i may be a bird in a cage but at least it's your cage

Fic Recs:
+ It's a Beautiful Day, Don't Let It Get Away, by fitofpique. lotrips, Dom/Billy, R. You know how February is kind of grey and cold and basically sucky? Well, this story is opposite of February - it's warm and sunny and wonderfully fun and it makes February almost bearable, and you should read it right now.

+ Fever Pitch (or, Five Things That Never Happened To Sheffield United, by sparrck. lotrips, Dom/Bean. PG-13. Written for slashababy, I somehow managed to miss reading this until now, and it's just lovely. Subtle and soft and you all know that I'm a sucker for the structure. So. You know. I like this pairing. I like it more than I usually remember I like it. And this is good.

+ all the roads we have to walk are winding, by sophia_helix. Lost/BtVS. Oz & Charlie, R. This is ... okay, so, to be fair, not something I would have thought could work, but it does, Oz in a bar in Sydney and Charlie spiralling out of control pre-crash, and it's just perfect and it sort of runs your heart along a cheese grater, so it's not that you're sliced open, it's just that the whole thing leave you sort of raw, you know?

+ oh, i love you the most, always giving up the ghost by throughadoor. Macdonald Hall. Bruno/Boots. kel. says that she wants to write Bruno and Boots into every slash cliche story ever, and yeah, this is one of them, but it's too funny and unexpectedly tender to really be a slash cliche story, so she'll have to try again. (I hope she does; I love kel's Bruno and Boots stuff.) Also, there's a clown suit.

In The News:
+ The Senator's Humble Beginning: "Andy Warhol said we all get our 15 minutes of fame," says Barack Obama. "I've already had an hour and a half. I mean, I'm so overexposed, I'm making Paris Hilton look like a recluse." Oh, Barack, ♥ ♥ ♥!

+ The US and Canada were asked to withdraw from a major international Anglican council, because, you know, the US Episcopal Church had the nerve to ordain a gay bishop. I should call the boy's Episcopal priest mother see what she thinks about this.

Fandom:
+ If I was still writing Jossverse, I would write for the Harmony Kendall Ficathon. But I'm not, so y'all should instead.

+ File this under "things I stumbled across accidentally that made me snarf Coke out my nose" (random due South humor someone in the office sent me for entirely different reasons).

+ GQ names the Top Ten actors of "our generation". First off, whose fucking generation? And secondly, this list is ... weird. That's all.

Random Crap Wot I Found On The Internet:
+ Romance Novel Covers: but not the sort you'd think. Some clever person bought a load of cheap romance novels and photoshopped the covers into having more ... appropriate titles.

+ 50 Most Loathsome People of 2004. What it sounds like. Link from tenar.

+ Business Astrology. I would like to note that as I was reading this, my CEO asked the office, "What code do I put in to use the fax machine, again?" And that is the only reason it's funny. *snerk*

+ Voodoo knife rack in the shape of a person. Um, I might need one of these. Like, yesterday.

+ Look, it's an Online Lite Brite! (Have I linked this before? I can't remember. I think I might have, but hey, it's cool, y'all want to see it again, right?)

+ she hates my futon: so when I was in college, I loved this site. loved it. and I'd forgotten all about it, because I read everything that had been posted and it's sort of an eternal work-in-progress (and I get enough of those in fandom, thanks), but the other day on the train, the phrase "she hates my futon" popped into my head and I had to try and track down where it was from, and I found this again, and it's just as funny and painful and weird as it was when I was 19, and you guys should go stave off Friday afternoon boredom by reading this guy's (probably fictional) tales of his dating life, because they're really excellent.

Fic Recs:
+ The Devil You Don't [Five Drabbles That Never Happened To Jack Sparrow], by bear, and sometimes i long to be landlocked and work in a bakery [five more things that never happened to jack sparrow], by circe_tigana. Pirates of the Caribbean, Jack Sparrow. Circe remixed Bear's fic, and they're both stunning tight pieces of writing, with Jack voices that are similar but different, running parallel to each other, and they're both perfect. I particularly recommend #5 in Bear's story and #3 in Circe's.

+ Live Free Or Die, by jjtaylor. The West Wing. Josh/Matt Santos, with Josh/Sam implied. The thing that's been the most compelling for me in this season of West Wing has been the campaign stuff, and Josh's struggle to let Matt be himself and make him a good candidate at the same time, and JJ nails that in this. It's told across New Hampshire, in cars, and it's counterbalanced with that trip across New Hampshire that you know Josh and Sam once took, and it's got a perfectly balanced Josh voice and a gorgeous overarching feel, and I'm not just saying this because I betaed for her. It made me buy the pairing, and even as I was fascinated by it before this, I didn't buy it until I read this story.

+ untitled (shades), by _cee. HP. Remus/Sirius, G. I want to invent new words to talk about cee's writing, and this is no exception: the image running through it is sharp and perfect and barren, and the whole thing leaves my heart sore and my throat aching and my eyes all watery.

In The News:
+ Prince Charles is actually going to marry Camilla Parker Bowles! Or, as the Arrogant Worms call her, Camilla Parker Bowling Ball. Hee.

Fandom:
+ Distraction: an online journal for the study of fanfiction.

+ A listing of all post-Chosen fics that feature Xander in Africa. I love this idea, so this list? Right up my alley.

+ TV's 50 Most Romantic Couples

Random Crap Wot I Found On The Internet:
+ Gizoogle: they're not Google, but they're funnier. Run your journal through the translator, and don't drink anything when you read the results.

+ Why Cyclists Wear Black Pants. (Not necessarily work safe, for, um, Canadian Polish packages.) But funny.

+ Questions Frequently Asked About TiVo Answered By Someone Who Loves TiVo Too Much. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HE'S SO RIGHT.

+ Gorgeous Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead icons.

Fic Recs:
+ Four Things That Never Happened to Allen Francis Doyle, Unless It Was In a Galaxy Far, Far Away, by doyle_sb4. Angel/various crossovers. Doyle. So, let's do a checklist: Doyle? Check! Brilliant, heartbreaking writing? Check! Entry for The Year Of The Wacky Crossover? Check! So go read this now, yo!

+ an open letter to the person with whom i've been engaging in various sordid acts, including but not limited to mutual masturbation, terribly sloppy oral sex and also there was the time that we attempted actual intercourse only to discover it was horribly awkward, by weatherby. HP. Ron/Draco, PG-13. And. Just. Ahahahahahahaha. This story is short and sweet and PERFECT.

+ Simple Rules, by out_there. Sports Night. Casey/Dan, R. This has a spot-on solid Casey voice, and a level of wistfulness in between the facts that make it more than just a tiny character piece. And it's surprisingly hot, which is just an extra bonus.

+ Alcohol and Basketball, by pennyproud. Everwood. Bright/Ephram, R. This is one of those tiny pieces that somehow feels more about the characters - about Bright needing things, and Ephram being emotionally clueless and stupid - than about the pairing, but it's about the pairing, too, in a delicate subtle sort of way, and it's hopeless and heartbreaking and gorgeous.

In The News:
+ HB 1677 Fetal death; report by mother, penalty: in Virginia, if you don't report your miscarraige to the authorities within twelve hours of it occurring, you'll go to jail! Because apparently my uterus belongs to everyone in the country now!

+ Blog-driven politics: the above bill was withdrawn.

Fandom:
+ Arrested Development icons! !!!!!!

+ The Everday Superheroes Challenge: Take your standard run-of-the-mill completely-without-superpowers fandom, toss in a handful of X-Men style mutations, and go!

+ The Elements of Phyle: a non-authoritative guide to the use of the English language in X-Philes fanfiction. !!!!

+ The Book of Fanfic. In the midst of wank, a good point is made.

+ Peter Jackson bought the rights to turn The Lovely Bones into a movie. I thought the book was emotional porn, as missingm would say, but I enjoyed it at the same time, so we'll see. This could be interesting.

Random Crap Wot I Found On The Internet:
+ Aaron Carter's car caught on fire! While he was in it! Why does this only happen to stupid famous people, yo?

+ Giant Plush Microbes. Because you've always wanted to cuddle the common cold.

I had an idea this morning that was so brilliant I had to congratulate myself on being brilliant.

Well. It'll be brilliant if I can pull it off, that is. Whether or not I can do remains to be seen. But you can't know 'til it's finished. Because it's a secret brilliant idea. *evilgrin*

This is sort of a thin linkies post. I was busy this week, I guess. Huh.

Fic Recs:
+ Long Way Home, by misswindy. Everwood. Bright POV. What could have been, what might be. Hopeful and hopeless all at once, and the Bright I hear in my head. *thumbs up*

+ Secret Keeping, by lalejandra. HP. Pansy/Millicent, Pansy/Draco, Harry/Draco. R. You know how sometimes you read or see something and it's not quite full-on creepy but it's just creepy enough to raise goosebumps on your arms, which somehow makes it creepier and more powerful? Yeah. This is like that.

+ New York Is Cold But, by fitofpique. lotrips. Dom/Billy, NC-17. Dude, I could be coherent about this, but isn't it more evocative if I flail around and go "NNNNNNNNNGH" a lot? Which is to say, this is hot and delicate and gorgeous. Yis.

In The News:
+ Kerry Will Restore American Dignity: the Iconoclast, the newspaper in Dubya's hometown, is endorsing John Kerry for President in November 2004, without their tongues in their cheeks or anything. Honest-to-God endorsement.

Fandom:
+ Incredibly funny black-and-white text-only fandom icons, courtesy of misswindy.

+ Lost mood theme. It was inevitable that one would be created eventually, and this one's lovely.

+ 100 Ways To Kill Your Lover Challenge. Write a fic. Kill off your favorite character. Simple as that.

+ Gorgeous Edward Scissorhands moodtheme.

Random Crap Wot I Found On The Internet:
+ Dubya's Beatitudes.

+ The Writer's Almanac. A daily email digest, wherein they send you a poem and a bunch of literary and historical notes about what happened in the world of books that day. I love it. I had about 100 of them saved in my email last year and Mail crashed and I lost them all and it still makes me sad thinking about it.

+ What Sars said: Do not give me that "what's the point" crap, because "the point," in case you've missed it, is that George W. Bush is an execrable president. He has embroiled us in a war under false pretenses. He has utterly disregarded -- in fact, is actively hostile to -- the environment. He has damaged our standing in the international community, possibly irreparably. He has announced his intention to codify discrimination against gays and lesbians with a constitutional amendment. He is an enemy of choice, diplomacy, civil rights, the Bill of Rights, the working poor, the scientific community, trees, women, your safety, and the English language. He hates reading, inexpensive medicines from Canada, and a bunch of my friends. He is an outrage, he is an embarrassment, and if I have anything to say about it, he is returning to brush-clearing on his ranch full-time come November 3.

Fic Recs:
+ The Smaller Person, by bexless. Lost. Shannon, Boone, Charlie. Gen, PG-13ish. The only trouble I've had with the show is that there are characters who I just can't buy as people, and Bex manages to flesh out all three of these characters so that I care. The best piece of Lost fic I've read yet, and I am thrilled to be reccing it. <3

+ Welcome to the Fallout, by hackthis. The OC. Seth/Ryan. Spoilers for early S2. Ways it didn't happen, all of which could. There's a reason Zahra's one of my very favorite writers in this fandom, and it's because she could make me believe anything she wrote about Seth.

In The News:
+ John Eisenhower (son of Dwight) on why he is voting for John Kerry. *thumbs up*

Fandom:
+ Deep Fanfic Thoughts, by violetblue. In the vein of the great Jack Handey (*snerk*), some surprisingly spot-on, rather cutting and hilariously funny observations about fandom and fanfic and fen.

+ Gorgeous icons made from the artwork in the Dark Tower books.

Random Crap Wot I Found On The Internet:
+ The Amazing and Incredible, Only-Slightly-Laughable, Politically Unassailable, PoMo English Title Generator. Link from bear.

+ Practice using the new election ballot now!

+ Scary John Kerry: a rather funny and clever poem, with accompanying links. I can't do it justice - go check it out.

+ 2005 French Rubgy Team Calendar. Not at all work safe, but ROWR.

+ Who are novelists voting for? That's a damn good question, Slate! Thanks for answering it for me!

+ YOU FORGOT POLAND DOT COM. AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA. This site gave me the hiccups.

+ Australia gets drunk, ends up in North Atlantic. ... yeah. Maybe this was funnier when I was drunk, too.

Fandom heavy today.

Fic Recs:
+ Thirteen Ways, by eponis. HP. Snape/Lupin. When I read this, I could see every single scene spill out in front of me in black and white, like someone had filmed a gorgeous movie in my head and I wasn't reading, I was watching. It's that vibrant and stark, cold and hot, at the same time. I don't much care for the pairing, but this fic is absolutely stop-in-your-tracks beautiful.

+ notch, by mcee. King Arthur RPF. Mads Mikkelsen/Keira Knightley. NC-17. Now, y'all know I prefer my girl with other girls, but this is absolutely scorching. Unique, elegant style, amazing sex, and the ending ... *shiver*

+ marking, by earthmagik. King Arthur RPF. Mads Mikkelsen/Keira Knightley. NC-17. Obverse to notch. What makes this such a fascinating counterpart to mcee's story, for me, is the bits of Mads that come through so clearly - the things he wishes he could ask her makes it more than just a fuck, something impossibly powerful. Plus, it's also extra-steamy hot, just like notch. *thud*

+ Party, Two, by queenofalostart and sophrosyne31. Part 1, Part 2 (Queen), Part 2 (Soph). lotrips. Dom/Orli, NC-17 overall. Read Part 1 first, and then read both separate endings - it's all explained in Part 1. Anyway. This is a strange, lovely nightmare of a fic, and both endings are fantastically trippy and gorgeous and so different, except the more I think about it, the more they're the same only not. This fucked with my head in the best sort of way.

+ Eclipse, by 1420. lotrips. Dom/Billeh, PG. "What is it you want me to do?" Billy asks, his face moving against Ian’s hand. He takes a drink and wonders when Ian is going to let go. As soon as he does, Billy is going to turn away from this sight of Dom. But then Dom opens his eyes, and stares at Billy, still moving.

+ Like You Do, by hackthis. Dom/Billeh, PG-13. Z always gets the balance of these two just perfectly, and I've missed her writing them while she's been playing with mounties and spiders instead. A missing scene from ComicCon, this has all the emotion, humor and affection that I crave from this pairing. Spot on.

+ thrum, by jacito. lotrips. Liv/Cate. jaci uses second person, a you-narrator, to amazing effect in this piece, which I know isn't new fic, but was new to me as I was poking around her website yesterday when I was bored. a hint of melancholy, a lovely portrayal of the hobbits'n'Orli from an outsider's perfect, and a subtle sexiness to it that I just adored.

In The News:
+ 81 Reasons (And Counting) To Vote Against George W. Bush In November.

+ US denies a gay man who took his husband's name a passport. I was irate about this until Michael pointed out that the Federal Government doesn't have to recognize him. Now I'm simply simmering with anger.

+ Warblogging.Com. I read this entire site on Wednesday afternoon at work, and then I went and threw up.

( fannish stuff and random stuff, woo! )

If anyone on my friends list complains that they're bored today, I'm going to kick them, because there are so many goddamned links here that y'all should be entertained from here to the middle of next week. Got that? *grin*

Fic Recs (Or, Look At Me, Being All Multi-Fandom Today!):
+ My Name Is Inigo Montoya, by hackthis. Spiderman. Peter/Harry. This is enthralling and bitter and absolutely completely and totally hott. And the title makes me weep with joy.

+ French Is Better, by voleuse. A:tS. Cordy/Lilah. R. Written for me for the Cordy slashficathon, this is a fantastic little fic. The Cordelia voice is so spot on I can hear her as I read, the structure is clever, and it's absolutely, utterly sexy.

+ Doors, by serialkarma. The O.C. Sandy. G. A tiny little story about opening doors, with details that blindsided me and a gorgeous last line.

+ Unconscious Art, by ink_stain. lotrips. Viggo/Bean. PG. If I tell you anything at all about this story except that it's gorgeous, you wouldn't go read it. So I won't, and you should.

+ no sins inside the gates, by earthmagik. lotrips. Viggo/Orli/OFC. NC-17. Part 4 of she. The way cee uses languages, each tiny detail, each precise, weighty word, never fails to amaze me. This is no exception. Stunning in a stained-glass sort of way, and a last line that ... well, just go read it, morons. <3 cee.

+ Rhapsody In Blue, by copperbadge. HP. Remus/Tonks. R. Sweet and clever and not without its darkness. It's November now, and cold, but here they sit on a stoop in Diagon Alley, at nearly midnight, warm from the firewhiskey Tonks bought from the all-night grocers' and the last hot helping of fish and chips that Remus wheedled out of a shop five minutes after it closed.

+ Sing My Heart, by anniesj. HP. Sirius/Remus. NC-17. It has the Beatles and reconciliation sex. What the fuck else do you want, people?

+ The Possibility of a World, by callmesandy. Sports Night. Dan/OFC, Casey/OMC, unrequited Casey/Dan. R. This is an old fic, one that's been around a while, but I reread it this week and was punched right in the gut with how good it is again. Forget the original characters - who are both brilliant, for what it's worth - and read it for the unbearable rift between Dan and Casey, and how they both try to cope. This is a gorgeous, heartbreaking story. Bring kleenex.

In The News:
+ I say again: YOU WILL POSTPONE THE ELECTIONS IN NOVEMBER OVER MY DEAD BODY, DUBYA. And better said than me.

( behind the cut: literally about two dozen more links, from the news, fandom, and random crap )

This is particularly heavy on the fandom stuff today, kids. My apologies to those of you who don't care; you should scroll to the bottom and check out the final few links, okay?

Fic Recs (Or, Everything I Didn't Rec When I First Read It And Should Have, Plus Some Stuff I Found At 3 AM Last Night):
+ bloodshot smile, by jacito. lotrips. Dom/Billy. I recced this back in December, when I first read it, but I linked to it again for circe_tigana earlier this week and remembered how much I loved it. So I wanted to share it again. Angsty and sweet and some fantastic dialogue. This fic made Dom/Billy my OTP.

+ No, For Real This Time, The Best Chrismukkah Ever, by lalejandra. the OC. Seth/Ryan. NC-17. Seth and Ryan go to Pittsburgh for Christmas. Wackiness ensues. Anna's laugh tinkled through the night air and Ryan scowled. Sometimes he thought maybe Seth still had a little crush on her, and he couldn't blame him -- sometimes Ryan still had a little crush on Marissa. But Ryan was the one Seth writhed against during marathon makeout sessions.

+ Hetero-Lifemates, by hackthis. the OC. Seth/Ryan. R. I always appreciate dialogue-only fics, because I'm so terrible with dialogue myself. But this one's particularly good, as Ryan and Seth try to figure out how to tell Sandy that they're in love. I think that hackthis may be the best writer in this fandom, and this piece shows it - the cleverness, the humor, the pacing all read just like an episode. I cried with laughter reading this.

+ The World According To Taxi Drivers, by hackthis. lotrips. Dom/Billeh, Dom/Lijah. R. This really isn't about the pairings - this is about Dom. And it's one of the most insightful, unusual Dom pieces I've read; I like an insecure, flailing Dom - that's a big appeal for me. And this delivers in spades. In Dom’s mind, he’s together with Billy and they’re happy, but Dom’s mind is nothing like reality.

+ Sangria, written for the LOTRiPS My Slashy Valentine. Dom/Viggo. R. Some nights it's not just the booze talking. This is one of them.

+ Seven Things That Never Happened At Hogwarts On Valentine's Day, Or Maybe They Did, by rageprufrock. Harry Potter. R. What Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs got up to on Valentine's Day when they were at school. Only more than that. Perhaps what is now, in my mind, the definitive piece of Sirius/Remus ever. Go. Read.

Everyone Should Entertain Me Because I Am Sick And Whiny:
+ Everyone reading this should go add "dance of happy continuity" and "giant blue margaritas" to their interest lists, stat. Because I said so. Especially if you actually understand the significance of "giant blue margaritas".

Fandom:
+ The importance of the number Five in this season of Angel; mind-blowing stuff if you believe it. And while I'm here, I want to take a minute to pimp Tea At The Ford, which is an incredible resource of smart people thinking about Mutant Enemy in smart ways. I find the navigation of the site to be difficult to figure out, but if you can manage it, I think some of the best discussion about Angel going on today is going on there.

+ I'm sure that everyone who cares already knows, but for those of you living under rocks, the WB has decided that they aren't renewing Angel. David Greenwalt reacts, and Joss himself posts to the Bronze Beta boards.

+ My opinion on the subject: I'm heartbroken. I fell in love with BtVS first, but as soon as I found AtS, I knew it was my show more than Buffy ever would be. I can't believe that this is happening, that this has happened, just as I was finally beginning to find a pattern in this season, something to follow through the rest of the episode. I don't think there's anything we will be able to do, but that's not going to stop my from trying. (And I didn't say anything earlier because, you know, drugged up and all that. Everything I said was completely incoherent. I'm feeling much better today.)

+ If you feel like I do, _green_ has icons, you can sign a petition to save the show, and, of course, there's always RenewAngel.Com.

+ A complete listing of people to write to and complain.

Community Pimp!
+ troyicons. So I don't even want to bother pretending about this movie: there's going to be a fandom, and it's going to be enormous. Get ahead of the game with this one; there are already some lovely icons up there.

Random Crap I Found On The Internet:
+ I'm not sure if this goes in "Fic Recs" or "Fandom" or "Random Crap I Found On The Internet", so I decided in favor of the section with the fewest links: prillalar has created a Drabble-Matic that makes random Valentine's Day drabbles with a little help from you. It's a fucking riot; definitely go check it out.

+ The George W. Bush Conspiracy Generator. My personal favorite that I created: George W. Bush caused the Cubs to lose to the Marlins in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series so that The Jews, Ann Coulter, white men, and the Christian Coalition could invade The French.

+ Les Triplettes de Belleville icons. Really makes me want to see the movie now.

+ More icons from jess79: Elizabeth icons, gorgeous as always.