Remix

[raven]

I'm fresh from a very pleasant evening with narahttbbs, talking fandom and fic and intricacies thereof, and thus disposed to turn my attention to the Fic With The Bad Sex Scenes That Ate Manhattan And Indeed Chicago, for she's been telling me for a long time to hurry up and finish it, and I think she may be right. I started writing it in July 2006, got through fifteen pages with frightening rapidity, hit a plot problem that was solved by amchau and her brother, who actually contributed all the plot in the entire story, and then by the time I was on the Visit of OMG, I told likethesun2 that her tales of how much she dislikes Ohio had influenced me enough to write a story about a serial killer from Ohio (and also, nuclear bombs, alternate universes and indeed, bad sex).

Cut to OMG Redux, seven months after OMG I and nine months after I started writing, and I still haven't finished it. Tonight, I will. I mean it. (Yes, I always say that. But I will.)

Okay. And now this little declaration is out of the way, a little more fic babble, because ooh, remix_redux is love. I haven't read nearly as much as I'd have wanted, but a few recs regardless.

First of all, the story of mine that was remixed is "Sing For Absolution", which is probably my favourite of my Buffyverse stories. It's about Willow and Giles the summer after she tried to destroy the world, and it's also a story about Giles and Ethan and how everything went wrong, and it's got no plot and no resolution and I love it.

The remix, "The Multitudinous Seas Incarnadine (The Mr And Mrs MacB Remix)" wins major cool points for the title alone. It makes "real" the events of my story - in which they're only related second-hand - and has them produce an effect on Giles himself, rather than Willow. Very cool story.

Other recs:

Living In Dangerous Times (The Carry-On Baggage Remix), The West Wing.
A story about Josh and the people who care about him, and what he keeps in his bag. Lovely.

Dudley Dursley and the Hogwarts Letter (the Top of the Pops Remix), Harry Potter.
Wonderful AU where Dudley's parents died and he was brought up by Lily and James. Lots of fun.

The Red And The Black (the Neverland Remix), Harry Potter.
My favourite in the ficathon. It's long, measured, and painfully real, mixing the sheer comedy of Sirius having his very own Communist revolution with his being utterly lost by the prospect of change, of losing his friends, of growing up. So great, in fact, I can't describe it properly. Go and read it.

My remix story is up in the archive of course, and to my eyes at least, is clearly a story by me. I like it better than I did, for the record - the flaws are still obvious, but I'm not hung up on their being irredeemable any more. Anyway, I hereby promise to award a ficlet/cookie to anyone who guesses correctly before the reveal, and I'm pretty sure someone will - it sounds and reads just like me, and I know it does.

And that's all, because I need to go to bed, but one more thing with which I need assistance. I know this isn't a surprise to anyone but it's, er, really hot right now. More than that, it's muggy and humid and thus I keep having these irrational impulses to cut all my hair off. (It's far too long, now - it touches my shoulders and can be tied up, which is Not On). I don't have the money to get it cut properly right now, and anyway I might regret doing that when it cools down, but still, sticky, thick, heavy hair plastered to one's neck is not pleasant. I'm not really sure what else to do with it, though. Is there anywhere in Oxford, I wonder, where I can buy a bunch of clips/bobbles/scrunchies/related impedimenta for the purposes of just playing with it? Because my hair's usually short, I don't actually own any, and I went to Boots today and all their hair stuff is really expensive.

And suggestions of what to actually do would be gratefully received too. Right now I'm thinking about getting one of those large grabby-clip things (can you tell my level of expertise in this area?) and just clipping it all up. This, however, may be somewhat unimaginative, I don't know.

And this brief digression into unusual girlie territory over, it's really time for bed. Tomorrow afternoon involves lots of people, productivity, and pie. Mmmm, pie.

Comments

[jacinthsong.livejournal.com]

Superdrug/Primark for cheery tat, Accessorise for pretties? I think you'd look awfully cute with a loose bob, mind - lots of places in town do student cuts for about a tenner.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I might succumb to the impulse, y'know. It'd grow out, if I didn't like it. Am sort of tempted...

[minttown1.livejournal.com]

The large clip things are the way to go, in my opinion. I use them now that my hair's just past my shoulders, and I was using the same exact thing (albeit in a slightly bigger size) when my hair was down to my waist. They're wonderful and easy and they do the job of keeping the hair up and out of the way.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I have a really nice red one, but I think I left it Up North and my mum will laugh a lot if I ask her to post it. Maybe it's time to go shopping. :)

[likethesun2.livejournal.com]

Finish it, finish it! I really, REALLY want to read it, especially since in the interim since OMG I I've actually seen some XF for context.

I have a pretty good guess of which story is yours, but following the_acrobat's lead, I'll relay it to you as discreetly as possible. Um, best opening line in the world, has a Welsh person in, three main characters, fandom we do not and probably will never share?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I finished it! For once I do not suck! It is done, and posted (http://loneraven.livejournal.com/540899.html). :)

Re: remix, I'm keeping my mouth firmly shut until the reveal. *g*

[hips-lips-tits.livejournal.com]

i remember when you used to write M*A*S*H fic all the time..

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*mouth firmly shut*

[mi-guida.livejournal.com]

No time to read fic before my lecture (8am, wtf...) but, re: hair things - if it's cheap you're after, try Primark and Claire's Accessories. Also, if you want pretties for cheap, try Bangles in the covered market - pretty sure they have hair clips and things, they certainly have earrings for £1.

I'm so glad I got my hair hacked off, I can still shove it up but also have it down and not die of heat.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Am sort of in mood to die of heat, grooooan. Thanks for the tips - I think Primark and the Covered Market are the way to go. :)

[marymac.livejournal.com]

For a step up from 'grabby-clip-thing', try twisting it up in sections along the back of your head. Your hair's almost certianly way too thick for this exact method, I have stupidly fine hair, but if you get a lot of the plain kirby grips, you can just take lots of sections into twists and pin them up with two grips each and then add the smaller pretties that wouldn't otherwise hold your hair up. It works pretty well for the whole I am so cool and collected and grown up thing too. As it gets longer, you can do it in coils and then you do look insanely Edwardian, but its cool :)

Hmm. I may have to draw a picture. That makes no sense. Its faster than you think to do, anyway.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Please do draw a picture, I'm not sure I get it, but it sounds nice. Let's see... d'you grab the front bits, twist them and pin them up, and then the next bits and so on? I'm not sure plain grips will hold my hair up - it's very heavy and thick. Maybe if I keep the sections small. That is, if I'm understanding this right?

[marymac.livejournal.com]

Pretty much, yes. I'll do a photo-step thing for you when the camera is retrieved from the kids. Good luck :)

[marymac.livejournal.com]

Ok, my dad caught me trying to take photos of the back of my head, which is harder than I thought, really, and videoed it instead. I have photos too, if you think they'll make more sense.
Anyway.
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-411641740034322716

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Oh, how marvellous! (And I love the atrmospheric birdsong.) Thank you very much, I must try that. I think right now even twisting up the front portions would solve my problem, and when it's another inch longer I'll try doing all of it.

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

Tonight, I will. I mean it. (Yes, I always say that. But I will.)

Have you? :p

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

YES.


...ish.


*ducks*

[tau_sigma]

Oh, it is hot. It is so hot and melty and I'm quite tempted to do the hair cutting off thing, too, though that is also because I'm just getting fed up of dealing with all this hair.

Supermarkets tend to be quite good for hairbands, I think. I haven't actually bought any for quite a while. And I tend to put my hair up in plaits, if at all, though it does possibly look a little like I'm a small schoolchild. But plaits are quite decent for keeping it out of the way, I find.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

It is v. embarrassing, but I can't plait my own hair. My mum has to do it for me!