Christmas Day At The Meeting House

Dec. 26th, 2025 08:11 am
poliphilo: (Default)
[personal profile] poliphilo
 "I think that was worth doing," said Ailz as we drove away- and I agreed.

Basically we did what we normally do on a Thursday: half an hour's Meeting for Worship, followed by socialising and lunch- only with Christmas trimmings. People came and went- not all of them Quakers. And those who sat down to lunch were a miscellaneous group of people who would otherwise have been at a loose end. There was much too much food- and I'll be eating leftovers for several days- but that is also traditional. It was fun and it was tiring....
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem is spillover from the February 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from [personal profile] alchemicink, [personal profile] dialecticdreamer, [personal profile] kellan_the_tabby, and [personal profile] rix_scaedu. It also fills the "Taking It Slow" square in my 2-1-25 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with [personal profile] fuzzyred. It belongs to the Big One thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It directly follows "When You're Lost, You Question Everything,"

Read more... )

Follow Friday 12-26-25: Learning

Dec. 26th, 2025 12:17 am
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today's theme is Learning.

Read more... )

Yuletide!!

Dec. 26th, 2025 12:15 am
genarti: ([legend] sujini stamp of approval)
[personal profile] genarti
This is just a quick drive-by post to say: hello! I hope that those of you who are celebrating Christmas have had a lovely one, and that those of you who aren't have had a nice Thursday.

We're at my parents' place having a pleasantly low-key celebration (lots of joy! but also, us plus two elderly people = a lot of lying around on the couch reading, and not a lot of impetus to go all-out for the decorations and feasting), and meanwhile the weather is giving us scenic snow all around.

And also! I got an INCREDIBLY GOOD Yuletide fic!

The Villainous Princess Saves Her Kingdom is a note-perfect post-canon story for Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born. I mostly enjoyed the heck out of that kdrama, in which everyone is a dramatic lesbian who cares deeply about their all-female melodramatic theater, but the heroine makes many incredibly stupid choices and there were various things that frustrated me about the ending. This story focuses on Seo Hyerang, a secondary character who does not care at all about our beloved stupid heroine (and that's beautiful to me), and it deftly and delightfully fixes almost all of my complaints, and made me cackle several times. It's everything I hoped and dreamed for in a Jeongnyeon fic! I'm so happy!!!

I think it's readable without canon knowledge, but you'll have to do a certain amount of piecing things together as you go, and the emotions won't hit as hard. I had many emotions, though. What a treat, what a delight!

Poem: "The Heart to Change the World"

Dec. 25th, 2025 10:44 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem is spillover from the November 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from [personal profile] siliconshaman, [personal profile] fuzzyred, [personal profile] mama_kestrel , and [personal profile] see_also_friend. It also fills the "Fairies" square in my 11-1-25 card for the Fairy Tales and Fantasy Stories Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with [personal profile] fuzzyred. It belongs to the Big One thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

Read more... )
full_metal_ox: A gold Chinese Metal Ox zodiac charm. (Default)
[personal profile] full_metal_ox posting in [community profile] fancake
Fandom: Original Work, Christmas Tales & Traditions, Barbie
Pairings/Characters: OCs; a child & her faithful dolls.
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 612
Content Notes: No Content Warnings Apply
Creator Tags: Barbie Dolls, Christmas, Christmas Tree

Creator Links: (AO3) [archiveofourown.org profile] Rubynye; (Dreamwidth) [personal profile] minoanmiss; (Tumblr) [tumblr.com profile] rubynye

Theme: Amnesty, Female Relationships, Action/Adventure, Comfort Fic, Female Friendships, Folklore & Fairytales, Teams

Summary: All around her spread the magnificent brilliance of the shining tree, its decorations alight and glittering.

Author’s Notes: Merry Christmas to my dear friend Amaebi!

Reccer's Notes: A little girl’s Barbie dolls come to life to keep her company on Christmas Eve. The author maintains a keenly lived-in sense of scale; acting as a team in the fashion of the Madagascar Penguins, the dolls scale the California redwood heights and marvel in the celestial lighting of the Christmas tree (while remaining vigilant against the approach of the Parents—or, worse, the Kitty!)

A nostalgic snapshot of the fierce Velveteen Rabbit Reality of our imaginary friends.

Fanwork Links: How to View a Christmas Tree, by [archiveofourown.org profile] Rubynye for [personal profile] amaebi.
Part 18 of How To Indulge Your Writerly Soul.

(no subject)

Dec. 25th, 2025 11:34 pm
skygiants: Nice from Baccano! in post-explosion ecstasy (maybe too excited . . .?)
[personal profile] skygiants
I am not allowing myself to dive into the Yuletide archive this year until after reveals due to a bunch of other reading commitments that have to get done by early January, BUT! I obviously made an exception for my own

THREE

INCREDIBLE

GIFT

FICS:

The Knight Under the Apple Tree

“Our crop is well tended,” Celia protested, despite all evidence that it was not. “It grows copiously out yonder.”

Oliver turned his head to look out the window. “Indeed, the grass outside does grow most mightily.”

“It is a sheepcote, sir; as the name suggests, it is for the keeping of sheep. Thus grass is essential.”

“And yet I do not see the sheep.”


I asked someone to sell me on As You Like It's Celia/Oliver side ship and I have completely received my wish: this fic is SO cute and does such a lovely job filling out the relationship between these characters until it feels like something that fully exists and that I want to root for

A rainbow-stripe in another proper world

“None of it ever happened,” said Uncle Nirupam in his precise way, “and so we have no memories of it, of course. But the instincts remain. I felt the same way when I first visited this world. I thought, is this where they burn people like us?”

The first of two excellent Witch Week fix-it fics -- this one is a short little outsider-POV gem in which Janet Chant and Nan Pilgrim are married, which is not something I would have ever thought of in a million years but which delights me deeply! galaxy brain!

Remember, Remember

“To produce the required crispiness, the mandrake is dipped in wallpaper paste, dredged in sawdust, and then pan-fried until it is completely burnt on all sides,” Nan recited obligingly. “It is served with a side of slugs poached in their own slime. Their chewy texture provides a perfect complement…” Estelle was howling with laughter by this point. Nan, as always in such moments, felt as though she were being carried along by an inexorable flood of words quite independent of herself. A rhyme was pushing insistently at the inside of her head, and she let it out without the least idea where it was going to finish up:

“Crispy mandrake, extra fancy,

Bring me something

Chrestomanci!”


and THIS one is a luxurious and voice-perfect THIRTEEN THOUSAND WORDS spent with my beloved terrible children as their memories are returned by way of an encounter with the TRAGICALLY ABANDONED SENTIENT GARDEN IMPLEMENTS. ABSOLUTE GALAXY BRAIN AGAIN ... I'm so happy ...

and having been Yuletided well beyond my deserts, I now leave the archive for now but I look forward to reading everyone's recs on the other side!
full_metal_ox: A gold Chinese Metal Ox zodiac charm. (Default)
[personal profile] full_metal_ox posting in [community profile] fancake
Fandom: Chen Qing Ling; A Christmas Carol
Pairings/Characters: Meng Yao | Jin Guangyao, Jin Guangshan, Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Wen Ruohan, Background & Cameo Characters
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Length: 7,500
Content Notes: No Archive Warnings Apply, (although Jin Guangshan is his own content warning.)
Creator Tags: Minor Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Inspired by A Christmas Carol, Crack, Christmas Crack, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Jin Guangyao is gonna soften his dad's heart if it kills him, Jiang Cheng wasn't even supposed to be here today, Lan Wangji is only here for the snacks, (Wei Ying is the snack), Daddy Issues: The Play, It's WangXian but that's not the focus here

Creator Links: (AO3) [archiveofourown.org profile] Mikkeneko; (Tumblr) [tumblr.com profile] mikkeneko

Theme: Amnesty, Uncommon Settings, Crack, Crossovers/Fusions, Humor, Research, Trope Subversion & Inversion

Summary: It's Christmas Eve in the Jianghu, and Jin Guangyao is determined to show his father the meaning of charity and generosity and the brotherhood of man if it kills him.

(It will.)


Author’s Notes: You know, throughout this fandom I've seen fans extend grace towards all sorts of morally grey characters. There are Xue Yang stans, Su She truthers, Wen Ruohan fuckers and Meng Yao apologists, I've even seen Jin Zixun have something like a redemption arc! But the one thing I've never, ever seen is a redemption story for Jin Guangshan.

This fic isn't one either.

… Thanks for reading! I'm so sorry.

I referenced this copy of Charles Dickens' ACC while writing this fic. How come nobody told me Dickens was such a fuckin' comedian? The adaptations only ever quote the dramatic lines.


Reccer's Notes: This is one of the most meticulous, erudite, and considered pieces of crack I’ve ever read; the characters themselves are constantly lampshading the incompatibility of the crossover. Mikkeneko manages, somehow, to keep everyone in character while shoehorned into the Christmas Carol roles and to transpose this Christian morality play into the context of a Xianxia China unbothered by missionaries—demonstrating a thorough understanding of both the canons she’s Frankenstitched together. There’s a smidgen of Shakespeare in there too; the Christmas Carol scenario is a stage play, presented by Jin Guangyao in a Hamletesque ploy to lay a ruler’s sins bare.

Fanwork Links: https://archiveofourown.org/works/35699251
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem came out of the June 4, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from [personal profile] siliconshaman and [personal profile] wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "Family" square in my 6-1-24 card for the Pride Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with [personal profile] fuzzyred. It belongs to the Big One and Kraken threads of the Polychrome Heroics series.

Read more... )

Daily Check-In

Dec. 25th, 2025 10:08 pm
mecurtin: Icon of a globe with a check-mark (fandom_checkin)
[personal profile] mecurtin posting in [community profile] fandom_checkin
This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Thursday, December 25, to midnight on Friday, December 26 (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #34007 Daily check-in poll
This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 23

How are you doing?

I am OK
16 (69.6%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now
7 (30.4%)

I could use some help
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single
7 (30.4%)

One other person
9 (39.1%)

More than one other person
7 (30.4%)



Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.

Photography

Dec. 25th, 2025 08:36 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
16 Cats Cozying Up Next To The Fireplace

And by cozying up I mean literally getting as close to it as they can — without self-combusting.
full_metal_ox: A gold Chinese Metal Ox zodiac charm. (Default)
[personal profile] full_metal_ox posting in [community profile] fancake
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairings/Characters: F/M; Emily Prentiss/Spencer Reid, Aaron Hotchner/Jennifer "JJ" Jareau; Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Penelope Garcia, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, Henry LaMontagne, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid
Rating: Teen and Up
Length: 50,833
Content Notes: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, bittersweet ending, canon-typical violence, colorism, period-characteristic prevalence of smoking, period-characteristic attitudes toward mental illness, PTSD, war-typical gore
Creator Tags: Alternate Universe - Historical, Everybody's Looking Sharp, Get Some Benny Goodman on the Radio, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Author is a Research Nerd, And Not Ashamed of It Either, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Period-Typical Sexism, Alternate Universe - 1940s
Creator Links: (AO3) [archiveofourown.org profile] mosylu, (Dreamwidth) [personal profile] mosylu, (FF.net) [fanfiction.net profile] mosylu, (Tumblr) [tumblr.com profile] mosylufanfic

Theme: Amnesty, Mystery & Suspense, Uncommon Settings, Casefic, Characters of Color, FANCAKE IS FIFTEEN, Fandom Classics, Historical AUs, Research, Women Being Awesome

Summary: Historical AU. In 1947 New York, a motley group of strangers are about to come face-to-face with the idea that you can catch a criminal from within his own mind.

Author’s Notes: Honestly, this came about because of Garcia's hair. Yes, Garcia's hair. Follow me here. There was an episode where she was wearing it in this marvelous retro-40's do, and I started picturing how she'd look in a whole 40's ensemble. And then I started picturing the entire cast in 40's styles. (Boy howdy, would it suit Reid, and Morgan would rock a fedora like nobody's business.) Then I started thinking about how different their lives would have been sixty years ago, and then the social and cultural upheaval of an entire nation coming back from WWII, and . . . well . . . enjoy.

Historical Note: Shell shock was the World War I term, and battle fatigue the WWII term, for what we now call PTSD.


Reccer's Notes: A post-WWII noir mystery AU in which an oddly assorted bunch of cops, academics, veterans, and civilians, coordinated by their friendly neighborhood reference librarian and gossip networker, band together to solve some violent local crimes—and proceed to pioneer criminal profiling in the process.

(When this fic debuted in October 2010, the mystery of Reid’s chronic migraines was an ongoing canon subplot; this setting provides a ruthlessly plausible explanation. That’s all I’m going to say.)

Fanwork Links:
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3161369
Fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6391786/1/War-Crimes

Russian progress

Dec. 26th, 2025 12:41 am
igenlode: The pirate sloop 'Horizon' from "Treasures of the Indies" (Default)
[personal profile] igenlode
I finished working my way through the entire course of thirty 1970s Russian adult learner broadcasts: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL40OiiJw6-gdhFSbnnq4V8Lu_iBu5L7TF
It was an enjoyable exercise (less so perhaps for the last set of programmes) and I was constantly struck by the contrast between the very simple elements that were actually picked out of each lesson for the learner to memorise and repeat, and the sophistication of the stories and presentation woven around such dialogue elements. Read more... )

Out of curiosity I then did a couple of 'CEFR Level' tests online, which concurred in assessing my ability in Russian, as determined by the proportion of correct test responses, at "A1 beginner"-- the lowest possible rating on that scale. Supposedly you can reach A1 in 20–30 hours of study... I've put in hundreds, but on a purely passive level. Ironic and a bit depressing )

Read "The Fëanorian Zine"

Dec. 25th, 2025 05:58 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
[community profile] silwritersguild has posted about a free copy of "The Fëanorian Zine" which you can download as a PDF.

rolanni: (Default)
[personal profile] rolanni

The Long Back Yard this morning.  Perhaps not obvious from the picture: It was snowing at the time.

OK. Thursday. Snowed about an inch this morning, just enough to freshen yesterday's snow. Intermittently sunny -- or cloudy, if you prefer it that way -- at the moment.

Breakfast was eggs scrambled with spinach and onions and cheese, with a biscuit and strawberry jam on the side. Lunch...I may go back to my original plan of ham and yam, because I'm not sure those chicken breasts are thawed, actually.

Wrote about 930 words this morning, concluding a scene that I really like -- Yes, this is going to be a book totally comprised of Scenes I Like. Rookie and Tali kept me company in the office, while Firefly is keeping a Very Close Eye on the bedroom.

I'm getting ready to start a loaf of bread to rise, after which it's PT homework, one's duty the cats, and lunch, one way or the other.

Hope everybody's having a good day.
#
Yanno? "Wonderful Christmastime?" Paul McCartney, celebrating all the lovely, lovely things that "Only happen at this time of Year" And I am Up To Here with that.

First of all -- it's a real dud on the lyrics, but so are most Christmas songs, so I guess I can't take points off for that. But honestly? Aren't we all supposed to be together and sharing joy and magic all the time?

Why, why does it only "happen at this time of year?" Why is it not a lifestyle choice? What is it about cruelty that is so attractive that it gets 363ish days while Joy, Magic, and Fellow Feeling only get 2ish, and only if we've spent enough money?

Yes, I do feel better now. And the bread's in to rise.
#


OK...The bread is really good. I had wanted a dense, seedy loaf and this one delivers. I cut it in half -- one piece for the freezer and the other to eat now. Ahem. Over the course of the next couple days.

In between It All, I seem to have written 2,320 words today, which is ... a lot, as we count words around here. On the other hand, as Jen Sin today observed to Miri, Traders talk A Lot. The WIP entire is somewhere around 113,480 total words.

I will mention that I wrote that many words and STILL had time to fall down the rabbit hole of Mongolian Techno. Some years back now there had been a Mongolian metal rock band -- HU? HUU? -- and they were doing some interesting things, but Mongolian Techno? Who knew.

Tomorrow, I have Real Life Business I have to take care of first (Well. "First," after clearing snow, so Sarah can get in and also picking up so she can do her thing) having successfully put it off for more than a week (procrastination; it's not for sissies).

I did read some few pages of Agent of Change, and will probably read some more after the cats stop shouting at me to deliver them their Happy Hour. What's really interesting, is that I can remember which bits Steve wrote, and which bits I wrote, and which bits Steve wrote and I changed. I don't think -- but will be testing the proposition -- that I can do that with later books. But you never forget your first, amirite?

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. Watch out for windblown snow and ice on the roads.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Today's blog post title brought to you by The Hu, from their 2019 Billboard hit, "Yuve Yuve Yu"


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