Suburb of Heaven

So I wrote the story Born To Milder Tasks, in the Gentleman Bastards universe. It's a little story that hopefully offers a glimpse at Sabetha and Nazca, two young terrors who are surrounded by people who don't really understand how smart...and unwise to cross...the two of them are.

I was given an excellent story in the Dresden Files universe, from someone who could appreciate my obsessive deep enjoyment of Murphy/Marcone. Their story is Tiger Balm, and I love it a bunch.

Can't reveal the story I wrote in the Be-Compromised (Black Widow/Hawkeye) Secret Santa, but will do that soon.

Been struggling a bit to write recently - so much other stuff happening. But this was fun.

My story, she is posted! Huzzah.

Opened an Amazon box that was supposed to be saved until Christmas, oops. But within it was contained a Chromecast, and as the technologically backwards folk that we are, we've been amusing ourselves by exploring the brand new world of streaming things to your tv. I even reactivated my long-dormant Netflix account for it. Hopefully we'll be able to knock off our cable - or at least reduce it - in the near future. I loathe paying for it.

Last day of work before the winter campus shutdown was yesterday. I dug a hole, had some photography done, and tried to pretend that January won't be as crazy as it's shaping up to be. Feh. Not thinking about it now. Instead rereading a bunch of Travis McGee novels and planning to go to the gym in the next little while.

Dear Yuletide writer,

I'm so happy to be here at another Yuletide, and I hope my prompts provide good fodder for you.

I'm not about the grimdark angst of doom. I don't mind darkness, but please avoid crushing my soul to tiny bits, killing off everyone tragically, serving up zombies or an apocalypse or "and then they lived a very long time in heart-wrenching emotional/physical agony and it was beautiful." I don't object to sex in the least, but I also don't need kink meme fodder.

I'm really into small moments that reveal big things. I also love the trope of friends being the family you find for yourself. That sort of "thick or thin, we're for each other" stuff really gets me, especially when it's earned through a lot of trouble and hard times.

So my first request, for the Locke Lamora universe, really fits into that sort of thing. The Gentlemen Bastards are definitely good examples of that found family trope. I'm interested in two characters that have mostly been comic relief up until this point (I've read all three books in case if you want to use Republic of Thieves in your story - that's fine), namely Calo and Galdo Ganza. I suspect they may come in for more character development eventually, but at this moment they're loveable rogues who are mostly in the story for fart jokes. Which is, you know, fine. But I choose to believe they have some inner life to speak of, and I'd love to see a story about them that explores it.

My second request is for the Jason Bourne movies. Marie is one of my favorite characters, especially since she's relatively rare in an action movie. She's flawed, heroic in believable ways, is a little bit shady herself but is also tough, resourceful, and joyful. I would love a story centered on her, whether it be her life before Jason, fix-it fic so that she's not killed off (still makes me mad), their relationship whether it be sex, arguing about where to go next, her learning to survive on her own (even more than she already does).

My third request is for Kage Baker's Company books. There's so much room in her world, and we haven't really seen much that takes place in Italy, which happens to be one of my favorite locations for stories! So if you could tell me a story of the Company, using any established character or an OC if you wish, set in perhaps a papal court of the Renaissance, or maybe Lorenzo de Medici's court, or among the painters, sculptors, etc...I'd eat it up with a spoon.

My fourth request is for a story featuring one of the awesome ladies populating the Dresden Files world. I'm a Murphy/Marcone shipper, but you don't have to follow me down that particular hole if you don't feel like it. But a character piece or adventure for one of the women, whether it's Murphy, Gard, Molly, or whomever, would be fantastic.

Thanks, and Happy Yuletiding!

Seen everywhere, and because poking through stats is fun and weirdly affirming, even if you're just quietly on the fringes. By a long shot, my Avengers/MCU stuff has gotten me the highest hit counts because it's the largest fandom I've written for. By the time I got to things like Buffy and Firefly, I was long, long past the peak boom times.

( My top ten stories by hit count )

( And by kudos )

So I don't know that there's anything to learn from this, besides "people prefer pairings over gen unless it's Yuletide," and "bigger fandoms mean more readership."

Went to the 4 hour driver's ed class (after getting a ticket for rolling through a stop sign) and honestly, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. The instructor was engaging, and people participated enough so that things didn't stagnate. The class was about evenly split between older ladies and younger kids (I was one of only a couple who could be described as middle-aged). Towards the end, the group of older ladies got a little chatty and clueless, and the young dude behind me was getting increasingly more irritated with them, but thankfully the class ended soon thereafter and I didn't have to turn around and try to set him on fire with the power of my mind.

We also saw several long PSAs that were all dealing with texting and cell phone usage while driving. They were pretty effective. I can only imagine how horrible it would be to know, as in the case of one of the stories, that your sister lost control of her car and hit a bridge while trying to read your text that said, simply, "Yeah." I don't text or use my cell phone while I'm driving, but I do fuss with my ipod sometimes, and I think that's a habit I need to break.

There was also a young woman in class who valiantly tried to argue that the cop giving her a speeding ticket meant that child abusers and murderers were running free, but that got pretty briskly dealt with.

I've been helping with the kids classes at the dojo on Saturday morning. It's amazing how flexible and energetic the little boogers are. And how differently they learn. There's a redheaded little boy who doesn't have a lot of body coordination yet, but he's really intense about getting things right, and he screws up his face and silently watches everything like a hawk.

Have been rereading Heyers. Need to reread my Yuletide source material. Am a little intimidated because my assignment seems to want, essentially, original fiction, and I don't quite know in which direction to go.

I have been given a rollicking Dresden Files adventure called A Tiny Push, wherein Harry causes a great deal of trouble at O'Hare - no doubt while I'm trying to get to my connecting flight on time.

Also the recipient of my story seemed very happy with her present, so I am doubly chuffed. I am now off to eat copious quantities of bacon.

I can has Yuletide assignment! And I think I'll enjoy writing it, too! Woot woot.

Watch this space for some pendants later today - Kateh, I think I may have some things along the lines of what you were hoping for...

Greetings, Yuletide writer!

I don't like to throw up a bunch of constraints, but if you please, no excessively dark fic for me, where everything has gone wrong and it's the end of the world and rocks fall, everybody dies. I don't need fluffy, exactly, but staying a little more on the lighter/sexier side of things would be greatly appreciated. Obviously, this would mean no child/animal death...heck, if you could avoid character death period, I'd appreciate it.

Other than that, I particularly love stories that explore how character comes out in small moments and interactions. I love seeing how intimate relationships function - not just physically intimate, but emotionally intimate ones, too - although having that fall over into sexual intimacy is pretty cool, though.

Thanks so much, and see you in December!

It's snowing outside (and the wind is whipping like crazy), we've opened our presents, Bemo is snoring in bed, and I have written two more Yuletide Treats and uploaded them in the nick of time. I guess my vow to write more has actually started to happen!

I'm so excited!

Just under the gun, my Yuletide story is posted.

Now, off to wibble.