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Wednesday is back on schedule

What I read

Finished Murder in the Trembling Lands and okay, you have a mystery based on something that happened during some very confusing battle events back in the past, and this is all taking place during the upheavals of carnival in New Orleans decades later, and people lying, giving their versions of past events based on gossip, rumour, speculation etc etc, and possibly this was not really one to be reading in fits and starts.

Zen Cho, Behind Frenemy Lines (2025). This was really good: it does what I consider a desideratum particularly in contemporary-set romance, it has a good deal of hinterland going on around the central couple and their travails. And is Zen Cho going to give us a political thriller anytime, hmmmm?

Natasha Brown, Universality (2025), which I picked up recently as a Kobo deal. I was fairly meh about this - kind of a 'The Way We Live Now' work, about class and the media and establishing narratives and the compromises people make, I found it clunky (after the preceding!) if short, though was a bit startled by the coincidental appearance of the mouse research I mentioned earlier this week being cited by an old uni friend of one of the characters, now veering alt-right.

On the go

Also a Kobo deal, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Long Island Compromise (2024): in my days of reading fat family sagas set in T'North, this would have been the 'to clogs again' section of the narrative.... it's sort of vaguely compelling in its depressing way.

Up next

Have got various things which were Kobo deals lined up, not sure how far any of them appeal. Also new Literary Review, which has my letter in it. The new Sally Smith mystery not out for another week, boo.

Current Mood: accomplished

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You See

The day was bright, as though it was making an effort to be cheerful. When Sanne stepped out, she felt an unreasonable pressure to match its mood. She stepped in the centres of the cobblestones in the sidewalk, avoiding the edges and cracks, a spell she had been doing since she was a child. Sometimes it was a spell for calmness and focus. And sometimes it was a spell for avoiding fissures in time.

Now it was a spell for putting one foot in front of the other, because she hadn’t wanted to leave the house today. She'd wanted to stay in bed all day, which wasn’t good for magical hygiene, stagnating in your own energy.

There was a flower growing out of a crack in the sidewalk. Sanne paused and went around it because it seemed to rude to step over it. She rummaged in her bag, took out a vial, uncorked it, and brushed a tiny bit of pollen into it. She stoppered the vial and continued.

She’d embarked on this walk to make herself feel better, but she had a new destination now. She walked until the Materialry. The Keeper of Materials smiled at her as she came in, which made the walk worth it.
( Read more... )

Current Mood: thoughtful

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Trope Talk: The Ones That Always Work on Me

You know that moment, a few pages into a new book or fanfic, where you realise, oh no (but actually oh yes)—this is going to hit every one of your buttons? I love that. Some tropes just get me, no matter how many times I’ve seen them. I will fall for them again and again, gleefully, like it’s the first time. So today, in no particular order, here are the ones that always work on me.

Fake Dating
Top-tier. Always iconic. I don't care if it's full-on romcom chaos or angsty mutual pining in disguise, if two characters have to pretend to be together for Reasons? I'm in. Especially if they’re bad at pretending. Especially if they’re too good at pretending. Especially if one of them catches feelings first and doesn’t know what to do about it. Especially that moment, you see it coming from a mile away, that moment when, as the reader, you see the date turning real but they haven't yet twigged? It's delicious.

Grumpy x Sunshine
Give me the sour-faced one who doesn’t know how to deal with feelings, and the beaming one who crashes into their life like a golden retriever in human form. Let them banter. Let them slowly learn each other’s edges. Let the sunshine one get quietly intense sometimes, and the grumpy one be soft underneath. Peak comfort.

Forced Proximity
Trapped in a lift? Snowed in at a cabin? On the run and handcuffed together? YES. Stick them in a space they can't leave, turn the tension up to eleven, and just let me watch. Bonus points if they have to share resources, or reluctantly open up. All the better if one of them is injured and needs looking after. (Caretaking! Another micro-trope I fall for every time.)

Only One Bed
Look. It's a classic for a reason. Whether it's awkward bed-sharing full of “we’re definitely not touching” tension or the inevitable snuggling that definitely doesn't mean anything (until it does), I eat it up every single time.

Small Town Romance
There's something about the slower pace, the community vibes, the way people keep running into each other all over town. Maybe one of them is just passing through. Maybe they went to school together and haven’t seen each other in years. Maybe the town itself becomes a character. I love it all. Bonus if there’s a grumpy x sunshine and only one bed in the inn.

And here’s the weird bit: the tropes I love to read aren’t always the ones I love to write. Like, I adore fake dating on the page, but I almost never write it. Same with small town settings - I’ll devour them in books, but when I try to write them, I bounce right off. Meanwhile, I find myself writing intense, emotional dynamics or complicated power shifts, even when I’m not actively looking for those as a reader. Isn’t that odd? Not in a bad way, just... interesting. Like there’s a different part of my brain at work when I write, with its own set of fixations and fascinations.

Anyway. I could probably keep going (mutual pining! found family! hurt/comfort! age gap! power imbalance! kink!), but I’ll stop before this turns into a novella. What about you—what are the tropes you can never resist? And are they the same ones you end up writing?

Current Mood: relaxed
Current Music: Taste (Sabrina Carpenter)

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JOURNALING PROMPT #3 [SUNSHINE REVIVAL]

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daily entertainment

Wednesday DE: tell all

Hello Milliways, Wednesday has rolled around once again.

Today's DE:

What is the title of your pup's Netflix documentary?

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sunshine revival challenge

sunshine revival challenge #2

Tunnel of Love

Journaling: The romance of summer! What do you love? Write about anything you feel sentimental about or that gets your heart pumping.

Since this is what I did most of last Sunday, I'll talk about how much I love baking. I love to bake. It's something I've done since I was a child. My mom was the one who taught me, with box mixes and canned frosting to begin with, before I moved on to making cakes from scratch. I remember taking a whole tray of cupcakes for a surprise party our class planned for our teacher in elementary school (okay, it was the girls. I vaguely remember us thinking the boys couldn't be trusted to keep their mouth shut so we left them out. I think we were, like, 10 or 11?). I also remember making birthday cakes and father's day cakes for my dad. I remember taking things for all sorts of class parties throughout the years really. When we had a project in elementary school on teaching the class "how to do something", I chose baking a cake and I remember switching from mix to wanting to do a scratch cake. My dad carefully measured out the ingredients in the morning before school so it would save me time. So much of my baking memories are tied to my family.

Baking is something that calms my mind. There's a precision to it that I appreciate. I'm someone who likes really exact instructions, which is why even though I have learned to like cooking, I do like baking more. You stick to a recipe and outside of mild variables, like the oven timing, it should come out right. And I like the results too! I have a sweet tooth, but I do like when people around me enjoy my baking. I am not great with taking compliments, but I like hearing them (who doesn't, right? lol)! I do like pretty things so it's been fun learning and practicing decorating as well.

People have made jokes about me starting a bakery in the past, and while there are many reasons I wouldn't, I do just like some thing just being an enjoyable hobby. And I will keep doing it. It's a nice way to spend an evening or a weekend. Doing what I love and sometimes, for the people I love. Because they're the reason I learned to do this in the first place. :)

( cupcakes )

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challenge: 196

Challenge 196: Yellow

Cardcaptor Sakura

https://i.imgur.com/wjLV1Af.png

Next color: Green!

My feed updated late, sorry! I've fixed it :)

Cardcaptor Sakura

https://i.imgur.com/q4qjeXe.png

Next color: Cyan

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Sunshine Revival Challenge #3

sunshine_revival's next challenge is:

Snack Shack
Journaling prompt: What are your favorite summer-associated foods?
Creative prompt: Draw art of or make graphics of summer foods, or post your favorite summer recipes.

When I was growing up, the most coveted summer treat was universally acknowledged to be the It's-It. This is an ice cream sandwich made with soft oatmeal cookies, coated in a thin layer of chocolate. It was invented in San Francisco in 1928 and for decades it was sold only at the local amusement park Playland at the Beach. The Playland era was before my time, though; now It's-Its are sold prepackaged in stores and from roving food trucks all over the Bay Area.

I didn't realize until I moved away that It's-Its are made by a local company and nobody outside California had heard of them. I also didn't realize what a weird name they have until I tried to explain to other people what they were. "Itsits? What does that even mean?" I guess it made sense in the context of the 1920s when everyone was talking about "it girls" and having "it." (The movie It starring Clara Bow sounds like a horror title now, but it didn't in 1927!)

As a kid I never questioned it. The origin of the name did not matter. All that mattered was sitting on a sunny park bench after waiting patiently in line at the food truck, and finally biting into your precious It's-It, which instantly started melting, and trying to contain the ice cream in the flimsy crinkly plastic but always failing, having it drip all over your hands as it squeezed out from between the cookies with the chocolate coating cracking into melty bits. Pure summer childhood bliss.

You can actually order It's-Its online if you're in the US, and I've read that in recent years they've been selling them at brick and mortar stores outside California, though I haven't run into any in the wild. I've been told that they're pretty good even if the mere sight of them does not overwhelm you with nostalgia.

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Challenge 196: Yellow

HPI

https://tinpix.de/2025/hip_french203_41.53y.png

Next color: Green

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Sunshine Challenge #3

Journaling prompt: What are your favorite summer-associated foods?

Creative prompt: Draw art of or make graphics of summer foods, or post your favorite summer recipes. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

My favourite sumer food probably sounds very boring, but if one takes care to use the best quality possible, it’s delicious. Boiled white fish with new potatoes, clarified butter and chopped hard-boiled eggs. When I was a child the fish we used was northern pike, which my father or grandfather had just caught, but nowadays we usually buy fresh cod. The new potatoes come from the garden. The clarified butter must be real butter, and organic eggs taste the best. One can mix the butter and the eggs, but we prefer to keep them separate, so each can take after taste.

Also, for me this tastes best eaten outside the summer house, on dishes called “Grön berså” (green bower) by the Swedish designer Stig Lindberg in 1960.

Got a callback

Asked where I lived, was concerned that the answer is "Staten Island". FFS, it's not Siberia!

I need to start telling people I'm moving in with a friend in Tribeca. Just straight up lie.

Current Mood: scared

Oh here we go

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sunshine challenge

Sunshine Revival Challenge #3

Journaling prompt: What are your favourite summer-associated foods?

Not so much food, as the memory of summer picnics. Which conjures up ideals of everyone sitting round a check tablecloth, relaxed and enjoying a selection of delicate foods. Whereas the reality is the wasps after everything sweet. The sudden gust of wind blowing over a tub of mini sausages and taking off with the pretty, carefully chosen, paper serviettes and causing children to rush madly after them, thus falling over and returning with muddy hands etc. Trying to drink a mug of hot tea, because the calendar might say July but otherwise you'd never know, and having hair blow in the mouth. And just when you think it's going to be okay after all, half the tablecloth blows up and falls on top of the iced cupcakes.

Of course, all this may be alleviated by sitting in the car because it's raining and still enjoying the bread rolls, packets of crisps and chocolate mini rolls - which certainly haven't melted.

Or even better, giving up on the whole idea and spreading the tablecloth out on the living room floor and picnicking at home!

The OTW is Recruiting for Fanlore Social Media & Outreach Volunteers, Policy & Abuse Volunteers, and

Posted by an

https://www.transformativeworks.org/the-otw-is-recruiting-for-fanlore-social-media-outreach-volunteers-policy-abuse-volunteers-and-communications-tiktok-moderators/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=265893

Are you interested in social media, community management or outreach? Or would you like to assist AO3 users by resolving complaints? Do you want to create videos and connect with fellow fans on TikTok? The Organization for Transformative Works is recruiting!

We’re excited to announce the opening of applications for:

Fanlore Social Media & Outreach Volunteer – closing 16 July 2025 at 23:59 UTC or after 40 applications
Policy & Abuse Volunteer – closing 16 July 2025 at 23:59 UTC
Communications TikTok Moderator – closing 16 July 2025 at 23:59 UTC or after 60 applications

We have included more information on each role below. Open roles and applications will always be available at the volunteering page. If you don’t see a role that fits with your skills and interests now, keep an eye on the listings. We plan to put up new applications every few weeks, and we will also publicize new roles as they become available.

All applications generate a confirmation page and an auto-reply to your e-mail address. We encourage you to read the confirmation page and to whitelist our email address in your e-mail client. If you do not receive the auto-reply within 24 hours, please check your spam filters and then contact us.

If you have questions regarding volunteering for the OTW, check out our Volunteering FAQ.

Fanlore Social Media & Outreach Volunteer

Do you have an interest in fandom history, or in fannish culture and the different tropes, ships, communities and viewpoints that make up fandom? Are you interested in social media, community management or outreach? The Fanlore committee is recruiting for Social Media & Outreach volunteers!

Fanlore Social Media & Outreach volunteers are responsible for writing and editing Fanlore’s promotional posts on social media, planning and running Fanlore’s editing challenges, maintaining Fanlore’s social media channels, and thinking of ways to reach out to and engage with new corners of fandom.

No extensive experience required—only reliability, teamwork, good communication skills, and an interest in fandom and Fanlore in particular. Join us!

As part of our application process, candidates who pass the initial review will also be asked to create a sample social media post for Fanlore consisting of a 280-character tweet and a 100-word Tumblr post promoting a Fanlore article. Further directions will be given upon applying.

Applications are due 16 July 2025 or after 40 applications

Apply for Fanlore Social Media & Outreach Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.

Policy & Abuse Volunteer

The Policy & Abuse committee (PAC) is responsible for addressing questions and concerns about potential violations of the AO3 Terms of Service. We determine whether reports are about legitimate violations of the Terms of Service, and what to do about them if they are. PAC volunteers correspond directly with AO3 users and collaborate on projects both within PAC and with other OTW committees.

Our main goals as a committee are:

to adhere to the AO3 Terms of Service
to make our reasoning and processes as clear and transparent as possible
to handle all user reports consistently, no matter which volunteer is doing the work
to keep every case we work on completely confidential

We are seeking people who can:

Commit to working on cases regularly
Be patient with rephrasing explanations
Ask for help when needed
Collaborate both inside the team and with other committees
Act in accordance with established rules, policies, and procedures
Treat confidentiality and user privacy as a priority

You must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. While English proficiency is required, we welcome applicants who are fluent in other languages, especially Spanish (Español), Brazilian Portuguese (Português brasileiro), Russian (Русский), Chinese (中文), or Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia).

Applications are due 16 July 2025

Apply for Policy & Abuse Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.

Communications TikTok Moderator

Do you use TikTok? Do you like making videos? Do you want to connect with your fellow fans?

OTW TikTok Moderators create content for the OTW TikTok account, including drafting scripts, recording and editing videos, and reviewing other moderators’ scripts and videos. Moderators address user comments on videos by responding to user questions, removing comments that violate our policies, and flagging comments for video topics. Moderators also try to regularly engage with fandom on TikTok by interacting with relevant, appropriate videos and liking, reposting, and/or commenting.

You must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. We are looking for volunteers familiar with TikTok and passionate about outreach on the platform. They should be able to maintain a consistent level of work, collaborate inside the team and with other committees, ask for help when needed, and commit to making fair decisions about how to handle comments.

Applications are due 16 July 2025 or after 60 applications

Apply for Communications TikTok Moderator at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.

https://www.transformativeworks.org/the-otw-is-recruiting-for-fanlore-social-media-outreach-volunteers-policy-abuse-volunteers-and-communications-tiktok-moderators/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=265893

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(no subject)

Summer of Horror has one post-deadline pinch hit remaining. The deadline is July 11 at 11:59 PM EDT or negotiable. Minimums are 500 words or a nice sketch. Claiming and further info is at the post here.

PH 3 - FIC, ART - Psychonauts (Video Games), Higurashi no Naku Koro ni | Higurashi When They Cry, Umineko no Naku Koro ni | When the Seagulls Cry, Mortal Kombat (Video Games 1992-2020)

US mail stamps alert

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Torchwood: Fanfic: SUV-mersible

Title: SUV-mersible
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,644 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Written for Challenge 484 - Science
Summary: Jack has a surprise for Ianto.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: excited

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Dear Author Letter (Black Emporium 2025 Exchange)

(A letter for Dragon Age: Black Emporium (2025) Exchange)

Hello, Dear Creator!

I'm so glad we were matched! Below you'll find information about my likes and dislikes, as well as some prompts for each requested relationship, in case you need some inspiration. I hope you'll find the letter helpful!

My general likes and dislikes:

LIKES: fluff, hurt/comfort, humour, action/adventure, friendships, found families, fics about asexuality/asexual characters, AUs (especially library/bookshop!AU, flower shop!AU, werewolf!AU, space!AU) and happy endings.

DO NOT WANTS: Rape/non-con, queerphobia, genderbend, slavery/slavery au, A/B/O, pregnancies/kid!fic, character/ship bashing, incest, underage, abusive relationships presented as romantic, infidelity, harming/death of animals (including hunting etc.), heavy angst without happy ending, graphic torture, unrequited love/Hanahaki Disease, de-aging/ageplay, historical AUs, soulmate!AU, major character death/death!fic, break up!fic, amnesia!fic, mentioning pairings not listed, 1st/2nd person POV, any variation of the word "come" spelled as "cum", word "panties".
Please, no background ships.

DRAGON AGE specific DO NOT WANTS: Cullen Rutherford and Cullen ships appearing, siding with templars/templar apologists, Chantry-positivity/Chantry apologists, Solas/Inquisitor, Alistair/Warden, female!Hawke, Fenris/Isabela, Carver/Merrill, straight!Dorian, bisexual!Dorian, straight!Sera, bisexual!Sera, Anders bashing, Fenris bashing, Bull’s Chargers being dead.

I have no preference for the Warden's/Inquistor's/Rook's origin or class, if you choose to include them in the fic (unless otherwise specified), but for Hawke, I prefer m!Hawke, please. I prefer default names for the Warden and the Inquisitor. As for Hawke, I have preference for Garrett Hawke specifically.

Requested relationships (in alphabetical order):

( Blackwall/Dorian Pavus )

( Blackwall/Nathaniel Howe )

( Bran Cavin/Male Hawke )

( Carver Hawke/The Iron Bull )

( Cole/Raleigh Samson )

( Connor Guerrin/Male Trevelyan )

( Cremisius Aclassi/Blackwall )

( Cremisius Aclassi/Rylen )

( Dorian Pavus/Sutherland )

( Herren/Wade )

( Lacklon/Roland )

( Lucanis Dellamorte/Emmrich Volkarin )

( Lucanis Dellamorte/Spite/Emmrich Volkarin )

( Male Adaar/Raleigh Samson )

( Male Adaar/Rylen )

( Male Amell/Daveth )

( Male Amell/Zevran Arainai/Loghain Mac Tir )

( Male Caron/Varel )

( Male Lavellan/Sutherland )

( Zevran Arainai/Carver Hawke )

That would be all, I believe. And again, thank you so much for signing up for the exchange. I already can't wait to see your work!

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rules

rules reminder

From the rules:

Original characters: Original characters are not eligible for nomination in this exchange. If you wish to explore a character's backstory (their romantic or sexual history for example), nominate them using the SOLO: name (fandom) format, and include an explanation in your prompts when you sign up.

If you nominated OCs, please edit those nominations accordingly, and we'll get them approved right away! Thanks a lot.

Focusmate

Using focusmate is good for me, not just at the getting started but having 50min sessions with a begin and an end means that I have little breaks, I stretch and I drink water. Also I work better, and I'm less likely to disappear down that rabbit hole and emerge later into daylight, blinking and going "what do you mean 100 years have passed?"

Nice things on focusmate

Seeing the same people pop up again & again and realising that they have added me as a favourite.
Someone told me that my room looked like a prose. English was not their first language, and I was delighted with the compliment. Someone else asked me if my room was a fake background. I said 'no, real' and they looked very suspicious.
Yesterday I spent half-an-hour watching a guy mediate on screen. He draped a towel over his head.