xylodemon | Reading

this was me at 10 am this morning (remember, I start work at 9 am):

alt

But let's not talk about that! I woke up in the middle of the night absolutely CONVINCED I'd solved one of the many lingering mysteries in Dungeon Crawler Carl and then realized as I woke up a little more that no, I absolutely had not solved anything, and now I can't even remember what it was!

But I know more of you have read the books now, so let's discuss: ( Parade of Horribles spoilers )

So what do you think it was about?

*

thoughtful
Can't Find My Way Home - Blind Faith

serrico

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relaxed

musesfool

I got a decent night's sleep last night and finally feel like a human being again - on Friday night I didn't fall asleep until after 4:30 am and slept for about 6 hours, which is not enough for me anymore. I did finally pick up my glasses though - I meant to duck out of work early to go on Friday afternoon (on our last summer Friday *sob*), but alas, work didn't allow for it, and by the time I was done, I was like, I don't want to go, for a variety of reasons. So I managed it yesterday - it ended up being really quick! And I really like my new glasses. I had grown displeased (aesthetically) with the ones I had early on, but last year my prescription had barely changed so I didn't want to spend the money on new ones. This year it changed enough - and I had put the money in my FSA - that it was worth doing. Then I came home and fell asleep on the couch, all baking and cooking plans out the window. *hands*

Today, I attempted this Smitten Kitchen peach cobbler loaf and while I liked the idea of it, it is a rare miss from SK, imo, at least as written. First of all, there is way too little topping for the size of the cake (and also the streusel should have cinnamon in it too, which I added). Second of all, the bottom and sides are overcooked but the batter under the top layer of peaches is still too wet/uncooked to eat. And yet my cake-tester came out clean repeatedly (I checked, since the recipe warns about it), so idek what the deal is with that. So that was a disappointment.

Then I roasted a chicken, which is never a disappointment. It was delicious, and will feed me again during the week, despite being the smallest roasting chicken you ever did see.

I know I owe answers to comments etc. and I am going to try to catch up but no guarantees. I'm just glad we're off tomorrow.

*

okay
Seasons - Chris Cornell

musesfool

Work this week has been Too Much and I am So Tired. I have a meeting tomorrow I have to get through, and then I have to go pick up my new glasses, and then I am Done. Until it all starts again on Tuesday, sigh.

RIP Gloria Steinem. Sigh.

*

exhausted
ain't it funny how the night moves

mific posting in

fanart_recs

Fandom: Heated Rivalry
Characters/Pairing/Other Subject: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov
Content Notes/Warnings: none
Medium: digital art (Procreate)
Artist on DW/LJ: n/a
Artist Website/Gallery: probllama-mama on tumblr
Why this piece is awesome: A beautiul rendering in warm tones of their faces in the intimate scene just before the tuna meltdown. Lovely work!
Link: Shane & Ilya, backup link here

vamp_ress posting in

fancake

Fandom: The Lord of the Rings RPF
Pairings/Characters: Viggo Mortensen/Orlando Bloom
Rating: Explicit
Length: 45.000 words (the story link goes to LJ, so the wordcount is a rough estimate)
Creator Links:

jenlynn820
Theme: Mentors and protégés

Summary: AU: In the summer of 1963 Orlando and his family vacation in the Catskills in upstate New York where Orlando meets a dance instructor who changes his life forever.

Reccer's Notes: When a ship has an almost twenty-year age gap, it's kind of tailor-made for a theme like mentors and protégès. I hope I'll get around to reccing a few stories! Let's start with this wonderful story by Jen Lynn. It's a movie tie-in for Dirty Dancing - I don't know about other fandoms, but a lot of LotRPS writers rewrote movies for "their" ship. Which means that you'll meet Viggo the dance instructor in this story who has to give Orlando dance lessons. (And other lessons as well *erm.) I especially love that Jen Lynn adds an epilogue where she tries to imagine how their lives (and relationship) could go on after the movie plot ends. Highly recommended if you're a fan of Dirty Dancing and of RPS.

Fanwork Links: Hungry Eyes on LJ

susieboo posting in

fancake

Fandom: FAQ: The "Snake Fight" Portion of Your Thesis Defense (short story on McSweeney's, which you can read here)
Characters: All original student and professor characters.
Rating: Gen
Length: 2,954 words
Content Notes: No Archive warnings apply. There is discussion of snakes and snake-fighting, as well as a couple images, but nothing violent.
Creator Links: AO3 profile
Themes: Mentors and protégés, gen, epistolary, humor, fandom classics

Summary: It is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and a student needs a snake for her defense.

Reccer's notes: If you saw the fandom name and was like, "What the fuck?", I implore you to read the original short story. It's a very quick read and EXTREMELY funny - and this fic just makes that even better. If you were aware of this fandom already, then it's nearly pointless for me to talk about this story since it's such a quintessential Yuletide fic. You truly can make fanfic out of anything, and sometimes it's the weirdest, most random fandoms that create the most brilliant fanworks. As someone who just finished their Master's degree, I can confirm that this is genuinely just what grad school is like. I'm sure I drove my thesis advisor bonkers with all the panicked emails, and this story captures the madness of university regulations and bureaucracy. I think emails between myself, my committee, my advisor, and our department's admin probably shaved ten years off my total lifespan. This story is short, hilarious, and one of the best things Yuletide has ever produced - and there are a couple podfics of it too!

AO3 link.

(This will need a new fandom tag - I'm not sure if we should have one for just this story or for McSweeney's pieces in general.)

kingstoken posting in

fancake

Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (Books/Granada)
Pairings/Characters: Mycroft & Sherlock
Rating: G
Length: 836 words
Creator Links: snaitf
Theme: mentors & proteges, backstory, kidfic (them as kids), siblings

Summary: Children should be seen and not heard. That is the prevailing wisdom, at least.

Reccer's Notes: A great little story of Mycroft and Sherlock as children, and Mycroft guiding Sherlock through his deductions. Mycroft is also protective of Sherlock from a strict father.

Fanwork Links: AO3

susieboo posting in

fancake

Fandom: Knives Out movies
Characters: Father Jud Duplenticy, Bishop Langstrom
Rating: Gen
Length: 4,625 words
Content Notes: No AO3 warnings apply. PTSD and abuse.
Creator Links: AO3 profile.
Themes: Mentors and protégés, gen, trauma and recovery,

Summary: Following his killing of an opponent in the boxing ring, Jud Duplenticy begins suffering from nightmares. Years later, after the events at Our Lady of Fortitude, the nightmares return.

Reccer's notes: This is a short and sweet fic focusing on Jud's trauma following his ordeal at the hands of Rev. Wicks and the murder investigation, and his relationship with Bp. Langstrom. I loved Langstrom in the movie and wished he had more scenes, since I thought his and Jud's interactions hinted at a really interesting history - Jud says Langstrom's stuck his neck out to help him before, and Langstrom would certainly be aware of Jud's past and likely played a role in helping him move past it. This fic scratches that itch, and paints a lovely portrait of the men's friendship and the way Langstrom has been a trusted mentor to Jud, and the way their relationship would be affected by the events of the movie.

AO3 link.

runpunkrun posting in

fancake

Our theme for September is mentors & protégés!

That's teachers and students, masters and apprentices, senpai and kōhai, plus coaches, trainers, tutors, novices, newbies, and neophytes in any and all combinations.

The tag for this round is: theme: mentors & proteges

If you're just joining us, be sure to check out our policy on content notes. Content notes aren't required, but they're nice to include in your recs, especially if a fanwork has untagged content that readers may wish to know about in advance.

( Rules! )

( Posting Template! )

( Promote this round! )

Reblog on Tumblr | Reskeet on Bluesky | Retoot on Mastodon

musesfool

I survived pickleball with the bosses! (Well, not my boss, since she is still recovering, but the rest of the c-suite.) It would not have been my chosen "fun" activity, but once we got there, I had a good time. My knees, otoh, are very unhappy with me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

*

achy
Mets vs Rays on tv

mific posting in

fanart_recs

Fandom: Heated Rivalry
Characters/Pairing/Other Subject: Shane Hollander & Ilya Rozanov
Content Notes/Warnings: none
Medium: traditional art - watercolours.
Artist on DW/LJ: n/a
Artist Website/Gallery: sweetsaltybitter on Instagram
Why this piece is awesome: It's a gorgeous watercolour of the boys as small children lying in the grass, holding hands. They're extremely cute - the gap-tooth grin, the knobbly knees!
Link: Childhood friends, backup link here
Here's the original on Instagram, but as it won't be accessible to everyone, see the tumblr repost. There's also a WIP of the painting process on Instagram here.

mific posting in

fancake

Fandom: Heated Rivalry
Characters/Pairings: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Svetlana Vetrova, Yuna Hollander
Rating: Explicit
Length: 6087
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply. Shane is probably unfaithful to Rose - he doesn't seem to think their relationship's over at that point in the fic.
Creator Links: tackytiger on AO3
Themes: Pining, Ambiguous relationships, (not really) Unrequited love, Unreliable narrator, Canon LGBTQ+ characters

Summary: Does it count as Shane Hollander walking Ilya like a dog if Ilya buckles the collar on himself and hands Hollander the leash?

Reccer's Notes: Tackytiger describes the fic as a small character piece looking at Ilya's feelings at various points in his life. It's not tagged for "pining" but to me, that's very much part of Ilya's feelings. There are dog metaphors throughout, with young Ilya longing for a dog (but knowing his father would never allow it), then, in the Rose era, Ilya longs for Shane and snatches any scrap of Shane he can. It ends at the Cottage with their relationship restored and acknowledged, but there's still a sense of Ilya being dependent on Shane's attention and affection, still feeling like a stray who got lucky. Poignant, and really well written.

Fanwork Links: Lick, Lick - locked to AO3.
And there's a podfic by me.

musesfool

August recs set ahoy:

unfitforsociety has been updated for August 2026 with 18 recs in 3 fandoms:

* 10 Heated Rivalry
* 7 Batfamily
* 1 Ride or Die

***

Today's cooking was okay - the chocolate chip banana bread scones didn't taste banana-y enough to me, but I ate one while it was still warm, so maybe being totally cool will enhance the banana taste? Also, I made them too big and only got 9 instead of 12 as the recipe suggests. *hands* I have extra mashed bananas in the freezer now, so there could be a next time to get it right.

Also, you probably know this, but just in case you don't, if you want banana bread or something else really banana-y but only have less ripe bananas on hand, you can roast them, and it will intensify the flavor and work like the soft overripe ones you'd normally use.

And today's stir fry was easy but kind of bland? Maybe it's on me because I didn't bother to add the suggested pinch of salt at the end, because soy sauce is usually salty enough for me? But I thought the garlic and ginger combo would have more flavor punch and it all kind of amalgamated into something that was okay instead of great. But I still have pork and cabbage left uncooked to try again another night this week! So again, there's the opportunity for tinkering and improvement.

***

okay
but i never did like it all that much & one day the axe just fell

unfitforsociety

Batfamily

the best of both of us by

Ashynarr
They used to have a routine, involving shitty take-out, shitty movies, and a bit of shit-talking.

Dick wants to restart it, after everything. Tim's not sure if it's that easy.

Or: After Harkness' arrest, Dick and Tim have a heart-to-heart. It helps, a little. Oh boys...

Hereditary by

divineauthor
"Your children will only know us as stories," Martha says. "Ghosts." Bruce gets sent to the past and meets his parents. Oh my heart... #i'm not crying you're crying

idea man by

vaporeon_ninja
Ask him. As if it were that easy. As if Damian hasn't only just barely begun to respect him, and would immediately burn all the ground they've covered if Dick so much as implied he wanted to help him get through something. Yeah, fat chance.

No, Dick can't ask him. But he can't just keep doing nothing, either. So he decides on a third option- just start trying anything. Oh Damian... #we were the best richard

a most suitable arrangement by

Nokomis
Jason and Steph get legally married for typical vigilante reasons, and things spiral. This is SO CUTE! My heart!!!

the one who left behind his name by

Eccentric_Grace
Dick gets hit with fear toxin. this experience reveals a lot of surprising conversations he needs to have with his brothers. Oh Dickie...

Signal's Day Off by

orpheusaki
The one day Duke decides to take a day off from being Signal — everything goes wrong. Aw Duke. <333

to be buried alive by

FromStarstuff
Bruce is dead. Instead of leaving, Cass stays in Gotham. She learns a thing or two about being Batman. This is such a good look at Dick and Cass (and Damian) while Bruce is lost in the timestream. Oh, my heart...

✭

pleased
with a red guitar on fire, desire

unfitforsociety

Ride or Die

Whiptail and I by

Siria
Debbie was technically twelve days into her Interrail trip when Judith messaged her; eleven, if you allowed for how the Eurostar service they'd been on had caught on fire just a teensy, tiny bit by the time it had pulled into the station at Lille, and so Debbie had had to spend several hours convincing Interpol that she wasn't planning to make a habit of popping up in various parts of Europe in the company of a complement of dead assassins. YES! The perfect coda to the show. <333

✭

amused
but I'm sorry I don't pray that way

$unfitforsociety: (fractal swirls)$

unfitforsociety

Heated Rivalry

before you cross the street, take my hand by

EveFrancesca
Shane was never meant to be an only child. David and Yuna and eventually Shane and Ilya over the years. Oh my heart... #i'm not crying, you're crying

Cicatrix by

mellish
Really lovely deep dive into Ilya's POV.

good karma by

wermbrain
Reddit users share their off-ice encounters with MLH players Exactly what it says on the tin. <3

In His Corner by

chellefic
In 2012, Shane sees a news report about the dangers faced by gay and bisexual men in Russia. He becomes determined to make sure Ilya is safe. This changes everything. This is so sweet! <3

it's the monster hiding under your bed by

some1_around
Shane's ex-girlfriends keep coming out as queer. He's trying to be supportive, he really is, okay? Listen, he's an ally! But it's sort of becoming a problem. For pretty obvious reasons, because people are definitely starting to notice—Ilya most of all. This is a really thoughtful look at what it would be like if all Shane's ex-girlfriends came out.

the only ones who understood me then by

ygrainette
Ilya introduces Shane and Svetlana, and gets a little more than he bargained for. <333

a pox on all your houses by

apocryphal
"Chlamydia?" Ilya has never heard Hollander's voice reach such heights in the absence of a cock. "You have chlamydia?"

"I did not get it on purpose," Ilya complains. Despite the subject matter, this is hilarious and also sweet.

tell every last boy that you're my man by

throughadoor
During Ilya and Shane's second season together in Ottawa, Shane stays home with a separated shoulder and Ilya goes on a road trip. There's a misunderstanding about Medusa, the stripper that Ilya put through nursing school, a lifetime contract with gay and a rookie with a secret. All that, plus Scott Hunter wants relationship advice. This is a good read.

Vegas Canon Divergence AU by

Water_Nix
This series is an AU where they get together earlier and Shane comes out to his parents and Hayden and it all goes better than he expected. <3 (The series is not finished yet, but each story is complete)

you can sing a different song by Anonymous
Yuna Hollander has always loved hockey, from the first time her father sat her in front of a television screen to watch a game after dinner. It was the one thing she most looked forward to passing on to her own children, and she's grateful that Shane took to it the way he did. She's proud of everything he's accomplished and will accomplish, and of the man he's becoming. So, when Shane tells her, the summer before his rookie season, that he's gay, she's determined to do everything she can to ensure that his identity won't keep him from what matters most to him: hockey.

Over the course of his rookie season, Yuna helps Shane navigate the politics of the MLH and make plans for his future, a future she becomes increasingly certain is going to feature Ilya Rozanov in a starring role. Lovely AU where Yuna smoothes the way for the boys. ♥YUNA♥

✭

amused
Mercedes Benz - Janis Joplin

serrico

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complacent

mific posting in

fancake

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Rating: Explicit
Length: 2882
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply
Creator Links: sabinelagrande on AO3
Themes: Pining, Mutual pining, Friends to lovers, First time, Humor

Summary: John goes with everything. Rodney doesn't.

Reccer's Notes: A delightful short fic in which Rodney, fed up with pining and goaded by Ronon to "go off and fuck already, just to get it out of the way", finally makes a move on John. Who turns out to have been pining as well. It's hot and funny, as Rodney's POV is amusing - impatient and uncertain and acerbic. An excellent read!

Fanwork Links: LBD

musesfool

My stomach has been doing a very unpleasant thing and I need it to stop by Monday since I have to go play pickleball(!!) in Red Hook(!!!) for work.

Despite that, today, I baked a small loaf of ciabatta and made another attempt at the tomato tian, this time only cooking it for 50 minutes instead of 90 (pics). Still topped it with burrata though, and it was delicious.

My plan tomorrow is to make scones for breakfast (and the week ahead) and then some kind of pork and cabbage stir fry for dinner. We'll see how it goes.

*

satisfied
Mets vs Astros on tv

mific posting in

fancake

Fandom: due South
Characters/Pairings: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Diefenbaker, Stella Kowalski
Rating: Gen
Length: 5180
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply. Head injury with long-term disability.
Creator Links: dessert_first on AO3
Themes: Pining, Amnesia, Friends to lovers (imminent), Friendship, Hurt/comfort, (not really) unrequited love

Summary: Amnesiac Mountie with broken long-term memory storage moves in with lovesick Polish cop.

Reccer's Notes: In this story Fraser, after a head injury, develops both retrograde amnesia so that he recalls working with Ray Vecchio but not Ray Kowalski, and anterograde amnesia so that he can't lay down long-term memories and starts each day afresh. It's fanfiction amnesia of course so handwave how a relatively minor injury could cause this, and ignore the wildly unlikely notion of a hospital letting an amnesia patient occupy a bed for several weeks. In the fic, Ray K has already been pining for Fraser and he takes Fraser home to his flat to look after him, despite how it aches when every morning Fraser's forgotten him again. Or has he, entirely? It's a bit sad, yes, but there are so many great details like the techniques Fraser develops to orient himself each morning, and the muttered arguments with his father's ghost. It's all told from Ray Kowalski's inimitable perspective and Ray's support from Stella is another heartwarming aspect. The ending isn't a cure or fix-it, but it is hopeful. Beautiful writing, and a lovely, heart-tugging read.

Fanwork Links: Lost

musesfool

Wednesday reading on a Thursday:

what I've just finished:
A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett, the third Ana and Din mystery, and I think maybe the best one yet? ( spoilers ) (also, nb: I am using an Elementary icon, but this series is a Nero Wolfe analogue, not a Holmes one! I am just saying!)

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman, the third Thursday Murder Club mystery, which I enjoyed. Again, the mystery wasn't all that mysterious, but I do enjoy spending time with the characters.

Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher, the sequel to Swordheart. I enjoyed it. It's always fun to revisit the world of the White Rat, and this romance was slightly different from her usual.

what I'm reading now/next:
I don't know! I have so much fic open in tabs, so maybe that for a bit? But also so many books and do I want to stop while I've got momentum? idk idk!

*

In work news, I received a supposedly final presentation today from a program team and when I opened it, it was 1. not in the approved organization template and 2. ALL IN COMIC SANS WTF. But it came to me with alleged approval from the higher ups, so I need to ask my boss if I can at least fix the font before I send it out. (I'm still missing the slides from a different team, so it's not delayed by this or anything.) I just...how does this happen in the year of our lord 2026???

*

baffled
and they won't stop coming either by the life i've had so far

filialucis posting in

style_system

Hi all, I'm using the Modular style system with the Fresh Prose theme. The date on my entries is currently being displayed in US format (Aug. 27th, 2026). Is it possible to change this to British format and also add the day of the week, i.e. Thursday, 27 August 2026)?

I don't know a thing about CSS etc., so I'd be grateful if somebody could walk me through the process like I'm eight years old. ;)

musesfool

3 things make a post:

= RIP Tim Curry. Sigh, it's like 2016 all over again!

= Saw the eye doctor today. I mentioned that for the last week or so, I have been having a weird afterimage in my left eye that sometimes shows up as a blank spot when my eyes are open, but the doctor said she couldn't see anything wrong when she dilated my eyes. I have to go back in a month for another dilation. I am getting new glasses in the meantime, and also she said she sees the very early beginnings of cataracts. My dad had them, and eventually had surgery for them, but I am not noticing anything different (other than the weird afterimage) in my vision at this time, so we'll be - no pun intended - keeping an eye on it.

= After the eye doctor, I renewed my NYPL library card, so that was good.

= I watched this week's Ted Lasso and wtf? Who are the writers and can we fire them??? ( spoilers )

*

annoyed
Enough to Go By - Vienna Teng

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xylodemon

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March 2025

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Fanfiction

Page Summary

musesfool - somebody holds the key
serrico - "Everyone needs a shaky-box! Available where you get your things."
musesfool - and i'm lost behind
musesfool - started humming a song from 1962
mific in fanart_recs - Shane & Ilya by probllama-mama (SFW)
vamp_ress in fancake - The Lord of the Rings RPF: "Hungry Eyes" by Jen Lynn
susieboo in fancake - FAQ: The "Snake Fight" Portion of Your Thesis Defense: "Re: Thesis defense issue" by kalirush
kingstoken in fancake - Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Aglet by snaitf
susieboo in fancake - Knives Out movies: Mercy and Healing by FFcrazy15
runpunkrun in fancake - Round 190: Mentors & Protégés
musesfool - he got hammered early and often
mific in fanart_recs - Childhood friends by sweetsaltybitter (SFW)
mific in fancake - Heated Rivalry: Lick, Lick by tackytiger
musesfool - working as a cook for a spell
unfitforsociety - where the bright lights and the big city meet
unfitforsociety - and you think love is to pray
unfitforsociety - my friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends
serrico - On the schedule for tomorrow: absolutely NOTHING!
mific in fancake - SGA: LBD by sabinelagrande
musesfool - let's see how he does back to back
mific in fancake - due South: Lost by dessert_first
musesfool - and all the problems of the world won't be solved by this guitar
filialucis in style_system - Modifying date format
musesfool - i've built a lot of blazing speed-of-light machines

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Base style: Compartmentalize by timeasmymeasure
Theme: Gentle Terra by krja

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my sandwich didn't do anything

Reading

somebody holds the key

"Everyone needs a shaky-box! Available where you get your things."

and i'm lost behind

started humming a song from 1962

Shane & Ilya by probllama-mama (SFW)

The Lord of the Rings RPF: "Hungry Eyes" by Jen Lynn

FAQ: The "Snake Fight" Portion of Your Thesis Defense: "Re: Thesis defense issue" by kalirush

Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Aglet by snaitf

Knives Out movies: Mercy and Healing by FFcrazy15

Round 190: Mentors & Protégés

he got hammered early and often

Childhood friends by sweetsaltybitter (SFW)

Heated Rivalry: Lick, Lick by tackytiger

working as a cook for a spell

where the bright lights and the big city meet

and you think love is to pray

my friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends

On the schedule for tomorrow: absolutely NOTHING!

SGA: LBD by sabinelagrande

let's see how he does back to back

due South: Lost by dessert_first

and all the problems of the world won't be solved by this guitar

Modifying date format

i've built a lot of blazing speed-of-light machines

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March 2025

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