The Measure, by Nikki Erlick
Apr. 17th, 2026 10:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rachelmanija
One day every adult on Earth gets a box that contains a string that measures out the length of their life.
This premise seems designed in a lab to create a book to be read for book clubs, where everyone gets to discuss whether or not they'd open their box and how they'd react to a long or short string. It worked, too. And it is absolutely about the premise. Unfortunately, the book is bad: flat, dull, sappy, American in the worst possible way, and emotionally manipulative.
It follows multiple characters, all American, most New Yorkers, and all middle or upper class. Some get long strings. Some get short strings. The ones with short strings agonize over their short strings. The ones with long strings who are in relationships with people with short strings agonize over that.
One of them is black, a fact mentioned exactly once in the entire book, and one has a Hispanic name. One set is an old right-wing politician and his wife. But all of them have identical-sounding narrative voices. Other than the Hispanic-named dude, who is mostly concerned about job discrimination, and the politician, who just wants to exploit the issue, everyone is worried about having a relationship and children with someone who will die young/worried that they'll get dumped and not be able to have children because they'll die young.
Ultimately, isn't everything really about baaaaaabies? Shouldn't everyone have baaaaaaabies no matter what?
The book is so bland and flat. The strings are a metaphor for discrimination, as short stringers are discriminated against. It explores some other social issues, all extremely American like health insurance discrimination and mass shootings, but only peeks outside America for brief and stereotypical moments: North Korea mandates not opening the boxes, China mandates opening them, and in Italy hardly anyone opens their box because they already know what really matters: family. BARF FOREVER.
It was obvious going in that the origin of the boxes would never be explained, but no one even seemed curious about that. Once all adults have received them, they appear on your doorstep the night you turn 22. Video of this is fuzzy. No one parks themselves on the doorstep to see if they teleport in or what. No one has a paradigm-upending crisis over this absolute proof of God/aliens/time travel/magic/etc that the boxes represent. No one comes up with inventive ways to take advantage of the situation a la Death Note. No one is concerned that this proves predestination. No one wonders why they appeared now and what the motive of whoever put them there is.
The point that life is precious regardless of length is hammered in with a thousand sledgehammers, to the point where it felt like a bad self-help book in the form of a novel. The romances are flat and sappy. In the truly vomitous climax, someone pedals around on a bicycle with the stereo playing "Que Sera Sera" and it quotes the entire song.
It's only April but this will be hard to top as the worst book I read all year.
Teen Wolf, The Light in the Woods, by DiscontentedWinter
Apr. 17th, 2026 12:17 pmgoddess47 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fancakeFandom: Teen Wolf
Pairings/Characters: Stiles Stilinski/Derek Hale
Rating: PG
Length: 12K for the first story; 35K for the 5 stories series
Creator Links: DiscontentedWinter on AO3
Theme: Arranged Marriage
Content Notes:
Canon-typical violence
Summary:
To honour a treaty with the people of a strange land, Derek Hale, prince of the kingdom of Triskelion, has to marry Stiles.
Reccer's Notes:
A beautifully lyric and almost mystical work about an arranged marriage between Prince Stiles and Prince Derek where they have never met before the wedding and do not speak each other's language. What could have been either slapstick or tragic turns beautiful in DiscontentedWinter's hands... she shows us the beauty in learning about others and how the power of belief can stop armies.
The additional stories expand the world-building and show how two very different peoples can learn to live together.
Fanwork Links:
The Light in the Woods On AO3
Pairings/Characters: Stiles Stilinski/Derek Hale
Rating: PG
Length: 12K for the first story; 35K for the 5 stories series
Creator Links: DiscontentedWinter on AO3
Theme: Arranged Marriage
Content Notes:
Canon-typical violence
Summary:
To honour a treaty with the people of a strange land, Derek Hale, prince of the kingdom of Triskelion, has to marry Stiles.
Reccer's Notes:
A beautifully lyric and almost mystical work about an arranged marriage between Prince Stiles and Prince Derek where they have never met before the wedding and do not speak each other's language. What could have been either slapstick or tragic turns beautiful in DiscontentedWinter's hands... she shows us the beauty in learning about others and how the power of belief can stop armies.
The additional stories expand the world-building and show how two very different peoples can learn to live together.
Fanwork Links:
The Light in the Woods On AO3
Seasons of Drabbles: Initial Pinch Hits due April 25
Apr. 17th, 2026 10:09 amlittlefics posting in pinchhitsWe have 5 remaining initial pinch hits for Seasons of Drabbles, an exchange for the creation of drabbles and drabble variants. The minimum is 100 words.
PH 2 - Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Metal Fight Beyblade | Beyblade Metal Saga, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
PH 4 - Into the Woods - Sondheim/Lapine, The Wheel of Time (TV), Fate: The Winx Saga (TV)
PH 8 - Look Outside (Video Game), There is No Antimemetics Division - qntm, 어쩌면 해피엔딩 - Aronson/박 | Maybe Happy Ending - Aronson/Park
PH 9 - Fireworks (1947)/Succession (TV 2018), O Fantasma (2000), O Fantasma (2000)/Succession (TV 2018), The Sergeant (1968), Succession (TV 2018)
PH 12 - Emergency! (TV 1972), Magic School Bus & Magic School Bus Rides Again (Cartoons 1994-2018), Sesame Street (US TV), The Love Boat (TV 1977), It Takes a Thief (TV 1968)
Event link: Dreamwidth | AO3 Collection
Due date: Saturday, April 25 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown).
Pinch hit link: Please view the details and claim it at this post.
PH 2 - Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Metal Fight Beyblade | Beyblade Metal Saga, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
PH 4 - Into the Woods - Sondheim/Lapine, The Wheel of Time (TV), Fate: The Winx Saga (TV)
PH 8 - Look Outside (Video Game), There is No Antimemetics Division - qntm, 어쩌면 해피엔딩 - Aronson/박 | Maybe Happy Ending - Aronson/Park
PH 9 - Fireworks (1947)/Succession (TV 2018), O Fantasma (2000), O Fantasma (2000)/Succession (TV 2018), The Sergeant (1968), Succession (TV 2018)
PH 12 - Emergency! (TV 1972), Magic School Bus & Magic School Bus Rides Again (Cartoons 1994-2018), Sesame Street (US TV), The Love Boat (TV 1977), It Takes a Thief (TV 1968)
Event link: Dreamwidth | AO3 Collection
Due date: Saturday, April 25 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown).
Pinch hit link: Please view the details and claim it at this post.
Happy Haiku Day!
Apr. 17th, 2026 09:37 amduckprintspresswriting haiku is
fun so we asked writers to
make them re: our books!
“Oh hell yes my dude,”
Said the authors with delight.
“We all love haikus!”
— Lucy K.R.
Duck Prints Press is home
Queer writers, queer artists play
Joy and fun for all
— Sage Mooreland
Scholarly Pursuits:
cozy academia
à la Duck Prints Press
— Tryan A Bex
Many-colored press,
padded thwack of ducks printing.
More queerness, more joy.
— Lucy K.R.
with the enemy
stuck homoerotically
om nom nom nom nom
— polls
Queer joy comes in so
Many forms, and right here you
Will find all of them
— Rascal Hartley
See, it’s all a code,
A set of rainbow duck prints.
They read: welcome home.
— Rascal Hartley
Masquerade! Paper
Pages under eager hands
Revealing queer love.
— Shadaras
Every story
of excellent quality—
there were no duds here.
— Tryan A Bex
Queer stories set in
fantasy libraries and
universities
— Tryan A Bex
I love writing for
Duck Prints Press but sometimes I
go over the word count like just a bit
— Rascal Hartley
the problem cleric:
why must Lilya deal with her?
well, at least she’s cute
— Dei Walker
I procrastinat-
ed writing this and now it
is not very good
— Nina Waters
Join the fun – write us a haiku about one of your favorite books (one of our publications or otherwise)!
[#297] Unexpected Generosity (The Fantastic Journey)
Apr. 17th, 2026 02:49 pmbadly_knitted posting in fandomweeklyTheme Prompt: #297 – Unexpected Kindness
Title: Unexpected Generosity
Fandom: The Fantastic Journey
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: No.
Word Count: 1000
Summary: Jonathan hadn’t made a very good impression on anyone since arriving on this island, and yet Varian and his friends are still willing to show him kindness he doesn’t deserve.
Attention Pitt Fans! Interview with Noah Wyle
Apr. 17th, 2026 08:45 amjo posting in tv_talkNoah Wyle gave a really interesting (and long!) interview to GQ. The original is paywalled so I've provided an archived link.
WARNING: It contains spoilers for the season 2 finale, so if you've not watched it yet, or are only part-way through season 2 or whatever, proceed at your own risk.
This one section really caught my attention (does not contain spoilers):
I hadn't even noticed that there's no music! And it is true that The Pitt is one of the shows that I pay full attention to while watching -- never occurred to me that the absence of music might be partly behind that.
WARNING: It contains spoilers for the season 2 finale, so if you've not watched it yet, or are only part-way through season 2 or whatever, proceed at your own risk.
This one section really caught my attention (does not contain spoilers):
“It’s a couple of things that work beautifully in concert. First: no music. Audiences are so sophisticated, but what they’re not accustomed to is being told how to feel,” Wyle says. “You take all that out and it forces a level of engagement where you’re now looking for clues within the frame of the screen, which forces you to look up from your phone. And I think that is extremely engaging, especially to young viewers who aren’t accustomed to being asked to participate in a nonpassive way in the viewing experience."
I hadn't even noticed that there's no music! And it is true that The Pitt is one of the shows that I pay full attention to while watching -- never occurred to me that the absence of music might be partly behind that.
Friday 17/04/2026
Apr. 17th, 2026 11:31 amdark_kana posting in 3_good_things_a_day1) a day with our daughter ^^ And hubby working at home today ^^
2) dancing and singing with our daughter
3) hopefully finish the second photo album for our daughter *crosses fingers*
FANFIC: consumption (Plecverse / Legacies)
Apr. 17th, 2026 11:02 amqueenslayerbeeWith this drabble, I'm all down with last year's Three Sentence Ficathon fics!
-
Josie won; invention and creativity account for a lot, but raw power, years of resentment and desperation to live took this round.
After, Josie isn’t her best: she’s guilt-ridden, heartbroken, which makes her mean-spirited –people who will always look for the Lizzie inside her see in this an echo of the dead; though her mother never misattributes blame, that relationship is irreparably altered nonetheless.
Sometimes, Josie acknowledges that this sharp tongue was hidden beneath eager smiles all along; others she embraces the delusion of the Merge: she carries her twin with her, forever comfortably hidden behind Lizzie’s large, incandescent presence.
Title: consumption.
Fandom: Plecverse / Legacies.
Character/Pairing: Josie Saltzman & Lizzie Saltzman.
Rating/Warnings: M, grief.
Summary: For the prompt: "The Vampire Diaries universe, any, the Merge."
Word count: 100.
read more
-
Josie won; invention and creativity account for a lot, but raw power, years of resentment and desperation to live took this round.
After, Josie isn’t her best: she’s guilt-ridden, heartbroken, which makes her mean-spirited –people who will always look for the Lizzie inside her see in this an echo of the dead; though her mother never misattributes blame, that relationship is irreparably altered nonetheless.
Sometimes, Josie acknowledges that this sharp tongue was hidden beneath eager smiles all along; others she embraces the delusion of the Merge: she carries her twin with her, forever comfortably hidden behind Lizzie’s large, incandescent presence.
Follow Friday 4-17-26
Apr. 17th, 2026 12:27 amysabetwordsmith posting in followfridayGot any Follow Friday-related posts to share this week? Comment here with the link(s).
Here's the plan: every Friday, let's recommend some people and/or communities to follow on Dreamwidth. That's it. No complicated rules, no "pass this on to 7.328 friends or your cat will die".
Condoms everywhere
Apr. 16th, 2026 11:12 pmcornerofmadnessSo today was me talking about urogenital infections in microbiology class going wear. your. condoms!!
And I also told them for extra credit they can go to the health fair on campus and tell me one vendor they interacted with. So I go over there and there are just condoms all over, no less than three groups giving them out. One of them puts free condoms in the dorms but when I asked about it the students looked at me like I had grown another head.
I thought it was because they didn't have them there. Apparently they were shocked I knew about bowls of condoms like their little Gen Z butts invented the things. Ha. Actually I loved the key chains that contained condoms. If I had any need I'd have snatched one of them up.
Talked to health care providers of all types especially mental health ones. They had a trans rights group that I spoke to just to be sure they were okay because this is NOT a LGBT of any kind friendly place. They gave me tons of stickers.
The doctor's nurse called me again this time to find out if I had read the echocardiogram. Yes. No I have no questions because I can see it's the same as it was 10 years ago. Oh that's what the doctor said too. Yes I DO have questions but they can wait until I see him and ask directly
I had to take a book back to the gallipolis library (not my usual one) and FINALLY saw the Lego exhibit before they take it down next week. 120 exhibits all on travel. There were space ships and chariots and stage coaches and a bugati and a silver ghost rolls royce (all the history on plaques I couldn't squat down to see, made for kids of course).
The showstopper was the Titanic, 200,000 pieces built by 3 Lego masters over four months. Only 10 of the exhibits have actual instructions. They almost all were built by artistic talent. I have tons of photos on my camera.
I was going to share them but the night went sideways. had a hypoglycemic attack in the exhibit, went to dinner to stabilize, came home, went to unwind with some June's Journey. Apparently fell asleep sitting up only waking up when my limbs went numb and painful.
And I also told them for extra credit they can go to the health fair on campus and tell me one vendor they interacted with. So I go over there and there are just condoms all over, no less than three groups giving them out. One of them puts free condoms in the dorms but when I asked about it the students looked at me like I had grown another head.
I thought it was because they didn't have them there. Apparently they were shocked I knew about bowls of condoms like their little Gen Z butts invented the things. Ha. Actually I loved the key chains that contained condoms. If I had any need I'd have snatched one of them up.
Talked to health care providers of all types especially mental health ones. They had a trans rights group that I spoke to just to be sure they were okay because this is NOT a LGBT of any kind friendly place. They gave me tons of stickers.
The doctor's nurse called me again this time to find out if I had read the echocardiogram. Yes. No I have no questions because I can see it's the same as it was 10 years ago. Oh that's what the doctor said too. Yes I DO have questions but they can wait until I see him and ask directly
I had to take a book back to the gallipolis library (not my usual one) and FINALLY saw the Lego exhibit before they take it down next week. 120 exhibits all on travel. There were space ships and chariots and stage coaches and a bugati and a silver ghost rolls royce (all the history on plaques I couldn't squat down to see, made for kids of course).
The showstopper was the Titanic, 200,000 pieces built by 3 Lego masters over four months. Only 10 of the exhibits have actual instructions. They almost all were built by artistic talent. I have tons of photos on my camera.
I was going to share them but the night went sideways. had a hypoglycemic attack in the exhibit, went to dinner to stabilize, came home, went to unwind with some June's Journey. Apparently fell asleep sitting up only waking up when my limbs went numb and painful.
Thursday Recs
Apr. 16th, 2026 08:34 pmsoc_puppet posting in queerly_belovedHmm; according to my calendar, it appears to be time for more Thursday Recs!
Do you have a rec for this week? Just reply to this post with something queer or queer-adjacent (such as, soap made by a queer person that isn't necessarily queer themed) that you'd, well, recommend. Self-recs are welcome, as are recs for fandom-related content!
Or have you tried something that's been recced here? Do you have your own report to share about it? I'd love to hear about it!
Do you have a rec for this week? Just reply to this post with something queer or queer-adjacent (such as, soap made by a queer person that isn't necessarily queer themed) that you'd, well, recommend. Self-recs are welcome, as are recs for fandom-related content!
Or have you tried something that's been recced here? Do you have your own report to share about it? I'd love to hear about it!
第五年第九十六天
Apr. 17th, 2026 08:40 amnnozomi posting in guardian_learning部首
水 part 27
源, origin; 溢, to overflow; 溪, creek ( pinyin )
https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?cdqrad=85
词汇
背, back/to carry on the back; 背包, backpack (pinyin in tags)
https://mandarinbean.com/new-hsk-4-word-list/
Guardian:
光对于我们来说原本是极其稀缺的资源, as far as we are concerned light is an extremely scarce resource
你身上背负的责任太多了, you're shouldering too much responsibility
Me:
洪水的时候那条溪也会溢出来。
我就把课本放在背包里。
水 part 27
源, origin; 溢, to overflow; 溪, creek ( pinyin )
https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?cdqrad=85
词汇
背, back/to carry on the back; 背包, backpack (pinyin in tags)
https://mandarinbean.com/new-hsk-4-word-list/
Guardian:
光对于我们来说原本是极其稀缺的资源, as far as we are concerned light is an extremely scarce resource
你身上背负的责任太多了, you're shouldering too much responsibility
Me:
洪水的时候那条溪也会溢出来。
我就把课本放在背包里。
Me-and-media update
Apr. 17th, 2026 10:05 amchina_shopPrevious poll review
In the Stoic hurt/comfort poll, 44.2% of respondents prefer the stoic character stoically/reluctantly/awkwardly providing comfort, vs 41.9% who prefer them receiving comfort (pretty sure that's within the margin of error, though); and 27.9% said it depends. Three people (including me) checked "I'm not into hurt/comfort." <3
In ticky-boxes, appreciating being able to breathe through your nose came second to hugs, 62.8% to 79.1%. Thank you for your votes! ♥
Reading
I finished The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley, read by Sid Sagar, a m/m clockpunk fantasy novel set in ancient Thebes. I especially enjoyed the Theban POV, and I grew increasingly more engaged as it progressed. Might read it again sometime in text.
Still making my way through Refuse to Be Done by Matt Bell. I'm up to the advice for third drafts.
Andrew and I finished Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold, read by Grover Gardner, while polishing off a jigsaw, and have started The Vor Game, in which Miles is instructed to learn to respect authority, and immediately sets out to manipulate everyone around him.
Kdramas
The same four as last week: Phantom Lawyer, You're Beautiful (ahhhh!), Love Scout, and Lovely Runner. The latter involves the female lead time-travelling 15 years into her past self, and she seems weirdly unaware of the age gap between her and the school-age male lead. Maybe this isn't a romance? (Writing this made me consider an alternate version where her contemporary self just sends her diary or something to the past instead, so her teen self would be armed with all the knowledge but still age-appropriate.)
Other TV
Finished Paper Girls (argh, permanent cliffhanger ending!) and Connections (BBC). Still watching The Pitt, Rooster, and Scrubs. Zoomed through all of Big Mistakes, a Netflix romp starring Dan Levy, which ended with a set-up for season 2.
Fringe (which is losing the plot, wow) and Bluey with my sister.
And we saw Hoppers at the cinema, and had a great time with it. Aww! Such an optimistic view of the world.
Audio entertainment
Dreaming Against the Machine (new podcast by Adam Becker, author of More Everything Forever), episode 1: "Futurists, with Reo Eveleth". The podcast is about "envisioning a realistic and hopeful future", and this episode was really great. I found it via the Better Offline episode "More, Everything, Forever with Adam Becker".
(Aside: something about DAtM made me think that podcasts are the blogs of today: thoughtful people making their ideas and conversations public, very voicey and intimate in a way. And presumably just as hard to break into (in the English-language sphere) if you're not a confident user of the English language...)
Writing/making things
Getting back into the swing of writers' hour now it's moved to 8am for the winter -- which is timely, because I have a 520 Day assignment fic to write. (I was aiming for short, but it's already over1500w 2300w, with at least two scenes to go. Which is what happens when you mostly read novels, I guess.)
Life/health/mental state things
We've had a few days of gorgeous weather (and next week is looking dire), which has meant a lot of biking. Plus I have builders working on reputtying some of my windows, which is disruptive and dusty, so I've been out a lot; yesterday I worked on my 520 fic at our newly re-opened central public library. All of which is to say that my arms are pretty mad at me. Bluetooth keyboards are great, but so is my home ergonomic setup. And I can only handle so much biking atm.
The window work is in a race against the weather, and weather forecasting has got less accurate since some @#$#*ing incompetent shitheads @#(*ed up the US Weather Service. So who knows if my house will be weatherproof next week? No one!
I'm not as cranky as this sounds. Just a bit stressed, and my house is covered in a fine layer of dust. Guess I'm looking at a thoroughspring autumn clean once this is all done.
Had a flu jab on Wednesday.
Link dump
Get your Letter to the Editor published. Every. Time. | AO3 admin post about Spambot Comments on AO3 (different types, and what to do about them) | Remarkable survival after hawk trapped in car grille | Mom cat shows her kittens the German shepherd is safe (Youtube, viastarandrea).
Good things
Lovely weather. Mobile technology and ebikes. Writing!! Friendly builders. Andrew and Halle and friends and Dreamwidth.
In the Stoic hurt/comfort poll, 44.2% of respondents prefer the stoic character stoically/reluctantly/awkwardly providing comfort, vs 41.9% who prefer them receiving comfort (pretty sure that's within the margin of error, though); and 27.9% said it depends. Three people (including me) checked "I'm not into hurt/comfort." <3
In ticky-boxes, appreciating being able to breathe through your nose came second to hugs, 62.8% to 79.1%. Thank you for your votes! ♥
Reading
I finished The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley, read by Sid Sagar, a m/m clockpunk fantasy novel set in ancient Thebes. I especially enjoyed the Theban POV, and I grew increasingly more engaged as it progressed. Might read it again sometime in text.
Still making my way through Refuse to Be Done by Matt Bell. I'm up to the advice for third drafts.
Andrew and I finished Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold, read by Grover Gardner, while polishing off a jigsaw, and have started The Vor Game, in which Miles is instructed to learn to respect authority, and immediately sets out to manipulate everyone around him.
Kdramas
The same four as last week: Phantom Lawyer, You're Beautiful (ahhhh!), Love Scout, and Lovely Runner. The latter involves the female lead time-travelling 15 years into her past self, and she seems weirdly unaware of the age gap between her and the school-age male lead. Maybe this isn't a romance? (Writing this made me consider an alternate version where her contemporary self just sends her diary or something to the past instead, so her teen self would be armed with all the knowledge but still age-appropriate.)
Other TV
Finished Paper Girls (argh, permanent cliffhanger ending!) and Connections (BBC). Still watching The Pitt, Rooster, and Scrubs. Zoomed through all of Big Mistakes, a Netflix romp starring Dan Levy, which ended with a set-up for season 2.
Fringe (which is losing the plot, wow) and Bluey with my sister.
And we saw Hoppers at the cinema, and had a great time with it. Aww! Such an optimistic view of the world.
Audio entertainment
Dreaming Against the Machine (new podcast by Adam Becker, author of More Everything Forever), episode 1: "Futurists, with Reo Eveleth". The podcast is about "envisioning a realistic and hopeful future", and this episode was really great. I found it via the Better Offline episode "More, Everything, Forever with Adam Becker".
(Aside: something about DAtM made me think that podcasts are the blogs of today: thoughtful people making their ideas and conversations public, very voicey and intimate in a way. And presumably just as hard to break into (in the English-language sphere) if you're not a confident user of the English language...)
Writing/making things
Getting back into the swing of writers' hour now it's moved to 8am for the winter -- which is timely, because I have a 520 Day assignment fic to write. (I was aiming for short, but it's already over
Life/health/mental state things
We've had a few days of gorgeous weather (and next week is looking dire), which has meant a lot of biking. Plus I have builders working on reputtying some of my windows, which is disruptive and dusty, so I've been out a lot; yesterday I worked on my 520 fic at our newly re-opened central public library. All of which is to say that my arms are pretty mad at me. Bluetooth keyboards are great, but so is my home ergonomic setup. And I can only handle so much biking atm.
The window work is in a race against the weather, and weather forecasting has got less accurate since some @#$#*ing incompetent shitheads @#(*ed up the US Weather Service. So who knows if my house will be weatherproof next week? No one!
I'm not as cranky as this sounds. Just a bit stressed, and my house is covered in a fine layer of dust. Guess I'm looking at a thorough
Had a flu jab on Wednesday.
Link dump
Get your Letter to the Editor published. Every. Time. | AO3 admin post about Spambot Comments on AO3 (different types, and what to do about them) | Remarkable survival after hawk trapped in car grille | Mom cat shows her kittens the German shepherd is safe (Youtube, via
starandrea).Good things
Lovely weather. Mobile technology and ebikes. Writing!! Friendly builders. Andrew and Halle and friends and Dreamwidth.
Poll #34482 Fanfic vs Profic
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 39
Do you have different prose standards for reading profic vs fanfic?
View Answers
no, I'm pretty relaxed about prose quality if other aspects of the story capture me
9 (23.1%)
yes, I'm more picky about fanfic
0 (0.0%)
yes, I'm more picky about profic...
17 (43.6%)
... with the exception of certain genres
4 (10.3%)
no, I'm picky across the board
13 (33.3%)
other
5 (12.8%)
ticky-box of to read makes our speaking English good
20 (51.3%)
ticky-box full of podcasts
4 (10.3%)
ticky-box of how many rivers must an otter swim down before you can call it an otter
24 (61.5%)
ticky-box full of 42
18 (46.2%)
ticky-box full of hugs
28 (71.8%)
Nominations for 2026 Round Open!
Apr. 16th, 2026 04:35 pmidficmod posting in idproquoTagset Links: 2026 Characters & Relationships Tagset | Eternal Freeform Tagset
Nominations for the 2026 round of IPQ are now open, and will remain so until 10pm ET, on the 24th of April. Please review our nomination rules at Rules and Info as some rules have changed since last round.
Nominations for the 2026 round of IPQ are now open, and will remain so until 10pm ET, on the 24th of April. Please review our nomination rules at Rules and Info as some rules have changed since last round.