Ramblings and Musings of the Insane, Philosophical Ladybug

So MeTV is doing another round of their silly MeTV Madness this year, where MeTV shows are paired up and voted on by the viewers who use the Internet. I'm really not sure what the point of the thing is. I originally figured it was to determine what was popular so they'd have some idea what to keep/what to toss/what to bring back, but the MeTV Madness results really don't seem to have any bearing on that, so I'm not sure what the point is. Maybe it's just silly fun. Sometimes I wonder, though, if the voting is really completely what the users are saying or if MeTV makes the end result be something they want. I can never forget when 4Kids did that voting thing to get viewers to pick which new show they wanted to see a special preview of, and Tokyo Mew Mew was ahead for most of the voting time, yet suddenly when it was time, they announced that F-Zero had somehow won. Considering it had the least votes all the way along, that was more than a little suspicious.

And I was thinking about politicians being immature and flinging stupid insults back and forth at each other and that got me thinking about that Patty Duke Show episode where Patty and Cathy are running for student body president and start doing the same thing. The students get so sick of it that they end up overwhelmingly voting for the one candidate who wasn't insulting everybody else. But she also didn't have much of a voting pitch; she'd always get up and flatly say, "Vote for me." LOL. But according to Patty, she actually started doing a good job once she was voted in.

Then I started thinking how strange it is that while I remember the series fondly, there are many, many episodes that I either don't like or find tedious to watch. Episodes that I truly, genuinely liked all the way through are actually less in number than the other kind, I believe. So that made me wonder why I bought the first two seasons on DVD years ago. I think it was because I wanted the episodes with that recurring character actor who looked like Autor, Jeff Siggins. Then season 3 changed production areas and the supporting cast was dropped, including him, and season 3 changed the show in other ways and overall I didn't like it as much. But I still recorded the ones I liked best.

The other great thing about The Patty Duke Show is William Schallert. I became very fond of him while watching him in all those episodes. He reached the tier right below the actors I actually crush on, which is for other actors I am very enthusiastic about and can go out of my way to see and get very excited to see when stumbling on them by chance. I don't know if I would have come to like him as much as I do if not for seeing him every night as part of that main cast.

I also think off and on how Cathy is usually remembered for being so demure and sweet, and yet she can actually be pretty nasty too, like in the voting episode and several others. Sometimes I think she can actually be more nasty than Patty, because Patty usually just says things off the top of her head without thinking about it, whereas Cathy seems more likely to plan out at least some of what she says. Sometimes she behaves on impulse too, though, like in the Cleopatra episode. And I suppose she has to behave badly sometimes so she'll be a well-rounded character. But I have to say, it's always painful to see her like that and I don't think I like any of the episodes where it happens. Regardless, though, I do prefer her to Patty, as Patty Duke herself does. But both girls are pretty well-rounded and have good and bad points, which is nice.

That sort of thing is necessary, but while flaws are important, I honestly have trouble writing characters actually acting out/deliberately being vicious and petty and mean. Even if they're prone to such behavior in canon, I just cannot get into that mindset if I'm trying to write them as a protagonist. It's easy if they're an antagonist, but if I want them to be the one the readers are rooting for, I just ... can't seem to make myself do it, which is why canon jerk or villain characters in my hands usually end up not being anywhere as bad as canon portrays (although generally there's an explanation of trying to turn over a new leaf instead of it coming out of the blue, like it did with Hook on Once Upon a Time). It's just not my nature and I can't get into their heads and don't feel comfortable trying if I don't try to soften them/humanize them a bit to make them relatable to me. Some of them I still can't really relate to regardless of my efforts, since of course I have to try to stick to canon information and sometimes that means the character will end up darker than I'm comfortable with no matter what I do. (Usually that means I eventually drop the character, as in the cases of Gin and Vodka and some certain others in other fandoms.) But anyway, yeah, I usually have to fall back on other types of flaws for protagonists than acting out.

Then I started reading one of my locally-written mystery books. I was slightly concerned when I saw the main character described on the back as "quirky", as usually that seems to mean an absent-minded weirdo or someone who can't be serious if their life depends on it. Both character types are fine for people who like them, but they can grate on my nerves very quickly, especially since the latter category often leads to practical jokers and that's a sub-character type I don't care for either. (Which is why I've honestly never been that excited about the Weasley twins from Harry Potter.... Not that I'm that excited about Harry Potter in general, honestly. But despite my feelings, I still felt it was sacrilege to kill off one of the brothers. Gah.) There's a character in the latter category who's in a fairly popular locally-written book and movie adaptation. She says she's an intellectual, but she honestly never acts like it. She pretty much spends the whole book/movie acting like a silly, mischievous, slightly naughty goof and being rather outrageous at times. Although technically, she does get serious when her life depends on it. She dies and the thing ends up heartbreaking after starting so screwy and silly.

But to my relief when I started reading the mystery book, the lead character is a serious, capable person and her quirkiness mostly stems from OCD. I can totally deal with that. And it's rather nice to see an OCD character written seriously; as much as I had fun watching Monk, it always did bother me that he and the other OCD characters who popped up were portrayed as acting so childishly due to their phobias. We're really not all that way!

I'm at an odd sort of junction. I seem to be trying to juggle five different fandoms that I am actively interested in/writing for/getting plunnied for.

Tutu: I started the tape recorder ghost fic and it's been moving along swimmingly. It flows every time I sit down to it. Currently I'm on page 20. I'm having a blast. Each one of the suspects has given a drastically different picture of what the dead girl was like. It's up to Ahiru, Autor, and Fakir to sort out the mess and discern the shocking truth about what happened 65 years ago. I'm probably going to be surprised too. I'm feeling out the mystery as I go along, albeit I do have a increasing idea of where it's going.

I just put up chapter 20 of the thriller fic. The response has overall been dying down, so I feel I'd better hurry and get the rest of it up. I'm concerned people are abandoning it because they think it's going to keep going on and annoyingly never end. I eliminated several things I'd originally wanted to do and kept only what I felt was important to the main plot, including all of the character interaction that's present, but I'm not sure all of the readers realize that.

YGO: I wrote the opening lines of the next chapter of Close Your Eyes, Clear Your Heart. I also keep wanting to write something from David's POV.

Patty: I've been plotting how to finish that fic with Alfred being hit by a car. Suddenly I wondered if I could use the recent huge snowstorms in New York as a backdrop, since this is supposed to be set in modern times and there is a snowstorm prominently featured in the fic.

The Monkees: I am craving to write a fic focusing largely on Micky and Peter (still my favorite Monkees friendship duo). I also discovered my old idea for expanding on the scenario in episode 17 when Peter had amnesia and seemed to be particularly frigid towards Micky.

Final Fantasy 7: After literally *years*, I realized how to finish that fic where Kadaj is being stalked by a master thief and Yazoo is shot to death instead of Kadaj during the fight with her. I'd wanted to give the story a happy ending, like its inspired roleplay had. It didn't want one. After years, I still feel that way. I gave it a bittersweet ending and am tentatively planning a sequel, but I probably won't write it unless there's enough interest.

I've also considered bringing back a Yazoo icon I used to use, or using one of my own that I made. I'm grateful I uploaded my icons to Livejournal; I'd have lost most of them otherwise. I'm still hoping I sent most of my other graphics to various people who might still have them.

The other day I also discovered this, an unfinished application for a group roleplay. I didn't complete it because I realized I didn't have the time or the motivation to participate in something big like that. But I saved the application because I did a very interesting character analysis. Here, have a look at what I put in the Personality section. A bit is expanded on based on my own concepts, but most is interpretation of things directly seen in or gleaned from canon.


( Yazoo Musings )

I finally got that follow-up to Ross, the Peacemaker done ... I hope. I keep feeling like I should have had more monologuing (which I find hard to do in fics with these characters), but I'm not sure how to fit any more in.

I still haven't given up on doing that fic with Alan and Philip trying to recover from being abducted by a madman. One thing about more dramatic fics, it's easier to monologue. I think I could easily write many monologues for it, although I still don't know if I could do much with Patty. I seem to mostly have her talk aloud to someone about what's on her mind rather than to try to do silent introspection.

And I still don't know if I'll post that thing even if I do write it. But yes, I still will post at least that first scene from it here.

I've also had vague plunnies for a fic where Betsy comes for another visit. Actually, I've had those ever since I was working on my first fic. The femme fatale in the climax was originally supposed to be her, but I realized that wouldn't work because she doesn't like George anymore. So she became someone else. In this vague fic, I'm imagining George being really rattled when Cathy tells him Betsy is coming again and Cathy trying to keep him calm. And Cathy and Betsy discussing boys, and George in particular. And Betsy and George having a meeting eventually and George finally able to fully believe that he's put his infatuation with her behind him. Beyond that, I'm not sure what happens.

And oddly enough, it seems like Richard (Patty's boyfriend) is rarely ever shown with guy friends. Usually if a guy friend is there, the girls are there too, and the guy friend might simply be Cathy's date. Maybe that's one reason why the oneshot character Luke interests me; he's one of the only guy friends Richard is ever shown interacting with, particularly when it's just the two of them.

Richard also seems to know Alfred, but the extent of their friendship is unknown. Alfred seems to have a crush on Patty, but oddly enough, Richard doesn't appear to act jealous. (Unless that one dream sequence where Richard pictures Patty dumping him and sitting in the shake shop with three guys, one of whom is played by Jeff Siggins, is an indication that he does feel jealous and Jeff's character there is Alfred. But more than likely, there's no meaning behind it unless someone wants to make there be a meaning.)

I put up chapter 10 of the Tutu thriller fic. I'm thinking I'll try to go back to posting two chapters a week. It will just take too long if I only post one chapter a week. I'm really anxious to show some of the stuff that happens in the upcoming chapters.

I love this icon Lisa made for me! I'm still trying to figure out which others to replace in this journal, but I've been trying out more of the new icons in my roleplay and fic journals.

I find it amusing that as the holiday season draws to a close, I begin to go back to the Halloween/supernatural/paranormal mindset I held for a great majority of the past year.

That doesn't mean that I don't want to do criminal mysteries anymore; on the contrary, I'm into chapter ten of the thriller fic and am still just as excited over it, if not moreso. I've had the very last part of the last chapter planned in my head for so long and I'm so anxious to share it. But that can't happen until I write the rest of the story, which I am also eager to tell. There's a scene that will probably be at the end of chapter 11 that I'm anxious to get to.

I would like to write some supernatural/paranormal/psychological things along with the criminal mysteries. I'm still waiting to post the psychological oneshot, but I will probably get it up tonight. One thing I like about psychological fics is that they're not necessarily supernatural/paranormal, but they're frightening all the same. Sometimes moreso than anything supernatural.

I also find it amusing that when I first had thoughts of wanting to write for all four of Jeff Siggins' Patty Duke Show characters, I was overwhelmed as well as slightly unsettled by the thought of so many identical boys. Now, as I've been analyzing them more and writing for them and discerning their individual personalities, I can't imagine it any other way. They're each very distinctive, even though they share some traits such as being nice, kind people. In my headcanon, Alfred and George have been firmly established as brothers and Alan and Philip are brothers as well as cousins to Alfred and George. I love that there's nothing in canon to contradict it, and that Alfred even canonically helped support the idea by announcing that he has a cousin named Philip.

This isn't written down anywhere yet, but I'm thinking that it's the boys' mothers who are identical twins, to make it a bit different from Patty and Cathy's fathers being twins. The fathers being twins is the canon-friendly explanation for how the girls look alike, so a version with the mothers should work okay for Alfred and company.

There is an Alan Brewster mentioned in season 3, and though of course that wouldn't be Jeff's Alan since no characters from the first two seasons are in season 3, I'm thinking of writing that it is Jeff's Alan since there's no indication he couldn't be. The characters from the first two seasons appear in any fics I write from season 3, both because I love them and because I feel season 3 was lacking without them. Also interesting is that the principal at the end of season 1 and into season 2 is named Brewster, so I could make him related to Alan and Philip; possibly an uncle or a grandfather, once I determine how old he is.

I've been hard at work on the story that's a follow-up to the Ross, the Peacemaker episode. I suddenly got a burst of inspiration and have been flying over the pages. There's still quite a bit to go, however.

I've been lukewarm on the fic idea involving Alfred hit by a car while protecting George. I was doubtful whether I should even finish it or if I even wanted to, but I think I really do. I've idly considered changing some of it, yet every time I read it over it looks just fine, and I realized yesterday that I really still do want to somehow finish it, even if it is a bit more serious than anything on the show. Maybe it actually isn't; I've tried to keep the show's mood about it. There's some humor here and there, and since the show canonically can get much more serious than a common sitcom, it might look alright.

Something that likely will not get posted anywhere is my exercise in writing for Alan and Philip. It's based around a roleplay idea where Yami Marik abducts them, takes them to the Shadow Realm, and tries and fails to force them to fight to the death with each other. The exercise follows Philip's thoughts as he struggles to deal with what happened after the fact, and how he and Alan are both having trouble recovering from it. I'm sure that would shoot up the eyebrows of every other fan of the show, unless somewhere out there is another person who likes both it and YGO.

Though it would probably shoot up my eyebrows despite the fact that I do like both. Patty Duke and the supernatural just do not mesh well. Although the final episode of the series had Patty Lane thinking she had ESP, and it actually seemed like she did. That was the strongest the show ever delved into the paranormal, albeit it's still a far cry from psychopathic alternate personalities tormenting people in a dark realm for the fun of it.

In any case, I suppose I might post it only in here when it's done, but since it doesn't seem that anyone on the Friends list knows/likes the show, I'm not sure if there's a point. It wouldn't really be an accurate introduction to the show for anyone interested, either. But if they're curious anyway because of all my musings on these various characters and the show, I'll likely put it up here.

I have received some wonderful virtual gifts: Autor fanart from Rhapsody, a YGO fic from Crystal focusing on Duke and Serenity (with a bit of David), a combination belated birthday/early Christmas Autor/Ahiru AMV, as well as fics for a meme from Nuit, and Princess Tutu icons from Lisa! I've uploaded several icons to my Autor roleplay and my writing announcements journals. They're gorgeous! Now I just need to figure out which icons I want on this journal and what I have to remove to get them here.

I continue to tinker with the psychological fic. I decided I probably should not post it right before Christmas. I may post it next week, if I feel it's done. However, I also need to get up chapter 7 of the mystery fic before people forget it exists. And I wrote some of chapter 9! I'm thrilled. I'm hoping to keep the plot moving along and to always have at least a couple of chapters waiting in the wings.

I have season 2 of The Patty Duke Show and have rewatched the episode with George. His parents are in the stationery business, though he doesn't specify whether they make it or just distribute it (or both). He writes poetry and is in the Literature club. And he likes Shakespeare. And my deduction of him being gentlemanly was either me remembering the episode or making a good guess based on what I recalled of his personality: he stands up when Patty and Betsy appear and pulls out the chair for the girl who sits next to him (Betsy, I think).

In another episode, Maggie (a recurring character) is dating someone named Alfred, who gets upset when they have problems after listening to some screwy advice from a mysterious love advice columnist. Alfred threatens to join the Merchant Marines, and Maggie claims he does. Patty says, "Well, that's Alfred, always running off getting into things...." Later on, she talks to him on the phone when he calls her and she says she'll see him at school tomorrow. Either his parents put a stop to him joining, he was kicked out when his real age was discovered, or he never really joined in the first place but wanted to make Maggie think he had. There's no proof he's the Alfred played by Jeff Siggins; however, I think it's likely. Alfred isn't *that* common of a name, and the writers surely remembered Jeff's character, particularly since he was in more than one episode. Jeff is also in the episode, in an uncredited, non-speaking role. And when he's in an episode that features a character named Alfred ... well, the evidence seems stacked quite high.

If I decide to incorporate this into my verse, I will probably say that Alfred didn't really join but wanted Maggie to think it. The way I've been developing his character, that seems the most likely option. Or he could have just had a moment of impulse and actually did run into things and try to join. I played with that idea, too.

Maybe soon I'll post some various musings about the characters and how I've been trying to take the canon information and expand on their personalities.

... And I was practically ready to levitate when I caught Jeff in a five second cameo in the episode with Sal Mineo. He was on stage at a high school revue with three other guys. They were dressed in vaudeville (?) type outfits, with striped blazers and white pants and straw hats and canes. He had that adorable grin and I squeed. I wish we could have seen what their number was.

Also, they were seen from quite far away, but I still recognized him immediately. I love that.

I find it rather amusing that while many girls would be swooning over Sal Mineo (and admittedly, I did like him), I was far more captivated by the cutie with the boyish grin and a somewhat standard "nerd/geek" look.

I should not have wasted time taking this. But it was interesting. One selects five TV shows and then answers the questions.


1. Princess Tutu
2. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
3. The Patty Duke Show
4. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon
5. The Monkees

Who’s your favorite character in 2?
In YGO ... I'm not sure. The first one who popped into my head was Alister, and he's certainly still one of my favorites. He's serious, blunt, and is really good at disguises. And he's devoted to his younger brother. I think Seto is right; deep down Alister blamed himself for Miruko's death, but it hurt too much so he shifted the blame to Gozaburo Kaiba. He's a fascinating character to pick apart.

Who’s your least favorite character in 1?
In Princess Tutu ... Lilie, of course. I'll never like her, but I have started to wonder if her denseness is an act. There's a scene in Akt 11 where she's exclaiming about Ahiru being sad and Pike flatly says, "You seem happy." Lilie blushes and holds a hand to her mouth like "Oh my" and says "No way!" She looks and sounds like she knows she's been caught in the act. I would actually find her marginally interesting if she knows she has a problem, rather than for her to be empty-headed as she comes across.

What’s your favorite season of 5?
In The Monkees ... season 1, hands-down. The characterization was a thousand times better than season 2. So often in season 2, I want to slap Micky. This makes me sad, since in season 1 he's my favorite character. In season 1 he's intelligent, hilarious, sarcastic, and brave. In season 2 he's been degraded to a whiny, hysterical, random coward most of the time.

What’s your favorite ship in 3?
In The Patty Duke Show ... I think George Tutwiler/Cathy Lane would be an adorable couple if the problems concerning Cousin Betsy were resolved. If I remember right, they seemed to be studying together when Betsy stumbled upon them, so they might have a love of learning in common. And George is a sweet, innocent boy; he just had a very thoughtless moment when Betsy charmed him. But he could change; Patty's boyfriend Richard has certainly had moments of weakness too.

Ted Browning/Cathy Lane is a more canon couple and a lovely one. Ted seems intelligent and level-headed, and he's crazy about Cathy. She thinks highly of him also. Their personalities mesh very well.

Who is your anti-ship in 2?
In YGO ... I'm not sure. Seto/Serenity, perhaps. I understand the basis for it, but it seems too syrupy sweet and cliche. I also don't like Alister/Valon. If they're going to interact and come to like each other more, I'd prefer seeing them as friends/surrogate brothers.

How long have you watched 1?
Princess Tutu ... since June of 2006.

How did you become interested in 3?
The Patty Duke Show.... It's on late-night/early morning on THIS TV network. Mom watches the oldies block and I started seeing it with her sometimes. The Patty Duke Show attracted me because it's more of a domestic comedy than a sitcom and the characters are amazing and well-rounded. And most episodes have a moral point, but it's not annoyingly drilled into you. It's got so much more meat to it than say, Mr. Ed (which is also on the block). Mr. Ed is just a silly sitcom, but that's a rant for another time.

Who’s your favorite actor in 4?
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon ... is an anime. I'm not sure who my favorite voice actor is. Maybe Emi Shinohara, who plays Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter. She is incredible and her singing is powerful. When Jupiter isn't being boy-crazy, she's really a superb character. She's strong and determined and justice-driven, and always puts boys aside to fight for the greater good. She also has a wonderful relationship with a childhood friend and fiercely believes in Sailor Moon. Emi Shinohara portrays all of Jupiter's emotions flawlessly. Jupiter has really become one of my favorite characters. Even her English dub actress, Susan Roman, is really good. I think Jupiter had just about the best voice in the dub.

Which show do you prefer: 1, 2, or 5?
Princess Tutu, YGO, or The Monkees.... Well, as much as I love them all, I still think YGO will always hold the #1 spot for favorite show. I shared adventures with the characters for so many years and I learned so much about writing while doing stories about them and I met so many people I likely never would have otherwise. I think YGO has had the greatest and most long-lasting impact on me of any show I've ever watched. I really think of the characters as friends (albeit I feel the same about the characters on any show I love).

Which show have you seen more episodes of: 1 or 3?
Princess Tutu or The Patty Duke Show.... Well, Tutu only has 26 episodes while Patty has 104. There's only a handful of Patty episodes I haven't seen now.

If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?
I don't want to be anyone from any show. I like my life.

Give a random quote from 1.
Princess Tutu....

Autor: You're late.
Fakir: What are you talking about?
Autor: It took you eighteen days, seven hours, and twenty-four minutes from the time you started researching your power to when you noticed me.

Would a 3/4 crossover work?
The Patty Duke Show and Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon.... Um, I don't think so. However, if the girls just all met and could hang out without all the magic and bad guys, I think that would work. Ami and Cathy would get along well with their love of studying, and Patty could introduce Minako and Makoto to all the cute guys in school.

Pair two characters in 1 that would make an unlikely, but strangely okay couple.
Princess Tutu.... Autor and Ahiru. There's not much canon evidence in their interaction to support it, it's true. Well, other than Autor's friendly behavior in the follow-up, which may or may not be canon. (But it's squeeful in any case.) It's in their personalities that the evidence comes. Autor is a kind person underneath the arrogant facade and Ahiru is someone who accepts and cares about anyone shown to be good. I think if they got to know each other more, they could become very close. And from there, who knows?

Has 5 inspired you in any way?
The Monkees.... I'm not sure what kind of context "inspired" is being used in, but offhand I don't think that it has. Unless it was that I think the little teddy bears cosplaying The Monkees were my first "big" purchase and I had to work really hard to earn the money to buy them. And the show certainly gave me lots of laughs. It's a joy to watch.

Overall, which show has a better cast: 2 or 4?
YGO or Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon.... Oh gosh. Well, one problem with Sailor Moon is that a lot of the good guys are better in the manga, but the villains are better in the anime. In YGO, the characters are pretty much all awesome in the anime. They only made a couple of slip-ups (Duke's intro ... ugh), but overall I prefer YGO characterization in the anime to the manga. So YGO would probably get my vote.

Which has better theme music: 3 or 5?
The Patty Duke Show or The Monkees.... I love them both. I was originally going to say The Monkees, since it's so catchy and I've loved it for a longer period of time, but I also really love The Patty Duke Show theme. All the horns are awesome and the vocals are great. The lyrics of both amuse me. Patty is more my obsession at the moment. In the end, for me, it might be a draw.

Though I suppose nothing could really top the utter silliness of the antics in The Monkees' theme.

I am virtually bouncing off the walls. I have wondrous Autor & Ahiru fics to look forward to and I have started chapter eight!

I'm hoping to explore Charon and Autor a bit in this fic. Charon has monologued a couple of times about how fond he's become of Autor and how by now he almost feels that Autor is one of his adopted children too. I really would like to have a scene in the fic where Autor finally just breaks down while talking to Charon. I'm wondering if I can work that in while keeping him IC. In the fic, his and Ahiru's failure to save Fakir is really deeply affecting him, which they discuss in chapter 7. If I can swing the scene with Charon, those feelings are probably a large part of why his facade shatters. I'm pondering on what else I might be able to have as part of it. Possibly another failed attempt to get Fakir back? Such as, he and Ahiru see him and try to catch up to him, but he and the gang vanish and perhaps a crime is committed and there's chaos? Thoughts?

And I have found Jeff Siggins uncredited in four episodes! He doesn't speak, which is why he's uncredited, but he's there and looking adorably cute. He apparently must have started out as an non-speaking extra and they liked him so much they gave him speaking roles later. And when they needed someone for a non-speaking part, they brought him in more times afterwards. He's present in many episodes where a lot of students and/or teens in general are gathered. I will be taking many more pictures than I even thought.

I thought only the last few episodes were filmed in Los Angeles, but now I've heard that the entire third season was filmed there. That would certainly explain a lot! The minor characters' actors probably worked in New York and couldn't move across the country, so none of them were in the last season. If the move hadn't happened, they probably would have continued to be around.

I love how Ross's character grows up over the three seasons. In the first episodes he really is kind of a brat sometimes, but it's also established early on that he really does care about Patty even though he teases incessantly. By the second season he still teases but isn't so much of a brat. There are many more episodes with squee scenes between him and Patty. And in the third season he and Patty are even more close. He actively offers to help her on his own more than once, and she takes him with her on some adventures, such as in the hilarious spy episode The Girl From N.E.P.H.E.W.

And of course, everyone knew it couldn't last, right? There wouldn't be any way possible I could write for any fandom without a generous offering of hurt/comfort. My first fic had some minor hurt/comfort with George tripping and hurting himself and Cathy worrying about him. My second fic is planned as a continuation of the episode Ross the Peacemaker and will put Patty through some grief after yelling at Ross in the last part of the episode. He escapes to a friend's house canonically, and in the fic it's getting late and he hasn't come back. Eddie says he left some time ago, so Patty starts worrying that he's hurt. He isn't; he's actually been roped into helping some lady fix her sink. LOL. But Patty's getting more and more hysterical as they can't find him, afraid that he's hurt or worse and the last thing she did was yell at him (after he had tried to help her, too).

Those are both not the usual kind of hurt/comfort for me. Well, there's some common elements (such as the possible last words being angry and agonizing over that), yet they are different. But after seeing Alfred's scenes again I decided I need to write an outright hurt/comfort fic with him. The second fic was originally going to have Ross actually get hurt, but I decided No to that. I think that fic is better without him really being hurt. Anyway, for that fandom, I feel he's a little too young to be a victim. Alfred is not.

My third fic features a huge snowstorm. Alfred is hit by a car while trying to save George. He's not seriously hurt; he's knocked out and has some bruises. But due to mass confusion the Lanes end up thinking it's serious. George tries to call their parents after dialing 911, but their parents aren't home. Neither are their cousins' family. So in desperation he calls the Lanes to deliver a message to their family. But because of the blizzard and the static (and his phone's dying battery), Mrs. Lane can't hear everything he's trying to say and she ends up thinking Alfred is dead. ;__; Which she then somberly tells Patty and Cathy when they get home.

The fic is supposed to explore Patty's friendship with Alfred, which, while only glimpsed a few times, is really cute. She's in shock when she's told the news and starts reflecting on their times together. Cathy is stunned as well, and as it sinks in more, both are visibly grieved.

I'm still trying to think how they should learn that Alfred is alive and not badly hurt. I want it to be interesting, squeeable, and (since this *is* a domestic comedy) perhaps with a slight amusing twist.

Please note, I am not directing this at anyone in particular or anyone at all.

I just have to wonder if my chapter 4 is really that bad. I waited to post it until Saturday, when I thought the main festivities would soon be coming to an end. But without even one review, I don't know about posting the next chapter yet. If it's that people haven't got to it yet, then I don't want to put up yet another chapter and overwhelm them. But if it's that it was so mediocre that they can't think of anything to say, it would be nice to know that they have read it so that I could feel that it's time to put up chapter five (which might interest them more if chapter 4 was a bore).

I actually don't think chapter 4 is bad, unless allowing Autor to carry on a full conversation when he revives is so unrealistic that it overshadows everything else. I don't know how that sort of thing is looked upon in the Tutu fandom. All I really know is that the hurt/comfort genre doesn't seem to be very popular. I'm too influenced by the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books I love, I imagine. But he does suffer effects from the fall for the next few chapters, even though he was able to talk with Ahiru....

I am glad that someone put the fic on Story Alert. It happened after I posted chapter 4, so I know that someone must have read it and, I suppose, did like it. I just wish I knew whether I should post chapter 5 yet....

And I have to figure out what to do with a squee Christmas image I got of Autor out in the cold with Ahiru and trying to warm her. He ends up trying to comfort her/keep her alert by singing a couple of Christmas carols to her. Ahiru tells him he should sing more. Potentially it could end up a Tutu version of a YGO bikers fic I did with Alister and Valon in the snow. And I'd rather get the plot further removed so it isn't so similar.

I wonder if Autor can sing. It's never been addressed in canon, and in my fics it was only alluded to that he can carry a tune when, possessed by his Story, he hummed to keep the melody of his composition unbroken after his left hand was rendered useless to play the piano. In any case, if he can sing, he probably doesn't do it much.

Now, to switch gears (but still keeping somewhat related where Autor is concerned). Tentatively, I think Eros (and that is indeed only the name of the character in the school play, not the student playing him) is probably Alan. Alfred probably would have wisecracked at the ridiculous situation in the climax instead of just staring on.

Expect many pictures of the Autor look-alike very soon. High-quality ones this time. I'll probably put them in my Scrapbook. I don't know if I'll show them to the comm. I wonder if there would be much interest if I did.

I did discover that by the second season, Jeff Siggins' hair had gotten shaggy in the back. Which means that aside from his hair parting to the right instead of to the left, he looked pretty much exactly like Autor by then.

And Alfred seems to have a little crush on Patty. It's cute. I think maybe I'd better tweak some of their dialogue in their scene in my fic to reflect that. They seem to be on pretty good terms, in spite of Patty being upset at his teasing of Cathy in one episode.

I've started a fanfic for The Patty Duke Show. It branches off from an episode in the second season that features one of Jeff Siggins' (the Autor look-alike) characters. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with all of his characters, since they seem to each have a distinctive personality even though they're minor characters. Tentatively, I'd thought of making them triplets and then I could comfortably and freely write about all of them. Then I realized I'd forgotten one. So I'm not sure whether to make them quadruplets or two sets of identical twins and each set are the cousins of the other set. LOL. Cousins would be more in keeping with the show's theme. Yes, I know identical cousins don't happen in real life. It's a TV show.

Right now I have George (the naive, innocent one swayed by the Southern cousin of the main girls) and Alfred (the tease) brothers. I haven't done anything with Alan (the apparently serious one) and Philip (the one I forgot; possibly a quiet one?) yet. Then there's Eros, but I was thinking that was probably the name of a character in the play they're doing in that episode and that "Eros" is played by one of Siggins' other characters. I hope so, anyway; I really doubt I'd know what to do with five. LOL.

I need to get hold of the first season episodes. I'm not sure I want to wait for them to repeat before I see them again. Right now I'm following a Buy It Now listing on eBay, as well as an auction for all three seasons, new. I'm sure the latter will shoot sky-high at the last minute, but right now it's affordable. And how much more awesome would it be to get them all in one swoop? I do want the entire series.

I'm also working on the Tutu thriller fic. I'm in chapter 6 now. I need to get up chapter 4, but I'm wondering if I should wait for next week since the rest of this week is caught up in Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

I did get the second part of Fuer Dich up, though I was in a bit of a quandary again wondering if Pike sounded alright. I don't like her, but I don't want to write her OOC. She isn't very congenial to Autor in the chapter, but I tried to bring out that she was concerned wondering if he was really the special, loyal friend Ahiru had made him out to be. She cares about Ahiru and would be upset if she felt Autor had betrayed her.

Now I just need to figure out if the third part is the final one for sure.

I finally typed up the half a page or so of chapter five of the crypt fic I had ready. Then I wrote a bit more after that. It felt good to get a move-on with it again. I haven't done much writing lately, but I'm hoping my burst of AMV making has got me back on track and interested with fic plunnies. It certainly seems to have been working this week.

I also have the infamous vegetable monster fic more or less done, but I'm holding back on posting for a little bit longer, maybe a day or so.

I'm possibly considering either switching out some of the Paranormal25 prompts or else converting it to a 50 table, if I can do that. It would probably be better to just switch out a few similar ones, however; 25 seems like a more reachable number. Specifically I was thinking of writing a fic around the concept of the Black Agnes killer statues. So freaking disturbing and creepy! Supposedly if you sit on the lap of one of these statues (which mark the graves of women who died grieving), you'll be dead in the morning? I think that's how it goes. Now, one would certainly not be stupid enough to sit on the statue's lap, we hope. But what if they were knocked unconscious and draped across the statue's lap? At any rate, that's what would happen in the fic. And I'm thinking Ahiru would be the victim.

And I wrote a heart-breaking blurb where Ahiru goes to the school to see Autor lying dead after the carriage accident. It went up on the Deathfics comm; most of what I write for it are short blurbish things that don't get posted anywhere else. I think so far only the Fakir and Rue ficlit and Fuer Dich have been posted to FF.net. All the rest so far are comm-exclusive. When I get everything written (and if I can get hold of a tag), I may post a link to the Tutu comm. I'm undecided on that, since some of the blurbs are not the greatest quality (and since the genre is not one the fans seem by and large to be interested in). Others I really like so far, however, like the one I put up last night.

And EEEE! I love to watch the oldies programming late night/early morning on the This network. Recently I discovered a character actor who appears off and on in episodes of The Patty Duke Show and looks like Autor. I swear it; his hair isn't shaggy at the back and it's parted the wrong direction, but otherwise he looks just like Autor would in real life. He even has a nasally voice, like Autor in the Japanese version. LOL. I managed to get a few low-quality screengrabs from an episode floating around. Once I get them properly cropped, which I can't do on the laptop, I'll put them up for people to see. I may mirror/flip them, too, so you can see him with his hair parted in the correct direction.