The FanFiction Story I Wasn’t Supposed to Write, and Why I Did – Blogmas 2022

December 19, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Let me set the scene.

It’s fall 2021. I’m still active on a certain Discord. Things are still going fine, no real drama or arguments to speak of, at least not ones that are making me question my sanity. Whumptober has passed, Advent is looming, but there’s time in the middle to breathe.

I’m browsing the prompt channel. I didn’t go in there often, as I usually didn’t like writing prompts given by someone. They were too conflicting or too rigid or too “Buddie-centric,” enough that I just didn’t care anymore. So imagine my surprise when I came across one that caught my eye enough to warrant a second glance.

The prompt was hilarious almost word for word the basic premise of a fic I had just began plotting out. I immediately tried to claim it, but someone swooped in and said that they already had a piece that was in the works and this prompt matched. I tried to be the bigger person, so I let it go and put the fic in mothballs in my Google Drive, never to be seen again.

Months passed. Spring came, and with it drama. By May, I was leaving that Discord, done with being made to feel like trash for having a difference of opinion. I figured, however naively, that I’d still be in the fandom, I didn’t need the backing of the discord.

Then June 20th happened.

I won’t rehash the details of that dark week. It’s not worth it, but it does bare mentioning. That day and the week or so that followed was a dark time in my life, full of baseless accusations and me scrambling to put a damn wall between my professional life and my online life, one that was already there but one that had been torn down by the same people I had once considered close.

Six days later, I decided to repost everything. It took a long eleven days of editing and retagging and posting, all the while I was in training with my job and just trying to keep my head above water mentally.

(But what exactly does all this have to do with a story? I’m almost there, I swear.)

As soon as the last fic was posted, I revisited a work that I’d been working on literally up until the moment everything came crashing down. That would be my “Buck on BookTok” fic, which I’ll discuss another day, I think. That ended up getting posted about two weeks after the fallout. It was a safe fic to post, as it mostly just featured Buck after the bombing, without touching on the tsunami or the lawsuit or anything else. The response was amazing.

The moment I had hit post on that fic, I went back into Google docs. I had a few fics that I’d been playing with at the same time, though nothing stood out. It just felt like more of the same.

Until.

I saw it.

And I grabbed it.

I spent two days scouring two different Fandom Wikis to make sure I had my details right. I created a timeline and lists and literally debated between two different locations for what seemed like years, but was probably an hour and a half (the length of a standard lecture during work training, because priorities). I rewrote my author note regarding the origins of the fic, before deciding that I didn’t want that connection at all.

Instead, I went vague, I handed it off to be quickly edited by the most begrudged editor in the known universe (aka my mother), and posted my 9-1-1 / 9-1-1 Lone Star / MCU Fusion fic.

Yes, this was the fic I wasn’t supposed to post, because someone had claimed the prompt. The problem was, it had been nine months at this point and there wasn’t any movement. I also clearly wasn’t part of that discord anymore (and I have in the past been slightly vocal about it). I had waited this entire time, thinking I would post it around now if they actually had posted the fic.

But they didn’t, so I did. To great damn success.

The next month I wrote the first sequel that I had thought of but never thought I’d get to actually write. And then, last night, I finished off the trilogy.

Am I sad to see that I have it marked as complete? Absolutely. It was a fun little world to play in. But I also wanted to put a pin in it. I left it well enough that if I wanted to, I could return to it at any time. For now, at least, it’s complete.

As for that other fic? It’s still never been posted. I assume it’s gone the way of most prompt fics off of that discord, into a dark pit of nothingness and despair that fuels their bullshit. (Or I missed it, but I’m being vivid today.)

Should I talk about a few of my other fics that I’m wrapping up this week? Hmm… Decisions, decisions.

Until next time!

2023 Games I Want to Play – Blogmas 2022

December 17, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Gaming in 2022 has basically come to a close, with only a few more major games to release before January 1st. While I’ll be spending a good deal of time playing through PS5 games that released before I received mine on Christmas, there are a few games coming in 2023 that I’m willing to shell out full price on day one (and one that I’m absolutely not touching).

Forspoken

I’ll be totally honest, I fell for this game just because of the graphics. I have absolutely no idea much about it, barring that it’s an Action RPG being published by Square Enix and developed by the FFXV team. I do love the fact that it appears to be a solid one player game with a female protagonist, Frey, and that magic is a major selling point. It’s also an isekai, or a character from the “real world” falling into a fantasy world that is trying to find their way home.

I’m willing to give it a shot, even if it may end up not being a game that I fall in love with. It just impressed me that much just from some trailers.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

My free time in January will finally be dedicated to blasting through Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which I’m planning on at least finishing the story on my PS5, if not Platinuming. It’s high time, I’ve only been saying this since I bought the game on release day… how many years ago?

I flat out screamed while watching the trailer that was dropped at the Game Awards. I’m not much of a Star Wars fan anymore as the sequel trilogy of films burned me a bit to much. However, I’m still enough of a casual fan to want to play this game day one.

Disney Dreamlight Valley

Alright, this is a copout. Technically this is already out. Technically. In beta.

Basically, about two months ago, the game became available to play, as long as players were cognitive of the fact that it was going to have issues and be unstable. I have it, I just haven’t put too much time into it. Come 2023 and the official release, I’m absolutely going to push my way through a good deal of it. I’m just waiting until a bunch of the issues are fixed first.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

A PS5 exclusive that I will drop my entire wallet for, immediately, hands down. I loved the original Marvel’s Spider-Man and I enjoyed the spinoff dedicated to Miles Morales. The true sequel has finally been given a release window of Fall 2023, which I’m very much excited for to get my hands on to.

There’s obviously a long wait ahead until the release of this, with only a short teaser being released earlier this year hinting that Venom would be apart of the story (if not the villain, but I’m not about to just declare it yet). We shall see what the coming months bring.

Hogwarts Legacy

Remember at the top when I said there was a game I was absolutely not touching? Here it is.

Look, I know people are excited for this game. I’m 100% sure of that. But I’m not about to give that woman a penny of my money. Not a single bit. It can look beautiful all it wants. It can finally be the open world Harry Potter game that fans and former fans dreamed of for absolute years.

The thing is, she’s still getting money from it due to royalties, and honestly? There’s just a bit too much ick wrapped into the story of this one. It won’t be touching my Playstation or Xbox, even if you bought it for me as a gift. I want no part in supporting it.

Wrap Up

There’s obviously hundreds of games coming out in 2023, some announced and some that will sneak out and still be brilliant. These are just the ones that have stuck out to me, for good and bad. That’s not to say that I’m going to limit myself to only these games, no of course not. I have a massive backlog and a bunch of games to replay on PS5.

Gaming’s future is looking bright!

Until next time.

My Lowest Rated Books of 2022 – Blogmas 2022

December 16, 2022December 17, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

This year wasn’t my best year, mostly due to drama and life and work and just a general shift my personal time. However, I did read about 30 books (my list isn’t exactly up to date, I’m working on it). When glancing on said list, I realized I had three books that I rated the lowest. Considering how I rate books, I wanted to talk about them.

Before we jump in, I wanted to detail my rating scale:

5 Stars – This book is basically perfect. I would reread it right now. I absolutely enjoyed reading this in every way.
4 Stars – I liked this book. It’s not perfect, but it was fine and I enjoyed my time with it.
3 Stars – I read it. I’m not a fan, but I probably have a reason. It won’t be reread.
2 Stars – I finished it. Not a fan, never again, it’s getting donated.
1 Star – DNF. Absolutely hated it. Offensive.

So let’s run through my lowest rated books.

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe (Graphic Novel) – Originally 4 Stars, rerated at 3 Stars.

Before someone throws a tomato my direction, this review is only and specifically regarding the writing of the graphic novel. I’m not touching the contents or the author’s life. (Also, a blanket apology if I mess up Kobabe’s pronouns. I’ve never used Spivak pronouns before, so this is a new experience for me.)

My only and biggest issue with Gender Queer is that I was bored. Kobabe chose to present eir story using a graphic novel style, which should have worked to eir advantage. However, for me, I don’t think it did. I felt very limited in learning about Kobabe’s life during eir coming out and life. I just felt… bored. Focusing just on the writing, I just didn’t get hooked into the writing. I started skimming early on. I didn’t feel like I wanted to really sit their and learn about Kobabe’s life and struggles.

I respectfully just wasn’t interested in the end. I rated it 4 starts originally more because I was worried that people might get pissed at me for rating it any lower. But personally, I just wasn’t a fan.

That said… Gender Queer is a massively important graphic novel that needs to be available to anyone who wants to read it.

Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour (Paperback) – 3 Stars

I had loved LaCour’s previous book, We Are Okay. When I picked up Watch Over Me, I was hopeful that I would enjoy it just as much. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

I felt as though nothing happened throughout Watch Over Me. There was a little thing here or there, but no real plot movement until right towards the very end. By the time I finally got hooked into the story, I was into the final chapter and right at the end. I just wasn’t happy about that.

I’m willing to give LaCour another shot either with her 2022 novel or with one of the other novels she’s written previously. I guess it will be a rainy day read.

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson (Hardcover) – 3 Stars

This one is shocking to me, as The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder was an instant 5 Star novel for me in 2019. The middle book in the series, Good Girl, Bad Blood, was a 4 Star, but I still enjoyed it very much. As for As Good As Dead…

The best way to describe it is that I really enjoyed AGAD until the middle of the book. The moment the major twist happens, I feel like the entire book takes a left turn into “I don’t know what this is” Land. I read it in my car (in a parking lot waiting for a family member to be done with a medical procedure) one afternoon and I almost threw the book out the window. I was so very annoyed.

I know there is a prequel novella that’s been released, and will be released in February I believe. I also know that Jackson has a new standalone novel out. I’m gonna give it a try (fingers crossed that it’ll be under the tree). I’m just sad because this last outing just didn’t do it for me in any way.

Wrap Up

I’m okay with only having three low rated books in 2022, even taking into account that I honestly haven’t read a lot this year (thanks reading slump). I’m hoping that in 2023, I’ll get more opportunities to read a variety of books. It’s on the list, once things get more settled around here.

Until next time!

Dealing with the Holiday Writer’s Block – Blogmas 2022

December 15, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

So, I’m gonna be totally honest. December is the worst time for me to try writing. I’m so very destracted.

This came up on r/fanfiction on Reddit about dealing with writer’s block, and it got me thinking – when was the last time I sat down and wrote some fics? I realized it had been a bit, and I realized I was in writer’s block mode. Which is a bit of a problem. Whoops?

Normally, I would get out of writer’s block in a gradual fashion. I would go focus on something else for several weeks, such as a video game or a book series or a tv show that’s been on my list (which in this case would be Outer Banks because a dear friend will not stop hounding me about it). I’d take the time to basically relax my brain and just work on other things. Maybe do a new cross stitch, something I was enjoying doing in the summer before everything went to hell in a handbasket.

But. Well. I don’t really have time for that.

Remember the other day when I talked about my list of fics I want to try to finish by the end of the year? Yeah, I really want to get to those. And that’s just slightly a problem when I’m dealing with writer’s block.

I have a plan though! I really do! I think. I hope.

I’m not going to worry about anything until this weekend. I’m just going to think of work, and watch Outer Banks on Netflix (I’ve been promising a friend I would watch it, it’s about time I just do it at this point), and maybe get the layout for my planners tentatively laid out. I’ll keep a blank Google doc open for any idea dumping, but it won’t be something that I push. And, of course, I’ll also post here, hopefully at a normal hour instead of right before midnight PST because I keep starting posts in the morning and forgetting to finish until right before I head to sleep.

Hopefully by taking this little complete reset, I’ll be able to pull myself out of writer’s block pretty quickly. That’s not my normal way, considering I normally have writer’s block for a solid month twice a year (should’ve figured it was coming, last time I was this bad was in July so…).

Wish me luck, we shall see what comes of this insanity. *wink*

Until next time!

Whumptober 2022 Wrap-Up – Blogmas 2022

December 13, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

For my final challenge of the year, I decided to do things a little bit differently.

Since I was going to be working on Whumptober while also trying to fix up some other things, prep for Nanowrimo, and also work my stressful job, I decided to allow myself the ability to do something a bit different. I gave myself permission to write drabbles. If you don’t know what a drabble is, it is a piece of writing that is exactly 100 words. I ended up writing several double and triple drabbles (or 200/300 words) to some of the prompts, which was both a challenge and a test, and I think some of those fics ended up being some of my favorites.

As with my other challenge write ups, I’ll be following my Whumptober 2021 Wrap Up set up, to break down the event in a few different ways. I’ll be touching on some of my favorite fics, as well as the ones that did amazing.

Challenge Overview

Before we get into the major breakdown, let’s go over the full challenge.

Over the course of the challenge, I wrote 31 fics between October 2nd and December 5th, 2022.

My total word count for the event was 25,163 words, focused on 9-1-1, 9-1-1 Lone Star, The Old Guard, and The School of Good and Evil, with minor crossovers and mentions of CSI:NY and Criminal Minds.

As it’s been a bit over a month since the end of the challenge, I’ll be putting up the top three for each section below. However, since there are some that are more popular than others, I’ll be noting the ones that repeat and then including the next ones until I have three fics per section.

Most Popular by Hits

I’m not really sure what inspired “Overlooking the Head,” but I’m glad that I wrote it. In a way, it was a subtle way of telling the people who had been attacking me that I actually did like Chimney Han, I just didn’t like him in one specific storyline (shock of all shocks). This is something I’d been thinking about for a while, so I’m glad I got it down and posted.

“A Different Kind of Heat” is my ode to the differences of climates. I’m someone who really doesn’t do well in humidity, especially in Texas, where I was one of the people who nearly collapsed that year. I just don’t like the heat. Yes, TK would know better, but it worked for the story, so I’m happy about it.

I think I have a thing for dropping Buck down staircases, as seen in “Staircase Tumbling.” Why Buck? Because it’s Buck, and if the writers won’t give us what we want, it’s up to fic writers to do it for them. I really enjoyed coming up with this one, which was written while I was at my writer’s club at my library. I enjoyed it a little too much, haha.

Most Popular by Kudos

I already have talked about “Staircase Tumbling.”

I was alwasy going to write a sequel to “BuckBookTok” and thus “BuckLifeTok” was born. I very much enjoyed bringing this to life, especially since I got to once again play with the tsunami and what damage it left behind to LA and the 118. I have a final fic in this trilogy in the works, it should be posted soon.

“Family Crashes” was very much inspired by the frankly ridiculous amount of traffic I could see from my office window when I have to go into LA for my in office day. The Buckley parents appearing just kinda forced themselves into the show, even though I didn’t plan on them. It worked in my opinion.

“Avoiding a Family Fight” was written not because I didn’t like the Buckley parents, but instead to get my temper down about being forced to do things because “family”. I very much enjoyed bringing this fic to life, even if certain people didn’t understand or get my full intentions at the time.

Most Popular by Comments

I already have talked about “Staircase Tumbling,” “Family Crashes,” and “Avoiding a Family Fight”

I decided early on to include Lou Ransone at least twice during this challenge, with “Gun to Temple” being his first appearance during the month. I think I really enjoyed this one, to the point that I would love to keep going with this fic if I so chose. Maybe one day I’ll do something else along these lines. (No, Remy, no getting more ideas, you have too much to work on right now as is!)

“Long Shift Surprises” was born from one of my Buck and Audie fics getting nominated for a fanfiction awards thing, but because I had two fics nominated in the same category, I had to choose one or the other. Since I went with the other, I wrote another Audie fic to balance it out. Sleepy Buck and Audie for the win!

The thing about “Potentially Scarring Questions” is that it was born out of people asking invasive questions about others. That’s it, that’s the inspiration. For men, that’s always bothered me, so this came to be. I enjoyed bringing this one to light and I’m very happy with my results.

Most Popular by Bookmarks

I already have talked about “Staircase Tumbling,” “Family Crashes,” “Avoiding a Family Fight,” “Potentially Scarring Questions,” “Overlooking the Head,” “Gun to Temple,” and “BuckLikeTok.”

“Stuck” is another Lou Ransone fic, but it was also brought upon thanks to so many people deciding what was and wasn’t going to be in Seasons five and six (and being so wrong about it). I’m also very happy with how this one came out.

I came up with “An Atypical Effect to a Head Injury” simply because of how many times it seems like Buck has been hit on the head. No, seriously, that’s what did it. This got a lot of love for being so short and I’m happy with that. Plus, injured and surly Buck is always fun.

I’m not surprised that “Taken Away” has been bookmarked a good amount of times. It’s one of my incomplete fics that I really need to get back to by the end of the year (see yesterday’s post). I just have to find my notes first and I’ll be able to really knock it out…

Length

I already have talked about “BuckLikeTok,” “Family Crashes,” “Staircase Tumbling,” “Avoiding a Family Fight,” “Potentially Scarring Questions,” “Overlooking the Head,” “Gun to Temple,” and

Considering they are best paired together, I’ll be talking about them together. “Firestarter” and “Only Embers Left Behind” are both part of my “Immortal Genius” series, with Buck taking the forefront for five total fics. Here, Buck is dealing with an arsonist and ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time… but his immortality keeps him alive. For me, I wrote it to show that Buck was finally starting to accept his lot in life, leading into the finale of his arc. They aren’t the most popular, but I’m okay with that. I write what I love, damn it.

“Crutch Time” was just good clean fun. I hated being on crutches when I sprained my foot and I’m still salty about it, and that was in like 2008 (I can hold a grudge). It’s another Audie fic, one that I absolutely had a great time writing since it practically wrote itself.

My Favorites That Didn’t Get a Mention

I had a great deal of fun with working on “Almost Dead on My Feet,” only because it presented me with the challenge of remembering how to timeline. Something that I’ve struggled with this year. I enjoyed it a lot and I’m glad that it came out alright, even if it didn’t get a majorly great reception (my 9-1-1 Lone Star fics rarely do).

“An Unlikely Friendship” was the final Ransone fic of Whumptober, this time dealing with the aftermath of his attack in 5×02. I tried to make it clear that he and Buck were friends that might become more, though I’m not sure how much of that came through. I did like it, and I enjoyed the challenge I gave myself with it.

Wrap Up

While I wasn’t successful in completing Whumptober in October, I do think I am hapy with the quality of many of the fics that I posted. Several of them are fics that I very much enjoy and I’m happy to see that they have gotten love over the past few months.

If you want to read any of them, they are all up on my AO3 account! Just look for any that are part of the “Remy’s Whumptober 2022” series. They are all in prompt order.

Until next time!

End of the Year Writing Goals – Blogmas 2022

December 12, 2022December 13, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Something that I normally do at the beginning of December is make what I call “the list.”

What is “the list,” you might be asking? Well, it’s my list of fics that I really really want to finish by the end of the year. Most years it’s short, maybe one or two fics that I would love to finish or at least update. Last year it was longer as I was knee deep in working on fics for that discord’s Advent challenge.

This year, I have ten fics that I’d like to at least update, if not complete. Yeah, it’s a lofty goal. Yeah, it’s probably not going to be finished in December, especially since I lost a lot of my writing time while being sick, and I literally just made the list last night instead of sleeping.

But let’s go over it, because why not? It’s content.

The Immortal Genius

Last year I started a sequel/spinoff to my Criminal Minds / The Old Guard crossover series. I crossed in 9-1-1, starting with the tsunami and going forth from there. It’s had a decent reception, especially since I think that Buck and Spencer Reid would have a good friendship if they were ever to know each other in reality.

I had always envisioned the 9-1-1 portion to be a trilogy event. An introduction, a compilation fic in the middle of major moment, and a conclusion that wrapped up Buck’s main arc (accepting his immortality and the thought of eventually leaving his found family) while also leaving it open for Buck to return as a background character should I decide to continue with the larger story.

Well, that was until Whumptober 2022, when I decided to do a two part fic instead of that conclusion that continued Buck’s story without ending it. I enjoyed writing both fics, even if they weren’t very well received.

My goal for the end of 2022 is to hopefully find a way to wrap up the side story. This one may be put on the back burner depending on how I do with the other fics that I really need to get finished with.

The Adventures of Buck and Audie

The fun little series where Buck has a therapy dog that has a funny personality. This is a series that I come back to when I have writer’s block. There’s no real “end” to it. I somewhat want to add one more story that can be something of a finale, if only to leave a somewhat satisfying conclusion. (And I’d like Aislinn the dog sitter to finally make an appearance, especially since her only part of series with her character is that her school really likes to lose her transcripts.)

BuckTikTok

I had only just started working on this fic when everything started going down in the 9-1-1 fandom (yes, I’m keeping it brief for a reason). I ended up posting it about a month later, not entirely satisfied with what I’d written, but wanting to get it out into the world so that I could move on.

It went over very well. So well, in fact, I ended up writing a sequel. And now it’s time to conclude the trilogy. The project had always been conceived as a three part series. The only problem is my notes have vanished (my notepad decided to grow legs and wanted away). I’m hoping in the next few days to come up with something that will be a good conclusion to this little fic.

Fire!Fam DigiDestined

This is a maybe/maybe not addition to the list.

My 9-1-1 / Digimon series was my first fic in the fandom, but it has been tainted by everything that has happened to me in this fandom. I did end up writing another fic at the end of July (post drama).

The conclusion of “Chance Reunion” is pretty good. I could say the series is done and not feel back about it. But I also feel like I can write another fic that could tie things up more. I’m not really sure. We shall see.

Back Again from Beyond

“Once Was, Is Now” was a labor of love for over a year. I had started it while still on that discord, but someone claimed the prompt out from under me, and I let it go. Nearly a year passed with it in my head and the other person never posting their claim. So, back in July, I finished and posted the fic, with an explanation that I waited on posting out of respect, but it had been over a year and I was done waiting.

When I dropped that fic, I realized that I had to write this as a trilogy. The set up and two conclusions, one with Buck and one with Carlos (as May would be with Buck’s ending). I’ve since written Buck’s conclusion and now I have to write Carlos’. I can always write them with a more open ended finish so that if I want to come back and add to it, I can, but the goal has always been three.

This one is on the list for sure.

“Next in Line” / “Late Night Knocks”

I opened a can of worms with “Next in Line”, because I discovered that in my exhaustion I’d forgotten to include a line that didn’t make Bobby come out to be a terrible person. So I wrote “Late Night Knocks” and included that explanation, but I also left it open for a finale.

I would really like to give the three fics a good finish, tying them up without leaving anything to chance. With Jay Halstead out of Chicago PD, this is this is the time to do so. If I can finish it this December, that would be brilliant.

“Held Back (What a Detriment)”

I have a slight wish to continue this fic, as I think the premise I set up in interesting. My biggest issue is that I’ve never been a fan of writing “shifter” fics, which is somewhat of a problem considering the fact that the fic is about shifters (prompt fic during Writer’s Month).

I’d like to give it a second pass to at least finish up my thought process. If I can finish it during December, that would be a plus. If not, that’s okay too. it’s just something I’d like to work on.

Life Saving Magic

I pulled “Life Saving Magic” out of nowhere during my cleanup for Whumptober. I seriously don’t even know where the idea popped in my head. I just wrote a triple drabble and sent it out… and got a few messages asking me to continue. So… I guess I will one of these days.

This is one that, if I get to it this month, I won’t be updating until the end of the month. I need to plan first.

Friends Helping Friends

How do you annoy people? Make Buck and TK friends and have them still be friends long after the crossover episode. Yeah, I did that, no I don’t care. “Far Reaching Friends” was one of my most popular Writer’s Month fics that absolutely demanded a sequel, which I wrote during Whumptober.

I’d like to wrap up Buck’s impromptu trip to Austin with one more fic. It wouldn’t take much to tie this little trilogy up with a bow, even if it wasn’t originally planned from the get-go. I can probably knock that out in one night if I sit down and do it.

Taken Away

This one is majorly important for me to at least get the next chapter out. I’ve been sitting on this since the beginning of Whumptober.

“Taken Away” is the sequel to “Kidnapped Away”, which was written during Febuwhump 2022. The basic premise is that TK is kidnapped by the Cabbie Killer in New York City and Carlos and Owen must work together with the NYPD Crime Lab and Reed Garrett, Mac’s stepson and TK’s only real friend back in NYC, to get him back.

I posted the first chapter during Whumptober that set up the background to the story, while “Kidnapped Away” serves as basically the first chapter of a sort. It’s high time I sit down and just knock out at least one chapter.

…That Seems Like a Lot

It is. That’s ten fics that I want to work on, most of which need to be longer than just 500 words or so. But actually typing this out has helped me come up with some semblance of a plan to attack this , with some things being regulated to the back burner as necessary, while others are needed to be updated/completed in an more immediate fashion.

As for now, I’m going to spend tonight planning and prepping to move forward with this, along with everything else I already have on my plate. This is shaping up to be a very busy end of the year…

Until next time!

[Edit: sorry this is so late, apparently I can’t have a healthy week this year, to top off why 2022 still sucks…]

My 2022 Reading Challenge – Update – Blogmas 2022

December 11, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Back in March of 2022, I made a series of bad “bets” on a few different TV shows, basically on what was going to be shown on screen or during the marketing of different episodes. And when I say I made some “bad bets,” I mean I kept on getting it blatantly wrong. Since a few of my (former) friends and I were pseudo-gambling on it, I had to set my own, for the lack of a better term, punishment for getting things wrong.

So I set out to do what I named “Remy’s Reading Challenge.”

The challenge was deceptively simple. I was to read every book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger, every book in the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles series by Rick Riordan, and every book in the Shadowhunter Chronicles series by Cassandra Clare. To save you the math, the grand total is 46 novels, 60 short stories, 1 novella, and 1 online novel.

I set out to do this challenge with a bit of a gusto, as I really did want to read all of these books. It was something that, in February and March, was completely obtainable. And then it wasn’t.

April 1st, I got hired with my job, and cut off from the majority of my family. May 4th, I left the friend group that had been my support for over a year at that point, and in the process lost the “friends” that had helped set these challenges. End of June? I was knee deep in training and had my entire fandom life implode around me, which also almost resulted in the loss of my job. July through Septempber was simply trying to build myself back up, October was a low point, November was a disaster, and December? Well, at least 2023 is right around a corner. And on top of this, medical issues. Just… medical issues.

That’s a very long-winded way of saying that I am nowhere near completing the challenge in any way.

As of today, December 11th, I have read the first ten Camp Half-Blood Chronicles novels and one companion novel (which held two of the short stories, if I remember correctly, have to check that). No, you’re not reading that wrong, that’s it. That’s all. I never touched The Shadowhunter Chronicles or The Keeper of the Lost Cities, even though I did get Book 9, Stellarlune, for my birthday.

With everything going on, I’m honestly surprised I got this far. I really did want to read more of them, but I never was either in the mood or I didn’t have the time when I did want to read. It’s been a challenge all the way. It’s the same reason I don’t really think I’m going to do a reading wrap up this year, because I really haven’t read all that much.

Depression sucks, y’all.

While I’ll be doing a few reading challenges in the new year (hilariously all hosted by Owlcrate in various forms, I’ll talk about those later this month), I also am hoping to get through with at least part of this challenge by the end of 2023. I’m not making any promises.

But for now, I’m going back to The Hidden Oracle, since that’s where I left off and I’m just over halfway through… I will get done with Apollo’s books. One day, anyway.

Until next time.

Holiday Traditions – Blogmas 2022

December 10, 2022December 11, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

[Quick note: my apologies for the late posting of this post. Time got away from me as it always happens to during the holidays with too many things to do and not nearly enough time to do what is necessary.}

The holidays have arrived, and with them are some of my favorite family traditions.

For 2022, my Mom and I decided that we were going to try to do several of our holiday traditions that have been on the backburner for several years now, either because of the move or time or money. It’s all possible this year, so here we are.

Tradition One – Decorating Inside and Out

Given that we now live in an apartment, we have had to get a little creative with this one. Our goal is to have all of our decorations up by the 10th, barring the tree if we’re getting a live one. Our decorating is mostly aimed at the main living areas: the living room, dining room, and kitchen, though I do also usually put up a small fake tree in my room as well.

This year, we went all out. To satisfy the “outside” component, we decorated the windows with gel clings in different holiday shapes and added lights. Over our sliding door to the patio, we also added lights and I put snowflakes up on the glass. (We’re one of the only apartments that doesn’t have a plug outside due to an electrical issue, so we have to make due with putting things inside.) I also lined the window sills with little toys and knick knacks that are all holiday themed to add to the fun.

As for inside, we have garland and silver bells hanging, as well as snow globes from Target and a massive assortment of Santas. Our fake tree is up and decorated, ready and waiting to be surrounded by presents in the coming days. One bookshelf was sacrificed to become a vertical “holiday village” with light-up buildings and figurines and snow.

The holidays have arrived.

Tradition Two – Christmas Lights Viewing

I’ve already confirmed with Mom that we will be continuing our favorite Christmas Eve tradition.

Something that we’ve done since I was a small child is that we drive around on Christmas Eve and listen to Christmas music and look at all the Christmas lights and decorations. When I was growing up, it was a way to get me to fall asleep easier (so that Santa could visit, of course). Now, it’s a great way for Mom and I to spend some time together uninterrupted and explore our town and see just how creative people get.

We also do a smaller version of this before Christmas Eve, where we walk around our apartment complex in the evenings, but that can only be done sparingly due to some health issues.

Tradition Three – Christmas Cookies?

Okay, this is the tradition that is most possibly going to be skipped.

Every year we make grand plans to make sugar cookies and decorate them, and every year we completely forget to do so until the last second. Growing up we loved making them, but in the past few years we’ve just run out of time to get them done in a timely manner.

We’re hopeful this year because we’re actually ahead of schedule, as we’ve already finished all of our decorating and shopping and all we have left is wrapping and any last minute gifts.

Wrap Up

There’s of course other traditions that my family takes part in, certain shows and films we watch, and certain things we do. But these are the things we really like to try to do during December.

Until next time!

Writer’s Month 2022 (Delayed) Wrap-up! – Blogmas 2022

December 9, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Well, my first attempt at Writer’s Month went… well… I at least completed the challenge. Two months late. It’s a whole thing. But I really did enjoy the different prompts, so I will probably give this one another try next year, when I can dedicate more time to it while not stressing myself out.

As with my other challenge write ups, I’ll be following my Whumptober Wrap Up set up, to break down the event in a few different ways. I’ll be touching on some of my favorite fics, as well as the ones that did amazing.

Challenge Overview

Before we get into the major breakdown, let’s go over the full challenge.

Over the course of the challenge, I wrote 31 fics between August 2nd and November 14th, 2022.

My total word count for the event was 29,703 words, focused on 9-1-1, 9-1-1 Lone Star, The Old Guard, and Fusionfall with brief mentions or crossovers with Hawaii Five-O, SWAT, and Teen Wolf.

As it’s been over a month since the end of the challenge, I’ll be putting up the top three for each section below. However, since there are some that are more popular than others, I’ll be noting the ones that repeat and then including the next ones until I have three fics per section.

Most Popular by Hits

By far one of my most popular fics this year thus far, Far Reaching Friends was born out of wanting to have some sort of crossover between 9-1-1 Season 5 and 9-1-1 Lone Star Season 3. I remember knocking this one out in no time at all and really loving bringing this to life. I actually wrote a sequel to during Whumptober 2022 and I think I want to play in this world one more time.

I ended up coming up with Late Night Knocks on a whim, but it also became a tribute to one of my favorite One Chicago characters, Jay Halstead, who was (horribly) written out this season. This is another idea that came up out of the blue that I enjoy and I’m happy to see that others have enjoyed it as well. I have one more planned for this mini series.

So, confession. I have an irrational fear of earthquakes. Home Shakes popped into my head while I was pacing my room trying to come up with something. I joking said that this fic’s secondary theme was “writer’s block due to annoyance.” This one ended up being a good quick little writing exercise that I enjoyed knocking out.

Most Popular by Kudos

I already have talked about “Far Reaching Friends” and “Late Night Knocks.”

The amount of times I rewrote Cards from the Heart is frankly embarrassing. I could not decide what to do, then I had an idea and backtracked, and finally I just ran with what I posted. It’s probably one of my favorites just because it’s cute, and that’s what matters.

And Now, To Tomorrow is the sequel to one of my favorite fics I’ve written this year, mostly because it’s the crossover I was never supposed to write, and yet I did. This sequel was difficult to write only because I knew what I wanted to say, but I wasn’t sure how to say it. But I’m happy with how it came out, and the third fic should be completed before the end of the year if all goes well.

Fat Lip came out of wanting to write about the catfish incident but in the current day, and give Hen a voice to the situation since she didn’t really get one during Season 1. I really enjoyed working on this one, especially sarcastic Buck coming out. Surprisingly I wasn’t in the best of places mentally when writing this, as well as suffering from food poisoning during the majority of that week.

Most Popular by Comments

I already have talked about “And Now, To Tomorrow.”

I got “in trouble” because of the joke behind Teaching Knots. Yes, it’s a BDSM joke, no, it’s completely clean, and yes, I had way too much fun with setting that bullshit up. I’m happy with it, even if I got some funny pseudo-pissed off messages.

Pain Day was born out of the thought that Buck’s injury might not have healed as perfectly as the show implied. So I decided to explore that. I’ll be totally honest, I was looking for a prompt that would fit this plot, instead of the other way around. This one worked well, and I love it.

Held Back (What a Detriment) holds the distinction of being the first fic I’ve ever posted with the wrong title (I misspelled detriment). I also marked this fic as incomplete, as I’m still not sure if I’m going to come back to it or not. I’m just not into writing about shifters, but I way decide to do so in the future. Only time will tell.

Most Popular by Bookmarks

I already have talked about “Pain Day,” “Far Reaching Friends,” “Home Shakes,” “Fat Lip,” “Cards from the Heart,” “And Now, To Tomorrow,” “Teaching Knots,” and “Held Back (What a Detriment).”

I unintentionally sat on Rainbow of Thanks for awhile. This was a fic that I had a barebones idea for, but I ended up enjoying what I ended up writing for it. Hell, I love any fic that makes Christopher special, because I love that kid.

I also got in trouble for Next in Line. ANd by “in trouble,” I mean I pissed off a lot of people because Buck didn’t get to go to Chicago. I had everything planned out, but no one believed me. (Late Night Knocks” is the sequel to this fic, and there is a third tentatively planned.)

My literal only speculation for Season 6. Worrying Away from Home was born simply to prove that I could write a speculation fic, even though I don’t like speculation fics. Also, it totally turned into an anti-Buckley parent’s fic because why the heck not. Worth it.

Length

I already have talked about “And Now, To Tomorrow,” “Late Night Knocks,” and “Far Reaching Friends.”

I spontaneously decided to write a Fusionfall fic, and Three Days On Fire is the result. I pulled it out of nowhere just because I could. I really enjoyed playing around in that world again, so much so that I want to do it again just because.

What is Silk Nights? I still don’t know. I just pulled it out of nowhere. I can’t explain it, nor will I. It’s… a thing. Just go with it.

King of the Lego Castle was written as a tribute to Lego’s 90th birthday. No, seriously, that’s the whole inspiration. But it was fun and I’m happy about it. That’s about all I have to say on the subject.

My Favorites That Didn’t Get a Mention (aka All the 9-1-1 Lone Star fics)

I came up with Music From a Former Life thanks to listening to Ronen Rubinstein’s music. It was a fun little fic that I really feel like deserved more love.

I still have a love for my Buck and Audie fics, and I wrote one from Audie’s POV. It’s Hard Being Popular ended up not being popular, but it was a fun little experiment. Can I help it? Audie is a sassy pup.

I don’t normally write future fics, but there was something about writing a fic from an adult Christopher Diaz’s point of view. The Story of Our Lives is a fun little fic that almost made the cut on several categories for this wrap up, missing by only one point here or there.

Did I really write a fic about TK and Paul going to where TK almsot froze to death? Yes, yes I did. And no, I don’t have a problem with that. It’s therapy. It’s called This is Where I (Nearly) Died and it didn’t get nearly enough love, damn it.

And finally, something that I’m mildly hoping for 9-1-1 Lone Star for Season Four is some Carlos!Whump, so I wrote some myself. Role reversals are fun sometimes. I called this pain Waiting for the Wake Up, and no, I have no regrets.

Wrap Up

I really enjoyed this challenge, only because the prompts are different’ then ones I’m used to. I’m happy that I have it a shot even if I didn’t get to complete it in August. It was worth the attempt. I may or may not take part in it next year, depending on life circumstances, but I have no real complaints. Heck, one of my favorite things is that they give a seven day grace period on posting! No one else does!

All in all, it was a good challenge and I’m happy to move onto other things.

If you want to read any of them, they are all up on my AO3 account! Just look for any that are part of the “Writer’s Month 2022” series. They are all in prompt order.

Until next time!