smilebackwards | Network

I am up super early after another late night. There were still fuckers playing with fireworks last ngiht, and the dog was flipping out. We're going to have to take him to the vet and get his shots, and get some better anti anxiety meds, because the Prozac isn't doing shit.

He's been just a ball of stress the last four or five days, between the beeping and now the fireworks. Just Jebus on a pogo stick, it's sucked. I was in tears listening to him cry last night and scratch the door.

Aside from that, it was an okay day. We had a nice lunch. Were not able to get the cat's ashes. Apparently the director's son is in the hospital, and things are backed up. It would have been super helpful to to know that before I wasted the gas to go down there, but it's okay. I 100% understand that life gets in the way.

Jess had a game last night, here Strixhaven game which sounded fun. Though, there was some mumbling about "here comes the consequences of my own actions," which always sounds delightful.

Today, we have a game in the morning, run by

coyotegestalt and then we're restarting a former game, with me dming. This is another one of my homebrew worlds, which I'm nervous about, but also excited.

I'm almost done with the game, simply need to make one more character and I will be ready to go. I'm nervous, because this is all homebrew, so I'm very much hoping that they like it. The other server really enjoyed it, so the pressure is on to make this as engaging.

On that note, I'm going to go put on some clothes and consider breakfast. Everyone have an amazing Sunday!

lee_bella posting in

potterfests

Fest Name: H/D Career Fair 2025
Links: Tumblr | Discord | AO3 & Rules | Claiming
Type of Challenge: Anonymous prompt fest
Description: A Harry/Draco fest focusing on wizarding occupations. Please see the rules for a list of careers not allowed for this fest. Claiming is now open.
Ratings Restrictions: All ratings allowed
Length Restrictions:
Fic: Minimum 1500 words; no maximum
Art: Can be in the form of a comic, an animated fanvid or other forms of traditionally or digitally drawn works. Should be more than a quick sketch and show time and effort invested in the piece
Podfic: Must fit the theme; any length is acceptable
Timeline:
Prompting: June 22 – July 4
Claiming: July 5
Submissions due: September 30
Posting starts: October
Big Reveal: November

lee_bella posting in

potterfests

Fest Name: Snarry AUctoberfest 2025
Links: Tumblr | AO3 | Rules | Claiming
Type of Challenge:
Description: A Severus/Harry fest featuring alternate universe. Claiming is open till September 15.
Ratings Restrictions: All ratings allowed
Length Restrictions:
Fic: Minimum 500 words; no maximum
Podfic: Minimum 500 words; no maximum
Art: None
Timeline:
Prompting: June 14th – June 30th
Claiming: July 5th – September 15th
Works due: September 15th
Posting: October 1st

m_findlow posting in

fandomweekly

Theme Prompt: #265 - Trickster
Title: Influencer
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: M
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Jack is certain that he can’t be corrupted.

( Read more... )

dine

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sasha_feather

My eyes are bothering me lately; anything close-focus is hard. Really challenging as most of my hobbies involve close focus. I have a lot of pain in my mouth and face so concentrating is also difficult.

TV seems to be the way to go but I feel like I've run out of shows.

Enjoying: Murderbot. Also loved The Pitt, and the Old Guard 2. Task Master and DropOut (Game changer, etc), continue to delight.

Other things I've watched:

Mr Robot. Gave up after one season. It's grim and humorless. I liked some of the actors a lot but the aesthetic was so gray on gray, and a high preference for very thin bodies and baggy eyes, like heroin-addict chic. For a thriller it's weirdly slow.

The storied life of AJ Fikry: A cromulent romance / drama on Netflix. Cute if not particularly memorable. It's about people who love reading and live on an island only accessible by ferry. Has multiple characters of color.

I watched 2 episodes of "Nobody Wants This", a rom-com with Kristen Bell. Her character falls in love with a rabbi. The characters felt really thinly drawn and so I did not care about them. There was just no there there, as they say.

The Last Breath: a drama about a survival story involving deep-sea construction workers (based on a true story). I liked this pretty well but think it would have worked better with some documentary-style explanations of what was happening.

Clean Slate: on Amazon Prime, a sitcom about a trans woman reconnecting with her father. I dropped this because I could not see what was happening! There seemed to be a gray film over everything! I might try it again later as it had some good humor and characters.

I tried season three of the Bear but it was unpleasant.

I played Dragon Age: Inquisition through twice, which was very restful for my brain actually. I think it would be a good idea to invest further in video games, which help me pass the time when I'm ill. I don't know much about gaming systems. I'd love to play Dragon Age Veilguard and some other newer games but how to decide on what kind of system to get? They are expensive. I got the Xbox 360 used and have absolutely loved having it.

What are you enjoying watching or playing?

torachan

1. We had such a nice time at Disneyland this morning. Too sunny but otherwise lovely weather and so few crowds!

2. We stopped at the farmers market on the way home and got some stuff from our usual vendors (the fruit leather guy definitely knows me now) but there was also a new vendor, a vegan Jewish deli that had all sorts of interesting stuff. Carla got a jar of some sort of pickle relish and I got some pastries including a stone fruit "cheese" danish (idk what the cheese was but everything was vegan so it wasn't actually dairy) that was super good and a pistachio cardamom apricot hamantaschen, which I haven't tried yet but that flavor combo is a favorite so I have high hopes.

3. I love that feeling on the middle day of a three day weekend when you realize that you don't have work tomorrow. That keeps happening throughout the day and it's a pleasant surprise every time. Definitely looking forward to one more day of rest.

4. Jasper's definitely got the relaxing down.

lovelyangel

The Berry Patch
Portland Farmers Market • PSU Campus
Portland, Oregon • July 5, 2025
Nikon Z8 • NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S
f/2 @ 85mm • 1/750s • ISO 100

I’m trying to do too many things at once. And then I look up and the year is half over. I keep task lists – but tasks get deferred or ignored because I can’t possibly do everything.

One of the items that kept sliding down my task list was to go into Portland and photograph the Farmers Market and the Saturday Market. This wasn’t just because I like to do this every year – it was also because I needed to learn how to use my new Nikon Z8 in the field. The Z8 is very complicated. I needed to be able to shoot very quickly at OCF. And then, all of a sudden, OCF is next week!

A last second mad dash is all that’s left.

( Nikon Z8 Photography, Below This Cut )

lomonaaeren

Title: Serpentwined
Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling and associates own these characters. I am writing this story for fun and not profit.
Pairings: Gen, other than discussion of past James/Lily
Rating: PG-13
Content Notes: AU (Harry is in Slytherin), Parseltongue, blood prejudice, angst, drama, minor violence, multiple points-of-view
Summary: AU. Harry has revealed his Parseltongue publicly and been Sorted into Slytherin, and now he has to deal with people who want to use him, people who despise him, and people who don’t know what to do with him. Oh, and some people who want to be his friends. In the meantime, Harry continues his personal quest to redeem the reputation of Parseltongue. Sequel to “Tread Among Serpents.”
Author’s Notes: This is the third story of my “From Litha to Lammas” series being posted between Midsummer and the first of August. It should have five to seven parts. You really should read “Tread Among Serpents” first.

( Read more... )

petra

I am having a difficult brainweasel day, and would like to counteract that by making you some words. I am feeling poetic, with a side-order of "Drabbles are nice," so:

Comment with: Drabble or Poetry, Fandom(s) from the list of things I know, Character[/Character/etc.], Prompt (if any).

Feel free to publicize this.

Current Mood: aspiring
Current Music: I like your -- how you say? -- imperturbable perspicacity

torachan

We were expecting it to be crowded today because of the holiday weekend but it was actually one of the least crowded days we've ever experienced at the parks.

( Read more... )

adafrog posting in

fandom_checkin

This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Saturday to midnight on Sunday (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #33327 Daily poll

Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 26

How are you doing?

I am okay
16 (64.0%)

I am not okay, but don't need help right now
9 (36.0%)

I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans are you living with?

I am living single
9 (34.6%)

One other person
12 (46.2%)

More than one other person
5 (19.2%)

Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.

peaceful_sands posting in

bitesizedcleaning

This month's theme is Hobbies and Crafts - I remember thinking that it would be hard to quantify exactly what a month of bite-size work on this theme will look like last year. I don't know about everyone else, but I certainly found plenty of things to tackle.

For those of you seeking ideas, some of the things you might want to work on include: clearing and making the space you work in more conducive to productivity, organising supplies, organising currently underway projects, organising unstarted projects, dealing with finished projects, weeding out unwanted supplies/projects. If you are a collector or a sports participant, it might be sorting/cleaning collectibles or equipment of whatever description. Anything goes this month to suit the needs of your hobbies.

For my perspective, I have multiple hobbies and crafts that I dabble in, each with their own supplies *and their own clutter*, so over the course of the month, my first goal is to retrieve some of my crafting spaces - my dining room table is clutter filled which stops me painting, my crafting chair upstairs is filled with none crafting related items, leaving nowhere there for me to sit and my scrapbooking project is split between a variety of boxes in a variety of locations. As the owner of way too many books, a fight with my book storage is always an ongoing process, and as someone who has so many different hobbies and crafts I always seem to be in need of sorting through ongoing projects to decide which ones can I make progress on quickly/finish easily?

After that who knows what's next... depending on how long each of the above tasks take, I might also allocate some time to trying to finish some almost finished projects.

Let us know what your plan is for the month and keep us posted with your progress.

lomonaaeren

( Read more... )

pauraque

sunshine_revival's next challenge is:

Tunnel of Love
Journaling: The romance of summer! What do you love? Write about anything you feel sentimental about or that gets your heart pumping.
Creative: Write a love poem to anyone or anything you like.

This is a topic I've been thinking about a lot lately. As an aro-ace person growing up in a time before we really had labels for those things (and, frankly, even now when some people still just don't get it), I've had a lot of experiences of being told that the way I loved people was wrong or not good enough. I'm... well, I was about to say I'm lucky to have people in my life now who don't see my love as lesser because it isn't romantic and never will be, and that is true, but also I have worked damn hard to accept myself as I am and to put energy into relationships with people who get me. So it's part luck, part skill. :P

I recently got a formal diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum. (I promise this relates.) This was something I had suspected for a long time, but having it confirmed has led me to take stock of a lot of past experiences and shine a different light on them. I've always had intense "special interests," but early on in life I learned to downplay them because of other people's disapproval. I think I am a much more... passionate person than others might suspect? I've only been able to let it show a little in fannish spaces where it's more accepted to fall in love with a fandom, or become infatuated with a character, or be swept off your feet by a storyline. Those aren't metaphors, it's really what it feels like, and I feel that way about a lot of things!

When I was a kid one of my special interests was ancient Egypt. I remember flipping through history books and feeling a physical level of joy and contentment as I pored over photos of pyramids and papyri, because I just loved loved loved what I was seeing so much. When the prompt asks about what gets my heart pumping, I think of things like that. But I learned to hide that part of myself because people didn't get it. I want to work on changing this. I know that kind of love is still there and I can still tap into it, and I want a future for myself where I'm proud that it's a part of me. That feels far away right now, but there was also a time when being proud of being aro-ace also felt very far away, so I think there's cause for hope.

mekare

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smallhobbit posting in

drabble_zone

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badly_knitted posting in

drabble_zone

This week's challenge is:

Tangled Up

Reminder of Rules

Entries should be 100, 200, or 300 words exactly, excluding titles and headers.
Please place the body of your entry behind a cut.
Tag with the appropriate Challenge, Fandom, Type, and Ratings tags. If a tag for your fandom doesn't exist, leave a request on the Tag Request post and I'll create the tags you need. You can request as many fandom tags as you want.
You don't need to use the challenge word or phrase in your drabble, though you can if you like.
Each challenge ends when the new challenge is posted, but if you're a few days late that's still fine.

NEW RULE: DOUBLE AND TRIPLE DRABBLES ARE ALSO ACCEPTED ;)

Have fun!

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

kingstoken

Challenge #2

Tunnel of Love
Journaling: The romance of summer! What do you love? Write about anything you feel sentimental about or that gets your heart pumping.
Creative: Write a love poem to anyone or anything you like

Oh man neither one of these challenges was made for me. Summer is not my favourite season, that would be Autumn, I know very basic white woman of me. Plus, I grew up on a farm, so summer always meant work. I guess I do like how fast and easy it is to get dressed in the mornings, just throw on shorts and a t-shirt and you're good. I also love all the summer fruit we get this time of year, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, etc, yummy!

I'm not a person who really writes poetry anymore (I dabbled a little bit when I was teenager). I got nothing against it, I enjoy other people's poetry, it just not something I enjoy doing myself.

As recompense for my lack of creativity please accept his famous poem about Sherlock Holmes:

Watch on YouTube

shadowkat

Yes, it's time again for the weekly good news report bringing hope and sanity to all or at least attempting to do so? Seriously, the media (in all its forms (Social media in particular) makes it difficult at times). I've inserted a filter for my own mental and emotional health (it's manual, since the automatic ones elude me).

As always, good news is often in the eye of the beholder, and mileage may vary on this.

1.The Senate Parliamentarian had blocked some even worse provisions

( Read more... )

2. The sell of Public Lands and the ban on state regulation of AI were both removed from the Bill by the Senate - there was a lot of push back, and the Senate removed them by majority vote.

( Read more... )

3. California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Fox News, accusing host Jesse Watters of defamation by falsely claiming that Newsom lied about a phone call with President Donald Trump during the dispute over the use of the National Guard in Los Angeles. A demand letter from Newsom's lawyers says if Fox News doesn't "issue a formal retraction and on-air apology," the lawsuit will proceed.

( Read more... )

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/gavin-newsom-targets-fox-news-787-million-lawsuit-rcna215522

4.A carbon-negative concrete made from seawater and bacteria just outperformed cement in strength tests

( Read more... )

https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxU78tkZBbdOCYup4qav0DavcF1FfwbrVZ?app=desktop

5.The largest 100% supportive housing development in LA opened! 600 San Pedro is a 17-story mixed-use building with 302 units, all designed for people in interim housing transitioning to permanent housing.

( Read more... )

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/biggest-homeless-housing-facility-in-los-angeles-opens/

6.A new Colorado law includes requirements that dozens of cities provide multilingual ballots during local elections, bridging a major gap in access for voting in those races.

https://boltsmag.org/colorado-language-protections-in-voting-rights-act/

7.The British government plans to extend a ban on bottom trawling to around 30,000 square kilometers across 41 marine protected areas.

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/uk-seeks-extend-ban-bottom-trawling-fishing-english-seas-2025-06-08/

8.Kendrick Lamar quietly funds college tuition for 25 Black students from Compton—identities revealed after four years. During a UCLA graduation ceremony, a student emotionally shares: “I wouldn’t be here without a scholarship from an anonymous donor… now I know it was Kendrick Lamar.” Media later uncovers he secretly funded full tuition for 25 students from Compton, where he grew up. The beauty in this is he did it w/o broadcasting across social media. Someone else shared the blessings he gave.

9.In a historic first, a Southern Ute Tribe member was elected to chair the Colorado water policy board.

https://coloradosun.com/2025/05/28/southern-ute-tribal-leader-colorado-water-board-historic-first/

10.Kseniia Petrova, the Russian scientist who spent four months in detention after failing to declare scientific samples she was carrying into the country, was freed on bail from federal custody by a magistrate judge in Boston.

https://archive.ph/FeSOQ

12. The FDA just approved a long-lasting injection to prevent HIV.

https://www.wired.com/story/fda-finally-approves-lenacapavir-preventive-hiv-treatment-gilead/?utm_brand=wired&utm_mailing=WIR_Daily_062125_PAID&bxid=5bd670ae2ddf9c619438d7ca&cndid=25074173&hasha=a22cdf50ee78026aeb03bece73c2433c&hashc=7a2950363f4b90b1881ae76c68d24551846eea9063b67a6a14e9fa39bc419e40&esrc=OIDC_SELECT_ACCOUNT_PAGE

( the rest of the 30 items )

There's more, but I got tired and want to do other things.

So how about a picture of flowers from yesterday's walk?