On the twelfth day of Christmas.... Grand Finale Ring the bells or break out the booze, because we’ve done it one last time. Christmas day with another twelve days of Christmas (hopefully) successfully behind us. I’ve been saying for years I needed to start these things sooner than I have, and I think this year is a personal record.
I need to give a number of thanks for making this thing happen for 2019. I dumped one hell of a work load on t_shirt1x2 this year, but I know she will have come through with flying colors as always. A big thank you to merula31 and lavendarlizard for helping fill the days with their traditional art gifts but also for being there with support over the years. Really a huge shout out to everyone who is reading this for the support, friendship, long ass email conversations, and positive feedback that made me want to keep this tradition going. And to my daughter, my little sword and shield who put her life on hold for these last so many years to take care of and help support me, and who I know without a doubt followed through with this last request of mine, daunting as it likely was.
Day twelve is a little (lot) different because I had to hand over the wheel once I set the GPS. But I hope it can be enjoyed for what it is.
Merry Christmas everybody. See you all on the other side.
On the eleventh day of Christmas... 2019 Final Version Here we are at Christmas eve one last time, at least where my work is concerned. Feels a little sad, a little nostalgic, a little what-was-I-thinking on some of these works. I had fears there towards the end of these I was losing my ‘writing voice’, so to speak, but I think everything came out well in the wash with a little proof reading.
The art here is again by the wonderfully talented and patient t_shirt1x2 and wraps up the little side story this year has been telling. We’ve seen Christmas morning, with Duo hastily doing his last minute wrapping, followed by Christmas afternoon in which presents are given and everyone feels all warm and fuzzy. And then, like in all things, we have the end of the day and the peace of Christmas night.
On the tenth day of Christmas... 2019 Final Version Timeline? We don’t need no stinking timeline. And don’t ask me who’s POV this is supposed to be from. I think when I started I was envisioning Zechs but it feels like it morphed along the way. Count this as an AU, but I’m pretty sure we all have a ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ fandom version that we either write or that kicks around our heads. This thing has been languishing in the WIP folder since around 2017, when I thought I was so clever with the first stanza that I came up with. I stopped when I realized exactly how much rhyming you have to do in this thing… which is to say I stopped after said first stanza.
This little piece was inspired by the Christmas truce that you hear about from WW1, which if you haven’t researched it I would say to go look it up and give it a read. It really is fascinating, and it got me thinking ‘what if…’. This is about three stanzas short compared to the original poem but when a story tells you it is done, it is done, because if you fight with it then it will win.
On the ninth day of Christmas... 2019 Final Version GW Team assemble! Cue the awesome Disney-Marvel budget level intro screen. One last time I have to thank Merula, lavendarlizard, and t_shirt1x2 for all coming together to help fill enough days to make this thing happen. At least I’m pretty sure that is what I’m seeing in the crystal ball. Things are a little fuzzy, must be a bad connection. While I retune the crystal settings on this thing, or at least give it a few helpful whacks, I’ll pass things over to my eyes on the ground for anything else that needs said.
Note from offspring – Uh...... art! I don’t know what all normally gets said, but it looks like we have some links so I'll add those in. And I want to give my own huge thank you to everyone for coming together for day nine here, which has allowed me to keep on trucking getting these days posted.
On the eighth day of Christmas... 2019 Final Version You know what this holiday needs more of this year? Aside from debt forgiveness options that work, present supply that actually meets demand, and same hour delivery for online shopping so you never have to leave your house to fight the horde? Fluff. I figure angst may be a bit too on the nose this year, and risqué is awkward to think about when your official fandom secretary is doing your proof reading and posting. So I’ve landed on this little fluff piece that I hope everyone can enjoy with a stereotypical aww at the end. I figure some will likely make a wrong leap back to day five. Don't worry, the contents of that book will show up exactly when it should which is Christmas Eve night.
Note from the offspring- So, funny story, day eight’s story was missing from the nicely collected and organized holiday folder I was given. I had to dive in to her other files with only her preamble file to go off of and, with some much needed help from t_shirt1x2 I think this is it (I really hope this is it. The file date fits the time frame). We also couldn’t find this story anywhere else in her archives. Also, I just became aware about the twelve day art not showing up when I’ve posted it to A03. I’ll be getting that fixed either tonight or tomorrow.
On the seventh day of Christmas... 2019 Final Version This ficlet came about when some failed Christmas carol rewrites meant for day six met up with the memory of an actual real life event from a few years back. The event Duo describes here more or less happened when the music system at my work malfunctioned early on in the holiday season and had an office full of jovial people ready to riot. And a mob only becomes more intimidating when they mobilize while wearing festive ugly sweaters.
I feel the need to add here that this work was something I dictated and the kid typed, as it was faster and easier at the time when I started working on this. I also need to give credit where it is due because she came up with the snippets of carols used, so you can think of this as a little collaboration we worked on together.
I do however blame this completely on my daughter. She has a frighteningly unnatural ability to quickly quip off musical alterations at random that then get stuck in your head. She came up with the chorus on the fly one day sitting with me in the hospital while I got treatment at which point it rattled around in my brain for weeks. Yay. I started expanding on it for fun, or in a futile attempt to get it to leave me alone, and then thought it could make a fun little addition to the twelve days of Christmas as a nod to the fandom I’ve been calling home for so long, and day six felt like a good place to set it. It felt a little lame though to do something so short and not completely in your face Gundam so we may have also rewrote the twelve days of Christmas which I am aptly naming the twelve tropes of Gundam.
The twelve tropes are things that tend to show up in fandom work but were also things that we have all probably commented on from the show and laughed about. I’m not poking fun at anyone’s creative work, but you have to admit, Dorothy’s eyebrows probably have a special place in all of our hearts.
On the fifth day of Christmas... 2019 Final Version I’m pretty sure part of the stress of this little tradition I have going is half figuring out the placement of what goes where... Three pictures in the first five days seem a little heavy, but if I spread them out it clogs up the back half… maybe I’m just over thinking it since someone else is doing the actual posting this year and I’m trying to wrangle up my rabid little duckies in advance…
Again we have the wonderful t_shirt1x2 to thank for the image. It should be a nice Christmas afternoon, a few hours after breakfast has been cleared away but slightly before lunch, and with the presents unwrapped we get to see exactly what Duo had been so diligently finishing up earlier in the day. It’s a special gift, because a gift given from the heart is always the most meaningful package under a tree.
On the fourth day of Christmas... 2019 Final Version I’m not going to beat around the bush on this one and I’m going to flat out say that it is weird. It’s a bit of a deviation from the traditional, but I have this thing for projects. They pop up in my head and I get to chase them over hill and dale until something gets beat into submission. Project buns are like plot buns only somehow significantly worse.
I thought that this little side project may be a fun thing to share with the fandom though especially because it is something that can be replicated. ( The Secret ProjectCollapse )
On the third day of Christmas... 2019 Final Version What did this want to be when it grew up? I have no idea. I started it with the intent of it being funny. Then we got a tad bit of angst coming to the party. And it finishes out... ok look, I think I may have inadvertently drafted a candidate for a Hallmark movie… If they end up cashing in, someone make sure to snag the royalties! As for the title, there is absolutely no reason for it save for it made me snicker.
And if it isn’t painfully obvious by the end of this little ficlet, celebrate the holiday traditions that you want to celebrate. Don’t let anyone, even family, push you into feeling a false sense of obligation.
On the second day of Christmas... 2019 Final Version And here day two has arrived, bringing with it a brand new little ficlet. It’s a sequel to a previous Christmas ficlet, one I specifically wrote in 2016 after a brand new and highly popular phone app hit the market. One whose sole purpose in life was to make you get up and… Go. Or throw your phone across the room in frustration due to poor product management and constant glitches, I honestly never figured out which. Maybe that was the grand scheme all along. You got up and went to retrieve your phone from where you lobbed it in some demented game of humanized fetch.
I’m going say this one is dedicated my daughter, the best damn Pokemon buddy I could ask for, or maybe I was hers. I like to think I was. She proof read the original ficlet back in 2016 and was rolling, and I couldn’t help thinking about it when I started trying to come up with ideas for this final year. So here’s hoping we can all get another good chuckle as Heero and Trowa learn that…
On the first day of Christmas... 2019 Final Version As someone famous once said, once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more! Last year I finished up the opening of the 2018 twelve days of Christmas by saying ‘if we do this again…’ and I came to the conclusion no, not if. We ARE doing the twelve days of Christmas for 2019 come hell or high water, because it’s an end to the decade so we are going to go out in style, and I’m not letting cancer have the last word in MY story.
Now almost as traditional as the twelve days itself, here is my yearly disclaimer. I started the written portions of this year almost directly after finishing the 2018 set (I told you all I swore to start earlier). That being said, and with the elephant in the corner now being known to the whole of the room, I can’t promise anything blow your mind great but I can promise there are twelve individual posts this year ready and waiting to go.
To kick it off right t_shirt1x2 has come through for me yet again with the awesome traditional opening art. I would say my crystal ball has shown me this as fact, but the truth of the matter is that I know both t_shirt1x2 and my daughter, and I know that both of them worked together to get this done so a big thank you to both.
So, once more friends. Day one. A piece dedicated to Christmas morning and the typical last minute rush to get those last presents finished up and wrapped. Don't be like Duo. Get your presents done now and yes, that project you've been putting off WILL take longer than you think.
From the offspring: No pressure or anything here… o.o I didn’t want to add anything, but at the same time I felt I should add a few things. First, thank you all for the lovely comments. I have a larger message to kinda address all of that, but I want to save that for the end of the 12 days post. Let’s celebrate first.
Second, I will be updating with the 12 days on Ao3 and live journal, and I am going to try to get them up on dreamwidth but I can’t make any promises on that last one as I do not have her log in credentials.
Lastly, my experience with live journal is limited to exactly one post so far, but it looks like it has done something funky with the images. I’ll be uploading the art to an Instagram account as well and will edit with the link as soon as that is done.
Posted on behalf of Sunhawk by her daughter As a writer and avid reader I am aware more than most that every good story has to come to a close, that eventually the author has to sit down and pen that final page and that the reader has to close the cover and return the book to its shelf.
With that in mind I am sorry to announce that it is time my story came to an end, and that I have passed away.
I was diagnosed with breast cancer almost four and a half years ago, something I didn’t feel the need to share at the time, and though the original outlook was positive the disease ultimately metastasized. It spread through key points of the body and we fought it every step of the way, right up until it started playing head games with me by literally spreading in to the brain. At some point ‘nine months’ was thrown out as a probable time frame, as there wasn’t much in form of chemotherapy that crosses the blood-brain barrier. At the time of this writing in January, I’m sitting at almost a year and a half, but things are changing and I feel like I should be writing this now rather than later. It will be left in the care of my daughter, as she has become somewhat of a fandom secretary for me over the years, and I know she’ll get it posted for me when the time comes.
Before I shuffle on off though, I would be remiss if I didn’t address the fandom that I have called home for almost two decades. To everyone: thank you.
I realize that we aren’t as large as we used to be, that the heyday is over, but I’ve enjoyed being here and writing for you all. And there is one thing that I’ve learned, through all of my years and all of my time with the fandom that I want to share that I think applies not just to our little corner of the internet, but all fandom.
Write it. Draw it. Sing it. Create it. Share it.
We all start somewhere. We all start with works that are horribly out of character, we write tropes that have been written a million times before. We all stare at blank canvases, unable to get the lines down in a way that we want, and we all scrap ideas that we feel just aren’t good enough. But a fandom lives because of the people who produce for it, and by those who come to read and view. Yes, maybe that five hundred word drabble in which two strapping young men are trapped in a remote cabin during some horrible weather event and there is only one bed isn’t your best work. But what about the work after that? Or the one that follows? With each creation you learn, you polish yourself, you grow.
Never stop yourself from growing. Never let others stop you from growing. Share the stories you have in you, post your art, because at the end of the day life is too damn short to spend not doing something you love to do.
To all of the Gundam Wing fandom and all of my friends, I want to again say thank you. For reading my work, supporting me, talking with me... you’ve made my stay here a pleasant one. Keep an eye out in December 2019, as I have left my daughter one last set of traditional Twelve Days of Christmas posts to gift you all with. I have every faith she will get it posted for me.
On the twelfeth day of Christmas.... 2018 version Christmas morning, ya'll. We got here again (like it or not!) I usually have a few hours to myself in the mornings before the chaos, so I will post now in case I go down in the trenches of politics, debt accrual (just saw my credit card bill... *whimper*), and a sugar crash that has GOT to be coming, big time. (Christmas cookies for breakfast... really MUST stop doing that.)
Couple of self-indulgent moments here... Thanks go out to t_shirt1x2 for all the art, the encouragement, and offers to help fill the days. Really thought I wasn't going to manage that part, but ... cute (ish) kids for the win! To merula31 and lavendarlizard for letting me forgo the (kind of silly, after all these years) 'surprise' aspect of their traditional art, and just making it happen while I furiously wrote. Now... *eyes turnippatch * what to do with this baton I'm trying to hand off? >_>
Second self-indulgent moment. Respect. I usually put something here about trying to turn the season around from all the commercialism crap, and more about whatever it is you are celebrating. But I saw something this morning about the Queen's speech that she will do later today, and that struck me... respect. Respect the people around you... their beliefs, their individuality, their rights. Enough to listen when they speak. Respect yourself enough to speak up when you should. We always used to be a little oasis here of understanding and acceptance. I hope we are still those people no matter how this time of year can jade us. Go forth; make merry. Try not to have to bitch slap anybody. Probably not quite what the Queen will have to say. ^^;
And now, I'll shut up and bring on the fic! Heero POV.
On the eleventh day of Christmas.... 2018 version Christmas eve again... eleventh night, the night for the official Christmas Card art. Or... what would be card art if I still sent out actual cards (didn't happen in real life either!) This year is a whimsical piece and actually inspired what will be the Christmas Day post, so thanks go out to t_shirt1x2 once again, because... I had nothin' at that point but some vague ideas.
This has been, despite all my whining, not a horrid year... I thought the year with the over-abundance of angst fic and the trip west stuff was kind of worse. Lot of interaction this year, what with the comment art (check out days 9 and 10 for added art for some funny and some sweet!), and it's made me quite nostalgic. Little bit geared up too, and already have an eye to next year. We shall see if it survives the train-wreck that is the Real Life half of our show.
So before nostalgia drifts into maudlin, on to the art by our very own Divine Ms. t_shirt1x2
On the tenth day of Christmas.... 2018 version Almost there, I made it after all. Little damn Santa hat wearing ducks, burping and giggling and making my life miserable... DID finally line up in a row. Bit ragged, I suppose, and each carrying around pockets full of typos that they tossed around with glee... but I only asked them to line up, and I guess they did that much. Last part (for now) of the lame, last minute, typo laden Parenting dialog fic is up in a minute, but first... there was some comment art on day eight! How long has it been since we've seen comment art?? Otherwise unrelated to this post, but I have to pull this out where you can see if, because Duo is just so freaking happy! ^o^
Is that not adorable? Thank you t_shirt1x2, Duo deserves his fun. =D
On the ninth day of Christmas.... 2018 version Gee, last night was Solstice and I missed it. The longest night... does that not mean things should start looking up from here? In time to stop the rest of this train wreck? I keep hearing new things about our own 'Day' that are seriously making me suspect all I'm going to need for lunch/dinner that day is a really, really big bag of popcorn.
On my own tonight, which let me sit down and write the next piece of the Parenting thing of lame, which should let me post the next part and not really leave things hang in any way. But I have to admit, if I don't let the flow drop like I usually do after I power through the 12 days, this will probably continue next year. And yes, it will likely WAIT until next year because I've become so gun shy of having to stop because I just have to and not necessarily because I decided I wanted to. I'm kind of intrigued with Seth and want to see him grow up.
And coming back to add more art, because... Mr. Buttons! And adorable sleeping kid! And t_shirt1x2 Rocks!
On the eighth day of Christmas... 2018 version And tonight we have lavendarlizard 's art! I... should probably have asked questions when I commissioned it from the ever talented t_shirt1x2 . I'm not quite sure what this is from. =D Though I'm seeing a trend here, and someone doesn't seem to be a Zechs fan. But thank you both, and Merula too, for helping me fill the days and make this happen. Team GW for the win! ^^; There will be more of the Parenting universe tomorrow and something after and then the move into Christmas eve and how in the bleeding HELL did we get here already?? O_o Happy eighth night! Enjoy!
On the seventh day of Christmas.... 2018 version Next 'part' of this only slightly forsaken dialog series. This is the one that I wrote years ago and forgot about it, because it really is just 'blah' and kind of depressing and I didn't know what to do with it. How it spawned the rest of this silliness, I have no idea. Nothing awful, just no chuckles are had here. Unless you are a parent and 'been there/done that' and maybe you will get a snort for the level of melodrama Duo chooses to wallow in here. >_> Skipping it really won't hurt my feelings! LOL Art tomorrow, then I should probably see about writing two more of these to get us to 'The Day', huh? I promise a return to attempts at amusing.
On the sixth day of Christmas.... 2018 version Ok, this is so hot of the press that if there was proof reading, I dozed off during it. Unexpected company. =_= I HATE this time of year. I haven't even had time to read last night's comments and am I nuts or did I see there was ficlet for merula31's picture?? I want to read!!!
We're coming up on the 'not really funny' original ficlet that started all this though, and I really didn't want to hit with that one just yet. But was not counting on it suddenly being ten o'clock at night. I hope this is not too confusing, I hope it is somewhat amusing, and I hope the light of day brings me no new 'guests' and more time!
