Gratitude list

[stormkeeper_lovesall]

- The Democratic Party of Oak Park dropped off a gift for me, as a thank you for staffing their farmer's market table. One component of it was a gift card to the Daily Bagel. Doris and I used it Saturday.

- I helped Mom with another de-cluttering. And even better, her stuffed animals, dolls, blankets, and purses were accepted by a group that helps migrants

- And even though she didn't have to, Mom sent me tea as a thank you. (And when I saw her yesterday, she gave me some things she didn't want such as a candle and jewelry, and I like all of it)

- Also speaking of yesterday, it was Christmas Eve dinner at a restaurant with Doris and my parents. (Something we haven't done in years). I ordered a virgin pineapple habanero margarita and it was really good

- Doris was off Saturday so we went to Don Bucio's. We loved it, and they gave us gift cards for next time.


Fan stuff:

- I posted a 2nd chapter of a Shadow and Bone Christmas AU. I expected maybe 4 or 5 additional kudos. I got 33 additional ones, which took the fic to 117! Totally blew out my expectations. I am thrilled any time a fic gets to the 3 digits in kudos. People also interacted with it on the Discord

- For chapter 2 of my Malec/Wesper fic, I got a second great beta from C. A good beta is truly priceless

- This one was interesting. I hang out on fanfic groups on Reddit. Someone said basically "Recommend me a fic. Looking for M/M ship, no toxic behavior, mature adults not teenagers, good plot". I recced one of my The 100 fics. Didn't think the OP would try it. But they commented on chapter 1 few days later, and then a few days after that, they commented on the final chapter and said they loved it! They said they watched a few seasons of The 100, didn't remember Jackson, Miller or Sinclair but loved my fic!

- And speaking of Mackson, I wrote a chapter 2 of my Mackson Christmas fic and gifted it to Mia for Christmas. She loved it. I should probably dissect my relationship with Mia at some point. We've been fandom friends for three years or so. I tend to crave her praise. She can be stingy with it. She's always asking for ideas of new shows to watch but often doesn't take my suggestions. She did watch Shadowhunters and thought it was ok. But she won't touch Shadow and Bone with a 10 foot pole even though I think she'd like it. When I write something she likes, she praises it. But if it's a fandom or ship she has no interest in, again she won't go near it. I like it when she's happy

Comments

[nytshd3]

sweet that they dropped off a gift for you (especially with something that you actually will use/enjoy!)

does your mom still collect dolls? Did you enjoy helping her declutter? Really nice that the group that helps migrants was able to take it!

habanero would be too spicy for me but I love a good pineapple-based drink!

So awesome that the place gave you gift cards for next time! Woo! Was that the place with the giant potato?

How exciting to get so many more kudos on your fanfic!! Wow!! And so cool that you got nice comments on your 100 fic! Yay!

Do you think Mia maybe prefers to avoid shows that get canceled without a satisfying ending? Or has some other (maybe arbitrary) rules? When I was in grad school, i had a hard rule of 'no shows that are already past their first season', primarily because i was so swamped with work and school that I just didn't have the time to commit to getting caught up. It used to drive Bruce crazy because there were always a bunch of shows he wanted me to try. I am sure having a solid fandom friend is great, especially when they read your fic, give you feedback, and you have multiple fandoms (and fic!) in common.

[stormkeeper_lovesall]

I'd say it's good to help her de-clutter since it's all gonna be my problem someday. She's not adding new dolls lately but she still has a lot.

And yes, the giant potato place is the one!

Mia is a tricky one. She has 200 things she doesn't like and will turn up her nose at the slightest thing. I remember when I was trying to get her into Shadow and Bone...she loves M/M couple so I showed her a pic of Wylan and Jesper and she said something like 'they don't appeal to me'. Which is fine, but I'm like, you sure you don't want to at least watch like 1 episode and see if you like the show?? Then the next day she complains that she's bored and has nothing to watch. She can be a pill and yet I tend to crave her praise too. So weird. Well, when she and I are aligned like in The 100 and Spartacus, she's great.