Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 10:12 pm

Road Not Taken

I was feeling nostalgic, so I pulled up Road Not Taken and played it for a little while earlier. It took a bit to get back into the swing of things, but I started to remember some of the hidden details and combinations after a while.

It's been ages since the last time I played, and I'd forgotten just how much I love it. It's so helpful if I want to turn off my brain for a little while. I can't believe it's been over a decade since it was first released.

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 08:52 pm

Daily Check In

*\o/* Word Count Step Count Headache?
Daily 254 8,303 no
Monthly 9,554 217,636 5 days

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 04:58 am

Vices


Pills , Gambling , Caffeine , Smoking , Drinking


Read more... )

case: (Default)
[personal profile] case posting in [community profile] fandomsecrets
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 06:31 pm

[ SECRET POST #6683 ]


⌈ Secret Post #6683 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.


More! )


Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 23 secrets from Secret Submission Post #955.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Let's take a breath for poetry. It is April, and as good a time as any for a collaborative poetry fest. Please find below a starting stanza or two of a brand new haikai (what's a haikai, you ask? Think extended haiku: alternating stanzas of 5-7-5 and 7-7). Comment with a following stanza to build on that seed. Someone (most likely me) will respond with another stanza, and so on and so forth throughout the day.
===

daffodil focus
bell song, valdrome, pheasant's eye
live stained glass glory

_


Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 01:10 pm

Red Boar's Baby

As is my usual practice, my latest book as Lauren is available for download for my DW circle for the next week or so!

cover shows a man holding an infant

Download from Bookfunnel.

The download will be up until the book goes live on Amazon on May 2.

(Technically this is Shifter Agents #6, but it's a standalone that shouldn't require any context to read.)

CANON: MCU. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
CHARACTERS: Sam Wilson | Captain America (Anthony Mackie).
ADDITIONAL INFO: 80 Icons.
CREDIT TO: [community profile] inkonic


HERE @ [community profile] inkonic


Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 10:41 pm

(no subject)

Well, it's been 2 weeks since my last post, so here's an update.

mentions of health issues )

*

In job news, something pretty huge and happy-making has happened???

One of the 4 companies I interviewed with has gotten back to me (after like 7 stages) to say they want me to work for them and they'll send me a contract offer in the next few days (which is standard). Fingers crossed, nothing certain until papers are signed etc, but. BUT.

It's been over a year, and finally I have a job offer.

At least one company wants to pay me a decent salary with all the nice perks and everything.

Now, if I had no other offers and was not in the running for any other position, I would take this one IN A HEARTBEAT. I would take it and be SO GRATEFUL.

But since I am still somehow in the process with 3 other companies, I'm in the weird position of mentally wondering which one I'd choose if they were to make me an offer.

Company #2 - I've finished all the interviews, and they're supposed to get back to me tomorrow on whether they want to check my references, which usually takes 1-2 days and is more of a formality. There's good reason to assume that if they say yes to me tomorrow they'll make me an offer next week.

Company #3 - I'm doing my final interview with them on Thursday, a big presentation, and after that they'll let me know if they're interested, no reference checks. If they want me they'll just make an offer.

Company #4 - the actual company of my heart, that all other considerations aside I would probably choose to work for because I love their product so much - I'm doing my final interview with them on Monday (next week). Of course they have the WORST HR process, so I actually have no idea what their next step is and whether there's something else they'll want to do before deciding yay/nay after Monday.

Now I'm mostly stressed because Company #1, that's already told me they want me, will probably try to pressure me to finalize a contract with them before Company #4 has a chance to decide whether they want me, sigh.

All of these potential roles are so good. None of them are "I can live with that" compromises. All of them are amazing, it's more a question of specific types of amazing, and of course I ideally want the combination that works best for me.

It is utterly surreal to be in this position after a year and 2 months of being unemployed. UTTERLY SURREAL.

But you know, maybe all the other companies will reject me and only Company #1 will remain, which will still be perfectly fine and even great.

Or maybe I somehow manage to fuck up this whole thing and will be left with nothing ////o\\\\ IDK it's just too good to be true at the moment.

Phew. Deep breath. The next 2 weeks will be continued stress, especially since I have a big presentation on Thursday and on Monday, but then... then. I don't know. Maybe, just maybe. *fingers crossed*

Posted by therealmorticia

Garlic Press and Poison Pen Press, publishers of Star Trek: The Original Series fanzines including Spockanalia and Masiform D, are importing the zines’ fanworks to the Archive of Our Own (AO3).

In this post:

Background explanation

Spockanalia (1967-1970) was the very first all-Star Trek fanzine ever published, and Masiform D (1971-1998) was the longest running Star Trek fanzine, so Open Doors is delighted to be preserving these fanzines’ works as part of the AO3 Fanzine Scan Hosting Project (FSHP).

The fanzines to be imported are:

The purpose of the Open Doors Committee’s AO3 Fanzine Scan Hosting Project (FSHP) is to assist publishers of fanzines to incorporate the fanworks from those fanzines into the Archive of Our Own. It is extremely important to Open Doors that we work in collaboration with publishers who want to import their fanzines and that we fully credit creators, giving them as much control as possible over their fanworks. Open Doors will be working with Garlic Press and Poison Pen Press to import the fanzines listed above into separate, searchable collections on the Archive of Our Own. As part of preserving the fanzines in their entirety, all art in the fanzines will be hosted on the OTW’s servers and embedded in their own AO3 work pages.

We will begin importing works from Garlic Press and Poison Pen Press’s fanzines to the AO3 after April. However, the import may not take place for several months or even years, depending on the size and complexity of the task. Creators are always welcome to import their own works and add them to the collections in the meantime.

What does this mean for creators who had work(s) in Garlic Press and Poison Pen Press’s fanzines?

We will send an import notification to the email address we have for each creator. We’ll do our best to check for an existing copy of any works before importing. If we find a copy already on the AO3, we will add it to the collection instead of importing it. All works archived on behalf of a creator will include their name in the byline or the summary of the work.

All imported works will be set to be viewable only by logged-in AO3 users. Once you claim your works, you can make them publicly-viewable if you choose. After 30 days, all unclaimed imported works will be made visible to all visitors.

Please contact Open Doors with your creator pseud(s) and email address(es), if:

  1. You’d like us to import your works, but you need the notification sent to a different email address than the publishers have a record of.
  2. You already have an AO3 account and have imported your works already yourself.
  3. You’d like to import your works yourself (including if you don’t have an AO3 account yet).
  4. You would NOT like your works moved to the AO3, or would NOT like your works added to the fanzine collections.
  5. You are happy for us to preserve your works on the AO3, but would like us to remove your name.
  6. You have any other questions we can help you with.

Please include the name of the publisher or fanzine in the subject heading of your email. If you no longer have access to the email account the publishers have a record of, please contact Open Doors and we’ll help you out. (If you’ve posted the works elsewhere, or have an easy way to verify that they’re yours, that’s great; if not, we will work with Garlic Press and Poison Pen Press to confirm your claims.)

Please see the Open Doors website for instructions on:

If you still have questions…

If you have further questions, visit the Open Doors FAQ, or contact the Open Doors committee.

We’d also love it if fans could help us preserve the story of Garlic Press and Poison Pen Press and their fanzines on Fanlore. If you’re new to wiki editing, no worries! Check out the new visitor portal, or ask the Fanlore Gardeners for tips.

We’re excited to be able to help preserve Garlic Press and Poison Pen Press’s fanzines!

– The Open Doors team and Devra Langsam

Commenting on this post will be disabled in 14 days. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding this import after that date, please contact Open Doors.


Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 08:05 pm

We’re going on an egg hunt

So the last few days have been eventful so it’s time, again, for a general post.

So on Sunday I started watching The Residence. I saw a trailer for it on twitter about a month or so ago and I was instantly intrigued. It’s a murder mystery and someone has gotten killed at a large house while a party is going on downstairs. Which yeah, sounds like dozens of other murder mysteries, except this is no ordinary large house: it’s the white house.

I watched the first two episodes and, so far, it’s really great so far! I love the detective as she’s so quirky and has absolutely no respect for any of the guys trying to tell her what to do (or what not to do). The cast is also wild as there’s been a lot of people I’ve recognised (The FBI agent from Ant Man and Wandavision, Tilly from Star Trek Discovery, Jane Curtain from 3rd Rock from the sun, one of the guys from OG Charmed, hughJackman and Kylie Minogue! Oh and the guy that plays Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian is in it too.) I really love it and wanna watch more cause I wanna know what happened!

The rest of Sunday was kinda low energy but I did end up starting a game pass game, Planet Of Lana. It came to gamepass last year and I wanted to play it cause it looks so pretty but alas I got sidetracked. It really is so pretty though and there’s a cute lil guy called Mui who is like a lil black cat thing. It’s pretty good so far, though some parts are tricky.

I found out on insta that there’s gonna be an indie horror short film thing at a cinema in Birmingham (here’s the list) and I’m kinda tempted to check it out even though I dunno exactly where the cinema is and it’s on a library day. We’ll see if I do it (they’re also doing full showings of Twin Peaks which is kinda cool but they’re on Sundays)

There wasn’t gonna be any plans Monday, but then when I was looking at the tv guide I saw there was a film I’d wanted to see for awhile on. It was The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes and I’d heard of it cause there’s a section at Loch Ness (which resulted in a prop being lost to the loch only to be found again a few years back). And honestly? It was a wild ride. It had Christopher Lee as Mycroft an opening story mostly unconnected to the rest (with Sherlock implying to someone that he was gay and Watson was his lover), a finale at Loch Ness and a closing scene that was so sad. (It’s on Sky Arts again Saturday afternoon.j I’m so glad I spottted the listing, though also so sad when I looked up later that there was intended to be more scenes to it but they got cut.

Since money, finally, turned up I decided to go to sainsburys this morning to look for eggs. As I posted on insta I did find some, in sainsburys and Aldi, but there really weren’t many options and it was mainly more expensive eggs left. M and S’s food also didn’t have anything which was a shame as I wanted to try some of their hot cross buns. I did get a lil Lego Yoshi and the new radio times from sainsburys though.

(Also Pets at home had the cutest lil Guinea pigs they were so adorable😭)

I did manage to get a Lindt eggfor mum though as thanks for all the issues, though the box could easily have been half the size it was. We also had dominos, which was good though I’m sure the price has gone up since we last had some.

Also today Elder Scrolls Oblivion has been remastered and was out today! It’s on game pass too so I might try it sometime but it’s 120GB thst means I have to figure out a way to make space (damn xbox and memory card things being so small)

Also today the local cinema put up the Episode III showing times and it looks like it’s only from Friday-Sunday which is a bit annoying. It’s also annoying it’s only one showing, 3:45 which means I can get there on bus, but have to walk back if I go. I’ll see what the weather is like, but I know Saturday is out cause of Doctor Who.

Anyway! I think that’s everything but I’m probably missing something super obvious.

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 08:12 pm

Feedback Post

Slightly belatedly, the feedback post!

This year, I moved internationally during the exchange (pro tip: don't do this), with the actual moving date being the day sign-ups ended so I handled noms and sign-ups while packing (pro tip: super don't do this), and essentially felt like I was juggling about three balls too many at any given time. Hopefully this feeling of complete chaos did not reach you, but if it did, don't worry, I will not be moving, internationally or otherwise, next year!

With the above disclaimed, if you have any feedback, I'd be happy to hear it! (Even if it's "you sure seemed more disorganized than usual this year" or whatnot.) Requests on where to advertise? Wishes for a clearer FAQ/instructions?

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 01:52 pm

(no subject)

DC, Open (2844 words) by likeadeuce
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: Challengers (Movie 2024)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Art Donaldson/Patrick Zweig, Art Donaldson/Original Female Character(s), Patrick Zweig/Original Male Character(s)
Additional Tags: Tennis, Missing Years, watches and other status symbols, Patrick Zweig's POV, tashi haunting the narrative
Summary:

Patrick is trying to get his tennis career together when he runs into Art again at a tournament in Washington, DC.

Are they so back, or is it so over?


Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 12:25 pm

(no subject)

Earth Day call log:

[personal profile] ursula used Governor Gretchen Whitmer's contact form to ask her to deny a permit to the proposed Line 5 oil pipeline, and will further celebrate Earth Day by attending a protest in support of EPA federal employee union members this afternoon.


The Sierra Club is trying to break a record for the most origami fish, if you want a fun craft for celebration.

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 05:17 pm

If anyone could use a morale boost

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/04/protests-erupt-across-the-uk-after-supreme-court-ruled-against-trans-rights/

Many many pictures.

Also, more protests yet to come, apparently, with ones scheduled for Oxford and Cambridge.

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 10:23 am

Annual Earth Day Post

So I used to call this “The Greening of Our Lives” when I started it, but there is no more “our” so I think I’ll drop that part. And I haven’t done one of these for the past couple of years because, honestly, it was too depressing. But you can click through on the hashtags if you want to see what we did before this point.

Between April of 2024 and today, I’ve:
  • Had a new heat pump dryer and high efficiency washer installed (just yesterday!). Energy + water savings + reduced gas use
  • Had new window treatments installed to help block drafts and increase natural light (also to make me feel less like Miss Havisham)
  • Continued to work from home so less driving time.
  • Got an induction hot plate and cookware set (Costco, for the win!) to reduce amount of cooking on gas stove.
  • Upgraded my convection oven so I use the gas oven less.
  • Had an home energy audit done and got a low flow shower head and some insulation on the basement pipes.
  • Started container gardening
  • Doubled down on the pollinator plants and reducing the grass. Continue to avoid pesticides and herbicides.
  • Switched to buying more used/refurbished electronics
  • Continued involvement with Buy Nothing Club
  • Switched Queen of Swords Press to recycled/recyclable mailers from Eco Enclose and recycled paper shopping bags from Nashville Wraps.
  • Switched QoSP newsletter to Buttondown, a platform that doesn’t use AI (so far) and reinvests part of the proceeds in environmental projects.
  • Continued with Windsource, continue to avoid AI use wherever possible, recycling, composting, reusing, etc.
  • Support local and international green projects.
What are you up to this Earth Day?



Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 04:56 pm

Physio reprised

So today was my physio let's see how you're doing assessment, at the different health centre -

- which I was in a bit of a swivet about getting to, because the obvious straightforward route is the longest, and there are shorter ones but these involve a tangle of residential streets -

- not to mention, whichever way you slice it, the road winds uphill all the way, yea, to the very end, because the health centre is bang opposite Parliament Hill.

Nonetheless, I found a route which seemed doable, which said 24 mins (and that was not actually starting from home base but from the road by the railway line), which I thought was possibly optimistic for an Old Duck such as myself, but mirabile dictu it was in fact just over 20 but under 25 minutes, win, eh?

And took me along streets I have seldom walked along since the 70s/80s when I was visiting them more frequently for Reasons.

Had a rather short but I hope useful meeting with the physio - some changes to existing exercises and a new one or two.

Thought I would get a bus back as I had had time to check out the nearby bus stops, and there was one coming along which according to the information at the stop was going in a useful direction.

Alas it was coming from the desired direction, but still, cut off a certain amount of homewards slog.


Posted by Amanda

A Letter to the Luminous Deep

RECOMMENDED: A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvia Cathrall is $2.99 and a Kindle Daily Deal! Elyse read this one and gave it an A:

If you are looking for a cozy fantasy read with excellent romance and worldbuilding, I highly recommend Letters to the Luminous Deep.

A charming fantasy set in an underwater world with magical academia and a heartwarming penpal romance, perfect for fans of A Marvellous Light, Emily Wilde’s Encylopaedia of Faeries and The House in the Cerulean Sea.

“An underwater treasure-chest to be slowly unpacked, full of things I adore: nosy and loving families, epistolary romance, gorgeous worldbuilding, and anxious scholars doing their best to meet the world with kindness and curiosity.” —Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light

A beautiful discovery outside the window of her underwater home prompts the reclusive E. to begin a correspondence with renowned scholar Henerey Clel. The letters they share are filled with passion, at first for their mutual interests, and then, inevitably, for each other.

Together, they uncover a mystery from the unknown depths, destined to transform the underwater world they both equally fear and love. But by no mere coincidence, a seaquake destroys E.’s home, and she and Henerey vanish.

A year later, E.’s sister Sophy, and Henerey’s brother Vyerin, are left to solve the mystery, piecing together the letters, sketches and field notes left behind—and learn what their siblings’ disappearance might mean for life as they know it.

Inspired, immersive, and full of heart, this charming epistolary tale is an adventure into the depths of a magical sea and the limits of the imagination from a marvelous debut voice.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Swordcrossed

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske is $2.99! Many of us were very excited for this release. Sarah also had Marske on the podcast to talk about it.

High heat. Low stakes. Sharp steel.

The cozy, low stakes of Legends & Lattes meets the scorching bodyguard fantasy of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s From Blood and Ash in this enemies-to-lovers romance where, yes, the swords do cross.

A LitHub most anticipated book of 2024

Mattinesh Jay, dutiful heir to his struggling family business, needs to hire an experienced swordsman to serve as best man for his arranged marriage. Sword-challenge at the ceremony could destroy all hope of restoring his family’s wealth, something that Matti has been trying—and failing—to do for the past ten years.

What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.

Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn’t plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible—and inconveniently handsome—wool merchant like Matti.

However, neither Matti’s business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As the days count down to Matti’s wedding, the two of them become entangled in the intrigue and sabotage that have brought Matti’s house to the brink of ruin. And when Luca’s secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the how many lies are you prepared to strip away, when the truth could mean losing everything you want?

“There’s nothing in fantasy or queer romance that Marske can’t do.”—Sarah Rees Brennan

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Dream Girl Drama

Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey is $1.99! This is book three in the Big Shots series, which are sports romances. I believe Elyse has enjoyed these! Fingers crossed this deal doesn’t poof!

A steamy chance encounter between a professional hockey player and the manic pixie dream girl he just can’t seem to forget takes a turn when the pair realize that their parents are engaged—in an all-new rom-com by #1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey.

When professional hockey player Sig Gauthier’s car breaks down and his phone dies, he treks into a posh private country club to call a tow truck, where he encounters the alluring Chloe Clifford, the manic pixie dream girl who captivates him immediately with her sense of adventure and penchant for stealing champagne.

Sparks fly during a moonlight kiss and the enamored pair can’t wait to see each other again, but when Sig finally arrives to meet his dad’s new girlfriend over dinner, Chloe is confusingly also there. Turns out the girlfriend is Chloe’s mother. Oh, and they’re engaged.

Sig’s dream girl is his future stepsister.

Though the pair is now wary of being involved romantically, Chloe, a sheltered harp prodigy, yearns to escape her controlling mother. Sig promises to teach her the ins and outs of independence in Boston—but not inside his bedroom. They both know there can never be more than friendship between a famous hockey player and his high-society, soon-to-be stepsister. But keeping their relationship platonic grows harder amid the developing family drama, especially knowing they were meant for so much more…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A Master of Djinn

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark is $2.99! I picked this one for a previous Hide Your Wallet. Historical fantasy mystery with a badass main character and a supportive girlfriend.

Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns to his popular alternate Cairo universe for his fantasy novel debut, A Master of Djinn

Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer.

So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage.

Alongside her Ministry colleagues and her clever girlfriend Siti, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city – or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 


Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 08:54 am

Book Day...

This is quick, as things have been fraught, with a sick family member who doesn't do well with sickness.

 

Dobrenica 3: Revenant Eve

 

BVC e-book | Kindle | Kobo | Nook |
Amazon paperback | Ingram paperback

Re-edited and reissued: 

It’s now 1795, the rise of Napoleon, and Kim finds herself a guardian spirit for a twelve-year-old kid who will either become Kim’s ancestor . . . or the timeline will alter and Kim will vanish, along with the small, magical European country of Dobrenica. 

Kim hates time travel conundrums, and knows nothing about kids. How is she going to spirit-guide young Aurelie, born on Saint-Domingue, with whom she has nothing in common?

From pirate-infested Jamaica to mannered England to Revolutionary Paris in the early 1800s, Kim and Aurelie travel, sharing adventures and meeting fascinating people, such as the beautiful and charming Josephine, wife of Napoleon. 

 



This is part 2 of my book club notes on The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories. [Part 1.]


"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Tai Chi Mashed Taro" by Anna Wu (2016), tr. Carmen Yiling Yan

A time-traveling meditation on the rise and fall of people and societies. )


"The Futures of Genders in Chinese Science Fiction" by Jing Tsu (2022) [essay]

Discussion of the depiction and participation of people of marginalized genders in Chinese SF. )


"Baby, I Love You" by Zhao Haihong (2002), tr. Elizabeth Hanlon

In the not-too-distant future, a programmer works on a holographic virtual baby while his real family life falls apart. )


"A Saccharophilic Earthworm" by BaiFanRuShang (2005), tr. Ru-Ping Chen

After a disabling accident, a theater director believes she can teach flowers to dance. )


"The Alchemist of Lantian" by BaiFanRuShang (2005), tr. Ru-Ping Chen

Every time a godlike being helps a human, their own exile in the mortal world is extended. )


Posted by Amanda

This HaBO is from Britain, who wants to find this romance:

I was hoping you could maybe help me find the title of this book I’ve read a couple of years ago.

I don’t remember much, but I remember the heroine working in social media or something like that and she wants to create a platform/app for women and their body sizes. Heroine meets the hero (who I believe plays sports. I don’t remember if it was hockey or boxing or something else) at dinner with her friend who is also her partner for this platform/app. Somebody takes a photo of the heroine and hero standing close to each other, making everyone assuming they’re dating. They enter a fake dating arrangement, but later on the heroine ends the arrangement when she see photos of the hero with another woman taken during the hero’s night out celebrating the team’s win. It turns out the other woman is a friend of the hero and he has been helping this woman by pretending to her boyfriend because she gets harassed a lot by men since her body developed early. That’s all I can remember. I think it was an indie book so maybe it’s not that known.

Any lead would be appreciated! I’ve been hunting this for a while now.

Let’s HaBO!




Improbable, but not impossible, ascents to the world stage...

Five SFF Works About Unlikely Global Superpowers


 
We went out Saturday to try and clear our heads a bit. We plumped for Allesley. It's quite close to the city centre and there's a holloway there; I've just read Macfarlane, Donwood, and Richards' book on the subject. Plus there's a tried-and-tested pub there that does an excellent cheeseboard. 
 
A quick delve in Oxfam yielded an early 70s street-map/guide to Coventry and a copy of A. L. Lloyd's FOLK SONG IN ENGLAND. Then out to Allesley. The church (All Saints) is a mixture of Early English, Norman, and 1860s restoration in dull pink sandstone. The rebuilt spire looks a bit askew crowned with a pennant weathervane. They're leaving part of the churchyard clear to cut a turf maze. I'll go back and wander that when it's done.
 
Behind All Saints there's a ridge and furrow field, auburn earth ridged by medieval ploughing; the blackthorn there is still creamy with flowers. A rippled red path takes you into the holloway. You walk uphill past domed fields (oaks misty with new leaves; russet molehills; a horse grazing by a distant fence); an annex of the churchyard; a dead and cropped tree like a signpost. The lane itself isn't very deep; we found old bricks in the soil from a previous paving. I stepped in horseshit and didn't mind - it felt like home. There was a floral scent in the lane, sweet like elder or May, but neither of those were in flower yet and it wasn't the blackthorn; I don't know if you can call that a haunting.
 
We got into The Rainbow ahead of the showers to find a Bank Holiday beer festival on; so worked our way through several different ales as well as various cheddars, walnuts, grapes, and bread. I can't say we came back with clear heads but we didn't regret it. 
 
Currently reading George Ewart Evans' ASK THE FELLOWS WHO CUT THE HAY, a history of Suffolk farming and village life. Good, if a bit of a trudge in places.
 
 



A tale of medieval women crossing the gender line LITERALLY: in 1417 the Bishop of Durham ordered two Newcastle women to dress as drag kings and parade around two churches on six separate days, because he thought it was an appropriate act of penance, and if the Bishop of Durham thinks parading around a church in drag improves one's chance of getting into Heaven then who am I to argue?

Matilda Burgh and Margaret Ushar were ordered to do this penance after they dressed as men to visit the shrine of Cuthbert, one of England's most popular saints (defo Top Five), because the Bishops of Durham had literally built a misogynist blue line of exclusion into the ground around the shrine and only men were supposed to enter. There's more. The women's employer's wife, Mrs Baxter, who was accused of aiding and abetting the "crime" of female pilgrimage to a saint's shrine, disobeyed the Bishop's order to attend his ecclesiastical court and also disobeyed his order for her to attend the drag king parades because she claimed having twins to look after made her too tired ("& uxor prædicti Petri fic eſt fatigata cum duobus gemellis quod honeſte non poteſt comparere"). Clearly I love this entire escapade, although I did feel mild sympathy for the parish chaplain who had to deal with these three ungovernable women and an out-of-touch Bishop, lol.

Sources in English and Latin. )

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 01:00 pm

Well Groomed

Posted by john (the hubby of Jen)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks to Julie Anne, Annabel J., Allison M., & Natalia L. for forcing all the kids out there to explain "Trololo" to their parents.

*****

P.S. This one's for the groom and all my fellow gamers out there:

"I Paused My Game To Be Here" T-Shirt

It comes in lots of fun colors at the link, plus classic gray and black.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:


Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 09:08 am

Foxfire, Esq. by Noa (October)



Retired superhero turned lawyer, Naomi "Foxfire" Ziegler pursues a wrongful death case involving a fire, a young superhero and a host of shifty housing corporations.

Foxfire, Esq. by Noa (October)

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 02:03 pm

Drugs Challenge: Babylon 5: Walkabout


Title: Walkabout
Fandom: Babylon 5
Author: [personal profile] badly_knitted
Characters: Stephen Franklin.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 400
Spoilers/Setting: Walkabout.
Summary: He doesn’t know who he is anymore, and maybe he never did, but it’s time he found out.
Content Notes: References addiction.
Written For: Challenge 477: Amnesty 79, using Challenge 84: Drugs.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Babylon 5, or the characters. They belong to J. Michael Straczynski.
A/N: Quadruple drabble.



Walkabout... )

Title: Unexpected Guests
Fandom: Miss Marple/Winnie-the-Pooh
Rating: G
Length: 489 words
Summary: When Miss Marple opens her door, she's surprised to see Tigger and Rabbit standing on the doorstep


Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 05:50 am

(no subject)

Happy Birthday, [personal profile] rabidsamfan. May your day be filled with beauty.


Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 09:59 am

(no subject)

Happy birthday, [personal profile] mme_hardy and [personal profile] polyamorous!

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 08:55 am

Turned upside down with anxiety

I'm jangling frantic with all the things I should be doing and have not done (paid work & clients needing attention, upcoming elections & activism, looking after father-in-law, exercise). I've just had a four day weekend where I feel that I have not managed to do one single thing that I should have done, and I'm being pulled in many different directions with this, this, this.

Also I've just realised that I have entirely forgotten to write & send out the minutes for the last committee meeting and it should have been done a week ago. Gah.

I have been reading Fire Weather : A True Story from a Hotter World by John Vaillant and Doppelganger by Naomi Klein and both books, in their separate ways, talk about climate change, & offer scant optimism for the future.

And I just shutdown and start playing endless mindless puzzle games on my ipad.


Monday, April 21st, 2025 11:11 pm

Another thought about B5 5x18

I will be going back to answer recent comments, but first, one more stray B5 thought with spoilers through 5x18.

Tying up a loose end )

Posted by Amanda

Welcome back!

It’s another short and sweet release week for us! However, the last week of April promises to be much beefier.

Is there anything you’re excited for this week? Let us know in the comments!

Anywhere You Go

Anywhere You Go by Bridget Morrissey

Author: Bridget Morrissey
Released: April 22, 2025 by Berkley
Genre: , ,

A small-town waitress and a big-city Broadway press agent swap homes to escape the messiness of their personal lives, only to find new purpose—and new love.

Tatum Ward and Eleanor Chapman lead totally opposite lives. Tatum’s never left her Midwestern hometown. She resides in a quaint guest cottage on her parents’ property while working part-time as a waitress, where she spends most shifts ignoring her feelings for a beautiful regular named June. Eleanor dedicates every waking hour to her high-profile press career, sacrificing personal relationships for professional success, save for the occasional hookup to fight off her loneliness. When both women’s lives unexpectedly blow up at the exact same time, they each need an escape, and fast.

In Tatum’s hometown, Eleanor expects a quiet hideaway where she can recharge. Instead she gets wrapped up in the family drama that Tatum left town to avoid, pulled in by Tatum’s charismatic older sibling, Carson, who charms Eleanor at every turn. Tatum ends up in Eleanor’s New York high-rise apartment with June. One week together in the big city might make it impossible for Tatum to avoid not just her true feelings for June, but her real dreams for her life.

Amid a friendship with a reclusive Hollywood actress and a complicated family reunion, Tatum and Eleanor each discover much more than they bargained for away from home. Their house swap won’t last forever, but it might be just long enough for both women to surrender their defenses and finally fight for the life—and love—they deserve.

Sarah: Aside from having one of the most beautiful covers, I have a quiet weakness for house-swap romances.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Bold Moves

Bold Moves by Emma Barry

Author: Emma Barry
Released: April 22, 2025 by Montlake
Genre: ,

From the author of Bad Reputation comes a smart and sexy second-chance romance, where exes reunite to adapt a memoir, only to discover that after a decade apart, they might finally be ready for more.

Working with your ex isn’t that bad an idea—not with artistic integrity on the line. Jaime Croft is determined to prove his directorial range, and Scarlett Arbuthnot’s biography is the perfect project. He once thought Scarlett was his perfect match too, but it’s been seventeen years. Surely he’s over it by now.

Or maybe not.

Scarlett is a grand master taking the chess world by storm. If she can handle that pressure, she can handle Jaime Croft. Even if that means working together in close quarters…and constant reminders of how she broke his heart. She didn’t do it without reason, but if he knew the details, he would despise her even more.

As Jaime and Scarlett pore over her memoir, they unlock their own memories, and old feelings rise to the surface. But giving in means abandoning the walls they’ve built to protect themselves, and that’s a move neither one seems ready to make.

Emma Barry’s books have been recommended before and this one features a grand master chess player as the heroine!

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

Great Big Beautiful Life

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Author: Emily Henry
Released: April 22, 2025 by Berkley
Genre: ,

Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.

Lara: I will read anything Emily Henry writes, even though it always makes me cry.

Elyse: I ordered the Afterlight special edition of this and I can’t wait to read it.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →


Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025 06:20 pm

Me-and-media update

Previous poll review
In the vegetables poll, 90.4% of respondents clicked fresh vegetables (bought), 46.2% clicked frozen vegetables, and 44.2% clicked fresh vegetables (homegrown). I was surprised; I thought more people would go frozen for the convenience. (I wonder what that says, if anything, about Dreamwidth demographics.)

In ticky-boxes, hugs came first with 78.8%, followed by a tie between "hanging in there until things settle down and I can sort my life out" and "sunbeams playing in a tree, daring each other to peek around the shadowed side" with 63.5% each. Thank you for your votes!

Reading
Still going on The Horse and His Boy (I am slow and distractable) and the Guardian novel read-along (it's on a schedule). Nothing in audio.

Kdramas
We started Tale of the Nine Tailed, a sweeping epic about a powerful immortal, the reincarnated love of his life, and his bratty younger brother. (Nothing at all like Guardian the novel, why do you ask?) I'm hoping it has enough plot and worldbuilding to hold Andrew's interest; he gets bored during extended romance scenes.

More of Sell Your Haunted House with Pru. And in solo-watching, I started Heesu in Class 2; it's pretty adorable, but also Heesu is the living embodiment of Idiots In Love, and sometimes I have to watch through my fingers.

Other TV
This week's Doctor Who
was very silly and meta, set against a background of ominous racism. Hm. But I did enjoy the jokes, and Belinda is great.


Episode 1 of Sherlock & Daughter. We were just going to try out the first ten minutes to get a sense of it, but we ended up watching the whole episode. I can forgive Holmes for being a grumpy old man when he has a reason for it.

Our Deadloch rewatch-with-a-friend continues, plus Jentry Chau vs the Underworld, about which I still have no opinion.

My sister and I watched Into the Night (1985 film; Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff Goldblum, and a vast number of film directors as extras, the only one of whom I knew on sight was Jim Henson). The caper was silly, and the romance plotline was very thin, but Goldblum and Pfeiffer are so watchable that it hung together despite the weird pacing when it lingered on random extras we were supposed to recognise. Lovely to see David Bowie in a small (albeit violently psychotic) role.

Guardian/Fandom
I archived my Murderbot flashficlet, and wow, Murderbot fans are generous with their kudosing. *hearts so much* (In my experience, some fandoms are just more kudosy than others.)

Audio entertainment
I listened my way through all of The Setup, a romance audiodrama about Juan, an anxious art museum curator in NYC, and Fernando, the con artist who's trying to steal a painting. It's great! I'm really into it. And then I got to the end of the available episodes and realised it's not finished yet, ahhhhh! I need to check these things before I start!

(Is it just me or are depictions of anxiety becoming more common in romances? I feel like there's some wish fulfilment going on: people longing to meet The One who is hot, super into them, and will also be incredibly kind and patient and give them effective tips for handling their panic attacks. Not that romances aren't all about wish fulfilment, so why not? Add dimensions to your dream partner!)

Writing/making things
My little 4k exchange fic is becoming somewhat tortured by all the writing advice I'm trying to enact on it. Hopefully I'm not engineering the spark out of the thing. Also, hopefully I emerge from this process wiser and more capable. (It could happen!) Note to self: this story still doesn't have an ending, oops.

Other than that, I'm spending a lot of my life rolling around in meta discussions, yay!

Life/health/mental state things
Oh, look, let's not even talk about it. /o\

Note to self: I had a flu jab on Saturday.

Online life
I'm switching ISPs on Friday. Wish me luck! If I disappear off the face of the internet, that will be why.

Food
Today marks my first attempt at baked potatoes in the slow cooker. *fingers crossed* I forgot to prickle them with a fork before I wrapped them in foil, so who knows.

Good things
Fandom. Writing. Lunchtime dumplings on the back deck. Cephalopod plushies. Queer audiodramas. Friends coming over to watch stuff. Guardian. Home-made salsa. Trivia quizzes. Music and kindness and laughter and love.

Poll #33020 face blindness extrapolation
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 38


Do you have face-blindness?

View Answers

yes
2 (5.3%)

technically no, but it's not unusual for me to get people confused
21 (55.3%)

especially when they're dressed the same
12 (31.6%)

no
10 (26.3%)

I mix up similar usernames
12 (31.6%)

honestly, they don't have to be that similar
11 (28.9%)

other
1 (2.6%)

ticky-box full of black cats slinking mysteriously in the shadows
25 (65.8%)

ticky-box full of starting a howl
12 (31.6%)

ticky-box of overthinking
17 (44.7%)

ticky-box full of squirrel-dragons with floofy tails, guarding their golden acorns
19 (50.0%)

ticky-box full of hugs
29 (76.3%)




Monday, April 21st, 2025 08:52 pm

Daily Happiness

1. I worked from home today, getting a fair amount of catching up done. Unfortunately I forgot that I also had to double check all my stores' budgets for next month today so that did take some time away from the email and teams catch-up, but I should be able to focus more on that tomorrow. (Probably will mostly work from home tomorrow, too.)

2. We bought a sweater for Alexander for his birthday and even though his birthday is not until next week, gave it to him yesterday so he could try it on and see if it fit, and it was a little big so we said we'd be happy to go exchange it. I was just thinking to exchange it whenever we next go, but there was availability today and Carla felt like going to Disneyland, so while I had to stay home and focus on my email backlog, she went and exchanged the sweater and had a nice morning at DCA. She managed to find all the rest of the hidden easter eggs there (eventually with some help from an online guide) and took pictures, but I'm just going to include those with our next trip post rather than make a separate one. They had Lightning McQueen and Mater ones which are super cute, though.

3. We bought a stereo for the garage and it arrived today. As all modern stereos do these days, it also has bluetooth capability to connect to your phone, but she mainly wanted it for playing actual CDs. Her current CD rack is overflowing, so we need to get another and then move the CDs out to the garage so she can have them out there with the stereo. Nice thing is, unless you're standing right by the door or window, even with it turned up pretty loud you really can't hear much from outside. Amazing what insulation can do!

4. I love the look on Ollie's face here, but he was even cuter before I turned on the light and came in. It wasn't dark but was dim enough that he was really well camouflaged in the box!



Monday, April 21st, 2025 07:36 pm

Mutual aid, living alone edition

Crisis Planning: The Hit-By-A-Bus Plan by [personal profile] lb_lee.
The hit-by-a-bus plan is for when you are suddenly unable to perform your usual duties or communicate the need to get them done to others—such as when you are suddenly committed to a mental hospital, kidnapped, or hit by a bus and put in a coma. The plan is especially for people without spouse or families. Getting hit by a bus may be unavoidable, but less so is getting fired (or a pet dying) because you aren’t there and nobody knows what happened or what to do. It has two components: prep work for yourself (for psychological crisis), and stuff for helpers to do on your behalf afterward (general purpose).


This is a great post. I find it overwhelming to try to set all of this up at once. I might take small steps, like giving my immediate neighbors an emergency contact's phone number.

For those of us who have pets, having a pet sitter who already knows the situation and can get in if needed is useful in an unexpected absence.

Declaration of Interdependence by [tumblr.com profile] queerspacepunk (aka [archiveofourown.org profile] emmett) via [personal profile] jesse_the_k. I love this vision of easy interconnectedness, although a followup post brings up the need for clear communication and respect for boundaries as well.

I recently went through, "Where the heck is my neighbor and how do I make sure his cat gets fed." (All ended well, thank goodness.) While it might feel vulnerable to share information and ask for help, it's a kindness rather than an imposition to the surrounding community in case of unexpected emergencies.

Monday, April 21st, 2025 09:30 pm

Daily Check In

*\o/* Word Count Step Count Headache?
Daily 383 8,148 no
Monthly 9,191 209,157 5 days

Monday, April 21st, 2025 10:15 pm

Limericks!

I have recently written limericks in: due South, Interview with the Vampire (TV), Murderbot, Star Wars Original & Prequel Trilogies, and Venom (Movies). Go here for the links and summaries, in alphabetical order by fandom.

I would be happy to write more, so if reading my limericks makes you want more of them, prompt at will.



Monday, April 21st, 2025 08:29 pm

Haikai Fest: "Circadian Cueing"

Let's take a breath for poetry. It is April, and as good a time as any for a collaborative poetry fest. Please find below a starting stanza or two of a brand new haikai (what's a haikai, you ask? Think extended haiku: alternating stanzas of 5-7-5 and 7-7). Comment with a following stanza to build on that seed. Someone (most likely me) will respond with another stanza, and so on and so forth throughout the day.
===

even single cells
know the daytime sync and sleep
for wake tomorrow

_



case: (Default)
[personal profile] case posting in [community profile] fandomsecrets
Monday, April 21st, 2025 06:50 pm

[ SECRET POST #6682 ]


⌈ Secret Post #6682 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.


More! )


Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 30 secrets from Secret Submission Post #955.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Profile

seperis: (Default)
seperis

Tags

Page Summary

Quotes

  • If you don't send me feedback, I will sob uncontrollably for hours on end, until finally, in a fit of depression, I slash my wrists and bleed out on the bathroom floor. My death will be on your heads. Murderers
    . -- Unknown, on feedback
    BTS List
  • That's why he goes bad, you know -- all the good people hit him on the head or try to shoot him and constantly mistrust him, while there's this vast cohort of minions saying, We wouldn't hurt you, Lex, and we'll give you power and greatness and oh so much sex...
    Wow. That was scary. Lex is like Jesus in the desert.
    -- pricklyelf, on why Lex goes bad
    LJ
  • Obi-Wan has a sort of desperate, pathetic patience in this movie. You can just see it in his eyes: "My padawan is a psychopath, and no one will believe me; I'm barely keeping him under control and expect to wake up any night now to find him standing over my bed with a knife!"
    -- Teague, reviewing "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones"
    LJ
  • Beth: god, why do i have so many beads?
    Jenn: Because you are an addict.
    Jenn: There are twelve step programs for this.
    Beth: i dunno they'd work, might have to go straight for the electroshock.
    Jenn: I'm not sure that helps with bead addiction.
    Beth: i was thinking more to demagnitize my credit card.
    -- hwmitzy and seperis, on bead addiction
    AIM, 12/24/2003
  • I could rape a goat and it will DIE PRETTIER than they write.
    -- anonymous, on terrible writing
    AIM, 2/17/2004
  • In medical billing there is a diagnosis code for someone who commits suicide by sea anenemoe.
    -- silverkyst, on wtf
    AIM, 3/25/2004
  • Anonymous: sorry. i just wanted to tell you how much i liked you. i'd like to take this to a higher level if you're willing
    Eleveninches: By higher level I hope you mean email.
    -- eleveninches and anonymous, on things that are disturbing
    LJ, 4/2/2004
  • silverkyst: I need to not be taking molecular genetics.
    silverkyst: though, as a sidenote, I did learn how to eviscerate a fruit fly larvae by pulling it's mouth out by it's mouthparts today.
    silverkyst: I'm just nowhere near competent in the subject material to be taking it.
    Jenn: I'd like to thank you for that image.
    -- silverkyst and seperis, on more wtf
    AIM, 1/25/2005
  • You know, if obi-wan had just disciplined the boy *properly* we wouldn't be having these problems. Can't you just see yoda? "Take him in hand, you must. The true Force, you must show him."
    -- Issaro, on spanking Anakin in his formative years
    LJ, 3/15/2005
  • Aside from the fact that one person should never go near another with a penis, a bottle of body wash, and a hopeful expression...
    -- Summerfling, on shower sex
    LJ, 7/22/2005
  • It's weird, after you get used to the affection you get from a rabbit, it's like any other BDSM relationship. Only without the sex and hot chicks in leather corsets wielding floggers. You'll grow to like it.
    -- revelininsanity, on my relationship with my rabbit
    LJ, 2/7/2006
  • Smudged upon the near horizon, lapine shadows in the mist. Like a doomsday vision from Watership Down, the bunny intervention approaches.
    -- cpt_untouchable, on my addition of The Fourth Bunny
    LJ, 4/13/2006
  • Rule 3. Chemistry is kind of like bondage. Some people like it, some people like reading about or watching other people doing it, and a large number of people's reaction to actually doing the serious stuff is to recoil in horror.
    -- deadlychameleon, on class
    LJ, 9/1/2007
  • If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Fan Fiction is John Cusack standing outside your house with a boombox.
    -- JRDSkinner, on fanfiction
    Twitter
  • I will unashamedly and unapologetically celebrate the joy and the warmth and the creativity of a community of people sharing something positive and beautiful and connective and if you don’t like it you are most welcome to very fuck off.
    -- Michael Sheen, on Good Omens fanfic
    Twitter
    , 6/19/2019
  • Adding for Mastodon.
    -- Jenn, traceback
    Fosstodon
    , 11/6/2022

Credit

November 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 2022
Page generated Apr. 23rd, 2025 04:12 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios