About this Journal
Current Month
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031
Jun. 7th, 2008 @ 11:02 am [Warmakers] At the Beginning
Current Mood: nostalgic
Tags: ,

Title: At the Beginning
Characters: everyone I could fit!
Warmakers Adventure: 1-26
Word Count: ~1700 (plus lyrics)
Summary: This is a "script" for the AMV I wish I could make, if Warmakers were an actual anime, as a retrospective of the campaign. The song is "At the Beginning" by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx, which I already used in a previous fic. Apparently I just can't get enough of this song.
Notes: I recommend listening to the song while reading the fic, to get an idea of how the "music video" would work.

( Lights, camera, and ... )
About this Entry
12 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Jun. 4th, 2008 @ 10:56 am Return of the happy list
Current Mood: blank
Tags: , , , , , ,

I've totally dropped the ball on my daily happy lists, though that's because ... er ... well, riding the emotional wave of the end of Warmakers has kept me consistently happy (if wooby) and distracted from most other things. <--loser

So anyway! Today's list of happiness! Which is ... only mostly about Warmakers!

1. Various time-sensitive things at work that were mostly out of my hands (and thus I was uncertain whether or not they would get done on time) have been resolved. That was a relatively minor stress, but I'm glad to have gotten it off my back.

2. Because of the rush of taking care of those work things, the morning has passed by quite quickly, and it's almost lunchtime.

3. [info]shadawyn has tempted me (yet again) with new shinies. :3 I'm dipping my toe into symphonic metal music because of songs she's shared, and have ordered Within Temptation's The Heart of Everything, Nightwish's Dark Passion Play, and Krypteria's Bloodangel's Cry. All of which have songs that were used for Warmakers fic and FSTs. XD;;;

4. I have been writing and drawing for Warmakers every day since the campaign ended. Okay, yes, that's horribly dorky, but - I'm writing and drawing every day! This has been helped by the fact that other people (mostly [info]shadawyn, but also the other players and GM) have been willing to keep talking with me about the game and develop a broad outline of the future plot developments, which keeps the characters alive in my head.

5. Tonight I get to go to [info]jfrog78's house and hang with almost all of the Warmakers crew!

Maybe I'll even get back to setting goals soon ...
About this Entry
19 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Jun. 1st, 2008 @ 12:14 pm [Warmakers] When the World Stops Turning
Current Mood: geeky
Current Music: "All Systems Go," Krypteria
Tags: ,

Title: When the World Stops Turning
Characters: Sae and everyone else
Warmakers Adventure: 26
Word Count: ~1900
Summary: The Guardians fight the final battle together.
Notes: Title comes from "At the Beginning" by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx. Dorky, but I couldn't resist.

( 'I'll be there when the world stops turning/I'll be there when the storm is through' )
About this Entry
13 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 31st, 2008 @ 10:21 am Haircuts and endings
Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Music: "Trigger," Nakamura Fukiko
Tags: ,

In a couple of hours I'm going to get my hair cut by [info]kyonkun and [info]aznridah's hairdresser (ooh, doesn't that sound fancy? ;D).

Almost a week ago, I played the final adventure of Warmakers.

The relationship between these two things probably only makes sense in my mind, but it's real enough for me. A few weeks ago, I joked to [info]shadawyn that chopping your hair off is something you do after a breakup, so it figures that I'd do it right after my long-term relationship with Warmakers ended. XD (Not that I'm actually chopping my hair short ... and not that I'm really done with Warmakers, at least not if you count fic ... oh well.)

The end of Warmakers means, of course, the end of a D&D campaign - but also no more episodes of a story that I've been following for a year and a half, and has hardcore eaten my brain for at least the past six months; no more going to [info]shadawyn and [info]irishninja's apartment every other Sunday and seeing the other players; no more obsessive poring over one of my favorite character builds to date ... It's the end of a lot of stuff, obviously. More than that, it's change. And change always leaves me feeling kind of wistful and wooby.

So the thought of other changes - either little ones, like my pending haircut, or big ones, like moving in with [info]ratzeo later this year - are setting off my woobiness and leave me feeling sensitive.

I don't mind. In a weird way, I enjoy being sensitive, when it makes me feel so strongly in a positive way (either a straight-up "yay I'm happy about this" way, or a bittersweet "I'm sad I no longer have this, but that means it was something I really liked" way). Of course, being sensitive can have its downsides like feeling so easily panicked by the prospect of the NWSA conference in THREE WEEKS that I currently can't look too closely at my notes without getting bad heart-poundy feelings but ANYWAY. But even if the really strong good moods are fleeting, and the bad moods are disruptive, it's good to occasionally be made to really pay attention to, and experience, the world. At least I think so.

Oh, and if anyone is interested, here is the model image that I will be giving to the hairdresser. Here's hoping it looks that good!
About this Entry
3 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 29th, 2008 @ 10:35 pm [Warmakers] Becoming Queen
Current Mood: creative
Tags: ,

Title: Becoming Queen
Characters: Sae, Reika, Gunnar, Khag, Mizuki, Otonashi
Warmakers Adventure: 26
Word Count: ~1600
Summary: Sae conquered Hell. Now she finds out what that means.
Notes: Thanks to [info]shadawyn, beta reader extraordinaire.

( When the Conqueror becomes Queen. )
About this Entry
22 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 27th, 2008 @ 10:41 pm [Warmakers] Goodbyes
Current Mood: geeky
Tags: ,

Title: Goodbyes
Characters: Sae and everybody else
Warmakers Adventure: 26
Word Count: ~1200
Summary: Sae sees off her teammates before the final battle.
Notes: Some of these conversations were roleplayed during the session, some were edited, and some were made up.

( A few final words. )
About this Entry
11 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 27th, 2008 @ 01:29 pm Warmakers retrospective
Current Mood: wooby
Tags:

( feel free to skip )
About this Entry
4 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 23rd, 2008 @ 11:50 am Sick day, sorta
Current Mood: trying not to become my icon
Tags: , ,

Started feeling ill last night. Looks like I've finally succumbed to whatever has been making people around me sick. Took a sick day today to hopefully nip it in the bud. I'm confident I can; recently I've been able to avoid down-and-out sickness by taking a day to recuperate early on. And I WILL be well for Warmakers, dammit.

Today's last-day-before-game to-do list:

[x] eat lunch
[ ] keep consuming tea, oranges, vitamin C supplements
[x] take a nap only if necessary for recovery, not if I'm just feeling lazy (I didn't nap ... which I consider accomplishing this goal!)
[x] finish level 18 Khag
[x] level 19 Khag
[x] character sheet for Khag's mount
[x] print final version (no, really, for real this time) of Sae character sheets
[ ] last-minute plans for followers?? + crash course in Ranger spellcasting
[x] clean stove
[x] packing list for weekend
[x] pack what's on the list
[x] eat dinner
[x] get to [info]ratzeo's at a decent hour
[ ] if time permits: fanart?
About this Entry
7 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 22nd, 2008 @ 08:38 am (no subject)
Current Mood: anxious
Tags: ,

I was really tired last night due to the sleep-dep, but still made myself go to the gym like I'd planned. I figured the exercise would help with the headache-y/nauseous feelings. (And it did - or maybe the weather cooling down helped. Or maybe both. Either way, I'm happy to be improving.)

I was still super-tired, though, so I promised myself I'd get a nap in. However, once I got back from the gym, took a shower, and ate dinner, it was pretty late. So, as you can expect, my "nap" turned into a two-hour-what-time-is-it-OH-SNAP-IT'S-MY-BEDTIME. orz

So no progress on leveling last night. *sigh*

On the positive side, all my leveling tools are here with me (either paper notes or online SRDs), so I will be leveling during my lunch break. 8D

And tonight ... oh, I don't know. I hope I'll have some extra time after I finish all my new character sheets, because I'd like to do something creative. Fic or art, it doesn't matter; but I want to get something else done for the Warmakers Endgame Extravaganza. (And yes, I realize I can write fic and draw fanart after the campaign is over. But that's different.)

Two more days ZOMG.
About this Entry
2 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 21st, 2008 @ 09:36 am Yeah, I took this specifically for Sae
Current Mood: geeky
Tags: ,

LiveJournal Username
Your Primary Super Power
Cape?
Identitiy
Origin
Location of Head Quarters
Primary Costume/Uniform Colors
Why are you a Superhero?
Your Superheroic Codename
The veteran grim member of the teammiss_arel
The sexist and crass but annoyingly effective onewillow_dot_com
The bright-eyed novice or sidekickniwatorimegami
The teammate that will eventually go evil or insanjfrog78
The inept yet determined/reoccurring supervillainshinyshellac
The sinister Arch-Villain and team's greatest foemimerki
The perky civilian that keeps getting kidnappedmiss_arel
How often does your team actually 'save the day'?
83%
This Fun Quiz created by Shannon at BlogQuiz.Net
Weight Loss Tips at WeightLossTips.TV



Yes, [info]niwatorimegami would be the Guardians' bright-eyed sidekick. XD

*eyes [info]jfrog78 suspiciously*
About this Entry
11 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 21st, 2008 @ 08:07 am Gotta get my day started ...
Current Mood: tired
Tags: , , ,

So I'm trying to resist the urge to be cranky and toss in the towel for the day. I spent last night building my character, but of course that took longer than expected (why did I think I could build a 19th level character in a couple of hours? I should know that I'm far too Type A for that). But I didn't want to quit, so I stayed up late ... and now I'm at work, both short on sleep and with an incomplete character.

On top of that, I believe the heat has caused me to be dehydrated or something, because I've been having regular headaches (which are probably also responsible for my recent unhappy stomach).

But! I can't give up on my day, so here's my "it's not so bad" happy list:

1. [info]ratzeo not only gave me access to his D&D library, but also provided plenty of helpful feedback and suggestions. He was also patient with my constant questions and tolerated my stressing out over my time constraints and difficulties with the character.

2. [info]ratzeo also reminded me that it is always a choice to let myself get stressed out. It may be hard to choose not to stress, but it is not impossible. And when I make that choice, not only am I happier, but those around me are, as well. This gets its own entry because it's very, very important for me to remember. It's also extra-happy that he is here to remind me.

3. On a lighter note ... my character is gonna be cool. 8D Alas, he will not be - as I originally envisioned - a giant cat-man wielding an orc double axe from the back of his dire tiger animal companion. I found a smarter and more efficient character build. But it's going to be pretty close to that original image.

4. If the heat is what's responsible for my headaches, then that should be going away now that we're not fluctuating wildly between autumn coolness and summer oven temperatures.

5. This. (I swear, the world is conspiring to make me want a Scottish Fold.)
About this Entry
6 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 19th, 2008 @ 11:18 am This week's goals: Excessively Warmakers Edition!
Current Mood: determined
Tags: , , ,

Warmakers is ending this weekend, and I am unabashedly shelving all my other goals for the duration of this week. 8D

To be completed by Saturday morning
[ ] level 18 Khag
[ ] level 19 Khag
[ ] character sheet for Khag's mount
[ ] 4-koma (at least the ones in progress ... perhaps more?)
[ ] one final (yeah right) fanart: catgirl!Sae
[ ] one final (yeah right) fic or RP?

Constantly-being-updated schedule
Monday
-gym
-grocery run for myself
-finish coloring 4-koma

Tuesday
-grocery run for Warmakers
-[info]ratzeo's for leveling

Wednesday
-gym

Thursday
-cook dinner
-finish character sheets

Friday
-gym

Shoved to the side; must return to these next week
-Aer'inbar character
-NWSA outline
-Patricia Hill Collins book (either Black Feminist Thought or Black Sexual Politics)
-check NWSA schedule and decide what events to attend
About this Entry
7 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 19th, 2008 @ 08:53 am Woo Monday
Current Mood: calm
Tags: , , ,

Definitely don't want to be back in the office today, but the weekend makes up for it.

The weather was gorgeous throughout, and I got to enjoy it in the ideal way - for instance, on Saturday when it broke 90 degrees, I was actually inside for a meeting for the NWSA conference. We were at my professor's house, which has a lovely and open structure, so we got to enjoy sunshine and fresh air while still inside and mostly protected from the heat. I'm still wrestling with my (lack of) confidence regarding our presentation, but there's nothing to do but work through it (because there's no way in hell I'd quit ;D).

That evening, I helped celebrate [info]redbird's 21st birthday. :D

Sunday was slightly cooler and hit the perfect pleasantly warm temperature. Luckily, that was the day I hit up the Street Fair and got to hang out and eat fair food with folks. However, after the others tired out and returned indoors, I decided I hadn't bought enough shinies, took a brief rest, and went back out. XD I walked away from the fair with gorgeous hair jewelry (which I really have enough of, but they were a unique style, and also relatively inexpensive), earrings from these folks (only three pairs!), and two broomstick style skirts. (After all this, it's probably for the best that nothing from the BPAL update this month pinged me, so I won't be making yet another order. XD;;)

I also spent time wrangling my characters for the conclusion of Warmakers - which is this weekend! (Eep.) Part of me can't believe that we're at this point and feels all wooby and in denial, while, paradoxically, part of me can't wait. 8D
About this Entry
1 comment
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 15th, 2008 @ 12:40 pm I should not grumble about being happy ...
Current Mood: busy
Tags: , , , ,

Making a happy list for today felt like a burden, because there are a bunch of little stressors that I wanted to think about instead. But that's exactly the time I should make a happy list, right?

1. I see the sun from my front desk - looks like it just came out a few minutes ago. And yeah, that will make my workout this evening a little blech (I tried to get all my weekly gym trips in before the heat arrived, but working out three days in a row is not a good idea). But for the rest of the week, I will wear cool clothes and drink cool liquids and enjoy the sunshine and warmth. ETA: I went outside for a quick walk at the end of my lunch break, and it was lovely. ♥

2. Just found out some relieving family news ... no thanks to [info]kyonkun. ;D

3. I'm running around like a headless chicken trying to figure out how to manage the plans I have for this weekend - but hey! It's all good stuff that I want to do, so there's really no way that I'm losing out, right? I have to run from one fun thing to the next!

4. One more week until Warmakers super-epic-mind-blowing-endgame-extravaganza! XD On top of running around like a headless chicken in terms of my social plans, I'm also a headless chicken who wants to squeeze in time to work on fanfic/art before the campaign ends. But that enthusiasm is a lot of fun, even if it makes me feel stretched a little thin.

5. Speaking of Warmakers, I'm still really happy with my last fic - not only did I really want to write it, but it was really easy to write (two things which do not always coincide!). And it represents, at least to me, so much fun and cool character growth that I've gotten to explore over the course of the campaign. Mind you, the end result of Sae's character is much different from what I envisioned at the beginning, and even from what I envisioned two months ago - but that's part of the fun. I've gotten to play around and figure out how story events, level progression, inter-character RP, and my own character's personality all fit together and worked towards a narrative conclusion. Some things went according to plan, some things came together in happy coincidences, and some things were challenges I had to figure out how to deal with. Now that's fun creative work.
About this Entry
6 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 13th, 2008 @ 10:56 pm [Warmakers] Into the Clear
Current Mood: accomplished
Tags: ,

Title: Into the Clear
Characters: Sae, Reika, Gunnar, Khag
Warmakers Adventure: 24
Word Count: ~4100
Summary: The Great Hunt and its aftermath, through Sae's eyes.
Notes: The title of the fic is from "Steer" by Missy Higgins, which I think of as Sae's image song for the last part of the Warmakers campaign. This fic represents the last big chunk of the character development that I wanted to happen for Sae. We'll see what comes out of the last two adventures, of course, but this is the last piece of her narrative that I have planned.

( 'But the search ends here/Where the night is totally clear/And your heart is fierce/So now you finally know that you control where you go' )
About this Entry
14 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 13th, 2008 @ 11:46 am Happy Tuesday!
Current Mood: pleased
Tags: , , , ,

1. My tax return arrived yesterday, woo! I'm not planning to splurge on anything - but not because I'm responsible. It's because I've already bought pricey things (or know of pricey things I will soon purchase) and I know I'll need that money in the bank. XD;;

2. The weather is supposed to turn gorgeous this week, and be warm and sunny for the weekend. (This is despite the fact that it is cool and drizzly today. Oh, Seattle. ♥)

3. Fic-writing continues apace. This one is coming much more easily than the last one, happily. I'm also working on an RP with [info]shadawyn, which makes me extra happy because it's been a while since the twins have really talked.

4. Last night I finished reading Batgirl: Year One, a trade that I picked up at the book sale. Awesome fun. The more I read of Barbara, the more I like her.

5. Wearing Pele today, and it's absolutely lovely.
About this Entry
4 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 12th, 2008 @ 02:06 pm Monday means goals!
Current Mood: busy
Tags: , , , ,

This week should be a little less busy and structured, in terms of my to-do list. I want to maintain my productivity, though, so I'm still laying out my goals.

Fun goals (work on one of these every day)
-write fic(s) for Warmakers episode 24
-draw at least one 4-koma
-make Sae's new character design (hopefully to result in some substantial drawing, though that may have to wait until next week)

Less-fun goals (also work on one of these every day)
-gym x 3
-revise resume
-read NWSA write-up
-write my own NWSA write-up
-grocery shopping for weekend events

Tentative schedule

Monday
[x] gym
[x] revise resume
[x] finish(?) another thousand words on fic #1

Tuesday
[x] gym
[x] cook dinner for the week
[x] level 21 character sheet for Sae
[x] finish fic #1

Wednesday
[x] read NWSA write-up
[x] sketch out (or more) the two 4-koma that popped into my brain

Thursday
[x] gym
[x] meet [info]ratzeo for dinner ♥

Friday
[x] grocery run
[x] ink 4-koma

Saturday
[x] NWSA meeting
[x] birthday party

Sunday
[x] U-District Street Fair
[x] level Sae to 23
[x] levelstart building Khag
About this Entry
2 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 12th, 2008 @ 11:29 am Happy Monday!
Current Mood: calm
Tags: , , , , ,

(I say that because I need to hear it. XD;;)

Here are the good things from the weekend that are keeping me going today:

1. Awesome Warmakers game yesterday! Admittedly, I am self-centered and excited that some shiny stuff happened to my character and she got to do cool things. But it was a fun adventure all around, with our GM letting us go to town on a tarrasque and then dangling plot teasers in our faces.

2. I have already started writing fic for the game - about 1000 words of tarrasque butt-kicking written in a burst last night. Part of my eagerness is because this is all part of the final milestone in Sae's character development and maturation. Part of it is just because, well, ZOMG tarrasque! 8D

3. [info]shadawyn's and my BPAL order arrived last week, and I got to pick up my part of the order on Sunday. Several of the frimps from the package were also to my liking, so I have quite a bit of shininess on the perfume front right now.

4. On Saturday, I went shopping with [info]kyonkun - didn't buy much, but it was fun. We also met up with [info]ratzeo for dinner (at Mandarin Chef, my favorite Ave restaurant).

5. Last week I completed every single one of my goals. I needed to rearrange my Saturday goals a bit in order to accomodate deadlines and my own lack of energy over the weekend (woo PMS), but I was quite productive in exactly the ways I'd hoped/planned for the weekdays. (Which reminds me, I need to make a new goals for this week's to-do list ...)
About this Entry
3 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 11th, 2008 @ 01:38 am [Warmakers] Journeys
Current Mood: tired
Tags: ,

Title: Journeys
Characters: Sae, mentions of Gunnar, Nariko, Khag
Warmakers Adventure: 23
Word Count: ~1300
Summary: The Guardians travel towards M-tor, and Sae moves closer to who she wants to be.
Notes: This fic is intended to (among other things) contextualize two changes to Sae's character build. With the retcon, she gained one level of the Dreadnought class, granting her the Fearless ability. Also, at level 21 she will be taking the Leadership feat.

( Sae's strengths and desires reside in her body. Perhaps so does her purpose. )
About this Entry
4 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
May. 7th, 2008 @ 08:09 am 5 happy things for the day (week?)
Current Mood: sleepy
Tags: , , , ,

I keep composing these lists in my head, but then forgetting to post them. I've been feeling sort of breathless this week as I keep up with my goals, so things without a clear deadline of next week (or earlier) are temporarily on the back burner.

But it's always good to ruminate on why I'm happy.

1. Ran into [info]coramegan on the bus again this morning and (surprise, surprise) talked about Warmakers again. This Sunday is our second to last session - after that will be a full-weekend marathon of the last two adventures. O_O Admittedly, this is sort of a sad thing - but in a good way. We've had the full run of the "television season" (campaign) and it's time to reach the well-deserved epic ending.

2. Tonight I'll be going with some co-workers to a university banquet. :D Food, wine, and hearing about student achievements - all in all, a very pleasant way to spend my evening. Also, it's located in a campus building that I rarely get to anymore, just in time for me to see an anti-violence exhibit put on by one of my former professor's students.

3. On Friday I'm getting a massage. XD Every once in a while we have a masseuse come into our office, so when I heard about it this time I decided to splurge on a half-hour massage. And boy, do my shoulders need it.

4. My tea stash and earring collection, while both beloved, are also huge, and threaten to overflow the space allotted to them. I'm paring them down by sorting out the things that are perfectly good, but which I never use, and passing them along to folks who will appreciate them more than I do. This is not only good for me, but also for the people who will be getting my money now that I have more space. :P

5. I have thus far managed to meet all of my goals this week, even including the extra free-floating goals. I know it's only Wednesday, but I feel pleased and energized by the fact that I haven't missed anything so far. I have a pretty demanding set of goals this week (well, for me - probably other people could do all this one-handed!) and don't plan on keeping up this accelerated pace for long. But it's a temporary pace set for the purpose of next weekend's NWSA meeting (and then, one month after that, the conference itself!). Also, this weekend, I shall take a well-earned rest.
About this Entry
Leave a comment
Permanent Link