marzipan77

Who are you? I do associate the question with the inevitable earworm of The Who song that will be in my brain all day, as I should, but first and foremost, I think of Alice. Alice and a caterpillar on a large mushroom. Imagine being faced with this existential question after the weird situations she's found herself in. When I'm faced with this question, I imagine Alice when I respond.

And so...

I'm a woman. Later in life than many, with, speaking of probabilities, many years ahead. First I was a child, a little sister, a Pittsburgher (go Steelers!), a nerd, a reader, a drawer, a scared kid in a violent household. A loner who loved people.

Then I became a student. Defined by stellar grades and magnificent (if I do say so myself) verbal skills. An explorer of forests, a dreamer of dreams, a singer of songs. I wanted to boldly go where no man had gone before. To have a jelly baby. To wear a purple wig and silver fishnets. To ride around in a woody with my groovy friends and solve crimes.

Saturday afternoon UHF television, am I right??

Then I became free. Away at college. Unruled, unpunished - it was a head rush! Free to follow my faith, to join groups, to go on dates (DATES!!), to go to parties, to learn all the valuable lessons of that freedom. To meet THE GUY and date and marry and then ...

I was suddenly a wife. Life building partner. And a mom. ME! THAT was a ride - minutes of sheer terror and years of heart-thumping bliss. After a few years, I had a partner in crime, in Buffy, in Star Wars, in all things nerd. Huzzah!

Empty nester. Retired teacher with a retired husband, life changes again and #iamwriting. Writing fanfic. Finding fandom homes and sisters and brothers and more partners for more crimes, for trips through the Stargate, rides in the Torino and the black van, visits to the Plass for the best coffee on Earth, and meals in the Great Hall. What beautiful stories I've read and what beautiful souls I've met here.

Another turn around the blue ball and #iampublishing. A story, a world, a series that I've been writing for ten years becomes a reality on Jan 31 on Amazon. How is this happening??

So, who am I? I am all these things. And more. Care-giver for ailing parent. Helper for the well-grown doctor daughter across the sea working in a missionary hospital. Fellow winery visitor with the best hubbie ever. What am I still? Little sister. Pittsburgher at heart. (Go Steelers!) Lover of purple wigs and vipers and when a plan comes together. Child of God. Grateful embracer of fandom.

It's almost time!!

I committed SG1 fic! It's a miracle!! Actually a wonderful fandom friend contracted Covid-19 and I wrote this to try to take her mind off of the fear and pain. She is much recovered now, YAY, and I hope this little thing might raise other spirits.

Title: Strange Companions
by: marzipan77
Gen, very teamy!
SG1
Team as family, Jack and Daniel friendship, take-charge Teal'c
Warnings: inaccurate medical stuff, brain damage, nausea
Episode tag to Urgo. After the team returns at the end of Urgo, Jack and Daniel have a bad reaction to the casual brain surgery. The rest of the team leaps into action to restore their teammates. About the title: The title of the episode Urgo in French is Un étrange compagnon, or A Strange Companion.
Link: Strange Companions

Snippet:

"Colonel? Daniel?"

Fraiser's heels clicked like an army of serpent guards bearing down on them. He and Daniel had been dozing on and off between blood draws and tests. Neither of them had been able to sleep.

"Seriously?" Jack spat. "Those nice rubbery wedges the nurses wear. Invest in a pair."

The silence that greeted him flipped his eyes open. Narrow blue ones stared a hole in him from the next bed. Fraiser looked more … perplexed. Or constipated.

"No relief on the pain, then, Colonel?"

"D'ya think? Gah." Jack pressed a fist against his head. "Sorry."

Out of town today, away from my fierce edit of book 1 and my rewrite of HP and the DH. Today I am privileged to visit one of my oldest, dearest friends before her brain tumor takes her away permanently. I am anxious about the drive, anxious about her health, and anxious that I speak and show my love for her, my support of her without being awkward me. I want to stay in the moment, today. To enjoy the 7 hours in the car with my husband and the few minutes I'll get to spend holding her hand. What I regret most about this pandemic is that I haven't been able to see her since February. I haven't been there through her chemo, telling stupid jokes, helping her disabled husband. How can I make up for all that in less than half an hour today? Prayers, vibes, thoughts, fleeting feelings, all good energy appreciated.

Still posting my fantasy ya novel on my blog, up to Chapter 7!

Matthias knows what to do - and it feels good. But, why doesn't Abassa see the green?

Child of the Scales, Ch 7

The second and third chapters of my original fantasy novel, Child of the Scales, is up on my blog. As a writer with a foundation in fanfic, I feel like I need to share the usual information here.

Title: Child of the Scales
Fandom: Original alt history, fantasy, ya
Rating: T
Pairings: various adults, nothing explicit, doesn't focus on romance
Warnings: nudity, violence, it's ya, so the main character, Matthias, is thrust into difficult situations.
Setting: Middle East of an alternate Earth. Some resemblance to our history around 30 AD.
Summary: Matthias is born to the Avatar of Kavvana, one of two ultimate rulers of the world. His father, Jonas, has been waiting for an Heir for centuries. His direct opponent, Nenet, has been waiting, too. Avatar of Orexis, she knows that targeting Jonas' Heir will lead to her own Heir's ultimate victory. The Balance between them has been steady for too long.

Thanks for reading!

Chapters 2&3

I have never been criticized for writing stories that are too short and to the point. So this year's 3 Sentence Ficathon has been a great stretching experience. Great prompts in so many fandoms, excellent fills. Take a gander and get inspired!

Three Sentence Ficathon

On my blog I listed the prompts I was inspired by and my fills. Check it out here: Ficathon Entries

Check out the comments and make new friends!

 Challenge 14: Share your love for a trope, a cliché, kink, motif, or theme. What makes it particularly appealing to you? 

Brotherhood. That special friendship between men - no, not THAT special friendship. :D The vibe of found family, of brothers who will fight to the end for each other. Give me that deep friendship and I'm a goner. Give me Jack and Daniel (when they are well-written) or S&H or Ilya and Napoleon or Nick and Monroe or Sam and Dean. Vin and Chris.

Team. Moving out from the central brotherhood, give me a group of people who love and rely on each other. And who, ultimately, aren't defined by their romantic pairings. Give me the Scoobies from Buffy, SG1, Mag7, Spock, Kirk, and McCoy and the greater team and the Next Gen and DS9 bunch. 

Now that that's settled... give me a story about inner tension. About misunderstood words and actions. About breaking to come back together again, deeper than before. Give me hurt/comfort. Not too much hurt - I despise torture fics, I think I know too much about the human body to make them at all entertaining - and make the reconciliation/taking care equally balanced with the hurt. 

There are some fandom specific things I love: In HP: A Snape that is nasty and mean and is forced to interact with Harry until he realizes how abusive he has been. Also in HP: Adults who aren't brain-dead idiots but take charge as they should. In MCU: Hawkeye, after he's released from Loki and learns of Phil's death. (Hm, yep, there's that brotherhood again)

Got a rec? I'd love to be pointed to Gen stories in these themes. I can do some pointing myself:

Strategic Differences by sg1jb archiveofourown.org/works/512985 (SG1)

A Year Like None Other by aspeninthesunlight archiveofourown.org/works/742072/chapters/1382061 (HP)

Lucky Pennies by IamShadow21 archiveofourown.org/works/1311790 (MCU)

Your turn!!

Once I found fan fiction on FFN, I was thrown head-long into a new world. A world where other people felt the way I did about my fandom. About the characters. About how the dialogue and action should have gone. About how different some fans thought of the characters than I did. How I hated seeing the characters written. How I resonated and felt joy about reading new stories about the Jack and Daniel I saw on the screen.

I found my voice by listening closely to others' voices, whether I agreed with them or not.

I found my love of writing by loving their words and how they were put together. And by knowing what I didn't love.

I found my confidence in my own story-telling by watching the way they spun their stories. Taking the good, and leaving the bad.

I found Betas who would be honest with me when I was honest with them.

I was challenged by their ingenuity and passion, and found the passion that had always been inside of me.

eilidh17 sg1jb  darcy3011 oneofaradia samantilles 

I fell in love with the stories, the writers, and the fandom because of these beautiful, smart, welcoming women.

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