164: The Fear's As Bad As Falling

[thefourthvine]

Hi! I keep thinking, "When I am less miserable, I will post recs." And today, as I threw up for the third time (thanks to my allergy shots, of all things), it occurred to me: maybe I'm this miserable because I haven't posted any recs. Perhaps I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Perhaps the hideousness of withdrawal from recommending fan fiction is the thing no one warns you about until it is too late. (If it is, I am totally blaming all of you, and especially you recommenders. This is your fault. Maybe.)

It's a working theory that will keep me from despairing, and, frankly, that's what I need right now. I don't even care if it's not logical. Don't tell me. I want to believe that if I only post recs I will regain the ability to breathe and swallow, okay?

So. I sort of remember how this goes. I, um, pick a theme, right? And then I rec stuff in it. Except, whoa, I have no idea what theme to pick. So here's a thought: how 'bout stories that are not scary - are, in fact, funny and hot and deeply satisfying - that I still associate with fear?

Look. I said I was rusty. The goal here is to get my recommending back in gear before I die of fan fiction withdrawal. I don't have time for the niceties, people.

The One That Brought Me the Terrifying Knowledge That We Live in a World That Contains Two Orange Sports Coats. Two! How Could There Possibly Be Two? Will Dunk for Brains, by minervacat. Sports Night, gen.

I even checked with the author to be sure she wasn't making it up, and although she could have lied and let me move back to my happy place, she chose not to. Apparently she lives in service to the truth or something. Or possibly she just enjoys seeing me cower under my desk in terror. In any case, she says that there really are two orange sports coats in this world. And they both belong to men named Bruce. (I knew there was a reason I didn't trust that name! Obviously, Bruces are allied with the Dark Arts. The fashion-impaired Dark Arts.) I haven't seen photographic evidence on this, but I am still shattered.

It's just. It's hard. I mean, you want to believe good things about this world, you try to believe good things about the world, and then you find out that not only are there orange sports coats in it, but we could very well someday face the tragedy of having them on television. Where innocent children can see! (And, worse, where I can see.)

But, so, okay, this story shattered my world in the first few lines. I love it anyway. I mean, it links college sports with zombies. And it does so in a way that is awesome and totally in voice and funny. (Although we all know zombies aren't funny, right? Because they are the number one imaginary menace to our society. When you add that to orange sports coats, well, this story has a really high Society Menace Quotient. Possibly minervacat is trying to destroy us all.)

And it is Sports Night, and we all know the magic equation: Sports Night = love. So, trust me, you'll love this - it's a good Sports Night story, so what choice do you have?

Just, uh, keep a weather eye out for sports-coated flesh-eating zombies named Bruce. (Or Tyler.)

The One That Has Me Living in Fear of the Scorn of My Bookcases. Curtains Are Monogamous, by sheldrake. Anthropomorfic, Curtain/Curtain.

Okay, more than anything I love the tone of this story, the voice of it. I am quite convinced that if curtains could talk, they'd sound like this. (This is why we have blinds. No offense to curtains, mind you, just - if inanimate objects are going to be committing acts of intimacy on my windows, I at least want them to be having an orgy, by gum. None of this sappy curtain monogamy for my windows! OT16 all the way.)

Also, I love this because it contains Deathless Truths for the Ages. ("Curtains don't care whether people are girls or boys or anything, although we are mainly interested in other curtains." Those are words to live by, and I am quite seriously considering printing them out and putting them over my computer. Plus, I am going to try working "We are mainly interested in other curtains" into every sentence I can. Should be fun. Should also be unfortunate evidence in my inevitable committal hearing, but maybe I'll get lucky and get a fangirl judge.)

So, really, it's a minor quibble, really, that this story has left me wondering if all bookcases are that snarky and petty, and if they are - god, we have, um, lots. What if they all hate us? What if your furniture is what votes on whether you go to a Good Place or a Bad Place after you die? Our bookcases would definitely have the swing vote, and probably they deeply resent our habit of double-shelving and our half-assed approach to earthquake strapping!

Okay, okay, panic over. And it's a fabulous story. Just, you know. Maybe try to read it in a room without bookcases, if you can. (Do you think ours would forgive us if I hugged them? Hmmm. Probably they'd consider it a liberty. Also, there's that committal hearing to worry about; "hugs furniture" almost certainly would not go on the "sane" side of the balance sheet.)

The One That Reminds Me of the Night of Shrieking Terror, Also Known As the Night I Fired My Entire Friends List in Absentia. Stuck in Traffic at the Magic Roundabout, by xwingace. Torchwood x Doctor Who, and frankly I refuse to assess the gen/slash/het quotient of any story involving Jack Harkness. There is not world enough or time.

So. Okay. Those of you who have been constantly telling me that it's insane that I love time travel and yet have not seen New Who, fine, whatever, you win. The ninth Doctor is made of awesome, the new series is made of awesome, and I love all characters in it immensely and uncritically. Plus, OMG, time travel. You were right. Happy now?

But wait. Do not do your little victory butt-dance yet, my friends. You are still fired.

Because you also said, "Oh, you'll love Jack Harkness! He's fabulous! He's a fifty-first century guy!" and so on. And not one of you warned me that the two-part episode in which he is introduced is one of the scariest things ever recorded. I left claw marks in Best Beloved. I insisted we stop in the middle and turn on all the lights and lock all the doors. I squeezed my dogs tightly and refused to let them leave me. I hyperventilated, people. (Yes, fine. Those of you who are all brave and stuff can mock me. And those of you who are wondering why I haven't tried Supernatural, well, now you know. I don't handle stark terror well.) (And, by the way, what is wrong with the British? Life on Mars has a creepy child with a clown. Doctor Who has a creepy child with a gas mask. Am I the only one who can sense the evil plot at work here?)

Still, you were right. I do love Jack Harkness. Those of you who have seen the end of the first season will understand why I was thus a little less than pleased with it. (Okay, actually, a lot less than pleased. *snf*) It sort of left some, uh, loose ends, ends that Best Beloved tells me are not tied up in the next season. (I am resisting the next season. I don't handle change well; this may make me an unsuitable case for Doctor Who fandom.) But this story? This story ties all the loose ends, explains everything, provides the perfect link between Doctor Who and Torchwood (Which, no, I haven't seen - look, I'm getting there, okay? Eventually. Praise me for what I've accomplished!), and just basically makes me a shiny happy fangirl.

Seriously. If you've seen the first season of Doctor Who, read this. (If you haven't, go watch it and then read this. You won't be sorry, I promise you.) It will make your heart happy. (Which it will probably need after episodes nine and ten. Oh my god the terror. SO VERY FIRED, all of you.)

The One That Makes Me Fear Dorinda and tzikeh. Trust Me, If They Combine Their Evil Superpowers, No One Will Be Safe. Admittedly, What We Won't Be Safe from Is Mostly Porn and Such, So I Can't Say I'm All That Worried, but the Point Stands. Some Living After We Die, by Dorinda. Life on Mars, Gene Hunt/Sam Tyler.

The moral of this story is kind of hidden, but it's very clear to me, so let me just state it right here, for the record: do not challenge tzikeh. Because, okay, you might be sitting around in her LJ one day, making casual comments like, "Oh, I really don't see the slash in Life on Mars, because blah blah blah blah." And then she will give you a single devastating link and change your whole outlook on life and you will be forced to admit to her that yes, she was right and you were totally wrong. And also you will have a great story to read.

...Wait. What was the down side to challenging tzikeh again? I think I will go pick an argument with her right this minute and see what else she links me to.

Because this story, oh, god, it is so wonderful. See, I had this list of reasons I didn't see the Gene/Sam - like, you know, they're both obsessed with their jobs, and that's not how they work out the tension between the two of them (usually there's just a lot of punching), and also Gene wouldn't think of himself that way even if he did give a blow job, and anyway getting that man on his knees would require, I don't know, a gun and a couple of swift kicks.

But in this story, Dorinda takes all those reasons - acknowledges them, works with them, and then turns them into alleyway sex. I don't know how she did it, precisely - I assume magic was involved - but oh, I know it works. After reading this story, I went from "Yeah, I don't see it" to "Well...I don't exactly - okay, look, fine, I get it, I love it, I will totally take it home with me and feed it and let it sleep on my couch. So why aren't there more stories like this, damn it?" Because this is a Sam I buy, and a Gene I buy, and it is a perfect depiction of the relationship between the two of them. And it involves alleyway sex. Life just does not get better than that, people.

So, I guess the real moral here is: go argue with tzikeh. You'll like her methods of changing your mind. But first read this story, because you'll like Dorinda's methods even better.

Comments

[geeklite.livejournal.com]

Why is there no SGA here?

Interestingly, I know someone who owns an orange sports coat. And, while his name isn't Bruce, his Dad's name is. Perhaps the name also causes orange sports coats by osmosis.

Also they don't actually look very sporty to me.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Why is there no SGA here?

Because SGA hasn't scared me lately. (Scarred, yes. Scared, no.) Next time, I promise SGA, okay? In the meantime, I advise you to go read toomuchplor's awesome woke-up-straight story (http://toomuchplor.livejournal.com/52472.html), which is happiness in three parts. (Warnings for minor embarrassment squick and animal harm. I skimmed those bits, which is why I can't rec the story, but otherwise I so totally would, because John wakes. Up. STRAIGHT. Awesome.) Well, I mean, you've probably already read it once, but why not read it again?

Perhaps the name also causes orange sports coats by osmosis.

I KNEW IT. See? I always said you couldn't trust that name. I could smell the orange sports coats coming!

[tallulah71.livejournal.com]

Vomiting + Femmeslash = OTP

Wait...

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

*thoughtful*

Frankly, for that OTP to work for me, you'd have to take vomiting right out of the equation. I've had enough barfing! No more! *decrees that it be so, and waits patiently for the universe to re-order to her will*

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

Mummy? Are you my mummy?

I had to do it! And yeah, I watched that one after dark, alone, and had to make cup after cup of tea to cope with the sheer terror.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

I knew someone would. Oh my GOD, why did you not warn me? Although, you know, Best Beloved did warn me - she is not even remotely fired - and I still nearly died of fright.

*shudders*

Creepy children with gas masks. And zombie people with gas masks. And, oh god, the thing with the tape running out. AAAAAAAAAAAAA! *flees*

[commodorified.livejournal.com]

Welcome back!

*decides against twirling you and makes you tea instead*

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Hi! *delighted hugs*

Yeah, twirling me is probably not a good idea right now. I will totally take the tea, though. *sips delicately*

[wychwood]

That Doctor Who episode is *terrifying*, you're right - it's about as scary as I can tolerate, and it was distinctly borderline, but it was so good. Really so good that I felt it was worth the terror.

Get better soon!

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

It was excellent - worth even the mind-numbing terror. It was so good, in fact, that I have a weird desire to watch it again.

Although I imagine I will not be allowed to do so. Best Beloved still has the bruises from the last time. (I grip when I am scared. And claw. And, apparently, bite. Don't sit next to me at a scary movie is my advice to pretty much everyone, including my dogs, who have been made to sit with me when I'm reading something especially scary late at night. They tolerate it, but you can tell they wish I would just put the book down.)

Get better soon!

Thanks! I think recommending helped. Perhaps it was withdrawal and not the allergy shot after all. *makes mental note not to do that again*

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

You really do make the world a better place. Just saying.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

*blushes*

*beams*

Thank you!

[miss-porcupine.livejournal.com]

Torchwood x Doctor Who, and frankly I refuse to assess the gen/slash/het quotient of any story involving Jack Harkness. There is not world enough or time.

... I wandered away from Dr. Who long before Jack Harkness (I really, really liked what I saw, but... I just never bothered to watch the rest), but I know who he is by proxy and people on my f-list write him and... yes. That is a fantastic way to summarize him.

As for Gene Hunt even considering a bit of sodomy... in my very first fandom (Homicide), I was quickly taken under the wing of a lovely woman who explained to me in very small words that just because you don't see it now doesn't mean you can't be made to see it. She was talking about Frank Pembleton (and I did come to accept the married, Catholic, in-so-much-love-with-his-wife Frank as slashable), but I keep this lesson in mind because Gene? And Sam? I shall go read.

And I think I'm relieved that SGA hasn't scared you recently.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

I wandered away from Dr. Who long before Jack Harkness (I really, really liked what I saw, but... I just never bothered to watch the rest)

Oh, god, you should totally see the rest of the first season. (If you can call it a first season. Nomenclature gets weird in that fandom.) It actually gets better, in my opinion, and the introduction of Jack Harkness is just - incredible. So good that I would recommend it despite the, you know, terrified out of my mind thing.

yes. That is a fantastic way to summarize him.

He takes the fluidity of sexuality to new and dashing heights! I love him. (Though not as much as Nine, who basically owned my soul from, "Nice to meet you, Rose Tyler. Run for your life!")

I was quickly taken under the wing of a lovely woman who explained to me in very small words that just because you don't see it now doesn't mean you can't be made to see it.

Oh, most definitely. I learned that particular lesson from louiselux, actually, who made me read, buy, and love SNAKE MPREG lo these many years ago. (Still one of my favorite stories in all of fandom.) The right author can sell me on virtually anything she herself can see. I just didn't think the right author had done Gene/Sam. But, well, Dorinda is pretty much the definition of "the right author" - the existence of this LJ is, like, 80% her fault - so I knew before I clicked that very, very soon I would be seeing the Gene/Sam. And I did.

I actually - it's a pity that joandarck is away this weekend, because she had a very interesting take on the Gene/Sam relationship. I must get her to come expound on it when she comes back. She told me her take after I read the story, and it also helped me to see the Gene/Sam.

In the meantime - yeah. Dorinda made me buy the Gene/Sam, mostly because she kept their tension and their dedication and made the sex about those things. Now I want mooooooore. *whimpers*

Oh. Oh oh oh. Have you seen Crazy (http://community.livejournal.com/vidding/772116.html), by Jill? (Password-protected. Worth it.) That'll show you the slash, oh my yes. In fact, I'm thinking of doing a whole post of nothing but LoM vids, because they are just generally so awesome. And that one is most definitely on the "awesome" list.

[gwynevere1.livejournal.com]

*hands over Saltines and ginger ale*

Which is the only thing I know to do when there's vomiting.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Although I am actually feeling better. Perhaps posting did help! But I will accept the Saltines and ginger ale with gratitude, because, well, at the rate this last week's gone, I'm likely to need them again.

My parents always supplied precisely the same things for vomiting. So even now, when I'm sick, I still want Saltines and ginger ale and then, once the barfing stops, apple juice and vanilla ice cream.

[raucousraven.livejournal.com]

You are back! *clings*

I'm glad you're fighting the dread shakes as hard as you can, because if you hadn't decided to combat them I would never have known there was such thing as curtain/curtain, and I assure you my life would have suffered accordingly.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Curtain/Curtain is the new black, totally. At least in my neck of fandom it is. (I wonder if I could pressure sheldrake into writing a sequel in which Andrew gets another bookcase. Oh. Oh. I so want that now.)

Curtain/Curtain: one thing fandom can agree on! Brings harmony to the faniverse! And so on!

[delurker.livejournal.com]

I have no idea if you're interested in this, seeing as I know you and TV don't always mix, but you can download the Hikaru no Go anime through ftp here (http://www.muffindomain.com/index.php?page=anime.html) (scroll right down to the end).

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Yup yup yup! I have in fact downloaded HnG, because my love for the series knows no bounds. (Although, hmm, I didn't get it from that place. Do you mind if I save the link to offer as a resource in my HnG FIHL?) And I lovingly burned the entire series to DVD (with custom menus!) and watched the whole thing, which for me is quite a demonstration of love, and the result is now I can only watch the subs, because the voices in the dubs drive me insane. But, oh, it was worth it. I love the anime, just as much as the manga.

(And, actually, I tend not to have the same problems with anime that I do with live-action TV. I'm not sure why, exactly, but it is so.)

Everyone should love Hikaru no Go. Why don't they? I am bewildered. But I can cling to you as an oasis of good taste. *clings embarrassingly*

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

You? Are very, *very* funny. And I'm wondering just what kind of challenges you are inspiring in people. Truthfully, I have very little to offer -- you just happened to say "no" to something I concretely and unwaveringly knew was "yes".

(BTW, Dorinda and I *have* joined forces in the past; we co-wrote UNCLE porn back in the day. I wonder if either she or I has a transcript of the irc collaboration... Lordy, that takes me back.)

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Truthfully, I have very little to offer -- you just happened to say "no" to something I concretely and unwaveringly knew was "yes".

I don't believe you. I shall always view you as a sort of fannish vending machine: insert challenge of proper denomination, get something miraculously good back. That's not the kind of image you can shift, I'm afraid. You will simply have to stock up on excellent links. Otherwise, I'll have to call the fannish vending machine repairman. (In that phrase, the vending machine is fannish, not the repairman. Although he still has all his Star Wars action figures on display.)

(And you were right. The answer is indeed "yes." I'm pleased to have been wrong, although it would be nice if you could prove me, you know, more wrong than that, with additional links and so on. *campaigns for reproducible results*)

BTW, Dorinda and I *have* joined forces in the past; we co-wrote UNCLE porn back in the day.

*stares*

Good lord. Now I want to read that, despite the very real chance the world would end or something.

[flambeau.livejournal.com]

Recs yay! Dorinda is wonderful, isn't she?

And I hear you on the scariness of things. I stopped watching SPN partly because of the scary. But then I started again and have just made my way through all of s1, with a bit of virtual hand-holding from elynross; turns out the show isn't quite as scary as I thought it would be. Although I did sleep with the lights on for a while. :)

[neery.livejournal.com]

SPN is very very scary, but it really is wonderful enough to be worth it.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

I found that story by browsing at delicious almost right after the last conversation we had about Life on Mars. Isn't it lovely? I just wish, as you say, that there were more. When the only satisfying story in a fandom is so, well, short - a highly contextualised episode-tag, complete in itself, but not really long and meaty, you know? - it's so frustrating!

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

I know. It's very sad that there's so little fan fiction in this fandom, especially since Dorinda has proven it can be done.

We could whiiiiiiiiine at Dorinda to write another, maybe? She might be susceptible to a campaign of intense whining.

[threerings.livejournal.com]

The ninth Doctor is made of awesome, the new series is made of awesome, and I love all characters in it immensely and uncritically. Plus, OMG, time travel. You were right. Happy now?

Yes, very. You will now watch S2 and Torchwood and you will like it. ;) (There is a period of profound shock to deal with in transitioning from S1 to S2. Luckily there is fanfic for that. Oh, and then there's the end of S2....Well, good luck.)

I also believe there is such a thing as rec withdrawal. I think it has something to do with guilt.

*scurries off to collect more recs*

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

There is a period of profound shock to deal with in transitioning from S1 to S2. Luckily there is fanfic for that.

*whimpers*

I'm not ready to transition yet. I cannot face it. I'm not ready for Nine to go! Perhaps the fan fiction will help?

I also believe there is such a thing as rec withdrawal.

Okay, where were you with this information BEFORE I started recommending fan fiction? It does no good for me to know this now, you realize. I'm in! Apparently for life! Unless I want to spend time barfing! *shakes fist at fandom, where the first taste is absolutely free*

[minervacat.livejournal.com]

thank you for the rec, darling! i'm all blushy now, though i stand by my truth-telling declaration about the orange sports coats. if it helps, you can always harbor the hope that one of the bruces will get fired and take a job somewhere that orange isn't a school color? or you would be more than welcome to join our happy band of criminals when we tour the country stamping our coaches we hate; we would be more than happy to drive through knoxville so you could burn bruce pearl's coat. ♥

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

i stand by my truth-telling declaration about the orange sports coats

*sniffles*

No, I know, you had to get the truth out there. I understand. It's just. It's hard, is all.

*sniffles even more pathetically*

or you would be more than welcome to join our happy band of criminals when we tour the country stamping our coaches we hate; we would be more than happy to drive through knoxville so you could burn bruce pearl's coat.

OMG YES. We will be a band of freedom fighters! And in the made-for-TV movie of our rampage, they will completely edit out my anti-orange-coat crusade and make it all about the BCS and stuff!

...Wait. Why can't I burn Bruce Weber's coat? Do you like him or something? Because, wow. If you can like a man who wears an orange sports coat - Voluntarily! Without any kind of "the devil, see, the devil wants orange" type excuse, even! - then either Bruce Weber is awesome or you are crazy. Or, and this is a possibility I'll be exploring at length, both.

Worried about you now. Almost as much as I am about the Brucian Menace. Still love the story, though.

to you too!

[xwingace]

Wow, thanks for the highly enthousiastic rec! I'm glad the story made some sense even without having seen Torchwood and the second series of New Who (you missed several references, though ;-)).

XWA
(Has it been mentioned, BTW, that Jack Harkness does come back to Who for the final three eps of series 3?)

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

I'm glad the story made some sense even without having seen Torchwood and the second series of New Who (you missed several references, though

It totally made sense - wonderful sense - and the feeling of not quite getting it all just gave the story a more authentic air, really. (During all the eps I watched in season one, I had a feeling that, from time to time, I was missing references that a person who had seen old Doctor Who would get.)

But I suppose I will get them. Eventually. If I ever get used to not having Nine. *snuffles dramatically*

Has it been mentioned, BTW, that Jack Harkness does come back to Who for the final three eps of series 3?

Well, kind of - I knew he'd be back, but I didn't know when or for how long. Also, I've seen the trailer for season 3, and Best Beloved swears Jack Harkness is in it. (Also Sam Tyler is in there? Apparently? Which made us wonder if it was actually for, you know, time travel themed BBC shows instead.)

[out-there.livejournal.com]

And not one of you warned me that the two-part episode in which he is introduced is one of the scariest things ever recorded.

I refuse to accept blame for that. I *refuse*, hear me? I'm pretty sure that *every* time I talk about the Empty Child I go off on a whole tangent about how much I love that episode because it's the scariest New Who episode yet and the horrifying villian of the piece? Is a kid in a gas mask.

Okay, yes, there are a couple of fancy-dancy special effects in regards to the invisible spaceship and the transformations and the whole fixing it at the end, but that episode did what the old Dr Who always did: managed to use *ideas* that were scary, even if the effects/costumes were remarkably simple.

(And, yeah, that ep? Is creepy as all hell. And *not* to be watched last thing at night. Under any circumstances.

...mind you, I find that with a few of the TW eps, too. I love the extra sex scenes, jokes and language that I get with the more adult rating, but some of the gore, violence and pure creep factor is a little high for me.)

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

I refuse to accept blame for that. I *refuse*, hear me?

*thoughtful*

Okay, you are unfired, because obviously you tried to warn me. And I do remember you talking about that; I just didn't realize how absolutely fucking TERRIFYING it was from your description. (Some things you can only understand after you've lived through them.)

Is a kid in a gas mask.

And he's not even evil! Just...empty. *shivers*

(Also, I wonder if there's much Nancy fan fiction. In the right hands, she'd be an awesome character to hear more about.)

managed to use *ideas* that were scary, even if the effects/costumes were remarkably simple

*nods nods*

Before I found fandom, I had seen only three TV shows, ever, and all three were BBC productions. Why? They rely on writing, not on sets or costumes or effects or props or prettiness or whatever. Now, admittedly, they also don't seem to have had any money for sets or costumes or effects or props or whatever, at least in the old days. (One of the shows I watched basically had cardboard sets. Another one had one set. Period. It was like a stage play with bad camera work.) But I didn't notice that in the days before fandom, and now it doesn't bother me at all, because the writing is so wonderful.

And DW even has actual good effects, too. It's amazing.

I love the extra sex scenes, jokes and language that I get with the more adult rating, but some of the gore, violence and pure creep factor is a little high for me.

Eeeep! *alarmed now*

[sheldrake.livejournal.com]

Doctor Who, Life on Mars, Torchwood and me. This recs post could only be better if it also had SGA and due South. Sadly, I've never seen Sports Night.

Seriously, thanks so much for the rec. :)

None of this sappy curtain monogamy for my windows! OT16 all the way.

Oh, I just though - what about those people who havet big bay windows that need four curtains to cover them? Hmm, interesting stuff going on there!

(And, by the way, what is wrong with the British? Life on Mars has a creepy child with a clown. Doctor Who has a creepy child with a gas mask. Am I the only one who can sense the evil plot at work here?)

What? That's how we're brought up. Is that... not normal?

Re: the transition to Ten - when Season One ended, everyone else went down the pub. I said, 'I'll just... follow along in a minute or two.' Then I took myself upstairs with great dignity and wept for half an hour.

Happily, I grew up with Doctor Who and have been conditioned for such an event. So by the time the Christmas Special came on, I was going 'Woohoo! David Tennant!' Hmm, maybe you do need to take a few months...

Also: yes, the actor who plays Sam Tyler, John Simm, is going to be in Doctor Who Season 3, playing an old school bad guy, which indeed makes it nice and confusing for everyone. Hooray!

I think that's everything.

[pedanther]

That curtain story is teh awesome.

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

Oh, that curtain story! Oh, curtains! *sighs*

And now it has me pondering. In my room I have a very wide window with... three curtains. There's something a little kinky about that, methinks.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

In my room I have a very wide window with... three curtains. There's something a little kinky about that, methinks.

*raised eyebrow*

Indeed.

But, well, I am certainly not one to judge, and I fully support all flavors of safe, consensual sexuality between curtains over the age of consent. What matters is that they're happy.

...They are happy, right?

[pedanther]

Also, now I'm trying not to picture Batman in an orange sports coat.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

...Oh, I wish you hadn't said that. Because now I am picturing it, and it's just not the kind of mental image that is easy to shake. I expect it to keep me up nights, actually.

*shivers*

I can see the FF plot summary now: Bruce Wayne terrorizes Gotham in an orange sports coat, and the city will never be the same.

(And is it wrong that now I want to beg a DCU writer to write this story? Hmmm. It probably is wrong. But I might have to do it anyway.)

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

So, um, you don't know me, but I have been a fan (read:stalker) of yours for a while, and I just had to express my appreciation of you reccing fic in the four fandoms I have JUST picked up. Like, yesterday. The kismet is pretty overwhelming. However, I hope you feel better because, to state the obvious, feeling bad sucks.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Hi! Nice to meet you, and I'm delighted I managed to produce such a serendipitous recs set for you. (Also, wow. You must have excellent taste, to be picking up all these fandoms. You'll like them, I think and hope and trust. Because Sports Night is love - no, really, if you look closely at the DVDs, you'll find that they are made of molecules of love - and DW and TW have time travel and other assorted joys, and Life on Mars is brilliant. And if you're new to anthropomorfic, too, well - you have some gorgeous stories ahead of you, including a truly awesome knife/fork/spoon poem. *happy sigh*)

However, I hope you feel better because, to state the obvious, feeling bad sucks.

Thank you. Yeah, I'm feeling better; the allergy shot has worn off, for one thing. (Yay! I can breathe again!)

[melina123.livejournal.com]

zomg you HAVE to see Torchwood.

that is all!

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Oh, I plan to. (And I love your icon, by the way. <3 Jack!)

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

I wandered over because melina123 quoted you to me. Well, technically quoted Andrew Marvell and you to me but who's picky? I love your review of xwingace's story - it's easily the best gen in the fandom (and I run the Torchwood library, so I know what I'm talking about!) and I just can't rec it enough.

And the joy of most good Torchwood stories is that the gen/het/slash boundary is so blurry that it might as well not be there. If you're looking for more, I have a list... Once your nerves have recovered, of course.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

And the joy of most good Torchwood stories is that the gen/het/slash boundary is so blurry that it might as well not be there.

*nods*

I am not surprised, Jack being who he is. (And I love him for it, of course.)

If you're looking for more, I have a list...

Oh, yes! I want the list, please!

[raveninthewind.livejournal.com]

Feeling like shite here, how surprised was I to find this post as I tried to catch up on my flist from the past week.

Thank you for the recs! I hadn't read any of them. The SN was teh perfect shot of Dan/Casey banter to make me smile even while feelign terrible, and the curtan fic was precious, and slashy! And the LoM? Made me melt. I love that story.

[qe2.livejournal.com]

I love you.

I miss you.

I am mainly interested in other curtains, but still.

Also: if you want Torchwood - or s1 of Dr 10 - I can and will send it/them to you.