This is meant for those of my friends who've been asking about how to do an LJ-cut. The rest of you, ignore it.
( Screencap here )

Catching Up (that's part one; it's concluded here) is gfaynefan's first posted FOL story, and what a way to start a (hopefully prolific) career in the fandom. Cute without being too mushy, laugh-out-loud funny in a couple of places, and touches on several interesting ideas: Blair's hesitancy to come out to old friends; Blair's natural flirtiness; Jo's feelings about that aspect of Blair. My only complaint about this story is that it's too short!

California Dreamin' was written for me in the FOL ficathon, by the extremely disobedient the_girl_20. She took it upon herself to disregard an entire subordinate clause in my prompt, but I decided to forgive her because she has dangled the possibility of many more lovely Jo/Blair stories in front of me. I am just smart enough not to cross her. Seriously, though, what she did with the prompt was more than satisfactory. Jo sits on a West Coast beach and contemplates the next phase of her life, and then Blair joins her. A shortie, but a goodie.

I made a little deal with the_girl_20 today -- she promised she would write a certain FOL story I've been dying to read, if I would finish my MiS story Pulling (last updated 4/14/07). I also said I would throw in a couple of unposted bits of the series to which Pulling belongs, Sooner or Later. In order to get back in an MiS frame of mind I went over (and slightly modified) my outline for the series.

Basically it's meant to be a rewrite of both series of the show, an alternate version in which both Ash and Scribbs are gay and attracted to each other but their personalities don't quite mesh right away. They have this long, drawn-out courtship of sorts that involves a lot of jealousy and a lot of teasing. There could be upwards of 15 parts to this series if I ever got around to writing them all, but here is what is written and/or planned as of right now:

( The breakdown )

I'm running a Jo/Blair ficathon over at fol_fiction. Sign-ups are open all week. I'm of two minds about this... On the one hand, it will force me to write again (I've been on a kind of hiatus -- not exactly blocked, but similar) since before Christmas. On the other hand, it will force me to write again.

I'm supposed to be writing a FOL piece for Epic Proportions. I've been using that as my excuse for not working on my other ongoing story, yet I haven't put one word down yet. I can't even decide on a plot. This is bad.

I've never seen Women's Murder Club but liz_estrada's Hang Fire (Lindsay/Cindy) makes me consider giving it a chance. Funny, sexy, smart. If this story was a woman I'd ask her out. (Plus it's a sequel to another good story.)

I've never recced a vid before, but buffyfan357's What I've Done (BVS & X:WP) rocked so hard I just have to. It's so superbly edited. I can't say that enough. The only thing better than a fight scene is a whole mess of fight scenes cut together.

The latest chapter of my ginormous Jo/Blair fic, Affinity, brings the word count up over 12,000. Which makes it the longest piece of fiction I've ever written, already, surpassing my unfinished Murder in Suburbia series.

Up until now I've been so good about updating once a week (usually on Fridays) but I think I'm going to have to put it on hold till after Christmas. I have started two fics for the passion_perfect Christmas wishlist challenge and I have a couple other ideas brewing. We'll see.

I'm procrastinating on various projects (my weekly subtext report and the latest chapter of Affinity) so I thought I'd do some recs.

That Time They All Went Camping by Rysler -- A camping trip highlights Jo and Blair's "pretend to hate each other" dynamic, and a dirt bike race gives Blair a better understanding of Jo. Which always leads to good things. (Why do my plot synopses always make the stories sound boring? I hate them.) I like Blair getting into a fight with a shrill townie girl at the race, thinking she's got it under control and then needing Jo to defend her after all.

Walking Boots by Harper -- Blair walks in on Jo in bed with someone unlikely, and jealousy ensues. It's funny at the beginning but gets more intense later, then hot. Excellent Blair voice. I also like how she threw Kelly in there. And threatened to kill her.

Art by Della Street -- Basically, I recommend anything and everything this author writes. But this story is especially awesome and I can't figure out why I didn't put it in my "best of FOL on P&P" post because it's definitely a favourite. Jo warns Blair that the new teacher's intentions toward her are less than noble, but stubborn Blair has to learn the hard way that Jo's really looking out for her. Excellent Jo voice and huge points for having her do manual labour and for having Blair like it. Natalie and Tootie's mimicry of Jo and Blair makes me laugh out loud, and the scene in the unfinished library makes me... warm.

If you are a P&P member and you haven't posted your Christmas wishlist, do so immediately. I plan to participate in that challenge (even though I should be devoting all my writing time to Affinity, which is now up to part 4).

When I contributed my 5 prompts, I forced myself not to make them all FOL, even though that is all I'm really interested in at the moment. Mostly because my subtext reports on fol_fiction basically serve as an ongoing wishlist (each one ends with a prompt or two that I hope someone will turn into a fic -- so far it's only happened once).

I was not very pleased with this week's report -- the product of an uninspiring episode and a distracted brain. They are fun to do when I have something to say and a chore when I don't. Judging by (the lack of) feedback this week, I should have given myself an extra day or two to get inspired instead of posting on Monday as usual.

The highlight of P&P's FOL month (which sadly comes to an end today) has been being guaranteed at least one new story per day, thanks to caveatreader's 31 Slices of Jo/Blair Life. The first slice also inspired me to write my first drabble. I intended to pick the top 5 to rec, but I had too many favourites, so here are the top 9 (and why I like them):

• #1: Because I am a simple life-form, and I like to imagine Jo and Blair having sex.
• #2: Because I love it when Blair comes to her senses.
• #6: Because this is exactly the way I imagine their relationship going.
• #12: See #1.
• #16: Because it has a punchline.
• #17: See #1.
• #19: Because it proves that with the proper motivation, anything is possible.
• #25: See #1.
• #29: Because it's sexy, funny and pure genius.

A couple more recs today:

When Blair Warner Met Joanne Jefferson -- and Joanna Marie Polniaczek Went Insane by misty flores -- The title says it all. This is a Rent crossover (but I'd say you can enjoy it even if you're unfamiliar with the musical/movie) in which Jo is jealous of Blair's fast friendship with an out lesbian. Very funny, spot-on characterization (of everyone, including Joanne), happy ending. Plus, sequels! (In a Family Way and Hot Flash.)

Memorable by Della Street -- I would rec this for the epilogue alone, but the rest is good too. Just before Jo's wedding to Rick, something unexpected happens when the girls gather at a cabin for a weekend getaway. I give Jo huge points for bravery in this one, and not for the usual reasons.

And now for a Halloween rec: The Headless Biker of Peekskill by Del Robertson -- The classic Washington Irving story re-done, Jo/Blair-style. Totally awesome.

I spent most of the weekend writing Waiting Up (Jo/Blair), a response to ralst's Halloween challenge, which was 48 hours instead of the usual 24. I have never participated in any of the 24-hour challenges because there is just no way I can write anything in that amount of time. It's nothing short of a miracle that I managed to grind out 1450 words that I'm vaguely satisfied with in just 48. Actually, I had the initial idea (well, more of a partial idea) ages ago but never wrote anything down, and then one of the prompts (urban legends) inspired the rest of the scenario. That was Saturday. Then I spent all Sunday trying to follow through.

Consequently, I've made zero progress on my superlong Jo/Blair story since Thursday, but I have posted the second part at fol_fiction.