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I haven't participated in this comm in ages, but round 15 at

celebrity20in20 featured my own texture pack, one I always found really hard to use, so I thought it would just be fair if I tried my hand at it now. I usually find 20in20s stressful, and tend to make filler icons just so I can complete the set, but this time it went relatively easily and I am happy with most of these. (The texture pack was still really hard to use. :D)

Teasers:

( 20 icons of Mehdi Nebbou )

The splatter textures to be used are here: https://icon-resources.dreamwidth.org/3602.html

Concrit welcome! Comments adored! Credit appreciated! Take and use as many icons as you like. If you want to know whose textures and brushes I use, apart from the horribly hard to use ones I make myself ;), take a look at my resource post.

Previous icon posts:

geraineon

Looks like the world has decided to be slightly kinder... This week, so far so good! I even managed to pill my cat without getting any scratches and she didn't even try to spit it out once (okay, she did, but I threw it so far down, she couldn't)! And then, she only avoided me for a few hours! Now she's all manja again when she wants something from me XD

Over the weekend, I managed to catch parts of some panels on the Up All Night online Asian Drama Convention. You can check out the programming here. Unfortunately, I was pretty busy last weekend and the timing didn't work out very well, so I didn't actually manage to watch one from the start to the finish uninterrupted (kept getting called away from my PC, or I was driving and listening using the car bluetooth connected to my phone, or I was having dinner halfway through, or I missed the first half or the second half).

The panel I probably was the present the most for was the Writing While Being Culturally Aware, and GL/Lesbian dramas. I'll write up some thoughts about these panels next post when it's not 1 am here at GMT+8. I got some drama recs out of this con too! Very interested in checking out this death game jdrama, Pending Train: 8:23, Ashita Kimi to, and I learnt about this GL Hindi web series, Married Woman.

(I was amused that the person leading the pinyin pronunciation panel is a Singaporean, but I think my amusement can probably only be understood by fellow Malaysians, or friends from Singapore, or perhaps SEA friends. I missed a whole chunk of it because I was having dinner at that time but I wanted to go for it to support a neighbor.

... also I am truly a pretty kepoh person.)

abyss_valkyrie posting in

theuntamed_mdzs

Hi, guys! Just posted 28 new icons from The Untamed over here in my journal. They are all free to take and use.

Preview

Link to the icons in my journal

umadoshi

I was sort of kitchen-assistanting for both of last week's cooking ventures, with

scruloose doing most of the heavy lifting, but hey.

Last weekend we made this carnitas recipe that E.K. Johnston linked to (and she mentioned mango-lime salsa, which I hadn't had before but sounded good, so I bought some of that too, and liked it a lot), and it was really, really tasty. We got three meals out of it (and between that and a two-meal HelloFresh box, that pretty much covered last week's suppers).

Later in the week we roasted strawberries basically using this method (that recipe is also how I learned you can toast sugar, which I'd like to try sometime), but the only thing we added to the berries was sugar--specifically the summer fruit sugar blend from Silk Road Spices ("a delicious blend of maple and turbinado sugars with mint, ginger and freshly ground green cardamom"). This approach involves roasting the berries in a baking dish, while others do it by spreading them out in a single layer on baking sheets. I'd like to try it that way at some point too.

I also want to try slow roasting them at some point to compare the result.

Current Mood: hungry

girlgenius_main_feed

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20250714

The Girl Genius comic for Monday, July 14, 2025 has been posted.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20250714

umadoshi

We made it to the little market down the road for the second week running and found the first vendor we visited down to his last several boxes of raspberries, so we bought two and headed back home. First raspberries of the season!

(I think yesterday was the first time I ever actually stopped and noticed why raspberries are called that.)

Reading: In non-fiction, I'm still reading through Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace.

On the fiction front, last week I read Cameron Reed's The Fortunate Fall, relatively recently (and finally!) reissued under her current name after its first life as an award-winning SFF novel under her deadname literal decades ago. (I believe her upcoming novel is her first since this one!) It didn't actually hit my emotional buttons very hard (which isn't indicative of how anyone else might react), but it's beautifully constructed and executed. I see why it's so beloved by so many people. ^_^

I also read We Are All Completely Fine (Daryl Gregory), which I didn't realize was a novella until I started reading, so it went by pretty quickly. Interesting horror worldbuilding, although other than the characters' specific histories it's almost entirely hinted at or nodded to; I, at least, came away with almost no actual idea of what's actually going on on a larger scale.

And I read the new Murderbot story ("Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy") that Martha Wells released for the show finale (note that Murderbot itself isn't actually present in the story).

Watching: No Leverage this week, I don't think.

scruloose and I have agreed to switch this to an "I watch this when I feel like it, and if they're around and feel like it, they'll watch with me" show rather than one we're Watching Together. They enjoy it, but don't feel a burning need to see every episode.

I kind of wonder if I haven't been started a show on my own for so long because I'm sort of subconsciously waiting to be able to watch the rest of Justice in the Dark whenever the whole thing is subbed somewhere.

We've seen the Murderbot finale, and I'm awfully glad the show's been renewed.

Beyond that, the two of us have now watched the very first episode of Silo, having had good luck with Apple SFF shows. I haven't read the books, so I know almost nothing about it.

(I have food stuff to talk about, but I think I'll call this a post and hope to write more later.)

Current Mood: okay

ldybastet

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

tinny

Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire
Toby Daye #10

The king convenes a conclave to decide whether to allow the use of [the important thing Toby discovered last time]. Of course some people use the gathering to further their own political agenda - by murdering people.

Another wonderful installment of the Toby Daye series. I got through it very fast - it was a fun and easy read. Which doesn't mean fluffy. :D As usual for that series, there's lots of death and attempted assassinations (including Toby's and her loved ones'). I simply love Toby's snarking pov, and it makes reading those books a joy every time.

some thoughts WITH SPOILERS

* The stakes kinda can't go any higher for Toby, since she's virtually immortal already and her accelerated healing means she comes back even from being dead now. (She already did in the last book, so that's nothing new. :)) So the threats now expand to her loved ones. In this case, Tybalt and Quentin.

* I love Tybalt with Toby. Period.

* I loved how she pretty much resigned herself to Tybalt being dead and/or asleep for 100 years. Even if the book didn't go there, having her agonize over it was painful enough, thank you. Entertaining the thought for a few minutes was stressful enough for me.

* I also liked all the thoughts Toby has on growing up - not her own, Quentin's mostly. That gave the book some nice weight, in the sense that it brought out the amount of time that has passed in-verse, and that Toby develops and grows along with 'the kids'.

* Apropos kids, I really liked how she described the pyjama party. She's more of a mom now than she used to be (although Toby has always been a mom, but it wasn't as clear in the earlier books).

* Considering the book took place during a political meeting, the politicking was kept to a minimum and didn't get on my nerves. It always helps that Toby doesn't like it either. :D

* Plot-wise, I thought it was suspenseful and even though one would think that there's not much new to tell after this many installments, I didn't feel it was too repetitive.

4 stars - Another fun time with Toby being undiplomatic and almost dying a few times. :D

1 - 5 stars - Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky The Final Architecture #1 [DW link]
2 - 2 stars - Miss Merkel: Mord auf dem Friedhof by David Safier Miss Merkel #2 [DW link]
3 - 4 stars - Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire Toby Daye #10 [DW link]

(I'm terribly behind on those reviews... not on the books, luckily, but I have to write up a few more soon.)

krait

I'm currently reading not one but two steampunk novels: Natasha Pulley's The Lost Future of Pepperharrow and Priest's Stars of Chaos (Sha Po Lang).

Steampunk is a genre that I want to like more than I do; in fact, the only steampunk novel I've read that I truly enjoyed enough to buy a copy is Pulley's The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. Here's hoping these two can be added to that very short list!

mekare

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

facethestrange posting in

sid_guardian

2 Weilan drawings, 2 Weilan fics, 1 Zhubai fic. :)

I'm Fine, Xiao Wei by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Ye Olde Haixing Era, Catching Hurt Character as They Collapse, Character doesn't realize how badly they're hurt until they collapse, Character who is clearly not fine insists they are fine, Hurt/Comfort, Fanart, Drawing
Summary: Zhao Yunlan gets injured in battle and tries to walk it off until he can't anymore. (He still doesn't think there is a problem, though.)

Renewed Interest by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest, 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Accidental arousal while cuddling for comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Awkward Boners, Cuddling & Snuggling, Spooning, Blushing, Fanart, Drawing
Summary: Zhao Yunlan may be exhausted, but he's not this exhausted.

Diplomatic Emergency (1091 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan, Guo Changcheng
Additional Tags: Fuck Or Die, Extremely Consensual Fuck or Die, Established Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Implied Sexual Content, Fade to Black, POV Alternating, POV Outsider, Humor, Hand-Wavy Dixing Powers (Guardian), hand-wavy post-canon, a lot of hand-waving in general, Guardian Bingo
Summary: "I'm fine, you don't need to worry," Zhao Yunlan replies. "It feels a bit like my skull is exploding, but I'm fine. Oh, and everything is a very curious shade of orange, but I'm sure I can sleep it off."

"Orange? What did you drink last night?"

Tomorrow (376 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Ye Olde Haixing Era, Alcohol, Attempted Seduction, Hand Kisses, Drunk Shen Wei (Guardian), Tenderness
Summary: Oh, Xiao Wei, I don't think you should drink this.

That's not something anyone can say to the Black-Cloaked Envoy in the company of his subordinates. So Zhao Yunlan doesn't.

Lie to Me (292 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018) RPF, Chinese Actor RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Bai Yu/Zhu Yilong
Characters: Bai Yu (Actor), Zhu Yilong
Additional Tags: Not A Happy Ending, but they love each other a lot, not a happy ending for Weilan either, is this character bleed? it's not NOT character bleed
Summary: "They really wanted it to be true."

Bai Yu knows exactly what Long-ge is talking about — Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan. And, more importantly, not Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan.

china_shop posting in

sid_guardian

Hi, and welcome to this week's installment of the Guardian novel readalong!

Here are last week's chapters, and you can find all previous discussions in the schedule posts (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4), or via the !readalong tag.

This week's chapters:

Chapter 19: At the Great Seal, Lin Jing discusses their predicament with Shen Wei and meditates effectively. At the police station in the mountains, Daqing and Chu Shuzhi meet up with Guo Changcheng. Daqing shifts into human form and tells Changcheng that the souls of the dead are still at the resort; Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi decide to go to find them.
Chapter 20: Zhao Yunlan goes to the court of the Ten Yanluo Kings with Zhu Hong and sasses the Kings. A reaper reports that the Great Seal has broken, and an earthquake shakes the court. Zhao Yunlan demands to see the Reincarnation Cycle. The Qin'guang King shows him the Soul-Guarding Lamp. At the Seal, Shen Wei comes out to Lin Jing as the Emissary, and Lin Jing pulls out the icicle. Shen Wei heals and reveals that he's been manipulating Ghost Face. Meanwhile, Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng search the resort for souls. (Guo Changcheng records a dead courier's last message.) They're joined by a rogue cultivator who tries to make conversation but has a disturbing shadow. A huge youchu bursts out of the ground.

The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation are chapters 100, 101 and a little less than half of 102 (up to "Meanwhile, in the county less than fifty kilometers away, people were still completely clueless.").

Excerpts:

( 1) Lin Jing and Shen Wei strategise )

( 2) Chu Shuzhi explains that the Ghost Face problem is above their paygrade )

( 3) Daqing finds his human body hideous and explains some gui lore )

( 4) Zhao Yunlan is unimpressed with the Ten Kings' Hell Expo and has no more fucks to give )

( 5) Shen Wei is blasé about his chest icicle )

( 6) Chu Shuzhi is softening towards Guo Changcheng, despite himself )

Questions:

How many points does Lin Jing get for a) attempting to communicate with a youchu, b) keeping calm and meditating on, and c) not falling out of the tree when Shen Wei revealed his Emissary identity? Where did the youchu learn human speech? How wounded would Shen Wei have to be to admit that he wasn't fine? Does the SID really only employ people who can hyperfocus, or is hyperfocus a side-effect of the Soul-Guarding Order? What do you think of the descriptions of the different hells? How adorable are Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng? How well are you following what's going on with the Seal and Shen Wei's machinations? And do you have any thoughts about how moments in these chapters affected or were remixed in the drama adaptation?

(As usual, these are all just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like! You don't have to be keeping up with the readalong!)

Our schedule for this round -- please sign up to host a post if you can!

girlgenius_main_feed

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20250711

The Girl Genius comic for Friday, July 11, 2025 has been posted.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20250711

china_shop posting in

sid_guardian

I wrote this for the Science challenge on

fan_flashworks:

Title: Winging It (600 words) [General Audiences]
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Characters: Ya Qing, Lin Jing, Zhao Yunlan, Zhu Hong, Original Yashou character, Da Qing
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Yashou Renewal, Education, A New Era for the SID, Kidfic, Drabble Sequence, Community: fan_flashworks
Summary:

The Crows need a science tutor.

edenfalling

Trip planning is HARD, you know?

I will be leaving on either Sunday or Monday on an approximately 2-week trip. The main point is a gathering of fandom friends in western Alberta, but I have planned my approach so as to have time to do One Thing in Winnipeg (Manitoba) the afternoon of my first travel day, and One Thing in Regina (Saskatchewan) the afternoon of my second travel day. Then the gathering, and on Sunday the 20th I will head to Drumheller to visit the Royal Tyrell Museum.

I THINK I have my itinerary roughed out for the following week.

-Monday 7/21, drive south across the Canada/US border to Glacier National Park, hike an easy trail

-Tuesday 7/22, drive west to Yakima, WA; no stops planned

-Wednesday 7/23, drive to Olympic National Park, hike an easy trail, look for banana slugs, etcetera, then overnight in Forks or Oil City

-Thursday 7/24, drive south on US-101 and stop at some point to get out and dabble my feet in the Pacific Ocean, before heading inland and stopping short of Portland, OR, probably in Beaverton; might also visit Tillamook Creamery if time permits

-Friday 7/25, drive to Boise, ID, possibly stopping at a winery or two along the Columbia River valley (more research needed)

-Saturday 7/26, drive from Boise, ID to Bozeman, MD, skirting the western edge of Yellowstone en route; might stop for photos but more likely will just drive on through

-Sunday 7/27, drive from Bozeman, MD to probably Dickinson, ND, with a stop en route to sightsee in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and hopefully see some bison and/or prairie dogs

-Monday 7/28, head home to the Twin Cities; no stops planned

This feels generally doable to me. None of the driving days are excessively long, none of the activities are excessively strenuous, and I will return home before August. Now I have to research national park admission policies and also start making motel reservations. Argh.

Current Mood: stressed
Current Location: new brighton, mn

sporky_rat

Stupid little walk for stupid little brain chemicals in stupid heat.

It was either heat or humidity, so heat.

Current Mood: grumpy
Current Location: Rat te Kāinga

china_shop posting in

sid_guardian

Poll #33343 Changcheng's qualifications

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 16

View Respondents

What did Guo Changcheng study at university?

View Answers

Anthropology
0 (0.0%)

Chinese Language Teaching and Applied Chinese Language Studies
4 (25.0%)

Computer Science
0 (0.0%)

Corporate Governance and Sustainability
3 (18.8%)

Creative Writing
3 (18.8%)

Criminology
2 (12.5%)

Economics
4 (25.0%)

Environmental Studies
1 (6.2%)

Financial Accounting and Management
2 (12.5%)

History or Art History
3 (18.8%)

Law
0 (0.0%)

Media Studies
0 (0.0%)

Philosophy
1 (6.2%)

Psychology
1 (6.2%)

Visual Communication Design
1 (6.2%)

other
1 (6.2%)

he couldn't settle on a major and kept switching
5 (31.2%)

Best forgiveness/redemption moment

View Answers

Wang Xiangyang relinquishing the Merit Brush on his deathbed
0 (0.0%)

Ya Qing switching sides and then kneeling to Zhu Hong
5 (31.2%)

Ye Zun's posthumous reconciliation with Shen Wei
6 (37.5%)

Zhao Xinci fighting alongside the Yashou elders
2 (12.5%)

Cong Bo agreeing to work for the SID
2 (12.5%)

Ye Huo acknowledging the Envoy's authority
3 (18.8%)

Lin Jing becoming a double agent
3 (18.8%)

Da Ji fighting to protect Dragon City
1 (6.2%)

Wang Yike crying after accidentally ageing her girlfriend
3 (18.8%)

Dr Feng Qubing giving his life force to reverse the harm he did
7 (43.8%)

other
0 (0.0%)

anehan

I appear to have read a bunch of danmei lately.

Legend of Exorcism vol. 1 by Fei Tian Ye Xiang
A bit meh about this. Nothing wrong with it, it's just not my cup of tea. It appears to be going in the direction of found family, so this might be a good fit for people who like that trope. It's not particularly a draw for me, which might explain my lukewarm reaction. Still, I'll probably read the next volume, too.

Ballad of Sword and Wine vol. 4 by Tang Jiu Qing
There are two ongoing danmei series where I always read the latest English release as soon as I can. This is one of them. I like military and court intrigue, and this one delivers.

Peerless vol. 4 by Meng Xi Shi
And this is the other series I always want to read ASAP. Also a plot-driven one with plenty of political intrigue, though this one is more focused on the mystery aspect -- figuring out what's going on with all these rebellious plots -- whereas Ballad of Sword and Wine has the main characters themselves right in the middle of all the plotting and rebelling.

How to Survive as Villain vol. 2 by Yi Yi Yi Yi
This novel has about as much dramatic tension as a worn-out rubber band. This is a transmigration novel that leans quite heavily into a kind of absurd humour which, you probably guessed it, is not my thing. By the end of vol. 1 I thought it was moving towards more serious direction. You know, "character transmigrates into a novel, treats is as a bit of a game, eventually realises that these people are real, things get more serious". Well, it didn't happen. Within a few chapters, vol. 2 was back to the silliness. Pleasant enough reading when you just want to hang your brain out to dry and relax, though. And luckily only three volumes long.

In addition to all the danmei, I also finished this:

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
This is the second part of the Radiant Emperor duology, the first one being She Who Became the Sun. I have conflicted feelings about this. On the one hand, Parker-Chan created some very interesting characters in the first part of the series. On the other hand, I think having so many major characters and trying to follow them all and tie them to the plot is also its weakness, which became clear in this second part of the series. There isn't space to devote enough time to them (except maybe Zhu Chongba, who I unfortunately find the least interesting), so they are rather two-dimensional. It's tragic character after tragic character after tragic character, which becomes a bit repetitive.

Also, to me the most interesting relationships and the ones with the most interpersonal tension were the ones that revolved around Esen-Temur. (Warning: major spoilers for She Who Became the Sun follow.) Highlight for spoilers! *And then Esen-Temur died in the first book. To me, it was the most emotionally satisfying moment in the whole book. I thought the build-up and the resolution to the story-arc was really well written. But without Esen-Temur, much of the interpersonal conflict that drove Ouyang and Wang Baoxiang lost its dynamism and became stagnant. They felt the after-effects, to be sure, and it was those after-effects that drove them in this second book. I just don't think they were enough to carry these characters.*

There were good parts in this book too, sure -- I really liked the story arc with Wang Baoxiang and the Third Prince -- but IMO they weren't quite enough. YMMV.

With books like these, I often keep thinking about the things they didn't do well, and that is reflected here as well. That gives a distorted view of the books. Makes it seem like I think less of them than I do. And yet the reason I keep thinking about the weaknesses is because books like these are interesting enough to hold my attention. Mediocrity doesn't do that.

So, let me state this: even though it didn't quite live up to its potential, I thought this was an interesting book and a good debut series. I look forward to seeing what Parker-Chan does next.

girlgenius_main_feed

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20250709

The Girl Genius comic for Wednesday, July 09, 2025 has been posted.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20250709

china_shop

Previous poll review
In the Crowd-sourcing randomness poll, heads got 19.4%, tails got 22.2%, edge got 25%, and zero-g (the coin never falls) got 38.9%. Either a) the laws of probability have ceased to function in a localised manner, b) Dreamwidth is surprisingly popular in space, c) we've stepped into an alternate dimension, or d) these results are not statistically robust.

In ticky-boxes, hugs came first with 75%, followed by surviving AO3 outages (69.4%), and grumbly cats in search of treats (66.7%). Thank you for your votes!

Reading
Two chapters to go in The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. It hasn't hugely grabbed me, maybe because of my stop-start reading habits, but I am very much enjoying mentally casting Grover from Sesame Street as Gurgi. I have an omnibus of the Chronicles, so I may continue on to The Black Cauldron.

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, read by Arian Moayed -- ahh, this is so good! It's about a young death-obsessed recovering-alcoholic gay Iranian American who's writing a book about martyrs. It reminds me a bit of Love in the Big City, but it's more experimental and lyrical. I'm ~~halfway through~~ nearly done. Surprising, funny, sad, beautifully written. Warnings for drug use, alcohol addiction, suicidal ideation, and politics.

Also Guardian by priest, and I currently have on loan from the library: No Rules Tonight by Hyun Sook Kim and Freya Marske's Swordcrossed in audio.

Kdramas
My Dearest Nemesis -- I am enjoying this so much. The leading man, as well as being a closet fanboy, is adorably ridiculous and so love-starved. I want to give him a puppy. (In fact, I think he should just have a dog for a couple of years, and one or two more friends, and then he can get a girlfriend.)

Other TV
Ghosted on Apple TV+, a spy/romcom with Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. The reviews are terrible, and it was indeed very very silly, but we watched it on its own terms and enjoyed it tremendously. Some laugh-out-loud moments. A+ popcorn movie! (The trailer is VERY spoilery, ftr.)

Murderbot, Poker Face, Fringe, Étoile (omg, someone please give these people media training!! Also, I'm sad I looked at that one gifset, because I'm very spoiled for the plot thread I'm most invested in, which is undercutting the tension), and Turning Point: The Vietnam War (so disturbing and thoughtful and informative).

Guardian/Fandom
Partying on. <3 <3 <3

Audio entertainment
Not much; my listening time is being eaten by Martyr!

Writing/making things
I'm currently working on a handful of different shortish things in a desultory "what shall I pick up today?" fashion. This is not how I finish things or even get a satisfying sense of progress! (Yesterday's was another CSZ/SW/ZYL fic -- many deliciously difficult feelings; today's was a gen drabble sequence for FFW.) Just pick a WIP and finish it, china!

I now have 238 Guardian fanworks on AO3. Ten more will make it my most-created-for fandom. # writing goals

Online life
I keep getting as far as checkout on shop websites and then drifting off. The fear of buyer's remorse is very real. Yet another reason I have so many tabs open.

Link dump
Screenwriter's Secret to Mindblowing Plot Twists by

heyjameshurst |

mergatrude's e/R playlist (Youtube) | Music: Mon Rovîa - Rust. (Live) (Youtube, via

teaotter) | US politics: 5 calls | Newsblur RSS reader | ‘I wanted to be a teacher not a cop’: the reality of teaching in the world of AI (The Spinoff, local indie newsite) | Hieronymus Bosch butt music (tumblr link, via

mific) | Underrated Apple TV+ show recs? (

tv_talk post) | Thai Coconut Chicken Soup recipe (via

autodach) | Poetic fic meme (via

extrapenguin). There, I've closed a dozen or so tabs. # progress

Good things
New shampoo making my hair soft. Guardian. Warm buttery toast. My sister coming over this evening. Kdramas and books. Yesterday's sunshine, and walking through the trees along a shared mountain-bike trail. Sushi on the waterfront. Writing. Clean sheets.

Poll #33341 Companions

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 57

View Respondents

What talking animal would you take on an adventure?

View Answers

emotionally unavailable alley cat
24 (42.1%)

naive gecko
9 (15.8%)

sad wolf
12 (21.1%)

stoic capybara
20 (35.1%)

trivia-obsessed fennec fox
24 (42.1%)

upbeat skunk
10 (17.5%)

coffee-addicted giant panda
12 (21.1%)

other
7 (12.3%)

ticky-box of frittered-away time
22 (38.6%)

ticky-box full of infinite monkeys and... wait, who's providing all the typewriters?
21 (36.8%)

ticky-box full of liquid birdsong that tastes like vengeance
20 (35.1%)

ticky-box full of dancing, light as thistledown, to an orchestra of metronomes
21 (36.8%)

ticky-box full of hugs
38 (66.7%)

Profile

Branch

Branch and Root

November 2024

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Divisions

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Reading

Utilities

Page Summary

tinny - 20 icons of Mehdi Nebbou for celebrity20in20
geraineon - This week doesn't seem as cursed so far...
abyss_valkyrie in theuntamed_mdzs - 28 icons-The Untamed
umadoshi - Foodstuffs from last week
girlgenius_main_feed - Girl Genius for Monday, July 14, 2025
umadoshi - Weekly proof of life: mainly media
ldybastet - (no subject)
tinny - Book #03 Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire
krait - Steampunk Double Feature
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girlgenius_main_feed - Girl Genius for Friday, July 11, 2025
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girlgenius_main_feed - Girl Genius for Wednesday, July 09, 2025
china_shop - Me-and-media update

Style Credit

Style: Ivory Alcea for Mobility by branchandroot
Resources: Mitsuba Aoi

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