Emma Grant

Just awoke from a nightmare where I was in a various succession of cars. First I'd realize I was in a car, then I'd realize I was in motion, then I'd realize that the windshield was obscured in some manner, then I'd look over to my right to the driver (I assumed) to see what the hell they were doing and then I'd realize that no, in fact, I was the one behind the steering-wheel. I was 'driving' this out of control vehicle while blinded.

Sometimes my brain says "fuck it" to symbolism.

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A farewell tribute to Ol' Blue, the trusty suitcase that ported so many zines home from conventions. Stuffed to the seems with 40 lbs. of zines until he could barely zip shut, he always saw my smut home safely. All those conventions have taken their toll and it's time to let the old boy go to the Salvation Army. Hopefully he'll find another life transporting something lighter, like some grandmother's lacy granny panties and crossword puzzle books as she flies north from Florida to visit her grandchildren. Gramma will never know that the little blue suitcase she's pulling behind her at Dulles once led another life as a conveyer of gay porn. I think that's rather sweet.

By the way, hearkening back to my earlier post--this doesn't spoil anything, since you can see on the Yuletide list of requested fandoms that no one asked for it--I did not get assigned to write for Richard Adams's The Plague Dogs. I decided, when I accidentally included it in the list, that rather than redo my list I'd just go read the book once and for all, even before the assignments came out, so I got it from the library.

I got through Ulysses easier than this. This is...guys, I have written some interesting metaphors myself in my time, some of them admittedly more purple than should be seen outside of crackfic, but this takes them all:

...Rowf's rump slid suddenly forward as smoothly as a turd from a healthy anus...

I can't even facepalm. It's too squicky.

I've got my beta-invite to Archive of Our Own -- and am busily uploading to my page.

So far, it's been really easy to get stuff of FF.net. We'll see what happens when I try to grab my works from LJ. The tagging will be... interesting, I think.

I'm spending the weekend cleaning out and cleaning up my apartment. I'm likely moving to a bigger, brighter, beyootiful apartment soon and the less I have to move, the better. So I've literally emptied out everything I have in closets, hidden under beds and tables, etc. and it's piled in my living room. I'm making my way through it all to donate to charity, then going through the linen closet and it's millions of tiny bottles and doodads and sorting through that as well. Fear me! I'll be lucky if this is done by Monday (plus my latest graphics project, which remains only kinda sorta started), but I can put a helluva dent in it.

So, my list o' thanks. I had a list that for the most part looked like every list of gratitude - family, friends, job, health, internet, gadgets (what?). But I've been feeling rather glum lately, fighting off the cold weather blues, and these two kiddos have been the best ever. I am thankful for the Sith kittehs, who keep my sanity (mostly) and are always there to comfort and be comforted. I am a grateful human slave, even when they barf on my bed. With me in it.

( Click for Sith kittehs pic )

Did online holiday shopping tonight too. Now have only a couple of minor gifts yet to find/buy, plus stocking stuff, plus sew waistcoat for SO (which won't happen till the semester is over, but also doesn't have to be shipped anywhere). And I think he's decided on and possibly ordered something for me already. So basically - we are done with gift organizing. Wow. Now, whether we can get in gear with cards/letter remains to be seen.

It is, however, nearly 1 am so I think I'd better head for bed!

A while back, I wrote an overview of the BL publishers that existed about two years ago. Time for a quick update!

DMP's BL imprints are June, 801 Media and Doki Doki.

June used to be known for pretty tame BL fare, but now it has become a better mix of tame-to-racy. 801 Media is still the imprint to go to for more explicit stories. Doki Doki is an imprint created to cater directly to a Japanese publisher. Most of the DD releases have been BL tales, but not all, and most of the BL titles have been the kind of tame June used to be known for. Still, people seem to appreciate the DD titles for what they are.

Aurora Publishing has the Deux line as well as the Luv Luv line for Girl Love titles.

I think if Deux existed on its own, it might still be a healthy company. As it is, Deux releases have slowed to a crawl with the rest of Aurora's titles, and I'm seriously worried for Aurora's survival. The Duex imprint put out some excellent titles over the years. You should look into them soon, before they all go out of print and everyone in the world starts chasing the titles for stupid prices.

Tokyopop's BL titles usually end up under the BLU imprint (this could confuse Snupin fans ~_^).

Tokyopop has admitted that their BLU titles always sell well, yet the company treats the imprint like a red-headed step-child (for those who don't recognize the saying, like it doesn't belong to them). The web site, long neglected, is just now showing signs of life this month, and releases have still been coming from the imprint, even if it's only about 1 title a month. BLU titles are rarely anthologies, and they usually have only mild BL content, although there are a couple exceptions to this.

Yaoi Press - the publisher's name kinda speaks for itself.

There is nothing but Original English Language BL to be found here, ranging from super-dark to sickeningly sweet - in fact, most of the YP titles exist at one of the two extremes.

Netcomics - This company has an interesting set-up. You can read chapters of a book online for very little money. When a title becomes popular enough (and, probably when Netcomics has gathered up enough capital in general), it is then printed and offered for sale as a book.

Netcomics has put out some eclectic work over the years, ranging from Korean titles with only implied BL to some fairly explicit works. You never quite know what you're going to see next from NC, and their release schedule is sporadic, with no titles for months and then three at a time. I'd say that this is the place to go for edgy material, exciting new artists and a-typical BL reads.

Yen Press began offering some BL titles late last year.

They seem to have taken to Lily Hoshino, and their other BL title so far is also fairly explicit, so I'm hoping for good things from Yen Press next year in terms of BL. They put out nice, compact little books.

Go! Comi thinks it sells BL titles.

No, seriously, Go! Comi's only true mature BL offering is Wendy Pini's Masque of the Red Death. Cantarella is considered mild BL at best and then the most recent books GC listed as BL this year were...not. They were general stories with very bishie characters. I'm not sure where Go! Comi is headed next with BL, but I'm hoping it will at least swerve back into true BL waters.

Media Blaster's BL book imprint is Kitty Media. I don't suggest going to the site. In fact, just go here, it will make your life easier.

Kitty media books are generally the most explicit tales out there, and while I hammered the company a couple years ago, I have to admit, the books have steadily improved at KM. Series are published from the beginning, rather than starting in the middle, and the translations and paper quality seem to have improved. The books themselves are still among the smallest in size, but good paper goes a long way toward readability.

Yaoi Generation is a new publisher, dating back to last year.

So far, YG has put out 4 volumes of a 5-book series over the past year and a half. It finally announced its next two titles around the time the 4th book came out. Honestly, I don't see this glacial pace as a bad plan. Sure, I'd love to have lots of new titles to pick and choose from, but I'd much rather the publisher take it slow and steady than to see it put out a bunch of work all at once and then fold from too much overhead. I was surprised when YG announced itself just as the economic crisis started, and even more surprised when the first book actually came out. YG seems to have a plan, and I think as long as the people behind YG stick to the plan, YG can become an exciting new company - one I'll still be talking about in two more years. ~_^

love, lore

I felt like I did nothing today and am getting nearly choked up and in tears about it. Getting choked up and in tears about my life is something that's happening distressingly often these days. Maybe it's menopause. Maybe . . . well, it gets into some personal stuff.

Today I:

1.) Leveled up my little Dranei hunter on Moon Guard, and ended up helping another player who'd never run a hunter before. She has a warlock at 80, she's just never played a hunter. We ended up talking for more than an hour and friending each other.

2.) Writing two and a half hours in Battleworld with Manya.

3.) Went to the gym and worked out.

4.) Bought food.

5.) Went home and leveled a Night Elf hunter I have Alliance-side on Feathermoon, so he'll be high enough level that I can get to Stormwind and maybe watch this roleplay event tomorrow.

6.) Sat in bed and read a bit further and did some checkmarking in the cognitive-behavior therapy book my therapist gave to me.

7.) Lay down for a nap (at around 3:30PM) despite my better judgement and the fact that the lawn desperately needs mowing.

8.) Woke up at 9PM. In my lexicon, that's known as "crashing and burning".

9.) Commented on a few people's LiveJournals.

Do You Like My Stupid Hair? by queenklu
J2, PG-13
So...remember months and months ago a little fic called Half the Chance to Go? Where Jensen moved out and Jared lost his shit on the phone and then they HUGGED? PLATONICALLY (or whatever)? And then agreed to date? Well. This is that date. (FINALLY.) My exact comment post to this was: "OMG, this is so fucking adorable". Dude, its as adorable as Jared's dimples and Dean's omg-it's-pie-smile, srsly.


Boys of Summer by mijeraar
J2, R
It takes two years and ten months [a handful of weeks and days] for Jared to assimilate to Vancouver Cold. Which, by assimilate, he decides that he’s really fucking sick of it, thanks anyway. Full of sunshine and smiles, a nice short pick-me-up J2 to brighten your day. (If I hadn't thought of the electric bill first, I so woulda wanted to do this!) And if you like this, you'll love Revolver. A light, sweet romantic bit about awkward dating and a future after Supernatural. *glomps*


Let It Out by quasianpride
J2 AU, R
Teenage rock star Jared Padalecki makes a wager on national television that he can get actor Jensen Ackles to make out with him on camera. But when they actually meet, Jared finds himself wanting more than that. A 15 year age difference, rock-star lifestyle, and long distance relationship aren't going to get in his way. Doesn't the description just shout "CRACK"? But its not. It's actually all kinda funny and schmoopy. Tiny bits of angst and humor scattered about too. I ended up staying up wayyyyy too late last night to finish it, if that tells you anything. lol. And yes, it was kinda hot with idea of Jared being way too young for Jensen, which they totally make work but don't shy away from. Also, kinda different with Jared being the musician, huh?

I don't really care about so much about the plots on White Collar. They just keep giving me tasty OT3 stuff and I'm content.

I've spent most of the day uploading stuff to the AO3. It allows me to feel productive when I can't write. I have too many goddamn stories, though. angelgazing pointed out that I will never be done uploading because I write faster than I upload. Though possibly this is no longer the case. I don't know. I have been having my usual late autumn/early winter problems getting motivated. Since the archive takes so long to upload, I am also rereading some favorite stories (I don't have to pay as close attention to rereads - I can skim and skip and be interrupted without losing anything, 'cause I've already read them before). I keep getting errors, unfortunately, which is slowing things down even more.

Technology is not my friend.

I know lots of people are excited by tagging their stories in all sorts of ways, but I am doing what I find useful and that's it. As long as I get the characters/pairing on there, and maybe if it's a casefile or an episode tag, that's about the extent of my interest. Maybe if I upload my HP stuff, I'll split the Remus/Sirius out by era, like I have it in my tags on LJ, but mostly I don't care about the tags. *hides*

Also, I wish there were a place in the profile to link to a warnings policy, and that that link could just automatically be included on every story. Because I am just using the "No Primary Warnings Apply" which isn't the same as "no warnings needed" but 99% of my stuff is "no warnings needed" and I'd like to be able to say that somewhere, since it isn't a choice on the warnings field. I guess I could make it a tag, but I never think of it. I wish it were automatic.

Hmm...

***

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/100505.html. people have commented there.

I hope everyone who celebrates it had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We spent it with the in-laws and Maintenance Man's brother and sister and their families. It was nice, actually. Played Hand and Foot and stuffed ourselves silly.

( It was a nice end to a hellish couple of weeks. )

( Poll about holiday cards )

And speaking of holiday cards, if you want one from me, go leave me your address at my holiday card post. It's here on LJ, here on IJ, or here on Dreamwidth. And point me to your holiday card posts so I can give you my address. I might not find your post otherwise, since my crazy work and travel schedule makes it REALLY hard for me to keep up with the f-list.

♥

Stories added to Moonshadow, the Snape/Lupin archive, during the past two months:

Title: Alpha Male (29 K)
Author: sweetmelodykiss


Title: Back (4 K)
Author: astopperindeath


The archive is located at http://www.ssf-moonshadow.com

Also, the Crack Broom masterlist-by-author is now current.

Here's a piece of advice for anyone who is participating in any kind of LJ/IJ/DW based fest at any time of the year: when you email the mods, include your journal user ID, especially if your user ID isn't the same as your email address.

If your email address is the same as your journal ID, it makes things a little easier, but it would still be nice to include your ID nonetheless.

Here's the thing. Unless you communicate via email with the mods outside of the fest enough that it's reasonable to assume they know to associate that email address with you, chances are the mods will have no clue who's emailing them and will have to take the extra step of consulting a spreadsheet in order to figure it out.

When a fest mod is juggling 30+, 40+, 50+, or more fest participants, they are not going to remember who everyone is. They might not know you, they might not interact with you outside of the fest, or they might not remember. There are people who have participated in Snupin Santa just about every year, and I still wouldn't know them from an email address alone, much less know all the new people who rotate in and out each year.

So if a fest mod asks you to include your user ID and/or the name of your recipient in your emails, please try to remember to do it. It's not just a busy-work request; it can save the mod a little extra time (and let's be honest: a little extra irritation) if they know who they're dealing with straight-away instead of having to look it up. Trust me, trawling through a spreadsheet and looking for one person's email address out of 50-60 (or more) names is a pain in the ass.

This entry was originally posted at http://scribbulus-ink.dreamwidth.org/518068.html. It's cross-posted to LJ and IJ, and comments are enabled at all three journals.

In the event SO and I did do a little holiday shopping today. Both of our cars went in to the dealer/mechanic this morning - I needed an oil change and tire rotation, and it turned out that I'd picked up a nail in one sidewall, so also ended up getting a new tire; SO had to get an underneath piece replaced. So that all took a while, and then we went and had a burger for lunch, and decided to check out a couple of galleries/shops in the art district afterward. We now have gifts for all parental units and siblings (although not my BIL and niblings yet). So go us! SO also went to the good local independent bookstore to pick up something he'd ordered, but there was no going to malls or anything of that sort.

I've now written the last quiz for my lower-div class, so that means IIRC I have no more prep in either class to do, though I do have some reading and grading. Also have both reading and work to do for LIS classes, though, which I hope to get to tonight/tomorrow. I could have started on some of it, but I finished a novel instead. Also have started thinking about holiday cards/letters, though haven't gotten very far with that yet.

Turkey breast is roasting and smelling yummy. I'll temp it shortly, and once it's done the dressing goes into the oven (my tiny oven will not hold both a bird and another dish at once). Then make gravy, and all the rest is leftover veggies. *mouth is watering* We had a very nice time with J., C., and F. yesterday, and good food, but I do like having leftover turkey of our own.

Title: The Way of the World

Author: McKay (scribbulus_ink)

Commentary: McKay's "Way of the World" contains some wonderful domestic scenes between Snape and Lupin in the kitchen, where, for example, Lupin teaches Snape how to cook (and survive) in the muggle world.

McKay already posted a great recipe from the story, so I hope no one minds that I'm posting one for brownies inspired by this delightful scene:


Excerpt:

"Laugh at me, will you?" Severus snarled. "You'll pay for that!"

And suddenly, Severus reached into the bowl, scooped up a huge handful of batter, and advanced on Remus.

"No -- Severus, you wouldn't!" Remus stared at him, wide-eyed, as he began backing away.

"Oh, wouldn't I." Severus' voice was a silky purr now, but his smile was pure evil.
( Remus couldn't help but think that batter-covered Severus would have been even better. )

( Easy Brownies recipe )

ETA: and it's over!
( Old text )

Title: Smooch
Author/Artist: jin_fenghuang 
Rating: PG
Pairing(s)/character(s):Snape/Lupin
Summary: Just a sweet little kiss
Warnings: none
Notes: This drawble is for r_grayjoy  , who writes the most awesome limericks ever XD

You stay classy, Ahmadinejad, you just stay classy...

Here are my dragons!

Title: The Needs of the Revolted
Pairing: Sarek/OFC
Rating: NC17
Words: ~800
Warning: dubious consent
Summary: The kink meme prompt was for Sarek to get tired of his people talking smack about Amanda and Vulcanishly telling them to stick it. However, as it was on the kink meme, there is sex.
A/N: I have fooled with this a bit more (largely for clarity) since posting it over there last night while I was taking a break from the more substantial fic that is currently taunting me.