hi, have you met me?

Holy cow it's fannish content

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:28:47 GMT

I had a super busy weekend (anevivi was here! I got to meet mklutz, who is awesome!), and everyone is on vacation, so it's crazy busy at work as well. That's why I decided to come in 20 minutes late so I could finish Doctor Who this morning, and why I am making this post instead answering emails. Model employee, say what.

Merlin 2x08

Everyone's said most of what I would say about this by now. Best episode of the season so far IMO, followed closely by 2x03. Narrative drive! Terrible, heartrending conflict! Shifting, developing relationships! Colin Morgan making that brave teary-eyed face!

I'm one of those people who didn't like the Merlin/Gaius scene at the end, as I thought it was tonally bonkers to have a THE DAY IS SAVED AGAIN, GAIUS, LET'S CHUCKLE ABOUT IT button scene at the end of that episode, regardless of how much you can vaguely read Merlin as heartbroken or not.

Most of what I *really* felt about the episode can actually be summed up in this comment by skipmcgee:

OH GIRL THE MOMO SLASH WAS FLYING OFF THE SCREEN!! COME ON, THERE HAVE TO BE SOME SPN WRITERS IN MERLIN FANDOM WHO CAN SUPPLY SOME HALF-N-HALF SLASHY-CEST. THEY WOULD BE THE BEST LOOKING COUPLE IN THE HISTORY OF LIFE.

Because, yeah. (Can we call it MOMO SLASH, guys? PLEASE?) Emilia Fox was wonderful. And Morgause helped Morgana sleep! My heart! And they can be sorceresses together! And fight things! And be pretty! And fierce!

Now that the shallow is out of the way, I also thought it was interesting the way they had Morgana recognize Morgause on some unknowable level. I'm not sure if anyone else has commented on this, it seemed very similar to her feelings toward Mordred back in 1x08, right?

Because now I really want the "Mordred Has Two Mommies" Morgana+Morgause+Mordred destined creepy badass magic family of AWESOME fic. Also! I need a Morgause icon, stat.

Okay, that was still shallow. Moving on.

Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars

*This is a credit to both David Tennant and my sappy, sappy underbelly, but when he first stepped out of the TARDIS companionless in the vast red landscape of Mars, I wibbled in my heart. He's probably so lonely!! AH! I know some people get fed up with Emo!Lonely!Existential Angst!Doctor, but not me. LOVE IT. Also, I think it makes sense considering that the events of the end would NOT have played out that way IMO if ~~Donna "Awesome" Noble was with him~~ he wasn't going it alone.

*Lindsey Duncan! I love Lindsey Duncan! I have a poster of her and Alan Rickman from when they did Private Lives in my bedroom. I thought she was excellent.

*It was cheesy perhaps, but I really like the idea of this line of female explorers going out and bringing Earth to the rest of the Universe. Warm feministy fuzzies. Seriously, though I think RTD had some interesting throwaway moments where he indicated the social changes that happen to Earth in the next 50 years. (Like Yuri's line about his brother and his brother's husband, etc.)

*The water monsters were creepy, yes. The idea of evil, dripping water patiently wearing away stones and mountains was very well done and ominous as fuck.

*MOSTLY THOUGH: HOLY SHIT THE END. THE DOCTOR SNAPPING LIKE THAT. OMG. MY HEART BROKE FOR HIM. It was so painfully perfect that it finally happened when he realized how totally 100% alone in the universe he was at that moment. (~~Donna would never have let him get away with that crap. Just saying.~~)

*LASTLY. THE CHRISTMAS PREVIEW. Some of you might remember how I feel about Donna, SO LET ME JUST SAY:

ASDFGHJKL;DONNA

Seriously. I let out a shriek of joy. Even if RTD fucks her character over again I almost don't care, because DONNNA. HI DONNA. *waves madly*

Google Wave?

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:15:17 GMT

So it's still been forever since I've updated with anything substantial, but at least I come bearing gifts?

If anyone wants a Google Wave invite (sorry, not AO3 invites, I wish!), I've got ~~seven~~ ~~five~~ one left. Comments are screened, so please leave your full email (no username(at)whatever(dot)com business, if you please). First come, first served. Also, the invites take a few days to go through apparently, just so you know.

This Entry Doesn't Have a Nano Counter

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:31:52 GMT

Sooooo, it's been a while since I posted. I guess I've just been feeling a little quieter about fandom lately. But I am trying to keep up with my flist. So hi!

In other news, someone should probably stop me from signing up for Yuletide. I've come up with some hastily gathered statistics for the Con side:

Fic Challenges merelyn Has Signed Up For: dunno, a few maybe during fits of delusion
Fic Challenges merelyn Has Completed By Deadline: 0

On the other hand, I've been thinking a bit lately about my writing habits (or lack thereof) and I do want to get better about writing more, because I think my problem is not so much that I can't write, it's that I don't write, or that I'm easily distracted/intimidated/lazy/whathaveyou.

Maybe I need to check out Write Or Die or something like that. At the very least I am attempting wrisomifu this month, because the FAIL is kind of a given, and that's how I roll.

Aaaand there was no point to this entry. How are y'all doing?

Trek Insta-rec: L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:16:53 GMT

Busy weekend, j_apollo visited me (yay) but now I have a lot to do at work today since I've got a grand jury duty summons tomorrow (all together now: BOOOOOOO). Also I'm tired and everyone else has Columbus Day off and there's a run in my stockings and my soul is basically like THIS.

BUT. LOOK WHAT APPEARED ON MY FLIST TO MAKE MY MONDAY BETTER:

The Little Vulcan by ayalesca (Gen: Spock with Kirk and McCoy, G)

Yes. It's the Trek/Little Prince fusion fic that seems so necessary and obvious in retrospect. ayalesca perfectly blends the two stories, and oh my heart you will absolutely love Spock in this story. I also adored how she did Bones. And if that wasn't enough, the story is accompanied by three completely goregous watercolor illustrations by mangotrills. I am going to go back and hug this charming and lovely fic to my chest as further protection against Mondays.

I wonder why I picked this episode of Merlin to review?

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 05:30:22 GMT

First, I have to thank anevivi for holding my hand during this episode. It was totally necessary. Because OMG MORGANA. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL SEASON, DARLING GIRL?

Things that I liked besides Morgana:

1. How pretty did my darling girl look, even all busted with circles under her eyes? Answer: SO PRETTY. (Oh dear, that was about Morgana. Whoops.)

2. You know who else looked pretty? Colin Morgan and his cheekbones. They've been really distracting me all season. Like I always knew Colin had cheekbones you could cut yourself on, but damn he's been gorgeous lately, yeah?

3. Merlin/Morgana. I've always thought they had potential but HAI NEW SHIP HAI. I want the AU where they grew up as kids learning magic together. I have no idea how it would happen, but it would be so awesome.

4. Uther/Morgana. Still wrongbad, but come on. Uther needs her! And it's so messed up and co-dependent and it seems like Morgana is getting progressively more crushed under the weight of his affection for her, but their relationship is so fucking compelling to me IDEK.

5. Gwen/Morgana! So much to love here! Just, AH. <33333 It just breaks my heart the way Morgana seems to feel like something broken and crazy that Gwen has to put up with. *pets them both*

6. Mordred! You creepy creeper, I've missed you.

7. The Arthur/Merlin banter was on tonight, yayyy.

8. Arthur and Morgana sharing a horse. It was only for three seconds, but it made me kind of ship it. I ship Morgana and everyone now I guess; also I've clearly read too many cheesy romance novels.

9. OT4! I hope the show continues to focus and develop all the relationships between them the way they've done tonight and last week.

10. NEXT'S WEEK'S PREVIEW OMG. (AM I THE ONLY ONE PERVING ON MORGANA IN A SHIFT WITH A SWORD? NO? OKAY.)

I've seen discussions in the past over Merlin and feminism, and the way some people think it establishes a schema wherein women and magic = evil. I must admit that it's never really bothered me before. But I cannot say how much the attitude we saw toward Morgana tonight pissed me off. (No really, anevivi can testify to me actually screeching at her TV screen and flipping certain people the bird.)

So yeah, Merlin doesn't normally ping my feminism radar, but it did several times tonight, starting with the way all the important conversations about Morgana always seemed to happen when she was conveniently out of the room. And even though Merlin and the Druids did ultimately show her about her powers (and can I get a "fuck yeah!" for Merlin on that, and also for Merlin and Morgana as future magical besties?) I don't think we're supposed to see this as an altogether good development. Also, witness how even more alone and trapped she was at the end. Even Merlin, her one ally the entire episode, didn't do the one thing I think would help her most and tell her his secret so she knows she's not alone. (NO REALLY THANK GOD FOR GWEN OR I'D BE MAD AT EVERYONE RIGHT NOW, NO LIE.)

My problem is that it's hard to tell right now what's deliberate character-based and what's narrative-based misogynist crap. It's hard because I have no idea how close Merlin is going to stick to Arthurian "canon" in regards to Morgana. I know that it's supposed to be destined that Morgana will become a witch who betrays Camelot but it's becoming harder in this case to tell the difference between destiny and plain old "keeping a woman in stifled and in ignorance because it will protect her." If it all plays out in a way that acknowledges that, I will be happy. But I have no idea if they'll do a good job of it.

That said, I'm going to try and reserve judgment until we see more of Morgana's overall character arc. However, if it does unfold the way the stories generally have it I really hope the show does justice to the fact that Gaius and Uther and even Arthur and Merlin to a certain extent are culpable. They've lied to her, they've made her believe she's crazy, and now she's forced to live in a place where she's in danger of being killed by the one father figure she has. At least Merlin can leave Camelot without anyone getting EXECUTED. Morgana doesn't even have that luxury. Also, she has powers no one will teach her to control that are in danger of revealing her at any minute. NO WONDER SHE'S GOING TO TURN ON YOU ALL. And NGL, a part of me really wants to see Morgana become ruler of the Druids with Mordred as her creepy sidekick and crush Camelot into the ground. Take THAT, you bastards!

*deep breath*

So. Anyone who's hung around here probably knows that I have an unhealthy attachment to Morgana, so please take this all with a grain of overly invested salt, but my point is that squee aside, I left this episode mostly feeling pissed on Morgana's behalf. I just hope that was the intention.

Crack Van Rec Round Up

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:14:58 GMT

With September coming to a close so is my month reccing Merlin fic over at the crack_van. Some of these have been recced in my lj before, some haven't, but I thought I'd put all the links up here in one post for my own reference. All twelve are worth a read (or a re-read) by the way!

Crack Van Recs

♥ Millions of Peaches by dsudis (Arthur/Merlin, PGish) recced here.

♥ On Swefnum, Incuthra Eorthan by srin (Gwen/Morgana, PGish) recced here.

♥ Amour Courtois by shetiger (Uther/Morgana, NC-17) recced here.

♥ Three Castles by rageprufrock (Arthur/Merlin, PG-13) recced here.

♥ Sometimes I Forget I'm Still Awake by paperclipbitch (Arthur/Gwen, PG) recced here.

♥ Be Resigned by franticsga (Arthur/Merlin, NC-17) recced here.

♥ Don't Be Sorry by sparky77 (OT4, PG) recced here.

♥ In Time of Trial by shinetheway (Arthur/Merlin, NC-17) recced here.

♥ Easy There by syllic (Arthur/Merlin, NC-17) recced here.

♥ in omne tempus by giddygeek (Gwen/Morgana, R) recced here.

♥ A Little Knowledge by bluflamingo (Morgana-centric, PG) recced here.

♥ Beltane by astolat (Gen, PG) recced here.

Advance TV Review

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:51:22 GMT

I dragged leupagus to this preview screening thing. (Also, I swear to god there was someone from the first ontd_startrek NY meetup? But I couldn't remember their real or fake name and would have felt weird yelling, "HEY GQMF!" across the screening room. Maybe they're even on my flist and I'm super made of fail?)

Anyway, the show. So the premise, for those who don't know (and I didn't!) is that the entire world looses consciousness for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. During this time, in addition to plane crashes, botched surgeries, and massive destruction worldwide, everyone sees a vision of the future 6 months from now. How? and Why? are the overarching questions of the show.

A lot of the soundbites floating around claim that Flashforward is ABC's answer for the next Lost. As someone who gets incredibly frustrated with TV shows that are full of Mystery of Plot Twists at the expense of any long term narrative coherence (Lost and the back half of the X-Files, I'm looking at you), I hope not. And actually, the show I was most reminded of while watching Flashforward was the 4400. It has the same disconcerting sense of a future where something strange and catastrophic has happened to the whole word. The show was certainly strongest when it focused on this. (The scenes of damaged LA were particularly compelling and traumatizing in an now-familiar post-9/11 way. leupagus actually said, "Holy shit!" really loudly at one point.) The emotional drama and connection between the characters was not as strong, but again it's the first episode and they had a lot of exposition to do.

I will say that I really enjoyed it. It kept my attention throughout, and they did a pretty good job of making you believe in the central premise of the show. I'm definitely intrigued and want to keep watching to find out what happens. It was also pretty funny in parts and well acted by everyone.

There were a few things that bothered me, that said. The show sometimes felt a shade too generic to be full out wicked fucking awesome (though the closing shot of the first ep, oh man just wait for it, holy crap they earned that shit), and the writing and direction had moments where they were painfully on the nose. (Note: Joesph Fiennes, few people can pull off running in slow motion seriously.)

Also, on a side note, the show's premise has an expiration date. Once we reach April 2010 and we discover the reason for the flashforwards, what exactly is this show going to do with itself? I'm not sure. (Unless, what, there's ANOTHER flashforward and we get back on the merry go round again? Who knows.) Anyway, I'm not sure it has legs, at least not in the American television sense. This isn't a problem right now, but I'd hate to see it turn into the plot-what-fucking-plot-look-over-there! quagmire of post-Season One Heroes or something.

Anyway, let's end this unfocused rambling review by focusing on the characters/actors. First, even though I hadn't heard of them before in anything, the few major female characters we saw (Sonya Walger as Olivia Benford and Christine Woods as Janis Hawk) were pretty awesome. Rock on, Janis with your "I don't even have a boyfriend" line which was sad but somehow hilarious, and Olivia with your medical competence and HBIC-ness and snarky relationship with your husband. Also Courtney Vance as Stan was awesome and kickass and he got the biggest laugh of the whole episode.

Now, onto people you've probably heard of before:

Joesph Fiennes: Has he been in anything really since Shakespeare in Love? Also I forgot how just a shade too close together his eyes are. Bitichiness aside, he was actually very good, and his American accent was fairly perfect. I don't really feel like I have exactly a good sense of his character yet, though.

John Cho: Possibly my favorite part. First of all, John Cho, second, his character is clearly a bit of a hothead. Seeing him getting all pissed off and yelling at people is somehow the best thing ever. Also, I'm really interested to find out where they go with his character. His flashforward is the most interesting one to be sure, and leupagus and I even entertained the (probably wrong so not a spoiler, okay) notion that he's actually Evil and Behind It All, but who knows. The point is, I want to find out!

Jack Davenport: Because I am a bad fangirl, I had no idea he was even in this. When he came in at the end of the episode we just saw the back of his head. Then he said something and I started VIOLENTLY WHACKING leupagus's arm because omg holy shit Jack Davenport is in this! and apparently I can recognize him only by his voice now because I am that sad/awesome.

Dominic Monaghan: Sir Not Appearing in This Pilot. Where was he? Who is he? How is he going to be introduced? If this really is the next Lost, will he end up hanging from a tree again? All good questions.

Overall, it was solid and enjoyable and the cast is awesome and I will probably watch more. Yay!

This is in the form of a gchat. Because I'm too lazy to type this up properly. Also, the awesome waiter in question is not really named Alan. Name changed to protect the...awesome?

rageprufrock: who the fuck is ALAN?
leupagus: Alan was our lolarious waiter last night, who no joke told us everything about his life in like 10 minutes
lillianloop: ahahahaha
leupagus: Also he made fun of my laugh, which, valid.
rageprufrock: ahhaa
was he an aspiring actor slash waiter?
or an actual waiter?
leupagus: I dunno. Probably a hyphenate of some sort
lillianloop: a wactor
leupagus: But somehow we got on the subject of dating, and he was like, "I'm the girl in every relationship, I text message or call the guy the next day being all, 'I had a great time!' And the other guy is like- and then he made a hilarious face of "I'm not ever going to call you" that I cannot describe.
lillianloop: loooooool
leupagus: And then he told us about his hookup from last week where he met a really cute guy at a club, then took him home AND THEY LISTENED TO FIONA APPLE FOR HOURS AND TALKED ABOUT MUSIC.
And then Alan nailed him (like a boss).
lillianloop: ahahahah
leupagus: And merelyn and I were like, !!!
THIS IS LIKE RESEARCH
leupagus: I mean, Flashfoward was great, but Alan was the highlight of the evening, no lie.
merelyn: he was!
lillianloop: awes
rageprufrock: oh my god, fiona APPLE?
jesus fucking christ
merelyn: he took this boy home because the boy was all "this will sound stupid, but do you just want to cuddle?"
LIKE FOR REAL.
leupagus: OMG I FORGOT ABOUT THAT
rageprufrock: oh my god this homo is for you, merelyn
leupagus: IT WAS AMAZING
merelyn: the fact that leupagus and i didn't spontaneously combust was a credit to both of us.
leupagus: Nooooooo kiddding
Plus, boy was cute as hell, so merelyn was sitting there going through her rolodex of gays to find someone good enough for him.
merelyn: THERE ARE NONE.
MY GAY BFF IS TOO MUCH OF A HO.
leupagus: IT IS SAD
FIONA APPLE LISTENING GAYS NEED LOVE
merelyn: THEY DO.
rageprufrock: we should mail him to vancouver
was he asian?
merelyn: ahaha
sadly no.
rageprufrock: quel trag.
leupagus: And no, ZQ does not get him, either.
lillianloop: ahahahahaa
leupagus: He's delicate!
lillianloop: jared padalecki would just be like
rageprufrock: ZQ loves delicate
lillianloop: I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH YOU
leupagus: YES, HE LOVES TO BREAK DELICATE THINGS
lillianloop: zq likes to gnaw on the bones of delicate
rageprufrock: mmmm
yes.
moving on
lillianloop: and alan would be like "... do you want to cuddle?"
leupagus: Hee
lillianloop: and jared would be like "... oh fuck it."
any way

Happiness Meme Day 2, Mostly Food Edition

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:04:03 GMT

Yes, I missed yesterday, who's surprised?

1. Post about something that made you happy today even if it's just a small thing.
2. Do this everyday for eight days without fail.
3. Tag eight (or as many as you want) of your friends to do the same.

1. Because I was jonesin' for some vegan lemon poppyseed cookies from the Alternative Baking Company last night, I walked to Whole Foods. They were just as awesome as expected. I'm not vegan anymore, but these are the bomb. The first bite tastes like lemon tea and then it just gets better and better. anevivi can totally back me up on this, we got these like three times the last time she was up here.

2. I also got fruit at Whole Foods, which means blueberries, strawberries and kiwi for breakfast today! I love fruit. All fruit. FRUIT. If it were possible to live on fruit, wine and coffee without dying of malnutrition, high blood pressure and alcohol poisoning, I'd be there in a heartbeat.

3. And speaking of coffee, the cup I made myself this morning + soy creamer was the best I've had in a while. Mmm.

4. Also, I'm going over to rageprufrock's to watch SPN tonight and she's making dinner. This will of course be awesome. Also, there will be TGIFriday's dip from a box, which I think we can all agree is awes as well.

5. Not food related, haha- I'm wearing this skirt today, which always makes me want to twirl down the hallway in my office like a pretty ballerina princess. (I might have done this once while no one was looking. Maybe.)

Happiness Meme! Day 1, TV edition

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:09:02 GMT

krazykipper tagged me for this ages ago, but I'm so crap at memes, and well, it was a not a good time for it, let's say. Still isn't, maybe, BUT. Here goes. No promises on if I can actually do this for a whole week- *looks* no, wait, fuck, eight days?? Really??? Man, this is hard. D: RIGHT ANYWAY HAPPINESS:

1. Post about something that made you happy today even if it's just a small thing.
2. Do this everyday for eight days without fail.
3. Tag eight (or as many as you want) of your friends to do the same.

1. Gossip Girl was back last night! IMO the best part of Gossip Girl is reading Richard Lawson's recaps on Tuesday mornings. Richard riffs on this crazy/bad show with such daffy, snarky, brilliant hate and glee that whereas I used to read his recaps because I watched Gossip Girl, I now watch Gossip Girl so I can read his recaps.

Anyway, he used to be on Gawker, but he doesn't work there anymore, so I had to go put on my best girl detective hat and find him over on tv.com. His recap for last night is HERE and you should go read it if you watch. It certainly gave me the best choking-in-my-cubicle-so-I-don't-disturb-the-neighbors laugh I've had all week.

2. Thanks to work perks, I get to go to a talk next week with some of the editors from Entertainment Weekly about Fall TV. Yesssss.

3. Also, in the 'you'd think this would be a work perk but no, I do this in my free time' column, thanks to my faithful stalking of EW magazine, I also get to go to an advance screening of Flashforward with leupagus next Tuesday. John Cho! Dominic Monaghan! Some sort of time travel premise maybe I don't know don't really care!

Um, tagging, uh, whoever. (I fail at memes, did I mention?)

Reel Merlin! \o/

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:48:27 GMT

reel_merlin is live, guys!!!!!

My wonderful, awesome co-mod, krazykipper, who's done so much work for this round you don't even know while I've been lame and all punched in the face repeatedly by RL, kicks it all of with her Castaway-inspired fic here!

If all goes well, we should have a story a day for over a month. Woohoo!

Yes it is Another Home Depot Fic Post

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 05:02:47 GMT

Some day I will make a post that has something to do with something that aren't Home Depot 'verse. Tonight is not that night.

circa_eve came away from the fics feeling really really bad for Chris. And let's be honest, the entire Home Depot 'verse is basically an exercise in making Chris suffer in increasingly horrible ways with seemingly little promise of even getting into ZQ's yoga pants at the end. So...

circa_eve: MAYBE someone needs to write a little something extra from ZQs perspective. Some people might be interested in reading it. That's all I'm saying.
merelyn: YOU write it. Join the circle of shame. And you have to post it yourself because you have no one to blame but you.
circa_eve: NO.

(No Less Than Six Hours Later)

circa_eve: There! Done. Happy!?

So without futher ado, I bring you:

Home Depot: ZQ to the Future by circa_eve (Zach/Kate Pine/Evil and what we've run of out of movie sequel titles to riff on by this point geez WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME.)

On another note, reel_merlin is coming up soon! Get excited!

I'm sure you're sick of the Pinto RPS posts by now, but OH WELL.

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:39:09 GMT

Just FYI the Home Depot cycle of SHAME is now complete:

Home Depot III by lillianloop (Chris/Zach/Outdoor Fireplace, PG) over on Pru's DW.

Now maybe we can make circa_eve write something from ZQ's POV.

The Shame Contiunes, or This Time I Did Write It (ST:R RPS)

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:02:14 GMT

I think this is actually going to have its own tag now that there are three stories.

First rageprufrock wrote Home Depot and leupagus posted it.

Then leupagus wrote Home Depot: The Outtakes and I posted it.

Then (wait for it, you can probably see where this is going) I wrote Home Depot 2: Electric Boogaloo and lillianloop (twentysomething on DW) posted it.

So yes. This is the first thing I've written in years, and it's an RPS Pinto-y fic sequel about a Home Depot where Chris is totally a lesbian and Zach has a thing for water landscaping. My life took a tragic turn somewhere.

Go read and then go over to lillianloop/twentysomething's and bother her about the next part that is inevitably hers.

Handful of recs for a Tuesday

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:30:53 GMT

Lots of reccing this morning!

*I started my month driving the crack_van for Merlin. My first rec is here if you want to take a peek. I kicked things off with dsudis's Millions of Peaches, which is worth a look (or another look if you've already read and enjoyed) for sure. :)

*ALSO leupagus posted ANOTHER CHAPTER OF THE VULCAN DETECTIVE FIC, which is still rich and compelling and awesome, even though the ending of this chapter will justifiably make you hate her for leaving it there.

*Lastly, lillianloop has posted the most amazing piece of ridiculous brilliance I have read in an AGE. It's a Merlin/Harry Potter fusion fic. (YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT.) And Merlin is like some unholy cross between Neville Longbottom and Bridget Jones. But it's awesome. I'm cackling to myself even as I'm writing this. Ahaha. GO NOW.

Merlin Emyrs and the Totally Gay Triwizard Tournament by lillianloop (Merlin/Arthur, other background pairings, PG-13ish)

He takes a moment to wonder how his life came to this pass, and he can pretty much nail it down to when he turned eleven years old and came downstairs to find Gaius having tea with his mother.

"You're a wizard, Merlin," Gaius had said.

Merlin thinks he was pretty much buggered from that point on, because all he had thought in that instant between "Well, that explains a lot," and his mother hugging him, was "I am going to get made fun of so much at wizard school."

\o/

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:08:48 GMT

The only quote left unguessed from the film quote meme was #1:

"As if a woman ever loved a man for his virtue."

It's from The Painted Veil, which is a movie that has the distinction of pushing an alarming number of my buttons all at once:

1. Period drama
2. British
3. Naomi Watts and Edward Norton
4. Naomi Watts' pretty 1920s clothes
5. Cinematography PORN
6. Unrequited love
7. Loveless marriage that turns into SOMETHING MORE
8. Tragic ending just when you think it's all going so well
9. Weeping weeping weeping
10. More weeping
11. Fuck I need a tissue this shit is sad
12. Etc.

In other news, today is so boring I'm reading het baby fic. Yeah. You read that correctly. Het. Baby. Fic. Someone save me.

Also, I totally forgot I signed up months ago to rec Merlin on the crack_van. Must go figure out stuff for that, aha. (Fuuuuuck.)

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:09:08 GMT

No actual content, just a meme. Gacked from janne_d and everyone else on my flist basically! I don't normally do memes, but I couldn't resist this one. A film quotes meme:

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.

1. As if a woman ever loved a man for his virtue.

~~2. I don't give a good fuck what you know, or don't know, but I'm gonna torture you anyway, regardless.~~ is Reservoir Dogs, guessed by neptuneskisses (and also janne_d).

~~3. It'll belong to you because you've lived there. That was about to happen to me, but I didn't know it yet.~~ is L'Auberge Espagnole or The Spanish Apartment, guessed by syllic.

~~4. I am a cure for lesbianism.~~ is Imagine Me & You, guessed by marjorrogue.

~~5. When they find out who *you* are, they'll pad the cell.~~ is Bringing Up Baby, guessed by sophieisgod.

~~6. That's depressing and it's expensive, two words I hate. You know the words I like? I like the word "peppy" and the word "cheap". Peppy and cheap.~~ is from Soapdish, guessed by circa_eve, who has an unfair advantage.

~~7. I would sell my grandmother for a drink - and you know how I love my grandmother.~~ is The Philadelphia Story, guessed by b_hallaward.

~~8. Right. That's why you were standing in the Chancellor's back yard twirling that little cap gun of yours tonight. You're fine, all right, you're fit as a fucking fiddle.~~ is Wonder Boys, guessed by syllic (and also janne_d).

9. ~~You know I'm going to be twenty-five in June? ... That's a quarter of a century, makes a girl think.~~ is Some Like It Hot, guessed by ink_n_imp.

10. ~~And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges.~~ is Twelfth Night, guessed by circa_eve.

It's possible I erred on the side of vague in terms of the quotes themselves, but I can't tell. I like to assume that everyone has of course seen these as many times as I have.

I didn't write this but it is my fault. (ST:R RPS)

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:12:08 GMT

Title: Homoe Depot: The Outtakes

Author: leupagus

Pairing: Chris Pine/paint cans, OFC-that's-suspiciously-like-rageprufrock/WHORETEARS

Summary: It's an outtake from THIS PIECE OF BUSINESS. Like the stuff that was too shameful for the first story. Think about that.

Warnings: This was written by leupagus, I take no actual responsibility.

Notes: All you need to know is that Chris Pine a lesbian and is building Zach a gazebo.

Other notes: Following the grand tradition of denial and pointing fingers, leupagus wants me to post this rather than her, because it's a rule now. Plus I kind of asked for this.

The third and last time Chris has to go back to Home Depot, he makes Zach come with despite all his bitching, because if Zach hadn't gotten all enamored with the nail gun and started an impromptu target range along his back fence, they would still have enough fucking nails.

"I don't even know why you couldn't hammer things like a normal person," Zach pouts from the passenger side.

(merelyn: ALSO ZQ WITH A NAIL GUN TERRIFIES ME.
rageprufrock: it sort of turns me on unreasonably
merelyn: shocking.
rageprufrock: shuuuut up)

"Yeah, there's only so much I'm willing to do for you, and hammering my thumb isn't one of them," Chris snaps back. "Now shut up and for God's sake stop giving my number out to women."

(rageprufrock: ahahahhaha
Chris Pine: his life is so hard)

"What? You need to go on dates, you can't just sit at home practicing your glare in the mirror or, you know, being over at my house building stuff."

Zach looks earnestly concerned, which is the only reason Chris isn't driving off Mullholland Drive and into the abyss right now.

(rageprufrock: !!!
omg does chris have a crush?
that zach doesn't know about?
omg!!!!!
merelyn: chris has feeeeelings!
rageprufrock: so many feeeeelings)

"I date," Chris protests, and it's only a little bit of a lie; the last date had been set up by his publicist, but he'd gotten to second base, and he really does honestly think about calling her sometimes.

(rageprufrock: oh god that is fucking pathetic
like, even for me, that would be fucking pathetic
merelyn: chris pine: his life is so hard it's worse than rageprufrock’s
rageprufrock: SOB.
leupagus: Wow, that's pretty dire
rageprufrock: I hate you both.
merelyn: anyway, i wonder what zach's neighbors think of the nice but crazy young man building a gazebo in the backyard.)

But Zach isn't paying attention; instead he's glowering at Chris's hat and trying to snatch it off his head. "Chris - Christopher! Stop moving, you're operating a vehicle here!"

"Stop trying to throw my visor out the window!" Chris yells back.

All in all, it's a miracle they manage to park in the Home Depot lot without killing someone.

(merelyn: AHAAA. also. okay, can i just say that zach calling him "christopher" is the BEST. THING. EVER.
rageprufrock: oh my god, chris let go of the visor
i do enjoy it
it's v. v. important to me
rageprufrock: whitelaw
jesus christ.
i sort of want to write the story where they're in the middle of fucking

and zach just busts out and starts calling him that and chris is like

THANKS A LOT MY BONER IS GONE NOW, ZACHARY
merelyn: *insert inappropriate "nail gun" innuendo here *

ahaa
do it.
leupagus: Doooo iiiiiit
Also, Chris saying "boner" is also hilarious to me
merelyn: also, it's a lady boner. because: still a lesbian.
leupagus: Also, do either of you want a cameo as disgruntled Home Depot workers and/or women that Zach gives Chris's number to?
merelyn: no. make rageprufrock do it.
rageprufrock: woman
number
now pls
can i be like
leupagus: Hahaha
rageprufrock: omg zach is this yours?
and be disappointed when it is chris's
merelyn: actually i would like to fake work at home depot. can i fake work at home depot?
leupagus: Yes, yes you can
merelyn: sweet.
rageprufrock: glorious.)

"Okay, so we need nails," Chris says.

"And more vine... seedling... things." Zach makes a vague gesture with his hands that could really mean anything.

Chris glares. "I bought like a rainforest worth of those last time, you're not getting any more."

(rageprufrock: such a bitch, christopher
merelyn: i know, god.)

"But Noah ate like half of them!" Zach protests. "Also, I saw ones that had periwinkle flowers, come on."

(merelyn: periwinkle!
rageprufrock: oh god that was such a dangerously toxic gay statement
* dons protective gear *
* mostly, goggles *)

Zach wanders off toward the Garden Center and Chris, trying desperately to cling to whatever remains of his dignity, heads toward the nails aisle and promptly trips over a undercoat paint display

(rageprufrock: ok, keep going, i'm running out for lunch, brb
AWWWWWWW
CHRIIIIIIIIS
also, i recognize i am leaving you two unsupervised

just before my cameo
abuse this power well
merelyn: YES
leupagus: It's gonna be awesome)

Some part of Chris always thought, if he'd thought about it at all, that display cans were empty. But as his left big toe and shin can attest, they're full, fucking heavy, and really really easy to tip over.

The sheer number of people in ass-ugly orange smocks that converge on the scene reminds him of some kind of battalion move, or maybe that special he saw on Animal Planet with the killer ants, who swarm on a helpless insect and dismember it in like .26 seconds.

(merelyn: heeeee
oh lord, princess whitelaw, i love you so much.)

Three people have mops, five people have some kind of bucket, and there are at least two people surreptitiously taking pictures of his D-face with their phones. Chris figures they're entitled. This is not a job that comes with a lot of perks.

(merelyn: they are entitled! he's so noble!)

A besmocked woman wanders up once the worst of the damage has been contained, and smiles at Chris in the same way that Zoe does: like she's thinking of all the ways in which he's retarded.

"Uh, sorry," he tries.

"Don't be. I won the pool - we've been betting how long it would take somebody to do that."

"So you set up these displays to trap innocent customers?" he asks, casually taking off his visor. Something about her reminds him of his best friend from college; the glasses, maybe, or the bangs. She's pretty cute.

The woman - JOSEPHINE, her nametag says, with a heart dotting the ‘i’ - squints at him. "Well, yeah," she says, clearly baffled. "Anyway, what do you actually need? Other than to pay for twenty cans of Baer Basic White?"

(merelyn: hearts? really? did that have to happen?
don't answer that.
leupagus: heee hehehehehe
merelyn: also, nice with the Baer paint, because we all know it's the Home Depot paint brand of choice.
at least if you're someone like me.)

They end up chatting about the gazebo and the best kind of paving stones for a couple of minutes while he grabs another box of nails - he makes a note to listen to something moderately depressing on the way home when she mentions something about an ex-girlfriend - and then he realizes that he's left Zach unsupervised for close to fifteen minutes in the Garden Center.

"Why are you out of breath?" Zach asks when Chris finally finds him, deep in discussion by some compost with another young woman with glasses, although this one doesn't have a smock on. She does, however, have a glazed expression and seems to be very quietly hyperventilating.

"Did you find the periwinkle?" he asks, instead of answering.

"Oh. No, I got sidetracked. Evelyn here says that in order to ensure optimal growth, you should put down compost around any new seedlings." Zach smiles down at Evelyn, who makes a small "eep" noise. "And Evelyn! This is Chris, I was telling you about him?"

Zach is like the worst yenta ever, although it's probably conclusive proof that he's not really evil (despite what everyone says) that he keeps trying.

"Hi," Chris says.

(merelyn: oh god. i honestly don't know what rageprufrock would do if she actually met ZQ and ZQ tried to set her up with CPine.)

He thinks he sounds pretty friendly, but Evelyn's eyes widen and she blurts, "Oh my God - does this belong to you?"

Zach frowns, clearly confused, but Chris just grabs Zach by the elbow and says, "It was great meeting you! We're going to pick up some periwinkle vines, but thanks for the tip about composting!"

"Wait," Zach hisses, trying to twist out of Chris's grip, "I didn't get her number for you!"

"I can't take you anywhere," Chris mutters.

"Why is there paint all over your foot?" Zach demands.

leupagus: END
merelyn: \o/
leupagus: Hahaha
I think it's longer than the original story
merelyn: possibly! which is awesome.
i think that's the most amazing self indulgent and gratuitous thing i've read ever.
*rolls around in it like a puppy*
leupagus: Hahaha
Yeah, I'm OK with posting Home Depot, but this is eyes only
merelyn: yeah, word.
we should send it to lillianloop, though.
leupagus: Oh, def
And be like THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LEAVE US

(later)

rageprufrock: i, too, honestly don't know
what i would do if i met zach quinto
and he introduced me to chris pine
i think i might just cry
like really earnest, ugly tears
leupagus: I think you would say something ridicutarded like this
merelyn: WHORETEARS

rageprufrock: or i'd be like
CAN I TOUCH YOUR FACE?
leupagus: I think you already did that in the story, and ZQ was just like, *shrug* go for it
I don't think much fazes him
merelyn: he's so easy.
rageprufrock: it's b/c we're soulmates

(later still)

rageprufrock: i find it a tragedy you're not posting this, though
merelyn: yeah, i'd be cool with it.
leupagus: You post it
merelyn: haaa
i'll post it!
leupagus: I posted the last time!
YES
merelyn posts it
rageprufrock: hahaha
this should be a new rule
whoever writes it should just make someone else post it

(annnnnnd even later)

merelyn: so if this does get posted should there be commentary again?
leupagus: Definitely
... or maybe not
God, I don't know
rageprufrock: hahah
leupagus: I mean, it's pretty amazing with the commentary

rageprufrock: ...sure.
lillianloop has joined.
rageprufrock: lillianloop you just missed it
we have committed terrible wrongs
upon the universe
leupagus: Oh God, we have
lillianloop: uh
that's new?
rageprufrock: well, new wrongs

ETA: And now with a sequel, Home Depot 2: Electric Boogaloo

Gwen/Morgana + Imagine Me & You = genius, no?

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:47:47 GMT

I've been all over the place this week, but in case you didn't already hear, puckling's got Week 2 of the Gwen/Morgana Thingathon going on! I wrote two snippet things for it last week, slightly inspired by Imagine Me & You, shocker. If my weekend's not too crazy I'm going to try to write some more for this week.

Gwen/Morgana Thingathon Week 2

Come play!

And while you're at it, merihn wrote some awesome porn and sophieisgod wrote something even more inspired by Imagine Me & You off of my modly prompt for this week!! Eeee! You should all GO READ IT and squee about it with us because IM&Y and Gwen/Morgana are two great tastes that taste great together. \o/ And then go read and write and comment on other stuff. Whee! Happy Friday!

(HOLY SHIT I'M SO LATE FOR WORK. AH. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?)

Mood Theme!

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:16:01 GMT

I am so behind on LJ (and work! Like the thing I get paid for!) but I've spent way too much time this morning finding a new mood theme. (Farewell, Animated John and Rodney. You've served me well.)

IT'S AN IMAGINE ME & YOU MOOD THEME. BY nut_meggers. IT'S SO PRETTY. (AND PLEASE ADMIRE MY RESTRAINT IN NOT HAVING A KATIE MCGRATH/MORGANA ONE.)

YAYY. \o/

5 Things For a Sunday Morning

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:25:41 GMT

1. I woke up to 3 drunk posts on my flist this morning. I feel vaguely as though I have failed LJ by not doing the same, and I was even out drinking with fangirls last night. SORRY.

2. Things learned from Wilby Wonderful: face touching = Canadian first base.

3. Fun-running (it's like running but BETTER) across the street right before the light changes while rageprufrock and leupagus are shrieking behind you = still funny.

4. volsi is awesome and is going to help me paint my room this morning. I am making her strawberry banana french toast as a thank-you.

5. After which I will go see Julie & Julia with miripanda, and then we're going to come back here and watch Merlin.

In conclusion, good weekend all around. How are you guys?

Me = FAIL, Gwen/Morgana Thingathons = AWESOME

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:58:41 GMT

So I went away for a long weekend, it was fun.

And then I got back to the office yesterday morning all set to catch up on work and my flist and you know, gchat more than I should, blah blah blah. But then work fell on top of me like it was the anvil and I was Wiley Coyote smashed flat on the pavement. So instead of fun stuff, I spent all day trying to catch up and screwing up things and trying not to seem like a huge fuck up. All day = literally. I was in the office until 7, took shit home to work on it until 10:30, and then woke up early to finish it this morning. (You can conveniently ignore the part when this situation was 99% of my own making. Thanks, Procrastination!)

SO. That's why I haven't been around recently. AND LOOK WHAT I MISSED:

I'm a horrible vague co-mod of this (besides making the graphic above, ha) but I submitted a prompt and you should too and I might even write something! (I know!) GO NOW. CLICK ON THE PICTURE. DO IT. PIMP IT OUT TO YOUR FRIENDS.

Another New Trek Rec

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:58:55 GMT

Yes, ladies and germs, it's that spate of recs that comes with me settling into a new fandom. K/S again this time. (Weirdly, because I am perverse, I have come to the inevitable Kirk/Spock ship by way of Chekov/Sulu, Girl!Kirk/Uhura, Kirk/McCoy, Girl!Kirk/McCoy, and finally Spock/McCoy. No, don't ask me. I'm either going to end up a Kirk/Spock/McCoy OT3 girl or start reading only fic where Kirk is tragic because he loves everyone but not quite enough so Spock and McCoy get together and have angsty hate-sexing that turns into something more and Kirk ends up with no one but his ship and the far horizon or something and certain people I know go slit their wrists.)

ANYWAY. This one is stolen from circa_eve, but she totally hung up on me on gchat today so I don't feel bad at all:

The Seasons Change by le_culdesac (Kirk/Spock, PG-13)

This is a nice understated piece that shows Kirk settling into his role as Captain. I like that it doesn't automatically handwave the antagonism from the movie that Kirk and Spock have, nor does it conflate their relationship with that of their TOS counterparts. Instead this shows them growing into each other. It totally worked for me. *happy sigh*

Trek Fic Rec!

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:54:11 GMT

So it's taken me way, way too long, but I finally feel as though I'm delving in to Trek fandom. Which means it's time for a fic rec!

Only Good for Legends by leupagus (WIP, Spock/Uhura, Kirk/Spock pre-slash though I have been reliably informed that the porn is coming, people. DON'T WORRY.)

Yes, it's a WIP! Which means the fact that I'm reccing it must prove how awesome it is. The premise is simple, a step-to-the-left AU from the movie wherein Kirk and Spock meet in Iowa under...slightly different circumstances. I don't want to spoil things, but let's just say I was grinning like an idiot through all of it. The world building and characterization are spot-on and awesome and I can't wait for more.

So go read, settle into this story like the old rocking chair on Kirk's porch, and then tell leupagus how awesome she is. I'll wait.

I need more Trek icons...

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 06:27:04 GMT

So I spent the evening drinking (terrible) wine and watching (equally terrible) Chris Pine movies with the usual suspects for such an night. Princess Diaries 2 was just about what I figured. Watching Just My Luck was like if you went to the movies for this totally cute romantic comedy only Lindsay Lohan was standing right in front of you THE WHOLE TIME so you had to crane your head around her to see the adorable-ness but if she'd just taken two steps to the left (i.e. out of the movie) everything would have been awesome.

ANYWAY. THAT IS NOT WHAT'S IMPORTANT.

WHY DID NONE OF YOU BITCHES EVER MENTION THAT CHRIS PINE WAS KINDA CROSS-EYED??? HOW DID I NEVER KNOW? WAS I TOO DISTRACTED BY THE MOTHERFUCKING LENS FLARES IN TREK TO NOTICE??

Not just me, right? RIGHT??

And yet strangely, it kind of makes me heart him more.

Work is slow = I am bored = EVERYONE LOSES

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:55:59 GMT

I was going to post Torchwood meta or something (if anyone actually wants to hear my close reading of one particular moment in Day 4, let me know!), but fuck it, instead this entry is going to be useless.

*Things I've Said Today on The Internets (because if leupagus and rageprufrock have to suffer through this, so should EVERYONE):

1. merelyn: Also, in new 'my-life-has-reached-a-new-low-but-I-have-no-one-to-blame-but-myself' news, I am now following David Archuleta on twitter and I have no idea why.
merelyn: (Actually I do know why, his twitter is like if sunshine and rainbows had a 140 character baby.)
merelyn: (GOD WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?)

2. merelyn: True confessions time: I have seen From Justin to Kelly.

3. merelyn: CLOSE UPS OF JOHN BARROWMAN STARING AT YOU WHILE IT'S RAINING IN THE WINDOW BEHIND HIM = +1,000,000,000

*In other, legitimate win news, Jim Parsons got an Emmy nod for Big Bang Theory! \o/ If you don't know why that is awesome and why the show is adorable in general, WATCH THIS.

*I think it's finally time: I need a new mood theme.