I tend to vanish off the face of the Earth for weeks when I'm working on a big writing project, and that is definitely the case here -- "new Scrivener document for this project alone" sort of big, and probably the most ambitious and out-of-my-comfort-zone thing I've worked on in over a decade.
Whether or not I'll actually see this ridiculous monster through to its end, I have no idea, but as always, it's a joy to be inspired, and doubly so to be inspired in that specific way that forces me to stop and think and make Actual Story Notes.
In wholly unrelated news, Spring has finally, definitely (mostly, maybe) sprung! We are finally seeing consistent temperatures of 10°, and more than four hours of daylight! It's still windy, and the wind is still bitterly, arctic-level freezing, as is usual for April, but at least we're heading in the right direction.
Anyhow!
This has been your obligatory, totally substanceless update. We now return you to your regularly scheduled FLists.
Title: New Games Rating: PG-13 Warnings: No Warnings Apply Fandom: Heated Rivalry Relationships: Ilya Rozanov/Shane Hollander Tags: Established Relationship, Post Season One Summary: New games were allowed between them now. Word Count: 1,004
Title: Facing The Future Fandom: Babylon 5 Author: badly_knitted Characters: John Sheridan. Rating: PG Word Count: 300 Spoilers/Setting: Rising Star. Summary: As the new President of the Alliance, Sheridan will have his work cut out for him. Content Notes: None needed. Written For: Challenge 513: Amnesty 85, using Challenge 485: Face. Disclaimer: I don’t own Babylon 5, or the characters. They belong to J. Michael Straczynski.
My soul hoards its treasures Vast and unending as the night sky A sky so different to these eyes Than the eyes that first beheld it Aeons of wisdom earned, then locked away Life after life, death after death Places and people and passions it clings to Things I've loved so long I couldn't say When or how I fell I don't believe in love at first sight But I do believe in recognition My soul will see with all of the eyes That came before and say "hey, I remember you."
it is bad taste for a poet to be coarse and hairy (leanwellback) wrote2026-04-2310:50 am
The winters seem to feel longer these days Is it simply that we're not having fun That makes time grounded, refusing to fly That keeps Helios from raising the sun
How could anyone blame Persephone If she wanted to stay below the ground Warm and safe and treasured by her husband Away from man-made, cacophonic sound
But sure as the world still spins, stars still shine The rivers stay flowing and birds still sing As bleak as it seems when the days are short The seasons turn and change with everything
The flowers sleeping in their cold, dark beds Triumphantly raise their delicate heads
I can STRONGLY rec Chants of Sennaar to anyone who enjoys deduction/puzzle games, and in particular the micro-genre of games that have translating a conlang (in this case, multiple conlangs) as their central mechanic.
Looks like Sable, plays like a cross between Return of the Obra Dinn and Heaven's Vault.
(It makes the excellent choice which Sable also made and which more indie games should go for, namely putting all your characters in face-hiding hoods or masks so you can completely avoid uncanny valley bad face animation and spend your resources on other things instead.)
Made my brain ache in a good way and made me feel clever. I did have to draw maps (my spatial orientation is terrible, so others may not need to except for one specific maze-like area), and make assorted paper notes to solve various puzzles.
You have to not only successfully translate each language individually, but, later in the game, interpret conversations between pairs of languages. This requires knowing that the languages have different word order -- in a very simple way -- one language does object-first Yoda-speak, several languages vary in how they form plurals, etc., but you do have to be able to translate in a grammatically correct way, not just word by word.
And to get to the "true ending," the game requires you to go all out and "speak" the languages, by using a given language to correctly describe a picture you are given (with no text).
I admit I did get a tiny bit emotional when I made it to the end.
Has a subsidiary stealth mechanic, which I mostly enjoyed; near the very end of the game, it did briefly hit the point of requiring a somewhat quick response, but was still ultimately within the capacity of my abysmal reflexes. Nonetheless, it's not a zero-coordination-required game.
I worried beforehand, as I always do. Weather dot Gov said it'd be smokey, and also a little chilly, and also that there were riptides the day before. The surf was supposed to be rough (but good for surfing). The water was cold. I was still so worn down on Tuesday. Was it really worth driving all that way?
But we did and yes, it was worth it. Reminder for next year's Kai: 71F water and 75F day is perfect. And while yes, we drove through a lot of smoke (Florida and the entire SE is currently on fire), and there was even smoke in the Publix parking lot just a stone's throw from the beach, the beach itself was fine. I was right that the constant breeze off the water would keep it clear.
It was a hazy day, though. Thin clouds so the sun was never in full force which, again, perfect. I don't particularly care for those scorching hot beach days, where the only respite is the water and your skin is cooked within minutes. We put on sunscreen just once and were there 3 hours; my face feels a little warm this morning, but no visible sun burns.
CG came with us; I offered her the choice Tuesday night and the girl had to actually think about it. Us was me and my MIL -- she leaves next week so I wanted to take the chance to go to the beach while she was still here.
CG and I attacked the waves. I was extra careful at first, what with the red flag warning and all the rip tide warnings, so we didn't go out further than she could stand. It was high tide, so that left us a lot of space to swim and play. She's gotten so good about going with the waves. She'd get hit and go under and then pop up a few seconds later laughing.
Unfortunately she lost her goggles toward the end. She was absolutely distraught. I tried to find them, but, well. She ended up calming down by drawing in the sand with MIL, which brought out the delightful proclamation: "playing in the sand is fun!"
I got a last swim by myself; swam hard out into the deeper parts then just let the waves crash over me. I could've stayed for another hour, but I'd promised CG ice cream on the way home and we had a 5yo to pick up.
i swear, the ocean healed me. I'd been so so tired that morning and still congested, but by the time we left I was... fine? I should've been exhausted because I'd been straight up swimming in chilly water for almost 3 hours, but no. The older I get, the more I've realized that I need to be in the water more: pools, lakes, rivers, oceans, whatever I can get. I'm glad CG is old enough to go with me; I'm hoping 5yo will at least learn to swim this summer (well, without floaties). Because I can't wait to take both of them.
it is bad taste for a poet to be coarse and hairy (leanwellback) wrote2026-04-2310:23 am
an open door is an invitation a closed door is an answer but a window is an insight a chance to breathe a chance to see what's on the other side without committing to a knock without having to unlock
A drabble I wrote for muccamukk during Snowflake Challenge 2025, where I took the opportunity to indulge in my as-yet-unrealised plot-bunnies and headcanons :P
Title:indomitable willpower. Fandom: DC comics / Batgirl. Character/Pairing: Stephanie Brown. Rating/Warnings: T, none. Summary: For the prompt: "Stephanie Brown + Wanderlust." Word count: 100.
read more -
Gotham is a leech of a city; Steph takes every opportunity to travel away, despite everyone and everything that pulls her under the surface like an anchor.
Cass is a sore spot, both the one making her want to stay, the safety of the known, and the one making her want to run. Batman gets more demanding, and Steph increasingly less eager to perform.
Barbara understands. Mom pays for every ticket.
Kara invites her to a trip on her ship, and Steph eagerly accepts the out.
In a reverse of Gatsby’s fate, a green light is only a new beginning.
I thought I'd research Narcissism- and suddenly Youtube was throwing all sorts of stuff at me. "How to spot a narcissist", "Things narcissists hate", "Narcissists want to kill you". Ooo er! Seems like narcissists are as common as daisies in an unmown lawn.
Only not as pretty.
I suppose I must have encountered the little buggers before now without realising it. Ailz says her mother was a narcissist. Yes, that fits.
They want to absorb you like the Abzorbaloff played by Peter Kay in that episode of Dr Who everyone hates. The thing to do is to refuse engagement. Don't argue, don't apologise, don't give an inch. Hold fast to your own truth but don't bother to explain it because they won't be listening.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2026-04-23 08:46 am
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
media_gazer_feed) wrote2026-04-23 08:45 am
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fan_flashworks2026-04-23 08:14 am
Anna Koslerova / The Guardian:
Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:
Ken Fisher / Ars Technica:
