Daily Happiness
Friday, January 9th, 2026 20:54![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torachan1. It's the weekend! I am continuing to feel fairly optimistic about the upcoming February deadline at work, so hopefully that won't change. There's enough other stress going on outside of work.
2. Chloe doesn't really like any of the other cats but Molly, though her tolerance level for the others varies. She is the least tolerant of Jasper, though, so it was so nice to see her, Molly, and Jasper all on the bed together! And it happened two days in a row, too!
2. Chloe doesn't really like any of the other cats but Molly, though her tolerance level for the others varies. She is the least tolerant of Jasper, though, so it was so nice to see her, Molly, and Jasper all on the bed together! And it happened two days in a row, too!
Be the guide.
Friday, January 9th, 2026 22:42hannahI know the trick to hailing a cab is less it being all in the wrist and more it being a white woman in a dress, but I like to think the wrist helps.
Challenge #5
In your own space, create a list of at least three things you'd love to receive, a wishlist of sorts. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it and include a link to your wishlist if you feel comfortable doing so.
1. Every time this comes around, I say I'd love to read a post-canon Buffy the Vampire Slayer fic set at least a couple decades after the show, long after the world's learned the truth about Slayers, vampires, demons, magic, and the endless battle between good and evil, where Buffy's famous enough that her arrival is heralded much as Miranda was in the "gird your loins" scene from The Devil Wears Prada, with Buffy having learned to command that level of respect and control. Few people write Buffy as an older woman, and even fewer try to reckon with a vastly changed world years or decades after the end of the show. It's possible this is already written and I just haven't seen it; if that's the case, I'm wishing someone would send it to me.
2. For ages, I've thought a vid of Peggy Olson from Mad Men to "All The Nasties" by Elton John would be an excellent character study. Beyond the on-the-nose of Don Draper to "sacred cows just fake it" and the turn of a show about advertising to a song about cultivating images and the struggle to be seen honestly, I can't ever get the image of the outro and the last "oh my soul" being Roger playing the piano while Peggy roller-skates across the empty SCDP offices, effortlessly leaving the frame as the song fades away.
3. If there's any Tom Cruise or Top Gun icons out there, please let me know. As was the custom, as I still enjoy doing, I'd love an appropriate fandom icon.
4. Related, fanart of the two live-action Interview with the Vampire Lestats where they're kissing while hovering and the actors' real-world height difference is both mitigated and made clear would curl my toes in the best way. If this is out there, please let me know; if not, please let me know about anyone's taking IWTV commissions and I'll see what funds I can budget.
5. As ever, as always, as usual, transformative works based on my fics. Fanart, banners, covers, podfics, moodboards - it's always a joy and it never gets old.
Challenge #5
In your own space, create a list of at least three things you'd love to receive, a wishlist of sorts. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it and include a link to your wishlist if you feel comfortable doing so.
1. Every time this comes around, I say I'd love to read a post-canon Buffy the Vampire Slayer fic set at least a couple decades after the show, long after the world's learned the truth about Slayers, vampires, demons, magic, and the endless battle between good and evil, where Buffy's famous enough that her arrival is heralded much as Miranda was in the "gird your loins" scene from The Devil Wears Prada, with Buffy having learned to command that level of respect and control. Few people write Buffy as an older woman, and even fewer try to reckon with a vastly changed world years or decades after the end of the show. It's possible this is already written and I just haven't seen it; if that's the case, I'm wishing someone would send it to me.
2. For ages, I've thought a vid of Peggy Olson from Mad Men to "All The Nasties" by Elton John would be an excellent character study. Beyond the on-the-nose of Don Draper to "sacred cows just fake it" and the turn of a show about advertising to a song about cultivating images and the struggle to be seen honestly, I can't ever get the image of the outro and the last "oh my soul" being Roger playing the piano while Peggy roller-skates across the empty SCDP offices, effortlessly leaving the frame as the song fades away.
3. If there's any Tom Cruise or Top Gun icons out there, please let me know. As was the custom, as I still enjoy doing, I'd love an appropriate fandom icon.
4. Related, fanart of the two live-action Interview with the Vampire Lestats where they're kissing while hovering and the actors' real-world height difference is both mitigated and made clear would curl my toes in the best way. If this is out there, please let me know; if not, please let me know about anyone's taking IWTV commissions and I'll see what funds I can budget.
5. As ever, as always, as usual, transformative works based on my fics. Fanart, banners, covers, podfics, moodboards - it's always a joy and it never gets old.
Weekly Reading
Friday, January 9th, 2026 20:12torachanRecently Finished
Hummingbird Salamander
A woman is given a mysterious taxidermied hummingbird and a mysterious note and throws her entire life away trying to find out why. I did not like this much at all, but I think I would have liked it better if I hadn't been listening to the audiobook. The narrator was lovely, no problem with her. But the writing style was reeeeeeeeally annoying to listen to. I've read Annihilation and the two original sequels (haven't read the recent one yet) and don't remember if it was like this in those and I just vibed with it better because I can skim or if he changed his style up a bit, but it's super annoying here. The narration is also very rambling and goes over and over the same things so many times, which also gets annoying to listen to, but would have been easier to deal with when reading. But that wasn't the only issue as the story itself also felt very weak to me. The final reveal at the end was interesting, but the rest was just pretty boring. Also the constant focus on the protagonist's size felt weird. She is stated to be six foot and 230 pounds, which is large for a woman, but not so out of the ordinary yet it's treated as if she's the hulk or something, and constantly commented on by herself and others.
My Name Is Leon
London, 1981. Leon is a half-Black nine year old boy whose mom has a breakdown and when he and his baby brother are put in foster care, his brother, who is white, is quickly adopted, leaving him all alone. I really liked this a lot.
Tsumetakute Yawaraka vol. 6
Hen na Ie vol. 6
This is the first volume in the sequel series. So far I am enjoying it a lot! Curious to see if it will be as wild as the first one (knowing the author, I'm sure it will).
Ore Monogatari vol. 14
I had no idea there was a new volume out! Well, new is relative, as it came out in 2024, but the original series ended in 2016. This collects some bonus chapters of them in college.
My Home Hero vol. 25-26
Finally finished this. The ending was satisfying and overall I enjoyed the series a lot.
Hummingbird Salamander
A woman is given a mysterious taxidermied hummingbird and a mysterious note and throws her entire life away trying to find out why. I did not like this much at all, but I think I would have liked it better if I hadn't been listening to the audiobook. The narrator was lovely, no problem with her. But the writing style was reeeeeeeeally annoying to listen to. I've read Annihilation and the two original sequels (haven't read the recent one yet) and don't remember if it was like this in those and I just vibed with it better because I can skim or if he changed his style up a bit, but it's super annoying here. The narration is also very rambling and goes over and over the same things so many times, which also gets annoying to listen to, but would have been easier to deal with when reading. But that wasn't the only issue as the story itself also felt very weak to me. The final reveal at the end was interesting, but the rest was just pretty boring. Also the constant focus on the protagonist's size felt weird. She is stated to be six foot and 230 pounds, which is large for a woman, but not so out of the ordinary yet it's treated as if she's the hulk or something, and constantly commented on by herself and others.
My Name Is Leon
London, 1981. Leon is a half-Black nine year old boy whose mom has a breakdown and when he and his baby brother are put in foster care, his brother, who is white, is quickly adopted, leaving him all alone. I really liked this a lot.
Tsumetakute Yawaraka vol. 6
Hen na Ie vol. 6
This is the first volume in the sequel series. So far I am enjoying it a lot! Curious to see if it will be as wild as the first one (knowing the author, I'm sure it will).
Ore Monogatari vol. 14
I had no idea there was a new volume out! Well, new is relative, as it came out in 2024, but the original series ended in 2016. This collects some bonus chapters of them in college.
My Home Hero vol. 25-26
Finally finished this. The ending was satisfying and overall I enjoyed the series a lot.
darebee
Friday, January 9th, 2026 19:30ailelieI just completed day 4 of the Foundation Light series on Darebee. I did not set out to exercise. I saw a post on tumblr. I got curious and clicked over. I decided to give a day a try because it looked easy. Then I left the tab open.
The page has checkboxes for each day that you can click.
...so why not do day 2?
On day 3, I was like 'I could stop now. One of these days will be the day I stop doing darebee exercises, but not today.'
And today, I did the same.
Am I going to keep this up for the full 30 days of this series? Probably not! I'm terrible at maintaing things.
But...the exercises are easy. I can do them in normal clothes and flats. They don't take a long time. I do Level II. If I ever have a lot of energy, I'll try Level 3. If I'm ever low on energy, I'll do Level 1. I get to check off each day as I go. While I've not used them yet, the series page has embedded timers.
When I don't feel like I have to carve out special time and wear special clothes and watch videos to make sure I'm doing it all right, it is rather easier to do anything.
(In other news, dishes continue being done nightly. I've completed 2 badges (1 badge = 4 weeks of nightly dishes). Once I reach 10 badges, I get something special. Now figuring out 'something special' was tricky because I've learned rewards don't work if they require work. So, instead, I've created a line item in my budget. Every week, I drop in $10. When I reach 10 badges, I will get to empty that line item for whatever I want. It should be about $400, which is a good prize. And $10/week doesn't feel like work or a hard cost at all.)
The page has checkboxes for each day that you can click.
...so why not do day 2?
On day 3, I was like 'I could stop now. One of these days will be the day I stop doing darebee exercises, but not today.'
And today, I did the same.
Am I going to keep this up for the full 30 days of this series? Probably not! I'm terrible at maintaing things.
But...the exercises are easy. I can do them in normal clothes and flats. They don't take a long time. I do Level II. If I ever have a lot of energy, I'll try Level 3. If I'm ever low on energy, I'll do Level 1. I get to check off each day as I go. While I've not used them yet, the series page has embedded timers.
When I don't feel like I have to carve out special time and wear special clothes and watch videos to make sure I'm doing it all right, it is rather easier to do anything.
(In other news, dishes continue being done nightly. I've completed 2 badges (1 badge = 4 weeks of nightly dishes). Once I reach 10 badges, I get something special. Now figuring out 'something special' was tricky because I've learned rewards don't work if they require work. So, instead, I've created a line item in my budget. Every week, I drop in $10. When I reach 10 badges, I will get to empty that line item for whatever I want. It should be about $400, which is a good prize. And $10/week doesn't feel like work or a hard cost at all.)
mistakes were made
Saturday, January 10th, 2026 01:05rmc28In "ice is slippy" news, I have managed to bruise both my hips in hard falls this week: the left one at hockey camp earlier this week, the right at Warbirds tonight.
For preference, I sleep curled up on one side.
Ow.
Daily Check In.
Friday, January 9th, 2026 18:45adafrog posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fandom_checkinThis is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Friday to midnight on Saturday (8pm Eastern Time).
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
Poll #34064 Daily poll
This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 23
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 23
How are you doing?
I am okay
15 (65.2%)
I am not okay, but don't need help right now
8 (34.8%)
I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans are you living with?
I am living single
7 (30.4%)
One other person
11 (47.8%)
More than one other person
5 (21.7%)
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
(no subject)
Friday, January 9th, 2026 18:26flemmingsSlept in today as my birthday treat, thought about staying in bed all day, but eventually got up after 11. Sun kept peeking out and temps soared to 10C/50F, stretching helped the iffy right leg, so out I went in blessed shoes and took a load to the laundromat. Downside of not doing this for a month and change was not being able to take everything so dressing gown, fleecy, etc will have to wait, but I do have clean hoodies now, so am content.
Bro messaged me this morning because FB was being weird and insisting we weren't friends. It's still saying that even though we can see each other's posts, so shrug. S-i-l is all holidayed out so meeting up will have to wait until she decompresses. Which is fine. Mild temps mean mucky sidewalks and the need to keep cleaning the walker's wheels. Mild temps did clear the sidewalks of snow but not the gutters so yeah, getting to cabs is not fun. Though I must get down to the subway station to see if the elevator is working at last.
Wild winds were blowing in a cold front by the time I came home amid wild grey November clouds, with golden patches on the horizon where the sun was going down.
Bro messaged me this morning because FB was being weird and insisting we weren't friends. It's still saying that even though we can see each other's posts, so shrug. S-i-l is all holidayed out so meeting up will have to wait until she decompresses. Which is fine. Mild temps mean mucky sidewalks and the need to keep cleaning the walker's wheels. Mild temps did clear the sidewalks of snow but not the gutters so yeah, getting to cabs is not fun. Though I must get down to the subway station to see if the elevator is working at last.
Wild winds were blowing in a cold front by the time I came home amid wild grey November clouds, with golden patches on the horizon where the sun was going down.
12 HOURS left to sign up for Purimgifts!
Friday, January 9th, 2026 18:06autobotscoutriella posting in purimgiftsThere are only 12 hours left before we close signups - if you've been considering signing up, now's the time to get that in!
Matchless signups (signups that cannot match on offer or request) will be deleted, so please check the Signup Summary to make sure you're matchable! If you're worried about your match, please contact me and I'll see what I can do.
Matchless signups (signups that cannot match on offer or request) will be deleted, so please check the Signup Summary to make sure you're matchable! If you're worried about your match, please contact me and I'll see what I can do.
kesimpta
Friday, January 9th, 2026 17:37redbirdThe new insurance requires me to use a different specialty pharmacy for the Kesimpta. I asked for a new prescription last night via MyChart, and just had a productive conversation with the pharmacy (Optum):
- they asked whether I'd been off Kesimpta, because what they can see is that they were sending it to me in 2024, and not last year, so I explained that
- we went over my list of medications, which was missing at least one thing, and had one I'm no longer taking
- the doctor wrote the prescription for a 90-day supply, and the insurance will only cover a month of this at a time
- the doctor sent them a prescription for the initial 'loading" dose, and they need to go back to the neurologist and clarify that
However, so far this has been remarkably efficient: less than 24 hours from me messaging the doctor, to me talking to the pharmacy. Whether the insurance company will cause delays by demanding "prior authorization," I don't know.
Snowflake Challenge Catch-up
Friday, January 9th, 2026 17:14independence1776Day 3: Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.
Fandom, I love you and I don't know what to do you with you. I can't imagine not being a part of it even as I struggle to be a part of it. And for all the negatives over the years, you've brought me far more joy.
*
Day 4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page: Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!
The last fannish thing I looked at was a chapter withinstarspray's marvelous Silmarillion fanfic series focusing on Maglor-and-family "Meanwhile the World Goes On" because I'm in the middle of rereading it. The series summary: Following Maglor as he suffers through captivity in Dol Guldur, and his journey to healing afterward--and then the journey to reconciliation of all the House of Feanor. Ratings and warnings vary by fic; it's still a WIP series and has consistent, frequent updates. It's available on SWG and on AO3.
*
Challenge #5: In your own space, create a list of at least three things you'd love to receive, a wishlist of sorts.
I'm just going to link my FandomTrees page, which has four wishes: https://fandomtrees.dreamwidth.org/207803.html
Reveals are January 17. The wishes are for prompts for Star Wars Disney canon fic, asking for fic recs for Star Wars Legends (focused on Luke or Luke/Mara), video game recs, and GERD-friendly recipes (as I am newly diagnosed and struggling a bit).
Fandom, I love you and I don't know what to do you with you. I can't imagine not being a part of it even as I struggle to be a part of it. And for all the negatives over the years, you've brought me far more joy.
*
Day 4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page: Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!
The last fannish thing I looked at was a chapter within
starspray's marvelous Silmarillion fanfic series focusing on Maglor-and-family "Meanwhile the World Goes On" because I'm in the middle of rereading it. The series summary: Following Maglor as he suffers through captivity in Dol Guldur, and his journey to healing afterward--and then the journey to reconciliation of all the House of Feanor. Ratings and warnings vary by fic; it's still a WIP series and has consistent, frequent updates. It's available on SWG and on AO3.*
Challenge #5: In your own space, create a list of at least three things you'd love to receive, a wishlist of sorts.
I'm just going to link my FandomTrees page, which has four wishes: https://fandomtrees.dreamwidth.org/207803.html
Reveals are January 17. The wishes are for prompts for Star Wars Disney canon fic, asking for fic recs for Star Wars Legends (focused on Luke or Luke/Mara), video game recs, and GERD-friendly recipes (as I am newly diagnosed and struggling a bit).
Write Every day 2026: January, Day 9
Friday, January 9th, 2026 23:06trobadoracandyheartsex assignments have arrived, and I got what I hoped I'd get!In yesterday's poll, the majority of people work on one thing at a time when it's for a deadline, but on multiple things at once when it's not. Fascinating!
(Also, in tickyboxes, the majority said they'd tick whichever ones they like. More interestingly, 33,3% of respondents chose "tick them all", but only 11% actually did tick them all. *g*)
For me, I usually have multiple things going no matter what. When I'm in the very final phase of finishing a story, I need to focus on just that; otherwise, there may be a "main" thing I'm working on, but it's hardly ever the only thing. Creativity begets creativity, so the better the writing is going with one thing, the more ideas and snippets my brain produces for other things as well. *g*
Today's writing
Some more
fandomtrees, but also, I had a brainwave and wrote some snippets plus a bunch of notes for an original fic WIP I hadn't touched since 2018. I think my writing brain is starting to function properly again if it's randomly throwing out things like that!WED Question of the Day
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 23
My oldest WIP that I still hope to finish was started in ...
View Answers
before the year 2000
0 (0.0%)
2000-2004
3 (14.3%)
2005-2009
1 (4.8%)
2010-2014
6 (28.6%)
2015-2019
4 (19.0%)
2020-2023
6 (28.6%)
2024-2025
1 (4.8%)
2026
0 (0.0%)
I last worked on that WIP ...
View Answers
before the year 2000
0 (0.0%)
2000-2004
0 (0.0%)
2005-2009
2 (9.1%)
2010-2014
2 (9.1%)
2015-2019
2 (9.1%)
2020-2023
8 (36.4%)
2024-2025
8 (36.4%)
2026
0 (0.0%)
tickybox is ...
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, goddess47, ofmonstrouswords, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadoraDay 9:
trobadoraLet me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)
[ SECRET POST #6944 ]
Friday, January 9th, 2026 16:50case posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #6944 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #991.
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.
Minneapolis
Friday, January 9th, 2026 21:05cosmolinguistSo I'm 4000 miles away, working for a British organization full of British people.
It was really nice that at my team meeting this morning when me and someone else were first to arrive he brought up very gently how I must be feeling devastated and horrified. I thanked him, said I was trying to be supportive to my Minneapolis friends. As the team joined the meeting, everyone joined in with fierce kindness. There is support and kindness and black humor and solidarity, in so many places.
It made me feel really good.
I feel so powerless of course but I'm doing what I can, here's a couple links whwre people can donate to help communities affected by and resisting ICE:
Also... While the GoFundMe to support Renée Good's family raised $1.5 million, a GoFundMe for the family of Keith Porter, Jr., a Black man shot by an ICE agent a week earlier, didn't meet its $35,000 goal until yesterday. A still-modest goal has been set; it's really important to support Black men as well as we do white women.