Okay, let's get this out of the way first: weekly word count was zero.
<hanging my head in shame... and now I'm done>
It was not a productive week for writing but it was an amazing weekend at the Canadian Conference for Speculative Fiction. I had a great time, caught up with some friends, got stood up for coffee (but was secretly kind of glad because then I could go home early and I know I'll get to see that person another time), I chatted with Tanya Huff and Charles de Lint, was avoided by Robert J Sawyer (I'm assuming, since he slowed down in front of my table about a half dozen times and then hurried on to something else... because the universe revolves around me, duh!), saw my Browncoat buddies, my original fan, gave some panels, did a reading (to people who didn't know me personally), stayed up way too late, got up way too early, explained the RPG, sent people on secret missions for hot chocolate, wore the same shirt as the Con-director, chatted with the Heart Tea Heart tea guy (Robert, see, I remembered his name), gave away a ton of kisses and buttons, oh yeah, and sold some books.
Can-Con is, without doubt, the best-organized con I've ever attended and one of the ones which is actively inclusive and always looking for ways to improve. The people who set it up each year do an amazing amount of work and genuinely care about making sure that everyone feels safe and included, and has a chance to enjoy themselves. Can-Con was my first con and as I've done more and more, I've come to learn how much of a rarity those two things are. And how valuable.
It was a great antidote to the anger and vulnerability that's been filling my news feed lately. And a reminder that for every jerk who is abusive, there are at least dozen other people who care, are supportive, and willing to make changes. It reminded me about all the awesome folk who bond over Star Trek, Star Wars, card games, Firefly, Buffy, X-files, Marvel, DC, and all of the other worlds created out of imagination.
One of the panels which got me doing some thinking asked about our favourite 'ships. (For those not familiar with the shorthand, that's a relationship which is implied by the text or show, but never officially developed. So for example, Ron and Hermione wouldn't count, but Hermione and Harry would.) My favourite implied 'ship is River and Jayne from Firefly and Serenity. First of all, she's a telepath, so would probably appreciate Jayne's "never hold anything back" approach to conversation. Secondly, Jayne is a big enjoyer of all things violent and River is superlatively and gorgeously deadly. Third, and this is the important part, Jayne is the first person at River's side during most of the scenes when she's in danger, far more often than her brother or Captain Mal. He does it even though she beats him up and humiliates him and he hates humiliation. But he keeps coming back to her side. And there's this little moment when he thinks she's dead, and there's a little pained, determined set to his mouth as he watches Kaylee and Simon. In that moment, he's thinking he's missed his chance (that's my interpretation and I'm sticking to it). So I have my happy little fan-fic world in which Jayne and River get together and create gorgeous, smart (from her), deadly babies who take over the verse.
But then, on the way home, I was thinking about Loki (whom I adore and feel is terribly misunderstood. Just because he has no value for human life doesn't mean he's not worthy of love... yes, I have issues. I accept that). He's a force of chaos and change, necessary as a counterpoint to the law and order side. But there's no one in the Marvel universe who would really be a good pairing for him, at least in my opinion. He would need someone strong, unafraid of power, who's not afraid of the crazy... oh my gods, I'm talking about Harley Quinn and didn't even realize it.
So now, I have an idea for Loki/Harley Quinn Tom Hiddleston/Margot Robbie fan-fic bubbling away in my head and oh sweet Christmas, do I love it! (It may involve the Defenders, whom I'm also enjoying at this point, we'll see if it gets that far. Because Loki and Harley could totally take out Danny Rand, which would make me happy. And she'd slap Daredevil out of mopery, which would also make me happy. And they could pair up with Luke Cage and Jessica Jones and go on a massive crime spree... And and AND it would get Harley away from Joker, who is fun but abusive and she deserves a man of refinement and psychopathy who will treat her like the queen she is and Loki would have someone who isn't afraid to challenge him on his bullshit and who would encourage him to work with what he does best instead of constantly pursuing a throne that he wouldn't want once he got there because it would be boring and require too much stability... and I may have done too much thinking about this but the sentences just keep running on because I'm in love and yes, this is really what my brain looks like when I'm excited about an idea.)
Which is why editing is really crucial for me.
But I need to take a breath and store that on the "really awesome ideas for later" pile. Then buckle back down to finishing Judgment. Because the next time I see Tanya Huff, I need to have a new book ready for her to buy and love.
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