I'm sick and slept most of the day after rereading my splendid gift in the sshg_exchange and then browsing aimlessly last night. I can't seem to make my mind clear enough to write or read anything, so here's a post filled with random things.

I'll begin with a rec: virginia_bell's Portrait of a Lady (NC-17; Lucius/Ginny; 14,479 words): Lucius will have her, no matter the price, no matter the consequence, simply because he can. AU, set in Victorian London (Ginny is married to Harry, but he doesn't figure much in the fic).

First, let me tell you that the erotic component of this fic is scorching (and the story reads quickly; I was sad to reach the end of it). Lucius is a bored aristocrat determined to give Mrs Potter her freedom by removing the societal conditioning imprisoning her sexuality. Of course, it's not so simple; nothing ever is where Lucius is concerned, and I'll leave it to you to decide for yourselves if he's learnt anything about himself by the end. I like this story because, hours later, I still can't stop thinking about it. There is a richness to virginia_bell's vision of this universe that doesn't stop feeding the imagination, and I greatly admire her proud, strong Ginny.

In other fic reading news, I recently discovered, thanks to kribu, that I'm not alone in having written Giant Squid/Hogwarts; I love fandom!

I'm amused by Lyris Malachi's opportunistic Giant Squid's advice to Hogwarts in First Encounter (Rated T {not suitable for children}; 1131 words): "Hogwarts, you're lonely, I'm lonely. We don't have to be. Besides, you can't go around manipulating your staircases. You can make this stuff up, and it's quite funny (even if Lyris appears to have written the story in earnest). *is comforted not to be alone in her perversity*

Returning to Ginny (and adding Draco to the mix!) for a moment, have you seen ericahpfa's stunning In the Snow? It's a fabulous bit of wall!sex that begs to be ficced. *fans self*

And are you feeling too pressed to answer your comments? Well, for shame! But you might take a cue from Heinlein and develop your own form letter for that purpose. In all seriousness, it would be fun to come up with a mock fandom form letter as a cathartic exercise in the face of rude demands or flames or, I don't know, spam. Yes, spam. I recently deleted a "review" that invited me to join a pyramid scheme. *annoyed*

Speaking of satirical meta, have you ever wondered how many editors it takes to screw in a light bulb? (Thanks to erastes for the link.)

Now then, it's cold, I'm ill, and I need comfort food, so since I just shared this recipe with loupgarou1750, I thought I'd share it here before baking it, myself:

Banana-Ginger-Pecan Bread

Preheat the oven to 350°F and position rack at lowest point.

Ingredients (butter and eggs should ideally be at room temperature before you begin)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder

6 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar

2 large beaten eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups ripe banana, mashed

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped crystalized ginger

Whisk together dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar together. Mix eggs into butter-sugar mixture. Mix vanilla into butter-sugar-egg mixture. Fold in banana. Fold in pecans and ginger. Butter and then flour (shaking out excess flour when done) a six-cup (standard) loaf pan. Scrape batter into pan and smooth out until even. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes (do a toothpick check at one hour). Remove from oven when toothpick pulls out of bread cleanly and allow to sit on rack in pan for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan to allow to cool completely (or slice and butter and fall upon bread like starving hyena).

Oh, and don't be tempted to use cooking spray instead of buttering and flouring the pan; the traditional way of making the pan non-stick works to give the bottom and sides of the bread a fabulous texture, and one that doesn't taste like chemicals.