Little Mushroom by Yi Shi Si Zhou, book 1

18 Jan. 28th, 2026 05:51 am
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As the Earth Dreams, ed. Terese Mason Pierre (2025) [part 3]

Jan. 27th, 2026 10:32 pm
pauraque: drawing of a wolf reading a book with a coffee cup (customer service wolf)
[personal profile] pauraque
This is the third and final part of my book club notes on As the Earth Dreams. [Part one, part two.]


"deh ah market" by Whitney French

( A pair of cousins bend time and space to connect with worlds and relatives past. )


"Paroxysm" by Zalika Reid-Benta

( A woman isolating from a new virus starts hallucinating. )


"Just Say Garuka" by Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga

( Two teenagers test a friendship over magic carpet flying practice. )


the end

I think the group did not end up being super jazzed about this book on the whole, and I felt similarly. There were a few stories I liked, but some felt like maybe they needed another pass for cohesion, and the collection leaned thematically grim in a way that I had a hard time connecting with. Oh well, they can't all be winners.

The group plans to continue with The Black Fantastic: 20 Afrofuturist Stories.
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So, in my Outgunned

Jan. 27th, 2026 10:26 pm
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll
I think the schtick is the crew gets sent out to investigate potentially revolutionary tech and it's always legitimately amazing but also not what they're expecting. Case in point, they were looking into a supposed teleporter and now everyone is ant-sized.

Among my other ideas

( Read more... )

Nine to five.

Jan. 27th, 2026 10:01 pm
hannah: (Library stacks - fooish_icons)
[personal profile] hannah
I'm wanted for three full days a week at the day gig for the next three weeks, minimum. I'd be foolish to turn it down. I'd also be foolish to leave other people in the lurch and hanging, even if all that's happened is a couple of emails. That it's a project with a defined end - eventually, they're going to run out of books - helps a little bit in assessing the coming days.

To my pride, last week I'd suggested they move the children's books they wanted to save to the closet in one of the kid's rooms. They decided to pack them up to move them, so last week I packed them up - too much per box to be practical, but finally contained. Today they said they wanted them in one of the kid's rooms, so I unpacked, sorted, and put them all away, and they were deeply pleased with the end results.

There's a lot to get through, and there's rooms of books in this place. They're coming out of closets, they turn up in boxes, they're hiding behind each other, and I haven't even touched the other side of the apartment. Rarely do I look forward to having to be at work in the morning, but then, rarely do I have this much fun at the job.
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Book 9, 2026

Jan. 27th, 2026 09:11 pm
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[personal profile] chez_jae
Reaper (The Reaper Chronicles, #1)Reaper by Apryl Baker

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


View all my reviews

Last night I finished reading Reaper, which is the first book in “The Reaper Chronicles” by Apryl Baker.

Ella Banks is used to being uprooted and moved frequently, due to her father being in the military. Her first day of school in Jacob’s Fork, she’s the victim of a hit and run that leaves her in a coma for days. When Ella wakes, she learns that she is now a living reaper, whose job it is to help spirits cross over. And Eli, that beautiful boy she saw at school, is her guardian angel. It’s his job to protect her, even if that means from her own father.

Either this was a spin-off of another series, or the author is horrible at providing backstory. I’m going with spin-off. You would think Ella is the main character, but more time (and narrative) was devoted to Eli, including the fact that the last living reaper he was charged with protecting is now under someone else’s watch, and he’s in love with her. Mattie made a cameo appearance for no discernible reason other than to beef up Eli’s backstory. This seemed more like a prequel, in that there was no resolution. It was more of a character introduction, scanty backstory providing, scary stuff coming up type story. There were a couple aggravating editing issues, too. Was one character Selena or Selene? As a child, did Ella get lost in the mountains of Germany or Russia? Errors like that can throw the reader out of the narrative.

Favorite line: "Fear makes us remember that we’re alive, that there’s a reason to fight. It doesn’t make us weak.”

I don’t want to be a snip, but I can’t score this any higher than a two. It was confusing and disappointing.
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Daily Happiness

Jan. 27th, 2026 07:01 pm
torachan: my glitch character (glitch)
[personal profile] torachan
1. I felt much better today when I woke up! Still not sure what set off that bout of stomach issues but I'm glad that level is not constant for me anymore the way it was several years ago when this first started.

2. I worked from home today, partly because I was expecting a large package, but partly because I didn't really have any need to go into the office. I think I'm going to do the same tomorrow.

3. The package I was expecting today was a new CD rack for the garage. Carla has a nice stereo system out there (including a turntable, though she hasn't gotten hardcore into collecting vinyl and is still mostly into CDs) and she's been building up her CD collection again after we sold off a lot of them years ago. Sometime last year I bought a new CD rack in the same style as the one we'd had in the house (which we also moved out to the garage), but when I went to order a third one now, they're completely discontinued! D: I really would have preferred to have everything matching, but we settled on one that's at least somewhat similar (light wood). I was expecting to have to put it together but it came completely assembled, so all I had to do was get it out of the box and set it upright. Nice!

4. I love when they sleep with all their limbs together like that. So cozy!

Image
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The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, January 27

Jan. 27th, 2026 07:33 pm
rahirah: (su_editor)
[personal profile] rahirah posting in [community profile] su_herald
Lilah: You-you think that's it? Poof, you're cured and all your nightmares are gone?
Bethany: I'm not an idiot, Lilah, and I'm not a child.
Lilah: Yes you are, and you need us. Sooner or later your powers are gonna get out of control, and you're gonna need a friend. Bethany: My friends don't hire men to rape or kidnap me - at least not my close ones anyway. Lilah: I was trying to make you stronger. Bethany: Good job.

~~Angel Season II Episode #26: Untouched~~


[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

[Chaptered Fiction]


[Images, Audio & Video]


[Reviews & Recaps]


[Community Announcements]


[Fandom Discussions]


[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]


Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

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Spinning on a Pocket Wheel + LWS autowinder

Jan. 27th, 2026 08:22 pm
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[personal profile] foxmoth posting in [community profile] prototypediablerie
Image

Eri silk single WIP on a Pocket Wheel. What's new to me is the LWS Autowinder for Pocket Wheel! I purchased this wheel secondhand, so it came with five bobbins and the autowinder as well as the regular flyer and some beautiful extras. The LWS runs off two AAA batteries, claims it'll go A WHILE with those, and does not require any "special" separate (pricey) bobbins like the Woolee Winder system. I have never had an opportunity to try a Woolee Winder on any wheel, but since this was part of the purchase, there was no reason not to give it a whirl. It is incredibly easy to assemble and use, but in fairness my brain was full of orchestration/mixing and I'm under deadline for book edits, so. Very happy this is working, though; especially for spinning silk (which likes an unhinged amount of twist), not having to stop and start to move the yarn guides on the flyer (as opposed to drafting/predrafting) is huge.

Snowflake Challenge #9: favorite tropes/themes

18 Jan. 27th, 2026 08:47 pm
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Day 1834: "A very good job."

Jan. 27th, 2026 04:51 pm
[syndicated profile] wtfjht_feed

Posted by Matt Kiser

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/27/day-1834/

Day 1834

Today in one sentence: Trump said he’ll be “watching over” an “honest investigation” into the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis before blaming Pretti for carrying a gun he was legally permitted to have; House Democrats threatened to begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem if Trump doesn’t fire her; Stephen Miller reportedly directed Noem to publicly claim that Alex Pretti wanted to “massacre” immigration agents after he was shot and killed in Minneapolis; Trump’s immigration policies coincided with a year-to-year drop in U.S. population growth; and U.S. consumer confidence fell in January to its lowest level since 2014 as Americans grew more pessimistic about the economy and the job market.

1/ Trump said he’ll be “watching over” an “honest investigation” into the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis before blaming Pretti for carrying a gun he was legally permitted to have. “You can’t walk in with guns,” Trump said. “You can’t do that.” Minnesota’s gun laws permit open carrying a handgun as long as the gun owner has a valid permit, which Minneapolis Police said Pretti had. Even the NRA, a longtime Trump ally, called the Trump administration’s rhetoric that officers could be “legally justified” in shooting an armed citizen “dangerous and wrong,” urging a full investigation instead of “demonizing law-abiding citizens.” Trump added that you’d have to be a “stupid person” not to think what happened to Pretti was “very unfortunate.” (New York Times / CNBC / Politico / Associated Press / The Guardian)

  • Since July, the Trump administration has publicly declared 16 Department of Homeland Security shooting incidents justified even before investigations were completed. In at least four cases, prosecutors dropped charges or judges dismissed them after video or witness evidence contradicted DHS claims that those shot had attacked officers. No ICE, Border Patrol, or Homeland Security Investigations officer has faced criminal charges or disciplinary action.(Washington Post)

2/ House Democrats threatened to begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem if Trump doesn’t fire her. Democrats said Noem spread false or unsupported claims about the shooting, including that Pretti was “brandishing” a weapon and “violently” resisted officers, that they argued are contradicted by bystander video. Republicans Sens. Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski also called for Noem to resign. A DHS report sent to the House Oversight Committee, meanwhile, confirmed that two federal officers fired their guns at Pretti “approximately five seconds” after an officer yelled “He’s got a gun!” multiple times. The ultimatum came after Trump reportedly met for nearly two hours in the Oval Office with Noem and her top aide Corey Lewandowski to discuss the political and operational response in Minnesota. After the meeting, Trump said Noem was “doing a very good job” and rejected calls for her to step down. (CNBC / Politico / Washington Post / Axios / CBS News / New York Times / Associated Press / The Hill / ABC News / CNN / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)

  • U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz ordered acting ICE director Todd Lyons to appear in court Friday and warned he could be held in contempt for repeatedly failing to comply with court orders. Schiltz said ICE had ignored or delayed bond hearings and release orders for detained immigrants, writing that “the court’s patience is at an end.” (New York Times / Reuters / Politico / Washington Post)

3/ Stephen Miller reportedly directed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to publicly claim that Alex Pretti wanted to “massacre” immigration agents after he was shot and killed in Minneapolis. The DHS statement was rushed out under Miller’s guidance after reports that Pretti had a gun, despite limited information from the officers involved. Video later contradicted parts of that narrative, and Trump subsequently sent border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota. After the statement was released, Miller called Pretti “an assassin” on X, which JD Vance then amplified. (Axios)

4/ Trump’s immigration policies coincided with a year-to-year drop in U.S. population growth, which fell to 0.5% in 2025 from nearly 1% in 2024. The population grew by 1.8 million in 2025, the slowest rate of growth since the Covid-19 pandemic. Net international migration dropped to about 1.3 million from roughly 2.7 million a year earlier, a decline Census researchers said reflects tighter border controls late in Biden’s term and Trump’s immigration crackdown in the first half of his first year back in office. The Census Bureau projects that net immigration could fall to about 321,000 by mid-2026 if current trends continue. Births, meanwhile, barely exceeded deaths. (Associated Press / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)

5/ U.S. consumer confidence fell in January to its lowest level since 2014 as Americans grew more pessimistic about the economy and the job market. the Conference Board reporting its index dropped 9.7 points to 84.5 – weaker than during the pandemic and missing all economist estimates. A separate expectations index, which measures consumers’ outlook for business conditions, jobs, and income over the next six months, fell 9.5 points to 65.1 – well below the recession warning threshold of 80. It’s the 12th consecutive month that the reading has come in under 80. (Bloomberg / ABC News / CNN / Associated Press)

The 2026 midterms are in 280 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 1,015 days; and it’s been 40 days since the Trump administration was required by law to release the Epstein files.

Support today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member

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https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/01/27/day-1834/

YMI -- ODB: 27 January 2026

Jan. 27th, 2026 08:45 pm
sparowe: (Bible)
[personal profile] sparowe

ODB: Hope in Faith

/in /by 

January 27, 2026

READ: Psalm 31:13-18 

 

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24

Kristin’s son had died from cancer when he was just seven. Now, three years later, her older son was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Friends who were not believers in Jesus grieved with her, but they couldn’t understand why she continued to trust Christ. “How could your God allow this? Why keep believing in Him?” they asked.

For Kristin, however, it was an even stronger reason to keep believing. “I don’t understand why this is happening,” she said, “but I know God will help us through this. Only God can give me hope to keep going.”

Such a hope and trust kept King David going when he found himself in overwhelming circumstances. Surrounded by enemies seeking his destruction, he probably couldn’t understand why all this was happening to him. Yet he knew he was following a God he could trust to deliver and bless him in His time (Psalm 31:14-16). This certain hope enabled him to keep submitting to God and to say, “My times are in your hands” (v. 15). And it uplifted him, such that he could also say, “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (v. 24).

In times when we feel overwhelmed and there seems little to look forward to, we know we can hang on even more tightly to God and the life-giving hope He alone provides.

— Leslie Koh

What do you need to keep going through life’s challenges? How does God’s promise of hope give you joy and strength even in hardship?

Loving Father, You know my struggles and doubts. Please give me the faith to keep trusting in You and the strength to keep going.

For further study, read A Place for Doubt in a Growing Faith.

Source: Our Daily Bread

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【Journal #2】mom got thyroid surgery & sleep in hospital

Jan. 28th, 2026 08:45 am
michifugu: by Flowerchild Ueda (Utsushicha Dame-na Kao - Io & Misa)
[personal profile] michifugu
Hey everyone! I wanted to write something after being busy these past few weeks accompanying my mom through her thyroid surgery.

The past weeks have been stressful as my mom underwent thyroid surgery. Afterward, she needed to spend three exhausting days in the ICU because her condition had worsened. My siblings and I took turns staying with her, which left me pretty tired, but I’m grateful she was able to leave the ICU quickly.

I also felt really bad for the elderly men and women in the waiting room who had had family members in the ICU for more than two weeks. I genuinely wish the best for their loved ones and hope they can be moved out of the ICU soon.

Right now, I’m staying at the hospital to accompany my mom. So far, her condition is okay, although she won’t stop coughing. We’re currently waiting for her doctor's assessment, and I really hope it's good.

Also, the hospital she’s staying at kind of sucks, the nurses are unprofessional despite it being a national cancer hospital, and we didn’t use national health insurance because the waiting list would’ve been way too long, and my mom was already feeling really uncomfortable as her thyroid nodule kept getting worse. On the plus side, one of the best oncologists is based at this hospital, so there’s that, I guess.

Anyway, I’m kind of stuck here just accompanying my mom and playing games on my laptop, lol. Thankfully, I downloaded a number of games for my emulator.

I’ve been playing Pokemon Moon and Bravely Default on the 3DS. I never had the chance to play Moon before, so that’s been nice.

Hopefully, my mom can be discharged tomorrow as her condition is holding steady.

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Oh hey, I've managed this two days in a row!

Jan. 27th, 2026 08:26 pm
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[personal profile] ashelterofpages
So, my sleep is really weird right now. One day I'll go to bed some time after midnight and wake up around 8am. The next day I'll go to bed before midnight and wake up after 2pm. I have no idea what's happening there, but it'd be super cool if my body got its shit together.

I had stuff I meant to do today, but instead I slopped around in bed, even after I woke up, and cuddled my cat. I'll go to bed late tonight, wake up early tomorrow and get all that stuff done. At least I queued up some posts I needed to put out yesterday, so I wasn't late on releasing a thing, and will have something else going out on Thursday.

(On the off chance there are people on my reading list who enjoy speculative short fiction, I put out a newsletter on (most) Tuesdays recommending two stories I've really enjoyed recently. Feel free to subscribe if you're into that kind of thing!)

Mention of doctors but nothing serious/bad
I have a psych appointment on Thursday that I have to dig out some money for, but I also found out that my health insurance is going to cover my birth control stuff for my PMDD, so I'm fucking thrilled by this! I got the script yesterday and will be picking that up once I get disability for February. I'm really hoping this is going to be good for me, cause without doing something, my cycle is absolutely debilitating.


I hope all of you have had a nice time of things and those of you with the kinds of pets who do that kind of thing have gotten many cuddles.

News & Views

Jan. 27th, 2026 08:00 pm
stonepicnicking_okapi: ChopSuey (chopsuey)
[personal profile] stonepicnicking_okapi
Today was a better day. I did 2 shifts. I accepted a new lady for next Tuesday evening and if it's a good fit, she could become a regular. School has been cancelled for the boys tomorrow, too. I wonder when they will go back.

Have Frog and Toad going camping.

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Daily Check-In

Jan. 27th, 2026 05:59 pm
starwatcher: Western windmill, clouds in background, trees around base. (Default)
[personal profile] starwatcher posting in [community profile] 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 Tuesday, January 27, to midnight on Wednesday, January 28. (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #34142 Daily Check-in
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 14

How are you doing?

I am OK.
8 (57.1%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
6 (42.9%)

I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single.
7 (50.0%)

One other person.
4 (28.6%)

More than one other person.
3 (21.4%)




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.
 
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"we're halfway to somewhere" (tenille)

Jan. 27th, 2026 07:06 pm
starandrea: (Default)
[personal profile] starandrea
It's very minty.

I have a lot of indoor plants, right, mostly in the winter since I let nature fix as many of them as possible during the summer, but with indoor plants come indoor pests, so I am learning as the years pass what degree of reactivity is beneficial. And also that all plants should be closely studied as often as possible, which means at least looking at them once a week.

( plants and plant pests )

Okay, the plant report took a while, but let me check my list. I have... "Fitbit, output challenge, goldfish Lego" on my list of things to write up.

Everyone's Fitbit data is being deleted next week unless they transfer their account to Google; I did so today even though I'm still miffed that Google discontinued Fitbit challenges and expeditions, which were probably my favorite thing about the app. Robin refused and bought a Garmin instead. She sent me pictures today and reported, "It has challenges. And expeditions." I have now spent far too much time researching Garmin trackers.

I have not made any progress on the output challenge; although I have spent 30 minutes "on the phone" with Duolingo's Lily in the last two days, I have recorded 0 additional minutes of audio journaling. (The rules of the output challenge are that only your output counts (not that of a real or fictional conversation partner) and it must be recorded.) To reach 50 hours in a year I will aim for an hour a week, or 10 minutes a day. At least I will until I feel too far behind to continue, and then I will either give up or start over. I have a plan for failure! I do not have a plan for success. That seems concerning now that I think about it.

Finally, I am taking pictures of my Lego and alt-brick jianghu for [community profile] beagoldfish. It's fun ♥
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Gaming Update

Jan. 28th, 2026 01:15 pm
cyphomandra: (balcony)
[personal profile] cyphomandra
I dropped the difficulty on Alan Wake II (just in time to get attacked by some exceedingly fast-moving wolves that I would have totally failed to deal with otherwise) and played for a bit more, long enough to switch POV character to Alan himself. This meant a shift from small rural town to big grimy city, and also brings into play the writing mechanic, where once you discover a piece of information you can rewrite an earlier scene and open up new possibilities. It had some neat moments, but it still wasn’t enough to keep me interested. It doesn’t help that I don’t like having to use a gun as my sole weapon (I do now have a crossbow, but with only three bolts and only in Saga’s POV) and I’m not thrilled by playing as an FBI agent, which is Saga’s job. I have therefore abandoned it for now.

As per last update I had started playing LEGO Horizons with my son, and I’m sure it will come as no surprise that after playing through two levels of that (Cauldrons! Thunderjaws! Varl!) I loaded Horizon Forbidden West back on to the Playstation. Originally I’d intended to only play the DLC, Burning Shores, but my only save was right before the final mission arc (on the beach at Singularity, where you’re about to call everyone in) and it felt wrong to start there, plus I would be completely out of practice with all the weapons. So obviously the only logical answer was to replay all of HFW, which, ahem, I have now done. I am now on to Burning Shores, and zipping round the half-drowned and occasionally erupting remnants of Los Angeles.

I think as a game in and of itself HZD still has the edge, but there’s a lot I love about HFW as well, including some amazing new characters, expanded weapons (I have finally gotten the hang of the shredder gauntlet, woo hoo), and new mounts. And I do like what they do with the story - the Far Zeniths, and especially Tilda, are good antagonists. I do not like Machine Strike (I have played the tutorial and the two games required to get the trophy, and no more) and I never bother with the face paint, although I do like that they’ve stuck a Pride option in to annoy all those gamer gate types complaining about having to play as a queer woman.
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Reification

NSFW Jan. 27th, 2026 06:58 pm

[ SECRET POST #6962 ]

Jan. 27th, 2026 06:50 pm
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[personal profile] case posting in [community profile] fandomsecrets

⌈ Secret Post #6962 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01. Image



( More! )


Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 24 secrets from Secret Submission Post #994.
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.

第五年第十八天

Jan. 28th, 2026 08:16 am
nnozomi: (Default)
[personal profile] nnozomi posting in [community profile] guardian_learning
部首
手 part 5
扮, to dress up; 扯, to pull; 扰, to disturb ( pinyin )
https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?cdqrad=64

语法
2.21 part 1 Adjective degree complements: 好, 差, 早, 开心 etc.
https://www.digmandarin.com/hsk-2-grammar

词汇
虫子, insect (pinyin in tags)
https://mandarinbean.com/new-hsk-4-word-list/

Guardian:
你三番五次地来打扰我工作, you keep on showing up to disturb my work
画得不错, not badly drawn
[no bugs]

Me:
下次拍戏他要扮演古装角色。
玩得开心啊！
他很害怕虫子之类的。
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