A SKATING FANDOM PRIMER
OR: WHO ARE ALL THESE FIGURE SKATERS APPEARING ON MY FLIST AND WHY SHOULD I BE READING ABOUT THEM

This started out as lemniciate telling me that reading skating rpf was hard, seeing how she didn't actually know what Evan Lysacek looked like. This is the result - it got a little out of hand.

Basically, this is a compilation of things you should know before delving into skating fic - I've mostly avoided linking to any actual skating videos, and instead focused on the most popular skaters and pairings (read: Johnny/Evan and Johnny/Stéphane) in the fandom, for those who don't really care about the ins and outs of skating, and just want some background knowledge before reading the porn.


( Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek, Stéphane Lambiel )


( Other skaters to be familiar with )


( Pairings )

Um, wow, that turned out longer than expected.

Things I have recently done:

1. Voted for the first time! \o/ Hurray for exercising my democratic rights. I now plan to make pancakes and stay up to watch the results come in. FiveThirtyEight's projections are making me sadface, though; do not want Conservatives to win in my first ever general election.

2. Written 7000 words of figure skating fic, what. This after deciding that, you know, I'm the type of person who gets more out of fandom when not writing, for one reason or another, and realising that's perfectly OK. I don't even know how the damn thing ends!

3. Watched this video roughly a hundred times:



4. Been to see Iron Man 2. Oh, Robert Downey Jr, keep being awesome.


And, to finish:

OK, I have been doing my best to think of something to post, but all that comes out when I open my mouth is 'OMG FIGURE SKATING WHAT.' Like, in real life and everything. (I'm lucky I have tolerant friends.)

My mind is constantly occupied with things like this



( cut for picspam and flailing )

God, I've been so off the radar lately it isn't even funny. Life has been pretty hectic and shows no sign of slowing down - I feel like I've travelled up and down the entire country in the last two weeks - so I think I'm going to take a break until the new year. Happy Christmas to those who celebrate it!

I've just finished mainlining Generation Kill. Holy crap, is that a good show. I'm now left with that lost puppy feeling, when the lack of new episodes to watch is like a mini void. (Uh, that came out way overdramatic.) The best way to fill this void is, of course, fanfiction, so in that spirit I've just read godofwine's How to Survive Accurate Mortar Fire (and Other Inconveniences of War), which is the best thing I've read in a while and quite possibly the perfect GK fic.

That being said, the whole fandom seems pretty amazing, from the stuff I've read so far; I have that new fandom glow. Also, I finally get where all the Alexander Skarsgård love is coming from, although I'm not yet up to the True Blood episode where his character comes in.

( Merlin 2.05 )

Also, damn postal strikes mean my delivery of GK-the-book is delayed. Booo.

Thoughts on TV I have been watching lately (the word 'thoughts' being used in the loosest sense):

( Merlin (2.01) )




( Supernatural (5.01 and 5.02) )




( Heroes (4.01) )

In conclusion: YAY GOOD SHOWS ARE BACK.

boxofawesome has gone live! Words cannot express my excitement. 23 stories and - count 'em - 72 pieces of art; let's just say I'm saying goodbye to my social life for at least a week.

So you can now find my epic theme park AU of doom, Camelot: A Romance With Rollercoasters over at the OMG AMAZING SITE, but also LOOK LOOK LOOK at the wonderful art that gblvr did for the story!

Ahhh I'm already late for work and can't start reading and it is killing me, seriously. BUT STILL, EXCITEMENT IS RADIATING FROM MY PORES.

Anyone at all reading Star Trek RPF (and possibly even if you're not) should go read formerlydf's l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. It's... I can't even describe it, it's unique, one of those things completely different from the usual fannish tropes. It's funny, and also kind of heart-breaking.

Zach can handle someone metaphorically leaving their heart in his hands; he's never had to contemplate what he would do if someone left their metaphorical heart literally in his hands.

Really, really, go read it.

Newsworthy events in my life:

- I've had the most glorious week of doing absolutely nothing. The only time I left the house was to go see Harry Potter (the verdict: about as good as I've come to expect from the films). Apart from that, I've been sleeping in 'til midday and reading (frantically reread Half Blood Prince the day before I went to see the film, and am now working my way through Stranger In A Strange Land).

- During this time, I read a whole lot of fanfiction, and a quick rec for anyone at all reading Star Trek Reboot!fic: crimsonclad's Cut And Fucking Paste and the sequel, Edit actually made me cry laughing. I also requested political!AU Chris/Zach over at trek_rpf_kink and got this wonderful fic by credulesque. Life is good.

- I finally started writing again; I had this idea for my cliche_bingo prompt Abduction/Kidnapping, where Uther is in charge of an evil corporation abducting everyone with magical powers, and Arthur is the guilt-ridden henchman who ends up helping Merlin escape, and then they go on the run together. Or something. I'm still figuring it out. I'm also this close to writing magical healing cock fic, after I suggested it over at mariana_oconnor's crackfest and then an idea sort of wormed its way into my brain. Apparently, the only thing I can write anymore is crack!fic or AUs.

So, I saw Star Trek today! (I realise I am possibly the last person in the whole of the internet to see it, but it was SO WORTH THE WAIT).

It got to the point where I was kind of scared that I wouldn't like it, because I saw so many people saying how awesome it was, but they were ALL RIGHT. I now want to marry the entire cast. I do feel a bit guilty, though, because I'm one of THOSE fans, who's never seen the original series but kind of fell in love with the film. In my defense, no one in my family ever watched it, and I grew up way too late to see it on TV. But I shall now make an effort to watch it whenever I can! Also, bullying the bff to come see it again with me.

In other news, I still have 3 exams left, but the worst of them are over. Plus, my Big Bang fic is so close to being finished, but I keep getting stuck on the ending. I'm determined to finish it tonight. Or maybe tomorrow.

- Does anyone want or know of anyone who wants a dreamwidth invite code? I have 3 going spare.

- Went to Cambridge yesterday. It's so pretty! Now I have been all inspired to start actually working for exams and stuff.

- I have not opened my Big Bang for a week, oh dear. I haven't had the time! I think I'll have to wait 'til I go on study leave (because that's clearly study leave's for).

- I missed Open Beta! But still, go Dreamwidth.

Still figuring everything, but I'll get there eventually. This is all very exciting!