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Yuletide writings
Jan. 1st, 2026 08:08 pmSo the fic I wrote for Yuletide was Yami no Matsuei (Descendants of Darkness), The Christmas Cake File.
( Behind the scenes, for anyone interested. )
( Behind the scenes, for anyone interested. )
Did I miss an announcement?
Jan. 1st, 2026 10:03 amBecause my Yuletide fic is still showing as Anonymous. :double checks: Oh, the de-anon isn't until 9 PM UTC, that's why. Never mind! Sulking cancelled!
I feel Accomplished
Dec. 13th, 2025 06:07 pmI have finished the first draft of my Yuletide pinch-hit (which is, yet again, in a fandom I have never written before, or at least one I've never posted to AO3 - go me?). I'm sure the feeling will fade once the beta-readers have gone over it, and I go back to put in all the bits I thought were in there to begin with but didn't actually make it out of my brain, but for now, I'll enjoy the feeling.
Also we have our Christmas tree up and decorated. Other Christmas decorations, not so much, but then our celebration of Christmas isn't so much Actual Holiday as it is Oh Thank Fuck The Semester's Over And We Have Time Off, with a side of movies and Chinese food.
Next up: finishing my Secret Santa gift. Maybe put on some nice seasonal murder while I embroider. :-D
Also we have our Christmas tree up and decorated. Other Christmas decorations, not so much, but then our celebration of Christmas isn't so much Actual Holiday as it is Oh Thank Fuck The Semester's Over And We Have Time Off, with a side of movies and Chinese food.
Next up: finishing my Secret Santa gift. Maybe put on some nice seasonal murder while I embroider. :-D
Working on it
Nov. 9th, 2025 02:20 pmAccomplished over the last, er... :checks the last time she updated: two months!
* Made a long skirt! Discovered that I'd made the waist too loose. Still working on fixing that part.
* Helped make Renaissance-style pantalons for wife (and cut out same for myself).
* Redyed a sad brown shirt to green. ...it came out kinda olive, but still, better than the sad brown it was before. (The reason for all the sewing: we've an SCA camping event coming up in a week or two, and need enough garb for it. Whee!)
Currently 12K into my Novel November, which is a good 3K behind where I 'should' be, but oh well. I'll do the best I can, and either way, it's more than I had before. (Original fic, cosy fantasy romance, taking the prompts 'shapeshifters' and 'protector/protected' and running with them.)
* Made a long skirt! Discovered that I'd made the waist too loose. Still working on fixing that part.
* Helped make Renaissance-style pantalons for wife (and cut out same for myself).
* Redyed a sad brown shirt to green. ...it came out kinda olive, but still, better than the sad brown it was before. (The reason for all the sewing: we've an SCA camping event coming up in a week or two, and need enough garb for it. Whee!)
Currently 12K into my Novel November, which is a good 3K behind where I 'should' be, but oh well. I'll do the best I can, and either way, it's more than I had before. (Original fic, cosy fantasy romance, taking the prompts 'shapeshifters' and 'protector/protected' and running with them.)
Grr. Argh.
Sep. 23rd, 2025 06:57 pmI am not dead, but I currently hate everything. (Personal stuff, which is sufficiently embarrassing that I'm not going into detail. I am just flopped on the floor and screaming into a pillow. Metaphorically.)
I keep meaning to write up a review of the new SUPERMAN movie (which I did not hate), and K-POP DEMON HUNTERS (which I also did not hate), and perhaps plans for NaNo. But it ain't happening today. I am posting to vent, in a small way, and also I realized I hadn't posted since July, and here it is late September. So: not dead, vexed, grr.
I keep meaning to write up a review of the new SUPERMAN movie (which I did not hate), and K-POP DEMON HUNTERS (which I also did not hate), and perhaps plans for NaNo. But it ain't happening today. I am posting to vent, in a small way, and also I realized I hadn't posted since July, and here it is late September. So: not dead, vexed, grr.
In the event that any of y'all were worried.
Second of all: Wife and I went to see the live-action HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, which was fun, but did not...do anything? With live action, to differentiate itself from the cartoon? If you're gonna make a live-action remake - heck, if you're gonna do a remake at all - then there should be a reason for it that's not 'look at my shot-for-shot re-creation,' at least in my opinion. I still enjoyed the movie, not least because we went to an indy filmhouse that spent the half-hour ahead of the film doing an incomplete survey of dragons in movies and TV, rather than an assortment of advertisements, but I feel a little guilty for the enjoyment.
Third of all I ran headlong into writer's block on one of the stories I was writing. Boo, I say, and Boo again. I have vague ideas as to how to get myself unstuck, but only vague ones. Meanwhile I shall go off and world-build on my gloriously silly NaNoWriMo prompt.
(Fourth of all, does anyone know how to force wipe an old HP computer that won't give you the Settings menu? For relative amounts of old - I think it's still Windows 10. Wife says I'm safe to just give it the old heave-ho, but I don't trust there isn't financial information on it somewhere.)
Second of all: Wife and I went to see the live-action HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, which was fun, but did not...do anything? With live action, to differentiate itself from the cartoon? If you're gonna make a live-action remake - heck, if you're gonna do a remake at all - then there should be a reason for it that's not 'look at my shot-for-shot re-creation,' at least in my opinion. I still enjoyed the movie, not least because we went to an indy filmhouse that spent the half-hour ahead of the film doing an incomplete survey of dragons in movies and TV, rather than an assortment of advertisements, but I feel a little guilty for the enjoyment.
Third of all I ran headlong into writer's block on one of the stories I was writing. Boo, I say, and Boo again. I have vague ideas as to how to get myself unstuck, but only vague ones. Meanwhile I shall go off and world-build on my gloriously silly NaNoWriMo prompt.
(Fourth of all, does anyone know how to force wipe an old HP computer that won't give you the Settings menu? For relative amounts of old - I think it's still Windows 10. Wife says I'm safe to just give it the old heave-ho, but I don't trust there isn't financial information on it somewhere.)
Nothing like re-watching old favorites...
May. 25th, 2025 07:52 pm...with more modern eyes. In this case, as I am still on my Batman kick, this means the 1989 BATMAN movie, which I saw on original release in theaters (and loved).
( Do I still love it? More than I expected, to be honest. )
( Do I still love it? More than I expected, to be honest. )
Far off places, daring sword-fights...
Apr. 23rd, 2025 05:21 pm...a sad lack of vampires or ghosts, but New Orleans at least provided plenty of ambiance and beignets to make up for it.
( Things I Learned About New Orleans (besides just 'yup, as pretty as expected'): )
Did not eat my weight in beignets (although not for lack of trying), but I did discover what the heck a po'boy is (a sub where the protein, e.g. shrimp, fish, chicken, has been fried - delicious!). Don't know if I'll ever watch INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, but I'd go visit New Orleans again.
( Things I Learned About New Orleans (besides just 'yup, as pretty as expected'): )
Did not eat my weight in beignets (although not for lack of trying), but I did discover what the heck a po'boy is (a sub where the protein, e.g. shrimp, fish, chicken, has been fried - delicious!). Don't know if I'll ever watch INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, but I'd go visit New Orleans again.
* Attempted to buy a house. Did not succeed, but there was a good week or so of emotional roller coaster before that got settled. I am not on enough medication for this.
* Took a Tumblr prompt ('spin this Wheel of Tropes twice! come up with a story that combines them!') and am trying to turn it into an Actual Story. Trying to figure out how much world-building I should do before I just start writing and let it be the tropiest trope ever to trope.
* Tried to read ARKHAM KNIGHT, which I think is an adaptation of a video game? Or is the video game an adaptation of the mini-series? Either way, too much fighting and too little character interaction for my personal taste. (And what character interaction there is...well, this features a version of Jason Todd who's a criminal mastermind before Batman picks him up off the street, and who gets brainwashed by the Joker rather than straight-up murdered by him. Not my preferred flavor of Jason, not nohow.)
* Participated in Knit-a-thon, despite the fact that I do not knit - and got a good bit done on my current embroidery project, so hooray for that.
How about y'all?
* Took a Tumblr prompt ('spin this Wheel of Tropes twice! come up with a story that combines them!') and am trying to turn it into an Actual Story. Trying to figure out how much world-building I should do before I just start writing and let it be the tropiest trope ever to trope.
* Tried to read ARKHAM KNIGHT, which I think is an adaptation of a video game? Or is the video game an adaptation of the mini-series? Either way, too much fighting and too little character interaction for my personal taste. (And what character interaction there is...well, this features a version of Jason Todd who's a criminal mastermind before Batman picks him up off the street, and who gets brainwashed by the Joker rather than straight-up murdered by him. Not my preferred flavor of Jason, not nohow.)
* Participated in Knit-a-thon, despite the fact that I do not knit - and got a good bit done on my current embroidery project, so hooray for that.
How about y'all?
Um. Still not dead!
I wrote Witch Hunter Robin fic for a Yuletide pinch-hit - a somewhat angsty Amon character study, because canon is mostly from Robin's POV and doesn't bother to explain why Amon does much of anything. Also, fun re-watching something I hadn't watched in, mmm, at least fifteen years!
Speaking of things I hadn't watched/read in forever, my current shiny thing is Batman. ( Isn't it fun coming back to an old fandom? For values of 'fun' that sometimes mean 'wow, did I miss that subtext liek whoa.' Also includes minor spoilers for HUSH. )
Have picked back up with my Nibble Resolution, which is to do at least five stitches of counted cross stitch and one sentence of writing per day. It isn't a lot, but it's more than zero, which is what I was doing before. Yay me.
Now to go try to catch up with my reading page. Eeep.
I wrote Witch Hunter Robin fic for a Yuletide pinch-hit - a somewhat angsty Amon character study, because canon is mostly from Robin's POV and doesn't bother to explain why Amon does much of anything. Also, fun re-watching something I hadn't watched in, mmm, at least fifteen years!
Speaking of things I hadn't watched/read in forever, my current shiny thing is Batman. ( Isn't it fun coming back to an old fandom? For values of 'fun' that sometimes mean 'wow, did I miss that subtext liek whoa.' Also includes minor spoilers for HUSH. )
Have picked back up with my Nibble Resolution, which is to do at least five stitches of counted cross stitch and one sentence of writing per day. It isn't a lot, but it's more than zero, which is what I was doing before. Yay me.
Now to go try to catch up with my reading page. Eeep.
Three movies I've watched recently: THE MAN WHO LAUGHS, TOMB RAIDER, and the 2017 MUMMY. ...it's an interesting contrast.
THE MAN WHO LAUGHS showed with Live Music Accompaniment, which meant a band doing a sorta 80s new wave vibe? Which was interesting, but also a little disappointing - there's a few scenes where there's supposed to be live 1700s music, and they could have absolutely leaned into that, but alas, no.
( Do y'all care about spoilers for a film that came out in the 1920s? Probably not, but just in case, behind a cut it goes. )
Next up was 2018's TOMB RAIDER. Which is fun, in a 'please don't think too deeply about this' action movie of its specific sub-genre! A few shots that were absolutely straight from the games, a few puzzles ditto, a few 'whoops, you failed that combo' moments...I have not actually played the game, but it's not necessary to enjoy the film. It was blissfully undemanding.
Finally, we have 2017's THE MUMMY. This contains: several bits which were either an homage to (if you're feeling charitable) or stolen from (if you're not) the 1999 film; absolutely no care paid whatsoever to Actual Egyptian Theology (no seriously, Set is not the god of death) much less Actual Egyptian History; even less care paid to Actual Archaeological Procedure; several bits that I don't think were intended to be funny (but were!), including a heterosexual relationship that is Pastede On Yay (you have known this guy for two days non-contiguous, lady, why are you so invested, the sex can't possibly have been that good); and of course the famous attempt to launch Dark Universe (why not just reboot The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and be done with it). In conclusion, now I desperately want a good Mummy movie with a female mummy. Would settle for a good novel ditto. Suggestions welcomed.
THE MAN WHO LAUGHS showed with Live Music Accompaniment, which meant a band doing a sorta 80s new wave vibe? Which was interesting, but also a little disappointing - there's a few scenes where there's supposed to be live 1700s music, and they could have absolutely leaned into that, but alas, no.
( Do y'all care about spoilers for a film that came out in the 1920s? Probably not, but just in case, behind a cut it goes. )
Next up was 2018's TOMB RAIDER. Which is fun, in a 'please don't think too deeply about this' action movie of its specific sub-genre! A few shots that were absolutely straight from the games, a few puzzles ditto, a few 'whoops, you failed that combo' moments...I have not actually played the game, but it's not necessary to enjoy the film. It was blissfully undemanding.
Finally, we have 2017's THE MUMMY. This contains: several bits which were either an homage to (if you're feeling charitable) or stolen from (if you're not) the 1999 film; absolutely no care paid whatsoever to Actual Egyptian Theology (no seriously, Set is not the god of death) much less Actual Egyptian History; even less care paid to Actual Archaeological Procedure; several bits that I don't think were intended to be funny (but were!), including a heterosexual relationship that is Pastede On Yay (you have known this guy for two days non-contiguous, lady, why are you so invested, the sex can't possibly have been that good); and of course the famous attempt to launch Dark Universe (why not just reboot The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and be done with it). In conclusion, now I desperately want a good Mummy movie with a female mummy. Would settle for a good novel ditto. Suggestions welcomed.
The poll's run for a week now...
Sep. 29th, 2024 05:33 pmI posted it to Tumblr, Facebook, and here. And here are the results:
( On Tumblr: )
( On Facebook: )
( And on Dreamwidth, if you don't want to just go look: )
( For those who don't want to add, here are the overall results. )
I think this tie means I am obligated to provide kitten eyes. So!
(I mean, this is admittedly more kitty tummy than kitten eyes, but I had to work with what I could get.)
( On Tumblr: )
( On Facebook: )
( And on Dreamwidth, if you don't want to just go look: )
( For those who don't want to add, here are the overall results. )
I think this tie means I am obligated to provide kitten eyes. So!
(I mean, this is admittedly more kitty tummy than kitten eyes, but I had to work with what I could get.)
Poll #31918 Shenanigans
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 14
I have Finished a Thing! ...now what?
View Answers
Something small and simple. Christmas is coming, after all.
3 (21.4%)
Create your own pattern, maybe fannish!
3 (21.4%)
Get ambitious. Pick one of those big patterns you've always wanted to do.
3 (21.4%)
How about you try out one of those medieval patterns you were just looking up for SCA?
6 (42.9%)
FOR FUCK'S SAKE, YOU'VE GOT A MONSTER PROJECT, DO SOMETHING ON THAT OR IT'LL NEVER GET DONE.
8 (57.1%)
(Y'all can pick more than one. But if they all tie, I will give you the most pitiful kitten eyes ever seen. Just so y'all are forewarned.)
Since I promised:
Aug. 11th, 2024 03:29 pm
Behold, Lady Penelope. (Yes, I am aware I missed International Cat Day. But really, isn't every day on the internet Cat Day?)
As part of our continuing efforts to Explore And Make Friends, Wife and I went to an art museum the other day, which is having a special exhibition of a set of medieval tapestries. We got an SCAdian-led tour of the exhibition, which included not only historical information about the battle portrayed in the tapestries, the people involved, and how the tapestries were made, but also cheerful snark about how if you weren't a famous nobleman, your face looked like pudding; how nobody knows who this one guy is or why he's pointing at the horse next to him ("Maybe he's saying, My horse now?"); how another guy doesn't technically have America's Ass, but only because this is long before America (and whoever drew/wove that booty must've really enjoyed their work); and our tour guide's favorite bit, a fully armored knight lying flat on his back in the middle of the battlefield, all like, "Guys? A little help here? I'm kinda stuck! ...okay, fine, playing dead it is."
Whoops. Um.
Apr. 13th, 2024 02:36 pmStill not dead!
Am writing fanfic again, for the first time in ages. I'd forgotten how fun it can be.
Also got to see the eclipse! ...mostly. As is the nature of these things, we got a brief glimpse, and then the clouds rolled in. The most fascinating part, for me, wasn't the eclipse: it was the moments just before and just after, when the light shivered and rippled across the ground like water.
Am writing fanfic again, for the first time in ages. I'd forgotten how fun it can be.
Also got to see the eclipse! ...mostly. As is the nature of these things, we got a brief glimpse, and then the clouds rolled in. The most fascinating part, for me, wasn't the eclipse: it was the moments just before and just after, when the light shivered and rippled across the ground like water.
Thing I Am Watching
Feb. 18th, 2024 03:50 pmSo Wife and I went looking for a show to watch together that isn't HGTV :whistles innocently:, and found The Brokenwood Mysteries - which is available streaming, but my local library has most of it on DVD, so we've been watching that way. And. Well. You know how publicists frequently love to describe TV series as 'exactly like OTHER SERIES (but different)'? The back cover copy on BROKENWOOD is 'Midsomer Murders combined with Columbo, set in New Zealand.' The lovely part is they aren't lying.
( This got long enough to go behind a cut, sorry. )
I have a very long list of Series I'm Totally Going To Try At Some Point, or Series I'm Going To Finish I Swear (OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH being an example of the former and THE SANDMAN being an example of the latter). But sometimes, you just want a series that demands nothing from you - a series where the good end happily and the bad unhappily ("because that is what fiction means" - 10 points if you recognize the quotation). And this series fills that desire for me. 10/10, do recommend.
( This got long enough to go behind a cut, sorry. )
I have a very long list of Series I'm Totally Going To Try At Some Point, or Series I'm Going To Finish I Swear (OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH being an example of the former and THE SANDMAN being an example of the latter). But sometimes, you just want a series that demands nothing from you - a series where the good end happily and the bad unhappily ("because that is what fiction means" - 10 points if you recognize the quotation). And this series fills that desire for me. 10/10, do recommend.
One more anime sampler set!
Dec. 27th, 2023 04:03 pmAll to be found on Crunchyroll. Ready, set -
( Handyman Saitou In Another World )
( Moriarty the Patriot )
( Shadows House )
( RPG Real Estate )
( Laid Back Camp )
( Holmes of Kyoto )
( Chillin' in My 30s after Getting Fired from the Demon King's Army )
( Handyman Saitou In Another World )
( Moriarty the Patriot )
( Shadows House )
( RPG Real Estate )
( Laid Back Camp )
( Holmes of Kyoto )
( Chillin' in My 30s after Getting Fired from the Demon King's Army )
Anime Review: PRINCESS JELLYFISH
Dec. 27th, 2023 03:16 pmPRINCESS JELLYFISH, 2010 (Japan and possibly US? Wikipedia was no help), available streaming on Crunchyroll
Amount watched: 3 episodes of 11
Official description: (from Crunchyroll) Tsukimi and her wallflower friends are hopeless nerds with bizarre hobbies. Their crippling social anxieties keep them from setting foot outside the all-girl apartment complex they inhabit, but a late night jellyfish rescue mission and the arrival of a “Stylish Girl” are about to turn their lives upside down!
( Weeb rating )
( Ass rating )
( Shit rating )
( Violence rating )
( Crack rating )
( Actual opinion. )
Amount watched: 3 episodes of 11
Official description: (from Crunchyroll) Tsukimi and her wallflower friends are hopeless nerds with bizarre hobbies. Their crippling social anxieties keep them from setting foot outside the all-girl apartment complex they inhabit, but a late night jellyfish rescue mission and the arrival of a “Stylish Girl” are about to turn their lives upside down!
( Weeb rating )
( Ass rating )
( Shit rating )
( Violence rating )
( Crack rating )
( Actual opinion. )
Christmas in Anime
Dec. 10th, 2023 03:44 pmI am not claiming these are the best Christmas episodes, just to be clear. There are a lot of Christmas episodes of anime*, and I have not nearly watched all of them. Instead, call this a Christmas sampling, in order from 'do not need to have watched any of the series' to 'you will probably be lost without having watched the preceding episodes beforehand'.
( INITIAL D: THIRD STAGE - no really, I swear this is Christmas related. )
( SWORD ARTS ONLINE, ep. 3: Red Nosed Reindeer )
( CARD CAPTOR SAKURA, ep. 35: Sakura's Wonderful Christmas )
( YURI!!! ON ICE, ep. 10: Gotta Supercharge it! Pre-Grand Prix Final Special! )
( POLAR BEAR'S CAFE, ep. 37: Christmas Planning/Christmas Trouble )
*And by 'a lot', I mean 'a search on Google produced at least one master list of Christmas episodes in anime that has 300-odd series listed. And several of those have more than one Christmas episode.'
( INITIAL D: THIRD STAGE - no really, I swear this is Christmas related. )
( SWORD ARTS ONLINE, ep. 3: Red Nosed Reindeer )
( CARD CAPTOR SAKURA, ep. 35: Sakura's Wonderful Christmas )
( YURI!!! ON ICE, ep. 10: Gotta Supercharge it! Pre-Grand Prix Final Special! )
( POLAR BEAR'S CAFE, ep. 37: Christmas Planning/Christmas Trouble )
*And by 'a lot', I mean 'a search on Google produced at least one master list of Christmas episodes in anime that has 300-odd series listed. And several of those have more than one Christmas episode.'
Review: Six the Musical
Dec. 2nd, 2023 02:29 pmThe official summary (and by 'official' I mean 'from their own website'): "From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to reclaim their identities out of the shadow of their infamous spouse – remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st century girl power!"
( But what is it really? Spoilers underneath, if you care about spoilers for a show that only sorta has a plot. )
( But what is it really? Spoilers underneath, if you care about spoilers for a show that only sorta has a plot. )
