slr2moons

My last post was me venting about everything that's been bearing down on me in the past few months. But some good things have been happening, too!

( Spicer is doing better, new URL for my fanfic recs page, manga counting continues, reading, small shigoto update, New Title 12's identity revealed, exercising with friends, Adult Things to Do List )

That's everything positive I can think of to share at the moment. ^^ Back to work for me! The Clay women are calling. C:

Greetings, my flist! All ~5 or of you or so who, like me, are still on DW and LJ and check it regularly. ^^

I haven't said much here lately, and I admit, it's b/c everyone else is on FB and it's nice to say something and start a dialogue. *sigh* I so miss this platform's glory days. But I should stop contributing to the problem by not posting here, and post more! Ha!

Okay, so...here's an update on what's happening in my life.

Tl;dr: Not much, as usual.

( Longer version within! Work, Yuletide, car, health, living arrangements, misc, and entertainment. )

I guess that's it for this long update. It feels good to talk to you guys again! Please leave a comment, if you have anything to say or ask. C:

Have you ever wanted to go back in time and give yourself a hug of thanks? I do. I surely do!

Clay vol 25 is due tomorrow, Monday, and I finished yesterday after a flail-filled work rush. 14 pages of Clay a day is NOT fun, I can tell you. The reason for the last-minute dash was the Seraph-chapter-every-week final rush while we caught up with Japan. Even without needing to worry about FX for the individual chapters, lettering 45 pages of text-only a week takes time. But I brought everything in under or before deadline, once again! *triumphant pose* Oh yeah, including Voice vol 7. ^^

Now it's time for me to start the Seraph vol 3 (chapters 8-11) graphic novel version, which means stringing the four chapters together, creating the English sound effects and doing all the related retouch, and the omake pages. The original deadline for Seraph vol3 was June 6th. As in 5 days from today. *sick laughter* But thankfully, way back when Seraph Editor sent me everything I needed to do the volume, I realized my schedule was going to be tight in May, thanks to the Seraph mad dash and my twice-yearly vol of Clay. And I asked for more time, which SeraphE kindly gave. Now I have a whole month to do the GN conversion, rather than 5 days. THANK YOU, PAST ME!!! *tearful, glompy hugs*

Today I've taken most of the day off to let myself recouperate from the work rush. I've been skating on the edge of being sick, and really needed some sleep. I've taken three naps, all with Spicer-kitty snuggled up! He does love napping with me. Then I updated my fanfiction recs page, and FINALLY finished the link and WIP-status update check. Speaking of, I might as well plug my site again. It's been a while.

I like fanfic! I like telling other people about the fics I've really enjoyed!! I have eclectic tastes, in all sorts of fandoms! Books, movies, tv shows, and of course--anime and manga! I enjoy every iteration of romantic love! I enjoy drama! Comedy! Suspense! Romance! Adventure! And I don't just rec fanfic, I have original online fiction AND webcomic recs!!! Do please stop by. I have just under 500 recs now! *flails with excitement*

Slr2moons' Fanfic and Online Reading Recs

Now that I've satisfied my need to share fun stuff, I shall get started on Seraph vol 3. My day isn't complete unless I've done at least SOME work, after all. Even holidays. ^^V

Oh yes, and I've taken on a 6th title. It's a shoujo title with Naruto Editor, with whom I've worked for years and really get along with. (note: he doesn't edit Naruto anymore, but he'll always be Naruto Editor to me. :3) The title won't be constant lettering, from what I understand, and I know NE will do his best to give me lots of lettering time. I can't say what it is or who the mangaka is, but I do like their stuff! Until the official announcement, everyone please welcome New Title 11. I should begin lettering it sometime in July or August. (I know, I'm already super-busy. But that was because of lingering effects from last summer and fall, and the Seraph catch-up. I'm confident I can handle this specific 6th title because of reasons, and remember I have home-buying in my near future. Extra $$$ is a good thing!)

Oh wow, it's been almost a month since I last posted. ^^;; Argh. When I'm busy with work, posting kinda falls to the wayside.

As I've said before, I've been scrambling to keep up with work since the disaster of last summer and Spicer-kitty's illness. As of this past Wednesday, I finally finally FINALLY caught up. It only took me eight months. X| On Wednesday I turned in Voice vol 6, and sat back to realize I didn't have a deadline looming. Natsume 17 is due mid-May, Voice 7 a couple weeks later, and Seraph chapter 15 on Monday--which is normal for Seraph.

It feels WONDERFUL to be caught up. 4 to 5 pages a day for each volume (plus the 8-10 for a Seraph chapter) and I'll REMAIN caught up. Aye, there's the rub!

To celebrate my reclaimed status, I posted the second chapter of my crossover fic for Summer Wars and Skip: Unlikely Idol. You can read it in the usual places: AO3, FF.net, and Luna. (I can't post a link to Skyehawke because the site is down. :|) Reception has been very quiet, aside from my beta and the one talkative fan so far. Such is the joy of crossing over one small fandom and one obscure one. :P (About 10 people have clicked on chapter one at Luna, but not one of them have progressed to chapter two. Alas!)

On Friday I did my taxes in three hours, a personal new record. Taxes are not a simple 1040 for me, nope. :P But they're done and YAY that chore is over! :DDD

I have three goals: 1. remain caught up (yes please), 2. get back in shape (also yes please), and 3. make art for myself (oh please yes please). Wish me luck! All three will be difficult to manage. Speaking of, back to it for me!

*points up* That's me, right now. For the most part, each deadline since the disaster during the past summer is slightly easier to meet.

The past three weeks, I haven't been able to do anything outside of work but run errands and go to Book Club, and I really should have skipped that. Or at least bailed out when the 35-minute argument started over what we would be reading in future months. (Some days I just don't have the time and/or patience to sit through that fiasco.) I've missed a birthday party for a dear friend (so sorry, Sno!), and I will be missing a chili cookoff for another dear friend this Saturday (so sorry, Phil!), and it comes down to no fun for me until I'm done. With Natsume, at least.

( Info about specific titles, wistful desires for time to be creative. )

I should stop writing this blog post and get back to work. Natsume won't letter itself. Don't let me being busy stop you from commenting! I haven't heard from anyone in some time.

Went to my third Yuletide/Nano/scribing-for-any-reason write-in on Friday evening, where I saw the wonderful snottygirl, saladbats, and mab. There were only four of us, but it was still fun! We even ran into a past NaNo-er, and a small group of others who WERE NaNo-ing. ^^ As for me, I made some serious inroads on my own Yuletide fic, of which I am very proud. I wrote about 350 words, which is a lot for me in the space of 45 minutes of actual writing time. (The rest of the evening being spent chatting or researching stuff for my fic.)

Speaking of, I finally figured out how to work writing on my phone. I can't write to google docs since my phone isn't an iphone or an Android, I don't trust emails to not lose text half-way through me typing (it's happened), and Livejournal's posting page is ridiculously code-heavy nowadays...but Dreamwidth works great. :D I have my Yuletide WIP in a private post on my DW account, which I keep open in a tab on my phone's browser. I can be in the middle of writing something, pause long enough for my phone to go into power-saving mode, wake it up...and my words are all still there. Dreamwidth doesn't time out! OMGYAY! \O/ As long as I have a net connection, I can write on the go! And carry pen and paper with me, JIC I don't have the connection. Score!

The deadline is less than a month away. Today I worked on it during breakfast and dinner. I'm pleased with what I have so far, including catching two plotholes pertaining to aspects of canon I'd forgotten, annnnnd a really big realization that I needed to lighten the mood of the MC. Thankfully I caught all three problems before I was more than 500 words into the fic. :D

Speaking of wordcount, the Yuletide minimum is 1,000. This fic is going to end up much more than that. I'm about half-way through the first scene, and the fic's already 650 words long. It isn't just my inability to write shortfic, though. My recipient loves a particular trope, and for me to do it justice, first I have to establish certain facts before I go ripping them apart. (No, there's no non-con in this one, I swear! X|) My recipient did say in their letter that they loooove the sexy tiems, but with the plot I've chosen, that won't really work. Not without the trope of Healing Cock, which I refuse to write. I hope they'll be satisfied with manly snugglings. ^^

I had kind of intimidated myself about this year's fic. I mean, last year's Yuletide fic by me turned out GOOD. It's the most popular fic I have at AO3, and I genuinely like it. I even read it for fun every couple of months! I worry that this fic can't live up to the success of last year's. But my fanfic sempai Star-chan calmed me down. She told me to just do the best I can. I am a decent writer, after all, *I* wrote last year's fic! And all the other fics on my account, all of which are perfectly readable. I certainly have the potential to write another well-received fic! And besides, what's truly important is that my recipient likes it, and I'm doing my damnedest to do just that! (Even though there won't be any sexy tiems. Hopefully someone will give my recipient a sexy fic treat. Though maybe if I finish ahead of time (HAHAHAHAH!) I could write a 2nd fic for them and load it with the smut. I'd say there's a 5% chance...)

I've enjoyed typing on the fic today. Not only having a full-sized keyboard, but being in my home, where I can relax and not need to tune out the coffeeshop music and conversation all around me. I do love write-ins, but it's more for the creative companionship and ready opinions/help to be had, rather than actual words produced. Though writing sprints work well for me. Let's do more! C:

I keep forgetting that someone is writing a Yuletide fic for me, too. I suspect I know which one, based on a comment in the yuletide-coal community that fit one of my requests. It will be interesting to see if I'm right. ^^ Whether I am or not, best of luck and good wishes to my author, if they happen to see this post! I'm looking forward to reading your words on the 25th! :DDD

In work news, Clay 23 is in the can. Voice 4 awaiting corrections, Voice 5 lettering begun. Seraph chapter 6 in the can, GN 1 being FXed right now. Natsume 16 and Skip 33 are waiting for me to start. Wheeeee!!

I know I've pretty much vanished from the net and IRL, and for good reason.

I'm scrambling to finish Voice vol 3. I have to letter the 2nd half before Friday. Or to be precise sometime on Thursday so I can do a read-through and tweak things before turning it in. This past summer has really taken it's toll on me. Six titles at once--Lost Letters, NightS, Natsume 15, Skip 32, Voice 3, and Clay 24. Skip was rushed, and Clay was sent to me three months ahead of schedule. Indeed, I should be just starting the fall volume of Clay, not waiting for CE4 to send me corrections!

And to top off the work deluge, Spicer-kitty was so ill. *sigh*

Last week I was offered a new title, one for Shonen Jump. I'm not sure if the title has been announced, so I'll keep quiet for now. I did take it. It might seen foolish to take on another title when I'm still suffering from this summer, but given the extenuating circumstances, I'll be fine once Voice 3 is done. Not to mention the increase in pay. (Money yay!) This shall be New Title 10 until I see the announcement, which will probably be tomorrow, when the new issue of (English) Jump is out. Yep, I'm gonna have a series in a mag again! :D

It all comes down to this week. I have to finish the 2nd half of Voice 3, AND bang out the first chapter of the new title. But in a week from today, things should be better. I can start taking some time away from my computers again.

I ordered pizza delivery today, only the 2nd time in my life. (I grew up in the country, where no one delivered, and pizza delivery really isn't cost-effective when it comes to meals.) Now I have breakfast for all week. It's my personal favorite (deliverable) pizza: pepperoni lover's with stuffed crust from Pizza Hut. YUM. :9 Spicer-kitty and Kakashi think it smells really good, too. *laughs* None for them, though. Pepperoni isn't good for cats!

I do feel better, now. Well enough to make a blog post, even! I just finished my delicious breakfast, have started watching Free!, (AKA the super-fit anime bishounen high school swimming anime *swoon*), and have already done a third of today's first page--and orange one in Voice.

I'm feeling optimistic! Which is good! I always work faster when I'm in a happy mood. :3

And now, back to work!

It's been a while, huh?

( updates for three BLs, Natsume 15, Skip 32, Voice 2 )

Annnd there you go! As for me personally, I'm doing okay. Frustrated with my weight, but that's par for the course. Emotionally I'm fine. I'm over the ex-friends trauma of earlier this year. I keep having these dreams of witnessing 747s crash in front of me, though. I'm not sure what my subconscious is trying to tell me. Any ideas?

I know I've been really quiet here lately. I have this long post about my sister's visit and accompanying adventure in the works. I'm going to post it soon! But...things are only gonna get busier. ^^; In the next couple weeks I have to:

1. Finish Clay 23 (already done, OMGYAY)
2. bust my booty to finish Voice 1 early, b/c...
3. Stumptown (the indie comics convention is in two weeks. I have so much going on with work and IRL that I'd skip it completely this year, but an out-of-town friend will be exhibiting (not SE3, she has to pass this year T.T) and I'm looking forward to at least having dinner with her twice. I'm not going to a ton panels and hang around all weekend like I normally do. I have too much work, and it's boring hanging around unless you have people with you, and this year that isn't going to happen for both days. Thankfully the wonderful and kind saladbats plans to go for one day, and whichever day is better for her will be when I go to peruse the exhibition hall, too.
4. My sister is flying to Seattle for her own work--much longer and more complicated this time, and she wants me to visit. I'm aiming to ride the Amtrak train up for the 6th, and with Voice due on the 8th, I need to finish early.
5. The monthly hike with my book club cronies.
6. Clean off enough hard drive space on my laptop, Usagi, to reinstall Photoshop CS (yes, CS1. Shut up, I bought it years ago and Usagi is an XP machine!) and my slightly smaller 2nd drawing tablet, Anthy. This way I can do work outside of home again, such as on the train to Seattle, in my sister's hotel room, and even out and about if anyplace has plugs. (Note to self: check if any tablets are capable of running Photoshop. HAHAHAHA! I doubt it...) Also I really hope my old copy still works, b/c I've installed it around 8 times now on various machines, and IDK how many reinstalls the serial number is good for. I gotta find the discs, too. Oh dear.)
7. Iron Man 3 movie marathon on the 2nd. I think this one is a bust, though.
8. my original manga. I actually turned down another series in favor of working on it. I'm tired of doing nothing but paid work all day. I want to be an exhibitor at Stumptown, too! >< /whine
9. anime night, too much fun to miss
10. dinner with A-chan and knastymike, also too much fun to miss

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but those are the main points. FUN TIMES! But it's good to have so much work to complain about, because MONEY YAY. I think everyone understands that. ^^

Back to work for me! I'm gonna do a purple Voice page today. GRAAAH!! BANZAIII!!! XD

Last night, I dreamed I was Ichigo in Bleach. An in-character Ichigo, at that. It was rather awesome to be so bad-ass. My love interest was even my favorite character!! I would not mind a continuation or repeat of that dream at all. X3 *is impressed with her subconscious* (Nothing naughty happened, but there were smiles exchanged and it made dream!me feel really happy--in a cool, Ichigo-esque way. Heh.)

The license has been announced, so now I can reveal the actual title of New Title 10! It is Voice Over!, aka Seiyuu Ka!, by Minami Maki of Special A fame! Told you the art is pretty. :D

Volume 11 just came out in Japan, and the series is ongoing. I will have steady work again! *throws confetti*

From a lettering perspective, I am going to earn every penny of my paycheck on this series. It's a crazy comedy, along the lines of the most busy Skip and Honey volumes. Not quite as bad as Mistress Fortune (no see-through sound effects and so much tone every page looks gray), but definitely in the "very difficult" category. And I have to letter this title with InDesign--and no text-free tiffs, at least for volume 1. *wince* I'm likely going to have to be less perfectionist about retouch, and hide said imperfections under type in ID, as I do when I can still letter in Photoshop. It's the only way to finish on-time without going insane.

But no matter, it's wonderful to have a new series to enjoy! From a talented mangaka who knows her field and delivers the laughs!! The main fonts have been decided, and today I should finally letter my first page. Woot!

My fave bookstore is having a 30% off everything in the store sale today. I'm going an hour early, to do all my shopping before the big crowd descends. I plan to catch up on Naruto (no more freebies since they don't need me to letter it anymore), partially catch up on Bleach and Bakuman (so behind...), grab the newest volumes of some shoujo (Ouran, Loveless *squee*, Black Bird, Kuroshitsuji, etc), and of course scan for any volumes in the various series I'm picking up here and there. I'm going to have to give myself a cap, though. Me at a bookstore sale is a scary thing. ^^;;;

This is a happy post. It's kinda nice!!!

And don't forget! You still have time to comment here, on this post, or send me a message if you want to stay on my friends list! If we haven't spoken in a while, please do so. :D