stay young, go dancing

+ I was going to do my yearly 5 icon slots as a gift to myself, and it turns out 550 is a hard limit and I can't have any more. No fair. I got DW money some other way but boo.

+ Fallout is apparently back! I watched both episodes yesterday and enjoyed them. We're getting more zany vault culture and I'm here for it. Also a delightful actor appearance, big plus there.

+ Absolutely fell behind on rec_cember. My brain has been Tired from being social every day. I do have a few more planned, fingers crossed they actually happen?

+ Christmas Eve was an absolute success. The food was lovely, everyone was healthy and in good spirits, and since there were no kids we took our time and opened one package at a time. I finally have a working vacuum again \o/ A foldable foot bath, and a ginger preserve I'm quite excited to try out. Some creams, u retweet, tea, and a gift card for RITUALS. All useful things.

+ Joined my brother in picking up my dad from the airport earlier. Now to figure out what will happen for my birthday, then my friend's birthday the day after, and THEN New Year's. I'd like a nap tbh.

+ Had an extended family dinner today and got to listen to my lovely aunt and cousin talk about how great ChatGPT is, how she's using it to plan a girl's trip to Italy, and how helpful it'll be for writing the speeches at my grandmother's funeral. Fucking shoot me into outer space strapped to a rocket.

+ Got to see the latest Avatar movie at the cinemas. My least favorite of the three, lacking the genuine awe and beauty of the world. What they did try just felt forced, and one character in particular should have been left to die in the second movie ugh.

+ Big plus for the cozy and hazily lit curtain fic promo trailer thingy they did before the movie. IYKYK. Kinda made me wish I had an ear to the ground in that fandom still.

+ I think I've successfully broken through my iconning block!! Shout out to dysfunctional vampires and dysfunctional lesbians.

+ BIG psa: Apple shifted Pluribus to air on the 24th, two days earlier than usual. I'll have to get up extra early to see it before 2 Nøtter Til Askepott, because if not I'll be thinking about it and wanting to all day lol. It's been such a good series for me to watch? There's this whole thing where there's two wolves inside of me, one appreciating the thought and care put into every decision, and how slow it's allowed to move, the second wanting to pick into every detail and tear through it. Both enjoyable in different ways!

I have watched every episode a minimum of twice. It may be my new comfort watch show?¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

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Rec-cember Day 22
Pluribus ( I'd say spoilery for last week's episode. )

+ Been doing a poor job of lighting my Christmas incense, but I remembered today and the place smells cozy.

+ Know what you need right now? Funny animal pictures. Know where to find a whole gallery of them? Right here! Delighted to find there's an annual Comedy Wildlife Photo contest.

+ Humble Bundle is running a package with Vegas Pro 22, Sound Forge Pro 17, Music Maker 2024, and movie Studio 2024 Suite. The minimum is €48.56, and it supports the World Central Kitchen. Annoyingly, I cannot for the life of me find whether or not I can avoid the fuck out of Vegas' AI features (preferably deleting them entirely), but I've been missing a video editor for ages now. I know I never finish my vids, but definitely not if I'm missing the software.

+ Speaking of bundles: there's a Wholesome Snacks games bundle! And I know we could all use a wholesome snack or two. So I'll do a tiny giveaway, just comment which game you'd like and I'll do a random draw.

On Your Tail - You are Diana, a young detective who is obsessed with uncovering the small town's secrets. By day, you enjoy the cozy life, by night, you use stealth, observation, and deduction mechanics to secretly follow suspects and gather clues to crack the case!

NAIAD - An ethereal and meditative river journey game! You embody Naiad, a curious water spirit who awakens in a remote spring and embarks on a long, winding journey down a mysterious river to the sea.

Spirittea - After accidentally drinking mystical tea, you gain the ability to see and interact with mischievous spirits. Your job is to restore and manage an old spirit bathhouse, serving the quirky spirits, gathering resources, and building relationships with the fully voiced townsfolk, all while trying to solve the local town mystery.

Little Known Galaxy - A colorful cozy space adventure and life simulation game where you manage a spaceship and explore the galaxy. You take on the role of a new captain and work with your crew to improve your ship, explore new planets, and solve the mystery of an ancient relic.

SUMMERHOUSE - A small-scale, extremely zen building game and a love letter to lost summer afternoons. There is no management, no goals, no combat, and no failure states. You are invited to simply sit back and doodle whimsical castles, cozy cottages, and romantic ruins in tiny diorama settings.

+ I've just re-downloaded Disney Dreamlight Valley to see what the holiday decor is like. I am going to Christmas to the max dammit (says the one not bothering to decorate her own damn apartment). Also picked up a DLC for Rimworld and CK3 now that the holiday steam sales started.

+ My brother invited me out to help decorate their tree yesterday though! And both the cats vocally and physically greeted me. They live in constant Stranger Danger, making it extra heartening whenever they don't run for the hills.

+ It's not pouring rain outside hallelujah, this is a sign I should go buy butter chicken, isn't it? And find some holiday costumed Pokemon on the way, you say?

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Rec-cember Day 16

Scott Pilgrim
Afternoon Delights by wakeupnew (1,033 words). A good Wallace and Scott interaction never fails to cheer me up.
There is a bang.

The door, he realizes fuzzily. Possibly -- hitting something?? Definitely opening really loudly. He really wishes it wasn't doing that. He should probably start locking it while he's sleeping.

"I thought your shit had supposedly been gotten together, guy," says someone, who flings himself down on the sofa that Scott uses for a bed, hard enough that the cushions bounce under both of them. "What are you doing asleep at 3:00 on a sunny Saturday afternoon?"

"Frrrrsleeping," Scott groans indignantly, and then Wallace plucks the pillow off his head and out of his arms. Scott tries to grab it back without opening his eyes, and his hands mostly just flail ineffectually against Wallace's jeans.

"Whoa there, tiger," Wallace drawls. "I have a boyfriend now; let's keep it PG." He drops the pillow on Scott's chest. If it's possible to drop a pillow with force, Wallace does it. "You know, considering that you're the all-time evil-ex-fighting champion and the best fighter in the greater Toronto metropolitan area, it was very easy to pull that away from you."

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Rec-cember Day 14

Bound
Devil Never Saw the Likes of Us by scioscribe (2,958 words). Never was I ever not a Tilly fangirl, and Bound is just one of those movies I love to bits. This fic absolutely nails them.
It started right on their doorstep. Violet got out of bed Saturday morning and tugged a silk bathrobe up over her shoulders.

It was new. Almost everything she had with her had been bought since they’d left the city, but this was so new she’d had to snap the tags off it before she pulled it on. It had this swirly peacock pattern on it, like streaks of paint, and paint felt sort of like their lucky charm.

She wasn’t much of a cook, but she could add water to a mix like anybody else, and she decided to make blueberry muffins. She liked the little pastel-and-foil cups you put them in to bake: everything had its own little splotch of color. The old apartment had been nothing but black and white and steel, lifeless and cold. This place—their place—was different.

She was just sliding the tray in the oven when she heard the knock.