Round 189 Theme Poll
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fancakeAugust will be a Flashback round where we revisit a classic theme from the early years of the comm.
Poll #34840 round 189 theme poll
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 65
Pick the next theme of fancake:
Epistolary
20 (30.8%)
Pining
25 (38.5%)
Worldbuilding
20 (30.8%)
Media Roundup: So Many Comics
Friday, 17 July 2026 10:31 amforestofgloryThere's so many comics in the world, some times I feel overwhelmed by all the things out there I want to read. (I just put in a bunch more library holds, opps) I also finally manged to finish the first case of The Truth!
Monster Locker by Jorge Aguirre, Andrés Vera Martínez— A middle grade contemporary fantasy graphic novel about a kid who finds a monster summoning portal in his locker on the first day of middle school. Cute and fun with a lot of quirky characters. I especially liked Abuela! It was also good to see monsters based on Aztec mythology – not something I see very often.
Absolute Martian Manhunter, Vol. 1: Martian Vision by Deniz Camp, Javier Rodriguez, et al.— My first foray into the Absolute universe. I've been reluctant to try it because the Absolute Universe seems aimed at people who like their comics grim and gritty and that's not me. But burins talked about this in their Eisner reading post and said it was “a love letter to cities” and I've been thinking about how cities are portrayed in comics a lot recently (a hazard of having an urban planning degree is that I think about the built environment a lot).
I’m not familiar with the original version of Martian Manhunter so I didn’t really know what to expect, but I also think this is pretty different anyways. This is about an FBI agent who has symbiotic relationship with an alien being and starts developing mind reading powers. Except that makes it sound boring but its not it weird and trippy, but is weird and trippy. The art really contributed to the tripyness here – with psychedelic colors representing people’s thoughts, and varying levels of abstraction to reflect what’s going on.
I see why burins said it's a love letter to cities! The city in this comic feels lived and diverse (it's mentioned several times that a lot of immigrants live there). But the comic doesn't shy away from the bleaker aspects of cities like homelessness and prejudice.
CN: mass shooting, animal death
The Truth Season 4, case one— I really enjoyed the last season of this silly reality TV show that’s kinda a cross between a murder mystery dinner party and an escape room. This year I seem to have lost my ability to watch TV by myself so even though this season is pretty good have had to make an effort to actually watch it.
Anyways, it's pretty good. Not everyone was able to come back for this season and the group dynamic is a bit different, but still fun. I thought seeing the preview pictures that I wouldn’t like this years costumes as much as last years, but seeing these costumes in action and getting to look the the details more has caused the to really grow on me (plus there are some wuxia inspired costumes for a latter case that look amazing)
Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, ep26-101 by C.R.C. Payne, StarBite, et al—So these do work better for me in short doses, as evidenced by the fact that I have read a lot of episodes now. I still think they are a little shallow but they are also fluffy and fun. There are some multi-part episodes that have a bit more depth, but they are still too tidy.
Also it's interesting how differently paced these are on the screen where you see one panel at a time and have to scroll a bit between panels and on the page where it's been condensed.
The Spectre(2001), issues 1-9 by J. M. DeMatteis, Ryan Shook et al— This was one of the things recced to me as result of my superhero comics rec list I’ve been reading it slowly one issues a day most days. It’s a nice contemplative pace.
The premise is that Hal Jordan, formally a Green Lantern, and then some kind of evil villain called Paralax, has now been reincarnated as The Spectre, a mystical being who is supposed to punish the wicked. It’s very Christian, there’s like God, and Hell and angels and stuff, but it questions the righteousness of this setup. It’s a slow and thoughtful comic. I spent some time thinking about if I agree with it or not, but it's not really reaching conclusions, so much as exploring possibilities. I'm finding it a good story to think with.
The art is really unique and has a touch of art nouveau, but is also kinda creepy in places. I like it and it's a good fit for the story!
Content Notes: suicide, parental death
Monster Locker by Jorge Aguirre, Andrés Vera Martínez— A middle grade contemporary fantasy graphic novel about a kid who finds a monster summoning portal in his locker on the first day of middle school. Cute and fun with a lot of quirky characters. I especially liked Abuela! It was also good to see monsters based on Aztec mythology – not something I see very often.
Absolute Martian Manhunter, Vol. 1: Martian Vision by Deniz Camp, Javier Rodriguez, et al.— My first foray into the Absolute universe. I've been reluctant to try it because the Absolute Universe seems aimed at people who like their comics grim and gritty and that's not me. But burins talked about this in their Eisner reading post and said it was “a love letter to cities” and I've been thinking about how cities are portrayed in comics a lot recently (a hazard of having an urban planning degree is that I think about the built environment a lot).
I’m not familiar with the original version of Martian Manhunter so I didn’t really know what to expect, but I also think this is pretty different anyways. This is about an FBI agent who has symbiotic relationship with an alien being and starts developing mind reading powers. Except that makes it sound boring but its not it weird and trippy, but is weird and trippy. The art really contributed to the tripyness here – with psychedelic colors representing people’s thoughts, and varying levels of abstraction to reflect what’s going on.
I see why burins said it's a love letter to cities! The city in this comic feels lived and diverse (it's mentioned several times that a lot of immigrants live there). But the comic doesn't shy away from the bleaker aspects of cities like homelessness and prejudice.
CN: mass shooting, animal death
The Truth Season 4, case one— I really enjoyed the last season of this silly reality TV show that’s kinda a cross between a murder mystery dinner party and an escape room. This year I seem to have lost my ability to watch TV by myself so even though this season is pretty good have had to make an effort to actually watch it.
Anyways, it's pretty good. Not everyone was able to come back for this season and the group dynamic is a bit different, but still fun. I thought seeing the preview pictures that I wouldn’t like this years costumes as much as last years, but seeing these costumes in action and getting to look the the details more has caused the to really grow on me (plus there are some wuxia inspired costumes for a latter case that look amazing)
Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, ep26-101 by C.R.C. Payne, StarBite, et al—So these do work better for me in short doses, as evidenced by the fact that I have read a lot of episodes now. I still think they are a little shallow but they are also fluffy and fun. There are some multi-part episodes that have a bit more depth, but they are still too tidy.
Also it's interesting how differently paced these are on the screen where you see one panel at a time and have to scroll a bit between panels and on the page where it's been condensed.
The Spectre(2001), issues 1-9 by J. M. DeMatteis, Ryan Shook et al— This was one of the things recced to me as result of my superhero comics rec list I’ve been reading it slowly one issues a day most days. It’s a nice contemplative pace.
The premise is that Hal Jordan, formally a Green Lantern, and then some kind of evil villain called Paralax, has now been reincarnated as The Spectre, a mystical being who is supposed to punish the wicked. It’s very Christian, there’s like God, and Hell and angels and stuff, but it questions the righteousness of this setup. It’s a slow and thoughtful comic. I spent some time thinking about if I agree with it or not, but it's not really reaching conclusions, so much as exploring possibilities. I'm finding it a good story to think with.
The art is really unique and has a touch of art nouveau, but is also kinda creepy in places. I like it and it's a good fit for the story!
Content Notes: suicide, parental death
fic: brave the icy water (shetland)
Friday, 17 July 2026 06:09 pmusuallyhatsI don't know what's happening to me but I wrote another Shetland fic? This one is Tosh and Jimmy friendship fic, and therefore much more in my usual wheelhouse (ie there is no kissing in it, and several jokes).
The title is thanks toalwaystheocean, she would have preferred me to keep the working title (wetsuit friends) but came up with this one when I refused, and then let me have it even though she wanted it for herself. <3
brave the icy water (1351 words) by usuallyhats
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Shetland (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alison McIntosh & Jimmy Perez
Characters: Jimmy Perez, Alison McIntosh, Duncan Hunter
Summary:
The title is thanks to
alwaystheocean, she would have preferred me to keep the working title (wetsuit friends) but came up with this one when I refused, and then let me have it even though she wanted it for herself. <3brave the icy water (1351 words) by usuallyhats
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Shetland (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alison McIntosh & Jimmy Perez
Characters: Jimmy Perez, Alison McIntosh, Duncan Hunter
Summary:
She gives him an encouraging grin and starts heading down towards the water. It's a cold but beautifully clear day, and Tosh is pleased to see that the spectacular views she promised Jimmy are at least all present and correct.
I Wonder Whether The Anonymous Requesters Are All The Same Person.
Friday, 17 July 2026 12:49 pmrionaleonhartHere are a handful of ficlets I’ve written over the last couple of months, in response to Tumblr requests!
( Danganronpa, Junko/Naegi, 380 words. )
( Danganronpa 2/Danganronpa V3, Komaeda/everyone, 290 words. )
( Deltarune, Noelle and Kris, replacement, 160 words. )
( Death Note/Persona 5, Light gets a calling card, 220 words. )
( Silent Hill 2, James meets a strange duplicate of himself instead of meeting Maria, 650 words. )
Look at all these fandoms! You’d never know I’ve spent half a year unable to shut up about a series of comedic plays.
( Danganronpa, Junko/Naegi, 380 words. )
( Danganronpa 2/Danganronpa V3, Komaeda/everyone, 290 words. )
( Deltarune, Noelle and Kris, replacement, 160 words. )
( Death Note/Persona 5, Light gets a calling card, 220 words. )
( Silent Hill 2, James meets a strange duplicate of himself instead of meeting Maria, 650 words. )
Look at all these fandoms! You’d never know I’ve spent half a year unable to shut up about a series of comedic plays.
fantastic news. THE MOST FANTASTIC NEWS.
Thursday, 16 July 2026 03:53 pmnansliceWILL GOT THE JOB. After 3 1/2 years trying to get a decent job in a field oversaturated with job seekers, they got an amazing offer letter. Hybrid, four days a week, amazing pay, great benefits. WHEW. Things were getting pretty scary for a minute there! I'm so proud of them for hanging in there and not giving up! I know the job market is terrible everywhere right now and Seattle is no different; the tech companies are laying people off hundreds, if not thousands. Will doesn't work in tech, but I imagine tech skills can trickle into multiple office-type jobs. This is SUCH A RELIEF.
Final Weekend
Thursday, 16 July 2026 03:51 pmyourlibrarian1) Over at tv_talk we've got a poll for people to cast their votes for Emmy nominees, as well as add their own nominations from around the globe. It was rather interesting to go through the list and see some of the very specific categories that are run each year.
2) Ugh, so hot this week. Was in and out of the car a few times for errands and came home with takeout. Just eating hot food was making me sweat.
One plus was a new purchase. ( Read more... )
3) Argentina vs Switzerland ( Read more... )
France vs Spain ( Read more... )
England vs Argentina( Read more... )
tv_talk we've got a poll for people to cast their votes for Emmy nominees, as well as add their own nominations from around the globe. It was rather interesting to go through the list and see some of the very specific categories that are run each year.2) Ugh, so hot this week. Was in and out of the car a few times for errands and came home with takeout. Just eating hot food was making me sweat.
One plus was a new purchase. ( Read more... )
3) Argentina vs Switzerland ( Read more... )
France vs Spain ( Read more... )
England vs Argentina( Read more... )
Poll #34835 Kudos Footer-600
This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6
Want to leave a Kudos?
(no subject)
Wednesday, 15 July 2026 10:16 pmskygiantsWhen last we left off in booklogging, I was feeling a powerful urge to read some nice sober nonfiction, so I picked up Ruth Goodman's How to Be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Everyday Life. genarti has been singing Goodman's praises to me for the past many years and I am glad to say I now wholeheartedly agree! She's very good!
The thing that is notable about Ruth Goodman as a historian is her emphasis on physical, material culture: there's a passage where she walks through a Tudor suit of clothes stored at the (I think?) V&A museum going through all the physical evidence of how it was constructed and what we can learn from it, capping with the charming fact that it was put together in such a hurry that a couple of pins were accidentally left in the lining. In addition to doing the research to look at the prints that show us what it was like to iron the ruffs or use the bread-ovens, she has then gone on to iron the ruffs herself, use the bread-ovens, etc., and she tells you about it and what she's learned from it and what it was probably like to live it in a very straightforward and readable way that lets you follow along with the process of drawing reasonable conclusions from the evidence and practice at hand.
Some of the info is stuff I had general previous knowledge of or aligns pretty well with what I would have guessed, some of it I sort of knew but nonetheless hit me with a "man I never thought about that" (the existence of secular theater in England only predated Shakespeare by like 50 years! he almost missed it completely!), some of it was the full HOO BOY the past is a DIFFERENT country, and some of it was the equally powerful HOO BOY the past is the SAME country. Had a great time! My only real complaint about the book is that it contains various prints of some of her source material but the picture quality is GODAWFUL -- clearly meant to be in color, the contrast in the black-and-white version that I have is so low that I couldn't make out a Dang Thing. "This print shows --" well, okay, Ruth Goodman, if you say so, I will believe you! I certainly can't see for myself!
genarti has been singing Goodman's praises to me for the past many years and I am glad to say I now wholeheartedly agree! She's very good! The thing that is notable about Ruth Goodman as a historian is her emphasis on physical, material culture: there's a passage where she walks through a Tudor suit of clothes stored at the (I think?) V&A museum going through all the physical evidence of how it was constructed and what we can learn from it, capping with the charming fact that it was put together in such a hurry that a couple of pins were accidentally left in the lining. In addition to doing the research to look at the prints that show us what it was like to iron the ruffs or use the bread-ovens, she has then gone on to iron the ruffs herself, use the bread-ovens, etc., and she tells you about it and what she's learned from it and what it was probably like to live it in a very straightforward and readable way that lets you follow along with the process of drawing reasonable conclusions from the evidence and practice at hand.
Some of the info is stuff I had general previous knowledge of or aligns pretty well with what I would have guessed, some of it I sort of knew but nonetheless hit me with a "man I never thought about that" (the existence of secular theater in England only predated Shakespeare by like 50 years! he almost missed it completely!), some of it was the full HOO BOY the past is a DIFFERENT country, and some of it was the equally powerful HOO BOY the past is the SAME country. Had a great time! My only real complaint about the book is that it contains various prints of some of her source material but the picture quality is GODAWFUL -- clearly meant to be in color, the contrast in the black-and-white version that I have is so low that I couldn't make out a Dang Thing. "This print shows --" well, okay, Ruth Goodman, if you say so, I will believe you! I certainly can't see for myself!
August 2026 Book Poll
Wednesday, 15 July 2026 08:50 pmprzed posting in bookclub_dwThe book options for August 2026
The River Has Roots, by Amal El-Mohtar, Fantasy, 144 pp
In the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, dwells the mysterious Hawthorn family. There, they tend and harvest the enchanted willows and honour an ancient compact to sing to them in thanks for their magic. None more devotedly than the family’s latest daughters, Esther and Ysabel, who cherish each other as much as they cherish the ancient trees. But when Esther rejects a forceful suitor in favor of a lover from the land of Faerie, not only the sisters’ bond but also their lives will be at risk…
Warnings: Graphic murder, death & violence. Mentions of grief, misogyny, stalking, body horror.
Tread of Angels, by Rebecca Roanhorse, Fantasy/Western/Murder Mystery, 197 pp
The year is 1883 and the mining town of Goetia is booming as prospectors from near and far come to mine the powerful new element Divinity from the high mountains of Colorado with the help of the pariahs of society known as the Fallen. The Fallen are the descendants of demonkind living amongst the Virtues, the winners in an ancient war, with the descendants of both sides choosing to live alongside Abaddon’s mountain in this tale of the mythological West.
Warnings: Graphic murder, blood & violence. Mention of toxic relationships, abortion, sexism.
I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons, by Peter S. Beagle, Fantasy/Humor, 275 pp
Dragons are common in the backwater kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouselike vermin all the way up to the fabled Kings, which haven't been seen in an age. Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased father's job as a dragon exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart. Things turn from bad to worse when Robert is hired by the royal family to disinfest the entire castle, as Princess Cerise is determined to receive Crown Prince Reginald with the shabby château looking its best. What happens next is not the fairy tale you may be expecting.
Warnings: Graphic death, animal death & fire injury. Mention of animal cruelty, abuse.
The River Has Roots, by Amal El-Mohtar, Fantasy, 144 pp
In the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, dwells the mysterious Hawthorn family. There, they tend and harvest the enchanted willows and honour an ancient compact to sing to them in thanks for their magic. None more devotedly than the family’s latest daughters, Esther and Ysabel, who cherish each other as much as they cherish the ancient trees. But when Esther rejects a forceful suitor in favor of a lover from the land of Faerie, not only the sisters’ bond but also their lives will be at risk…
Warnings: Graphic murder, death & violence. Mentions of grief, misogyny, stalking, body horror.
Tread of Angels, by Rebecca Roanhorse, Fantasy/Western/Murder Mystery, 197 pp
The year is 1883 and the mining town of Goetia is booming as prospectors from near and far come to mine the powerful new element Divinity from the high mountains of Colorado with the help of the pariahs of society known as the Fallen. The Fallen are the descendants of demonkind living amongst the Virtues, the winners in an ancient war, with the descendants of both sides choosing to live alongside Abaddon’s mountain in this tale of the mythological West.
Warnings: Graphic murder, blood & violence. Mention of toxic relationships, abortion, sexism.
I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons, by Peter S. Beagle, Fantasy/Humor, 275 pp
Dragons are common in the backwater kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouselike vermin all the way up to the fabled Kings, which haven't been seen in an age. Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased father's job as a dragon exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart. Things turn from bad to worse when Robert is hired by the royal family to disinfest the entire castle, as Princess Cerise is determined to receive Crown Prince Reginald with the shabby château looking its best. What happens next is not the fairy tale you may be expecting.
Warnings: Graphic death, animal death & fire injury. Mention of animal cruelty, abuse.
Poll #34834 August 2026 Book Poll
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 15
What should we read in August?
View Answers
The River Has Roots
6 (40.0%)
Tread of Angels
4 (26.7%)
I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons
5 (33.3%)
New Post at Lady Business: Slice-of-life Manga Rec List
Wednesday, 15 July 2026 09:19 amforestofglorySince I've been reading a lot of slice-of-life manga recently I wrote up a rec list! It was fun to think about what draws me to the genre and what all these stories have in common. (I also thought a lot about the role of landscapes in slice-of-life manga but I didn't really reach any conclusions. Maybe in a future post)
Slice-of-life Manga Rec List
Wednesday, 15 July 2026 08:25 amforestofglory posting in ladybusinessThanks funnily enough to Superman vs. Meshi (which I talked about in my recent post about Superhero comics) I’ve been reminded that I love slice-of-life manga and I have been reading a lot of it!
Slice-of-life manga are stories about everyday life. They often center domestic labor, and feature community building. (These are things that I want in cosy SFF but have had mixed luck finding.) I find slice-of-life manga soothing but also I appreciate that they focus on things that often aren’t considered “story worthy” but are important.
The manga often have a wealth of detail about specific crafts or professions. What kind of tools people use, how things are made, etc. I always find this interesting and fun to learn about!
Slice-of-life manga are generally sweet and cute. They often feature small everyday moments and family and friends bonding. I have a special fondness for the ones that have very detailed descriptions of food, when characters say stuff like “The X and Y in this dish really brings out the Z” even though it makes me hungry sometimes.
Slice-of-life manga can overlap with all kinds of genres. The ones I’ve recced here are all set in contemporary Japan but I’ve also read a couple of post-apocliptic and historical slice-of-life stories, and I know there are other genres out there like fantasy that I haven’t explored yet.
I’m still learning the genre but I wanted to share a few of my favorites so far:
Hirayasumi by Keigo Shinzō— A story about two cousins living together in a small house in Tokyo. The younger cousin is an 18-yearold woman who just moved to Tokyo for art school, and the older cousin is a 29-year-old man who works a kinda dead-end job. He inherited the house from an old woman he befriended who didn't have any relatives. It’s very charming, I find both of the cousins relatable in different ways.
I really enjoy all the environments in this! The characters' rooms feel like a little glimpse into who they are. And the cityscapes are so warm and lived in!
(This is very popular at my library at the moment so this rec is for volumes 1-4)
Laid-Back Camp Vol. 15-17 by Afro— This is about a club of high school girls who go camping both together and separately. There are lots and lots of details about food and camping equipment, but I also enjoy the relationships between the girls and their growing friendships.
This also has wonderful landscapes. There are scenic campsites, of course, featuring lakes, mountains, trees, etc. But there are also good scenes of people traveling on buses, trains, roads through the mountains, etc.
Yotsuba&! #15 by Kiyohiko Azuma— A very cute manga about Yotsuba, a preschool girl, her adoptive dad, and their friends and family. It’s just full of everyday things like going shopping, trying new foods, and looking for rocks. Yotsuba is so lovable and also determined in everything she does, she really makes the whole thing work.
Silver Spoon, vol 14-15 by Hiromu Arakawa—This is a charming story about a city kid who goes to an agricultural high school to get away from everything. I love all the details about food, farming equipment, and rural life. The types of issues that Japanese farming families deal with in this book feel very familiar and true to life, from my limited experience of US rural life. They worry about things like land succession, how much to invest in big machines, etc. The author grew up on a farm and is clearly drawing from that experience.
Content note: death of named animals
Have you read any of these? What did you think? What other slice-of-life manga would you recommend?
Slice-of-life manga are stories about everyday life. They often center domestic labor, and feature community building. (These are things that I want in cosy SFF but have had mixed luck finding.) I find slice-of-life manga soothing but also I appreciate that they focus on things that often aren’t considered “story worthy” but are important.
The manga often have a wealth of detail about specific crafts or professions. What kind of tools people use, how things are made, etc. I always find this interesting and fun to learn about!
Slice-of-life manga are generally sweet and cute. They often feature small everyday moments and family and friends bonding. I have a special fondness for the ones that have very detailed descriptions of food, when characters say stuff like “The X and Y in this dish really brings out the Z” even though it makes me hungry sometimes.
Slice-of-life manga can overlap with all kinds of genres. The ones I’ve recced here are all set in contemporary Japan but I’ve also read a couple of post-apocliptic and historical slice-of-life stories, and I know there are other genres out there like fantasy that I haven’t explored yet.
I’m still learning the genre but I wanted to share a few of my favorites so far:
Hirayasumi by Keigo Shinzō— A story about two cousins living together in a small house in Tokyo. The younger cousin is an 18-yearold woman who just moved to Tokyo for art school, and the older cousin is a 29-year-old man who works a kinda dead-end job. He inherited the house from an old woman he befriended who didn't have any relatives. It’s very charming, I find both of the cousins relatable in different ways.
I really enjoy all the environments in this! The characters' rooms feel like a little glimpse into who they are. And the cityscapes are so warm and lived in!
(This is very popular at my library at the moment so this rec is for volumes 1-4)
Laid-Back Camp Vol. 15-17 by Afro— This is about a club of high school girls who go camping both together and separately. There are lots and lots of details about food and camping equipment, but I also enjoy the relationships between the girls and their growing friendships.
This also has wonderful landscapes. There are scenic campsites, of course, featuring lakes, mountains, trees, etc. But there are also good scenes of people traveling on buses, trains, roads through the mountains, etc.
Yotsuba&! #15 by Kiyohiko Azuma— A very cute manga about Yotsuba, a preschool girl, her adoptive dad, and their friends and family. It’s just full of everyday things like going shopping, trying new foods, and looking for rocks. Yotsuba is so lovable and also determined in everything she does, she really makes the whole thing work.
Silver Spoon, vol 14-15 by Hiromu Arakawa—This is a charming story about a city kid who goes to an agricultural high school to get away from everything. I love all the details about food, farming equipment, and rural life. The types of issues that Japanese farming families deal with in this book feel very familiar and true to life, from my limited experience of US rural life. They worry about things like land succession, how much to invest in big machines, etc. The author grew up on a farm and is clearly drawing from that experience.
Content note: death of named animals
Have you read any of these? What did you think? What other slice-of-life manga would you recommend?
Mo Dao Zu Shi: Rise and Shine, by LesbianlazerOwl for Shadaras.
Tuesday, 14 July 2026 01:59 pmfull_metal_ox posting in fancakeFandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi
Pairings/Characters: Mo Xuanyu, Wei Wuxian (mentioned), Nie Huaisang (implied), Lan Wangji (mentioned; implied); Mo Xuanyu/Himself, Mo Xuanyu & Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian (mentioned; implied), Mo Xuanyu -> Nie Huaisang (one-sided)
Rating: Explicit
Length: 4,927
Content Notes: Body Modification (voluntary), Cannibalism (mentioned as part of the culture), canon-typical ritual bloodletting, Classism, First Person POV, Needles, Scenery Porn
Creator Tags: Masturbation, Voyeurism, mermaid Mo Xuanyu, Non-Human Genitalia, Prehensile dick, Worldbuilding, Abyssal Mermaids, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, In that most of the sects are benthopelagic sea critters, And Wei Wuxian actually gets to talk to Mo Xuanyu, Monsterfucker Mo Xuanyu, POV Mo Xuanyu, Hair Kink (minor), self-bondage (minor), Misunderstandings
Creator Links: (AO3)![[archiveofourown.org profile]](/%20https://www.npmjs.com/package/ocr-https-archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
LesbianlazerOwl; (Dreamwidth) lazerowl; (Twitter) ![[x.com profile]](/%20https://www.npmjs.com/package/ocr-https-p2.dreamwidth.org/0abf207ab719/-/x.com/favicon.ico)
gay_lazerOwl
Theme: Unreliable Narrator, Cultural Differences, Interspecies Pairings, Languages & Linguistics, Mermaids, Pining, Worldbuilding, Xeno/Alien Biology
Summary: Mo Xuanyu lives alone at the edge of the habitable world, continuing Wei Wuxian's work and strengthening his cultivation. One day soon, he hopes to surpass the Yiling Laozu's power and follow him into the unknown. Complications arise.
Creator Notes: (Cut for length.) ( Continue. )
Reccer's Notes: LesbianlazerOwl’s AU where the Jiang and Jin Sects are deep-sea merfolk is a strange and rapturous gem that turns Lovecraftiana upside-down (from the POV of a character embodying everything Lovecraft abhorred: a queer Asian—here turned sea creature—looking to monsterfuck.)
With all the haughty smarter-than-the-sheeple dudgeon of the alienated Emo Kid, Abyssal Merman! and Seeker of Arcane Knowledge Mo Xuanyu follows his idol the Yiling Laozu’s forbidden explorations of the mysterious and unfathomable surface—where, according to rumor, he found love with an eldritch air fairy! (Should the author ever see fit, I’d love to read a Wangxian prequel.)
LesbianlazerOwl compresses an incredible amount of atmosphere and implicit worldbuilding into just short of 5000 words, in ways that encourage still further speculation (the Sunshot Campaign is referenced; what could justify such a name in this world, and what were the Wen—creatures of the infernal blazing heights of the Epipelagic Zone?)
Fanwork Links: Rise and Shine, byLesbianlazerOwl for Shadaras: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42602655
Collections: Mutual Masturbation Exchange.
Pairings/Characters: Mo Xuanyu, Wei Wuxian (mentioned), Nie Huaisang (implied), Lan Wangji (mentioned; implied); Mo Xuanyu/Himself, Mo Xuanyu & Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian (mentioned; implied), Mo Xuanyu -> Nie Huaisang (one-sided)
Rating: Explicit
Length: 4,927
Content Notes: Body Modification (voluntary), Cannibalism (mentioned as part of the culture), canon-typical ritual bloodletting, Classism, First Person POV, Needles, Scenery Porn
Creator Tags: Masturbation, Voyeurism, mermaid Mo Xuanyu, Non-Human Genitalia, Prehensile dick, Worldbuilding, Abyssal Mermaids, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, In that most of the sects are benthopelagic sea critters, And Wei Wuxian actually gets to talk to Mo Xuanyu, Monsterfucker Mo Xuanyu, POV Mo Xuanyu, Hair Kink (minor), self-bondage (minor), Misunderstandings
Creator Links: (AO3)
lazerowl; (Twitter) Theme: Unreliable Narrator, Cultural Differences, Interspecies Pairings, Languages & Linguistics, Mermaids, Pining, Worldbuilding, Xeno/Alien Biology
Summary: Mo Xuanyu lives alone at the edge of the habitable world, continuing Wei Wuxian's work and strengthening his cultivation. One day soon, he hopes to surpass the Yiling Laozu's power and follow him into the unknown. Complications arise.
Creator Notes: (Cut for length.) ( Continue. )
Reccer's Notes: LesbianlazerOwl’s AU where the Jiang and Jin Sects are deep-sea merfolk is a strange and rapturous gem that turns Lovecraftiana upside-down (from the POV of a character embodying everything Lovecraft abhorred: a queer Asian—here turned sea creature—looking to monsterfuck.)
With all the haughty smarter-than-the-sheeple dudgeon of the alienated Emo Kid, Abyssal Merman! and Seeker of Arcane Knowledge Mo Xuanyu follows his idol the Yiling Laozu’s forbidden explorations of the mysterious and unfathomable surface—where, according to rumor, he found love with an eldritch air fairy! (Should the author ever see fit, I’d love to read a Wangxian prequel.)
LesbianlazerOwl compresses an incredible amount of atmosphere and implicit worldbuilding into just short of 5000 words, in ways that encourage still further speculation (the Sunshot Campaign is referenced; what could justify such a name in this world, and what were the Wen—creatures of the infernal blazing heights of the Epipelagic Zone?)
Fanwork Links: Rise and Shine, by
Collections: Mutual Masturbation Exchange.
Tags:
- fandom: mo dao zu shi,
- length: 01.000 - 5.000 words,
- theme: au,
- theme: au: complete au,
- theme: au: complete au: mermaids,
- theme: cultural differences,
- theme: interspecies pairings,
- theme: languages & linguistics,
- theme: mythical creatures,
- theme: mythical creatures: mermaids,
- theme: pining,
- theme: unreliable narrator,
- theme: worldbuilding,
- theme: xeno/alien biology
I Suppose Vanilla Is In The Eye Of The Beholder.
Tuesday, 14 July 2026 03:58 pmrionaleonhartThe Goes Wrong fandom had a drabble event recently, Cornley Christmas (in July) Chaos 2026! Participants were invited to choose prompts from a list and write drabbles based on them.
I was hoping to write a drabble for each of the twelve prompts, but, alas, it went wrong; I fell just short with eleven! I had fun, though.
Here are my Goes Wrong drabble efforts! Mainly Chris/Robert, to nobody's surprise. The bolded phrase before each drabble is the prompt that inspired it.
( Eleven Goes Wrong drabbles. )
While I'm sharing Goes Wrong ficlets, I wrote one a couple of days ago in response to an anonymous request on Tumblr: I know you have said in the past that you see Robert as disappointingly vanilla when it comes to the bedroom compared to Chris, but I wondered if you might write something where he accidentally discovers that side of Chris?
( The Goes Wrong Show, Robert/Chris, 430 words. )
It's been fun to write some tiny things! Particularly about Robert and Chris's dynamic; I always have such a good time with these two weirdos.
I was hoping to write a drabble for each of the twelve prompts, but, alas, it went wrong; I fell just short with eleven! I had fun, though.
Here are my Goes Wrong drabble efforts! Mainly Chris/Robert, to nobody's surprise. The bolded phrase before each drabble is the prompt that inspired it.
( Eleven Goes Wrong drabbles. )
While I'm sharing Goes Wrong ficlets, I wrote one a couple of days ago in response to an anonymous request on Tumblr: I know you have said in the past that you see Robert as disappointingly vanilla when it comes to the bedroom compared to Chris, but I wondered if you might write something where he accidentally discovers that side of Chris?
( The Goes Wrong Show, Robert/Chris, 430 words. )
It's been fun to write some tiny things! Particularly about Robert and Chris's dynamic; I always have such a good time with these two weirdos.
Question thread #152
Tuesday, 14 July 2026 02:00 ampauamma posting in ![[site community profile]](/%20https://www.npmjs.com/package/ocr-https-www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_devIt's time for another question thread!
The rules:
- You may ask any dev-related question you have in a comment. (It doesn't even need to be about Dreamwidth, although if it involves a language/library/framework/database Dreamwidth doesn't use, you will probably get answers pointing that out and suggesting a better place to ask.)
- You may also answer any question, using the guidelines given in To Answer, Or Not To Answer and in this comment thread.
The rules:
- You may ask any dev-related question you have in a comment. (It doesn't even need to be about Dreamwidth, although if it involves a language/library/framework/database Dreamwidth doesn't use, you will probably get answers pointing that out and suggesting a better place to ask.)
- You may also answer any question, using the guidelines given in To Answer, Or Not To Answer and in this comment thread.
Performing An Impressive Abbey Road Tribute.
Monday, 13 July 2026 10:37 pmrionaleonhartI found myself near St James's Park today, after having lunch with a client, and on a whim I wandered in. I was familiar with the nearby Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, and I couldn't imagine St James's would be all that different, but, hey, I'd never been; I might as well take a look.
I spotted a body of water, so I made my way towards that. There were four swans swimming along in a group, and then I caught sight of their bills and WAIT A SECOND, THOSE AREN'T SWANS
I lost my mind with excitement and pelted down to the water to get a closer look. Pelicans! Pelicans just hanging out in London!! What??? Apparently they've lived in St James's Park for the last couple of centuries, and I had no idea!
I followed them on their journey along the lake and was richly rewarded when they climbed onto the opposite bank to feed their giant offspring. I now know that baby pelicans are huge and dark brown and go 'squonk squonk squonk'.
Couldn't get a good shot of the babies, alas, but here's a blurry bonus picture I accidentally took of a heron taking off.
I spotted a body of water, so I made my way towards that. There were four swans swimming along in a group, and then I caught sight of their bills and WAIT A SECOND, THOSE AREN'T SWANS
I lost my mind with excitement and pelted down to the water to get a closer look. Pelicans! Pelicans just hanging out in London!! What??? Apparently they've lived in St James's Park for the last couple of centuries, and I had no idea!
I followed them on their journey along the lake and was richly rewarded when they climbed onto the opposite bank to feed their giant offspring. I now know that baby pelicans are huge and dark brown and go 'squonk squonk squonk'.
Couldn't get a good shot of the babies, alas, but here's a blurry bonus picture I accidentally took of a heron taking off.
Day-late weekly proof of life: An impending deluge of jeans | Garden update | Various food things
Monday, 13 July 2026 10:17 amumadoshiReading: One of the libraries I use suddenly acquired 91 more ebook copies of The Gate of the Feral Gods (DCC book 4), so I'm reading that. I also started Abra Berens' Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables.
Watching: We're halfway through Widow's Bay now and, I think, pretty invested.
Materialism: In the last couple of weeks I've tipped over into desperately wanting new jeans that, y'know, actually fit well. (The ones I've been wearing for ages are passable but just not great, and it relatively recently occurred to me that I can probably get away with wearing normal jeans with metal bits [to which I'm allergic] most of the time, since I'm rarely out of the house for very long. And while years ago, the "coat the skin-touching metal bits in clear nail polish" didn't actually work well, there's always the option of just plain sewing fabric bits over those spots.) Yesterday I spent a truly appalling amount of money ordering an array of jeans from a couple of different stores, most of which will be returned...but hopefully I can get a pair or two I actually like out of it.
Growing: The lettuce is still doing well! I think that's going well enough that we'll try it again next year and see how it does when the elevated planter is closer to the house (which it has to be after this season). I probably won't opt to grow spinach again; the plants are doing okay, but only three came up and they're not producing enough to Do Something With Spinach, so their leaves are just getting tossed into salads with the lettuce.
Meanwhile, the sole cucumber plant now seems to be serious about growing, and the tomatoes are flowering to varying degrees. Apparently we should go out and do a bit of hand pollination, and we really need to do a bit of pruning, at least on the three indeterminate plants.
Foodstuffs:scruloose made the Easy Swiss Chard Stir Fry from Omnivore's Cookbook to use the rainbow chard from our first week of farmshare, and if making it again, would increase both the garlic and soy sauce and also make it in the wok rather than the deep frying pan, which wasn't quite up to the mass of the chard greens. Sadly, I didn't like it much, which I suspect is a general chard thing rather than being due to this recipe. But we may try it again sometime.
Farmshare from last week (week 2): onions, new potatoes, strawberries, beets, parsley (flat?), and celeriac. This time the fridge wasn't straight-up exploding with greens. We still have to use the beets and celeriac, both of which are new to me; I think in both cases we're just planning to roast them and see what we think.
Having a car of our own means being able to just...get up and go to the produce stand we really like (which does sadly mean lower odds of making it to the corner farmers' market on Saturdays, but I'm hoping we'll still make it there during berry season). We went both Saturday and yesterday morning. The summer strawberries are just wrapping up (we tried four varieties through them over the last few weeks: Brunswick, Laurel, Jewel, and Evelyn), and yesterday we were able to also get our first raspberries and cherries of the season (both were sold out by the time we got to the front of the line on Saturday, which is a bit alarming given that we got there within half an hour of opening time). All of the remaining strawberries got roasted yesterday.
Watching: We're halfway through Widow's Bay now and, I think, pretty invested.
Materialism: In the last couple of weeks I've tipped over into desperately wanting new jeans that, y'know, actually fit well. (The ones I've been wearing for ages are passable but just not great, and it relatively recently occurred to me that I can probably get away with wearing normal jeans with metal bits [to which I'm allergic] most of the time, since I'm rarely out of the house for very long. And while years ago, the "coat the skin-touching metal bits in clear nail polish" didn't actually work well, there's always the option of just plain sewing fabric bits over those spots.) Yesterday I spent a truly appalling amount of money ordering an array of jeans from a couple of different stores, most of which will be returned...but hopefully I can get a pair or two I actually like out of it.
Growing: The lettuce is still doing well! I think that's going well enough that we'll try it again next year and see how it does when the elevated planter is closer to the house (which it has to be after this season). I probably won't opt to grow spinach again; the plants are doing okay, but only three came up and they're not producing enough to Do Something With Spinach, so their leaves are just getting tossed into salads with the lettuce.
Meanwhile, the sole cucumber plant now seems to be serious about growing, and the tomatoes are flowering to varying degrees. Apparently we should go out and do a bit of hand pollination, and we really need to do a bit of pruning, at least on the three indeterminate plants.
Foodstuffs:
scruloose made the Easy Swiss Chard Stir Fry from Omnivore's Cookbook to use the rainbow chard from our first week of farmshare, and if making it again, would increase both the garlic and soy sauce and also make it in the wok rather than the deep frying pan, which wasn't quite up to the mass of the chard greens. Sadly, I didn't like it much, which I suspect is a general chard thing rather than being due to this recipe. But we may try it again sometime.Farmshare from last week (week 2): onions, new potatoes, strawberries, beets, parsley (flat?), and celeriac. This time the fridge wasn't straight-up exploding with greens. We still have to use the beets and celeriac, both of which are new to me; I think in both cases we're just planning to roast them and see what we think.
Having a car of our own means being able to just...get up and go to the produce stand we really like (which does sadly mean lower odds of making it to the corner farmers' market on Saturdays, but I'm hoping we'll still make it there during berry season). We went both Saturday and yesterday morning. The summer strawberries are just wrapping up (we tried four varieties through them over the last few weeks: Brunswick, Laurel, Jewel, and Evelyn), and yesterday we were able to also get our first raspberries and cherries of the season (both were sold out by the time we got to the front of the line on Saturday, which is a bit alarming given that we got there within half an hour of opening time). All of the remaining strawberries got roasted yesterday.
Reaching the End
Sunday, 12 July 2026 12:52 pmyourlibrarian1) I find it interesting that in the era of the reboot, even websites and magazines now fall into that trend. ( Read more... )
2) At the same time, entertainment of all kinds has now infiltrated areas of society, business and governance in a way that has made it less distinct than before. If that gets people to pay attention to issues usually outside of their habits, then I see that as a good thing. But the way that everything has now become a form of entertainment, and seriousness or expertise of any kind is downplayed, seems a lot less of a plus.
3) Pillowfort has announced it will pursue non-profit status and as such is looking for people to step forward and become officers as well as various kinds of volunteers.
"I started Pillowfort ten years ago because I, like many others, was growing frustrated with how shareholder interference and corporate greed was degrading social media platforms. The need for a site like Pillowfort, that puts its users first, doesn’t take venture capital funding, and doesn’t subject its users to corporate censorship for the sake of ad revenue, has only grown since the site was launched nearly 10 years ago."
4) Speaking of Pillowfort,osteophage posted How Pillowfort Built a Comment Culture Worth Emulating which I find interesting to compare to how DW functions.
5) England vs Norway. ( Read more... )
2) At the same time, entertainment of all kinds has now infiltrated areas of society, business and governance in a way that has made it less distinct than before. If that gets people to pay attention to issues usually outside of their habits, then I see that as a good thing. But the way that everything has now become a form of entertainment, and seriousness or expertise of any kind is downplayed, seems a lot less of a plus.
3) Pillowfort has announced it will pursue non-profit status and as such is looking for people to step forward and become officers as well as various kinds of volunteers.
"I started Pillowfort ten years ago because I, like many others, was growing frustrated with how shareholder interference and corporate greed was degrading social media platforms. The need for a site like Pillowfort, that puts its users first, doesn’t take venture capital funding, and doesn’t subject its users to corporate censorship for the sake of ad revenue, has only grown since the site was launched nearly 10 years ago."
4) Speaking of Pillowfort,
osteophage posted How Pillowfort Built a Comment Culture Worth Emulating which I find interesting to compare to how DW functions.5) England vs Norway. ( Read more... )
Poll #34824 Kudos Footer-599
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Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 9
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 9
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Not an update post
Saturday, 11 July 2026 10:45 pmmarinaThings I wish I had time for: writing a proper post about media/my life.
Things I actually have time for: this brief post to ask about very practical travel considerations.
*
So, I tried to make this happen last year and it didn't work out, and it will likely still not work out this year either, BUT I am very keen on trying.
For work/family/sanity reasons I might be in the US at some point during August-September (yes, as in a few weeks from now). If this happens, I might have discretionary time to visit friends, whether locally or in some other area of the continent, so would love to hear from you if you'll be around and want to meet up during that time.
The one location I'm guaranteed to visit, if I go, is New York City, so please let me know if you're there and would want to meet up!
If elsewhere in the US (or Canada) and want to meet, let me know as well! I haven't been to that part of the world in over a decade so, no idea who's where these days/would want to meet me.
Let me know <3 Comments or private DW message both OK.
Things I actually have time for: this brief post to ask about very practical travel considerations.
*
So, I tried to make this happen last year and it didn't work out, and it will likely still not work out this year either, BUT I am very keen on trying.
For work/family/sanity reasons I might be in the US at some point during August-September (yes, as in a few weeks from now). If this happens, I might have discretionary time to visit friends, whether locally or in some other area of the continent, so would love to hear from you if you'll be around and want to meet up during that time.
The one location I'm guaranteed to visit, if I go, is New York City, so please let me know if you're there and would want to meet up!
If elsewhere in the US (or Canada) and want to meet, let me know as well! I haven't been to that part of the world in over a decade so, no idea who's where these days/would want to meet me.
Let me know <3 Comments or private DW message both OK.
Tasks Galore
Saturday, 11 July 2026 01:32 pmyourlibrarian1) I got a bit of a break in between the time the workmen finished in our apartment and my partner came back from visiting his family. There were things to be done but I needed him here to do them. ( Read more... )
2) I had an especially poor night of sleep, getting maybe 3 hours yesterday. I ended up reading from 4 AM onwards until 6 when the grocery opened. It was my first grocery shop for two weeks so it was mostly fresh foods I had to restock.
One real plus is that I suspect the store had over-ordered watermelon for the 4th of July. I had to double take when I walked past the boxes and saw that they were marked at 99 cents. Not per pound, per watermelon! I hadn't planned to buy any since I had cherries I wanted to stock up on. But they were mostly bright red, so I just got one bag of dark ones. And two watermelons -- the ripest looking ones of the dozen or so left.
3) I also wanted my partner back to watch stuff on Prime before we cancel it. We saw the finale of Good Omens. ( Read more... )
4) Spain vs. Belgium. ( Read more... )
2) I had an especially poor night of sleep, getting maybe 3 hours yesterday. I ended up reading from 4 AM onwards until 6 when the grocery opened. It was my first grocery shop for two weeks so it was mostly fresh foods I had to restock.
One real plus is that I suspect the store had over-ordered watermelon for the 4th of July. I had to double take when I walked past the boxes and saw that they were marked at 99 cents. Not per pound, per watermelon! I hadn't planned to buy any since I had cherries I wanted to stock up on. But they were mostly bright red, so I just got one bag of dark ones. And two watermelons -- the ripest looking ones of the dozen or so left.
3) I also wanted my partner back to watch stuff on Prime before we cancel it. We saw the finale of Good Omens. ( Read more... )
4) Spain vs. Belgium. ( Read more... )
Poll #34818 Kudos Footer-598
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Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7
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Amok Time cross stitch by T’Kay Vulcartist (SFW)
Saturday, 11 July 2026 10:41 amjuniperphoenix posting in fanart_recsFandom: Star Trek
Characters/Pairing/Other Subject: Kirk and Spock
Content Notes/Warnings: n/a
Medium: cross stitch
Artist Website/Gallery:![[tumblr.com profile]](/%20https://www.npmjs.com/package/ocr-https-www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
vulcartist
Why this piece is awesome: This is the fight scene from "Amok Time" in cross stitch, complete with shadows and highlights and the slash across Jim's shirt. I can't imagine how many hours this took!
Link: Amok Time cross stitch
Characters/Pairing/Other Subject: Kirk and Spock
Content Notes/Warnings: n/a
Medium: cross stitch
Artist Website/Gallery:
Why this piece is awesome: This is the fight scene from "Amok Time" in cross stitch, complete with shadows and highlights and the slash across Jim's shirt. I can't imagine how many hours this took!
Link: Amok Time cross stitch
Every Day, They Bring Out The Worst In Each Other.
Saturday, 11 July 2026 08:37 amrionaleonhartAfter sharing my thoughts about how Robert of The Goes Wrong Show would react upon learning Chris was trans, I received another anonymous message on Tumblr: hiii do you have any more thoughts on trans!chris/robert??? i really enjoyed what you wrote!!! •ᴗ•
So, for an alternative scenario, what if Chris joins the drama society while he's still presenting as a woman, meaning that he comes out as a trans man when he and Robert already know each other? Again, I'm envisioning Robert somehow managing to be completely unfamiliar with the concept of being trans.
At first, when Chris attempts to explain that he's a man, Robert assumes Chris is simply mistaken and attempts to 'help' by explaining Chris's gender to him. No, Chris, you must have lost your memory. I've known you for years, and you've been a woman the entire time. Look, I've got photographs.
("For God's sake, Robert, you don't unders— why do you have so many photographs of me? When did you take these?")
Eventually, Chris manages to communicate that he'd like to be referred to as 'he'. Robert clearly doesn't understand the point of this exercise, though, and he makes an effort so token it's almost worse than not trying at all; he gets Chris's pronouns right maybe twenty percent of the time. He also hasn't grasped that this is a permanent state of affairs; when Chris corrects him on his pronouns the next day, Robert's response is "What, still?"
And then Chris hits on the answer. "Look, Robert, just think of this as an acting exercise. Up to this point, I was playing a female role. From now on, I'm playing a male role, and you should play your part accordingly."
It clicks for Robert instantly. Suddenly he takes great pride in treating Chris as a man, and in correcting anyone who slips up. Chris has no idea of whether Robert thinks of him as a man, but he'll take it.
So, for an alternative scenario, what if Chris joins the drama society while he's still presenting as a woman, meaning that he comes out as a trans man when he and Robert already know each other? Again, I'm envisioning Robert somehow managing to be completely unfamiliar with the concept of being trans.
At first, when Chris attempts to explain that he's a man, Robert assumes Chris is simply mistaken and attempts to 'help' by explaining Chris's gender to him. No, Chris, you must have lost your memory. I've known you for years, and you've been a woman the entire time. Look, I've got photographs.
("For God's sake, Robert, you don't unders— why do you have so many photographs of me? When did you take these?")
Eventually, Chris manages to communicate that he'd like to be referred to as 'he'. Robert clearly doesn't understand the point of this exercise, though, and he makes an effort so token it's almost worse than not trying at all; he gets Chris's pronouns right maybe twenty percent of the time. He also hasn't grasped that this is a permanent state of affairs; when Chris corrects him on his pronouns the next day, Robert's response is "What, still?"
And then Chris hits on the answer. "Look, Robert, just think of this as an acting exercise. Up to this point, I was playing a female role. From now on, I'm playing a male role, and you should play your part accordingly."
It clicks for Robert instantly. Suddenly he takes great pride in treating Chris as a man, and in correcting anyone who slips up. Chris has no idea of whether Robert thinks of him as a man, but he'll take it.
Down to One a Day
Friday, 10 July 2026 05:20 pmyourlibrarian1) Signal boosting Squidgeworld's call for feedback about how to handle guest comments on the site. "Commission spammers (at least this most recent one) have been copy & pasting entire stories into ChatGPT, and then having ChatGPT formulate a question about that fic. So while a guest comment may have sounded heart-felt, if the comment ended with a, "Why do you think..." or "What inspired you to..." question, then they didn't read your story and come up with a question; AI did. And the person literally copy & pasted a ChatGPT generated question into a comment - that's how we knew.
The easiest way to deal with these type of people is to disable guest comments completely."
2) Platforms sought no age proof for any of 50 test accounts declaring age 16, researchers said. "Some dummy accounts received advertisements for youth banking products, an indication the platform registered the person's age range, Hammond said. One account which signed up to Elon Musk's X claiming to be 16 was served pornographic content, he added. None of the platforms let users sign up if they declared they were under 16. But just one, Australia-based live-streaming platform Kick, refused to let users create an account without proof of age."
3) The decline in reading cuts across age groups, gender, and education levels. "From 1984 to 2025, the percentage of 13-year-olds who said they rarely or never read for fun rose from 8 to 29 percent. Every year older a child gets, the less they like to read. Robert Townsend, a program director at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, recently ran focus groups asking high-school students how they felt about reading for pleasure. He told me that most thought of it as an alien practice."
What I found most fascinating was this study's results: ( Read more... )
4) And it's not just text that video is displacing: End of an Era: Longtime Podcast Hosts Go Quiet as Video Dominates "Over the past year, various indicators of this transition have been piling up. Marc Maron ended his program after 16 years. Al Franken, an audio evangelist going back to the days of Air America in 2004, released his final episode last week, too. And many of the remaining audio-centric stars are attempting video in some fashion. (Witness Ira Glass, who is now recording promotional clips for This American Life.)"
5) France versus Morocco. ( Read more... )
The easiest way to deal with these type of people is to disable guest comments completely."
2) Platforms sought no age proof for any of 50 test accounts declaring age 16, researchers said. "Some dummy accounts received advertisements for youth banking products, an indication the platform registered the person's age range, Hammond said. One account which signed up to Elon Musk's X claiming to be 16 was served pornographic content, he added. None of the platforms let users sign up if they declared they were under 16. But just one, Australia-based live-streaming platform Kick, refused to let users create an account without proof of age."
3) The decline in reading cuts across age groups, gender, and education levels. "From 1984 to 2025, the percentage of 13-year-olds who said they rarely or never read for fun rose from 8 to 29 percent. Every year older a child gets, the less they like to read. Robert Townsend, a program director at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, recently ran focus groups asking high-school students how they felt about reading for pleasure. He told me that most thought of it as an alien practice."
What I found most fascinating was this study's results: ( Read more... )
4) And it's not just text that video is displacing: End of an Era: Longtime Podcast Hosts Go Quiet as Video Dominates "Over the past year, various indicators of this transition have been piling up. Marc Maron ended his program after 16 years. Al Franken, an audio evangelist going back to the days of Air America in 2004, released his final episode last week, too. And many of the remaining audio-centric stars are attempting video in some fashion. (Witness Ira Glass, who is now recording promotional clips for This American Life.)"
5) France versus Morocco. ( Read more... )
Poll #34815 Kudos Footer-598
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Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8
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Media Roundup: Lots of Thoughts
Thursday, 9 July 2026 02:19 pmforestofgloryIt hasn’t been that long since the last media roundup and I haven't read that much but I had lots of thoughts that I wanted to share, so have a post:
Hirayasumi, vol 3+4 by Keigo Shinzō— This continues to be very charming. I’m loving all the little details.The cityscapes here feel so warm and lived in! I'm not sure if it's a slice of life manga thing, a manga thing or just an artifact of my limited selection but I've been really enjoying the land/cityscapes in the slice of life manga I've been reading recently
Content note: fatphobia/diet culture
Silver Spoon, vol 14-15 by Hiromu Arakawa— I’m working on a rec list of slice of life manga and I was reminded that I’ve never read the last two volumes of this series. I'd always meant to reread the rest of the series but that felt like too much of a project. So I ended up just reading these last two volumes – it wasn’t that hard to pick up, there’s helpful story summary in the front of each volume.
This is a charming story about a city kid who goes to an ag high school to get away from everything. I love all the details and about farming, food equipment and rural life. I thought it wrapped up nicely!
Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, Vol. 1 by C.R.C. Payne, StarBite, et al— I’ve been meaning to read this for a long time, and it was mentioned in the comments of my superhero comics rec list, so I finally got around to it. I ended up getting it on paper because the endless scroll webtoon format isn’t great for my hands.
It’s like a cute slice of life comic about the batfam. It’s got a very fic vibe, things are chill and everyone more or less gets along. Which sounds like exactly what I want in a batfam comic but for this first volume at least, felt a little flat actually. I wanted a bit more conflict or angst or something. I’m generally pretty happy with low conflict personal stakes stuff, but I guess these versions of the character feel a little shallow. Each story is so short, like five pages, its just hard to get much depth in that length.
(I’ll probably read some more of this because it is cute and free online. Maybe if I space out the episodes more it will not only not bother my hands as much but feel less bland.
X-men: The Animated Series season 1— Since I'm more open to Superhero media these days, R suggested we watch this animated series from the 90’s. It’s fun! I like that it's got a big team, though it does mean most characters don’t get much screentime. I also like that they are pretty much just fighting for mutant civil rights. There’s a lot less for me to suspend my moral disbelief about here than in most superhero stories I’ve encountered recently.
Hirayasumi, vol 3+4 by Keigo Shinzō— This continues to be very charming. I’m loving all the little details.The cityscapes here feel so warm and lived in! I'm not sure if it's a slice of life manga thing, a manga thing or just an artifact of my limited selection but I've been really enjoying the land/cityscapes in the slice of life manga I've been reading recently
Content note: fatphobia/diet culture
Silver Spoon, vol 14-15 by Hiromu Arakawa— I’m working on a rec list of slice of life manga and I was reminded that I’ve never read the last two volumes of this series. I'd always meant to reread the rest of the series but that felt like too much of a project. So I ended up just reading these last two volumes – it wasn’t that hard to pick up, there’s helpful story summary in the front of each volume.
This is a charming story about a city kid who goes to an ag high school to get away from everything. I love all the details and about farming, food equipment and rural life. I thought it wrapped up nicely!
Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, Vol. 1 by C.R.C. Payne, StarBite, et al— I’ve been meaning to read this for a long time, and it was mentioned in the comments of my superhero comics rec list, so I finally got around to it. I ended up getting it on paper because the endless scroll webtoon format isn’t great for my hands.
It’s like a cute slice of life comic about the batfam. It’s got a very fic vibe, things are chill and everyone more or less gets along. Which sounds like exactly what I want in a batfam comic but for this first volume at least, felt a little flat actually. I wanted a bit more conflict or angst or something. I’m generally pretty happy with low conflict personal stakes stuff, but I guess these versions of the character feel a little shallow. Each story is so short, like five pages, its just hard to get much depth in that length.
(I’ll probably read some more of this because it is cute and free online. Maybe if I space out the episodes more it will not only not bother my hands as much but feel less bland.
X-men: The Animated Series season 1— Since I'm more open to Superhero media these days, R suggested we watch this animated series from the 90’s. It’s fun! I like that it's got a big team, though it does mean most characters don’t get much screentime. I also like that they are pretty much just fighting for mutant civil rights. There’s a lot less for me to suspend my moral disbelief about here than in most superhero stories I’ve encountered recently.
Bottoms. Yes. Infinite Variety.
Thursday, 9 July 2026 09:04 pmrionaleonhartThe trouble with putting Chris and Robert of The Goes Wrong Show in bed together, and I say this as a big Chris/Robert fan, is that I feel Robert is romantic and vanilla in bed, whereas Chris has a masochistic streak a mile wide and just wants someone to tie him up and whip him. I attempted to write a fic in which Chris asks Robert to hurt him, and it never got anywhere because Robert's response was just '??? that doesn't seem right.'
Robert will hurt you unintentionally in the course of acting, and he'll hurt you deliberately in order to steal your role, but he just doesn't think the bedroom is the place for that sort of thing. Which is, I'll be honest, Robert, extremely inconvenient for me personally.
Anyway! While I'm talking about Chris/Robert, I received an anonymous question on Tumblr:
I was wondering if you had any thoughts about how the Robert/Chris dynamic would be if Chris were a trans man. I imagine Chris would be stealth so Robert might not even know until they started whatever you would call their bizarre but fascinating relationship.
I can see exactly how this would come to light. Chris and Robert end up furiously making out after an argument, unplanned and unexpected, and then Chris feels Robert's hands heading below the belt and panics, starts pulling away, "There's something I need to tell you—"
"Chris," Robert says, with a concerned frown, "your penis appears to be missing."
Chris is so thrown - by the situation as a whole, but particularly by the fact that Robert is imparting this information as if he's worried that Chris might not know - that he completely forgets anything he was about to say.
"Do you need the hospital?" Robert asks.
Chris swallows, with some difficulty. "No, I'm... I'm fine. This is the, er, the intended state of affairs."
Robert's frown eases, but only a little. "Do you have any genitalia at all? Because I did rather have plans."
Does Robert... does Robert know what being trans is? "Er, I..."
How is Chris supposed to articulate this? It's a tricky thing to phrase at the best of times, let alone when he's so aroused he can't think straight and faced by someone to whom the entire concept is apparently new.
"May I check?" Robert asks. "If you're not sure?"
Chris shrugs, helplessly. "I... I suppose."
Robert strips off Chris's trousers and pants, swiftly and matter-of-factly. Contemplates him for a moment. All Chris can do is stand there, blushing furiously.
"Oh," Robert says, brightening, "that's fine. I know exactly what to do with one of these."
And, as it turns out, he does.
Robert will hurt you unintentionally in the course of acting, and he'll hurt you deliberately in order to steal your role, but he just doesn't think the bedroom is the place for that sort of thing. Which is, I'll be honest, Robert, extremely inconvenient for me personally.
Anyway! While I'm talking about Chris/Robert, I received an anonymous question on Tumblr:
I was wondering if you had any thoughts about how the Robert/Chris dynamic would be if Chris were a trans man. I imagine Chris would be stealth so Robert might not even know until they started whatever you would call their bizarre but fascinating relationship.
I can see exactly how this would come to light. Chris and Robert end up furiously making out after an argument, unplanned and unexpected, and then Chris feels Robert's hands heading below the belt and panics, starts pulling away, "There's something I need to tell you—"
"Chris," Robert says, with a concerned frown, "your penis appears to be missing."
Chris is so thrown - by the situation as a whole, but particularly by the fact that Robert is imparting this information as if he's worried that Chris might not know - that he completely forgets anything he was about to say.
"Do you need the hospital?" Robert asks.
Chris swallows, with some difficulty. "No, I'm... I'm fine. This is the, er, the intended state of affairs."
Robert's frown eases, but only a little. "Do you have any genitalia at all? Because I did rather have plans."
Does Robert... does Robert know what being trans is? "Er, I..."
How is Chris supposed to articulate this? It's a tricky thing to phrase at the best of times, let alone when he's so aroused he can't think straight and faced by someone to whom the entire concept is apparently new.
"May I check?" Robert asks. "If you're not sure?"
Chris shrugs, helplessly. "I... I suppose."
Robert strips off Chris's trousers and pants, swiftly and matter-of-factly. Contemplates him for a moment. All Chris can do is stand there, blushing furiously.
"Oh," Robert says, brightening, "that's fine. I know exactly what to do with one of these."
And, as it turns out, he does.
Galaxygazer Concept
Thursday, 9 July 2026 03:27 amkalloway
Stargazer + Galaxy backpack + pink. Probably the quickest I've had an idea and then just bought and built it. Not an entirely clean job but given the circumstances, I'm really pleased with the end result.
