No tags writers were revealed so I can say that I wrote On Brooding Wings which is Frank/Mikey where Frank is a vegetarian vampire who's afraid to admit what he is and in the process makes himself sick. I have to admit, I really like how this turned out. Writing Frank/Mikey roomie days just feels so comfortable to me, and working out how to add a vampire to the mix was fun. Though I did end up debating warnings with themoononastick due to mentions of vomiting and an alluded to eating disorder.

It turns out shadowhive wrote for my prompt, which made me laugh as he's pretty much kept me in fic lately, which is pretty awesome. The story is also Frank/Mikey, with a very excellent Ray involved, and can be read here. I do recommend it.

In fact, I recommend the whole collection. I've just read all the stories today and there's not a bad one there. So a big thumbs up to everyone involved with the challenge.

In other news, our staycation came to a premature end as James came down with a cold, so our planned trip to Whitby today didn't happen, and tomorrow he's taking our nephew to the cinema. But, it's been a good week and we've done fun stuff so I can't be sad it's over. Plus, the weather is lovely so tomorrow while he's out I'm going to go start tidying the garden and wash down the greenhouse.

Also, my MiL came home yesterday. Whether she's ready I'm not 100% sure because after we picked her up and drove her home it took half an hour for her to get from the car into the house, which was a distance of all a few feet. But as it included two steps and her walker and wheelchair are wide ones that wouldn't fit down the passage/doors it took time and lots of rests. But, she is home, has adaptation put into place that should help, and hopefully will be much more comfortable regaining her strength in her own surroundings.

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Thank you to romantical for the birthday card, you're the best. And thank you to everyone who posted birthday wishes/emails after my last post. I still need to reply to everything, but they were all appreciated loads ♥

Life has been busy, on my actual birthday we met Corey in Newcastle for dinner, then went to see WarHorse at the theatre, and staging and production wise it was stunning. But somehow I didn't actually like it. I'm sitting here trying to find the words to explain why it didn't work for me, but can't. It was just one of those things where something fell flat.

We've been to Mog on the Tyne, which I enjoyed but as it's half term atm the cafe was packed to capacity so we didn't have the usual relaxing visit. We were going to go to Dog and Scone but have decided to wait until next week as that was packed when we walked past, too.

I've been to dinner with the sibs, James and Kay's new girlfriend. She remains lovely and fitted in with us beautifully.

I finished watching Umbrella Academy last night, and man, that last ep was something else. I loved it loads, and will probably have more thoughts at a later point. But briefly, yeah, I loved it, but not everything.

Fresia was at the vet's yesterday. Her ear has healed but we got a breakdown for the costs of her tooth op and it's over £600 so goodbye summer holiday, it was nice thinking about you.

James had bought me clothes for the rest of his presents. ( cut as I talk about body stuffCollapse )

Still haven't read any no tags or added more to my h/c bingo mini-challenge, which is a shame as it was going nicely. Maybe tonight I'll do both as I'm heading out for the morning soon, and then off to the hospital to see my MiL.

I've posted some photos of the last few days on my Insta if anyone is interested.

And with that quick catchup, I must get ready to go out.

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While I don't think she'll see it, happy birthday to my birthday twin doctor_jasely you're a a miss around these parts. And a happy birthday to a flist person's baby who turns one today. ♥ to them both.

turlough sent me the most adorable knitted owl and thank you to shadowhive for not only sending me a birthday card, which came today so perfectly on time, but wrote me the most incredible Mikey/Ryan story. They'll forever be my little rare pair that could, so to get that was such a lovely surpise and gift.

And thank you to the people who sent emails/messages and understanding how hard today will be ♥

James bought me cat shoes! You can see them, and the owl, behind ( hereCollapse )

I love them so much and can't believe that I'm wearing something that's so cute but also has heels, chunky ones sure, but still, heels. When they arrived I was also sent a 30% off my next buy from the shop, and I'm tempted by these puppy versions. They also have red or crushed velvet versions of the cat ones I have or black with a pink cat face. But I'm thinking the puppies would be a good buy with my birthday money.

I haven't opened James' other gifts yet as he's still in bed, but soon. This afternoon we're meeting up with Corey in Newcastle, then War Horse tonight. Hopefully, it won't be too sad, or if it is I'll have already got my tears out of my system.

Other things. A kink meme for Umbrella Academy is running here.

And the no tags stories have been revealed. I haven't read any yet but will asap.

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I'm up to episode 5 of Umbrella Academy and am still enjoying it loads. If you're also watching, or want to, or just interested there's a new comm theumbrellaacademy which looks pretty great.

I had an excellent time at my aunt's, including having a birthday cake where I got sang to and needed to blow out candles. I can't remember the last time I got to blow out candles, so that was fun. Two of my cousins were there and I was talking about my lymph appointment next week and due to location how I'd have to taxi to get there again, and my oldest cousin said she would drive me. I said thanks but no, because she lives half an hours drive away without adding on time to drive to the appointment, but it's good to know she made the offer and is there as an option in an emergency.

My aunt put on a birthday tea and as always we came home with leftovers, meaning no cooking last night, so, score for that.

I was supposed to be doing the tip run today and then going to visit my MiL but the cold that's been lurking for a while reared up a bit, and while I'm not actually ill as such I didn't think it was a good idea going to the hospital. I would have still helped at the tip but James got my BiL to go with him and help, so I've been able to stay home, potter, stay warm and alternate tea, lemsips and putting vaseline around my sore nose. James meanwhile has gone on a solo shopping trip before visiting starts, phoning up to ask my dress size, so goodness knows what he comes home with.

So now I'm going to read my flist, drink more tea, wait for no tags stories to be revealed, and then later, more UA. As Sundays go, it's a pretty good one.

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I'm heading off to my aunt's in about an hour, which suggests I should make an effort to get ready very soon.

Tomorrow we're doing a tip run for my SiL and PiLs, and will hopefully manage to get some of our old stuff out of the house too. Monday we're off to see Warhorse at the theatre, nothing yet on Tuesday but Wednesday is sibs dinner and catch up and taking Freesia back to the vet.

James has a week off from today as we'd planned to try and get away somewhere for a mini-break, but with vet and electrician bills I doubt that will happen now. But, I think either a visit to Mog on the Tyne or the dog cafe will happen sometime during the week, and no doubt many cinema visits.

Some quick good things. No tags has been uploaded and has an actual title, which is always a relief, and I'm looking forward to seeing the other stories. And last night I started to watch Umbrella Academy and am enjoying it lots.

Flist catch up later as I must get ready, I need to be leaving in 40 mins and am still sitting in my pjs.

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Happy Valentine's day, or belated galentine's day, or Thursday, take your pick.

The first thing I saw when I looked at Insta this morning was Mikey's photo of him and Gerard at the Umbrella Academy screening. Such a good way to start the day.

Other things, no tags is done and at beta, so that's another thing crossed off the list.

Yesterday the electrician came and checked the wires and sockets. I don't think I said but I had another socket burn out since the one behind the washer. He changed the socket and thinks the issue is I've been using the same socket to run both the washer and dishwasher at the same time. The wires themselves are designed to cope with that, but the extension sockets I'd been using weren't, which led to them burning out. Problem is, I only have the one socket behind the washer and nothing where the dishwasher is. At some point we intend redoing the kitchen and moving the fuse box, and when that happens we'll get more sockets installed, until then, it's either an extension for the dishwasher or making sure they're never on at the same time.

We've been to see my MiL at the hospital earlier, where she was crying because the doctor wants to send her home and she feels she's not ready to go home. James had a talk to the nurses who say they won't discharge her until the physio has practised getting up a step with her, but even so, I'm fully expecting a phone call tomorrow to say she's been discharged.

It's been a lovely sunny day, and I've managed to dry a wash on the line, but now I need to go and attempt to wash egg off my bedroom window as some idiots thought it would be fun to throw eggs at the house. If I can't reach I'll have to attempt to blast it with the hosepipe, because it looks horrible right now.

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No tags claim is done and done!

As always I worried that somehow I'd manage to claim un-anon, but I didn't and I have an excellent prompt. And what a lovely selection of prompts to choose from. So many Frank/Mikey choices.

I hope everyone else taking part got a prompt they love.

My h/c bingo mini challenge winterhawk is coming along nicely, too. But that'll be put aside for a week to get no tags done.

In conclusion. Writing \o/

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Thank you turlough for the birthday card and present. I haven't opened it yet, but am thrilled to have a surprise to open on the day.

romantical offered ficlets for more joy day and I asked for Clint and/or Bucky meeting MCR in her Warped MCU verse, and I've just read it and it's delightful!". If you enjoy those fandoms, go, read.

My beautiful old lady Freesia had to go to the vets yesterday. She's 18 and hasn't been for many, many years. She was so frightened going and I had to pin her to me to allow the vet to check her over. Turns out she's got an ulcer in her ear, so is on antibiotic drops and tablets for that. She has them twice a day and hasn't been shaking her head as much, so I'm hoping they're starting to kick in. She's also got bad teeth that will need removed via an operation. The vet said it's just an old age thing, but they will need doing, which means more money.

Stupidly we never insured any of our cats. We just didn't think at the time, especially as they're all house cats, and of course now it's too late as even our youngest is ten. The vet we go to is lovely, it's where we take Megan -- mam's cat -- so we have a good relationship with her and she allowed us to split paying the bill, and when Freesia goes in for her teeth we'll apply for the credit scheme as it'll be much more expensive. But, has to be done because we're not about to allow our cats to suffer because we didn't think ahead when we got them.

Anyway, have a photo of my ( Old ladyCollapse )

I had to go get my B12 injection on Tuesday, and the nurse surprised me with blood tests when I arrived. I knew I have to get them yearly via my doctor now, but was only discharged from the hospital in September, so didn't think they'd be due yet. Then, when I was in the vets the doctor called and said something went wrong with one of the vials so I have to go give more blood on Monday.

MiL is still in hospital, and apparently will be in for a fortnight or so. We've visited the last few days but James has told her when he's at work he just hasn't got the energy to visit on a night after doing a full 9 1/2 shift too. She's fine with that and he phones every day, so they'll keep in touch that way until Sunday.

We went to see Alita Battle Angel yesterday and I enjoyed it. Though as we saw it in IMax 3d the action scenes had me dizzy at times.

The day before we'd gone to see the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition that is at Sunderland for a while. I don't know, I was kind of underwhelmed. It was amazing to see paintings that were so old, but tbh, I didn't actually like any of them.

Talked to Corey and we're meeting up either Sunday or Monday for his birthday dinner. Kayleigh and her new girlfriend are going too, and I'll invite my brother, but I suspect he'll just wait for our sibs birthday dinner the next week. On Tuesday Corey's gf is taking him to Mog on the Tyne, and all I can say is, I like her style!

And now I must think of my prompt for no_tags.

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hc_bingo is running its Amnesty Mini-Challenge for February. In a fit of optimism, I told myself I'd join, and this time would get a bingo. And, as I'll be doing bandom for no_tags, would write winterhawk.

( card behind hereCollapse )

Ahahaha, omg. From a coffee shop meet-cute AU to what has the potential to be the most angsty thing ever.

The completed fill needs to be done by the 1st of next month. I can do this and no_tags in a month, right? weeps

ETA: Pen's post just reminded me. When I was at the theatre there was a man there who was the image of young Lance. Like, double take countless times look-alike. But a young Lance who had soft blue hair and really dark eyeliner. Just so ridiculously pretty.

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Tags: h-c bingo

Well, it's February, which means the first birthday cluster of the year is coming up soon, though the cluster is smaller now with only 3 within about 9 days, whereas before nanna and grandad died it was 5, with Valentine's day right in the middle of that.

But yeah, I know that a lot of people don't like Feb, but for me it's when the kidlet was born, so it's a great month.

We went to a Mexican fusion restaurant last night. It's opposite the theatre so is perfectly placed, and was a really cool place. But I do think their scale of what's hot or not is a bit skewed. James really can't take much spice, but was reassured that the tacos were mild, and they really weren't. They were delicious, but in no way were they mild. I had the chicken taco and James tried some seafood ones, including a soft shell crab, which looked really weird but he said was delicious.

Then we ended up at the theatre far too early as we thought it was a half seven start when in reality it started at eight. But we hung in the bar for a while and took some photos in the bed prop -- they're on my insta if you're interested, and eventually could go to our seats. We were in the stalls, aisle centre and had a great view, and I will never get over not having to worry about sitting next to a stranger and spilling into their space. I mean, it's not the roomiest of places but I still had room to move and get up and do the time warp with the rest of the audience.

It's been snowing on and off since last night and as usual, the roads are in chaos. This morning the little road that goes past my town was even mentioned on the national breakfast news because cars were getting stuck on the cut. It happens every year and you'd think the gritters and ploughs would be out before the first cars get stuck and block the road completely, but nope.

I got a comment from the person I wrote my Musketeers fandom stocking for. So that means I've had responses for them all and I can officially class FS as done and a success. Now bring on the next challenge.

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Rocky Horror was amazing, and I'd go and see it again in an instant.

A picture to ( sum it upCollapse )

The tour is at Newcastle later in the year. You know we're getting tickets, and will also be getting dressed up.

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My plans didn't go as expected the other day as my MiL is back in hospital again. We'd been to Costco and were just heading off to the cinema when James phoned his mam and she sounded really ill on the phone. He kept asking what was wrong and she just kept replying she didn't feel well but of course, despite only leaving hospital with double pneumonia a fortnight ago, she hadn't thought to call for help, either an ambulance or James or my SiL. In fact, it was James who phoned control and got someone to phone my MiL and they sent out an ambulance. Only a low category at first but when we got to my in-laws house James phoned back and escalated to a higher cat.

To cut a long story short, it turns out she has a really aggressive cellulitis infection in both legs which meant she couldn't mobilise at all and has been stuck on the couch for the last few days.

Good things from this. The ambulance people have referred my in-laws to adult social services who'll help get some adaptations in place in the house. And my in-laws finally admitted the main reason they have no heating is because they haven't been paying the gas bill so have been cut off. Apparently when the heating control went off their thought process was, why pay a standing charge if they weren't using the heating. So have had no hot water as well as heating for months. What's most frustrating is they've watched both James and his sister try to fix the control and then the boiler itself and said nothing.

I do think this has scared them both and my SiL is sorting out the bill and getting them reconnected while having adult social serves should help with getting the house suitable for their needs.

Meanwhile, James has taken a leave of absence from scouts. He loves it still but he just hasn't got the energy reserves to commit to being a leader atm. So this way he can take a step back but not lose his accreditation.

Better things. We're off to the theatre to watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show tonight. My SiL and niece have already been and said it's fantastic, so I'm really looking forward to going. We're heading out to eat first, so it should be a good night.

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It was a lovely sunny if cold, day today so we headed off to the beach to blow the cobwebs away and have a walk. It felt good to stretch my legs, and after walking the prom together I let James wander back himself while I walked on the sand and dodged the waves a bit. It was so beautiful, sunny and crisp with the sun low in the sky.

After we went to the independent coffee shop we like on the beach front, then did a bit shopping before heading home.

Tomorrow I'm going to the vets with Kayleigh and mam's cat, then to the cinema on the afternoon with James. The weather is supposed to turn overnight to snow/sleet, so it looks like getting out today was good timing.

The washer is working again. It was the socket that was the problem when I looked properly I could see it had blown and damaged the plug, so that needed replacing but once that was done the washer worked fine. Which was a huge relief. Right now I'm using an extension to another socket because no way am I using the one behind the washer again. It's on an outside wall, just along from the outside tap and I wonder if water from that is leaking somehow as the washer stopped working after I'd been using the outside tap to clean the litter trays. It shouldn't cause problems like that, but obviously, something is, so I intend to get an electrician out to check things over asap.

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Meeting Kayleigh's new girlfriend went really well. She's lovely and was apparently nervous about meeting me too, which was unexpected to hear. I also had a chat to Kayleigh about various things, and she really does seem more settled in herself, so that's a good thing.

Came home, put on a wash and the washer stopped in the middle of the cycle. Thankfully the door opened so I was able to get the soaking clothes out and scooped out the water. After I managed to pull out the washer I saw that it looks like the socket has blown again as the plug has stuff all over the prongs. So, I'm hoping when I use a different socket and change the fuse tomorrow the washer itself will be fine.

shadowhive has posted a very lovely Mikey and Ryan ficlet for me right here. When I realised what he'd done I had to grin. Mikey/Ryan, my rare pair that could.

Bath and book time for me now, though. Then I think I'm going to try out Titans on Netflix.

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I've been on a flist catch up and it's been a very happy one with the no tags news and The Umbrella Academy trailer and Gerard's Hazy Shade of Winter song. I'm not linking as I suspect every one interested will have seen by now. But, happiness!

We went to see Glass yesterday. I haven't seen either of the two films that came previous to it, but it was entertaining enough. We had planned to go the day before but my MiL is ill again. With cellulitis, this time, which she knew was coming on days previously, said her leg was hurting but insisted she was fine until she couldn't actually stand up and agreed to call the doctor while packing up her stuff as she was sure she was going to end up in hospital again. Which she didn't, but why leave it that late? I really don't get it. Also, her GP is an idiot. We spent the afternoon at hers waiting for the GP to phone, when he did he prescribed antibiotics and said he may visit but may not as it's so hard to get parking outside her house. In the end he did turn up and was in all of a minute or so, and while there said she shouldn't run her electric heater as it's bad for her leg. And the damp is bad for her chest. Idiot.

We also saw Corey yesterday as he had a letter that needed dropping off. We chatted for a while and he seems so much happier than he was at the end of last year. Sleeping better and just better in general.

I'm going to Kayleigh's to meet her new girlfriend tomorrow. She told me she was dating again last week, and I'm happy for her as she said for the first time in months she wanted to smile again. But, I still feel bad about Shauna who still talks to me via FM messenger and is still heartbroken and doesn't know Kay is dating someone else. Plus, Kay actually said she wanted us to meet and gah, someone new and important in my sister's life. I need to make a good impression. Yikes.

At my latest trip to Company they were selling off live vac-packed oysters in the corner of wonder. Seriously, that corner is amazing, all the random oddments that end up marked way down as no one knows what to do with them I suspect. They were only £2 but I have no idea what to do with oysters. I've never tried them, have no desire to try them and don't understand how they can be alive.

However, the pre-cooked potatoes I bought were portioned up, frozen, and make excellent mash when defrosted, mashed and seasoned. So potatoes, yes. Vac-packed oysters, no.

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I've just spent most of the afternoon finishing Shut Up and Drive by Trojie and uglowian.

It's really long and I actually started reading it a while back but then had a computer swap and lost my tabs, but today I got back into it and couldn't stop reading.

It's bandom, MCR and FOB and don't worry if you're not into cars or street racing as I'm not and that didn't affect my enjoyment at all.

Every person in the story was perfect, my heart ached for them all, especially Mikey and Pete and Patrick. And Andy, he was so good, and just everything about the story was great. I was speed reading like a demon near the end needing to know what happened.

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I had a very lovely day yesterday. Reading stocking fills, pottering around the house and answering comments.

Then when I went to bed I was checking Insta -- as I usually do -- and saw JC had posted pictures of carrots and knew I'd have to discuss that with solariana today. If you don't know what I'm on about, there's a new show in the US that has masked and costumed celeb singers one of whom is either Joey or JC from Nsync. Jacie's been doing a wonderful job of keeping us in the loop with what's happening, and I've been enjoying the theories of who rabbit actually is. Now the question is, is it JC or is it a double bluff!?

Now the icon meme, these were picked by shadowhive who had the choice of about 70% Mikey and the rest others. Which suggests I really need to update my icons already.



I like owls, not for any real concrete reasons. I just like them, especially how they portrayed in graphic form, like they're so wise and usually cranky with it. I like how they always seem to be looking at you and finding you lacking. Really, they're cats in feathered form. They're also really powerful, something I realised when I got to hold one last year. The icon was made by turlough like many of my icons because she's great at them.



This icon has such great memories and is tied to when MCR first started to tour again. It had been a long time without seeing them, and I remember searching for photos of that first show and then suddenly, there they were, and omg, they looked good. I'd known that Mikey had changed his hairstyle, but actually seeing him perform with that blond flippy hair and that animal print top that never came off his back and just.... GAH! I can remember posting those pics really late -- for me anyway, and everyone flailing, so of course, I needed an icon to remind me of that. I've actually just gone looking for that post, which was easier than I expected as I don't tend to use subjects so this one stood out. So if you too want to bask in memories, it's here.



As soon as I saw this I knew it was appropriate for me and my h/c love. With not writing as much that may not be that apparent to new people, but I do love h/c and back when I used to write stories with some length to them I used to love being mean to the characters. I always laugh when I think of When Day.... because poor Brendon. The thing that boy went through. But it's what I love to write, and the icon really sums that up.

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The fandom stocking A03 stories have been revealed, so I can say I wrote fills for Bandom, The Good Place, The Musketeers and MCU, which are behind the cut due to length ( Details behind hereCollapse )

I actually planned to write a fill for Sperrywink pretty much as soon as I saw her stocking, and after seeing her prompts decided it was the perfect time to dip my toes into MCU. But at the same time I was so nervous about doing so, because even if winterhawk isn't one of the big ships, the fandom itself is huge and it felt very intimidating to throw my effort out there. Which is where lucifuge5 came in. I reached out and asked if she'd beta, and she said yes and did an amazing, detailed job on top of discussing characterisation with me and reassuring that I wouldn't be laughed at for this first effort. So, huge thanks again, Luce. You were a lifesaver.

The bandom fill was like pulling on a pair of old comfy slippers, reminding me what I'd been missing while I wasn't writing at all. While The Musketeers fill was just me having fun and imagining them in a modern big city at Christmas setting.

The Good Place was the other fandom I hadn't written before. I'd just marathoned the show, and it was good to try and capture the feel of the programme and the voice of the characters. I liked the end result, and so did the person I wrote for, so I'm calling it a success.

In fact I'm calling fandom stocking as a whole a success. Maybe I'll even hang my own stocking if it runs again.

Finally, thank you to sperrywink for the encouragement to join in, and for checking over three fills. You're awesome ♥

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I'd hoped to post for the whole of the month, but it wasn't to be.

Oh well, in the last few days we've been out and about. James had his back check-up and it was the fastest ever. Seriously, we literally sat down in the room, shook hands, the surgeon asked if the procedure had helped the pain. James said yes, surgeon said great, get in touch in the future if it needs redoing, and that was it. We were out of there in a couple of minutes. After nearly an hour wait to go in of course. Not that it was an issue as we had a good talk with one of the nurses we know there. Though sadly James found out his childhood surgeon who he really liked and respected had died last year.

The day before we'd gone to see The Upside, which was good. I liked it but James thinks it's one of the funniest films he's seen and he really loved it a lot. We were talking to one of the staff on the way out and he was saying it hadn't been getting good reviews and they had a discussion about if it was one of those things that if you weren't disabled yourself it could feel uncomfortable laughing at the jokes. Whatever it is, I did think it deserved more than the one-star reviews it was getting.

The temperature has dropped significantly, so it feels more like winter. We even had a dusting of snow but it hasn't stuck around. The new car is fab but we need to rig a string up so James can reach the boot to close it. I did have a moment when it hit neither mam or nanna would ever see or drive in it, but I guess those moments will always be lurking.

We also went to Company Store yesterday -- and that place remains my new favourite. Two visits ago they were giving away packs of bagels, last visit selling cartons of good brand juice for 3p each. Yesterday was mostly excess Christmas stock and they must have had a delivery from catering companies as I now have a 5kg bag of already cooked potatoes which cost £1. I see a lot of mash in our futures.

Fandom snowflake goes live today and I'm a bit nervous. I wrote four fills -- which is nothing compared to Sperrywink, who was amazing, but I'm still pleased. Two of them are brand new for writing fandoms for me. Two I've written before. So now it's just sitting and hoping they'll be liked.

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Every three years you get to swap your motability car for a new one, and today we said goodbye to Jaffa and hello to ( Bette ClemCollapse )

She was only going to be called Clem, but when we saw her reg plate she had to have a double name. It's the newer model of Jaffa, so pretty much the same inside, though the little glove box is gone where I used to keep my phone. But she still has heated seats, which really, is the most important thing -- apart from you know, drivey stuff like a good engine and power steering etc, but mostly, heated seats.

As it took a while to do the swap over, I haven't done much else today. But did call into Asda for cat food and came out with two new sets of bedding from the sale. Dinosaurs and geisha cats. Only £3:50 a set. So, score.

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winterlover has created and posted a double drabble that follows on from my roadside attraction double drabble. What a huge compliment, and also, what a fantastic read that fits with my offering perfectly! Go check it out here.

And now, the final Snowflake challenge. I'm going to miss them.


Day 15

Talk about why you participated in Snowflake &/or what you got out of it. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I've taken part in Snowflake since the start, and every year brings new, amazing things.

Timing wise it's perfect, as you step away from the old year and into the new. And it's nice to start that new year with fun things to do. I love the sense of community, and the fact the challenge is so non-demanding. It doesn't matter if you do one challenge or all of them, you're still part of Snowflake. I love getting to know new people, some of whom I only see around Snowflake time, others who stay and become friends.

Personally, it's helped maintain my creativity, and that feels so fantastic. Now I'm doing it again I'm reminded how much I enjoy writing.

Highlights were the recs posts because it allowed me to go out and check new fandoms and it's so great to see people proud of what they create.

I'm going to miss the challenges, but I know Snowflake will be back. So, thank you to the mods for being so amazing, and to everyone that stops by with a comment. Here's to next year when we may meet again -- unless you're on my flist, and then, sorry. Not going anywhere.

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Today I've written and posted a fandom stocking, and finished all the drabbles from a few days ago. Most of which became double drabbles because hello, more words. It was fun doing them, and they're linked below.

For eglantiere Ryan/Spencer and Cats
For shadowhive Ray and his hips
For wenchpixie Mikey and Frank and bubbles
For turlough Gerard and spaceships
For teigh_corvus Mikey/Frank and Another roadside attraction
For frausorge Mikey/Pete New shoes.

Thank you to everyone that left a prompt.


Day 14

In your own space, talk about what you think the future holds for fandom. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Honestly, I'm not sure and have no thinky answers.

When I started in fandom it was all Yahoo mailing lists, webrings, personal sites and huge online archives where you sent LoCs via email. Then it moved to LJ and personal journals and communities, and then to Dreamwidth. And that's where I stayed, I know a lot of people went to tumblr, but it was never a platform that suited me, so I stuck around here, and have been thrilled to see so many come back.

Will everyone stay? Probably not, but whatever happens, fans will find some way to come together. That may not involve me but fandom always finds a way somehow, and whatever happens and whereever the fans may be. I hope they have as much fun as I've had already.

Also posted at Dreamwidth. Reply where you wish.

Day 11

In your own space, talk about your creative process(es) — anything from the initial inspiration to how you feel after something’s done. Do you struggle with motivation or is it a smooth process? Do you have any tricks up your sleeve to pull out when a fanwork isn’t cooperating? What is your level of planning to pantsing/winging it? Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I've talked about this before, but honestly, I haven't much to tell. While I love to hear about people who have muses I don't. I also don't do anything special when I write. I just sit down and do it. I don't tend to plan anything out, just get an idea and keep writing, from beginning to end, telling the story in my head until its done. The only times I have planned something out is when I'm writing for a challenge and have a time crunch, then I need to force myself to plan ahead so I know what needs to be done.

If a story stops cooperating I stop writing it. My Gdocs is a story graveyard. Except when it's for a challenge, in that case my friends tend to get emails where I talk about my frustrations and often that gets the words going again.

I always try to get things beta read because even after many many years of writing, Britishisms can still appear. I can also be a lazy writer in terms of endings, something my long-standing bandom beta is aware of and will pull me on. Thing is, most of the time I know more scenes are needed, but try to convince myself that they're not really, and hope my beta will agree -- she never does. Though I have got better since my h/c bandom challenge story where I stopped horrendously early and had a load of h and no c at all.

I also can't write with distractions around me. Background radio or tv sure, as long as it's turned down. But I could never write in a coffee shop or with anyone else around. I need the quiet to concentrate and to focus on the words in my head.


Day 12

In your own space, create your own challenge. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Yesterday I mentioned how a compliment made me feel good. So go compliment someone. Online or off. Leave a comment or kudos, tell someone you like what they're wearing/doing. Anything really. Just something that says, hey, what you're doing is great.


Day 13

In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I said this last year, but I want to ride a roller-coaster. I did lots of new things in 2018, including going on a fairground ride, but never actually got to a theme park that had a roller-coaster. So yeah, that.

To sign up for driving lessons already. Honestly, the thought of driving gives me the fear. But I have my provisional licence now. I have my L plates and have driven our car in a private area. Just I haven't actually signed for lessons as I know once I do that I'm committed, and the thought of being on the road is terrifying.

This is a new one. I'd like to try going in a canoe. I may hate it, and I get cold really easily so would probably freeze. But I'd like to try. I'm not even sure why. Maybe when we go on holiday in the summer I can try then.

Fannish wise. Keep writing, and write something longer. Take part in more challenges, no_tags when it runs, and anything else that catches my eye.

Now I need to get ready to go to my aunts soon. So, a quick read of a tab and I'll have to go.

Also posted at Dreamwidth. Reply where you wish.

My MiL got out of hospital today. They found out she'd had double pneumonia and also has sleep apnoea so has been sent home with a machine and mask she needs to wear at night. She's much better in herself, but physically is still really weak and gets breathless easily. It was a hard job getting her into the car, but we got her home eventually and hopefully, she'll start to regain some energy.

We have a new washer. After a tip on here we checked for second-hand parts to fix the problem, but in the end, a new drum was as much as the cost to buy a second-hand washer which comes with a guarantee. It's black and smart looking, and cost a fraction of a new one. Plus, the man delivered and fit it for free and also took away the old one. I've already done one wash and it was lovely not to have to mop up a leak during and after.

We're getting our new car on Wednesday. The adaptations are getting done this weekend and we could have had it on Monday but James is at work the next three days, so Wednesday it is.

I'm off to my aunt's tomorrow with Kayleigh. So no cooking tomorrow as she always cooks for the five thousand and sends us home with leftovers.

Yesterday we went to see The Favourite. I'd read it was a comedy, but it really wasn't. However, I did enjoy it a lot. Plus, one of my favourite cinema guys from Metrocenter was filling it at Silverlink for a couple of weeks, so I got to chat to him. He's ridiculously good looking in a beardy hipster sort of way, half my age and always compliments me saying I'm looking good. And really, I'll take that. We also got free passes to go to another screening of any movie in the future. I assume because the sound was off during the adverts at the beginning, which really doesn't seem a big deal to me, but maybe someone complained. Anyway, as we've got the unlimited cards I'll be giving the passes to Kayleigh tomorrow.

I'll also catch up on Snowflake stuff tomorrow as apart from going to my aunts I have nothing planned all day.

Also posted at Dreamwidth. Reply where you wish.

Welcome to the Darker Side (6339 words) by turps
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Gerard Way/Mikey Way
Characters: Mikey Way, Gerard Way, Ray Toro, Frank Iero, Bob Bryar
Additional Tags: Sibling Incest
Summary:

Ray watches and wants.

bandom_holidays have been revealed so I can say I wrote the above.

I was writing for shadowhive who was a relatively new friend at the time I got the assignment, but I'd quickly realised he leaves fantastic comments and is such a lovely flist friend that I really wanted to do something that he'd enjoy.

After a flurry of emails with Sperrywink, I nailed down an idea of Ray watching and wanting the Way bros and trying to decide if they were physically together or just doing their usual Way too-close-for-comfort thing. Then finds out the answer at the end.

I had fun writing this, I mean, it was all band, on the bus, the Ways being gross. All things I love writing. And after a year of writing nothing, it was nice to know I could still string words together.

Thanks go to themoononastick my faithful bandom beta who always agrees to help despite not journalling for a long time. And to akamine_chan who held together a challenge that was filled with people from various platforms. I can't even imagine how hard that must have been.

And finally, thank you to Shadowhive for my story, Better Than Him, which I very much enjoyed.

Also posted at Dreamwidth. Reply where you wish.