Liz's Space

Where random things will get posted from time to time, mostly on writing.

[crescentgaia]

Oh hai again.

I'm back. Mostly to talk about the Pitt and do fanfic about the Pitt and maybe talk about how I'm a Rabbot shipper. But we're back!

[crescentgaia]

At the #writing desk today but for some #editing of my iteration for Story Grid. Clearly Baby Yoda has found his object of desire; time to make sure my characters have found theirs! ☕️ #amediting #writingclass #storygrid #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpx1IrUukk3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[crescentgaia]

Writing day. #writingcommunity #writersofinstagram #startingover #plottingandplanning #maybeworlddominationtomorrow #maybeworlddominationplans https://www.instagram.com/p/CpNwJEUO467/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[crescentgaia]

If it's Subday, it's already nap time even though we just woke up. #dogsofinstagram #dogsoftwitter #dogsoftumblr #Cavachon #CookietheCavachon #sunday #nap #blankets #happydoggo https://www.instagram.com/p/CpIXkvPOIz6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[crescentgaia]

Waxing cresecnt moon over my house tonight. #cold #moon #moonphotography #photooftheday https://www.instagram.com/p/CpHB2x7OrML/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[crescentgaia]

Coffee, book, and the promise of writing in the background. ☕️ #bookstagram #starbucks #amreading #amreadingromance #thedeadromantics #onlyonchapterfour #butiloveit https://www.instagram.com/p/CoXm_W4uCXd/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[crescentgaia]

She's like "it's Monday. I don't wanna get up". #dogsoftwitter #dogsofinstagram #Cavachon #CookietheCavachon #dogsoftumblr https://www.instagram.com/p/CoU63UEudR3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[crescentgaia]

The Menu thoughts

First off, the biggest one is how did this not get nominated for all the food porn? If that's not a snub, I don't know what is.

I only saw the trailers for the movie and no idea how much of a mind fuck this movie is. It's brilliant. It is going to live rent free in my head like Fargo does. Years from now, I will hear Yes Chef via watching Hell's Kitchen or another cooking show and the movie will just pop into my head. I don't think I can ever look at certain foods from the movie the same way again. It's just - go. Watch it. Let it live rent free in your head too. It's worth it.

[crescentgaia]

Discussing Yuletide - warning, it's Long

The title is a bit misleading but it's more the fact that I'm not sure what to title this. Saying "Discussing My Yuletide Fics" makes it sound like I'm grandstanding but this title makes it sound like there was a problem. There wasn't. Yuletide was as wonderful and as magical as when I first started doing it back in... *checks notes* 2010.

But I want to discuss thought processes, even though they're kinda not all that deep. There was a call in the reveals post to share your thought processes. Mine are really more of a "I Googled shit and went down a rabbit hole". But let's start.

Glass Trains for elektra121 - Dracula (Bram Stroker [Novel 1897]), Jonathan Harker/Mina Murray Harker - was the first fic I wrote this year. It was a combination of it being the only fandom I knew and the idea of writing fluff. I like writing fluff because it's cozy and you can add or remove layers of what's happening during different times of the year. I decided to set it at Christmas, after the events of the novel, because, well, see fluff. The added idea of putting in something they loved, like trains, came from the letter writer which led to even wondering if people were doing glass blowing back then. Spoiler: yes, they were and it was on commercial scale. It didn't take long to make the jump from glass blowing for windows to glass blowing figurines. Add in the idea of it being a train and ta-da, you have the title. It was just fun to add in the idea that they would get each other the same gift because they're like that. Due to the events of the novel not being specific to when their son was born, I made it that Mina was in the middle of her pregnancy but before isolation. That part was another bit of Google as I simply didn't know how women who had a bit of means - I always thought of Jonathan as upperish middle class - had children in Victorian times. But yes, this was a lot of fun and I am extremely grateful to everyone who seems to be enjoying reading it.

Seperate for Floranna - Elfquest, centering on Rayek - was me having a bit of fun. A bit of background, for those who haven't kept up with the series or know of it, Rayek has always been a sort of antagonist / anti-hero type figure to me. He directly opposes Cutter, who is one of the main protagonists if not the main character, and has done so since the Wolfriders discovered the Sun Folk. However, in one of his acts of bravery / selfishness, he takes in the spirit of the villain of the series, Winnowill, as he believes he lovers her and vice versa. However, the two always fight over control of the body and she's been able to take over other bodies so he then has to kill said person she's inhabited. That's a big storyline from Rogue's Curse where I took a bit of inspiration and kept him in his tall form from Return to Blue Mountain series. One of Winnowill's powers is that she's a healer who hurts instead of heals but still has the ability to be a healer. Which then led into the idea of being cruel to Rayek and making it so Winnowill body modifies him into being able to get pregnant through her dark powers and now she has her own separate body again. I ended the fic with the birth because I wasn't sure what I wanted to happen after that. I might come back to it and write a sequel where, instead of turning away from the Palace like he did in the Final Quest, he shows up with the child and they are both healed. Not to have a happily ever after as lovers but more as family. Mostly because I do believe the idea that a lot of their ideas were the same but not to the level of lovers - Winnowill just used it against him like she's done to others in the past. But, maybe, just maybe, going forward, something could change.

Questioning for serephemeral - Rings of Power, Galadriel | Artanis / Halbrand | Sauron | Mairon - this was one of the most fun fics to write because the prompt I was given was perfect. Also, I have a lot of random Lord of the Rings lore floating around in the back brain that I simply needed to tease out with research into the various Tolkien wikis that are out there. But, basically, this fic asks why was Sauron allowed to float on Ulmo? Ulmo, for those who do not know, is the Vala responsible for all of the ocaens of Middle Earth. He has two Maiar who help him - Ossë, who was tempted by Melkor into service but asked and was granted forgiveness, and Uinen who is Ossë's wife and is the one who helps to calm his violent temper. The second question is why Ossë allowed Halbrand, who Ossë would have known or seen through the disguise as Sauron, to save Galadriel. And then what Galadriel does with that knowledge after getting the answer to her questions. It was such fun to write, especially to bring together the two vastly different knowledge bases, and I have more ideas for writing the pairing. We'll see if I actually do them.

The Change for Evandar - back to the Dracula novel but this time with Dracula/Jonathan Harker - this was a Yuletide Madness treat because I loved the idea of this pairing. I basically took an idea of twisting what happened after the incident with the Brides and ran with it. I might have also fallen down a Ao3 rabbit hole before I found the prompt and wanted to try my hand at the pairing as well. This one is ripe for a sequel - I left it that they're going to head towards England and leave the castle / village to the Brides - but we'll see. The one big thing I learned from writing this fic is that the Brides, save for the Van Helsing movie, have never ever been truly named. There's some questions about who could be the different brides or if one or two of them are Dracula's daughters or related to him, but there's no names for them. It's strange and something that I might dig more into the fandom / meta of the literary world to see if there are answers. I would like there to be answers, so that might be my big research project of 2023.

That's all I wrote for Yuletide this year! Sorry this is such a long post. I tend to ramble when I'm having fun. Hope everyone had a great holiday season and a safe New Years.

[writing-prompt-s]

Image prompt

[randomslasher]

“Gary, I realize it’s your first day, but we do have a dress code.”

[northern-borealis]

I literally can’t tell who is talking to who, and I don’t want to change that for a second.

[crescentgaia]

"What do you mean I'm early?" "it's July. And you're in California. Are you sure you're not going to die in that thing?" "What's California?"

[fuukonomiko]

REBLOG if you have amazing, talented WRITER friends.

Because I certainly do, and I love every single one of them and their work.

[crescentgaia]

Fuck yes I do. Also, this is a swearing tumblr. Get out now if it offends ya.

[whitneywrites]

Hair Texture & Appearance

Below is a list of words to describe hair texture/appearance:

bristly - having a stiff and prickly texture

brittle - hard but liable to break or shatter easily

bushy - resembling a bush; thick and shaggy

coarse - rough

coiff - style or arrange (someone’s hair), typically in an elaborate way

coiffured - having the hair brushed, combed, and curled

crinkly - having wrinkles or waves

delicate - very fine in texture

disheveled - untidy; disordered

downy - covered with fine soft hair

dull - lacking brightness, vividness, or sheen

fine - thin

flat - dull and lifeless

fluffy - being light and soft or airy

frizzy - formed of a mass of small, tight curls or tufts

fuzzy - having a frizzy, fluffy, or frayed texture or appearance

glossy - shiny and smooth

greasy - covered with or resembling an oily substance

knotted - tangled

lank - long, limp, and straight

lush - rich, thick, full

lustrous - having luster; shining

luxuriant - thick and healthy

luxurious - characterized by opulence, sumptuousness, or rich abundance

matted - tangled into a thick mass

oily - containing oil

puffy - soft, rounded, and light

satiny - having a smooth, glossy surface or finish like that of satin

scraggly - ragged, thin, or untidy in form or appearance

shaggy - long, thick, and unkempt

silky - of or resembling silk, especially in being soft, fine, and lustrous

sleek - smooth and glossy

slick - smooth and glossy

snarled - tangled

stiff - not easily bent or changed in shape; rigid

straw-like - resembling straw

stringy - resembling string; long, thin, and lusterless

supple - bending and moving easily and gracefully; flexible

tangled - twisted together untidily; matted

tousled - untidy

unkempt - having an untidy or disheveled appearance

velvety - having a smooth, soft appearance

voluminous - to add fullness or volume

wavy - not straight or curly, but curves slightly

windblown - messy because of being blown around by wind

windswept - untidy in appearance after being exposed to the wind

wiry - resembling wire in form and texture

wispy - fine; feathery

[crescentgaia]

Mostly so I can find it easily again but holy shit this is helpful.

[crescentgaia]

Hello December Bringer of dark Bringer of shining lights into gloom Of trees bright green And brown nearly black.

Hello December Short and dark Long with light Cold in our bones While white blankets the land

Hello December Duality is your soul Darkness and light Sorrow and joy Holder of holidays Sharp crying tears And the long night.

[writing-prompt-s]

You are pretty sure that your roommate is a new villain terrorizing the city and you are conflicted. They cook extra food for you and your other roommates frequently, pay you their share of the bills on time, and even help to clean the apartment. They are the perfect roommate.

[crescentgaia]

I gathered my courage as I stood outside of my roommate, Kevin's, door. It was no secret the others decided to discretely leave when we slowly figured out what Kevin was doing with all his spare time. I and my other roommate, Jemma, were the only two left. The rent was low, considering I was disabled and struggling to find work, and Jemma was hitting a hard patch with her painting not selling. Kevin always paid his share, made sure we were fed and warm, but - but I was about to be an idiot.

I knocked on the door and waited for him to say come in. I opened the door, my eyes slowly taking in the room as they also slowly focused. The light was low, too low for me to focus clearly, and I cleared my throat. "So, um, I - I need to - I just - " my words fumbled over each other as I stood next to the door, ready to flee at a moment's notice.

Kevin turned and raised an eyebrow.

"I'mprettysureyou'rethenewvillainandit'sveryhardtryingtofigureoutwhy," came tumbling out in one long string.

Kevin snorted. "Well, I'm glad we got that out of the way. Do you care if I am?"

I could swear the burning smell that suddenly came on was my brain short-circuiting. "What?"

"Do you care that I am this villain?" he asked, standing up and folding his hands behind his back. "You're fed and warm. If it's a matter of changing the money of who pays the rent, I'm more than happy to pay more. I know we've had some leave and you and Jemma aren't in the best of circumstances. Or I can buy the entire building and vacate." He paused. "I know it's a lot. I simply never had friends before. Or people that I wanted to make sure were safe."

"Oh." I blinked, trying to figure out what I wanted. Knoweldge. I had that. But did I care? A bit. Only in the sense that I never wanted to go to jail. He was the genius though. Evil genius, but still a genius. "So, um, what's the penalty for not turning you in?"

He grinned, menacing, reminding me of a shark. "You'll never have to worry about that. Anyway, time for dinner. I was thinking that frozen pizza we have?"

"Oh. Um. Sure," I said, turning and leaving the room with Kevin following behind me. I got the table ready, setting for three before remembering that Jemma wouldn't be there tonight, and put it away. Kevin was doing something to the pizza, making it smell amazing, and I happily ate. Probably more than I should, considering the headache that followed, but it was gone by the time I woke up that morning. So was any memory of what happened yesterday afternoon.

Kevin was in the kitchen when I stumbled in, looking worried. "How's your head?"

I blinked. "What?"

"You left a cabinet open and hit your head pretty hard. I nearly took you to the ER. Do you remember?"

I shook my head no before sitting down at the table. He brought over a cup of coffee and I looked down into it. I couldn't remember, but Kevin wouldn't lie, right? Then I remembered the rumors I heard and wanted to ask him about being the villain. But would it make anything better? I left it, sipping at the coffee and listening to him and Jemma talk, happier our noisier roommates were gone to have a quiet morning.

I simply decided that ignorance would have to be bliss and let it go.

[crescentgaia]

Coming back here

I... I don't know what I'm going to do with it but I decided to come over here too. Not fleeing Twitter or Facebook but more branching out into different spaces. I have a blog, but it didn't feel completely right to go back there. So, I'm back here. Again. I might just keep it this time and make it a bit more of a daily diary thing? Do people do that outside of Dreamjournal? Eh.

I also can't sleep so make of that what you will too. My sleep schedule is screwy but at least I'm using it for writing a bit here and there. Also, I'm rewatching Shang-Chi for the millionth time as background music.

[crescentgaia]

A very not-scientific poll

How many people have never been to Applebees? 

[crescentgaia]

Where Liz pimps the Sherlockian land comm

Come join the land community that tests the question, which Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson is the better Consulting Detective team. Apply for one of two teams HERE. Team Brownstone or Team 221B. Say that crescent_gaia sent you!