I did not write anything for Day 11's prompt, which was "Oblivion". I didn't have any thoughts, just a massive earworm.

But I do have something for yesterday's prompt, "Fusion"! BEHOLD, A DRABBLE:

---

If familiarity breeds contempt, then why do I feel this longing? Your absence steals my breath, leaving me unsteady, and the cure is all too clear. To be by your side, walking the same paths… it would be pure bliss.

I see how hard you try, and want to smooth the wrinkles from your brow. I can’t take all your hardship, but I can bear it with you. I want to take you to the heavens. Carry you through the storm. Bear you out of the shadows. Journey with you to the end, and forge ahead unto a new dawn.


End Notes: I purposely left this vague as to who the narrator was. I envision this as a "pick your pair" fic, where you can insert your two (or more! I am all down with polyships) blorbos. I tried to write it so it wasn't just a romantic ship, that it could be read as platonic, but I'm not sure I succeeded, hmm. My initial thought, after all, for the word "fusion" was a joining of hearts.

Okay, no, that wasn't my initial thought: the first REAL thought I had was of the chimeras in the The Aetherochemical Research Facility, but that didn't leave me much to go on. My second thought, though? Yeah, I could work with this.

If your blorbos danced in your mind while reading this, I would love to hear who you envisioned!

The September 1, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl met its $300 goal, so there will be a bonus fishbowl on Tuesday, September 15. Everyone is eligible to vote in this poll. I'll leave it open until Sunday night. If there's a clear answer then, I'll close it. Otherwise I may leave it open a little longer. Here are your options...


Coracle Shores is lifeboat fantasy, a type of portal fantasy. It features a version of Earth with dramatically worsening climate change. In this context, fairies have left lifeboats to help sensitive people make their way to other worlds.

Crystal Wood is science fiction about a virus that could make the wood turn transparent when the tree died. When it escaped from the laboratories, it got into pollen and swiftly traveled around the world on the wind. This killed most of the world's forests of wind-pollinated trees, devastating the ecosystem and then civilization.

Not Quite Kansas is dark fantasy. Raymond Ivener interrupts a ritual in progress, run not-very-well by Gideon Lane. As a result, the two of them tumble from their original world into one where angels and demons walk the Earth. It's not quite Kansas as they know it, a weird blend of familiar and alien aspects. With no way home, they have to cope with their new circumstances as best they can.

This poem was written outside the regular prompt calls. It has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette.


"Spun Sugar Sky"


In the gas and dust
of the Milky Way,
there is sugar spun
like cotton candy
across the sky.

It is erythrulose,
found in raspberries
and suntan lotion.

It has been there
for a long time.

In the depths
of space, before
flowers ever bloomed,
the stars were already
dreaming of raspberries,

and before planets or
oceans ever were,
whispering of beaches
and sunscreen and
cotton candy at the fair.

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Here are the notes for "The Single Biggest Boost."

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This poem came out of the September 1, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from chanter1944  and see_also_friend. It also fills the "learning to do "" square in my 9-1-26 card for the Life Events Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette. It belongs to the Big One and Kraken threads of the Polychrome Heroics series.

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This was a prediction, not the actual nominees, so I replaced it in 'Widow's Bay' wins 8 Emmys and could win up to 6 more.

CLICK ME to learn more!

Sign-ups for communal_creators goes through September 14th, so you still have some time to join!

We are a community that encourages creativity. The goal is to challenge yourself to be creative over a month's timeframe (September 15th-October 14th). We LOVE to cheer each other on and see what everyone's working on.

I will admit a lot of the activity does happen on our discord, but I know at least a few of us are making efforts to be active in the DW community too, so those that don't do discord still feel like a welcome part of the group.

I want to copy/paste something I said elsewhere on DW that explains the tiers:

Some folks are doing just a Timed Tier (it's me, I'm some folks). I chose time because I'll be working on a variety of BIG projects, and I'm not sure I can complete any of them during the challenge round. But the creative output will still count, even if I don't "complete" anything.

Looking at the sign-ups, there's a few folks who are JUST doing a Results category. You don't have to do Time AND Results, you can just do Results if you want. But often people do both Time and Results. For me, doing both would encourage me to work on it more often (gotta meet my average weekly time!) while also encouraging me to finish the work.

and if it should be something completed every day, or during the challenge month?


If you're doing a Results tier, I am pretty damned sure it's the latter, because I can't imagine someone completing, say, a big fic every day!

We understand folks have busy lives, and a lot of us are disabled, neurodivergent, or both. I like to think of communal_creators as a way to gently encourage more creativity, rather than a heavy challenge. That's why we equally cheer people on if they are doing the lowest tiers rather than the highest, and those lowest tiers are set to be easier to reach.

ALL KINDS OF CREATIVITY COUNT. So far, we have people doing:

* cross-stitch
* knitting
* crochet
* baking
* writing, both original fiction and fan fiction
* filking
* watercolors
* small web design
* video game design
* movie reviewing
* dyeing

..and probably others I'm forgetting. If you feel it is creative, you're welcome to join us!

Feel free to share this post. <3 Hope to see some of you there!

Today is cloudy and warm.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/12/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/12/26 -- I cracked 2 yellow peach pits and got 1 good seed. I cracked 2 red plum pits and got 1 good seed. I bagged those in damp sand to cold-stratify in the fridge.

EDIT 9/12/26 -- I processed the 12 seeds from the second pawpaw and bagged them.

EDIT 9/12/26 -- I planted half a bag of leucojum near the maple tree in the house yard.

EDIT 9/12/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/12/26 -- I finished planting the rest of the leucojum.

EDIT 9/12/26 -- I watered the leucojum, patio plants, and old picnic table garden.

EDIT 9/12/26 -- I watered the new picnic table garden, purple-and-white garden, and maple garden.

EDIT 9/12/26 -- I watered the telephone pole garden, house yard plants, and re-watered the new picnic table.

EDIT 9/12/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

Cicadas and crickets are singing.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.


Has the invention of the atomic bomb made the world a more peaceful place?

Obviously not. It's an existential threat hanging over everyone. Radiation from previous explosions has contaminated Earth. Any country with an arsenal could decide to launch at any time. That isn't peace. It's just being not dead yet.

The hellish thing is, Russia's attack on Ukraine made it clear that disarming makes you anyone's meat. If Ukraine had kept its nuclear weapons, Russia would've picked a softer target. So disarmament is not as ethical to recommend as it once was. Let's not forget that one of the countries promising to protect Ukraine if it disarmed was Russia. That's never going to be a believable promise again. >_<  For a lifelong activist, that is beyond infuriating.

Tonight I am making pawpaw quickbread.  I'm using my standard recipe for banana bread, but I used pawpaw instead of applesauce, reduced cinnamon to about 3/4 teaspoon, reduced vanilla extract to 1/2 teaspoon, and added 1/4 orange flower water to bring up the floral notes in the pawpaw. The flavor is a bit diluted in the batter but still distinctive -- those high ethereal notes remain, at least before cooking.

I got about 1/2 cup of puree out of the pawpaw, and 12 seeds.  \o/  At a total of 25 seeds from the two large pawpaws, and a dollar apiece if I'd bought seeds from a catalog, I think I came out ahead! 

soc_puppet shared some Hex Quilt Patterns.  In addition to standard quilting, these should also work in other hex-based crafts, such as knitting or crochet.  These knitted hexagons have raised ribs like a snowflake. These knitted ones are flat.  Here are 4 ways to crochet a hexagon, and even more hexagons.

These are today's questions from thefridayfive...

1. What is your favorite soup?

"Butternut Squash Soup with Apples and Onions"


2. Have you made your favorite soup yourself?

Yes. I discovered it last year. This year, I planned in advance to make enough to freeze. I have made one batch already. I have enough butternut squash to make at least one more batch.


3. What is your favorite dessert?

Fruit pie or cobbler; I like many kinds including strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, peach, apple, and so on.


4. Have you made your favorite dessert yourself?

Yes, all of the above and then some.


5. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream or other frozen treat?

There are so many I love, but we just discovered boxed ice cream cones in Bueno bar and Nutella flavors. Both are the best boxed ice cream cones I've ever had, but I slightly prefer the Bueno flavor.

Nature groups may be most effective for people with deeper loneliness

In parts of Europe, a doctor can now hand a lonely patient a referral to a gardening club or a walking group rather than a course of pills. The practice rests on a belief that had never been tested directly: someone who feels alone needs a real group, run by trained facilitators, to feel better.


It is essential for medics to have more options than just pills, because that one method cannot solve many problems. Nonmedical methods are more effective in relieving many issues -- including those like loneliness which can exacerbate illness or injury.

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Scientists Recreated Chirps of Jurassic Insects, Simulating a 165 Million-yo Soundscape (Listen)

The sound-producing structures are so clearly visible on these fossils that the biologists were able to reconstruct the pitches and musical units of the mating calls through various analyses, simulations, and AI-assisted evaluations that even produced the specific number of hertz each insect would sound off at.


I was startled to discover that some, but not all, of these calls sounded familiar to me. Maybe from farmemory, but maybe from ancestral memory. That first high-pitched squeak was the strongest: a home/safe/resources sound with clear associations. It was like hearing a familiar clock or train whistle, a sound with context, meaning, relevance. Several of the others were familiar, normal nature sounds. Some I didn't particularly recognize. So that was all very interesting.

I love the branch of science that recreates sounds from the past. :D

Today is partly sunny and warm. It rained yesterday.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/11/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/11/26 -- I processed the pawpaw seeds from yesterday. For inspiration, I used this post about growing pawpaws from seed. Since I had some sphagnum moss left over from a previous project, I put some of that in both bags and wet it down before adding the sand and the seeds. Six of the seeds went in untreated, beyond washing them all in water yesterday. Seven I rinsed briefly with the weak bleach solution to kill any mold, then rinsed in plain water before putting in the bag. Those are all now in the fridge to cold-stratify.

EDIT 9/11/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/11/26 -- I trimmed brush under the maple tree so I can plant irises there.

EDIT 9/11/26 -- I planted one red-and-white 'Twist of Sheree' and one 'Red Masterpiece' iris under the maple tree, then put rocks around them for protection.

EDIT 9/11/26 -- I planted the other two irises in the same place, which finishes the first bag. \o/

EDIT 9/11/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I put extra soil on top of the irises.

EDIT 9/11/26 -- I mulched around the new irises. I watered them and the purple-and-white garden.

Cicadas and crickets are singing.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Despite the preview image, I decided to use a different creator for 'PBS NewsHour' on 9/11 25 years later.

Today's theme is Opera.


beautifulmechanical  -- Beautiful Mechanical
Do you love music? We do, too.
[Active with one post in September.]

classical_music  -- Classical Music
For fans of classical music.
[Somewhat active with last post in April.]

onesongaday  -- One Song A Day
Do you love music? So come share, listen & enjoy.
[Active with one post in August.]

Tonight I cut open the first pawpaw. They are often said to be small. I picked two of the biggest in the bin, the size of a good potato or Alphonso mango. They're bigger than many temperate fruits, a hint of their tropical family background. When ripe, they seem rotten, squishy with brown patches on the skin. Should you need to disguise a food source growing outside, pawpaw is little known and its appearance relies on knowledge to recognize its value. If warm, an amazing fragrance floats up from the fruit, telling its true condition.

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Today we went up to Champaign-Urbana to go shopping and catch the Night Market.

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