KJ

Looks like stupid Ed Lee won the stupid mayor's race. They're not officially calling it yet -- some absentee and provisional ballots left to count -- but he declared victory this afternoon. Dear San Francisco politicians: can we maybe get it together and run a smaller field next time? You do not all need to be mayor.

Work was stressful and annoying for reasons I'd rather not get into right now. Shoes keep dropping, but it never feels like the last one has fallen.

Mega Flare would be going well, but there's this one scene that I really hate, and I don't know how to fix it. I suppose I could cut it, but there's some important character interaction and canon crossing stuff. So I need to wrangle it into submission, somehow. I knew I should have put more effort into finding a beta.

Our water heater is leaking gas fumes, and last night I noticed that I was getting lightheaded when I sat at my desk for too long. T's upstairs trying to fix it right now, but he's not too hopeful.

At least there is new Top Chef tonight.

Days written: 28/31
Words written: 17,466
Words of fic written: 16,735
Total wordcount for the year: 159,955 \o/
Stories worked on: Six
Stories posted: Five

( Chart time. )

Specific goals:

1. Write an average of six days per week. Done.

2. Finish and submit newgameplus story. Successful, with a few hours to spare!

3. Complete draft of Mega Flare story Ummmmmm... Well. I made progress. But not as much as I would like.

4. Finish and post "Old Friends" followup or one of my other Dragon Age WIP. Posted two chapters of "Separation of Powers". So, not finished, but progress at least.

So, I managed the one thing that I absolutely had to do, but not the other thing that I kind of absolutely had to do. And now it's November, which has all kinds of challenges -- Mega Flare is due, NaBloWriMo (which I am doing, though I haven't talked about it yet, so I suppose this post is my official declaration of intent), a concert week, Thanksgiving, and visits from out of town friends two weekends in a row. But deadlines and projects come as they will, so I'll make of it what I can. With all this in mind, my goals:

1. Write or edit fic every day until my Mega Flare is done, at least five days a week thereafter.

2. Post to my journal every day, and at least three substantial posts per week. This is a light goal for NaBloWriMo, for me, but given how little I've been posting lately I think that makes enough of a challenge.

3. Finish and post Mega Flare story... for certain values of "finished". It has become increasingly clear that, even if I dropped everything else and did nothing but write for the next two weeks, it wouldn't be completely done. But I do have a pretty decent draft for what feels like a complete "Part One." So that's my goal: fill the gaps and polish up to the break point, and then post the first half of the story, with the intention of getting Part Two finished by early next year. It'll still be over my selected wordcount, and it'll be a much better, more polished entry than a half-assed rough draft of the complete story would be. Or so I keep telling myself... Because of various scheduling issues, I have a hard deadline on this one: Friday, November 11th.

4. Complete and post the final chapter(s) of "Separation of Powers" and my current dragonage_kink WIP.

This, I feel, is more than enough. Wish me luck.

I have to admit it: I am kind of in love with this DA/FFXII crossover. It's starting to really work for me. And I am going to spam you all with a snippet that only half of you will half-understand. That's just how my obsessions roll right now.

Context: Grey Wardens have tracked a darkspawn horde to Ivalice and are recruiting from among the local populace. Balthier and Basch are among the first group of recruits for various reasons. Nathaniel and m!Surana (who is not "The Warden" in this universe, just one of their number -- f!Cousland is Warden-Commander) are about to board the Strahl for the first time.

( Snippet time! )

Considering how uncertain I was of this idea at first, I'm really excited by how smoothly things are coming together. Maybe not smoothly enough to have a rough draft in less than two weeks (who decided having such an early deadline was a good idea? Oh, right, that would be me), but certainly better than it was before. 13,000 words but with a ways to go, plotwise. So we'll see. But I am feeling hopeful, at least for tonight.

Yes, indeed, we are doing a second round of Mega Flare this year, and signups open today! Check out all the details at megaflare_ff. Whee!

As long as I'm here, I might as well finish up the 30 days meme. I've noticed that pretty much no one has managed to draw this out over 30 days, and I see why; most of the questions are too short-answer to really justify a whole entry, and neither do they really invite discussion or debate. But I hate leaving projects undone, so here we go!

Day 21 – Favourite Final Fantasy pairing/ship.

If you have to ask, then you haven't known me very long. The answer is Paine/Nooj. First, last, and always.

More recently, I have also gotten really into Ashe/Balthier and Ashe/Al-Cid, the latter of which is sadly underrepresented in the fandom.

Day 22 – Favourite Final Fantasy summon.

Bahamut in Final Fantasy X. Not only does he kick ass in battle, he's integrated into the story in a way I haven't found another summon to equal. Also, I think his design is beautiful, especially his fayth statue.

Day 23 – Least Favourite Final Fantasy mini game.

The aforementioned butterflies are way up there. Also, monkey matchmaking. Really, Squeenix? Really? I also never got anywhere with the Calm Lands publicity game.

Day 24 – Best Final Fantasy quote.

"This is your world now."

Day 25 – Final Fantasy game you plan on playing (old or new).

Top of my list is Final Fantasy VI. I started it last year, set it aside because I got stuck on a boss battle, then got distracted and never picked it back up. I really want to finish it, though. I'm also looking forward to Versus, if it ever gets finished.

Day 26 – OMG WTF? Final Fantasy moment.

In Final Fantasy VIII, when you learn about their past in the orphanage. That bit of backstory stretches my credulity and breaks my brain. I don't know why that particular thing, of all the ridiculous coincidences that happen in every Final Fantasy game, strikes me so, but it always has. Particularly Irvine's reasons for not 'fessing up. I mean, what?

Day 27 – Best Final Fantasy storyline.

FFX, hands down. I love the story and the way the game tells it.

Day 28 – First Final Fantasy game obsession.

I think I have to give FFX-2 the nod over FFX, if only because that was the game that pulled me into being active in fandom.

Day 29 – Current Final Fantasy game obsession.

Dragon Age Final Fantasy XII. The more I read and write, the more drawn I am into the characters and the universe. So much possibility for interesting futures.

Day 30 – Saddest Final Fantasy character death.

And once again on getting drummed out of the fandom, but my answer to this question has to be Tidus. That ending scene, where Yuna tries to catch him and falls on the deck? Ouch. The way he faces the end of his existence with such calm and grace, never complaining, never angsting about it. He does what needs to be done, and then he says goodbye. I get misty, every time.

Yes, that's right: renay and I are hard at working putting another round together. But we need your thoughts first! So please check out our feedback poll. Even if you didn't sign up last time, but might be interested in signing up in the future, we want to know what you think. The poll will be open through Monday. And keep your eye on the community (Dreamwidth / LiveJournal) for announcements about the next round soon!

Title: Reconcilable Differences
Fandom: FFXII
Rating: R
Wordcount: 55,472 (complete in 5 chapters)
Pairings: Ashe/Al-Cid, Ashe/Balthier
Characters: Ashe, Al-Cid, Balthier, Basch, Ondore, most of the main cast, and more OCs than you can shake a stick at.
Spoilers: Yes, for the whole game, and some minor RW references as well. (I have not played RW, so please pardon any errors.)
Notes: My story for megaflare_ff, 2010. This is the FFXII story I have long wanted to write, and I'm so glad this challenge gave me the push to sit down and write it. Major, major thanks to justira for serving as my idea sounding board and moral support, and to renay for beta reading, title help, and being my favorite co-mod.

Summary: After the war, Ashe is preparing to become queen, but there are many treacherous political waters to navigate first: proving her fitness to sit the throne, balancing Dalmascan independence with Empires on either side, settling the question of who will rule Nabradia. Into this situation steps a new ally: Al-Cid Margrace. Al-Cid is dealing with a political morass of his own; although many within Rozarria are relieved to have stayed out of active hostilities, others had hoped to weaken Archadia and expand into new territory for the first time in fifty years -- and chief among the latter faction is the crown prince. Together and separately, Ashe and Al-Cid set out to discover new truths and forge new alliances on their path to a peaceful Ivalice.

And then Balthier reappears, to throw all of Ashe's plans and emotions into disarray.

Link to full story, on AO3.

lassarina asked about my experiences playing Tabletop (or what I think of as "pencil-and-dice") RPGs.

I have long enjoyed playing RPGs. My introduction to the genre came from oswulf, who was a big fan and had all kinds of systems; D&D, Gurps, and Star Frontiers are the ones I remember offhand. Starting from our pre-teen years, we would play whenever we could, which was unfortunately not on a regular enough basis to get a long campaign going. But it was still always fun, and led to, among other things, a life-long running gag regarding the dangers of chairs.

The first time I ever got involved in a regular campaign was during my college years -- not while I was away at school, but when I came home for breaks. D and S, the guys I was sort-of dating during much of that time (yes, at the same time; yes, they both knew about it; yes, it's a long story that's only tangentially related, and maybe I will tell it sometime, but not today) were both big gamers, and D invited me to join a long-running Advanced Dungeons & Dragons campaign that he'd been running since high school, and I gladly accepted, taking on an Elf ranger-type fighter who hated humans and didn't much care for other races, either. That campaign led to many others; some of the more memorable were a couple of Star Wars games (one in which I played a hotshot Imperial pilot who defected after Yavin, and another in which I was the daughter of a spaceship manufacturer who went into business for herself shipping X-Wings to the Rebellion -- she is officially my favorite player character ever), a few rounds of Call of Cthulu (to the GM's consternation, I decided to play a woman famous for writing books about organic gardening, which is not your usual Cthulu mythos character), a Teenagers from Outer Space campaign that sadly ran for only a few sessions but featured some of the most fun I've ever had gaming (I played a goth girl who drove a black VW Thing with the best stereo system in the known universe), and a one-night D&D one shot where I ended up getting myself and most of the rest of my party killed in the gladiator ring. I've also dabbled in Mage (the character I created for that game is one I've thought about resurrecting for a story some day), Champions, and Shadowrun.

After graduation, I moved away from that group of friends, and I've never been in a position to game regularly since. A couple of years ago, I was invited to play in a short campaign run by Jed, in a system he created himself, and that was one of my best gaming experiences ever; it was more like participating in an interactive story, which when well-done is something I love. I like a GM who can think on their feet and allow the players some freedom while still guiding them down the intended path.

I've done a couple of one-shot live-action RPGs also, run by my friend E, and they were a blast. I would definitely be up for doing something like that again. One thing I've never done is acted as GM myself, and I'm perfectly fine with that -- I think I'm much happier as a player, along for the ride.

Would I play regularly again if the opportunity presented itself? Probably, although making time for regular gaming sessions is tough, as we discovered during Jed's short-term game. That's the main reason I haven't sought out a gaming group -- time. That said, if another short-term gaming opportunity comes up, you can be sure that I'll jump on it.

Finally, no discussion of RPGs would be complete for me without a mention of dice. I love dice. I love how they look, I love the feel of them in my hand, I love the sound they make when they're rolled. There's something so tactile about them, unlike any other fidget toy. I have many more sets than I reasonably could need, just because I think they're awesome.

30 Days of... Project! Complete list of questions / Ask a question on LJ or on DW.

In other news, I didn't quite finish the story. Almost; I could probably post it as is, but really it needs at least one more editing run to be presentable. Fortunately (?), Yuletide signups have AO3 running so slowly that we decided to extend the deadline by a week to save everyone the frustration of trying to upload, so I have a bit of a reprieve (and so do the rest of you!). Fingers crossed, it will be ready in the next couple of days.

Days written: 29/31
Words written: ...31,867. Yeah, you read that right. Which puts me to 187,016 for the year.
Words of fic written: 28,182
Stories worked on: 2, plus two for FYFF, the Final Fantasy Anonmeme
Stories posted: Two. I'll deanon on everything eventually...

( As per my usual custom, a graph. )

Specific goals:

1. Write at least 6 days per week. Surpassed!

2. COMPLETE DRAFT OF MEGA FLARE STORY OMG. For certain values of "complete", perhaps. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end, but there are still some gaps. Still, I think I'm on track to post it before the deadline.

3. Write and post the intoabar story. Nope. Not even started. I got rolling on the Mega Flare and didn't want to stop.

Two hits, one miss. On to November goals...

1. Write at least 6 days per week.

2. Complete and post the Mega Flare story.

3. Write a substantial post every day, based on the "30 Days of Me" list of questions. There are still plenty of slots! Come check it out, and leave me a question or post topic, especially if you haven't already done so. Post your questions here (DW) or here (LJ).

4. Write and post intoabar story. Hopefully I can do this while the Mega Flare in in beta. But if I miss it, not the end of the world; it just means I can't do the next round. Which I would feel bad about, but less bad than if I didn't finish Mega Flare or monthly posting. Priorities, you know.

I can't believe this year is almost over. Almost time to think about how I will tackle writing goals and projects in 2011. Damn.

Let's take a look...

Days written: 26/30
Words written: 21,221 (155,329 for the year)
Words of fic written: 14,361
Stories worked on: 2, plus one for FYFF, the Final Fantasy Anonmeme
Stories posted: One ...I mean, none, none! I was too busy with Mega Flare! I didn't post anything in the anonmeme! Why are you looking at me like that?

( Hey, look, a chart! )

Specific goals:

1. Write at least 6 days per week. Made, and easily.

2. Finish draft of Mega Flare story. No, but I made good progress. And I think I know what the end is going to be? Maybe? It's approaching 30k words and I still have a ways to go. :-\ But since my story wasn't claimed by an artist, today's draft deadline turns out not to apply, so I feel pretty good about where I am.

3. Write and post at least one substantial journal post per week. Not quite, or at least not how I wanted it to be. My attention was too focused on Mega Flare (and FFVI, and baseball...) to really get into the meaty posts I wanted to write. And now that the actual Mega Flare deadline is approaching -- and fun side projects like FYFF and intoabar are competing for mindshare, I'm afraid I'm going to have to set them aside again. But I figure flexibility is the name of the game.

Not bad, not bad. Liking that wordcount, although I'd be happier with more things done. With only three months left in the year, I should probably concentrate on finishing things rather than starting new ones. The crossover and "Aftermath", particularly, and Mega Flare of course. Which means I should probably not give into my current temptation of signing up for Yuletide...

First things first, though: October goals.

1. Write at least 6 days per week. I like it, I'm sticking to it.

2. COMPLETE DRAFT OF MEGA FLARE STORY OMG. It doesn't need to be finished this month, but I am committed to having a full draft within the next couple of weeks.

3. Write and post the intoabar story. The prompt is a doozy. Not due until November 8th, but I'd like to get it out of the way before things start really rolling on Mega Flare, so I hope to get it done in the next week or so.

And, that's it. Writing more for FYFF seems likely, making progress on the crossover (and/or Aftermath, which I haven't even opened in a couple of months) would be an excellent bonus, but I'll be more than content with the above.

I just spent an hour drawing up a family tree for House Margrace. Just one generation of direct descendants and a few assorted out-of-wedlock births, mind you -- I didn't even attempt to figure out aunts and uncles and cousins. (Yet.) Al-Cid and his siblings were enough trouble by themselves. But I keep coming up with names and relationships as I write the story, and I decided I'd better at least settle that once and for all. If nothing else, I need to make sure that their ages in relation to each other and Ivalice world history make sense.

18,551. And counting. Earlier today, I came up with a couple of politicking twists, and some reasons for people to do things, and I'm pretty happy with them all. So the story continues to take shape! Except for the end, of course. Someday, I will discover the ending of this story, but that day is not today.