chez_jae | Reading

After the events of The Three-Body Problem and The Dark Forest, this conclusion to the trilogy expands the perspective on the Earth-Trisolaran conflict beyond our two petty solar systems to a galactic, interdimensional, and finally universal scale. (Yes, this is the sort of book where rather than wondering if your favorite character survives, you wonder instead if there will be a habitable universe for them to survive in by the last page.)

This book took me a long time to read, not only because it's 600 pages but also because I kept stopping due to real life distractions. I also don't have the book anymore because it had to go back to the library. So I'm afraid this post is going to be more vibes-based than going into a ton of detail, even though seventy million things happened in the book that would each be worthy of detailed discussion.

My ultimate impression of the book (and of the series as a whole) is that there are a lot of things that the author and I will just never see eye-to-eye on, but I don't mind setting that aside because I like the way he explores his ideas even if I disagree with their fundamental basis.

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conuly

Morbid question, but let's be serious here: If you were trapped in a house with nothing to eat but your recently deceased pet, wouldn't you at least think about it?

People talk about this like it's so shocking, or like it means your pet obviously doesn't really love you, but c'mon. I love my cat, but I'd eat her in a heartbeat if she was already dead and there was nothing else left. She's my cat, she's not my baby. It's not like I've gone full on Donner Party - and let's be clear, if that was all that was left on the table, and they were already dead, I'd do that too. At least, I'd think about doing it. I suppose I might not be able to bring myself to go that far, but I wouldn't find it shocking if another person did!

profiterole_reads

Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology, created by Rosiee Thor and Vania Stoyanova and written by 10 more authors, was a lot of fun. Teen aliens on a rescue mission crash-land on Earth.

This book is called an "anthology" but it's more of a collaboration (like my beloved Grimoire of Grave Fates). Rosiee Thor and Vania Stoyanova wrote the prologue presenting the aliens, then the other authors wrote stories about them encountering human teens, or sometimes just about humans dealing with the existence of the UFO. It's labelled as YA, but the writing feels MG to me.

The aliens choose their own genders, and don't necessarily stick with it. There are several enbies (among both the aliens and the humans), a trans boy, as well as some m/m, f/f and f/nb.

conuly

ask a detailed question about phonology, such as "Do you really pronounce 'tr' as 'chr'?" (Yes, yes we do. We all do. It's almost impossible not to due to the physiology of those phonemes.)

And this will generate a burst of absolutely, frustratingly useless nonsense, because people just do not know how they talk. They don't know how they talk, they can't analyze their phonetics on the fly, and they are staggeringly unaware of these facts.

I keep telling these people to go to /r/linguistics instead, but thus far, nobody has taken my advice. Which is a pity, because I do give excellent advice, especially in this case.

But seriously - nobody knows how they talk. It's like trying to explain the biomechanics of walking. Sure, you've been doing it since you were a toddler (probably?), but that doesn't mean you have any understanding at all of what the hell you're doing as you propel yourself from place to place. I bet you can't even explain how you adjust for your varying center of balance!

enchanted_jae

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Current Music: "I'm Home for Christmas" ~ The Jets

jenab

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colls posting in

womansplace

Fandom:

festivids
Fanwork type: vids
Pairings/Characters: multiple
Rating and/or Content Warnings: n/a
Links: see below
Summary: vids! <333

Reccer's Notes: Some of my favorite festivids from recent years featuring women, in no particular order.

Star Trek: Lower Decks, Beckett Mariner
Golden by

inkjunket

A Wrinkle in Time, Meg
Supernova by

eruthros

Babylon 5, Lyta Alexander
Runs in the Family by

sandalwoodbox

For All Mankind, Molly Cobb
Northwest Passage by

ExtraPenguin

Contact, Ellie Arroway
The Golden Echo by

nicasio_silang

Scavenger's Reign, Ursla
The World Observed by

Rhea

Lost in Space, Maureen/John
The Bones by

dirty_diana

enchanted_jae

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Current Music: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" ~ Train

mahmfic

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conuly

Before I say anything, A would like you to know how extremely annoying it is that they played those "Arabian Nights" riffs every time the snake (Barry) appeared, and it would be annoying even if the plot ( Read more... )

They wouldn't shut up about it, so there we go. They're not wrong.

( Read more... )

enchanted_jae

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Current Music: "White Christmas" ~ Billy Gilman

enchanted_jae

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Current Music: "Christmas Pipes" ~ Celtic Woman

enchanted_jae

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Current Music: "Frosty the Snowman" ~ The Ronettes

enchanted_jae

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Current Mood: blah
Current Music: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" ~ Darlene Love

conuly

Winter is icummen in,
Lhude sing Goddamm,
Raineth drop and staineth slop,
And how the wind doth ramm!
Sing: Goddamm.
Skiddeth bus and sloppeth us,
An ague hath my ham.
Freezeth river, turneth liver,
Damn you, sing: Goddamm.
Goddamm, Goddamm, 'tis why I am, Goddamm,
So 'gainst the winter's balm.
Sing goddamm, damm, sing Goddamm.
Sing goddamm, sing goddamm, DAMM.

***

Link

enchanted_jae

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Current Mood: blah
Current Music: "Holly Jolly Christmas" ~ Burl Ives

jenab

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conuly

And very heavy on the dudes. I'm not sure if women don't go into this sort of thing, or if they're just too classy when they do it, and thus don't get onto the playlist. Though I guess it would be strange for lesbians to sing an ode to Jingle Bell COCK. (Emphasis all theirs, and totally unnecessary. We know where the song was going.)

Anyway, in honor of this, I'm posting three belated Christmas videos. The last is Boynton and totally SFW.

Watch on YouTube

This one won't let me embed it.

hamsterwoman

B is back and appears to have somehow given me his jetlag, because I was awake around 5 a.m. and then got up about half an hour later so he could make me coffee and eggs, since he was making himself some.

I’m consequently a bit bleary for anything productive, but might as well post some Yuletide recs:

( recs for Ballad of Wallis Island, Doctrine of Labyrinths, D&D:HAT, The Odyssey, Philosopher's Flight, R&G Are Dead, Some Desperate Glory, Summer in Orcus, and a couple of 5 min fandoms )

*

I think new fandom developments are unlikely in the next 5 days, so I might as well do the year-end fandom meme:

Fandom end-of-year meme: ( fandom meme #1 )

profiterole_reads

In no particular order. This is content I've read and watched in 2025, not necessarily content released in 2025.

Books

1. The Moonstone Covenant by Jill Hammer: f/f/f/f heroic fantasy. This standalone novel about four wives investigating the death of Olloise's parents and ending up in the middle of a political plot is beautifully written, like old-school fantasy.

2. The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons: f/f/m heroic fantasy. This standalone novel about a team having to steal a dragon's hoard has an amazing plot and fun characters.

3. On Silver Shores by VT Hoang: m/m urban fantasy with an intersex protagonist. This novel about a half-siren detective and an analyst investigating rebel werewolves gave me intense feels.

4. Sugar & Vice by Allie Therin: m/m murder mystery/urban fantasy. This series about an empath and a specialist investigating murders in a world where empaths are tracked down has the slooooo~west burn.

5. Letifer by TD Cloud: m/m murder mystery/urban fantasy. This novel about a human cop and a vampire enforcer secretly teaming up to investigate serial killings is perfect for fans of Vampire: the Masquerade and Kindred: the Embraced.

6. Five to Love Him by Alexa Piper: m/m urban fantasy. This novel about a hive's mate has the most adorable fluff, as well as a couple of very hot sex scenes. I love stories about beings who have one consciousness and several bodies.

7. [French] Ainsi soient-illes by Auriane Velten: urban fantasy where angels are agender and use écriture inclusive (gender-neutral language) probably invented by the author + a trans female protagonist. If you loved the story of the manga Angel Sanctuary, go for this novel!

8. Everyday Aliens by Polenth Blake: collection of science fiction short stories with many non-binary characters. These brilliant stories are very experimental, told from the aliens' strange POVs, and are reminiscent of Bogi Takács's writing.

9. [Spanish] Herederas de Safo by ‪AM Irún: f/f adventure. This novel about a museum curator and an insurance agent having to recover one of Sappho's amphoras is a nice mix of adventure, humour and romance.

10. The Ministry of Guidance and Other Stories by Golnoosh Nour: collection of contemporary short stories with some f/f, m/m and bi f/m. These modern, even rebellious, stories offer a daily look at the Iranian culture.

TV shows

( Cut for length )

Profile

chez_jae

December 2025

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Page Summary

pauraque - Death's End by Liu Cixin (2010)
conuly - Would my dog or cat really eat me if I died alone?
profiterole_reads - Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology
conuly - Soooooooooooooooo, people at /r/EnglishLearning will at least once a week
enchanted_jae - A Wooden Soldier from a Far Away Land
jenab - Chilling out
colls in womansplace - Festivids vids
enchanted_jae - Mistletoe's for Two
mahmfic - Dear Candy Hearts creator,
conuly - Finally saw Zootopia 2!
enchanted_jae - End o' December meme
enchanted_jae - Passion Flower 26
enchanted_jae - Holiday memes 26 - Happy Boxing Day!
enchanted_jae - It’s the Right Time
conuly - Ancient Music by Ezra Pound
enchanted_jae - Wish it was Christmas Every Day
jenab - Boxing Day
conuly - Jenn's chosen playlist yesterday was gay Christmas themed
hamsterwoman - Yuletide recs, end of year fandom meme
profiterole_reads - 2025 Favourites

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