Make my wish come true - due South drabble, Food Bank Thank-You
Dec. 10th, 2025 09:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
petraride_4ever just let me know about a donation, so I wrote:Make my wish come true (100 words) by Petra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: due South
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Characters: Benton Fraser, Ray Kowalski
Additional Tags: Drabble, Christmas Fluff
Summary:
Ray observes a holiday tradition.
*
If you donate 25 USD in cash or in kind to a food bank or food pantry, tell me about it and I'll write for you!
Cards will not arrive in time for the holidays
Dec. 10th, 2025 09:23 pmpetraHappy "It's December Tenth" to all who observe it.
I have not written my Dark Outside pieces yet, far less addressed and sent the mail, so I will send cards When I Get To It.
I am still going to write for people; it'll just be in your email inbox come Solstice, not your physical mailbox come whenever. People who just wanted cards will get cards at some date TBD.
I have not written my Dark Outside pieces yet, far less addressed and sent the mail, so I will send cards When I Get To It.
I am still going to write for people; it'll just be in your email inbox come Solstice, not your physical mailbox come whenever. People who just wanted cards will get cards at some date TBD.
Rec-cember Day 10: Murderbot
Dec. 10th, 2025 11:33 pmfalenaWikipedia has a pretty goog summary, for those who are not familiar with the books:
The Murderbot Diaries is a science fiction series by Martha. The series is told from the perspective of the titular cyborg guard, a "SecUnit" owned by a futuristic megacorporation. SecUnits include "governor" modules that control and punish the constructs if they take any actions not approved by the company. The ironically self-named "Murderbot" hacked and disabled the module but pretends to be a normal SecUnit, staving off the boredom of security work by watching media. As it spends more time with humans, it develops genuine friendships and emotional connections, which it finds inconvenient.
It's got humour, emotional depth, action; it's the perfect comfort read, because Murderbot grappling with what it means to have free will and catching human cooties feeling is weirdly heartwarming. Murderbot is the best protag, I swear. I can't believe I saw this series mentioned around for years and never checked it out because I thought it was going to be gruesome, since its titular character is called Murderbot, ha. It's now also a tv series,starring Brad 'the Iceman' Colbert Alexander Skarsgård. The tv series is fun, a good adaptation, really, but the books are far superior, imo.
All these stories probably contain spoilers, so do not read them if you haven't read the books (you won't be safe if you've just watched the show, I supspect).
In Control. 8K words. Four times having a governor module fucking sucked, plus one time [REDACTED: FILE MISSING]. (Or: Murderbot has Emotions for 8,000 words. ART tries to help. So does Dr. Mensah, but like, in a decidedly less assholish way.)
Re-Initialization. 38K words. When the infamous rogue SecUnit of the Preservation Alliance gets captured, the corporate techs assigned to it expected to be able to get some juicy data, or at least some insights into its cracked governor module. They didn't expect something so… basic.
Changelong. 377 words. helpme.file: Changelog Various additions made by the units who pass along Murderbot’s governor module hack. Tremendously fun!
The Pitt
I adore how most of fandom has decided that Frank is a good guy, despite his many flaws, that he has fallen head over heels in love with Mel and that he'd do anything to be with her. Sometimes I like a darker interpretation of canon, though. In this vein, let me offer you my kingdon for a horse 14K. Langdon drives Mel home after the longest first day in the world. This is an amazing fic, so perfectly in character, hot and it packs such an emotional punch. The ending is absolutely brutal. It needs many more hits, kudos and comments.
Default deadline passed (and deadline change reminder)
Dec. 10th, 2025 03:10 pmyuletidemods in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
yuletide_adminThe default deadline has passed! Defaults after this date will require a New Year’s Resolution fic before you can sign up again. See more info about defaulting at our FAQ.
Original assignments and pinch hits #1-96 are due in a little over 6 days, at:
9pm UTC, 17 December
See when that is in YOUR timezone
See countdown
This is an international exchange, and deadlines are given in UTC/GMT. This deadline is also at a DIFFERENT TIME OF DAY to deadlines we've used in recent years. Please click the links and check when the deadline is for you. We appreciate it!
Good luck to all writing, and especial thanks to everyone tackling pinch hits! Check outyuletide_pinch_hits for requests currently in need of writers.
Schedule, Rules, & Collection | Contact Mods | Participant DW | Participant LJ | Pinch Hits on DW | Discord | Tag set | Tag set app
Please either comment logged-in or sign a name. Unsigned anonymous comments will be left screened.
Original assignments and pinch hits #1-96 are due in a little over 6 days, at:
See when that is in YOUR timezone
See countdown
This is an international exchange, and deadlines are given in UTC/GMT. This deadline is also at a DIFFERENT TIME OF DAY to deadlines we've used in recent years. Please click the links and check when the deadline is for you. We appreciate it!
Good luck to all writing, and especial thanks to everyone tackling pinch hits! Check out
yuletide_pinch_hits for requests currently in need of writers.Please either comment logged-in or sign a name. Unsigned anonymous comments will be left screened.
Silksong: the "epilogue"
Dec. 10th, 2025 08:57 pmschneefinkI played very little Silksong in the past 1-2 weeks and did pretty much everything I wanted to in my first playthrough (before the DLCs come out) so now is a good time to post the "epilogue" notes.
( Things I did after the true ending )
( Some more thoughts )
( LPs I watched )
I already know what I want to play next: Hades 2, of course. (But probably not this year, I have a huge backlog of books etc.)
( Things I did after the true ending )
( Some more thoughts )
( LPs I watched )
I already know what I want to play next: Hades 2, of course. (But probably not this year, I have a huge backlog of books etc.)
(no subject)
Dec. 10th, 2025 02:47 pmaurumcalendulaBallad of Sword and Wine, vol. 6 by Tang Jiu Qing (translated by XiA, Jia, and amixy):
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Slippery Creatures, by K.J. Charles
Dec. 10th, 2025 09:45 amrunpunkrunWill Darling's inherited his uncle's used bookshop and also a secret that everyone in London is trying to beat out of him. After Lord Arthur "Kim" Secretan—handsome, charming, rich—rescues him from one of these numerous thugs, Will accepts his help in searching the bookshop for whatever it was his uncle was hiding. Sex, intrigue, and hats (it's the 1920s) ensue.
I don't know, gang, I just didn't vibe with these two, and the many sex scenes kind of demand that you do. I would have preferred a higher story to horny ratio; as it is, it's pretty much 1:1. But, personal tastes aside, it's not a bad book, and other readers have found it delightful, so don't let me scare you off.
Contains: explicit m/m sex, including some terms so deeply unsexy I can only assume they're historically accurate; violence; references to WWI, trench warfare, infectious disease, and biological weapons.
I don't know, gang, I just didn't vibe with these two, and the many sex scenes kind of demand that you do. I would have preferred a higher story to horny ratio; as it is, it's pretty much 1:1. But, personal tastes aside, it's not a bad book, and other readers have found it delightful, so don't let me scare you off.
Contains: explicit m/m sex, including some terms so deeply unsexy I can only assume they're historically accurate; violence; references to WWI, trench warfare, infectious disease, and biological weapons.
Wednesday Reading Meme
Dec. 10th, 2025 08:13 amosprey_archerWhat I’ve Just Finished Reading
Ngaio Marsh’s Tied Up in Tinsel, which is actually a reread, which I realized fairly early on when the foppish country house owner explains that he’s staffed the place with murderers who have served their time. Just oncers, no more dangerous than the average man on the street, and anyway how else is he supposed to staff a country house given the servant problem in 1970s Britain? But I kept going, because Ngaio Marsh is always a good time, and also this book prominently features Troy who just happens to be at the country house to paint said foppish owner when the murder occurs… A Troy book is always especially a good time.
Maud Hart Lovelace’s The Trees Kneel at Christmas is set in Park Slope, where one of my friends lives, so every few pages I was shrieking “I know that place! I’ve crossed that street!” So naturally I loved the book, haha. Our heroine Afifi hears a story from her grandmother about how the trees kneel at Christmas back home in Lebanon, and becomes determined to walk to Prospect Park at midnight on Christmas Eve to see if the trees kneel in America, too.
I checked out Ruth Crawford Seeger’s 1953 American Folksongs for Christmas purely because it was illustrated by Barbara Cooney, but found it unexpectedly fascinating. Seeger (stepmother of Pete Seeger) was, among other things, a collector of folk music, and this book is full of songs I’ve never even heard of, from the tradition of all-night Christmas Eve church singalongs, often in the South, where people would gather and sing till dawn.
What I’m Reading Now
I’ve started Tasha Tudor’s Take Joy, which is a compilation of Christmas stories/poems/carols etc illustrated by Tudor. The second story is Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of the world’s saddest pine tree. In the woods, the pine is too entirely focused on growing bigger (big enough to be a Christmas tree!) to ever feel happy. Then it’s cut down to be a Christmas tree, and it’s taken to a house and covered with ornaments and candles, and it’s all very strange and confusing, but the pine tree thinks that it will be able to enjoy these celebrations once it gets used to them… except of course its life as a Christmas tree lasts for just one night, and then it’s tossed in the attic and dried out for firewood.
What I Plan to Read Next
As I feared, I’m already running low on Christmas chapter books. However, Christie has a Poirot Christmas book and a Miss Marple that’s set at Christmas (although not perhaps a Christmas Book), and I have been meaning to to a Miss Marple, so…
If you have any other classic mystery Christmas recs, let me know!
Ngaio Marsh’s Tied Up in Tinsel, which is actually a reread, which I realized fairly early on when the foppish country house owner explains that he’s staffed the place with murderers who have served their time. Just oncers, no more dangerous than the average man on the street, and anyway how else is he supposed to staff a country house given the servant problem in 1970s Britain? But I kept going, because Ngaio Marsh is always a good time, and also this book prominently features Troy who just happens to be at the country house to paint said foppish owner when the murder occurs… A Troy book is always especially a good time.
Maud Hart Lovelace’s The Trees Kneel at Christmas is set in Park Slope, where one of my friends lives, so every few pages I was shrieking “I know that place! I’ve crossed that street!” So naturally I loved the book, haha. Our heroine Afifi hears a story from her grandmother about how the trees kneel at Christmas back home in Lebanon, and becomes determined to walk to Prospect Park at midnight on Christmas Eve to see if the trees kneel in America, too.
I checked out Ruth Crawford Seeger’s 1953 American Folksongs for Christmas purely because it was illustrated by Barbara Cooney, but found it unexpectedly fascinating. Seeger (stepmother of Pete Seeger) was, among other things, a collector of folk music, and this book is full of songs I’ve never even heard of, from the tradition of all-night Christmas Eve church singalongs, often in the South, where people would gather and sing till dawn.
What I’m Reading Now
I’ve started Tasha Tudor’s Take Joy, which is a compilation of Christmas stories/poems/carols etc illustrated by Tudor. The second story is Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of the world’s saddest pine tree. In the woods, the pine is too entirely focused on growing bigger (big enough to be a Christmas tree!) to ever feel happy. Then it’s cut down to be a Christmas tree, and it’s taken to a house and covered with ornaments and candles, and it’s all very strange and confusing, but the pine tree thinks that it will be able to enjoy these celebrations once it gets used to them… except of course its life as a Christmas tree lasts for just one night, and then it’s tossed in the attic and dried out for firewood.
What I Plan to Read Next
As I feared, I’m already running low on Christmas chapter books. However, Christie has a Poirot Christmas book and a Miss Marple that’s set at Christmas (although not perhaps a Christmas Book), and I have been meaning to to a Miss Marple, so…
If you have any other classic mystery Christmas recs, let me know!
NATM: if this was a cowboy movie (i'd give you my boots) by Liviapenn
Dec. 10th, 2025 06:48 pm22degreehalo in fancakeFandom: Night at the Museum
Pairings/Characters: Jedediah/Octavius
Rating: T
Length: 10,180
Creator Links:![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
liviapenn
Theme: Amnesty, Cultural Differences, Enemies to Friends (to Lovers), Enemies Working Together, Missing Scenes
Summary: There are secret articles in our treaties with the gods, of more importance than all the rest, which the historian can never know. -- Henry David Thoreau
This hour I tell things in confidence,
I might not tell everybody, but I will tell you.
-- Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"
Reccer's Notes: This is so much fun, charting the growth in these boys' friendship starting from their trek through the snow in the movie to their awkward, gradual romantic advances post-canon ❤️
Fanwork Links: if this was a cowboy movie (i'd give you my boots)
Pairings/Characters: Jedediah/Octavius
Rating: T
Length: 10,180
Creator Links:
Theme: Amnesty, Cultural Differences, Enemies to Friends (to Lovers), Enemies Working Together, Missing Scenes
Summary: There are secret articles in our treaties with the gods, of more importance than all the rest, which the historian can never know. -- Henry David Thoreau
This hour I tell things in confidence,
I might not tell everybody, but I will tell you.
-- Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"
Reccer's Notes: This is so much fun, charting the growth in these boys' friendship starting from their trek through the snow in the movie to their awkward, gradual romantic advances post-canon ❤️
Fanwork Links: if this was a cowboy movie (i'd give you my boots)
2025 Away from Keyboard post
Dec. 10th, 2025 09:27 pmmorbane in yuletideYuletide is coming! If everything goes well, we will reveal works in the main collection at 9pm UTC on 24 December, two weeks from now. Madness works are revealed a day later.
(Default deadline is 9pm UTC on the 10th; posting deadline is 9pm UTC on the 17th.)
In Yuletide, it's important to leave a comment on your gift (or gifts) to thank your author.
If you think you'll be delayed in commenting until late in the anonymous period (ending 1 January) or maybe not even until well into the new year, you can use this post to OPTIONALLY let your author(s) know about that delay ahead of time. You don't need to give a reason, but an approximate time indication may be helpful. Please include your AO3 name.
Thanks everyone! Good luck with writing, and please consider the beta post oryuletide_pinch_hits if you have capacity for beta jobs or pinch hits!
(Default deadline is 9pm UTC on the 10th; posting deadline is 9pm UTC on the 17th.)
In Yuletide, it's important to leave a comment on your gift (or gifts) to thank your author.
If you think you'll be delayed in commenting until late in the anonymous period (ending 1 January) or maybe not even until well into the new year, you can use this post to OPTIONALLY let your author(s) know about that delay ahead of time. You don't need to give a reason, but an approximate time indication may be helpful. Please include your AO3 name.
Thanks everyone! Good luck with writing, and please consider the beta post or
yuletide_pinch_hits if you have capacity for beta jobs or pinch hits!BG3: Glad Tidings by partingxshot
Dec. 10th, 2025 12:41 pm22degreehalo in fancakeFandom: Baldur's Gate 3
Pairings/Characters: Wyll/Astarion
Rating: T
Length: 25,638
Creator Links:partingxshot
Theme: Amnesty, Black Characters, Characters of Colour, Character Development, Established Relationship, Family, Just Plain Fun, Marriage, Outsider POV, Politics, Post-Canon, Unconventional Format & Style, Working Together
Summary: You are ULDER RAVENGARD.
Your son is completely besotted with his fiancé, but you can’t figure out the appeal. He’s spoiled, and petty, and seems chiefly concerned with draining the Ravengard coffers. You are, frankly, at your wits’ fucking end.
Surely the only solution is to declare an INSANE SECRET WAR on him before he can ruin the MIDWINTER'S EVE BALL. This cannot possibly backfire.
[A choose-your-own-adventure Astarion son-in-law simulator. Happy Holidays! Or possibly the opposite of that.]
Reccer's Notes: This is just so much fun 😄 The notion of how Astarion would fit in at Wyll's childhood home is a common topic for Wyllstarions, and this is such a fun take on it!! It's remarkably coherent no matter which paths you take, and there are so many fun running jokes or weird endings to find! (And also, if you enjoy the writing style... Might I have a particular webcomic called Homestuck to recommend? Because it was very clearly an inspiration :D)
Fanwork Links: Glad Tidings
I need a Baldur's Gate fandom tag please, mods!!
Pairings/Characters: Wyll/Astarion
Rating: T
Length: 25,638
Creator Links:
Theme: Amnesty, Black Characters, Characters of Colour, Character Development, Established Relationship, Family, Just Plain Fun, Marriage, Outsider POV, Politics, Post-Canon, Unconventional Format & Style, Working Together
Summary: You are ULDER RAVENGARD.
Your son is completely besotted with his fiancé, but you can’t figure out the appeal. He’s spoiled, and petty, and seems chiefly concerned with draining the Ravengard coffers. You are, frankly, at your wits’ fucking end.
Surely the only solution is to declare an INSANE SECRET WAR on him before he can ruin the MIDWINTER'S EVE BALL. This cannot possibly backfire.
[A choose-your-own-adventure Astarion son-in-law simulator. Happy Holidays! Or possibly the opposite of that.]
Reccer's Notes: This is just so much fun 😄 The notion of how Astarion would fit in at Wyll's childhood home is a common topic for Wyllstarions, and this is such a fun take on it!! It's remarkably coherent no matter which paths you take, and there are so many fun running jokes or weird endings to find! (And also, if you enjoy the writing style... Might I have a particular webcomic called Homestuck to recommend? Because it was very clearly an inspiration :D)
Fanwork Links: Glad Tidings
I need a Baldur's Gate fandom tag please, mods!!
Blackadder: General Relativity by Nomad
Dec. 10th, 2025 12:14 pm22degreehalo in fancakeFandom: Blackadder Goes Forth
Pairings/Characters: Blackadder/Darling
Rating: T
Length: 20,605
Creator Links:nomadicwriter
Theme: Amnesty, Casefic, Cuddling Snuggling & Bed-Sharing, Enemies to Lovers, Enemies Working Together, Forced Proximity, Historical Settings, Just Plain Fun, Old Fandoms, Rare Pairings, Pretend Couple, Small Fandoms, Time Travel, Uncommon Settings, Undercover as a Couple
Summary: Darling's remarkable resemblance to French traitor the Duc de Darling - no relation - sees him unwillingly sent to infiltrate a German-occupied château. Blackadder accompanies him even less willingly, especially when he learns exactly what it is they're looking for.
(Baldrick is also there, but no one bothered to find out if it was willingly or otherwise.)
Reccer's Notes: This is just so fucking good. It has been an age since I last watched Blackadder but this fic brought me all the way back immediately: the character voices are just chef's kiss! It really feels like it could've been a special episode, except with added totally in-character shippiness! 10/10, perfect characterisation, perfect dynamics, perfect silliness, no notes ❤️
Fanwork Links: General Relativity
Pairings/Characters: Blackadder/Darling
Rating: T
Length: 20,605
Creator Links:
Theme: Amnesty, Casefic, Cuddling Snuggling & Bed-Sharing, Enemies to Lovers, Enemies Working Together, Forced Proximity, Historical Settings, Just Plain Fun, Old Fandoms, Rare Pairings, Pretend Couple, Small Fandoms, Time Travel, Uncommon Settings, Undercover as a Couple
Summary: Darling's remarkable resemblance to French traitor the Duc de Darling - no relation - sees him unwillingly sent to infiltrate a German-occupied château. Blackadder accompanies him even less willingly, especially when he learns exactly what it is they're looking for.
(Baldrick is also there, but no one bothered to find out if it was willingly or otherwise.)
Reccer's Notes: This is just so fucking good. It has been an age since I last watched Blackadder but this fic brought me all the way back immediately: the character voices are just chef's kiss! It really feels like it could've been a special episode, except with added totally in-character shippiness! 10/10, perfect characterisation, perfect dynamics, perfect silliness, no notes ❤️
Fanwork Links: General Relativity
The sea sighed, and kept its secrets
Dec. 9th, 2025 07:49 pmdolorosa_12Today's December talking meme prompt is from yarnofariadne, and it's a great one: favourite folktale or fairytale, and why.
I like folktales about crossing places, and moving between one state and another, and above all women transformed, and I feel a very intense set of feelings about the sea, so it probably surprises no one that my absolute favourite folktale of all is the story of the Selkie Bride, in all its variants.
It's a hard story, and a cruel story: at its heart it has such a monstrous violation — the selkie woman, trapped on land, in human form, and in marriage by a man who steals and hides her sealskin — and the resolution is cruel, too, since although the woman regains her freedom and her shapeshifting ability, she has to part with her land-born children as a consequence. (The touch in many variants of the story — that the woman's youngest child is the one to discover the hidden sealskin and innocently gives its existence and location away to the trapped mother — is just the final, brutal twist of the knife.)
(It feels gauche to link to my own fic here, but I've tried so many times to write stories that grasp at what it feels like for those children in the aftermath, standing on the shore, and my AO3 account has many variations on this theme, plus stories for other fandoms that are essentially 'woman has emotions triggered by, about, and near body of water.' It's my very, very favourite thing to write.)
What I love about this folktale in particular is how it's all about the relationship between people who live at the water's edge, and the sea that lives beside them, and about the way those watery tideline places have a sense of liminality and blurred boundaries, and that the beings of the sea, and the humans on land can sometimes cross over, in both directions. The sea sustains those coastal communities, but it can also be violent, unpredictable, and dangerous. It gives and takes, but remains fundamentally unknowable.
yarnofariadne, and it's a great one: favourite folktale or fairytale, and why.I like folktales about crossing places, and moving between one state and another, and above all women transformed, and I feel a very intense set of feelings about the sea, so it probably surprises no one that my absolute favourite folktale of all is the story of the Selkie Bride, in all its variants.
It's a hard story, and a cruel story: at its heart it has such a monstrous violation — the selkie woman, trapped on land, in human form, and in marriage by a man who steals and hides her sealskin — and the resolution is cruel, too, since although the woman regains her freedom and her shapeshifting ability, she has to part with her land-born children as a consequence. (The touch in many variants of the story — that the woman's youngest child is the one to discover the hidden sealskin and innocently gives its existence and location away to the trapped mother — is just the final, brutal twist of the knife.)
(It feels gauche to link to my own fic here, but I've tried so many times to write stories that grasp at what it feels like for those children in the aftermath, standing on the shore, and my AO3 account has many variations on this theme, plus stories for other fandoms that are essentially 'woman has emotions triggered by, about, and near body of water.' It's my very, very favourite thing to write.)
What I love about this folktale in particular is how it's all about the relationship between people who live at the water's edge, and the sea that lives beside them, and about the way those watery tideline places have a sense of liminality and blurred boundaries, and that the beings of the sea, and the humans on land can sometimes cross over, in both directions. The sea sustains those coastal communities, but it can also be violent, unpredictable, and dangerous. It gives and takes, but remains fundamentally unknowable.
Rec-cember Day 9: Supernatural RPF
Dec. 9th, 2025 05:47 pmfalenaI've never been a huge fan of Supernatural the show, I watched the first four seasons with my husband but that was his pick. I also don't like RPF as a general rule. The less I know about the lives of the actors whose work I like, the better, as far as I'm concerned. No shade to those who enjoy RPF, it's a me thing. However, I love RPF AUS. They're basically original fiction with faces I can easily picture in my mind, you know? And a lot more tropetastic than most published romance.
That's why, over the years, I've enjoyed a few selected stories from the Supernatural RPF fandom, mostly J2 (Jensen/Jared for the uninitiated) but not only.
A Kept Boy by poisontaster. 200K words. This is a massive, massive novel; it doesn't get more AU than this. It's set in an alternate version of present day America where slavery is a thing. It's Jensen/ Jeffery Dean Morgan but the full list of characters is as long as my arm. I don't even know all of the actors, and frankly I don't care. I took them as OCs. It contains very disturbing themes, of course, consent is problematic to say the least, but the world-building and the character arcs are carefully thought out and it never delves into pain porn, imo. I must say that it contains the best depiction of therapy in fiction I've ever come across. Seriously, Jensen's therapy sessions and his emotional growth are the highlight of the story for me. Thankfully, it exists also in podfic form, by superstitiousme.
If AKB is too dark for you, let's go to the other end of the spectrum: Starstruck, by pandarus. This is a J2 movie based on Notting Hill. It's hilarious and definitely lighter but it still hits all the emotional beats to be a super-satisfying rom-com. Better than the original, imo. The excellent pandarus, who by now you should all know is an amazing performer too, recorded the podfic of her own story and it's as brilliant as you might expect it to be.
Do I Seem Bulletproof to You? by fleshflutter. 96K words. This is a classic in the J2 pairing and a great example of hooker!fic, a time-honoured trope. The author left fandom and the fic is a bit hard to find, but I linked to a place where you can download it in different formats. I've only ever listened to the wonderful podfic by cath, unsurprisingly.
Screw You, We're From Texas by makeit_takeit. 75K. This is the only story among these recs where the R in the acronym RPF plays a substantial role. Basically it's an AU of Jared and Jensen's lives if they'd never made it as actors but stayed in Texas and had 'normal' lives. To me, the great sense of place is one of the strengths of the fic. The scope of the fic and sheer amount of growth the two characters experience are astounding.
The Pitt
I'm not a big fan of AUs for this fandom because the medical setting is integral to my enjoyment of the show, but when the authors are talented and get the characters, I'll read anything...so after the best sports AU, let me give you a historical one. tightly knotted to a similar string by lirazel. 12k words. Mel/Frank. Victorian governess AU, as in Mel is Frank's children governess in England. I was sceptical going in...but lirazel totally won me over. This was lovely.
The Man Who Invented Christmas
Dec. 9th, 2025 09:01 amosprey_archerNaturally I’ve decided that this is the year to rewatch some best-beloved Christmas movies, so I kicked off the season with The Man Who Invented Christmas, starring Dan Stevens as a charming but moody Charles Dickens as he scrambles to write A Christmas Carol in time for the Christmas rush in order to save his tottering finances.
This is such a fun movie. I always love a period piece, and I love Dan Stevens, and I love movies about creating art of any kind (if it’s well done, which it isn’t always…), and this one has such a good balance of seriousness and humor.
On the serious side, we have the demons of Dickens’ childhood coming back to haunt him, especially in his difficult relationship with his father, to whom he is far too similar for comfort. He inherited his father’s charm, his taste for the high life, his gift for performance - and he’s afraid he’ll follow his father’s example by running his family into debtor’s prison with his extravagant spending. A new house! All remodeled! A crystal chandelier and a mantelpiece of Carrera marble!
Unlike his perpetually sunny father, Dickens also has darker moods, where the charm gives way to abrupt outbursts of rage. He stalks around his study in the middle of the night making a racket when composition isn’t going well, apparently unaware that he’s keeping the whole house up. He snaps at his wife, sends away a long-time friend, fires a servant girl - then in the morning demands to know why the servant girl is gone. “You have no idea,” Mrs. Dickens tells him, on the verge of tears but displaying all the self-control Charles lacks, “how hard it is to live with you.”
(I’m happy to report the servant girl shows up again, and is of course rehired. I sort of suspect that the housekeeper keeps these impetuously fired servants in an out of the way corner for a day or two just in case Dickens didn’t really mean it.)
But this is not a grim study of a historical figure’s dark side. There are so many wonderful funny bits, too. In his good moods, Dickens is incredibly charming and funny - you can see why all these people put up with his darker side, just because the lighter side is such a delight.
I love Trollope as the guy in the club who always comes over to commiserate (gloat) when someone receives a bad review. Those cruel reviewers, claiming that Martin Chuzzlewit was “dull, vapid, and vulgar” (which Trollope quotes from memory). “I didn’t think it was vulgar,” Trollope assures Dickens, who is looking for an exit, but fortunately Trollope sees someone else who just got a bad review and scuttles off to crow. I mean sympathize.
And I loved how the Christmas Carol characters start appearing to Dickens. As he gets deeper into composition of the book, they start following him around. There’s an especially funny bit where Dickens looks out a window - he’s trying to avoid the book because he’s struggling with the ending - and the characters are all standing in the street below. Mrs. Fezziwig waves a handkerchief at him.
Also, I covet Dickens’ book-lined study, with a little half-staircase up to a mezzanine level with more books. Why is the study built like that? Who can say? Possibly on purpose to be charming, and charming it absolutely is.
This is such a fun movie. I always love a period piece, and I love Dan Stevens, and I love movies about creating art of any kind (if it’s well done, which it isn’t always…), and this one has such a good balance of seriousness and humor.
On the serious side, we have the demons of Dickens’ childhood coming back to haunt him, especially in his difficult relationship with his father, to whom he is far too similar for comfort. He inherited his father’s charm, his taste for the high life, his gift for performance - and he’s afraid he’ll follow his father’s example by running his family into debtor’s prison with his extravagant spending. A new house! All remodeled! A crystal chandelier and a mantelpiece of Carrera marble!
Unlike his perpetually sunny father, Dickens also has darker moods, where the charm gives way to abrupt outbursts of rage. He stalks around his study in the middle of the night making a racket when composition isn’t going well, apparently unaware that he’s keeping the whole house up. He snaps at his wife, sends away a long-time friend, fires a servant girl - then in the morning demands to know why the servant girl is gone. “You have no idea,” Mrs. Dickens tells him, on the verge of tears but displaying all the self-control Charles lacks, “how hard it is to live with you.”
(I’m happy to report the servant girl shows up again, and is of course rehired. I sort of suspect that the housekeeper keeps these impetuously fired servants in an out of the way corner for a day or two just in case Dickens didn’t really mean it.)
But this is not a grim study of a historical figure’s dark side. There are so many wonderful funny bits, too. In his good moods, Dickens is incredibly charming and funny - you can see why all these people put up with his darker side, just because the lighter side is such a delight.
I love Trollope as the guy in the club who always comes over to commiserate (gloat) when someone receives a bad review. Those cruel reviewers, claiming that Martin Chuzzlewit was “dull, vapid, and vulgar” (which Trollope quotes from memory). “I didn’t think it was vulgar,” Trollope assures Dickens, who is looking for an exit, but fortunately Trollope sees someone else who just got a bad review and scuttles off to crow. I mean sympathize.
And I loved how the Christmas Carol characters start appearing to Dickens. As he gets deeper into composition of the book, they start following him around. There’s an especially funny bit where Dickens looks out a window - he’s trying to avoid the book because he’s struggling with the ending - and the characters are all standing in the street below. Mrs. Fezziwig waves a handkerchief at him.
Also, I covet Dickens’ book-lined study, with a little half-staircase up to a mezzanine level with more books. Why is the study built like that? Who can say? Possibly on purpose to be charming, and charming it absolutely is.
Animal encounter.
Dec. 8th, 2025 09:31 pmhannahWaiting for the traffic light, listening to the noise around me, I looked down and saw a dog - one that was shaped like an actual dog, with short black fur, a proper nose, bright eyes, and a remarkable amount of patience for being so quiet in the face of all the noise. Cars, trucks, horns, traffic all around, a cement mixer driving by that whined and gave off these weird high-pitched noises as the mixer turned, and I thought that if it was loud for me, it must be unbearable for her. She was very well-trained in leash work and boundaries, and as well-trained and well-adjusted as she was, it made me think: New York City isn't good for her.
She was mostly quiet, except for one point where she made something like a whine mixed with a whimper. I told her, "I don't blame you." But I don't think she heard me what with all the noise around us.
At the next corner, I complimented her behavior on who I thought was her owner; she said she was just the walker, and the dog's name was Kato, and she was impressed at her, too. I didn't ask to pet her, just looked at her, watching a little kid ask if she could pet Kato herself instead. I thought about how her owners needed to commission a walker's services, and how it could be a brief thing due to a family emergency or it could be a standing commitment, and knowing Manhattan, it's likely the latter. It still strikes me as strange to keep an animal like a dog as a pet in a big city, and looking at her today, it feels even stranger. I walked across the park and listened to the sounds of the vehicles and thought about how unpleasant I found it, and how the city isn't designed for auditory comfort. It could be, and it isn't, and it saddened me to think how much worse Kato must have things.
She was mostly quiet, except for one point where she made something like a whine mixed with a whimper. I told her, "I don't blame you." But I don't think she heard me what with all the noise around us.
At the next corner, I complimented her behavior on who I thought was her owner; she said she was just the walker, and the dog's name was Kato, and she was impressed at her, too. I didn't ask to pet her, just looked at her, watching a little kid ask if she could pet Kato herself instead. I thought about how her owners needed to commission a walker's services, and how it could be a brief thing due to a family emergency or it could be a standing commitment, and knowing Manhattan, it's likely the latter. It still strikes me as strange to keep an animal like a dog as a pet in a big city, and looking at her today, it feels even stranger. I walked across the park and listened to the sounds of the vehicles and thought about how unpleasant I found it, and how the city isn't designed for auditory comfort. It could be, and it isn't, and it saddened me to think how much worse Kato must have things.
