Finished Nano!
by V.E. on December 1st, 2009
filed under nanowrimo
Well, well, well. Fancy meeting you here, doll.
*cough cough hack cough*
I mean, I finished NaNoWriMo—and with a few words to spare!
Final word count: 51,019
Times participating: 3 (2005, 2008, 2009)
Times won: 1 (2009)—third time’s the charm, apparently
This year’s title: A Great Actress or a Great King
The easiest scene to write: the Valentine’s Day rape talk between Bennett and me (don’t ask)
The most difficult scene to write: the stuff immediately after the thing that happened with Nathan
What I did while procrastinating: talked to friends online; anime; RL; sleep
Will I try again next year?: ask me again next year
Was it worth it?: the way I did it, yes
Excerpt:
I visited Bennett in late March for his birthday. His birthday was actually in early March, but I hadn’t been able to get away from school before the third week for a weekend in New York with him. I visited on the pretense of seeing my little brother, John, who was in New York City for a choir tour with the high school Concert Choir. I only did get to see Johnny once that weekend because of what I discovered in Bennett’s room. But, before that, I wanted Ben to know that I hadn’t forgotten his birthday.
“Happy birthday,” I said, handing him a small present shaped like a book.
“Thanks, doll,” he replied, ripping open the wrapping to reveal a science fiction novel set in the Star Wars universe. He was always reading them, so I figured I should get him the next one in the series. “Just what I always wanted.” He grinned and tossed the book on the bed beside me. Taking my face in his hands, he pulled me close and kissed me hungrily, making me aware of his immediate desires. He took one of my hands in his and pressed them both into his lap so I could feel his erection. I blushed under the kiss, but I wasn’t so shy as to pull away.
It wasn’t going to happen, unfortunately. Just at that moment, his younger brother, James, bounded into the room without knocking and said, “Bennett! There’s something on the computer I want you to see.”
He’d gotten me started, but I managed not to growl as he broke the kiss and bounced up after his brother, saying, “What? Is it about…” before the words were lost in the next room, and I was alone. I knew he’d be back and would make it up to me, but it was frustrating to be turned on like that and not have a… resolution, if you will.
Not that it happened often. He was usually more attentive.
I didn’t suspect anything until I found a photograph of him and another woman. Actually, it was a photograph of their hands intertwined with a poem she’d written in a frame stuffed under his desk, hidden from view. I read the poem—I don’t remember now what it said—and I knew.
“Watchmen” review
by V.E. on December 1st, 2009
filed under entertainment, recap/review
I don’t have much to write about in Watchmen‘s case (IMDb). It had a lot of good press, or at least a lot of press. I liked some of the advertising for it. And I liked a couple of the characters. But overall, I was kinda bored. I an hour and 40 minutes into the movie and had to call my brother to ask if it was even worth finishing. (I did finish it, but it wasn’t all that worth it.) They killed off the coolest character right at the beginning, Rorschach’s mask got annoying, Oymandias was just a plain jerk, and Silk Spectre II was just a weak character overall. Ech. And let’s not even start on the sex scene. Night Owl’s cool gadgets were practically the only thing that made the damn thing worthwhile, and even they weren’t all that great, which is really, really sad. The scene in which the SWAT team storms the stairwell to get Rorschach reminded me a little of the deja vu scene in The Matrix, but not nearly that cool (and without Mouse).
And a prison break? Really? WTF? All good elements, but the presentation just fell flat before it even got halfway. Totally not worth the hype. Boooooring.
My recommendation: watch something else if you have the choice, unless the only other choices are bad B movies or some Sci Fi original (Ice Spiders, anyone?).
