girlofprey

Today I watched a documentary about London where the host talked about a gay brothel that was there in the 18th century, and the account given of it by an undercover police officer at the time. Who apparently had to go back several weeks in a row to "gather evidence". So what I want to know is: where is all the historical undercover-in-a-gay-bar fic?

Also I learned that lots of silver is terrifying. IT IS JUST SHINY AND THE SAME COLOUR SO YOU CAN'T SEE WHERE ONE PIECE ENDS AND ANOTHER BEGINS. Suddenly I know how to decorate a terrifying fairy lair should I ever write and/or film one.

I downloaded Minecraft today, after learning that it was finally available for the PS3 online. It now has every chance to impress me as all the Let's Plays suggest it should. Actually I've already played a couple of hours of it, and it is pretty good. I like the fact you can tame wolves and have them follow you around and help you. And also ocelots? I didn't manage to tame the ocelots though.

Meanwhile in Skyrim I finally get to have adventures with a hot Orc lady. Yusssss.

Oh and I had an actual look at the PS4 in a games shop today. It seems pretty cool, and smaller than I was expecting, but the only game I was interested in turned out to be a Playstation Store game that doesn't come in a bundle, and which I can get for the PS3. So that £400 price tag continues to be off-putting.

( Coronation Street, tw for cancer and suicide )

I went to Blackpool! It was lovely, even though the weather was changeable enough to make it difficult. The first night we were there it was just throwing it down all night. On Saturday it started out dry at least, then the sun came out and I was wondering around without a coat for a bit. Then there was a thunderstorm. It was funny actually, mum and I were in a cafe on a pier - which was already rocking because of the water underneath - just eating lunch, and then I noticed one of the girls from behind the counter asking if any of the other workers minded if she borrowed a jumper, and putting it over her head before she ran outside. Then we just heard the rain, sheeting down on the roof and outside. People started running in to take cover. Then the thunder started rolling. It was like being on the Ark. Like we were the last people in the world safe from the rain. One poor woman ran in with her kid, completely drenched, and told whoever she was meeting in the cafe that they'd been at the top of the big wheel when it started coming down. It let up enough that mum and I managed to leave, and we were planning to go to the Sealife centre just down the road anyway. When we came out it was dry again, and it was just sort of drizzling on and off for the rest of the night. It got cold though. The next day it was sunny in the morning, and then just started raining and showering for the last few hours we were there. There was a train at 2 and a train at 4, but we were both knackered and the weather was terrible, so we ended up going at 2. Then on the way home there was a rainbow over the Pennines. British weather, eh?

So it was a little difficult, but it was lovely, and I glad we went. We stayed in a great B&B on the North shore, so it was really quiet, but within walking distance of everything. On Saturday we went up the Tower, which I'd never been to before. We watched the dancers in the ballroom, including one young couple who must have been professionals and were amazing, had a drink in the cafe looking out over the sea (ocean?), where I had the finest traybake I've ever had in my life. I'm not sure any other will ever compare to it. Then we went to the top of the Tower - we had to have a 4D Experience on the way, but I did learn some interesting things, like that there are more B&B and hotel beds in Blackpool than in all of Portugal. Weird. The views from the top were lovely, as the sun was out at that point, and I did do the Skywalk, but I think the effect was spoiled a bit by the scaffolding a few stories below us. Anyway. Then we went and looked round the Winter Gardens, where mum said she'd gone back in the 60s, and walked down to the Central Pier and had lunch. Thunderstorm, and then the Sealife Centre, which was lovely, but they did have a weird attitude to their sharks. Telling you all about how sharks are endangered and not to buy products made from sharks one minute, and then playing Jaws-style music in the tunnel and selling shark's teeth in the shop the next. Didn't know what to make of that. But it was nice to see the fish.

Then mum and I walked down to the south pier and Pleasure Beach, but we were pretty knackered at that point and possibly about to do our feet an injury, so we just had dinner and went back to a bar near out B&B on the tram. I tried a Strawberry Daiquiri, finally, which was lovely, but as it was made in a Wetherspoons from what was apparently a pre-made mixer, I suspect it still wasn't the genuine article. Anyway. The next day we were both tired and it kept raining, so we just walked the opposite way up the North shore, came up from the slipway and walked to the end of the illuminations - all the way to Bispham station - then walked back, had some lunch and went for the train. Mum was talking about staying till the 4 o'clock train, but I don't know what else we would have done there. We were both tired, our feet were killing us, I didn't want to walk back into town anyway, and it was raining. And it had forecasted thundery hailstorms for later on. So we came back. And that was our weekend in Blackpool. It was grand.

I also went into Wakefield last week to try to get my netbook sorted out, or get some tips on fixing it. I don't think I ever posted about it, but I went to jekesta's on the 4th and took my netbook with me, and it connected to her wireless internet immediately. In Wakefield, in the shop where I bought it, it also connected to their internet immediately. So the guy said it couldn't really be the computer, or the software, because it was staying connected and loading webpages. He said it must be our router, somehow, even though all our other computers can connect through it. There might be something I can do with changing the internet options on the netbook, apparently, but he couldn't do anything there because I wasn't on my dad's network. So his only advice was to call our internet provider and talk to them about it. I'm not looking forward to that really. But it's the only thing being suggested at the moment. And if they can't help, the guy said I could bring it back and send it to them for a service, and he'd make sure it went even though there was nothing to say it was a problem with the machine itself, but he wasn't sure there'd be anything to fix, you know? Sigh. It's a conundrum, this netbook. But I may as well keep at it. One thing he did say was that registering my warranty online, like I was being prompted to do at jekesta's, wasn't an issue, and I'd have a warranty whether I did that or not, which was the only thing I was freaking out about. So at least that's not such an issue.

Other than that I'm mostly watching Coronation Street and replaying Oblivion. I've been replaying a lot of my old RPGs lately, but Oblivion's a slightly more serious one because I wasn't really that bothered about it when it came out. I bought it in 2011, when I finally got a laptop that could cope with it, and I kind of rushed through it so I'd be all caught up when Skyrim came out. And the Empire/Cyrodiil was always my least favourite part of the Elder Scrolls world. But now I'm going through it properly and have thought a bit more about my character and class, I'm enjoying it a lot more. The number one thing that still irks me though is that Foxglove Nectar doesn't have the Damage Health effect. Foxglove is like one the deadliest plants in the world. Worse than Nightshade, I think. It should definitely be a poison, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE THE BEST POISONS EVER WITH IT. Bethesda!

Also I bought Scribblenauts Unlimited because it was £3.74 on Steam. Fun!

I went to the cinema yesterday and saw The Wedding Video. I mostly went to see it because it had Lucy Punch in it, and Matt Berry, and I thought Maureen Lipman, but it turned out to be Harriet Walter. She was still very good though. I wasn't really expecting a lot from it, just sort of a bit of British-style farce and then a het closer, but it turned out to be really sweet. In a situation I don't often find sweet. Lucy Punch was great. I LOVE HER. So yeah, I recommend trying it if you just want a sort of gentle romantic comedy. Unless something really dreadful happened in the five minutes when I ran out to the bathroom. I recommend it less if something like that happened.

And on Wednesday, my mum had my YN over for a few hours, so my sister could go out with her other kids and do some things. He didn't seem that impressed to see me when he first arrived, he hid his face in my mum's neck. But eventually we got on a bit better. He's crawling now, and clapping, and he managed to press a big button that makes a noise in one of his books. Apparently he waves too, but when I waved at him he just clapped. Maybe I will see it some other day.

In other news, it's the Bank Holiday weekend, and apparently they're putting everything on the tv. Pretty much everything. The A Touch Of Cloth show people have been talking about for months is on on Sunday and Monday night. A new series of Inspector George Gently is starting on Sunday as well. Unfortunately they're on at the same time, and so is something my dad is taping, The Last Weekend, which to me looks a bit shit, but whatever. We're going to have to do some sort of TV watching gymnastics, I think. We all watch George Gently, so I was pretty happy to record that, let dad watch and record The Last Weekend and watch A Touch Of Cloth in the little bedroom upstairs, and then watch George Gently later with my parents. But the little bedroom doesn't have Sky channels. So it's back to the drawing board. Apparently a soap opera spoof thing (v. popular this Bank Holiday, apparently) which I was interested in is going to be on a bit later on Sunday night as well. It's obviously going to be a busy night.

In other other news, I'm still playing Fallout 3. I did start other games, like Silent Hill: Downpour and Saints Row 3, but unfortunately Downpour turned out to be a bit rubbish (like most other people seem to have said), and Saints Row 3 sort of seems like a self-parody of Saints Row 2, but without any of the things that made it interesting. So pretty much everything's fallen to the wayside but Fallout 3. It's funny, because I've even finished the main storyline and one of the DLCs, but I'm still playing. I really love The Elder Scrolls games, and obviously they're very similar to Fallout 3, but whenever I finish the main quests (and faction quests) of those games I pretty much stop playing them. I think Fallout 3, at least, just does a better job of convincing me that the real story there is out in the Wasteland and that I should explore it, which is not something I generally do in the Elder Scrolls games. I like finding new locations there, but I don't generally explore them for the sake of it. I sort of enjoy just playing Fallout 3 more. Anyway, those are my rambly thoughts on computer games. I'll stop now.

( Other rambly thoughts on computer games, sexism, and the new Tomb Raider game )

I also found a site through Tumblr that does little arty pictures and messages of dogs, cats and miscellaneous. This is indeed a pretty accurate representation of what it's like to own a Weimeraner. In case anyone was wondering.

It turned out I wasn't as far away from finishing the main Skyrim quest as I thought. But, it had a lot more to it and was a lot more satisfying than it would have been if it had finished when I thought it was going to. So. I am pleased. And I beat the main quest! Woo hoo! Now all I have to do is ALL THE OTHER HUNDREDS OF QUESTS THERE ARE TO DO, AND THE OTHER BIT OF MAIN STORYLINE. Hmm.

( Aftermath of the main quest, including spoilers for it )

So. I've had an interesting few days. After all my appointments last week I was tired, and going out to the cinema over the weekend appeared to have pushed me too hard, because I was still exhausted on Monday night, and stressing out over a personal statement for a job application that I hadn't edited. I was supposed to be meeting my employment coach on Tuesday after my jewellery course and before my counselling session. But I just felt so tired I didn't feel like I could go out at all on physically exhausted that I really didn't feel like I could go out at all on Tuesday. So I decided not to and just cancelled all my appointments. It was alright though, I emailed my employment coach and explained, and she said it was fine, and that the basic personal statement I'd already written before would probably do for the job application, so she filled it out and sent it off for me (with my permission), which I thought was still better than not applying at all. It's the type of work I've done before and local and the kind of hours I'm looking for, so it seemed like a shame not to. And my counseller ('s colleagues) actually called ME on Tuesday morning to say she was ill so wouldn't be able to make it to our appointment. And the jewellery course people didn't seem to have a problem. So it was all fine.

It did feel a little weird, but I do sort of feel like putting a stop to it and just not going out was a lot better than forcing myself to go, which is the type of thing I might have done before. And I went out to my Confidence Course today, and am planning to go to all my appointments as usual next week. Also, having thought about it and had some other 'symptoms', I've realised it's probably about four or six weeks since my last period, so my hormones probably have something to do with it. As well as going out to slightly too many things. Hmph. But anyway. I'm hoping to be back on track for next week.

In Saints Row 2 news, [spoiler] is still [spoiler]. Even if [spoiler] does still [spoiler] sometimes. I still love all my cars. And am not entirely willing to give any of them up to get new unlockable ones. Except that there are some that I am probably just never going to look at or use, so I probably will at some point. And people are still picking on me when I wear the same clothes too many days in a row. Or a particular piece of clothing one too many times. When I have sometimes spent HALF AN HOUR or something making that piece of clothing, and have to then try to make it again or throw it out. Hmph. I still kind of love it though. Even if I sort of feel like loading a save from before the end of the game, and having the story go on FOREVER. I have won slightly too many really really hard minigames and done too many things to my cars and clothes to actually do that though.

And in Skyrim, I appear to be weirdly close to finishing the main quest. I sort of had an idea, from the name of bits of the quest and some of the content, but still. I have no idea how long I have devoted to the actual main quest, but it still seems weirdly quick compared to some of the other Elder Scrolls games. I mean, when I played Morrowind - the graphics and character interactions were nowhere near as good as they are in Skyrim, and I did do a weird thing of abandoning it because I was scared of getting killed, and then finding a walkthrough and a cheat to turn on God Mode - but I still remember the main quest going on for ages, and being really really brilliant and detailed. And if the Skyrim quest ends here then it's really nowhere near the same amount of content, from what I can remember. Maybe I'm wrong though. Maybe there will be a twist and there will be more to it, and more stuff after it. We'll see. I'm almost all the way through my backlog of quests, and going through some incredibly creepy Daedric quests at the moment. Also, ( Vague non-spoiler ). Hmph.

In other news...blargh. I have been watching Whitechapel. I love Whitechapel. AND I DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW ANYONE COULD SHIP CHANDLER/KENT WHEN CHANDLER/MILES IS RIGHT THERE, RIGHT THERE. But whatever. And I have been on Tumblr. I have many issues with Tumblr, and I have just had to Unfollow a girl who was kind of angry and oversharey and reblogged upsetting things a lot, even though I found her blog quite funny and it introduced me to a bunch of fandoms/memes I'd never heard of. Which was kind of a shame. But mostly Tumblr provides me with daily pictures of wolves, and doodly art, and cakes. Which is lovely. Also you sometimes get links to things, like Two Best Friends Play, who even though I've never played Assassin's Creed, still sort of kill me. Not as much as 666theheartless666 though. Beautiful 666theheartless666 (easier to type than to say), who came back recently, HURRAH.

Although sadly Tumblr is full of Sherlock, and I still mostly hate Sherlock, except that I never actually got round (so far) to watching the second series, so that I don't even feel able to judge Sherlock properly. MAYBE SERIES TWO WAS REALLY GOOD AND THEIR LOVE WAS TRUE. I just don't know.

Blah. I'm probably going to watch Poltergeist: The Legacy series 1 at some point, because I have the DVDs, and because Nick. I DON'T KNOW. Maybe.

Also, I keep forgetting, but I did finally get sent a date for my ESA hearing. It's at the end of April. So that's coming up. Great.

Hello. I seem to be finding so much of my time taken up recently. Apart from the four hours a day of computer games I'm still playing, I now have my jewellery course and counselling on a Tuesday, I've started a new Confidence Course on Wednesdays (at 10.15am!), and every other week I usually have an appointment with my employment coach on Thursdays. Altogether, this tends to mean that the middle part of my week is very, very packed, and I spend most of the rest of the week trying to get over it.

It woudn't be so bad, but it's the combination of having to get up slightly earlier on Tuesdays to go the course, then not getting back in until about 8.30pm that night, and having to get up at 8 on Wednesdays. While still trying to fit in my computer games so I feel like I'm getting my leisure activity time, and not varying it in a way that might get difficult when it comes to my OCD. Sometimes it seems a bit rubbish, given that by 12.30 on Wednesdays I have nothing else to do, and every other week I have nothing else to do for the rest of the week, aside from have my MN over on Thursdays. But by 12.30 on a Wednesday I'm usually slightly exhausted, and I do feel myself still feeling that way a couple of days later. A part of me keeps feeling like I want to jack in the Confidence Course, because I have (sort of) been on it before. But going out for earlier starts is supposed to be the kind of thing I'm challenging myself on and trying to work more into my regular routine. And I do like the course. So I probably won't. It's mostly just that when I planned to have more things I was doing every week, I sort of also planned to have them a few days apart so I could recover, not sort of all squashed in the middle. But it hasn't turned out like that, obviously. It's not that bad, and I can always stop going to things if I want to, and I have had a bit of a whinge about it to my employment coach. It's just sort of exhausting, that's all.

Anyway. There's still not a lot to report, unless you really want to hear me bang on about everything I love and hate about Skyrim and Saints Row 2. I have a list of things that annoy me in both if you do want to hear about that. At the moment I'm mostly trying to go through my quest backlog in Skyrim, which is sort of interesting and gives me a sense of achievement, but is also starting to feel a bit perfunctory. Still, I do feel like those imaginary people have been waiting for me to complete their quests for long enough. And in Saints Row 2 I am almost finished with the gang storylines, I have gotten rid of two of the three gangs that were in the city when I started it, and I am probably going to finish off the last gang tomorrow, at which point I will presumably start on the Ultor storylines. There are only three Hoods owned by Ultor, although it seems like there's going to be more to it than that, seen as how the game keeps mentioning them and they're like this massive company. So I genuinely don't know how close or far away I am from finishing (and I don't really want to). My save game information says I've completed about 60-something percent of it, but a lot of that is to do with side acitivites and jobs and things, so I still really don't know. Hmm.

Most of what I want to say about Saints Row 2 is just how much better it is when you play as a female character. From a gender standpoint, obviously. I know that's going to seem incredibly obvious, but just - everything's gayer. It's passing the Bechdel test left right and centre. IT'S AWESOME. And so on. They have some decent female secondary characters, whoever you play as, but they also have quite a lot of problematic stuff. And obviously it's not really the same as making a game like Saints Row 2 with a specific main female character - the same as it's difficult to be fannish about Skyrim or Saints Row 2 (which I am) when there isn't really a specific main character to discuss - but just the option makes it so much better and ksdjfklsdjfkljfklsd it's great. I LOVE DARCY.

Anyway. Other than that, I was sort of planning to go down to Nottingham last Saturday for the ACTA protest, but then I didn't. Like I've said, I sort of want to go travelling about a bit before my Young Person's Railcard runs out, and it would give me a chance to go to the Focus Gallery and maybe see Alys Power as well. But then I remembered that those types of protests tend to start at 9am or something, and I was exhausted, and it was possibly about to snow again, and even if it didn't it was still kind of cold. So I didn't. But I was there in spirit. Sort of.

And the other main thing that's happened is that - if you've been reading this LJ for awhile you may have noticed me previously complaining about having to buy a new version of Microsoft Word soon, because I couldn't register the copy of my mum's I had installed on this laptop, and it was telling me I could only use it 22 more times or something. Well, as is my usual way, I didn't buy a new copy of Microsoft Word, I just stopped writing on it or saving fic I liked to it or reading old fic I had saved on it. But the other night I decided I did want to read some old fic, so I opened it for what it told me would be the last time. And then when I was finished I closed it and decided to open it again just to check that it definitely was unusable now. And it started up just fine, and told I just wouldn't be able to use certain features now! Those cunts. I mean, obviously, the point is to make each and every single person go out and buy their own copy of Microsoft Word. But they had me thinking it would just SHUT DOWN PERMANENTLY after my allowed uses were used up. And now it's just fine. Set of bastards. skdfjkdjskl.

And the other main thing that's annoying me is that, it's really nice that there are websites set up so that little-known artists can sell their prints to people who like them. But it might also be nice to have somewhere - somewhere VISIBLE - a page telling you how they ship them, and where they ship to, and how much it generally costs, before you actually try to buy something. The two I have seen seem to ask you to pay using Paypal, and I know I've seen on sites before that they can somehow use your address on Paypal to send things to you, so I'm guessing that's how they do it. Still. A page EXPLAINING that or even SAYING IT SO YOU KNOW might be useful. Grrr.

Hello. I have been planning and trying to make a post for a few days now. But usually by the time I am finished with my computer games every day, and then my flist and email and trying to make my way through my Tumblr dashboard I am exhausted or it is the middle of the night. I need get rid of some Tumblrs from my dashboard I think.

But I am making it now, largely because of the film The Grey that's out at the moment, and all the bad things I keep hearing about it. Essentially, apart from it being based around a negative and apparently unrealistic portrayal of wolves - a pet peeve of mine - there's also apparently evidence of animal cruelty on the set. And now, from metaquotes, it seems like one of the actors is kind of a dick: "I’ve made a lot of movies that had both men and women in them, a lot of movies that were dominated by the woman’s storyline. And in this case it was a very different experience making the movie and enjoying the movie, when it was completed, because of the fact that there are no women in it… It was like thank God, I get to do a movie with just guys.”. Dermot Mulroney's view of film-making, that is. And for some reason I have decided to blame Liam Neeson for all of this as well. Just because his face is on all the posters. FUCK YOU LIAM NEESON.

Also, I mostly wanted to post about the most beautiful response to the 'No Homo' phrase I've probably ever seen. I think 'No Hobo' is probably my favourite. I apologise for any ads you may see before that video. I can't really believe Youtube nowadays.

And also, in a sort of similar note to what Dermot Mulroney said - but completely the opposite - I've not been going to see many films lately, but there are a few I am or was sort of looking forward to. One of them was Chronicle, which is apparently about a bunch of teenagers getting superpowers, and then it all getting a bit thrillery. Except that I then looked it up, and it turns out it's about three teenagers, all of whom are male. I don't, it was just the sort of film I felt like I'd want to see a female character in, and it sounded like - with a group of teenagers - and in this day and age - one of the people getting superpowers might be female. But apparently not. And then, I went through it again yesterday, when I randomly saw a billboard poster for a show called The Almighty Johnsons with the tagline 'Meet the gods next door' - only to later pass it again and see that it's all about 'Axl', who just become a god, 'just like all his brothers'. Again, it was a show it seemed like there might be a female character in. And I assume that if they are a family, they probably have a mother (maybe?). But it doesn't seem like female presence is going to be a huge part or point of the show. In a way I kind of understand the film one more, because it sounds like it's going to be about a fairly close, small group of friends getting superpowers and then tearing each other apart, and I think it's fair to say that generally people tend to have friends, especially as teenagers, that are the same sex as they are. It's still annoying, but you know. But the TV show one I understand a lot less, surely it's pretty straightforward to just have a woman in a family? Maybe it's just weird advertising. And I don't know, maybe both these things will have amazing secondary female characters in them, AMAZING secondary female characters, the kind that blow people's minds. Maybe most of the male characters get killed off by the middle part of the story, and it's up to the secondary female characters to step up and save the day. They're not allowing those women to be in the promo shots or trailers though. It's just annoying really, because those types of story are exactly the type of thing I would be interested in. And I am still am kind of interested in them. Just slightly less excited now. And you know, it's not actually bad to have women in your films and shows. Just saying.

Anyway. Most of my links on this page are off Tumblr. Please do not judge me.

Also, I still love Skyrim. Also, it turns out the character I am playing in Saints Row 2 is an actual psychopath. But she has a lieutenant who is attention-seeking. Which is quite lovely. The psychopath thing is a bit disturbing though.

I just watched an episode of Casualty where everything happened. BASICALLY EVERYTHING. The only thing they were missing was a zombie uprising and a volcano.

( Vague, minor spoilers for Skyrim )

Meanwhile on Saints Row 2, I've started getting a bit money, so I can buy more (customisable) clothes, and I learned that you can just steal any car in the street and take it for your own, rather than having to wait and buy them, and I learned about the car customisation services. So that's what I'm spending quite a lot of my time in the game doing right now. It is wicked though. Hurrah!

Some things that have happened:

• I have finished the main questline of both Oblivion expansion packs. I am now the Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild, Master of the Fighter's Guild, Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Champion of Cyrodiil, Divine Crusader of the Knights Of The Nine, and God-Queen of the Shivering Isles. Which is nice.



• I have a job interview. In two weeks. I keep meaning to talk to my employment coach woman about doing some interview preparation, but I haven't yet. I am seeing her tomorrow though, so I can probably talk to her then. My main concern is that I haven't worn my interview suit in nearly two years and it might not fit me anymore. Also that I have a JOB INTERVIEW. Jesus.



• Death Valley had it's season finale, which I didn't realise until after I'd started watching it. It was quite good. They did another weird thing. And, suffice it to say, true love died young. Not that it matters. There is no fic or comms or anything :(



• Also, we missed an episode of Once Upon A Time because of the American Music Awards, and there was no warning for that until it just didn't turn up on Monday. WHATEVER, AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS.



• It's nearly December, which means that all the shops have all their scarves, sparkly jewellery, and Christmas themed-stuff on sale. I don't think this is fair.



• Having missed yesterday's E4 episode because I was out at a counselling appointment, I've just watched two of the strangest Hollyoaks episodes I've probably ever seen. Hollyoaks ended their long-running rape storyline on Friday (on E4) with an entire episode dedicated to the main three characters involved, which was AMAZING. But tonight. They've had a family of robots for a while on the show, and now they seem to be moving onto vampires. And there's been a whole meesed up family/paternity mystery plot running for weeks where no-one has at any point mentioned the words 'DNA test'. A DNA test might be difficult given that the baby's dad is either a guy or his own father. But still. A DNA TEST PEOPLE. THEY EXIST.



• I went to the Thought Bubble comic convention on Saturday. It was lovely, I spent probably a bit too much, but got some nice, fairly cheap new comic books. The only annoying thing is that there was an artist there who was there last year, when I bought a preview of his comic that wasn't in print yet. This year, he was back with three issues of the comic - but by the time I got there (two or three hours after the convention opened), they'd done better than they thought they were going to, and had sold out of the first issue of it. But apparently I can buy the first issue online when it gets reprinted. Still, it's annoying. But other than that it was lovely.



• I have no money, I need a number of things, including a new desk chair, and it's Christmas really pretty soon. Boo.



• My sister's new baby is due on the 28th, apparently, and rather than us having the kids for five days, the new arrangement is for my mum to go pick them up at 6.45am every weekday, take them to school, and then get them when they come out of school, take them to our house and give them their tea, and then take them back to their dad every evening when he gets in from work. I had vague plans to try to avoid the house while all this was happening, but now it's like next week, and I don't have any plans, and I don't really have any money, and - given the current proposed set up, I don't even know what it's going to be like. So I don't even know. But that's next week probably.



• Oh, and I saw the movie Thor over the weekend. Mostly because I'd heard it was good, and I saw from someone's fanvid a few months ago that the guy who plays Loki in it is Tom Hiddleston, who used to be in Suburban Shootout. And I'm apparently VERY INVESTED IN THE CAREERS OF SUBURBAN SHOOTOUT VETERANS. So yeah, I watched it. I quite enjoyed it, although it seemed to me to have a lot of weirdly Christian imagery for a film based on Norse mythology. And mostly I liked Loki. But basically the outcome is that now - despite how much I hated Iron Man 2 - I suddenly have an interest in the Avengers film coming out next year. And I should probably dig up Captain America at some point so I'm all caught up on the canon before it comes out. Sigh.



• And now, on jekesta's suggestion, I'm going to go try out some Danger 5. Which does look AMAZING.



• P.S. Also, I love 666theheartless666. It's a shame he's not really doing videos anymore. Another sigh.

Hello. It's me again. It has occured to me that this is probably the first time since I've had a Livejournal or been in fandom that I've had a new Elder Scrolls game, so you probably wouldn't have known what it's like (if indeed you care). This is what it's like, basically. I play them and don't do much else, except truly necessary stuff (maybe).

Things I haven't been watching, especially, since I started playing Oblivion:

• Emmerdale or Coronation Street, except when they were on when I was downstairs eating my tea. Although this is also partly because I've not been terribly interested in much that they're doing lately.


• Spy, despite waiting for it to start since about three or four months ago.


• Misfits.

I have been watching some things though. And they are:

• Death Valley. ( Huge spoilers up to 1.10, some for 1.11 too )



• Once Upon A Time. ( Spoilers up to 1.03 )



• Grimm. ( Spoilers up to 1.02 )



• I have caught up on all of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic that has been aired so far. I quite like it. I like Rainbow Dash the best. Twilight Sparkle kind of freaks me out with her slave-having, mind-controlling ways sometimes. But mostly I like it. But I don't really have anything to say about it. But it is lovely.

I also haven't been to see many films lately, and now a bunch of the ones I did sort of want to see have gone out of the cinema. But the ones I have seen in the past few weeks are:

• The Adventures Of Tin-Tin. ( Spoilers )



• Tower Heist. ( Some spoilers )

In real life, some other things have happened. There was Halloween, and then my dad's birthday and Bonfire Night. We went out for a meal at a restaurant/pub and then went out to the bonfire they were having. I had to spend time with my sister, but I mostly ignored her and it was pretty okay. I filled in an application for a job with the help of my employment coach, and sent it off. I haven't heard back from them, but apparently it had a really late ending date, so I might still hear back from them, who knows. I started counselling, and it went fine, but it got cancelled this week, so I've only had one session so far. And this weekend I'm planning on going to an art market to pick up a necklace that's been made for me.

And Halloween and Bonfire Night are over, and it is currently the period I count as "Christmas". And my mum dropped the bombshell about a week ago that my sister, who's due to give birth in a few weeks, will probably have to stay with the baby in the hospital for five days after it's born, and with Christmas coming her partner can't afford to take time off work, so we will probably be having both my nephews living with us for those five days. Which I'm not exactly looking forward to. But I'm sure it will all be fine. Probably. And that is basically everything that's happened in my life lately.