thefourthvine | Slashy Nominations 132: And Ivan Makes...Um. A Number Greater Than Two, Anyway.

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Slashy Nominations 132: And Ivan Makes...Um. A Number Greater Than Two, Anyway.

Well. This has been a revelation.

Last week, after much consultation with y'all, I decided what iPod to get for Best Beloved. (The video iPod, if you're curious. Best Beloved likes lots of storage space.) I went to the online Apple store, put a bunch of stuff in a shopping cart, and checked out. As I am a human being with functioning brain cells, I of course immediately made a note of every single number Apple gave me, including what I suspect is Steve Jobs's inseam size, and I also carefully inspected their predicted wait-until-shipping and shipping times, making a mental note that, since they were saying 5 to 7 days to ship and then 5 days for it to get here, I should send my first, polite email inquiry on November 15.

Except. And this is the part that is so amazing to me I can hardly stand it. The iPod is already here. It came on Monday. Yes: I purchased something computer-ish that came early. And it came with the latest version of its software - no need to download patches large enough to contain every book ever written in English! It came with all the right connectors and cords! I plugged it in and it just started working!

It was weird.

Obviously, it's early days yet - Ivan the iPod could still prove to be severely broken or just plain evil, and I could still spend the next several weeks exchanging email with a whole slew of people in India who will not even read what I have to say before linking me to an irrelevant website and thanking me sincerely for my business. Or it could prove that iTunes has compromised our desktop's integrity, installed a cloaked rootkit, and sent all our personal information, including bank account numbers and humiliating childhood nicknames, to the residents of Folsom State Prison. But that hasn't happened so far, which is already a minor consumer miracle. The iPod has been in the house for days and I have not even needed the Knowledge Base yet.

About an hour ago, as I was wistfully reflecting on how much I suddenly want an iPod of my own, I thought: Wow. If only these people made computers..

Thank you all; you told me what to buy, and you were exactly right. The wisdom of the friends list (greater than the sum of its parts, which was already a very large number, let me tell you) has prevailed again. What with your help and Apple's shockingly non-violent attitude towards consumers, this has been a completely painless, nearly fun shopping experience. (Did I mention that I got free shipping? That got the iPod and all its add-ons here before it was due? With everything I ordered right there, as though I had a right to these things simply because I paid for them? Whereas I am, for example, still struggling to get Amazon to disgorge an item I purchased nearly a month ago, which was supposed to be in my hands last week but will not be here until - if I am lucky - my birthday. With no promise made about which birthday. And I will not even talk about the many joyous conversations I've had with Amazon's contractors in India on this topic, except to note that I've spent so much time corresponding with Neetu and Srividhya that I feel we should be sending each other holiday cards. Especially as I suspect I also chatted with Neetu about my Dell not too long ago.)

So I'm expressing my thanks with recs. (Which is, yes, how I express pretty much everything in this LJ.) Today: family stories. Because, hey, iPods are family members, right? Join me in celebrating Ivan's arrival (OMG early) with this truly excellent fan fiction.

Can I get a yay?

Best Moose-Free Story Containing Surprising Links to a Moose-Intensive One with Which It Has Nothing Else in Common. The Water Moon, by Salieri, aka

troyswann. Stargate: SG-1, and this is pretty much gen. There's mention of Teal'c/Drey'auc, but since they were canonically married, I don't think that exactly qualifies this as het. Because this story? Is so not about romance. It's about what comes after the romance, the marriage, the breakup, the dissolution, and it's about the way Teal'c's (eeesh, that possessive looks awful) choices and sacrifices have affected the people he loves. I love what Salieri does with the character of Drey'auc here. I'm totally unfamiliar with her canon appearances, of course, but I doubt that in them she has time to be anything like this, well, real. But that's why we love fan fiction, right? Equal time for lesser characters! (Our motto: proud to be forming whole pairing armies around characters who don't have canonical last names. Or first names. Or sexes. Hell, we can make a kerfluffle-ready pairing out of half a footnote and an unofficial spoiler.) Drey'auc is painfully human (okay, or Jaffa) in this story; she's in a bad situation that she didn't create, and she's making some very tough choices. There's also a wonderful original character in this, and while we're on that topic? Disturbing themes, people. This is a fabulous story, but it pulls no punches. Which is why I find it fascinating that the beginning of it comes from Salieri's silly, fun, moose-based Elvis Has Left the Building. As she says, this shows what context will do to you.

Best FF That Demonstrates Once Again That Evil Lurks in the Ocean. Do Not Trust the Shellfish: He Does Not Have Your Best Interests in His Squishy, Primitive Heart. Inheritance, by Dasha. The Sentinel, gen. No, wait! Come back! I know lots of people find the concept of Sentinel gen hilariously unappealing, like watery cheese or balloon animals. But, see, I like it. And you should, too. There, I've said it: you should read Sentinel gen, even though the show itself was apparently not really all that gen, judging from the vids. Because, see, there are aspects of the whole senses thing that are legitimately fascinating, in a way that makes me wish that TS had been written by other people. And, okay, I really have no idea what is canonically up with Jim's family, except that he is yet another character in the long line of them, stretching all the way back to, for example, Zeus, who has major daddy issues. Those things are like the plague, baby; they're everywhere. Which, um, makes me think of this, which I will put behind a cut for all our sakes:

Jim sits in a bar, having a beer. Another cop sits down beside him and orders a triple.

Jim: Tough day?
Other Cop: Yeah. [sighs] I had to deal with my father.
Jim: I hear that.
OC, eying Jim thoughtfully, because ordinary cops don't talk like that: It was the same thing as always. He's telling me what to do, he's telling me what to think. Does he ever tell me he's proud of me? No. Does he tell me he loves me? No.
Jim: Never. Not once. And he doesn't like my friends. Or the, uh, person I'm dating. Or my job.
OC: Shit yes. I'm like, I'm protecting the innocent! Preventing crime! Isn't that what you raised me to do? But he's all pissed I won't do it his way.
Jim: Yeah. My father, too. Though in his case I think it's the wealth and the CEO thing coming out.
OC: Hey, mine too. Totally the head of a company, totally treats me like an employee the half of the time he remembers my name. Jesus, it's like we have the same father.
Jim: You know, for all my father tells me? We could be fucking twins, you and me. He doesn't ever talk to me.
OC: Yes. Would it kill him to say three words to me? Like, I don't know, 'How are you?' or something?
Jim: Exactly. [pause] So. I'm Jim Ellison, Cascade PD, I'm in town for the whole Policing in the Twenty-First Century thing.
OC, shaking his hand: Dick Grayson, Bludhaven PD. Likewise. Good to meet you. [eyes Jim thoughtfully] So, Jim. how are you with spandex?)

See, this is why it's better not to think about the Bruce-and-Dick = father-and-son thing. Takes the brain to unhappy places. (And speaking of unhappy places - OMG, Blair could never wear a Robin suit. Don't even try to picture it, because you will be sorry.)

But getting back to this story - see, this is the Ellison family trying to enjoy a nice day out. But, no - they can't have nice things. They have to have intergenerational strife. And vomiting. I love this story for the Stephen point of view, the explanation of William's asinine behavior in re: the senses, and for the appearance of highly competent Sandburg. It's brilliant. It's compelling. It's the series the way it should've been written. Plus, just like the series, you can totally assume Jim and Blair are doing it. So, please - won't you try some Sentinel gen today?

Best FF That Teaches You About Ass Words. And Also the True Meaning of Family. Try Beating That Combination, People. My Claustrophobia and My Letter 'O', by

julianlee. Scrubs, J.D./Dr. Cox. Okay, fine. All you people who said Scrubs was wonderful, you win. Best Beloved is watching it, and apparently it's good enough that soon I'll be watching it, too. So. You got your way. Happy? Good. Now write some damn Scrubs stories. How can the show be as slashy AND as funny as Best Beloved reports and not have more FF than this? Although, you know, what's there is choice, and these stories are fine examples of that. They are wonderful (yes, even as wonderful as Katharine Hepburn). And that's no surprise; Julian Lee writes great stuff, especially in what I have come to think of as the Dialog Fandoms (Sports Night, The West Wing, etc.), and Scrubs is apparently just such a fandom. The family connection does not actually come into this until the second story, which is an odd kind of familyfic, since it's about J.D.'s odd new family. But anticipation will only make it better, right? And in the first one you'll learn about ass words, so that's all right. And then in the second one you'll read a scene that I believe - although my studies have been necessarily limited because of a tragic lack of FF in this fandom - could only work in a Scrubs story. (I'm serious. I've been trying to imagine any other character ever doing it, and it's - really scary, people.) So read these. You have nothing to lose but your composure, and everything to gain. Ass words included.

Best FF That Makes Me Go All Wistful and Goopy over Numbers. Apparently, in My Secret Heart of Hearts, I Think Prime Numbers Are Just Adorable. Small Primes and Square Roots, by

liviapenn. Stargate: Atlantis, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay. I think I fell in love with this story before I read it. Seriously. The title alone did it. Except, you know how it is; you start out loving something - cookies, a fandom, your new socks - to the point where you would even confess to loving it in public ("Socks! I love you!"), and then later - maybe after you've eaten a few more or read some FF or actually put them on - you realize that what you felt before wasn't even love. That's what happened to me with this. Because the title is excellent, yes, but that's - whoa. I was going to say, "That's only the beginning," but fortunately I caught myself in time. My point is: this is an excellent story. It's kidfic - we all know of my love for kidfic, right? - and it's from the Harlequin challenge - and we all know of my love for those stories, right? - and, hell. I can't say anymore. I'm afraid of, you know, spoiling it. Oh! But I can say that Rodney is so incredibly Rodney in this it's surprising he doesn't climb out of the page and off the screen and stomp around your living room calling you an idiot for wasting your time on fiction when you could be learning something. And also, couldn't you find something better to be a fan of? Like Star Trek or Penrose tiling or Richard Feynman? But the answer is (sorry, Rodney) no, you could not, because anything that produces fan fiction this good, is by definition, the best thing ever. (Also - the kid in this? I love this kid. Why wasn't I this kid?)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah yes, Small Primes and Square Roots was adorable! I loved that story :)

It's a wonderful story.

Yay, you're going to watch Scrubs! I think most people would be more inclined to write fic for that show if there were someone to *read* it.

The last time I recommended Scrubs fic, loads of people were violently enthused. Most of them had no idea such a thing existed in any form anywhere. I think the audience is there.

So...does this mean that you will be writing Scrubsfic?

Me? I'm always scared of trying to get the voices right, but I've considered it.

I think you could do it, and do it well. You write distinctive voices very well, especially in the Dialog Fandoms. And you're comfortable (or, okay, I don't know that you're comfortable, but you use it a lot and you're good at it, so...) in the writing style and format you'd probably want to use. The only question marks in my mind are the excursions into fantasy and the crazy, both of which are so very distinctively weird in Scrubs fic that I don't think it's possible to know if you could do it based on writing in other fandoms.

But wouldn't it be fun to find out?

If it would help with the voice issue - I'd be willing to beta, and I'm usually good at getting voices right and better at hearing (well, reading) when they're off. (Obviously, if you want me to do a close voice beta, it would have to wait until I'd seen enough of the canon to *acquire* the voices. But that gives you time to write! And this gives me reason to come to grips with actually watching the show!)

*looks hopeful*

:) Well, if you're going to *enourage* me...

I don't have any time right now, with exams and Yuletide and the other holiday challenges I signed up for, but after all this craziness I might try to write something. I have been watching the show pretty much every day lately, and there's better way to pick up the voices.

So have you ordered your new computer yet? What are you getting? I need to know, so I can fantasize more about replacing my nearly 3 year old TiBook!

Yay Apple! Apple *rocks*!

So have you ordered your new computer yet?

I didn't say I was actually buying a computer. I can't. For one thing, I just got a new laptop. And isn't it wrong to have PCs and Apples in the same house? Don't they fight to the death or something if they're in the same area? I swear I read about that somewhere.

I might buy an iPod though.

I will very likely buy an iPod.

*admires Ivan the iPod*

Because I am inherently lazy... can you tell me what iPod you bought? Like, is there an item number or something? And what add-ons and stuff did you get that you felt were worthwhile and/or necessary?

We're getting ready to go down this road, and since you had such a good experience, I may just piggy back! :)

We have an Apple store very nearby, so I imagine I can go there instead of ordering online, but I find the array (especially of the add-ons) dizzying, and would like to be able to go in with some specifics already in mind!

I went here (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wo/StoreReentry.wo?family=iPod) and bought the video iPod; 30 gigs or 60 gigs, up to you. I went with 30 gigs because I was worried about size, but, um, the thing is teeny. It is much smaller than Best Beloved's handheld, like less than half the size. So if I did it again, I'd go with the 60 gigs. At that size, you can use the iPod as a backup for a lot of your media files, even if you have a giant honking vid collection or downloaded eps.

I picked the black face (by clicking on the black button at the link above); it seemed inherently sleeker, somehow. I warn you, though, all the accessories are white, so if that's going to irk you, go with white. I think the contrast is kind of cool.

I chose to use the free engraving service to put the iPod's name on the back. (I think you're actually supposed to put your own name and maybe a phone number in case it's ever lost, but Best Beloved did not want that.)

Then I bought:

The Universal dock (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70108/wo/iU1j22k34CjE2ge0c2A7ULFfGhx/4.SLID?mco=17DFF41A&nplm=MA045G%2FA). If you're going to hook your iPod up to your TV or speakers or whatever, you'll need this.
iPod socks (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70108/wo/iU1j22k34CjE2ge0c2A7ULFfGhx/6.SLID?mco=54021751&nplm=M9720G%2FA). This is the coolest concept ever. Socks! For your iPod! (I. Um. Really like socks, and, you know, these are teeny and sleek and colorful, and I just...I'm very pro-sock, and this meets my sock needs. Ivan prefers the purple one. When I have my own iPod, maybe I can learn to knit iPod socks!) Plus, there aren't a lot of cases available right now, since the video iPod is so new; more are coming out every day. So the socks make a good stopgap until you know what kind of case you want (just for the iPod or for the iPod and all its accessories, hard or soft, etc.).
A car charger (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70108/wo/iU1j22k34CjE2ge0c2A7ULFfGhx/5.SLID?mco=C11DA52C&nplm=T7957LL%2FA), since Best Beloved will be using Ivan mostly for commuting. You might instead want to go with the dual charger (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70108/wo/iU1j22k34CjE2ge0c2A7ULFfGhx/19.SLID?mco=922F7557&nplm=TA351LL%2FB), which allows you to charge your iPod at home (in a socket; otherwise, you'll charge it via a USB port on your computer) or in the car. I didn't go with this because we have large dogs, and they have highly active tails, and said tails are very very hard on things plugged into outlets. Best for Ivan to be charged in the car or on the computer for us.
A tape adaptor (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70108/wo/iU1j22k34CjE2ge0c2A7ULFfGhx/5.SLID?mco=48649446&nplm=T4332LL%2FA). See, there's a lot of FM adaptors, but everyone told me that a) they're hard to tune b) they don't stay tuned - every time you enter a valley or whatever, you have to re-tune the thing and c) they're hard to use in a place with lots of radio stations. We live in Southern California. Best Beloved drives through a canyon on the way to work. Not a good fit. So I picked the tape adaptor, which is working well. Obviously, you can only use this if you have a tape deck in your car. Our reluctance to embrace new technology is finally paying off!
The Apple Care (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/71301/wo/Bh3Je8unFRd02TAbZBSW0Fvs83B/4.0.17.1.0.8.9.3.1.3.1) insurance thingy.

I also bought a remote, but that hasn't been as useful; I'm thinking it probably will be after we hook up our speakers. But I wouldn't advise buying one just yet.

So that's the basic car-commute set. There's another set I'm assembling for home audio; if you like, I can tell you about that one if or when I buy it. And if you're thinking in terms of exercise, especially running or whatever, you might want to go with the Nano instead.

*thinks*

I believe that's everything. So, are you persuaded?

I believe that's everything. So, are you persuaded?

I'll be in my bunk. ;)

YES! YES! YES! I'm persuaded.

I never thought of myself as much of a technogeek, but I want this. And a laptop with wireless internet. And a PDA I could download fic and vids to so I could read them on the fly.

I want it all, baby.

Thank you SO much for the comprehensive report! I very much appreciate it!

Um... there are ways to download text files to iPods. It's not as pretty as something like iSilo (which runs on the Palm OS and correctly displays HTML coding, including italics and pictures and fun stuff like that), but it should still be readable. Here's a piece of software to handle the conversion on Windows machines; this one's for Macs. Both of them are freeware.

(Not that I'm trying to tempt you or anything.... :-)

Thanks for the info! :)

It's fun to see what all these gadgets are capable of! :)

And a PDA I could download fic and vids to so I could read them on the fly.

terrio has already pointed out the options for reading fic on iPods. And if you get the video iPod, you can of course also watch vids there (and I'd way recommend that over a handheld; iPods have much more storage and are less, um, finicky). Of course, iPods don't have wireless or bluetooth, but if you get a laptop with those and a video iPod, it seems to me you'd be pretty much set.

*tempts*

*tempts*

::tempted::

iPod yay!

And I love Small Primes and Square Roots so much. It's like the fiction equivalent of a warm bath - deeply satisfying and relaxing and leaving you happy afterwards. So perfect!

I suddenly feel the need for an iPod icon, even.

It's like the fiction equivalent of a warm bath - deeply satisfying and relaxing and leaving you happy afterwards.

Is it just me, or is SGA especially good at dishing these up? I mean, we have our angst and our deathfic and our OMG THE PAIN fic, but we also seem to have a disproportionate number of warm bath stories. (Which, btw, is the perfect term, and I am therefore totally stealing it. Fannish magpie at work!) Of course, we also have a disproportionate number of penguin stories and genderswitch stories, so maybe it's just that the SGA fandom motto is, "If a thing's worth doing, it's worth overdoing, and even that might not be enough."

It is a wonderful fandom full of stories that make me deeply happy. I reckon it's a fandom full of people who get story ideas, and go, 'Hey, why the hell not', and do so in response to other people's fics as well as to everything else. A memeish fandom, in a way.

Which, btw, is the perfect term, and I am therefore totally stealing it. Fannish magpie at work!
Feel free! I've actually been trying to put that into words ever since I first read that story, which was shortly after it was posted - I was all, 'I must rec this! But how to sum it up properly?' And only just now have I found the warm bath metaphor. After that much thinking, it better get some use. *g*

pssst! see here for small scrubs fic thing of crack!

*whimpers*

Okay, see, this is not fair. It's ficteasing! Because, see, it was a fabulous snippet, but even though I laughed, I knew I was missing the best part of the joke. I don't speak Firefly and had to cast around for what Simon that might've been. (My first idea, to give you some idea, was Simon Drew (Dark Is Rising). Yikes.)

*whines pathetically*

(But even with my handicap, I appreciated what you were doing, and it's good crack. It's just that it's only half my brand, damn it.)

Oh, I"m sorry! But, if I my dangle the bait enticingly, Firefly is a simple fandom to aquire, consistig of only twelve shows and a movie.

A-men and Hal-lelujah!

Hee.

Congratulations on the addition to your family! Many happy...iPods? I don't know. :-D

*testifies*

And I think Miss Manners would advocate a simple, "May your tribe increase and your dominion expand to encompass all the earth" in this sort of situation. (Actually, that works surprisingly well in almost any setting. Try saying it to the bride at the next wedding reception you attend!)

So. While I have you here - how's life in the cardboard mines?

HUGS!

I'm digging out. I found my closet this weekend. It's still there. Hallelujah! And how is life treating you and the new member of your family?

HEE. I read your post (the non-fannish part) to Himself, who is rabidly anti-PC. I love my Mac, I must say, and their customer service is seriously exemplary.

And there was a shoutout to socks in your post! *replete with happiness*

Best Beloved read this post and said, "It was weird," in this tone of voice that suggested that I had put my finger on something that had been puzzling her.

Apparently we're just not used to technology that doesn't fight back.

And there was a shoutout to socks in your post!

Yes! It was a shout-out to your socks! I had hoped you would notice.

Best FF That Makes Me Go All Wistful and Goopy over Numbers. Apparently, in My Secret Heart of Hearts, I Think Prime Numbers Are Just Adorable.

I join you in your complete adoration of this story. Also? I dreamed a sequel. I suspect this is a bad sign. And yes, the child is the best child EVAH, and also, I love the way

liviapenn took Rodney's canonical attitude towards children and turned it into an actual rearing strategy *g* And Jonas! And, and, the emails! And.. yeah, I adore this :)

I dreamed a sequel.

Oh, how that's happened to me. Not with this story, but with others.

Possibly this means I should get out more.

I love the way liviapenn took Rodney's canonical attitude towards children and turned it into an actual rearing strategy *g* And Jonas! And, and, the emails!

Yes! Precisely! On all counts! I understand why SG1 fans didn't take to Jonas, but since I didn't have to suffer through the whole Meridian trauma, I like him a lot.

And Rodney's attitude towards kids. And also the emails.

Basically, I just adore the story.

Don't even try to picture it, because you will be sorry

Too late. *is very sorry indeed*

I thought when I saw the subject line of this post that it was going to be a set of recs about Ivan Vorpatril, and I thought to myself, I didn't know there were that many stories about Ivan! Hope springs eternal. Now I will read Scrubs stories instead.

Too late. *is very sorry indeed*

Did you picture Blair in the Robin panties? Because that's what I did. I will probably need therapy.

I thought when I saw the subject line of this post that it was going to be a set of recs about Ivan Vorpatril

Holy cow. I looked at that and wondered if anyone would think I meant Ivan Vorpatril, but I decided I was probably alone in associating the name so strongly with That Idiot Ivan. (Who, seriously. I like him a lot better than Aral did.)

Ooh, Sentinel. that's kind of like my comfort fandom. Not one I indulge in often but so good when I do. Thanks!

Jim and Blair really do bring the comfort, and I'm not even sure why. And for me, sometimes the gen actually works better for that than the slash, which is just - you know. Weird. For me.

I pretty much ran through TS's back stock of fic, and either not a lot of new stuff is coming out or I'm just not wherever it's announced and recommended. But I still re-read the old stories. Especially during bad weeks.

Yeah, it's a comfort fandom. (But in a distinctly different way than dS or SGA, which are my happy fandoms. Hmmm. I notice my happy fandoms are ones that don't appeal to you much.)

And, um. Total subject change. You know Highlander, right? Would you be up for answering some questions about it?

Sure. Highalnder was my ::hearts::: first fandom. Ask away!

See, this is why it's better not to think about the Bruce-and-Dick = father-and-son thing. Takes the brain to unhappy places. (And speaking of unhappy places - OMG, Blair could never wear a Robin suit. Don't even try to picture it, because you will be sorry.)

Ow, ow, ow. See, I already literally injured my eye earlier this week (embarassingly enough, by bending down to turn off my laptop, and bumping into a chair, which somehow resulted in a small and non-dangerous cut on my cornea) and this just makes it worse. I imagined him in the Robin IV suit. With the red headband. And now I want REVENGE. Which is why I've shared that image back with you.

Scrubs: YES! Here's all the fic I've found so far, excluding the ones you just recced:

My Haberdashery, by

julianlee
My life in tights, by Not Jenny
Inside my little room, by Michelle K
and, best for last,
My Big Breakup, by

iamsab (did somebody mention authors good at Dialogue Fandoms?)

I imagined him in the Robin IV suit. With the red headband. And now I want REVENGE. Which is why I've shared that image back with you.

Thank you. No, really. And now I feel I must disclose, in the spirit of total honesty and sharing, that I was picturing Blair in the Robin I suit. With the neon green Robin panties and the bare legs.

Um. Hope that didn't cause actual permanent damage to your eye or anything. Possibly I should've put a warning on this reading, "Read with only one eye, so you'll have a spare in case it strikes you blind."

And in Scrubs fic, there's also:

My Spiders from Mars (http://www.mandysbitch.com/fic/myspiders.htm), by cgb, aka

mandysbitch.

To Get to the Other Side (http://geocities.com/thwarted1066/miscellany/tgttos.html), by

julianlee; this one is a rare pairing within a rare fandom, so it's like the last unicorn or something.

And, yeah, Sab is one of the ultimate Dialog Fandoms authors. Hmmm. Obviously, we need to start a campaign to get SN writers to take a brief detour into Scrubs. Perhaps bribery is in order.

About an hour ago, as I was wistfully reflecting on how much I suddenly want an iPod of my own, I thought: Wow. If only these people made computers..

HEE! I'm so glad! Now just go get yourself a PowerBook and you'll be ALL SET.

Well, except a) I already have a fairly new laptop and b) I don't think they'll sell you a PowerBook if they know you're going to keep it with a Dell. Isn't it cruelty or something? Plus, I hear they fight to the death if you take your eyes off them for even a second.

But, wow. It'd almost be worth losing all my software and not being able to play most games and having to keep a 24-hour fight watch on my computers to get this kind of service. It's just really weird to have this experience after decades of using PCs.

I'm still getting an iPod for myself, though.

I hear you can get a dispensation for the cohabitation if you agree that it will be supervised and for less than a month.

The Apple is wilier and faster, but the PC is bigger and heavier, so yeah it can be dangerous. The iPod should do okay though!

Hey! Friended you because someone (who? I suck) said you wrote terrific recs, and they are so right.

Love Jim talking to Dick. Also? Yes. Dasha is fantastic. (I'm of a different mindset to the one you mention, though I've met it a lot *g* - I've always read Sentinel gen as well as slash. And in my current fandom, Hercules, the gen is often better than the slash, and there's tons more of it, too.)

Okay, first things first: I love your icon. It's gorgeous. Also - I'm glad you're here, and glad you like the recs. Thank you!

I've always read Sentinel gen as well as slash

See, I'm totally a late starter with TS gen; I mean, I always read the occasional bit of it, but mostly I read slash because it was easiest to find, and frankly it made sense; Jim and Blair are, well, so doing it. But then I found gen and it was like finding a whole new fandom with a huge back catalog of stories, only it inexplicably featured characters I already knew and loved. And now I read much more gen than slash in that fandom.

Plus, I mean, Dasha is, all by herself, a perfect argument for reading TS gen.

And in my current fandom, Hercules, the gen is often better than the slash, and there's tons more of it, too.

*fixes you with a beady stare*

You interest me strangely. See, Best Beloved just started watching Hercules. (Look, the first season was less than fifteen bucks new on DVD - and that included seven disks and the commerative collectible "coin." What were we supposed to do, pass that up just because we'd never seen the show?) Which traditionally means that I will start reading fic in the fandom. But I have no idea where to start with Hercules; I don't know off-hand of any authors from other fandoms who also write or have written Hercules FF - which is weird, and I'm thinking I must be forgetting some people, because I love a lot of writers - and my favorite recs sites have nothing to get me started. And it's scary going into a new fandom with nothing relatively safe and trustworthy to get me over the initial hump.

So my question to you is: where do you go for good Hercules FF? Slash (m/m or f/f), gen, het - all are good for me. I like humor better than serious darkness or angst, and I like happiness better than sadness, but basically anything that's well written will draw me.

*looks hopeful*

You make me smile. Thank you for the kind words about my icon, but most of all for the excuse to wax enthusiastic over HtLJ fanfic! You will be ~~assimilated~~ ~~sorry~~ inundated. *g*

Hercules is an odd, isolated little fandom in many ways. Not many writers crossed over to other fandoms, as you say, and very few of the BNFs in other fandoms have written for it. (James Walkswithwind wrote a brief story, and so did Torch. Can't think of others ATM.)

Nonetheless, there are some huge archives out there. There is also a ton of slash I haven't read because it doesn't fit my needs - I'm all about Hercules and Iolaus, slash or gen or het, but not so much the Ares/Joxer, say. I could find you sites to point to if you want, though. :-)

Recommendations:
- first and foremost, everything on The Less Than Legendary Journeys. This site snared me into the fandom. (Some of my own stories are there now, too, but I'm not trying to sneakily recommend myself. Really. *g*) There is slash, het and fantastic gen there, funny, angsty, and all very well written. The Perils of Perseus (http://www.ltljverse.com/stories/perseus.htm), Letters Home From The Academy (http://www.ltljverse.com/stories/letters.htm) and An Affair To Remember (http://www.ltljverse.com/stories/affair.htm) are all funny, upbeat stories and a good introduction to the site. I also can't praise When Hellmouths Collide (http://www.ltljverse.com/index2.htm), a Buffy/Herc crossover, enough, and the heart of the site is the series of long adventure stories that begins with Home Is Where The Heart Is (http://www.ltljverse.com/stories/heart1.htm). :deep breath:
- Nym (http://nym.amplexus.org/) has some amazing slash, but be warned, some of it is very melancholy.
- The Iolausian Library (http://www.iolausianlibrary.org/) is a huuuge, badly-designed gen archive, with Iolaus-centric stories, obviously. It has some links to slash stories as well. I like Valentin, Melisande, Therienne and Pythia, among others.
- I need more spaaaace, but I will point you to my LJ memories category for Herc fanfic recs here (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=marycrawford&keyword=H:tLJ+fanfic:+recs+and+rants&filter=all), which also has all of the Hercules & Iolaus recs that

ltlj and I wrote for

crackvan.

The online Apple Store is amazing. I bought a PowerBook on Tuesday. I started obsessively tracking my package yesterday, and it started in Suzhou, China (where it was undoubtedly born) and I know there's some International Date Line crossing in there, but it appears from the tracking info that it was in China and Anchorage, Alaska yesterday, followed by being delivered to Indianapolis this morning, and then finally ended up on a truck here in North Carolina, and was delivered to my house this afternoon.

*boggles*

I know! It's the weirdest thing ever. They don't, like, sell you the computer and promise it in two weeks, and then it gets there a month and a half later (hi, Dell!). They seem to want you to have their products.

Actually, I'm not entirely sure Apple is a computer company at all. It would stand to reason. Computer companies just don't act like this.

And I still haven't needed the Knowledge Base, even though I bookmarked it the day I bought the iPod.

*is happy, but mystified*

Digging your iPod love. I'm on iPod #3 - just upgraded to Video iPod and love it.

Am a Mac re-convert - was Mac user early on, then due to work restraints, went to PC. Now at home, back to Mac (iBook).

I've had EXCELLENT experience with Apple. First iPod (mini) was defective - I had a replacement in a few days, no questions, no hassles. They sent the entire return box and labels to me directly. Amazing.

Will stay with Apple as long as they continue to treat me right.

And uhm, if you *do* decide you need your own iPod - I have a 60 GB 4th gen (photo) iPod that's nearly new. Mixup in family communications, so now I need to sell. E-me if you're interested. ::g:: (mylima @ Gmail.com)

Thanks for the great recs, as always!

i'm really sorry if this isn't the way to get your attention... but i'm relatively new to lj etiquette, so bear with me! i just read the most adorable SGA mcshep, and it fit with one of your sets. i was wondering if you wanted it? it would fit in the 'breaking up' category (i can't remember what you called it) and even if you don't use it, i'd rec it just for your reading pleasure! it's adorable, and sweet, and funny... i could go on. but here's the link! http://www.livejournal.com/users/astolat/97780.html?view=1204468#t1204468
please read it!

oh, and i am so glad i stumbled onto your lj. i've taken to waxing poetic about it to every fangirl i know... hopefully this means a rise in visitors for you!

Good recs. I haven't read the TS one.

This made me think of you:
http://www.threadless.com/product/281/Loch_Ness_Imposter

My roommie read me part of this rec post, and i almost fell off my chair! Anyone who can make me laugh so hard on a rec post is worth reading more of. Awesome recs; i look forward to reading more. :)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Slashy Nominations 132: And Ivan Makes...Um. A Number Greater Than Two, Anyway.

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