garrideb

So not only did I get a stunning secret_mutant gift this year, I also got TWO mutant madness gifts! I’ve never gotten a mutant madness fic before, so I’m over the moon.

Seriously, THREE lovely stories written for me!

Rise by littledust

This is about Angel surviving DoFP, and all the escapes she’s pulled off in her life. It’s full of gorgeous details and heart-wrenching character growth. It also features a heroic and compassionate Raven.

keeping the stars apart by littledust

I am secretly obsessed with Erik’s astroid base as a concept, and this delightful story brings the base into XMFC-verse! Erik kidnaps/invites Charles to his new space station, but things don’t go smoothly. Funny and sweet!

Not to Touch the Earth by lilacsigil

This is a great action story about Angel narrowly escaping capture. Her brains and tenacity really shine here, and there are some great cameos from other Marvel characters.

And I wrote a fic!

Elpis, for lefaym, for their prompt of angry hurt/comfort for Charles and Erik. It features an airplane crash and discussions of greek mythology.

1. I visited a shooting range with a friend who is an ex-marine. He showed me how to load and fire a Smith & Wesson 45 caliber and a Sig Sauer 9mm. I found the experience interesting, if a bit nerve-wracking. The closest thing to a firearm I've used in my adult life is a paintball gun, although I did do a riflery class once at summer camp when I was ten or eleven.

I preferred the Sig Sauer. The Smith & Wesson had a much bigger kick, and I found myself flinching as I pulled the trigger. Also, I actually smelled gun powder after firing the S&W, but didn't smell anything with the Sig.

I have no interest in owning a gun, but I like learning the basic mechanics. A lot of my fandoms have characters who use guns (less so in my superhero fandoms, but repulsor rays and firearms have parallels) and I like being able to write from experience. My friend also owns a revolver, so I might go back to the range to try out that.

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2. Heather Dale concert! The venue was Pegasus Games, and they'd set up their gaming room for the event, so Heather was performing in front of posters for D&D and World of Warcraft. It was a very intimate event, as you can imagine; I think they had 50 seats. I brought my dad and aunt, and in addition to the three high school friends I sat with I recognized several people in the audience from the few SCA events I've attended.

The concert was completely lovely. It was part of her Ancient Yule tour, and many of the songs had a Christmas or winter connection. Throughout the show she joked and smiled and really just glowed. Another singer, a woman called S J Tucker was playing with them, and they did one of her songs too. I ended buying a CD of each artist. (I might upload a couple of songs soon.)

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3. I finished a fic! The Properties of Pineapple, which was supposed to be some pineapple-flavored fluff/PWP for luninosity, but morphed into something with angst and a bizarre pineapple-related plot point. As you can probably tell I have mixed feelings about the final result, but I'm happy that I finally finished something, and some of Charles and Erik's dialogue was really fun to write. Now I need to focus on my Secret Mutant fic! Which will have much more action, but will probably be equally bizarre. *sigh*