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Entry tags:
Speak Up Saturday
Welcome to the weekly roundup post! What are you watching this week? What are you excited about?
Welcome to the weekly roundup post! What are you watching this week? What are you excited about?
elisi (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
elisi) wrote2026-06-27 02:51 pm
elisi) wrote2026-06-27 02:51 pm
Entry tags:
2 more fics/poems written in memoriam for ASH & Rupert Giles
Annyeong ( 안녕 )* (written as a coda & tribute) by kerk_hiraeth
I ~ Annyeong, We who both met and parted
II ~ Annyeong, We who have neither met nor parted
Technically drabbles as both are 100 words, but I would term them poems.
kerk_hiraethI ~ Annyeong, We who both met and parted
II ~ Annyeong, We who have neither met nor parted
Technically drabbles as both are 100 words, but I would term them poems.
Hunningham (hunningham) wrote2026-06-27 08:49 am
hunningham) wrote2026-06-27 08:49 amOverhead mobility better than it was, but still sadly lacking
About a year ago or so, I bought a pack of pull-on bra tops from Marks. They're like mini sports bras, and honestly, I think these are the bra I have been waiting for all my life. My tits have gotten smaller with menopause, so I'm not looking for a wired cantilevered support system, and these are just practical & comfy & un-frilly & non-performative.
But if you're sweaty, getting them on or off is a real test of shoulder mobility. T'other day I got the bloody thing all curled up behind my back and himself had to come & help me disentangle myself.
I need to do more mobility practise.
But still - I'm remembering that the first few years after I started exercising I always bought front-zip sports bras because it was such a struggle to get a pull-on bra on & off. That's an improvement I have made without realising.
But if you're sweaty, getting them on or off is a real test of shoulder mobility. T'other day I got the bloody thing all curled up behind my back and himself had to come & help me disentangle myself.
I need to do more mobility practise.
But still - I'm remembering that the first few years after I started exercising I always bought front-zip sports bras because it was such a struggle to get a pull-on bra on & off. That's an improvement I have made without realising.
Image from store website:
pack of 3 crop-top bralettes in black, pink, white
pauraque (pauraque) wrote2026-06-26 09:34 pm
pauraque) wrote2026-06-26 09:34 pmEverfair by Nisi Shawl (2016)
In this steampunk alt-history novel, a group of Fabian Socialists and African-American missionaries become founders of a new nation in central Africa in the late 19th century. With a boost from talented inventors and new technologies (some plausible but a bit early, like airships, and some fanciful, like clockwork cyborg limbs) they're able to challenge oppressive Belgian rule in the region. This alters the course of history in a sprawling, decades-long narrative of international intrigue, featuring a huge cast of characters in a complex web of love and hate.
So, you know when a TV show gets canceled but they still have a few episodes left, or maybe they get a movie, and the writers do a speed-run of all the remaining unresolved plot threads, basically hitting the highlights, and you have to mentally fill in all the other stuff that would have happened if they'd been able to take their time? That's what reading this book is like. Shawl had enough ideas here to fill a series of six or seven books if they'd taken it at a leisurely pace, but instead it's all packed into 400 pages.
I'm not sure I'm exactly complaining, though? I don't think I'm quite the right audience for the material as presented (way too much romance and breakup drama, not enough speculative tech, disappointingly little followup on one character's intriguing steam engine kink) so if there were six or seven books, I doubt I would have read them all. A relatively quick overview of how it all plays out was enough to satisfy me. But on the other hand, if I'd been deeply invested and wanted to sink my teeth into every detail of the plot and the interpersonal stuff, I probably would have been disappointed, so I guess I'm not sure who the ideal reader for this is.
I have read a few of Shawl's short stories, and I'm starting to get the impression that they are not a writer who likes to go into intricate detail about things. I do think they have it all in their head, but it reads to me like they're more invested in writing the exciting, intense highlights than the in-between explainy parts. Which, honestly, I can relate to—I can find that stuff a slog to write, too! But even if it is in your head, it's not in the reader's head until you put it there.
There actually is a sequel, which at a peek sounds like it steers away from steampunk and leans more fantasy, which isn't necessarily what I would have expected (thought there are some magical elements here too). Either way, my interest level is probably closer to "read a detailed synopsis" than "actually read the book."
So, you know when a TV show gets canceled but they still have a few episodes left, or maybe they get a movie, and the writers do a speed-run of all the remaining unresolved plot threads, basically hitting the highlights, and you have to mentally fill in all the other stuff that would have happened if they'd been able to take their time? That's what reading this book is like. Shawl had enough ideas here to fill a series of six or seven books if they'd taken it at a leisurely pace, but instead it's all packed into 400 pages.
I'm not sure I'm exactly complaining, though? I don't think I'm quite the right audience for the material as presented (way too much romance and breakup drama, not enough speculative tech, disappointingly little followup on one character's intriguing steam engine kink) so if there were six or seven books, I doubt I would have read them all. A relatively quick overview of how it all plays out was enough to satisfy me. But on the other hand, if I'd been deeply invested and wanted to sink my teeth into every detail of the plot and the interpersonal stuff, I probably would have been disappointed, so I guess I'm not sure who the ideal reader for this is.
I have read a few of Shawl's short stories, and I'm starting to get the impression that they are not a writer who likes to go into intricate detail about things. I do think they have it all in their head, but it reads to me like they're more invested in writing the exciting, intense highlights than the in-between explainy parts. Which, honestly, I can relate to—I can find that stuff a slog to write, too! But even if it is in your head, it's not in the reader's head until you put it there.
There actually is a sequel, which at a peek sounds like it steers away from steampunk and leans more fantasy, which isn't necessarily what I would have expected (thought there are some magical elements here too). Either way, my interest level is probably closer to "read a detailed synopsis" than "actually read the book."
Muccamukk (muccamukk) wrote2026-06-26 12:08 pm
muccamukk) wrote2026-06-26 12:08 pmEntry tags:
Shaboozey Tiny Desk!
Mostly newer music! Stoked about the new album, which is soooooooon.
Vriddy (vriddy) wrote2026-06-26 06:44 pm
vriddy) wrote2026-06-26 06:44 pm
Entry tags:
Failed recs and also some book recs
It's been too hot to do much of anything interesting, so I've been mostly reading as that requires little movement, trying to make a dent in my ever growing library stack. ("I haven't been reading so I won't be borrowing/buying anything for a bit!" - cue reading 1 book "SURELY MY READING SLUMP IS OVER AND I CAN BORROW THREE MORE BOOKS" just as old library holds finally come to me now I have 6000 books to read etc etc).
Anyway, the stack also included 2 books and a movie recced by various friends, and I hated them all lol. Right now I feel rather unloved!! Why would people who supposedly know me rec me these!!!!!!!!! One was grimdark and bleak, one had a lot of bad horrible things (betrayal, starvation, death, etc etc) happening to innocent lives who often didn't deserve any of it, and the last... idk. It was flat. It was a story more interested in ideas than in creating 3-dimensional characters, I guess. Not for me. It was so strangely done. I wondered a couple of times if sensitivity readers had ever gone near it because the bits I'm familiar with from personal experience felt odd. It was very tell-don't-show about everyone's personality. I just finished this one today so I'm extra crabby about it hahaha I had to skim-read the last 250 pages over the last few days. Anyway all of these have received prestigious awards and were well received critically so just remember that... my tastes are me, I guess!! I am freeee now! I've been better about giving up on things early but when it's a personal rec, I feel like I should give it more of an effort unless it's truly awful (or awfully long 🤪). Anyhoo if as a palate cleanser you have queer recs for SF or Fantasy with hopeful endings for me... especially fantasy... mega smooch bonus for poly but I won't be greedy. It's not like I don't have 7 more books to return to the library stillhaaaa or a buckling tsundoku shelf.
But I did read a few books I enjoyed in the last few weeks and thought I'd write a couple of lines here because I always wait so I can "write a proper review!! that lives up to the goodness of what I read!!!!" and guess what! Nooothing. That's what.
Meanwhile, in happyvriddy land:
Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell - guy who can read thoughts/guy who can write thoughts! On a spaceship! Fake soul bond (or the genre's equivalent!). It was super fun, M/M but lots of cool women all around the protagonists, good and bad and shades in between, great pacing. A delight. The tropes were set up so well and I enjoyed it even more than the other one in the series (thought this is standalone!)
Kill the Beast by Serra Swift - also fun, pretty straightforward. Yay bisexual characters (though there isn't really any romance), and yay friendship! What's gonna happen is pretty obviously telegraphed but HOW it'll happen and how will other characters react sets up really fun anticipation. A couple of eyebrow rising plot devices but meeeh I had fun! If you like your women to be bounty hunters with bulging muscles nicknamed "the Butcher" you might enjoy too XD
The Sun Blessed Prince + the Moon Blessed King by Lindsey Byrd - fun M/M epic fantasy, with someone who heals everyone he touches (but has to hide it) and someone who kills anyone he touches. Great friendships and good for the loyalty bits around other characters, too! I enjoyed the first one more, I think because I'm always a sucker for people with different backgrounds learning to become friends and rely on each other. The second one has a pandemic in it (it was the author covid-coping series) and I found that heavier but ymmv. Warning for mega woobie backgrounds lol.
Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmeerer - an absolute delight of a find for me, a multi-pov poly fantasy between a princess, the warrior-king she's supposed to marry, and the assassin hired to kill them both lol. If you find the premise interesting, I think you'll have as good a time as I did, the pacing is incredible. Because we learn a few secrets early on, it means even when some trust starts to get in, the tension of YEAH BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN THEY LEARN ABOUT THE OTHER THING!!! If the first few chapters don't work for you, I would give up early. I thought it was a slam dunk of a book and I got so much enjoyment out of it, but was surprised to find the reviews more mixed online (I'm not counting the "why couldn't this be a love triangle why does everything have to be poly now" because THESE PEOPLE ARE WRONG XD) (and should give me their recs or anti-recs because "too much poly" is just not a problem in my life)
Anyway, the stack also included 2 books and a movie recced by various friends, and I hated them all lol. Right now I feel rather unloved!! Why would people who supposedly know me rec me these!!!!!!!!! One was grimdark and bleak, one had a lot of bad horrible things (betrayal, starvation, death, etc etc) happening to innocent lives who often didn't deserve any of it, and the last... idk. It was flat. It was a story more interested in ideas than in creating 3-dimensional characters, I guess. Not for me. It was so strangely done. I wondered a couple of times if sensitivity readers had ever gone near it because the bits I'm familiar with from personal experience felt odd. It was very tell-don't-show about everyone's personality. I just finished this one today so I'm extra crabby about it hahaha I had to skim-read the last 250 pages over the last few days. Anyway all of these have received prestigious awards and were well received critically so just remember that... my tastes are me, I guess!! I am freeee now! I've been better about giving up on things early but when it's a personal rec, I feel like I should give it more of an effort unless it's truly awful (or awfully long 🤪). Anyhoo if as a palate cleanser you have queer recs for SF or Fantasy with hopeful endings for me... especially fantasy... mega smooch bonus for poly but I won't be greedy. It's not like I don't have 7 more books to return to the library still
But I did read a few books I enjoyed in the last few weeks and thought I'd write a couple of lines here because I always wait so I can "write a proper review!! that lives up to the goodness of what I read!!!!" and guess what! Nooothing. That's what.
Meanwhile, in happy
vriddy land:Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell - guy who can read thoughts/guy who can write thoughts! On a spaceship! Fake soul bond (or the genre's equivalent!). It was super fun, M/M but lots of cool women all around the protagonists, good and bad and shades in between, great pacing. A delight. The tropes were set up so well and I enjoyed it even more than the other one in the series (thought this is standalone!)
Kill the Beast by Serra Swift - also fun, pretty straightforward. Yay bisexual characters (though there isn't really any romance), and yay friendship! What's gonna happen is pretty obviously telegraphed but HOW it'll happen and how will other characters react sets up really fun anticipation. A couple of eyebrow rising plot devices but meeeh I had fun! If you like your women to be bounty hunters with bulging muscles nicknamed "the Butcher" you might enjoy too XD
The Sun Blessed Prince + the Moon Blessed King by Lindsey Byrd - fun M/M epic fantasy, with someone who heals everyone he touches (but has to hide it) and someone who kills anyone he touches. Great friendships and good for the loyalty bits around other characters, too! I enjoyed the first one more, I think because I'm always a sucker for people with different backgrounds learning to become friends and rely on each other. The second one has a pandemic in it (it was the author covid-coping series) and I found that heavier but ymmv. Warning for mega woobie backgrounds lol.
Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmeerer - an absolute delight of a find for me, a multi-pov poly fantasy between a princess, the warrior-king she's supposed to marry, and the assassin hired to kill them both lol. If you find the premise interesting, I think you'll have as good a time as I did, the pacing is incredible. Because we learn a few secrets early on, it means even when some trust starts to get in, the tension of YEAH BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN THEY LEARN ABOUT THE OTHER THING!!! If the first few chapters don't work for you, I would give up early. I thought it was a slam dunk of a book and I got so much enjoyment out of it, but was surprised to find the reviews more mixed online (I'm not counting the "why couldn't this be a love triangle why does everything have to be poly now" because THESE PEOPLE ARE WRONG XD) (and should give me their recs or anti-recs because "too much poly" is just not a problem in my life)
Hunningham (hunningham) wrote2026-06-26 06:01 pm
hunningham) wrote2026-06-26 06:01 pmHeatwave
Heatwave has happened. I am grumpy, and I think my cat has melted.
BUT a few months ago I bought one of the few remaining portable air conditioning units in the UK, and on Monday just gone I took it round to my father-in-law's flat and set it up in his bedroom. Hose venting out the window, and the window sealed with an interesting arrangement of cardboard and parcel tape, but one cool room for my ninety-year-old. He was staying with us during the 2022 heatwave, and he suffered - I didn't want to see that happen again. I am so chuffed with myself; everyone I have spoken to for the past week has heard all about it.
Our flat hasn't been too bad, lots of big sash windows and roof windows that I can fling open and leave open, so if there's any breeze we get the benefit. And we face west, so it doesn't get really hot until late in the day. I've been drinking lots of water, staying inside and taking frequent cold showers.
One of the overlooked benefits of hot weather is that red wine tastes wonderful at room temperature; it really opens out, throws out its chest and *breathes*. Anyone who says "serve red wine at room temperature" has not been in the UK in a cold damp November. I usually dunk the bottle in a jug of warm water for 5 minutes, but I've never understood why there isn't the equivalent of the wine-cooler - a wine-warmer to gently encourage your red wine and bring it a few degrees closer to palatable. Anyway, red wine & strawberries - they both taste better when it's warm.
BUT a few months ago I bought one of the few remaining portable air conditioning units in the UK, and on Monday just gone I took it round to my father-in-law's flat and set it up in his bedroom. Hose venting out the window, and the window sealed with an interesting arrangement of cardboard and parcel tape, but one cool room for my ninety-year-old. He was staying with us during the 2022 heatwave, and he suffered - I didn't want to see that happen again. I am so chuffed with myself; everyone I have spoken to for the past week has heard all about it.
Our flat hasn't been too bad, lots of big sash windows and roof windows that I can fling open and leave open, so if there's any breeze we get the benefit. And we face west, so it doesn't get really hot until late in the day. I've been drinking lots of water, staying inside and taking frequent cold showers.
One of the overlooked benefits of hot weather is that red wine tastes wonderful at room temperature; it really opens out, throws out its chest and *breathes*. Anyone who says "serve red wine at room temperature" has not been in the UK in a cold damp November. I usually dunk the bottle in a jug of warm water for 5 minutes, but I've never understood why there isn't the equivalent of the wine-cooler - a wine-warmer to gently encourage your red wine and bring it a few degrees closer to palatable. Anyway, red wine & strawberries - they both taste better when it's warm.
selenak (selenak) wrote2026-06-26 06:39 pm
selenak) wrote2026-06-26 06:39 pm
Entry tags:
Star City 1.06
In space, no one can hear you scream, indeed.
( Spoilers don't want their engineers to become executioners )
( Spoilers don't want their engineers to become executioners )
osprey_archer (osprey_archer) wrote2026-06-26 09:45 am
osprey_archer) wrote2026-06-26 09:45 amEntry tags:
Book Review: Ship of the Line
The most neurotic captain in the Royal Navy Sails again! In Ship of the Line, on top of his usual struggles with his own self-loathing, Hornblower must also cope with the fact that his commanding officer, Admiral Leighton, is the new husband of Hornblower’s beloved Lady Barbara. (Hornblower, obsessed with Lady Barbara, now compares his own wife to a scrubwoman.) He is torn by jealousy! Stricken by the fear that Lady Barbara might truly love this buffoon!
I personally suspect that Lady Barbara married the admiral in order to help Hornblower in his career, as there is no other way for her to be close to him. I recognize however that even someone more accustomed to considering himself loveable than Hornblower might feel that this was a little far-fetched.
Admiral Leighton in return does not seem to like Hornblower, possibly because he knows Hornblower is Lady Barbara’s true love, but also possibly just because Hornblower is an active and energetic officer whose exploits really get in the way of the “having nice dinners with fellow officers” aspect of the Royal Navy that Admiral Leighton seems to prefer to sea battles.
If he allowed himself to be truly honest, Hornblower might also admit that he prefers a nice dinner to sea battles, but obviously Hornblower would spontaneously combust if he ever admitted such a thing. A true naval officer should be a fearless leader who lusts for battle, whereas Hornblower (in his own mind) is weak and cowardly, and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known would result not in the Rewards of Being Loved but in the Contempt of All Who Know Him.
Unfortunately, as Hornblower considers “needing food or sleep” weakness, and “feeling frightened (while remaining capable of decisive action) in the face of mortal peril” cowardly, his attempt to construct the perfect RoboCaptain mask is doomed from the start. He’s constantly falling short of his own standards, and occasionally realizes to his mortification that other people have noticed, as when his steward Polwheal brings him a light breakfast of toast and coffee and Hornblower realizes that this means Polwheal has noticed he’s SEASICK! Which means all the officers must realize he’s seasick! Which means they must despise him!
Well, actually they don’t seem to hold it against him, and to give Hornblower his due, he does notice that fact. He just cannot take this onboard in a way that might impact his behavior in the future, e.g., “Maybe it’s okay if other people know I get seasick at the beginning of a voyage and I don’t need to go to such heroic lengths to hide it,” or even, “Maybe I’m actually NOT unusually cowardly! Maybe MANY people feel pangs of fear in the face of mortal peril!”
No. Like Marty McFly, Hornblower is obsessed with proving that he’s not a chicken. Unlike Marty, he does not get any helpful time travel lessons in the difference between “taking necessary risks” and “being an idiot.” He doesn’t just take risks, but goes into battle against overwhelming odds knowing that the best possible outcome is that he will lose at least half his crew and possibly his ship, because he knows that if he did not engage in battle, he would always fear that he had decided not to fight out of sheer cowardice. Hornblower, I am not convinced that this is a sound strategic reason to sacrifice a ship and a trained crew that could have been saved.
I personally suspect that Lady Barbara married the admiral in order to help Hornblower in his career, as there is no other way for her to be close to him. I recognize however that even someone more accustomed to considering himself loveable than Hornblower might feel that this was a little far-fetched.
Admiral Leighton in return does not seem to like Hornblower, possibly because he knows Hornblower is Lady Barbara’s true love, but also possibly just because Hornblower is an active and energetic officer whose exploits really get in the way of the “having nice dinners with fellow officers” aspect of the Royal Navy that Admiral Leighton seems to prefer to sea battles.
If he allowed himself to be truly honest, Hornblower might also admit that he prefers a nice dinner to sea battles, but obviously Hornblower would spontaneously combust if he ever admitted such a thing. A true naval officer should be a fearless leader who lusts for battle, whereas Hornblower (in his own mind) is weak and cowardly, and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known would result not in the Rewards of Being Loved but in the Contempt of All Who Know Him.
Unfortunately, as Hornblower considers “needing food or sleep” weakness, and “feeling frightened (while remaining capable of decisive action) in the face of mortal peril” cowardly, his attempt to construct the perfect RoboCaptain mask is doomed from the start. He’s constantly falling short of his own standards, and occasionally realizes to his mortification that other people have noticed, as when his steward Polwheal brings him a light breakfast of toast and coffee and Hornblower realizes that this means Polwheal has noticed he’s SEASICK! Which means all the officers must realize he’s seasick! Which means they must despise him!
Well, actually they don’t seem to hold it against him, and to give Hornblower his due, he does notice that fact. He just cannot take this onboard in a way that might impact his behavior in the future, e.g., “Maybe it’s okay if other people know I get seasick at the beginning of a voyage and I don’t need to go to such heroic lengths to hide it,” or even, “Maybe I’m actually NOT unusually cowardly! Maybe MANY people feel pangs of fear in the face of mortal peril!”
No. Like Marty McFly, Hornblower is obsessed with proving that he’s not a chicken. Unlike Marty, he does not get any helpful time travel lessons in the difference between “taking necessary risks” and “being an idiot.” He doesn’t just take risks, but goes into battle against overwhelming odds knowing that the best possible outcome is that he will lose at least half his crew and possibly his ship, because he knows that if he did not engage in battle, he would always fear that he had decided not to fight out of sheer cowardice. Hornblower, I am not convinced that this is a sound strategic reason to sacrifice a ship and a trained crew that could have been saved.
Denise (![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png)
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dw_maintenance2026-06-25 11:36 pm
denise) wrote in dw_maintenance2026-06-25 11:36 pm(no subject)
Folks may have noticed that the site has been slow for logged-out users over the last while. This is partly because we separate traffic by logged-in, "logged out but have visited the site before", and "logged out, never visited the site before" and assign the fewest resources to the last category (because we're pretty confident the overwhelming majority of it is bot and scraper traffic, even if it's often impossible to say for sure). The flood of garbage traffic is a plague and a scourge the entire internet is dealing with, and it's hitting small sites the hardest as operators get better and better at cloaking their requests to look like real, authentic use. We long ago hit the point where adding more resources is a possible solution (because they just eat them up as soon as we do), and splitting traffic lets us keep the site usable for our actual users without wasting too much server power on garbage.
We've now, lucky us, reached the point where the "logged out, have never visited the site before" path is just flooded all the time, and the "logged out but have visited the site before" path is suffering some of the overflow. We've made some changes to the routing to try to improve things for logged out users who have visited the site before and keep it at "it may be a little bit slow, but at least it works" instead of "it keeps timing out", and we've seen some improvements, but if you're accustomed to browsing the site while logged out, I'm really sorry but it may continue to be a little miserable.
You will get the fastest page loads and the best performance by browsing the site logged in. If you are having trouble loading the front page to log in, bookmark the direct login page. We can't route the front page to the "more power" server pool, because it's a common target for garbage traffic, but we've switched /login over to "more power" and we'll try to keep it there as long as we can unless it starts getting slammed, too.
We've now, lucky us, reached the point where the "logged out, have never visited the site before" path is just flooded all the time, and the "logged out but have visited the site before" path is suffering some of the overflow. We've made some changes to the routing to try to improve things for logged out users who have visited the site before and keep it at "it may be a little bit slow, but at least it works" instead of "it keeps timing out", and we've seen some improvements, but if you're accustomed to browsing the site while logged out, I'm really sorry but it may continue to be a little miserable.
You will get the fastest page loads and the best performance by browsing the site logged in. If you are having trouble loading the front page to log in, bookmark the direct login page. We can't route the front page to the "more power" server pool, because it's a common target for garbage traffic, but we've switched /login over to "more power" and we'll try to keep it there as long as we can unless it starts getting slammed, too.
troisoiseaux (troisoiseaux) wrote2026-06-25 11:24 pm
troisoiseaux) wrote2026-06-25 11:24 pmEntry tags:
The Family Man - James Lasdun
Finished The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh by James Lasdun, which was true crime— about a 2021 murder case that got a lot of media/national attention, although I didn't follow it at the time and so was getting most of the story for the first time— and therefore depressing. ( ... )