Entries tagged with yuletide07

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: apartment!
Current Music: if you want blood (you got it) (acdc)

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there ought to be a whole lot more

Instead of just doing a holiday exchange roundup post, I'm doing one for my whole fannish year. 2007 wasn't terribly productive for me, but what the heck. (Also, this is almost entirely fanart, with just the one piece of fanfiction for

yuletide.)

I was going to wait for the

go_exchange reveal, but it's still not up and I'm impatient. Anyway, anyone who is the least bit familiar with my art would recognize my piece in a second.

( My fannish year in review: )

Well, that's that. Although, the holiday exchanges aren't over quite yet:

yuletart just started posting today, and new fanart will be going up all month! Check it out, it's sure to be fantastic. I'm already the recipient of a rather lovely gift, and I can't wait to see what else the challenge has in store.

As for this year, I want to do more fanart. (For one thing, I must draw something Avatar-related! Gah!) Unfortunately, I won't have anything new for a bit (maybe a month or so), as I'd like to earn a few paychecks before purchasing a new copy of Photoshop (thank goodness for my dad's academic discount, also).

I'm having a bit of a fresh start this year, what with a new job in a new city. Maybe I'll add to that by making this the first year I write for the New Year's Resolution challenge as well. ;)

Current Mood: busy
Current Location: my half-stripped bedroom
Current Music: something from sweeney todd is stuck in my head. ack.

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quick note for my yuletide santas

The reveal is (almost) upon us, and I just wanted to say . . . I cannot wait to find out who you are, so I can thank you both personally! But, I wanted to let you know that I'm actually moving on the morning of January 1, so it's possible I might not get a chance to do that right away. As soon as I'm able, though!

A holiday exchange round-up post should go up sometime this week too, but possibly with a slight delay, for the same reason.

Current Mood: enthralled
Current Music: chemical world (blur)

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it's been a hell of a do

Well, here's a first set of brief

yuletide recs! I've been reading whenever I get a chance the last day or two, but now I probably won't get to continue much for awhile. I'm moving on the 1st, and there's so very much to do before then.

Mostly but not entirely alphabetical. (As in, these are fandoms A-F, but there's a random H and a J in there as well . . . anyway, yeah.)

( 26 recs in 17 fandoms )

Also, I've been getting some lovely responses to my own story, which is quite unexpected, as usual. (Someone smack me next year.) Man, I can't wait for the reveal . . . to find out who my awesome Santas are, and to thank everyone for commenting!

Whew. Time to get back to packing, now. (All I want to do is read!)

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: the perfect crime #2 (the decemberists)

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it was like a ticker-tape parade

I am such a lucky fangirl today! I received not one, but two fantastic Yuletide stories: a lovely lengthy fic, and an adorable little Treat as well. I must rec them!

Parklife
Fandom: From Eroica With Love
Pairing: Klaus/Dorian
Category: preslash
Rating: PG
Description: "Klaus gets assistance from Dorian on a mission, and appreciates it about as much as he ever does."
Comments: This story is rather fantastic. It's beautifully in character (how I love cantankerous Klaus and breezy Dorian!), with a fun plot and lovely style (it's half banter, half meandering description). It's a bit . . . relaxed? in comparison to the manga, but honestly, that's something I look for in fic. ;) Plus, a bonus: titled after a blur song! Which makes me wonder if my author was just lucky, or really thorough. I love this story so much.

The Lady and the Dragon
Fandom: Excalibur (1988 comic)
Pairing: Rachel/Kitty
Category: gen (or very subtle femslash, if you like)
Rating: G
Description: "The Cross-Time Caper continues apace, and Kurt has a thrilling tale to tell Kitty and Rachel."
Comments: So adorable! This fits right into canon, and really brings to mind everything I love about the classic Excalibur tales. It's zany, slapsticky, and a bit touching all at once. The characters are just right: Kurt's dashing but inevitably trips up a bit, Kitty is a bit geeky and grumbly and young (I miss her like that), and Rachel, as always, a bit haunted. The central conceit of the story was appropriately bizarre and hit-you-over-the-head symbolic, and just, awwww. I love them. :) Bonus: yay Lockheed!
Quote: "Blech! Why do I always have to be the princess? This is, like, the third time! Don't any of these dimensions need, I don't know, computer programmers? Or superheroes? Or theoretical physicists?"

While I'm at it, there's also my sweet little

go_exchange story, though it was already posted awhile ago:

Father Christmas, Father Time
Fandom: Good Omens
Characters: Agnes Nutter, Anathema Device, Newton Pulsifer
Category: gen
Rating: PG
Description: "Holiday traditions, whether forbidden or irritating, don't change."
Comments: I never expected to actually get an Anathema-centric story--she's one of my favorite characters in the novel, and tragically underused in fandom--so I was thrilled to receive this. It's a sweet, slightly wry little look at family traditions in two different generations, with neat parallels. :)

Well, I have more family things to attend to. I can't wait to sink my teeth into the

yuletide archive, though I probably won't have much leisure to do so 'til after the New Year--I'm moving at the end of the week!

Current Mood: excited
Current Location: a floor littered with unwrapped presents
Current Music: santa baby (marilyn monroe)

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next year, I could be oh-so-good

Damn. Had a story idea percolating in my head all through mass tonight, but by the time we got home it was already 11:30, so there was no way. My

yuletide total is a solid one, which makes me feel kind of like a freeloader(with the way things have gone this year, wow).

I mean, the way things have been in my real life--starting job, frantic last-minute apartment search, plus the usual tasks--I will give myself a pass. But I want to do better next year. And maybe actually do some NYR this year. (I do have a whole bunch of intriguing prompts listed already that I pulled of the Treats page, after all.)

Still, though: so excited. Cannot believe we topped 2,000 stories this year. How much do I love these people?

So a very Merry Christmas to any and all of you who celebrate it! I have a whole lot of wrapping left to do now. And I plan to have willpower and not look at the archive 'til I wake up in the morning . . . even if it opens before I go to bed.

Current Mood: awake
Current Music: gotta get a message to you (moxy fruvous)

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there's no time for the phone

Whew. Got my

yuletide story uploaded last night, a whole week later than originally planned. (But still: with 23:23 to spare, not 00:05 like last year, ahaha). I have no idea how I feel about my story, of course . . . and I think my choice of title was probably not the best ever. But. Done.

And now I have my first day of the new job--the real job--and then more apartment hunting. No rest 'til Christmas itself, probably.

Current Mood: writing more, meep
Current Music: wanted (the cranberries)

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if it doesn't work like this

I kind of have to finish and post my

yuletide fic before I leave for Boston tomorrow afternoon. So, of course it insists on being longer than 1,000 words.

This is a bit of an adventure: I've never written for a fandom/pairing that I was essentially unfamiliar with before. I think it's going reasonably well, although . . . it's definitely a bit different. Takes the source material in a different direction, that is. Story kind of insisted. (Well, that's better than writer's block, anyway!)

Not thinking about all the other stuff I still have to do!

Current Mood: busy
Current Location: off to Boston for apartment-searching
Current Music: it's tough to have a crush when the boy doesn't feel the same way you do (ok go)

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when it only leaves you blue

Well, I'm not sure if people looking for

yuletide betas generally check their journals before emailing them, but just in case! This is a notice that I'm not going to be able to take on any more stories, unfortunately. I have a couple to work on already, plus my own to finish.

I might be available for post-deadline pinch-hitters, if I don't pick up a pinch hit of my own. (So far there hasn't been one for me; sadness! Last year I wanted every other one posted.) We'll see, though.

Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: innocent fiction (erin mckeown)

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you believe what you believe

Every year I beta-read

sweetvalleyslut's

yuletide fic. I really enjoy betaing, and would like to do it more. (I used to be regular beta for two Labyrinth writers, but both moved on to other things.) Last year I beta'd for another Yuletide writer, and I'd like to do that again!

Here is a list of 70+ fandoms ( I can beta very closely )

I'm also quite happy to do a general beta for just about any fandom. I can be as harsh or light as you need me to be, on both style and grammar.

So, if you need a beta, you can contact me at fairiesbite at yahoo dot com. I'd be more than happy to help. :)

One note: I mean to do some pinch-hitting this year, so I probably won't be available for last-minute betaing (though feel free to check, I could surprise myself).

Yay!

Current Mood: hyper
Current Location: the black sheep
Current Music: hounds of love (kate bush)

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do you know what I really need?

I got my

yuletide assignment! And, it's a doozy. As it should be. ;) I shall be quite challenged this year, though I hope I'll be able to pinch-hit as well.

I'm about to make two separate

yuletide-related posts. Please bear with me, non-participants.

( Dear Yuletide Santa of Awesomeness )

Here is some optional extra information about my four fandoms, with some resource links. By the way, I have no preference amongst the four of them; they’re all rather beloved.

Beware: I’m going to ramble, and I can talk endlessly about things I love! (Seriously, if you combine all four posts, I blather on for at least five pages here. Again, please feel free to skip or skim! This is extra info provided for your use, only if you want it!)

My thoughts on comics, let me show you them:
Desert Peach
Excalibur (1998 comic)
From Eroica With Love
Strangers in Paradise

Yay! So excited! I can't wait to get started on my assignment!

Current Mood: whoa there
Current Music: underwater (tegan and sara)

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I used to be such a good good swimmer

Today, I emailed a whole bunch of people who are looking for roommates in the Boston area. Also,

yuletide sign-ups closed. And because the mods are ~~on crack~~ superheroes, assignments are supposed to be out tomorrow!

I'm honestly not sure which email(s) I'm more nervous about receiving. Eeee.

Must crash so that my last day at my fun temp job is not awful. Will write my Santa letter tomorrow. ^^

I need a "freaked-out" icon. Or at least one that shows a bit more emotion.

Current Mood: chipper
Current Location: the town common across from my work
Current Music: the man who sold the world (bowie)

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oh no, not me; I never lost control

One final ridiculously fandom ramble! Still a bit tl;dr, but less so, because I haven't had this pairing for very long. Posted somewhat hurriedly at lunchtime! Last, but certainly not least, two secondary characters from one of the most "of my heart" comic series of all . . .

Fandom: Strangers in Paradise
Characters: Casey Bullocks-Femur, Mary Beth "Tambi" Baker

( What if I *spank* you until you stop whining and trust me? )

There, I'm done. Aren't you relieved? :p Though

yuletide sign-ups end Thursday at 11:59 pm, so it's not too long before you'll be seeing Santa letter stuff, and vague squeeing about undisclosed assignments. ;)

Also, there are currently 1,030 people signed up. Great googaly moogaly.

Current Mood: enthralled
Current Music: starman (bowie)

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cuz he knows it's all worthwhile

Today's lengthy fandom ramble is about what is simply one of the most absorbing and challenging comics I have ever read. And even though I know it has a cult following, I cannot believe that there are SIX people offering it.

yuletide people are wonderful.

Fandom: Desert Peach
Characters: Pfirsich Rommel, Rosen Kavalier, and Udo Schmidt

( Oh, Darling [. . .] aren't we ALL the stars of our own little performances? )

And I still haven't finished the second collected volume (issues 8-11), because things have been so busy lately.

I don't know what I'll do when I've finally finished it all! Though these new Afterdead books of Barr's are pretty awesome too, and I have a great deal of Stinz yet to read as well . . .

Current Mood: dorky
Current Location: the black sheep
Current Music: rebel rebel (bowie)

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hot tramp, I love you so

Time for another ridiculous fandom ramble! Today I'm going to do my favorite pairing from one of my oldest fandoms ever.

This is actually the short version. When you've been a fan of a (fairly obscure) character since the age of eight, you can write lots. Essays. Books? I don't really want to know. So this is just a "little" ramble. (But all the same, beware the teal deer.)

Fandom: Excalibur (1988 comic series)
Pairing: Rachel Summers (Phoenix)/Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat)

( kiss me hello )

There is also quite a lot of fanart of this pairing at my website. Just FYI. ^^

Current Mood: silly
Current Music: sorrow (david bowie)

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out there playing your high-class games

Well, after reading

thefourthvine's excellent post, I got to thinking. Specifically, I got to thinking about the paragraph that starts "Do tell your writer about the canons and characters you requested."

And then I went a little overboard.

See, I can talk forever. I have vast herds of teal deer in my possession. And I really don't need much encouragement to write about things I love, and why, and even analyze them a bit. (In a fairly unacademic fashion--I could write an actual essay with citations and everything, but I have not, just now.) So I sat down and started writing about the fandoms and characters I requested, and it went . . . five pages or so.

I don't want my herds to trample my poor unsuspecting Santa, so I thought that I would post my rambles individually over the next couple of days, rather than in the same post with my Santa letter. I'll include links instead . . . it will perhaps make it easier for her to decide not to click them, if she doesn't really want to. I fear that, if I include them with the letter, she will feel obligated.

And really, I just like the sight of my own text. :p So yeah. I'm going to post my Eroica ramble first. I've been thinking about this fandom, and the pairing, a lot in recent months . . . so it was fun to get it all down, even in such a disorganized fashion.

Fandom: From Eroica With Love
Pairing: Dorian Red, Earl of Gloria/Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach

( A sadistically wonderful entanglement. )

I swear I'm not crazy. Well, okay, I'm a little crazy, but I'm harmless. ^^;

Current Mood: happy
Current Location: on the porch, but it's way too warm out
Current Music: the star of the county down (enter the haggis)

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I'd a heart to let, and no tenant yet

I'm all signed up for both

yuletide and

yuletart! So excited!

I went with the all-comics option for Yuletide (rereading the last few issues of SiP convinced me), and for Yuletart I asked for . . . even more comics, plus a couple of other things. Can't wait to see my assignments! Also, my goal is to pinch-hit at least one story for Yuletide this year. (I couldn't offer that for Yuletart, as I am a very slow artist, and could not trust myself to get it done.

And, one more time: flist, you should sign up! For one or both! The sign-up deadline for

yuletide is Thursday, October 18 (by 11:59 pm). For

yuletart, it's October 31. And remember,

yuletide is massively multifandom and incorporates, slash, het and gen. It really has something for everybody. They've recently revamped the FAQ, so check it out. ^^ And yes, I will stop bugging you about it now . . .

I had to do my

yuletide sign-up three times. *laughs* That has never happened before! I kept making mistakes . . . it was very silly. But it's all set now. I offered seventeen fandoms this year, which is the most yet, I think. :)

One of my fandoms was on the top of the "needy" list, but it's off already! Man, people in this challenge are so damn awesome.

My mother has taken my grandmother to church, so I'm sitting here waiting for the newest episode of SgA to download . . . there's been some glee on my flist, but I'm a bit nervous about it. (The Elizabeth thing? Really pisses me off, even though I like Sam Carter.) Though I've read over the episode descriptions, and there are more than a couple episodes to look forward to. ^^

I should really post about Heroes at some point . . . some squee, and some feminist griping. Not much to say about Bionic Woman yet, though I'm enjoying it enough to keep watching. I really want Sarah Corvis to stick around and keep on being slashy with Jamie, who could stand to grow a bit more personality.

Avatar, of course, is completely awesome. I'm sad that it didn't qualify for

yuletide this year (though I can certainly see why).

Well, I have seven "new" issues of "Desert Peach" to read now. (Oh my god so much squee.)

Current Mood: relaxed
Current Music: autumn in new york (billie holiday)

Entry tags:

it's good to live again

Argh. I missed Heroes last night, because I was busy helping my mother try and clean the entire house. My grandmother's visiting (they should really be here soon, hum). And NBC's online player refuses to function for me. *resists clicking the spoilers*

So . . . a few more yule-ish things, anyone?

thefourthvine posted some really excellent thoughts on writing prompts, which I find very helpful, and recommend.

liviapenn has more here, which I have not read yet. Also worth reading is her last-year's post, How Not To Ruin Yuletide.

Also, check this out:

yuletart! It's like Yuletide for artists! It's new and very small, but such a worthy cause, I'm definitely going to give it a try . . . I know a couple of people out there who really ought to as well. *prod*

Meanwhile, I've decided to keep From Eroica With Love. It's my baby, and dude, Yuletide is the season for laying aside your stickler-ness and just enjoying the incredible generosity of other fen. It's not as though I don't enjoy reading most Eroicafic, even when it's not my interpretation. I'll just request that Klaus not be written as anything even vaguely resembling a fluffy puppy, and things should be better than fine. :)

So now I've narrowed it down a bit . . . I think I'm going to drop either Strangers in Paradise or the Nautical RPF. I could request all comic fandoms this year! Or would that be boring? Pirates in drag . . . kickass amazon bodyguard and bubbly adorable girl with hidden depths . . . argh. Well, I have a few more days.

Current Mood: energetic
Current Music: I Put You There

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'cause this ain't no time for the blues

I know, it's

yuletide spam 24/7 around here.

See, now there's a list of fandoms up! (Albeit, one that's being trimmed. How the hell did Lost wind up on there in the first place?) Being just slightly obsessive (or just needing something to distract me from my nerves--I'm going to be employed tomorrow for the first time in a few months, it's weird), I've already gone through it.

An uncut and definitely over-optimistic list of ( fandoms I might offer )

I might actually post about something other than

yuletide at some point? I can't really do art right now, being Photoshopless (my new Mac is not compatible with my old copy of the program), but since I've been feeling excessively fannish . . . maybe I'll start doing TV reactions or something. I haven't done those in years, and I have plenty of shows right now.

I'm looking forward to the Bionic Woman premiere tonight. Mmmm, Katee Sackhoff. (I really have to start watching Battlestar Galactica already.)

Current Mood: indecisive
Current Music: love will tear us apart (joy division)

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yet there's still this appeal

Whee,

yuletide noms close tonight! Everyone's getting excited. Sign-ups are soon. Can I contain myself?

I'm particularly excited about writing this year, but I still can't do much more than speculate 'til I have a list of available fandoms . . . and meanwhile, I can't seem to narrow my requests list from five to four.

I should go to bed soon, but first! ( Pros and cons? )

Yeah, so. This is difficult. Part of me thinks I should really just drop Eroica. I should probably skew towards femslash fandoms, since I get so little of them outside of

yuletide. Also, there's a fair chance that others will request it. (Several people did last year . . . of course, only one of those requests was written, and none of the others were touched for NYR. Hrm.) But I'm not sure I can deal with dropping it, being as fancrazy as I've been, lately.

Well, now it's totally time to sleep. But, you know. So much squee.

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: atomic (blondie)

Entry tags:

oh, make it magnificent

I've been sitting my mother down and watching Firefly with her, which is nice. I don't think I've watched it in, oh, six months? Mmmm. Of course, people will call and interrupt.

So, thought I might post my Yuletide nominations. This is what I wound up with:
Desert Peach
Dykes To Watch Out For
Excalibur (1988 comic)
From Eroica With Love
RPF - Nautical
Strangers in Paradise

All comics, except for the RPF . . . go figure. I added Excalibur to the list, as well as Desert Peach. (Well, it was already there, but only because I suggested it two years ago: I'm pretty sure it's never been offered or requested, and the very underdeveloped character list had never been added to.)

Actually, I think I might have to go redo it, because I actually nominated "RPF - Pirates and Explorers," and then they changed it.

Now I'm thinking about ( what I might request )

I want to pinch-hit this year . . . so while I do want to stretch myself a bit, in what I offer, I also want to be careful. Last year I had a really difficult assignment, and while it was rewarding, it did take me right up to the deadline and stress me the heck out. Hmmm. I have thoughts about what I might offer, but that'll be easier to work out once the fandom list gets finalized.

Meanwhile, some other people have started posting their thoughts, which I always love to read about. ^^

Well, if my mother would get off the phone, we could finish watching "The Train Job." And then I can play with my brand new Macbook. *so happy*