The first sgareversebang stories and art are set to go up today! Looking at the schedule, there will be lots and lots of fanworks posted over the course of the month. Yay!

And mcshep_match is gearing up for another round. This match it's Team Time vs. Team Space. The drabble tree's already started and sign ups for the match open June 8th. I won't be participating because I can't write to a deadline, but I'll be there to cheer both teams on.

Fandom. <3

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

Ugh, LiveJournal revamped their Scrapbook feature, which it needed, though the new version still has some serious flaws, but in the switchover, they messed up a bunch of my galleries and lost a photo due to "data corruption." Like that was totally out of their hands or something. Like they are not, in part, a data storage service. Like I guess they never backed that stuff up anywhere? Or cared enough to go digging through the backups to restore my photo? Eff you, LJ.

My paid time expires on the 9th. I've had a paid LiveJournal account since 2003, but after the shitty service of the past year, I don't want to give them any more money. The problem is, I still need access to my Scrapbook, which you don't get with a basic account. A Plus account gives you 1 GB of space, but it also comes with ads and, if you're really lucky, security holes. I don't know. Maybe I'll just pay and pretend it's for data storage. Ugh.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

Hey fandom, how do we feel about putting DVD-style author's commentaries up on AO3? I have two that are probably wasting away on my website. I could upload them to AO3 and link back to the original as a related work. Is that a thing people are doing?



Relatedly: If you've written commentaries and are interested in making them accessible to fans who use screen readers, lightgetsin gave me some tips on how to set the commentary apart from the text in ways that are meaningful to screen readers. I also found this page on Designing for Screen Reader Compatibility helpful, especially the sections on how screen readers read content and skimming through content.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

The brilliant mific recorded The Totally True Story of Two Men About to Have Sex as a podfic!

The story does require some background, and mific gives it, along with a dry, understated performance that really underlines just how ridiculous John and Rodney are being in their pursuit of kink-free sex. I want to compare mific's reading to a sit-com without a laugh track or hammy acting. You know what I mean? Where you get to discover for yourself what's funny, and because no one's hanging over your shoulder insisting, This part's so funny! Watch! Watch! it's a wonderful surprise to find yourself laughing? Like that.

Podfic: The Totally True Story of Two Men About to Have Sex by Punk, read by mific

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

Author: Punk
Fandom: Doctor Who
Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating: G
Content notes: No standard notes apply.
Spoilers: The Parting of the Ways, Journey's End

Size: 1,350 words

Summary: He was sent into exile because he was dangerous. He destroyed the Dalek empire and told Rose Tyler he loved her.

(Also on AO3)

( The Box, The Sea, Rose, Her Mum, The Doctor's Heart (and the rest of him) )

A/N: Written for the tenth annual picfor1000 challenge, though try as I might, I couldn't get the Doctor to shut up, hence the word count. My prompt. Thanks to thirdbird and sab for beta, and oxoniensis for Britpicking.



Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

Things you forget about het once you haven't read any for a while: Use of the word "core" in sex scenes. Ugh.

A while back I finished watching season three of The Big Bang Theory. The show depends too much on cliche and stereotypes as a source of humor, and it hits my embarrassment squick more than I'd like, and sometimes I feel like the guys don't like each other much, but I put up with it for Penny and Sheldon's friendship. AO3 seems to agree with me. I've found several great stories where Sheldon and Penny are friends and maybe something more, but not a lot more. Because he's Sheldon and as soon as he starts making out with her, I lose all interest. I want the difficult, stubborn, asocial Sheldon that the show gives us, and the Penny that's incredibly good at meeting him on his terms and then exploiting those terms to make him observe social norms. To that end, here are the three best non-explicit Penny & Sheldon fics I've found:

( three stories at AO3 )

Notes on season three: Sheldon, in his robe, scruffy and out of his mind and slithering around the ball pit, repeatedly popping up to say bazinga, then disappearing back into the sea of balls while Leonard struggles to catch him? Possibly the very best thing ever.

And, so help me, but that episode where Howard and Raj go to the goth bar and Howard's wearing all black, and he's got his hair spiked up and he's got eyeliner on? I actually found him hot. It was the hair. Not even the style, just that it was up off his face. It's amazing what a difference that makes.

Finally, I'm convinced I could cosplay Sheldon -- I already have the tight brown plaid pants, the Joseph Seibel shoes, the striped socks, and a variety of messenger bags. I'm halfway there. I have some superhero shirts, but none of them are near tight enough, and my hair is a little too long to get that early Sheldon look, but probably just the right length for whatever it is Jim Parsons' hair is doing now. The problem is that it might be too meta to work. I'd just look like a nerd, not necessarily a specific one. I think I'm just attracted to the idea because I accidentally own his pants and where else am I going to wear them. They're tight brown plaid pants.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

Part of modernizing my website is making sure that everything on it has content notes in the header. This field replaces warnings and is meant to give readers an idea of what to expect from any given story.

In this field I will always make note of:

• people under the age of 18 human years (or equivalent) in sexual or kinky situations
• non-consensual or dubiously consensual sex or kink
• incest
• self-harm or suicide
• graphic violence

These are "standard notes."* These notes may be greyed out if I consider them to be a spoiler.

In addition to the above elements, this field may also list kink, medical conditions, -isms, and other stuff as needed.

If a story has none of the above elements, this field will say "no standard notes apply" and a link back to this post. If there are no content notes, then, to the best of my knowledge, there isn't anything widely understood as triggering in the story. However, I know that anything can be an individual trigger; if you have specific concerns, I would be happy to answer your questions. My profile has my email address or you can message me through LJ or DW.

Because my fic is in so many different places, some of my older stories may be lacking adequate content notes, but I have used the AO3's warnings when appropriate, tagged the kinks, and added additional notes explaining content, so all of my stories on the archive should have enough information in the headers to help you to make an informed decision.

If I've missed something you think I should note, or if you ever have questions concerning the content of one of my stories, please contact me. I want my readers to feel safe.

*Concept and language borrowed from the kink_bingo rules and modified to fit my needs.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

At Jezebel, Why Guys Really Hate Being Called 'Creepy':

As Jessica Wakeman discovered last week when she wrote about a first date gone wrong, the [men's right activists] are up in arms about "creep-shaming." "The ability to label men as 'creepy' is just one privilege that women enjoy, and a constant source of fear of ostracizing that all men must fear in our society," says one apparently anguished man on Reddit.

Yeah. Constant fear. That sounds rough, man.

It's an interesting article about the power of the word "creep," why it makes some men writhe like angry toddlers, and why the MRA's campaign against "creep-shaming" is dangerous for women. And be sure to read Wakeman's original post on the subject as well: Why "Creep Shaming" Is Total BS.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

I didn't see this meme go by last year, so this year's stats are going to be particularly boring and meaningless, but I will put them here all the same and maybe next year we can learn a little something about fannish trends, also: unicorns.

Top 10 fics as of April 2012

1. Two Bells (SGA, May 2011, 1156 hits)
2. Home Economics (SGA, February 2011, 1148 hits)
3. Caught (SGA, May 2009, 1041 hits)
4. Interstitial (Smallville, Aug 2002, 1020 hits)
5. The King of Atlantis (SGA, March 2009, 1018 hits)
6. Gun, with Occasional Kangaroo: A Love Story (Due South, September 2005, 960 hits)
7. The Bottom Line (SGA, September 2007, 956 hits)
8. Dr. Rodney's Science Corner (SGA, February 2009, 825 hits)
9. Q.E.D. (Smallville, January 2007, 753 hits)
10. Junk Novels (Sports Night, April 2001, 701 hits)

We start off with the predictable ones, two of the most recent fics I've written, that when posted to LJ/DW included a link to the AO3 version so people had the option of going straight there to read instead. Next, we've got a couple of what I would describe as my most popular fics, then some I didn't see coming, including the very last Smallville fic I posted, my SGA spanking fic, and Dr. Rodney, who is probably getting hits because he's associated with two marvelous remixes, and then, in a complete surprise, a Sports Night fic! From 2001! And it's not Rowboat to Rio! Which is actually eleventh in line with 683 hits, and West Wing, but from the same time period. Fandoms that didn't place: West Wing, The X-Files.

Other observations: All are slash, only three have explicit sex scenes, they're all over 1,500 words -- except for Dr. Rodney, who is tiny -- and most are 5,000-12,000 words, with Interstitial clocking in at 28,000 words. Mmm, numbers.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

You wake up in a locked room on a ship. The room is filling with water. You must find a way out.

( WITH MATH )

Recommended if you can handle graphic descriptions of exploded corpses and if you like puzzles, supernatural conspiracy theories, choose your own adventures novels, and don't mind reading a lot of text.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

Let's just hit the bullet points.

Friday:

• Took train to Seattle, ate Amtrak hot dog and lived to tell the tale, found kormantic.


• Went to ECCC and wandered in circles for a few hours.


• Gazed at the radiant beauty of Jason Momoa from afar.


• Drove to Issaquah and checked into hotel.


• Drove in circles for a while, searching for a sushi place, got sandwiches instead.


• Learned Friends is on Nick at Nite.


• Felt old.

Saturday:

• Went to a wonderfully moderated panel on the evolution of (some of) fandom.


• Went to panel on clichefic (Secret Robot. Suddenly Penguins.)


• Lunch break: Bought many, many snacks.


• Attended panel on AUs, which got sidetracked into a discussion on tags and tagging.


• CRAFT TABLE.


• ( Zach Galifianakis rethinks his choice of companions. )


• Fannish pictionary. My prompt: Olivia Dunham visits Hogwarts and falls in love with Hermione. Kormantic's involved Starbuck, space brothels, and Chewbacca.


• Vidshow and eggrolls.


• Watched my favorite Friends episode ever: The One with the Ova

Sunday:

• Ate breakfast in the back of the Due South panel.


• More craft table. Kormantic (not pictured) completes her traditional Bitchin' Party Crown.


• Checked out.


• Windshield wiper shenanigans.


• Parking lot auto repair.


• Train home. Got stuck in coach in the table seats (the most uncomfortable of all the coach seats? probably!), but made friends with my seatmates through the universal power of word games.

Monday:

• Back to the real world.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

LiveJournal is on Release 90, now, two away from the infamous Release 88 that removed subject lines and redesigned the comment system in such a way that makes it all but impossible for many users to actually use.

Release 90 adds several functions people have been requesting for years, like notifications with unique subject lines (I'm not sure if they thread in Gmail, though), and the ability to make sticky posts. And, according to the comments, and tradition, it (accidentally) also removed some functions, like the ability to access journals with underscores in the name? Or links written in the old users.livejournal.com/exampleusername style?

Anyway, I stumbled across this on the second page of comments:

switchbladesis: Just wondering, are currently any plans to introduce the 'classic style' commenting system to livejournal styles other than minimalism?

astronewt (a LiveJournal employee): I just got an answer to this question, and I'm sorry to have to let you know, but no -- apparently it will be for Minimalism only.

I had hoped that thousands of people asking for the old comment system to be restored, or at least made available to more than one journal style, would have made some impression on TPTB at LiveJournal, but obviously this is not the case.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

I'm in the market for some betas.

I need some Britpicking;
I need some Doctor-Whoing, particularly someone familiar with Rose, Jackie, Ten, S1-2 and the events of Journey's End;
and I need someone who has feelings about story arc and pacing;
and maybe diction and syntax too.

Hopefully I'll be able to find all this in one or two people. If you are one or two of the people who can help me with these things, please let me know which parts you can provide and if you're familiar with Doctor Who. It's 1000 words of G-rated Journey's End post-ep. Thank you!

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

Instead of all the things I should be doing...( a meme. )

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

Anyone want a haphazard outline for a story where Team Sheppard are train robbers? I cooked this up for mific based on this newspaper article about a train robbery. There were five robbers involved, so this has Ford and Ronon because you can never have too much team.

Here's how it goes: The team gets captured on a planet with a space gate. They're tossed into jail. It's the wildest thing that's happened to the town in centuries and the story's all over the weekly newspaper. People everywhere are speculating about the aliens' intentions. The team overhears a conversation between their jailers: Some kids found the jumper and it's being hauled south to the army base for study, leaving on the train that very night!

John hatches a wonky escape plan and the team breaks out of jail. They slink through town randomly until they find the train station, then stow away in the baggage car. Once the train gets underway, they sneak toward the back of the train where the puddlejumper is strapped to a flatbed car, except: Ronon wants his gun back and he knows the potato-faced corporal up in the dining car has it in his purse. It's up to Ford and Teyla to get it back because Ronon would just go up to the guy and punch him in his potato-face and that's not a very good plan.

Quickly modifying her dress to make her look more like the locals (this requires John's pants and Rodney's t-shirt, leaving each of them half-naked, extra grouchy, and totally distracted by each other), Teyla slips into the dining car while Ford improvises a small explosive device in the kitchen. The stew explodes, smoke comes billowing into the car, and everyone starts screaming and knocking over their cocktails. In the confusion, Teyla steals the corporal's purse, which not only has Ronon's gun, but their radios, GDOs, and the jumper remote in it, too.

Everybody scrambles into the puddlejumper. There's some fierce discussion about how they're going to cut the straps holding the jumper to the train, except they're metal so never mind. Rodney says he'll go out onto the flatbed and figure out how to retract the straps, but first he needs a shirt and his old one is no good because Teyla slit it up the front to make a turban. Also, no way he'll fit into Ford's. John gives Rodney his shirt and goes to sulk in the pilot's seat, almost completely naked now. Rodney and Ronon crawl out onto the flatbed, Rodney looking for a control console and Ronon making sure Rodney doesn't fly off the train.

There's probably a shoot out now. Ronon stuns two soldiers and a bunch of porters while Rodney hunches behind the console, systematically pushing all the buttons to see what they do. Eventually this works and the straps retract. They run back to the puddlejumper and as the train enters a narrow canyon, mountains pressing in from either side, the jumper lifts off, flies up out of the canyon and, as the train passengers gawk out the windows, disappears into thin air.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

Platformer on the top screen. Creature nursery on the bottom.

( It's Megaman meets Pokemon. )

Doesn't break any ground in the platforming or creature sim genres, but unique in the way it puts the two together. Fun enough.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

I found these two short stories lurking in my forest of open tabs. I've got no idea who recommended them to me, but I enjoyed them a lot and now I'm passing the recommendation along to you.

One has werewolves and lesbians and a great narrative voice: The Cage, by Alyx Dellamonica.

And the other one has some really excellent language and made me cry with its damn triumph of the human spirit business and the way it embraces how fragile the human business really is: Tenth of December, by George Saunders.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

I have this screwdriver in my desk. It's a handy little thing, ratcheting, with three different heads that swing out. My dad gave it to me. Yesterday I noticed it had something engraved on it:


My dad and his father both worked at car dealerships and garages over the years, so I figured it probably came from one of them. I put "bob gilbert" "grant motors" into Google, not expecting much. I mean, why would the internet know where my screwdriver came from?

I got two hits. One was a scan of the April 23, 1965 issue of the Eugene Register-Guard with a column written by Bob Gilbert himself where he talks about opening night of the Emeralds, Eugene's class A baseball team, and the new line of 1965 Ramblers he's got on display at his dealership, Grant Motors.

Further investigation, aka talking to my dad, reveals that my grandfather did work in Eugene for a while in the early seventies. So the screwdriver came from him, and from Bob Gilbert, who I was able to find on the internet fifty years later because someone took the time to digitize an old newspaper.

I was curious to see how far back the archive went, so I found the first issue Google has of the paper, just called The Guard back then, and learned that on February 5, 1897, there was a train robbery south of Roseberg:

The place selected was an ideal one for a train robbery the mountains closing nearly together at this point, making the canyon quite narrow, thus permitting the robbers to escape with ease. The night was also a perfect one for the business, being extremely dark and a light rain falling.

Later it references their "dastardly work"! Also: "then they commenced exploding dynamite bombs." And: "About this time the car caught on fire." Finally:

The robbers disappeared and were seen by a farmer going over the hills, shortly after, carrying lanterns. There were five of them.

Such a great article. The writing style, the vocabulary, the subject matter. "The highwaymen then attempted to blow up the safes." Next to it is an article about using school children to collect tin cans in order to paint street names on them and how much money this saved the city, and one about William Jennings Bryan, coming through town on the train after his (first) failed run for the presidency. The article didn't mention any of that, they just expected me to know who he was, but Wikipedia tells me Bryan invented the national stumping tour, promoted Free Silver, anti-imperialism, and trust-busting, and was against Darwinism; in 1925, he argued for the prosecution in the Scopes Trial, and won. History! So interesting! And all because I took a closer look at my screwdriver and wondered where it came from.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

From David Hewlett's latest contribution to Blastr:

Do you miss McKay?

Not really, I'm around him every day! As I clean my teeth ... as I give my full head of lush hair its twice-daily 100 strokes of the hairbrush ... as I hear his dulcet tones fill the empty house with his charming and astute complaints. I do miss Stargates and wormholes and ZPMs and chatty missions and aliens and saving the universe ... and sometimes even Joe Flanigan. ;-)

I just love the thought of David rattling around his house, talking to himself and hearing McKay come out.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

Guys, fifteen years ago today, I posted my very first piece of fanfic to alt.tv.x-files.creative. Fifteen years! Pretty soon I will have been a part of fandom longer than I have not been a part of fandom.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

I have a first draft of my Doctor Who fic! As predicted, it's 250 words over the 1000 word limit, so now I'm just going through and deleting all the stuff I don't like. It's wonderful. Why don't I do this with all my stories? I think maybe I'll start. I get attached to something that's not quite right, but I always feel like I can fix it so I spend too much time on it and then I'm unhappy with it because it ends up feeling forced.

Next time I'll just pretend I'm a Cyberman: DELETE DELETE DELETE.

Speaking of being a nerd, yesterday in honor of Valentine's Day, I wore my red shirt.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.

Life Lesson: If your story can only be 1,000 words, the Doctor, much like Rodney McKay, is not your best bet, narratively speaking. The only reason I got away with it last time was because Rodney slept through the middle of the fic.

The Doctor is not asleep, and I'm over my word limit, and he won't stop talking. I had to cut this promising conversation:

Rose sighs. "We'd better get her out of the rain before she melts."

"Does that sort of thing happen a lot here?"

"You've never seen The Wizard of Oz?" she asks.

"I once shared a horse with the Lieutenant of Zoz," he offers.

If it weren't seriously in my way, and if I hadn't already identified it as one of those darlings that needs killing, I would have rearranged the space-time continuum to keep that Lieutenant of Zoz line because that's just the kind of shit I find funny. I mean, shared a horse! This is the Doctor. That could mean anything.

Also posted at Dreamwidth where there are comments.