in the time of gods

This week - has been a week. I'm on day six without ever sitting down for long enough to eat an entire meal, so today Shim is making me one! With actual food! And hot, and stuff! It's gonna be the best.

Otherwise: I worked a lot this week. Did a quiz-based networking event out in Girton, which I enjoyed even though we did terribly badly, and I'm apparently the department's new favourite person because I knew the meaning of the word "crepuscular" and thus we didn't come last. Saw the Gaslight Anthem at the O2 in Brixton, which I would have enjoyed more if I hadn't been dog-tired, but oh the Gaslight Anthem. They did "The Queen of Lower Chelsea" and I can basically be happy forever now. And yesterday I had a sequence of work disasters, rain, rain, more rain, got soaked getting to the station and forgot that the major drawback of the cut and cover Tube lines is that they go at twenty miles an hour, but I went to see Dar Williams at Bush Hall with happydork and it was delightful. She's so beautiful and talented and oh, even when she sings songs I don't have a particular liking for, she still sends shivers down my spine because of how ridiculously talented she is. I love her. And she is also the best. She came on and sang "The Light and the Sea" and it ended a bit awkwardly and then she looked at her audience as if noticing them for the first time and said, "Whoa, did I forget a verse?" Her backing musicians nodded sadly. I love her.

Also this week: my best friend in the world moved away for two years. Some of you I think may have a minor inkling who she might be. She's in the process of becoming; she's going away to be glorious. I will miss her so.

And now here we are firmly in autumn, I am sort of resting and sort-of having grim-spectre-of-the-future to the point where I can't sleep at night (this, with months to go before definite unemployment! I am such a failboat) so let's talk about serious things.

Firstly, muskratjamboree, I am going. It was a total, day-of impulse decision - I know some people have literally been waiting years for registrations to open! - on the grounds that I can still pull out and god knows there would be a grateful person on the wait list if I did, but you know, I'm not going to pull out, I'm going. I love Boston, I'm apparently a grown-up now (?) and I'm going! Who am I gonna meet there? Tell me!

Secondly, Fringe is giving me feelings all over the shop. Peter! Olivia! Walter! Astrid! Etta! Even September, for goodness' sake. And you know, I think it really is because it's at heart a show about family, that which you're born with and that which you find. Which is why I love Deep Space Nine, too, and seems to be what I want in my speculative fiction TV. (I am oddly hesitant to class Fringe as SF - I sort of want to call it a kind of heavy-tech fantasy.) I am not quite caught up - am halfway through "In Absentia".

Also. "The Day We Died" universe, the sort of greyish white one? The one Peter lives through in the machine, anyway. Is it the only instance of a married straight couple on TV, who are happily married, who have different surnames, and it's totally not a thing? It's the only one I can think of.

And thirdly, there is no thirdly, it's time for lunch.

Dear yuletide author:

Dear Yuletide author,

Hi! Thank you for writing for me. I appreciate it very much. As I say every year, nothing here is to be taken as gospel - I am a firm believer that a) optional details are optional and b) it does me good to read things I didn't expect.

That said, if you're the sort of person for whom extra information is helpful, read on. Generally, about me: I like people. I like characters being competent at what they do; I like worldbuilding; I like sparkling dialogue. If you want to write a cheerful, happy story I like those; if you want to write a grim angstfest I like those too. I like stories about ladies, and their internal lives. I pretty much like everything, don't mind me.

Details about me that might be useful for the particular fandoms, yes. I have no triggers generally, and specifically, was not unable to read anything in Code Name Verity. And I am a Hindi speaker. If you wrote for 3 Idiots and did a whole story in Hindi I perhaps wouldn't be able to read it without a little more concentrated effort than I'm usually capable of on Christmas Day, but short passages, I can handle.

Additional commentary on the fandoms:

( Nation - Terry Pratchett )

( 3 Idiots )

( Code Name Verity - 'ware spoilers, really don't click if you haven't read this book )

( Thursday Next )