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😊🧑‍💻🌐

No more blank link previews (for public posts) 😊 Code Tour: 2024-12-01 to 2026-02-25

(I actually saw this on the GitHub push tracker journal thing a bit ago but didn’t actually test it, though I assume it worked already at that point.)

🐘 🦋

some good things make a post

inCompleted White Puzzle!!! We were right about That One Piece being the missing one, and now that I'm not worried about spoilers I have poked the internet and it (mostly in the form of reddit) confirms that Those Are The Missing Bit.
one (1) orchid flower is all the way open!
supermarket had discount fancy croissant, so we are most of the way to prepped for Fancy Breakfast tomorrow morning :)

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links

(no subject)

* I find SMBC pretty hit and miss these days, but today's comic smacked me in the face. :-)

* Idk if 4am!me's brain worries more than it should, or daytime!me's brain worries less than it should. I just know we're in a circular standoff, and I'm very tired.

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The Black Fantastic: 20 Afrofuturist Stories, ed. andré m. carrington (2025) [part 2]

This is part two of my book club notes on The Black Fantastic. (Part one is here.)

"Sanford and Sun" by Dawolu Jabari Anderson (2015)

( Sun Ra makes a guest appearance on the 1970s sitcom Sanford and Son. )

"A Song for You" by Jennifer Marie Brissett (2015)

( A girl finds the disembodied head of a singing android who lived out the legend of Orpheus during wartime. )

"Tender" by Sofia Samatar (2015)

( A woman who wrecked her life as a human undergoes a cyborg transformation so she can monitor a radioactive waste disposal site. )

"The Malady of Need" by Kiini Ibura Salaam (2016)

( This is the second time I've read this story and I still don't know what happens in it. )

Entry tags:

We tried fun security, but nobody felt safe.

+ There's a fun YouTube telethon/donation drive beginning in 4 and a half hours I'm strongly considering staying up for.

Why watch the State of the Union, when you could watch your favorite unhinged Bluesky posters share their weird hobbies, niche obsessions, and scorching hot takes?
(streamed here and I'm assuming directly on yt but couldn't find the link)

It's at 2.30 for me, but my sleep schedule is kind of fucked atm anyways. If I watch this and then just get up early, there's a chance I can flip it.

+ Curious Travels Tarot arrived today, and I don't think I've ever handled a deck that felt this good. I'm astounded this is mass market, it's so buttery smooth but textured at the same time; a joy to hold. I just keep fondling the cards lol.

+ In other things that bring joy: I started watching Starfleet Academy and it is full of precious characters whose faces I'd like to smoosh and keep safe forever. A bit heavy on the For Teens stuff, and sadly one character has been heavily relegated to The Girl category which I am extremely bored by, but otherwise excellent faces and much invading of personal space yay.

+ Posted some icons, yes I did!

01-04 the x-files
05-12 starfleet academy
13-16 st voyager + discovery
17-20 sw prequel movies + mandalorian
21-26 fallout
27-31 comics
32-36 misc tv
37-40 movies (eileen, inside out, batman returns)

H E R E

Nominations Clarification 2

Nominations will close on Feb 25, 11:59PM UTC, a little over a day from now.

Gentle reminder: Please disambiguate your relationship nominations (include the fandom in parentheses behind the relationship)! This will help your nominations get approved faster.

If there are duplicates, wandering tags, or other errors in the tagset, please let me know.

Clarifications
Creator's Choice of Fandom is not accepted. Please nominate under a specific fandom.

Star Trek
Katrina Cornwell & Philippa Georgiou
Katrina Cornwell/Christopher Pike
Katrina Cornwell/Mirror Philippa Georgiou
Marie Batel & Number One | Una Chin-Riley
Marie Batel/Christopher Pike
Marie Batel/Katrina Cornwell
Marie Batel/Number One | Una Chin-Riley

Please nominate under a specific Star Trek instalment.

Midsomer Murders - All Media Types
Charlie Nelson/Jamie Winter (Midsomer Murders)
Fleur Perkins & Jamie Winter (Midsomer Murders)
John Barnaby & Charlie Nelson (Midsomer Murders)
John Barnaby & Jamie Winter (Midsomer Murders)
John Barnaby/Sarah Barnaby (Midsomer Murders)
Midsomer Inhabitants & Causton CID (Midsomer Murders)
Sarah Barnaby & Jamie Winter (Midsomer Murders)

Please nominate under a specific media type.

Entry tags:

fic: take whatever you need to take and leave the rest

Fic: take whatever you need to take and leave the rest
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Pitt (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Melissa “Mel” King & Frank Langdon, Becca King & Melissa “Mel” King, Becca King & Frank Langdon
Characters: Frank Langdon, Melissa “Mel” King, Becca King, Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, Baran Al-Hashimi
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, well just slightly, set during season 2, branches off after episode 5, who is mel going to trust to treat her sister?, do you really need to ask?, frank needs someone to trust him, mel needs someone to reassure her, good thing they’re in the same space again
Summary:

“I’ll look her over,” Robby says.

“Um, thank you,” Mel says. “But, um, can Dr. Langdon do it?”

Frank isn’t sure which is more gratifying: Mel’s request or the expression on Robby’s face.

“Oh, we want Ms. King to have the very best care,” Robby says, voice a bit tight behind the jocularity. “She’s family, after all. I think I can spare a few minutes to make sure she’s okay.”

Fuck him. Frank’s hand flexes just as Mel’s jaw tightens. Becca’s eyes are darting around anxiously and she’s flapping both of her hands now.

“I appreciate that,” Mel says. “But I’d like Dr. Langdon to be the one to treat her.”

Her voice is steely in a way that Frank hasn’t heard from her before, her eyes fierce as she holds Robby’s gaze. A little shudder passes through Frank and he sucks in a deep breath even as he fights to keep his face neutral.

Entry tags:

books,
queer stuff

(no subject)

So yeah, I finished Stone Butch Blues last week and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I had braced myself for endless suffering, and there was so much suffering, but I am still so glad I read it.

There was almost nothing in it I related to (except being very pro-union lol) and much that I found perplexing (mostly the sex stuff--no shock there--and some of the ideas about gender that are quite dated but important), but I also learned a ton. I struggled with the first few chapters because I found the prose too...simple? That's not the right word. It just wasn't stylistically what I enjoy. Too many short sentences in a row. But I came to appreciate it as a way of evoking the voice of a working-class, (formally) uneducated woman who is struggling to find her place in the world.

The episodic nature of the book creates its own rhythm; it's essentially a book about a woman finding community and/or stability, then losing it (often in incredibly violent circumstances), sinking into depression, then fighting for it again, repeat repeat repeat. Jess and her friends are living their lives in a constant state of danger, and they know it. Most of the violence comes from the state (the police are the truest villains in the book) or through the powers of capital. It's a communist book, though it's not as overtly communist as I kind of expected being familiar with Leslie's politics and life. I thought it did a great job of handling the political stuff. I was particularly moved by the queerplatonic relationship between Jess and her neighbor, who is a transwoman, and I think it's significant that after a book about Jess trying to find a sexual/romantic partnership that works for her, the (hopeful) ending is found in this friendship and work in labor organizing. Community is complicated and messy but absolutely vital and the lines between romantic/sexual relationships, friendships, solidarity partnerships, etc. are blurred in ways that I think is really realistic.

I appreciated talking about this book in community with a bunch of queer women/nonbinary folks, and I was fascinated by the very different ways that we read Jess's gender identity in particular. Jess didn't fit into the categories offered by the time in which she was living (late 50s through late 70s), but even though we have a lot more categories and labels now, I don't think she really fits into any of them either, which I really appreciated.

Shoutout to the two scenes that made me cry:

the fire where Jess loses everything and the scene where she goes to the institution to visit the older butch who had inspired her as a kid. That last one TORE ME UP

.

So yes, I have now read an important queer novel, and I'm glad I did.

Entry tags:

bookses precious

The Language of Liars, by S.L. Huang

Review copy provided by the publisher.

This is a novella with a whole range of aliens with different language features, wildly different environments, etc. Several of my friends just stopped reading this review to go pre-order or request that their library do so. You are correct, if that is the sort of thing you like, this sure is that thing.

What it does less successfully, I think, is the twist ending. I feel like this is a book that is for people who like science fiction about aliens, but for me, as soon as I knew the premise, I knew the ending, and I was correct. So if you're reading for the aliens, come on in; if you're reading for a clever twist you did not see coming, this is not that novella, that is not where Huang spent time and energy.

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Lord Seventh by priest

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

indonesia architecture

hello! im currently working on a fantasy story where the country it takes place in (or at the very least starts in- im still figuring out plot details) is inspired by indonesia, but im having trouble finding good resources about indonesian architecture in the vague time period im writing in- i dont have a specific idea beyond the vague medieval times setting most fantasy stories use, but im more than willing to try and narrow it down if it helps. if anyone has resources i could look into, that would be very helpful!

(no subject)

Hi all! I come with a quick update from behind the scenes - I know it looks like there's a lot of works missing, but there's only one assignment we're still checking the status of and everything else is ACCOUNTED FOR.

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weekly update

Me-and-media update

Previous poll review
In the Fourth walls poll, 68.2% of respondents said "the one-way glass that stops TPTB seeing fannish activity" is important to them; 65.9% said "the one that shields fandom from public/media attention", and 61.4% said "the wibbly-wobby physics-defying thing that means celebs and fans exist in separate universes that just happen to occupy the same space-time". About one in five respondents love ALL the walls.

In ticky-boxes, ballooooooooons and golden sparkles won 54.5% of the vote, coming second to hugs (77.3%), but the other tickies made pretty good showings too. Thank you for your votes! ♥

Reading
I finished Courtney Milan's The Marquis Who Mustn't and enjoyed it very much. Such a kind, good-hearted series with a lovely sense of community and a spark of mischief. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Then I ploughed through one of my randomly selected library books, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman. I found this a delightful read and very moreish. It's voicey, with a distractable, occasionally omniscient 3rd POV scattered with pop culture references. I appreciated it's acceptance of introversion and valuing of alone time. Also, the main character has anxiety, and it didn't really try to fix her.

Andrew and I are still slowly listening to Barrayar by Bujold, read by Grover Gardner.

Kdramas
Juuust enough has happened in One Spring Night that I'm into it. I mean, it's still going around in circles, but I'm most of the way through episode 14, and I'm definitely going to finish. The story relies heavily on respectability, parental authority, and conservative attitudes for its conflict (the leading man is a single dad, OH NO!!), which took me a while to get my head around.

Other TV
Our journey through Middle Earth continues. We're on the second disc of extras for The Two Towers, and the actors seem a bit punchy in their interviews, lol. Other than that, just The Pitt. ♥ (My brother watched a few episodes of The Pitt and said it doesn't have a plot, and I... don't know how to answer that. There are mini-storylines with the patients. The capital-P plot, maybe? such as it is? has kicked in at episode whatever-we're-up-to. I feel like it totally works without a driving plot arc, because there are character/relationship arcs, and rising tension/pacing, and theme. Maybe that's all you need?)

I'm amused that I have three streaming service subscriptions and we're spending so much time watching DVDs.

Audio entertainment
More Better Offline, Tech Won't Save Us (the one about humanoid robots), Writing Excuses, Letters from an American, Pod Save America, Cross Party Lines, Fansplaining.

Online life
From you I have been absent in ~~the spring~~ February, quite a lot. My reading page seems pretty quiet, and I'm still having trouble keeping up; open tabs proliferate (that's the middle line of a haiku).

Writing/making things
I'm subsisting on alibi sentences. My creativity is sitting on a bench somewhere, staring blankly into the sky.

I keep failing to post the meta about adverbs in speech tags because it's so prescriptive, and who am I to say anything?

Life/health/mental state things
I don't know what I'm doing with my life. The world (mostly as presented by the above podcasts) is freaking me out. Yesterday I made fifty chicken dumplings and talked to my brother in NY.

Good things
Dumplings. Creativity is a tide. Sunshine. Grapes. Library books. Black cat lying on the very edge of a sunbeam. Independent media and reporting.

Poll #34285 spam SPAM spam

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 43

View Respondents

How often do you check your spam folder?

View Answers

daily
4 (9.3%)

weekly
4 (9.3%)

maybe once a month?
13 (30.2%)

only when I'm looking for a specific thing
22 (51.2%)

never have I ever
1 (2.3%)

other
3 (7.0%)

ticky-box full of prescriptive writing advice
4 (9.3%)

ticky-box full of blanket cocoons and comfort food
26 (60.5%)

ticky-box full of putting clutter in boxes instead of sorting it
21 (48.8%)

ticky-box full of koalas in gum trees, chewing eucalyptus and judging us all
25 (58.1%)

ticky-box full of hugs
32 (74.4%)

TWELVE HOURS

Good timezone, Purimgifters! By my math, there are a little over TWELVE HOURS left until it is no longer February 23 anywhere in the world!

If you’ve already posted, that’s fantastic! If you’ve already reached out to us about an extension or a backup, that’s also fantastic. Either way, now is an excellent time to check out our Posting Guide or our Embed Guide. For your mods’ sanity, please don’t wait until the very last minute to post! We’re happy to double-check tags, HTML, etc. for you; just send us a quick email.

If you’re not absolutely sure you’ll have your fics and art posted in the next 12 hours, you do still have a few options! Please email purim_gifts@yahoo.com ASAP if you think you need one of these.

Extension. If you’re absolutely sure you can complete your assignment, you just need another day or two, this option is for you. To request an extension, please email purim_gifts@yahoo.com!

Partial default. This option is for people who already know they can’t complete their assignment, but who want to post what they can complete. To request a partial default, please email purim_gifts@yahoo.com.

Full default. If you’re absolutely sure you can’t complete your assignment, this option is for you. You can activate it by emailing purim_gifts@yahoo.com, or by hitting the “Default” button at the AO3. Either way, you won’t be penalized for it; life happens, and we get that.

And finally, if you have questions about your options or just need a little encouragement, please email purim_gifts@yahoo.com ASAP. Don’t wait until the last minute to contact us! We’re happy to work with you, but we can’t help you if we don’t know what’s going on, and we do have to sleep at some point. Keep us in the loop and help us help you!

Squidgie calls for aid! Can anyone retrieve a memetic photo of John Sheppard’s butt?

squidgiepdx belongs to this comm, but he’s perpetually been some combination of sick and busy, so I’ve taken the liberty of helping him out.

He’s trying to track down a particular BTS shot from Stargate: Atlantis:

And now on to the SGA Picture part of the deal. So I wrote a quickie story for romancingmcshep about John Sheppard's ass (the fest goes until February 28th if you're interested!) and the whole story is based on a picture that NOBODY can find anymore. I KNOW! It's frustrating! Anyway, there's what I think is a "behind the scenes" shot of most likely S01E03 "Hide and Seek" or S01E05 "Suspicion" where it's focused on Joe Flanigan's butt. Like kinda blatantly. He's kneeling on the Gateroom floor over Rodney, I believe and you can see where his t-shirt is pulled up and the waistband of his BDUs are lower - showing some skin and some of his boxers. This is what I think the camera sees in that shot, as Sheppard is kneeling like that but I remember there being a whole lot more skin. Does anyone remember a BTS photo like this? SO FRUSTRATING that I can't find it when I know I've seen it a hundred times.

His post: https://squidgiepdx.dreamwidth.org/341626.html

Entry tags:

poetry

double poem day

Two of my poems were published today! They're both science-and-technology poems about immigration in the US in the past year. Secondary Filters is up at Strange Horizons, and an audio version of Leaning on the melting point is on the PoetTreeTown Soundcloud.

Entry tags:

chat corner

Chat corner, low on fluff

Hi,

this is the weekly chat corner here on Dreamwars. How are you? Anything Star Wars-y to talk about?

~ ~ ~

I've had the kitten on my lap when I started to write this, but she's abandoned me in favor of food, boo. So I'm thinking about GFFA pets. Is it just me, or is it really a bit weird how many SW critters are so... lizard-y? Everything is space dinosaurs, lol. I guess tookas are fluffy...unless it's in TCW, where the animation really makes them look more like frogs to me.

What GFFA animal would you want as a pet?

How we landed on our ultimate biscuit : This perfected recipe unlocks towering, ultra-flaky biscuits

Posted by Rossi Anastopoulo

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2026/02/23/ultimate-flaky-biscuit

A tray of tall flaky biscuits, a plate with a single rectangular biscuit, a bowl of butter, and another red plate with a sliced biscuit that has jelly and butter on it.

Test Kitchen Director Sarah Jampel spent nearly half a year developing a single biscuit recipe. But not just any biscuit recipe.

The post How we landed on our ultimate biscuit : This perfected recipe unlocks towering, ultra-flaky biscuits. appeared first on the King Arthur Blog.

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2026/02/23/ultimate-flaky-biscuit

Entry tags:

memes

Stuff I Love: Top Ten Edition, week 4: relationships

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

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The Jewish War: Second half of Book 1

Last week: Some really interesting discussions on (among other things) Caesar Augustus, the temple in Egypt, and the destruction of the temple (in Jerusalem) as divine punishment and also free will.

This week: More Herod! Definitely went quite a bit faster than last week! Featuring lots and lots of family drama... the kind that includes a ton of bloodshed. I'll talk more about it in comments.

Next week:

selenak can you give us a halfway point for Book 2? It looks a bit shorter but I'm also going to be crunched for time next week (and definitely won't be able to post until Sunday) so half a book is what it's going to have to be! ETA: Death of Emperor Claudius!