ahunter3

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This weekend will see our streets taken over by masked vigilantes, superpowered villains, and transforming magical girls, but have no fear! These will be entirely fictional for once, and any destruction is expected to be limited to costume sewing crises and possibly a brawl in the signing line for Abernathy Clovis (creator of the comic series My Dad Was a Virgin Sacrifice). That’s right, it’s the Lake Lewisia Comic Convention, where we celebrate all the kinds of weird we pretend to be when we need a break from the kinds of weird that come naturally to us.

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LL#1271

alierak posting in

dw_maintenance

We're having to rebuild the search server again (previously, previously). It will take a few days to reindex all the content.

Meanwhile search services should be running, but probably returning no results or incomplete results for most queries.

oracne

My schedule is finalized! I didn't list participants in case there were changes.

Who will I see at Readercon next month?

The Works of P. Djèlí Clark

Salon I/J Friday, July 18, 2025, 1:00 PM EDT

Our Guest of Honor P. Djèlí Clark rounded out his first decade as a published author with a Nebula and a Locus for his fantasy police procedural novel, The Master of Djinn, and both those awards plus a British Fantasy Award for his monster-hunting novella Ring Shout. His short story "How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub" is short-listed for the Hugo this year. As a History professor at University of Connecticut, he investigates the pathways leading from West African storyteller/poets (griots, a.k.a. djèlí) to the American abolitionist movement. Help us celebrate the works of our honored guest!

The Purposes of Memorable Insults in Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Salon I/J Friday, July 18, 2025, 5:00 PM EDT

Some of the most quotable lines in science fiction and fantasy are zingers. Wit can do a lot to build a character, a world, and a universe, and has the ability to either support or undermine reader expectations. This panel aims to explore and elaborate on the use of wit—and especially takedowns—in literature, exposing how a verbal jab can serve as more than just a punchline.

Moving from Traditional Publishing to Self-Publishing [I'm moderating this one]

Salon G/H Friday, July 18, 2025, 7:00 PM EDT

It's becoming increasingly common to hear of authors whose self-published work was so successful that they were picked up by a traditional publisher. But what of the authors who have gone the other way, by turning their backs on traditional publishing and going into self-publishing? Panelists will survey the varying reasons for making this transition, how authors have navigated it, and what this might say about the state of publishing overall.

Kaffeeklatsch: Victoria Janssen

Suite 830 Friday, July 18, 2025, 8:00 PM EDT

Meet the Pros(e) party

Salon F Friday, July 18, 2025, 10:15 PM EDT

Program participants are assigned to tables with a roughly equal number of conferencegoers and other participants, and then table placements are scrambled at regular intervals so that everyone gets to meet a new set of people in a small-group setting. Think of it as a low-key sort of speed dating where you need never be the sole focus of anyone's attention, and the goal is just to get to know some cool Readerconnish people. Please note that this event will include a bar and is mask-optional, unlike most other programming.

The Works of Cecilia Tan [I'm moderating this one]

Salon I/J Saturday, July 19, 2025, 12:00 PM EDT

Our Guest of Honor, Cecilia Tan, has a publication history that spans Asimov's, Absolute Magnitude, Ms. Magazine, Penthouse, and Best American Erotica, among others. Writer and editor of science fiction and fantasy, especially as they intersect with erotica and romance, she is also the founder of Circlet Press, an independent publisher that specializes in speculative erotica. Her own writing earned a Lifetime Achievement for Erotica in 2014 from Romantic Times magazine. She also contributes to America's other pastime, baseball, in her role as Publications Director for the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Come hear our panel discuss Cecilia's many talents and accomplishments.

Un-Kafkaesque Bureaucracies [I'm moderating this one]

Salon I/J Saturday, July 19, 2025, 7:00 PM EDT

In fiction, bureaucracies are generally depicted as evil in its most banal form, yet many of the actual bureaucracies that shape our lives exist to protect us from corporate greed. How can—and should—we tell other stories about bureaucrats and bureaucracies, particularly as the U.S. stands on the precipice of disastrous deregulation? And might fantasies of bureaucracy (such Addison's The Goblin Emperor and Goddard's The Hands of the Emperor) be the next cozy subgenre?

The Endless Appetite for Fanfiction

Create / Collaborate Saturday, July 19, 2025, 8:00 PM EDT

In an article of the same name (https://www.fansplaining.com/articles/endless-appetite-fanfiction), Elizabeth Minkel discussed how "2024 was the year [fanfic] truly broke containment—everyone seemed to want a piece of the fanfiction pie, leaving fic authors themselves besieged on all sides." Attempts to steal and monetize fanfic proliferated, as did reviews treating living authors as distant and unreachable. What do these trends say about larger changes in attitudes toward stories and creators? How can fans of all kinds nurture supportive connections to authors?

redbird

Today's trip to the farmers market was successful and satisfying.

I left the house as soon as I'd had my morning tea, and went to a market that opens at 10 on Sundays. I got there at about 10:20, before they'd sold out of anything I wanted, or might want.

What I particularly wanted was raspberries, and I bought two small boxes of those (totalling about a pint).

Busa Farms had a bin full of nice-looking shell peas, and I bought almost two pounds, because Cattitude is very fond of fresh peas. When I got home, he told me that he'd thought he had missed the local pea season this year. I also bought a bunch of red radishes, because they caught my eye while I was in line to pay for the peas. (Busa had both red and purple radishes, which somehow made them more appealing than if there'd only been one kind of radish.)

Hi-Rise Bakery was there, and I bought a small loaf of their concord bread, which is the right degree of crusty for the three of us. (They also have a thicker-crust "luce.")

The raspberries are from Kimball's, where I also bought a few diva cucumbers.

Stillman's Farm didn't have lamb sausages, but when I asked about it, the vendor said "probably next week" and asked what kind I liked. She is going to report back that they had a request for merguez sausages. I don't know whether we'll get to the same market next week, but it sounds like there will be lamb sausages at the other local farmers markets soon.

A lot of other things looked good, but I decided I didn't need lettuce (multiple varieties), cherry tomatoes, or fish.

Current Mood: satisfied

scrubjayspeaks

By the gods, I made sure I rested this weekend. In fact, I have been feasting on Stephanie Sterling’s YT videos. While I really only have one or two Let’s Play channel I watch, I now have several video essay channels that talk about video games. I will never have the time or budget (or in some cases, inclination) to play all the games that are out there, but I like hearing about interesting thoughts prompted by them.

That being said, Stephanie talked so much about Vampire Survivors, to which she contributed writing, that I felt compelled to check it out. And look at that, there’s a free demo version on itch.io. And ohhh, the full Steam version is on sale right now. And woooo, the bundle with DLCs and the OST is on sale too.

Yeah, so, it’s a very satisfying game. I would never have expected to enjoy bullet hell or really most rogue-lites, as that’s not my usual jam. But the mad cascade of numbers as I become a damage-dealing pinwheel is delightful.

I had my next HRT follow-up. I mentioned that the pharmacy continues periodically to have some kind of brain crisis around providing me with the correct type of syringes and needles, despite doing this every month for two years at this point. Which is how I found out my Planned Parenthood clinic is now offering injection supply packs. I now have everything I need for six months for, as far as I can tell, no cost at all. This is incredibly cool of them. And it makes up somewhat for the fact that the pharmacy also has a brain crisis around honoring all the refills I have on testosterone for no reason that any of us can discern.

Lewisia: 5 new pieces written

Day job: 40.25 hours, with Wednesday short for me

Cleaning: did a little room refresh for the season

Reading: Strangers in Paradise #15 & 16 (#16 is the Molly and Poo...tangent? Side quest? Extended hallucination? What the fuck did I just read?)

Watching: more Murderbot :3, also the hockey episode of Leverage~~ <3

Listening: StarX Lover by Dreamer Isioma (new album! Love how many of the artists I listen to released something new for Pride Month)

Playing: Vampire Survivors

Aftermarket Parts: HRT follow-up, the last of the month’s appointments, all good

Clock Mouse: 1453 words

redbird

I learned this morning that

acelightning has died. She was one of the people I only know online, but feel like friends because we have real conversations (in her case, here on Dreamwidth and previously on LJ).

vvalkyri

. I think I left my keyboard at the house in New Jersey it's a lot harder to write on my phone. I went to sleep at 6:00 after finally getting around to setting up the bed in the tent at like 5:30 a.m. . Got the tent up around dusk.

I'm thinking a lot about memory. Like I extrapolated that I drove amq up at some point because I had stayed over at some point and taken public transit into NYC.

But I remember little about that NYC trip and nothing of driving up together in 19.

If I'd written in dream with maybe I would even be able to find it I have no idea.

It's very tempting to go back to sleep. But it's noon.

I do adore that the tent is comfortable right now and not hot. And I wasn't cold last night either.

Maybe I'll write more sometime.

scrubjayspeaks

When Leslie took ill and the bakery needed leadership, Evgeniya stepped up to fill those duties which did not involve ovens and piping hot bread. While the apprentices prepared the day’s offerings like always, she secreted herself in the office to manage orders of midsummer wheat, and stardust sprinkles, and five species of eggs for the dratted Egg Supreme breakfast buns she helped them brainstorm the month prior. While her shop’s esoteric ingredients came with their own vexations, at least she had never had to negotiate with a talking cuckoo who had a corner on the local market for wind eggs.

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LL#1270

duskpeterson

A long, windowless corridor leads into the royal sanctuary. The corridor's entrance is next to a walled-up gateway that originally led directly into the courtyard of the royal residence. The corridor itself is kept deliberately unlit, to recreate the circumstances under which captives were led here before being enslaved. Just walk toward the light at the end of the corridor to reach your destination.

[Translator's note: A chase takes place in that corridor during Death Mask.]

soc_puppet posting in

queerly_beloved

Hello, all, it's time for Thursday recs!

Do you have a rec for this week? Just reply to this post with something queer or queer-adjacent (such as, soap made by a queer person that isn't necessarily queer themed) that you'd, well, recommend. Self-recs are welcome, as are recs for fandom-related content!

Or have you tried something that's been recced here? Do you have your own report to share about it? I'd love to hear about it!

anais_pf posting in

thefridayfive

This week's questions were suggested by

bindyree.

1. Who was your favorite teacher?

2. Why was that teacher so special?

3. Do you think teachers get paid enough?

4. Do you have a favorite year of school?

5. If you could travel back in time and tell yourself something now that would have helped you get through school, what would you say?

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

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

redbird

One book finished in the past fortnight: Aftermarket Afterlife, by Seanan McGuire, the 14th volume in her InCryptid series of fantasy novels. I was disappointed by this one: there were too many ghosts and too few cryptids, and the ending seemed abrupt, even given that this is number 14 in a loose series. I'm not a big fan of ghosts, and the book is narrated by Aunt Mary, the Price family's ghost babysitter. The ebook also contains "Excerpt from Mourner's Waltz," about a bit of Verity's life, as the superintendent and only human resident of a Manhattan apartment building. The novel and short story both contain massive spoilers for at least the two previous books in the series.

I gave up on Twelve Trees (mentioned in the previous post) because the printing was hard on my eyes, and since it's a hardcover rather than an ebook, I can't change the font or print size, and I have to take it back to the library.

scrubjayspeaks

Every night, she saw visions of the End, sketched out in blood and muzzle flash and chains forged link by callous link by people who called themselves saviors and heroes. Every morning, she fed the chickens and brought the neighbor their mail and taught herself to fix the sink when it broke. This was not a contradiction, nor an abdication, but as natural and right a response as taking the next breath.

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LL#1269

redbird

Cattitude took the cat in for her follow-up appointment, and the nurse said she's doing just fine, and cleared her to start eating crunchy things (which include her favorite cat treats). She hadn't been eating much in the previous few days, so they sent Cattitude home with two medications to improve her appetite. The cat has her appetite back, and headed right for the bowl of kibble, and ignored the bowl of wet food. She also informed us at dinner, when offered Greenies, that those were her proper treats, thank you very much. The other cat, Molly, is also pleased that we are once again giving them kibble and the familiar treats; there was no practical way to give Molly kibble and Kaja only wet food, so neither cat got anything crunchy for ten days.

We may be going to London last month, to sort through some of Mom's stuff, including papers and photos. (Mark needs to be there, and I want to, even though it will mean a lot of time masking, and probably a lot of takeout meals eaten in a hotel room. I emailed the cat sitter,

I checked this afternoon, and my inherited share of Mom's Vanguard account is in my account. Separately, there's a life insurance policy that seems to have asked for another form after my brother sent in what he thought was everything they wanted. In addition to the Vanguard account, there are some UK bank accounts, which Mark thinks will take several months to go through probate. All of this is a little weird, and I want my mother, not her life insurance.

Boston (along with much of the eastern United States and Canada) is in the middle of the sort of heat wave where they advise everyone to stay indoors if possible, not just people who are particularly sensitive to the heat. Both the NWS warning and the Boston heat emergency are only through this evening, but they're predicting that tomorrow will also be hotter than I find comfortable.

oracne

The Big Bundle of Queer Awesomeness is 100 books for $100 - you can also scroll down on this page for the smaller bundles, sorted by genre.

Itch.io gives authors a larger portion of the royalties, which is why I've been giving them some promotion. My lesbian erotica reprint collection, "Spicy Sapphic Treats," is in the Contemporary and Historical bundle as well as the big one.

scrubjayspeaks

As the summer weather kicks into high gear, the Frog and Opal Bar is offering a new line of chilled drinks, available with and without alcohol, to serve during their extended summer operating hours. The staff have been brewing sun teas with refreshing additions like hibiscus flowers, seashells, ballpark grass, and sugared mosquitos, all chilled with preserved hail from winter storms. Come inside and cool off with the best of summer and something to take the edge off the worst of it.

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LL#1268

claidheamhmor

An interesting movie I watched on the plane back from the UK was Companion. It's set in a world with "companions" - basically human-like androids, but most are really fuckbots. The owner of one hacks her overrides in a murder plot, and things go a little wrong when she become a bit to self-aware.

Really fascinating thinking about the implications.

redbird

We just had an unexpected visit: Adrian asked if I'd be willing to either mask or sit in the study with the door closed, so one of her comrades could sit in our air conditioned apartment for a little while. Adrian asked because Simcha is less heat-tolerant than I am, and at least as covid-cautious, so I said yes. It was good to talk to them; I'd met Simcha but only in passing, and Adrian hadn't met them at all, but Adrian talks about them, and Simcha is the person we recently gave our loveseat to.

That was fun, and now they have left and I have taken my mask and clothes off, and am drinking tea. I ended the visit when I started getting uncomfortably warm despite the AC, as well as it being time for me to have tea.

scrubjayspeaks

*nervous laughter* I have made a mistake…

In addition to two appointments this week, one of which required about 8 hours of driving, I helped dogsit. E needed to go to an event down in my neck of the woods, but her partner recently got injured. Watching over two dogs alone was going to be an issue, so I got tagged in as backup.

Which is how I ended up running full-tilt through deep, soft beach sand whilst attached to 80 pounds of deranged young dog. I am not a runner. I am fat and have bad knees. I am the strong-man body type, thank you. But by the gods, I said I would help wear this dog out, and I was going to do it or die trying.

I did not die, though I did fall down at one point. Within hours, my muscles were informing me that mistakes had been made. Today, the morning after, I am sore as hell.

Sore muscles aside, I had a lovely time getting to know E’s partner, as we’ve mostly just seen each other in passing before. And the three of us had a nice dinner together and I got to catch up with E. No regrets; just a lot of Tylenol.

Oh, but I did realize something: this was the first time I had reason to run since surgery. I might be sore after the fact, but nothing hurt in the moment. Because I didn’t have ten pounds of ballistic boob attached to me while I was doing it. I could feel the difference in the moment and marveled at it. Even with the best, most restrictive sports bras money can buy, running used to be painful and awkward.

So I’ve once again spent a long weekend exhausting myself worse than the work week could ever hope to. (x_x)

Lewisia: 1 new piece written (oops)

Day job: 25.5 hours, with Thursday and Friday both off

Listening: AQUARIUM CITY by Louie Zong (thought this sounded suitably summery)

Aftermarket Parts: got through the second doctor appointment, so all I have left is seeing my prescriber which is never traumatic

Clock Mouse: 1289 words

Other: dentist, unloaded hay, primary doctor, dogsitting

scrubjayspeaks

“I thought fairy rings were supposed to grow where tree stumps were rotting,” he said, gazing out over the field, “or spots where something dead and buried was decaying.” She looked up from where she had been closely examining a rough line of fruiting bodies, then she guided him over to one edge that gave a better view. She swept her arm out to indicate a long, one might say draconic, curve as of a tail joining a vast body, picked out in assorted mushrooms, and grimly said, “Yes, exactly.”

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LL#1267

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ahunter3

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Lake Lewisia #1271

Rebuilding journal search again

Readercon 2025 Schedule

farmers market

Done This Week

acelightning has died

Hi from the mountain

Lake Lewisia #1270

The Royal Sanctuary: The corridor (Tempestuous Tours)

Thursday Recs

The Friday Five for 27 June 2025

Wednesday reading

Lake Lewisia #1269

updates

Pride Book Bundles

Lake Lewisia #1268

Companion

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Lake Lewisia #1267

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June 2025

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