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.

The fantasy gaming world is discovering slash! One of the romantic options in the PS3 video game Dragon Age Origins is a dalliance between the male protagonist and a male elven assassin. AFAIK this is the first m/m sex scene in a mainstream video game. Of course, the reactions of the vocal majority of gamers are pretty much what you'd expect, but I still find this development very encouraging.

You can watch the relevant scene here!

Not being a gamer myself, I don't know what sex scenes in fantasy adventure games are usually like; this one seems a little stiff*, if well-intentioned. The same goes for the rest of the scene (which also features an expository news bulletin updating the player on the elven assassin's background**).

( All the same, I find myself strangely charmed.  )

( Bonus poll, just because. )

Meme-time! Seen all over, and too much to resist.

The rules:
1. Write down the names of 10 characters.
2. Write a fic of fifteen words or less for every prompt, using the characters determined by the numbers. Do NOT read the prompts before you do step 1.

My characters:
1. Junno (Johnny's Entertainment)
2. Ryo (Johnny's Entertainment)
3. Methos (Highlander)
4. Saionji (Utena)
5. Tatsumi (Yami no Matsuei)
6. Lex (Smallville)
7. Gojyo (Saiyuki)
8. Hakkai (Saiyuki)
9. Seishirou (Tokyo Bablyon / X1999)
10. Subaru (Tokyo Bablyon / X1999)

( The stories )

Dear fanfic fans, I have a question. In your opinion, what is the best way of posting a very long piece of fanfiction (think novel, 150,000 words or more)? Please take a sec to let me know!

( This way to the poll. )

Why I ask? Because I'm in the process of writing a very long piece of fanfiction, and would like to post it in a way that agrees with the readers. :-) I won't start posting before the novel's finished, by the way, so readers can be sure the story won't remain incomplete. I won't leave anyone hanging; I know how frustrating that is.

Thank you very much! :-)


ETA:
I am totally bowled over by how informative, diverse and fascinating the responses to this poll are. While I was - in theory - already aware that there are almost as many reading preferences as there are readers, this is the first time I've had the good fortune of gaining such varied, individual and nuanced insights into *why* different fanfic readers prefer to read the way they do.

In short: You guys are awesome. Seriously. :-)

Today, I organized my epic.

Which epic, you ask? Oh, the one that started out as a short fling on my part with a fandom… and that somehow exploded into the longest fanfic novel I have ever written. And that isn't finished yet. (How do I get myself into these things? It's a long story. Not quite as long as the epic, though. *g*)

When an author's delusion she is writing a short story collides with burgeoning inspiration, the resulting writing process can be chaotic. But today, I have girded my loins and heroically waded into the fictional jungle, there to ruthlessly index, streamline and organize. As it turns out, the chaos wasn't nearly as bad as I feared – and now I totally have that epic's number. ;-)

( The Epic's Number(s) )

Phew.

It is a weighty, age-old question: If your OTP characters are in different parts of a grocery store but have visual contact, can A convey to B – without shouting – that A wants B to pick up some broccoli?

The famous "broccoli test" – as far as I know – was originally devised by Starsky&Hutch and/or The Professionals fans, as a telling measure of a pairing's rapport (or characteristic communication problems, as the case may be).

But I ask you, where on earth are all the stories? The subject is fairly shouting out for fiction. Pass or fail, there should be stories! So, here's my attempt to show how things might play out for one of my pairings.

( The Broccoli Conundrum: Junno and Ryo )

What about your pairings of choice? Do they pass or fail the broccoli test? Write! Show me! Ask all your friends! For the love of broccoli! :-)

Also, because I can, a poll!
Poll #1462128 Junno, Ryo and the Problem of Broccoli
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 101

Do Junno and Ryo pass the broccoli test?

Your limited poll options restrict me! Let me tell you how it really is:

I am watching Nobuta wo Produce* for the first time (solo____ is showing it to me, and we are only up to ep 4, so no spoilers, please!). It's a great series, I think, funny and interesting with engaging characters.

Nobuta also features an… interesting animation for the opening and closing credits: the dramatic love story of two pastel piglets. At first glance, this is surprising, seeing as piglets – pastel or otherwise – play absolutely no part in Nobuta itself, and the piglet plot seems unconnected to anything in the Nobuta plot. But once you think about it for a while, the Piglets' Deeper Meaning™ becomes clear!

Warning: This post may surpass your recommended daily dose of silliness and talk about animated piglets. If in doubt, please consult your physician. Also: pastel piglet picspam behind the cut!

( The Piglets' Tale )


Now I want piggy slash. :-) Anyone who writes me a Green Piggy/Pink Piggy slash story (hurt/comfort or angst would both be fine!) will receive a drabble of their choice, in the fandoms and pairings of my known preferences.


* For those of you who have no idea what this may be, it is a Japanese TV series about two mismatched and unlikely high-school heroes taking on the project of making a girl who is the single most unlikely candidate for popularity popular. Like many plots of dubious inherent interest, it rises and falls with the execution – which, in this case, is very good.

Or: Nishikido Ryo's Life as a Korean Drama. Featuring an annoying cast of practical jokers, Eito with an unhealthy interest in other people's love lives, and compulsive snugglers.

Disclaimer: This is pure fiction.
Pairing: Taguchi Junnosuke / Nishikido Ryo
Rating: NC-17 for explicit sex
Betaed by: solo____. Thank you again!
Story notes: Originally written for the je_fqfest 2009 for diamondsofsix. Slightly less than 8.000 words.

Summary: It's all Pi's fault... Pi and his stupid pranks. Because instead of Ryo's bag and Ryo's bed, Room 8 holds a horde of loud and drunken KinKi Kids and Arashi members, none of whom are in any state to question, although the loudest and most drunken one does try to get Ryo in a headlock and/or offer him some sake.

A Comedy of Errors

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. :-)