always been crazy

Work is work is stupid. Blah. But I don't have to go back until SUNDAY, and tomorrow is FOOD DAY, and I'm supposed to be packing that last corner of my bedroom but instead I'm procrastinating. (haha, I know, yall don't believe it, do you?)

LINKS!

Check out this awesome piece of artwork from howifall. The little details in her art are always fabulous; I love it.

And then go read Faces of Luck, the porny schmoop that irisgirl12000 posted from the girl!Brad/Nate 'verse she accidentally created.

And I did write a ficlet of sorts for irisgirl12000. She's already seen this, but Happy Belated Heather-birthday to the Internet? :)

645 words of Tomrad/SVV.

( Tom knows just how well Sean translates to film. )

So, apiphile said this: I need to find a comm for fannish discussion which centres on the quality, style, and execution of writing. Something which talks about how information is fed to the audience, about how things are paced, about the craftsmanship of the storytelling in the text (be it written or filmed) rather than the content of the writing/the story. I want to talk about how the author achieved X and Y effect, their choice of dialogue, their use of adverbs, their pacing and their sentence lengths, etc.

And by "not the content" I mean I don't want essays about how such and such may or may not have been racist, I am not interested in the social issues brought up by the story or the number of queer character or if women were correctly depicted. I am not interested in character detail or world-building at this point. I *am* interested in plotting processes and what evidence can be seen of particular types in a finished product.

And, after the chiming in of a few others, criticalfandom was created!

For:

Fannish discussion of media (TV, films, books, comics) which focuses on the quality, style, and execution of the writing.

Discussion of how information is fed to an audience, at what speed and through what means.

Questions about how particular effects were achieved in writing; about the craftsmanship involved.

Debate about how specific texts (TV, films, books, comics) could have been improved; whether extra scenes or fewer ones were necessary.

Discussion of dialogue, of adverb and adjective choice, of euphony, of authorial style, of pacing and of sentence lengths.

Questions about terminology are also welcomed.

Join and pimp so we can get the ball rolling and some content up in here. I'm excited for this. Talk about how your favourite stuff is written! YES.

(If you join... or hey, if you don't... pimping of the comm would be much appreciated. It's brand spanking new and needs members to make it work. PLEASE PIMP?)

(Credit goes to swear_jar for this post, b/c I am a thieving thief who thieves. And I like her words.)

irisgirl12000 is the bestest. Yall should go tell her so!

Four Eyes
GK glasses!kink PWP || Brad/Nate || adult || ~1050 words

(Also, hypothetically, if I were to write - or possibly cowrite - GK Alien Invasion AU, someone would read it, right? *sigh* One day I will find a fandom where I actually stick to my claims that I won't write fic.)

(Also, also. *points to icon* She is such a bad influence on me & I love her.)

Okay, listen up, yall. There is this verse that I absolutely LOVE, and I know that I've mentioned it here on LJ and also in our email chains and probably if I've had an actual conversation with you recently, but I don't think yall understand the magnitude of my love for this world that stratospherique and apiphile have created. (also, what does it say about me that my favorite places these past few months have been harriet_vane's schmoopy Johnny/Evan ideas and BPV, which are two worlds so completely opposite I wouldn't even know where to begin comparing them)

Anyway, the Brat Prince Verse is a series of stories created by stratospherique and apiphile, both of whom I love as writers and as friends. Here is the master list of links for the Brat Prince Verse. I should probably also link jumptheshark's posts on borderline personality disorder and mental illness, which are linked in the master post and which I also plan on including in my updated Author & Beta Resource Guide.

Now, on to an abbreviated version of why I love the 'verse. It is delightedly fucked up. It is probably wrong that I love it as much as I do, and that certain bits of it make me SO FRICKEN HAPPY, but it's okay because I'm not the only one who feels this way. I love that it's bits and pieces of their life together - Mat and Bob and Patrick - and that it's not in chronological order and that it's told from different viewpoints in different pieces. It makes it interesting to piece together. Also, the dynamic of their relationship just hits me in ways that I can't explain. Seriously, they hit kinks I didn't even realize that I have, or that I don't admit that I have. Some of it is really fucked up and dark. There is incest that is actually dirtybadwrong, and not in the dirtybadwrongsofuckinghot way of Wincest. Just... wrong and squicky and fucked up, which is how incest actually IS but isn't how it's portrayed most of the time in fandom. (don't get me wrong - I'm a total wincester, but this works on a different level) There are a lot of times that I question Mat's actions and thoughts, but at the same time, I can relate to some of them. SO FUCKED UP. But there is also the faildorableness of Mat trying to take care of a sick!Bob. And there is the kinkiest cuddle!fic ever that totally warms my heart. And there are pictures by howifall.

Seriously, give these stories a chance, even if you you're not into bandom. Hell, especially if you're not into bandom. I mean, it's AU anyway, and Mat Devine is tragically absent from bandom anyway, and I can provide you with pictures of the characters if you need.

( This is Bob Bryar. )

( This is Patrick Stump. )

( And this is Mat Devine! )

So, GO READ and be sure to leave some love for the authors! Or the artist if you're checking out the associated fanart!

Also, bug stratospherique for a new Kill Hannah primer, or at least a better picspam than I could come up with b/c I'm easily distracted by shiny. ;) I mean, it's not like she's busy with school or anything...

So, I decided against making an actual mommy/auntie filter for now. That may change after Illy is born, but for now yall can read if your interested and skip if you're not.

1. Ronnie is on an 'action plan' to put more effort into his schoolwork (yall know what a hard time I've had with him ALWAYS), but now, because he's getting extra attention for it, Davey is failing stuff ON PURPOSE so he gets that extra attention to. Parenting fail, wtf. I'm not quite sure what to do.

2. work!Amy is in IL for the weekend - her hubby graduates from Navy boot camp tomorrow - and Robbie is in Atlanta for the weekend for some video game thingy and Brittany is off tomorrow, so it's just gonna be me and work!Heather. Here's hoping for a quiet Friday. :)

3. Baby shower on Saturday. I apparently have one more prize than I do games lined up; anyone have a suggestion for a good baby shower game?

4. Somehow, I find that I'm going to be head coach for the boys' soccer team? idek. It's only one hour, twice a week, starting next week and going through the end of May, but still. I'm not sure how this happened or how I feel about it.

5. wendy posted a picture of this rainbow wedding dress from this rainbow wedding and I'm kinda in love with it.

6. starflowers wrote Bob/William fic: Prettier Than All The Rest

7. gelsey is doing hp rarepair drabble challenges for her flist. The challenge from last Friday is:
~ Severus Snape / Ginny Weasley
~ "One's first love is always perfect until one meets one's second love." Elizabeth Aston
~ doppelganger, repeat
~ portion, attempt, gaze
~ Pretty When You Cry by VAST
~ Janie's Got a Gun by Aerosmith

8. apiphile wrote A Guide to Mentally-Ill Thought Processes and also linked this post about "getting help" by naamah_darling. I highly recommend both of them to every single one of you.

9. last night, ashlein made a post asking for Draco/Neville recs, and I was like "Hey, I wrote that once!" But then I had to find it, and apparently I never actually linked it from my personal LJ after reveals were done at hpslashnotsmut last year? idk. But here it is.

Jump to Conclusions (note: while that is a line from an Empires song, I don't think that's where I got the title from? possibly, though.)
Draco/Neville || PG for a few curse words || ~2700 words
Draco’s keeping secrets from Neville.

10. A meme, as tagged by thedogstarlives several days ago. First: If you've been tagged, you must write your answers in your own LJ and replace any question that you dislike with a new question. Second: Tag eight people. Don't refuse to do that. Don't tag who tagged you.

( questions under the cut )

Tag: I don't know who has already done this, so if anyone hasn't done it and would like to, have at it! ♥

How bad is it that every time I see a news report about a dead body being found in Rke, I hope it's my ex?

Ugh, I need like an extra four or five hours a night to play online. Seriously, internet (and my flist) is what keeps me sane, and I have been SO FUCKING GRUMPY because I'm missing out on that. I can't even keep up with text messages or twitter, which I think I've bitched about before. Idk, I'm just whining.

In happier news, Illiana has dropped, so something soon we're gonna have a BABY! *excited* My brother and I are assembling the crib tomorrow night. This is Harley's last week at school until after the baby is born. My baby may be 8 years old, but I still remember being 8 months pregnant and miserable, so I feel bad for her.

I know that some of yall are wanting copies of the gifts I bought for myself (pictured in my last post), so here's the info:

Nameless by copperbadge (this is my third actual copy of this book, and I have the pdf on my harddrive, lol. I would happily give you my copy or buy you a copy of your own if you asked. &Sam;)

Heartsongs by jackiesjunkie

Know Your Words by apiphile and friends

the Awesometasticalness tshirt

the Chronophagids tshirt

Now, do I want to go reread fic (it feels like a Thursdayverse kind of night) or write? Hmmm....

I don't follow football, so I've been watching reruns of Criminal Minds on A&E all evening instead. &BAU;

I also listened to Tom Conrad on Q101.com and heard the debut of Empires' new song. Can it be Tuesday now so I can have that song for my own?

Lol, I started to type "can it be Friday now?" Apparently I wanna fast forward this week!

FIC RECS:

Radial by philomel
SPN, Dean/Sam + the Impala. NC-17.
Beautiful fic showing how Dean feels about his car and his brother.

Princess of Dragons by gelsey
HP, Charlie, Victoire
Charlie is made Victoire’s godfather upon her birth, and he becomes an intrinsic part of her life. (such a lovely bit of writing, I love Charlie in this)

I'm feeling better, thank goodness, but work is still kicking my ass. I really, really can't wait to get my laptop, b/c spending time on the internet is soooo much easier when I can do it from bed. This computer chair in the middle of the living room isn't exactly the most comfortable seat in the house.

I have 2 outstanding fics for bandomvalentine. One of them is written and betad, but I'm not sure I'm 100% happy with the ending so I'm working with citikitti on that. The other, I thought I had it figured out but I'm not sure I do. But apparently we're getting another 8 to 10 inches of snow on Friday so I have all weekend to work on it.



Now, as promised. LINKS!!! Things I enjoyed, things I wanted to go back to, things I think need to be shared. Whatever, a big mishmash of STUFF. :) (if anything doesn't work, let me know tomorrow. I'm off to bed after this.)

In the neverending list of reasons of how my flist is awesome, there is this article in Voice of Youth Advocates is about copperbadge and Nameless and the Extribulum process for publication. (sidenote, if you haven't read Nameless, you can buy it here or download the pdf for free here.)

Related to Lulu, BUY THIS BOOK! Know Your Words, a book of poetry written, including contributions from apiphile. (there is also a facebook page for this book, fyi)

strangecreature, as is her way, drew this fabulous little comic of adorableness with Pete and Patrick. (she has a way with words as well, and in my links I found this poem that I quite liked)

howifall is another excellent artist. here is an example that makes me ridiculously happy.

Fic Recs

irisgirl12000 wrote Generation Kill fic! I have no idea who these characters are, but she and vic_ramsey promised to catch me up to speed on GK as soon as I get unlimited internet access again, bless them. Either way, I'm sure there are some of you who are familiar with Generation Kill, or with irisgirl12000, who would be interested. Strong, Strong Wind, Nate Fick/Brad Colbert, ~2100 words, PG-13

apiphile has been writing original fic based on prompts from sexisnottheenemy, and I haven't gotten to read them all, but this one I particularly like. I think there's a lot more to the story there, before and after, and am kinda intrigued by what it is.

The Night Has Gone (Tell Me We Can Stay) by ashlein. Obviously, I'm biased b/c I beta'd it, but I'm also quite fond of Cash Colligan's ridiculousness.

Dueling Practice by gelsey. Harry/Pansy, Harry James Potter could never refuse a dare.

Convinced by sinsense. Mikey/Pete, outdoor sex, written for no_tags.

Stealing Kisses by harriet_vane. 6000 words of always-a-girl Brendon/Spencer first-time awkward teenage sex. Who could resist that?

I'm not sure WHY this was sitting around in my to-be-linked stuff for so long, but whatever. Yesterday Upon the Stair by phaballa. AI RPF | Brad/Adam | Adult.

coda to SPN 5x11, Martin-centric, written by acidquill

This one may be flocked, but pixel_0 wrote preseries dean/sam that I actually really liked (and we all know that I'm not a big fan of preseries wincest).

GENERAL AWESOMENESS

Picspam of awesome by fallintosilence! Now pictures! Of rainbow things and awesome gay rights protests/marches signs and just a general gay-themed picspam to remind people why this is so important.

fab_feb_friends

Three cheetahs spare tiny antelope's life... and play with him instead. (via wendy)

exsequar's recap of Gold Motel show, with pictures!

Frank in hats picspam by morebliss

Open Heart Savouries from ihavecake's Horror Kitchen blog.

Everybody's Free to Be Fannish by elizah_jane. Tips for surviving in fandom. Someone linked to this, probably wendy, but I'm not sure. Regardless, definitely worth reading.

In other news, I found some random William/Travie/Tom porn written in my dayplanner? I blame irisgirl12000.

1. So bandomvalentine, a Bandom Valentine Fic Challenge, has just been set up by reni_days, playfullips, and ashlein. Both sign ups and prompts are now being taken so you guys should head over and check it out. Even if you're not a writer, you can still totally leave a prompt. Also we are accepting art so you're more than welcome to sign up for that too. Anyway, if you guys could let pimp this in your journals that would be awesome. Thanks ♥

2. I read Zihuatanejo, which is Shawshank Redemption fanfic that was recced on copperbadge's lj, and I highly enjoyed it.

3. I got pulled for Correspondence at work, so starting tomorrow I don't have to be on the phones. I get to sit there and process shit for 8 hours a day WITH MY IPOD! I'm pretty damn excited. :)

4. It's just about time to start getting excited about Big Bangs! secretlytodream created a wonderful vid trailer for the 2010 Big Bang over at spn_j2_bigbang. Please go watch and tell her how awesome she is! GET EXCITED!

5. harriet_vane is made of WIN and when I hit the lottery, I'm gonna pay her to be my full time story teller.

6. Today is a certain sexy tattooed bassist's birthday. Where is all the Jepha!porn?

7. The Fifth Annual OWL Awards are upon us! See the Announcement on the OWL home page to start making nominations! (this is copied from twitter, b/c for some reason I can't access the Tauri pages from my computer tonight? idk if it's just me or what.)

8. valerie_z made a wiki for Rancid lyrics! To quote her LJ post: If you'd like to add any interpretations or thoughts on songs please feel free. RancidLyrics.net. You don't even have to care about Rancid. You can just think of it as discussing poetry except all the poetry is about poverty and alcoholism. Yay!

9. You know you've been in fandom too long when you're watching Paranormal State and start slashing Ryan and Sergey. Also, did you know they sell Starter Ghost Hunter Kits on A&E.com? :P

10. WINCON 2010 IS IN CHICAGO! October 15-17. I wanna know who (besides wendy) is planning on going, or would be interested in going with me? (see wincon for more details)

If my crackberry decides to quit being fucktarded, I'll be able to post this.

1. You know those little fics, or even pieces of fic, that just stick with you? Sometime in the last week, I read this fic by battleofhydaspe and it has stuck. It's Empires fic (I'm pretty sure I associate her name with the other awesome Empires fics I've enjoyed) and you should definitely go read it.

2. Work!Heather bought me a Harry Potter wand for Christmas. It lights up & makes sounds & is motion activated!! Lol. Work!Amy got me a quotes calendar. <3

3. Got a txt message from my brother's wife today that they're pregnant. Actually, I got multiple txts. She's a little excited. I'm gonna have THREE new nieces/nephews in 2010! Isn't that awesome??

4. I wore my smores hoodie to work today & Robbie was like "is that a Clandestine hoodie?" And when I said yes he was like "does that mean you like Fall Out Boy and Cobra Starship?" Um, duh. *g* Then he said he only knows Cobra Starship b/c his wife is obsessed with them, but then we got busy and I didn't get to talk non-work-stuff again with him. I kinda wanna facebook-stalk his wife now though.

5. I made a comment on twitter earlier about Crash being schmoopy (and yes, I did just totally name smush two of my bestest friends!) and then my phone stopped working. Twitter isn't updating, my emails aren't coming through, and txt msgs in/out are sporadic. :(

6. I know RMG is gonna wait til the last possible day to send out W2s. I need my tax refund!! LAPTOP!!

7. My back is less sore today, but my wrists hurt like mad.

8. I uploaded pics of Ronnie's bday party at the science museum & of the snow this weekend if anyone's interested. They're on my facebook - I'm tabbycat6380 on there if you need to find me & friend me. :)

9. I have santa gifts in my storage building & idk if I can get to my storage building b/c of the snow. They didn't plow their lots.

10. I have fics to post for the wip amnesty thingy but I have to be able to get on the actual computer to do so.