TV

Critical Role
4x08 Fanged Revenge [1st half]
[Watch it (again) for free on YouTube, or for subscribers on Beacon or Twitch.]

Fiction

Doctor Who: Ten Days of Christmas by Steve Cole
1. Under Control

This short story collection was released to tie-in with the 60th anniversary two years ago. I bought it then and didn't read it, obviously, and then didn't get round to it last year either, so this is third time lucky, I guess. It's not quite as advent-calendar-y as the previous Christmas-themed collections (which I read both of in 2021 (I never would've gussed it had been so long!), because with 25 stories between them they made an advent calendar), with only ten stories (because it marked the return of David Tennant... let's just overlook the fact he was actually the 14th Doctor at the time), so I don't feel as beholden to reading one a day. Hopefully that'll help me actually finish it in time...

Comics

2000 AD
Prog 2457

The bumper-length Christmas Prog dropped through my letterbox today, so I'm all set to get caught up before the end of the year — after this issue: six to go (or, as the final one is roughly equivalent to three regular issues, you could argue nine).

Video Games

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition

After days away from Skyrim, I could have played for hours and hours and hours — especially as I'd just arrived in a whole new area, replete with new things to do — but I cut myself off at 4½ hours, having done a few (but by no means all) of those new things, including buying my first piece of land and beginning to build a house of it. Along with all the crafting and smithing stuff, I seem to be enjoying that side of things more than I thought I would. Despite the endless praise it receives, I always thought I'd find Stardew Valley boring and/or like work, but maybe I should try it after all...

For those keeping track ('future me' only, I suspect), said new 'area' is the city of Falkreath, the third city I've visited out of ten cities in the game. It isn't as big as Whiterun or Markarth,* but I still kicked off a good few quests as soon as I arrived and spoke to everyone.

* I keep saying the game has ten cities, but they're really split into two types: major cities (when you enter them, the game loads it as a separate area) and other/small cities (effectively big towns/villages, which you can just walk into as part of the overall open world of the game). There are five of each (one was added by an expansion, but the Special Edition includes all expansions), with Whiterun and Markarth being examples of the former and Falkreath the latter.

Tabletop Games

EXIT: The Game Advent Calendar:
The Silent Storm
December 13th–15th

I haven't abandoned this, it just wasn't important enough to make time for over a busy weekend. Shame. Anyway, onwards!