The Friday Five - Water
Jan. 2nd, 2026 03:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitToday's ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thefridayfive quesitons
1. Do you mostly drink tap, filtered, or bottled water?
Tap water at home - I drink at least a litre a day. If we're out for a meal I'll also ask for tap water. When travelling, especially abroad, I'll drink bottled water.
2. Is it safe/recommended to drink tap water where you live? If not, why?
Definitely. And it saves plastic waste.
3. What does the tap water taste/smell like where you live?
I don't think it has a particular taste, and definitely no smell. Someone else might notice a slight taste if it was different from their own tap water.
4. Do you collect rainwater? If so, what do you use it for?
Yes. Watering the garden plants, water bowls for the birds, rinsing out waste bins.
5. Do you/have you ever had restrictions on water use where you live? What did you have to change about your lifestyle?
We sometimes have a hosepipe ban during a long, hot summer, but as we don't have a hosepipe, this doesn't make a lot of difference.
thefridayfive quesitons1. Do you mostly drink tap, filtered, or bottled water?
Tap water at home - I drink at least a litre a day. If we're out for a meal I'll also ask for tap water. When travelling, especially abroad, I'll drink bottled water.
2. Is it safe/recommended to drink tap water where you live? If not, why?
Definitely. And it saves plastic waste.
3. What does the tap water taste/smell like where you live?
I don't think it has a particular taste, and definitely no smell. Someone else might notice a slight taste if it was different from their own tap water.
4. Do you collect rainwater? If so, what do you use it for?
Yes. Watering the garden plants, water bowls for the birds, rinsing out waste bins.
5. Do you/have you ever had restrictions on water use where you live? What did you have to change about your lifestyle?
We sometimes have a hosepipe ban during a long, hot summer, but as we don't have a hosepipe, this doesn't make a lot of difference.
:(
Jan. 2nd, 2026 09:16 amwaterswordFuck. CVS is out of COVID tests, but I picked up cough drops and loratidine, per rahaeli, on the assumption that this is covid; between the cough and the general sense of recognition, I am pretty confident in my self-diagnosis.
R. is shipping me tests and some other stuff, because she is a fucking saint. I am changing back into my jammies and finishing this pot of tea and going back to bed. Ugh.
The Magnus Archives: Ask an Exec: How to Navigate Cultish Colleagues [...] by shinyopals
Jan. 2nd, 2026 10:28 ambirdylion posting in fancakeTitle: Ask an Exec: How to Navigate Cultish Colleagues, Soul-Stealing Bosses, and the End of the World at Work
Fandom: The Magnus Archives
Pairings/Characters: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims; OC management advice blogger, OC internet commenters
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Length: 43626 words
Creator Links:![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
shinyopals
Theme: crack treated seriously, epistolary, no canon required, outsider pov
Summary:
I've recently been unexpectedly promoted to lead a department in my organisation, wrote the anonymous emailer.
As there was no one working here when I arrived, my manager, who is head of the organisation, had promised me the choice of my own assistants. However, without warning, he simply presented me with an additional assistant. This new assistant’s first act on his first day was to let a dog into the office. It took several hours to catch and clean up after this dog and it has only been downhill from there. I admit I'm not entirely sure what to do with this assistant now I'm stuck with him. I'm hoping you have some advice?
Kind regards,
New Manager
Abigail Bailey runs a successful management advice blog. One frequent contributor is from a workplace with some... issues.
Reccer's Notes:
Content Notes:
Fanwork Links: Ask an Exec: How to Navigate Cultish Colleagues, Soul-Stealing Bosses, and the End of the World at Work on ao3
Fandom: The Magnus Archives
Pairings/Characters: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims; OC management advice blogger, OC internet commenters
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Length: 43626 words
Creator Links:
Theme: crack treated seriously, epistolary, no canon required, outsider pov
Summary:
I've recently been unexpectedly promoted to lead a department in my organisation, wrote the anonymous emailer.
As there was no one working here when I arrived, my manager, who is head of the organisation, had promised me the choice of my own assistants. However, without warning, he simply presented me with an additional assistant. This new assistant’s first act on his first day was to let a dog into the office. It took several hours to catch and clean up after this dog and it has only been downhill from there. I admit I'm not entirely sure what to do with this assistant now I'm stuck with him. I'm hoping you have some advice?
Kind regards,
New Manager
Abigail Bailey runs a successful management advice blog. One frequent contributor is from a workplace with some... issues.
Reccer's Notes:
The Magnus Archives is a horror audio drama in which the main character starts a new position as archivist in an organization named Magnus Institute that specializes on investigating strange/magical phenomena. Very soon, strange things start to happen to him too. Also, it turns out that his workplace itself is ... not what you could call safe.
This story starts with the idea that the main character writes to a management advice blog about the strange things about his workplace, and becomes a regular writer. The fanfic is told in the form of this advice blog as it could appear on the internet: We get the mails he writes in, and the bloggers answers, and also the comment section. It's hilarious, but also it's taken so seriously as the story progresses and gets darker.
As an outsider POV, it really brings out how horrible the whole Magnus Archives story really is. It also shows very well how the story starts so inconspicuous and then boils the characters in horror like a lobster it a pot - and in this fanfic, the character doesn't event write to the advice blog about what's actually happening (because of secrecy), only the workplace safety circumstances. It's such a fascinating outsider POV.
Since it doesn't expect any canon knowledge, it can be read fandom-blind. Even without fandom-knowledge it's a hilarious and tragic advice blog story and in my case, it was my intro to the story, which I listened to after finishing this fanfic, so it was great advertisement for The Magnus Archives. (Note that it contains out of context but significant spoilers if you're going in fandom blind. For me this added to the re-read factor of the fanfic.)
This story starts with the idea that the main character writes to a management advice blog about the strange things about his workplace, and becomes a regular writer. The fanfic is told in the form of this advice blog as it could appear on the internet: We get the mails he writes in, and the bloggers answers, and also the comment section. It's hilarious, but also it's taken so seriously as the story progresses and gets darker.
As an outsider POV, it really brings out how horrible the whole Magnus Archives story really is. It also shows very well how the story starts so inconspicuous and then boils the characters in horror like a lobster it a pot - and in this fanfic, the character doesn't event write to the advice blog about what's actually happening (because of secrecy), only the workplace safety circumstances. It's such a fascinating outsider POV.
Since it doesn't expect any canon knowledge, it can be read fandom-blind. Even without fandom-knowledge it's a hilarious and tragic advice blog story and in my case, it was my intro to the story, which I listened to after finishing this fanfic, so it was great advertisement for The Magnus Archives. (Note that it contains out of context but significant spoilers if you're going in fandom blind. For me this added to the re-read factor of the fanfic.)
Content Notes:
- depictions of outrageously bad workplace safety
- (canon-typical) dysfunctional interpersonal relationships
- lighter on the actual supernatural horror than the original canon
- out of context (but significant) spoilers if read fandom blind
Fanwork Links: Ask an Exec: How to Navigate Cultish Colleagues, Soul-Stealing Bosses, and the End of the World at Work on ao3
[Challenge #475] BtVS / Spike — Misunderstood
Jan. 2nd, 2026 10:30 amveronyxk84 posting in 100wordsTitle: Misunderstood
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Author:veronyxk84
Characters/Pairing: Spike
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: some coarse language
Word count: 100 (Google Docs)
Spoilers/Setting: Set in S5, during ep. 5x17 “Forever”.
Summary: Spike honours Joyce in his own way.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created for fun and no profit has been made. All rights belong to the respective owners.
Challenge: #475 - Resolve
Crossposted:fan_flashworks, My journal
—
( READ: Misunderstood )
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Author:
veronyxk84Characters/Pairing: Spike
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: some coarse language
Word count: 100 (Google Docs)
Spoilers/Setting: Set in S5, during ep. 5x17 “Forever”.
Summary: Spike honours Joyce in his own way.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created for fun and no profit has been made. All rights belong to the respective owners.
Challenge: #475 - Resolve
Crossposted:
fan_flashworks, My journal—
( READ: Misunderstood )
OFMD: Thistle Teach ‘Em by sweatervest
Jan. 1st, 2026 09:05 pmkingstoken posting in fancakeFandom: Our Flag Means Death
Pairings/Characters: Crew of the Revenge, Israel Hands/Roach (it's tagged this, but it's very blink and you miss it)
Rating: T
Length: 2182 words
Creator Links: sweatervest
Theme: crack treated seriously
Summary: A single artichoke appears onboard the Revenge, and Izzy Hands is nowhere to be found. Naturally, the crew draws the most logical conclusion.
Reccer's Notes: The crew finds a single artichoke on the Revenge and draw the very erroneous conclusion that Izzy has been turned into a vegetable by a sea-witch. This is delightfully funny, as the crew try to protect the artichoke from getting eaten, among other things. It very much fits in with the silliness of season 1 of the show.
Fanwork Links: AO3
Pairings/Characters: Crew of the Revenge, Israel Hands/Roach (it's tagged this, but it's very blink and you miss it)
Rating: T
Length: 2182 words
Creator Links: sweatervest
Theme: crack treated seriously
Summary: A single artichoke appears onboard the Revenge, and Izzy Hands is nowhere to be found. Naturally, the crew draws the most logical conclusion.
Reccer's Notes: The crew finds a single artichoke on the Revenge and draw the very erroneous conclusion that Izzy has been turned into a vegetable by a sea-witch. This is delightfully funny, as the crew try to protect the artichoke from getting eaten, among other things. It very much fits in with the silliness of season 1 of the show.
Fanwork Links: AO3
Snowflake Challenge Day One
Jan. 1st, 2026 07:20 pmmelagan
I skipped that last couple of years so maybe it's time to do this again. I've wanted to post more and so, why not?.
Icebreaker Challenge l l
I'm Melagan everywhere. This is my hangout place. You might see me pop up on Tumblr or Discord, or Livejournal, but blink and you'll miss it.
I'm doing Snowflake this year for a couple of reasons. I'd like to post more and & want to throw my support behind Snowflake and DW in general.
Most of the fandoms I read in are older fandoms. I like - I should say I Love certain slash pairings. McShep tops the list. Dresden Files is probably my most up to date fandom because the books are still being written. Yes, I am a Dresden/Marone girl.
Girl. That's hilarious. I turn 71 in April. How the hell did that happen?
Seems to me, the best way to "break the ice" is to answer questions, so ask away.
Fitness Fellowship 2026: Introduction and Goals Post
Jan. 1st, 2026 05:36 pmsylvanwitchHere we are at the start of another year together, friends, and I am excited to welcome you to the Fitness Fellowship 2026.
For those who are unfamiliar with how this very low-key community works, it's pretty simple: You set personal short- and/or long-term fitness goals, defining fitness however you'd like, and then check in each week--or as often or as little as you feel like. Check-in is not compulsory. You may join us and/or leave us whenever you wish.
I promise, in turn, to offer support and encouragement. I do not offer unsolicited advice, and I never judge, and the same has always been true of the good folks who participate here.
Check-ins will be on Mondays, starting on 5 January 2026.
If this seems like something you're interested in trying, please feel free to leave your goals and plans in the comments to this post.
( My Fitness Goals for 2026 )
Please do join us if you're looking for some friendly accountability!
For those who are unfamiliar with how this very low-key community works, it's pretty simple: You set personal short- and/or long-term fitness goals, defining fitness however you'd like, and then check in each week--or as often or as little as you feel like. Check-in is not compulsory. You may join us and/or leave us whenever you wish.
I promise, in turn, to offer support and encouragement. I do not offer unsolicited advice, and I never judge, and the same has always been true of the good folks who participate here.
Check-ins will be on Mondays, starting on 5 January 2026.
If this seems like something you're interested in trying, please feel free to leave your goals and plans in the comments to this post.
( My Fitness Goals for 2026 )
Please do join us if you're looking for some friendly accountability!
2025 in reading
Jan. 1st, 2026 05:00 pmwaterswordI read took out $4856.23 worth of books from my local library in 2025, from 256 checkouts, and an unknown number from the other library systems I have a card with (Minuteman, NYPL, and CLAMS, which at this point I use entirely for ebooks). There were of course any number of DNFs, and a number of rereads; I am fifteen books into the Aubreyad, finished the Twelve Houses series, the Founders trilogy, and am up-to-date on The New Yorker.
Standouts included, in no order whatsoever:
- Shepherd, Nan. The Living Mountain : A Celebration of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. Canongate, 1977.
- Helwig, Maggie. Encampment : Resistance, Grace, and an Unhoused Community. First edition, Coach House Books, 2025.
- Kimmerer, Robin Wall. The Serviceberry : Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. Illustrated by John Burgoyne, First Scribner hardcover edition, Scribner, 2024.
- Anand, Pria. The Mind Electric : A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains. First Washington Square Press / Atria Books hardcover edition, Washington Square Press/Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC, 2025.
- Kingfisher, T. Snake-Eater. 47North, 2025.
- Schlanger, Zoë. The Light Eaters : How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth. First edition, Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2024.
- Attlee, Helena. The Land Where Lemons Grow : The Story of Italy and Its Citrus Fruit. Penguin Books, 2014.
- Leong, Julie. The Teller of Small Fortunes. First edition, Ace, 2024.
- Bennett, Robert Jackson. The Tainted Cup. First edition, Del Rey, 2024.
- Bennett, Robert Jackson. A Drop of Corruption : An Ana and Din Mystery. Illustrated by David Lindroth Inc, First edition, Del Rey, 2025.
- Koenig, Leah, and Kristin Teig. Portico : Cooking and Feasting in Rome’s Jewish Kitchen. First edition, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2023.
- Mukherjee, Siddhartha. The Emperor of All Maladies : A Biography of Cancer. First Scribner hardcover edition, Scribner, 2010.
- McKinley, Robin. Sunshine. 1st ed, Berkley Books, 2003.
- Tesh, Emily. The Incandescent : A School Story. First edition, Tom Doherty Associates/Tor Publishing Group, 2025.
- Moorehead, Caroline. A Bold and Dangerous Family : The Remarkable Story of an Italian Mother, Her Two Sons, and Their Fight against Fascism. First U.S. edition, Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2017.
May 2026 include good books, learning interesting things, and well-funded public institutions for all of us.
Yuletide Reveals
Jan. 1st, 2026 04:20 pmsettiaiYuletide reveals have happened, and I somehow ended up writing a total of nine fics this year. That included my main assignment, four pinch hits, and four treats. I'm still not entirely certain how I managed to pull off that many fics, but I did it. And I feel pretty good about all of them. Yay me?
Anyway, let's move onto the fics themselves!
First there was my original assignment:
( Watchmen (Comic) )
Then I picked up four pinch hits (one of which is archive locked for obvious reasons considering the fandom):
( Critical Role: Aramán (Web Series) )
( Critical Role (Web Series) RPF )
( Memoirs of the Borgia Sybil Series - Jo Graham )
( Pathways: Chronicles of Tuvana (Webcomic) )
And then, last but not least, I wrote four treats:
( Jaws )
( Justice League International )
( Pretty Baby (1978) )
( Titanic (1997) )
Anyway, let's move onto the fics themselves!
First there was my original assignment:
( Watchmen (Comic) )
Then I picked up four pinch hits (one of which is archive locked for obvious reasons considering the fandom):
( Critical Role: Aramán (Web Series) )
( Critical Role (Web Series) RPF )
( Memoirs of the Borgia Sybil Series - Jo Graham )
( Pathways: Chronicles of Tuvana (Webcomic) )
And then, last but not least, I wrote four treats:
( Jaws )
( Justice League International )
( Pretty Baby (1978) )
( Titanic (1997) )
Yuletide 2025 Wrap-Up
Jan. 2nd, 2026 10:14 amyuletidemods posting in yuletide_adminEnd of Event
We have revealed creator names at the main 2025 collection and the 2025 Madness collection. (Reveals seems to be working as intended - fingers crossed!) The New Year's Resolutions 2026 collection will shortly open for posting. The structured parts of this year's event are over - but you can keep posting recs atyuletide and commenting on works to let their creators know you enjoyed them.
Thank you from mods and team
Thank you to everyone who took part in Yuletide 2025: writers, requesters, betas, pinch hitters, community coordinators, chatters, hippos and the hippo pool.
Thank you from mods to the tagmod team: these are the assistants who research and process tags, proofread announcements, brainstorm author questions, contribute specific fandom knowledge, check stories, and discuss how to solve problems.
We look forward to running Yuletide again in 2026!
And now
There's a reveals post up at the participant community, if you want to chat about your writing process now that you can.
New stories can be posted to the New Year's Resolutions 2026 collection.
Feedback
As always, general feedback is welcome!
This year, we increased the nominations allowance from 4 fandoms to 5 fandoms. Since that worked okay, we anticipate continuing that next year.
We introduced a limited Do-Not-Match system. That was manageable so we're interested in repeating the same process next year - though it's possible it could grow beyond our capacity, so we don't want to guarantee it indefinitely.
We changed the deadline time and the reveals times. Those changes were based on mod availability, and it was really helpful to us to have multiple mods awake at the point of deadline and reveals. We'll need to base future deadline and reveals times on that priority, but since that isn't the only factor making deadlines and reveal times effective, we're interested to hear feedback too.
Next Yuletide, we may review franchise rules to make sure we're being consistent and fair. We may also specifically review rules for music videos.
As requested by a participant, we will also be adding a section to our rules on AO3 listing what you can expect from the mod team’s communications and conduct. We have had an internal Code of Conduct for several years but agree it would be helpful to share a public version.
Again, feedback on these or other topics is also welcome.
Thank you for helping to make Yuletide 2025 a wonderful event.
Schedule, Rules, & Collection | Contact Mods | Participant DW | Participant LJ | Pinch Hits on DW | Discord | Tag set | Tag set app
Please either comment logged-in or sign a name. Unsigned anonymous comments will be left screened.
We have revealed creator names at the main 2025 collection and the 2025 Madness collection. (Reveals seems to be working as intended - fingers crossed!) The New Year's Resolutions 2026 collection will shortly open for posting. The structured parts of this year's event are over - but you can keep posting recs at
yuletide and commenting on works to let their creators know you enjoyed them.Please comment!
Please check that you have commented on any gifts you received - you can search on your username at the Yuletide 2025 collection, or the Yuletide Madness 2025 collection, or check your own personal AO3 gifts page. We understand not everyone can comment immediately due to late-December commitments or unforeseen events, but please comment when you can to acknowledge the gifts you requested. Comments and kudos on other Yuletide works are also very welcome.Thank you from mods and team
Thank you to everyone who took part in Yuletide 2025: writers, requesters, betas, pinch hitters, community coordinators, chatters, hippos and the hippo pool.
Thank you from mods to the tagmod team: these are the assistants who research and process tags, proofread announcements, brainstorm author questions, contribute specific fandom knowledge, check stories, and discuss how to solve problems.
We look forward to running Yuletide again in 2026!
And now
There's a reveals post up at the participant community, if you want to chat about your writing process now that you can.
New stories can be posted to the New Year's Resolutions 2026 collection.
Feedback
As always, general feedback is welcome!
This year, we increased the nominations allowance from 4 fandoms to 5 fandoms. Since that worked okay, we anticipate continuing that next year.
We introduced a limited Do-Not-Match system. That was manageable so we're interested in repeating the same process next year - though it's possible it could grow beyond our capacity, so we don't want to guarantee it indefinitely.
We changed the deadline time and the reveals times. Those changes were based on mod availability, and it was really helpful to us to have multiple mods awake at the point of deadline and reveals. We'll need to base future deadline and reveals times on that priority, but since that isn't the only factor making deadlines and reveal times effective, we're interested to hear feedback too.
Next Yuletide, we may review franchise rules to make sure we're being consistent and fair. We may also specifically review rules for music videos.
As requested by a participant, we will also be adding a section to our rules on AO3 listing what you can expect from the mod team’s communications and conduct. We have had an internal Code of Conduct for several years but agree it would be helpful to share a public version.
Again, feedback on these or other topics is also welcome.
Thank you for helping to make Yuletide 2025 a wonderful event.
Please either comment logged-in or sign a name. Unsigned anonymous comments will be left screened.
Happy New Year
Jan. 1st, 2026 02:07 pmjenna_thornAnd belated Solstice joy.
I am not doing Snowflake this year, saving me the self composed disappointment when I fail at the third day. I'm on day 11 of a mystery am not that officially ended on the 24th of December, so it's less about the Snowflake Challenge and really just more about me, yeah.
But I do wish anyone reading this a better 2026. May your teams win, beloved family members live, and everyone else have grudges elsewhere and leave you alone.
May we all find companies that value what we bring, partners who choose us or peace in our own selves, and may our yarn tangles be easily unknotted.
I am not doing Snowflake this year, saving me the self composed disappointment when I fail at the third day. I'm on day 11 of a mystery am not that officially ended on the 24th of December, so it's less about the Snowflake Challenge and really just more about me, yeah.
But I do wish anyone reading this a better 2026. May your teams win, beloved family members live, and everyone else have grudges elsewhere and leave you alone.
May we all find companies that value what we bring, partners who choose us or peace in our own selves, and may our yarn tangles be easily unknotted.