[#476: Regret] Heated Rivalry - End of Season
Jan. 11th, 2026 08:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lebateleur posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
100wordsTitle: End of Season
Fandom: Heated Rivalry
Rating: G
Characters: Scott Hunter, Kip Grady
Notes: Spoilers for episode 5
( Read more... )
Fandom: Heated Rivalry
Rating: G
Characters: Scott Hunter, Kip Grady
Notes: Spoilers for episode 5
( Read more... )
Leech, by Hiron Ennes
Jan. 12th, 2026 01:15 amdhampyresaI was so disappointed by this book.
Part of this is on me: I had somehow gotten it in my head this was modern day and was looking forward to seeing how "hivemind took over the entire medical profession undetected" aspect of the premise would play out. The setting is not modern day, it's set some indeterminate amount of time (over 500 years) after some sort of apocalypse (fair, and an interesting setting itself) and people are aware to varying degrees aware that there is Something Wrong TM with the Institute.
The main part of the disappointment is that the book keeps bringing up concepts and then... Not Doing Anything with them. Spoilers from here on out. Our PoV character loses access to the hivemind fairly early on. Helen's miscarriages and/or the twins having supernatural powers never goes anywhere. The baron seems aware that he is hosting pseudomycota and even might be working with it? Let's never speak of this again! The idea that "If you’re born in Verdira, you die in Verdira" is brought up and we get told what happens is someone born there tries to leave, but that goes nowhere. /End spoilers
It is so disappointing and frustrating. It all just goes fucking nowhere!
Also I found the written accent annoying.
I did enjoy the hivemind parts, I guess.
Part of this is on me: I had somehow gotten it in my head this was modern day and was looking forward to seeing how "hivemind took over the entire medical profession undetected" aspect of the premise would play out. The setting is not modern day, it's set some indeterminate amount of time (over 500 years) after some sort of apocalypse (fair, and an interesting setting itself) and people are aware to varying degrees aware that there is Something Wrong TM with the Institute.
The main part of the disappointment is that the book keeps bringing up concepts and then... Not Doing Anything with them. Spoilers from here on out. Our PoV character loses access to the hivemind fairly early on. Helen's miscarriages and/or the twins having supernatural powers never goes anywhere. The baron seems aware that he is hosting pseudomycota and even might be working with it? Let's never speak of this again! The idea that "If you’re born in Verdira, you die in Verdira" is brought up and we get told what happens is someone born there tries to leave, but that goes nowhere. /End spoilers
It is so disappointing and frustrating. It all just goes fucking nowhere!
Also I found the written accent annoying.
I did enjoy the hivemind parts, I guess.
Fandom Snowflake Challenge #6
Jan. 11th, 2026 04:06 pmtjs_whatnot posting in snowflake_challengeIntroduction Post*
Meet the Mods Post
Challenge #1 *
Challenge #2*
Challenge #3*
Challenge #4* Challenge #5 *
Sorry for the delay! It's been... a day. But no matter! Hopefully you had some time to catch up, to talk with new friends... or to nap. 😍
Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.
( Fandom Snowflake Challenge #6 ) And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
Sorry for the delay! It's been... a day. But no matter! Hopefully you had some time to catch up, to talk with new friends... or to nap. 😍
Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.
( Fandom Snowflake Challenge #6 ) And please do check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
vital functions
Jan. 11th, 2026 11:40 pmkaberettCelebrating. A's birthday!
Reading. ( Rogerson, Rundell, McGuire, Clarke, Duncan, Scalzi, Hermé )
I also: remain up to date with Dreamwidth; worked through a brief pain management course for Youth, as background reading.
Writing. The Document continues to be expanded a little every day. It is now over 4000 words.
Playing. A bit of The Bridge, "a 2D logic puzzle game that forces the player to reevaluate their preconceptions of physics and perspective", which sounded like it might be about the right speed for me given that we'd just enjoyed playing through the Monument Valley series, and which instead for the most part does not seem to fit into my brain terribly neatly and is also weirdly evocative/reminiscent of Braid (lonely dude in a suit) while also being kinda... gay? possibly? I can't tell yet? Anyway we've played through I think the first four levels and might or might not continue.
We have also engaged in some Spirits -- mostly A playing and me watching, because I am not feeling up to timing problems and having to keep pressing Esc also feels overwhelming, but I have been Providing Commentary and enjoying watching the process of TURNING MUSHROOMS INTO CLOUDS to HELP THE LEAVES GET HOME.
We have also been playing (independently) sudoku, & grousing about each other's incomprehensible approaches to solving things, and then I nerdsniped A with a specific puzzle & they went to look up Theory And Strategy Of Sudoku, and I may yet get around to uh actually looking up the approach named "jellyfish"...
Elsenet vass has introduced me to Squardle.
Cooking. One spice mix, and subsequently one recipe from East featuring a vegetable I think I have not previously consciously eaten (Jerusalem artichokes). Another batch of medlar sticky toffee pudding as A's birthday cake; I think that in fact one cannot tell the difference between medlar that has not been jellied and medlar residue from jellying, at least in this setting. Also, turns out you can successfully add beetroot to the red cabbage and cauliflower udon noodles thing. Oh, and pineapple fried rice, which A had somehow never previously encountered???
Eating. We were both, on Friday, quite tired and sad. The internet brought us Pizza Express. It was good.
Making & mending. I FINISHED A GLOVE. I WOVE IN THE ENDS. Now to cast on glove #2 of that pair...
Growing. Both orchids seem to be putting forth flower stems! And I have sown lemongrass, pineapple physalis, and (not expecting any of these to actually germinate) some lithops I was sent as a gift a while ago...
Doonesbury Say What
Jan. 11th, 2026 02:52 pmthewayne"No one wants to go in there when a random f***ing tweet can change the entire foreign policy of the country."
-- oil industry investor, about Venezuela
I was reading a quote from an Exxon exec, talking about how all of Exxon's assets had been nationalized by Venezuela TWICE. Yeah, not a place where oil companies are going to be eager to rush back in to rebuild their infrastructure.
Not going to bother talking about a certain person's habit of changing international policy via social media posts, waste of finger and mental energy.
-- oil industry investor, about Venezuela
I was reading a quote from an Exxon exec, talking about how all of Exxon's assets had been nationalized by Venezuela TWICE. Yeah, not a place where oil companies are going to be eager to rush back in to rebuild their infrastructure.
Not going to bother talking about a certain person's habit of changing international policy via social media posts, waste of finger and mental energy.
Write Every day 2026: January, Day 11
Jan. 11th, 2026 10:11 pmtrobadora- How is tomorrow Monday again already?! Someone stole my weekend!
- According to yesterday's poll, approximately 75% of respondents think about structure in some fashion while writing. POV sections, parallels and repetitions got the most votes.
As for me, I used to always pay attention to structure especially in terms of parallels and mirroring sections and such, even for very short pieces, but I lost that a little bit in recent years. I need to focus more on that again - I always felt it made things better! But for longer pieces, structure is still a basic part of how I conceive of a story.
One of the most obvious structuring elements is with multiple POVs, and I always try to have them alternate in a clear pattern. For example, my Yuletide fic this year has four chapters, structured by location, and the POV pattern was AAB-BBA:
Chapter 1 - POV A
Chapter 2 - POV A, POV B
Chapter 3 - POV B
Chapter 4 - POV B, POV A
The story is mostly written in close limited 3rd person, but I also started each chapter with a more distant/mythic omniscient POV and then zoomed in on the character. - 60% of respondents agree that no poll is complete without tickyboxes. My people! *g*
- I haven't been keeping up with Star Trek for ages, but I was curious about the upcoming Starfleet Academy show and looked into things a little. And video reviews aren't usually my thing, but I just watched most of this video, and it makes it sound very promising! Here's hoping.
Today's writing
Instead of working to finish anything, I've started something new. Why, brain, why?
WED Question of the Day
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 19
What POV do you like to write in?
View Answers
first person
6 (31.6%)
second person
3 (15.8%)
third person omniscient
6 (31.6%)
third person limited
17 (89.5%)
other (see comments)
0 (0.0%)
What POV do you like to read in?
View Answers
first person
10 (52.6%)
second person
3 (15.8%)
third person omniscient
13 (68.4%)
third person limited
15 (78.9%)
other (see comments)
3 (15.8%)
My writing preferences for fanfic and original fic are ...
My reading preferences for fanfic and original fic are ...
I want a story from the POV of a tickybox
Tally
( Days 1-5 )
Day 6:
alightbuthappypen, badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, luzula, ofmonstrouswords, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, trobadora, ysilmeDay 7:
badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, ofmonstrouswords, shadaras, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora Day 8:
badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, ofmonstrouswords, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadoraDay 9:
badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadoraDay 10:
badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, luzula, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadoraDay 11:
china_shop, trobadoraLet me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)
watched: the residence
Jan. 11th, 2026 08:56 pmtozkaBinge rewatched The Residence today and I liked it much more this time around (tho I still think it's a bit too long).
In my first watch, I was too anxious to get to the solution and it became frustrating when they went on tangents. Knowing the solution and watching it again was much more fun. I enjoyed the humor more and caught some things about the murder motive that I missed the first time around.
I wish they'd do another season, or even a movie! I love the Cordelia Cupp character.
In my first watch, I was too anxious to get to the solution and it became frustrating when they went on tangents. Knowing the solution and watching it again was much more fun. I enjoyed the humor more and caught some things about the murder motive that I missed the first time around.
I wish they'd do another season, or even a movie! I love the Cordelia Cupp character.
Sunday Word: Whitherward
Jan. 11th, 2026 09:53 pmsallymn posting in 1word1daywhitherward [hwith-er-werd]
adjective:
(archaic) toward what or which place
Examples:
I felt him directing my looks to what I beheld, shaping my thoughts whitherward they went; but it pleased him to remain invisible. (William Young, Mathieu Ropars: et cetera)
Messire, whitherward is the stable? (Howard Pyle, The Story of Sir Launcelot and His Companions)
We see not whence the eddy comes, nor whitherward it is tending, and we seem ourselves to witness their flight without a sense that we are changed; and yet Time is beguiling man of his strength, as the winds rob the woods of their foliage. (Sir Walter Scott, Woodstock)
Arthur looked, and drew at the caitiff who went afoot beside Atra, and Birdalone at him who went by Viridis, for she wotted whitherward Arthur’s shaft would be turned. (William Morris, The Water of the Wondrous Isles)
We know not whom we trust
Nor whitherward we fare,
But we run because we must
Through the great wide air. (Charles Hamilton Sorley, 'The Song of the Ungirt Runners')
Origin:
Inherited from Middle English whiderward, from whider ('whither') from Old English hwider, from Proto-Germanic hwithre-, from hwi- 'who' (from PIE root kwo-) + ward (adverbial suffix of Germanic origin expressing direction or tendency to or from a point, Old English -weard 'toward,' sometimes -weardes (with genitive singular ending of neuter adjectives), from Proto-Germanic werda- (cognates: Old Saxon, Old Frisian -ward, Old Norse -verðr, German -wärts), variant of PIE werto- 'to turn, wind' (from root wer- (2) 'to turn, bend'). ) (Online Etymology Dictionary)
The earliest known use of the adverb whitherward is in the Middle English period (1150—1500). OED's earliest evidence for whitherward is from around 1175, in Ormulum. (Oxford English Dictionary)
B5 color theorizing
Jan. 11th, 2026 11:46 amsholioI FOUND IT AGAIN. I read a post on Tumblr a while back on a particularly nicely done instance of color symbolism with Londo on B5, and I finally found it. (More beneath the cut.)
( Spoilers for the whole show )
( Spoilers for the whole show )
British Columbia to ban all new crypto mining operations!
Jan. 11th, 2026 01:33 pmthewayneThis is an old article from October '25, I'm clearing out old tabs.
It's quite simple. The basic plan is to ensure that they are properly managing current and projected electrical needs and growth, and that they don't have crypto mining and AI data centers popping up everywhere and draining all of their generation capacity. Keep Canadian power generation for the province's residents and local industry - to which I say, GO CANADA!
There are useful aspects to AI/LLMs, but not in the form of generative AI and chat bots. Investors are seeking quick bucks and are creating a bubble: while there's no telling when it'll burst, we're going to see a lot of sobbing and knocking on government doors for bailouts when it happens. Can't happen too soon, IMO.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/10/21/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/10/21/237254/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid
It's quite simple. The basic plan is to ensure that they are properly managing current and projected electrical needs and growth, and that they don't have crypto mining and AI data centers popping up everywhere and draining all of their generation capacity. Keep Canadian power generation for the province's residents and local industry - to which I say, GO CANADA!
There are useful aspects to AI/LLMs, but not in the form of generative AI and chat bots. Investors are seeking quick bucks and are creating a bubble: while there's no telling when it'll burst, we're going to see a lot of sobbing and knocking on government doors for bailouts when it happens. Can't happen too soon, IMO.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/10/21/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/10/21/237254/british-columbia-to-permanently-ban-new-crypto-mining-projects-from-grid
characters20in20 - Wanda Maximoff (MCU)
Jan. 11th, 2026 03:35 pmflareonfury posting in fandom_iconsThe below icons are for characters20in20 Round 20 with Wanda Maximoff of MCU. Images are mostly from WandaVision, Multiverse of Madness, and Civil War.
Preview
"You break the rules and you become a hero. I do it and I become the enemy. That doesn’t seem fair...."
characters20in20 Round 20 with Wanda Maximoff of MCU. Images are mostly from WandaVision, Multiverse of Madness, and Civil War.Preview
"You break the rules and you become a hero. I do it and I become the enemy. That doesn’t seem fair...."
tree trunk library
Jan. 11th, 2026 01:13 pmboxofdelightsWe were walking the dogs yesterday and I took a photo that got 405 favorites and 226 boosts on Mastodon:
( A little free library in a tree trunk, and the book I took from it )
Neighborhoods always feel better with Little Free Libraries.
( A little free library in a tree trunk, and the book I took from it )
Neighborhoods always feel better with Little Free Libraries.
Belated Yuletide reveal: Hornblower, plus an extra
Jan. 11th, 2026 11:47 amsanguinityIs it too late to post about Yuletide? Surely not!
For Yuletide 2024, I tried to pick up a Hornblower-TV pinch-hit. Alas, even though I had the first part of the story written, I wasn't quick enough to get assigned the pinch-hit. Which turned out just as well, because the story stalled out and while I told myself I could post it as a treat, I never finished it. I ended up quasi-trunking it that spring as a hopeless job.
But in November I finally figured out what its plot needed to be (sadly, it would require a complete rewrite!), and then one of the Yuletide 2025 requests was even a better match for the overhauled story than the original 2024 pinch-hit would have been. So I rewrote it, and published as a Yuletide treat, hurrah:
This morning I was tidying my WIP folder, archiving the stories I've finished since the last time I cleaned up, and remembered I still had the first version of the story, which is in Bush-pov. I still like it very much, and it's mostly all stuff that doesn't appear in the rewrite, except by implication.
So this morning I published it as a bonus:
One of the things I love about fic is that there doesn't have to be one canonical version; you can post alternate povs and alternate endings, and bits and bobs and scraps of things. And a lot of times people enjoy them! And if they don't enjoy them, they don't have to click. It's great.
So if Bush-pov on the beach scene is the kind of thing you might enjoy: enjoy!
For Yuletide 2024, I tried to pick up a Hornblower-TV pinch-hit. Alas, even though I had the first part of the story written, I wasn't quick enough to get assigned the pinch-hit. Which turned out just as well, because the story stalled out and while I told myself I could post it as a treat, I never finished it. I ended up quasi-trunking it that spring as a hopeless job.
But in November I finally figured out what its plot needed to be (sadly, it would require a complete rewrite!), and then one of the Yuletide 2025 requests was even a better match for the overhauled story than the original 2024 pinch-hit would have been. So I rewrote it, and published as a Yuletide treat, hurrah:
The Worst Part of Waking Up forThe title btw, was only meant to be provisional, but it was as sticky as fuck and time was tight and I never got around to changing it. I do realize it's the perfect title for a Folgers Incest fic (and I had a serious conversation with myself about whether I really wanted to waste such a great title on the wrong fandom), but in the end I don't have any real ambition to write Folgers Incest fic. And anyway, it's funny. So there it stayed, sorry for the earworm.BromeliadDreams
Bush/Hornblower
Hurt/Comfort, Dying Declarations, First Kiss (is also the) Last Kiss (or it should have been damnit), Everybody Lives (as embarrassing as that is for some), When He Made This Bed He Wasn't Expecting to Wake Up In It, Episode: Loyalty
Summary:
At the end of Loyalty, Bush is too late to save Hornblower. With his dying breath, Hornblower requests a kiss from Bush…
…only to wake up a week later and discover he's going to live after all. Damnit.
This morning I was tidying my WIP folder, archiving the stories I've finished since the last time I cleaned up, and remembered I still had the first version of the story, which is in Bush-pov. I still like it very much, and it's mostly all stuff that doesn't appear in the rewrite, except by implication.
So this morning I published it as a bonus:
Too Late, Too Late
Hornblower/Bush
POV William Bush, Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Episode: Loyalty
Summary:
Bush is too late to the beach to stop the firing squad.
Bonus Bush point-of-view on the beach scene.
One of the things I love about fic is that there doesn't have to be one canonical version; you can post alternate povs and alternate endings, and bits and bobs and scraps of things. And a lot of times people enjoy them! And if they don't enjoy them, they don't have to click. It's great.
So if Bush-pov on the beach scene is the kind of thing you might enjoy: enjoy!
final Yuletide canons tally
Jan. 11th, 2026 11:45 amsnickficOne of my favorite aspects of Yuletide has become making a list of stuff from the tagset that I'm interested in checking out and then orienting my fall reading/watching around it. I'm generally bad at reading on a theme, but it turns out "maybe I can write this for Yuletide" is a theme that does work.
I thought this year I'd record for posterity what all I tried:
The hits:
Moby Dick reread
Red Rooms (2023)
The Shadow of the Leviathan
The Secret of Chimneys
Short films My Sister and the Prince, Corvidae, Serpentine, Possibly in Michigan, and The Vampire Gastelbrau
The misses:
Strangers on a Train - did not enjoy this! DNFed with 60 pages to go!
Pern reread - wooof the misogyny
Crooked House (2017) - a deeply mediocre Christie adaptation
Battle Royale (2000) - idk man, it was fine?
The Starving Saints
The Incandescent
Rotherweird
The Ascent of Rum Doodle - this was Too Silly
The... other?
Crash (1996) - I can't tell if I liked it, but I wrote a fic for it, so!
I thought this year I'd record for posterity what all I tried:
The hits:
Moby Dick reread
Red Rooms (2023)
The Shadow of the Leviathan
The Secret of Chimneys
Short films My Sister and the Prince, Corvidae, Serpentine, Possibly in Michigan, and The Vampire Gastelbrau
The misses:
Strangers on a Train - did not enjoy this! DNFed with 60 pages to go!
Pern reread - wooof the misogyny
Crooked House (2017) - a deeply mediocre Christie adaptation
Battle Royale (2000) - idk man, it was fine?
The Starving Saints
The Incandescent
Rotherweird
The Ascent of Rum Doodle - this was Too Silly
The... other?
Crash (1996) - I can't tell if I liked it, but I wrote a fic for it, so!