I'll Laugh My Whole Way Through the Hurricanes and Fire

HOLY CRAP SO BUSY!

I got next to none of the cleaning I wanted to get done yesterday. But that's okay, it's only Tuesday! Instead I read a couple hundred more pages of Under the Dome - and still cannot decide if I like it or not! - and introduced nijawial to Urusei Yatsura. I picked up the first two discs at Sabo, in the '3 for ten DVD bin'. Yes, yes, I know it's terribly un-PC and sexist, but it's also almost 30 years old.

So, I actually have been taking a break from my serious projects to dabble in some VB fic. It's eaten my soul, what can I say? Anyway, I didn't bother posting either to my LJ, but I realized I had some VB friends who were not a part of venture_fandom, so...

Not Your Backdoor Man : Hank/Dermott, R, Lots of crude language. Dermott has an idea. Hank doesn't think it's a good one. At all. But anatomical facts don't seem to sway Dermott any....

And this I wrote for the wonderful cartoon_antics! We did a little fic/art trade and she asked for something with Hank and Dermott sneaking out on a date.

A Date in the Life: Hank/Dermott, PG-13, crude language. When Hank and Dermott sneak off the compound to go to the mall, Hank doesn't think there's a chance in hell that anyone could catch them....

Both have full series spoilers!

And cartoon_antics drew me this adorable picture! Lip Glossary/Goat Blood Sacrifice (I am of the mind that they should just call their band 'Batman' and be done with it...;D)

My sister's coming over today. I'm in the middle of trying to catch up on epic amounts of cleaning. And it's grocery shopping day. I'm...going to be insanely busy today. And probably through the week.

I'm paying for it today, but holy crap am I glad I stayed up for Venture Bros last night.

I can't even articulate my squee. That was, hands down, Dean's Crowning Episode of Awesome. I know that Hank has become my favorite Venture, but that doesn't meant I don't still love Dean. I practically clapped when he stood up in the lab and proved he's got that Venture Steel, too.

Plus, mad as I am at Rusty for being a fail!dad to one of his sons, I really liked seeing him and Dean bond.

I still want to sell my soul to the Sovereign, but I've wanted to do that since I was in middle school.

( And Now, Spoilers )

Of course, last night's episode did retcon my entire epic novel length fic, but as I'd probably never finish it anyway, that's probably okay. I should post the bits I've got done one of these days. I think there's five whole independent stories finished....

I can't believe next weekend is the season finale of Titan Maximum already. And Metalocalypse never fails to be awesome. Only Dethklok could get away with being their own cover band. They're like the Stephen King of the musical world....

I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO TODAY!

I crashed early and hard last night! And since today is Sunday, I actually slept in a little. I woke up at seven, but I dozed for another two hours or so.

We watched The Orphan yesterday. Holy shit, good movie. Intense and disturbing and heart wrenching, but such a good movie. It had me in tears at a few points. And the big twist? Beautifully done, and seriously does explain everything. I like that in my horror.

So, since it's Sunday (also known as Venture Day!) I've been browsing VB forums. And I was surprised to discover an apparently popular theory regarding Dermott. One I can't get behind at all.

( And Here's Why )

Clearly, I've put way too much thought into this. Then again, I've also put way too much thought into why I don't think I can ever write Hank and Dermott actually having buttsex, as Dermott would so eloquently put it.

New Venture Bros tonight! (Also Titan Maximum and Metalocalypse, but I have no big theory discussions to write on either of those. :D)

You know, the thing I miss most about a paid LJ is not the icons, or the customability...it's being able to un-collapse comment threads. The Venture Bros kink meme has reached close to 70 comments and it's a pain having to open a new link to read comment threads.

That being said: The Venture Bros kink meme has reached nearly 70 comments! It apparently picked up once season 4 started. Not surprising. I've actually been filling some requests! I started one a few hours ago, and it's now four pages long. Apparently my brain had a nice rest.

I'm just sad there isn't more Hank/Dermott. I love this pairing. For Christmas, I hope Fandom Santa provides a glut of fic and art. Or just...more than the two fics and handful of sketches that exist. Of course, I also want a glut of Bert/Al stuff. Apparently I've gone back to that epic love of dumb teenage boy slash. Best friend slash, specifically.

I really wasn't planning on getting involved in any fandoms again, but damnit, Venture Bros is too awesome and speaks to me too greatly to not get bunnied.

It's raining today. I think I shall write porn, play Lost Odyssey, and read more Under the Dome. And possibly take a bath.

I've been eaten recently by 'Under the Dome', the latest novel from Mr. Stephen King, my favorite author and personal hero. I'm about three hundred pages in, give or take, and so far...

I'm not sure what to think. I've been really excited for this book. Another epic, one with scope and twists and novelty on par with The Stand. I'm guessing this happens sometime after the point I've read to. Because, being perfectly honest, there's nothing new here so far. I'm not saying that this is a bad book. It's well written, intriguing, and I definitely intend to keep reading.

But it's nothing I haven't read before. Rather than liken 'Under the Dome' to 'The Stand', I'm put in mind more of 'Tommyknockers' or 'Insomnia' or 'Needful Things'. It's the same set up, the same driving forces under the main plot (secret evil of small New England towns), and even a lot of the same characters with different names and slightly different situations. It's kind of like...if 'Insomnia' and 'Needful Things' were a same-sex partnership that used donations from The Mist and Tommyknockers to have a baby. That baby would be 'Under the Dome'.

Now, I do like Mr. King's deconstructions of small town New England life. Because oftentimes, he remarkably on the mark. And I enjoy seeing shades of the same characters, and being able to read a bit and think 'aha, that is a bona fide King archtype right there!'. But I passed on buying 'Just After Sunset' because of those same issues. There's clearly a huge difference between skipping on an anthology of short stories I feel like I've read before and a 1,000+ page novel - I expect to see some new and interesting things in Dome, rest assured! - but still.

I know for a fact that we can move away from the whole 'small New England town, real faces of mundane evil'. Look at 'The Shining', 'Desperation', 'The Dark Tower', 'The Stand'.... Ah well.

I'm still enjoying Dome. It really does hook you, and I cannot stress enough the way the book grabs you and makes you want to keep reading to find out what's going on. And who survives, of course.

And hey, it's something to keep me going until book number...er... 4 1/2? 4.5? What number do we use to denote a book taking place betwen books4 and 5? Whatever. The next Dark Tower book.

So, since it's Sunday...

Who's been watching the new season of Venture Bros? And who else thinks it's the best freaking season ever? And who else is developing a huge crush on attempting-to-be-a-bad-ass!Hank? Seriously, though, I'm head over heels in love with the new season. They've really hit their storytelling groove, and character development is running rampant. Gah, the boys! Gah, Srg. Hatred! Gah, Hunter!

Speaking of, we met a Dr. Venture cosplayer at Sabo. :D

Yesterday we ran errands - I got the box set of Tactics, yay! - and briefly stopped by a Retro Nintendo game tournament that Sasuke was in. Then we watched some anime, Sasuke and I hit the shed, and we devoured this anime called Nabari, which we found at Hastings for like two dollars. I don't know if it's actually a yaoi or not, but it should be! Long live the epic love saga of Midget and Hat Guy!

I'm also ridiculously excited about the season three premiere of Metalocalypse tonight. Half hour episodes! The fate of Charles! And of course, Titan Maxium to kick things off.

Yeah, I watch a lot of Adult Swim these days. And a lot of Cartoon Network. They've started showing older cartoons again, lots of Scooby Doo and Bugs Bunny. We're watching Scooby Doo right now. :D

And the steamed buns came out delicious. :D

And I've made my big friends cut! If there was a mistake and I cut you by accident, please speak up! I just defriended dead journals and journals that defriended me. But I'll be honest, there were a lot of journals that defriended me, so if I lost track of what I was clicking...sorry! :( No one who asked to stay was cut! And thank you very much to those who still want to stick around.

It's been a week since Sabo-con! Despite the hotel (Mesa Hilton) being full of idiots and having a room snafu, it was a nice weekend. I did my Eileen Galvin cosplay for the last time on Halloween. I love it, but the makeup is too extensive and too difficult for me to manage it any longer. I went to a few good panels, got the autograph I wanted (and thensome!) and bought some nice stuff. A few doujinshi, a Trinity Blood keychain, some candy, some art...nothing big. I did grab some classic anime, and the first DVD of Mythical Detective Loki, though. We've all been enjoying Tactics over here so much, I figured why not.

We're already planning for Con-Ichiwa in March. Go go group cosplay!

Other things that have happened to me...I went camping last month, which was an amazing experience. I went with my hippie friends to the Verde Valley natural hot springs. The springs are a mile away from camp, across a river that needs be forded. It was an adventure!

I watched a lot of horror movies through October. Good and bad, American, Asian and European. Still didn't hit 100 in 31 days, but it's the journey that's fun!

Re-decorated the shed, made new friends, applied for a fuckton of jobs, baked, despaired when our oven broke (it's better now!) and pretty much I've just been living my life.

Now I need to redo my icons - which shouldn't take much, since I only get 15 now - and my LJ and look into renaming tokens. :D

I had the most terrifying dream of my life last night. It was vivid, clear and coherent (for the most part). I'm honestly still shaking from it, and I stayed in bed with the covers over my head for more than an hour after waking up. I'm still afraid to have my legs hanging down off the couch, for fear something will grab me. Even in the sunny, warm, cheerful morning.

On the plus side, there's a story in that dream. I frantically Tweeted the important details in a jumble of disjointed bits, but there's a story in there. A damn good one, I think. I just need to hammer it out. And if it terrified me, I think there can be no doubt that it's properly frightening.

I was warned that Kava promotes extremely vivid and strange dreams, but so far the only thing I'd noticed was that my dreams were much more directly related to daily events. Such as: I read about the Bodyline half off sale, then dream Bodyline opens a store in the local mall and has a half off sale. I see that Mac commercial with Patrick Warburton and then dream (twice now) that he is my knight of some sort and opens Secret of Mana style treasure chests for me so I don't need to deal with the booby traps.

I don't know where last night's dream came from, other than the twisted depths of my own dark psyche. And the worst part was I'd come awake, scared, and then go back to sleep only to have the dream pick right back up from where it had left off. This continued for three rounds until I forced myself to just not fall asleep again.

It's kind of nice to know I'm still capable of scaring myself shitless.

My computer just ate a very, very important file that I've been working on for...well...weeks now.

I don't even know what happened. OpenOffice crashed, and I rebooted and it said it had a file to recover, which I assumed meant it had saved at least a little beyond my last save. But it brought up a blank document, and when I attempted to open the file (which was saved) I got an error message. O.o

I'm trying very, very hard not to fly into a rage or start crying. For those who know, yes, it was indeed the monster revision file. I'm hoping I can get it to open in Notepad or something. If not...yay, starting the whole thing over.

Now I'm really glad I splurged and treated myself yesterday. I ordered this dress during the half off sale.

Went grocery shopping this morning. I brought my library tote bag, and bought two of the Fry's bags as they were on sale for 99 cents. All groceries fit into those three bags, hurrah! Got a lot of healthy and organic food. And some more soy milk, because it's not bad and much better for my tummy. Though I cannot put off doing the cupboard any longer. I...dread this task. It is epic and monumental. Moreso even than scrubbing the tub or cleaning out the fridge.

Wish me luck, my friends. On...um...everything. *headdesks*

And in other news!

Had a kind of quiet Sunday yesterday. We watched the mini-series version of the Shining, which took pretty much all evening and well into the night. And finished it up just in time to catch Into The Wild Green Yonder - which I assume will be the last 'movie' before the new episodes run.

I really do adore this version of The Shining. Not just because it was scripted by King himself, but the casting was so well done. Steven Weber and Rebecca De Mornay are just awesome actors, and they played so well off of each other. And Weber really portrayed Jack Torrence's struggle beautifully.

Speaking of Stephen King...I've discovered that I do have to get each individual comic issue of The Dark Tower. Why? Because the written stories and legends from the back of each issue aren't included in the trades. I almost ended up buying totally out of order, just to get the giant essay on The Role of Women in In-World in the back of one of the Treachery issues. But I was good and picked up the first issue of The Long Road Home. Is it just me, or do the artists take any excuse they can get to show Roland shirtless?

I also got my hands on kava tea, finally. Oh man, that stuff is amazing. I slept so well last night, and my muscles remained relaxed and loose even into this morning. It does taste rather blegh, and the numbing effects on the throat and mouth are odd, but it's definitely beneficial as a natural muscle relaxant and sleep aide.

We has thunderstorms today! So hopefully we'll have them while we watch The Unborn. Yeah, we rented it. Hey, the graphics and effects look shiny and it's got Gary Oldman in it. At the very least, it'll have some inspirational visuals. Though we could only get the un-rated version. I don't know if this means more boobies or more blood. Or possibly both! We shall see.

My monthlies are really, really weird this time around. O.o

Usually I don't get weirdly emotional on my period. I get more emotional, but not like this. I just feel sad and miserable and lonely and blah, and for no good reason other than my hormones are going whacky. Which is terribly unpleasant after so much work to get them under control and somewhere in the vicinity of normal.

At least yesterday was a pretty good day! I got progress made on the dining area, some more work done on the porch, picked up the mini series version of The Shining super cheap, and vegged on the couch watching an SVU marathon.

Oh, and my Bert app was accepted for Chaos! I am so, so looking forward to playing him. He's already got some plot stuff set up, and I haven't even intro-ed him yet! And now I get to look up all kinds of whacky superstitions, which is a lot of fun.

In other news: there has been so much love on my Flist today! It makes me really happy. Sharing love and positivity and good things is so much better for everyone than the opposite. When we share these things with others, it radiates back in us, and makes the world just a little bit better.

<3

Got caught in a sudden summer hail storm on the way from grocery shopping! Everything's dark and damp out now, but it's a very nice change.

Fully restocked on groceries! Huzzah! And now I'm gearing up to either organize the kitchen cupboards or start tackling the living room overhaul. Whichever I'm inspired for first, we'll see what happens. :D

I hate grinding for gold in Secret of Mana. Wryyyyy must your armor be so expensive, Neko, wrrrryyyy?

I am so tempted to take on the final dungeon in my freaking Gold City armor. Probably a bad idea...and probably why I never beat games like these. ;)

I'll get to tags and whatnot once my brain is more awake. It still thinks it should be asleep. Silly brain!

ETA: I can't believe I forgot this...

So, I generally don't use celebrities/actors for RP PBs. There's just a weird disconnect for me, where I have trouble accepting an actor as a character when I know them as an actor.

But when an actor looks just like a character, to the point where I spent the night wondering if this was on purpose - IE, character design was influence - then there's just no other option.

No, seriously. I am half-convinced that Joseph Gorden Levitt inspired Marvel's design for Cuthbert. See for yourselves:

=

That's almost creepy.

Alright, finally posting about Chaos Unraveled!

I joined the game over a year ago with one character, Henry Townshend. The creator posted in a Silent Hill community advertising, and I thought 'why not'? A couple of fan fiction writers I liked and respected were joining, and it looked like a small, quiet, fun game. And much as I love damned...I needed (and still need!) something on the light, easy going side.

Well, over a year and an entire change of management later, it still is a small, quiet, fun game. :D

The premise is simple: God actually made several different universes in an attempt to make a place that satisfied him, and Satan in turn did his best to ruin it all. Finally, tired of each other (or in some others' eyes, to entertain themselves), the two agreed to one final, long, tiresome game to determine who would win ultimate control over the universe.

To ensure that the game is carried out properly, God and Satan joined together to make a separate world solely for the competition. Each sent down their number one servant to play as leaders and lookouts to ensure their sides follow the rules properly. Metatron Jophiel and Lucifer await to give out the competitions and tests that God and Satan have called them to fulfill. They even plan out the living arrangements!

Which side will triumph?

Don't let the 'heaven and hell' premise scare you off, there's a blend of all kinds of mythology in the game. :D

As for mechanics: half log/half journal posts, any fandom is welcome - we've had some of the neatest obscure fandom characters pop up! - there's a great blend of crack and drama (of the IC kind!) and it's just a really great little RP. Oh, and we accept Original Characters. :D

Since so many players left recently - due to RL things, not any drama at all - apps are opened up a couple of months early! I know there are a few people on my Flist looking for games, so I offer Chaos for perusal!

And there is next to no drama, ever. I've been in a lot of games. I'm seen a lot of games change hands and whatnot, and I've never seen it go down without a hell of a lot of drama. Chaos? Not only did the original mod leave, so did half the player base, and all of it was friendly.

I've made some awesome friends through this game, the kind of friends that have nothing to do with fandom. The people here are a great bunch of people. The game moves slowly, there's a strong sense of community, and there's just so much opportunity to have fun - no matter if you prefer humor, drama, horror, whatever. Chaos has a little bit of everything!

So, if you're in the market for an RPG, I'd like to suggest Chaos Unraveled!

Whoot, spent the last hour getting caught up on tags! I've been a bit preoccupied with Behind The Scenes things these last few days and kind of failed at that. But Chaos is settled and going smoothly - I'll be posting more on that in its own entry - and the Other Thing I'm working on might be done a lot sooner than I'd thought.... Still having a ton of fun at rapturereborn! Eddie and Reno get along pretty much exactly as was predicted. :D

I need to update my LJ user info.

It's the day before grocery shopping day, which means supplies are down. And I'm going to be cleaning out the fridge as soon as I can convince my body it wants to get off the couch. :D Lunch is a mystery! ;)

I found an amazing rice pudding recipe yesterday that I want to share with you all:

Lychee coconut rice pudding:

* 1 lb fresh lychees, peeled, pitted and torn into pieces (can substitute canned lychees)
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
* 1 1/2 cups short-grain brown rice
* 2 cans coconut milk (400ml each)
* 3 cups milk (low-fat or whole)
* 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
* 1/2 tsp ground ginger
* 1/4 tsp salt
* dusting of cinnamon (optional)

Mix the lychee pieces with the sugar in a bowl. Let sit about 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally. The sugar will draw the juices out of the fruit and create a syrup, which you'll add to the cooking rice. (If you're using canned lychees, open the can and drain the fruit, reserving the juice.)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until brown and fragrant, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the rice, coconut milk, milk, brown sugar, ginger, salt, and the syrup from the lychees. Bring to a simmer and cook gently, uncovered, until the rice is very tender, at least 90 minutes. There should always be liquid covering the rice - if the mixture starts to look at all dry, add more milk or some water. You want it like soup. When the rice is tender, stir in the chopped lychees and the toasted coconut, remove from the heat, and cool. Chill in the refrigerator at least four hours before serving.

Serve sprinkled with cinnamon, or with more toasted coconut if you have it.

Lychee coconut rice pudding, close up

Man, I hate updating so soon again, but....

I checked my Flist. And so many people are sad or going through difficult things or just not in good moods, and that makes me sad. And there isn't much I can do, what with us all living on the interwebs, but...

I'm doing drabbles again. So! Give me the usual! Fandom, character or pairing, and a prompt! Any fandom you know I write or heck, have even seen/played/read. And I will write absolutely every request! There's too much bad and sad stuff out there today, let's have some happy!

Because each and every one of you is an amazing, wonderful human being. Nobody ever forget that.

Sorry to the folks I was going to be talking with last night, there was a storm and I ended up in bed at like 6 o'clck.

The storm was amazing though. Three rainbows, one on top of the other, the full curve of each arch visible against the dark clouds...and then the lightning cut across them. It gave me shivers. Ah, the wonder of nature.

This morning's philosophical puzzling comes down to one thing: hypocrisy. When you really open your eyes and pay attention, the level of hypocrisy that we human beings engage in on a daily basis is disgusting. And I'm not talking politicians and whatnot, I'm talking you and me.

I'm reminded of that quip from Alice in Wonderland: Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!

Except a more accurate variety for me would be: Why, sometimes I've seen as many as six hypocritical things before breakfast!

I see it every day, just on my FList and in my own LJ. (Before anyone gets defensive, please remember that I'm talking about myself here as well. I'm as bad as anyone!) And when I see it for what it is in others, I just get vaguely uncomfortable and wonder if I should point it out. But I never do. When I recognize it in myself, I get uncomfortable and then shrug it away with the caveat 'eh, everyone else is the same way'.

Is it just human nature once more, that tricksy little devil? I actually don't think so on this one. I think it's possible to live life without being hypocritical. And it probably isn't even that hard. Stand by your ideals, do unto others as you wish done unto you, fight for your beliefs, hold yourself to the same standard you hold others and vice-versa....

Why are these things apparently so hard in this day and age? I've been looking inward myself, examining those crimes of hypocrisy that I've committed, and searched for the why. And I honestly don't know, which tells me everything I do need to know.

Long story short: hypocrisy's bad, it's rampant, and I'm making a conscious effort not to engage in it myself.

I'm going to go do monster crap for the rest of the morning.

Hurrah for productivity!

And I'm going to be even more productive, I hope! I'm shoveling down breakfast before I head out on some personal errands, I've still got the porch and bathroom to work on, and tonight K and I are going to go see Ponyo!

It's all terribly exciting.

Changing your life is slow work. I've realized this is something that just needs to be expected. When entirely altering your life philosophy and world view, it's not going to happen overnight. But every day I learn and I grow in some small way, and that's absolutely amazing.

I do wish I knew the secret to completely banishing negativity. I'm trying, I'm trying so hard, but it's difficult with so many negative outside influences. And I try and clear my mind and look at all these things from a different perspective, a sympathetic perspective, but sometimes I just can't. Sometimes there are things that just....refuse to be examined that way. Or, when attempting to examine them from that perspective, there is much disagreement.

So these are things I'm going to be working on the hardest. Negativity effects us in every single way, from the physical to the emotional to the mental to the spiritual. And I've long since grown sick and tired of being sick and tired. :D

I am positive. I am confident. And right now, I'm pretty darn happy. :D

Hallo LJ! It's been a few days! Whoops!

I haven't been doing anything terribly exciting or interesting lately. I've been RPing and writing, and marathoning Metalocalypse with nijawial in preparation of the third season. Also, um, I've been playing Sims.

Yeah, turns out I can has Sims 2 on Randall. I'm working on my custom Mid-World neighborhood. So far we have Flagg's Tower and Castle Gilead. Oh, and a tavern. Flagg has a kitty. He loves his kitty.

( Good Kitty Kitty )

He also apparently hates teddy bears.

Today I pretty much lazed away my Monday, but around seven or so I got myself up off of my bum and got to chores. All the dishes are done, and once I'm done with this I'll be doing laundry. I have Clanaad on in the background, a nummy dinner of salad with dried cranberries and orange slices, and hopefully I can get to sleep easily tonight.

I'd say I certainly accomplished the whole Getting On Top of Things thing yesterday. At least most of the things I wanted to get on top of. I got most dishes done, I got a load of laundry done, I was able to spend a good chunk of the day RPing, I did some writing....

And I even spent a few hours with my sister. I sent her home with the first Dark Tower book, so I'm curious to see what she thinks.

I did the right thing, cutting back my character load at damned. I feel so much better about posting now, and I'm not worrying myself into a fit over losing touch with characters or just plain posting characters I'm not having fun with. Now that I trimmed away some dead weight, I'm having fun again. And I don't mean just the usual fun level, I mean I'm really enjoying RP like I did years ago. It's really nice.

I intro'ed Eddie at rapturereborn, and I can't wait to actually thread with him. I love writing for him, bad 80s slang and all! And he gets his gun! He's really the only character I have anywhere who both a) can use a weapon very well and b) gets to have that weapon in game! It's very exciting.

My stomach is grumbling and I have a slight headache, so I should probably eat!

So, hurrah! I was accepted as Eddie Dean at rapturereborn! His journal is prisoner_of_ka, because every form of 'The Prisoner' was taken. Boo. But I do like prisoner_of_ka, and would have probably ended up with something stupid if nijawial hadn't suggested it.

My best journal names come from other people. :D

I've been working on his first post in between threading at damned, and I'm having a great deal of fun. There's nothing better than the confusion of a character who wakes up in a strange place with no memory of how they got there. Added bonus when they're pretty sure it's not actually possible for them to have gone anywhere.

Oh, it'll be damn interesting when he goes to the library... :D

And I've been threading my ass off at my games where I have active characters. I can't remember the last time I did 15 or so posts in under two hours. It's nice.

My sister is apparently coming over to hang out later. O.o