deense

Christmas is done and gone for another year, and thank goodness for that, but god, those four days off were nice. The horrible cold snap has finally broken, which means TRULY INSANE AMOUNTS OF SNOW. The movie theatre is closed due to a burst pipe. I fucking hate winter so goddamn much.

Things at work are way too quiet. Not for my sake, because I love doing nothing, but because my techs have barely any work to do. Hopefully sales can get their asses in gear and things pick up soon.

Worlds End was a great show with a dogshit ending, much like last year's, only more so on all counts? Maybe I will do a post about it later this week. Long live Mixed Nuts Mayhem.

I need to get back into Stardom properly this year, starting with Dream Queendom tonight! Also gonna jump back into Nooj with Wrestle Kingdom, since I fell off regularly watching back when EVIL was dominating the G1 lol. Maybe I should start sneakily watching wrestling at work to get more in, the days are simply too short!

( Album #503/1001: Magazine - Real Life )

Movies Watched in December: Anaconda, Avatar: Fire and Ash, KPop Demon Hunters, The Housemaid, The Mastermind, They Live, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Song Sung Blue; Silent Night, Deadly Night; Starman, In the Mouth of Madness, Ghosts of Mars, Prince of Darkness, The History of Sound, Five Nights at Freddy's 2, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from L.A., Zootopia 2, Escape from New York, Christine

ashkitty

Outside revisiting old fics, I've been at my parents for the better part of a week. It's been a lot of work, but I love Christmas and I love my family, so I'm happy to be able to do things for them.

My mom got to come home today. After the long-term care hospital she was in a skilled nursing facility for a while, getting OT and PT to build her strength back up. Recovery takes a long time (I read somewhere you should assume a month of recovery for every week you were bedridden - I don't expect this to take a whole seven years, but it's fine if it's slow going for a while). She's still in a wheelchair a lot of the time and likely will be for a while. We went to church, and everyone was very kind. The point is that she's home for Christmas, which is the one thing I wanted most.

Nadolig llawen, friends. I hope you all have whatever sort of holiday you like best.

ashkitty

Day 12! We made it!

We end where we began, with Star Trek. This is the first K/S Advent fic I wrote, and the most enduring. I loved being able to make a world that is completely strange, completely alien, and to give the Enterprise a mission where while there is danger, there’s nothing trying to attack or harm them. Space is dangerous, but also wondrous, and the crew should get to enjoy that sometimes.

Snowflakes (Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/Spock, G)

‘Spock was already pulling out his tricorder. "It appears to be...life, Jim. Plant life," he said slowly. Spock had a lot of ways of speaking slowly. There was the way that meant he was thinking, and the way that meant he was thinking Jim was an idiot. There was a way that meant he was absolutely determined not to laugh, and a way that meant he was still processing something shocking. This was a new one, though, Jim thought. It was almost wonder.’

Song: O Holy Night

Rec: Wizards in Winter by Vibishan (Calvin & Hobbes/Young Wizards, G)

The one where Calvin becomes a wizard. I don't know what else to say about it beyond that - but look, you know (if you know Young Wizards) that the younger the wizard, the more raw power. And that wizards are offered the Oath when they're needed. Anyway, I knew from the beginning this was the rec I wanted to end on.

Merry Christmas.🎄🎁❄️

Back to Day 11.

citycouncil posting in

cityarcade

Happy Holidays, y'all! Time for a holiday meme.

Logging in to your pup's journal, tag in-character with their letters to Santa or simply their Christmas/belated Hanukkah/holiday of choice wishlist. These lists and letters can be as realistic as you want them to be, or a list of what they might want in a world where money was no object. They can be things that have to be purchased, or things that could be made, or intangible wishes (like wanting a loved one to show up in time for the holidays). Really brainstorm what your pups might want or need or what they might ask for from specific friends and family.

Then, if you want, you can comment to other lists, for whatever reason, perhaps even letting them know what your pup plans to get for them.

BONUS: Add your own wishlists for what you'd like to get and give your pups in terms of plot, dynamics, scenarios, etc., in 2026.

ashkitty

Almost to the end! So the thing with the Arthurian legend is that you can write almost anything, but it still ends badly. This story stops before that happens, but it’s still hovering in the background, casting its shadow. Still, I very much enjoyed writing it (hey, sometimes you’re a PhD student working on Arthurian literature and just happen to draw ‘Arthurian legend’ in Yuletide).

I don’t have a lot of OT3s – my affection for codependent couples doesn’t really lend itself to polyamory – but this one has always been formative. I think I read T. H. White in high school and thought, Aha! So that’s what’s going on! and ended up years later doing queer stuff with medieval knights for an actual job. Anyway it’s not a long read – I want to keep it short because I’m sure the holiday season is really getting busy by now – but I hope you enjoy it.

The Art of Courtly Love (Arthur/Lancelot/Guinevere, Arthurian Legend)
Rated M

‘It was Christmas night, so the king and queen held a feast. The hall was trimmed with holly and mistletoe above the doors, and a poet from the North had sung of heroes and lovers. Arthur sat in the centre of the high table with Guinevere and Lancelot on his left and his right. The stewards had brought in the second subtlety, the Blessed Virgin standing atop a map of the world with a gilded model of Camelot in her cupped hands.’

Song: Personent Hodie (Mediæval Bæbes version). Attested in a 16th-century Finnish hymbook, it seems to come from a 14th-century song and who knows prior to that. Not the oldest medieval Christmas hymn I have, but one that catches the feeling of the fic better than some others.

Rec: So Pleasing a Thing by Raja815.(Star Trek TOS, Kirk/Spock)
Rated T

This follows Kirk and Spock after they've sorted themselves out post-Gol and post-V'ger and got married, but both being devoted to their careers as well as each other, they have some rough patches. What I love is how the author shows the difficulties they're facing, without being melodramatic--just the very real tensions of two overworked people who are devoted to their vocations as well as to each other; there are cultural differences and errors of ignorance, but the depth of their love is never actually in question.

Back to Day 10 | On to Day 12

ashkitty

A tricky one. This was written for Yuletide, but is not, technically, a Christmas fic. But a large and important section of it does happen over the Christmas holidays, so I have decided it’s close enough, especially since it means I made it to 12 without having to dig out old Gundam fic from the back of a closet. Also, I’m pretty proud of it. This is the only time I have written Dead Poets Society, and probably the only time I will, because I threw absolutely everything I had to say about it into this one story. (It was also the most popular thing I had on AO3 by a long shot, until I started writing in MDZS/Untamed fandom which is a lot more active.) There were actually two things I wanted to write – one about Todd and Neil, and one about Todd in the aftermath of what happens – and then some part of my brain was like JUST DO BOTH AT ONCE and the structure ended up working out pretty well.

(CW for suicidal thoughts in this one, outside the canonical)

Apo Koinou (Dead Poets Society, Neil/Todd)
Rated T

‘They've all retired for the night, or at least scattered. Jeffrey's gone to phone his girlfriend in Boston, his parents have gone to their room to read. Todd sits alone on the living room floor in his pyjamas and bathrobe, knees pulled up to his chest, watching the twinkling coloured lights on the Christmas tree. He lets his eyes unfocus slowly, and the lights become blurry, dancing flickers of colour, shifting at the edges of his vision.’

Song: River, Joni Mitchell

Fic rec: Renovation by EdosianOrchids901 (Good Omens, G)

This is a tiny wee drabble, but so sweet: Aziraphale presents Crowley with a Christmas tree. Crowley pretends (tries?) to hate it.

Back to Day 9 | On to Day 11

merridia

I'M SO GODDAMN COLD. But we've made it past the shortest day, so at least I have a few extra minutes of daylight to look forward to every week. Christmas in two days. I need to get some cards together and also ask my boss if I can leave early Wednesday, because Mom is really on my ass about it. Slept so much last night, but I'm still yawning constantly? Unclear whether it's because of too much sleep, too much cold, or some miserable combination of both.

Enjoying my stupid expensive yoga mat so far. Still have a ton of laundry to do. Need to journal more. Got seven inches of hair chopped off on a whim! Trying to convince someone to take me to the movies tomorrow because it's cheap hot dog night. Failing! Really just want to go home and watch some wrestling; I want to get back into NJPW with the Road to Tokyo Dome shows ahead of WK20, and I'm sure I won't have time over Christmas and then Worlds End weekend.

Those four days off of work are gonna be nice.

Movies Watched in December: The Housemaid, The Mastermind, They Live, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Song Sung Blue; Silent Night, Deadly Night; Starman, In the Mouth of Madness, Ghosts of Mars, Prince of Darkness, The History of Sound, Five Nights at Freddy's 2, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from L.A., Zootopia 2, Escape from New York, Christine

22. What Fantasy Invention Would You Want to Exist in Reality?

brb inventing the torment nexus

ashkitty

It is now Will Stanton’s birthday, which means I had to save a Dark is Rising offering for it. Gonna be up front here – I love this story. I loved the experience of writing it (which started on a delayed train home, staring out the window), and my own connection to it. It is a long, rambling love-letter to my adopted home and perennial OTP.

There was actually meant to be at least one sequel, but I’ve still not finished it, so now I have the entire future of this version of these characters in my head. (Will ends up getting a job in Aberystwyth, so he can live with Bran – part of the difficulty there is the awkwardness about what RL people to include and how to get around that, but oh well. The next part was less complicated; it was Bran visiting Will in Oxford for Valentine’s day. There was rugby.) Anyway, enjoy.

In the Bleak Midwinter (TDIR, Bran/Will)
Rated M

‘He set aside the pile of undergraduate essays he'd been marking, leaning against the window to stare out of it for a while, watching Wales unfold welcoming before him. At least, he mused, that was how it felt – like the prodigal son returning to his father's fold. It was different from going home, where he could feel the fields of Buckinghamshire folding around him whenever he went back to see his parents, but it was similar, too. I know you, the land seemed to say. I remember you. You belong here.’

Song: In the Bleak Midwinter, a Carols from King's version for our choir boy (though Let It Snow might work too, of course!)

Fic rec:forever can never be long enough for me by isshun (modern wangxian)
Rated T

A Dongzhi fic for solstice. WWX takes LWJ along to his family celebrations, where LWJ and JYL bond over making him food. It's a bit soppy and very sweet, which is just what the longest night of the year needs.

Back to Day 8 | On to Day 10

ashkitty

One more Trek fic for the road? (There’s one more still to come, but I’ve tried to put a little more space between them now!) This one takes place after Into Darkness, which was a pretty awful movie with one single redeeming feature: it basically only makes sense if Kirk and Spock are desperately in love.

Anyway, after the events of that film, Spock wants to check on Kirk’s recovery process and ends up getting a bit more explanation than he expected.

The Ghost of Christmas Past

‘Jim's face was as warm as his hands, and his pulse beat solidly beneath Spock's fingertips. He blinked slowly, and Spock's vision blurred as he was pulled into the depths of Jim Kirk's memory. He could tell that Jim, despite having no expertise in mind-melds, was trying desperately to keep the chaos of his mind in order, and push to the forefront the things that had to with the other Spock. But there was a sense as well, beneath the solidness of memory, that he was offering so much more.’

A song to go with it: God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan)
About a million years ago, Barenaked Ladies were (one of?) the first band(s) I ever saw live in concert, mostly because they were opening for the Violent Femmes. Teenage!me queued up for a free show at a Seattle festival for hours and it was so worth it.

A fic rec: The Maine Thing (Is That You Send a Card) (wangxian modern au) by Comfect
Look, I binged a lot of Christmas fics last year, and this is one I remember enjoying. It's a Hallmark-inspired wangxian fic. but unlike actual Hallmark movies, the characterisation is top-notch. And wangxian, so the pining is of course delicious.

Back to Day 7 | On to Day 9

ashkitty

So I got on a plane this morning and saw my parents and then took my mom to the hospital AGAIN because the dialysis catheter keeps jiggling itself loose or whatever, so it's been a long day. But you know what's not long? Today's fic!

Even shorter than some of the others, this treat is TINY! Also not technically Christmas, because the Dragon Age universe doesn’t have Christmas. They do have Satinalia, which also involves giving presents and some medieval-Christmas-ish traditions, so I have decided that’s close enough.

Dragon Age Calendar 2023: An Appreciative Audience. Varric tells stories. It’s too short to say more.

‘Varric coughs pointedly. “If none of you want to hear this….” A chorus of apologies, as if anyone could stop Varric telling a story once he’s started. There’s a bite in the crisp Satinalia air, beneath the bonfire-scent of autumn, and lazy sparks float from the crackling fire like tiny stars. There are toasts and gifts and ghost stories, and laughter echoing across the hazy hillside.’

A song:I did actually manage to find a Christmas song about a dragon, but it was incredibly cheesy, so you're getting Six White Boomers instead.

And a rec for the road! hurry down my chimney tonight by gusuvibes. (Untamed AU, wangxian)
Rated T

NHS convinces JC and WWX to work as Santa's Elves for the local mall's Christmas grotto. LWJ brings his adorable child A-Yuan to see Santa. You see where things are going.

Back to Day 6 | On to Day 8

merridia

At the beginning of the week, I had zero plans for the new year, and now I have tickets to three fresh wrestling shows in April, including my third-ever pay-per-view! Life comes at you fast!! First row in the corner for Dynamite and Collision in Winnipeg, dead centre ringside for Dynamite and Collision in Edmonton, then third row behind Spanish commentary for Dynasty 2026 in Vancouver!!! I will begin planning things like travel and accommodations once January rolls around (when I start my new additional work duties, ugh), though I will probably request those two weeks off of work immediately. Something to make getting to 37 worth it!

This week has pretty much been an entire blur aside from that??? I really need to get my life back into some semblance of order now that my back is mostly feeling better. I can make it about two thirds of the way home before I start to feel a twinge, and a heat wrap with a movie settles it right back down, so I should be able to start being a person properly again. It's very cold, and very snowy, and very... heavy outside. Just that overwhelming pall of light grey diffusing through everything for the six or so hours of daylight we have, and then just the most oppressive pitch darkness the rest of the time. We're going to be deep in the -35 to -45 degree trenches for the rest of the year with little to no reprieve, so it's really time to turn my attention inward and just try to feel good. Which unfortunately means doing a lot of laundry, god adulthood is lame.

Movies Watched in December: The Mastermind, They Live, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Song Sung Blue; Silent Night, Deadly Night; Starman, In the Mouth of Madness, Ghosts of Mars, Prince of Darkness, The History of Sound, Five Nights at Freddy's 2, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from L.A., Zootopia 2, Escape from New York, Christine

The Housemaid this weekend, probably? And then the new Avatar with my brother. I don't particularly want to actually see it unless it's at a theatre with the fun moving seats to make it into more of a ride, but I figure if I just make sure to get really, really high beforehand, that should be just as good.

21. What Would You Outsource if You Could?

Uh... the money-making part, obviously. Is this a trick question?

ashkitty

We are halfway through! And we’re going back to Oxford. This is maybe cheating a little – the story itself was written for Yuletide, and is dated the 6th of December, but there isn’t anything especially Christmassy in it.

In 2075, OUP publishes a festschrift (this is, for non-academic types, a book of essays honouring a particular distinguished scholar) celebrating the world of James Dunworthy. It is edited by Colin, now a fellow of Balliol himself, who writes the introduction to the volume and the various things in it. It’s one of my favourite Yuletide experiences – something about the connections of people through history, and the value of good teaching, really hit people (including me, unexpectedly, while writing it). So here is:

Paradox (Oxford Time Travel, gen)
Rated G

‘It is traditional to begin this sort of project with a biography of the person to whom it is being presented, and following that, to list the contributed articles and how the author and outcome of each was started on its path by the eminent scholar being celebrated within the pages. In this case, it seems both unnecessary and redundant, as the essays themselves have become more retrospective than tribute.’

Song: Stop the Cavalry (there IS in fact a Christmas song for time travellers!), version by the Cory Band and the Gwalia Singers

Fic rec: Once and Future by phoenixflight (The Dark is Rising, Will/Bran)
Rated T

Christmas is still a good Dark is RIsing time, and this little treat is full of great lines (Bran's reaction to Will getting a bit melancholy about eventually losing him is brilliant) and, like all the best TDIR fics, evokes a strong sense of place and atmosphere.

Back to Day 5 | On to Day 7

ashkitty

Back to Kirk and Spock again! Told you they’re almost half the list. Advent 2012. The Enterprise crew carry out their mission to investigate weird shit wherever they find it. Guided by a Christmas star (kind of) they stumble on an unexpected birth (kind of). One of my favourite things about writing Trek fic is how weird and unexplainable you can make things (this will come up again later).

Nativus (Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/Spock)
Rated G

‘By the time they reach the surface, it is no longer the barren wasteland the initial scans had indicated. They stand surrounded by vegetation, lush and thick and a shade of green so bright it's almost gold; by the sound of trickling streams and the growing thrum of insect life. The tricorders vibrate with each new discovery as lifesigns appear around them with increasing rapidity, and above them coloured clouds rush through the sky like a gymnastic rainbow.…’

Song: Silent Night (There are of course many versions; this is the absolutely haunting one by Sinead O'Connor.)

Fic rec: Feast of the Unwise Men by Drayton (Oxford Time Travel)
Rated G

Technically this is an Epiphany fic, but since I'm doing pre-Christmas days and not post-Christmas days, here we are. It's about those few days after Dunworthy and Colin retrieve Kivrin from the Black Death, and the fallout - while knowledge of the canon will definitely help here, it's also a fic for anyone who has had to deal with university administrations.

Back to Day 4 | On to Day 6

merridia

One week out from Christmas, and I'm getting the blues about it all. I keep trying to write about why and deleting it all because I can't get it quite right, but basically a lot of years of miserable Christmases has led to us just not really bothering this time around, which is probably for the best because it greatly reduces the likelihood of my having to spend Christmas Eve running between different rooms to try to get everyone to stop crying again, but I'm sure my mom is quietly disappointed about it regardless. Probably doesn't help that this is our first Christmas without a pet, like, ever? We've got to at least get a tree next time.

Just got pulled in for a meeting with my managers because I've been doing my job too well and they're giving me more to do starting next month, damn it! More techs to work with, a whole other department (in a whole different building) to manage internal work orders for and coordinate with, whyyyyy? I spent a decade keeping my head down just to avoid this sort of thing!

Successfully walked home from work yesterday for the first time since throwing out my back. I was pretty sore by the time I made it, but not cripplingly so, and then mom ordered Boston Pizza so I was able to rejuvenate myself with overpriced pasta and the one-night-only return of AEW Dark (oh my god, I've missed Taz so much).

Experimented with magnetic nail polish again last night. Was still unable to do anything cohesive with it, but it looks prettier than it did last time!

My goal of not spending money that I don't have willy-nilly anymore is not going great so far (I blame the sleep deprivation), but hopefully this expensive yoga mat will aid in my recovery efforts??? I have, however, shut down two very pricey subscription services that I've been on for years to make up for it, so NOW it's time to get serious about saving. Two days to the AEW pre-sales!

Movies Watched in December: Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Song Sung Blue; Silent Night, Deadly Night; Starman, In the Mouth of Madness, Ghosts of Mars, Prince of Darkness, The History of Sound, Five Nights at Freddy's 2, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from L.A., Zootopia 2, Escape from New York, Christine

In honour of Saya Kamitani becoming the first woman to ever snag the top spot in the Tokyo Sports awards, Stardom uploaded a killer playlist of all the big singles matches from her current run, so if you want to see a bunch of dramatic women beating the ever-loving shit out of each for several hours, fill your fucking boots (the third of the three Tam Nakano bouts is particularly poignant in the immediate wake of John Cena's hilariously lackluster retirement match).

20. Are You a Hoarder or a Minimalist?

All my shit is what separates me from the animals!

ashkitty

On to Day 4!

It wouldn’t be Christmas season without The Dark is Rising! What surprised me the most is how few I’ve apparently written that are actually Christmas-centric, when it’s such an important part of the series! (It might also be that I just don’t have them anymore, or didn’t post them to AO3, because I’ve been writing for this fandom a long time.)

This one was, as the author notes indicate, scribbled out quickly during Christmas Eve church, and fixed for posting afterward. I did go back more recently and do some edits. I didn’t live in Wales yet in 2002, so got a few little things wrong – mostly younger!Ash didn’t quite get the church/chapel divide, and had them all heading into Tywyn to the local Anglican church even though Owen is explicitly noted as going to chapel. The further problem is that by the time this takes place, the chapel in Tywyn was already turned into flats, though I think the one in Abergynolwyn (closer to Clwyd farm anyway) was still going. I realise these details are really not that important to most readers, and especially have no real bearing on the direction of a very short fic about accidentally coming out to your parents, but well, I live here.

It is very short – barely over 1k words – so I don’t want the intro to end up longer than the fic.

While Shepherds Watched (TDIR, Will/Bran)
Rated G

‘It was the first Christmas Eve of his lifetime that he had not spent with his family, noisy and bustling in the bright din of a two-storey farmhouse full of children and spouses and nieces and nephews and neighbours dropping by just to say hello, the smell of cinnamon and apples and pudding, the warmth of the fire interrupted by bursts of cold air when the door opened, the sound of six or seven Christmas carols all jangling together at once.’

Song: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night
(I wanted the Welsh version but couldn't find a good one, so we went with Carols from Kings for choirboy Will.)

Fic rec: We Wish You a Logical Christmas by little_ogre (MDZS Star Trek AU, wangxian)
Rated M

What caught my attention first about this fic is that it's the JIang, not the Lan, who are Vulcans. Half-Vulcan WWX brings LWJ home during Christmas shore leave, and pon farr happens. It's excellent.

Back to Day 3 | Onward to Day 5

merridia

Three days until pre-sales for the AEW shows in Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Vancouver in April! Finally, I have something long-distance to look forward to again! Time to tighten my belt, post-holiday splurges, so that I can actually afford to go (or at least pretend that I can afford to go). Trip planning will begin tentatively next week (after I hopefully have tickets), and then begin in earnest come the start of 2026. DYNASTY!!

Mom bailed on the MMM last night because it was snowing (lame excuse), but I hopped on a bus and went all by myself and had a great time anyway with an insane melodramatic mess of a movie (complimentary???). I definitely overdid things with my back a bit, though, and should probably go back to taking it easy for the rest of the week to keep recovering. Things hurt! It's cold out! An outing was extremely necessary for my mental health!

( Album #502/1001: Soft Machine - Third )

Movies Watched in December: Song Sung Blue; Silent Night, Deadly Night; Starman, In the Mouth of Madness, Ghosts of Mars, Prince of Darkness, The History of Sound, Five Nights at Freddy's 2, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from L.A., Zootopia 2, Escape from New York, Christine

Six more hours until I can go home and make delicious noodles and put on a movie and also a heat wrap. BACK TO BASICS.

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Girls Read Comics Too

November 2015

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[503] they all sound the same when they scream

Merry and bright.

12 Days (til) Christmas Day 12

MEME: Wishlists

12 Days (til) Christmas Day 11

12 Days (til) Christmas Day 10

re: Fantasy Inventions

12 Days (til) Christmas Day 9

12 Days (til) Christmas Day 8

12 Days (til) Christmas Day 7

re: Outsourcing

12 Days (til) Christmas Day 6

12 Days (til) Christmas Day 5

re: Kondo

12 Days (til) Christmas Day 4

[502] music-making still performs the normal functions

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