Out and back.
20 Feb 2026 10:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hannahAn amusing moment came partway through dinner. Weather came up, and I was the only one who expressed any pleasure at the idea of snow. I pointed out that this was the kind of weather we used to have, getting snow at the end of February. B., one of G.'s friends who'd come as well, said she'd grown up in the Midwest and was aware of that. At the time, I didn't think to point out I was talking pre-Industrial Revolution. It's probably just as well; later in the meal, she said she didn't want to feel like life was full of construction zones, that she'd had times of at least a couple things going smoothly, and I struggled to relate. A good person to talk to, and someone with a life fairly removed from mine.
Heated Rivalry: Tuna Melts and Longitudinal Studies by OpalApparition
21 Feb 2026 05:01 pmmific posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fancakeCharacters/Pairings: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Rose Landry, numerous Reddit OCs.
Rating: Teen
Length: 20,175
Content Notes: No AO3 warnings apply. Some of the Reddit comments contain terrible advice!
Creator Links: OpalApparition on AO3
Themes: Inept in love, Canon LGBTQ+ characters, Humor, Unusual format & style, Epistolary, Outsider POV, Angst with a happy ending
Summary: I (26M) want to invite man I sleep with (26M) to my house to spend the weekend. Help me not ruin it.
Or: Ilya Rozanov goes to the internet for dating advice
Reccer's Notes: This is a long (9 chapters) social media epistolary fic based on Reddit, where Ilya asks the internet for advice before the tuna melt hookup. It's funny, very cleverly done, and the responses from Reddit users are often hilarious. We start with Ilya's post (he's orangespyder617 - his sports car name & Boston area code), and later, Shane (gingerale_MTL) also separately posts after he's bolted in panic and is dating Rose, and has realized he's really messed things up. There's some fun for the Reddit users in speculating about who these two rich, inept in love guys might be, and also later after Shane posts as Ilya has wiped his former thread by then but some users remember it and join the dots. Rose herself (kidnapped4times) also posts wanting advice about how to tactfully tell her boyfriend he's gay, and finally Ilya posts again. It reads exactly like Reddit, although I suspect with way fewer trolls, and the users often post memes and links to vids which work, and add to the realism. Throughout, Ilya and Shane amply demonstrate their ineptitude in love, starting with POSTING TO REDDIT ABOUT IT AT ALL! I grinned a lot.
Fanwork Links: Tuna Melts and Longitudinal Studies
Joys of Homeownership
20 Feb 2026 07:28 pmhrjI've been commenting lately that I felt like my home repair budget was fairly safe because I'd replaced every significant appliance in the house at some point since I acquired the house. (Fifteen years ago. 15! Can you believe it?)
Well, I forgot about the garage door opener. But it didn't forget about me.
I'd just gotten my bike out this morning, then when I went to close the garage door behind me, it made a lot of sad noises and declined to close. Examination showed that several of the side-rollers had jumped out of their tracks. (I'd known that one was out of the track for some time, but I couldn't man-handle it back in and it didn't seem to be causing problems.)
So. This calls for professional help. But first it called for securing the critical garage contents because the door was stuck open and I live on a well-traveled street. That having been done, I went on Yelp, located a relatively local garage door repair company, and got scheduled for a window within a couple hours. OK, good sign.
I solved my anxiety about the lack of door closure by doing yard work in the front yard until the repair guy arrived.
In addition to the roller misalignment (which is now happening on both sides of the door, thanks to my efforts to get it to fail closed) the cables (which evidently get winched up by a heavy-duty spring) are tangled on the spindle rather than being neatly wound on their designated place. So the immediate problem could be solved with brute force: prying the roller track open enough to force the roller back in; disconnecting the cables and rewinding in the correct place. That was going to be about $500 labor. Ok.
But, he says, look: these cables are corroded, and one of the heavy-duty springs is rusty. Furthermore, you really should use rollers with longer shanks, because these have a risk of popping off their sockets on the door. (I'm sure my description is not helping anyone visualize this.) So, he says, I'm going to recommend you replace pretty much all the door-lifting hardware. That's going to be a couple thousand.
I wince, but I can see the truth of everything he's saying. So he goes to work on all that and gets it all back in working order. And then he says, "So, you don't have to do this, and I don't get any commission or anything if you do, but the motor on your door opener is 20 years old, it isn't really as powerful as it should be for how much you use it, and it's probably going to fail within the next couple years.
So that was a couple more thousand. But now I have a fancy garage door opener that talks to my iPhone and includes a security camera. And maybe--just maybe--now I really have replaced the last appliance that came with the house when I bought it. Unless I've forgotten something else.
Ilya portrait with a WIP vid by ilyasloon (SFW)
21 Feb 2026 03:58 pmmific posting in fanart_recsCharacters/Pairing/Other Subject: Ilya Rozanov
Content Notes/Warnings: none
Medium: digital art
Artist on DW/LJ: n/a
Artist Website/Gallery: ilyasloon on tumblr. But there are more works on their Insta
Why this piece is awesome: As ever I like WIP vids, seeing how artists build the picture. This is a super-realistic portrait of Ilya/Connor looking very much too cool for school!
Link: Ilya portrait with WIP vid, backup link here
Daily Check In.
20 Feb 2026 06:05 pmadafrog posting in fandom_checkinHow are you doing?
I am okay
15 (83.3%)
I am not okay, but don't need help right now
3 (16.7%)
I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans are you living with?
I am living single
8 (44.4%)
One other person
5 (27.8%)
More than one other person
5 (27.8%)
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.
[ SECRET POST #6986 ]
20 Feb 2026 06:20 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #6986 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
Everything has spoiler or content warnings today!
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #997.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
Strangers Thing fic - plot beta/beta reader?
20 Feb 2026 06:01 pmauthor_by_night posting in fictional_fansI'm currently working on a Strangers Thing fic. I am very new to the fandom. I'd like someone I can bounce off of, and maybe a beta down the line? It's an AU with a better ending to El's story, giving her what I think she deserved. There might be some Canon Divergence for S4 as well. The fic is Byler, not Mileven, although she and Mike will remain good friends.
Any takers?
Again, Modly Beings, feel free to delete.
Fic: Expert Opinions (Dragon Age)
20 Feb 2026 06:00 pmsettiaiChapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Merrill & Solas (Dragon Age)
Characters: Female Lavellan (Dragon Age), Merrill (Dragon Age), Solas (Dragon Age)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Complicated Relationships, Dragon Age: The Platonic Ideal Gift Exchange, One Shot, Temple of Mythal (Dragon Age)
Summary: Solas was nothing like Merrill expected. She wasn't certain if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Fic: All Our Lives We Feel This Young (Dragon Age)
20 Feb 2026 06:00 pmsettiaiChapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Female Brosca & Rica Brosca
Characters: Female Brosca (Dragon Age), Rica Brosca
Additional Tags: Bittersweet, Dragon Age: The Platonic Ideal Gift Exchange, Grey Wardens (Dragon Age), One Shot, Post-Canon, Sisters, Sister-Sister Relationship, Slice of Life, Terminal Illnesses
Summary: Jelsi Brosca might not have all that much time left, but she'd already made up her mind how to spend it. She'd missed her sister. They couldn't make up for lost time, not really, but they could try.
FFFX Post-Deadline PHs Due March 8
21 Feb 2026 11:19 ammodzilla posting in pinchhitsEvent link:
fffx / https://fffx.dreamwidth.org Pinch hit link: https://fffx.dreamwidth.org/tag/pinch+hits
Due date: 11:59pm EDT, Sunday 8 March
Five Figure Fanwork Exchange is seeking pinch hitters who can create a story of at least 5,000 words or a comic of at least 20 panels. We've already delayed once and we'd be very grateful if pinch hitters could help us avoid delaying again!
Pinch hits are available to pick up in the following fandoms with the following minimum requirements:
ART
( Fandoms available to fulfil with art - 40-panel comic or 20-panel comic needed )
( Fandoms available to fulfil with art - 20-panel comic only needed )
FIC
( Fandoms available to fulfil with fic - 10k fic needed )
( Fandoms available to fulfil with fic - 10k fic or 5k fic needed )
( Fandoms available to fulfil with fic - 5k fic only needed )
Jazz by Toni Morrison (1992)
20 Feb 2026 05:08 pmpauraqueThe prose style of this book really worked for me and did a lot of the heavy lifting of drawing me into the story. It's lyrical and artistic without ever sacrificing readability. If there's a bit you don't understand, you will understand it in time, but first we have to go back to the beginning of another character's story and circle back around to connect to the main plot—and it does always connect. I think this is the meaning of the title; the book is not about jazz music, but it has the shape of jazz in the way it can state a melody, wander off and explore for a while until you've almost forgotten what song it is, and then return very satisfyingly before passing it off to another player in the ensemble.
I found this book in a free box and then it sat on my shelf for years (shout-out to
lebateleur, my read-books-we-already-own accountability buddy!). It has a lot of underlining, highlighting, and marginal notes from whoever had it before, pointing out themes of dehumanization, rehumanization, and the necessity of deep context for understanding. They underlined "Something else you have to figure in before you figure it out" and also wrote it in pen on the title page. On multiple pages they wrote "Jazzonia" in the margin, by which I assume they meant the Langston Hughes poem.Jazzonia (1926)
Oh, silver tree!
Oh, shining rivers of the soul!
In a Harlem cabaret
Six long-headed jazzers play.
A dancing girl whose eyes are bold
Lifts high a dress of silken gold.
Oh, singing tree!
Oh, shining rivers of the soul!
Were Eve’s eyes
In the first garden
Just a bit too bold?
Was Cleopatra gorgeous
In a gown of gold?
Oh, shining tree!
Oh, silver rivers of the soul!
In a whirling cabaret
Six long-headed jazzers play.
me and my big mouth
20 Feb 2026 05:07 pmwaterswordUh, so, I have a weird Jew-y dilemna.
I volunteer with my neighborhood "snow brigade", which shovels for folks who need help. We're due to get some gross "wintry mix" and "icy sleet" overnight, although maybe not much accumulation.
The couple I got assigned to emailed to say — well, here: "Hopefully there will be NO snow on Friday night and Saturday since for religious reasons we are not able to shovel. If it's not much we can deal with it Saturday night."
I emailed back to say that I don't consider helping a neighbor in need to violate shomer Shabbat and I would be happy to come by and make sure their sidewalks and steps are clear.
They said, "It would be our sin to have another Jew do any work for us on Shabbos. We very much appreciate your kind thoughts to help us. But if we can't do it, you can't do it for us either."
Uhhhhhhhhhh. I am not sure how to respond to this. I don't think this is a sin! I try to observe Shabbat in the sense of resting and renewing myself, but very much not in a traditional way — like, spending a couple of hours mending and embroidering might be part of Shabbat for me because it fills my cup and I don't always get the chance to during the week! Going to the farmer's market and spending half my paycheck and cooking something elaborate on Saturday is a profoundly Shabbosdik thing for me! I don't want to tell them "your theology is wrong" and I don't want to upset them by doing something they have told me not to do (and would apparently feel guilty about????), but ... I can't just leave an elderly couple trapped in their house with icy sidewalks for a day!
*pinches bridge of nose*
I gotta get in touch with the snow brigade coordinator and tell her what's going on so she can try to find a substitute, I guess. I wish I hadn't made it so obvious I am also Jewish, just said something cheerful about being happy to shovel in the morning, but it truly did not occur to me that their observance would mean this. My bad. Ugh.
This is gonna be a real fun conversation with the snow brigade coordinator.
Embark
20 Feb 2026 09:55 ampshaw_ravenI've been playing pretty obsessively. The game has no written language and no dialogue. It does have a visual hint system that will show you, often, what your next objective ought to be. But since this is EA and full release is something like eight to twelve months in the future, it's still kind of rough. What's got me to the point of being "done" is running up against a wall where it feels like whatever I need to do to keep going is either not in the game yet, or I'm somehow misreading the symbols. I've done several things that it looks like I ought to do, but nothing happens. There are some other elements that I know I ought to do, but which are actually impossible at the stage I'm at.
For example, there's a puzzle, with four symbols arranged on four posts. There's a hint screen elsewhere in the room, showing the symbols arranged a certain way. Moving the symbols into that order does nothing. In fact they were already in that order when I found them. There's a lamp you need to light, but no way to actually carry the spark to it, as there are no ways to recharge the spark midway and you run out of time before getting anywhere near it. There's a boss somewhere, I think. A series of red paths appeared on my map, but following them did nothing.
I've played much earlier builds of this game and run into a similar problem. One early build had a puzzle like the four symbols that I spent a long time trying to figure out, only for the dev to admit that wasn't really set up and there was no solution. He is, however, very responsive and on top of things, and every single day there's been an update to the game. One day, there were two updates. I have no doubt he's doing his best here.
I'm just going to step away for a while and go play something where I don't feel like I'm beating my head against a wall. I get the feeling I'm not alone in this, since the final achievements are still showing that less than .01% of players have them, and the fact that I somehow already triggered the credits to roll by defeating a boss ... that respawned? What.
Anyway, good game. Wait for the full release. I'm dropping it for now and hopefully getting some of that time and brain power back, LOL.
I have bagels to make today, along with a pot of chicken chili. I've been writing every day but I need to start putting the fragments into a more coherent story.
mythomaniac
20 Feb 2026 07:10 amprettygoodwordThe compulsion itself being mythomania. Created from mythomania, which was coined in 1905 in French in by psychiatrist Ernest Dupré as mythomanie, from Ancient Greek mythos, which meant saying/speech as well as myth but that last is the relevant one here + Latin mania, craze/madness (itself also from Ancient Greek manía, madness/compulsion).
And that's it for a week of fun long words -- and although the first one up for next week is also a fun long one, it really just happened to be next on the list, really. Uh huh. Totally.
---L.
Stores with rancid vibes
20 Feb 2026 03:01 pmcimoreneNow that we live in the country, I'm still closer to the Turku city center than many people are who live in a North American metro area. I can walk to the bus stop (5 minutes, unpleasant scenery) and take a bus that puts me down near the center in about 50 minutes. But that trip feels excessive for a shopping expedition.
There's a big shopping center called Skanssi between us and Turku that is more convenient, about 35 minutes by bus, but the bus doesn't actually stop that close to it so you have to walk like ten minutes (it is very much designed to be visited by car, unlike the city center). And the mall itself just has RANCID VIBES. I hate being there! It's something about the interior architecture and the lighting maybe? The actual finishes are nice, the decor is fine, the lighting isn't UGLY. It is pretty dim inside, which has to be on purpose, but it's more like they were trying for a cozy or intimate or restful light instead of glaring? But instead it's oppressive in there. I always just want to get out. The K-Citymarket hypermarket attached to it is our closest Citymarket*, and it's much more brightly lit but still feels looming, oppressive, suffocating, sullen, and unwell. And I honestly do not know why! Maybe it's not actually the light, maybe it's sounds outside the regular hearing range or something?
So I've been thinking for a week whether it's preferable to go to this rancid-vibed mall, 35m by bus + 10-15m walk, or all the way to Turku, 50m by bus + 5-10m walk. The former SHOULD make me feel better because of the walking and fresh air, and I usually prefer less time on the bus because it's less chance to get trapped near someone's perfume; but would the rancid vibes counteract that?
*The other stores vary in vibes, but none of the ones near us are even close to this bad. Citymarkets Kupittaa and Länsikeskus are both reasonably Ok, and Prisma (Citymarket's competitor, the other Finnish grocery chain) Tampereentie is a little worse, while our closest Prisma at Itäharju is mostly nice, with some bad vibes in one end of the supermarket side. The nicest hypermarket near us is Citymarket Ravattula, Littoinen. I like this one so much more that I ALMOST would go to it instead (it's nearly 40 minutes by car, instead of 15 or so to Itäharju).
Scottish Indexes conference on 28 February
20 Feb 2026 12:43 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
scottishgenes_feedThe next Scottish Indexes (www.scottishindexes.com) conference takes place on Saturday 28 February, with the following talks confirmed:
- ‘Family History Research at the National Library of Ireland’ by Steven Skeldon
- ‘Researching British Prisoners of War, 1914 –1919 and 1939 –1946’ by Ken Nisbet
- ‘Patients and staff: stories of health and wellbeing’ by Lorna Steele-McGinn
- 'Introducing the Archives and Manuscripts of the National Library of Scotland' by Chris Cassells
- ‘Braking Brick Walls: How local Family History Societies can help’ by Alan Beattie
For further details visit the Scottish Indexes website.
Chris
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.
FindmyPast's latest additions
20 Feb 2026 12:31 pmscottishgenes_feedTwo new additions to FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) this week that may be of interest to those with Scottish connections:
Britain, Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers
These 13,696 new additions cover pre-1832 parishes in England, Scotland and Wales.
Scotland Monumental Inscriptions
We added 2,249 records covering the years 1807 to 2009 to this set this week.
For the relevant links, and details of other collections from England, visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/new/atlases-monumental-inscriptions
Chris
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.
The Ones Who Got Away - Pharos Tutors webinars series in July
20 Feb 2026 12:24 pmscottishgenes_feedFrom Pharos Tutors (www.pharostutors.com), news of a webinar programme happening this July:
The Ones Who Got Away: 13th - 17th July 2026
We will be exploring this theme in a number of ways, whether it be how to track down those hard to research ancestors and family members, different approaches to methodology, using technology in different ways or demonstration by example through case studies.
We are joined by current and past tutors and friends of Pharos to bring you a star studded programme of talks. The list of webinars is as follows:
Mon 13th July
Dave Annal - Mind the Gaps!
Debbie Kennett - How DNA uncovered a 100-year-old family secret
Simon Fowler - My mother and history: a genealogical exploration
Tues 14th July
Sophie Kay - Negative Space: How Genealogy Gaps Can Help Your Tree Flourish
Joe Saunders - Social Network Analysis in Historical Research
Phil Isherwood - Whatever Happened to Aunt Gonda?
Wed 15th July
Jonny Perl - Understanding What are the Odds? (WATO+) at DNA Painter
Karen Cummings - FREE: Who are Pharos Tutors? Courses, Certificates and What to Expect
Nathan Dylan Goodwin - Finding Henry (pre-recorded, but with live Q&A)
Thurs 16th July
Janet Few - Ancestors on the Margins: tracing misfortunate ancestors
Gill Rossini - Researching LGBTQ Ancestors
Dai Davies - Remembering Our Ancestors who Died by Suicide
Fri 17th July
Andrew Redfern - AI as a Research Partner: Strengths, Limits and Sensible Use
Kelly Cornwell - Transported to Tasmania: Researching your Convict Ancestors
Nick Barratt - When Harry Met Dotty
Each webinar will last approximately one hour. Each session will be recorded and made available for one month after the event, so do not worry if you cannot attend live on the day. Webinars are priced at £10 BUT sign up for the full week and save 20%, bringing the total cost down from £140 to only £112 (only £8 per session).
Full details of the programme can be found here: https://www.pharostutors.com/webinars
Chris
Order Researching Ancestral Crisis in Ireland in the UK at https://bit.ly/4jJWSEh. Also available -Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. To purchase in the USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page.