owlmoose: (ffx2 - YRP)
omg fic! I can't even remember the last time I finished and posted a story. Not since before I injured my hand, anyway.

Title: All the Better to See You With
Fandom: FFX
Rating: G
Wordcount: 2,566
Characters: Yuna and cast, including most of the aeons
Spoilers: If you know what you're looking for, which I suppose means no.
Notes: Based on a request in the Chocobo Down database for a Yuna-centric fairy tale AU, and also inspired by the current (about to close) theme for the Chocobo Races: Ladies and Fandom Tropes (AUs). The fairy tale I chose was Little Red Riding Hood. Takes a fair number of liberties with both stories. ;)

Also on AO3

Once upon a time, there was a young summoner named Yuna. She packed a basket of fresh bread, pulled on her red cloak, and left her home village to visit her grandmother, who lived on the other side of the wood. )
owlmoose: (ff - team tonberry)
It's time to sign up! Come join me on Team Tonberry!


TEAM TONBERRY


Or, I suppose, Team Cactuar. If you have to.
owlmoose: (ffx - shiva)
Another round of DOINK! (aka Final Fantasy Exchange) has come and gone, and although I still have plenty of modly stuff to do, I'm happy to present my gifts, both given and received.

Firstly, my gift from [archiveofourown.org profile] laughingpineapple was a really beautiful artwork of Larsa and Al-Cid, reconnecting their friendship. I think this may be the first time I've ever gotten art as a gift, so that's exciting all on its own!

"Actual Deep Political Talk"
On AO3 / On Tumblr

I only wrote the one story this year, in part because of mod stuff and in part because I'm having issues with concentrating on writing lately. (Also why I haven't been posting much.) A long story, and nothing I want to get into right now, but anyway it kept me from playing around in Moogle Fluff or taking any pinch hits. Hopefully it will all resolve soon. Anyway, I had a lot of fun with my gift to [archiveofourown.org profile] wimblydonner, who requested something about any character reacting to the changes in Spira brought by the Eternal Calm. After noodling around with some ideas, I settled on Dona and Barthello, largely because I've never really written about them before.

Title: Rebuild
Fandom: FFX/X-2
Rating: Mature
Wordcount: ~3400
Characters: Dona/Barthello, Lucil, Nooj
Spoilers: For the end of FFX, and some implied for X-2
Notes: Fits within the continuity of Aftermath, but you don't need to have read that story to understand this one.

Summary: What's a summoner to do when there's nothing left to summon, no Sin left to defeat? Dona begins to search for her own answers.

On AO3
owlmoose: (ffx2 - yuna)
Today is my single day off in a marathon concert week (we even had an extra rehearsal on Sunday night). There's only one performance, on Friday night. I have mixed feelings about single shows -- it's nice that I don't lose my entire weekend, but there's way more pressure to be perfect because we don't have another shot at it. One of the pieces is fiendishly difficult, but I found in last night's dress rehearsal that I know it better than I thought I did. As is usually the case. I wish we had another week or so to work on it, but I think we'll do fine.

Meanwhile we are having a heat wave, and it is glorious. I know many of my fellow San Franciscans are melting, but I am so happy. You people who enjoy your cold and your fog get your preferred weather 80% of the year; let me have this moment of cozy warm glory. ;) It's supposed to break tomorrow or Friday, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

The Agents of SHIELD finale was last night, and overall I am pleased. The season had its bumps and its low points, but as a first crack at cross-platform storytelling, I don't think they did too badly. I think I have a larger post brewing on this. Watch this space.

Good progress on DOINK! today. I am inching toward an ending. Let's see if I can get it there.
owlmoose: (da - flemeth)
1. My Tumblr dash is over half blocked posts. Must be new DA:I content! From the things that have slipped through (gaaah people why must things slip through), it sounds like a new trailer, which I would actually be interested in watching (just not dissecting in intense detail), so I'll have to check it out when I'm on a better Internet connection.

2. Speaking of Dragon Age, I'm still in need of a beta read for my Dragon Age Big Bang story. Any takers? At this point, given that it's due in less than a week, I'd be happy just for a quick read-through to look for egregious problems. Let me know.

3. I saw Winter Soldier again last week. It definitely holds up. I need to see it again. I posted my thoughts to Tumblr. Note, the entry also contains a significant spoiler for the two post CA:TWS Agents of SHIELD episodes. (Although it's the kind of spoiler that might actually lure some people into watching.)

4. We have another guest conductor this quarter. In some ways, he's as brilliant and as difficult as the guy we had in the Fall, but he has a way of communicating that makes him much easier to work with. The repertoire (church music by Holst and Vaughan Williams) is quite challenging -- so challenging that he actually pulled one work and substituted a much simpler one. It's a little disappointing to put three weeks of work into a piece and then not perform it, but it was absolutely the right choice, because now we can concentrate on making the rest of the concert amazing rather than struggling just to put it all together.

5. DOINK! I have my assignments and know which one I want to do. Now I just have to decide how I want to approach it. And see if I can manage to avoid all the shiny Steve Rogers distractions that the movie has put into my head.

It's time!

Mar. 26th, 2014 04:58 pm
owlmoose: (ffx2 - paine smile)
DOINK! Time:



Come on over and sign up! DOINK (formerly FFEX) remains my favorite fandom exchange -- and I'm not just saying that because I'm a mod now. ;)
owlmoose: (ffx - ifrit)
It's time to sign up for the 2013-14 Chocobo Races, which is a series of monthly challenges run by the moderators of DOINK! (aka Final Fantasy Exchange). Of which I am sort of now one, since I'm co-mod of the DOINK Tumblr account along with [personal profile] vrazdova. And I am now also the fearless captain of Team Ifrit!



The races will kick off officially soon, but signups are already open, and will remain so throughout the challenge. So go sign up! For whichever team (Ifrit) you find most worthy (Ifrit), of course. Don't let the fact that I'm a team captain (Ifrit) influence you in any way. ;)
owlmoose: (ff12 - ashe)
Happy DOINK! reveal, everyone! I totally scored this year, receiving not one, not two, but *three* awesome fics based on my prompts, one regular gift and two Moogle Fluff stories:

Compromise by [personal profile] lassarina - FFXII, Ashe/Balthier post-game.

There the Bones of Us May Lie by [personal profile] justira -- even more Ashe/Balthier, this one set during the game, right after Ridorana.

Warrior's Flame by [archiveofourown.org profile] Jessicamariek -- FFX, Rikku and a proper Al Bhed mourning ritual for Tidus and Auron.

I adore them all and highly recommend that you check them out.

As for me, I wrote two gifts this year:

On the Sidelines - FFX-2, Paine and Lulu. "On Yuna's first visit back to Besaid, Paine and Lulu have an opportunity to get to know each other a little better."

Dreams & Obligaions - FFXII, Ashe/Basch. "Ashe and Basch have been carrying on a secret relationship ever since the war ended. But changes will soon force their secrets to come to light, and Ashe and Basch must decide how to proceed."

Looking for more? The full collection is here. Enjoy!
owlmoose: (quote - bucket)
I keep promising to update my journal more often and then not doing it. Well, no time like the present. Five things make a post?

1. The Winter quarter concert is over, and it went well. Now we're on a brief break until April, when we start rehearsals for Beethoven's Ninth. That's such an awe-inspiring piece, and I'm really looking forward to it.

2. DOINK! sign-ups are open through Friday!



It's no exaggeration to say that DOINK is my favorite event on the fandom calendar, except maybe the Kiss Battles. I've been participating in DOINK since the very beginning, and I've gotten and produced some of my very favorite stories in the process. If you are at all interested, check it out. Even if you can't make the official schedule work, the mods are always in need of betas and pinch-hitters (I find writing pinch-hits to be especially satisfying).

3. I just realized that I never posted anything about my latest cat drama. Cut for pet health issues. )

4. Is anyone surprised that I started playing FFX-2 right after finishing FFX? No? I didn't think so. In other fandomy things, I am still doing the 30 Day Grey Warden Challenge, but I've decided to post my answers only on Tumblr. If you're interested, you can follow along on this tag, and I'll probably also do a master post when I'm finished. Speaking of master posts, I really need to make one for the DA Kiss Battle, and I'll plan on doing that this week. Hold me to that, Internets.

5. Although it might be a challenge with cat care, I'm planning an overnight trip to Napa with some friends next month, as part of my extended birthday celebration. Hey, I turned 40. That rates a birthday month, doesn't it? Despite living in the SF Bay Area since 1986, I've almost never been to Napa, so I'm looking forward to that, too.

Whee!

Apr. 25th, 2012 11:27 pm
owlmoose: (ff13 - raines)
My Doink! assignment has just arrived and I have no idea how I am going to chose among these awesome prompts. So much KJ bait in here, I can't even tell you.

The last time this happened, I wrote two stories (although one was pretty late). Maybe someone will get lucky again. ;)

So excited. :D
owlmoose: (bunny)
Let's catch up on the last couple of weeks, shall we?

1. Work: Things have changed pretty drastically recently and I'm scrambling to keep up. The upshot of it is that I have fewer people to get more things done -- isn't that always the way? -- so I expect my life to be a bit more constrained for awhile. For one thing, I'm moving to a Tuesday - Saturday schedule for awhile, starting this week, probably at least through August. I'll probably also have longer hours in general, and my time while at work will be more constrained. Everything is balanced on a knife-edge, no slack whatsoever, and although I understand a desire to make things more efficient, if you pull too hard on a rope with no slack, it breaks.

So I guess we'll see.

2. Fandom: As planned, I've started a DA:O replay. I went for a Brosca game; her name is Kasia, and I love her to death. Right now we're back in Orzammar, and so far it's everything I could have hoped for. Very different from Aeducan's homecoming, and honestly I think better developed. But more on that when I've played it further. I've been blogging the game over on Tumblr, under the tags KJ Replays DAO and Kasia Brosca, if anyone is interested.

Also, don't forget Doink! signups close tomorrow!! Have a link. I have signed up and am really looking forward to it.

3. In other news: Chorus has started, we're doing Schumann's Mass in C Minor, which is a new piece for me. Very nice so far, although tough in some places. As of yesterday, I am going back to Rome in June, for a week with A and M, which should be extremely awesome, and there's also talk of spending Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas. Whatever can get me through this ridiculous quarter, I'll take it.

It's time!

Apr. 1st, 2012 05:37 pm
owlmoose: (ffx2 - yuna)
Time for Doink! (aka Final Fantasy Exchange)



Sign up, spread the word. :D
owlmoose: (cats)
The Final Fantasy Kiss Battle is back!!! Details here. So excited!! :D

(Although I can't get too excited, because I still have to finish my Tumblr DA Valentine's Exchange story, gulp. Must do that first, must do that first... But at least I can leave prompts tomorrow!)

Speaking of Dragon Age and Kiss Battles, don't forget that it's still going strong! Prompts and stories have been trickling in, and I intend to keep actively promoting and modding at least through Saturday. So you have plenty of time, if you haven't gotten a chance to come play yet.
owlmoose: (ffx2 - gippal scissors)
Hey, fandom folks! Check out all this STUFF going on!

1. DOINK! (aka [community profile] ff_exchange) presents: Chocobo Races! A team-and-points based competition to see who can create the most Chocobo Down. I always write a CD story or two, and this sounds like a fun incentive. Come join me on Team Tonberry! (Or, you know, if you must choose Team Cactaur, I suppose that's okay, too.) Rules are here, sign-ups are here. You don't need to have participated in FFEX in the past.

2. Another round of [community profile] newgameplus is open for sign-ups through Saturday, and they are looking for more players! I confess, I am waffling a little on this one: partly because I'm a little nervous about offering in Dragon Age when I haven't finished DA2 yet, partly because I'm worried about making a hard commitment that overlaps with the Mega Flare timeframe, partly because I'm having a hard time coming up with request prompts. But I really want to play -- I haven't done one of the regular exchanges in this community yet, and I'd like to. Fortunately I have a few days to decide yet.

3. Speaking of Mega Flare... don't forget that sign-ups for artists are still open! I kind of can't believe that the rough draft deadline is only a few weeks away. Where did August go? My story is progressing, though, and considering that I completely threw out my old idea and started with a new one just two weeks ago, I think I'm doing okay. At some point I may need to ask for some help; none of my usual brainstorming partners have played Dragon Age, and I miss having other minds to bounce ideas around with.
owlmoose: (ffx2 - yuna)
The [community profile] ff_exchange reveal has occurred, and now there is much more tasty Final Fantasy fic in the world than there was this morning, including the gift written for me, a most excellent FFXIII story about Lightning and Sazh. Check it out. :)

Hard Balance by [archiveofourown.org profile] wingedserpent

As for myself, I have two stories in the collection. Both on the lighter side, which made them very fun to write.

A Little Help, FFXII, a story about Reks and Penelo and how they might have met. Gen.

Lost & Found, FFX-2, Gippal/Yuna, on a dig.

Just like last year, I didn't get my act together to write any Moogle Fluff, but I am looking very much forward to the Chocobo Down lists! I always get great ideas from them. Although this year, it will have to complete with my [community profile] newgameplus prompts, which includes much tastiness as well. An abundance of fandom riches! Just the way I like it.
owlmoose: (ffx2 - rikku)
I am done with my [community profile] ff_exchange story! And with time to spare.

Now I am being consumed by my first (and hopefully not last) story for the [community profile] newgameplus reversathon. Seriously, seriously consumed. This prompt hit me like a ton of bricks: I wrote 2300 words in one day, and I already have more words of fic written this month than I wrote in the entire month of March or April and will probably crack February's total before I go to bed tonight. And almost all of them are on this one fic. I haven't been on fire like this in awhile; it's a nice feeling.

Not to mention, I got bunnied really hard the other day for a story that I think will make a Mega Flare project. Since I hadn't been sure what I was going to write this year, I am very pleased to have an idea present itself. (Well, really, to have it presented by someone. But more on this at another time.)

So I think the creative juices are back with a vengeance. Which just goes to show that, more often than not, making a public complaint about being in a creative lull will often act as a catalyst to end that lull. Here's hoping, anyway.
owlmoose: (heroes - hiro dino)
First, I am participating in the [community profile] newgameplus reversathon! Go forth and leave prompts; instructions and links are here. This should be fun.

Second, April:

Days written: 25/30
Words written: 9,917
Words of fic written: 5,574
Stories worked on: 2
Stories posted: none

Graph is here )

Specific goals:

1. Write an average of six days per week. Not quite. Pretty close, though.

2. FFEX assignment(s)! Looking good! It's back from beta and just needs another polishing run or three. I expect I'll get it posted well before the deadline.

3. Depending on beta, finish and post Aftermath. Still in beta, but I'm still on pace to make my end-of-June-is-the-end-of-Aftermath goal.

So. Um. Let's just say I'm glad I kept my goals modest. And I'm going to do the same this month; I'm starting to suspect that writing has been hard these last couple of months because I'm going into a mode that [livejournal.com profile] kunstarniki used to call "refilling the cup". Her theory was that, every so often, to keep from burning out entirely, it's good to have a phase of consuming creative output rather than producing it: reading, watching, playing. I am getting new ideas, fresh perspectives, immersing myself in new sources. It'll be good in the long run, even if it does make writing up these progress posts rather frustrating...

That said, I did, as noted above, sign up for a new project, and even if I hadn't, I wouldn't let myself stop writing entirely! Staying in the habit is good practice for when I switch back into output mode. So, goals:

1. Write an average of six days a week.

2. Write and post at least one [community profile] newgameplus request.

3. Wrap up and post my two WIPs started in April (my [community profile] ff_exchange fic... and one other).

4. Start working on documentation and posts for the 2011 round of [community profile] megaflare_ff. Oh yeah. It's coming.
owlmoose: A bright blue butterfly (butterfly)
Because I worked the Saturday before last, and my school was closed for Good Friday, I was blessed with a four-day weekend, and it was glorious!

Thursday: I started the day with a writing morning, for the first time in ages, during which I nearly finished a draft of my [community profile] ff_exchange story. Then I came home and worked on my Dragon Age replay all afternoon, followed by a lovely dinner with lovely friends and lovely wine in Alameda.

Oh, Dragon Age. I am so into this game, it's kind of ridiculous. To the point where, after a bit of agonizing, I broke down and bought the Ultimate Edition. To be fair, that cost about as much as buying Awakenings (the primary expansion pack) and one of the smaller downloads, so it'll probably be more cost effective in the end. Still, I have to face the fact that I have now purchased another copy of a game I already own. Does this make me a bigger geek than I already am?

Friday: Culinary adventures on the Peninsula with SE! We started with lunch and cupcakes at Vanilla Moon, then wandered down the street to an olive oil shop, where I was unable to resist walking out with a bottle of balsamic vinegar flavored with tangerine. It was really neat to taste dozens of oils and vinegars, play with blending the flavors, seeking out the perfect vinaigrette or dipping sauce combinations. The shopkeeper was really knowledgable and helpful, too.

Other stops included a taiyaki shop in San Mateo (little fish-shaped pastries filled with custard, bean paste, and other delectables including Nutella -- yum!); three attempts at finding a bakery in Redwood City that culminated in tea and pastries at Pamplemousse, which is our go-to place for such things; a spice store with a huge and fascinating stock; and a wander through Kepler's. Then we met up with T and SF for a tasty Japanese dinner of yakitori and other small plates, followed by a trip to Beard Papa for a cream puff dessert. Great food, great fun. I consider it rather a miracle that I didn't end up bringing home anything more than the vinegar, three jars of spices, one book, and half a dozen macarons from Pamplemousse.

Then we came home and played some Portal 2. This is a theme that will recur.

Saturday: The day of errands and lounging. Washed the car, got groceries, played Portal, made dinner, played more Portal, got some writing done, probably would have played more Portal but my wrists said "No." Fortunately, the writing went okay, on that front. I wrote the last little bit of my FFEX draft -- it needs a lot of work still, but at least that first runthrough is finished -- and then I started the Dragon Age fic that has been nagging at me ever since we finished the game. Well, one of them, anyway. Where all this will end up... we'll see.

Sunday: Easter Brunch! R and S hosted, we made hash browns, more yummy food was eaten, more good company was had, and then we dyed eggs. I don't think I've dyed eggs since the SKERG* Easter Brunch of 1997. There were some real beauties, too. Then we came home and played some Portal 2.

Oh, Portal. We started with multi-player cooperative, which is interesting and challenging. I would say, so far, that it's every bit as good as the first one. But I'll hold more complete thoughts for another day.

And so that was my four-day weekend. Which I really, really needed. And now, with luck, I'll be ready to go back and face the daily grind, rejuvenated and ready for more.

*SKERG, for the uninitiated, was the nickname for the apartment where I lived with four other people for a couple of years after college, so named because it was the most pronounceable combination of our first initials. I forget who coined it, but it stuck, to the point where we still refer to it by name, even though the household broke up almost 13 years ago.
owlmoose: (art - gorey neville)
Days written: 20/31
Words written: 9,411
Words of fic written: 3,733
Percentage of fic words written on the last day of the month: 27
Stories worked on: 4
Stories posted: 2 (One Chocobo Down, one EX Mode)

Graph behind the cut )

Well, that pretty much sucked. As I observed on Twitter, this is the third March in a row that I have been utterly unable to keep to a writing schedule. Not sure whether it's coincidence or otherwise -- March is a busy month, what with birthday festivities and the end of the quarter, and it seems like I often have my annual work conference event in or near March, and this year and last I had the videogame time suck problem. But I have to wonder if it's something else going on too, with rhythms of life and seasons and fandom. Fortunately, FFEX is this month, and that always helps my productivity.

Anyway, on to specific goals, where I did a little better:

1. Write at least five days per week. On a week by week basis, not even close. On average... no, still not even close. Closer to four days a week, I'd say.

2. Finish and post EX Mode fic. Done!

3. Make significant progress on Alice/Pirates fic. I worked on it, but I wouldn't say the progress was significant. That's okay, though, because...

4. Aftermath draft! ...is sent to beta! And, as of yesterday, I have a complete draft of the epilogue. I might actually finish this story. I can hardly believe it.

5. Wrap up some niggling WIPs. Finished and posted the CD story but that was all.

Except for the writing schedule, and especially given that, I did pretty well with this. And now, we put March behind us and move on to the promise of a new day in April...

1. Write an average of six days per week. Back to the higher goal, because I have no excuse not to, really.

2. FFEX assignment(s)!

3. Depending on beta, finish and post Aftermath.

Keeping it light on specifics, since I don't have my Doink! assignment yet and so it's hard to say how much time that will take up. I'm sure that will give me more than enough to do.

April 2025

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