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Saturday, September 7th, 2013
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5:21 pm - Hello...(hello...hello...)...is there anybody in here?
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| Thursday, February 25th, 2010
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2:28 am - #Subcafe
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brookiki
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For those who don't know, Foenix announced that he would be shutting down #subcafe due to lack of interest. Tonight, we had more than twenty people in chat and several of us agreed that it would be good to try to get a weekly chat going again, just to keep from losing touch.
Two options were brought up: Saturday and Wednesdays. Wednesdays seems to work pretty well for a lot of people, judging by tonight, so the consensus among the people in chat now seems to be Wednesdays.
So, for those who didn't make it in chat tonight, yet are still interested in getting something together, would Wednesday nights work? Or, if you have something stopping you from Wednesday nights, would another night work better for you?
Everyone had a really great time tonight and it was wonderful to see people I had lost touch with over the years. I really hope we can make something work.
And, as  trishalynn pointed out, try to get the word out to non-LJ people (or those who don't read this comm) as much as possible!
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(8 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
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12:10 am - Somewhere Between End and Beginning, Approximately
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darkmark
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Sometime, somewhen, a lot of people find their way into the Subcafe. It's that kind of a place. Not like Munden's or Callahan's, which are probably a plane or two away, but not unlike them, either.
It's just that everybody seems to find the place they deserve. Some of them are grateful for that, others grimly accepting, and a few are terrified at where they ended up.
Well. Anyway, the sum and substance of it was this:
A man, balding, perhaps a bit too round about the middle, dressed in a pullover short-sleeved shirt and a pair of dark blue pants, plus black shoes that, unbelievably, had a few flecks of green paint on them, stumbled through the swinging doorways and made a few steps in before stopping. He ran his left hand through what was left to run it through, on the side, and looked round about. There were a lot of tables and, fittingly, a lot of people seated at them. Most of the occupants were in plain dress. A few wore getups that belonged in another era, past or future, perhaps, and there was a costume or two, one of which he thought he might recognize, but gave up the effort.
Everyone seemed to have someone to talk to. Someone who knew who he was, or she was, and was on good enough terms with to give them the latest updates on their life's story. At least, that was the way it seemed.
But the man didn't seem to know what to do with himself.
"Sir?"
He turned his head in the direction that the voice came from. The speaker was a barkeep, tall, mustached, with his hair parted in the middle, wearing an apron over his bartender's clothes, a band about his upper arm. He looked like the ur-barkeep, a man who had possibly seen action in a war fought when wars were agreed to be necessities and the man who fought in them involved in a thing of honor.
"Good evening, sir. Welcome to the Subcafe. What will you be having?"
"Oh," said the man. "Uh. Would, uh, ginger ale be out of the question?"
"If it's your pleasure, it's ours, sir," said the Bartender. He reached under the counter, produced a green bottle, and filled a glass with amber liquid. "There, sior."
"Thanks. Thank you." The man picked his way through to the bar. There weren't too many standing there. He was, somehow, grateful for that. Putting one foot on the brass rail, he took the chilled mug by the handle and was reassured by its solidity and coldness. "You, that is, you do take credit cards here?"
The Barkeep looked a bit sympathetic. "Oh, no, sir. No need for those. We deal in other currency."
"Other? Currency?"
"Yes," said the Barkeep. "Stories."
"Oh. So this is, uh, a writer's bar?"
"It is what it is, sir. And that's all that it is."
"Okay. All right. Uh. It is, uh, permitted for me to drink this?"
"Of course, sir. Drink up."
He did. The ginger ale was familiar in taste, at least as good as a Canada Dry and probably better. "I don't do alcohol, not anymore," he said.
"Perfectly all right, sir."
"You want a story for this?"
"That's the usual payment, sir."
"What, that is, what kind of story?"
The Barkeep shrugged.
After a moment, the man said, "You know, it's been a long time since I could write a story. A long time."
The Barkeep polished a glass that didn't seem to need it. "Lots of people in that situation, sir. Lots of writers."
The man relaxed a bit, considering the glass. "I used to write a lot. A hell of a lot. Turned something out almost every week."
"Sounds quite prolific, sir."
"Well, it was. Or I was. It helped keep me sane, even though it was never anything I could sell. I posted it on the Internet. People seemed to like it. At least the ones who wrote back said they did, and I suppose the ones who didn't, didn't bother."
The Bartender smiled, slightly.
"It's been hard, lately," said the man. "I know I've said that before. But I ran into a large dry spot. Don't know why."
Hands and cloth spun over a new glass. It comforted the man to see the Barkeep at work.
"I suppose depression had something to do with it," he continued. "The Black Dog and all that. I've, well, listen, I lost family in the last few years. Had to, that is, pick up and start over again. And over and over, it seemed."
"Understood, sir." The Barkeep's voice seemed more kindly, if that was possible.
"And I don't want to...I don't want to whine. Not really. I lost some valued friends, my fault, I'm sure. Probably gained a few, too. But it's been hard, these last few years. I know others have had a hard time of it, as well. God knows. I've heard from them."
"Well, then, sir," said the Barkeep, fixing him with a gaze right in the eye, "it appears that you aren't quite friendless, now, are you?"
"Oh. No, I'm not. I sometimes feel alone, but perhaps...that's just me, not taking trouble to make contact. I do have friends, even in the real world. It's just that sometimes, with work and all..." His voice trailed off. Then he said, "Not much of an excuse, I know."
"Work is an excuse, sir," said the Barkeep. "I find it a very good excuse."
The man smiled. "You seem to be an exemplary worker, my friend."
"One tries, sir."
"Hope you don't mind me calling you a friend."
"Not at all, sir."
The man looked at his glass, again, probably for the same reason the Barkeep was polishing another. "This seems to be a renewal point," he said, finally.
"A what, sir?"
"A renewal point. Perhaps a place to rest and reconstitute myself. Perhaps..."
The Barkeep waited, and didn't even bother to polish the glass.
"...perhaps a place of possibilities. Perhaps it's a place to help get the creative powers working again."
There was a smile. Nobody at the bar missed it.
The man looked around. "I wish I knew what some of the others think of me."
"Is that important, sir?"
"I don't know. But I know it's something I can't have. We all have to go forward, I suppose, with our own baggage. Probably, probably, they wouldn't want me to tell them what I thought of them. Even if it was good, and most of it possibly would be."
"Part of the baggage, sir?"
"Part of it." He drank another draft of the ale. "Part of it is some of the baggage I've accumulated. Not all a happy load. But I can't do much about it. Just move on."
The Barkeep said, quietly, "And are you moving on, sir?"
The man almost chuckled. "Perhaps I am, my friend. Perhaps I am. But...I don't know. There's one thing I wish I could do."
"And what might that be, sir?"
The man leaned forward. "I wish I could do something for you."
For once, the Barkeep looked nonplussed. "For me, sir?"
"For you, sir. You probably tend this bar for God knows how long, every night, if there are any days here...and nobody knows who you are. Nobody cares, do they?"
"Ah, there you're wrong, sir," said the Barkeep with a smile. "The ones who have to, they do know. The ones who care, do care."
"Well, I care. What can I do for you, my friend? What can I do for youo?"
"Just this." The Barkeep held out his hand.
The man took it, grasped it firmly, and pumped it.
Both of them smiled.
The man said, "Was that payment enough, my friend?"
"Payment indeed, sir. Feeling better, now?"
"I believe so, yes."
"Good enough to brave the wild again, sir?"
"Good enough to do what we all have to do, I suppose. Do you..."
The Barkeep waited.
"Do you think I might be able to find my way back here again? If I needed?"
"Yes, sir. If you needed to, or if you wanted to. I think you've been here before, anyway."
"I have?"
"Perhaps, sir. Perhaps we've all been here, more than we think."
"Oh. Well." He drank the rest of the ale and left the glass on the bar. "This, my friend, has been a productive evening."
"I'm truly glad of that, sir."
"And will you tell those...whom perhaps I might know...that I bear no ill will? I've no idea what they think of me, but at least I can do that much?"
"I believe they know, sir. At least, I know."
The man smiled. "God bless you, sir."
"And you, too, sir. God bless."
The man turned, with somewhat more conviction than he had come in with, and walked back into the night.
A bespectacled youth at one of the tables looked up over his butterbeer. "Who might that have been, anyway?"
His companion looked at him, tersely. "Don't think you'd want to know his name, Harry. It'd probably make you think of something you wouldn't like."
The youth shrugged. "One more for the road, then?"
"The long road, Harry," said Ron. "The long, long road."
*******
With thanks to everyone who put up with me for this long. Thanks for the chance to break the dry spell.
DM
8/25/2009
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(comment on this)
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| Monday, August 24th, 2009
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7:04 pm - Subreality PD: Taking The Rap 1/1
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deathpixie
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SC: Taking The Rap.
This is a sequel to Phil’s excellent story, “Someone’s Gotta Keep This Place Clean”, which had me in stitches when I read it. Seems this silly idea of mine has developed a life of its own…
Disclaimer: Anything you recognise (apart from me) belongs to someone else and is being used without permission or profit. See the credits at the end for more specific details…
Rating: PG. There’s the occasional rude word.
( Let’s try this again, Rossi.Collapse )
Credits:
Subreality is a concept devised by Kielle.
The Angst Squad are Phil’s. He said I could use them.
The horse named Xena (and the race-going Hank and Bobby) come from Amanda Sichter’s story: “A Day At The Races”.
The Nightwing in the police uniform comes from Syl Francis’ story “Nightshift”.
The Tapslaught incident refers to the Tapslaught! Round Robin, which can be found at Subreality Central.
Garibaldi, Scully, Mulder, Charlie Coustas, Macleod, Ellison, Nightwing, Zach Allen, the Blob and Barney the Dinosaur all belong to their respective copywriters.
(note to non-Australians: Charlie Coustas is the good-looking cop from the ABC series “Wildside”.)
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(comment on this)
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6:54 pm - Subreality PD: Back Up 1/1
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deathpixie
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[SC/Angst Squad] Back Up.
By Rossi.
Disclaimers and Credits: at the end.
Summary: The Angst Squad call in the heavies for a major bust…
Rating: G, with a warning for general insanity.
( So how does it feel to see your first shipment of Angst hit the street, Doqz?Collapse )
Disclaimer and Credits:
Subreality is Kielle’s, including the Subreality PD and the AOA Bar and Grill.
Most of the characters in this don’t belong to me. The names you recognise from TV, comics etc all belong to their respective copywriters, and are too numerous for me to list.
Ana, Paradoqz and Yasmin belong to themselves, and are used without permission.
The Angst Squad was conceived by Phil Foster elaborated upon by myself and Yasmin, and Angst as an addictive substance was my idea.
Upstart refers to the Upstart Revolt RR, which hopefully will die very soon…
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(comment on this)
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6:46 pm - Writer's Cafe: AA Meeting 1/1
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deathpixie
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Writer’s Café: AA meeting.
This is a piece of fluff that occurred to me after reading a particularly heated discussion thread on Far Beyond OTL. It is written with tongue firmly in cheek, and no harm is meant by it.
Disclaimer: Subreality is a concept created by Kielle. So is the Writer’s Café. Pinocchio and the other staff (except Mary Shiva) belong to their respective copy-writers, and I’m not making any profit out of their use. Mary Shiva belongs to Falstaff. If none of this makes any sense, too bad 'cause all the links are dead. *wry*
The Writers don’t belong to me either… yet.
Some names have been changed to protect the er, innocent.
Rating: G, for general consumption.
This one’s for Seraph. Get well soon!
( Er, hello. My name is- Bob, and I have Angst.Collapse )
Credits:
Seraph belongs to herself, and isn’t normally so grumpy, but she did have the ‘flu.
The reference to finding homes for Muses comes from Operation: Ultimate Writer. THAT RR is also known as Subreality 2022.
Alara’s Challenge of Death used to be found on indigosky.net
The ‘light-hearted romp through Subreality’ that went wrong is Yasmin’s “Is That A Mutant In Your Pocket Or Are You Just Glad To See Me?”.
The TCP about the school massacre is “Heroes”, by me, Rossi.
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| Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
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12:44 pm - Filk: Thank You (For Putting Up With Me At My Worst)
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12:36 pm - Shantytown: Omelas 1/1
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deathpixie
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Omelas (A Shantytown Tale) (1/1).
This story was prompted by two things: someone’s question as to what the Muses would think of Shantytown, and a short story by Ursula Le Guin called “Those Who Walk Away From Omelas”. It’s a brilliant story, and I heartily recommend it: you can find it in the collection “The Wind’s Twelve Quarters.” I’ve paraphrased it in the below fic.
Disclaimer: Subreality is a concept devised by Kielle, Shantytown was envisaged by Dea X. Machina (aka Seraph). The Collegium and Ambrosia were created by Farli, and Firkin and his Mentor are mine.
Rating: G, for general reading.
( Do you know the story of Omelas?Collapse )
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(comment on this)
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12:31 pm - Subreality Cafe - Haven 1/1
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deathpixie
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Haven.
By Rossi.
Summary: In times of trouble, we all need a place to go and recover our equilibrium.
Rating: G.
Reposting note: This, obviously, was a response to the 9/11 attack. Apologies to any who might be offended.
( How do you make sense of the unimaginable?Collapse )
Disclaimers and Credits:
Subreality is Kielle's, as is the Café.
Major Mapleleaf and Beth/Zero courtesy of Falstaff.
The Spider Robinson reference relates to the excellent "Callaghan's Crosstime Saloon" series of books. Much of this makes more sense if you read them. Thanks to Dex for the introduction.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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12:23 pm - THOSD/Books of Magic: The Realm of Possibilities 1/1
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deathpixie
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[THOSD/BoM] The Realm Of Possibilities.
By Rossi.
Summary: Follow-up (but not direct sequel) to The Stuff of Dreams. Tim accepts an offer of hospitality at THOSD. Also part of Kielle’s Beyond Subreality Challenge.
Rating: G.
Disclaimers and Credits: see the end.
Thanks to Lise, for jump-starting me with her feedback, and to Rowan, for being my Books of Magic convert.
( Reality in Subreality is flexible.Collapse )
Disclaimers and Credits:
Subreality is Kielle’s concept, as is the Café and The House of Strange Dimensions.
The Imagination Collegium was founded by Farli
Tim Hunter and Yo-yo are the property of Neil Gaiman and Vertigo.
The Thing is the property of Marvel, as is Yancy Street. Arclight also belongs to Marvel, although this version is one of my Unfinished Legions.
Lots o’ Writers mentioned, some with permission, most not: Kielle, Trisha, Voltage, Farl, Ana, Phil, and Seraph are all mentioned without permission. Yasmin appears with permission, and she let me mention the Captain too.
Frank is mine, although I am pretty relaxed about lending him out. I belong to me, and am quite happy about that.
Spike is Yona’s, and also mentioned without permission.
For an explanation of the Locket and Key hanging from the keystone arch, read the THOSD Holiday Party RR.
Apologies to anyone I’ve missed.
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12:13 pm - Subreality Cafe/Books of Magic: The Stuff of Dreams 1/1
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deathpixie
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(SC/Books of Magic) The Stuff of Dreams
By Rossi.
Disclaimer and Credits: at the end.
Summary: This is what happens when you read “The Books of Magic” after too much round-robining…
Rating: G
( It isn’t easy being thirteen.Collapse )
Disclaimers and Credits:
Everyone in this belongs to someone else, and are being used without knowledge, or permission.
The Subreality Café belongs to the Founders, Kielle, Tapestry and Falstaff, who in turn belong to themselves.
Tim Hunter, Yo-Yo, Titania, Mister E and John Constantine belong to Vertigo/DC. As does the quote from “The Books of Magic”.
The blue sheep are Acetal’s but are planning to take over the world soon.
Constantine’s daughter is the one created by Rhiannon Amaris.
Jubilee in the purple jacket with Jono are from Dyce’s excellent work, “Maturity in B Minor”.
The Jubilee with the vomiting baby is from my story, “Of Pigs and Robo-Babies”.
Major Mapleleaf was hired as the Café’s bartender by Falstaff.
Frank is my Muse, although I think he’s sold his soul to Glenfiddich…
Seraph, Dex, Matt Nute and Phil belong to themselves, and to the Café crowd in general.
Neil Gaiman also belongs to himself, and the fantasy/horror world in general.
Spike is Yona’s snake/Muse: one day there will be a confrontation with Frank, I promise.
And finally, BRM (Bicycle Repair Man) is my long-suffering non-comic-reading boyfriend, who counters my escapism by giving me philosophy books.
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11:56 am - Subreality Cafe - Mary Sue's Wake 1/1
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deathpixie
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Mary Sue’s Wake.
By Rossi.
This is a story about my Mary-Sue. Yes, I’m finally coming out of the closet on this one.
Disclaimers and Credits: see end of story.
Rating: PG (for swearing)
( You’ve got as much right to creation as any of us.Collapse )
Credits and Disclaimers:
The Subreality Café concept (and its Bouncer) are credited to the Scribe, Kielle.
Generation X, Sabretooth, Jean Grey, Logan and Hank McCoy are trade marked to Marvel, although their particular incarnations on the Café will be credited to others.
Siku, in the obligatory “blue furry girl” reference, belongs to Darqstar, from the X-S series, at Shifting Sands.
The fictive complaining about being buried under a building is Cable, from Alicia McKenzie’s fic, “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” If enough people ask me, I’ll tell the umbopo joke.
The Logan/Hank couple (and the oomph, heavy thud line) belong to JB McD from her story “The Love of His Life”, and will probably be on her site “Due West of Nowhere”.
Samy Merchi’s complaining fictive is Illyana, from his recently-resurrected story “From Russia With Love”, also at Shifting Sands
Charlotte, her hubby Logan and the twins belong to Kerrie Gruver.
And finally, the following fictives are mine, although Frank claims some responsibility too. All of them can probably be found at Fanfiction.net:
James, Allison, Fish, Karen and Fatimah are from the “Collective Mutants” series.
Jean and her daughter Rachael are from “Things As They Are”.
The unnamed cyclist is from the Common People story “Road Rage”.
Cathy Wilson and Tony Matthews are from the Common People story “Heroes”.
The Christmas fic refers to “Scenes from a Mall”, Leech is from “Afraid of the Dark”, the older Jubilee in the graduation gown is from “Three Little Words”, and Jono in the hospital gown is from “Letters From The Inside”.
The Neon Nurse’s Challenge refers to the Robo-Baby challenge posted on OTL some time ago. Jubes and Ev are from my response, posted on OTL.
And the not-finished Monet is from "Monet's Romance".
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11:38 am - Subreality Central
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deathpixie
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So, it seems that Subreality Central has gone down, something that only came to my attention when yonaelka raised it here the other day. Now, I know Subreality as a concept is largely defunct, but a certain degree of nostalgia - and, I guess, a sense of loyalty to kielle's memory - makes me think the lack of an archive where all those crazy shenanigans of ours can be kept is a sad thing. However, I also know fandom, and expecting one person to create and upload an archive seems a bit unrealistic - the road to inertia is paved with good intentions and all that.
So, why not spread the load? Why not post all those fics and RRs here, on the Subreality comm? LJ has been the "new" archiving option for a while now, with various fic commuities posting fic and using the tagging system to keep track of them, so why not us?
Here's what I'm proposing - those of you who have kept copies of their old Subreality fics and RRs, post them here, under a cut. I'll investigate the tagging options, see if they're locked to mods or not (if they are, I live with one, so it's no biggie). Spread the word on your friends lists, get all of the old crew to dig their stuff out and post. Those who are interested, go forth and Google and grab what you can from the various archives and ff.net (yes, there are Subreality fics posted there) and the mailing list, which is still functioning and thus has archives you can access. Someone who is still in contact with Laersyn maybe ping him and see if we can get access to the early RRs at least, since I know I personally only have the THSOD ones compiled.
Thoughts? It's a biggish job, sort of, but it really only requires people to post what they want kept. We post more with our personal journals every day, after all. ;)
current mood:  determined
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(11 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, April 30th, 2009
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12:47 pm - Dexcon. You can has!
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deathpixie
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It's that time again! Dexcon Registration is now open. The Con itself will run July 31 to August 3, and registration fees will be dependant on how many people we get signed up. Come one, come all!
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(comment on this)
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| Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
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2:14 am - Back in the Old Days
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brookiki
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I made a comment in a discussion that, at least in the old days, setting up an archive and directly linking to fics on someone else's archive was a big no no, hence my hesitation to set up a list of fan fic recs because it seems like the same thing. Someone asked me "Why on earth would anyone get upset about that? Isn't that what the internet is for?"
I tried to respond and it was basically "Well, it was a big deal then and it's hard to explain now because a lot of stuff is different." I was trying to think of anyone who would remember that and this comm came to mind.
So do you guys remember those days? I can remember at least one case where someone hotlinked an entire archive and there were some pretty pissed off people. What was the reasoning? And was this just a comic book fandom thing or was it a general rule among all fandoms back then?
I hope no one minds me posting this here, but it seems topical and we haven't had a post in two years, which makes me a little sad.
current mood:  curious
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(11 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
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10:32 pm - Fic
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| Sunday, February 25th, 2007
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8:50 am - Subreality.Com
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| Thursday, February 22nd, 2007
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6:04 pm - Question
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wise_one_in_hel
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I remember back in the day there were fandom specific estableshments in SubReality. This Time Round for Dr Who, the Bronze Menagerie for Buffy, and the something or other Bar & Grill for X-Force (I could be wrong about that one though).
I'm mentioning it because the idea of The Tea Wheavil teashop (for Avatar the Last Airbender *hides*) has invaded my brain, and I shall "open" it soon, but in that fic I want to mention a couple places along the same line. A Discworld pub and a Firefly/Serenity bar (browncoat, of course).
Any suggestion for names?
Thanks,
Megan (lurking in SubReality since 1999)
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, July 1st, 2006
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11:19 am - Fic!
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skellingtonjon
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DISCLAIMER: This was inspired by Oberon's fic "A Walk Among The Graves" (available on the SCML, if anyone cares? You should care. It was good...) Hopefully it lives up to it's inspiration, eh?
This is rated G as it's safe for all, by the way- and I apologise to everyone whose characters I've used without permission (I believe Oberon may have been the person who originally gave us Denny Colt as the undertaker, and Raven gave us the Age of Raven RR and Dex gave us the Age of Apocabyss RR) but I can't find them to ask them. Hopefully you don't mind too much?
Um...
If you want the snazzy formatting, check out the version I posted to the SCML. And feedback it. Because feedback's nice? I mean, I'm not demanding it, but it breeds more fic, I find, and... fic is good, and... ummm...
On with the fic?
Yeah...
( Listening To The Dreaming DeadCollapse )
current mood:  creative
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hopeful