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Heated Rivalry: Keep Pace by toomuchplor

Fandom: Heated Rivalry
Characters/Pairings: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Yuna Hollander/David Hollander
Rating: Teen
Length: 1443
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply
Creator Links: toomuchplor on AO3
Themes: canon LGBTQ+ characters, Family, Established relationship, Missing scene

Summary:
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. ~ Thoreau
Or;
What happened when Yuna and Shane were talking.

Reccer's Notes:
I wanted this scene when I watched episode 6, and toomuchplor wrote it! This is what happens between Ilya and David when Shane is outside talking with Yuna. It's also about David observing how in love Shane and Ilya are, and about David and Yuna gradually getting to grips with all the revelations. It's wonderfully written, and just exactly what I'd hoped someone would write. Also, toomuchplor is in the vortex!! *excited noises* (this is plor's 3rd HR fic).

Fanwork Links: Keep Pace

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NATM: On Every Horizon by flowerdeluce

Fandom: Night at the Museum
Pairings/Characters: Jedediah/Octavius
Rating: T
Length: 15,551
Creator Links:

flowerdeluce
Theme: Amnesty, (Five) Things, Essential Starter Recs, Friends to Lovers, Heists & Capers, Just Plain Fun, Magic, Research, Slow Burn, Uncommon Settings, Working Together, Worldbuilding

Summary: After discovering how lucrative ‘publicity stunts’ are for the museum, McPhee organises a series of art exhibitions in the museum’s gallery. The installations are refreshed weekly, leaving Jed and Octavius only brief windows of time to explore each one.

Reccer's Notes: An absolutely gorgeous fic which integrates real-world museum exhibits; they all sounded so unique and fascinating it made me want to visit my own local museum, too!! The slow build up of the boys' relationship is also just delightful as they explore these new worlds and the many other ways the museum's magic animates each unique exhibit.

Fanwork Links: On Every Horizon

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SVSSS: Peel You Open (Like A Flower, Or An Onion) by ratjamtime1EndRacismintheOTW1

Fandom: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System
Pairings/Characters: Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu
Rating: M
Length: 33,372
Creator Links:

ratjamtime1EndRacismintheOTW1
Theme: Amnesty, (Not Really) Unrequited Love, Casefic, Character Development, Clones & Doppelgangers, Favorite Fanworks, Fix-it, Identity Porn, Loyalty Kink, Secret Identity Reveal, Spells & Curses, Trauma & Recovery

Summary: Luo Binghe is setting the beginning foundations of his attempt to prove himself the righteous cultivator Shen Qingqiu could welcome back to his side (and possibly love but let's not get ahead of ourselves here) when he hears his master's life is in peril. He leaps at the chance to prove his goodness and worth to his master.

Luo Binghe learns his master is not the man he thought he was.

AKA

Shen 'Airplane wrote this for an orgy wife plot/love confession but I'll be damned before I do anything like THAT' Qingqiu vs Luo 'If it were not for Shizun, I'd kill everyone on this mountain and then myself' Binghe, FIGHT

Reccer's Notes: Out of all the 'Binghe fights the System and finds out Shen Qingqiu's true identity' fics out there (and there will never be enough to satiate my cravings), this one is my favourite. Please don't be turned off by the grammar: this is such a perfect dissection of the many different parts of Shen Qingqiu slash Shen Yuan, following Binghe through a series of important memories as he pieces together the truth and reaches the core of the rift between he and his Shizun. It just feels so perfectly... conclusive: when it ended all I could do is sit back and bask in the satisfaction because it felt like such a perfect ending for them both!!

Fanwork Links: Peel You Open (Like A Flower, Or An Onion)

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The Turning Universe by Jae Gecko

Fandom: The West Wing
Pairings/Characters: Sam Seaborn/Josh Lyman-focus; also includes Sam/OMC, Josh/Amy and Josh/Donna
Rating: E
Length: 347,597 overall
Creator Links:

jaegecko
Theme: Amnesty, Ambiguous Relationships, Backstory, Character Development, Epic Works, Fandom Classics, Getting Back Together, Missing Scenes, Mutual Pining, Politics, Research, Series

Summary: The Turningverse is a series of stories that interweave with both canon "West Wing" episodes and each other. Each one is self-contained, so feel free to begin anywhere you feel moved to do so.

Reccer's Notes: THE big Sam/Josh fic, and it earns all of its accolades! The author is incredibly knowledgeable about the day-to-day realities of political campaigners and White House staffers, flawlessly interspersing their own original scenes with canon. And the central relationship is so perfectly, tragically flawed: two men who are intrinsically drawn to one another, struggling to overcome the lack of privacy inherent to their position, burgeoning resentment, and some of the most heart-breakingly realistic internalised homophobia I've read in a long time. And that's not to mention the fic's version of Lisa, Sam's initial fiance, who becomes a very important character just as flawed and with just as complicated a relationship with Sam and Josh as they have with another. I devoured these fics and never wanted to stop!

However, be aware that the final fic of the series (the intended second-last part) was never fully completed. As a result, the series never reached the point where the couple gets back together for good. I recommend ending with 'Interlude for two voices' if you can't bear that; I sure stayed there for a while until I could bring myself to go on! :')

Fanwork Links: The Turning universe

Current Mood: anxious

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Anime Check-in: Cardfight!! Vanguard ep. 6-9

Episode 6: Morikawa takes Aichi along to another card shop called PSY that only shows itself for certain people and encourages him to join a tournament. A girl gets in his face and stares at him. 😅

Then a really tall woman with a funky hairdo challenges him to a duel. ...I kinda want to try that hairstyle just for fun.

A card shop run by all-women is cool. And while Aichi lost, he got a new card and learned a lot!

Episode 7: Morikawa vs Kamui, the latter of course won. Aichi gets pressured to follow Kai by Kamui along with Miwa who want to see where he lives. He catches them and is naturally unhappy, Aichi took the wrap and asked Kai to tell him his situation if he wins, but Kai says he isn't ready and to stay out of his business. "If I want you to know then I'll tell you."

Kai vs Kamui, Kai wins though Kamui lasted a while. Before Kai leaves, Aichi promises to faces him someday.

Episode 8: Did Emi have to be so mean? I mean maybe she didn't want him to get hurt? But it's good for beginners to participate and get experience!

Aichi tries to sign up last minute but a guy Kishida throws in his application too and there was only one spot left. Kishida is voiced by Konishi Katsuyuki. Ironic to hear him call out "Alfred?!

Aichi did so good!! He's just going to continue getting better even if he can't beat Kai yet.

Episode 9: Oh, Misaki's in the tournament!

Poor Aichi is so nervous and beating himself up for it, but it's just because he cares so much.

Morikawa may not be bullying Aichi anymore but he's still hopeless. He'll only improve if he starts taking the actual game seriously and not just what he wants out of it. And he gets a big thumbs down for looking down on Misaki!

Misaki and Aichi won, hah. =P

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rec,
yuletide

Yuletide 2025 recs

I feel like I'm so out of practice doing this, but I've got a nice collection of fics from a first pass run through Yuletide :)

Firstly, my two awesome gifts:

late night conversation (IVE - Off the Record MV)
This is one of my favourite IVE MVs, it's got so much beautiful and intriguing visual imagery to think about. This fic does a lovely job of following the individual paths the girls take and wonder - why are they apart (and often, sad) when they were so happy together? - then draws them all back into the same house and back into each other's hearts. It's going to linger in my head for a while!

Two Coffees, One Tea (Mitsuda Takuzo/Satomura Shinpei/Yanoguchi Mia; 三人夫婦 | Two Husbands One Wife)
This is exactly what I wanted for the three of them, just a sense of how they navigate life in the physical spaces of home, of travelling, in bed, and how they balance each other out in the best ways. Takuzo knowing where things are and being forthright about the things they need; Shinpei looking out for them and reminding them about the little relational things; Mia making their place a home and being bossy when they need her to be.

( and a grab bag of great reads after the cut: Bend It Like Beckham, Billy Elliot, Blackadder, NMIXX, Revenged Love, Sabrina Carpenter - Manchild, Set It Up )

Current Mood: cold
Current Music: Rangers vs Canes on tv

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memes

this is an odd-man rush against

The first lines of each month meme, 2025 edition:

( 2025 first lines from each month )
***

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needy trees!

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High Altitude Cooking Instructions

https://xkcd.com/3187/

1,300,000-1,400,000 ft: Ask a crew member to show you how to use the ISS food warmer.

https://xkcd.com/3187/

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location: rhode island

Snow birding

We did receive a minor 3 inch snow storm Friday night into Saturday.

The result was a bonanza of birds at the feeders both Saturday and Sunday - A large flock of Sparrows and Dark eyed Juncos, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Downy and Red bellied Woodpeckers and a Robin.

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Yuletide recs, part II

So many delicious goodies. :') I hope to make at least one more recs post before writer reveals.

Two, Seven, Eight, Possibly in Michigan, 1.8k. The Beachwood Place Mall is not a great work environment. The canon is a bizarre 1983 short film about weird men in masks following women in shopping malls, possibly with the intention of eating them, which you can watch here; this fic is a series of incident reports and answering machine messages to and from a concerned perfume counter employee. IDK if it's possible to fully capture the fever dream quality of the film, but this takes a good stab.

an island made from fate, The Secret History, Camilla & Charles, 1.6k. Early on at Hampden, Camilla escapes a tedious house party and finds Charles. This is a great, elegantly written little character study of Camilla, who never got quite enough time in the book IMO, and really shows the fault lines of her relationship with Charles. Great stuff.

k2, p2, yo, k2tog, The Raven Tower, The Strength and Patience of the Hill and The Myriad, 1.2k. The Strength and Patience tells a story about a sheep, and The Myriad has quibbles. The story about the sheep is fun and feels very in keeping with the universe of the novel, and the reveal about why the Strength and Patience has chosen to tell this particular story is delightful.

la femme comme il (en) faut, Impromptu (1991), George Sand, 3.2k. George gets invited to a salon and attends despite her better instincts. I'm not familiar with the movie and found this via the historical RPF tag, but I really enjoyed this vivid portrait of the Parisian artistic community at this time period, and the last scene really elevates it, IMO, and ties the whole thing together. I love the subtle emotional arc of this, and now I kind of want to go find the George Sand biography the author mentionds in the notes.

More A Comment Than A Question, The Dispossessed, Laia Asieo Odo & Sadik, 2.3k. Every so often, Laia goes a little mad and hears a voice claiming to be from the future. It's been a long time since I read about these characters, but I enjoyed this so much. The device of visiting Laia at these various points in her life was very cool, and there's something so peaceful about this whole fic, too, the same sense of peace and simplicity I got from reading the novel years ago.

There's No Discharge in the War, The Long Walk - Stephen King, Stebbins, 12k. Stebbins walks, dies, walks again. Stebbins has always been a sneaky favorite of mine, and I love seeing him get a fic all his own here that fleshes him out and gives him his own unique horrific trauma! The author uses the time loop device to fantastic and creative effect, and it all adds up to a conclusion that I like more and more the longer I think about it. Absolutely spectacular work. One of my favorites this year.

Hyacinth Girl, Waking the Moon, Oliver Crawford, 7.6k. Oliver, before the Divine. The author tags this as "Tragic Backstory" and they are correct!! I read this book last year and yet feel as though I'm missing things in this fic; I can't quite tell how many of these elements were present in the novel and which the author invents here, but the result is gorgeous and heartbreaking. You've got fairy tale stuff, dysfunctional family, the Benandanti always menacing in the background, more literay quotes than you can shake a stick at, absolutely gorgeous imagery.

Knife, Rope (1948), Brandon/Phillip, 4.9k. Brandon and Phillip's class go on a camping trip, and Brandon discovers that Phillip is not just more wallpaper. This is obviously backstory to the movie but feels like a beautiful, self-contained little psychopathic romance on its own. Two weirdos falling in love via discussing murder scenarios!! I was compelled from start to finish.

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Min Heejin, Hybe, and New Jeans: The Dumpster Before the Fire

Annnnnnnd we're back with more corporate scandal posting.

This is a copy & paste of a doc I wrote intended for non-kpop fans (read: my D&D group) and as such has some explanations that will feel "dumbed down" for those in the know. You'll survive. Also, this is very specifically the origin of the fight, written on April 28th, 2024 so it does not include any information after that date.

I'm posting it because some jpop friends saw the news about Danielle's contract being canceled today, and the suit against her parents, and were very confused by how this all broke down the way it did.

I'll do my best to get my thoughts together for a part 2 summarizing what has happened since April of 2024.

( The real TL;DR of this all is worst person you know makes a good point but both parties are the worst people. )

And that's how all this mess started. A lot has happened since April 2024, but it's good to ground yourself in the facts, especially since there was a massive PR campaign against MHJ/Newjeans that was very explicitly funded by Hybe which was revealed only weeks ago, well after they lost all their court cases.

Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology

Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology, created by Rosiee Thor and Vania Stoyanova and written by 10 more authors, was a lot of fun. Teen aliens on a rescue mission crash-land on Earth.

This book is called an "anthology" but it's more of a collaboration (like my beloved Grimoire of Grave Fates). Rosiee Thor and Vania Stoyanova wrote the prologue presenting the aliens, then the other authors wrote stories about them encountering human teens, or sometimes just about humans dealing with the existence of the UFO. It's labelled as YA, but the writing feels MG to me.

The aliens choose their own genders, and don't necessarily stick with it. There are several enbies (among both the aliens and the humans), a trans boy, as well as some m/m, f/f and f/nb.

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Dramas and fanfic recs

ClaireBell

I admit I was a bit underwhelmed by the finale. I don’t really know why, because I generally liked what they did with it. But something in me wasn’t enjoying it as much as the previous seven episodes. Well, apart from one thing. That thing I enjoyed so much.

More with spoilers here.

And that one thing was what Bell did to get Top arrested. That was very satisfying. I even said “Hell yes, you deserved it, you coward” aloud. 😊

I also liked that Dao decided to keep the baby. IMO it felt very in character for her, knowing what we know about her fraught relationship with her son. Maybe I would feel differently if she was supposed to be in prison for a very long time. But we don’t know how long she’s supposed to be in prison. As far as I remember they never mentioned that in the show. So it might be just a few years.

I also liked Deedee’s sort of redemption arc. And that she did change for the better just a bit. And her cute something with Porsche made me smile.

I also absolutely get why Claire did what she did to Kae, even if that meant prolonging her stay in prison.

Now that I think of it maybe I was a bit underwhelmed that everything was tied with a neat little bow. All the villains were appropriately punished. All the good and goodish people got their happy, or at least happyish, ending. Which was nice, but I guess I was expecting something maybe a little bit messier?

Heated Rivalry

In general I liked the show well enough. And let me repeat that I’m very glad that the show like that is so popular. And I for sure will be rewatching the 3rd episode a few more times in the future. And the ending of episode 5, of course. And Scott/Kip tag on AO3 makes me very happy, too. 😊

Minor spoilers for the finale here.

Scott’s speech made me teary-eyed. And I really liked Shane’s talk with his mom after his parents found out about him and Ilya. That was very well done and very touching.

I also finally finished reading Heated Rivalry the book. It was meh for me. And I found Ilya so annoying in the book. At least in the show Connor Storrie has charisma and charm that make Ilya’s annoyingness easier to swallow for me. But yes, I don’t really care for Shane and Ilya’s romance.

I started reading Tough Guy – Game Changers book number 3. I read five chapters for now, and it’s rather meh, too. But I will give it a few more chapters. And if I won’t like it more by then I’ll drop it and try the next book in the series.

And I’m still very in love with Kim Go Eun, and I’m in the middle of the 1st season of Yumi’s Cells, which is very sweet and fluffy, and such a relaxing watch. And I started The King Eternal Monarch rewatch (two episodes for now, still as entertaining as I remembered). I’m thinking I might try Goblin again next. I found it boring the first time I tried it a few years ago, and dropped it after watching four episodes. But maybe I’ll like it better this time? 😊

And I still have a few interesting Yuletide fics to read, but I wanted to rec two fics from those I’ve read so far. First one is a perfect post-canon fix it fic for a background couple from the Thai BL drama Dangerous Romance. And the second is a sweet and lovely and very touching post-canon fic for Some Like It Hot.

Man of Many Talents (12705 words)
Fandom: หัวใจในสายลม | Dangerous Romance (TV 2023)
Rating: Mature
Relationships: Saifah Homchan/Name Thanadol Vattawut
Characters: Name Thanadol Vattawut, Saifah Homchan, Sailom Homchan, Kanghan Krittin Sukprasert
Additional Tags: Post-Prison, Home Improvement, First Time, Domestic Bliss, Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Summary:

Name goes to prison and then gets out of it. And just like he promised, Saifah is waiting.

Twice Over (6992 words)
Fandom: Some Like It Hot (1959)
Rating: General Audiences
Relationships: Jerry "Daphne"/Osgood Fielding III, Jerry "Daphne" & Sugar Kane Kowalczyk
Characters: Jerry "Daphne", Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, Osgood Fielding III, Joe "Josephine"
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Marriage Proposal, She/Her pronouns for Jerry "Daphne", Canon Compliant, Trans Character
Summary:

Three months after their escape from Miami, a girls’ day out with Sugar becomes a reminder of how drastically Daphne's life had changed since she and Joe had fled Chicago - and how much of a perfect dream it had become.

Or - Osgood wants to propose again, properly this time. Sugar helps.

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about me

Intro post

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new music monday

New Music Monday - 29 December 2025

The regular weekly post for us to talk about any and all of our thoughts about the week's new releases.

Also - a reminder that our End of Year post is up!

Say My Name - UFO (ATTENT!ON)
Rolling Quartz - Masquerade
CNBLUE (pre-release)

New MVs are also added to an ongoing youtube playlist.

Last week's MVs: 22 December

Feel free to add new comments in the replies for songs/MVs we missed.

[ Rec Something Wednesday | WIP Wednesday | Monthly General Chat | Comment Fest ]

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challenges: snowflake challenge

It's that time of year again!

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Current Mood: busy

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January Bingo Fest

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Current Mood: busy

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Creative Jam

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community promo

Three for the Memories Coming Back Next Month!

3 for the Memories' 2025 session will be open for posts on January 3, 2026 and will run for 3 weeks until January 24. Event participation is as follows:

1) Three photos only per person during each annual session. Members are encouraged to discuss the reason for their choices.

2) Photos can be hosted at Dreamwidth or elsewhere, and should not be larger than 800 px width or height.

3) All three photos should be in the same post. Cut tags should be placed after the first photo.

3 for the Memories is not a competition, and entries are not being judged. Rather, participants are encouraged to share photos they took in 2025 that they find meaningful in some way or which represent how they experienced the year.

Questions? Visit the announcement post at

threeforthememories