fandom + life 2025
Jan. 4th, 2026 02:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
girlrocki have to say that i didn't consume very much media by my standards this year, not even because i was out Living My Life or discovering a true purpose or anything but just because i was very lazy. even so, here are some thoughts!
tv +
music +
games +
sports +
fic +
art +
fashion +
goals
my favs
i wish i could make everyone watch andor! this coincided with my full watch of the original 6 films (which i'd never properly seen before), and i was sooo happy dan gilroy took best writing because i didn't think it'd win any major awards. i don't think this was the best year for television but i enjoyed the variety of winners at the emmys.
yellowjackets s3 was actively frustrating to watch, i kind of hated the experience i was having the entire time... i'm glad it's ending with s4 because i can't take any more of it. it's sad because i loved s1 a lot but it's clear that they've had to restructure plot points multiple times and have no idea what to do with the concept anymore. it is what it is!
the boots vs. heated rivalry discourse has always been frustrating to me because you have to understand that literally the only common thread is that gay people are in both shows. and also a token wasian. i am far from the opinion that heated rivalry is revolutionary television, but a cute lil canadian show from jacob tierney on crave will never be subjected to the stringent demands of netflix churn. furthermore hr is a low-stakes, ROMANTIC gay ROMANCE where people have sex and are ROMANTIC with each other and kiss and are in ROMANTIC relationships. boots is a coming-of-age story about allyship and gay solidarity and patriotism and The American Military-Industrial Complex, it doesn't actually have a romantic interest for its 17-year-old main character, and its marketing scheme is completely untenable to an american audience (between anti-war leftists and homophobic pentagon magaheads who is going to earnestly enjoy this). anyway it's fine and i like miles heizer and liam oh but we have to be serious here.
i need to watch somebody somewhere and hacks properly but neither has clicked for me yet. i'm also undecided on whether i'll watch a man on the inside s2, but maybe if i'm really bored and want something light and funny. i also started adults because i want to support owen thiele but... ugh. i'll get to it
i'm nervous for the pitt s2 but also very very excited! it makes me happy that the cast understand their characters so well and are fiercely protective of trinity/so direct and open in denouncing the (sub)conscious biases of the fanbase, even if a certain subset of people will never accept how much taylor champions aroace mel. i'm just happy to have trinity back soon... my One (1) big fear though is that whitaker won't be gay. god noah wyle don't play in my face
β film
i really dropped the ball with movies this year and only saw 40. i also wasn't really blown away by any... i think my favorite that i saw in theaters was one battle after another, although i did watch no other choice just yesterday and i probably liked that more. i still have to watch sorry, baby and sentimental value soon!
β favorite characters of the year
+ manousos oviedo [pluribus]
+ lois lane [superman 2025]
+ shane hollander [heated rivalry]
+ obi-wan kenobi [star wars]
+ willa ferguson [one battle after another]
i think in the actual game changers universe my favorite character is luca haas, but shane is nevertheless very endearing to me as a fellow gay autistic wasian who enjoys hockey. and i think manousos, lois, obi-wan are all very similar in their altruistic/at times ascetic ideals lol i love people who sacrifice their own comfort for the bigger picture.
β top artists 
β concerts i attended
i have a lot of songs i need to catch up with. in 2026 i will try to get back into the groove of things... unfortunately being medicated + having cats has made me depend less on earphone-blasting music to get through the day because i actually enjoy the sounds of the real world happening around me now, and i don't like experiencing a new album without earphones in for the full auditory experience, so i end up just Not listening to new music. i will be more intentional about it this year though!
β pikmin bloom: lvl 70, 2.8 million total steps, 585 decor pikmin
β finch: 278-day streak
β tales of dacardia + faerie fragments for neopets but i've burnt out of these. i can't take it anymore you've stolen enough of my soul
β meow tower + boing boing animals previously, but i also lost interest after getting far enough
β steam
as we all know i'm a very casual gamer and i like cozy puzzle sim games. i'm on break from fom again until it finally exits early access so i can play without pressure of hitting the ceiling too early... otherwise i played a few demos and revisited a little to the left and sticky business and other simple cozy games. i enjoyed donut county a lot! conversely i did not enjoy untitled goose game because i was bad at it and it ragebaited me. THIS FUCKASS FARMER. 
β other
i got more into crosswords this year and have been using crosswithfriends.com to access everything for free LOL. i also play metazooa and other simple guessing dailies when i remember... i've been terrible at actually gaming otherwise; i was playing kirby and the forgotten land with my ex on her switch and enjoying that but ermmm yeah. oomf has promised that we can play legendza on his switch 2 at some point so i'm excited for that.
i'm visiting toronto for nmixx in march and there are no leafs games on at that time, but at least i'll get to see a pwhl game with oomf :') i'd also like to maybe go to an nba or wnba game this year... but for now all i have planned is the upcoming pride night game (taking my friend who knows nothing about hockey which will be fun) and then f1 in shanghai.
i recently saw the stars super close to the ice because of a great capital one shopping deal that basically forced my hand into splurging (4 rows behind the bench!!!) and even though they flopped it was sooo exciting and thrilling to see robug up close and personal.
i can't say too much about recent fandom bandwagon events because i'm like, you know what... it is what it is. it is funny because i'm like wow that's my hometown team, i grew up with these flops and cried in 2016 and watched them throw pavs away and i can't believe this is what it's come to, but also i genuinely really like mack's game and i can understand why he's a hit blorbo. however i will never understand the appeal of the other one. but that's just MY opinion!
for prosperity, my updated sports list as of the start of the year:
i'm really happy that i got to tackle some of my favorite tropes this year: kid fic + found family!!!, pov outsider (multiple times!), secret relationship, academia-ish au, mixed media fic with elaborate html work, etc. i always write purely for myself, but i think i really hit maximum Indulgence this time and have no ragrets about it. i never trusted myself to write kid fic before because people often complain about kid characters being unrealistic and i didn't believe i could find the proper voice (as a youngest child), but i spent so long developing miapia's backstory that i couldn't shake her!
looking back i really was playing in my oc sandbox this year lol. priyamy being the landoscar vessel in the university au, developing anton as luca's love interest, the bnf/younger fans whose stories i tried to lend real weight and realism to in the hollanov social media fic... i never want to phone it in with ocs even if i have definitely done so in the past, because if they're meant to act as a foil or some kind of catalyst for the established characters' relationship then it is important that there is a noticeable level of care put into their personas. at least i believe so. of course whether i actually succeed in conveying this care is a different question!
i definitely know where i'm at these days in terms of like, what kind of stories i like to take on myself. i used to have mild hangups about not writing porn/explicit fic and while i will happily eat it it's just not really an area i'm comfortable exploring as a "writer" (or guy who puts words together and calls it fanfiction), and really there's no point in forcing something that feels unnatural to you. even with heated rivalry, which is extremely explicit and wholesale marketed as smut, i feel like it's easier for me to write T fic with simple innuendo and references to the explicit nature of the source material without having to actually write my own sex scenes. and honestly i feel like the narratives i explore still work perfectly fine and don't suffer for it. whatever works! we're having a mildly asexual autistic wasian winter right now.
i have no writing plans for 2026 because once again i don't ever know what i'm going to write until 3 days before i actually write the thing. onward
i will say that i am very grateful for the people who have enjoyed my stickers on redbubble! my koala oscar sticker sold 70 times in 2025 which is wild to me... i have a few of the keychains i ordered left to give out in china but i do want to put together a few more freebies. that's my only 2026 art goal otherwise i'm very extremely Meh about my art but i don't care too much about it.
oh lol i forgot that i took that comic class and wrote my first comic!!! i don't want to post it though it's ugly.
also can i just say THE DALLAS STARS HAVE THE BEST JERSEYS IN THE LEAGUE πππ my dallas trip aligned perfectly with obtaining the 99, and i actually bought my mooterus jersey last year but i didn't get the chance to wear it until this szn... *__* sooo qt
anyway, my wardrobe staples + favorite acquisitions this year have been:
β my magbay hat: i also got more into Hats this year which sounds silly to say but for some reason i used to be really insecure about how my head looked in hats so i didn't wear them... ok whatever. anyway now i've accrued quite a few but this is still my go-to, i love soft denim hats!!!
β columbia purple puff jacket π: this was a christmas gift from my sister! anyone who knows me knows i take purple/lilac too seriously and i would own everything ever in the world in this color if i could. so thoughtful of her... i have gotten so much mileage out of this already and it's been like 3 weeks since i visited home.
β SAPPUN AMILA MARY JANES: i spent a month hunting for the right flats for me and these were the winner... the line has a bunch of colors but unfortch very few are available atm in my size T__T i want the lilac ones so badly.
β verloop flower block scarf: this was $65 on the verloop site when i last checked (says $100 now? jeez), but i found it secondhand on jp mercari for $30 and my mom got it for me as a bday gift when she went to japan!!! i was on the fence about splurging for this (well in the end i didn't even buy it. but i was considering it beforehand!) but then i was like the effort of making something like this, especially as a total amateur who can barely knit, having to buy all these different colors of yarn... surely this is worth $30. it's so colorful and pretty and my favorite scarf!
β kina & tam gilly skirt: this one retails for $90 but i managed to get it for a great deal secondhand!!! i don't have any nice photos of me wearing it though...
β anthropologie the colette black contrast pants: guysss these were my dream pants the moment i tried them on for funsies at anthro and then i was like... no one in their right mind is spending $120 on a pair of pants. T__T i'm pear shaped and often have trouble shopping for pants but these fit SO well. anyway it went on sale for $45 for black friday and my stepmom got it for me as an xmas gift! i love being gifted things from people. i love LOVE π #ally
also i really want the black/white mexico 66 tgrs but they're soooo expenxy... i shouldn't.
i also moved into my own studio this year so i had to do a lot of minmaxxing with the limited square footage and am very much in love with my space now. i also accumulated more of my biggest capitalist weaknesses: baggu (although i've capped out nowβi value utility and functionality!) and jellycat (i have no excuse for this one).
i feel really bad about being a baggu shill especially after the bart fiasco but... that being said i have a very efficient collection!: 2 medium crescents (snoopy + miffy), 1 shoulder bag, 1 bowler bag, and 1 scco. i rotate through all of them but i will say i probably use my miffy crescent the most as my everyday bag. my scco is the baggu x uo madras limited edition one (which i got for face value when it dropped for 5 minutes! you should never spend $300 on a piece of nylon.) and it's PERFECT for traveling. i've started going suitcase-less for all of my small trips and just taking this instead. i'm sccopilled fr...
my favorite cat-related purchases:
β kirby bed that i obtained secondhand. i got it as a 1st Birthday Gift for the girls (let's go with this justification)...
β my dreammm cat tower that i've been eyeing for ages π definitely a big splurge but it brings me joy and the girls like it too.
β a little sofa couch! i actually have this in my walk-in now and lychee likes sleeping there all tucked into her corner :')
β a bed that hangs off my bed's headboard so that the girls can curl up together next to my head! lychee always sleeps through the night there after cuddling with me for a while.
honestly i was going to do a plushie section but it would take too long... it's not the Worst of vices and i have exercised restraint many times this year but i definitely am a little too trigger-happy when it comes to plushies. i should make a separate post for this!!! i will say my favorite 2025 jellycat was the nyc pigeon and also maybe the cheesecake slice.
πΏ TV / FILM
my favs
- andor (s1: β β β β Β½, s2: β β β β β )
- the rehearsal (s2: β β β β Β½)
- the pitt (s1: β β β β Β½)
- pluribus (s1: β β β β β)
- slow horses (s4, s5: β β β β β)
- heated rivalry (s1: β β β Β½β)
- only murders in the building (s5: β β β Β½β)
- peacemaker (s1, s2: β β β Β½β)
- severance (s2: β β β β β)
- task (s1: β β β β β)
- adolescence (s1: β β β β β)
- the studio (s1: β β β β β)
- silo (s2: β β β Β½β)
- shrinking (s2: β β β Β½β)
- nobody wants this (s1: β β β ββ)
- arcane (s2: β β β ββ)
- yellowjackets (s3: β β Β½ββ)
- boots (s1: β β Β½ββ)
- abbott elementary (s5)
- fionna and cake (s2)
- percy jackson and the olympians (s2)
- your friends & neighbors (s1)
- stranger things (s5)
- dungeon meshi (s1) (wasn't bad i just got lazy)
i wish i could make everyone watch andor! this coincided with my full watch of the original 6 films (which i'd never properly seen before), and i was sooo happy dan gilroy took best writing because i didn't think it'd win any major awards. i don't think this was the best year for television but i enjoyed the variety of winners at the emmys.
yellowjackets s3 was actively frustrating to watch, i kind of hated the experience i was having the entire time... i'm glad it's ending with s4 because i can't take any more of it. it's sad because i loved s1 a lot but it's clear that they've had to restructure plot points multiple times and have no idea what to do with the concept anymore. it is what it is!
the boots vs. heated rivalry discourse has always been frustrating to me because you have to understand that literally the only common thread is that gay people are in both shows. and also a token wasian. i am far from the opinion that heated rivalry is revolutionary television, but a cute lil canadian show from jacob tierney on crave will never be subjected to the stringent demands of netflix churn. furthermore hr is a low-stakes, ROMANTIC gay ROMANCE where people have sex and are ROMANTIC with each other and kiss and are in ROMANTIC relationships. boots is a coming-of-age story about allyship and gay solidarity and patriotism and The American Military-Industrial Complex, it doesn't actually have a romantic interest for its 17-year-old main character, and its marketing scheme is completely untenable to an american audience (between anti-war leftists and homophobic pentagon magaheads who is going to earnestly enjoy this). anyway it's fine and i like miles heizer and liam oh but we have to be serious here.
i need to watch somebody somewhere and hacks properly but neither has clicked for me yet. i'm also undecided on whether i'll watch a man on the inside s2, but maybe if i'm really bored and want something light and funny. i also started adults because i want to support owen thiele but... ugh. i'll get to it
i'm nervous for the pitt s2 but also very very excited! it makes me happy that the cast understand their characters so well and are fiercely protective of trinity/so direct and open in denouncing the (sub)conscious biases of the fanbase, even if a certain subset of people will never accept how much taylor champions aroace mel. i'm just happy to have trinity back soon... my One (1) big fear though is that whitaker won't be gay. god noah wyle don't play in my face
β film
i really dropped the ball with movies this year and only saw 40. i also wasn't really blown away by any... i think my favorite that i saw in theaters was one battle after another, although i did watch no other choice just yesterday and i probably liked that more. i still have to watch sorry, baby and sentimental value soon!
β favorite characters of the year
- kleya marki [ANDOR]
- trinity santos [THE PITT]
- leota adebayo & adrian chase [PEACEMAKER]
- pete mcvries [THE LONG WALK]
my sweet darling baby girl. behind every revolutionary puppetmaster is a girl willing to sacrifice even more of herself to the cause.
SANTOS. IS. KIND.
peacemaker is not the best show ever but i really do love the character dynamics so much... leota experiences so much growth through the seasons and adrian is insane but endlessly devoted and they both put their money where their mouths are. just hilariously likable characters.
MCVRIES. IS. KIND. i have not read the book but did read the summary to compare changes in the adaptation and i really love what they did with his character... david jonsson knocks it out the park. i love goodness and empathy
+ manousos oviedo [pluribus]
+ lois lane [superman 2025]
+ shane hollander [heated rivalry]
+ obi-wan kenobi [star wars]
+ willa ferguson [one battle after another]
i think in the actual game changers universe my favorite character is luca haas, but shane is nevertheless very endearing to me as a fellow gay autistic wasian who enjoys hockey. and i think manousos, lois, obi-wan are all very similar in their altruistic/at times ascetic ideals lol i love people who sacrifice their own comfort for the bigger picture.
πΏ MUSIC
β top artists
- yves (january)
- artms (april)
- los campesinos! (may)
- perfume genius (june)
- magdalena bay (july)
- lesserafim (september)
- magdalena bay (october)
- pinkpantheress (november)
- katseye (november)
- katseye (december)
i have a lot of songs i need to catch up with. in 2026 i will try to get back into the groove of things... unfortunately being medicated + having cats has made me depend less on earphone-blasting music to get through the day because i actually enjoy the sounds of the real world happening around me now, and i don't like experiencing a new album without earphones in for the full auditory experience, so i end up just Not listening to new music. i will be more intentional about it this year though!
πΎ GAMES
neopets was truly one of my biggest comforts of the year! i got into it 5 months ago and have had so much fun doing my dailies and accruing np and generally being a capitalist shill. my profile is unbalanced rn because i keep telling myself i'll get a 12th neopet and forgetting about itβthat will be my 2026 goal. i also want to hit 500m in my bank account, train meiyoks to lvl 100, and reach 200 secret avatars / 400 stamps, which should be doable. also ignore benji he's ugly because he's my lab rat so i just zap him continuously and accept whatever happens to him
β mobileβ pikmin bloom: lvl 70, 2.8 million total steps, 585 decor pikmin
β finch: 278-day streak
β tales of dacardia + faerie fragments for neopets but i've burnt out of these. i can't take it anymore you've stolen enough of my soul
β meow tower + boing boing animals previously, but i also lost interest after getting far enough
as we all know i'm a very casual gamer and i like cozy puzzle sim games. i'm on break from fom again until it finally exits early access so i can play without pressure of hitting the ceiling too early... otherwise i played a few demos and revisited a little to the left and sticky business and other simple cozy games. i enjoyed donut county a lot! conversely i did not enjoy untitled goose game because i was bad at it and it ragebaited me. THIS FUCKASS FARMER.
i got more into crosswords this year and have been using crosswithfriends.com to access everything for free LOL. i also play metazooa and other simple guessing dailies when i remember... i've been terrible at actually gaming otherwise; i was playing kirby and the forgotten land with my ex on her switch and enjoying that but ermmm yeah. oomf has promised that we can play legendza on his switch 2 at some point so i'm excited for that.
π
SPORTS
i'm visiting toronto for nmixx in march and there are no leafs games on at that time, but at least i'll get to see a pwhl game with oomf :') i'd also like to maybe go to an nba or wnba game this year... but for now all i have planned is the upcoming pride night game (taking my friend who knows nothing about hockey which will be fun) and then f1 in shanghai.
i recently saw the stars super close to the ice because of a great capital one shopping deal that basically forced my hand into splurging (4 rows behind the bench!!!) and even though they flopped it was sooo exciting and thrilling to see robug up close and personal.
i can't say too much about recent fandom bandwagon events because i'm like, you know what... it is what it is. it is funny because i'm like wow that's my hometown team, i grew up with these flops and cried in 2016 and watched them throw pavs away and i can't believe this is what it's come to, but also i genuinely really like mack's game and i can understand why he's a hit blorbo. however i will never understand the appeal of the other one. but that's just MY opinion!
for prosperity, my updated sports list as of the start of the year:
βοΈ FIC
i never go into a year expecting to write fic, but it's always fun when an idea strikes and it happens naturally. i've been reflecting on my writing style and i genuinely think that my narrative capabilities have regressed and that my prose has gotten a lot more simple lol, but i don't have too many hangups about this because ultimately i think it's fine to make low-stakes fluffy palatable stories as a light afternoon snack if that's what you want to be doing.total words: 40,665
- uncertainty principle β f1, landoscar β 15k (01/13)
song: l'rain - uncertainty principle- discrete, discreet β f1, landoscar β 4k (01/27)
- method actor β the pitt, garsantos β 5k (04/14)
song: nilΓΌfer yanya - method actor- it's a mirror β gcu, luca/oc + hollanov β 9k (11/23)
song: perfume genius - it's a mirror- love takes miles β gcu, hollanov β 7k (12/24)
song: cameron winter - love takes miles
i'm really happy that i got to tackle some of my favorite tropes this year: kid fic + found family!!!, pov outsider (multiple times!), secret relationship, academia-ish au, mixed media fic with elaborate html work, etc. i always write purely for myself, but i think i really hit maximum Indulgence this time and have no ragrets about it. i never trusted myself to write kid fic before because people often complain about kid characters being unrealistic and i didn't believe i could find the proper voice (as a youngest child), but i spent so long developing miapia's backstory that i couldn't shake her!
looking back i really was playing in my oc sandbox this year lol. priyamy being the landoscar vessel in the university au, developing anton as luca's love interest, the bnf/younger fans whose stories i tried to lend real weight and realism to in the hollanov social media fic... i never want to phone it in with ocs even if i have definitely done so in the past, because if they're meant to act as a foil or some kind of catalyst for the established characters' relationship then it is important that there is a noticeable level of care put into their personas. at least i believe so. of course whether i actually succeed in conveying this care is a different question!
i definitely know where i'm at these days in terms of like, what kind of stories i like to take on myself. i used to have mild hangups about not writing porn/explicit fic and while i will happily eat it it's just not really an area i'm comfortable exploring as a "writer" (or guy who puts words together and calls it fanfiction), and really there's no point in forcing something that feels unnatural to you. even with heated rivalry, which is extremely explicit and wholesale marketed as smut, i feel like it's easier for me to write T fic with simple innuendo and references to the explicit nature of the source material without having to actually write my own sex scenes. and honestly i feel like the narratives i explore still work perfectly fine and don't suffer for it. whatever works! we're having a mildly asexual autistic wasian winter right now.
i have no writing plans for 2026 because once again i don't ever know what i'm going to write until 3 days before i actually write the thing. onward
πΌοΈ ART
i will say that i am very grateful for the people who have enjoyed my stickers on redbubble! my koala oscar sticker sold 70 times in 2025 which is wild to me... i have a few of the keychains i ordered left to give out in china but i do want to put together a few more freebies. that's my only 2026 art goal otherwise i'm very extremely Meh about my art but i don't care too much about it.
oh lol i forgot that i took that comic class and wrote my first comic!!! i don't want to post it though it's ugly.
π FASHION / CONSUMERISM
also can i just say THE DALLAS STARS HAVE THE BEST JERSEYS IN THE LEAGUE πππ my dallas trip aligned perfectly with obtaining the 99, and i actually bought my mooterus jersey last year but i didn't get the chance to wear it until this szn... *__* sooo qt
anyway, my wardrobe staples + favorite acquisitions this year have been:
β my magbay hat: i also got more into Hats this year which sounds silly to say but for some reason i used to be really insecure about how my head looked in hats so i didn't wear them... ok whatever. anyway now i've accrued quite a few but this is still my go-to, i love soft denim hats!!!
β columbia purple puff jacket π: this was a christmas gift from my sister! anyone who knows me knows i take purple/lilac too seriously and i would own everything ever in the world in this color if i could. so thoughtful of her... i have gotten so much mileage out of this already and it's been like 3 weeks since i visited home.
β SAPPUN AMILA MARY JANES: i spent a month hunting for the right flats for me and these were the winner... the line has a bunch of colors but unfortch very few are available atm in my size T__T i want the lilac ones so badly.
β verloop flower block scarf: this was $65 on the verloop site when i last checked (says $100 now? jeez), but i found it secondhand on jp mercari for $30 and my mom got it for me as a bday gift when she went to japan!!! i was on the fence about splurging for this (well in the end i didn't even buy it. but i was considering it beforehand!) but then i was like the effort of making something like this, especially as a total amateur who can barely knit, having to buy all these different colors of yarn... surely this is worth $30. it's so colorful and pretty and my favorite scarf!
β kina & tam gilly skirt: this one retails for $90 but i managed to get it for a great deal secondhand!!! i don't have any nice photos of me wearing it though...
β anthropologie the colette black contrast pants: guysss these were my dream pants the moment i tried them on for funsies at anthro and then i was like... no one in their right mind is spending $120 on a pair of pants. T__T i'm pear shaped and often have trouble shopping for pants but these fit SO well. anyway it went on sale for $45 for black friday and my stepmom got it for me as an xmas gift! i love being gifted things from people. i love LOVE π #ally
also i really want the black/white mexico 66 tgrs but they're soooo expenxy... i shouldn't.
i also moved into my own studio this year so i had to do a lot of minmaxxing with the limited square footage and am very much in love with my space now. i also accumulated more of my biggest capitalist weaknesses: baggu (although i've capped out nowβi value utility and functionality!) and jellycat (i have no excuse for this one).
i feel really bad about being a baggu shill especially after the bart fiasco but... that being said i have a very efficient collection!: 2 medium crescents (snoopy + miffy), 1 shoulder bag, 1 bowler bag, and 1 scco. i rotate through all of them but i will say i probably use my miffy crescent the most as my everyday bag. my scco is the baggu x uo madras limited edition one (which i got for face value when it dropped for 5 minutes! you should never spend $300 on a piece of nylon.) and it's PERFECT for traveling. i've started going suitcase-less for all of my small trips and just taking this instead. i'm sccopilled fr...
my favorite cat-related purchases:
β kirby bed that i obtained secondhand. i got it as a 1st Birthday Gift for the girls (let's go with this justification)...
β my dreammm cat tower that i've been eyeing for ages π definitely a big splurge but it brings me joy and the girls like it too.
β a little sofa couch! i actually have this in my walk-in now and lychee likes sleeping there all tucked into her corner :')
β a bed that hangs off my bed's headboard so that the girls can curl up together next to my head! lychee always sleeps through the night there after cuddling with me for a while.
honestly i was going to do a plushie section but it would take too long... it's not the Worst of vices and i have exercised restraint many times this year but i definitely am a little too trigger-happy when it comes to plushies. i should make a separate post for this!!! i will say my favorite 2025 jellycat was the nyc pigeon and also maybe the cheesecake slice.
π¬ REFLECTION / GOALS?
i did a lot of new and scary things this year. ultimately i think 2025 was pretty good... i got to travel, see many oomfs, moved to a new city by myself, made important job choices, ate lots of tasty food, got to indulge in my interests, etc.! i had fun with fandom this year. my main ones were definitely f1 (mclaren), hockey (dallas), the pitt, katseye/nmixx, my brief obsession with superman, and then heated rivalry, the last of which really monopolized the end of the year LOL.
i definitely think going into 2026 that i am just... not going to try with dating LOL. i've self-reflected a lot in recent weeks and while i no longer think that i'm at fault for being proactive in identifying incompatibility, i still feel like it's futile to make this an active pursuit when it is not a necessary element in my daily life whatsoever. i am certainly not a serial monogamist, i don't require romantic validation to feel emotionally complete... my problem is that while i have many insecurities, they are all very internal and self-contained, and it's difficult for me to fully understand romantic jealousy/insecurity. i'm like Ok girl now why are we getting mad over something we just made up in our head. i didn't really want to talk about this with anyone because i just feel like, there are things you have to take on the chin and deal with yourself because it's your private life, but after i talked to my friend irl about it afterward i did feel a lot better about my choices. maybe there is someone on my chill unbothered autistic wavelength out there but either way i'm not too fussed π€·ββοΈ at the end of the day i like being alone too much... and i definitely burn out too easily. i don't know. maybe that part is my fault.
either way it is what it is. i really love where i am in life right now actually, and my 2026 goals are to continue patronizing local businesses and enjoying my surrounding neighborhood :') the local bakery guy unironically knows me as The Wasian Girl, the local boba manager ecstatically discusses their franchise plans with me when i come in, my friends and i are all regulars at our closest mediterranean place... i love community. of course i must balance this with eating well and cooking for myself and saving money and i will make more of an effort to get back into balanced meals but i think i already do a decent job of spacing this stuff out.
i don't know how to end this post but anyway let's all enjoy 2026! and lock in in the areas in which we need to lock in. lots of love and wishing everyone warmth and luck and happiness
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Date: 2026-01-04 04:51 pm (UTC)also i totally feel u on not listening to music as much anymore although i do miss your iconic end of year songs recaps T__T ALSO NOT THE RNDOM WILLMACK SHADE?? we've alr briefly talked abt ur breakup and i support u............
ANYWAYS.. sorry this comment is all over the place but i know 2026 will be agreat year for u! :DDDDDD
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Date: 2026-01-05 06:13 am (UTC)there's already so much good hollanov fa out there... i got an extra of the snoopy keychain preorder in case you end up wanting one. someone also made a really cute rink shaker charm but i'm undecided on whether to get it. i will keep an eye out for more cute merch!! and maybe if i ever try my hand at hollanov cheebs i'll let you know <3
love uuuu shakti thank you for being so supportive and sweet and cool always. you're the best
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Date: 2026-01-05 12:37 am (UTC)i didn't know about steam replay and i just looked mine up!
"my koala oscar sticker sold 70 times in 2025 which is wild to me" π₯Ήπ₯Ή that's so cool.... you were so prolific this yearrr. your art is so cute i want miffy or kuromi racing merch... i'm mad at f1a for not making the hk collab more accessible
your outfits are so cute always!!!
this was a joy to read and i'm very happy for you and all the experiences you've had in your new home!! you put in the work and it's wonderful that you have really chosen a place that can give you so many things you're looking for. hopefully your work will be fulfilling too!
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Date: 2026-01-08 02:07 am (UTC)and this is not related to s1 but as i said on twitter i worry that they've gotten too caught up in the tunnel vision of fanservice for s2 lol... but i shan't speak on it yet.
i will make u miffy ferrari merch!!! excited to see u again soon <3
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Date: 2026-01-05 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-06 12:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-08 11:27 pm (UTC)