I have never worked harder in my life. Teaching math has shifted from quadmesters (2020-2021) to week-on-week-off (Fall 2021) to regular classes wearing N95s (Winter/Spring 2022). This last for some students who hadn't seen math for all 2021 (having had it first quadmester 2020). Meanwhile I got a new prep, from a mix of losing other teachers to virtual school and to the new destreamed Grade 9 curriculum. And of course in June, Ontario still put Ford in charge, so nothing will get better (in fact, it will probably get worse).
And yet, I did do what I could to keep things running here. Thanks for sticking around.
In August 2021 I queued up all the QL/Hopital Parody Posts on this blog through to Dec 2021, making only slight post modifications as time went along. (Those did include a brief update at the end of my "l'Hopital Bonus Post" in mid-November, if you missed it.) I queued again to start January, enough to get to mid-March, then on the March Break I queued up right through to last week, while somehow making time to create the silly Sinefield logo.
That buffer's gone. Where to now?
Well, I put up an informal poll on twitter last week. The results were 75% in favour of old Sailor Moon Fics and 25% in favour of Epsilon... meaning it's become a formal poll, and we're doing the former. The added benefit of reruns is, it gives me more time to write the "Time Untied"/"Time Denied" sequel, which I'll mention a bit more about later in this post.
SAILOR MOON FICS
My first completed fanfic from 1996 was "Dark Slide of the Moon", a Sailor Moon/Sliders crossover taking place in early Sailor Moon S/Sliders Season 2. I then wrote a Sailor Moon R story in 1997, "A Stitch in Time" featuring Ami and Setsuna tying up loose ends from the original anime show (involving the rainbow crystals, etc). And then was the most popular Sailor Moon fic I ever wrote, "What Evil Lurks", a shifting POV retelling of the original anime, if Mercury had been evil. That was 1998, so before the Dark Mercury saga of PGSM (the live action in 2003).
I won't be reposting those yet. Instead I'm going to hit you with "Marmalade Mercury".
While "Sailor Moon" was my first exposure to anime in early 1996, "Marmalade Boy" was the first anime to really captivate me, as I saw it at the first anime showing I ever went to (in Ottawa) later that year. Ever heard of it? Well, as Tuxedo Unmasked wrote, it was once an anime predicted to be the next Sailor Moon. It had collectors cards, a live action version and everything.
If you're wondering what was it about, hold onto your hats.
The fanfic I wrote was a fusion fic. That's where you take the characters of one story, and mash it up with the plot of another story. Meaning to say more about the plot of "Marmalade Boy" would be a spoiler. But I suppose I'll give you the title of the first episode: “There is Love, He’s Handsome: But I Can’t Forgive Them”.
I started it in December of 1996, then started gradually posting it to a local bboard, where I got some feedback. A year later, to end 1997, I had reached Episode 9. Then things slowed. I sent out Episode 12 in 1999. I finished Episode 13 in 2000 but didn't release it. At last, the whole story was completed in 2017, after a 17 year gap, because I hate to leave a work unfinished.
This means that actually only one person has ever read past Episode 12, namely the fan who heard me on episode 59 of Zannen, Canada's podcast in 2019 and asked if I had anything else on Mercury to share.
The rest of you will have to let me know what you think. It begins next week.
TIME DENIED
Speaking of old stories, some may recall that "Time & Tied" (formerly "Time Trippers") began around 1999. Ten years and 44 parts later, it was completed. It then underwent numerous edits (including splitting each part in two) before finally being posted to this site (and RoyalRoadL) from 2015 to 2017.
If you didn't know, and like time travel, do check it out.
I started work on the sequel "Time Untied" (formerly "Time Spinners") in 2014. The writing only began in earnest in November 2017. After several years, once it reached 150k for words, I splintered it off into the sequel's sequel "Time Denied". (In fact, I submitted that new start to Ink&Insights in the summer of 2021 for feedback.) I'm still working on it even now, for Camp JulNoWriMo. The lesbian love triangle is sort of taking over.
Give it another year, and we might be there.
In related news, coin tracking. Recall that to end 2015, I had 42 coins from that year. During 2016 I got 37 coins minted then (some in BC). During 2017 I got 20 coins minted that year (some before June). During 2018 I got 21 coins minted that year. During 2019 I got 17 coins minted that year.
During 2020 I got one coin (a twonie). Because pandemic, and not much in the way of cash payments. I got a second coin in early January 2021. To follow up now, in 2021 I got one (loonie) coin from said year. Again, a second coin was a quarter, this time in early February of 2022.
However, so far in 2022 I have FIVE 2022 quarters, all obtained in early May from a couple trips to the same store. So apparently this is a good year for time travel... but we'll see how things hold up as time progresses. (Do you ever check the dates on your coins?)
SITE STATS
After over 7 years of posting very regular content to this website, with over 360 posts to choose from, we had the worst ever statistics for 2021. Only 402 visitors generating 1,394 page views. (In 2020, it was 670 visitors generating 1,635 page views.) Granted, subscribers don't count in those totals, and I think I might still have a half dozen of you? Not sure.
There were only 11 page views towards the end of Epsilon's sixth serial. Quantum Loop only saw 6 page views at its end, which admittedly beats l'Hopital's single view. Ouch.
I just don't have the time necessary to publicize this site; there's an automatic tweet that goes out, because I can schedule it along with the post. That's it. I mean, it's not like I didn't do lots more publicity years ago. That lack of visible payoff is playing into my motivations now.
If you're able to recommend my site, please do so, though at this stage a simple ReTweet would go a long way too.
On the plus side, there did seem to be someone in 2021 who read the whole Time&Tied archive, in September. And for 2022, thus far we're at 660 pageviews, meaning there's a chance we won't backslide even more. And I'm getting a lot less spam comments in the blocker. Yay?
So that's where we are. My thanks to John Golden for his occasional comments, which keep me on my toes, and to Scott Delahunt, for the occasional character-centred Discord chat. And also to you, for taking the time to get to the bottom. I hope you are well. Take care, and happy reading.
