Otter's Rock

All of a sudden, I'm in a very ficathony mood.  I just signed up for bsg_remix , signed up for rarewomen last night, have some plot bunnies waiting to get out for Winterfair at bujold_fic , and am contemplating seeing if I can do heroinebigbang .  I've only ever completed one big bang, because I've had to drop out, because usually my long stories end up needing to percolate in my hindbrain for months at a time while they're halfway done.  But.  heroinebigbang is multifandom, so I can choose what character and plot bunny I want, and the signups end the day the rough drafts are due.  So instead of signing up and having to back out halfway through and being embarrassed, I can start writing and see if it's going to happen, and if it doesn't, I don't feel like I've let anyone down.  And maybe if it doesn't work out for next year, I'll have it ready to go by next year's big bang.

On a less fun note, there is a child care center attached to the place where I work.  When they have a crunch, I (being low person on the totem pole) am the one who gets pulled in.  Leaving work today, I got told they have had some people out sick and such and have had to do some reshuffling, and so I need to work there 7:30am-10:00am and 3:00-5:00.  Oh, joy.  Still, playing with kids, not the worst job in the world.

This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/220029.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

I'm signing up for rarewomen and it was tough!  You only get three fandoms (up to five women per fandom), and I really really wanted a fourth--New Who, with Jenny (The Doctor's Daughter), Idris, Liz X, and Joan Redfern as my character picks.  But, alas, it was not to be, and I chose BSG, SG-1, and TNG as my fandoms not necessarily because I wanted to see those more than New Who, but because New Who is bigger and so I have a better chance of getting fic for those people outside this ficathon than I do the ones I picked.

( General Notes and Preferences )

( BSG )

( SG-1 )

( TNG )

This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/219816.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

I have not gotten any e-mail at my fannish e-mail address since Wednesday.  I know I'm missing quite a lot of stuff, since this includes comment notifications for several posts I'm watching and also the Bujold discussion list.  So if you've e-mailed or commented in the last few days and I haven't responded, it's because I haven't seen it.  Hopefully, checking my inbox will get me up to speed on the comment notifications I've missed, at least.

ETA: problem fixed.  Apparently, my trash was too full and needed to be emptied.  But instead of giving me a message that my inbox was full, they sent a message to those who tried to email me.  And this is my fannish email, so that they really don't have much other way of contacting me except through e-mail.  So the one person who could fix the problem (me) was also the one who didn't know what the problem was.  Very classy, PowWeb.
This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/219488.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Title: A New Normal
Fandom: Superman Returns
Characters: Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Richard White
Rating: Gen
Word Count: 1434
Written for: beckymonster in </a></b></a>yuletide 2011
Summary: Jason needs medical help. The Fortress can give it. Lois, Richard, and Clark talk.
AN: thank you to kryptonian.info for the Kryptonian word for "father"

On AO3




( A New Normal ) This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/219190.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Title: Family Values
Fandom: Vorkosiverse
Characters: Duv Galeni, Mark Vorkosigan
Rating: Gen
Betaed by: isiscolo
Word Count: 2210
Written for: trobadora inyuletide  2011
Summary: How does one make polite conversation with someone one's father tortured, physically, mentally, and emotionally, their entire childhood and adolescence?

On AO3

( Duv Galeni sat in the parlor at the Koudelka residence and sipped his coffee. Across from him, Mark Vorkosigan did the same. It was almost amusing, how studiously they were focused on their drinks. ) This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/218754.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Title: A Change in the Winds
Fandom: Mary Poppins/Doctor Who
Characters: Mary Poppins, Eleven
Rating: Gen
Betaed by: Morbane 
Word Count: 2632
Timeline note: Takes place at least five years before "Mary Poppins," and during the Eleventh Doctor's time.
Written for:  afterism in yuletide 2011

On AO3.


( Domaripopexnal—currently calling herself 'Marie Babineaux,' and before that 'Mary Poppins,' and before that 'Maria Pabst'—studied the list of errands the housekeeper had given her when she and her charges had left the house that morning. ) This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/218608.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Title: A Day in the Woods
Fandom: Starfire series by David Weber et al
Characters: Zhaarnak'telmasa and Raymond Prescott
Rating: Gen
Betaed by: Morbane
Word Count: 2632
AN: My beta noted the issue of both commanders being on leave at the same time. I don't see that this is any worse than both of them being on Xanadu at the same time (as we see them in the chapter); the half-hour or so to get back to the spaceport doesn't add much time to the hours it would take them to cross the system to the wormhole and into the action.
Timeline note: Missing scene from Chapter 5 of The Shiva Option, after the Bug attack

On AO3

( Ninety-First Small Fang of the Khan Zhaarnak'telmasa stalked silently thorugh the brush of Xanadu ) This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/218222.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Aliens
With One Eye Open. She's still waiting, but she'll be damned if that's all she's going to do. This is so much better than Alien 3. It's hopeful and yet true to the ways they have all been traumatized.

Are you Being Served?
Secret Santas. The Grace Brothers staff organize a holiday gift exchange. This could be an episode of the show, and it is hilarious.

Ballet Shoes
Relevé. The Fossil Sisters are all grown up and navigating their way through relationships and careers. With the name Fossil no longer just their own, it's time to revisit their vow. I love this picture of the three of them, growing and maturing and changing but still all themselves.

Calvin and Hobbes
Spaceman Spiff and the Alien Conspiracy. In which Rosalyn and Mrs. Wormwood really are aliens. It's awesome!

Caprica
All Humanity's Children. The avatar of Zoe Graystone must discover for herself who are really her parents - and who are her children. A little step towards the making of a Cylon God. The end of 'Caprica' gave us a glimpse of how things got from there to BSG. This fills in some of the gaps.

Chalionverse (Lois McMaster Bujold)
Hopes Unmarred. Written for me, and very well-done. Politics and theology are intertwined in the Hallow King's court, and Ingrey and Ijada find themselves in the middle. I only wish it were longer.
Housekeeping. The Royina Iselle dy Chalion attends to some domestic matters. It's a great story that touches on a sorely neglected area - civic reform! - in a light and interesting way. The author traces Iselle and Caz's relationship so beautifully here - the way in which they just get each other, completely, with a kind of unity of purpose.
A Clear Glass Window, At Sea, At Dawn. Second sight is redundant to reason anyway. “I hope the god will yet grant me an interesting task or two, before I'm done. Although, by preference, not with animals. Or royalty.” Very well-done look at what Umegat and Ista are up to, after Paladin.

Damar
Springtime in Ihistan. A meeting in a marketplace; blue eyes, pimchies, and Gonturan; memories and Meeldtar. ~*~ "Surely you know," Jack said, frowning. "Your great-grandmother - mother's mother's mother - was a Hillwoman; one of of rank, I believe. That was before we'd gained a proper foothold here..." (The Blue Sword, p. 207)

DC. This year seems to be the year of Blue Beetle and Batgirl; there are some awesome stories featuring Jaime and Steph, two underappreciated characters in the DC universe.
all maps lead to el paso. (Blue Beetle) This was how it started: Paco, in Arizona, kidnapped and wearing leopard print. Or, Kon and Paco become awesome bros, mostly by accident.
Spirits of Dionysia. (JLU) On the night of the winter festival to Dionysus, Batman and Wonder Woman perhaps visit three spirits of Dionysia past, present and future. There’s some dispute upon that point. In any case, there is a parting gift. I don't usually care for "holiday" themed fics, but this was cute but not cutesy. "[Batman] said said, “Bah, humbug,” and established a grid search pattern."
Blue Monday. (Batman Beyond/Blue Beetle). BB futurefic, with the kid from "Unmasked" as the new Blue Beetle and Matt McGinnis as Robin and Max as Nightwing. Well written.
The Requisite Teamup Between Two Plucky Teenaged Superheroes by Stephanie Brown (age 19). (Batgirl/Blue Beetle) Stephanie Brown celebrates finishing her exams in style: teaming up with the newest Blue Beetle, punching labyrinths and capping it off with delicious waffles.
It's a family thing, not a Bat thing. Really. (Batgirl) Now Steph's mom knows she's Batgirl, this isn't really the kind of problem she expected it to cause, and when Damian gets involved, matters get completely out of hand.

Dead Poet's Society
These Are What We Stay Alive For. Snatches of poetry, beauty, romance, and love, as witnessed or experienced by Charlie Dalton. Very well done, with the feel of the movie.

Die Hard Movies
Scenes from a Marriage. This is a beautiful portrait of a complex relationship, and very true to all the characters involved.

Discworld
Flash Paper. There's an arsonist loose in Ankh-Morpork. And Sam Vimes is stuck behind a desk. Short, but in character and well done.

Disney
What you Wish For and What you Keep. (Cinderella) Once, Cinderella had the whole world in her head, and she means to get it back.
A Sense of Freedom. (Mulan, Aladdin) Mulan is pleasantly surprised when she is given a new post by the Emperor, but nothing ever goes quite as she expected it. In which Mulan and Jasmine and their menfolk have adventures.
Just a Little Two-Step. (Princess and the Frog). After the bayou and the shadows and un-frogging, Naveen has his sights set on doing things the proper way for once. Tiana sighs. Charlottes gushes. There is much marital flirting to be done. My new canon for what happens after the movie.

Enchanted Forrest Chronicles
Having the Constitution For It. "It's acting as if it's made its choice for a new king," Telemain said. Indignation coloured his voice, as if he were personally affronted that the sword had dared do something unexpected. "But it can't be - Mendanbar is clearly, well, still alive."

Fairy Tales
Invisible. Out of two hundred fifty-eight servants made invisible, only we have stayed. A wonderful twist on the story, and I love the fact that it's all about the people the fairy tale largely ignores.
Here Goes Everything. A tale of great escape. Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty being Awesome together, don't miss it.

Hebrew Bible
She Will Place on Your Head a Graceful Garland; She Will Bestow on You a Beautiful Crown. King's wives; king's sons. Bathsheba, Abigail, and life in the royal palace.

Honor Harrington
Grayson, The Keys, The Sword, and the Tester. Abigail Hearns' life at the Academy.

Indiana Jones
Academe: Four Conversations the Jones Boys Had about Education and One They Didn’t. I could hear Sean Connery saying those lines.

The King's Speech
The King's Friend. During the height of the bombing, Bertie and Lionel discover that they have a personal concern in common.

The Maltese Falcon
Blue Angel. "Don't be so sure I'm as crooked as I'm supposed to be. That kind of reputation might be good business—bringing in high-priced jobs and making it easier to deal with the enemy... but, well, a lot of money would have been at least one more item on the other side of the scales."

Mary Poppins
Five Tuesdays in the Life. Five Tuesdays in the life of a jack-of-all-trades, or, how Mary Poppins was always there. A wonderful backstory for Bert.
A Change in the Wind. Why does Mary Poppins have a bag that's bigger on the inside? Why, because she's a Time Lady, of course!
A Family. After the Time War, Mary finds her own means of travelling. I really have to thank afterism for the brilliant prompt of Mary Poppins being a Time Lady.

Madelyn Mack
Madelyn Mack and the Dead Man's Cipher. A gambling den, a contested will, a mysterious encrypted letter, a hideous death-trap, and Nora (as usual) using way too many adjectives. It's Madelyn Mack, Detective, and Nora Noraker, plucky girl reporter. They fight crime!
Variations on the Word Love. Madelyn Mack had fully intended to leave her dear friend Nora Preston neé Noraker ensconced in the arms of matrimony. When threatening letters begin arriving at The Bugle, however, Madelyn, Nora, and Thorny find themselves drawn into yet another case.

Once Upon a Time
The Miller's Daughter. You've loved her since you were both children.

Peter Pan
The Art of Becoming.  “Every child is affected thus the first time he is treated unfairly. All he thinks he has a right to when he comes to you to be yours is fairness. After you have been unfair to him he will love you again, but will never afterwards be the same boy. No one ever gets over the first unfairness; no one except Peter. He often met it, but he always forgot it. I suppose that was the real difference between him and all the rest.” (Peter Pan, Barrie)

Rizzoli and Isles
Unasked.  Post-1x08 and the corresponding deleted scene. Aliens, reassurance, and the mechanics of spooning.

Robots (Asimov)
Robots of Festivity, Incorporated.  In the lead-up to a holiday involving a lot of toys, Powell and Donovan find themselves the prisoners of the positronic computer SNT-4 and his helpers, the little ELVs.

Sound of Music
Fourteen and Impossible.  "The boy is looking imploringly at her again. Elsa sighs, and holds up a hand to summon the waiter."

Starfire Series (David Weber)
A Day in the Woods.  Raymond and Zhaarnak take advantage of a lull in the war for two days of vacation. If only things went according to plan ...

Star Trek DS9
Immortal.  Steps to becoming a joined Trill.
Collaborators.  Investigating Ferengi, getting blackmailed by the Bajoran resistance, and working for Cardassians: how Odo's assignment to investigate a murder on Terok Nor became a permanent job. Naturally, it was all Quark's fault.  I love this, it's a wonderful look at how Odo's temporary job on the station became a permanent one.
The Life that Is Waiting.  At first, every time the wormhole opens Kasidy holds her breath and waits for Benjamin to appear. She spends most of her free time on the Promenade with Jake, one arm around his shoulders and the other cradling the curve of her belly, watching the cosmos fracture again and again through a viewport. But Ben never comes.

Star Wars
The Trial of a Lifetime (X-Wing) Someone stands trial for a most heinous crime, and Nawara Ven is their Prosecutor
The Only Puzzle Worth Solving (Zahn trilogy).  Thrawn knew the truth: winning an individual's spirit was a far more productive and lasting conquest than mere puppetry or physical subjugation.

Superman Returns
A New Normal.  Jason needs medical help. The Fortress can give it. Lois, Richard, and Clark talk.

Temeraire
Noble Experiments.  Dragons' rights and all that jazz. Or - scenes from the National Dragon's Suffrage Society visit to Chicago.  Very funny, and I can just see Temeraire, Iskierka, and Perscitia ending up like this in another hundred years.

The Thin Man
Night life on Nob Hill.  Nick’s first (and perhaps last) dinner with Nora’s family.

Vorkosigan Saga
A Day in the life of Lisa Riva.
Herstory.  Before being deployed for the Escobar-Barrayar war, Captain Cordelia Naismith goes to have a talk with Aral Vorkosigan's estranged ex-wife.
Pointed Conversations.  Princess Judith Vorbarra has a conversation with her new granddaughter.
Entreat Me With Your Loveliest Lie.  Count Vordroza never says the word “mutant” when he talks about Miles.
Family Values.  How does one make polite conversation with someone one's father tortured, physically, mentally, and emotionally, their entire childhood and adolescence?
By Any Means Necessary.  He's a jaded socialite who moonlights as a civilian informer for the secret police. He's a solid, desk-bound officer with a passion for following orders and chasing skirt. Together, they fight crime the free press! This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/217947.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Title: Reflections in Moving Water
Fandoms: Criminal Minds/X-men/X-men First Class
Characters: David Rossi, Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid; Magneto, Professor Xavier, Hank "Beast" McCoy
Pairings: none
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 17,703
Spoilers: Criminal Minds Season 07 episode 8 "Hope" and all of the X-Men movies. Also, bits and pieces of information have been cherry-picked from the comics, but there shouldn't be any spoilers there.
Warnings: period-accurate (1960s) use of racial slurs.
Disclaimer Criminal MInds and X-Men belong to their respective creators
A/N: Thank you to perdiccas  for the beta
Written for: liliaeth in xover_exchange 

Summary: When the BAU is ordered to update the profiles on the Brotherhood of Mutants, Rossi must revisit a past he doesn't talk about.

Reflections in Moving Water

This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/217804.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

I received Quiet is the Steep Stair Under, by minarchy .  I asked for women being awesome, and she delivered.  Doctor Who/X-Men, starring Mystique, River, and Rogue.  In the High Security Unit of the Stormcage Containment Facility, Erik Lehnsherr has a visitor.

I wrote Reflections in Moving Water for liliaeth. At 17.7k words, it is slightly more epic than I thought it would be, but I'm happy with it.  Criminal Minds/X-men/X-men First Class starring David Rossi (and Hotch, Morgan, Reid, Magneto, Professor Xavier, and Hank "Beast" McCoy).  Gen, PG-13
Warnings: period-accurate (1960s) use of racial slurs.
A/N: Thank you to perdiccas for the beta
Summary: When the BAU is ordered to update the profiles on the Brotherhood of Mutants, Rossi must revisit a past he doesn't talk about.

There are many other good stories, so if crossovers are your thing, check it out!

This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/217449.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

This isn't exhaustive, but if everyone followed it there would be a lot less wanking about cons and such:

The Fan/Pro Bill Of Rights

If you're going to a con, keep this in mind (and pray that your fellow fans and the pros will also keep it in mind).

That is all.

This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/217309.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Um.  So, remember that I gave up on my xover_exchange story because it was going to be too long to get it finished in time, and started a new story?  Well, I might have ended up writing less if I'd just stuck with it.  I don't know if I've ever written that much in that short a time.

It's a good story.  I like it.  It was fun to write.  I think my recipient will like it better than the original story.  It just ... kind of came out of nowhere.

This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/217080.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Unsurprisingly, I appear to be the only person to either offer or request Donovan's Reef.  Just like last year.  My chances of receiving a story in that fandom are therefore ... small.  Who knows, maybe someone will stalk it on the Yulegoat letters and decide they just have to write for it.  That's how there came to be three Rio Bravo stories on AO3, after all.  But the odds are still against it, particularly considering that Donovan's Reef is a lot less popular than Rio Bravo.  Sigh.

I will genuinely and truly be overjoyed getting a story in any of the four fandoms I requested--that is, after all, why I requested them--but it is kind of a bummer to have a fandom that may be too rare even for yuletide.

I shouldn't have looked at the fandoms offered/requested list.  Takes a little bit of the squee away to only be gleefully chortling over three fandoms, instead of four.

This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/216723.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

What would be a good mutant name for a guy who can hear/understand animals?  Something that a teen might think was cool but that a grown man might be slightly embarrassed about?

This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/216329.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

So, I got my assignment, and clicked it with the trepidation of Yuletide, where one never knows what one will get.

I read the first request.  My response: huh, I didn't think I signed up to write that, but maybe I did?  I'd have to reread some stuff, but that's doable ...

I read the second request.  Definitely not matched on it.


I read the third request.  My response: huh, I didn't think I signed up to write that, but maybe I did?  I'd have to reread some stuff, but that's doable ...

I read the fourth request.  I knew I signed up for that one, so that must be what we're matched on.

But I've never shared three of four fandoms with someone!  This is awesome.  I may have to friend zir when yuletide is over, because we evidently share much in common.  And it's not like these are movies that are on TV all the time.  Like, I had a request a couple of years ago where we matched on one, but zie also requested Forrest Gump which I don't think I've ever watched straight through but has been on TV so much I've seen every part of it at least twice, so I knew I could write it if I had to.  That's the closest I've ever matched someone.

From reading zir Yulegoat letter, it's clear which fandom zir heart is truly hoping for.  And it's one we share (sort of), though not the one we matched on.  I have the books.  I haven't read them in years, but I have them easily accessible.  And she's right, there really isn't an online fandom for them, and she only just discovered them and is still in that first blush of "oh, wow, I love these books!", and ... I read fast enough that I should be able to read the whole series as a refresher and still crank out a story by December 25th.  There are only, what, five books?  Something like that?  In two volumes?  And I can skip right through all the battle/tech scenes, because I wouldn't write about them anyway and zie didn't ask for them anyway.  By the time I was in middle school I was reading a novel a day, so even though I have less free time now it shouldn't take too long.  And I still have the fandom we matched on for backup.

On other news, with five days left until rough drafts are due, I'm starting a new xover_exchange fic.  My first story started great guns, but then I couldn't figure out where it was going (great premise, but no idea what to do about it).  I finally know where it's going and what the punchline is going to be, but I could not finish it in five days.  I will finish it because it's a cool fic and I like it, but I need something else for the challenge.  Thankfully, the second fic I started yesterday is chugging along nicely.
</user></user> This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/216215.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

( General likes and dislikes )

Donovan's Reef
Amelia Deham, Leilani Dedham, gen preferred.  At the end of the movie, Amelia has accepted her siblings, but she's still a privileged Boston upper-class woman, with no real understanding of the gap between her experience and theirs. I'd love some exploration of the relationship between the two of them. And, you know, I love all of the other characters too, so any of them you want to include would be wonderful.

Here is my picspam/pimp post from last year.  Please be very careful with this story.  I love the movie, I grew up watching it regularly, but it has problems.  For all its progressive (for its day)  handling of the situation with the Dedham children, it handled the Asian characters poorly.  Also, it was fairly misogynist in its treatment of Amelia.  I would absolutely adore fic that handled the issues the film raised (and didn't raise) with more delicacy than was possible in a John Wayne action comedy of the early 1960s.  Also, there really isn't much chemistry between Amelia and Gunns in the movie, so if you want to make their romance a major point you're going to have to work to convince me that they're in love, or find other reasons for them to be getting married.  The Duke is a lot of fun, but my absolute favorite character is Lelani.  She's young, but she's very intelligent, and very sensitive, and can stand up for herself when she has to.  (I love the scene where Amelia mocks her for giving thanks to the goddess of the canyon for the Christmas tree, and Lelani quietly puts her in her place.)

Chalion series
Ingrey kin Wolfcliffe/Ijada dy Castos.  Anything with these two characters, but particularly something post-book dealing with their spirit animals and the theology and politics around that.

What I love about this series is the way it brings theology to life without being preachy about it. The way theology is shown to have concrete impact on the way people act, and the way they respond to the world. It's not just gods and goddesses throwing lightning bolts around, but a truly deep spirituality that is fully integrated into the world and the characters. What I also love about the characters is that they are realistic and flawed and still manage great things despite (and sometimes because of) their flaws. What I love about Lois' works in general is the lyrical nature of her prose, the depth and breadth and weight of the way she uses words and themes and mood, though that's harder to pull off. If that's not your style of writing, I'd rather something plainly written than something overflowing with purple prose because you're not used to writing that way.

Batman Beyond
Terry McGinnis, Maxine Gibson.  I would enjoy just about anything set in this universe.  Some ideas: casefic.  Something about Bruce training Terry to be Batman and/or Max being trained by Commisioner Gordon to be Batgirl (although obviously focusing on Terry and Max, not their mentors).  Something about how Terry and/or Max make the legacy of the Bat their own.  An adventure with the Justice League (not focusing on Superman).

I love the whole series and all the characters.  I adore Terry and Max and Dana.  I love how old and grim Bruce has gotten.  I love Barbara Gordon, police commissioner.  I love piecing together the history, how we got there from Justice League/BtAS/Superman.  I wish we'd seen more of how Terry gets trained, because you know Batman has got to be giving him more than we see on the series.  I wish we'd seen more of Max, and I wish we'd gotten to see more of Dana than just "Terry's Girlfriend".  I love characters from the rest of the DC universe too, but I can get stories about them anywhere.  If you bring in, say, Green Lantern or Superman or Wonder Woman I'll enjoy it, but I can get those stories anywhere.  I can't get BB fic anywhere, so please do focus on the BB characters.

Bride and Prejudice
So they get married.  And then what?  In movies that's the end, but in real life it's just the beginning.  William and Lalita come from two very different cultures, and neither of them is going to just give up their culture.  And Darcy suffers from foot-in-mouth and Lalita's not the type to just let him get away with it.  There will be some big adjustments for both.  Then there's Balraj and Jaya--less culture gap, but still a big gap in experience.  Then there's Chandra, whom I'd love to see more of (though please as little Mr. Kohli as possible).  There are so many possibilities.

I love Bride and Prejudice for how vibrant it is, and how over the top, and I adore the musical numbers (though I really don't like songfic, that's one part of the movie that I don't think translates well to fic).  I love how Lalita is such a forceful personality.
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OTW is the group that runs (among other things) AO3 and Fanlore, and it has serious problems.  Over the last few weeks of election campaigns, a lot of dirty laundry has come out.  If OTW and its projects are to be sustainable, there needs to be serious changes made in the way it handles internal conflict, mentors its volunteers, and implements code.

If Naomi Novik (i.e. one of the founders, who got the ball rolling but also was a major influence in setting up the screwy system they've got now) is re-elected, I do not believe such major changes will be made, and in that case I do not believe the OTW and its projects will last very long at the rate they're burning out volunteers.  PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR NAOMI NOVIK.

Example of shenanigans within OTW: "The chair of the board has been told by someone/s to stop working on a strategic plan for the organisation because she doesn't have the authority to do so. "  And the president's post on OTW.

A helpful collection of links if you haven't been following things.

I will be voting for the following:

1. Jenny Scott-Thompson
2. Julia Beck
3. Betsy Rosenblatt
4. Nikisha Sanders


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... there's never even been a Yuletide fic of it.

Yuletide Nominations Are Open!!!!!!!!!




Remember, nominations are EXTREMELY important this year!

Instead of getting six nominations (two more than you can request fic for), you get only THREE.  So instead of people nominating what they'd like to receive with a couple extra just for fun and to see if anyone else would like it too, a great many people are left with fewer nominations than they will be requesting fic for.  Since there half as many nominations per person, you cannot count on someone else just happening to nominate something you want to request, as well.    And only being able to nominate 4 characters makes it even worse.

So!  Here is the post where people have been listing what they will nominate, and horsetrading the details, and here is the googledocs spreadsheet of it.  Check there to see if someone is planning to request one or more of your fandoms.  Note that there is also a column for fandoms people request others to nominate because they don't have the slots themselves.  This is because you can request fic in four fandoms, but can only nominate three, so there are people who want to request four but will otherwise not be able to.  If you have extra nomination slots, please be kind and nominate something for someone else who has already used up their slots.

And here is the post of what has already been nominated, and its googledocs spreadsheet, noting as fandoms and characters are approved or rejected by the mods.

nominations run through Monday at 9PM Eastern.

Go nominate!

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Esther-Channah (dragonbat2006) just posted a fic written for me, and it is very funny.  You all need to read it now!  An Offer He Couldn't Refuse.  It is a Batman/Muppet Show crossover.  Yes, you read that right, Batman/Muppet Show.  To say more would spoil it, but it captures the zaniness of the Muppet Show while still being true to Batman.  (Ok, maybe not Chris Nolan or Frank Miller's Batman, but still Batman.)  Go and read, you'll have fun.

(She lists the songs at the end, and if you're not familiar with them I'd recommend doing Youtube searches for them to get a feel for them beforehand, particularly 'Brush Up your Shakespeare.')

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I've read several XMen 1st Class MPreg stories lately, and I have noticed two baffling things:

1. Charles is always the one knocked up.  I get it, because he is the more 'nurturing' guy and the fandom woobie, and yet the fact that Erik has a life that would be so much more difficult to handle with kids would seem to make this a more interesting scenario.
2. Erik is always fiercely protective, and wants to  be involved.  Yet, in comics canon, Magneto abandoned his two children (Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, both mutants) to go off and be Magneto.

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