Post Mortem

introduction

Let's get this party started, shall we?

I'm Meggie. I use she/they pronouns.

I'm a second-generation Filipino-American and was lucky enough to have been born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, surrounded by a wealth of diversity (and incredible food).

I'm a Virgo. My birthstone is peridot. I was born the year of the Gold Goat. My favorite animal is the sea turtle. My favorite land animal is the wolf. My favorite colors are teal, green, and purple, and my favorite number is 24.

I'm an ENFP. I have some mad ADHD. Aaaaaand I went into the Pottermore beta with a list of rationalizations why I couldn't be anywhere but Ravenclaw, so guess where I ended up? (Note: While the Harry Potter series was a huge, formative part of my childhood, I strongly disagree with JKR's viewpoints on the transgender community. This is a safe space.)

I majored in theatre arts with an emphasis in performance and special interests in musicals, Shakespeare, and dramaturgy. I also met my husband in the theatre, and what began as a "little showmance" is now a partnership that has lasted 10 years and weathered a global pandemic, the loss of a parent, and a miscarriage.

At the moment, I'm taking a break from higher education to raise our daughter, who is currently just shy of a year and a half old. Perhaps it's cliché, but I was one of those people who always knew I wanted to be a mom, and I'll never take for granted the privilege I have to be able to stay home with her while my husband works.

That said... one-year-olds, while very cute, extremely energetic, and incredibly time-consuming, are not exactly the most interesting company. It's difficult to have a meaningful conversation with a tiny human who still hasn't quite learned what her eyes and elbows are. LOL

So I have a lot of pent-up creativity itching to come out. I've been role playing for the better part of two decades, starting on Neopets and making the jump to Harry Potter forums. The last decade or so, however, I've mainly been focused on rping The Hunger Games.

The premise of the novel and subsequent film franchise is hardly original. From William Golding's The Lord of the Flies to the Japanese novel, Battle Royale, and all the way back to the Minotaur's sacrificial virgins in Greek Folklore, the thought of children or teenagers killing each other is an idea firmly embedded in the public psyche. There is something about the morbidity of the entire idea which both disgusts and inspires us, and Suzanne Collins executes it fantastically in her novels.

Despite the heavy subject matter, or perhaps because of it, the stream of character, arena, and storyline ideas never runs dry, and with the release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes book and film, I've definitely noticed a resurgence in the original trilogy's popularity.

Which brings me back to Wattpad. While I've loved RPing for the last 20 or so years, it is, inherently, a collaborative effort, and as a stay-at-home parent, I just don't have the time to keep up with how quickly the cycles move on Hunger Games forums. It's something like 3-5 months per Game, with a couple months dedicated to the character development in the Pre-Games, and then a week per in-game day once the tributes are in the Arena.

Which is... a lot. And I very often have the inspiration, but life (see: my toddler) often gets in the way of posting consistently (see: 3-10 times per week). It's frustrating to want to write, but not be able to keep up with other people's schedules. More than once, I've unfortunately had my tribute killed off before coming to a satisfying storyline conclusion because Life got in the way for a couple weeks.

So here we are on Wattpad. Writing Hunger Games fanfiction. Because creative minds must create, and Mama needs an outlet.