Dept. of No Kings

Jun. 14th, 2025 05:14 pm
kaffy_r: Princess Jellyfish goes to work (Reporting for duty)
[personal profile] kaffy_r
Hope. Blood. No Kings. 


Our day started far too early, at least as far our aging bodies were concerned, but we had a mission. We headed from our home, our sign in the trunk, picked up our friend Rose, and headed to Evanston's downtown Fountain Square for that No Kings rally. It was lively, peaceful, filled with chants and a happy amount of music. It felt good to be there, and I held our sign up as high as I could (and hoped that I didn't block the view of too many people behind me.) I felt so energized by everyone around me, and by everyone across the country who turned out like we did. 

Estimates of attendance at Evanston's rally was around 1,000 and Chicago's was estimated at about 75,000. Add the various other suburbs' rallies to Chicago, and that number jumps to close to 100,000.  At the end of the day, it appears that the vast majority of national rallies were peaceful; LA's various police organizations appear to have become violent, as did police in Seattle and Portland, although protestors in the latter appear to have been more violent than they should have been. 

And then we got home, and the first thing I saw when I turned on my laptop was the news out of Minnesota. Two Democratic state legislators shot; one killed along with her husband, the other injured along with his wife. And the apparent murderer is, based on what news reports have compiled, a Trump supporter - with a list of other potential targets, including pro-reproductive healthcare activists and Democrats - and probably a Christofascist because of course he would be. 

As of 7:36 p.m. Chicago time, the POS hasn't been captured. I hope he chooses neither self-inflicted suicide, nor suicide by cop. I hope he's caught, given the full benefit of American law, and, if a jury of his peers finds him guilty of two murders and two attempted murders, that he spends the rest of his miserable life forgotten behind bars.  

But let's not speak of him; let's remember those he killed and injured. And let's look at the number of people across the country who attended "No Kings" rallies - my rough and very incomplete estimates stand at well over half a million; others are estimating several million. The Washington "I Wish I was Kim Jong Un" parade? According to the AP, it appeared to fall very short of the 200,000 predicted earlier. Good. 

Now I'm going to finish eating a piece of chocolate, and go hang with the Couch Crew over on Discord. 





password reset and hatebots?

Jun. 14th, 2025 03:14 pm
madimpossibledreamer: Izanagi|Souji in full costume holding out a hand (personatown)
[personal profile] madimpossibledreamer
I know this probably isn't going to get very far because this isn't tumblr or reddit.  Seeing as I don't have either, though, I'm going to post here, and I'm curious to as to whether anyone else experienced multiple hatebots and password request attempts on the same day for Ao3.  Some time elapse between the two, but it was noticeable that it was the first time either had happened to me and that I'd gotten two hatebots and three password request attempts on the same day.

also unrelated, but I think they're finally installing the servers.  I can calibre backup again now.
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
[personal profile] spikedluv
Visited mom again at 11am. I didn’t go downtown, but did manage to get some chores and computer stuff done before I left the house.

I did a load of laundry, the usual amount of hand-washing dishes, and scooped kitty litter. I made it to the library to return and pick-up a book. I started a new book (the first Lily Adler one), watched the current ep of Murderbot, and sent mom another message. I hope she enjoys them when she’s home and sees them.

I picked up my car from the garage this morning when I dropped off Grant. I forgot to mention it in yesterday’s post, but just when I pulled out on the main road to head to the hospital it started acting up. (Thank goodness I leave early to make sure I can find parking. And thank goodness Pip has a used car he can lend me.) It bucked and sent the dreaded ‘reduced engine power’ message, along with the ‘service stabilitrak’ and ‘service traction control’ messages I’ve gotten before. This time Pip replaced the gas pedal, of all things. He said there are two sensors in the gas pedal and they weren’t lining up. It drove well today, so hopefully that’s the fix.

I also haven’t mentioned that a bird, a killdeer, built a nest in our driveway. At first we spotted the male dancing around trying to attract a female. Then the male chased Pip one day and we joked that he might have a nest nearby. Then we saw the female sitting in our driveway forever, and it turns out, they did have a nest in the driveway. Seems like a weird place to build a nest, especially with cats and dogs living here, but what do I know, nature is weird. I got photos of the female and the eggs when she was off the nest one time.


Photos
~*~


Additionally! On the drive to the hospital I pass a house that has a bunch of irises on their front lawn. Solid dark purple and solid pale yellow. They’re gorgeous and they look so pretty together.

Temps started out at 54.1(F) and reached 73.6. It was hazy most of the day. We’re supposed to have more rain tomorrow.


Mom Update:

Mom was much better today. not long, but cutting for those who don’t want to read it )
madimpossibledreamer: Jotaro pointing at the camera (point)
[personal profile] madimpossibledreamer
Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: They need to evacuate Rush's lab.
Word Count: 1391
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS

Chapter 379: Prince of Ashes )

Murderbot

Jun. 13th, 2025 11:11 am
marinarusalka: (Default)
[personal profile] marinarusalka
5 episodes in, I'm still greatly enjoying the show, with my one complaint being that the episodes are too short. I'm looking forward to doing a binge rewatch of the whole thing once all the episodes are out, I suspect it will work really well.

some spoilers thoughts on the latest episode )

I really really hope this show gets renewed long enough for us to meet ART. It'll be so awesome.

Hey, guys, look what I got!

Jun. 13th, 2025 10:23 am
marinarusalka: (Knitting: yarn)
[personal profile] marinarusalka
Photo of my 2nd place ribbon tag at the county fair
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
[personal profile] spikedluv
Again, I had some time before I had to drive to the hospital, so I got some chores and computer stuff done.

I did a load of laundry, the usual amount of hand-washing dishes, and scooped kitty litter. I finished System Collapse, watched an HGTV program, and sent my mom some more messages.

Temps started out at 67.8(F) and reached 77.7. It was so nice out this morning, I got in a walk before I left to go visit mom.


Mom Update:

Mom was miserable today. more back here )

Dept. of Small Victories

Jun. 12th, 2025 09:57 pm
kaffy_r: Picture of the face of Isha, girl from Arcane S02 (Isha penultimate)
[personal profile] kaffy_r
Yesss ... Suck It, Cheeto!

I needed this. A judge told That Man that he was being an illegal POS in two separate ways. Even though I'm perfectly aware that this administration's playbook is "Ignore the courts," I know this one is probably like a cockleburr under his saddle. 

As I said, suck it. 


spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
[personal profile] spikedluv
I did not go to visit my mom. My sisters took it in turns today so I could get some stuff done. I’ll take my turn again tomorrow morning.

I had a chiropractic appointment this morning. I hit Walmart while I was downtown and got in a longer walk around the park. I also stopped in at the Feed Bag to pick up the suet Pip forgot (and to reserve two large metal garbage cans for Pip to pick up on Monday; he got one when he got birdseed this past Monday (the task fell to him since I was a tad busy) and decided he wanted more. They’re big enough that I can’t take them in my car. As it turns out, he doesn’t have any more in stock so will have to order them.)

I hit Stewart’s on the way home, returned a book to the library, stopped to check mom’s mail, visited my aunt (since I won’t be available to do so tomorrow; and complained to the social worker about how they do her hair – it’s such a minor thing, but it would be so easy to keep her hair in curls instead of straight and straggly by not using a hairbrush on the curls and I’d like her to look nice, at least, because she has so little dignity left, you know?), and stopped at Sunnycrest again to check on the beef stick status. If you guessed they ~still don’t have them, you’d be right. I’m going to be annoyed if I found something Pip likes and they won’t carry them anymore, or at least regularly.

I did a load of laundry, ran a load in the dishwasher and emptied it, the usual amount of hand-washing dishes, and scooped kitty litter. I baked chicken for the dogs’ meals and fed Pip leftover pulled pork (yes, from the big b-day do a couple weeks ago; mom put it in the freezer) for supper. I did get fresh strawberries at Sunnycrest, so I made biscuits. I had strawberry shortcake for my supper; Pip prefers his biscuits with peach jelly because that’s how his mom used to do it.

(He refuses to eat a biscuit with anything other than peach jelly. It’s very frustrating. You can imagine my shock the first time I made chicken and biscuits for supper and Pip only ate the chicken and gravy and completely refused the biscuit because I didn’t have any peach jelly. Basically a bowl of soup, lol! I had no idea anyone would eat biscuits with ONLY jelly. I mean, I eat my leftover biscuits with butter and jelly, but solely?!! I know now and prepare accordingly.)

The surgeon’s office called today to schedule the removal of the node they found during Pip’s endoscopies. August 11, the day after my birthday, so one heck of a b-day pressie. *g* [I told him when he got home from work and he was like, I'm not having that removed! And I'm like, why not? Apparently he thinks it's not necessary when two different doctors think it is. *shrug* He's going to talk to the doctor himself to get it sorted. He's such a pain in my butt about this sort of thing.]

I finally started System Collapse, watched an HGTV program, and sent mom some messages she'll see when she gets home, in lieu of our usual telephone conversation.

Temps started out at 55.0(F) and reached 82.8. There was a mix of sun and clouds and a breeze, thankfully.


Mom Update:

My sister kept us informed of events as they occurred:

I did bullet points so it got long )

Dept. of Music Says Goodbye

Jun. 11th, 2025 10:48 pm
kaffy_r: Dillons illustration of Nix's Abhorsen world. (The Old Kingdom)
[personal profile] kaffy_r
Sly and Brian

It's tempting to say they received the gift of creating music from the angels. That's not the case. They made that music all themselves. They worked at it, struggled to get it right; just right, as they interpreted "just right."  They worked with others. They worked alone. They got it wrong. They swore. They fell down. They got up. They won and they failed. And they won again.

They both were visited by demons. They fought them. Sometimes they lost. Sometimes they won. They did a lot of falling down and getting back up again. And when they could, they went back to making that music.

And the angels were just a little shocked; just a little jealous. A little glad the music had come into being. 

I hope they're somewhere, exchanging notes about how they made some celestial bangers even before they got there. 





(Don't mind the spotty visual - it's live and it's dynamic, and it's him and his family, so it's just right.)





 

FIC: None of Us Stand Alone

Jun. 11th, 2025 11:43 pm
alexcat: (Default)
[personal profile] alexcat
Title: None of Us Stand Alone
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: PG
Length: 681 words
Content notes: This is post Endgame
Author notes: My grandmother used to say 'Charity begins at home' because she never gave anyone anything.
Summary: Tony has a surprise for Steve at his charity ball.
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
[personal profile] spikedluv
What I Just Finished Reading: Since last Wednesday I have read/finished reading: In a Dark House (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) by Deborah Crombie, All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells, and Seeing a Large Cat (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) by Elizabeth Peters.


What I am Currently Reading: After finishing the Amelia Peabody book on Monday I didn’t really feel like starting anything yesterday, but I plan on starting System Collapse (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells today.


What I Plan to Read Next: I have more library books out, so most likely one of those!!




Book 40 of 2025: In a Dark House (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) (Deborah Crombie)

This book was really good!! spoilers )

I've already requested the next book in the series; I'm giving this one five hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥




Book 41 of 2025: All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) (Martha Wells)

I did another re-read because I felt like I had already forgotten what happened and I wanted to compare it to the tv show. No additional comments, just making a note of it.




Book 42 of 2025: Seeing a Large Cat (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) (Elizabeth Peters)

This book was really good! spoilers )

I enjoyed this book a lot and must go request the next in the series. I'm giving this one five hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
[personal profile] spikedluv
I planned to visit mom, but since she’s in the ICU and visiting hours don’t start until 11am I had some time to kill. I did not go downtown, but stayed home to do some chores and stuff on the computer.

I did two loads of laundry, the usual amount of hand-washing dishes, and scooped kitty litter.

I typed in edits, coded and posted the [community profile] smallfandomfest fic I’ve been working on!! It’s Murder, She Wrote crossed over with V (1983). To make it work, I gave Jessica another niece, lol! I read some fanfic and watched some HGTV programs. It still feels really weird to not call mom in the evening to talk about our respective days.

I saw my brother (and his GF) and my sister S (the nurse) while visiting mom. There can only be two at a time in the ICU so we took turns.

I fell again. *head desk* This time inside the house (slipped on a puddle of wet on the floor), but I landed on that same knee I keep falling on and bent that same big toe. It hurt and I swore a lot. And I realized it’s almost the one year anniversary of my first fall when I scraped my knee so badly, pulled every muscle, and cracked my big toe.

Temps started out at 61.0(F) and reached 82.6. It rained all morning, but the sun came out in the afternoon. I got in a short walk with Pip and the dogs when he (they *g*) got home from work. Within a half hour of that the clouds moved in and the temps dropped 12 degrees before it started raining again for a bit.


Mom Update:

Mom was doing pretty well when I saw her. She was so out of it, thanks to the drugs. Her voice was very raspy (because of the tube, which they removed before I got there) (if I wasn’t facing her while she was speaking, I never would have known it was her) and she slurred a bit due to the drugs. Sometimes she forgot what she was saying. She talked about Matlock a lot. *g*

They gave her an epidural for the pain and her nurse (she seemed awesome) said that they were going to keep the epidural in for a few days, and that while it was in she’d remain in the ICU. I’m happy about both; no pain, and great care.

The bad news came later in the evening when my sister S passed on (in the Family Group chat) that the surgeon thinks that my mom may have originally had pancreatic cancer that jumped to the bile duct. She won’t know for certain until the labs come back. I do not fucking want it to be pancreatic cancer. As you may have guessed, I had a knot in my stomach the rest of the evening and didn’t sleep super well, even though I doubled my melatonin to make sure I would fall asleep.

All positive thoughts welcomed.

Memories of War

Jun. 12th, 2025 12:34 pm
madimpossibledreamer: Zhuge Liang concentrating and looking thoughtful. (concentrating)
[personal profile] madimpossibledreamer

Desmond actually is doing better than he thinks, but he’s right that he has been half-assing it a little because he wasn’t confident. He did obviously decide to have another existential crisis, this time because he finally realized that people might know who he is now.
Red’s speech about the war is paraphrased because, among other things, he usually tells it at his store.


Main Points: Assassin's Creed/The Secret World
Summary: Desmond follows the lead Krieg gave him and stumbles across another.
Word Count: 2690
Rating: Teen

 

synchronicity )

 

marinarusalka: (marinarusalka: purple hummingbird)
[personal profile] marinarusalka
There were a lot of those too!

soooo many photos )

Also, The Boy's photo gallery is here, and if you see my photos are cool, you ain't seen nothing yet.
spikedluv: jessica at typewriter (msw: jessica at typewriter by sarajayech)
[personal profile] spikedluv
Another Jessica crossover! I hope you enjoy it.


Title: One Good Hoax Deserves Another
Author: Spikedluv
Fandom: Murder, She Wrote (tv)/V (1983) (tv)
Rating: PG13/Gen
Pairing/Characters: Jessica Fletcher & Juliet Parrish (appearances by Mike Donovan and Elias Taylor)
Length: 3,380 words
Spoilers: Takes place during ep 1.04 Hooray for Homicide of Murder, She Wrote and during the first V (1983) mini-series.
Summary: Jessica Fletcher’s trip to Los Angeles turns out very differently than she’d expected.
Author’s Notes: Written for Round 37 of [community profile] smallfandomfest for the prompt: Murder, She Wrote (tv)/V (1983), Jessica & Writer's Choice, Jessica happens to be in LA when the truth about the Visitors is revealed
Feedback: Would be greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me.
Posted: June 10, 2025

Read Fic @ AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66375037

The Day in Spikedluv (Monday, June 9)

Jun. 10th, 2025 07:17 am
spikedluv: (summer: sunflowers by candi)
[personal profile] spikedluv
I spent most of the day at the hospital, which I talk about below if you want to skip it. I did some hand-washing of dishes and scooping of kitty litter when I got home. I finished the Amelia Peabody book while sitting in the waiting room. It felt weird when I was finally sitting on my bed, NOT to make my daily call to mom.

Temps started out at 59.2(F) and reached 75. It was weird coming out of the window-less waiting room (for trips to the cafeteria or restroom) to see that it was still light out.


Mom Update:

Thank you so much for all of your good wishes for mom's surgery yesterday! I really appreciate it.

cutting for those who don’t want to read )
delphi: An illustrated crow kicks a little ball of snow with a contemplative expression. (Default)
[personal profile] delphi
Fandom 50 #20

Untitled Ouizzy Neighbor AU by [tumblr.com profile] derekstilinski
Fandom: Our Flag Means Death
Relationship: Frenchie/Izzy Hands
Medium: Gifset
Length: 3 gifs
Rating: SFW
My Bookmark Tags: romance, happy ending, getting together, constructed reality, au: modern, domesticity, nature

Description:
In the first gif, Izzy wanders out into a field and happens upon Frenchie, who's sitting alone and obviously having a bad time alone with his thoughts. In the second, the two men are each in their houses, looking out the window at each other's places. In the third, they've finally come together, Frenchie handing a wary Izzy a cup of tea.

I am such a sucker for constructed reality graphics and vids, and all the ways a little tactical harnessing of the Kuleshov effect can bring us the crossovers, AUs, and visual adaptations we crave. I've got a few from this same creator to rec, but I'm starting with this Neighbor AU that imagines a modern day Frenchie and Izzy living next door to each other in the country and catching each other's eye.

First off, I just love how it's put together, from the progression of running into each other by chance, then scoping out each other from their houses, to finally coming together for tea. But I also love how the choice of sources colours the story being told here. I'm pretty sure the Con O'Neill clips are from Vengeance Is Mine and the Joel Fry ones are from In the Earth. These are both harrowing movies where the actual characters are going through some awful things. I appreciate how those scenes get recontextualized here into something cozier that nonetheless paints a picture of both characters having gone through some rough times.

You can easily imagine that this modern Frenchie has just as many terrible things locked up in that little box in his head as his 18th century counterpart had, and that this Izzy has just been through an emotionally and/or physically traumatic breakup with Ed, and now here they are, a little bruised and cautious but finding some potential comfort and love in their own backyard.

Dept. of The Fall of Empires

Jun. 9th, 2025 06:36 pm
kaffy_r: Doc Yewl from Defiance (yewlyay)
[personal profile] kaffy_r
Jesus Fucking Christ

It's already been bad for days out in LA, and now the motherfuckers are deploying marines there? Marines? The actual military?

It's only a matter of time - days? - before they send them into my city. Fuck. My neighborhood might not be as heavily Hispanic as Pilsen or Humboldt Park, but Rogers Park has a big enough undocumented community that ICE thugs have already been reported hanging around; at least that's the report. Last week I hoped it was just a fear-fueled rumor. Now?

Sorry for the swearing; but not too sorry. The moment calls for it.

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