but the world shall end when i forget

So, we had a committee meeting today, and I swear to god, I thought someone was going to start throwing things. Writing the minutes up should be an interesting exercise in doublespeak. Board meeting tomorrow, and then I am done, DONE I TELL YOU, until January. I mean, I still have to work etc., but the craziness should abate. I hope. I am tired. And it makes it really hard for me to write. Witness the tiny writing round-up!

November 2009 Writing Roundup

swim in my blood when it's warm
Supernatural; Sam/Dean; pg; spoilers through 5.04; 3,434 words
Sam's seeing everything clearly now.

your ears tuned to the roar
Supernatural; Jo, Ellen; pg; spoilers through 5.10; 1,510 words
In which Jo grows up.

*

Top 5 Songs - November 2009

6. Levon - Elton John

5. Song to the Siren - Sheila Chandra

4. Set the Story Straight - Tom McRae

3. Somebody to Love - Glee cast version

2. The Shape I Found You In - Girlyman

1. Psalms 40:2 - the Mountain Goats

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BSG folk, you totally need to watch this vid about the frakked up relationship between Bill Adama and Starbuck: Like My Very Own Blood by jarrow. It's FANTASTIC. Creepy and utterly heartbreaking and just... takes the idea that Adama made Starbuck into his second son, his replacement for Zak, to its logical conclusion, including the damage it inflicts on her, him, and Lee. And of course Kara accepts it, clings to it - how does she know any better? *cuddles her* Really well done, and you know how bad I am at getting vids, but this one made total sense to me.

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Wow, I made it! I posted every day this month! I'm shocked, frankly, given how November exploded in unexpected ways, but I think it was good for me. If nothing else, it helped me break out of my non-posting rut, so while I may not continue posting every day, I think I'll post more than I have been prior to this month.

Random things:

- Snupin Santa begins posting tomorrow! I probably am going to stay up until midnight and post the first gift then, because I'll be up until 11:00 watching Castle anyway, so I might as well stay up an extra hour to launch the fest. PS: I <3 Castle and Nathan Fillion so freakin' much.

- Over the weekend, I discovered a new iPhone trick, which I didn't know about before. If I tap on a phone # in the browser, email, or notes, the phone will dial it. Excellent!

- My downstairs neighbor moved out over the weekend! I hope whoever moves in next doesn't play music loud enough to make my furniture vibrate.

I've seen people on my flist talking about which fests they're in and which ones they're following. I'm in four - Snupin Santa, HP Yule Balls, Yuletide, and Snapely Holidays - and I'll be keeping up with those, along with Harry Holidays and Kinky Kristmas. This isn't to say I'll be reading everything that's posted for all of those! Sorry, but no. There are certain pairings, genres, and kinks that I simply won't look at, which helps narrow the field. Time and energy permitting, I'm planning to branch out and try different pairings and to read Yuletide stories in the fandoms I'm most interested in, and I do plan to rec as well. We'll see how far my good intentions take me!

This entry was originally posted at http://scribbulus-ink.dreamwidth.org/518841.html. It's cross-posted to LJ and IJ, and comments are enabled at all three journals.

Title: Light as Iron, Singed as Pearl
Author: snegurochka_lee
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~13,800
Warnings: Dom/sub. Bondage. EWE.
Summary: The owner of the elite BDSM club M. had not gained his reputation as the most coveted Dominant on the scene by taking on just any riff-raff submissive who asked. It would take an unexpected letter to convince him to accept a new client, but it might turn out to be the biggest mistake he ever made.
Notes: Written for hd_career_fair last month for this prompt. "Thank you" does not begin to cover my gratitude to the divine marguerite_26, whose handholding, beta work and modly prodding went well beyond the call of duty.

Light as Iron, Singed as Pearl

Dear Sam,

I am trying to get you laid. It would be easier if you weren't such an angsty motherfucker. Stop being so difficult! It's sex! It's supposed to be fun! No wonder most of the porn I write is about Dean. He rarely gives me this kind of trouble. Why can't you be more like your brother?

frustratedly,

me

PS: Yes, I understand everyone you sleep with dies. I...am not breaking that streak. Um, sorry? I blame canon. Still, though. Sex! You should be less angsty about it!

***

Holy shit, Jane Lynch is doing commercials for X-Box in which she is in character as Sue Sylvester. And they sing "Carry On Wayward Son." And the mother is a fan of Greco-Roman wrestling (i.e., oiled half-naked men getting sweaty together).

I feel like this is some kind of crazy fannish collision. I am amused.

***

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Writing is hard.

So I updated unfitforsociety instead, with 15 recs for November 2009:

* 3 Supernatural
* 3 crossovers
* 2 White Collar
* 2 Harry Potter
* 2 Star Trek Reboot
* 1 each Big Bang Theory, Dark Angel, and Psych

***

Every time I listen to the Black Keys, I wonder why they haven't been used on SPN yet (if they were, I missed it). Dean could shock Sam by listening to something that was produced after 1979, but that still sounds like it came from the early '70s. Heh.

***

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I've finally updated Takes the Cake with another chapter! Between grading, other work stuff, Snupin Santa, and preparing for the memorial service, I've had little free time in which I haven't felt totally exhausted and brain-dead, so the editing process on this story has ground to a screeching halt. I've been working on it as I can, though, so it shouldn't be too much longer before the remainder is up.

Before anyone can pipe up to complain about posting WsIP in the first place:

1) the story isn't a WIP; it's complete. It just hasn't been edited.

2) I thought I'd be finished long before now! Normally, I either edit and post our collaborations all at one go or I edit quickly and post as I finish editing, which takes a matter of days at the most with a steady stream of updates along the way. Because of RL, things didn't work out that way, which happens.

All I can say is, it's not our usual pattern to string things out this long without regular updates, which I hope our readers realize.

Anyway, must zoom. I've got to get dressed and run out the door, but I wanted to post right quick first since I'm not sure when I'll get home tonight, and I didn't want to break my November Blogging streak this close to the end!

This entry was originally posted at http://scribbulus-ink.dreamwidth.org/518442.html. It's cross-posted to LJ and IJ, and comments are enabled at all three journals.

The holiday fest season is almost upon us, and along with it is the eternal question: "How do I give feedback on fest gifts?"

The answer is, there is no right or wrong way. The exception to that statement is when the fest in question has specific rules about feedback. The standard rule most fests have is "no flaming", which I think is a rule we can all get behind for obvious reasons.

"No con crit" is another rule I've seen popping up in fest rules lately, but I know that issue isn't as clear-cut as the flaming issue. Some people say gifts shouldn't be criticized while others say just because it's a gift doesn't mean it's exempt from critique. I don't really want to get into the pro/anti concrit argument, so we'll leave it at that.

So, yeah, as long as you're following the rules of the fest, there's not really a right or wrong way to give feedback. Now, that isn't to say that people won't complain or react negatively in other ways. For example, there are a few authors/artists who disdain squeeful comments and lament the lack of lengthy, "meaty" commentary, but they are in the distinct minority. The vast majority of authors/artists love feedback in any form they can get it, and "OMG that was awesome!!!" is just as welcomed as a 2 page treatise.

I think that more than any other time, fests - especially holiday fests - are a time to celebrate the joy of giving and to share in the pleasure of receiving. It's a time to be happy for the gifts being shared, not just with the recipient, but with everyone. Yes, that story/art was created for someone specific, but the rest of us are getting to enjoy it too, and I think that's part of the collaborative fun that fests generate. They give all of us more of what we want most, and I think we ought to express our thanks for that with a simple, "I enjoyed that. Thanks!" comment. It'll make that author/artist's holidays a little brighter.

With that in mind, I hope people will take the time to leave a comment on the gifts they enjoy in whichever fests they follow, especially people who are inclined to lurk the rest of the year. Fest authors/artists have been waiting for weeks, perhaps even months for their work to debut, so any feedback is a gift to them in return. As long as your response expresses your enjoyment, then there's no wrong way of expressing it. There's no such thing as too short or too simple, and you don't need a degree in English to leave good feedback. All you really need is enthusiasm!

For myself, I intend to do more reccing and commenting in December once things calm down at work and in RL, and I intend to continue into the new year, especially since I'm going to rec at crack-broom again in January!

This entry was originally posted at http://scribbulus-ink.dreamwidth.org/518269.html. It's cross-posted to LJ and IJ, and comments are enabled at all three journals.

The uploading continues apace. I am almost ready to stop for the evening and maybe try to write. Or something. I miss writing. It's been days since I did any. Sigh.

I was uploading a lot of the codas I wrote in season 2, when I was still in the first flush of fandom love, and wow, season 2 was good for codas. I think I wrote at least one (sometimes more than one) for almost every episode. I miss that, too.

*

Tonight for dinner I made a roast loin of pork. It was very tasty. I combined garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and basil in about a tablespoon of olive oil (for easy spreading), along with a couple of teaspoons of brown sugar and a large splash of vanilla (for years, I wouldn't tell my mother about the brown sugar and vanilla, and she couldn't replicate the taste. Heh.). Rub that on, top with a few pats of butter, and then cook until the internal temperature is 160°F. It was very tasty and juicy and good.

*

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1. RL/thesis-wise, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. As long as nobody rushes out in front of me and adds another X-million kilometres of tunnel, I should be emerging into the light around mid-February/early March. WOO HOO. And then there will be porn, oh yes.



2. I've seen those fannish wishlists being posted about the place. I am too addled to come up with one of my own, so for the moment, here's a Saiyuki-flavoured wish fullfilment for samsarapine who wanted haiku --  Hakkai/Gojyo, and the shortest fic PWP I've ever written:
   
   

   Up again so soon
   Gojyo wants to sleep but can't
   'Hakkai' means 'eight times'



3. Aaaaaaaaaaaaages ago, I'd said there was a fic written for this year's 7thnight_smut that I wanted to rec once it was public. It now is -- YAYs! It's "The Morrow's Island Horrors", a Gaiden-themed, Steampunk (STEAMPUNK! EEEE!) AU by whymzycal, which contains 10K (the public version contains even more Tenpou/Kenren) and it's delicious and everybody should read it. *pokes*



4. The Archive of Our Own is kind of awesome and fun. I've created an account for me over here, and am a little bit in love with how fabulously RED the site is, as well as the retentive geekery that's gone into the way you can search for fic, and break the search down by pairing (as an aside: I'm the first to upload Sirius/Crowley, and Sirius/Remus/Crowley -- go me!). This is a massive improvement on ff.net, aff.net, Skyehawke, and similar sites, in that I can actually find things on this one. My only 'criticism' at this point is that it's very fic-oriented. It would be fabulous if it eventually allows for meta/essays/manifestos/etc. But it's early days yet, so I'm happy to kick back and see what happens, while enjoying the red in the meantime :D



5. Did JKR release Book 8, and nobody told me? Failing that, has someone been poking the HP-wankers with a stick? Because something has got the Snape-fen and the Harmonians all riled up, to the point where there are three posts in one day across fandom_wank and the_hms_stfu. I was reading along for the lulz, but after getting to how Lily should have forgiven Snape for calling her a Mudblood while she was trying to keep MWPP from tormenting him, or how Remus has dangerous 'special needs' and shouldn't have been educated alongside decent folk (like Snape, no doubt) and should have been sent to a separate school for furries his kind, it just... We lost the funny :( {That said, this summary of the batshit!Snapefan's argument [and if you're not a batshit!Snapefan, then I'm not talking about you!] did make me LOL: SNAPE WAS A CUDDLY, CUDDLY, MAN AND EVERYONE EVER WAS MEAN TO HIM.



6. THANK YOU to everybody who responded to my 'hey, so tell me things about Hetalia and Weiss Kreuz' -- I am going to investigate both :D I should clarify that these aren't the only fandoms I plan to gorge myself on once the #@$%ing thesis is done -- just the ones where I wasn't sure what the source was, or where to find it. Other fandoms on my list include Loveless, Bleach (I had already tried it, and didn't find it particularly inspiring, but someone assured me it gets better after a certain arc, so I'll give it another go and stick with it until at least then), Full Metal Alchemist, Junjou Romantica, Antique Bakery, and Code Geass. This is not a complete list, but should be more than enough to keep me out of mischief for a while :D (Spoiler-free thoughts on yaoi all of the above are required welcome in the comments)



7. This was not on anybody's wishlist, but this seems a good a place as any to re-post it: a Saiyuki/WK "crossover" that I did for caeseria: ( CLICKY )



8. And to finish with, a Saiyuki/HP crossover that I put together for bigbangblackout at midnitemaraud_r's request: ( CLICKY )

*goes back to thesis*

This entry can also be read on my Dreamwidth Account, where the comment count so far is:

I don't really care about so much about the plots on White Collar. They just keep giving me tasty OT3 stuff and I'm content.

I've spent most of the day uploading stuff to the AO3. It allows me to feel productive when I can't write. I have too many goddamn stories, though. angelgazing pointed out that I will never be done uploading because I write faster than I upload. Though possibly this is no longer the case. I don't know. I have been having my usual late autumn/early winter problems getting motivated. Since the archive takes so long to upload, I am also rereading some favorite stories (I don't have to pay as close attention to rereads - I can skim and skip and be interrupted without losing anything, 'cause I've already read them before). I keep getting errors, unfortunately, which is slowing things down even more.

Technology is not my friend.

I know lots of people are excited by tagging their stories in all sorts of ways, but I am doing what I find useful and that's it. As long as I get the characters/pairing on there, and maybe if it's a casefile or an episode tag, that's about the extent of my interest. Maybe if I upload my HP stuff, I'll split the Remus/Sirius out by era, like I have it in my tags on LJ, but mostly I don't care about the tags. *hides*

Also, I wish there were a place in the profile to link to a warnings policy, and that that link could just automatically be included on every story. Because I am just using the "No Primary Warnings Apply" which isn't the same as "no warnings needed" but 99% of my stuff is "no warnings needed" and I'd like to be able to say that somewhere, since it isn't a choice on the warnings field. I guess I could make it a tag, but I never think of it. I wish it were automatic.

Hmm...

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Here's a piece of advice for anyone who is participating in any kind of LJ/IJ/DW based fest at any time of the year: when you email the mods, include your journal user ID, especially if your user ID isn't the same as your email address.

If your email address is the same as your journal ID, it makes things a little easier, but it would still be nice to include your ID nonetheless.

Here's the thing. Unless you communicate via email with the mods outside of the fest enough that it's reasonable to assume they know to associate that email address with you, chances are the mods will have no clue who's emailing them and will have to take the extra step of consulting a spreadsheet in order to figure it out.

When a fest mod is juggling 30+, 40+, 50+, or more fest participants, they are not going to remember who everyone is. They might not know you, they might not interact with you outside of the fest, or they might not remember. There are people who have participated in Snupin Santa just about every year, and I still wouldn't know them from an email address alone, much less know all the new people who rotate in and out each year.

So if a fest mod asks you to include your user ID and/or the name of your recipient in your emails, please try to remember to do it. It's not just a busy-work request; it can save the mod a little extra time (and let's be honest: a little extra irritation) if they know who they're dealing with straight-away instead of having to look it up. Trust me, trawling through a spreadsheet and looking for one person's email address out of 50-60 (or more) names is a pain in the ass.

This entry was originally posted at http://scribbulus-ink.dreamwidth.org/518068.html. It's cross-posted to LJ and IJ, and comments are enabled at all three journals.

Title: The Needs of the Revolted
Pairing: Sarek/OFC
Rating: NC17
Words: ~800
Warning: dubious consent
Summary: The kink meme prompt was for Sarek to get tired of his people talking smack about Amanda and Vulcanishly telling them to stick it. However, as it was on the kink meme, there is sex.
A/N: I have fooled with this a bit more (largely for clarity) since posting it over there last night while I was taking a break from the more substantial fic that is currently taunting me.

We went down to Salinas to J's sister's new place, and holy crap is it huge. It's got a nifty layout, and infinitely more space than their old house. We hadn't seen Natalie since before she was walking so it took a while for her to stop giving J and I the suspicious eye, but by the end of the night it was lots of carry-me arms, and where Sophie is usually all about her Uncle J, somehow this time I ended up with her hanging on me more often than not. I suspect it was that I was wearing a pink shirt so that boosted my coolness rating. It's interesting to see the ways her personality has changed now that she's a big sister. Sometimes I wish we lived a bit closer in order to visit more often.

Anyway, we hung out, ate food, played with dolls, tried to devise a plan to steal their adorable pug, and at the end of the evening I got the bonus of belated b-day gifts. See subject. I have also increased my fuzzy scarf collection by one, so I should probably put out some of the ones I don't wear often out onto the curb.

The drive was nice, and J and I talked a lot about the ways in which we'd like to focus on our projects for school and general creative things. I'm back to having a solid idea of where to go with my current assignments so I'm feeling very rejuvenated about them. Which is good, as I need to be doubly-focused this weekend, since I didn't actually get any extra days off, and the lab is closed tomorrow which is typically my dedicated time to go in and work all day on my homework!

Happy Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating! Happy Thursday to those who are not. I hope everyone had a lovely day, regardless.

My day began with BACON and PIE and ended with FOOTBALL and PIE, and in between there was stuffing and homemade cheese macaroni and turkey that was actually moist and tasty (!!), and more family shenanigans than you could shake a stick at. My brother was in rare form tonight, and basically had the whole table in stitches for most of the meal. Mostly at my expense, but eh, that's not new. and unfortunately, the Giants are capping off the day by sucking like unto a hoover, but I am too full and sleepy to care too much.

I am thankful for my family, my friends - including you guys - my health, and my job. Man, a year ago at this time, I was a week away from being laid off. I'm still a little freaked out by how that went, still anxious and lacking in confidence sometimes, but I'm so glad I found a new job quickly, and one that I mostly like, for people and an organization that I like. (I'm also grateful that I have tomorrow off and I don't have to use a day - it's one of our holidays. Mmm...sleeping in...) I'm grateful I have health insurance and can pay my rent and that I have an apartment I love.

I'm thankful for fandom, not just because of all the great stories to read and the feeling of having people who get my excitement about various shows and characters, but because of all the great people I've met and become friends with, who've made my life richer and better and more fun all around.

*hugs*

And also, I am thankful for PIE, and I would share some with you all if I could.

***

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I appreciate your industrious hacking away at the (somewhat-past-)due fic, but some of these errors of logic and departures from expectation as you go along are a bit ridiculous.

For instance, "building" and "bukkake" (of which there is none expected in this fic) are really quite not at all the same thing, and are not interchangeable.

Pls to type what (and only what) the brain says now.

Thx,
Me.

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It's the Pilgrim's Bounty holiday in Azeroth, with food-related daily quests and themed garments offered as a reward for fulfilling the quests.

Why, yes, as a matter of fact I do bring my penchant for cross-dressing to Warcraft.

( My Blood Elf Death Knight in a dress: )

I did get a turkey caller as a quest reward, which I assume lets you summon a turkey to kill in order to help you make the required turkey meals for one of the quests. However, when you summon the turkey, it arrives with a great big heart over its head, which promptly shatters when it realizes you aren't a prospect turkey paramour, and it's labeled "lonely turkey". I couldn't kill a lonely turkey! I just let it wander free and haven't used the turkey caller again because I felt so guilty.

This entry was originally posted at http://scribbulus-ink.dreamwidth.org/517717.html. It's cross-posted to LJ and IJ, and comments are enabled at all three journals.

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate it! Happy almost-the-weekend to those who don't!

Real post later, if time and family allow. Count one fly-by, lore. ;)

This entry was originally posted at http://scribbulus-ink.dreamwidth.org/517550.html. It's cross-posted to LJ and IJ, and comments are enabled at all three journals.

Criminal Minds

( spoilers )

***

Maybe I will try to write. I would like to post one more story this month, if possible, before I buckle down on yuletide and broken toys.

***

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I feel pervy for finding Adam Lambert, who is young enough to be my son, sexy and hot, but when he releases music videos like this one... Well, I'm only human!

This entry was originally posted at http://scribbulus-ink.dreamwidth.org/517343.html. It's cross-posted to LJ and IJ, and comments are enabled at all three journals.

So I have this thing where I reverse numbers all the time, e.g., I usually have to redial new to me phone numbers two or three times because I switch the order of the numbers, etc.

NOTE TO SELF: NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE DYSLEXIC WITH ROMAN NUMERALS!


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