Carry on my wayward son

Crossovers have a bad reputation. You think "crossover" and you think "badly written drivel that has nothing to do with either series" and no one wants to read that crap. I am here to tell you that crossovers need love, too. Crossovers can be just as well-written as any epic, any AU, any other genre at all. A good crossover doesn't require you to be intimate with both (or all) of the series used. A good crossover is just plain good.

( Supernatural, Stargate Atlantis, American Gods, The Dark Tower, Numb3rs, Transformers and more. )

This entry was originally posted at http://swordage.dreamwidth.org/122702.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Let's try something new. I'm (very slowly) working on fic, but it only shows up on here once in a blue moon. BUT I constantly read fic. So let's get some recs in here. Remember to read the authors' warnings and ratings.

Let's start with On The Dodge which candle_beck posted last night. I spent the night reading it, unable to tear myself from the beautiful tragedy that is Sam and Dean cast as Butch and the Kid. They're not forced into the roles - they are every inch Sam'n'Dean, a combo I have been yearning for this last season. They're perfect. They're dusty and smell of saddle leather and every moment is bursting with emotions that can't be said and fears that can't be mentioned and it's so achingly, bruisingly perfect. I cannot recommend this enough.

To keep with the AU theme, Into His Hand by drvsilla also has dusty cowboys, but these ones are a wee bit more modern: they bullride. It's origific disguised as RPS and a strange combination of utterly fun and totally heartbreaking. I love their interactions, particularly as they try to figure out what on earth their relationship is. Nothing about this story is stereotypical. It's earthy and understated and dangerous. I love it.

Lastly (for today) is Keepsake by indysaur. J2 ala Wall-E, but also totally different. I am really not sure there is a way to rec this without spoiling it. Instead I will quote a bit from the beginning.
Everything is very quiet. There is no wind. It is 42 degrees Fahrenheit here. The lake stretches and spills out in front of him, glassy blue.
Maybe this time. Jared stares at his reflection. He traces the scar along his right side with his left hand.
"Hello," he says.
The trees come right up to the shore. He can hear the water lap quietly at their trunks.
He leans forward. He touches his fingers to the water. He stays there, fingertip to fingertip with the man in the lake. Until he can't feel them anymore.
"Hello," he says. A little louder. It’s really been a long time.

This entry was originally posted at http://swordage.dreamwidth.org/122386.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

I still have five invites! Ask for one or send someone over, just leave your email and I'll either send you one or put you on the list! :) I will give preference to new users over secondary journals for a very simple reason: I want DW to grow. It cannot grow without new users.

EDIT: Gone for now! Feel free to leave a comment, though, and when I get more I'll ask if you still want one. :D

About the spread of swine flu:
1. The handful of people in the US with lab-confirmed cases haven't died. Out of almost 200 cases, five were hospitalized and one died - and that one travelled to Mexico and caught it there.
2. The cases trickling in are cases that happened a 2-4 weeks ago, and we're just now getting genetic results back on the specific strains of flu they had. Basically: swine flu already happened, and we're just figuring it out. It's probably over. EVERYBODY PANIC
3. There are going to be more cases of this. The reason cases are coming in is because we're now actively looking for them. It's just that simple.
4. No there won't be a pandemic. You have to die a lot to have a pandemic. Even in Mexico, the death rate for flu-like illnesses that might be swine flu is a staggering .07%. My god, we're doomed!

About swine flu itself:
1. Symptoms include coughing, sneezing, sore throat, fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, and diarrhea. It's a flu! Surprise!
2. It does seem to transmit from human to human rather than pig to human. That means it spreads fast. In fact, it already happened. Did you miss it? It was that fast.
3. Genetically, this thing is awesome. Four different strains of swine, human, and avian influenza! This exchange of genes is called genetic shift and it's something flus do naturally. Because they're whores.
4. It may have some characteristics that are a little like the killer 1918 flu except for the whole part where it's not really killing people, and also those characteristics might be a fluke of Mexico's flu surveillance. They do more containment/treatment than genetic testing of flu-like illnesses, so it's hard to say.
5. It does not infect pigs. No, really. I know it's called swine flu. Genetically, it's... Sigh. Just trust me on this, your bacon is safe.

What to do about swine flu:
1. Wash your hands.
2. Cover your face when you sneeze/cough.
3. If you're sick, consider doing to a doctor.
4. Does this list look familiar? Like maybe it's exactly what you do for every other minor illness that's ever happened? Yeah. There's a reason for that.

What to do if you're paranoid:
1. Get a respirator rated N-95 to filter out virus bits.
2. Stock up on water and non-perishable foods.
3. Make signs reading "THE END IS NEAR" and a nice hat out of foil.
4. Repeat steps 1-3.

If you have any lingering concerns or questions, please do ask. I like being useful. Right now I'm laughing at my family, cackling madly: "SEE?! MY OBSESSION WITH THE BIRD FLU IS USEFUL! I KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN ONE DAY!" If you want to wade through a lot of technical and political jabber, check out the CDC or WHO. That's where I get all my information.

I've moved my content to Dreamwidth. I will not be cross-posting to LJ or IJ, but I will continue to read journals and comment actively.

Feel free to unfriend me if you were here to read fic since not only will nothing more be posted here, but I have also removed all existing posts. If you are on DW or plan on joining DW, please let me know so I can follow you there. If you want to know what all the fuss is about Dreamwidth, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to explain my views. If you want an invite code, please do comment here asking about them - I will hand them out as they become available to me.