Stupid spew: Site Change

[arrow00]

Anybody out there? I'm feeling tres desole for some reason.

So I changed the colors on my LJ. I feel like I just bought a new pair of shoes. Are they preeeetty? I hope so. But I have a blister on my heel.

I wish I knew how to put a banner across the top. If anyone is more in-the-know with the whole LJ stylesheets thing and wants to give me pointers, I'd appreciate it. The ironic thing is I code/program for a living, but though I write my own style sheets from scratch, LJ's framework confuses me, so I haven't messed with custom ones. (Yes, I know I should RTFM. Feh.)

*****update: apparently you can't *do* banners with this particular style. Oh, well.

In other news...I just finished a mongo 32K wd Sentinel AU, "Somewhere to Be," which the brilliant and talented janedavitt is beta'ing for me. I feel guilty for taking her writing time (especially since she is back to writing Point of Contact segments, wee!) but she is one of those very nice people who actually gives back to the community (crazy kid.)

I hope to be posting it next weekend. This is one of the longest pieces I have written so be assured it is utter crappity-crap.

Comments

[viciouscats.livejournal.com]

I like the colours, very easy on the eyes. Sorry, no help with the banner thing. :)

And YAY AU TS FIC! I love AUs madly. *g*

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

Oh, yay! Hi, vicious-girl.

You know, me, too (about AUs) which is very, very strange, because the first fandom I was in had hardly any and I hated the very idea of it.

But I've been reading a *lot* of Sentinel AUs and really, really enjoying them.
(Have you read the The Eighth Day (http://www.geocities.com/brook_henson/theeighthday.html?20079) by Brook Henson? It's not yet complete, but it's very, very long and satisfying. It's my very *favorite* so far, although lit_gal's "Control Issues" will probably knock it right off the box when she's done. :)

My TS AU is more a what if? What if Jim's senses didn't go dormant after Peru? Without anyone to help him, he ends up as a down-and-out vet working in a soup kitchen...where a certain grad student shows up researching a paper on homeless communities.

And, of course--mysterious murders! In neighborhood!

[iadorespike]

Oh my gosh! Sorry for butting in, but your new AU sounds wonderful. I absolutely adore AU's. I'll be looking forward to that post. *nods firmly*

Anna

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

Hey Anna,

Nice to meet you. That makes at least three people who will read it. :)
I hadn't planned on writing an AU but the idea sorta grabbed me by the throat and dragged me away. I hope you will enjoy!

[viciouscats.livejournal.com]

I guess I was fortunate to discover fanfiction through due South which is my first (and favourite) fandom. AUs are extremely popular in dS and rightly so. Some of the best written fics in this fandom are AUs. Fraser and Ray as hockey players, college professors, etc, somehow it all just *fits*. Actually, list of dS AUs was the first master list I ever compiled. :)

I haven't read "The Eighth Day", I'll definitely check it out. To tell the truth most of my Sentinel reading was done 2 years ago. I had this brief period of time when I was obsessed with it after discovering Speranza's stuff (I started reading her TS fics without ever watching the show, what with her being my favourite dS author and all... *g*). But then it kind of died down. Now I mostly read TS fiction if someone on my flist posts it (meaning *you* *g*) or I see some interesting recs. Due South consumes *huge* part of my time, plus I read quite a lot of SPN, SGA, HP and BtVS. Multifandom-ish hos are us. :D

Your new fic sounds AWESOME. The premise is delicious! Woobie Jim is the best. :)

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

I'm all over your list of AUs! Thank you! There's so much more for me to read in dS, and your lists are such a terrific way to get into a good reading groove...like flavors of wine.

I was obsessed with it after discovering Speranza's stuff (I started reading her TS fics without ever watching the show, what with her being my favourite dS author and all... *g*).

The *very same thing* happened to me. She's only reason I'm in TS!
*adores Speranza. smishes her longingly*

Thank you for saying that (about crossing fandom to read me) that's a pretty damned heady compliment. fortunately I am Greek and wary of the dangers of hubris. :)

I admit, poor Jim is very woobie in this one. He needs Blair bad and it takes him *forever* to figure that out, he's just so miserable and cranky.

Thank you so much for saying hello, kittem. I'm feeling the happy.

[viciouscats.livejournal.com]

The *very same thing* happened to me. She's only reason I'm in TS!
*adores Speranza. smishes her longingly*

Don't laugh, but she did it to me *twice*. First TS, *then* SGA. Oh, and Dead Zone, too. So, it would be three. Three times I started reading fic in fandoms I first knew nothing about *because* of Speranza. :D

about crossing fandom to read me

Darling, you are really close to Speranza on my list of favourite authors already. I'd follow you pretty much *anywhere*. Just not anime or comics fandoms. Cartoon!porn scares me. :)

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

Me, too! She sucked me into Dead Zone, for crying out loud, but my excitement died pretty quickly because there are like *four* Johnny/Walt's out there. :)

[t-verano.livejournal.com]

Give!!!

[t-verano.livejournal.com]

Please!!!

I mean, Piglet/Eeyore? Pleeease??

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

You are a Very Sick Girl.

*goes rooting in her old fandom files, muttering under her breath*

[iadorespike]

*waves*

Hi there - I'm Anna. *g* I've actually been trying to read you all day (really!) so that I can give you some fb, and I keep getting distracted by LJ and RL. Sorry. I really will be getting to it soon. *nodnodnod* I can't remember how I first saw your LJ, but you're writing in two of my newer fandoms, so I friended you to keep up with what you're doing. *g*

As far as your LJ, I do like the colors, but the size of the font used here in your comments? Viciously small. I may go blind...and I've increased the size 25%. Just sayin'.

Banners...well - I think that the level of difficulty may depend on your layout style. From what I can tell, some are quite a bit easier than others. My style - Flexible Squares - appears to be fairly easy to do...although I haven't actually done it. Heh. I'm very so-so in my coding abilities. :( I think, though, that you should give it a shot...what the heck...you can always change it back if you don't like it. Are you using a S1 or S2? Because there is a pretty good tutorial for S2 here. Anyway...

See you around. *g*

Anna

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

And hi again, and welcome to the fandom(s). :) I love both of these fandoms so so much, for very different reasons.

I'll check out the S2 tutorial, many thanks.

[iadorespike]

Hmmm...the font size isn't bad to read once the comment is posted. It is, apparently, only minute while you're keying the comment. :(

Anna

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

Strange. It might be you don't have the font in question installed (Georgia).
You can download it here (http://simplythebest.net/fonts/fonts/georgia.html). Georgia is a default font for a lot of LJs.

I love your icon, btw, the colors are so vibrant, and it's a terrific composition.

[iadorespike]

I'm glad that you like my icon. :) I haven't had it long, but it's snaggable. It's by _silent_rage_. I do love the colors, and I'm crazy about that little smile. It's hard to go wrong with that beautiful face. *happy little sigh*

I checked and I do have the font, Georgia, installed. In fact, I think there were 3 variations. I don't know what the problem is. *sigh* I'll probably just key my comments into semagic and copy/paste them here for you.

Later, :)

Anna

[saklani2.livejournal.com]

*waves* Hi there! I am here, for once. And I am sure it will not be crap.

Saklani

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

Hi there, babe! Good to see you peep up your head. :)

[t-verano.livejournal.com]

TS AU from you, you say? ::surreptitiously wipes drool off her chin while affecting sophisticated nonchalance:: (But crappity-crap? Huh. This is me, rolling my eyes at you. Not gonna be any form of crap.)

Mmm. Other fronts: 1) I'm relieved you were working on a long TS fic, 'cause you hadn't posted TS for a bit and I was getting badly neurotic slightly concerned that you were taking a break from JimNBlair, and well, no, don't really want you to do that... 2) janedavitt so totally rocks ::nodnodnod:: 3) Yes, preeeetty colors. Which is as much -- or more -- than I'm qualified to say on the subject. 4) Whether or not you've cheered yourself up with this post, you've cheered me up. New Arrow TS fic has an incontrovertible tendency to do that...

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

Hi Ms. V:

Thank you for shouting into the void. You made me grin. I see you!

1) No way was I taking a break from TS! This AU thing just took me by the throat and shook me around like a panther with a wolf cub. :) So, it's all I've been working on. I took only one night off to spin off a dS story when I got stuck.

I have to say, having two fandoms to work in is pretty neat. But I am totally devoted to both.

2) She so YES. I *heart* her!

3) Yay. It's all bluey.

4) ::blushes silly:: No, but seriously, it might very well be crap. It's very hard for me to tell sometimes. Do you ever have that problem? It's like it wrote itself while I wasn't looking, and it's so BIG I can't see the whole thing, even squinting. So I really have no idea. I don't often write long for this very reason--vision problems. :)

I guess Jane will let me know, before I embarrass myself.

Hope you have a swell day, lady.

[t-verano.livejournal.com]

1).

a. Panther / wolf cub / throat --> heh. ::rolls eyes again::
b. I've so tried, but I just can't do it. I'm just monofannish -- and so damn bad at even keeping up with TS, sometimes. I envy y'all who can handle polygamy. Polyandry? Polyfandom.

2) ::nodnodnodnod::

3). ::looks distressed:: it's kinda greeney, for me. Well, greeney-bluey. But still preeeetty.

4). Oh, yeah. In my (*so* not vast -- so not even much more than minuscule) experience, the longer the fic, the harder to see how it works together as a whole. Sucks. But I still can't help but want to be able to write long, as well as short...

But I am more than sure your fic will be about as far from embarrassing as it's possible to be. With or without squinting.

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

I) It hardly broke skin.

Ib) I used to be a monofan, until they drove me screaming from the fandom (one of those fandoms where things are done A Particular Way and whoa, cold shoulder). When I found dS and then TS I felt this profound freedom to expand.

II) When's she coming hooooome?

III) Oh, by bluey I of course meant, uh, greeney. (Checks into optometry clinic.)

IV) I do think the short form has something serious going for it. Besides being more the speed for my tiny brain, I mean.

But someday I'd like to be able to write something long where you reach the end and you just feel all the weight of those many words come together in this profound resonance that just *stays*. I'm a pretty new writer, though, and I have no idea how to achieve that.

Are you working on something new? You know your words are like finest tasty wine (has to go back and read The Couch again.)

[t-verano.livejournal.com]

Mmm. I'd offer to be all fierce and glarey-eyed at Whichever Particular Fandom, except that it resulted in you ending up here, and -- well, I have many, many flaws, but I only do hypocrisy on *alternate* Tuesdays.

In re: II. ::pets you fellow-feelingly::

Short fic -- I owe my epiphany about short fic totally to Jane. I completely did not get short fic, at first; I was greedy, and also lazy -- if I invested myself in reading something, I wanted it to *last* a while. But then I met Jane. Reading her fics and talking with her and thinking and learning to read for what's not there as well as what is -- wow. Enlightenment.

So -- absolute agreement from me that short fic has something serious going for it. There are so many reasons I not only love short fic, but value it highly. ...Man. *So* much love for the short.

I love what you say about writing long fic, too. Being able to write like that would be -- God. Beyond belief wonderful.

How long have you been writing? You totally do *not* write like anybody's idea of a new writer, you know. Very much a polished pro... And I am in envy and awe of you and Jane and others who can write such terrific, beautifully crafted stuff So. Damn. Quickly. (I mostly write at about the speed a glacier melts in winter, which drives me nuts.)

Um, me? Working on something new? ::headkeyboard:: Who the hell knows. I *thought* I was working on several things. Sorta. But right now they all just look like turnip-peelings.

::blushes, and beams at you for saying such a lovely thing about The Couch::

[andeincascade.livejournal.com]

Arrow, I can't wait for your new story and I am quite sure nothing about it will be crap! *g* And way to go for finishing a long one. I can't finish anything, I'm so pathetic.

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Ande! I do hope you enjoy it.

Finishing really is hard for me, sometimes. It's like a certain idea drags me forward just so far and then I run out of steam. Sometimes the only way for me to fix it is to make the phone ring. Who's calling? Why? All of a sudden there's something going on.

Or, when in doubt, I just shoot one of the guys. :D

[vsee.livejournal.com]

Sorry you're feeling blue. I hope things turn around for you soon. I've been trying to work up some fb for your recent TS trilogy, but it's going slowly. I was in TS fandom back in the day, but it's been a loooong time for me since I've read much TS. Your stories were a fun look back.

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

Thank you, sweet pea. It's amazing to me how much crossover there is b/w Sentinel and dS fans. I blame it all on Speranza.

Glad you enjoyed my Sentinel pieces! :)

I've adored your DS stories here...

[starshine24mc.livejournal.com]

So can't wait to see your newest, as I'm a bit of a frothing mad TS fan at the moment. And if you like janedavitt fic, you need to check out her TS vids on youtube! I admit it, I peed a little *LOL

Cheers!

Re: I've adored your DS stories here...

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

I didn't even know she vidded! I don't watch vids much but I'll check them out.

I'm glad you're enjoying my stories. They've given me such huge pleasure in writing them.

Re: I've adored your DS stories here...

[starshine24mc.livejournal.com]

I wasn't much into vids before (My fandom is XF, and there's not much there that's not Mulder/Scully, when we all know the romance there was Mulder/Skinner *LOL) but there are lots of TS ones, and I just discovered hers there on youtube--they are awesome! (Best Friend is my favorite)

You keep a writin' and I'll keep a readin'! :)

[ponders-life.livejournal.com]

A long (for you, that is) Sentinel AU? I'll be looking forward to that!

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Definitely long for me. I'm just not good at long stuff, I don't think. But this was fun to write.

btw, I saw you had linked in Cory's article. He's a bud of mine. Great essay—the Pygmalion reference is spot on.

[spuffyduds.livejournal.com]

Hey, you! Looks like the best times for me next week will be midday Tuesday the 17th and Wednesday the 18th, or possibly evening on Tuesday. Lunch? Coffee? Squee?

[arrow00.livejournal.com]

I work during the days, so Tuesday nighttime coffee (or some other beverage of choice) would be terrific. I am artemis dot arrow at yahoo. Email me so I can send you my cell num.

If you tell me where you're staying, I can suggest a place nearby.

[janedavitt.livejournal.com]

I can say with complete authority and assurance that the fic rocks and will be greeted with total love because of the total rockingness of it. I can't say more because I don't want to get spoilery, I just want to look smug because I HAVE READ IT AND NO ONE ELSE HAS YET, YAY ME.

Ahem. Sorry.

And my vidding is like my icons; I get much fun out of it but compared to the real vidders/iconners, I am but an egg.

They're all on my webpage; SG-1, SPN, TS, Buffy/SG-1 crossover... I'm working on a new one right now (Queen's You Take My Breath Away with an obsessed, crushing Blair) but I really shouldn't be; vids eat time the way I eat wine gums.

And the colours look pretty; I like it!