jedibuttercup | Network

We went into central London this afternoon, intending to visit the British Museum, but we made a very late start, and after our late lunch discovered they were sold out of (free) tickets for today.

So we went to the National Gallery, a few bus stops away, and looked at paintings. I wasn't up for a huge amount of walking, but bny the time I was ready to leave, so were Adrian and Cattitude. We spent a few minutes just enjoyong being in Trafalgar Square on a sunny afternoon, then walked to Charing Cross to get the Underground. Annoyingly, while it was (as whickever app Cattitude was using said) only a few minutes walk to Charing Cross, there was a lot more walking underground, and we had to go down several flights of stairs.

I was pleasantly surprised by how little my joints hurt by the time we got back to Mom's flat. I took both naproxen and acetominophen before we left, and wore my better walking shoes and a pair of smartwool socks, and the combination sdeems to have done me a lot of good.

We're flying home tomorrow. I booked a cab, which will pick us up at 2:15, and logged onto the British Airways website and changed the (acceptable) seats it had assigned us to ones we like better (I got us all aisle seats, instead of all next to each other so one person was in a middle seat).

dhampyresa

I wear a brace most of the time rn because of wrist tendinitis, which means drawing isn't just a matter of grabbing a sketchbook and pencil and go anymore. I have to undo and remove the brace -- which doesn't take very long, but it's enough of a roadblock that I have time to consider if I should do it (probably not). I end up not drawing as much as I want to and WOW a lot of stuff I usually watch on youtube feels so much more boring and I retain so much less of it when I'm not drawing at the same time.

Unrelated, but I can't decide and want opinions: is saint worship a form of ancestor cult?

shadowhive

Sunshine Revival time. I’ll go back to challenge 5 when my brain is better and not… whatever it has been these past days.

Challenge #6

Journaling prompt: What games do you play, if any? Are you a solo-gamer or do you view games as a social activity?
Creative prompt: Write a story/fic around the theme "game night".

Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

It’s been forever since I’ve played a board game, though I did get a few I backed on kickstarter that can be played alone so I might have to play one of them at some point, though the heat and my brain has defeated my intent to try them.

So mostly I play video games instead.

Daily I usually play these
*Magic Arena - which is the app version of Magic The Gathering which is pretty good and I have fun with, though some of the daily quests can be frustrating. (The current pass is Final Fantasy so if you’re into that there’s lots of stuff to do with it). I just wish it had more deck slots
*Marvel Snap - another app card game this with Marvel which is fun and has nice art, though again deck slots are an issue. Currently there’s a Fantastic Four pass for it, and I just got the new Human Torch based on the new film
*Fortnite - which I go on to do dailies and current am trying to finish the battle pass (again, superhero themed)
*A Little To The Left - this has a mode called a daily tidy where each day there’s a new puzzle. I’ve been doing them for over a year now even though I’ve not finished the actual main game’s puzzles

I’ve also done a few games lately, namely Star Wras Outlaws dlc, Still Wakes The Deep dlc and Dredge (and some of its dlc). (I’ve talked about all these recently, just check out the game thoughts tag)

However the main thing I’ve been playing the past few days is the new Donkey Kong Bananza game. So I figure I’d focus my response on that.

So when it got announced on the switch 2 trailer I was a little uncertain about it. Sure it looked really good but DK running around smashing things didn’t feel too interesting. The direct on it did convince me though so I decided to pick it up when it came out.

Honestly? It’s really fun. It’s bright and colourful and it does look really great. And the running around smashing things is actually really fun! You can dig underground and make tunnels, plus you can find fossils which you use on cosmetics. (Currently I have Donkey Kong with purple fur!)

The basic premise of the game is you’re going underground and each layer is a different ‘world’. (I dunno why each layer does have a sky despite being underground, mayeb that’ll get explained later I dunno). The first layer was a lagoon, the second hills and the third (which I’m currently on) is a canyon. Your goal is to keep going down, chasing after a bunch of bad guys before they get to the planet core (and whenever it gets mentioned I thought of Episode I).

I really like the games npcs, at first there’s monkeys in scavenger outfits, but there’s also cute lil eel things and fractones which are these strange rock people. There’s also some fractones that are like giraffes which is fun. I’m looking forward to seeing what other npcs will be. (Because honestly a big thing for me and games like this is npcs)

Each layer so far has a main ‘goal’ but you can also run around hunting for collectibles such as the aforementioned fossils and also banana gems. Plus there’s these short levels which are a bit like shrines from Zelda in that they are self contained things you do for bananas. (And at least one is styled after the old school side scrolling donkey Kong).

There’s a lot to do and I feel I’ve not even scratched the surface (I’ve no idea how many layers there are and I kinda don’t wanna look it up to find out).

If I have one criticism it’s. Cause of the direct itself. In the first trailer you’re shown to find a strnage talking stone that becomes your companion. It’s a cute thing that follows you around, but at the end of the first layer it’s revealed to actually be a person, Pauline. This is revealed in the direct and I kinda wish it wasn’t cause it would’ve made the reveal more impactful (but I scan understand why cause you couldn’t exactly show much of the game without it).

And damn I will rambled there. But yeah it’s a great game so far and I am really enjoying it. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next layer is gonna be cause it feels like I’ll be close soon. (Though that might be tomorrow)

I leave with a lil eel guy

Current Mood: nerdy
Current Music: Shoto stream

badly_knitted posting in

get_knitted

Hello to all members, passers-by, curious onlookers, and shy lurkers, and welcome to our regular daily check-in post. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your current projects are progressing, or even if they're not.

Checking in is NOT compulsory, check in as often or as seldom as you want, this community isn't about pressure it's about encouragement, motivation, and support. Crafting is meant to be fun, and what's more fun than sharing achievements and seeing the wonderful things everyone else is creating?

There may also occasionally be questions, but again you don't have to answer them, they're just a way of getting to know each other a bit better.

This Week's Question: What do you like to listen to / watch while crafting?

If anyone has any questions of their own about the community, or suggestions for tags, questions to be asked on the check-in posts, or if anyone is interested in playing check-in host for a week here on the community, which would entail putting up the daily check-in posts and responding to comments, go to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment.

I now declare this Check-In OPEN!

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

james_davis_nicoll

Watch on YouTube

selenak

In which it's time for the charming nostalgia show again.

( While the season opener resolves last season's cliffhanger, episode 2 makes one of Peter David's inventions canon )

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: Bad Wiessee

runpunkrun

Banner with text: fan_writers.dreamwidth.org: talking about writing. Black and white image shows hands typing on a laptop and a pen making revisions on a piece of lined notebook paper.

New comm for meta about writing! Moderated by fandom staples

mific and

china_shop!

nialla

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

squidgiepdx posting in

whenisitdue

Here are items with dates between Sunday, July 20th and Saturday, July 26th, as well as items added recently that started this past week. Remember, you can comment here on new items that need to be added to the list.

Items starting since the last update & this coming week

Open Date	Close Date	Community	Type of Challenge	Prompt/Information	Link
07/16/2025	08/15/2025	cap_ironman (DW)	Fanworks	Signup period for Marvel Universe: Cap-Ironman Big Bang 2025	click here for details
07/24/2025	07/31/2025	Falling_In_Love_Exchange_2025 (AO3)	Fanworks	Signup period for the Fall Getting Together Exchange	click here for details
07/25/2025	07/27/2025	DCSlash(Other)	Fandom Convention	Online DC Slash Convention with three days of inclusive programming	click here for details

Items ending this coming week

Open Date	Close Date	Community	Type of Challenge	Prompt/Information	Link
07/10/2025	07/20/2025	fan_flashworks (DW)	Fanworks	Challenge 485: Face	click here for details
07/13/2025	07/20/2025	hifargoweek2025(AO3)	Fanworks	Highly Irregular Fargo Week 2025	click here for details
07/01/2025	07/21/2025	Falling_In_Love_Exchange_2025 (AO3)	Tagset Noms	Tagset nominations for the Fall Getting Together Exchange	click here for details
07/16/2025	07/23/2025	enemiestoloversex (DW)	Fanworks	Signup period for the Multifandom: Enemies to Lovers Exchange 2025	click here for details

Remember: For anything Harry Potter fandom related, please refer to the Potterfests community on Dreamwidth or on LiveJournal. Additionally, there is a new community called

vocab_drabbles (located here) that does weekly drabbles based on a vocabulary word.

squidgiepdx

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

pushkin666

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: awake
Current Location: on my Chandler/Joey chair

klb posting in

pod_together

It's time for our second check-in! You can check in over email (pod.together@gmail.com), dreamwidth comment (comments on this post are screened), or via discord message to klb, shmaylor, minnabird, or rockinhamburger. Please try to check-in within 48 hours. We will send a follow-up email to all those we haven't heard from at that time. (If you've already turned in your writing and received confirmation from the mods, you don't need to check in but you're welcome to!)

The complete writing is due in one week, on July 27th. You can find more information in our FAQ about what it means for writing to be complete. Writers can either email us a link to a shared version of their text that their podficcer has access to (for example a shared Google Doc) or post the text to the Pod_Together 2025 collection on AO3. The collection is moderated and set to "unrevealed" so the stories will show as "mystery" works until the mods reveal them on the scheduled posting day. If your podficcer is not included as a co-creator on the AO3 post, please contact a mod when you submit your writing to confirm that your podficcer has access to the completed text. You can find full posting instructions here.

The Early Writing deadline is this Wednesday, July 23rd. At the end of the challenge, mods will create a schedule for revealing completed projects, evenly distributed across a ten-day posting period. Projects that meet the Early Writing AND Early Podfic submission deadlines will be posted first, followed by projects that meet the Early Writing OR Early Podfic submission deadline, followed by all other projects.

If you're feeling confident in your ability to finish the writing on time, we look forward to hearing about it and we always love to hear about what's going well in your partnerships. If you are having problems in your partnership, we're also happy to hear about those and help suggest ideas for troubleshooting!

If you're not feeling confident in your ability to finish the writing within the next 7 days, please let us know and we can talk about:

The possibility of an extension. Please note our extension policy: "Each participant can receive a maximum extension of 7 days past their deadline. If you request an extension, please tell us how long you would like that extension to be. Up to 3 days will be granted automatically to everyone, and extensions of up to 7 days will be granted automatically to those who used Group Sign Ups. For those who used Match Maker Sign Ups, if an extension of 4–7 days is needed, please include a plan for how you intend to finish within that time."

The possibility of getting a beta or cheerleader.

The possibility of getting a co-writer.

The possibility of writing a shorter version of your original story plan for your podficcer to begin recording (which is able to stand alone in case a life emergency stops you from writing more) with the agreement that if there is time and interest by both parties, you might create additional scenes later to add on.

The possibility of (with your partner's approval) leaving some areas of the script for podficcer ad-lib.

The possibility of additional scheduled accountability check-ins, if that will help keep you motivated and not stressed!

Also, please remember to share what you've written so far with your partner. This means not just an update of your progress but sharing your draft itself. The minimum requirement is once per check-in!

Finally, if you're realizing that what you really need in order to take care of yourself is to drop out, that's fine. Yay self-care! Please let us know as soon as possible though, so we can offer your partner a pinch hitter.

feurioo posting in

tv_talk

( Contestants under the cut! )

kingstoken

Challenge #6

Journaling prompt: What games do you play, if any? Are you a solo-gamer or do you view games as a social activity?

I don't really consider myself a "gamer". I used to play some video games occasionally, but I haven't really lately, I haven't even been playing games on my phone lately, which is something I used to enjoy, but its kind of fell to the wayside. The most recent game I played was "The Beekeeper's Picnic" which is a cozy Sherlock Holmes game. I'm ashamed to say I finished the first level and didn't continue, but I do hope to get back to it at some point because I've heard that it is really sweet and enjoyable.

I used to enjoy board games, but I currently don't have anyone to play them with. I wish I knew some people locally that I could play board games with, because there seems to be a way larger selection of games for adults now then there was years ago.

Anyways, I hope this answer wasn't too much of a downer.

james_davis_nicoll

Finally, a publisher willing to preserve the last few male writers, who as we know are rarer than trilobites, more delicate than orchids, and more precious than... well, you know.

As of 2021, 50.45% of authors within the US are women and 49.55% of authors are men.

umadoshi

Reading: Mostly non-fiction last week, oddly. Still slowly reading through An Everlasting Meal, as well as flipping through a couple of new cookbooks in hard copy*. I also started reading Maureen Ryan's Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood.

As for fiction, I started--brace yourself--listening to an audiobook. I don't really do audio formats at all! But

scruloose has never read Murderbot, and the audiobooks seem to be WIDELY beloved, so I thought maybe we could follow Kas and Ginny's example and listen to one or more of those together. So I borrowed All Systems Red from Hoopla (another first for me), and yesterday we listened to the first three chapters or so. (I highly doubt I'm going to take up non-music audio media in any meaningful way, but who knows? Three chapters was definitely not enough to make it stop feeling weird, though.)

*A small order from Book Outlet contained What Goes with What: 100 Recipes, 20 Charts, Endless Possibilities (Julia Turshen); Half the Sugar, All the Love: 100 Easy, Low-Sugar Recipes for Every Meal of the Day (Jennifer Tyler Lee and Anisha Patel), which crossed my radar early on in the "must keep an eye on blood sugar" process and stuck because it doesn't use any artificial sweeteners (since I've never met one I didn't hate); Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End; and the first and third installments of the Murderbot Diaries consolidated editions, which means I now own books 1, 2, 6, and 7 in hard copy.

Not sure if I'll just keep an eye out for the second volume to turn up there too or if I'll cave and just buy it. I'm glad there's a release that combines novellas! But I'm also eyeing the hard copy option for Network Effect and wondering if there's going to be a release of it that matches this set. I like all the original covers, but I also like my physical books to match. (Does anyone know if there's any plan for a matching rerelease?)

(Am I still grumpy that--unless something's changed?--it seems like the first three of Wells' Raksura books got released in mass market paperbacks, which I pounced on because that's my preferred format, but the fourth and fifth didn't? YES.)

Cooking/Baking: Mid-week,

scruloose picked up some strawberries that tasted and looked fine but had a slightly odd texture (kind of...mushy? But nothing was visibly wrong?), so we turned most of them into this Buttermilk ~~Blueberry~~ Strawberry Breakfast Cake. It was tasty enough, but not so tasty that I immediately understood why it's one of the two most popular recipes on the site; that said, in addition to swapping the berries, we didn't have fresh lemon zest on hand and used the granulated peel from Silk Road (and also, my impression is that while blueberry and lemon are an iconic flavor pairing, that's not true of strawberry and lemon) and did the vinegar-in-milk substitution for buttermilk. So who knows.

Yesterday

scruloose had to go downtown to one of the large markets because that's the only place our usual meat guy vends and we'd placed a fairly large order (sadly, to replace one from a few weeks ago that met a tragic end by not getting put into the freezer soon enough). But en route, they stopped at the little corner market and got two containers each of raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries, plus some new potatoes. So now we are SWIMMING in berries, which is a wonderful state of affairs. I imagine there's no way we'll make it through all of them by just eating them straight, so we'll see what we wind up doing.

Current Mood: sleepy

james_davis_nicoll

An assortment of disco-era fantasy stories.

Basilisk edited by Ellen Kushner

creepy_shetan posting in

comment_fic

[ If you're interested in being a Tuesday-Thursday guest host, you can sign up here. Thanks! ❤ ]
↑↑↑ Available dates:
July 29 & 31
August 5 & 7
August 12 & 14

Hey, come on in! :D Welcome to our weekly special day for Lonely Prompts. If this is your first time at

comment_fic on a Sunday, you can either request previous prompts to be filled or share your recent fills for prompts. (Or do both, of course!) ✎

How to look for prompts:
We have plenty of prompts that might just nibble away at your brain today. You can browse through the comm's calendar archive (here on LJ or here on DW) for themed and Free For All posts, or perhaps check out Sunday posts for Lonely Prompt requests. (Or, you can be like me, and try to save interesting prompts as you see 'em... and then end up with multiple text doc files full of [themes + links + prompts] that you can easily look through and search for keywords.) Multiple fills for one prompt are welcome, by the way! Oh, and you are very likely to find some awesome fills to read as well, and wouldn't it be nice to leave a comment on those lovely little writing distractions? ~_^

Whichever you decide to do, prompt or fill (or both), please remember:
1. You can only request five prompts to be filled.
2. You can request no more than three prompts from a particular fandom.
3. You can, however, fill as many prompts in as many fandoms as you'd like!
4. In the subject line, be sure to say whether it is a request or a fill!
5. You must link back to wherever the prompt is in the community archive (whether filling or requesting), and, if you're filling the prompt, please post the fill as a reply to the original prompt.
6. If you are filling an "any/any" prompt, please let us know what fandom you've written it for (or if it's original!).
8. If there are possible triggers in your story, please warn for them in the subject line!
7. If you've filled any lonely prompts in the past week, this is the place to share them!
9. Finally, please remember to add your prompt fills to our AO3 collection: Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2024 collection. See further notes on this option here.

How to link:
[a href="http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/449155.html?thread=70682755#t70682755">MCU, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts, She's wearing daisy dukes and one of his button-down shirts.[/a]
(change the brackets to "<" and ">" respectively)
or:
http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/139897.html?thread=30155641#t30155641
Burn Notice, Sam/Michael/Fi, "It's always been you. And it's always gonna be you."

We are on AO3! If you fill a prompt and post it to AO3, please add it to the Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2025 collection.

If you are viewing this post on our Dreamwidth site: please know that fills posted here will not show up as comments on our LiveJournal site, but you are still more than welcome to participate. =)

If you have a Dreamwidth account and would feel more comfortable participating there, please feel free to do so… and spread the word! comment_fic

A friendly reminder about our posting schedule: Themed posts for new prompts go up on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Saturdays are a Free for All day for new prompts of any flavor. Sundays are for showing Lonely Prompts some love, whether by requesting for someone to adopt them or by sharing any fills that you've recently completed.

princessofgeeks

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Current Mood: sad

mabiana

All the fannish coffee mugs I bought at Thalia this spring needed appropriate coasters, obviously. ;-)

In a macrame book I have there are instructions for making coasters and I vaguely wondered if they might make nice presents, but the design they proposed didn't really call to me and so I postponed the idea. But with the new old fannish obsession there then came quite an obvious choice. ;-) Although with all the white and my tendency to spill my tea I am not that sure they will really go into practical use and not just end up on a wall. In fact, I am now wondering which other fandoms I could thus work into a macrame project, and make some kind of macrame fandom exhibition on said non-existent empty wall...