This is my life

I got SO MUCH cool stuff, you guys, SO MUCH!!!

Everything from gluten-free recipes to lots of cute and fun graphics for season's greetings!

monanotlisa gave me hedgie wallpaper, omg I LOVE, leesa_perrie made a gorgeous and perfect snowed in picspam, and lightbird gave me a lovely Christmas tradition story and set of beautiful snowy pics.

As if that wasn't enough to make me smile to the ends of the earth, a few lovely people made fanworks for me, and they are all so good!

valarltd gave me a lovely 3-work Leverage OT3 rec set (the fic is amaaaaaazing Parker.

lilly_c made me Big Hero 6 icons. (;salfkjsa;dlfkjas;ldkfjs;ldfkj BAYMAX. BAYMAX AND HIRO. :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D I AM GRINNING SO BIG HERE!)

tarlanx made a gorgeous Cas & Dean wallpaper. (Ugh, Cassssssssssssssssss and Dean unconscious, just... ugh, so perfect.)

mific expanded upon her Leverage OT3 tentacle art to add a little spicier version. (Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh OT3 + tentacles OMG OMG OMG!!! *claws eyes out*)

omens arted me Jody and Donna having movie night. (;ssdkfljads;lkfjas;ldfkjas;dlkfjs;dlfkj fffffuck, Donna and Jody, I don't think you understand - Wayward Daughters is the only SPN shirt I will wear in public with ABSOLUTELY NO SHAME.)

curiouscorvid's fic Silver Balls is a hysterical outside POV on Destiel decorating the tree naked (off a flailosaurus prompt). SO. ADORABLE. So cute, so much awesome Sam in a Destiel fic. LOooooOOOoooooVE.

parcequelle made a Leverage/Buffy fusion, where Parker's the slayer, Sophie's the watcher, and Eliot and Hardison are the scoobies. The One Girl Job is both amazing in terms of how well the crossover works and also in how sweetly heartwrenching it is in such a short, seemingly silly premise.

I will NEVER not ask for Nightside stuff in fandom_stocking because a couple year's back, I got the amazing Teddy Bear's Graveyard about Jessica Sorrow from anonymous_sibyl, and this year, I got a ficlet about John/Suzie/Eddie from katarik where they are SO PERFECTLY DRAWN. HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS?! I have never received a fanwork in the Nightside fandom that hasn't been amazingly done. And some year, someone is going to make me Dead Boy art, and I will die.

senmut wrote me the most delightful Jenkins backstory ficlet in the Librarians fandom, and I absolutely looooooove that mostly it is not actually giving us any backstory. It's such delightful characterization, and THE LIBRARIANS!!!! :D :D :D :D

And last, but oooooohhhhhh so not least, citrusjava made me THE MOST PERFECT Wincestiel/Project Runway fusion/crossover/thingee!!! I Know Who You Did Last Summer has Cas making SOCKS. SOCKS. I DON'T THINK YOU UNDERSTAND. *cries* And then Sam losing it and Cas and Dean going after him and just... no. THIS IS PERFECT. *clutches it to chest*

I am so so so so grateful for this fest every year, you guys. I just love making stuff for people (list under the cut, because this post isn't about that), and then I get all this amazing stuff in return, and just seeing the outpouring of fannish joy makes me tear up. Every. Year. *happy siiiiiiiigh*

( Stuff I made this year, two podfics and six fics in SGA, Leverage, a Buffy/Heroes crossover, and, of course, Supernatural. )

I got art for spn_j2_xmas from omens!!!!!! OMG AMAZING!

It is so so so so good - Charlie, wheee, with just about every art technique known to man. It's Charlie/Hermione, and seriously, JUST BRILLIANT. It's so amazing you guys! It's on the AO3 so go on over and take a look and tell omens how amazing it is! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

( So we made limoncello - sort of. )

( ALL THE GROOT! )

( I've been to Six Flags Great America four or five times over the last couple months and the only thing I got was this lame SPN not-really-joke. )

( Does this mean it's bigger on the inside? )

( And tonight capped my whirlwind tour of Philadelphia awesome restaurants. Or maybe tomorrow will. )

And two things that have been sitting on my desktop forever, which I'm throwing out there in the world because I don't want to wait anymore.

( Voice posts! )

I'm no longer drunk (sadfax) but I am tired, and I have to get up early tomorrow, so that's it for a sleepy Kate. Hope you enjoy!

There will likely be a long long post about work, but not now. I don't want to think about work right now, at all.

I do want to think about the house we just saw on sale - we weren't really looking for a house yet, but... well. I have a week off (because work thing I'm not talking about) and after our dentist appointments, I think we may look into buying a house. Wish us luck.

BUT! I made a thing! I am writing episode caps for all of the Supernatural season 9 episodes for episodic_supernatural, and for 9.12 I wrote a short called:

miles to go before I sleep (490 words)
Fandom: Supernatural
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester
Series: Part 11 of Supernatural Season 9 Tagathon
Summary: Sam's thoughts as they head for home.
Author's notes: How awkward that car ride home must have been. Thought I was going to write Dean's POV but apparently Sam had something to say.

Which, okay, I whip these off in just a few minutes, half hour tops for a little polishing, but this one... I really like this one. And then colls asked to podfic this, and NOW THERE IS A PODFIC!!! And the Sam voice is just perfect.

Title: miles to go before I sleep
Author: kate
Reader: colls
Length/size: (2:56, 1.5MB)
Characters: Sam, Dean
Episode: 9.12 Sharp Teeth
Download link and streaming at the entry linked above

The best thing ever, yay! YAY YAY YAY!!!!

sylvia_locust made a podfic of Take the Long Way Home, my piece from spn_j2_xmas. I am so proud of that story, you have no idea. And now there this podfic, which is so brilliant!

Podfic of Take the Long Way Home.

And my comment on the reading (and cover) because it's amazing:

Holy cow! That cover is amazing - exactly what I was picturing!

This is brilliant. I love your reading so so much, so many things, a sort of forthrightness to Dean's internal narration which is exactly how I hear him in my head, and then his actual dialogue is perfect - exactly like he sounds in the show.

Also, my very, very, very favorite thing is the way you read "Sam" and "Sammy" - infinite variations but always so full of all kinds of emotion, just like Dean.

I just got my spn_j2_xmas gift, and it is DEAN AND COUGAR! :D :D :D :D

It's a ficlet PLUS ART, OMG, and she has captured the pair of them so well, both in words and in the art. It's sad-ish (no more than the show or the comic, maybe less than the comic? Maybe not) but it's very them and it's a lovely, lovely piece. Please go take a look and tell hir how great a job xie did!

A Hunter And A Sniper Walk Into A Bar.

Best. Idea. EVER.

So, many many years ago, I wrote a Supernatural ficlet when I had only seen a single season. I was prompted with "Radio" and well, of course I wrote Sam singing along to pop music while Dean was sleeping. So, imagine my surprise when rabidly watching all the following seasons, that Sam and Dean do actually sing in the car, and also Sam listens to non-hair metal music. I gloated gleefully in each of those moments.

Right now I am making my posts for the night and then I'm going to settle in with one episode of SPN - 6.15, The French Mistake, which I hear is amazing. I saw about 2.3698 seconds of it in the previews of the last ep and decided to save it for tonight (as it was after midnight last night and I was already going on 36 hours without sleep). Also, a fic bunny with teeth the size of dracula tore into me, so I'm expecting to finish the ep, turn off the iPad, and write my third SPN fic ever.

Oh, right. I wrote my second SPN fic as a SPN/Losers crossover for elliemuraski's fandom_stocking. Femslash, and I'm really rather proud of it. I like the other two things I wrote too (and the Arrow/The Voice not!fic I ruminated on for celli), so here's links to those.

( Details on two Losers stories and one Losers/SPN crossover story under here. )

And now I get to gush about the AMAZING presents I got.

I got several lovely graphics for good wishes and IOUs (man people are clever!) as well as just general happiness and recs (multifandom vids and Leverage OT3) and a link to Steve/Tony/Pepper at the AO3 and then...

I got a gorgeous podfic cover for Fill All My Bones with Aches by somehowunbroken, a lovely piece that really captures the mood of that fic and is so so so perfect.

I have no idea how I got so lucky, but I got this amazing Clint&Natasha buddy art from astridv - look at that! It's amazing! Just another day at the office, hahaha, it's so perfect!

Then there's this amazing Cougar/Jensen artwork by the lovely tarlanx, with Cougar's gun and the coloring and the brushstrokes and gaaaaaaah! It's a shared gift with amaresu, and I'm pretty sure we're both pretty much floored.

IDRIS ELBA GIFS. From maharet83. I mean, seriously. SERIOUSLY. That man is more good looking than any two hundred people. And with the licking his lips. These are amazing, and perfect, and I absolutely did *not* drool on my keyboard, nosiree.

This lovely Hardison/Lucille fic, Frost, by jenna_thorn, is just such a lovely and sweet and perfect depiction of Hardison and his van, with a lovely Eliot thrown in for good measure.

merryghoul wrote a delightful little Leverage/Top Chef crossover ficlet that stars Tara and Sophie! Top Chef Quickfire. This is the most perfect quickfire in all of history, because they have a history and it all comes out in two teenie weenie amazing ficlets.

And if that wasn't amazing enough, anonymous_sibyl made me JESSICA SORROW FIC. I had to scrape my chin off the floor. And it's perfectly voiced - it comes right out of the Nightside, and the ending (Suzie) will make your heart clench. The Teddy Bears' Graveyard. Gorgeous.

Oh, but that's not all! moonlettuce wrote me an amazing Phil/Clint five things fic! It's heartwrenching and heartwarming and just amazing, and man, I am just over the moon, what can I say. A Laundry List of Trouble, awesome.

As if the Idris gifs weren't enough, the lovely maharet83 made me eight gooooooooooooooooorgeous Leverage icons that I cannot tell you how much I love. SO MUCH. I would've used one for this post, but...

clavally made me five Supernatural icons starring Castiel and Sam's hair. I can't even... I just. *cries*

And on that note, I've done all the work, read the dwircle, put my Fandom Snowflake Day 9 on hold, and am going to settle in with my one ep of SPN tonight. There may or may not (likely not) be fic tomorrow.

ETA: And that was the biggest build-up to nothing. It won't play on the iPad. I can get it to play on my computer, but there's no sound. Apparently someone doesn't want me to watch this.

I have many thoughts and feels and no time. I'm settling in at the new job, so I'm able to do some things (recording podfic is nice and easy and doesn't stress me out), but I haven't got the energy to do a lot of the things that I will hopefully get back into as the summer wears on.

My podfic bigbang is live! Strangers on a Six Train (story link) by eye_queue and art for the podfic by cybel. Clicking on the art will take you to the podfic link at the AO3 where you can download/stream. If you're having trouble there, here is the podfic big bang link for downloading (there is a M4B there too - the AO3 only has an mp3).



Also, as a way to get lady_krysis into recording podfic (it totally worked, HA!), I read my own story, Fill All Thy Bones with Aches (podfic is here).

Lastly, because chkc is awesome, xie made art for a cover of my reading of lavvyan's Issue of Cuddling (story link - click on the art to go to the podfic). Click here to comment on chkc's art.

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

Okay, so, there is a MASSIVE rec coming for physicsandballistics's 85k Losers story (it will be pages long - I am NOT EVEN KIDDING), but until then, I got four of the most lovely surprises today.

1. zoronoa drew Cougar as Uhura from my story Crossed Wires.

Look at this shit! Click on the thumb to go to the full picture on zoronoa's journal and leave her wonderful comments!



2. When I got home, I had a lovely conversation with physicsandballistics which lead to me telling her never to throw away stories, OMG, and to prove me wrong, she sent me a story she would have thrown away. A LOSERS OFFICE AU. Which I promptly betaed and made her post. A Cry for Help, it's totally my fault, go and read! It's a delightful just-under-3k romp. COUGAR IS A LAWYER. 'Nuff said.

3. Then, aislinn_m (who is one of the people I flailed to about #1) COLORED zoronoa'S ART.

Look at this shit! Click on the thumb to go to the full picture at the AO3 and leave her wonderful comments!



4. Then, zoronoa's muse got all excited, and XIE posted a coloration of hir art! No thumb here, because it's on the same post as the sketch - go there to see both and tell hir how amazing xie is!

WHAT IS GOING ON?! THE UNIVERSE HAS OPENED UP AND SHOWERED LOSERS GOODIES ALL OVER ME! :D :D :D :D

The Fandom Snowflake Challenge
Day 7: In your own space, create a list of at least three fannish things you'd love to receive, something you've wanted but were afraid to ask for - a fannish wish-list of sorts. Drop a link to your wish-list in this post. Maybe someone will grant a wish. Maybe you will grant a wish. If any wishes are granted, we'd love it if you link them to this post.

It's really tough for me to ask for things. Like, it embarrasses me and it's one of the reasons I never do any of those spiffy writing memes (I'm also terribly certain that no one gives a crap about what I write and is less than interested in doing anything with it - which is why I was so deeply pleased and thrilled with those requests to link works the other day). But I'm doing this challenge, and so, here are things I am embarrassed to admit I would really, really like.

1. I would absolutely love transformative works of my transformative works (including art, podfic, fanmixes, translations, craftworks, remixing, continuing, or changing the story itself, anything) for any of my stories, any of them, seriously. But the one thing I want more than anything in the world, is art for Kinky Boots: the image of John, naked except for thigh high leather boots. That is the only time I've written a story from a single image I saw in my head, and to have that image be out in the world would be amazing.

ETA: OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG LOOK WHAT danceswithgary made me!!!!! <333333

( Cover for Kinky Boots! )

2. I would like some very specific Criminal Minds recs. This fandom is tough for me, because so far what I've read just doesn't work for me. For one, I love the team as a team, and I don't ship them. I like them as friends and family, and I love all their partners (Lila or Austin for Reid, Sarah for Gideon, Kevin for Garcia, Will for JJ, Haley for Hotch), so I'm not interested in 'ship fic for this fandom (which is probably why I haven't really been in this fandom so much). Now, that said, I don't mind 'ship fic, and I have read lots of it (Garcia/Morgan, Morgan/Reid, Prentiss/Reid, JJ/Reid, Garcia/Morgan/Reid, okay, I really like Reid, so what?!), but my problem with it is not with it being 'ship fic but with the fact that it doesn't feel like the show, or the characters feel OOC to me. On the other hand, I'm not really interested in case fic for this fandom; the show itself scratches that itch just fine. What I am looking for is this: character-based fic that specializes in backstory or fills in bits and pieces of their characterizations that we see in canon. I love CM because it really only hints at their characterization (for the most part). I would have thought that the fandom would have run with those savory little bits of information, but either I'm looking in the wrong places or it just doesn't exist. Help a girl out here? I will read 'ship fic, if it specializes in characterization or backstory, and the characters I love best are Reid, Garcia, Morgan, Prentiss, JJ, Gideon, and Hotch (pretty much in that order). Elle and Rossi, no thanks. They're just not my cup of tea (I don't mind if they're in the mix, they're part of the team, obviously, but I'd rather they not be the focus of the fic). I know those are really specific requirements, so anything you can give me would be awesome.

ETA: Five Times that Emily Prentiss Celebrated her Birthday (and one time she didn't) by twtd. \o/ BRILLIANT. GO READ NOW, KTHX.

Is This Your Card by lalaietha, Reid/Austin (the bartender from 52 pickup!)

2a. Okay, I lied. There is ONE 'ship fic I am desperately seeking. I want the fic where Reid and Hotch get it on in the car after interviewing Chester Hardwick in Damaged. Hotch taking off his jacket and being all "OH YEAH? I'M GONNA MESS YOU UP BIG MAN" and then Reid saving the day with a 13-minute ramble? Something about Hotch taking off his tie set me off, and I want the porn, man, with a simple "that was so hot" sort of explanation. I don't even care if its plausible, because to me it's plausible based solely on Hotch ripping his tie off and Reid stepping in to save his ass. <333 Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeid.

3. Icons! :D :D :D I love icons, and I suck at them so bad. :( I would love icons for the following fandoms/characters or interests: Losers/Cougar, Cougar, Cougar, Jensen, Pooch, Aisha, Roque; CM/Reid, Morgan, Garcia, Prentiss; Fringe/Olivia, Astrid, Walter, Broyles; How to Train Your Dragon/Toothless (or Toothless and Hiccup), Astrid, Ruffnut and Tuffnut; Leverage/Eliot, Parker, Hardison; ballet; classical music; Kate Winslet; Vin Diesel; Wylie Dufresne; fooooooooooood.

ETA: OMG SO MANY AWESOME ICONS! Check the comments for Losers, Leverage, Fringe, and Criminal Minds! :D :D :D

So over on the 2011 Fall Fandom Free-For-All, I requested SGA/The Incredibles: Edna Mode designs the team's outfits. I want this like burning!

And denyce answered the call, and brilliantly! :D :D :D

À la Mode, Gen Team + Team Lorne! Go, read! It's AWESOME!

Atlantis Big Bang is live! :D :D :D

It's been a ridiculous day and night of coding and juggling and uploading stuff but it is sooooooooooo worth it! :D

I wrote Truth, Justice, and the Lantean Way, which is about 1/3 porn, and clocked in at 67,271 words, and I got SO MUCH GOOD STUFF OMG.

strivaria made an amazing courtroom sketch, gblvr made awesome comics-style art and the perfect fanmix, and omg_wtf_yeah made me a gorgeous cover.

Seriously, I am so ridiculously happy (and completely punch drunk). I have no idea how I got so lucky. ♥_♥