Passages

It's always such an unexpected treat to get a "You've got kudos!" email alert from AO3, for a fanfic short story you wrote several years ago.

Especially when it's one you worked really hard on and still feel pretty proud of.

\o/

Yay!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... I really wanted a Tenth Doctor / David Tennant user pic, and the marvelous greatbriton made several gorgeous ones for me, per a creative meme offering she posted to her LJ.

In exchange for her generosity (and great patience), I promised my own creative offering, to write up to ten stories or TV episode reviews to those who commented to my post here. I still have more stories to write, but at long, long last, the first one is complete, the one I wrote for Briton.

She requested a Bones fic involving the characters Seeley Booth and Angela Montenegro, with no other major instructions except to say that it didn't need to be "all shippy." (Heee.) She especially liked their flirty banter and wanted a scene or story in which they were the main focus.

This is that story.

Briton, thank you so much for all the work you put in on those icons! I can now safely say that in exchange I put in a ton of (very fun) work on this thing, and I hope you find it was worth the wait.

Side note: story header notes can be found at the end.


( She gave me a Mona Lisa smile. 'Some secrets are meant to stay that way, Booth.' )

Annnnd I'm back. Top Five Meme. Yadda yadda.

This Top Five is in response to the fantastic krazykitkat. Cheers, beautiful! ;)


( Top Five Pairings )


( Top Five Current TV Shows )


( Top Five Moments of The West Wing )


And finally...

( Top Five Role Models )


And that's it for part 3! readthesubtext, I've saved you for last because you asked the most questions and I'm still working on them. I swear, I oughta ask you some more in retribution because the ones you asked have been really tough to narrow down to only five! I'm workin' on it, I'm workin' on it. *laughing uproariously*

Until next time... have a gorgeous day, everyone! ♥

Exercise O' Happiness. Yesterday was Day 6.

Usually this meme lasts about a week and this is my Day 7, so I'm not sure if I'll keep this going or let it simmer again and return to it the next time I either get tagged or simply feel like I need some extra vitamin P (for positivity, heh). We'll see how I feel tomorrow. *smiles*

In the meantime... here's what made me happy today.

Watching episodes of Bones.

I know, I know. Shocking, right? I've been quite verbal over in the daysofourbones and 206_bones communities about how frustrated I've been with this past season of the show. From my view, the two main characters have been forced out-of-character in order to fit overly wacky scenarios; stories and emotional connections have been started but left without decent follow-through; and it's lost some of the heart it used to have. I could give example after example of how the writing has changed, to the show's detriment, in the past season and a half.

However, this meme is all about positivity and joy, so today I feel it's important to express what I love about this show. For the last two days, I've been re-watching episodes from the first season and recapturing my affection for all the characters and some of the wonderful episodes that impressed and moved me. It's like wrapping myself up in a warm, familiar blanket.

The first four episodes of Season 1 had moments of amusement and curiosity, establishing personalities and tidbits of back history for each character, but didn't really grab me in an overall sense. Though I will admit that Brennan's stories about each victim and what she could learn about them based on their bones fascinated me, and Hodgins' "I am the warrior" speech in 1x04 still gets me giggling, it wasn't until episode five that I knew I wanted to keep watching this show and that I was invested in each and every one of these characters.

I was already in love with the lab "squints" -- Jack, Zack and Angela -- whose characters were vivid and surprisingly well-established, given that they were considered secondary roles and not all shows provide much texture to their sidekicks. So that added depth was astonishing and impressive to me.

However, while I was charmed by David Boreanaz in his lead role as Special Agent Seeley Booth, I admit I wasn't immediately enthralled by the titular character Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, try as I might to appreciate her brashness, fierce independence and awkward social manner. I felt like the first four episodes tried to force me to like her, over-explaining her issues and her backstory, rather than showing me why I should be impressed by and empathetic to her as a lead character. And the writers kept including traits that I think they meant to be cute or funny, but I happened to find irritating.

Example: when in the field, she often ignored Booth's instructions, plowing into danger with no demonstrative regard for her safety or his, jumping into the fray simply because she felt she could handle herself. That pissed me off, because there's being brave and capable, and then there's being foolish and dismissing the abilities and experience of her partner, an FBI agent and former soldier. When he says, "Stay back," you should stay the hell back and let him go in first. It's not an affront to your feminist capabilities or your intelligence; it has everything to do with the fact that you're a scientist from a lab while he's a trained federal agent.

At any rate, my views of Brennan changed drastically when I saw episode five, "The Boy in the Bush." The writers presented her as a much more well-rounded, sympathetic character. She wasn't just a quirky oddball who's spent too much time in the lab examining dead bodies and not enough time out in the world, connecting with live people. Instead, throughout this episode they managed to solidify her trust in her partner Booth and move her character forward, revealing something new and emotionally effective about her that fit beautifully within the construct of the heart-breaking story about a young foster kid whose body was found in a field. Not only that, but the episode managed to reveal a little something about each and every character, even the sidekicks. Everyone had a purpose, everyone had a specific reaction to the case they were investigating, and each person was illuminated in fruitful ways. I was moved by the story and all of the characters, and felt the episode was balanced, touching, and well-written. It made me want to know more about each and every person on the show. It made me want to know what would happen next. I generally liked the first four episodes, but I found I really loved episode five. It's unquestionably worth a watch.

This week I'll continue to revisit the first season of Bones, and I genuinely look forward to watching the episodes that show these characters growing and developing and connecting with each other, becoming a well-oiled machine of an investigative team and, more importantly, an odd yet marvelous sort of family.

That quality in a TV show is something that brings a big smile to my face. That's what impresses and moves me, and that's definitely something that makes me happy.

For your evening's entertainment, here are two of the many little quotes from that episode that always amuse me:

HODGINS: When you write, you get this stunned look on your face like you stuck a fork in a toaster.


BRENNAN: They gave me a car.
HODGINS: Nice. Who?
BRENNAN: My publisher. Now I feel like I have to earn it by writing another book.
HODGINS: Fight coercion in all its forms. You don’t write the book, I don’t go to the banquet. Solidarity.


*GRIN*

Joy to all of you, my friends. *hugs*

A belated birthday gift for my friend willowwood.

I'm so sorry it's late *hangs head in shame* but I promise you, I've been writing my heart out to get this done as soon as possible. I'm a perfectionist, sweetie... it'll never be good enough, but it's the very best I could do at this time, in my journey to learn more and become a better writer.

Most importantly, if you enjoy it, I will have accomplished what I set out to do. I hope you had a magnificent day.

( Give Me Something )


Happy Birthday, Willowwood!

MERRY HAPPY HOLIDAYCHRISTMAKWANZUKAH SOLSTICE!

(I think that should cover it all. *GRIN*)

This is it! The last of the daily joy posts! For now, anyway. I may try to pop in and post positivity just for fun every once in a while. You know, it's good for my mental health. And yours, I hope. ;)

I need to type this up before the onslaught of family members arrives. They're on their way! Once they are here, there is no way I'll be able to get on the computer. It will be chaos. (Usually fun chaos, but chaos, nevertheless.)

Therefore, let's get to it, shall we?

Our week in review: Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. Day 4. Day 5. Day 6.


DAY 7

* A purple iPod nano. An overwhelmingly generous collective gift from my grandmother and my aunts Marilyn and Suzanne. There's no snowball's chance in hell I'll be able to fit all the music I own onto that thing (I think it stores about 8GB?), but I'm not about to tell them that. *laughing uproariously* That's what happens when you're a musician. You own too many CDs, can't possibly put them all in storage. Maybe I will have to pick and choose my utmost favorite songs. Maybe it will teach me moderation. Heh. Right. Still, it's soooo pretty and really cool. I cannot wait to play with this thing. Yay for techno gadgets! *does happy dance of joy*

* Toby Ziegler. (In honor of the man, see user pic for this post.) He's the main featured character in my favorite episode from The West Wing, a crown jewel entitled "In Excelsis Deo." Because of Richard Schiff's meticulously complex portrayal of Toby, I began to look at his character in a new light. He wasn't the stereotypical cantankerous crab he could have been in lesser hands. Under Schiff's care, Toby was fierce, frustrated, brilliant, professional, intelligent, honorable, funny (yes, really), saucy (only with CJ), and sadly, quietly self-loathing. And cantankerous. Heh. He expected the best of himself and of his President, and he gave everything to his work. ("It couldn't have gone far, right? Somewhere in this building ... is our talent.")

And in that Christmas-themed episode, the way he fought for the proper military burial of the homeless stranger who happened to be wearing the coat he donated to Goodwill, the way he cringed to even admit that he might have some influence and 'power' in order to help the dead man's brother, the way he stutteringly apologized to the President for using his name in order to make it all happen, he broke my heart. I also fell a little bit in love with him. I think even President Bartlet sees his brilliance:

"I couldn't live without you, Toby. I mean it. I'd be in the tall grass; I'd be in the weeds. I know I disappoint you sometimes. I mean, I can sense your disappointment. And I only get mad because I know you're right a lot of the times, but you are not the kid in the class with his hand up and whatever it was you said to C.J. You are a wise and brilliant man, Toby..."

~ The West Wing, "The Crackpots and These Women"

Toby stirred up and reinvigorated my interest in creative writing. He was the inspiration for my very first piece of fan fiction ever. In fact, before I started browsing for info about The West Wing, I didn't even know what fan fic was.

And that show was my first foray into everything online. Just because I wanted to know more about the show and its characters, I discovered this bizarre, amazing world of people, communities chatting and conversing and discussing and analyzing, and it was marvelous. They made me feel so welcome. And that security gave me the confidence to branch out and search for sites and communities for other favorite programs of mine. It's what eventually brought me to bardsmaid's astoundingly spot-on X-Files fiction, and more importantly, a marvelous, rewarding friendship with her. (Seriously, our emails are often epic-length. We've scaled back, but no matter the length of the mail, I savor every word.) It's what brought me to bond with the people on TJ Thyne's site, where I've made some lovely and entertaining friendships. It's what brought me to 'meet' lostakasha, whom I have come to treasure madly. (We're still getting to know each other, but our friendship extends well beyond general fandom discussions, and I am so grateful for that. And jazzed to keep our rich conversations jamming.)

I guess what I'm trying to say in a roundabout way is, I'm so glad to know you or chat with you or have these wonderful, in-depth conversations with you. In different ways, you all inspire me. And yes, you bring me great joy.

Which brings me to this...

* Family, in all its definitions. Your biological family, who drive you nuts but are still endearing and wacky and surprising and wonderful. *LOVES* Your online community friends, who let you rant and rave and cheer and go on about the minute details of all things. They may never meet you, they may not even know what you look like, but they 'see' you and 'get' you and appreciate you all the same. *LOVES* Your best friends, who know you better than anybody and remind you why you're lovable and offer care and support and encouragement and wild hilarious fun. *LOVES*

I hope each and every one of you has a beautiful holiday, and I wish for you the most astoundingly fantastic new year.

Merry Christmas!