Hello dear Yuletide writer!

First of all, I totally adore you already for offering to write in these fandoms. I hope this Yuletide is absolutely wonderful for you and nothing in my list stresses you out. If it does? Do what makes you happy.

I have a major love for familial - especially sibling - relationships in fiction and fic which is pretty obvious as, um, every single one of the my requests has siblings involved. I have no idea. That said, it's pretty obvious that I am totally okay with gen. :D If you'd prefer to write something shippy, that's fine with me too though I am not really good with incest (unless it's the Pevensies every so often and Narnia isn't available this year) :D

I love family interactions, traditions, the little things that bind families together. I like character exploration and mockery and snark, and I like characters that like each other, that strengthen each other just by virtue of their presence and support. I (um, rather obviously) don't insist on anything crazy plotty though if that is inspiring you, I totally enjoy that too.

Bittersweet but hopeful is my absolute favourite tone but I am totally okay with fluff or something darker (especially in the fandoms that that makes the most sense for).



I hope I'm not so vague you're pulling your hair out right about, but seriously, I adore these characters and universes and just the fact that someone is thinking of writing about them for me is making me happy already.

Here, have some cake.

Thank you so, so, so much

~Emily

My words aren't eloquent enough to speak of those who died and those who lived, and so, as with every year, I turn to poetry.

In Flanders Fields
~John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

( Does It Matter? )

( Lamplight )

( Aftermath )
( MCMXIV )

Anthem for a Doomed Youth
~Wilfred Owen

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
--Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them from prayers or bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,-
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of silent minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Hedauville, November 1915
~R.A. Leighton

The sunshine on the long white road
That ribboned down the hill,
The velvet clematis that clung
Around your window-sill,
Are waiting for you still.

Again the shadowed pool shall break
In dimples round your feet,
And when the thrush sings in your wood,
Unknowing you may meet
Another stranger, Sweet.

And if he is not quite so old
As the boy you used to know,
And less proud, too, and worthier,
You may not let him go --
(And daisies are truer than passion-flowers)
It will be better so

They inducted Steve Yzerman into the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight.  I don't really have a lot of words that haven't already been said about this.  He's The Captain.  He's the heart of the Red Wings and the greatest leader in sports and every time I see that C on the ice, I expect to see number 19 on the sweater.

I technically watched hockey before Steve Yzerman played for the Wings, but hell if I remember any of that pre-kindergarten watching.  I remember my dad loving him and telling me to watch his game.  I remember hating the people who called him snake-bit through the early 90s, and I remember absolutely crying as I watched him lift the Stanley Cup in 1997.  And 1998.  And 2002.  I remember watching in awe as he played through pain that would cripple most grown men, watching as he led his team, his collection of superstars,with grace and humility and dedication, watching as he chose to retire because he didn't want to be a part-time player and crying as he walked off the ice for the last time wearing #19.

Therefore I picspam.  Because I love.



This is how a superstar acts in Detroit.  Humble, gracious, acknowledging the fans, and playing with more heart than should be humanly possible.
( Lots and Lots More Pictures )



Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Steve Yzerman.

(Entry title brought to you by the utterly adorable Pavel Datsyuk.)

So the good news is I talked to my brother last night, and he and his wife are not announcing an impending arrival over Facebook.  Instead they're buying a house!  It has a pool and the house next door is bright blue.  These are the only two things I know about said house.  This speaks directly to my brother's sense of what's important.

Wings are up by 2-0 with 3 minutes to go in the third period.  So far they have remembered to play all 60 minutes and I am CRAZY proud of them for it.  Even with Rafalski and Ericsson out, the D is looking good, and Datsyuk's being the freakin' man by getting both assists first to Zetterberg then to Holmstrom.  (Random fact?  Homer has now scored on every NHL team.  COLLECT THE WHOLE SET, you crazy Swede.)

Last night of the week for me at work.  Not really looking forward to it.  One of the girls at work has decided I'm teaching her how to knit tonight.  Which - I wouldn't really mind except that a) she didn't actually ask and b) she annoys the crap out of me.

WINGS WIN IT.  Ozzie gets his 50th career shutout, and I relax after 2.5 hours of watching terror.  There shouldn't be this much tension over a game in early November, but there it is.

I find myself eyeing Facebook suspiciously this morning. 

My sister-in-law is posting cryptic things about how she and my brother have "big news" for those who don't already know it.  She also is posting about how she has shortened work weeks the rest of the month.

Thus I suspect one of two things.  She and my brother are somehow managing to make it out here for Thanksgiving again (which would be YAY but I doubt cause three trips + their wedding in a year is a lot) OR she is pregnant (also YAY but...).

Let me tell you how pissed I will be if I find out my brother and his wife are going to have a baby on FACEBOOK.  

DO NOT MESS WITH THE WRATH OF THE AUNT-TO-BE.  


 

Well, it is November (Rabbit Rabbit!) and thus the siren call of NaNoWriMo does again try to convince me that I ought to try it.

But I know how that tale ends.  I try, I fail, my brain goes pzzt over a whole bunch of not managing to to write 50,000 words in a month.  Which, you know, is reasonable cause all y'all who succeed are insane.  :D

Let's see, Friday Night Lights is back which thrills me to the tip of my tippy toes.  I love the way they managed the reset, I love our boys, and I continue to love Coach and Mrs. Coach and her kickass awesomeness.  Um, Offense, yeah, that's what they want.  <3  I can't wait for the next episode which I might even manage to talk about on time. 

The Wings managed to win one straight out last night which makes me wonder if I'm their little bad luck charm.  They played the Flames at home so the game wasn't until 10pm EST which meant I didn't watch a bit of it due to workiness.  Last game I didn't watch was against the Canucks last Tuesday.  They won that one too but managed to go down 4-0 against the Oilers of all teams on Thursday night when I watching.  IDEK, guys.  I could try to not watch on Tuesday and test the theory but screw that.  They'll have to learn how to cope.

Also how to play 60 full minutes and keep the forechecking strong and actually play defense, Lebda.

I'm going to try to do that whole 'modifying' NaNo that seems so popular this year because I am nothing if not a follower.  I'm going to sign up for Yuletide this year (*FLAIL*) so I'll try to possibly strengthen those writing muscles a bit by writing at least something everyday.  Yeah, I doubt any of it will get posted because um, hi, have you met me and my flailiness, but it's worth a shot and maybe I'll be able to then attack Yuletide and manage to succeed without coltsbane having to physically force me to write while she's here (UNDER THREE WEEKS EEE)

This post has been brought to you by random thoughts.  Also working tonight and skipping church on All Saints due to sleep and insanity.  Oops.

As it's been all over my flist today though I directly blame kimera and coltsbane for posting RIGHT AFTER EACH OTHER.  

The Rules:
1. Pick 10 of your favorite books or series.
2. Post the first sentence of each book. (If one sentence seems too short, post two or three!)
3. Let everyone try to guess the titles and authors of your books.

I didn't even try not to make this totally YA slanted.  And there's 11.  Because some of them are all kinds of easy.

1)  Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott guessed by newnumber6 and tattycat !

2)  The year Janet started at Blackstock College, the Office of Residential Life had spent the summer removing from all the dormitories the old wooden bookcases that, once filled with books, fell over unless wedged. - Tam Lin by Pamela Dean guessed by  marinarusalka

3)  The house in the hollow was "a mile from anywhere" - so Maywood people said.  It was situated in a grassy little dale, looking as it had never been built like other houses but had grown up there like a big, brown mushroom. - Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery guessed by tonyadmay and lachwen  and laughingmagpie !

4)  The Fossil sisters lived in the Cromwell Road.  At that end of it which is farthest away from the Brompton Road, and yet sufficiently near it to be taken to look at the dolls' houses in the Victoria and Albert every wet day, and if not too wet, expected to 'save the penny and walk.' - Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild guessed by vicki595 .

5)  "It would have to rain today," said Rush, lying flat on his back in front of the fire.  "On a Saturday.  Certainly.  Naturally.  Of course.  What else would you expect?  Good weather is for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and rain's for Saturday and Sunday, and Christmas vacation and Easter." - The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright guessed by rvqavalon .

6)  When Menolly, daughter of Yanus Sea Holder, arrived at Harper Craft Hall, she came in style, aboard a bronze dragon. - Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey guessed by kimera .

7)  One evening at supper, Pa asked, "How would you like to work in town, Laura?" - Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder guessed by tattycat .

8)  She scowled at her glass of orange juice.  To think that she had been delighted when she first arrived here - was it only three months ago? - with the prospect of fresh orange juice every day. - The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley guessed by marinarusalka and bubblesbrnaid .

9)  The worst part - although it was hard to choose - was that she still cried. - Long May She Reign by Ellen Emerson White guessed by christinej .

10)  It's only half an hour since someone - Robyn I think - said we should write everything down, and it's only twenty-nine minutes since I got chosen, and for those twenty-nine minutes, I've had everyone crowded around me gazing at the blank page and yelling ideas and advice. - Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden guessed by coltsbane who is now officially allowed to stay Australian.

11)  Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York. - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith guessed by septembergrrl and christinej .

Who has two thumbs and hit 1,000 points tonight?

( THIS GUY! )

After a first period that made me want to curl up and die, it was a pretty damn good game against the Kings.  Best part (other than the Lidstrom milestone) was Ozzie keeping them in the damn game for the first 25 minutes or so and Zetterberg scoring on command.

No really, coltsbane and I were ripping on the Z-man's lack of production and threatening to send him a mixtape in IM, and BAM SAID THE LADY (hat tip to Mr. Fillion, of course), the boy scores.  He got an assist or two on the night too, so rock on, Zatta.

Nice rebound from the other night against Buffalo.  Let's keep it going.

This above?  This is Rainbow Brite.  See the weetiny childness of it?  And the chubby knees and chins and very little girl/boy shapes?  Yes.



This?  Would not be Rainbow Brite.  This is some creepy skinny version of wtf.

First, Rainbow Brite should not be sexy.  She should not have pretty flowing hair, and she should not be a tween.  GOD.  NOT OKAY.  DO NOT SEXIFY RAINBOW BRITE, HALLMARK.  It's CREEPY.

It makes me a little bit sad that when you google 'happy things', actual happy things don't come up.  Not even in the image search.  What's up with that.

Also APPARENTLY I no longer have water pressure from my showerhead.  The spigot is fine though.  What the fuck's up with that?

And I'm getting a cold.  No, body.  Just no.

I don't wanna go to work tonight.

Mornings like today make me really wish I had cable.  I am not quite sleep enough to sleep, but I don't really wanna be doing something that involves thought and laying on the couch and dozing to the View or whatever is on at 8am sounds just perfect.

Not that I am going to get cable for the View or anything.  Still.  (And yes, it's this part of the post that makes the icon applicable)

Other than the Lions which - hahahaha, it was a freaking awesome sports weekend.  The Red Wings won two including totally outplaying the Caps to at least get back to .500 and showing all the damn naysayer bandwagon people that, um, don't discount them two games into the season.  MSU kicked the Illini's ass, and U of M lost.  (Sorry, UMichers.  I had to include that.)

In what is becoming an ongoing saga, my apartment is refusing to take shape.  I've realised that the problem really lies in the fact that I almost want to leave the boxes where they are so I HAVE to get bookcases and shelves and the like instead of just having a pile of boxes of books like I did in my old apartment.  But on the other hand, I'd like to have a living room, and the money for bookcases and shelves and the like isn't instantly available.  Choices.  

Well.  Now I'm all meh about the whole apartment thing.  Maybe I should just go to sleep.  Or read more of Poison Study (which I freaking adore, steelneko .  I started reading it tonight and work, and it's brilliant.)

Stolen from puffinmuffin and lyricaldiscord and a bunch of other crazy people...  And because I should be in bed but I'm not, and so here I am.  Not in bed.

A. "Has my portrayal of a character(s) changed the way you think of him/her?"

B. Pick one of my characters (PCs or NPCs sure) and I'll answer the following questions about him or her.
1. What would your character kill for? What would they die for?
2. What would they refuse to do under any circumstances? Why?
3. What do they dream about?
4. What’s their biggest fear?
5. What single object would they be most hard pressed to part with? Why?
6. What is their fondest memory?
7. What is their worst memory?
8. What or who was were their most significant influence? Expound.
9. What do they believe makes a successful life?
10. What makes them laugh?
11. What are their religious views?
12. What is their greatest strength?
13. Do they have a fatal flaw? If so, what is it?
14. Who is the most important person in their life?
15. If they died, who would miss them most? How would they die?

C. Pick a fandom, any fandom I'm in. I will tell you:
1. One True Pairing Ship:
2. Canon Ship:
3. "If this happens I'll stab my eyes out with a spork" Ship:
4. "You are one sick puppy" Ship:
5. "I dabble a little" Ship:
6. "It's like a car crash" Ship:
7. "Tickles my fancy but not sold just yet" Ship:
8. "Makes no canon sense but why the heck not" Ship:
9. "Everyone else loves it but I just don't feel it" Ship:

Starting the season in Sweden was awesome.  Starting it 0-2 is not so great. 

And from the awesome Red Wings blog Snipe Snipe, Dangle Dangle comes this fantastic paragraph.

I also discovered why I shouldn't go to Meijer's after the Wings lose: I went to buy taco cheese, and instead walked out with cake mix, Halloween frosting, a bottle of wine, Disney princess cupcake liners, and some sprinkles. I had to go back inside to pick up the cheese.

Yeah, that is SO ME.

Except now that I live by scary Meijer, I probably won't be going there so much after dark.  So my pocketbook and waistline are safe from Disney princess cupcakes...unless I drive into East Lansing, which, yeah, probably would happen.

Right-o.  I'm used to be awake at this time of day, but I'm not used to sleeping for like sixteen gazillion hours first.  Got home from work yesterday morning with a sinus headache and (FINALLY) pseudophedrine to try to kick its ass.  Only it didn't work because the headache got worse and worse and worse and just staying in bed seemed like the best idea. 

It started to clear up a little bit a few hours ago and I've had some noodles so things are slightly better but hey, nothing like continuing the weird ass sleep pattern.

But MUCH BETTER NEWS?  It's October and hockey season is starting!  So damn excited about this.  

Also a banned books meme taken from nameitlater and tinylegacies .  Which proves that I've read way too much YA lit in my life.
( I read too much )

I am damn awesome.

This is mostly because I couldn't sleep last night so I got up and managed to unclog my garbage disposal at 5am.  It's been clogged ever since I moved in, and I JUST WASN'T TAKING IT ANYMORE.

...okay, fine, I could have just called maintenance, but after the newly christened "evil neighbor" bitched at me for having BOXES VISIBLE FROM OUTSIDE OH NOES, I wasn't really feeling the need for more judgment on my lack of unpacking prowess.

I am going to my mom's house today.  I tell myself this will cut into possible unpacking time, but I'm not really fooling myself.  Were I to stay home, I would just get another few hours of sleep and then keep watching Greek.  (DAMN YOUS, nameitlater , DAMN YOU)

My life, it is so exciting.

Favourite. Commercial. Ever.

I love you, Red Wings