Secondary Displacement

Or, the history of my yuletide participation.

2004:
Tunnels - The Great Escape
Danny digs.

I will freely admit this one kind of sucks. Honestly, I don't know what I THOUGHT The Great Escape was, but it wasn't this movie. Which I had never seen before. So there was scrambling to find it and watch it and panic and BEARS EVERYWHERE. My sincere apologies to my recipient.

2005:
Jaded - Bulletproof Monk
He still calls her Bad Girl.

Bulletproof Monk fic is something I would never have even considered before, but I jumped all over it, because I LOVE Jade and Kar. This was a New Year's Resolution fic.

Birth - Constantine
Angela never thought she would have a child.

This is one I'm really proud of, because I knew pretty much what I wanted to do, and this gave me an excuse. It was a major pain in the ass and there were many many Bears, because the damn thing didn't cooperate for quite a while, but I still love it.

2006:
Sticks and Stones - Young Wizards
Sometimes, it's not the end of the world.

I was SO EXCITED when I got this assignment, as it was for magelette, who I love and adore and talk to all the damn time, so getting her as my recipient was worth flailing and giggling. Ultimately, I decided on her Young Wizards prompt, even though I could have written several of her requests, but Nita and Kit are too awesome. I'm still rather pleased by it - I wanted something where there was no major threat, just everyday wizardry, and I think that came through well.

2007:
Control - The Inside
She was only a little girl, after all, and what do little girls know about power?

This remains, to this day, one of the most disturbing things I've written. I actually had started it way before I signed up to write The Inside for yuletide, but the idea freaked me out so I stopped it. When this request came through, though, I started poking at it again. I did manage to not totally freak myself out by editing out the actual rape and molestation, but there needs to be trigger warnings all over this thing, because it's not a happy story. And i'm very proud of it. Because freaking YOURSELF as the author out is fairly amazing.

2007 Treats:
Fabulous - The Incredibles.
It's just Edna, darling. When are you coming to see me?

This is probably my most "famous" yuletide story, which shocked the HECK out of me, as I wrote it in less than 30 minutes and uploaded it purely on the fact it made me giggle. Of COURSE Edna is a Super. Why wouldn't she be?

Fierce and Free - Legend
What care I for human hearts?

I want to be Oona when I grow up. I love how fierce she is and how manipulative.

Mute - The Young Riders
Ike, in silence.

Ike is probably my favorite of the boys, I will admit to it. And the challenge of writing something for him and Buck was too much to resist.

Fairest and Fallen - Young Wizards
Greetings and defiance.

I REALLY like how this one turned out. The Lone Power in many different forms, but always there for Nita.

2008:
A Horse and Her Boy - The Young Riders
It had only taken one split second for him to fall head over heels.

For the SECOND TIME, I got magelette as a recipient, and you should have seen my face when it happened. I laughed forever. I have no idea how she didn't guess it was me this time around, because we generally swap fics to beta, and when I didn't send her my yuletide to beta..yeah. But this is Kid and his horse, Katy, and how he's so massively in love with her I have no idea how he managed to fall in love with Lou.

2008 Treats:
A Plate of Wonderful Marriage Pasta - Smiling Pasta
Do your best, He Qun and Xiao Shi! Here is amazing pasta made especially for you by your grandfather, with good wishes and good luck! This pasta is 'Wonderful Marriage' and will bring you many years of happiness if you eat it together!

Written, with love, for anenko, because who else but me would write Smiling Pasta fic? I love the pouty feeling of Xiao Shi in this, and I'm very happy with it, even though no one else has seen this twdrama or will ever read it.

2009:
Mostly Harmless - Young Wizards
A peaceful, easy mission? Yeah, right.

The request involved wanting something set in winter, but instead of thinking HAPPY CHRISTMAS FIC! I decided to strand them in a cave and try to kill them off. It made sense at the time. Not one of my favorites, and I struggled with it, because I couldn't decide if I wanted to fix the problem or leave it open. I left it open.

2009 Treats:
A Girl's Best Friend - The Breakfast Club
Before she went to bed Friday night, Claire took the diamond out of her ear and set it on the counter carefully. She wondered what would happen.

The Breakfast Club is one fandom I'm not really in. I've read a couple of fics, but almost all of what you can find is Brian/Bender, and while I'm all for slashing, the OTP of my heart for this one is Claire/Bender, and I've always wondered what on earth would happen at school that Monday.

In Silence, Coming Home - Fionavar Tapestry
Dave and Kim arrived back on earth on a Wednesday.

Davor of the Axe is my favorite character in the Tapestry, and I can't help but wonder how you adjust back to our world after Fionavar, especially when you've lost so much and changed everything you were in your old life.

2010:
Ordinary - Mei-chan no Shitsuji
Ordinary is the best, or five times Mei wasn't a lady.

I will admit to kind of loving how this turned out. I rarely write five things fics, but this one just worked best this way. What would happen to Mei or Rihito or even Mameshiba if something had gone just a little differently anywhere along the way?

2011:
The Smallest of Things - Push
When he comes back to wherever they're living at the time, she's generally sprawled out over the sagging couch with her legs in ripped tights tossed over the arm rest and her markers all over the place. When he's there with her at their current little crap hole of a hotel, she's constantly talking, shoving her drawings in his face, and leaving the bathtub tile splashed with weird colors from her experiments with hair dye. When he takes off for a while, she's yelling after him to pick her up something to eat and for god's sake, Nick, duck when the lady with the fish smiles or don't turn left after dinner, dumb ass.

Push is one of those fandoms where everyone on earth ships the badwrong underage ship. Everyone. But, as much as I ship it, I think Cassie and Nick are more for each other, too. I tried to straddle the line between family and more than, and I think it came off ok, although it's not one of my favorite stories I've written.

2011 Treats:
With Mortal Hands, I'll Build a Castle - Care Bears
It was..strange to have a heartbeat. And skinned knees and runny nose and emotions, of all things.

It's Dark Heart adjusting to being human and having Kristy around and what all these pesky feelings are. I saw the prompt and jumped on it, because omg my childhood ships!



AND FINALLY!!! Because I just realized I never actually did my reveal for this year..


2012:
No Romeo - Footloose (1984)
Ren had started something, just by being there. Just by being there, and different, and too stubborn by half to back down.

I watched the clip of "Let's Hear It For the Boy" about 400 times before writing this, mulling over Willard and how his life would probably end up. And maybe my slash goggles are completely firmly in place, because the request for Ren/Willard made perfect sense to me. But then, I COULDN'T not have Ren in love with Ariel, so I had to throw that in, too.

Yuletide DONE and BETA'D (sort of) and UPLOADED and HA!

*strikes pose*

As always, thanks to Mylan, whose lj/dw name I can't spell correctly right now. I've typed it twice and it looks wrong no matter what, so I'm ignoring it.

The list of ALL requests for yuletide went up, and I will be making my way through the list to see if anything pokes at the muse. Fingers crossed I can keep this whole writing thing going.

Challenge #2:
Think of the worst job you could ever have. Specifically you could have. Not just garbage man or waste treatment facility, but something you would be horribly suited for and would find utterly distasteful based on your own aesthetics.

Something outside the box.

Now write 200 to 400 words about the character who loves that job.

I'm not quite sure I did it justice (especially compared to the Divine Ms M's take on it), but hey, I WROTE IT.

( it took someone like Anna )

I can remember when I could sit down and bang out a thousand words without blinking, and now it's a struggle to get past 200. *sigh*

In Yuletide news:
THERE ARE NO BEARS. HA. I started it - it looks like it will be plotless, because I rarely actually write plot - just character stuff, but I have started it, and I like what I have, and while I still need to review canon to make sure I have a solid grasp on dude, I feel like it might work out just fine.

...that might change by the weekend, but hey, at the moment, there are no bears. None.

Goodreads: So, yesterday while I was avoiding my challenge and my yuletide, I finally got around to joining Goodreads, and in a sweeping moment (read: HOURS) of great life choices, rated over 500 books. Because I have emotional problems. Regardless, friend me if you like: ALIA READS ANYTHING NOT NAILED DOWN (IF I CAN PRY IT UP, IT'S NOT NAILED DOWN)

I nearly missed the announcement that yuletide sign ups opened today, and then i panicked and went through the entire list to see what I wanted. Here's what I have as POSSIBILITIES.

Things I could conceivably write, some of which I will probably offer based on the sheer insanity of me thinking i could write it:
-Chronicles of Prydain - Lloyd Alexander - I think I could handle Doli. Or Gurgi.

-Constantine (2005) - I love this movie

-Finding Nemo (2003) - did i tell you about the time i accidentally read Gil/Nemo smut fic and scarred myself for life? Good times.

-Footloose (1984) - Ariel is so deliciously fucked up. Seriously.

-Gokusen (TV 2002)

-Grease 2 (1982) - I'm a co-oo-oo-ol rider.

-Into the Woods - Sondheim/Lapine

-Mei-chan no Shitsuji (TV) - I just..keep trying to make a fandom.

-Nodame Cantabile - NODAME! CHIAKI! MINE!

-Push (2009)

-Roswell (TV) - So long as it's Candy. Or Lamptrimmer. Or Stargazer, I guess.

-Willow (1988) - "I dont love her, she kicked me in the face!" And people wonder about the development of my love of snarky ships.


Stuff I would sell body parts to read:
-Dare Yori mo Mama wo Aisu - Pinko-san and Akira's first night together. OMG THIS NEEDS TO EXIST.

-Darkest Powers - Kelley Armstrong - Chloe is constantly tougher than Derek, even though she's a foot shorter, too nice by half, and he's a freaking werewolf.

-Hook (1991) - RU.FI.O

-The Pacifier (2005)- Lulu and her best friend through the years

-Pitch Perfect (2012) - LESBIANS! The shower scene writes itself!

-Talents Series - Anne McCaffrey - TIRLA DAMMIT

-TheBloggess.com - Knock Knock Motherfucker

-Wedding Wars (2006) - insane awesomeness that would be Ted watching life as he knows it go up in smoke as Shel cheerfully plans an entirely too over the top wedding.

DECISIONS OMG.

my yuletide fic is Long Love Letter and it is AMAZING. Step Forward, all about Nishi and her prickliness and how she's dealing with Otomo's declaration that he's going to take care of her. I love it, I adore it, I have ideas of who wrote it...

Regardless! It is awesome and this is my public THANK YOU EVER SO YULE GOAT.

I wrote one fic, which has gotten a couple of comments and some kudos and my person seemed to like it so yay. And one madness ficlet which got exclamation marks from my person and a couple other comments and so kudos so things are going swimmingly.

I've had barely any time to wade through the archive, and I think I'm in the L's at this point, so I'm getting there. No chance at ALL to look at madness, but I'll get there.

Otherwise, we bought a house and are in the process of moving in, so my brains are toast. No internet, 1 working toilet, and then the Dark Lord broke the shower door, and both Voldemort and Brandus are puking today. GAH.

I fucking hate what lj did to comments, so come comment over at dreamwidth if you want. You can always comment at either!

In time honored tradition, I pulled open a blank doc to start working on my yuletide fic...and promptly got two different fics in Fic That is Not My Yuletide started.

Huh.

I suppose I should be thrilled that I'm writing at all, seeing as this year I think I wrote one or two little drabbles on tumblr and that's it for fandom contributions in 2011.

I was planning to do more, like, work more of those things, or review canon for yuletide or something, but instead i seem to have pulled a muscle really badly in my shoulder and with the combination of muscle relaxer and tylonel with codeine, I can't do anything other than sit. Everything is processing really slowly, but at least I haven't broken down into tears like i did earlier, because i couldnt figure out a way to lay down that didn't involve pain and gagging and crying. All of which don't help when you've got a muscle in your back that affects the ease of BREATHING.

So. *drifts mentally* I can't even focus on this. it's taken me a ridiculous amount of time to type this and fix a whole bunch of typos and mess. Like, an entire phrase was missing more than once.

I think I'll have cookies for dinner. Cookies and codeine. Yum.

I finally got Deepest Sender to work again. It involved messing around with my profile settings in Firefox, deleting DS, reinstalling it, swearing a lot, deleting it AGAIN, and then finally deleting all record of DS off of my firefox profile, then reinstalling.

BUT IT'S WORKING!

Everything tech wise went a little pear shaped all at once, too, and I want to give serious thanks to Darren from Bad Wolf Software for going round and round with me through email to figure out what the heck was going on with my PageFour software, which is an awesome word processing program that lets me have seven different fics open and in progress in one single window. And yet, for some reason, it was refusing to acknowledge the fact that I had more than one notebook, and i had to search and find every single story in progress. NOT COOL. But with Darren's help and a LOT of uninstalling and reinstalling and looking through settings and files, it is now FIXED.

Which means that NaNoFinito (my get-off-my-ass-and-finish-those-fics plan for November) is officially a GO. I still need a master post for that, and if anybody else wants to play, I'd love the support and cheerleading.

ALSO! yuletide noms are coming up! We're only getting to nom three fandoms this year, and holy crap I just don't know. I've decided on two, but the third? NO FUCKING CLUE. anenko and I have had several conversations about it on tumblr, and GAH, I just dont know!

One is definitely Wedding Wars, which is a very cute made-for-tv movie from 2006 starring John Stamos as a gay man who goes on strike for gay rights. Sean Maher (Simon Tam from Firefly) is his partner, and they are just SO ADORABLE I can't stand it. And there is no fic for it. Anywhere. I'm begging you, GO DOWNLOAD IT.

(CHEEEEEEESY video, but it's all I can find.)


I've more or less decided on nomming Long Love Letter as my second, which is a very very weird, futuristic jdrama that involves time travel and giant telepathic spiders. And who doesn't love telepathic spiders?

(This MV tragically lacking in giant telepathic spiders.)


And then, MAAAAYBE Dare Yori mo Mama. Which is a weird jdrama about reversed gender roles with CANON GAY. MAYBE. Because the world needs more Pinko-san and adorable boy kisses.

(Yeah, no mvs. At all. Have a cute pic!)


Or maybe something else. Hana Kimi tw? PGSM? I have no idea...HALP.

Title: Ordinary
Author: alianora
Fandom: Mei-chan no Shitsuji
Rating: PG
Summery: Ordinary is the best, or five times Mei wasn't a lady. Written for estirose for Yuletide 2010.

( Ordinary is the best )

Sadly, I have next to no internet access right now, so I cannot browse the archive and have only read about 5 fics total, BUT! I did read my yuletide fic, which is MEI-CHAN NO SHITSUJI, which makes me throw my hands up in the air and completely forget how to deal with commas in one sentence!

This is Us - Mei and Rihito and figuring out their way. Featuring the butlers being cheerfully nosy and Rihito being off balance and Mei being so extremely herself, and this line, which is SO AWESOME:
But you and me, we're just...us. If that means that I'm a butler's worst nightmare when it comes to having other people do things for me, then that's just how it is. If being us means me wanting you to be Rihito and not my butler, then…

And, omg, YES.

I'm still having on sporadic access to internet and time to internet, so chances of me making my way through the archive in any way at all are very low, but I shall make the attempt in about 3 or 4 days!

READ MEI-CHAN FIC!

Dear alia,

You need to stop reading Glee fic.

You need to review some canon, figure out a vague plot, and WRITE YOUR DAMN YULETIDE.

*sigh*
a