KJ

I would like to have something coherent to say about Google shutting down Google Talk and forcing the functionality into Google Hangouts, but right now all I've got is "Google argh bargle WHY??? [insert profanity here]"

News article about the change, more positive than I'm feeling, but at least it acknowledges my main concern: will Google stop supporting the ability to log in via a client? Because if I can't access Google's chatting function through a client (I use Adium for the most part), it becomes useless to me.

Anyone still on AIM? Any thoughts on Skype as a text-only chat service?

I still need to decide what I'm using instead of Reader, too. Goddammit Google, why are you dismantling my online life? To paraphrase a quote regarding Google's decision to take sharing out of Reader (which happened only a few months before they announced that Reader would be sunset), you aren't going to get me to use Google+ by taking away bits and pieces of the services I use. That's not how this is going down.

So word is that Yahoo! has made an agreement to purchase Tumblr for $1.1 billion. Yes, that's billion, with a B. I've heard rumors that David Karp will stay on as CEO, that Tumblr will be allowed to largely continue operating as an independent entity, that Yahoo will try to entice Tumblr users toward other Yahoo services. All the news stories I've seen have not included official comment from either company, so it's all speculation at this point. Supposedly there will be an announcement tomorrow, but the wailing and gnashing of teeth has already begun.

But we've been here before, haven't we? Stop me if you've heard this one: Fandom congregates on an advertising-supported Internet platform and contributes content and traffic that helps make the site a success. Then the founders of the platform can't keep up with growth and/or can't figure out how to make sufficient money off the userbase, so they sell to a larger media company that either shuts down the site or starts making drastic changes, and fandom moves to a new platform. Second verse, same as the first...

Little bit louder and a whole lot worse.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: there is a tension in all social media platforms between the users as customers, the users as audience, and the users as providers of content. And remember, as far as these corporations are concerned, we aren't their primary customers. Their advertisers are, because ultimately they're paying the bills -- and the shareholders. You'd think that, since these sites have no content without their users, that they'd put more effort into making users happy, but their track record is notably poor, as a group and Yahoo!'s in particular (buying eGroups and driving out adult content, buying and shutting down Geocities, the acquisition of Flickr that nearly killed the service, and my personal favorite: the De.li.cio.us debacle). Any LiveJournal veteran knows how badly these acquisitions can go wrong. That particular series of botched acquisitions is a huge reason that fandom migrated to Tumblr in the first place. So I think we have lots of good reasons to be worried.

That said, I'm officially taking a "let's wait and see" attitude. One thing all reports agree on: Tumblr, on its own, was almost out of money, and I would currently rather have a Tumblr owned by Yahoo! or another large media company than no Tumblr at all. (And it could have been worse -- rumor was that Facebook was once involved in the bidding. *shudders*) But whenever fandom sets up camp on a platform run by a for-profit company, this is the risk we take. And this is why, ultimately, I think we're better off with non-profits that are either created by fandom or explicitly welcoming to us. Because then we really are the customers, and the content we produce is valued, and not just for the advertising dollars it might attract.

(Adapted from my comments on a Tumblr reblog.)

My trope_bingo is all done! My completed card, under the cut:

( Bingo! )

And a list of all the stories, with links, here.

This was a fun project, although I wish it hadn't overlapped so closely with DOINK! and the Dragon Age Big Bang (a large part of why I didn't finish on time). But it got me working with ideas I don't usually play with, even if it was several of the usual suspects as far as characters were concerned. And it also lured me into starting that Iron Man/Sherlock Holmes thing, which was a lot of fun and will certainly continue. Would I sign up for this project again? Definitely! And I actually think choosing the double line worked well, since trying to work two tropes together acts as a stronger prompt for me than any one trope by itself. One thing I'd change for next time, though, is trying to write in more fandoms. A good goal, I think.

Title: Honesty Hour
Fandom: Dragon Age
Rating: G
Wordcount: 822
Characters: Sera Aeducan, Natia Brosca, Morrigan, Alistair, Leliana
Spoilers: Minor for the game, major for "Justify the Means".
Notes: This is the second of three fics I've written for a giveaway I did on Tumblr earlier this year. This one was requested by maricsblade, who asked for Sera and Natia (from my AU fic "Justify the Means"), "what I really think of you". It ended up being a couple of missing scenes from the fic, and I hope a nice little window into both of their characters.

On Tumblr / On AO3

Short version: it was fun! Not as good as the first one, but then that’s a pretty high bar. And I think it was better than the second (which, to be fair, is my least favorite of the MCU films). Spoilers beyond.

( Seriously, spoilers. )

So anyway, it was fun, and I'm glad I saw it opening weekend. More MCU, hooray! And I'm glad I got to see the trailer for Thor 2 on the big screen. But really, it's all marking time until next April. Is it can be Winter Soldier time, please?

Days written: 27/30
Words written: 18,118
Words of fic written: 17,403 (not much journaling this month)
Stories worked on: Eight, plus ficbits
Stories posted: Five, and the ficbits

( Here we go a graph-ing. )

Specific goals:

1. Write at least 5 days per week. And more!

2. Finish and post my first giveaway fic and my DA Women fic. Yes on both counts.

3. Write my DOINK! assignment! I started one prompt, decided it was going to be waaaaay too much work for the time and brainpower I had allotted, and moved on to another one. That story is started, although not near done. Considering it needs to be beta'd and posted in less than a week, I'd better get on that.

4. Get enough of the Iron Man/Holmes crossover written that I can post at least part of it for trope_bingo, and plan and write the last two prompts. I finished the first chapter of the crossover and wrote one of my two remaining prompts. I have the second about half written, but since I've now missed the deadline, I'll have to put it on backburner until DOINK! is done, then post it for amnesty.

Overcommitment hooray! :P

Anyway, goals for May:

1. Write at least 5 days per week. I know, I know, but I have a concert week coming up. And other possible things happening. Much better to set the goal a little lower.

2. Finish and post my DOINK! assignment.

3. Finish and post my last trope_bingo fic.

4. Work on the next part of Iron Holmes and/or Wardens of Ivalice.

Yep, that oughta do it.

Title: Infiltration
Fandom: Captain America (movie canon)
Rating: G
Wordcount: 8800
Characters: Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers, cast. Peggy/Steve UST.
Spoilers: For the film.
Notes: So over on my Tumblr, I did a giveaway where I offered to write stories (or meta, but everyone requested stories) for three winners. This is the first, for sakuratsukikage. Sakura requested a story about Peggy and Steve going on a mission with lots of UST and unresolved emotions, and this was the result. I hope she, and the rest of you, enjoy it.

Also on AO3

( The map was the first thing Peggy saw every time she walked into the room. )

Despite being a fan of the superheroes in general, and a long-time reader of graphic stories, I've never gotten into reading mainstream superhero comic books. The canons are gigantic and in some cases go back for decades, which makes them intimidating for a newbie, and I don't like the way that canon is treated as a moving target: endless retcons, the fact that new writers can take the characters in new directions and completely rework a character's personality. So I've always been content to consume my superhero media in the form of movies and occasionally television shows, because they're much more likely to tell a coherent story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. But being even peripherally in the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom has exposed me to a lot of comics talk, and between that and a number of strong recommendations from outside fandoms, I recently picked up two Marvel TPB collections: Captain Marvel Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Black Widow: Name of the Rose by Marjorie Liu. And I really enjoyed them both.

Of the two, I'd have to say I liked Captain Marvel better. ( Spoilers. )

Name of the Rose was also really well done, and I loved Natasha, but I had a harder time connecting with the story. In comparison, Captain Marvel is fairly self-contained, whereas Name of the Rose feels more like an episode in the continuing tales of the Marvelverse. ( More spoilers. )

So, is this my gateway into the world of superhero comics? Particularly the Marvelverse, which I'm finding more compelling all the time? Well, I certainly will get the next Captain Marvel collection when it comes out. And I'm game for more Natasha Romanoff stories, too, especially if they are as good as this one. And then there's this all-female X-Men book that's supposed to be out soon, and I keep hearing good things about Hawkeye, and... is this where the slippery slope begins? Um, maybe. I guess we'll see! But more than anything, these two great books have made me even more disappointed that there are no female headliners scheduled for MCU yet. Come on, Marvel, you could make a fantastic Carol Danvers movie, and I don't think I need to tell you how badly I want a Black Widow film. Let's make this happen.

I have recently completed two trope_bingo fics, both Dragon Age, both used as prompts for other challenges. Just two more squares to go!

Title: To Clear the Air
Rating: G
Wordcount: 1,241
Characters: Isabela, Marian Hawke
Spoilers: DA2, through the end of Act 2
Notes: Written for dragonagewomen. The prompt was "in vino veritas + holiday fic".

Marian Hawke and Isabela go out drinking to ring in the New Year. Some secrets are revealed. Others are not.

On LJ / On AO3

---

Title: Living Dead Girls
Rating: G
Wordcount: 644
Characters: Bethany Hawke, Sigrun
Spoilers: Implied, for DA2 and Awakening
Notes: Written for Sigrun Fan Week on Tumblr, although it's really more about Bethany. The prompt was "presumed dead + truth or dare".

A game of truth or dare turns unexpectedly serious. A bit of musing on the Grey Wardens versus the Legion of the Dead.

On Tumblr / On AO3

Days written: 23/31
Words written: 15,788
Words of fic written: 7,709
Stories worked on: Four
Stories posted: None, not even any ficbits. Very unusual for me these days.

( The chart, it is here. )

Specific goals:

1. Write an average of 5 days per week. I suppose I hit this goal, but it doesn't really feel like it, since the last few days have been completely unproductive.

2. Finish and post giveaway story. I have a complete draft. It's out to beta right now. Hopefully it'll be ready to post soon.

3. Write something for the second round of dragonagewomen (and ideally combine this with finishing off a trope_bingo square). Wrote a draft, hated it, let it sit for a week, opened the file and felt better about it with fresh eyes, polished it up and sent it in today (the due date). So technically yes.

4. Finish up the 30 Day Warden Challenge. Finished yesterday! I credit this and some of the other long posts I worked on entirely for not falling behind on total wordcount in March.

5. Time permitting, start Iron Man/Sherlock story. I did, in fact, start on this. But it needs a plot.

Since it's March, I should probably at least look in on my goals for the year, shouldn't I?

( Behind the cut )

Goals for April:

1. Write at least 5 days per week (I have a little travel coming up, so I want to be able to take weekends off).

2. Finish and post my first giveaway fic and my DA Women fic.

3. Write my DOINK! assignment!

4. Get enough of the Iron Man/Holmes crossover written that I can post at least part of it for trope_bingo, and plan and write the last two prompts. (I may come back here for ideas later.)

This... is pretty ambitious. Especially considering how blah I've been with writing the last week or so. Hopefully I get over this hump soon.