idealists are the cruelest monsters of them all.

I CANNOT COME TO THE KEYBOARD BECAUSE I HAVE DIED OF THE HOTASS. It's a good thing I mocked this up already. (Thank you the_grynne).

A Note from The Management: whomever is hotlinking from my photobucket, knock that shit off. Thanks to you I had to lock up all my photo albums and am one day away from being over my bandwidth. Thanks for ruining shit for everybody else. In short, thanks for nothing.

Moving onward.

This week we're focusing on vids, cause vids are awesome and should always get all the love (I learned proper appreciation from Her Holiness thefourthvine). Personally I'd love to vid, but I do not possess one iota of the required patience to go through all the footage required to make one palatable. I'd need some huge interactive grid where you can grab footage and reorder it. Like Minority Report. And then there is the music. I am very particular about my music (like you lot didn't know that) and there's nothing sadder to me than when I love the way someone edited their video, but the music just leaves me lacking. But there is none of that here.

( Two story recs, one gallery rec and eleven vid recs in Sherlock, The Social Network, Southland, Miscellanea and Music )

A little something from me to you. Hope everyone's having a good start to their week.


Inception

How to extract when you are four inches tall and made from felt by fera_festiva -- Felt!Arthur and Eames. Daleks! Lego guns!

Now We're Cooking by red_rahl -- It's the holidays and Eames is going to cook for Arthur, dammit.


Sherlock

The Curious Case of the Heart by chibirhm -- Pretty much all the Sherlock fic I've read to date is from John's POV and understandably so. Getting inside Sherlock's head cannot possibly be easy and you clearly have to be willing to commit if you're going there. chibirhm committed and went there, and it's beautiful.

Homemaking by rageprufrock --John has Sherlock; Harry has Clara. Guess who turns out to be the scarier option?

Light Our Own Fires by black_eyedgirl -- From the AVENWiki: Demisexual - is a person who does not experience sexual attraction until they form a strong emotional connection with someone, often in a romantic relationship. The term demisexual comes from the orientation being "halfway between" sexual and asexual. In general, demisexuals are not sexually attracted to anyone of either gender; however, when a demisexual is emotionally connected to (usually in love with) someone else, the demisexual experiences sexual attraction and desire to the same degree as a sexual person, but only towards the specific partner(s).

L'instinct suffit by kate_lear -- I'm meant to be learning French in the new year. I really really really hope my lessons go like these. Just saying.

The Perils of Urban Warfare by phantomjam -- You don't choose who you love. This can make life rather difficult if you're in therapy. At least if your name is John Watson.

When The Bough Breaks by alice_day -- Molly's a witch; John is a baby and Sherlock is totally not down with this program. Even though John is the cutest kid on earth. Complete with amazing art by sadynax

Totally Biased Rec of Awesome \o/: aredblush was kind enough to make me this adorable Sherlock doodle for my birthday and it is lovely and I'm so very touched. Thank you, bb!


The Social Network

and that's why we're still waiting by figletofvenice -- Everybody knows that Mark Zuckerberg took the entire Facebook staff to see the movie. How would you feel about seeing someone else's interpretation of your life?

Bugfixes in the Redesign by black_eyedgirl -- Mark and Eduardo get trapped in an elevator post-lawsuit. Dear The Social Network Fandom, You are really bringing the A Game. And it is AWESOME. \o/

the farther I fall I'm beside you by therealw -- I think Marilyn is awesome. Andrew Garfield ships Eduardo/Mark. The author ships being awesome. It's a lot of awesome things that go awesome together. Prepare to be amazed and fall in love all over again.


Video of the Week

Andrew Garfield singing The Bed Intruder Song. Blame figletofvenice



Beeb Docudrama about Vincent Van Gogh (wherein Vincent is played by Himself, Benedict Cumberbatch). Thank pearljamz

It's Wednesday. Let's do Friday Recs! \o/ What can I say -- I see no reason to postpone the sharing of awesome.

This is the first week I'm attempting diversification of Friday Recs, we'll see how it goes. I had to start drafting this fucker yesterday, so don't say I never did anything for you. This week's recs are REALLY REALLY art heavy (*fist pump*) cause that's what I'm feeling right now. Plus, there's so much Sherlock fic to go through I'm not even sure how to go through it apart from just reading until my eyeballs fall out. ( This is broken up in three sections by fandom: Inception, Social Network, and, of course, Sherlock. And videos. Love the videos. And yes, it is long enough to warrant a cut. Finally. )

Also, I have been most remiss in not wishing the most beloved United States Marine Corps a very happy birthday. The older you are the hotter and more competent you get! \o/

Yes, these are Friday recommendations. Yes, it's still Thursday. Yes, I am sure because I'm sober. Why am I doing them today? a) Because I fucking can b) Because it's been that kind of week and c) See a & b.

Before we get to the Inception Recs, however, there are three other things that I'd very much like to draw your attention to:

a. Flowers for a Girl by yahtzee63, which is season five Mad Man about Joan and Peggy and Don. This story fit so seamlessly between last week and this week that when it was over I was pretty sure I'd just seen a scene from the TV show. Sharp, visceral writing of which even Matt Weiner himself would be like "That's what I'm talking about."

b. Bloodbuzz by wearemany -- Southland fic. Oh Southland how I love you. How I miss you. How nobody ever seems to write you. Why is that? I suppose because it's so dense. So complete on its own. And yet, there's always a tiny thread that you can tug on. wearemany tugged on the Ben Sherman Sr. thread. And man did the rug unravel. Ben/John, NC-17. With suits.

c. You all know how I feel about film recs. You only get one a year and I spent that vote on Inception this year. However. If you feel like I steered you in the right direction with that one, if you feel like maybe I know what I'm talking about sometimes, then listen to me now when I tell you: Go see The Social Network. I detest Facebook. I couldn't give a shit about Aaron Sorkin. The last good thing David Fincher did was Fight Club. Every time this movie trailer came on I wanted to slit someone else's throat. The only reason I think I got suckered into going is because they used an a cappella version of Radiohead's Creep and Kayne's Power for the previews. But you know what? The movie was extraordinary clever. And smart. And human. And you will leave there amazed by the power of just wanting to belong. Two very very enthusiastic thumbs up. (And there's a special treat for LJ people. No, for real). Go. See. It. When you get back you can write me fic about you know who (or you will once you see it).

And now, to that other stuff.


Art Recs

Get The Fuck Out Of My Head_2 by tatarnikova -- The artist gave this a much more poetic title than I did. I think of it as, "OMG that drawing where Arthur's in the shower!"

Hard Candy#1 and Version #2 by Sofie Hallor -- If you suspect I'm a tad picky about my Arthur/Joe art, you have no idea how I am about the Eames/Tom art. When I looked at this, all I could think, apart from "That is how you use color, people!", was, "Oh, look, it's Tom." I should also point out that version #1 is the artist-preferred version, because she didn't like the way the eyes looked (but I do, which is why you also get version 2).

Mal & Eames by smilevintage -- The artist put this together as a push for Mal/Eames. I'm including it, not because I am interested in the pairing, but because this Mal? This is my Mal. Smiling and happy and mischievous and loved. There seems to be a segment that believes that Mal is some how manipulative and mean and harsh, that Dom was her victim or whatever, but I don't buy into that shit at all. I think Dom betrayed her love and her trust when he incepted her. I think she gave him everything and he turned out to be a selfish ass. If anybody's a manipulative prick it's Dom. My Mal is Arthur's Mal, and we both think, "she's lovely."



Fic Recs

Believe Me if You Can (The House at Pooh Corner) by gyzym -- See. This. What. I can't even. Tee. Eye. Double Guh. Err. That's what this story is about. You have been warned. Also, Rabbit's growing pot in his garden. In the last three weeks my childhood has been utterly besmirched by angelgazing, aredblush and gyzym I need to go cry somewhere.

Beni Asla Bırakma by atomicskull -- This is the Yusuf fic of my heart. No, that's not hyperbole, that's the truth. atomicskull knew what I needed and wrote it without me even needing to ask and I am eternally grateful. Yusuf is smart, and kind, and falls in love and his friendship with Eames is built on the firmest foundations. There is a life pre-Inception and there's one post-Inception.

Childish Thoughts, Adult Minds by sekkritbandlj -- You would think my Kryptonite would be wee!Eames. I thought my Kryptonite was wee!Eames. Turns out it's wee!Arthur. And Eames with wee!Arthur. On the slide. And at the ice cream parlor. And tiny Arthur. You don't understand. I was defenseless. I blame johanirae since she made the art for it that showed me its existence

Eames Character Study by temperance_k -- There are all kinds of Eames characterizations in this fandom. Everyone sees something different. Some people believe Eames comes from some sort of abusive home, that it's all rag-tag gutter living and that he's unspeakably dim. I don't see that. I don't buy it; you couldn't sell it to me on a naked man. Then again, there are people who don't believe that Eames planned the entire fucking Inception job. I can only assume that anti-monopolistic sentiments are being discussed on the back of a can of Carlsberg. Doesn't make it any less valid. Just means it doesn't work for me. My characterization tends to come from the idea of Eames being a public school boy, from money, from his clear military background and the fact that he uses an endearment once, ostensibly to get Arthur's head back in the game; lazlet insisted he was firmly middle class. She only capitulated to me when she found an interview where Tom and Chris admit that Eames is old money, but you know, it's like I said before. Everybody sees things differently. And this story. The one that temperance_k wrote. I buy this story. I believe this story. So will you.

A Piece of the Plate (Got Stuck In My Heart) by jibrailis -- IRON CHEF AU FTW! Run, scurry, flee, read it now!

Plate Tectonics by indysaur -- Arthur moves in with Eames when his ex-fiancee tries to kill him. Like you do. But this story isn't really about that. This story is about living together and making room in your life for somebody else. But really, this story is about the awesome that is Yusuf. \o/ I love the Yusuf in this story. I want to take him home and make tea for him and give him biscuits

Plus One by someidiothasice -- I found this story last week through foxxcub and I'd give her a pony as a thank you, but I already gave her a pony. I can't have her running around taking other people's ponies. This is a story about Arthur in his off hours, about what he potentially gets up. This is about what happens when Eames comes along. It's the kind of thing you'll want to smoke something after, whether that's incense or a cigarette is up to you.

Put Your Hands On Me by meiface -- Arthur likes to be touched more than he thinks he does. This is yet another one of those things that is just kind of bulletproof for me. I know everybody's shocked. But I love the way meiface explores it here. The way Arthur thinks it's all about Eames when it's really all about him.

And before I go...

Upon my most recent viewing of Inception I am firmly convinced of the fact that Arthur is not a cold fish, that he's anything but repressed. That he's sensitive and emotionally aware. If you look a) at the scene where Ariadne wakes up after being stabbed and Arthur immediate runs to her side, b) when he talks about Mal being lovely c) when Dom is yelling at him, and Arthur's upset -- yes, because he fucked up but also because Dom is furious with him and d) where he drops down to Eames' side in the hotel room, that conversation. They'll run you down. Go to sleep, Mr. Eames. That shared smile. It's all there.

Arthur is astute. He is emotionally aware. He picks up on other people's cues. Whatever he is. He is not a fucking robot. Whatever he is, he feels things and he feels them deeply. Do not discount that.

Also, while I'm on my soapbox I'd just like to say that, "I love Eames clothes." I think they show a lot of fucking character and personality. I don't think they're tacky or gauche. They may not be bespoke suits and whatever, but the man fucking has style and he owns it. It's easy to wear something that comes preassembled from the same cloth. It's easy to stack black with black. It's a lot harder to decide who you want to be and let your clothes say that. Whether you spend an hour getting dressed or two minutes it all makes a statement, what do you want your statement to be?

And on a final note: if Eames were an animal, he'd totally be an otter. Adorable, self-absorbed, quick on the paw and unable to be denied at all.


And with that, you'll have to excuse me, I have to go back to my life being utter shite.

hackthis' Song of the Moment: Jason Derulo's 'Ridin' Solo'

You don't understand: I have an unhealthy attachment to this song, but I don't care.




This song is so goddamn catchy I may never recover. Have a copy

Runner up: Janelle Monae's 'Cold War.' Get it.



Inception Recs (Eames/Arthur unless otherwise noted)

In alphabetical order:


Back Against the Wall by ashinan -- Angry!sex is not one of my kinks but Jealous!Arthur that leads to Angry!sex? Uh, the words "fuck yes" immediately spring to mind. This is seriously scald-your-eyeballs hot.

fire favored by andrealyn -- Ten words: Inception Mutant!AU. Arthur is a firestarter. Eames is a shapeshifter. INORITE!

five times eames was (shockingly) a gentleman by deepsix -- I first found this via the inception_kink comm, but the author was anonymous, which drove me crazy. Why do y'all tease me with this anonymous shit? How am I supposed to praise you properly if I don't know your name! Bah. Thankfully, deepsix stepped up and took ownership of the awesome contained herein. And y'all, it is awesome. The story is fairly self-explanatory from the title, but I just adore Eames here. I adore Eames anywhere, but especially here, because of his restraint and his desire to do shit right.

Inception_Kink Fill: Eames woos Arthur with poetry by handsomespeck -- I think the Request says it all "Eames. Poetry." It's short but classic. <3 Eames

Inception_Kink Fill: M from James Bond as Eames' mother by pyrimidine -- Do I even need to tell you to read this? Do you see what this prompt is? Exactly. And it was written by moneyfolder. THIS SHIT IS MONEY IN THE FUCKING BANK. No, seriously, like I may have spontanously combusted. Tell her to write more. Beg. Invegle. Offer children, kittens, goats, virgins if there are any left, because if she doesn't write more I'm going to be very very very sad.

If You're Just Playing Along, I Promise We'll Be Fine by foxxcub -- A point man and a forger walk into a bar...oh, wait, wrong story. A point man and a forger get drunk in a bar and it's adorable and involves PDA and posessive!Arthur. Yeah, FTW.

Prison Bars and Snail Shells by ifeelbetter -- Arthur goes to prison. Like you do. Eames is not down with this turn of events. And then he does his best Houdini and it's like the most fabulous thing ever. There is vomiting of keys! What? Does that not make you gleeful too? Infidel.

Sort of Revolution by pyrimidine -- Arthur is not a morning person. Eames accomodates him. Bless.

tonight I'm a hurricane by sabinelagrande -- Arthur and Eames... and Ariadne. maurheti said, "It's hot." I said, "Can't be that hot." She said, "Yeah, it is." I said, "Fine, I will read it." And then I had to lie down in the walk-in freezer for an hour or two.

Two Steps Towards Make Believe by ifeelbetter -- If you don't know what it is to suffer from insomnia, consider yourself lucky. And no, that one time you only slept five hours instead of eight doesn't count. Arthur doesn't sleep, hasn't slept in years (which believe me is possible), but when he gets near Eames. Well. I reckon Eames can fix anything.

we walk the same path (but got on different shoes) by lastling -- Eames is an assassin; Arthur is a handler. IT'S LIKE THIS FIC WAS MADE FOR MY KINKS. Seriously. Or as I told the author, "Well, that was delightful as hell, holy shit.." Seriously, if this doesn't leave you grinning from ear to ear I don't even know what to do with you, like for real, go sit in the corner for twenty minutes.

When No One is Around You by moonythestrals. Okay this is a story about Eames' first name. And Arthur's last name. Or Arthur's first name. What you never considered that 'Arthur' is his surname? C'mon, now. Anyway, this story should be read for that idea alone, but to me that's incidental to what's really important about this story. Two words: Wee Eames. Exactly. Off you go now.


If you enjoy the stories, please let the authors know. Authors need love and support and water to grow.

Good morning my little godless heathens,

I come to you in search of the soundtrack for (500) In Days of Summer, which I just *know* one of you is in possession of. And if you do not know of whence I speak, I say unto thee: WATCH THIS FUCKING MOVIE NOW. In exchange I can offer you, uh, last week's GK story or you can wait for the one that's supposed to come out this week. As I've not written that one yet you might be better off with the other though (just saying).

Hope everyone's enjoying their weekend.

X

ETA: Mission Accomplished!! (No, not you George Bush). I have the best flist evar! Thank you maiahaha and obeetaybee!!

One of the many many many things to love about Generation Kill fandom is that you can get people to do, like, pretty much any fucking thing if you harass them or just clap really loudly and make seal noises (trufax).

So when late last night romanticalgirl showed Q, A and I her epic poetical masterpiece: The Care and Keeping of the Iceman by Ray Person, Cpl. USMC, which is also a teaser for a story she's writing right now, I just KNEW it had to be shared immediately, because only in GK can you write this sort of poem:

This is Ray. Ray hates that bitch. Ray wants to fuck her shit up.
Brad doesn't listen to Ray about girls. Given that Ray likes Walt, this is probably wise.
This calls for command.

This is Nate. He's the lieutenant.
He wants Brad, but we're pretending we don't know that.
Save Brad, LT! You can do it with your cock-sucking lips!

READ IT. Your life will be better for it. Also, if anybody felt compelled to draw stick figure art for the betterment of society, you know, that would be fucking AWESOME. I'd do it myself but I have no scanner to share it with the class. I may have to just draw it on a napkin and put it in the post to L. Hmmm. ETA: NOW WITH ART BY bijoux!!

And then, once you are done with that astounding lyrical brilliance I expect you to go over to sparky77's LJ and read her masterpiece entitled Fucking Rainbows. I know, yes, in our fandom we blaspheme rainbows. And why would we ever do such a thing? Well, you remember that story about the military working a Gay Bomb back in the day (I swear I'm not making that one up)? Imagine if it went off around Second Platoon. Like sex pollen only wayyyyyyyyy better.

While you are there you should also encourage her to write Ray's Guide to Why Brad and Nate Should Fuck so I don't have to. It's an alphabetical rhyme as it were. Maybe I will see if she wants to collaborate.

Southland people, I promise you I would never ever ever ever forget you. You know that comment!fic romanticalgirl started the other day? The one where Ben buys a dildo called The Cop Killer ... ... Yes, I actually typed that sentence (I just had to go back and make sure that I really just typed that sentence). Well. It became a story. Yes, one comment has turned into eight pages of FILTH. Read Call 911. Have a defibrilator nearby for when you go into cardiac arrest from porn overdose.

You see how I make fandom a better place by encouraging these activities? I know, I love you too. And yes, comment-fest continues, I'm just a little busy right now and can't be as prompt with turn around as I like.

1. Go and vote in The Asstastic ass_off 09! Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like, a Tournament of Extraordinary Backsides. March Madness but with ASS! Complete with graphics! And make sure you vote for Brad, err Alexander Skarsgard!

2. The most fabulously brilliant thefourthvine explains why the number of comments you recieve on a story/in an entry is not, and will never be, directly proportional to the number of people who have you friended who read your journal. Because let's face it, this is not a friends thing, this is a goddamn reading list and would that LJ called it by what it really is.

3. sparky77 writes The Incredibly True Story of When El Jay met Dreamwidth.

4. romanticalgirl continues to run me out of wanting to write Generation Kill fandom by crafting some of the most honest and brilliant Brad POV possible and rendering me a mess. Read Ergo Sum. At this point I should be happy she's not a crack head or I'd be in the corner, doing shots with Ray and telling him how I introduced the love of my life to another woman, and she was better for him than I was, and damn the whole thing!

5. As of 9:12 this morning 'minions' will hence forth be referred to as "outside contractors paid in porn." So say we all. This contract has been ratified by myself and antheia

6. Dear Walsh on The Unusuals, You are tres hot. Like if Ben McKenzie ever ages I hope he looks like you. In fact, you really do look like you should be related. Maybe someone will write the X-over where you two are brothers and you come to LA and have blindingly hot sex with Cooper!! *waits* *waits more*

My writing has, um, yeah, I think I over worked it in January. So, while I try to coax it out from under the bed, read these stories instead:

Generation Kill

Free Falling Through the Nighttime Sky by lunasky, which is the story of Brad and Nate falling in love and the story of Nate falling out of love with the USMC. It's long and lush and it's so good I've read it twice, which doesn't really tend to happen ever.


Mastery by alethialia. In the interest of full disclosure I should point out that I pushed hard for this story, because it's Brad and Nate and porn and somebody gets tied the hell up, which is like, WHOOOO. And I haven't, uh, read it yet, because it's early and I need to go for my run, but it's A and it's porn, so, I mean really, do you even need me to tell you to read it? Okay, read it.


Merlin

Coming Of Age by astolat is part of her Beltane Cycle. The first part obviously being Beltane, the second part being Coming of Age, and the third pard being That Shall Achieve the Sword. Of the three pieces so far, this is the one that made me have to take deep breaths and then go out for a run afterwards, because I was so moved. Or just in awe.


All the Laughter From Before by waldorph, which is a story I don't want to spoil for anyone except to say that a) it's spawned my own project, so thank you very much to the author and b) my comment about it has now become the summary, "It's pretty, but very distressing. And lo, all is sunshine and daisies... and death, but what can you do?""


If I was Your Girl by danegen which is a vid rec. I am very very particular about my vids, sometimes I love the music and not the editing, sometimes I love the editing but not the music. This video, the music was perfect, the editing was sublime and after it was over my entire thought was "Fucking hell, is Merlin really that gay? I have to go rewatch the entire series now, because yes, I've written a few stories, but this is even gayer than I thought it was apparently. All we're missing are the rainbow flags."

1. If you love Merlin, you MUST read suaine's Excaliber. It's got telepathy. And it's gorgeous. And it will make your day better. Trufax.

2. sparky77 wrote me Leverage/Ocean's 11, and it's all about Alec and it's even MORE awesome than you can imagine. Go read it! Tell her how awesome it is! In Which Hardison Has An Unfortunate Meeting and Adrenaline Makes Him Say Something He'll Regret


Today is the most awesome day ever for two reasons 1) The End of the Bush Reign of Terror and b) it's lazlet's birthday! and um, yeah, sweetie, that RPS just wasn't happening. It may be only the second time in my life I've got a massive RPS block, so I hope you will accept this in its stead.


Merlin
Arthur/Merlin
Rated PG-13


Happily Ever After, My Arse



( You are the worst destiny ever. )