jactrades

Title: Riverside, Iowa
Author: jactrades
Written for: space_wrapped 2011
Fandom: Star Trek AOS
Characters/Pairing: Kirk/McCoy, Sulu-POV
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for language & zombies
Wordcount: ~2,800
Summary: Sulu didn't think it was that big a deal, volunteering to jump deep into zombie territory. McCoy was a bit more vocal on the whole "parachuting in" part.
Notes: Zombie AU/fusion with the novel World War Z. If you haven't read the book, the only thing to note is that it's structured as a series of short interviews commissioned by the U.N. after humanity's hard-won victory in WWZ. I strayed pretty far from the prompt, and, um, the holiday spirit, but there are zombies in December and McCoy gets a pretty awesome present at the end.

   Riverside, Iowa, USA

( As I park my car on the west side of the town square I’m struck by the sense of prosperity that Riverside emanates. Beds of flowers line the walkway as I cross the green, narrowly avoiding a trio of children splashing each other by the center fountain. The famous series of walls guarding the city center are visible, of course, and the standard fail-safes – many of which were invented within these very walls – can be found tucked unobtrusively into corners, but the overall feeling is one of pre-war normalcy. I am not sure what I expected from Riverside, the largest of the civilian-run blue zones to survive east of the Rockies, but this isn’t it. A Ms. Rand meets me as I enter the unassuming building that serves as the town’s city hall. She escorts me politely to a small conference room where I meet Hikaru Sulu. )

Where do I even start with the brilliant story that inspired this mix?

Look, it'd be an awesome fic if it were just an AOS version of The Cloud Minders, but rainbowstrlght takes the TOS episode and revamps it perfectly using the story of The Princess Bride. There's endless questions and asides from a stuck-in-Sickbay Joanna as the story unfolds, there's Spock as one of the storytellers (hilarious), there's Jim getting his ass kicked by the Dread Pirate, there's political shenanigans a plenty, and, of course, there are Rodents of Unusual Size.

So, yeah, check out the masterpost here for links to the fic and art!

When I realized I'd be making a mix for striped_fic/waketosleep's STBB fic, Big Me (But It's You I Fell Into), I nearly squealed out loud in my living room, because that meant I'd be getting to read the story before y'all and that, folks, is exciting. And then I did squeal when I got my hands on the rough draft and realized that Happy Gilmore could probably be blamed for half of it. 

This story did not disappoint.  It is hilarious and FUN, with a core of sweetness balanced with an unhealthy amount of swearing. READ IT!

You don't need to be a Kirk/Spock shipper to enjoy it - the whole supporting cast is equally fantastic as the pairing (Winona & Bones especially). You don't need to know anything about golf, either - all I know about the sport is from Happy Gilmore and the minigolf range - which, incidentally, is about as much knowledge as Jim starts out with here too. :-D

Anyway, yeah, I loved the story, and I hope my mix, The Long Game, (which is generally redic, btw) is half as fun.

See the entry for Volume 1 for the reason behind this mix, but, really, do you need a reason for a mashup mix?



( ...is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs... )

A carefully culled set of songs from my "fuck y'all, I'm going running" playlist. Because some days you just need to rock it out.
Artists include AC/DC, Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, and Joan Jett.


( You're gonna fall behind me )

A mix of my happiest songs for running or other exercise!



( Let's get going! )

Title: Unknown but remembered
Author: jactrades
Written for: this picture prompt from igrockspock
Fandom: The Giver
Characters/Pairing: Lily
Rating/Warnings: G
Wordcount: ~250
Summary: "I don't think we've had a Storyteller in the community for a long time."
Notes: Part of igrockspock 's A Picture is Worth 1000 Words: A Multifandom Comment Fic Meme. Unbeta'd comment fic.

( Lily finds the photograph in the archive within the Annex of the House of the Old. )

So, this mix is somewhere in between a proper fanmix and the playlist I wrote to for On the other side of every mountain. Meaning that I used it mostly for inspiration while writing, but the mix says things that couldn't quite make it into the story, especially secondary characters' perspectives.

The title for both the fic and the fanmix come from a statement about the conditions in Korea by Lieutenant Colonel George Russell:

"On the other side of every mountain [was] another mountain."

Unfortunately, that also seems to work as an analogy for war & wars in general.

A large part of the mix (and the story, to a lesser extent) was inspired by my grandfather, who fought in the Korean War, family members who are currently serving in the US Army and Navy, and the veteran's clinic in SF I walk by every day on the way to work. If you're interested in learning more about the US's "Forgotten War", there's a wonderfully informative collection of veteran's memoirs online here.

( The Mix )

Hoo boy, I really need to get serious about finishing up my reverse bigbang, like, now.

Day Five: Favorite female character on a male-driven show:



This feels like a gimme question - one of the easiest to answer of the whole list. (Why, yes, I planned out my answers for each day - how else would I assure no repeats, I ask you?)

I grew up watching TNG and DS9, mostly, but TOS reruns were also watched, and I always liked Uhura for at least being on the testosterone-heavy Enterprise. Looking back now, I love her for being pretty kick-ass for a female character of that time and also for the absolute daringness of being the first interracial kiss on television - only a year after anti-miscegenation laws had been struck down by the Supreme Court in Loving v. Viriginia. (Yeah, it took until 1967 for it to be legal throughout the US to marry someone of a different skin tone. Loving Day is coming up - June 12th!)

Zoe Saldana was a great casting choice for the reboot, but Nichelle Nichols will always be Uhura for me.

( A couple of pieces of Uhura media )

( Rest of the days )

Title: Something Good Can Work
Vidder: jactrades
Fandom: Star Trek AOS
Song: Something Good Can Work
Artist: Two Door Cinema Club
Length: 2:38
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Uhura & the Enterprise
Summary: The Enterprise is stepping up her game and Nyota is moving up with her.
Or, girls rock, and two of my favorites are Uhura & the Enterprise.
Notes: Beta'd by my husband, which was odd, but worked. First vid ever, if you don't count the, uh, thing I made for the st_respect triathalon.

( Let's make this happen, girl you gonna show the world that something good can work and it can work for you. )