Temporalis

Still coughing up a lung, though thankfully it's turned into a dry cough, and my ribs don't hurt quite as much any more. It's a bit ridiculous when I go riding, because my throat can barely take any form of heavy breathing, and I sound like I'm dying when I'm hunched over hacking like the world's going to end. For my own sanity, and because age is catching up with me and I'm starting to realise that you don't actually have to subject yourself to incredible amounts of pain and suffering in the name of self-improvement, I've opted to stop riding the laziest beast in the stables (and torturing my pronounced lack of stamina, which has only become even more pronounced after falling sick) and to stick to riding the most explosive one (who just tortures my lack of riding ability).

And on the fic front! Something a bit different from all the angst and political intrigue I've been writing recently - Unrequited Vor Pining is a random scribble fic (I love those) that emerged from a general want to write Simon fluff. The title's a play on the phrase 'unrequited prole pining' (from Memory). Probably terribly OOC, more than slightly cracky.

The fluff itch isn't entirely scratched, it seems. I think after I'm done beating him up in A Season out of Time I might need to write copious amounts of Simon/Alys fluff.

Oh, and the comment about my ribs not hurting so much any more might have been a little premature.

( A bit of rambling about Simon's canon characterisation )

God, I hate sleeping. Have I mentioned how much I hate sleeping? I always get nightmares when I sleep too much (defined, apparently, as anything above 7 hours a night), and considering that I've been unconscious for so much of this week, it's probably no surprise at all that I woke up screaming last night. (Just one time out of six. Or eight. It's alright, really).

I was trying out a tactic to see if it would stop someone from killing me painfully. Don't judge.

Anyway, new fic babble time!

Armageddon's Children is brought to you by... procrastination. I'm trying to update A Season Out of Time and White Knights, which means that I'm not getting either written.

I really don't know where this popped out of and it probably shows in the narrative (it's really not very good). The scene - which would do as a great summary too - is basically of Gregor telling Simon that he wants to create a new batch of super chip-enhanced soldiers, and the screaming match that ensues. (There wasn't much screaming, in the end. Simon just... doesn't yell at Gregor, apparently.)

My better fics start with a theme, not just an idea, usually with a bit of a moral dilemma thrown in and some kind of character development. AC is just a scene, really. Never grew beyond a scene, and my heart really wasn't into giving it a happy ending, so it's all bittersweet (and edging more to the bitter). I didn't even want to give it pretty writing (but that's apt, because it's not a pretty fic). (There was a draft that started with the usual pre-reqs of pretty fic - present tense narrative, sweeping, abstract writing, like one of those paintings in pastel that are all outlines and suggestion ... ditched it one paragraph in.)

It's actually one of those going-nowhere-fast fics which I would ordinarily note down in outline form and allow to languish and die, but oh, I haven't posted anything in so long.

Also, my appetite is gone again :|. If anyone has seen it wandering around, please direct it home.

ETA: Oh yeah! A Season Out of Time is updated too.

Trying to stick to a one-chapter-per-fortnight schedule for A Season Out of Time (there may be a break when I post the ficathon fill though). Wish me luck! [Chapter 3]

Also, it was really just a matter of time, but the massive Doctor Who plotbunny just bit me. I am not even vaguely surprised.

In other news, my asthma meds are not working. I'm up to my eyeballs with double shots of steroids and anti-histamines 3x a day, and I'm not sure which is worse - not being able to breathe or not being able to think. I'm also pretty sure you're not supposed to get addicted to ventolin[1], so what is it with the damn withdrawal symptoms?

[1] Then again, you're also not supposed to get tanked on anti-histamines either..

Oh, and oh yes: I realised today why 'Pacific Rim' keeps sounding so familiar. It's the name of a case. Contract law. Job hazards.

Ahaha. So I needed a break from all the tragedy and angst and serious business that was the last fic. I seriously contemplated writing a Discworld/Vorkosigan crossover (Simon and Vimes bitching about their bosses, Miles getting under Vetinari's skin, Ivan making friends with the Librarian, Ivan hitting on Angua, Gregor and Vetinari discussing their cities/planets, Sybil and Alys, oh the possibilities), but ... too much work. That's something that would definitely need a lot more careful planning if I ever did it. (Also, I'd have to write Miles. Scary business).

So I was scrolling through the CVA category of the Ficathon and thinking that it looked a little lonely, and another of those prompts just hit me.

And so we have a fic. Beware spoilers.

( This is probably less of a postmortem and more of a Miles style report )

Have I mentioned that I love ficathons? And that this year's ficathon is nothing short of amazing?

Buying Time, yet another Vorkosigan fic.

This has actually been sitting around on my system for a while (like, 3 months?) in a complete form, while I figured out whether I wanted to post it or tweak further. Posting it up because I really need something to make this weekend (week, month) better. (Alas, despite my best efforts, I still feel like throwing myself off a cliff rather than facing my work again. Is this why I write about so many characters going through hell in the name of duty?)

Prologue to Boundaries of Our Dreams. Ezar is just so much fun as a narrator.

AO3 Link. Simon/Alys.

( The usual postmortem )

New Vorkosigan piece up at this link (AO3).

( The very depressed post-mortem )

Ok, that just took 15,000 years.

White Knights, Chapter 3 - the Vorkosigan AU in which Simon marries Alys and Ivan ends up with siblings. And family trouble.