Date: 2009-08-02 20:10 Subject: Shipping Meme Security: Public Tags: shipping

I've been pretty quiet on her as of late, so it may surprise some of you to learn that I'm writing fic again. Some of it's been "just for me," and the rest is planning for projects I hope will turn out in the long run. So bear with me, and I may produce.

At the same time, all the fandom thinking as of late made me want to fill out the shipping meme lazaefair posted a few days ago.

( Contains spoilers, primarily for VM and HP )

Date: 2009-08-01 09:10 Subject: Quick politicized rant. Security: Public

I wish people arguing in favor of the death penalty would stop asking, "Well, what if they guy admits he did it? Why shouldn't he be sentenced to death?"

BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO ADMIT TO MURDERS GENERALLY DO SO WITH THE STIPULATION THAT THEIR CONFESSION MEANS THEY WON'T GET THE DEATH PENALTY.

Everyone's entitled to their own beliefs, but come up with a better argument.

Date: 2009-06-16 23:00 Subject: I hate the state of Illinois. Security: Public

So I'm driving downtown in Springfield around 10 p.m. today. I'm going to go out with some friends. In front of me, the green light turns to yellow. I probably could have gone through, but I would have had to accelerate, so I rolled to a stop. By my own estimate, I was probably about a foot past the "stop line." The woman in the car next to me - she'd been texting - slammed on her breaks and landed on the stop line.

Twenty seconds later, I get pulled over for "driving aggressively." The officer yells in my face, asks me if I know about the woman who got hit in a crosswalk and broke her leg last summer, and when I hand him my proof of insurance, he asks me what kind of car I drive. I'm shaking and crying at this point, but I manage to tell him it's a Volkswagen Jetta. Since this is abbreviated as "JOP" for some reason on my insurance card (nevermind that the make, year and color clearly are the same), he accuses me of not carrying proper insurance and says he'll have to call it in.

After 25 humiliating minutes, he issued me two citations - one for failing to stop (I WAITED 15 SECONDS FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE) and the other for driving aggressively (AGAIN, I ROLLED UP TO THE STOPLIGHT, WHICH CHANGED AS I APPROACHED IT). As I hung my head and bawled HYSTERICALLY, he told me I better look at him while he was talking unless I wanted another citation. Then he had the audacity to describe the incident as a "friendly contact between law enforcement and the citizenry." Seriously, what the fuck? Shouldn't the woman next to me, the one weaving in and out of lanes and riding my ass and slamming on her breaks when she noticed a stop light, have been the one to get a ticket? Methinks it was the Missouri license plate.

As a child, I was always taught that law enforcement officials existed to protect and serve people like me - people who obey the laws. I usually tend to side with the police when there seem to be two sides of a crime story. It's cautious, but it makes sense, right? Err with the people meant to serve justice?

Increasingly I'm seeing that it's not true, that law enforcement doesn't exist to protect and serve but rather to send undeserving individuals on much-needed power trips. I felt like a fucking criminal tonight. Note to cops: try not to piss off sympathetic, college-educated, upper middle class young adults. If they don't trust you, will anyone?

Date: 2009-04-30 23:31 Subject: Theft Security: Public Tags: fic

Because I commented on clevermonikerr's post, I suppose I have to repost this as well.

The first FIVE people to comment in this post get to request a drabble/ficlet. In return, they have to post this in their journal, regardless of their ability level.

I'll write Veronica Mars, Bones, Supernatural, Harry Potter or cracktastic crossover fic.

And I will keep it under 500 words.

Date: 2009-04-30 12:22 Subject: I hate this fucking university. Security: Public

I wrote down the wrong day for a final on my iCal... it's actually on Monday, May 11 at 8 a.m., not Tuesday, May 12 at 8 a.m. Yes, that's right. I have a final at 8 a.m. the day after my 21st birthday in the most impossible class I've taken. So I won't be going out on my 21st. I will be huddled up among my books, trying to survive the experience.

In other news, Tiger Walk, that iconic thing graduates get to do with booze around the columns, will be held on May 7. Bring photo ID (to prove you're 21). WELL HOW CAN I DO THAT IF I WON'T BE 21 FOR ANOTHER THREE DAYS?

This has been the worst goddamn semester. Isn't this just icing on the fucking cake?

/endrant

Date: 2009-04-26 14:18 Subject: Fic: King of Pain (Keith, Veronica) PG-13 Security: Public Tags: fic, keith, veronica

Title: “King of Pain”
Author: em2mb
Pairing/Character: Keith, Veronica.
Word Count: 4,165
Rating: PG-13
Summary: He fixes the bathroom door and paints Veronica’s bedroom, but deep down he knows a splash of color can’t mask the grey in their lives. The hero is the one who stays, but sometimes it’s natural to want to run.
Spoilers: Through 1x01, “Pilot.” Takes place pre-series.
Warnings: Discusses the Pomroy party.
Author's Notes: Another fic generated from one of the “pockets of evil” (lazaefair’s terminology, not mine) in my brain. Title from the Police song.

( Not that Ivy League meant much with the rent past due, when the only thing in the cabinet was a jar of a peanut butter and a loaf of bread. )

Date: 2009-04-22 13:16 Subject: Fic: All the PI’s Men (Logan/Veronica, Ensemble) NC-17 (3/7) Security: Public Tags: 100_situations, all the pi's men, fic, logan/veronica

Title: “All the PI’s Men”
Author: em2mb
Pairing/Character: Logan/Veronica, Mac, Keith, Weevil, Wallace, Piz, Sacks.
Word Count: 9,211
Rating: NC-17
Summary: “All... right,” Piz said slowly. He picked up the potato hunk, practically pointing it at her. “But if the next words out of your mouth are an alibi saying Logan was with you, like, with you, just know I’m making you go on my radio show.”
Spoilers: Through 3x20, “The Bitch is Back”
Warnings: Violence, language, sex, character death. Even Cliff McCormick probably wouldn’t defend this one in a court of law.
Disclaimer: Strangely enough, they still don’t belong to me.
Author's Notes: This old thing? *bats eyelashes*

( 'I loved Veronica, and I lie awake in my cell every night trying to figure out where I went so wrong in that relationship to end up accused of brutally stabbing her to death.' )

Date: 2009-04-20 11:45 Subject: Let's do this thing Security: Public Tags: 100_situations, fic

Here's the deal. A very, very long time ago, I signed up for a table at 100_situations. At the time, it seemed like a good idea - I would write, and the prompts would provide me with jumping off points.

Of course, then life got in the way and I took a break from fandom. I'm back now, trying to clear old projects off the hard drive, with the better part of 100 stories waiting to be finished. But it's something I want to do, even if one-word isn't quite the jumping off point I hoped it would be.

So here's where you can help. Go, take a look at my table, and pick a word, any word. Anything that's not in plain text (not italics or a hyperlink) is fair game. Leave me a comment with a line, a word of dialogue, a one-sentence prompt, anything that gives me a little more to work with. You can even issue a challenge within a challenge. And I'll start writing them in the order requests are received. You'll get credit for your inspiration and more Logan/Veronica fic to read.

And look for chapter three of All the PI's Men by the end of the week.

Date: 2009-04-19 15:48 Subject: Fic: You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows (Logan/Veronica, Ensemble) R (1/?) Security: Public Tags: 100_situations, 1960s america, fic, logan/veronica

Title: “You Don’t Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows”
Author:em2mb
Pairing/Character: Logan/Veronica, Lilly, Duncan, Mac, Wallace, Weevil, Lamb.
Word Count: 3,374
Rating: R
Summary: Berkeley, 1967 – Lilly snorted. “A part of me wants to see Duncan get drafted. I wonder how much Daddy would support this war if his son had to fight it.” It won’t be much longer before Veronica has to choose a side.
Spoilers: Through 1x22, “Leave it to Beaver”
Warnings: Character death, rape, and gratuitous nostalgia for a decade I didn’t live through
Author's Notes: A very long time ago, vm_library hosted a “Different Time and Place” challenge for which I (quite clearly) missed the deadline. But more than a year later, I haven’t managed to shake the idea of Veronica attending UC-Berkeley in the late 1960s. Title cribbed unabashedly from the position paper of everyone’s favorite radical domestic terrorist group, the Weather Underground Organization, which they borrowed from Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” Apologies for any historical inaccuracies. I’ve done my very best. Written in part for 100_situations. Prompt: war.

( A sultry smile spread across Lilly’s face. ‘Check out our gardener,’ she hissed. )

Date: 2008-12-09 11:34 Subject: An open letter to LJ Security: Public

Dearest LJ,

It's been awhile, hasn't it? I haven't meant to be such a bad friend. When I promised to write, I didn't know how hectic the next six or so months of my life would be. I know, I know. That's what people always say to you. You never do get enough credit, do you? Poor darling.

When we last talked, I was preparing to embark on some kind of modern day Grand Tour of the world. Now I'm again packing my suitcases and getting ready to head back to the U.S. in just ten days. After spending two months in China eating things that turned my intestines inside out and yelling at journalists without a clue, I landed an internship in London with the Associated Press. That's where I am at the moment, avoiding doing any real work. See? I haven't changed so much. I'm back to my old habits, and we can still be friends.

Matt and I are still together. I know you blame him for coming between our friendship in the first place. I'll be the first to admit that he certainly contributed to your demotion in my life. But you weren't the only one. You have to understand I was young and in love. I'm coming back in my own time, and he'll be in Beijing for yet another semester. That leaves me a lot of time to devote to you. Remember the good times we used to have? I hope we can have that back again.

I say all of this because you're looking a little tired, dear. I do hope it's not my fault. What's with the sidebar banner ads? We must do something about those. They're too distracting when I'm trying to catch up on old friends and enemies.

It's going to be different this time, I promise. I'll devote real time to my fic again. I'll finish All the PI's Men. I won't forget about you, not again.

At least, after I finish my ten page synthesis assignment for my international journalism class. Once that's done, it's all about you and me, baby.

Fondly,
Elle

Date: 2008-05-14 13:07 Subject: Life comes at you fast. Security: Public

Wasn't that the slogan of some ad campaign of my childhood? Or is it the current tagline in like, a gum commercial?

Ahem. Anyway.

I just took my last final, and after I present my (not-yet-completed) honors project to a professor tomorrow, I'm home free. Just have to box up my stuff and leave Columbia for Kansas City. No worries, right? I'll be back in two weeks.

Except, it dawned on me this morning that unless we can wrangle some cross-state visit in the next two weeks, Friday will be the last time I see Matt for over a year.

And if over the next two weeks, I can't put in the time with friends, family, coworkers and others before I head back here to be a camp counselor in June, I won't see them again until December.

And that last night, after my Comm Law final, was the last time I'll see quite a few of my friends from school until the semester starts again in January.

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited. I'm bursting with an unusual amount of peppiness at the prospect of spending three weeks herding cats gifted students. I can't wait to spend two months volunteering with the Olympic press corps in China. And did I mention how stoked I am about our shitty apartments in South Kensington? Because I don't really care where I'm staying this fall, so long as it's in London.

But at the moment, I'm feeling a little overwhelming.

Date: 2008-04-25 16:01 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public

Hey Dad,

Remember when YOU were in college and you had to chose between your car payment and your utility bill? Food and medicine? Tuition and rent?

No?

Oh yeah, that's because your parents didn't MAKE you pay for everything.

Love,
Elle

Date: 2008-01-20 15:38 Subject: I feel pretty safe saying these are the BEST cookies you will ever try Security: Public Tags: cookies, recipe

Monster Cookies!

3 eggs
1 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp corn syrup
1/2 c butter
1 1/2 c creamy peanut butter
2 tsp baking soda
4 1/2 c old-fashioned oats
1 c chocolate chips
1 c mini M&Ms

Cream butters and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla and corn syrup. Beat well. Add peanut butter and baking soda. Gradually stir in oats, chips and M&Ms. Use a plastic mixing spoon, not a spatula - they're prone to breaking!

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 8-12 min. Remove to wire rack for cooling. It's better to underbake these cookies. They're also good frozen.

I have no idea how many they make. The dough is incredibly sticky. It will get on your hands. I typically lick it off. I'm okay with consuming lots and lots of raw cookies. Also, it's a HUGE recipe - I typically make 1/3 or 2/3 a batch.

Date: 2007-12-18 10:17 Subject: Karma??? Security: Public Tags: chicago, jetta, mizzou

Chicago trip? Fantastic.

Keeping my 4.0 (translation: getting an A in reporting)? Excellent.

My car sliding down that embankment and punching a hole through my rear quarter panel after I hit that patch of ice on the highway, on the same night I got a speeding ticket? I'm a little less enthused.

Date: 2007-11-25 20:56 Subject: A more positive note in The Times for Missouri Security: Public Tags: football, mizzou

I know you're all tiring of my song and dance about Missouri being the world's best journalism school or some such, but when my little midwestern state does something big, I always feel obligated to pass along the news. Fortunately, we're not making headlines for plagiarism this week. Rather, in some kind of interesting irony, the year that I, least interested fan of football in school history, am a student here at the University of Missouri-Columbia, we become the number one ranked team in the country. The Tigers were never seriously ranked while either of my more football-crazed siblings were here.

I didn't watch the Kansas-Missouri showdown yesterday, but it was apparently so spectacular that my gay brother was actually yelling at the TV. He proclaimed, "Just so you know, this is the straightest you will ever see me."

And if it sounds like I'm talking crazy, I have The Times to back me:

"It would be difficult to make up a better story than the one that has unfolded this season in Columbia, Mo. And that is fitting for Missouri, which is better known for its journalism school than its football teams.

"John A. Walsh, the executive editor of ESPN and a 1968 Missouri journalism graduate, says the Tigers’ season has been nothing more than 'a publicity stunt to help the journalism school to draw attention to its 100th anniversary next fall.'"

True story, my friends.

Date: 2007-11-23 12:16 Subject: Fic: Stove Top (Logan/Veronica) PG Security: Public Tags: 100_situations, fic, logan/veronica, thanksgiving

Title: Stove Top
Author: em2mb
Pairing/Character: Logan/Veronica.
Word Count: 1,000: five snippets, 200 words each.
Rating: PG
Summary: “Southern California is just more… tofurkey, you know?” Five Thanksgivings.
Spoilers: Generally through 3x20, “The Bitch is Back”
Warnings: If you make like Chandler on Turkey Day, avoid the warm fuzzies.
Author's Notes: A day late and a dollar short, that’s me. But I started this one after Grey’s last night, wouldn’t let myself go over 200 words for each Thanksgiving, and still pulled off the bulk of it in three hours. I just didn’t get around to posting. I’m not dead. I’m just in my reporting semester at MU for another three weeks. I don’t own them. Written in part for 100_situations. Prompt #96: Writer’s Choice – Thanksgiving.

( 'And miss the debacle?' Logan’s voice crackled with amusement. 'I don’t know, Veronica. You’re cooking the whole meal in that shit hole apartment?' )

Date: 2007-10-17 19:30 Subject: Case of the Wednesdays Security: Public Tags: gluten-free, recipe

So let me preface this by saying I'm kind of ridiculous. I have attacked this celiac thing with all kinds of recipes and baking experiments. Wheat allergy? Forget it. I can figure out a substitute (except for Pop Tarts, sadly). But, I saw this article in the Times today, with this recipe linked, and I thought I'd share what I came up with because I am so ridiculously proud of my abilities at this point. It's super easy, so I'm sharing with you all:

Pasta with Chickpeas, Kielbasa and Artichokes

olive oil
1/4-1/2 pound kielbasa or similar cooked sausage
1 tbsp. garlic, pressed
1-2 cans cooked chickpeas, depending on taste
1/2 pound pasta - I used brown rice shells, a shape I would recommend
1 small jar artichokes in sauce
1/2 medium tomato, diced
grated parmesan cheese

Begin boiling a large pot of water with salt and a splash of olive olive. In a large saucepan, brown kielbasa in light olive oil. Set aside. Add another splash of oil and cook garlic until it colors lightly. Saute artichokes and tomato chunks. Set aside. Begin boiling pasta. Meanwhile, heat chickpeas and juice with another splash of olive oil. When pasta is nearly tender, drain. Add chickpeas and sauce to pasta, add another splash of olive oil and stir. Stir in veggies and sausage. Serve sprinkled with cheese.

Seriously. This one is INSANELY good, and really easy. It took lazaefair and I maybe 30-40 minutes tops, and that included her having to clean up after my roommate. We also had strawberry salad and gluten-free brownies for dessert. Yes, I'm aware I went through all of the above trouble for a Wednesday night. I love to cook, okay?

Date: 2007-10-17 12:56 Subject: Quick update Security: Public Tags: fic update, journalism, life, mizzou

Things I am not:

Dead
Done writing fic
Ignoring you
Well-rested

Things I am:

Operating on lack of sleep
Insanely busy
Working at local media affiliates
Dating again
Going to get soaked when I give tours this afternoon
Surprisingly okay with how hectic things are

Date: 2007-10-04 14:15 Subject: Columbia Missourian makes Colbert Report Security: Public Tags: journalism, mizzou

Shit you not. This kid can say forever that his article was featured on Colbert.

Date: 2007-10-02 16:35 Subject: An open letter to my roommate Security: Public Tags: roommate issues

Dear Heather,

I like you. I really like you. You're a much better roommate than I expected to get, but I'm still pretty sure Campus Lodge is full of shit when they claim to "roommate match." And I really don't want you going anywhere, and I really don't want anyone else moving in, but in the mean time, let's get a few things straight:

1. I don't care how you load the dishwasher at home because you don't unload it here. If you put the knives blade-up, I will eventually grab one and bleed all over your dishes.

2. It's one thing when I leave the dishes in the sink to soak for an hour. It's another thing when you "cook" on Sunday and I get back from campus on Tuesday to the same festering pot of water in the sink, blocking the drain. Accordingly, I will continue dumping Cocoa Crispie chocolate milk and half-full cans of soda into the mix until you have dealt with it.

3. I don't care if you use my blender. I just find it interesting that you said, "Hey, we used your blender, I hope you don't mind" when what you meant was "Hey, we used up the last of your drink mixes and pineapple rum, I hope you don't mind."

4. I'm really glad you cleaned over the weekend and all, but it does not change the fact that after doing said cleaning, you grilled something new to the surface of the stove. Please remove that ASAP. I don't clean what I cannot identify.

5. I've taken out the trash the last five times. It's your turn. It's really unfair when Matt ends up taking it out because he knows I will not cede the point and the kitchen is starting to stink.

6. Your room is about 15 feet from the sofa. Please have sex in there, not out here.

7. Yes, "that guy" slept over on Saturday, but correct me if I'm wrong, Patrick does so six nights out of seven. And yes, when you watched the iLife video I produced last year you did see "that guy." I did not just meet him. We've been friends for awhile actually. Try not to look stunned. But hey, maybe this is all the more reason to reference point the first (see above). Who knows what I'm carrying around with me?

8. I don't like musicals, and your top-of-your-lungs renditions of songs from Wicked are not helping.

9. If you need to use my printer, that's totally cool. But when you ask, don't ask to "print off something." Just come out with it and admit you need to print off 20 pages of forms for the pageant you're entering.

10. Patrick does not live here. That means his 6.7 pound jar of muscle enhancing supplement powder should not live on our counter. Just be glad I'm not angry about the fact he's taking steroids in the first place.

I'm sure I'm no peach to live with either, but at least I stay in my room most of the time.

Love,
Elle