I misunderstood the point of this ride

Ooh, I have had a week. It's been long and tiring and mostly dark and rainy to boot, and I've been singularly unproductive in spite of just having taken on some new (creative) professional responsibilities. This is about as grateful as I've been for Friday in awhile, especially since the femslashex archive opens today at 8pm EST! There are currently 179 new pieces of f/f fanfic & fanart all ready to go; I'm so excited! (My own contribution will be here, though naturally I'll do a post here as well when I may.)

I'd say things have slowed down a bit, but that's not true so much as that I've been working more on deadlines than at my own pace. Here's a small roundup of exceptions and the like ...



( Revisiting Rachel Summers. )

Oh, speaking of X-Men comics, I've also been listening avidly to Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men, which does what it says on the tin in an entertaining, clever and deeply nerdy way. Highly recommended.

Meanwhile, on a more contemporary note: ( A tiny Braeden tribute. )

Last but very definitely not least, my contributions to the little fanartremixexchange! Which deserved to be bigger, so I really hope the idea catches on! ( And for extra fun, I was matched with ataratah. ;) )

Huh, I've been doing a lot of color work lately; I suppose that's good practice? I'm never fully satisfied with any of it (except sometimes the flats), though; I might make an effort to go back to more of my b&w inks for the next little while. Coming up: tw_fallharvest, teenwolf_bb, allydiareversebang, and teenwolffemslashexchange. Um. Oops?

So last week I was watching some movies to get inspired for a comic I’m working on, and I found myself completing a little project I started way back in college.

See, Empire Records was a favorite and formative movie in my teen years! So like a lot of people, I bought the soundtrack, and to my dismay, discovered that it was tragically lacking. Naturally, once I bfound myself with filesharing technology, I took down a list of all the song titles featured at the end of the credits and started downloading. And then, with six or seven left (none of which seemed to exist anywhere on the internet), I lost interest, and just had a lot of really random nineties indie music floating around my computer forever after. Until now. :p

( The (ALMOST) Complete EMPIRE RECORDS Playlist. )

Download the tracks here:
Part One | Part Two

I thought about trying to curate together my own version of the soundtrack (since this playlist is ridiculously long, and also many of the songs aren’t even really recognizable in the film), but eh. Maybe later. I figure you guys can do that for yourselves if you want. ;) Anyway, enjoy a little nostalgia on me?

Ran away for some much-needed cafe worktime across the river, after being shut up in my apartment for a good chunk of the weekend. I'm trying to distract myself from the stress of waiting to hear back about job interviews, blah. Iced coffee and a nice, private little corner by the window. Comics.

I've been a little all over the place the last few days. Sleep has been filled to the brim with dynamic, colorful, plotty anxiety dreams about everything from employment to strained friendships, to, um, Hannibal. Which is probably what I get for watching the entire season over the course of a few days, I know. /o\ But really, subconscious of mine, do I need to have a dream which evolves from yelling at someone I'm close to for trying to control my career goals ... to freaking out that said person has been replaced by a cannibal doppelganger?

Also, last night there were murderous Star Wars muppets. I have no idea what to do with that one.

Maybe I should try watching something less violent next? I have to say, though, everyone was right: Hannibal is a quite compelling show. I find myself actively wanting to not read any fic for it, though. There's some gorgeous fanart out there, and I would absolutely watch vids, but the canon itself gives me all the story I want. I wouldn't want to see it taken anywhere brighter, and it's plenty dark for me as it is, I guess. I'm really regretting not watching as it aired, though, because I'd have enjoyed reading more meta, and a lot of that seems to be lost in the recesses of tumblr.

Anyway, let me end on an up note with this video a friend linked me to this morning. I didn't see the twist coming at all, somehow. It was beautiful.

So I don't think I've actually mentioned this here (somehow), but I am in the midst of job search times right now. The clock's ticking, and I need to come down from my mountain and try and have a post-grad-school life (i.e. pay off loans). And I got my first interview request today! For a position I'm really kind of into! Fingers crossed? I haven't done this properly since, oh, 2007.

I don't even know what to say about last night's episode of Teen Wolf, really; gonna watch it again tonight with chaiminda and see if I can straighten my head out a bit. And perhaps finish the hilariously fluffy Allison/Lydia art I found myself drawing. (I meant to go for intense and bloody, but I guess I was in a mood? Although after mainlining an entire season of Pretty Little Liars, I'm not sure WHY. I suppose the lesbians on that show are pretty adorable.)

It's generally looking like the kind of week where I want to draw everything at once, but seeing as I should be getting the script for my first paid freelance project today(!), I may have to reign that in.

Happy Tuesday! How's everyone doing? <3 Oh hey, kink_bingo has started ramping up for the new round; lots of interesting meta and goodies getting posted! And meanwhile I'm in a fandom where actors (who are twins) are actively and pre-emptively making twincest jokes in public. Whyyy.

Aw, dammit. So I have been trying not to buy Marvel or DC books, for the most part, for the last few years. (There are any number of reasons why I'm not wild about supporting either company, but learning more and more about the ways in which they've abused their creative talent since the beginning has been especially bothersome of late.) I mean, okay, I buy Batwoman, but I rather think that's a worthy enough cause. And then I added the new run of Young Avengers to my pull, because ... reasons. (The new Miss America, Billy & Teddy, tiny!Loki and the creative team from Phonogram. What can you do.) I figured, one book per horrible mainstream monolith.

But. But now. That's just playing dirty, okay, Marvel? An all-women X-book featuring all the beloved characters of my childhood, most especially Rachel Summers. On the same team as Kitty Pryde, no less. Waugh. And it's even being written by Brian Wood. FINE. But don't think this means we're making up.

(Sorry, apparently that hazelnut soy latte was a mistake. My rekindled, if occasional, coffee habit is going to be somebody's doom; probably mine.)

Okay, so it's Monday ... and it's Teen Wolf finale day, only I won't get to watch until tomorrow night. (Which probably means staying as away from the internet as I can mange for all the time in between!) Tension! Suspense! STIIIIIIIIILES! Here, have some extremely silly cracked-out fanart, courtesy of a prompt from ataratah.

( Jinkies! )

Well, anyway, it feels good to be doing that again, even if I need to slow it down and go focus much harder on my other work, like, immediately.

In non-Teen Wolf news, this Britta vid is perfect and choked me the fuck up. Whee, VVC premieres, I can't wait to watch more. And ... that's about it, really. Life recently has included a sprained ankle, greater levels of financial competence, hanging out with someone very attractive in a sadly platonic fashion, drawing comics even smaller than usual (somewhere back in Somerville my friend A.W. is self-righteously annoyed and does not know why) and my little brother being home from France after almost a year. So all in all, pretty great. But mostly, werewolves.

Texts from last night (in cartoonland):

Oh god my voice is gone. Next time I'm not doing it with a boy who can scream like that. [...] But I did try to show off and make Gerard proud.

(There was karaoke. Only the second time I've ever been drunk enough to do that done it, and I tried to sing "Welcome To The Black Parade" as a duet with my departing friend. And then I got talked into "Gin Joints" and "Sugar We're Going Down" before I gave it up for the night. Ow.)

Hey guys, hey. Busily scribbling away over here on my BBB art and the usual comics, babysitting a guinea pig and generally watching the summer population dwindle (although we'll have an influx of workshop attendees soon). Also, I finally, finally got to watch both Iron Man 2 and Captain America last week! WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME ABOUT PEPPER/NATASHA?! (Okay, somebody might have, but I wasn't paying attention, and I am now.) Good god. More on that soon. Also, I was not particularly shocked to find that Captain America is basically one of the most well-put-together movies in the whole set; not only was the character himself delightful, but I just thoroughly enjoyed the storytelling and the historical setting and pulpy feel of the thing. Of all the Avengers films, that was the one that screamed COMIC BOOK MOVIE at me in a way that I could really relish.

I need to actually do some things for this fandom soon. Mostly I've been lurking around tumblr enjoying the fanart and the constructed-reality .gif sets (kind of the best thing ever ... even though you could not pay me enough to see this upcoming Spider-Man flick). Maybe I should create a fannish account over there (oh god, not again).

Also I'm thinking about dying my hair red (not quite Gerard-colored; more of a dark cherry red), while I still have this forgiving grad school environment to play in. I haven't done at-home hair dye since the beginning of college, jeez ... any tips, anyone?

Apologies; this is late for the majority of holidays, I believe, except New Years! As is just about everything I've tried to accomplish this year. I have this bad habit of treating most of my vacations as convalescences; my main resolution this year, naturally, is to try to stop overdoing everything. (No really.)

It's been a lovely bit of R&R, although I've barely even scratched the yuletide surface or spent much time online; too busy tripping and falling into Connie Willis' Blackout/All Clear. (Another problem I have in re overdoing things: reading in moderation does not come naturally!) That said, I'm absurdly excited about the abundant Downton Abbey fic this year, and what I have read (mostly Blue Beetle and Community), I've enjoyed immensely. I may have to do recs; I don't remember the last time I did that!

( Anyway, have some brief RL blather about Christmas. )

( Also some belated Sherlock Holmes reaction! )

Ack, must cut this short (rather than discussing any Christmas specials I may have watched yesterday - oh, Downton Abbey), but hi, I hope you're all having a lovely winter, holiday season, last few weeks, etc!

Hey guys, so! As of a couple minutes ago it is Thanksgiving here in the States, and um, one thing I'm thankful for is definitely fandom. Particularly bandom, which remains the fandom of my heart after nearly three and a half years.

Also, really late and right before a holiday, nobody will pay attention when I post my super dorky contribution to the bandom voice meme! /o\ In which I talk for almost seventeen minutes (and don't even actually explain why bandom has been so important to me). Ahaha.

Bandommeme by reflectedeve

( The questions and a very lengthy transcript. )

Have a lovely holiday if you're here, and a lovely tomorrow if you're not! <3

Oh man, I've been trying to write this post all week, but work's been super busy all of a sudden ... and I seem to be experiencing something akin to senioritis, so I have to work a lot harder than usual to concentrate. /o\ I'm really behind on all your entries, too. I'll try and catch up!

Thank you so much for the sweet, sweet comments on the love meme, bbs. I can't tell you how good that made me feel. ♥ Also I rather loved commenting, so you folks should totally put your names down for those things more often. ;) I'm a gusher by nature but feel kind of awkward about it a lot of the time; I appreciate the opportunity of anonymity (or the illusion thereof, as I expect I can be pretty obvious).

I had a pretty lively weekend. It started with a German lesbian vampire movie, which was somewhat entertaining, although there was not nearly enough making out and the ending was disappointingly heteronormative. The audience was certainly quite attractive, and I had plenty of time to admire them, because the DVD started skipping twice. (This has never happened to me in a theater before, even a little arthouse place. The staff good-naturedly blamed Friday the 13th.)

On Saturday I went to a family friend's business school graduation, which would have been excruciating except for his four-year-old daughter. I spent the whole ceremony keeping her occupied and letting her take tiny video clips of me. "I'm going to put you on the computer!" She's also turning into a tiny ball of snark, but I can't say I mind that. :D

My father, meanwhile, attempted to convince me to read Moby Dick this summer in exchange for his reading Little Women. Which, I mean ... what? I have no idea why on earth he thought that was going to work. (I should note that there is absolutely no reason I can think of for his particular choice of text. I did love that book very much when I was about eleven, but that hardly makes it stand out from the crowd.) His mission to get me to read Melville has been going on for ... almost a decade, now, I think. (I have every intention of reading that book! I want to read that book! But not yet.) I told him that if he read Understanding Comics, I'd consider it.

There was also quite a lot of pleasant company and some delicious vegan carrot & coriander soup. (With apologies to a certain Famous Detective, I'm rather grateful I don't have a spice allergy. Mmmmm.)

Also there has been some exciting TV lately! My circle has already done a thorough job of expressing their delight over The Doctor's Wife, so I will confine myself to saying that yes, all of that, oh my god. ♥___♥ (Also, biting is like kissing. With a winner.) And as for the Castle finale, I just, holy fuck. In spite of being a show about murder, that's the one I usually go to for ... you know, fun times? Quips and general weirdness and hilarity? Which probably made the sucker punch (punches) that much more effective, really.

Additionally, I discovered this week that there is apparently a secret government lab (which contains, among other things, a cow) in the basement of the building where I work. (Although for future reference, tv writers: some portions of this particular illustrious university are sadly not beautiful and ivy-covered.)

Right, I should get back to work. I lost a big chunk of this morning (mid-post-writing) to finding out some very upsetting news about a neighbor of mine. Feeling a little shaken at the moment, and also, stuff to do. I'll have to do that catching up later, but I hope your weeks are going splendidly! Also, you should go vote in the Fandom Hot 20 poll (second part here). Aeryn Sun and Wendy Watson need some more love, for starters.