pink bows and the apocalypse

ALL HAIL THE YULETIDE WRITER

First off, thank you so much for writing for me. I am sure I will love whatever you create. Optional details are optional, so feel free to ignore all of this blather as I would rather have you enjoy writing a fic than worrying about trying to please me. (Also, yes, bits of this were c/p'ed from last year's letter, of which some was copied from the year before that, and even some stuff from the year before that or the year before that.)

Here is some non-fandom specific stuff that might help you:

• I tend to throw out a lot of prompts in my requests. Not only are they all optional, but there is no need to try to cram all of the prompts into one, and there are none I would like to see more than the others.


• I am OK with character death and in-fic violence and I love apocafic. If you run out of other ideas, kill (almost) everybody in the world off and I will love it. The darker and creepier the better.


• I prefer gen to het/slash/femslash and would not like to receive porn for Yuletide.


• I like: plot, ensembles, banter, found families, fully realized characters and settings, adventures, interesting narrative voices and people who bring the funny.


• I dislike: character bashing, infidelity, kidfic, ignoring the women and characters of color, introspective character pieces, incest, schmoop and pwp.


• IRC I can often be found in the #yuletide chatroom. I use the nickname kristin (or sometimes hippo-kristin), so you can avoid or stalk as you please.

( Lupe Fiasco is the Cool )

( The League )

( The Unusuals )

( The Wire )

Hello there gorgeous,

(For being my Yuletide author you are surely kind and wonderful and talented and, yes, gorgeous.)

First off, thank you so much for writing for me. I am sure I will love whatever you create, whether you read this letter or not. Optional details are optional, so feel free to ignore all of this blather if you prefer writing with fewer details. However, if you like long-winded prompts, details about my request and the availability of the fandoms, this is the letter for you.

But first, here is some non-fandom specific stuff that might help you. (Also, yes, bits of this were c/p'ed from last year's letter, of which some was copied from the year before that.)

• If you include porn in your fic, I will scroll past it.


• I am OK with character death and I love apocafic. If you run out of other ideas, kill (almost) everybody in the world off and I will love it.


• Racial diversity = awesome. Isms, not so much. However, I do prefer realism over sugar-coated, so if you want your fic to deal realistically with -isms I would not object.


• I like: plot, ensembles, banter, found families, apocafic, fully realized characters and settings, adventures, interesting narrative voices and people who bring the funny.


• I dislike: character bashing, romance-centric fic, infidelity, high school AUs, kidfic, ignoring the women and characters of color, introspective character pieces, incest, schmoop and pwp.


• How to stalk me: It is a Yuletide tradition to stalk your recipient. To that end: my delicious & my fic. I can also often be found in the #yuletide chatroom. I use the nickname kristin, so you can avoid or stalk as you please.

And now for the fandom specific stuff:

( attack the block )

( hip hop rpf )

( newsradio )

( the wire )

Congrats for getting through that beast of a letter, and may your yuletide be filled with awesome things that do not include stressing about pleasing me. (For I am easy, fic-wise.)

Here are the (very belated) results of the meme from my last entry where I asked people to posit scenarios with an unknown group of characters. I can now reveal the list:

1. Stringer Bell (the Wire)
2. Veronica Mars
3. Castiel (SPN)
4. Zoe (Firefly)
5. The Old Spice Man
6. Peggy (Mad Men)
7. Olive (Pushing Daisies)
8. Mark Zuckerburg (The Social Network)
9. Emerson (Pushing Daisies)
10. Troy (Community)
11. Katniss (Hunger Games)
12. Gus (Psych)
13. Brad Colbert (Generation Kill)
14. Leslie Knope (Parks and Recreation)
15. Omar Little (The Wire)

( and the answers )

I also did the Ao3 hitcount meme:

1. Meta Yuletide Fic - OSM (5126 hits)
2. Honey Pie - Telephone/Psuhing Daisies (761 hits)
3. Bordellos, Brothels and Berries, Oh My! - Pushing Daisies (447 hits)
4. It's Just the Way the Game is Played - The Wire (444 hits)
5. Just Moments - Mad Men (438 hits)
6. Those That Be Not What They Seem - Leverage/Othello (394 hits)
7. All My Wires Without Traces - Submachine (388 hits)
8. Today's Just a Day Like the Day that He Started - The Wire (280 hits)
9. Fine Dining in Baltimore - The Wire (247 hits)
10. The Rules of Roles - Entourage (235 hits)

( and now a bit of discussion about the results (including graphs!) )

I am beginning to fret about finishing purimgifts. So the obvious step was to procrastinate and make icons. At least they were for a challenge and not just for fun?

Fandom: The Wire
Character: Stringer Bell
Challenge: character20n20
Teaser:
. .

( icons under the cut )

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.

So many deadlines this month! I am trying to get some out of the way, so here are my rather early icons for character20n20. This is my first time participating in this, so let's see how it goes. I chose to icon Carver, who is not so secretly (one of) my favorites.

Teaser:

. .

( all 20 under the cut )

Comments are lovely, credit attempt_unique/kristin if you snag.

While I was doing my 20in20 icons I realized that I had gotten woefully unused to working on icon size graphics. Somehow that led to me making just under a hundred icons to practice. Ooops?

Fandoms
01 - 15 Doctor Who (All second doctor except for one random Donna icon)
16 - 30 Pushing Daisies
31 - 48 Sherlock
49 - 56 Southland
57 - 88 The Wire (Includes a spoiler for the end of season 4)
88 - 99 Grab Bag (Includes Psych, Generation Kill, Christina Hendricks and random kissing icons)

Teaser
. .

( icons 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).

Icon dump time! These were made at various times over the past five months or so, and therefore range quite a bit in style (and really, technical merit.) I will make a custom icon for anyone who can guess which techniques I have learned over that time span.

Fandoms include: Doctor Who (Classic and New), Leverage, Merlin, Pushing Daisies, Psych, The Wire, The West Wing, Life, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Bones, Being Human, Kanye West (shut up, that totally is a fandom) and various celebs.

Teaser:
. .

( 98 icons under the cut )

I have been on an icon making binge lately, with no real rhyme or reason to the subject matter. I don't have the space to use all of them, so I am offering them up. I would appreciate it if you would comment if you take any, and give me credit. The textless icons are not meant to be bases.

Fandoms include Pushing Daisies, The Wire, Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Psych and Veronica Mars. There are also high fashion and misc. celebrity icons.

Preview:

. . .

( many more under the cut )

p.s. flist - let me know if any of my coding is off. this is my first mass icon post and i don't want to mess anything up. also, let me know of any communities i could crosspost this to.