jlh | turning it around! (Reply)

I had a really, really shitty day yesterday and today is not turning out all that much better. So I thought I should sit down and write out stuff that is making me happy or has made me happy over the past few weeks so that I remember that there are happy things. (I don't really like ranting as it never makes me feel better--as evidenced the other day.) And I'm going to break all these things down into tiny components, because a longer list will make me happier.

Star Trek and RPF big bangs. I have read so many great fics! As soon as the rpf bb is over I'll post the stuff I read and enjoyed, as I know there's at least one more Idol fic coming that I want to read. And the lead up to the big bangs, when everyone was frantically writing, there was such a spirit of comaraderie. I was so eagerly anticipating so many fics that I'd heard of.
Reading stuff I don't usually read. Partly, I read some Cookleta that didn't freak me out and now I'm interested in reading more; I think in an AU where the writer isn't playing up the brotherly aspects I like it just fine. But mostly, to be honest, this has been sports fic from the rpf big bang. I have no idea what is going on in these stories, and yet they were fairly enjoyable. I had to like, google people to see what they looked like.
My iphone. Between the downloadable epub files on AO3 that I can read in Stanza, and the fics posted on LJ/DW that I can read offline on Instapaper, I was able to read most of the big bangs on my phone on my 35 minute subway trip to work. Brilliant. I'm a fast reader--have to be when you're studying the humanities--and so I could usually get through a BB fic every other day, or even every day.
The BB mixes. I have a huge haul of new music now! So many of the mixes were awesome!
My fellow Rymon shippers. The way everyone came together about Yuletide and getting the ship back in was really awesome. I love being in a little ship; you guys are all so great and so passionate and so enthusiastic.
My fellow Kirk/McCoy shippers. I love how non-wanky everything is, that I don't have to hear the apparently rampant anti-Uhura bullshit that floats around. Not that there aren't issues (I do wish Jocelyn weren't a villain so often) but it's nice not to feel like we're either (1) in a ship war or (2) a tiny ship no one wants in the fandom. I don't think I've ever had this experience. Being in a big, but non-wanky, ship is pretty great too.
The reception to my BB fics. I had forgotten, when in larger Idol fandom, what it was like to be in a fandom that actually really liked most of the cast, that actually loved ensemble fics and rewarded them rather than being narrowly focused on one ship. So many people said they liked the other characters, the female characters like Carol and Joanna, and that was such an amazing surprise.
Chromatic Yuletide 2010. Nearly all of my offerings, and half my requests, are for characters of color. Also my offerings/request are mostly ladies.
The weather. I love fall.