topaz119 | (no subject)

Wow, so asking for prompts/questions to keep myself entertained during our deployment call turned into the kiss of death, as instead of the normal 'excitement' of listening to the server/database engineers ticking off the stats as the new services start, something in the new code did not play well with more than one of the big production servers and all hell broke loose as people scrambled to roll back the deploy and minimize down time (we have very tight downtime allowances that start to impact people's bonuses v. v. quickly.) My team's architect and lead developer are not native English speakers and while their English is really good, in times like this we've worked out a process where I act like a real-time validator to make sure they're writing what they mean to say. It was a little crazy for a couple of hours and then we had the audit forms to write up and submit and then we had the post-mortem and then we had the re-deploy (where everything went fine, because it turns out it *wasn't* our code that was the problem, it was an out-of-date patch on one of the IIS servers) and yay, we are now live with the new stuff (and everything else is now super-behind, so we're all triaging that.)

So, yes, this week did not go as planned. But it is the weekend! And I am not going anywhere! (I've been out of town for the last 4 weekends in a row, mostly all for fun/good reasons, but still. I may not get out of bed at all today.)

for

hamsterwoman
11. Weirdest thing you’ve ever written/thought about writing/etc.?
um, RPF genderswapped mpreg? (Though I still haven't decided if it's mpreg if the boy in question is a girl at the time...?) Also, I have a half-started Abby/Gibbs from NCIS that's on the list just for the pairing.

for

alphaflyer
1. Describe yourself how you would describe a character you’re introducing.
Oh, wow, this was really hard (which I'm sure a therapist would have a ball with), but how about something like: tallish and a little on the heavy side, with a Diet Coke and an iPhone permanently attached to her person.

8. Why do you choose to write?
Well, on the non-fiction, technical side, I get paid to. :D On the fiction side, it's the socially acceptable way to make use of all the stories in my head, because my brain never shuts up and something has to give.

19. Why did you start writing?
I think I started writing because after a lifetime as a reader, I kept seeing stories that were *almost* the ones I wanted, but were just a little bit off, so it finally dawned on me that I could probably write them myself. (The crowning bit of irony is, of course, that I never actually write exactly what I thought I was setting out to write--during the process, things morph and shift and change, and that's a good thing, the stories are always better when I let them, but still. Not exactly what I thought I was writing.)

for

azephirin,

sperrywink, and

fitzumble (wow, eeeeverybody likes the guilty pleasures...)
15. Your guilty writing pleasure?
Always, ALWAYS having at least a hopeful ending, if not the proverbial HEA. I know that's seen as naïve and unrealistic, but I refuse to give in to the Dark Side.

for

verdande_mi
3. What is your absolute favorite kind of fic to write?
mmmmm, I do love me some friends-to-lovers romance with a healthy dose of found-family on the side.

10. What inspires you the most?
With fic, it's taking what's been presented to us in the media and then filling in everything else, especially if it's not the most obvious interpretation. I think that takes care of all the slash I've written, and really, a fair amount of the other stuff, too. (I mean, I don't see how it's not dead simple to see Laura Barton on screen and get to the one I'm writing in the small town girl series, but apparently it is too much to ask for fandom to realize that women can have personalities even if they are wives and mothers. er, sorry. Sometimes I get weird comments and messages on that series.)

18. How old were you when you started writing?
I wrote some in undergrad, but got paralyzed by doubt after a creative writing seminar and really didn't touch fiction again for 20+ years. Yay for the fic writing/reading community?

for

ladymercury_10
4. Are there any other fic writers you admire? If so, who and why?
Oh, I know this is kind of a cop-out, but there are really too many to name. I'm super-behind on writing things up, but I keep all my favorites on pinboard (where I am also

topaz119)--when I look at my bookmarks by fandom, I can see multiples notes from the same authors going back for years.

for

fitzumble
20. Four sentences from your work that you’re proud of.
ugh, I don't really feel like I'm a genius with the words. My writing is serviceable--it gets the stories in my head onto (virtual) paper and I try to stay in the characters' voice, so I don't think I have a lot of beautiful sentences, per se, but these either started or ended a story especially well, I think:

1. From doesn't matter if I bleed -- "This day, with Phil breathing steadily into the curve of his neck, is not going to be like that."

2. From in deep with you darling -- "Darcy generally isn't the type to pick up strangers in bars, but she feels the extenuating circumstances of the day (i.e., a) the entire Norse pantheon apparently being alive and well and living in space; b) said pantheon having access to giant, killer, fire-breathing robots; and, c) really being into settling their differences with armed combat) combined with the fact that the guy she is currently contemplating leaving with isn't exactly a stranger (i.e., a) he spent the entire day working next to or near Darcy to clean up after the previously mentioned giant, killer, fire-breathing robots from space; b) he is apparently on not just speaking, but snarking terms with the head honcho of the Men in Black, which at least means he has a job, and one that he probably is pretty good at because Darcy has a feeling Coulson wouldn't put up with shit like that otherwise; and c) they've already been introduced by the Head MIB himself, so technically, he is not a stranger but more a friend of a friend (if you stretch the meaning of 'friend' to include government agents interested in your boss's life's-work, which Darcy is willing to do this evening).)"

3. From you need a rock not a rolling stone -- The first time Darcy gets kidnapped by a mad scientist, it is not her fault.

4. From Dream On -- "Given that he was standing in the apartment of his not-dead and not-in-Hell brother, contemplating amnesia and life after the apocalypse and exactly how they'd gotten to where they were, Dean thought he was maybe entitled to fill a mug straight from where the fresh-brewed stuff dripped down rather than waiting for the entire pot to fill up before he started in."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Abby/Gibbs

YASSSSSSSS PLZ!

And I am given to the hopeful/happy ending too—I don't even think of it as a guilty pleasure, just a preference.

I remember starting that Abby/Gibbs (I'd been watching early seasons, back when Abby used to call him her yummy silver fox) but I had stuff in there I have NO memory of writing. It wasn't half-bad--if I can just work out how I was going to make it all work out.

My brain just sort of refuses to spend time writing something I can't wrangle around to a happy ending.

Staying in bed sounds like an excellent plan!

And I'd say you were much more than a serviceable writer.

I managed to make it until almost 3 in the afternoon, t! It was lovely. And thank you for your nice words about my writing. I think I lean to the story-telling rather than focusing on the words. :D

That does sound like a stressful time. Glad it all worked out.

Yeah, I feel you on the happy ending.

It's been at least a year since we had something blow up that fast during a deploy so we were all kind of goggling at each other, but ultimately it was nice to know there was something else going on.

RPF genderswap mpreg does sound pretty weird, heh XD

It was for a challenge--it's always nuts what comes out of my head under a deadline. :D

Ooh, thanks for the bookmark links!

The crowning bit of irony is, of course, that I never actually write exactly what I thought I was setting out to write--during the process, things morph and shift and change, and that's a good thing, the stories are always better when I let them, but still. Not exactly what I thought I was writing.
Haha, so true--I always think I have a story outlined, and then it ends up taking a turn somewhere or another.

You're welcome--and I really am going to try to get more written up and linked there! I'm like a year behind, sigh.

Sorry it has taken me so long to comment!

I love friends to lovers too ♥

It is strange, but I often feel like fandom, for all it proclaims to be very pro-women and female roles, often attack them and put them down. It’s sad and discouraging. I’m sorry you get weird comments!

There does seem to be a lot of judging women and female roles going on in fandom, often under the guise of critical analysis. I often find myself sitting on my hands to keep from replying to random observations that are less crit and more wow-your-insecurities-are-showing, because it's not like my answer is going to change anyone's mind.

It's always interesting to see what strikes a nerve, but sometimes it's a little tiresome to respond, :D