thefourthvine | Yuletide Reveal!

Yuletide Reveal!

The themes of Yuletide for me this year were pinch hits (I was one, and OMG I got the best pinch hitter ever, and I finally got to write one, too) and rhyming pairings.

Notes for next year: rhyming pairings are hard. Pinch hitting, on the other hand, actually makes writing easier, because when you need to procrastinate on one, well, the other one is right there waiting.

My stories, in order of posting:

Noir Enough, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Perry/Harry. This story was for

misspamela, the very first recipient I've ever had that I knew before I got her prompt. (This was extremely exciting. It's a whole different exchange when you're pretty sure what your recipient might want.) It was beta-read by the amazing team of

lynnmonster,

spike21,

nestra, and

qe2 - and Queue nobly watched the movie solely so she could beta my story. On short notice, too. She wins the Dedicated Beta prize. Please give her a round of applause.

Code 69, Men in Black, Jay/Kay. This one was for Amy Fortuna. And, um - I didn't write the whole thing. At a certain point in the Yuletide experience,

makesmewannadie and I experienced severe, even terminal writer's block. But you can't stop Yuletide just because your characters refuse to get off. So we exchanged files. It turned out to be much, much easier to finish each other's stories than it was to finish our own, and Yuletide was saved. It was all very magical. My block was porn - ever my nemesis, as readers of Noir Enough will note. (I chickened out on the porn there, despite complaints from Certain Betas that I was leaving them hanging. My response: "Have you met me?") So, the porn in Code 69? All MMWD. And some other parts are hers, too, but I don't remember what - it was all a wild haze of aliens and sex pheromones and John Travolta. (You've been there, I'm sure. You understand.) Code 69 was beta-read by

makesmewannadie (yes, I made her beta-read a story she co-wrote; I am merciless at Yuletide time) and

qe2.

Audiencing, moral support, and reassurance that I wasn't completely crazy ("Men in Black is perfect for an aliens make them do it story!") came, as usual, from Best Beloved. Best Beloved also provided Yuletide snacks. (For Yuletide snacks, read: chocolate. Chocolate is what makes Yuletide happen. Unless you're one of the mods, and then I assume alcohol is also required.)

I had a fabulous Yuletide this year in every respect, and I thank everyone who played, and most especially the brilliant mods. Bless you, every one. See you in 2007!

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*hugs* Yay! I was in chat with elyn when your pinch hit came over the list, and I totally leaped on it and said MINE! *grins* So sorry that it took me so long to finally write it for you! (And, uh, that I left my macro-generated = End = thingy on there and made it kind of even more pathetically obvious, cough.)

Thank you so much. It was a brilliant story, just what I had been hoping for without even knowing it, and totally worth the wait. (Plus, hey, by guessing your story last year, I prepped you to write my pinch hit this year. Obviously, I am a Deep Plotter, and I will never confess that it was totally unintentional. This way, I look sleek and smart and absolutely together!)

And thank you for claiming my scary, scary prompts. Um. You said you liked them, so I will not apologize, but know that I am taking a Remedial Prompts course, and next year I will do much, much better.

(And, uh, that I left my macro-generated = End = thingy on there and made it kind of even more pathetically obvious, cough.)

That was nearly your downfall. I figured out three of your stories this year, and if I could only have found the fourth before the reveal, you would have ended up writing my pinch hit next year, too. *grins*

Ah, well. There's always next year. *Yuletide-enhanced hugs*

(And a happy new year!)

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astolat - 2007-01-03 08:03 (UTC) - Expand

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thefourthvine.livejournal.com - 2007-01-04 00:22 (UTC) - Expand

Oh GOD I totally loved that Men In Black story. Cheers to you and

makesmewannadie -- I am impressed with that co-writing approach, by the way.

We decided that our ability to co-write each other's Yuletide stories proves, for once and for all, that we are both sockpuppets, and the only question we have left is: who is the puppetmaster? (We figure once we know that, we can file some formal complaints, maybe bring in the Sockpuppet Union, finally get some justice around here.)

But, yeah, I totally recommend co-writing and file-swapping for the best Yuletide experience. (And now that sounds like a manifesto: Down with story monogamy! Open composition is the way to go! Have a menage a text!) It was the best fun - I got to hand off the parts I couldn't do to someone else and I got to play in MMWD's awesome sandbox. I could not have asked for better.

*Yuletide bliss*

(Oh, and thank you for the card and the dog photos. They are adorable, and it was a surprising amount of fun to open up an envelope of photos from someone else's life. That was a fantastic holiday card idea, and you are quite brilliant.)

Ooooh. I loved Noir Enough. In fact, the voice was so spot on that it gave me a really severe hungering to see the flick again.

Please. Please right more fic for this fandom. Mmmmmm.

*beams*

Thank you! And, um, I am in fact writing another story in this fandom. Harry's voice is very, very hard to get out of. Miss Pamela has given me blanket permission to blame her for any and all future KKBB stories, because it is totally her fault for requesting such a seductive, persuasive fandom.

(And do see the movie again if you can. I watched it three times in 24 hours while I was writing the story, so I can testify that it does indeed stand up to repeated re-watchings.)

Hello! I loved "Noir Enough", and after the reveal I just had to drop by and poke about here a bit. I hope you don't mind if I friend you and stick around for a while so I can keep up with what you're writing.

Hi! And welcome! Of course I don't mind being friended; I love it. (And to be friended on the strength of one of my Yuletide stories is especially grand.)

As pleased as I am, though, I feel I should warn you: this is mostly a recs journal. My very, very occasional non-Yuletide fan fiction is posted at

littera_abactor, my alternate LJ that sees maybe a post every six weeks or so. (Don't ask why I have two. It's a long story that can best be summarized with the dread phrase "it seemed like a good idea at the time.") So, you know, if you want recs (extremely verbose recs) in a variety of fandoms, plus occasional polls, rants, meta, and fandom summaries (um - sort of), then this is the place for you. But if you're hoping to see more fan fiction, then you might prefer to friend

littera_abactor. Or, hey, if you want, you can friend both. *offers you a full array of LJ options*

Whatever you choose, though: hi! I'm glad you liked Noir Enough, and I'm delighted you stopped by. Thanks! *makes welcoming gestures*

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lyr - 2007-01-05 03:49 (UTC) - Expand

I haven't seen the canon for either of your stories and look forward to reading them once I have!

Do you have a Netflix-equivalent? Because KKBB is definitely worth seeing - ask Queue, who I whined into watching it (under time pressure, no less), and who enjoyed it anyway. (She even sent me a squeeful email 42 minutes and some-odd seconds in. The 42 minute mark is a very good one in KKBB.) It's not without flaws, but the awesomeness of the characters and the funniness of the movie totally makes up for it. Plus, it's a tribute to all things noir - you know, the kind of tribute that mocks with love - and, well, I would go a long way for that.

Men in Black, of course, is just plain old good fun - aliens, Tommy Lee Jones doing the deadest deadpan ever to die, and Will Smith reacting to everything in a way that is just a joy to behold. I watch MiB when I'm sick, because it is light and entertaining candy for the unwell brain. (Do not, under any circumstances, watch MiB2. I'm telling you this as a friend and as someone who cares about your brain.)

But I ask about the Netflix-equivalent because, well, I'm not sure you, specifically, will like either one. I love them both because they make me laugh (well, and because they have the kind of dialog I like - I have a type, and I know it, and I am not ashamed), and we've discussed how different we are on that front. So I don't want to encourage you to spend much money on either one.

*ponders*

If you do not have a Netflix-alike available to you, there are, of course, other options. Email me to discuss? I want you to be able to read my stories! *is needy* (Plus, well, I love the sources, and you know how I get when I love something: I want everyone else to love it, too.)

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zebra363.livejournal.com - 2007-01-01 11:12 (UTC) - Expand

I had to come here because I was looking through the authors of some of my fave Yuletide stories and I was all OMGWTFBBQ when I saw you'd written TWO of them. Dayum! Even if you only half-wrote Code 69, damn good job. Know what you mean about pr0n - totally not my area of expertise, writing smut, so I avoid it. If I have to write a sex scene, it's some lame hasty "skin against skin" type of description. So no worries & thanks for writing such awesomeness. Happy New Year, too.

I had to come here because I was looking through the authors of some of my fave Yuletide stories and I was all OMGWTFBBQ when I saw you'd written TWO of them.

*beams*

Thank you! (We probably have similar senses of humor. I decide what to volunteer to write for Yuletide based almost entirely on the fandom's potential for banter and/or humor. I have an unholy attraction to snark.)

If I have to write a sex scene, it's some lame hasty "skin against skin" type of description.

*nods*

Porn is hard. In non-Yuletide writing, I tend to elide it or fade to black. And the porn I do write always reads to me like the least sexy thing on the planet - funeral porn, I call it - so I generally have lots of nervous breakdowns and spend a lot of time grabbing friends and shrieking, "WHY IS IT NOT HOT MAKE IT HOT OMG WHYYYYYYY CAN'T I WRITE PORN OMG." Only less coherently. And louder.

(Obviously, Yuletide-time is very hard on my friends. I, um, usually remember to apologize when the crazy wears off, though. *winces*)

Dude, I haven't really had a chance to dig into yuletide yet but MissP grabbed me and said 'my story is SO AWESOME I love it SO MUCH go read it RIGHT THIS SECOND!!' so I did--I read Noir Enough before I read the story written for me. *grins* Really excellent story, perfect tone. You made MissP and the rest of us who love that movie *so happy*. ;-) Thank you!

Miss Pamela told me she briefly suspected you of writing her story. I nearly died of pride. (In all fairness, though, she'd been drinking when she told me that, so it was possibly just flattery. But if so, she is an awesome flatterer.)

Really excellent story, perfect tone.

Thank you! *blushes* *basks in praise*

Eee, Noir Enough was you? I loved that story. It was a good year for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in general - and I'd just watched the movie that evening, so that was very fortuitous.

Yup, Noir Enough was me! I'm glad you liked it.

I'd just watched the movie that evening, so that was very fortuitous.

Yay! And yay you for watching it, because it really is a delightful movie. I watched it three times in 24 hours while I was writing the story, and even the third time through I was not bored; it is that much fun. (Also, Queue, the person who watched the movie just to beta my story, sent me an incoherently gleeful email at 42 minutes in. So even people who are being forced to watch the movie find it fun, which means it is truly a fabulous romp.)

Code 69 was teh awes0me, whatever the genesis. :)

Thank you!

But you can't stop Yuletide just because your characters refuse to get off.

Heh. So to speak.

And some other parts are hers, too, but I don't remember what

I only wrote the section from the landing in SF to the fade to black in the hotel room, and you edited it to make it much better and in character and stuff. I didn't write anything else in your story - and even that, you had outlined for me before you sent it, so it wasn't like I had to come up with the sequence of events or anything. ♥

But I would like to point out that you have now not only made me write crossover tentacle porn, you have made me sex up Jay and Kay. I FEEL DIRTY. In, you know, the best of all possible ways. ♥ more! The OTP that Yuletides together, stays together! Also, the "who is the puppeteer" poll is up in my LJ (lj-poll-898477 if you still want to try crossposting) and people have already posted many amusing guesses!

Heh. So to speak.

No, no, I meant it exactly as written. They just flatly refused to get off. They were all, "But we have to save the world! We don't have time to fuck!" And I was like, "What the fuck is wrong with your value system? Other slash characters don't have this problem!"

I only wrote the section from the landing in SF to the fade to black in the hotel room, and you edited it to make it much better and in character and stuff. I didn't write anything else in your story - and even that, you had outlined for me before you sent it, so it wasn't like I had to come up with the sequence of events or anything.

All I know is, I sent you a file that I couldn't bear to look at because it was a horrible mess and I was so ashamed because I was failing my recipient. And you sent me back what was basically a finished story. And, in return, you let me play around with the Hitchhiker's Guide's voice, which is perhaps the most fun thing to do in the entire world, only I didn't know it until then. Yuletide co-writing for the win!

I FEEL DIRTY.

Well. Yes. But...I mean...you are. It's one of your best traits!

Also, the "who is the puppeteer" poll is up in my LJ (lj-poll-898477 if you still want to try crossposting) and people have already posted many amusing guesses!

I must try this. Next post, then. *makes note*

Noir Enough was easily one of my favorite Yuletide story this year. Awesome job.

*beams*

Thank you!

Hi, I just wanted to say that I loved "Noir Enough" and that the last line had me giggling every time I thought about it. Great job!

Thank you!

the last line had me giggling every time I thought about it

Yay! (And it is a truth universally acknowledged that the internet is for porn. Well, okay, if it's not universally acknowledged, then it should be.)

Notes for next year: rhyming pairings are hard.

*giggle* I can see how that would be.

I greatly enjoyed both of your stories and MMWD's stories without knowing that it was your stories and MMWD's stories that I was enjoying. I think I said that in pre-reveal comments, didn't I? I do hope so; it's all been such a blur, but they both made me laugh and made me happy in the best ways that canon did.

Thank you!

I can see how that would be.

My poor, poor betas. Last year, at least my pairing was het; this year, both my pairings were slash with rhyming names. And I typed the wrong thing enough with the unrhyming het, so...yeah. Thank god for betas who say, "Um, I think you mean 'Perry,' here."

*clings to betas*

I loved your Kiss Kiss Bang Bang story!

Thank you! (And, hee. Your icon totally works with my other story, which contained emo. Of a sort. I assume that was unintentional, but it made me laugh a lot.)

Noir Enough is the only Yuletide story I've rec'ced so far! I'm just getting started reading, but that one knocked my socks off. I'm delighted to hear Harry's still yapping in your ear; I can't wait to read more!

Noir Enough is the only Yuletide story I've rec'ced so far!

I noticed, believe me, and was so happy. Thank you!

I'm delighted to hear Harry's still yapping in your ear

The boy does not shut up. Really. Once you write him, he's in your head forever, and he has something to say about everything. If he wasn't so much fun, I'd be trying to figure out how to use duct tape on a figment of someone else's imagination.

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thisisbone.livejournal.com - 2007-01-05 04:02 (UTC) - Expand

Read the story. Came back and read it again. Code 69 is made of awesome, and I'm bookmarking it for posterity, because in one fell swoop you singlehandedly made me not only see the MiB slash fandom, but made me want to become a Jay/Kay fangirl. So long as...yanno...it's mostly pheromone-driven.

That was clever and sexy and thank you for writing it.

one fell swoop you singlehandedly made me not only see the MiB slash fandom, but made me want to become a Jay/Kay fangirl. So long as...yanno...it's mostly pheromone-driven.

Oddly, both my betas wrote, "CURSE YOU FOR MAKING ME SEE THE JAY/KAY" in their return emails to me. (And keep in mind that I also made one of them write Jay/Kay. I am made of evil.) So, you know, you're not alone.

But, yeah, it has to be pheromone-driven, because otherwise Jay and Kay are irritatingly focused on their jobs. They keep trying to save the galaxy rather than get in each other's pants, which is just not on for characters in a slash story. *sighs*

They're fun to write, though. And the MiB universe is delightful; everything in our world makes so much more sense if you assume aliens are responsible.

I enjoyed writing the story a lot, and I'm so glad you enjoyed reading it. Thank you!

Code 69 -- bwaaaahahahaaa! Fabulous.

Thank you! *beams*

I haven't even finished "Noir Enough" but I need to comment about it because I love so much how you got Harry's voice in this. His rambling is exactly it, and it really has the movie feeling (which is a huge compliment, KKBB makes me squee with delight everytime)

His rambling is exactly it, and it really has the movie feeling

Eee! Thank you! (And, yes, I definitely take that as a huge compliment, because, well, KKBB is wonderful. It's noir humor, and I just don't know of anything better than that.)

*beams*

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ashkeyana.livejournal.com - 2007-01-04 13:04 (UTC) - Expand

Loved "Noir Enough" even though I've never seen this movie. This will be rectified soon when it is delivered at my door.....joy!

Yay! I'm surprised and pleased that the story could work for someone who hasn't seen the movie - and even more pleased that you're going to be seeing the movie soon. It is great fun.

*happy*

I'm going through yuletide and reading alphabetically, so it'll be a while before I hit your stories. However, I had to comment on the "Yuletide now sponsored by chocolate" and give a hearty Here Here!

However, I had to comment on the "Yuletide now sponsored by chocolate" and give a hearty Here Here!

OMG, yes. Last year, my Yuletide writing was fueled entirely by pecans and sugar in various combinations. This year, it was chocolate. So I suspect a key ingredient in Yuletide might be, well, sugar.

Yuletide is apparently what happens if you feed 1000 fangirls a lot of sugar and rare fandoms. Yay Yuletide!

I'm your recipient for Code 69 -- 'Amy Fortuna' is my fanfic pseudonym -- and I'm chuffed to bits by the fact that my Yuletide story was co-written by two such excellent writers. Code 69 is one for the ages, and I'm pleased to have been the inspiration for such a fine, fine story. :)

Have friended you.

Hi hi hi! I totally stalked you for two months!

*hugs you*

I had so much fun with your story, writing alien jokes and banter and making MMWD write my porn. (This Yuletide conclusively proves MMWD and I were made to write together, in my opinion. Our betas couldn't tell where one of us began and the other ended - not even the person who beta-read both our stories.)

So, thank you for your request, and for being an all-around delightful recipient. And it's good to meet you at last. Yay!

Hello. I was thinking about friending your lj because I love the story you wrote for Yuletide and then I saw the Cold Comfort Farm reference in your user info and squealed like a dork. *friends*

Hi! You're a fellow Cold Comfort Farm lover? YAY! (Book or movie or both? I love them both. The book is one of my favorites, and I think they did such an incredible job of translating it to film, and...okay, I get fangirly about CCF.)

*very pleased to meet you*

*embraces you enthusiastically*

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xjestx.livejournal.com - 2007-01-04 02:57 (UTC) - Expand

Wow, Code 69 is awesome in all the evillest ways. :)

Thank you!

*cackles evilly*

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Noir Enough

Re: Noir Enough

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