There's a Mirror On the Wall

Marisol decided to climb the hammock to the hook and tightrope walk on the rope that holds up my canopy. At bedtime. I only just finished getting the hammock back up with some assistance, because I needed to entirely redo things to be at least hopeful that Marisol will not attempt that again (anytime soon, anyway).

I know I've got food, but it's getting low and what I have is being less appealing than I like. I'll manage, and I'll get dad to do a grocery run Friday or Saturday so that I can spend quality time on Saturday downstairs doing a large batch of cooking - meat/veggies/fruit, whole grain mixes, various sauces, three different sized jars, and then I can mix and match for meals.

I watched through several episodes of Magnificent Seven yesterday, and I'm probably going to watch more today. Going to attempt to get some more of the Highlander DVDs ripped as well, so I can marathon some of that. Specifically, so I can marathon Methos episodes. And probably some S2 episodes which have Joe in them. Because Reasons.

And while I didn't get words actually written yesterday, I went poking through my WIPs and abandons for one of my Mag7/Highlander crossovers (with bonus X-Men), and am seriously contemplating just posting the one bit without bothering with edits. Just. It's not a complete story, the end's dangling. So I should probably watch the episode with Matthew McCormick in it of Highlander, because he's one of the important characters in the early bits of that crossover (of which the story in question is), and... well, I'm not the one who wrote him in it originally.

(There's also a bit in that which crosses with Burn Notice, but I think I'm going to leave that as an AU of the AU, because I'm even less interested in rewatching Burn Notice than I am in attempting to write Matthew McCormick.)

Here, have a snippet of that story, since I dug it out. :)

--

Apparently the afterlife starts with an awful headache and a strange sense of having his ears plugged with wax, though at least there's no other pain to be noticed. Vin pries his eyes open after a moment, looking up at blue sky, green leaves, and a patient-looking Matthew. Perhaps he's wrong about the being dead part of things, though he remembers the gut-shot, and the bullet that left him starting to drown in his own blood. There must have been another shot after, to put him out of his misery before he died that agonizing death.

"Thanks," he murmurs after a moment, once he's sure he can breathe enough to speak. He's not sure what Matthew did, though he wonders if he can't help someone who's dying with whatever it is that heals him. Or if it's something else that's why Vin isn't dead, and why he still has that odd feeling that's starting to fade from the strange headache and difficulty hearing into something more like his head is stuffed full of cotton.

"You're welcome, though I'm not sure what you're thanking me for," Matthew answers.  Unhooking his canteen, he passes it to Vin.  "Here; drink up.  You've lost a lot of blood, and your body needs liquids to replace it."  He'd been hoping that both Vin and Ezra would survive until the war ended, mostly because the middle of a war is no place to try training a student.

"Savin' me, or not leavin' me behind for dead." Vin takes the canteen, taking a long sip of the water, though he doesn't try to drink too much down. Wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, he shrugs. "Whichever fits."

Since he can't tell which one's the better fit to be thanking Matthew for, not until he figures out what's happened since he was shot. It's nice not to be dead, but he's still not sure quite why, or how.

"I didn't save you," Matthew tells him.  "You died."  He's always hated explaining Immortality to new Immortals, and he really isn't looking forward to Vin's reaction.  Vin is a practical man -- and Immortality is anything but.

Whatever it was, then, wasn't something Matthew did. And it certainly hadn't been anything like whatever healed Matthew before this, because he's been injured before, and not healed any faster than anyone else might. "Ok."

He takes another sip of water, hoping that maybe enough water would make the headache fade entirely. If nothing else, it's worth trying.

Matthew's seen new Immortals fall into hysterics, or try to deny what they are, or even rejoice in it.  He's never seen anyone take the thought of dying and returning to life nearly as calmly as Vin.

A new day, a new year, and here's to it being a better one overall than the previous one.

Despite people still setting off fireworks after one am, I slept well. Because ear buds that actually stay in my ears are fantastic. (The cord from them goes up over my ear instead of dangling down, and thus, there's an extra line of securing it.)

I got words yesterday, also, so have a snippet. Magnificent Seven (TV show), Seven Legends AU (and the incident Buck is apologizing for again is not a canon one, but otherwise is uncertain):

JD shifts to sit up a little further. "Do you know who your father is?"

Buck laughs, grinning sharp and dangerous and happy and bright all at once. "Of course I do. Not exactly intent on calling his attention right now. Or any of them. The rest of you don't need that, not at the moment."

"If they come here from Olympus, I might shoot them." Chris's voice is rougher than usual, like he's trying to gargle with gravel. "I remember last time."

"I said I was sorry about that." Buck grimaces a moment, before tilting his head to study Chris. "At least it was already rock here."

"And will be until it all erodes away." Chris flexes his hands, looking unblinkingly at the talons still there for a long moment before he carefully picks the blanket out from between them and sets it aside. The talons don't vanish the way Ezra's eyes went back to normal, and the scales are still present, but at least so is Chris.

*faceplants into pillow* I like the new person I'm seeing at the practice. She's awesome. It's still dealing with doctors and I'm going to go de-stress for a bit. (Still waiting on the DVDs, though. *whines*)

Hugs for everyone (or snacks or crafty things), and I hope your day goes well, and your sleep is good when you get there.

I got sucked into working on one of my projects yesterday and utterly spaced on almost everything else that did not involve an alarm. Good news! It won't happen today because I kinda want to throw that project across the room right now.

I got words day before yesterday, so have a snippet:

"Garak." Julian manages a small smile of his own, shifting his carryall so he can press his palm to Garak's in greeting. "We need to talk."

If Ross has a problem with Julian laying out what he's been asked to do, than he can arrange Julian's discharge from Starfleet. He's had enough time in the trip to decide the best way to do this is with as much openness about all of the aspects of the assignment as he can.

There are snow flurries. I actually like that. A bit of snow, but no worries about it sticking around and causing problems. (Granted, that sort of weather is usually the purview of February, so.)

No story words yesterday, just reading. And some work on a sun-in-glory. I got my two of this year's holiday dragon from Dragcave. :) They're pretty little eggs.



I hope everyone has a fantastic day, and good sleeps when you get there!

I got more sleep than usual, if in three distinct chunks of time, because Marisol decided that playing on the altar was a fantastic idea. Twice.

The space heater in the bathroom is not entirely behaving, though it at least did not crap out in the middle of the night. I turned the temp down on it so it might have a chance to have some serious downtime during the day today.

I've been running an experiment with some tape sticky-side out on top of my divider screen for the living room, and it seems to be keeping Marisol OFF the top of it, so that's a success. May never be able to take it off except to replace it, but I can live with that.

Yesterday was a very scattered day, because ADHD brain, but I got some stuff worked on, at least. Hopefully today will be better on that front.

Also, it is sunny again today, which is awesome, and makes my brain happy.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day, and good sleeps when you get there!

This morning is definitely better. There is SUNSHINE! *clings to the sunshine* I am such a solar-driven critter. And winter has less sunlight during the day, and also more overcast days, and this is why my brain starts making rude gestures around about December, when the days are getting to their shortest, and doesn't stop until sometime about April, when days are starting to get to what my brain apparently thinks is a reasonable length again (unless above a certain latitude, then I get rude gestures all year, they're just different kinds of rude gestures).

Cats fed, me fed, morning routine done, meds taken. No snippet today, because no story-words yesterday. I'll see what I can do to poke at things today, but no promises.

I did get another set of wallpapers done for my screen, though, and now my background slowly cycles through the colors of asexual and aromantic pride flags, one bleeding into the next. Which is nice, because it keeps things from being entirely boring because they're static, without overwhelming my brain with changes in the background.

(I may sit down with my favorite space wallpapers and do a set which is fade a wallpaper to a solid color than fade a new one in, number them in order, and let the computer do the thing and have a rotation of pretty pictures/art with soothing solids in between.)

Eventually I stopped wanting to hibernate yesterday. This morning is chilly again, but less grey than yesterday.

Morning routine is complete except for putting on trousers, and I need to go do laundry. (Procrastinating on laundry because I don't have the spoons for it, but at the same time, I'm running out of trousers. And I don't have the spoons to sew more, either.)

I did get words yesterday, so have a snippet!

Follows on A Step Into the Past:

"The dead traitor should not be meddling."

The voice makes Sirius spin around, staring at where Kreacher is standing, quietly glaring, beside the door.

"What?"

"The dead traitor heard Kreacher. You should not be meddling."

"I wasn't trying to meddle like that!" Sirius gestures frustratedly at the tapestry, which still feels weirdly smug. How does a bloody tapestry feel smug? "Wait." He blinks, staring back at Kreacher. "You can see me. And you can hear me."

"Of course Kreacher can hear the dead traitor. The dead traitor is family." There's an unspoken sense that Kreacher deeply disapproves of that.

I slept late, but the cats and me are all fed, I've gotten the bed made and gotten dressed and opened the curtains, and taken my morning meds. Everything is at a low level ache, and I'm still feeling like everything is too much, especially noise.

(Ok, so that may be a silent migraine, but it's not coming with the usual brain fog, so I don't even know.)

The sun is shining, and making the muslin that is the window side of the canopy glow so I will have some hours of suitably diffused-but-bright light. Direct sunlight is not my friend, but I am still a solar-driven critter and will get cranky without regular sunlight.

Marisol and Sigdis, upon their return from the vet, first bolted for the bedroom and under the bed, then snubbed me briefly, but I had a secret weapon called breakfast. And then I had clingy cats who craved reassurance all day that I still loved them and they wouldn't have to go back to the vet any time soon. Marisol is about six pounds and Sigdis is eight or nine, I forget precisely, and both are at good weights for them. And Marisol got all the necessary shots, and all is well, so we're good until toward the end of next year.

There was some snow yesterday, and then a lot more of wintry mix, so there is no snow remaining by the time I woke up this morning.

And I'm going to go attempt to do something, and I'll see what something is over the course of the day. I hope everyone has a fantastic day and good sleeps when they get there!

The vet calling with a reminder that Marisol and Sigdis have an appointment tomorrow (shots for Marisol, a first appointment/exam for Sigdis) woke me up promptly at nine, which. I was most of the way awake, but not yet properly awake? And the ringtone for the vet is the phone barking at me, so. That was me trying to jump out of my skin.

I have one more cord for a set for a sun-in-glory to braid, and it's on the spools for doing so, but not yet started. I ran out of spoons for that.

It's hormone hell week, and this month is. Irritability with a side of extra pain. *frustrated whining*

(Also, fucking allergist decided that the solution to me going "I would like not to have to deal with calling for a new prescription until June" was to give me only a two month prescription. Of a maintenance med. That I will be on for the rest of my life. *screams*)

Anyway. Hugs for everyone, and I'm going to go figure out what the fuck I'm going to do today. (Tomorrow's morning post will beon the late side because taking of cattens to the vet.)