But waste it I did. There were still mistakes on the test. two caught in test and fixed, one while grading. Ah well. Some of the students wasted my time. Can you tell me what you mean by what is this projection of bone? No. I have spent SEVEN weeks telling you that so no. And the one who's slated to do this test on friday asks 'is there a list online?' If you don't know this after 9 weeks, I don't like your chances. (the answer is yes, I've been showing them this every week for 8 weeks)
But the biggest waste of my time...it's a toss up between sleeping and voting.
I slept great from 2-6 AM and then from 6-8 I woke up and fell asleep so many times I was convinced I forgot to set the alarm and sleep paralysis-ed my way through it. And the dream was weird. I was in a fancy spa bathing area, trying to bathe...with the door open and somehow this led to murder. I don't know why I killed the person or how I disappeared the body but the rest of the dream was me trying to dispose of the chair I set him in (which had been mixed in to a church hall sort of room) and the blade...
As for voting, I have zero tv stations from OH (as Charleston WV is the closest big city along with Ashland NY) BUT on Facebook governor and senate race ads have been hitting hard and heavy so I thought that was what we were voting on. I have to go thru the hinter lands to get to my voting bingo hall and...it's for 3 school board members and three levies to keep 911 and firefighters rolling. Really? I could have skipped this.
Fannish 50 junk
Baking shows. I don't watch many anymore but I do watch Halloween and Holiday baking shows and I guess they're getting long in the tooth. I'm also wondering how rigged all of this is? Or how swayed we are by sad stories.
In Halloween we had one guy who apparently thinks this is another type of show, where you have villains etc but that was only episode 1. I thought maybe they spoke to him but that wasn't true apparently because in the second to last episode another baker commented on this sort of bullying and smack talking but they opted not to show it. I guess it tested poorly. It did with me. I can watch other shows if I want that. The winner had two sob stories. Was she good enough? I think the other two were better and it made me wonder did they decide to give it to her?
Holiday baking challenge aired last night and it is in teams with them bickering like the other sorts of cooking challenges with teams. I hate that. I have enough drama without that. Do you like that kind of thing? I figure someone does as it's so prevalent. I hope that won't be the whole of the show.
But the biggest waste of my time...it's a toss up between sleeping and voting.
I slept great from 2-6 AM and then from 6-8 I woke up and fell asleep so many times I was convinced I forgot to set the alarm and sleep paralysis-ed my way through it. And the dream was weird. I was in a fancy spa bathing area, trying to bathe...with the door open and somehow this led to murder. I don't know why I killed the person or how I disappeared the body but the rest of the dream was me trying to dispose of the chair I set him in (which had been mixed in to a church hall sort of room) and the blade...
As for voting, I have zero tv stations from OH (as Charleston WV is the closest big city along with Ashland NY) BUT on Facebook governor and senate race ads have been hitting hard and heavy so I thought that was what we were voting on. I have to go thru the hinter lands to get to my voting bingo hall and...it's for 3 school board members and three levies to keep 911 and firefighters rolling. Really? I could have skipped this.
Fannish 50 junk
Baking shows. I don't watch many anymore but I do watch Halloween and Holiday baking shows and I guess they're getting long in the tooth. I'm also wondering how rigged all of this is? Or how swayed we are by sad stories.
In Halloween we had one guy who apparently thinks this is another type of show, where you have villains etc but that was only episode 1. I thought maybe they spoke to him but that wasn't true apparently because in the second to last episode another baker commented on this sort of bullying and smack talking but they opted not to show it. I guess it tested poorly. It did with me. I can watch other shows if I want that. The winner had two sob stories. Was she good enough? I think the other two were better and it made me wonder did they decide to give it to her?
Holiday baking challenge aired last night and it is in teams with them bickering like the other sorts of cooking challenges with teams. I hate that. I have enough drama without that. Do you like that kind of thing? I figure someone does as it's so prevalent. I hope that won't be the whole of the show.
1. The election results tonight are so exciting! Mamdani! And so much good news out of Virginia! Polls here don't close for another half hour, but I am cautiously optimistic about Prop 50. Of course Republicans are already saying everything's rigged, but that's what being a Republican means these days.
2. We had a nice lunch today at Disneyland. We didn't go on the weekend since I still was feeling under the weather, but I didn't have anything scheduled this morning, just a meeting in the afternoon, so I was able to make good use of that flexibility.
3. Carla took her Switch and some games to Book Off today while we were down in Gardena and got $250 for the lot. Her Switch was an Animal Crossing one (doesn't come with the game or anything, but the design is super cute) and she still had the original box, so I was pretty sure they'd give a decent price for it. I think that was about $150 and another $100 for the games. She'd call the night before to make sure that location was buying systems as some of them don't, and they said yes, and that they had a promotion right now for Switch games where you get an extra 20% over their usual buying price, so we went through our games and found some we don't think we'll play again.
4. Chloe's celebrating election victories!
2. We had a nice lunch today at Disneyland. We didn't go on the weekend since I still was feeling under the weather, but I didn't have anything scheduled this morning, just a meeting in the afternoon, so I was able to make good use of that flexibility.
3. Carla took her Switch and some games to Book Off today while we were down in Gardena and got $250 for the lot. Her Switch was an Animal Crossing one (doesn't come with the game or anything, but the design is super cute) and she still had the original box, so I was pretty sure they'd give a decent price for it. I think that was about $150 and another $100 for the games. She'd call the night before to make sure that location was buying systems as some of them don't, and they said yes, and that they had a promotion right now for Switch games where you get an extra 20% over their usual buying price, so we went through our games and found some we don't think we'll play again.
4. Chloe's celebrating election victories!
Episode 9: Aw, Yaz getting to run freely again. :') She and Sammy are being so cute, and Yaz is trying to confess but things keep happeninggg.
Darius saves Brooklynn from a gas leak and they have a talk about Darius' insecurities, Yaz manages to confess - TWICE! I love them aHHH. And everyone being so supportive. <3 Lmao Darius didn't even know which makes sense, he's too distracted trying to be the Leader Guy.
The group sees the bad guys have Bumpy.
Episode 10: Sammy suggested putting a lid on their happiness for the other two but they NEED to see that happiness to know there are still good things left. 😭
Lol they came out with a code to communicate their feelings in a way that won't bother the others.
"We're so happy for you" "It makes all this other trash a little more bearable" Aw, see?
Sammy: *snaps fingers*
Darius: "We love you too."
Sammy: "Not that - well yeah, but we're being followed."
Ben trying to get through to Bumpy, it was kinda working. :')
Bumpy's tail is badass.
"Real friendship can't be broken."
Man if even Ben can forgive Kenji that fast the others shouldn't be too hard, right?
Used my anime TBR boardgame.
I finished 6/6 for my last challenge, no real complaints!
Avatar:
Iruma from Mairimashita! Iruma-Kun
Skill: Cover two prompts with one anime
Roll #1-2:
A 7, let's get the trap tile out of the way as usual. 😂 A 6 now. Prompt: color in title. I guess...it's time to watch some Akagami no Shirayuki-hime. I've decided to watch the anime first and then continue where it leaves off in the manga. I don't normally like to do that but it seems the anime elevated the story according to some, so why not?
Roll #3:
A 7, which is the CR tile. #31, which is Magic Kaito 1412. I enjoyed the manga well enough but watching the anime was kinda eh, but I shall try again.
Roll #4:
An 8, PTW tile this time! Not sure I've ever hit both in one challenge before. Man, every time I get this tile I end up removing a bunch of anime from my PTW because I can't fathom why I added it in the first place. (I wasn't always as discerning as I am today that's why.) Anyway, #175 is Gnosia which is a currently airing anime, to me it comes across as Among Us but in a time loop.
Roll #5:
A 4 and the CW tile again, this is definitely a first! #10 and that's Durarara!!. Ehh I may only watch one episode.
Roll #6:
A 7, prompt: entertainment industry, good one! IDOLiSH7. I hope I can remember what was going on where I stopped.
Roll #7:
An 8 and the end. Ergh, my mood says nothing sounds good. But Dr. Stone won't fail me now.
Most looking forward to: Dr. Stone
Least looking forward to: Durarara!!
~Anime PTW List~
[Drama/Romance] Akagami no Shirayuki-hime
[Adventure/Comedy] Magic Kaito 1412
[Sci-Fi] Gnosia
[Action/Mystery] Durarara!! S2
[Idols] IDOLiSH7 S2
[Sci-Fi/Adventure] Dr. Stone: Science Future Part 2
I finished 6/6 for my last challenge, no real complaints!
Avatar:
Iruma from Mairimashita! Iruma-Kun
Skill: Cover two prompts with one anime
Roll #1-2:
A 7, let's get the trap tile out of the way as usual. 😂 A 6 now. Prompt: color in title. I guess...it's time to watch some Akagami no Shirayuki-hime. I've decided to watch the anime first and then continue where it leaves off in the manga. I don't normally like to do that but it seems the anime elevated the story according to some, so why not?
Roll #3:
A 7, which is the CR tile. #31, which is Magic Kaito 1412. I enjoyed the manga well enough but watching the anime was kinda eh, but I shall try again.
Roll #4:
An 8, PTW tile this time! Not sure I've ever hit both in one challenge before. Man, every time I get this tile I end up removing a bunch of anime from my PTW because I can't fathom why I added it in the first place. (I wasn't always as discerning as I am today that's why.) Anyway, #175 is Gnosia which is a currently airing anime, to me it comes across as Among Us but in a time loop.
Roll #5:
A 4 and the CW tile again, this is definitely a first! #10 and that's Durarara!!. Ehh I may only watch one episode.
Roll #6:
A 7, prompt: entertainment industry, good one! IDOLiSH7. I hope I can remember what was going on where I stopped.
Roll #7:
An 8 and the end. Ergh, my mood says nothing sounds good. But Dr. Stone won't fail me now.
Most looking forward to: Dr. Stone
Least looking forward to: Durarara!!
~Anime PTW List~
[Drama/Romance] Akagami no Shirayuki-hime
[Adventure/Comedy] Magic Kaito 1412
[Sci-Fi] Gnosia
[Action/Mystery] Durarara!! S2
[Idols] IDOLiSH7 S2
[Sci-Fi/Adventure] Dr. Stone: Science Future Part 2
We had originally planned to go to Disneyland for dinner (with Carla coming down to work with me and doing shopping etc. while I had meetings for a few hours), but as I was thinking about it, I realized we could go to Disneyland first for lunch and then go to work for my meetings and just come home and relax in the evening, so that's what we did!
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Continuation of "Padawan Plight"
AO3 Link | Chaos Behind Them (1263 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars [2008] - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Barriss Offee/Ahsoka Tano
Characters: Barriss Offee, Ahsoka Tano, Luminara Unduli, Anakin Skywalker
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Kriffing Sith Plans
Summary:
Having aided the 501st in retrieving their man, and all the revelations that had brought, Luminara rested a hand on Anakin's shoulder, despite the fury and betrayal coursing through him.
"Do not let Tiplar's and Tup's sacrifice be in vain," she counseled. "Keep your men here in the field, with the 41st, to take advantage of Echo's intel. I will take him back to Corsucant, deliver him to Master Che for healing."
"But he—"
She squeezed, and Anakin was so unused to other Jedi braving his rage, touching him even!, that he subsided. "You cannot hide that knowledge. I, on the other hand, have no difficulty burying it beneath my Perfect Jedi Serenity," she said, her eyes amused despite the severity of where they stood in the war, to use that phrasing.
It worked, as Anakin sagged a little and huffed. "You and my Master."
"Sometimes, yes," she answered that, to add more levity, helping Anakin balance.
He groaned. "Don't … yeah, no, don't tell me any more about that." He searched her face, then took a deep breath. "Take Ahsoka. I have faith in your skill, Master, but you have seen her, you have worked with her."
"Her command of Teräs Käsi will protect the secret, and she is going to rival Kenobi for lightsaber skill, it is true." She inclined her head, privately thinking that if it grew too stressful, it would allow the padawan a chance to see Barriss as well.
"Don't tell me any of your plans," Anakin said, agreeing to the fact he was the major weakness in undoing it all, given who they knew the Sith was now. "She heard everything, made the jump to connect the pieces, so between the two of you — and Echo — I will trust in this being ended sooner rather than later."
"Thank you." She let go of him, then went to tell Gree he would be handling the battalion under Skywalker's command.
"No."
"He's my vod, my batch brother!"
Ahsoka looked at Fives and then moved to take his hands. "Trust me, Fives. You can't go along, none of you can. And you? I need you to look after Skyguy. You can't expect Artoo to handle it all by himself, and Rex is going to be busy without me here!"
She ached for him, where she wasn't a simmering cauldron of anger for all that she and the other Jedi had pieced together from Echo's intel. If they hadn't hit that listening station before the tragedy with Tup —
— well, they had. So Fives was distracted, and so was Rex, keeping them from putting the pieces together.
Fives had straightened, then he saluted her and left. She would trust him to stay close to Anakin, to keep her master calmer, even if none of the boys knew why he was so angry now. She finished throwing things in a bag, and headed to medical to catch Kix before she and Master Unduli took Echo away from him.
She had no doubt he was putting the pieces together… and she would warn him not to do anything risky until she got back.
The Master and Padawan, two pieces of different pairs, stepped out of the Council chamber and each relaxed from the strain in their own way. Ahsoka visibly sagged, then slumped against the wall without any cringing for what the Master might think. Luminara said nothing about it, still impressed by how well the girl had done under the long interrogation of all they had experienced. For her part, she caught the hem of her sleeve and started worrying at it, a small fidget that soothed her but could easily be stopped should someone walk out.
"When you go see Barriss, you cannot say anything," Luminara dutifully reminded Ahsoka.
"I know. Even if this didn't need to stay top secret, I wouldn't break her peace with it," Ahsoka said sincerely, knowing the words had to be said. "Will you be going there after they say we can leave?"
"I thought I'd let you have the first night back. I'll come tomorrow, if duty allows, and take her for a meal."
Ahsoka flashed a smile, wanting to hug the woman, but that was not Luminara's way, mostly. "Thank you, Master."
"Of course, Padawan."
Barriss did not betray her joy outwardly, too composed and controlled to be less than professional as she finished reviewing the medicine schedule with the family that had been her last appointment of the day. Ahsoka, however, could feel it in the Force, and relaxed even further to know that what they were was something that still mattered to Barriss. She really was grateful to Master Unduli for allowing her to come first.
Then again, no one on the Council really wanted the mere padawan to be as heavily involved in the operation they were planning as Master Unduli could be.
Commander Deron, Barriss's counterpart in this community outreach program, gave a brief nod to Ahsoka, then cleared his throat when the family left. "Ma'am, I can handle locking up with the others. Please go. It's not often Commander Tano is able to get back here."
Barriss opened her mouth, but the look from her right hand in all of this made her nod once, and turn to get her outer robe on, so she could go back with Ahsoka to the Temple.
"It is good to see you," she said, coming close enough that they were almost touching, walking out side by side.
"I'm pretty glad your master was willing to let me tag along," Ahsoka said blithely. "I've got to take an exam," she added, truth and her cover story for why she was on planet. In actuality, she'd had the pieces from Skyguy's side that made everything click into place, and had been the convincing part of their hours' long testimony to the Council.
"I'll help you study, if it is a subject I know," Barriss volunteered. "Your quarters?" she asked, a little shyly, but if her actual master was in Temple too, she wanted the privacy offered by Ahsoka's. "As it sounds like you are here without your master."
"Master Obi-Wan is en route, but not expected until tomorrow," Ahsoka agreed. He was coming to be part of the end game, she knew, while Master Tiin had been dispatched to help Skyguy, and their men, in the campaign against the Techno Union's latest captured planet.
"I… how soon is the exam?"
Ahsoka laughed merrily. "I won't need much study time."
Barriss blushed, but smiled down — not so far now — at her girlfriend.
Luminara took the fact that Barriss squeezed Ahsoka's hand in parting, in her own full view, as one more piece of her padawan's healing and growth from the awfulness of this war.
"I am looking forward to catching up on your life these last several weeks, Barriss," Luminara said once Ahsoka had left them.
The quiet smile she got in answer made her heart swell with pride for the padawan she did care for. If they could just shield her from the coming days' strife, all might stay on the best track.
"I wish to hear all about your weeks, and how our men are doing," Barriss agreed, as she did miss the people, if not the violence.
They settled into their catching-up, and Luminara firmly pushed away the horror behind why she was here, even as she decided to recommend allowing Barriss to help with the aftermath.
She thought her padawan would feel relief to save the men from their intended fate, after all.
AO3 Link | Chaos Behind Them (1263 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars [2008] - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Barriss Offee/Ahsoka Tano
Characters: Barriss Offee, Ahsoka Tano, Luminara Unduli, Anakin Skywalker
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Kriffing Sith Plans
Summary:
The pieces have been placed, and while Ahsoka and Luminara are a part of it, neither lets it impact Barriss's peace.
Chaos Behind Them
Having aided the 501st in retrieving their man, and all the revelations that had brought, Luminara rested a hand on Anakin's shoulder, despite the fury and betrayal coursing through him.
"Do not let Tiplar's and Tup's sacrifice be in vain," she counseled. "Keep your men here in the field, with the 41st, to take advantage of Echo's intel. I will take him back to Corsucant, deliver him to Master Che for healing."
"But he—"
She squeezed, and Anakin was so unused to other Jedi braving his rage, touching him even!, that he subsided. "You cannot hide that knowledge. I, on the other hand, have no difficulty burying it beneath my Perfect Jedi Serenity," she said, her eyes amused despite the severity of where they stood in the war, to use that phrasing.
It worked, as Anakin sagged a little and huffed. "You and my Master."
"Sometimes, yes," she answered that, to add more levity, helping Anakin balance.
He groaned. "Don't … yeah, no, don't tell me any more about that." He searched her face, then took a deep breath. "Take Ahsoka. I have faith in your skill, Master, but you have seen her, you have worked with her."
"Her command of Teräs Käsi will protect the secret, and she is going to rival Kenobi for lightsaber skill, it is true." She inclined her head, privately thinking that if it grew too stressful, it would allow the padawan a chance to see Barriss as well.
"Don't tell me any of your plans," Anakin said, agreeing to the fact he was the major weakness in undoing it all, given who they knew the Sith was now. "She heard everything, made the jump to connect the pieces, so between the two of you — and Echo — I will trust in this being ended sooner rather than later."
"Thank you." She let go of him, then went to tell Gree he would be handling the battalion under Skywalker's command.
"No."
"He's my vod, my batch brother!"
Ahsoka looked at Fives and then moved to take his hands. "Trust me, Fives. You can't go along, none of you can. And you? I need you to look after Skyguy. You can't expect Artoo to handle it all by himself, and Rex is going to be busy without me here!"
She ached for him, where she wasn't a simmering cauldron of anger for all that she and the other Jedi had pieced together from Echo's intel. If they hadn't hit that listening station before the tragedy with Tup —
— well, they had. So Fives was distracted, and so was Rex, keeping them from putting the pieces together.
Fives had straightened, then he saluted her and left. She would trust him to stay close to Anakin, to keep her master calmer, even if none of the boys knew why he was so angry now. She finished throwing things in a bag, and headed to medical to catch Kix before she and Master Unduli took Echo away from him.
She had no doubt he was putting the pieces together… and she would warn him not to do anything risky until she got back.
The Master and Padawan, two pieces of different pairs, stepped out of the Council chamber and each relaxed from the strain in their own way. Ahsoka visibly sagged, then slumped against the wall without any cringing for what the Master might think. Luminara said nothing about it, still impressed by how well the girl had done under the long interrogation of all they had experienced. For her part, she caught the hem of her sleeve and started worrying at it, a small fidget that soothed her but could easily be stopped should someone walk out.
"When you go see Barriss, you cannot say anything," Luminara dutifully reminded Ahsoka.
"I know. Even if this didn't need to stay top secret, I wouldn't break her peace with it," Ahsoka said sincerely, knowing the words had to be said. "Will you be going there after they say we can leave?"
"I thought I'd let you have the first night back. I'll come tomorrow, if duty allows, and take her for a meal."
Ahsoka flashed a smile, wanting to hug the woman, but that was not Luminara's way, mostly. "Thank you, Master."
"Of course, Padawan."
Barriss did not betray her joy outwardly, too composed and controlled to be less than professional as she finished reviewing the medicine schedule with the family that had been her last appointment of the day. Ahsoka, however, could feel it in the Force, and relaxed even further to know that what they were was something that still mattered to Barriss. She really was grateful to Master Unduli for allowing her to come first.
Then again, no one on the Council really wanted the mere padawan to be as heavily involved in the operation they were planning as Master Unduli could be.
Commander Deron, Barriss's counterpart in this community outreach program, gave a brief nod to Ahsoka, then cleared his throat when the family left. "Ma'am, I can handle locking up with the others. Please go. It's not often Commander Tano is able to get back here."
Barriss opened her mouth, but the look from her right hand in all of this made her nod once, and turn to get her outer robe on, so she could go back with Ahsoka to the Temple.
"It is good to see you," she said, coming close enough that they were almost touching, walking out side by side.
"I'm pretty glad your master was willing to let me tag along," Ahsoka said blithely. "I've got to take an exam," she added, truth and her cover story for why she was on planet. In actuality, she'd had the pieces from Skyguy's side that made everything click into place, and had been the convincing part of their hours' long testimony to the Council.
"I'll help you study, if it is a subject I know," Barriss volunteered. "Your quarters?" she asked, a little shyly, but if her actual master was in Temple too, she wanted the privacy offered by Ahsoka's. "As it sounds like you are here without your master."
"Master Obi-Wan is en route, but not expected until tomorrow," Ahsoka agreed. He was coming to be part of the end game, she knew, while Master Tiin had been dispatched to help Skyguy, and their men, in the campaign against the Techno Union's latest captured planet.
"I… how soon is the exam?"
Ahsoka laughed merrily. "I won't need much study time."
Barriss blushed, but smiled down — not so far now — at her girlfriend.
Luminara took the fact that Barriss squeezed Ahsoka's hand in parting, in her own full view, as one more piece of her padawan's healing and growth from the awfulness of this war.
"I am looking forward to catching up on your life these last several weeks, Barriss," Luminara said once Ahsoka had left them.
The quiet smile she got in answer made her heart swell with pride for the padawan she did care for. If they could just shield her from the coming days' strife, all might stay on the best track.
"I wish to hear all about your weeks, and how our men are doing," Barriss agreed, as she did miss the people, if not the violence.
They settled into their catching-up, and Luminara firmly pushed away the horror behind why she was here, even as she decided to recommend allowing Barriss to help with the aftermath.
She thought her padawan would feel relief to save the men from their intended fate, after all.
I agreed to do a favor for someone at work that meant going to Sheffield this afternoon.
I was briefly filmed answering a few questions that the interviewer thought I had in advance but either I didn't, I didn't read the email that contained them, or I did read them but they were so boring and generic I forgot that they existed. All seem about equally likely.
It was very quick and dull but then I got to do something way more exciting, which was see ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sfred and actually catch up in person, something we haven't done in so long we don't even remember when it would last have happened. We agreed that Dreamwidth is a great way of keeping in touch, but also being able to hug was better. I was not prepared to be able to be gracious in response to being told that the gym has made me noticeably more hench, heh.
We talked a lot about how good the Springsteen movie was, of course.
Getting home was going far too smoothly (I got on a train with plenty of time to spare despite it arriving only three minutes after I got to the station! I'm not used to this) until we got delayed and then diverted around some kind of ominous-sounding incident in or near Stockport. By the time I finally got to Piccadilly, it was chaos as almost everything departs via Stockport and even trains that don't, like mine home, were held up behind all the other trains.
So I got home just in time to eat dinner and then it's bedtime!
I get to stay home tomorrow, and then I'm off again on Thursday, work takes me to Liverpool this time to do something equally dull but it'll take much longer.
Rewatched ep. 1-2 of Fairy Ranmaru! 
Watched Ninja vs. Gokudou ep. 1, wacky and interesting but this cannot end well. Watched ep. 7-12 of Slayers. Watched ep. 6-7 of Babanba Banban Vampire! Watched Dr. Stone S4E9-12 which ends part 1! <3 Watched ep. 5-8 of Delico's Nursery. 
Episode 5: I'm glad Raphael was at least able to tell someone about his loneliness.
Theodore isn't going to last long at this rate.
Man, who hurt Keith.
Isn't Cocoon stage just like a rebellious teenage phase...
Welp the kids are gone.
Episode 6: I get Deli's POV but telling a small child to take care of their infant sibling if something happens to him instead of saying something directly for Raphael when he leaves is just sad. Raphael is more than a 'big brother' and what he can do for Ui.
Yes, call out Dino for hurting Theodore! >.<
She would've confirmed it anyway but the enemy girl led the kids to Johannes, the next target for their raid.
I think the fathers could get a long way just by telling their children how they feel and that they never mean to hurt them, that they're still learning too and are trying their best.
Episode 7: The mansion was burned down, the children were taken except Ui, Dali was stabbed, Johannes was taken too...x_x
Calling dhampir gutter-rats, that's kinda sad, I know they stink to vampires but damn, they can't help being born. And a whole village of them was massacred just for existing.
Lol well at least the kids are okay for now... Will Kiki really be okay with killing off the kids one by one when Johannes doesn't talk?
Episode 8: Catarina is either a femme man or trans femme. 🤔
The village of dhampir worshiped the TRUE OF TRUMP but then were taken out by them. Man what a tragedy. :/
I don't understand Pendulum's boss's dream at all, he 'wants to make TRUMP happy'?? TRUMP is some distant god who randomly sweeps in and kills people off in weird fits.
Somewhat belatedly, let me catch up on TV logging. I watched five shows this month (although I'm cheating a bit as I only finished the fifth this evening), which were the usual mishmash of genres and tones. The shows in question were:
Season 3 of Blue Lights, a BBC police procedural miniseries set in Belfast. Although the characters are a familiar mix of well-worn stereotypes (the idealistic rookie, the maternal type who cares too much, the one who's joined the police in spite of a backlash from her community, the world-weary old hand, the maverick), they're written with heart and humanity. The true pleasure in this series, however, lies its sense of place — it's deeply grounded in its Belfast setting, and does a great job of showing the various political and social currents buffetting the city, and the wider region. The real villain, though, is austerity, in a way that I don't think I've seen explored so bluntly on UK TV in contemporary times.
A Thousand Blows, a fabulous historical miniseries by Steven Knight (the creator of Peaky Blinders), set in the East End of London in Victorian times. Here we encounter a variety of deprived, traumatised, down-on-their luck characters, who converge both in a series of boxing matches (initially bare-knuckled affairs in the local pub, later more genteel competitions organised by the aristocracy in the West End), and in a heist plot. The characters are fantastic, the writing is as lurid and melodramatic as a penny dreadful, and in essence it's a great retread of two concepts that Knight explored well in Peaky Blinders: certain people who were made to feel vulnerable and afraid become singlemindedly relentless in pursuing an existence where they will never feel fear or vulnerability again, even if they have to burn down the world and destroy all their meaningful relationships in the process, and communities battered by poverty, exploitation and lack of opportunity who accept a certain degree of violence and exploitation done to them (e.g. by gangs offering their 'protection') as long as it's people they perceive as being from their own community doing the violence. This is familiar ground for Steven Knight, and he explores it to great effect here — and hopefully in subsequent seasons!
Film Club, a sweet little six-part BBC miniseries about two rather lost twentysomethings who started a rather intense film club (no phones during the viewing, full thematic fancy dress, elaborate snacks, etc) during their university years and are desperately trying to keep its magic going some years after their graduation, when the realities of professional adult life have begun to wear them down. One character has had some form of psychological breakdown and moved back into the family home with her mother and sister, and remains trapped there by agoraphobia, and the other character is on the verge of leaving for a new job in a new city, and worrying how it will affect their friendship. It's a sweet-natured love story, with teeth, and in spite of a somewhat cinematic sense of heightened reality, the depiction of quarter life crisis existential angst is grounded in a truth that resonates a bit too much.
The latest season of Only Murders in the Building, which I thought was a massive return to form. This time, our trio of true crime podcast sleuths investigate the death of their apartment complex's doorman, which inevitably uncovers sometime much bigger, managing to skewer local New York politics (prior to today's election), oligarchy, housing pressures, and more. My patience with this series had been wearing thin two seasons ago, and I felt it was fast approaching over-milked cash cow territory, so I'm delighted to have been proved wrong. Your patience for this latest outing will probably hinge on your tolerance for New York (and New Yorker fiction about New York) nonsense, which it continues to lampoon with affection.
Riot Women, Sally Wainwright's latest love letter to the north of England and the strong, complex women who live there — this time, our cast of characters are a multigenerational group of misfits who start an all-woman punk band, with songs about menopause, feeling invisible and underappreciated, and so on. All of them are dealing with struggles at once soap operatic and banal: family tensions, empty-nested loss of sense of purpose, sandwiched pressure between troubled adult children and elderly parents in nursing homes, or showing early signs of dementia. Women's invisible labour is front and centre, but also women's anger, turned inwards and outwards. As always with Wainwright, the characters feel painfully real, and she does an incredible job of capturing the stories of the types of older women working ceaselessly (and often without much acknowledgement) upholding messy, multigenerational family households, doing all the work that no one ever notices, but whose absence would certainly be noticed. It's an absolute masterpiece — with an incredible soundtrack. (And, since this is not always a given with ostensibly feminist British cultural figures, it was fantastic to have unambiguous confirmation that Sally Wainwright's feminism is most definitely trans-inclusive.)
I don't think there was a single dud in this collection of shows!
I don't think there was a single dud in this collection of shows!
A Thousand Beginnings and Endings, ed. Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman (2018) [part 2]
Nov. 4th, 2025 10:50 ampauraqueThis is part two of my book club notes on A Thousand Beginnings and Endings. Part one is here.
"The Counting of Vermillion Beads" by Aliette de Bodard
( In a historical fantasy setting, sisters are indentured to work for the imperial census. )
"The Land of the Morning Calm" by E.C. Myers
( A girl discovers that her dead mother's spirit still haunts the online game she played in life. )
"The Smile" by Aisha Saeed
( A courtesan wants for nothing, but realizes it's meaningless without her freedom. )
"Girls Who Twirl and Other Dangers" by Preeti Chhibber
( Teens at a Navrātri dance pull a prank that gets a little out of hand. )
"The Counting of Vermillion Beads" by Aliette de Bodard
( In a historical fantasy setting, sisters are indentured to work for the imperial census. )
"The Land of the Morning Calm" by E.C. Myers
( A girl discovers that her dead mother's spirit still haunts the online game she played in life. )
"The Smile" by Aisha Saeed
( A courtesan wants for nothing, but realizes it's meaningless without her freedom. )
"Girls Who Twirl and Other Dangers" by Preeti Chhibber
( Teens at a Navrātri dance pull a prank that gets a little out of hand. )
Tags:
- book club,
- books,
- books: author: aisha saeed,
- books: author: aliette de bodard,
- books: author: e.c. myers,
- books: author: preeti chhibber,
- books: editor: ellen oh,
- books: editor: elsie chapman,
- books: genre: speculative fiction,
- books: theme: abuse,
- books: theme: death,
- books: theme: family drama,
- books: theme: ghosts,
- books: theme: mythology & folklore,
- books: type: short stories,
- books: year: 2018
Woke up 20 minutes before the alarm and thought okay this day shall go well. Oh how wrong I was
I pull into the parking lot, put up my handicapped hang tag and it shattered into 5 pieces. OMFG. It was cracked but I didn't realize it was that bad. I'm gonna have to tape it together until I can get to the BMV.
Get inside to find out our secretary had a major health event and is in ICU on an ecmo which is needless to say serious shit. Scary.
the ladies basketball teams me they're leaving tomorrow for a full week and I have to move the test to be fair to them (which really isn't a problem) so long as they're here for the bone practicum this week.
And then I set up my practicum. 4 and a half hours because shit is missing AGAIN. I know who took it because it's always him. I screwed up the answer key and questions 3 times. I didn't leave work until 830 at night and didn't eat dinner til 9. blech.
I was going to share something fun for music monday that I thoughtshipperslist had but I can't find it so since it's writing month let's do music that we want to write to or have written to. One of the stories I want to get on is the "last" story in the All that Glitters Husk Overlord series (well it's where the whole series was heading, to husk/angel becoming a couple) so it gets the world's most sappy love song also for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
lyricaltitles bingo challenge
I pull into the parking lot, put up my handicapped hang tag and it shattered into 5 pieces. OMFG. It was cracked but I didn't realize it was that bad. I'm gonna have to tape it together until I can get to the BMV.
Get inside to find out our secretary had a major health event and is in ICU on an ecmo which is needless to say serious shit. Scary.
the ladies basketball teams me they're leaving tomorrow for a full week and I have to move the test to be fair to them (which really isn't a problem) so long as they're here for the bone practicum this week.
And then I set up my practicum. 4 and a half hours because shit is missing AGAIN. I know who took it because it's always him. I screwed up the answer key and questions 3 times. I didn't leave work until 830 at night and didn't eat dinner til 9. blech.
I was going to share something fun for music monday that I thought
shipperslist had but I can't find it so since it's writing month let's do music that we want to write to or have written to. One of the stories I want to get on is the "last" story in the All that Glitters Husk Overlord series (well it's where the whole series was heading, to husk/angel becoming a couple) so it gets the world's most sappy love song also for lyricaltitles bingo challenge 
Here are the entries for this challenge:
( List of entries )
Please Note: Because we only have 3 entries this week, there is only a First Place and Runner Up to vote for!
In order to vote, please reply to this post using the form provided. All comments are screened, and entries are listed in the order they were submitted. For your vote to qualify, you must fill out your entire voting card (both spots) in order to be counted. Winner votes are worth 2 points, Runner Up votes are worth 1 point. Meeting the bonus goal on an entry gets an extra point for that submission.
When voting, please copy/paste the ENTRY NUMBER and the FIC TITLE from the list above into the spot you're voting for (this prevents accidentally mis-numbering a vote and casting it for the wrong entry). It should look like this:
First Place: 61. Fic Title Here
Runner Up: 88. Another Fic Title
Please note that you cannot vote for your own entry, and that votes cannot be made anonymously. You do not have to be a member of the community in order to vote, nor have submitted an entry for this week; everyone is welcome to participate in the voting. IP addresses are logged to prevent duplicate voting.
Voting closes Wednesday, November 5 at 9:00PM EST.
( List of entries )
Please Note: Because we only have 3 entries this week, there is only a First Place and Runner Up to vote for!
In order to vote, please reply to this post using the form provided. All comments are screened, and entries are listed in the order they were submitted. For your vote to qualify, you must fill out your entire voting card (both spots) in order to be counted. Winner votes are worth 2 points, Runner Up votes are worth 1 point. Meeting the bonus goal on an entry gets an extra point for that submission.
When voting, please copy/paste the ENTRY NUMBER and the FIC TITLE from the list above into the spot you're voting for (this prevents accidentally mis-numbering a vote and casting it for the wrong entry). It should look like this:
First Place: 61. Fic Title Here
Runner Up: 88. Another Fic Title
Please note that you cannot vote for your own entry, and that votes cannot be made anonymously. You do not have to be a member of the community in order to vote, nor have submitted an entry for this week; everyone is welcome to participate in the voting. IP addresses are logged to prevent duplicate voting.
Voting closes Wednesday, November 5 at 9:00PM EST.
1. I worked from home in the morning but did go in to work in the afternoon for a meeting. I'm feeling mostly all better but do have a bit of a lingering cough still.
2. Instagram seems to have finally fixed the issue where it was saving copies of photos I post on my phone, even if I had the settings checked so it was not supposed to do that. It was fine for years and then a few months ago just started randomly saving the photos, meaning I have to remember to delete them off my phone every time or end up with dupes of everything I post there. Googling only got me instructions to turn off the setting related to that, which was already off. I tried turning it on and off again, logging out of my account, etc. to no avail, so I just decided to live with it and the annoyance of deleting the photos, for the convenience of Instagram crossposting to facebook, though it was very tempting to just abandon my Instagram account altogether. Anyway, a few days ago it just as randomly stopped saving photos. Fingers crossed it doesn't break again, or this time I really might just give up on it, since I don't really use it much other than for posting my daily cats.
3. And with that, a daily cat:
2. Instagram seems to have finally fixed the issue where it was saving copies of photos I post on my phone, even if I had the settings checked so it was not supposed to do that. It was fine for years and then a few months ago just started randomly saving the photos, meaning I have to remember to delete them off my phone every time or end up with dupes of everything I post there. Googling only got me instructions to turn off the setting related to that, which was already off. I tried turning it on and off again, logging out of my account, etc. to no avail, so I just decided to live with it and the annoyance of deleting the photos, for the convenience of Instagram crossposting to facebook, though it was very tempting to just abandon my Instagram account altogether. Anyway, a few days ago it just as randomly stopped saving photos. Fingers crossed it doesn't break again, or this time I really might just give up on it, since I don't really use it much other than for posting my daily cats.
3. And with that, a daily cat:
Happy belated Friday the 🎃 HALLOWEENTH 🎃 ! For those who celebrated, I hope you had a magnificent three-day Halloween weekend.
Since I'm a bit late, here is a little Halloween-centric meme taken fromauthor_by_night:
( All these ghosts, ALL these ghosts! And I still can't find a boo! )
Since I'm a bit late, here is a little Halloween-centric meme taken from
author_by_night:( All these ghosts, ALL these ghosts! And I still can't find a boo! )
Tags:
- exchanges: tokuhols,
- exchanges: yuletide,
- gifts,
- media: abunai deka,
- media: bl media,
- media: doctor who,
- media: kamen rider gotchard,
- media: kamen rider kuuga,
- media: kamen rider ryuki,
- media: no.1 sentai gozyuger,
- media: pokemon,
- media: sukeban deka ii,
- media: superman,
- media: tokusatsu,
- my art,
- my fics,
- rambles: events,
- rambles: watching
Here we go. Please watch this post! We will update here as each batch goes out:
Candy? SENT as of 6:47 PM PST 11/4!
Drinks? SENT (twice, lol) as of 6:51 PM PST 11/3!
Books? SENT as of 6:39 PM PST 11/3!
( INSTRUCTIONS & REMINDERS )
SENDING DEADLINE: Friday, November 21, 2025
Extensions/Defaulting: Pre-research your post office/courier service hours, and plan to send as early as you can! BUT if your best-laid plans fail, and you need an extension -- we get it! Please bypass the shame spiral and email us ASAP. We want to know what's going on but rarely hesitate to grant brief extensions, especially to historically reliable swappers.
And, of course, if you need to default for any reason, the above is doubly true!! Life happens, but if you let us know as soon as it does, we can help out your recipient AND probably have you back next year with minimal anxiety.
One More Time: don't forget to check in at Swaps Central! And a safe, merry Swapstide to all!
Current FAQ and very old resources post here, for anyone who needs them. Questions and comments here or via email, as always.
Kat & Livi & Helen
Candy? SENT as of 6:47 PM PST 11/4!
Drinks? SENT (twice, lol) as of 6:51 PM PST 11/3!
Books? SENT as of 6:39 PM PST 11/3!
( INSTRUCTIONS & REMINDERS )
SENDING DEADLINE: Friday, November 21, 2025
Extensions/Defaulting: Pre-research your post office/courier service hours, and plan to send as early as you can! BUT if your best-laid plans fail, and you need an extension -- we get it! Please bypass the shame spiral and email us ASAP. We want to know what's going on but rarely hesitate to grant brief extensions, especially to historically reliable swappers.
And, of course, if you need to default for any reason, the above is doubly true!! Life happens, but if you let us know as soon as it does, we can help out your recipient AND probably have you back next year with minimal anxiety.
One More Time: don't forget to check in at Swaps Central! And a safe, merry Swapstide to all!
Current FAQ and very old resources post here, for anyone who needs them. Questions and comments here or via email, as always.
Kat & Livi & Helen
I worked hard at work today, all day. My butt barely left my chair. I was pushing my brain to do a lot and it felt bad and stressful but at least I did enough work that I'm not too worried. I have two work trips this week, both about an hour away by train, but it eats into my time and energy so much to have to travel.
After work, I was aware that angelofthenorth had to take her cat to the vet and when D left too, to drive them, I figured I should make dinner. It was very basic but ready not long after they got back, so that worked out. And while I'd been working on that and waiting for things to defrost/the time to put the burgers in the oven after the fries got a head start, I made a Tesco order for tomorrow, which was sorely needed.
And then I ate dinner. And then, after dithering for a while, I did get myself to go to the gym. D kindly drove me there too, which got me through what felt like the most difficult part of the process. I happily pushed myself a little on the rowing machine and most of the weights and I even did some extra core exercises at the end, just like in lift club on Saturday mornings. The trainer for those classes would've been proud, I figured.
And then I came home and showered and now I'm in bed! I have some clean laundry I really should put away, and some more dirty laundry I should put in the basket to take downstairs, but that might not happen tonight. It feels like it's been such a busy day, one thing after another.