soricel

Sorry for being so dead here. I've been super busy, as usual, although lately my free time has admittedly been taken up by my new Steam Deck and Fantasy Life i. I adored the original game, and I'm pleased to say that I'm having an even better time with the sequel's gameplay (although I prefer the original's story and characters).

I finished my Intro to Creative Writing class last week. I thought I would share my final short story here. I don't have my grade back for it yet, but my peers reviewed it well, and my prof seemed to like the scene I read aloud in class. Please keep in mind that this is only the second piece of fiction that I've ever written in my life; even our in-class free-write exercises were simply me journalling. Mind you, the events in this story actually did all happen in my working life, but the main character is not a direct reflection of me. Both her history and her goals differ from mine. I also changed the timeline of these events (in reality, they were much more spread out) and changed the descriptions of other characters. Making this public in case people on Blue Sky want to read it.

( Connecting the Dots )

Current Mood: nervous
Current Music: My fan

a_natural_beauty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Bonnard

https://www.wikiart.org/en/pierre-bonnard

Have any of you seen Pierre Bonnard's works?

The recent art book from my library I finished was about Pierre Bonnard. It was a rather big one and so it took me a bit longer to finish than the others. He was born in 1867 and passed away in 1947, living to be 79. He was a founding member of the post impressionist group.

What I noticed and what the book talked about a good deal was his detailed backgrounds. With colors and textures they stood out in an unusual way. Pierre was inspired by Japanese art and having now seen some of his paintings in the similar style I feel it worked well for him. Some of his paintings felt pretty expressive with his somewhat flowing style of clothing, hairstyles, poses and facial expressions. Pierre seemed to have liked painting with his friends and family during dining or lounging or
I liked what the book shared with me but looking online at his other works has been a good experience as well.

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: The radio (which has a mix of older & newer stuff!)

verylongfarewell

I'm listening to this, tonight:

Watch on YouTube

It's from my favourite album by my favourite jazz band, Carte Blanche. So crisp, clean and smooth. I could listen to these five tracks forever, when needing to unwind. Even the more upbeat numbers don't stress my nervous system.

We've had Pentecost-holidays in Denmark the past three days. Today is a day off as well. K. has been home from work, and I've been very active. We went out to get a balace board for me to start training my balance and do some gentle exercises with my foot. I had to walk a lot that day and my foot has been a little sore ever since (this was Saturday), so I think I might have overdone it a tiny bit. It isn't swollen constantly anymore, though, so I don't think it's anything to worry about either, I just try to spare it the worst brunt of it right now.

I've written two Marie-Claude short stories in a week and have at least three more in the planning stages, though probably not as long as the first two which are 6k each. I'm chewing on how to write the next one I want to do, but I think I'll try getting started later today.

TMI, but I also showered for the first time in over a week yesterday (our shower cubicle isn't equipped for someone with a bad ankle, unfortunately, and this makes me too anxious to shower often) and I made some progress in terms of anxiety management and range of motion, so I'm really proud of that! And it was just nice to be able to wash my hair.

Currently I'm collecting my Marie-Claude relevant notes in a flower-patterned notebook that I like, but it isn't perfect and I'd love to get a Paperblanks for the July project, but that would require that my girlfriend drives me into the big mall in town and I don't know when we can make time for that. Saturday next week is already booked for a friends' date with S. We might be able to do it Sunday, but that's only if my girlfriend has time there. I should ask her.

I have an obsession with Paperblanks and have, so far, used them for all my major writing projects (and a good percentage of my minor ones as well) and I really miss being able to go into town on my own and browse the selection at various of our bookshops.

Next time my assisted living person is scheduled to come, we'll go take the bus. This time we'll make it work! Once I've tried it a couple of times, I can maybe start getting around a little more independently. That would be the dream, seriously.

If I should choose a Paperblanks for the July project, I was thinking of either this or this - or both, one in mini, the other midi, one lined, the other not. Maybe I'll ask K. to order a couple for me before July starts?

We'll see.

Woke up in the middle of the night again and should go lie down, but I'm not really tired, but I'm not really in the mood for anything, either. I think, today, if I can talk my girlfriend into it, we should go for a drive. New scenery would be nice.

Current Music: burn burn burn — carte blanche

bloodygranuaile

My May entry in the Year of Erics was the only reread of the bunch: Eric Jay Dolan’s Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America. I bought this on my senior year field trip to the New Bedford Whaling Museum at the end of my Moby-Dick capstone seminar in fall 2009, and read it the first time around in 2011, after a little of the whale trauma had worn off. Now, nearly 15 years later, I a older/wiser/sadder/fatter/etc. and my love-hate relationship with Moby-Dick has turned into a whole-hearted and unironic love of it, and I would give anything to go to three-hour seminars about it at the quite reasonably late-starting hour of 9 am on Wednesdays. (Youth is wasted on the young, etc. etc.).

I decided to include this book in my Year of Erics reading because 15 years is a long time, certainly plenty of time to forget most of the stuff you read in a nonfiction book. This, I think, was a good decision! I had, indeed, forgotten quite a lot of stuff, and there were many fun anecdotes about American whaling, plus some information on Norwegian whaling that some steampunk author or other really ought to incorporate into something. Also, even though Salem was never a big whaling port, the additional 15 years in New England coastal cities makes reading New England maritime history more fun than it was when I had only lived a few years in landlocked Worcester.

The book covers not just the golden age but truly the entire timeline of American whaling, including what little we know about pre-Columbian native whaling practices, and then from the very earliest drift whaling/scavenging of the English in what they would turn into New England up until the very last wooden American whaleship, the Wanderer, left port from New Bedford in 1924, which promptly wrecked on Cuttyhunk Island in Buzzard’s Bay. Whoops.

In the middle we learn about drift whaling, shore whaling, open-sea whaling, wartime raiding upon whaleships, the discovery and exploitation of various fisheries, and some whale anatomy. There are silly political cartoons and tales of battles and mutinies where people say all sorts of insane things to each other, because people have always been people. There are not really heroes although there are occasionally villains. Fun anecdotes are enjoyably woven through a narrative that does trace the overall rises and falls in fortune of the industry and explain how it shaped American life and commerce.

I am glad to have brought this old friend off the shelf for a little bit, and now I am going to put it back on the shelf of Boat Books where it will soon be joined by some new friends as summer lakeside reading season gets started.

inchoatewords

Movies: None.

Television/Streaming: Started watching Farscape again; first time for me, but one of my husband's favorite shows. We had started watching it on his DVD set a while ago, and I don't recall why we stopped, but we only got a few episodes in. This week, we started with episode 5 (if you go by the DVD order; I guess the airing order on Sci-Fi/SyFy was different), "Back and Back and Back to the Future." Also watched the first two episodes of Buffy (which I guess aired as one long pilot originally). OMG high school flashbacks. Xander is annoying, haha.

Books: I finished Pathogenesis and in the end, I still found it really interesting, but as I said in my previous Media Post, I wish they would not have given it a different subtitle in the US. It does the book a disservice, in my opinion.

Currently reading Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton. This was my pick for our DEI Book Club I started at work. I wonder how my colleagues will feel about this one! I was intrigued by the sample and I had wanted to choose a trans author as we are reading this during Pride month, but there is a lot more mysticism and witchiness than I was expecting from the blub, heh. I'M enjoying it immensely, which seems weird to say because it is very emotional and heart-stomping, but I think it is really good.

Gala, a young trans woman living in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, is obsessed with a 1960s band called the Get Happies (which are thinly veiled Beach Boys). Their record, Summer Fun, was never released; why? The novel is written in an epistolary format, where Gala writes letters to the lead singer, B., retelling his life story.

Gaming: I've been using Pikmin Bloom to try to get some walks in during the week. That's about it from the video game side.

adore

I'm participating in The Wheel of Chaos in which we collectively pounce on our keyboards and become chaos gremlins for an unforeseen amount of time. Signups are here: link!

Current Mood: happy

dr_zook

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Current Mood: accomplished

highlyeccentric

Last Sunday I had lamb, but had to go get more ingredients before I could make Nagi's slow-roasted middle eastern lamb shoulder. I ended up running too late to make it in a slow-cooker, and still short a few items, so I had-hocked it a few ways. The leftovers turned out amazing though, kept going all week.

( Spiced Lamb Shoulder )

Nagi serves hers with lemon herb couscous. I (being gluten-intolerant) recommend basmati rice, cooked with at least half the liquid being stock. You may wish to add sultanas to the rice.

Recommended toppings:

( Yoghurt sauce )

( Ful Medames )

Serve: Lamb on a bed of rice, with roast vegetables and the two dip/sauces.

Leftovers 1: Same thing, minus the yoghurt if you're taking it to work to reheat. If carrying it in a container to reheat, do include an orange wedge, and a dash of extra water, to infuse with the rice.

Leftovers 2: Ful Medames on celery sticks, as a component of Girl Dinner / Picky Tea.

Leftovers 3:

( Lamb and Feta Pizza )

Leftovers 3b: Leftover pizza.

Leftovers 4, which I made at the same time as the pizza:

( Spiced vegetable and bean soup )

Leftovers 4b: soup. Mix yoghurt sauce through if you're taking it in a container to work.

Leftovers 5: Wraps/soft tacos/thingy with fuul medames and lamb. If you have leftover mushroom / zucchini from the pizza, toss that in here. Add avocado if you have any.

Leftovers 6: at this point just "uses for ful medames", but ful medames mixed with Jack M's banana chili ketchup makes a good spread base for breakfast burrito.

This has been: a week of lamb and things that go with lamb.

circii posting in

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Name:circii or bunnii

Age: 30s

Country: Australia

I mostly post about: My journal is very new, i think I decided to make it because I was feeling a bit low and just wanted to write about my feelings and interests and hopefully find like-minded people. I'm also trying to make my web experience a more pleasant one, so I like looking at journals and personal websites. Indie web, small web, that kind of thing I yearn for so I might share things I find! But so far, I like to yap about my daily life and my practice in fighting games. I just started a fight log so I can hopefully more clearly see my progress! I will probably generally just talk about other things like anime, video games and maybe I'll post art or photos taken on my digicam. Also I'm queer and figuring things out still lmao

My hobbies are: Currently I'm focused in on fighting games (granblue rising, but I'm also a street fighter and guilty gear enjoyer), working on my art, vtubing, crochet and the smallest smattering of baby guitar when I can find time after all that. Other interests that can come back into my rotation is language study (Japanese and Spanish), miniature painting, nail art, weightlifting, snorkeling (I dream of scuba/free diving tho!)

My fandoms are:I'm not deep in any fandom at the moment but I enjoy content from sailor moon, granblue, guilty gear, general DnD stuff, hololive, vshojo and arcane. I'm also a huge Lady Gaga fan. And a lover of My Chemical Romance.

I'm looking to meet people who: I think are cool! I enjoy reading other people's day-to-day life and their passions, might get me excited about something new , too! If we hype over similar things that's a tasty cherry on top ;9

My posting schedule tends to be: aiming for at least a few times a week.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: if you don't support LGBTQ+, if you excuse any wars, if you support generative AI, you know if you lean in those kinds of directions - please don't talk to me.

Before adding me, you should know: I'm sorry if my post was too long! And I might be using this as a form of therapy (cuz therapy is expensive) so if I do post something that's a bit heavier, I'll learn how to put it behind a cut and maybe make it friends only. But I think I'll try and keep cheery here! I'm still learning how to use this site

used_songs posting in

beautifulmechanical

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november_5th posting in

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Name: Karmen

Age: 30s

I mostly post about: personal growth, trauma unpacking, character analysis, neurodivergence, identity, memory, and the messiness of being human. Sometimes it’s raw introspection. Sometimes it’s writing projects. Sometimes it’s emotional archaeology. Expect depth, questions, and occasional chaos.

My hobbies are: Writing, reading, exploring psychological patterns, long drives with curated playlists, casually reverse-engineering tech, helping others make sense of complex systems, data analysis, and overanalyzing fictional characters as a form of therapy.

My fandoms are: Buffy, Doctor Who, Veronica Mars, iZombie, Epic: The Musical, Star Trek, The Martian/Project Hail Mary universe, and anything weird, genre-bending, or emotionally resonant. I also have a soft spot for nostalgic emo vibes and anything that blends humor with existential dread.

I'm looking to meet people who: Think deeply, love honestly, write messily, and aren’t afraid of intensity. Neurodivergent folks, artists, writers, and anyone else who thrives in the liminal spaces between structure and chaos - let’s connect.

My posting schedule tends to be: sporadic but meaningful. If I post, it’s because I have something to say, not because an algorithm demands it.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Bigotry of any kind or cruelty masked as honesty. If you can’t be kind (or at least curious), I’m not your people.

Before adding me, you should know: I’m someone who craves depth over small talk. I’m working on showing up without needing to perform. I write honestly, even when it’s messy. I hold space for contradiction, growth, and grief. If you’re here for realness, reflection, and weird little moments of connection, welcome.

stacys_musings

These past few weeks since school ended I have spent walking and reading most days and trying to avoid the usual nonsense from B. Our microwave broke, and so we needed a new one, and the one we ordered won't fit in the opening, so we had to go back to Home Depot. Tomorrow the car is going in for air conditioning service. We also had a problem with the dishwasher not draining, and I had to use the wet-vac to pull out the water that was sitting at the bottom of the machine. Now that I am off for the summer, B seems more bored than ever.
Back to work on the History Books Saga. I started re-reading what I'd written so far. I think I may wind up removing the scenes with APC and Hayley and putting them in the next part and leaving this first section to focus exclusively on Slavka. I'll make a decision in the upcoming days.

Current Mood: creative

anais_pf posting in

thefridayfive

1. Have you ever been to summer camp?

2. Have you ever made a s'more?

3. Have you ever slept under the stars (no tent/tarp)?

4. Have you ever had a member of the opposite sex sleep over at your house?

5. What type of bed do you have (queen, twin, bunk, etc.)?

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.

If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!

tozka

Happy Thursday! I'm leaving this housesit tomorrow-- I have the weekend free for sightseeing and then I need to make my way over to Evanston, Illinois for my next (short) sit. Today is a lot of cleaning, packing, and trying to eat whatever's left in the fridge!

For now, here's some links for y'all:

The Quantum Bang multi-fandom fix-it big bang is live and stories are being posted now! (h/t

starwatcher)

June's theme at

fancake is female relationships (of all kinds). Come make recs!

unfitforsociety posted some Batman (Batfamily) fanfic recs. ( More links! )

verylongfarewell

I've been sick all day. No fevers or anything, but general fatigue and lethargy, I think I've slept half the day away at the least. My girlfriend caught something a few days back and it has been riding us like a mare since. I truly hope our entire weekend won't be completely ruined by it. Sigh. No matter what, nothing we can really do about it.

It's sucked big time, though, especially since I've been wanting to write or betaread or do something constructive with my time, but not had the spoons to. It's the worst feeling. Have managed to work a little on a Marcel flash fic as well as editing the first part of my current Marie-Claude short story, but compared to my usual workload? It's pebbles and grain.

I've had a nagging urge to continue the Marie-Claude piece. It would be my first attempt at erotic fiction in Danish and I kind of... stalled at the actual erotica, but I do know how I want to proceed, I just - again - haven't really had the mental energy. Double sigh.

Have I introduced you all to Marie-Claude? I introduced you to Marcel a few days back, and Marie-Claude is from the same general universe, bound to Marcel by her relation to Jean Louis, Marcel's lover. Marie-Claude and Jean Louis have a sibling-like relationship, both let down terribly by Marie-Claude's father, who besides his familial connection to Marie-Claude, served as mentor and substitute father figure to Jean Louis earlier in the timeline. So, they connect over their shared disappointment in him, while also both working in politics. At first, Marie-Claude worked as Jean Louis' speech writer, but eventually quit to start her own party and take her own place in the political lineup in their country. Still, they continued to be close - until it was discovered that Jean Louis had deep ties to the criminal world and had done truly atrocious things in his position as foreign minister. So Jean Louis flees the country and for a while, they're no contact. During that period, Marie-Claude becomes prime minister and takes over leadership, but when Jean Louis begins writing her in secret, she foregoes all security protocols and writes him back. Because he is still her brother in spirit and she misses him and for once in her life, she will do something selfish and stupid for her own sake.

That is the starting point of my girlfriend's and my July project. That is where the correspondance between Marie-Claude and Jean Louis begins.

We're both very excited about it, I think it will develop these characters beyond anything either of us have ever done with them before. Hopefully. I also just look forward to sharing this process with her and, I believe, producing a worthwhile piece of fiction.

If you want to meet Marie-Claude, just take a look at Sonia Petrovna in Indian Summer. She is the spitting image of how I imagine Marie-Claude looks, just slightly older. Marie-Claude is in her mid-thirties at the beginning of the novel, though she looks fairly young still.

The rest of the day, however, is going to be spent making dinner at some point soon and after that, rewatching The Prince of Egypt which is one of my favourite films of all time. True comfort entertainment. Speaking of claiming faces, Miriam could be a really good face for my version of Mary. Just saying.

zenigotchas posting in

beautifulmechanical

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Current Mood: excited

tozka

2025 Reading Log | 35/200 yearly goal (+2 from last update)

I've gotten sucked into a fanfic-reading frenzy (Naruto, of all things) so my book-reading has been sparse these past few weeks. However, I did read two books since my last Reading Wednesday post!

First, I decided to read the Oz books (including the post-Baum books by Ruth Plumly Thompson) as a kind of reading project thing, and I of course started with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

I've read it before, but the last time was (I'm pretty sure) back in 2007 when I got my first ereader and put a bunch of public domain books on it.

It's a charming book, and I especially liked the intro from Baum in the beginning that spells out the aim of the book: to be a modern fairy tale for kids that isn't focused on morality lessons. And it does that!

( Chatter about Wonderful Wizard of Oz, including spoilers )

Besides that, I also read a novella by KL Noone called The Pooka's Share. It's a m/m urban fantasy romance between a paranormal police officer and a pookah (Celtic shape-changing spirit) with surprise (to me, because I hadn't read the summary) BDSM elements. A cute story! Perhaps spent a bit too much time on the worldbuilding when this is just a one-off and short to boot, but overall good.

silversea posting in

booknook

Happy June!

What are you reading?

booksbardsandbaselines posting in

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Name: Danielle

Age: 30s

I mostly post about: life, books I'm reading (or re-reading!), music I'm loving, tennis matches I'm yelling at the TV about, and all the soft little joys in between.

My hobbies are: reading, writing, journalling, cooking, gardening, watching tennis, listening to music, doing crosswords, talking about Greek myths, collecting daffodils (not literally, just in spirit), and wandering around museums and libraries like a nerd in her natural habitat.

My fandoms are: Percy Jackson, Greek mythology in general, Taylor Swift, various tennis players (Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Jasmine Paolini, Qinwen Zheng).

I'm looking to meet people who: are curious, kind, thoughtful, and enjoy rambling about things they love. Fellow readers, writers, myth geeks, ADHD brains, and warm-hearted nerds especially welcome!

My posting schedule tends to be: softly chaotic, but aiming for 3–4 posts a week—somewhere between “routine” and “inspired flurry.”

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: bigotry of any kind, cruelty, or just generally being mean-spirited. I like my internet spaces kind and cozy.

Before adding me, you should know: I'm a chatterbox when I'm excited, and I’ll probably mention Greek gods, tennis scores, and obscure historical tidbits in the same breath. I write with a lot of heart, and I love connecting with thoughtful people. 💛

verylongfarewell

Tonight I am listening to this.

It's mood music for the Lilith short story that, although I have sent it to my editor, I'm still mulling over and wanting to elaborate more on. Not within that particular short story, that one is definitely done, but it opens up for so many questions about what happens later and I'm thinking about maybe writing some stand-alone ficlets to cover some of those questions. I have two prompt tables (colors) from

rainbowfic that I think I'll use for it, ten prompts in each, so that would be ten little fics combined. I think I can do that before June is over and be ready for the July novel project my girlfriend and I will be writing together.

Yes, I think that's gonna be my plan of action.

I keep returning to the short story, though. It's not that often I feel like this, where I return because I want to read my own writing as a reader, not as the writer. But this one scratches that exact itch, so I keep wanting to sink into it more. It's the language of it, I think, it's very poetic and flowery. I can only think of one author whose work I feel like this about and that's André Aciman, one of my favourites, and this isn't to compare myself to the likes of him, but just to say... it's the same feeling, and I want to think that's a good sign.

Even if and when my short story comes back to me with a million corrections and red lines, I want to hold onto this feeling, that this story feels worthwhile and calls to something in me even I didn't know was there until I wrote it. Regardless of whether or not the submission call will take it, I'm very proud of this story. I think it holds something unique.

Tomorrow is my first day this week with no plans during the day - plus, my girlfriend, if she's not sick still, has plans in the evening, so that might be the whole day, really... And I plan to get a head start on some writing, drink lots of tea and maybe go for a walk around the neighbourhood. I still can't walk very far, but around the parking lot and maybe up to the bus stop should be okay.

Other songs I'm listening to right now count this:

Watch on YouTube

Also on my Lilith playlist, if you were wondering. Very much a song from Lilith to Mary. So much girlpower and feminine strength in there, not to mention a real banger. I've listened to it on repeat for days now.

Gonna try staying up late-ish tonight, in the hopes of a better night's sleep that last night which was straight up awful. My sleep schedule these days is really marked by a lot of stress, anxiety and worries. Hopefully, when my girlfriend's summer hols come around, things will settle into something quieter and calmer.

Here's to hoping.

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Reading

Connecting the dots

Art books: Pierre Bonnard

17 | back to henri

Very like a whale

Media Post

//cracks knuckles

[fic] - Wild Adapter: Soaked in Fire Two Paths Collide

Roast Lamb à la Nagi + Leftovers Thereof

(no subject)

Nadah El Shazly on Bandcamp

Come for the introspection, stay for the emo throwbacks

I'm Alive!

The Friday Five for 6 June 2025

murdle, leather at pride, protest poetry

16 | making claims

(no subject)

reading wednesday

RIP (Read In Progress) Wednesday

myth, matches & me: a hello post

15 | dawn till dusk

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