The Day in Spikedluv (Saturday, Dec 6)
I visited mom, did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered. I made an oven pancake with bacon for supper. Yum! (Thanks,
I finished the new In Death and watched an HGTV program. Dr. Pol was my background tv in the evening.
Temps started out at 19.9(F) (which was odd, because it was 9.7 before I went to bed) and started going down until it was 15.1 when I left the house). Better than -7, but still cold! Temps reached 38.7, but there was a breeze and it didn’t feel very warm.
Mom Update:
Mom was doing pretty good when I visited her. ( more back here )
We must protect each other
Every year I hope to have something significant to say, and every year words fail me.
[ SECRET POST #6910 ]
⌈ Secret Post #6910 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
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Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 49 secrets from Secret Submission Post #987.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
[ SECRET SUBMISSIONS POST #988 ]
The first secret from this batch will be posted on December 13th.
| RULES: 1. One secret link per comment. 2. 750x750 px or smaller. 3. Link directly to the image. More details on how to send a secret in! Optional: If you would like your secret's fandom to be noted in the main post along with the secret itself, please put it in the comment along with your secret. If your secret makes the fandom obvious, there's no need to do this. If your fandom is obscure, you should probably tell me what it is. Optional #2: If you would like WARNINGS (such as spoilers or common triggers -- list of some common ones here) to be noted in the main post before the secret itself, please put it in the comment along with your secret. Optional #3: If you would like a transcript to be posted along with your secret, put it along with the link in the comment! |
Speak Up Saturday

Welcome to the weekly roundup post! What are you watching this week? What are you excited about?
The Day in Spikedluv (Friday, Dec 5)
Then I headed to the McD’s in the other direction and did some writing!!! I got 500 words written on my Murder, She Wrote/Hudson & Rex crossover to bring the first draft to an end. I had typed in some of the story, then handwrote more, so I have that bit to type in now.
From McD’s I hit the post office to mail the cards I had gotten done (and pick up more stamps), visited my aunt, and hit Price Chopper (not originally part of the plan, but I had time, so . . .). I stopped at mom’s for a visit on the way home before picking up the dogs.
Additionally I hand-washed dishes, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, baked chicken for the dogs' meals, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter. I had planned Italian sausage for supper, but Pip gave me a hard time about cooking it inside, so he decided on grilled cheese. *shrugs*
I read more in the new In Death. Dr. Pol was my background tv in the evening.
Temps started out at -6.9(F) (yes, that is a minus sign, as in below zero BRRR) and reached 20.1. (It was around 15 when Pip asked me if I planned on grilling the Italian sausage. I was like, are you frelling nuts?!!)
Mom Update:
Mom was feeling like crap today. Just very weak and sick to her stomach (after just drinking some water). She had to keep taking a break while attempting to make egg salad; she got the eggs boiled, then had to rest. While I was there she peeled them, but asked me to finish it up. I also filled pill organizers and washed her dishes.
2026 Theme Suggestions
Hey all, it's December and that means it's time to share your suggestions for next year's themes!
You can comment on this post with up to 10 suggestions. Comments will be screened, but I'll unscreen mine so you can get a feel for how it goes.
Suggested themes should be new to the comm and broad enough to sustain a month of recommendations, and I'm going to be more particular than I have in the past, as I'd like to focus on general themes that make it easier for everyone to participate. To give you an idea of what this means, I'm aiming for themes that have at least 5,000 completed works on AO3. I've also preloaded the list with some common genres that, surprisingly enough, we haven't done yet, like fantasy.
I'll drop by your comments and let you know which of your suggestions meet these guidelines. As part of this process I may offer slight alterations or rework themes to make them more inclusive.
If you can, check out our spreadsheet of past themes before commenting to make sure your suggestions aren't already on there.
If you need some inspiration:
- Last year's suggestion post
- List of Fic Kinks, Tropes, and Clichés at Fanlore
- Cliché Bingo's Big List of Clichés (Wayback Link)
- Hurt/Comfort Bingo Prompts
- Kink Bingo's Kink Wiki (NSFW)
- Trope List & Definitions at Trope Bingo
- TV Tropes
I'll add the suggestions to this post once they've been confirmed, but I still, somehow, don't have all the past themes memorized, so if I make a mistake or if I accept a suggestion that is hurtful or badly worded, let me know.
Theme suggestions will be voted on later this month and the most popular will advance to the monthly theme polls in 2026.
( Confirmed Theme Suggestions )
If you have any questions or need help, come find me!
[ SECRET POST #6909 ]
⌈ Secret Post #6909 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
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Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #986.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
Please give me excuses to talk about my hyperfixations (again)
Currently trying to support a friend in a Very Bad Situation and it's desperately anxiety-inducing and my brain is trying to eat itself, which also makes me less useful as support, which is bad.
So if anyone would like to ask or discuss anything about Prophet or Dark Souls or IWTV or climbing or, you know, any of the somewhat cheering topics I sometimes ramble about, PLEASE DO. "More of a comment than a question" questions also very welcome.
I cannot guarantee replies in a timely or consistent manner (because of the Situation and also the bad state of my brain) but it would be deeply appreciated nonetheless.
Except that THANK FUCK my friend is now out of the Very Bad Situation (and please let him remain so, please please please).
My brain is just trying to eat itself because it's prone to doing that and it's been a very very hard year (and I'm having yet another IC flare-up, joy).
The Day in Spikedluv (Thursday, Dec 4)
I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, ran a load in the dishwasher, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter. I finished up chili for supper and made cornbread. (The chili was not my best, disappointing.)
I stopped at the library to pick up a book. Our library didn’t have the new In Death book yet, so Librarian #2 (not the head librarian), who has already read the book, took it out from a different library where she also works, for me. I need to get that book read quickly and take even better care than usual since it’s not even signed out under my name. There was a surprise book that I had actually requested waiting for me, too.
I hung my wreath! Wreaths used to come with a little wire thingy that you could loop over the hanger, but no more. I had to wait to get a piece of wire from the garage to use.
I lit my scented candle, turned on the few Christmas ornaments that light up, and put the shuffle on my old iPod that barely works these days so I could listen to Christmas music and did a good number of Christmas cards! Very pleased with myself.
I started the new In Death book I got today and Zoo Tampa was my background tv in the evening.
Temps started out at 30.2(F) and reached 30.9. When I got home around noon, it was 29-something and just kept hovering in that vicinity, 28, 29, 30 . . . It was also very windy. Very. We weren’t supposed to get any snow, but suddenly I’m getting warnings for snow squalls from TWC app. We got enough snow that I had to go back out and shovel after supper clean-up, while Pip was out blowing open the trails again. (Between the snow and the wind, the trails had gotten pretty clogged in certain places.) It had already fallen to 15 degrees by that point, so it was chilly out, and still windy.
Mom Update:
Mom was doing the same, sadly. She’s still eating, thankfully, but not all of it is sitting well. She tucked herself away in her ‘den’ where she is hidden from seeing what the weather is like because she didn’t like seeing more snow coming down, and watched a Hallmark movie that she enjoyed, then her usual Love Boat and Mama’s Family. *g* One of her friends from work called her, which was nice.
[ SECRET POST #6908 ]
⌈ Secret Post #6908 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.

( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 05 secrets from Secret Submission Post #986.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.