Ganked from luninosity Here...
( My desk has... )

What's on YOUR desk right now, flist?

I did not think there could be anything better than Bomer on Glee...( and then I saw this )

Don't call me an inspiration. Inspiration carries a kind of responsibility with it, as if I'm living for the purpose of making you feel something. I'm not. I'm just...living.

The following video embodies this truth.

( If there's a wall, I'm gonna climb it. If there's a river, I'm gonna canoe down it )

Title: 'Tis The Season
Characters: Vicki Nelson, Henry Fitzroy
Rating: FRE
Spoilers: Blood Ties TV Series, Blood books by Tanya Huff
Summary: After the events of the TV series and the books, Vicki and Henry find an unusual way to visit one another - a yearly house swap.

( Toronto, January 2015 )

Well, here we are again, and again I haven’t posted enough fic to fill in a fic meme. Instead I’ve decided to post some notes about my progress, complete with quotes from my 2011 post like this one.

( Progress, Thoughts, and Goals: )

What about you, darling flist? How did you progress in 2011?

Happy 2012, everyone! Here's hoping the new year brings good things for everyone! Here's This Year's Master List:

( MEL'S FIC MASTER LIST )

Dear Yule Goat,

Thank you so much for writing fic for me! I am so grateful you've decided to take on this challenge, and excited to discover whatever you create.

I am going to get into the details in a minute, but before I do, I just want to say: Have fun with this! Whatever bunnies or other ideas I suggest, it's not important that you make yourself write what you think I want if it doesn't inspire you. I absolutely revel in good porn, but I am a story girl at heart; whatever story you are inspired to tell will be welcome.

As you read these thoughts, feel free to pick one rather than trying to integrate them all. Even though I have chosen specific characters, do feel free to add other characters from the same fandom if you like. I love so many of them, and seeing them show up in my fic ( will be like getting to see old friends. )

Whatever you choose to write, thank you in advance for my very own Yuletide yumminess! I hope you have as much fun writing it as I will have reading it.

Love and candycanes,

<3 Mel

"She lay there a long time, remembering a hot August day in Nashville and thinking—not for the first time—that being single after being double so long was strange shite, indeed. She would have thought two years was enough time for the strangeness to rub off, but it wasn't; time apparently did nothing but blunt grief's sharpest edge so that it hacked rather than sliced. Because everything was not the same. Not outside, not inside, not for her."

~ Stephen King, Lisey's Story

I remember, when my grief was still as cruel as a dull blade, that telling stories of the one I loved and lost was a balm.

( So, here's a story: )

Dear flist, tell me a story! If it feels as healing to you as it does me, introduce me to someone you love and miss.

Title: Miracles Do Not, in Fact, Break the Laws of Nature
Rating: PG/FRT
Warnings: Mention of murder
Disclaimer: I'm making no money, just a fan having fun.

( Of course he'd tried to move silver and gold, early on. )

For I was mighty and virtuous today, and slayed the dragons of taxes and college transcripts! It was a long, stressful day.

Thankfully, the universe sees fit to reward me richly indeed.

I won a copy of Deathless!

That's right, friends, I won a copy of yuki_onna's latest brainchild!

Koschei the Deathless is to Russian folklore what devils or wicked witches are to European culture: a menacing, evil figure; the villain of countless stories which have been passed on through story and text for generations. But Koschei has never before been seen through the eyes of Catherynne Valente, whose modernized and transformed take on the legend brings the action to modern times, spanning many of the great developments of Russian history in the twentieth century.

You can read more about the book at Goodreads including my eventual review. (consider signing up while you're there? It's a reader's social networking heaven. More than a little awesome.)

Thanks, Universe, I really needed that today. /Collapses, to sleep like a pile of played-out puppies./

(Borrowed from emmademarais)

For those who dislike the negativity behind the pranks on April Fools Day, I figured it's time for an alternative.

For this April 1st meme, list five hard to believe yet absolutely true things about you, your life or people you know - no joking, no kidding, no takebacks. Everything on the list has to be true: today and yesterday and tomorrow.

1. When I was born I weighed just over two pounds. My dad's hanky was my first diaper, since Pampers didn't come that small in those days.

2. In 3rd grade I won a costume contest for dressing as Martha Washington. I adored my beautiful dress with the poufy crinolined skirt and bodice that laced up the front, but a boy in my class said my silver-hairsprayed updo and eyeliner beauty-mark made me look like a grandmother. I hit him over the head with my crutch, and got hauled to the principal's office.

3. A few years later I went up to a singer-songwriter between sets in a fancy restaurant, and told him I envied his job. He invited me to join him for the next set, so I did.

4. As a teen I appeared on a local news story with my boyfriend, riding a charter boat the reporter dubbed "The Love Boat" because of us. It didn't occur to me to be embarrassed about this until I saw the story on TV.

5. The FBI once interrogated my 5 year old daughter without my permission. The issue at hand was supposed bootleg Disney movies reported by a parent from her daycare class.

Holy Guuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh....

I will be watching Lifetime (with absolutely no shame--just look at the man!) on Monday March 7 at 8pm. The movie is called "He Loves Me" and stars ♥Max Martini and Heather Locklear.

The Sugar! Oy. Somebody take this bag of conversation hearts away from me before I regret it. /Twitches/

Thankfully, I'll have a fantastic V-day antidote for all of us soon: Fic!

Come one, come all, post your down and dirty anti-Valentine fanworks in the comments and watch the list of goodies grow!

Fic:

The Bet by penguingal (White Collar, NC-17, Neal/Peter, apparent non-con)
drabbles by isabeau (White Collar, Numb3rs and Merlin, Deathfic)
How It Used To Be by emmademarais (White Collar, PG-13, Peter/Elizabeth Peter/Neal)

Seven Deadly Sins Meme (stolen from browngirl)

( Day 1: Pride - Seven great things about yourself. )

Come play with us here! Wheee!

Vladimir Nabokov's amateur work on butterfly evolution was just verified after being ignored for more than 60 years.

Wow. I'm studying evolution in an anthropology class right now, and this story has me fascinated. But rather than research butterflies, I want to research the non-literary obsessions of novelists.

Anemic? Female? Sexism May Be Endangering Your Health (hat tip:Liz Henry)

Wow. This is just...scary. I know what I'll be checking on as soon as I get some health insurance up in here...

Colorado Springs school bans kid who takes THC lozenges for neuro condition from attending because of "internal possession" (hat tip: Boingboing.net)

Keep in mind, the lozenges were prescribed by a physician to control seizures. They are citing a "zero tolerance" policy for marijuana posession, even though the drug is administered at home. The stupid...it burns...