health

I usually get a tickle in the back of the throat through the winter. Some stuffiness. A snuffle in the nose. Sometimes a morning hoarseness before everything warms up.

Yesterday, last night, and this morning, it's been a bit congested breathing. It might be smoke - I smoked some duck fillets last night on the BBQ and sat outside waiting for them to finish - and it probably also didn't help that it was CHILLY.

I've also been tired a lot, and kind of 'meh'. The whole situation going on in the background over the last week contributed to the stress levels (and when I'm super stressed, I don't actually want to eat, which doesn't help either), and so sleep patterns have been out the window.

Then, on top of all that, I got my period this week. And the first day I bled like a limb had been chopped off. Two period cups full in 10 hours. I swear I could feel the damn lining tearing off my uterus. Luckily this time we had painkillers (thanks to last time), but it was bad enough that last night (2nd night) I took another 2 at 4am. Usually I only have to take them at the start of the cycle.

Anyway, after the health thing, I didn't go to bible study last night and I'm kind of peeved about that, and then I had to cancel on friends who invited me around for dinner tonight, and I'm peeved about that, too.

Now that it's 2pm, I went for a short bike ride (like, super-short, maybe 10 minutes max) did some stuff out in the sun and the wind and the dirt, and I'm feeling a LOT better - congested feeling has dropped to what I'd say is 'winter normal'.

Note to self: do some exercise, sit out in the sun, and dig some soil next time we're feeling hypochondriac. Definitely helps lift the spirits.

I've aldo decided to go back to hockey this year after all. Short season, open air, taking precautions with cleaning. I'll also be playing goalie, which means I just have to keep my own equipment clean, and people don't generally rush the goalie too much. Might wear a facemask underneath the grille just in case.

AU Exchange 2020 Letter

Dear AU Exchange writer,

Thank you so much for writing for me!

I love AUs of all types and kinds, both the 'different ending' and the 'fusion' type of AU, and I love seeing them applied to my favourite characters to create new and different stories.

I'm going with my standard options again, because I always love MOAR CAKE (one cake good, two cakes better).

If I haven't mentioned the AU that we matched on, I absolutely still want it, and would love to read your take on it. I'm just throwing ideas around, trying to see if something sticks!

things I like
Fusion AUs (characters from one canon written in another canon as though they've always been there)

Women at the centre of the story and female friendships and dynamics. Women who have agency and determination and make their own decisions (and the men who respect those decisions).

In most fandoms, one thing that I really enjoy is the mingling of professional and personal: a lot of these fandoms have people who work together, but they don't exactly compartmentalise and go home to their own family at the end of the day. Their work relationships are also the big personal relationships in their lives.

I've put a list of pairings I enjoy next to the fandoms. If you want to include any of them, that would be mighty fine! If you don't, then just friendships and interaction is great.

A note about soulmates/soulmarks AUs: I'm okay with the soulmates thing not being sexual, just people who are matched - kind of like the 'found family' trope, only with capital-D Destiny. I also like when the soulmates trope is inverted or subverted - where the sexual pairing aren't necessarily soulmates. (If you need a reference for what this looks like in my own writing, try my MCU fic 'Between Destiny And Love'.) Or you can write soulmates straight - whatever works.

do not wants:
- rape/non-con
- PWP (I don't mind a scene of smut in a longer story, but I don't want the entire story to be about sex)
- cheating partners
- pairings I haven't requested
- humiliation as humour

( the usual suspects )

--

Finally, these are all ideas that I'm putting out there for you to think about and possibly be inspired by. If they don't speak to you, that's okay - just write what we matched on and it'll be fine.