Decided to stay home today because yesterday wore me out so damn much. Also too much damn rain.
Some things make a post, right?
1. I had the dentist today, so I took the day off, because I am always so exhausted when I come back from the dentist. It's rarely bad, but trying to breathe through the cleaning is always an adventure I do not enjoy and it makes me tired. But I told them that the crown I got in December is mostly fine except if I try to eat almonds or other hard things, so the dentist did something to it "fix the bite." He also said it didn't look like anything was wrong either in the examination or on the x-ray, and to let him know if it didn't get better (or even got worse), so I guess we'll see.
1a. I arrived about 30 minutes early for my appointment - it usually takes much longer to get there so I allowed an hour - but they took me in right away since I was only scheduled to be there for a cleaning, and I was home before noon.
B. I was excited to see ZIBANEJAD score the tying goal for Sweden, but then Quinn Hughes won it for the US in overtime. I have to admit, I don't like 3-on-3 overtime (or shootouts!) for the Olympics. Just play another sudden death period.
iii. This past weekend, Baby Miss L went to her first princess tea party event at the Riverhead aquarium (or near there?) and the pictures of her holding court among the princesses are amazing, but my favorite picture is the one of her making a very excited "oh wow!" face at the plate of desserts in front of her. She was ready to dig in!
d. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band are coming to MSG in May!!! Tickets go on sale this weekend! I will probably not try to get them, even though MSG is pretty much the 2nd most convenient venue he could play. (Forest Hills Stadium would be the most convenient for me, but would never happen.)
5. I've reached The Butcher's Masquerade in my DCC reread, and I think it might be my favorite of the books? It has a couple of my favorite scenes in it, anyway, including ( spoilers ) I definitely prefer the more open-world type floors than the stuff like the Iron Tangle (and I did find the cards so fucking tedious in book 6; otoh, ( spoilers )).
Though This Inevitable Ruin is also a strong contender, since I fucking love ( spoilers ) There's a lot in it that I enjoyed and that also makes me so curious about what happens next, both in the dungeon and outside of it. I am definitely writing up an epic post based on notes I'm taking on rereading, which will eventually get posted. I hope. *g*
*
1. I had the dentist today, so I took the day off, because I am always so exhausted when I come back from the dentist. It's rarely bad, but trying to breathe through the cleaning is always an adventure I do not enjoy and it makes me tired. But I told them that the crown I got in December is mostly fine except if I try to eat almonds or other hard things, so the dentist did something to it "fix the bite." He also said it didn't look like anything was wrong either in the examination or on the x-ray, and to let him know if it didn't get better (or even got worse), so I guess we'll see.
1a. I arrived about 30 minutes early for my appointment - it usually takes much longer to get there so I allowed an hour - but they took me in right away since I was only scheduled to be there for a cleaning, and I was home before noon.
B. I was excited to see ZIBANEJAD score the tying goal for Sweden, but then Quinn Hughes won it for the US in overtime. I have to admit, I don't like 3-on-3 overtime (or shootouts!) for the Olympics. Just play another sudden death period.
iii. This past weekend, Baby Miss L went to her first princess tea party event at the Riverhead aquarium (or near there?) and the pictures of her holding court among the princesses are amazing, but my favorite picture is the one of her making a very excited "oh wow!" face at the plate of desserts in front of her. She was ready to dig in!
d. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band are coming to MSG in May!!! Tickets go on sale this weekend! I will probably not try to get them, even though MSG is pretty much the 2nd most convenient venue he could play. (Forest Hills Stadium would be the most convenient for me, but would never happen.)
5. I've reached The Butcher's Masquerade in my DCC reread, and I think it might be my favorite of the books? It has a couple of my favorite scenes in it, anyway, including ( spoilers ) I definitely prefer the more open-world type floors than the stuff like the Iron Tangle (and I did find the cards so fucking tedious in book 6; otoh, ( spoilers )).
Though This Inevitable Ruin is also a strong contender, since I fucking love ( spoilers ) There's a lot in it that I enjoyed and that also makes me so curious about what happens next, both in the dungeon and outside of it. I am definitely writing up an epic post based on notes I'm taking on rereading, which will eventually get posted. I hope. *g*
*
Fannish Fifty Challenge 2026: Post # 9: This One's for the Amigurumi Fancrafters
Feb. 18th, 2026 05:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ride_4everHere's what happens when fandom and amigurumi collide: Crochet Your Celebrity Crush by Lee Sartori, ISBN 9780760393659.
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
箱入りみりは、危険につき近づいてはいけません！ Keep away from boxed Miri as it is dangerous! 近づいちゃったはな姉さん。 Hana got close to it. みり：「 […]
Hello, everybody! As the title says, there are now only five days left until the deadline on February 23 (anywhere in the world)!
If you haven't posted all of your fics and art yet, now's a great time to check out our Posting Guide here or our Embed Guide here. And if you're not quite ready for that yet, some options...
Extension. If you’re sure you can complete your assignment, you just need a little more time, this option is for you. To request an extension, please email purim_gifts@yahoo.com.
The backup protocol. This option is for people who’re not sure whether they can complete their assignment, but who really really want to. A backup is a pinch hitter assigned ahead of time. If you complete your assignment, that’s great! If you don’t complete your assignment, you can call it off at the last minute - while your pinch hitter had had a much longer time to prepare. To request a backup, 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 if you’re not sure which of those options is right for you, please email purim_gifts@yahoo.com ASAP! We're happy to help, and the sooner we know what's going on, the more options we have. We're also here for tech support, if you need a little help getting things posted and embedded!
If you haven't posted all of your fics and art yet, now's a great time to check out our Posting Guide here or our Embed Guide here. And if you're not quite ready for that yet, some options...
Extension. If you’re sure you can complete your assignment, you just need a little more time, this option is for you. To request an extension, please email purim_gifts@yahoo.com.
The backup protocol. This option is for people who’re not sure whether they can complete their assignment, but who really really want to. A backup is a pinch hitter assigned ahead of time. If you complete your assignment, that’s great! If you don’t complete your assignment, you can call it off at the last minute - while your pinch hitter had had a much longer time to prepare. To request a backup, 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 if you’re not sure which of those options is right for you, please email purim_gifts@yahoo.com ASAP! We're happy to help, and the sooner we know what's going on, the more options we have. We're also here for tech support, if you need a little help getting things posted and embedded!
Specifically: I find myself in possession of both a superking duvet cover and a deep fitted double sheet that are mostly Genuinely Nice Cotton... and have both got holes worn through them in one specific place.
I have accepted about myself that I am not a person who will tolerate sleeping on patched bedsheets (because Textures). I am loathe to just hand them over to rag recycling. I am scared of trying to sew anything out of them, but might manage it with some encouragement.
I would greatly appreciate people Being Opinionated on this topic.
A short entry for today since I got home late from work and have to scramble to get to the next thing. Anyway, here's what I read over the last six days:
What I Finished Reading This Week
Lake of Souls - Ann Leckie
This is an excellent book (and I say this as someone who vastly prefers novels to short stories). Lake of Souls has three sections: stand-alone short stories, stories in the Imperial Radch universe, and stories in the Raven Tower universe, and they're all excellent. I enjoyed all but one of the stand-alone stories (and the sole story I didn't like, I didn't enjoy only because it's a bit of a downer. But it's also only 1.5 pages long, so hey). I'd read two of the three Imperial Radch stories prior to this anthology's publication and enjoyed them again here (I won't spoil "She Commands Me And I Obey" but IYKYK...and it's good.) The third, new-to-me story was my least favorite of the bunch, but only because it's so obviously a reskinned version of a standard folktale that didn't add much to the Radch universe or benefit from having Radch elements introduced to it. I was surprised by how much I liked the Raven Tower stories; in fact, I liked many of them more than the novel itself. The Raven Tower worldbuilding constraints just work so well in a short story format. And throughout all three sections, Leckie says a ton of incisive and so-sharp-you-won't-know-you're-cut-and-bleeding things to say about gender. This book was delightful and I will absolutely read it again.
What I Am Currently Reading
A Fate Inked in Blood – Danielle Jensen
I'm only about 50 pages into it but enjoying things so far.
The Laws of Brainjo – Josh Turknett
I'll have this one finished by next week.
What I’m Reading Next
I acquired no new books this week.
これで以上です。
What I Finished Reading This Week
Lake of Souls - Ann Leckie
This is an excellent book (and I say this as someone who vastly prefers novels to short stories). Lake of Souls has three sections: stand-alone short stories, stories in the Imperial Radch universe, and stories in the Raven Tower universe, and they're all excellent. I enjoyed all but one of the stand-alone stories (and the sole story I didn't like, I didn't enjoy only because it's a bit of a downer. But it's also only 1.5 pages long, so hey). I'd read two of the three Imperial Radch stories prior to this anthology's publication and enjoyed them again here (I won't spoil "She Commands Me And I Obey" but IYKYK...and it's good.) The third, new-to-me story was my least favorite of the bunch, but only because it's so obviously a reskinned version of a standard folktale that didn't add much to the Radch universe or benefit from having Radch elements introduced to it. I was surprised by how much I liked the Raven Tower stories; in fact, I liked many of them more than the novel itself. The Raven Tower worldbuilding constraints just work so well in a short story format. And throughout all three sections, Leckie says a ton of incisive and so-sharp-you-won't-know-you're-cut-and-bleeding things to say about gender. This book was delightful and I will absolutely read it again.
What I Am Currently Reading
A Fate Inked in Blood – Danielle Jensen
I'm only about 50 pages into it but enjoying things so far.
The Laws of Brainjo – Josh Turknett
I'll have this one finished by next week.
What I’m Reading Next
I acquired no new books this week.
これで以上です。
What I Just Finished Reading
Nothing!
What I'm Reading Now
Comics Wednesday!
( 1776 #4, Captain America #7, Doctor Strange #3, Dungeons of Doom #2, Fantastic Four #8, New Avengers #9, Ultimate Spider-Man #24 )
What I'm Reading Next
To makelysimache happy, I have very slowly started reading Les Misérables in the original French, after learning that the Kindle can now load translating dictionaries. (My old Kindle could not, but it's like 15 years old.) I don't think I'm going to finish it ever but, hey, I'm trying.
Nothing!
What I'm Reading Now
Comics Wednesday!
( 1776 #4, Captain America #7, Doctor Strange #3, Dungeons of Doom #2, Fantastic Four #8, New Avengers #9, Ultimate Spider-Man #24 )
What I'm Reading Next
To make
lysimache happy, I have very slowly started reading Les Misérables in the original French, after learning that the Kindle can now load translating dictionaries. (My old Kindle could not, but it's like 15 years old.) I don't think I'm going to finish it ever but, hey, I'm trying.
What is it? I can’t tell you! When will you be able to know? I can’t say! But when I can tell you, will I? We’ll see!
What I can tell you is that Athena is working on it with me, she’s been great to work with so far, and my decision to hire her at Scalzi Enterprises was pretty smart. Clearly I know what I’m doing all the time.
Anyway, my kid’s awesome and we’re doing cool stuff. I hope we get to share it with you. Eventually.
— JS
Boxed share again, so I pulled out the kitchen scale.
First thoughts: all the roasted roots. Do the pickle thing already, darn it! Baked roots under a protein (fish/poultry). Various cabbage and carrot slaws. Carrot soup. Carrot halwa. Carrots baked with lemon tahini dressing. Any further carrot suggestions?
- 2 smallish bags of spinach
- 4 dried hot peppers (looks like two different varieties, but the email is not helpful here)
- almost 3 lb beets (3 large beets)
- almost 7 lb carrots
- 3 heads of what the email said was Savoy cabbage, but looks a lot more like Taiwanese flat cabbage (one tiny, one small, one medium, about 5 lb)
- a jar of giardiniera (swapped for more potatoes because lack of kosher certification)
- almost 10 lb potatoes (both my original ones and the swapped ones)
First thoughts: all the roasted roots. Do the pickle thing already, darn it! Baked roots under a protein (fish/poultry). Various cabbage and carrot slaws. Carrot soup. Carrot halwa. Carrots baked with lemon tahini dressing. Any further carrot suggestions?
Full Mood Theme: Sabrina Carpenter
Feb. 18th, 2026 04:41 pmemotional_support_demon posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
moodthemeinayear
PREVIEW:
| Happy | Mischievous | Predatory | Awake | Morose |
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| Artistic | Crushed | Working | Touched | Cold |
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» Full Preview ( UNDER HERE )
→ 132 unique moods, from the videos for "Because I Liked A Boy," "Nonsense," "Fast Times," "Feather," "Santa Doesn't Know You Like I Do," "Espresso," "Please Please Please," "Taste," "Please Please Please" feat. Dolly Parton, "Manchild," and "Tears." It is a little "Manchild"-heavy, but that video has about three million scenes in it, so it was gold for emotions.
→ All caps courtsey of sabrina-carpenter.com
→ 100x68px
→ Credit is appreciated if used.
( books (Pratchett, Kingfisher) )
yarning
Finished a ninth balaclava. Soaked the five Icelandic wool ones in vinegar water, and then in fabric softener. Washed the 4 acrylic ones. Let them all dry. Found an extra hat for the children's shelter that I lost in my couch, oops. Finished the pink bunny. Didn't go to yarn group bc I felt rotten. Got everything in the mail. Started a new bunny for the new momcat at KA. Got a commission for 12 amigurumi carrots for someone's Easter tree and a commission for a new Rockstar Lestat art doll!
healthcrap
Still having TERRIBLE vertigo, sinusitis & a sore throat. My scalp is tingling to distraction. And my badly bitten tongue still hasn't healed. :(((
#resist
+ March 28: #50501 No Kings Protest #3
I hope you're all doing well! <333
yarning
Finished a ninth balaclava. Soaked the five Icelandic wool ones in vinegar water, and then in fabric softener. Washed the 4 acrylic ones. Let them all dry. Found an extra hat for the children's shelter that I lost in my couch, oops. Finished the pink bunny. Didn't go to yarn group bc I felt rotten. Got everything in the mail. Started a new bunny for the new momcat at KA. Got a commission for 12 amigurumi carrots for someone's Easter tree and a commission for a new Rockstar Lestat art doll!
healthcrap
Still having TERRIBLE vertigo, sinusitis & a sore throat. My scalp is tingling to distraction. And my badly bitten tongue still hasn't healed. :(((
#resist
+ March 28: #50501 No Kings Protest #3
I hope you're all doing well! <333
Viola come il mare: Fanfic: Far From Over
Feb. 18th, 2026 09:09 pmveronyxk84 posting in fan_flashworksTitle: Far From Over
Fandom: Viola come il mare (category: tv)
Author:veronyxk84
Characters/Pairing: Viola Vitale/Francesco Demir
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Word count: 955 (Ellipsus)
Spoilers/Setting: Set in early S2.
Summary: Viola has survived a whole year of living next door to Francesco Demir: a dangerously charming neighbor with a smile that should come with a warning label.
Breakfast on the terrace was supposed to be simple, but nothing is simple when the attraction is mutual, the teasing never stops, and neither of them is willing to be the first to give in.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created for fun and no profit has been made. All rights belong to the respective owners.
Challenge: #506 - Melt
—
( READ: Far From Over/Ficlet )
***
( ITALIAN VERSION: Tutt’altro che Finito/Ficlet )
Fandom: Viola come il mare (category: tv)
Author:
veronyxk84Characters/Pairing: Viola Vitale/Francesco Demir
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Word count: 955 (Ellipsus)
Spoilers/Setting: Set in early S2.
Summary: Viola has survived a whole year of living next door to Francesco Demir: a dangerously charming neighbor with a smile that should come with a warning label.
Breakfast on the terrace was supposed to be simple, but nothing is simple when the attraction is mutual, the teasing never stops, and neither of them is willing to be the first to give in.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created for fun and no profit has been made. All rights belong to the respective owners.
Challenge: #506 - Melt
—
( READ: Far From Over/Ficlet )
***
( ITALIAN VERSION: Tutt’altro che Finito/Ficlet )
What I read
Finished Imperial Palace, v good, by 1930 Enoch Arnold had got into the groove of being able to maintain dramatic narrative drive without having to throw in millionaires and European royalty and sinister plots, but just the business of running a hotel and the interpersonal things going on.
Then took a break with Agatha Christie, Dumb Witness (Hercule Poirot, #17) (1937) - I slightly mark it down for having dreary old Hastings as narrator, but points for the murderer not being the Greek doctor.
Finished Grand Babylon Hotel, batshit to the last.
Discovered - since they are only on Kindle and although I occasionally get emails telling me about all the things that surely I will like to read available on Kindle, did they tell me about these, any more than the latest David Wishart? did they hell - that there are been two further DB Borton Cat Caliban mysteries and one more which published yesterday. So I can read these on the tablet and so far have read Ten Clues to Murder (2025) involving a suspect hit and run death of a member of a writers' group - the plot ahem ahem thickens.... Was a bit took aback by the gloves in the archives at the local history museum, but for all I know they still pursue this benighted practice.
Have also read, prep for next meeting of the reading group, Dorothy Richardson, Backwater (Pilgrimage, #2) (1916).
On the go
Recently posted on Project Gutenberg, three of Ann Bannon's classic works of lesbian pulp, so I downloaded these, and started I Am a Woman (1957) which is rather slow with a lot of brooding and yearning - our protag Laura has hardly met any women yet on moving to New York except her work colleagues and her room-mate so she is crushing on the latter, who is still bonking her ex-husband. But has now at least acquired a gay BF, even if he is mostly drunk.
Have just started DB Borton, Eleven Hours to Murder (2025).
Have also at least dipped into book for review and intro suggests person is not terribly well-acquainted with the field in general and the existing literature, because ahem ahem I actually have a chapter in big fat book which points out exactly those two contradictory strands - control vs individual liberation.
Up next
Well, I suspect the very recent Borton that arrived this week will be quite high priority!
I thought it might make a change to write something here and post it straight away, instead of in two weeks or three or four months, idk, shocking but still. (I continue as before, getting a little more useful with every few days.) In the meantime, here are some fannish things that made me happy in this last week:
1. Another Enigma fic! \o/ 0_o
All Tapped Out (665 words) by misura
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Enigma (2001)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Tom Jericho/Hester Wallace
Characters: Tom Jericho, Hester Wallace, Wigram (Enigma 2001)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Vignette, Missions Gone Wrong
Summary: “What the bloody hell was that?”
2. Sesskasays, whose Classic Who reactions I have enjoyed so much... is going to be doing Blake's 7! I did not dare really hope, but yay. I cannot wait for her to meet Servalan.
3. Small Prophets, on the iPlayer, a 6-part comedy from Mackenzie Crook, who did The Detectorists. It has all the mix of slow build, appreciation of small things & being v down to earth of the former, with actual supernatural ingredient in shape of six humunculi that Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley) grows in his garden shed, for reasons. I haven't watched most of ep6 yet, but cannot imagine it producing any reason in the last 27 minutes for me not to rec it warmly here.
4. Another magnitude of miraculous on from Enigma-fic - a Rufus/Adam vidlet for A Fatal Inversion (Jeremy Northam & Douglas Hodge in 1991/2) from someone on YT:
Like. This is why I wrote Rufus/Adam fic that nobody wanted! And this doesn't even have the shots with the dinner party and the make up, but, lol, I feel like it is a much more compelling argument for watching it than me saying it's very good. XD
Anyway, creative people continue to be a Good Thing is all. <3
1. Another Enigma fic! \o/ 0_o
All Tapped Out (665 words) by misura
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Enigma (2001)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Tom Jericho/Hester Wallace
Characters: Tom Jericho, Hester Wallace, Wigram (Enigma 2001)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Vignette, Missions Gone Wrong
Summary: “What the bloody hell was that?”
2. Sesskasays, whose Classic Who reactions I have enjoyed so much... is going to be doing Blake's 7! I did not dare really hope, but yay. I cannot wait for her to meet Servalan.
3. Small Prophets, on the iPlayer, a 6-part comedy from Mackenzie Crook, who did The Detectorists. It has all the mix of slow build, appreciation of small things & being v down to earth of the former, with actual supernatural ingredient in shape of six humunculi that Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley) grows in his garden shed, for reasons. I haven't watched most of ep6 yet, but cannot imagine it producing any reason in the last 27 minutes for me not to rec it warmly here.
4. Another magnitude of miraculous on from Enigma-fic - a Rufus/Adam vidlet for A Fatal Inversion (Jeremy Northam & Douglas Hodge in 1991/2) from someone on YT:
Like. This is why I wrote Rufus/Adam fic that nobody wanted! And this doesn't even have the shots with the dinner party and the make up, but, lol, I feel like it is a much more compelling argument for watching it than me saying it's very good. XD
Anyway, creative people continue to be a Good Thing is all. <3
March Meta Matters Challenge 2026 Returning!
Feb. 18th, 2026 12:56 pmyourlibrarian posting in month_of_meta
March 1 is just weeks away, so that means the kickoff to this year's March Meta Matters Challenge will be taking place soon! The challenge involves locating and copying over meta you've created to a second site in order to ensure its preservation, plus there will be some prompts for creating new meta.
Feel free to ask questions here about the challenge, locations, etc. Otherwise subscribe to
marchmetamatterschallenge and look for our opening post on March 1!March Meta Matters Challenge 2026 Returning!
Feb. 17th, 2026 04:43 pmyourlibrarian posting in dreamwidth_metaMarch 1 is just weeks away, so that means the kickoff to this year's March Meta Matters Challenge will be taking place soon! The challenge involves locating and copying over meta you've created to a second site in order to ensure its preservation, plus there will be some prompts for creating new meta.
Feel free to ask questions here about the challenge, locations, etc. Otherwise subscribe to
marchmetamatterschallenge and look for our opening post on March 1!