Riverbella's Rambles

Books, Anybody?

2009-11-05T19:57:55Z

Last weekend, I read a really cool young adult novel called Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, with illustrations by Keith Thompson. It's an alternate history, first in a trilogy or maybe a series, that takes place in the days leading up to World War I, and this version of history is steampunk! With a twist. On the one hand, you have the Clankers, whose technology is steam-based engines built along anamorphic lines--think steam engine versions of Imperial Walkers and the like. On the other hand are the Darwinists, who figured out about DNA soon after Darwin's little biological revolution and based their technology on genetically altered species of animals. The Leviathan of the title is an airship that contains whale DNA, among other things. Add a teenage girl disguised as a boy so she can join the military and fly on an airship, and a teenage boy who from the Clanker side of things who is a focus of political intrigue, and you have the basis for a very creative story about a unique version of the world. I enjoyed it thoroughly. And the illustrations are wonderful.

This week, I have started reading Lev Grossman's The Magicians. I am only a few chapters in, but I'm thoroughly hooked already. This one is a sort of Harry Potter for adults only. The writing is compelling and the magic is set realistically in our own recognizable world. Obviously, I am not sure where it is going yet, but the characters are wonderful and the story pulls you right along.

ION, I think the hubs and I are going to the Carolina Rennaisance Festival this weekend. It's held near Charlotte, NC every year and is a large one. I'm hoping to have a chance to get my hair put up in one of those elaborate braid creations! Of course, there is a bicycle show over in the vicinity the same day, so hubby and I each get some joy!

Riverbella is Random

2009-10-19T20:54:23Z

My brain is scattered. Here are a few pieces that have dropped out:

1) Somebody needs to make a Supernatural vid with "Anthem of the Angels" from the new Breaking Benjamin CD. It would be majorly angsty!

2) I downloaded the single "Kings and Queens" from the not-yet-released 30 Seconds to Mars cd. It is gorgeous.

3) Also on the topic of music, when my nephew visited me recently he introduced me to A Perfect Circle. Nice.

4) Anybody out there ever watch the Canadian series "ReGenesis?" I'm watching it on Hulu. It is really very cool. And the theme music knocks me out, too.

5) My freakin' roof is leaking again!!!! *weeps and weeps* (This is perhaps why my brain is scattered).

*attempts to gather up the stray pieces*

Bye.

Minor Disaster

2009-10-11T14:16:00Z

Something ate my entire inbox on my email account last night. It was bizarre. One minute they were there and then they just vanished, like 300 some odd of them. Could my email account be possessed? *insert Twilight Zone theme here*

Anyway, if I fail to respond to anything you might have sent me recently or any comments, I iz sorreh. It appears to be taking new messages okay, so don't be afraid to talk to me. *makes the puppy eyes*

Kthx. That is all.

A Little Something for the Fandom Free-for-All

2009-10-02T23:09:20Z

I'm putting this whole thing under a cut because, well, if you're that curious, you'll see. This is a little fic, written quickly and unbetaed, for a prompt roque_clasique left on the Fandom Free-for-All. I can't quite believe I did it. O_o What the hell do I know about pubescent boys?!!!

Title: Takes a Licking
Author: Riverbella
Rating: R (I guess)
Characters/Pairings: Dean/Dean's hand, Sammy, a glimpse of John; pre-series, circa July 1991 (this actually matters)
Warning: Masturbation!fic (OMG, I'm going to hell)
Summary: T2 ;D
Notes: For roque_clasique for prompt #7; I do not have a thread at the Fandom Free-for-All, so nobody can get back at me for this! Also, the title's call-back to a certain fic by the redoubtable kimonkey7 is entirely intentional!

Takes a Licking

“But I wanta go, too, Dean. Why can’t I go?”

Dean hunches his shoulders and sighs. Sammy has been bugging him about this for the last two days and he’s getting pretty sick of it. Worse than that, he’s afraid Sam’s constant complaints are going to piss Dad off enough to make him decide not to let Dean go either. And he really wants to go.

Dean has barely been able to contain himself since the kid who lives in the other half of the crummy duplex they’re currently occupying invited him to go with him and his mom to the movies. A new movie in a real theatre. Dean’s seen a ton of movies, sure, but only old movies on crummy motel tv sets. Family trips to the theatre are not high on John Winchester’s list of important things to do. Hell, they aren’t on the list at all. This could be the chance of a lifetime.

Dean doesn’t even especially like the kid, Eric, who is kind of a wuss, but Eric’s mom is one of those hovering types who’s always on the kid to be more sociable and play with his little friends and shit like that. So when she’d encouraged him to bring a friend along with him to a movie for his birthday, he’d asked Dean just to get her off his back. Dean had responded guardedly, not sure he could get permission and not wanting Eric to know it wasn’t his own idea to refuse if he couldn’t. But, surprisingly, Dad had said it was okay, and Dean’s eventual “yeah, I guess” had masked an explosion of excitement.

Now he just has to face down the final obstacle. His little brother.

“I told you why, Sammy,” he explains once more, trying to be patient. “You aren’t invited. Just me, okay?”

“I bet they wouldn’t care if I came,” Sam argued. “It’s not fair.”

“Look, I’m sorry, Sammy,” Dean said. He really is, too. But he looks after Sam all the time, and just this once he thinks maybe he deserves something for himself. “They didn’t ask you and I can’t just take you with me.”

“But Dean,” Sam objects, drawing Dean’s name out into at least three syllables.

“Stop it, Sammy,” John Winchester snaps. “Your brother’s right. You weren’t invited and you’re not going and that’s final.”

Sam shuffles his feet, sticks his lower lip out and pouts for a moment, then brightens. “Hey, Dad? Maybe you could take me,” he says.

Dean cringes, knowing this is going nowhere good, and sure enough, Dad slaps a hand down on the coffee table beside the book he’s been poring over and turns an angry gaze on his youngest son.

“Enough, Sam! I’ve got work to do. You go to your room and stay out of my hair, and if I hear one more word out of you about this, you can go to bed without dinner. You hear me, boy?”

“Yes, sir,” Sam huffs. He glares at Dean and stomps off toward their bedroom.

Dean glances between Sammy and Dad, decides saying anything to his father would be a bad move and follows his little brother instead. He finds Sam sitting on his bed picking at the frayed bedspread.

“Look, Sam,” Dean says. “I wish you could go. Seriously. When I get back, I’ll tell you everything about it, okay? I’ll tell you the whole movie.”

Sam is silent for a moment, but then he looks up. He has that look that Dean hates, that kicked-puppy look nobody can do like Sammy, and his eyes are suspiciously shiny. But he finally sniffs and nods. “You promise?” he asks.

“Cross my heart,” Dean replies, relieved. “I gotta go, now. You be good and don’t bug Dad, okay?”

Sam mumbles something that Dean thinks might be “okay.” Enough so Dean feels able to grab his jacket and book it before anything else happens. A quick goodbye to Dad and he’s out the door, minefield safely navigated, and he breaks into a grin. He’s made it. This is gonna be great.

*****

The cinema is a basic two-screen theatre dangling off the end of a strip center, a red-brick rectangle with a marquee jutting out like a ship’s prow. It looks like a castle to Dean. As Eric’s mom herds them into the line in front of the box office, Dean fixes his gaze on the glass-encased “Now Showing” poster. Terminator 2: Judgement Day. There’s Arnie on a motorcycle, all badass in leather and shades and carrying a big mother of a gun. Dean’s seen the first movie a couple of times on tv. It’s pretty awesome, but it’s, like, old, and there’s an awful lot of mushy stuff in it, too. The special effects will be way better now, he bets, and there’ll be even more explosions. He loves explosions.

Once they get inside, Eric’s mom shells out for a big tub of popcorn they head into the darkened theatre. It’s pretty crowded, and Eric and his mom have a brief but furious argument about where to sit. He wants to sit up front and she doesn’t, of course, and she won’t let the two boys go up front by themselves either, which is kind of lame. They end up somewhere a few rows forward of the middle. Eric slumps in his seat, deliberately putting Dean between himself and his mom. He looks bored and pissed off. Dean doesn’t care. It’s enough to just be here.

It seems like forever before the movie starts. They have to get through the ads and the previews, first, although some of the previews are pretty cool. Finally, though, that ominous, percussive music starts. Dean can feel it vibrating through the hard concrete floor and on up into his seat. In the dark with everybody focused on the screen, Dean allows himself to give in to the big grin that wants to spread across his face.

The movie starts off with Arnie showing up in a ball of lightning. Okay, yeah, he’s naked, but it isn’t like they showed anything. He just goes into this bar and beats up on the patrons, gets him some clothes off this biker dude. The other Terminator shows up somewhere else. He isn’t all big and bad looking like Arnie, but he can, like, melt and change into different shapes so he is pretty badass, too.

When they first show the woman, Sarah Connor, Dean is prepared to be bored for a little while, but something kind of weird happens. She’s in a cell and she’s training—doing push-ups and stuff like Dad makes Dean do—and she looks tough and has these muscles and Dean is finding this part a lot more interesting than he’d expected. When the action switches back to the John Connor kid and the Terminators, he’s actually kind of sorry, even though it’s pretty exciting.

The movie bounces back and forth between the kid and the mom for a while. The kid meets up with Arnie after this cool motorcycle race and then you find out the original Terminator is a good guy now and has come to save John Connor. It’s the skinny, melty dude who’s there to kill him. He ganks a dog, too, which kind of sucks. Meantime, the mom is trying to fool the cops and the sickos who run the asylum and Dean finds himself getting mad on her behalf as they rough her up and refuse to listen to her or believe her. She’s a hero and they’re just too dumb to see it. She doesn’t have anybody on her side. I’d be on her side, Dean thinks to himself fiercely.

And then there she is on her cot in her cell, in restraints, tied down so she can’t move, and that sleaze of a warden comes in and fucking licks her, licks her face. Dean is pretty sure he should be completely grossed out. He can hear other people in the audience going “eww.” Instead, he is suddenly hot all over, like someone poured boiling water on him, and his skin feels tight and he feels an ache in his groin and realizes his dick has gone rock hard in the confines of his jeans.

He’s so shocked that for a minute he can’t move, or even think.

Okay, it’s not the first time he’s gotten hard. In the last couple of months it has happened several times, mostly at night. He knows about masturbation. Of course he does. Kids talk about it at school. And his Dad has already given him the talk about sex and stuff. His dad has told him it’s okay to jerk off, it’s normal, but to only do it in private, and not to talk to Sammy about it because he’s too young and it would just confuse him. Hah, like he would anyway! He’s done it a few times in the bathroom, and it’s a little awkward, but it feels good.

It hasn’t ever happened like this, though. Not right out in public; not just from seeing something (someone). He’s heard older boys talk about whacking off to pictures of girls in magazines, but until now he’s never really gotten it. Now all of a sudden, he does.

Dean slides a hand into his lap and presses down on his dick, twitching a little from the roughness of his jeans, which he can feel on his stretched, sensitive skin even through his underwear. It’s dark in the theatre and everyone is riveted by the action on the screen, even Eric’s mom. He’s pretty sure this isn’t what his dad meant by “private” though. He just can’t help it, feels an irresistible urge to rub himself while he watches Sarah Connor pick her way out of the restraints and make her escape. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, he oh-so-casually shrugs out of his jacket and rearranges it so it’s lying over his lap, and he unzips his fly and reaches in.

The tip of his dick is already wet and he runs the slick down over himself with his fingers and thumb. It’s all he can do not to jump around in his seat, but he bites down on the inside of his lip and just manages. He starts pulling in a steady rhythm, up and back down the shank of his penis, and it’s so good. In fact, it’s awesome.

He’s kind of lost track of what’s happening in the movie, but Sarah Connor is stuck in his mind’s eye, muscles in her arms rippling as she does push-ups, pulling against the restraints as she lies on her cot trying to avoid that dude’s tongue (wishing it was his tongue), running down the corridor ready to kill anyone who gets in her way and just being generally hot. Later, he’ll maybe be a little embarrassed about the whole thing. I mean, jeez, if she’s old enough to be John Connor’s mom, she’s old enough to be his mom. But still….

Dean has to stick his free hand in his mouth and bite down on his fingers to keep from groaning out loud as he comes over his busy hand.

Things get kind of awkward and icky afterwards. He keeps glancing at Eric and his mom out of the corners of his eyes to make sure they’re still watching the screen as he surreptitiously retrieves his damp, sticky hand from his jeans and wipes it off on the inside of his jacket. He’s probably got a wet spot on the front of his jeans, but he figures maybe it’ll be dry by the time the movie is over. Good thing the smell of the popcorn is strong enough to cover any other give-away odors. Nobody’s paying any attention to him, and he thinks he’s probably gotten away with it. He has to admit to himself that’s kind of awesome, even as he swears to himself he will never, ever let it happen in public like this again. Ever.

It doesn’t take Dean too long to get wrapped up in the movie again. After all, there’s lots of running and shooting and blood and, yeah, there are some great explosions. And if everybody gets a little less badass and a little more emotional at the end, it’s still a pretty good ending.

*****

“Dean!” Sammy exclaims. “How was it? Was it cool?”

Dean smiles at his little brother, who has clearly been struggling to stay awake to hear all about the movie like Dean promised.

“Yeah, Sammy,” Dean replies. “It was really cool. It was awesome.”

“Tell me about it,” Sam demands. “Tell me everything.”

Dean has to laugh because, yeah, no way he can tell his little brother everything. But he tells him about the melty new Terminator and the motorcycles and the explosions and how the good guys won in the end, sorta. That’s all Sammy is interested in anyway. He could care less about how hot Sarah Connor had looked.

Dean, though, Dean remembers that for a long time. It isn’t until over a year later when he shoplifts a skin mag called Busty Asian Beauties from behind the counter at a drugstore while the cashier is occupied that he moves on from Sarah Connor as the primary object of his jerk-off fantasies. And even after he forgets why, he still gets a little rush every time Terminator 2 shows up on a movie channel.

~~End

A/N: So, I figured Dean was about 12 1/2 in 1991 and T2 came out that summer. Somehow buffed up Linda Hamilton seemed like she might appeal to Dean. Although maybe not as much as the explosions!

Wanta Read Something Wonderful?

2009-09-28T13:00:30Z

It's not like many people are going to miss this fic--after all, it's smilla02--but just in case...

Smilla has written a beautiful AU following "Lucifer Rising" that is lyrical and intense and rich with a take on the mythology that really resonates. It's about brotherhood, and she knows how to reach to the core of what that means. There are lines and scenes in this story that will break your heart with their beauty. Don't miss this one.

The Stars of His Army

5.02

2009-09-18T03:25:09Z

I really didn't think I could hurt worse than I did at the end of last week's episode, but this? OMG. I was so "Oh, wow!" about the amulet and how it affected Dean to let it go that I didn't see it as the open bracket it was for where the episode was going to end. The way J&J played the last scene with so much restraint just made it that much worse. Especially after watching Dean struggle all the way with his instincts to protect Sam running face first into his hurt and distrust, as well as his sense of responsibility. Then there was Sam's disappointment when Dean just let him go without a fight. But then he offered Sam the Impala. Love isn't enough right now, but it's still there. Oh, it's still there. Damn, this is actually causing me physical pain.

There were other things about the episode I really liked, but at the moment I can't see much past that ending.

It has to play out the way it has to play out, and I feel like Kripke & Co. are doing it justice. But man, I hope it gets better before too much longer. I don't think my heart can stand it! *weeps and weeps*

What's In A Name [the Dreams in Color remix], R, Dean/OFC

2009-09-15T01:07:19Z

Title: What's In A Name [the Dreams in Color remix]
Author: Riverbella
Characters/Pairing: Sam, Dean/OFC
Rating: R for language and sexual references
Warnings: het, no spoilers, pre-series (teen!Dean and pre-teen!Sam)
Summary: There's power in names. Especially when you're still figuring out who you are.
A/N: Written for kamikazeremix. The lovely original story is Dreams in Color by zooey_glass04. Detailed, insightful and enormously helpful beta by chemm80. First remix evah! And do check out the other fic at the community. There's some great stuff!

What's In a Name

Tonight, Tonight, I'll See My Show Tonight....

2009-09-10T19:32:10Z

Passing on the love from july_july_july and kimonkey7

"I'll say it again. Demons I get; people are crazy."

Sticky Ficcy Master Post

2009-09-06T18:19:15Z

Umm, just to let you guys know, I have finally gotten around to doing a sticky post with links to my Supernatural fic. I'm putting the link here if anyone is interested, but I mainly did it so I could find the stuff myself! Not exactly a huge body of work, but there are a few that are decent, I think. Probably 75% or more came from prompts provided by kimonkey7 when the found_fic_spn community was active (before rl got in the way), and I owe her huge for the inspiration and encouragement.

Riverbella's SPN Fic

Keeping it updated shouldn't be too taxing! Here musey, musey, musey....

The Layout that Ate My Heart!

2009-08-21T18:16:25Z

You all know how incredibly gifted animotus is in art and graphics, right? Well, she very generously offered to make a header for roque_clasique and me for our podzine community. We put the community up originally with a place-holder (which was made by roque and was really quite excellent its own self!), but then animotus returned from vacation and started to work. When the layout we were using proved to have some disadvantages, she offered to go ahead and design a whole layout for us rather than only a header. The result is spectacular! So even if you've already seen the community or aren't at all interested in podfic, go check out spn_podzine just to get a look at her wonderful work! I'm so proud of it I could just burst. \O/\O/\O/

We Have Lift-off!

2009-08-15T22:22:24Z

Some of you have heard rumors and some of you have probably seen roque_clasique's post, but just to make absolutely certain no one on my flist misses the news--E.S.P.: A Supernatural Podzine is no longer an idea eating my brain. It is a reality. Right here on lj.

When I first had the idea for a "podzine," an anthology of fic on a chosen theme, I thought it would be fun, but I didn't think it would actually happen, at least not if it was just me. Then I mentioned the idea to roque_clasique, who is not only one of my very favorite writers but also a huge fan of podfic, and she was more than just enthusiastic and encouraging; she offered to help! "Okay," I thought. "We can make this happen."

Well, we read and planned and built and compiled and learned and asked questions and now, at last, our community is live and the first issue of the podzine is ready for download.

If you have a mind to, run over to spn_podzine and check out the community. Download the podzine, in mp3 or audiobook form, and listen to some great stories by wonderful writers read by several different readers. Maybe they are all old favorites. Maybe you'll find something new. Either way, let us know what you think and spread the word.

And don't be surprised if you hear from us personally one of these days asking permission to read a story, enlisting you as a reader, soliciting ideas for future issues, or all of the above.

We're really excited about this, and we hope you will be, too!

Two Recs in One Night! Warning: Awesome Overload

2009-07-31T03:47:09Z

calamitycrow and her artistic pardner wede_fic have posted a J2 BigBang that is not just a story--it's a whole world. It's a Western. It's a complete immersion experience. It's amazing. And it has Jensen in chaps!

Morgans Free Rangers: A Tale of Courage and Daring in the Tayasha Badlands

Xo'ox!

Whatever You Do...

2009-07-30T23:35:42Z

Do not miss this story:

Deguello

It is in two parts, the second just posted today. Brilliant is a gross understatement. This is John laid bare down to the soul. It will break your heart, but you will understand.

My El1ie Vid of Awesome!

2009-07-27T23:28:47Z

A while back, el1ie, for no other reason than she's just amazing and generous like that, offered to make a vid for me! I had a song and a sort of general idea what I thought would be a theme that fit, but from that point forward, I left it in el1ie's talented hands. I am so glad I did. She finished it and sent me the link this afternoon, and I was so completely blown away by it that I nearly floated out of my chair when the "for Riverbella" came up on the screen at the end. The song is "Weapon," by Matthew Good, a song I've loved for a long time and always seen Dean in. What el1ie did with it is extraordinary. It tells a beautiful and heartbreaking story in images perfectly synced to the song, but going far beyond it as well. Below the embedded vid are some links so you can download it and keep it for yourself. Enjoy and then go and tell el1ie she is brilliant. Because she is.

NOTE: The vid contains spoilers for Season 4 if by some chance you have not seen it yet.

Download Links:
34 MB .wmv file at Mediafire
63 MB .avi file at Mediafire
.avi file at 4shared

8 Miles Wide

2009-07-23T19:33:47Z

I just stumbled across this linked on Twitter. It is absolutely hysterical. And kind of brilliant...

Thank You!

2009-07-16T12:25:23Z

To my lovely flisties who made my birthday a joy with their remembrances: buffyaddict13, pdragon76, chemm80, paxlux, roque_clasique, july_july_july, smilla02, chocca2, rinkle, tiffosis, and animotus, Thanks and much love.

(If I left anyone out, just put it down to my being so overwhelmed.)

The date was also an anniversary of sorts. Two years ago on my birthday, I changed my young lj account to a paid account, marking the fact that, yeah, this was definitely a place I wanted to hang out. I now have a smallish but completely awesome flist, full of talent and generosity and humor and kindness. Best birthday present I ever gave myself!

*makes the long arms and hugs you all*

Vacationating - Whew!

2009-06-20T13:15:13Z

I'm packed, sweating in the high of 100 (temp and humidity) and ready to hit the road just so I can take a deep breath! We're off to the Smokies to hook up with family for a few days, with a detour over next weekend to go to my hometown for my mother's birthday. However, I made sure we would have internetz at the vacation home we rented, so, I won't be completely out of touch. And I'm hoping for a little down time to catch up some BigBangs.

So, flisties, next time I'm on lj it will be from Townsend, Tennessee. I just hope it's a damn sight cooler in the mountains than it is here!

Podfic of a Story by Paxlux

2009-06-19T02:09:40Z

Paxlux wrote me an awesome story for Sweet Charity. It is eerie and lyrical and atmospheric and I thought it would make a fantastic podfic. So here it is, complete with the song that formed the prompt for the fic at the end. Hope you enjoy! (Will be cross-posted at a couple of podfic communities and, I hope, eventually archived.)

Title: At Night In the Desert, The Land Breathes and It Sounds Like Music
Author: paxlux
Format: Mp3
Length: 32 minutes, 30 mb.
Rating: G, Gen, no spoilers
Characters: Dean, Sam
Text Link: Here
Megaupload link: Here
Now Archived: Here at General Jinjurly's archive

Another Podfic

2009-06-14T03:05:48Z

Just to round things out, I have podficced another story by roque_clasique that grew out of the H/C meme. Actually, it is three stories, or a three-part story, depending on how you want to look at it. Each part could stand alone, but together they make a nice series. This podfic will be cross-posted to spn_gen_podfics and amplificathon.

Title: Weird Scary External Fixators (a Supernatural h/c story in three parts)
Text Links: Part I
Part II
Part III
Author: roque_clasique
Read by: yours truly
Rating: R (for language)
Characters: Gen; Dean, John, Sam; Pre-series
Format: mp3 for the time being, 1 hr 16 mins., 67.16mb
Megaupload Link: Here
Notes: Dean!whump, h/c, check text links for prompts and author's notes

Enjoy!

Instant Rec, or OMG, Raindrops!

2009-06-04T23:58:45Z

candle_beck

SPN AU - Western (Sam/Dean. Maybe you don't, usually, but even so...)

Based on the Best Western Flick Ever Made

To say it's completely brilliant is just redundant.

Start Here:

On the Dodge

Don't forget the kleenex.

A Rec of a Different Colour

2009-06-01T17:26:49Z

That spelling of "colour" was deliberate, because this rec is about a paxlux fic, and "color" is just too short a word to do justice to her knack for gorgeous imagery!

Thing one, I usually avoid threesomes like the plague. Not a judgement, just a personal preference. This one snuck up on me, though, because I read a flocked and un-headed pre-public-post version (although since it was Pax, I probably would have read it even if I'd known). Thing two, it turned out to be non-graphic, subtle, have a damn good reason behind it and, of course, the story as a whole is absolutely brilliant. Third party POV from Jo. Extraordinary characterizations. And Pax's stunning imagery woven all through it.

Heat, Like a Knife in the Dark

Simply put, I loved it.

riverbella @ 2009-05-19T16:02:00

2009-05-19T20:13:27Z

1) I've been watching Legend of the Seeker on Hulu and rather enjoying it for escapist fun. The Seeker is easy on the eyes. The other characters are likeable. The magic stuff and slo-mo swordfights are entertaining and occasionally there is some nice, dark, angsty stuff going on. And some sexiness. Complete with hot female torturers in leather cat suits. Don't know if this has been renewed or not, but I probably wouldn't have to be forced to watch more. One caveat: I have not read any of the Terry Goodkind novels, so some of the negative comparisons I have seen here and there don't compute with me.

2) New season of Primeval has begun on BBC America. That's another fun show. I guess I just like monsters!

3) (No spoilers, promise) Star Trek made me sick! No, actually, I really liked it a lot, but I was beginning a migraine when I got to the theatre and the swirling special effects and noise did not help. Made it through, though. As a fan of the original series way back when, I was very tickled by the occasional call-backs to William Shatner's Kirk. Body language! Quinto's Spock was quite good and Simon Pegg was awesome!

4) I have a couple of those Dreamwidth invite codes if anyone on my flist doesn't already have one and is interested (or just curious). Have to admit I haven't done a thing with my account yet. Maybe one of these days.

5) Currently reading: (other than fanfic) The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan. Holy crap that man can write.

Ta, loves *g*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHEMM80!

2009-05-13T12:22:59Z

Chemm80. You are one beautiful, cool, smart, talented, profane, earthy and altogether awesome chick. Hope you have a great birthday and tons more. You've enriched my lj experience and my life in general like whoa. *high fives you* Like the ~~hunk~~ ~~stud~~ man says, Ride On! (And get your mind out of the gutter. You know what I mean!)

Incredible Story - A Rec

2009-05-10T14:27:17Z

After being out of pocket a few days (a wonderful few days spent hanging out with a Dragons; more about that later), I have been catching up with fic. paxlux sent me links to a few of hers posted during that period. They were all excellent, as usual, but one in particular I have to rec because it is just so powerful. Titled "Walking Backwards," it is a story about Sam's leave-taking and journey to Stanford. Not a new subject, but arguably the best treatment of the subject I have ever read. Achingly beautiful and with language and images that cut to the bone. Here's a tiny sample:

He's not scared, not really because he's faced everything else that's been thrown at him; now he's looking down the barrel of his father's steely rage and he's peeling back his brother's reckless betrayed layers and he's not scared of being on his own, separate.

Understatement of the century: Pax has a way with words...

Walking Backwards

Dreaming?

2009-05-01T17:52:25Z

ninhursag was kind enough to provide me an invite to Dreamwidth. I doubt I will have much time to pursue it in the near future (the Dragons is coming! the Dragons is coming!), but I was curious and wanted to try it on for size. It looks familiar in many ways. I will have to take the time to poke around some more soon. I am riverbella there as well, so, if you want to "subscribe" or whatever. Actually, before I spend much time there, I should probably back up and do a master post to my fic. It's going on two years, now, and I'm not super prolific, but still...even I have a hard time finding things!