The 2013 Summer Mini Challenge has come to a close, and I'd like to thank everyone who took part in it =) Under the cut are the banners made for those who completed their tables:

( Banners! )

It was a record-breaking year for the challenge - not only in terms of participants or stories written, but also because - for the first time EVER - a single participant conquered all five tables! :D Congrats to kalloway on this amazing achievement!


Here is a list of every story that was written for the challenge, finished table or no. There's a great variety of fanfic and original work ~ 68 stories in all! WOW!!

( Fic: Baby-Sitters Club, Full Metal Panic, Grimm, Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Astray, Gundam SEED Destiny, Gundam SEED MSV, Gundam Stargazer, Inuyasha, Kingdom Hearts, Law & Order: SVU, Ramna 1/2, Star Trek: Voyager, Taggart, Tales of Symphonia 2, Teen Wolf, The Wolverine, Wycliffe, & original fiction )

For the third year in a row, I failed to finish my table *sigh* But, my summer challenge is far from over - I'm looking forward to diving into this pile of fic to leave comments! :D

You guys are awesome ~ thanks for make the summer worthwhile! ♥

The 2012 Summer Mini Challenge has come to a close, and I'd like to thank everyone who took part in it =) Under the cut are the banners made for those who completed their tables...

( Banners! )

...and here is a list of every story that was written for the challenge, finished table or no. There's a great variety of fanfic and original work ~ 29 stories in all! WOW!!

( Fic: The Avengers, Baby-sitters Club, Doctor Who, Downtown Abbey, Full Metal Panic, The Good Life, L&O:CI, Kids Incorporated, Killer Instinct, Rizzoli & Isles, Sweet Valley series, & original fiction )

For the second year in a row, I failed to finish my table :P But, my summer challenge is far from over - I'm looking forward to diving into this pile of fic to leave comments! :D

You guys are awesome ~ thanks for make the summer worthwhile! ♥

My rec lists are woefully out of date, which means there are lots of great stories under the cut! :D

( right at the borderline is where I'm going to wait for you )

A handful of recs, under the cut.

( Recommendations - BSC, SbtB, Nancy Drew )

With the help of the always awesome lucida, I've managed to give the master lists section of my journal a major facelift. She wrote the code, I modified the color schemes (which was so painful, I'm vowing here and now to never do it again OMFG). But the pain was worth it, because now everything has been organized and prettified! =) Take a look:

Master Fic List ~ I only have one now, yay! :D

Recommendations: Inuyasha | Recommendations: Baby-sitters Club | Recommendations: Multifandom

(My multifandom list continues to grow by leaps and bounds, hence splitting off the BSC recs into their own list.) All of these lists are stickied to the top of my journal, and they are continually updated =) Have you read any good stories lately? Tell me about them!

So I've figured out the work-around to post to FF.net...but apparently their alert system is totally broken. I had a couple of reviews posted up last night that I've yet to receive notice for. Very frustrating >:( (Lovely reviews, though! Anon commenters: if you leave me an email address or other way to contact you, I'd be more than happy to reply to you and/or answer any questions you have! I love chatting with fellow fans =) )

Over the weekend I went on a rash of community joining, mostly because I discovered there were some devoted to 80s-era nostalgia. So if you, like me, enjoyed a childhood in the 80s (and/or ~love~ 80s TV/movies/music), check these places out:

80s_icons | 80sand90sfanfic | 80srewind

There's also a "dead fandoms" prompt table challenge community, so if you write in a tiny/obscure fandom (or if you want to), check it out: dead_fandoms

Also of interest ~ ironyjones has started a writing community at awenish. It's one part critique circle, one part support group, and it's open to both original and fannish writers. If you're serious about your writing and want to improve any aspect of it, or if you enjoy working with authors in critique, check it out!

For only the second time since I started posting fanfic on the internet, I've managed to finish a multi-part story before posting it. (The first time was this, and I'm hoping for a similarly positive reaction :) ) I'm very excited, and looking forward to sharing the fruits of my holiday-ficcing labor very soon.

In the meanwhile, I'm going to do my part in spreading the squee with another handful of story recs, because the awesome just keeps coming!

( Recommendations: Baby-sitters Club )

( Recommendations: Kids Inc )

As always, you can find my rec lists at the top of my journal.

Have you read any good stories lately? Tell me about them!

And, finally, I spent the better part of the weekend gathering episodes to another childhood favorite show, which is posted in its (almost) entirety to YouTube. Considering my already professed fandoms (Kids Inc, Instant Star), this should come as ABSOLUTELY NO SURPRISE...

( Obscure fandom is obscure but awesome, now in playlist form )

It's been too long since I did this.

( Recommendations: General Hospital fanfic )

( Recommendations: BSC fanfic )

As always, you can check out my full recommendations list which is static at the top of my journal here. ETA: Wow, its actually gotten too big for one post! Here's part two.

As for the updates on my stories...well, I'm still rather in the middle of moving, so the muse has deserted me ~ at least for my ongoing projects. I've been feeling some very heavy and exciting things for the possible sequel to Stacy in Bloom, which is fun :) Its set in the future, so I'm puzzling over what sorts of jobs and problems I want to give the squeaky-clean Kids to bring them more in line with reality beyond the fantasy of the show :P

I'm also still working on my Charlie/Janine fic for the BSC fandom. It's about half finished, and I want to wait to post it until its done, just in case I have to go back and revise (since its the first long story I'm writing for said fandom).

As for my IY works ~ Fragments is one chapter away from completion, and *crosses fingers* will be done soon. Next on my list is picking up Fleeting again, since I know how that story ends as well, and its just a matter of finding the time to write it. After a year of being dormant, it seems Sesshoumaru is ready to wake up and speak to me again, LOL.

The first 'new' stories I'll probably post will be my fandom_stocking gifts. I'm looking forward to the reveal, because I stepped away from my established fandoms in a sorta big way for it. Those will be revealed at the end of the week, so stay tuned!

This is a rec list I originally put together at the beginning of the year for eggplantlady, but considering the pique of interest shown by some of the rest of my f-list thanks to the shipping meme, I figured I'd share it with the rest of you :)

( A gateway to romance: rec list for 'beginners' of historical romance fiction )

I think that's enough to get you started :P I didn't rec the books with the hottest sex scenes because generally, they aren't among my favorites, plot or character wise. But if you're curious, I'd be happy to post those names along as well =)

The June 2010 banners are ready for pickup, for those of you on my f-list who garnered recognition (which was quite a few of you - congrats!). I'd like to thank landofthekwt for nominating my fic, Interlude, and for everyone who voted for it. Its been awhile since I wrote a bit of Sess/Kag, so its nice to know there are still folks out there who appreciate my take on this pairing =)

( Awards banner under the cut )

[+] Speaking of S/K, a treat for you Fleeting fans out there: the soundtrack is now available!

[+] I have also updated my recommendations list, so feel free to check it out =)

Sometimes you want to really dig into a good work-in-progress...and here is the list of what's currently scratching that reading itch for me =)

Completed Stories
Title: Identity Crisis (2007-2010)
Author: Lady Griddlebone
Universe: Canon
Genre: Drama, Romance, Mystery
Rating: X
Warning: Violence, explicit sex
Pairing: Miroku/Sango, Inuyasha/Kagome
Current Word Length: 79,974 (20 chapters)
URL(s): (1) http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/146538/ | (2) http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3795858/1/
Author's Summary: When Sango's confidence is shaken, she struggles to find her way back to being the woman she was.

Why I'm recommending this piece: Everything I know about writing Sango I learned from reading Lady Griddlebone. Nobody pays her greater justice in fanfic - for that reason alone, you should read this story :) The premise is fresh, the mystery riveting, and the character growth and development is totally brilliant. This could easily be a story arc within the manga itself, that's how well it fits into canon, IMO. A definite must-read for anybody interested in canon Mir/San fic.


Current Works in Progress
Title: Raindrops (2005-present)
Artist: YoukaiYume
Universe: Canon divergence
Genre: Romance
Rating: T
Warning(s): Violence
Pairing: Sesshoumaru/Kagome
Word Length: doujinshi; Chapter 6 in progress
URL: http://youkaiyume.deviantart.com/art/Raindrops-01-Cover-15629317

Why I'm recommending this piece: A gorgeous doujin featuring my favorite guilty pleasure pairing? Sign me up! Chapter six is being posted as we speak, but the previous five make for wonderful reading (and re-reading) even during the artist's haitus from the project.


Title: Season of Sorrow (2009-present)
Author: Lady Griddlebone
Universe: Canon divergence
Genre: Darkfic
Rating: M
Warning(s): Language, Innuendo
Pairing: None (Sango-centric)
Word Length: 15,131 (2 chapters)
URL: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/161958
Author's Summary: Losing her family and village was just the beginning...

Why I'm recommending this piece: Because nobody writes Sango better than Lady Griddlebone. This is a dark, twisted take on what could've happened, had Sango won the initial battle vs Inuyasha - and found herself on the side of evil instead of good. Mind-fuckery and darkfic at its absolute best.


Title: Bitter (2009-present)
Author: psyco_chick32
Universe: Crossover with MMPR
Genre: Romance, Action/Adventure, Comedy
Rating: M
Warning(s): Language
Pairing: Tommy/Kim, Inuyasha/Kagome, Miroku/Sango, Sesshoumaru/Kagura
Word Length: 22,266 (5 chapters)
URL: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5432281/1/
Author's Summary: Forced into a servitude she does not understand, Kimberly finds herself cut off from her past. 10 years later, she is in need of help; the past catches up with the present to take on an evil the Rangers could never expect.

Why I'm recommending this piece: Look, I don't know jack shit about MMPR (and I hated the show when I was in the proper age bracket), but this is a wonderfully hilarious crossover between the two universes. Kimberly is a total firebrand, not afraid to stand up to Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru - wonderfully refreshing, considering most of the time the female leads fall in love with either (or both!) of them. psyco_chick32's ability to write the MMPR characters and display the warm friendships and camaraderie between the cast is absolutely envious.


Title: Negative Space (2009-present)
Author: yumi_michiyo
Universe: Alternate (modern era)
Genre: Romance, Drama
Rating: M
Warning(s): Language
Pairing: Miroku/Sango, Inuyasha/Kagome
Word Length: 15,929 (4 chapters)
URL: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5510150/1/
Author's Summary: A photograph taken by chance drives Miroku to search for the girl in the picture - but there is more to her than meets the eye.

Why I'm recommending this piece: An interesting premise in a new, alternate universe, with a great twist on the canon story. It's worth the price of admission just to see how the author writes the Miroku/Inuyasha friendship, though the intriguing mystery behind Miroku's never-ending nightmares will have you coming back for more...


Title: Small Moments (2010-present)
Author: Lady Griddlebone
Universe: Canon
Genre: Angst, Drama
Rating: K+
Warning(s): None
Pairing: Miroku/Sango
Word Length: 4,176 (5 chapters)
URL: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5673987/1/
Author's Summary: Their bond was formed on a great journey... and in the small moments along the way. A manga-flavored serial.

Why I'm recommending this piece: A wonderful look between the panels of the manga as, finally, Miroku and Sango's relationship takes center stage on the trip through the canon story of the manga. Absolutely brilliant bits and pieces, updated weekly, from prompts at iy_no_kakera.


This is but a fraction of the stories I'm reading - for more, feel free to visit my recommendations list.