This is my life

( This got a little long. Losers recs and yay-fannish-friends-story under here. )

And that's it! Hopefully next year I'll be able to keep it up like I did the first time around, but this will have to do for this year.

In your own space, ask for recs. Something as simple as "I like XYZ (where XYZ is a kink, a pairing, a trope, etc) - please rec me some."

I'm going to go back and do days 9-12, but in my own time. This one, though. Well.

Okay, if you've been hanging around here, you've probably noticed my downward slide into Supernatural. I don't think a lot of folks on the dwircle are massive SPN fans, but I know I have a few, and I know that at least some of you have read pretty widely. So what I'm looking for is Supernatural recs. Right now I'm not ruling anything out, so whatever you like, any ship, gen, RPS or canon, whatever you love, I want it.

My only caveat: please no character bashing, or killing of female characters to get to the boyslash. I know there is a lot of wife-hate out there, and there is nothing that will make me back out of a fic faster than hating on women.

I've had this sitting open for a while, trying to add more recs as I read more, but I've been a little unmotivated, sadly. But here are the ones I managed while I was still reading Christmas morning - plus a rec for a newly posted sga_santa fic! :D

Quite Ridiculous, QI with Stephen and Alan, of course, plus Mary Poppins, the Stig, and Sherlock Holmes. AWESOME.

Documentation, Dollhouse. Epistolary fic about Topher! Brilliantly put together and characterized.

The Bar at the End of the Fandom, AO3 tags. Delightfully meta, and spot on.

Someday, a delightful Elizabeth/Teyla written for Santa Madness. Yay more femslash! :D :D :D :D

...but the year's 25 funniest autocorrects had me in tears (hat tip libitina). I could not stop laughing, huge tears rolling down my face, like, steam-up-my-glasses I'm laughing/crying so hard.

Skittlefart. Seriously, how is that something that gets autocorrected to?

I GOT DRAGONS FOR MY sga_santa GIFT!!!!!!!!!!

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE DRAGONS!!!!!!

Okay, um. *breathes* Need to think of reasons other people would like it... okay.

So, there's really interesting worldbuilding going on. There's the dragons themselves, of course, and a glimpse into the structure of Captains and the service, magic, royalty - so much packed into this ~4500 word story! It's really solidly written, with some excellent description (see the note about worldbuilding above) AND DRAGONS. DID I MENTION THERE'S DRAGONS?!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so much love for this story!

Reclaiming the Sky over at sga_santa. DRAGONS! WORLDBUILDING! :D :D :D :D :D

(McShep, G)

Oh hey - the story after mine is femslash! Woo, off to read that now!

So, this year, lady_krysis and I wondered if maybe we could put together a Big Bang challenge in addition to our usual winter gift exchange. As usual, The Losers fandom stepped up, and how!

We allowed Bang works of any stripe, and then each Bang got at least one complement. Folks signed up in teams and worked their tails off to create 30 new Losers fanworks. There's a board game, a poem, a knitted gauntlet, and tea! In addition to awesome stories and art. Here are my faves so far:

Sheltering skies and stable earth beneath, a Jensen/Cougar poem by maharetr that is gorgeous. The story itself is amazing, but the subtle rhythm and wording, the visual look of the poem, the way it uses space - it's just fucking brilliant. Gorgeous. (You all know how I feel about poetry, yes? I don't like a lot of it - I have very peculiar, particular tastes, and generally I just say I don't like poetry because it's just easier than trying to explain. This? This is beautiful, a poem I can happily say I love wholly and completely, and is everything I love about poetry.)

A Million Darkened Kitchens, an absolutely gorgeous sketch of Cougar kneading dough by zoronoa. She draws the most gorgeous Cougar, and has a particular talent for his hair. This is the complement for a cooking fic that I'll rec below. It's gorgeous and perfect, and did I mention gorgeous?

Between Your Smile and Your Sleight of Hand by NewYorkReload is gorgeous and dark and just one of my favorite things. I love her brain when she does dark, and this is just... amazing. Jensen/Cougar, but not a happy version of them, where Cougar is a selkie.

Hack and Slash Gauntlets are a knitted project by theleaveswant. Mostly I'm impressed as hell that someone knit something for this fest. They're really cool - if I knit, I would totally knit them. As it is, I am likely to beg someone else to knit them for me.

One Two (beat that drum) is MINE MINE ALL MINE YOU CAN'T HAVE IT. Ahem. Sorry. No, I mean. I can share. It's a beautiful piece by zoronoa, based on a scene in the fic I am desperately trying to finish for my own fest - one where The Losers go to watch Roque perform a marimba solo with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The color choices, the use of red, the character details, OMG. So wonderful. I cannot even believe xie made something so gorgeous based on a scene I wrote. I cannot tell you how much I love this art - so beautifully composed and... gah. SO MUCH LOVE.

The Losers Explain Death Proof, an OMG HILARIOUS vid by franzeska. Seriously, I giggled all the way through this vid - you have to go watch.

Speaking of laughing your way through something, NewYorkReload's not-quite-high-school-AU, Ten Dollar Rock Stars made me giggle forever. It is just such a fun romp. Jensen/Cougar, because, well, because they're fun. Mama and Papa Roque are the best part, though.

The Losers - The Board Game is a testament to just how much fricking work zoronoa put into this fest. It's easy to get caught up on the first chapter - the beautiful board - but do go through and see the rest of the pieces and the rules. Astounding.

Millions of Suns is a fanmix bang. harpers_child made fanmixes for five Losers crossovers/AUs. Cyberpunk, Stargate, RED, Inception, and one where Jolene is Pooch (such a cool idea).

In All the Tongues of Men and Angels by coinin is a truly wonderful, warm fic that makes you just want to roll around in it. Cougar/Jensen, beautifully slow and warm and sweet, and just... heartwarming. I think I'll go read it again right now, actually.

I have not had the chance to listen to most of the podfic yet (there are 6 - um, most by me /o\), but if you love podfic, do take a look at Team Podfic! I do love lady_krysis's reading of katemonkey's Kill Game (which is a story I rec, too, because Losers + poker = brilliance!) - she's got a great voice and gives a great reading. katemonkey's Bang recording is on my playlist for the plane ride to work tomorrow.

Yeah, you heard me. I did something stupid with my contacts and I lacerated my eyeball, which caused me to be unable to play the concert on Sunday and miss two days of work so far this week. I can finally keep both eyes open for several minutes at a time, and wear glasses (that made me tear up something fierce until today). I may or may not go to work tomorrow, but I figure I'll be back up to scratch by Thursday and right as rain early next week.

In the meantime! Someone remixed my Last Minute Shopping (or Trials and Tribulations of the Pegasus Galaxy Mall)!

Bearing Gifts (1281 words) by pollitt
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Characters: Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, John Sheppard, Rodney McKay
Summary: There is an Athosian adage that, translated roughly into Earthen speech, says that the brighter a truth, the more in the dark those who hold it are. Teyla had never been a huge believer in the statement, perhaps because she has always cast an even eye on nearly everything. But in the case of her teammates... she’s never seen a truer example.

SO AWESOME!!!! Even better when read to you by someone.

And now my eye hurts again so I'm going to lay on the couch and listen to Happy Feet 2. <3

There were SO MANY good stories this year! Here are a smattering of the ones that really hit me hard. (OMG 48 NEW LOSERS STORIES! EEEEEEEEEEEEE!)

First of all, I got an incredible six stories, all of which are truly amazing, as I outline in that post (and this one for the one that came as a delightful surprise after the fest went live).

1. We Aspire to Be Reasonably Sane People, the first of a two-part series. I haven't gotten through the second part (it's 85k! there's an 85k word story in the Losers fest!), but this intro, a history of Jake Jensen and his sister, is amazing for all its bleakness. I can't wait to read the next part! The author chose not to use warnings, and it is very dark with things that would typically require warnings, so let me know if you want me to vet it for you.

2. Kill Game is a brilliant Team AU. Beautifully characterized and written, and suspenseful and POKER! I mean, just... I love this story like burning.

3. Grace is a beautiful story that is gorgeous in its fierce clarity. It's Jolene and Aisha being awesome. These are the women I love in this canon.

4. The Only Thing Left Worth Stealing is a surprising and pitch-perfect crossover with Once Upon A Time in Mexico. Agent Saaaaaaaaaaaaaands. And Roque. Amazing Roque.

5. Staring Down the Barrel is a gritty, plotty, gorgeous story about Team, about Roque and about zombie parasites! Or parasite zombies. Or something like that. It's brilliant and long and perfect.

6. I'm going to point to james's rec of hir gift on bestthingever. the dashboard melted (but we still have the radio)

7. Applied Force is a gorgeous, dark character study of Jensen and Cougar.

8. It Takes a Thief, a brilllllliant AU where Jensen's a cat-burglar. Amazing Jensen POV on this, and whirlwind pacing. I love all the AUs we got this year, but this and the poker one take the cake!

9. In the Dust, a Death Proof/Losers crossover that is some fantastic Pooch/Jolene. Love it, and I don't know the other source material at all. Pooooooooooooch. Joleeeeeeene. Love it.

10. Important Life Skills, Aisha and Jolene learning from each other. I love all the ladies that were in the fest this year!

OMG FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC! There are 49 new Losers stories today!

The Ante Up Losers: Fic Exchange, 21 stories

The Ante Up Losers: Fic Scramble, 28 stories

And holy crap, guys, I got five stories! I am blushing over here, because the embarrassment of riches, seriously. THEY'RE ALL AMAZING, TOO, HOOOOOOOW DO PEOPLE DO THAT?!!

My exchange story: Family Means No One Gets Left Behind (Except When It Doesn't), which is the story of my heart - Roque, post-movie, watching the team's backs, saving Jensen's life (twice!) and the beginning of what is undoubtedly a rough reconciliation. Not to mention competent!soldier!Jensen, which is a rare occurrence and much loved.

My scramble treats (OMG SERIOUSLY, FOUR OF THEM, WHAAAAT):

A Boy and His Dragon, a short Losers/Temeraire fusion that is amazing (everything is better with dragons!) not just because of the fusion, but because it's modern-day Temeraire world, which is brilliant.

Take You for a Ride Down the Mind Way, Baby (5 Fantasies of Jake Jensen), a gorgeous piece about five fantasies of one Jake Jensen. The Jensen voice in this is awesome, the way the story is woven together is perfect (I admit my preference for five things stories that are woven into a cohesive story is a button that's mashed hard here), and the ending exactly what I want, in every fic, ever. Also, the individual fantasies? ARE HOT AS HELL AND STILL GIVE AMAZING TEAM.

Stand Reborn (Before Us All), a Losers/Hellraiser (movies and the new comics) crossover. This story, you guys, omg it is so gorgeous, the language so evocative (and dark! which I love, but if you have sensitivities or triggers, please note the warnings), so terrifyingly beautiful... I don't know what else to say. If you like dark, or horror, please read, this is an absolutely magnificent piece. I cannot even come up with more praise, I'd just be chucking superlatives at you. Just, if you can, go. Breathe it in.

Four Coffee Morning, a missing (Cougar/Jensen) scene from the movie. It is pitch-perfect movie Cougar/Jensen, exactly as I see it in my head - slightly angsty but mostly not (despite the angst? I have no idea how the author does that), Jensen being both perfectly Jensen and yet smart and determined in a way sometimes gets lost in fic, I think (my own definitely included here). This is one of those scenes that my slash goggles just assumed was behind the scenes of the movie, and someone wrote it out, exactly like in my daydreams, and handed it to me on a platter. Perfect, gorgeous, beautiful Cougar/Jensen.

ETA: And another, OMG!

A Brief Conversation About Forgiveness, Roque and Jolene, post-movie, post-Max, a conversation that tells so much in just 242 words. Brilliant.

The Fandom Snowflake Challenge
Day 10: Sometimes you run across a creator and just fall in love with what they do. Maybe they're really good at what they do or maybe something about what they create strikes a chord in you. Either way, you end up just inhaling everything they've ever done. And wanting more, of course...*g*

Share a creator with us. It doesn't have to be your absolutely favorite creator, because I don't know about you, but I have a long list of absolute favorites. Maybe pick someone less well-known, or someone who does something unique in terms of media or pairings or ships or fandoms.

Okay, so, this is so tough. Because I would honestly, unreservedly rec half my flist. Names that I had half-written posts for: busaikko (she alone has expanded my fic horizons by whole galaxies), devildoll (as I've said before: the first author in SGA when I jumped in where I read absolutely everything I could get my hands on), anatsuno (if she's reading it, I'm listening to it), chkc (chibis that make me grin like a fool, gorgeous non-chibi art - sometimes with tentacles!)... the list goes on.

But my smaller fandom needs a little love, too, and while there are a bunch of folks in The Losers fandom that I love (omg, lady_krysis and james and katemonkey and JoeLawson, the list goes on for miles), the person whose writing makes me jump up and down with glee is:

storm_petrel

So, I may be a little biased because storm_petrel wrote me By daybreak we'll be gone for ante_up_losers last year. From the notes: This is the story about how Franklin Clay grew up, joined the army, and got a pack, mostly by accident, or, as my sister calls it, being a werewolf means never having to talk about your feelings. I love this story a ridiculous amount. It's Cougar/Jensen, with Roque/Clay sort of, and just, team. I love love love love this story to bits and pieces.

( Snippet )

And let us not forget the inspiration for my sga_santa lolcat fic: The first eight don't count. Jensen is a werecat. I fucking love this fic to pieces, and it is right up there with some of my classic SGA comfort fics when I need to curl up on the couch and make myself feel better.

( Snippet )

One last rec (though, seriously, just go to storm_petrel and read everything): These things get louder (or, five times the losers met the a-team) because as crossovers go, this is the one I wanted from day one.

( Snippet )

So, that's my love letter to storm_petrel. Go, go and read. And if you haven't seen The Losers yet, let these fics convince you - it's totally worth it. <3

The Fandom Snowflake Challenge
Day 2: In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you did not create. Drop a link to your post in the comments. See if you can rec fanworks that are less likely to be praised: tiny fandoms, rare pairings, fanworks other than stories, lesser known kinks or tropes. Find fanworks that have few to no comments, or creators new to a particular fandom and maybe aren't well known or appreciated. Appreciate them.

I think podfic is sorely underappreciated, so I am going to rec three of my favorites. I wish I could rec some for smaller stories/fandoms, but I don't have any handy and no time to listen (and this is already a day late).

Fireball (2:34:38), written by celli, read by shaenie.

Okay, so, this story is just fantastic, a brilliant NASCAR AU in the grand tradition of SGA AUs, wonderful and fast-paced and man, if there is a better reader for something like that, I don't know it. shaenie reads fast and wry and I could listen to her for hours and hours (this one is 2:34:38 and I wish it went on for five more hours).

Junk Cheap (1:11:18), written by devildoll, read by zoetrope.

This is another delightful complete AU by the first author I read comprehensively when I jumped into SGA. devildoll's story is gorgeous and wonderful and like a warm blanket and tea on a rainy day. Add zoetrope's wonderful reading and you could curl up with this on the worst of your bad days and feel warm and fuzzy.

A Beautiful Lifetime Event (2:56:54), written by astolat, read by anatsuno and
A Missing Scene for A Beautiful Lifetime Event (12:28), written by resonant, read by general_jinjur.

Delightful story and delightful missing scene. It's the classic McShep kidfic, and if you need more of an introduction to the story, I don't know what to tell you. anatsuno continues to be one of my absolute favorite podfic readers. Her pace and accent is music to my ears, and her voices are spot on – I love listening to her Rodney. general_jinjur is brilliant too, another favorite of mine. I like her accent too, though I can't place it, exactly. I have a thing for accents, maybe. Both of these readers are amazing – I'd go for anything either of them recorded, ever.

Just rain around here so far, no winds at all, not even a little.

I've been reading mcshep_match a day or two behind, but today's offering by Team McKay is A VID. To Katy Perry's Firework. WTH. It's also kind of amazing. I'm generally just awed by vids, but then, to produce one for Match? Seriously? That's ridiculous. It's so good. A Spark in You on YouTube, and A Spark in You, downloadable from the Match site (right click/save as). ETA: And when you're done, go here to vote on it!

I have thoughts on Match fic! But I am trying to finish my big bang so the recs will have to wait a little while longer. <3

+++ I am having prophetic dreams! One was a plain old stress dream (I'd rather that wasn't prophetic but what can you do), but in another, my old boss was in it. I haven't seen or thought of her in years. Then, the next day, she called me at work. My face: O___________O

--- I've been having zombie apocalypse dreams. I hope these do not become prophetic. Though we were very well organized for an apocalypse.

+-+ Lots of things have been reminding my of my dad of late, including a story I'm writing (for a crappy reason that makes me sad) and Father's Day today (for a good reason that makes me happy). Happy Father's Day to any dads out there.

+++ OMG tinypinkmouse MADE AUDIOFICS OF TWO OF MY STORIES, AND THEY ARE AWESOME! :D :D :D :D This post has both (plus seven other stories, including one by seperis). The stories are The Clusterfuck Job, Criminal Minds/Leverage crossover I wrote for intoabar last year, and by faith ye stand, my first Yuletide story in 2007. The fandom is Constantine - the movie, not the Hellblazer comics. The audioficcer is tinypinkmouse, and xie does a fantastic job and has an awesome accent.

+++ This has inspired me to try my hand at audiofic again. I am picky about my audiofic (and yes, I have not forgotten that I said I'd post audiofic recs - I totally will), so I'd like to try it myself so I can see why people do the things they do. And also, hopefully I will create something awesome, but that may be a few tries away yet. Maybe I'll get my first bingo for kink_bingo! I'd love it if that were the case. :D

ETA 3 more things

+++ Went to Green Lantern with meansgirl et al and had a lovely time. The movie was... eh. Pretty, plus Ryan Reynolds is nice, but there were issues, and soleta and I came up with a way better plot on the way home. They should hire us to edit their stupid scripts, I swear.

+++ The last two nights we've made delicious, delicious foods. Last night: salad with teriyaki pork, caramelized onions, avocado, granny smith slices and bleu cheese on a bed of mixed greens. SO. TASTY. Tonight, ribs and corn on the cob with strawberries and chocolate for dessert. NOM.

--- I have the headache from hell, I've had it all day. I rehydrated myself, stretched, and done everything but take drugs. I'm going to stretch some more, take some water and drugs, and try to sleep.