Warm my bones.
Dec. 25th, 2025 08:18 pmMy parents' apartment building is in a U shape, and on the roof, the bottom of the U is the social area - tables, chairs, plants, tiles. The two sides are closed off from general use - the water tower, electrical system access, stuff where you need it clear for safety.
I recently found out someone's been sneaking up onto the roof to smoke, and they've been doing it in the social area, or so close to it to make no difference. I figure that if they could smoke in their apartment, they would, so this is probably someone's kid, and it's easier to go to the roof to smoke than head out to the breezeway next to the building.
My concern's not any of that, but rather that they're doing it badly. When I was told about the sneaking, I remarked that they'd do better to sneak farther away from the social area so the smell doesn't linger. I said if it's cigarettes, they should do it over the breezeway so they can tap the ash away, and if they're really dedicated, they should bring along a tin of some kind to carry the refuse away with them to dispose of the evidence later. The smoking's one thing to protest, and what really gets to me is the person's total lack of tradecraft.
I recently found out someone's been sneaking up onto the roof to smoke, and they've been doing it in the social area, or so close to it to make no difference. I figure that if they could smoke in their apartment, they would, so this is probably someone's kid, and it's easier to go to the roof to smoke than head out to the breezeway next to the building.
My concern's not any of that, but rather that they're doing it badly. When I was told about the sneaking, I remarked that they'd do better to sneak farther away from the social area so the smell doesn't linger. I said if it's cigarettes, they should do it over the breezeway so they can tap the ash away, and if they're really dedicated, they should bring along a tin of some kind to carry the refuse away with them to dispose of the evidence later. The smoking's one thing to protest, and what really gets to me is the person's total lack of tradecraft.
25 in 2025: Complete
Dec. 25th, 2025 08:03 pm1. learn to hem pants
2. go to a new grocery store
3. attend a jhope concert in Brooklyn
4. make an essential oil spray
5. submit an application for a job
6. interview for a job
7. participate in a fic exchange
8. read a manga
9. go to Costco
10. work!
11. eat at a new restaurant
12. explore a trail at a new state park
13. try a new craft
14. play new board games
15. try new recipe
16. play a sport
17. accept a new client
18. try a new bathroom appliance
19. go to someone's house for dinner
20. try a new fruit
21. attend a puzzle swap
22. use a cricut
23. accompany a client to a wedding
24. read a new detective series (*)
25. drink a new cocktail
* The new cozy detective series is the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt. There are 30+ titles. Andy Carpenter is a wealthy defense lawyer who lives with his wife (former police chief) and child and quirky friends, staff, and acquaintances in Patterson, New Jersey. He also owns part of a dog shelter and the titles are puns about dogs. Grover Gardner narrates the audiobooks and they give the impression of episodes of a TV show like Psych or Monk. Carpenter has a case and there's always a dog involved. I'm currently listening to my 5th book in the series. I've listened to: The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, Deck the Hounds, Dachshund through the Snow, Silent Bite, and this is Santa's Little Yelpers. They're okay. Not too dark.
And...I'm done! Whew!
2. go to a new grocery store
3. attend a jhope concert in Brooklyn
4. make an essential oil spray
5. submit an application for a job
6. interview for a job
7. participate in a fic exchange
8. read a manga
9. go to Costco
10. work!
11. eat at a new restaurant
12. explore a trail at a new state park
13. try a new craft
14. play new board games
15. try new recipe
16. play a sport
17. accept a new client
18. try a new bathroom appliance
19. go to someone's house for dinner
20. try a new fruit
21. attend a puzzle swap
22. use a cricut
23. accompany a client to a wedding
24. read a new detective series (*)
25. drink a new cocktail
* The new cozy detective series is the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt. There are 30+ titles. Andy Carpenter is a wealthy defense lawyer who lives with his wife (former police chief) and child and quirky friends, staff, and acquaintances in Patterson, New Jersey. He also owns part of a dog shelter and the titles are puns about dogs. Grover Gardner narrates the audiobooks and they give the impression of episodes of a TV show like Psych or Monk. Carpenter has a case and there's always a dog involved. I'm currently listening to my 5th book in the series. I've listened to: The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, Deck the Hounds, Dachshund through the Snow, Silent Bite, and this is Santa's Little Yelpers. They're okay. Not too dark.
And...I'm done! Whew!
All of Agatha: Passenger to Frankfurt
Dec. 25th, 2025 07:45 pmThis series of entries is commentary on my lifelong quest to read all of Agatha Christie's works in UK publication order. It was begun in January 2021.
Passenger to Frankfurt [1970] is a completely forgettable thriller. Sir Stafford Nye (the main character's name is the highlight of the whole book) returns home and gets confronted by a mysterious woman in an airport. There's a lot of vague spy stuff, world conspiracy, Hilter and his son surviving WWII, lots of woo-woo. And of course, the most unhealthy relationship dynamics possible.
So, there are only 5 books left! Nemesis, Elephants can remember, Postern of Fate, Curtain and Sleeping Murder, I will try to stretch it out and end January 2027.
Passenger to Frankfurt [1970] is a completely forgettable thriller. Sir Stafford Nye (the main character's name is the highlight of the whole book) returns home and gets confronted by a mysterious woman in an airport. There's a lot of vague spy stuff, world conspiracy, Hilter and his son surviving WWII, lots of woo-woo. And of course, the most unhealthy relationship dynamics possible.
So, there are only 5 books left! Nemesis, Elephants can remember, Postern of Fate, Curtain and Sleeping Murder, I will try to stretch it out and end January 2027.
Puzzle: Santa's Little Helpers
Dec. 25th, 2025 07:30 pmI made the boys and their father work on this with me. I ended up finishing it later this afternoon. This is one of two I got at the library swap.
500 pieces. Cobble Hill.

I made a Christmas cake (per Minisculus request) and a cocktail called Dancing Sugarplum (vodka, Grand Marnier, lime juice, cranberry juice).

And here's a compilation of cats destroying Christmas trees.
500 pieces. Cobble Hill.

I made a Christmas cake (per Minisculus request) and a cocktail called Dancing Sugarplum (vodka, Grand Marnier, lime juice, cranberry juice).

And here's a compilation of cats destroying Christmas trees.
My fic: Sherlock Holmes (ACD): Gen
Dec. 25th, 2025 04:31 pm
Title: Between the Snowflakes
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: Gen
Length: 400
Characters: Holmes & Watson, OC
Summary: Holmes has a young client on Boxing Day.
( Read more... )
Yuletide!
Dec. 25th, 2025 09:49 amThere are two Eerie fics in Yuletide this year, which pleases me immensely!
First is my gift, which deals with Simon and his weird relationship to technology in a fantastic way:
I Love When Technology Works for Me (2275 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Eerie Indiana
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Simon Holmes, Dash X (Eerie Indiana), Marshall Teller
Additional Tags: Future Fic, Technology, POV Third Person, lightly implied mdash, Mega Voodoo Eerie Weirdness (Eerie Indiana)
Summary:
the other is Janet and Chisel having a Meeting:
Scene from a Chinese Restaurant (2009 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Eerie Indiana
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Janet Donner, Winston Chisel
Additional Tags: Future Fic, Eerie Indiana Local Politics, Implied Marshall Teller, Implied Mega Voodoo Eerie Weirdness, Chinese Food
Summary:
They're both wonderful!
I'm off to read more yuletide fics and I'll probably make up a longer rec list later in the weekend!
First is my gift, which deals with Simon and his weird relationship to technology in a fantastic way:
I Love When Technology Works for Me (2275 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Eerie Indiana
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Simon Holmes, Dash X (Eerie Indiana), Marshall Teller
Additional Tags: Future Fic, Technology, POV Third Person, lightly implied mdash, Mega Voodoo Eerie Weirdness (Eerie Indiana)
Summary:
Simon's work has recently implemented an AI assistant.
the other is Janet and Chisel having a Meeting:
Scene from a Chinese Restaurant (2009 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Eerie Indiana
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Janet Donner, Winston Chisel
Additional Tags: Future Fic, Eerie Indiana Local Politics, Implied Marshall Teller, Implied Mega Voodoo Eerie Weirdness, Chinese Food
Summary:
Several years after escaping the Lost Hour, Janet Donner meets Mayor Chisel for an important conversation.
They're both wonderful!
I'm off to read more yuletide fics and I'll probably make up a longer rec list later in the weekend!
Happy Holidays!
Dec. 25th, 2025 10:55 amHappy Christmas to all who celebrate!
As usual for someone whose job is affected by the holidays, I'm pretty relieved it's over. It's just exhausting, and somehow, I'm always too busy to really get into the season. I don't even bother decorating these days.
But I got a nice, unexpected Christmas present this year. My job does random drawings weekly during the season, as a way to encourage people to not call out. If you have perfect attendance that week, you're entered to win one of the prizes. On Monday, a few of us were talking about the prizes and I was saying that there wasn't anything I really wanted, except maybe a TV. I didn't really need one, but mine is in my bedroom. I have a small, old one in the living room, the kind that doesn't have internet. Since I don't have cable and rabbit ears don't work where I live, all it's good for is watching DVDs, so I said it would be nice to have a TV for the living room. On Tuesday, which was my day off, my name was called for a 65". So yesterday on Christmas Eve, I came home with a new TV. Merry Christmas to me! It was just so weird and funny how I was talking about it the day before, and then I won it the next day.
As usual for someone whose job is affected by the holidays, I'm pretty relieved it's over. It's just exhausting, and somehow, I'm always too busy to really get into the season. I don't even bother decorating these days.
But I got a nice, unexpected Christmas present this year. My job does random drawings weekly during the season, as a way to encourage people to not call out. If you have perfect attendance that week, you're entered to win one of the prizes. On Monday, a few of us were talking about the prizes and I was saying that there wasn't anything I really wanted, except maybe a TV. I didn't really need one, but mine is in my bedroom. I have a small, old one in the living room, the kind that doesn't have internet. Since I don't have cable and rabbit ears don't work where I live, all it's good for is watching DVDs, so I said it would be nice to have a TV for the living room. On Tuesday, which was my day off, my name was called for a 65". So yesterday on Christmas Eve, I came home with a new TV. Merry Christmas to me! It was just so weird and funny how I was talking about it the day before, and then I won it the next day.
Community Recs Post!
Dec. 25th, 2025 10:47 amEvery Thursday, we have a community post, just like this one, where you can drop a rec or five in the comments.
This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)
(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)
So what cool fics/fanvids/podfics/fancrafts/fanart/other kinds of fanworks have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.
BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here.
Wishing everyone Merry Christmas (if you celebrate) and a Happy Thursday (if you don't.) 😉
This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)
(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)
So what cool fics/fanvids/podfics/fancrafts/fanart/other kinds of fanworks have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.
BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here.
Wishing everyone Merry Christmas (if you celebrate) and a Happy Thursday (if you don't.) 😉
MGS: Rat in a Foxhole by thelonebamf
Dec. 25th, 2025 09:23 pmFandom: Metal Gear Solid
Pairings/Characters: Snake/Otacon
Rating: G
Length: 13,779 (1:33:04)
Creator Links:
thelonebamf
Theme: Amnesty, Ambiguous Relationships, Angst (With A Happy Ending), Hurt/Comfort, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Trauma & Recovery, Pre-Canon
Summary: Snake returns from Operation N313, lauded a hero and finds the latest shipment of Foxhound recruits already at the camp. Still struggling to sort out his thoughts about the mission, he finds his attention drawn to one rookie in particular, a scrawny, unassuming runt who can't seem to stay out of trouble.
Reccer's Notes: This just works so damn well as an alternate first meeting for these two! It's such a dismal, pessimistic setting - as expected with this canon - but the way these two forge a connection, finding some degree of comfort and caring and hope - makes me really emotional! And I love the use of the book, as well!(Also somehow even though I always knew the Hal connection to 2001: A Space Odyssey I never noticed how Dave fits in to it, too?! 🤦)
Fanwork Links: Rat in a Foxhole [podfic], Rat in a Foxhole
Pairings/Characters: Snake/Otacon
Rating: G
Length: 13,779 (1:33:04)
Creator Links:
Theme: Amnesty, Ambiguous Relationships, Angst (With A Happy Ending), Hurt/Comfort, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Trauma & Recovery, Pre-Canon
Summary: Snake returns from Operation N313, lauded a hero and finds the latest shipment of Foxhound recruits already at the camp. Still struggling to sort out his thoughts about the mission, he finds his attention drawn to one rookie in particular, a scrawny, unassuming runt who can't seem to stay out of trouble.
Reccer's Notes: This just works so damn well as an alternate first meeting for these two! It's such a dismal, pessimistic setting - as expected with this canon - but the way these two forge a connection, finding some degree of comfort and caring and hope - makes me really emotional! And I love the use of the book, as well!
Fanwork Links: Rat in a Foxhole [podfic], Rat in a Foxhole
Manga primer: K-9: Public Security Bureau – Division 9 – Special Abilities Countermeasure
Dec. 25th, 2025 11:01 amI've fallen into a new manga head-first, and hope to maybe entice some of you out there to check it out, if it seems like it might be relevant to your interests :D If you enjoy OT4 ships, it can work as a mini-primer on them♡ too, but no need for shipping goggles to enjoy this series, it's really really good as it is! Crossposted to my journal.)
It was hard for me to figure out how to even start a promo post, because it only took one picture to get me to try it out:

...I didn't really ask any more questions after that. Bonus impact for stumbling on it in Japanese because the "kept pet" implied in the verb is lovely, and obviously plays with the K-9/"police dog" title.
Anyway, meet Oboro on the left - he's great - and Ren on the right - she's great. The art is beautiful, and everyone is very pretty.
This seems pretty simplistic at first glance, but that slowly changes as we drill deeper into the worldbuilding and learn the nuances of these abilities and how they manifest. The implications are deeply fucked up, with often devastating consequences that I'm totally here for as my heart gets shattered again and again.


TOGETHER THEY FIGHT CRIME! More specifically, crime related to sin users. But they also get their asses kicked and handed over to them quite a bit, haha.
( A bit more on the story and on them )
It was hard for me to figure out how to even start a promo post, because it only took one picture to get me to try it out:

...I didn't really ask any more questions after that. Bonus impact for stumbling on it in Japanese because the "kept pet" implied in the verb is lovely, and obviously plays with the K-9/"police dog" title.
Anyway, meet Oboro on the left - he's great - and Ren on the right - she's great. The art is beautiful, and everyone is very pretty.
About the world
Some people have special abilities, most of which are not well understood. Only one thing is known for sure: these abilities manifest after someone commits a crime. For example, the criminal from the first chapter is an arsonist and can control/become fire. (Somewhat unrelated, but this is pretty fun coming in from the Boku No Hero Academia world, because it's like a universe in which only bad guys get a quirk.) Here, these abilities are called "sins." In the Japanese, it's simply the kanji for crime with "sin" written in katakana beside it.This seems pretty simplistic at first glance, but that slowly changes as we drill deeper into the worldbuilding and learn the nuances of these abilities and how they manifest. The implications are deeply fucked up, with often devastating consequences that I'm totally here for as my heart gets shattered again and again.
The story premise
Our plucky detective Ren is selected to join Division 9, a newly created division that pairs a detective with a sin user in order to fight fire with fire -- what could possibly go wrong?! I love her. She kicks so much ass.
So, who's our main cast?
( Short character profiles )
TOGETHER THEY FIGHT CRIME! More specifically, crime related to sin users. But they also get their asses kicked and handed over to them quite a bit, haha.
( A bit more on the story and on them )
Where to read? How many chapters are out?
( 37 chapters, 3 volumes. Totally possible to catch up in a reasonable amount of time! )SVSSS: blood, leave no stain by Boomchick
Dec. 25th, 2025 09:12 pmFandom: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System
Pairings/Characters: Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu
Rating: T
Length: 4,491
Creator Links:
boomchick
Theme: Amnesty, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Magic, Mythical Creatures: Demons, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Spells & Curses, Trauma and Recovery
Summary: Luo Binghe's healing powers falter in the shape of the wounds Xiu Ya once gave him. He does the only logical thing--HIDES IT.
Shen Qingqiu knows something is wrong with his husband, but finding out what is going to hurt...
A sweet little post-canon fic about healing, plotted with and illustrated by the incredible Falcities for the SVSSS Gotcha for Gaza
Reccer's Notes: This is such a sweet, thoughtful fic! Binghe always tries so hard to be strong, and never really quite escapes the trauma reaction that he doesn't deserve help or that suffering is just something to be endured. In this post-canon fic, his husband gets the opportunity to tell him otherwise and show him just how much he loves all parts of him, including the demonic parts!
It also has quite possibly my favourite (and very appropriate to the themes!) no beta tag ever: No beta but we live regardless
Fanwork Links: blood, leave no stain
Pairings/Characters: Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu
Rating: T
Length: 4,491
Creator Links:
Theme: Amnesty, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Magic, Mythical Creatures: Demons, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Spells & Curses, Trauma and Recovery
Summary: Luo Binghe's healing powers falter in the shape of the wounds Xiu Ya once gave him. He does the only logical thing--HIDES IT.
Shen Qingqiu knows something is wrong with his husband, but finding out what is going to hurt...
A sweet little post-canon fic about healing, plotted with and illustrated by the incredible Falcities for the SVSSS Gotcha for Gaza
Reccer's Notes: This is such a sweet, thoughtful fic! Binghe always tries so hard to be strong, and never really quite escapes the trauma reaction that he doesn't deserve help or that suffering is just something to be endured. In this post-canon fic, his husband gets the opportunity to tell him otherwise and show him just how much he loves all parts of him, including the demonic parts!
It also has quite possibly my favourite (and very appropriate to the themes!) no beta tag ever: No beta but we live regardless
Fanwork Links: blood, leave no stain








