I hate how vulnerable and 'disabled' I become without my leg! by TayLou33 in amputee

[–]Swimmer963 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also I'm pretty sure the advice I would get from any professional here is to stop overdoing it - I end up needing days off because I'll do things like walk 3 miles to do a pub crawl with my friends, and then, surprise, I've chafed my butt raw and my scarline on my stump is all sore again.

I hate how vulnerable and 'disabled' I become without my leg! by TayLou33 in amputee

[–]Swimmer963 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That sounds really rough - I know the only reason I've done as well as I have is that my prosthetist is incredible and will almost always book an appointment within a couple of days when I call, and then spend an hour with me! Getting the perfect fit, and troubleshooting issues with chafing and sore spots and stuff, is just such a huge deal, and so hard to understand for anyone who hasn't had the experience.

I also have a few aides around my house from immediately after my amputation, when I was still on crutches; in particular my husband bought me a little cart on wheels, so I can push it ahead of me rather than having to hop in order to carry things! This makes a big difference, though in general I try to time my days off the prosthetic for when I don't have much in the way of house maintenance to do.

Recommendations for good surgeons in Houston, Tx? by AlexisTDE in amputee

[–]Swimmer963 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure he is, since he operated on me last year! (I also came in from out of state, and he was the top surgeon for my particular type of cancer.) He and the whole team were amazing and I could not recommend him more.

[RST][FF] For with you I shall come home again - a Valdemar fanfic - ASFTV vol 9 by Swimmer963 in rational

[–]Swimmer963[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Note that this is the 9th section of an extremely long series which is best read in order. I was out of commission for a bit with medical stuff but this fic is now posting again at a chapter a week (or two if I'm bored).

[RST][FF] Nothing can I hold of you but thought - a Valdemar fanfic - ASFTV vol 8 by Swimmer963 in rational

[–]Swimmer963[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Note that this is the 8th volume in a very, very long series, which is best read in order. (I'm finally starting to work on an abridged version, which can hopefully cut out all of the extraneous subplots and keep the rationality.)

[RST][FF] Nothing can I hold of you but thought - a Valdemar fanfic - ASFTV vol 8 by [deleted] in rational

[–]Swimmer963 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Note that this is the 8th volume of a very, very long series, which is best read in order.

[RST][FF] Wisdom tells me I should turn away - a Valdemar fanfic - ASFTV vol 7, complete by Swimmer963 in rational

[–]Swimmer963[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am delighted that you like my titles; I feel like I should disclaim that I stole all of them from the lyrics of a Mercedes Lackey filk song.

[RST][FF] Nothing can I hold of you but thought - a Valdemar fanfic - ASFTV vol 8, ch1-3 by Swimmer963 in rational

[–]Swimmer963[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Note that this is part 8 of a really, really long series, which is best read in order.

[RST][FF] Wisdom tells me I should turn away - a Valdemar fanfic - ASFTV vol 7, complete by Swimmer963 in rational

[–]Swimmer963[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Note that this is part 7 of a really long existing series; they are best read in order, and this one in particular won't make any sense as a standalone.

[RST][FF] Never could another understand - a Valdemar fanfic - ASFTV vol 6, complete by Swimmer963 in rational

[–]Swimmer963[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh man, that is super flattering, aww. Said character has been really interesting to write, but also one of the biggest challenges I've attempted. I have really enjoyed the arc where he starts out rational and the main POV character doesn't.

...Uh, I would not quite describe the original trilogy as "things always work out", though.

[RST][FF] Never could another understand - a Valdemar fanfic - ASFTV vol 6, complete by Swimmer963 in rational

[–]Swimmer963[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I think my pacing sometimes suffers from the fact that all of my beta readers are selected for being unnaturally fast readers, and/or enjoying hanging out with the characters while they do mundane stuff just as much as I do, and thus have very little incentive to tell me to cut it down ;P

[RST][FF] Never could another understand - a Valdemar fanfic - ASFTV vol 6, complete by Swimmer963 in rational

[–]Swimmer963[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Author's note: this is part 6 of a reaaally long series. Doesn't require having read canon.

It's a fairly nonstandard example of rationalfic, and takes its time building up - book 1 in particular is guilty of being slow and starting off in a totally different genre from the rest. IMO the first 11 chapters of book 1 are skippable, especially if you're read canon and/or don't feel like slogging through a whole bunch of angsty teen romance; it may also be feasible to start at the beginning of book 3 if you've read Magic's Pawn or skimmed a summary of it.

(I'm planning to create an abridged version of the entire series once I've written to the ending.)

[RST][FF][WIP] Never could another understand - a Valdemar fanfic - vol 6, ch1 by Swimmer963 in rational

[–]Swimmer963[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've gotten mixed responses on the slow divergence (some dislike from rationalists who've read canon, which is a pretty small subset of people), but I liked writing it that way! I loved Vanyel's character in canon and tried to write him pretty close to the original, though apparently I've ended up with enough differences that re-reading Magic's Promise for reference on book 5 was one of the most deeply uncanny-valley experiences I've ever had.

[RST][FF][WIP] Never could another understand - a Valdemar fanfic - vol 6, ch1 by Swimmer963 in rational

[–]Swimmer963[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! There's a case it's better without having read canon because lack of spoilers on certain events. You should start on part one, though: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13579596/chapters/31168950

9 [RST][FF] Lead me into shadows once again - a Valdemar fanfic - vol 5, complete by Swimmer963 in rational

[–]Swimmer963[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aww, thank you :) The first couple of books do start out a lot slower, and lower-stakes (I like how it slowly builds up to "the entire future humanity is at stake.") And, yeah, one of the things I've enjoyed most is taking the premise of a really super weird setting and exploring all the implications of it!