Saga City

I forget, sometimes, that not everyone who reads my LJ/DW is on FB or G+. I've been posting there more often lately, when I've been posting at all. Been a busy month, you know.

Anyway, I thought that anyone who hasn't already seen them might enjoy this little You Tube Q series. See, my two-year-old is a music junkie, and though he's not really talking much yet (he's a teeny bit delayed, having had some ear problems last year which are pretty much no longer an issue...well, you'll see.)

He has favorites (largely influenced by my partner's favorites and my own.) Jay's a huge Neko Case fan, so he's been playing her for Q quite a bit.



It's gotten to the point where we can just sing a few lines either from this song or "This Tornado Loves You," and he's off.

He's got genre diversity, though:



And I've been showing him Mike Tompkins' stuff for a while. He won't tolerate just any YT music videos anymore. It's pretty much MT or nothing. I went ahead and bought the DVD of all his YT videos so that I can actually use the computer again. :)



I'm in the middle of uploading him singing along to "Firework" atm. He's been doing more of the sounds lately, too. :D

We'll be packing the computer soon, so I thought I'd take a second to do a bit of updating.

Moving/closing day is tomorrow. Q got sick, just in time--sent home from daycare with a 101 fever. If he's fever-free in the morning, she'll let him come back (she knows we're swamped and taking a toddler to a closing is not ideal). If not...I'm not sure.

I didn't get the job. But I'm...actually pretty happy about it. 1. It was a four-course load that consisted of 3 courses that would have been not only new to me, but outside my regular skillset (teaching creative writing) and 2. It would have started yesterday. I'm already overwhelmed as it is, actually. I think my winter study students actually could see my brain falling out my ears this morning. They tolerated my many tangents pretty well, all things considered. (Case in point, the Old Irish word for sword, which can also mean the tusk of a boar --> heroes getting gored by boars being a thing --> e.g. Odysseus and Robert Baratheon --> Game of Thrones in general --> "GRRM Is Not Your Bitch" is a tangent I actually went on this morning.) And, in sum, I got an interview with the department I eventually want to be part of, and it went well. They were clearly skeptical about my ability/experience teaching creative writing (as am I, tbh), but they were impressed with what I can do, enough to call me in, anyway, but also in ways I could tell during the actual interview. So when a job pops up, hopefully soon, that includes more literature and analytical writing, I'll already be in their heads.

Winter Study is going really well, considering. We're at the point where I can give them bits of text to translate, which is what I've done for the rest of the week (as I'm giving them the next two days off on account of moving) and they're really doing well. They have fun asking me about how the Mothership and W-town has changed over the past 15 years (this morning I dropped the knowledge bomb on them that Tunnel City used to be the site of a gas station!) and they're a great bunch of kids. I'm having a blast. Also, my Old Irish is getting in great shape, which is good, as I'm auditing another OI class this semester. I couldn't resist Merugud Uilix Maicc Leirtis. :D

Actual moving day tomorrow: movers get here around 7:30 am. We have a walkthrough of the new house around 10 am, I think, and then the closing at 11:30. I think I'll be going to bed at, like, 9pm because I'm already so exhausted. But I may not be able to sleep. It's like Christmas Eve, but really it's House Eve!

Who's got two thumbs and a job interview tomorrow?

Yeah, that would be me. :D

Fingers crossed, everyone.

First, let me say that my Yuletide gift this year is exquisite: a follow-up story to Pamela Dean's Tam Lin in which Janet is balancing being a mom and a grad student with aplomb--exactly what I asked for!

O Solitude! (1714 words) by Anonymous
Fandom: Tam Lin - Pamela Dean
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Janet Carter/Thomas Lane
Characters: Janet Carter, Thomas Lane, The Baby (Tam Lin), Mrs. Carter
Summary:

About three years after the end of the novel, Janet juggles marriage, a kid, and grad school. She's pretty good at it.

Yay!

In other news, Cassie got a fair amount of Doctor Who swag for Christmas this year.



Why yes, that is a remote-controlled red Dalek under the tree! (And I got to play with it while she was still asleep. :D)



Also a Ten action figure and Eleven's sonic, which projects promo shots from season 5. She's incredibly excited. ♥

Hope everyone has a gorgeous day!

I've been reading a lot of slashy BBC Sherlock fic lately (that and lots of Klaine!OMG) and thought I'd throw together a recs post of the stuff I've especially liked in the past few days.

I haven't delved too deep into the AO3 yet, so I'm sure there's lots of goodness that's older. Sherlock's a really active fandom, and there are new stories every day.

First of all, if you haven't read The Theory of Narrative Causality yet, do. It's an amazing meta adventure where BBC!Holmes and Watson are in general Sherlock fandom, and end up writing/living the BBC version. And fall in love. It's priceless.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker (61346 words) by Vash137
Fandom: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Sherlock Holmes/Victor Trevor
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Victor Trevor, OC - Character
Summary:

Written for SherlockBBC_fic prompt(LINK: http://sherlockbbc-fic.livejournal.com/6375.html?thread=28912103#t28912103):

Sherlock, upon discovering that John is bisexual but has sworn off men, makes it his mission to help set John up on various dates so he can find the perfect man. Hilarity ensues. Sherlock/John: Pre-slash moving to Slash.

[Mostly done (15/16 chapters posted, and the action's pretty much over. I think the last bit's only epilogue. So even if you're allergic to WIPs, this shouldn't frustrate.) Adorable.]

If-Then (2164 words) by lielabell
Fandom: Sherlock (TV)
Rating: Mature
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Summary:

It's basic really.

IF
(John's interested)
THEN
(kiss him)
ELSE
(smile faintly)
END IF

[A look in Sherlock's head as he tries to figure out if/how to woo John. Fantastic use of logic language.]

And then for some porn, if that's up your alley:

The View from the Top (3379 words) by stardust_made
Fandom: Sherlock (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson
Summary:

Fresh into their relationship as lovers Sherlock pushes one too many buttons with John. John has enough and transforms into a loving BAMF, taking things to the bedroom.

[Forceful Watson is forceful.]

Unfettered (4653 words) by guns_and_poses
Fandom: Sherlock (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson
Summary:

The sexual tension between John and Sherlock reaches a breaking point when they wind up handcuffed together during a case.

John knows he should leave it at that, but being handcuffed to Sherlock, being tied to him, feeling the intermittent brush of his fingers, is threatening to lead John’s waking mind into the titillating landscape of his dreams.

[Handcuffs. 'Nuff said.]

As far as Klaine recs go, if you're not already reading stoney123's epic firefighter AU Where There's Smoke, get thee hence. It's not a WIP, but she's been posting one chapter per day, and hasn't posted them all yet. There are 9 chapters up so far (today will be the 10th, soon), and the epilogue is due to hit on Christmas Eve.
Even if you don't watch Glee, it's an adorable story of two boys in love and worth reading.

Also, I'm going to just rec everything flaming_muse has written. She does amazing character studies and relationship studies, and makes everything better when the canon isn't enough. Beautiful, beautiful stuff.

It's official. We accepted an offer on our house today. The contract on the house we're buying was contingent only upon our selling our house. So. Assuming everyone stays committed, we'll be moving mid-January.


EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I have no idea how this happened, but in just two years this teeny guy:



has turned into this big/little guy:



Happy birthday Q.

Dear Yulegoat:
Thank you SO MUCH for writing me a story! I am sure whatever strikes your fancy will be absolutely brilliant, but if you're looking for ideas, there are ideas and general blather beneath the cut.

In general, things that bug me about fic are things that bug me as a writing instructor: bad grammar and shallow treatment of content. Misogyny, racism, and other -isms are things I can tolerate only if they're being clearly subverted by the narrative. Child harm or death are things I just can't do. Other than that, I'm pretty open to reading whatever you choose to write.

( Tam Lin, KITH, Infomania, and Girl Genius )

As you may know, Cassie and I have been rewatching NuWho from the beginning.

( Spoilers for seasons 1-4, just in case. )

This can safely be said outside of a cut, I think. When Cassie realized that meant Daleks, she sighed, rolled her eyes and said, "Ugh. Daleks suck."

HA. Yes. Yes, they do, honey.

So, hey, do you remember that post that deconstructed Twilight from the perspective of a former Mormon? No? Well, go read that first. I'll wait.

Several months ago, Jay and I watched Latter Days on Netflix streaming. It was sweet, if flawed, and generally I was just happy to see a film that explored the issue of gay Mormons. You know, besides documentaries (also available on Netflix streaming, btw).

So when stoney posted an original fic she had written about two Mormon missionaries who fall in love, I gobbled it up. And it's so sweet (and yes, there's lots of sex too.) What strikes me as the most interesting thing, though, is the way that she writes them as not turning their backs on their faith as much as turning their backs on the institution. It's a nuance that I find relatively rare in narratives about losing one's religion, so that was very refreshing.

Anyway, if it's the kind of thing that interests you, (and you haven't read it already) do go check it out?