Thoughts on the Journey

I'm having a wonderful and rather Star Wars' holiday with an Alliance sweater, galaxy necklace and some silly Star Wars' band aids, alongside books and socks, a Christmas staple.

I've also added a new bread recipe to my collection, a sweet filled bread from Smitten Kitchen, that I might try with other fillings.

My Yuletide gift is just what I wanted, an Ivan story about him growing up and figuring things out. Now I will enjoy the delicious fun of diving deep into the archive as its cold outside. My recipient liked their story, which always makes me happy.

Genuinely Self-Absorbed and Deeply Shallow (1575 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Ivan Vorpatril, Alys Vorpatril
Summary:

Or, Three Moments in the Evolution of Ivan Vorpatril, innocent bystander and political non-combatant

Thank you so much for writing for me. Yuletide is one of my favorite times of year. My favorite sorts of stories are missing moments, character studies and that feel as if they fit within the world of the canon. I love all of these fandoms because of the depth of the worlds and the characters, I enjoy action and plot if it fits. When a writer can pull off a complex plot, I love it when it connects with everything else. If you choose to include sex and violence, I ask that if they're there; no rape/dubcon or torture. All of the ones I've asked for are from worlds with difficult aspects to them and I enjoy how the characters interact with and are changed by what's around them.

( Vorkosigan Saga, Zootopia, October Daye, Chronicles of Chrestomanci )

Day 10
In your own space, post a rec for fannish and/or creative resources and spaces. Tell us where you go to dig up canon facts for your fandom, or where you get all the juicy details about your favorite ship. Where do you like to hang out and squee like a squeeing thing?

This is one I really like though I don't have that many fandom squeeing places as I used to. Tumblr is a main one of mine for the newer fandoms I follow. Most of my resources are RP related when I have a moment of wait, whats' that detail.

The Vorkosigan Wiki which is helpful for when I'm writing for something for Ivan and get stuck.

The L Space Wiki for Discworld.

Library of Congress for all of its amazing resources about how things looked and connections to the past. I do fact checking as a part time job and for historical images, this is probably my best resource with Getty Images as my next choice.

My undergrad and some of my grad work was in Classics and one of my favorite resources for trying to figure out Gods' family trees is Theoi. I appreciate how it quotes the sources which is useful for those times when you go, not using that part.

I've been being lazy today after two weeks of fact checking and interviews. Its so nice to be able to sit and just read without worrying about various deadline. I do have some fic exchanges coming up, but that's a different kind of pressure.

I just reread Brothers in Arms as part of my plan to play Ivan Vorpatril more and now I'm thinking about tossing a younger Ivan into the sandboxes. All the layers in Miles' narration about him, how its clear he trusts him, knows he's smart and lazy and I think at times sees more of Ivan than Ivan does, just like Ivan is good at reading Miles in ways that Miles isn't comfortable with are intriguing. This book has scenes of Elli and Ivan alongside Miles and their relationships are clearly mirrored, but how they got there isn't the same. I also find the issues of Miles and his identity fascinating and how in this one, he uses that to try and help Mark. I'm not sure if I want to reread Mirror Dance as while its good, some of the most brutal parts of the series are in there, at least violent. Perhaps if I have Memory on hand for after that would work since that's more about healing.

ETA: I've put an Ivan from after Brothers in Arms up in PFSB and Mixed Muses and I need to update his profile.

For the first time ever, someone podficced one of my fics: [podfic] we're having tea (5 words) by croissantkatie
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Old Kingdom - Garth Nix
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Ellimere (Old Kingdom), Prince Sameth
Additional Tags: Family, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3
Summary:

On a rainy day, Ellimere decides she and Sameth are having tea. Set post-canon in this moment, Ellimere and Sameth work towards rebuilding their relationship.

Its wonderful to know that someone else likes my words enough to do something with them.

This week I've also dived headlong into Sense 8, which hit me right in the feels. I finished watching it, watched the behind the scenes' show and then started a rewatch. I mean I did watch other things but it worked for me. Its far from perfect, I wish the stories had been a little more balanced but I loved how it was clear that each country was almost another genre and how everyone intersected. I wish I could remember who first pointed out that the feel of each country and Senseate plot fits where they're from, because its so true. The music was glorious and while the plot was weird with some points of huh, perhaps those will be answered in the second season. Rewatching, I'm able to see how some parts fit together which is nice. Overall, I just love that the heart of it is people connecting and reaching out to help and be there.