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Random perspectives in time

Eighty years before this year, WWII ended.

Eighty years before WWII ended, the American Civil War ended.

So we are as far away from (or as close to) WWII, as the people in WWII were from (or to) the Civil War.

IDK, it's interesting to think about. Something Elizabeth Samet has written about, a bit, too.

I only wrote a very short version of that fic where Steve Rogers was a civil war vet, who was frozen until Tony from Iron Man Noir found him, but I was always fond of that idea.

Current Music: Inherent in the subject.

Entry tags:

Green Hornet; Al Hirt; Bruce Lee; Batman (1966): One man’s Green Hornet.mpg, by Ricardo Dowridge.

Fandom: Green Hornet (1966 and 2011 versions), Batman (1966), Al Hirt (musician), Bruce Lee
Pairings/Characters: Gen; Britt Reid | Green Hornet, Kato, Bruce Wayne | Batman, Dick Grayson | Robin, cameo by Beatrix Kiddo | The Bride (Kill Bill), Black Beauty is practically a character, right?
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 3:03
Content Notes: Rapid flickering image shifts; earworm hazard.
Creator Links: (Instagram)

Dorodigital; (YouTube)

Dorodigital
Theme: Amnesty, Crossovers & Fusions, FANCAKE IS FIFTEEN, Fandom Classics, Fanvids, Older Fandoms, Underloved Works

Summary: What started out as an attempt to learn flight of the bumble bee on the trumpet evolved into a fascination with the green hornet theme song. Although the show featured one of my favorite Martial Artist ..Bruce lee..the main attraction for me was the frentic trumpet solo performed by another hero of mine Mr. Al hirt. This song was also used in the motor cycle scene in kill bill. I was delighted to learn that they were making a movie version in 2011 starring Seth Rogen and Jay Chou..Alas there could be only one Bruce lee as well as one Al hirt. However I decided to perform this cover in tribute to Al and Bruce...Enjoy

Reccer's Notes: Two great tastes that taste great together: against a montage of thrilling stunts and snappy dialogue, trumpeter Ricardo Dowridge multiplies himself into an orchestra to celebrate his musical and martial heroes.

Fanwork Links:

Watch on YouTube

One man’s Green Hornet.mpg, by Ricardo Dowridge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8UVF7tkdRw

Entry tags:

The Nightmare Before Christmas; Corpse Bride: Dead Man’s Party, by Dylan White

Fandom: The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, Oingo Boingo
Pairings/Characters: Gen; background F->M (Emily ->Victor); Jack Skellington, Bonejangles, and the whole Halloween Town and Underworld crews.
Rating: Teen and Up
Length: 4:22
Content Notes: canon-typical death, undeath, decay, dismemberment, creepy-crawlies, monsters, and Body Horror.
Creator Links: (YouTube)

DylanWhitesChannel (formerly ~~weareactualsize~~
Theme: Amnesty, Crossovers & Fusions, FANCAKE IS FIFTEEN, Fandom Classics, Fanvids, Older Fandoms

Summary: Oingo Boingo's "Dead Man's Party" mashed with "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Corpse Bride." All copyrights held by original owners. Happy Halloween.
(HD re-edit from my weareactualsize channel)

Reccer's Notes: Although this repost is dated 27 October 2014, the original on White’s now-defunct previous channel dates from circa 2010. This fusion is a relentless tour-de-force of music synced to visuals synced to lyrics; Danny Elfman’s having scored both movies creates a certain built-in compatibility, and Oingo Boingo’s Halloween anthem makes for an Elfman trifecta.

Fanwork Links:

Watch on YouTube

Dead Man’s Party, by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndhDaEqjKAc

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Dancing in the Flames - the Weeknd

Entry tags:

"You can hug it out, or you can pick up a bat."

Fascinating read here: Whose League Is It Anyway? on Defector. The comments are mostly worth reading too - I especially liked this one: "One of the reasons that collective bargaining exists is that it channels labor into a well-controlled process of negotiating and grieving within a framework that still respects the legitimacy of capital and is willing to enforce its prerogatives with violence."

I also added both books discussed in the post to my to read list: Every Day Is Sunday: How Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and Roger Goodell Turned the NFL into a Cultural & Economic Juggernaut by Ken Belson, and Lords of the Realm (about baseball) by John Helyar.

Also, I don't know who Maggie Nelson is (I am old), but I thought this was a really good piece of criticism of her new book: Maggie Nelson Sputters And Stalls In ‘The Slicks’, which is apparently a (hamhanded and faily) attempt to parallel Taylor Swift with Sylvia Plath. I mean, I'm not going to lie, I enjoy many of TSwift's songs and I'm not a huge fan of Plath's work, but come the fuck on!

Anyway, I continue to find my subscription to Defector worth it, even if I don't read it as often as I'd like.

In other news, I was up early this morning, because the super said he was going to stop by to install my new apartment doorbell (when they put in this app-based front door system, it for some reason caused the bells at the apartment doors to stop working), but he hasn't shown up yet, and I'd be very surprised if he does at all. Oh well, I will try again when I'm off next week. Maybe 3rd time is the charm!

*

Entry tags:

Billy Bragg, keeping on keeping on

Watch on YouTube

Lyrics in the description.

Entry tags:

Tangled: The Next Birthday by lalaietha

Fandom: Tangled
Pairings/Characters: Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Rating: General Audiencees
Length: 714
Creator Links:

lalaietha
Theme: Amnesty, Old Fandoms, Comfortfic

Summary:
"You know," Eugene's voice comes from the side of the tower, "I am really out of practice in climbing up sheer rock-faced walls and across rickety shingles. D'you think I should start a workout regimen again? I mean, I'd kind of let it slide because these are skills commonly associated with thievery and I'm all reformed, but - "

Reccer's Notes:
In which Rapunzel is feeling overwhelmed by her first birthday celebration that involves more than one person and a chameleon, and Flynn offers sympathy and helpful(?) advice.

Short and sweet, and seemed appropriate for Fancake's birthday.

Fanwork Links: The Next Birthday on AO3

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Blush - Dessa

Entry tags:

we could share a flashlight

My brain, as the meme says, was soup yesterday - I was so wiped out by Tuesday's everything. I logged off and took a nap and even so I slept hard last night. So I think I made the right choice not to go back into the city for the farewell to the CEO event tonight. I already have to go into the office on Tuesday for our holiday party, which part of me would like to avoid as it is now a big huge thing that I, thankfully, did not have to manage. It sounds like the party committee is as crazy as ever, and Assistant J keeps asking me things and I'm like, you're going to have to talk to $SomeoneElse about that. Like, it's nice that he wants to inform me, but also I would like him to take some initiative and fix things or at least suggest solutions. Anyway, we'll see how it goes. I did coordinate the Sesa, so hopefully that goes off without a hitch - only 20 people this time, but some of them haven't done it before, so that should be good.

I also kept thinking today was Friday and then being sad because it's not. I mentioned it to my boss who was like, "it can be Friday! take tomorrow off!" but I still have too much stuff to finish because as of next Friday I am off until January 5th.

Maybe someday I'll have something interesting to say here again, but for now, I don't. I am not very happy about what is happening with the Mets this hot stove season, but ugh. At least the Knicks are kinda good?

I did watch the Supergirl teaser trailer, and I'm excited to see what they do with it, but also it makes me feel like they aren't going to ever give us Kon, now. Or they'll use his animated!YJ personality instead of his much more fun comics personality. Sigh.

*

Fancake is FIFTEEN

Photograph of a grinning Shiba Inu dog wearing a pink party hat with a 15 on it. Text: Happy Birthday, Fancake. On this day in history, jerakeen made the very first post to this comm. Happy birthday to us!

To celebrate fancake's fifteen years of operation, we're taking a two-pronged approach, with thanks to full_metal_ox for suggesting the second prong:

post recs to the comm for fanworks published in 2010 for amnesty (if all else fails, theme: old fandoms should probably cover you, but consider also theme: favorite fanworks, theme: fandom classics, and theme: underloved fanworks)
comment on this post with what you were into when you were fifteen—or what you were into fifteen years ago—what you're into today, and how your tastes have changed—or not!—over the years, or share your thoughts in your own journal and leave us a link here in the comments
a secret third thing???

Happy birthday, Fancake! Thank you for making this comm a community. 🎂

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NATM: if this was a cowboy movie (i'd give you my boots) by Liviapenn

Fandom: Night at the Museum
Pairings/Characters: Jedediah/Octavius
Rating: T
Length: 10,180
Creator Links:

liviapenn
Theme: Amnesty, Cultural Differences, Enemies to Friends (to Lovers), Enemies Working Together, Missing Scenes

Summary: There are secret articles in our treaties with the gods, of more importance than all the rest, which the historian can never know. -- Henry David Thoreau

This hour I tell things in confidence,
I might not tell everybody, but I will tell you.
-- Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"

Reccer's Notes: This is so much fun, charting the growth in these boys' friendship starting from their trek through the snow in the movie to their awkward, gradual romantic advances post-canon ❤️

Fanwork Links: if this was a cowboy movie (i'd give you my boots)

Entry tags:

BG3: Glad Tidings by partingxshot

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3
Pairings/Characters: Wyll/Astarion
Rating: T
Length: 25,638
Creator Links:

partingxshot
Theme: Amnesty, Black Characters, Characters of Colour, Character Development, Established Relationship, Family, Just Plain Fun, Marriage, Outsider POV, Politics, Post-Canon, Unconventional Format & Style, Working Together

Summary: You are ULDER RAVENGARD.

Your son is completely besotted with his fiancé, but you can’t figure out the appeal. He’s spoiled, and petty, and seems chiefly concerned with draining the Ravengard coffers. You are, frankly, at your wits’ fucking end.

Surely the only solution is to declare an INSANE SECRET WAR on him before he can ruin the MIDWINTER'S EVE BALL. This cannot possibly backfire.

[A choose-your-own-adventure Astarion son-in-law simulator. Happy Holidays! Or possibly the opposite of that.]

Reccer's Notes: This is just so much fun 😄 The notion of how Astarion would fit in at Wyll's childhood home is a common topic for Wyllstarions, and this is such a fun take on it!! It's remarkably coherent no matter which paths you take, and there are so many fun running jokes or weird endings to find! (And also, if you enjoy the writing style... Might I have a particular webcomic called Homestuck to recommend? Because it was very clearly an inspiration :D)

Fanwork Links: Glad Tidings

I need a Baldur's Gate fandom tag please, mods!!

Entry tags:

Blackadder: General Relativity by Nomad

Fandom: Blackadder Goes Forth
Pairings/Characters: Blackadder/Darling
Rating: T
Length: 20,605
Creator Links:

nomadicwriter
Theme: Amnesty, Casefic, Cuddling Snuggling & Bed-Sharing, Enemies to Lovers, Enemies Working Together, Forced Proximity, Historical Settings, Just Plain Fun, Old Fandoms, Rare Pairings, Pretend Couple, Small Fandoms, Time Travel, Uncommon Settings, Undercover as a Couple

Summary: Darling's remarkable resemblance to French traitor the Duc de Darling - no relation - sees him unwillingly sent to infiltrate a German-occupied château. Blackadder accompanies him even less willingly, especially when he learns exactly what it is they're looking for.

(Baldrick is also there, but no one bothered to find out if it was willingly or otherwise.)

Reccer's Notes: This is just so fucking good. It has been an age since I last watched Blackadder but this fic brought me all the way back immediately: the character voices are just chef's kiss! It really feels like it could've been a special episode, except with added totally in-character shippiness! 10/10, perfect characterisation, perfect dynamics, perfect silliness, no notes ❤️

Fanwork Links: General Relativity

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SVSSS: The Scum Villain's Sex and Pleasure Catalogue by benwisehart

Fandom: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System
Pairings/Characters: Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu
Rating: Explicit
Length: 18,992
Creator Links:

benwisehart
Theme: Amnesty, Book Fandoms, Domestic, Established Relationship, Humor, Trauma & Recovery

Summary: The System gives Shen Qingqiu the ability to exchange B-Points for items, and what better way to earn points than by raising the satisfaction level of Zhongdian's favourite protagonist?

OR: The one where Shen Qingqiu starts seducing the fuck out of Binghe in order to enable his caffeine addiction.

Reccer's Notes: This one seems like it'd be just a fun kinky romp (which it also is!), but it's also very thoughtful about why Shen Qingqiu was reluctant to indulge in some of these things to begin with. Sometimes it's just his self-conscious personality, and sometimes it's because he was too quick to judge, but he's also his own person with his own preferences and traumas and those deserve to be respected, too! Really, the ultimate benefit out of this whole sequence of events might just have been allowing these two a sliver of genuine open communication, even if that's sometimes a hard-won lesson.

Fanwork Links: The Scum Villain's Sex and Pleasure Catalogue

Current Mood: productive
Current Music: Rangers vs Vegas on tv

Entry tags:

adventures in cooking

trying to change momentum

This weekend seemed especially short. I woke up this morning with a headache and spent a couple of hours just lying down with my eyes covered, waiting for the Excedrin to kick in. Then I planned to make cranberry orange scones but my heavy cream was frozen, so that was delayed until it was liquid enough to pour. The funny part is that the recipe wants it to be almost frozen when you use it, but not quite as frozen as mine was.

Anyway, after waiting a bit, I made the scones and they turned out well (pic - that is also my new grey "spatter" pattern quarter sheet pan, lined with parchment).

I didn't make the glaze because I'd planned to sprinkle the scones with cranberry orange sugar, but then I forgot to do that. *hands* They still taste good!

I also made that garlic and bread soup again, but I got distracted and burned my croutons. *sadhair* Soup is still delicious, though. I wish I'd remembered to buy some arugula so I could have soup and salad, but alas, I didn't think of it when I was putting my grocery order together.

Speaking of grocery orders, when did Costco stop selling the 3 lb brick of Philadelphia cream cheese? I need it for the frosting for the red velvet cupcakes for Christmas, but I guess I will have to spend a little more and get what I need from Stop and Shop instead. *hands*

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Entry tags:

recs // books

books read: 2025 november

Made it through the last week of events for the semester, just social gatherings and planning emails for the rest of the couple weeks of work before winter break. Slowing down now in my community engagements as well, thankfully. I just want to have down time again to read books and watch shows. Maybe do a puzzle or two.

( Books, November 2025 )

Slightly under the weather (thanks, Kevin!) but doesn't feel too bad. Hopefully can get through the week -- then off to Philly for a hockey game with Michelle!

Enjoying Heated Rivalry (Crave adaptation) lately: Jacob Tierney, I love you.

Entry tags:

Lord of the Rings; How the Grinch Stole Christmas: How Sauron Stole Eä, by Elisif.

Fandom: Lord of the Rings; How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Pairings/Characters: Gen; Sauron, the Mouth of Sauron, Pippin, Sam Gamgee, the Hobbit community
Rating: General Audiences
Length: (Fic) 957 words; (Comic) 30 panels
Content Notes: No Archive Warnings Apply
Creator Tags:
Erisif | Valarhalla: #i could have done something useful today #instead i wrote this #i hate myself
english-history-trip: #lotr #nonsense #well that was my day how was yours #why is sauron in a cave and then a tower #go to hell that's why #why is frodo bartholomew cubbins instead of a who #the answer won't surprise you

Creator Links:
(Fic): Elisif: (AO3)

Elisif; (Tumblr)

valarhalla
(Fancomic): english-history-trip: (Tumblr)

english-history-trip

Theme: Amnesty, Crack, Crossovers/Fusions, Just Plain Fun, Non-Fic Recs: Fanart, Non-Fic Recs: Fancomic, Poetry, Tumblore

Summary: Every being in Eä liked peacetime a lot…
But Sauron, who was also in Eä, did NOT.

Reccer's Notes: Elisif’s retelling of The War of the Ring in Seussian rhyming verse, firmly informed by The Lore, maps the Shire onto Whoville without introducing an anachronistic Christmas (that’s for Narnia.)

And then, in proper cumulative Tumbloric fashion, english-history-trip proceeds to remix Seussian illustrations to match. (Spoiler: Sauron does not experience redemptive cardiac enlargement; another character gets to preside over the grand climactic celebration.)

Fanwork Links:

Fic: AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26135110
Tumblr: https://valarhalla.tumblr.com/post/190955320437/every-being-in-eä-liked-peacetime-a-lot-but

Fancomic: https://english-history-trip.tumblr.com/post/636994579930939392/english-history-trip-english-history-trip-part

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Miss Moneypenny - Placebo

Entry tags:

on the first roll of the dice

I was so glad to log off last night and put a period on this work week. This morning, I had to be up for the cleaning service at 9 am, and they told me the company is closing, but the team who has been cleaning my place for the last 7 years is going out on their own and wants to keep me as a client, so I will get in touch with them in the new year to set up the new arrangement. I hope it all goes smoothly!

I also made another 2 lbs of candied pecans, so I have six jars filled and have to wash the other jars so they can also be filled.

Then I took a nap that felt way longer than it was, and so even though it's only like 8:20 I keep thinking it's 11:30 pm or something. Time is so weird.

*

Thirty Six Years

Thirty-six years ago today, a lone gunman murdered fourteen women at Polytechnique Montréal, before taking his own life.

The names of the women were:

Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz

CBC: Montreal to honour 14 victims of Polytechnique massacre at ceremony.

Globe & Mail: Progress on combatting intimate-partner violence stalling under new government, advocates fear.

Entry tags:

admin: theme suggestion post

2026 Theme Suggestions

Hey all, it's December and that means it's time to share your suggestions for next year's themes!

You can comment on this post with up to 10 suggestions. Comments will be screened, but I'll unscreen mine so you can get a feel for how it goes.

Suggested themes should be new to the comm and broad enough to sustain a month of recommendations, and I'm going to be more particular than I have in the past, as I'd like to focus on general themes that make it easier for everyone to participate. To give you an idea of what this means, I'm aiming for themes that have at least 5,000 completed works on AO3. I've also preloaded the list with some common genres that, surprisingly enough, we haven't done yet, like fantasy.

I'll drop by your comments and let you know which of your suggestions meet these guidelines. As part of this process I may offer slight alterations or rework themes to make them more inclusive.

If you can, check out our spreadsheet of past themes before commenting to make sure your suggestions aren't already on there.

If you need some inspiration:

Last year's suggestion post
List of Fic Kinks, Tropes, and Clichés at Fanlore
Cliché Bingo's Big List of Clichés (Wayback Link)
Hurt/Comfort Bingo Prompts
Kink Bingo's Kink Wiki (NSFW)
Trope List & Definitions at Trope Bingo
TV Tropes

I'll add the suggestions to this post once they've been confirmed, but I still, somehow, don't have all the past themes memorized, so if I make a mistake or if I accept a suggestion that is hurtful or badly worded, let me know.

Theme suggestions will be voted on later this month and the most popular will advance to the monthly theme polls in 2026.

( Confirmed Theme Suggestions )

If you have any questions or need help, come find me!

Current Music: Implicit in the subject.

Entry tags:

Chen Qing Ling; The Magnetic Fields (band); Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits (fanvid) by soupytwist

Fandom: Chen Qing Ling;
Pairings/Characters: M/M; Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; the Cloud Recesses bunnies
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 2:26
Content Notes: No Archive Warnings Apply, anvilicious rabbit symbolism, canon-typical blood, canon-typical phallic sword symbolism, corporal punishment, fluff (figurative and literal), innuendo, societal homophobia (in-story and real-world), sparring with subtext, Xiao Zhan’s A+ rabbit handling, (not you, Wang Yibo, you’re fine.)
Creator Tags: vid, Bunnies, Pining, i'm sorry lan wangji, no really a lot of pining
Creator Links: (AO3)

soupytwist, (Dreamwidth)

soupytwist, (Tumblr)

soupytwist (locked); (YouTube)

twistedsoup

Theme: Amnesty, Angst With A Happy Ending, Animals, Humor, Non-Fic Recs: Fanvid, Canon LGBTQ+ Characters, Pining

Summary: If you look inside the heart of the mighty Hanguang-jun, you might find... bunnies.

Author’s Notes:( Continue. )

Reccer's Notes: A rec in celebration of the 4 December 2025 Full Supermoon. Stephin Merritt’s wryly anguished anthem of gay pining gains not only an unironic tenderness but the hope of a happy resolution when juxtaposed with CQL’s literal rabbits (and their pervasive symbolism as tokens, symbols, and allegory of Wangxian’s relationship, as well as allusions to a Rabbit God who’d bless a gay union.)

Nor does soupytwist’s pitch-perfect syncing of visuals to lyrics hurt one bit.

Fanwork Links:
AO3 (locked): [FANVID] Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits; Part 2 of Gusu Love Songs.
Vimeo: Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits
YouTube:Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits

Entry tags:

fandom: music

Some Bottled Joy for a Friday

Watch on YouTube