Arrant Nonsense

AUGH.

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:57:40 GMT

I so want to learn to vid. WHY has no one done an Iron Man "Carry On Wayward Son" vid? Why why why???

Someone please tell me that we'll start seeing LOTS of them when the DVD comes out...

Seriously. "Masquerading as a man with a reason, my charade is the event of the season" -- with the footage from that deleted scene. OMG, that would be perfect.

*eyes icon* I know, Tony. I know.

So, here's what my outline would look like...

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:51:10 GMT

If I, you know, outlined.

Ben gets the snot beat out of him. Snark. Werewolf. Banter. Party. More snark. Creepy stalking. Crap, that guy's hurt, like, a lot. Oh shit, Alex's been shot. Gah, I've been woken from a sound sleep to find out he's been shot. Exposition. And snark. More werewolf. Hey, he's awake. More snark and banter. Also, crying. Hey, look, more snark, banter, and exposition. Werewolf. Intruder alert, call the cops. Go to bed, Alex, weren't you just shot in the lung a few hours ago? Snark. Cops. Oops, not cops. Snark. OHSHITBEN. Doctor, nanotech, hey, operating theater in the basement because Alex hates hospitals, how convenient. Wake up, Alex. Go to bed, Megan. Snark. Exposition: Did you know Ben is ex-military? Yeah, it was touch-and-go for a bit, but he'll be fine. Yay. Villain! He's a werewolf too.

Is there a plot in there? This is reminding me of the bad old days in high school where I just wrote whatever came into my head at the time, and most of that consisted of scene after scene of a character getting the shit beat out of him for no apparent reason.

There may be a plot in here crying to get out, but it's being an elusive little bugger. *shakes Antubis* I've written 56 words today (in fiction, not counting wanking--me, mainly, being anal--and other assorted LJ posts). And they suck.

*sigh*

You know...

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:23:28 GMT

Actually thinking about my actual plot before I'm eleven thousand words into a story might actually be a good idea.

I need to figure out who my actual bad guy is and what form the industrial espionage is actually taking.

And then I might be able to actually sit and actually write the actual story. And I might start thinking I'm actually smart.

DUDE.

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:28:35 GMT

I just found a fifty-dollar bill I didn't know I had in the tail of my anteater bank!

Actually, the Hubby looked inside the bank and saw it, because it was kind of wedged back there.

So. There's four paychecks between now and Mile Hi Con. Where, I remind you, Jim Butcher and Tim Powers are the guests of honor.

I may yet try to get to this thing.

HAH.

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:22:05 GMT

And again I say: HAH.

I realized this evening that I've put myself in kind of a box, vis, the not!KKBB/IM fic, in that I'm limiting myself to what I already established in the first one I wrote with not!Tony and not!Pepper. And then I realized that I don't actually have to do that. Because it's not like I've actually sold the first story (yet).

Also, as the handsome and talented kurukami pointed out, it's not like not!Tony would necessarily know everything that's going on in his own company anyway. So, I have room to bring the lycanthropy more into play than I thought I did at first glance.

I may have the glimmerings of actual PLOT here, folks.

See? This is what happens when I even contemplate the n-word.

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:30:56 GMT

Any semblance of "what happens next" has completely and utterly run the hell away.

I've got nothin'. I finally just deleted a bunch of crap and did a scene break because it was boring and it felt like I was writing stuff just for filler and to have words on the page.

I'm wondering if my real villain needs to make an appearance here. Maybe I should do a scene from his POV. *ponders*

Also, something to do with lycanthropy would be good. So far I'm not seeing the need for a werewolf in this story. Gaaaaah.

looks around furtively

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:53:49 GMT

So, I've got 16,700 words in the not!Iron Man thing. I've got about 11,500 words and counting in the not!KKBB/IM thing set in the same 'verse, and it's not even close to done yet.

And I'm womanfully refraining from using the n-word.

No, no, not that one. I wouldn't have to "womanfully refrain" from using that one, I would never ever use that one. You guys know me enough to know that.

This n-word: novel

I'm afraid if I say it too loudly, it'll run away. So, shhhh.

In other news, we had breakfast with a guy from Hillsdale College this morning. It was interesting and informative and I feel a whole lot smarter now. I'm very inclined to send Da Boy there when the time comes.

And in other other news, my body hates me and I hate it right back. So I guess we're even. A three-week cycle is not cool. *smacks uterus around* Also, I'm coming down with the cold Da Boy had last week. And I'm slightly sleep-deprived.

All this bodes ill for my characters. I have a bad tendency to take out feeling like this on them.

However, the scale is still my bitch. So there. 123.6 this morning. HAH.

Oh, not!Harry.

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:21:36 GMT

He's not even onscreen right now, and I love him SO HARD. Seriously.

I've done my 250 words today. Plus a little. Current word count: Over 11,000.

Plot? Am I supposed to have one of those?

On actors...

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:59:33 GMT

And how they can completely make or break a movie for me, as far as my desire to go see them.

Example 1: The Soloist. Not, frankly, usually my kind of movie. Even with all the critical acclaim it would no doubt get, I probably wouldn't go. Except for the fact that Robert's in it. That fact alone is enough to get my butt in a seat, even if his hair is horrible in the thing. (What? Not a fan of the super-short hair, sue me, I'm shallow.) Because it's Robert and it'll be nice to have watched and actually be rooting for a movie in Oscar contention for once.

And trust me, I've watched a couple of god-awful things with Robert in them. I get what they were trying to do with "The Singing Detective," but it just didn't work for me. "A Scanner Darkly" didn't actually get interesting until the last fifteen minutes or so. "Tropic Thunder," while not falling to the level of god-awful, had enough awful moments in it and enough bad language for three movies that length. So, yeah.

Example 2: Body of Lies. Ordinarily, this would be a no-brainer. Ridley Scott, action-adventure, spy stuff, count me in. But then I look at the cast: Russell Crowe and Leo DeCaprio. I'm not a big fan of Russ and Leo is actually an active turn-off. So I'm probably going to give this one a pass.

How about you, flist? Are there any actors that will get your butt in a seat no matter what the movie is? What about actors that you have to be dragged kicking and screaming to see?

headdesks

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:30:47 GMT

So, as someone rightfully pointed out, I kind of need an explanation of why not!Harry was able to go all Rambo on those guys and kill them with three shots in as many seconds.

And then I thought--well, duh. I haven't really established his age here, so he's got all kinds of room to be whatever I want him to be. I'm picturing late twenties, myself, mmmaaaaybe early thirties, although probably not older than thirty.

Which gives him time to be ex-Army or, hell, even be a current member of the National Guard.

HAH.

And I'm now informed that there probably wouldn't be an exit wound, so adjustments should be made to this scene.

I have now seen...

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 08:16:48 GMT

"Zodiac."

Is it just me, or does RDJ just blatantly steal every single scene he's in ever?

Yeah, probably just me.

However, I come bearing icons. Because I do that.

GUH. Gun and cigarette and glasses and arm and beard. Anyone who says that smoking's not sexy has never seen that man with a cigarette in his mouth. *fans self* Okay, the crappy shooting wasn't sexy, but it was funny. Points for not making him an expert the second he picked the gun up. Also, his hand is shaking, which is a nice touch, I liked that. Because didn't these dumbasses maybe think, once, that they might be painting a big ol' target on themselves? Hello?

I've done my 250 words today. I've also posted a snippet of what I did the other day here at difrancis's "Snippet Saturday" post, if anyone wants to see what I was so damb gleeful about the other day.

So.

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:51:34 GMT

I managed nearly a thousand words yesterday. Which was a fine and shiny thing.

Of course, today I decided that I should actually look and see what an exit wound would look like if a 9mm pistol was fired at fairly close range into someone's chest. Because I takes my research seriously, I does.

It shouldn't be this hard to find autopsy photos on the interwebs, y'all. *grumbles* Oh well. Apparently exit wounds vary a lot, depending on what the bullet hits on its way in and on its way out, so I can wing it. I didn't make it ridiculously huge or anything.

In other news, NBC's Olympic coverage basically fails. Hey, execs? I'd really like to know what I'm watching. A little graphic to the effect of "Gold medal round, women's indoor volleyball" would be really handy. It's nice to know when we're watching heats and qualifying as opposed to medal rounds, yanno?

Also, MOAR FAIL on the part of someone at fanficrants. The idea that Tony Stark can't be gay in a frakkin' AU is hilarious. I especially like this thread. Because I've seen rumblings about this and I'd like some of the crack that Marvel was smoking when they came up with that storyline, thanks.

Hey, look! Another fic rec!

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 03:42:27 GMT

Meet Virginia, a faux Newsweek article about Pepper.

AWESOME.

In other news, I finished the aforementioned scene wherein everything goes to shit for my characters. Now I get to deal with picking up the pieces. Starting with deciding who has actually died. Including not!Harry, who is in a bad way at the scene break.

Speaking of which, have you ever had a moment when you looked at your own writing and thought "Dude, did I really just write that? Because that's a totally brilliant turn of phrase and I can't believe it just rolled off my keyboard like that."

I had a moment like that tonight. And it feels so good.

And there's my 250 words (plus a little) for the day. Anything else is gravy.

reminds self to breathe

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:20:42 GMT

Scenes like this are never easy to write. I should not be this concerned for a fictional character. Especially one of mine. After all, his fate rests in my hands, and I'm (pretty sure) he's not going to die (yet).

But, wow, y'all. I kind of love this little snippet. Like, a lot. Oh, not!Harry. You poor schmuck.

And I've still got 37 words before I hit the magical 250.

Okay, I've asked myself...

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:24:04 GMT

"What could go wrong for my characters in this scene?"

And things have gone from "merely bad" to "catastrophic" in the blink of an eye.

Oh, not!Harry.

Seriously, now I'm asking myself "how can I dial this back?" Because this...is bad. Very very bad.

dies laughing

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 03:19:27 GMT

Badly is an adverb. So to say you feel badly would be saying that the mechanism which allows you to feel is broken. --Harmony Faith Lane, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," 2005

So, the "badly is an adverb, feel is a verb" debate hits Encarta, gets picked up by Smart Bitches, and sends me into a fit of giggles.

I love the internets.

Who taught you grammar? Badly's an adverb. Get out. Vanish. --Perry van Shrike, same movie.

(x-posted to kkissbbang)

Also.

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:02:23 GMT

The scale is my bitch, and I made it cry like a whiny little girl today.

So there.

Bad dreams notwithstanding. *sticks tongue out* (Suffice to say that a dream wherein the scale repeatedly refuses to weigh me and then finally tells me that I'm 128 when I was 125 the previous day is not a happy dream.)

124.2 this morning. You guys have no idea how happy this makes me.

Well. Maybe you do. :)

So...

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:04:14 GMT

Mile Hi Con.

Guest of Honor: Jim Butcher.
Guest of Honor: Tim Powers.
Toastmaster: Carrie Vaughn.

Dates: October 24-26

I want to go to this like burning.

And I'm not sure I can. I'm going to try to talk the Hubby into some sort of funding deal, since we're not doing the Halloween Classic in Boise this year. I've started saving money, but I doubt I'll have enough to cover the hotel and food by October unless I just spend nothing between now and then. Those of you who know me know this is practically impossible.

A roomie would come in handy. I wonder if there's an LJ comm. ETA: Okay, there's a Yahoo group. *joins*

However, if I can save something, that will at least score points. And I don't actually have anything to buy right now but the various comics that come in on a weekly basis. And I fund the snackage when we go to the movies, but there's not much coming out soon I need to see other than "Babylon AD" and "Eagle Eye." So... hm.

Hm, indeed. *ponders*

Well.

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:00:02 GMT

I've broken 9000 words on the not!KKBB/IM fic. Go, me?

Plot? We don't need no steenkin' plot!

I'm asking myself "what can go wrong here?" which is a useful thing for a writer to ask herself. And I think I have the "wrong thing," but it may happen out of view of my protags, and I'm not sure this is a good thing. So I'm wondering if some sort of violence should ensue here. Megan's nose may come into play...

You know what the fun thing is? Pulling all this crap together so I look like I actually planned it all out beforehand and look like a freakin' genius.

I have vanquished the Muse for the day...

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:21:24 GMT

My daily goal in writing is 250 words. If I can do that much, I'm happy. If I can do twice that, I'm ecstatic. I've done nearly three times that so far today.

Of course, it's just more snark and innuendo. The plot has certainly not moved forward 700 words worth. But considering the fact that my plot here seems to be pretty nonexistent, I'll take snark and innuendo.

Darling du jour: "Why, Miss Graham. I didn't know you cared." He slouched down again with a somewhat predatory smile, lacing his fingers over his stomach. "But if I knew that all it would take to get you to tuck me in was getting shot in the chest, I'd have done it sooner."

She choked. "When you get better, I am so going to kill you. Slowly."

He closed his eyes and let out a breath. "That's my girl."

Context is for the weak.

Also, I'm thinking about switching out my Tony/Pepper icon for the Alex/Megan one with the wolf:

Since that seems to be all I'm writing about these days.

facepalm headdesk dies

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:39:58 GMT

I...am pathetic.

We got paid today. So I bought:

This month's Rolling Stone. Cover story: Robert Downey, Jr. Loooong article.

US Marshals on DVD. Shut up. It was in the $5 bin.

An Iron Monger action figure. Understand that I bought the Iron Man action figure it goes with about a month ago. If there was a Pepper Potts action figure, they'd actually come out of the packaging.

The animated Iron Man DVD, which actually looks kind of awesome. It was only $7.50.

I considered picking up the Gothika/Queen of the Damned double DVD set (also $7.50), but it was in fullscreen, so I said "Meh" and put it back. And I really want to get some of the Iron Man trades. I just need to figure how much they're going to cost and put that money aside so I can get them all at once. And it looks like the Civil War arc is ... rather epic.

I also read the EW interview with Robert, Ben, and Jack. Had there been anything in my mouth, it would have left, explosively. Several times. I swear, RDJ is one of the most self-aware people I've ever seen. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: He knows the bullet he dodged. He thinks about that bullet every day of his life. And he knows how blessed he is to have gotten another chance.

Which is why when someone wants to RP him diving into a bottle because Susan is having a difficult pregnancy, I heartily wish for the ability to reach through the internet and strangle a bitch. *growls* Context is for the weak. Suffice to say that someone on the internet is WRONG and I'm womanfully refraining from ripping that person several new assholes. See, people? *points* This is why mundanes think that RPing real people is creepy.

Also, Robert and Susan: Cutest couple ever, y/y?

Oh! I almost forgot.

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:18:25 GMT

I've been meaning to rec these for awhile:

Tony Stark's MIT Commencement speech.

quigonejinn's version.
atrata's version.
gabby_silang's version.

Yes, yes, I know. *puts nose on grindstone*

I think I might be scraping my plot together...

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:08:25 GMT

I've been struggling with making not!Pepper's lycanthropy an integral part of the plot rather than something peripheral that she needs to deal with and keep hidden. And I think I've figured out a way to do this.

Of course, I might have to re-write the scene where they go a-hacking, but I'll cross that bridge when I'm caught up with my flist and ready to tackle it.

But I think that "plot" may be emerging from this thing. It's about 8000 words late, but better late than never, I guess.

Also, icon:

Deleted Iron Man scene!

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 02:05:19 GMT

Link here.

Oh, Tony. *cries & hearts*

Context, you say? The Dubai party was supposed to be cover and alibi for his little mission to Gulmira. Also, Dubai is closer to Afghanistan than Malibu, so this makes a little more sense. If you haven't picked up the novelization, and you liked the movie, I highly recommend it--especially if you're a writer or interested in the process of getting something from the page to the film. The novelizations are generally done from the shooting scripts, and it's really surprising to me how much of the script didn't actually make it onscreen and how much golden dialogue they pulled out of their asses. Also, how much more attention they paid to physics in the script than they did in the finished product.

Man, I can't wait for the DVD...

Back from St. Louis.

agilebrit@yahoo.com — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:12:46 GMT

Visit with the HubbySis went very well. We ate a ridiculous amount of food, she drove us around a bit, we visited the Basilica and the zoo and met a friend of hers for dinner who used to write for lots of TV shows back in the day and now teaches at the local university. Very cool.

I found out that most of my medicine is sound in this thing and what isn't can be glossed over with my fictional nanotech with a minimum of tweaking. Yay.

I scribbled about 1600 words on the plane, to and fro, and moved my plot forward microscopically. I still need to figure out why I need a werewolf in this story, plot-wise. In fact, plot, any plot, would be a fine and shiny thing. *nods* Because no one is going to print 8000 words of snark, banter, and innuendo, no matter how funny it is.