man and it's giving both of them ideas. This is as close to PWP as I can get.


( Curiosity and the Kitten )

*

Title: Danger: Explosive!
Pairing: Albus Severus Potter/Severus Snape
Rating: NC17
Word count: 10,254
Warnings: chan (12), teacher/student with D/s undertones, spanking, dirty talk, and exploding cauldrons.
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. I make no money with this story.
Summary: Giving an old classic a new twist. Or: Harry engages Snape to teach his son Al how to stop exploding cauldrons.
Author’s Note: Written for Santa's Lap 2009 on IJ, prompt #41 – Detention after potions, with Snape. Probably the p0rniest thing I've ever written.


( Danger: Explosive )

The Kindle is fucking trouble with a capital trouble.

Also, snowing again. Waiting for Dublin Coddle to be ready to eat. Dogs insistent that they should be on walkies RIGHT NOW, but don't want to go in the back yard with all the snow. And...

That is all.

No, wait, it isn't.

Any Tales of Vesperia fans? GO READ THIS: Dances by aoi_tsuki1, and go here for the links to all the faaaaaaahbulous art by moko_moko, or go to her deviantArt account. This is the excruciatingly awesome and looooooong fic Ikky's been writing (for me!) since, um, my birthday last year. It's primarily Raven/Rita in all it's dysfunctional and possibly illegal glory, but has the rest of the cast and some tasty Yuri/Estelle, and it is just sweet as hell.

Okay, that's all.

ZOMG AWESOME CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM aoi_tsuki1 AND moko_moko. But it's, like, not available anywhere else, yet, so I CAN'T SHARE THE SQUEE, AND LIKE ONLY ONE OTHER PERSON ON MY FLIST HAS PLAYED THIS GAME, BUT TRUST ME IF YOU HAD YOU WOULD BE SQUEEING WITH ME. So let met just say that illustrated Rita/Raven fic is VERY MUCH FOR THE WIN. Also makes me feel like a loser since my gifts to both of them are kinda lame and also I don't even have them yet FUCK YOU VERY MUCH, STORE THAT I DON'T LIKE ANY MORE

Anyway. In celebration of this awesomeness, allow me to share with you the secret recipe for eggnog pie. It takes five minutes to make and is No Bake. BEST PIE EVER

You will need:

1 graham cracker pie shell
1 package instant vanilla pudding
1 tub cool whip, defrosted
1 cup of eggnog

1. In large bowl, stir eggnog into vanilla pudding mix. Let sit for five minutes.
2. Gently fold in half the cool whip.
3. Pour mixture into pie shell. Top with second half of cool whip. If you like, sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Refrigerate for one hour.

And that's it. You can also put extra cinnamon and nutmeg in the pie filling itself.

...And now I'm going to eat eggnog pie and reread Dances with Heart Failure. (That's not the real name of the fic, except in my fangirl soul.) EDIT: I have been reminded we called it Dances with Open-Heart Surgery back in The Day, and that is undoubtedly a more fitting name but since only Heart Failure has occured and no actual surgery yet my fangirl soul temporarily renamed it. Let the record note this.

lurker_lost commissioned me the CUTEST Liadan/Arun/Blue scene ever. ( LOOK LOOK. )

(and on top of sneakily drawing the previous pic!!!) suzukiblu wrote a superawesome girlsuke/hinata yuripr0nz oneshot for my kimono picture! nnnnghhot.

*ish happy*