Did I mention that I finally updated my website, and that it's been in a shiny new design for a while now? Well, it's updated and new. The latest podfic files are also available from there now.

And this was the last thing I needed to do before turning my full attention to studying, so I'll probably be making myself scarce around here for a while. Er, even more so than usual.

But. Inevitably, I'm already plotting fic again and considering things to record. I didn't think I would miss it that much after barely two weeks of not writing or recording or reading. But apparently I'm not me without it anymore. Huh. So I'm not going to drop completely off the radar.

Woohoo, podfic! You know, I always felt that short fics have been terribly neglected when it comes to podfic. There are quite a few I'm surprised were never recorded, and these ten are at the top of the list. This collection has been a while in the making, and I owe tacittype and argosy thanks for cheerleading and helpful advice. A big thank you also goes to snarkydame for the final all-over beta listen.

Ten Reasons To Smile is an anthology of ten gen and McKay/Sheppard fics of less than 2500 words with an overall rating of light R. They're all feel-good and varying degrees of funny, just like the title suggests, and some deliberation went into the order. (I really recommend sticking to it, if you decide to go for the multiple file version.)

Texts:
Relative Positions by merryish
Bright Ideas by alyse
But I'll Be Close Behind by black_eyedgirl
A.S. by frostfire_17
Friendly Competition by siegeofangels
Blue Skies by thegrrrl2002
Okay, Let's Try This Again by helena_eternal
King Philip Came Over For Good Soup by argosy
There Is No Mystery Left by _kiden
Big Bang by toft_froggy

Mp3 file(s), 95 minutes, ~90 MB
Download links (permanent, from my website, right-click and save):
as single file
as multiple files

This is it, my seventh and final fic for the story_lottery round two. I would squeal, but it turns out I missed the deadline by only a couple of hours. Still, it was fun, and I made it -- even the writing-in-seven-different-fandoms part. \o/

This is an Enterprise fic, PG-13, Reed/Hayes. Thank you so much to trystings for beta-ing and cheerleading!

( Hayes was still a bit of a mystery to Malcolm. And Malcolm didn't like mysteries. )

---

And these are all seven submissions:

4 - a soap bubble: Play The Music, Light The Lights [Stargate Atlantis]
8 - the tide: High Tide [Enterprise]
13 - smoke: Where There's Smoke [Numb3rs]
18 - the full moon: Entirely Possible [Stargate SG-1/Discworld]
22 - a second: All Bets Are Off [Psych]
26 - a déjà vu: The Time Is Then [Torchwood/Doctor Who]
31 - a lit candle: Come Share The View [NCIS]

For the story_lottery challenge, round two; prompt "the full moon": my weirdest crossover yet.

Stargate SG-1/Discworld, gen, rated PG, 4500 words. Humor, bordering on crack, with a touch of angst.
Thank you, again, to snarkydame for the beta!

( Daniel withstands the urge to blink disbelievingly. He's seen enough dwarfs and vampires and gargoyles and assassins and wizards and dragons in the last few days to trust his eyes by now. )

I've had a really, really stressful week, and of my seven prompts for the story_lottery round two, I've managed to finish four so far. The deadline on Sunday is a little too close for comfort for me, actually.

Aaanyway, here's number five, for the prompt "smoke":
Numb3rs, tag for 6x02 "Friendly Fire". PG-13, David/Colby, humor, 2000 words.
Thank you so much, snarkydame, for the mother of all beta sessions!

( 'I hate to impose on your alone time, but can you two lovebirds give me a ride home?' )

I never squeed about all the truly awesome things I got for my birthday this year! And I really should! Because they are! Truly awesome, I mean.

tacittype recorded my McShep fic Embrace Yourself (And Others, Too), and it's so great and unbelievably cool to hear your own fic read out loud. I love it! \o/
And then cybel went and made it a podbook, too.

I know, I know. tacittype pointed it out before: with me recording one of her fics a few weeks ago, it looks suspiciously like we planned on trading off. It's all one big coincidence. Really!

Anyway, on the gift front that's not all. A couple of days after my birthday I received an ominous package. Inside was-- a printed version of everything I've written and posted so far. A book of 370 pages of fanfic. I squeaked, and then I just stared at it for a while, and then I just leafed through it for another while. Touchable fanfic is made of win!
I said it before, and I'll say it again. Thank you so much, tacit! *hugs*

And naye made me something pretty damn awesome which I can't show you yet. But it's ♥! Naye, you so deserve a big hug, too. *hugs*

And then, with an impeccable sense of timing, skinscript made me icons:



That had to do more with my apparent guessing mojo (Huh?) than my birthday. Still. So pretty! Thank you!


And in other news: I'm now a student again. Or I will be soon. Full time job and getting a M.Sc. on the side-- This is going to be so much work, and a major time sucker. I already miss fandom and writing. No yuletide for me this year. *mourns* Tragic thing is: at the moment I'd still have the time to write, but I've never felt less inclined to do so. I feel incredibly uninspired these days.
I'm perfectly fine with following my insanely packed watching schedule: Psych, Merlin, Defying Gravity, Medium, The Mentalist, House, Lie to Me, Castle, NCIS, NCIS:LA, Numb3rs, Cold Case, Bones, Sanctuary, Dollhouse (though the jury's still out on that one). Plus the JAG season six DVDs I'm working my way through at the moment.
Er, yeah. I love my shows. *g*

This is the fourth fic for story_lottery round two, for the prompt "a lit candle". A list of my seven prompts is here.

NCIS, PG, team, humor. 3300 words. Title borrowed from a song by the Editors. Thank you to villainny for the beta!

( Come Share The View )

The results for the mcshep_match are up! Also: The Masterlist!

My contribution for Team Peace was Late for the Arrival, featuring observant aliens, careless co-workers, Ancient graffiti, exasperated superiors, and a healthy dose of oblivious!Rodney through the ages.

In the end, Team War beat us by 0.04 points.

Kudos and congratulations, Team War!
*throws confetti*

Team Peace made second! (Duh!) Look, this is us:



*throws confetti for teammates*

The final score was 23.15 to 23.11. That's really, really close. Only a 0.2% difference! Which means that everyone was basically equally awesome!

But most of all the mods, of course, who put in all the hard work and made this match happen: fluffyllama and trobadora. And our team captains, too: kassrachel and lavvyan. Extra special thanks to all of you!

As a mcshep_match newbie, I can now cheer and say that this experience was FTW!

\o/

My third fic for story_lottery round two, for the prompt "a second". A list of my seven prompts is here.

Psych, Shawn/Lassiter, PG, 1200 words, humor. Thank you to snarkydame for the beta!

( All Bets Are Off )

I went to see Chris de Burgh live on stage yesterday. My mom got a ticket for her birthday, and I went with. Which is not to say that I got dragged along. Quite the opposite, actually.

"Hey," you ask doubtfully. "Chris de Burgh? Isn't that the 'Lady in Red' guy?" Yes, that's him--- Don't look at me like that!

( It's like this... )

( Here's the list of songs he played. )

It was a fantastic three hours[!] (minus the twenty-minute break).
*sigh*
Again, please.

Fic #2 for story_lottery round two. I'm not only determined to actually finish the seven fics in time, I'm also determined to write them in seven different fandoms. Er. We'll see how that goes.

Anyway, this one is for my bonus prompt "a déjà vu":

Torchwood/Doctor Who crossover, gen, 2000 words, rated PG-13. Post Children of Earth. The Doctor, Jack. Not cheerful, not fixing anything. Thank you to tacittype for the beta!

( 'I used to wonder about this: if I got the chance, would I just punch you in the face, or would I be able to stop myself long enough to demand an explanation' )

Oookay. Crackfic, anyone? This is my first response to the story_lottery Round 2, for the prompt "a soap bubble".

McKay/Sheppard(-ish) with a bit of Lorne/Parrish, crack, PG, 4200 words, and did I mention crack? Seriously, complete with singing and dancing. Thank you to trystings for tackling this beta read!

I'll just go and look for my mind now. I seem to have lost it somewhere.

Well then, Play the Music, Light the Lights

( 'You're a Muppet! A Muppet! Jesus, McKay, what did you do now?' )

Apparently I am not yet busy enough with the watching, and the reading, and the writing, and the vidding, (and, er, my job and stuff). Of course I feel the need to go and try my hand at recording podfic, too. *headdesks*

I picked the fun SGA McKay/Sheppard fic Working Out by tacittype for a first try. The result is here (right-click and save, 20MB).

A big thank you for the feedback goes to the author herself *smishes*, and to snarkydame for the effort and she put into this, even though there was a slight snag in the chain of communication. *vbg*

Dear brain,

I clearly remember the two of us explaining just recently that we usually write happy things — no death fics and other dark stuff. Granted, we were being sarcastic, making our point by strongly claiming the opposite to be true. But still.
And now I find myself waking up one morning with you throwing this at me? There's death. (In a manner of speaking.) And it's dark. That's two out of two. You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?

With a heartfelt *wtf*,
me

---

In other words:
McKay/Sheppard, PG-13, 1400 words. Angst, sort of death fic, kind of dark. Title from Sting's "The Book of My Life". Beta'd by the fabulous trystings.


( These Pages Are Burning )

Did I mention that I signed up for the second round of story_lottery? Probably not. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
I picked my numbers a couple of weeks ago, and the lottery draw took place today.

These are my prompts:


4 - a soap bubble [Stargate Atlantis]
8 - the tide [Enterprise]
13 - smoke [Numb3rs]
18 - the full moon [Stargate SG-1/Discworld]
22 - a second [Psych]
31 - a lit candle [NCIS]

Bonus prompt:
26 - a déjà vu [Torchwood/Doctor Who]


\o/
I love my prompts!


ETA:
Honestly, the fic I posted right after this is just an exception to the rule!

As seen on villainny's journal:

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb, and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. No Googling/using IMDb search functions.

Who could resist that? These are mine:

1. "What did you do, wake up this morning and say, 'Today, I'm going to ruin a man's life'?"
Romancing the Stone (xparrot)
2. "Hey guys, I just wanted you to know that the reactors won't take it; the ship is breaking apart and all that... Just FYI."
Galaxy Quest (villainny)
3. "I could more easily forgive his vanity had he not wounded mine."
Pride and Prejudice (torakowalski)
4. "This is my Peter - uh, my *friend* Peter. We just met at the, uh, intersexual... homosection... INTERSECTION!"
In & Out (torakowalski)
5. "Wind blows... Fire Burns... Water Falls..."
Extra quote: "Look, I just got in. I just smashed my cab, I lost my job, I got mugged. Besides that, everything's peachy. Thanks for asking. Now will you just settle down and explain this to me calmly."
The Fifth Element (berlinghoff79)
6. "I love the sea. So beautiful, so mysterious... so full of fish."
French Kiss (lavvyan)
7. "Earthman, your Mickey Mouse is one big stupid dope!"
Enemy Mine (xparrot)
8. "What are you looking at?" -- "Your leg. I'd like to break it."
Willow (naye)
9. "I don't want him back, I just want him vaporized, extinguished! When I'm done with him, he'll be just a twitching little stain on the floor."
Extra quote: "I'm the Milky Way Man, and I know everything!"
Addicted To Love (monnasakura)
10. "You are fined one credit for a violation of the Verbal Morality Statute."
Extra quote: "I'm happy that you're happy, but the place where you're supposed to have the toilet paper, you've got this little shelf with three seashells on it."
Demolition Man (berlinghoff79)

Soo?

ETA: Finally! All found out on September 14, 2009!

Oi! People are sick! *squeaks half in horror, half in amusement*

There's a prompt post up on omnijaxual (which is a community devoted to Jack/non-human pairings) that asks people to suggest characters that definitely need to be allowed to get it on with Captain Jack Harkness in a fic sometime in the near future. There are hundreds of suggestions. Suggestions for any given value of crazy.

( These are my, er, favorites )

To be accurate, we had liftoff yesterday, when the first two contributions for the mcshep_match were posted: the artwork Holding On for Team War and the fic Atmosphere for Team Peace.

And there's 9 more artworks and 49 more fics to come!

Go, watch mcshep_match, and you can read/admire two fanworks per day for the next month! Of course it would be great if you also filled out the poll that is attached to each of the contributions to help determine which team certifiably rocks the most. And because I'm completely biased, it would fill me with utter glee if you especially kept an eye out for Team Peace.

If you're hit by a lightning strike of sudden recognition, you can guess the author/artist in this guessing post. If you'd rather keep your epiphanies to yourself along the way, you'll be able to submit them collectively in the end.

I certainly had fun writing for the mcshep_match, and I hope you'll enjoy it as much from the reader's perspective!

Have you seen the thirty-second ( preview for House, Season 6? )

I usually avoid spoilers like the plague, but I couldn't resist this. And it's not all that spoilery anyway. Nothing going on I wouldn't have expected in some way after the season five finale. This is going to be-- interesting. To say the least. *g*