two mutton pills and a stein of mead

Good news! I didn't spend the entire Christmas weekend crying!

I mean, I did cry this morning -- who didn't? But...at least it wasn't the result of deep-seated Christmas malaise?

It actually ended up being a fun, low key couple of days: pajamas, champagne, and cookies I purchased with MONEY at a BAKERY because I am a LAZY REBEL.

Didn't manage to send out holiday cards -- AGAIN -- and of course I always feel bad accepting any from others when I doubt I'll ever get my act together enough to reciprocate, so I just end up kinda...left out of the whole process. Which sucks.

I guess I fell out of the habit when my grampa died, and I finally cut contact with my mom's awful sisters. And then I was never close with my dad's stepdad and half-brother, not even when he was still alive. I think I've met them...twice? My point being: my Big List O' Blood Relations is -- not that big. Tiny, actually. Miniscule.

But that's a stupid reason! Love has nothing to do with blood! (Unless that's your kink. No judgement.)

I'll do better next year.

Further good news: my Sesa present is adorable and funny, and was clearly written by someone who knows all about my weirdly formative crush on Disney's Aladdin. (The character, but also every character. The whole movie.) Ahem.

It's the only one I've read so far, but I think it bodes well for the rest!

MtYG reveals were yesterday, which means I'm finally free to shake my fist at the heavens and howl the anguished howl of the sorry son of a bitch whose recipient is her beta. And not just my beta - she's also my major idea bouncer off-er and all-around headcanon twin. BLERG. (I know I'm not the only one who's been through this. Show yourselves, my brethren-in-pain! COME, COMMISERATE WITH ME.)

So...yeah. I drew the name of the graceful, swan-like zebraljb and for her I produced this fine example of overwrought Bassez melodramaz, aka The Hippie and The Yuppie, aka Screw The Establishment: A Love Story. It's an idea fragment I've been kicking around forever, JC as one of those 'free hugs' guys you always see in Midtown, and one I'm sure I've blathered about many a time to many a person - but mostly to one person in particular. Ahem. And frankly, just the fact that the 20th came and went without any word from me should've been a dead giveaway that I was her author; but then, on Christmas Eve night, I received the most timidly-worded email of all time ("...um, pardon me, miss, I hate to be a bother but...did you perchance write this Bassez AU?", etc.) and I rolled my eyes so hard that one of them actually got stuck up there. I had to reach into the socket with a plastic coffee stirrer and spin it back around. It was terrible. :)

The writing process, shockingly, was not the worst. Or, at the very least, this wasn't one of those times where you click 'submit' and then wake up the next morning with twenty-five incredible new ideas you'll never get to incorporate. (I hate those times.) I feel like my sex scenes were kind of bland, and about three days before the deadline, when it was far too late to do anything about it, I realized that the whole thing really should've been written from JC's POV instead of Lance's (a realization that set off my intermittent eye twitch) - but, mostly, I'm cool with the way it all came together. (Today. I'm cool today. Ask me again in six months.)

As for me, I think I made out pretty darn well. Santa brought me some tooth-decayingly sweet domestic!TrickC (with dogs! Sad, orphaned CHRISTMAS DOGS! And JC as a deceptively hot accountant!) AND one of his drunker elves decided, bizarrely, that it'd be a good idea to name a fictional baby after me (immortality = ACHIEVED!) which, before now, isn't something I ever really thought I wanted, but...then JC changed my infant namesake's diaper and crooned to her in a gentle, soothing manner and it occurred to me that yes, I really, really did.

Here it is, folks -- the timestamp no one asked for!

A little background: I wrote this for the 'Tis the Season to be Steamy challenge over at popsoundboard, the point of which is to write an X-rated "deleted scene" from one of your already existing MtYG fics. I went with my entry from 2011, If You Can't Stand the Heat (Stay Out of the Kitchen). For those of you who don't feel up to refreshing yourselves, here's the breakdown: it's a Trickyfish High School AU, lots of longing looks from across the Home Ec. classroom, garden variety teen angst... You're not missing much.


( Wifely Duties )

We've still got a few hours left before the 2012 MtYG reveal, so I thought I'd get a few recs in under the wire!

How I Met Your Father (Chris/JC)
There were plenty of awesome stories this year but this one was written for ME ME ME! Take a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested universe, throw in some kooky, offbeat love-at-first-sight antics, ramp up the hilarity about twenty notches and you get...well, I'm not sure, exactly; all I know is it involves AJ wearing a scarf made out of his own intestines and I love it! And best of all, it's something I never could've come up with on my own.

With a Sprinkle of Fairy Dust and a Slap on the Butt (JC/Lance)
Oh my God, this story. It's to die for. Oh my God.

"On what planet are those pants deemed appropriate? And not just appropriate, but appropriate for national television?"

JC laughed, and then twirled around in a pirouette before striking a pose.

"On Planet Don't Dis My Bitch Pants if You Ever Want to Get in 'Em, Mister."

...that pretty much says it all, right there.


A Very Special Snowflake (JC/Justin)
I don't care what anyone says--this one's all about the TrickC love! Yes, that love is (sadly) platonic, but beggars can't be choosers. I'll take what I can get. Also, the banter here is some of the best I've read in, well, ever.

Welcome Home, You (Kevin/Brian, kinda)
Bittersweet and hurt-y with undertones of cousinly longing. Love it.

From the Ashes (Brian/AJ)
The sheer scope of this thing is totally amazing. One of those huge, sprawling, intimidating AUs that makes you feel like a hack for even trying to compete. (At least that's how it makes me feel. What can I say? Low self-esteem is a bitch.) Marvelously snarky AJ and the Brian voice is superb.

The Veil of Dreams (Chris/JC, Nick/Lance)
Chris and JC and unspoken yearnings and Nick, King of the Fairies! Seriously, this story deserves more reccage than I'm physically capable of giving.

Dueling Cowboys (Joey/JC)
A clever twist on this year's unofficial theme of "Superheroes, Superheroes and More Superheroes". No one in this fic has any powers, but nearly the whole thing takes place at a con--with Joey and Chris as rival comic book shop proprietors. And Lance dresses up as Nightcrawler!

Orange is the happiest color (Chris/Lance)
Perfection. If you can read this story without cackling then you're in the wrong fandom, buddy.

Man, this is the part I hate. I know, I just know, that the second I hit that "Post" button another half a dozen reccable stories will spring to mind. I really should have planned this out better. Or at all. Hope no one holds it against me--I swear it's the absentminded kind of neglect, not the cruel kind!