deense

Me in my Captain Marvel inspired dress with Stan Lee

Something I haven't been very open about is the onset of chronic pain since last June. There was pain before then, there weere issues, but they came and went. The past year... It's all changed. And the since January it has been on an off brutal. The past two days have been really bad.

I get flaky. I get to the point I can only concentrate on work. Or some other days I can only concentrate on tags. Other days I just want to sleep it all off and again other days I can't sleep at all.

It's my knees, my ankles, my hips, my shoulders, my arms my wrists, my fingers. It's my jaw. It's sometimes one thing, and sometimes everything.

Sometimes I'm totally fine and it's like nothing happened at all. Like I'm normal. I love those times.

I get tired more easily. The IBS like circumstances I have? They're most likely connected. My Raynaud's (a circulatory disorder) possibly connected. Rheumatoid Arthritis and psoriasis run in my family. Those are all likely connected. I've been told I check list off for Lupus, for MS, for RA. They're all just lists.

I don't like talking about it. I don't like admitting to it. I haven't been diagnosed, I go to see a rheumatologist in a few weeks. But sometimes it is bad and getting through work is all I can manage. Sometimes its like nothing. Like I'm as it used to be.

I have firieds who've dealt with this for so much longer, and friends who have it so much worse. I know it's never the pain olympics, that someone is always going to have it worse. But when I can't sleep for weeks because of pain, can't think or flake out, I hope you will understand.

I've been promising a couple recipes to people for a bit, so it's time to deliver.

Crunchie/Violet Crumble Cheesecake

Crust:
1 packet arnotts choc ripple biccies, crushed
125g butter melted
100-125g caster sugar (depending how sweet you want it)

Crush biccies, mix with sugar and butter. Press into 23 cm springform pan. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 220C.

Filling:
2 block packets of cream cheese softened
175g caster sugar
2 eggs (large)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix these well until absolutely smooth. Take 2 violent crumble/crunchie bars. Smash thoroughly. Stir into cream cheese mixture and then pour into pan on top of base.

Cook at 220 for 10 minutes, and then reduce heat to 190C. Cook for a further 20 minutes or until it pulls away from edge of pan.

Let cool for 1 hour before removing from pan.

Chicken and Pumpkin Chilli

500 grams diced chicken breast or thigh (skinless, fat removed)
1 large can diced tomatoes
2-3 cups cubed pumpkin
1 cup chicken broth
2 large onions diced
5 cloved garlic chopped
1 red capsicum chopped
1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
2 large chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp each - cumin, coriander, oregano
1 tsp each - paprika (smoked), salt, pepper

Toss together into crockpot. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4. Serve with toasted corn tortillas.

There you go. I'm sure more will follow.

So, I'm going to three big conventions this year, and need to focus my costume making for them. I have two things being made for me, one of which I need to make a bunch of props for, and one I do not. I believe I have time to make three things, POSSIBLY four without pushing myself. I have a few commission like things to finish (plushies and one tunic with embroidery) that I have to finish first before working on any of this. So... Time to figure out what I want to do and what's important.

I also may need help making some decisions.My many ideas are here

So the two things I have being made are Medusa and Huntress. Medusa will be pretty much good to go, I have the boots, I need to do some wig surgery, but the outfit as I get it is wearable. Huntress needs more work. I need to source/make a crossbow, a belt with pouches, thigh holster and mask, and find and likely COVER boots (plus kneepads). That being said, there is a limited amount of work to be done on these two, and Medusa most definitely will make it out at these two events. To be honest, Huntress will likely be put away and come out at Melbourne Armageddon in October.


I am DEFINITELY doing a steampunk Alice. Inspirations as follows:


Then there's the to make/inspirations:

( more ideas here )

So here's the poll. Would love to hear things in comments too! <3

I'm working on getting a girls read comics too poll up, and then have to queue the rest of the women in comics posts we have ready to go and ping a few more people on their answers. Plus I'm doing all the EXCITING NEW GAME stuff, and... can I say I'm thankful it's a dead day at work?

So, fandom meme
First TV show I had self-insertion fantasies about:
Thundercats and Voltron. Seriously, I was about 8.

First fandom in which I interacted (online and in person) with other fans:
Online: Anita Blake, back when the books weren't that bad. So um... 1998??
In person: Robotech. I was a teenager and a bunch of my friends got into it and we'd get together for watching parties and to rave over it.

Pairing in the first slash fanfiction I read:
Harry/Draco? Aziraphale/Crowley? Hrm. I cannot remember.

First fanfiction I read that made me think, YES, this is exactly the kind of fanfiction I'd like to write...
It was a Crowley and Aziraphale that frogmajick linked me to. She so used to be my pusher.

Pairing in the first fanfiction I wrote:
My first fanfiction was all Harry Potter and a very very long time ago

First OTP:
Buffy/Angel

First fannish friend I met in person:
Ishara and Mikey

First character I formally roleplayed:
Anita Blake or Pansy Parkinson. I honestly cannot remember. It was 2002ish?

Books
Frostbitten, Kelley Armstrong
Waking the Witch, Kelley Armstrong
Spell Bound, Kelley Armstrong
Luther: The Calling, Neil Cross
The Awakening, Kelley Armstrong
The Summoning, Kelley Armstrong
The Reckoning, Kelley Armstrong

Comics/GNs
Mystery Society, Steve Niles & Fiona Staples
Unwritten Vol 3&4, Mike Carey & Peter Gross
American Vampire Vol 1, Scott Snyder, Steven King & Rafael Albequerque
Ozma of Oz, Eric Shanower & Skottie Young
The Gathering vol 6, Various
Valkyrie vol 1

So... I've pretty much been reading what I got for Christmas book-wise. And a couple things for the blog.

Alrighty! There's been a lot of cool stuff happening lately too.

The blog is humming along. I've been putting up a lot of the women in comics invterviews we did, and have a batch more to queue up over the weekend. For those not in the loop, it's Girls Read Comics Too.

I was made an Ambassador for Gestalt Publishing, an Australian based comic label a little while ago, and now I'm their social media assistant!!! I have control of the twitter and facebook account and it's my job to keep them active.

Related - It looks like I'll be going on a digital media course for work as I start taking over more of their online presence as well. WHOOO.

I am THIS CLOSE to having all my leave approved for my trip home in August. In fact I am this close to having all my leave approved for the year. Talked to my parents and it looks like I'll be home for almost two full weeks, not including my FanExpo days in Toronto. Right now D*C is up in the air, but honestly, as long as I get FE and a couple days with Sil & Allie in LA and a couple days in New York City I am more than ecstatic. It looks like I'll be away 3 weeks total.

The Supanova tour for Melbourne/Gold Coast in April already has a fantastic lineup. The Phelps twins, Bendis, ELIZABETH ROHM???? Hnnnngh. So much awesome in one place and I AM A PART OF IT.

It's my birthday in 2 weeks and I have a party next weekend, and I have a trip to Hobart the weekend after. I have cunning tattoo plans.

I am registered for my courses, and that is awesome too. 2 in first semester, and 1 in second semester. Then I'll have a pile of pre-reqs and the 12 CP I need to start taking the cool stuff I want to.

That's really it. There are likely other things (I know there are other things) but it is late Friday and I want to go hooooooooome and yes. But this post is very overdue!

I'm so excited. It's my six² birthday this year and I'm throwing an Alice themed party. AKA, I'm 36, and the chance to throw a kinda kids party for adults was just way too tempting. I'm dressing up as the red queen, and will likely spend all of next week madly trying to throw my costume together. Really, I have most of it, in that I have the corset and wig I want. I need to make a tulle skirt and get some tights and decide what top I'm wearing under the corset and I'm good. Friday night and Saturday morning before will be spent making foods with the help of the lovely April, and Saturday the 4th (my birthday is the 12th of February, but I'll be in Hobart on the actual day) there will be fun, frivolity, and off with her heads!

Anyway, every year I try to get a tattoo. This past year it was my lockheed, and the year before that I failed. This year has been a really big one. I've gone through a lot of shite, and come out in a place where I'm actually pretty alright with things, and am at a good place to move forward. I've been talking about getting a text tattoo for a while, and I am finally at the place where I know what I want, this:



It's a lyric from Stuck on a Moment by U2, and I've been sitting on it since December 2010. There are a few others I want to get right now, but currently this is the one that resonates and is important to me.

As with other years, I want to ask the people who are important to me and have been a part of my life over the past year if they want to donate a couple of bucks toward my tattoo as a birthday gift. If you do, I'll gladly pass you my bank deets if you're australian, or you can use paypal (yes, that evil thing, I know) here

If I get the money together I'll be adding an open birdcage and a flying bird to the image, but we shall see.

Alrighty. I promise I'm going to do a post of all the good things that have happened lately (and there have been MANY) tonight or tomorrow.

I can finally reveal what I wrote!

In the end, I picked up two pinch hits, but wrote three stories. I had to (sadly) default on my main story the prompt was too particular. But I did it well before the date and I've seen the story they got and it's great.

I wrote two Downton Abbey works, and one Luther. The first DA (and the story I am insanely proud of) is Sybil/Gwen and the second is a Carson and Mrs Hughes friendship fic, a conversation between the two of them immediately after the end of Season 1. Luther is Alice thinking about everything that has happened in season one, the requester wanted something that showed how her mind worked. It is honestly the weakest of the lot, which is part of why I wrote one of that requester's other prompts, which is the second Downton fic.

I've discovered I love writing Downton, and really like Sybil and Gwen as a pairing.

For Sanctuary Santa, the requester wanted Henry/Ashley, so that's what they got :)

Enjoy!

Five times Sybil and Gwen were alone (5314 words) by Deense
Fandom: Downton Abbey
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Relationships: Sybil Crawley/Gwen Dawson
Characters: Sybil Crawley, Gwen Dawson, Anna Smith

Simpler Times (1055 words) by Deense
Fandom: Downton Abbey
Rating: General Audiences
Characters: Elsie Hughes, Charles Carson
Summary:

Immediately after the Season 1 finale, Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes have a conversation

Nothing Perfect (1140 words) by Deense
Fandom: Luther (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Characters: Alice Morgan
Summary:

Alice reflects on her situation

Her World (1398 words) by Deense
Fandom: Sanctuary (TV)
Rating: Mature
Relationships: Ashley Magnus/Henry Foss
Characters: Ashley Magnus, Henry Foss
Summary:

Set after 1x11 Instinct. Ashley turns to Henry for a reminder of what matters, only this time it isn't the same.

Hi there Yuletide Penguin of Excellentness, and welcome to my letter. I've tried to go into a bit more detail about what I'd like here. I do want to say, however, that I absolutely truly appreciate anything that you choose to write. These are all fandoms I love, and knowing that someone else loves them too and would write them for me makes me so happy.


YULETIDE USERNAME: DEENSE

There are things that I would prefer to not be in any fic I get. Any sort of dubious consensuality, animal cruelty and excessive violence are the big ones. I am okay with both het and slash, as well as gen, any rating, and I love character driven pieces. Now onto the specifics!
( Disney Princesses, Fables, Downton Abbey and Sons of Anarchy )