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Monday Media - January 19
Jan. 19th, 2026 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lebateleurLast week was a pretty good one for leisure media and entertainment.
Games: Gaming group this week! We met at an inconvenient (1+ hour drive) but favorite tavern since there was also a birthday to celebrate. Alas, the games we'd planned to try out (including some recced during![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
snowflake_challenge) were unavailable, so we played First to Worst and King of Tokyo, and had a great time.
The first is a familiar standard; we mixed things up by eschewing scoring entirely and having the ranker draw only four cards from the deck while the rest of the players collectively tried to correctly order the ranker's preferences, to sometimes hilarious results (one player's partner insisting that they disliked "gift giving" much more than the other three, trivial options, or shocked disbelief at another player's—correct—insistence that their partner genuinely preferred pickles and journaling over ice cream sundaes).
The second, is a familiar group standard but one I had personally yet to play (on account of generally playing Betrayal in the House on the Hill or such instead). The setup is that the players are a group of kaiju battling to level Tokyo. It strikes me as a very Munchkin -or MtG-esque game in that the first several players who look like they have a chance at winning will invariably be leveled by the other players. My low-and-slow strategy got me one victory point away from winning the game, but a bad role ultimately gave the GC the win. Still, not bad for a first playthrough.
And now, a brief digression so I can ( gripe about AI. )
We also played more Hive and picked up copies of Betrayal, Everdell Farshore, and Witchcraft, the latter of which I am about to try out very shortly here.
Music: We had a very excellent house session on Monday, after which one of the players used some fancy software to transcribe my playing of some of the tunes. It's pretty cool to see what I'm actually doing set down in notation.
Podcasts/Articles: No podcasts, as I just haven't been in a longform audio mood for the last several months. I did read one longform article: Irish Gothic, however.
Roleplaying: Nothing this week, although there are noises about starting up Oldest D&D Group's homebrew campaign back up.
Television: Late days at work last week + the full slate of extracurriculars meant the GC and I weren't up for much aside from cute animal videos this week, but we did watch Max Headroom S2 Ep 3 today. The main plot was another variation of the "how channels try to corrupt the elections" storyline, and was convoluted with several gaping holes, but one of the subplots is ( among my favorites in the series. )
Video Games: I'm still playing Pentiment and Ultima IV, and started Machinarium; we also got Ghost of Yotei.
In other news, ( I wander in the wilderness no more. )
これで以上です。
Games: Gaming group this week! We met at an inconvenient (1+ hour drive) but favorite tavern since there was also a birthday to celebrate. Alas, the games we'd planned to try out (including some recced during
snowflake_challenge) were unavailable, so we played First to Worst and King of Tokyo, and had a great time.The first is a familiar standard; we mixed things up by eschewing scoring entirely and having the ranker draw only four cards from the deck while the rest of the players collectively tried to correctly order the ranker's preferences, to sometimes hilarious results (one player's partner insisting that they disliked "gift giving" much more than the other three, trivial options, or shocked disbelief at another player's—correct—insistence that their partner genuinely preferred pickles and journaling over ice cream sundaes).
The second, is a familiar group standard but one I had personally yet to play (on account of generally playing Betrayal in the House on the Hill or such instead). The setup is that the players are a group of kaiju battling to level Tokyo. It strikes me as a very Munchkin -or MtG-esque game in that the first several players who look like they have a chance at winning will invariably be leveled by the other players. My low-and-slow strategy got me one victory point away from winning the game, but a bad role ultimately gave the GC the win. Still, not bad for a first playthrough.
And now, a brief digression so I can ( gripe about AI. )
We also played more Hive and picked up copies of Betrayal, Everdell Farshore, and Witchcraft, the latter of which I am about to try out very shortly here.
Music: We had a very excellent house session on Monday, after which one of the players used some fancy software to transcribe my playing of some of the tunes. It's pretty cool to see what I'm actually doing set down in notation.
Podcasts/Articles: No podcasts, as I just haven't been in a longform audio mood for the last several months. I did read one longform article: Irish Gothic, however.
Roleplaying: Nothing this week, although there are noises about starting up Oldest D&D Group's homebrew campaign back up.
Television: Late days at work last week + the full slate of extracurriculars meant the GC and I weren't up for much aside from cute animal videos this week, but we did watch Max Headroom S2 Ep 3 today. The main plot was another variation of the "how channels try to corrupt the elections" storyline, and was convoluted with several gaping holes, but one of the subplots is ( among my favorites in the series. )
Video Games: I'm still playing Pentiment and Ultima IV, and started Machinarium; we also got Ghost of Yotei.
In other news, ( I wander in the wilderness no more. )
これで以上です。
Book Review: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
Jan. 19th, 2026 08:48 pmclavallyTitle: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
Author: Becky Chambers
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Monk & Robot
I'm skipping the rating systems with this one because I'm not sure I can justify this rating, but it's 4 stars. I find it really hard to rate novellas because even if I enjoyed them, I think there should be more to them. It was a cozy book with fluffy feelings, but nothing major happened in it. So anyway, I'm saying 4 stars and leaving it at that!
Author: Becky Chambers
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Monk & Robot
I'm skipping the rating systems with this one because I'm not sure I can justify this rating, but it's 4 stars. I find it really hard to rate novellas because even if I enjoyed them, I think there should be more to them. It was a cozy book with fluffy feelings, but nothing major happened in it. So anyway, I'm saying 4 stars and leaving it at that!
(no subject)
Jan. 19th, 2026 08:00 pmaurumcalendulaAny recs for live action media with both a mystery/thriller plot and a significant f/f romance (with a happy ending)?
( some stuff I've seen )
( some stuff I've seen )
Lake Lewisia #1358
Jan. 19th, 2026 04:28 pmscrubjayspeaksIn partnership with the Society for Retired Knights and Swordspeople, the community center will resume its training sessions in nonviolent resistance for those involved in protest and community organization. Even if all you feel is a nameless, restless urge to do something to fix what is broken, these sessions are an excellent opportunity to connect with the people already doing that work. That work may go on forever, but for now, consider starting with an afternoon at the community center.
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LL#1358
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LL#1358
Dept. of Holy Days
Jan. 19th, 2026 03:42 pmkaffy_rHe Had More Than a Dream
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had grit and determination, and strength and righteous anger that he controlled in the name of peaceful progress, and pride that he wanted Black Americans to recognize and adopt for themselves. He believed in this country - god knows why, given how much hell America put Black people through, all the way from 1615 to the then-current day - and he worked like hell to make it a better one.
He risked himself and his family, with constant death threats and a firebombing at his home in 1958. He almost died after being stabbed in the same year. He risked his reputation and his legacy, surviving several arrests and jailings. He risked those who believed in him and in what he had to say, because he knew those who hated him would hate those who believed in him.
He fought for what he shouldn't have had to fight for; true understanding of what Black Americans deserve, and what White America has resolutely refused to admit was required.
He fought against nasty, petty, and powerful men like J. Edgar Hoover, who spread filth and lies about Dr. King. Why? Because he was afraid of Dr. King. He hated what Dr. King stood for, so he tried to erase the man. He wasn't the only one.
After his stabbing, Dr. King had one more decade to shake the foundations of this country, to start the Poor People's Campaign and to oppose the Vietnam War. And then White America killed him.
Who called for the assassination? Did someone pay James Earl Ray? All of that kind of misses the point. Ultimately, the real conspiracy is what people in this country have insisted on doing ever since that April morning at the Lorraine Motel.
For more than 57 years America has worked tirelessly to erase his truth. America wants everyone to remember him only as he spoke during the March on Washington, choosing to turn those powerful words into an anodyne formula they want to speed the erasure of real history. Some of them manage to listen to Dr. King's "I've Been to the Mountain Top" speech and cry tears about his unnervingly prophetic commentary.
But they don't like reading his letter from a Birmingham jail. They can't stand his anti-war stance. They loathe his pro-union beliefs, his support of poor people of all colors.
It's still White America that fears him the most; rich white Americans, anti-union white Americans, pro-capitalism white Americans, the people who understand that he had grown so much larger and more dangerous to their power than they'd thought he would be.
Let's remember him for what he was. A warrior.
And I'll try not to be part of the problem, but part of the solution, as difficult as that will be.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had grit and determination, and strength and righteous anger that he controlled in the name of peaceful progress, and pride that he wanted Black Americans to recognize and adopt for themselves. He believed in this country - god knows why, given how much hell America put Black people through, all the way from 1615 to the then-current day - and he worked like hell to make it a better one.
He risked himself and his family, with constant death threats and a firebombing at his home in 1958. He almost died after being stabbed in the same year. He risked his reputation and his legacy, surviving several arrests and jailings. He risked those who believed in him and in what he had to say, because he knew those who hated him would hate those who believed in him.
He fought for what he shouldn't have had to fight for; true understanding of what Black Americans deserve, and what White America has resolutely refused to admit was required.
He fought against nasty, petty, and powerful men like J. Edgar Hoover, who spread filth and lies about Dr. King. Why? Because he was afraid of Dr. King. He hated what Dr. King stood for, so he tried to erase the man. He wasn't the only one.
After his stabbing, Dr. King had one more decade to shake the foundations of this country, to start the Poor People's Campaign and to oppose the Vietnam War. And then White America killed him.
Who called for the assassination? Did someone pay James Earl Ray? All of that kind of misses the point. Ultimately, the real conspiracy is what people in this country have insisted on doing ever since that April morning at the Lorraine Motel.
For more than 57 years America has worked tirelessly to erase his truth. America wants everyone to remember him only as he spoke during the March on Washington, choosing to turn those powerful words into an anodyne formula they want to speed the erasure of real history. Some of them manage to listen to Dr. King's "I've Been to the Mountain Top" speech and cry tears about his unnervingly prophetic commentary.
But they don't like reading his letter from a Birmingham jail. They can't stand his anti-war stance. They loathe his pro-union beliefs, his support of poor people of all colors.
It's still White America that fears him the most; rich white Americans, anti-union white Americans, pro-capitalism white Americans, the people who understand that he had grown so much larger and more dangerous to their power than they'd thought he would be.
Let's remember him for what he was. A warrior.
And I'll try not to be part of the problem, but part of the solution, as difficult as that will be.
Snowflake Challenge #9
Jan. 19th, 2026 05:26 pmstonepicnicking_okapi
Challenge #9
Talk about your favorite tropes in media or transformative works.
Are there any trope I don't like? I'm not a fan of kid!fic (where the characters are children) or high school or university AUs or enemies-to-lovers/hate sex, but most of the rest of them are interesting.
I have read and/or written most of them.
I like genderswap. The first couple of years of writing fic I wrote nothing but genderswap BBC Sherlock.
I like supernatural AUs, werewolves, vampires, ghosts, tentacles, shapeshifting (especially wolves or dogs), animal hybrids.
I like Omegaverse, Coffee shop AUs, Detective/PI AUs. Sentinel 'verse.
There was only 1 bed. Trapped in an elevator or snowed in a cabin. Unexpected heat. Sex pollen. Hurt/comfort. Amnesia fic. Found family. Poly ships. Soulmates. Incest. Lingerie. Someone gets a puppy. Mpreg.
As a ficcer, I have come to appreciate having a friendship pairing which is as important/deep as the romantic pairing in the same fic. Also, I have a thing about, for a given sex scene, not handing out orgasms like party favors. Not everyone has to have one!
dental woes
Jan. 19th, 2026 03:58 pmgreenI made a post about this on Tumblr, but not here yet. Here goes.
I started a GoFundMe for dental expenses.
Last year, I broke one of my teeth, and since it's a front tooth, there's more to it than just pulling it out the way my insurance wants (and that's the only way they will pay for it, just if I have them yank it out). I went to a dentist I'm comfortable with (big deal for my anxiety and agoraphobia) and had an exam and got a treatment plan, but I haven't been back since I couldn't actually afford it. I thought I had time to save up, but then there were holidays and I did not save at all. Except now the tooth is infected, and I need to get it taken care of very soon.
I've been having some very lean months. Everything is so expensive. I don't know what to do, really, except ask for help yet again.
The GFM is specifically for the tooth (which is going to cost me about $2600 over 3 visits), but I also have a cashapp ($beingagreenmother) and ko-fi for grocery and bill money.
Thank you for listening.
I started a GoFundMe for dental expenses.
Last year, I broke one of my teeth, and since it's a front tooth, there's more to it than just pulling it out the way my insurance wants (and that's the only way they will pay for it, just if I have them yank it out). I went to a dentist I'm comfortable with (big deal for my anxiety and agoraphobia) and had an exam and got a treatment plan, but I haven't been back since I couldn't actually afford it. I thought I had time to save up, but then there were holidays and I did not save at all. Except now the tooth is infected, and I need to get it taken care of very soon.
I've been having some very lean months. Everything is so expensive. I don't know what to do, really, except ask for help yet again.
The GFM is specifically for the tooth (which is going to cost me about $2600 over 3 visits), but I also have a cashapp ($beingagreenmother) and ko-fi for grocery and bill money.
Thank you for listening.
Write Every day 2026: January, Day 19
Jan. 19th, 2026 11:01 pmtrobadoraIn the first draft poll, 30% of respondents usually produce a first draft that's very close to the final draft, and no one usually produces first drafts that barely bear resemblance to the final draft. And most respondents (57%) at least sometimes produce a first draft very close to the final draft. *g*
For the "usual" question, slightly more people have too-wordse first drafts (25%, compared to 20% for too sparse), whereas in the "sometimes" question, too sparse is more common (38%) than too words (23%).
(70% of respondents believe that tickyboxes know no such thing as overkill, btw!)
As for me, it differs wildly - I used to produce very clean first drafts that didn't get changed much during editing/betaing, but for the last several years now it's been much more inconsistent. The more I struggle with either writing or finding time/energy to write, the worse my first drafts get - because sometimes I just have to get something, anything, down first, or I won't get anywhere at all. But it's pretty frustrating, so I want to get back to how I used to write, and I need to figure out how to do that with less time and energy than I used to have ...
One thing's remained the same, though: my first drafts are generally too sparse, which is why they always grow - sometimes considerably - during editing as I flesh them out and add in all the things that I had in my head but didn't put in the actual text. *g*
Today's writing
Again not as much as I'd like. I need to actually sit down and finish something, but it's hard to find the energy.
WED Question of the Day
Today I don't have a poll, but instead a request for advice: when you're low on energy, do you have any strategies that make it easier to write? Or to get started writing, at least? Because I often find myself just staring blankly at a page for way too long until I somehow get going, and I'd really rather not. *g* When I have more energy, I can usually get there much more easily, which is really unfair. :p
(I want to be writing! I feel better once I actually get started writing! But getting there is such a pain on some days. *grumbles*)
Tally
( Days 1-15 )
Day 16:badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, chanter1944, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, luzula, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme
Day 17:alightbuthappypen, badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, chanter1944, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, luzula, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, trobadora, ysilme
Day 18:badly_knitted, chanter1944, cornerofmadness, luzula, goddess47, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadora
Day 19:china_shop, trobadora
Let me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)
For the "usual" question, slightly more people have too-wordse first drafts (25%, compared to 20% for too sparse), whereas in the "sometimes" question, too sparse is more common (38%) than too words (23%).
(70% of respondents believe that tickyboxes know no such thing as overkill, btw!)
As for me, it differs wildly - I used to produce very clean first drafts that didn't get changed much during editing/betaing, but for the last several years now it's been much more inconsistent. The more I struggle with either writing or finding time/energy to write, the worse my first drafts get - because sometimes I just have to get something, anything, down first, or I won't get anywhere at all. But it's pretty frustrating, so I want to get back to how I used to write, and I need to figure out how to do that with less time and energy than I used to have ...
One thing's remained the same, though: my first drafts are generally too sparse, which is why they always grow - sometimes considerably - during editing as I flesh them out and add in all the things that I had in my head but didn't put in the actual text. *g*
Today's writing
Again not as much as I'd like. I need to actually sit down and finish something, but it's hard to find the energy.
WED Question of the Day
Today I don't have a poll, but instead a request for advice: when you're low on energy, do you have any strategies that make it easier to write? Or to get started writing, at least? Because I often find myself just staring blankly at a page for way too long until I somehow get going, and I'd really rather not. *g* When I have more energy, I can usually get there much more easily, which is really unfair. :p
(I want to be writing! I feel better once I actually get started writing! But getting there is such a pain on some days. *grumbles*)
Tally
( Days 1-15 )
Day 16:
badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, chanter1944, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, luzula, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilmeDay 17:
alightbuthappypen, badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, chanter1944, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, luzula, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, trobadora, ysilmeDay 18:
badly_knitted, chanter1944, cornerofmadness, luzula, goddess47, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, trobadoraDay 19:
china_shop, trobadoraLet me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)
Snowflake Challenge #8
Jan. 19th, 2026 04:45 pmstonepicnicking_okapiChallenge #8
Talk about your creative process.
Ideas for fic or collages sometimes just come to me. Sometimes I get ideas from Youtube videos or something I read or the seasons or holidays. I suppose my creative process is 'parody until it's mine.' Meaning, I try to follow something (a collage by a Youtuber or a source AU like a film or novel or short story) and then usually somewhere between halfway and two-thirds into it, the collage, the fic, I stop paying attention to the guide (or whatever I am trying to mimic) and just keep going. It's like the training wheels fly off and I'm coasting on my own speed.
I did learn over the winter that I feel grumpy if I don't collage (or something else crafty) at least once a week. Earlier, I had regarded it a hobby I could take or leave but I think it's become more important to my equilibrium than that.
Also, creating for someone (gift, card, gift fic) is much more motivating than creating for myself.
A four-day weekend is so nice.
Jan. 19th, 2026 02:12 pmnewredshoesI am sitting in Gingko's favorite chair, which is an immensely comfortable yellow wingback that perfectly takes advantage of the sunny south-facing windows, which are extra sunny today because it is hideously cold and will continue to be so and worse for a week at least. Gingko is also sitting in this chair, which is not large enough for both of us, but my smart girl is making it work. This is a day where I am finally, after three days of ~decompressing, interested in things other than screens. Maybe it was taking that Adderall this morning? But I've been cleaning the leather accessories I've been collecting, plus polishing up some wood that's desperately thirsty (including a nice little cigar box from the thrift store!).
I'm spending so much time trying to find the next living spare where I'll land that I haven't made much effort to make the most of this one. ( Spaces, pruning, money... many thoughts )
But, okay, activities I prioritize and treasure and would like spaces for:
I'm spending so much time trying to find the next living spare where I'll land that I haven't made much effort to make the most of this one. ( Spaces, pruning, money... many thoughts )
But, okay, activities I prioritize and treasure and would like spaces for:
- Crafting — printmaking, paper-mache, watercolor, comics, collage, tunnel books, dioramas, so much!
- Tea and tea display, not just this big glorious shelf but an actual tea ceremony kind of spot (not low enough to the ground that Gingko could destroy it, though; sorry to any coffee tables, I don't think you're really in my foreseeable future)
- Altar and tarot table + display — the presence of household altars was something I learned from shadesofbrixton and visiting Santa Fe, which I absolutely loved, alongside this phenomenal altered wall cabinet at
![[instagram.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/profile_icons/instagram.png)
chicagoprintmakers that I can't find a photo of but trust me, I really want to replicate it - Music — I need to mount my banjo, ukuleles, accordion and other assorted instruments where I will see and want to play them!
- Yes, I have a rowing machine which I love and which is collecting so much dust, but once my arm is better, I want to get it down again, I freaking love using it and I want a regular space for it in the next place
- Reading nook!!!! With lots of plants!! What if!!!!