aka_arduinna

aka_arduinna @ 2009-12-06T21:59:00

2009-12-07T02:58:58Z

Thank you, ~~whoever sent me the snowflake~~ anonymous snowflake senders! That was really sweet. :)

Good lord, and also marycrawford, marthawells, elynross, and merryish. Thank you!

(edited [again] for ~~second~~ many snowflake[s]!)

Dear Yuletide Writer

2009-11-12T23:54:28Z

Thank you so much! The thought of a story in any of these fandoms is already making me happy. Whatever you want to do with them, I'm already grateful, and the happier you are with what you write, the happier I'll be reading it. If you have an idea that you're itching to write, go for it!

If you want more information about my requests, though, read on - but please don't worry if your ideas go in a different direction. Optional details are optional! As long as it's for one of these fandoms, and uses the characters, you totally win at Yuletide. \o/

My fic tastes

You will have noticed I'm a slash fan, with a strong leaning toward buddy pairs. *g* Slash for me covers the full spectrum from UST and preslash through totally committed/involved, and can be explicit or not depending on what suits the story. It's all about the characters and their relationship, whatever point it may be at.

But if you don't do slash, that's totally fine! "Relationship" also covers friendship, and gen about these characters will also make me really happy.

I love all four of these fandoms unreservedly, so if you have a yen to explore the universe, or bring in additional characters I didn't list, it's all good.

Some things I like in general, in no particular order: first times; hurt/comfort (physical or emotional); strong competence; snark; banter; affection; trust (either established or growing); happy or hopeful endings; plots; pwps; character studies; missing scenes; backstory; episode tags; longing/yearning; wit; romance (in terms of a building relationship, not so much the Harlequin/Mills&Boon sort of thing); the moment of discovery/realization; canon-based characterization; adventure; quiet moments; cavefic; epistolary fic; characters who have broccoli with each other.

I also like crossovers, whether serious or cracky, and I read in a wide variety of fandoms -- if you have an idea to cross one of my requested fandoms with another fandom I know, feel free! (But of course, as always, don't feel obligated!)

Oh, and while I love canon-based characterization, I don't require canon-timeframe stories; for any of these fandoms, feel free to write pre-canon, canon, or post-canon.

If you want a more extensive look at the sorts of stories I like, I have a recs site that you can look at if that will help, and I tag things on delicious as well. My own stories are here.

The only things I can't read are domestic discipline and strong embarrassment/humiliation (I have a severe embarrassment squick); the next rung of that ladder would be the "not my cup of tea" level, including hardcore bdsm, torturefic, mpreg, and genderfuck.

Beyond those, pretty much anything goes, although as you can probably tell from my prompts, what I would really love this year is a story that falls mainly into the lighter, vanilla, happy/fluffy, warm end of the spectrum - not necessarily kittens and rainbows (although hey, I like both those things, if that's where you want to go *g*), but more comfort than hurt, more affection than angst, etc. RL has been a little stressful this year, and I'd love it if the story countered some of that stress.

Why I love these fandoms

(Alphabetical, not ranked by preference! I love them all. :)

Crusoe (Robinson Crusoe, Friday)
Request detail: Slash or warm gen, any rating, please! I'd love a happy/warm/cheerful story that includes the connection/friendship between Crusoe and Friday; I love both these men and the relationship between them, and would love to see that explored. Anything from a single quiet moment to a sexy romp to a plotty adventure would be great - as long as it's about primarily Friday and Crusoe, I'll be happy.

Where you can find it: The entire series (only one season, with 12 episodes) is out on DVD, or if you're in the US, you can watch the whole thing streaming on Hulu (U.S. only, sorry!).

I love this show, and I have no idea why it never took off as a slash or buddy gen fandom. The connection between Crusoe and Friday is a thing of joy. I love the genuine affection and respect they have for each other; the way they tease each other (especially how Friday teases Crusoe, which is one of my favorite things ever - "It will just glide gennnntly down" hee!); how they each have their own expertise; how they're each so damn smart, in such wonderfully complementary ways. I love that they don't agree on everything, including some really fundamental things, but that they can disagree/argue without it threatening their relationship. I love that Crusoe reads to Friday, and that they switch off by Friday reciting those books back to Crusoe from memory; that they spar with each other and can crack each other up while they're at it; that they play together, and boast like boys, and revel in the moment.

Also, they are v. v. pretty and run around half-naked a lot, and live in a treehouse together. I'm not opposed to the shallow end of the pool, either. I'm just saying.

I'd be happy with any kind of story about them, from backstory to adventure to a quiet day at home. This show pings all of my slash buttons so I would love to see slash for them, but if that isn't your thing, a buddy story would also be lovely. (Please no Susannah-bashing, in any event; I'm very fond of her, and I hope that she and Olivia have a wonderful life together. *g*)

I Spy (Alexander Scott, Kelly Robinson)
Request details: Slash or warm gen, any rating, please! I would love a happy/warm/cheerful story that kept the relationship between Kelly and Scotty in mind, from a day lazing around a hotel pool to a plotty mission, or whatever else takes your fancy. As long as they're the focus and their connection is solid, I'll be happy.

Where you can find it: The entire series is on DVD, pretty inexpensively ($13 per season for all three seasons on Amazon), and the first two seasons are available for streaming in the US on Hulu.

I Spy caught me when I was in my teens and never let me go, and again, I don't understand why the fandom is so tiny. Gorgeous leads! Adventure! Spy stuff! Banter and jazz talk and broccoli in spades! There's angst and love and loyalty, shared hotel rooms, canonical rubdowns, shortie silk kimonos and tight white pants and cool, cool sunglasses. I think the thing that grabbed me most right from the getgo was the way they speak their own private language, marking them as an "us" in giant blinky neon letters (with everyone else in the world a "them"). I have a huge weakness for any sort of private communication like that, whether it be vocabulary or injokes or a particular way of looking at each other, and Kelly and Scotty do it all. I love how close they are; I love that Kelly calls Scotty's mother "Mom" and writes her letters just like Scotty does; I love how they trust each other so incredibly much, no matter what.

They live in a pretty hard world and are aces at surviving it, mainly because they always, always have each other. I'd love to see anything exploring that togetherness, from backstory to missing scenes to a totally new adventure, or just a day off at the pool. (Please no unrelenting angst, even though Kelly is indeed the undoubted King of Angst. *g*)

Invisible Man (Any)
Request details:Slash or warm gen, any rating, please! Bobby / or & Darien is my main love in I-Man, but I love everything about the show and its characters, and a happy/warm/cheerful m/m slash or gen story about any (or all, or any combination) of them would be fabulous. They're all so competent and smart and strong in their own ways -- all different ways! -- and I would love a story that kept that in mind, anything from a slice of life to a plotty or wacky adventure.

Where to find it: Season 1 is out on DVD in both the UK and the US, and both seasons 1 & 2 are available for streaming in the US on Hulu. If neither of those options work for you, you can check out the usual suspects for such things.

I-Man was pretty much tailor made for me: a true buddy show with great secondary characters, great dialogue, a villain truly worthy of the name, wackiness and tragedy and humor and courage and angst and omg Flowers for Hobbes! and paranoia and lithium and tri-dimensional data viewers and quicksilver madness and matching sunglasses and "little *prick*!" and it was just all good.

I love Darien and Bobby's relationship, how they play but how it isn't all sunshine and roses all the time, either; I love Eberts's quiet adulation of the Official; I love how Bobby and Eberts snipe at each other, and how they bonded as warriors in the file room; I love Kevin and Darien's devotion to each other, despite their differences; I love Arnaud's lunacy and passion, and Huiclov's loyalty; I love Claire's loyalty and caring, and her combination of serious scientist and goofball; I love Bobby's crush on Claire, and how Darien grew to trust her but that the early distrust and anger could still give him an edge with her.

*flappy hands* I love all of it, and all of them. (Okay, I admit, Alex didn't get me to love her during the show, but if she's your girl and you can show me why she rocks, I would love to go along for that ride with you - show me what I missed!) Any (m/m) slash or gen you want to write in this fandom would make me happy[1]. I'd prefer no het or femslash, unless it's only incidental to the main story or pairing, and a happy/hopeful ending would make my day.

[1]Slight disclaimer: while I can read and enjoy a lot of same-generation, same-gender incest, I'm not specifically looking for incest here. If that's what you want to write, that's totally cool, but please make it, um, cheery incest? Happy/warm incest of yay? ... Yeah, I know, especially regarding Arnaud/Huiclov, but.. yeah. Happy/warm/cheery, if you go there, please. *g*

MASH (tv) (Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, John "Trapper" MacIntyre)
Request details: Slash or warm gen, any rating, please! I'd love a happy/warm/cheerful story about Hawkeye and Trapper; I love them both to bits, and I love them together best of all, whether as friends or lovers. Anything from a quiet moment in the Swamp to a crazed day in the OR to the day they met up back home - whatever you want to write, if it's about them and their connection, I'll be happy.

Where to find it: All of MASH is on DVD (my request only concerns the first three seasons, though); I can't find it streaming, but it appears to be currently airing in syndication in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK & Ireland, and Canada, if Wikipedia is to be believed.

I can't remember a time when I didn't watch MASH, and while I loved the whole series, my favorite seasons were the first three, with Trapper and Hawkeye at the heart of that. I love the joy they take in each other, the way they delight in delighting each other, whether with a joke or a shared smile or a drink after a hard day at the OR. They're hugely competent, and smart, and caring, and when they're together all of that is more than multiplied. I also love that they can disagree, and argue, and even fight, and still come out of it with an intact, strong relationship - they may back each other, but they're not each other's yes-men, and they're not blind to each other's flaws.

So basically, show me that relationship, in either a slash or gen context, and I'll be happy. Just please no angst, death, or suicide fic -- what I love best about them is how they make each other happy, and that's what I'd love to see.

If you're stalking my LJ or delicious for hints about me, my apologies - I never post much, and this year in particular I've been quiet in both places. But honestly, I adore all these fandoms, and will be happy with absolutely anything you write, as long as you enjoy writing it.

And thank you, again!!

Yuletide reveal!

2009-01-03T20:51:18Z

Once again this year, I am barely halfway through the archive for the fandoms I know, so once again, recs aren't going to happen for a while.

But I must rec the fabulous story I got:

But a Dream, by Cori Lannam.

It's Crusoe, and it is the very first Crusoe story I had ever even seen, much less read, and it is so good! \o/

I'm not sure how to describe this without spoiling it; it starts with Crusoe waking up hurt and confused, and that confusion is crucial to the story. But Cori nailed everything I love about the show, in a way that I was not expecting at all, and I am flappy-handed with joy about the entire thing.

I admit, it probably won't make much sense if you haven't seen the series, but that should just provide incentive to go watch this show, which is incredibly fun.

(I can't believe this wasn't one of Yuletide's big fandoms this year, or that it isn't this year's hot new slash fandom [gen, too, but this is a show slashers should be going nuts over] -- two hot men, both smart and insanely competent, wonderful complements to each other, running around having adventures on a tropical island together. And living together in a treehouse, and utterly devoted to one another, but with plenty of room for arguments and misunderstandings because they're also very different. And with tons of fascinating backstory that's being spooled out a little bit at a time, to boot. And h/c all over the damn place. And banter and snark and teasing. And regular influxes of people who show up to make trouble before they go away again. Seriously, go watch this show! If you're in the US, all the episodes are on Hulu. If you're not in the US, I'm sure all the episodes are in the usual places. *g*)

And I wrote a story, too, for Thea M, who requested Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.

The Golden Afternoon
Gen, PG
~3,400 words
Summary: An autumn day in the woods with Caine and Peter.

It's also up on my site. therienne and llwyden betaed for me, and made the story much better than it was. Thanks, guys!

I had huge amounts of fun rewatching the show to get the voices back in my head properly; it's all about the emotion and people's relationships with each other, with regular forays into danger, fights, and chases to keep things moving.

I was a little nervous because Thea wanted Pop in her story, and I'd never written him; the little dabbling I did ten years ago (... omg, *ten years ago*) was all Peter/Kermit. So of course I wound up writing the entire thing from Pop's POV -- because once I got inside his head, it all just flowed from there. Bizarre speech patterns and all.

Once I recover from the slight burnout of trying to read everything before the reveal, I'll get back to going through the fandoms I know and start pulling an actual set of recs together. Meanwhile, I'm tagging my favorites on delicious.

Dear Yuletide Writer

2008-11-11T00:32:17Z

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thank you so much! The thought of a story in any of these fandoms is already making me ridiculously happy. Whatever you want to do with them, I'm already grateful. And feel free to write in more characters than I listed; I like all the characters in these shows, and as long as the focus is on the characters I requested, I'll be happy.

My prompts were a little vague, partly because I love surprises -- so it almost never occurs to me to think "what kind of story do I want to get?" -- and partly because I didn't want to make you feel obligated to meet any requirements. Seriously, whatever you want to write is great, and the happier you are with what you write, the happier I'll be reading it. If you have an idea that you're itching to write, go for it!

If you want more info, though:

My fic tastes

You will have noticed I'm a slash fan. *g* Slash for me covers the full spectrum from UST and preslash through totally committed/involved, and can be explicit or not depending on what suits the story. It's all about the characters and their relationship, whatever point it may be at.

But if you don't do slash, that's fine! "Relationship" also covers friendship, and gen will also make me really happy. (Or het, in one request!)

Some things I like, in no particular order: first times, hurt/comfort (physical or emotional), competence, snark, banter, affection, trust (either existing, or discovering, trust), happy endings (or endings that leave room for eventual happiness), plots, pwps, character studies, missing scenes, longing/yearning, wit, romance (in terms of a building relationship, not so much the Harlequin/Mills&Boon sort of thing), the moment of discovery/realization, canon-based characterization, adventure, quiet moments, cavefic.

I also like crossovers, whether serious or cracky, and I read in a wide variety of fandoms -- if you have an idea to cross one of my requested fandoms with another fandom I know, feel free! (But of course, as always, don't feel obligated!)

If you want a more extensive look at the sorts of things I like, I have a recs site that you can look at if that will help, and I tag things on delicious as well. My own stories are here.

The only things I can't read are domestic discipline and strong embarrassment/humiliation (I have a severe embarrassment squick); the next rung of that ladder would be the "not my cup of tea" level, with things like hardcore bdsm, torturefic, mpreg, and genderfuck. Beyond those, pretty much anything goes.

Although I tend to gravitate toward the lighter, vanilla, happy/fluffy end of the spectrum, a dip into murkier waters is no problem at all, and I have no problem with a bumpy road to happiness, either. :)

Why I love these fandoms

If you're looking for more for specifics than generalities, here's what I love about these particular fandoms (alphabetical, not by order of preference, because I would be equally happy with any of them):

Crusoe (Robinson Crusoe, Friday)
Request detail: Slash or warm gen, please! Anything that includes the connection/friendship between Crusoe and Friday, with bonus points for banter and snark.

I've only seen a few episodes as I write this, but this caught me from the very beginning because of the wonderful connection between Crusoe and Friday. (I have a *very slight* weakness for buddy shows. Ahem.) I love the genuine affection and respect Crusoe and Friday have for each other; the way they tease each other (okay, so far in the series, mostly how Friday teases Crusoe, which is rapidly becoming one of my favorite things ever); how they each have their own expertise; how they're each so damn smart, in such wonderfully complementary ways. I love that they don't agree on everything, including some really fundamental things, but that they can disagree/argue without it threatening their relationship. (Also, they are v. v. pretty and run around half-naked a lot, and live in a treehouse together. I'm not opposed to the shallow end of the pool, either. I'm just saying.) I'd be happy with any kind of story about them, from backstory to adventure to a quiet day at home.

This show pings all of my slash buttons so I would love to see slash for them, but obviously Crusoe's devotion to Susannah and the children could be a problem there (and I would rather not see any Susannah-bashing, please), and a buddy story about their friendship would also be lovely.

Equalizer (Control, Robert McCall)
Request details: Slash would be great, but so would gen if slash isn't your cup of tea. I'd love to see some backstory on their relationship before Control became Control -- anything you want, from plotty mission stuff to them sitting around having a drink somewhere.

During the series, they're that cranky old married couple who bitch and moan and poke at each other, but they're always there for each other no matter what. A relationship that deep and strong and long-lasting isn't normal in their business, and nothing seems to be able to jeopardize it. I've always wanted to know how they got that way. I don't mean the whole decades-long story (although hey, if you want to write it, I won't complain *g*), but some point of connection between them before Control became Control (or maybe when Control did become Control?), anything from a mission to a quiet moment over a shared whiskey. Or if backstory isn't your thing, the connection between them during or after canon would work just as well for me. Slash or gen, it's all good.

(Totally random, totally ignorable note: If you're also a KFTLC fan *points down* and wanted to cross them based on Control being remarkably similar to Paul Blaisdell in many ways, that would be cool, too; I've always thought it would make a great crossover. But don't feel obligated or pressured -- I'm just mentioning it, not specifically requesting it. :)

Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (Kermit Griffin, Peter Caine)
Request details: Slash would be lovely, but so would gen if slash isn't your cup of tea. Anything you want to write about them would be great, from plot to fluff, from cop stuff to Shaolin stuff to just-guys stuff -- it's all good.

I have such a soft spot for this show; I started watching it because I loved the original, but fell for this one even harder. I love many things about it, but especially the (sort of unlikely) relationship between Peter and Kermit. They're not partners, but they *feel* like partners to me, from the sheer, unending trust between them. I love how Kermit so readily believes in the mystic aspects of Peter's life, how they're both so ready to back each other, how they watch out for each other. The finale, with Kermit promising to be Peter's "Shaolin Eyes" as he moved on from the police, sort of summed that all up for me -- not even separation can separate them! Ahem. So, anything you want to do with them, from a case to a mystic adventure to a quiet slice of life to a meditative moment, would make me really happy. Slash or gen, whichever is easier for you.

Night Court (Harry, Dan, Roz)
Request details: Harry/Dan, Dan/Roz, or gen, please! Wacky or serious, anything you want to write about any of them would be grand.

There is so much to love about this show, from sheer wackiness to genuine emotion. All of the characters and relationships are great, but my favorites are Harry, Dan, and Roz. Specifically, Harry and Dan's relationship, and Dan and Roz's relationship, both of which make me really happy. Harry and Dan are the heart of the show for me; Harry is the one person Dan really *trusts*, and he never betrays that trust as they get closer every year (snarkily, but they do it). But then Dan and Roz form a strong connection, too, one that works amazingly well, as they fight and snark and quietly, crankily, learn to love each other. *hearts them all* I would be happy with a romantic or gen story about either pair, or a gen story about all three (but not a romantic threesome, though, please).

And thank you, again!!

(eta request characters and details, and clarify one bit)

vid recs

2008-09-05T23:20:58Z

I've been planning to add vid recs to my rec site for a couple of years now. The problem is, there are so many great vids that I kept feeling like I was leaving too many out.

I'm still leaving too many out -- vids, fandoms, you name it -- but it's at the point where if I don't suck it up and post these, they're going to languish on my harddrive forever. Better to rec some than none, right? So here are 107 vid recs in over 50 fandoms. (... yeah, I know.)

Most of my connection to the vid community these days is through Vividcon, so these tend to be slanted toward vids and vidders that I've come across there.

All of the recs in one place:

Recs by fandom:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Hercules: the Legendary Journeys

Heroes

Highlander

Holding Out For A Hero

Homicide: Life on the Streets

Xena Warrior Princess

X-Files

Multifandom

Please let me know if there are any problems with links, etc.

best birthday party ever

2008-08-25T00:28:05Z

So, a while back I had a birthday, as you do. I tend to be incredibly busy right around my birthday for various reasons, so my friends celebrate it late, whenever we all happen to have time for it.

This year, it was this weekend.

Usually it consists of going out to dinner and then back to someone's place for cake and presents. So we went out to dinner (yum), and back to therienne's house, which conveniently is also merryish's house, as they were the friends who had taken me out.

Merry had said she was going to bake me a cake (she has discovered her inner baker, and as a friend who benefits from this, I can only say "yay!"). She wanted to know what I wanted; I told her I'm not fussy, I just like chocolate, and she really shouldn't go to too much effort. I'm honestly happy with cake from a box and frosting from a can. But she and therienne went looking for recipes, and pondered frosting, and all sorts of complicated things -- all of which I knew about, since they did much of it in front of me, and Merry kept asking me things like "so, do you want a strawberry ganache in the middle? Or maybe raspberry?" (Complicated things!)

At dinner, I mentioned that I'd half expected them to announce "We made you a cake... but we eated it" when I arrived, and Merry said that, well, they hadn't decorated it as much as they could, because marycrawford had sent them some lovely TARDIS and Dalek stencils to use and they just decided it was too much work, sorry! Which, dude. They made me a cake and didn't eated it! All was well.

So we get back to the house and watch some SGA, and then it is time for cake. They make me shut my eyes (I had been forbidden to go into the kitchen at all before this), and bring out the cake to put in front of me. By this time, I am wondering what the *hell* is going on with this cake, because... it's a cake! Did they load it up with a bajillion candles, or something? What was the deal, here?

There were no candles. Instead, I saw...

They gave me a freaking STARGATE for my birthday!

And not only a stargate, but a stargate where the kawoosh had just fallen back in, which you can tell, because:

... the surface still has RIPPLES. omg.

And not only *that*, but they used actual gate symbols on the cake, including Earth:

Which was the piece I got to eat. Even though it took me about three hours to actually bring myself to eat the symbol itself, because dude, if I ate the Earth, we could all *die*!

Okay, really I just couldn't bring myself to ruin it, because it was perfect and wonderful. But I did eventually eat it.

Oh, and also? The cake totally had the raspberry ganache in the middle, and I now have a container full of leftover ganache in my fridge, which is like a little tub o' candy.

So merryish and therienne were so utterly awesome to me that I actually needed to post about it, so other people would know how fabulous they are.

(Did I mention that therienne also gave me lolcat fridge magnet poetry? SO COOL.)

Thanks, guys -- you really are the best. *hearts*

Fic: Sumer Is Icumin In (Anthropomorfic, Ice/Water)

2008-08-04T21:43:54Z

Title: Sumer Is Icumin In
Author: Arduinna
Fandom: Anthropomorfic
Pairing: Ice/Water
Prompt: summer

Notes: Written for oxoniensis's Porn Battle VI - The Undiscovered Country. I saw the prompt and this pretty much instantly sprang to mind, so I couldn't resist.

You can read the story over there, or on my website, or click the cut to read it here.

The sudden blast of heated air was a shock, and Ice shivered a little in excitement, knowing summer had come at last -- and Water was waiting, patient and inexorable.

In winter, their joinings were slow, delicate; it could take an hour for Ice to melt into Water one molecule at a time, hard surface dissolving into Water's yielding depths without a ripple as their temperatures merged into a perfect, cool whole.

Spring and fall were faster, a steady, friendly give-and-take where sometimes Water tumbled over Ice and sometimes Ice swirled through Water, playing together for as long as they could until the demands of joining pushed them toward a final merging.

But summer.

Summer was different.

Ice shivered harder, surface going slickly wet in anticipation.

Finally, Water was just inches below, wrapped snugly around with glass but lidless, wantonly exposed to Ice's approach, begging to be penetrated. Ice felt something deep inside start to crack at that brazen invitation, and a single clear drop trembled at Ice's tip for an endless moment before falling onto Water's surface. Water shivered, rippling around the droplet, but absorbed its chill eagerly.

Pleasure stabbed through its depths at the sight, and Ice began to swell, droplets gathering and falling from its tip faster and faster until Water was hollowed in the middle to accommodate it all.

For another moment, two, Ice held back, hovering over Water while yearning desperately toward it, then all at once gave in to the need surging through it in rising waves and plunged downward, slick surface easing its passage into Water's welcoming warmth.

Ice held itself intact for an instant, expanding into Water to try to prolong the joining. But summer Water had no patience for slow joinings once they had begun; it seared into Ice, finding every crack and chink and breaking Ice open in an explosion of helpless passion until Ice was nothing but shattered fragments of itself, lost to anything but Water's embrace.

Chill dissipating, its scattered surfaces shrinking rapidly, Ice sighed a little and let consciousness fade away completely. Water would hold it safe until it could re-form again, to wait for their next joining.

Yuletide recs!

2008-04-21T17:21:46Z

So, I meant to have these done by the end of January. Then certainly by the end of February. Then definitely by the first day of spring.

Um. In before Earth Day? *headdesk*

But they're no less sincere for being so delayed: 63 recs in 45 fandoms, for your reading pleasure.

All of the recs in one place:

Yuletide 2007 recs

Recs by fandom:

Belgariad & Mallorean

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Homicide: Life on the Streets

Hot Fuzz

The Incredibles

Ladyhawke

L'Engle - Time Quintet

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood

Sweet Charity

2008-03-20T02:43:04Z

In a fit of... something, I signed up for Sweet Charity this time around. The auction is now live, with some seriously cool stuff up for grabs from 146 different people.

I'm offering to write a 1,000-word-minimum gen or slash story in any of a bunch of fandoms, including Boy Meets World, Dead Zone (through s3), Dresden Files (tv), due South (s1-2 only), Invisible Man, I Spy, MASH, Night Court, Peacemakers, The Persuaders, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Tin Man. (Specific pairings are listed in my info on the auction.) There are other fandoms (& pairings) I may be willing to give a shot, but didn't want to commit to cold -- feel free to ask if you want to know about a particular fandom, or about a crossover.

The auction's running through March 28th, 11:59pm GMT. It's all for a really good cause (RAINN, again -- the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), and there's something there for everyone. Go check it out!

Yuletide!

2008-01-02T03:20:42Z

I lucked out this year; I got one of my favorite fandoms for my primary story, and a Treat in a fandom I had totally never expected to get as a second story.

My main gift was was An Honest Man, by Michelle Christian (movies_michelle), for Peacemakers, which is a fandom so dear to my heart I can't even say.

It's lovely. It's a slash story that weaves in and out of canon, using games of chess as a throughline to show Stone and Finch's deepening relationship, which is just perfect. (They play, canonically, and by the time we see it, it's clearly an established habit that they both enjoy a great deal, and it's a moment I adore for the sheer comfortable connection between them.) The character and emotional arcs in this are just wonderful; she starts from the literal beginning, when they barely know each other and don't like each other much, and builds steadily and gorgeously from there.

I almost didn't ask for Peacemakers this year, since I've been lucky enough to get a fabulous story for it in a previous Yuletide, but I'm so glad I decided to include it on my list. *hugs story*

The second story I got was a Yuletide Treat -- extra stories that anyone could write for anyone, if they saw a request that sparked an idea. And someone wrote one for me!

It's Joey and Michael, Sitting in a Tree, by zortified, for My Two Dads. Yes, My Two Dads. That sitcom you maybe kinda remember from the 80s, with the two guys and the kid. Seriously, I had no hope that anyone would pick this up; it had a whopping three offers on the requested-fandoms page, and I was the only person to request it.

And yet! A story! Slash, even, which was what I most hoped for, but expected even less than I expected the fandom. And it's adorable. I don't know how zortified did it, but she nailed the voices and tone of the show, and gave me exactly what I wanted. It's a little cliched, but that is perfect for this show, and for its era. *hugs this story too*

Both of these stories make me ridiculously happy, and I rec them both whole-heartedly. Go, read! You'll love them.

As for what I wrote, it was also Peacemakers, which is a first -- there have never been two stories in one year for this fandom. Woot!

True Gold
slash, Stone/Finch
44k, PG
Summary: A rash of fires in Silver City strikes close to home.
written for Dorinda

On the Yuletide archive

On my site

Every year, Yuletide challenges me in a different way, which is one of the things I love about it.

This year, the challenge was writing for a good friend, without her finding out about it.

Here's how it went:

1. Assignments! I get a stranger, and we match on WKRP. Okay!

2. Assignments were wrong, ohnoes. Here is your new assignment! I get Dorinda, who is a dear friend and one of my favorite writers in the world. (And here's why. Go read everything there, I'll wait.)

2a. Realize that for first time ever, have matched up on more than one of recipient's fandoms. In fact, have matched up on three out of four. Go tharn at thought of picking one.

3. Panic at friends, but chortle at thought of reveal, because we always have friends in this situation -- it's a Yuletide tradition, at this point.

4. See Dorinda on IRC a day or so later, and be completely calm because Dorinda never asks what someone is writing for Yuletide. Panic when Dorinda asks what I'm writing for Yuletide, realize I still have my first assignment, and blurt out, "WKRP! I need to refresh myself on the source, but it'll be fun."

5. Do not giggle inappropriately in channel when Dorinda replies, "Do you need source? Maybe I can help!" and take her up on her generous offer to help in plan to deceive her.

6. Laugh head off a week later, when DVD arrives in mail with cheery "good luck!" sticky attached.

7. Spend a few weeks rewatching I Spy, Persuaders, and Peacemakers, waiting to see which triggers best story idea, writing down notes and timelines and whatnot.

8. Buy WKRP and Persuaders in deepdiscount sale. Hey, you never know.

9. Go to Thanksgiving at therienne's new house. Watch movies after dinner. Now know all four of Dorinda's requested fandoms. Add story ideas for movie to pile of possibilities.

10. Start three different stories, plus barebones beginning to WKRP story. Eventually come across a random picture that shouts "o hai, I am for a Peacemakers story, use me!!". Shift focus entirely to Peacemakers. Start researching madly.

11. Start writing Peacemakers, realize I have a plot. Panic! Keep writing.

12. Upload story. Look at it again, realize am not completely happy with it, go hat in hand to elynross and ask to have it deleted so I can upload corrected version after I fix problems.

13. Start flinging corrected bits at betas, who agree with fixes. Polish polish polish. Upload story!

14. Commiserate with Dorinda on IRC when she arrives to announce her phone and Internet are out at home, and she doesn't think they'll be back till the 27th. Tell her that her writer is sure to understand!

Get messaged by elynross, who is also on IRC talking with Dorinda and me about this, with this:

[14:47] elyn: This is just an official notice, as your Yuletide mod,
that your recipient is experiencing sudden disconnect from the
internets, and may not be able to read your story for a couple days
after the opening of the archive!
[14:47] elyn: at your recipient's request.
[14:47] * Arduinna cracks UP
[14:47] * elyn dies.

15. See Dorinda on IRC on the 26th, because her internets came back. Distract her by telling her I got Peacemakers! Feign utter ignorance when she says "me too!", claim to have not even looked because Peacemakers never gets more than one story (true!). Promise to read story she got, real soon now. Claim to be reading archive by letting the new random browser dictate which letter is to be read next.

16. Decide that's actually good strategy for reading archive, implement. Start reading randomly. Stay away from all P-fandoms so can honestly say have not reached the Ps yet, and therefore haven't seen her story yet. Develop backup plan: will tell Dorinda am planning to bookend Yuletide with Peacemakers stories.

17. Don't see Dorinda on line again until author reveal. Cannot use clever backup plan, woe. OTOH, giggle madly at Dorinda's reaction.

18. Yay!

All in all, it's been a heck of a fun Yuletide.

I'll have more recs, as soon as I finish going through the fandoms I know. Meanwhile, I'm tagging my favorites on del.icio.us.

Dear Yuletide writer

2007-10-18T00:31:13Z

Dear Yuletide writer,

Thank you so much! I've been refreshing the fandoms list and bouncing at the sight of gold numbers next to all of my requests, and I'm so happy you're writing one of them!

My prompts were a little vague, partly because I love surprises -- so it almost never occurs to me to think "what kind of story do I want to get?" -- and partly because I didn't want to make you feel obligated to meet any requirements. Seriously, whatever you want to write is great, and the happier you are with what you write, the happier I'll be reading it. If you have an idea that you're itching to write, go for it!

If you want or need more info, though:

My fic tastes:

You will have noticed I'm a slash fan. *g* Slash for me covers the full spectrum from UST and preslash through totally committed/involved, and can be explicit or not depending on what suits the story. It's all about the characters and their relationship, whatever point it may be at.

But if you don't do slash, that's fine! "Relationship" also covers friendship (or, in some cases, enemies with a strong connection), and gen will also make me happy.

Some things I like, in no particular order: first times, hurt/comfort (physical or emotional), competence, snark, banter, affection, trust (either existing, or discovering, trust), happy endings (or endings that leave room for eventual happiness), plots, pwps, character studies, "missing scenes", longing/yearning, wit, romance (in terms of a building relationship, not so much the Harlequin/Mills&Boon sort of thing), the moment of discovery/realization, canon-based characterization. I also like crossovers, whether serious or cracky, and I read in a wide variety of fandoms -- if you have an idea to cross one of my requested fandoms with another fandom I know, feel free! (But of course, as always, don't feel obligated!)

If you want a more extensive look at the sorts of things I like, I have a recs site that you can look at if that will help, including Yuletide recs for 2005 and 2006.

My own stories are here.

The only things I can't read are domestic discipline and strong embarrassment/humiliation (I have a severe embarrassment squick); the next rung of that ladder would be the "not my cup of tea" level, with things like hardcore bdsm, torturefic, mpreg, and genderfuck. Beyond those, pretty much anything goes.

Although I tend to gravitate toward the lighter, vanilla, happy/fluffy end of the spectrum, a dip into murkier waters is no problem at all, and I have no problem with a bumpy road to happiness, either. :)

If you're looking for more for specifics than generalities, here's what I love about these particular fandoms:

Equalizer: During the series, they're that cranky old married couple who bitch and moan and poke at each other, but they're always there for each other no matter what. A relationship that deep and strong and long-lasting isn't normal in their business, and nothing seems to be able to jeopardize it. I've always wanted to know how they got that way. I don't mean the whole decades-long story (although hey, if you want to write it, I won't complain *g*), but some point of connection between them before Control became Control.

(Also, fwiw, I always thought his first name should be Paul, even before the actor showed up on Kung Fu: The Legend Continues as a character named Paul, whose background was weirdly Control-ish, which freaked me out no end because clearly I am psychic. So if you don't have a first name for him in your head already...)

Invisible Man: I-Man makes me incredibly happy -- a true buddy show with great secondary characters, great dialogue, a villain truly worthy of the name, wackiness and tragedy and humor and courage and angst and omg Flowers for Hobbes! and paranoia and lithium and tri-dimensional data viewers and quicksilver madness and matching sunglasses and "little *prick*!" and it was just all good.

I love Darien and Bobby's relationship, how they play but how it isn't all sunshine and roses all the time, either; I love Eberts's quiet adulation of the Official; I love how Bobby and Eberts snipe at each other, and how they bonded as warriors in the file room; I love Kevin and Darien's devotion to each other, despite their differences; I love Arnaud's lunacy and passion, and Huiclov's loyalty. *flappy hands* I love all of it, and all of them. Any (m/m) slash or gen you want to write in this fandom would make me happy. I'd prefer no het or femslash, unless it's only incidental to the main story or pairing, and a happy/hopeful ending would make my day.

My Two Dads: I couldn't believe it when I saw this pop up on the fandoms list, and I couldn't resist requesting it. I'm a complete sucker for the setup here; two lifelong friends separated because they both fell for the same person, and now back together again, trying to make their edges fit after growing so far apart. I loved watching Joey and Michael recreate their friendship, working around the ouchy bits of their separation (and why they had had a falling out in the first place), so they could raise Nicole together. It's not the kid-raising that appeals to me, though -- it's the adult relationship, whether Nicole is there or not. I would love anything that touched on their connection, at any point during their lives, whether slash (no younger than late teens, please) or gen.

Peacemakers: I don't think there's anything about this show I don't love. The way Finch and Stone complement each other perfectly, each smart and experienced in his own way (and each constantly learning from the other), making them an incredibly competent team. The professionalism and respect that so quickly deepened into trust and affection. The sense of wonder and optimism in the setting, with new inventions and discoveries every day, making the world seem limitless in potential, against the traditions and conservatism of the old guard. Their easy, comfortable friendships with women, in Katie and Miss Luci. The hints we get of their histories. Just... everything. The entire show was full of well-drawn, interesting characters -- both recurring and one-shot -- and any of them you want to bring in would be more than welcome, but the core of Peacemakers for me was the connection and balance between Stone and Finch. Show me their connection, slash or gen, in any situation, and I'll be happy.

And thank you, again!!

Recs site update

2007-05-30T03:42:57Z

I've just added 41 new recs in 15 fandoms (more or less).

While I was at it, I broke Good Omens out into its own page, because it hit ten recs with this new batch added in. I also added word counts for every story on my recs site (I hope -- please let me know if you see something that doesn't have a word count!).

All of the recs in one place:

Recs by fandom:

Crossovers

Good Omens/Arthurian legend

Stargate Atlantis/Smallville

Stargate SG-1/Stargate Atlantis

del.icio.us 101

2007-04-10T17:51:20Z

At the Muskrat Jamboree (muskratjamboree) in late March, I offered to give a couple people a tutorial in using del.icio.us, which came up as a way to find things in small/rare fandoms (although it's also great for big fandoms). We didn't really have time at the con, so I figured I'd write something up.

If you're reading this and wondering what all the del.icio.us fuss is about, here's very fast overview, before I get into the tutorial part.

The basics

At it's most basic, del.icio.us is... bookmarks. *g*

The bookmarks are spiffy, mind you -- they sit on the del.icio.us servers, not on your computer, so they're available to you anywhere, if you have a browser and a connection; no more worries about "oh, crap, I bookmarked that at work. At my last job. CRAP."

There's also a section to add notes or a description to any bookmark, which is really cool (you can put a quote from a story, for example, to remind yourself about it). And best of all, there are tags, which make finding things so freaking much easier than trying to scroll through 800 random bookmarks that you forgot to stick in folders, or figuring out which folder you stuck something into. Personally, I think it's cool just on that level, but trust me: there's more.

The cool stuff

Okay, now on to the real reasons for fans to use del.icio.us: it will bring you stories and vids and suchlike that you might not find on your own. There are two main ways to do this: the Network, and the Subscriptions.

Network

The network is sort of like a Friends list. You find people whose bookmarks interest you, and you add them to your network, and then any time you go look at your network page, you see all the bookmarks from all the people in your network.

Subscriptions

The subscriptions are... not like anything on LJ, I don't think. *g* They're how you track different subjects across the entire del.icio.us network, by subscribing to tags. I use these for pretty much all my fandoms, but they're crucial for small fandoms, so you don't miss anything. You can subscribe to any tag you can think of; if someone uses that tag on a bookmark, you'll see it show up on your subscriptions page.

This is really the strongest feature for fans, because it gives you access to everyone's tags, regardless of whether you know them, or whether they're really in the fandom or just doing a flyby one-shot bookmark on something.

The extras

There are some other cool features, too.

search

del.icio.us comes with a search, which lets you search either all of del.icio.us, just your own bookmarks, or the web. I don't use this often, but when I need it, it's a lifesaver (usually when I remember a keyword in a story that I neglected to use as a tag, but stuck in the description somewhere).

Links for...

del.icio.us lets you send links to specific people, as long as they also have a del.icio.us account. You just tag something for:username and it shows up in a private section called "links for you" in their account. No one else (not even the person you tagged) can see that you used that tag; the for: tag is only visible to the person who actually uses it.

privacy

del.icio.us allows you to save things privately, so that only you can see them, and it gives you a little indicator on any privately saved link so you know it's safe. This is fabulous.

Checking things out

If you want to see what someone's bookmarks look like, mine are here:

http://del.icio.us/arduinna

and you can see my network and subscriptions here:

http://del.icio.us/network/arduinna

http://del.icio.us/subscriptions/arduinna

If all of that sounds good and you're an intrepid sort who likes to figure things out completely on your own, go get an account at del.icio.us, and start bookmarking and tagging. Yay!

More info

If you want a more info, read on below for a basic tutorial, or go to my website for a far more detailed version.

The tutorial

This assumes that you're comfortable with web-based services and don't want/need much in the way of specific, detailed instructions, but prefer general pointers to major features so you can figure the details out on your own.

In case the basics aren't enough, or if people want a more information about specific things as they go along, I put a far more detailed version up on my website, with step-by-step instructions on a lot of things, and a lot of screencaps. Each section here is also linked to the more detailed/expanded section on my website.

Note: I use Firefox, so if you're in a different browser there may be some slight differences in the interface, etc.

Getting an account

Accounts are free, and easy to set up: just go to del.icio.us and register. In the second step, it will ask you to install buttons for your browser; you want to do this. If you have Firefox, make sure you get the Firefox buttons/extension, which is a bit more useful than the standard del.icio.us buttons (there should be a link on the page for it; if not, go here to install it: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1532).

del.icio.us will also offer you a Button Tutorial, which boils down to:

The square multi-colored button will take you directly to your del.icio.us account page (or the del.icio.us homepage if you're not logged in).

The tag-shaped button called "tag" will let you bookmark and tag whatever page you're on.

Bookmarks

Creating bookmarks is pretty straightforward: click the Tag button, and fill in the popup. del.icio.us will automatically fill in the URL and add the page's title to the description field.

(click for larger version)

The only advice I have is to change the description of your bookmark to something meaningful if need be (I beg you, please do this), and to tag like a madwoman -- the more tags, the better organized things are, and the easier it is to find things.

NOTE: One very spiffy feature of del.icio.us is that if you highlight some text before you click the Tag button, it will put that text into the "notes" field, saving you some time. One slightly less spiffy feature is that the notes field has a character limit of about 255 characters, and will cut off anything beyond that when you hit save on your bookmark. Think pithy.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions let you keep track of all bookmarks across the entire del.icio.us network tagged with a given term. Use multiple variants to be sure you've caught everything (e.g., I'm subscribed to invisibleman, invisible_man, invisible-man, invisible.man, iman, i-man, i_man, and i.man, because I want everything I can find about Invisible Man). To see everything across the entire del.icio.us network, fill in the tag field but leave the username blank.

You can also do a custom subscription to a given person's tags, if you don't want to see everything they bookmark. This is where you'd use the username and the tag name together.

Once you've added things, your subscription page will show you a list of all the bookmarks containing those tags, in chronological order. To see just the results for one tag, click that tag in your subscription list.

Network

The network is for people whose bookmarks interest you to a large degree. You can type their name into the "add" box on your network page, or you can go to their bookmarks and click the "add [name] to your network" link. If there's someone who bookmarks one or two types of things you really want to see, but you don't particularly care about the rest, do a custom subscription instead of networking them.

Once you've added people, your network page will show you a list of everything they've bookmarked, in chronological order.

On your network page, you'll also see a box on the right containing "your network" and "your fans"; the first is people whose bookmarks you're watching, the second is people who are watching your bookmarks. If it's a mutual relationship, there's a little swirly arrow next to the name. You can take anyone out of your network by clicking the symbol next to their name -- when you hover over it, it turns into a bright red x for delete. You can add anyone in your fans by clicking on the plus sign next to their name.

Privacy

Although del.icio.us is set up to be public, social bookmarks, there are ways to keep things private as well.

In Settings, go to "private saving" (under the Bookmarks heading), and check the box that says "allow private saving of bookmarks". This will give you an option to make any bookmark private, so that no one but you can see it.

NOTE: If you import your existing bookmarks from a browser, all of those bookmarks will automatically be set to private, and you'll need to go through and set them each to "share" individually if you want them to be public.

You can also make your network private (both who you're watching, and who's watching you), by going to Settings, then "network privacy" (under the People heading), and unchecking the "allow other people to see your network" box. You can still network people, and they can still network you, it's just not visible on your page at all.

Egoboo

Oh, c'mon, egoboo is the other big reason to use del.icio.us, and everyone knows it. *g*

One thing you can do right off the bat to give people access to more of your stuff is go to Settings, Edit Profile, and add your name and URL (website, LJ, whatever). The name will show up on your del.icio.us page as a clickable link to whatever URL you input (mine is set up like this).

But the best thing, of course, is seeing how many people are tagging your stuff, and what, if anything, they're saying about it. There are two main ways to do this.

- Tag your own work and save it privately (or not, your choice), so you can see if anyone else ever tags it (by way of the "saved by xx people" feature).
- Type your name into the search bar, see what pops up

Once you have a bookmark to look at, you can click on "saved by xx people" if it's there, and that will bring you to a page listing everyone who's tagged that URL, what tags they used on it, and what notes they added, if any.

NOTE: del.icio.us grabs the exact URL of the page being bookmarked. This is spiffy, except it's not entirely accurate for giving a complete count on how many people have actually bookmarked particular content.

Regular websites can be under "http://www.sitename.xxx" or "http://sitename.xxx", as two separate things.

LJ is even more split up, with lj-cuts, ?style=mine, ?format=light, and whatnot. People tend to tag things on the fly, without noticing what URL they're on, so things can show up in a variety of ways. For instance, all of these link to the exact same entry (MJ's panel schedule), and any one of them may be what someone uses on del.icio.us:

http://community.livejournal.com/muskratjamboree/14664.html

http://community.livejournal.com/muskratjamboree/14664.html?format=light

http://community.livejournal.com/muskratjamboree/14664.html?style=mine

http://community.livejournal.com/muskratjamboree/14664.html#cutid1

http://community.livejournal.com/muskratjamboree/14664.html#cutid1?format=light

http://community.livejournal.com/muskratjamboree/14664.html#cutid1?style=mine

http://community.livejournal.com/muskratjamboree/14664.html?mode=reply

http://community.livejournal.com/muskratjamboree/14664.html?thread=206664#t206664

etc.

So if you're checking to see how many people have tagged your story, try a few variants to get a more accurate count.

Advanced stuff

The basic del.icio.us interface and functions are enough for many people, but if you want more, there's lots more out there. I've only used some of these, though, since I'm mostly happy with the basic version.

del.icio.us linkbacks -- this is a bookmarklet that you drag onto your toolbar. You click it on any given page, and it pops up a small window listing all the people who've tagged that page and what they've said about it. Useful for egoboo (it's faster than checking the "saved by" links) and for getting a feel for what sorts of tags people are using for something. Really, it's very very handy -- when it works. Which it isn't, as I write this. Still, it's worth getting, because eventually it should be working again.

Bringing del.icio.us recs to your webpage in a clean, nice-looking, automatically updated format: http://yuletidetreasure.org/yuletide_on_delicious.txt, created by astolat. This was originally meant to make tracking Yuletide recs easier, but it's flexible and can handle multiple terms, so you can use it for any tag you want. The file comes with instructions on how to use it; you leave the cgi alone and just change the html and css to what you want. I'd never seen cgi coding in my life before using this, and I managed. *g* If you want to see what it looks like in action, here are a few versions currently in use, starting with mine:

http://www.trickster.org/arduinna/recs/quickrecs.cgi

http://intimations.org/fanfic/delicious_recs.cgi

http://www.hovenweep.org/~xenacryst/delicious.php (a php version based on astolat's script)

There's an impressive list of add-ons and tools here .

murklins has gone through that list and put together a post of things she uses to, as she puts it, "tart up del.icio.us", with explanations, here.

If you're on Firefox and you have Greasemonkey installed, there are a lot of scripts available to tweak del.icio.us, here: http://userscripts.org/tags/del.icio.us.

If you want to have multiple accounts and an easy way to post to all of them (again, from Firefox), try this: http://delicious.mozdev.org/index.html.

And again, if that wasn't enough information, I put a far more detailed version up on my website, covering more features, and with step-by-step instructions on a lot of things, including screencaps.

"Birthday Presents" Sesame Street, gen

2007-04-09T22:28:41Z

... Yeah. It's not my fault. Someone on del.icio.us linked to a story in oxoniensis's Hugs, Cuddles and Kisses multi-fandom, commentfic, prompt challenge.

And I went and looked at the prompts, and there were a bunch that I said, "oh, maybe!" about, and then this is what I wound up writing. I have no idea.

here as commentfic in oxoniensis's LJ

Birthday Presents
by Arduinna
Sesame Street, gen, G
~680 words

Bert swallowed nervously and stared at himself in the mirror. It was now or never, and it couldn't be never, because then Ernie would think he didn't care about him.

Everyone else had given Ernie presents at the party earlier -- a new yo-yo from Big Bird, and a bright yellow balloon from Bob that Ernie had kept tied to his wrist all day, and new crayons and special drawing paper from Maria, and a shiny red fire truck from Grover, and all kinds of things.

So it had to be now. He nodded firmly to himself, then brushed his teeth, careful not to drip any toothpaste on his nice clean pajamas.

He walked into the bedroom where Ernie was carefully tying his birthday balloon to the chair so it wouldn't fly away during the night. "Good night, birthday balloon!" Ernie said cheerfully, patting the balloon lightly and making it sway and dip like it thought it was soaring on a breezy day.

"Listen, Ernie, about your birthday --"

"Oh, Bert, wasn't it a great day?" Ernie said, grinning happily. "Everyone was so nice, and gave me so many great toys and games to play with!"

"I know, Ernie, but I didn't want you thinking I'd forgotten about you --"

Ernie patted him on the arm as he walked past Bert toward the bathroom to brush his own teeth. "Are you kidding? You threw that great party, with the cake and the ice cream and the hats!"

Bert nodded. It really had been a good party, and he'd worked very hard to make sure everyone would have a good time, with Ernie's favorite cake and two kinds of ice cream and party hats for everyone, even Mr. Snuffleupagus.

But that wasn't the same as a present.

"But that's not the same as a present," he said loudly, over the sounds of splashing water.

Ernie emerged, damp and clean, still smiling. "I don't need a present from you, Bert, you're my best friend."

"Yeah, but you're my best friend, and I do have a present for you. I just couldn't give it to you till now."

"What is it, Bert?"

Now or never. Bert took a deep breath. "Get in bed, I'll bring it to you."

"Is it a new pillow?" Ernie wondered. "I do love my pillow, but --"

"It's not a new pillow." Bert reached behind his own pillow and pulled out Ernie's present. "Oh, I'm sorry, the bow got a little smushed," he said, frowning unhappily and fluffing it back up as best he could as he moved to Ernie's side.

"It's got character," Ernie said firmly.

Bert smiled at him and held out the box. "Happy birthday, Ernie."

"You really didn't have to, Bert," Ernie said, but took it and unwrapped it eagerly. He blinked. "It's cookies."

"Yes."

"But I'm in bed, Bert."

Bert nodded jerkily. "Yes. They're for you to eat in bed."

Ernie stared at him, then smiled so brilliantly Bert thought his heart would break. "Thank you, Bert," he said softly, and opened the box. He studied the cookies for a moment, then looked up at Bert. "It's not as much fun eating cookies in bed alone," he said, hope bright in his dark eyes.

Bert took a breath and slid in next to Ernie, who wriggled over to make room for him.

Ernie held out the box of cookies, beaming from ear to ear when Bert took one and manfully bit into it, ignoring the spray of crumbs across his pajama jacket, and the blankets, and the pillow, and... Bert shut his eyes and chewed, swallowing in surprise when Ernie's warm weight moved in closer to snuggle right up to him.

"This is the best birthday ever, Bert," Ernie said happily. He took another cookie out of the box and took a bite, then held it to Bert's lips.

Bert wrapped his arm around Ernie's shoulders, pulling him in even tighter, and bit.

.

thank you!

2007-04-07T23:45:17Z

Thank you, whoever gave me the lovely little electric car! I was completely surprised to find out about it, and it's just adorable. :)

new I Spy archive

2007-02-14T00:02:55Z

On the theory that there's now enough I Spy fanfic on the web to need an archive -- easily one or two dozen stories! -- I... created an I Spy archive.

It's strictly for classic I Spy (the tv show, IOW, not the movie), and already has a half-dozen stories uploaded to it, with hopefully more to come. Right now it's all slash, but the archive is open to anything.

True True: the I Spy Fanfic Archive

New SGA story: Pie

2007-02-01T13:31:16Z

So I gave a bunch of people an end-of-month deadline, and it was only fair that I give myself the same deadline. And this counts as end-of-January because I haven't been to bed yet, and it's not Feb. 1 until I wake up, so there.

Pie, by Arduinna
SGA, John/Rodney
post-Siege, earthside, slight crossover with SG1
unbeta'd, complete fluff

John gave up on the lurking inconspicuously thing after the tenth person had given him a weird look while walking past. The SGC had a lot more people than Atlantis wandering around, made it tough to just take a few minutes to gather yourself together.

Not that he needed to, of course. There was nothing nerve-wracking about asking a friend to take a break.

John nodded firmly to himself, ignoring the startled glances from the pair of SFs walking past, and sauntered into Rodney's temporary lab.

"Hey," he said, smiling.

Rodney glanced up at him, then narrowed his eyes and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" John ran a nervous hand across his hair.

Rodney's eyes tracked the motion briefly before meeting John's squarely. "Nothing's wrong," he repeated flatly.

"No!" He huffed out an impatient breath. "Look. I just wanted to know if you wanted to go grab something to eat."

Rodney stared at him. "Then why do you look --"

"The mess has pie today," John blurted, dropping his gaze to the floor. "I thought maybe -- Anyway. There's pie. If you want."

Silence stretched, and John's hands slowly started to curl up into fists as he breathed steadily, still staring at the floor.

"Pie," Rodney said quietly.

"Yeah," John said tightly. "Pie."

"I thought -- no, okay, never mind, pie is good, let's go eat." Rodney saved whatever he was working on and moved over to John. "I like pie."

"I know," John said, as they started walking down the hallway. "You told me."

"Huh."

"What?"

"No, nothing, just, I thought I hallucinated -- I was extremely drugged and under a great deal of pressure at the time," Rodney said defensively.

John hit the button for the elevator. "I know, Rodney, I was there. And if you were having hallucinations, you should have told someone."

"Well, obviously, I wasn't, since you seem to remember the same conversation," Rodney snapped, righteous indignation pouring off him in waves before uncertainty crept in. "You do remember the conversation, I trust?"

"I remember," John agreed. It had been one of those strange, almost surreal moments -- Wraith on the way, everyone in the city panicked and working their asses off to figure out a way to survive, and somehow John and Rodney had found a few minutes of quiet and started talking about things they missed back home. The shared love of pie wasn't all that surprising, but had been nice to find out, and they'd agreed that sitting down to a big slice was something they should do as soon as possible if they ever made it home.

The mutual attraction, that had been a surprise, and only exhaustion and uppers and Rodney's almost total lack of filters between brain and mouth when it came to personal things had made it possible.

But all of those things had made it equally possible that Rodney was delusional when he confessed all, which John hadn't really thought about until after he'd confessed back.

And then things had gotten crazy, and the next thing he knew he wasn't dead, and Atlantis wasn't destroyed, and he was back home being debriefed, and debriefed some more, and debriefed some more, with no chance to talk to a now-sober Rodney about anything.

Not until he got word of fresh pie in the mess, anyway. John had figured it had to be a sign.

"Good, that's good," Rodney said. "Because the rest of that conversation -- "

"Yeah, I know, and who'd'a thought we'd be continuing it in the middle of Stargate Command, where my future is being decided," John said urgently, hoping the elevators had nothing more damning than cameras in them.

Rodney's eyes widened. 'Sorry', he mouthed, so obviously that anyone manning the cameras would have to be blind not to have understood him.

John rolled his eyes, grateful when the doors chose that moment to open and let them out on the right floor. He gestured Rodney out ahead of him, taking advantage of the narrow space to let his hand brush against Rodney's in a silent promise.

There wasn't even a line at the mess, and John's mouth watered at the thought of actual, real, fresh fruit pie, made with fruit he recognized and cane sugar and real pie crust. He ignored everything else and went straight to the desserts section, Rodney hard on his heels.

"You said there was pie," Rodney said accusingly. "You promised!"

"I didn't promise!" He stared at the desserts in front of him, willing pie to appear to no avail. "Dammit."

A server appeared behind the desserts. "Sorry, sir, pie's gone already. Handed out the last piece just a minute ago."

"Of course you did," John said, resigned. He turned around to glance at the tables scattered around the mess, wondering who'd taken his treat, and blinked at the sight of General O'Neill, reading reports and eating a big slice of pie. "Um."

The server grinned. "Yes, sir."

"Guess I won't be lodging a complaint, then."

"I wouldn't, sir," he agreed.

"What?" Rodney asked crankily, turning to follow John's gaze. "Oh. Oh, well, that figures. Damn. I really wanted that pie. Oh, no."

"What?"

"Gentlemen!" O'Neill said, clapping a hand on John's shoulder. "You look depressed."

"No, sir," John said. "We're fine."

"Ah! Don't argue with a general, son." O'Neill gestured to the server. "Thompson, these men have been offworld for a year, and are clearly in need of... pie. Pull one of tonight's dinner batch aside for them, okay?"

Thompson grinned. "Yes, sir."

"General--"

"Ah!" O'Neill raised a finger and glared at John. "Just say 'thank you' and get that pie back to your quarters without anyone seeing you, if you can."

John grinned. "Thank you, sir, and I'll do that."

"Good. Oh, great, now what?" He gave them a distracted wave as he headed off to deal with someone coming at him with a clipboard.

Rodney turned to John. "So -- pie in your quarters tonight?"

John looked at him, heat pooling low and quiet in his belly. "Yeah," he drawled. "That sounds perfect."

posted directly to LJ because I'm too damn tired to do a proper site update for it right now

Recs update: Yuletide and del.icio.us

2007-01-22T05:37:59Z

I've added a new page to my recs site: quick recs. It uses astolat's very spiffy script that lets you pull bookmarks from del.icio.us into an automatically generated, sortable page. I've got mine set up to handle a bunch of different things, from new_recs (anything that I'm planning to add to my recs page in a future update), to recs (anything I've ever recced, including new_recs), to Yuletide, to various fandoms, to vids. I bookmark things much more often than I update my recs site, so I'm seriously happy about this script.

For Yuletide, I've got 48 recs in 39 fandoms, and I still feel like I've missed most the archive. But at it's time to put these, at least, up.

All of the recs in one place:

Yuletide 2006 recs

Recs by fandom:

Addams Family

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hunt for Red October

Life on Mars

The Lion in Winter

M*A*S*H

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood

Randall & Hopkirk (deceased)

Yuletide reveal is live! (site update)

2007-01-02T00:20:17Z

I wrote two stories for Yuletide this year, for fandoms and pairings I love, and I had a blast, as always. A panicky blast, but a blast. I love Yuletide.

Hearthstone
Dead Zone, Johnny/Walt.
NC-17, 36k, 5,500 words
Summary: Light in the darkness.
(Yuletide archive version)

Rx
MASH, Hawkeye/Trapper
PG, 11k, 1,450 words
Summary: This is what he'd been waiting for.
(Yuletide archive version)

And since I don't quite have my recs ready to go yet, I have to take this opportunity to pimp the story I received, which I've been very happy to see has been getting a lot of positive response, because it *rocks*:

Strange Bedfellows, by Lyrastar.
It's also MASH, and also Hawkeye/Trapper, and it made me incredibly happy. She nailed the show and the characters perfectly. Go, read, comment, praise!

And, er, about those Yuletide recs...

I was hoping to have a recs post ready for today, but I was reading right up to the reveal last night, and I still have something like 15 entire fandoms bookmarked to read, never mind fandoms I don't know as well that I was hoping to get to eventually. OMG, 1,057 stories. So I'll either put up a recs-so-far listing sometime in the next few days, or will hold off and do a final version in a week or two.

In the meantime, I've been bookmarking Yuletide 2006 stories I particularly like here on del.icio.us, if anyone's desperate for links in this vast wasteland of no Yuletide recs anywhere. *g* I know it's tough to find things to read! I haven't pulled these out into astolat's nifty script on my website, so they're not all pretty, but they're functional.

Recs site update, and a question

2006-11-23T00:24:03Z

70 new recs in 20 fandoms

All of the new recs can be found together on the What's New page.

Or go straight to the individual fandoms, with new recs at the top (everything's dated):

Boy Meets World (2 recs)

Dangermouse (1 rec)

Dead Zone (1 rec)

Doctor Who (3 recs)

Due South (2 recs)

Farscape (1 recs)

Forever Knight (1 rec)

Invisible Man (2 recs)

I Spy (5 recs)

Justice League (1 rec)

Life on Mars (1 rec)

Lord of the Rings (1 rec)

Mac/PC (1 rec)

Man From Uncle (1 rec)

NCIS (1 rec)

Professionals (5 recs)

Quantum Leap (1 rec)

Stargate Atlantis (28 recs)

Stargate SG-1 (15 recs)

Wiseguy (3 recs)

Crossovers (each crossover story is also counted under its individual fandoms, unless otherwise noted):

Dr. Who/Farscape (1 rec)

NCIS/Stargate SG-1 (1 rec)

Professionals/Dangermouse (1 rec)

Stargate Atlantis/Dr. Who (1 rec)

Stargate SG-1/Stargate Atlantis (3 recs)

Multiverse - House, others (1 rec) (listed only under Multiverse)

And now the question.

I've been listing recs as mixed-up as possible within fandoms -- trying to vary gen/het/slash, pairing, general tone, author, etc. -- so that anyone reading their way through a given fandom's recs would have some variety, and maybe would click on a link they wouldn't have noticed otherwise because it's not in their primary pairing or what have you, but catches their attention when they see it.

That's no problem for a handful of recs, but several fandoms have enough to warrant their own pages, and are probably going to get bigger over time. I was wondering if it would better suit people to sort those recs out by gen/het/slash, and by pairing within that. It's six of one, half a dozen of the other for me -- both methods involve a certain level of sorting while I'm writing recs up, but nothing major.

So does anyone have a preference?

site update - SGA Halloween story

2006-11-12T10:48:42Z

I just added a Halloween story written for sga_flashfic:

Title: Booty
Author: Arduinna
Rating: G, gen
Word count: ~925
Summary: It's a custom.

on my website

on sga_flashfic

Dear Yuletide Santa

2006-11-03T22:48:55Z

Dear Yuletide Santa,

Thank you so much! I've spent the entire week refreshing the fandoms list and being gleeful at the sight of gold numbers next to all of my requests, and I'm so happy you're writing one of them!

My prompts were mostly vague partly because I love surprises so it almost never occurs to me to think "what kind of story do I want to get?", and partly because I didn't want to make you feel obligated to meet any requirements. Seriously, whatever you want to write is great, and the happier you are with what you write, the happier I'll be reading it. If you have an idea that you're itching to write, go for it!

If you want or need more info, though:

You will have noticed I'm a slash fan. *g* Slash for me covers the full spectrum from UST and preslash through totally committed/involved, and can be explicit or not depending on what suits the story. It's all about the characters and their relationship, whatever point it may be at.

But if you don't do slash, that's fine! "Relationship" also covers friendship (or, in one particular case in one of my requests, enemies with a strong connection), and gen will also make me happy.

Some things I like, in no particular order: first times, hurt/comfort (physical or emotional), snark, banter, affection, trust (either existing, or discovering, trust), competence, happy endings (or endings that leave room for eventual happiness), plots, pwps, character studies, longing/yearning, wit, romance (in terms of a building relationship, not so much the Harlequin/Mills&Boon sort of thing), the moment of discovery/realization, canon-based characterization.

If you want a more extensive look at the sorts of things I like, I have a recs site that you can
look at if that will help, including last year's Yuletide recs.

The only things I can't read are domestic discipline and embarrassment/humiliation (I have a severe embarrassment squick); the next rung of that ladder would be the "really not my cup of tea" level, with things like hardcore bdsm, torturefic, mpreg, and genderfuck. Beyond those, pretty much anything goes.

Although I tend to prefer the lighter, vanilla, happy/fluffy end of the spectrum, a dip into murkier waters is no problem. :)

I never know if I should give "why I love this fandom" info. Last year I didn't, so I guess I'll switch off and add it this year.

Equalizer: During the series, they're that cranky old married couple who bitch and moan and poke at each other, but they're always there for each other no matter what. A relationship that deep and strong and long-lasting isn't normal in their business, and nothing seems to be able to jeopardize it. I've always wanted to know how they got that way. I don't mean the whole decades-long story (although hey, if you want to write it, I won't complain *g*), but some point of connection between them before Control became Control. (Also, fwiw, I always thought his first name should be Paul, even before the actor showed up on KF:tLC as a character named Paul, whose background was weirdly Control-ish, which freaked me out no end because clearly I am psychic. So if you don't have a first name for him in your head already...)

Invisible Man: The only main character I didn't like was Alex. Beyond her, I-Man made me incredibly happy -- a true buddy show with great secondary characters, great dialogue, wackiness and humor and tragedy and courage and omg Flowers for Hobbes! and paranoia and lithium and quicksilver madness and matching sunglasses and "little *prick*!" and it was just all good. Anything, absolutely anything, would make me happy. Pre-canon ('cause, Kevin!), canon, post-canon, you name it.

MASH: Hawkeye and Trapper are a dozen different walking fanfic cliches, and I love them so much. They're another buddy pair for me, either slash or gen -- they belong together. Show me that they care about each other, or that they make each other laugh, or that they can be angry at each other and still be completely connected, and I will be so happy. Again, pre-canon, canon, or post-canon, it's all good.

Wiseguy: I watched Wiseguy before I knew what slash was. I was so heartbroken at the end of the arc that I stopped watching the show -- not out of spite, or anything, but because I couldn't imagine what they could possibly be airing, because Wiseguy was about Vinnie and Sonny, and how much they loved and needed each other. The show was *over* after the arc ended. Years later I watched and loved the whole series and Vinnie's relationships with Roger and Frank, but I never lost my true love for Sonny/Vinnie. Their connection rocks my world.

And thank you, again! Yay!

new I Spy story - Signals

2006-10-16T05:14:01Z

Title: Signals
Author: Arduinna
Fandom: I Spy (TV)
Pairing: Scotty/Kelly, explicit
Challenge: Cliche (sharing one hotel bed)
Word count: 3,173

This was my entry for the Blast From the Past challenge.

Signals on challenges_past.

Or if you prefer reading on a website, it's here.

Feedback is always welcome!

site update -- Invisible Man master list

2006-08-14T01:06:05Z

I've scoured the web and come up with what I hope is a fairly complete list of I-Man stories, writers, vids, archives, mailing lists, LJ communities, transcripts, and episode guides.

Invisible Man master list

The stories are split out by gen / het / slash and by pairing, but that's it -- no ratings, no warnings, no recs. I'm not listing stories on archives, only things I find on individual pages.*

If I'm missing anything, I would love to hear about it, either here or by email.

Please do pass the URL around to anywhere it might be useful. Thanks!

*The exceptions are teeny-tiny archives, or multi-fandom archives with tiny I-Man sections that seem unlikely to ever be expanded, or "archives" that are really one or two people's collected work. But once something gets up to 10-15+ stories by more than a couple of people, I list it strictly in the archive section.

new(ish) SGA story -- Candygram, now illustrated!

2006-04-09T05:19:05Z

Title: Candygram
Author: Arduinna
Illustrator: cynicatlantis
Rating: G, preslash (McKay/Sheppard)
Summary: "Do you think it ate Colonel Sheppard?" Crackfic.
Spoilers: None.
Roughly 1,800 words

So, I posted a story in merrymakings about a month ago to cheer merryish up while she was recovering from surgery, inspired by a drawing cynicatlantis had done. After she read the story, to my absolute delight, cynicatlantis made several fabulous illos specifically for it, including the perfect cover. So, just in time for merryish's birthday:

Candygram, broadband version (~400k, image-heavy)

Candygram, dialup version (~20k, linked images)

Happy birthday, Merry!