Okay, so, last week was WIP Amnesty week. And this isn't really WIP so much as it is a small part of a larger idea/story that I will probably not finish. r_becca has looked at it and made encouraging noises, and I've been poking at it for over a year, but I am still the slowest writer to ever write and I still end up with ideas that are bigger than my ability and/or desire to write them, so I am just going to post this as-is and let it go. Fly, young story! Be free!

What it is:

A gen DCU/SGA crossover starring Tim Drake!

Title: Better Things
Rating: G
Pairing: None!
Warnings: None.
Summary: Tim is taking the long way home.

( Better Things )

( Other notes )

Round One of chickfight is ongoing! Vote Vote Vote!

Suduvu has been running a book character cage match this month. Its only flaw? Not enough women!

And thus, chickfight was born.

64 awesome, badass females enter, and one emerges victorious. Preliminary voting begins TODAY.

Anyone who is currently active in D/G should go here and help me update the Fanlore wiki. I have been out of it for too long to give more than an overview of what happened back in like, 2004. I did up a summary but not much more. Needs more info!

(Paging flyingcarpet, there's nothing for Harry/Ginny either! Someone on your end of fandom should get on that. ;) )

Watching the Opening Ceremonies and casting on for my Ravelymics entry.

Not to be unpatriotic or anything, but, um, this rendition of our national anthem? SUCKS. WTF Olympic committee.

Oooh, totem poles! I love that they are incorporating the Native tribes! (Also, hi shirtless hot dudes. Hi I am Fear and I am shallow.) If they present all of them individually, though, this might take a while. Hee.

Ah, but they aren't. Lucky Inuit, getting introduced all on their own 'cause they're the only Northern nation

The guy representing Algeria is so cute! And he looks so thrilled to be there! Aww, and I looked him up and he is only 17. You go, wee happy Algerian dude! I feel bad for the countries with only one athlete.

Nice pants, Mr. Azerbaijan.

Poor Georgians. :( I'm glad we're giving them a standing ovation.

There are a lot of countries in these games. I bet those Native dancers are getting tired.

GO CANADA GO! \o/

Okay, if dude in the kilt in the floating canoe and the horns is not Ashley Macisaac, I will eat my hat. Because dude, that is right up his alley. (And okay, I kind of want all their outfits, and THOSE BOOTS. Yum.)

AHAHAHA I WAS RIGHT. Oh Ashley, you are my very favourite fairy fiddling dynamo. <3

kd lang is amazing.

OMG I hate opera. No disrespect to this lady, just...ugh. Opera.

I'm reading the boards over at Ravelry, and no offense to the Americans on my flist, but all the Americans there bitching about the ceremony being in French and English are harshing my cool. We're a bilingual country, people. We don't care if you don't speak it. Cope.

RICK HANSEN FUCK YEAH!!

Catriona Le May Doan! Um, dude I don't know. Nancy Greene! And heh. Wayne Gretzky. Heh.

Technical difficulties, how embarrassing!

And yet, still pretty damn cool. That was awesome.

I'm sure most everyone has heard about the earthquake in Haiti already this morning. I wanted to pass on a link to Meallanmouse's post on ways to donate to disaster relief efforts. My charity of choice for this sort of thing is Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières - they already had a presence in Haiti and their hospital was affected by the earthquake. They're still providing emergency care, though.

Please consider donating if you can.

Sorry for the spam - I am trying something. :) Cross-posting again from DW!

And editing, to test the thing I really wanted to test...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY esc_key!!! (And also twiny!!)

I totally did not forget! I just hope you see this before you go home. I hope you have a fantastic birthday weekend! Picture me throwing glitter at you!

I am feeling guilty about not posting in two weeks (two weeks! Ack!), so I will steal a meme from esc_key

Give me one of my own stories, and a timestamp sometime in the future after the end of the story, or sometime in the past before the story started, and I'll write you at least a hundred words of what happened then, whether it's five minutes before the story started or ten years in the future.

New fic!

Now that the authors at the dgficexchange have been announced, I can post about it. The story I wrote is here. (It's D/G (of course), PG-13 for violence.) I'll post it up at my personal site when I get home from work.

I'm in the process of switching my site over to eFiction (idea totally swiped from flyingcarpet, who is the bomb), and I'm having a small problem. A while back I wrote a tiny drabble called "The Kiss". The thing is, I can't remember when I posted it, and I never put it in my LJ memories or tagged it. Does anyone have it linked, and can you post it in the comments? I will loff you forever if you do.

Question for the masses:

My sister requested classic children's books for my nephew for Christmas, and I remembered one of my favourites when I was a little girl. Only I can't remember the author or title. I'm hoping someone out there can help me out.

It was a picture book, and it was a story about a young girl spending the holidays with her grandparents out in the country. Something happens, and she ends up going back in time and meeting another little girl. From what I remember, they go on a sleigh ride on an old-fashioned sleigh, and the little girl from the past has a small box with a monarch butterfly on it. The present-time girl manages to get home, and is given the same box by her grandmother, who got it when she was a little girl. (Implying that the little girl from the past was her grandma.) I also seem to vaguely remember that there was a coat involved, like maybe she put on a coat that transported her back?

Does this sound familiar to anyone? *hopes*

Kitten fic! Dude, does anyone even remember this?

The Kitten Saga begins here and continues here. This segment picks up where the last left off.

In conclusion: all flyingcarpet's fault. I will happily accept any and all cute pictures of kittens and/or cats as bribery and incentive to continue.

( Part three of the kitten fic, because I apparently have no shame. )

My Unpopular Fannish Opinion (and some talk about Common Ground in which I harsh on everyone else's squee. I feel badly. If you liked the episode, seriously, don't read beyond the cut.)

( Oh, SGA. )

So, to sum up, meh.

flyingcarpet is so demanding. She wanted me to post about SGA, so I am. :)

( Random SGA 3x02 Misbegotten thoughts )

More kitten!fic! Sorry it's so short...I'm kind of writer's-blocked lately, so I'm sort of posting what I have as I have it as a way to keep myself going.

( Short snippet of Kittens under the cut! )

To third part

I should mention that all offerings of kitten pics as bribery or encouragement are welcome! There can never be too much kitteny cuteness.

Happy Fourth of July, all you July 4th-celebrating folks. I hope everyone is having a great holiday! (Also belated Happy Canada Day because I forgot to post. Oops.)

In other news, flyingcarpet is evil. Eeeevil. And mean. I asked her for SGA kitten!fic and she refused me, because she is mean and evil and all those nasty things, cruelly forcing me to write some myself. So here is about 400 words worth of (unfinished) kitten fic, which I had to write myself because flyingcarpet is a big ol' meanie.

( As yet untitled Kitten Fic! Because everything is better with kittens. )

To the second part

(I may or may not have spent at least part of my afternoon searching for the perfect kittens to represent SGA-1. *coughs* Icon is Lorne's apologetic "My commander is a kitten" face.)

mynuet is sponsering a Love Meme in her LJ. Go on over and spread some lovin'!

It's kind of ironic that I'm posting this now, since June 2001 was when I entered HP fandom for the first time, if I date from when I first read the books and went looking for fic. (I had the idea—oh, naïve little me!—that I should make a webpage, because what were the chances that anyone else had? Slim, right? I was so wrong.) So consider this my 5-year Anniversary post, if you like.

I've been in fandom a long time, and I've watched just about every single wank go down, even before fandom_wank existed. (Hey, anyone remember Stacey's Big Rant? The one where she posted about the four big dramas that were going on at the time, wayback in February 2002? Know why she wrote that? Because I'd posted I was tired of the infighting and was withdrawing from fandom. Kid you not. We will not go into how drama-queeny it was of me to say "I'm leaving fandom!" and then...not leave. Ahem.)

Anyway.

It's really easy to think, oh HP fandom, cesspool of wank, all they ever do is fight and wank and plagiarize and create sockpuppets and be mean. And honestly, some days it really felt that way, particularly during the height of the sockpuppetry that went down and was chronicled by Bad Penny. It felt like every day there was a new troll, or a new watcher journal, or something. It sucked the joy out of something that was supposed to be fun.

But way more than wank has come out of the Harry Potter fandom over the years. All the people I've met through fandom and through LJ: you guys rock. coconutswirl, flyingcarpet, mahoni, red_wench, mynuet, rainpuddle13, trakkie, meghatron, thepiratequeen, heinous_bitca, adrith...I could name everyone on my friendslist, just about, and write an essay about how great y'all are. You're talented, smart, funny, savvy people, and I know I'm the worst commenter ever, but I want every one of you to know that I do read all your posts, and I do care, even if I'm terrible at saying so. I haven't been involved in HP fandom stuff for several months, but I remember it—and all of you—with affection.

esc_key and wm_law2003. I honestly don't think I'd have gotten involved in HP fandom at all if you two hadn't found and friended me on Livejournal in 2001. I'm so glad you did, and I'm so glad we've stayed friends for the last five years. Five years of chats and drama and dorkiness and laughing, and I just swell up with happiness when I think about that, and about how lucky I am to know you. We haven't met in person—not yet, one more month!—but I love you guys.

Ok, group hug! Big group hug!

Dude, I miss the email reminders you used to get for birthdays.

Happy (belated) birthday mynuet! I hope you had a great day, and I'm sorry I forgot!

SGA fen! (All two of you.) New season 3 SGA ensemble promo pics!

*FLAIL*

Asdfjlkasd. Guh.

I really need to look at the first one on my home computer 'cause my work one is too dark to see it in detail and, well. Rodney. Black t-shirt. Yes.

(Though I have one quibble and that is that Ronon seriously needs to groom the goat. He's starting to look alarmingly like a particularly unkempt ex of mine and that's just no good at all. Because Ronon is HOT and my ex was an ASS, and I don't want to associate the two.)

And in totally unrelated news, for the first time in the 10 years I've been attending the Calgary Folk Fest, Stephen Fearing is attending the festival. And for the first year in a very long time, I'm not going. Because a) I will be in New York that weekend, and 2) because life hates me. (I have been dying to see Stephen in concert for about ever, and this wounds me in my soul, people. In my soul. The one time I'm not going, he's there. This calls for much wailing and abuse of italics. And pouting. There's definitely some pouting going on.)

Because flyingcarpet said I should.

The first FIVE people to comment on this post get to request a drabble on a subject/character of their choosing from me. In return, they have to post this in their journal.

Bear in mind that HP and SGA are the two fandoms I know best right now, tho I could probably swing House and Lost if you want. :) Unless you don't mind getting a Bad Drabble in which case I will be perfectly happy to write about whatever you want.

ETA: Requests: 4 Drabbles: 3

And when I say "drabble" I am using that word very, very loosely, since the two I've written below have been at least two pages each. So really. Sign up and I'll write you a drabble story.

Son of ETA: I got two drabbles, an SGA one from mahoni, here and a HP one from flyingcarpet here. Read and enjoy. (They also prove once again that I have no idea what a drabble is. 100 words? Pshaw!)

Happy birthday absolut_jmo! I hope you have a great day. :)

Please remind me that I do not need another spinning wheel. I cannot afford it, I cannot afford to pay shipping, I have a sick cat who needs vet care, I need new glasses.

I do NOT need another spinning wheel.

I don't, I don't, I don't.

It's so pretty, and it's a trad wheel, and it's got a lazy kate and extra bobbins and hand cards! Why am I not rich??

I am trying to resist the urge to shuffle my feet and duck my head. Vidding isn't really my thing--I'm not really a very visual person--but I thought I'd try my hand. And here it is! My very first vid! Not perfect, 'cause I was still trying to figure out how to use the software, and I haven't quite mastered doing proper scene transitions so there's jumpy bits, and I will stop apologizing now. Ahem.

Title: Pacing the Cage
Fandom: SGA
Character: Michael (Spoilers for episodes 2x18 and 2x20)
Format: wmv

Download here!

Crit and useful tips always welcome. :)

I've been meaning to post this for aaaages, but I keep forgetting. A while ago I participated in the dgficexchange. You can read the fic I received here, which was written for me by cliodnahpfan, and I am going to shamelessly post my own fic here, because I can. :)

Title: Some Sanctuary
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: HBP spoilers
Summary: She wasn't his, and never had been.
A/N: For greyskygirl, who requested a dark and desperate fic (with a happy ending). I don't know how well I succeeded! Thank you to mynuet for the beta. :)

( Some Sanctuary )

Happy Birthday wm_law2003! I hope you have a fabulous day! :D

I am a bad friend. :(

Happy birthday to flyingcarpet! I hope you had a great day! I know I promised you a story but...um, I sort of didn't finish it. So it will be a belated birthday fic, and you have permission to beat me with a wet noodle for not getting it done on time. *hugs*

GRRM!

It was equal parts cool and not what I expected. ( And I will put the rest behind a cut 'cause it'll be long. No spoilers, though. )

ETA: There are series spoilers in the comments now. Be forwarned! :)

Okay! So, me and trollop23 are going to see George R. R. Martin do a reading tomorrow night, and since he's probably going to have a question period, I wanted to ask the three GRRM fans on my flist if they want me to ask him anything. I'm assuming that "ZOMG tell me how it ends!!!1!!" is probably NOT going to be answered (or I'd be asking myself), so what other pressing questions would you like me (and trollop23, if I ask her real pretty) to ask George?

(I mean, I'd think up questions my own self, but my memory for details is like unto a sieve, and also I would forget whatever I was going to ask until 5 minutes after the thing ended.)

And for mynuet's Christmas Carol meme, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, sung by yours truly.

Head on over to the D/G Yahoo group and check out this year's Ficmas stories! I've just posted mine, but be sure to go through the archive and read the rest...all of this year's offerings have been fantastic!

I hope everyone has a great holiday. :D

I haff nothing in the way of content, so instead I will post a Christmas Goodie Recipe!

This is one of my grandmother's and it is a family favourite. (Or rather, it's a family addiction. These disappear like magic, usually long before Christmas arrives.) Don't be fooled by the name, it's nothing like the chocolate bar.

( O'Henry Squares )

( Dear Santa... )

ETA: ( Dear Great Cthulhu... )

*coughs* Er, sorry 'bout that, esc_key.

Also, I didn't do a Christmas wish list, 'cause I don't really *want* anything...but if someone bought me a plush Cthulhu, I would bear your children and also love you forever. I'm just sayin'.

Happy Birthday to heinous_bitca! I hope you have a great day. :D

No, it's not HP fic, but it is fic! And since LJ is a forum for foisting of the fic onto others, I'm posting it here! Vader says, read it or else!

Disclaimer: Star Wars, KOTOR, the characters and settings belong to Lucasarts, George Lucas, and Bioware. No infringement is intended, nor is money being made by me. I'm just playin'. Please don't sue me.

Summary: The original "Five Things That Never Happened To..." was a meme/challenge that went around Livejournal in 2003. I've adapted it here for my own nefarious KOTOR purposes. Thanks as always go to esc_key, my beta extraordinaire, who's been very patient with my forays into Star Wars fanfiction. *hugs*

This is a Star Wars story set 4000 years before the movies take place, in the game universe of the Bioware RPG "Knights of the Old Republic".

( Five Things That Never Happened To Carth Onasi )

I am up for auction at propheting today. You can bid for me here if you're so inclined. :) There are a lot of really great authors signed up for this, so even if you don't bid for me, please keep checking back and bid for someone! You get great fic, and the Red Cross getes a donation to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina! Everyone wins!

Happy birthday to meghatron! You're cool and smart and funny and I fangirl you liek woah. I hope you have a fantastic day. :)

propheting, the D/G community newsletter, is running an Author Auction to raise funds for the American Red Cross. You can find more information in this post. I will be volunteering my author skills, so if you'd like to dictate a story for me to write to your specifications, my "bid post" should be up in a few days. Please check out the community and the other great authors, and donate what you can!

Revised as of 10pm my time, hopefully slightly more coherent.

Disclaimer: I am not an oil expert, nor do I play one on TV. I do, however, play with oil for a living. I am a Joint Venture Accountant for a small oil company in Alberta, Canada—my job involves managing joint interest agreements and billings between my oil company and our partners. (Basically, companies often share the costs of drilling, producing and refining oil and gas. I make sure we manage the shared costs correctly.) I've worked in the industry for about 5 years now, and before working for my current employer I worked for a very large US-based oil company. (I'm not naming names for job security reasons.)

I have a career-related interest in the oil industry, and I've done a fair amount of reading and research into things like oil availability, where it comes from, where it's produced, what oil fields are in decline and which ones are growing, all that sort of thing. I've seen quite a few people talking about the sudden jump in gas prices, and I just wanted to share what I know about why it's happening.

( Why Katrina is Making Gasoline Prices Rise )