adawritesfic | Network

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.

lastofhisname

Merry Christmas, all.

landofnowhere

Pride and Prejudice, play adaptation by Sherwood Smith (

sartorias) of the Jane Austen novel. Thank you

sartorias for letting us read your adaptation of P&P originally performed by high school students! It did a really good job of condensing the plot while leaving in some dialogue that adaptations often leave out, and it was funny!

Much Ado About Numbers, Rob Eastaway. I picked this up again and finished it, but found that the bits that I'd already read were the most interesting to me. I found this book to be strongest when it was explaining the technology level of Shakespeare's time, and weakest when it was going into speculative interpretations of Shakespeare. (Though some of the theories it admitted were too far out there, like the joking theory that Cassio the "great arithmetician" might have inspired the naming of the Casio calculator.)

Alice James: Her brothers, her journal, edited by Alice Robeson Burr. I recently learned about Alice James, sister of the better known late 19th century American intellectuals Willam and Henry James, and was interested enough to pick up her diary. This book also contains Alice Robeson Burr's essay on the James family, which had some interesting tidbits that led to my learning more about forgotten 19th century American women intelectuals, like Mary Moody Emerson, aunt of and inspiration to the better-known Ralph Waldo, and Sarah Alden Bradford Ripley, of which Burr writes "In those days and communities, there was always a woman who read Greek, and in Concord it was Mrs. Ripley who had this distinction."

I'm about halfway through Alice James's diary ; being a diary (and without contextual footnotes) it is slow going although it does have some good passages writing about her chronic illness and other things.

St. Helios, Alice Robeson Burr. The diary being slow going, I decided to look into what else Anna Robeson Burr had published -- she was a prolific popular novelist, and encountered this entertainingly snarky review of her novel St. Helios, which was enough to get me to pick it up. I found it to be very readable but ultimately disappointing novel. It is set in 1920 and centers on the triangle between an aristocratic British poet who is both a relic of the Victorian era and a Byronic figure, his illegimate daughter, and the American lawyer who falls in love with both (though the book is not that slashy). The daughter starts out as the most interesting of the three main characters, but halfway through she gets a change of heart and moves from manipulative schemer to damsel in distress. After reading, I found two more contemporary reviews of this book, which are just as entertaining as the NYT review.

torachan

1. I'm so glad I decided to work from home today after all. The rain was really steady all day and I'm glad I wasn't out driving in it.

2. It had rained a bit overnight and was raining slightly when I went for my walk this morning, but I managed not to get very wet at all. Then I almost immediately hopped in the car to go down to Gardena and pick up the Christmas cake. It was raining a bit on the way down and then there was a sudden downpour right before I got to the bakery, but it stopped before I arrived. Got my cake and had almost no rain on the way back, but then it really let loose as soon as I was a few blocks from home lol. I had to dash in the house, but at least then I didn't have to go out anymore.

3. There was a few hour break in the rain in the late afternoon and early evening, so we got some more walking done and were able to take the trash out to the outside bins (Thursday is our usual trash day but of course they're not going to pick up until Friday this week; still, we like to get everything out on schedule, especially since we'll be out all day tomorrow).

4. When the rain was only drizzly this afternoon, the doorbell rang and I assumed it was a package, but it was the little boy across the street who was bringing homemade gifts to all the neighbors. Not sure if everyone was getting the same, but we got some chocolate coated Chex mix. Tasty! And very nice of them.

5. I forgot to mention yesterday but we did get the car back. I really wanted to get it back before the holidays and before the rain, so it was good timing. Hopefully nothing else goes wrong with either car for a while.

6. Look at Ollie all tucked in! That's actually not a blanket covering him, or rather, it's a wearable blanket with a hood. It's been very cozy now that the temps are down, but when I'm not wearing it, I leave it folded up on my bed and the cats just love to lie on it. (Or under it, in Ollie's case last night, though that was my doing. He did stay there, though.)

sixbeforelunch

What if there’s no ethical way to have unlimited access to every book, film, and record ever created? And moreover, what if that’s not something we should want?

What if we simply decided to consume less media, allowing us to have a deeper appreciation for the art we choose to spend our time with? What if, instead of having an on-demand consumer mindset that requires us to systematically strip art of all its human context, we developed better relationships with creators and built new structures to support them? What if we developed a politics of refusal — the ability to say enough is enough — and recognized that we aren’t powerless to the whims of rich tech CEOs who force this dystopian garbage down our throats while claiming it’s “inevitable?”

Tapes and other physical media aren’t a magic miracle cure for late-stage capitalism. But they can help us slow down and remember what makes us human. Tapes make music-listening into an intentional practice that encourages us to spend time connecting with the art, instead of frantically vibe-surfing for something that suits our mood from moment-to-moment. They reject the idea that the point of discovering and listening to music is finding the optimal collection of stimuli to produce good brain chemicals.

—Why I Quit Streaming And Got Back Into Cassettes by Janus Rose

magid posting in

agonyaunt

Alison’s "best holiday date story of all time" (below), which has inspired its own fanfic!
( Read more... )

senmut

New Skills (1668 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Manuel Garcia O'Kelly Davis, Sidris (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress), Mimi, Greg, Bernardo de la Paz
Additional Tags: Pre-Canon
Summary:

Takes place just after Manny loses his arm

OMG OMG OMG, YES! This fic!

kaberett

... which meant I thought it was very funny when later said afternoon I became aware that there's ongoing scrutiny of their operations from the Business and Trade Committee (first link I could find, it's bedtime). Also very funny that the time from name change to shed legacy of being Awful to Nah You're Still Awful was approximately -5, on a more national scale than I'd previously clocked...

hamsterwoman

Yuletide has revealed! (a bit more than intended, LOL, but everything appears to be back in order now, thanks to some swift manual workarounds by the mods! ♥)

I got two wonderful fics, which both really, really surprised me. I was convinced that I was getting a Rivers of London fic, because when my gift popped up, that was the only fandom I had requested with stories, and there was a RoL fic that fit what I had requested, which had recently appeared, so of course I figured it was mine. Then a treat popped up the night before reveals, and the fandoms were unchanged, so I figured it had to be another RoL fic… except Varvara wasn’t tagged in more than one fic, so I was very puzzled. Until I remembered/realized that Lady Eve’s Last Con would not have been wrangled yet, so, OK, my treat was probably that. But it never for a second occurred to me that my main gift could ALSO be Lady Eve’s Last Con, so I was completely blindsided by it:

Forgetting is Musical (1214 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Lady Eve's Last Con - Rebecca Fraimow
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Esteben Mendez-Yuki & Sol Mendez-Yuki, Esteban Mendez-Yuki/Jules Johnson
Characters: Esteban Mendez-Yuki, Sol Mendez-Yuki, Ruthi Johnson
Summary:

Intimacy is a name given to an infinite distance.
Esteban has a few more things to learn.

It is a set of Esteban-centric vignettes, pre- and post-canon, and through this format it manages to fit pretty much ALL of my letter prompts into a single elegant package (all the more impressive because I know it was a late pinch hit). I loved getting a glimpse of the roots (heh) of Esteban’s interest in soil, the light humor, complicated family stuff, the abiding but very sibling-y love of his relationship with Sol, and a hopeful ending, the whole of it very poignant and warm.

I also absolutely loved my treat, which was indeed also Lady Eve’s Last Con, but still surprised me because it was for the crossover prompt I never expected to get, because I’ve been prompting crossovers since my very first Yuletide, in every fandom, and have never gotten any, until now! And not just a crossover between fandoms, but the specific crossover prompt that had greatly amused me when I was reflecting on the book:

Natural Habitats (2161 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Lady Eve's Last Con - Rebecca Fraimow, Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Esteban Mendez-Yuki, Mark Vorkosigan
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat
Summary:

Esteban escapes New Monte for an academic conference on Escobar, where he receives an intriguing business proposal.

This was such a fun fic! The crossover works perfectly, the universes blended seamlessly, the fun of the premise itself – but I’d posited it offhandedly, as a cracky plot idea, and my author took it deeper, into excellent character work where Mark and Esteban can relate to each other in interesting ways. And I love this Esteban’s POV, and his awkward flailing at an academic conference, and the uplifting win-win ending.

(It appears from the comments that it is entirely possible to enjoy this fic with only Vorkosigan Saga knowledge, so, y’all who are Vorkosiverse fans should go do that, and then you should read Lady Eve’s Last Con, and read the other fic too ;)

Anyway, so, both fics were a blast, in highly complementary ways. And I’m so pleased that Lady Eve fic now exists in the archive! :D

And I got a very nice comment from my recipient within an hour of the collection opening, so, Yuletide is being very good to me :D

Also, it’s nice to be able to read my gift(s) and comment immediately, instead of reading them either while falling asleep or still bleary pre-coffee, so I’m a fan of this new reveal time.

*

In non-Yuletide news – Merry Christmas to friends who celebrate! Or actually, Merry Krysa-mouse!

(Backstory is that B made a joke, pronouncing "Merry Christmas" as "Merry Krysa-mas" and then L took it a step further to "Merry Krysa-mouse" [krysa = rat, for the non-Russian-speakers]. Of course, I embraced this new holiday, and was even compelled to illustrate it. You are looking at the pinnacle of my artistic ability, y'all. Drawn from "life" -- i.e. a rubber Halloween rat (which is no more, as it melted/disintegrated several years ago -- horrifying pictures available upon request) and a box of mouse finger puppets.)

We are having a quiet day after a very active Tuesday and before B’s return tomorrow, so I’m going to enjoy the peace and quiet for a bit :)

matsushima posting in

thankfulthursday

What are you thankful for this week?
· Photos are optional but encouraged.
· Check-ins remain open until the following week's post is shared.
· Do feel free to comment on others' check-ins but don't harsh anyone else's squee.

Current Mood: festive

labingi

The 1970’s TV show Emergency! is a treasure. If you want a reminder that society can be decent and humane, (re)discover it today. Emergency! follows the adventures of two paramedics (Roy and John) and the firefighters and hospital staff they work with. It’s low on plot, high on the specifics of various rescues and medical procedures, interspersed with human interest and light comedy. Though it is sometimes pulse-pounding, things almost always turn out okay and interpersonal conflicts are almost always slight. It’s a feel-good show about competent people doing their jobs with professionalism and compassion.

Below the cut are three things I especially like about Emergency! No spoilers to speak of; there’s not much to “spoil.” ( Read more... )

kass

I got such a lovely story for Yuletide! It's extremely charming, all the voices feel spot-on, it made me laugh out loud, and it reminds me of so much of what I love about this canon in all its forms.

Wrong on the Internet (1159 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Murderbot (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Murderbot (Murderbot Diaries), Dr. Gurathin (Murderbot Diaries), Dr. Mensah (Murderbot Diaries), Dr. Ratthi (Murderbot Diaries)
Summary:

The SecUnit didn't go to its repair pod last night. Gurathin is determined to find out why.

luzula

Day 24: Alibi editing, but that's fine, since the 24th is the main Christmas celebration in Sweden. How about you?

Tally:
( Read more... )
Day 23:

luzula,

trobadora,

sylvanwitch,

sanguinity,

goddess47,

chanter1944,

cornerofmadness,

china_shop,

badly_knitted,

chestnut_pod

Day 24:

luzula,

china_shop

Bonus farm news: Put my chainsaw lesson to use by cutting down our Christmas tree. : D

ellen_fremedon

Happy Yuletide! I got an excellent Impromptu fic from my Mystery Writer!

la femme comme il (en) faut (3283 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Impromptu (1991), 19th Century CE RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: George Sand (1804-1876), Franz Liszt, Eugène Delacroix, Duchess Claudette d’Antan, Pauline Viardot, Gustav Courbet
Additional Tags: french romantic era, Misses Clause Challenge
Summary:

“That Duchess, what’s her name, is at your door,” remarked Liszt, looking down into the street. It was a nasty, windy November afternoon, with rubbish scudding down the avenues and rain threatening in the east, terrible for making calls. “The one with a thing for artists.”

“Oh, balls,” George said, and threw down her hookah pipe.

A story about hanging out with artists, highly recommended for anyone who likes hanging out with artists. Thank you so much, mystery writer!

And I wrote one story this year. I will make my usual offer of a drabble to anyone who guesses it before reveals, but this is basically me offering a drabble to everyone, because boy howdy is it obvious which story is mine.

raine

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

conuly posting in

agonyaunt

Dear Carolyn: I’m a year out from chemo and still officially cancer-free. Also, my hair is back to normal — yay. To celebrate, I had it dyed a beautiful violet shade, my favorite color.

Now my dad is giving me so much grief about it. He keeps asking why I need everyone to notice me and ask about my cancer. I don’t care if anyone notices my hair; I did it for me. The color makes me smile every time I look in the mirror. And if anyone does mention the color, I tell them I did it because I like the color purple. I never mention cancer at all. Why would I want to talk about that? I feel good, I can run and hike again, and I want to focus on things like that.

My dad refuses to accept my explanation, because he believes everyone who does anything he considers to be out of the ordinary does it “to get attention” or to “freak people out.” I can’t seem to convince him how stupid that is, that people do things because they want to and it makes them happy.

Can you think of a way to get through to him? I’m really tired of having to listen to him criticize my hair every time he sees me.

— Celebrating

( Read more... )

ride_4ever

'Tis the season for the due South Christmas song!

Short version from the TV episode:

Watch on YouTube

Extended version:

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: festive
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

tozka

Taking advantage of the fact that I have a hacked 3DS to try out Pokemon fan games! There's a thriving Pokemon romhacking community where they take base Gameboy/Gameboy Advanced games and edit them, sometimes making entirely new storylines and regions.

This one is a blend of Pokémon, Etrian Odyssey and Made in Abyss. The base game is FireRed, which I've never played.

Pokemon Odyssey cover art, which features a dark-skinned woman with deer antlers.

Pokemon Odyssey cover art, which features a dark-skinned woman with deer antlers.

Here's the description:

On an island in the middle of the sea stands a massive maze known as the "Yggdrasil Labyrinth", which has been attracting adventurers from all over the world for years.
No one knows how deep it goes, or if there's anything at its end.

Some say there's a treasure of immeasurable value hidden within, while others claim the remnants of a lost civilization lie there.

In the game you'll play as Nyx, a young adventurer who joins the guild of Talrega with the goal of unraveling the Labyrinth's mysteries.

But something goes terribly wrong…

The gameplay is heavy on Pokemon with the world setting and some mechanics (like Etrian's F.O.E. bosses) from the other games. So you collect and battle Pokemon as usual, but the storyline is focused on exploring the labyrinth (and the ocean, which has mysterious islands to find) and doing sidequests. There's no Team Rocket or evil organization to defeat, nor gym leaders or champions. Likewise, there's no map to fill out like in Etrian games.

I'm about 4 hours into it and just about ready to progress to the second Labyrinth level! I'm really enjoying it so far. They've done an amazing job making "Etrian variant" Pokemon (which you can see here) and the game design is really fun.

The only thing I'm a little iffy on is they give you a "team" of two other characters, and then they don't do anything. They don't help with battles, or even explore the labyrinth with you! I'm guessing they're re-skinned rival characters from the base game (I didn't look it up) which makes more sense for how they act in THIS game.

Anyway, a bonus for me: the thing I'm using to play GBA roms on my 3DS apparently sucks up WAY less battery than the regular 3DS software. It's not an emulator, it's using hte 3DS hardware/software to run the ROM directly. Sooooo I'm currently able to play like 6 hours straight without having to charge! Maybe longer-- I'll have to keep testing and see.

(I actually replaced my 3DS battery a couple months ago but it keeps blinking low-battery red after like 4 hours, and idk if it's actually low or if the gage is just borked because of the new battery-- apparently it's a common issue. Anyway...)

If you're interested, I've put some of the more interesting Pokemon romhacks I've found so far in my Link Library here. I'm really interested in ones that use the Pokemon games as a base and create totally new storylines or settings-- if you know of any good ones that I haven't added to my list yet, let me know!

loganberrybunny

Public

327/365: Confused car?
Click for a larger, sharper image
As usual, I'll be completely offline on Christmas Day, so first of all I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope for all of you it's as good as it can be. :)

As I won't be here tomorrow, the 365 photo I take will be uploaded on Boxing Day, along with the one I take that day. This amused me in a small car park today: it's clearly a Mercedes, but apparently it thinks it's a Jaguar. :P

Current Mood: amused

ysobel posting in

agonyaunt

Dear Miss Manners: I have long been troubled by the carol “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” specifically the intimation that if we don’t give the uninvited guests their figgy pudding, they “won’t go.”

How are we to address this request? I don’t want to be ungrateful for their wishes, but think that their insistence is a bit beyond what is considered polite and reasonable. Can you advise how to proceed?

What was that? Miss Manners couldn’t quite hear you over the ruckus made by the geese a-laying, the calling birds, the French hens and the turtledoves. The partridge, fortunately, appears to have passed out under the pear tree.

Current Mood: amused

Page Summary

ashkitty - 12 Days (til) Christmas Day 12
lastofhisname - (no subject)
landofnowhere - wednesday christmas eve books
torachan - Daily Happiness
sixbeforelunch - shared without comment
magid in agonyaunt - Happy holiday party?
senmut - Yuletide: My Present!
kaberett - today EVRi actually managed to deliver a parcel, not only on time but early
hamsterwoman - Yuletide! :DD
matsushima in thankfulthursday - grazie (25 December 2025)
labingi - I Love a Good Emergency!
kass - Yuletide insta-rec!
luzula - Write every day: Day 24
ellen_fremedon - Yuletide 2025 gift
raine - Highlander Holiday Shortcuts - the fic that I received
conuly in agonyaunt - (no subject)
ride_4ever - Fannish Fifty Challenge 2025: Post # 46: due South Christmas Song
tozka - playing: pokemon odyssey
loganberrybunny - Merry Christmas, everyone!
ysobel in agonyaunt - Literal Christmas

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