azdak

I put my chicken in the oven and fried up the chicken skins and - listen, I gotta say, of all the food items I've tried because I read about them, fried chicken skins are fucking amazing. I don't mind saying that they are, hands down, the most brilliant thing Jews have contributed to the world, and I do hope my various Jewish friends take that in the spirit it's intended, because omg. I don't care if I find out later that you guys invented the wheel, this is better. I am very thankful.

Anyway, we've got chicken, creamed spinach, possibly creamed corn, maybe beets of some sort, maybe couscous, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (with marshmallows, contributed by a guest), stuffing, cornbread, cranberry sauce, and pies. I'm debating making some soup as well, buuuuuuut I think we may have enough food and not enough bowls. Oh, and there's green beans. Oh, and brussels sprouts and a salad.

(Maybe I should've made baked beans? I wonder if I have time to make baked beans. Oh, but the chicken is in the oven. Hm. Can you make not-baked baked beans? Is that a thing?)

Major spoilers!

Mors looks a lot like Vita and I think they have the same VA, and there was that tale of the Gods coming down and their souls. Is the God of Calamity's soul in Mors?

I played the whole Mors section in one go and my brain is fried nowww. Did Avar really tell Fulvis the location?? He had to know what kind of person Fulvis was and so he wouldn't let him live. And the whole thing with Daphne ughh. I hate the Legion but some of them have parts that I can empathize with.

Vergilius has pretty eyes.

WTF was that Hive Mind entry in the sewers?! Eyes blank and pale as moonlight... Edit: Was that Subject 36 or 47?



[...] past battles we were never at the front — we lost more often than we won, He must have longed for a chance to prove himself... So I signed up too — just to help him chase that dream of being a true Knight: As long as we stick together, it doesn't matter where we go."

You reach the final page.

"O silent gods — if, as Milton believed, Your gaze is truly upon us... then I beg You: grant me one last mercy."
"Let my soul be reunited with theirs,"
'"Then I will forgive You — Your indifference, Your cruelty: I will forgive every trial You set before us, every lie You wove."
"My wings no longer need the radiance of the full moon, I ask only for a soft wind, to bear me home — to where they wait."

Did this Mystic Maze story have to be that sad? Holy moly. Edit: they're all that sad 🙃 Dead group of friends who doesn't know they're dead yet and keeps trying endlessly... I wonder if Milton is a reference to Paradise Lost?

Chapter 3: I KNEW one of those monsters was Blues, too much foreshadowing. :| Man this game has such dark stories. Does this happen to all Laurelled Charon?? Are they made as weapons of war or another purpose? ...Now I understand why Lynn made Rhythm leave even though the "monster" who got hurt was still alive. She knew about the experiments and was probably ordered to retrieve it. This story made me cry so much. At least they died as humans and not as lab experiments in captivity...

I bawled my eyes out by the end. The last part with Phantasio with the singing was beautiful but DEVISTATINGGG. It's a miracle I got through the fight while crying and trying to listen to the music. And I just realized Blues and Phantasio won't get the proper Charon burial rights like Psyche got. 😭 

This one was recently reposted but unfortunately I can't find the post. ( Read more... )

This month is almost over, so, let's hear it. *g* How did it go with your fannish creativity?

Did you manage to make a thing?

Created fanart or made vids? Wrote fic or meta? How about picspams, link collections, character mood boards, themed playlists, promo posts, or whatever else you create for fannish enjoyment?

Here's the place to share it with us! Leave a link in the comments, or elaborate on it as much as you want.

Posted by Fred Clark

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2025/11/26/men-behaving-badly-11-26-25/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/?p=71954

May every day be another wonderful secret.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2025/11/26/men-behaving-badly-11-26-25/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/?p=71954

Using my movies boardgame.

I completed 6/7 movies from my last challenge. I DNF'ed the one. I rated them all pretty good, with two of them over 4 stars!

Avatar:

Romance (Imagine Me & You)
Skill: beat the trap tile once (roll a prompt)

Roll #1

I better get the trap tile since I finally got that skill! First roll is an 8, right past it though. Generate a random movie from my list. #64 which is a thriller/horror movie called Dagon!

Roll #2

A 7, prompt: comedy element. Welcome Week: A College Horror Anthology.

Roll #3

A 4, prompt: highest rated on PTW. Se7en, a mystery/thriller from '95 that I watched part of already before.

Roll #4

A 6 and the PTW tile again. #23 which is 1999's Sleepy Hollow,

Roll #5

A 7, prompt: weapon on the cover. So many options. Let's go with She Came from the Woods.

Roll #6

An 8 and the end. I didn't even get to use my skill... Reward, uhh. Oh, Black Phone 2! 

Lots of horror/thriller. Horror is somehow (usually) easier for me to watch when I'm tired so this is fine.

Using my TV Show PTW boardgame.

I completed 4/4 from my last challenge, I was a little slow because I find it hard to watch things when I'm tired, but I did them all so 👍.

Avatar: The Owl House/Animation (re-roll dice once)

Roll #1

A 5, prompt: shortest on list. Ninjago season 6, I should be able to finish it if I'm in the mood.

Roll #2

A 10, prompt: longest titled which is Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, it looks like new episodes have came out since I last watched.

Roll #3

A 4, prompt: featuring a group of friends. Maybe it's because it's my avatar for this challenge but my mind immediately jumped to The Owl House,

Roll #4

An 8, cover featuring mostly blue. I guess She-ra?

Roll #5

A 6, generate from PTW list tile. I've been putting it off but I'll go for Lost in Space (season 3).

Roll #6

A 10 and the end. Didn't get a chance to use my skill;; Reward: Helluva Boss. I think as soon as I catch up on that I'll start on Hazbin Hotel when I get a chance.

Where to watch:
Ninjago
Helluva Boss

Posted by Fred Clark

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2025/11/25/smart-people-saying-smart-things-11-25-25/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/?p=71945

Featuring Michael Woolf, Pema Levy and Ari Berman, Spencer Ackerman, Stuart Hall, Tatiana Schlossberg, and Bill McKibben.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2025/11/25/smart-people-saying-smart-things-11-25-25/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/?p=71945

Posted by Fred Clark

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2025/11/24/ice-vs-churches-contd/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/?p=71981

Does DHS have an "official plan" to "raid churches"? Maybe. But considering what its already doing, that hardly matters.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2025/11/24/ice-vs-churches-contd/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/?p=71981

Created to fulfil a challenge in seasons_of_fandom Round 1.

Drabbles

Fandom: Word of Honor (TV)
Characters: Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu

Wen Kexing awoke with a start, shaking off the nightmare and looking down at the man asleep beside him. Zishu was restless, murmuring as if caught in his own nightmare. Concerned by the pallor of his skin and the sweat beading on his forehead, it seemed only natural to grasp the twitching fingers. Zishu sat up with a gasp, blood on his lips and his breathing was ragged, his Qi pulsing weakly. Kexing moved behind and forced his own Qi into the sick man, shoving down the crushing fear that Zishu was running out of time for both of them.

Fandom: The Yin-Yang Master Dream of Eternity
Characters: Qingming/Boya

Qingming raised his cup of wine and watched as Boya stalked away with a disgruntled expression that would have been amusing on anyone else, but for some inexplicable reason he wanted Boya to like him. He hid his melancholy thoughts and smiled at the lesser demons he had invited to sip wine with him, noticing one of them watching him intently.

"He did not like seeing you in our company."

Qingming's smile waned. "He has no love for demons."

"Perhaps most demons but not all. That was jealousy not anger."

"Jealous? Of me?"

The demon laughed. "No. Jealous of me."

Graphics

Phone Wallpaper - 1080x1920
Fandom: Guardian/L'Oreal Time Engraver
Characters: Zhao Yunlan/Shen Wei|Time Engraver



Bookmark - 300x800
Fandom: The Yin-Yang Master Dream of Eternity
Characters: Boya

 

Postcard
Fandom: Word of Honor (TV)
Characters: Zhou Zishu to Ye Baiyi (with added remarks from Wen Kexing)

 

Chapter 5.1:



It would be a lie to say I wasn’t flustered by this. But whether it was from seeing his bare chest or from Shylock’s natural sex appeal, I wasn’t sure.

*waggles eyebrows*

Chapter 5.2:

Nero on wizards: “Maybe they just want a bit of the things we take for granted, like…appreciation and compassion. Stuff like that.”

Lol I don't know if he was being sarcastic in this convo but he was spot on.

Ughhh Riquet and that slimy priest. I really hope we see Riquet change.

Chapter 5.3:

Poor Chloe having to deal with Rustica and his search for this 'bride'...

Chapter 5.4:

Rustica: “I’ll enjoy anywhere I go as long as you’re with me, Chloe.”

Then stop causing him problems. 😭

Wait, Rustica said the moon chose them, but it's the Great Calamity, right? Why is it choosing people to fight against it??

Chapter 5.5-5.6:

I like the Southern Country people!

The chosen South wizards realizing that means the four wizards sent last time were killed. :'(

Ughh nothing better happen to these guys. >.< And the North wizards better not pick on them, either!!

Chapter 6.1:

Akira: (I can’t even imagine what it’s like. They’ve just been living their lives normally but now they’re suddenly expected to save the world.)

Exactly, and there's a high chance of dying.

The 'I've just changing' scene makes me think of fem!Akira. It's almost like they're going back and forth on how they depict them.

Chapter 6.2:

Man you know you fucked up if you piss off Heathcliff. 

Shylock: “It doesn’t matter what we do, Heathcliff. No matter what we sacrifice, no matter how much we smile and try to play nice—”

Shylock: “—We will forever be their enemies, simply by virtue of possessing a power foreign to them. Stronger than them.”

😭😭😭

Chapter 6.3:

Okay maybe Heathcliff is just a hot-head in certain situations.

Apparently Bradley is the leader of 'the deadliest bandit gang in the world'.

I think the cover image was taken from some other source, maybe another webnovel, and made into a cover for Jubo but I couldn't find the true original source.

Chapter 1: Wang Cheng grew up in a temple, it was just him and his master until he passed away, leaving the old and worn down temple and deed to Wang Cheng.

Chapter 2: Wang Cheng was given up at age seven by his parents because they had a daughter and couldn't afford three kids. Wang Cheng never got to eat his fill as a growing teenager because he lived with the monks, so his mom tries to make up for it when he visits. His parents want him to move back in with them now instead of living alone in the old temple.

Chapter 3: developers took fancy of Shiquan County and wanted to build a large tourist resort here. Several villages have received the news, and Wang' Village was also included.

Wang Cheng doesn't want to sell the temple, he'd rather rebuild it.

How will turning the area into a tourist trap spot effect the villagers...?

Chapter 4-5: Family dynamics explanations and explorations.

Wang Cheng agreed to move back home so he heads off to get his things.

Chapter 6: Wang Cheng is a really good cook.

The real estate company shows up.

Chapter 7: Wang Cheng will only sell the mountain if the temple isn't demolished. Of course the real estate boss isn't happy about it.

Apparently Wang Cheng is really attractive even bald.

Chapter 8: Wang Cheng is so attractive even his sister blushes at him lol

Seems the family are supportive of Wang Cheng's decision?

I think they're moving to Guan Village, the mom's original village?

Chapter 9: The thing about the hands was interesting, I want to know more.

Chapter 10: I think Chu Yifeng, the real estate boss, is the LI?

Chapter 11: It is pretty interesting reading about the family dynamics.

Can't believe Wang Cheng negotiated 12 months work down to 3.

Chapter 12-13: Aunt Zhang is infuriating. 😡 Good luck finding a worker as good as Wang Ziyu!

Chapter 14 Finally moving away! Cute family interaction there at the end.

Chapter 15-16: Unfortunately two uncles they don't get along with also moved to Guan.

Chapter 17: First day of work, reading a bunch of docs, didn't see Boss Chu.

The editing could use some work but it's readable and mostly understandable. Seems like this will be a day-to-day story with a slow burn.

CW: A woman gets slapped and called a slut (in Wang Cheng's mind) after she hurls insults and abuse at Wang Ziyu.

Posted by Fred Clark

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2025/11/23/youre-never-gonna-keep-me-down/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/?p=71921

'The Carpenter's Son' and

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2025/11/23/youre-never-gonna-keep-me-down/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/?p=71921

Summary: Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him.

But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t evil sorcerers.

When her mother unexpectedly moves them into the manor home of a wealthy older Squire and his kind but keen-eyed sister, Hester, Cordelia knows this welcoming pair are to be her mother's next victims. But Cordelia feels at home for the very first time among these people, and as her mother's plans darken, she must decide how to face the woman who raised her to save the people who have become like family.

My thoughts: Gripping from the start and stabs you right in the heart with the abuse that Cordelia suffers from her mother. This is my second T. Kingfisher book and I've found her MCs to be relatable to me personally but especially Cordelia. I grew up isolated and unsocialized after a certain point and had trouble with handling strong emotions (still do).

I really think I would give it 5/5 just for the characters but...I had other issues that bring the score down. At times I felt like the pacing was off, but that could be because I was impatient for answers, and there were multiples times where I was like "why didn't/don't you just do X??" but again, could just be me being impatient lol.

What I was hoping for did happen in the end (Cordelia living with Richard and Hester) so I was happy there. Speaking of those two, my heart swooned for them, I'm glad they found a way to be together in the end. There's plenty of commentary on a woman's place in historical society.

Did I mention how much I love the characters?

I LOVED the narration (Zoe Mills).

(PS: Was the butler in a relationship with another man? Jack was it?)

I would definitely reread (listen) to this again.

CWs:

-Child abuse (including taking over their body but neglecting to go to the bathroom or eat at times)
-Off-screen murder and discussion of it, on-screen murder made to look like a suicide
-Gore (a horse's head was cut off, it walks around headless and Cordelia touches the area while riding it, later the horse stomps someone to death, also it bites someone's ear off)