Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 03:10 pm
Taken at 22:25 Eastern US Daylight Time over the parking lot joining Winn-Dixie and a local hotel, the latter outlined by its lights.

Once again, the photo doesn’t reflect what my corrective-lensed eyes actually saw—a serenely luminous disc the pale yellow of Muenster cheese—but the image is stark and dramatic. The lens flare on my cheap-ass burner phone made it resemble a black star sapphire (or, to read the image as suitably floral and local, a spider lily):



(I wasn’t the only one prowling this clear moonlit tropical night in search of food; two of the Burrowing Owls at my apartment complex were out hunting on the side lawn, as a third stood perched at the nest; this represents a full year of continuous occupancy and breeding, reflecting how safe they must feel here. They squawked at my approach, but did not hiss.)
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 12:04 pm


This picks up when Danny's been Dreadnought for a while, and is getting a bit too into the violent aspects of the job. This aspect is quite well done - you understand what's going on with her, but it actually is a bit unsettling. Also, Valkyrja reappears, sort of; an evil techbro wreaks havoc; a TERF is threatening the world; and Danny works on her relationships.

I liked this more than the first book. Danny developed as a character and spent a lot less time being abused by transphobes. I'll grab the third book when it comes out.




The sequel isn't as good as the first book, unfortunately. I'd have been happy with more of Zax, Minna, and Vicky exploring the multiverse, but this book is much more plot-driven and Minna and Vicky only show up three-quarters of the way through. Half or more of the book is narrated by a new character whose identity I'll leave out as it's spoilery for the first book. She was fine as a character but her storyline was less interesting. Zax gets a new companion, and I did quite enjoy his adventures with her. I also enjoyed Minna and Vicky when they finally appeared.

But the plot-driven parts were less interesting, and the structure was really odd and not in a way that benefited the book. Instead of picking up where the first book left off, we get a retrospective summary of what happened some time after that point, then we get the entire backstory of the non-Zax narrator bringing her up to the point where she meets Zax in the first book, then it jumps forward and we get what's happening to her now, then we catch up with what Zax is doing now, and then, about three quarters of the way in, we finally get the story of what happened immediately after the first book left off. I think it would have worked better to tell the story more linearly. And also, to have much more Minna.

It's not a bad book and it does have some really good parts, but there are some baffling choices made.
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 11:34 am
Volleyball is done. Elbow Coffee is done. Lunch will be ready for pickup in 30 minutes. And that's it for today's commitments.

Today is the day to sign up for the new MyChart from my doctors' office. Earlier the URL would not work. Now it works but not for me. Verification Denied. Try again or call ... 3rd try, same results. NFW am I going to call any time soon. I'll wait.

Today is also the day they retire The Big Eunich's number. Last night's game was an Apple TV game so not a lot of discussion. I thought the ceremonies were going to be last night but they are tonight. S'ok. My mute button still works fine.

I think Julio has a tooth problem. He keeps trying to chew on things like the metal door handles on the kitchen cabinet. He's too old for teething but maybe they are kitty wisdom teeth. Julio will never allow himself to be caught to be put into a carrier so he will never go the vet. If he has a tooth problem, he's going to have to figure out how to fix it himself. Or maybe he's trying to get into the cabinet.

Lots of good TV to watch and a good book to listen to. My day is set.
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 01:48 pm
Wolf Worm

3/5. Historical horror about an illustrator hired to draw insects for a scientist’s book. But something is up in the woods around his North Carolina home.

Me: I’m reading T. Kingfisher’s bug horror.

My wife: I don’t know if I can read that one. Report back.

Me: I’m one-third in. It’s fine. She’s using some of the same moves I’ve seen her use before, gothic overtones, creepy staring animals. Nothing horrible has happened yet.

Her, a day later: How’s the book?

Me: You do not want to read this one under any circumstances.

Her: …Ah.

Yeah, I think I just do not like her horror. This is good at what it’s doing (insect horror, body horror) but it is just so over-the-top gross in a few places in ways that do not work for me. Her sensible spinster heroine is a highlight, as usual.

Content notes: Hoo boy. Insects, torture, captivity, body horror, mind control.
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 02:34 pm
Long time no post because I’m a clown. 🤡

Anyway: I wanted to repost this interview with Janet Fielding for The Hangin With Web-Show here since the video upload on Blogtor Who isn’t working.

Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 07:30 pm

This week's challenge is:


Amnesty 50


This is our fiftieth Amnesty challenge - every tenth challenge will be an Amnesty. Every tenth Amnesty will last two weeks!


What does this mean? Simply put, all previous challenges are now re-opened; write for any of them you want, and as many as you want.



Here's the list: New, Under the Influence, Wind, An Unreasonable Expectation, Pebbles, Heroic Failures, Whisper, Trouble In Mind, Halloween, Tough Choices, Relax, Fight or Flight, Seal, In The Doghouse, Decorations, Christmas Eve, Hope, Thank-You Notes, Cat, Peace Of Mind, Candlelight, Love Is In The Air, Alone, Just Friends, Mascot, Some Assembly Required, Arch, A Change In The Weather, Spring, Easter Eggs, Allergies, The Sky's The Limit, Birds, It Could Be Worse, Dabble, What Are You Complaining About Now?, Fruit, Sweet Summer Lovin', Twinkle, When The Sun Goes Down, Carnival, When There's Nobody Around, Holiday/Vacation, Growing Older But Not Up, Laughter, Free As The Wind, Awkward, If I Were You, Schedule, After All This Time, Nightfall, Love Is Blind, Travel, Fun And Games, Things That Go Bump In The Night, Jump, The Best Laid Plans..., Unbelievable, Long Way Back, Faith, How Did We Get Here?, Blue, Only Human, David Bowie Song Titles, Starstruck, Laying The Blame, Clear, Herbs And Spices, Waiting, There's Always Tomorrow, Anticipation, Mind Over Matter, Wonder, Do The Right Thing, Sneeze, One Of These Days, Early, Better Luck Next Time, Glass, Every Once In A While, Nervous, Old Enough To Know Better, Underwater, All Or Nothing, Hungry, Look Out, Space, A Chance Encounter, Nostalgia, In A Week Or Two, Coast, In The Moonlight, Shameless, Caught In The Act, Vain, Over The Hill, Torn, Nothing To See, Autumn / Fall, Imaginary Friends, Cold, Scene Of The Crime, Loud, Make Up Your Mind, Silver, What Are You Doing?, More, A Better Idea, Fireworks, Seeking Shelter, Numbers, Deep Down, Familiar, Just The Way You Are, Romance, Slip Of The Tongue, Tired, Right Or Wrong, Slinky, I've Got You, Elephant, Are You Ready?, Murder, On The Other Hand, Sleepy, A Long Time Ago, Memory, Where There's A Will, Fast, One More Day, Bake, End Of The Road, Gesture, Love Or Lust, Poke, Speak Of The Devil, Welcome, Not A Hero, Guilty, Late In The Day, Storm, Lie To Me, Dance, Thought I'd Seen Everything, Invisible, Friends And Neighbours, Spooky, In The Aftermath, Vibrate, Because You Love Me, Grey, Back To Front, Ride, Christmas Songs, Magic, Work Like A Dog, Exuberant, Long Lost Friend, Real, The State I'm In, Chemistry, You're The One, Hamper, Silence Is Golden, River, Good Advice, Warm, Out Of My Mind, Garden, Winding Down, Sound, Count On Me, Touch, Under These Conditions, Need, Hole In The Ground, Paradise, A Good Reason, Grope, Climbing The Walls, Visitor, Weather Warning, Believe, Having A Blast, Rash, The Last To Know, Park, Watch Your Step, Velvet, Dramatic Pause, Eyes, You Owe Me, Jelly / Jello, Trick Or Treat, Flirt, Push The Button, Tears, Nobody Gets Hurt, Freeze, Bad Habits, Needles, Making A Fresh Start, Weekend, In The Jungle, Shake, Cabin Fever, Darkness, Another Lonely Night, Speed, Just Getting Started, Restless, The Wrong Key, Precarious, Do Something!, Knot, Walking On Eggshells, Quiet, Try To Remember, Haywire, No Strings Attached, Jukebox, Far From Home, Whistle, Living It Up, Headache, Used To Be Mine, Last, Hot Summer Night, Yawn, Once In A While, Book, Too Many, Hide, Where Were You?, Pocket, Down The Road, Slide, Two Of A Kind, Genius, Dark And Stormy Night, Haunt/Haunted, Take It Off, Light, Good News, Ocean, The Holiday Season, Winter, Christmas Day, Celebration, In Another Life, Snuggle, Up To Something, Fine, In The Post, Birthday, Under The Weather, Catch, Kiss And Tell, Useful, Practice Makes Perfect, Apology, Kindness Of Strangers, Roll / Rolling, Soap And Water, Idiot, The Hard Way, Cling, Staying Home, Umbrella, Breaking The Rules, Key, Demons And Angels, Heatwave, Fun In The Sun, Someday, You Know Me, Plant, Into The Unknown, Fire, Out Of Sight, Squirrel, Nothing To Do, Alibi, Shattered Glass, Twist, Fright Night, Pumpkin, Dream Of You, Wood, Get Behind Me, Undone, Long Time Gone, Cosy, Warning Labels, Listen, Things Change, Explore, It's About Time, Order, Same Old Story, Chocolate, Wrapped Up In..., Kneel, In Too Deep, Run, Close Your Eyes, Homegrown, Take This With You, Ferret, Quality Time, Historic, Days Like This, Tail, Pass It On, Sweet, Love Who You Love, Parade, In The Shelter, Explode, Leave That Alone, Thunder, Take A Chance, Hand, Don't You Know?, Thread, Burning Bridges, Island, Come Monday, Survive, I Can Explain, Rain, Almost Home, Moon, Tell The Truth, Grind, That's Not Mine, Inspire, Nothing To Lose, Shopping, Have We Got Everything?, Feast, Turn It Up, Sleepless, I'm Alright, Massage, Driving Home, Wall / Walls, Taken By Surprise, Bone, Hard Times, Radio, Is It Just Me?, Buns, Under The Table, Detour, Because Of You, Swing, Here We Go Again, Change, Out Of Control, Single, On The Loose, Down, I'm Trying, Rock, Hold On, Revenge, Out Of Order, Worthless, Give Me Time, Leather, Use Your Imagination, Fancy, The Other Side, Overtime, I Can't Dance, Burn, Money Isn't Everything, Candy, Shame About That, Drop, Not That Different, Wild, See If I Care, Pretend, I Was There, Party, Travelling Light, Water, Someone Like You, Bright, Everyone's A Critic, Mud, The Walk Back, Admit, Up All Night, Mine, It's My Job, Quarrel, Long Way Down, Fantastic, No Big Deal, Gone, In The Dark, Ready, Up To You, Ripple, Over You, Liberty, Stay With Me, Flower, Tangled Up, Waltz, Going To Pot, Shuffle, Where Was I, Control, Have Mercy, Away, Painting The Town, Time, One Step Closer, Rough, I Know That, Lonely, Rocky Road, Hurt, On My Mind, Sunset, Lock And Key, Smoke, To The End, Glow, On The Road Again, Shiver, Here Comes Trouble, Accident, Feeling Blue, Stars, Childhood Hero, Damage, I Feel Lucky, Talk, A Stitch In Time, Rest, Letting Go, Mist, Ghost Town, Remember, Wake Up,


Reminder of Rules

Entries should be 100 or 200 words exactly, excluding titles and headers. Triple drabbles are now also allowed.
Please place the body of your entry behind a cut.
Tag with the appropriate Challenge, Fandom, Type, and Ratings tags. If a tag for your fandom doesn't exist, leave a request on the Tag Request post and I'll create the tags you need. You can request as many fandom tags as you want.
You don't need to use the challenge word or phrase in your drabble, though you can if you like.
Each challenge ends when the new challenge is posted.

Have fun!



Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 11:13 am
Sorry this is late! I think I have everyone now. Let me know if not!

Final Tally

Days 1-15 )

Thanks everyone!
Tags:
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 07:44 pm
First of all, in celebration of (finally!) getting to the end of Twin Peaks' decades-long tale, I got a new default icon of my best beloved girl: Laura Fucking Palmer.

Second of all: in my community dedicated to femslash ships in the DC universe, after a little Self-Promotion event in April, I'm running an OTP weekend later in May, from the 22nd to the 24th. Everyone is welcome to participate!


Image of two swans with their beaks together in semblance of a kiss. It's been edited so it looks like a difusse oil painting, and it largely contains white, blue, black and pink tones. It features the text "DCU FEMSLASH OTP WEEKEND."
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 11:01 pm
I didn't post yesterday because I was recovering from the upset stomach. And I still have to catch up on replying to comments. But here's a mini post for today. I came across some absolutely synapse-firing art and found out it's Mo Dao Zu Shi fanart. I don't even go here, but here I am.


by @aimeeaprilpp on Twitter

It's beautiful and so sensual. I could fawn over his fingers for paragraphs, about how delicate they are and how evident their expertise, but this is a mini post. He looks like he's climaxing, and I don't mean the plot. The arch of his neck is perfect. The trees in the background look like nerve endings. It all gets one thinking. Not aloud, but definitely Thinking. 100/10 would poke my head into this fandom again.
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 05:38 pm
We spent the afternoon at a lecture jointly organised by the City of Durham Trust and the World Heritage Site. The speaker was Colleen Batey, currently World Heritage Site Honorary Professor: a new post, and one which sounds as if it will give her scope to do all sorts of interesting things.

The original plan was for the session to be divided between two speakers: but then Jane Lovell looked at the Bank Holiday rail timetable, and realised that it couldn't be done, so instead we had a single talk with a dual focus. Colleen Batey's revised title was Interpretation through storytelling: case studies from Orkney and St Kilda. I'm not convinced that these two cases cast much light on each other. The Orcadian example looked at the interpretation of the Earl's Bu at Orphir, as described in the Orkneyinga Saga, and camre to the conclusion that the Saga gave an accurate description, but that subsequent interpretation had settled on the wrong building as the drinking hall. At St Kilda, the question seems to be, who gets to tell the story? But if you'd announced a talk on "Some digs I have worked on in Orkney and St Kilda (with pictures) I'd still have been there...

Most tantalising prospect: the possibility of a projct to research the mason's marks of Durham Cathedral and compare them to those found in St. Magnus' (which I think must refer to this project, and see whether the same masons really did work on both...
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 01:02 pm
Works are now revealed! Please take a moment to leave a comment on your gifts, and enjoy the haul of drabbles this round! Thank you to all who participated, especially our pinch hitters!

Author reveals will take place 72 hours from now on Tuesday, May 5 @ 1:00pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown).

Please get in touch if you have any questions. Should you receive a gift that is not for a fandom, character, and drabble type you requested, or that contains a DNW, reach out to us ASAP.

Is a fic you posted stuck as unrevealed? There's a couple potential reasons for why this could be. Please get in touch with us via Dreamwidth or email for help.
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 11:47 am
A week ago I got back from Japan where I was a guest at HALCon, an annual SF/F convention held in the Kawasaki International Center, and it was awesome. (Though right now I am still dead from jet-lag.) The convention itself was great, I walked to so many cool people, and was treated to so much good food. The Japanese edition of System Collapse translated by Naoya Nakamura had won the Seiun Award, and they presented me with that, which was also awesome.

Afterward we went down to Kamakura, which was the seat of the first Shogunate, and saw the Great Buddha https://www.kotoku-in.jp/en/ and two other Buddhist temples, one in a bamboo grove, and a huge Shinto Shrine. It was an incredible trip and I'm so glad I went.



Tour dates for Platform Decay, the next Murderbot novel:

https://us.macmillan.com/tours/martha-wells-platform-decay/
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 12:47 pm
This has been the longest and coldest winter ever but today was Peak Cherry Weekend at High Park so [personal profile] ioplokon and I did the thing.

IMG_4266

cut for people who don't want to see more cherry blossoms and a cool duck )
Tags:
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 11:47 am

⌈ Secret Post #7057 ⌋

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


01.



More! )


Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 46 secrets from Secret Submission Post #1008.
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.
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 11:43 am
[ SECRET SUBMISSIONS POST #1009 ]




The first secret from this batch will be posted on May 9th.



RULES:
1. One secret link per comment.
2. 750x750 px or smaller.
3. Link directly to the image.

More details on how to send a secret in!

Optional: If you would like your secret's fandom to be noted in the main post along with the secret itself, please put it in the comment along with your secret. If your secret makes the fandom obvious, there's no need to do this. If your fandom is obscure, you should probably tell me what it is.

Optional #2: If you would like WARNINGS (such as spoilers or common triggers -- list of some common ones here) to be noted in the main post before the secret itself, please put it in the comment along with your secret.

Optional #3: If you would like a transcript to be posted along with your secret, put it along with the link in the comment!

Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 12:05 pm
Creator: innitmarvelous_og
Title: Queen Susan the Gentle
Fandom: The Chronicles of Narnia
Characters/Pairings: Susan Pevensie
Prompt: Challenge 514: Gentle
Word Count/Medium: 5 icons
Rating: None
Warning: None
Summary: Five icons featuring Susan


Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 05:19 pm
  1. Do you like to spend time outdoors?

    Yes! I like walking, hiking and swimming outside. I don’t get to do any of those things often enough, but when I do, they make me very happy.

  2. What is your favorite flower?

    Whichever ones are currently in bloom. Right now it’s the tulips, and an iris just opened so for a few days it will be them as they're ephemeral. The roses are getting ready to go as well, and all of our rose bushes are bursting with buds this year which is nice to see.

  3. Any favourite warm weather activities?

    Gardening for hours, and then sitting on the lawn afterward with a refreshing cold beverage, admiring my handiwork and planning what to do next.

  4. Have you ever kept a garden? If so, what did you grow?

    Yes! I’m not really the architect of our garden. The layout is all the bloke’s handiwork. I like weeding, trimming, and helping out the flowering plants and veg he chooses.

  5. Do you know how to swim?

    Yes, but not particularly well. I do wish I’d had proper swimming lessons as a child. Both my children swim very well because of their lessons, and Humuhumu has done lifesaving courses too.
Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 09:16 am
Title: Together in Manzanar: The True Story of a Japanese Jewish Family in an American Concentration Camp 
Author: Tracy Slater
Genre: Non-fiction, history

It seems timely to read about America’s past experience with unjust detention of people based on perceived threats to national security, so last night I finished Together in Manzanar by Tracy Slater, a true story about one of the families in a Japanese internment camp during WWII. The situation of the Yonedas was somewhat unusual as they were a mixed-race family—Karl Yoneda was a Japanese-American citizen and his wife Elaine was white and Jewish.

The Yonedas make for a very interesting case study in what happened in the camps because a) their mixed-race family status (including their 3-year-old son, Tommy) made it clear how little the American military had really thought about this plan, given how thrown-off they were by the mere existence of mixed-raced families; and b) Karl and Elaine had been vocal social activists well before they were imprisoned in the Manzanar camp, speaking up for labor rights, racial justice, and participating in Communist advocacy. They had the language, tools, and knowledge to speak up and speak out, and they did.

Slater has done her research and provides a thorough list of sources at the end of the book, which include interviews with the Yonedas’ grandchildren as well as their own diaries and news clippings.

Together in Manzanar provides an in-depth look at the politics within the Japanese-American community at this time, both leading up to the camps and within. It ably tackles the question of “Why did they go? Why wasn’t there resistance?” (There was.) For the Yonedas in particular, the importance of an Axis defeat was difficult to overstate: as horror stories of German atrocities in Europe began to trickle out, they knew that a German or Japanese take-over of the United States would almost undoubtedly lead to Elaine and their son Tommy going into a death camp.

It provides a three-dimensional look at the discussions on the ground at the time, as well as following up with details from interviews Karl and Elaine gave many years later reflecting back on their statements and advocacy at the time.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style, but this is one of those books you read for content, not style. It jumps around from perspectives in a way that’s occasionally confusing, but I also appreciated getting some more background information on some of those in the camp who opposed the Yonedas’ view on cooperating with the US government. Slater does a good job showing how each person highlighted got to their perspective and why the tension both within the camps and in the world generally at the time put everyone so on edge.

The book is also helpful for reminding us of the names of the hateful racists (architect Karl Bendetsen) who propagated this plan and then later tried to lie about why it was implemented or how bad it was. It’s also a useful reminder that when these people were released, they didn’t get to just waltz back into the lives they had been living before being imprisoned. Many of them were forcibly resettled further into the US, away from the coastal cities where they had lived, and forced to restart their lives from scratch, away from their communities and businesses.

It just seemed like a particularly relevant time to remember this.



Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 11:06 am
"I wish I knew you
Before it felt like a sin"

-"Sinner", The Last Dinner Party

Ilya might have some regrets...about not kissing that cute Canadian boy right away.

Watch here or at AO3!

Felt like a sin )

I had forgotten how much fun it is to fall headfirst into a new fandom, and be able to crank out a vid in a couple of weeks without wanting to toss my laptop off a tall building. Bless this new machine!