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No Inspiration
Feb. 12th, 2026 09:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
innitmarvelous_ogI just can't write at the moment as I have no inspiration or energy.
I am collecting pics for icons in relation to a fandom project I signed up for this year.
Latest fandom is Inspector Lewis :-)
I am collecting pics for icons in relation to a fandom project I signed up for this year.
Latest fandom is Inspector Lewis :-)
My offerings for Exchanges After Dark Birthday Bash 2026
Feb. 11th, 2026 06:23 pmartemisdartAuthors have been revealed, so I can blog about the three things I created over the weekend for the Exchanges After Dark Birthday Bash. This is a very silly exchange that frees you up to post things even if they are bad in quality, or just use silly, nonsensical humor. I have a difficult time dialing in my humor to match the new generation's, but I did my best to provide things that might bring either a smile or a tear, depending!
The first is my main assignment. I matched on the request "Character with anachronistic self-conception of their gender identity and sexuality (OW)", and I knew this was going to be a lot of fun! I have THOUGHTS about neopronouns and esoteric, community-coined, hyper-specific labels...
This was a lot of fun to write. It was either going to be gladiators or pirates, but in the end, I decided that pirates are probably way more genderfluid / genderbendy than gladiators, so it would be more funny to use ancient Rome to do a bit of humor about gender stuff. My recipient says they love it, so I feel like this was a win!
There was an "extra theme" during the writing period, announced on the Discord, in which the mod proclaimed that "you" (meaning us writers) would also be required to give the mod eight works on the following themes:
Everyone on the Discord channel was trying to figure out how these things related to "eight." People got them all in short order, EXCEPT for the final one, Bottle. That was a tricky one that took over 12 hours for people to get! We were all guessing all sorts of random things, and none of them were right.
So, I worked up my guess (haha, not a serious guess) into the following piece of Paint art!
Finally, I looked through the requests to see if I could fill a treat or two. Two people had requested Kakashi/Iruka, one of my favorite ships, so I wrote something quick and fluffy and gave it to both of them (along with the event mod).
Both of the people I wrote this for said they like it! It's very cute and fluffy with no plot to speak of. In only 1600 words, I didn't have room for much! But I'm happy to show a little glimpse of these two together and married and in love. Kakashi still has to run awful missions -- but at least he can come home to some comfort.
I had a great time in this exchange, and am already looking forward to next year's, which will be the ninth!
The first is my main assignment. I matched on the request "Character with anachronistic self-conception of their gender identity and sexuality (OW)", and I knew this was going to be a lot of fun! I have THOUGHTS about neopronouns and esoteric, community-coined, hyper-specific labels...
Of the New God from the North, Exploratio Generis (Gender Exploration)
Author: ArtemisDart
Fandom: Original Work
Ship: Original Male Character(s) & Original Male Character(s)
Rating: General
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Wordcount: 3,395
Summary: Senator Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus is having an annoying day.
And this foreign gladiator, with his strange declarations about his 'gender,' and his 'sexuality,' and his 'pronouns,' is not making it any easier.
This was a lot of fun to write. It was either going to be gladiators or pirates, but in the end, I decided that pirates are probably way more genderfluid / genderbendy than gladiators, so it would be more funny to use ancient Rome to do a bit of humor about gender stuff. My recipient says they love it, so I feel like this was a win!
There was an "extra theme" during the writing period, announced on the Discord, in which the mod proclaimed that "you" (meaning us writers) would also be required to give the mod eight works on the following themes:
- The Twa Sisters (murder ballad from Scotland)
- Oxygen (the eighth element)
- Kaya’aton’my (the eighth American Girls doll, from the Pawnee people of the Pacific Northwest
- Milkmaids (because of Eight Maids A-Milking)
- Neptune (the eighth planet)
- Paris (the city that hosted the eighth Olympics)
- Portuguese (the world's eighth most spoken language)
- Bottle (because La Botela, the Bottle, is card #8 in the Spanish 'Loteria')
Everyone on the Discord channel was trying to figure out how these things related to "eight." People got them all in short order, EXCEPT for the final one, Bottle. That was a tricky one that took over 12 hours for people to get! We were all guessing all sorts of random things, and none of them were right.
So, I worked up my guess (haha, not a serious guess) into the following piece of Paint art!
How is a Bottle Like the Number Eight???
Author: ArtemisDart
Fandom: Chinese History RPF
Ship: n/a
Rating: General
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Wordcount: 0
Summary: THE WORLD MUST KNOW THIS INFORMATION.
Finally, I looked through the requests to see if I could fill a treat or two. Two people had requested Kakashi/Iruka, one of my favorite ships, so I wrote something quick and fluffy and gave it to both of them (along with the event mod).
月下花香 - Flower Fragrance Beneath the Moon
Author: ArtemisDart
Fandom: Naruto (Anime & Manga)
Ship: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Rating: General
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Wordcount: 1,621
Summary: Iruka is worried when his husband Kakashi is late coming back from a mission.
Both of the people I wrote this for said they like it! It's very cute and fluffy with no plot to speak of. In only 1600 words, I didn't have room for much! But I'm happy to show a little glimpse of these two together and married and in love. Kakashi still has to run awful missions -- but at least he can come home to some comfort.
I had a great time in this exchange, and am already looking forward to next year's, which will be the ninth!
Exchanges After Dark Birthday Bash 2026!
Feb. 10th, 2026 11:10 pmartemisdartIt was almost past time for the annual Exchanges After Dark Birthday Bash, and I was on the cusp of giving up hope, when they announced it would be running after all!
So I added things to the tagset, and wrote a couple of things on Superbowl Sunday, and even engaged in the Discord channel about Birthday Bash (or 'birbas,' as some of the participants affectionately call it). I even made a piece of silly art in Paint!
Works were just revealed! Check out my gift -- a, shall we say, minimalistic piece of art in the media of "Sharpie" and "napkin," based on a fic I did for birbas two whole years ago!
Remix of 'Science Can Get A Little Bit Messy And That's Okay'
_sniff_ It's so beautiful 😍
So I added things to the tagset, and wrote a couple of things on Superbowl Sunday, and even engaged in the Discord channel about Birthday Bash (or 'birbas,' as some of the participants affectionately call it). I even made a piece of silly art in Paint!
Works were just revealed! Check out my gift -- a, shall we say, minimalistic piece of art in the media of "Sharpie" and "napkin," based on a fic I did for birbas two whole years ago!
Remix of 'Science Can Get A Little Bit Messy And That's Okay'
_sniff_ It's so beautiful 😍
Asked for a deadline extension 😞
Feb. 9th, 2026 08:16 amartemisdartFor the first time ever, I asked a mod for an extension on an exchange deadline. It was for the pinch hit I picked up for the Five Figure Fanwork Exchange.
Originally, I had dumped weeks of research and work into creating an outline for a fic that could easily be 80k words or more, but I didn't have time to write it. And when I started to try, I could barely get half a scene in before I realized it just wasn't gelling for me yet.
Next, I pivoted to a different request from the same recipient, and knocked out 5k words in short order. All seemed on track.
But then, I had an idea for a cool twist / story element that I wanted to add... and I thought of it just a couple days before it was due, in the same timeframe that I also had a bunch of other stuff to do.
So I asked for an extension and now I have another week.
I told my writing group yesterday, and someone said, "You're a real author now!" 😂
Originally, I had dumped weeks of research and work into creating an outline for a fic that could easily be 80k words or more, but I didn't have time to write it. And when I started to try, I could barely get half a scene in before I realized it just wasn't gelling for me yet.
Next, I pivoted to a different request from the same recipient, and knocked out 5k words in short order. All seemed on track.
But then, I had an idea for a cool twist / story element that I wanted to add... and I thought of it just a couple days before it was due, in the same timeframe that I also had a bunch of other stuff to do.
So I asked for an extension and now I have another week.
I told my writing group yesterday, and someone said, "You're a real author now!" 😂
Superb Owl Sunday
Feb. 8th, 2026 10:37 pmermingardenI enjoyed The Atlantic's annual roundup of superb owl photos (gift link) this morning. I didn't watch the game; my Sunday evening plans were just choir, as usual.
It's been a quiet weekend for me, and a chilly one - weather during the work week was fine, but the temperature absolutely plummeted yesterday, and it looks like more cold ahead.
I have made some progress in Mansfield Park, though I'm still not even halfway through; I just finished the first volume (of three), in fact. Honestly, it took me a while to get into the story, and to get a good sense of the heroine, Fanny - at first, I pitied her but wasn't otherwise too interested, but now I adore her! And on a personal level, as someone who was told many times as a child that she was too sensitive, I love that Fanny's sensitive nature doesn't seem to be condemned or shown as an obstacle she needs to overcome in order to come into her own. It's even a good thing to the extent that it makes her sensitive to others' feelings and needs, and to the demands of propriety - she's socially conscientious, in a way the Bertram siblings are not. What she needs isn't to be less uptight or to grow a thicker skin, but to trust her own judgment more.
Exciting developments planned for the week ahead: I start French classes Tuesday night! I've studied Spanish and Latin, but never French - so wish me bonne chance!
It's been a quiet weekend for me, and a chilly one - weather during the work week was fine, but the temperature absolutely plummeted yesterday, and it looks like more cold ahead.
I have made some progress in Mansfield Park, though I'm still not even halfway through; I just finished the first volume (of three), in fact. Honestly, it took me a while to get into the story, and to get a good sense of the heroine, Fanny - at first, I pitied her but wasn't otherwise too interested, but now I adore her! And on a personal level, as someone who was told many times as a child that she was too sensitive, I love that Fanny's sensitive nature doesn't seem to be condemned or shown as an obstacle she needs to overcome in order to come into her own. It's even a good thing to the extent that it makes her sensitive to others' feelings and needs, and to the demands of propriety - she's socially conscientious, in a way the Bertram siblings are not. What she needs isn't to be less uptight or to grow a thicker skin, but to trust her own judgment more.
Exciting developments planned for the week ahead: I start French classes Tuesday night! I've studied Spanish and Latin, but never French - so wish me bonne chance!
Exchanges After Dark Birthday Bash 2026!
Feb. 8th, 2026 06:27 pmartemisdartI fulfilled my assignment for the Exchanges After Dark Birthday Bash 2026, and I knocked out two treats as well!
I still have another day or two before the exchange reveals -- so I could do another one tomorrow, maybe. It depends! I didn't write for any of the things that I nominated to appear in the tagset, haha.
Looking forward to reveals for this on Tuesday!
I still have another day or two before the exchange reveals -- so I could do another one tomorrow, maybe. It depends! I didn't write for any of the things that I nominated to appear in the tagset, haha.
Looking forward to reveals for this on Tuesday!
I Regret To Inform You That I Am Once Again Back On My Penguin Bullshit
Feb. 8th, 2026 05:18 pmprimeideal[Edit to add: Last week I lost my wallet on the bus. Reported it to lost and found right away, but no luck. It wasn't stolen/no unexpected credit card transactions, just made me feel like an idiot. But I was able to start the ball rolling on getting stuff replaced, and debit card I was able to get in person rather than by mail, so that was great. I almost mentioned it in the first draft of this post but it's like...it's fine now, I'm not worried.
Then I wrote this entire post and only later did I realize I might. Have left my e-reader with all the annotations/highlights/stuff to remember I just made. On the train. aaaAAAa I will call the lost and found tomorrow but, really feeling like an idiot again. D: ]
Very close to hearing back on the thing I've been working on for the last few months. If it's a rejection I know I'll get over it eventually, but just the nerves of being on tenterhooks for the last few days.
A couple weeks ago we had a snowstorm that, while not as epic as anticipated, was still enough to require a lot of road thawing, so I got two and a half days off of work, which was great. The joke is that I make fun of people out here for not being able to drive in the snow, because where I grew up, most people can and do drive in the snow. "But you can't drive in the snow either." Right, but I also can't drive at all, so that's totally different :P
Anyway, obviously this was a good excuse to revisit "The Worst Journey in the World" and have emotions about it all over again! Maybe this time around I will even get to writing kinkmeme fills because I have a lot emotions, but it's just so hard to keep all the details/canon review stuff in my head at once...
This is probably going to repeat myself from several previous posts (see, "polar nonsense" tag), but I wanted to have it in one place:
( tl;dr )
Then I wrote this entire post and only later did I realize I might. Have left my e-reader with all the annotations/highlights/stuff to remember I just made. On the train. aaaAAAa I will call the lost and found tomorrow but, really feeling like an idiot again. D: ]
Very close to hearing back on the thing I've been working on for the last few months. If it's a rejection I know I'll get over it eventually, but just the nerves of being on tenterhooks for the last few days.
A couple weeks ago we had a snowstorm that, while not as epic as anticipated, was still enough to require a lot of road thawing, so I got two and a half days off of work, which was great. The joke is that I make fun of people out here for not being able to drive in the snow, because where I grew up, most people can and do drive in the snow. "But you can't drive in the snow either." Right, but I also can't drive at all, so that's totally different :P
Anyway, obviously this was a good excuse to revisit "The Worst Journey in the World" and have emotions about it all over again! Maybe this time around I will even get to writing kinkmeme fills because I have a lot emotions, but it's just so hard to keep all the details/canon review stuff in my head at once...
This is probably going to repeat myself from several previous posts (see, "polar nonsense" tag), but I wanted to have it in one place:
( tl;dr )
Dear Creator for Space Swap 2026
Feb. 8th, 2026 05:13 pmirusufandom: mass effect trilogy, dear creator, fandom: murderbot diaries, fandom: venom (movies), exchange: space swap, fandom: the expanse (tv), fandom: original work
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Hello, dear creator! Thank you so much for offering to do this exchange! I'm happy with fic or art of any of these. Treats welcome!
My AO3 name is also![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
irusu
( Read more... )
---------------------------
Hello, dear creator! Thank you so much for offering to do this exchange! I'm happy with fic or art of any of these. Treats welcome!
My AO3 name is also
( Read more... )
Rare Femslash and 4 AM
Feb. 7th, 2026 01:36 pmartemisdartOn Thursday night I stayed up until 4 AM Friday morning... cranking out my offering for the Rare Femslash Exchange. Although it could probably be better, it's good enough that I was pleased with it. After posting it, I fell asleep hard -- until I had to get up at 7:50 for an 8 AM Teams meeting, haha! Friday was rough.
Last night I went out to dinner and a concert with my girlfriend, so I didn't have time to work on Five Figure Fanwork Exchange. And this morning so far has been taken up with my regular Saturday martial arts class (2 hours), and then making food, eating, showering, and interacting with my charming adult children who still live here.
BUT NOW all of that is over and I can spend at least an hour or two writing...
... which is good, since I have 5,000 words still owed before I hit the 10K minimum for this exchange. Eek!
Yesterday in the shower I had a baller idea for how to add a twist to this fic in a way that surprised and delighted me. I'm going to give it my best shot and hope it works out! :)
Last night I went out to dinner and a concert with my girlfriend, so I didn't have time to work on Five Figure Fanwork Exchange. And this morning so far has been taken up with my regular Saturday martial arts class (2 hours), and then making food, eating, showering, and interacting with my charming adult children who still live here.
BUT NOW all of that is over and I can spend at least an hour or two writing...
... which is good, since I have 5,000 words still owed before I hit the 10K minimum for this exchange. Eek!
Yesterday in the shower I had a baller idea for how to add a twist to this fic in a way that surprised and delighted me. I'm going to give it my best shot and hope it works out! :)
(no subject)
Feb. 7th, 2026 09:43 amleianoraStories of Arda has been down for over a week. Has it been hacked again? Does anyone know if it is coming back soon? Where do people post their stories if not there?
