PHs #221-225

Dec. 21st, 2025 01:52 pm
yuletidemods: A hippo lounges with laptop in hand, peering at the screen through a pair of pince-nez and smiling. A text bubble with a heart emerges from the screen. The hippo dangles a computer mouse from one toe. By Oro. (Default)
[personal profile] yuletidemods posting in [community profile] yuletide_pinch_hits
There's more! These pinch hits are due on Tuesday 23 December at 9pm UTC.

Comments are turned off for this community. To claim a pinch hit, please email the mods at yuletideadmin@gmail.com and:
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For example, if your AO3 username is yuletidehippo and you want to claim Pinch Hit #42 for AwsomRecip, you might email us with the subject line "PH 42 for AwsomRecip" and "I'm yuletidehippo on AO3" in the body of the email. As was the case previously, if you don't receive a reply you did not get the pinch hit.

Also, remember our pinch hitters' prompts post! If you weren't signed up and you're pinch hitting, your rare fandom prompts are very welcome!

If the pinch hit you're interested in has been claimed, you are still welcome to post treats!


PH #221: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023), World's End Club (Video Game), Bee and PuppyCat, It Lives (Visual Novels), Escape the Night (Web Series)
Request 1 by Goldendoodlegamer11
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Characters: Edgin Darvis, Holga Kilgore, Kira Darvis, Doric (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

➤ General Fic Likes: Hurt/comfort | Mutual Pining | Fluff | Found Family/Family of Choice | Gen fics | Trauma & Healing | Characters going on vacation as a group | Fix-It fics | Post or Pre-Canon | Soulmate AUs (Both platonic and romantic) | Time Loops | Angst | Angst with a Happy Ending | Characters having movie/game nights | Liminal Spaces | Gaining/Figuring out Superpowers | Character can't sleep | Humour | Thunderstorms/Bad weather | Sleepovers | Murder mysteries | Death Games | Developing Friendships | True Companions | Dual POVs that parallel each-other | The same events told from different POVs | Happy Endings
➤ DNWs: Anything above a Mature rating | Sexual content/smut | Any kinks of any kind | Animal/Child Death | Extreme body horror | Excessive gore (Feel free to mention/imply/show character deaths, blood, etc. just don't go overboard with the details please!) | Historical AUs | High School/College AUs | Miscommunication | Obsessive/jealous/toxic relationships | Hurt/no comfort | Crossovers | Sad endings

No letter

Request 2 by Goldendoodlegamer11
World's End Club (Video Game)
Characters: Pochi (World's End Club), Yuki (World's End Club), Tattsun (World's End Club), Jennu (World's End Club)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

➤ General Fic Likes: Hurt/comfort | Fluff | Found Family/Family of Choice | Gen fics | Trauma & Healing | Characters going on vacation as a group | Fix-It fics | Post or Pre-Canon | Time Loops | Angst | Angst with a Happy Ending | Characters having movie/game nights | Liminal Spaces | Added worldbuilding | Gaining/Figuring out Superpowers | Character can't sleep | Humour | Thunderstorms/Bad weather | Sleepovers | Murder mysteries | Death Games | Developing Friendships | True Companions | Dual POVs that parallel each-other | The same events told from different POVs | Happy Endings
➤ DNWs: Anything above a Teen rating | Sexual content/smut | Any kinks of any kind | Animal/Child Death | Extreme body horror | Gore | Historical AUs | High School/College AUs | Miscommunication | Obsessive/jealous/toxic relationships | Hurt/no comfort | Crossovers | Sad endings

No letter

Request 3 by Goldendoodlegamer11
Bee and PuppyCat
Characters: Bee (Bee and PuppyCat), PuppyCat (Bee and PuppyCat), Deckard Wizard (Bee and PuppyCat), Moully (Bee and PuppyCat)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

➤ General Fic Likes: Hurt/comfort | Mutual Pining | Fluff | Found Family/Family of Choice | Gen fics | Trauma & Healing | Characters going on vacation as a group | Fix-It fics | Post or Pre-Canon | Soulmate AUs (Both platonic and romantic) | Time Loops | Angst | Angst with a Happy Ending | Characters having movie/game nights | Liminal Spaces | Added worldbuilding | Gaining/Figuring out Superpowers | Character can't sleep | Humour | Thunderstorms/Bad weather | Sleepovers | Murder mysteries | Death Games | Developing Friendships | True Companions | Dual POVs that parallel each-other | The same events told from different POVs | Happy Endings
➤ DNWs: Anything above a Mature rating | Sexual content/smut | Any kinks of any kind | Animal/Child Death | Extreme body horror | Excessive gore | Historical AUs | High School/College AUs | Miscommunication | Obsessive/jealous/toxic relationships | Hurt/no comfort | Crossovers | Sad endings

No letter

Request 4 by Goldendoodlegamer11
It Lives (Visual Novels)
Characters: Main Character (It Lives In The Woods), Andy Kang, Ava Cunningham, Lily Ortiz
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

➤ General Fic Likes: Hurt/comfort | Mutual Pining | Fluff | Found Family/Family of Choice | Gen fics | Trauma & Healing | Characters going on vacation as a group | Fix-It fics | Post or Pre-Canon | Soulmate AUs (Both platonic and romantic) | Time Loops | Angst | Angst with a Happy Ending | Characters having movie/game nights | Liminal Spaces | Added worldbuilding | Gaining/Figuring out Superpowers | Character can't sleep | Humour | Thunderstorms/Bad weather | Sleepovers | Murder mysteries | Death Games | Developing Friendships | True Companions | Dual POVs that parallel each-other | The same events told from different POVs | Happy Endings
➤ DNWs: Anything above a Mature rating | Sexual content/smut | Any kinks of any kind | Animal/Child Death | Extreme body horror | Excessive gore (Feel free to mention/imply/show character deaths, blood, etc. just don't go overboard with the details please!) | Historical AUs | High School/College AUs | Miscommunication | Obsessive/jealous/toxic relationships | Hurt/no comfort | Crossovers | Sad endings

No letter

Request 5 by Goldendoodlegamer11
Escape the Night (Web Series)
Characters: Calliope (Escape the Night), Mortimer Wilson, Jetpack Girl (Escape the Night), Riley (Escape the Night)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

➤ General Fic Likes: Hurt/comfort | Mutual Pining | Fluff | Found Family/Family of Choice | Gen fics | Trauma & Healing | Characters going on vacation as a group | Fix-It fics | Post or Pre-Canon | Soulmate AUs (Both platonic and romantic) | Time Loops | Angst | Angst with a Happy Ending | Characters having movie/game nights | Liminal Spaces | Added worldbuilding | Gaining/Figuring out Superpowers | Character can't sleep | Humour | Thunderstorms/Bad weather | Sleepovers | Murder mysteries | Death Games | Developing Friendships | True Companions | Dual POVs that parallel each-other | The same events told from different POVs | Happy Endings
➤ DNWs: Anything above a Mature rating | Sexual content/smut | Any kinks of any kind | Animal/Child Death | Extreme body horror | Excessive gore (Feel free to mention/imply/show character deaths, blood, etc. just don't go overboard with the details please!) | Historical AUs | High School/College AUs | Miscommunication | Obsessive/jealous/toxic relationships | Hurt/no comfort | Crossovers | Sad endings

No letter


PH #222: Sugar & Vice Series - Allie Therin, Polar Explorer RPF, Slow Horses (TV)
Request 1 by Pun
Sugar & Vice Series - Allie Therin
Characters: Reece Davies, Evan Grayson
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

I mean, I think we need all the pining, right? I would love anything set in post book 2 that shows these two guys realizing just how much they hate being apart, even, if Reece has "turned."
I'd also love anything set between the books, although I know it's not a lot of time that has passed when Twisted Shadows begins, it's clear that Reece and Evan have been texting regularly in the interim. And I love how well we get that sense in the first few chapters of them talking more and more, thinking of each other more and more--falling in love. So anything that explores and expands on that dynamic would also be amazing.
Or I'm not against some imagined happy future for them if you want to hand wave (or if you're even brave enough to take a shot at) how they get out of their cliff hanger and live happily ever after.

Letter:
https://pun.dreamwidth.org/356921.html

Request 2 by Pun
Polar Explorer RPF
Characters: Edward Leicester Atkinson, Harry Pennell (Polar Explorer RPF)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

I am among the fan girls who read the "From Antarctica with Love" article and became deeply invested in the Atkinson/Pennell love story. I would love anything with the two of them getting to spend some time together away from their duties. I'd also love to see a bit more from Atkinson's pov about Pennell as it feels like we have more of the reverse in Pennell's diaries. I'm okay with the story being realistic about the time period that they were in and the incredibly challenging and harrowing events that they lived through. Some melancholy is okay, but would love for there to be more happiness than sadness.

Letter:
https://pun.dreamwidth.org/356921.html

Request 3 by Pun
Slow Horses (TV)
Characters: River Cartwright (Slow Horses TV), Catherine Standish (Slow Horses TV), Jackson Lamb (Slow Horses 2022)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

River is my favorite. He is so dumb and means so well, and yet he is so damn bad at being a spy. I love him fucking up in lovable ways that come from his good intentions. I love all his abandonment issues and his relationship with his granddad, and yeah, I just love River.
Jackson I love for the total opposite reasons. I love that he appears bumbling and is secretly incredibly competent. I love how loyal he is, and I love how much he despises River's Granddad and yet can't quite force himself to despise River as much as he wants to.
Standish, I love the way she interacts with all of them and keeps the team together. Her perpetual exasperation/affection, and the way she’s constantly showing, that yeah, in fact, she’s an agent too, actually, so don’t underestimate her. Where River often tries to be compassionate but trips over his own self-absorption, Standish seems to have more of an innate capacity for empathy and insight into people that the others don’t always recognize as the incredible skill/asset that it is.
So yeah, that's what I love about these characters, and I would happily take any story where they and any other members of their band you care to throw in there are interacting in ways that highlight these aspects
I do not ship anyone on the show and would rather not see any of them having interactions that feature romantic feelings or sex. At least not with each other. If you're inspired to give one of them an oc romantic interest, go for it.

Letter:
https://pun.dreamwidth.org/356921.html


PH #223: Dix pour cent | Call My Agent! (TV), A Place of Greater Safety - Hilary Mantel, Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare
Request 1 by Phoenix_and_the_ash (phoenix_and_the_ash)
Dix pour cent | Call My Agent! (TV)
Characters: Andréa Martel, Elise Formain, Camille Valentini, Gabriel Sarda
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

This is a pretty simple one! I couldnt believe the finale ended with Elise winning. Can you write me a fix it where Andrea, or some combo of folks from ASK band together to take her down and save the agency?

No letter

Request 2 by Phoenix_and_the_ash (phoenix_and_the_ash)
A Place of Greater Safety - Hilary Mantel
Characters: Lucile Desmoulins (A Place of Greater Safety), Maximilien Robespierre (A Place of Greater Safety), Camille Desmoulins (A Place of Greater Safety), Georges Jacques Danton (A Place of Greater Safety)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

A few different options here.
PG- I'm sorry the book ends before Robespierre gets really power mad and then gets overthrown and killed. Can you write me a snap shot from that period of history? Is he thinking about his friends at the end?
R- I'm always a sucker for a really hot sex scene between Camile, Georges and Max (all 3, or some combo, as long as Camile is there.) This is a rare case where I think the source material is dark enough, that I think something kinky and/or not 100% consensual could work very well, but write what you feel excited by

No letter

Request 3 by Phoenix_and_the_ash (phoenix_and_the_ash)
Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare
Characters: Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing), Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

Beatrice and Benedick are truly two of my all time favorite characters. They mention in the play that they have met before. What exactly happened there? can you give me that meeting

No letter


claimed - PH #224: Weekend Update (SNL), Fire Island (Movie 2022), Doom Patrol (TV), Veep (TV), Overcompensating (TV)
Request 1 by pinklemonades
Weekend Update (SNL)
Characters: Stefon (Saturday Night Live), Seth Meyers (Weekend Update)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

No prompts

Letter:
https://luckysam2.dreamwidth.org/1570.html

Request 2 by pinklemonades
Fire Island (Movie 2022)
Characters: Will (Fire Island), Howie (Fire Island), Noah (Fire Island), Charlie (Fire Island)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

No prompts

Letter:
https://luckysam2.dreamwidth.org/1570.html

Request 3 by pinklemonades
Doom Patrol (TV)
Characters: Larry Trainor (Doom Patrol TV), Rita Farr (Doom Patrol TV), Rama (Doom Patrol TV)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

No prompts

Letter:
https://luckysam2.dreamwidth.org/1570.html

Request 4 by pinklemonades
Veep (TV)
Characters: Dan Egan, Jonah Ryan
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

No prompts

Letter:
https://luckysam2.dreamwidth.org/1570.html

Request 5 by pinklemonades
Overcompensating (TV)
Characters: Benny Scanlon, Carmen Neil
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

No prompts

Letter:
https://luckysam2.dreamwidth.org/1570.html


PH #225: Nine Worlds Series - Victoria Goddard, The Rising World Series - Martha Wells, Tuyo Series- Rachel Neumeier, World of the Five Gods - Lois McMaster Bujold, The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison, Alliance-Union - C. J. Cherryh
Request 1 by opalmatrix
Nine Worlds Series - Victoria Goddard
Characters: Peregrine Dart (Nine Worlds), Jemis Greenwing (Nine Worlds), Jullanar of the Sea | Mrs. Etaris (Nine Worlds), Violet (Nine Worlds Series)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form

Please include Peregrine Dart and Jemis Greenwing no matter what else you do. Violet and Mrs. Etaris can be considered optional. Members of Jemis' inner circle, like his father or Hal, are more than welcome too, as is the Lady and other mystical personages.
Jemis and Mr. Dart consider New Year's Resolutions, whether formally or just as the ideas occur to them. There should be snow, local magic, good food, coziness, and possibly thoughts about the mission ahead.
See letter for more details and ideas.
Do not want (DNW):
Cutesy or coy romantic stuff; extensive use of epithets or epithets that don't match the character POV; Ikea Erotica (tab A in slot B sex); bestiality; mpreg, rape, forced sex (including sex pollen and fuck-or-die), or hatesex; humiliation or betrayal (without a damn good plot reason) of a character by a friend or lover; gender-bending; A/B/O etc.

Letter:
https://opalmatrix.dreamwidth.org/74100.html

Request 2 by opalmatrix
The Rising World Series - Martha Wells
Characters: Kaiisteron (The Rising World Series), Ziede Daiyahah, Dahin Stargard, Tahren Stargard
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

In Queen Demon, we discover that Kai raised Dahin to young adulthood, in Avagantrum. A look back as to how this worked (or didn't!). Other canon characters, such as Ziede's daughter Tanis, are welcome (even up to Bashasa-level). It would be nice if a solstice festival (or similar) were involved, with worldbuilding, if you like.
See letter for more details and ideas.
Do not want (DNW):
Cutesy or coy romantic stuff; extensive use of epithets or epithets that don't match the character POV; Ikea Erotica (tab A in slot B sex); bestiality; mpreg, rape, forced sex (including sex pollen and fuck-or-die), or hatesex; humiliation or betrayal (without a damn good plot reason) of a character by a friend or lover; gender-bending; A/B/O etc.

Letter:
https://opalmatrix.dreamwidth.org/74100.html

Request 3 by opalmatrix
Tuyo Series- Rachel Neumeier
Characters: Ryo inGara, Marag inGara, Etta inGara, Garoyo inGara
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

A pre-canon snow adventure for Marag's children, and she comes to get them: either just meeting them or rescuing them, depending on how you construe "adventure." What the children encounter and what happens is up to you. POV Ryo is welcome, and may switch to Marag as needed. Worldbuilding, sled dogs or ponies, and food are big pluses.
See letter for more details and ideas.
Do not want (DNW):
Cutesy or coy romantic stuff; extensive use of epithets or epithets that don't match the character POV; Ikea Erotica (tab A in slot B sex); bestiality; mpreg, rape, forced sex (including sex pollen and fuck-or-die), or hatesex; humiliation or betrayal (without a damn good plot reason) of a character by a friend or lover; gender-bending; A/B/O etc.

Letter:
https://opalmatrix.dreamwidth.org/74100.html

Request 4 by opalmatrix
World of the Five Gods - Lois McMaster Bujold
Characters: Penric kin Jurald (World of Five Gods), Desdemona (World of Five Gods), Nikys Khatai (World of Five Gods), the Bastard (World of Five Gods)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form

Pen brings his family to visit his parents in the cantons. Snow, chaos, a little mystery, and a happy, cozy ending featuring hot drinks and toasted snacks would be lovely, as would Great Beasts or shamans or a random Saint or two. You don't have to include the Bastard, but I'm fond of Him.
Do not want (DNW):
Cutesy or coy romantic stuff; extensive use of epithets or epithets that don't match the character POV; Ikea Erotica (tab A in slot B sex); bestiality; mpreg, rape, forced sex (including sex pollen and fuck-or-die), or hatesex; humiliation or betrayal (without a damn good plot reason) of a character by a friend or lover; gender-bending; A/B/O etc.

Letter:
https://opalmatrix.dreamwidth.org/74100.html

Request 5 by opalmatrix
The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison
Characters: Thara Celehar, Nebeno Pel-Thenhior, Anora Chanavar, Iäna Pel-Thenhior
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form

Snowed-in Amalo. There should be a little mystery, a lot of being cozy indoors from the snow, tasty Barizheise foods, and details of how Amalo operates when snowed in (some of this is canon in Tomb of Dragons). Maybe Thara rescues Iäna for once (and hurt-comfort ensues)! How Winternight is celebrated, particularly by these friends. You don't have to include Anora, but I am very fond of him. Other friends are welcome: Tomasaran, for example.
See letter for more details and ideas.
Do not want (DNW):
Special for this fandom: Hanu Olgarezh never existed.
Cutesy or coy romantic stuff; extensive use of epithets or epithets that don't match the character POV; Ikea Erotica (tab A in slot B sex); bestiality; mpreg, rape, forced sex (including sex pollen and fuck-or-die), or hatesex; humiliation or betrayal (without a damn good plot reason) of a character by a friend or lover; gender-bending; A/B/O etc.

Letter:
https://opalmatrix.dreamwidth.org/74100.html

Request 6 by opalmatrix
Alliance-Union - C. J. Cherryh
Characters: Meg Kady, Ben Pollard, Sal Aboujib, Paul Dekker (Alliance-Union)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

Let's give Norway's finest a mystery or crisis to solve/resolve, followed by New Year's planning or celebration. Or maybe Norway can't make it to Pell in time for New Year's shopping, and people have to make or find presents on the ship in deep space. The weirdness of celebration foods aboard ship could be a feature, or wordbuilding in terms of what would be available for gifts. I love all the Norway crew and officers, so co-starring or walk-ons from Graff, Di Janz, Signy, Talley, Uthup, etc. are welcome. Also whether the Hellburner vets are a foursome or two couples or whatever is your choice, as long as no one gets left out.
See letter for more details and ideas.
Do not want (DNW):
Cutesy or coy romantic stuff; extensive use of epithets or epithets that don't match the character POV; Ikea Erotica (tab A in slot B sex); bestiality; mpreg, rape, forced sex (including sex pollen and fuck-or-die), or hatesex; humiliation or betrayal (without a damn good plot reason) of a character by a friend or lover; gender-bending; A/B/O etc.
Letter:
https://opalmatrix.dreamwidth.org/74100.html

lullabymoon: black ink splats on a white background with the words inkingitout in black. (inking it out splat)
[personal profile] lullabymoon posting in [community profile] goals_on_dw
join us as we try to write more than 75,000 words in 2026


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Event Description: Challenge yourself to write 75000 words or more in 2026!

Important Dates: Sign ups close Noon GMT on 3rd January 2026.

Notes/Other Key Info: We're a low-key writing community that provides weekly support posts and gentle accountability. You can pick your own level of participation, and we welcome anyone who wants to write more in 2026. If you are worried about the word count, we're very much 'aim for the stars, reach the moon' types of people and celebrate all words so please feel very welcome to come along and try with us.
pegkerr: (Default)
[personal profile] pegkerr
This past weekend was our seventeenth annual cookie baking. We were baking for nine households, and after so many years, we have the whole process down to a well-oiled machine. Each of us brought two batches of cookies, one already baked and the other baked that day at my sister's house.

As it was December 13, Santa Lucia Day, I also brought lussekatter, for us to have with our coffee as we baked. We spread the cookies out on a long table in my sister's living room. By taking up columns of cookies, we each had a nice mix.



M came along with Alona and Fiona, to the joy of all. Her first cookie baking!

Description: Background: a table covered with rows of Christmas cookies: bottom: a group of women smile at the corner. Top: three lussekatter

Celebrations

50 Celebrations

Click on the links to see the 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021 52 Card Project galleries.
wyld_dandelyon: (Default)
[personal profile] wyld_dandelyon
I have a lovely long-haired Siamese cat. And Siamese cats are very vocal, and normally I’m good with that. Lately, however, it seems like she wants to just yell at me, over and over, and since I’ve been headachy on and off (and mostly on) since mid-October, I have gotten more and more impatient about that. And it’s not as if she’s good at non-verbal communication. Even when I look her in the eyes and ask what she’s yelling about, she doesn’t lead me to an empty water or food dish, or come to me and ask to be picked up. Heck, she won’t even stand still to be picked up.

But most of the time, if I do manage to snag her before she darts under something or far out of reach, and I hold her gently and pet her, she starts to purr and continues purring for a long time. Sometimes, if I’m not too busy to hold her that long, she tucks her head into the crook of my elbow and falls asleep. Other times she’ll just stop purring and start to look like she’s done resting, and I’ll set her down and she does, indeed, go off to do whatever her kitty heart wants in that moment, done with yelling at me for a while.

And I know a lot of people who resemble her in some way. Some of them have a hard time identifying what they want until they get it, or until they get a response that is most definitely not what they want (and sometimes not even then). Some of them know what they want, but aren’t sure how to articulate it, or how to navigate difficult social waters to get to where they want to be. Some of them are prickly or anxious, and take actions that, like my cat running away to avoid being picked up, are totally incongruent with getting another person to give them the kind of attention they are craving. We are all imperfect, and we are all faced with situations where our old reflexes make a situation worse—and it’s very hard to change old reflex reactions, no matter why they formed, but especially if those habits were initially formed to protect us from trauma.

I expect my cat will continue, for the rest of her life, to run from me when she wants me to stop being busy and hold and love her. (And it’s not that she doesn’t trust me. She hides from strangers and is much more careful to avoid being picked up by anyone else, including my partner who has fed and cared for her for as long as she’s been alive. It’s as if she slows down her reflex hiding reaction for me, so I can catch her and love her.) I don’t know of any trauma that caused this reaction, and if there was trauma I should know about it since she was born under the radiator in my living room. I figure that if she was human, she’d have a formal diagnosis of an anxiety disorder—but that isn’t the point here. The point is that I do my best to meet her where she is and to give her the things she needs even if she doesn’t know how to ask for them, and even if my head is throbbing and I’m desperate to have her stop yelling because it is grating on my nerves and making my headache worse.

I have another cat who never likes to be held and petted. He loves getting petted when he’s in the mood, but only while he’s standing on his own four feet. He is, unlike my Siamese girl, very good at non-verbal communication and letting me know what he wants. And I try my best to meet him in the middle too, though that requires very different skills and behaviors than my Siamese girl needs.

And similarly, I try to discover what my friends need that they may not be able to articulate clearly and offer it to them, if it is reasonable for me to do that. I try to figure out what things they’re good at and honor them for those things. I try to figure out what they are bad at and to not demand they try to be someone they are not. If they have reactions that I have even the slightest suspicion are due to trauma, or to protective habits formed early in life, I try to forgive them their rough edges and work around those behaviors, because I know how very hard it is to change them. I try very, very hard not to trigger trauma reactions, even if I don’t understand how that reaction was at some point in their past protective enough to be repeated until it became a deeply engraved habit.

I know, for instance, that some of the behaviors that a small child might devise to protect themselves or at least reduce the harm they suffer when they are in a bad situation (and do not have the independence, skills, and resources or legal right to just leave that bad situation) can be deeply dysfunctional when those behaviors are continued into adulthood. But even if they realize why they started doing those things, and why they became engrained habits, those behaviors are very hard to change. A person wanting to change those things has not only to fight inertia, but to also somehow address the pain and fear that, as a small child (or even as an adult), led to them starting to do it in the first place.

So I try, not always successfully, to give people respect for the good things about them and to work around their rough spots. It is usually none of my business what trauma a person suffered in the past. I don’t even need to know if they are reacting to trauma or if the problem is as organic to who they are as my dyslexia and dyscalculia, which no matter how much I’ve gotten good at working around them and training my brain to compensate for them, are not things that can be cured and not things that I can grow out of. (And I got good enough that if there was a word someone needed the spelling for in a law firm, they asked me.)

So regardless of what might or might not be the cause of someone’s rough edges, I try to look past those things and figure out if we have enough in common to be close friends, or if I should just strive to be cordial but not intimate friends, or if our faults clash badly enough, that we should stick to a relationship in that category that many people call “friends” but in my heart I think of as acquaintances or coworkers and I’m best off being polite but not trying to get close. And then I try to maintain and respect the relationship as it actually is, and and as it naturally develops, not as I might wish it would be.

I have been told that I give people too much benefit of the doubt, that I make excuses for people, that I forgive too easily. But I know I won’t always be correct in my assessment of people or in the assessment of their actions, especially ones that hurt me and my friends. A long time ago, after a lot of consideration, I decided I’d far rather give people more grace than they deserve and later have to say I was wrong about that (and either confront them or back away from doing things with them) than to give them less grace than they deserve and unjustly cause them pain that can never be taken back.

And now I looked back at this whole long bit of writing, and I thought, wow, why did putting everything aside to pet my cat for a half hour lead to all this? And I knew, instantly on asking that question that the thing that prompted this particular stream-of-consciousness meditation, was certain recent events in my primary and most beloved community.

Apparently I felt a need to consciously look at how I’ve been doing things and why, to make sure I am clear about my goals for my own behavior when things are rough, and to reexamine my own tactics and the reasons for them. I wanted, or my inner higher self wanted, to consider whether I might have learned something new that might lead me to reassess some part of how I’m thinking about these personal ideals and also to see if I want to change how I implement them in my actual behavior.

Or to put it another way, to consider, not for the first time, how best to be the best me that I can for myself, my friends, and my very dear community.

And if you chose to stick around and read to the end of this whole introspective thing, thanks for hanging out with me!
beccaelizabeth: my Watcher tattoo in blue, plus Be in red Buffy style font (Default)
[personal profile] beccaelizabeth
I am reading a long fic right now
where two characters from different horror verses
get together and road trip and date and sort out their mental health a bit

and not one highly metaphorical demon and or ghost or anything has jumped out at them even the once.

Way to change genres.



And, way to make their canon actions look... so much more inappropriate.

Like if you can take time off from being jumped by The Horrors just by the story treating them like people for a bit
the horrors is you.


Like if it's honestly not a big deal to employ or work for demons and devils and so forth
and they'll just sit around and complain about London prices between work shifts
then the general level of ultraviolence towards them from protagonists
is
bad.


And I don't think the story quite means to say that
they're just taking a pause on the killing to do sex
which seems like reasonable story goals.

But if it is possible in universe then the characters are ... in a very weird position vs their own canon actions.




Not naming the story because like clearly this is an odd perspective to read it from
the romance story is about romance and it is weirding me out with social implications
is not the authors problem.



But still.
andrewducker: (bullshit detector)
[personal profile] andrewducker
Someone set up a bot to process a year's worth of Hacker News submissions/comments and generate an amusing summary, complete with a personalised XKCD. And, frankly, it did a great job.

"The Legacy Defender General"

A seasoned architect who spends their days patrolling the wall between actual engineering and unsustainable AI hype while desperately trying to keep their Windows 10 box alive until the heat death of the universe.
You are the only person on the internet who still remembers what a build script does and why we shouldn't let LLMs touch them without adult supervision.

Roasts

🔥 You have the energy of a man who would rather spend four hours debugging a custom Git hook than thirty seconds clicking a button in a GUI.
🔥 Your posting history is just a very long, very polite scream into the void about how AI is basically just Accenture in a trench coat.
🔥 I haven't seen someone this committed to public transport and vertical taskbars since the last time a Linux kernel developer got stuck in an elevator.

Predictions 2026

🔮 The Great Migration - You will finally buy a Steam Cube after your Windows 10 machine starts emitting a high-pitched whistle every time you open a browser tab.
🔮 AI Realization - You'll post a 4,000-word manifesto titled 'I Told You So' after an LLM successfully deletes a production database using a build script it 'hallucinated' was optimized.
🔮 Local Hero - You will be appointed the unofficial 'Minister of Trams' for Edinburgh after submitting your 100th link about geoblocking and public transport network maps.
🔮 Rust Awakening - You will successfully convince a junior developer that Rust is 'woke' but only because it respects the personal space of memory addresses.



(If you're on HN, and the site hasn't been melted down from demand yet, you can get your own here.)
rebeccmeister: (Default)
[personal profile] rebeccmeister
I am working on several surprises right now, so I can't really tell you about them just yet, can I. After all, they might turn out like the recent glove disaster!

But I can say I'm glad to be mostly at home this weekend, as compared to last weekend.

Also, the annual rowing Holiday Challenge has been keeping me busy this year. The basic format of the challenge is to use a rowing machine to row 200,000m between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. I believe it was two years ago that I wondered, just how many meters could I manage? I managed 375,000 that time around. This year, I'm hoping to reach 400,000. As of this moment, I have 41,000m to go, and 4 days. So I can probably achieve this goal. In future years, however, I want to be less ambitious about the Holiday Challenge so I can allocate more time to other things instead. I am at least finally starting to see some of the cardiovascular fitness benefits from sitting on rowing and biking machines for so much time.

And on that note, back to projects/surprises.
laughing_tree: (Seaworth)
[personal profile] laughing_tree posting in [community profile] scans_daily
image host

The future of the Marvel universe, I don't think it is set, I don't think it should be set. I think you can have a bunch of different ones. To be honest, it's sort of nice to have a few futures that are very probable, like the Days of Future Past or like King Thor... -- Al Ewing

Read more... )

Book review: Solo Dance

Dec. 20th, 2025 09:25 am
rocky41_7: (Default)
[personal profile] rocky41_7 posting in [community profile] booknook
Title: Solo Dance
Author: Kotomi Li
Genre: Fiction

Last night I wrapped up Solo Dance by Kotomi Li, translated from Japanese by Arthur Morris. This short book is about a young gay Taiwanese woman who struggles with both internal and external homophobia, and eventually moves to Japan looking for understanding.

Queer stories from other countries are always interesting to me and it’s a good reminder that progress has not been even all over the world. Much of the book is pretty depressing, because the protagonist struggled with fitting in even before she realized she was gay, and she has some real struggles. She is battling severe depression for much of the book and at several points, suicidality.

The book is touching in that the protagonist’s struggles feel real and she’s someone who is so close to having positive experience that could change her life for the better, but her luck keeps dropping on the other side each time.

I don’t want to spoil too much about the end, but while I was grateful for the overall tone of the it, it is contrived and not very believable. But I did enjoy the protagonist’s travels leading up to that point. It’s not at all subtle, and it packs a lot more plot into the final handful of chapters than the rest of the book, but it was still sweet to see the protagonist’s perspective shift a little through her engagements with other people.

I’m not sure if it’s the translation or the original prose, but the language is stilted and very emotionally distant. The reader is kept at arm’s length from the protagonist virtually the whole novel, and while we’re often told she’s feeling these intense feelings, I never felt it. It was like reading a clinical report of her feelings, which was disappointing.

This is Li’s first novel, and it reads that way. There’s a lot of heart in it, and I appreciate it for that, but it lacks a lot in technical skill. I would be interested to see more of Li’s future work, when she’s had more time to polish her ability, but I don’t regret taking the time with this one.


Mistletoe Challenge and fic

Dec. 20th, 2025 05:24 pm
philomytha: "Hark!" exclaimed Biggles. (Hark Biggles)
[personal profile] philomytha
I have been putting up my Christmas decorations, and amongst them are my amazing wonderful Biggles Christmas decorations, generously made and given to me by [personal profile] debriswoman. I shared a photo of them on discord, and inevitably this led to taking them as a fic prompt, and so now we have the very informal Mistletoe Challenge. The rules are, the fics must be inspired by these decorations, and less than 1000 words because it's a busy time of year. I have made a little AO3 collection for any resulting fics, [archiveofourown.org profile] silversmith has already written a fic, and having accidentally started something, I had to write a ficlet myself!

The Mistletoe Challenge collection, if anyone else wants to write a ficlet.

a photo of the decorations, and my drabble sequence about them )

ALL CLAIMED - Pinch Hits #219 & 220

Dec. 20th, 2025 10:24 am
yuletidemods: A hippo lounges with laptop in hand, peering at the screen through a pair of pince-nez and smiling. A text bubble with a heart emerges from the screen. The hippo dangles a computer mouse from one toe. By Oro. (Default)
[personal profile] yuletidemods posting in [community profile] yuletide_pinch_hits
All pinch hits to this point are now claimed, but keep an eye on this community for new ones!

These pinch hits are due on Tuesday 23 December at 9pm UTC.

Comments are turned off for this community. To claim a pinch hit, please email the mods at yuletideadmin@gmail.com and:
  • Include the pinch hit number in the subject line
  • Include the recipient's AO3 name in the subject line
  • Include your AO3 username in the body of the email

For example, if your AO3 username is yuletidehippo and you want to claim Pinch Hit #42 for AwsomRecip, you might email us with the subject line "PH 42 for AwsomRecip" and "I'm yuletidehippo on AO3" in the body of the email. As was the case previously, if you don't receive a reply you did not get the pinch hit.

Also, remember our pinch hitters' prompts post! If you weren't signed up and you're pinch hitting, your rare fandom prompts are very welcome!

If the pinch hit you're interested in has been claimed, you are still welcome to post treats!


CLAIMED - PH #219: The Imager Portfolio - L.E. Modesitt Jr., 恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer (TV), Sins of the Cities Series - K. J. Charles, All of Us Murderers - K.J. Charles
Request 1 by april_rainer (tom_bedlam)
The Imager Portfolio - L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Characters: Alastar D'Image, Alyna D'Image, Dichartyn (Imager Portfolio)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

Gifts are welcome!
I love that this series focuses on older characters! I adore Alastar and Alyna's romance and would love to see more of that than what fit in the books, especially from Alyna's point of view. What did she think when Alastar first came to Imageisle? What did she fall in love with? Does she talk to her friends about him?
For individual characters:
- I'd love to see Alastar's backstory more explored -- his experience coming to Westisle or learning to interact with wealthier people or some time when the wide class divide between him and Alyna cause stress to their relationship.
- For Alyna, I also want backstory and her experience adjusting to the Collegium after coming from a High Holding and her evolving relationship with her family, including her niece.
- For Dichartyn, I also would be thrilled to have backstory -- how did he end up where he did with the opinions he did? What are his relationships with Poincaryt and Dyana like and how did they develop? How did he meet his wife? Also, his POV on Rhenn at any point in those books.
Do Not Want: torture, downer endings, mpreg, omegaverse, infidelity (consensual poly is fine)

No letter

Request 2 by april_rainer (tom_bedlam)
恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer (TV)
Characters: Any
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

Gifts are welcome!
While the characters available are Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou who I love, I also really enjoy the other characters and some of my prompts don't focus entirely on them; feel free to pick and choose what you would like. Some fic that would spark joy:
- Chen Yuzhi/Jiang Yuelou starting a relationship (first kiss, first time, etc) wherever you think that happens in the story
- something focusing on Chen Yuzhi and what happened in his backstory that lead him to not seem to care much about his own life, only the help he can bring to others
- Zhan Junbai having feelings about Bai Jinbo as a father figure to Jiang Yuelou and how different that pseudofamilial relationship is from what he experienced with his uncle
- Chen Yuzhi catalogues Jiang Yuelou’s scars (Jiang Yuelou seems like a person who has many scars)
- modern AU (especially one where nobody dies!)
Do Not Want: detailed descriptions of torture (hurt/comfort with emphasis on the comfort is fine), downer endings (canon has one so either fic set before that or fixit AUs if you don't mind), mpreg, omegaverse, infidelity (consensual poly is fine)

No letter

Request 3 by april_rainer (tom_bedlam)
Sins of the Cities Series - K. J. Charles
Characters: Ganendra (Sins of the Cities)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

Gifts are welcome!
Anything that sparks joy about this amazing lawyer who never actually appears in person. The dailiances he has with other friends at the Jack and Knave, his friendship with Vikram Pandey (if you want to cross over with Unfit to Print), his revolutionary adventures back in India, his backstory either in India or at Oxford, the first time he met Clem? Any and all would be good.
Do Not Want: Torture, downer endings, mpreg, omegaverse, infidelity (consensual poly is fine)

No letter

Request 4 by april_rainer (tom_bedlam)
All of Us Murderers - K.J. Charles
Characters: Gideon Grey (All of Us Murderers)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

Gifts are welcome!
I love Gideon so very much. I would love to see any part of this book from his point of view, or explore his relationship with his sister/brother-in-law. Do they know he's gay? Do they know about Zeb? How did coming out go? I'm fascinated by what his first encounter with Zeb must have been like from his point of view or what Zeb saw in him then. What was their first time like? How did it even happen/how did they overcome Gideon's established lifetime of repression? Or post-canon Gideon and Zeb exploring their relationship with better communication established. Does Gideon end up with PTSD from the horrible house party? Does Zeb? How do they negotiate the persistent challenges of living together (take 2) and working together (also take 2, admittedly in a less toxic way)? How does their relationship survive the period where Gideon, who seems like someone who puts a lot of his self-worth on being The Compentent One Who Helps, is forced to depend on Zeb for financial/practical support?
Do Not Want: torture, downer endings, mpreg, omegaverse, infidelity (consensual poly is fine)

No letter

CLAIMED - PH #220: The London Charismatics - Jacquelyn Benson, Rook & Rose - M. A. Carrick, The Bright Sword - Lev Grossman, Eternal Path Trilogy - Antonia Hodgson, Shadow of the Leviathan - Robert Jackson Bennett, The Hymn to Dionysus - Natasha Pulley, The Bone Harp - Victoria Goddard, The Angel of the Crows - Katherine Addison
Request 1 by sophiegaladheon
The London Charismatics - Jacquelyn Benson
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

General Likes: found family, domesticity, hurt/comfort, sickfic, angst with a happy ending, mutual pining, backstory exploration, fics that explore gaps in canon (missing scenes, etc.), timeloops and time travel, loyalty, competence, political/court intrigue, history/niche historical details, espionage, mystery/casefic, outsider pov, epistolary format and other unusual storytelling devices, worldbuilding exploration (especially language/linguistics and social/cultural stuff - food! clothing! mass media!), repression and denial (and the consequences thereof), ace spectrum characters, queerplatonic relationships, blindfolds, bondage, light dom/sub, loyalty kink, praise kink
General Dislikes / Do Not Wants: infidelity, breakup/divorce, (non-canonical) character death, pregnancy, sad endings (ambiguous/bittersweet/fairly dark is fine, just not utterly hopeless), AUs (canon divergence is fine), character bashing, hurt/no comfort, bestiality, water sports, scat, omegaverse
I am happy receiving works rated gen through E.
Treats of all shapes and sizes welcome.

No letter

Request 2 by sophiegaladheon
Rook & Rose - M. A. Carrick
Characters: Ren (Rook & Rose), Grey Serrado, Derossi Vargo, Worldbuilding (Rook & Rose)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

General Likes: found family, domesticity, hurt/comfort, sickfic, angst with a happy ending, mutual pining, backstory exploration, fics that explore gaps in canon (missing scenes, etc.), timeloops and time travel, loyalty, competence, political/court intrigue, history/niche historical details, espionage, mystery/casefic, outsider pov, epistolary format and other unusual storytelling devices, worldbuilding exploration (especially language/linguistics and social/cultural stuff - food! clothing! mass media!), repression and denial (and the consequences thereof), ace spectrum characters, queerplatonic relationships, blindfolds, bondage, light dom/sub, loyalty kink, praise kink
General Dislikes / Do Not Wants: infidelity, breakup/divorce, (non-canonical) character death, pregnancy, sad endings (ambiguous/bittersweet/fairly dark is fine, just not utterly hopeless), AUs (canon divergence is fine), character bashing, hurt/no comfort, bestiality, water sports, scat, omegaverse
I am happy receiving works rated gen through E.
Treats of all shapes and sizes welcome.

No letter

Request 3 by sophiegaladheon
The Bright Sword - Lev Grossman
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

General Likes: found family, domesticity, hurt/comfort, sickfic, angst with a happy ending, mutual pining, backstory exploration, fics that explore gaps in canon (missing scenes, etc.), timeloops and time travel, loyalty, competence, political/court intrigue, history/niche historical details, espionage, mystery/casefic, outsider pov, epistolary format and other unusual storytelling devices, worldbuilding exploration (especially language/linguistics and social/cultural stuff - food! clothing! mass media!), repression and denial (and the consequences thereof), ace spectrum characters, queerplatonic relationships, blindfolds, bondage, light dom/sub, loyalty kink, praise kink
General Dislikes / Do Not Wants: infidelity, breakup/divorce, (non-canonical) character death, pregnancy, sad endings (ambiguous/bittersweet/fairly dark is fine, just not utterly hopeless), AUs (canon divergence is fine), character bashing, hurt/no comfort, bestiality, water sports, scat, omegaverse
I am happy receiving works rated gen through E.
Treats of all shapes and sizes welcome.

No letter

Request 4 by sophiegaladheon
Eternal Path Trilogy - Antonia Hodgson
Characters: Neema Kraa, Cain Ballari, Ruko Valit (Eternal Path Trilogy), Worldbuilding (Eternal Path Trilogy)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

General Likes: found family, domesticity, hurt/comfort, sickfic, angst with a happy ending, mutual pining, backstory exploration, fics that explore gaps in canon (missing scenes, etc.), timeloops and time travel, loyalty, competence, political/court intrigue, history/niche historical details, espionage, mystery/casefic, outsider pov, epistolary format and other unusual storytelling devices, worldbuilding exploration (especially language/linguistics and social/cultural stuff - food! clothing! mass media!), repression and denial (and the consequences thereof), ace spectrum characters, queerplatonic relationships, blindfolds, bondage, light dom/sub, loyalty kink, praise kink
General Dislikes / Do Not Wants: infidelity, breakup/divorce, (non-canonical) character death, pregnancy, sad endings (ambiguous/bittersweet/fairly dark is fine, just not utterly hopeless), AUs (canon divergence is fine), character bashing, hurt/no comfort, bestiality, water sports, scat, omegaverse
I am happy receiving works rated gen through E.
Treats of all shapes and sizes welcome.

No letter

Request 5 by sophiegaladheon
Shadow of the Leviathan - Robert Jackson Bennett
Characters: Dinios Kol, Kepheus Strovi, Anagosa Dolabra, Worldbuilding (Shadow of the Leviathan)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

General Likes: found family, domesticity, hurt/comfort, sickfic, angst with a happy ending, mutual pining, backstory exploration, fics that explore gaps in canon (missing scenes, etc.), timeloops and time travel, loyalty, competence, political/court intrigue, history/niche historical details, espionage, mystery/casefic, outsider pov, epistolary format and other unusual storytelling devices, worldbuilding exploration (especially language/linguistics and social/cultural stuff - food! clothing! mass media!), repression and denial (and the consequences thereof), ace spectrum characters, queerplatonic relationships, blindfolds, bondage, light dom/sub, loyalty kink, praise kink
General Dislikes / Do Not Wants: infidelity, breakup/divorce, (non-canonical) character death, pregnancy, sad endings (ambiguous/bittersweet/fairly dark is fine, just not utterly hopeless), AUs (canon divergence is fine), character bashing, hurt/no comfort, bestiality, water sports, scat, omegaverse
I am happy receiving works rated gen through E.
Treats of all shapes and sizes welcome.

No letter

Request 6 by sophiegaladheon
The Hymn to Dionysus - Natasha Pulley
Characters: Worldbuilding (Hymn to Dionysus - Pulley)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

General Likes: found family, domesticity, hurt/comfort, sickfic, angst with a happy ending, mutual pining, backstory exploration, fics that explore gaps in canon (missing scenes, etc.), timeloops and time travel, loyalty, competence, political/court intrigue, history/niche historical details, espionage, mystery/casefic, outsider pov, epistolary format and other unusual storytelling devices, worldbuilding exploration (especially language/linguistics and social/cultural stuff - food! clothing! mass media!), repression and denial (and the consequences thereof), ace spectrum characters, queerplatonic relationships, blindfolds, bondage, light dom/sub, loyalty kink, praise kink
General Dislikes / Do Not Wants: infidelity, breakup/divorce, (non-canonical) character death, pregnancy, sad endings (ambiguous/bittersweet/fairly dark is fine, just not utterly hopeless), AUs (canon divergence is fine), character bashing, hurt/no comfort, bestiality, water sports, scat, omegaverse
I am happy receiving works rated gen through E.
Treats of all shapes and sizes welcome.
No letter

Request 7 by sophiegaladheon
The Bone Harp - Victoria Goddard
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

General Likes: found family, domesticity, hurt/comfort, sickfic, angst with a happy ending, mutual pining, backstory exploration, fics that explore gaps in canon (missing scenes, etc.), timeloops and time travel, loyalty, competence, political/court intrigue, history/niche historical details, espionage, mystery/casefic, outsider pov, epistolary format and other unusual storytelling devices, worldbuilding exploration (especially language/linguistics and social/cultural stuff - food! clothing! mass media!), repression and denial (and the consequences thereof), ace spectrum characters, queerplatonic relationships, blindfolds, bondage, light dom/sub, loyalty kink, praise kink
General Dislikes / Do Not Wants: infidelity, breakup/divorce, (non-canonical) character death, pregnancy, sad endings (ambiguous/bittersweet/fairly dark is fine, just not utterly hopeless), AUs (canon divergence is fine), character bashing, hurt/no comfort, bestiality, water sports, scat, omegaverse
I am happy receiving works rated gen through E.
Treats of all shapes and sizes welcome.
No letter

Request 8 by sophiegaladheon
The Angel of the Crows - Katherine Addison
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

General Likes: found family, domesticity, hurt/comfort, sickfic, angst with a happy ending, mutual pining, backstory exploration, fics that explore gaps in canon (missing scenes, etc.), timeloops and time travel, loyalty, competence, political/court intrigue, history/niche historical details, espionage, mystery/casefic, outsider pov, epistolary format and other unusual storytelling devices, worldbuilding exploration (especially language/linguistics and social/cultural stuff - food! clothing! mass media!), repression and denial (and the consequences thereof), ace spectrum characters, queerplatonic relationships, blindfolds, bondage, light dom/sub, loyalty kink, praise kink
General Dislikes / Do Not Wants: infidelity, breakup/divorce, (non-canonical) character death, pregnancy, sad endings (ambiguous/bittersweet/fairly dark is fine, just not utterly hopeless), AUs (canon divergence is fine), character bashing, hurt/no comfort, bestiality, water sports, scat, omegaverse
I am happy receiving works rated gen through E.
Treats of all shapes and sizes welcome.
No letter

beanside: (Default)
[personal profile] beanside
Greetings on this fine Saturday! We've got a busy day ahead, but first, coffee.

Yesterday was a busy day, mostly with me doing callbacks. I still took 36 calls, but I did a lot of calling to offer people appts that had opened up. I was able to get someone who was freaked out in for an appt almost immediately, so I was pleased. I don't expect to get the same acclaim as the last time I helped someone out, but I always hope that when the person meets someone else who's struggling that they remember the kindness and pay it forward. That might be a wildly optimistic hope, but fingers crossed

Today will also be busy, as we have to go get Jess' suit altered, and then will head up to the winery to pick up our booze. I went a little bit crazy on the order, and ended up getting 13 bottles of beer wine and liquor. I knew I wanted to get two bottles each of the wines we loved, Niagra and Pink Catawba. Then, they had their eggnog in stock and I had to try that. They didn't have the coconut rum cream we loved, so I got a mocha rum cream. I also got a growler of beer in Irish Red, because Killians Red was one of the few beers I liked. Then there were other wines that looked good, and a peppermint schnapps. It's a lot, but I think it'll all be good.

This will probably be the last visit til spring, so I figured it would be good to stock up. Plus, they had all the festive wines, which sounded amazing. Who doesn't love hot mulled wine? (It's me, yet I bought some anyway in the hopes that I won't hate it.)

The real question will be what we open first. I definitely want to try the eggnog. I love me a boozy eggnog, and it's hard to find the right mix.

Tomorrow, we have less planned. I'm supposed to meet with a friend for breakfast, because I have gifts for her kids, and she's a quilter who made stockings for my sister, and the animals. I'm treating, because I know she won't let me pay for the stockings.

After that, I may stop at IKEA and get a bottle of their sparkling pear juice for Christmas dinner. My brother in law doesn't drink, so I want something that he can have on the table as well.

I decided that we're going to open up the table and actually serve the food on serving platters, so that it looks pretty and festive. Of course my tablecloth won't be here til 12/27, fuckers. Maybe I can grab something at IKEA as well.

As of this morning, DHL says they'll be delivering my sister's earrings on 12/24. That would be fucking awesome, and I really hope it works out.

The fudge I ordered for my BIL is supposed to come on 12/23, which is awesome. He loves peanut butter fudge, and this place has bar none the best fudge I've ever had.

Okay, time to go forth and get my ass in gear. Everyone have a stellar Saturday!

One World Under Doom #9

Dec. 20th, 2025 07:30 am
cyberghostface: (Doom)
[personal profile] cyberghostface posting in [community profile] scans_daily


“What’s so tragic about [Doom] is that he could be a great guy. If he went in a slightly different direction, he could be a good guy. That’s why he and Reed have such a Capital R relationship. They see themselves as these sort of very similar but very different men.” — Ryan North

Scans under the cut... )

(morning writing)

Dec. 20th, 2025 07:22 am
elainegrey: Inspired by Grypping/gripping beast styles from Nordic cultures (Default)
[personal profile] elainegrey

Maybe, i thought, after listening to Mary Oliver read "Wild Geese", maybe i should write psalms. So i opened Robert Alter's translation of "The Book of Psalms" and began reading the introduction in which he notes (in discussing how Hebrew poets new psalms to other gods and those lines can be found in their psalms)

a comparison with the proposed originals suggests rather that what the psalmists did was to adapt, briefly cite, or even polemically transform the polytheistic poems, which is, after all, what poets everywhere do with their predecessors—both building on them and emphatically making something new out of them.

It's not just poets, life, i think, builds on what came before -- ferns in the remains of their predecessors taking the remains of the star into their heart, birds with the song of their parents nesting in the same forest, i in my home haunted by the memory of my mother's housekeeping. Maybe the choice is how emphatically we focus on the newness: a gardener's choice different from a parent's, different from a poet's, different from a politician.

I think i ache for us all to be surrounded by humans making choices -- where perhaps the choices themselves are not emphatically new -- but what a new world if we all made compassionate thoughtful choices. We would still have pain and suffering, friction and loss, but so ever much less.

Signup Post: 26 Things in 2026

Dec. 20th, 2025 04:00 am
ysabetwordsmith: Text says New Year Resolutions on notebook (resolutions)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] goals_on_dw
26 things in 2026. (See the challenge from 2025.)

Anyone who wants to play, just make your list before January 1, 2026. You don't have to post the list. But maybe show it to someone else so you can tell them you've done a thing.

You can play here, since this community gathers people interested in goals and resolutions, or in your own blog. 

A long awaited victory

Dec. 20th, 2025 09:31 am
andrewducker: (Default)
[personal profile] andrewducker
9 years ago I bought Bloodborne as one of my first Playstation games.
I was rubbish at it.
I'd play for a bit, get stuck on Father Gascoigne, go play something else, come back two years later, repeat.

Today, having not played Bloodborne for months, I thought I'd give the fight a few goes through, to warm up on the game again. It took me at least ten minutes of wandering about to remember what the buttons did.

And then I beat him first time, without it even feeling that hard.

I made mistakes, I nearly died twice, and I'm not sure I *deserved* the win, but for the first time he felt clumsy, and like he was giving me space to breathe, and I wasn't panicking all the way through the fight.

And now I get to play the other 90% of Bloodborne.

(I'm now trembling quite a lot, as my adrenaline levels drop back to a reasonable level. If you'd like to see what the fight looks like, for someone rather better than me, here's an example).
silveradept: Domo-kun, wearing glass and a blue suit with a white shirt and red tie, sitting at a table. (Domokun Anchor)
[personal profile] silveradept
Let's begin with something that should be obvious, and apparently isn't: regardless of what you think about them, if you use someone's pronouns when they tell them to you, you make the person less likely to exit the world early.

An Oklahoma University students decided to stage a stunt and submit an assignment that was a personal attack on the person that was grading it. Unsurprisingly, she failed the assignment. Also unsurprisingly, others have decided to use this as a way to attack the grader and all other trans people, and the grader has been the only one punished for this, because the crime of being trans and in a position where you might pass or fail someone is much greater than deliberately provoking an outrage machine to work on your behalf. Because, of course, the student claims being failed was because she spoke her religious truth, and not because she intended to provoke an outrage machine.

The national Girl Guides organization in the United Kingdom was forced into banning all trans girls from participating in Girlguiding under the threat of being sued into the ground for continuing to admit trans girls. Similarly, the Women's Institute was forced to exclude trans women from their organization because of similar threats. Ma href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c773vm4n3n0o">The Labour party says they have to ban trans women from the main events of their Women's conference. The animating problem in all of these decisions is the morally bankrupt UK Supreme Court decision that defined women according to their assigned sex at birth and visible sexual characteristics rather than by some standard that would actually include all people who are women.

Steve Cropper, legendary musician and involved in an awful lot of music that people would know by listening to a few bars, is back with bandmates at the age of 84 years. The only reason I know that name is because Steve Cropper was one of the band members playing behind the Blues Brothers, in both movies, and presumably in many of the other skits involved with the Blues Brothers. Damn good musician.

Plenty inside, from people behaving badly to zooborns )

Last out for tonight, drag the Pantone company for the entirety of this upcoming year, as they chose an anodyne shade of white for 2026. While that may be accurate, in that's what the U.S. administration wants to have happen in the year, removing all traces of any color other than white, surely the people picking colors could have done a better job than thinking that whiteness was the way to go in this day and age.

What might happen when the suffering child of Omelas is murdered, and how much Omelas will do its best to put things back the way they used to be, because they all believe the lifelong suffering of one child is better than the possible suffering of many children.

The punk spirit never dies, but Everyone Asked About You had a revival due to an old album having been uploaded, and then discovered, and rediscovered, and then became entirely more popular than they would have ever imagined.

And a story about how a writer was almost ground into paste because people preferred the LLM version of the writing to the authentic thing, and how a friend managed to claw back a space where the pablum was not considered the pinnacle.

(Materials via [personal profile] adrian_turtle, [personal profile] azurelunatic, [personal profile] boxofdelights, [personal profile] cmcmck, [personal profile] conuly, [personal profile] cosmolinguist, [personal profile] elf, [personal profile] finch, [personal profile] firecat, [personal profile] jadelennox, [personal profile] jenett, [personal profile] jjhunter, [personal profile] kaberett, [personal profile] lilysea, [personal profile] oursin, [personal profile] rydra_wong, [personal profile] snowynight, [personal profile] sonia, [personal profile] the_future_modernes, [personal profile] thewayne, [personal profile] umadoshi, [personal profile] vass, the [community profile] meta_warehouse community, [community profile] little_details, and anyone else I've neglected to mention or who I suspect would rather not be on the list. If you want to know where I get the neat stuff, my reading list has most of it.)

December Days 02025 #19: Ficcer

Dec. 19th, 2025 11:36 pm
silveradept: A kodama with a trombone. The trombone has a sprig of holly and is emitting sparkles, and is held in a rest position (VEWPRF Kodama)
[personal profile] silveradept
It's December Days time again. This year, I have decided that I'm going to talk about skills and applications thereof, if for no other reason than because I am prone to both the fixed mindset and the downplaying of any skills that I might have obtained as not "real" skills because they do not fit some form of ideal.

19: Ficcer

On the obverse of the coin that is my essayist self, professional or otherwise, there's the part of me that also enjoys writing fic. The story of the first fics that I remember writing has been told before, in a notebook, with one-page adventures in a spiral-bound notebook that once was threatened with exposure by a sibling if I didn't stop behaving like a younger sibling about things. At least, that's what I remember the threat as. It's the sort of thing that a young child produces, with all of the mixing, mashing, and generally lack of care for things like continuity, acting in character, or good names for the principal actors in the story. It is, therefore, perfect and perfectly fine for a child of the age that produced it.

There is at least one original works-type story from my near-teenage years, or just falling into my teenage years, that I remember basing upon the private-eye narrative style in the Tracer Bullet noir-type stories that Bill Watterson would come back to as a frequent way of showing where Calvin's imagination was at the time. I doubt it even read like a dime-store novel, but the people who were part of the writing workshop seemed pleased with it as a creation of a child of that age, and there were definitely laughs when I read the short story aloud, which was what was intended, since Tracer Bullet is much more a noir pastiche and parody than something that was intended to be taken seriously as a noir work. And I like playing with language when I write. There are phrases that I slip into stories that are allusions and references to other things, whether other stories I've written, or other properties, characters, or artifacts, or just other things in the universe that the fic is stationed in. Nathalie Heartless is a perfect name for a villain of some scope in a Kingdom Hearts/Miraculous Ladybug crossover. Halloween on Centauri Prime where there is the sound of a distant HONK when there are revelers come to do a little mischief on the Imperial Palace (with the Emperor's permission, of course.) The idea that the girl and her fox in Epistory might have been only one of many who came through, including things like a boy and a tiger, or an old man and two birds. That a child of Calvin's might want to change their name into a symbol, like some other famous person who did that. That Lilo watched a movie about whales and a guy who gets into a whale tank to talk to them. Those kinds of things. Little winks and nods that don't detract from the story, but do reward those who have experience with other fandoms with a little Captain America "Ah, I got that reference" moment while they go along.

I set that type of fic aside as I developed other interests and hobbies throughout my high school and university days, but that's with a quasi-asterisk, and I was playing RP forum games, and even tried to play a character or two on some RP games on LiveJournal and Dreamwidth. So, it wasn't that I stopped writing fic, it's that I stopped writing a specific kind of fic, and instead participated in creating works that were part of a braoder universe. Subreality, the Boardieverse (BRIIIIICK!), the QFGC, and the like. With the occasional fic effort all the same, set in those spaces. In a largely text-based medium, textual stories flowed out all the same, just as collaborations, rather than as a single author doing a more defined story work. I suspect similar things are happening these days as well, but they're probably happening in Discord servers, hidden from curious and prying eyes, instead of on mailing lists, phpBB forums, or bulletin board systems (BBSes). Or in MUDs.

Mostly, my return to the type of fic that I started with coincides with collecting an AO3 account and then using it to sign up for a pinch hit for an exchange, and then from there, basically doing a lot of exchange signups. Many authors, but I remember hearing this specifically from Seanan McGuire, who may have heard it from elsewhere, say that the imposition of constraints is what gets creativity to flow. This is true for me. Left to my own devices, I often flounder, but if some idea or constraint or exchange prompt comes along and gives me some parameters to work with, then the ideas start happening and eventually I can come up with something that works and I can post. I could say that means I'm not very creative on my own, but that would not be truthful. I'm plenty creative, I just am better as a riffer than as a whole cloth creator.

I didn't come back to the form of fic that I started in until gathering up an AO3 account and doing so to participate, somewhat timidly, as a pinch-hitter, and then a participant, in various exchanges. I'm not usually someone throwing themselves wholeheartedly into new fandomms, nor necessarily following along with the most popular ones at the height of their popularity. I don't engage with media mostly for the possibilities of what fic I could make out of it, but I do find that enough stories leave holes, gaps, and room for interpretation for a lot of the things that fic covers, or there's a reasonably clear path for me to take from where the canonical version of something is to the version that's been requested. Sometimes I write fix-its out of spite. Sometimes people say that it's foolish of me to do so, because it was obvious the way things were going to go from the foreshadowing, which rather misses the point of a lot of fic writing. Sometimes I wriite something because there was a pun sitting there that needed using, and the only way to get it out is to craft a story around it. And sometimes there's got to be a story behind things, and nobody says what it is, or there's more stories to be told than the canon was allowed to tell.

I think fic helps keep my brain moving on things, and having a few different projects in the works at any given time also helps me when my brain doesn't want to work on one thing, but will want to work on another. It's the presence of the neurochemistry that I have that I like to have something to do at all times. Being bored and without something to do is not helpful for me. Meditation is different than boredom, since meditation is about paying attention to now, and trying to pay your entire self's attention to now, rather than being at loose ends about what to do with your time, or thinking about all the other things that you could be doing with your time. Or, worse, being on call for someone who will call at some arbitrary time, but otherwise will make you wait until they call, so you don't have the ability to pick up and put down various things, or do things that will take a short amount of time and then come back to being attentive. That becomes worse when the person who expects you to be on call expects you to be on call now, rather than "will you find a pausing point and attend, please?"

This is not to say that the process of writing fic is easy and all the words flow smoothly from beginning to end. This doesn't happen for essay work, either. Having multiple projects going at once means that if I get stuck on one, I can backburner it for a bit, let my brain work on it in the subconscious, and do something else where the words are coming more easily, and eventually get back to the thing that has the block. Or write some other scene anachronically that needs to be there and come back to the problem once I've figured out what the end point looks like, or what needs to go in between to get from one point to another. It's also nice to draft most of these things in text editors, rather than word processors, because I don't have word processors trying to help me, and because if I do it in a text editor, I can also just drop the semantic HTML in and not have to do any changes to it to get it ready for posting. (Because I'm so used to Dreamwidth and AO3 and other such things, I think in HTML. And a little bit in Markdown, but I kind of like being able to handle everything directly rather than needing to have something get interpreted back to me. I do like that Markdown strives to be readable even if it's not being rendered in HTML, so I should probably be a little kinder to it, but I don't always have a markdown parser or interpreter handy for when I'm doing things, and it's just faster at this point to go directly.

Fic-writing helps me relate to the fandoms and things that I'm in, by giving me a platform to work on, and people who might be appreciative of the work that happens there. It's nice to build a little bit of community with my writing. I tend to approach fic writing and fandom more like a storytelling situation, rather than an opportunity to play with the dolls, if that makes sense? Nothing wrong with fic writers who are up for any excuse at all to make their blorbos do stuff, or kiss people, or more, but I find that I have trouble writing things that don't have at least a minimally cohesive plot. It doesn't always have to be very fleshed out, but I work best in fic when I can see a clear reason why a character is doing this thing that I want, or a clear reason why this character would be interested in this other person. Which sometimes means I write other people's crack pairings, because I look at it and go, "Yep. I know exactly how that would work, regardless of how well it would work in canon." I like being able to make something that I would enjoy reading. That others do as well is important, but not quite as important as me creating something that I would want to go back and re-read. If it doesn't meet my taste, I won't be as happy with it as I could be. It's pleasantly surprising to occasionally get a comment on something that is older, and re-read it, and find that I still like it. And while I like "number go up" as much as everyone else, being on the exchange circuit, and often writing for fandoms that are older or pairings that are rarer, I know that the numbers that are going to be associated with any given work will be much smaller than they might be for catching a megafandom in its height. My most-everything'd work basically did that, and it was something I wrote for the joke at the end, and it struck a chord with the fandom. I doubt I'll write anything else that gets that kind of numbers. If I wanted to base my self-worth on the numbers I was doing, I probably would have left fic writing altogether. And possibly essaying as well, just because I am unlikely to ever become the biggest fish in the pond, regardless of the size of the pond. I'm not the kind of person who wants to tailor my content to the engagement algorithm, so I will never have influencer contracts or sponsored posts, or, for that matter, anyone who would throw money into a Patreon or similar for access to my writing before everyone else gets it. I don't need it, and I think there are better places for the people who would likely become a patron of mine to put their money. If some rich billionaire decided that I should have a million-dollar monthly stipend just to keep turning out what I'm turning out, sure, I'll take that, but most people are passing the same twenty dollar bill around to whomever needs it the most that month, and that's a far better thing to do than spend it on me.

That, and I prefer to keep my own schedule of when I post and to where. Having to do it for money would probably sour me greatly and make me worry when inevitably I didn't have an idea in time for the patron line. (I fall more on the idea that fandom should be a gift economy, for the practical reason of the less money changing hands, the less legal problems that follow that money, and also because I think that everyone should already be given what they need to have a fulfilling life, so they wouldn't need to turn their creative output into something that makes them money.)

You can read my work and judge for yourself as to whether I'm prolific, good, bad, or someone to avoid. All I ask is that if you don't like it, use the back button and pretend you never saw it. If you do like it, please leave at least a kudos, if you have the spoons and desire to. (Comments are lovely, but they're additional work.)

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