amatara | Yuletide reveal! And a question

You own my soul. Just so you know. The epic level of happy flailing I was doing at every moment of reading your fic that night was kind of off the charts.

But I know the stunned omg-what-now flailing that comes from getting exactly what you were hoping for. XD

You delivered in spades, and who knows, maybe next year, you'll manage the OH MY GOD WHY DID I OFFER TO WRITE THAT FANDOM flailing. XD Which is also fun in its own way.

Thank you again again again from the bottom of my heart.

Aw. *blushes furiously* Thank you so much, for the prompt and all your enthusiasm, which was wonderful to see and made me the happiest of happy Yuletide Santas! :)

I'm so relieved you liked the story, up to and including the ending, which as I mentioned in the story notes I was pretty darn nervous about... I mean, it sounds kinda weird to say "dear recipient, I wrote you a happy ending" and then deliver a Centauri death dream, if you know what I mean - so I'm tremendously glad to hear it worked for you!

Also, it was a bit of a choice between your official prompt (a story from Vir's point of view) and the bit you mentioned in the comments on your Dear Author post, being that tentacle pr0n would be very much welcomed. :) Because, Londo/G'Kar pr0n from Vir's pov... I'm reaaally not sure how healthy that would be for poor Vir! *smirk* So in the end I just stuck in what bits I could in subtext, letting your imagination fill in the rest. But the Treat I wrote does have tentacles, if you're still game to see some! :)

Anyway, thanks again for letting me know you liked the story, and reccing it in your journal (which I stalked, just a bit, for the past week or so :) ) ... And of course, Happy New Year to you!

.... I didn't even think of that. Yeah, by the time I got to my Dear Author letter, I was kind of free-associating, and didn't even THINK of how traumatized that that would make poor Vir. I think you probably made the right call. XD

But yes, very much liked it. I have had the best luck with Yuletide fics for me, I swear, and this year is no different. So yaaay! \o/

*grins widely* I knew "Bearing Witness" was yours before I finished the author's note! It just sounded like you. :) "Awkward Positions" I thought, "Huh, the story reads kind of like

amatara, but I KNOW she already wrote the other story, and besides, this has actual sex in it, so probably it's not her..." But I should have known the snark and furtive tenderness were yours!

I have never seen Twin Peaks! But if you write something I shall send my husband to read it since he has. :)

... this has actual sex in it, so probably it's not her...

LOL, I don't quite know how to react to that - for some reason I have this feeling I should defend myself, either about the lack of sex in other fics or the sudden presence of sex in this one, or possibly both. :) Anyway, the sex wasn't really sex, was it, just a brief snippet of it and then onward to more angst. *g* Though I should say what sex there was, rolled out pretty naturally. So you never know what the future might bring... *big fat wink*

Hmm, I'm starting to think Twin Peaks is a guy thing, not that I understand why. I never saw any of it either, until my husband (who is a pretty huge fan) introduced me to it. I liked-not-loved the first series, had mixed feelings about the second one, but the show has this one gorgeous combination of characters, which I fell for right from the start but never actively got into until now, being Dale Cooper (the main character) and Albert Rosenfield (FBI pathologist and sarcastic as hell). The best bits are even on Youtube! Just take a look: it has snark and lots of it, as well as just a hint of canon slashiness, and it's perfect, really. If I can pimp for a moment, here are some links to Albert's introduction on the show (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKtFdRcQwa8), a hilareous dinner conversation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRdhtsuRcNg), Albert's immortal "I Love You Because I'm a Pacifist" speech (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS2zU6YPl24) (yeah, you heard right :) ), and finally (bad quality image, alas) the Cooper/Albert near-hug (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2TrvaCZtRw). *shameless pimping is shameless* Anyway, I'd be happy to have your husband as a reader - I just hope he doesn't mind a hint of UST with his fic? :)

LOL, I don't quite know how to react to that - for some reason I have this feeling I should defend myself, either about the lack of sex in other fics or the sudden presence of sex in this one, or possibly both. :)

No, no, neither at all! I love your stories without it, those almost-with-it (oh, "Small Mercies"), and those with it. :)

That pacifist speech is awesome! :) And Dan likes UST just fine in his stories--he betas all of mine so is capable of enjoying a pretty decent range, although when he's reading he tends to skim sex scenes, lol... (I find a lot of people skim explicit sex scenes, including myself unless I'm in just the right mood and the scene is written just right!)

You know, I keep finding it so very funny that you write the steamiest sex scenes yourself (and write them wonderfully, too!) and yet mention skimming away from them when reading someone else's fic. :) Not that I can't understand your point perfectly, because I do, but - I keep having to smile when you say that. *giggles*

I love that your husband reads and betas your fic! I let my own husband read some of mine (though so far, not the ones containing sex *g*) and he liked them well enough, but I know he does it more because I'm asking, than because it's really his thing.

*facepalm* I hear you about the sex scenes. As a writer, I find them an interesting challenge (like fight scenes!)--plus I can be sure that the sex is always interesting to me at the moment I'm writing it. As a reader, the odds that someone else's smut is going to hit me in just the right way exactly when I'm reading it is a lot smaller. Not the fault of the smut at all, just a sort of narrowness of the parameters as a reader...

It actually took my husband and I a while to find a balance with him as a beta. Because I really was hoping for more enthusiastic involvement, but he approaches stories very much as logic puzzles, with a real detachment. He is just not a squeeing sort of guy. That made me kind of sad at first (this is a polite euphemism for "I locked myself in the bedroom and cried") and for a while we had this elaborate system where he was required to find at least one thing per thousand words that he could compliment as working on an emotional level. But over time I kind of came to understand that he didn't see stories "on an emotional level" the way I did. I had to learn to value his sort of intellectual appreciation of the plot and writing style and not expect him to be like, "That moment where you had X say Y, it ripped my heart out." :)

This has become quite a ramble! Sex scenes and betas will prompt long-winded discussions from me every time. :)

Well, sex and betas are very meaningful aspects in a fanfic writer's life, aren't they? ;) So I don't blame you a bit!

I guess most guys are not the squeeing type when it comes to fanfic - my husband's the same as yours, anyway. :) He can read and enjoy the stories, but he usually doesn't comment much except for a brief "scene X is fun" or "oh, this is a sad ending." Not exactly "scene Y ripped my heart out", either. *g* But to be fair, I don't think I could bear to have him beta a fic of mine. Not because I'm afraid of what he'd say, but because writing is a very private thing to me, and for some reason, the closer someone is to me, the harder I find it to receive critique from them. If that makes any sense. *blinks* And I think it's a wonderful thing that you did manage to find a way to let your husband beta that the both of you feel comfortable with.

Just like

mithen I knew "Bearing Witness" was yours right away, and wondered about "Awkward Positions" because, as much as it sounds like you, there was sex in it... I think the "snark" tag finally convinced me.
Congrats on both fics, by the way. Each one is lovely in its own way and "Awkward Positions" deserves an award for Sweetest Fanfic Involving Tentacles Ever.

As for Twin Peaks, I enjoyed watching it, Albert was my favourite character and I like Cooper well enough, so write whatever you want to write. I'll be reading it.
Oh, and I was introduced to the series by my mother, so maybe it's not a guy thing after all ;)

What is it with all those people (well, you and

mithen, anyway *g*) stating "there was no sex, hence it couldn't be you"? I'm starting to feel I should make some kind of point here, you know, just to show that I can... Or was that your ultimate intention all along? ;) Anyway, thanks - I'm kind of proud of both fics, too, though for, um, quite radically different reasons. Also, writing smut on request is great fun!

As for Twin Peaks - um, I am slowly starting to wonder if sometime, when I was two or so, some of my DNA was taken to Switzerland for cloning. Either that, or you're my Luke-and-Leia-style long-lost twin, because - well, the resemblance in taste of fictitional characters is becoming slightly creepifying. Honestly, I never thought I'd run into another living being who loved both Londo/G'Kar and Albert! Albert! *snuggles Albert* *offers

maspalio Albert icon* *snuggles Albert again*

So, Twin Peaks fic, then, yay! Do you have any preference for gen or something with slashy overtones? The part of the story I have now, I could take both ways, I think. Only logistical problem I have is, that Kyle MacLachlan sends out pretty straight vibes most of the time, so while I can see Albert being attracted to Cooper, I can't quite see it the other way around. Not sexually, in any case. Also, the fact that Cooper's death wish was "I would very much like to make love to a beautiful woman, who I had genuine affection for" and not "oh god, I wanna sleep with Albert" is pretty telling too. :) And I can't write them together without making it believable for myself, so... *ponders* Got an idea, though. Maybe.

Also, I should finish that Lyta/G'Kar for you, shouldn't I? *guilty* I'm almost there - it's just that I'm so impetuous when it comes to writing fic, and now I literally dropped everything to write Twin Peaks. *sheepish grin* I'll get back to G'Kar, though! (and I'm rambling again, right? right? :) )

Well, you did state that you were uncomfortable writing sex scenes, so don't blame us for taking your word for it :)

Albert is so cute in that icon! *snuggles Albert too* It's a shame free LJ accounts can't get more than 15 icons, really. Sometimes, I almost think I should get a paid account just so I can have at least one icon for each of my fandoms, favourite characters and pairings.

I don't really care if a fic is gen or slash, as long as it is well written. That being said, Cooper liking women doesn't mean he can't make an exception for Albert. *g* Just write what you think will work best. It's your story.

About that Lyta/G'Kar thing: one of the things I hate most is feeling an obligation to write something even though I'd rather be writing something else, just because someone is waiting for a result. I'd hate to be the cause of that. Please take your time. I can wait. (and I like your rambling, really :))

Actually - more userpics was more or less the sole reason why I took a paid account. *sheepish look* Well, apart from the ability to edit posts, which comes in handy sometimes, but that was really all. :)

Also, now that I think of it: Livejournal is doing some kind of holiday promotion where they give every paid user a number of coupons to pass out to people. I still have all of mine (forgot all about them, in fact) and I'm not sure how long they'll remain valid, but the notice says "a coupon can be redeemed to purchase an annual subscription for $9.95 (instead of $19.95) or monthly installments totaling $15 (instead of $25)." If you're still tempted, $10 is a much more reasonable price to pay for 20 extra icons - isn't it? *g* So if you'd want one, give me a yell and I'll send it right over! It's just a single click. :)

Albert is a sweetie in that pic! :) Also, I love that he has this kind of tic where he always fidgets at the fingers of his hand, like in the icon. Smoker's habit, I guess - or as if he's fiddling with a wedding ring that's no longer there. It makes him look so fragile. *g* But honestly - I don't know why it is that my favorite characters are either directly or indirectly mass murderers (Londo? Ben Linus?) or damaged in some way. Lucky that doesn't translate itself into real life. :)

Thanks for the reassurance about the Londo/G'Kar. And don't worry, I wouldn't force myself to work on it if I really didn't feel like it. It's only that I don't want to leave it lying around now it's 90% finished, because then I'm sure I'll forget what I wanted to do with the other 10%, and it will just be one of those everlasting WIPs which I've so far managed to avoid. :)

Yuletide reveal! And a question

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