A Tale of Argh
Jul. 29th, 2019 01:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rheasilviaUpdate: I still exist!
The short version is: The Dread Microsoft Update (Beware the Ides of May!!) murdered my OS slooowly. So slowly, in fact, that my broken OS had time to break most of my fancy full-system data backups, on both of my external harddrives! Someone really thought things through there. Another update then delivered the coup de grace, leading to nearly two weeks of data anxiety and lack of working capacity. In the end, I only lost a little bit of data and a lot of time, so… could be worse?
Also, my computer guy took pity on me and charged only two hours, which is laughable considering how much time he had to put in to puzzle out WTF was going on, and WTF to do about it. So that was super nice of him. In RPG terms, a Charisma save. ;-)
Now that my PC is working again, I myself am at suboptimal levels of operational fitness due to a Monster Flu, and possibly tonsillitis. I’ll find out in a few hours. (I really hope it *is* tonsillitis, because then antibiotics will help the throat. Ouch.)
I also have a funeral to go to on Wednesday. So there is that.
But all this shall pass!
I feel as though I dropped off the face of the earth. I did stop by DW once or twice, but not nearly often enough.
What did I miss???
One thing that I’ve noticed is that several of you are posting / have posted amazing stories that I can’t wait to read!! Although I will actually have to wait, because I’m writing a story that feels fragile in my mind, and am thus not reading Guardian fanfic at the moment. (Does anyone else do that, or is it just me?) Ack! Clearly, I must write faster!
More interesting posts soon. :-)
The short version is: The Dread Microsoft Update (Beware the Ides of May!!) murdered my OS slooowly. So slowly, in fact, that my broken OS had time to break most of my fancy full-system data backups, on both of my external harddrives! Someone really thought things through there. Another update then delivered the coup de grace, leading to nearly two weeks of data anxiety and lack of working capacity. In the end, I only lost a little bit of data and a lot of time, so… could be worse?
Also, my computer guy took pity on me and charged only two hours, which is laughable considering how much time he had to put in to puzzle out WTF was going on, and WTF to do about it. So that was super nice of him. In RPG terms, a Charisma save. ;-)
Now that my PC is working again, I myself am at suboptimal levels of operational fitness due to a Monster Flu, and possibly tonsillitis. I’ll find out in a few hours. (I really hope it *is* tonsillitis, because then antibiotics will help the throat. Ouch.)
I also have a funeral to go to on Wednesday. So there is that.
But all this shall pass!
I feel as though I dropped off the face of the earth. I did stop by DW once or twice, but not nearly often enough.
What did I miss???
One thing that I’ve noticed is that several of you are posting / have posted amazing stories that I can’t wait to read!! Although I will actually have to wait, because I’m writing a story that feels fragile in my mind, and am thus not reading Guardian fanfic at the moment. (Does anyone else do that, or is it just me?) Ack! Clearly, I must write faster!
More interesting posts soon. :-)
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Date: 2019-07-29 11:53 am (UTC)I sort of do it? Like, I've been in a writing mood for the past months/year, so I only really read stuff at work, when I can't write fic. At home at my keyboard I write. ("One must not like much of anything but writing" indeed.)
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Date: 2019-07-29 12:20 pm (UTC)I only really read stuff at work, when I can't write fic. At home at my keyboard I write.
I love that you're so motivated! :-) That makes absolute sense to me, although the phenomenon I mentioned is different. I do read other fanfic, just not Guardian fanfic, because I feel as though other Guardian stories might throw me off track with my own story. It is an odd and nebulous fear, and interestingly enough, it doesn't happen with every story I write. Just the fragile ones. ;-)
Authors are such strange creatures! *g*
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Date: 2019-07-29 12:55 pm (UTC)Caveat: at home at my keyboard I mostly faff about in a brainstate not conducive to reading or writing! (Even penguins need time to recover from work, and my most alert period generally corresponds to the time I should be going to sleep...) I do occasionally get "must not read this-fandom fic" feelings, too, but mostly my overinflated sense of self-importance takes care of that by decreeing that my take on the characters is of course more in character, more interesting, and in all ways better. Hubris ftw! (Though I suppose that since I wrote the fics for myself, of course they'd be more RTMI than fics someone wlse wrote for not-me.) The insecurities bit of the process only comes after it's been posted. :P
(PS: Nice icon! :D /shows self out)
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Date: 2019-07-29 01:34 pm (UTC)THIS! I feel you SO MUCH. Night owls unite!
Your hubris sounds like an excellent hubris for a writer to have. My insecurity tends to hit far earlier, alas. On the plus side, though, my insecurities tend to die down somewhat once I've finished editing and an intrepid beta has indicated they don't hate it.
Nice icon! :D
It is, isn't it. I like it a lot! :-)
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Date: 2019-07-29 03:57 pm (UTC)\o/
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Date: 2019-07-29 12:52 pm (UTC)And yes, I also do what you do. If I'm writing a fic in X fandom with XY pairing, I typically "can't" read anything in that fandom and pairing while I'm writing because I don't want bleed-through or carry-over or whatnot. Sometimes I am able to separate out my writing from other writing in the fandom, but usually, I have to take a fandom holiday until the story is told.
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Date: 2019-07-29 01:21 pm (UTC)I typically "can't" read anything in that fandom and pairing while I'm writing because I don't want bleed-through or carry-over or whatnot.
Yes, that's exactly it! I'm glad I'm not alone in this. I don't have this issue with every story - it appears to depend on how secure I am in my take on characterization and the relationship in the story, and whether the plot might intersect with other plots.
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Date: 2019-07-29 01:01 pm (UTC)Welcome back! Good luck with your writing!
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Date: 2019-07-29 01:27 pm (UTC)Thank you! Once my head clears a bit and my work backlog is under control, that story is getting written come hell or high water.
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Date: 2019-07-29 02:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-07-29 02:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-07-29 03:18 pm (UTC)everything that's being posted looks like it will be amazing and I want to check them out but I just... can't read right now
I knooow! I want to read it all!!
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Date: 2019-07-29 05:48 pm (UTC)I totally get the not reading fanfic because fragile thing. I'm a little bit better in that I just need to avoid 'topic-adjacent' fic, and can read very different stuff okay, but in principle... yes.
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Date: 2019-07-29 07:42 pm (UTC)Although I actually don't consider it "unexpected" that a broken OS will save itself in broken ways, and potentially fuck up older backups if you let it at them again. That was definitely a dumb oversight on the part of the backup software people. Kind of mad at them, too.
Also, it really doesn't help to have someone assure you again and again that they have never seen anything like this happen, and it is definitely not normal. (Man, at this point in my life, people have assured me of this *so damn often*...)
I totally get the not reading fanfic because fragile thing.
It makes me feel a lot better to find that I am not alone in this! Some stories are delicate crystal fairy structures. Or something. ;-)
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Date: 2019-07-29 07:52 pm (UTC)Oh no, that sounds horrible. What went wrong?! Windows is so very UGH.
Does anyone else do that, or is it just me?
Lots of people seem to? I don't, personally, but I hear it all the time.
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Date: 2019-07-29 10:39 pm (UTC)Microsoft is ineffable. Who knows what factors play into how an update goes... not MS, looks like. *eyeroll*
Lots of people seem to? I don't, personally, but I hear it all the time.
I hadn't really heard it before, but yes, it does turn out quite a number of people do this - which surprises and delights me. :-) It's always nice to know I'm not alone with my oddities!
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Date: 2019-07-29 11:05 pm (UTC)Hope you feel better soon and gets the meds you need. Sore throats are a pain in the ass!
Sorry about the funeral.
Stacey
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Date: 2019-07-29 11:23 pm (UTC)I hope everything's well with you!!
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Date: 2019-10-16 03:23 am (UTC)Stacey
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Date: 2019-07-29 11:11 pm (UTC)(Does anyone else do that, or is it just me?)
It depends on the story -- and sometimes it's hard to tell because I'm not sure if it's me being delicate and avoidy or just not having time to read. But yes, definitely sometimes!
*cheers on your writing*
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Date: 2019-07-29 11:24 pm (UTC)That update is a real menace - it has struck down quite a number of computers, I hear. But I frequently manage to draw the short straw with things like this, so with any luck your PC has already updated, and everytrhing has gone well. ;-) (If the disk usage is constantly at 100% and everything is slow as molasses, otoh, save your data and talk to me. I can shed light on the arcane goings-ons...)
But yes, definitely sometimes!
It's just sometimes for me, too - although when it does hit, it's definitely me being delicate and avoidy. In my case, it depends entirely on the story I'm writing.
Thank you!! :-)
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Date: 2019-07-30 12:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-07-30 12:46 pm (UTC)Yeah, the computer woes were exceedingly stressful - especially the threat of data loss. :-/ I am hoping I have now fulfilled my quota, and will be blessed with smooth sailing for years to come. :-)
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Date: 2019-07-31 02:05 am (UTC)I fall heartfirst into new fandoms SO rarely that it's always a total shock to my system when it happens! This is the first time since 2012 that something's grabbed me like this.
(Fortunately, I enjoy the hell out of lots of other things too, and can enjoy other people's active fannishness about them, but it's just not the same as this swooning new-fandom feeling. *^^*)
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Date: 2019-07-31 08:22 pm (UTC)Guardian is just.,.. special. :-)
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Date: 2019-07-30 03:36 am (UTC)I've wandered off to Novelupdates.com and gotten caught up in trawling through the xianxia tag. When I do have energy for Guardian, I'd rather be writing. And yeah, I get the fragile thing too. It's easy to lose momentum on a story, and hard to get it back.
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Date: 2019-07-30 01:28 pm (UTC)Ooh, can you recommend any cnovels? I've gone down that rabbithole a few times myself, but haven't really found anything good when not following recs...
I get the fragile thing too. It's easy to lose momentum on a story, and hard to get it back.
Yes, the possible distraction is definitely a part of it - and also the vague notion that I might end up unintentionally copying something, or being discouraged by someone else doing something similar, but better. ;-)
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Date: 2019-07-30 02:06 pm (UTC)Ooh, can you recommend any cnovels? I've gone down that rabbithole a few times myself, but haven't really found anything good when not following recs...
For het, all by the same author: Ascending, Do Not Disturb is super fluffy and sweet (my favorite), and Eight Treasures Trousseau and To Be A Virtuous Wife are similar palace intrigue type novels. (The last two are complete, the first isn't but has been updating regularly.)
For danmei, Sha Po Lang by Priest, and I've recently been enjoying Thousand Autumns. (Neither complete, but Sha Po Lang updates at least once a week.) There's also Moxiang Tongxiu's Heaven Official's Blessing, but, uh. MXTX gets kinda brutal. I loved their Scum Villain's Self Saving System until the end and now I can't look at it any more, so.
For gen, working through Nirvana in Fire.
Yes, the possible distraction is definitely a part of it - and also the vague notion that I might end up unintentionally copying something, or being discouraged by someone else doing something similar, but better. ;-)
Yeah, all of that too. Unintentionally copying something is a constant fear when reading and writing fic in the same fandom, so generally I don't do it.
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Date: 2019-07-30 11:28 pm (UTC)I've read some of Heaven's Official Blessing, and really like it so far. My hope is that the relationship is so different from the one in Scum Villain's Self Saving System that the author will not go down that route... (I confess I bailed on Scum Villain when I heard it was going the way it was going. I enjoyed it a lot up until that point, too!)
I've heard about Sha Po Lang, and I actually started Thousand Autumns! :-)
Checking out Nirvana in Fire might be an idea. I've been trying to get into the drama, but so far it has eluded me (which is odd and a bit sad because evidently I am the only one it has failed to snag). Maybe the novel will spark my interest!
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Date: 2019-07-31 02:31 pm (UTC)Ascending, Do Not Disturb is super duper chill. It's the story I've kept going back and rereading over the last few weeks when I need fluff in my life, because it is FULL of fluff.
I've read some of Heaven's Official Blessing, and really like it so far. My hope is that the relationship is so different from the one in Scum Villain's Self Saving System that the author will not go down that route...
I like the main relationship in HOB a lot better than how SVSSS ended up, but. There is a full knife drawer in there, mostly packed into Xie Lian's backstory (so volumes 2 and 4, which are entirely flashbacks and 99% made of suffering) and two of the side pairings. (Chapters 124 and 212 are very hard to read.)
The good news is that HOB has no sex scenes in it; with MXTX's kinks I find that a relief.
Checking out Nirvana in Fire might be an idea. I've been trying to get into the drama, but so far it has eluded me (which is odd and a bit sad because evidently I am the only one it has failed to snag). Maybe the novel will spark my interest!
I have been having a difficult time with it too, which is sad because my friends are really into NiF. The novel is at least a different way to engage with it.
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Date: 2019-07-31 08:25 pm (UTC)Yeah. I am definitely not a fan of rape-and/or-super-painful-sex-presented-as-normal. *sigh*
And of NiF: OMG! I am actually so relieved to hear you say this, because you are the first person I have talked to other than myself who has not fallen headlong for the series. I've been feeling like an alien or something. And it's not like I don't *want* to like it...
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Date: 2019-08-01 01:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-01 03:02 pm (UTC)Some of the characters do interest me, but not enough, and not the ones that would hook me into the series...
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Date: 2019-07-30 05:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-07-30 01:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-04 03:22 pm (UTC)Yes, of course. I can't keep plots straight in my head for the life of me. Every distraction is bad. Good luck with yours!