January, kind of a month. But I'm still around and trying to get caught up on my flist reading. I'm also updating my flists; if you're posting to both DW and LJ, especially if you only allow comments on DW, I am removing you from the LJ flist and strictly reading at DW. The balance of my reading is done on DW, I head there first, and I cross-post basically everything. (My goal is to cross-post everything, and I think I'm there, except for the fic lists I keep at LJ. Eventually I'll have a matched set on DW too.)

I know I missed a lot, though, so tell me, flist, what is happening?

For me, life has been busy and hard and frustrating, but I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about how much I love Fringe. OMG, I love Fringe and Olivia and Astrid and even Peter. Josh Jackson finally won me over, despite me not really liking him much and certainly not finding him attractive ever since Mighty Ducks. Olivia just makes my heart clench, and Astrid is so v. v. awesome.

I have been watching Criminal Minds, too, and though I've seen sporadic episodes throughout all the seasons, I sat down awhile ago to watch them in order. I will watch 2.07 "North Mammon" next, but you guys, my heart is a little broken with Elle leaving. Come back, Elle. I love you! I also love the way Garcia and Morgan talk to each other. I ship them HARDCORE, yo. Also, Morgan spends a lot of time tackling people. I approve. I would happily watch an entire show about Garcia and Morgan and Elle.

Castle has been ridiculously fun lately. (Dude, where are the poly stories about the excellent foursome going on there? And the slightly twisted and wrong but wicked awesome stories about Kate/Castle/Nikki Heat?) Bones, on the other hand, has been kind of meh, though I would love to see some threesome action there, too.

I have been playing Echo Bazaar again lately; for awhile last fall, I played it a lot and then Yuletide got in the way of my gaming, but I am back to it. So much fun. I am pretty far into the Bag a Legend storyline, which is AWESOME. Alas, I will have to start a new game specifically to focus on getting that damn threesome with the melancholy curate and his enigmatic "sister" which I almost had but then got impatient. Shocking absolutely no one, obviously.

I also reread Ultimate X-Men through graphic novel 12 and just reread Uncanny X-Men's Dominant Species arc. How much do I want to write about roving packs of werewolves in the X-Men universe? A LOT. Unsurprising, I know.

Also, and not really based on either of those things, I love Colossus so, so much.

So that is where my fannish energy has gone lately.

I hope to have more recs later this week, but first I wanted to talk about the amazing, wonderful story someone wrote for me. "Twinkie Run (The Stars & Gartes Remix)" is a fantastic remix of my "on the road with disposable comestibles". The author's Hank and Bobby friendship is perfect, just absolutely what I wanted to see in the movieverse, but that's not the only good thing here. Kitty is a great character, her personality shines out of the story, and Emma is absolutely, without a doubt, awesome beyond the telling of it.

Thank you, anonymous remixer. Thank you so much!

Everyone else, you should read the story. The Hank voice is excellent, and the whole thing just fills me with a wonderful glee.

(Still taking titles in this post. "mistakes we knew we were making" and "House Meets His Match".)

From apathocles:

'Love The Skin You're In', any type of Mystique fic. (Spoilers for X3.)

( love the skin you're in )

I'm going to have to outline this and think about it more, because I want to write it.

So this is a long, long weekend for me. Yesterday I worked the main job 8 to 5, and there was a tornado nearby and I spent the whole afternoon dealing with emergency calls and then I worked at CogCon 14 at the XGN table hosted by Pixelated from 5 to 11. Today I'm at the main job from 8 to 12 and then back at the LAN table until 11, and tomorrow I'm there 8 to 6.

So, if you're in central Missouri and are attending CogCon (you can get in free just to watch and see what it's like), come visit me. Today I'm wearing a green shirt with dice on the front and the saying "Choose your weapon", a long-sleeve orange shirt under it, and I'll probably be reading my X-Men trades behind the XGN/Pixelated table.

Yesterday when I took a break from the computer gaming (which I don't do most of the time, and so I played two different games for the first time yesterday, in public, and made a fool of myself as I flailed and was killed often--still fun, though), I bought some things. X-Men trades and two sets of dice, even though I'm not currently gaming. But one set was this pearly blue which I've been trying to find for two years now, ever since my original set disappeared. It was meant to be.

I also bought Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four, House of M, and Decimation: X-Men The 198. I read House of M yesterday, and oh, what an ending. I guess The 198 picks up right after? I hope.

Unfortunately, no one had any Ultimate X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, or Fables I didn't already own. I hope to see an update selection today, which is the main day of the convention.

It looks like 2006 is my year for conventions. I had never been to one before WisCon 30, and here I am at CogCon 14. That's not very many, but for my first year doing it, I'm pleased. (Would have liked to hit WriterCon and DragonCon, but there are other years.)

I need a nap. Instead I am going to drink my hot, sweet, milky tea (Tetley, provided for me by thestalkycop straight from England) and read my flist. I've hit a lull in the day, though there were plenty of calls first thing this morning. I need a nap.

X-Men

I think I'm writing two separate stories for the xmmficathon. I didn't intend to do this, of course, but I like both stories a lot. One is more developed than the other (and closer to my original idea on seeing the prompt), so I think I'll have to stick with it and maybe finish the other one later.

Of course, there's still a little while before they're due, so maybe I'll just write both of them. Who knows. I'm still really pleased with my assignment, and I enjoy writing it.

---

The Mighty Ducks

I feel kind of sick today, and even though I slept close to twelve hours last night, I'm already tired again. I'm glad I have the day off tomorrow, I didn't get anything done today except for a little writing.

So instead of being out with my friends, I'm at home watching D3, where the Mighty Ducks go to prep school. I've been thinking a lot about Queertet Revisited while watching it, of course, and I know more where Goldberg's plot thread is going, now. I always had a vague idea, but now I know more about his motivation. This is pleasing.

I also kind of want to write Julie/Connie after watching this movie again. Not in Queertet, of course, but maybe in a little one shot (which I hope won't turn into a mini-series like the Goldberg/Russ one shot did).

---

Horror Movies

I watch two complete crap horror movies today, though one was at least better than the other. thestalkycop recommended Black Christmas and for the first time with one of her movies, I have no idea why. Then I watched Woods of Evil, which had a good, if cheesy premise, but turned out to be way amateur. It was so bad moments were hilarious just because it was such crap--and I don't mean bad in that good way cheesy horror movies are bad.

---

I really should go ahead and go to bed, because I want to see how much I can write tomorrow, if I take regular breaks but don't have anything planned. I meant to do that today, but not feeling well didn't really help.

Turned in the Remix story, opened one or two WIP files, had nothing inspired to write, so then I decided to do more of the title meme thing. Which, if you'd like to give me more titles, I'd love them, I continue to have so much fun with this!

The original post about it.

Previous ones: "Whiskey Moon" (BtVS/Harry Potter); "Out of Time" (Lost), "Hustle & Flow" (BtVS/AtS), "OneStop Sales" (BtVS), "Not a Pizza Hangover" (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), "Blank Note" (Lost/BtVS); "Two Regrets and One Farewell" (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), "Daisycutter Blues" (Far From Xanadu), and "Toes to the North" (X-Men movieverse); and "Drive By" (Fast and the Furious), "Mis(take)n" (BtVS), "Love and War" (Lost), and "What I'm Trying To Say (Is Not What You're Hearing)" (Blue Crush).

From cadence_k

( Buffy and a Fast and the Furious/Buffy crossover )

From kphoebe

( X-Men movieverse )

The beginning of my responses to this meme: If you make up titles for stories I didn't write, I will respond with details of those non-written stories. Just think of the possibilities! (If you'd like to include details you'd like, pairings or fandom or something, do that too.)

There is still time to play, leave me a title or two or three or ten on that entry or on this one.

From kphoebe

"Whiskey Moon"

Okay, this grew ridiculously long and I am definitely writing it, because I've already done the outline and part of the details. (Harry Potter/Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover)

( cut for length and Half-Blood Prince spoilers )

Obviously this is going to take me awhile, and I have a shipment to check in, so I'll leave this for now. But wow, this is the best meme ever. Please come play! Give me a title and I'll give you some details (or, you know, an entire outline, depending).

saturniia just broke me.

She suggested Bill/Gambit/Oz for further red-hair sex.

Um.

Uh.

Erm.

Yes. Please?

I am seeing a guitar and dragonhide leather and a game of poker and smoke everywhere. Jackets scattered haphazard, shirts, trousers, boots. Lots of boots, black leather boots, brown leather, thick fingers, full lips, that slow grin (three different, but oh so slow and sexy).

Okay. This has to be written. A lot.

I need an icon. Or, you know, 100. Woah.

Fanfic Author Appreciation Week

Fanfic Author Appreciation Week: You post a fave author for each day, March 6 through the 13. Tell why you picked them, give some links to their fic, say why you love them, their work, why they need more appreciation, and just wax poetic about your favorite authors for the entire week.

Yeah, I got busy Tuesday and Wednesday and so missed my posts, but I'm catching up. I may continued to do this rec thing until I simply run out of new people to rec, because it has been much fun.

For day three I want to rec Victoria P. (musesfool). I'm sure she's been recced up and down and everyone on my flist already reads her work, but just in case you don't. I love her writing and she's the one who brought or helped bring me into a couple fandoms (and has me considering more), so I thought it only fitting.

Victoria's website is Achromatic. She writes in tons of fandoms and is probably one of the most prolific writers I steadily read. She is definitely one of the few I will follow into fandoms I don't actively participate in, even to the point where I'm not familiar with the source.

I don't even know where to start with my favorite stories. I first read Victoria in the X-Men Movie fandom, but I also love her Harry Potter stories and Lord of the Rings and Firefly and on and on and on. So instead of going through and explaining each fandom and detailing all the stories I like, I'm going to pick a couple from each. I think. This may change as I write, but who knows.

Harry Potter:

Breviary (multiple)
The Intimate Art of the Close Shave (Remus/Sirius)
Nothing Like the Sun (Hermione)
Older and Far Away (Remus/Xander) (My current favorite.)

X-Men:

32 Flavors (Jean, Rogue) (The first Victoria P. story I ever read.)
Bikini Kill (Rogue/Logan)
The Soiled Dove (alternate universe noir)

Lord of the Rings:

(I love her Éowyn, just to let you know ahead of time.)

Beguile The Melancholy
Blood Remembers
Bulls Eye
Clean, Cold Steel
In Bloom (Still my favorite.)

All right, shutting up now.

Has everyone seen the white trash beautiful Wolverine/Rogue story challenge? I'm very intrigue with these lines from the song, particularly the one in bold:

He lights a cigarette, his eyes half open
He won't be home tonight, but she keeps hopin'
Drinkin himself to sleep is his only way of copein'
She waits for him every night, she leaves the front door open
It's 4 AM and doin 95,
Tryin to stay awake and make it home alive

I think that's going to go on the writing platter next, once I finish my story for the remusremix. I should be editing "Darkness Falls", desperately, but I think I have the prologue complete, at the very least, and as long as I start posting it by the end of the month, I'll hit the anniversary of the series itself.

I'm so, so behind, thanks to work for not giving me one single day off this weekend. I close tomorrow night, and then finally have a day off on Tuesday, so maybe I'll get the remus/remix to the beta, finally, and get DF ready to go. At least the prologue and first chapter. And maybe I'll get to do some meta, and reply to some comments.