ofearthandstars

peaked posting in

100 icons of superman 2025 trailer
75 | clark kent/superman + lois lane
05 | krypto the superdog
13 | lex luthor
07 | justice gang (working name)

HERE @

shithouse

dark_kana posting in

3_good_things_a_day

1) homemade ice tea

2) started early, so I have an hour to myself before our daughter is back home

3) hubby's father is staying for dinner

conuly

Ask the Algorithm!

****************

( Links )

olivermoss

I saw people say that hearing anything about the film will spoil it and it's best to go in cold, so I decided to actually see a movie in a theater. Also, if i am going to go to a theater, a hundred degree day is a good choice.

( Minor spoilers, and I don't actually think this movie is as easily spoiled as I'd heard. )

sholio

Working on belatedly writing up some books I've read lately.

A new Ben January book came out in July, and I had tremendous fun with it! This is one of the books in the series where Hambly goes Full Pulp with the plot, and she is delightful at it - buried treasure, pirates, abandoned houses crumbling in the swamp, identity shenanigans, long-lost relatives ...

( Spoilers )

got_quiet posting in

beautifulmechanical

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dine

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sonofgodzilla

Title: Vice-Versa
Universe: Kamen Rider Black RX
Series: Season One | The Mutiny (1, 2, 3) | The Power Stealer | White Light (1, 2, 1+2) | Zedd's Monster Mash | A Monster of Global Proportions | Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie
Character(s): Shiratori Reiko
Rating: U
Warnings: N/A
Summary: Even after all these years, belief in the Heaven’s Dance Troupe of Miracles persisted. She thumbed through the pictures she had recently developed, the robes of the dancers vivid in vibrant colours. It was an important story, she knew it, and yet at every turn, Reiko found herself frustrated, every paper, every magazine expressing nothing but indifference.
Length: 683 words
Author's Notes: external link .

feels like heaven!

( Vice-Versa )

Current Mood: awake
Current Location: somewhere
Current Music: Twilight - Swarming Funeral Mass

beatrice_otter

I use the same name everywhere so I am

beatrice_otter on AO3. Treats are awesome.

I would rather get a story you were happy with than "well, she said she liked x, so I guess I have to do x even though I don't like x and/or am not inspired that way." This letter is long with lots of suggestions and preferences if you find it helpful, but feel free to ignore it if it is not helpful. I'm fairly easy to please; I've been doing ficathons for over a decade and am usually very happy with my gifts.

The most important thing for me in a fic is that the characters are well-written and recognizably themselves. Even when I don't like a character, I don't go in for character-bashing. If nothing else, if the rest of this letter is too much or my kinks don't fit yours, just concentrate on writing a story with everyone in character and good spelling and grammar and I will almost certainly love what you come up with.

I have an embarrassment squick, which makes humor kind of hit-or-miss sometimes. The kind of humor where someone does something embarrassing and the audience is laughing at them makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, the kind of humor where the audience is laughing with the characters I really enjoy.

General Likes and Dislikes

other things to keep in mind:

I like stuff that takes side characters and puts them center-stage, especially when the characters and/or actors are marginalized. I enjoy seeing them come to life.
I don't like it when marginalized characters get relegated to the sidekick/supporting/helper role so that it can be All About The White Dude.
I like it when female characters are more than just the Strong Female Character(tm) or The Nurturer.
I like fluff
I like angst with a happy ending
I like stories that make me think about things in a new way.
I like to know that culture matters to people, and to see how different cultures interact and where the clashes are.
I like unreliable narrators.
I like acknowledgment that different people can have different points of view without either of them being wrong.
I like stories that engage with problematic aspects of the source, and which deal with privilege in one way or another instead of sweeping it under the rug.
Worldbuilding is my jam, I am pretty much always up for explorations of why the world is the way it is. I love hearing about the economics, the politics, the religion, the clothing, the history, the folklore, all of that kind of stuff. And I want to know why it matters--how is all this cultural background stuff affecting the characters, the plot, everything. You don't have to do deep worldbuilding, but I'll enjoy it if you do.
I don't like it when plots hinge on characters being selectively stupid, or selectively unable to communicate. Like, if they are stupid or a himbo or whatever in general, or have problems communicating in general, that's fine! Or if they canonically have a blind spot in that area, again, it's fine. But if it's just "the only way I can think of for this plot to work is if the character spontaneously and temporarily loses half their intelligence and competence," then I'm going to spend the rest of the fic wondering why the character didn't just ____?
I like AUs, but not complete setting AUs (i.e. no highschool or college or coffee shop AUs, and especially not mundane AUs--nothing where you keep characters but drop most of the worldbuilding). I like fork-in-the-road type AUs, where one thing is different and the changes all result from that one thing, and you explore what might have been if such-and-such happened.
I like the concept of sedoretu marriages.
I like historical AUs, but only when the author actually knows the history period in question and does thoughtful worldbuilding to meld actual culture of the time with the canon.
Crackfic is really hit and miss for me, sometimes I love it and sometimes I can't stand it. Basically, if it's the characters we know and love in a ludicrous situation, that's great. If they're OOC or parodied in order to make something funny ... it's not funny to me.

I like plotty, gen stories, and plotty stories in general. I don't care for explicit sex, particularly when it's just thrown in for teh porn. I'm asexual; a lot of the time I don't even bother to read the sex scenes. Romance is awesome (as long as both are in character and the romantic plot doesn't hinge on one or both of them being an idiot). I love it when friendship is held up as important and not secondary to romantic relationships and blood ties.

Please no incest or darkfic. I define "darkfic" as stuff where there's a lot of suffering and no hope even at the end and all the characters are terrible. Angst with a happy ending is fine, I enjoy it, but there's gotta be a payoff. Even an ambiguous ending is fine! But there has to be some note of grace or redemption or hope somewhere, it can't just be "people are awful and the world sucks, the end." I define incest as siblings and/or parents, cousins don't count.

I love outsider perspectives and academic takes on things. In-universe meta (newspaper articles, academic monographs--especially with the sort of snarky feuding common in actual real-world academia, social media feeds in current day or future worlds) is awesome.

Also, I'm picky about European historical clothing details. You don't have to talk about it at all! In fact, if you don't know much about historical clothing, I would prefer if you didn't mention it at all. My pet peeve is corsets: no, they weren't a restrictive tool of the patriarchy, no, they didn't interfere with most women's daily lives, no, most women weren't wearing them so tight they couldn't breathe.

I like religion but I'm picky about it. Basically, Christianity is deeply weird compared to most other religions, and a lot of people whose only experience with religion is living in a culturally-Christian nation assume that what they know about Christianity is some sort of universal principle of What Religion Is Like, and that's just not the case. For example, in Christianity what you believe is more important than what you do. This is not to say we Christians don't teach and practice Christian ethics or have rituals we are very attached to, but rather that if you don't believe in Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter what rituals you participate in or what ethical things you do, you are not a Christian (although you may be a "cultural Christian"). Every Christian group has at least a minimal core theology that members must affirm, but participation in ritual is far less rigidly a requirement. Most other religions rank what you do (both ethically and ritually) as more important than what you believe, and it is often quite possible to be a member in good standing if you participate in the practices and rituals even if you believe none of the teachings. Anyway, point is, if you are doing worldbuilding for a fantasy or SF or otherwise non-Christian religion ... unless it is explicitly a Christian-analogue, it should be different from Christianity. Question your assumptions and see where that leads you, and I will be fascinated and thrilled.

Historical Fiction and Fantasy

The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison
Kate and Cecelia - Caroline Stevermer & Patricia Wrede
Temeraire - Naomi Novik
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Persuasion - Jane Austen
Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Doctor Who 2005

With these fandoms, I'd be fascinated to see how the worldbuilding fits together. Is Middle Earth on the other side of the ocean from the Ethuveraz, and what's that clash like when they encounter one another? What do Tolkien's elves think of the Ethuveraz elves, and vice versa? (Is Dachensol Habrobar, the extremely-long-lived person who makes sigil rings in the Ethuveraz, a Tolkien-style Elf?) Do Elizabeth and Will meet up with Maia's sister the lesbian pirate captain? (James Norrington would do much better in an Austen story than in PotC.) Can an Austen heroine do magic? (What's Sir Walter Elliot's opinion of Mr. Norrell?) If there was a connection between the Bennets and the Elliots, would Mrs. Bennet try to cling on to the Elliots as tightly as Sir Walter clings on to his cousin Lady Dalrymple? (Of course she would.) With Mansfield Park, I'm firmly of the opinion that Henry Crawford would have made Fanny miserable in the long run, so if you don't like Fanny/Edward or Fanny/Mary, this is the perfect opportunity for a crossover pairing. Or no pairing, give her a dragon instead! Everything is better with dragons.

I specified Doctor Who 2005 and Goblin Emperor because you can't have two parts of the same canon in the same request, but I love all Doctor Who and the Cemeteries of Amalo books. So if you are inspired to do an earlier Doctor or stuff from Amalo instead, feel free!

Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic

Early 20th Century Detectives and SF/F

Lord Peter Wimsey - Dorothy L. Sayers
Agatha Christie's Poirot (TV)
Agent Carter (TV)
Jeeves & Wooster
The Old Guard (Movies)
Young Wizards - Diane Duane
The Mummy (Movies 1999-2008)
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (TV)

All of these characters are interesting and eccentric, most of them solve mysteries (and the rest cause them), I want to hear about how they met or what they're like if they live in the same universe. Is Miss Climpson a Young Wizard-style wizard? She probably wasn't very powerful even when young, but then, she always did find that attention to insignificant details was at least as effective as the more flashy stuff. Does Peter or Harriet cross paths with Evy in academia, or while holidaying somewhere Evy and Rick are doing a dig? (Does Peter work with Rick on intelligence work during WWII?) Would Peggy Carter try to recruit Phrynne for the SSR? What happens if the Old Guard are at a country house party for some reason and someone tries to kill them--what happens to a mystery when the murder victim resurrects--do they pretend to be dead so they don't get revealed, do they try to tell the detective who killed them? What if Captain America is at a country house party for diplomatic reasons and people start dropping dead and someone tries to frame him and he has to work with the detective to identify the true culprit? If all else fails, most of them take place during/near WWII, and you can put together almost anyone either during a mission or while on leave back in England or something.

Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic

AI and Wormholes and War

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Doctor Who (2005)
Star Wars: the Original Series
Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Young Wizards - Diane Duane
Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie
The ArchAndroid - Janelle Monáe
Babylon 5 (TV 1993)

(Most of) These canons have things to say about personhood, power, government, culture, and doing the right thing, and I would be interested in seeing them compared and contrasted. While I only listed one Doctor Who (because we can't do things that might get us matched on two parts of the same fandom) I would be fine with any Doctor of any era. I want to know what Murderbot thinks of R2-D2 (and what R2 thinks of Murderbot). I want to know what ART thinks of the Cylons, and what the Cylons think about ART. (And if ART and Murderbot were to drop a virus into Cylon systems that revealed the truth about the Final Five and all the shit the Ones got up to, and trashed the governor modules on the Centurions on the way out, that would be awesome.) Or Murderbot getting trapped in the Colonial Fleet masquerading as a human because these people like constructs even less than most humans like SecUnits. How much can the Doctor fix (or break in a better way) before he/she leaves? What characters would make interesting companions? What would happen if the Colonial Fleet found themselves in Barrayaran space? (Or Cetagandan, or Jacksonian, or Betan?) What would Breq think about the Cardassians or the Dominion (or the Federation)? And, of course, everything is better with wizards.

What characters would make interesting companions? What are the wizards doing in the BSG world? (Can Cylons be wizards, and what would happen if one was? How would that work with their whole sharing memory/uploading/downloading thing?) What do the technomages think of the wizards, and vice versa ... or is "technowizard" a way of getting around sevarfrith status? What would Laura Roslin think of the Minbari, and would telepaths be able to sense Cylons? Did either the Vorlons or the Shadows have anything to do with the repeating cycle of evolution/Cylon creation/destruction that BSG is stuck in?

Some of these are easier to fit together than others. For example, Murderbot can pop up anywhere and fit into any canon, because if there's a difference in the sociopolitics or the way interstellar travel works between Murderbot canon and whatever series you're putting MB in, it can be handwaved away as "Murderbot doesn't care and therefore didn't notice." The Doctor can pop up anywhere, and wizards are also very adaptable. With Star Trek and Star Wars, both series show enough of the galaxy and enough of galactic history, and have different enough physics that it's a bit tougher. But still doable! Ye Olde Wormhole/Alternate Universe can work wonders.

Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic

Modern World, part 1

Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Sense8 (TV)
Young Wizards
Stargate SG-1
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Dirty Computer - Janelle Monáe (Music Video)
A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
Superman Returns (2006) or Superman (Movie 2025)
Criminal Minds (US TV)
Pitch

With these fandoms, I would love either worldbuilding (how do you fit superheroes and genius loci into one universe? Duane's wizards and Aaronovitch's? The Old Guard's immortality vs. Nightingale, Varvara, the Old Soldiers, and various other immortals of the demi monde?) or character stuff (put the characters in a room together, see how they get along or don't) or exploration of social issues that are implicit or implied in the canons. Also, wizards make everything better, and I am fascinated by the concept of sensate clusters. Take characters, make them part of a sensate cluster--preferably a diverse world-spanning cluster, like the one in the show. (OCs are fine as part of the cluster!) Or what would happen to any of the characters in any of the series if they died and became part of the Old Guard? Does Nile watch Genny Baker's games whenever she has a chance? Peter would totally be a superhero fanboy, and also, if Judgment Day happens, and Terminators have microchips, all of a sudden being a wizard is a superpower to save the world. On the other hand, what if Sarah and John et al ended up in Britain and got tangled up in a case? What would Peter make of time travel?

I love all of the Sense8 cluster, but my faves are Nomi, Lito, and Capheus. Of all the Old Guard, Booker is least interesting to me.

I specified Superman Returns here, but I would be just as happy to receive Superman 2025 crossed with any of these others.

Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic

Modern World Part 2

Calvin & Hobbes
A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
Dirty Computer - Janelle Monáe (Music Video)
Young Wizards - Diane Duane
Batman: The Animated Series
Superman Returns (2006) or Superman (Movie 2025)
Sense8 (TV)
Fandom For Robots - Vina Jie-Min Prasad

The main theme of these canons to me is young people, imagination, and hope. I'd love worldbuilding and fitting these stories together; I'd also love character moments. There's already an amazing "what if Calvin was a wizard" story, but another would be awesome. What would a wizard be doing in the Dirty Computer dystopia? Or Gotham? What if Bruce Wayne or Dick Grayson were sensates? (Or, God forbid, Harley Quinn? Pity the poor cluster! OTOH, if they can convince her to get away from the Joker, that would be great.) What would the Timmverse Batman think of either the 2006 or 2025 Supermans? Could Computron be a wizard? What if Calvin ended up as a Robin?

I specified Superman Returns here, but I would be just as happy to receive Superman 2025 crossed with any of these others.

Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic

Modern World, Part 3

Fandom For Robots - Vina Jie-Min Prasad
The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
Superman 2025
A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
Star Trek: The Next Generation

Robots being people! What does Murderbot think of Hyperdimension Warp Record? What does Computron think of the Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon? If either of them met up with Data, what would they talk about? If Computron is in the DCAU, are there other sentient robots? Is there anything Superman might need Computron's help on? What would happen if Murderbot needed to team up with the Justice League, or Batman? What if Camazotz came after Earth, and the Justice League or Starfleet needed Meg's help to defeat the IT? What if Charles Wallace and Computron got to talk for a bit? What if Computron got to visit the Fortress?

Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic

Modern World -- Apocalypse Edition

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pacific Rim (Movies)
Sense8 (TV)
The ArchAndroid - Janelle Monáe
Dirty Computer - Janelle Monáe (Music Video)
Young Wizards - Diane Duane
The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
Sleepy Hollow (TV)

Yes, most of these are post-apocalyptic or dystopian in some way. But they also have at least the seed of hope: of escape, of change, of something better being possible. And they're also about personhood, about choice, about AI and civil rights and cancelling the apocalypse.

Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic

cornerofmadness

I made it to Hershey in spite of construction and the fact that half of Hershey is 'road closed' I went to the Hershey Story Museum. Now, I admit it, this is a biased museum of course but probably easily fact checked. If it's all true, Milton Hershey was a good millionaire. He gave like 60 Million dollars to an orphanage, started schools for his workers children, gave them decent wages (mostly), made a community for them including golf courses (and one for the kids) theaters etc. It was a nice museum.

I hit Wendy's for lunch for the first time in like 15 years. You all can guess why. I wanted the Meal of Misfortune. It was a surprising number of chicken nuggets like 8 of them (I don't like nuggets) but there was no cartilage in them and it was tolerable with the dips (a spicy blackish/dark purple one and one obviously raspberry base) and my sundae needed more goo but it was good.

From there I went to the Hershey Gardens, a tiny bit pricey for a small garden (but I know how much it is to take care of a place like this) They had a butterfly collection, you the know the type. Lots a blue morphos floating around but there were ones I've never seen before like a dead leaf butterfly (which looked just like a dead leaf) and had some other insects and reptiles, including the bird poop frog (well named) and a white tree frog who had SUCH a face.

There were all kinds of beautiful roses which would have looked even better about 6 weeks ago. Also would have been nicer if it wasn't 1001 degrees out there. Pretty sure the sun is cooler. I loved that there is a Milton Hershey rose (bred for him in the 20s or 30s) and later they renamed one Catherine Hershey. Milton's was nearly extinct but it's back and they were selling it and if I had a place for it....

From there I saw there was 2 hours before everything closed so I went to the car museum. I wanted to break a bunch of collection cabinets and steal me scads of hood ornaments (I love them so) they had american, french and british. There was a deluxe edition steudabaker one that was a full devil with tail and a pitchfork (from the 20s-30s) and pierce arrow had one with a naked mercury on it (well he had his fig leaf) from 1926.

It was three floors of cars and motorcycles. Oddly enough there weren't many trucks. The ground floor was a lot of dirt bikes (not my thing) and big cars/buses. The first floor had the most cars, lots of station wagons for some reason and a really nice Tucker collection (fantastic cars, ahead of their time, he was run out of the business by the big boys in Detroit) Top floor were more motorcycles (one from the 40s called the whizzer....) and all my hood ornaments. (now I see me doing a human Arackniss and Angel story just to work in those hood ornaments and sending them to Hershey Park.

On the way from here to the hotel, my GPS takes one last gasp at killing me. I should have been in the left lane but nope it says go right....RIGHT into hershey park (hey it was only 35$ but I'm not sure if that's park entrance or just the parking) I tell the guy what happened because it's a one way. I couldn't turn around. He laughed and waved me in and said just keep going. It'll circle back out for you.

Dinner was a huge disappointment and a bit scary. I wanted to go to the chocolate avenue grill (nope, totally packed) so I hit another biggie around here Troeg's Brewery. I ended up with a 20$ sandwich and fries and the world's most overpriced beer. I didn't realize the prices were on the sign across the big bar space. So when I was choosing between the Jovial dupple ale and the freaky peach sour ale I could have gotten two of the Jovial. Didn't see that and paid 14$ for ONE freaking sour ale which was stored in a bourbon barrel so all I could really taste was bourbon. It was good but it wasn't worth the price of a six pack.

The scary part wasn't the price (that was the disappointment). When I went to pay for it, I realized my gym wallet wasn't in my purse. I know I had it at the hotel when I dumped the purse out looking for the insulin but it is GONE now. While I have money/credit in my main wallet, the gym wallet has my id and my main credit card. It wasn't outside the restaurant or in the Bronco. Fantastic. I have no idea where my driver's license is. I just drank a large sour ale that is 9% alcohol in a strange town in a car that isn't mine. Whee. Made it back to the hotel. Still can't find my wallet. I was getting ready to go tear up the Bronco and/or ask the front desk to see if it was turned in but then I saw that the bed spread had a cuff on it. Did the wallet slide under there? Thankfully yes. Geez.

The tub here is weird. High. Deep. Narrow, like it's hard to have your feet side by side. And boy do I miss my handicapped room from the Wyndham with it's high toilet. This one is about 2 inches off the ground. Thank god I can pull up on the vanity.

And I am wake enough to do music monday (but probably NOT to answer anyone's responses yet) I Feel free to share with us. We're doing the alphabet and we're up to T. I'm only sharing the last 5 years but you can share whatever T song you'd like.

( Teeing up )

Current Mood: hot
Current Music: The Big Bang Theory

jazzyjj posting in

awesomeers

It'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!

captainawkward_feed

Posted by BostonCAmeetup

https://captainawkward.com/2025/08/11/august-boston-meetup/

http://captainawkward.com/?p=53153

Let’s have another Boston meetup!

When: Saturday, August 16th, 2025 at 1pm

Where: Cambridge Common, in Cambridge, MA, near the Civil War Monument

Closest T stop is Harvard Square on the Red Line. Cambridge Common is a 5-10 minute walk.

The Civil War Monument is the big statue in the center of Cambridge Common, with lots of benches around (but no tables).

Accessibility notes: The park has good pathways to the area where we’re meeting, but no bathrooms in the park. Best nearby public restrooms are in the MBTA station.

I’ll be sitting on one of the benches and I’ll have with me a Catbus plushie (from My Neighbor Totoro). I’ll probably be working on a crochet blanket.

If the weather forecast wildly changes and we have to move indoors, weather location is the Harvard Art Museum Cafe, in the central atrium of 32 Quincy Street.

Feel free to bring any crafts, games, puzzles, etc to work on or share. I’ll also have some art supplies and paper to share.

If you have questions, comments, or are trying to find us, you can reach me at bostonCAmeetup AT gmail DOT com.

https://captainawkward.com/2025/08/11/august-boston-meetup/

http://captainawkward.com/?p=53153

enchanted_jae posting in

ficlet_zone

Title: Born Bad
Author:

enchanted_jae
Fandom: Cal Leandros
Characters: Cal, Niko, Robin
Rating: PG13
Warning(s): Language, first person pov (Cal's)
Word count: 145
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of Rob Thurman, et al. This drabble/fic was written for fun, not for profit.
Written for:

ficlet_zone Prompt No. 88 - Law & Order. I chose: Born Bad, Monster
Summary: Niko won’t let anyone speak ill of Cal...including Cal.

Born Bad

pepysdiary_feed

Posted by Samuel Pepys

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1662/08/11/

All the morning at the office. Dined at home all alone, and so to my office again, whither Dean Fuller came to see me, and having business about a ship to carry his goods to Dublin, whither he is shortly to return, I went with him to the Hermitage, and the ship happening to be Captn. Holland’s I did give orders for them to be well looked after, and thence with him to the Custom House about getting a pass for them, and so to the Dolphin tavern, where I spent 6d. on him, but drank but one glass of wine, and so parted. He tells me that his niece, that sings so well, whom I have long longed to see, is married to one Mr. Boys, a wholesale man at the Three Crowns in Cheapside.

I to the office again, whither Cooper came and read his last lecture to me upon my modell, and so bid me good bye, he being to go to-morrow to Chatham to take charge of the ship I have got him. So to my business till 9 at night, and so to supper and to bed, my mind a little at ease because my house is now quite tiled.

Read the annotations

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1662/08/11/

mrissa

Review copy provided by the publisher.

This collection featured stories I'd read--and very much liked--before as well as stories that were new to me. I read extensively in short SFF, so that's not unexpected for any collection these days. What's less typical is how consistently high-quality these stories are, across different tone and topic.

There is a rootedness to these stories that I love to see in short speculative fiction, a sense of place and culture. It doesn't hurt that Campbell's sense of place and culture is a northern one--not one of my parts of the north but north all the same. And forest, oh, this is a very arboreal book. There's death and transformation here--these stories are like an examination of the forest ecosystem from nurse log to blossom, on a metaphorical level. I'm so glad this is here so that these stories are preserved in one place.

hrj

The Skin-Singer release process has gotten caught up with almost all the pending steps. The print copies arrived today (just in time to take to Worldcon). The kindle version is live and added to the Books2Read page. I've been able to add one non-Amazon link to the print links on Books2Read. (Need to research what other outlets might have it available to order.)

My advertising has been limited to social media at this point. I've made up some business-card sized promo cards to hand out, but they're b&w since I was printing them at home. (It would be unethical of me to regret lack of access to the color laser printers at Bayer. Right?) I'll draw up some flashier promo cards to use online and in hard copy when I have some breathing space. But my plan has always been to launch and then work on the publicity rather than treating it as an "all or nothing at the start" project.

The next big step will be recording the audio version (which I'll be narrating myself). Then there will be learning the process for audio distribution. But all that will probably wait until I get back from New Zealand, since I'll only have 10 days in between trips.

I have, however, already uploaded the next two podcasts. And if I work in some sound editing time (maybe on the train) then I'll be way ahead on the September episodes as well.

At the moment, I'm waiting for the dryer to finish so I can do the last packing items, and then I can re...well, ok, I won't relax until I'm actually on board the train tonight. But I have my ride all lined up. So there's that.

troyswann

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

musesfool

3 things make a post:

a. So I hurt my back yesterday doing something normal and innocuous. Ugh. Everything about it is terrible. Icy-hot helps, and tylenol, but it was hard to find a comfortable position to sleep in last night. I did eventually get to sleep, but only for like 5 or 6 hours.

b. I did still manage to make this fried rice recipe with ground pork, but it's only okay. I think the meat could use more seasoning before it gets fried and sauced, and I'll probably stick with the Woks of Life recipe going forward, but it'll do for lunch for the week.

c. In other news, Baby Miss L is having a rough time going to school 2 days a week. I sent her a couple of books about it (including a Pete the Cat one, though it's Pete the Kitty in this case), so hopefully that will help (as much as anything helps other than time and patience). Poor kid - I wouldn't want to go be around strangers all day either!

*

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: and I howled at my ma in the driving rain

marycatelli posting in

books

The School Reader. Third Book: Containing Progressive Lessons in Reading, Exercises in Articulation and Inflection, Definitions, by Charles Walton Sanders

The third book is still focused on reading. Very few of the pieces come with bylines. Still, it's taking on the aspect of the later readers, with the focus on good readings, edifying and instruction.

May be chiefly of interest in view of what they selected in the era.

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August 2025

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andrewducker - Interesting Links for 12-08-2025
peaked in icons - 100 SUPERMAN (2025) TRAILER.
dark_kana in 3_good_things_a_day - Tuesday 12/08/2025
conuly - At last, an advice column we can all get behind!
olivermoss - Weapons
sholio - Murder in the Trembling Lands (Ben January #21)
got_quiet in beautifulmechanical - Fates Warning - The Light and Shade of Things
dine - orcas aren’t even fish, they’re really big murder dolphins
sonofgodzilla - FIC: Kamen Rider Black RX - Vice-Versa
beatrice_otter - Dear Crossworks Author
cornerofmadness - Chocolatey
jazzyjj in awesomeers - Just one thing: 12 August 2025
captainawkward_feed - August Boston meetup!
enchanted_jae in ficlet_zone - Cal Leandros (Prompt # 88 - Law & Order) Born Bad
pepysdiary_feed - Monday 11 August 1662
mrissa - The Other Shore, by Rebecca Campbell
hrj - A Pause in the Process
troyswann - The bin and the alien and some magic mushrooms
musesfool - i was born in a crossfire hurricane
marycatelli in books - The School Reader. Third Book

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Of Earth and Stars

Network

Interesting Links for 12-08-2025

100 SUPERMAN (2025) TRAILER.

Tuesday 12/08/2025

At last, an advice column we can all get behind!

Weapons

Murder in the Trembling Lands (Ben January #21)

Fates Warning - The Light and Shade of Things

orcas aren’t even fish, they’re really big murder dolphins

FIC: Kamen Rider Black RX - Vice-Versa

Dear Crossworks Author

Chocolatey

Just one thing: 12 August 2025

August Boston meetup!

Cal Leandros (Prompt # 88 - Law & Order) Born Bad

Monday 11 August 1662

The Other Shore, by Rebecca Campbell

A Pause in the Process

The bin and the alien and some magic mushrooms

i was born in a crossfire hurricane

The School Reader. Third Book

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August 2025

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