Don't take it serious, it's too...

Just a bowl of cherries!

This is me, swanning off: Utopia update! (9.8k)

itsthecherries:

takma-rierah:

I have the go-ahead to post, so here it is!

http://archiveofourown.org/works/298803/chapters/624156

I will also have it up on FFN and LJ shortly, but this is much easier than coordinating them!

I haven’t finished the new chapter yet, but so…

Definitely realistic - though obviously when this is set is very different to modern practices (eg. I’d never pour cultures directly down the sink, for example without thorough disinfection - I usually add Virkon and leave for a couple of hours - but I guess health and safety is always going to be different in dystopian Utopia!)

Also, this x 1000 000 - It was a good strategy not to expect much to start with, to enjoy the process and be pleasantly surprised if something worked.


And the proteins I work with get very temperamental when kept north of zero for too long. If I know I’m not going to be using something for months, it goes in the -80, but I generally store everything at -20, in 50% glycerol, which avoids the problem of repeated freeze/thawing ;)

That being said - I work with enzymes, where I need to preserve activity. If activity isn’t an issue, a protein could be kept at 4 degrees for a week or two without much problem ;)

1 month ago - 19

Utopia update! (9.8k)

takma-rierah:

I have the go-ahead to post, so here it is!

http://archiveofourown.org/works/298803/chapters/624156

I will also have it up on FFN and LJ shortly, but this is much easier than coordinating them!

I haven’t finished the new chapter yet, but so far…Charles and I seem to be running parallel lives - and I’m not even a proper biochemist/biologist. Running SDS gels (I have a handy table above my bench to tell me how much of everything to add - I never remember)! The smell of cultures! And I’ve just started learning how to do Partial Edman Degradation. And I have a student - though mine is called Brian and is sickeningly enthusiastic….

Also, for shame Charles - proteins never last at 4 degrees! I spend enough of my time hunting for samples with my head stuck in the -80 to know ;)

Let’s just hope that’s where the similarities end though - as much as I enjoy reading your Erik, I don’t know how I’d feel coming home to find him waiting for me…

This is me, swanning off: itsthecherries replied to your post: Panicked because I couldn’t find…takma-rierah: itsthecherries replied to your post: Panicked because I couldn’t find Google Street…

takma-rierah:

Still need a London consultant? I’ve been in the depths of west Wales (Castles!) but I’m currently listening to Big Ben chiming from my flat and more than happy to hand over any (perhaps paltry)…

Well…umm….If I was looking for a Secret Lair of Evil in London I’d probably go to:

Read More

Take two italics & call me in the morning.: Series rec

subtilior:

Run, do not walk, to read the Father Charles series - by Yahtzee.

It’s a splendid portrayal of 1) an ex-religious, 2) a loving relationship coming to terms with the culture of the time, and 3) Vietnam, on the front line and at home.

In three parts - ongoing.

1) Sacrament

Love this series - I was completely hooked on Paralyser too. And The Attempt and Enigma both broke my heart into pieces. Yahtzee is always worth the read. 

1 month ago - 26

when the dawn is softly showing darkness lingers on your brow

when the dawn is softly showing
darkness lingers on your brow

(Source: disproven)

takma-rierah:

flaxxxen:

clear-liqueur:

epic4chan:

geek feed:

college laboratory rules  画


“Do not believe in miracles—rely on them.” is 100% true. Self, look at your life choices.

Oh, Taaaaaaaaaak.

Yessssss to all of this!
I actually just wrote something along these lines, too! :D

THIS
I demonstrated in undergraduate labs for the first time last week, having successfully avoided it for 2 years. No fires, no explosions, but…I did spend a lot of my time yelling “NOO!” a lot, second only to asking “Do you…um…actually know what you’re doing…??”. And I came quite close to smashing an rbf over one student’s head. 
They were 3rd years, so either they’ve been very lucky so far, or they’ve actually learnt how not to kill themselves in the lab by now - so it wasn’t too terrifying. But they did ask a lot of questions along the lines of “When will this reaction/column/distillation be finished?” and “Is this the right colour?” to which my general response was a sympathetic shrug.
But it does make me reassured that you do generally have to be very unlucky/crazy/dumb to completely fail in the lab - tomorrow I’m doing  rather large-scale reaction using NaH. Wish me lack of fires…

takma-rierah:

flaxxxen:

clear-liqueur:

epic4chan:

geek feed:

college laboratory rules 

“Do not believe in miracles—rely on them.” is 100% true. Self, look at your life choices.

Oh, Taaaaaaaaaak.

Yessssss to all of this!

I actually just wrote something along these lines, too! :D

THIS

I demonstrated in undergraduate labs for the first time last week, having successfully avoided it for 2 years. No fires, no explosions, but…I did spend a lot of my time yelling “NOO!” a lot, second only to asking “Do you…um…actually know what you’re doing…??”. And I came quite close to smashing an rbf over one student’s head. 

They were 3rd years, so either they’ve been very lucky so far, or they’ve actually learnt how not to kill themselves in the lab by now - so it wasn’t too terrifying. But they did ask a lot of questions along the lines of “When will this reaction/column/distillation be finished?” and “Is this the right colour?” to which my general response was a sympathetic shrug.

But it does make me reassured that you do generally have to be very unlucky/crazy/dumb to completely fail in the lab - tomorrow I’m doing  rather large-scale reaction using NaH. Wish me lack of fires…

13.3k

takma-rierah:

My mother’s come to stay with me so things are going slow. :P Also this scene is ~haaaaard~, whine whine whine. It’s basically like. 15 pages of Charles and Erik negotiating the terms to their sex. WTF. I had to have theredoormouse look over what I have so far to make sure it still even makes sense. D:

Anyway. Here’s this preview! I’m almost to the part where they actually have sex. :|

(Also: hello 9 11 10 nod!)

—————

Read More

Wow. Congratulations - I now have a very tingle-y spine.

I’ve always thought that, if adapted for a visual medium, 9 10 11 would be a (epic, epic) film, but Utopia would be a really intense play. The kind you might watch at the the Donmar in London. The kind that would be so intense in its depiction of a relationship, to watch it would almost make you feel uncomfortable. Is it wrong that I almost felt like an actual voyeur even reading this? Almost as if i should leave my laptop alone for about 30 minutes, to give Charles and Erik some privacy to sort things out….

Is does seem that, for all of their dancing around each other, they are finally, i don’t know, understanding each a bit better other and speaking a bit more honestly. And yes, I’m still torn as to whether I want Charles to fight back , or not…..yet.


Dear X-Men Fandom,
This is my year, my 525,600 minutes. This is the proof that you are my life. These fics are the fics I consider some of the best I’ve read  and is definite proof that fandom is an educational, healthy hobby, if not lifestyle. 
Most of these fics are complete - but if you see some WIPs, then READ those because they’re damned good if they made it on THE LIST. For every rec, there is a small justification on why I decided to put them on the list. In this list I use the words “balance”, “characterisation”, “pace” and “relevant” so much it nearly made me puke.
Nine Eleven Ten by subtilior - WIP 30/68 chapters, I put Nine Eleven Ten on this list for its amazing worldbuilding as well as the awesome recreation of a classic fairytale. Based on Beauty and The Beast, subtilior twists both the X-Men reality as well as the original fairytale into a shape that SLOTS RIGHT INTO THE MISSING PIECES OF MY HEART, OH MY GOD. The characterisations are an amazing balance between the X-Men characters they were in another lifetime and the universe they reside in and I spent an entire night not sleeping to read this, with my sister snoring beside me. Trust me, it deserves to be on this list.
Rumor Has It by blueink3 - WIP 35 chapters, Rumor Has It is a kidfic, a teamfic, and a familyfic all at once. The characterisations are sgjdshfjdkjfdkjdfkjddkjdkj (keysmashingly beautiful) and offer insight that a two hour movie just can’t. It doesn’t fall into any of the other teamfic traps (mainly forgetting about Sean or focusing too much on Hank or Alex) and blueink3 balances the emotion and the action extremely well. The dynamic between all the characters is true to the normal spectrum of human emotion (which is rare in fics tbh), especially the one between Moira and Erik as well as Sean and Charles while at the same time not forgetting that there’s a world outside of the characters, and they need to face it.
Time to Grow by zarah5 – It’s a fix it that does it slowly, in a way that only Charles and Erik would. This fic was something I encountered podfic first, since I was in the Philippines. In a way, I can say this was something that welcomed me into the X-Men fandom. Zarah5 has been one of my favourites ever since she wrote for Bandom (which is a damn long time ago), so I trusted her, and she didn’t fail.
Carpe Brewski by gyzym – WIP 10 chapters, I present: The AU. I think if there ever was a starterpack for the X-Men fandom, subtilior’s Nine Eleven Ten and gyzym’s Carpe Brewski would go hand in hand and create a field of wheezing fangirls who want the reality to be real. I held off reading Carpe Brewski because once again, AUs in which they are in school is not my thing, but this. THIS is hilarious. Like, another one of those “Charles and Erik are the same in every universe”. Erik still hates Shaw, and Charles is still a pacifist and everything goes wrong, except in a different scale of wrong.
South of The Border by sneakertime – A fic written in the point of view of the one who DOESN’T get the girl, I love the perspective this offers, because honestly, it’s 2012 and we still have the same old love story where the one who DOESN’T get with the totally sought after one mostly has very little backstory or is obviously JUST ‘friend’ material. This story is slightly more real than that, because we see Logan in the process of falling, and then having to completely and abruptly stop himself when he realizes that Charles is still in love with his ex-boyfriend. I wish I was good with words and could say things like “the perspective offered in this fic bla bla, plus bla the difference in the emotions Charles shows to both Erik and Logan, the subtle differences which show the jcskjkjds”. It’s good. GOOD.
Our House, In The Middle of The Street by Clocks – Okay, this is going to sound really lame, but – “the fic where Charles and Erik are still the same, in any universe”. This fic is lighthearted and, this is not meant to demean, a fic set in a Jennifer Aniston universe, where love triumphs and it’s relatively family friendly except for one or two passionate scenes that show you how in love the two main characters are. It’s Jennifer Aniston but a BETTER Jennifer Aniston, and it’s like my X-Men feel good fic, because I know that after reading some of the most heart-wrenching stuff, I’ve still got this, at least. Ugh, can’t I review all this with SO. DAMN. GOOD?
A Curious Carriage of Crystal and Cold by Etharei - An epic if there ever was one, this movie takes place in the future, after Earth has colonized other planets. Charles Xavier saves Erik Lehnsherr and for his troubles gets a spinal injury. The story is pretty simple in its ingenuity and fits the characters into their new roles pretty well (though we don’t see a lot of them). Tony Stark makes a special appearance!
Humane Society by smilebackwards – This veers away from the ~srs bsns that this fic rec is for a little bit, because Humane Society is one of the kitten fic this fandom seems so fond of. But I love this. I adore it and it’s feel-good and yeah most of these recs try to shy away from breaking your heart because this fandom does that ENOUGH but yes, this makes it onto the list because kitten!Erik and human!Charles. They are relevant.
An Earlier Heaven by Regann – One of the fics I followed until the very end, this one holds a special place for me because I always remember scenes from it and somehow find it RELEVANT, despite the fact I’ve never been in the characters’ position. I like all the character reactions here, I think it stays true to the entire cast, not demonizing or … angelizing(?) anyone. They just are.
The Tower and The Hurricane by dreamlittlenyo – I like how the changes that the character decides to inflict on the character of Charles makes it so that Erik and Charles can be together, but allows the reader to see how it places pressure on Charles as a person. This fic is fix it, but one with great sacrifice.

Honourable Mentions:
I’ll See Your Heart (And I’ll Raise You Mine) by sironna | Limited Release by rageprufrock | Jaws by qikiqtarjuaq | The Prodigal Son by Madd24the24 | An Ideal Grace by nekosmuse | Boden’s Mate by kaydeefalls | These Bridges We’ve Built by alishatorn | The Courtship by dvs | Protege by FicByFaith | Shout It Out Loud by dreamlittlenyo | Linger by waldorph | Casanova by madneto | Progression of A Family Potrait by Xris

eta: Like an extra honourable mention, this fic was supposed to be on the top ten, but I couldn’t find it. Cause and Effect is a WIP that I found utterly gratifying, and was in fact what made me willing to delve into mpreg in this fandom (thus discovering An Earlier Heaven). It’s too late to put it up on the list now, and also I can’t imagine replacing any of the ones I already have on there, I’d just like to add this on anyway.

Dear X-Men Fandom,

This is my year, my 525,600 minutes. This is the proof that you are my life. These fics are the fics I consider some of the best I’ve read  and is definite proof that fandom is an educational, healthy hobby, if not lifestyle. 

Most of these fics are complete - but if you see some WIPs, then READ those because they’re damned good if they made it on THE LIST. For every rec, there is a small justification on why I decided to put them on the list. In this list I use the words “balance”, “characterisation”, “pace” and “relevant” so much it nearly made me puke.

  1. Nine Eleven Ten by subtilior - WIP 30/68 chapters, I put Nine Eleven Ten on this list for its amazing worldbuilding as well as the awesome recreation of a classic fairytale. Based on Beauty and The Beast, subtilior twists both the X-Men reality as well as the original fairytale into a shape that SLOTS RIGHT INTO THE MISSING PIECES OF MY HEART, OH MY GOD. The characterisations are an amazing balance between the X-Men characters they were in another lifetime and the universe they reside in and I spent an entire night not sleeping to read this, with my sister snoring beside me. Trust me, it deserves to be on this list.
  2. Rumor Has It by blueink3 - WIP 35 chapters, Rumor Has It is a kidfic, a teamfic, and a familyfic all at once. The characterisations are sgjdshfjdkjfdkjdfkjddkjdkj (keysmashingly beautiful) and offer insight that a two hour movie just can’t. It doesn’t fall into any of the other teamfic traps (mainly forgetting about Sean or focusing too much on Hank or Alex) and blueink3 balances the emotion and the action extremely well. The dynamic between all the characters is true to the normal spectrum of human emotion (which is rare in fics tbh), especially the one between Moira and Erik as well as Sean and Charles while at the same time not forgetting that there’s a world outside of the characters, and they need to face it.
  3. Time to Grow by zarah5 – It’s a fix it that does it slowly, in a way that only Charles and Erik would. This fic was something I encountered podfic first, since I was in the Philippines. In a way, I can say this was something that welcomed me into the X-Men fandom. Zarah5 has been one of my favourites ever since she wrote for Bandom (which is a damn long time ago), so I trusted her, and she didn’t fail.
  4. Carpe Brewski by gyzymWIP 10 chapters, I present: The AU. I think if there ever was a starterpack for the X-Men fandom, subtilior’s Nine Eleven Ten and gyzym’s Carpe Brewski would go hand in hand and create a field of wheezing fangirls who want the reality to be real. I held off reading Carpe Brewski because once again, AUs in which they are in school is not my thing, but this. THIS is hilarious. Like, another one of those “Charles and Erik are the same in every universe”. Erik still hates Shaw, and Charles is still a pacifist and everything goes wrong, except in a different scale of wrong.
  5. South of The Border by sneakertime – A fic written in the point of view of the one who DOESN’T get the girl, I love the perspective this offers, because honestly, it’s 2012 and we still have the same old love story where the one who DOESN’T get with the totally sought after one mostly has very little backstory or is obviously JUST ‘friend’ material. This story is slightly more real than that, because we see Logan in the process of falling, and then having to completely and abruptly stop himself when he realizes that Charles is still in love with his ex-boyfriend. I wish I was good with words and could say things like “the perspective offered in this fic bla bla, plus bla the difference in the emotions Charles shows to both Erik and Logan, the subtle differences which show the jcskjkjds”. It’s good. GOOD.
  6. Our House, In The Middle of The Street by Clocks – Okay, this is going to sound really lame, but – “the fic where Charles and Erik are still the same, in any universe”. This fic is lighthearted and, this is not meant to demean, a fic set in a Jennifer Aniston universe, where love triumphs and it’s relatively family friendly except for one or two passionate scenes that show you how in love the two main characters are. It’s Jennifer Aniston but a BETTER Jennifer Aniston, and it’s like my X-Men feel good fic, because I know that after reading some of the most heart-wrenching stuff, I’ve still got this, at least. Ugh, can’t I review all this with SO. DAMN. GOOD?
  7. A Curious Carriage of Crystal and Cold by Etharei - An epic if there ever was one, this movie takes place in the future, after Earth has colonized other planets. Charles Xavier saves Erik Lehnsherr and for his troubles gets a spinal injury. The story is pretty simple in its ingenuity and fits the characters into their new roles pretty well (though we don’t see a lot of them). Tony Stark makes a special appearance!
  8. Humane Society by smilebackwards – This veers away from the ~srs bsns that this fic rec is for a little bit, because Humane Society is one of the kitten fic this fandom seems so fond of. But I love this. I adore it and it’s feel-good and yeah most of these recs try to shy away from breaking your heart because this fandom does that ENOUGH but yes, this makes it onto the list because kitten!Erik and human!Charles. They are relevant.
  9. An Earlier Heaven by Regann – One of the fics I followed until the very end, this one holds a special place for me because I always remember scenes from it and somehow find it RELEVANT, despite the fact I’ve never been in the characters’ position. I like all the character reactions here, I think it stays true to the entire cast, not demonizing or … angelizing(?) anyone. They just are.
  10. The Tower and The Hurricane by dreamlittlenyo – I like how the changes that the character decides to inflict on the character of Charles makes it so that Erik and Charles can be together, but allows the reader to see how it places pressure on Charles as a person. This fic is fix it, but one with great sacrifice.

Honourable Mentions:

I’ll See Your Heart (And I’ll Raise You Mine) by sironna | Limited Release by rageprufrock | Jaws by qikiqtarjuaq | The Prodigal Son by Madd24the24 | An Ideal Grace by nekosmuse | Boden’s Mate by kaydeefalls | These Bridges We’ve Built by alishatorn | The Courtship by dvs | Protege by FicByFaith | Shout It Out Loud by dreamlittlenyo | Linger by waldorph | Casanova by madneto | Progression of A Family Potrait by Xris

eta: Like an extra honourable mention, this fic was supposed to be on the top ten, but I couldn’t find it. Cause and Effect is a WIP that I found utterly gratifying, and was in fact what made me willing to delve into mpreg in this fandom (thus discovering An Earlier Heaven). It’s too late to put it up on the list now, and also I can’t imagine replacing any of the ones I already have on there, I’d just like to add this on anyway.

(Source: ragingserenity)

Winter is Coming: olksdflkdsf

subtilior:

allthehomo:

subtilior:

allthehomo:

subtilior:

subtilior:

allthehomo:

subtilior:

allthehomo:

oh god the pudding scene

TOLD YOU.

LICK ALL THE THINGS!

… aren’t you glad they’re both VD-free? o_____O

VERY GLAD.

BUT RIGHT NOW AND I AM PRE-OCCUPIED WITH SCREAMING AT THIS CLIFFHANGER.

IF IT’S ANY COMFORT, I…

JUST U WAIT UNTIL LOGAN GETS HIS CLAWS FORCED THROUGH THE GD DOOR.

o____O STEP AWAY FROM THE DOOR, CHARLES.

O-OH.

SLFSFSD.

LOGAN.

Oh gahd. GET SOME MORE CLOTHES ON CHARLES.

Everyone is not going to be happy.

ARGH WHAT IF THIS RUINS ERIK’S GOOD MOOD.

Well what good mood he had.

SOB. CHARLES.

“ARGH WHAT IF THIS RUINS ERIK’S GOOD MOOD.” … 

THEN YOU’LL KNOW IT’S A SUBTILIOR FIC.

MWA HA HA HAAAAAAA.

(For Fluff THERE IS A PRICE.)

I KNEW IT.

I SAID IT MYSELF DIDN’T I.

WHEN THERE’S FLUFF

THAT MEANS SOMETHING BAD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN

oh fuck me

but I’m also looking forward to Erik being cruel to Charles in whatever way because I’m a terrible person with no morals or something sob

DON’T WORRY. ERIK WILL LEARN A VALUABLE LESSON.

EVENTUALLY.

reblog from earlier:

For one Erik the Red, the True Meaning of Chanumas/Chrismukkah involves:

1) Mistletoe

2) Presents

3) Tidings of comfort and joy, or

4) BLOOD!

This is why I love you - you keep us on our toes. Amazing chapter as always. Just when I was getting all goo-ey and melt-y from the gorgeous fluff, I’m suddenly…Logan….Logan??!….Ahhhh….nnnoooooo!

And now with the prospect of Charles having a very (?un-)Merry Christmas of BLOOD. I guess I should have suspected the Dubcon!pendulum might swing back from con towards noncon eventually, it was all getting too lovely and C and E were being too adorably domestic and, dear god, smearing chocolate pudding whilst doing it, Oxford stylee. Charles was even threatening to be happy at certain points here I felt. Although, who am I kidding - I need the pain as much as I need the fluff.  

Also - it was a red bottle of Shaw’s cologne? Hmmm. As much as I treasure the porn, I was actually even more excited by the plot developments, particularly C getting to know E’s history. I’m sure he’s excited to be so close to someone with such an integral role in world history. Although I really don’t want to presume, I’m guessing hoping that by the end of this story, C might have played just as big a role in reshaping the world…Maybe?

And i’m longing….longing for C to reenter E’s head. All those secrects, things hidden away, the bunker….

And finally, here’s hoping Charles A) gets dressed, pronto! and B) hides the wax, because his friend is going to be traumatised enough, I feel, given how he seems to fell about Erik….heee!

I was so excited by the arrival of Logan, and on tenterhooks for the next. One of my favourite fics is “South of the Border” by sneakertime, which looks at the C/E relationship from Logan’s perspective, and the interaction between Logan/Charles and Logan/Erik is fantastic, whilst the C/E interaction is minimal, but is all the more powerful because of it. A definite rec, if you haven’t already! 

And I should….ummm…get back to work *couch*

(Source: allthempreg)

5 months ago - 19
muonbee:

enchantedengland:

jaunts  London
enchantedengland: Today’s Quizlet: What Building Is This? (winner will receive fifty House points)

Looks a lot like somewhere in the inn’s of court… Round the back of the Royal Court’s of justice. If only we could get a closer view of the street sign :O

It’s on the corner of Millbank and Great College Street in Westminster, SW1 - very close to Westminster Abbey/Houses of Parliament (It’s been racking my brain for the past hour! I live a couple of streets away and I knew I’d walked past it :))
Nearby Smith Square is very beautiful too.
But it does look a lot like much of the architecture around the Inns of Court. I was sure it was Sion Hall when I first saw the picture. And even some bits of Knightsbridge/Kensington/Chelsea (eg. around Cadogan Square, or Kensington Court) have lots of very similar, though newer, buildings)

muonbee:

enchantedengland:

jaunts  London

enchantedengland: Today’s Quizlet: What Building Is This? (winner will receive fifty House points)

Looks a lot like somewhere in the inn’s of court… Round the back of the Royal Court’s of justice. If only we could get a closer view of the street sign :O

It’s on the corner of Millbank and Great College Street in Westminster, SW1 - very close to Westminster Abbey/Houses of Parliament (It’s been racking my brain for the past hour! I live a couple of streets away and I knew I’d walked past it :))

Nearby Smith Square is very beautiful too.

But it does look a lot like much of the architecture around the Inns of Court. I was sure it was Sion Hall when I first saw the picture. And even some bits of Knightsbridge/Kensington/Chelsea (eg. around Cadogan Square, or Kensington Court) have lots of very similar, though newer, buildings)