Myth stains across the aether...

... and bloodshot eyes

2008-08-12T14:16:39Z

I forget that having a full time job means less time for fandom and creative-y endeavours.

Unfortunately, I never seem to find the inspiration when I actually have the time.

Alas, motivation, why do you mock me so.

Fanart: Steam [ SPN - Gen ]

2008-07-09T05:01:16Z

So this year I participated in the spn_j2_bigbang as an artist.

Title: Steam
Artist: mithborien
Medium: Ink + Digital

The story I created art for is:

Steam by bellatemple

MASTER FIC POST
"Hell and Earth are empty. Do you think Heaven still has room?" The demons are gone, but at what cost? Sam and Dean make their way through a post-apocalyptic America, adapting the Impala and themselves as they go. It's a world of ghosts, mad men, and Victorian science, as Dean discovers he's a better mechanic than he has any right to be, and Sam that he has more power than he'd ever thought possible. They eventually make their way back home to Lawrence, only to find out that things aren't nearly as hopeless as they might've thought. The world can be fixed, all they have to do is make an impossible choice. A steampunk look at Supernatural, guest starring all the usual suspects, with an odd cameo by Samuel Colt and a leather-bound journal.

(Initial thoughts after reading that summary were: STEAMPUNK FTW! *comments to claim fic*)

THE ARTWORK

CLICK FOR BIGGER IMAGES

Notes: So, the above images are basically inks aged up in Photoshop. First, I got a couple of reference photos of the net, traced (I can't draw faces from real life and have them look like the people they're supposed to so tracing it is) them up, added all the necessary steampunk additions and copied them onto watercolour paper. I then got out the inks and started painting.

Initially I had planned to do both Sam and Dean entirely up in inks like I did the Impala but after finishing the Impala I remembered that inks don't come with an eraser nor Ctrl-Z and that I hadn't really done any hand-completed art for over six months. So I wasn't quite game enough to try their itty bitty faces in inks in case I stuffed it up and had to start again. So Sam and Dean remained black ink outlines but we do have the Impala in all it's pimped up, steampunked glory. Although I am quite happy with how the screaming Sam face came out.

And the reason why the inks change colours so much is that I couldn't be bothered mixing up a solid colour to work with. I just kept adding in more red or blue or green to some yellow as I went. Which was totally a stylistic choice to represent the need to adapt in an ever-changing steampunk landscape and not at all because I'm lazy. Totally not lazy.

I then inked in all the black lines (except I used a black pen for the faces because I knew I would stuff up with a brush) and the text. The text is excerpts from all the exorcism rituals they used on the show. What that symbolises within the context of the story, I am not sure but I sure as well wasn't translating anything else into latin. I used the typefaces Aquiline Two and Dear Theo as a guide but I painted the text to make sure it retained that hand-written look

Next I scanned the images into Photoshop. The parchment looking background was an image I had created previously to be used as stock so I just copy and pasted that in. I then darkened the background up in a few places, darkened and upped the contrast on the inked parts and did some overall colour corrections and voila! I was done.

Sorry, if I babbled on a lot. Years of having to write rationales for all my art/design projects will do that.

THE EXTRAS

Notes: These are just a couple of extra images I created for the actual story text: the title image, paragraph divider and an 'end' (that will make sense in the context of the story). The typeface for the title is Times New Yorker. These were created in much the same way as the artwork. Some of the text and images done first in inks, then scanned into Photoshop and played around with in there.

~

And now I can go read all the other Big bangs without feeling guilty that I hadn't completed my own...

Supanova Perth 2008!

2008-07-06T12:06:55Z

So I suppose I really should write up my con report, although it still feels weird to realise that I actually have a con to report about instead of spending the night watching and reading about all those other cons in countries on the other side of the world.

So, Supanova Perth 2008! My first con (although, I’m pretty sure there are other cons in Perth but this is the first I’ve really heard about and the first that’s somewhat mainstream in a way). It was pretty much what I was expecting a con to be like and I did enjoy myself a lot. I’m also glad a fair amount of people turned up (see, there’s an audience in Perth for this stuff, who knew?).

I did cosplay for the two main days (Saturday and Sunday) which is yet another level of geekery I’ve attained. I read somewhere ages ago about how there should be like Boy Scout Merit badges for fandom, so I feel like I kinda earned one of those. The first day I went as Susan Sto Helit from the Discworld series (I love Susan so much although my head felt like it was going to fall off from the wig) and the second I went as Aeryn Sun from Farscape. There aren’t going to be pictures though because a) I hate the way I look in photos and b) I don’t want to put pictures of me on the internet under this journal (yay! Paranoia!). I have no idea if people even recognised my costumes, especially since Aeryn didn’t even have a gun (the holster kinda fell apart the last time I wore it. Hot glue is not as good as you would think.) but it was fun to walk around in either goth clothes or black combat wear so all was good.

There were heaps of people dressed up though, which was awesome. Although they were mostly from anime so all the time I was thinking: yeah, you look pretty cool but I have no idea who you are. Which made the cosplay competition interesting to watch but it was definitely worth it with the MC that we had. He was loud and funny and awesome and he danced! And he was quite possibly having a not-so-secret love affair with L (I had to go look up Wikipedia to check that was the right name) from Death Note (who through general consensus we believe he was actually the stage manager).

But they were both awesome, really played to the audience. As did the sound guy who in between taking care of the music was buys writing amusing things on the screen behind the stage (often making fun of the cosplayers and the MC) and also talking like God from out of the ~~god~~ sound box onstage.

The cosplayers were pretty damn good though. These were my favourites (sorry if you don’t want your picture on the online but hey, no one is going to recognise you underneath your secret identity, right? (I also realise how hypocritical this is when I refuse to put my own picture up) but you guys were awesome.)

We had Snake from Metal Gear Solid who proceeded to kill the MC (seriously, the MC died at least ten times from various cosplayers *cough* Death Note *cough*) and he also had the voice down great. He came back the second day as well to kill the MC again at the request of another cosplayer. I forget why.

Arthur Dent! I think his Guide was actually Terry Pratchett’s Making Money recovered but it has DON’T PANIC on it in large friendly letters so all is forgiven.

Kaylee and River! Kaylee made the dress itself and it took her three months but it looked damn good. But apparently, according to Jewel Staite the real costume was quite uncomfortable to wear.

Sailor Moon! Oh, the memories. I remember liking Sailor Moon a whole lot when I was younger. I don’t know if I would feel the same way now and I don’t want to find out.

Okay, this guy was awesome. He cosplayed the Madmen logo. A logo! A logo made out of foam! Madman distributes anime in Australia, I think. But yeah, the dude was the Madman logo, in a straightjacket and had to be led around the stage cause there sure as hell wasn’t any way to see through the damn thing.

I forget who this guy is but his weapon? Stick? Thingamajig? was made out of a rod and Christmas lights and it really lit up and it looked pretty good even though you might be sniggering because of the Christmas lights!

Ah, where crack fics come to life. I recognise No Face, female!Cloud (I think) and a Rock. The others I have idea but their skit was pretty funny.

This guy was awesome. Don’t know who he was supposed to be but he did a whole skit about how heavy the sword was which was quite funny. And the sound guy threw up a ‘compensating’ joke on the screen behind him which had to happen, of course.

Dude! Batman! Who made his own costume apparently but he was awesome as well. He also put on the voice and his cape actually went up properly as well. I have to mention here as well that after the cosplayers are done on stage they come down and sit at the front of the audience on the ground, so it was quite funny (to me, at least) to see Batman just stroll up and site down cross legged in the middle of the aisle. Although, now that I think about it, how on earth did he sit down. That suit looked quite thick and strong.

Poison Ivy looked quite good as well. She blew phermones or whatever they were across the front row. She must have been freezing in that outfit though.

And see what I mean about awesome the MC was. He made sure to really interact with each cosplayer. In this case, acting as the Joker to Harley Quinn.

Yay, crack!fic again. A French Musketeer, the 10th Doctor, a Jedi and a little mini Superman, who had to be lured back out on stage again.

We had a Link who was very well done. I think she won the first day? Which she deserved if she did get it because as you can see she looks damn good. Although, now that I can actually see her close up I realise the chain mail is knitted (sorry about the close up but I needed another image to complete the three).

I don’t know who these people are supposed to be but they look quite awesome.

Again, I don’t know who these people are (I fail) but the first group had a hilarious skit, the second dude really knew how to use the lightsabers (but he wasn’t from Star Wars) and the last also had an awesome skit with dancing! (Seriously, I really do fail at knowing who the anime people are.)

We also had a couple of Jokers who really acted the part. And another Batman and also a Catwoman.

See with the MC dying again. And ~~the stage manager~~ L coming out to wreak havoc again. There was quite a few Death Note cosplayers. I think the MC died every single time.

We also had Darth Vader who cut off the MC’s hand. Poor MC.

Supergirl and Venom! And Venom’s suit was in fact skin tight, I have to say.

Some dude made a freakin’ DALEK! This thing was awesome. It was full scale, actually moved (okay, it needed some help over bumpy surfaces) and it lit up as well. This was all because the guy who made it was actually inside the costume, poor guy, but it was still awesome. We had actually seen him the previous day holding flyers for the Doctor Who fan club but I had no idea that the guy was actually inside some of the time. Although that would explain why it would suddenly move on occasion.

Again, I don’t know who these guys are or from what show but all I really got from their skit was gay vampires with guns and roses and really, I’m quite happy to think that is what the show is about.

And a group shot of all the cosplayers at the end of the day. And you can see in the middle picture an example of the sound guy’s wit.

Okay, so there was a lot more non-anime cosplayers than a thought. Although I did miss out a whole heap of anime cosplayers simply because I don’t know who you are. Your awesomeness is lost on me but you did look good. I just ran out of patience to do any more pictures.

I also went to a couple of different panels. One by Howard Chaykin on drawing comics and another by a couple of guys talking about comics in Australia but since my knowledge of comics and comic related issues isn’t all that good I was kinda just sitting in the audience nodding my head, pretending I knew what they were talking about. But they were kinda interesting in a way I can’t remember now.

I saw Jewel Staite (!) from Firefly and Stargate: Atlantis, of which I haven’t actually seen her in yet. But she is very funny and very pretty in person. She told us about how the cast from Firefly all took mementos from the set and while she only took a couple of things (she got the Kaylee’s Room sign from both the series and the movie), Nathan Fillion apparently tried to take everything. He even tried to take the head from the Jayne statue but Adam stopped him. She also talked about a whole lot of other stuff but I am always shit at remembering stuff like this. All that comes to mind is how someone asked about fanfiction (sigh) and someone else asked about posing for FHM and that question just turned creepy real fast. I don’t know whether the guy was trying to be funny but it definitely came across as creepy.

I saw Kandyse McClure who is Dee from Battlestar Galactica, as well. But seeing as how I haven’t seen Season Three yet, I had to do the fake-knowledgeable-head-nod when she was talking about the direction her character has taken. But she was interesting and laughed a lot and was quite appreciative of certain aspects of Jamie Bamber.

The last panel I went to was by Jennifer Fallon, who is an author that I haven’t actually read anything by so cue the fake-knowledgeable-head-nods again. But she had actually co-written a Stargate tie-in novel and it was quite obvious that she is somewhat of a fangirl. She also said that if she could write tie-ins for another show that it would be Supernatural (for which I cheered) and said that at the Sydney Supanova she hugged Jared Padalecki for about ten minutes because they were doing an interview with some people, I think and since he apparently forgot to let go, she ‘forgot’ to let go as well. She also said that he was a really great guy in person, which makes me even more upset that he wasn’t able to make it to the Perth Supanova (we were so close!). But she did tell an amusing story about how for one of her book series she had a map that she had a friend of hers (an avid cartographer) do up properly and the guy asked if he could fill in the rest of the names on the map because according to him, everything needs a name on a map. So she says yes and gets this map back and it turns out that if you look really closely you can see all the names that this guy put in which among other things include the names of his kids and pets. There was also, I believe, one part of the ocean named the Tempura Sea. Now I don’t know which series the map was from but I’m definitely going to try and find out because that’s just hilarious.

We also had a couple of preview nights showing a couple of movies. On Friday we got to see Stargate: Continuum which was pretty cool. Quite a decent story, better than you would expect out of a straight to DVD movie. And there were cameos from a whole bunch of people from Stargate of old like ~~Macgyver~~ Richard Dean Anderson and Don S. Davis, which made learning about his death a couple of days later all the more sad :(

Saturday night was D-Wars, or Dragon Wars if you will, which I think would have been a lot better if they cut out the poor, confused plot and just stuck to dragons and dinosaurs blowing stuff up. That would have been awesome.

And then on Sunday we saw Batman: Gotham Knight which was pretty cool. But I don’t know a whole lot about different anime styles and what not, so you know. But I did like the art for the backgrounds on one of the first sections for what that is worth.

The rest of the con was just spent wandering around the various stalls set up. Not as many as I would have liked but then I think of the photos I’ve seen of larger cons like Comic Con and I realise it might be best to start with something small. I think I bought a couple of hundred dollars worth of stuff there, though. Most of that was a result of buying Volume III of Absolute Sandman because the stall selling it (King’s Comics from Sydney) had everything at 25% off at the end of the day. I also bought a couple of graphic novels, some cheap comics (like Zen: the Intergalactic Ninja! and a couple of old fantasy choose-your-own-adventure stories), a dogtag with the Stargate Å on it and some iron-on Stargate and Farscape transfer patches (whoa, Farscape merchandise!). Sadly there was no Supernatural merchandise apart from some t-shirts and stamps. But I hate most of the merchandise apparel they have for tv shows and movies anyway. It’s always random floating heads or tacky designs which is why I bought the patches so I could make my own (because I am so motivated when it comes to stuff like that /sarcasm). Although, there was a cool Stargate shirt pointed out to me. It said: “I’ve ascended. Have you?” or something like that and I laughed. Of course, it was a men’s tshirt and not a ladies and I don’t like the men’s styles but that’s a rant for another day.

We also had the 501st legion, the Star Wars professional cosplayers, wandering around. The red twi’lek a.k.a. Darth Talon is actually a friend of mind and was invited to join up with the 501st. There was also a giant LAN or gaming session going on in another room but we never actually went it so I’m not sure exactly what was going on in there. We also got Rick-Rolled at the cosplay competition a couple of times. At least four, I think.

All in all, it was a lot of fun and I would definitely go again next year so hopefully there was enough people this year to ensure a Supanova next year.

I also think I used a whole heap of brackets in this post (I don’t know why).

mithborien @ 2008-06-10T22:35:00

2008-06-10T14:36:40Z

So it turns out that due to schedule conflicts and what not, Jared is only going to the Sydney Supanova and not the Perth Supanova.

I remain in Perth.

*CURSES WORLD!*

HOLY CRAP!

2008-06-04T14:14:29Z

So I really should make a post about this because, seriously, this kind of stuff doesn't happen often.

So there's Supanova, right? One of the only conventions that Perth gets. Perth being one of the most isolated capital cities in Australia. And for those who aren't paying attention, I live in Perth.

Guess who was just confirmed as a guest for Supanova?

JARED FUCKING PADALECKI!

This is one of the most awesomest things ever. We don't get guest stars like that here. And the fact that it's Jared just makes it all the more awesome ~~for me~~.

This is like seeing Jensen on Good News Week. I just don't expect things like this to intersect with Australia.

BUT THEY HAVE. And it will be awesome. And there will be Jared!

This is also one of the first times ever that I truly feel that *squee* is an appropriate exclamation.

Recs: Supernatural fanvids

2008-05-15T12:55:12Z

So in order to ensure that I have at least a starting point the next time my hard drive crashes and I lose stuff, I am keeping a list of various fan vids.

If you or your vid are linked here and you would like it removed please let me know. If any of these links can be updated ie. vid homepages changing, please also let me know.

Otherwise this is just a personal list of some pretty awesome fanvids. Thank you to all the artists here.

SUPERNATURAL

Vidder's homepages:
charmax: http://bronze-ambition.net
halcyon_shift: http://www.alter-idem.com/index.php?set=videos | http://lithiumchic.livejournal.com/
sockkpuppett: http://www.slum.slashcity.com/lum/eyecandy/ (aka. luminosity)
stir_of_echoes: http://www.come-undone.com/vids/ (a.k.a jules)
wolfpup2000: http://wolfpupsden.us/

Gen

Evening on the ground by halcyon_shift
All that I am by halcyon_shift
Fault line by halcyon_shift
Growing up by sweetestdrain
Women's work by sockkpuppet and sisabet
Our time is running out by ash48
One year only by dayln03
Love Shack by maidensuit
Bleed it out by starrylizard
Passion by starry_lizard
We will rock you by proofpudding
Devil went down to Georgia by stir_of_echoes
Wild Boys by stir_of_echoes
Shuffle by sockkpuppett
God says nothing back by morgandawn
God's gonna cut you down by sacrilicious
Get out alive by wolfpup2000
Thriller by wolfpup2000
God decides by sacrilicious
Smile like you mean it by winterevanesce
The good out there by maygin80

Seasonal/Promo

Requiem for a Supernatural dream by skeezerbeans1
Carol of the Supernatural by Dragonfly
Devil's Trap (Season 2) by sockkpuppett [Season 2]
The Journey by hay1ock [Season 2]
Make your stand by hay1ock
Cells by dayln03 [Season 2]
I alone, live by wistful_fever

Character

Deus Ibi Est by charmax [John]
You know you're right by lierdumoa [Dean]
Fell on black days by ringwench [Sam]
Windowsill by sweetestdrain [Sam]
I ain't scared of lightning by halcyon_shift [John]
Evil brings the sexy back by stir_of_echoes [Sam]
Filthy Gorgeous by stir_of_echoes [Dean]
Bitch by wolfpup2000 [Dean]
I woke up in a car by ringwench [Sam]
In a mirror distorted by secretlytodream [Sam]
Lagrimas by sweetestdrain [Mary]

Sam/Dean

Birdhouse in your soul by deidre_c
Things that make you go... hmm by deidre_c
Your Own Personal Co-Dependent Wet Dream by wistful_fever
Overdose of you by dayln03
Crime of Passion by popcornleader

Ship

Hungry like the wolf by way2busymom [Sam/Madison]
Just like you by dayln03 [Sam/Jess]
By my side by dayln03 [Dean/Jo]
Roses by smth_blue

Humour

The way we get by by charmax
Your horoscope by ringwench
Channel Hopping by ash48
Elephant Love Medley by roday
If I were gay by sacrilicious
Safety dance by barkley & destina

AU/Crossovers

Ritual Habitual by popcornleader (aka. alcoholic pixie)
The 6 between us by winterevanesce
Just one night by hay1ock [x Resident Evil, Dean/Alice]
Sacrifice yourself by popcornleader
Impulse by antigonesgift
The Supernatural Pretender by starrylizard [The Pretender]
Colorblind by Livniggle [tribute to Day before Hell]

Stylistic

Protege Moi by charmax
The Fifth Circle by sockkpuppett (aka. luminosity)

by [Unknown LJ tag]

Recs: Multi-fandom and miscellaneous fandom fanvids

2008-05-15T12:48:49Z

Review: The Court of the Air

2008-05-12T13:32:49Z

So yes, I have decided to do a book review. For a given value of review, which is most likely closer to rambling.

The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt

It's a very interesting book to say the least. A really interesting book.

The plot could be a little more coherent. The story basically follows the lives of two orphans whose fates are tied into a larger world conflict. In theory it was a good story but I think the plot needed to be a bit tighter and a few things more clearly explained.

But what made the book extremely interesting and enjoyable was the sheer surreality of the world itself. I mean, you have the Jackelian Kingdom that cuts the arms off their Kings to show how the monarchy will never raise its arms against the people again (hell, the kings aren't going to be raising their arms period). In parliament, debates are settled with fighting duels. There's a race of Steam Men whose shamans read the future by throwing the cogs of Gear-gu-ji (I think I got that right). There are the magic using worldsingers and the feybreed. Royal Buccaneers and gypsy witches. There's flying Aerostats that run on celgas and guns that fire crystal bullets fulls of exploding tree sap.

And that, seriously, is just the beginning. The world is surreal and absurd and just downright intriguing. And it's all presented in such a normal, everyday way. The story doesn't pause to introduce these strange elements (okay, sometimes it does), they just get mentioned and the story moves on without taking any notice.

If you really want to know what the story was, it was something about a group of people who were called Communityists (three guesses to what that was based on), followers of the Carlist way, who try to take over the Jackelian Kingdom using Metal-Fleshers (human people they basically cut up and shoved into metal suits (like the Cybermen from Doctor Who) and also by raising the old insect gods, the Wildcoatyl. And then those two orphans are the only two who can stop it which is why they get hunted down and then it all culminates in a giant battle at the end. Or something like that. I might have been slightly distracted by the utter weirdness of everything to remember the specifics. Oh, and the Court of the Air, which was this group of people (kinda like a secret service) that float in the sky in ships and they watch everyone below and then go on missions to keep the world turning or something, well these people show up a couple of times for some reason. Which considering the title of the book, you'd think they would have a clearer role but whatever.

I'd imagine that if I read the book again, the story would make more sense. And I probably will because like I said, the world is damn interesting. It reminds me of Scott Lynch's A Tale of Locke Lamora except Lynch's book had a better written story. But they are both book's with an intriguing world setting which is something that I really like.

If I was better organised I would have a fancy rating system or something but I don't. The fact that I actually wrote out this post probably means the book was interesting enough.

Things to recover

2008-05-11T12:30:07Z

Okay, so a couple of days ago my hard drive kinda died. Utterly. And in doing so I lost my Entertainment folder since it was too big to backup as well as all my important stuff like original artwork and all that crap. So I lost a bunch of stuff like pictures and fan vids and what not and since it is going to take me a while to get everything that I can remember back I am going to keep a list of stuff here.

Feel free to ignore this :)

FANVIDS

* denotes downloaded

Farscape fan vids
- www.farscapefantasy.com (basically trawl through and download all the ones I like instead of downloading everyone I could find like I did the first time round).

HP vids

Ice ice baby
Um, the Marauders one set to Tourniquet
Di-br:
Pranksters
Accidentally in love
Ana:
Walk alone

Supernatural (dear god this is going to be huge)

Roses http://smth-blue.livejournal.com/17079.html
Falling for the first time http://sisabet.livejournal.com/365864.html
Crash http://michaela3105.livejournal.com/17550.html?style=mine
youtube old movie style yed
http://community.livejournal.com/supernaturalvid/92452.html
http://sisabet.livejournal.com/352641.html
http://community.livejournal.com/supernaturalvid/533092.html
http://aruna7.livejournal.com/60037.html?mode=reply
http://aruna7.livejournal.com/58269.html

Argh, I am sure there I had heaps more spn vids than that.

PICTURES

Well, I lost a shit load of pictures... that I don't want to think about because it will make me cry.

Hmm, I guess I should go to http://super.repro-network.net/ and pick the Supernatural images I like the best.

Farscape pictures... could quite possibly be hard to find.

HP pictures... quite the oposite, far far too many to find. I guess maybe just pic the ones I like best again.

VIDEO

Supernatural Season 3 is probably the only thing I care about to get back. Any other video was probably just random clips of things. Oh, should download gag reels. They were good.

BOOKMARKS

A whole lot of random crap bookmarked... time to start again.
Hp fic, probably lost for good. I can't see me looking for those again.
Spn fic, will probably come across the good ones again through recs. All others were bookmarked because I didn't care to read them at the time so I can probably pass on those.

Fics I remember:
Spn/HP one by Concerned lily I think
The Lemony snicket crossover
Five drugs, five districts by rei_c i think

Heh, a grand total of three.

(note to self, dont let bookmarks pile up before you put them into del.icio.us.)
(second note, backup del.icio.us as well.)

Fic: By the skin of my teeth [ Gen - PG-13 ]

2008-05-10T15:26:53Z

Cause clearly, when you have other important shit to do the only sensible course of action is to write fic.

Title: By the skin of my teeth

Author: mithborien

Fandom: Supernatural

Summary: “You said you could save him,” he snarls as he tightens his fingers. “I did,” she says, her mouth lengthening into a devil’s grin, “and I still can.”

Word Count: 273 words

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: Up to 3.15 but no further.

Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to Eric Kripke and the CW network. No profit is being made or is intended to be made.

Author's Notes: I have not seen the promo for 3.16 nor read any spoilers. This is purely an idea that popped into my head which I found somewhat interesting. If this actually happens on the show, well… that will be very weird (and kinda cool).

~

It’s only when his knuckles lose the whiteness and he can feel the pain of his fingers unclenching that she appears with strutting legs and a know-it-all smirk.

“Hello, Sam,” Ruby says.

He moves without thinking, Dean’s body tumbling into the dirt at his feet but she doesn’t even try to resist when he goes for her throat.

Her body’s feather light as he lifts her off the ground. Her long hair flutters against his face with the scent of sulphur.

“You said you could save him,” he snarls as he tightens his fingers.

“I did,” she says, her mouth lengthening into a devil’s grin, “and I still can.”

He’s this close to snapping her neck, even knowing it won’t do a damn thing but he forces himself to pause, to wait. This past year has been one false hope after another and he wants to see this final one squashed before he gets rid of Ruby for good.

“Prove it,” he says, and Ruby smiles, her stolen eyes light up and he can feel the skin under his hand flexing as she holds back laughter.

It’s in her silence that he hears the footsteps behind him, the slight rattle of disturbed gravel. He turns and the first thing he sees are the rips and tears in her clothes, some are bandaged, white stained with red, but she still moves smoothly as she walks towards him.

Then he looks up and sees her face. She looks older, worn out, death warmed up and served on a plate. But her eyes are fierce. They’re shining and harsh but undoubtedly alive.

“Hello, Sam,” Bela says.

~

Big Bang!

2008-05-05T13:58:58Z

Oh gods.

I haven't mentioned this but I signed up as an artist for the spn_j2_bigbang and they just posted the story claims and I managed to get such an awesome sounding story.

My heart is quite literally pounding because I am so excited about this and I am now getting nervous as to whether my art will be as awesome as the story.

*wonders at what happens next having never participated in a big bang*

I never have any good titles...

2008-04-28T13:51:38Z

'Cause I've been keeping track I know that I have read 22 books since the start of the year.

That's 5.5 books per month, 1.375 books per week, 0.196 per day if we want to get into meaningless statistics (like most are!).

That's not to mention all the fics...

My point here is that I should either a) should be able to write more (since you know, the more you read the more something or other you have... or something) or b) be able to ramble on about stories or writing (however useful that would be) more.

Hmm, I suspect that my general slackness probably has something to do with it but it's interesting to think about.

Oh, the memories...

2008-04-28T13:42:58Z

Oh, I always feel so sad when I get emails telling me my stories have been out on 'alerts' or whatever they call it on fanfiction.net by other people because I know that even if I do ever update those fics (the possibility is low mind you), they are never going to be posted there. It's nice to know that people want sequels but I guess my vague sort of sadness just isn't going to be enough to make me post there again. Oh well.

Of course, it really intrigues me as well when a story of mine on ff.net gets favourited. I wonder just how that person came across it. Those fics are seriously years old and I haven't been to the site in the same amount of time. I'm assuming other people's favourite lists but the mystery is still intriguing enough to make me wonder.

Vid: I was born on a pirate ship [ POTC - Gen ]

2008-04-06T09:47:32Z

Vid: I was born on a pirate ship

Artist: mithborien

Fandom: Pirates of the Caribbean

Song: "I was born on a pirate ship" by Sforzando

Length: 5:39

Description: Pirate! Savvy?

Notes: I have no small amount of admiration for vidders who can pull off a thematic vid edited to the beat. I've always wanted to try something like that and when the idea for this vid wouldn't let me go, I knew this would be the song to try it out on. I also know that it's damn hard to pull off. But I am reasonably pleased with how this vid turned out. I love parts of it while other parts make me cringe where I have since realised I am off the beat but it's too late to change them now. I had more than enough trouble to get the clips ready and the whole thing edited together. But well, pirates, can't go wrong with pirates. Arr!

Downloads:
Watch @ Imeem (my username is 'Thorien')

High res:
Download @ Sendspace (.avi 57.9mb)
Download @ Megaupload (.avi 57.9mb)

(unfornately, due to issues with compression and what not the high res version isn't as high res as I would like. In fact, I think the low res is a better quality, it's just rather small...)

Low res:
Download @ Sendspace (.avi 27.8mb)
Download @ Megaupload (.avi 27.8mb)

(If the embedded video has trouble playing please either wait until it has finished loading or refresh the page.)

twitches

2008-02-13T13:53:18Z

I need to stop getting ideas for fanvids...

Vid: Beating like a drum [ SPN - Gen ]

2008-02-13T12:33:38Z

Vid: Beating like a drum

Artist: mithborien

Fandom: Supernatural

Song: "Beating like a drum" by Eskimo Joe

Length: 3:05

Description: You can't forget the dead. (veers slightly off into an AU at the end. Although it's more potential AU.)

Notes: I started to make this vid because I wanted to use that end shot of Jess in Bloody Mary. Figures that I only ended up using perhaps one second of that clip. However, I like how this vid turned out. I like playing around with the themes of life and death and everything in between and well, Supernatural is pretty good for playing with those things.

Downloads:
Watch @ Imeem (my username is 'Thorien')

High res:
Download @ Sendspace (.avi 43.44mb)
Download @ Megaupload (.avi 43.44mb)

Low res:
Download @ Sendspace (.avi 21.96mb)
Download @ Megaupload (.avi 21.96mb)

(If the embedded video has trouble playing please either wait until it has finished loading or refresh the page.)

mithborien @ 2008-02-12T20:20:00

2008-02-12T13:04:56Z

It is absolutely hilarious to see links to a certain Good News Week segment plastered all across my flist. I mean, it's not surprising, the guest of said segment being Jensen Ackles after all. It's just weird, since Good News Week (it being an Australian show) has always seemed like such a local show (which don't get me wrong, it's a cool show) and it's like turning on the TV and seeing someone you personally know pop up unexpectedly, except substitute GNW for someone you know and my flist for TV. Awesome and yet... weird.

Seriously, there are links everywhere! It's like real life and fandom life are colliding in an ~~awesome~~ strange way.

Of course, what it somewhat ironic is that most of the internet still got to see Jensen's segment before I did since I live in a city that's a couple of hours behind, so the rest of Australia and the internet still got to see it first.

*suppresses deep rage at years of receiving TV/movies/EVERYTHING! later than the rest of the world*

I would die for you...

2008-01-31T13:02:47Z

So there is a new Supernatural episode tonight. I am so ridiculously excited for this. Supernatural is the only TV show I seem to care about at the moment (as evidenced by my last three posts being spn vids) . There are so many things about that show that just seem to 'click' and make it awesome for me. Even when the plot isn't too great and it has other... problems, it is still freakin' awesome!

Obsessions make the world go round. Or something unlike that.

Vid: Hey man, nice shot [ SPN - Gen ]

2008-01-30T08:33:43Z

A while ago I said a had three vids to post that I did whilst away from LJ. This isn't one of them. This is just a vid I did because damn, vidding is fun.

Vid: Hey man, nice shot

Artist: mithborien

Fandom: Supernatural

Song: "Hey man, nice shot" by Filter

Length: 5:02

Description: First half of season three. Sam and Dean are kickin' ass and takin' names.

Notes: This originally started out as me wanting to do a Season Three promo before the new episodes start because I needed to do something creative and I had the episodes sitting there on my computer. But then the so-called Season Three promo turned into just a bunch of action clips pasted together and I thought okay, I'll make an action vid. But then the action vid started to get meangingful and it looked like I was comparing Sam's actions to Dean's actions in the new season and I thought okay, that's cool, I can do that. But then I lost the plot again.

So my point is, I don't think this vid is as strong as some of my other vids but considering I started it as merely a fun exercise in vidding, I am pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Downloads:
Watch @ Imeem (my username is 'Thorien')

High res:
Download @ Sendspace (.avi 40mb)
Download @ Megaupload (.avi 40mb)

Low res:
Download @ Sendspace (.avi 26mb)
Download @ Megaupload (.avi 26mb)

(If the embedded video has trouble playing please either wait until it has finished loading or refresh the page.)

Vid: Ma Winchester [ SPN - AU ]

2008-01-17T12:32:41Z

I love this vid so much. I don't care if no one else does but for me, it just turned out exactly how I wanted.

Vid: Ma Winchester

Artist: mithborien

Fandom: Supernatural

Song: "Ma Baker" by Boney M

Length: 4:34

Description: 'Cause you know Mary would have kicked ass. AU (somewhat...)

Notes: I kinda really love this vid like I said. Like a lot. I remember listening to this song months ago and getting the idea but at that point I didn't have the Season Two DVDs nor avi files of the episodes and thus no way to make the vid without a hell of a lot of downloading. But that was a good thing because during the time waiting for the S2 DVDs to be delivered I was able to write out the vid plan pretty much second by second and by the time I got the DVDs I had the whole plan memorised. Yeah, I really like the vid idea. And then I made the damn thing and it actually turned out pretty much close to what I was wanting, which makes me so happy because that rarely happens.

But yeah, Mary Winchester. Kickin' ass and taking names. All to a groovy 70s disco beat.

Downloads:
Watch @ Imeem (my username is 'Thorien')

High res:
Download @ Sendspace (.avi 40mb)
Download @ Megaupload (.avi 40mb)

Low res:
Download @ Sendspace (.avi 21mb)
Download @ Megaupload (.avi 21mb)

(If the embedded video has trouble playing please either wait until it has finished loading or refresh the page.)

Vid: A B Song [ SPN - Episodic ]

2008-01-04T13:22:51Z

I actually have two more completed vids after this one to post. See, that's the awesome thing about being away from LJ for awhile, you come back with all this stuff to share.

Vid: A B Song

Artist: mithborien

Fandom: Supernatural

Song: "A B Song" by Tom McRae

Length: 4:16

Description: Obligatory Supernatural Season Two finale vid. Yes, I know everyone has all ready done one but I figure this way I can get in after the rush is over. See, being slack has it's strong points.

Downloads:
Watch @ Imeem (my username is 'Thorien')
Download @ Sendspace (.avi 25mb)
Download @ Megaupload (.avi 25mb)

(If the embedded video has trouble playing please either wait until it has finished loading or refresh the page.)

2008 Master List of Life

2008-01-04T12:48:23Z

I've seen a number of people do this and while I am interested in the results I know the final tally will either impress me or make me cry.

2008 (lists)

BOOKS (*re-read)

Tough guide to Fantasy Land by Dianne Wynne Jones
Thud! by Terry Pratchett *
Vellum - The Book of All Hours: 1 by Hal Duncan
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
Do Androids Drean of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
Absolute Sandman - Volume II by Neil Gaiman
Strata by Terry Pratchett
Before they are hanged - The First Law: Book 2 by Joe Abercrombie
The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
Ink - The Book of All Hours: 2 by Hal Duncan
Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett *
Jingo by Terry Pratchett *
The Truth by Terry Pratchett *
Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman *
Shadow Moon by Chris Claremont and George Lucas *
Shadow Dawn by Chris Claremont and George Lucas *
Shadow Star by Chris Claremont and George Lucas *
Mort by Terry Pratchett *
The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt
The Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
Last Argument of Kings - The First Law: Book 3 by Joe Abercrombie
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch *
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett *
Soul Music by Terry Pratchett *
Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett *
Kushiel's Dart by Jaqueline Carey *
Making Money by Terry Pratchett
The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch by Neil Gaiman and Michael Zulli
Absolute Sandman - Volume III by Neil Gaiman
Kushiel's Chosen by Jaqueline Carey *
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Tough guide to Fantasy Land by Dianne Wynne Jones *
Kushiel's Avatar by Jaqueline Carey *
Assassin's Apprentice - The Farseer Trilogy: Book 1 by Robin Hobb *
Royal Assassin - The Farseer Trilogy: Book 2 by Robin Hobb *
On the Origin of PCs - The Order of the Stick: Volume 0 by Rich Burlew
Dungeon Crawlin' Fools - The Order of the Stick: Volume 0 by Rich Burlew
Assassin's Quest - The Farseer Trilogy: Book 3 by Robin Hobb *

DVDs (bought)

A Scanner Darkly
Doctor Who: The Complete First Series
Underworld & Underworld: Evolution
Carnivale Season One
Carnivale Season Two
Big Fish
Shaun of the Dead
Daywatch
Battlestar Galactica: Season Three
Across the universe
Planet Terror
Death Proof
Stardust

FILMS (at the cinema)

I am Legend
Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Iron Man
Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull
Speedracer
Batman: The Dark Knight

TV SHOWS (followed)

Supernatural
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Good News Week
Robin Hood
Spicks and Specks
Doctor Who

CDs (legitimately bought...)

Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace by Foo Fighters
Neon Bible by Arcade Fire
The Sheperd's Dog by Iron and Wine
Sawdust by The Killers
Origin of Symmetry by Muse
Viva la Vida by Coldplay

Events (attended)

Nightwish
Supanova Perth 2008

2008 Goals

2008-01-02T11:40:50Z

Or in other words my 2008 New Year Resolutions but no one ever keeps resolutions so I am going to call them goals and hope that it tricks my brain. Like how my watch is 15 minutes fast in order to get me places on time (it's success is somewhat patchy).

2008 New Year ~~Resolutions~~ GOALS

∞ Get a job in the design industry that I ~~love~~ ~~like~~ am reasonably pleased with.

∞ Draw more. I mean a lot more.

∞ Finish at least one original story.

∞ Get a fantastic portfolio together instead of the one I threw together overnight for my exhibition.

∞ Keep up with LJ more. I like writing and talking to people about fandom-y stuff. You'd think this would be the perfect place.

∞ Eat better and exercise. Yes, yes, standard inclusion.

∞ Get shit done. In other words, stop being lazy and get better time management skills.

I guess that can be it for now. I'll probably add to them when I think of stuff I should do.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T13:56:19Z

So another year has been and gone. I wonder if I make it my New Year Resolution to keep up with this journal, I will actually post more. We shall see.

But this year for me is a year of new things. I have finished my three years of graphic design and am now fully qualified (theoretically) which means I now have to go out and find a damn job, which has ominous overtones of me becoming, you know, an adult. And my car also started to make worrying noises to the point of failing to stay in fourth gear on the way home from a New Year's party. It's working fine now, of course, but I have a feeling I might be looking for a new car soon.

So yeah, those two things among others is making me feel like 2008 is the start of something different. The rest of my life maybe but that kinda happens everyday and I would rather not start with a cliche.

But we shall see what happens. Probably nothing if I am feeling particularly pessimistic.

Myth stains across the aether...

... and bloodshot eyes

Fanart: Steam [ SPN - Gen ]

Supanova Perth 2008!

mithborien @ 2008-06-10T22:35:00

HOLY CRAP!

Recs: Supernatural fanvids

Recs: Multi-fandom and miscellaneous fandom fanvids

Review: The Court of the Air

Things to recover

Fic: By the skin of my teeth [ Gen - PG-13 ]

Big Bang!

I never have any good titles...

Oh, the memories...

Vid: I was born on a pirate ship [ POTC - Gen ]

*twitches*

Vid: Beating like a drum [ SPN - Gen ]

mithborien @ 2008-02-12T20:20:00

I would die for you...

Vid: Hey man, nice shot [ SPN - Gen ]

Vid: Ma Winchester [ SPN - AU ]

Vid: A B Song [ SPN - Episodic ]

2008 Master List of Life

2008 Goals

Happy New Year!

twitches