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Daily Happiness
Nov. 2nd, 2025 03:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torachan1. Still a little sniffly and coughing, but mostly over the cold. Tested again today and still negative. I have a meeting tomorrow that can't be done online, so I was going to just bow out if I was still sick, but I think I'll be in good enough shape to go.
2. I got the last of my mom's/her husband's stuff moved from the shed with our stuff to the shed with my step-sister's stuff, so now I can work on rearranging the stuff in our shed so it's more easily accessible. I got another set of wire rack shelves this past week and put them up today, and will probably end up getting one or two more. I'm not making it a big project, just a repeating weekly task on my to-do list, so every weekend I can get a little done here and there. I'm looking forward to having it more organized.
3. We bought a Christmas tree today! Now that we have a cat free zone in the garage, we can have a tree up again, but the tree we had before was super old (had actually been one my mom bought when I was in my teens and she got tired of getting live trees every year, so it's probably 35 years old at this point) and we put it out on the curb last year when we were cleaning everything out of the garage before the remodel. We checked out Walmart last week, but all they had were pre-lit trees and I do not want one, because you're stuck with unremoveable lights when they die, and having to string new ones over them, or throwing the tree out and buying a new one. Today at Target we managed to find one tree without lights on it, and it's a nice looking one. Taller than I was anticipating buying at 7.5 feet, but the garage has a high ceiling, so it will look nice (just means I have to get the step stool out for decorating). Haven't set it up yet, but looking forward to doing that soon.
4. ( Discussion of weight loss )
5. Tuxie loves spending a few hours under this tree in the morning after breakfast.
2. I got the last of my mom's/her husband's stuff moved from the shed with our stuff to the shed with my step-sister's stuff, so now I can work on rearranging the stuff in our shed so it's more easily accessible. I got another set of wire rack shelves this past week and put them up today, and will probably end up getting one or two more. I'm not making it a big project, just a repeating weekly task on my to-do list, so every weekend I can get a little done here and there. I'm looking forward to having it more organized.
3. We bought a Christmas tree today! Now that we have a cat free zone in the garage, we can have a tree up again, but the tree we had before was super old (had actually been one my mom bought when I was in my teens and she got tired of getting live trees every year, so it's probably 35 years old at this point) and we put it out on the curb last year when we were cleaning everything out of the garage before the remodel. We checked out Walmart last week, but all they had were pre-lit trees and I do not want one, because you're stuck with unremoveable lights when they die, and having to string new ones over them, or throwing the tree out and buying a new one. Today at Target we managed to find one tree without lights on it, and it's a nice looking one. Taller than I was anticipating buying at 7.5 feet, but the garage has a high ceiling, so it will look nice (just means I have to get the step stool out for decorating). Haven't set it up yet, but looking forward to doing that soon.
4. ( Discussion of weight loss )
5. Tuxie loves spending a few hours under this tree in the morning after breakfast.
Dark Shadows: Blood Levy by Susan Rains/Carey Kasdot
Nov. 2nd, 2025 09:02 ampronker posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fancakeFandom: Dark Shadows
Pairings/Characters: Barnabas Collins, Roger Collins, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Angelique Bouchard Collins, Elliot Stokes, Julia Hoffman, David Collins, Hallie Stokes, Maggie Evans, Willie Loomis
Fanwork Links:
Blood Levy (Dark Shadows 1971) Book 3 - Chapter 1 - Carey Kasdot (SusanRains) - Dark Shadows (1966) [Archive of Our Own]
Pairings/Characters: Barnabas Collins, Roger Collins, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Angelique Bouchard Collins, Elliot Stokes, Julia Hoffman, David Collins, Hallie Stokes, Maggie Evans, Willie Loomis
Theme: Mystery & Suspense
Summary: Four strangers converge on Collinsport. But maybe one of them is coming home.
The vicious killing of two young boys has Barnabas convinced that a vampire preys upon Collinsport. His suspects are four newcomers: three strangers, and an enemy from his own past, long believed dead.Summary: Four strangers converge on Collinsport. But maybe one of them is coming home.
Reccer's Notes: Though it may be read separately without much fuss, this fic follows Lunatic Yarn, recc'd a few days ago. Blood Levy details the goings on of the ever-put-upon Collins family as they struggle to maintain their reputation while wringing a little love and enjoyment out of ~Life. It's a fine mystery using all the familiar TV show performers, the main ones in their regular roles, while various supporting performers Author has envisioned as original characters. Beginning with sudden action, continuing in an eerie atmosphere, well, could we expect anything else?
Blood Levy (Dark Shadows 1971) Book 3 - Chapter 1 - Carey Kasdot (SusanRains) - Dark Shadows (1966) [Archive of Our Own]
Sherlock Holmes: Bad Dog by Unpainted Canvas
Nov. 1st, 2025 08:47 pmkingstoken posting in fancakeFandom: Sherlock Holmes (tagged both books and Granada)
Pairings/Characters: Holmes/Watson
Rating: T
Length: 11,539 words
Creator Links: Unpainted Canvas (RatTale)
Theme: mystery & suspense, casefic
Summary: During a hard case Holmes and Watson part ways after an argument, and now Holmes suddenly has more to worry about than missing children.
Reccer's Notes: After they have a terrible row, Watson is kidnapped by bad guys to prevent Holmes from pursuing a case. The entire story is from Holmes POV, and there is a lot of worry and tension as Holmes tries to solve the disappearance of his friend. It's a good casefic, as well as the circumstances leading to realization of feelings by Holmes.
Fanwork Links: AO3
Pairings/Characters: Holmes/Watson
Rating: T
Length: 11,539 words
Creator Links: Unpainted Canvas (RatTale)
Theme: mystery & suspense, casefic
Summary: During a hard case Holmes and Watson part ways after an argument, and now Holmes suddenly has more to worry about than missing children.
Reccer's Notes: After they have a terrible row, Watson is kidnapped by bad guys to prevent Holmes from pursuing a case. The entire story is from Holmes POV, and there is a lot of worry and tension as Holmes tries to solve the disappearance of his friend. It's a good casefic, as well as the circumstances leading to realization of feelings by Holmes.
Fanwork Links: AO3
Daily Happiness
Nov. 1st, 2025 05:12 pmtorachan1. Still not covid. I'll test one more time tomorrow, but I think if it's not showing anything after four days I can safely say it's a cold. Still feeling pretty good overall.
2. The farmers market had spicy watermelon fruit leather! Just one package and it was smaller than usual, but they had it. I thought it was totally gone for the season but I guess they had a little bit of watermelon left.
3. It's feeling properly like fall today. Very overcast and chilly all day. This can continue!
4. I love how pensive Molly looks. Contemplating life while enjoying the sun.
2. The farmers market had spicy watermelon fruit leather! Just one package and it was smaller than usual, but they had it. I thought it was totally gone for the season but I guess they had a little bit of watermelon left.
3. It's feeling properly like fall today. Very overcast and chilly all day. This can continue!
4. I love how pensive Molly looks. Contemplating life while enjoying the sun.
Round 180: Mystery & Suspense
Nov. 1st, 2025 09:49 amrunpunkrun posting in fancake
Spooky season's not over yet because our theme for November is mystery & suspense!
The tag for this round is: theme: mystery & suspense
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! )
Dark Shadows: The Lunatic Yarn by Susan Rains/Carey Kasdot
Oct. 31st, 2025 10:51 pmpronker posting in fancakeFandom: Dark Shadows
Pairings/Characters: Barnabas Collins, Julia Hoffman, Elliot Stokes, David Collins, Elizabeth Collins, Roger Collins, Angelique Bouchard Collins, Harry Johnson, Willie Loomis, Maggie Evans
Rating: T
Length: 37,304
Creator Links: archiveofourown.org/users/SusanRains/pseuds/Carey%20Kasdot
Theme: Uncommon settings
Summary: A dumbwaiter system found in the house unleashes a baffling illness which turns pleasant friends into infatuated screwballs. Meanwhile, games with the dumbwaiter bring Hallie and David nights of terror. With the addition of an afghan that roams the house at will and a houseguest no one wants, Collinwood hits the height of mayhem.
Reccer's Notes: You'd be pretty hard put to discover a stranger, more unsettling setting than a dumbwaiter in which an intrepid soul or two ventures to travel. Add to this Halloween rec the inimitable spookiness of the great estate of Collinwood and you've discovered a delightful read with stellar characterizations and the usual undercurrent of Things Unseen in the fandom.
Fanwork Links: The Lunatic Yarn (Dark Shadows 1971) Book 2 - Carey Kasdot (SusanRains) - Dark Shadows (1966) [Archive of Our Own]
Pairings/Characters: Barnabas Collins, Julia Hoffman, Elliot Stokes, David Collins, Elizabeth Collins, Roger Collins, Angelique Bouchard Collins, Harry Johnson, Willie Loomis, Maggie Evans
Rating: T
Length: 37,304
Creator Links: archiveofourown.org/users/SusanRains/pseuds/Carey%20Kasdot
Theme: Uncommon settings
Summary: A dumbwaiter system found in the house unleashes a baffling illness which turns pleasant friends into infatuated screwballs. Meanwhile, games with the dumbwaiter bring Hallie and David nights of terror. With the addition of an afghan that roams the house at will and a houseguest no one wants, Collinwood hits the height of mayhem.
Reccer's Notes: You'd be pretty hard put to discover a stranger, more unsettling setting than a dumbwaiter in which an intrepid soul or two ventures to travel. Add to this Halloween rec the inimitable spookiness of the great estate of Collinwood and you've discovered a delightful read with stellar characterizations and the usual undercurrent of Things Unseen in the fandom.
Fanwork Links: The Lunatic Yarn (Dark Shadows 1971) Book 2 - Carey Kasdot (SusanRains) - Dark Shadows (1966) [Archive of Our Own]
Daily Happiness
Oct. 31st, 2025 07:04 pmtorachan1. Still not covid. Fingers crossed it stays that way. My symptoms seem to have skipped the sinus stage and just went directly from sore throat to chest congestion, which is similar to a cold I had last year. I don't love chest congestion (always a bit worried something will lurk in there and turn into bronchitis or pneumonia) but I really hate being stuffed up, so I'm happy to not be right now. I feel fine otherwise, a little tired. Worked from home again today, though aside from a meeting this morning and answering some emails and messages, I didn't really do a lot of actual work.
2. The heat spell is over and it was very pleasant today. We took a midday walk and though the sun was bright, it wasn't too hot. A little breezy. Very nice weather for a walk.
3. We have been doing this Star Wars Halloween countdown calendar we got from Disneyland and the figures are so cute! Next year we can just put them up as decorations from the beginning, but it was fun to open one each day, ending on the 31st (there are thirteen total because spooky).
We kept them on what's left of the mantel lol (just a narrow ridge of bricks since we removed the wood). I wouldn't want to put anything delicate up there, breakable or legos or such, but these are sturdy plastic figures so even if the cats had knocked them down, they wouldn't be damaged, but no one touched them.
And a closeup:
4. I love how this yawn looks like he's frantically trying to warn someone about something.
2. The heat spell is over and it was very pleasant today. We took a midday walk and though the sun was bright, it wasn't too hot. A little breezy. Very nice weather for a walk.
3. We have been doing this Star Wars Halloween countdown calendar we got from Disneyland and the figures are so cute! Next year we can just put them up as decorations from the beginning, but it was fun to open one each day, ending on the 31st (there are thirteen total because spooky).
We kept them on what's left of the mantel lol (just a narrow ridge of bricks since we removed the wood). I wouldn't want to put anything delicate up there, breakable or legos or such, but these are sturdy plastic figures so even if the cats had knocked them down, they wouldn't be damaged, but no one touched them.
And a closeup:
4. I love how this yawn looks like he's frantically trying to warn someone about something.
Weekly Reading
Oct. 31st, 2025 05:12 pmtorachanRecently Finished
Breathless Homicidal Slime Mutants: The Art of the Paperback
Found this in a neighborhood Little Library. Not much text, so it's a fast read. Mostly just pictures of old paperback book covers. It was fun to look at as something I got for free. Wouldn't buy it, though.
We Live Here Now
A woman and her husband move to an isolated old house after she's released from the hospital following a nearly fatal accident. From the beginning, there are strange goings on, but while the MC thinks the house might be haunted, her husband is convinced she's just hallucinating as a symptom of her post-sepsis syndrome. Spoiler alert: it's haunted. I think this was one of the most interesting haunted house stories I've read and I really liked the twists.
The Killings at Badger's Drift
First novel in the series the Midsomer Murders show is based on. I don't usually go for mysteries with male protags, especially policemen, but this was on a two-for-one Audible sale and I've heard go things about the show, so I decided to check it out. I like the MC all right and the mystery was interesting. Did not like that the stereotypes regarding the lone gay character, though this was published in the late 80s, so somewhat to be expected. The narrator was enjoyable. I am interested in checking out more in the series, but neither my library nor Hoopla has further audiobooks, so I'll just get book books, as I wasn't into it enough to want to spend money on it.
Chef's Secret
Most recent book in the Front Desk series of middle grade novels about a tween (now teen) Chinese-American girl who works at her family's motel. I really liked the earlier books but this one was such a disappointment. There had been little bits of romance between the MC and her male best friend in the previous couple books, but this one was not only entirely romance focused, but was from the POV of said boy, rather than the previous MC. I do not like him as a narrator and just found the romance plot of thirteen-year-olds dreadfully boring. It seems like this might be the last book in the series, but if it's not, I'll probably check out the summary/reviews before reading any further books rather than just automatically checking it out. I prefer MG over YA precisely because of the lack of romance focus (I don't mind books where the main plot is a romance, though it's not my favorite genre, but so much YA theoretically has another plot but it's actually all about choosing between two cute boys or whatever), so having it be the main plot here was a disappointment.
Yellow Stringer
This was a Hoopla bonus read or whatever they call it. Previously my library allowed you to check out six things a month with Hoopla, but recently it was cut down to four, so I assume Hoopla increased their prices or something and the library had to go down to a lower tier. Disappointing, but since I'd reached my max, I checked out the list of things you can borrow without having it count towards your total, and this was one of them. Not sure I would have checked it out otherwise. It's an English language comic done in manga style (specifically it very much reminds me of Detective Conan). A reporter for a tabloid is one of the few people who knows the articles she writes are about real supernatural events, rather than just sensational stories. Her new partner is a former cop who is sceptical until mummies start attacking them. The first several chapters are part of one longer story, and then there's a few more stand-alones. They're all just fine. It says volume one, but it's been several years and no sign of any further volumes, so it's probably abandoned. It was fine, but not something I'll bother checking up on to see if any more are ever released.
My Home Hero vol. 5-6
Breathless Homicidal Slime Mutants: The Art of the Paperback
Found this in a neighborhood Little Library. Not much text, so it's a fast read. Mostly just pictures of old paperback book covers. It was fun to look at as something I got for free. Wouldn't buy it, though.
We Live Here Now
A woman and her husband move to an isolated old house after she's released from the hospital following a nearly fatal accident. From the beginning, there are strange goings on, but while the MC thinks the house might be haunted, her husband is convinced she's just hallucinating as a symptom of her post-sepsis syndrome. Spoiler alert: it's haunted. I think this was one of the most interesting haunted house stories I've read and I really liked the twists.
The Killings at Badger's Drift
First novel in the series the Midsomer Murders show is based on. I don't usually go for mysteries with male protags, especially policemen, but this was on a two-for-one Audible sale and I've heard go things about the show, so I decided to check it out. I like the MC all right and the mystery was interesting. Did not like that the stereotypes regarding the lone gay character, though this was published in the late 80s, so somewhat to be expected. The narrator was enjoyable. I am interested in checking out more in the series, but neither my library nor Hoopla has further audiobooks, so I'll just get book books, as I wasn't into it enough to want to spend money on it.
Chef's Secret
Most recent book in the Front Desk series of middle grade novels about a tween (now teen) Chinese-American girl who works at her family's motel. I really liked the earlier books but this one was such a disappointment. There had been little bits of romance between the MC and her male best friend in the previous couple books, but this one was not only entirely romance focused, but was from the POV of said boy, rather than the previous MC. I do not like him as a narrator and just found the romance plot of thirteen-year-olds dreadfully boring. It seems like this might be the last book in the series, but if it's not, I'll probably check out the summary/reviews before reading any further books rather than just automatically checking it out. I prefer MG over YA precisely because of the lack of romance focus (I don't mind books where the main plot is a romance, though it's not my favorite genre, but so much YA theoretically has another plot but it's actually all about choosing between two cute boys or whatever), so having it be the main plot here was a disappointment.
Yellow Stringer
This was a Hoopla bonus read or whatever they call it. Previously my library allowed you to check out six things a month with Hoopla, but recently it was cut down to four, so I assume Hoopla increased their prices or something and the library had to go down to a lower tier. Disappointing, but since I'd reached my max, I checked out the list of things you can borrow without having it count towards your total, and this was one of them. Not sure I would have checked it out otherwise. It's an English language comic done in manga style (specifically it very much reminds me of Detective Conan). A reporter for a tabloid is one of the few people who knows the articles she writes are about real supernatural events, rather than just sensational stories. Her new partner is a former cop who is sceptical until mummies start attacking them. The first several chapters are part of one longer story, and then there's a few more stand-alones. They're all just fine. It says volume one, but it's been several years and no sign of any further volumes, so it's probably abandoned. It was fine, but not something I'll bother checking up on to see if any more are ever released.
My Home Hero vol. 5-6
Mo Dao Zu Shi, Chen Qing Ling: medium blues, by darkterrible; art by Mojoflower.
Oct. 31st, 2025 06:22 pmfull_metal_ox posting in fancakeFandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi
Pairings/Characters: M/M; Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, Lan Sizhui, Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling, Wen Qing, and others.
Rating: Explicit
Length: 193,252
Content Notes: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, animal death, body horror, bullying, conspiracy, domestic violence, Scenery Porn, Scenery Gorn, Smut
Creator Tags: Horror, Spooky, Opposites Attract, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Ghosts, Necromancy
Creator Links: (AO3)![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
darkterrible; (Threads) tucsonodd; (Twitter) ![[twitter.com profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/e0caa790ec10/-/twitter.com/favicon.ico)
darkterrible666
Theme: Uncommon Settings, Casefic, Canon LGBTQ+ Characters, Cops & Crime, Fandom Classics, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery & Suspense, Novel-Length Fic, Psychic Powers, Uncommon Settings, Urban Fantasy, Worldbuilding
Summary: Wei Wuxian can see the dead. Weird happenings ensue.
Author’s Notes: I really struggled with putting this back up again (sorry I know I'm a flake) I have a love/hate relationship with it. But here it is.
This is a repost (it's all over the internet in various formats and languages) but it is mine.
I wrote this a looong time ago, before I really had a GREAT understanding of the naming conventions used in the untamed. Some of it might be incorrect.
Reccer's Notes:: Although November’s Mystery & Suspense theme would apply, I’m using Uncommon Settings to shoehorn in this beloved modern-with-magic paranoir fic in time for Halloween; the intrigue-haunted waterfront city of Lotus, patterned after Venice, is very much a character in its own right. (Note that, despite the geographical inspiration, nobody seems to have been whitewashed.)
medium blues has a history as cryptic and elusive as its subject matter: for various reasons (including having been targeted in the fandom’s 2020 cyberbullying scandal) the author—along with this fic—has periodically vanished and resurfaced under a succession of pseudonyms.
Here are the author’s original summary and tags:
( Continue. )
Fanwork Links: medium blues, bydarkterrible.
(Wayback Machine): https://web.archive.org/web/20220625040644/https://archiveofourown.org/works/39589791?view_adult=true&view_full_work=true
(Archive.today): https://archive.ph/cJARF
Frontispiece by![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
mojoflower, from her review on wangxianficrecs: https://wangxianficrecs.tumblr.com/post/643044937390325760/medium-blues-by-darkandterrible-e
Pairings/Characters: M/M; Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, Lan Sizhui, Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling, Wen Qing, and others.
Rating: Explicit
Length: 193,252
Content Notes: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, animal death, body horror, bullying, conspiracy, domestic violence, Scenery Porn, Scenery Gorn, Smut
Creator Tags: Horror, Spooky, Opposites Attract, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Ghosts, Necromancy
Creator Links: (AO3)
Theme: Uncommon Settings, Casefic, Canon LGBTQ+ Characters, Cops & Crime, Fandom Classics, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery & Suspense, Novel-Length Fic, Psychic Powers, Uncommon Settings, Urban Fantasy, Worldbuilding
Summary: Wei Wuxian can see the dead. Weird happenings ensue.
Author’s Notes: I really struggled with putting this back up again (sorry I know I'm a flake) I have a love/hate relationship with it. But here it is.
This is a repost (it's all over the internet in various formats and languages) but it is mine.
I wrote this a looong time ago, before I really had a GREAT understanding of the naming conventions used in the untamed. Some of it might be incorrect.
Reccer's Notes:: Although November’s Mystery & Suspense theme would apply, I’m using Uncommon Settings to shoehorn in this beloved modern-with-magic paranoir fic in time for Halloween; the intrigue-haunted waterfront city of Lotus, patterned after Venice, is very much a character in its own right. (Note that, despite the geographical inspiration, nobody seems to have been whitewashed.)
medium blues has a history as cryptic and elusive as its subject matter: for various reasons (including having been targeted in the fandom’s 2020 cyberbullying scandal) the author—along with this fic—has periodically vanished and resurfaced under a succession of pseudonyms.
Here are the author’s original summary and tags:
( Continue. )
Fanwork Links: medium blues, by
(Wayback Machine): https://web.archive.org/web/20220625040644/https://archiveofourown.org/works/39589791?view_adult=true&view_full_work=true
(Archive.today): https://archive.ph/cJARF
Frontispiece by
due South: Academic Punk by thehoyden
Nov. 1st, 2025 01:29 ammific posting in fancakeFandom: due South
Characters/Pairings: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Diefenbaker, Victoria Metcalfe, original characters
Rating: Explicit
Length: 19,093
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings
Creator Links: thehoyden on AO3, luzula on the Audiofic Archive
Themes: Uncommon settings, Friends to lovers, First time, Working together, Complete AU: academia
Summary: "What the hell is this, an Austen novel?"
Reccer's Notes: Complete AUs are unusual in due South, and this is that rarity, a dS AU set in academia. Fraser is a new professor, looked down on by his colleagues as he's from the University of Guelph, and only Ray Kowalski, a punky, nonconformist professor, befriends him. They both have offices on the unpopular top floor (Fraser as he's bottom of the pecking order, and Ray as he likes to get away from the rest of the department), which helps kickstart their friendship. The story is about the highs and lows of academic life and there are some great sections showing Ray's unconventional teaching style which the students love, and Fraser's more traditional, but solid, approach. There's academic politics and also drama with the return of Victoria, Fraser's ex and his academic rival. It's about character development, and about Fraser and Ray's friendship which blossoms gradually into much, much more. The fic's beautifully written, and an extremely good read - highly recommended.
Fanwork Links: Academic Punk on AO3, and the excellent podfic by luzula is here
Characters/Pairings: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Diefenbaker, Victoria Metcalfe, original characters
Rating: Explicit
Length: 19,093
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings
Creator Links: thehoyden on AO3, luzula on the Audiofic Archive
Themes: Uncommon settings, Friends to lovers, First time, Working together, Complete AU: academia
Summary: "What the hell is this, an Austen novel?"
Reccer's Notes: Complete AUs are unusual in due South, and this is that rarity, a dS AU set in academia. Fraser is a new professor, looked down on by his colleagues as he's from the University of Guelph, and only Ray Kowalski, a punky, nonconformist professor, befriends him. They both have offices on the unpopular top floor (Fraser as he's bottom of the pecking order, and Ray as he likes to get away from the rest of the department), which helps kickstart their friendship. The story is about the highs and lows of academic life and there are some great sections showing Ray's unconventional teaching style which the students love, and Fraser's more traditional, but solid, approach. There's academic politics and also drama with the return of Victoria, Fraser's ex and his academic rival. It's about character development, and about Fraser and Ray's friendship which blossoms gradually into much, much more. The fic's beautifully written, and an extremely good read - highly recommended.
Fanwork Links: Academic Punk on AO3, and the excellent podfic by luzula is here
Daily Happiness
Oct. 30th, 2025 07:29 pmtorachan1. I worked from home again today, which was nice, but the reason was not so much. I'm sick again. D: Yesterday afternoon I started to feel a tickle in my throat that just continued throughout the evening, but it was super dry yesterday so it was the sort of thing that could have just been due to the weather. Unfortunately when I woke up this morning it was definitely more of a proper sore throat. So far testing negative for covid, but I'll keep checking. (I will say that the time last year when we actually did have covid, it showed up on the tests right away. But I know it doesn't always, so I won't take an early negative as a sure thing.)
2. Our new coffee table arrived and is all set up! It was not a full DIY table like Ikea, just had to attach the legs, so it was very quick to do.
3. Finished up another puzzle today. This is one of the ones we got at Target recently. It's 500 pieces but felt easier than a lot of the other ones of that size we've done, though the foil made it annoying at times since the light would kind of glare off it.
4. Jasper is such a handsome guy.
2. Our new coffee table arrived and is all set up! It was not a full DIY table like Ikea, just had to attach the legs, so it was very quick to do.
3. Finished up another puzzle today. This is one of the ones we got at Target recently. It's 500 pieces but felt easier than a lot of the other ones of that size we've done, though the foil made it annoying at times since the light would kind of glare off it.
4. Jasper is such a handsome guy.