sovay: (Rotwang)
[personal profile] sovay
My plans to sleep out a recovery from Arisia were somewhat complicated by the move-in of the new upstairs neighbors and the resonating chamber of feet and furniture our bedroom immediately downstairs of this process necessarily turned into, but the snow remains beautifully fallen and is not even supposed to rain back into immediate slush or, worse, spring.

I am re-reading Kathryn M. Drennan's To Dream in the City of Sorrows (1997) for the first time since it came out and had completely forgotten the introduction by J. Michael Straczynski in which he designates it the first fully canonical novel in the Babylon 5 tie-in line. Despite the volumes of Harlan Ellison I was tracking down in used book stores and reading at the time—his credit as creative consultant was a point in the show's favor—it was not until years later that I caught since how much of his nonfiction voice had been adopted by JMS. "How difficult a task was this? Job would've packed it in, Hercules would've retired, and Orpheus would've decided that his days spent in Hades weren't really that bad."

The Post-Meridian Radio Players have now opened auditions for their spring show: Jeeves & Wooster: Hijinks and Shenanigans. I am seriously considering throwing myself on a slot for the genderswapped adaptation. It would be something of an exercise if I went for it; most of my performance skills do not translate into straight acting and I am frankly missing the facility with accents specified in the sides or I'd be able to code-switch out of being asked all the time where mine's really from. There was an intrusion here from Tiny Wittgenstein which has since been deleted. But even if it's just the hangover from Arisia, I have not auditioned for anything since 2019 and so long as I could decouple the experience from actually landing a part, it suddenly looked as though it might be fun.

Indeed, I had never heard of hickory oil. I am not however thrilled by the prospect of trading off maple syrup.

Dirty Laundry

Jan. 18th, 2026 07:47 pm
[syndicated profile] ao3_theowlhouse_rss_feed

Posted by Anonymous

by Anonymous

Luz, Gus, and Hunter are the only members of the hexsquad who made it through the portal to the human realm, and things are so much harder than they needed to be. Trying to get back to the demon realm to save everyone from the collector is now nearly impossible.

Luz the reason they're stuck here, why Belos found the collector. As if that guilt isn't already eating her alive, she's also carrying a secret for Eda. A horrible, disgusting secret that makes her skin crawl... but she made a promise, and she knows the consequences if she speaks out, so she fills the void in whatever ways she can—Whether it be burning her skin off, drinking first thing in the morning, or hanging out with someone smoking shit she doesn't even know the name of.

Hunter doesn't seem to be doing well, still reeling from discovering his whole life is a lie. The two bond over the secrets they're keeping from everyone else, and with so much time and limited people to talk to, they end up much closer than one might think.

(The end of S2 through Thanks to Them, but an au where Eda had been grooming Luz which left her traumatized. Amity and Willow didn't go through the portal, leading to different outcomes in relationships and plot)

Words: 2713, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of Eda is Orange

mific: (Ilya)
[personal profile] mific posting in [community profile] fancake
Fandom: Heated Rivalry
Characters/Pairings: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Cliff Marleau, Connors
Rating: Mature
Length: 5144
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply. Descriptions of illness, choking, vomiting.
Creator Links: Ragazza_Guasto on AO3
Themes: Crack treated seriously, Pining, Getting back together, Canon LGBTQ+ characters, Angst with a happy ending

Summary: “Can you believe it? How the hell did he end up bagging her?”

Ilya stared, brain not comprehending what his body already seemed to, that Hollander was dating-

“Rose fuckin’ Landry! How does the lamest guy in the League-”

He knew that smile. He thought it was for him, just for him. But it wasn't.

“No,” he whispered. His stomach spasmed.

“You good, Roz?”

Why would he- How could he-

They were holding hands…

“Rozanov? What the fuck?”

He jumped up from the table and stumbled for the front door, just barely making it through before the first mass of petals came up. He heaved as he ran, trying desperately to get away from the pavement, somewhere he could hide what was happening.

Unfortunately, his teammates had followed, because of course they would. He saw a photo of Shane Hollander holding hands with a movie star and promptly threw up.

Who wouldn't be curious?

Reccer's Notes: Hanahaki disease, where a sufferer of unrequited love starts bringing up flowers, has to be one of the crackiest tropes ever. In this story Ilya develops Hanahaki after seeing the pics of Shane going out with Rose Landry. But it's not some gently romantic fluttering of petals from his lips, it's bloodily bringing up a hard, painful tulip bulb, then more flowers, more bulbs. I guess the trope always has a potentially serious outcome (death vs requited love) but to me the "treated seriously" aspects here are the medical details and treatment, the painful and unromantic way the disease affects Ilya, and the way the fic cleverly incorporates his family history, via his mother. Ilya gets very sick indeed before Shane finds out, with inevitable results. Well written, and a great read.

Fanwork Links: All I Do is Stay Winning
All I Do is Stay Winning (podfic by sd_ryan)

full_metal_ox: A gold Chinese Metal Ox zodiac charm. (Default)
[personal profile] full_metal_ox posting in [community profile] fancake
Fandom: Transformers (Bay Movies)
Pairings/Characters: Bumblebee/Ironhide
Rating: Not Rated (I’m going to say Teen And Up; this is brazen steaming erotica, but performed in terms that circumvent meat-centric censorship laws.)
Length: ~800
Content Notes: Alien biology, fusion as relationship, Pervy Human Fancying, size difference, transformation kink
Creator Links: (AO3) [archiveofourown.org profile] crimsonclad; (LJ) [livejournal.com profile] crimsonclad

Theme: Crack Treated Seriously, Pre-AO3 Works, Rare Pairings, Robots, Androids & AI, Worldbuilding, Xeno/Alien Biology

Summary: It was many years since Bumblebee had taken a lover, and as he looked up at Ironhide, he could feel his body trembling. "What do you think we will become?"

Ironhide smiled, and the familiar metallic sound of that motion made Bumblebee shiver. "I don't know, 'Bee. But I can't wait to find out."


Author’s Notes: Perhaps I am more comfortable writing porn with no recognizable gonads????

Reccer's Notes:

Bumblebee's first partner-- so long ago-- had been a sweet thing, and the result of their coupling-- a windmill, turning lazily in the winds of Cybertron-- had been as gentle and solid as their relationship. Once, in the later days of the war, Bumblebee had thrown caution to the wind and mated with an old friend turned traitor, temporary truce formed through their mutual desperation. The result had been a ravenous sawmill, capable of churning through any kind of metal. The sheer power had been intoxicating, but afterward, Bumblebee had felt empty, used. Lonely.

But so many years later, curving up against Ironhide's warm bulk, he knew this would be different. He knew they couldn't help but become something wonderful.


This is another fandom where I scarcely go (and therefore don’t know how common this trope is), but transformation and fusion here become an ecstatic discovery in ways that anticipate Steven Universe. (And don’t miss the avalanche of gleeful bawdy squee in the comments!)

Fanwork Links: WHAT. WHAT., by [livejournal.com profile] crimsonclad on LiveJournal.

Media update 19012026

Jan. 19th, 2026 10:54 pm
alterkrmn: Nozue from the manga Old Fashion Cupcake. His expression shows confusion. (Default)
[personal profile] alterkrmn
I fully intended to write this yesterday, but the truth is, my Friday and Saturday were busy for various reasons, and yesterday, on top of making sure the kid did his assigned chores, folding the clean laundry I washed on Friday, and *not* making the grocery list because, for some reason, it's one of the most overwhelming tasks in the world for me... I've even thought of sophisticated solutions, like having a pre-made list just to track when to order what, but I never make it. At one point I even thought about designing an app (back when I was taking a Google UX course that the company I work for made us take, but that no one ever finished, myself included). But anyway, I'm getting off track. In the end, I caught up with Dare You to Death, watched the first episode of the second season of Cosmetic Playlover, and watched two more episodes of KinnPorsche.

I started two new Japanese BLs and an anime at some point during the week. Oops.

This week I also picked up reading Panguan again and I'd like to just keep reading instead of adulting, but that’s not possible. I'm behind on the Read Along, but it's fine. Reading the other people's posts motivates me, but I don't see it as a competition. I hope that after finishing that book, I can move on to the others I started last year. Also, I started another book that's not a webnovel or danmei: Convenience Store Woman by Murata Sayaka. There's another book of hers I want to read, Vanishing World, but that will be later, later, once I've finished more of the books I already have lined up.

I also wanted to edit my WIP, but again, just seeing the document overwhelmed me and I suddenly felt it would be better to make some progress on what I haven't finished writing yet, but in my notebook, and maybe that will help a bit. But it wasn't a particularly productive day. I also won't write much today about everything I'm watching, because, well, I'm not really in the mood.

Finished watching
  • Me and Thee (Thai BL) – 10 episodes

Currently reading
  • SVSSS Vol. 4 - Chapter 26
  • Counterattack - Chapter 198
  • Panguan - Chapter 48
  • Convenience Store Woman - just started it, it’s short and I hope I can read it when I finish reading Panguan and before resuming Counterattack or SVSSS

Currently watching


Dramas
  • Interminable (Thai BL) – Fridays – 11/12 episodes
  • Goddess Bless You From Death (Thai BL) – Fridays – 11/13 episodes
  • Burnout Syndrome (Thai BL) – Wednesdays – 7/10 episodes
  • The Long Ballad (Chinese Drama) – No schedule – 7/49 episodes
  • KinnPorsche (Thai BL) – No Schedule – 6/14 episodes
  • Dare You To Death (Thai BL) – Thursdays – 4/10 episodes
  • Countdown to Yes (Japanese BL) – Mondays – 1/10 episodes
  • Cosmetic Playlover (Japanese BL) – Thursdays – 1/10 episodes
  • Runaway (Thai GL) – No schedule – 2/8 episodes

Reality show
  • DMD Friendship Reality, the Third Chapter – it was on Sundays but now it changed to Friday... why??? – 5/6 episodes

Documentary
  • Debo, puedo y quiero: Juan Gabriel (Mexican documentary) – No Schedule – 3/4 episodes

Anime
  • Isekai Office Worker: The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter – Tuesdays – 2/12 episodes
  • Sanrio Danshi – No schedule – 8/12 episodes

On hold

Anime
  • Komi Can’t Communicate – No schedule – 4/24 episodes
  • Rokuhōdō Yotsuiro Biyori – No schedule – 2/12 episodes

Dramas
  • The Bangkok Boy (Thai BL) – No schedule – 2/12 episodes
  • Theory of Love (Thai BL) – No schedule – 2/12 episodes
  • Perfect 10 Liners (Thai BL) – No schedule – 4/24 episodes

Finished watching

Me and Thee. It's over. The finale was on Saturday. I watched it with a local group of BL fans in a small private room with a huge cinema-like screen and snacks. It was nice, but this time there wasn't much mingling among the attendees. I went alone, and there were several others who also came alone, but there were also friend groups. But I don't know, haha. I think a lot of us are equally introverted. Anyway, it was fun; the vibe is different from watching it alone in your living room or bedroom. At least the laughter was shared. The final episode was charming and really fun, very fitting for the series' overall tone, and I think the previous episode, which I had a lot of comments about, follows that same dynamic. In the end, I do think the way GMMTV series structure their stories could be improved, but this show was quite satisfying even with its flaws.
 
I admit I fell in love with Pond's character and that's what made me look forward to each new episode. I loved how he was completely clueless at first about how to be a normal human being, how his personality was basically just memorizing lines from his favorite lakorns, or how he tried to figure out what people assume is the norm without really understanding (or understanding at all) why, and then having to get explanations about it from others… I wonder why I liked that character so much, I can't think of a reason, hahaha.

Also, I don't know if it's because I've gotten used to the style of Thai series or because I knew it was deliberately over-the-top since it's inspired by lakorns (and well, it reminds me of the melodrama of Mexican telenovelas), but I really enjoyed the humor and just went along for the ride. In the end, I enjoyed the weekly wait and every week it managed to make me laugh, and that's something I really value these days. Do I recommend it? Yes, but to a specific audience that doesn't expect a complex plot and can overlook its narrative weaknesses, or that's looking for something written with more intricacy. I think to fully enjoy it, you have to be in a particular mood and just join in on the joke, you know? The post-credit scenes in the finale were hilarious. Also, I don't know, I guess my personal policy of not having high expectations helped a lot (not always, as you can see from my comments on other series recently… it's not about having no preferences or refusing to admit when something is driving me crazy either).


Currently watching


Interminable. I'll talk about this in detail after it ends, but it's been quite disappointing. The things that initially caught my interest in the plot haven't been enough, but I guess I've stayed because of the sunk cost fallacy or something… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Goddess Bless You From Death. I love that there really hasn't been a single episode where something didn't happen that scared me. I think this is my precise dose of horror.

Burnout Syndrome. It's so intense, so intense. I love it. This week's episode was very powerful. Three red flags reflecting different facets of humanity today, portrayed in a story you can't look away from. The colors, the symbolism, even when the characters make direct allusions to what the allegory is criticizing. I don't know, I like it a lot, a lot. And I wonder how it's going to end.

The Long Ballad. I don't have much to say yet, but I really like Changge.

KinnPorsche. Up until now I'd been watching roughly one episode a week, but yesterday I watched two. I think I've reached that point in the series where I need to keep watching. It's a shame today is Monday and work gets in the way of me and my hobbies. Yesterday I watched the episode where Kinn and Porsche are handcuffed together and have to survive in the forest; it was a very fun episode for me.

That's it for now. I wrote this in the morning, but then I started my day properly and didn't have time to post it. I hope it's readable. I'll edit the tags... later...


Looking for volunteers

Jan. 19th, 2026 09:24 pm
cmk418: (halfamoon1)
[personal profile] cmk418 posting in [community profile] halfamoon
Hi all-

Since HalfaMoon has blossomed over the years, I'd like to get some help with the feedback/cheerleading end of things. Basically, I would love to have a person or two sign up for a calendar day (not a theme day) and read/view/appreciate the contributions for that day. Please leave a comment and let me know which day or days you'd like to help with.

Everybody loves a bit of feedback and who knows, you might just discover a new fandom to fall in love with.'

Thanks for the help!
cmk

ETA: Sign-ups below (days can have more than 1 person attached)

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2 [personal profile] endlesstwanted
3 [personal profile] thatwasjustadream
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5 [personal profile] potentiality_26
6 [personal profile] rmc28
7 [personal profile] endlesstwanted
8 [personal profile] scintilla10
9 [personal profile] tielan
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13 [personal profile] rmc28
14 [personal profile] tielan