Today I'm finally remembering to finish and post an introduction post. Most important thing first:

I am constantly reminded of how far I have yet to come as an ally and as a person, but I just want to put this out there: If ever I do or say anything that makes you feel hurt, unwelcome, or uncomfortable, I promise that I will do my best to listen as calmly and patiently as possible, and if necessary will remove myself from the keyboard for time to calm down so my response will not be reactive or defensive. For any times that I have said anything that has hurt you in the past, I apologize. I'm always trying to do better, and I know that sometimes that's not enough.

--

( Ten things you might want to know about me )

If ever you have any questions or comments, consider this a free post to nudge me.

This is sort of the "fandom works in progress" post I keep meaning to make and sort of a post trying to figure out what priorities I should have for the fic I'm currently writing and sort of a post trying to talk myself into signing up for both thelittlebang and the Merlin Big Bang (and also a floating reminder post). (As in, this is mostly for my benefit.)

(Written while the repair people are replacing the boiler. \o/ Warm showers shall soon be once more available to me! \o/)

Not-quite-complete list of what is either in my wip folders/on my agenda to add to them:

( Chuck )
( Dresden Files )
( Hikaru no Go )
( Harry Potter )
( Psych )
( RPF (Kanye, Politics, News, The Daily Show, & The Colbert Report) )
( The Devil Wears Prada )


Uh, and wow. I didn't realize quite how many stories I want to tell (this . . . isn't even including the five major original projects and assorted minor ones) until I wrote all of those out. (And this also doesn't include any of the ones put in the "probably abandoned" folder. D:) But this way I can now keep track of them all!

Current top priorities include Bones and Askewniverse fic, finishing at least one Shawn/Gus fic, one Chuck/Bryce fic, and one of the DWP fic, plus assorted flash fic for betaing.

This entry will be edited over time to reflect new fic added to my wip folders and the fic that claw their way out of the wip folders and into my fic journal.

(Updated 9/19/09)

Lord help me, I have it: everysecondtues.

I understand some of the rest of you are using this newfangled contraption?

(For those of you with an aversion to Twitter posts: never fear. If you want to see my tiny thoughts flitting by like minnows fleeing downstream, you'll have to visit the actual site.)

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/33846.html. Currently, comments open only DW. (DW comment count: )

The Effluent Engine by N. K. Jemisin
Femslash, New Orleans, and steampunk all combine to make one of my favorite alternate history short stories/novelettes ever. Jemisin includes the following warning: "it’s actually a novelette (11,000 words), and contains some language that reflects the racial attitudes of the time." If you've been wondering why there are not more characters of color getting to be totally awesome lesbian protagonists in your fiction, this story is very definitely for you.

After the Dragon
I ran across a story rec for this on FWD/Forward (or rather, their convenient DW feed, disabledfeminists_feed). I'm not really certain what to say about it (other than: the world was fascinating, the main character was intriguing, the story itself breaks your heart and stitches it back together, imperfect and whole and real), so let me just quote Anna's rec:

I think this is an interesting story about disability. Unlike so many others I’ve read, it assumes the main character, Megan, is a complete human being and doesn’t need to go through something in order to become complete. It centers Megan in the story, not the reactions of her friends and family, while at the same time making it clear that not everyone can cope with a sudden dramatic change in ability status. It doesn’t present this as a story where Megan learns a Very Special Lesson, or is a Very Special Lesson for others.

I’m in a household where disability has been a component since I started it, so I’m not as familiar with the Stages Of Grief that can come from a sudden and traumatic change in ability status. To me, it all reads true.

I admit, I was dreading reading this when I realised it was going to be about disability and recovering from trauma, but I’m glad that I did. I think it’s a good short story, and I like how disability just is in it.

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The Boxer by settiai is a fab Irene Adler/Sherlock Holmes/John Watson vid. As someone who spent most of Irene's screentime swooning over how amazing she is, I'll admit I'm easy when it comes to vids with her in it. Even so! This showcases them in all their complicated glory. *shoos you toward it*

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Google Asks Spy Agency for Help With Inquiry Into Cyberattacks Is anyone else seeing a potential Chuck crossover here? . . . Just me, then.

Evidence Builds on Color of Dinosaurs

Elections results in Costa Rica have put Laura Chinchilla on course to be the country's first woman president.

If You Swat, Watch Out: Bees Remember Faces I think this bears repeating: BEES REMEMBER FACES. Thanks, world, because what I really needed was more terror in my life.

Galapagos sea lions head for warm Peru waters

Wild sloth killed by small spectacled owl in Panama "[Researchers] found the body of a radio-collared three-toed sloth with lethal wounds that suggest it was hunted by a spectacled owl, which ate its organs." I know I'm repeating a lot, but: IT ATE THE SLOTH'S ORGANS. Owls are so much more hardcore than I'd ever believed.

And ending on a somewhat happier note: Pictures of Japan's giant salamanders

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/33154.html. Currently, comments open only DW. (DW comment count: )

PSA first:

Livejournal's interstitial advertising is putting your computer at risk for malware. Really. By simply browsing LJ, your computer could contract malware. There are not enough angry faces in the world.

Have a link for reading your LJ f-list via RSS reader. Doesn't do comments, but it's a nice stop-gap for the moment, anyway.

The really funny thing? I was about to give LJ money again. It was only by mistake my account had lapsed (I'd changed credit cards since the last time I'd given them money and forgotten to update it), and then I decided to give it a month. I was unhappy at the fact that--by going with a paid account--my account was no longer grandfathered in for no ads, not to mention that whole NOM and other anti-queer ads being put in with queer content thing. At the end of that month? I'm pretty much done. I'll still be cross-posting, but I'm disabling comments henceforth on LJ, and I'll be moving my fic journal over here and also posting to AO3.

Anyone who wants a Dreamwidth invite, which does not do interstitial (or any) ads, give me your e-mail? I have nine.

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On a happier note, vid recs! (Yes, two of these are on LJ, but seem to be paid accounts with no ads.)

Rabbit Hearted Girl (Raise It Up) by ancastar is a Supernatural vid all about Jo and Ellen, and has convinced me that if it were the Jo and Ellen Show, I would still be watching Supernatural. It contains massive spoilers and may make you cry, but I cannot rec it enough.

That's Not My Name by kita0610. "Heroines of Color: The meta, the ass-kickingness, the fail, and the pretty." This is so shiny and so angry-making and so wonderful. I don't know all of these heroines, but I want to. (I also want to write Joss Whedon angry letters, but that's not much of a change.)

Bathwater by china_shop is a White Collar vid all about Neal and Mozzie, and I want to draw hearts around it forever.

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Why, yes, I do seem to be back. *grin*

Would it be useful to anyone to put together a slowly updating list of triggers I run across in Mass Effect 2? It wouldn't include death or more general violence or by any means be complete, the game being what it is, but I'd try to include whatever people found useful.

Anyone out there playing Dragon Age: Origins? I can see some people in fandom are, in that PB has prompts from it. Sadly, none are for Warden/Alistair, taking away my thin excuse to write gloriously filthy het porn. Ah, well. I have other projects I really need to finish.

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/32983.html. Currently, comments open only DW. (DW comment count: )

Not dead! *waves* But I have gone on an accidental hiatus from most of the internet--I did not actually realize I hadn't really been available for over a week--which has been very helpful for other things. If you want to contact me, I've not been checking either of my lists, but I have been keeping up with my e-mail.

Mostly, I am briefly peeking my nose out of my burrow to say februaryfour! You shouldn't have! But I am very happy you did. Thank you so much for the lovely note and a little taste of Japan. <3

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/32262.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

In the end, I wrote four stories for Yuletide, including two pinch hits and one Treat.

Anticlockwise
All the Queen's Men (Johnno/Tony/Franz): Eton boys, top secret missions, and recreating Tony's Germany of the 30's.

Chuck vs. Bowling, Drugs, and the Unexpected Romance
Chuck (Chuck/Casey): The life of the world's only functional Intersect holds a number of problems and unexpected adventures. Chuck can deal with everything but the bowling.

On the Merits of Patience
Temeraire: On the journey to the New South Wales Colony, Temeraire must remind himself of the merits of patience.

Fleeting
Clover (Ran/Gingetsu): It's a long night, and Ran welcomes it.

( Some musings about the fic, fandoms, and my Yuletide experience this year )

Three of my four Yuletide betas were found by Hippos in the Yuletide chat this year, and I think I betaed four fic through the same method (and volunteered for more). My biggest changes this year were hanging out in chat (highly recommended), pinch hitting, and making an attempt at the Yuletide Treats. Overall, it was an excellent experience, and if next year I am free around Yuletide season, I will try to do it all over again.

For those of you who participated, how did your Yuletide experiences go?

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/32190.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

Happy New Year!

lizfu is celebrating it with me. I attempted lazy nachos with an unfamiliar salsa, the label of which lied terribly, because it was in no way "mild." This was something of a disaster, but! My alcohol smoothies were, quite simply, amazing. Even better than Vividcon. People should invite me to their parties and give me access to all the necessary materials so I can have an excuse to make these all the time.

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/31856.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

I'm home! We got in before the snow started falling in earnest. I've been awake for a very long time, but all the caffeine consumed during the trip has somewhat impaired my ability to sleep. If you talk to me online today, expect nothing like coherence.

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I am in love with AO3's bookmark system.

--

As soon as reveals go up, I have a not-quite-meta post I want to make about something. *vague*

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/31685.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

Server load is such that I can't respond to anything, and I really do need to head to bed, but here, have three insta-recs!

Further Adventures of Coraline (and Wybie, Too)
I got my Wybourne fic! This was the one I wanted most while staring at that mystery sign, telling myself I would be happy with whatever I received and yet whispering to myself, "Be Wybourne fic. Be Wybourne fic." And my Yuletide wish came true! *twirls*

I have already thrown it at lizfu, but I advise the rest of you to go read it, too! Wybourne has a cold, but that does not stop him from having ADVENTURES.

Of Sick Days And Star Trek Marathons
It is Stanford era Chuck/Bryce! Fic of their college days! Also, I think y'all are stalking my health entries or something, because this is the second fic wherein my favorite character contracts a cold. Fortunately, I am mostly over mine, but if I weren't, I would totally want a Chuck to bring me soup and tell me to watch Star Trek.

Applied Problem Solving
More Chuck/Bryce! So much wanting and so much having! I am totally blessed with extra fic this year. This one is an AU wherein Bryce is Chuck's handler. Let me repeat that: BRYCE IS CHUCK'S HANDLER. After reading the first scene, I had to stop and shriek at jmtorres in chat for a moment. It is that awesome.

And now, it is time for me to sleep. Don't kill the servers while I'm gone. *grin*

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/31333.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

Because winter is for celebrating fandom. Happy belated/early/on-time religious holiday of your choice, if you've so chosen.

I said I would put up a post about the guessing game prizes today (technically yesterday), but obviously I forgot to take into account the day. I will have that post up sometime before reveals.

The guessing post itself is open. WRT Yuletide, I ended up with three fic in the yuletide2009 collection and one in the yuletidemadness2009 collection. Your odds have improved!

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/31068.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

trascendenza wrote me Gus/Mira/Shawn amazingness with HANG GLIDERS, plus a hundred other amazing flash fic in a variety of fandoms.

Yuletide Madness is open. I may have to be gone most of the day, but I'm going to try to write at least a tiny thing if I'm back in time.

Speaking of YM, dark_agenda has up their database of prompts (chromatic sources and characters). There is a Coffee Prince prompt! And many others, all of which look excellent.

The Big Yuletide Con, because thebigstore is going to steal themselves a Yuletide. *grin*

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p.s. Thank you, anon! Checking my e-mail to find a virtual gift was a pleasant surprise, and your note is incredibly sweet. I wish there was something I could do in return, but I guess I will have to settle for making more rec posts and hope you continue to enjoy them.

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/30512.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

As mentioned various places, a guessing post! I'm doing FNFF's Secret Santa again this year, Yuletide again, plus Three Ships. I picked up a pinch hit for Yuletide and three prompts for FNFF's SeSa, so that is a total of six guessing opportunities!

Guessing games are no fun without prizes, so I'm offering unbetaed fic of at least 100 words for each correct guess, up to three fic and six guessing attempts. No, you don't have to squander guesses on fandoms or fests you don't read. Yes, you can play the best odds and save them all for FNFF.

Tomorrow, I'll post prompt guidelines (fandoms, pairings, characters, squicks), though you'll always have the option of asking about anything not covered (see: my writing norabombay Diefenbaker fic). If I can't write it, I'll let you know, and you can always submit a different prompt. None of this is that important at the moment, because with no fic open and posted, this is more a placeholder than anything.

Comments will be screened. I won't confirm anything until after each fest reveal, but that always leaves plenty of time for changing answers.

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A hope I harbor even greater than attracting more guesses this year is that I'll see this sort of guessing post popping up all over my read lists. The guessing post is a time honored tradition everyone should honor! It gives me opportunities to make y'all write me fic is loads of fun!

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ETA: Yuletide is open for guessing! I have three fic in the yuletide2009 collection and one in the yuletidemadness2009 collection. Your odds for guessing me have improved, my friends!

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/30413.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

I've uploaded my Yuletide pinch hit, have a start on most everything due by the 29th, and am generally feeling the Yuletide love. It probably won't hurt me to get in on the awesome treats, stocking stuffer, and Yuletide madness action.

Both DW and LJ have included posts wherein people have solicited links to their friends'/acquaintances'/random people's Yuletide letters for such writing purposes. I'm definitely asking the same, though (as with everyone else; I am on this train all the way, baby) I can't guarantee anything. If you want to take the chance of my sneaking off into the night with one of your prompts, please leave me a link to your letter in the comments!

In case anyone is interested: my Yuletide letter.

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/30083.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

I'm in Florida! Sadly, this is not going to be a Christmas tradition in that next year I will probably need to spend with my dad, what with three years having passed since the last Christmas we spent in the same state.

This year I snagged my first Yuletide pinch hit, which I'm typing slowly away at tonight. As with my original assignment, I'm very excited about it.

Lately I've been doing less memes, but this one looks adorable:

ANON CRUSH MEME

If you catch me online, tell me I will be fine? I've written more pinch hits in less time for other exchanges, but that doesn't make me any less nervous. I think it's something intrinsic to Yuletide.

Speaking of Yuletide, Yuletide Madness is open.

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/29801.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

There's a new Yuletide pinch hit list which appeared sometime between my leaving for ice cream and returning.

\o/

(No, this is not that real update post I promised.)

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/29590.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

Because of a minor disaster (it wouldn't be Yuletide without panic!), how to claim pinch hits has changed.

Link's text:

Apparently Yahoogroups has changed some policy, and the wave of pinch hits sent out has DISABLED MY YAHOO ACCOUNT. I can't post to it to tell the pinch hitters why I'm not responding to claims. Of the 20+ groups I belong to or own, only 3 are displaying, presumably because the rest are on the email address that has been disabled. I... am not a happy camper.

At this point, I need to sleep, and there's very little I can do about this. If you want to claim a pinch hit, you'll need to *forward* or otherwise get the info to my personal email (elynross@gmail.com), and I'll work with that, and try and respond when I get up in a few hours.

Please boost the signal on this, to try and reach other people on the pinch hit list. I'm not sure how the second half of the pinch hits are going to go out, but we'll figure something out.

p.s. Still aten't dead. Real update sometime later.

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/29246.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

The rain has transitioned into huge, beautiful flakes of snow floating softly down. I know it's hell to drive on and everyone on the road forgets how every single year, but--it's lovely and still manages to fill me with a quiet joy, no matter how many times I see it.

--

I put up that picture post! If you have met me face to face and cannot see it, poke me and remind me. I met a lot of people at VVC, fangirl dinners, and so forth. I think I caught everyone whose couch I've ever crashed on.

If you haven't met me and can see it--uh, I fail at ticking boxes, I guess? Please don't turn out to be a stalker or family member.

--

May I reiterate? SNOW!

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/29028.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

LJ, why are you not sending me my comments?

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My mom is out of the hospital and doing fine now. This is a very \o/ thing.

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Have I mentioned that my hair is now fabulous and red? Every time I look in the mirror, I think, "Who is that sexy stranger? I would rather like her number." For those of you who've met me IRL at some point, I may do a filtered post with a picture Liz took of it.

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Today a holiday card came in the mail! I did not sign up for any that I remember, so this was a most pleasant surprise. Thank you, dazzamre! ♥

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/28419.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )

( Not very secret message to Liz )

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Thank you to the many more people who've sent me snowflake cookies. You are all fabulous.

All the LJ profiles I've glanced at today look like they have been ravaged by delicious blizzards. If only the snow outside were so delicious.

This entry was originally posted at http://everysecondtuesday.dreamwidth.org/28185.html. If you'd prefer, please comment there with OpenID. (DW comment count: )