potentialities

Yuletide is kicking my ass, as per usual, but mostly in a good way! I'd much rather have a story that I'm not sure how I'm going to finish in time than a story that I'm not sure how I'm going to start in time. Especially a story that I'm not sure how I'm going to finish because I want to put in ALL THE THINGS, as opposed to a story that I'm not sure how I'm going to finish because I can only seem to string together three consecutive words at a sitting.

In the meantime, if you're in the mood for rare fandoms, virgofolkiehas posted her latest Virgil/Dante story in two parts: The Shade Trees of Lucca Part I and Part II. This is the second part of a story triptych which traces its inspiration in some small part back to my own Virgil/Dante story and takes place, accordingly, in the same 'verse. It is lovely.

In May I visited the amazing Minneapolis Arts Institute with my father and brother, the latter of whom was getting ready to leave the Twin Cities after graduation and doing a last hurrah tour as well as entertaining his out-of-town family.

While we were wandering around, perpetually gobsmacked by gallery upon gallery awesome, I suddenly squeaked and darted in the direction of one painting in particular, which turned out to be separated from me by an atrium that necessitated a severe course correction before I found myself standing in front of a familiar canvas: Six Tuscan Poets.

Not familiar enough, however. Upon reading the placard, I realized that, in my initial Google images search, I had been too readily seduced by the appealing composition and sexy hand-porn, and my Virgil/Dante icon turns out to be more of a Guido Cavalcanti/Dante icon, and oh, man, I'm not saying I wouldn't read it, hot young Italian love poets in sweet new love, but talk about your rairpairs.

So I should probably get around to making a new Virgil/Dante icon, but I haven't done so yet. This one is going to have to do for posting about Thrice Purified, virgofolkie's Virgil/Dante set in the same continuum as mine.

I loved the idea when virgofolkie floated it, and now that it exists, I love it even more. A sweet, sensual sexual interlude in Canto I of Purgatorio, with lovely crisp metaphors, poetical banter and philosophical musings, and further sequelae to come!

If you're a Divine Comedy slasher, you should totally check it out.

This is my new screensaver on my work computer.

Incidentally, I received an email yesterday from an Italian gentleman who had been in an IRC conversation where the question had come up whether anyone had written Dante fanfiction and, finding mine, querying why I had done so.