pink bows and the apocalypse

Yuletide has come and almost gone, and I haven't posted about my marvelous gifts. Clearly that is a fact that needs to be fixed. This year, as in the past, I am overwhelmed by the awesome fics Yuletide has produced. I haven't had as much of a chance to write or read this year (damn awesome new job and the beginnings of a social life! clearly I need to forgo you during Yuletide) but I did get a chance to read the trio of wonderful fics all for me!

Just a Passageway (3074 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: The Wire
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Ellis Carver, Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins, Preston 'Bodie' Broadus, Original Female Character
Summary:

Sergeant Carver needs to get out from behind his desk once in a while, so he pays a call on a resident of the Western, and learns a few things.
Set early in Season 4

OMG, circle. This fic is amazingness incarnate, The author took the time to include my favorite characters (Carver! Bodie! Bubbles!) as well as an amazing OFC to tell a perfectly Wire tale. So much love for this fic. Seriously, why are you still reading this entry and not the fic?

A Pharaoh From The West (100 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Hip Hop RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Kanye West, Jay Pharaoh
Summary:

Have you ever had sex with a pharaoh?

You must go read this fic. It is a little piece of perfection in drabble form. I obviously have no idea who could write such awesomeness *cough* but if I did, I would twirl them because this, this is greatness.

Consequences (Brap Brap Brap) (543 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Attack the Block (2011)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Moses
Summary:

Moses was a legend on the block

I am seriously the luckiest. Just read that summary and tell me that I am not. See, you can't. &Moses; &thisfic; &thisauthor; <33333333333333

Also, a non-Yuletide rec that is a long time coming because I suck.

Every year I try to do some art for the Fall Fandom Free-for-All. This year I did a few wallpapers, and in return I got something so amazing it blows my mind. bardofcogs did a freaking amazing podfic of my fic Down in the Valley. And she did it awesomely. I've been traveling quite a bit lately and have listened to this a ton and I love it more with every listen. And that has nothing to do with my sub-par writing and everything to do with her awesome reading. Love Love Love.

Lastly, if you guess any of the five fics I wrote for Yuletide, you can claim either a drabble or 3 icons. Now for some hints.

• All the fics were over 1k words, and not in the Madness collection. None are crossovers, and all of them are under 5k.


• My assignment fic was written for a canon I have never written before, but I adore for being hilarious.


• Unless you already knew, you will not guess my first pinch hit. But the title of the fic comes from a hymn.


• I wrote one treat, which is so obvious I might as well have put my name on it. It features both a fandom and characters I have written before.


• My second pinch hit is another fandom I have never mentioned before. It is also the weirdest thing I have ever written. (Yes, even more so than the Leverage/Othello crossover.)


• My third, and final, pinch hit was titled from a lyric from one of my favorite hip hop artists.

People, why is my life so very boring? Please don't answer that, for I fear it would result in a vicious cycle of tediousness.

Instead, let's talk fannish happenings. And since I do so very much love lists, I am employing the trusty bullets.

• The season of big bangs has commenced! Feel free to make dirty jokes about banging and big things as you please. This weekend I finished art for two claims, one for the first round of thesocialbbang and the other for sncross_bigbang. (Yes, I officially failed at writing for the latter, so claimed an awesome fic to make art for instead.)
  
  I also have two more fics in my possession in need of art (for spn_j2_bigbang) for which I have plans and ideas. So many ideas! (And also, awesomely, lots and lots of time until they will be posted.)


• Relatedly, lend me your ears! Or rather, lend me the thing you listen to with your ears, aka music! While putting together mixes I realized my music collection is in need of a good turnover. What are you listening to these days, oh wonderful circle of friends?
  
  I (obviously) have been listening to Lupe's new album. (You should have seen my face when Lasers leaked. It was like :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. Only happier. And not actually an emoticon.) Sadly, it did not quite live up to my expectations, though truthfully that would have been very hard. But I still recommend it, as well as all of his past catalog.


• This week marks the ending of most of the shows I follow. I am considering doing a roundup of this TV season and why I started/stopped/continued watching certain shows. However, I think I would need to break out my Teal Deer Crossing sign if I did that.
  
  I have been following the ongoing Upfronts, because, yes, I am that kind of a TV geek. I am super excited for Awake and Alcatraz, and kinda meh about all the other announced new shows so far. I have very mixed feelings about the fact that NBC declined to pick up Wonder Woman. Gimme fantastic female superheros, please and thank you. On the other hand, well, script, costume and David E. Kelly involvement all pointed to awful television territory.


• Lastly. Here is my in-depth critique of this week's Doctor Who.
  
  ( no real spoilers )

tardis_bigbang was my first big bang challenge ever, last year. So I was delighted to do it again this year. You can find the art I did this year either embedded with the fics or here on the website or here on the feedback journal for the challenge. Go check it out!

This year I was assigned quean_of_swords's fic Noble Persuits. It is a delightful Donna-centric 10.2/Rose fic set in Pete's World. I had a lot of fun reading a making art for it. It also inspired my favorite piece I made for any challenge this year:

( yes, that is an octopus holding a lantern )
Not my typical style, but it actually came out just how I pictured it which is very rare for me.

I also betaed two fabulous fics: Roll on Yesterday by the_afterlight and Rule 39 by hhertzof. This year we could collaborate with our authors, but I got permission from the mods to keep the art I did for them a secret. I would insert an evil laugh here, but it tends to come out as more of a giggle.

I also did a last minute bonus round for art and did a piece for Adventure of a Lifetime: Relationships by malicehaughton.

When I was pulling together links for this post I stumbled across the art I did for last year. And now I kinda want to kick younger me for signing up when I'd only been using Photoshop for 6 mo. (And I'm sure next year I will look back on all my work from this year thinking "why did you do this, younger self? you still haven't figured out using a tablet and your manips are highly unrealistic?) But at least I've improved. I try to emulate my beloved Kanye and try to be a doper person. (Seriously, there are few things in life I am more irrational about than Kanye. His twitter is doing nothing to quell my desire to be him when I grow up.)