aidenfire | Reading

Ugh, daylight savings, why are we still doing this???

Anyway, I got up at my usual workday time instead of sleeping in so I could get the onions in the slow cooker, and I did both the "soak onions in cold water in the fridge for 15 minutes" and wore the stupid onion goggles, and still by the 4th onion my eyes were extremely unhappy with me. *hands* Thankfully I only had 6 onions total, so it all got done, and for dinner I made French onion pasta as planned, and now I have dinner for 3 more days as well. I do love this pasta dish - and I always use bucatini, which is one of my favorite pasta shapes, so it was pleasing all around. Every time I make it after not having made in a while, I'm like, why don't I make this more often!? and then I remember the onion-slicing and how annoying it is. Anyway, definitely recommended for a delicious and easy dinner (except for the onion-slicing). I also made bacon so I have lunch for the week also.

I meant to mention this yesterday and forgot, but The Mountain Goats collaborated with Mary Chapin Carpenter to cover World Party: Put the Message in the Box (don't worry if you only recognize one or two of those names - the song is good!).

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Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Put the Message in the Box - Mary Chapin Carpenter & the Mountain Goats

ineptshieldmaid

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musesfool

Went to the office yesterday and as much as I enjoyed seeing so many of my co-workers, almost no work got done. it is just not a good use of time if they want us to be productive. Since it's an open office and we are all sitting together with no walls between us, we just chat and jump into each other's conversations and people stop by and also join in, and it's great for socializing but most of my work is stuff that requires concentration and quiet, which is in short supply at the office. But the anniversary celebration is a lot of fun and I probably won't have to attend another one for 4 more years. *g*

Our next in-office day is in late April, and I floated the idea of maybe bringing in baked goods, so I'm already considering what recipe I might choose to make, since I can experiment.

Today, I made these orange shortbread cookies and they're good, though I would zest another orange (I did 2 this time) if I make them again. Also I didn't sift the flour and instead of rolling out the dough and using cookie cutters, I rolled it into a log and just sliced them (after chilling), since they are just for me so there was no need to get fancy.

I also planned to caramelize onions overnight in the slow cooker, but then I ended up engrossed in F.D. Signifier's Tyler Perry video (which is FOUR HOURS long - I have one hour left but I'm taking a break to watch the WBC) and didn't end up doing the slicing I need to do, so I figure I'll do it in the morning, let them slow cook for most of the day, and then make French onion pasta for dinner. Anyway, I have never seen a Tyler Perry movie or show, but F.D. Signifier's videos are always worth watching.

So yeah, I've been sort of paying attention to the WBC and why is the "S" in USA like a strip of curly bacon on the Team USA jersey??? Once I saw it I couldn't unsee it. Also so many of these unis could be cool and yet so many of them are just meh. Design fail, Nike! Come on! Also, I might be rooting for the DR since Juan Soto is on that team; if Lindor were in it, I'd probably be rooting for Puerto Rico. Though of course I was pleased for Clay Holmes just now, and will be interested to see Nolan McLean pitch.

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Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: USA vs Great Britain on tv

resonant

( Cut for pet death )

china_shop

Previous poll review
In the spam SPAM spam poll, 52% of respondents only check their spam folder when they're looking for a specific thing, 30% check it maybe once a month, 10% weekly, and 8% daily. (This question was inspired by gmail sending multiple emails in the middle of threads to spam, wtf.)

In ticky-boxes, blanket cocoons and comfort food came second to hugs, 62% to 74%. Judgy koalas came third with 56%. Thank you for your votes! ♥

Reading
I read Courtney Milan's The Earl Who Isn't, which was just as enjoyable at the others in the series. Her kissing and UST are excellent, and I love everyone in Wedgeford.

Bounced off Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfield, with prejudice. (That was one of my library books.) The first "chapter" (of three in the entire book) was a blow-by-blow account of working backstage at SNL; the second "chapter" (which I flicked through) was lockdown correspondence. I didn't like either of the characters.

I don't know what I'm reading next. Or listening to on my own. But Andrew and I have about 2.5 hours left in Barrayar.

Kdramas
Oh no, I finished One Spring Night and kind of... went back to the beginning and started it again. With occasional diversions into Something in the Rain (which ha, is by the same writer, as well as having vast numbers of cast members in common, so that explains that). At some point I'll emerge from this Jung Hae In fever dream and start something else.

Pru and I finished Family by Choice (I LOVE IT SO MUCH), and next week we're starting Love Scout (\o/).

Other TV
We're on the final disk of extras for Return of the King, and that'll be it. It's stressful seeing the last-minute absolute chaos behind the scenes, but also kind of magical. Still going on The Pitt, and we've watched a couple of episodes of Dinosaur, a UK sitcom about two sisters, one of whom is autistic. I like it!

Got a few things lined up: new seasons of The Lincoln Lawyer and Dark Winds, more Scavengers Reign, there were probably some other things, idk.

Audio entertainment
Writing Excuses, some Better Offline, some What Matters Most (chatty general life psychology/advice), Cross Party Lines (local politics), Letters from an American (just a few /o\), Heaving Bosoms (chatty recaps of romance novels, just for something relaxing to put in my ears), Movie Briefs (lawyers talk about law movies, ditto).

Online life
*hugs you all, so much*

...

Writing/making things
My Yuletide treat is at beta at last. \o/ Now I've started in on my Yuletide assignment fic, unfinished at 7k words. I'm imposing a new structure on it to see if that might make it more finishable. No drawing practice.

Life/health/mental state things
Idk, I'm okay. Getting some things done, at least. Getting a fair amount of sleep and exercise. Doing righteous battle with my health insurer. Spending too much time tweaking my new phone to make it behave how I want.

Goals
This week: make a batch of vegetarian dumplings, make a mini quiche in the air fryer. All my goals are food, hi!

Good things
Sunshine. Helpful, supportive people. The 520 Day Guardian Reverse Exchange is coming soon! Kitty. New phone is mostly behaving itself. We went to a delightfully geeky talk about dragonflies.

Poll #34329 Being an audience

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 46

View Respondents

In the last six months, I've been (in person) to

View Answers

cinema
19 (41.3%)

theatre
13 (28.3%)

live music gig
8 (17.4%)

ballet
1 (2.2%)

opera
2 (4.3%)

sports game
2 (4.3%)

other
5 (10.9%)

ticky-box full of bakery treats
28 (60.9%)

ticky-box full of keeping a paper appointment diary
9 (19.6%)

ticky-box full of rambling around the podcast 'verse getting your ears dirty
8 (17.4%)

ticky-box full of softly squishable snow puppies snuggling in a heap
22 (47.8%)

ticky-box full of hugs to you all <3 <3 <3
34 (73.9%)

musesfool

Work has been intensely busy these past few days, and tomorrow I have to go into the office because Assistant J is getting a pin for being with the organization for 5 years (even though it's more like six and a half at this point, but no one wants to hear my rant about how anniversaries work again), and I never get much done when I'm in, so we'll see what happens. I do have to take all my tax paperwork and scan it for my accountant. This is much later than usual, eep.

*

Shrinking: Dereks Don't Die
( spoiler )

*

Lost Recipes was a really good read "about the legal and logistical barriers arrayed against people trying to archive rap media." to quote the email from Defector that included the link. It made me think about how despite its many, many issues (about which I have heard no news of progress at all, btw), the OTW is doing that work for this section of media fandom, and how important that work is (and how no one else was gonna do it). There's already so much that's gone, and that impacts how our stories get contextualized and passed on (thinking of all the thinkpieces on Heated Rivalry that only reference yaoi and animanga fandom and not Western media fandom, for example) and whatever place in the larger history of media and fandom this corner of it might have. Idk. I do recommend reading that post though, even if you're not a rap fan.

*

Current Mood: melancholy
Current Music: Falling - Florence + the Machine

elrhiarhodan

Title: From All The Spaces Between Times
Chapter: Chapter 74 — The Winds Blowing Now Are the Winds That Blew Then Too
Author:

elrhiarhodan /

elrhiarhodan
Fandom: Star Wars, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars — Obi Wan Kenobi (TV), Star Wars — Jedi Apprentice Books
Characters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, The Force as a Sentient Character, Watto, Quinlan Vos, Padmé Amidala, Sabé, Darth Maul, Yoda, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, Quinlan Vos, Professor Huyang, The Force, Plo Koon, Vokara Che, Siri Tachi, Aayla Secura, Bant Eerin, Bruck Chun, Xanatos du Crion, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Hego Damask II | Darth Plagueis, Komari Vosa, Bail Prestor Organa, Breha Organa, Bail Antilles Prestor, Rael Averross, Nim Piana, Ahsoka Tano, Sifo-Dyas, Reva Sevander, Lene Kostana (mentioned), Savage Opress, Pong Krell, The Traitor, Original Characters, Other Characters To Be Added
Pairings: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Shmi Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon Jinn (yes, we’re arrived). Bail Prestor Organa/Breha Organa
Word Count: ~ 4000 this chapter
Spoilers: None
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: None

Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi has never known it, but he has always been the Force’s Champion, destined to suffer infinite sadness in defense of the Light. On his last turn on the wheel, responsibility for The Chosen One, the false child of prophecy, had been thrust upon him with no warning, and Darkness held the upper hand.

But this time, the Force has marshaled its power and will protect its Champion until the time is right, no matter how long Obi-Wan has to wait and how much he has to suffer.

Or,

Obi-Wan is reborn as a twelve-year old.

He wakes up on a slavers’ ship, with all of his prior life’s memories intact, and he’s bound for Tatooine with a Force-inhibitor collar around his neck, a bomb implanted in his spine, and no way of knowing what state of the Galaxy is in.

Just another day in the life of the Force’s Champion.

Chapter Summary:

Quinlan Vos returns to the Temple with the Tython-One and the High Council can confirm that it was a Temple Guard who planted the transmitter, and that the Guard is Fallen and thinks of himself as a Sith.

And so the search for the Traitor begins.

From All The Spaces Between Times: Chapter 74 — The Winds Blowing Now Are the Winds That Blew Then Too (On AO3)

( Meta — The Winds Blowing Now Are the Winds That Blew Then Too )

devilc

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kass

I wrote a trio of Stardew ficlets for PeacePangolin for

purimgifts. (And the images I shared along with them are simple re-colorings of in-game images; I am chagrined now to see the kinds of beautiful things people created, and I will need to level up before next year!) Anyway: here's what I wrote.

1. Sam (373 words) by Kass
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sam/Sebastian (Stardew Valley)
Characters: Sam (Stardew Valley)
Additional Tags: Collection: Purimgifts Day 1
Summary:

He can’t remember a time before he knew Sebastian.

2. Sebastian (443 words) by Kass
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sam/Sebastian (Stardew Valley)
Characters: Sebastian
Additional Tags: Purimgifts day 2
Summary:

Nevermind I’m going to delete all of this and start over.

3. Abigail (401 words) by Kass
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sam/Sebastian (Stardew Valley)
Characters: Abigail (Stardew Valley)
Additional Tags: Collection: Purimgifts Day 3

ineptshieldmaid

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kass

My final

purimgifts fic and collage are Lady Astronaut ones again -- absolutely lovely. Thank you so much, Mystery Author! You have brightened my Purim a ton.

2329 Days (329 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Lady Astronaut Series - Mary Robinette Kowal
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Elma York, Nathaniel York, Jean-Paul Lebourgeois, Estevan Terrazas
Additional Tags: Canon Jewish Character, Canon Compliant, Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Outer Space
Summary:

A moment of prayer for when Elma sees the stars

kass

Once again my mystery creator has given me a gorgeous basket of mishloach manot, this time featuring fic and art for The Diplomat.

First Impressions (709 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Diplomat (US TV 2023)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Kate Wyler, Hal Wyler, Frances Munning, Pensey, Eidra Park
Additional Tags: Collection: Purimgifts Day 2, First Meetings, Canon Compliant
Summary:

Pensey, Mrs. Munning, & Eidra meet Kate for the first time

devilc

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devilc

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devilc

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goodbyebird

+ Very much had a plan to tidy my bedroom 100%, but then my dryer was like, "nah I'm not going to function" and I derailed completely. There's a couple more things I want to try to see if I can get it sorted, but if not I'll have to call for a repairperson ugh.

...so today I'm focused on cleaning the visible parts of my apartment instead lol.

+ Actually had lunch with a few of my friends today. It's been a while. Like, I didn't manage to meet a single one of them properly before Christmas even. How they all put up with a shut in like myself all these years, I just couldn't tell you. We tried a new noodle place, the food was excellent, I tried a marinated egg for the first time, and we were all laughing and enjoying ourselves.

One of my friends had helped clear out an apartment a couple of days ago, and when she saw the official and un-official guides for The X-Files in the donations box, she decided to grab them for me instead. Very sweet of her, and funny considering she did not know I'd just started watching s1 again.

+ Since AO3 seems to be fairly unstable atm I got some requests to do a new round of

ao3_isdown, so come on over.

+ I've been fiddling with the idea for

fannishtarot and running a Make Your Own Fandom Tarot event for a good long while now, gathering some quotes and such here and there. I think it would be such a rewarding way to deep dive into the tarot and also your own fandom(s) and fannish inclinations. Like, who or what would The Fool be to you in your chosen fandom? I think it'd be an excellent way to internalize a bunch of significators, etc. But I am not getting that started until I have a bunch more prep under my belt lol. I'd basically have to amass six months of posts beforehand, to make room for work schedules, travel, the occasional downtime/brain crash.

But it would be SO cool. I just hope some people will join in.

+ My Dune tarot will be arriving tomorrow, and I'd love to play with it a bunch. Let me know in the comments if you want me to do one of the book's spreads for you.

Current Music: The Echo Friendly - Same Mistakes

kass

Happy Purim, and happy

purimgifts!

I got the most glorious fic (and image collage) -- this feels like it could be an outtake from the actual books, and that's high praise.

Hamentaschen (438 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Lady Astronaut Series - Mary Robinette Kowal
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Elma York/Nathaniel York
Characters: Elma York, Nathaniel York
Additional Tags: Canon Jewish Character, Baking, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Canon Compliant, Collection: Purimgifts Day 1
Summary:

Elma makes Hamentaschen for the first time after the meteor.

ineptshieldmaid

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musesfool

I really enjoyed this season of Bridgerton despite being mostly indifferent to Benedict as a character. Yerin Ha as Sophie was everything - I really hope this launches her into a long, bright career. ( spoilers )

In other fannish news, I saw some folks on bsky discussing who the best lightsaber duelist is in Star Wars, and since I didn't really know the people being quoted, I took myself to tumblr to post about it. I also texted my eldest nephew, who is the biggest Anakin and Obi-Wan fan I know (which, given some of the fangirls I know, is saying something) and his knee-jerk response was Anakin*. Which is the wrong answer, so we argued back and forth a bit, and he came around to my way of thinking that it has to be Obi-Wan, even though we never see him go up against Palpatine or Mace Windu (who may have beaten Palpatine if not for Anakin).

I did see people saying Ahsoka, because she survives Maul, Vader, and very briefly, Palpatine, but as much as I love her, she survives and escapes. She doesn't win. The list of Obi-Wan's duels is extensive and no one ever even lays a blade on him that I recall (though he doesn't beat Dooku, which was an argument my nephew made, and Anakin eventually does) until he puts up his saber and lets Vader kill him. Like, is Obi-Wan destroyed emotionally and psychologically by dueling with Anakin? One hundred percent! But he still wins until not winning is the best way to win in the long-term.

*I think you can make a case for him when he's Vader, but even then, Obi-Wan beats him on Mustafar and he only wins on the Death Star because Obi-Wan lets him. In the OWK show, he maybe sets Obi-Wan on fire a little but Obi-Wan takes no real damage in any of their fights until the Death Star.

*

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: The Sweetest Thing - u2

goodbyebird

+ I may be somewhat trying to cope with the Horrors by making a big purchase, but I done did it: I ordered those oracles and the workbook I was eying + a tarot deck that spoke to me very loudly and was limited in quantities. Hopefully it doesn't take too long before it arrives so I can dip in before it's back off to work. Tomorrow's big plan is tidying and washing my entire bedroom, laundring the curtains, and set up a nice altar space on the top of my dressing commode.

+ Finished Fallout s2 and I'm happy with how their storylines turned out.( spoilery comment ) There was a small cut scene at the end in case anybody missed that.

+ Steam NEXT Fest is happening, and as usual I've managed to try next to nothing. Two big recommends: Esoteric Ebb and All Will Rise. They're both text-heavy, your choices matter kind of games. I'm gonna try to get a game in of Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes, Wax Heads, Above The Snow, WOODROT, I'm Making A Monster, Dosa Divas, Bookbinding, Twilight Imperium, and the new Moomintroll entry before the time runs out (in that order). 100% I'm going to fail at that.

btw how I loathe having to keep my enthusiasm in check until I've had a scroll to look for AI usage.

+ Why all science fiction and fantasy writers are historians by Ada Palmer.

+ The SEA Is Whose?, Ethnic Entanglements in Southeast Asian SFF, an essay.

+ European bison arrive in the Iberian Highlands for the first time.

+ Botswana shows how smarter cattle herding can save lions, reopen ancient wildlife pathways.

+

youtuberecs is a fun community I just became aware of!

+ Soda Blonde released a new song/video, Suit & Tie, and I dig em both. Weird women in suits on the moors. Mud. Pretty horsie. What's not to like.

+ Forbrukerrådet is a Norwegian consumer council that's focused on making sure customers are treated fairly and not scammed, etc. Big big fan. And they've just released an ad on enshittifaction that is top notch.

Watch on YouTube

Profile

aidenfire

May 2012

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Page Summary

musesfool - see the world in just one grain of sand
ineptshieldmaid - Fic! Incomplete fic, but fic nonetheless
musesfool - that wasn't a no
resonant - Cat farewell
china_shop - Me-and-media update
musesfool - When I'm falling I'm at peace
elrhiarhodan - Star Wars Fic and Meta - From All The Spaces Between Times - Chapter 74
devilc - The Horrors Persist ... But So Do We
kass - Purimgifts reveal
ineptshieldmaid - Annotated Reclist: Heated Rivalry: fic that breaks with fanon trends in some way
kass - One final Purim rec
kass - Another fabulous Purimgifts gift!
devilc - A Blessed Purim to those who celebrate
devilc - Keep Minoan Miss in your thoughts
devilc - What Have I gotten myself into?
goodbyebird - In my defense,
kass - For me!
ineptshieldmaid - Weddings, romance novels, etc: this feels like a load-bearing Post
musesfool - she won't catch me or break my fall
goodbyebird - to me, we are all bonita.

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