Network [Toby Atkin-Wright]

Reading: Still the Doctor Who Reader, but supplementing with various Yuletide recs, and what I assume are Primeval Denial secret santa offerings. So far Dog Hamlets (Lord Peter Wimsey casefic. I had to think a bit to understand what the evidence was showing, but understood in the end - I think) and On Solstice Night (a spooky folklore take on the the "stuck in a bothy" trope, for a Primeval character and, because this is Primeval fandom, a shared OC).

Listening: Having exhausted all the podfic advent calendars, I'm listing to the Missing Episodes Podcast which I'd been hearing people mention for years but never really picked up. It is well done and if I catch up with them, I'll be interested in their take on the current nebulous swirling rumours.

Watching: When Marmalade Sparrow is here we end up watching a lot of Taskmaster, which she introduced us to. I think we're currently somewhere around 2018.

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1. Your main fandom of the year?

Still 18th Century history, Prussian-Austrian-Hannoverian-French edition, with the occasional ancient history interlude. Though ancient history might take over as the primary runner next year!

2. Your favorite film watched this year?

It's a race between a surprise "came for one character, remained for all of them" movie, none other than Thunderbolts*, and the superb thriller September 5, which manages among other things to do something Steven Spielberg tried to in one of his movies and does it better.

3. Your favorite book read this year?

This year I am truly spoiled for choices. I both read some books that have been around for a while as well as very recently published ones, and for the most part, enjoyed or even loved most of them. I think it's a race between Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik and Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh.

4. Your favorite album or song to listen to this year?

For complicated real life reasons:

Watch on YouTube

5. Your favorite TV show of the year?

While tv had some let downs for me this year - *cough* Strange New Worlds *cough* - it also had some great new discoveries and some lovely continuing faves. I feel I can't answer this question fairly unless I firstly differentiate between "favourite miniseries" and "favourite continuing show", and in the second department "favourite new-to-me- show" and "favourite returning favourite". So: Favourite miniseries - there were several excellent ones, but really, for "took my breath away with each episode and performance, and format, tells a concluded story and THANK GOD DOES NOT APPEAR TO GET AN UNNESSARY SEQUEL": Adolescence . Favourite continuing series familiar to me - look, Andor had a superb conclusion and I really appreciate the scriptwriters on social media doubling down on just who the Evil Empire is in rl these days, but it's not Andor for the simple reason that while I was not upset about the writing for Bix as I've seen other people be, it really wasn't up to the rest of the show's standards. And it's not Wheel of Time, either, even though I went from like to love in this season and still feel like shaking my hand at the injustice of fate because of the cancellation. So: It's Foundation all the way. I loved the third season and will happily say more about why on the January Meme.
Favourite new to me show: Pluribus, aka Vince Gilligan did it again.

6. Your favorite online community of the year?

Still

rheinsberg.

7. Your best new fandom discovery of the year?

The play Born with Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams, which I saw in London in August: really intense and clever on stage Shakespeare/Marlow slash fiction, with Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel superb in the roles; delightful in itself, but also, I now have a new playwright to keep an eye on!

8. Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?

Strange New Worlds, season 3. Alas.

9. Your fandom boyfriend of the year?

I would never compete with Lois Lane, but this year's Superman is an incredibly endearing version of Clark Kent, and arrived just at the right time.

10. Your fandom girlfriend of the year?

Demerzel from Foundation, and I got two great stories starring her as Yuletide gifts. Runner up: Kleya from Andor, and Juliette Binoche in what just may the definite Penelope performance in The Return .

11. Your biggest squee moment of the year?

( Spoiler for Wake Up, Dead Man ensue: ) Runner-up: ( Spoiler for Demerzel's backstory in Foundation )

12. The most missed of your old fandoms?

I'm missing - and probably I'm employing rosy glasses here - the way media could be discussed without one part of the viewership crying "Woke!" and other crying "betrayal" if their ship of choice doesn't become canon. (Latest example: Stranger Things. Which btw I'm enjoying, but one look at fandom discussion and I ran.)

13. The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to?

I'm currently eyeing Severance.

14. Your biggest fan anticipations for the New Year?

The Vampire Lestat, aka season 3 of Interview with the Vampire. Can't wait to find out what this particular creative team will do with both the present day rock star Lestat frame and the memoirs part, plus unless I'm mistaken it looks like they're already incorporating bits of The Queen of the Damned. And speaking of Anne Rice adaptations, I'm also very curious what Tom Ford will make of her historical (non-supernatural historical) novel Cry to Heaven, starring Nicolas Hoult.

location: Bad Wiessee

Mood::

calm

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In return for tutoring, half-dragon Ruri rewards her classmates with knowledge about the draconic world. Terrible, terrible knowledge.

RuriDragon, volume 7 by Masaoki Shindo

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Well, that's it for 2025. Trump hasn't killed us all (yet) and I got a lot of books read.

December 2025 and 2025 as a Whole in Review

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https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251230.html

Yes, but can your comet tail do this?

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251230.html

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Gacked from

daily_illuminator_feed

An American artist is making fully functional plate mail for mice. So far no mouse has volunteered to try it on...

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/27/nx-s1-5622020/mouse-armor-artist-jeff-de-boer

The last time I used this title someone was making 3D printed hats for sea urchins, as substitutes for the sea shells they use to protect delicate areas of their bodies in the wild.

https://www.boredpanda.com/sea-urchins-tiny-hats/

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73 chapters of roleplaying tables to inspire every gamemaster.

Bundle of Holding: Dread Thingonomicon (From 2024)

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This is a repeat offer of The Dread Thingonomicon compendium from Raging Swan Press, a single volume containing "hundreds of system-neutral lists for every GM." It's a complete 476-page compilation of all the "20 Things" lists Raging Swan has published for seven years.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Thing2025

Last time this was offered I said "Not really my sort of thing for multiple reasons, but it looks usable if you like that sort of thing (or these sorts of things), and pricing works out around a cent and a half per page." I don't think any of this has changed much.

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Allowed Burglar Drake Maijstral is stalked by a mysterious foe.

Rock of Ages (Drake Maijstral, volume 3) by Walter Jon Williams

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Darth Real Life is still on my heels, but:

Katabasis - R.F. Kuang

Two different and both clever and sensitive explorations of what the aftermath of the novel might have been like for Alice and Peter:

The Next Step

The Raven's Paradox

The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle

In that clear unpeopled space: the Unicorn's long way to her forest. Has the poetry, the beauty and the character growth of the book.

Lord of the Flies - Willliam Golding

I Remember (Don't Worry) : in which Ralph encounters Jack years post novel. Disturbing in the way the book is, yet with some glimpse of hope.

Penny Dreadful

mimics the lampllight's struggle with the dawn: After a night of victory, Vanessa and Hecate, separately, search for their footing. Missing scene from the second season's finale, with both women and Malcolm expertly drawn.

The Radiant Emperor Series - Shelley Parker-Chan

The Calligraphy of Disgrace: in which we get another take on these novels' entertainingly screwed up soulmates relationship, with an AU twist.

Frederician Historical Fiction

Five times Amalie saw Luise, and one time Luisa saw Amalie: in which the "Five Things" format is expertly used to portray the relationship between the Melanie Wilkes of the Hohenzollern court and her sharp-tongued sister-in-law.

Courting the Chamberlain : in which we find out how Frederick the Great's lover got married to the resourceful Caroline Daum.

The Ring of the Nibelung - Wagner

Loyalty only to me: Hagen learns many lessons from his father over the years.

Some Desperate Glory - Emily Tesh

Again two different takes on a novel's aftermath, the first focused on Magnus, the other on Avi, which also doubles a great take on his development across several timelines.

Some Desperate Hope

Salvation from falling into the sea of misguidances

location: Bad Wiessee

Mood::

bouncy

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I got into documenting neighborhood birds in 2025. What I did was take pics on my phone (if the zoom could capture them) and try to trace them on my journal (since I can't actually draw). Technology!

Planner: 2025 Laconic (A5)

Photos here!

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https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251229.html

This is the mess that is left when a star explodes.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251229.html

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This is an offer of material for the RPG The Burning Wheel by Luke Crane. It's described as "the landmark indie RPG of dynamic characters and searing choice-driven stories."

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/BurningWheel

While I have no problems with indie rules systems, I'm not very keen on games that ask all of the players and referee to be familiar with the rules and avoid using "house rules" or simplifying things. I'm not playing pure fantasy games any more, so haven't gone into this one in any detail, but the general consensus I have on it from friends who have played it is that it's rules heavy and fairly complex, which really isn't my style of play. The price seems reasonable for the amount of material you get, more than 1000 pages, beyond that I recommend looking at reviews before making a decision about this one. There's a reasonable video review here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj30rzCgO5o

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An all-new Burning Wheel Bundle presenting The Burning Wheel, the medieval-themed tabletop fantasy roleplaying game about vibrant, dynamic characters whose beliefs propel the story.

Bundle of Holding: The Burning Wheel

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The Long Back Yard

#
It's being a rather difficult day. Went to bed late and unhappy; woke up about 4:30, still unhappy, whereupon the Coon Cats leapt into action -- or at least, onto the bed. In less time than it takes to tell it, I had a cat on top of me, a cat to the right of me, and yes! a cat to the left of me. These guys know their job; I went right back to sleep, and didn't wake until after 8.

It was very nice to sleep and wake up rested, but it has kinda thrown the whole day sideways.

I've done a little bit of writing, and will maybe do some more, later, if I don't just decide to make a blanket fort and read. I did manage to call Dead River to find out when my next oil delivery is, because we're coming up on another multi-day interruption in the Usual, and my oil tank is down to less than a quarter. It's a big tank, but I don't want to test exactly how big. The good news is that my next delivery is!

Tomorrow.

It's looking some miserable out there in the Real World. There's water pooled on my driveway, which will this evening become an ice rink, and it would just be better all around, if, once Winter was Declared, we just stuck to snow as our default precipitation.

Well.

I've done some writing, one round of PT homework, more or less decided what lunch will be, though I still need to turn on the oven. Still need to do my duty to the cats, which I guess I'll do while the oven's warming.

And then? We'll see. Though honestly, that blanket fort is looking dern good.

How's everybody doing today?

The cats agree with the blanket fort idea:

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Posted by John Kovalic

https://www.dorktower.com/2025/12/26/elves-3/

https://dorktower.kovalic.com/?p=19853

HEY! Want to help keep DORK TOWER going? Then consider joining the DORK TOWER Patreon and ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF DORKNESS TODAY! (We have COOKIES!) (And SWAG!) (And GRATITUDE!)

https://www.dorktower.com/2025/12/26/elves-3/

https://dorktower.kovalic.com/?p=19853

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A LEGO Orrery - on top of a circular base containing cogs, sits a lego pillar with a large yellow ball. An arm extends out to one side ending in a circular platform with a smaller blue ball

You can't actually see it, I realise all of a sudden, but there is a tiny moon that circles around the Earth which is obscured, in this view, by the Earth itself.

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https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251228.html

Jewels don't shine this bright -- only stars do.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251228.html

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Press of business yesterday meant that I forgot to update y'all on the ever-fascinating details of my life. I now make amends. Thank you for your patience.

What went before

SATURDAY
Wakened early by Tali cursing the universe and the gods who had fashioned it.

Got up to find Rookie in the hall with a mouthful of orange fur, and Tali sitting on the edge of the dining room table (yes, yes, where No Cat is allowed, and it's possibly worth noting that Rook did not follow her up there, so at least somebody pays attention to the treaty). Firefly was squinched under the standup desk in my office.

So! I don't know exactly what the disagreement was about. Possibly Tali told Rook he had a stinky butt -- and if so, she was not wrong. So, we did some cat clean up, and then I took a shower to finish waking up and here we are.

Kettle's on, and Happy Lite also.

And how's your morning going?
#
It says here that I've been playing Finch for 500 days.

. . .not sure how I feel about that, actually. . .
#
Wrote about 800 words, WIP currently weighing in the vicinity of 115,790. Stopping to do PT homework, one's duty the cats, and um. I should eat something. I guess. Maybe a piece of leftover ham onna leftover biscuit. That's lunch, ain't it?
#
Do I look healthy to you?

Time to talk to the virtual-visit nurse.

#
SUNDAY

The Long Back Yard

#
Well. 2:30, hey?

I got Involved. Wrote +/-1,335 words, did some tinking of former words. The WIP entire now weighing in at +/-117,180. I think I have eight more scenes to write.

My Plan is to write those eight scenes, and then put out a call for Beta Readers. NOTE: This is not that call. I'll tell you when.

In between new words, I bought myself some on-sale alpaca socks form a local alpaca farm, and did a couple loads of laundry. I really thought I'd done laundry last week, but -- maybe not. Whatever.

The cats were with me all day -- that would be from 8:15 am until just a couple minutes ago. In fact, they're still in Steve's office, because once you get a good sleeping place primed, you just don't walk away from it.

Though it be late, I have dinner/lunch/whatever on the stove -- leftover chicken in gravy, peas, and mashed potatoes. I may actually have a glass of wine with that, because I am done writing for the day. (Breakfast, for those keeping score was oatmeal with almond butter and chocolate chips mixed in. Yes, again. I'm as baffled as you are.)

What else? Oh. I'm doing an Author Event at the Waterville Library on February 21, so I may start giving some thought as to what I'll be wanting to talk about. I will be reading from Diviner's Bow, and taking questions, along with the talking.

So! How's everybody doing this afternoon?

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For those interested in the Liaden read-along, commentary on the first two chapters is now live, here

For those who may have missed it, there's an intro here

Please accept this in the spirit of a first attempt, while we work together toward a format that's fun for everybody involved.

To be perfectly honest, I'm reading a lot faster than this and I WANT to read at my usual rate, as if (as close to "as if" as it's possible for me to be) I'm reading a book for enjoyment. I'm making some notes, but not very detailed ones. So! the chapter-by-chapter approach may not work FOR ME, which ultimately means that it won't work for you.

I would therefore appreciate input on what would be most fun for participants who are NOT me.

Thanks for your help -- and enjoy!

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Toby Atkin-Wright

Reading, Listening, Watching

End of Fannish Year Meme: 2025

RuriDragon, volume 7 by Masaoki Shindo

December 2025 and 2025 as a Whole in Review

(no subject)

Bizarre but true II

Bundle of Holding: Dread Thingonomicon (From 2024)

Another Repeat Bundle - Dread Thinganomnicon

Rock of Ages (Drake Maijstral, volume 3) by Walter Jon Williams

Yuletide Recs 2

bird journaling :)

(no subject)

Another Fantasy Bundle - The Burning Wheel

Bundle of Holding: The Burning Wheel

Rain, rain go away; come again in May

The Eliopoulos Elves 2025 3 – DORK TOWER26.12.25

LEGO Orrery

(no subject)

Apologies

Liaden Read Along

Links

July

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4	5	6	7	8	9 1	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31