Where are you?

I am on a roller-coaster right now. I live a nomadic existence because I sold my apartment at the beginning of last December, stayed at a friend's parent's apartment for the balance of December, where my cats ate the shower curtain. This is not a joke; they literally chewed big holes in it and then used them to peer at me in the shower, leap through or otherwise do really stupid things to.

So my @1 son took a job up in Kitimat for at least 3 months and I moved to his place to take care of his cat - so now I have cat number 3, Bugbear, who is a 12 year old veteran and rather shocked at my two little whippersnappers. He's also missing Stuart rather a lot, but I can't help him there.

And I looked for a house to buy. I found a few I'd like, but they turned out to be ex grow-ops, so that was out. Does everyone in BC but me grow weed? Why wasn't I informed?

Anyway, yesterday I put the down payment on the house of my dreams. I won't be able to move in until April 1, (and that tells me something, right there!) but it's a gorgeous house.Now I need to buy a car. It'll be lovely to have one again after all these years. I will be able to have a garden, grow my veggies and just generally do all the things I've been pining for since moving into that apartment.

I had cortisone shots into my knee on Thursday, and though I'd had one once before with no real effects, this time I passed out, it was so painful, and was in horrible pain yesterday too, although it might be easing a bit today. I do finally (after a year) have an appointment for the knee at the hospital. I really hope they can fix it for me. It stops me from the kind of exercise I need to lose any weight.

So now I just wait for house stuff and knee stuff and I guess I will have time to write, draw, beta and all that stuff. I can't wait for April 1st.

Well, I have moved out of the apartment into a squat, where I'm camping. I hope it won 't be for too long, but who knows?

What can I say about a move where everything that could go wrong went wrong? Just... thank God it's over! It was two long grueling days of hell and neuroses. I hope I can blot it out of my mind one day. I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep, but here's a few quick tips on how to recover when you're feeling out of energy.

HERE!

In all the packing and storing and moving I've left it way too late to send Christmas cards, so I will be doing them online, and will make it up to you as soon as possible, my flisties! Sorry, but I don't think it's going to happen before Christmas.

Tell me something exciting to energise me, because I tried the paper shredder thing and it just didn't wake me up.

I got my Reverse Bang in under the wire. Now I'm going to have to find a way to make it funny. Oh, life, why do you do this to me? I used to be funny, I know I did.

Title: "Oh, Heavens!"
Author: candygramme
Beta: Not so much!
Cast of thousands, featuring Castiel, Sam, Dean and assorted riff-raff
Artist: just_ruth
Wordage: 1066, which coincidentally happens to be the date of the Battle of Hastings. It must be a plot!
Summary: Castiel is being even more weird than usual:

"Oh, Heavens"

Nabbed from firesign10:

How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for?

When I was in high school, a friend and I used to write stories about the Norwich City Football team. I think we started when I was around 15, so I guess the first fandom I ever wrote was RPS! However it wasn't until the X-Files came along that I really started to want to write it. Believe it or not, my first fanfic was a gen Xover with X-Files and Ranma 1/2. It seemed so logical to me that Mulder would want to investigate the kids in Ranma.I wish I still had that fic. I think it was pretty good, but I never really posted it anywhere, and sadly, the hard drive it was stored on died. :( However I then started writing Mulder/Krycek and somehow never looked back.

Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.

Well, X-Files was my first, and there's a lot of my stuff out there along with the Truth! I don't still write in it although I occasionally borrow Krycek to put into other 'verses.

Other fandoms I've made a brief foray into are Roswell, Highlander, Warlock and Kane/Carlson RPS. Mostly I like to steal the characters and incorporate them into what I am doing rather than writing in their world.

I am still all about Supernatural, and it's Sam and Dean all the way, although I've written a couple of Dean/Ellen fics and had fun with that. My main love is the CW RPS, and J2 are my focus.

Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?

Sadly, I don't. I feel really left out, because so many people do. I somehow missed that. Boo!

If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?

The latest to do that to me is Sebastian Roche. He decided he was going to be in the big bang we will b posting on Friday, and I hadn't planned on him being in the story at all. He proved to be so much fun to write that now I keep on trying to work him into other stuff I'm doing.

When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?

I'm a slasher, and am very make oriented, but if I have a handle on the character I'm happy to write either.

Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?

No, not really. I usually know who they are and what they will do before I start to write.

Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.

I don't often write OC's, but ages ago there was a kind of ongoing soap opera series I used to write with a person who was my friend at that time. I actually created a blatant Mary-Sue for that. I endowed him with great beauty and a vast fortune and wrote his speech and actions exactly the way I would respond. People loved him!!! One person went so far as to borrow him and wrote a fic about him! It used to make me giggle. There were a lot of OCs in that story, all over the top.

Pairings - For each of the fandoms from question two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?

Jensen/Jared
Jensen/Steve Carlson
Steve Carlson/Chris Kane

Pairings - Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?

I tried to write Duncan/Methos once, and gave up, because I just can't get Duncan. He just never seemed to have a consistent character for me

Genre - do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?

Lately it's sci-fi, and especially the kind of far future post apocalyptic stuff.

Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?

I've done a couple. I wrote a straight interpretation of Ladyhawke for one of my big bangs, and I've done really silly, lampoon style versions of The Wizard of Oz and The Fifth Element. I love to take an existing story line and use it to send up anything I can get my hands on.

Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?

TBH, I really prefer canon. Having said that, I do a lot of AU RPS, so there really isn't much canon required. If I'm writing a character in a crossover, which I do on a regular basis, I want to make sure that the characters are true to their own canon even when thrown into another 'verse entirely. One day I will post my Warlock/Methos crossover, and I don't suppose anyone will read it, but it does satisfy me that the characters are right.

Ratings - how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?

I'll do NC17, but I don't write PWPs, and I like to have a plot, so the sex to me is secondary. I've definitely written a story that I intended to be NC-17 and then discovered that it was complete and still only PG-13.

Warnings - What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?

I hate warnings. Published novels don't carry warnings. Why do we have to have them. One community I used to post to regularly has gone so overboard with the warnings and tags now that I don't even post there any more. I will warn for main character death and extreme violence, but I don't often write that kind of story.

Summaries - Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?

I would rather think of this as a teaser than a summary. I like teasers. They describe the world that the story inhabits rather than giving it away.

Titles - Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?

I loathe titles. I am so bad at titles. Often I hang onto a fic because I can't think of a title. I suck at them. Most of my stuff is on my hard drive labeled "Christmas fic #3" or "Big Bang 2014" because I can't think what to call them. Eventually I despair and post the thing anyway and usually the day after it's too late and it's out there, a perfect title will flash into my brain. Grrr.

Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?

Everywhere. It could be from something someone says, or a movie or book might spark me off, or someone could ask me for a specific pairing and I have to sit down and think how that could work.

When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?

I'll open a file with the bunny and save it into a folder I call the warren, and there it will sit until I get to it.

Do you ever get bunnies from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?

Occasionally. Not very often.

Sequels - Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?

Yep. I think that sometimes the story isn't complete, and there's more to tell. The new big bang is a sequel, and I have a nearly complete sequel to "Murder by Space." I also did one for "5,000 Light Years from Home."

Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?

I am a terribly slow writer, and every year I think that this is going to be the one I don't make it to, but so far so good. They terrify me and I love them too. I don't sign up for a huge number because my writing is usually in fits and starts. I am never sure if I will end up creatively egg-bound.

When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?

These days I post to my journal and possibly Ao3 unless it's short. I'll find a community that takes that kind of story if I can, but only one. I really don't like the cross posting that glues up my timeline. I have a personal site too, but I tend to forget to update it.

Betaing - How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?

I have a couple of very treasured beta readers, and I view them as essential. They are worth their weight in diamonds, let alone gold. One beta at a time though. I've learned from my mistakes in that regard. The only beta horror story I have concerns a story I beta'd way back in X-Files fandom. The guy whose story it was ignored every comment I'd made, posted it as it was with horrendous grammatical errors and spelling mistakes and credited me effusively for the beta. *wince*

Music - Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?

All the time. I am almost always listening to music. I'll get playlists together when I read a story, let alone when I'm writing one.

What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?

Most recently trying to come up with a term for a transporter beam a la Star Trek that hadn't already been used.

Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?

Both by hand and computer, but I would much rather type it in directly on my desktop. I have a laptop. I have a tablet, and I can't stand the keyboard or what passes for a mouse on the laptop. The tablet and I are possibly looking to divorce because my fingers aren't 'electric' enough and I have to stab keys repeatedly to get them to 'take'. I have the same problem with my phone.

Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?

I've had lots of partners in crime through the years. I love to collaborate. I love when artists are working on things for my fic too. That's just such a special, amazing experience.

What is your current project or projects?

Posting the big bang on Friday, finishing off the sequel to "Murder By Space" and completing a crossover I am doing with spoonlessone that's a crossover for SPN/Days of Our Lives.

Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!

I've said this before, but I think the one that's given me the most satisfaction is "Murder by Space" although "5,000 Light Years from Home" comes a close second.

Stolen from mrsr58

Something pretty... let me see...

This is my boy Chickpea. He just had his first birthday.





and because I just typed Chickpeas name, and Batman KNOWS and came to bug me, here he is, doing what HE does best...

Sometimes at the weekend I just get on the bus and go, making full use of my transit pass and the fact that all zones are included at the weekend. Yesterday I roamed and at one point found myself downtown on Granville Street heading for another bus. It was a hot day, so imagine my surprise when suddenly I came upon this, on Granville street, between Dunsmuir and Hastings. It took up the whole block!









That last one ruined the illusion a wee bit, didn't it? Apparently they were filming a jeep commercial. Seems a bit over the top to me, but what do I know? A whole city block in the heart of downtown on Saturday lunchtime is how you advertise Jeeps, apparently.

Today was a good writing day. I finished something that's been hanging around forever and am on to the next thing... I hope.

Work has been hell lately. I need a clone. Tomorrow will be no different, because I have deadlines. Why do they insist on making me work?

But tomorrow, Monday 16th if you are in the northern Hemisphere, Adam Lambert and Queen are broadcasting a live gig here:

Go here and click the button for Adam + Queen

And from me, goodnight.

Okay, slashers, if you're short of plot ideas, why not try the Crossover Generator?

Look no further!

Where else could I be prompted to write a story that crosses Reservoir Dogs with Siegfried and Roy?