Lilah: You-you think that's it? Poof, you're cured and all your nightmares are gone?
Bethany: I'm not an idiot, Lilah, and I'm not a child.
Lilah: Yes you are, and you need us. Sooner or later your powers are gonna get out of control, and you're gonna need a friend. Bethany: My friends don't hire men to rape or kidnap me - at least not my close ones anyway. Lilah: I was trying to make you stronger. Bethany: Good job.

~~Angel Season II Episode #26: Untouched~~

---

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

• 
• someday i will walk away (Spike, Xander, T, Hellblazer xover) by madimpossibledreamer

[Chaptered Fiction]

• 
• Phantom Pains Ch. 1 (Angel/Lindsey, E) by CloudSeeker
• Foxy Lady Ch. 17 (Ensemble, M) by dogbertcarroll, Narsil
• The Lost Ch. 1 () by Asmodeus0055
• Sorry about your book Ch. 1-2/2 (COMPLETE) (Angel/Giles, G) by her_name_was_sylvia
• Made For You Ch. 52 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Missambermarie
• The Honorable Judge CH. 4 (Buffy/Faith, M) by storiwr
• Remnants of a Slayer Ch. 22 (Ensemble, M, RWBY xover) by Sir_Deadpool
• time cast a spell on you (but you won't forget me) Ch. 4 (Riley/Sam/Buffy, M) by MadeInGold
• Harry Potter and the Sunnydale Witches Ch. 5 (Willow/Tara, T, Harry Potter xover) by storiwr
• serves you right Ch. 31 (Buffy/Spike, M) by socratesgirl
• Bargain Ch. 39 (Spike/Xander, E) by immortal_katharina99
• the adventures of Ciri and Boots Ch. 4 (Buffy/Spike, G) by flootzavut
• Red Xandra: Season Two (Ensemble, T) by Kickaha
• Firebell in the Night Ch. 135 (Willow/Tara, E) by TheLightdancer
• Descend into Solitude Ch. 7 (Buffy/Spike, E) by desicat
• 
• Band Candy Baby, Chapter 46 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Tikiriaaa
• Pick Me Up, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Dusty
• 
• The Return of Oz Ch. 4 (Buffy/Oz, G) by Buffyworldbuilder
• What It Means to Be a REAL Savior Ch. 11 (Buffy, T, Walking Dead xover) by Buffyworldbuilder
• 
• Shadows on the Wall, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, M) by zinjadu
• Once They Were Friends, Chapter 21 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Grief Counseling
• 
• Ring Talks 3: Holiday Engagements (Buffy/Spike, M) by myrabeth

[Images, Audio & Video]

• 
• Headers: 4 Drusilla headers () by lesbianlestats

[Reviews & Recaps]

• 
• Seven Crows Review (Angel tie-in novel) by CandidateHefty329
• 
• S7. Ep9. Never Leave Me by becomingbuffypodcast
• S7. Ep18. “Dirty Girls” by becomingbuffypodcast
• S7. Ep15. Get It Done by becomingbuffypodcast
• S7. Ep14. First Date by becomingbuffypodcast
• S7. Ep17. “Lies My Parents Told Me” by becomingbuffypodcast
• S7. Ep13. The Killer in Me by becomingbuffypodcast
• S7. Ep16. “Storyteller” by becomingbuffypodcast
• S7. Ep12. Potential by becomingbuffypodcast
• S7. Ep11. Showtime by becomingbuffypodcast
• S7. Ep10. Bring on the Night by becomingbuffypodcast
• S7. Ep8. Sleeper by becomingbuffypodcast
• Thoughts on Rewatching S2E13-14, “Surprise” and “Innocence” (3/5) by btvsfemslashenjoyer
• When (and why?) do Buffy’s friends start using the name “Scooby Gang” by coraniaid
• 
• PODCAST: BTVS 711 - Showtime by Another Buffy Podcast
• PODCAST: S2 E4: "Inca Mummy Girl” by The Bitch Is Back with Charisma Carpenter

[Community Announcements]

• 
• Tuesday, January 27 - Promotion Day by fic_promptly

[Fandom Discussions]

• 
• Also the First has SUCH wonderful potential as a villain… by artemideaddams
• One of the things about ‘Buffy’ that contributes to its immersive feel and rewatch-ability by becomingbuffypodcast
• Okay, but Angel thinking that Faith can have redemption is not wrong. by kpchrs
• How did people in 1998 react to Surprise / Innocence? by coraniaid
• Buffy plothole spotted. by rebornautumn
• ‘LMPTM’ is a tough episode for many of us to watch by becomingbuffypodcast
• 
• What songs remind you of the demon Angelus by Fit-Difficulty8902
• What are the chances that 2027 was always the goal for airing? by SurpriseCentres7551
• what season do you think is most important? by Royal-Tangelo-5895
• name a character OR a storyline everyone loves but you don’t really agree with. by Royal-Tangelo-5895
• I can’t stand Faith by AdScared2348
• Some really fun Boom-era covers by Marguerite Sauvage by Away-Staff-6054
• Was buffy and Faith really alike? by Royal-Tangelo-5895
• The Slayer’s Lair by ConsiderationSea941
• Does anybody know where to find some cheap good quality Buffy stuff like jewelry or clothing? by Downtown-Working6463
• Spuffy issue by No_Soup3871
• Are there any characters you liked a lot less when going from one season to the next? by HomarEuropejski
• maturing is realising that I'm more and more turning into Anya by Substantial_Monk4430
• Cordelia and Gunn by Kitchen-Country-39

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

• 
• PODCAST: Mutant Enemy writers room reunion by The Writers Panel
• PUBLICATION: 28 Years Ago, Buffy Revealed a Main Character Was Secretly a Monster (But It Made Sense) by
• PUBLICATION: Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Reboot Can Finally Solve One of TV's Biggest Cliffhangers, 22 Years Later by

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

Finished the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley, technically for the first time— I've read bits and pieces out of order when encountering the different installments at bookstores or libraries, but this was my first time reading the whole series from front cover of book one to back cover of book six. I enjoyed this a lot, partly out of teenage nostalgia for the 2010 movie and for living in Toronto - which is so specifically the setting that I recognized multiple specific locations, even excluding the obvious landmarks - but also in its own right as a somewhat meandering coming-of-age story with a high Nonsense Quotient/casually bonkers world-building (the league of evil exes! subspace highways! the University of Carolina in the Sky!). Other than just having a lot more time and space to explore other characters/plotlines than the movie adaptation, I feel like the big difference is that the 2010 movie was taken (presented?) more at face value and so there's this tendency for people to be like Scott is the protagonist but he actually sucks?? like it's some sort of retrospective gotcha, while the comics are like yeah, no, Scott suuuuucks and he needs to grow the hell up. That's literally just the plot!

Re-read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald for the whatevereth time, in an attempt to mentally reboot with an actual, physical book and something short and familiar, because my brain has been sliding off of everything else I tried to read. This evidently worked, and now I'm reading Death on the Cherwell by Mavis Doriel Hay, a 1935 murder mystery set at the fictional Persephone College, Oxford— making, as sovay pointed out, for two women's colleges of Thinly Fictionalized Oxford which were the scene of criminal investigations in 1935, alongside Sayers' Shrewsbury College in Gaudy Night. (The scandal!)

January 27 - 'What are your vidding ambitions for 2026?' for serrico:

( Read more... )

(there are still slots open for the January Talking Meme here)

So, my sleep is really weird right now. One day I'll go to bed some time after midnight and wake up around 8am. The next day I'll go to bed before midnight and wake up after 2pm. I have no idea what's happening there, but it'd be super cool if my body got its shit together.

I had stuff I meant to do today, but instead I slopped around in bed, even after I woke up, and cuddled my cat. I'll go to bed late tonight, wake up early tomorrow and get all that stuff done. At least I queued up some posts I needed to put out yesterday, so I wasn't late on releasing a thing, and will have something else going out on Thursday.

(On the off chance there are people on my reading list who enjoy speculative short fiction, I put out a newsletter on (most) Tuesdays recommending two stories I've really enjoyed recently. Feel free to subscribe if you're into that kind of thing!)

Mention of doctors but nothing serious/bad

I have a psych appointment on Thursday that I have to dig out some money for, but I also found out that my health insurance is going to cover my birth control stuff for my PMDD, so I'm fucking thrilled by this! I got the script yesterday and will be picking that up once I get disability for February. I'm really hoping this is going to be good for me, cause without doing something, my cycle is absolutely debilitating.

I hope all of you have had a nice time of things and those of you with the kinds of pets who do that kind of thing have gotten many cuddles.

It's very minty.

I have a lot of indoor plants, right, mostly in the winter since I let nature fix as many of them as possible during the summer, but with indoor plants come indoor pests, so I am learning as the years pass what degree of reactivity is beneficial. And also that all plants should be closely studied as often as possible, which means at least looking at them once a week.

( plants and plant pests )

Okay, the plant report took a while, but let me check my list. I have... "Fitbit, output challenge, goldfish Lego" on my list of things to write up.

Everyone's Fitbit data is being deleted next week unless they transfer their account to Google; I did so today even though I'm still miffed that Google discontinued Fitbit challenges and expeditions, which were probably my favorite thing about the app. Robin refused and bought a Garmin instead. She sent me pictures today and reported, "It has challenges. And expeditions." I have now spent far too much time researching Garmin trackers.

I have not made any progress on the output challenge; although I have spent 30 minutes "on the phone" with Duolingo's Lily in the last two days, I have recorded 0 additional minutes of audio journaling. (The rules of the output challenge are that only your output counts (not that of a real or fictional conversation partner) and it must be recorded.) To reach 50 hours in a year I will aim for an hour a week, or 10 minutes a day. At least I will until I feel too far behind to continue, and then I will either give up or start over. I have a plan for failure! I do not have a plan for success. That seems concerning now that I think about it.

Finally, I am taking pictures of my Lego and alt-brick jianghu for beagoldfish. It's fun ♥

In your own space, create a promo and/or rec list for someone new to a fandom

I've been in the Stargate Atlantis fandom since the beginning. I can't think of or come up with a better promo for my favorite OTP than the one done by Aja many moons ago

1. and then, randomly, there was a McShep Primer on your list

(LJ link https://bookshop.livejournal.com/958654.html)


Continuing on that theme...

2. Objectifying Rodney McKay (/David Hewlett): A Picspam

3. Objectifying John Sheppard (/Joe Flanigan): A Picspam

And if that's not enough. This pairing lends itself to crack AU's that leave me with a smile on my face.

4. The Epic Tale of Rodney & John, Two Girl Scout Cookies in Love

I dropped the difficulty on Alan Wake II (just in time to get attacked by some exceedingly fast-moving wolves that I would have totally failed to deal with otherwise) and played for a bit more, long enough to switch POV character to Alan himself. This meant a shift from small rural town to big grimy city, and also brings into play the writing mechanic, where once you discover a piece of information you can rewrite an earlier scene and open up new possibilities. It had some neat moments, but it still wasn’t enough to keep me interested. It doesn’t help that I don’t like having to use a gun as my sole weapon (I do now have a crossbow, but with only three bolts and only in Saga’s POV) and I’m not thrilled by playing as an FBI agent, which is Saga’s job. I have therefore abandoned it for now.

As per last update I had started playing LEGO Horizons with my son, and I’m sure it will come as no surprise that after playing through two levels of that (Cauldrons! Thunderjaws! Varl!) I loaded Horizon Forbidden West back on to the Playstation. Originally I’d intended to only play the DLC, Burning Shores, but my only save was right before the final mission arc (on the beach at Singularity, where you’re about to call everyone in) and it felt wrong to start there, plus I would be completely out of practice with all the weapons. So obviously the only logical answer was to replay all of HFW, which, ahem, I have now done. I am now on to Burning Shores, and zipping round the half-drowned and occasionally erupting remnants of Los Angeles.

I think as a game in and of itself HZD still has the edge, but there’s a lot I love about HFW as well, including some amazing new characters, expanded weapons (I have finally gotten the hang of the shredder gauntlet, woo hoo), and new mounts. And I do like what they do with the story - the Far Zeniths, and especially Tilda, are good antagonists. I do not like Machine Strike (I have played the tutorial and the two games required to get the trophy, and no more) and I never bother with the face paint, although I do like that they’ve stuck a Pride option in to annoy all those gamer gate types complaining about having to play as a queer woman.

In your own space, create a promo and/or rec list for someone new to a fandom. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it and include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

This is going to be a rec list because Yu-Gi-Oh! is on basically every streaming service.

A 🔒 means the fic is Archive locked.

( Recs )

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-oversalting-sidewalk-driveway-local-streams.html

Snow has returned to the Philadelphia region, and along with it the white residues on streets and sidewalks that result from the over-application of deicers such as sodium chloride, or rock salt, as well as more modern salt alternatives.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-oversalting-sidewalk-driveway-local-streams.html

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-tornado.html

Researchers at the University of Kansas have shown the National Severe Storms Laboratory's Warn-on-Forecast System (WoFS) has potential to help weather forecasters issue warnings to emergency managers and the general public well before tornado formation. Their study appears in the peer-reviewed journal Weather and Forecasting.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-tornado.html

I have blacked out my card. I think I missed sharing one row but my card has all the link outs to all stories. Here are the last two bingoes I know I haven't shared.

First Bingo
Title: Forget Our Memories, Forget Our Possibilities
Author: cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Angel Dust
Rating: teen
Warnings: references to sexual and physical abuse, drug use, angst

Artist: Linkin Park
Prompt: Lyric with "remember" or "forget"
Song: Come Don’t Say


Title: I Need to Go Home (And Salvage What's Left of My Soul)
Author: cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Angel Dusk/Husk
Rating: teen
Warnings: drugs and alcoholism
Artist: Seether
Prompt: A chart topper
Song: Lost All Control


Title: Remnant of Hope
Author: cornerofmadness
Fandom: The Amazing Digital Circus
Characters/Pairings: all the circus members
Rating: teen
Warnings: whump

Artist: Nox Arcana
Prompt: an instrumental song
Song: Remnant of Hope



Title: Love For Sale
Author: cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Valentino/Angel Dust
Rating: teen
Warnings: injuries, blood, hurt/comfort

Artist: Cole Porter & Ella Fitzgerald
Prompt: Song from a soundtrack
Song: Love for Sale


 
Title: Can't Ever Keep From Falling Apart at the Seams
Author: cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Angel Dust/Husk
Rating: teen
Warnings: abuse (physical and mentally), wounds, hurt/comfort


Artist: Duran Duran
Prompt: 90s song
Song: Come Undone



Row Bingo



Title: There'll Be a Hot Time in Old Town Tonight
Author: cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Angel Dust/Husk, Cherri Bomb/Sir Pentious
Rating: teen
Warnings: unwanted touching, someone gets punched for it
 
Artist: Bessie Smith
Prompt: Pre-1900 song
Song: There'll Be a Hot Time in Old Town Tonight


Title: Wake Up Your Dream
Author: cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Angel Dust/Husk
Rating: teen
Warnings: anxiety, mental hurt/comfort

Artist: Julie & the Phantoms
Prompt: Lyric with "sleep" or "wake".
Song: Wake Up



Title: Something to Make My Heart Beat the Faster
Author: cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Husk/Angel Dust
Rating: teen
Warnings: injuries, blood, hurt/comfort

Artist: Ella Fitzgerald.
Prompt: a pre-1950s song
Song: All the Things You Are, originally written for a 1939 musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein and covered by many.


Title: You Had Some of the Best Times You'll Never Remember With Me, Alcohol
Author: cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Husk/Angel Dust, Cherri Bomb
Rating: teen
Warnings: injuries, blood, hurt/comfort, drunkeness

Artist: Brad Paisley
Prompt: a 00 song
Song: Alcohol

Title: No Matter How Strong, I'm Gonna Take You Down
Author: cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Angel Dust, Henroin
Rating: teen
Warnings: injuries, blood, murder of a parent

Artist: Rufus Wainright
Prompt: an angry song
Song: Dinner at Eight

Find my card here.

部首
手 part 5
扮, to dress up; 扯, to pull; 扰, to disturb ( pinyin )
https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?cdqrad=64

语法
2.21 part 1 Adjective degree complements: 好, 差, 早, 开心 etc.
https://www.digmandarin.com/hsk-2-grammar

词汇
虫子, insect (pinyin in tags)
https://mandarinbean.com/new-hsk-4-word-list/

Guardian:
你三番五次地来打扰我工作, you keep on showing up to disturb my work
画得不错, not badly drawn
[no bugs]

Me:
下次拍戏他要扮演古装角色。
玩得开心啊！
他很害怕虫子之类的。

I wrote a promo introduction for "High Potential" for snowflake_challenge and I'm copying it here so more folks can see it. This show has a good set of awesome female characters. \o/


High Potential


Overview

"High Potential" is a crime dramedy based around Morgan Gillory. She is highly gifted with an IQ of 160, and like many gifted people, most folks refuse to put up with her -- hence "high potential" being a mockery. Average adults don't like smart adults any better than average children like smart children, with predictably bad results. Thus she has wound up working as a cleaning lady at a police station. This leads her to pointing out an error in an investigation, which eventually brings her to work for the police as a civilian consultant.

( Read more... )

Today was super annoying because I had a very weird internet outage. Spectrum acknowledged that there was an outage in my area even! But it was only partial? Or intermittent? Just fucking weird. I could get to my work-related sites fairly frequently (outlook, sharepoint), but literally nothing else would load except for some reason gmail. Like, no news sites. No bank. No shopping sites. Bitwarden timed out trying to log into my password vault. I couldn't get anything at all to load on my personal laptop until I plugged in my phone to use it as a hotspot, which was greyed out and not allowed on my work laptop. Finally, around 4 pm when Spectrum said the outage was over but I still didn't have full service, I chatted with them and somehow their reboot of everything worked (even though I rebooted the modem and router several times on my own without any luck), so I was able to get full access to the internet on both laptops and on my TV. *hands*

In other news, I found that a stint overnight in the fridge greatly improved those cupcakes. I wasn't impressed by them at room temp (texture was super spongy), but they're really good with the extra time in the cold! So if you need vegan cupcakes, the KAB recipe is recommended, especially if you make them ahead of time.

Meanwhile, it looks like we might get a nor'easter this coming weekend? A big storm potentially, though with less snow and more wind. No warming of temperatures anyway. Oy.

*

Bloods results from Friday afternoon came in. ( Read more... )