Crow Contracts Exchange
Mar. 23rd, 2026 07:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
settiaiThe Crow Contracts Exchange, a Dragon Age exchange focusing on the Antivan Crows, went live yesterday, and I just now got the change to read my gifts because of the craziness of everything.
I got not one, not two, but a whopping three amazing stories!
First up is Fourth Spaces, focusing on the gen relationships between Lucanis (and Spite) and Bellara, Lace, and Taash in a world state where Rook kept her distance from him. 2334 words.
Next is Gotta Kill Them All, focusing on the relationship between Lucanis and Spite. 520 words.
And last was One by day, one by twilight, a delightful Lucanis/Neve/Spite fic from Spite's POV. 7625 words.
I got not one, not two, but a whopping three amazing stories!
First up is Fourth Spaces, focusing on the gen relationships between Lucanis (and Spite) and Bellara, Lace, and Taash in a world state where Rook kept her distance from him. 2334 words.
Next is Gotta Kill Them All, focusing on the relationship between Lucanis and Spite. 520 words.
And last was One by day, one by twilight, a delightful Lucanis/Neve/Spite fic from Spite's POV. 7625 words.
Short stuff I've liked, first quarter 2026
Mar. 23rd, 2026 04:34 pmmrissaThis is more partial even than usual, because I've had some download problems that I've since fixed. But we can let that filter out to the second quarter; time waits for etc. etc.
This Is Not a Love Poem, Alexandra Dawson (Reckoning)
I Met You On the Train, J. R. Dawson (Uncanny)
The Doorkeepers, A. T. Greenblatt (Uncanny)
Unsettled Nature, Jordan Kurella (Apex)
Straw Gold, Mari Ness (Small Wonders)
No Kings/No Soldiers, A.M. Tuomala (Uncanny)
Blade Through the Heart, Carrie Vaughn (Reactor)
Antediluvian, Rem Wigmore (Reckoning)
Address Unknown, by Kathrine Kressman Taylor
Mar. 23rd, 2026 01:18 pmrachelmanija
An epistolatory novel about the friendship between an American Jew, Max, and a German, Martin. As Hitler rises to power, their relationship sours, in some expected ways and some less expected, as their characters are revealed.
Very short, very powerful, very technically skilled, a quick easy read with an unexpected and unforgettable outcome. Seriously, don't click on spoilers if there's any chance you'll read the book. That being said, I read it because Naomi Kritzer told me the whole story and it was still great. Thanks for the rec!
The book was published in 1939 under a male-sounding pseudonym, but the style feels almost modern and the themes feel incredibly modern. There's an afterword about what inspired the book, which which is worth reading. Taylor had some German friends who seemed like kind, wonderful people, who became fervent Nazis and abandoned their Jewish friends. In a question so many of us are asking now, she wondered, What changed their hearts so? What steps brought them to such cruelty?
( Read more... )
The Jewish War: First half of Book 4
Mar. 22nd, 2026 08:05 pmcahnLast week: Josephus really hypes Vespasian up! Galilee is also very nice! Discussion of Josephus' prophecy of Vespasian, both in Josephus and in Feuchtwanger's novelization, with detours into Antonia and Caenis.
This week: Internal strife in Jerusalem! Lots of internal strife!
Next week: Last half of book 4.
This week: Internal strife in Jerusalem! Lots of internal strife!
Next week: Last half of book 4.
New Word Funny Time 📝
Mar. 22nd, 2026 02:03 pmhaunted_cherriesPosted this on Pillowfort the other day, but I learned TWO new words thanks to work:
➤ Litigious: used to describe a person who is prone to engage in lawsuits
↳ Used in the context of this article (You're gonna get a HOOT out of reading that one xD)
➤ Kakistocracy: a government by the worst people
Fly, my pretties, do with this newfound knowledge what you will. xD
➤ Litigious: used to describe a person who is prone to engage in lawsuits
↳ Used in the context of this article (You're gonna get a HOOT out of reading that one xD)
➤ Kakistocracy: a government by the worst people
Fly, my pretties, do with this newfound knowledge what you will. xD
like a star that can't wait for a night
Mar. 22nd, 2026 06:28 pmmusesfoolAfter waiting as they spent a long, slow afternoon in the oven, I just went to town on some baby back ribs. Holy cats, they were good. Super messy, of course, but delicious! And I have leftovers, so I'll be able to repeat the experience this week!
The pecan shortbread (pic) turned out well, too. I'm a little sad there's no blood orange gelato to go with them, but once the chicken tenders are gone, I will definitely be making it!
In more fannish news, there was a post I saw somewhere on tumblr that talked about a crossover (or fusion? it didn't go into great detail) between Batfam and Dungeon Crawler Carl, and said that the Bats would all be outside during the collapse, and feel obligated to go into the dungeon. And I don't necessarily disagree? But I also don't necessarily agree, either!
In DCC, we're told the collapse happened at approximately 2:20 am PT, which means it was 5:20 am ET, and if you (and by "you" I mean me) believe Gotham is in New Jersey, that is probably after they are all home, and hopefully showering/sleeping, so I'm not sure they survive just by nature of being on patrol. Maybe if Tim is out in San Francisco with the Titans, where it would also be 2:20 am PT, he'd survive, but I'm not necessarily convinced he would go into the dungeon, either. Because there's whatever survivors on the surface to take care of also. Maybe they'd split up? Some would go into the dungeon to see what it was about and others would stay up top to manage any survivors, lead any fighting against alien invaders?
Like, could Kon take being underground for so long without access to sunlight? He should probably stay on the surface and help that way. (I also think this is a hard crossover to make happen simply because...there are canonical aliens in the DCU and also the Green Lantern Corps. So you'd have to do some fast talking/handwaving to get to the interesting parts, because how do the Green Lanterns not know about this? Otoh, you could go full AU/fusion and have Krypton be a world that was stripped ages ago and everyone is shocked to see Kryptonians on Earth. Same with Tamaran or Mars I guess.)
And I do wonder how Batman specifically would fare in a dungeon where killing is the preferred (by the System AI and the Syndicate running the thing and a large portion of the audience) way to survive and advance. He and Cass would find other ways, and I'm sure they would amass fans and, eventually, sponsors, but it'd be harder, I think, especially on the earlier floors. I think we have seen him kill aliens though, at least in the animated universes, so maybe he'd be okay at first with killing goblins and ogres and ghouls etc. Idk.
Jason, otoh, would be all, "I'm built for this!" and shoot his way to glory, or at least do the killing when Bruce and Cass couldn't. Steph and Dick might be pragmatic enough to come around to killing mobs, at least, ( spoiler for Dungeon Crawler Carl )
And while I think a fusion might be a better way to go than a regular crossover (I know there is someone writing a Superman and Carl are BFF in the dungeon, or at least creating art for it, but I don't know what they've chosen to use for backstory), I would love to see Damian interact with Princess Donut. Or the System AI deal with Oracle.
*
The pecan shortbread (pic) turned out well, too. I'm a little sad there's no blood orange gelato to go with them, but once the chicken tenders are gone, I will definitely be making it!
In more fannish news, there was a post I saw somewhere on tumblr that talked about a crossover (or fusion? it didn't go into great detail) between Batfam and Dungeon Crawler Carl, and said that the Bats would all be outside during the collapse, and feel obligated to go into the dungeon. And I don't necessarily disagree? But I also don't necessarily agree, either!
In DCC, we're told the collapse happened at approximately 2:20 am PT, which means it was 5:20 am ET, and if you (and by "you" I mean me) believe Gotham is in New Jersey, that is probably after they are all home, and hopefully showering/sleeping, so I'm not sure they survive just by nature of being on patrol. Maybe if Tim is out in San Francisco with the Titans, where it would also be 2:20 am PT, he'd survive, but I'm not necessarily convinced he would go into the dungeon, either. Because there's whatever survivors on the surface to take care of also. Maybe they'd split up? Some would go into the dungeon to see what it was about and others would stay up top to manage any survivors, lead any fighting against alien invaders?
Like, could Kon take being underground for so long without access to sunlight? He should probably stay on the surface and help that way. (I also think this is a hard crossover to make happen simply because...there are canonical aliens in the DCU and also the Green Lantern Corps. So you'd have to do some fast talking/handwaving to get to the interesting parts, because how do the Green Lanterns not know about this? Otoh, you could go full AU/fusion and have Krypton be a world that was stripped ages ago and everyone is shocked to see Kryptonians on Earth. Same with Tamaran or Mars I guess.)
And I do wonder how Batman specifically would fare in a dungeon where killing is the preferred (by the System AI and the Syndicate running the thing and a large portion of the audience) way to survive and advance. He and Cass would find other ways, and I'm sure they would amass fans and, eventually, sponsors, but it'd be harder, I think, especially on the earlier floors. I think we have seen him kill aliens though, at least in the animated universes, so maybe he'd be okay at first with killing goblins and ogres and ghouls etc. Idk.
Jason, otoh, would be all, "I'm built for this!" and shoot his way to glory, or at least do the killing when Bruce and Cass couldn't. Steph and Dick might be pragmatic enough to come around to killing mobs, at least, ( spoiler for Dungeon Crawler Carl )
And while I think a fusion might be a better way to go than a regular crossover (I know there is someone writing a Superman and Carl are BFF in the dungeon, or at least creating art for it, but I don't know what they've chosen to use for backstory), I would love to see Damian interact with Princess Donut. Or the System AI deal with Oracle.
*
Another Needlepoint Update
Mar. 22nd, 2026 02:48 pmlightbirdI made a bag charm/bag ornament. I've actually made this design twice: once as a Christmas ornament for a friend (which I posted here), and now the bag charm for me. The finishing for the bag charm was challenging and some of the irregular border finishing snagged. So not perfect, but cute and looks good on my bag.
Compare:
Chili Pepper as bag charm
Chili Pepper as Christmas ornament (green cording all the way around)
Not sure what projects I will work on next, but I'll definitely post pictures once they're done.🙂
Compare:
Chili Pepper as bag charm
Chili Pepper as Christmas ornament (green cording all the way around)
Not sure what projects I will work on next, but I'll definitely post pictures once they're done.🙂
March Update/Blog/Idk hello!
Mar. 22nd, 2026 01:45 pmmuscle_wizardA lot has happened and tbh a lot of it hasn't been great. I debated if talking about it would make me feel better and I decided it wouldn't help me. So, March has been hard but I want to share what I have gotten up to in the middle of all that:
[] Through the PostCrossing forums I have been joining in what they call *tags* where you tag the person above you and send them some sort of mail. I have been enjoying the "Happy Mail" tag. Both curating envelopes and receiving wonderful mail at the end of the day. This weekend I got 4 envelopes full of lovely stickers, notesheets, and handmade postcards ;A;
[] I ordered two ~mystery bags~ from Hubman and Chubgirl to open after I finish working with my sports teams this April. Then I have nothing but private clients until late August. (I am working alot right now, am actually on my break between two shifts right now fff.)
[] I started drawing lots of little bears and other cartoons to make into a sticker book <3 My goal is to have at least 45 different images.
[] Cooked: tomato tofu curry, baked shrimp scampi, veggie (eggplant, mushroom, pepper) flatbread, shrimp veg udon, various iced teas.
[] Played more Scrabble games with my mom.
[] Still playing Hades II, close to being done I think?
[] Last bad rainstorm washed out the snow, so happy! I have been going on walks again. Back to counting the geese in my local spring c:
[] Rewatched A Black Lady Sketch Show, still so incredibly good. I love love love how many queer/lesbian characters they have in their sketches. Some of my favorites:
The Funeral Ball
Dance Biter
Bad Bitch Support Group
So many of them have horror or sci-fi elements, the genre blending is incredible <3_<3
I have been reading my flist, hoping to comment more soon. Have a good day everyone!
[] Through the PostCrossing forums I have been joining in what they call *tags* where you tag the person above you and send them some sort of mail. I have been enjoying the "Happy Mail" tag. Both curating envelopes and receiving wonderful mail at the end of the day. This weekend I got 4 envelopes full of lovely stickers, notesheets, and handmade postcards ;A;
[] I ordered two ~mystery bags~ from Hubman and Chubgirl to open after I finish working with my sports teams this April. Then I have nothing but private clients until late August. (I am working alot right now, am actually on my break between two shifts right now fff.)
[] I started drawing lots of little bears and other cartoons to make into a sticker book <3 My goal is to have at least 45 different images.
[] Cooked: tomato tofu curry, baked shrimp scampi, veggie (eggplant, mushroom, pepper) flatbread, shrimp veg udon, various iced teas.
[] Played more Scrabble games with my mom.
[] Still playing Hades II, close to being done I think?
[] Last bad rainstorm washed out the snow, so happy! I have been going on walks again. Back to counting the geese in my local spring c:
[] Rewatched A Black Lady Sketch Show, still so incredibly good. I love love love how many queer/lesbian characters they have in their sketches. Some of my favorites:
The Funeral Ball
Dance Biter
Bad Bitch Support Group
So many of them have horror or sci-fi elements, the genre blending is incredible <3_<3
I have been reading my flist, hoping to comment more soon. Have a good day everyone!
Weekly proof of life: media intake while catching my breath in a break in the crunch
Mar. 22nd, 2026 02:07 pmumadoshiHaving a week's break from the spring crunch (and a couple of those days as actual days off, not just regular workdays) meant I was able to get some reading and a bit of watching done!
Reading: On the novel(la)s front, two by Seanan McGuire and one by Rachel Reid. Butterfly Effects (the newest InCryptid) was good and also one of the major "wow, the reality (or maybe the scope, rather) of this series bears almost no resemblance to the impression given by the first handful of books" installments; the existence of multiple dimensions comes up very promptly in the early books (I think in the very first), but it was still a big shift to have that become part of the hands-on reality that the characters are dealing with.
Next I read Game Changer, the first book in Rachel Reid's Game Changers series, AKA the Heated Rivalry source material. I expected this to have far more detail on the Scott/Kip relationship than the show did, what with it being a novel that basically got turned into a single episode, but was a bit surprised by how many (most) of the detail in the show was completely different than the book, while the broad strokes are the same. (Also, I feel like I saw more than one reference to show!Kip being very physically different from book!Kip--I'm very sure I saw the word "twink" in play for the book iteration--and am baffled by where that came from, because...no? Anyway.) It was fine. I didn't love it, although I did appreciate many moments that were particularly fun in the context of the show.
And then I read Through Gates of Garnet and Gold, this year's Wayward Children novella. The sheer cost of these novellas made me decide within the last few years to just go for the digital versions rather than hard copies, and this year I opted to simply get the ebook from the library, which is why I read it a couple of months after it came out. I'm just not invested in this particular series. Ah, well.
For manga, I read the fifth omnibus of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, which includes the three volumes available in English that I hadn't previously read at all. (Did I buy vol. 13 and 14 in their original single-volume release and then have to buy this omnibus volume to get vol. 15? Yes. >.<) A sixth omnibus English volume has been scheduled and delayed repeatedly, so I knew there was still at least a fair bit to go--the three volumes to be bundled in that one--but after this catch-up was the first time I actually checked for info online, and I was not braced to see that it's up to 31 volumes in Japan and ongoing. o_o I have no clue what's going on with the English release, but I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say it's probably a mess.
Non-fiction: still reading a chapter of Braiding Sweetgrass here and there, and I've also started (but not gotten far into) Crystal Wilkinson's Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks.
Watching: We're caught up on The Pitt and have a couple episodes of Frieren yet to watch. (Am I right that this season of Frieren is over now?)
We also finished our watch of Heated Rivalry--my second time, and basicallyscruloose's first, except for the part where they saw most of the finale with minimal context back when I watched it. They also had some random bits of info in advance for their watch, because when I was initially watching it I wasn't at all thinking in terms of "this is a thing they may wind up watching" (they have much less interest in watching things in general than I do), so I'd been blithely telling them random stuff here and there before we got to the point of "perhaps scruloose will watch Canada's new national export after all". La? But they really enjoyed the show, which is the important thing. ^_^
Reading: On the novel(la)s front, two by Seanan McGuire and one by Rachel Reid. Butterfly Effects (the newest InCryptid) was good and also one of the major "wow, the reality (or maybe the scope, rather) of this series bears almost no resemblance to the impression given by the first handful of books" installments; the existence of multiple dimensions comes up very promptly in the early books (I think in the very first), but it was still a big shift to have that become part of the hands-on reality that the characters are dealing with.
Next I read Game Changer, the first book in Rachel Reid's Game Changers series, AKA the Heated Rivalry source material. I expected this to have far more detail on the Scott/Kip relationship than the show did, what with it being a novel that basically got turned into a single episode, but was a bit surprised by how many (most) of the detail in the show was completely different than the book, while the broad strokes are the same. (Also, I feel like I saw more than one reference to show!Kip being very physically different from book!Kip--I'm very sure I saw the word "twink" in play for the book iteration--and am baffled by where that came from, because...no? Anyway.) It was fine. I didn't love it, although I did appreciate many moments that were particularly fun in the context of the show.
And then I read Through Gates of Garnet and Gold, this year's Wayward Children novella. The sheer cost of these novellas made me decide within the last few years to just go for the digital versions rather than hard copies, and this year I opted to simply get the ebook from the library, which is why I read it a couple of months after it came out. I'm just not invested in this particular series. Ah, well.
For manga, I read the fifth omnibus of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, which includes the three volumes available in English that I hadn't previously read at all. (Did I buy vol. 13 and 14 in their original single-volume release and then have to buy this omnibus volume to get vol. 15? Yes. >.<) A sixth omnibus English volume has been scheduled and delayed repeatedly, so I knew there was still at least a fair bit to go--the three volumes to be bundled in that one--but after this catch-up was the first time I actually checked for info online, and I was not braced to see that it's up to 31 volumes in Japan and ongoing. o_o I have no clue what's going on with the English release, but I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say it's probably a mess.
Non-fiction: still reading a chapter of Braiding Sweetgrass here and there, and I've also started (but not gotten far into) Crystal Wilkinson's Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks.
Watching: We're caught up on The Pitt and have a couple episodes of Frieren yet to watch. (Am I right that this season of Frieren is over now?)
We also finished our watch of Heated Rivalry--my second time, and basically
scruloose's first, except for the part where they saw most of the finale with minimal context back when I watched it. They also had some random bits of info in advance for their watch, because when I was initially watching it I wasn't at all thinking in terms of "this is a thing they may wind up watching" (they have much less interest in watching things in general than I do), so I'd been blithely telling them random stuff here and there before we got to the point of "perhaps scruloose will watch Canada's new national export after all". La? But they really enjoyed the show, which is the important thing. ^_^
[Friday Five] 3/20/2026
Mar. 23rd, 2026 12:12 amautumninplutoBelated ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
thefridayfive :) I seriously have no sense of time.
- What was the reason you began a Dreamwidth or LiveJournal account (or both)?
I've been curious about Dreamwidth for a while but only took the plunge after many years of on-and-off interest. I wanted to know how people do fandom stuff on it! - How many DW or LJ communities do you subscribe to?
29! - Do you have a favorite community or one you check out often to see what's new?
I lovebnha_fans :) I've been checking on them once a week as the latest season of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is airing and we're doing reaction threads. - How did you pick your user name?
My favorite season + planet. - If you could change your user name, would you?
Maybe in the future, I dunno. The name change is a bit pricey and it's probably more economical for me to just stick with what I have, but the belated realization that the preposition in my username is incorrect still bugs me from time to time.
So here's this thread
Mar. 22nd, 2026 12:57 pmconulyIn which this teacher earnestly wants a word to substitute for "chink" in Midsummer Night's Dream, and one person suggests kink which doesn't mean the same thing.
And on the one hand, I'm sure they all have their hearts in the right place, but on the other hand, maybe they should collectively teach a different play instead. Shakespeare wrote plenty of comedies, just pick a different one off the shelf.
And on the one hand, I'm sure they all have their hearts in the right place, but on the other hand, maybe they should collectively teach a different play instead. Shakespeare wrote plenty of comedies, just pick a different one off the shelf.
This is the March 22nd Weekly Megapost & Chat!
Mar. 22nd, 2026 01:52 amkalloway posting in mobilegamesThis is the March 22nd Weekly Megapost & Chat!
Things you can do in the comments-
- trade friend codes
- ask about games
- post about in-game events
- anything you don't want to make an individual post about
- share how the RNG is treating you
New Dissidia time!
Things you can do in the comments-
- trade friend codes
- ask about games
- post about in-game events
- anything you don't want to make an individual post about
- share how the RNG is treating you
New Dissidia time!
Bienvenidxs a Latam!
Mar. 21st, 2026 09:23 pmmaevedarcy posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_community_promoI've been looking for communities that want to center Latinx culture in their posting but haven't found any so I made one!
latam is a new community for people to come together to talk about latinamerican music, films, food, culture, fandom, and more!
Everyone's welcome, no matter where you're posting from! And you can also post in your language (official languages of the community are Spanish, Portuguese and English!)
Come make friends! We have a friending meme going on right now :)
latam is a new community for people to come together to talk about latinamerican music, films, food, culture, fandom, and more!Everyone's welcome, no matter where you're posting from! And you can also post in your language (official languages of the community are Spanish, Portuguese and English!)
Come make friends! We have a friending meme going on right now :)