Happy 2024, folks. Somehow we survived 2023, and that's all the good I can say about it.

As reflected in the very, very few posts I made here, I only managed to complete three fics in all of 2023, which is a pretty reliable reflection of my mental health. On the plus side, one of them WAS the longest Old Guard fic I've ever written, so it's not like that's nothing. But for the first year since returning to fandom properly in 2019, I fell short of my annual goal of 100k words. Not terribly, though - I clocked in at around 72k - and no one but me cares about that, so I'm trying to go easy on myself.

On the personal front, my wife lost her (incredibly toxic and health-destroying) job last January, and after sending out 299 applications (that's not an exaggeration - she's been keeping track), finally landed part-time work a few weeks ago. That was rough, though honestly, her mental and physical health has been much better over this past year than when she was trapped in that horrible job situation, even with all the attendant stress and depression from unemployment. We've stayed afloat financially, and taking a part-time job for a while is not necessarily a bad thing, given her level of physical ability these days. So we'll manage. I got a significant promotion in the spring, which helped, and have almost entirely transitioned out of my old role by now, which is also a net positive for my own mental health. So...this was a transitional year for both of us, I guess, and hopefully bodes slightly better for the new year.

We have a new hamster now. His name is Samwise Hamgee. He started off very skittish, but he's been gradually warming up to us, and we rang in midnight with him being very soft and snuggly, so that was very nice.

I don't talk politics much in fannish spaces, but let's just say that being a leftist Jew working for a Jewish civil rights organization has been incredibly stressful, scary, and depressing these past few months. The Israel-Palestine conflict has been my entire work life since Oct 7, so when I'm more silent than I should be in fannish spaces, it's because fandom is my only fucking refuge right now, and I've discovered that it's not at all a safe space for me, either. I'm too pro-Palestine for work and not sufficiently anti-Israel for fandom, so I'm just keeping my mouth shut and trying to listen to as many voices who are actually on the ground as possible. So it goes.

Anyway. I did manage to Yuletide, at least. Have a very silly DnD fic.


Perception Check (Roll for Romance) (5903 words) by kaydeefalls
Fandom: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Edgin Darvis/Xenk Yendar
Characters: Edgin Darvis, Xenk Yendar, Holga Kilgore, Kira Darvis
Additional Tags: the mortifying ordeal of crushing on the most irritating person you know, Romantic Comedy, Post-Canon, Non-Explicit Sex, crossdressing for disguise purposes, Humor, Hijinks & Shenanigans
Summary:

"I bet Xenk fucks like a metronome, too. You know." Holga makes a highly suggestive, repetitive gesture. "In, out. In, out. No variation. Same exact rhythm every time. Boring."

Edgin stares at her, torn between horror and fascination. "You've really thought about this, huh?"

(So has he. Unfortunately.)