Ruth Sadelle Alderson

Three of the things you'll see this month are things where I was playing with the question, "Who would Patrick sub for?" This is the one whose answer is "Pete."

Warnings: Mild consensual violence, mention of Patrick's weight loss.

( Commentary, snippet, commentary )

Summary: "Miss Rexha, I wish to ask for your hand in marriage. I will be a true and faithful husband to you, and you and your mother shall never need worry again."
Disclaimer: Fiction.
Warning: Bebe is 16/17 in this story, which is underage by modern day standards.

Notes Part the First: When I was having a lot of trouble with the middle of "New York to L.A.," I thought, "Maybe I'll just scrap it and write a space AU instead." The problem with a space AU, of course, is: how did they meet? "Maybe," I thought, "they met when Bebe was a child." Then I thought both (a) "Creepy!" and (b) "I've read too much bad Chronicles of Riddick fan fic." But then I took that idea and dumped it into a regency AU, where it might still be mildly creepy but is at least period appropriate.
Notes Part the Second: Many things about this story would be different if I were writing the novel-length version. One of those is the issue of race, where instead of creating some sort of explanation, I have punted and not addressed the issue at all. For shortcut's sake, you can assume this fake regency world is one wherein race is not the influencing factor on what makes one respectable (or not).
Notes Part the Third: Thank you to ghostling for providing me with useful information about regency romance meal schedules. Anything that's still wrong is entirely my fault.


( An Advantageous Match )

Happy Halloween! I did this last year and it was fun, so let's do it again.



Knock or ring the bell by leaving me a comment, and I'll reply with a treat of some sort. It might be a fic snippet, a picture, a song, or something else I come up with in the moment.

(Not my actual door. Photo by Flickr user barryhorneotf, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.)

Basically I've decided it's silly to wait until the end of the year to clear out the things I know well before then that I'm not going to finish, so here is another bunch of snippets.

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Brendon/girl!Spencer

Warning: Abortion

( Brendon/girl!Spencer )

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Spencer Breaks Dishes

In real life, Spencer's response to The Young Veins' AP interview was to tweet a picture of tambourines. But I apparently have a thing about him breaking dishes, so here's an alternative angsty snippet.

( Spencer Breaks Dishes )

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Gabe/Nate/Victoria College AU

I had this idea for a college AU where Victoria's taking a photography class and needs a model. Someone suggests philosophy grad student Gabe. In the meantime, she and Nate are roommates. This would be the kind of story where Nate and Victoria have been dancing around each other until Gabe forces the issue, but I only ever wrote one scene.

( Gabe/Nate/Victoria College AU )

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Pete and Patrick Meet at Yoga

Some time ago, there was this prompt on anon_lovefest about Pete and Patrick meeting in a yoga class. In my head, there is a lot of Pete making obvious and obnoxious come-ons and then some eventual dating, but I only ever wrote the scene where Patrick starts to change his mind about Pete.

( Pete and Patrick Meet at Yoga )

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Mike/Bill, watermelon

inlovewithnight was having a bad day recently, so I wrote her a snippet based on this picture and her commentary thereon.

( Mike/Bill, watermelon )

I told inlovewithnight that I had things written for many of my prompts. I'm lazy about posting because I don't want to take the time to add things to my master list and delicious tags, but I think that things should be organized. So what I'm going to do is just post some things and worry about organizing them on the weekends. This post is some snippets and plot bunnies that aren't big enough for their own posts.

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Warning: This first bit includes slavery and mention of a past suicide attempt.

( Gabe rescues Pete, in space )

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( Mike/Gabe kink (setup) )


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Things I wrote for prompts in my previous post:

William rescues sex slave Mike, in space for inlovewithnight

A Good Dude (Pete/Ashlee, Jessica/f, Pete tries to set Jessica up with a good dude) for trcunning

Mike and Greta fight space pirates for icanbreakthesky


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Plot Bunnies

Someone this week commented on my Ryan ODing plot bunny (1, 2, 3), which I keep thinking I'm going to transcribe but probably never will. The comment prompted me to actually listen to it, which I couldn't do just after I finished it. The first part's a little shaky, but after that it really sounds like I know what I'm doing. Noticeable element: you can hear me pause to think, but I never say "uh" or "um" in those pauses, which is something I totally learned from Di-Phi.

Anyway, I bring this up not just to mention that but also because I always meant to tell you what I would have done differently if I'd written it instead of telling it into the phone. At this point, I can only remember two things, so here they are: ( Edits )

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There was a big bang story where a writer turned Gabe into a Catholic priest, and in the discussion I read, rhipowered said, "Ugh, Saporta possibly being Sephardi (I wasn't aware) and the historical issues of forced conversion were tickling at the back of my mind but didn't fully click until I read your comment." This made me think you could write a very interesting story about Gabe the priest discovering that his family had been forced to convert by the Inquisition. The summary for this story would read:

Father Gabe Saporta has risen fast and high in the Church hierarchy. But now he's stepped on the wrong people's toes and he's been banished to the archives to dig through and help catalog centuries of Church records. When this assignment leads him to discover the records detailing his own family's forcible conversion at the hands of the Church's Inquisition, he begins to question the basis for his whole life.

This could also be the plot of an original novel. If you write that book, I expect to be thanked on the Acknowledgements page.

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Songwriter William Beckett and artist Christine Bandy decide that parenting is a full-time job and since songwriting and creating art are also both full-time jobs, they really need a third person to help them out. In the meantime, Bill's best friend Adam's friend Mike has just moved back to Chicago after a breakup and is staying on Adam's couch. There is some event (like dinner at the Bandy-Beckett house or a picnic in the park) that brings them all together and Evie likes Mike, so Bill and Christine hire him. Mike, of course, is exactly what they needed to keep their lives in order. He's good with Evie, he helps Bill with a tricky bit of music, and something about him just inspires Christine. Somehow this also gives purpose to Mike's life so he falls in love with Bill and Christine as they fall in love with him. The trick to this story is to make Mike a real person and not just Mary Poppins (practically perfect in every way).

I Know This Hurts (It Was Meant To) by dancinbutterfly is amazing. Pete is the main character, and I won't spoil you by telling you the pairing. I, of course, did highlight to read the pairing, and I think it's probably interesting in a whole other way if you read it without knowing.

I don't really know what to say about this story because I just loved it. I've read the whole thing twice through in the last week, and parts of it more than that. I will say that I find different people's reactions to things fascinating. reni_days recced it and said, "It left me thoughtful and unsettled for days." I found it settling.

Lips press to his forehead. “No, I meant what do you need? Tell me.”

Pete flounders. He doesn’t have the answer. Even if he did, he doesn’t have the words. “I don’t- Just please. Please, sir, please.”

“I’ve got you,” he says, but he lets go of Pete’s face, resting it gently on the bench. For a second, Pete thinks the man’s going to release him and a protest catches in the back of his throat. But instead there are lips on his back, tracing and agitating the welts.

It’s a completely different kind of pain. This makes Pete feel like he’s being put back together one piece at a time. It hurts, but he still relaxes; melts into the bench so much that when a spit-slick finger slides inside him he doesn’t react with more than a gasp.

“Easy.” The Dom’s other hand presses down on Pete’s shoulders. He doesn’t push against it. “You were such a good boy for me.” Pete moans as a second finger pushes inside and that gets him a warm mouth on the base of his spine, over a particularly raw welt. “Good boys get rewards.”

Pete can’t remember the last time anyone thought he was good, like, really good.

This is a collection of miscellaneous plot bunnies and snippets. The snippets are mostly the beginnings of things I know I'm not going to write more of.

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Warning: This first one could be triggery. Suicide talk ahead. Skip to the next LJ-cut if you don't want to read it.

( Suicidal Spencer Gen )

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( Nick/Tyson )

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Brendon always has to give up his dogs. Shane got Dylan, Spencer got Bogart, and Sarah got whatever the new dog's name is.

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In the story in my head but I'll probably never write, Cassadee Pope, rock star, falls in love with a guy who owns a coffee shop.

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( Domestic Mike/Emma and Michael/Naomi )

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( Mike/Michael/Naomi Beginning )

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( Nick Jonas/Brendon Urie: Gay In A Religious Family )

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( Nick Jonas/Brendon Urie: Substitutes )

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( Nick Jonas/Brendon Urie: Musicians In Love )

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( Patrick/Spencer Beginning )

TV
I've stopped watching How I Met Your Mother. I started watching it this week, but it was offensive (I actually said, "Fat jokes are not funny," out loud), it wasn't funny, and I think they've lost their way in terms of storytelling, which is only going to get worse now that they've been renewed for yet another season.

I'm now three episodes behind on SPN and two on Leverage. I'm just not willing to give up time I'm spending doing other things to watch them. (Also, I've been having trouble keeping up with my weights, which is what I was doing while watching TV. I'm changing to Sunday-Tuesday-Friday, and hoping that helps.) I'm caught up on Mercy and Castle (only because it apparently wasn't on this week), and I never get caught up on Friday Night Lights until Saturday or Sunday anyway.

I'm a Nielsen family this week, and they're really not going to have a good picture of my viewing habits given that there's no place to write in stuff watched online. Their loss! I'd forgotten that they send you money when you agree to keep a TV diary, so at least there's that. (It's actually making me even less inclined to watch the Super Bowl than I already was, just so I don't add to the ratings.)

Music - The Best Blog
If you have any interest in either music or good writing, you should be reading Sarahindie (feed: sarahindiedtcom). For the sake of full disclosure, I have to admit that I am slightly biased in this recommendation; Sarah is one of my favorite people in the whole world. But you don't just have to take my word for it! I told a friend he should read it because he would totally disagree with her but enjoy the writing. Last weekend, he said he's been reading some of it, and I was absolutely right: he disagrees with her but likes the writing.

Bandom - Fall Out Boy
I've taken to reading Alternative Press when I'm in Barnes & Noble. I read their 2009 wrap-up issue and was very confused that FOB wasn't on their list of bands on permanent hiatus. I'm actually also confused by people's annoyance at Pete. He said, "would you rather me lie to you through a publicist?" and my thought was that people would probably rather his band weren't over, but barring that, I'd rather he just straight up say whatever it is he has to say (which he eventually did). Vague blog entries are annoying. (My favorite thing to come out of all of this was this post from Pete which I scrolled past on my friends page and just assumed was a daily_patrick post.) I will admit to being teary-eyed, but I was also excessively cranky and headachy, all of which I think has more to do with not getting enough sleep than anything going on with FOB.

The discussion in the comments to eleanor_lavish's post about this said that this is what Pete always does: draw fire to himself to protect his band. (Personally, I think this seems like a bad idea when you're already struggling with depression, but it's his life. Also, bunny: Pete the masochist. Eventually someone figures it out and takes him on so he has a safe, sane, consensual outlet for it, which makes him a little more stable in public.) At least a couple of people in the post said they were annoyed with Patrick. Me too! At least Andy and Joe both stepped up and took some of the heat/stood up for Pete. Interesting, though, that Patrick's now referring to his album as a "solo project," which he refused to do before. (My theory was that "solo project" makes it sound like there's a band to go back to and he knew there wasn't.)

Aside: Weight Loss Culture, Spencer, and New!Patrick
I have to admit that while Patrick's video is freakin' adorable, I'm not into new!Patrick. I've actually had a really hard time reading comments talking about how hot he is now. "Now," of course, meaning "now that he's lost weight." Then there's my own personal thoughts on his attractiveness: this guy could be any guy; that guy looked like he might be interesting. I have the same feeling about Spencer; I like hot baby dyke Spencer a lot better than I like lost some weight, wears boy clothes Spencer. I have two thoughts about this. The first is that I'm a lesbian; of course I'm not into the guys who just look like guys. The second is that I feel guilty for this because liking who they were doesn't acknowledge who they are now. (This second one is where I fail at objectification, which is, I suppose, a win for my critical feminist brain.)

Bandom - Empires
If you haven't yet, I recommend spending the $2 to buy Empires' new single and its b-side. The single is "Damn Things Over," which I really like despite its punctuation issues. The b-side is "I Know You Know" (video of the live version), which is close to surpassing "Spit the Dark" as my favorite Empires song.

A lot of people (read: four) I know have seen them on this tour. I feel totally left out, but schuyler concert called me and siryn99 uploaded video, which helps! Someday Empires will make it to my part of California.

Bandom - Other
Speaking of bands that make it to my part of California, are Never Shout Never, Hey Monday, The Cab, Every Avenue, and The Summer Set worth seeing? They're on the AP Tour, which means they're going to be in Chico, which means I could go for not very much money and a very short drive. It is a Thursday, which makes me less inclined, both because it would mean skipping dance and because it would mean being up late, but I could handle that if it were worth it.

Bandom - Cobra Starship
The fact that I really like Cobra Starship is an unpopular fannish opinion in my corner of fandom, so I don't talk about them as much as I otherwise might. I love their music, and I find Gabe totally fascinating. I'm also new to them so I'm not invested in a way that means the things that have made my friends be done with them don't bother me (much; Gabe being a jerk to one of my friends directly gets the angry face: >:( ).

But let's talk about Gabe being fascinating. I know fandom has this whole image of him as being a wild, drunken party boy, which I suppose he's earned, but following him on Twitter has given me this whole other image of him. Where is the emo!Gabe fic? Because, seriously, he is not necessarily cheerful: "i feel like i'm losing my fucking mind. but for real. and i'm sure not sleeping is not helping. eventually the medicine stops workin." (source) "i went out tonight with all my best friends... .i dont even know how to have fun anymore... i'm just always looking to get into a fight. :/" (source) "not to get all emo, but what's worse: getting disappointed, or being a disappointment?" (source)

And where's the discussion and/or fic about how he's actually really, really smart? "As Gabe Saporta awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect" (source) is possibly my most favorite status update ever. I'm sure he got interesting replies from people who didn't get it. (It's a riff on Kafka's The Metamorphosis, and Gabe was in Vienna at the time.)

And then sometimes he's adorable. He and Bianca (his girlfriend) did a video for Elle that is the cutest thing ever. I kind of wish I had something more substantive to say about it, but that's pretty much exhausted my thoughts about it. I would be happy to flail with you in the comments if you have more to say.

Bandom - A Brief Critical Look at Cobra Starship's Central Narrative
I keep meaning to do the actual research to make sure my impression is right and then make a real post about this, but I've been meaning to do that for a month and haven't yet, so you get just the brief, unresearched version.

I'm fascinated by the way the central narrative of Cobra Starship's promo materials seems to be increasingly heteronormative. By that I mean that I've seen a lot of older promo photos wherein Gabe is leaning on any or all members of his band; newer promo photos seem to put Gabe and Victoria front and center as a unit. Intentionally or not, Gabe and Victoria both play this up, him in interviews and her on Twitter. (My impression of them is that he's doing it intentionally as part of a marketing strategy and she's doing it either unintentionally or intentionally as a way to get people to talk about her.) The music press is also involved; the photo that accompanied AP's blurb naming Victoria keytarist of the year for 2009 is a picture of the two of them on stage. On the one hand, I like this; they're my OTP of the moment. On the other hand, I find this deeply problematic. I know that Cobra has been deliberately mainstreaming their image, and I'm sure this is part of it. The problem is that influence doesn't just go one way. Even as they fit themselves into a heterosexual norm, they reflect that norm back into the mainstream, and to a larger audience the bigger they get.

What's interesting about Cobra doing this is that they actually haven't done away with the homoerotic angle to the band; they've just pushed it into the background. The homoeroticism is being carried by Alex and Ryland (the band's official announcement of their "Hot Mess" remixes EP, which includes the Suave Suarez On Pleasure Ryland Remix said, "Alex and Ryland even give it their own spin and the title they chose outta give those fanfic writers some...inspiration!") or, more often, Nate and Alex. The sensible part of my brain thinks that they had to choose someone, and Alex and Ryland thought it would be weird for it to be the two of them. The fan fic is the center of the universe part of my brain thinks they chose that because Alex thinks he'll get to top more in fic if he's with Nate. (Considering the way the taller guy always tops thing has seeped into western fandom from anime fandom, that might actually be the way Nate/Alex fic goes.)

JoBros Meet Nicole Kidman
Probably any of you likely to care have already seen this picture, but even if you're not into the JoBros, you might find Nicole blatantly checking out Kevin amusing.

This is one of the cutest pictures ever (click on it for the larger version):



For those of you not familiar with bandom, that's Pete Wentz and Patrick Stump.

I haven't had a desktop background image for at least five years, probably longer. Once upon a time, I had an image my brother created that said "Win-Doze 95," which I used well into Windows 98, but after that, I decided it wasn't worth having an image I would barely ever see since I usually have at least one window maximized and don't use desktop shortcuts.

Today, I made

( this )

my desktop background.

Yes, that is a thing that happened. Yes, the background is a gorgeous burst of color. I don't even know.

I'm going to be so delighted to see that every morning when I turn my computer on and every evening when I turn it off.

Between that and Gabe Saporta and Jensen Not-Ackles conspiring to put Pete Wentz's phone number on the internet (full story, roundup of tweets and such in chronological order), not to mention Nick Jonas's seventeenth birthday, this just might be the best fandom day ever.

I think this requires fic. Fic post coming in mere minutes!