pink bows and the apocalypse

First! I drabbled. (Which is less disgusting than it sounds. I know it is a legit term I just always read it as something not that pleasant.) And as I am bit of a purist, yes, it is exactly 100 words, at least according to Ao3.

So here is a tiny fic about Rory that I knid of hate. Not because of Rory, but because I am sure I fucked up his voice. (Wow, I am sure selling the shit out of this fic, aren't I?)

Knowing (100 words) by kristin
Fandom: Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Amy Pond/Rory Williams
Characters: Rory Williams
Summary:

Rory has heard the comments. Hard not to. “You let your girlfriend/fiancee/wife go around kissing other blokes?” (As if he ever let Amy do anything.)

Secondly, I am in the finishing process of two fics, one for an exchange one for fun. Each will clock in at under 1k (or just about that range) and each needs a beta and (if I can get it) Brit-picking. The fics:

• Doctor Who, River Song and Donna Noble gen.


• Sherlock (BBC), Sherlock and John gen.

Please let me know if you can help out over the next couple days! (They won't be ready for anyone else's eye until tomorrow morning.)

I finally finally organized all of my gdocs into something resembling order. I am celebrating my new wip label by doing that WIP meme that has been floating around:

Comment with the name of one of these and I will post a sentence from one of my WIPs. Caveat, some of these are chatfics I saved in order to clean up.
( oldest to newest )
There are also three fics in progress for Purim Gifts, but those are still secret.

Also:

number of fics: 8
number of fandoms: 7
total wordcount: 22.5k words
number of pictures created (for myself and others): 4


I wrote, well, quite a few Yuletide fics. I’m going to go in more detail on the individual fics below, but it was interesting experience.

Assignment: Phalangeridae Didelphimorphia (or an Opossum’s Adventure) (Fantastic Mr. Fox)

My assignment was for a Fantastic Mr. Fox fic for Satchelfoot. They didn’t include any details, or put up a letter, which made things interesting. They did, luckily, use the Gen tag in addition to the characters (Kylie, Badger & Coach Skip) so I didn’t end up stressing about writing a threesome between an opossum, badger and … whatever the coach is. Instead I just wrote a gen adventure in which Kylie goes on a quest to find the wolves.

I spent a lot of time figuring out exactly what I was going to do with this one, rather than actually writing it. It was my first Yuletide assignment with no details, so I had to just guess what my recipient would like. I also had an issue in that when I offered this fandom I didn’t realize how much of love of this fic is about the visuals. I love the characters and the whimsical plot, but really; I see this fandom rather than hear it, and had a hard time getting the visuals across in my fic.

I also included two images with that fic (under the cut at the end of the post) illustrating two of Kylie’s dreams. I did this mostly to make up for my lackluster prose.


Pinch Hit Number One: Bordellos, Brothels and Berries, Oh My! (Pushing Daisies)

OK, so here is something you need to know about me. I am a pinch hit addict. I can’t help it. I see the emails come flooding into my inbox and I click reply as quickly as I can. The first pinch hit I picked up was very early in the process, which gave me time to write this a Pushing Daisies fic for hllangel.

This fic was notable for two reasons: A. It is very much NOT GEN. (My first non-gen fic!) B. I managed to make it exactly 6666 words. (Unintentional? Yes. Awesome? Also yes.)

I love Pushing Daisies and had fun mimicking the narrator voice. It is the fic I fretted over the most, because it was so very far out of my wheelhouse. I am not sure the emotional resolution happens, or if my fade-to-black was satisfying. Also, now I can’t say I’ve never written anything but gen.


Pinch Hit Number Two: Honey Pie (Pushing Daisies/Telephone music video)

So yes, I also wrote this year’s crazy crossover for ladyofjest, which is a Pushing Daisies mash-up with Lady Gaga’s Telephone video. My rationalization? They are both bright, colorful, over-the-top with occasional song and dance bits. (Also, when I snagged the pinch hit I realized I could do either and couldn’t decide.)

Now, I knew I wanted to write Emerson fic. Not only because Emerson is awesome, but because I had been failing to write much that fit the dark_agenda challenge. I already had been working on my Pushing Daisies narrative voice for the previous pinch hit, so I knew I was going to use that. From there, this was actually pretty quick to write. I banged it out over the course of a couple days and am pretty satisfied with it. (I am, however, ticked that I misspelled a main character’s name through out. Honey B, no Honey Bee, self!)


Pinch Hit Number Four: Just Moments (Mad Men)

(Yes, I can count. I just want to discuss the third one a little later.)

This was a very very very last minute thing. I have said before I don’t feel the need to read or write Mad Men fic. And for the most part, that remains true. But a couple hours before the collection closed, elyn sent out last frantic pinch hits, including one for bowdlerized, who wanted “I'm interesting in seeing Don and Rachel Menken together again--either in a flashback or in the future, if you can find a way to wrangle it. If that doesn't appeal, I also love Don and Peggy's working relationship, and I love Joan, too. In general, I'm most interested in life at Sterling Cooper (Draper Pryce) and not at home..” And I thought, I can do that.

So I did. I wrote a 5 Times fic about Peggy and Don and the growth of their relationship. (OK, really, mostly just Peggy.) It is rather sparse, as my fics tend to be anyway, but due to time constraints it was especially abbreviated. But I think I did well enough under the circumstances. But this is one I would love to expand at some point, if only so you can tell who is saying what.


Treats 1&2: Waiting to Play, Practical Legends (The Wire)

I am sure you are all suitably shocked. *crickets*

OK, yes, I realize I am not subtle. There was no chance in hell I wasn’t going to write Wire treats for mjules and novembersmith. I suggested (forced) both of them to start watching the Wire as well as to request it. ILTHEM FOR THAT (as well as just in general.)

Jules wanted high school Bunk and Omar and so she got them! My darling huckleberry wanted Omar and Ziggy and so she go them! (See, you should watch the Wire, yes you, so you too can get what you want.)

Both of these were quick things. I actually started and finished both of these on the same day. There is not really much to say about them.


Treats 3: Fine Dining in Baltimore (The Wire)

You know who is awesome? Elyn is awesome. everywherestars is awesome. I couldn’t choose who to write for, so I wrote this fic for both of them. Again, this was a last minute thing written on the 20th at about 3am. (I wrote an awful lot that day.)

It is a 5 times Wire fic featuring four times meals were missed and one that wasn’t. I still haven’t decided if the last section is ridiculous or awesome. Again, I wish I had started writing this, say, oh, at the beginning. Because each section is so short. If I had time there would be more letters of the alphabet and more fully realized scenarios rather than the tiny snippets.

There is actually a lot I was trying to do with this stylistically, that because of the time management issues I was not able to work in. The alphabet thing (the POV characters are in alphabetical order), the no one actually eating etc. Originally, all the vignettes were meant to tell the story of Randy’s death. But I never actually managed to get that plotted well enough to include it.


Pictures!!! aka Something I don’t suck as much at!

Click to be taken to the full sized images
( fantastic mr fox )

( haven: for novembersmith )

( love, actually: for mjules )


Pinch Hit Number Three: Meta Yuletide Fic (The Fic You Wish Your Fic Smelled Like)

So yeah. That happened?

Seriously, I am so overwhelmed by the response to this fic. I have never ever received so much fannish love at once. (I am predicting that most people will see who wrote it will go: Who? Or maybe: The crazy Wire lady?) I am not going to lie. When I came up with this idea I knew it would get hits. I just wasn’t sure people would actually like it rather than just wanting to see the train-wreck.

You know how people are always talking about who the most popular this is the quickest thing they wrote? Yeah. That was completely the case for this one. I sat down, typed it up and had it done within a couple hours (except for the footnotes which were a later addition).

But I am thrilled with the response (and I’ll admit, a little scared by it). So:

Hello, Yuletiders. I see you have descended on my journal of thoughts and icon thingies. Are you here to see me write things for you while whistling a tune that perfectly mimics the song of that rare bird you once saw a television special about? Or do you come to witness the perfection I render in pixels of the icon variety while baking cookies that melt in your mouth with bursts of the flavor of awesome?

Oh, it doesn’t matter. I am here (and, I suppose, you are too.). Let us go forth with the merry making and fresh water fish.

I am posting this at Panera as I am here for lunch and precious precious Internet. Mine has been out for days and I am going crazy from the boredom.

Today is my four year lj-versary. I find that a very weird this indeed. I was just a wee thing when I started it, and not very fannish. Of course, now I am much more involved. I realized I hadn't linked my more recent fics here. (I am still far from prolific, but I did write a couple of things these past months.) Echoes Down the Line is Southland, Cooper-centric. I also forgot to link my Remix pinch hit Name vs. Nature (the Demonstrative Remix) in which The Rani (Classic Doctor Who) meets Rani (The Sarah Jane Adventures.)

I also wrote a couple commentfics: a snippet of Clyde and Rani (SJA) for a meme, then a crack crossover for the oldspice_kinkmeme. I already anon failed on it, so I might as well claim the Psych/Old Spice Man fill. As if that isn't crazy enough, I also working on an Inception/Old Spice Man fic for freneticfloetry because she is my favorite.

Now for the icons!
For this round of doctorwho20in20 they allowed people to claim either a series of New Who or an era of Classic. I went with Two era, for they are my favorites. (Two/Zoe/Jamie is my platonic OT3)

Teaser:
. .

( the rest are under the cut )

this year i went a bit crazy for yuletide. i wrote 6 fics, four of which were over 1,000. what freaks me out is the wordcount, which is over 17,000.

the bulk of that is made up of my assigned fic All My Wires Without Traces, for shusu. it is 10,007 words of fic about Submachine, a series of online escape games. This fic was weird for me, mostly because it was almost too easy. I kept making up complications for myself. (i was 100% certain that shu would leave a comment telling me she knew i was the author and ruining secrecy and therefore.) but that did not happen! i got the prompt in my inbox and immediately wrote a 1200 word! outline which i pretty much stuck to.

This is a fic i wrote for the ending. i like the second half a lot more than the first, as i wrote it chronologically and i kept adding new ideas in as i went along, which led to a full day edit/rewrite session to make sure things would actually make sense. i am proud of this fic. i like the job i did with the world building, and creating characters who worked within the universe. (in case anyone was wondering, the protagonist is based on kara (from the escape game Covert Front), kima (from 'The Wire'), and rihanna. this fic actually kind of gave me the idea that maybe someday i could write orginal stuff. (that day, however, is not today.)

As i mentioned, i was paranoid that shu would figure out i wrote her fic, especially as we had discussed the premise of my fic before. so, i decided i needed to write a cover up fic. originally i was going to write shu a second fic for 'mack the knife' but then hit on the idea of writing a fic based on 'the wire' and titling it from a kanye west song. (my passions, let me show them to you.) well, i didn't end up using a kanye lyric, but i did co-currently write a 'wire' fic.

It's Just the Way the Game is Played is the treat i wrote for elynross. it is probably the best piece of fanfiction i have ever written. (i know that sounds a bit conceited, but i know it is not the best fic in the world, but in terms of my writing... it is way ahead.) i was rewatching season 4 when i got to the second to last ep. Bodie is talking to McNulty and he uses a chess metaphor. i heard that and started planning out the fic. i didn't get everything into the fic i wanted (there is a scene of bodie teaching the corner kids chess that might someday actually get written.) and the whole last section came out of nowhere. but i think it works. i used themes, motifs and basically, this is probably the only fic i have ever written that i would read and love. this was my most popular fic of the year.

Those That Be Not What They Seem was a pinch hit for linaerys this was probably my most disappointing fic. i grabbed this pinch hit because the recipient left awesome prompts. unfortunately, i decided to merge the prompts into what i called in chat 'my crazy crossover.' because yes. this fic is an othello/leverage crossover that includes a rather odd attempt at iambic pentameter.

i also picked up a second pinch hit for anotherusedpage, for which i wrote Today's Just a Day Like the Day That He Started which is also for 'the wire.' i like this fic. i wrote it because lester was a character who i never really connected with during the series. this was my way of trying to figure out how he ticked.

then come the madness treats! both of these were written on the 24th.

Why Does the Hippo Dance? was a #yuletide - rpf fic for dehaunea. (yes, hi, i am crazy) i wrote it to sound like a children's book. i have been trying to illustrate it, but i fear that project is doomed due to my ineptitude. this is meta on several levels, not the least that i actually wrote this in the chat window.

last, but not least, there is The West Side Way, another fic for 'the wire' fandom. it was a treat for thedreamygirl for gen fic about herc and carver. i can't help it! i love that fucking show! anyway, this was written last minute, actually on my iphone in the car. even so, it was lots of fun to write, mostly because while bodie is awesome, carver is totally my actual favorite (shhhhh).

and forgot to crosspost.

TITLE: to bring the second coming quicker
AUTHOR: attemt_unique
RATING: PG-13 (language)
DISCLAIMER:his fic is based on the characters as portrayed in the miniseries Generation Kill. The characters do not belong to me, and I borrowed the names of Poke's wife and child from Hackthis' fic. Title is from lyrics to Lupe Fiasco's "American Terrorist"
CHARACTERS: Sgt. Antonio “Poke” Espera
SUMMARY: Poke is home now.
NOTES: Written for inlovewithnight for the Generation Kill Minor Characters Ficathon

Click here to go to the fic

as you should be aware, yuletide authors have been revealed.

this year i wrote three stories:

to forge the steel, an assassins (musical) fic for nextian. this was my original fic, and therefore the one i worried the most about. it came out as well as could be expected, considering i almost didn't offer assassins this year. i am most proud, in this fic, of booth's dialogue. it really flowed for me, and people seemed to like it.

the main thing that was different for me about this is that i tried to write slash subtext. nextian requested slash, and even though i'm not yet comfortable writing it yet, i thought i would hint at it. apparently that came through, so yay!

this fic owes a ton to the betas: wrabbit and truth. they really, really helped, as it was in bad shape before they got their hands on it.

wearing down life, was a pinch hit written for anythingbutblue. it is a trigun fic, based on the anime as per request, which is good as i haven't read the manga. this one i really liked when i wrote it. it is a bit ridiculous, i admit, in that i have wolfwood chasing a cat and an oc called blah. this story showcases my great inability to name characters.

this fic was easy for me to write, but once i posted i really started to worry about it. i had actually never written in a translated fandom before (i watched it subbed) and am not 100% about the character voices. in terms of reception, well, the recipient liked it, and that is what mattered

do robots dream of electric pineapples was a treat for pocketmouse. the fandom was psych, and the plot is crack. really. i made shawn a robot for real. therefore, obviously, it was my most popular fic.

the weird thing is, this is the only one of three i wrote to make a point. shawn is played by james roday, who is latino, though the character is portrayed as white. the actors who play his parents are both white, with blonde hair and blue eyes. how this works is never mentioned on the show. my solution was to make shawn a robot.

people thought it was funny, which is good. i had never actually set out to write something funny before, and am glad it succeeded.


the comments on my fics have been nice, but the best parts of this whole yuletide are the wonderful people from #yultide chat. ♥ s you all.