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READ

Some more of The Fifth Season, until The Good Place kicked me in the tender bits and I reverted to reading fanfic until my brain recovered. Fortunately, it's all been really good fanfic!

Something You Somehow Haven't to Deserve by dsudis deserves ( content warnings ) It's 10k of Eskel from The Witcher, mainly -- with some Geralt/Eskel too, but I wouldn't really call it a primarily shippy piece. It was a good fic for me to find this week.

The latest installment of the Xenoethnography series by Dasha_mte is as wonderful as ever -- it's this amazing epic series in which Optimus Prime seeks an anthropologist to help bridge the culture gap between Autobots and humans, and I love it to bits. It also deals with some heavy subjects, like war and death and a variety of social ills, but honestly, I find it a joy to read.

Most recently, Winter in London by Waid, which I happened on while skimming through old entries of violsva's, is a beautiful 45k ( content warning ) fic set among the original Sherlock Holmes stories, written alternately from Watson's and Holmes' points of view. It hits so many of the favorite tropes I mentioned recently -- noncon, hurt/comfort, mutual pining -- but it's also just a gorgeous character study of two people who have grown very close but are still learning more about each other.

WATCHED

( Doctor Who through episode 12x03, "Orphan 55". )

( The Good Place episode 4x13, "Whenever You're Ready". )

In the brief window left by a Snowflake challenge that doesn't involve posting anything, have some belated Wednesday things!

READ

( Many fanfics, mostly short. )

In the world of origfic, I (28M) created a deepfake girlfriend and now my parents think we're getting married by Fonda Lee is exactly what it says on the tin, and basically amazing.

I'm also reading Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (previewable here), and it certainly makes a bold impression! Necromancy, spaceships, impassioned teenage rivalry, a heroine fond of the longsword and of disreputable comics. In addition to the general atmosphere of biting sarcasm and abusive hazing, there is ( a grisly detail worth warning for ). But I've been enjoying myself so far!

PLAYED

Seedship, a lovely poignant little game where you're an AI trying to find humanity a new home among the stars. I don't seem to be very good at that job yet, but maybe someday?

WATCHED

The last two installments of Parallax by Adam Westbrook (mentioned previously). I'm glad I watched this; it's entertaining, thought-provoking, and not a minute longer than it needs to be.

This Is My Story, which is introduced here by LeVar Burton. Six short personal accounts of racism in America, five from black men and one from a black woman. I think Burton's own story hit me the hardest.

The Witcher 1x01, "The End's Beginning". ( I don't think this is my kind of show. )

Sym-Bionic Titan 1x06, "Shaman of Fear". The enemy monster in this episode had a really cute design. Apart from that, still a low-investment watch, which is sometimes exactly what I want.

( The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel through the end of season three! )

( Fleabag 1x01. )

( Stumptown 1x10, "Reality Checks Don't Bounce". )

( The Good Place 4x10, "You've Changed, Man". )

READ

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. I wasn't sure I'd have better luck with this than I did with the last few non-fannish novels I've tried to read, but I was underestimating the sheer power and charm of Austen's snark.

( Spoilers for a novel published in 1817. )

I'm a little glad that I have now read all of Austen's finished novels -- I was saving this one until I had at least a glancing familiarity with the Gothic novels she plays with, until finally I realized I enjoy reading Austen much better -- but also, I'm sorry that I don't have more to read. Maybe I need to reread Pride & Prejudice sometime soon...

Familiar Thing by the_ragnarok is 33k of kinky, magical, polyamorous origfic, chock full of lovely bespoke relationship negotiation. I'm especially fond of Henry, whose favorite geometric shape is a scalene triangle, and who thoughtfully integrates his Jewish faith with his magic practice. Abusive exes, painful miscommunications, and agonizing chronic pain flare ups each make their appearance in this story, but the care the main characters all bring to their relationships still gave it a restful feeling for me.

A fascinating article about Hmong language radio shows implemented as never-ending conference calls. Sometimes I really love human ingenuity and dedication.

I have also read and enjoyed some fanfic this week -- e.g. scaramouche's Steve/Tony Binary System and (via oracne) thedoubteriswise's Steve & Natasha friendship fic the way a traveler knows a traveler -- but I feel like with the onset of obligatory familial togetherness season, I haven't really been able to give it more than half my attention, unfortunately.

WATCHED

The Good Place 1x09, "The Answer". January 9th is so far away!

And this two hour video about the genius of Pathologic, which is a more than a decade old Russian video game that is apparently as grueling as it is beloved by the rare souls who manage to finish it. I found myself seriously wondering whether watching this would give me nightmares -- which I do not often have! -- but it never failed to hold my interest. Um, content notes on request?

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Much of fanfic, as usual. My favorite might be A Fire and a Conflagration by iodhadh, which is 16k of Doran and Iron Bull exchanging poems that start out merely ribald and grow increasingly intimate. ( My favorite poem... )

Returning to the theme of things fannish osmosis does and does not convey, I'm kind of tickled that ( Dragon Age spoilers ).

WATCHED

( The Good Place 4x07, "Help Is Other People". )

( Doctor Who through the 2017 special "Twice Upon a Time". )

Also, inspired by two intriguing posts by giandujakiss, I've started watching Stumptown and am now four episodes in! I was starting to write a little summary of what I love about it, but actually, I think I'm going to sit on that and give it a post of its own once I'm caught up. It's really fun, though -- not particularly complex, but refreshing.

READ

Some fanfic, but I seem to be having a hard time settling on anything at the moment.

However, I did read all of Down the Rabbit Hole by Issendai, which is a thoughtful and in depth look at the abusive behaviors that some people will publicly admit to in forums for parents who are estranged from their adult children. It's very interesting, in a strange, sad, awful kind of way.

WATCHED

( The Good Place 4x05, "Employee of the Bearimy". )

( Doctor Who through 10x05, "Oxygen". )

READ

I finished Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach, and I loved the ending to bits. This fic doesn't portray a simple or uncomplicated relationship between Aubrey Thyme, professional therapist, and Crowley, her client, who is (as you may have heard) a demon; and the more I think about it, the less sure I am that it could, given the givens. But as an examination of Crowley's trauma and its many echoes in the wider world he lives in... yeah, I really love this story.

Since then, I've mostly been reading an assortment of Dragon Age fic, notably:

The Hard Way by Penknife, which is 2k of prickly early friendship while Cullen & Dorian platonically huddle for warmth.

a finger's worth by torch, which is about 3k of Alistair/Zevran not quite as platonically huddling for warmth.

Off Label by Dragonflies_and_Katydids, an Alistair/Zevran series about Alistair the blushing virgin also being the dommiest dom, and it's... so much fun? In this amazing way where he gets the worst top drop, and Zevan has buckets of his own trauma, and they both have serious trust issues, and just... omg. I am really exactly in the mood for this kind of luxurious angst right now. ( Content notes. )

Incidentally, I can't believe that ( Dragon Age: Origins spoilers! )

GAMED (OPINED?)

Oh, the usual. I will note that Blizzard has returned Blitzchung's prize money to him, but they only reduced his suspension from competition to half a year, and they still deny that their original decision had anything to do with the Chinese government, which I'm not sure anyone believes.

With that said, I've seen mentions of xenophobic or anti-Chinese sentiment cropping up in the backlash against Blizzard, and if anyone has links going into more detail on that, I'd welcome them. I'd rather avoid bringing racism into my anti-censorship if I can!

WATCHED

The Good Place 4x03, "Chillaxing". I hesitated to post this on the_good_place, basically because I assume I'm one hundred percent wrong, but ( spoilery speculation. )

Doctor Who up to 9x07. I don't feel like I have much to say except that I love his sweater with the holes in it -- it's in the second picture down, and very unfairly maligned too -- which I like to interpret as a risque choice to bare entire millimeter sized portions of his chest to any passerby.

But for some reason I ( am frivolously grumpy. )

I can't believe that the creators of this show, five years before I even watched it, deliberately opted not to cater to my very specific demographic.

READ

The Warden by Anthony Trollope. alchimie kindly recommended a couple of good starting points among his books, and I am reading neither of them, but I am reading the first book in the series they're part of. So far I'm enjoying it well enough -- it's a bit weird about women, but it gives an interesting portrait of institutional inertia and the people who favor it over, say, justice.

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, originally because my mother wanted to discuss it with me, although I think she's since forgotten why. I'm really not sure what to make of this book, which is about Lady Jane Grey but also... magical hijinks? This would probably be a less jarring combination to someone who was already aware of her position in English history, but reading about her execution in a foreword immediately before her lighthearted adventures made for a bit of mood whiplash. Anyway, I'm about halfway through it so far!

( A few health and politics links. )

GAMED

Still Lily's Garden and StarCraft II, and also some Furistas Cat Cafe, which does not have the same view of feline psychology that I do -- I was expecting a mechanic where the cats had to go and rest between clients, not where they got antsy without attention! -- but which I cannot dislike at all, because it lets me pet cats and make them purr. They are such good cats. Sadly though, the app keeps crashing on my somewhat elderly tablet, so this is unlikely to become a personal fave.

WATCHED

More Doctor Who. I quite like Danny! "Mummy on the Orient Express" is probably my favorite episode of season 8 so far, for the courage and unexpected kindness.

The Good Place season premiere!!! Oh it's good to have this show back! I have no idea what they're doing with this season, honestly, but that's part of the charm by this point. I'm so pleased there's been conversation over at the_good_place, too!

And a youtube series called The Alt-Right Playbook, which is quite cheerful about calling a fascist a fascist. I don't think I agree with it about everything, but I was really struck by the idea that what the more patriarchal strains of Christianity have in common with unfettered capitalism is a love of hierarchy. I always had a little trouble understanding why those strains of conservatism got along so well, but now it seems perfectly clear.

So yesterday I learned that the official The Good Place twitter account has invited us to place ourselves on a chart whose X axis ranges from Jason to Tahani and whose Y axis ranges from Chidi to Eleanor. And I mean, I can see that, I guess -- you've got social class going in one direction and apparent goodness in the other. That kind of works.

But also, that way of arranging them is absolutely wrong and I'm incensed. ( So have some tl;dr! )

( And to veer a little farther afield, with spoilers-- )