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The internets are flowing these days, my friend. And with a surprising amount of SJ goodness. (Did someone put something in the water? Do it again!)

Pepper wrote more of her closet chronicles!! EEEE!
Best Not to Think About It by pepper_field  (SG-1, Sam/Jack)
In his defence, he hadn't intended to propose to Carter in a storage closet.
Oh, Jack. Hahahah.

black holes and revelations by cata_clysmiic  (SG-1, Sam/Jack)
It’s late and dark and as far as she’s concerned, the world has stopped for them (they’d done the Earth a few favors, it's time one was returned).
Sam angst, flowing prose, great imagery. What more could you want?

The Short Straw by missparker  (SG-1, Sam/Jack)
She hadn't set out to cheat, certainly, but had thought that she'd at least be able to interpret her own work in a way that would lead to victory.
I have no idea how I missed this Shades of Grey fic. It's awesome.

The Space Between by callie (SG-1, Sam/Jack)
There's a little space between them on the bed. Small enough to be close, but enough space to remind them where the line should be.
Death Knell hurt/comfort angst!

++

And in the category of "Yeah, you read that right":

Build Our House on a Mountain by annakovsky  and lowriseflare  (The Office/Dawson's Creek, Pam/Pacey)
Forced to be roommates. It's going to be a thing.
I can't say I am overly familiar with either of these shows, but man, just read it as original fic. I love the slow, gentle fall together. Sigh.

++

And in the category of "The most high-fuckin-larious thing I've read in a while":

Operation Hot Potato by Artaxastra (SGA)
Three missing dildos, assorted UST and lust, the entire cast....
Uh...Hahahahahahahaha. God, Lorne. I love you.

++

And in the category of "I almost fainted because I never thought to read a unbiased outsider view of fanfiction in my lifetime":

The Boy Who Lived Forever by Lev Grossman (Times Arts, July 7, 2011)
Right now fan fiction is still the cultural equivalent of dark matter: it's largely invisible to the mainstream, but at the same time, it's unbelievably massive.

Saw Thor last night and was pleasantly surprised. Good mindless summer fun. Pretty funny actually too. But then I came home and found this fic, which, in the best tradition of fanfic, is even better:

It's Electrifying by waketosleep (Thor, Darcy, Clint Barton, Jane, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Darcy/Clint)
Clint Barton is apparently an Avenger and a pretty good shot, but whatever, Darcy has a taser and no reluctance to use it. Clint is the damaged one if he finds that charming.
Oh lord, where to begin? The Darcy voice is awesome and sarcastic and just so wonderful as she faces off against Clint and hulks and even Tony Stark. Love this fic to pieces. (The caveat is that beyond Ironman, I know nothing of the comics world, but still enjoyed the hell out of this.)

Hey guys. I'm alive. Really. Just had some unexpectedly awesome things happen that have sort of temporarily taken over my life. Just one more week of insanity though, and things should settle in again. Writing has sort of fallen to the wayside, sadly. Not that I haven't been writing, just not writing effectively. The next chapter of my Ginny fic has demanded to be rewritten and taken unexpected turns three or four times in the last few weeks. It's being as slippery as a Slytherin. Snerk. I've also started and abandoned three or four ideas for my help_japan  charity fic. Oy. I tried poking at the next installment of the DC Series, but Daniel is being stubborn. (What else is new?) I've had a few other things open on my desktop, adding a few words here and there, but I'm not really settling to anything, sadly.

I just got a review on one of my oldest stories, which is nice. Really. Comments are always great. It's just... I do my absolute best to pretend I never wrote this particular fic, so the rare time someone leaves a comment, it gives rise to that urge to DELETE THE STORY FROM EXISTENCE yet again. All of you who never posted your first ever fic? I envy you SO MUCH. Lol.

I'm really behind on TV watching. I can't really build up any interest in the latest Sanctuary, though I imagine I will get around to it eventually. (I'm sorry. You all know how I feel about character bashing, but I just...can't make myself like Will. I'm trying. And another aside, I was commenting to holdouttrout the other day that I rewatched Star Trek Reboot again the other day and noticed that Chris Pine is a total mouth breather too, it just in no way bothers me the way it does with Will. I cannot explain this. Lol.) I saw Fringe, but don't really have any thoughts at the moment. Maybe later. It's a long hiatus to ruminate over. Looking forward to all the summer shows starting up again soon though. Yay White Collar and Covert Affairs and Leverage and other ones I am probably forgetting about.

Speaking of Leverage, I'm pretty broken up that Con-Con was canceled. Not surprised, just sad. I'd really been looking forward to that.

Seems there's gong to be a new Lady Julia Grey book coming out on June 21st. Let's hope it doesn't suck as much as the fourth one did. I'll give it a read and let you know if it's worth reading or if we should just continue to pretend there were only three Lady Julia books.

( I've been reading throw away shitty romance novels. )

Here are a few fic recs to make up for it:

The Package Deal by ziparumpazoo  (Fringe, Peter/Olivia, Walter)
She drew these two men together and forced them, sometimes painfully, to build their own warped version of a family. They’re a package deal. An If/Then statement. It’s that simple.
This is a great morning after fic for 6B, showing Olivia's relationships with Peter, but also Walter, who is an inescapable part of the deal. Such a perfect glimpse into what life with the Bishops would be like.

The Bridal Path by Vyola (Addams Family, Wednesday/Joel)
To marry an Addams means taking marriage very seriously. After all, it is till death do you part. And even then, sometimes they come back.
Okay, so it's not like I'm this big Addam's Family fan or anything. I'm pretty sure I saw the movie a million years ago. But, god, I love Wednesday, the quirky worldview of the Addam's family, and their non-traditional romance. This is such a great little fic. Short, quirky, and definitely worth a read.

The Priming Game by amonitrate (Ironman, Rhodey, Tony, Tony/Pepper if you really squint)
Rhodey wonders if from now on it's going to be Tony Before and Tony After.
This is a fill in for the time between when Tony is rescued out of the desert and when he lands back in America. Rhodey's POV on the changes that have come over Tony, the secrets he is clearly keeping, and the suspicions of the US Government that threaten to push Tony over the edge. Such a clear vision of the characters and their relationships as well at the way Tony is changed by his experience.

Quite the mix of fandoms today!

A Long Time Traveling Away From Home by lindentree  (True Grit, Mattie/LaBoeuf)
Proverbs 16:18 - "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Mattie has one version of events. LaBoeuf has quite another.
This is not your traditional love story, but for these two would you really expect anything less? Lovely story telling and pacing and just overall so true to the characters and the source material. Great read.

Fade Into Intention by brynnmck  (Firefly, Mal/Inara)
Sihnon had been a web of silk, delicate and intricate; Serenity is more like a well-worn blanket, rough and flawed and somehow all the more seductive for it.
I love Mal and Inara. They are just one of those pairings were it is so damn hard to find really good, true to characters fic. Well, wait no longer. This fic is absolutely perfect and achy and just beautiful. It encapsulates everything I love about these two.

for just one taste of this by cata_clysmiic  (SG-1, Sam/Jack)
After that, though, things got tricky and dangerous because they pushed a little more and went a little (a lot) further off that deep end, and soon it was the two of them alone in the empty barracks and this wasn’t wrong, was it, just sitting side by side in the darkness?
Hey guys, a new SJ author! Great little fic that really captures the long slow slide that is Jack and Sam, and how easy it might have been to lose their fight. Read and feed! We need more!

Weathervanes by openended  (SG-1, Sam/Jack)
what if things were different? Five snapshots from an alternate reality.
Nice glimpse at an AU version of Sam and Jack.

Synonymous by stars_like_dust  (SG-1, Jack, Sam/Jack)
The most he’d ever heard in a row was six.
This is an old one, but god, so good. Jack post-Abyss, and the ways he's affected by traumatic events.

And zinke  has written another installment of the Barnes & Noble Castle AU I rec'd before! Find it here.

May the Moon and Sunlight Seem by Lizarel (Harry Potter, Hermione/Ron)
Because scars don't disappear just because darkness is defeated.
I have to admit that while I like Hermione/Ron just fine, I have never been much of a fan of the fic. This fic is the exception. It has true voices, a wonderful look at Ron and how he changes over the series of books, and lacks all of the smarmy, hysterionics popular in a lot of the teenage romance of the Harry Potter world. I really love this fic.  

All Roads (Eventually) Lead to Home by igrockspock  (Harry Potter, Hermione, gen)
After the end of the war, Hermione goes to find her parents. They aren't where she expected them to be.
This is a nice look at Hermione dealing with her actions at the beginning of Deathly Hallows (and was there honestly a more wrenching scene in the first film than Hermione leaving her parents' home? Gah.

The Blood in Your Skin by anythingbutgrey  (Fringe, altLivia/Lincoln)
Ten things that may or may not have happened to Lincoln and Olivia. This is what leads Lincoln to kiss her the first time they almost die together. Lincoln thinks this is romantic. Olivia laughs in his face.
Oh, this fic. So wonderful. And painful. But definitely worth reading. (Warning: character death)

Five Things That Never Happened to Nikki Heat...and One That Did Happen to Kate Beckett by fialka  (Castle, Nikki/Rook, Beckett/Castle, NC-17 for smut)
Sometimes, even Castle needs a fic fix. Meta AU.
Hot and awesome. I love the way Nikki Heat and Rook are different characters, and yet a tiny bit not. Definite must read.

Mama Who Bore Me by language_escapes (Saint Trinian's)
Ten stories about eleven St. Trinian's girls and the women who shaped them.
This is set in a specific version of this universe by this author that I love. (Having Chosen, So Defined). I think this fic even manages to blow that one out of the water. You know, even if you have never seen the St. Trinian movies, I think you really might enjoy this fic. It's about daughters and mothers and the paths we chose in this life. It's lovely and powerful, and way better than the original movies themselves which are amusingly bad, but make up for it in the idea they put forth.

zinke  has written cracktastic awesomeness: The Last Stand of the Morphemes (Multi-Fandom; PG-13), wherein the "United Federation of Kick-ass Female Characters" take on shippy portmanteaus. Bwahah! 

Sort of reminds me of that insanity in my journal a few years back: Never too late to jump on the cutesy train.  Fun times.

*   *   *

Oh, and while I am here, something not cracktastic, but still so worth a read: 

Unhappily by lyrstzha  (Sleeping Beauty, PG-13)
I don’t care what you’ve heard; there were never any fairies involved.
An awesome retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale, only this time with snark and human error and ZOMBIES. I love the narrator's voice, and the story is just great. I like that idea that when you peel behind the disney-ification of fairytales there are much darker and grittier things hidden underneath. This fic is short and fun. Definitely give it a read. And feed the author!

+Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes. I had a pretty good day packed with friends and food and some thought-provoking stuff (and brownies! Did I mention brownies?).

+You know, I've been thinking this for a long time, sort of wincing every time I see it used, but I have to finally just say this out loud: I really dislike the term 'pimp', particularly when used in the context of spreading word about fannish things (comms, ficathons, charity events, etc). I have been trying and trying to think of a better word for what we mean, because pimp is just...yeah. Not a great word to throw around, especially in the context of some of the really positive things people are trying to do when they use it. It's just one of those words that you can't escape the connotations of male dominance, sexual subjugation, and casual commodification of women. And I'm saying this as a fangirl who far too casually uses the term 'whore' to self-describe her obsessions with ship or angst or whump or whatever, which is something I also really need to stop doing. We can all argue that we know what I mean and that it's just a joke, but...that doesn't really excuse it. So. Yeah. In honor of International Woman's Day, lets try thinking of better words for what we mean. Because no matter how easy it is to dismiss as no big deal, words really do matter.

+And because I can't really post without reccing fic, and today is a day for awesome women:

Four Walls and a Blaster by holdouttrout  (Star Wars, Leia, Han, AU)
Han left, and Leia couldn't fault him. What might have happened if he never came back at the battle of Yavin.
This is a great little glimpse into an AU where things don't go so well for the Rebellion at the end of the first movie. Leia is left to fight her own battles in the only way she can. This is the Leia I love, discovering her potential one painful atom at a time.

Like a Leaf on the Water by penknife  (Pirates of the Caribbean, Mistress Cheng)
They were both different people, once, or maybe they weren't that different after all.
Even if you have never seen PotC, or have no memory of the later movies all that much, you still need to read this fic. It's the story of the life of Mistress Cheng and how she becomes a great pirate lord. This is one amazing, well textured woman. Warning for many adult themes and situations. See fic heading info.

Echo by vatrixsta (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xander, Cordelia, Xander/Cordelia)
Today is Cordelia's favorite day.
Yes, this fic is in first person, which is usually not my cup of tea, but this is so wonderfully done, capturing all my nostalgia for the first show I was ever fannish about, and the sheer joy that was Xander and Cordelia in their early snarky glory. Definitely worth a read.

9.8ms² by delicfcd  (Harry Potter, Ginny, Ginny/Harry)
Ginny can't stop falling.
This is a cute little look into Ginny analyzing her feelings for Harry, and how sometimes boys are just like physics.

So It Goes by Nomad (The West Wing, Jed Bartlet/Abbey Bartlet)
Jed Bartlet. Abigail Barrington. 1967.
This is a great story about how Jed and Abbey may have met, become friends, and eventually fallen in love. I find the characters and their settings very plausible, and the cameos by Mrs. Landingham worth it alone. It's long, but quite a nice read. Warning for depictions of child abuse.

No Valentines by penknife  (SG-1, Sam/Jack)
Unschmoopy Valentine's fic! And there is just something about Sam's confliction in this that I find so true.

I am Joining All My Thoughts to You by tosca1390  (P&P, Lizzy/Darcy)
“You are pretty, my Lizzy, but you must not be so quick to speak your mind!”
Great little snippet of Lizzy and Darcy during their engagement.

Gravity by penknife  (X-Men, Rogue)
There are all kinds of weight. Rogue is learning that.
This is an awesome, awesome, awesome fic all about Rogue dealing with the voices left in her head, and the men she has touched. Love this.

We Have No Rodeo Clowns in Yell County by SarahT (True Grit, Mattie/LaBoeuf)
As I grew into a young lady, I was not much troubled with suitors.
Can't say I was all that certain about this pairing, but Mattie's voice is so well done I sort of didn't care.

Ginny Weasley and the Pillow of Doom by opalish (Harry Potter, Ginny, Fred, George, Ginny/Harry)
In which Ginny angsts over Harry's absence, Fred and George are complete prats, and weaponry is employed to fight brotherly oppression.
Because boys are idiots. Even when they're being sort of adorable.

The Day the Music Died by kaydeefalls (The West Wing)
Or, eight kinds of days it could have been. Eight possible outcomes post-1.22, "What Kind of Day Has It Been?"
Ouch, ouch, ouch. And I love it. Secondary character love! (The Gina one kills me dead.)

I tagged my 2,000th het fic for sg1debrief  yesterday. Seemed like a fun milestone. Bring on the SG-1 het fic, peeps!

Just a couple of quick recs:

Untold Things by tielan  (Sanctuary, Kate)
Kate's not proud of everything she's done.
Snapshots of Kate's life before the Sanctuary twined in with her new life and the people in it. This is a great depiction of Kate that captures all her nuance, all without turning her into a soulless bad guy or a whitewashed good guy. She's solidly in between and that's just one of the reasons I love her. And the glimpses of the other Sanctuary characters are great.

We Are Tired of Your Discipline by tosca1390  (Harry Potter, Ginny)
The feeling that she’d either kill or be killed at Hogwarts this year hadn’t left her all summer.
Wonderful look at Ginny going back to Hogwarts for her sixth year, minus the Trio. There's suspicion and bravery and Hogwarts really isn't the same, except the need to resist.

Ruse by k_pasa  (SG-1, Sam, Sam/Jack)
A whirlwind: not of leaves that grasp the sand and whirl it with them, on a prairie; but, of, paper and cigarette butts, on a sidewalk. (Charlotte Liberty Walker, I Heard A Scream In The Street, 1970). Samantha Carter comes undone.
This is a unique, very interesting fic. It's probably just a kink of mine, but I find it fascinating when stories are written from the point of view of the person losing their mind, and how the world looks to them. This is not your run of the mill fic, and may be too dark and twisted at times for some people, but it hits the spot for me. Plus, it has a fulfilling ending with a pay off. It's left me thinking about it long after I finished it, and that's not something that happens a lot.

Yup, still reading like a crazy woman. I feel like all I ever post anymore are fic recs. Lol.

Roulette by kerlin (CSI, Sara/Grissom)
Pick a future. Any future.
This is a five things type fic, detailing five ways it could have gone between Sara and Grissom. Good, bad, and in between.

That common consolation by Zara Hemla (Fringe, Peter/Olivia)
Sometimes she looks at him sideways out of those eyes of hers and it's a kind of voltage, the kind he's been searching for all his life.
This is set a bit earlier, right after Olivia takes her first trip to see Bell on the other side. I really like Peter's view of Olivia in this.

Frequency by alchemyalice  (Fringe, Peter/Olivia)
Olivia speaks. Peter hears her.
Another great Peter-figures-out-he-has-the-wrong-Olivia fic.  (I never get tired of these.)

that home by melissa_pbfan  (Fringe, Peter/Olivia)
i'd rip reality in two and cross universes for you
Very short, but beautifully poetic glimpse of a different outcome for 'Jacksonville' and what follows. I like experimental, lyrical stuff like this. There really isn't enough of it out there.

Five Times Gaila and Sulu Save Each Other by igrockspock  (Star Trek Reboot, Gaila/Sulu)
Even tough, independent people need saving once in awhile. Gaila and Sulu save each other from fears and insecurities, tarantulas and Starfleet ration bars, failed simulations and lost promotions. And space pirates. Twice.
I love this type of fic, following two people over long periods of time as their relationships develop, and how at the core, these two are just really good friends and the romance is the part that comes and goes, but that they always seem to gravitate back towards each other. Plus. Gaila. And space pirates. I find the Orion culture endlessly fascinating.

Homework by penknife  (Sanctuary, Gen, Ashley)
Ashley does her homework.
A great glimpse at what childhood for Ashley may have been like.

Moving On and Biding Time by a_loquita  (Stargate SG-1, Sam/Jack)
She puts her head on his shoulder. He wonders if this is what it will be like.
This is a wonderful, quiet, achy fic about Jack and waiting. And what a toll it takes on him. (Yay, birthday fic!)

syxp  has not only added another edition to the Jack's Magic Penis Chronicles, but has also finally compiled them all in one easy post.