pictures for November
Nov. 30th, 2025 03:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pauraqueLast month I finally got off my ass and put up bird feeders in the yard. Moving is a process, okay?
Black-capped Chickadee. Despite being our most common backyard bird, they are kind of my favorite. (Don't tell the others.) I love the color palette of their plumage. They can't open seeds with their beaks, so they will often take one and fly away to bang it open on a tree branch. Sometimes they are clever/lazy and bang them open on the feeder perches.
( more birds [8 photos] )
( not birds [4 photos] )
Black-capped Chickadee. Despite being our most common backyard bird, they are kind of my favorite. (Don't tell the others.) I love the color palette of their plumage. They can't open seeds with their beaks, so they will often take one and fly away to bang it open on a tree branch. Sometimes they are clever/lazy and bang them open on the feeder perches.
( more birds [8 photos] )
( not birds [4 photos] )
What I've Been Up To Lately
Nov. 30th, 2025 04:42 pmrodoYesterday I deep cleaned my part of the house in preparation for the holidays, and since today is the First Sunday of Advent and the Christmas season has officially started, I decorated everything for the season and I made four recipes of cookies, two batches of mulled wine and some candied almonds... not really a relaxing weekend for me. I've got sore muscles from all the cleaning, for one. I'm no longer as young as I used to be and my hips are starting to remind me when I forget. Also, at one point yesterday, the cat stared at me with a look that said she thought I was a changeling. I'm not usually this active.
In other news: I hit my![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
getyourwordsout target this month and I'm still working on my Yuletide story, which isn't even close to finished, despite being long past the minimum. I'm almost through my third(!) rewatch of canon, because it's very dense, imo. I'll need to do a lot of editing, especially on the action scene (not my forte), but it's fun. And since I worked from home last week, I had enough time to make some headway too.
What little time I had left besides this in the past couple of weeks I've spent watching the second season of Maxton Hall and the new Robin Hood series, and I've started playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance, seven years late, but whatever.
The second season of Maxton Hall is pretty much like the first: teenage drama that makes very little sense once you think about it (like: why does this girl keep having to organize stuff like high-profile fundraisers instead of learning for her exams???), but it is very good at being what it is: a tropey teen drama. Robin Hood is good so far too, but I'd probably enjoy it more if they hadn't made the baffling decision to have pagans in it. As for Kingdom Come: Deliverance: I'm a couple of hours in and just reached Rattay, and I suspect I suck at this game. But that's okay, because the character I'm playing is meant to suck at everything too. I'd probably have more problems with sucking at a game if the character I was playing was supposed to actually be good at fighting and stuff.
In other news: I hit my
getyourwordsout target this month and I'm still working on my Yuletide story, which isn't even close to finished, despite being long past the minimum. I'm almost through my third(!) rewatch of canon, because it's very dense, imo. I'll need to do a lot of editing, especially on the action scene (not my forte), but it's fun. And since I worked from home last week, I had enough time to make some headway too.What little time I had left besides this in the past couple of weeks I've spent watching the second season of Maxton Hall and the new Robin Hood series, and I've started playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance, seven years late, but whatever.
The second season of Maxton Hall is pretty much like the first: teenage drama that makes very little sense once you think about it (like: why does this girl keep having to organize stuff like high-profile fundraisers instead of learning for her exams???), but it is very good at being what it is: a tropey teen drama. Robin Hood is good so far too, but I'd probably enjoy it more if they hadn't made the baffling decision to have pagans in it. As for Kingdom Come: Deliverance: I'm a couple of hours in and just reached Rattay, and I suspect I suck at this game. But that's okay, because the character I'm playing is meant to suck at everything too. I'd probably have more problems with sucking at a game if the character I was playing was supposed to actually be good at fighting and stuff.
movies: Wake Up Dead Man, Hell House LLC: Carmichael Manor
Nov. 30th, 2025 11:08 amsnickficWake Up Dead Man (2025). A young priest accused of murder in a small parish in upstate NY pleads his case to famous detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig).
This is the third movie in the Benoit Blanc franchise, and I enjoyed it a lot. The cast is great, as always, and Josh O'Connor in particular as the young priest is fantastic and is the heart of the movie. The writing is solid and often very funny, with some great laugh lines, even if this wasn't trying quite as hard as Glass Onion did. These movies are just fun, even when they don't make all that much sense.
I will say it felt too long; I thought it might be my favorite of the series, and then it went on for another 45 minutes. đź’€ It needed at least one less twist and one less dramatic monologue. I also wish one of the secondary antagonists (Cy, the mixed-race would-be Republican politician) had gotten more development or at least a hint of how he'd become who he'd become, not least because he was one of the funniest characters and stole almost every scene he was in. I have some quibbles about the narrative treatment of one of the female characters as well; I think the movie's heart was in the right place, but the execution didn't quite get there.
This one also tackled some heavier themes than either of the others. The charismatic, abusive, ego-driven church leader making his own little cult felt very familiar, especially after that podcast I listened to about Mars Hill.
Overall: just fun. Solidly entertaining in an era when it feels like mainstream movies really struggle to be that. I hope Rian Johnson makes ten more of these.
And this was the last one on his Netflix contract, so maybe the next one will get a real theater release instead of this bizarre indie-and-tiny-chain-only bullshit. OTOH, because the release has been so limited, I saw it in a completely sold-out theater that laughed throughout and then clapped at the end, and that was pretty fun. Silver linings!
--
Hell House LLC: Carmichael Manor (2023). A ghosthunter and her girlfriend investigate a supposedly haunted house near the site of the former Abaddon hotel and soon wish they hadn't.
This is the fourth entry in the Hell House LLC franchise, and for my money it is the scariest. There's not even a close second IMO. It took me almost a year to watch this in fits and starts, because I kept getting too tense. I only finally managed it because an online friend was going to watch it and we had a watch party. Found footage is the scariest horror there is, in my opinion; the fiction of watching raw footage removes a last crucial layer of distance between me and the events. This franchise's greatest strength is that it has a fucking scary clown and it knows how to use it, but there are a number of scenes here without even a threat of clown that are genuinely unnerving and use the found footage mechanic in creatively terrifying ways.
As a movie, this is also far and away the best one since the first. The characters are well-developed and don't get bogged down in the history of the previous movies, unlike movies two and three. I do think the last twenty minutes or so, when it tries to tie the story to the broader lore, is by the far the weakest part of the movie, but so it goes.
Also, I've been pining for more found footage horror focused on women, and it's just a bonus that these are an f/f couple to boot, which goes completely unremarked. Yay, more of this please.
If you're looking for a good scarefest with minimal gore next Halloween, you absolutely should check this out.
This is the third movie in the Benoit Blanc franchise, and I enjoyed it a lot. The cast is great, as always, and Josh O'Connor in particular as the young priest is fantastic and is the heart of the movie. The writing is solid and often very funny, with some great laugh lines, even if this wasn't trying quite as hard as Glass Onion did. These movies are just fun, even when they don't make all that much sense.
I will say it felt too long; I thought it might be my favorite of the series, and then it went on for another 45 minutes. đź’€ It needed at least one less twist and one less dramatic monologue. I also wish one of the secondary antagonists (Cy, the mixed-race would-be Republican politician) had gotten more development or at least a hint of how he'd become who he'd become, not least because he was one of the funniest characters and stole almost every scene he was in. I have some quibbles about the narrative treatment of one of the female characters as well; I think the movie's heart was in the right place, but the execution didn't quite get there.
This one also tackled some heavier themes than either of the others. The charismatic, abusive, ego-driven church leader making his own little cult felt very familiar, especially after that podcast I listened to about Mars Hill.
Overall: just fun. Solidly entertaining in an era when it feels like mainstream movies really struggle to be that. I hope Rian Johnson makes ten more of these.
And this was the last one on his Netflix contract, so maybe the next one will get a real theater release instead of this bizarre indie-and-tiny-chain-only bullshit. OTOH, because the release has been so limited, I saw it in a completely sold-out theater that laughed throughout and then clapped at the end, and that was pretty fun. Silver linings!
--
Hell House LLC: Carmichael Manor (2023). A ghosthunter and her girlfriend investigate a supposedly haunted house near the site of the former Abaddon hotel and soon wish they hadn't.
This is the fourth entry in the Hell House LLC franchise, and for my money it is the scariest. There's not even a close second IMO. It took me almost a year to watch this in fits and starts, because I kept getting too tense. I only finally managed it because an online friend was going to watch it and we had a watch party. Found footage is the scariest horror there is, in my opinion; the fiction of watching raw footage removes a last crucial layer of distance between me and the events. This franchise's greatest strength is that it has a fucking scary clown and it knows how to use it, but there are a number of scenes here without even a threat of clown that are genuinely unnerving and use the found footage mechanic in creatively terrifying ways.
As a movie, this is also far and away the best one since the first. The characters are well-developed and don't get bogged down in the history of the previous movies, unlike movies two and three. I do think the last twenty minutes or so, when it tries to tie the story to the broader lore, is by the far the weakest part of the movie, but so it goes.
Also, I've been pining for more found footage horror focused on women, and it's just a bonus that these are an f/f couple to boot, which goes completely unremarked. Yay, more of this please.
If you're looking for a good scarefest with minimal gore next Halloween, you absolutely should check this out.
Fic: Not Quite Birds of a Feather (Dragon Age)
Nov. 30th, 2025 01:40 pmsettiaiNot Quite Birds of a Feather (1418 words) by Settiai
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age - All Media Types
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Female Aeducan/Leliana/Morrigan (Dragon Age), Female Aeducan/Leliana (Dragon Age), Female Aeducan/Morrigan (Dragon Age), Leliana/Morrigan (Dragon Age)
Characters: Female Aeducan (Dragon Age), Leliana (Dragon Age), Morrigan (Dragon Age)
Additional Tags: Casual Sex, Complicated Relationships, Dragon Age Poly Exchange, One Shot, Polyamory
Summary: The three of them had almost nothing in common. It shouldn't have worked. Yet somehow it did.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age - All Media Types
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Female Aeducan/Leliana/Morrigan (Dragon Age), Female Aeducan/Leliana (Dragon Age), Female Aeducan/Morrigan (Dragon Age), Leliana/Morrigan (Dragon Age)
Characters: Female Aeducan (Dragon Age), Leliana (Dragon Age), Morrigan (Dragon Age)
Additional Tags: Casual Sex, Complicated Relationships, Dragon Age Poly Exchange, One Shot, Polyamory
Summary: The three of them had almost nothing in common. It shouldn't have worked. Yet somehow it did.
Fic: No Strings (Dragon Age)
Nov. 30th, 2025 01:40 pmsettiaiNo Strings (1466 words) by Settiai
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jowan/Cullen Rutherford/Male Surana
Characters: Cullen Rutherford, Jowan (Dragon Age), Male Surana (Dragon Age)
Additional Tags: Casual Sex, Denial of Feelings, Dragon Age Poly Exchange, Kinloch Hold (Dragon Age), One Shot, Secret Relationship, Teenagers, Trans Male Character
Summary: It didn't mean anything. If they kept telling themselves that much, then maybe it would be true.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jowan/Cullen Rutherford/Male Surana
Characters: Cullen Rutherford, Jowan (Dragon Age), Male Surana (Dragon Age)
Additional Tags: Casual Sex, Denial of Feelings, Dragon Age Poly Exchange, Kinloch Hold (Dragon Age), One Shot, Secret Relationship, Teenagers, Trans Male Character
Summary: It didn't mean anything. If they kept telling themselves that much, then maybe it would be true.
Weaving the threads of the sky
Nov. 30th, 2025 04:37 pmdolorosa_12This was my first full weekend back home after returning from Australia, and it was very much a return to normality in the best possible way. Yesterday rained on and off (the BBC weather website, which always errs on the side of apocalyptic, had been making dire warnings, but in the end there were just a few short bursts of heavy rain), unfortunately coinciding with the times I was walking to the gym, to the library, and home. Today was clear, still, and bitterly cold.
While I was struggling through my first fitness classes in the three weeks (today, my arms and legs ache), Matthias was struggling through the rain to pick up this year's Christmas wreathe, which is now hanging on the front door, bright with happy bursts of red berries. Other than those morning excursions, we spent the remainder of Saturday indoors, with the biathlon on in the background, grazing, and drinking Australian coffee (me) and Australia tea (Matthias).
Saturday night films are back on the agenda with a bang: The Menu, a blackly comedic horror film about a small group of people transported to an isolated island for an exclusive degustation menu with a celebrated chef, who end up getting a lot more than they bargained for. Horror is not my first-choice genre, but this was excellent and very, very clever (if not at all subtle). As well as the constant threat of violence, the true horror of the story is the characters unmoored and bewildered by the excruciating situation of social conventions overturned. ( Possibly spoilerish? )
This morning I walked through the chilly stillness of the morning to the pool, which was uncharacteristically empty for a Sunday morning: I had the fast lane to myself for the entire 1km swim, which has never, ever happened to me. That good start seemed to set me up for the day, which mostly involved working on the first of my planned Yuletide treats, interspersed with yoga, and a walk along the river with Matthias.
The evening promises cosy cooking, and cosy TV: the perfect close to a great couple of days.
I'll finish this post with a couple of fannish events whose sign-up periods are closing soon.
The first is the reccing event thatgoodbyebird is running:
Welcome to Rec-Cember, the month long multi-fandom reccing event. Let's recommend some fanworks! Let's appreciate and comment on those fanworks!
rec_cember . intro . sign ups
Sign-ups close today.
Second isfandomtrees, the multifandom gift fest that runs over the end of this year and the start of the next. The sign-up post is here, and you have until 5 December to sign up.
While I was struggling through my first fitness classes in the three weeks (today, my arms and legs ache), Matthias was struggling through the rain to pick up this year's Christmas wreathe, which is now hanging on the front door, bright with happy bursts of red berries. Other than those morning excursions, we spent the remainder of Saturday indoors, with the biathlon on in the background, grazing, and drinking Australian coffee (me) and Australia tea (Matthias).
Saturday night films are back on the agenda with a bang: The Menu, a blackly comedic horror film about a small group of people transported to an isolated island for an exclusive degustation menu with a celebrated chef, who end up getting a lot more than they bargained for. Horror is not my first-choice genre, but this was excellent and very, very clever (if not at all subtle). As well as the constant threat of violence, the true horror of the story is the characters unmoored and bewildered by the excruciating situation of social conventions overturned. ( Possibly spoilerish? )
This morning I walked through the chilly stillness of the morning to the pool, which was uncharacteristically empty for a Sunday morning: I had the fast lane to myself for the entire 1km swim, which has never, ever happened to me. That good start seemed to set me up for the day, which mostly involved working on the first of my planned Yuletide treats, interspersed with yoga, and a walk along the river with Matthias.
The evening promises cosy cooking, and cosy TV: the perfect close to a great couple of days.
I'll finish this post with a couple of fannish events whose sign-up periods are closing soon.
The first is the reccing event that
goodbyebird is running:rec_cember . intro . sign upsSign-ups close today.
Second is
fandomtrees, the multifandom gift fest that runs over the end of this year and the start of the next. The sign-up post is here, and you have until 5 December to sign up.love meme time!
Nov. 30th, 2025 05:13 pmsummerstormI'm slowly making my way through the meme leaving comments. It's helping me feel better after the last fight my sister and my mom had (though this one was milder than yesterday's at least, and I was able to deescalate it a bit, which is rare).
✨ holiday love meme 2025 ✨
my thread here
Just finished sorting the puzzle pieces of a puzzle I started sorting the pieces of uh, a year ago? Maybe longer? They've been in various boxes and those boxes' lids taking up one of the drawers in my old desk, where I kind of want to put my coffee stuff since I keep my espresso machine on that desk now, so I wanted to reorganize things a bit. I reorganized my sewing stuff already. I'd originally got a cloth organizer that I didn't realize was divided by flimsy mesh, so that wasn't really great for holding, say, thread spools and zippers. I put it on one of the shelves of my new ("new" as in, not as old, not new-new, I got it for my birthday two years ago now, whereas my other desk is almost as old as I am) desk though, and so far it's where all the manuals are going. Might put some more books I want to have on hand there, so they don't take up as much space elsewhere? Could be good for fabric while it's in use too.
The new microphone someone (I don't know if they want to be thanked by name) got me for my birthday is working wonderfully and also makes me feel really cool tbh. And the cats have no interest in it at all! Probably helps that it can be kept vertical but yeah, they haven't even gone for a sniff. I'm so relieved. The portable sewing machine I still need to make sure works -- think I'm gonna try to make a sweater for Ciri to get the hang of it, because she's always shivering but hates going under the covers with me, and I need to learn basically everything about how to use a sewing machine. See, I do have access to a proper one that's as old as I am and cost actual money, but that thing is a behemoth, and, because it belongs to my mom, my brain insists that I ask her how to use it. My mom sucks at teaching, and I absorbed nothing when she showed me how to thread it, so I'm kinda starting from scratch.
Also on the learning docket, how to use these LED soft light things my friend got me so I can take selfies in the depressing dark of winter, and map-making.
Financial stuff is, bad, whatever, I'm not gonna talk about it. I'm aware of it but I try not to wallow. And not to feel guilty about having bought the PS5 after all with limited leftover emergency fund. It will be good for my mental health and I got the cheapest version while on sale, like, I made the best decision possible within the circumstances. It gets here on Tuesday, at which point I guess I'll find out if they'll let me transfer any games over from my PS4 for free or cheap, because I am not in a place to buy games right now.
What else... Oh, I have aholiday_wishes list over here. I have a couple of wishes I'm working on fulfilling for other people, though I've fallen behind on reading the posts and need to catch up. I'm not crossing out the PS5 wish because the point was "I need my emergency fund to not disappear from this" and that still applies.
Can't believe it's December tomorrow. Hopefully I can get some motivation out of the year ending like I do every other year.
my thread here
Just finished sorting the puzzle pieces of a puzzle I started sorting the pieces of uh, a year ago? Maybe longer? They've been in various boxes and those boxes' lids taking up one of the drawers in my old desk, where I kind of want to put my coffee stuff since I keep my espresso machine on that desk now, so I wanted to reorganize things a bit. I reorganized my sewing stuff already. I'd originally got a cloth organizer that I didn't realize was divided by flimsy mesh, so that wasn't really great for holding, say, thread spools and zippers. I put it on one of the shelves of my new ("new" as in, not as old, not new-new, I got it for my birthday two years ago now, whereas my other desk is almost as old as I am) desk though, and so far it's where all the manuals are going. Might put some more books I want to have on hand there, so they don't take up as much space elsewhere? Could be good for fabric while it's in use too.
The new microphone someone (I don't know if they want to be thanked by name) got me for my birthday is working wonderfully and also makes me feel really cool tbh. And the cats have no interest in it at all! Probably helps that it can be kept vertical but yeah, they haven't even gone for a sniff. I'm so relieved. The portable sewing machine I still need to make sure works -- think I'm gonna try to make a sweater for Ciri to get the hang of it, because she's always shivering but hates going under the covers with me, and I need to learn basically everything about how to use a sewing machine. See, I do have access to a proper one that's as old as I am and cost actual money, but that thing is a behemoth, and, because it belongs to my mom, my brain insists that I ask her how to use it. My mom sucks at teaching, and I absorbed nothing when she showed me how to thread it, so I'm kinda starting from scratch.
Also on the learning docket, how to use these LED soft light things my friend got me so I can take selfies in the depressing dark of winter, and map-making.
Financial stuff is, bad, whatever, I'm not gonna talk about it. I'm aware of it but I try not to wallow. And not to feel guilty about having bought the PS5 after all with limited leftover emergency fund. It will be good for my mental health and I got the cheapest version while on sale, like, I made the best decision possible within the circumstances. It gets here on Tuesday, at which point I guess I'll find out if they'll let me transfer any games over from my PS4 for free or cheap, because I am not in a place to buy games right now.
What else... Oh, I have a
holiday_wishes list over here. I have a couple of wishes I'm working on fulfilling for other people, though I've fallen behind on reading the posts and need to catch up. I'm not crossing out the PS5 wish because the point was "I need my emergency fund to not disappear from this" and that still applies.Can't believe it's December tomorrow. Hopefully I can get some motivation out of the year ending like I do every other year.
Final update on AO3 tag wrangling
Nov. 30th, 2025 09:44 ambrithistorianI finally got an answer on my AO3 tag wrangling application. I was not selected. I'm feeling pretty pissed-off and crappy and unwanted over the whole thing. I'll be over here having a pity party today; feel free not to come — I don't even like interacting with me when I'm in this kind of mood.
ETA: A couple of hours later, I'm feeling somewhat better.
Thank you for being here
Nov. 30th, 2025 07:44 ambrightknightieAs this US Thanksgiving weekend draws to a close, I'd like to tell you, my Dreamwidth community, how very thankful I am for you. ♥
You are my fannish air and breath. You are a refuge. You are a delight. I look forward to what you share with me. I love what DW gives us, this text-driven, words-rich, open world of connections we choose.
I wish there were more of us. I wish we all had more time and spoons to play here with each other. I wish fandom still practiced certain customs that it doesn't seem to anymore.
But that's okay. I have you. And I'm truly grateful.
Happy Thanksgiving!
You are my fannish air and breath. You are a refuge. You are a delight. I look forward to what you share with me. I love what DW gives us, this text-driven, words-rich, open world of connections we choose.
I wish there were more of us. I wish we all had more time and spoons to play here with each other. I wish fandom still practiced certain customs that it doesn't seem to anymore.
But that's okay. I have you. And I'm truly grateful.
Happy Thanksgiving!
November recs: 3x Hermitcraft 1x Life series
Nov. 30th, 2025 03:08 pmschneefinkI'm sick (uuugh), but it's November 30th and I don't want to fail my monthly rec challenge now. So you get four Hermitcraft recs without a larger theme. 1 art & 3 fic (1 space AU & 2 admin power games, one of them a Life series crossover.)
I don't think canon knowledge is required for any of them: definitely not the first two, and I think the important parts of the other two become clear very quickly.
in too deep by![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
modest_starr
digital art, Geminitay
Summary: additional tags: Imminent Character Death, she is literally drowning, Hallucinations, Eye strain, highly saturated colors, Hermitcraft Season 10, Anthropologist Geminitay, Sea Monsters
Why I like it: The tags say "hallucinations" but I also really like the idea of scientist Gem looking too deep. Very cool colors.
Why is everyone sucking Farlands' dick over their new ship??? byKaesa
6k, SF AU, implied Scar/Grian, social media outsider PoV with in-universe RPF
Summary: Hey, uh, what's with everyone losing their minds over Farlands' Good Times? I thought we all agreed Farlands was evil incarnate? Last big colony mission they launched, even half the people at Brave Voyages were like "wow so sick of Farlands' bullshit, hope Farlands explodes," but this thing has been around for less than a year and people HERE are like, writing romantic poetry about it? Can someone explain? Obviously I too am fascinated by whether they're using tuned mass dampers or something else to keep the gravity steady, and the reflex rewiring they have to do to the pilots to get something that big through hyperspace is wild, but uh. This is not that.
A forum thread from the future.
Why I love it: Reccing part 2 here so I have a good reason to rec the series when it's done; I also recommend part 1 but I like this one even better. Scar is a Pilot, which means he controls a spaceship with his brain, and Grian is his doctor. Very cool worldbuilding and very funny.
feeling a gold hand unfolding on me byspringbeetle
3.3k, Grian & Xisuma, non-sexual kink (body modification, admin powers)
Summary: It was daylight, not that you could tell from the enclosed room Xisuma had teleported Grian into. A bright, fantastic Hermitcraft day, his friends bustling about the server engaged in activities, cheerfully oblivious to what Xisuma and Grian were about to do in this room together. To what Xisuma was about to do to Grian.
Most Hermits weren’t big on tradition, when you got down to it. They’d been around too long, seen enough of the universe to have set preferences about their bodies, or they had their own plans for each season. Scar and Cub had recently finished with their predatory ConVex business, for instance, and Cleo kept her zombieness– zombitude? Zombiehood?-- firmly under her own control, and the less said about Joe’s usual brand of shenanigans, the better.
So it had been unusual, having a new player such as Grian bring the concept up in the roundabout fashion he had, side-eyeing Xisuma like he wasn’t sure whether Xisuma would just snatch him up one day, like he was checking off a box on some haphazard to-do list-- like he’d smacked himself on the helmet and gone oh, silly me, that’s right! I forgot to modify Grian to my personal preferences last month!
Why I like it: Wonderful take on admin Xisuma taking care of his player even with an unusual request. I like how Xisuma needs the encouragement and reassurances to keep going but he does enjoy getting into his evil role when he feels comfortable and he is good at it, too. And Grian is very good at prodding him just enough and having to admit he doesn't not want this, delicious.
a weave that can be unpicked bystrifetxt
3.4k, Scar&/Grian, Third Life
Summary: Grian's eyes widen. “Wait, did you think I’d made a plug-in to force players into turning hostile?”
Scar blinks. “Didn’t you?”
“Wh— No, of course not!”
“Oh.” Scar deflates, but then, just as quickly, perks back up. “Could you though?”
Or: Scar has some ideas to make Third Life more fun. Grian has some concerns.
Why I like it: Excellent recursive fic of the above, and another case of a player prodding an admin into using their powers on them. I love the intimacy of the admin power used on a willing subject.
I don't think canon knowledge is required for any of them: definitely not the first two, and I think the important parts of the other two become clear very quickly.
in too deep by
digital art, Geminitay
Summary: additional tags: Imminent Character Death, she is literally drowning, Hallucinations, Eye strain, highly saturated colors, Hermitcraft Season 10, Anthropologist Geminitay, Sea Monsters
Why I like it: The tags say "hallucinations" but I also really like the idea of scientist Gem looking too deep. Very cool colors.
Why is everyone sucking Farlands' dick over their new ship??? by
6k, SF AU, implied Scar/Grian, social media outsider PoV with in-universe RPF
Summary: Hey, uh, what's with everyone losing their minds over Farlands' Good Times? I thought we all agreed Farlands was evil incarnate? Last big colony mission they launched, even half the people at Brave Voyages were like "wow so sick of Farlands' bullshit, hope Farlands explodes," but this thing has been around for less than a year and people HERE are like, writing romantic poetry about it? Can someone explain? Obviously I too am fascinated by whether they're using tuned mass dampers or something else to keep the gravity steady, and the reflex rewiring they have to do to the pilots to get something that big through hyperspace is wild, but uh. This is not that.
A forum thread from the future.
Why I love it: Reccing part 2 here so I have a good reason to rec the series when it's done; I also recommend part 1 but I like this one even better. Scar is a Pilot, which means he controls a spaceship with his brain, and Grian is his doctor. Very cool worldbuilding and very funny.
feeling a gold hand unfolding on me by
3.3k, Grian & Xisuma, non-sexual kink (body modification, admin powers)
Summary: It was daylight, not that you could tell from the enclosed room Xisuma had teleported Grian into. A bright, fantastic Hermitcraft day, his friends bustling about the server engaged in activities, cheerfully oblivious to what Xisuma and Grian were about to do in this room together. To what Xisuma was about to do to Grian.
Most Hermits weren’t big on tradition, when you got down to it. They’d been around too long, seen enough of the universe to have set preferences about their bodies, or they had their own plans for each season. Scar and Cub had recently finished with their predatory ConVex business, for instance, and Cleo kept her zombieness– zombitude? Zombiehood?-- firmly under her own control, and the less said about Joe’s usual brand of shenanigans, the better.
So it had been unusual, having a new player such as Grian bring the concept up in the roundabout fashion he had, side-eyeing Xisuma like he wasn’t sure whether Xisuma would just snatch him up one day, like he was checking off a box on some haphazard to-do list-- like he’d smacked himself on the helmet and gone oh, silly me, that’s right! I forgot to modify Grian to my personal preferences last month!
Why I like it: Wonderful take on admin Xisuma taking care of his player even with an unusual request. I like how Xisuma needs the encouragement and reassurances to keep going but he does enjoy getting into his evil role when he feels comfortable and he is good at it, too. And Grian is very good at prodding him just enough and having to admit he doesn't not want this, delicious.
a weave that can be unpicked by
3.4k, Scar&/Grian, Third Life
Summary: Grian's eyes widen. “Wait, did you think I’d made a plug-in to force players into turning hostile?”
Scar blinks. “Didn’t you?”
“Wh— No, of course not!”
“Oh.” Scar deflates, but then, just as quickly, perks back up. “Could you though?”
Or: Scar has some ideas to make Third Life more fun. Grian has some concerns.
Why I like it: Excellent recursive fic of the above, and another case of a player prodding an admin into using their powers on them. I love the intimacy of the admin power used on a willing subject.
Sunday
Nov. 30th, 2025 08:03 ammalinaldaroseI slept in just a bit this morning (only about half an hour), but I have already been trapped under a cat, so there's that, I suppose. Parker jumped onto my desk while I was reading DW and I was trapped for half an hour or so. Fortunately, I had the commentary on the Miss Universe pageant gowns linked to by senmut to keep me company.
I am noticing that my computer is making a droning electrical noise this morning and I am beginning to wonder if I need to start looking for a replacement after all. Le sigh. Sure, why not. I clearly haven't spent enough money this weekend.
Speaking of which, I did not end up getting the new vacuum at BJ's. Between stacking coupons and discounts, Kohl's ended up having the better price, and now I will have $45 of Kohl's cash to spend on new pajamas, since mine are becoming threadbare. Which is easy enough, since rather than expensive pajama sets, I buy flannel bottoms and regular t-shirts a size up from what I normally wear. Works just fine and is basically what pajama sets are anyway.
Yesterday, I went out to the grocery store after the pharmacy opened at 9:00 a.m. It turned out that the doctor's office had sent a new prescription, so they filled it for me while I picked up a few things. When I got home and put the stuff away, the first load of laundry was done, so that got hung up in the basement and the second load put in.
I looked at my do-list and looked at all the things that need to be done around the house and just shook my head. There's no way. So, instead of trying to put fall decorations away and get out winter ones, I sat down at my desk and listened to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me while drawing the January pages in my home calendar for next year. I've decided to use the somewhat fiddly box layout that I rejected for my work calendar. I'm getting tired of the boxes with triangular flags that I have used for the last couple of years. I got all of January drawn, though I'm not certain I'm going to include the trackers and notes pages that I've had for the last couple of years, because I didn't use them at all this year, so what's the point? I might try something else, instead, or I might just flow one month into another as I do with my work calendars. We'll see. Also, while I like the idea of a book journal, I didn't keep up with it, so I think that's just going to turn into my new book where I just keep my lists of what I have read (which grew out of the 50 Book Challenge years and years and years ago -- I have been keeping the current book since 2008, but I'm down to the last few pages, so I need to start a new one).
After that, I tok the work calendar upstairs and decorated the August and September pages. I was certain last week that I would have it finished and ready to go to work with me tomorrow, but I don't know that I'm going to make it. I need to do the December pages in my home calendar today, and I suppose if I did nothing else, I'd be able to finish the work calendar...but I'm not betting on it....
Last evening, I had dinner early because I skipped lunch, then I cleaned the kitchen, and settled on the couch and read all evening, until I finished Enchanter's End Game. So that's The Belgariad finished. I am debating whether or not I want to go on to The Malloreon. I might decide to read something else first and then go on to it. Or I might just go grab it as being easier than trying to choose something new.
It is 29° this morning. According to the weather wiseacres, it's supposed to get up to 39° and both rain and snow. Won't that be fun? I thought briefly about going to see if the new bookstore had any more stock this week than they did last week, but I don't think I'll be doing that. Too many other things to do to waste my time on that. (And it would be a waste of time, I am certain.)
senmut to keep me company.I am noticing that my computer is making a droning electrical noise this morning and I am beginning to wonder if I need to start looking for a replacement after all. Le sigh. Sure, why not. I clearly haven't spent enough money this weekend.
Speaking of which, I did not end up getting the new vacuum at BJ's. Between stacking coupons and discounts, Kohl's ended up having the better price, and now I will have $45 of Kohl's cash to spend on new pajamas, since mine are becoming threadbare. Which is easy enough, since rather than expensive pajama sets, I buy flannel bottoms and regular t-shirts a size up from what I normally wear. Works just fine and is basically what pajama sets are anyway.
Yesterday, I went out to the grocery store after the pharmacy opened at 9:00 a.m. It turned out that the doctor's office had sent a new prescription, so they filled it for me while I picked up a few things. When I got home and put the stuff away, the first load of laundry was done, so that got hung up in the basement and the second load put in.
I looked at my do-list and looked at all the things that need to be done around the house and just shook my head. There's no way. So, instead of trying to put fall decorations away and get out winter ones, I sat down at my desk and listened to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me while drawing the January pages in my home calendar for next year. I've decided to use the somewhat fiddly box layout that I rejected for my work calendar. I'm getting tired of the boxes with triangular flags that I have used for the last couple of years. I got all of January drawn, though I'm not certain I'm going to include the trackers and notes pages that I've had for the last couple of years, because I didn't use them at all this year, so what's the point? I might try something else, instead, or I might just flow one month into another as I do with my work calendars. We'll see. Also, while I like the idea of a book journal, I didn't keep up with it, so I think that's just going to turn into my new book where I just keep my lists of what I have read (which grew out of the 50 Book Challenge years and years and years ago -- I have been keeping the current book since 2008, but I'm down to the last few pages, so I need to start a new one).
After that, I tok the work calendar upstairs and decorated the August and September pages. I was certain last week that I would have it finished and ready to go to work with me tomorrow, but I don't know that I'm going to make it. I need to do the December pages in my home calendar today, and I suppose if I did nothing else, I'd be able to finish the work calendar...but I'm not betting on it....
Last evening, I had dinner early because I skipped lunch, then I cleaned the kitchen, and settled on the couch and read all evening, until I finished Enchanter's End Game. So that's The Belgariad finished. I am debating whether or not I want to go on to The Malloreon. I might decide to read something else first and then go on to it. Or I might just go grab it as being easier than trying to choose something new.
It is 29° this morning. According to the weather wiseacres, it's supposed to get up to 39° and both rain and snow. Won't that be fun? I thought briefly about going to see if the new bookstore had any more stock this week than they did last week, but I don't think I'll be doing that. Too many other things to do to waste my time on that. (And it would be a waste of time, I am certain.)
Unseen
Nov. 30th, 2025 12:50 pmextrapenguinI've been feeling melancholy for – well. The calendar says it's almost December, the Christmas lights are up here, etc, but the weather says it's the start of October. And also, as it is still my first year in Paris, I have been basically sick nonstop. Last weekend I got the influenza or something.
Last year, I read a book that changed my life (or, at least, how I approach other people). The book's analysis of appreciation and how it is and isn't given thus lurks at the back of my mind; less "living rent-free" and more like a structural element.
My job is ... well. Theoretically, it's interesting. In practice, it feels like nothing I do matters – no-one admits to being in charge, the person I thought was my boss is too busy doing project administration paperwork to supervise me and has informed me that she's actually not my boss at all, I do not know who my boss is, and the piece of equipment I was promised would arrive in September has been delayed to February at best. I do not know who my boss is.
(Also this is not a job for a postdoc IMO? I really think they should've hired a PhD student instead, and only got a postdoc because they only have two years of funding...)
In short, the management is shit. I've tried giving feedback, but the problems with this group run deep, apparently, and also I'm not officially a part of the group. (The least wrong answer to "Where do you work?" is "It's complicated.") Like. It's one thing to be self-directed, but frankly, I feel self-employed, except with none of the good parts.
(Also Paris fucking sucks, y'all? Pollution so bad you can taste it, the sheer noise of the masses, all the grocery stores have more restrictive opening times than the fucking alcohol monopoly in Finland, and the locals are all "omg you live in the bad part of town???" my dude your entire fucking city is sketchy af! All of Paris is "the bad part of town"!)
Oh yeah and I've been suffering with bedbugs. I hired the pros the moment I found them, buuuuut I think they've been coming through the vents. I recently covered them with fabric (and duct tape), but ofc there's the residual population. I sleep with no skin uncovered so they cannot feed and multiply. I do a final sweep of visible surfaces before bed and exterminate all I can find. There are bloodstains on my ceiling and a hatred in my soul.
Last year, I read a book that changed my life (or, at least, how I approach other people). The book's analysis of appreciation and how it is and isn't given thus lurks at the back of my mind; less "living rent-free" and more like a structural element.
My job is ... well. Theoretically, it's interesting. In practice, it feels like nothing I do matters – no-one admits to being in charge, the person I thought was my boss is too busy doing project administration paperwork to supervise me and has informed me that she's actually not my boss at all, I do not know who my boss is, and the piece of equipment I was promised would arrive in September has been delayed to February at best. I do not know who my boss is.
(Also this is not a job for a postdoc IMO? I really think they should've hired a PhD student instead, and only got a postdoc because they only have two years of funding...)
In short, the management is shit. I've tried giving feedback, but the problems with this group run deep, apparently, and also I'm not officially a part of the group. (The least wrong answer to "Where do you work?" is "It's complicated.") Like. It's one thing to be self-directed, but frankly, I feel self-employed, except with none of the good parts.
(Also Paris fucking sucks, y'all? Pollution so bad you can taste it, the sheer noise of the masses, all the grocery stores have more restrictive opening times than the fucking alcohol monopoly in Finland, and the locals are all "omg you live in the bad part of town???" my dude your entire fucking city is sketchy af! All of Paris is "the bad part of town"!)
Oh yeah and I've been suffering with bedbugs. I hired the pros the moment I found them, buuuuut I think they've been coming through the vents. I recently covered them with fabric (and duct tape), but ofc there's the residual population. I sleep with no skin uncovered so they cannot feed and multiply. I do a final sweep of visible surfaces before bed and exterminate all I can find. There are bloodstains on my ceiling and a hatred in my soul.