my kids used to burst into tears whenever they saw steve van zandt

Apparently the "top ten on AO3 by hit count" meme is making the rounds again! I had people on my flist sadfacing because of their hitcounts being under the thousands and thousands that other people make and, uh, my #1 is still under 1000, so everyone hush please.

Also I got dealt a really fucking awful financial blow and I'm not sure what I'm going to do, so...that's a thing.

IDK. Hi, Internet. Give me some prompts? Fandoms...ugh, IDK, that's the tricky thing. Thor, Buffy, Hunger Games, Downton Abbey, E Street Band, Avatar (TLA or TLoK), Harry Potter, Deep Space Nine. Let's go with those for sure, and crossovers among them/crossover pairings I've written previously, obvs.

Some interesting surprises on here! I mean, tbf, it's not like I've got a bunch of more standard pairings to compare numbers with, but even given that a lot of my fic period seems to involve weird pairings and crossovers, I was surprised by a lot of these.

1. When they are both full grown -- American Girls, Felicity/Ben, post-war. For instance, I am very surprised that this is #1! I mean, given that the list mostly seems to consist of rare pairings, Yuletide fic (Yuletide definitely gives numbers a boost), etc, I guess it's not a huge shock that it's on the list, but I wouldn't have expected the top of the list. I keep thinking it's bad, and then rereading it and going "oh, that's actually pretty all right, isn't it?" so that's nice!
   
2. Somewhere In The Swamps Of Jersey, or, The Courtship of Steven Van Zandt -- RPF, Bruce Springsteen/Steve Van Zandt. I am actually pretty pleased that this is not only on here, but so high on the list. This is probably one of my favorites of everything I've ever written, if not my very favorite. Oh, BAND.
   
3. Here In This Perdition -- Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Supernatural, Buffy/John/Castiel, with Faith/Sam/Dean hinted at. Basically I'm just happy that one of my Buffy/John stories made it onto the list. And the top three, no less! And I'm still pretty pleased with this story. Gosh I'm still so fond of that pairing. Buffy/Sam seems to be the main pairing that people go with, on the assumption that Faith/Dean keeps those two off the table, but Buffy/Sam just left me really cold. So did Faith/Dean, for that matter, though, and my reactions to Arthur/Merlin, McShep, and tons of other Big Fannish Pairings have thoroughly established that my magnetic north and fandom's aren't quite the same, so what do I know.
   
4. the Political breed of America -- National Treasure gen, racebending revenge ficathon featuring Ben. Basically writing this completely ruined that movie for me because now I can't stop thinking about The Rock as Ben, and it's so amazing it breaks my heart a little bit that it's not the case.
   
5. Continual State of Inelegance -- Jane Austen's Fight Club, Catherine Morland/Isabella Thorpe. Honestly, my reaction to most of these items' place on this list is "huh".
   
6. and then ask for more -- Leverage, Sophie/Eliot. Gosh I am fond of that pairing. Really, I'm fond of anything involving Sophie. Also, huh.
   
7. everybody knows I'm her friend -- Iron Man (film)/Gossip Girl (tv), Serena/Blair/Tony Stark. I'm also pretty proud of this, so I'm really pleased, again, that this is on the list. IDEK, it's silly and porn that I'm actually proud of and think is really sexy, and I feel like it actually reads really true as Blair/Serena and their relationship, too.
   
8. Four Things Turanga Leela Never Had to Put Up With, and One She Did (Guess) -- Futurama, multiple parings, including Bender/Leela, Hedonism Bot/Farnsworth, Dwight/Cubert, Amy/Leela, and Fry/Bender. Again, I'm pretty pleased by this being on the list. Comedy fic is SO much harder to write than serious, for me, and I'm so pleased at how true the voices ring to me. Also, Cylons!
   
9. Heirlooms -- Narnia, gen. Susan; her family's funeral and after. Oh, Susan. I am pleasantly surprised by this little ficlet's appearance on the list.
   
10. The Best Good Mornings -- Secret Six, Knockout/Scandal. Again, huh!

Basically, apparently weird pairings, especially involving f/f, seems to be what's successful for me. Success being a relative term here, because the actual numbers are depressingly low if I compare them to other people's top ten. /o\ W/E W/E BEING A NICHE AUTHOR IS GREAT. Even given the Yuletide factor, I'm still a bit surprised at how high some of these are. And that doesn't explain the National Treasure story, or the Narnia one. Not that I'm complaining, it's just an interesting little surprise.

I remember a great rec someone made of one of my stories, years and years ago, and they said that I had this way of taking the most bizarre pairings/scenarios and then making you believe them. Given that it was years ago and I still remember it with great pride, probably shows just how much I've taken it to heart. On consideration, I've realized that really, that's my main goal in a lot of writing, both fannish and original: how can I make this work? This bizarre crossover pairing, this weird original scenario (superheroes in the Napoleonic Wars! steampunk vampire romance as workers' rights allegory! time-traveling werewolves as trauma recovery narrative!), whatever, I just really like trying to see how to make it work, make it believable, and make it a compelling story besides. If only I had the attention span for a lot of high-fantasy world-building.

In other news, it's still windy as hell, but the sun has started to peek out now and then, so possibly I will be able to go ahead with my grilling plans this afternoon! \o/ I should probably defrost the meat, then. Stay safe, everyone who's still waiting out the storm.

1. Comment with any ship (or relationship of any sort, romantic, sexual, or otherwise!) from a fandom that you know I have some knowledge about (if it's a fandom I only know by osmosis, this could be hilarious).

2. I will rant about aforementioned ship. This may be incoherent gushing or exclamations of disgust or evocations of apathy, depending on what it is.

Man this meme is right up my alley.

List fifteen of your favorite characters from different fandoms, and ask people to spot patterns in your choices, if they're so inclined.

1. Buffy Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
   
2. Anju, For Matrimonial Purposes
   
3. Troy Barnes, Community
   
4. Lucille Bluth, Arrested Development
   
5. Katara, Avatar: the Last Airbender
   
6. Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter
   
7. Roxie Torcoletti, Eastwick
   
8. Charlotte Miller, A Curse Dark As Gold
   
9. Athena, Battlestar Galactica
   
10. Tsukino Usagi, Sailor Moon
    
11. The Eleventh Doctor, Doctor Who
    
12. Wendy Darling, Peter Pan
    
13. Philip J. Fry, Futurama
    
14. Boromir, Lord of the Rings
    
15. Teresa Moreno Sharpe

Honorable mentions: Leah (Juno), and actually pretty much every woman in that movie but Leah just a little bit more than the others; Caprica Six and Leoben (BSG); Nasreen, Elizabeth X, and the Ninth Doctor (DW); Bender and Amy (Futurama); Ursa, Azula, Ty Lee and Zuko (AtLA); Ginny, McGonagall, and Fleur (HP). Plus a couple of E Streeters, but they're not fictional so I left them off because trying to pick would've been horrible and this was a loophole. Luckily the same applies to the Muppets; they are TOTALLY NOT FICTIONAL and so I couldn't include them. Shhh, that's not cheating.

Also, I didn't realize at first that "different fandoms" actually meant that every character on the list had to be from a different fandom and oh MAN that made this so much harder. Also, I started to do pairings as well but as soon as I realized I was adding "I'm putting gen relationships on here too because most of them I like as standard Hero-Lancer BFFs as much as I like them as lovers" I realized I had probably found the pattern myself.

Here are my responses to that meme from the other day, where you all gave me fandoms and I told you what I would ship!

parentheses requested Buffy and Undercovers. TBH, I don't think I've seen enough Undercovers that I feel like I have a grasp on the characters where I could make that call? Instead, let me tell you all about the concept I have in my head for a BtVS/Losers crossover, where Buffy, Faith, Clay, and Aisha basically just spend a weekend locked in a hotel room together and every possible combination happens.

mumblemutter requested AtLA and Losers. For some reason I am thinking Clay/Ty Lee. I have no idea why, but that's what my gut is telling me, so that's what I'm going to go with. I floated the idea to Night and her immediate response was "that would be pretty great", so there we go.

lunarwolfik requested Leverage and BtVS. Hmmmm. ( This one took me awhile to think through, so I'm cutting it because it's far wordier than is necessary. )

crossedwires gave me Losers and Secret Six. I'm thinking Scandal/Aisha, probably. Again, I'm not entirely sure why, but that's the one that first pops into my head, and I think that might work the best, with both of them pragmatic and secretive and brittle and working their own agendas.

prairiedaun gave me Zombieland and Buffy. TBH, I sort of feel like you have a gold mine here, in that I can totally imagine anyone/anyone. I'm thinking Faith/Tallahassee, borne out of him hitting on Buffy, Buffy shooting him down, and Faith laughing really hard at him, then deciding she's bored and drunk, so what the hell. And then maybe another v-style threesome, with Faith sleeping with both of them.

cruisedirector gave me Harry Potter and AtLA! Oh man, IDEK where to begin with that one. Zuko and OotP!Harry shouting at each other about their feelings would be amazing, but I'm picturing that more as gen. As would Dumbledore and Iroh doing anything together. Though I guess that doesn't have to be gen. For some reason, Dumbledore/Piandao pops into my head? Or Katara/Luna. Oooh, or Ursa/Narcissa(/Lucius).

harborshore gave me Vampire Diaries/BtVS. I have only actually seen a couple of episodes of VD, because pearl_o and fox1013's plan to get me watching was to show me the Lexi episode, on the assumption that I would love her; said plan backfired because I loved her so much that I was like "well, now I've got no reason to watch anymore" after the episode was over. BUT off of that, I'm like "Lexi/Spike/Drusilla would be HILARIOUS." With Lexi and Spike getting super-drunk and causing trouble all over the place, and then Lexi being very sweet to Dru.

pearl_o gave me E Street Band and AtLA, and oh maaaaan. ( Another one that is ridiculously long and mostly gen. )

That was fun! Feel free to give me more fandom combinations so I can tell you ridiculous pairing (or gen!) ideas for them. I am trying to procrastinate on picking up in preparation for my family coming over this evening. Cleaning, ugh.

Oddly apropos: closing my copy of Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern on the bits about the Fitzgeralds' courtship because my train had arrived at King Street Station, then, for the walk to the office, picking a random playlist on my iPod and being instantly serenaded with "Hot Mess", "I'm Going Down", and "Poker Face".

(IIRC, I saw two different YA novels with flappers on the cover being promoted at ALA, including a new series by Anna Godbersen. Are flappers going to be the next Big Thing in YA? Perhaps the next big cultural thing in general? Perhaps replacing vampires? Because there are no words for how down with that I am.)

(Also, F. Scott was such a tool. I'd always felt sad for Zelda, but this book only added to the effect. DUMP HIM ZELDA, DUMP HIM. And maybe get some Lexapro. And somebody teach her about polyamory! WHERE IS THE DOCTOR WHEN YOU NEED HIM, HE COULD DO THAT SHIT.)

My internet is still out at home. PSA: Comcast is terrible. Also I was trying to resist doing this meme, but I am feeling really insecure about my writing at the moment and okay, whatever.

the ❝that's my favorite!❞ meme
A FANFICTION PRAISE MEME

Because I generally do better with smaller numbers, it turns out! First six people to make requests will get a drabble (ficlet, more likely, but a small written thing). It's a variation on the alphabet one; give me a word that begins with one of the following letters, and a character/pairing.

A: "acknowledge", Vanessa Abrams, for gloss

R: various prompts, for mumblemutter

L: Losers, various prompts, for zillah975

T: "trust", Buffy/Giles, for quelle_surprise

M: "moody", Aisha/Clay, for parentheses

D: "drunk", Buffy/John Winchester or Serena/Blair/Tony Stark, for sionnain

I won't do a hard-and-fast list of fandoms/characters, but things I have talked about and/or written recently, or things featured in my icons, are your best bets, and I reserve the right to ask you to pick something else if need be -- alternately, multiple prompts for your chosen letter are encouraged!

I really need to set up another round at avatar_minis, also. UGH WHERE IS THIS MONTH GOING.

Stealing a meme from the_wanlorn, woo!

Comment with a pairing (you can comment with more than one!) and I'll tell you:
1. When I started shipping them
2. What I think their challenge is
3. What makes me happy about them
4. What makes me sad about them
5. What moment I wish had never happened
6. Who I'd be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other
7. My happily ever after for them

Good times.

Here are some of the answers to that meme!

( Avatar: The Last Airbender )

( Leverage )

( Buffy. Not including AtS in this, just BtVS. )

So there was that "your thoughts on these fic tropes: share them with your flist" meme going around, and like I said, I realized my reaction to nearly all of them was "well, if it's competently-written and it's for a pairing I like, sure", so that was kind of boring. But then lordessrenegade came up with this variation on it and that was way more fun.

Behind the cut are all of the tropes from the meme. Claim one and give me a pairing from a fandom you think I'll write, and I'll write you a little something...maybe a drabble, maybe a little longer.

(Here is a list of fic I've written, since that's probably a better guide to fandoms/characters I'll write than just what I'm familiar with -- generally speaking, the more I've written it previously, the more likely I am to write it again.)

( Tropes! )

It is far too early for me to be this sleepy. What is that about.