( Dear non-denominational Yuletide present giver )

ETA: I have a preschooler who has finally figured out the holidays and so first thing Christmas morning I will be caught up in a frenzy of "wheee presents" and family. I probably won't have time to read the story and give proper feedback until the afternoon, for which I apologize.

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Tags: yuletide

( Here are some resources )

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Tags: yuletide

Our cross-the-street neighbors' son, who is in his freshman year of college, just came out as trans. Her mom just came by to let us know - they're telling the neighborhood, so people already know when she comes home for the holidays as a girl (she's been on hormones since March). Her father and sister are very not okay with it, and her mother is trying and doing a pretty good job but having a really hard time (bless her).

I was going to offer her the sanctuary of our house if she needs to get away; anything else you guys can think of that a well-meaning neighbor could do for either a young transwoman or her family that would be helpful? We're close-ish with the family, but mainly the mom and sister; the son has always been a very quiet, reserved person. Her mom has books, but her father and sister are in denial and refusing to read them. I don't have any non-fannish friends who are trans, so I'm not super-familiar with the non-virtual etiquette of any of this.

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Tags: stuff:information & queries

Now that I am signed up for Yuletide, I get to change my default icon.

...This is quite possibly the most awesome thing that has happened to me all day, for scale.

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Tags: personal:whining, yuletide

Is there, like, a podfic 101 comm for people thinking about recording podfic? I have a MacBook and a reasonable reading voice, and I'd like to record some stuff - not podfic, but I assume the same tech applies. I'd love to be able to not only record, but edit, without paying through the nose for software.

I promise to share the results, if and when I actually manage to create some!

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Tags: stuff:information & queries

Dear Top Chef contestants,

Let me tell you something about vegetarian food.

It tastes better with fat. And protein. And if you don't have a protein, you'd damn well better have a starch.

Did Natalie Portman tell you that she was allergic to soy, nuts, and all types of grain? Was there a brief that the viewers missed, that you could only use vegetables, oils, and spices? Because seriously, what was that horse food you served those poor people?

I was a vegetarian for fourteen years and I still eat (and cook) that way much of the time. There are so many things you can do, even if what she meant was that she was vegan. There are soy products (tempeh, tofu, TVP), nut butters, pastas, beans of a million kinds - and we got one dish that used lentils and another with a couple of garbanzos. There are seeds, tahini, coconut milk, avocados, all of which add tasty fats. There are five million kinds of rice and other grains - and I know there was a polenta in there, so why not other grain dishes? What about bread, for chrissake?

I saw only one or two dishes on that table I would have wanted to eat, and none that I would have wanted to pay for. It's dinner, people. If you can't have a meat protein, find something else of substance. There are whole cuisines that are built on a mainly vegetarian base of dishes - southern Indian, northern Indian, Chinese, various African cuisines - and more (Greek, Korean, Mexican, Thai) that have distinctive flavor profiles that work beautifully with vegetarian dishes. Okay, it's a steakhouse, which probably limited the options quite a bit, but not that much.

I could swear there was butter in at least one of those sauces, too, and I think I even saw egg in the sauce on one of the asparagus spears, so if she's ovo-lacto vegetarian and not vegan, that opens up the possibilities even further. Cheeses! Butter! Yoghurts! Cream! Eggs! Most of which would be stocked at a steakhouse! Seriously, the possibilities are, if not endless, certainly varied and palate-pleasing. (ETA: The judges confirm on their blogs that there was a whole restaurant of ingredients available, some brought in especially for the challenge, and that use of dairy, eggs, grains, legumes, etc. was encouraged.)

...and the contestants came up with vegetables. And purees.

I have never been so disappointed by the food I have seen served on a Top Chef episode. Ugh.

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Tags: thoughts:television

( I've been thinking a lot about the difference between contentment and happiness, lately. )

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Tags: personal:navel lint, thoughts:general

Feel free to discuss in comments, though I'm at work and can't engage.

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I still watch the show, but last season and the current season in Canada aren't grabbing me. I think I like the beginnings best, though the Australian seasons have been excellent throughout; once the chaff is gone and it's anyone's game, I care less who wins. God knows that at least half of the top ten in most of the past seasons have deserved to.

( Top 20 predictions - ETA: 10/12, 83%. B. )

I am hungry, but nothing sounds good to eat. Ugh.

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You guys, I am so ill and exhausted and worn down. This has been a rough motherfucking week, and the brightest spot in it has been all the kind things you all said on that love meme. I am ... blown away. I plan to print that out and save it for dark days like these in future, when I can pull it out as the world crumbles and I crumble along with it and think that if even a small percentage of that is true, it can't be as bad as I think. I would normally do individual thanks, to those responses and those of you who have sent email and other messages, but I am, if not out of spoons, so low on them that I am conserving them to get through the basics of my work day and family life. So just know that I am deeply, deeply grateful for all of you and your wonderful responses. Thank you so much.

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Tags: gratitude

I have never done this before, but I had an awful, awful, awful day today - I've been crying for the last couple of hours, off and on - and I could really use some love. So I'm at misspamela's love meme, over here.

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Tags: stuff:memes

Also, I figured out last night in a fit of insomnia why Australian reality TV is so much better than U.S. reality TV.

I should preface this by saying, I'm talking about the specific kind of reality TV I watch, which involves people who are good at things learning how to do them better/learning to do new things/doing them under new constraints and conditions. So I pretty much watch So You Think You Can Dance, Project Runway, and Top Chef, and I watch all available versions, which for the first two means Canada, Australia, and the U.S.

And Australia's versions are far and away superior. I hear Australian Idol is more awesome than American Idol, too. No offense to any of the individual contestants, of course, but it seems clear after watching that Australia casts their reality shows for talent first, and then edits to let the personalities shine through. Whereas U.S. reality TV casts for personality over talent, and then uses the editing (and judging) process to overhype the talent levels of the contestants.

DISCUSS.

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@ library in next town over, waiting to hear mistful read, yay!

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So before my meds were adjusted and I started being able to cope with my life again I went through a phase where all I did was read Harry Potter epics. These aren't the only ones I read, but they're the only ones I have summarized at this point. Enjoy!

• Reparo, by amalin. Harry/Draco, R. A long, canon-compliant story that takes place at Hogwarts. Angry and sweet and awkward and stupid, just like teenage boys, and fucked-up in a very post-war way.
  
• Earthbound Spook. by cest_what. Harry/Draco, PG-13. A great sixth-book AU, long and emotionally complex and even a bit plotty and satisfying. Draco returns from the dead - sort of. Except this Draco has decidedly different memories of his life...
  
• For the Public Good, by blamebrampton. Harry/Draco, PG-13. Harry and Draco, undercover in the English Muggle government, trying to stop an anonymous wizard who seems bent on exposing the wizarding world ... well, they're trying in between lunches and sexuality crises, anyway. The snark and Britishness of this felt very real and down-to-earth to me, and the antagonist, who seems a bit silly, turns out to have a real rationale that is kind of thought-provoking. Nicely done.
  
• Harry Potter and the Inconvenient Condition, by mirabellawotr. Harry/Draco, R. In which Harry accidentally comes down with a bad case of vampirism, and it looks like Draco is going to be made to suffer for it. Well, if you want to call that suffering. Ahem.
  
• Homecoming, by novembersnow. Harry/Draco, NC-17. Malfoy's at Hogwarts, teaching DADA. Harry's marriage with Ginny is breaking apart (nicely done - no bashing) and he goes to be a guest lecturer for two weeks. The emotional arc of this was a little too quick and clean, but satisfying in a romantic way, and I quite enjoyed it.
  
• currency, by byblythe. Harry/Draco, NC-17. Harry is a stockbroker with erratic magic. Draco is an experienced wandmaker. The tone of this story is uinque and delightful, and the pace of it is great as well. I was charmed throughout.
  
• The Years That Walk Between, by femmequixotic. Draco/Snape, Harry/Draco, NC-17, Not a simple feel-good story, but a very, very canon-compliant one, which is hard to do after Book 7. This is a romance, but it's a romance built around deaths and mutual grief.
  
• Snakes and Ladders, by alvira. Harry/Draco, PG-13. A great futurefic that was written between books five and six and is Draco-centric. Kidfic with a freakishly mature and unflappable eleven-year-old, but a charming one, and if it ends a bit abruptly, well, it's fun getting there.
  
• Möbius, by geneticallydead. Harry/Snape, NC-17. Bittersweet, painful and wonderfully done - Harry Potter and Severus Snape after the war. And before it. And after it. Etc.
  
• The Simple Joy of Living, by mahaliem. Harry/Draco, R. Hilarious, delightful, plotty, and fun! This is what all the long H/D stories should be like. A slightly fanon Draco and a pretty random antagonist, but lots and lots of fun.

Enjoy, and fanperson the authors if you like the stories.

And hey, all you folks who have been patiently waiting for your Sweet Charity cinnamon rolls, it is finally less than 100° out here, like for the first time in months, so I'll get right on that now.

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Tags: [recs], [recs]:harry potter

( Draft text of rarelit_bigbang userinfo/rules/timeline for comment )

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Okay, so there's some interest. Now let's do this all official-like (x-posting to rarelitslash and rarelitfic this time). If you responded to the first post, please ticky anyway. Ticky does not obligate you; I'll form an actual comm, etc. when the time comes to sign up for real. Please feel free to signal-boost!


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Tags: stuff:information & queries

If I ran a rarelit big bang, would you write for it?

I'd probably start up in January, as I expect yuletide madness to descend upon us at any moment.

Pick a lit-based fandom, any lit-based fandom (except, what, Harry Potter and LOTR, are there any other large book-based fandoms?) and write 20,000 words. Crossovers/fusions okay as long as the litverse/characters are primary. We'd pretty much have to go begging for art or soundtracks after the fact, but I bet we could get something for everyone.

So, would you write for it? What might you write? Comment and let me know. Okay *deep breath* Official interest polling now happening here!

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Tags: stuff:information & queries

I am all twitchy and ARGH and nothing is capturing my interest and I can't focus on anything and I feel like crap and if I don't bleed soon (and that goddamn fly that is buzzing around the room doesn't DIE) I may just bring on a small, localized apocalypse of some sort. Here, have some Merlin recs. All Arthur/Merlin.

• Onfindan, by astolat. R. Merlin's magic gets a little out of control. It leads to Arthur finding out some things he shouldn't, and doing some things he couldn't have otherwise, and that leads to a whole thing of its own, and now Merlin has to go to boring council meetings.
  
• Quickening Days, by mercurial_wit. R. Every fandom needs a "Groundhog Day" story, and this is a classic example of one. Morgana's dreams are holding a day in a loop and only Merlin, Arthur, and Gaius realize it.
  
• Be Resigned, by franticsga. NC-17. Awesome Air Force AU. Some major inconsistencies and what feels like a missing chapter in there, but still very enjoyable, like a GK/Merlin crossover somehow. And hot hot HOT sex scenes, holy shit.
  
• August, by rageprufrock. R. In which Arthur accompanies Merlin on a visit to Ealdor, and is set to doing many odd jobs around Hunith's house. The usual revelation, of course, and some lovely rolling around in a country fashion, and then home.
  
• Damsel in Distress, by thehoyden. PG-13. The dragon makes them do it! Well, okay, a dragon makes them do it, and it's less like "makes" than "suggests" but this whole thing is hilarious and an excellent example of the "external force as yenta" storyline.
  
• The Trouble With Unicorns, by astolat. NC-17. Seriously lovely. The premise is ridiculous but the sex is incendiary and the whole thing manages to be sweet at the same time.
  
• No Magic Necessary, by mskatej. MC-17. This is non-con, the sort that turns into consent, which I usually have trouble with but was able to handwave here. Serious abuses of power - and seriously hot first-blowjob description. PWP.
  
• In Want of a Wife, by syllic. NC-17. This is enjoyable, despite stretching the misunderstanding and angst near the end in fairly cliched ways. I like Merlin seeing Arthur the prince, and re-evaluating how he has seen him all along, and I like Arthur's year of indulgence.
  
• Needlework, by zarathuse. PG-13. This is a not entirely smooth story, but one I enjoyed for its combination of snark and creepy old-myth gruesomeness. Warning for necrophilia, sort of, but not really, if that helps.
  
• We're a Storm in Somebody Else's Teacup, by paperclipbitch. R. A really, really delightful modern day urban fantasy AU that avoids all the things that make urban fantasy suck as a genre. Keeps canon while making it stronger and better; the Merlin in this is a deeply sympathetic and human Merlin, the other characters are awesome - to the point where it's really more of an ensemble story than anything - and the plot is riveting.

Enjoy, and fanperson the authors if you like the stories. Me, I am going to go pick my kid up from preschool and try to find something to do with us that is distracting enough that my crankiness is less discernable.

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Tags: [recs], [recs]:merlin

These are my very favorite sets to put together, and this one is a great one. So many good stories! So many good authors! Seriously very happymaking, and I hope they make you happy too.

• Arcadia: By Nature Desire To Know, by byblythe. Ensemble, G. How can anyone write such funny, flowing, note-perfect Arcadia fic? I stand in awe. Mind you, I'm not sure it adds a great deal to or re-interprets canon, but that's more necessary for me in flawed fandoms, whereas here I want "more like canon," and that's exactly what this is - it is incredibly enjoyable and delightfully Stoppardian.
  
• Belgariad/Mallorean: Lousy With Politics, by lindensphinx. Just a tiny little story of how Silk met Bethra. I love Silk, and when he's well-done, he's really, really delightful. As he is here. And Bethra, it's lovely to see more of Bethra.
  
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead: One Time After Another, by inkandkarma. Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, G. A nice sort of "five times they did things differently and one time they didn't" setup, in prose but nicely executed prose. Short and enjoyable but bittersweet.
  
• Vorkosigan Saga: A Place to Stand, by lightgetsin. Miles/Gregor, PG. So very well-done. This is part of the larger Deeper Season 'verse, but you don't need to have read that to understand this, because Miles and Gregor are very perfectly their canon selves, despite the non-canonical established relationship. This is a little mystery story in perfect Bujold style, and plotty and political in all the best ways.
  
• Hamlet: Fine Revolution, by gileonnen. A stunning, brief Hamlet future AU that packs a world - and a world of love and heartbreak - into a very short space. Striking; why isn't there more like this?
  
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay: The World's Fair, by fourteencandles. Sammy, Joe/Rosa G. Just a great, in-character snippet of what comes After the end of the book (spoilery, natch). The feel of this is just right, and the title tells you what you need to know - it's a fix-it, but a good one.
  
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Abracadabra, by Lyricality. Charlie/Wonka, PG. A grown-up Charlie and a Wonka who is more mature, and more damaged, than he shows anyone else. I love that the factory is perfectly as it is in this story, but that the way they are together has...not settled, because it's still clearly a little unsettling, but it's changed and grown. Technically based on the Depp movie version, but IMHO not version-dependent.
  
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead: dry bones can harm no-one, by little_lady_d. Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, PG. I've recced this author before, but she's improved since then; better capitalization and grammar (still a few minor issues) and better flow. It's hard to capture the sense of R&G in prose, and this is more pretty and wistful and sweet (and slightly more pretentious, but not awfully so) than Stoppard's, but still recognizably them.
  
• Brideshead Revisited: Transubstantiation, by athousandwinds. Charles/Sebastian, R. I haven't read the canon (I know, I know) but this is obviously an incredibly well-done story The first time I ever relaxed my guard enough to get drunk with Sebastian – that is to say, not the first time I drank with him, nor the first time he got drunk with me – was some weeks after we met.
  
• Calvin and Hobbes: Theories About Nuclear Winter, by hollycomb. Calvin/Susie, PG. This is perfect. I already insta-recced it, but if you missed it the first time, run don't walk to read it now.

Enjoy, and if you like the stories, fanperson the authors!

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Tags: [recs], [recs]:rarelit, [recs]:rarelit:r&g are dead, [recs]:rarelit:shakespeare, [recs]:rarelit:vorkosigan

Just an appetizer of some of the earlier stories I read in the Star Trex Reboot fandom. More to come, oh, someday, but they were piling up and I thought I'd share. In the Reboot universe, I have pairings I prefer (Spock/Uhura, Kirk/McCoy, Sulu/Chekov) but I can be seduced by anything properly well-written, so there's a smattering of everything, including (gasp!) gen in this set.

• Lunch and Other Obscenities, by rheanna. Gaila, Uhura, PG. Awesome story about roommates and homesickness and cultural misunderstandings. Really, really fun and well-done and sweet.
  
• Smirk, by theonlytwin. Spock/Kirk/Uhura, PG-13. Threesome of adorableness and win, in which Kirk insinuates himself into the relationship so well that they barely notice...well, I mean, they notice, but they don't quite realize...
  
• Even If You Fall , by helensfic. Sulu/Kirk, NC-17. This is a sweet little bit of midnight porn, for a pairing that hadn't occurred to me but which I find, upon reflection, that I like very much.
  
• Ad Astra, by taraljc. Spock/Uhura, PG-13. Keeps the timeline of the movie's end perfectly, but gives us Spock POV and a much more detailed view of what happened off-screen. So wonderful.
  
• and you take me the way i am, by londondrowning. Kirk/Mccoy, R. Girl!McCoy and on-target characterization for both her and Kirk. A little first-time story, no plot or anything, but fun.
  
• Trouble Sleeping, by hollycomb. Sulu/Chekov, R. I am not sure how this has crept into being one of my favorite pairings (hollycomb may have had something to do with that), but it has - and this is hot and sweet and visceral in all the right ways. It makes an unusual pairing believable.
  
• A Formal Dance in the Bowling Alley, by loneraven. Ensemble, G. Sweetly adorable and charmingly funny ensemble gen, with great characterization and a nice sense of the developing relationships and community aboard the Enterprise.
  
• Sugar, by raggedann. Sulu/Chekov, R. Squirmingly hot PWP with a Chekov who loves nothing more than sucking cock. It's written with a desperate edge to the need that is hot hot hot.
  
• Search and Rescue, by seven_crows. Spock, McCoy, Kirk, PG. Just a fun little romp in which Spock and McCoy save Jim on an alien planet. A little more TOS than XI, but I enjoyed it.
  
• Agreement, by stewardess. Uhura/Spock/Kirk, R. A lovely, logical post-movie threesome story. This triangle doesn't work for me most of the time, but here, it did.
  
• How to Win Friends and Influence Vulcans, by green. Kirk, Spock, G. In which Kirk pursues Spock with clumsy, puppyish fervor, thereby freaking him right the hell out, in a Vulcan kind of way. But he gets his best friend.
  
• Ten Sessions, by dsudis. Kirk, McCoy, G. A great story about McCoy's fear of flying and his weak spot for Jim. Jim, in this, is a little clueless in a very perceptive way, if that's possible, and their friendship is beautifully shown.

Enjoy, and fanperson the authors if you like the stories.

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Tags: [recs], [recs]:star trek reboot