Ken Day Come-Ons: The Empire Strikes Ken
Mar. 12th, 2026 01:00 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
cakewrecks_feedAnd now, our yearly tradition continues...
[dimming lights]
[queuing up sexy saxophone music]
[adjusting Speedo]
Hey, Bebeh.
How YOU doin'?
Today is Ken Day, bebeh doll, and that means I'm here to make all your sexy, sexy dreams come true.
Except maybe that one.
(Never again, Cancun. NEVER AGAIN.)
That's right, my sprinkle-coated sugar dumpling, I am about to rock your world ... by dealing you a hand of Blackjack:
Or, wait... this is a hot tub? Oh. Ok. EVEN BETTER. Mrowr.
Now, slide that sweet little personality of yours over here, and have an enormous glass of ketchup:
I warmed up this side of the concrete slab just for you. [eyebrow waggle]
What's wrong, my tangy berry sweet tart? Is the concrete not to your liking?
Perhaps you'd prefer some Satin Ice* sheets?
I don't lounge this casually for just anyone, you know. Mostly because I lack articulated elbows.
(*That one's for you, decorators.)
These boxers are really confining, though, my scrumptious fondant-wrapped cheesecake bite.
Here, let me slip into something a little more comfortable:
You can't see it, but I'm totally flexing for you right now. Unnng.
Ahh, I can tell by your dismayed expression that you're thinking EXACTLY what I'm thinking, my honey-drenched pudding pop: this DOES cover up too many of my "finer assets." [wink] Well, don't you worry. I can fix that.
[grunting]
[squelching noises]
Ok, my candy-coated cake pop! Prepare to meet ... THE LOINCLOTH OF LOVE:
Take me away, officer; I surrender to YOUR SEXINESS.
Oh, and I should warn you: objects in the rear view are much hotter than they appear.
[jiggle jiggle]
Thanks to Sara O., Sanne V., Mary Ann B., Frank M., Laura S., Renee D., & Lauri M. for helping me retroactively ruin a lot of people's childhoods.
*****
A few years ago, after John and I first published this post, we received an e-mail from readers Charity and Royce. That e-mail contained an audio file. An audio file that, once played, would change our lives forever.
Or at least make us laugh like hyenas for a good five minutes.
So today, for your wrecking pleasure, we present that audio, combined with our original visuals. Turn up the volume, and ENJOY.
Note from john (thoJ): When I was making this video, I pitched down Royce's voice just a bit for sexiness. When I showed Jen, she asked if I could pitch it way UP. The result is, if possible, even more hysterical.
So I present to you... The chipmunk version!
Update, Netchoice v Wilson (South Carolina): motion for preliminary injunction filed
Mar. 12th, 2026 10:35 am![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
denise posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_advocacyCase: Netchoice v Wilson, 3:26-cv-00543, (D.S.C.)
Netchoice's litigation page: Netchoice v Wilson
Netchoice filed the motion for preliminary injunction on March 9. It isn't available on the docket in RECAP yet (and I'm over my threshold for PACER fees that will get refunded for the quarter, or else I'd put it there!) but it is available on Netchoice's litigation page: Motion for Preliminary Injunction. They haven't included the declarations, but here's Dreamwidth's declaration as filed, authored by yours truly. Because of the wild incoherence of so many of the provisions of this law, many of which were new because a lot of states have switched to using different model legislation, I had to write almost all of our declaration for this one from scratch (while recovering from a lumbar puncture, lying flat on my back in bed: never let it be said I am not completely extra about the lengths to which I will go to fight against this bullshit), so much less of it will look familiar than usual, but boy was I mad.
We'll let you know when the judge makes a ruling on the PI! And three cheers as always for the Netchoice team and for the outside litigation counsel team, who is Lehotsky Keller Cohn for this one and who put in massively heroic effort to get this filed as fast as possible thanks to the law taking immediate effect.
Netchoice's litigation page: Netchoice v Wilson
Netchoice filed the motion for preliminary injunction on March 9. It isn't available on the docket in RECAP yet (and I'm over my threshold for PACER fees that will get refunded for the quarter, or else I'd put it there!) but it is available on Netchoice's litigation page: Motion for Preliminary Injunction. They haven't included the declarations, but here's Dreamwidth's declaration as filed, authored by yours truly. Because of the wild incoherence of so many of the provisions of this law, many of which were new because a lot of states have switched to using different model legislation, I had to write almost all of our declaration for this one from scratch (while recovering from a lumbar puncture, lying flat on my back in bed: never let it be said I am not completely extra about the lengths to which I will go to fight against this bullshit), so much less of it will look familiar than usual, but boy was I mad.
We'll let you know when the judge makes a ruling on the PI! And three cheers as always for the Netchoice team and for the outside litigation counsel team, who is Lehotsky Keller Cohn for this one and who put in massively heroic effort to get this filed as fast as possible thanks to the law taking immediate effect.
The Big Idea: Cindy Cohn
Mar. 12th, 2026 01:51 pmscalziwhatever_feed
When you’re trying to get folks excited about their own digital rights, a lot will depend on the examples you give them to understand the fight. As the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Cindy Cohn certainly has examples. But which ones to choose? In this Big Idea for Privacy’s Defender, Cohn offers up her choices and explains why they matter.
CINDY COHN:
Do we have the right to have a private conversation online?
In this age of constant, pervasive surveillance, both government and corporate, how do you get people to believe that they can and should have that right?
And how do you show that safeguarding privacy is part of safeguarding a free, open and democratic society?
In Privacy’s Defender, my Big Idea is that by telling some rollicking stories about my three big fights for digital privacy over the past 30 years, I might inspire people not only to understand why privacy matters, but to actually start fighting for it themselves.
The challenge was different for each of the three stories I told. The first one, about cryptography, was in many ways the easiest, since it had a pretty straightforward narrative. Before the beginning of the broad public internet, in the early 1990s, I led a ragtag bunch of hackers and lawyers who sued to fight a federal law that treated encryption – specifically “software with the capability of maintaining secrecy” – as a weapon. We argued that code is speech and put together a case based on the First Amendment. By pulling in help from academics, scientists, companies and others, and by the grace of several women judges who were willing to listen to us in spite of the government’s national security claims on the other side, we won.
Many other stories from the early public internet are about men and the products they built. This one is different: It tells how some scruffy underdogs beat the national security infrastructure and brought all of us the promise of a more secure internet. But it’s otherwise kind of a hero’s tale with a dramatic ending when I was called to DC to negotiate the government’s surrender.
The second and third stories don’t end in such clean wins, which perhaps makes them more typical of how actual change happens when you are up against the government.
The second set of stories are about the cases we brought against the National Security Agency’s mass spying, starting after the New York Times revealed in late 2005 that the government was spying on Americans on our home soil. The fight was pushed forward by a whistleblower named Mark Klein who literally knocked on our front door at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in early 2006 with details of how the NSA was tapping into the internet’s backbone at key junctures, including in a secret room in an AT&T building in downtown San Francisco. This is the most cloak-and-dagger of the stories, made possible both by Mark’s courage and that of Edward Snowden, who revealed even more about the NSA spying in 2013 because he was angry at watching the government lie repeatedly to the American people, including before Congress.
As a result, Congress rushed in to protect… the phone companies, killing our first lawsuit. Later, after Snowden’s revelations, lawmakers passed some reforms to some of the programs we had sought to stop, but not nearly enough. In the end, the Supreme Court supported the government’s argument that – even though the whole world knew about the NSA spying and that it relied on access to information collected and handled by major telephone companies – identifying which company participated would violate the state secrets privilege. But we had dramatically shifted how the government did mass spying: ending two of the three programs we had sued over, scaling back the third, and providing far more public information about what the government was doing. In writing my book, I wanted to tell the truth about the progress we made without sugarcoating that we had not succeeded at nearly the scale that we did in the cryptography fights.
The third set of cases had a similar trajectory – an early win in the courts and some reform in Congress but ultimately not enough. These were the “Alphabet Cases” – so named because we couldn’t even name our clients publicly, assigning the cases letters instead – that we brought from 2011 through 2022 to scale back a kind of governmental subpoena called National Security Letters (NSLs), which let the FBI require companies to provide metadata about their customers but gagged them from ever telling anyone what had happened.
Though an appellate court ultimately sided with the government, we did succeed in helping our clients participate in the public debate and use their own experiences as evidence to counter the government’s misleading assertions. We had increased the procedural protections for those receiving NSLs, including clearing the way to challenge them with standards that were not quite as stacked against them. And we had helped create a path for corporate transparency reports that at least gave some information to the public about how often these controversial tools were being used.
I wanted this book to bring readers with me into the actual work, the bumpy ride, the incremental progress of protecting privacy, especially in the courts, in hope that people will think about how they too can join the fight. What we worried about in the 1990s, and fought to prevent in the 2000s and 2010s, seems closer than ever: that surveillance becomes the handmaiden of authoritarianism. But even in our troubled times, I’m confident that we are not powerless and we can prevail if we are patient, smart, thoughtful and work together. The Big Idea is that privacy is not just a coat of anonymity that you throw on before doing something embarrassing – it’s a check against unbridled government power. And as it turns out, the actual work of protecting that privacy can make for a fun, exciting and surprising life.
Privacy’s Defender: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop
Author socials: Website
Been reading books of old, the legends and the myths.
Mar. 12th, 2026 04:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beansideIt's Thursday at 4am, must be time to get up. I probably should get used to it, since I will probably move my alarm back when I start school so I have time in the morning to study or do my classwork.
Yesterday was payday, so always a good day. Mostly, I took calls, as we were crazy busy. Like 20 calls holding in the queue busy. I'm looking forward to that being done in a couple of weeks. Not that I mind the calls that much, but it'll be nice to only make outbound calls. I love when patients call you back hours after I call them for a same/next day appt. I cannot hold it that long, my good bitch. That's why my message says "if you get this by _____, please call back, I can hold the appointment until then." Some days I love patients. I was perky as hell yesterday, and I have no idea why. I think I had a somewhat rude patient, and so I perked at them, and then I couldn't turn it off.
I asked J. a follow up question. Apparently, I can still do OT, which is lovely. That'll be $45/hr Every couple of weekends, which should be lovely. IT'll probably damn near pay for Hawaii next year, especially if they want us to work any holidays this year. I am 100% here to work Memorial, Fourth of July, Labor and MLK again if they need me. I love those extra 8 hours of PTO.
After work, we threw in some potatoes to bake, and I cooked up some steaks in the cast iron pan. I used another of my "hype" presents, some Aloha Smoke Spice from Kailua Seasoning Company. OMG, it was SO good. Lightly smoky, a little bit of chili, but not enough to bother even my whitest of palates. But overall, it was salty and delicious and brought out the flavor of the steak even more. I loved it. So far, Hawaii has not disappointed. I've got the macadamia nuts, which are excellent. I got the macadamia butter shortbread and the white chocolate coconut shortbread, and those have been amazing.
After dinner, we had game scheduled, but the electric had other intentions. It went out with an almighty bang right around 6:30pm, and came back on after 1am. No game for us. And another one to reschedule *bangs head*. I stayed up for a while, hoping it would come back on, but eventually the early morning caught up with me and I fell asleep with my phone on my chest.
We did have some storms, though not severe like the weather said they might be. And at one point a tornado warning that was cancelled almost as quickly as it occurred, so that was fun.
Thanks to the weather dropping from 80 degrees to 40 degrees today, Jess had a particularly bad migraine, and my head and neck were twinging too. I would have been fine to play, but Jess had already dropped out of the game for the night.
Today, we're having tomato soup and grilled cheese. The BIL brought over his homemade tomato soup, so we've gotta use that up.
I'm sure work will be busy again, as it has all week. We'll see what I end up doing most of the day. Maybe there will be another Cardiac slot that opens so I get a little bit of time off the phones.
I don't know when they're going to set up everything for me. I think there are a few things to download on my computer before I start the new job. I need access to the queue as well as the main inbox, and I'm sure a few other things. I, of course, am ready to go. Get me set up and let's light this thing.
They pushed the rollout for the new phone system back a little further. Our team is too big, so they're putting us in two groups. Whoo. They say that everything has to be wired for it. Wired headset, ethernet connection. That is going to be an enormous pain in the ass. I am litterally paralell with the box, but there's a 15 foot kitchen wall between it. So, I'm going to have to tack the cord up over the cabinets, or under them. It's really freaking annoying. I got myself a 50' cord, so it should make it easily, but ugh. It's switching from an actual system to VOIP, so I expect problems. Massive problems. They don't know if we're still going to get screen pop ups in Epic, which is a lifesaver when you have a patient with a heavy accent. If they put in their phone number and date of birth, we will get a pop up with their chart. Then all we have to do is verify name and address. It has saved my ass many times, and I'm cranky that we may lose it. They want us to cut down on our talk time, but they're taking away one of our time savers. It's just corporate bullshit. Someone had a meeting, and they decided it looked good and was cheaper, and so they're switching it.
Tonight, after I make dinner, I suppose I will relax, and maybe watch a little videos. I'm flip flopping between Alaska and Hawaii videos. First I'll do one on excursions in Alaska, or boat tours, and then I'll pop back to Hawaiian food trucks. (They have some tasty looking food trucks. I'm especially looking forward to having garlic shrimp.) I think at this point, I can pretty much figure out my way around the ship. I know what floor all the important stuff is on. Our suite and the Neptune lounge is on 7, the food is on 2, 3 and 9 and the pool is deck 9. Oh, and the thermal spa is also on deck 9. Those are the important things.
We have a weekend of games, one tomorrow, one Sat and one Sunday. I'm looking forward to all of them. Tomorrow is my goth disasters in Vecna: Eve of Ruin. Saturday is the game in the style of epic Greek myths in Odyssey of the Dragonlords. And Sunday, I'm a player for Prophecy of the Nine Omens. I'm looking forward to all of them, but I'll admit, I'm especially fond of playing my Bladesinging wizard, Irsu. We're finally getting to the levels that wizards do some serious damage, which is always fun. Also, he's just a lot of fun to play. Very impetuous, always can be counted on to do the stupid, brave thing, even though he has wizard hit points.
Okay, on that note, it's probably time to take my shower. I just didn't have the energy yesterday, so I put it off an extra day and now I feel grungy. Everyone have an amazing Thursday!
Yesterday was payday, so always a good day. Mostly, I took calls, as we were crazy busy. Like 20 calls holding in the queue busy. I'm looking forward to that being done in a couple of weeks. Not that I mind the calls that much, but it'll be nice to only make outbound calls. I love when patients call you back hours after I call them for a same/next day appt. I cannot hold it that long, my good bitch. That's why my message says "if you get this by _____, please call back, I can hold the appointment until then." Some days I love patients. I was perky as hell yesterday, and I have no idea why. I think I had a somewhat rude patient, and so I perked at them, and then I couldn't turn it off.
I asked J. a follow up question. Apparently, I can still do OT, which is lovely. That'll be $45/hr Every couple of weekends, which should be lovely. IT'll probably damn near pay for Hawaii next year, especially if they want us to work any holidays this year. I am 100% here to work Memorial, Fourth of July, Labor and MLK again if they need me. I love those extra 8 hours of PTO.
After work, we threw in some potatoes to bake, and I cooked up some steaks in the cast iron pan. I used another of my "hype" presents, some Aloha Smoke Spice from Kailua Seasoning Company. OMG, it was SO good. Lightly smoky, a little bit of chili, but not enough to bother even my whitest of palates. But overall, it was salty and delicious and brought out the flavor of the steak even more. I loved it. So far, Hawaii has not disappointed. I've got the macadamia nuts, which are excellent. I got the macadamia butter shortbread and the white chocolate coconut shortbread, and those have been amazing.
After dinner, we had game scheduled, but the electric had other intentions. It went out with an almighty bang right around 6:30pm, and came back on after 1am. No game for us. And another one to reschedule *bangs head*. I stayed up for a while, hoping it would come back on, but eventually the early morning caught up with me and I fell asleep with my phone on my chest.
We did have some storms, though not severe like the weather said they might be. And at one point a tornado warning that was cancelled almost as quickly as it occurred, so that was fun.
Thanks to the weather dropping from 80 degrees to 40 degrees today, Jess had a particularly bad migraine, and my head and neck were twinging too. I would have been fine to play, but Jess had already dropped out of the game for the night.
Today, we're having tomato soup and grilled cheese. The BIL brought over his homemade tomato soup, so we've gotta use that up.
I'm sure work will be busy again, as it has all week. We'll see what I end up doing most of the day. Maybe there will be another Cardiac slot that opens so I get a little bit of time off the phones.
I don't know when they're going to set up everything for me. I think there are a few things to download on my computer before I start the new job. I need access to the queue as well as the main inbox, and I'm sure a few other things. I, of course, am ready to go. Get me set up and let's light this thing.
They pushed the rollout for the new phone system back a little further. Our team is too big, so they're putting us in two groups. Whoo. They say that everything has to be wired for it. Wired headset, ethernet connection. That is going to be an enormous pain in the ass. I am litterally paralell with the box, but there's a 15 foot kitchen wall between it. So, I'm going to have to tack the cord up over the cabinets, or under them. It's really freaking annoying. I got myself a 50' cord, so it should make it easily, but ugh. It's switching from an actual system to VOIP, so I expect problems. Massive problems. They don't know if we're still going to get screen pop ups in Epic, which is a lifesaver when you have a patient with a heavy accent. If they put in their phone number and date of birth, we will get a pop up with their chart. Then all we have to do is verify name and address. It has saved my ass many times, and I'm cranky that we may lose it. They want us to cut down on our talk time, but they're taking away one of our time savers. It's just corporate bullshit. Someone had a meeting, and they decided it looked good and was cheaper, and so they're switching it.
Tonight, after I make dinner, I suppose I will relax, and maybe watch a little videos. I'm flip flopping between Alaska and Hawaii videos. First I'll do one on excursions in Alaska, or boat tours, and then I'll pop back to Hawaiian food trucks. (They have some tasty looking food trucks. I'm especially looking forward to having garlic shrimp.) I think at this point, I can pretty much figure out my way around the ship. I know what floor all the important stuff is on. Our suite and the Neptune lounge is on 7, the food is on 2, 3 and 9 and the pool is deck 9. Oh, and the thermal spa is also on deck 9. Those are the important things.
We have a weekend of games, one tomorrow, one Sat and one Sunday. I'm looking forward to all of them. Tomorrow is my goth disasters in Vecna: Eve of Ruin. Saturday is the game in the style of epic Greek myths in Odyssey of the Dragonlords. And Sunday, I'm a player for Prophecy of the Nine Omens. I'm looking forward to all of them, but I'll admit, I'm especially fond of playing my Bladesinging wizard, Irsu. We're finally getting to the levels that wizards do some serious damage, which is always fun. Also, he's just a lot of fun to play. Very impetuous, always can be counted on to do the stupid, brave thing, even though he has wizard hit points.
Okay, on that note, it's probably time to take my shower. I just didn't have the energy yesterday, so I put it off an extra day and now I feel grungy. Everyone have an amazing Thursday!
Just One Thing (12 March 2026)
Mar. 12th, 2026 08:21 amnanila posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
awesomeersIt's challenge time!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
Nobody’s Baby by Olivia Waite
Mar. 12th, 2026 07:00 amsmartbitches_feed
I just finished reading the first book in this series, Murder by Memory, and I immediately picked up the second in the series – this one.
To summarise the premise of this series, Dorothy is a ship’s detective on board the Fairweather, a massive space ship travelling for 1000 years to a new planet with 10 000 people on board. Everyone on the ship has a body and also a book in the Library. The book is for storing their memories so when their body gets old and dies, they can get reembodied in Medical and their memories restored from the Library.
A few decades after the events of Murder by Memory, this book opens with something that should be impossible on the Fairweather: a baby appears. When all the inhabitants embarked on the ship, their fertility was paused by a mysterious process making it impossible to procreate. But one couple did and now there’s a baby.
The baby has been left on the doorstep of Dorothy’s nephew, Rutherford (nicknamed Ruthie). No note, no name, no nothing. Ruthie calls Dorothy for help. While Ruthie’s husband, John is deeply unsure, Ruthie falls instantly in love with the baby. But where did this baby come from? Dorothy gets to work unravelling this mystery.
At around 50% in, they solve the mystery of the baby’s parentage and I thought well, where to from here? Then someone does something that kicks the story into high gear.
So don’t be distressed when you hit a lull in the middle. It doesn’t last for long.
As with many crime procedurals, the full truth, including guilty parties, comes out during a hearing of the Fairweather Board (like a trial). It was immensely satisfying to read the hearing sections.
Something that I suspected in Murder by Memory but was solidified for me in Nobody’s Baby: the Earth that these people left when they travelled with Fairweather was not the current Earth that we know now – it’s an earlier version. At a guess I would say the 1940s or 1950s, but no specific dates are given. That’s just the impression that I get from the technology that they talk about back on Earth.
Similar to the first book, a lot of characters are jammed into this story. It can be a little tricky to keep track of who is who because in terms of word count, you spend comparatively little time with each one, as it is a novella.
I was in a distracted state of mind when I read this and the prior book, Murder by Memory, which likely affected my experience with the ending. One aspect of the resolution went right over my head, or, at least, it didn’t make sense to me why Dorothy would take that step, but again, it could be my fault for not paying enough attention. Even with my incomplete understanding, though, I enjoyed the novella overall.
One similarity between the two novellas that I really appreciated is the quality (as in feeling) of the writing. For example there is this little ode to the significance of knitting, as Dorothy knits a baby blanket:
After a good dinner and with a glass of port to hand, I cozied up in my bedroom window seat on the upper story, casting on the first row while the neighborhood all around me enjoyed its evening.
One stitch for the young woman playing violin on the corner, the echoes singing up and down the decks. One stitch each for the two young men strolling arm in arm out of the restaurant. Trios and groups, friends and families, I counted them all out beneath my hands as the solar lamps dimmed and the storefronts spilled gold light onto the retromatted wood planks.
One stitch each, every stitch a second, a single moment in time frozen in fiber. To give to an infant – because time was the real gift, passed from one generation to the next.
This gentle book with its lovely happy ending was a delight to read and I happily recommend this book, and the preceding one, to anyone in the Bitchery in need of some cosy sci-fi.
ao3_news_feed
Are you interested in helping keep OTW news post spaces a welcoming and safe space for engagement? Are you fluent in Brazilian Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, or Spanish, and want to help us better reply to users all around the world? Are you a skilled organizer who enjoys working in a team? The Organization for Transformative Works is recruiting!
We're excited to announce the opening of applications for:
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We have included more information on each role below. Open roles and applications will always be available at the volunteering page. If you don't see a role that fits with your skills and interests now, keep an eye on the listings. We plan to put up new applications every few weeks, and we will also publicize new roles as they become available.
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News Post Moderators freeze, hide, or disallow comments that do not comply with our News Post Moderation Policy. We approve comments that do comply, respond to user questions and concerns, and communicate with other OTW committees so that users can receive helpful, accurate answers.
You must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. We are looking for volunteers who can maintain a consistent level of work, ask for help and collaborate both inside the team and with other committees, and make fair and objective decisions about what comments to moderate.
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Apply for News Post Moderator at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
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Are you fluent in Brazilian Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, or Spanish, and want to help us better communicate with AO3 users all over the world?
User Response Translation (URT) volunteers help AO3 committees to correspond with users in other languages. URT translators will assist the Policy & Abuse and Support committees by translating correspondence between these committees and AO3 users into specific languages. URT does not translate AO3 or OTW site pages, news posts, or fanworks.
We are looking for volunteers who are at least 18 years old and fluent in Brazilian Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, or Spanish. Applicants will be asked to translate and beta (edit) short text samples as part of the selection process.
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Apply for User Response Translation Translator at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
Translation Volunteer Manager
Are you a skilled organizer who enjoys working in a team, liaising with people, working with documentation and texts, and making sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes?
The Translation committee is currently recruiting Volunteer Managers. Volunteer Managers coordinate localization efforts across the OTW: the translation of site pages, news posts, AO3 FAQs, AO3 Support and Policy & Abuse tickets, and any inquiries that reach other committees in languages they can't translate themselves.
While translators do the actual text translation and editing, volunteer managers support them by keeping track of priorities, deadlines, and pending tasks; assigning work; talking to and working with other committees to coordinate the translation of their content; uploading translated documents; documenting volunteer training, procedures, and workflows; checking in and actioning translators' feedback; and many other tasks involved in managing a wide, diverse and very active volunteer pool.
If you'd like to find out more about the work before applying, feel free to send your questions to translation@transformativeworks.org! Please note that you must be over 18 years of age to apply for this role.
Applications are due 18 March 2026
Apply for Translation Volunteer Manager at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
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AO3 Celebrates 17 Million Fanworks
Mar. 6th, 2026 05:19 pmao3_news_feed
A lot has been going on at the Archive of Our Own (AO3) lately! In January, we celebrated 10 million registered users on AO3. February was all about International Fanworks Day, which we celebrated with several events, culminating in our 30-hour chat and games party over on Discord. And now, we've hit another milestone: 17 million fanworks on AO3!
With this many amazing fanworks, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to remember your favorites. This is why we have bookmarks on AO3! Bookmarks are a useful tool to save fanworks for re-reading whenever the mood strikes, or to recommend a work to other users.
And did you know that not only can you bookmark works posted on AO3, but also external fanworks you want to remember? To bookmark an external work, go to your Dashboard, and then to the "Bookmarks" section. In the upper right corner, there should be a button called "Bookmark External Work". For more information on bookmarks, check out our Bookmarks FAQ!
As always, we are beyond grateful for each and every one of you who contributes their free time, love, and effort to AO3, and helps us grow and flourish! We're excited to see what other achievements we'll celebrate together this year.
The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.
February 2026 Newsletter, Volume 208
Mar. 5th, 2026 01:48 pmao3_news_feed
I. INTERNATIONAL FANWORKS DAY
On February 15, Communications coordinated many International Fanworks Day (IFD) activities, including a Feedback Fest highlighting fanwork recommendations, an editing challenge in conjunction with Fanlore, and an IFD Discord server with games and chatting. Additionally, Translation helped make IFD materials available in 22 languages. Thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating!
II. ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN
In February, we celebrated AO3 reaching 10 million registered users! \o/
Accessibility, Design & Technology (AD&T) focused on some important upgrades and bug fixes, including upgrading to Ruby on Rails 8 and improving the collection revealing process. They also published release notes for December's code changes.
AO3 Documentation began their biannual review of user-facing documentation.
In the past month, Open Doors signed five new agreements with moderators to import their archives to AO3! Fandoms include Highlander, The Magnificent Seven, My Chemical Romance, and others. They also completed the import of Slashknot, a Slipknot (band) fanfiction and fanart archive.
In January, Support received 3,811 tickets, while Policy & Abuse (PAC) received 7,972 tickets. User Response Translation completed 12 requests from PAC and 37 requests from Support. PAC continues to work closely with AD&T and Systems to combat spam that users have been experiencing across the site.
Tag Wrangling announced 28 new "No Fandom" canonical tags for February. In January, they wrangled over 648,000 tags, or around 1,400 tags per wrangling volunteer.
III. ELSEWHERE AT THE OTW
Fanlore ran a Femslash February monthly editing challenge! Systems also helped upgrade Fanlore to a new version of MediaWiki.
In February, Legal had one of their volunteers participate in a briefing for staffers in the U.S. Legislature to gain a deeper understanding of copyright fair use. Elsewhere, Legal answered a number of questions internally and from users.
TWC is preparing their March 2026 issue on "Gaming Fandom" for publication. They also completed an update of TWC's editorial board as part of their ongoing work to expand TWC's scope, diversify their discipline in terms of historically marginalized fans and scholars, make the journal more international in scope, and increase multimodal approaches.
IV. GOVERNANCE
Board has concluded all Board-committee check-ins and is reviewing key themes across the organization. They also voted to approve an interpretative rule of one bylaw to better accommodate any future Board members with hearing disabilities.
Board Assistants Team continued work on various projects, including revamping the OTW Board Discord and researching projects on volunteer retention, public meeting best practices, and volunteer mental health.
Organizational Culture Roadmap continued work on the OTW Code of Conduct update project by finishing a summary of internal survey results and adjusting Code of Conduct drafts based on recommendations from an external HR firm. The OTW Crisis Management Plan has been finalised and approved by the Board.
V. OUR VOLUNTEERS
In February, Volunteers & Recruiting ran recruitment for seven roles across four committees and one workgroup.
From January 23 to February 21, Volunteers & Recruiting received 182 new requests and completed 295, leaving them with 61 open requests (including induction and removal tasks listed below). As of February 21, 2026, the OTW has 985 volunteers. \o/ Recent personnel movements are listed below.
New Communications Volunteers: 3 Social Media Moderators
New Translation Volunteers: 1 Volunteer Manager and 1 Translator
New Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteers: corr and peaandsea (Chair Assistants) and 1 Volunteer
Departing Committee Chairs/Leads: Elizabeth Wiltshire (Organizational Culture Roadmap Head) and 1 Elections Chair
Departing AO3 Documentation Volunteers: 1 Editor
Departing Communications Volunteers: Abby (Social Media Moderator) and 2 Weibo Moderators
Departing Elections Volunteers: 1 Voting Process Architect
Departing Open Doors Volunteers: Mei and 2 other Import Assistants, and 1 Chair Assistant
Departing Support Volunteers: Mily and RRHand (Volunteers)
Departing Tag Wrangling Volunteers: Indes, lifeisyetfair, PinkBrain, plantpun, and 14 other Tag Wrangling Volunteers
Departing Translation Volunteers: Idiosincrasy (Volunteer Manager and Translator), 3 Volunteer Managers, and 1 Translator
Departing Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteers: corr, peaandsea, and 1 other Senior Volunteer; and 2 Volunteers
For more information about our committees and their regular activities, you can refer to the committee pages on our website.
The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, OTW Legal Advocacy, and Transformative Works and Cultures. We are a fan-run, donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.
Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
Mar. 12th, 2026 06:00 amsmartbitches_feed
B
Murder by Memory
by Olivia Waite
March 18, 2025 · Tor.com
LGBTQIAMystery/ThrillerNovellaScience Fiction/Fantasy
I try not to pigeonhole myself too much as a reader. While cosy as a descriptor in general tends to make me feral with irritation, there are exceptions and this book is definitely an exception. I was delighted when my library hold for this book arrived, even though I couldn’t remember what led me to place that hold. Perhaps it’s the combination of sci fi, mystery, and cosy that made me curious.
Dorothy Gentleman is a detective onboard the Fairweather – a massive space ship travelling for a 1000 years to a new planet from Old Earth, with 10 000 people on board. They have a nifty system of storing a back up of your mind in the Library and so when your body dies, you can upload your mind to a new body. This system has worked for 300 years at least so far.
The Library is sacrosanct and it’s supposed to be impossible to erase someone’s mind-book. Only Dorothy wakes up in someone else’s body only two years after she retired because someone destroyed her book in the library and her back up was sent to a body immediately. You’re not supposed to wake up in the wrong body so something has gone wrong. It all happened during a magnetic storm which has been known to impact the ship’s system (nicknamed Ferry). So Dorothy has a mystery to solve. There is another death to solve, too. Is it related? How? Dorothy intends to find out.
There is some whimsy in the story but it’s never cloying or overly sweet. For example, Ferry can appear drunk during magnetic storms, which complicates the investigation while also being funny. In contrast to drunk Ferry, Dorothy is pretty matter of fact and the contrast was charming.
The mystery element is very cleverly constructed and required a bit of concentration on my part to make sure I kept the story straight in my head. This might be because what feels like a full-size mystery plays out in a novella. So every word counts. It might also be because I read this book on a day when I’d been distracted by some very bad news, so I wasn’t at my mental peak.
All the characters who you meet in a meaningful sense are gay. Dorothy is a lesbian who not so recently lost her partner and is coming to terms with that. Dorothy’s nephew lives with a man. The prime suspects in the case are lesbians too. It was a delight!
There is also something exciting about the ending:
A woman, I won’t reveal more, is set up as either a love interest or an enemy for Dorothy. Impossible to say which she’ll turn out to be, but I am invested.
On top of all of this, I really enjoyed the writing style. There is an economical use of words that still plumb the depths of human emotion, and human experience.
Here is an excerpt from when Dorothy first wakes up in a stranger’s body:
My skin – someone’s skin – broke out in gooseflesh. Of course every human body was a horrifying collection of juices and tissues, acids and effluvia poured into a bag with a bunch of long rocks, a shambling accident of biology that made its own mysterious and often frustrating decisions without reference to the mind. They were disgusting miracles, every one. It was always a bit unsettling to wake up in a fresh form, until habit made a home of it.
But someone else’s home, and my self inside it! A nightmare.
The second book in this series is out now and I shall definitely be reading it. I’m so happy to have found another sleuth with granny vibes and a hard eye for the truth.
Deep Down [by sheafrotherdon, Jack/Robby]
Mar. 12th, 2026 01:58 amsiriareads_feedDeep down, Robby knows he has the words that could describe how it feels to be locked inside his body right now.
2597 / Fic - The Pitt RPF
Mar. 11th, 2026 09:19 pmsiriaImprov
The Pitt RPF | ~5600 words | Shawn Hatosy/Noah Wyle | Thanks tosheafrotherdon and ![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
thermocline for betaing.
(Also on AO3)
( It had been Sara's suggestion, of course. Noah would never have asked for it. Never even have thought of it on his own. But she'd said 'honey, I don't think three days on the beach are going to cut it this time', and so now here Noah was, sitting on the edge of a bed in a nondescript hotel room. Waiting. )
The Pitt RPF | ~5600 words | Shawn Hatosy/Noah Wyle | Thanks to
sheafrotherdon and (Also on AO3)
( It had been Sara's suggestion, of course. Noah would never have asked for it. Never even have thought of it on his own. But she'd said 'honey, I don't think three days on the beach are going to cut it this time', and so now here Noah was, sitting on the edge of a bed in a nondescript hotel room. Waiting. )
Unshelved strip originally published on Wed, 06 Jan 2016
Mar. 12th, 2026 12:00 amunshelved_feedThis classic Unshelved strip originally appeared on Wed, 06 Jan 2016.
Daily Check-In
Mar. 11th, 2026 06:05 pmstarwatcher posting in fandom_checkinThis is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Wednesday, March 11, to midnight on Thursday, March 12. (8pm Eastern Time).
Poll #34353 Daily Check-in
This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 27
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 27
How are you doing?
I am OK.
15 (55.6%)
I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
12 (44.4%)
I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans live with you?
I am living single.
12 (44.4%)
One other person.
11 (40.7%)
More than one other person.
4 (14.8%)
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
wednesday reads
Mar. 11th, 2026 05:26 pmisisWhat I've recently finished reading:
The Princess Bride by William Goldman, which - I might have read years and years ago? Or I might have seen the movie (though I don't remember doing so)? Or maybe I just knew a lot about it by osmosis and because of the way certain things about it became memes, so I thought I had read it, but really never had. I don't know. Anyway, I read it because I wanted something light and silly to counteract recent more difficult reading and even more difficult current events, and it fit the bill.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, which I read and enjoyed despite DNFing The Martian due to finding it powerfully boring. (I liked the movie version! I think the story was fine, but the various supporting characters all felt like cardboard cutouts to me.) Here, the initial hook - the POV character waking up with amnesia on what he eventually determines is a spaceship - was very much up my alley, a trope I love! The various supporting characters that appeared in the flashbacks were definitely better than cardboard cutouts, though sometimes they felt a bit stock. However, they ultimately weren't very important, and I really bought into the book with gusto when...
Okay, I read this book basically unspoiled, in that I knew that the main character was on a desperate space mission to save Earth from some sort of extinction event, but that was it. So I'm going to spoiler-cut the rest, just in case someone reading this hasn't read this book, so that you may have the same experience I had.
There are still misunderstandings and near-fatal disasters and scary adventures, enough to make it a compelling, engaging read. I thought the ending was perfect, and I look forward to seeing the movie eventually! In conclusion, ROCKY MY BELOVED ♥♥♥
The Unicorn Hunter by Katherine Arden, which I read as e-ARC from NetGalley. Arden's One True Story (based on the books by her I've read) is that of a woman constrained by her sex and her circumstances who strives for the agency to direct her own life and protect what she cares about. This book is about a slightly-fantasy alternate-universe Anne of Brittany, who chafes against the fate she and her country are headed for: she will be forced to marry the King of France, bringing Brittany for annexation as her dowry.
To avoid this, in desperation she arranges a secret betrothal to France's enemy, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilien. However, in this version of the world, rulers have diviners who can discern events happening at a distance, and send messages back and forth; to keep it secret, she holds the proxy wedding in the enchanted forest of Brocéliande, which diviners can't penetrate at risk of madness. And there she sees a unicorn, and brings a diviner who disappeared in the forest centuries ago out into the "real" world, setting in motion a chain of events which blur the boundaries between her real kingdom of Brittany and the mysterious otherworld of the "kerriganed", the faerie people of Breton folklore.
If you squint you can see elements of both the Winternight Trilogy and The Warm Hands of Ghosts; a forthright woman who doesn't behave as she should according to the strictures of the day, a figure from a shadowy world who may have ulterior motives, the subtle mix of a realistic world and a fantastical one. Anne is a wonderful heroine who deliberately leads her opponents to underestimate her, who pursues her aims and protects her family with great courage. I really enjoyed this book, especially the afterword in which Arden talks a little about the real Anne, and the real Brittany, and the folkloric Brittany that inspired her.
"The Colorado River Does Not Reach 2030" by Len Necefer and Teal Lehto, on Substack. This is a short story in the form of a news article, in the author's words:
What I'm reading now:
In nonfiction, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes by Leah Litman. So far it's a little heavily steeped in pop culture references for me, which means references to pop culture I'm only familiar with through osmosis, but it's interesting and persuasive.
In fiction, Blood over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang. So far it feels rather cliche, though I like the worldbuilding. It reminds me very much of the cartoon Arcane.
In audio, I've just started book 2 of the Bobiverse, For We are Many by Dennis E. Taylor. It's fun!
The Princess Bride by William Goldman, which - I might have read years and years ago? Or I might have seen the movie (though I don't remember doing so)? Or maybe I just knew a lot about it by osmosis and because of the way certain things about it became memes, so I thought I had read it, but really never had. I don't know. Anyway, I read it because I wanted something light and silly to counteract recent more difficult reading and even more difficult current events, and it fit the bill.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, which I read and enjoyed despite DNFing The Martian due to finding it powerfully boring. (I liked the movie version! I think the story was fine, but the various supporting characters all felt like cardboard cutouts to me.) Here, the initial hook - the POV character waking up with amnesia on what he eventually determines is a spaceship - was very much up my alley, a trope I love! The various supporting characters that appeared in the flashbacks were definitely better than cardboard cutouts, though sometimes they felt a bit stock. However, they ultimately weren't very important, and I really bought into the book with gusto when...
Okay, I read this book basically unspoiled, in that I knew that the main character was on a desperate space mission to save Earth from some sort of extinction event, but that was it. So I'm going to spoiler-cut the rest, just in case someone reading this hasn't read this book, so that you may have the same experience I had.
Spoiler spoiler spoiler!
Okay, if you have been reading my book posts for a while, you know that I am a big fan of stories about human-alien encounters. My last books post included a review of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shroud, and I mentioned that it reminded me a little of Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward, in the sense that it starts with an environment which is the opposite of anything humans would expect to find life on, and reasons out from physics and chemistry what life might be like in that environment. But really, Tchaikovsky's approach to human-alien encounters is more adversarial and combative, and probably more realistic, than Forward's. Here, there's also an alien whose form and manner is reasoned out from the conditions of the planet where it developed, but its interactions with the human are more Forwardian than Tchaikovskian. Both the alien and the human are mindful that they are there for the same reason - to save their respective civilizations - and they approach their interactions carefully and with much forethought, for the most part.There are still misunderstandings and near-fatal disasters and scary adventures, enough to make it a compelling, engaging read. I thought the ending was perfect, and I look forward to seeing the movie eventually! In conclusion, ROCKY MY BELOVED ♥♥♥
The Unicorn Hunter by Katherine Arden, which I read as e-ARC from NetGalley. Arden's One True Story (based on the books by her I've read) is that of a woman constrained by her sex and her circumstances who strives for the agency to direct her own life and protect what she cares about. This book is about a slightly-fantasy alternate-universe Anne of Brittany, who chafes against the fate she and her country are headed for: she will be forced to marry the King of France, bringing Brittany for annexation as her dowry.
To avoid this, in desperation she arranges a secret betrothal to France's enemy, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilien. However, in this version of the world, rulers have diviners who can discern events happening at a distance, and send messages back and forth; to keep it secret, she holds the proxy wedding in the enchanted forest of Brocéliande, which diviners can't penetrate at risk of madness. And there she sees a unicorn, and brings a diviner who disappeared in the forest centuries ago out into the "real" world, setting in motion a chain of events which blur the boundaries between her real kingdom of Brittany and the mysterious otherworld of the "kerriganed", the faerie people of Breton folklore.
If you squint you can see elements of both the Winternight Trilogy and The Warm Hands of Ghosts; a forthright woman who doesn't behave as she should according to the strictures of the day, a figure from a shadowy world who may have ulterior motives, the subtle mix of a realistic world and a fantastical one. Anne is a wonderful heroine who deliberately leads her opponents to underestimate her, who pursues her aims and protects her family with great courage. I really enjoyed this book, especially the afterword in which Arden talks a little about the real Anne, and the real Brittany, and the folkloric Brittany that inspired her.
"The Colorado River Does Not Reach 2030" by Len Necefer and Teal Lehto, on Substack. This is a short story in the form of a news article, in the author's words:
What follows is a work of near-future fiction. It is not a prediction. It is a scenario built from conditions that are measurable today: Lake Powell is at 26% capacity and falling, snowpack at record lows, seven states deadlocked on water allocation, and a federal agency that has been gutted of the expertise needed to manage the crisis. // Every element in this scenario is drawn from published science, existing legal disputes, or political dynamics already in motion. Some characters are composites, some are real. The timeline is compressed. The chain of events is plausible. The unsettling part is how little I had to invent.It's cli-fi in the model of Kim Stanley Robinson, purported interviews and charts and mocked-up newspaper images and X tweets, the story of the destruction of the west through climate change and human stupidity. It's really good - and (as the author says) plausible and unsettling.
What I'm reading now:
In nonfiction, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes by Leah Litman. So far it's a little heavily steeped in pop culture references for me, which means references to pop culture I'm only familiar with through osmosis, but it's interesting and persuasive.
In fiction, Blood over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang. So far it feels rather cliche, though I like the worldbuilding. It reminds me very much of the cartoon Arcane.
In audio, I've just started book 2 of the Bobiverse, For We are Many by Dennis E. Taylor. It's fun!
recent reading
Mar. 11th, 2026 07:09 pmredbirdFinished recently:
These are all parts of ongoing series, and all fantasy (in significantly different styles)
Testament of Mute Things, by Lois McMaster Bujold (a Penric novella)
Apt to be Suspicious, by Celia Lake
To Ride a Rising Storm, by Moniquill Blackgoose: this doesn't just leave room for a sequel, it ends on a cliffhanger. Strongly recommended. Definitely start with her first novel, To Shape a Dragon's Breath, for world-building and if you care about spoilers. (I think the Bujold and Lake books would both work as starting points for reading those series.)
I am currently partway through Ada Palmer's Inventing the Renaissance, which is chewy nonfiction.
We just finished our latest read-aloud book, Half Magic by Edward Eager. Adrian and Cattitude had read this before, I hadn't, we all enjoyed it.
These are all parts of ongoing series, and all fantasy (in significantly different styles)
Testament of Mute Things, by Lois McMaster Bujold (a Penric novella)
Apt to be Suspicious, by Celia Lake
To Ride a Rising Storm, by Moniquill Blackgoose: this doesn't just leave room for a sequel, it ends on a cliffhanger. Strongly recommended. Definitely start with her first novel, To Shape a Dragon's Breath, for world-building and if you care about spoilers. (I think the Bujold and Lake books would both work as starting points for reading those series.)
I am currently partway through Ada Palmer's Inventing the Renaissance, which is chewy nonfiction.
We just finished our latest read-aloud book, Half Magic by Edward Eager. Adrian and Cattitude had read this before, I hadn't, we all enjoyed it.
2026 Journal Stack
Mar. 11th, 2026 07:15 pmseleneheart posting in journalsandplannersI meant to post this at the first of January, but because I didn't put it on my planner, it didn't get done. So here we are.
I started doing subscription boxes last year and like a gas expanding to fill its container, the addition of more notebooks in my life caused me to start using more notebooks. I put the really pretty ones aside as gifts, but I've been using the rest.
First up, the planners I have been using for years:
Then we come to the new ones as of this year, although I started some of them before January 1.
There you have it!
Anyone else have a large planner stack this year?
I started doing subscription boxes last year and like a gas expanding to fill its container, the addition of more notebooks in my life caused me to start using more notebooks. I put the really pretty ones aside as gifts, but I've been using the rest.
First up, the planners I have been using for years:
- EC Life Planner - my work planner. I've been using this for seven years at this point.
- Leuchtturm1917 A5 dot grid - my bullet journal workhorse. While I haven't used this exact notebook the whole time, I've been bullet journaling for nine years at this point. I use this for my personal life, as both a planner and a record/tracker.
Then we come to the new ones as of this year, although I started some of them before January 1.
- Archer & Olive A4 dot grid - memory keeping journal. I paste ephemera in here along with stickers that suit my fancy. I write down reflections and more extended records than what is in my bujo. I draw a monthly calendar at the beginning of each month and write things down as they occur to me. There's no set schedule of entries.
- Archer & Olive travelers notebook - this is a bit of a butler's book for my house. I have lists of repairs, contractors, expenses, and schedules.
- Archer & Olive B6 dot grid notebook - this is my workout/physical therapy/recovery notebook. I'm using this to keep track of my recovery from breaking my leg last winter. I'm slowly getting back to where I was and this notebook gives me a track of my progress.
- Archer & Olive 8x8 dot grid - home to my reading journal. I started this last year and filled it about halfway so I predict it will last me until the end of 2026. I keep track of Book Bingo, series tracker, my 'want to read' list, and a running tally of the books I've read. I also make decorative spreads for each book including a book data sheet that I created and the book cover.
There you have it!
Anyone else have a large planner stack this year?
The Luminous Dead, by Caitlin Starling
Mar. 11th, 2026 03:53 pmrachelmanija
Gyre explores the tunnels of an alien world in a mechanical suit, her only connection to the outside world the voice of Em, her handler who she’s never met, who may or may not have her welfare in mind, and who definitely has boundary issues.
Gyre has less experience caving than she claimed, and caving is extremely difficult. There are sandworm-like creatures called Tunnelers that will kill multiple parties of cavers for unknown reasons, so cavers go in alone, unable to take off their suit for weeks on end, with their handler as their only link with the outside world. Em can literally take control of Gyre’s suit/body, can inject her with drugs, etc - and not only has little compunction about doing so, but won't tell Gyre what the actual purpose of the mission is.
Spoilers! ( Read more... )
This is a type of story I don’t see very often, in which there’s one main science fiction element – in this case, the mechanical caving suit – which is explored in depth and is essential to the story, and it’s also set on a (very lightly sketched-in) other planet. Generally the “one science fiction element” stories are set on Earth. Apart from the Tunnelers, this novel actually could take place on an Earth where the suit exists.
The Luminous Dead, like The Starving Saints, has a small cast of sapphic women and takes place almost entirely in the same claustrophobic space; if it was on TV, we’d call it a bottle episode. I normally like that sort of thing but unlike The Starving Saints, it outstays its welcome. It has about a novella’s worth of story, and while it’s very atmospheric and any given portion is well-written and interesting, considered alone, as a whole it’s very repetitive and over-long. I would mostly recommend it if you like complicated lesbians with bad boundaries.
If I were you, I'd be out on the town
Mar. 11th, 2026 06:27 pmsovayWhatever passes for my health these days has tipped over onto the sidewalk, but my afternoon which contained far too much communication with doctors on far too little sleep was measurably improved by the discovery of Avalon Emerson's "Don't Be Seen with Me" (2025). I think of Oppenheimer Analysis as so extremely niche in appeal that it almost never crossed my mind that anyone would cover one of their songs, much less drench it in heart-racing, echo-dragged dream-pop like a night drive high on the endless windshield slide of light. I still prefer the colder, dryer original with its relentlessly weird garbage-can drum programming and glitteringly nervy columns of synths against which the vocals sound even more paranoid and plaintive, but just the fact that someone else went for their own version makes me happy. I suppose electronically unsettled meditations on the Manhattan Project and the Cold War have come back around into fashion.
What I'm Doing Wednesday
Mar. 11th, 2026 05:02 pmsage( books (Ghattas, Raybourn) )
yarning
Made and sent 2 catnip-silvervine hearts (to the same customer who has ordered about nine of them now). Missed yarn group due to cold, torrential rain, and DST. Made and sent 2 multicolored kickbunnies. Finished the turquoise kickbunny for kitten academy's current momcat (her kittens are 2 weeks old and adorable!), but haven't gone to the post office yet. Continued Easter carrots after messaging the customer to confirm the number and cost (so stressful!). Now they just need smiles and hanging loops.
healthcrap
I loathe springing forward. Still can't get up at a decent hour. Daytime vertigo is now coming randomly. In the night, it's mostly connected to lying in bed/rolling over/getting up to go to the bathroom. Fun times. I do feel a bit better overall. I got all my healthcare coverage renewal info uploaded and am impatiently awaiting a telephone appt. Tongue still has a hole in it, but it's shallower than it was and is slowly healing...if I can just keep from biting it. Had to start a new tube of benzocaine.
#resist
+ Check locally for anti-war protests. I'm finding Reddit and Instagram to be fairly good sources if you check often. (Last Saturday was a national protest, but I didn't know about it until just a couple of hours beforehand. Doh!)
+ March 28: #50501 No Kings Protest #3
Thanks for the kind comments on recent posts. I've been terrible at replies. I hope you're all doing well! <333
yarning
Made and sent 2 catnip-silvervine hearts (to the same customer who has ordered about nine of them now). Missed yarn group due to cold, torrential rain, and DST. Made and sent 2 multicolored kickbunnies. Finished the turquoise kickbunny for kitten academy's current momcat (her kittens are 2 weeks old and adorable!), but haven't gone to the post office yet. Continued Easter carrots after messaging the customer to confirm the number and cost (so stressful!). Now they just need smiles and hanging loops.
healthcrap
I loathe springing forward. Still can't get up at a decent hour. Daytime vertigo is now coming randomly. In the night, it's mostly connected to lying in bed/rolling over/getting up to go to the bathroom. Fun times. I do feel a bit better overall. I got all my healthcare coverage renewal info uploaded and am impatiently awaiting a telephone appt. Tongue still has a hole in it, but it's shallower than it was and is slowly healing...if I can just keep from biting it. Had to start a new tube of benzocaine.
#resist
+ Check locally for anti-war protests. I'm finding Reddit and Instagram to be fairly good sources if you check often. (Last Saturday was a national protest, but I didn't know about it until just a couple of hours beforehand. Doh!)
+ March 28: #50501 No Kings Protest #3
Thanks for the kind comments on recent posts. I've been terrible at replies. I hope you're all doing well! <333
Me-and-media update
Mar. 12th, 2026 09:46 amchina_shopPrevious poll review
In the Being an audience poll, 41.3% of respondents have been to the cinema in the last six months, 28.3% to the theatre, and 17.4% to a live music gig. I'm curious about the 10.9% who chose "other".
In ticky-boxes, bakery treats came second to hugs, 60.9% to 73.9%, which is an excellent showing. Snow puppies came third with 47.8%. Thank you for your votes! ♥
Reading
Andrew and I finished Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold, so now I know whatminoanmiss meant by SHOPPING TRIP. *takes a moment* Anyway, it was great. I love Bujold's character work and her humour. Looking forward to the next one and getting to know Miles.
Kdramas
Still re-watching One Spring Night, lol. I made a flaily post about it a few days ago, but then realised that my "realisations" were actually explained in the next few scenes, so I don't know if I'm seeing the show differently or just remembering info I learned from the first time around. I've since privated the post, but if you've seen OSN and want to talk to me about it, please do!! I am mildly obsessed.
I also started Undercover Miss Hong onadore's rec. I'm in the middle of episode 2, and it's great so far. It reminds me of Good Manager (AKA Chief Kim) to the point where I checked if it was the same writer (it isn't), and otoh, the lead is played by Park Shin-hye, who was the nun in the "nun undercover as her twin brother in a boyband" drama, You're Beautiful, which was my gateway drug into the world of Kdramas, so in a way it feels like coming full circle. (Here, she's undercover as a 20yo.)
Other TV
We finished the Return of the King extras (omg, so stressful!). Still watching The Pitt, of course, though I really think it works better all in a bunch, rather than one episode a week. (I won't say "binged", because the most we ever manage is three episodes a night -- that's a lot for us.)
Happened to notice that Cheers is on Neon (NZ streaming service, incl. some HBO), and randomly started watching it -- it's aged surprisingly well! Very white, and the sexism vs feminism tension is front and centre, but Sam is fine, and everyone seems to be having a good time. We'll stick with that for a while and see.
The pilot of R.J. Decker, a new PI show loosely based on a Carl Hiaasen novel. It's very network TV, case-of-the-week and easy-going. Good supporting cast. Seems fine. A few episodes of Ponies, about two CIA widows trying to be spies in cold war Russia. They don't have much trade craft yet, so it's equal parts comedic and tense. Half an episode of SurrealEstate.
My sister and I are still on Fringe season 4, in which the entire multiverse revolves around Peter; I prefer Lincoln. And we watched some Bluey, naturally. Just finished season 1 and started season 2. 🧡💙🧡
Audio entertainment
All the usual suspects. More Movie Briefs, more local politics. And the episode of A Bit Fruity recced bysabotabby (who gives excellent podcast recs, btw). A Tech Won't Save Us episode about The Luddite Club. A bit of Ad Astra about pacing. I think I'm spending too much time listening to podcasts.
Online life
The 520 Day Guardian Reverse Exchange is coming soon!! We've been doing some behind-the-scenes prep for that. And wheeeee, I won a Fandom Trumps Hate auction (my first time bidding) -- so exciting!!
Writing/making things
Still bashing my head against the two things I started for Yuletide. It would be fantastic to get these off my plate before I get my 520 Day assignment and have to redecorate my brain in Guardian. *plugs away* (I feel like my intuition is offline, and I'm having to figure everything out with my inept thinking brain, why?)
In drawing, I did a practice pic of Zhao Yunlan, and wow, expressions are hard; the difference between worried and scared is, like, a millimetre here, a millimetre there...
Life/health/mental state things
The tsunami of ambient stress is making itself felt in my body. When I bought my new phone, I somehow got six months' free premium Fitbit membership again, so I tried wearing my Fitbit to sleep, to build up a data profile. And yep, an "objective" poor rating makes a subjective bad night's sleep feel so much worse. That's why I stopped doing this last time! So I've stopped again. Also, my resting pulse rate was going up and up for a while there. /o\
Had my free breast-squish day.
Goals
I did not do my goal things from last week. Ah well.
Good things
Sunshine. New (second-hand) red bag arrived this week; I don't think it's as waterproof as advertised, but it's a step up from my sponge of a handbag. Showers and kitties and going out to lunch. Biking and bike lanes. The Bingo fanart I received infandomtrees continues to be cheering/soothing. GUARDIAN!!
In the Being an audience poll, 41.3% of respondents have been to the cinema in the last six months, 28.3% to the theatre, and 17.4% to a live music gig. I'm curious about the 10.9% who chose "other".
In ticky-boxes, bakery treats came second to hugs, 60.9% to 73.9%, which is an excellent showing. Snow puppies came third with 47.8%. Thank you for your votes! ♥
Reading
Andrew and I finished Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold, so now I know what
minoanmiss meant by SHOPPING TRIP. *takes a moment* Anyway, it was great. I love Bujold's character work and her humour. Looking forward to the next one and getting to know Miles.Kdramas
Still re-watching One Spring Night, lol. I made a flaily post about it a few days ago, but then realised that my "realisations" were actually explained in the next few scenes, so I don't know if I'm seeing the show differently or just remembering info I learned from the first time around. I've since privated the post, but if you've seen OSN and want to talk to me about it, please do!! I am mildly obsessed.
I also started Undercover Miss Hong on
adore's rec. I'm in the middle of episode 2, and it's great so far. It reminds me of Good Manager (AKA Chief Kim) to the point where I checked if it was the same writer (it isn't), and otoh, the lead is played by Park Shin-hye, who was the nun in the "nun undercover as her twin brother in a boyband" drama, You're Beautiful, which was my gateway drug into the world of Kdramas, so in a way it feels like coming full circle. (Here, she's undercover as a 20yo.)Other TV
We finished the Return of the King extras (omg, so stressful!). Still watching The Pitt, of course, though I really think it works better all in a bunch, rather than one episode a week. (I won't say "binged", because the most we ever manage is three episodes a night -- that's a lot for us.)
Happened to notice that Cheers is on Neon (NZ streaming service, incl. some HBO), and randomly started watching it -- it's aged surprisingly well! Very white, and the sexism vs feminism tension is front and centre, but Sam is fine, and everyone seems to be having a good time. We'll stick with that for a while and see.
The pilot of R.J. Decker, a new PI show loosely based on a Carl Hiaasen novel. It's very network TV, case-of-the-week and easy-going. Good supporting cast. Seems fine. A few episodes of Ponies, about two CIA widows trying to be spies in cold war Russia. They don't have much trade craft yet, so it's equal parts comedic and tense. Half an episode of SurrealEstate.
My sister and I are still on Fringe season 4, in which the entire multiverse revolves around Peter; I prefer Lincoln. And we watched some Bluey, naturally. Just finished season 1 and started season 2. 🧡💙🧡
Audio entertainment
All the usual suspects. More Movie Briefs, more local politics. And the episode of A Bit Fruity recced by
sabotabby (who gives excellent podcast recs, btw). A Tech Won't Save Us episode about The Luddite Club. A bit of Ad Astra about pacing. I think I'm spending too much time listening to podcasts.Online life
The 520 Day Guardian Reverse Exchange is coming soon!! We've been doing some behind-the-scenes prep for that. And wheeeee, I won a Fandom Trumps Hate auction (my first time bidding) -- so exciting!!
Writing/making things
Still bashing my head against the two things I started for Yuletide. It would be fantastic to get these off my plate before I get my 520 Day assignment and have to redecorate my brain in Guardian. *plugs away* (I feel like my intuition is offline, and I'm having to figure everything out with my inept thinking brain, why?)
In drawing, I did a practice pic of Zhao Yunlan, and wow, expressions are hard; the difference between worried and scared is, like, a millimetre here, a millimetre there...
Life/health/mental state things
The tsunami of ambient stress is making itself felt in my body. When I bought my new phone, I somehow got six months' free premium Fitbit membership again, so I tried wearing my Fitbit to sleep, to build up a data profile. And yep, an "objective" poor rating makes a subjective bad night's sleep feel so much worse. That's why I stopped doing this last time! So I've stopped again. Also, my resting pulse rate was going up and up for a while there. /o\
Had my free breast-squish day.
Goals
I did not do my goal things from last week. Ah well.
Good things
Sunshine. New (second-hand) red bag arrived this week; I don't think it's as waterproof as advertised, but it's a step up from my sponge of a handbag. Showers and kitties and going out to lunch. Biking and bike lanes. The Bingo fanart I received in
fandomtrees continues to be cheering/soothing. GUARDIAN!!Poll #34352 Fitness trackers
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 47
Do you use a fitness tracker to monitor your activity?
View Answers
yes, regularly
9 (19.1%)
yes, sometimes
2 (4.3%)
...and an app
5 (10.6%)
I use the pedometer on my phone
8 (17.0%)
no, but I used to
6 (12.8%)
no, but I'm thinking about starting
1 (2.1%)
other no
21 (44.7%)
other
1 (2.1%)
ticky-box full of "I genuflect to the sanctity of the ticky-box"
20 (42.6%)
ticky-box full of otters building obstacle courses
24 (51.1%)
ticky-box of FANDOM SPARKLES
27 (57.4%)
ticky-box full of bears baking blueberry and salmon muffins
21 (44.7%)
ticky-box full of hugs hugs hugs
33 (70.2%)
Challenges and achievements in and out of games
Mar. 11th, 2026 08:45 pmschneefinkMy mom is currently doing a no-smartphone-challenge with her students, and I decided to do the light version and set myself a goal of 1.5 hours of smartphone time per day (normal phone calls don't count.) I did well the first few days but then failed the last three, and right now I'm realizing the limit means I can't use my phone to listen to streams while doing the dishes. Boo.
Other effects: I read books on my e-book-reader on my commute instead of fics on my phone. And I really wish my radio wasn't broken but it hasn't reached the necessary annoyance level yet to get it fixed.
I'm not behind on my study plan for my next exam yet! (The upcoming exam is mostly VAT so both important and relevant and hard.) We'll see how long it lasts, but I'm in week 3 and that's pretty good especially for my standards. And that's despite me being sick one weekend and having a bad cold the next.
I told myself I'd combine it with finally starting the Hades 2 1.0 playthrough I've been planning for months, and for the first two weeks I actually managed to stick to my "one run per study session" rule but, uh, not anymore. Ahem. Good news, still having a lot of fun playing Hades 2. And thanks to playing over 130 hours in Early Access I'm so much better than when I started my first playthrough.
(I started now because the plan was DD would start the week after and then we can talk about it, but she had a schedule change and still hasn't started so that didn't work out either ^^)
But since I started playing Hades 2 I mostly stopped playing Vampire Survivors - not completely, I have done a few more runs to get some of the very last unlocks/secrets, but mostly. So have the remaining notes for now, directly continuing from last time.
( More Vampire Survivors: more bats, still no vampires. )
I should stop procrastinating and do the dishes.
Other effects: I read books on my e-book-reader on my commute instead of fics on my phone. And I really wish my radio wasn't broken but it hasn't reached the necessary annoyance level yet to get it fixed.
I'm not behind on my study plan for my next exam yet! (The upcoming exam is mostly VAT so both important and relevant and hard.) We'll see how long it lasts, but I'm in week 3 and that's pretty good especially for my standards. And that's despite me being sick one weekend and having a bad cold the next.
I told myself I'd combine it with finally starting the Hades 2 1.0 playthrough I've been planning for months, and for the first two weeks I actually managed to stick to my "one run per study session" rule but, uh, not anymore. Ahem. Good news, still having a lot of fun playing Hades 2. And thanks to playing over 130 hours in Early Access I'm so much better than when I started my first playthrough.
(I started now because the plan was DD would start the week after and then we can talk about it, but she had a schedule change and still hasn't started so that didn't work out either ^^)
But since I started playing Hades 2 I mostly stopped playing Vampire Survivors - not completely, I have done a few more runs to get some of the very last unlocks/secrets, but mostly. So have the remaining notes for now, directly continuing from last time.
( More Vampire Survivors: more bats, still no vampires. )
I should stop procrastinating and do the dishes.
Wednesday refuses to be an AI 'subject expert' perish the thort
Mar. 11th, 2026 06:08 pmoursinWhat I read
Finished Death in the Palace - was not sure at first about the introduction of the actual Marx Brothers into the cast, but felt this had meta-textual resonance as there was something very Marxiste about the whole making-a-movie shenanigans (especially when it's this dreadful costume epic) + murder mystery going on.
Then went straight on to Cat Sebastian, Star Shipped, which was fine but perhaps didn't quite reach the high bar set by After Hours at Dooryard Books among her recent history/contemporary set works.
Returned to TonyInterrupter, which had perhaps lost some momentum from the hiatus, but nonetheless, I may try more Nicola Barker at some time.
Georgette Heyer, Regency Buck (1935) came up as a Kobo deal, and I realised it had not featured in the Heyer re-read binge a few years ago. Gosh, it shows a certain early style, what? with the massive amount of Mi Research, I Show U It, re prize-fights, phaeton-racing to Brighton, the interiors of the Royal Pavilion, the members of the House of Hanover (how right Mme C- was in advising to keep well away, no?). Also, this cannot be, can it, the first outing of the Apparently Dangerous Alpha Male vs the Civil and Sympathetic Beta Male who turns out to be a conniving sleaze? (not unique to Heyer.)
Also finished the book for review.
On the go
Also picked up as a Kobo deal, Fern Riddell, Victoria's Secret: The Private Passion of a Queen (2025). I have considered the author, as a historian of Victorian sexuality, sound on the vibrator question, if perhaps a bit too much in the 'Victorians were cool sexy beasts really' camp (It's All More Complicated), but I was interested to see where this would go. It's very good on the way things are with the Royal Archives, for which 'gatekeeping' seems too loose a term. But I'm still not entirely persuaded. It's a bit repetitive. Okay, it's quite good on the tensions within the actual Royal family (though can it really be that Kaiser Bill-to-be had Oedipus issues?). But still have a way to go.
Up next
Maybe the latest Literary Review. Otherwise, dunno.
Tags:
Links: Pride & Prejudice, Bridgerton, & More
Mar. 11th, 2026 06:00 pmsmartbitches_feed
Happy Wednesday!
Starting next week, Links will be popping up in the mornings instead of the afternoons. Change can be scary, so I wanted to give a heads up.
Spring is starting to spring in New England, but let’s not get too comfortable. I’ve experienced snowfalls in April on several occasions. Let’s all stay strong, folks!
How’s your weather? Are you read for the some sun? Gearing up for winter?
…
Worlds are colliding! There is now a Bridgerton Polly Pocket set.
…
For all my knitters out there, I stumbled across this YouTube account: EngineeringKnits. There are lots of videos that touch on historical practices and patterns.
…
Build-a-Bear is doing some marketing to adults, given that they have a romantasy-themed gift set now. I loved Build-a-Bear as a kid. It was my grandparents go-to activity for me.
…
I’m sure many of you have heard already that there will be a new Pride & Prejudice adaptation this year on Netflix. What do you think? Will it dethrone you favorite?
…
Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
It may be an amiable egg
Mar. 11th, 2026 08:19 pmcimorene"A nice fried egg, sir."
"And what, pray, do you mean by nice? It may be an amiable egg. It may be a civil, well-meaning egg. But if you think it is fit for human consumption, adjust that impression."
—PG Wodehouse,"Mulliner's Buck-U-Uppo"
Stranger Things: Problems of a Follicular Nature, by insignificant457
Mar. 11th, 2026 10:42 amrunpunkrun posting in fancakeFandom: Stranger Things
Pairings/Characters: Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson
Rating: G
Length: 2,489 words
Creator Link:insignificant457
Theme: Siblings, Gen
Summary: "See, the problem is this: in the past few weeks there's been a distressing increase in the thickness and darkness of the peach fuzz on his upper lip, to the point that it's becoming noticeable and also gross. He should be happy about it, really, because it's a sign of manhood, isn't it?"
Sometimes, not having a dad around really, really sucks. But recently acquiring a big brother does have its perks.
Reccer's Notes: As the author says, "They're brothers your honor." I love the way Steve and Dustin adopted each other in the show, and this fic feels like it could be a missing scene. The voices are spot on, and the vibes are good.
Fanwork Link: Problems of a Follicular Nature
Pairings/Characters: Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson
Rating: G
Length: 2,489 words
Creator Link:
Theme: Siblings, Gen
Summary: "See, the problem is this: in the past few weeks there's been a distressing increase in the thickness and darkness of the peach fuzz on his upper lip, to the point that it's becoming noticeable and also gross. He should be happy about it, really, because it's a sign of manhood, isn't it?"
Sometimes, not having a dad around really, really sucks. But recently acquiring a big brother does have its perks.
Reccer's Notes: As the author says, "They're brothers your honor." I love the way Steve and Dustin adopted each other in the show, and this fic feels like it could be a missing scene. The voices are spot on, and the vibes are good.
Fanwork Link: Problems of a Follicular Nature
Plant: Collage: Original: House + Garden
Mar. 11th, 2026 05:09 pmsmallhobbit posting in fan_flashworksTitle: House + Garden
Fandom: Original
Rating: G
Length: Collage of 9 photos
Summary: Plants both within our house and in the back garden
Fandom: Original
Rating: G
Length: Collage of 9 photos
Summary: Plants both within our house and in the back garden
( Plants )
word game: show
Mar. 11th, 2026 01:08 pmmuseaway posting in ficwipThis week's word is...
show
How to play: Find the word in any WIP and comment with the sentence containing it. Just the one, ideally! The less context, the more hilarious & interesting it can be.
Rules:
- All fandoms, all ships, all writers welcome
- Give a head's up for disturbing/distressing content
- If you share a sentence, please read some left by other writers and drop at least one person a comment. (If you leave the first comment, thanks for starting us off and please stop back later!)
play on bluesky or on tumblr
show
How to play: Find the word in any WIP and comment with the sentence containing it. Just the one, ideally! The less context, the more hilarious & interesting it can be.
Rules:
- All fandoms, all ships, all writers welcome
- Give a head's up for disturbing/distressing content
- If you share a sentence, please read some left by other writers and drop at least one person a comment. (If you leave the first comment, thanks for starting us off and please stop back later!)
play on bluesky or on tumblr
Freedom of speech
Mar. 11th, 2026 02:18 pmlivThere's been a rant I have been meaning to turn into an essay for a while, but Ken White (Popehat) has done it better, so I direct you to his really well-written and referenced (though US-centric) article: The Fashionable Notion of 'Free Speech Culture' Is Justifying State Censorship, Ironically. Criticism. Is. Not. Censorship, and
This is important in Europe too, not just in the US, because it's a deliberate, specific Russian infowar tactic to promote far right events at UK universities and claim censorship if anyone objects. A
( shorter version of my original opinion, building on White's piece )
“Free speech culture” has a natural tendency to discount the speech rights and interests of people who criticize speech.
This is important in Europe too, not just in the US, because it's a deliberate, specific Russian infowar tactic to promote far right events at UK universities and claim censorship if anyone objects. A
network based at [Cambridge] University and backed by Thiel, which it said was using the issue of free speech to “normalise white nationalism on UK campuses”.Neither Putin nor Thiel has anyone's freedom at heart, and they're all too successful at distracting people with a toddler-like notion of "freedom" where you get to say the naughty words without being told off.
( shorter version of my original opinion, building on White's piece )
Damn, It’s Windy
Mar. 11th, 2026 02:34 pmscalziwhatever_feed
We briefly had a Tornado Warning in our area, which fortunately was quickly downgraded to a Thunderstorm Warning. Not that we had to be warned about that, it was in fact happening, and it brought with it 80mph winds. It was those winds that just now took out our porch railing.
We’re fine and everything else is fine, minus the power being out, which is a thing happening all over town. If this is the worst that happened around here because of this storm, we’ll count ourselves lucky.
— JS
Whistle While You Hurk
Mar. 11th, 2026 01:00 pmcakewrecks_feedSometimes cake shopping is like being stuck in a Fractured Fairy Tale.
Like Snow White, you set out hoping for something "charming," but in the light of day you find yourself stuck with the second string dwarves.
There's Creepy:
Made by the incredibly talented Sarah Jones
"I dare you to cut me."
Queasy:
"I can't believe I ate ITS WHOLE WING."
Crazy:
"WOOLOOLOOOLALALAAAAAAAA!!"
Drippy:
(Queasy's second cousin)
Hairy:
She's planning on using your birthday candles for a waxing later.
Horny:
"Because I have horns, you see. And I'm really Randy.
"(It's short for Randolph. Horny is my ... [sunglasses] ... MIDDLE NAME.)"
And of course, that old favorite:
.doc
Thanks to Stacey, Kimberly C., Carly G., Rachel K., Anony M., Bob B., & Jessica C., who know a picture is worth a thousand words - or in this case, one printable image file.
*****
I will make up for that with not one, but TWO cute unicorn mugs:
Rainbow Unicorn/Pink Narwhal Coffee Mug
One by land, one by sea!
*****
And from my other blog, Epbot:
The Orphan of Zhao
Mar. 11th, 2026 11:03 amrmc28This is an 800 year old play based on events 2,500 years ago in China, the first Chinese play to be translated into any European language (about 300 years ago). The Royal Shakespeare Company commissioned James Fenton to adapt it for a production about 13 years ago, and a student theatre group are putting that adaptation on at the ADC in Cambridge this week.
I went to see it last night with Charles, and also Olivia, one of my friends from Womens Blues. (We then found two of my Huskies teammates in the audience so it became an accidental hockey social.) We saw a little first-night talk beforehand from the director and some of the actors, about why they chose this play and some of their favourite lines and aspects of the characters they play. The play itself was very good, very gripping, a revenge tragedy with a very high body count and an ending I didn't quite expect.
The kind of evening that makes me remember how much I like living in this weird little city in the fens.
(and, in further "wow I love living in walking distance of the ADC" news, here's what I'm hoping to get to between now and early May:
- Into The Woods (famous musical)
- Olympus Unscripted (improv show on greek myths theme)
- Chekov's Four Farces (what it says on the tin)
- Next to Normal (musical about mental illness)
- The Ferryman (play about the Irish Troubles)
- Medea (musical adaptation of Euripedes play)
)
You wield the scepter, you wear the gown
Mar. 11th, 2026 05:17 ambeansideIt's Wednesday! We're halfway there!
For no apparent reasoning, I woke up at 3:30 am and did not get back to sleep. My body, it is a wonderland. I'm currently drinking my coffee and trying to wake the rest of the way up. It's a challenge.
Yesterday was a pretty good day! I spent my morning taking calls and checking my email to see if my offer letter had arrived, but they seemed determined to make me wait. But finally at about 1:30pm, it landed in my inbox.
It's not as big of a raise as I was hoping, but it's not horrible. It's going to take me up to $30.15/hr or just over $62k a year. I immediately signed the offer letter, and so I will be staying right where I'm at, just with a new title and possibly tax bracket. I'm glad that I get to stay with Radiology. Learning new things might have been fun, but I like working from home. I may have to go in occasionally when we have new hires to greet them and get them their equipment and stuff, but that'll be once every few months.
I asked J for some specifics, but in all honesty, it sounds like it's still being defined. It'll be what I do now for the Cardiac slots, though that may morph from something reactive to something proactive. We have a queue for Cardiac orders, but right now, it's massively overgrown and unusable. There's talk of getting it cleaned up, so that I can work off that. Then, I'll be filling STAT spots, and when needed, I'll be backing up the other two leads answering questions and possibly taking escalation calls if needed. It sounds like it'll be interesting at the very least, and a chance for me to help shape what the job shall be.
It'll start on 3/22, so not very long to wait!
Not long after, my sister sent me her resume to proofread. Y'all, it was not good. It had a ton of unnecessary information, it was formatted like hell, and the statements were basically run on sentences starting with "I". It pained me. After work, I sat down and recreated it, using the appropriate buzzwords, and found an appealing template to stuff it all into. I'm not quite happy with it, but it's already worlds better than what it was, and it looks professional.
After that, we had celebratory Chinese food from NiHao. They have some of the best food in Baltimore. I always overbuy and have delicious leftovers for the next day or two. Standouts this week were the Peking duck eggrolls, the shrimp dumplings, and as always the scallion and egg fried rice. I also had the Mongolian beef, which was excellent, and regular fried pork dumplings (also very good.) Jess loves their Szechuan sweet chili popcorn chicken, and I will agree, it's very tasty. It has me looking forward to Chinatown in San Francisco next year.
After dinner, we took the dog out. The weather has been gorgeous the last two days. Unfortunately for Yoda, they're calling for storms today, so he'll be hiding under my desk while I work.
Oh, one exciting thing I forgot. I had to use a bit of vacation last week to take Yoda to the vet and to go to my interview, and when my manager was doing time cards, she sent me a message asking if I wanted her to use my OT instead of my PTO to pay my hours. So, I still have PTO left and I should be able to put in for another day off towards Alaska this week, and then next pay, I can do my other day. Then the vacation will be fully covered. I'd like to put in for the Monday after we get back, but if it fills before I can do so, I can just call out that day.
I'm debating on celebrating the promotion by getting myself a new phone. Mine is fine, though the battery runs down fairly quickly, but I'd like a better camera for Alaska. We had gotten a big camera for the trip, but I don't think I can fit it in the carryon luggage, unless I get an actual carryon suitcase and take my backpack as my personal item. Then again, that would be hella cheaper.
I will think on it.
Today, we shall have same old, same old. I've got some lovely steaks and some delicious smoked Hawaiian salt with a touch of chili, so I believe I'm going to put them together and make something tasty for dinner tonight. We also have potatoes, so it's going to be a good steakhouse dinner. Steak and loaded baked potatoes. I'm looking forward to it.
The BIL was over last night, so I gave him one of the steaks as well as some of the salt to try. The steaks came in packs of two, and they were enormous so we definitely didn't need the fourth. I tend to do that a lot. His mother is very picky about what she'll let him buy, so we're his hook up for non-chicken meat. When we have the crab feast, he gets the leftovers, and when I buy ribs, I'll buy him a rack. I remember too well what it was like to take care of Dad, and he's got that with his mother, though at the moment, she's still pretty mobile. So, we all try to do nice things for him to make it more bearable. His sisters help, but they don't live there, so most of it falls on him. I'm honestly shocked that they were able to work it so he could go to Alaska.
I'm watching our stuff on Alaska Air to see when we'll be able to order our in flight meals. From what I gather, it's usually around two weeks, but I keep checking back.
We're getting so close! I'm going to go into my emails and send confirmations to the limo services and verify that everything is good, just to be safe. Everything else, I think is good.
I'm really debating on the final night seafood boil. I've seen a lot of opinions on reddit and facebook of people saying it's not worth the cost. I'll bring it up next time BIL is over. Since we have the big Dungeness crab feast the day before, it may seem anticlimactic to get a half a snow crab leg and some shrimp and fish in a little pot. I don't know, I'll see what they think.
When we were visiting with my friend from 911, I was talking about the cruise, and it kind of hit me how wild this experience is going to be as far as our accommodations. I've mentioned that we have the Pinnacle Suite, which is their version of an owners suite. It's basically a little floating condo. But the perks were the selling point. Because we're considered VIP, we'll have an escort onto the boat, and then they'll take us to meet our concierge. They take your picture for biometric purposes, but ours will also be sent to the crew, along with our names, so that they can greet us by name. That's just fucking wild. Like we're some kind of rock star.
When the new job starts, I think I'm going to go in and change my deposits, and add more money to the one account that I use for the trip. It won't add up before Alaska, but it'll damn sure be good for Hawaii.
Okay, time for me to hop off and grab a nice shower, and be ready for the day. Everyone have a wonderful Wednesday!
For no apparent reasoning, I woke up at 3:30 am and did not get back to sleep. My body, it is a wonderland. I'm currently drinking my coffee and trying to wake the rest of the way up. It's a challenge.
Yesterday was a pretty good day! I spent my morning taking calls and checking my email to see if my offer letter had arrived, but they seemed determined to make me wait. But finally at about 1:30pm, it landed in my inbox.
It's not as big of a raise as I was hoping, but it's not horrible. It's going to take me up to $30.15/hr or just over $62k a year. I immediately signed the offer letter, and so I will be staying right where I'm at, just with a new title and possibly tax bracket. I'm glad that I get to stay with Radiology. Learning new things might have been fun, but I like working from home. I may have to go in occasionally when we have new hires to greet them and get them their equipment and stuff, but that'll be once every few months.
I asked J for some specifics, but in all honesty, it sounds like it's still being defined. It'll be what I do now for the Cardiac slots, though that may morph from something reactive to something proactive. We have a queue for Cardiac orders, but right now, it's massively overgrown and unusable. There's talk of getting it cleaned up, so that I can work off that. Then, I'll be filling STAT spots, and when needed, I'll be backing up the other two leads answering questions and possibly taking escalation calls if needed. It sounds like it'll be interesting at the very least, and a chance for me to help shape what the job shall be.
It'll start on 3/22, so not very long to wait!
Not long after, my sister sent me her resume to proofread. Y'all, it was not good. It had a ton of unnecessary information, it was formatted like hell, and the statements were basically run on sentences starting with "I". It pained me. After work, I sat down and recreated it, using the appropriate buzzwords, and found an appealing template to stuff it all into. I'm not quite happy with it, but it's already worlds better than what it was, and it looks professional.
After that, we had celebratory Chinese food from NiHao. They have some of the best food in Baltimore. I always overbuy and have delicious leftovers for the next day or two. Standouts this week were the Peking duck eggrolls, the shrimp dumplings, and as always the scallion and egg fried rice. I also had the Mongolian beef, which was excellent, and regular fried pork dumplings (also very good.) Jess loves their Szechuan sweet chili popcorn chicken, and I will agree, it's very tasty. It has me looking forward to Chinatown in San Francisco next year.
After dinner, we took the dog out. The weather has been gorgeous the last two days. Unfortunately for Yoda, they're calling for storms today, so he'll be hiding under my desk while I work.
Oh, one exciting thing I forgot. I had to use a bit of vacation last week to take Yoda to the vet and to go to my interview, and when my manager was doing time cards, she sent me a message asking if I wanted her to use my OT instead of my PTO to pay my hours. So, I still have PTO left and I should be able to put in for another day off towards Alaska this week, and then next pay, I can do my other day. Then the vacation will be fully covered. I'd like to put in for the Monday after we get back, but if it fills before I can do so, I can just call out that day.
I'm debating on celebrating the promotion by getting myself a new phone. Mine is fine, though the battery runs down fairly quickly, but I'd like a better camera for Alaska. We had gotten a big camera for the trip, but I don't think I can fit it in the carryon luggage, unless I get an actual carryon suitcase and take my backpack as my personal item. Then again, that would be hella cheaper.
I will think on it.
Today, we shall have same old, same old. I've got some lovely steaks and some delicious smoked Hawaiian salt with a touch of chili, so I believe I'm going to put them together and make something tasty for dinner tonight. We also have potatoes, so it's going to be a good steakhouse dinner. Steak and loaded baked potatoes. I'm looking forward to it.
The BIL was over last night, so I gave him one of the steaks as well as some of the salt to try. The steaks came in packs of two, and they were enormous so we definitely didn't need the fourth. I tend to do that a lot. His mother is very picky about what she'll let him buy, so we're his hook up for non-chicken meat. When we have the crab feast, he gets the leftovers, and when I buy ribs, I'll buy him a rack. I remember too well what it was like to take care of Dad, and he's got that with his mother, though at the moment, she's still pretty mobile. So, we all try to do nice things for him to make it more bearable. His sisters help, but they don't live there, so most of it falls on him. I'm honestly shocked that they were able to work it so he could go to Alaska.
I'm watching our stuff on Alaska Air to see when we'll be able to order our in flight meals. From what I gather, it's usually around two weeks, but I keep checking back.
We're getting so close! I'm going to go into my emails and send confirmations to the limo services and verify that everything is good, just to be safe. Everything else, I think is good.
I'm really debating on the final night seafood boil. I've seen a lot of opinions on reddit and facebook of people saying it's not worth the cost. I'll bring it up next time BIL is over. Since we have the big Dungeness crab feast the day before, it may seem anticlimactic to get a half a snow crab leg and some shrimp and fish in a little pot. I don't know, I'll see what they think.
When we were visiting with my friend from 911, I was talking about the cruise, and it kind of hit me how wild this experience is going to be as far as our accommodations. I've mentioned that we have the Pinnacle Suite, which is their version of an owners suite. It's basically a little floating condo. But the perks were the selling point. Because we're considered VIP, we'll have an escort onto the boat, and then they'll take us to meet our concierge. They take your picture for biometric purposes, but ours will also be sent to the crew, along with our names, so that they can greet us by name. That's just fucking wild. Like we're some kind of rock star.
When the new job starts, I think I'm going to go in and change my deposits, and add more money to the one account that I use for the trip. It won't add up before Alaska, but it'll damn sure be good for Hawaii.
Okay, time for me to hop off and grab a nice shower, and be ready for the day. Everyone have a wonderful Wednesday!
Just One Thing (11 March 2026)
Mar. 11th, 2026 08:00 amnanila posting in awesomeersIt's challenge time!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
Never Spar With a Viscount by Lindsay Lovise
Mar. 11th, 2026 07:00 amsmartbitches_feed
B
Never Spar with a Viscount
by Lindsay Lovise
March 10, 2026 · Forever
Mystery/ThrillerNovellaScience Fiction/Fantasy
I am always delighted to find new-to-me historical romance authors and this one is a treat. I started mid-series, which isn’t ideal, but I followed the story with glee. I will, however, be going back and starting with the first book because this series has so much Lara catnip.
You all know I’m a bit of a blurb hater at this point, but this one did a good job, so I’ll share it here:
Ivy Bennett has escaped the marriage mart once already—by becoming a governess to the new Lord Brackley’s unruly little sisters. Spending her days in the schoolroom and her nights running a secret self-defense class for women, she has absolutely no interest in a husband. So when Ivy is handed a secret assignment by the spymaster known as the Dove, she sees an opportunity: fake a courtship with the enigmatic Owen Brackley to avoid her conniving father’s attempts to marry her off, complete the mission, and finally secure her freedom. Simple. Until it’s not.
Women across London are succumbing to a strange madness, and they all share a connection to Brackley—the same man who looks at Ivy like he sees right through her and is none too bothered by her lack of ladylike charm. As Ivy gathers gossip like breadcrumbs and dodges increasingly dangerous attempts on Brackley’s life, she realizes two things: someone wants the viscount gone, and the closer she gets to the truth, the harder it is to tell what’s real and what’s just part of the game.
Okay fine, you got me, I do have one tiny gripe with the blurb: it made the mystery plot seem bigger than it is. This is definitely a ROMANCE-FORWARD plot, which delighted me. The mystery plot was fine, but the falling in love plot was SUPER.
Ivy and Owen both have traumatic pasts due in large part to their terrible, abusive fathers. Ivy is the youngest of seven – all her other siblings being brothers and until the oldest of them was able to physically stand up to and chase away their abusive father, Ivy lived in fear. So she studied her brothers during their various fencing, etc. classes. She would sometimes taunt the younger ones into sparring with her. And she got really good at self-defence, so much so that, during a late night encounter it is …
Ivy that saves Owen! I told you this was Lara catnip!
This brings up one of the things I love most about this book: It is slowly revealed that Owen is fully accepting of Ivy exactly as she is and he is secure enough in his masculinity that …
He loves that Ivy teaches self-defence classes, not only to other women, but to his sisters too.
With each reveal of an aspect of Ivy’s personality, Owen meets her with full-bodied, whole-hearted acceptance. It’s such a lovely thing to read (and feel!).
I have been so swept away that I’ve forgotten to lead with the most obvious information: this is a grumpy x sunshine romance, but both characters have depth and neither conform to caricatures. Yes, Owen is quite surly, but it’s made refreshing by Ivy’s insistence at making fun of his surliness. It’s also only a skin-deep grump. Very close to the surface is a kind-hearted man. Ivy is sunshine, but that sunshine takes delight in teasing Owen into the grumps. The two really do complement each other in that respect.
So, the mystery. It’s kind of fragmented and only comes together right near the end. Characters who I can only assume had their moment in the sun in previous books do play a key role in the mystery plot. The mystery is fine. Nothing particularly special about it, but it does a good job of building non-romance tension.
While I was underwhelmed by the mystery plot and found those sections a little plodding, I really loved the dynamic between Owen and Ivy, especially their acceptance of one another as allies, then more. I just had a really good time reading this book. I found it to be immersive escapism – just what I need at the moment. If you’re looking for the same, then I recommend Never Spar with a Viscount.
3/9/2026 Tilden Nature Area
Mar. 9th, 2026 08:58 pmmrkinchWe all started out this morning, but Chris had to leave early, so I met only U at Jewel Lake. She got there first, which I don't recall happenning before, but Lower Packrat was wonderfully active and I stopped to listen and look many times. The California Towhees were "singing", which I love though it's not melodic. I heard several Allen's Hummingbirds' diving wing whirr and watched one flying their display pattern, so that was a treat. The Wilson's Warblers have arrived! One was reported yesterday so we were expecting them, but it still took me a moment to recognize their song after so long. ( The list: )
Biggest surprise of the morning: when I got to the Lake U told me there was a Common Goldeneye! We used to get several species besides Mallard on the Lake in Winter, but now it's unusual and exciting.
Biggest surprise of the morning: when I got to the Lake U told me there was a Common Goldeneye! We used to get several species besides Mallard on the Lake in Winter, but now it's unusual and exciting.
Challenge 509: Plant
Mar. 11th, 2026 04:44 pmchina_shop posting in fan_flashworksOur new challenge is:
As always, you can interpret the prompt literally or figuratively, in whatever way works for you.
Each work created for this challenge should be posted as a new entry to the comm. Posting starts now and continues up until the challenge ends at 4pm Pacific Time on Friday, 20th March. No sign-up required.
Mods will tag your work for fandom. When you've posted entries to three consecutive challenges, you will earn a name tag, and we'll go back and tag all your previous entries with your name, as well.
All kinds of fanworks in all fandoms are welcome. Please have a look at our guidelines before you play. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact a mod. And if you have any suggestions for future challenges, you can leave them in the comments of this post.
You can view stats forfan_flashworks entries and search and filter them via the Community Report and Creator Report. See our FAQ post for more details.
Also, keep an eye out for the nextffw_social post, which will go up in the next couple of days. If you haven't joined the ffw_social comm, it's never too late to come and check it out. (Posts are locked, which means you have to join to see them.)
PLANT
As always, you can interpret the prompt literally or figuratively, in whatever way works for you.
Each work created for this challenge should be posted as a new entry to the comm. Posting starts now and continues up until the challenge ends at 4pm Pacific Time on Friday, 20th March. No sign-up required.
Mods will tag your work for fandom. When you've posted entries to three consecutive challenges, you will earn a name tag, and we'll go back and tag all your previous entries with your name, as well.
All kinds of fanworks in all fandoms are welcome. Please have a look at our guidelines before you play. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact a mod. And if you have any suggestions for future challenges, you can leave them in the comments of this post.
You can view stats for
fan_flashworks entries and search and filter them via the Community Report and Creator Report. See our FAQ post for more details.Also, keep an eye out for the next
ffw_social post, which will go up in the next couple of days. If you haven't joined the ffw_social comm, it's never too late to come and check it out. (Posts are locked, which means you have to join to see them.)Admin: Challenge closed
Mar. 11th, 2026 04:39 pmchina_shop posting in fan_flashworksThe Anticipation challenge is now closed. Here are the entries:
The Professionals: Fanfiction: Sexy Sunday bylucy_roman
FAKE: Fanfic: The Big Jump bybadly_knitted
Doctor Who: Fanfiction: Cloudbound Dreaming byinfinitum_noctem
Culture Club: Fanfic: Six Hats and a Suitcase bymidnight_heavenly_bodies
The Double: fanfic: some fences will forever stay unmended byteaotter
Viola come il mare: Fanfic: First Date byveronyxk84
Spooks (MI5): Fanfic: An Unexpected Situation bysmallhobbit
Torchwood: Fanfic: Desperate times bym_findlow
9-1-1: Fan Fiction: Worth It bydarkjediqueen
Crash Fever: Fanart: in the digital rain byx95
Ponies (TV 2026): Fanfic: waiting for someone else byalasse_irena
Marvel 1610 (comics): icons: Step into my Parlor byhighlander_ii
Fanservice Paradox: Fanfic: the rise of the wall (in the future, things will happen) bybluedreaming
\o/ \o/ \o/
Thank you to everyone who participated! You're now free to post your entries to your journal or wherever else you'd like. If you're archiving on AO3, you can add your work to our fan_flashworks collection there.
The Community Report and Creator Report will be updated shortly with the entries from this round. See our FAQ for more details.
Next challenge is on its way.
The Professionals: Fanfiction: Sexy Sunday by
lucy_romanFAKE: Fanfic: The Big Jump by
badly_knittedDoctor Who: Fanfiction: Cloudbound Dreaming by
infinitum_noctemCulture Club: Fanfic: Six Hats and a Suitcase by
midnight_heavenly_bodiesThe Double: fanfic: some fences will forever stay unmended by
teaotterViola come il mare: Fanfic: First Date by
veronyxk84Spooks (MI5): Fanfic: An Unexpected Situation by
smallhobbitTorchwood: Fanfic: Desperate times by
m_findlow9-1-1: Fan Fiction: Worth It by
darkjediqueenCrash Fever: Fanart: in the digital rain by
x95Ponies (TV 2026): Fanfic: waiting for someone else by
alasse_irenaMarvel 1610 (comics): icons: Step into my Parlor by
highlander_iiFanservice Paradox: Fanfic: the rise of the wall (in the future, things will happen) by
bluedreaming\o/ \o/ \o/
Thank you to everyone who participated! You're now free to post your entries to your journal or wherever else you'd like. If you're archiving on AO3, you can add your work to our fan_flashworks collection there.
The Community Report and Creator Report will be updated shortly with the entries from this round. See our FAQ for more details.
Next challenge is on its way.