Clever Manka is dressed and undressed

So, first off, everyone needs to take a look at this gorgeous Rule 63'd Weilan art.

I want to get better about reccing fic, so I'll start with one I read yesterday: Sleeping in spring, I missed the dawn. I never used to even read G-rated fic, but now I've marked that one for a re-read so I can leave it the comment it deserves. Guardian (and this fandom), I tell ya.

That Garage Mechanic AU that I remembered yesterday? naye sent me the link to a Twitter post with video footage of the photo shoot, and...y'all, the noises I was making. Pretty sure the only thing that kept me from actually bursting into flames was the fact that it's filmed sideways and I had to hold my computer vertically so I could view it going the right direction. Copypasta'd from my reply to naye : just started laughing at how RIDICULOUSLY FUCKING HOT he is and how the camera person just keeps ZOOMING IN on his FUCKING MOUTH and I am literally crying here oh sweet jesus


Wrapped up the initial fallout from Bad Shit Going Down in Ghost Story and am now gearing up for the climax of ANGST WEEK. *cracks knuckles* I'm getting about 1k words/day down and it feels good y'all. I'm actually enjoying this writing thing a lot. Who knew? 

Perhaps alas, I'm tapping out on the Chinese supernatural drama Guardian. I really really wanted to love this show but I couldn't.

I thought the pretty could sustain me--seriously, this is like a CW show, everyone is young and outrageously beautiful*. And the two main actors are fucking magnetic. But attractiveness and  slash-heavy subtext (episode 7 sure was...something) weren't sufficient to get me past the weak writing.

I was willing to overlook the cheap effects and marginal acting by secondary characters, but the tenth episode did me in (yes, ten episodes--I seriously gave this my all, y'all). The emotional impact depended on audience sympathy for a ghost (one of the secondary cast members), but since this was the first episode that gave her more than three speaking lines it was impossible for me to care. Seems like a small thing but on top of all the other writing failures it was the deciding factor for me to peace-out (also I spoiled myself for the series end when I was researching if I should continue watching and it...isn't an ending I would like).

I'm very sad about it because JFC just look at these two. The eye-fucking could almost be physically weighed, it's so heavy.

That will not stop me from reading these two fics rec'd by beachlass and if anyone else has recs for this pair I won't turn them down.

*I can't link a Tumblr search, but if you search with the characters 镇魂 in the search line you will not be disappointed.

ETA: wtf, these two guys actually sing really well, too?

It's Friday! Before we party, let's start with body stuff.

First, a recommendation find: Overhead squats are my most feared (yes, feared) lift. Frankly, they terrify me. I'm a bit unsteady in even a basic weighted squat, but I feel downright unstable in the overhead squat and I have actually fallen over backward while in the bottom of one. With weight overhead. In a full squat. I am still proud of myself for bailing out under it correctly and nobody was hurt, but still. The overhead squat is really, really scary to me. If you're in the same boat, the trouble might not all be in your hips. Here are a couple mobility drills to open up your thoracic spine which will allow that gorgeous, broad, open chest and strong uplifted arms that are crucial to a successful overhead squat. I'm going to add at least the first one to my Restorative Yoga Collection because honestly it looks gloriously soothing.

Next, a personal find: I mentioned a little bit ago about my newly-smooth thumbnails after decades of them looking like tiny washboards. I now have little half-moons under my fingernails. Used to be I only had half-moons under my thumbs and the fingernails were just solid pink beds. No more! Circulation and oxygen supply must be vastly improved because I have at least a suggestion of a moon under every finger. The pinkies are barely there, but they're there! So exciting! Visible progress like this is incredibly rewarding.

Yesterday was my monthly supplementation consultation with Dr. Jonah. We're phasing out the digestion treatment, continuing with the endocrine support (decreasing amounts on that was an informative experiment but not one I'm going to repeat for a while), and starting work on gut flora--clearing out overgrowth and bad stuff as well as re-populating the good stuff. If this helps my abdominal swelling issues, it will make having my period at 221B Con so much easier.

Last night I slept pretty well. Cramps woke me only twice, and the second time I was able to fall back asleep after taking a Naproxen. SLEEP IS SO GOOD. But before bed (and by "before bed" I mean "immediately after eating dinner"), I settled myself into bed with herbal soothers, a heating pad, and my laptop to indulge in some fic-reading. I'm going through an old LJ community for due South fic recs and found this story that was really touching and a slow build to some very steamy and sweet sex. The comm has been inactive for more than ten years, so a lot of the URLs don't work anymore. I'm glad that one did. Sorry I can't give you the comm name--I have it as an open tab on my home computer and I can't find it in an LJ search.

Update on that DIY Vitamin C Serum I mentioned a couple weeks ago: It's pretty fucking amazing. I just upped the percentage of LAA to 10% in the batch I made last night, but even at 5% I was seeing skin quality improvement. In fact, last weekend mckitterick said something like "I don't know what you're using on your face lately, but your skin looks twenty years old." Granted, I have anti-aging genes and not a lot of wrinkles, but the little pre-crow's-feet lines next to my eyes are gone and my naso-labial folds are as minimized as they're going to get on someone with my size nose and cheekbones. Also, just the overall skin quality is improved. And because of the tiny bit of glycerin included in the mix, I don't have to use any sort of additional moisturizer. I'm going to have to be super careful about slathering on the SPF this summer, though. Probably gonna switch to this SPF this summer to avoid those chin-breakouts I'm prone to.

If anyone local wants to try the serum for themselves, I'm willing to part with a half teaspoon of the LAA powder I ordered to get you started. Once mixed, it's good for a week before it deteriorates. But it will give you a sense of how your skin reacts. Bring your own dropper container, though!

I'm all alone in the office today \o/ and am very much looking forward to the weekend. I am dreading the task of getting the house organized for the student-recruitment visit reception on Monday. Thinking we probably would feel better getting that out of the way as soon as possible, but I'm pretty sure we'll put it off until Sunday night just like I said I didn't want to but it's the weekend.

It took me a few weeks, but I just now finished this epic saga of an Inception AU fic, which is one of the best I've ever read. Arthur is a pianist and Eames is a baritone. They make beautiful and angst-ridden music together. It's glorious.

For msmitti:


That's all.

This is the best MCA eulogy I've read so far, and I've read a lot of them. Guess what CDs are getting played non-stop at 1809 Indiana Street today?

I was not feeling like going to CrossFit last night. mckitterick was still under the weather, so I was on my own, I was bummed about MCA's death, and (most importantly) I was going to my first real WOD, not one of the Elements classes. It was time to swim with the big kids in the deep end of the pool and I wasn't emotionally prepared. I think it goes without saying that I wasn't physically prepared, right? But look! Here I am, alive and completely uninjured, with even my pride intact. Because I was still the slowest, weakest person there but I was there, and once again people were cool and supportive. Even people I'd never seen before.

Benton Fraser's brother was there again last night. I didn't get a photo, but I did find this on the CrossFit Lawrence Facebook page. So here's a two-for-one video.

1. You get to see the incredible dorks (incredibly fit dorks) Thomas and Kyle, two of the Lawrence CrossFit coaches.

2. At the beginning of the video we have Benton Fraser's younger brother setting up the Rubic's Cube for Thomas.



So. Those are the two coaches I work with. I've barely met the third coach, Andy Armbrister. I love Thomas and Kyle, though.

I have to admit, I'm getting frustrated at the near-total lack of physical improvement I'm seeing. I'm getting better at some movements, but that's mostly proprioception improvement and learning how to better/more efficiently/more correctly do the movements. I haven't lost a pound and the tape measure hasn't budged even half an inch in three weeks. Yes I am vain and I make no bones about that. It's awesome to be healthy and all, but I want to look like a hard-bodied badass, and it's discouraging when I can note zero visual improvement. Except my ass, which is definitely getting rounder (in a good way). But yeah. I'm unhappy with that.

I fear that much of my failure to improve is due to the lack of sleep. I'm sure my cortisol levels are all sorts of fucked up, and I know one doesn't readily build muscle or lose fat when one isn't getting enough sleep. So my next goal is to resolve these sleep problems. Last night I got about seven hours, but felt super tired when I woke at 5:00. I lay in bed for another hour, hoping to fall back asleep, but no dice.

Because I want to close the post on a positive note: This might be the best fanfic piece I've read EVER. Avengers. No spoilers. Made of fucking gold.

You're welcome.

Dr. Boli comes through with another winner.


This sums up how I felt about the His Dark Material series. Thumbs down. Thumbs way fucking down.

And in the thumbs way fucking up category, I present to you one of the most amazing slashfic stories I've ever read. I got home from work yesterday feeling pretty low. So I pulled out my three current Comforts: Wine, Hookah, and Porn. Gotta say, I was particularly pleased with the results of the last one. All you ladies who said "Recs? Yes, please!" I hope this meets your approval.

Before I link to it, I need to be very clear about what I liked about it. ( Cut for potential rape triggers. )