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Jan. 4th, 2026 04:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chocolatepotIn another two-week-wait! I had to drive to Syracuse on Tuesday for the IUI, and it was not so bad getting there but terrible coming home, particularly after I charged the car for ~45 mins. Couldn't get anything for lunch because everywhere in and around Syracuse was closed due to the storm. I'm hoping that the "this will make a great 'where you came from' story someday" factor is on my side.
About a week ago, I started writing a new Regency romance, and it's going SO well. I partly attribute this to all of the practice (something like 450k words on AO3 over the past four years, plus several personal projects), but partly to the amount of deconstruction I've done on KJ Charles just this year. The former's made it so I can write more smoothly and the latter's helped me figure out how to plot well enough to not end up going "uhhh my outline says 'they get to know each other better' for this chapter" which then contributes to more smooth writing. I've given myself a minimum of 500 words a day and hitting it isn't really a problem? I've only just hit chapter three, so maybe I'm still in the easy-to-write-because-it's-new zone, but it feels different. Well, I guess Grand & Glorious and Arrow Collar Man were similar, it's just that the last original thing I started was a different Regency story that got stuck due to poor plotting (pre-KJ Charles) and also I had some fandom obligations at the end of the year that I didn't really want to write, so I haven't had the feeling of a story just WORKING for months.
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Jan. 4th, 2026 05:58 pmlycomingstWas the story over? Youtube said to push the button to bleed the extra battery into silence. I thought I had and put the unit in a storage box. Yet, the next day, beeping! Beeping! Like it was being held prisoner and yelling for release. Or like Frankenstein's monster suddenly come alive.
I pried the casing apart into pieces. No more button attached to push. Pieces. And put it in the trash. Where it has remained silent.
Doctor Who - Pit stop
Jan. 5th, 2026 01:23 amdesecrets posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
100wordsFandom: Doctor Who (1963) - Third Doctor
Rating: G
Notes: Engine failure
( Read more... )
We Didn't Start the Fire (in the 18th century)
Jan. 4th, 2026 05:22 pmcahnmildred_of_midgard, selenak, and I have been working on! Two things :D Two covers of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire," 18th-century versions!Chronological, Prussian-centric version:
Non-chronological, Euro-centric (but not quite as Prussian-centric) one:
These were inspired by the Hildegard von Blingin' medieval/Renaissance cover that came out a year and a half ago. Clearly this was not something salon could let stand without trying to produce its own 18th-century version. (In fact,
selenak posted about it on her DW and within twenty-four hours I was reading not one but TWO first drafts, one written by selenak and the other by mildred_of_midgard!)So then we were committed to putting this thing together. It obviously took a while from there (quite a lot of that gap was unfortunately due to me, as I had limited times that I could record properly, and it took me a while to figure out the best way to do it -- the last time I did something even faintly like this was in grad school).
mildred_of_midgard is the real MVP in terms of doing all the video/video-audio syncing, which was a LOT. Also: I apologize abjectly for pronunciation, which has never been my strength even in English, let alone anything else. But I hope you enjoy anyway! (And of course if you have any questions as to what any of the lines refer to, feel free to ask here or there and someone will answer! :D )Babylon 5 fic + a poll about the script books
Jan. 4th, 2026 04:05 pmsholioA Map on the Skin (Londo/G'Kar, 1700 wds, scars)
I have been thinking about how to handle posting material from the script books. There are 14 of them and scripts for all the episodes, plus alternate versions of some, so it's like. A lot. I figured I'd do a poll about what you want to see most. (Poll is under the cut for mild spoilers.)
( Poll about what you'd like to see from the books )
[#285] NOTHING CHANGES (TORCHWOOD)
Jan. 5th, 2026 11:32 amm_findlow posting in fandomweeklyTitle: Nothing changes
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Gwen is excited to see the unveiling of the brand new Torchwood hub, but it isn’t what she expected.
( Read more... )
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Jan. 4th, 2026 05:49 pmspain posting in addmeAge: 32
I mostly post about: Day to day, real life stuff. I mostly talk about whatever's going on, which can just be about taking the kids somewhere cool, visiting family, my job, etc. I do tend to keep negative posts private just because I'm using the space to vent and don't necessarily want advice, so I'd say my posts are also typically positive. I also try to include photos in every post and love seeing photos from friends
My hobbies/interests are: Reading, traveling, video games, going to concerts, collecting vinyl, lego, dark academia, tarot, coffee, all things horror
I'm looking to meet people who: have similar interests and values, who I can get along with and become friends with outside of this site. I love being friends on other social media platforms, talking outside of just DW, meeting up with people, etc
My posting schedule tends to be: For someone who is chronically online, I tend to only post about once or twice a month. I do read everyone's posts and comment when I can, but I don't like commenting just for the sake of commenting. I enjoy comments that can start a conversation or come from a place of sincerity and don't just say something like, "looks fun!"
When I add people, my dealbreakers are: I'm not into fandom whatsoever, so if your journal is majorly or exclusively about fandom, we won't work out. Also regardless of political views, I will most likely never talk about it on my journal and don't love reading about politics, so if that's something that's important to you, we might not mesh well
♥︎
Jan. 4th, 2026 10:41 pmovermoreI'm not also thinking of which one to work on next. I'm thinking of the gregclair idea I mentioned here, as a Limbus fic should be next. But I'm also thinking of a dmnoir fic for one of the bingos, including a Lifeless Stars chapter. I haven't posted anything in that fic for almost a year (at the end of the month it will be a full year). I need to also work on 'Let me down slowly' as I'm midway through the chapter.
I spent some time this afternoon writing summaries of chapters for a longer fic that has been on my mind for a while. It's a haseli fic, it would have a total of 11 chapters if nothing changes from what I wrote down. I haven't done many longer fics and this one has a potential of being nice length while not as long as Lifeless Stars. I think it could work out if I actually write it down for once.
I also tired out AppFlowy. It's Notion but open source. They have a lot of similarities, and the advantage of being able to use it on Linux (which doesn't seem to be the case for Notion on PC. I haven't seen it there at all, though there probably is a workaround). I've never used these since they're promoted as the "productivity apps to get you to work more instead of doing other things like fun!" but I do need a way to track some of my stuff. This works on both my PC and phone so I can edit it if something needs a change. Will mostly use it for writing reasons, like ideas on the go and things like chapter plans.
I'm also realizing I'm at times not sure how to title my journals. I can leave them with no subject, but that's kinda boring. Right now I used a random emoji. Maybe I could use those when I'm struggling to title things?
vital functions
Jan. 4th, 2026 10:53 pmkaberettReading. ... I think I genuinely have mostly just been stubbornly catching up with Dreamwidth (at time of writing I am UP TO DATE). No, wait, I did also (via oursin) end up reading several articles about the contents of Oliver Sacks' papers and personal archive, most of which was not hugely surprising given the results of some of my previous digging, but which has resulted in me reaching the firm decision that I shan't be citing any of his examples that can't be extremely independently verified. (Thoughts about case histories for public consumption continue.) And finished one of the Periodicals I'd had sitting around, and gleefully dumped it in the recycling!
I acquired a new book (passingbuzzards flagged up that Craft Wars #2 Dead Hand Rule came out recently; apparently I've been hiding so comprehensively from my e-mail that I presumably have a Max Gladstone Newsletter languishing somewhere in there) but it is not yet on the ereader. (And downloaded a Toby Daye short from Patreon, but that's not going onto the ereader until I have stitched it into the giant whole-series single ebook). I now also have two books sitting around in Libby. So! Next up Vespertine, then Rooftoppers, then maybe I settle down with Index, A History of the and actually finish it? Since I am no longer focussing primarily on pain reading? Because...
Writing. ... the document is over 3000 words long. At the moment most of what I'm writing falls into one of two categories: structure/scaffolding, and Words I Will Definitely Be Deleting because they're currently extremely note-to-self and will require significant expansion. But there are paragraphs! And I've written a little every day so far this year (except today, which I will rectify before I put the laptop down)! (The bar for Tick This Off My List is a single word.)
Playing. As of a little earlier this evening I have All The Inkulinati Steam Achievements, admittedly by Alt+F4ing my way through the Master run (i.e. flouncing most times I was about to lose a fight) ABOUT WHICH I FEEL BAD but probably not bad enough to go back through and do it Properly.
We have also finished Monument Valley 3, we think, in that we have All The Achievements... but we were a bit confused by the way it just sort of... trailed off after completing the Hall of Memories. I am sort of anticipating a further expansion, I think?
Cooking. This evening I decided I was Sad and that we were going to have Pineapple Fried Rice. A had not previously experienced this, and was... perplexed. Also mulled apple juice, starting with apple-and-ginger and eventually adding apple-and-pear to the problem.
Eating. Highlight: Lebkuchen and mulled apple juice from a flask (well, insulated mug) at the obelisk near the square water. Have also been Greatly Indulged with avocados, and enjoying them enormously.
Exploring. Visited the square water! Which was frozen, at least at the surface! There were excellent frost patterns on moss and also shelf fungi! Several of the trees had been decorated! Excellent stonk, v pleased. Earlier in the week we did a shorter stonk (... it now occurs to me that this is probably a family-specific usage...) around some of the back roads and enjoyed Ongoing Illuminations.
Making & mending. I have fixed Adam's glove????????? I have now made approximately nine tenths of a glove for Adam?????????? I need to actually do the thumb, but after giving up on the mitten flap in disgust after winding up ripping it back Multiple Times, this time around I ripped it back even further and then Grimly and Obsessively Counted, and... it worked??? (Promptly had to frog the bind-off as well, though, having forgotten a key instruction; I checked my notebook and was dismayed to find no notes on the obvious solution there, until I triple-checked the pattern and discovered that that would be because the obvious solution is literally a part of said written pattern...) Maybe I'll get the other one done in time for April (and before they've spent a year on the needles). Maybe.
Growing. CAN CONFIRM: MYSTERIOUS YELLOW HABANERO IS TRINIDAD PERFUME. Curry leaf cutting not dead yet. Have utterly failed to get any seeds sown this week despite Best Intentions but I have at least made the propagator more approachable, and ordered minimal Bonus Seeds (and indeed opted out of bonus bonus seeds altogether, good job me).
Observing. Robins, on my bike and at the square water. Corvids misc. Several excellent sunsets! And the almost-full moon framed perfectly in the not-exactly-an-alley the building front door disgorges into the middle of, which I made A go back outside to take a look at when they got home from work on Friday.
Just one thing: 5 January 2026
Jan. 4th, 2026 03:58 pmjazzyjj posting in awesomeersComment 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!
Seasonal tradition
Jan. 4th, 2026 09:34 pmcosmolinguistI do love reading a new Voynich manuscript solved! article every six months or so.
WGT 2026 reviews
Jan. 4th, 2026 09:21 pmcebDeclared prejudices: I generally like goth, punk/horrorpunk/psychobilly, 80s, pirates, and the near end of metal, electronica, EBM, industrial. Also weirdo up-itself French/Spanish noodling with drums, for some reason I cannot adequately explain.
I generally do not like folk/mittelalter, indie, noise, the noisy end of electronica &c., the beepy/clubby ends of electronica &c., the washing-machine/sore-throat/hit-it-as-fast-as-you-can ends of metal. So if you like those things, take my reviews with a pinch of salt and listen to the bands anyway. (Also while I generally like classical, it's not what I go to WGT for, so I tend to skim over classical artists.)
When I say unqualified 'trad' I mean trad goth.
https://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de/forumwgt3/viewtopic.php?t=26345
( band reviews beneath )
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Jan. 4th, 2026 10:45 pmfox_in_me posting in addmeAge: 30-something
I mostly post about:
Stories from my life — my thoughts and feelings, especially during this time of war in Ukraine. I try to capture emotions honestly: memories of a peaceful past, reflections on the present, and tales from my life as a mariner and traveler.
This journal is still in its early days, after a long break from writing. Each entry is posted in both English and the original language. I also share my own photographs — from different times, chosen to reflect my current mood.
My hobbies are:
Photography (almost professional), lomography (daily photos of interesting moments), music (acoustic, alternative, instrumental covers), psychology, and classical literature. I love discovering new things — ideas, places, people.
My fandoms are:
Honestly, I’m not active in any specific fandom. But I enjoy reading and learning, especially to improve my English.
I'm looking to meet people who:
…feel connected to what I write — kindred spirits or simply those who find meaning in my words. I’m open to everyone (with one exception: I don’t welcome those who support or excuse the war). My posts are open and honest. I’d love to find new interesting people to read and connect with.
My posting schedule tends to be:
Currently daily, or a few times a week — depending on my free time.
When I add people, my dealbreakers are:
No major dealbreakers — most of what matters is already said above.
Before adding me, you should know:
I’m an open person without any particular agenda. I’m Ukrainian — and perhaps that matters now, just to avoid misunderstandings.
Welcome aboard. These are my messages in a bottle.
(no subject)
Jan. 4th, 2026 09:28 pmmarina( work stuff )
*
A have a friend who's a big Critical Roll fan, so thanks to her I watched the Vox Machina show with very detailed commentary and handholding through the parts I found boring and disappointing (all the straight romance).
That friend is currently busy taking care of a newborn, but she did strongly recommend I watch The Mighty Nein, the next campaign from the same bunch to be turned into an animated show, and I have to say her predictions were spot on because I absolutely loved ( spoilers )
*
Man I have a birthday this week and it's been... rough. I have a lot of baggage around my birthday, probably will for the rest of my life, but in past years I managed to really develop good coping mechanisms and techniques. And this year, for various reasons, it's just all crumbled to nothing.
This whole week is gonna be at my peak terrible mental health. Cried to
roga on the phone about logistics, like a totally normal person. Unable to answer any questions from relatives about what I want to do this weekend. Stressing out everyone and getting stressed out myself in return. Just really good times. If you happen to be one of the people who has no baggage around celebrating your birthday (I know these people exist! I have met them!) please send those vibes my way.current indoor temperature: 13.7C
Jan. 4th, 2026 07:05 pmwychwoodIt snowed on Thursday night; about a centimetre lying everywhere when I went out at half six on Friday morning, and about half of that had melted by the time I left the pool to go up to the office, but most of that is still lying now. I had very little trouble getting in, but it sounds like most of my colleagues struggled; my oldest colleague broke her shoulder very badly ice-skating a few years ago (was off work for months) and she's really nervous about ice now - she'd clearly freaked herself out quite badly by the time she got in on Friday. I did look at the trampled and half-melted station car park on my way home and think "this is going to be lethal once it refreezes" but the round trip to church on Saturday was fine. And the bus driver saw me coming and waited as I "ran" for the bus (half the pavement was clear, but I was tiptoeing very carefully over the other half...).
It's mostly stayed below freezing, occasional spikes up to 1 or 2C. And more snow due tonight, although the forecast is no longer saying "bits of snow every day for the next week", and it's going to get warm enough (four or five whole degrees!!!) that it ought to melt by midweek.
First day back at work was noisier than I expected; there were half-a-dozen people in on my team, although we were the only ones on the whole floor! The one manager who was in brought a giant tin of fancy M&S biscuits, on the basis that if we all had to be in we deserved something nice. Monday will be back to full normality, though. I'm consoling myself with the fact that I have a day off later this month; I'm going to a Thursday night concert (Mahler 1), and decided to treat myself to not having to get up at six the next morning!