NEW YEAR, HAPPY, UM, HAVE ONE

This year, how about let’s drop all notions of silly things like “resolutions” or “plans” and just huddle in our jammies in a blanket fort (heated or a/c’d depending on your location) with a good book and a cup of something eminently sippable, yeah?

When I was a kid I was always soooo excited to stay up and “watch the ball drop” ’cause there was some sort of indefinable magic associated with The Coming of the New Year!! 

Now?  Yeah, not so much.  There will be no resolutions or plans and staying up to watch the ball drop?  Nah, probably not.  Damn thing never bounces anyway…

New Year’s Day or Eve or whatever.  Yay.  So like is everything gonna ALLUVASUDDEN change because the date on the calendar did?  And if it DID change, would it even be for the better??

Between all the old, new, and future COVID variants and associated and/or unassociated health, financial, and weather disasters… there are just too many disasters running rampant for me to have any hope for that.  It ain’t like THOSE things will suddenly disappear.

*sigh*

Oh, 2022, I’d love to have oodles of faith in you and your magic but…

Srsly.  Don’t even look it in the eye… 

Eeenyway, what about y’all?  What are your New Year’s plans?  The night of, the day after, etc.?  Are y’all gonna bother with resolutions and plans and hopes and such?

Also, here is a place to tell us about the GOOD things that happened to/for you this year.  Acknowledging the bad is necessary for reality and mental health but we can ALSO acknowledge – and revel in – the good, too.  I hope plenteous good things DID happen for y’all this year.  Just because the universe flushed my life down the toilet doesn’t mean that I begrudge you your wins! 

LAY IT ON ME, BAY’BE!

Did you kick his/her unworthy ass to the curb?  Did you get that book/play/’script published?  Did you finally pop that hidey-ass’d “bone deep” zit?  Did you finally find a back-scratcher that actually works?  Did you manage to get that one specific plant to bloom?  Did you meet the love of your life?

TELL US!  Let us celebrate with you!

To conclude whatever this was, I really do hope you beautiful, glorious wee beasties have a thoroughly amazing year in 2022. 

I hope your personal Universes collectively decide to make up to you for all the bullshit of the last two years.  I hope your coffers are filled and overflowing with currencies legal in your area, that all your health problems miraculously resolve themselves, that any family/friend problems do the same.  I hope that all who are important to you accept you for the glorious entity that you are, and I hope that your imaginations work overtime to bring light and magic  and resolutions and that maybe, just maybe, you will have a truly fantastic year.

I wish for these things myself, and hope that all our wishes come happily, completely, and irrevocably true.

Before I sign off on this wonderment of meandering, I want to thank you for your generosity. Your kindness whether in word or in deed, or in both, means the absolute world to me. When I say that every little/huge/tiny bit helps, I mean it. It means my cats and dog can eat; it means my lights are still on and that I still have internet. It means I owe a bit less to the vets and to the leg people, to the ambulance people and the anesthesia company and the… It means I slept a bit better those nights. It means that you are priceless and beyond wonderful.

Love, coffee, goodwill and a non-shitty 2022 to all,

~Mer

UBIQUITOUS FUNDRAISERY THING BC FAKE LEGS/BOARDING FEES/MEDICAL BILLS ARE EXPENSIVE

Also a link but as a pic of my awesome furbebes (the ones who were boarded for over 2.5 months thus the humongo vet boarding fees since I had no one to care for them):

Go hug your pets. Now.

THAT TIME O’YEAR

This…post? collection of words?…whatever…has two functions.

First and foremost, I want to wish every single one of you magnificent creatures truly fantastic Christmas/Yule/Holiday tidings. I hope you feel the warmth, comfort, and festive spirit of this time of year. I wish you warm, cozy toesies and eggnog burps, spiced wine and the comfort of a firelit hearth, cold wet puppy noses and little kitten purrs, and most of all the joy – the “hug” – of the season.

Second, if you are just not feelin’ the joy, dude, I got’cha. That’s where I am, fam. It just ain’t happening this year either. I am just too <everything icky and negative> for the “warmth of the season” to have a chance to take hold. So, I get it. YOU ARE NOT ALONE, and there is nothing WHATSOEVER wrong with just plain not feelin’ it. Grump is the word, y’all. Maybe next year?

But that’s no excuse to ignore the eggnog and fruitcake and cookies, tho’…right??

All that being said, I wish you great tidings and eggnog, warm hearths, mulled cider and wine, gingerbread and sugar cookies, huge platters of favorite foods, warm buttery puffy pastries and jelly tarts, cozy blankets and lovely flickering candles. I want the best for y’all.

You deserve it.

You are absolutely the best readers any writer could ever want and I appreciate every single glorious one of you. You mean the world to me.

I’m vaguely mentally planning another post/whine session/group hug before the new year but jic not, HAPPY (effin’) NEW YEAR to you!!

(Srsly, fuck this year.)

Love and appreciation and all that warm and fuzzy stuff,

~Mer

*Had to redo the fundraiser thing b/c apparently they expire after so many days? I don’t understand modern life. Anyway, here:

Same fundraiser, different day

Just a THANK YOU!/update/other words

Here – catch:  a heart-felt (and probably painfully loud so you might wanna step back a bit…a little more…a little…ok, that should be about right) THANK YOU!!! to everyone who has donated to the GoFundMe!!!!

You are the very BEST readers and I absolutely appreciate every single one of you anyway, but your response to the GFM has truly blown me away.  Your support really does mean the world to me.

(I didn’t set the account up so I don’t know how GFM works so I don’t know how to individually thank the fantastic people who donated but I did want to thank you guys somehow!)

A better THANK YOU!!??

Eeeennyway…

The campaign has not ended.  I still have to go for daily super-strong antibiotic IVs (“infusions” or if you wanna be all medical, “infusion therapy”), bi- and sometimes tri-weekly doctor (usually nurse) appointments, and I have at least one (probably two but I’m hoping the dr forgets) more surgeries in my future.  (Oh, the joy.)  Bluntly, I’m doing a LOT better health-wise but I ain’t out of the woods yet – it was just *that* bad, previously. 

Here’s the handy-dandy link in case someone’s won the lottery:

https://www.gofundme.com/paying-it-forwardhelping-karen

Fic-wise, I *have* been thinking about my stories, especially The Moon and One Night.  Thinking…but not writing yet.   You’d think having to remain off my foot (and in/on bed/chair/wheelchair as I’m STILL not allowed to put ANY pressure on my foot AT ALL) for 23.5 hours a fucking day would be conducive to writing, however…it is not.  I’m still too damn frustrated over all this mess *to* concentrate effectively on all the ins and outs of my fics. 

(Why did I have to go and make them so dang complicated?  Granted they’re not nearly as complex as many of our other writers’ plots are, but still…*grumph*)

I did want you to know that I have not forgotten my fics, and I haven’t forgotten you guys, either.  This health mess is just taking for-freakin’-ever to resolve.  But it’s getting there.

Eventually.

Thank you again, and I really appreciate your patience, your kind support, and of course if, your hard-earned cash.   (You knew I was blunt, right?  I mean, rly, you knew this already, right? *innocent face*)

*snicker*

♥

~Mer

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One Night, Part Whatever, is up + OMGODRIC, YOU GUYS – THANK YOU!!!!!

Keep in mind that you guys are not allowed to yell at me because I’ll cry and get all red-eyed and snotty (srsly, I have a terrible cry-face), ok?  (ThisparticularNightwillhaveaPart5.)
(IfItellyoulikethisitsoftenstheblow,right?)

Pack a lunch.  And dinner.  And some snacks.  Oh, and you guys may wanna take notes as you go – this bad boy is…you guessed it…hella long.  You’ll see why I stopped it when I did.  It’s also why it took for fucking ever to get it out to you, too. (FLM told me to say that.)

So…you lovely readers who like long reads will be in Heaven.  You lovely readers who don’t…can take several breaks – just remember where you left off…  This Part happens within a relatively short time and contains funny-ha has, seriousness, a gasp or two, mountains, correct pronunciations, a Pam, a cat, a ‘vette, and maybe a couple of cherries (Eric refused to verify).  Proceed with vigor!  😉

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Now:

OMGODRIC, YOU GUYS – THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

When the fantastic Missingjasamalways commented to tell me to check out the YWB winners…I did…AND THEN I SCARED MY DOG SQUEEEING!  (Yes, “squeeeing” is too a word.)

Thanks to you fanfuckingtastic readers AND VOTERS!!!, I won 8 Awards!

That’s eight.  E.I.G.H.T.  7 + 1.  ***—>  8  <—***  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

That is 8 (EIGHT!!!) more than I’d had a hope to win, y’all, and it’s all because of YOU.  Did you see how fierce the ‘competition’ was?  (And by “competition” I mean that we’re not actually competing against each other – we may not all be best buddies but we’re hella more likely to support each other than not because there’s no NEED for any competitive feelings in our luscious fandom.)  There were so many amazing writers and amazing stories and you guys voted for me!
THANK YOU!!!

Can I brag now??  *pfft*  Given ALL the AMAZING talent represented in these awards, hell yeah Imma brag:

First and foremost considering the new Part linked above, here is the one for One Night:  PINS AND NEEDLES, Y’ALL – PINS! AND! NEEDLES!!!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot Award – Best One Shot

The Hybrid Award – Best Crossover

Rollercoaster Award – Best Angst / Drama / Cliffhangers

The Saucy Award – Best Sookie  (Woot!!  Go Sookie!!  Yeah, I’m totally seal-clapping here…oops, sorry for any flashbacks…)

The Flying Monkey Award – Best Villain  (*mwahahaha*)

Who the Hell Are You Award – Best Original Award  (Yay for Sevrin!!!!  He totally just grunted a thank you…FLM will verify!)

And last but hella-certainly not least:

EricIzMine Award – Favorite Author  (Ok, this one made me tear up a little/lot – you have no idea how very much I appreciate this.)

Really, thank you so very much for all the love.  It means the world to me that you find time in your day to read my words and let me know what you think, but that you even take the time to cast your votes for me blows my socks off.   (You did know I’m naked under my socks, right?  NO BLUSHING…!) Now go read and enjoy, and know you’ve made me very happy!

❤

~Mer

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YUP, THAT, & a short TEASER

It’s been bizzy over here in Meridian-ville, which among other things is also good for those of you who enjoy my scribblings.  So…in this ‘issue’ we not only have the YUP and the “don’t forget THAT I posted these things that WP may not have informed you of” bit, but…there’s also a TEASER for the next Part of One Night.  And I am totally evil-grinning over here, too, cause I know what happens in this chock-full Part…

Good *Newses!

*is too a word……now……

A WHERE-I-AM PLUS A SEISMIC THANK YOU

(I started to type this in all-caps so it would appear that I have more energy than I actually do but the constant need to correctly capitalize sentence starts and proper pronouns just made it look stupid so fuck that.  I’m tired.  There.  I mumbled it sorta out loud.)

First of all I want to thank my FANTASTIC, BRILLIANT, WONDERFUL, AMAZING, AND DID I MENTION FANTASTIC? readers for all your VERY much appreciated love and support of the new story!  Y’all have absolutely blown my (invisible, because it’s hot here) socks off with your comments and likes!  As you know I love replying to comments – it gives “us”, the reader and the writer, a great way to touch base with each other, plus you (the collective ‘you’) are such great fun to just chat with, too.  I love being able to do that.  Sadly, between lack of time and feeling like a bulldozed watermelon, replies to this last chapter of ON will have to wait.  Hence, this broad “thank you”.

Now, the five current WIPs all have bits and pieces in the process of being thrown together, and the epilogue/potential (PO-TENT-TSHEL) “future nights” for the (Awww, man, if I go with more nights I’ll have to change the name won’t I?  I dunno…not if I just do the odd night – the odd “one night”- here and there?  Fuck it, I’ll pull a Sookie and deal with it later) now-complete-but-maybe-not story is shimmering around in my oddly-vast brainbox.  

Now for the “but”…cause there’s always an ass involved…

Thing is, I’m one of those people who are sometimes very negatively impacted by the inflammatory response caused by sugar.  Yup – plain ol’ sugar – brown, white, turbinado, cane, beet…you know:  sugar.  As I’m T2 diabetic I usually don’t eat very much of it at a time anyway, so my tolerance to it nosedives.  Then if I, say, give in to the ‘need’ to bake a, say, peach cobbler with, say, too much brown sugar (hey, it’s cool when it caramelizes on the top!) then, say, eat too damn much of the damn thing, I pay like fuck for it for the next couple days. 

As you MIGHT can tell, it, shall we say, “negatively affects” my mood (any laughs that escape my cobbler-hole sound like a death warning), and Advil can only do so much to help negate the aches and pain response.

Dread may have a little bit to do with my desire to remain under my bed, too – my birthday is May 5 and GUESS WHAT:  I get to have a motherfucking ROOT CANAL on that day.  So yeah, the me of me is not a happy fucking camper.

Yay – the tooth will in theory stop fucking hurting.
Boo – it will involve a root canal. ..on my damn birthday.

Oh, and before anyone suggests that I ask the dentist for pain relievers to last from now till then, let me remind you that I live in the “”glorious”” Bible-Belt south where all medical personnel are far more afraid of “”enabling drug addicts”” than they give a damn about those of us in actual pain. Yhep, drug addicts are far more important than pain-ridden patients and doctors, dentists, and whoever the fuck else fearfully and with collapsed balls worship their beloved restrictions to an insane degree.  I vote we direct every ache and pain to those assbastards who would rather regulate against people in pain because they prefer to worship/”protect” damn drug addicts.  I have nothing either for or against drug addicts but damn, don’t make ME suffer because of their shit.

(I may be somewhat biased based on the amount of Advil I’m shoving down said cobbler-hole but GAWD FORBID doctors/dentists around here miss an opportunity to let someone hurt…)

Tolja I was in a shitty mood.  Hopefully after this next week is over I’ll feel more human/humane…nah, I’ll still be in a shitty mood…just might be able to better front it.  At least I never claimed to be all nicey-nice, though, right?

So, yeah, that’s where I currently am.  Have a better day.  ♥

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NOTICE AND *EXCERPT* OF UPCOMING STORY

Ok, so a while back I thought about posting a “thank you” story when the 500th person followed my blog (great choice, yo!).  Now, WP divides follow count into two sections:  blog and email, but for the purpose of this nefarious scheme of mine I’m counting actual blog follows since the total follower count would have risen far too quickly for me to have coughed up a decent story (it was well into the 600s total when this notion struck).

To that end, I’m currently 11,855 words into what will be a single-post long one-shot.  (Yes, there will be intermissions.)  This monster, The Night Eric Northman’s Life Changed Forever, begins just after Eric arrives home from Fangtasia the night he first sees Sookie and will encompass only that night (it’s a busy night).  As with anything I write, it goes AU at the speed of fangs snicking down and may include wee tiny tidbits from SVM.  This is written entirely in Eric’s POV with lots of thoughts and some snark.  Hey, it’s Eric, ya know?

Yes, there’s even a cat.

A little while ago my 501st follow just signed on board the WP express, so here’s a nice excerpt.  I won’t be posting the entire work until it’s completed but I expect it to be finished soon.

Without further ado, and to thank all my delicious followers (WP and email alike – y’all all smell fantastic, btw), here’s a little teaser that will MOST likely remain unchanged when the story is actually posted, but no promises:

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Once home from the bar, Eric Northman automatically headed straight to his shower. As financially pleasing as Fangtasia was, its accumulated stench was an entirely different story. Even when his “glaring from the throne” time was cut short, the reek of desperation mixed with too many chemicals still clung. Mechanically proceeding to soap up, scrub down, and rinse off, he let his thoughts wander through the night’s unusual events.

For the first time in…he couldn’t remember how long, the evening’s burdensome load of deadly, generic boredom had been shot all to hell.

Thank. Fuck. Even if it had included yet another raid for the crime of being vampire…

By this point he knew he would normally be fuming over the way money kept magically disappearing – for two cents he would suspect his accountant but the human had been glamoured to within an inch of his sanity so he highly doubted the man was capable of even stealing a pencil by now. That only left a scant handful of potential suspects and…his mental rant was interrupted by the memory of eyes that dared to directly meet and hold his own.

That was unusual in and of itself – that he thought of something different and that some young chit of a girl had dared to meet his gaze without flinching or fawning.

Vampires either feared him or were drawn to him, but either way they were innately wary of both his age and the power he naturally exuded. Same thing happened with Weres but with far less “lure” and far more “fear”, thanks be.

Humans were strange creatures. Most didn’t perhaps understand why they were both scared of and drawn to him, but they were and to an annoying degree.

Regardless, few dared to meet his gaze and actively hold it.

The girl didn’t seem to know much about vampires, though, which honestly should have made her even less likely to meet ones’ eyes since far too many of them knew about vampire glamour.

Damn publicity.

Among other things the way she’d held out her hand to Pam had proven a lack of intimate familiarity with his kind, but despite her nervous chatter she did seem to have a backbone when it came to those pictures.

Why was she going round shoving pictures of ugly women at vampires?   And why hadn’t fucking Compton filled her in on vampire etiquette, anyway? If she was supposedly “his” then that’s his fucking job. If you take on a human, you take on the job of educating them, damn it!

The fact she was on Compton’s arm said she was either stupid or naive, and Eric was pulling for the latter. Naive…he could work with naive.

As he toweled off, he caught himself almost grinning.

Compton actually thought he could keep such a tasty little drop of sunshine that intriguing all to himself? Moron must be more mentally decomposed than I’d originally thought.

What his disease of a Maker saw in him was the question of the ages.

But…what’s he doing in my territory anyway? Isn’t he supposed to be kissing someone’s ass in the darling queen’s court these nights? Something must be going on…he was trying too hard to be sly tonight…

For some reason that he didn’t bother searching for, he suddenly decided to shave off the scruffy beard he’d been sporting for a while. He glared at his hair as it fell into his eyes over and over again, but there wasn’t much he could do about it just then.

After donning his tracksuit bottoms and his silk robe, he padded into his office, grabbed one of his burner phones, and sent a text to his most dependable ear at the brat-queen’s court. If anyone could find out what was going on, it’d be Rasul.

He noticed a waiting text from Pam and checked it as he wandered into the den, then settled before his unlit fireplace. The option of having a warm flickering fire when he wanted it was nice but it wasn’t cool enough yet to warrant one – one of the many benefits of Shreveport, Louisiana.

***Bribed the bribeables and glam’d the humans, closed bar. Small fine, 2-night closure, blah blah blah. Taryn and her dinner weren’t caught but that bitch is going in a cage when I catch her. WTF was Blondie? Are there more where she came from? How did she know about the cops? I’m thirsty and I have her address – wanna split dinner?***

Eric felt something in his chest tighten at the thought of Pam biting the Stackhouse girl…

•~•0•~•

So…what’d you think:  Want more?   You know the drill – let me know what you think in the comments.  Have a great evening/night/morning, etc.!

~Mer

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Is this an April Fools’ Day Joke? Cause if not…

HOLE-Y CACA-PANTS…! You guys???  Thank you!!! 

I HAVE THE BEST  READERS EVER!!!  I can’t believe this!! 

A little birdie told me to go look here and because I’m sometimes a little gullible (and I totally trust said sweet little birdie) I did and – srsly:

HOLE-Y CACA-PANTS!!!!

DID YOU SEE??? DID YOU SEE??? —  DID!! YOU!! SEE!!??? 

You guys make me tear up in the good way!!

(Here are the nominations listed by Category.)

This…this has come at a very good time.  The Spring Frazzles have struck with a vengeance and, well, I’ve come to slightly envy those chickens running around with their heads cut off because at least they can’t see what they’re about to run into, so yeah, this…wow – perfect timing.

Thank you, readers-mine.   Really, thank you.  This has blown me away.  (I can’t believe it – even  TwiFuckery and A Parody in Three Acts are on there!!!  THAT IS FANFUCKINGTASTIC!!!!!  BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!  THANK YOU!!!!)

Shhh: Cheat sheet:

All-Time Favorite True Blood Fanfic – Blue Nail Polish
Favorite Comedy Fanfic – A Parody in Three Acts
Favorite Comedy Fanfic – TwiFuckery
Favorite Complete Fanfic – Blue Nail Polish
Favorite One-shot Fanfic – Playing for Keeps
Favorite One-shot Fanfic – Shall We Dance
Favorite Risqué Fanfic – Eric Northman: After the Show
Favorite Romance Fanfic – Blue Nail Polish
Favorite Romance Fanfic – Decisions
Favorite Romance Fanfic – Sookie Takes Charge
Favorite Romance Fanfic – The Moon
Favorite Work-In-Progress Fanfic – Eric Northman: After the Show
Favorite Work-In-Progress Fanfic – Sookie Takes Charge
Favorite Work-In-Progress Fanfic – The Moon
Favorite Veteran Author

According to the site, “Voting opens on April 11, 2016”, so, like, don’t forget and stuff.  In the meantime I’ll be sitting over here stunned, shocked, amazed, and most likely STILL grinning like a loon.  (Do loons even grin?  Well, THIS ONE DOES!) 

Check out the other nominees, too – I’m in some truly fantastic company over there.  (*I* just happen to have ALL the best readers, though…sorry, other writers…*my* readers totally freakin’ rock!!)

(How old do ya gotta be before “nanner nanner nanner” becomes TOTALLY inappropriate???  Just askin’ for a friend…)

Check out Gyllene’s nominations, and here is the All-Time Favorites list for True Blood.  Go check it out – there are SO MANY WRITERS listed – it’s like THE “Who’s Who” listing of the year!!

*raises giganto coffee cup*  Eric, Sookie, Godric, Cara, Andre (and Emma, she’s meandering around here somewhere still snickering at the Andre in Three Acts) and I salute you, your kindness, your great taste, your patience, your generosity, and your shimmeringly brilliant fantasticness!  😀

NON-CREEPY AND NOT-AT-ALL-AWKWARD HUGS ALL AROUND!!!!

~Mer

*Random pic of Alex as Tarzan as an after-blog mint*

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