#hungrytribute

[porchwood]

Hello! Glad you reopened your ask box :) How are you, my friend?

Thank you, sweets. ♥ Not sure whether I’ll keep it open/up (and I don’t know if I’ll ever bring back anons), but we’ll give it a few more days. :/

Things are sort of static right now: I’m safe, clothed, fed, working, paying my bills, etc., so those bases are covered, but I’m almost 1700 miles away from my roommate, 95% of my worldly possessions, and the apartment I’ve been paying half rent/utils on since September, and I have absolutely no idea how I’ll ever get back there. :( It’s not so much a money problem (I’m getting a decent tax refund this year and I have a little saved from some unexpected funds last fall) as sheer logistics, and when you can’t conquer those, no amount of money will help. :(

But as far as right now, I’m working at a local massage franchise that I’m not going to identify by name, just in case. (It was a last resort - my only option for temp work when I came back in October - and they’ve been very good to me, but you really do work yourself to the bone for a low wage and pray you get clients who tip generously so you can make enough to live on. :/) I’m living with my older sister in her new little house in northwest(ish) Lincoln, Nebraska, and coping with life by thrifting for books at Goodwill on my days off.

My sister and I have our continued passionate love-resentment thing going, and at present we’re bonding over Rogue One. She finally got me to watch it in the theater when I realized that (Minor Spoiler Alert for fanfic reasons) Krennic is, in certain ways, much like Granny Ashpet’s father. ;) So I now have a Funko Pop Krennic on display with some of my When the Moonabilia -

- and my sister and I keep hiding packs of Krennic beverage napkins (clearance from the local party store) in each other’s personal effects and playing “The Imperial Suite” in the porch on a portable stereo when each other arrives home from work.

Also, we might both ship Jynnic, just a bit. ;)

I may have created a Tumblr for said sister (she uses browser Tumblr to look at several blogs on a daily basis but doesn’t interact and didn’t have an account before), half for ease of sharing posts and half for driving her crazy, but so far I haven’t gotten her to even look at her dash yet. But, y’know, rebellions are built on hope. ;) 

And I’ve had slightly better luck exploiting her vehement love-hatred for Benedict Cumberbatch...

It’s childish, I know, but fandom silliness is sort of how you cope when you’re this old and worn out from work and just don’t have anyone/anything else (husbands/boyfriends, children, friends outside of work, immediate family that isn’t thousands of miles away). As I remind my sister every so often, a big reason I didn’t move to Washington with our parents five years ago was because she and I were fangirling over THG and actually getting along. Which is food for thought.

Thank you so much for your note, sweetie. ♥ I hope you’re having a lovely Easter!

[andthisisthewonder]

Hello! Thank you for not giving up on your amazing story! Loved this new chapter very much ) But I'm worried about the everlark connection. What's happened? Can't wait to read more. And why Peeta's not alone anymore? Yes, you made me nervous )) Thanks!

Sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger! And thank you for taking the time to send me this message. I really appreciate it.

[porchwood]

Well, questions 5 and 14 for WtM if you don't mind:)

Hey sweetie! And EEP, reader questions!!! I’ve blocked off a little time this afternoon so here we go!

5: What part was hardest to write?

At any given point, it seems to be the part I’m stuck at (really, I get mired at points for months! :P), but I think overall it’s been the scenes related to working on the deerskin because there are so many steps to the process and I so badly want to do it well, without either skimping on the details or bogging the story down. (I’ve read too many fics where Katniss comes home from hunting and puts a rabbit, fur and all, directly in the fridge, and I don’t want to be that writer!) Katniss obviously wouldn’t tan a deerskin like a modern hunter (salt, battery acid, etc), but the brain-tanning articles aren’t always super informative (or, erm, intelligently written), so I really stress about depicting things wrong/sounding ignorant and it seriously slows up the progress of the scene, even if the deerskin work is secondary to what’s going on. That’s a substantial part of my current block, actually. :/

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

I didn’t set out to teach or preach anything through WtM (or any of my fics, really) but when I stop to think about it, my fics all have this really unique attitude toward love, relationships, and intimacy that I’m not sure I’ve seen anywhere else. Characters daydream about brides and sweethearts and beloveds, about “love-making,” pregnancy, and even nursing babies... Sex is never the real endgame and love and procreation are always a huge part of the act. 

I want people to read my stories and demand an alternative word to “smut” because that’s so not what I write. ;) I write intimate things, yes, even graphic at times, but “smut” just doesn’t fit. Even Janek/Raisa scenes - after their disastrous first time - always have a certain measure of comfort/ease and even affection. (I’m not saying real-life intimacy is always celestial or lovely or even meaningful, mind, but if I’m going to depict it in prose, there’s a darn good reason for the scene and it isn’t reader titillation.)

Every part of a beloved is beautiful and cherished by the lover, from Katniss’s body hair to the “residual limb” left by the amputation of Peeta’s leg, and that beloved is always perfect in the lover’s eyes. (Physically, that is. ;) They have faults, quirks, etc., of course, but when they’re finally naked and gazing at each other they’re both feeling like they won the lottery, so to speak.) I love describing Everlark in each other’s eyes and leaving it up to the reader whether either of them is objectively beautiful. ;) In my humble opinion Katniss is indeed quite beautiful, though she has no reason to think that of herself so she’s completely oblivious to it, and Peeta is pleasant to look at but not exceptional in appearance (stocky, ashy hair, medium height - he’s exquisitely ordinary!), but he’s so wonderfully good and gentle and loving that it makes him - well, radiant as the sun. ♥

Ooh, and I love lavishing love on minor characters and making people rethink their assumptions about canon characters in general. ;) There’s so much Rye Mellark out there and if I can get even one reader to give a little thought to the oldest Mellark brother or wonder just what sort of man the middle one really is (and OH, does Luka ever have an arc coming in Act 3!), I’d count it a success. When the Moon is like a dozen love stories all woven together in a complex tapestry - maybe a crazy quilt would be a better metaphor (and more appropriate for District 12)! - and I’d love for readers to come away from it curious about those other characters and wanting to hear more about their love stories!

Heavens, that was a ramble! Did I manage to answer your question in there, dear?

[andthisisthewonder]

Hey! How are you doing? I miss your ATWDD... Any news about it? :)

Hi there! I’m so sorry, I have nothing new to report for ATWDD right now. I haven’t given up, but some personal issues have kept me from writing. Thank you so much for checking in!!

[sothereff]

Hey! Thank you for the SPTL update! :) I was sooo happy to see it on my dash. It seems all my favs are "on hiatus" now and I was afraid you won't post new chapters too. Thanks for your hard work. I appreciate it. The chapter was amaizing! These two stubborn people made things right with each other. Finally :)

No hiatus for me!! I am determined to finish this story, and the other zillion I’ve got started; at this pace, you should expect to see me around here for a looong time. ;)

Glad you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading!

[sothereff]

Hello ) How about SPTL update?

Sorry, I’m working on chapter 14 and trying to make sure chapter 13 isn’t complete garbage before I can post. My laptop is near death, so writing has been at a minimum (I refuse to do it on my work laptop, and I’m a horrible mobile typist.) I should be ready in the next couple of weeks, but I’m not sure when.

However, I was tagged in one of those 7-lines-of-your-fic things, so I will post a snippet in a few minutes. Thanks for checking in!!!

[sothereff]

Thank you for the SSM :) The next chapter is going to be sad for everyone. But it makes me think we will see a lot of cute Everlark moments :) I just wish we could have some Peeta's POV here :)

You’re welcome! :) 

Without spoiling much, I will say 12 is not overly sad, just… complicated. As everything seems to be for these two. But it does move us forward a little more. 

I don’t want to disappoint, but the balance of the story will still be from Katniss’ point of view. I don’t tend to switch POV in my stories (except Where the Heart Is; but I saw that one as two halves of the same story.) It helps me keep a little mystery for my readers, to see things only through her eyes.

I would consider a possible outtake from Peeta’s POV someday though. Not sure which scene(s) would be best… Definitely something to think about!

[andthisisthewonder]

Hey! What about ATWDD? Maybe you could post some SSS? I miss this story a lot ( Thank you!

I’m so sorry, I don’t even have a little written for SSS. It’s still living in my head. I hope to write more once Mockingjay is released and NaNoWriMo is over.