ride_4ever | Reading

My first attempt to make an actual, thought out, long form comic and what an experience. We are currently only at script stage (done woo!!!) but a terrible fact that I have realized is that I now have to learn how to draw Bob Fraser.
Pencil sketch of Ray Vecchio in a hat next to Bob Fraser

Pencil sketch of Ray Vecchio in a hat next to Bob Fraser

Current Mood: rejuvenated
Current Music: Mr Blue Sky

spikedluv

This was another long day. I had to be at mom’s by 7:30am so my sister S could go to work. My sister A had to decorate for Ian’s graduation party tomorrow, and S attended the graduation of her step-grandson. (Not as long a day as yesterday, though – sister A showed up at 5:30pm to relieve me.) As I’ve said, I don’t mind BEING there, because I can be on my computer or read, but it gives me anxiety to not be home where I can get chores done, or go shopping. Thankfully, I did get some stuff done before I left the house today.

I stopped at Stewart’s for milk after dropping Grant off at the garage. I threw a load of laundry into the washer, hand-washed dishes, cooked hot dogs for Pip to heat up for supper, stirred together two cabbage salads for Ian’s graduation party (one with pineapple and one without to put on pulled pork sandwich if they want to do so) and scooped kitty litter. (I also had to cut up chicken for the dogs’ supper and pack my ‘lunch bag’.) (As you might imagine, it felt like I was running a race to get all of this done before I left to relieve my sister.) When I got home I tossed the wet clothes into the dryer, did up more dishes, and took a shower before I sat on the bed with a towel wrapped around my hair to decompress a bit.

I finished the current Amelia Peabody and started a new book, and took a short nap (which was just enough to reinvigorate me, rather than leave me lethargic).

Temps started out at 58.8(F) and reached an unknown high; it was 66.4 at 6pm when I got home. It was overcast all day, but I felt lucky we hadn’t had the forecasted rain, which then came in late afternoon. Thankfully it had finished before I needed to carry all my bags out to the car.

Mom Update:

Mom seemed tired when I arrived. I think yesterday’s activity took a lot out of her. ( more back here )

ysabetwordsmith

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Do people in wealthier countries have a moral obligation to help those in poorer countries?

If you want to hold all the money, you have to pay all the bills. If you don't want to pay all the bills, make sure other folks have enough money to pay their own.

Also, there is no Planet B. Climate change affects everyone -- but the people in wealthy countries who are causing it have thus far suffered less than people in poor countries who haven't caused it. If you don't make it feasible for them to stay in their own countries, they will leave so they don't die, and wash up in wealthy countries. This is already happening some, but you have seen nothing yet. It will be like the waves of the sea beating the shore, over and over again, until people think they would give anything to make it stop. And then it will stop. And then people will wish, just as desperately, to have that many people ever again as the losses pile up and there aren't enough hands left to hold up civilization.

Current Mood: busy

dine

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ysabetwordsmith

I have made bingo down the G column of my 6-2-15 card for the Pride Fest Bingo, plus 7 extra fills. That covers Row 5 also.

G1 (support) -- "Fatherhood Is Support" (standalone)
G2 (aroace) -- "Preparing Every Nook and Cranny" (Polychrome Heroics: Finn Family and Mallory)
G3 (found family) -- "Born and Found and Made" (standalone)
G4 ("I'd rather eat cake") -- "The Bond with a Dog" (Polychrome Heroics)
G5 (belonging) -- "Worthy of Love and Belonging" (Polychrome Heroics: Kraken)

B3 (activism) -- "The Result of Your Own Bad Behavior" (Monster House)
B5 (unlabeled) -- "Emodox" (A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows)

I3 (rainbow) -- "Along These Sympathetic Fibers" (Peculiar Obligations)
I5 (community) -- "When Warmth and Gentleness Are Needed" (Clay of Life)

N1 (growth) -- "Tomato Seedlings in Tin Cans" (Daughters of the Apocalypse)
N5 (comfort) -- "All It Takes to Be Invulnerable" (Polychrome Heroics: Marionettes)

O5 (validation) -- "Choose to Be Gentle" (Arts and Crafts America)

Current Mood: accomplished

settiai

In tonight's game, ( the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off.

Current Mood: accomplished

petra

I ran across this Tumblr post about being entitled to financial compensation for having a visceral reaction to hearing "Carry On My Wayward Son" in public, and I made a silly addition, as one does.

Then something stirred in my deep memory and I remembered I'd made the joke I'd just made before.

Here, this is from my gdocs. It's the first two-and-a-bit pages of a story I wrote in 2012. I have no idea what the plot was going to be.

Title: PTSD Reaction to Sarah McLachlan (abandoned WIP)
Fandom: due South
Pairing: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Rating: Teen and up
Summary: It took Ray two weeks on the trail to feel like if Fraser got abducted by aliens, he wouldn't necessarily die within the next ten minutes.
Notes: This is my experiment with writing a post-Call of the Wild story and I chickened out right when the plot kicks in, but the RayK voice makes me happy.

( It took Ray two weeks on the trail to feel like if Fraser got abducted by aliens, he wouldn't necessarily die within the next ten minutes. It wasn't the best feeling he'd ever had in his life, that dependence on somebody else for stuff like what to eat and how to pee without freezing off the family jewels, but he got used to it, worked through it, and got to thinking about how Fraser'd been depending on him and Vecchio for years for Chicago survival stuff. That thought took the edge off of the sheer unadulterated what the fuck of the Arctic. )

Current Mood: cold boy summer
Current Music: I'll take your breath away

sovay

After many travails and an extra plague year in transit, the latest of the Paleozoic Pals has made landfall from the Carboniferous.

My father adores his Diplocaulus salamandroides. My niece has been sent a picture of hers with its accompanying book, to be held in trust until her next visit. My mother has been presented with its enamel pin form, which is done in bands of lighter and darker purple instead of newt-like red and black. I had forgotten entirely about the stretch bonus of Bandringa rayi, whose spoonbill suggests the Amazon river dolphin of the Pennsylvanian period. I really am invested in the continued existence of the Paleontological Research Institution, which is one of the reasons I have gladly thrown in to its Kickstarters for almost ten years. The present being so very full of horror and stupidity, it is important that it can also produce such snuggable plush of the past.

Current Music: Soul Asylum, "Somebody to Shove"

senmut

1992, drawing ever closer to adulthood, pushing my boundaries with friends and lovers... Let's look at the cinema of that year? 24 films, and that was leaving several I saw completely off. Hmm. Okay, time to be choosy. Ten highlights.

~ Kuffs - Christian Slater was allowed to go ham with this one, and it was just fun. If you like Fourth Wall breaks, check it out.
~ My Cousin Vinny - MARISA TOMEI. +swoons+ Yeah, no, that's what I've got. It's a fun movie, some beloved actors but HOT DAMN.
~ Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest - 2nd, I think of the three Mathis/Slater flicks. They both rocked their roles, but come on. Tim Curry was given license to OOZE through his villainy.
~ Sister Act - Witness in hiding, musical numbers, nuns being awesome? CHECK. I loved it. Sequel too.
~ A League of Their Own - Geena Davis. Lori Petty. Lots o' ladies being badass at what they do. HELL to the YEAH. Sweet, funny, sad by turns.
~ Rapid Fire - Brandon Lee got me to watch it. Powers Boothe made it worthwhile. I swear Brandon worked screen chemistry with every costar he ever had...
~ School Ties - anyone who doesn't think Brendan Fraser can ACT in addition to being hunky adorable and athletic? PLEASE GO WATCH THIS. Warning for all the antisemitism. It's the point of the movie, to shove it in your face and try to make you open your eyes.
~ Bram Stoker's Dracula - I don't care how unfaithful to the book it was, I actually enjoyed the tragic love story/reincarnation angle. And the movie is PRETTY.
~ Aladdin - Robin Williams. Period. That is the sole reason I enjoy this film so much, sorry, shallow.
~ The Muppet Christmas Carol - Did not quite bump the George C Scott one out of favorite position, but I still loved the hell out of it. Caine did well by the Muppets.

princessofgeeks

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Current Mood: quixotic

senmut

Finding a Cousin (1181 words) by Sharpest_Asp
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Original Half-Elf Character(s), Original Tiefling Character(s)
Additional Tags: Original Character(s) - Freeform, Family
Summary:

Draeden's a wandering tiefling, and is looking for a new adventuring party. What he finds is family.

Finding a Cousin

Draeden was actually impressed with the lack of attention given to him as he sauntered into Silverymoon to seek further opportunities. He completely understood why the most recent group had opted to go their own ways — humans and death-scares and all that — but it left him loose in the coin pouch to wander solely on his own.

His pale red skin and the twisting horns made it obvious he was of an often mistrusted species, and yet the squire had smiled and the two veteran guards had just nodded for him to proceed. Perhaps Silverymoon's reputation was warranted, or maybe they'd seen enough tieflings to know the odium was full of lies. It wasn't like he was a drow or something truly evil.

An inn called the Rusty Blade was recommended from one of his now former comrades, and that was where he took himself to. It was the kind of place that ran a tavern on the main floor, with rooms above and below, as they catered to all races… and dwarves could be odd about sleeping above ground at times. He paid up front for a room for three nights, hired a bath, and asked after meal time.

If he didn't find a band in three days needing a man of his skills, he'd move on to Everlund. It was rumored Harpers were in and out of that city, and where Harpers were, adventure (and profit) waited.

Until the meal, though, he planned to soak the last week out of his skin, polish his horns, oil his chafing tail, and generally be a pampered tiefling as best he could do without a suitable companion to aid him.

The meal was good, Draeden decided, if a bit higher on root-vegetables than he normally went for. The high number of elves present in the city probably influenced more vegetation being eaten. The bard was passable, playing rather than singing, and no doubt catching whispers of conversation to use as fodder.

Then the music was drowned out as the door opened and a striking half-elf in skirts, sword belt, and a tunic that looked like it cost a lordling's seasonal tax walked in to great acclaim from the regulars.

"Saer Kolarven, do you have the word of the skirmish for us?" the bard called out over the hearty greetings and cheers.

"Indeed, but can a poor servant of the city gain stew and ale before I set my tongue to wagging for you all?" the fighter said, voice not doing anything more than the mix of clothes did to settle a gender for Draeden. He was already writing the person off as an unlikely lead on adventures, hearing that quip, but something dragged his attention back, studying more closely.

Detail by detail, Draeden flicked through the clothing, the cut of hair and style of braids, the weapons, then the jewelry his keen eyes could make out —

— the teardrop dangling earring on one side. The glint and faceting was something native to Draeden's own family region, a particular way of working common stones into something pretty. It was an inexpensive bauble, so was out of place against the rest of Kolarven's garb.

When Kolarven finished eating the stew and theatrically took a massive drink of ale, Draeden caught the ripple of amusement that indicated this was common for the Knight. Listening to the pattern of speech, the inflections, all said 'elf-raised', but Draeden couldn't stop thinking that earring had significance.

He shifted at his table, raising his own mug in cheers to the final words of the tale of ending an orc raid, and made eye-contact, using every trick of his presence to make the Knight notice him. When Kolarven started moving through the people, gripping shoulders and quipping a few words with those they knew, Draeden saw the passage was aimed at his table, and half-smiled.

"Always up for new people catching my eye," Kolarven said as they dropped onto the bench beside Draeden.

"Well-met, saer," Draeden said in a friendly voice. "Draeden. Couldn't help but admire your myrrhina stone, as that style of working is from my family's region."

Kolarven reached up to touch the earring, eyes widening. "Might you know many of the families of that region?" they asked, reaching for casual and falling short. "Always meant to wander that way, but duty called me here."

"And why would you wander in that direction? Naught but farmers and stone-work," Draeden said. "One reason I venture out so far from there.

"But yes, I know most of the families, as there aren't many that don't tie back to mine in some way. On my mother's side, anyway."

Kolarven waved for a refill, for them both, and settled more on the bench. Prying ears and eyes turned away at some shift of the posture, and Draeden decided he could get used to a city that knew when to mind its own business.

"It was said that my father was from there, a man that adventured, and had unfinished business when his wounds had healed under my mother's care," Kolarven said, reciting a tale told to them no doubt. "A pair of these myrrhina stones were given to her, and when I came of age, she gave one to me."

"Know you his name?" Draeden asked, even as he felt a prickle of kinship. His own mother had been a wanderer and that was how she'd wooed a tiefling for his father. It seemed to run in the blood, to seek adventure and those least like themselves.

"He gave it as Thom of Hemslon, from that region, to her."

"Then we are kin, for Thom was my own mother's cousin," Draeden said, amused. "Fate steered me well, to know I have a gifted fighter for cousin in these lands."

"You say 'was' and while I know he was human — " Kolarven searched Draeden's face, and sighed at what was there.

"The unfinished business for a family matter, and another cousin dug the grave," Draeden said in sympathy. "He'd mentioned an elf lass, but the family did not know where."

Kolarven bowed their head a moment, then looked up with resolution at knowing. "At least I know then that he did mean to return but could not."

"That would be truth, for none of Hemslon let family be left behind, when it is known," Draeden promised. "I've sent two of my own children and their mothers back to have lives there. No doubt, they'll wander as I have, once they tire of soil and rock."

Kolarven laughed brightly at that. "I've none of my own, but should I meet yours, I'll treat them well, for we are family!"

Draeden raised his mug to that, and they both drank deeply.

"What brings you here?" Kolarven asked after.

"Looking for new adventures, and people to share them," Draeden answered honestly.

"Then I will have to introduce you to some of my friends… and hope you come here from time to time and share the tales!"

"I think, cousin, I will enjoy making Silverymoon a frequent resting place."

ysabetwordsmith

Our theme this month was "Gentleness Is Strength." I wrote from 12:30 PM to 4 AM, so about 13 hours 30 minutes, allowing for lunch and supper breaks. I wrote 6 poems on Tuesday and another 5 later in the week.

Participation was variable, with 11 comments on LiveJournal and another 30 on Dreamwidth. A total of 10 people sent prompts.

Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the June 3, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"All It Takes to Be Invulnerable"
"The Bond with a Dog"
"Choose to Be Gentle"
"Emodox"
"The Result of Your Own Bad Behavior"
"When Warmth and Gentleness Are Needed"

Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, see the unsold poetry list from June 3. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.

This session's donors include:

librarygeek and

janetmiles. All sponsored poems from this fishbowl have been posted. There are 3 tallies toward a bonus fishbowl.

The Poetry Fishbowl has a landing page.

Current Mood: accomplished

ysabetwordsmith

Today is cloudy, muggy, and hot. It's been raining off and on.

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

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 6/27/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

The first of the blackberry lilies is blooming. :D

.

Current Mood: busy

dine

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donutsweeper

The fifth season of Battleship is about to start. Freeform tag suggestions has closed and is being made into a final list while canon/pairing/character nominations continue. It's looking to be a huge exchange again this year, they've even put a hard cap of 280 signups in the rules. (Last year, when sign ups absolutely exploded, they debated closing early if they reached 280 but it ending up closing just shy of that which was still SO much more than earlier years. According to the AO3 profile pages-which will be vaguely but not 100% accurate for various reasons-it went from 63 signups in 2020 to 62 then 80 then 131 then 263). I'm always a little torn about Battleship, I love aspects of it, but some others are oooof. Apparently signups won't be on AO3 itself this year but via some kind of signup form and will be separate from the AO3 signup/prompt collection? But you have to do both? Or Something. IDK, hopefully it'll make more sense once it actually opens. We'll see how it goes.

Since my last post I finished the Use-Up-This-One-Stashed-Yarn afghan I'd been working on (I had to redo the border 4x to not lose at yarn chicken, but I succeeded eventually!) and made another rug. This time I tried something different with the rug and just followed a green->blue->brown order of adding new strips and didn't stress over making full rounds of any one color nor bothered to try to match up the runner with the color being knotted over it. The result was quite different, but I like it.

53”x42" give or take 'Vintage Lace' afghan

Three tshirt rug, 27” x 18” give or take

And, last but not least, 2 weeks of

recthething recs (Tumblr art for Batman, Discworld, Dungeon Meshi, Guardian, MDZS/Untamed, Sherlock Holmes-ACD, ST:TOS):

Batman (DCU)
- The Oracle’s hand (love the way the computer circuitry lines mimics spiderwebbing in this)

Discworld
- Nanny Ogg (love this art's take on her and the witches)

Delicious in Dungeon | Dungeon Meshi
- Farcille witch AU- nothing better than crafting potions with your gf (this is so cute)

Guardian
- Sleepy cats (absolutely adorable art of Da Qing sprawled over Zhao Yunlan with both sacked out, sleeping on the couch)

MDZS/The Untamed
- Lan Wanji's morning hair routine (hilarious comic)
- The Headshaker (The animation on the fan is incredible)
- I’ll settle for the ghost of you (this is jut gorgeous)
- when you’re starting to forget your soulmate’s face and there’s nothing you can do about it (oh ooof the feeling behind this one)

Sherlock Holmes- ACD
- doctor, soldier, poet, lover (wonderful set of Watson art, love the gun in the rain one in particular)

Star Trek: TOS
- Whale Song (love this ST IV: The Voyage Home art)

garonne

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sholio

( Spoilers )

petra

You Can't Keep Me From Singing by Gordon MacDonald, Jr., a filk of How Can I Keep From Singing.

Reproduced here so if Mudcat keeps being impossible to search, I can find it again:
( Whenever I begin to sing there's rising agitation )

Current Mood: roaring
Current Music: But I don't bargain with a mob