Eight Second Fluctuation by falsemurmur . 
Mark, Mark/Lexie

I was reading this for the nth time, and thought I'd rec it. Dunno how many of you have read it, but it's *definitely* worth checking out. I love the take on Mark here. And it has such lovely flow and rhythm. One of the most insightful things into his character I've found, comes from this fic:

With her, as he spoke he felt like he just wasn’t saying enough. He told her things plain and simple, but he felt stupid for not being able to say them better.

Worded any other way, I don't think I would buy it. Also the phrase, his small blurts of honesty, is made of utter and total win. 

These are only a few beautiful lines out of many. Be sure to check it out =)

Only two days left... OMG!

Nuttin' for Christmas by Stan Freberg

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Gene Autry

Nothing wrong with this classic ;),

(Yay, I finally get to use this icon.)

I recently read Dr. Merlin's article on sockpuppets, Sock It to Me, and I gotta say I had no idea people like this actually exist :/ I can understand the wanting attention thing - to an extent - but creating pseudo personae to praise yourself and your work? CREEPY. And downright sad.

For those of you who've been in fandom longer, is this something you've ever seen happen? How common is it? I'm in the middle of reading about the Ms. Scribe debacle that occurred in the HP fandom, and that was on a pretty large scale. It's pretty fascinating, and I'm impressed at how quickly someone thought to document this (and so thoroughly!). But now it makes me slightly paranoid.

If you're like me and don't know what a sockpuppet is:

a sockpuppet is an alternate online persona adopted by someone for the purposes of deception. Pen names can be forms of sockpuppetry, though that depends on execution. A writer with multiple pen names may cultivate a secondary cult of personality around the other name(s), going so far as to enter online discussions under both pseuds.

And the Ms. Scribe incident:

Take for example the case of Ms. Scribe, who finally got her wish of becoming one of the most (in)famous people in Harry Potter fandom, mainly by dint of turning out to be about a third of the total fans. In classic sockpuppetry fashion, she first created her primary account, then created bogus secondary accounts whose sole purpose were to praise her. Not content with that level of fame, she allegedly then created a series of fandom enemies to persecute her so that other fans would rally to her defense. She created other enemies who conveniently "blacklisted" her along with the Potter BNFs so we she would stand united with them. As a quick how-to guide of rocketing to fandom fame, she practically wrote the book. And in her wake, the Potter fandom (never known for being a shining light of stability or, dare I use the word, harmony) fractured and back-bit, and to this day some fans won't speak to others because of events that transpired thanks to Ms. S.

And apparently some common signs to watch out for sockpuppetry (have no idea how general this is):

- someone who posts a few things of his/her own, but seems to be fixated on another online person
- newly-created journals with no mutual friends (other than the obsession)
- someone whose rants center around one person with whom they've had no apparent prior interaction
- someone who posts rarely or never in a place where a third party can check her/his IP address
- crops of anonymous flamers
- crops of newly-created accounts who agree with the anonymous flamers
- any of the above who share colloquial turns of phrase as the original person
- and of course, anyone whose IP address matches the above (in the current debacle, someone appears to have used Photoshop to manipulate an IP address, which just adds another layer to the fail cake)

*hugs IP Address function option*

ETA @ 9:13pm: Edited for title since people seem to be confused, lol.

Just finished the entire Ms. Scribe story, and..WOW. Not only are the events gripping to read, but the way charlottelennox narrates the entire account is simply superb. Definitely recommending it to read.

Also one of my favorites: Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms

I've started on my Fics to Review folder, and there's a few of you who have multiple stories I need to review, so I thought I'd warn you before hand to expect spaming of the inbox in the coming days ;D

Title: Breaking To the Usual Chords (1/1)
Pairing: Mark/Addison (references to Mark/Lexie)
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 1025

Summary: You could do without the unexpected. (Especially when it comes in the form of Addison Montgomery.) Set season 6.

( You can feel your careful heart breaking to the usual chords )

Title: The 'S' Word
Fandom: Grey's Anatomy
Characters/Pairings: Cristina/Lexie/Meredith.
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 2,757
Author's Note: I'm in a rut writing wise. And so this happened. For seasonal_smut, and the prompt 'snowed in'.
Summary: Loosely post 6.10 - Holidaze. The repetition of the word “seriously” at various pitches and volumes is what gets her attention.

( contextually, this makes slightly more sense )

Silent Night by Bing Crosby

So finals are over! And I will be commenting on my last several comments recieved today before heading off to work. I forget to send out Christmas cards... because I suck, so those will be going out ASAP and will mostly likely be late.

Until then I decided to start this little project since there is just one week left until Christmas. I'm going to post, each day, my seven favorite Christmas songs as a countdown; here is the first one ;).

Christmas Eve in My Home Town by Kate Smith

What the hell? I was trying to search for interests in Public Enemies but that choice isn't available anymore.... LJ, why must you eff everything up?

I'm guessing that a high proportion of my flist has at least a passing interest in Mark. So I thought I would offer a selection of my all time favorite Mark-centric fics. These are all chapter fics or long one shots. (There are so many short Mark one shots that I am in love with, it would take me forever to list them. But I will attempt a selection at some point in the future.)

I'm just going with quoting the author's synopsis for each fic, because otherwise I'll ramble on. But all of these fics fit the category of great writing and great characterization; and all of them fit the category of those fics that leave such a massive impression on me I have found it hard to write reviews that do them justice.

Flaws In Science by literary_critic at alittlebitmad
"Maddison eventually, but Mark-centric dealing with Mark/Addison/Derek and all combinations thereof. An attempt to give him layers. Like an onion." (Mark/Addison)

Purgatory by labil
"If you could, would you do it differently?" (Mark/Lexie)

Almost There, Going Nowhere by xyliette
"Addison attempts to start her life over post Season 3 and runs into a barrel of trouble trying to get there." Well, yeah - breaking my own rule. This one is Addison-centric, but Mark is sufficiently prominent and well-drawn that it counts as Mark-centric for me. (Mark/Addison)

Brothers In Arms by hyacinthian (but this version is on fanfiction.net)
"They enlisted because they believed in honor and duty. They escaped because they believed in grace." Breaking my rule again - this is AU, set during the Vietnam war. Trust me, for this one, it doesn't matter if you usually don't like AU. (Mark and Derek friendship)

the road is calling by slybrunette
"Post 5.11, AU from there. This is a story about losing something you never meant to have in the first place, and then realizing that you needed it more than you knew." (Mark/Owen)


(Authors - I hope you won't but, since I didn't ask your permission first, just let me know if you don't want to be rec'd here.)

Since I saw both mad_carrie and reiko doing it, I think I'll follow in their footsteps.

When you see this, quote Leo McGarry
...like every year on December 16

"This guy's walking down a street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up, "Hey you, can you help me out?" The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along, and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here." The friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out." "
2x10 - Noel
(watch)

Title: You Thought Life Would Be This Perfect Ball (And You Would Dance Like a Ballerina)
Rating/Warning: T
Spoilers: Season 2
Word Count: 1 185
Character/Paring: Addison, Mark/Addison, references to Derek/Addison
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Recipient: waltzmatildah

A/N: Thanks to citron_presse for beta-ing.

( She wishes she couldn’t read him like she does. )