wispfox

Rogan: got my money from itch.io, which is a weight off my mind! Whew.

There’s been a big pushback against payment processors for this. We ourself are gearing up to send angry letters. If you want to know more about how/who to call, scripts to follow, and ways to badger payment processors of extralegally deciding what you can buy/sell on the Internet, check out https://yellat.money/ and https://stop-paypros.neocities.org/

These links have stuff for non-Americans too! I imagine you guys are EVEN MADDER about a few American companies saying what you can or can’t buy in your own country! Let’s give ‘em merry hell! It worked for the Australian Biblebangers, let’s see if it works for us!

degringolade

The GI doctor informed me yesterday that the procedure performed would be the last one I would have to endure. Many thanks were given.

I didn't do much to celebrate. A plate of Udon noodles with beef at the local hole in the wall Japanese restaurant and then the rest of the day rehydrating and snoozing. I did try to read a little, but snoozing took center stage.

Hot blue sky here in the upper left. I think that I am getting old because the heat doesn't bother me the way that it used to. Don't get me wrong, 100-degree weather does make me flee to the dark cave that is my studio, but where 70-ish used to be the upper end of my comfort zone, I have come to appreciate 80's and low 90's.

There isn't much else going on. Today I am thinking about how people who harp on about the "need" for relocalization spend so much time fretting about things happening on the international stage. This appears to me to be quite the conflict in goals.

china_shop

For the record, I had my 11th Covid jab today. (I'm only posting about it because this is where I look when I'm checking dates. :-)

china_shop

Three flashfics for

fan_flashworks, plus another instalment of my Chu Shuzhi/Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan post-canon 'verse.

Title: Behind another face (100 words) [General Audiences]
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Relationships: Zhang Shi & Shen Xi, Shen Xi/Zhao Xinci
Additional Tags: Pre-Canon, Complicated Relationships, Sharing a Body, Secrets, Drabble, Face challenge
Summary:

Zhang Shi meets Shen Xi.

Title: Take back the world (1288 words) [Teen and Up]
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Wang Yike/Zhang Ruonan
Additional Tags: Reference to canon rape, Aftermath of canon rape, Pre-Canon, Upsetting Dixing powers, Revenge challenge
Summary:

One day, everything falls apart.

Title: two are halves of one (851 words) [Teen and Up]
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Episode Related, Episode 22 after the blindness arc, First Kiss (for one of them), Crowd challenge
Summary:

A deep twist of desire makes Zhao Yunlan laugh. "After this—” He circles his chopsticks over the meal and has to clear his throat to keep his voice light. “Shen Wei, I think you should give me a thorough health check.”

Title: life in the silver lining (2732 words) [Teen and Up]
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Relationships: Chu Shuzhi/Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Complicated Relationships, The emotional implications of the existence of time travel, intimacy is hard, rated for themes
Series: Part 4 of Breakage and Repair 'verse (CSZ/SW/ZYL)
Summary:

“You’ve time-travelled before.” Shuzhi’s voice was low and raw. “What if the next time you go to Dixing, the Hallows open a portal to the past? Would you go and stop Ye Zun, and put everything back how it’s supposed to be?”

(Follows on from Raw Nerves, Old Scars.)

china_shop

Previous poll review
In the Reading preferences poll, 71.4% of respondents prefer standalone novels, and 55.1% like finished series. In terms of book selection, 61.2% prefer new books by favourite authors, 55.1% like discovering new authors, and 44.9% gaze helplessly at their TBR list.

In ticky-boxes, hugs won with 61.2%, followed by "carrying moonbeams home in a jar" and "teenage giraffes adopting more of a flamingo aesthetic" with 51% each. Thank you for your votes!

Reading
( Cut for length. )

Kdramas
Nothing But Love (AKA Nothing But You) (Cdrama). I love this so much, and it's so good for exercising to (lots of tennis players training and playing matches) that I'm slowing my rewatch, trying to make it last. I may have to start something else for my non-exercising viewing. Meanwhile,

tinny's made a Nothing But Love/You rec post, if you're curious.

Other TV
( Cut for length. )

Guardian/Fandom
So busy! All good things!

Audio entertainment
Writing Excuses, a lot of Letters from an American (for your regularly scheduled nightmare politics; bite-sized episodes in a calm, measured voice, with added historical/legal context), and a bunch of Keep It Steady (audiodrama adapted from a Les Mis modern AU) because a new episode dropped yesterday, so I backtracked a bit.

Writing/making things
I've been plugging away at a little "flashfic", but yesterday the

fan_flashworks deadline caught up with me, so I blatted out a different 850 words. I don't really have my teeth in anything atm. I miss it.

Life/health/mental state things
It's so cold, I think my brain has frozen. Not much goes in, and not much comes out either.

Food
I've got a theory it must be ~~bunnies~~ dumplings... that have messed up my arms, so I'm going to switch to using my cheapo dumpling press and see if that helps. (Boo! Folding dumplings is the fun bit.) I've recently made batches of pork and chicken, so I need to make vege ones next. I'm going to try a Moosewood sweet potato recipe my friend sent me.

Recently made: crispy tofu in various things, egg and tofu stir-fry.

Link dump
Forms of Resistance and Reasons to Believe It’s Working by

heathercoxrichardson (10:45, US politics; her whole channel is excellent).

Good things
Crispy tofu. New TV shows. Kudos and comments. Fanworks and outpourings of fannish love (and analysis and critique, too). People who post, people who comment, people who vote in polls, people who lurk. Wholesome kids' cartoons. Friday is forecast to be sunny. *hugs to you all*

Poll #33483 Obsessions

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 27

View Respondents

Current active fandoms

View Answers

none at the moment
3 (11.1%)

one
5 (18.5%)

a couple
8 (29.6%)

a handful
7 (25.9%)

a lot
0 (0.0%)

it's complicated
7 (25.9%)

there are a few things I dabble in on the side, but which I don't usually count
6 (22.2%)

I have blorbos but no fandom
3 (11.1%)

other
1 (3.7%)

ticky-box full of thirteen synapses in a bag of goo
8 (29.6%)

ticky-box full of dream parkour
13 (48.1%)

ticky-box of following an author (or narrator) up hill and down dale
13 (48.1%)

ticky-box full of goth butterflies and punk moths putting on a music festival at dusk
13 (48.1%)

ticky-box full of hugs
22 (81.5%)

siliconshaman

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

Current Mood: creative

ysabetwordsmith

In a new pilot program, this city will give homeless young adults $1,200 in cash every month for two years

According to the Stanford Basic Income Lab, universal basic income is a periodic cash payment that is given to individuals unconditionally, requiring no work requirement or sanctions to access.

And as various nonprofits and cities across the country experiment with basic income programs, most have found that the money received is largely used to pay for the basic essentials many Americans struggle to afford.

A new pilot program in Boston, Massachusetts wants to find out if the same trend applies for a specific demographic: young adults facing homelessness.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Spider Apocalypse
Activism
Fossils
Birdfeeding
Safety
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Thinking
Safety
Moment of Silence: Jim Lovell
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 8-8-25: Icons
Today's Adventures
Inventions
Fossils
Birdfeeding
Bigotry
Birdfeeding
Good News

Food has 34 comments. "Philosophical Questions: Looks" has 48 comments. "Incompetence, Sloppy Thinking, and Laziness" has 75 comments. "Not a Destination, But a Process" has 148 comments.

summerofthe69 is open! You can see the calendar here and the current themes are Alternate Sexy Parts 69 and Kinky 69.

There are no open epics at present.

The weather has been sweltering agan. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a mourning dove, a house wren, a male cardinal, and a fox squirrel. Currently blooming: dandelions, pansies, violas, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, wild strawberries, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, oxalis, moss rose, yarrow, anise hyssop, firecracker plant, tomatoes, tomatillos, Asiatic lilies, cucumber, yellow squash, zucchini, morning glory, purple echinacea, black-eyed Susan, yellow coneflower, chicory, Queen Anne's lace, sunflowers, cup plant, gladioli, firewheel, orange butterfly weed. Tomatillo and pepper have green fruit. Wild strawberries, mulberries, tomatoes, and cucumbers are ripe. The second crop of blackberries and the ball carrots are ripe.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

dialecticdreamer is hosting Magpie Monday with a theme of "Change." Leave prompts, get ficlets!

Change is an immutable element of the universe.

Today, let’s make change our goal. Call it the theme. Big or small, quiet and subtle or dramatic and incontrovertible, what change do you want to see? In the world? In a story with an unsatisfying moment (or worse, ending)?

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is mostly sunny, humid, and hot. The sky is blue with fluffy white clouds.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

EDIT 8/11/25 -- I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/11/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/11/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/11/25 -- We reeled up the garden hose. Yay. Yay.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

dialecticdreamer

Welcome to the Magpie Monday prompt call for August of 2025!

Change is an immutable element of the universe.

Today, let’s make change our goal. Call it the theme. Big or small, quiet and subtle or dramatic and incontrovertible, what change do you want to see? In the world? In a story with an unsatisfying moment (or worse, ending)?
( Read more... )

Current Mood: excited

ysabetwordsmith

This made me laugh.

The True Self

Current Mood: amused

ysabetwordsmith

This article mentions seeing no grass spiders in a place that typically has them.

Then I realized that I haven't seen any this year either. Usually we have one every couple of feet here, so many it's hard not to step on the webs. They're barely visible most of the time, unless covered in dust or rain or dew. I may simply not have noticed them. But with the ongoing insect apocalypse, it is concerning. I have have seen other spiders spinning webs, though.

What are your spider populations like?

Current Mood: busy

dialecticdreamer

Darkness and Discoveries
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1578
[End of March 179-]

:: Laszlo, Kálmán, and the baby arrive at the castle. With one problem well on the way to being solved, the adults brainstorm solutions to the long-term needs of the newest resident of the village. Part of the “Lost Son” story arc in the Frankenstein’s Family universe. ::

Color leached out of the leaves and the soil, wiped away as the shadows lengthened. Kálmán was the first to slow his horse, but Laszlo quickly followed suit. After a few more minutes, the younger man called, “Hold for a moment. Let me light the lantern. I can take both reins and lead the horses, and we can probably keep to a human trot. I want Raisa safe in front of a fire with a full belly as quickly as we can manage.”

“We can’t risk your horses,” the priest protested, but he accepted the reins of the second horse. His brow furrowed. “Why haven’t you named them, since you were so quick to name Raisa?”

Safely on the ground, Laszlo got the lantern lit with a few familiar motions, then raised it high to gauge a route forward. “I haven’t named them because, like Gregory’s mules, I don’t consider that I own the animals. I haven’t found names that fit them, yet, but they don’t seem to mind.”
( Read more... )

Current Mood: awake

ysabetwordsmith

How To Make Your City Stronger With 4 Hours and a Shovel

Last month, members of Livable Lynchburg, a Strong Towns Local Conversation group, joined a walk audit alongside city staff, regional planners, and transit officials. At the corner of 12th and Polk, they noticed two stretches of sidewalk that were so overgrown they were nearly impassable.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

chanter1944

Evidently, there's been an underground fire downtown - giant kerboom, black smoke pouring from blown manhole covers, power outages - and the epicenter of the mess is riiiiight in the segment of the square and surrounds I tend to frequent. One of the most affected roads is a main stem for me, travel-wise, and a coffee shop I frequent is on a corner that's now in the temporary exclusion zone. Yikes! There but for the grace of God, and my slightly early decision to make a grocery run, go I! Maybe someone benevolent was whispering in my ear yesterday?

I haven't heard of any injuries or above-ground structural damage, thankfully, but there've been road closures and detours all over that area. I suspect at least some of the outages were deliberate power cuts while workers put the fire out. We lost Internet service over here on the near west side, because our service provider is smack in the middle of the mess, but it's now up and rolling again, which is a good sign for folks downtown. Still, though. I could easily have been in the thick of some serious chaos had I gone that direction today, as I often do on the weekends. I actually considered it, but then the Brewer game was on and engaging, and I said... nah. Someone benevolent whispering in my ear indeed.

Anyway. Safe, well, and grateful. If any other Madison folks are reading this, check in, please?

Current Mood: grateful

ysabetwordsmith

Stunning “wonder reptile” discovery rewrites the origins of feathers

An international team of researchers has published a breakthrough study in the journal Nature showing that early reptiles from the Triassic period had unique structures growing from its skin that formed an alternative to feathers.

The newly described Mirasaura grauvogeli from the Middle Triassic had a striking feather-like crest, hinting that complex skin appendages arose far earlier than previously believed. Its bird-like skull, tree-climbing adaptations, and pigment structures linked to feathers deepen the mystery of reptile evolution.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is partly sunny, humid, and hot.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

EDIT 8/10/25 -- I put out water for the birds. They had drained the small metal birdbath.

EDIT 8/10/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/10/25 -- I watered the old picnic table, house yard, and patio plants.

EDIT 8/10/25 -- I watered the new picnic table and septic gardens. I didn't have energy or daylight to pick up the hose, though; I had to turn it off and just leave it out. :/ I'll try to reel it up tomorrow. It's exhausting to maneuver.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

dialecticdreamer

It is FINALLY done.

I apologize again for the delays, but here is a quick summary of everything written for Magpie Monday. Most prompts were over 1500 words, and written in between the run of PT and doctor appointments that are my new year markers instead of my birthday, LOL.

The one upside of that horribly long wait, is that the total word count is 10,368. I'm quite proud of that, given the amount of chaos raging through my daily life over the month.
( Read more... )

Current Mood: accomplished

ysabetwordsmith

I stumbled across this today, while researching hormone use on livestock:

Causing trauma to the reproductive tract can induce bleeding, and since blood is toxic to sperm, this may result in reduced conception rates, permanently infertile animals, or animal death.

It makes me wonder if that's a cause undermining conception from rape, which often features internal injuries from microabrasions up to serious tears. If so, an interesting example of self-sabotage.

And then, what about the handful of species where rough sex is normal or even required? A tomcat's barbed penis, for example. Is their sperm different somehow? Or is there some other protective mechanism in play?

Current Mood: busy

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wispfox

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Reading

I Got Paid!

Diary: The Day After

Covid jab

Four recent fics (Guardian, various)

Me-and-media update

Insert story title here

Basic Income

Monday Update 8-11-25

Magpie Monday

Birdfeeding

Magpie Monday for August of 2025

Humor

Spider Apocalypse

Darkness and Discoveries (part 1 of 1, complete)

Activism

Very glad I did my grocery shopping yesterday afternoon!

Fossils

Birdfeeding

July 2025 Magpie Monday report

Safety

Profile

November 2024

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