Question: Why is it that good habits are so much harder to form, and so much easier to break than bad habits?

There is no doubt a detailed psychological reason for this, but honestly if someone could boil it down to a five point explanation and corresponding foolproof method to overcoming this particular problem I'd be most grateful.

Or to put it another way, yes it's been absolutely ages since I posted, and I wish it hadn't been. For reasons, please see last post (and probably several more besides), but it's a new month, nearly a new year, and there's no time like the present to start stacking up good intentions like a jenga tower.

So, over December, I'm intending to post more generally, including:

* What I'm reading

* What I'm watching on TV and at the cinema

* What I'm writing (ha ha ha ha!)

* What I'm getting up to generally

Everyone's got to start somewhere, right? I'm not sure who is about on DW / LJ these days, but if you are about, do say hello. I love a good shout into the void as the next person, but one of the best parts of this community is that is actually a community of sharing and interacting and I miss the folks I used to see round here. :)

"When I posted last month, I indicated that I was intending to catch up with films and festivals and see Dunkirk, The Big Sick and A Ghost Story at the cinema, along with Harriet Walter at the Edinburgh Book Festival, and the Screen Arts showing of Yerma. I did indeed do all of these things, though not quite in the order I intended."

Thus began my last post, as started on October 25th 2017 and languishing as a private WIP for three months until this morning. I probably was intending to mention that I thought Dunkirk was amazing, The Big Sick was a good, but more of an indie drama with laughs than an out-and-out comedy, and that A Ghost Story was a massively annoying if beautifully shot short film stretched unfeasibly to six times its optimum running length.

I probably would have also written about how astonishingly good Billie Piper was in Yerma, and culture lovers of Britain should thank RTD and the producers of Doctor Who day and night for taking a chance on a developing actress best known for being a pop star, lest she might have never found her true calling.

It was also at the end of October, so I may also have written about meeting up with California based LJ friends of yore for the second time in a year and what a treat that was.

However, I definitely would have written about the fact that, oh my word,  I BOUGHT A FLAT!!

It's the first property I own, and even with investing every spare penny for several years into a deposit, I needed a lot of help from my family, but oh, it's beautiful, it's mine, and I got there in the end. She's a bit of a fixer upper- a literally have a room I refer to as "the disaster room" as it is so rammed full of boxes and bookshelves (so many bookshelves)- but there's a kitchen I can see out of, it gets light in the morning, I have a garden!!

I am very happy, and now after three months of sorting finances, securing a mortgage, organising the move, emergency cleaning, decorating and wiring and I am finally at the stage where the fixing-up can begin in earnest. I have my 30 year old boiler and central heating system being completely replaced next month, and more sockets to be sorted before then. After that I have new appliances to buy that actually fit the flat, rather than jutting out from under work-surfaces to the extent that cupboard doors can't be opened properly and / or need to have a press door removed in order to fit them in a space. Then there's plastering to do, then more painting, then I can start moving furniture about, do more unpacking and consolidate the bookshelves and then I will finally have my bedroom in the bedroom I want to be in, which is also big enough to be my writing study.

It's all very exciting, and overwhelming, but mostly the good sort. I'll be having a wee break from it in a few weeks time, as I have tickets to Hamilton in London. Last night I dreamed I was actually supposed to be in Hamilton, but I got so nervous I hid in the backstage scenery and Lin-Manuel Miranda had to try and coax me out between debate battles. There's a metaphor in there somewhere.

Day 13: In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you did not create.

To the surprise of nobody who knows me, I never finished my Snowflake Challenge 2016 last year, you know the one I decided to start i December instead of January. An entire new Snowflake Challenge has come and gone since I last posted on the subject, which in meme terms is still having season-hiatus fics unfinished when the new TV season starts, or worse, the new season has started, finished, and indeed the whole darn series has ended. Not that that has ever happened to me. *looks sheepish*

Essentially, I hit the one decreeing "create a fanwork" and panicked. I'm skipping that one for now, for a later prompt and to recommend some of my favourite stories by our friend overnighter, who sadly passed away this month. She was a wonderful friend and a wonderful writer, and I thought this would be a nice way to remember some of her contributions to our little corner of the world.

Grace, Mercy and Peace (The O.C)

A beautiful post-series insight into Ryan and Trey's relationship. They're older, their father is sick, and Ryan reaches out to close the distance. A thoughtful look at forgiveness, maturing and family. (tw: terminal illness.)

Mustang Sally (The O.C)

Set between series three and four, Ryan's family and friends old and new come together to bring him back from his grief. Or, how a beautiful car can be a excellent substitute for cage-fighting. (tw: bereavement)

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (The O.C)

Another post-series fic, in happier times, this time exploring Ryan and Seth's brotherly relationship, and most delightfully that massive geek side of Ryan that we rarely got to see, but always enjoyed.

When revisiting Overnighter's back catalogue, I was struck by how eloquently she writes about grief and loss. But more than that, there's a big honking streak of kindness running right through the centre of her work; little thoughtful gestures and considerations, and the importance of telling people you care about them.

Thanks for the stories, Overnighter, we'll miss you.

So as I suspected, I'm not ready to post my current WiP. I don't want to skip any day, especially not one that requires me to write, so instead I'm adding an extra snowflake by dipping into an alternative seasonal meme, gakked from selenak and the Internet in general.

Bonus snowflake day: Your OTP in Winter Meme: The O.C.
Following on from yesterday's nostalgia, I've decided to pick Cohens +1 + 2, with a broad, post-series perspective.

1: Who makes the other hot chocolate?
Seth makes it for everyone. After picking up his studies, Seth segued into publishing and then specifically into designing graphics and layouts for a small but respected indie food publishing company. Working alongside various chefs he's picked up a thing or two, including half a dozen ways to make the "best hot chocolate". Unlike any of the chefs he's worked with, what Seth has realised is the best way to make the "best" hot chocolate is to make it bespoke for the person you're making it for. So for Ryan and Kirsten, it's creamy and rich with dark chocolate, for Summer it's a white hot chocolate with marshmallows, for Taylor it's a chocolate martini with a hint of espresso, and for Sandy it's a chocolate egg cream, just like Nana used to make. He gets it perfect every time.

2: Who knits the other a seasonal sweater?
Summer once declared that outside of babies, knitting is for people who haven't discovered internet shopping, and even then, the baby has to be seriously cute. Every single one of the extended Cohen family agreed with her.

3: Who’s family hosts a bigger holiday gathering? What’s the gathering like for your OTP?
Thanksgiving is at either Seth and Summer's or Ryan and Taylor's, but wherever it is, Taylor and Seth end up doing most of the cooking. This year Sophie Rose was in charge of the cranberry sauce and made sure that everybody had at least two spoonfuls on every bite of turkey. Chrismukkah is always at the Cohens in Berkeley, because even though there's not quite enough room for everyone and Seth, Ryan and Sandy sleep on air mattresses in the attic, where else would it be? As for New Year, well, no one throws a party like Julie Cooper. That's why her event management company is the most sought after in Orange County.

4: How would your OTP react to having a snow day?
With serious surprise, they live in Berkeley. Last winter they all had a great ski vacation away in Vermont, courtesy of Julie Cooper and her many contacts. Family, food snow, sledging, skiing incompetence. It was perfect.

5: Who offers the other one their jacket?
Ryan offers his to Taylor, and she takes it, and the accompanying close hug every time. Sandy is now convinced that she wears too few layers and he too few on purpose. It is, as Seth would say, totally adorkable.

6: Who makes a snowman that looks like the other member of your OTP, or do they both do this?
Seth again, with able assistance from Sophie Rose. That time in Vermont they got Ryan right down to the leather wrist cuff.

7: Does your OTP ever have snowball fights?
The only thing more perfect than an accurately rendered snowfamily is an accurately rendered snowfamily that can be used as strategical defences in the epic Cohens vs Coopers family great snowball war. Summer threw Sandy’s snowy head at Seth with such precision he fell over the water butt.

8: What gifts would they get each other for the holidays?
Following Seth’s lead from years ago, for her first Chrismukkah with the Cohens Taylor gave her “in everything but in-law in-laws“ a Taylor Townsend Starter Pack. It contained a subscription to the London Review of Books, a selection of her own line of Taylor-Made Cosmetics (for the sophisticate who likes to smell sophistiqué) and a cheese so obscure and ripe that the kitchen smelled of baked cow until New Year.

9: How do they spend their winter holiday? Do they even celebrate the same holiday?
Lately, the Coopers have scaled back their festivities. With all the parties Julie throws for other people, when it comes to her own celebrations she’s discovered she likes nothing better than spending time with her family. Though she eventually settled down with Frank, Bullit still joins them more years than not, and even Jimmy has been known to make the occasional appearance, but each year at least one meal is just Julie, Cooper, Kaitlin, and a toast raised to Marissa.

10: What sort of seasonal treats does your OTP like to eat?
Sandy has yet to meet a roast beast that he hasn’t enjoyed eating, with the possible exception of Kirsten’s last attempt to cook a brisket. As he said at the time, even for the finest chef, the line between rare and raw is a fine tightrope to walk. And as Kirsten acknowledged, she is not the finest chef. The respectful silence that followed spoke volumes.

11: How do they spend New Year’s Eve?
Two years ago, it was at the Orange County Museum of Art. Last year, it was on a yacht. This year Julie’s not telling them, but she’s told everyone to bring their passport. Kirsten hopes they’re not heading to Tijuana.

12: Who initiates the New Year’s kiss?
It’s a simultaneous outpouring of affection really. It would be almost nauseating if it hadn’t all been so hard-won.

13: Who tries to get a secret gift for the other one for Valentine’s Day?
Ryan. It’s Taylor’s favourite holiday and her planning of romantic surprises is legendary. He’s not to been able to surprise her in kind yet, but this year he’s got a week booked in Paris, and has enlisted several members of Taylor’s team in cahoots. If he manages it, then twelve hours after Ryan “flies to Austin to help bid on the Franklin Mall contract”, Summer will drop by to take Taylor for a Newpsie style lunch. Instead of the flowers Taylor’s expecting, Summer will present her plane tickets, a locked padlock bearing Taylor and Ryan’s initials, and a note that telling Taylor he’ll be waiting for her on Pont Neuf with the key.

14: Would your OTP take a walk together in the snow?
They all did, and it was wonderful. Let’s just say that the bedroom doors of all the Vermont lodge were all firmly closed that night.

15: Which one gets more excited over the first snow of winter?
By all rights it should be Sophie Rose and Cooper, but it’s Kirsten and Sandy. That first night in Vermont, when fresh snow begins to fall outside on the already thickly covered winter scene, they look around the table, at their family, their friends, and quietly join hands, marvelling in contentment at just how far they’ve come.
~~~

I think that's a close to writing a fic as one can get without actually writing a fic! It's work's Christmas party tomorrow, and I've a mountain of Christmas shopping to do afterwards, so I'm not sure I will be posting tomorrow. I will certainly try though, this has been a lot of fun!

Day 2 - Create a fannish wish list.

Okay, so I'm going to have get creative and cheat a little with this one. The original prompt for day 2 was:

In your own space, create a list of at least three fannish things you'd love to receive, something you've wanted but were afraid to ask for - a fannish wish-list of sorts. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your wish-list if you feel comfortable doing so. Maybe someone will grant a wish. Check out other people's posts. Maybe you will grant a wish. If any wishes are granted, we'd love it if you link them to this post.

As this challenge actually took place in January 2016, the good ship Request Things of Other People has well and truly sailed. Instead, I'm going do a quick run through of some of my favourite shows, and what I hope to see coming up.

Doctor Who
i) For Peter Capaldi to stay when Chris Chibnell takes the healm, at least for a little while. He's funky, and I'd like to see the darker side of this character, there's been too much random "cool" guitar playing for me. When you've got an actor who can pull off a one-man episode like the one set in the creepy castle, then that's what I want to see more of!
ii) With Chibnell coming back, maybe we'll get some other RTD era characters returning too. Namely, Martha! I'd love to see an episode with Martha, Mickey, Osgood and Kate teaming up to save the planet.iii) Oh, just lots of people in the Tardis at once please. It makes it more dynamic and fun. If some of them could not be from / residing in London too, that would be swell.

Teen Wolf
I'm a few episodes behind the new (and last) season, so this may already be happening, but I would love it if Malia could turn into a full coyote by series' end. Keep Scott single, also until the very end, it'd be great to see what he's like flying solo. And, can we please have more of Lydia and Scott being buddies? That would be awesome. And no more Theo, as he was a boring, whiney douche.

Supergirl
Keep the happy Kara vibe, show, it's brilliant. I really dislike it when showrunners think that "dark" automatically equals better drama. Actually, emotionally complex and relateable characters equals better drama. So few shows do optimism well, and with the end of Parks and Recreation, Supergirl is definitely filling this quota for me.

The Magicians
One of the reasons I found Doctor Strange disappointing, was the quirky innovation of this show, which covered much of the same material first, did it better, and featured a lead character who I actually wanted to spend time with despite his flaws. Really interesting characters, all of whom are multi-layered, a brilliantly realised and visually interesting system of magic, and bold storytellers who are not afraid to deviate from their source material.

W1A
Apparently the cast will be filming the third season in late winter / early spring, and plotlines will including looking at the BBC charter. This show is comedy gold, and the performances are superb; the Hughs Skinner and Bonneville are amazing, as is Ophelia Lovibond, Nina Sosanya and Sarah Parrish, and Jessica Hynes is so good at playing the horrific Siobhan you want to lock her in a stationary cupboard without her phone. W1A is on Netflix in the UK, it's definitely worth watching if it's available to stream internationally.

The O.C.
Speking of Netflix, please, no post series reboot / continuation of The O.C. After the mess of season three we got what we wanted, which was a return to form, more emotionally believable characters, a delightful new romance for Ryan with someone we actually liked, the mutual and individual growing up of Seth and Summer, and a happy ending. We don't need more. We loved The O.C., it had its moment, let it sail off to Catalina at sunset in peace.

I think that's suitably demanding for now. Tomorrow is:

Day 3 - Self-recs.

Oh lordy.