Where I work, it is accepted practice to check private web email at work, or pop by ebay, or do online banking. It has never gotten in the way of anyone's work, and my boss is okay with it. However, there is now definite reason to believe that some of the IT people have been illegally monitoring employees' private web mail correspondence and/or computer use - not just logging IP addresses, or checking that nobody slows down the network by downloading large files privately, but actually reading private emails, and who knows what else.

Which - there is absolutely no question there - is both illegal and immoral.

I have briefly considered friendslocking my LJ, but you know what? Why the hell should I.

I'm not the one doing anything illegal or immoral here, so I am not the one who needs to hide. So, IT people, if you are reading this, have fun. Feel free to comment. I'm not the one who has to be ashamed here.

In a rare stroke of genius, I have commissioned a Junno picture by the very talented pana.

Gorgeous, no?

Undercover in a gay bar, pretending to be a couple, bodyswap, time loops, crossovers and AUs, amnesia, telepathy, superpowers… ooh yes, sign me up! *g*

There are many fanfic cliches I love passionately, so the cliche bingo challenge is right up my alley. Particularly since it's a relaxed challenge that doesn't threaten my skittish inspiration with tight deadlines. My bingo card is interesting, too – it holds few of my favorite cliches, and so (I hope!) may help me stretch my imagination in new ways.

What are your favorite fanfic cliches? Or do you hate them all with righteous zeal? Tell me! Inquiring minds want to know. :-)


Admissions over at cliche_bingo closed early because of the unanticipated deluge of cliche-loving fanfic writers… I squeaked in just before they did, but solo____ was not so lucky. And because I pimped the challenge to her in the first place, ( I am supplying her with an unofficial cliche bingo card myself. )

Did anyone else miss the chance to sign up? I'm willing to make a couple more unofficial cliche cards, if anyone's interested, because I know how much fun cliches can be. (And you could repay the favor by writing one of the cliched stories about a certain sparkly boy! But don't worry, that isn't obligatory. *g*)


ETA: Please note! When I speak of a sparkly boy, I absolutely do not mean the "Twilight" kind of sparkly vampire boy. I mean the highly attractive and dorky kind of Japanese sparkly dancing boy, who is not in himself sparkly, when not wearing sparkly clothes. Or, you know. Body glitter.

If anyone still needs a Dreamwidth invite code, I have three one available.

Drop me a line if you want one! First come, first served.

Disclaimer: This is pure fiction.
Pairing: Taguchi Junnosuke / Nishikido Ryo
Rating: NC-17 for explicit m/m sex. Also, bondage.
Story notes: AU, slightly more than 31,000 words. Various other JE characters – as well as two non-JE ones – appear in supporting roles.
Betaed by: diamondsofsix, k_julia and solo____ – all of whom helped immeasurably. Thank you very much! This story would be very different – and much worse – without you. solo____ deserves special thanks for going above and beyond.

Summary:
Detectives Nishikido Ryo and Taguchi Junnosuke go undercover in a gay BDSM club run by the mob. Ryo is not happy about this, though not for the reasons you might expect.


First Contact


As always, feedback of all kinds – positive and negative – is very much appreciated!

If anyone still needs Dreamwidth invite codes, drop me a line! I have seven none available.

ETA: All gone!

OMG. Finally, *finally* - after I have shut myself away from the world for days, editing into crazy hours of the morning - the first draft of the story that's been driving me crazy* is finished. To think it started out as a quick and dirty PWP - now it is slightly over 30.000 words long and has plot, despite my best efforts. I'll have to try harder next time... though right now, I'm really not sure that I ever want to write a sex scene again.

So... is anyone up for beta-reading a JE AU about Junno and Ryo undercover in a gay BDSM club? Pretty please? With NC-17 on top? (And not nearly as many puns as this would have you believe?)

I really, really need outside opinions on this story. Grammar and spelling should be mostly okay, though I'm also always glad for input there; mainly, though, I'd love someone to look over the story and tell me if it *works*. (I also just really need to post this to prevent myself from giving the thing another "quick read-through" and descending into editing hell again. Argh.)


* Or to be exact, one of the stories that's been driving me crazy. But I'm not thinking about that now. Not. Thinking.

Oh, Junno. Why?

( I like to call the item of clothing Junno is modelling here The Yellow Pants of Horror. )

( Meet The Florida Pensioner Suit. )

( Here, Junno pioneers the "victim of marauding denim pushers" look. )

If you need to recover after all that, rest your eyes on Junno looking very nice in a plain white t-shirt. *g*


What are the worst fashion crimes the other KAT-TUN members have committed*? Do you know of other horrors Junno has inflicted upon the eyes of innocent fans*? Shock me with the evidence!

* In the interest of fairness, though, no photoshoot pics where they were obviously forced to don whatever horror it is they're wearing. Just stuff they seem to have picked out themselves. Also no stage costumes... that's a different crime scene. ;-)


ETA: I have since been informed that Junno can't be blamed for the heinous crime of The Denim Monstrosity - it was actually perpetrated by a cruel comedian who made him wear it! Poor innocent Junno, I have wronged him grievously.

On the other hand, what does it say that I believed him fully capable of wearing that thing of his own free will? *g*

Yay! I have a Dreamwidth account (and keep forgetting to mention it). Thank you, solo____!

I am rheasilvia on DW, too. If any of you are checking out the place on openID or have an account, give me a shout.

I now also have an invite code that isn't spoken for, if anyone wants to join me there. :-) First person to speak up gets it! And I mean that in a friendly way. (Sorry, I've been having problems with puns lately.)

(If you don't know what this whole Dreamwidth thing is about anyway, check out this post for a good overview.)

In terms of moving plans, I don't have any. LJ will remain my main journal for the foreseeable future; I'll just be crossposting to one more journal.

From what I've seen so far, though, Dreamwidth - once up and running - will be a very versatile and comfortable blogging service... more attractive than LJ on a technical level, with the inestimable added bonus of being fan- and fanfic-friendly. I doubt that LJ will remain the main fannish hang-out indefinitely, and I think it'd be cool if Dreamwidth became the next thing. That's why I'll be getting a paid DW account once the payment feature goes online.


And now...

Back to the edit of DOOM. *headdesk*

ETA: The code has been claimed.

Amazon is stripping the sales ranks from certain books deemed to hold "adult content", in effect making them impossible to find in some searches and removing them from Amazon's "best seller" lists. A large part of the books in question contain gay and lesbian, transgender, polyamory, bdsm or other such non-mainstream themes; in other words, it seems to be the classic censorship for the "benefit" of the tender minds of children/women/insert-group-meant-to-be-kept-in-blissful-ignorance-here.

Stewardess has an informative overview-and-speculation post here, including some info about the import of the sales ranking feature.

Weirdly, I have a vague but definite feeling of personal disappointment - the feeling that Amazon is personally letting me down. I've bought so many books from Amazon over the years that somehow, I seem to have developed a strange sense of affinity and affection. (Amazon was, in fact, the main reason I first became interested in the internet, four score and seven years ago. I had heard rumors of a way to get books in a matter of *days* that I had long been used to ordering from a catalog in a bookstore, going merely by name and author with no description of contents at all, and that would then take months and months to arrive. Or not.)

Oh Amazon, my fast, convenient, reliable and ever-present procurer of reading material of all kinds! Books at the push of a button, delivered right to my door for no extra charge... yeah, I might have fallen a little bit in love with you there, Amazon.

Not feeling the love right now, buddy. Methinks I will be getting better acquainted with some other alluring procurers of books in the future.

I have been tagged for this meme yet again. But I promise that this will be my last post about this - at least this year! :-)

The (slightly modified) rules are:

Several of you named three characters, and I have picked one to push off a cliff, one to marry and one to shag. Here are my choices, with pictures of the characters in question.

If you comment, let me know if you want me to give you three characters so you can make the same kind of tough choice. *g*

solo____ gave me Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria (From Eroica With Love), Saionji Kyouichi (Revolutionary Girl Utena), and Arisugawa Sorata (X 1999).

( Which, argh. I don't want to marry, shag *or* cliff any one of these characters. But...  )

puddingcat gave me Sha Gojyo (Gensoumaden Saiyuki), Fujimiya Aya (Weiss Kreuz) and Tsuzuki Asato (Yami no Matsuei).

( Tough choices, but the first bit was easy! )

solo____ also gave me Dean (Supernatural), E (Entourage), and Gojyo (Saiyuki).

( After thinking about it for several seconds, I actually have to: )

I've been meaning to do this meme again for a long time, and now it's making the rounds again. Plus, I can use it to procrastinate! So:

You name three characters, I have to pick one to push off a cliff, one to marry and one to shag.

If you want, I will also be happy to give you three people so you can then make the same tough choice. *g*

k_julia gave me Ryo, Junno and Dean Winchester...

( ... which is actually pretty easy. :-) )

So... go ahead, hit me with other tough choices! ;-)


E.T.A: Now with added pictures.

My website is an ancient bit of internet debris. You expect intrepid archeologists to surf through it swiftly, peering anxiously into dusty corners to avoid giant rolling boulders of outdated code and dangerously aggressive clunky graphics. The design is practically antique, and the page hasn't been updated in so long that not one of my Supernatural stories is up on it.

I keep meaning to do something about rejuvenating the poor thing – or at least, I keep thinking that I really should. But I am slow when it comes to website work, and I don't want to invest that kind of time.

Still, every once in a while I get wistful. There are such lovely, simple layouts. How cool would a white page with an understated header of some sort be – a quill and an inkstand, maybe! – elegant and clean, no clutter, no fuss.

In my more desperate moments, I've semi-seriously considered roping in one of my IT colleagues for this. They make beautiful and wildly complex webpages all the time! A dinky little page like mine would be child's play; an hour's work, tops. Half an hour.

But of course, there is the issue of my website basically being an archive of m/m slash stories of varying levels of graphic pornage. So, errr. Yeah. *g*

One of you wouldn't happen to be good at / enjoy making webpages? I would send cookies! And cupcakes! And write you a story of your choice!* And be eternally grateful!

Ahem. :-)


* Where "a story of your choice" excludes fandoms, pairings and kinks I can't muster any interest for, of course. :-)

What is it about sparkly dancing boys? Not only have I abandoned my traditional, neatly linear style of writing – I am also fragmenting in other ways! I currently have six (in numbers: 6!) unfinished stories pending in JE fandom.

My insanity, let me show you it. There is:

1. The Epic, which is over 100.000 words long so far but is currently resting because of:


2. The would-be PWP AU (because, seriously, every fandom needs an "undercover in a gay bar" story), which has considerably more plot than a PWP should and which started out as:


3. The FuQFest story (mark two, because the above-mentioned story got away from me), which so far coyly insists on being all plot and no porn. And which is slightly further along than:


4. The random story idea that ambushed me the other day, which features sparkly dancing boys being bad at sex, and which followed:


5. The random story idea that ambushed me a couple of weeks ago, which features sparkly dancing boys being good at some non-sexual things and bad at others, but for which I have mysteriously found no time so far (gee, I wonder why??). And lastly, there is:


6. The "Highlander" Crossover (because that is another staple every fandom needs), which I rediscovered on an USB stick today, much to my surprise, because I had forgotten about it.

… gah?

In an effort to reduce the madness at least slightly, I have declared the HL crossover a Snippet That Will Go No Further. So, without further ado:


Highlander. The Sparkly Years.

( Featuring KAT-TUN. No sparkly boys were (permanently) harmed during the writing of this fic. )

Seen at ignipes' LJ:

Give me two characters from different fandoms you know I'm familiar with, and I'll give you a dialogue happening between the two of them. Without justifying how the crossover would work, how their worlds clashed, or how they could even meet each other. Just a silly crossover conversation with no backstory, for fun.

I'm changing this slightly to include only fandoms I like, so as to minimize potential problem sources in writing these. :-) If you don't know what fandoms I know and like: My LJ interests are far from being a complete list, but they're a place to start. Also, anything I've ever talked or written about in a positive way is fair game.

There are some characters that refuse to talk to me, but I will do my best. *g*

Disclaimer: This is pure fiction.
Pairing: Taguchi Junnosuke / Nishikido Ryo
Rating: G (all audiences)
Word count: Slightly over 5,000 words; written for the fanfic-a-thon at iridetaguchi.
Note: The Taguchi methods are statistical test methods used to analyze and optimize the quality of products, processes and systems. However, this story is not about them.

Betaed by solo____ and k_julia, who helped very much. Thank you again! You are dedicated enablers.


Junno falls in love the way other people catch the flu.


Feedback of all types - positive and negative - is much appreciated.

Allow me to introduce you to craziness, highly attractive young men, insane costumes, rampant slashiness, pop music with a side of synchronized acrobatics and superheroes, no-holds-barred general wackiness, and sheer cracky fun: in other words, the Japanese boybands KAT-TUN, Kanjani8 and NewS.

Before I inflict my most recent fannish creations on my unsuspecting friendslist, it's only fair that I issue some advance warning in the form of an explanation of who these people are. *g* This will also enable you to flee betimes, should you so desire.

Please note that this is not a balanced presentation in any way. I have a very definite focus. :-)

Warning: Picspam behind the cut(s)!


Junno
( A highly attractive dork of a sparkly dancing boy )

KAT-TUN
( His group, six guys of varying levels of attractiveness, dorkiness and sparkliness )

Ryo, Kanjani8 and NewS
( A different sparkly dancing boy and his groups (plural) )

The natural environment of the sparkly dancing boy
( Idols and fictional vs. real gayness )



I will spare you the account of how I got into this – yeah, I've written that out too, but I think this is more than enough for one day. :-)

So, this week, I accidentally wrote two stories about sparkly dancing boys (aka Japanese boybands). Neither of them are the accidental mini-epic about sparkly dancing boys that I expected to be writing. But said mini-epic needs to be finished asap so I can get back to the story that I actually intend to be writing, which does not contain any sparkly dancing boys whatsoever.*

If procrastination were an Olympic discipline, I'd be a contender for the gold.

Also, argh.

And now – before I post the finished stories – I must compose a succinct explanation of who these sparkly dancing boys are anyway, in case any of you are interested in a glimpse of the madness that has befallen me.

See what I mean? Gold medal material, here.


* At least not in leading roles, though there might be some in the background or off to the side. However, I can guarantee none of those hypothetical sparkly dancing boys are Japanese, or boybanders for that matter.**

** Hey, this would make an interesting crossover.***

*** No! No! Must go lie down...

As of yesterday evening, I am online again!

This is cause for great rejoicing. For a while there I thought I wouldn't see the internets again this side of 2009. Because of course all did not go smoothly with my provider change, and there was much cold sweat and weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth (and an interesting no-DSL-ever-again nightmare). But hey, all's well that ends well, right? And there's time to hunt down and squash the remaining bugs.

Oh internet, oh joy!


Now I can finally burble happily about all the lovely cards I got while I was offline. Thank you so much for the seasonal greetings for Christmas, Solstice and Fruit Cake Day! There are lovely homemade cards, there is a Japanese woodprint, there are snowmen and reindeer and angels and trees, there is lots of glitter, there is a pirate stamp and bilingual greetings. There are even two wonderful stories, one about my favorite angel and demon suffering through a solstice with too much cholesterol and an embarrassing potato debacle, and one about my favorite pair of hunters celebrating the holidays in another galaxy, with socks. :-)))

It's so wonderful to receive cards from all over the world - and it was particularly wonderful this year because it made me feel connected to you all even without a working internet connection. (No, seriously. It's just a habit. I can stop any time I want to.)


I hope you are all having a wonderful time - whether you are celebrating or not!

If you'd like to receive a card from me in January, please comment with your address! Comments are screened, and I am not a crazy stalker. Honest. :-)

The chances of a story accompanying the card are very slim this year, unless you are partial to handsome boybandish Japanese dorks. Do feel free to mention if you are! Though I warn you that it may be the wiser choice to keep it quiet – I have a small epic in the works that will need beta-readers at some point. *g*

In other news: I'm switching providers and will be offline for an unspecified amount of time beginning this Monday. (They assure me - in soothing tones - that it may only be a few hours, but no more than six days on the outside. I interpret this to mean that they don't want to aggravate the crazy woman and that anything up to two months is possible.)

I'll be able to read e-mails at work, but beyond that... Ack. Not thinking about that before I have to, though. Instead, I will go write. :-)