and, and those candles that don't blow out... Those used to scare me. (btvs 5:13)

I have many birthday wishes today!!! February's been such a busy month at work that I blame it for my missing a number of birthdays. Belated birthday wishes to glitter_j, dancetomato and _beetle_!! I hope you all had wonderful days!!!!

Today is also the birthday of two fabulous people on my flist: apreludetoanend and crossoverman. It's been such a delight getting to know apreludetoanend these past few months. I could go on about her writing and icon-making talents, and her wonderful and positive approach to fandom but instead will direct you to the incredible post by madame_meretrix here (at birthdayrecs) - she expresses exactly what I would say. I wish you a very wonderful birthday, Erin!

I was realizing recently that's it's been about a year since I met crossoverman - and I'm so happy we met!! He always has interesting reviews of TV shows and movies, as well as linking to so many neat news items and fun videos. I hope you have a fabulous birthday!!

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I was realizing recently that it's been a while since I posted any fic. I've been having some trouble feeling inspired the last few weeks. However, I have been working on a couple of chapter length fics, so writing has been happening (albeit slowly). I also do have some fic I expect to post shortly! In addition, I wrote a piece of original fic (a short story) which I'm submitting to a contest - this is a big step for me as I've never entered a short story contest before.

Oh! And it's the Oscars tonight!! The Academy Awards is my favourite awards ceremony, and even though I've only seen one of the movies nominated for best picture (Little Miss Sunshine) and one foreign language one (Pan's Labryinth), I'm still really looking forward to it.

I have a rec for you all! I'm particularly excited to recommend this fic because it's not the usual pairing I read so I feel confident it will be enjoyed by all, regardless of shipping preference.

Rain by apreludetoanend - Giles/Spike, PG-13

It's set post-The Gift, and is a heart-breaking, touching and gorgeous story. To tantalize you, here's how it begins:

“Why?”

The question rises through layers of hiss and static, clawing its way above the drone, and rings cold and true in the London night.

Cars splash endless puddles onto the paving outside and Rupert Giles clings to the telephone like it’s a lifeline, like it’s God himself who’s just rung past midnight to impart the meaning of life or the meaning of death or the meaning of anything, because none of it matters anymore.

Not only do I highly recommend this story, I also definitely suggest checking out apreludetoanend's other fic here. A couple of my favourites are This Time of Year (Spike/Xander, PG-13) and Oh Very Young (Spike/Xander,R).

And now I shall go back to catching up on TV watching and waiting for my pizza to arrive. *g*

Look! Look! I have a gorgeous new default icon!!!! It's made by the super talented apreludetoanend, who generously made it as a holiday gift. This is my favourite Spike/Xander scene on the show, and the scene that made me think "you know, they'd be a cool pairing" so I'm very thrilled to have such a beautiful icon of it - isn't the lighting impressive?! Everyone should definitely check out the post here to see the other equally awesome S/X icon she made me and because there's a version of this one without my username that is snaggable!! Also, there's a wonderful S/X drabble with very fun Veronica Mars references! Yes, that's right - not only is apreludetoanend a fabulous graphic artist (check out slightlyiconic for her icons), she's also a very talented writer!

Wheee! This totally made my day!!! Thanks so much apreludetoanend!! *gazes at my new icons happily*

And since I'm talking Spike/Xander, it seems like the perfect time to pimp one of my favourite S/X authors, actually one of my all-time favourite authors regardless of pairing: reremouse! If you're not reading Scoffs at Gravity, rush off and read it now - it's here. It's set during AtS season five, and Xander is working as a watcher at Wolfram and Hart. To quote reremouse's summary/warning: Xander's a watcher, Spike's a ghost, Angel's a CEO. Watching, alcoholism, insults and periods of masculine communication via grunts and hand signals. Like all of reremouse's stories there's fabulous humour, excellent flow, wonderful characterization, awesome details and way more going on below the surface than it may initially seem. She's posting Scoffs at Gravity each weekday, and I highly recommend reading as she posts (and commenting too, of course *g*) because I feel that each chapter should be savoured on its own. Although I'm rec'ing this story, I recommend all of reremouse's work.

Oh! And since this is clearly a good news post, read here how the Firefly fandom rallied despite the cancelled Flanvention and how the actors turned up! It's so wonderful to see actors being nice and caring people. Truly a heart-warming story that makes me teary with happiness. Special shout-out to carmen_sandiego who I hope is having a fabulous time!!!

ETA: Oh my goodness in all this excitement, I almost forgot to wish kenyacandoit a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! I hope your day is wonderful and filled with many delightful surprises! *hugs*