Caveat emptor

This month's Paletteful Pack was a set of alcohol-based inks, and I know at least one other person in my DW circle got these, so as a warning, I found out when I tried them that they are way more toxic than even the (vague) warnings on the bottle about keeping them out of reach of children suggest.

They have a very strong smell, but my work area is fairly open (it's the loft part of a house with a large open upstairs) so I didn't even really think about needing extra ventilation. Last night I opened them up and played with them for about 15-20 minutes while watching TV, until I started to feel suuuuuper weird. It was clearly a neurotoxic chemical reaction: sweating, shaking, dizzy, headachy, and it started to clear up within minutes of getting out of the area. I've never reacted to a solvent like that before, though I've also never used that kind of ink before, but I have no problem with strong-smelling, solvent-based markers and the like.

So basically, if you use these, VENTILATE, and take frequent breaks. I played with them some more today on the deck, and that was all right; I just tried not to take deep breaths with my face close to them, and stepped away for a break every few minutes. And I feel fine. I mean, a little bit of toxic risk goes along with most art supplies. But I think I'm going to toss the remainder (I used up all the paper that came with them anyway) because they're not really enough fun to make up for all the extra precautions I felt it necessary to take. It's possible that I'm unusually sensitive to it, but it might not be a bad idea to make sure to ventilate thoroughly (outside is best, if you have an outside where you can do art) or wear a respirator mask if you're going to be using them in a small space indoors for more than a few minutes. Finding somewhere away from living areas to let them dry is also a good idea, because I also noticed that they outgas very badly; I'm drying them on the deck for the initial part of it and then moving them to the garage. Basically treat them like some sort of shop project and it'll be fine. But they aren't really suitable for doing art indoors in a combined art/living workspace! At least that was my experience.

Reccing Thursday

And I actually remembered it this time!

The Darkest Night darkfic exchange just released. I haven't read much yet, but I really liked what I've read!

Both the Imperial Radch stories are good; both are Breq/Seivarden. For your romantic needs, understanding is a lightly angsty fic with a happy ending; and Rewind is a time loop story that really blew me away - it's heartbreaking and bittersweet and twisty and very well done, including a uniquely Breq-ian POV on time loops. It's labeled Unhappy Ending but I think it's really less what I'd call an unhappy ending and more ( ending spoiler for the fic )

I also really liked Hungry, a very creepy Doctor Strange fic in which accidental baby acquisition gets a Lovecraftian makeover.

I've also recently enjoyed:

let the winter pass on by by glorious_spoon (Agent Carter, Peggy & Jack)
Written for a prompt of mine, in which I requested huddling for warmth, and got an absolutely delicious and satisfying take on it.

New York, by Knight by Prochytes (Defenders/MCU, Misty & Colleen + Doctor Strange)
Misty and Colleen have a night out on the town that takes a decidedly weird turn. Funny and warm and slightly bananas, very much in keeping with the tone of both canons.

Call "Uncle" by JaggedCliffs (Avatar the Last Airbender, post-canon gen)
As the summary puts it, "how the Fire Nation officials gave up on calling Iroh anything other than "Uncle"." This is THE ABSOLUTE CUTEST.

Rain on the Just by NLRummi (Megamind, canon pairings, 114K)
So, after rewatching Megamind this past week, I went looking for fic for it, and stumbled across this 100K+ post-canon continuation that I really enjoyed. It deals with a number of issues that were unresolved in the movie (e.g. a certain character choosing not to help out at the climax) in a way I found satisfying, and builds very pleasingly on the character relationships from the movie.

Day 3: Delirium (a two-fer!)

Two claims today, so two for the price of one!

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The Agent Carter crew for recessional

During the war, a nurse once told Peggy that most of her patients died not on the battlefield, not after surgery, but in the dark hours between midnight and dawn.

Superstition, Peggy might have said, but liminal, is the word that comes to mind now. A word she learned not in the expensive boarding school her parents sent her to, but from the novels she read avidly under the covers. It means between. Between the darkness and the dawn. Between light and dark, life and death.

( Continued under cut )

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Punisher - Frank + any for rachelmanija

"How long has he been like this?" Sarah asked quietly, sitting beside David on the edge of Frank's bed.

"Awhile." David gave her a wan smile. "Half the night, probably. I didn't want to wake you or the kids."

In the bed, Frank turned his head to the side, mumbled something incomprehensible. Sarah laid the back of her hand on his forehead, testing the heat: a move long practiced on the kids. And if he had been one of her kids, she would have been rushing him to the emergency room.

( Continued under cut )

( Master List )