Last Author Standing

I should have signed up for whoverse_las, but I was hemming and hawing over whether or not I really wanted to, and the deadline for sign-up went wooshing by without my notice.

It's probably for the best, since I've been spending way too much time on LiveJournal/fanfiction-related activities as it is. (I blame this on the fact that most of my friends are taking vacations now, and I am too poor to go anywhere.)

So, since I'm not writing, I've decided to vote! And man, it's hard! So far, I have made it through 22 stories, and I have about 5-6 pages of stories left to go. And the voting process is intense: not only do you have to choose your favorite story, but you must articulate a reason for why it's the best. AND you have to choose which story you think is the worst, which seems unbelievably cruel, even though the author will never know about it.

Since I'm an anal-retentive geek who takes these sorts of things seriously, I've scribbled notes for each of the stories I've read so I can remember what they're about and what I liked and disliked about each of them. I'm hoping my demonstrated inability to read my own handwriting doesn't bite me in the ass. I'd be really interested to hear how other voters are handling things, because seriously, this is a monumental task and a huge amount of fic!

So far, there's only a couple stories I really liked; I was disappointed by how many Doctor/Rose fics there were. I came to Doctor Who just after the 4th Series aired, so I missed the whole "falling in love" stage with Rose; I like her, I just don't like her like that. (Why is her mouth always open?) The main problem I have with her is: 1. all of the angsty, crybaby nonsense from 10 when she left (which, admittedly, made no sense to me, since I hadn't seen her episodes yet) and 2. all of the fluffy, angsty, crybaby nonsense that crops up in fanfic.

So, I was a bit chagrined to find that the first story I truly liked, and that actually made me laugh out loud, was a Rose/Nine fic. Go figure!

So yes, I am putting aside my mild Rose prejudice to judge these stories on their merits; I just hope I can make it through all of them in time to vote!

Veggie Porn and a Recipe, "Spicy Vegetable Stew"

I've started harvesting my tomatillos, and I'm so excited! They are just gorgeous!



Also, tonight I made a vegetable stew inspired by a recipe I found at food_porn. I would post a link, but the post is locked to members only. The stew was delicious, and a big hit in my house!

( For the recipe, and more porn-y food pics, click here. )