we can raise cities or raze them, it whispers

I ended up doing a liveblog of the entire book on Tumblr. This is the tag for it, with the posts listed in chronological order. I have extremely mixed feelings on the book. In a way, it was my favorite in the series and in a way I want to throw it into a bonfire.

I'm still trying to sort out my opinion on it, but for now, figured I'd share the link.

The Matter of Chicago is postponed indefinitely.

Sorry. But I have too many bad experiences linked to that fic to even look at it anymore. Maybe sometime in the future I'll finish it or post the story outline, but as it is...

I'm genuinely sorry, guys.

1. So I just spent a full week reteaching myself computer information systems and web scripting after the drama of the move wrecked my college, right? And I succeeded (my teacher says he anticipates a huge recovery in my grade from all my catch-up work) for all intents and purposes.

Basically, Saturday was the first day in three solid weeks that I had to myself. No obligations, no moving, nothing to worry about for 24 hours.

So obviously my period decides to arrive that morning and incapacitate me for the duration.

My luck, guys. My fucking luck.


2. I HAVE DISCOVERED JOHN GREEN'S CRASH COURSE: WORLD HISTORY SERIES. oh my gooooood this shit is fascinating as fuck and hilarious and Green's enthusiasm for history makes it VERY easy to learn. I DIDN'T KNOW THAT ABOUT SNAILS! TELL ME MORE, JOHN GREEN! /chinhands


3. I realized yesterday that I haven't visited LJ to do anything but reply to comments in months. So it's gone from my bookmark bar. Do folks still use LJ? Whyyyyy. Come to DW, it's better in pretty much every way.


4. I am excited for Elementary and the next person to claim they are ripping off BBC Sherlock will be fed to a lion. This summarizes my feelings on the matter well:


A tweet by user peasantings saying "I'm really glad Sir Arthur Conan Doyle came back from the grave, and told Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat 'worry about my brand.'"

Moffat, shut your mouth and go ruin some more female characters or whatever it is you do in your free time.


5. So. Fic. I'm settled in Florida and despite the fact I fucking hate being here and everything about this fucking state (ask my about my grandmother's racism sometime), I am slowly getting back into the swing of writing again. I have a shortish one-shot Dresden fic that is half Binz's fault and half thisfishflies's fault about Harry wearing nail polish.

(Actually it's mostly Binz's fault because if you get her talking about Harry's idealization of femininity, she will give you Ideas about Harry embracing parts of himself he feels he's not allowed to and you will get Feels and it will suck, but seriously, if Binz wants to talk at you about this, let her, it's fascinating and full of feels.)

(Also, the fic is called Hand Jobs, WHICH I WANT TO ESTABLISH WAS BINZ'S IDEA. NOT MINE.)

So that'll eventually get posted. Then it's time for some fucking Matter of Chicago renewal, aaaaw yeeeeah.


6. 100% unrelated to Dresden, I have been slowly writing a Dragon Age: Origins fic that's pretty much me dealing with the game's lack of dealing with issues of anti-elf racism and the fact the City Elf origin revolves around rape and sexual assault. It's not grimdark, but it's pretty serious. Totally unbeta'ed though. For the curious: oh, bring me a love that can sweeten a sword.


7. I don't believe in uppercased letters in titles okay? okay.


8. So on Tumblr for some inexplicable reason there has been a random renaissance of The 10th Kingdom, a miniseries you probably never heard of but it was amazing, okay? It was a post-modern twist on fairy tales and had some really stellar writing and some of the most interesting characters ever. And this 10K renaissance reminded me of my love for the protagonist, Virginia Lewis, and that in turn made me think about the Characters I Have Loved. I came up with four, and I'm going to briefly share them with you under the cut.

( Characters Lucy Has Really Strong Feelings About )

10. Hey, anyone have any advice on getting cheap airplane flights? Or maybe have some coupon codes lying around? Just wondering.

and I don't mean just apologizing for not having written more yet

( Story discussion, some problems I have with the story, and what it means to me as a writer )

So yeah. Those are my thoughts right now. Actual dictionary-definition ambivalence.

Title: The Stars and Scones Bakery and Coffee Shop (6/6)
Pairings: Harry Dresden/John Marcone
Warnings/Content: Explicit sex, food porn, past child abuse, oblique reference to self-harm, serious portrayal of a character dealing with past trauma, realistic depiction of a panic attack, and abandonment issues, but now, finally, some romantic fluff. ♥
Summary: In which Harry is the best baker in Chicago, but still ends up starting a few fires along the way.
Word Count: This chapter: 10,840 Overall: 42,710. Not too shabby.

( Act Six: after the savoy truffle )

---

---

( Author's Note, music mix, and other miscellanea. )

Title: The Stars and Scones Bakery and Coffee Shop (5/6)
Pairings: Harry Dresden/John Marcone
Warnings/Content: Explicit sex, food porn, past child abuse, oblique reference to self-harm, serious portrayal of a character dealing with past trauma, realistic depiction of a panic attack, and abandonment issues, but now, finally, some romantic fluff. ♥
Summary: In which Harry is the best baker in Chicago, but still ends up starting a few fires along the way.
Word Count: 6,732.

Notes: LOOK, THIS WAS TOTALLY GOING TO BE FIVE PARTS, BUT THE CHAPTER BROKE 12,000 WORDS AND BINZ WAS LIKE "just split it dude" AND I WAS LIKE "OKAY". So now it's six.


( Act Five: I feel your taste all the time we're apart )

The Dresden Files Kink Meme now has a Dream Casting discussion post. It is awesome, and ya'll should go check it out and add your picks for the cast.

Title: The Stars and Scones Bakery and Coffee Shop (3/4 or 5)
Pairings: Harry Dresden/John Marcone
Warnings/Content: Eventual explicit sex, references to past child abuse, and one oblique reference to possible self-harm. and a character trying to deal with unresolved past trauma in a serious way.
Summary: In which Harry is the best baker in Chicago, but still ends up starting a few fires along the way.
Word Count: 5881

Author's Note: Please note the trigger warning's revised to reflect upcoming plot. Thanks to polarisnorth, grenegome, binz, samjohnsson, and lightgetsin for help on this chapter. And to sidhebeingbrand for inspiring the apron thing. Yeah. Seriously. This fic seems to take a village.


( Act Three: coconut fudge really blows down those blues )

Title: The Stars and Scones Bakery and Coffee Shop (2/3 or 4)
Pairings: Harry Dresden/John Marcone
Warnings/Content: Eventual explicit sex, references to past child abuse (Justin is evil in every AU), and one oblique reference to possible self-harm.
Summary: In which Harry is the best baker in Chicago, but still ends up starting a few fires along the way.
Word Count: 6260

Act One

( Act Two: a ginger sling and a pineapple heart )

okay, next up: MoC chapter. :nods, gets to work:

Oh man. College is starting up in two weeks. Aaaaaah. Panic mode activate! I'm taking Intro to Biology and American Diversity on campus, and a remedial math and Intro to PoliSci online. So that'll happen.

I am writing at a good clip on the Bakery AU! Next chapter is already 5,300 words and about half done-ish. So expect some of that soon. I'm very, very happy with it and hope ya'll will be too. After that goes up, I'll get to the next chapter of MoC. I'm trying to juggle a bit so I don't burn out again.


It's been awhile since I've shared some Twitter Shenanigans, and today was a fun one. ( Of whether Harry would be a good boyfriend and Murphy and I place bets. )