Blast from the past!
Jan. 3rd, 2026 12:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mificOK, today is the day I'm going to talk about a topic other than Heated Rivalry, because something amazing just happened.
Back in high school when I was 17 and in the 6th form (as we called it then, same as junior year in the US), my first boyfriend was a US exchange student from Illinois called Dave, a farm boy from the vicinity of Springfield, south of Chicago.
This morning I was woken up by someone knocking on my door at about 9am. I'm a night owl so I'm not always up then. I staggered about calling out for them to wait, and after pulling on some clothes, opened the door to find an older guy asking if I knew [my name]. And it was Dave. Neither of us recognised the other at first sight, obviously.
So for the past 3 hours we've been talking, catching up and exchanging reminiscences, filling each other in on our lives. He was only in NZ for 3 months back in our high school days and I think it was a pretty intense experience for him, urban New Zealand (Christchurch, where I grew up) being very different from rural Illinois, and my family were more liberal than his so I was a bit wilder than the girls he was used to. We thought we were in love, of course, and he says he was heartbroken to have to leave me, and that he regretted never corresponding with me afterwards - I thought my heart was broken, too, and wrote to him a few times, then stopped when there were no replies.
We dated for several weeks and were both virgins when we finally had entirely unprotected sex, not long before he had to return to the states. We had sex several times after that, ostensibly "going to the movies" but actually to a quiet park near where I lived, putting a blanket on the ground in a copse of trees. Apparently, (I have zero recall of this), I wrote to him after he got back home and told him that I hadn't gotten pregnant, thank goodness! (I do remember anxiously waiting for that period to come). His mother read that letter for some reason, and gave him hell! So I think he was kind of traumatised by that and never replied to me. He regrets that, now, and one reason for seeing me again was to apologise.
It's not like either of us has been carrying a torch all these years, but I think he really liked New Zealand and had fond memories, and he and his wife came back here as tourists in their fifties. He has a son back in the states and a daughter in Sydney, so when he decided to take a trip downunder he hired a private detective to try to locate me (as he's not great with computers and searches etc.) I'm not easy to google under my own name as although it's an unusual one, there's an Australian poet with exactly the same name, so all the hits are for her.
Anyway, eventually, through torturous routes via my old employment as a doctor, Dave got an address for me, but the street number was slightly wrong. (He wrote to me but it'll have been returned to sender). Luckily, today when he went to the wrong address across the road from me, a neighbour helped him to figure out the right number and he ended up on my doorstep.
So I was a bit muzzy, just woken up and no tea or breakfast yet, and my flat is a complete tip right now. Fionna who cleans for me Mondays is on a 3 week Christmas break, and every day I keep meaning to do a big tidy-up and put away dirty dishes and paper grocery delivery bags that are all in a big heap, but I hadn't gotten around to it due to a) painting seasonal cards each day, and, b) being obsessed with Heated Rivalry rewatches, fanfic, and art! Anyway, Dave didn't turn a hair at the mess, and frankly I'm past caring about that sort of shit these days.
We had a nice long talk, comparing notes about our lives.
I'm still feeling a little stunned, but that may be low blood sugar as I still haven't had breakfast.
Dave, thanks so much for remembering me and tracking me down. I hope you have a blast with your amazing transformer plane before the Parkinson's gets too bad (and that you never need that two year food supply).
Man, what a way to start the day!
Back in high school when I was 17 and in the 6th form (as we called it then, same as junior year in the US), my first boyfriend was a US exchange student from Illinois called Dave, a farm boy from the vicinity of Springfield, south of Chicago.
This morning I was woken up by someone knocking on my door at about 9am. I'm a night owl so I'm not always up then. I staggered about calling out for them to wait, and after pulling on some clothes, opened the door to find an older guy asking if I knew [my name]. And it was Dave. Neither of us recognised the other at first sight, obviously.
So for the past 3 hours we've been talking, catching up and exchanging reminiscences, filling each other in on our lives. He was only in NZ for 3 months back in our high school days and I think it was a pretty intense experience for him, urban New Zealand (Christchurch, where I grew up) being very different from rural Illinois, and my family were more liberal than his so I was a bit wilder than the girls he was used to. We thought we were in love, of course, and he says he was heartbroken to have to leave me, and that he regretted never corresponding with me afterwards - I thought my heart was broken, too, and wrote to him a few times, then stopped when there were no replies.
We dated for several weeks and were both virgins when we finally had entirely unprotected sex, not long before he had to return to the states. We had sex several times after that, ostensibly "going to the movies" but actually to a quiet park near where I lived, putting a blanket on the ground in a copse of trees. Apparently, (I have zero recall of this), I wrote to him after he got back home and told him that I hadn't gotten pregnant, thank goodness! (I do remember anxiously waiting for that period to come). His mother read that letter for some reason, and gave him hell! So I think he was kind of traumatised by that and never replied to me. He regrets that, now, and one reason for seeing me again was to apologise.
It's not like either of us has been carrying a torch all these years, but I think he really liked New Zealand and had fond memories, and he and his wife came back here as tourists in their fifties. He has a son back in the states and a daughter in Sydney, so when he decided to take a trip downunder he hired a private detective to try to locate me (as he's not great with computers and searches etc.) I'm not easy to google under my own name as although it's an unusual one, there's an Australian poet with exactly the same name, so all the hits are for her.
Anyway, eventually, through torturous routes via my old employment as a doctor, Dave got an address for me, but the street number was slightly wrong. (He wrote to me but it'll have been returned to sender). Luckily, today when he went to the wrong address across the road from me, a neighbour helped him to figure out the right number and he ended up on my doorstep.
So I was a bit muzzy, just woken up and no tea or breakfast yet, and my flat is a complete tip right now. Fionna who cleans for me Mondays is on a 3 week Christmas break, and every day I keep meaning to do a big tidy-up and put away dirty dishes and paper grocery delivery bags that are all in a big heap, but I hadn't gotten around to it due to a) painting seasonal cards each day, and, b) being obsessed with Heated Rivalry rewatches, fanfic, and art! Anyway, Dave didn't turn a hair at the mess, and frankly I'm past caring about that sort of shit these days.
We had a nice long talk, comparing notes about our lives.
- I'm happily single - he was married, not very happily, had an affair then got divorced, then his wife died from cancer. He has twins - a son and daughter, in their 40s.
- I'm staunchly leftist - he voted for Trump for specious conservative reasons and now regrets a lot of the Trump administration's bullshit. He didn't seem full-on MAGA but I told him I was anti-Trump so we wouldn't talk about that. He seems otherwise a nice guy, not bigoted, sings in his local choir, Christian in a social sort of way, cares about his kids, friends, and local community.
- I was a doctor (a psychiatrist, then ran the local psych registrar training programme) - he was a farmer, then elected to the state legislature, then worked for a passenger rail company. We're both retired.
- He's a prepper! He told me a little about how he's set up his farmhouse with a two year food supply and various other survivalist gear. I'm into apocafic, so weirdly we have something in common there, and have exchanged book recs for favourite post-apocalyptic series!
- He's intrepid enough to still be traveling the world. He flies small planes and is having a space-age plane built. It's called the Samson Switchblade - a 2-seater plane that on landing, folds itself up into a fucking 3-wheeler sports car/bike! He plans to travel more widely in the states, once it's finished and delivered. Obviously he's well-off, from selling the farm's land (most to the government as flood mitigation rewilding), and a good pension after the legislature work. I'm also comfortably off due to a sensible superannuation plan (same as what he calls a pension) plus as an only child I inherited my parents' house, and sold my own. But I stopped flying anywhere after Covid, and never plan to get into an aeroplane again.
- He's fairly trim, with just a knee replacement (used to be a runner), but he has Parkinson's disease, with a noticeable hand tremor. I'm generally healthy but also fat and profoundly unfit, with limited exercise tolerance.
- He's not at all tech-savvy in terms of phones or computers, whereas I'm comfortable with all that and a lot "younger" than him in my internet activities.
I'm still feeling a little stunned, but that may be low blood sugar as I still haven't had breakfast.
Dave, thanks so much for remembering me and tracking me down. I hope you have a blast with your amazing transformer plane before the Parkinson's gets too bad (and that you never need that two year food supply).
Man, what a way to start the day!
Various
Jan. 2nd, 2026 11:59 pmvassHeads-up re LiveJournal, if you haven't heard: if you still have stuff you care about there, you should probably save it now.
Yuletide reveal: I wrote A Night at the Opera for![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
mage-pie. I already knew them from Discord, and their prompts were very much in line with what I wanted to write. Good experience.
Tonight I unplugged my desktop, opened up the case, and gave it a clean. I am happy to say that it booted again afterwards. I haven't yet dared to try Hollow Knight again since, though. (What prompted me to do this was having the computer spontaneously shut down twice while I was playing Hollow Knight. In the same region.[*] It's a hot day, and heat plus not having cleaned the case since mumbleevermumble plus spontaneous shutdown while playing a game made me think "overheating".)
[* City of Tears, near the Watcher's Spire.]
Yuletide reveal: I wrote A Night at the Opera for
Tonight I unplugged my desktop, opened up the case, and gave it a clean. I am happy to say that it booted again afterwards. I haven't yet dared to try Hollow Knight again since, though. (What prompted me to do this was having the computer spontaneously shut down twice while I was playing Hollow Knight. In the same region.[*] It's a hot day, and heat plus not having cleaned the case since mumbleevermumble plus spontaneous shutdown while playing a game made me think "overheating".)
[* City of Tears, near the Watcher's Spire.]
Snowflake Challenge Day 1: Icebreaker
Jan. 2nd, 2026 06:24 pmsnowynight
Hi! I'm snowynight! This's my introduction post
I'm doing this because it's fun. It's also good to meet other people. I'll try to join as many challenges as possible.
New HR comm
Jan. 2nd, 2026 04:20 pmmificWhat I said in my last post? Today is not that day...
There's now a DW comm for Heated Rivalry and the Game Changers series.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
gamechangerhr - the profile page has several resources and events listed, like a big bang organised via tumblr.
And I did locate a Hollanov discord - here's an invite.
There's now a DW comm for Heated Rivalry and the Game Changers series.
gamechangerhr - the profile page has several resources and events listed, like a big bang organised via tumblr. And I did locate a Hollanov discord - here's an invite.
Snowflake Challenge, Day 1: Introduce yourself
Jan. 1st, 2026 10:59 amnansliceHello! I'm Nan! She/her, 39 (turning 40 in February, whoa), and I've been in fandom for most of my life (got started as a wee 13 year old). It has been my main source of friends and interaction through the years. I've been in many, many fandoms over the years; HP, MCU, Final Fantasy (primarily 8, 12, 15, and a Realm Reborn), LOTR. I'm currently neck deep in Warhammer 40k fandom but I'm trying to spread my wings, take in new and different media, and hopefully gather a fun little collection of fandoms. :D I started out as a fanfic author but nowadays I'm primarily a fanartist, although I would really love to get more words out in 2026. I typically ship m/m but I enjoy drawing porn, romance, and gen art. :3
I live in Seattle with
cypher, four cats, a dog, and a bearded dragon. I work an extremely non-glamorous job that I enjoy a lot. I want to be more present in fandom and on DW, as both of these give me sanity but man, am I terrible and staying focused (I have diagnosed ADHD), lmaoooo.
Links!
BlueSky
The StoryGraph
Letterboxd (gonna try so hard to use this more this year!)
2026 so far
Jan. 1st, 2026 11:50 pmvass[not the usual 'things' post, but I'm hoping to do one such post once a week this year, and this is close enough.]
I finished reading Rivers Solomon's The Deep, went for a walk, mostly-assembled[*] the flatpack garden bench I bought back in November, did a bunch of weeding and tomato bondage[**], and played a few hours of Hollow Knight[***].
[* Some of the holes for the screws did not seem to have been drilled at quite the right angle, and I wasn't able to screw them in far enough even when I decided to stick a hex bit on my impact driver and use that. Which worked great for the ones on the right side, but the ones on the left side wouldn't go in any further than they already had, and as a bonus I stripped the screw heads. Ugh.]
[** Green tomatoes sighted! Now slightly further off the ground than before I tied them up!]
[Located the map to Fog Canyon, found Queen's Gardens, accidentally had my second altercation with Hornet (I beat her in Greenpath a long time ago), got my carapace handed to me and decided I was not ready for that fight yet, attempted and soundly failed at the Delicate Flower quest, and beat Uumuu and Elder Hu.]
Hope everyone else's new year is good so far.
I finished reading Rivers Solomon's The Deep, went for a walk, mostly-assembled[*] the flatpack garden bench I bought back in November, did a bunch of weeding and tomato bondage[**], and played a few hours of Hollow Knight[***].
[* Some of the holes for the screws did not seem to have been drilled at quite the right angle, and I wasn't able to screw them in far enough even when I decided to stick a hex bit on my impact driver and use that. Which worked great for the ones on the right side, but the ones on the left side wouldn't go in any further than they already had, and as a bonus I stripped the screw heads. Ugh.]
[** Green tomatoes sighted! Now slightly further off the ground than before I tied them up!]
[Located the map to Fog Canyon, found Queen's Gardens, accidentally had my second altercation with Hornet (I beat her in Greenpath a long time ago), got my carapace handed to me and decided I was not ready for that fight yet, attempted and soundly failed at the Delicate Flower quest, and beat Uumuu and Elder Hu.]
Hope everyone else's new year is good so far.
Yuletide
Jan. 1st, 2026 11:10 pmcyphomandraYuletide recs! I have actually managed to read quite a lot of Yuletide fic this year, and it's been great wallowing happily in some amazing stories.
My gift is for KJ Charles' Think of England series, and is a cracking adventure/undercover moment on a train (in the snow!), as well as having some great Archie/Daniel moments (and Pat & Fen in a cameo).
Taking Initiative (2299 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: England Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Archie Curtis/Daniel da Silva
Characters: Archie Curtis, Daniel da Silva (England Series), Patricia Merton, Fenella Carruth
Additional Tags: Post-Canon
Summary:
I have also loved:
The Desperados Don't Want to Come to Their Senses (6963 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Utopia Avenue - David Mitchell
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Jasper de Zoet, Elf Holloway, Peter "Griff" Griffin, Dean Moss
Additional Tags: Social Media, Mixed Media, Post-Canon, POV Outsider, Character: The Entire Internet, can the story still be a comedy if one of its protagonists has been dead since the beginning
Summary:
I read Utopia Avenue two years ago and loved it, and I keep meaning to go back and re-read it as well as read all the other related Mitchells I haven't gotten to yet. This is a fantastic story via internet media, about the fans of Utopia Avenue and of those who ship Jasper and Dean in particular (the "Despers/Desperadoes" of the title). It is very funny, extremely on point, and it does all this by being about how you go on after someone you love has died.
#footscraygoose (4249 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: Soulmate Goose AU Suggestion - shitty-check-please-aus (Tumblr Post), Original Work
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Original Characters, Original Soulmate Geese
Additional Tags: Soulmate Goose of Enforcement, Twitter, Emails, Work Skin In Use, Social Media, Australia, biosecurity, Government Regulation, Crack Treated Seriously, Birdwatching, Public Servants Trying Their Best
Summary:
Another formatting masterpiece (as someone who did two fics requiring workskins for the 2024 Yuletide and STRUGGLED I am in awe of these) only with 100% more Australianisms and a justifiably ticked-off goose, this takes the soulmate goose troop and runs with it (unfortunately without checking in with biosecurity first). Fantastic.
Hit the Bricks! Four Things Not to Miss in Lego City Old Town (2897 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: LEGO Botanical Garden, LEGO Natural History Museum
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Additional Tags: Worldbuilding, Easter Eggs, lego ruritania, diagetic documentation, Illustrations
Summary:
I had not thought of Lego and Duplo as uneasy European neighbours with rich historical interactions but reading this fic made that seem like a terrible oversight. This even has build kits to go with the different scenes.
There's No Discharge in the War (12369 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Long Walk - Richard Bachman
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Characters: Stebbins (The Long Walk), Ray Garraty
Additional Tags: Time Loop, Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Ambiguous/Open Ending
Summary:
Stebbins on a timeloop. I keep meaning to write up my impressions of the movie of The Long Walk, which I saw earlier this year (tldr: I loved it) and I keep meaning to re-read the book, which is in a box somewhere as part of the Bachman collection. This is horrifyingly effective, tension without relief, and it's also a fantastic sideways look at the source.
in the place of the friends I love (10770 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Oxford Time Travel Universe - Connie Willis
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Kivrin Engle & Father Roche, James Dunworthy & Kivrin Engle
Characters: Kivrin Engle, James Dunworthy, Colin Templer, John Bartholomew, Lupe Montoya
Summary:
I love The Doomsday Book despite having issues with Willis' later works, and this is a brilliant, painful take on Kivrin's immediate recovery post-drop, and the (missed) communication theme so common to Willis is heartbreakingly appropriate here. Great characterisation and a very touching story about loss and grief, and what they leave behind.
said the spider to the fly (1484 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dredge (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Fisherman & Travelling Merchant (Dredge)
Characters: Fisherman (Dredge), Travelling Merchant (Dredge)
Additional Tags: Canon Compliant, Angst, Weirdness, Friendship, Card Games, Canon-typical eldritch horror, Yuletide Treat, Yuletide 2025, she's normal and he..... isn't
Summary:
I loved playing Dredge (horror fishing game with a disturbingly effective madness mechanic) and this is a surprisingly cozy quiet moment for it, between the most sensible character in the game and the one you play as. It's vivid and affecting.
Snow on Snow (14591 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Miss Marple - Agatha Christie
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Jane Marple, Raymond West
Additional Tags: Murder Mystery, Case Fic, Christmas, Queer Character
Summary:
Nothing says (northern hemisphere) Christmas like a snowed-in manor house and a murder mystery, with Miss Marple there to solve it while critiquing her nephew's latest manuscript. This is also a more tolerant and accepting Miss Marple than Christie sometimes wrote, as well.
My gift is for KJ Charles' Think of England series, and is a cracking adventure/undercover moment on a train (in the snow!), as well as having some great Archie/Daniel moments (and Pat & Fen in a cameo).
Taking Initiative (2299 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: England Series - K. J. Charles
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Archie Curtis/Daniel da Silva
Characters: Archie Curtis, Daniel da Silva (England Series), Patricia Merton, Fenella Carruth
Additional Tags: Post-Canon
Summary:
Archie takes matters into his own hands while Daniel is undercover.
I have also loved:
The Desperados Don't Want to Come to Their Senses (6963 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Utopia Avenue - David Mitchell
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Jasper de Zoet, Elf Holloway, Peter "Griff" Griffin, Dean Moss
Additional Tags: Social Media, Mixed Media, Post-Canon, POV Outsider, Character: The Entire Internet, can the story still be a comedy if one of its protagonists has been dead since the beginning
Summary:
allie!
people act like it’s so poignant/whatever that jasper de zoet gave up music after his bandmate died to go into psych but what nobody acknowledges is that man had PATIENTS. tragic gay yearning is not a victimless crime. there’s rpf about my psychologist and i have to live with it
❏ 305 ↹ 201 ♡ 2126 ⤊ 6290
(The social internet dissects Utopia Avenue, November-December of 2025.)
I read Utopia Avenue two years ago and loved it, and I keep meaning to go back and re-read it as well as read all the other related Mitchells I haven't gotten to yet. This is a fantastic story via internet media, about the fans of Utopia Avenue and of those who ship Jasper and Dean in particular (the "Despers/Desperadoes" of the title). It is very funny, extremely on point, and it does all this by being about how you go on after someone you love has died.
#footscraygoose (4249 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: Soulmate Goose AU Suggestion - shitty-check-please-aus (Tumblr Post), Original Work
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Original Characters, Original Soulmate Geese
Additional Tags: Soulmate Goose of Enforcement, Twitter, Emails, Work Skin In Use, Social Media, Australia, biosecurity, Government Regulation, Crack Treated Seriously, Birdwatching, Public Servants Trying Their Best
Summary:
barb's cookedbowerbirder
everyone is giving jennyjennyaus shit but i can confirm, LESSER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE IN FOOTSCRAY?????????? not pictured: the poor woman the goose started harassing for her sandwich after this lol.
Dr Tom Marchfungustombowerbirder Have you added it to iNaturalist yet? Absolutely bonkers that there's a vagrant this far south. Climate change maybe?
Another formatting masterpiece (as someone who did two fics requiring workskins for the 2024 Yuletide and STRUGGLED I am in awe of these) only with 100% more Australianisms and a justifiably ticked-off goose, this takes the soulmate goose troop and runs with it (unfortunately without checking in with biosecurity first). Fantastic.
Hit the Bricks! Four Things Not to Miss in Lego City Old Town (2897 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: LEGO Botanical Garden, LEGO Natural History Museum
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Additional Tags: Worldbuilding, Easter Eggs, lego ruritania, diagetic documentation, Illustrations
Summary:
Four moments in Lego-Duplo relations.
I had not thought of Lego and Duplo as uneasy European neighbours with rich historical interactions but reading this fic made that seem like a terrible oversight. This even has build kits to go with the different scenes.
There's No Discharge in the War (12369 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Long Walk - Richard Bachman
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Characters: Stebbins (The Long Walk), Ray Garraty
Additional Tags: Time Loop, Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Ambiguous/Open Ending
Summary:
He's been walking for a very long time.
Stebbins on a timeloop. I keep meaning to write up my impressions of the movie of The Long Walk, which I saw earlier this year (tldr: I loved it) and I keep meaning to re-read the book, which is in a box somewhere as part of the Bachman collection. This is horrifyingly effective, tension without relief, and it's also a fantastic sideways look at the source.
in the place of the friends I love (10770 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Oxford Time Travel Universe - Connie Willis
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Kivrin Engle & Father Roche, James Dunworthy & Kivrin Engle
Characters: Kivrin Engle, James Dunworthy, Colin Templer, John Bartholomew, Lupe Montoya
Summary:
She woke in Heaven, as Roche had thought she must.
I love The Doomsday Book despite having issues with Willis' later works, and this is a brilliant, painful take on Kivrin's immediate recovery post-drop, and the (missed) communication theme so common to Willis is heartbreakingly appropriate here. Great characterisation and a very touching story about loss and grief, and what they leave behind.
said the spider to the fly (1484 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dredge (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Fisherman & Travelling Merchant (Dredge)
Characters: Fisherman (Dredge), Travelling Merchant (Dredge)
Additional Tags: Canon Compliant, Angst, Weirdness, Friendship, Card Games, Canon-typical eldritch horror, Yuletide Treat, Yuletide 2025, she's normal and he..... isn't
Summary:
Trapped in the bay at Gale Cliffs during a storm, the fisherman and the travelling merchant talk, eat supper, and play a couple of games of cards.
I loved playing Dredge (horror fishing game with a disturbingly effective madness mechanic) and this is a surprisingly cozy quiet moment for it, between the most sensible character in the game and the one you play as. It's vivid and affecting.
Snow on Snow (14591 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Miss Marple - Agatha Christie
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Jane Marple, Raymond West
Additional Tags: Murder Mystery, Case Fic, Christmas, Queer Character
Summary:
It is December 22nd, 1962, and one the coldest winters in living memory is about to freeze Britain over. On the insistance of her nephew Raymond, Miss Marple spends the night in a remote village rather than risk going all the way to London by train. But when a man is found dead in the snow outside the cozy guest house in which she is staying, it is up to Miss Marple to save Christmas... and finish reading the draft of Raymond's latest book.
Nothing says (northern hemisphere) Christmas like a snowed-in manor house and a murder mystery, with Miss Marple there to solve it while critiquing her nephew's latest manuscript. This is also a more tolerant and accepting Miss Marple than Christie sometimes wrote, as well.
Fannish Fifty Challenge 2025: Post # 50: Fannish Fifty 2026 Sign-Up
Dec. 31st, 2025 07:55 pmride_4everAny blogger can challenge themselves to an annual Fannish Fifty without signing up to the Fannish Fifty Challenge on DW, but if you want to be part of the "official" Fannish Fifty click here to sign up.
Heated Rivalry Season 1 Timeline
Jan. 1st, 2026 01:09 pmmificI was going kind of crazy trying to figure this out. Not that I'm obsessed or anything...
obsessional timeline (let me know if you spot anything wonky)
Massive SPOILERS for season 1, ofc!
I promise to post about other things! Soon!
obsessional timeline (let me know if you spot anything wonky)
Massive SPOILERS for season 1, ofc!
I promise to post about other things! Soon!
ride_4everMy #49 Fannish Fifty links to the #49 Fannish Fifty of my fanpair, verushka70. And how's that for being fairly literal about the pairing thing, matching Fannish Fifty numbers.
For her extensive post about Canadian Tire acquiring Hudson Bay Company's intellectual property -- including the iconic striped blanket design -- and about the partnership between Canadian Tire and the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (the retailer has guaranteed at least $1 million a year to support Oshki Wupoowane -- The Blanket Fund --with the money being used to support grassroots Indigenous organizations and Indigenous cultural, artistic and educational projects) click here.
Also: direct link to Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund home page.
verushka70. And how's that for being fairly literal about the pairing thing, matching Fannish Fifty numbers.For her extensive post about Canadian Tire acquiring Hudson Bay Company's intellectual property -- including the iconic striped blanket design -- and about the partnership between Canadian Tire and the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (the retailer has guaranteed at least $1 million a year to support Oshki Wupoowane -- The Blanket Fund --with the money being used to support grassroots Indigenous organizations and Indigenous cultural, artistic and educational projects) click here.
Also: direct link to Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund home page.
Me-and-media update (Happy New Year!)
Dec. 31st, 2025 10:25 pmchina_shopPrevious poll review
In the dance dance revolution poll, 5.8% of respondents had danced with other people that week, 1.9% with a pet or other animal, and 28.8% had danced on their own, while 46.2% said no or not yet. Making the poll prompted me to dance with my sister in the kitchen for half a Spin Doctors song, but I didn't change my vote on that basis.
In ticky-boxes, "enthusiastically and fervently loving what you love" came second to hugs, 63.5% to 76.9%. Thank you for your votes! <3
Reading
( Read more... )
Kdramas
( Read more... )
Other TV
We finished Pluribus, which was super interesting in terms of a) moral quandaries, and b) difficult personalities crashing into each other. Finished the available episodes of Stranger Things and season 3 of Dark Winds, both of which were a bit dark, hence the doodling.
I've just signed up for Neon (NZ HBO), so this morning I did my stretches while John Oliver slagged off the British monarchy. I'm planning to try the new hockey sensation, but I'm saving it for while Andrew is in hospital, and we don't yet know when that will be. (In the meantime, no spoilers, please!)
Audio entertainment
The usual: Writing Excuses, Cross Party Lines, Letters from an American. Plus the AI episode of Our Opinions Are Correct.
Writing/making things
( Read more... )
Goals
* keep on top of my email inbox
* get my arms back on track
* finish a fic WIP (I keep starting new things and foundering -- which is a problem given picking stalled things up again isn't my strong suit)
* make somefandomtrees fills
* work through chapters 1 & 2 of the drawing book
* something for the next round offan_flashworks
* restock the well, whatever that looks like (this isn't a specific, measurable, blah blah goal, I know)
Good things
The boy. The cat. Guardian. Jung Eun-Chae. Strawberries. We still have some Christmas mince pies left. TV. Kdramas. Colour pencils. Sleep. Watching things while I'm on my exercise machine. Audiobook re-listens. My garden. All of you. <3
It's New Year's Eve here, so Happy New Year!! <3
In the dance dance revolution poll, 5.8% of respondents had danced with other people that week, 1.9% with a pet or other animal, and 28.8% had danced on their own, while 46.2% said no or not yet. Making the poll prompted me to dance with my sister in the kitchen for half a Spin Doctors song, but I didn't change my vote on that basis.
In ticky-boxes, "enthusiastically and fervently loving what you love" came second to hugs, 63.5% to 76.9%. Thank you for your votes! <3
Reading
( Read more... )
Kdramas
( Read more... )
Other TV
We finished Pluribus, which was super interesting in terms of a) moral quandaries, and b) difficult personalities crashing into each other. Finished the available episodes of Stranger Things and season 3 of Dark Winds, both of which were a bit dark, hence the doodling.
I've just signed up for Neon (NZ HBO), so this morning I did my stretches while John Oliver slagged off the British monarchy. I'm planning to try the new hockey sensation, but I'm saving it for while Andrew is in hospital, and we don't yet know when that will be. (In the meantime, no spoilers, please!)
Audio entertainment
The usual: Writing Excuses, Cross Party Lines, Letters from an American. Plus the AI episode of Our Opinions Are Correct.
Writing/making things
( Read more... )
Goals
* keep on top of my email inbox
* get my arms back on track
* finish a fic WIP (I keep starting new things and foundering -- which is a problem given picking stalled things up again isn't my strong suit)
* make some
fandomtrees fills* work through chapters 1 & 2 of the drawing book
* something for the next round of
fan_flashworks* restock the well, whatever that looks like (this isn't a specific, measurable, blah blah goal, I know)
Good things
The boy. The cat. Guardian. Jung Eun-Chae. Strawberries. We still have some Christmas mince pies left. TV. Kdramas. Colour pencils. Sleep. Watching things while I'm on my exercise machine. Audiobook re-listens. My garden. All of you. <3
It's New Year's Eve here, so Happy New Year!! <3
Poll #34022 Comfort food
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 44
My preferred comfort food is
View Answers
chocolate
25 (56.8%)
other sweets
11 (25.0%)
savoury carbs
20 (45.5%)
other savoury
7 (15.9%)
tea
12 (27.3%)
alcohol
3 (6.8%)
other drinks
2 (4.5%)
other other
2 (4.5%)
ticky-box full of juicy intricate poetry words
18 (40.9%)
ticky-box full of pushing on through
18 (40.9%)
ticky-box of glow worms vs fireflies vs angler fish
13 (29.5%)
ticky-box of ninja gibbons searching for lost things behind the fridge
11 (25.0%)
ticky-box full of hugs and hugs
35 (79.5%)
More hilarity with Heated Rivalry audio porn
Dec. 31st, 2025 03:43 pmmificAs you may know, soon after filming Heated Rivalry, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie made an audio erotica recording for the company quinn (available on mobiles as an app). It's an originally written audio porn paid subscriber app with largely male performers, mostly M/F stories (and most of those second person listener-insert), but with a few M/M and F/F offerings.
The Hudcon story is Ember and Ice, clearly intended as HR AU romantasy fanfic, where Finn (Hudson), and Dane (Connor) are rival fae princes, alternately fucking or at war with each other. Their HR personalities are maintained as Hudson is the dutiful, serious prince who only fucks Connor, and Connor is the promiscuous bisexual prince with daddy issues. It is, of course, a love story, just with a lot of explicit sex. The story's laughable overall, but no more poorly-written than a lot of fanfic, even if the worldbuilding leaves a lot to be desired. But that's not why we're here: we're here for Hudson and Connor delivering breathy porn dialogue with absolutely no fade to black. Overall, they both do the sex noises very well but I think Hudson is just a tad more uninhibited and realistic, especially nearing orgasm. Which fits with his persona from the press tour.
Hilariously, Ember and Ice has been so successful in the full frenzy of HR fandom that the quinn app crashed for a while yesterday with too many panting fans trying to sign on and sign in. Thus we now have wonderful tumblr posts like this.
Hudson and Connor also did a photoshoot for Ember & Ice, with tasteful dollar-shop gilt and silver wings to demonstrate their fae origins.
They must be having a ball! I love that they're undoubtedly giggling about all this and revelling in the nonsense, but their demeanour in the photoshoot and their voice acting in Ember & Ice is quality work, 100% professional (especially the sex noises).
And naturally, there's already a story in the Ember and Ice fandom on AO3, the fandom tag so new it hasn't been categorised yet. I predict many more!
ETA: more evidence! "I hope they get a really satiating love story", ha!
The Hudcon story is Ember and Ice, clearly intended as HR AU romantasy fanfic, where Finn (Hudson), and Dane (Connor) are rival fae princes, alternately fucking or at war with each other. Their HR personalities are maintained as Hudson is the dutiful, serious prince who only fucks Connor, and Connor is the promiscuous bisexual prince with daddy issues. It is, of course, a love story, just with a lot of explicit sex. The story's laughable overall, but no more poorly-written than a lot of fanfic, even if the worldbuilding leaves a lot to be desired. But that's not why we're here: we're here for Hudson and Connor delivering breathy porn dialogue with absolutely no fade to black. Overall, they both do the sex noises very well but I think Hudson is just a tad more uninhibited and realistic, especially nearing orgasm. Which fits with his persona from the press tour.
Hilariously, Ember and Ice has been so successful in the full frenzy of HR fandom that the quinn app crashed for a while yesterday with too many panting fans trying to sign on and sign in. Thus we now have wonderful tumblr posts like this.
Hudson and Connor also did a photoshoot for Ember & Ice, with tasteful dollar-shop gilt and silver wings to demonstrate their fae origins.
They must be having a ball! I love that they're undoubtedly giggling about all this and revelling in the nonsense, but their demeanour in the photoshoot and their voice acting in Ember & Ice is quality work, 100% professional (especially the sex noises).
And naturally, there's already a story in the Ember and Ice fandom on AO3, the fandom tag so new it hasn't been categorised yet. I predict many more!
ETA: more evidence! "I hope they get a really satiating love story", ha!
Gaming Update
Dec. 31st, 2025 09:29 amcyphomandraI'm now on day 90 of Blue Prince and have solved quite a lot of puzzles, but I still have more to go, plus all the trophies that require me to get to room 46 in a certain time/under certain conditions (for those following along, I have done the sanctum, opened one door of a certain colour, and begun the blue tents). I am starting to run out of steam though, and I think it's time for a break.
The problem is what to do next! I do want to get back to FFVII, but I also want something new. I tried Alan Wake II, which I picked up as a free game - it's survival horror, set in another of those terrible small US towns, and I am currently stuck on a boss battle in chapter 2 that had an abrupt difficulty spike. My character moves unbelievably slowly and can only take 2 hits, plus I don't have the resources to upgrade my weapons yet, and while I think I can probably get through this eventually without downgrading the difficulty, it feels less like a game puzzle I can't solve yet and more like bad game design, arrgh. I do like Saga (my current character) but it has been a while since I played horror and I have also so far proven myself to be pretty terrible with jump scares. Typing this up has made me think that maybe I just downgrade the difficulty and see if the story still works for me.
I got Ghost of Yōtei for Christmas, and I also got Cyberpunk 2077 back from the person to whom I'd lent it, so those are both alternate possibilities. BUT. I also got another free game this month, and it's Lego Horizon Adventures, so last night after having my face bitten off in the Overlap for about the fortieth time, I switched gears and sent Lego Aloy out into the world, woo hoo. They have definitely detraumatised the storyline (your first mission is to retrieve some of the Nora who've been kidnapped by cultists, who are cruelly transporting them somewhere in cages and refusing to let them have bathroom breaks; everyone is rescued without casualties) and the fixed camera angles are a bit irritating, but we have already successfully hidden in red grass, shot flaming arrows into shrubbery to clear puzzles, and climbed our first Tallneck, woo hoo. And I say "we" because there is a co-op mode and my son, who's watched me battle through bits of Horizon was very excited to join me. He has put his character (who is supposed to be Rost) in the Sun King Avad skin, tho', which is throwing me a bit :D (most of the voice cast are those from the original game).
The problem is what to do next! I do want to get back to FFVII, but I also want something new. I tried Alan Wake II, which I picked up as a free game - it's survival horror, set in another of those terrible small US towns, and I am currently stuck on a boss battle in chapter 2 that had an abrupt difficulty spike. My character moves unbelievably slowly and can only take 2 hits, plus I don't have the resources to upgrade my weapons yet, and while I think I can probably get through this eventually without downgrading the difficulty, it feels less like a game puzzle I can't solve yet and more like bad game design, arrgh. I do like Saga (my current character) but it has been a while since I played horror and I have also so far proven myself to be pretty terrible with jump scares. Typing this up has made me think that maybe I just downgrade the difficulty and see if the story still works for me.
I got Ghost of Yōtei for Christmas, and I also got Cyberpunk 2077 back from the person to whom I'd lent it, so those are both alternate possibilities. BUT. I also got another free game this month, and it's Lego Horizon Adventures, so last night after having my face bitten off in the Overlap for about the fortieth time, I switched gears and sent Lego Aloy out into the world, woo hoo. They have definitely detraumatised the storyline (your first mission is to retrieve some of the Nora who've been kidnapped by cultists, who are cruelly transporting them somewhere in cages and refusing to let them have bathroom breaks; everyone is rescued without casualties) and the fixed camera angles are a bit irritating, but we have already successfully hidden in red grass, shot flaming arrows into shrubbery to clear puzzles, and climbed our first Tallneck, woo hoo. And I say "we" because there is a co-op mode and my son, who's watched me battle through bits of Horizon was very excited to join me. He has put his character (who is supposed to be Rost) in the Sun King Avad skin, tho', which is throwing me a bit :D (most of the voice cast are those from the original game).
Update
Dec. 30th, 2025 11:54 pmvassHi everyone. Sorry I've fallen off the posting again.
Here are some Yuletide recs:
Imperial Radch/Translation State - Ann Leckie: a perfect preservation (so we’ll never fall apart). If you haven't read Translation State yet, then I strongly recommend not reading this fic until you've read canon. Otherwise, recommended. (I was the recipient.)
The Lottery - Shirley Jackson/The New Yorker RPF: Why one small American town won’t stop stoning its residents to death
Goose of Soulmate Enforcement trope/Original Fic: #footscraygoose (Especially recommended for people from Melbourne)
Prophet - Sin Blaché & Helen Macdonald: Wrong Choice
The Raven Tower - Ann Leckie: k2, p2, yo, k2tog
Columbo, Princess Bride (1987)
The Princess Murdered
France's language watchdog has told government officials to use French fetish terms... (News Satire): Les immortels au service de la petite mort
Chalion/Les Mis: The Truth that Once Was Spoken
Here are some Yuletide recs:
Imperial Radch/Translation State - Ann Leckie: a perfect preservation (so we’ll never fall apart). If you haven't read Translation State yet, then I strongly recommend not reading this fic until you've read canon. Otherwise, recommended. (I was the recipient.)
The Lottery - Shirley Jackson/The New Yorker RPF: Why one small American town won’t stop stoning its residents to death
Goose of Soulmate Enforcement trope/Original Fic: #footscraygoose (Especially recommended for people from Melbourne)
Prophet - Sin Blaché & Helen Macdonald: Wrong Choice
The Raven Tower - Ann Leckie: k2, p2, yo, k2tog
Columbo, Princess Bride (1987)
The Princess Murdered
France's language watchdog has told government officials to use French fetish terms... (News Satire): Les immortels au service de la petite mort
Chalion/Les Mis: The Truth that Once Was Spoken
and the madness continues
Dec. 29th, 2025 07:31 pmmificAgh, I just found the hollanov discord server.
And wrote my first 1800 words of HR fanfic.
Um... anyone up to alpha read it to give me feedback about whether it's worth continuing?
And wrote my first 1800 words of HR fanfic.
Um... anyone up to alpha read it to give me feedback about whether it's worth continuing?
Fannish Fifty Challenge 2025: Post # 48: Community Pimping: Another Don't-Stress Fanworks Event
Dec. 27th, 2025 05:20 pmride_4everThe event is called Rewrite A Fic. It's a multifandom event that gives you eleven months to rewrite a fic you've written before. The event rules are that the work written has to be yours originally, the fic you are rewriting has to be at least 1 1/2 years old, and using generative AI for the fic is strictly prohibited. The length of the fic doesn't matter. There are no content restrictions, but the use of proper content warnings is required when posting the work.
See full comm details, including how to post to the comm and how to add to the comm's AO3 Collection at rewrite_a_fic on DW.
See full comm details, including how to post to the comm and how to add to the comm's AO3 Collection at rewrite_a_fic on DW.
A Guardian Meme
Dec. 28th, 2025 09:41 amchina_shop(Feel free to snag and/or adapt for other fandoms! Also, being me, I made rules ("pick one", "favourite") and then immediately broken them. *g*)
1. A fanwork you've read/looked at more than three times
- [Vid] Open Ocean bysakana17 (Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan - so gorgeous)
- [Vid] Lost It All bysalamandras (Zhao Xinci & Zhao Yunlan - a vexercise! I particularly love the first version)
- [Art] Getting Comfortable [Explicit] byfacethestrange (Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan art, a glorious gift for me, did I mention explicit?)
ETA:
- [Vid] Hallucinogenics by Jill, Kathy, Kay - Zhao Yunlaaaaaan!!
2. A resource you've used lately (or "lately")
- Dramatis Personae (with cast list) byextrapenguin
- SID Timeline byrheasilvia
- Guardian timeline byextrapenguin
3. A rarepair you would read
I'm fairly easy for trying out rarepairs. There are some characters I generally avoid "/" pairings for (in particular, Da Qing, Zhu Jiu, and Ye Zun come to mind), but I did read some delightful Lin Jing/Ye Zun fics overguardian_wishlist, so clearly even that isn't a hard line. (Da Qing might be, though.)
A rarepair that I'd actively like to read more of is Chu Shuzhi &/ Zhao Xinci.nnozomi wrote me one delightful fic for them [Mature], and it only whetted my appetite. *g*
( Continued behind the cut. )
1. A fanwork you've read/looked at more than three times
- [Vid] Open Ocean by
- [Vid] Lost It All by
- [Art] Getting Comfortable [Explicit] by
ETA:
- [Vid] Hallucinogenics by Jill, Kathy, Kay - Zhao Yunlaaaaaan!!
2. A resource you've used lately (or "lately")
- Dramatis Personae (with cast list) by
extrapenguin- SID Timeline by
rheasilvia- Guardian timeline by
extrapenguin3. A rarepair you would read
I'm fairly easy for trying out rarepairs. There are some characters I generally avoid "/" pairings for (in particular, Da Qing, Zhu Jiu, and Ye Zun come to mind), but I did read some delightful Lin Jing/Ye Zun fics over
guardian_wishlist, so clearly even that isn't a hard line. (Da Qing might be, though.) A rarepair that I'd actively like to read more of is Chu Shuzhi &/ Zhao Xinci.
nnozomi wrote me one delightful fic for them [Mature], and it only whetted my appetite. *g*( Continued behind the cut. )
The end of Heated Rivalry season 1
Dec. 28th, 2025 12:36 ammificSo season one is over, and we have to wait a year and a bit for season 2, because the script isn't written yet (whereas a year ago Jacob Tierney had the S1 script completed). I've already watched the existing eps at least twice, some three times, and have watched popular scenes many more times than that, in gifs.
Watching episode six was such a trip as by then I was fully immersed in the fandom. It dropped here at 7pm each time, and I made myself wait until after 9pm when it was dark before watching, as I like to be cocooned in a lighted bubble with the show. Then after the ep was finished I went to tumblr for the gifs, reactions, and meta, and today I rewatched it, picking up several small things others had noticed and blogged about. I'll rewatch the show again off and on - it's a comfort watch for me now - and while we wait for season 2 there'll be art, and fanfic.
( Read more... )
And in 2026 we'll get Connor in his first movie as a protagonist: April X. Dystopian sci-fi, already gathering kudos and in final production.
Watching episode six was such a trip as by then I was fully immersed in the fandom. It dropped here at 7pm each time, and I made myself wait until after 9pm when it was dark before watching, as I like to be cocooned in a lighted bubble with the show. Then after the ep was finished I went to tumblr for the gifs, reactions, and meta, and today I rewatched it, picking up several small things others had noticed and blogged about. I'll rewatch the show again off and on - it's a comfort watch for me now - and while we wait for season 2 there'll be art, and fanfic.
( Read more... )
And in 2026 we'll get Connor in his first movie as a protagonist: April X. Dystopian sci-fi, already gathering kudos and in final production.
Merry Christmas!
Dec. 26th, 2025 10:36 pmnansliceBelatedly! And Happy Thursday for those who don't celebrate! It was a quiet, lovely day for cypher and me. We broke open the Heroes' Feast DnD cookbook. Will made Amphail Braised Beef and some delicious saffron bread called St. Lucia Buns (they got the recipe from a Scandinavian friend on tumblr). For sides I made Otik's Skillet-Fried Spiced Potatoes, Quith-Pa (an Elven recipe containing apricots and almonds; the original called for coconut but Will's allergic so I subbed in the almonds), and Wood Elf Forest Salad.
We exchanged gifts, which can be summed up as Warhammer + art supplies (for me) and Warhammer + video games (for Will). As always, I wish I could have done more, but they assured me I did enough. I just want to get them all the nice things. ;3;
I finished my assignment foreatdrinkmakemerry and for ![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
secretsanguinala and am now working on a gift and a pinch hit for the latter. I don't know what came over me — possibly having a steady job (good, security!) + the state of the world (extremely bad) is combining in a way that's making my brain look for fun productivity — but I'm having a ton of fun working on fandom stuff. :D It probably also helps that I'm working on mostly crack ships and AUs. Also, wrt Secret Sanguinala, it's my fandom's holiday exchange! I want it to be successful and full! Reveals were late Christmas Eve so this last gift is gonna be a little late, but that's okay.
(I drew ABO porn for the first time! what the heck!)
I both love and hate that Steam has a yearly replay similar to Spotify's Wrapped. I love it because, I mean, I'm very sentimental and I love looking back on the year! But I hate it because it's such a magnifying glass on how bad I am at staying on task in games, lmao. Oh well. I'm hoping 2026 is a kinder year in all ways and I'll be able to focus better on hobby things.
........I usually do a little look back on the year but frankly, 2025 SUCKED and I don't want to. It was just a shitty, disheartening, scary year and I understand that there is a lot of privilege to being able to be like, nope, not gonna focus on all that scary stuff, but damn it! I'm tired of focusing on the scary stuff! It's ALL bad! Even news about video games is bad (Larian employees making fun of the gender stuff in BG3, Larian using AI for the character design in Divinity, etc) and it's just. All bad. So I'm looking forward to the future and the things I can control.
Speaking of which, I bought a fancy hardback planner for this year!
The gold is shiny and I'm using different colored pens to help try and keep me on track. As someone notorious for NOT staying on track on goals....I hope I can stick with this, lmao.
cypher and me. We broke open the Heroes' Feast DnD cookbook. Will made Amphail Braised Beef and some delicious saffron bread called St. Lucia Buns (they got the recipe from a Scandinavian friend on tumblr). For sides I made Otik's Skillet-Fried Spiced Potatoes, Quith-Pa (an Elven recipe containing apricots and almonds; the original called for coconut but Will's allergic so I subbed in the almonds), and Wood Elf Forest Salad. We exchanged gifts, which can be summed up as Warhammer + art supplies (for me) and Warhammer + video games (for Will). As always, I wish I could have done more, but they assured me I did enough. I just want to get them all the nice things. ;3;
I finished my assignment for
eatdrinkmakemerry and for (I drew ABO porn for the first time! what the heck!)
I both love and hate that Steam has a yearly replay similar to Spotify's Wrapped. I love it because, I mean, I'm very sentimental and I love looking back on the year! But I hate it because it's such a magnifying glass on how bad I am at staying on task in games, lmao. Oh well. I'm hoping 2026 is a kinder year in all ways and I'll be able to focus better on hobby things.
........I usually do a little look back on the year but frankly, 2025 SUCKED and I don't want to. It was just a shitty, disheartening, scary year and I understand that there is a lot of privilege to being able to be like, nope, not gonna focus on all that scary stuff, but damn it! I'm tired of focusing on the scary stuff! It's ALL bad! Even news about video games is bad (Larian employees making fun of the gender stuff in BG3, Larian using AI for the character design in Divinity, etc) and it's just. All bad. So I'm looking forward to the future and the things I can control.
Speaking of which, I bought a fancy hardback planner for this year!
The gold is shiny and I'm using different colored pens to help try and keep me on track. As someone notorious for NOT staying on track on goals....I hope I can stick with this, lmao.
