Patron Saint of Falling Over Things

I don't even. It's a Baden-Powell nightmare situation:

( Brownie uniform, circa 1977 )

Anyone want Star Trek Barbie and Ken? I feel like they will go to a better home if I ask here, rather than donating them. Aussies, I'll cover postage. Overseas, it would probably be about $20 postage to anywhere but the US, and $30 to the US because things cost more to send there. Barbie and Ken are claimed!

( Star Trek Barbie and Ken )

( Warning for animal in peril but no actual animal harm )



Anyway...


MOVING DAY IS SET

I REPEAT, MOVING DAY IS SET

HOLY SHIT OMG WTF THERE'S SO MUCH STUFF WE ONLY HAVE A WEEK THE TENANT MOVES IN AS WE'RE MOVING OUT SO THERE'S NOWHERE TO RUN AWAY TO I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN HANDLE THIS

The cleaners have to come back and clean more - there was just that much dust. But the walls and shelves and windows are good, and I think we can start bringing stuff over from the pantry, the kitchen cupboards, omg help.

There's so much stuff to take to the op shop. There's stuff to take to the tip. There's stuff we're leaving for the Lions. (The Lions Club run a trash and treasure stall in late OCtober.)



Oh, but look at the treasure I found while packing: ( Dinkum flavour, maaaaaate )


I got yer linkspams. And yer picspams.

- reign-soundtrack collates all the amazing folk-pop from season one. I am still enjoying this ridiculous show that has no fucks to give for actual historic events. And Adelaide Kane, who plays Mary, is really great. (And an Aussie! Go Aussie!)


- Speaking of Australia (casting spoilers for Arrow) ( Cut for fair dinkum Australian language )



- Tiny caravan you can pull with a bicycle - it's a tiny dwelling made from two water tanks. (Tiny dwellings are my fantasy right now. Moving will do that for you.)


- 23 Plus-sized bloggers to follow on instagram. I don't do instagram, nor do I particularly do fashion, but these women are amaze and gorgeous.


- How To Cook Quinoa Perfectly Every Time On The Stove Or In A Rice Cooker With Photos. I have a rice cooker. I have a packet of quinoa somewhere in the pantry which I'm sure to come across in the next couple of days as I clean out EVERYTHING.


- Something to covet: Eco-friendly rainbow sea glass jewellery. Pretty glass pebbles inna tube! Definitely something that I'd hang around my neck. (My sister said they look like jelly beans, which is not exactly dissuasive.)


- Recycled jeans journal. This is something I could actually make. I think I'd like to give it a go. WHEN WE HAVE MOVED. AND UNPACKED ALL THE CRAFT ROOM.


- The back of the Sleepy Hollow DVD describes Abbie as 'feisty'. This offends me; it's so infantilising, and it's not true at all. Abbie is measured and deliberate and not feisty. (Who the fuck is feisty, really? Apart from ponies.)

Here, have a picture of Amandla Stenburg. She's in a band. It's adorable.( Now I feel bad for saying she is adorable, because isn't that infantilising, too? )


- This just came up on the Miss Fisher facebook page! ( Ugh photobucket won't let me resize this and I can't be arsed resizing it myself so just glory in the enormous beauty that is Phryne )


- Lastly, one birthday: Happy birthday to kaffy_r, my favourite revolutionary journalist. I hope you have the loveliest of days.


*rushes off to label things for the Lions because the Lions are coming*

Feeling okay the past couple of days. Sick, like, with a virus, but basically mentally on the level. It's a very nice feeling.

Yesterday we bought tiles and shower cubicles. Bathroom readiness approaches.



I'm doing Reading Wednesday this week, only with fanfic. These are mostly from recs off my flist, so thank you to all the people who posted them.

---

This is delicious fun - lots of feels, lots of comics canon, lots of little Indiana Jones moments:

X Marks the Spot (20195 words) by thehoyden
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: X-Men: First Class (2011), Indiana Jones Series
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Characters: Erik Lehnsherr, Charles Xavier, Hank McCoy, Sebastian Shaw
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Hurt/Comfort, Sharing a Bed, the Tesseract really gets around
Summary:

The year is 1962, and Charles Xavier is a professor of archaeology who knows how his students feel, whether he wants to or not. He spends his spare time researching a mythical artifact, but he knows better than anyone that X never, ever marks the spot.

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I only watched a couple of episodes of Almost Human - I bailed early because the show was stepping weirdly around issues of consent and personhood in a way that squicked me. I don't know if the show ever managed to deal with those issues, but this fic did in a satisfying way. A satisfying plot, and lots of world-building.

One of the Crazy Ones (105467 words) by starandrea
Chapters: 20/20
Fandom: Almost Human
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dorian/John Kennex
Characters: John Kennex, Dorian (Almost Human), Valerie Stahl, Sandra Maldonado, Richard Paul, Rudy Lom, Maria Pelham, Marty Pelham Jr.
Additional Tags: Case Fic, Night shift - Freeform, Interdepartmental cooperation, Snark as a primary method of communication, Multiple DRNs, Robot Rights, Living Together, Departmental intrigue, First Kiss, First Time
Summary:

A kidnapping case turns personal when someone takes exception to the LAPD's involvement. Or maybe it's John and Dorian they don't like. John doesn't care what their problem is, he just wishes they'd stop trying to kill him--until he doesn't, because having an active threat against his life makes Dorian his 24/7 bodyguard.

---

This is a WIP but I've enjoyed it enough to hit 'subscribe' so I'm happy to share it here, too. Bucky is so broken, and so addicted to caffeine. Funny and heartbreaking.

This, You Protect (10122 words) by owlet
Chapters: 7/?
Fandom: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers
Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson (Marvel)
Additional Tags: Humor, I hope humor anyway, cursing, Protection, Strong feelings about coffee, slightly off-canon
Summary:

The mission resets abruptly, from objective: kill to objective: protect

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Adorable origin story for Bucky and Steve - vivid historical setting, and a creepy eugenics background. I loved the microcosm of Bucky's neighbourhood. And Steve is so very Steve!

The Dud (7539 words) by nimmieamee
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers
Additional Tags: Illness, Newsies - Freeform, disregards the tie-in comics, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers
Summary:

When he was eight or nine, Bucky Barnes was the secret sworn enemy of the dud newsie.

---

Another WIP - I found this one when I was deeply in need of h/c snuggling-type fic, and this fic has buckets of it. And lots of action, and Darcy being her usual competent non-super-powered self.

That Which You Seek (45801 words) by Wynn
Chapters: 8/9
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Captain America (Movies), Thor (Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis
Characters: Darcy Lewis, James "Bucky" Barnes, Jane Foster (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), Tony Stark, Steve Rogers
Additional Tags: friendship fic, Bucky doesn't know how to pancake, Darcy doesn't know how to throw a punch, In a way they help each other, some snark, Some adult language, Winter Soldier level of violence, Intense Fighting, references to blood, Some angst and feels, Set post-Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Summary:

The man in the booth before Darcy stares down at his pancakes with suspicion.

A few days after Bucky discovers his true identity, Darcy encounters him in a diner 50 miles outside of D.C. having apparently transformed from a handsome long-dead war hero into a creepy, scruffy, pancake-hating serial killer. So of course she tries to help him.

---

Mindscape fic! Always something I love. And a lovely Scott/Emma dynamic, too.


Visiting Rights (1657 words) by GrayJay
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men (Comicverse)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Emma Frost/Scott Summers, Jean Grey/Scott Summers
Characters: Scott Summers, Emma Frost, Jean Grey, Charles Xavier, Phoenix Force, Mister Sinister, Nathaniel Essex, Nathan Summers, Alex Summers
Additional Tags: mindfuckery, Professor Xavier is a jerk, telepaths, relationships, Extended Metaphors
Summary:

Scott's mind is a Winchester House of false doors and dead ends, deadfalls and secret passages built on and over and through each other.

---

Team fic, with lots of raw edges and awkwardness. And plot and shooting people. And competence. All good things.

your homecoming will be my homecoming (18972 words) by lupinely
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov, Sam Wilson (Marvel)
Additional Tags: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Summary:

This is what Bucky thinks he remembers. Writing a letter to Steve in the trenches, muddy footprints, impressions of army boots on the ground. So cold his fingers ache. He’s writing the letter but it doesn’t make sense. He’s writing the letter but he wants to go home. It’ll make sense then, he thinks—it’ll make sense when they both come home.

[Steve/Bucky, post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier]

Sadly it's not that good. Kind of soapy and purple.

From Monster of the Week (this week's episode is Tunguska, the font from which so many Mulder/Skinner/Krycek fics spring forth): The Russians chasing Mulder and Krycek with horsewhips may seem over the top, but literally the same thing just happened to Pussy Riot.



Just finished reading:

The Silence of the Lambs, by Thomas Harris.

A re-read in celebration of Hannibal S2 starting tomorrow. I haven't read this for years and years! I noticed two things - firstly that I'm much more au fait with American places and culture than I was in... *calculates* 1989? 1990? And secondly, that I now know the term Mary Sue and can apply it to bookverse!Hannibal and his maroon eyes and his extra special, more special than special polydactyly.

Also this:

“He gutted Will with a linoleum knife when Will caught up with him. It's a wonder Will didn't die. Remember the Red Dragon? Lecter turned Francis Dolarhyde onto Will and his family. Will's face looks like damn Picasso drew him, thanks to Lecter."

SOMEBODY HELP WILL GRAHAM.

Soon it will be time to close my tumblr tab and huddle and wait for the new episode to air! So excited!



Currently reading:

Still reading India Black and the Widow of Windsor. Still liking the shenanigans at Balmoral.

Five-Twelfths of Heaven by Melissa Scott. Liking it a lot! So far, there is space travel via harmonics using what I presume are giant space travel organs (since the pilot had to pull out the stops!) and a poly marriage of convenience. Which are awesome things.


Planning to read:

I might re-read Red Dragon, since Silence of the Lambs was so much fun. In as far as that kind of story is fun.


I am having all sorts of anxiety about the new house, which is disappointing, because there's not a lot to be anxious about at this stage - we're financially okay, we're under no pressure to move quickly, and the house came through the inspection really well. (The builder, or Builder-Inspector, said that he'd be happy living there, which I take as a ringing endorsement.) I think it's stress about new things, maybe? Or that there are complex social cues when you buy a house in a small town - I know the family we're buying from very well, they know us, and though the agent has been scrupulously confidential about everything, I can see the rumour starting to spread through town. Not that it even matters who knows these things. Just that I don't know how to read the cues and what to do about them.

And then there's Dad, who had a really good go at taking down my self-confidence when I called for advice on finance. He doesn't know we've actually bought the house. I'm not telling him until I give him a change of address card.

I refuse to doubt myself. We have done an awesome job and found the right house at a price that suits us. And man, are we going to have to get rid of some junk before we move. Fifteen years in one small house equals lots of clutter.

I have my copy of A Dance With Dragons, so yay! I have been jealous, seeing posts go past and not being able to read them. But fuck, it's heavy. Harry Potter neck for me.

This tumblr post talks about domestic violence and the House S7 finale, and explains really clearly why I feel so uncomfortable with Cuddy's storylines over the past few seasons. (Love the character, hate the writing...) That chart, breaking down the aspects of abuse, and how many of them have happened on screen. *shudders* There's watching a show go down in flames, which I have done for X-Files and thought I was doing for Criminal Minds (but they keep stringing me along with the casting game.) Then there's watching a show tear its characters to pieces, and I can't do that. Couldn't do it for Dollhouse, can't do it for House.

More cheerfully, Warehouse 13 started! ( This ridiculous, adorable show I love...  )

See my lol-drama Chase icon? I'm having lol-drama, of a sort. My posting day for au_bigbang ddderis June 3rd, and the beta-reader who usually helps Ameri-pick when I write American fandoms has had to drop out.

Would anyone be willing or able to do a quick read-through of my big bang and help with my Australian/American disconnect? It's a House/X-Men crossover, it's Chase-centric gen with some slashy Chase/Jason Stryker overtones. It's 25K. You'd be the third of three beta-readers, so hopefully it's in pretty good shape with regard to grammar and plot.

I'm pretty much ready to bribe, at this point. With Tim-Tams.

Please?

Title: Contemporaries
Fandom: Twilight, Dracula, Doctor Who (Three, Master), House MD, X-Files, Star Trek: TOS
Words: 2200
Rating: G
Summary: Five extraordinary doctors Carlisle has known.
Notes: Thank you to lilacsigil for beta-reading.

( There had been a disturbing note of sensationalism hanging about Van Helsing's lecture tour. )

I have a weird feeling of coming back to earth - the last two weeks have been a bit insane. Today at work is the first time for a while that I've felt like I can catch my breath and do some normal stuff, like reading fic and catching up with people.

Our cat with renal failure had a relapse - every time we took her to the vet we thought it would be the last time. But she's on a second medication, and her blood urea and nitrates are back to where they were before: not normal, but manageable, and it looks like she's stable again, for a while. She was really unhappy and clingy, she lost weight she couldn't afford to lose because her gums were so swollen she couldn't eat her kidney-safe kibble but we couldn't give her tinned food, because of her BUN levels, and it was all just bloody scary and distressing for everyone. But she's okay now, and she's stable, and we'll have her happy and healthy for a bit longer.

I'm not used to having cats grow old and sick. We lived on a busy road as a kid; our cats would just go out and not come back. (This makes no sense, looking back. Why didn't we keep our cats inside? Stupid parents.)

On a more cheerful note, in that time I also managed to defeat my writers block (thank you, thank you, thank you, wonderful people who helped with this!), and go to an art retreat, and spent a couple of days in Melbourne, and though I'm tired, I feel like stuff got done.

Other things:
trollprincess is loving on awesome female characters here. Drop by, sing the praises of Donna Noble, Dana Scully, Emma Frost and every other woman character you've ever loved.

( Spoilers for FreakAngels )

( Spoilers for the SPN finale )

( Spoilers for Bones )

( Spoilers for the House finale )

ion_bond, this was really fun to write, and they wouldn't shut up, so it went to 200 words.

Title: Three-Legged Men
Words: 200
Prompt: Doctor James Wilson and Foggy Nelson
Fandom: House MD and Daredevil
Notes: lilacsigil helped me get this right, and also suggested the title. She's so much ruder than me.

( Three-Legged Men )

I've inhaled the first season. It's unlike me to watch more than one episode of anything at once. I love it, I need more. I'm exhibiting House-seeking behaviour.

I have to admit that a large part of my love is wish fulfillment. I'm not a doctor, but in the pharmacy I do have to deal with my fair share of snot and stupid questions, so each time House dishes it to a stupid clinic patient, it's very satisfying, in that shocking, I would-never-do that (but I would totally love to) way.

The medicine is interesting, and it's fun to shout out stuff like "Do an INR!" as the case develops. It can get a bit "disease of the week", but I don't see a way of avoiding that in a medical drama, and it's never really bothered me in any case. I like the disease of the week. After an episode, lilacsigil and I go to Polite Dissent to read reviews and medical analysis of the episodes.

( Cut for possible slight spoilers )