Author Archives: Sam

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It’s NaNoWriMo time! My project this year is fanfic. That’s weird for me because I usually try and write an original novel. However, I’ve written next to nothing all year. Original just feels too serious and scary right now. I figured if I’m going to...

It’s NaNoWriMo time!

My project this year is fanfic. That’s weird for me because I usually try and write an original novel. However, I’ve written next to nothing all year. Original just feels too serious and scary right now. I figured if I’m going to stand any chance of writing then it’ll be on something fun.

It’s a Sanctuary fanfic (my current obsession). As you can tell from the cover it’s going to mainly feature The Five. Is it shippy? Maybe a little hehe 🙂 What can I say I want my OT3 to be happy.

Synopsis:

An infection, created by the evil Cabal, is sweeping through the abnormal community. Doctor Helen Magnus theorises that a cure/vaccine can be made from the source blood that gave The Five their abilities. Her father, Doctor Gregory Magnus, took the remainder of the vial away to secure it saying that only The Five working together would be able to retrieve it.

James Watson and John Druitt join Helen at the Sanctuary but Nigel died years ago and nobody has heard from Tesla since John put his fist through his chest – literally. However, before they can leave for the ruined city of Bhalasaam (where the blood is hidden) Tesla appears at the sanctuary. He confesses that they aren’t going to find the source blood where Gregory Magnus hid it … because he’s already retrieved it but the problem is he doesn’t have it anymore. Where is it? Praxis.

For anyone familiar with the show it’s mostly an AU branching from the season 1 finale. I’ve not seen past episode 3×15 yet so I may contradict any canon that is revealed after that point. Not that it matters as I haven’t decided whether to post it or not yet. This is mainly for me. Let’s hope it’s as fun as I hope 🙂

The NaNo Report: Day One

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Back by popular demand for an audience of one (aka me) I’m not just going to do NaNo I’m going to ramble about it too 🙂

Honestly I didn’t know what to expect out of today. Oh, I made some noises about a DORG (day one ridiculous goal) of 5k but in all honesty if I’d written absolutely nothing I wouldn’t have been surprised. I’ve been the living embodiment of “yours for the taking, and then you choked” all year long. The words have just not happened.

So the fact that I managed to write anything is cause for celebration. The fact that I wrote the daily target of 1,667 is cause for a massive dance party. The fact that I wrote a bit more than that? Man I might just break out the icecream. Talk about a red letter day.

I guess today proved my hypothesis that a non-serious project, based on my current obsession, would be the thing that did the trick. Thank you Sanctuary! 🙂

Words Written: 2,537
Current Total: 2,537 (as it’s day one)

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Ok that Voyager episode was basically just a filmed fanfic.

I bet whoever the writer was had fun.

I mean seriously, first the “stranded alone on this planet or we’ll die” setup. Then the storm which required lots of embracing. He made her a bathtub and then the unexpected visitor which required him to run out while she wasn’t properly dressed. It’s like trope city.

Definitely filmed fanfic.

It’s that time of year

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Ok let’s be real writing has been a disaster for me since November 2016. I tried to keep writing after it but within six months I’d ground to a complete halt. I’ve not successfully completed a single story, and definitely not NaNo, ever since.

2017. 2018. 2019.

All gone, didn’t happen, I don’t think I even attempted it last year at all. I had big plans for this year but well it’s 2020 – the year of the unexpected. I’m trying to not be too hard on myself for it.

Anyway, I’ve been going back and forth over what to do. NaNo used to be the highlight of my year, it used to be magical and I miss that feeling. I had some time to think this morning and I came to some conclusions:
1) not doing NaNo isn’t an option. I need to try. It matters to me.
2) whatever I write has to reach the 50k or I’ll feel like it doesn’t count.
3) I love my ideas I really do but I’m too scared to attempt them and if I try I won’t get very far.
4) I remember Her Happy Ending (yes it is story time).

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Ok so watched the Sanctuary webisodes last night.

That feeling of déjà vu I mentioned where they’d maybe re-used footage? Yeah that was only on a couple of scenes, the bulk of it was different including 100% alternate origin of John Druitt.

I am so glad that they changed it to The Five and the source blood in the TV show. I mean I know if they hadn’t that I wouldn’t know any different and I would be cool with the time travelling teleporter story but without the Five there would be no Watson? No Tesla? TV show did good with that.

Ashley was distinctly weirder/more bloodthirsty than I remember from the show. That scene in the kitchen with her discussing the kills? That was downright creepy. I get maybe they were playing into her being Jack the Ripper’s daughter a little bit but I’m pretty sure they balanced that better in the actual show.

Honestly what stood out to me most was the incredibly obvious (and in some incidences absolutely awful) CGI. Now I know most of the sets on Sanctuary (even the normal looking ones) are CGI but while I can usually tell if I think about it, it’s well done enough that I can accept it/ignore it. These webisodes? Man I was laughing. I get that as webisodes the budget was probably significantly less and honestly I am amazed at what they managed. It’s just it was pretty bad.

The title sequence was cool. Clearly Sanctuary has a knack for that because it’s great in the regular show too.

Interesting that it ended on a cliffhanger which was kinda resolved on the TV show but also not really. These webisodes technically never happened as the events were rewritten. I guess perhaps maybe they were hoping that would help with getting a series pick-up/more funding to produce more webisodes if people were wondering what happened next.

I’m glad I watched them. I’ve done similar with the original SG-1 Children of the Gods and the remastered DVD they put out. Compare, contrast, it’s quite fascinating really.

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Lol @ myself.

When I first started watching Sanctuary the juxtaposition of Helen (Amanda Tapping) with that accent threw me. It didn’t sound right.

I’m just watching some behind the scenes stuff and she has a real drawl and I thought “hang on what did Carter sound like?” So I pulled up some SG-1 clips (and I really need to watch stargate again) and that was the same accent, her natural one I’m presuming but now that sounds really weird.

/facepalm

Well at least I’m seeing Helen as a completely different character. It takes a quality actor to make me completely believe in them as more than one person.

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I found that my Sanctuary boxset included the original webisodes. I swear that they reused some footage for these for the rewritten episodes once they got picked up for TV.

My version of fun is spotting what I recognise and also pointing out what’s different.

Aka I’m watching these because I had a mighty need for Sanctuary and I’m trying not to burn through the remaining episodes too quickly.

My obsession is growing 🙄

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You know those stories you tell yourself when you can’t sleep? Alright ok the stories I tell myself when I can’t sleep :p 

Well at the moment I’m stuck on the idea of alternate universes.

Some people are born to be extraordinary. It’s not what happens in their life, they’d be incredible no matter what world they were born into.

So I’m currently playing with Helena ‘HG’ Wells in a world without a warehouse working with Helen Magnus at the Sanctuary because of course.

Or alternately the same, in a world with no abnormals or source blood, Helen Magnus would make an excellent agent for Warehouse 12.

Tesla was a big deal in both universes something which I’m sure he would be very smug about if he knew.

I just have a mighty need for these three (HG, Magnus and Tesla).

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I just made the mistake of looking to see how many episodes of Sanctuary Tesla is in and how is it only 17? I am sad.

But unfortunately right under his name there was Abby (of the annoying one I half ranted about last night) with 9 – 9! That means I have to see her 7 more times. That’s not sad, that’s tragic, that really does make me want to cry. Hopefully it’ll just be background shots or something so I can ignore her.

Anyway today for some reason I wondered if fanlistings still exist. I was big into them like 15? years ago (wow way to make me feel old self) and so I googled. Yes they still exist but obviously have majorly declined as there’s nowhere near as many I don’t think. It was funny all the notable ones I thought were missing. If I was still into that I could clean up but alas I no longer care. It’s just not my thing anymore.

Total nostalgia bomb though.

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This One Night episode of Sanctuary kinda sucks.

No Helen.

Abby is an idiot. I mean seriously she couldn’t find a phone? She just rushed back into captivity and she’s supposed to work for the FBI. How is that helpful?

I liked the Big Guy praising the Italian food. Better than? Oh yes. Seriously that’s the best bit of the episode so far.

Ok a little bit of Helen and her big picture thinking. That is making it more interesting after all. Plus with the schemes of his #2 running contrary to Helen’s plan. That’s too bad she got killed because in her own way she was trying to do the right thing. I guess it worked out because the Sanctuary could then arrest the bad guys and save the trafficked abnormals.

Awww I was hoping the end line would be Helen saying to Will “you’ll never know” because using her name wasn’t exactly cool. But I guess as Alfredo is pissed Will is going to have to steer clear anyway.

You know what I totally forgot. I watched Hangover before this obviously and that came after the city stuff and Tesla wasn’t there! It was obviously some time later as Helen had gone on a debrief about it. Still inquiring minds want to know whether Tesla was gone when they got back, or if he left once they returned. I’m thinking the latter because he’d want to be sure the job was done, he’d have a lot of snarky comments to make about leaving the best at home, and then I bet he snuck out next morning without saying goodbye having stolen something interesting, or at least taken several bottles of expensive wine.

I am in such a love/hate with Sanctuary right now because man I love it and I want to watch it so much! But on the other hand once I have watched them all then there is no more episodes – it’s a dilemma!