Written for the 2009 McShep Match - Team War
Prompt: Carpe Diem

Title: Memento Mori (Seize the New Day)
Author: neevebrody
Pairing(s): McKay/Sheppard
Rating: NC-17-Adult
Warnings: Adult Situations, Language, Futuristic Earthside AU
Word Count: 21,400
Legal: None of these characters belong to me.
Author's Notes: Huge thanks and four vats of aged roos wine to my fabulous beta, mischief5 I could not have done this without her. The story is a homage to the old-school sci-fi of the '50s and '60s, and is very loosely based on one of my favorite stories, "The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury.
Summary: The banging at his door woke him immediately. He threw off the covers as he became more aware and stumbled out of the bed, heart racing and chest aflame at the sudden intrusion of his sleep. Just as he reached the bedroom door, he heard a crash and heavy footsteps coming toward the hallway. Jesus, surely they hadn't started home invasions again. A flash of fear joined the emotional soup - he had all his work laid out on his desk, the file readers, and what if someone had found out about…

The link will take you to my dreamwidth journal, where you will find the fic all in one post.

Memento Mori...

The 2009 mcshep_match is over! And what a great match - 60 new pieces of brilliant storytelling and art for your McShep pleasure. The Master List is up here and it can now be revealed that my story is Memento Mori (Seize the New Day). And please note, there are spoilers for the fic in the comments, so if you want the full effect of the story, do not read the comments first.

Oh and you should bookmark that Master List, because it's just one big fantastic rec list. You can see for yourself, I was part of a team of awesome writers and artists and I was honored to be there. Winners will be announced tomorrow.

As you know, I'm thinking of signing up for smallfandom_bb, but now I'm waffling a bit... not about signing up but about which Hewligan pairing to write. I first thought Brendan/Emmett (something to do with the WHO and Doctors Without Borders) but then another pairing came to mind, one that I've already been thinking of writing - Gus Gruber (The Triangle) and Dr. Tom Arquette (Profiler). What if Gus had survived his trip to the Bermuda Triangle only to return home to a family tragedy which leaves his ex-wife dead and his child in the hospital. Dr. Tom meets a very distraught Gus in the hospital cafeteria and what starts as a friendship builds into something more as Tom helps Gus through a maze of guilt and insecurities so that he can be a better father.

Add to that a very challenging prompt posted at the site pairing David Worth (Cube) and Alex DeMouy (Cupid). Worth survives the Cube and DeMouy is the one he tells his story to. Now this is what a challenge is all about and I have to admit, I am very tempted to give that a go.

So, because I am waffling, another poll - just for me to gauge interest.

Poll #1464459
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 28

The pairing I'd like to read is:

You have until Tuesday to read and vote at mcshep_match. If the number of comments means anything... Team Peace just might be ahead (oh noes)! We can't let that happen. The reveal and Master List will go up on the 29th as well (then you'll all know which story is mine), but you still have until then to make your guesses as to the authors/artists if you want. There are prizes involved for the most correct guesses - see this for all the details. So, if you've got a little free time and you want to read some seriously fantastic fic (and there are 5 entries of awesome art), go take a look and please, please, please vote for TEAM WAR!

Next up, I realize another challenge is the last thing I need to be thinking about... but it's the Small Fandom Big Bang!! The link takes you to the site where you can find all the info. Even if I don't sign up... doesn't mean you shouldn't. Being Human, Castle, Chronicles of Riddick, Eureka, Primeval, Psych and Pushing Daisies are just a few of the fandoms to choose from. And while there are some great prompts... you can write your own as well. The word count requirement is only 20,000 - an attainable goal for me since I've just finished one over that. I'm thinking of writing Hewligan myself - have a little Brendan/Emmett plot bunny that should fit the bill nicely. Gee, have I talked myself into this yet? Hmmm, maybe a poll to see who's with me on this...

Poll #1463165
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 27

Should neevebrody sign up for Small Fandom Big Bang?

(And just what is this "detect" instead of preview? Is this permanent? It has the same function so why change the name... has someone at LJ put Ford in charge of naming things?) ETA: Huh... the preview button is back now...I swear it said Detect before... weird!

We're down to the final 6 entries for this year's McShep Match! The artists and writers for both teams, War and Peace, have done their very best to bring you the very best - art and stories that are beautiful, moving and heart-warming - just what you've come to expect from the Match. It seems that the reading and commenting might have fallen off in the last few weeks and that's such a shame. It would also be a shame if the Match wasn't continued for lack of interest. Actually, that'd be heartbreaking.

I can't say if my story has been posted yet or not, but there's still plenty of time to make your guesses on the author/artist. It's been a little disheartening to see that being largely overlooked as it's one of the most fun things about the Match... and this year, there's even an incentive to make as many guesses as possible. All the artist/author interviews are posted at the "guess" entries each day, so you have a chance to familiarize yourself if there are authors you don't know.

And, hey, I'll even make it easy for you... just click the banner. Works like a stargate... it'll take you right to the site.



We're allowed to beg, wheedle and basically pester the living daylights out of our friends to get you to read and vote, so consider yourself pestered. I encourage you to vote favorably for TEAM WAR (then again, I'm totally biased), but PLEASE DO VOTE!

We're almost to the half-way point in posting the McShep Match entries! So many fantastic fics and gorgeous art have been posted already. I get so excited in anticipation of seeing what the next day's prompt will be. It seems that the reading and commenting might have fallen off a bit in the last few days, so I want to encourage everyone to hop on over and enjoy what's already there. Oh, and my story? Will it be posted tomorrow? Has it already been posted? You've got a new chance each day to guess the author/artist and I've really enjoyed seeing those guesses and making a few myself for Team Peace.

And, hey, I'll even make it easy for you... just click the banner. It's like the Ruby Slippers... it'll take you right to the site. There's no place like McShep Match...



If you're not already watching the comm, please do – that way you won't miss a thing. I also encourage you to vote favorably for TEAM WAR (then again, I'm totally biased), but please do vote!

2009 mcshep_match is officially OPEN!! You guys know how it works: every day for the next 30 days, one entry from each team will be posted, and this year we've added ART! In fact, the first two entries are already up. If you're not already watching the comm, please do so – that way you won't miss a thing. So go, read, enjoy the art and vote! I encourage you to vote favorably for TEAM WAR (then again, I'm totally biased), but please do vote.

Guess the author/artist is back again this year, too, with a new twist. Go here to find out all about that.

My McShep Match Team interview has been posted. You can find it here.

Anyone else having problems with Firefox?? Mine stopped responding and now simply will not load up. I hate IE - it took over 2 hours to get the darn interview posted as it kept shutting down on me.

Sign ups have begun for the 2009 DVD Commentary challenge. Here is the info post, including links to the sign ups. Once again, I've given blanket permission should anyone wish to do a commentary for any of my fanfic, which can be found here:

LiveJournal
Dreamwidth (master fic list under 'Links')


Also, the day to post my McShep Match, Team War interview is August 9th. You still have time to ask me a question, if you'd like, which will be included in the posted interview. Do that here. And you can ask anything.

As you may or may not know, I'm writing for Team War in this year's McShep Match. As a little bonus, authors and artists from both teams are submitting to interviews and these will be posted in the run up to the Match beginning. As part of the interview process, many authors/artists, myself included, have agreed to field questions from the general public. This is a great opportunity for you to ask anything you've ever wanted to know about them or their work. Anything from how they approach a certain type of story to their favorite brand of tea!

The community post is HERE, and my thread is HERE.