mrissa | Network

I'm behind on household chores and fandom things (my end-of-year post, snowflake challenge etc.) and the next few weeks are going to be stressful because I have weekend classes again and other plans; and yet the past few days I've spent most of my spare time (and some time when I should have been asleep) reading the first 4.5 books of Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. I'd heard enough good things about it that I put a hold on the first two books immediately when my library got them, and when I was finished with them I immediately wanted to continue reading.
Unfortunately the ebook versions of books 3-7 are only available on amazon from what I've seen and I try to avoid giving them money when I can, so I joined the author's Patreon instead and am now reading the unedited versions of the other books. It's very hard to stop reading! There's always just one more thing I want to see how it goes, and then the next.

I enjoy the LitRPG and power-up fantasy aspects, but I think my favorite angle is the reality TV death game. Reminds me of the Hunger Games in that aspect, with bonus corporate politics in the background. I also like the characters, the main cast and the supporting cast, and I enjoy the crazy plans. Can't wait to see where it goes! ...except I have to because of chores and classes etc. etc. and I should also try to get enough sleep. Boo.

cosmolinguist

I did not expect that being lucky enough to have stable housing in my 40s would mean that I would spend it helping other fortysomething neurospicy queers get out of marriages gone bad.

We have me the failed foster (successful adoption! angelofthenorth always insisted on correcting me when I call myself this, heh), then P, now her.

It's ridiculously heartwarming seeing them both flourish and become more comfortable and themselves. (I imagine I must have too, but I can't see that and I have the complication of transition too old photos of me now look weird for the same reason old photos of my dad do: no beard!).)

dhampyresa

Prompt 8 for this year is "Talk about your creative process." which made me realise it's been a while since I've had a Story Song. Usually when I have a story I'm working on I have a song that goes with it, that echoes some aspect of the plot, setting or character (dynamics) and yet lately... Nothing. Maybe that's why everything has been feeling so empty and been so hard to write?

ANYWAY all this is a long-winded way to ask for music recs.

glinda

This week I've been working on making a good start to one of my resolutions, to start a new recipe notebook. (When I first started learning to cook in an organised fashion, while I was going my post-grad, I took a nice notebook I had and wrote down all my succesful recipes in it. It's a multi-coloured decade's worth of recipes that I refer to regularly even now that I'm a vegetarian and many of the recipes aren't one's I'd ever cook now.) I've been meaning to start a new one for a few years now, but never got round to it, because, well I had my tablet and most recipes I was cooking that weren't in actual cookbooks were on the internet and it was just easier to look them up, but it's really come home to me in the last year when I've gone to look something up and it's just gone. (Not even random people's food blogs, but places I'd expect things to be like the guardian or the good food magazine page.) So I've started in on recipes from my 'cook new recipes' challenges from the past few years, and a significant percentage of them are lost to link rot and paywalls.

But the other thing I've noticed - and part of what makes me want to keep the project up - is that my handwriting is really rusty. I've had to make fairly heavy usage of my tippex mouse because I keep missing letters out of words, not even in the analogue version of typos just I'm so out of practice of writing by hand that I'm half-forgetting how to form the letters properly. I used to have a problem with missing out letters when I wrote essays because I was writing so fast to keep up with my brain - the main reason I switched to typing, as it's much easier to keep up with the speed of thought/ideas that way - but I'm just copying out recipes here. Though on the plus-side, forcing myself to slow down, to form the letters properly is making it a more meditive experience than I expected it to be.

I've always prided myself on having nice handwriting. Ever since we did a unit on the Victorians and spent that whole term perfecting copperplate script I've written a minorly adapted version of that. (I adjusted some letters to be more easily read by modern eyes, so I wouldn't get marked down for mis-spelling words because my teachers that didn't recognise my old-fashioned letters.) All through secondary and university my preferred method of studying was to make notes and the rewrite my notes and I still have piles of notebooks about the place in neat multi-coloured copperplate. So it's both weird and minorly upsetting when my handwriting isn't neat despite my best efforts. No doubt with regular practice it'll improve but at the moment I'm falling a low way short of my own high standards for my handwriting.

It's a ridiculous thing to be having feelings about, I am aware, but nonetheless, I am having them. My handwriting isn't as nice as it used to be - less smooth, more effort for less pleasing results - and it annoys me. I'm feeling a little rusty here, it's a thing.

Current Music: Radio 3 - Unclassified

petra

Stand With Minnesota.com has mutual aid opportunities and testimonals of what happens when the president decides he doesn't like a state and sends in ICE to harass everyone.

If you donate 25 bucks to any listed org, tell me about it, and I will write for you in any of my fandoms. Anonymous comments signed with a username are welcome, and I explicitly 100% do not want anything that doxxes you.

Stay safe out there and help each other.

Current Mood: determined
Current Music: When I look around me, I can't believe what I see

tinny

This set took me much longer than it should have, considering this is my fave pairing right now. But once I sat down to finish it, I had fun again! It's for round 04 at ships20in20.

Enjoy!

Teasers:

( 20+3 icons of Ashile Sun and Li Changge from The Long Ballad )

Every single comment is treasured. All icons shareable! Concrit welcome. Check out my resource post for makers of textures and brushes I use.

Previous icon posts:

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Sanchari Ghosh

https://www.themarysue.com/a-u-s-veteran-goes-all-guns-ablazing-against-ice-for-disgracing-the-country-and-asks-them-to-get-out/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=908225

A United States veteran who has served the country for seven years has a lot to say about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and it is not exactly positive. You cannot blame him, especially given the government agency’s shenanigans in the last couple of months under Donald Trump’s rule.

In a video that is currently going viral on social media, especially X (formerly Twitter), an individual who identifies himself as a US veteran can be seen going full nuclear on ICE while discussing them with a journalist during a protest march/gathering. The individual, who appears to be from Minnesota, in his angry rant, highlights the extent of brutality being carried out by the American Immigration and Customs Enforcement, noting that they were making life in his state unsafe and were turning out to be a disgrace. The man also called out ICE agents for hiding their identities under masks (a practice leaders in Blue states have largely attempted to eradicate without much success), potentially avoiding consequences for their actions. In between saying all of these, he also hurled abuses at ICE agents, highlighting the extent of his frustration with the people of the government agency. This is exactly what he said:

https://www.themarysue.com/a-u-s-veteran-goes-all-guns-ablazing-against-ice-for-disgracing-the-country-and-asks-them-to-get-out/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=908225

marina

I've officially completed all my birthday activities for this year, so I can like, breathe again.

There was recreational axe throwing, joint TV marathons, dinners, gifts and hugs. I chose not to have any kind of party or gathering this year, so just saw friends individually or in small groups, and it worked out OK. I also celebrated

roga's birthday (and will continue to tomorrow), so it all kind of worked out with multiple events.

How have you been doing, friends?

I'm feeling a bit better than I hoped to, at this time of the year.

ETA: I have cautiously started looking at social media again, in very very limited quantities, and as twitter seems like... not the place, I now have a bluesky. IDK IDK. But if you're on there I may also be on there sometimes too I guess.

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Rebekah Harding

https://www.themarysue.com/ross-tags-quality/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=908165

man shopping at ross (l) ross storefront (c) man gives shopping tips (r)

If you thought you were getting an amazing deal on high-end apparel brands at Ross, you may want to double-check the tag. This Los Angeles shopper reveals the sneaky way the off-price retailer hides lower-quality items in plain sight with small print on the price tag.

In a video with over 714,000 views, TikToker Elliott (@callmebelly) stands in the handbag aisle at Ross, a popular discount retailer. The Mary Sue previously reported on the TikToker’s tips for reading the tags at Marshall’s and HomeGoods.

https://www.themarysue.com/ross-tags-quality/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=908165

jesuswasbatman

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

hamsterwoman

Some fannish catching up!

1)

fandomtrees still has 3 trees below the minimum number of 2 gifts, and is thus at risk of delaying reveals again (currently scheduled for Jan 17 reveals), with the decision on delaying to be made the morning of 1/17. Needy trees are mastershield's Tree (f:astro boy, f:balan wonderland, f:kingdom hearts); kalloway's Tree (f:brave nine, f:crossovers, f:fire emblem, f:granblue fantasy, f:gundam, f:kingdom of heroes, f:super robot heroes) whoremoantreatments' Tree (f:advance wars, f:bleach, f:hypnosis mic, f:kuroko no basket, f:pokemon, f:tales of berseria, f:the world ends with you). (List kept updated here.) All of these are open to fic, and the minimum fill for fic is only 100 words, if anyone knows these fandoms and can help out.

(My tree has above the minimum number of gifts but is here, and I’m eager to see what’s on it :)

2) I should’ve mentioned this earlier, but it’s been a crazy couple of weeks.

lunasariel is hosting a sync read of To Shape a Dragon’s Breath in her DW here. Currently it’s her, me, and

cyanmnemosyne reading along, but contrary to the name, we don’t actually have to be all synched up to participate, so if (like me) you’ve been meaning to read this book for a while, or if you’ve read it already and want to follow our impressions as we make progress through it, come join! I am currently just past halfway,

lunasariel is 10-20 chapters ahead of me, and Cyan has just recently started. (And yes, my thoughts on this book are ~50% on the chemistry. Actual Periodic Table of Elements chemistry, I mean, not chemistry between characters, although I’m enjoying that too.)

3) Snowflake catch up!

Snowflake Challenge: A flatlay of a snowflake shaped shortbread cake, a mug with coffee, and a string of holiday lights on top of a rustic napkin.

The problem with doing Snowflake every year for the last, uh… 10 years, I guess? – is that for repeated questions like this, which are about ME as opposed to about my fandoms or projects or objects, which can accumulate it is much harder to come up with something new to say! Both of these questions fall under that category, and so were more challenging than most for me to answer. But let’s see if I can come up with something without repeating myself.

Challenge #7: LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.

I do want to stick to fandom-related things I like about myself for this one, so, hm. Last time I answered this question seems to be in 2017 (and my things were “good fannish role model for my children”, “thorough and detailed in talking about what I’m reading/watching”, and “conscientious beta”) and the first time in 2016 (my answers were “good fannish baba/matchmaker”, "committed to fannish crack”, and “conscientious about fandom participation”) – and I do still feel those things are all applicable to me and I still like them. But I’ve done a bunch of new things in the last 9 years, from attending conventions to paying attention to the Hugos to signing up for Yuletide, so let me focus on those new things and see if I can extract three new things I like about myself fannishly from them.

( things I like about myself viz conventions, fanfic, and Hugos )

Challenge #8: Talk about your creative process.

This is another one I’ve done before, in 2019 and in 2015, but looking at even the 2019 one, I talked about fannish poetry and graphics, but not about fannish prose/fanfic. So clearly that’s what I should talk about, but what IS my process?

( Fanfic process )

petra

Do you like to sing socially? Do you like traditional music and music in the style of trad music?

Youth Trad Song is a youth-focused but not youth-exclusive event focused on singing with an awareness of social justice issues underlying the trad song community. It's happening the last weekend of March, 2026, in Connecticut.

Registration has closed, but they have a lot of openings left, so get your name in for the waitlist ASAP!

( But money )

Current Mood: musical
Current Music: The moon o'er the combers looks downward to find us

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Kopal

https://www.themarysue.com/donald-trump-clarifies-whole-milk-starts-with-a-w-but-hes-the-only-one-who-could-think-otherwise/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=908217

Trump clarifies whole milk is not hole milk

On Jan. 14, Donald Trump sat in the Oval Office and explained to the nation that “whole milk” starts with a “W.” Yes, that was his message while signing the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act into law.

On Wednesday, Trump signed a law that most Americans had never thought about and even fewer had ever asked for. He reversed Obama-era restrictions on milk fat in the National School Lunch Program. Under the old rules, public schools could only serve low-fat or fat-free milk. Now, cafeterias can offer whole milk and 2% milk back alongside existing choices.

https://www.themarysue.com/donald-trump-clarifies-whole-milk-starts-with-a-w-but-hes-the-only-one-who-could-think-otherwise/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=908217

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Sanchari Ghosh

https://www.themarysue.com/yet-another-republican-loses-their-sense-of-time-accusing-biden-of-high-prices-despite-trump-being-president-for-a-year/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=907990

Donald Trump and members of his Republican army never let go of an opportunity to talk badly about former United States President Joe Biden and his administration, even when it is not relevant to the topic they are discussing. An example of the same was observed recently when House Majority Leader Steve Scalise appeared in front of the Press for a conference on January 13, 2026, and blamed Biden for doing things that Trump could have ideally rectified in the one year he was president, but chose not to.

During Tuesday’s press conference, Steve Scalise discussed a multitude of topics, primarily around the reforms Donald Trump and his administration had brought during their second term of presidency. Unsurprisingly enough, Scalise also dedicated a significant amount of his time to bashing Joe Biden and trying to prove why Trump was a better president than him. In that extreme adrenaline rush of trying to suck up to Trump, Scalise almost forgot that the words that he was uttering out of his mouth do not hold ground because they were mostly lies and people who have a functioning brain (they do not even have to be intelligent) will be able to identify it.

https://www.themarysue.com/yet-another-republican-loses-their-sense-of-time-accusing-biden-of-high-prices-despite-trump-being-president-for-a-year/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=907990

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Sanchari Ghosh

https://www.themarysue.com/minneapolis-mayor-is-saying-the-quiet-part-aloud-in-condemning-ice-and-donald-trump/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=907987

Following the murder of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good at the hands of an ICE agent in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, a lot of people have risen in arms against the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In the forms of demonstrations, protest, and silent solidarity, they are showing they are condemning the act and expressing their frustration over the activities of the government agency that functions under the current Trump administration.

Since Reenee Nicole Good’s shooting and death, one of the people who has repeatedly spoken about the atrocities being inflicted by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the people living in America is the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey. He has appeared in multiple news conferences and highlighted the malpractices of ICE under the current US regime. In one such conference, videos of which have been gaining significant attention on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Frey could be seen discussing the potential reasons behind Trump and his administration carrying out ICE raids in cities like Minneapolis and Saint Paul, saying that they are Democrat majority cities situated in Minnesota, which is also a Blue state. He contrasts the places he mentioned with other US states like Florida, Texas, and Utah and said that the only reason ICE agents were not flooding these places were because they were Republican majority states. And therefore, he concluded that Trump’s immigrant crackdown measures did not come from a place of him trying to ensure the safety and protection of US citizens, but from a place of “politics” where he was trying to use his power and position to malign Democratic leaders in Blue states and with them also the people who were living in these places.

https://www.themarysue.com/minneapolis-mayor-is-saying-the-quiet-part-aloud-in-condemning-ice-and-donald-trump/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=907987

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Sanchari Ghosh

https://www.themarysue.com/wow-that-was-fast-netizens-have-a-lot-to-say-as-rumours-arise-about-tom-brady-and-erika-kirk-dating/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=908287

Currently, rumours are circulating on the internet suggesting that Erika Kirk, the CEO of Turning Point USA and the late Charlie Kirk’s wife, and NFL quarterback, Tom Brady, who was previously married to supermodel Gisele Bündchen, are dating. So, how true are these claims? Apparently not at all, at least as of now, but given how happy and celebratory Erika has been during all the recent Turning Point events, people are not ruling out the possibility.

A recent post about Erika Kirk and Tom Brady dating has created quite a stir among netizens. The post, first made by the X (formerly Twitter) page Hoops Crave (a parody account) on January 14, 2026, has, as of this writing, garnered millions of views and thousands of likes, comments, and reshares. Among the things that people have written under the post many say that they are shocked with the revelation, others believe that Erika moving on too fast from her deceased husband is not surprising given how enthusiastically she has been celebrating his legacy and life- from fireworks to setting up a replica of a tent where Kirk was shot back in September 2025, in a recent Turning Point event, the world has seen everything.

https://www.themarysue.com/wow-that-was-fast-netizens-have-a-lot-to-say-as-rumours-arise-about-tom-brady-and-erika-kirk-dating/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=908287

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Kopal

https://www.themarysue.com/probably-needed-a-drink-too-ministers-of-denmark-and-greenland-took-a-public-smoke-break-after-listening-to-rubio-and-vances-bullshit/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=908314

Denmark and Greenland foreign ministers took a smoke break after meeting Rubio and Vance

Diplomacy is usually built on handshakes, careful language, and controlled expressions. What diplomatic meetings are not usually followed by is a visible coping mechanism: a smoke break. But that’s exactly what Denmark and Greenland officials had to resort to.

After meeting with U.S. officials Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance on Jan. 15, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland stepped outside and lit up cigarettes in full camera view. There was no press statement right after. Just a quiet smoke break that said more than any speech ever could.

https://www.themarysue.com/probably-needed-a-drink-too-ministers-of-denmark-and-greenland-took-a-public-smoke-break-after-listening-to-rubio-and-vances-bullshit/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=908314

the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Jenna Anderson

https://www.themarysue.com/glen-powell-jj-abrams-movie-great-beyond-release-date/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=908342

For nearly two years, the prospect of a collab between Glen Powell and writer-director J.J. Abrams has been on the horizon and making fans incredibly curious.

What genre would it be? How will Abrams flex his directing muscles in his first film since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? Will Powell give the world any new, delightfully weird impressions? As it turns out, we don’t have to wait long to find out the answers to those questions.

https://www.themarysue.com/glen-powell-jj-abrams-movie-great-beyond-release-date/

https://www.themarysue.com/?p=908342

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mrissa

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January 2026

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Page Summary

trobadora - Write Every day 2026: January, Day 16
cielsosinfel - just a little fic meme
schneefink - Dungeon Crawlers: kill, kill, kill
cosmolinguist - A thought I'm struck by
dhampyresa - Not really a snowflake challenge entry
glinda - Old Skills a Little Rusty
petra - US Politics: Minnesota under attack
tinny - 20 icons of Ashile Sun and Li Changge from The Long Ballad for ships20in20
the_mary_sue_feed - A U.S. veteran goes all guns ablazing against ICE for ‘disgracing’ the country, and asks them to get
marina - a birthday has been had
the_mary_sue_feed - ‘Ross is definitely trickier than TJ Maxx’: Los Angeles shopper picks up a Wrangler bag at Ross. The
jesuswasbatman - Starfleet Academy ep 1: "Kids These Days"
hamsterwoman - Snowflake (days 7-8) and other fannish catching up
petra - US Music: Social Singers in the Northeast - Youth Trad Song Weekend waitlist is open
the_mary_sue_feed - Donald Trump clarifies ‘whole milk’ starts with a ‘w,’ but he’s the only one who could think otherwi
the_mary_sue_feed - Yet another Republican loses their sense of time, accusing Biden of ‘high’ prices despite Trump bein
the_mary_sue_feed - Minneapolis mayor is saying the quiet part aloud in condemning ICE and Donald Trump
the_mary_sue_feed - ‘Wow, that was fast’: Netizens have a lot to say as rumours arise about Tom Brady and Erika Kirk dat
the_mary_sue_feed - ‘Probably needed a drink too’: Ministers of Denmark and Greenland took a public smoke break after li
the_mary_sue_feed - Finally, Glen Powell & J.J. Abrams’ Movie Has a Title and Release Date

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Page generated Jan. 22nd, 2026 03:51 am

Barnstorming on an Invisible Segway

The stories are made up, but the problems are real.

Network

Write Every day 2026: January, Day 16

just a little fic meme

Dungeon Crawlers: kill, kill, kill

A thought I'm struck by

Not really a snowflake challenge entry

Old Skills a Little Rusty

US Politics: Minnesota under attack

20 icons of Ashile Sun and Li Changge from The Long Ballad for ships20in20

A U.S. veteran goes all guns ablazing against ICE for ‘disgracing’ the country, and asks them to get

a birthday has been had

‘Ross is definitely trickier than TJ Maxx’: Los Angeles shopper picks up a Wrangler bag at Ross. The

Starfleet Academy ep 1: "Kids These Days"

Snowflake (days 7-8) and other fannish catching up

US Music: Social Singers in the Northeast - Youth Trad Song Weekend waitlist is open

Donald Trump clarifies ‘whole milk’ starts with a ‘w,’ but he’s the only one who could think otherwi

Yet another Republican loses their sense of time, accusing Biden of ‘high’ prices despite Trump bein

Minneapolis mayor is saying the quiet part aloud in condemning ICE and Donald Trump

‘Wow, that was fast’: Netizens have a lot to say as rumours arise about Tom Brady and Erika Kirk dat

‘Probably needed a drink too’: Ministers of Denmark and Greenland took a public smoke break after li

Finally, Glen Powell & J.J. Abrams’ Movie Has a Title and Release Date

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January 2026

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