![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Saturday, February 14th, 2026 11:38 am
( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )
Tags:
Wednesday, February 11th, 2026 06:32 pm
So many WIPs - I never used to read the damn things, but HR has corrupted me! The advantage of having several WIPs on the go is that something updates every day, often more than one. The main downside is remembering which plot or AU storyline the WIP is about. I often reread the last chapter, esp. if it's a few days since the fic updated.
I know where to draw the line by magneticwave (wrote the great AU where Shane's a surgeon). It's a new WIP (10,000 word 1st chapter) and is really excellent, with a mature 26 y.o. Shane with a trick knee who's in the Metros with 22 y.o. hotshot Ilya. Lots of hockey detail, great writing & characterisations, a closeted oblivious Shane, and Ilya on the prowl.
My two other main fave WIPs are Basingstoke's Lovers, or English is a damn funny language which continues to be brilliant, and Glittercity's Never Been Bitten, the vampire AU with interesting power dynamics (rich obsessive club owner vampire Shane who's nervous of the ingenuity and aggression of humans and Ilya, the chaotic bartender who's trying to seduce him.)
I've also been charging through all CorvidCordelia's works.
I read Half Agony, Half Hope a while back - it's a longfic based on the premise that Ilya gets traded to Montreal about 3 years after Shane breaks it off after the tuna melts hookup, so they're now on the same team. A great mix of angst, drama, lust, and of course, the requisite happy ending!
Careful Fear and Dead Devotion is another longfic, a complete AU in which Shane and Ilya are young actors looking for a break who are cast as Finn and Dane in the TV series "Ember and Ice". It uses the Quinn audio-erotic story as the plot of the drama they're starring in, so if the mention of Ember and Ice as a "fandom" put you off, don't be - no knowledge is needed of E&I and the inherent ludicrousness of that work doesn't intrude. Scott and Kip are the showrunners! It's kind of analogous to Hudson and Connor in HR, without being in any way RPF. It's a great story, and I loved it.
And Walking Through Windows a fork in the road AU where Ilya fucks up the Tampa All Stars reconciliation (after Shane accepts he's gay), and they then only see each other on the ice when their teams play, for ten years. Which is inherently very sad, but the story starts then, when they're both recently retired and Ilya learns that Shane's about to marry a man. You can imagine what happens, and I was unsure if I'd like it as I dislike partner betrayal, but CorvidCordelia is a bloody good writer and absolutely sold it to me, with a wonderful story that I couldn't put down (gave myself eyestrain again, damn it!)
I know where to draw the line by magneticwave (wrote the great AU where Shane's a surgeon). It's a new WIP (10,000 word 1st chapter) and is really excellent, with a mature 26 y.o. Shane with a trick knee who's in the Metros with 22 y.o. hotshot Ilya. Lots of hockey detail, great writing & characterisations, a closeted oblivious Shane, and Ilya on the prowl.
My two other main fave WIPs are Basingstoke's Lovers, or English is a damn funny language which continues to be brilliant, and Glittercity's Never Been Bitten, the vampire AU with interesting power dynamics (rich obsessive club owner vampire Shane who's nervous of the ingenuity and aggression of humans and Ilya, the chaotic bartender who's trying to seduce him.)
I've also been charging through all CorvidCordelia's works.
I read Half Agony, Half Hope a while back - it's a longfic based on the premise that Ilya gets traded to Montreal about 3 years after Shane breaks it off after the tuna melts hookup, so they're now on the same team. A great mix of angst, drama, lust, and of course, the requisite happy ending!
Careful Fear and Dead Devotion is another longfic, a complete AU in which Shane and Ilya are young actors looking for a break who are cast as Finn and Dane in the TV series "Ember and Ice". It uses the Quinn audio-erotic story as the plot of the drama they're starring in, so if the mention of Ember and Ice as a "fandom" put you off, don't be - no knowledge is needed of E&I and the inherent ludicrousness of that work doesn't intrude. Scott and Kip are the showrunners! It's kind of analogous to Hudson and Connor in HR, without being in any way RPF. It's a great story, and I loved it.
And Walking Through Windows a fork in the road AU where Ilya fucks up the Tampa All Stars reconciliation (after Shane accepts he's gay), and they then only see each other on the ice when their teams play, for ten years. Which is inherently very sad, but the story starts then, when they're both recently retired and Ilya learns that Shane's about to marry a man. You can imagine what happens, and I was unsure if I'd like it as I dislike partner betrayal, but CorvidCordelia is a bloody good writer and absolutely sold it to me, with a wonderful story that I couldn't put down (gave myself eyestrain again, damn it!)
Tags:
Sunday, February 8th, 2026 07:51 pm
Not quite as bad as feared, although every time I tried to take a nap/sleep in, I ended up having to field a call from a Baby Boomer.
UGH.
I mean, it was only twice. But both times it was about stuff that my uncle was trying to get rid of. First his wife called me (after he called my phone and couldn't get through, she called B1's phone, and B1 WOKE ME UP to give me the phone). And then mum called me WHILE I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP IN ON SUNDAY MORNING.
IDK. I try to sleep, it never manages to be enough lately. Like I'm functional, just tired. Also, headaches a lot. And my temporomandibular joint has been giving me trouble. It feels fine most of them time, but biting down on things is a bit dodgy.
Tomorrow, I'm going to watch the superbowl with some guys from church. It's annual, and just one of those Things That I Do. Three of the four friends who usually come along and watch have checked in with me to see if I'm coming. And as for the fourth friend, I'll just say "curiosity is not his love language".
Oof, I might go lie down and do some reading until I fall asleep.
I did write about 1200 words today, though. That was good.
UGH.
I mean, it was only twice. But both times it was about stuff that my uncle was trying to get rid of. First his wife called me (after he called my phone and couldn't get through, she called B1's phone, and B1 WOKE ME UP to give me the phone). And then mum called me WHILE I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP IN ON SUNDAY MORNING.
IDK. I try to sleep, it never manages to be enough lately. Like I'm functional, just tired. Also, headaches a lot. And my temporomandibular joint has been giving me trouble. It feels fine most of them time, but biting down on things is a bit dodgy.
Tomorrow, I'm going to watch the superbowl with some guys from church. It's annual, and just one of those Things That I Do. Three of the four friends who usually come along and watch have checked in with me to see if I'm coming. And as for the fourth friend, I'll just say "curiosity is not his love language".
Oof, I might go lie down and do some reading until I fall asleep.
I did write about 1200 words today, though. That was good.
Tags:
Friday, February 6th, 2026 11:55 am
Is there anyone who'd be interested in co-watching Bridgerton S4 with me?
I want to watch it, I just need to schedule time to watch it, and have someone else metaphorically "on hand" to keep me from rushing off and doing something else.
Yes, we would have to do some tricksy scheduling to manage it if you're in the (usual) locations of Europe/the US. I'm happy to try to work something out.
I want to watch it, I just need to schedule time to watch it, and have someone else metaphorically "on hand" to keep me from rushing off and doing something else.
Yes, we would have to do some tricksy scheduling to manage it if you're in the (usual) locations of Europe/the US. I'm happy to try to work something out.
Friday, February 6th, 2026 10:47 am
So this is at the edge of an "I am not coping with life right now" kind of week.
Unfortunately, the weekend also looks a bit busy.
Unfortunately, the weekend also looks a bit busy.
Thursday, February 5th, 2026 01:41 pm
Remember how my boyfriend from when I was 17 turned up out of the blue? Well, he dropped in again after doing his NZ tourist trip, and left me a bunch of memorabilia so I could scan it then mail it back to him. The letters (mine) are... written by an over-dramatic teenager with poetic delusions, so I quickly noped out of reading them. The pics are kind of fun, though, despite my terrible hairdo.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Tags:
Wednesday, February 4th, 2026 10:09 pm
Pick a female character you know I'll write, and one of the prompts below. Preferably one nobody else has yet chosen.
Day 1 - The Innocent
Day 2 - Guilty Pleasures
Day 3 - The Caregiver
Day 4 - Needs
Day 5 - The Outlaw
Day 6 - Her Own Personal Code
Day 7 - The Lover
Day 8 - Pet Peeves
Day 9 - The Scholar
Day 10 - Acting the Fool
Day 11 - The Explorer
Day 12 - Her Sanctuary
Day 13 - The Ruler
Day 14 - Letting Go
I never manage to write for halfamoon because my stories end up seriously epic. Maybe this off-the-cuff thing will work instead. (Or maybe those will just turn seriously epic.)
Day 1 - The Innocent
Day 2 - Guilty Pleasures
Day 3 - The Caregiver
Day 4 - Needs
Day 5 - The Outlaw
Day 6 - Her Own Personal Code
Day 7 - The Lover
Day 8 - Pet Peeves
Day 9 - The Scholar
Day 10 - Acting the Fool
Day 11 - The Explorer
Day 12 - Her Sanctuary
Day 13 - The Ruler
Day 14 - Letting Go
I never manage to write for halfamoon because my stories end up seriously epic. Maybe this off-the-cuff thing will work instead. (Or maybe those will just turn seriously epic.)
Wednesday, February 4th, 2026 10:19 pm
The usual sample of some of my seasonal cards. Hopefully they've all arrived by now, or will very soon. This year I decided to paint people freehand (which means they're all a bit wonky) and then name them after less well known minor deities - it's called the Small Gods series. I had fun, anyway - it's always good to get back into watercolours again (although I use them more like gouache), after mostly working in Procreate the rest of the year. Embellished with metallic paint in various colours, gold, and silver, for a festive touch. Hopefully you can see the sheen a little in the way I've photographed them.
 |  |  |
| God of Circuses | God of Ink | God of Extroverts |
 |  |  |
| God of Dramatic Entrances | God of Jump Scares | God of Drizzle |
 |  |  |
| God of Sweaters | God of Naps | God of Woad |
 |  |  |
| God of Flirts | God of Sparrows | God of Nostalgia |
Tags:
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 12:49 pm
Two extraordinary CGI sci-fi vids about the exploitation of a distant alien planet. Extraordinary visuals.
solstice-5 [00.10.37]
solstice-5 forgotten archives [00.11.12]
And a brilliant and hilarious short HR edit that turns the show into a thriller murder mystery.
HR thriller edit
solstice-5 [00.10.37]
solstice-5 forgotten archives [00.11.12]
And a brilliant and hilarious short HR edit that turns the show into a thriller murder mystery.
HR thriller edit
Tags:
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 01:34 pm
Two hot off the press HR recs, and an older GC one.
cut to the feeling - by Charlotte_Stant, one of my fave authors in HR and HR RPF. For magical realism reasons, 18 y.o. Shane wakes up in the body and life of himself at age 35, married to Ilya. It's brilliant, very funny and just the best "crack taken seriously" imaginable. Also hot as hell. So good.
Torture Me (With All I've Wanted) - by Toomuchplor, also an absolute fave author. 17 y.o. Shane and Ilya end up on a long bus ride together. Under a blanket. Yes, it's super hot but all the details are so lovely, the writing so good. I love it.
And so it's gonna be forever has already been reccd by people and is still a WIP damn it, but it's completely addictive. I just loooove fix-it fics, and in this, Ilya dies in the Centaurs' plane crash but is magically transported back to his teens again, reliving his life with all his future memories intact, determined to get it righter this time - and boy, does he make some changes. I could do without a few of the mystical bits but the majority of this fic is like pure crack to me.
cut to the feeling - by Charlotte_Stant, one of my fave authors in HR and HR RPF. For magical realism reasons, 18 y.o. Shane wakes up in the body and life of himself at age 35, married to Ilya. It's brilliant, very funny and just the best "crack taken seriously" imaginable. Also hot as hell. So good.
Torture Me (With All I've Wanted) - by Toomuchplor, also an absolute fave author. 17 y.o. Shane and Ilya end up on a long bus ride together. Under a blanket. Yes, it's super hot but all the details are so lovely, the writing so good. I love it.
And so it's gonna be forever has already been reccd by people and is still a WIP damn it, but it's completely addictive. I just loooove fix-it fics, and in this, Ilya dies in the Centaurs' plane crash but is magically transported back to his teens again, reliving his life with all his future memories intact, determined to get it righter this time - and boy, does he make some changes. I could do without a few of the mystical bits but the majority of this fic is like pure crack to me.
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 07:55 am
Yes, I'm back with the Georgian trip!
Day 1: Overview | Day 2: Vashlovani Nature Reserve | Day 3: Jvari Monastery and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
-----
The night of the Jvari Monastery and the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (still Wednesday) we stayed in a little vineyard tucked away in the back of beyond, which required a hike along rough tracks and up and down roads. Our luggage was (thankfully) taken by a very old jeep - Soviet era, we were told. It surely looked it!
The vineyard had been owned by a former church minister, and they were still doing it up. The road there was a little rough, and a few of the women struggled somewhat with the path.
There was also almost no signal.
But there were kittens!
This night was a particularly bad case of "we can't eat anything, we're too stuffed full of food". I didn't even take photos of the food, I was so full!
And the next morning was no better.
Ruins and vineyards and buildings on the walk back down to where the bus awaited us in the morning:
Yeah, it's a bit of a mouthful...
Uplistsikhe Rock Village dates back to the 2nd Century BC, and translates to 'God's Fortress'.
The carvings and design of it indicate both pagan and Christian residency (a pagan temple's fire altars were filled in when the community converted to Christianity and the space used as a chapel/cathedral), and multiple cultural influences from outside Georgia are indicated by its architecture and decoration before it was sacked in the 12th Century by the Mongols.
There was so much of it to see, but we only had an hour, so it was a very truncated tour of a really interesting historical site.
And I spent long enough in the chapel that I and my roomie (only other non-American on the tour, apart from the 'host' who was local, and the 'organiser' who was ) lost the rest of the group on the way out of the site. I found the chapel particularly fascinating to me for the black Madonna-and-Child portrait, the layout of the space, and the "drooping arms" cross symbol, which is representative of St Nino's grapevine cross she carried to Georgia when she brought Christianity to that part of the world.
Oh yes, and the black Madonna and child!
No, not me! (I just realised the juxtaposition of the photos. XD XD)
More seriously, there was a woman in the chapel who was praying or observing her pilgrimage. I had to be quiet while she was there and even after she left, I had to be quiet because there was a woman manning the shop right outside the door. *sigh*
I find it a bit restricting, actually, that the chapels and cathedrals all demand silence of you. There are times for silence, of course. But there's also time to sing and be joyful - to shout to the Lord! To everything a time and a season, as Ecclesiastes declares. I did manage to sing a hymn in a chapel in Positano, Italy and that was fun!
Anyway, there was a tunnel we missed out on seeing because we didn't work out where the rest of the group went, and then we got stuck at the top and ended up having to go back down the way we came, whereupon we met the rest of the group and went along to the bus.
On the way to lunch, we passed through the city of Gori, which is Stalin's birthplace. Many of the older Americans wanted to hop out and have a look at it, and I hopped out because the architecture looked really interesting!
C'mon, tell me this isn't fascinating to the daughter of an architect!
The location is the house in which he was born. The neighbourhood was "bought out" (*cough cough* we know how that goes in the west, now imagine it in Soviet Georgia!) and everything else razed to bring you...this edifice of stone and magnificence...
The Americans exclaimed over the details of Stalin's life. Me? I looked around at the architecture (very interesting, oddly beautiful for what I think of as 'communist brutalism') and then out at the public gardens surrounding it, and the Georgian national flag flapping in the wind. And I turned to our Georgia guide, grinned, and said "Stalin would have hated it." And she grinned back.
It was pretty much a fifteen minute stop because we were already kind of late to lunch. But then, we were still kind of full from the previous night and breakfast, so it's not like we were rushing to get to eat!
--
Lunch at Sisters-in-Law winery. The owner used to be in the diplomatic service, but married a guy whose family owned land out in the countryside and now runs a restaurant that they built out of reclaimed everything. All the bricks, all the wood, all the furnishings found and repaired and now reused. It's very permaculture.
They're also very socially active (also very permaculture) to the point where they decided to close the restaurant this summer, because they wanted to participate in local protests against pro-Russia government and they were worried about retaliation. That's a dedication to the cause. There were assorted signs and stickers around the place that showed the sentiment of the younger generation about Russia, but the older generations often recall the good times of the Soviet Union and want that back.
Sounds a bit familiar, really.
They definitely had some permaculture books...
Also, there was a wine there that was absolutely amazing, and honestly I'd have shipped an entire crate of it back home except they didn't have any left over from that batch! *sigh*
A beautiful place with a beautiful couple doing good, solid things in the world.
--
Kutaisi
At this point, my memories are growing a little fuzzy. I shouldn't have put off typing this up for so long, and since I've been back, a lot has happened!
But I do remember that the dinner in Kutaisi was a bit ordinary, all things considered...
A walking bridge, quite close to where we were staying, and the last light of day.
Day 1: Overview | Day 2: Vashlovani Nature Reserve | Day 3: Jvari Monastery and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
-----
The night of the Jvari Monastery and the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (still Wednesday) we stayed in a little vineyard tucked away in the back of beyond, which required a hike along rough tracks and up and down roads. Our luggage was (thankfully) taken by a very old jeep - Soviet era, we were told. It surely looked it!
A B&B up in the mountains
The vineyard had been owned by a former church minister, and they were still doing it up. The road there was a little rough, and a few of the women struggled somewhat with the path.
There was also almost no signal.
But there were kittens!
This night was a particularly bad case of "we can't eat anything, we're too stuffed full of food". I didn't even take photos of the food, I was so full!
And the next morning was no better.
Ruins and vineyards and buildings on the walk back down to where the bus awaited us in the morning:
Thursday: Uplistsikhe
Yeah, it's a bit of a mouthful...
Uplistsikhe Rock Village dates back to the 2nd Century BC, and translates to 'God's Fortress'.
The carvings and design of it indicate both pagan and Christian residency (a pagan temple's fire altars were filled in when the community converted to Christianity and the space used as a chapel/cathedral), and multiple cultural influences from outside Georgia are indicated by its architecture and decoration before it was sacked in the 12th Century by the Mongols.
There was so much of it to see, but we only had an hour, so it was a very truncated tour of a really interesting historical site.
And I spent long enough in the chapel that I and my roomie (only other non-American on the tour, apart from the 'host' who was local, and the 'organiser' who was ) lost the rest of the group on the way out of the site. I found the chapel particularly fascinating to me for the black Madonna-and-Child portrait, the layout of the space, and the "drooping arms" cross symbol, which is representative of St Nino's grapevine cross she carried to Georgia when she brought Christianity to that part of the world.
Oh yes, and the black Madonna and child!
No, not me! (I just realised the juxtaposition of the photos. XD XD)
More seriously, there was a woman in the chapel who was praying or observing her pilgrimage. I had to be quiet while she was there and even after she left, I had to be quiet because there was a woman manning the shop right outside the door. *sigh*
I find it a bit restricting, actually, that the chapels and cathedrals all demand silence of you. There are times for silence, of course. But there's also time to sing and be joyful - to shout to the Lord! To everything a time and a season, as Ecclesiastes declares. I did manage to sing a hymn in a chapel in Positano, Italy and that was fun!
Anyway, there was a tunnel we missed out on seeing because we didn't work out where the rest of the group went, and then we got stuck at the top and ended up having to go back down the way we came, whereupon we met the rest of the group and went along to the bus.
On the way to lunch, we passed through the city of Gori, which is Stalin's birthplace. Many of the older Americans wanted to hop out and have a look at it, and I hopped out because the architecture looked really interesting!
C'mon, tell me this isn't fascinating to the daughter of an architect!
Gori: birthplace of Stalin
The location is the house in which he was born. The neighbourhood was "bought out" (*cough cough* we know how that goes in the west, now imagine it in Soviet Georgia!) and everything else razed to bring you...this edifice of stone and magnificence...
The Americans exclaimed over the details of Stalin's life. Me? I looked around at the architecture (very interesting, oddly beautiful for what I think of as 'communist brutalism') and then out at the public gardens surrounding it, and the Georgian national flag flapping in the wind. And I turned to our Georgia guide, grinned, and said "Stalin would have hated it." And she grinned back.
It was pretty much a fifteen minute stop because we were already kind of late to lunch. But then, we were still kind of full from the previous night and breakfast, so it's not like we were rushing to get to eat!
--
Lunch at Sisters-in-Law winery. The owner used to be in the diplomatic service, but married a guy whose family owned land out in the countryside and now runs a restaurant that they built out of reclaimed everything. All the bricks, all the wood, all the furnishings found and repaired and now reused. It's very permaculture.
books and food and activism against an oppressive government: what it can look like
They're also very socially active (also very permaculture) to the point where they decided to close the restaurant this summer, because they wanted to participate in local protests against pro-Russia government and they were worried about retaliation. That's a dedication to the cause. There were assorted signs and stickers around the place that showed the sentiment of the younger generation about Russia, but the older generations often recall the good times of the Soviet Union and want that back.
Sounds a bit familiar, really.
They definitely had some permaculture books...
Also, there was a wine there that was absolutely amazing, and honestly I'd have shipped an entire crate of it back home except they didn't have any left over from that batch! *sigh*
A beautiful place with a beautiful couple doing good, solid things in the world.
--
Kutaisi
At this point, my memories are growing a little fuzzy. I shouldn't have put off typing this up for so long, and since I've been back, a lot has happened!
But I do remember that the dinner in Kutaisi was a bit ordinary, all things considered...
A walking bridge, quite close to where we were staying, and the last light of day.
Tags:
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 04:53 pm
It's run a bit differently to FTH. You donate in one of 3 tiers - $5, $10, or $20. For the lower tiers you don't get much, or any, choice, just an HR fanwork assigned to you as thanks for the donation. For the $20 tier you get a bit more choice and can specify the type of fanwork (art, fic, podfic, vid, etc.), and can give a brief prompt for the creator. But this isn't an auction - you can't put in bids for a specific creator's work. The mod assigns you, like a matchmaker.
Anyway, if you'd like to donate, here's the post: donations form here
To complete the form you'll need to have already donated. I did most of the form then jumped sideways to do the donation to one of their listed orgs, then I completed the form. Seemed to work okay.
Anyway, if you'd like to donate, here's the post: donations form here
To complete the form you'll need to have already donated. I did most of the form then jumped sideways to do the donation to one of their listed orgs, then I completed the form. Seemed to work okay.
Tags: