Me-and-media update
Jan. 11th, 2026 04:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
china_shopPrevious poll review
In the Comfort food poll, 55.6% of respondents said their preferred comfort food is chocolate, and 46.7% said savoury carbs. In ticky-boxes, 'juicy intricate poetry words' and 'pushing on through' came second equal (40% each) to hugs (80%). Thank you for your votes! <3
Reading
I listened to half an m/m romance audiobook that I selected for one of its readers (Will Watt), but the overuse of "fucking" as an intensifier (and in particular, the repeated phrase, "he was so fucking hot") kept making me roll my eyes. It might be a faithful reproduction of the inner monologue of a first-year uni student, but I don't read romances for verisimilitude. So I switched to The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary, read by Carrie Hope Fletcher and Kwaku Fortune, seen mentioned on my flist. I'm halfway through and enjoying it immensely. ETA:
A little more Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain in hardcopy. Nothing in ebook.
Kdramas
Andrew and I have nearly finished The Guest. I want to ship the OT3, but I don't really care about the priest. (Sorry, priest guy! Alas, you are not my type.) Still, it is a great (gory/horror-y) show, and I've conveniently forgotten some of the developments. We just have one episode to go.
A bit more of While You Were Sleeping, a few episodes of Cashero (I'm not sure I'm in the mood for established relationship, but otoh, Junho! ♥), and a marathon-running BL called Mr. Heart, which was sweet but extremely slight.
Where is the next Love Scout/Family by Choice/whatever??
Other TV
Finished Stranger Things, which got so complex that I lazily stopped following the logic and just watched it as a collection of scenes. But I enjoyed those well enough. So glad they got their victory lap.
Three episodes of Heated Rivalry.
Anyway, my prediction that it's probably not for me has proven correct. Like, I can tell that the show is made of crack (in the addictive sense), but I'm not into super-buff dudes, and I didn't like the 'fucking but feeling kind of miserable about it' vibe I was getting from Hollander. He deserves better.
But I kept going for episode 3, and I'm really glad I did. There was thecoffee smoothie shop not-AU and ♥Kip♥ and his friends and family. And Scott, who fell for Kip in 2.3 seconds like a parched man stumbling into an oasis and, okay, is messed up, but at least self-aware and ~able to communicate~ and ~say nice things~! They were such a breath of fresh air! All the "smoothies" for both of them!
So that (predictably) is me. And I'm actually kind of relieved, because while the show is compelling and well-acted, it's not what I want in a fandom, and anyway, I'm hardly even managing to keep up with my quiet corner of Guardian fandom atm. I may watch the last three episodes at some point, idk. Wishing those of you who're into it all the very best with your new addiction!!
Audio entertainment
Writing Excuses, Cross Party Lines, Letters from an American, more of Our Opinions Are Correct (Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz's podcast) including the Murderbot episode, Tech Won't Save Us, the starts of a few other things.
Writing/making things
I've been practising drawing, and picking up art supplies in bits and pieces. The moldable eraser is magic.
(Imperfect, but I think it's identifiable, which is not nothing. I darkened the linework a little in Paint.NET.)
For my future reference, this all started because I wanted to draw Bingo from Bluey!, which led me down a Youtube Art Videos For Kids rabbit hole. Then I bought new colour pencils and was noodling around with them, and people said nice things about some of my doodles... :-) Art Youtube For Adults is also really lovely, btw -- full of super-talented people being encouraging and helpful.
I've written a treat for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomtrees, but I need to make some edits, and I have no attention span. Chances of my finishing it are about 90%, and chances of any further treats are more like 30% at this stage. Maybe one day I'll be able to make art gifts...
Life/health/mental state things
My arms are gradually improving, but I'm anxious about them. Andrew's having an operation this Thursday; I'll need to be able to bike and drive and cook and so on, and I'm still sore half the time. So I've started swimming again. (I stopped partly because I was avoiding public spaces where I couldn't mask, and partly because my long post-lockdown hair stays damp all day. But the outdoor pool is open for the summer, so I'm going for it.)
I just bought a small $2 desk at a junk shop so that I have a workspace to retreat to downstairs while Andrew's recuperating on the couch in the living room. I'll see how that goes.
I have a hand-me-down mini air fryer from my parents which I still haven't taken out for a spin. Quick/easy meal suggestions very welcome, especially if they're things I can throw together late at night, post hospital visits. (NB: I don't do onions or brassicas.)
Good things
Andrew, swimming, drawing, Kdramas, Guardian, Zhao Yunlaaaan, modern medicine. Cat:
In the Comfort food poll, 55.6% of respondents said their preferred comfort food is chocolate, and 46.7% said savoury carbs. In ticky-boxes, 'juicy intricate poetry words' and 'pushing on through' came second equal (40% each) to hugs (80%). Thank you for your votes! <3
Reading
I listened to half an m/m romance audiobook that I selected for one of its readers (Will Watt), but the overuse of "fucking" as an intensifier (and in particular, the repeated phrase, "he was so fucking hot") kept making me roll my eyes. It might be a faithful reproduction of the inner monologue of a first-year uni student, but I don't read romances for verisimilitude. So I switched to The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary, read by Carrie Hope Fletcher and Kwaku Fortune, seen mentioned on my flist. I'm halfway through and enjoying it immensely. ETA:
Warnings.
Contains past emotionally abusive relationship, stalking, and PTSD.A little more Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain in hardcopy. Nothing in ebook.
Kdramas
Andrew and I have nearly finished The Guest. I want to ship the OT3, but I don't really care about the priest. (Sorry, priest guy! Alas, you are not my type.) Still, it is a great (gory/horror-y) show, and I've conveniently forgotten some of the developments. We just have one episode to go.
A bit more of While You Were Sleeping, a few episodes of Cashero (I'm not sure I'm in the mood for established relationship, but otoh, Junho! ♥), and a marathon-running BL called Mr. Heart, which was sweet but extremely slight.
Where is the next Love Scout/Family by Choice/whatever??
Other TV
Finished Stranger Things, which got so complex that I lazily stopped following the logic and just watched it as a collection of scenes. But I enjoyed those well enough. So glad they got their victory lap.
Three episodes of Heated Rivalry.
Minor spoilers; tl;dr not my thing.
Wow, I'd heard it was fanficcy, but I wasn't prepared for the total absence of anything resembling an external plot. Like, not even a figleaf. Not even a hockey arc. How??Anyway, my prediction that it's probably not for me has proven correct. Like, I can tell that the show is made of crack (in the addictive sense), but I'm not into super-buff dudes, and I didn't like the 'fucking but feeling kind of miserable about it' vibe I was getting from Hollander. He deserves better.
But I kept going for episode 3, and I'm really glad I did. There was the
So that (predictably) is me. And I'm actually kind of relieved, because while the show is compelling and well-acted, it's not what I want in a fandom, and anyway, I'm hardly even managing to keep up with my quiet corner of Guardian fandom atm.
Audio entertainment
Writing Excuses, Cross Party Lines, Letters from an American, more of Our Opinions Are Correct (Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz's podcast) including the Murderbot episode, Tech Won't Save Us, the starts of a few other things.
Writing/making things
I've been practising drawing, and picking up art supplies in bits and pieces. The moldable eraser is magic.
Have a couple of sketches.
(Imperfect, but I think it's identifiable, which is not nothing. I darkened the linework a little in Paint.NET.)
For my future reference, this all started because I wanted to draw Bingo from Bluey!, which led me down a Youtube Art Videos For Kids rabbit hole. Then I bought new colour pencils and was noodling around with them, and people said nice things about some of my doodles... :-)
I've written a treat for
fandomtrees, but I need to make some edits, and I have no attention span. Chances of my finishing it are about 90%, and chances of any further treats are more like 30% at this stage. Maybe one day I'll be able to make art gifts...Life/health/mental state things
My arms are gradually improving, but I'm anxious about them. Andrew's having an operation this Thursday; I'll need to be able to bike and drive and cook and so on, and I'm still sore half the time. So I've started swimming again. (I stopped partly because I was avoiding public spaces where I couldn't mask, and partly because my long post-lockdown hair stays damp all day. But the outdoor pool is open for the summer, so I'm going for it.)
I just bought a small $2 desk at a junk shop so that I have a workspace to retreat to downstairs while Andrew's recuperating on the couch in the living room. I'll see how that goes.
I have a hand-me-down mini air fryer from my parents which I still haven't taken out for a spin. Quick/easy meal suggestions very welcome, especially if they're things I can throw together late at night, post hospital visits. (NB: I don't do onions or brassicas.)
Good things
Andrew, swimming, drawing, Kdramas, Guardian, Zhao Yunlaaaan, modern medicine. Cat:
Poll #34068 Om
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 51
Do you meditate?
View Answers
yes, regularly
4 (7.8%)
yes, from time to time
12 (23.5%)
I used to
6 (11.8%)
I used to occasionally
4 (7.8%)
what you mean by 'meditate'?
7 (13.7%)
no
21 (41.2%)
other
3 (5.9%)
ticky-box of being squeamish about fingernail clippings
2 (3.9%)
ticky-box full of hockey show squee
6 (11.8%)
ticky-box full of feeling kind of zonky
21 (41.2%)
ticky-box full of skipping across treetops and dancing through the clouds
23 (45.1%)
ticky-box full of hugs
38 (74.5%)
no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 05:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 08:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 05:57 am (UTC)(High five on how weird/anatomically improbable Zhao Yunlan's chest looks in this reference screencap. xD)
And omg lol, I've never said it anywhere because it was never relevant, but the Heated Rivalry guys are sooooo not my type that I don't even want to try. xD (And I see them doing so much oral fixation stuff in tumblr gifsets that I wouldn't mind them to be my type, lmao, but they're just really not.)
Also, caaaaat. ♡♡♡
no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 08:12 am (UTC)High five on how weird/anatomically improbable Zhao Yunlan's chest looks in this reference screencap. xD
LOL, I know. His shoulders are so far forward they're almost out of their sockets, and ~~the way he's slouching~~. :D :D :D :D (Also, just randomly ftr, I spent ages trying to draw the ep 9 napping-on-SW scene, but ZYL's face looks so weird and round in the reference I couldn't get it to come out right. Maybe one day.)
the Heated Rivalry guys are sooooo not my type that I don't even want to try. xD
*high fives you* (I wanted to give it a chance, because you never know, but there's a scene very near the beginning where they're on side-by-side exercycles in a hotel gym, and there's... zero dialogue. That was enough to confirm that it wasn't for me. Give me all the skinny, scruffy smartass detectives and the beautiful earnest men who love them. Also, I need a quirky ensemble. ;-p *clings to Guardian with all my clings*)
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Date: 2026-01-11 09:51 am (UTC)"LOL, I know. His shoulders are so far forward they're almost out of their sockets, and ~~the way he's slouching~~. :D :D :D :D"
Lol yes, his right shoulder was confusing me so much that I just ignored most of it. xD xD I'm aware that it's not actually more anatomically correct this way (considering it's a drawing and he's an actual person xD) but at least it kinda looks like it is. ;D
"Also, just randomly ftr, I spent ages trying to draw the ep 9 napping-on-SW scene, but ZYL's face looks so weird and round in the reference I couldn't get it to come out right. Maybe one day."
Hee, I've never tried drawing realistic/not cartoonized Zhao Yunlan, but I can see where the challenge lies, yep. xD I can't wait to see more of your art, of this scene or anything else you feel like drawing! ♡♡♡
"Give me all the skinny, scruffy smartass detectives and the beautiful earnest men who love them."
AW!! ♡♡♡
*HIGH FIVE* Heated Rivalry doesn't even go as far as their dynamic for me (I don't know much about it, but what I know is kinda shrug - some things sound interesting enough and everything else doesn't actively put me off), I'm just shallow and I go 'I lowkey wish these guys were in any way good-looking to me
because fingers in mouthbut they're just not'. ;D (I guess there's a reason why my winter sports rpf back in 2002 was ski jumping and not hockey. ;D)*squees a bit more about your cat's stretched out little feetsies* :D :D
no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 10:02 am (UTC)Yes! ALL THE HUGS!
his right shoulder was confusing me so much that I just ignored most of it. xD xD
Hee! That sounds wise! :D :D
I can't wait to see more of your art, of this scene or anything else you feel like drawing! ♡♡♡
Thank youuuuuu! <3333
I'm just shallow and I go 'I lowkey wish these guys were in any way good-looking to me because fingers in mouth but they're just not'. ;D
Ha! I get that, but I've shipped people who weren't attractive to me before. If they're into each other enough I can get a kind of vicarious thing going. (Ooh, ski jumping! Nice!)
*squees a bit more about your cat's stretched out little feetsies* :D :D
:D :D :D (Did you notice the blep? :D)
*waves goodnight*
no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 10:24 am (UTC)Oooooh, that's a really neat and enviable ability that I don't possess at all. xD (And yeppp, btw that ancient pencil drawing on deviantart that I once linked was a ski jumper. :D)
"Did you notice the blep? :D"
I did nottttt, omg IT'S A BLEP, I love that I know that now! xD :D :D ♡♡♡
(Goodnight! ♡♡♡♡♡)
no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 07:21 pm (UTC)It might have something to do with me being non-visual? Idk.
omg IT'S A BLEP, I love that I know that now! xD
She's missing her lower front teeth, so she has semi-permanent blepface. :D
no subject
Date: 2026-01-12 11:43 am (UTC)Oh, interesting! I don't have any theories where it comes from or doesn't for me, but I'm pretty certain that I'm the outlier - I spent most of my life as a non-shipper because at least 95% of all fandoms I've ever liked don't have even one attractive character, let alone more than one. xD Sometimes I did The Attractive Character/Everyone, other times I just shipped nothing for a decade at a time. xD
"She's missing her lower front teeth, so she has semi-permanent blepface. :D"
Oh my goshhhhhhh, she's perfect and I love her, this is such a quality post, thank you for sharing! :D :D ♡♡♡♡♡
(Returning the favor: one of my cats blepping (but not permanently). :D :D The other cat, not blepping, is in a comment thread at the same link. :D)
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Date: 2026-01-13 09:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-14 05:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 11:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 11:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-15 10:38 am (UTC)Sorry for the delay; the semester started on Monday, and I've had to travel every day this week. I'm living on no naps. It's a travesty!
no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 11:28 am (UTC)FYI the last three episodes have a totally different vibe, especially 5 and 6. Maybe if you watch them you will like it better.
I have a friend who thought the same thing -- she wanted to stop after episode 2 and I told her the vibe changed a lot as the characters went through their arc.
Happy reading!
no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 11:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 12:41 pm (UTC)Ah, good to know. I'd heard that it was basically filmed fanfic, but that's my least favourite thing in fic.
no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 11:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 01:23 pm (UTC)And I meditate every day. I started two years ago. I realized very quickly that when I do it regularly it really helps me a lot, for instance with my tension headaches.
no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 11:21 pm (UTC)Btw, I'm watching Cashero, and a) just saw the scene where Minsuk wants to test out Sang-ung's new powers in bed, lol. That's awesome! And then, b) Kim Won-hae showed up. I love him! :D :D Also, c) is it just me, or does Junho look very very Ji Chang-wook-ish these days? I find it very distracting. :D
So glad to hear meditation helps with the headaches. It's great when you find those 'body hack' type things that work for you (and bonus, no side effects!). <3
no subject
Date: 2026-01-12 06:36 pm (UTC)Exactly, that's what I liked about them - in the show and in the book. And I like your threesome with Shane idea. Hot. :DDD
And yay, you're watching Cashero. And I absolutely agree with you about a), it was indeed awesome. And I had the same reaction to b). I haven't checked the whole cast before I started watching it, so seeing Kim Won-hae was such a nice surprise. I love him, too. :) As for c) at first I wanted to say that I didn't see. But now I've thought about it and you know what, I think I do see it a bit. But fortunately it doesn't bother me, heh.
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Date: 2026-01-13 09:32 am (UTC)Re c) I think it's mostly the fringe? I feel like he used to have more forehead (maybe I'm just thinking of Good Manager). :D
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Date: 2026-01-11 03:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 11:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 05:52 pm (UTC)Cool drawings!
Meditation in the sense people generally mean - sitting still, focusing inwards, trying to make your mind go blank - doesn't work for me but Tai Chi does.
I don't have to personally find characters attractive to ship them so that wouldn't put me off. I couldn't be less interested in professional sports if I tried and that's a problem because as I've mentioned before, 'romances' are really not my thing, so I need a plot I'm interested in as well. TBH, I haven't even tried watching it yet but might get around to it eventually.
no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 11:27 pm (UTC)Ohh, Tai Chi! I used to do that in the 1990s. I wonder if I could find a class...
I don't have to personally find characters attractive to ship them so that wouldn't put me off.
I don't have to either, if they're sufficiently into each other, but it helps. As does banter, a setting and ensemble I like, and/or themes that speak to me. But for me a lot of it is also the relationship dynamic, I think.
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Date: 2026-01-14 11:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-15 09:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 06:03 pm (UTC)I want to pick up that Flatshare audiobook because I'm a big fan of Carrie Hope Fletcher!
no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 11:28 pm (UTC)There are a couple of warnings for the Flatshare book. I should have mentioned them in the post. (*goes to do so*) Let me know if you want to know.
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Date: 2026-01-11 06:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 11:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 11:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-11 11:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-12 12:28 am (UTC)KITTY!!
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Date: 2026-01-12 03:26 am (UTC)KITTY! :D
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Date: 2026-01-12 01:20 pm (UTC)*hugs hugs*
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Date: 2026-01-13 09:34 am (UTC)