Katherine Frances's Blog, page 265
January 4, 2016
"He smells like cigarettes and green tea, with a hint of sweetness and safety.
He tastes like..."
He tastes like chocolate and mint, with a hint of bitterness and longing.
He looks like a piece of art, with a hint of imperfection and insecurity.”
- zosraus (via wnq-writers)
For those of you who write military fics
If you have never been in, or aren’t around people who’ve been in, I would dearly love to give you a few pointers.
Let me preface this: I love it when people write military fics (be they AU or canon-fic). I love the characterizations, the story arcs you create, and the love with which you create the stories.
But I’d like to help you make the actions of military personnel as accurate as possible, so someone who’s actually in doesn’t start to read your fic and roll their eyes at some of the things you unknowingly write.
-First off, you do not salute in civilian clothes. It’s actually unauthorized. There are only two exceptions to this rule: the President is allowed to salute in civvies, and if the national anthem is playing outdoors, combat veterans are now allowed to salute. (That came about in 2010, for accurate reference.)
-Do not salute indoors, unless during a formation (but I doubt people who don’t have intimate knowledge of drill and ceremony would bother writing about a formation, so that point is mostly just thrown in for shits and giggles).
-The army and air force do not say, “sir, yes sir”. That’s a marine thing (I’m not sure about the navy, since I’m not in the navy, but I’m sure someone else could help out if there’s a question about it).
-Saying “black ops” isn’t really something we do. For the army, you’ve got SF (which is how we refer to special forces–the guys you’re probably thinking about (”green beret” is an old term for them that’s not really used anymore)) and Rangers for the two big special operations forces. SEALS are the navy force, and I apologize, but I don’t know the other branches’ special forces. Again, ask someone who’s served in that branch.
-People don’t usually refer to themselves (or others) by their ranks. Exceptions are usually made if hanging out with people from your unit speaking about a superior, such as “Yeah, LT and I were talking the other day and …”.
-Sergeants are not referred to as “sarge”. You have no idea how many people got the shit smoked out of them in basic for that error.
-Army goes through Basic Training (or Basic Combat Training now; BCT for short), and marines go through Boot Camp. Yes, there is definitely a difference in terms. Army people tend to refer to their initial training as simply “basic”. I don’t know about marines or other branches.
-Calling someone “Soldier” is really something only done on TV/film. It’s usually mocked by people who are in.
-In the army, it is against regulation to just stick your hands in your pockets. We mockingly call them “Air Force gloves”, though I don’t know if they typically put their hands in their pockets. There is also a big stigma against wearing “snivel gear”: the poly pro cold-weather protection gear worn underneath your uniform.
-The everyday Army uniforms are called ACUs (Army Combat Uniform). They are never called anything else, but especially not fatigues. If you’re going back to 2003 or earlier, the uniform was BDUs, or the Battle Dress Uniform. The tan uniforms worn during the Gulf War and first few years of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF; Afghanistan) were called first chocolate chips (gulf war-era) and then DCUs (Desert Combat Uniform).
-The dress uniform is called something different depending on what time period you’re going for. Saying “dress uniform” is usually a good bet, because you’ve also got Class A’s, Class B’s, ASUs, Dress Blues, Khakis, etc.
-Typically when meeting someone else who’s in, the first things you ask are, “What’s your MOS (military occupational specialty–your job)? Where were you stationed?” Giving out rank and deployment backgrounds out of the blue don’t usually happen.
-Time spent in the military is usually referred to as simply being “in”. “How long were you in for?” is heard way more often than “how long did you serve for?” That question is usually asked by civilians.
-There are enlisted, and there are officers. Enlisted are those who start out as privates, work their way up through the NCO, or non-commissioned officer ranks: sergeant (called “buck sergeant” in a derogatory term for someone who has been freshly promoted), staff sergeant, sergeant first class, and eventually get to first sergeants and sergeants major after fifteen to thirty years in. Officers also usually start out as privates and specialists, then graduate from college and commission as second lieutenants (the derogatory term is “butter bar” and is usually used in reference to said officer’s lack of experience and knowledge) before working up to first lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel (”light colonel”), and colonel (”full bird”). The general timeline is making captain (”getting your railroad tracks”) after about 5-8 years for competent officers, and spending 5-10 years as a captain.
-We do not stand at parade rest unless forced. Ever.
-Or at attention.
-When talking to an NCO, a lower enlisted will stand at parade rest. When talking to an officer, an enlisted will stand at attention.
-The highest ranking NCO is lower ranking than the lowest ranking officer.
-If you want to throw in some humor, if there is a lower enlisted (E-4 (specialist) or below) joking with an NCO, and the lower enlisted says something, the NCO can snark back with, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you because you weren’t standing at the position of parade rest.” It’s a dick move usually to call people out for that, but it happens often enough that if you put that in a fic, someone who’s in will likely laugh at that for a few minutes.
-There is a term for a slacker in the army called POG (pronounced “pohg” with a long o). It stands for Personnel Other than Grunt, meaning everyone who’s not infantry. The term has transformed to mean anyone who shirks their duty or is kind of a shitbag and should be kicked out.
-There’s also a bit of a stereotype that infantry are made up of dumb guys, because you don’t need a high GT score to get that MOS. Their nomenclature for their MOS is 11B (eleven bravo), which is often referred to as an “eleven bang-bang” when trying to insult them.
-If someone is making someone else do push-ups, they do not say “drop and give me x number”. They’ll tell them either to push, or tell them to get in the front-leaning rest. The front-leaning rest position is the starting position for the push-up.
-Usually referring to basic training and AIT (advanced individual training, where you learn your military occupational specialty), you get “smoked” on a regular basis. This refers to PT (physical training), usually in the form of push-ups, flutter kicks, and sprints. It’s not fun. One of the least favorite phrases to hear in basic is, “Platoon, attention! Half-left face! Front leaning rest position, move. In cadence! Exercise!” Because that is the full command for getting people to do push-ups. There is literally no other reason for the half-left face movement. It honestly exists only for push-ups.
-It is awkward as fuck to be told “thank you for your service”. It’s wonderful that people want to show their support, but it is very difficult to respond to that without sounding like a douche.
I know I said a lot about basic training in there, but that’s because I tend to read a lot of fics that are either about basic or about deployments. I can give some pretty firm answers on basic, but everyone’s deployment is different, and I also could be violating a shit-ton of OPSEC (operation security) by telling you guys specific details about deployments. Everything I’ve told you is information you can look up on your own on the internet, but this is a bit more insider’s culture for you to help make your stuff more accurate.
And if you ever find yourself writing a military fic and have questions, by all means, inbox me. I’ve been in for almost nine years and I do have one deployment under my belt, so I can give you accurate army info. I’ve never served in any other branch, though, but I can probably give you a little bit more accurate info than what the movies do if you’ve got general questions.
Also, if you’ve got questions about PTSD, I can help with that. It’s not the cake walk that a good deal of fics portray it as, and it doesn’t always involve nightmares and aversion to touch. It can present as depression, intense anger issues, pulling away from loved ones, driving in the middle of the road, freaking out over pops, bangs, crashes and other unexpected noises, being easily startled by things other than noises, hypervigilance, the inability to sit with one’s back to the room, sudden bouts of anger, depression, tears, silence, or mood swings, among many others.
-Also, please, please, if you’re going to write about someone with a disability, or something that gave them a medical discharge, talk to me about the VA first, unless you’ve got a lot of knowledge about them. Not only am I in, but I’ve also worked professionally for the VA, some of that time in enrollment and eligibility, so I know a lot about disability pensions, who would qualify, what type of benefits they would qualify for, etc. I also know the ways that people can accidentally get screwed over from the VA. (It’s actually one of my long-term professional goals to change some of those things, so I am very passionate and very knowledgeable about it.)
TL;DR: I know shit about the military and the VA. Ask me if you have accuracy questions.
Kim Shimmers and the Diviner’s Curse
A Harry Potter Fanfic by me (and sequel to Kim Shimmers and the Screech Owl)
(Art not mine, couldn’t find credits. Let me know if you know them!)
This Harry Potter fanfic will be posted, if all goes well, every weekend.
Chapter 14
Yule Ball
Christmas morning, Kim opened up the few presents her parents had sent her. Her mother got her a dainty necklace to go with her dress with a gold chain and a small golden feather. It was probably one of the best Christmas presents she’d ever gotten, actually. It was quite perfect for her. Then she went down to breakfast and saw George along the way, walking alone.
“Where’s Fred?” she asked, thinking it was very odd to see one without the other.
“On his way,” George said plainly, slowing to a stop. “Told him I’d wait up for him here.” There were almost to the Great Hall, but Kim stopped as well, thinking she would just wait with George.
“So… you don’t seem very excited about the ball tonight,” Kim commented.
“It’s like you said. It’s not really my cup of tea,” George said with a bit of a sigh. Kim’s expression faltered, realizing that she had told George she didn’t care much to go to the ball, mostly as a cover up so she wouldn’t look stupid when she showed up without a date, and now had been acting all giddy to be going with Fred. Quite the hypocrite she must seem to him.
“Right, yeah…” Kim said. “Well, it’ll still be fun. Who’re you going with?”
George shrugged. “This girl from our year.”
Kim supposed that meant she didn’t know her. She was relieved when Fred sauntered up because she wasn’t sure what to say next. He was wearing a deep purple-burgundy sweater that was soft looking and hand made with a golden W on the breast.
“Aw,” Kim said with a smile, reaching out to touch the sleeve of the sweater. The thick hand knitted cords felt nostalgic somehow. “You’re mom gave this to you? It’s nice.”
“You want it?” Fred asked out of the blue. Kim didn’t respond right away from surprise. “You’re always complaining about being cold, and I’ve got a million of them. Here.” He put his arms over his head and grabbed the back of his sweater before Kim could refuse and tugged it over his head. His undershirt road up with the sweater, revealing hip bones and a flat stomach pocked with the occasional tan freckle. Kim smiled shyly as she took the sweater, fluffing it in her hands and then pulling it on over the T-shirt she’d been wearing. The sleeves were too long, and it was baggy on her, but it was perfect for all these reasons.
“Maybe I’ll wear this to the ball then,” she said with laughter in her voice, holding up her hands that had floppy sleeves handing over them.
“Wear whatever you like,” Fred said easily, placing a hand on Kim’s shoulder as he walked around to her other side. “You’ll look stunning in whatever you choose to wear. Or choose not to,” he added with a mischievous wink. “C’mon, let’s get breakfast,” he said to both her and George and headed off down the hall. Kim followed, cheeks emblazoned and a smile on her face that she couldn’t wipe off. This was what it must feel like, she was certain, to have a boyfriend.
Later in the day there was a long snowball war between the Weasley’s, Kim, and Harry. Hermione watched, though she did bewitch the occasional snowball to help out Kim in her times of need, which the boys called cheating and Kim called creative strategizing. When there was only a few hours before the ball remaining, Hermione suggested she and Kim go and get ready, to which Kim hastily agreed.
“What, you need three hours?” said Ron, looking incredulous just before a large snowball lobed at him by George smacked him in the side of his head, nocking his winter hat sideways. Kim snickered at him as she joined Hermione, away from the danger of snowballs. Her face and hands were numb from throwing and being hit by ice, even though she was well geared for snow this time.
“Who’re you going with?” Ron yelled to Hermione, who was doing a wonderful job of ignoring him. Kim and Hermione simply smiled as Hermione waved and they headed up the stone steps into the castle. Kim’s nerves were really going now, and she could tell Hermione was feeling just about the same. She couldn’t help thinking that everything was about to change, for better or for worse.
“Hermione, what if things with Fred and me go south, and we end up ruining our friendship?” Kim asked. She didn’t know if she could handle that. What would she do with herself on the weekends? Study all day with Hermione or Clemon? Talk about weird creatures with Luna? She liked doing both of those things but not all the time.
“I don’t think that’ll happen,” Hermione reassured. They were approaching the place where they should go spate ways. “Fred obviously likes you, and he’s your best friend. If you don’t work out… you can get past it.”
“You sound so sure…” Kim said, because she wasn’t at all. Didn’t these things inevitably get messy? She valued Fred and George’s friendship over any grudge she might hold, certainly. But didn’t everyone warn that these things could never stay that simple? What if those warnings were right?
“Because I am sure. People who care about you stay in your life, Kim. One way or another. Anyway, I better go get ready. Good luck,” she said with a smile.
“You too. I’m excited to see you in your dress. From what you told me, you’re going to look amazing.”
“Thanks,” she said with a nervous smile, and then headed off to the Gryffindor common room. Kim went her own way to prepare herself as well, not looking forward at all to having to deal with Victoria’s mocking the whole time. It was hard enough to prepare for her first ever school dance to which she was going with her best friend as her date. But she would also have to do so in front of her mortal enemy.
Luckily however, Victoria was too preoccupied pestering the other Ravenclaws about whether or not they thought Miles would appreciate her efforts to look nice, or whether she should tie this piece of fabric like that, or do her hair like this to bother with Kim. Kim was thankful for that at least. When she was finally finished getting ready, or as ready as she would ever be, she gave herself one last look over in the mirror.
The dress she and her mother had picked out was black and floor length. It had a high neckline made of black lace that was see through, and a largely open back. The collar behind Kim’s neck and at the front around her waist had little golden buttons that now matched the gilded feather hanging around her neck. She smiled at it, because it reminded her of Strix, who she would have to coax to stay in the dormitory. Kim hoped she wouldn’t put up a fit about it.
“You look nice,” Clemon said. “Black. I kind of expected canary yellow from you or something.” Clemon was wearing a very dark greed that looked surprisingly nice against her tan skin. She didn’t think Kim herself could pull of that color.
“What? Why?” Kim asked, laughing.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s your blond hair. I kind of just imagined you with something more… chipper. But I like it. Better than what I had in my head.”
“Thanks?” Kim said, and they both laughed. They made their way downstairs to greet Luna who was dressed in a very odd poufy dress made of pale tool and puffs of pastel around it that were probably supposed to look like flowers. Kim took a labored breath.
“Ready?” she asked the girls. They nodded and made their way down to the Entrance Hall where all the other students were congregating, waiting for the Great Hall’s giant wooden doors to open and the ball to begin. Kim’s heart was thundering. What would Fred think of her dress? Would he find it too dull? Had he expected canary yellow like Clemon? Looking around Kim also feared she hadn’t done enough with her hair. She’d merely brushed it a bit more and taken care that it was all in the right spot, leaving its wavy shape to fall down her back like it always did when it wasn’t pulled into a frazzled bun or pony tail.
She bid Clemon and Luna farewell, wading through the crowed with all her thoughts bumping against her skull. She considered just staying there, letting herself be lost in the throng of students, hiding among them and hoping to never be found or noticed. But too late. There was Fred, and his eyes were landing on hers and then sweeping down her body.
He approached with a composed smile, eyebrows raised just slightly. Kim swallowed hard, because he looked rather smart in crisp black dress robes. He seemed taller than he normal did, and though there was nothing else unusual about him, his hair still slightly mussed, the sight of him dressed up made her stomach tie in knots.
yeahwrite:
trancer21:
winged-mammal:
isagrimorie:
entertainme...
Anyone have a fic rec?
STOP IT. NO.
My submission, for EW’s consideration:
Once upon a time there was a fandom. The fans made lots of exciting, transformative, critical fanworks, and were collectively engaged in critical thinking about the sociopolitical implications of the thing they were fans of.
One day, an arm of a large multimedia conglomerate came into the fandom’s space and asked for examples of their fanworks. The fandom, remembering the decades of public humiliation at the hands of large multimedia conglomerates when the latter brought fanworks into the spotlight, decided to refuse their request.
The fandom and the arm of a large multimedia conglomerate went their separate ways. All was right with the world.
This is actually in the Terms of Service for this contest:
“Entrant grants to Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free
license to edit, publish, promote, republish at any time in the future
and otherwise use Entrant’s submitted fan fiction, along with Entrant’s
name, likeness, biographical information, and any other information
provided by Entrant, in any and all media for possible editorial,
promotional or advertising purposes, without further permission, notice
or compensation (except where prohibited by law).“
In other words, not only are you not getting PAID. They now have the rights to use your works, your name, and any image you send without paying or asking for your permission once the contest ends. This goes for ANYONE who sends in their work and signs the TOS (which you have to agree to, to enter the contest).
Oh boy. This is going to end badly, ya’ll. Very, very badly.
Alert!
December 31, 2015
Before he realized what he was doing, he had whittled his pencil down to barely a stub.
In one sentence is the spark of a story. Ignite.
Mission: Write a story, a description, a poem, a metaphor, a commentary, or a memory about this sentence. Write something about this sentence.
Be sure to tag writeworld in your block!
"Can you fault a young girl for finding solace in sun kissed meadows? Spinning in circles at night..."
I fall in love with fractured sunrays shinning through fall-colored trees. I’ve found beauty in broken things.”
- Kayle Marie, Sunset Kiss (via wnq-writers)
December 30, 2015
"Standing on the fringes of life… offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it..."
- The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (via bookshavetobewritten)
mermaidyke:
lesbian fairy tales: rapunzel
the princess heard a...
lesbian fairy tales: rapunzel
the princess heard a voice and thought it was familiar. she advanced toward it, and as she approached, rapunzel recognized her, and crying, threw her arms around her neck. two of her tears fell into her eyes, and they became clear once again, and she could see as well as before. she led rapunzel into her kingdom, where she was received with joy, and for a long time they lived happily and satisfied.
