Last year cincoflex and I had a really great idea. Due to NaNoWriMo and other considerations, it didn't get finished until now. I'm going to be boastful and say...I think it was worth the wait. *grin* It is always a privilege and a pleasure to write with such a talented, warm-hearted author, who very generously let me have my own way in almost every point in this story. And she made the banner, which I consider to be one of her best. Thank you, love.

Nutcracker is Iron Man, rated G, and available at her site or mine.

Going on just about five years ago now, I started swapping PMs on YTDAW with a writer I deeply admired.  She wrote marvelous stories with original ideas, beautifully realized characters, and sometimes extremely hot smut as well.  It took a bit of courage the first time, to ask her if she was a fan of Blake’s 7 too, but she sent back a friendly cheerful note, and we were off. 

I can’t say the rest is history, because it’s still present!  :P  We discovered we were both fans of Jim Brass, and I was totally flattered and floored when she asked me to look over her WIP.  I sent her mine as well, and then she completely blew my circuits by asking me if I wanted to collaborate with her.  I’d say it was karma, but that was the sequel.  *grin* 

Now we are several collaborations down the road, along with innumerable plot bunnies, many finished fics, and still a few in process.  We’ve exchanged PMs and IMs and e-mails and Tweets and phone calls.  We’ve chatted, complained, betaed, commiserated, teased, and most of all laughed.  And dreamed, and dreamed, and dreamed...

She’s one of the best writers I know, and one of the kindest, most generous people.  She’s introduced me to several excellent books, at least one TV series, and is the reason I get lovely cards from many of my favorite characters at Christmas and my birthday.  She’s a born teacher and a forgiving soul; she puts up with my whining, my spaceiness, my occasional freakouts, my dry spells, and my recurring need to rewrite something to death.  She’s given me plot ideas, titles, lines, and banners; told me gently, and repeatedly, where I was going wrong; and cheered me on when a persistent bunny stole our time and my attention. 

She lets me share her stories, read ahead and find out what happens before anyone else.  She listens when I go on about a fandom she doesn’t share.  She cheers me up when I’m feeling depressed, and never lets me lose faith in my own writing.  She sends me beautiful gifts and leaves me lavish feedback.  She’s the sister of my heart and my very best friend, and we do get along so well for people who’ve never actually met... 

cincoflex, I’m utterly glad that you’ve reached your 49th birthday, and I am anticipating many, many more.  You make the world a much better place, for me and for others, and not just with your stories.  The happiest of birthdays to you, dearest--at least until next year!  ♥

Five years ago (yesterday) we didn't know what was about to hit us.

GSR fans were deep in the end of Season Four with all its pain and amazement; the relationship that had been mostly subtext the first three seasons was suddenly, indubitably real, and with some really astounding episodes we were left reeling, hurting along with Sara, balancing our hopes on one simple clasp of hands.

I was still relatively new to the fandom; I'd only started watching the past summer, Season Three reruns, and while I liked the idea of GSR I wasn't convinced that it went both ways until I saw Invisible Evidence (not yet having caught Play With Fire). I'd written a little, mostly Unbound challenge fics, and I'd gorged on the wonderful fic available--Burked and Mossley and both together, Gibby, the ineffable Laura Katherine, LSI, Wintertime, Anansay and many others. Unlike my previous fandoms, there was a wealth of great stories available, with more popping up all the time.

And there was this new writer, newer than I, who not only wrote smut with a masterful touch (pun most definitely intended) but who created stories full of love and angst and laughter and moments of pure, aching joy. She not only got the characters, she looked deep into them and brought out shades and tints we never saw on screen, without making them anything other than what they were.

Most of her pieces for CSI had been short, at that point; memorable fantasies, including one of my all-time favorite short fics, case files laced with flirting and fun, the beginnings of a new look at Grissom.

And then she hit us with Casa Caliente.

Under and Beneath were lead-ins, the latter a story so scorching that it left a trail of exclamation points all over YTDAW's Questioned Documents section. cincoflex took the premise and ran, kicking off a series that is still a high-water mark for long GSR fics, taking us deep inside the evolution of a relationship. From wary lovers giving in to the attraction between them, through learning and rebellion and the beginning of trust--and some terrific sex--we watched as Sara and Grissom figured out how to manage that most difficult and rewarding of human creations. Sara had to learn to give in; Grissom had to learn to compromise; they both had to decide that the rewards were worth the risks and work.

And they did. They evolved from clandestine weekend meetings to sharing space, and finally to an open declaration of cohabitation. They met each other's families, weathered illness and injury and road trips, and acquired a kitten. They figured out that they were stronger together than apart--and that they could be safely weak in one another's presence.

We watched as they made 10867 Caliente Way habitable, took baths in the huge tub, made the space their own. We ached with Grissom when he was stung by a wasp and with Sara when she had her surgery. We shared their delight at Christmas and the fun of softball, and we learned new uses for hammocks and tree houses. *grin* We dreamed and laughed and loved with them. I remember, early on when LSI so graciously hosted Cinco's fics, changing the URL of the latest chapter in hopes that the new one was up and just not announced yet.

All things come to an end, and Cinco eventually drew Casa Caliente to a close, leaving not just Sara and Grissom but all the others we knew and liked with their destinies fulfilled. Eleven stories (plus extras), chapter after chapter of fascination and smut and, most of all, love.

Long before Grissom and Sara got their happy ending on screen, they had it in Casa.

Happy anniversary.

Okay, technically it was yesterday, but I'm close!

First off, I want to recommend cincoflex's new Pseudonym to all you Happy Hogan (or Copra Cabana) fans out there. Even taciturn chauffeurs need love, and she supplies it perfectly!

Second, she's also mostly responsible for Feast, which is an Easter story only for the eggs as it misses the original point entirely. But it was fun to write. Please note, I am resurrecting my personal rating of Unabashedly Sentimental for this one. Previously unknown levels of fluff. You Have Been Warned.

Now, do I bother going in to work this afternoon, or not?

Ohhh, I've been waiting to rec this one!  cincoflex's stunner Clandestine, which will break your heart in the most bittersweet fashion.  Be warned: it is  Iron Man, Obadiah/OC (and what an OC!), and most definitely adult.  Yummy, yummy, yummy. 

Look what I got in the mail!!






It's a BPAL clockwork lavaliere, or scent locket. One adds perfume oil to something absorbent and stores it within the locket. A Halloween gift from cincoflex! It's heavy and gorgeous and I'm absolutely boggled. Thank you so much, dearest!

And I smell delicious. :D

I miss cincoflex. She's off on vacation, hopefully having a wonderful time; I've had notes from her already.  She deserves every second of her time off, and I'm so glad she's seeing her family. 

But I miss her.  *pout*  Which is even sillier when I consider that the last two days I wouldn't have had time to chat anyway, due to exhaustion and family; but there it is.  I won't see her online for days yet and my evenings are looking very quiet and empty. 

*whine* 

Yes, I'm five years old... 

FWIW, I wrote a parallel to cincoflex's Advocate--Advocate: Rebuttal.  And she asked me to post it, so I did. 

And now I am putting my allergies to bed.  Goodnight all! 

Wow, I've been away too long! 

First of all, yayyy!!! to cincoflex for putting Argent Vite up at Lulu.com.  *sniffle*  I'm so proud!  A sensual, funny, enchanting novel, set in Paris no less... 

Second, the article that Ronnie references in Ch. 9  of Down to Sleep actually does exist.  The abstract can be found here, but the full article is not available for free.  Its focus is on pulling uncontaminated DNA sequences out of mammoth hairs, but the fact that DNA can be found in hair shafts is significant.  At least for my purposes.  *grin* 8

cincoflex is up to it again, and blaming me for both of them.  *bows*  Guilty! 

*sigh*  I miss Cinco. 

It's really a good thing that she's been gone, since she needed the time off and I've been way too exhausted the last few evenings to make a decent chatting companion, but I still miss her.  Nobody to make really bad, obscure, fandom-related jokes with, no one to boost my ego over some crumb of writing that I wouldn't dare show to anyone else.  *whimper* 

I miss her writing too.  We're working on a couple of long-range collaborative projects, which I blush to say she has done more on lately than I, and she's also hip deep in something dark, rich, and very, very compelling.  For mature and discerning audiences only, once she has it finished, and I can hardly wait for the next bit. 

But she deserves the time off and I hope she's having a lovely time.  And not getting sunburnt. 





(...hurry back...)

cincoflex has done something I've been wanting for a long time, and written me a gorgeous follow-up to one of my favorite stories, Powder Burn.  The lyrical, intense, and very hot Powder Kiss is one of the best birthday gifts I've ever received.  At last, all of Grissom's fantasy comes true. 

*beam* 

cincoflex has no Internet access at the moment, and probably won't until Tuesday at the soonest.  She is much grieved, and of course cannot post anything, story or comment, until she can get back online. 

If you're waiting for her excellent chapters, please be patient! 

I want cincoflex to come home.  Ever since she left on vacation, I've been utterly swamped at work.  *snerk*  My hop-grass mind is connecting the two. 

Besides, I miss her.  Though I hope you're having a wonderful and relaxing time, Cinco!  :D 

Well, today could be easier.  Then...*gasp*...I might have time to write.

On cincoflex's recommendation--please help Mike get a new van!

cincoflex has created...drumroll please...CSI:Bulwer-Lytton, a thon for the worst sentences you can come up with in CSI fic. We're talking dripping purple, here. *snerk* Go...laugh...write!

cincoflex made me a romance novel cover for "Halfway to the Moon". 



Isn't it gorgeous??  *beam*