Struggle Session: Anybody Out There?
Dec. 24th, 2025 08:31 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
savagelove_feedNo Struggle Session today (it’s Christmas Eve!), but I’ve got a AQFARTIFROLOTGOMIITC for you. So, if you’re out there and you’re online and you’re checking in today — and you need a distraction from family — STUCK here could use some help… Bi cis chick from the North East here. Just out of a 3.5 … Read More »
The post Struggle Session: Anybody Out There? appeared first on Dan Savage.
Happy Yuletide!
Dec. 24th, 2025 01:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rachelmanijaThe Yuletide collection is live!
Enjoy browsing the collection! Leave kudos and/or comments if you enjoy a story! Comment here to recommend stories, and/or recommend them at the![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
yuletide comm!
I have three stories in the collection. Can you find them?
I shall now spend the rest of the day cuddling with my cats and reading Yuletide stories.
Enjoy browsing the collection! Leave kudos and/or comments if you enjoy a story! Comment here to recommend stories, and/or recommend them at the
yuletide comm!I have three stories in the collection. Can you find them?
I shall now spend the rest of the day cuddling with my cats and reading Yuletide stories.
![[admin post]](//www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/entry/admin_post.png)
Admin Post: Snap, Reccle, Pop! Rec Index Post 2025
Dec. 25th, 2025 10:01 am![[admin post]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/entry/admin_post.png){kind=small}
morbane posting in yuletideRecs: in general
The main Yuletide collection has just opened, with Yuletide Madness to follow shortly, so it's time to think about recs (recommendations)! It's traditional to kudos or comment on works and tell their anonymous creators that you liked them. It's also traditional to tell other people about the Yuletide stuff you like. There are many different ways to share your recommendations for works.On AO3 itself
You can bookmark a story and add the bookmark and its notes to the Yuletide Recs collection. (Note: This is not the same as the main Yuletide collection.) Detailed tutorials can be found here and here.
In Discord
At the Yuletide Discord, you can post recs with very brief comments in the #yuletide-recs channel.
Here at Dreamwidth
You are welcome to post recs to this community Please follow the guidelines:
- Any individual post to the community must contain recs for at least 3 separate works.
- You can put the full text of your recs post in a post to the community, OR you can post your recs on some other platform, then put the link in a post on the community or in a comment to this post.
- If your post is long, consider cut text code (DW) or details code to compress your text.
Recs: central/index post
THIS POST can also serve as a hub for recs. You're welcome to reply with your recs (especially useful if you don't have a Dreamwidth account). Or you can ask for recs that follow a theme, or just make a comment linking to a recs post elsewhere. Collect Your Recs Here!
Yuletide 2025 is live!
Dec. 24th, 2025 02:59 pmyuletidemods posting in yuletide_adminEnjoy 1539 works in 992 fandoms! (The number will go up as wranglers canonize fandoms - this will take a little time, though.)
The reveals process takes a little while to work in a collection of this size; if a story in the collection is still a mystery work an hour after opening, please let us know.
Finding works
You can find your own gifts on your AO3 gifts page: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YOUR-NAME-HERE/gifts, or by searching the box at the top of the collection works page for the full name you signed up with, or by checking your email if you get email notifications from AO3. Note: your email notifications may bundle together, and it might look like you only got one gift, when in fact you got more.
You can browse the collection by tags or by fandoms. Some fandoms are new and may not show up immediately (wranglers are working on this) or where you expect them; please check labels such as Original Work, 19th Century Historical RPF, Object and Concept Anthropomorphism, and Unspecified Fandom. More info about Unspecified Fandom here.
Anonymity
Yuletide is an anonymous exchange until creator reveals January 1. Please don't give away what you've written. When logged in, you can, if you want, reply to comments on your own works, and you will show up as Anonymous Creator until the authors of the collection are revealed.
Commenting!
Please comment on your gift(s) to let your writer(s) know you appreciate them. We also recommend commenting far and wide to spread the comment joy around! You may enjoy the challenge of a comment bingo card.
AO3 changed default comment settings last year. If you want to make sure people can comment on your gifts when they aren't logged in, you may need to change a setting on your work. More information here, under 'Your comment settings'.
Recs
Making work recommendations is a tradition. Please see more information at the participant community about where you can post your recs.
Madness
For those still writing, the 2025 Yuletide Madness collection will stay open for new stories to be posted for 24 hours. It will close for posting, and open for reading, at 9pm UTC 25 December. If you're looking for prompts, there's a roundup of links here.
Problems
If there is something wrong with your gift or you have another concern, please contact the mods at yuletideadmin@gmail.com.
Please either comment logged-in or sign a name. Unsigned anonymous comments will be left screened.
It's Christmas Eve in Gotham City, and that means...
Dec. 24th, 2025 08:45 pmicon_uk posting in scans_daily...it's that time of year when there is a crisp chill in the air, a gentle hint of longer days to come, Santa Claus gagging a trussed-up Robin, and Batman proving that his claim to be “The World’s Greatest Detective” might be a little optimistic… (I mean… it’s fricking SANTA CLAUS Bruce!)
(It's from Batman #33 which came out in December 1945, so 80 years ago now!!)
CHECK IN: DAY 24
Dec. 24th, 2025 08:37 pmigenlode posting in writethisfanficIt's Christmas Eve, and the retail trade has been going like the clappers all day.
How goes the creative work (if at all?)
How goes the creative work (if at all?)
Food
Dec. 24th, 2025 01:48 pmysabetwordsmithWhat you eat could decide the planet’s future
What we put on our plates may matter more for the climate than we realize. Researchers found that most people, especially in wealthy countries, are exceeding a “food emissions budget” needed to keep global warming below 2°C. Beef alone accounts for nearly half of food-related emissions in Canada. Small changes—less waste, smaller portions, and fewer steaks—could add up to a big climate win.
( Read more... )
What we put on our plates may matter more for the climate than we realize. Researchers found that most people, especially in wealthy countries, are exceeding a “food emissions budget” needed to keep global warming below 2°C. Beef alone accounts for nearly half of food-related emissions in Canada. Small changes—less waste, smaller portions, and fewer steaks—could add up to a big climate win.
( Read more... )
Fannish Fifty Challenge: Post # 46: due South Christmas Song
Dec. 24th, 2025 01:32 pmride_4ever'Tis the season for the due South Christmas song!
Short version from the TV episode:
Extended version:
Short version from the TV episode:
Extended version:
Birdfeeding
Dec. 24th, 2025 01:38 pmysabetwordsmithToday is partly cloudy and mild.
I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 12/24/25 -- We hacked up most of the remaining brushpile in the parking lot, and some of the older one by the driveway, feeding those into the chipper.
.
I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 12/24/25 -- We hacked up most of the remaining brushpile in the parking lot, and some of the older one by the driveway, feeding those into the chipper.
.
Wednesday Reading Meme
Dec. 24th, 2025 02:00 pmsinealaWhat I Just Finished Reading
Nothing. Working on it.
What I'm Reading Now
Comics Wednesday!
( 1776 #2, Marvel Winter Break Special 2025 #1, Will of Doom #1, X-Vengers #3 )
What I'm Reading Next
I woke up this morning to find thatlysimache had gifted me an ebook entitled Here Comes the Pizzer: The Found Poetry of Baseball Broadcasts, by Eric Poulin, so I guess that's what we'll be doing dramatic readings of aloud for Christmas Eve. While eating pizza.
The title is a reference to this extremely classic Red Sox broadcast moment. Here comes the pizza.
(We usually read the Christmas story in Greek, Latin, or Old English for Christmas Eve but we can probably make some time for this.)
Nothing. Working on it.
What I'm Reading Now
Comics Wednesday!
( 1776 #2, Marvel Winter Break Special 2025 #1, Will of Doom #1, X-Vengers #3 )
What I'm Reading Next
I woke up this morning to find that
lysimache had gifted me an ebook entitled Here Comes the Pizzer: The Found Poetry of Baseball Broadcasts, by Eric Poulin, so I guess that's what we'll be doing dramatic readings of aloud for Christmas Eve. While eating pizza.The title is a reference to this extremely classic Red Sox broadcast moment. Here comes the pizza.
(We usually read the Christmas story in Greek, Latin, or Old English for Christmas Eve but we can probably make some time for this.)
One Week Left on the Transmute Winter Magic itch.io Bundle!
Dec. 24th, 2025 01:38 pmduckprintspress
There’s only one week left to get this awesome bundle of 7 trans and nonbinary winter stories. Transmute: Winter Magic includes our novella To Drive the Hundred Miles by Alec J. Marsh, and works by 6 other creators – all starring trans and nonbinary characters, all by trans and nonbinary authors! These awesome titles can be yours for only $3 – a savings of 81% compared to buying them all individually. Indeed, the $3 price is less than we usually charge just for To Drive the Hundred Miles – so this is a pretty great deal!
Get your holiday celebration going with this awesome bundle before time runs out!
he knows if you've been bad or good
Dec. 24th, 2025 05:57 pmpensnestMy labours of yesterday—cooked a spiced apple cake, and a lemon possett flan, made several sandwiches and decorated—and today—made GF plain scones, Cherry scones, and Cheese and Chorizo scones, put cream cheese+horseradish and smoked salmon onto GF crackers—were well rewarded by a mostly-empty table and smiling (and slightly groany) people. We had Afternoon Tea for lunch, and it was very nice.
And now, my crocheted llama has mysteriously acquired a Santa hat.
And now, my crocheted llama has mysteriously acquired a Santa hat.
BtVS: Embers [Challenge 481: Glow]
Dec. 24th, 2025 05:11 pmbadly_knitted posting in drabble_zoneTitle: Embers
Fandom: BtVS
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Angel, Buffy.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 481: Glow.
Spoilers/Setting: Shortly after Helpless.
Summary: The fire is dying down, but Angel can’t bring himself to move.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters.
A/N: Double drabble.
Embers
Wednesday Reading Meme
Dec. 24th, 2025 12:07 pmosprey_archerWhat I’ve Just Finished Reading
Christmas books! So many Christmas books. Look, the problem is that so many Christmas books are short, all right? Like Janice Hallett’s The Christmas Appeal, a slim novella that I definitely should have read last year when The Appeal was still fresh in my mind, as I spent about half of The Christmas Appeal remembering who was who. But it was still a fun fast read and there was a cameo by my girl Issy, who remains just as Issy as ever, bless her little heart.
Continuing this murder kick, I read J. Jefferson Farjeon’s Mystery in White, a fascinating example of the genre in that the closest thing the book has to a detective is a guy from the society of psychic research who keeps murmuring about how it’s like the crime WANTS to be solved… well, that’s one way to explain why the heroes keep literally stumbling upon the evidence. Enjoyed the snowy atmosphere and the character portraits, especially the chorus girl Jessie, who should have gotten David in the end IMO. Not sure they were really that well-suited, but I was annoyed that a more class-appropriate girl appeared three-quarters of the way through the book.
And also Agatha Christie’s Murder for Christmas, known in the UK has Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, but presumably American publishers were afraid that without the word murder in the title American readers might assume that Poirot is having a holly jolly Christmas eating plum pudding without any murder at all. Quite enjoyed this one. Always nice to see a horrible family dynamic play out in a murder mystery.
Also Ruth Sawyer’s The Long Christmas, a collection of Christmas legends from around the world and a reminder that the Christmas Spirit, for all its current holly jolly picture-perfect Hallmark movie reputation, can in fact be pretty metal. The Christmas spirit is not about giving a bit of spare change to a photogenic waif before retreating to your mansion with the gingerbread on the eves perfectly outlined in Christmas lights. The Christmas Spirit says, “Oh, none of you are going to share your fireside and your last crust of bread with this weary footsore traveler on Christmas Eve? Well, then, I am going to raise the floods and drown your entire selfish town.”
Although Sawyer’s This Way to Christmas did not repeat this particular story, some of the other stories overlap with The Long Christmas. Published in 1915, the story centers on a little boy facing a lonely Christmas on a snowy mountain where none of the neighbors speak to each other, for they are of all different nationalities and races: German-American, American Black, Brazilian Portuguese, and small Ruritanian country that just got invaded by Germany.
However, our hero (inspired by a visit from a fairy wearing a squirrel suit) visits each cottage, hears a Christmas story from each person, and in the end inspires his foster parents to invite them all to Christmas, invitations in the form of signposts saying THIS WAY TO CHRISTMAS, hence the title.
And in the archives, I read Lee Kingman’s The Magic Christmas Tree, illustrated by Bettina. Little Joanna is lonely because she’s the youngest of ten and always in the way, until she finds her own special secret place: clearing in the woods with a pine tree just her size. Little Julie is lonely at home because she’s the only child in a vast mansion, but finds solace when she finds a little pine tree in the woods perfect for a hideaway. And then at Christmastime, Joanna hides a beloved doll by the tree… and Julie, thrilled by this magical appearance, brings the mystery doll a little doll bed and fur coverlet… and when Joanna returns with a baby doll so her doll won’t be lonely, she in turn is astonished…
OMG. So cute. I do wish it were longer so there was more time for the girls’ friendship to develop after they finally meet.
What I’m Reading Now
Unable to face another Christmas book, I broke down and started Aleksander Solzhenitsyn’s In the First Circle... which turns out to start on Christmas Eve! The German POWs are having a Christmas tree. One of the other zeks is making a Christmas present. I can’t even. I’ll never escape.
What I Plan to Read Next
Non-Christmas books! Anything but Christmas! In particular, I’ve got Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary and Mai Ishizawa’s The Place of Shells checked out, while Emile Zola’s Therese Raquin and Elizabeth Enright’s Then There Were Five are on hold.
Christmas books! So many Christmas books. Look, the problem is that so many Christmas books are short, all right? Like Janice Hallett’s The Christmas Appeal, a slim novella that I definitely should have read last year when The Appeal was still fresh in my mind, as I spent about half of The Christmas Appeal remembering who was who. But it was still a fun fast read and there was a cameo by my girl Issy, who remains just as Issy as ever, bless her little heart.
Continuing this murder kick, I read J. Jefferson Farjeon’s Mystery in White, a fascinating example of the genre in that the closest thing the book has to a detective is a guy from the society of psychic research who keeps murmuring about how it’s like the crime WANTS to be solved… well, that’s one way to explain why the heroes keep literally stumbling upon the evidence. Enjoyed the snowy atmosphere and the character portraits, especially the chorus girl Jessie, who should have gotten David in the end IMO. Not sure they were really that well-suited, but I was annoyed that a more class-appropriate girl appeared three-quarters of the way through the book.
And also Agatha Christie’s Murder for Christmas, known in the UK has Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, but presumably American publishers were afraid that without the word murder in the title American readers might assume that Poirot is having a holly jolly Christmas eating plum pudding without any murder at all. Quite enjoyed this one. Always nice to see a horrible family dynamic play out in a murder mystery.
Also Ruth Sawyer’s The Long Christmas, a collection of Christmas legends from around the world and a reminder that the Christmas Spirit, for all its current holly jolly picture-perfect Hallmark movie reputation, can in fact be pretty metal. The Christmas spirit is not about giving a bit of spare change to a photogenic waif before retreating to your mansion with the gingerbread on the eves perfectly outlined in Christmas lights. The Christmas Spirit says, “Oh, none of you are going to share your fireside and your last crust of bread with this weary footsore traveler on Christmas Eve? Well, then, I am going to raise the floods and drown your entire selfish town.”
Although Sawyer’s This Way to Christmas did not repeat this particular story, some of the other stories overlap with The Long Christmas. Published in 1915, the story centers on a little boy facing a lonely Christmas on a snowy mountain where none of the neighbors speak to each other, for they are of all different nationalities and races: German-American, American Black, Brazilian Portuguese, and small Ruritanian country that just got invaded by Germany.
However, our hero (inspired by a visit from a fairy wearing a squirrel suit) visits each cottage, hears a Christmas story from each person, and in the end inspires his foster parents to invite them all to Christmas, invitations in the form of signposts saying THIS WAY TO CHRISTMAS, hence the title.
And in the archives, I read Lee Kingman’s The Magic Christmas Tree, illustrated by Bettina. Little Joanna is lonely because she’s the youngest of ten and always in the way, until she finds her own special secret place: clearing in the woods with a pine tree just her size. Little Julie is lonely at home because she’s the only child in a vast mansion, but finds solace when she finds a little pine tree in the woods perfect for a hideaway. And then at Christmastime, Joanna hides a beloved doll by the tree… and Julie, thrilled by this magical appearance, brings the mystery doll a little doll bed and fur coverlet… and when Joanna returns with a baby doll so her doll won’t be lonely, she in turn is astonished…
OMG. So cute. I do wish it were longer so there was more time for the girls’ friendship to develop after they finally meet.
What I’m Reading Now
Unable to face another Christmas book, I broke down and started Aleksander Solzhenitsyn’s In the First Circle... which turns out to start on Christmas Eve! The German POWs are having a Christmas tree. One of the other zeks is making a Christmas present. I can’t even. I’ll never escape.
What I Plan to Read Next
Non-Christmas books! Anything but Christmas! In particular, I’ve got Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary and Mai Ishizawa’s The Place of Shells checked out, while Emile Zola’s Therese Raquin and Elizabeth Enright’s Then There Were Five are on hold.
BtVS Double Drabble: Embers
Dec. 24th, 2025 05:03 pmbadly_knittedTitle: Embers
Fandom: BtVS
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Angel, Buffy.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 481: Glow at
drabble_zone.Spoilers/Setting: Shortly after Helpless.
Summary: The fire is dying down, but Angel can’t bring himself to move.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters.
A/N: Double drabble.
( Embers... )
FAKE Double Drabble: Bold Choice
Dec. 24th, 2025 04:51 pmbadly_knittedTitle: Bold Choice
Fandom: FAKE
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Ryo, OFC.
Rating: PG
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: Sometimes you just have to go with what you’ve got.
Written Using: The tw100 prompt ‘Tie’.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: Double drabble.
( Bold Choice... )
LONELY PROMPTS WEEK::24 DECEMBER § DAY 3
Dec. 24th, 2025 09:35 amIn the past, we used to have a "winner" who completed the most fills every day, and at the end of the week, we'd announce an overall winner. But this time around, we're doing things differently! There are no winners or “losers”, just prompts that have been filled. At the end of the week, we'll be sharing a round-up post of all the lonely prompts that have been filled.
Wednesday's Theme: One Sentence Fics
More Information: All fills must be 1 sentence long.
If you leave a request, please make sure it follows the theme for the day and that each request is a new comment.
You are more than welcome to fill any and all lonely prompts, but only the prompts filled for the current theme will be counted for the daily totals. I will however include a list of those who filled other prompts when I do the round-up at the end of the week.
Please number your fills when leaving more than one in a comment. This helps me when I'm ready to count them up.
To find those elusive Lonely Prompts, you can go into the Calendar Archives, or for more recent prompts, you can use LJ's advanced search options to find prompts to request and/or fill.
To get things going, a few rules that I ask you all to follow.
1. You can only request five prompts to be filled. Please create a new comment for each prompt request.
2. You can request no more than three prompts from the same fandom.
3. You can, however, fill as many prompts as you'd like!
4. In the subject line, be sure to say whether this is a request or a fill!
5. You must link back to whatever the prompt is in the community logs (whether filling or requesting it be filled), and, if you're filling the prompt, please complete the fill as a response to the original prompt.
6. If you are filling an "any/any" prompt, please let us know what fandom (or, if original, say so!) you're using for the response.
7. If you filled any lonely prompts earlier this week, this is the place to share them!
8. Finally, we now have a community at AO3. If you have an AO3 account, please post your fills there. More information on how to do this is located at this link.
How to link:
[a href="http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/449155.html?thread=70682755#t70682755">MCU, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts, She's wearing daisy dukes and one of his button-down shirts.[/a]
(change the brackets to "<" and ">" respectively)
or:
http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/139897.html?thread=30155641#t30155641
Burn Notice, Sam/Michael/Fi, "It's always been you. And it's always gonna be you."
HAPPY REQUESTING/WRITING/FILLING!