Criminal Minds: War Crimes, by mosylu.
Dec. 18th, 2025 06:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
full_metal_ox posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fancakeFandom: Criminal Minds
Pairings/Characters: F/M; Emily Prentiss/Spencer Reid, Aaron Hotchner/Jennifer "JJ" Jareau; Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Penelope Garcia, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, Henry LaMontagne, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid
Rating: Teen and Up
Length: 50,833
Content Notes: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, bittersweet ending, canon-typical violence, colorism, period-characteristic prevalence of smoking, period-characteristic attitudes toward mental illness, PTSD, war-typical gore
Creator Tags: Alternate Universe - Historical, Everybody's Looking Sharp, Get Some Benny Goodman on the Radio, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Author is a Research Nerd, And Not Ashamed of It Either, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Period-Typical Sexism, Alternate Universe - 1940s
Creator Links: (AO3)![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
mosylu, (Dreamwidth) mosylu, (FF.net) ![[fanfiction.net profile]](/img/userheads/ff-icon-192.png)
mosylu, (Tumblr) ![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
mosylufanfic
Theme: Amnesty, Mystery & Suspense, Uncommon Settings, Casefic, Characters of Color, FANCAKE IS FIFTEEN, Fandom Classics, Historical AUs, Research, Women Being Awesome
Summary: Historical AU. In 1947 New York, a motley group of strangers are about to come face-to-face with the idea that you can catch a criminal from within his own mind.
Author’s Notes: Honestly, this came about because of Garcia's hair. Yes, Garcia's hair. Follow me here. There was an episode where she was wearing it in this marvelous retro-40's do, and I started picturing how she'd look in a whole 40's ensemble. And then I started picturing the entire cast in 40's styles. (Boy howdy, would it suit Reid, and Morgan would rock a fedora like nobody's business.) Then I started thinking about how different their lives would have been sixty years ago, and then the social and cultural upheaval of an entire nation coming back from WWII, and . . . well . . . enjoy.
Historical Note: Shell shock was the World War I term, and battle fatigue the WWII term, for what we now call PTSD.
Reccer's Notes: A post-WWII noir mystery AU in which an oddly assorted bunch of cops, academics, veterans, and civilians, coordinated by their friendly neighborhood reference librarian and gossip networker, band together to solve some violent local crimes—and proceed to pioneer criminal profiling in the process.
(When this fic debuted in October 2010, the mystery of Reid’s chronic migraines was an ongoing canon subplot; this setting provides a ruthlessly plausible explanation. That’s all I’m going to say.)
Fanwork Links:
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3161369
Fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6391786/1/War-Crimes
Pairings/Characters: F/M; Emily Prentiss/Spencer Reid, Aaron Hotchner/Jennifer "JJ" Jareau; Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Penelope Garcia, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, Henry LaMontagne, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid
Rating: Teen and Up
Length: 50,833
Content Notes: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, bittersweet ending, canon-typical violence, colorism, period-characteristic prevalence of smoking, period-characteristic attitudes toward mental illness, PTSD, war-typical gore
Creator Tags: Alternate Universe - Historical, Everybody's Looking Sharp, Get Some Benny Goodman on the Radio, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Author is a Research Nerd, And Not Ashamed of It Either, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Period-Typical Sexism, Alternate Universe - 1940s
Creator Links: (AO3)
mosylu, (FF.net) mosylu, (Tumblr) Theme: Amnesty, Mystery & Suspense, Uncommon Settings, Casefic, Characters of Color, FANCAKE IS FIFTEEN, Fandom Classics, Historical AUs, Research, Women Being Awesome
Summary: Historical AU. In 1947 New York, a motley group of strangers are about to come face-to-face with the idea that you can catch a criminal from within his own mind.
Author’s Notes: Honestly, this came about because of Garcia's hair. Yes, Garcia's hair. Follow me here. There was an episode where she was wearing it in this marvelous retro-40's do, and I started picturing how she'd look in a whole 40's ensemble. And then I started picturing the entire cast in 40's styles. (Boy howdy, would it suit Reid, and Morgan would rock a fedora like nobody's business.) Then I started thinking about how different their lives would have been sixty years ago, and then the social and cultural upheaval of an entire nation coming back from WWII, and . . . well . . . enjoy.
Historical Note: Shell shock was the World War I term, and battle fatigue the WWII term, for what we now call PTSD.
Reccer's Notes: A post-WWII noir mystery AU in which an oddly assorted bunch of cops, academics, veterans, and civilians, coordinated by their friendly neighborhood reference librarian and gossip networker, band together to solve some violent local crimes—and proceed to pioneer criminal profiling in the process.
(When this fic debuted in October 2010, the mystery of Reid’s chronic migraines was an ongoing canon subplot; this setting provides a ruthlessly plausible explanation. That’s all I’m going to say.)
Fanwork Links:
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3161369
Fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6391786/1/War-Crimes
Fannish Fifty Challenge: Post # 47: Community Pimping: Multifandom Multimedia Microbang
Dec. 25th, 2025 06:24 pmride_4everNo-stress Multimedia Multifandom Microbang! No sign-ups, no check-ins, and optional addition to AO3 Collection. This looks to me like a lot of fun -- AND YAYS FOR NO STRESS -- and a lot of creative options.
Click here to see the comm's DW page and get more details.
Click here to see the comm's DW page and get more details.
December Layoff 2025 Week 2 part 2: Christmas!
Dec. 25th, 2025 07:10 pmtaz_39Christmas Eve Day!
It was chill for both of us, and we both needed it. Jameson did a little work in the morning but before lunch he was ready to shut his laptop until the new year. He gamed while I wiped my small tenor trombone down and put it back in storage (neither Epic nor Main Street Phil are likely to call again while I'm home) and broke down a bunch of boxes for recycling.
I did a quick dash to Publix for toilet paper, napkins, and apple cider vinegar which I hadn't realized we'd used up. It was 10am and already packed/crazy at the grocery. I was happy to get in and out. I do wish I'd made a plan for dinner because I could've picked up ingredients. But I didn't. Oh well.
After lunch Jameson and I went for our neighborhood walk. It looks like this.
But if you zoom in on one section, it looks like this:
This is because as we were passing a house on the first cul-de-sac, a big brown chocolate lab came bolting out of a house and ran right up to us, play-bowing and bouncing the whole way! His parents were mortified (he had escaped while they were pulling in groceries) and tried to herd him back in the house but of course he was not having it. We ended up sort of zig-zagging up to their door acting as though we were going inside too, to trick the dog into going in. Hence the zig-zags on our map!
The humans screamed a "thank you!" at us as they quickly slammed the door, and we laughed and walked off. Jameson worked at a vet's office when he was young and his family also owned large dogs. And I've worked at two kennels. We were the right people for this activity :D And what a lovely energetic dog!
The rest of the walk was uneventful, we just chatted about what a crazy year it's been and about our plans for early 2026. Jameson will have a lot of work to do for Disney, a lot of upcoming events that will require his skills. I will go back on tour. We both have things we want to buy. We have plans to invest more in the house (new carpet and tile, a new sliding door for the pool deck.) Once I sell my car I want to buy a second large tenor to stay at home so I don't have to worry about my ONLY trigger trombone getting damaged by an airline. Things like that.
Back home we got showers and had a small snack. My Aunt called and we chatted briefly to wish each other Merry Christmas. I bought some last-minute gifts for everyone...it's one of those lame gift card years. And we ordered tacos for dinner.
Cannot believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. As we relaxed in front of the TV (we watched Krampus!) I kept asking myself: do I have everything? Have I missed anyone? Did I do enough? Although that's not what Christmas is about.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christmas Day!!
I was up at 8 to have coffee and send my lame-o gift cards to family via email.
One of my sisters and my brother and his fiance got flight gift cards, supposedly good for any airline.
The other sister with three kids got a gift card to a nice Italian restaurant, really just for her and her husband and NOT the kids!! They have enough stuff!!
And my third sister got a 5-qt Kitchen Aid mixer, which we all chipped in to get since they're kinda pricey, but we wanted to get her the best one that we could! She was so happy she said she might cry.
When Jameson was up we had cinnamon rolls from a can (sometimes I make them from scratch but not this year....give me a break, guys, I'm a touring trombonist not a 1950s housewife) and exchanged stockings. It was mostly an assortment of candies with a few small toys and gag gifts mixed in. I got Jameson marzipan and Sour Patch Kids because I know he likes those things, and a new Koosh ball (I got him one last year too.) He got me a dark chocolate Terry's orange (I love them!) and some Japanese gummies which, unbeknownst to him, are some of my favorites because they have an amazing texture!
We watched Home Alone 2. Aaah the Twin Towers....and actual phones....and being able to get onto the wrong flight! How things have changed. Then it was time to exchange presents.
Jameson got me three different kinds of sake, some gourmet chocolates (mostly dark, he knows me so well!), and his big gift was gift cards for Uber, Target, and Buc-ee's! I am VERY excited for the Uber gift card since I plan to sell my car.
His parents got me a notebook with a funny saying on the front, a watercolor book and paint set, and this really cool little pottery that is supposed to strip herbs when you run the stems through those tiny holes! If it works with thyme it'll be worth whatever they paid for it.
My sister Kate sent homemade gifts, which is standard for her and which I adore! This year it was homemade granola (delicious, I ate some right away), spiced brown sugar peach butter, vanilla pear butter, and avocado shea body butter. She had made an herb butter spread also but was afraid to send it (I reassured her that this was the right choice as we are still at 80°F (26.6°C) down here.
My sister Raven sent a thrifted shirt, she happened to find a Full Metal Alchemist one for me and a Queen one for Jameson! Good finds!
And Jonah has sent something that hasn't arrived yet.
I never expect or require gifts from anyone, ever...all I truly want is to share a meal with my family members the next time we're together. Everyone was so generous, and I love and appreciate all of these great gifts!
As for Jameson, I got him some bootleg Queen records (he knew these were coming, I bought them for him on tour), a big cast iron griddle pan for the grill, a "Shart Survival Kit" gag gift, a Mountain Dew mystery gift which turned out to be some hideously corny sunglasses, some TikTok-viral rice krispie treats in a variety of crazy flavors, and his big gift was a 3D-printed LEGO wreath! It is not LEGO-official but looks like the real deal, and it comes with lots of attachments. I'll buy him more attachments for other upcoming holidays (St. Paddy's, Easter, Halloween, etc). It is very cleverly designed.
His parents got him an ergonomic mouse, the Game Boy LEGO kit, a Funko Pop, and Kevin Malone's chili cookbook. We had weird lunches of leftover half-chewed burritos and stale Christmas cookies, and watched Emmet Otter, then Jameson listened to one of the bootleg records and gamed while I prepped some things for our fancy dinner like the horseradish sauce and the rub for the tenderloin. I also typed up this post, and sorted my MOUNTAIN of candies and treats into my Home Candy Stash Tupperware and my Tour Travel Stash Tupperware. At some point Jameson's parents called and we thanked them for our gifts, and we texted back and forth with our families all afternoon.
In the evening I cooked up our fancy dinner: peppercorn-crusted tenderloin with horseradish sauce, mashed potatoes, lemon zested asparagus, and crescent rolls. It turned out quite good, the beef for once was perfectly cooked and decadent. We are incredibly fortunate to afford a beef tenderloin each Christmas.
And now we have cleaned up the kitchen, put the trash out (fingers crossed that it'll actually get picked up!) and are relaxing with full tummies. I'm so grateful that I got to have Christmas with Jameson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday: Jameson has a rehearsal for a NYE gig in the morning followed by a massage, and I've got Candlelight at night. I'll probably practice and do a little cleaning or something ahead of that.
Saturday: Spending most of it in Fort Lauderdale, we're taking the Brightline train there to see our friend Lea perform in a local production of Frozen!
Sunday: I think we might actually be free, so I will make us chili and cornbread :)
It was chill for both of us, and we both needed it. Jameson did a little work in the morning but before lunch he was ready to shut his laptop until the new year. He gamed while I wiped my small tenor trombone down and put it back in storage (neither Epic nor Main Street Phil are likely to call again while I'm home) and broke down a bunch of boxes for recycling.
I did a quick dash to Publix for toilet paper, napkins, and apple cider vinegar which I hadn't realized we'd used up. It was 10am and already packed/crazy at the grocery. I was happy to get in and out. I do wish I'd made a plan for dinner because I could've picked up ingredients. But I didn't. Oh well.
After lunch Jameson and I went for our neighborhood walk. It looks like this.
But if you zoom in on one section, it looks like this:
This is because as we were passing a house on the first cul-de-sac, a big brown chocolate lab came bolting out of a house and ran right up to us, play-bowing and bouncing the whole way! His parents were mortified (he had escaped while they were pulling in groceries) and tried to herd him back in the house but of course he was not having it. We ended up sort of zig-zagging up to their door acting as though we were going inside too, to trick the dog into going in. Hence the zig-zags on our map!
The humans screamed a "thank you!" at us as they quickly slammed the door, and we laughed and walked off. Jameson worked at a vet's office when he was young and his family also owned large dogs. And I've worked at two kennels. We were the right people for this activity :D And what a lovely energetic dog!
The rest of the walk was uneventful, we just chatted about what a crazy year it's been and about our plans for early 2026. Jameson will have a lot of work to do for Disney, a lot of upcoming events that will require his skills. I will go back on tour. We both have things we want to buy. We have plans to invest more in the house (new carpet and tile, a new sliding door for the pool deck.) Once I sell my car I want to buy a second large tenor to stay at home so I don't have to worry about my ONLY trigger trombone getting damaged by an airline. Things like that.
Back home we got showers and had a small snack. My Aunt called and we chatted briefly to wish each other Merry Christmas. I bought some last-minute gifts for everyone...it's one of those lame gift card years. And we ordered tacos for dinner.
Cannot believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. As we relaxed in front of the TV (we watched Krampus!) I kept asking myself: do I have everything? Have I missed anyone? Did I do enough? Although that's not what Christmas is about.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christmas Day!!
I was up at 8 to have coffee and send my lame-o gift cards to family via email.
One of my sisters and my brother and his fiance got flight gift cards, supposedly good for any airline.
The other sister with three kids got a gift card to a nice Italian restaurant, really just for her and her husband and NOT the kids!! They have enough stuff!!
And my third sister got a 5-qt Kitchen Aid mixer, which we all chipped in to get since they're kinda pricey, but we wanted to get her the best one that we could! She was so happy she said she might cry.
When Jameson was up we had cinnamon rolls from a can (sometimes I make them from scratch but not this year....give me a break, guys, I'm a touring trombonist not a 1950s housewife) and exchanged stockings. It was mostly an assortment of candies with a few small toys and gag gifts mixed in. I got Jameson marzipan and Sour Patch Kids because I know he likes those things, and a new Koosh ball (I got him one last year too.) He got me a dark chocolate Terry's orange (I love them!) and some Japanese gummies which, unbeknownst to him, are some of my favorites because they have an amazing texture!
We watched Home Alone 2. Aaah the Twin Towers....and actual phones....and being able to get onto the wrong flight! How things have changed. Then it was time to exchange presents.
Jameson got me three different kinds of sake, some gourmet chocolates (mostly dark, he knows me so well!), and his big gift was gift cards for Uber, Target, and Buc-ee's! I am VERY excited for the Uber gift card since I plan to sell my car.
His parents got me a notebook with a funny saying on the front, a watercolor book and paint set, and this really cool little pottery that is supposed to strip herbs when you run the stems through those tiny holes! If it works with thyme it'll be worth whatever they paid for it.
My sister Kate sent homemade gifts, which is standard for her and which I adore! This year it was homemade granola (delicious, I ate some right away), spiced brown sugar peach butter, vanilla pear butter, and avocado shea body butter. She had made an herb butter spread also but was afraid to send it (I reassured her that this was the right choice as we are still at 80°F (26.6°C) down here.
My sister Raven sent a thrifted shirt, she happened to find a Full Metal Alchemist one for me and a Queen one for Jameson! Good finds!
And Jonah has sent something that hasn't arrived yet.
I never expect or require gifts from anyone, ever...all I truly want is to share a meal with my family members the next time we're together. Everyone was so generous, and I love and appreciate all of these great gifts!
As for Jameson, I got him some bootleg Queen records (he knew these were coming, I bought them for him on tour), a big cast iron griddle pan for the grill, a "Shart Survival Kit" gag gift, a Mountain Dew mystery gift which turned out to be some hideously corny sunglasses, some TikTok-viral rice krispie treats in a variety of crazy flavors, and his big gift was a 3D-printed LEGO wreath! It is not LEGO-official but looks like the real deal, and it comes with lots of attachments. I'll buy him more attachments for other upcoming holidays (St. Paddy's, Easter, Halloween, etc). It is very cleverly designed.
His parents got him an ergonomic mouse, the Game Boy LEGO kit, a Funko Pop, and Kevin Malone's chili cookbook. We had weird lunches of leftover half-chewed burritos and stale Christmas cookies, and watched Emmet Otter, then Jameson listened to one of the bootleg records and gamed while I prepped some things for our fancy dinner like the horseradish sauce and the rub for the tenderloin. I also typed up this post, and sorted my MOUNTAIN of candies and treats into my Home Candy Stash Tupperware and my Tour Travel Stash Tupperware. At some point Jameson's parents called and we thanked them for our gifts, and we texted back and forth with our families all afternoon.
In the evening I cooked up our fancy dinner: peppercorn-crusted tenderloin with horseradish sauce, mashed potatoes, lemon zested asparagus, and crescent rolls. It turned out quite good, the beef for once was perfectly cooked and decadent. We are incredibly fortunate to afford a beef tenderloin each Christmas.
And now we have cleaned up the kitchen, put the trash out (fingers crossed that it'll actually get picked up!) and are relaxing with full tummies. I'm so grateful that I got to have Christmas with Jameson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday: Jameson has a rehearsal for a NYE gig in the morning followed by a massage, and I've got Candlelight at night. I'll probably practice and do a little cleaning or something ahead of that.
Saturday: Spending most of it in Fort Lauderdale, we're taking the Brightline train there to see our friend Lea perform in a local production of Frozen!
Sunday: I think we might actually be free, so I will make us chili and cornbread :)
第四年第三百五十一天
Dec. 26th, 2025 08:34 amnnozomi posting in guardian_learning部首
彳 part 4
循, to follow; 微, tiny; 德, virtue/morality/Germany ( pinyin )
https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?cdqrad=60
词汇
才, ability/gift/only (pinyin in tags)
https://mandarinbean.com/new-hsk-4-word-list/
Guardian:
还好这次的共鸣轻微, it's just as well the resonance this time was slight
这算有才华也换不了钱啊, this talent isn't going to turn into money
Me:
心脏是循环系统的一部分。
你就是个天才！
彳 part 4
循, to follow; 微, tiny; 德, virtue/morality/Germany ( pinyin )
https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?cdqrad=60
词汇
才, ability/gift/only (pinyin in tags)
https://mandarinbean.com/new-hsk-4-word-list/
Guardian:
还好这次的共鸣轻微, it's just as well the resonance this time was slight
这算有才华也换不了钱啊, this talent isn't going to turn into money
Me:
心脏是循环系统的一部分。
你就是个天才！
A, B, C, D, E, Frederick
Dec. 25th, 2025 03:01 pmmildred_of_midgardI didn't participate in Yuletide (again) this year, except for nominating and betaing in the usual fandom, but I got a Madness gift!
I wasn't expecting it, but I went and checked the Madness collection after it was open to see if there was any 18th century fiction, and there was!
And then I saw it was a gift for me! Hooray!
The Frederician ABC (199 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 18th Century CE RPF
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Friedrich II von Preußen | Frederick the Great, Ernst Ahasverus von Lehndorff, Michael Gabriel Fredersdorf, Hans Hermann von Katte, Henri Alexandre de Catt, Joseph II von Österreich | Joseph II Holy Roman Emperor, Maria Theresia von Österreich | Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-1780), Voltaire (Writer), Stanisław August Poniatowski, Wilhelmine von Preußen | Wilhelmine of Prussia (1709-1758), Jacob Paul von Gundling, Johann Joachim Quantz, Ulrich Friedrich von Suhm, Francesco Algarotti, Peter Karl Christoph von Keith
Additional Tags: Silly, ABC Challenge, Yuletide Treat, Unconventionyule, Unconventional Format
Summary:
I wasn't expecting it, but I went and checked the Madness collection after it was open to see if there was any 18th century fiction, and there was!
And then I saw it was a gift for me! Hooray!
The Frederician ABC (199 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 18th Century CE RPF
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Friedrich II von Preußen | Frederick the Great, Ernst Ahasverus von Lehndorff, Michael Gabriel Fredersdorf, Hans Hermann von Katte, Henri Alexandre de Catt, Joseph II von Österreich | Joseph II Holy Roman Emperor, Maria Theresia von Österreich | Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-1780), Voltaire (Writer), Stanisław August Poniatowski, Wilhelmine von Preußen | Wilhelmine of Prussia (1709-1758), Jacob Paul von Gundling, Johann Joachim Quantz, Ulrich Friedrich von Suhm, Francesco Algarotti, Peter Karl Christoph von Keith
Additional Tags: Silly, ABC Challenge, Yuletide Treat, Unconventionyule, Unconventional Format
Summary:
Need some help remembering who is who in 18th Century Prussia? Fear no more, the Frederician ABC is here.
(no subject)
Dec. 25th, 2025 05:57 pmmajuWe (those of us who are parents) had a nice slow start to the day (the girls got up at about 5 and opened their stockings) but then they went back to their rooms and did quiet things for a while. Most of the adults were in the kitchen/living room by about 8 am, but I suspect that the girls had been playing with Uncle J for a while before that.
Eventually, urged on by impatient girls, we started opening gifts, and not long after that we set off to my son in law's mother's (grammy's) place to spend the afternoon. The main course of lunch was at about 1:30 pm followed by dessert at about 4 pm, with gift opening in between. I received a small water colour painting set from my eldest daughter and two jigsaw puzzles from my youngest daughter. My middle daughter normally sends something that arrives after Christmas.
Because there were 8 of us with the two extras, we took two cars. My daughter and I went in my car and everybody else went in the 7-seater minivan. When we were half way home I suddenly realised I had left my small backpack behind (stashed in an out of the way corner) so we had to go back. Luckily grammy only lives about twelve miles away, so going back didn't take too long.
Now we're home and everything is remarkably quiet. Aria is here in the basement with me playing with a spinning "chair" she was given by her Uncle P (her father's brother). It's a sort of fish-shaped low dish which spins on its base and she is lying on the floor next to it, spinning it, having already spent a lot of time sitting or lying on it and spinning. Violet and Eden are, I think, upstairs with Uncle J. My son in law has taken L to catch her train back to New York because she has to go to work tomorrow.
Tomorrow we're going to my son in law's sister's place which is three times as far away as grammy's, so I will make extra sure I don't forget my backpack when we're leaving there.
Eventually, urged on by impatient girls, we started opening gifts, and not long after that we set off to my son in law's mother's (grammy's) place to spend the afternoon. The main course of lunch was at about 1:30 pm followed by dessert at about 4 pm, with gift opening in between. I received a small water colour painting set from my eldest daughter and two jigsaw puzzles from my youngest daughter. My middle daughter normally sends something that arrives after Christmas.
Because there were 8 of us with the two extras, we took two cars. My daughter and I went in my car and everybody else went in the 7-seater minivan. When we were half way home I suddenly realised I had left my small backpack behind (stashed in an out of the way corner) so we had to go back. Luckily grammy only lives about twelve miles away, so going back didn't take too long.
Now we're home and everything is remarkably quiet. Aria is here in the basement with me playing with a spinning "chair" she was given by her Uncle P (her father's brother). It's a sort of fish-shaped low dish which spins on its base and she is lying on the floor next to it, spinning it, having already spent a lot of time sitting or lying on it and spinning. Violet and Eden are, I think, upstairs with Uncle J. My son in law has taken L to catch her train back to New York because she has to go to work tomorrow.
Tomorrow we're going to my son in law's sister's place which is three times as far away as grammy's, so I will make extra sure I don't forget my backpack when we're leaving there.
[ SECRET POST #6929 ]
Dec. 25th, 2025 05:56 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #6929 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 08 secrets from Secret Submission Post #989.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
2025 Kdrama meme
Dec. 26th, 2025 11:46 amchina_shopI've updated my Kdrama list, and because I had such a wonderful year of dramas in 2025, I decided to invent a meme.
Note: I'm not counting Guardian for this; that lives in a category of its own. <3 And most of my answers are about the dramas that were new to me this year, though obviously I love and adore the shows I rewatched, too.
( Kdramas I watched this year )
The Meme
Total number of dramas watched: 22 Kdramas, 1 Kmovie, 1 Jdrama, and 1 Cdrama.
Number of rewatches: 7: Sell Your Haunted House (with Pru), Semantic Error, Tale of the Nine Tailed (with Andrew), Family by Choice (with Pru), Good Manager, Nothing But Love, While You Were Sleeping (ongoing)
Number of dramas watched with Andrew: 7 dramas and a movie: Undercover High School, Tale of the Nine Tailed, Aema, Low Life, Bon Appétit Your Majesty, Typhoon Family, Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born, Bogota: City of the Lost (movie).
Percentage of new-to-me dramas that were awesome: I watched 15 new-to-me dramas (and the movie, which was fine but not really my thing, so I'll set that aside). I loved 9 of them. That's 60% -- an amazingly high percentage! I had a really good drama year. (Of course, there were dozens that I started and didn't get beyond episode 1 or 2, and a few I watched more of but didn't finish; I'm only counting one of those.)
( The meme, continued. )
Note: I'm not counting Guardian for this; that lives in a category of its own. <3 And most of my answers are about the dramas that were new to me this year, though obviously I love and adore the shows I rewatched, too.
( Kdramas I watched this year )
The Meme
Total number of dramas watched: 22 Kdramas, 1 Kmovie, 1 Jdrama, and 1 Cdrama.
Number of rewatches: 7: Sell Your Haunted House (with Pru), Semantic Error, Tale of the Nine Tailed (with Andrew), Family by Choice (with Pru), Good Manager, Nothing But Love, While You Were Sleeping (ongoing)
Number of dramas watched with Andrew: 7 dramas and a movie: Undercover High School, Tale of the Nine Tailed, Aema, Low Life, Bon Appétit Your Majesty, Typhoon Family, Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born, Bogota: City of the Lost (movie).
Percentage of new-to-me dramas that were awesome: I watched 15 new-to-me dramas (and the movie, which was fine but not really my thing, so I'll set that aside). I loved 9 of them. That's 60% -- an amazingly high percentage! I had a really good drama year. (Of course, there were dozens that I started and didn't get beyond episode 1 or 2, and a few I watched more of but didn't finish; I'm only counting one of those.)
( The meme, continued. )
The December Comfort Watches 2025, Day Twenty-Five: Groundhog Day
Dec. 25th, 2025 10:14 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
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Is there a day in your life that you would want to live over and over again? I can think of one or two perfect days I’ve had, and at least initially I might be okay stuck in them in an eternal loop. But eventually, even a perfect day would get monotonous, and there’s the fact that the reason it was a perfect day was because you didn’t know it was going to be perfect when you woke up that morning. Knowing would take the shine off it. Also, you wouldn’t be able to replicate that day perfectly, over and over and over.
Like smelling a rose forever, eventually you would become immune to the charms of the day. You would get a repetitive strain injury of the soul, and eventually, that perfect day, eternally on repeat, might be a working definition of Hell.
Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is not having a perfect day in this film. A Pittsburgh weatherman, he’s slated to go to Punxsutawney, north of Pittsburgh, to take part in the town’s annual Groundhog Day celebration, a day where (for those you who have just beamed onto the planet), a large rodent forecasts how long winter will continue depending on whether he can see his shadow or not. Phil loathes Groundhog Day because despite his professionally genial nature, he’s a misanthrope and finds people and their quaint little traditions annoying. But it’s his job, so he heads up to Punxsutawney with his cameraman Larry (Chris Elliot) and his new producer Rita (Andi McDowell), and does a perfunctory and slightly nasty stand-up.
Then weather happens and the three of them are trapped in Punxsutawney, one of them more than the others. Phil wakes up and it’s Groundhog Day again. The day repeats, he’s weirded out, and then it happens again, and again, and again.
Why is it happening? We never get an explanation (rumor is Columbia Pictures demanded an explanation and the filmmakers made one up to make the studio happy, and then intentionally never got around to shooting it). Why is it happening to Phil? Mostly, because the jerk needs it. Many of us take years and years to deal with our shit and come out the other side a better person. Phil needs only one day, it’s just that this one day is going go on forever until he gets it right.
In this, Groundhog Day feels like A Christmas Carol turned on its head. Ol’ Ebenezer Scrooge needed the intercession of three ghosts and one night to realign his worldview; Phil Connors gets no ghosts but eternal recurrence to sort himself out. Given the choice I think I’d rather have the single night; it feels more efficient that way. But I suppose not everyone can do it all in a single night, and Phil doesn’t seem like the kind to take a hint with a single whack to the skull. He’s going to have to get whacked, again and again and again and again.
Which is fine, because it’s fun to watch Phil play the changes: first panic, then glee, then methodical trickery, then despair, and then… well, you’ll see (or have seen, this film is universally acknowledged to be one of the great film comedies of all time). At one point someone asks Phil, who seems to know everything because he’s well into the middle of his eternal loop, how he can know so much. Phil says, “Well, there is no way. I’m not that smart.” And you know what, he’s right. He’s in this loop because he’s just not that smart. He can’t learn his way out of this conundrum; he has to experience his way out of it, if he is going to get out of it at all. This isn’t a criticism of Phil, per se. I’m probably not that smart, either, and probably neither are you. If Phil could be taught to be a better and more decent human, he probably wouldn’t have been a candidate to be in that loop at all.
(This does bring up the question of why the universe or whomever thinks Phil, of all the pinched, unhappy people out there, merits a loop to sort out his issues. This is also left unanswered, and maybe there is no answer. The universe is weird and capricious, and if you or I or anyone could really understand it, we’d probably try to find a way out of it. As ee cummings once said, “Listen: there’s a hell of a good universe next door; let’s go”)
Groundhog Day is a tale of existential horror played for laughs, which is one of the reasons I think it resonates for so many people. It’s an easy way to approach the concept of how hard it is to turn ourselves around when we only have a single life to do it in. There are a lot of different theories about how long it is that Phil is stuck in his loop, ranging from ten years to 10,000. There’s only one correct answer: He’s in it for however long it takes to fix himself. There’s no escape before then.
The rest of us are not so lucky, or unlucky, depending on your perspective. We have to live with our mistakes and screw-ups and disappointments; there are no do-overs, only occasional second chances. I don’t want to be stuck in a time loop for years or decades or centuries, but hurtling heedlessly through time with no brakes or track-backs also seems not a great way to run a universe, at least for the humans in it.
Another reason the film resonates so much is that Bill Murray is the perfect person to play Phil Connors. Like his character, Murray’s a funny and acerbic fella who is also, if the various stories about him on set and in his personal life are close to true, fully capable of being a real asshole. There’s a “biting on tin foil” edge to Murray that makes it easy for him to sell Phil as a person who doesn’t much like people, or himself, and it’s a toss-up on any given day which he likes less.
The production of this film had Murray butting heads with director Harold Ramis to such an extent that the formerly close friends had a falling out that lasted nearly until Ramis’ death in 2014. Apparently Murray wanted the film to be more philosophical; Ramis, who was the one who had to deliver a hit to Columbia Studios, needed it to be more comedic. In the end, they both got their way, so I think it’s a shame this was the film they fell out over.
In the end, though, who else could have been Phil Connors? Of all the actors in Hollywood at the time, I can only think of one on a similar tier of fame who could have pulled it off: Tom Hanks, who despite his current reputation as “America’s Dad” was capable of some real acidity and anger back in the day (see the movie Punchline for a Tom Hanks character who is basically a talented asshole). But even Hanks would have been second best here; Hanks doesn’t teeter on the edge of being unlikeable as well or as long as Murray. Murray makes you believe in Phil’s redemption arc.
Early in the film, when he had only recurred a few times, Phil remembers a day where he was in the Virgin Islands, met a girl, with whom he drank pina coladas and got busy, and wonders why he couldn’t be repeating that day. As you might imagine from my first paragraph, when it all came down to it, I don’t think he would eventually like recurring on that day any more than on Groundhog Day. Eventually the pleasure of it would stale and he would end up the same place (metaphysically) as he was in Punxsutawney.
That’s because, as the noted philosopher Buckaroo Banzai once said, no matter where you go, there you are. The problem was not Punxsutawney, or Groundhog Day, and never was. The problem was always Phil, just as the problem would be, inevitably, any of the rest of us in the same situation. Phil gets as much time as he needs to solve himself. Groundhog Day reminds us, however, that we just have the time we’ve got, and we better get to it.
— JS
More fic for me!!
Dec. 25th, 2025 04:34 pmkassIt's lovely, sweet domestic fluff featuring Dianda and her husbands, and it makes me smile so much.
Small Potatoes (503 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: October Daye Series - Seanan McGuire
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Dianda Lorden/Patrick Lorden/Simon Lorden | Simon Torquill
Characters: Dianda Lorden, Patrick Lorden, Simon Lorden | Simon Torquill
Additional Tags: Domestic Fluff, Babies
Summary:
Small Potatoes (503 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: October Daye Series - Seanan McGuire
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Dianda Lorden/Patrick Lorden/Simon Lorden | Simon Torquill
Characters: Dianda Lorden, Patrick Lorden, Simon Lorden | Simon Torquill
Additional Tags: Domestic Fluff, Babies
Summary:
New babies mean new routines.
Yuletide Madness Is Live
Dec. 26th, 2025 10:05 amyuletidemods posting in yuletide_adminAt push of button, this year's Madness collection has 227 works in 183+ fandoms.
AO3 wranglers have processed a lot of new fandoms; in the main collection, the 992 that appeared on the fandoms page at reveals have become 1065! Thanks to everyone who has helped make wranglers' jobs easier by using canonical tags, tags from the tag set, or other recommended tags, as appropriate in each case.
If you've written in a new fandom that isn't wrangled yet, we encourage you to use Unspecified Fandom as a tag to help people find your work; many works originally tagged this way now have wrangled fandoms, in which case, you can take the tag off if you wish.
As in the last post:
Commenting
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Problems
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The Yuletide event concludes at 9pm UTC, 1 January 2026. At that time we will reveal creator names at both the main and Madness collection, and also open the new New Year's Resolution collection.
Schedule, Rules, & Collection | Contact Mods | Participant DW | Participant LJ | Pinch Hits on DW | Discord | Tag set | Tag set app
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Madness collection
Main collection
AO3 wranglers have processed a lot of new fandoms; in the main collection, the 992 that appeared on the fandoms page at reveals have become 1065! Thanks to everyone who has helped make wranglers' jobs easier by using canonical tags, tags from the tag set, or other recommended tags, as appropriate in each case.
If you've written in a new fandom that isn't wrangled yet, we encourage you to use Unspecified Fandom as a tag to help people find your work; many works originally tagged this way now have wrangled fandoms, in which case, you can take the tag off if you wish.
As in the last post:
Commenting
Please comment on your gift(s) to let your writer know you appreciate them. Please also comment on anything else you enjoy!
Recs
Making work recommendations is a tradition. Please see more information at the participant community about where you can post your recs.
Problems
If there is something wrong with your gift or you have another concern, please contact the mods at yuletideadmin@gmail.com.
Anonymity
Yuletide is designed to be an anonymous exchange until 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.
The Yuletide event concludes at 9pm UTC, 1 January 2026. At that time we will reveal creator names at both the main and Madness collection, and also open the new New Year's Resolution collection.
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Nordisk Bibelmuseum (Nordic Bible Museum) in Oslo, Norway
Dec. 25th, 2025 02:00 pmatlas_obscura_places_feed
Founded in 2018 by a duo of private collectors, the Nordisk Bibelmuseum is the largest and first of its kind in the nordics.
The museum's collection, made up entirely of historic bibles from all over the world, is comprised by more than 4,500 artifacts. The museum is non-denominational and is focused on sharing the impact of the Bible on language, culture, and art, as well as preserving important pieces of history.
Highlights of the collection include a page from an original Gutenberg Bible, hand copied manuscripts from the 1200s, a Latin Bible from the 1400s, and a copy of Gustav Vasa's Bible from 1541.