January bridleways
Jan. 11th, 2026 11:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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common_nature
A bright cold morning, the fields silvered with frost, and the paths an entertaining mix of ice and mud.
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puddleshark posting in common_natureA bright cold morning, the fields silvered with frost, and the paths an entertaining mix of ice and mud.
( Read more... )
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Jan. 11th, 2026 12:31 amciacconne posting in addmeName: Ciacconne
Age: Mid 30s
I mostly post about: My life, health, and fandom stuff.
My hobbies are: Writing, reading, gaming, and art.
My fandoms are: Harry Potter, FF16, FF7, Frieren, Slayers, Gintama, Kekkai Sensen, YGO— basically game and anime fandoms.
I'm looking to meet people who: Share my interests and fandoms.
My posting schedule tends to be: daily/weekly/monthly/sporadic/etc — I post daily, or will try to post daily now.
When I add people, my dealbreakers are: People who are antis.
Before adding me, you should know: I focus a lot on my health, be it mental or physical.
Snowflake Challenge Day 4
Jan. 11th, 2026 10:42 amswingandswirl
RL got a little nuts, but I'm determined not to let this fall by the wayside, so have a belated Day 4 post.
Challenge #4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page
Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!
The instructions for this one confused me, and I don't really do social media, so instead, I thought it would be fun to link some of my favourite fic/art exchanges!
Despite my sometimes Cursed Exchange Luck, I really do love taking part in exchanges. They've gotten me some of my favourite fics ever, and pushed me to write things I never would have otherwise. Here's a list of all the exchanges I'm taking part in this year:
fffx The Five Figure Fanwork Exchange! You get five months to write either 2 5k or 1 10k fic, or equivalent art. (Has the five month period ever stopped me from leaving it until the last minute? Nope. But we live dangerously 'round these parts.)
ficinabox Possibly my favourite exchange ever. You commit to writing 10k, or doing an equivalent creative activity... but it can be split up into a mind-boggling variety of mediums, from AITA posts to CYOA games to literal knitted things. One year I'm going to lose my mind enough, recipient willing, to write 10k entirely in drabbles.
highadrenalineexchange The converse of FFFX - you get two weeks to write 10k. I was somehow insane enough to do Pride and Prejudice fic my first go-around with HAX, and the two-week deadline was the only reason I managed to get out of my own head enough to do it, lol.
worldbuilding_exchange I utterly adore worldbuilding, so it's no surprise that an exchange based on it is my catnip. If the exchange somehow allowed me to nominate JUST the first four Harry Potter books, I'd be in heaven, lol.
rule_63 Genderbends are another of my very favourite things, and the main fandoms I'm in - HP, Avengers, Superbat, Numb3rs, and Star Trek - have amazing potential when it comes to male-to-female genderbends. Plus, honestly, girls are just more interesting, lol.
idproquo I am a firm believer in, and defender of, idfic. I also live in the AU where Marvel made no movies after the Avengers and Harry Potter is an unfinished four-book series with no movies, lol.
This year, I also want to take part in
seasonsofdrabbles , everywoman , if it's running, and halfamoon . We'll see how things go. Just Create - Hacksaw Edition
Jan. 10th, 2026 09:22 pmsilvercat17 posting in justcreateWhat are you working on? What have you finished? What do you need encouragement on?
Are there any cool events or challenges happening that you want to hype? I've been neglecting Dreamwidth - tell me what I'm missing!
What do you just want to talk about?
What have you been watching or reading?
Chores and other not-fun things count!
Remember to encourage other commenters and we have a discord where we can do work-alongs and chat, linked in the sticky.
Never underestimate the power of spite, y'all.
Jan. 7th, 2026 07:24 pmswingandswirl So one of my friends has been bugging me to read Casey McQuiston's Red, White, and Royal Blue for years.
I resisted, partly because it felt a little too close to RPF for me to feel comfortable (I know posh British men have like five acceptable names but still) and partly because... well, I'm not a fan of the British monarchy, even a fictional version, for very obvious child-of-colonialism reasons.
And then this morning my buddy complained, once again, about the idiot sheltered Tamil Brahmin boy in the RWRB discord's latest terrible take, which was that India does not have racism. (As someone who remembers seeing a front-page ad in the newspaper of record offering a free whitening cream with purchase of soap that had the tagline 'We're sending some compliments your way', AHAHAHAHA.)
So I made a half-joking comment about that I should finally read RWRB so I could join the discord and back her up next time the idiot idioted. And lo and behold, I had a free afternoon and an available copy of the book, so... why the hell not?
And y'all, I feel like such a damn idiot. Because this book, once I let go of my grudge about the names? Was actually really good. The writing is top-notch, the characters are complex while still being fun, and the story balances escapism and realism really well, especially when it comes to the depiction of the monarchy. It's even making me want to see the movie, which is not a thing I say often.
So yeah. Five out of five stars to Casey McQuiston's Red White and Royal Blue, and a reminder to not judge books by their covers, lol.
I resisted, partly because it felt a little too close to RPF for me to feel comfortable (I know posh British men have like five acceptable names but still) and partly because... well, I'm not a fan of the British monarchy, even a fictional version, for very obvious child-of-colonialism reasons.
And then this morning my buddy complained, once again, about the idiot sheltered Tamil Brahmin boy in the RWRB discord's latest terrible take, which was that India does not have racism. (As someone who remembers seeing a front-page ad in the newspaper of record offering a free whitening cream with purchase of soap that had the tagline 'We're sending some compliments your way', AHAHAHAHA.)
So I made a half-joking comment about that I should finally read RWRB so I could join the discord and back her up next time the idiot idioted. And lo and behold, I had a free afternoon and an available copy of the book, so... why the hell not?
And y'all, I feel like such a damn idiot. Because this book, once I let go of my grudge about the names? Was actually really good. The writing is top-notch, the characters are complex while still being fun, and the story balances escapism and realism really well, especially when it comes to the depiction of the monarchy. It's even making me want to see the movie, which is not a thing I say often.
So yeah. Five out of five stars to Casey McQuiston's Red White and Royal Blue, and a reminder to not judge books by their covers, lol.
anti-ICE demonstration this afternoon
Jan. 10th, 2026 10:53 pmredbirdWe went to the Boston anti-ICE demonstration today, one of many throughout the United States. Cattitude and I got there slightly after the nominal starting time, and managed about an hour before the cold got to me. Yes, it was above freezing and not windy, but standing still on a large open plaza is chillier than moving around. Adrian came to the demo with some of her comrades from Havurat Shalom, and arrived before we did. The crowd was large enough that we didn't try to find her until we were all preparing to leave.
It was a good-sized crowd, but the acoustics and sound system were abysmal; I could only make out a few scraps of what the speakers were saying.
I wore a winter coat, wool socks, and light-weight long underwear, which was too warm while we were on the trolley.
It was a good-sized crowd, but the acoustics and sound system were abysmal; I could only make out a few scraps of what the speakers were saying.
I wore a winter coat, wool socks, and light-weight long underwear, which was too warm while we were on the trolley.
Fic: One Two THREE Force Born?!
Jan. 10th, 2026 09:58 pmsenmutAO3 Link | One Two THREE Force Born?! (1609 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, Sheev Palpatine | Emperor Palpatine | Darth Sidious
Additional Tags: Crack Treated Seriously, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Kriffing Sith Plans
Summary:
Padmé Amidala was a woman on a mission. Anakin might be completely in a panic over the pregnancy but she was going to head this off. It was just too convenient that she was now being plagued with dreams of her own death, the very night after an unavoidable dinner with the man she had a growing distaste for.
And, deep where she would never tell her husband, she had a nasty suspicion he was trying to shove Anakin off a cliff of irredeemable violence. The Chancellor might not have commented on her state, but his eyes were not as easily fooled by their shared heritage of concealing fashion.
Today, she was going to go enlist the aid of the Jedi, while Anakin was tied up being the poster boy of the GAR. She had all of her diplomatic shields in place, and had the perfect cover story to do this with.
After all, with Jedi having lost so many, surely the Force would be interested in adding a few more children to the future.
Vokara Che was every bit as imposing in her domain as Anakin had said. However, her status as a long time ally had convinced Master Fisto to bring her down to the Healer's Wing. She had pleaded with him, and the healer, that there could not be a father, not when she was a mature woman who knew how to guard against such!
"You were correct that the pregnancy is heavily Force-influenced," Vokara said after several minutes of making Padmé wonder if the healer was going to break her constructed version of events. "You are carrying two very healthy, very Force-active fetuses."
Two. TWO?!
She was not going to faint like the damsel of a holo-drama. "Thank you, Master Che. Given my precarious positioning within the advocates for peace, and past attempts, I could not, in all honesty, acquire medical aid in the typical fashion. Given how my dreams are affected, and having such strange hunches of late, I turned to your Temple in hope."
"A wise choice." For a long moment, Vokara held her eyes, and Padmé knew that the healer was not actually buying the spontaneous pregnancy. A twitch of the lekku, however, indicated the secret was safe. "These hunches, I believe that Master Windu should possibly help sort them out with you."
Oh. Well, that might be the right way to go as well.
Kit, even before the appointment in medical had ended, had gone to find his age-mate. He did so in one of the botanical rooms. "Master Windu," he began. "And Master Yoda," he added to be polite, despite the ancient peering at one of the plants intently.
"Hmm," came over top of Mace's cautious "Master Fisto", and Kit grinned a little that his creche-mate had already detected the mild mischief Kit was feeling.
They all needed a little bit of amusement.
"Senator Amidala has come, and is being tended to by Master Che," Kit began, and both men looked sharply at him. "I do wonder about that old prophecy that was discussed when Master Jinn found a boy on a desert world with no father… as she is here to see about a Force-induced pregnancy as well."
Yoda's ears went flat, Mace's eyes narrowed, and Kit merely smiled.
Mace looked at the woman who had been a solid ally, and the subject of not a small part of gossip. He did not, for a moment, believe the story of no father, but in her political setting, it was for the best to go along with it.
"Master Che said you have been plagued by hunches of late, ones that play out true."
He set a mild tisane in front of her, and took a second one for himself.
"I think the Force has concerns about the path we are on, despite recent developments. After all, if the Count has been neutralized, and Master Kenobi is on the trail of their general… who will keep the momentum up to line pockets with war money, and build such sizable powers through war-time legislation?" Amidala asked, meeting the man's eyes squarely. "I am all but certain you and your peers have had the same intuitions."
Was she — had she —
Maybe Skywalker had been more circumspect than Mace had believed. For all that Amidala was firmly an adherent of a peaceful resolution, her physical and vocal cues were running in tandem with the Council's own suspicions.
"Perhaps we are looking in that same direction," he said.
"If the other Sith, the one Dooku spoke of on our side, is out there, I am certain he would try to harm those touched so firmly by the Light Side as ones fathered by the Force," Amidala told him. "I shudder to think of what such a being might have done had they had access to your Knight Skywalker for all the years of this phantom menace over us."
That, Mace decided, was both accusation and… an invitation to look more closely at how the cards were laid out.
And he had to admit she had a point.
"Anakin!"
"Chancellor."
"I do hope the scandal hasn't harmed your friendship with the Senator."
"What scandal?"
The exchange, handled in the hearing of several itinerant reporters, brought their elder statesman up short, until someone added the right question.
"That she's pregnant with no father in sight," the reporter with blood money in his pockets called out.
"You really think Senator Amidala would stoop to such petty, low-brow nonsense?" Anakin asked them, in his best 'are you kidding me' voice, and he caught the frown on his old 'friend'. He was so glad Saesse Tiin had been able and willing to explore the past several years in his head. "She's having children as the will of the Force, and we Jedi take that kind of thing very seriously."
He then kept walking, leaving the Chancellor stewing, the reporters trying to digest how to spin this, and a feeling that he could not have handled it that way without the Council all suddenly intent on supporting him. He didn't know what had changed there, but he couldn't wait to tell Obi-Wan all about it.
And the Force Twins, because he had to admit, he really hadn't had a lot of time, and they both used precautions.
Chancellor Sheev Palpatine was in a fury. He had primed the well perfectly, and somehow… somehow every insinuation and control he'd put in place had been cut off in the Chosen One. All because of some insane story concocted by the woman that had long since outlived her usefulness.
Any day now, that wretched Kenobi would be returning, and Sheev would have to find a different way to acquire everything he wanted… unless he acted now? He went to his desk to find the comm unit. He needed to provoke the right circumstance, to make it clear he was saving them from the Jedi, but what would it take?
The comm lit up in his hand.
What?
With the Force, he flipped the hood of his cape up, securing it to conceal his features, and turned it on.
"What do you know, that frequency is picked up, Commander," came the very annoying, should-be-dead voice of the Togruta menace. He hastily turned it off, throwing it into the back of the locked drawers.
The knocking at the door that came next, including a call of 'Coruscant Security' sent chills down his back.
He wondered idly if his own Master had felt this the night Sheev had gleefully murdered him.
Mace pinched the bridge of his nose, then looked over at the newest Master of the Council who was pretending he didn't want to hurry out and see a certain Senator. He then looked at Kenobi, who was waiting to be briefed on how and why the Chancellor had been killed in the midst of being served with detention papers.
"A tip from an ally told us to double check Skywalker for undue influence," Kit said, looking entirely too merry in the telling.
"Padmé," Anakin offered cheerfully. "She's having Force twins."
Mace did not groan. It really did sound like Skywalker believed that.
"Removing that," Saesee said, "let us more clearly see the shape of a possible end game, orchestrated to cast us all as traitors."
"Meanwhile, Skywalker's commander had been working on another angle of the endgame," Agen said.
"Leading him and Tano to turning up a plan to make the man expose himself, using the very tools meant to kill us all," Kit said, "by triggering a comm device he should not have had while we were keeping him very securely under comm surveillance with Naboo's and CorSec's cooperation."
"How did you get CorSec to agree to such?" Kenobi asked.
"Amidala implied that she had noticed a malevolent presence while dining with the man, and could they please keep it under wraps that there could be such a threat near the center of government?" Shaak Ti said, eyes dancing with mirth.
"A very tidy end, I suppose." Kenobi then looked at Mace with a deadpan face. "So, how are those prophecies handling the idea of three Force-fathered children?"
Mace did not, as he wanted to, flip the man's hood over his head with the Force.
Padmé smiled, despite fatigue, as she held her daughter, and Anakin held her son. Eventually, they might admit the farce.
Then again, listening to Anakin telling Luke all about the wonders of what the Force could do…
… maybe it was better to leave it at this. What really mattered was that they were all saved from the Sith.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, Sheev Palpatine | Emperor Palpatine | Darth Sidious
Additional Tags: Crack Treated Seriously, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Kriffing Sith Plans
Summary:
It's Padmé with the nightmares, and a plan to head it all off.
One Two THREE Force Born?!
Padmé Amidala was a woman on a mission. Anakin might be completely in a panic over the pregnancy but she was going to head this off. It was just too convenient that she was now being plagued with dreams of her own death, the very night after an unavoidable dinner with the man she had a growing distaste for.
And, deep where she would never tell her husband, she had a nasty suspicion he was trying to shove Anakin off a cliff of irredeemable violence. The Chancellor might not have commented on her state, but his eyes were not as easily fooled by their shared heritage of concealing fashion.
Today, she was going to go enlist the aid of the Jedi, while Anakin was tied up being the poster boy of the GAR. She had all of her diplomatic shields in place, and had the perfect cover story to do this with.
After all, with Jedi having lost so many, surely the Force would be interested in adding a few more children to the future.
Vokara Che was every bit as imposing in her domain as Anakin had said. However, her status as a long time ally had convinced Master Fisto to bring her down to the Healer's Wing. She had pleaded with him, and the healer, that there could not be a father, not when she was a mature woman who knew how to guard against such!
"You were correct that the pregnancy is heavily Force-influenced," Vokara said after several minutes of making Padmé wonder if the healer was going to break her constructed version of events. "You are carrying two very healthy, very Force-active fetuses."
Two. TWO?!
She was not going to faint like the damsel of a holo-drama. "Thank you, Master Che. Given my precarious positioning within the advocates for peace, and past attempts, I could not, in all honesty, acquire medical aid in the typical fashion. Given how my dreams are affected, and having such strange hunches of late, I turned to your Temple in hope."
"A wise choice." For a long moment, Vokara held her eyes, and Padmé knew that the healer was not actually buying the spontaneous pregnancy. A twitch of the lekku, however, indicated the secret was safe. "These hunches, I believe that Master Windu should possibly help sort them out with you."
Oh. Well, that might be the right way to go as well.
Kit, even before the appointment in medical had ended, had gone to find his age-mate. He did so in one of the botanical rooms. "Master Windu," he began. "And Master Yoda," he added to be polite, despite the ancient peering at one of the plants intently.
"Hmm," came over top of Mace's cautious "Master Fisto", and Kit grinned a little that his creche-mate had already detected the mild mischief Kit was feeling.
They all needed a little bit of amusement.
"Senator Amidala has come, and is being tended to by Master Che," Kit began, and both men looked sharply at him. "I do wonder about that old prophecy that was discussed when Master Jinn found a boy on a desert world with no father… as she is here to see about a Force-induced pregnancy as well."
Yoda's ears went flat, Mace's eyes narrowed, and Kit merely smiled.
Mace looked at the woman who had been a solid ally, and the subject of not a small part of gossip. He did not, for a moment, believe the story of no father, but in her political setting, it was for the best to go along with it.
"Master Che said you have been plagued by hunches of late, ones that play out true."
He set a mild tisane in front of her, and took a second one for himself.
"I think the Force has concerns about the path we are on, despite recent developments. After all, if the Count has been neutralized, and Master Kenobi is on the trail of their general… who will keep the momentum up to line pockets with war money, and build such sizable powers through war-time legislation?" Amidala asked, meeting the man's eyes squarely. "I am all but certain you and your peers have had the same intuitions."
Was she — had she —
Maybe Skywalker had been more circumspect than Mace had believed. For all that Amidala was firmly an adherent of a peaceful resolution, her physical and vocal cues were running in tandem with the Council's own suspicions.
"Perhaps we are looking in that same direction," he said.
"If the other Sith, the one Dooku spoke of on our side, is out there, I am certain he would try to harm those touched so firmly by the Light Side as ones fathered by the Force," Amidala told him. "I shudder to think of what such a being might have done had they had access to your Knight Skywalker for all the years of this phantom menace over us."
That, Mace decided, was both accusation and… an invitation to look more closely at how the cards were laid out.
And he had to admit she had a point.
"Anakin!"
"Chancellor."
"I do hope the scandal hasn't harmed your friendship with the Senator."
"What scandal?"
The exchange, handled in the hearing of several itinerant reporters, brought their elder statesman up short, until someone added the right question.
"That she's pregnant with no father in sight," the reporter with blood money in his pockets called out.
"You really think Senator Amidala would stoop to such petty, low-brow nonsense?" Anakin asked them, in his best 'are you kidding me' voice, and he caught the frown on his old 'friend'. He was so glad Saesse Tiin had been able and willing to explore the past several years in his head. "She's having children as the will of the Force, and we Jedi take that kind of thing very seriously."
He then kept walking, leaving the Chancellor stewing, the reporters trying to digest how to spin this, and a feeling that he could not have handled it that way without the Council all suddenly intent on supporting him. He didn't know what had changed there, but he couldn't wait to tell Obi-Wan all about it.
And the Force Twins, because he had to admit, he really hadn't had a lot of time, and they both used precautions.
Chancellor Sheev Palpatine was in a fury. He had primed the well perfectly, and somehow… somehow every insinuation and control he'd put in place had been cut off in the Chosen One. All because of some insane story concocted by the woman that had long since outlived her usefulness.
Any day now, that wretched Kenobi would be returning, and Sheev would have to find a different way to acquire everything he wanted… unless he acted now? He went to his desk to find the comm unit. He needed to provoke the right circumstance, to make it clear he was saving them from the Jedi, but what would it take?
The comm lit up in his hand.
What?
With the Force, he flipped the hood of his cape up, securing it to conceal his features, and turned it on.
"What do you know, that frequency is picked up, Commander," came the very annoying, should-be-dead voice of the Togruta menace. He hastily turned it off, throwing it into the back of the locked drawers.
The knocking at the door that came next, including a call of 'Coruscant Security' sent chills down his back.
He wondered idly if his own Master had felt this the night Sheev had gleefully murdered him.
Mace pinched the bridge of his nose, then looked over at the newest Master of the Council who was pretending he didn't want to hurry out and see a certain Senator. He then looked at Kenobi, who was waiting to be briefed on how and why the Chancellor had been killed in the midst of being served with detention papers.
"A tip from an ally told us to double check Skywalker for undue influence," Kit said, looking entirely too merry in the telling.
"Padmé," Anakin offered cheerfully. "She's having Force twins."
Mace did not groan. It really did sound like Skywalker believed that.
"Removing that," Saesee said, "let us more clearly see the shape of a possible end game, orchestrated to cast us all as traitors."
"Meanwhile, Skywalker's commander had been working on another angle of the endgame," Agen said.
"Leading him and Tano to turning up a plan to make the man expose himself, using the very tools meant to kill us all," Kit said, "by triggering a comm device he should not have had while we were keeping him very securely under comm surveillance with Naboo's and CorSec's cooperation."
"How did you get CorSec to agree to such?" Kenobi asked.
"Amidala implied that she had noticed a malevolent presence while dining with the man, and could they please keep it under wraps that there could be such a threat near the center of government?" Shaak Ti said, eyes dancing with mirth.
"A very tidy end, I suppose." Kenobi then looked at Mace with a deadpan face. "So, how are those prophecies handling the idea of three Force-fathered children?"
Mace did not, as he wanted to, flip the man's hood over his head with the Force.
Padmé smiled, despite fatigue, as she held her daughter, and Anakin held her son. Eventually, they might admit the farce.
Then again, listening to Anakin telling Luke all about the wonders of what the Force could do…
… maybe it was better to leave it at this. What really mattered was that they were all saved from the Sith.
Me-and-media update
Jan. 11th, 2026 04:55 pmchina_shopPrevious poll review
In the Comfort food poll, 55.6% of respondents said their preferred comfort food is chocolate, and 46.7% said savoury carbs. In ticky-boxes, 'juicy intricate poetry words' and 'pushing on through' came second equal (40% each) to hugs (80%). Thank you for your votes! <3
Reading
I listened to half an m/m romance audiobook that I selected for one of its readers (Will Watt), but the overuse of "fucking" as an intensifier (and in particular, the repeated phrase, "he was so fucking hot") kept making me roll my eyes. It might be a faithful reproduction of the inner monologue of a first-year uni student, but I don't read romances for verisimilitude. So I switched to The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary, read by Carrie Hope Fletcher and Kwaku Fortune, seen mentioned on my flist. I'm halfway through and enjoying it immensely. ETA:
A little more Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain in hardcopy. Nothing in ebook.
Kdramas
Andrew and I have nearly finished The Guest. I want to ship the OT3, but I don't really care about the priest. (Sorry, priest guy! Alas, you are not my type.) Still, it is a great (gory/horror-y) show, and I've conveniently forgotten some of the developments. We just have one episode to go.
A bit more of While You Were Sleeping, a few episodes of Cashero (I'm not sure I'm in the mood for established relationship, but otoh, Junho! ♥), and a marathon-running BL called Mr. Heart, which was sweet but extremely slight.
Where is the next Love Scout/Family by Choice/whatever??
Other TV
Finished Stranger Things, which got so complex that I lazily stopped following the logic and just watched it as a collection of scenes. But I enjoyed those well enough. So glad they got their victory lap.
Three episodes of Heated Rivalry.
Anyway, my prediction that it's probably not for me has proven correct. Like, I can tell that the show is made of crack (in the addictive sense), but I'm not into super-buff dudes, and I didn't like the 'fucking but feeling kind of miserable about it' vibe I was getting from Hollander. He deserves better.
But I kept going for episode 3, and I'm really glad I did. There was thecoffee smoothie shop not-AU and ♥Kip♥ and his friends and family. And Scott, who fell for Kip in 2.3 seconds like a parched man stumbling into an oasis and, okay, is messed up, but at least self-aware and ~able to communicate~ and ~say nice things~! They were such a breath of fresh air! All the "smoothies" for both of them!
So that (predictably) is me. And I'm actually kind of relieved, because while the show is compelling and well-acted, it's not what I want in a fandom, and anyway, I'm hardly even managing to keep up with my quiet corner of Guardian fandom atm. I may watch the last three episodes at some point, idk. Wishing those of you who're into it all the very best with your new addiction!!
Audio entertainment
Writing Excuses, Cross Party Lines, Letters from an American, more of Our Opinions Are Correct (Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz's podcast) including the Murderbot episode, Tech Won't Save Us, the starts of a few other things.
Writing/making things
I've been practising drawing, and picking up art supplies in bits and pieces. The moldable eraser is magic.
(Imperfect, but I think it's identifiable, which is not nothing. I darkened the linework a little in Paint.NET.)
For my future reference, this all started because I wanted to draw Bingo from Bluey!, which led me down a Youtube Art Videos For Kids rabbit hole. Then I bought new colour pencils and was noodling around with them, and people said nice things about some of my doodles... :-) Art Youtube For Adults is also really lovely, btw -- full of super-talented people being encouraging and helpful.
I've written a treat forfandomtrees, but I need to make some edits, and I have no attention span. Chances of my finishing it are about 90%, and chances of any further treats are more like 30% at this stage. Maybe one day I'll be able to make art gifts...
Life/health/mental state things
My arms are gradually improving, but I'm anxious about them. Andrew's having an operation this Thursday; I'll need to be able to bike and drive and cook and so on, and I'm still sore half the time. So I've started swimming again. (I stopped partly because I was avoiding public spaces where I couldn't mask, and partly because my long post-lockdown hair stays damp all day. But the outdoor pool is open for the summer, so I'm going for it.)
I just bought a small $2 desk at a junk shop so that I have a workspace to retreat to downstairs while Andrew's recuperating on the couch in the living room. I'll see how that goes.
I have a hand-me-down mini air fryer from my parents which I still haven't taken out for a spin. Quick/easy meal suggestions very welcome, especially if they're things I can throw together late at night, post hospital visits. (NB: I don't do onions or brassicas.)
Good things
Andrew, swimming, drawing, Kdramas, Guardian, Zhao Yunlaaaan, modern medicine. Cat:
In the Comfort food poll, 55.6% of respondents said their preferred comfort food is chocolate, and 46.7% said savoury carbs. In ticky-boxes, 'juicy intricate poetry words' and 'pushing on through' came second equal (40% each) to hugs (80%). Thank you for your votes! <3
Reading
I listened to half an m/m romance audiobook that I selected for one of its readers (Will Watt), but the overuse of "fucking" as an intensifier (and in particular, the repeated phrase, "he was so fucking hot") kept making me roll my eyes. It might be a faithful reproduction of the inner monologue of a first-year uni student, but I don't read romances for verisimilitude. So I switched to The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary, read by Carrie Hope Fletcher and Kwaku Fortune, seen mentioned on my flist. I'm halfway through and enjoying it immensely. ETA:
Warnings.
Contains past emotionally abusive relationship, stalking, and PTSD.A little more Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain in hardcopy. Nothing in ebook.
Kdramas
Andrew and I have nearly finished The Guest. I want to ship the OT3, but I don't really care about the priest. (Sorry, priest guy! Alas, you are not my type.) Still, it is a great (gory/horror-y) show, and I've conveniently forgotten some of the developments. We just have one episode to go.
A bit more of While You Were Sleeping, a few episodes of Cashero (I'm not sure I'm in the mood for established relationship, but otoh, Junho! ♥), and a marathon-running BL called Mr. Heart, which was sweet but extremely slight.
Where is the next Love Scout/Family by Choice/whatever??
Other TV
Finished Stranger Things, which got so complex that I lazily stopped following the logic and just watched it as a collection of scenes. But I enjoyed those well enough. So glad they got their victory lap.
Three episodes of Heated Rivalry.
Minor spoilers; tl;dr not my thing.
Wow, I'd heard it was fanficcy, but I wasn't prepared for the total absence of anything resembling an external plot. Like, not even a figleaf. Not even a hockey arc. How??Anyway, my prediction that it's probably not for me has proven correct. Like, I can tell that the show is made of crack (in the addictive sense), but I'm not into super-buff dudes, and I didn't like the 'fucking but feeling kind of miserable about it' vibe I was getting from Hollander. He deserves better.
But I kept going for episode 3, and I'm really glad I did. There was the
So that (predictably) is me. And I'm actually kind of relieved, because while the show is compelling and well-acted, it's not what I want in a fandom, and anyway, I'm hardly even managing to keep up with my quiet corner of Guardian fandom atm.
Audio entertainment
Writing Excuses, Cross Party Lines, Letters from an American, more of Our Opinions Are Correct (Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz's podcast) including the Murderbot episode, Tech Won't Save Us, the starts of a few other things.
Writing/making things
I've been practising drawing, and picking up art supplies in bits and pieces. The moldable eraser is magic.
Have a couple of sketches.
(Imperfect, but I think it's identifiable, which is not nothing. I darkened the linework a little in Paint.NET.)
For my future reference, this all started because I wanted to draw Bingo from Bluey!, which led me down a Youtube Art Videos For Kids rabbit hole. Then I bought new colour pencils and was noodling around with them, and people said nice things about some of my doodles... :-)
I've written a treat for
fandomtrees, but I need to make some edits, and I have no attention span. Chances of my finishing it are about 90%, and chances of any further treats are more like 30% at this stage. Maybe one day I'll be able to make art gifts...Life/health/mental state things
My arms are gradually improving, but I'm anxious about them. Andrew's having an operation this Thursday; I'll need to be able to bike and drive and cook and so on, and I'm still sore half the time. So I've started swimming again. (I stopped partly because I was avoiding public spaces where I couldn't mask, and partly because my long post-lockdown hair stays damp all day. But the outdoor pool is open for the summer, so I'm going for it.)
I just bought a small $2 desk at a junk shop so that I have a workspace to retreat to downstairs while Andrew's recuperating on the couch in the living room. I'll see how that goes.
I have a hand-me-down mini air fryer from my parents which I still haven't taken out for a spin. Quick/easy meal suggestions very welcome, especially if they're things I can throw together late at night, post hospital visits. (NB: I don't do onions or brassicas.)
Good things
Andrew, swimming, drawing, Kdramas, Guardian, Zhao Yunlaaaan, modern medicine. Cat:
Poll #34068 Om
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 50
Do you meditate?
View Answers
yes, regularly
4 (8.0%)
yes, from time to time
11 (22.0%)
I used to
6 (12.0%)
I used to occasionally
4 (8.0%)
what you mean by 'meditate'?
7 (14.0%)
no
21 (42.0%)
other
3 (6.0%)
ticky-box of being squeamish about fingernail clippings
2 (4.0%)
ticky-box full of hockey show squee
6 (12.0%)
ticky-box full of feeling kind of zonky
20 (40.0%)
ticky-box full of skipping across treetops and dancing through the clouds
23 (46.0%)
ticky-box full of hugs
37 (74.0%)
2025 reading wrap up
Jan. 11th, 2026 11:39 amfred_mousehopefully this storygraph link goes to the public option, not the for me specifically option.
I'm choosing to not look at what was planned; I've already posted about my 5 star reads and some other thinking. This is me just reading through and having feelings.
- The first (We Were Dreamers, Simu Liu, biography) and last (The House That Horror Built, Christina Henry, horror) sure are an interesting juxtaposition
- The 'mood' graph seems weird and I wish it wasn't there
- Going back to study had a noticeable effect on how much I was reading, which is not a surprise
- I hate the way that storygraph does 'genre' because my top five are fantasy, science fiction, short stories, LGBTQIA+, and horror, only three of which I consider to be genres.
- 15 days per book as an average just shows how much my reading is an overlapping thing.
- 'top authors' - Katherine MacLean was 4 (that can't be right, there were 8 short stories, I must not have tracked them all), Premee Mohammed (3 stories, hmm, something odd there as well), and Dave Warner (3 books, that's a trilogy)
- average rating 3.75 - probably because the DNF/0 don't get counted; I gave 11 2 star ratings, which seems more than I would have expected. Most frequent rating of 4 is also higher than I would have expected.
- somehow there were 52 'new to me' authors, which is interesting because I felt like I was sticking to comfortable stuff.
- DNF - 22 books; not sure if that feels high
- read 24 of my books - I bet that this is an undercount, because I don't always mark books as owned, particularly if I only have them as ebook.
- it is weird that my highest rated reads tend to be non-fiction, because I read so little of it
I clicked through to the more detail
- most commonly applied tag is 'borrowed', applied to 21 books. 21 borrowed + 24 owned =/= the number read
- I need to update the tags on some, because they don't have the
-readsuffix added
(no subject)
Jan. 11th, 2026 09:35 amfred_mouseYesterday, I was having a conversation with Youngest about (SF) con-running. The topic was international guests, and what the timelines are for inviting them.
I said something flippant about 'well, that timeline would be doable these days, because everyone has email, at least we don't have to write letters'. And there was that moment where I could see Youngest's world view shift in real time, so we talked in a bit more detail about my memories of the first con I was involved in running*. That in 1996, when we were approaching people to be guests, email addresses were not ubiquitous**. That our primary method of contact was letters. And then I talked about the fact that we had to assume a best case scenario of a month turn around on anything we sent.
What I didn't think to say, is that because of that, there is a reasonably high chance that there is a letter from Douglas Adams in the WASFF archive. The reasons there might not be is that it might be from their agent, or it may have been lost when various documents were transferred to the archives.
* I was Treasurer for SwanCon 23 in 1998; that committee then did a quick reshuffle and ran SwanCon 25 in 2000. I started my committee habit early -- I was on the UniSFA (UWA SF club) as Fresher rep ('92), President ('93) and IPP ('94).
**We got into a side discussion about how rare email addresses were in 1992, when I got my first email address, when the uni I studied at decided to do the somewhat radical thing of provide an email address to any student who requested one, regardless of faculty. I'd love to know what the thinking was and whether it was 'this is going to become essential knowledge' or if it was something more.
3262. Snowflake #4: Recs
Jan. 10th, 2026 08:47 pmhitokageSnowflake #4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page
instructions unclear ... so have some podcats! No links, look them up on your pod-catcher of choice. Or don't, it's entirely up to you.
99% Invisible - general nerdery. In theory, this is an architecture podcast, but it's so much more than that. Started off on the actual radio with episodes starting at ~5min and slowly getting longer over time as they moved firmly into Podcast full time. I'm still working my way through the archive, but worth the deep dive.
Rachel Maddow Presents - political history and commentary. I highly recommend all of them, but her latest, Burn Notice, feels especially important right now. It's US history we aren't taught but probably ought to be.
You Are Good - film commentary. I've fallen behind due to The Horrors. They've got an eclectic mix of films they've discussed from a "how we feel" perspective and it's always interesting, even if I'm not that familiar with the film in question.
American Hysteria - pop culture. Chelsey has sometimes fallen into the white leftist trap of talking out their ass, but they generally mean well and are trying to de-construct America's moral panics of past and present in good faith.
Astonishing Legends - paranormal/supernatural investigation. Pay attention to episode length before jumping in on this one - true episodes are usually around 1-1.5hours with some installments running as long as 4 hours and some stories being told over 3-4 parts. I've been listening to this one for over a year now and I'm still in the archives because of how long the episodes are. XD
instructions unclear ... so have some podcats! No links, look them up on your pod-catcher of choice. Or don't, it's entirely up to you.
99% Invisible - general nerdery. In theory, this is an architecture podcast, but it's so much more than that. Started off on the actual radio with episodes starting at ~5min and slowly getting longer over time as they moved firmly into Podcast full time. I'm still working my way through the archive, but worth the deep dive.
Rachel Maddow Presents - political history and commentary. I highly recommend all of them, but her latest, Burn Notice, feels especially important right now. It's US history we aren't taught but probably ought to be.
You Are Good - film commentary. I've fallen behind due to The Horrors. They've got an eclectic mix of films they've discussed from a "how we feel" perspective and it's always interesting, even if I'm not that familiar with the film in question.
American Hysteria - pop culture. Chelsey has sometimes fallen into the white leftist trap of talking out their ass, but they generally mean well and are trying to de-construct America's moral panics of past and present in good faith.
Astonishing Legends - paranormal/supernatural investigation. Pay attention to episode length before jumping in on this one - true episodes are usually around 1-1.5hours with some installments running as long as 4 hours and some stories being told over 3-4 parts. I've been listening to this one for over a year now and I'm still in the archives because of how long the episodes are. XD
Simulant and synthetic diamonds (and others)
Jan. 10th, 2026 10:20 amcahnSo I'm going to talk about one of my major fandoms (that I don't usually talk about here), shiny things, because I can! (I started this post more than a month ago and it is high time to actually finish and post it.) In particular, I want to talk about diamond simulants and lab diamonds (although there's also very recently been some cool stuff about lab sapphires too). The funny thing is, I've never been a super fan of diamonds in general. I mean, I'm not going to say no to them! they are very shiny, and they have some cool dispersion (splits light into component colors, like a prism, so you get little rainbow flashes if it's cut well), and I love that they're super hard and come in octahedral crystals, but I have always been a colored stones kind of kid. But! In the last ten years there have been a ton of developments in this fandom relating to diamond simulants and lab diamonds, which I think is very neat.
First I want to define what I'm talking about.
Natural diamonds / earth-mined diamonds are diamonds that occur naturally in the Earth's crust and are mined from the ground.
Diamond simulants are not diamonds, but other substances that look enough like diamonds that they are used in jewelry that might otherwise use diamonds. I'll talk about cubic zirconia and moissanite as diamond simulants later on.
Synthetic diamonds / lab diamonds are chemically identical (*) to natural diamonds but are made in a lab.
( Apologies if you happen to love diamonds, but I find the whole natural diamond thing kind of obnoxious in several ways. )
( Brief discussion of cubic zirconia, and the rise of moissanite )
( The rise of lab diamonds )
( Lab ruby/sapphire: Some recent cool news on the lab sapphire front )
( Photos )
(*) There are little things that can be different, so generally speaking lab diamonds can be distinguished from natural diamonds by a laboratory, but basically they're both made of carbon and look identical, especially if you have the same "grades" in one as another.
(**) When I refer to "carat" in the context of diamond simulants in particular, I will always be referring to "size of an ideal-cut diamond," which is about 6.5mm in diameter for a round diamond. Simulants will have different weights than a carat, of course, but generally the industry refers to a "1 ct moissanite" as something that mimics a 1 ct diamond, even though the corresponding cubic zirconia will actually be heavier than a carat and the corresponding moissanite will be lighter! Of course, "carat" when referring to colored stones just directly means the weight of that stone.
(+) www.diamondcz.co.uk came along in 2004, importing well-cut cz from China, and took well-cut cz from a relatively expensive niche market to super cheap!
(***) And even less (<~$300/ct last I looked) if you're willing to deal with Chinese companies directly -- it turns out there are whole subreddits devoted to both moissanite and lab diamonds that have instructions on this.
(****) Also emerald and garnet! Lab emerald in particular is a very big thing, very popular these days among people who buy lab gems, though emerald is not as much my thing so I don't know as much about it. Lab garnet can also be doped to get a lot of different colors, which is fun. Emeralds can't be made by the super cheap processes so they've taken a couple of decades longer to get cheap enough to be popular, but nowadays you can easily get them cheaply.
First I want to define what I'm talking about.
Natural diamonds / earth-mined diamonds are diamonds that occur naturally in the Earth's crust and are mined from the ground.
Diamond simulants are not diamonds, but other substances that look enough like diamonds that they are used in jewelry that might otherwise use diamonds. I'll talk about cubic zirconia and moissanite as diamond simulants later on.
Synthetic diamonds / lab diamonds are chemically identical (*) to natural diamonds but are made in a lab.
( Apologies if you happen to love diamonds, but I find the whole natural diamond thing kind of obnoxious in several ways. )
( Brief discussion of cubic zirconia, and the rise of moissanite )
( The rise of lab diamonds )
( Lab ruby/sapphire: Some recent cool news on the lab sapphire front )
( Photos )
(*) There are little things that can be different, so generally speaking lab diamonds can be distinguished from natural diamonds by a laboratory, but basically they're both made of carbon and look identical, especially if you have the same "grades" in one as another.
(**) When I refer to "carat" in the context of diamond simulants in particular, I will always be referring to "size of an ideal-cut diamond," which is about 6.5mm in diameter for a round diamond. Simulants will have different weights than a carat, of course, but generally the industry refers to a "1 ct moissanite" as something that mimics a 1 ct diamond, even though the corresponding cubic zirconia will actually be heavier than a carat and the corresponding moissanite will be lighter! Of course, "carat" when referring to colored stones just directly means the weight of that stone.
(+) www.diamondcz.co.uk came along in 2004, importing well-cut cz from China, and took well-cut cz from a relatively expensive niche market to super cheap!
(***) And even less (<~$300/ct last I looked) if you're willing to deal with Chinese companies directly -- it turns out there are whole subreddits devoted to both moissanite and lab diamonds that have instructions on this.
(****) Also emerald and garnet! Lab emerald in particular is a very big thing, very popular these days among people who buy lab gems, though emerald is not as much my thing so I don't know as much about it. Lab garnet can also be doped to get a lot of different colors, which is fun. Emeralds can't be made by the super cheap processes so they've taken a couple of decades longer to get cheap enough to be popular, but nowadays you can easily get them cheaply.
snowflake challenge 2026 - day 4
Jan. 11th, 2026 10:54 amtielanChallenge #4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page
Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!
Okay, so it's really easiest to go to my AO3 works page, which currently has a broad variety of fandoms on it, including some of my very old ones.
( 20 recs from Keltiad, Discworld/DCCU, Bridgerton, MCU, Pern, Pacific Rim, BSG 2003, Stargate SG1/Stargate Atlantis, and Narnia )
--
So looking through the stories, there's a really broad variety of themes and characters, quite a lot of fandoms, but also some recurring concepts: "found family", "true love isn't just the once and never again", "working through the complexities of a situation when you don't have a guidebook", and so forth.
Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!
Okay, so it's really easiest to go to my AO3 works page, which currently has a broad variety of fandoms on it, including some of my very old ones.
( 20 recs from Keltiad, Discworld/DCCU, Bridgerton, MCU, Pern, Pacific Rim, BSG 2003, Stargate SG1/Stargate Atlantis, and Narnia )
--
So looking through the stories, there's a really broad variety of themes and characters, quite a lot of fandoms, but also some recurring concepts: "found family", "true love isn't just the once and never again", "working through the complexities of a situation when you don't have a guidebook", and so forth.
[Sale Promotion] Humble Bundle's Fierce Women of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
Jan. 10th, 2026 07:56 pmsilversea posting in booknookHumble Bundle's running a sale where you can pick up 65 science fiction, fantasy, and horror books by women for only $18 through January 31st.
Pretty good deal, if you ask me!
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/fierce-women-science-fiction-fantasy-horror-open-road-media-books
Edited: Apparently this bundle is only available in the US (unsure if it's available in Canada?).
Pretty good deal, if you ask me!
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/fierce-women-science-fiction-fantasy-horror-open-road-media-books
Edited: Apparently this bundle is only available in the US (unsure if it's available in Canada?).
Daily Check In.
Jan. 10th, 2026 06:23 pmadafrog posting in fandom_checkinThis is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Saturday to midnight on Sunday (8pm Eastern Time).
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
Poll #34067 Daily poll
This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 34
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 34
How are you doing?
I am okay
17 (51.5%)
I am not okay, but don't need help right now
16 (48.5%)
I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans are you living with?
I am living single
12 (35.3%)
One other person
14 (41.2%)
More than one other person
8 (23.5%)
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
poem for the day
Jan. 10th, 2026 07:19 pmtheladyscribeStumbled across this one again, and it's still so good.
Catch a Body
by Ilse Bendorf
Salinger, I’m sorry, but “Don’t ever tell
anybody anything” is a string of words
I would like to wrap up in canvas and sink
to the bottom of the Hudson, or extract
by laser from the ribcage of all of us
who ever believed it, who felt afraid
to miss someone, to be the last one
standing. “Tell everyone everything” is
not exactly right, but I do believe that if
your mother looks radiant in violet
you should tell her, or when a juvenile
sparrow thrashes its wings in dustpiles
and reminds you of a lover’s eyelashes,
you should say so. We are islands all of us,
but we are also boats, our secrets flares,
pyrotechnic devices by which we signal
there’s someone in here we’re still alive!
So maybe it’s, “don’t be afraid.” We can
rewrite Icarus, flame-resistant feathers,
wax that won’t melt, I mean it, I’ll draw up
a prototype right now, that burning ball
of orange won’t stop us, it’ll be everything
we dream the morning after, even if we fall
into the sea—we are boats, remember?
We are pirates. We move in nautical miles.
Each other’s anchors, each other’s buoys,
the rocket’s red, already the world entire.
Catch a Body
by Ilse Bendorf
Salinger, I’m sorry, but “Don’t ever tell
anybody anything” is a string of words
I would like to wrap up in canvas and sink
to the bottom of the Hudson, or extract
by laser from the ribcage of all of us
who ever believed it, who felt afraid
to miss someone, to be the last one
standing. “Tell everyone everything” is
not exactly right, but I do believe that if
your mother looks radiant in violet
you should tell her, or when a juvenile
sparrow thrashes its wings in dustpiles
and reminds you of a lover’s eyelashes,
you should say so. We are islands all of us,
but we are also boats, our secrets flares,
pyrotechnic devices by which we signal
there’s someone in here we’re still alive!
So maybe it’s, “don’t be afraid.” We can
rewrite Icarus, flame-resistant feathers,
wax that won’t melt, I mean it, I’ll draw up
a prototype right now, that burning ball
of orange won’t stop us, it’ll be everything
we dream the morning after, even if we fall
into the sea—we are boats, remember?
We are pirates. We move in nautical miles.
Each other’s anchors, each other’s buoys,
the rocket’s red, already the world entire.