Mid-Ohio Race Weekend and Pirates fic

I'm back from Mid-Ohio race weekend at last, and have one article written and sent out. That leaves me three to go, one to Cycle News, one to Flat Track Illustrated, and one to The Classic Motorcycle. Fortunately, the Cycle News one is basically just a rewrite of the first one, so it should be done by tonight.

Mid-Ohio was fun, as always, though I have to admit that being surrounded by the constant drone of engine noise for four days gets a little old. Also, there were a lot of crashes at the road races this year, though happily my Dad wasn't involved in any of them, and there was only one fatality (luckily, no one I knew). I have to confess to being much less fond of road racing than I am of dirt track. I have this superstitious fear that, since I can only see part of the track, my Dad will crash out in some turn where I can't see him. I realize that being able to watch him the entire time in dirt track doesn't make crashing any less likely, but it makes me feel better. Plus, racing is more fun to watch when you can see the entire track--that way, you don't miss anything.

*sighs *Mid_Ohio always reminds me so much of Sirius and Remus--I keep half expecting to see them somewhere, walking through the swap meet or riding through the infield on the Black Bitch. A good-looking late-thirties guy with long hair on a black motorcycle, or a slightly greying Brit with a big black dog. You have no idea how many biker guys loosely fit that first description. Of course, I didn't see them, and every time I thought of them, I was only reminded that Sirius was dead *sniffle * I did, however, see a 1951 Vincent Black Shadow, and am forced to agree that CSL is right about it being the perfect bike for Sirius. However, all my dirt track experience has made me pretty much a Triumph and Harley girl, so I'll stick with the Bitch (1969 Triumph Trident).

In addition to my first Mid-Ohio article, I've also finished the last chapter of part one of my X-Ev arc (it can be found at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1369662 ). Now I need to set to work on the middle of the arc, the part I'm co-writing with draqonelle.

And finally--I have found decent Pirates of the Caribbean stuff! *dances gleefully * I have discovered (probably somewhat belatedly--I'm sure other, more observant people know about it already) adultfanfiction.net, which has far less crap and plebefic than it's namesake. I confess to being somewhat afraid to dive into the eel-infested waters of ff.net for PotC fic, but I finally did, at AFF.et and FF.net and found three gems.
Barter, by Lynn. A vastly entertaining fic halfway between comedy and angst (well, it's funny if you're twisted, like me) that explains exactly how Jack got those rumrunners to take him off that island. Swearing that he would do "anything" to be rescued was probably a bad idea.

An Eye for a Bargain, by Nimue. Actual, decently written Pirates het, which was something I had despaired of finding. A delightful picture of Will and Elizabeth's relationship, a thoroughly evil Norrington, and a hell of a lot of misery for Jack. Plus, a female OC who, though she skirts the boundaries of Mary Sueness, never quite becomes one.

Zatlatzonco, which is apparently some completely unpronounceable and unspellable Aztec word. By Chesire. It's a Jack/Will/Elizabeth threesome! *dances about in glee * Well, they haven't exactly gotten to any sex yet, but it's got a decent plot, a plausible premise for getting Will and Elizabeth out to sea again, and some fairly good characterization and writing.

Poor Sarah

Bad news on the Sarah front. We found out today that she's in the Academy's infirmary with pneumonia. Apparently, she caught it a day or two ago and last night her tent mates turned her in. I'm glad they did--she probably wouldn't have admitted to being sick otherwise, since I know she would have been worried that she'd miss part of the training and have to repeat basic. My Mom called the doctor there, who said that it was bacterial pneumonia, not viral pneumonia (good, because this way they can treat it with antibiotics instead of just alleviating the symptoms, as they'd have to for a virus). He thinks she should be out in a few days, and since there's only a week of basic left, hopefully she won't have to repeat anything.

It's funny that it was a chest infection that landed her in the infirmary, after we all worried so much about her ankle (she's had stress fractures several times in one of her ankles running high school cross country). Chest colds, bronchitis, and such are usually my province--I generally have a chest cold throughout most of the winter. (Bit of advice, if you are coming down with bronchitis, and have just bought yourself a new black duster, don't convince all of your friends to watch Tombstone with you, unless you really want to spend the next few days being called "Holliday" and "Lunger").

On a more positive note, here's a snippet of "Original" fic (actually a thinly disguised Harry Potter AU heavily based on my "Gravity" and "Scars"). I figure that if I change the names enough to un-Potterize them, move the setting to a sort of AU of WWI England, and play around with the characters' backgrounds and the "Wizarding World" concept a bit (for one thing, get rid of Diagon Alley and the word "Muggle"), I may be able to produce a marketable, non-copyright violating story. Four years on the Western front is a fair substitute for Azkaban, don't you think?

( Sean Black, Boardtrack Racer )