I.  Am enjoying.  My vacation.

I'm lounging.  In my pajamas.

I'm NOT being productive.  Whatsoever.

I read a 650 page book.  Yes, I read.  Not fanfic!  An actual book.  I had time to cuddle up with an actual book :)  *happy cackle*  If you're into fantasy, I definitely recommend Kristen Britain's Green Rider series.  The latest installment was quite enjoyable.  I've been waiting since 2002 for it to come out, and when I went Christmas shopping at Borders', I nearly fell all over myself to pull this one off the shelf.  What an unexpected surprise!  I'm actually sad I read it so fast, because now I have to wait again!

That being said, I hope to get back to writing LST sometime soon.  I had a picture in my head about how the scene would go, but I think I'm going to scrap it and do something different.  Derek being hyper on Christmas morning to Meredith's grumpy is overdone, and, in the case of LST?  At this juncture?  I don't think it would fit.  Plus, I love watching Derek wake up.  Don't you?  Mmm.  Anyway.  Do I get any presents for including a hairy leg to stroke or something?  A muffin maybe?  Virtual hugs and some chocolate?  I'll see about working it in.

Two chapters + the wedding to go.  I can taste the end.  I'm really looking forward to recollecting myself and taking a break.  I know you all love LST, but I am ready to leave it and work on something new.  I'm getting kind of antsy to start my next fic.  I'm really leaning toward setting aside the LST sequel I'd been planning for now and approaching a way to fix the mess that is canon MerDer.  I have a really gorgeous scene in my mind that will not leave me alone since I thought of it.   We'll see if it still fits after episode 11.  But y'all know how much I love to work from canon :)  I think I could make it work even if 11 knocks my view off kilter a little.

On the Grey's fic front, I'm a disaster case.  I'm trying to keep up with everything I've been actively reviewing.  Yikes.  I got in a little over my head with all you fast updaters out there :)  I have at least one very long MerDer story that I've been saving for a rainy day to settle down and read, Gravity, by GreysAddict522.  Keep going, girl :)  I think you'll probably be a major source of strike relief for me!  Heeh!  I'm definitely planning to savor that one.  I'd like to make a quick recommendation.  This story:  Rest Stop, by Mortal City, was absolutely lovely.  It's a one-shot, so it's easy to consume in a quick sit down.

Okay, I know I've posted a recommendation for this story before, but I have to do it again.  I just have to.  If you haven't read Do You Ever Get Weary by greymcdreamysgh, go do it.  Now.  Part 12 melted me.  Just melted.  I'm goo.  I'm freaking goo at the moment, and I can't say anything else intelligent.  This story has routinely impressed me.  The writing quality is excellent.  You will not be disappointed if you're a MerDer fan.  I promise.

So, as is my particular habit after I've written something ridiculously long and exhausting, I haven't written all weekend.  Instead, I've been reading.  So, I have some fresh recommendations for you :)  All MerDer.

Addicted by MeredithGreyPotter1 - oneshot, this would have made me like the Love/Addiction episode a lot more.

Blood and Peanutbutter by McSassy37 - multipart, fluffy but not saccharine, an in-character look at what might happen if Meredith got stuck babysitting for some of Derek's nieces and nephews while he's on call.

Dance by rapunze11e - oneshot, porn!  we all need some of that...

Dreams of Love by Samsolace - multipart, an interesting exploration of Meredith's back story, which is considerably more dark and twisty than what the show has given us so far.

The Easier Way by Thinkatory - oneshot, a Meredith Cristina moment that I would have loved to see on the show.

From Underwater to the Edge of the Ocean by McDreamyReally - multipart, an alternative first-meeting story.  This story borrows from early Grey's, but twists everything around in a way that makes it new and fresh. 

Nothing Else Matters by GreysAddict552 - multipart, post finale fixit fic.  Another canon fixer that I'm falling in love with as I read it.

In Time by Thinkatory - oneshot example of how something as simple as Derek bringing Meredith her keys can take your breath away.

Volcano by Mrs. McDreamy MD - multipart, post ferry-arc, Derek is not dealing so well with Meredith's death.  This story isn't done yet, and really, the author seems to still be laying down the brickwork so far, but I like what I've seen.  I have a thing for post-ferry stories.  You may have noticed ;p

What I'm Here For by Starvingstudent - multipart, I recced this before when it was just a oneshot, only recently discovering that it was definitely not a oneshot anymore.  I'm a little in love with this one.  I love it when an author starts with canon and fixes it.  Not only that, but it's well written, and everyone is in character.  That is hard to find.

Well, I haven't posted any fic recs in a while.  I figured I might as well mention a few that I've been keeping my eye on.  All MerDer.

The Luckiest by GraveDancer and Marilyn's_Child -- This was AU enough that I didn't expect to like it.  I generally like my Grey's characters in the hospital where they seem to belong.  Except there was just something about this story that I found utterly captivating.  And I was hooked.  Derek Shepherd is a chef.  Go figure.  But I enjoyed it.

Under the Southern Sun by JenMcDreamy - I started reading this on a whim the other day.  It's a WIP, and it's damned captivating.  After her would-be marriage goes up in smoke in NYC, Meredith flees to a small town in the South to spend some time with her aunt.  She meets Derek Shepherd there, a local surgeon, who's also healing some old wounds.

Wonderwall by Marasca - very short and sweet, Mark gives Derek a much needed kick in the ass

Testing the Water by LareinaSelena -- post ferry-arc, Meredith develops a fear of the water.  I've been beta-ing this story.  I think it's coming along splendidly.

Sorry, I don't have many more than that.  I'm not reading as much as I'd like right now.  Anyone have any really good MerDer to recommend to save me some time churning through all the junk out there?  I like canon-based, or at least SGH-based AUs the most.  My pet peeve, which will make me run screaming almost always, is when an author doesn't use speech tags and quote marks for dialog.  Scripts are for watching, not reading.  Imho.  Anyway, I'd just love to find a meaty Derek-centric story somewhere, but sadly, there don't seem to be all that many. 

Chug, chug, chug. I've got about 9500 words done on the next part and I haven't even gotten to the Derek Mark thing yet. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. I might chop some of this out. I'm not really sure about this pacing. We'll see :) Anyway, still working, still writing, still here :) I really, really want to get home and write today. It's the first time I've been extremely excited to be working on this in a little over a week or so, yay!

Also, is anyone else letting themselves get hopeful about all the GA spoilers so far? I keep reading stuff I'm happy about.

As an aside -- I'm sorry I'm way behind on commenting on what other people have written. I really haven't sat down to read GA fic in well over a week. After I get Lightning back on track, I'll spend a day on it all to catch up :) Consider this my avid, blanket, unfailing support of your work until then :)

To those who are newly tuning in, some of the current stories I'm avidly reading include:
What Do You Hear in These Sounds by Carsonfiles
Do You Ever Get Weary by Greymcdreamysgh
Just One Second by Tracyh
Replaced by Everyday by Scatteroflight
It's Getting There by Nemodat

I don't have time to link them right now, but all of these should be linked in earlier rec threads.

Anyway, hope y'all had a lovely holiday weekend, or, to my international readers, just a lovely weekend in general :)

Well, I haven't done one of these in a while.  I figure this might help keep you busy while I'm working on Part 35 (nope, I'm not even veiling my attempt at a distraction, just look at the subject!).   Here are some really good fics I've been reading lately :)  All MerDer.

Do You Ever Get Weary? by Greymcdreamysgh (A)
Replaced by Everyday by Scatteroflight (A!!!)
Hope for a Happy Ending by Hideseekkeep (F)

It's Getting There by NemoDat (?) - this one was heartily recced to me by TracyH in one of our e-mail back-and-forths.  I haven't had a ton of time to read it, but what I skimmed I really liked.  I normally don't like to rec things I haven't read thoroughly, but this one just caught my eye.  It's on my pending list, and I can't wait to sit down and really enjoy it.

I wish I had some more for you, but unfortunately, my reading time has been severely limited lately!  I either write or I'm busy with other crap, it seems.  If I'm reading and reviewing a story of yours, you may have noticed it takes me DAYS to get around to reviewing.  I'm trying to keep up!  I swear!  Anyway...

Oh yeah, and if you missed my earlier driveby rec for TracyH's Just One Second, she's just started getting into the real angsty meat of her idea.  If you didn't check it out before, definitely check it out now :)

Hey, I just wanted to mention a story currently being written on ffnet.

It's called Just One Second, by TracyH.

She came to me with an idea for a fic and asked what I thought.  I told her to go for it!  I don't think I've read anything that's gotten into what she's planning to do.  I had flirted with the idea for SOSG, but, SOSG was already pretty angsty without going the added mile, so I was pretty excited when she mentioned she wanted to do what I had chickened out on.  She's only done the setup so far, but I think she's off to a wonderful start.  If you like angsty, adult subject matter, this story is for you.   It's a post S3 Mer/Der fic.  Check it out! 

Well, I've been reading a whole host of post-S3 / near the end of S3 fixit fic as well as some other stuff lately.  Naturally, since it's late S3... it's mostly angsty, but nothing too bad except for My City, which deals with 9/11 on a personal level for Derek.  Everything except My City is, of course, MerDer :)

Woman by like a criminal (Post Didn't We Almost Have It All?)
When You Believe by littlemissaddicted (Post Didn't We Almost Have It All?)
What I'm Here For by Starvingstudent (Post The Other Side of This Life)
Learning To Talk by Tracyh (Rewrite - Didn't We Almost Have It All?)
Helpless When She Smiles by GraveDancer (Post Didn't We Almost Have It All?)
All We Can Do by Daughter of the Bard (Post Didn't We Almost Have It All?)
It's Not Over by DrMeredithGrey (Post Didn't We Almost Have It All?)
A Better Finale by Shari (Post Didn't We Almost Have It All?)

The following fic is ADDEK, but it was so heartwrenchingly good that I couldn't not recommend it :)  Seriously, give it a shot if you're a Derek fan.
My City of Ruins by TheFicChick

Well, a few recs to tide you over.  I'm done at 7200 words (yay!), but my beta is out of town and I'm waiting for him to get back to his hotel room.  Hear that, Beta man?  I've sicced the readers on you!  Run home!  Run like the wind!  Darned workaholic weirdos :)

*innocent grin*

Anyway!  A=Angst, F=Fluff, A/F=Balanced. 

Try these out for MerDer:

(A/F) Untitled -- Part 1, Part 2 by Shari
(A/F) Showing Up by Scatteroflight
(A) Untitled by Deconstructgirl

And Mer/Cris friendship:

(A/F) Stupid Rules by Kasumi_Grl

Well, it was one of those weekends.  I felt very anti-writing after having just pounded out 16 pages on Friday.  I really needed to recharge.  So, I haven't gotten anything new done, well, not much.  I really just needed the breather.  I tried to write something today but... ugh.  I have a partial Derek/mother conversation and a partial Derek/Meredith conversation, and I'm not really sure how either of them relate, or even where they should be set.  Sorry, y'all.  I'm hoping to get some good stuff done tomorrow after work.

I did end up reading a bunch of stuff, though... I mean, I really got to the point where I felt like I was scraping the barrel for anything good... I feel like I've read the internet!  I would kill for a long, juicy fluffy-angsty Mer/Der novel with a decent plot that I haven't read yet, but I'm running out of places to look for one.  Somebody write one, damn it!  Please?  :)

Here are a few new fic recommendations.  All Mer/Der to some degree.  A=angst, F=fluff, A/F= balanced.

(A) Your Heart Is An Empty Room by emerald-soco.
(A) Unglued by Grand Delusions
(A) Stranded by Grand Delusions
(A/F) All He Needs to Know by Bella Lumina
(A/F) What Do You Hear in These Sounds by Carsonfiles
(A) The Miracle by Samsolace
(A) True North by Northernstar

The following two are Mark Derek friendship (against MerDer backdrop). 
(A) The Boy Who Waterskied to Forever by sweetnarcosis
(A) In That Moment by khohen1

Anyone know where I can find more good Derek and Mark stuff? 

Anyway, I can't believe that this weekend is almost over.  I have such a bad taste in my mouth...  I didn't get hardly anything done, and I absolutely dread work tomorrow.  DREAD.  Because I have a deadline, and it's a project I really just don't want to be working on at all.  On top of that...  I really wish I knew why I've been so run down lately...  I hope it's just all the damned pollen.  My car, which is navy... looks green.  It's disgusting.  I've been feeling like I need a vacation for weeks now, except I know I can't take one, and it's just... kinda weighing down on me, I guess.

Sorry to be so depressing!  I'll go away now.

A few more fic recs as I slowly churn through them (A = Angst, F=Fluff):

(A) All Falls Down by Deconstructgirl
(F) Three in the Bed by Hoosabrat
(A/F) Crazy Little Thing Called Love by GraveDancer and Marilyns_Child


So, I was going to take a break from writing.  I was.  I was all set to just stop until the season finale of Grey's, wait and see what the cliffhanger was gonna be all about before I dedicated myself to another long project.  Except I was thinking about Meredith and Derek as I've been reading all these different fics, and thinking Meredith hasn't really had to interact with Derek's family at all yet on the show except for Nancy.  And she really hasn't had to deal with anything from his 'old' life except Addison.  I wonder what that would be like if she did have to deal with all those things. 

And then I had this crazy idea...  A crazy idea that when I first thought of it, I thought... god damn it, that's the giantest, stupidest, most overused cliche you could ever think of.  Don't write that!  I mean, it's TWO of the biggest cliches EVER.  But then I thought about all the ramifications, and how fun it would be to explore them, and damn it, I think I'm going to suck it up and write it anyway.  Because all cliches aside, it's sort of like I've got a fire lit under my ass or something, and I kind of want to run with it while I can. 

The major problem I'm having now is... what timeline do I set it in?  I could very easily make it a sequel to SOSG, but... well... Derek, who I love, love, love as a character, don't get me wrong, is gonna get seriously in a bad way again.  And damn it, would people appreciate him having such an awful year in the SOSG timeline?  I mean, first with the traumatic stress and the freakout, and then with what I have planned now...  I dunno if I could take the pitchfork-wielding readers, not matter how much I want to write it. 

It would seem slightly less like I'm trying to smite him if I set it back in the show timeline where he hasn't really had anything bad happen to him.  But damn it, I love the setup I've done with SOSG.  I love that Derek and Mark are actually sort of on okay grounds again.  I love that Derek and Meredith are living by themselves in their own apartment, and, although they aren't married, it's pretty much a sure thing at some point.  I love that Meredith is now a resident, and a neurosurgeon, or at least, will be within a week or two after SOSG concludes.  I love all that.  And I seriously doubt the show will be in the same spot by the end of the year.  It seems a shame to throw all that work away just because I don't want to get skewered.

So, I really just don't know.  My mind is tumbling!  Argh!  Anyone want to smack me with a clue?  Anyone?  *grin*

Okay, I know I have another thread where I ask for fic recommendations, but that's getting really confusing to wade through the comments for.  So!  I figured I'd make a quick list of the good ones I've read recently.  Thanks everyone for suggesting things!  I'm still on a reading kick, and I'm still working through all the lovely suggestions in the other entry, so I'll be adding more recs as I think of them.  I made a nifty new fic recommendations tag so it's easy to wade through all my other commentary about random crap :)  And please, feel free to keep recommending.  I read faster than is healthy, sometimes :)

These are all decidedly Meredith/Derek, and vary between fluffy (F) and angsty (A) ;p

(A) The World Turned Over by Morgen86
(A) Deliver Me by Snowflake912
(A/F) Love Will Come Through by GraveDancer
(F) The Nine Parts of Desire by TheFicChick
(A) Trust and Faith by Daughter of the Bard
(A) Broken Promises for Broken Hearts by TheFicChick
(F) You're Late, Grey by melodyghfan
(F) She Likes Trout in the Trailer by melodyghfan
(A/F) Twist of Fate by Buckingham
(F) Wager by Marasca

Anyway, now I'm going to go write some porn.  I mean Part 27 of SOSG.  *cough*

Anybody have any good Mer/Der or Derek-centric fanfic recommendations?  I've been reading a lot of Morgen86 and GraveDancer's stuff already, but I'm sure there's many more gems out there that I have yet to find.  I'm all for the angsty, all for the fluffy, anywhere in between, so long as it's written well enough that I can read it without cringing.  I really love meaty stories that are long enough to really get into, but short stories are okay too.  Someone clue me in please? :)