[Prompt: #469: Rehearse] Original Work - I Do
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100wordsWildlife
Nov. 25th, 2025 12:16 amysabetwordsmithRats are snatching bats out of the air and eating them
Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) figured out how to get inside the kiosk and climb up to the bats’ landing platform at the entrance, using a curtain the researchers placed inside the kiosk for filming purposes. From August to October 2020, cameras captured the rodents — standing on their hind legs and using their tail to balance — grabbing bats mid-flight, killing them with a bite and dragging the carcasses away. The rats also caught bats as they landed on the platform.
Rats, especially brown rats, can be vicious little predators. It will be interesting to see if A) rats evolve further in predatory directions and B) bats learn to avoid them. Hats off to Dougal Dixon, you called it dude.
Note from birdhouse architecture: don't create a platform or perch near an entry hole that predators can stand on. Fliers can typically enter without it. Probably the rats can't climb upside down, but you might want to check that.
Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) figured out how to get inside the kiosk and climb up to the bats’ landing platform at the entrance, using a curtain the researchers placed inside the kiosk for filming purposes. From August to October 2020, cameras captured the rodents — standing on their hind legs and using their tail to balance — grabbing bats mid-flight, killing them with a bite and dragging the carcasses away. The rats also caught bats as they landed on the platform.
Rats, especially brown rats, can be vicious little predators. It will be interesting to see if A) rats evolve further in predatory directions and B) bats learn to avoid them. Hats off to Dougal Dixon, you called it dude.
Note from birdhouse architecture: don't create a platform or perch near an entry hole that predators can stand on. Fliers can typically enter without it. Probably the rats can't climb upside down, but you might want to check that.
New verses in "An Inkling of Things to Come"
Nov. 24th, 2025 11:50 pmysabetwordsmithThanks to a donation from fuzzyred, there are 31 new verses in "An Inkling of Things to Come." As the worldbuilding class discusses setting, Shiv tries to figure out what a genre is.
fuzzyred, there are 31 new verses in "An Inkling of Things to Come." As the worldbuilding class discusses setting, Shiv tries to figure out what a genre is.Poem: "Preparing Every Nook and Cranny"
Nov. 24th, 2025 11:12 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the June 3, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "Aroace" square in my 6-2-25 card for the Pride Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred and librarygeek. It belongs to the Finn Family thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
( Read more... )
dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "Aroace" square in my 6-2-25 card for the Pride Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred and librarygeek. It belongs to the Finn Family thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.( Read more... )
Deciding Anew (part 1 of 1, complete)
Nov. 24th, 2025 11:59 pmdialecticdreamerDeciding Anew
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1312
[Third week of December, 2016]
:: Frank the Crank gets a very surprising visitor to the repair shop, with an even more surprising offer. Part of the City Engines story arc in the Polychrome Heroics universe, this story came about as a result of the comments on “Bad Decisions, Good Decisions.”
The glossy silver car that pulled to a stop in the parking lot was less than two years old, and rode heavy. Frank recognized the weight of high-end safety panels hidden in the lines of the “safest SUV in the world.” He wiped his hands and moved away from the car under the canvas awning.
The woman who stepped out of the back of the vehicle wore pearl drop earrings and a pair of combs inlaid with mother-of-pearl, but also wore a navy blue coverall. A closer look revealed the rectangle of darker fabric where a sticky label had recently been. The coverall had no name tag, and no logo embroidered on it. “Could I help you?” he asked as he approached.
( Read more... )
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1312
[Third week of December, 2016]
:: Frank the Crank gets a very surprising visitor to the repair shop, with an even more surprising offer. Part of the City Engines story arc in the Polychrome Heroics universe, this story came about as a result of the comments on “Bad Decisions, Good Decisions.”
The glossy silver car that pulled to a stop in the parking lot was less than two years old, and rode heavy. Frank recognized the weight of high-end safety panels hidden in the lines of the “safest SUV in the world.” He wiped his hands and moved away from the car under the canvas awning.
The woman who stepped out of the back of the vehicle wore pearl drop earrings and a pair of combs inlaid with mother-of-pearl, but also wore a navy blue coverall. A closer look revealed the rectangle of darker fabric where a sticky label had recently been. The coverall had no name tag, and no logo embroidered on it. “Could I help you?” he asked as he approached.
( Read more... )
Notes for "Rigor, Innovation, Accessibility, and Accountability"
Nov. 24th, 2025 10:47 pmexhausted
Nov. 25th, 2025 12:09 pmtielanGrowing vaguely anxious about the party on Saturday.
*sigh* My three current mantras are:
I've made a slice, a cake and icing, and will be cooking some chicken wings in soy sauce on Friday. I'm thinking about making a bean salad with a bit of a vinegar zing...
Yesterday, I gave the back door and frame a coat of oil, and it's been a bit whiffy through the house. So the cats didn't sleep in the laundry last night, and around 2am Smokey came by to insist she get to come in and sleep with me. Around 4am, Mal decided to join us. And around 6am, my alarm went off.
I have to get the back porch table cleared this evening, box as much stuff as possible (worry about sorting later).
Tomorrow is going to be hellishly hot, and the hot weather is going to continue on through to Saturday. Argh. It's going to be painfully hot outside, and I was kind of counting on being able to hold it outside...
*sigh* My three current mantras are:
My mother's standards of entertaining do not need to be mine.
My friends will not judge me for having a lived-in house.
People do actually like me and will turn up.
I've made a slice, a cake and icing, and will be cooking some chicken wings in soy sauce on Friday. I'm thinking about making a bean salad with a bit of a vinegar zing...
Yesterday, I gave the back door and frame a coat of oil, and it's been a bit whiffy through the house. So the cats didn't sleep in the laundry last night, and around 2am Smokey came by to insist she get to come in and sleep with me. Around 4am, Mal decided to join us. And around 6am, my alarm went off.
I have to get the back porch table cleared this evening, box as much stuff as possible (worry about sorting later).
Tomorrow is going to be hellishly hot, and the hot weather is going to continue on through to Saturday. Argh. It's going to be painfully hot outside, and I was kind of counting on being able to hold it outside...
Hopeless Feeling
Nov. 24th, 2025 11:14 pmcornerofmadnessSo out of 70+ faculty the same 21 people who do everything are the only ones who voted and four more voted to take the insurance that means we lose our doctors, our HSA, to save 100$/month but has a 9K deductible vs the 3K we had and oh the insurance is under major investigation by the federal government for fraud. Thanks for voting to make sure we're one health crisis away from homelessness there. But also the rest of the faculty, why are you not helping? Do you all have spouses with better insurance? Are you on medicare? Any good reason you weren't there for us?
But I was trying to find a little joy in the day and I did get paid for my short story today. That's great. I've been waiting for MONTHS on this, literally at least 6 months and I've been wondering when we were going to market it. Turns out next month and it'll be out in January.
In the opposite of joy my gastric paresis is acting up so bad. Ate and apple, puked in my office trash can and then my blood sugar dropped out because lunch was in the trash. F.U. life.
But in better news, the blood from my dexcom wasn't from infection. The skin had broken down under the glue so it's getting a rest.
Music Monday, prompt - a song that tells a story. Oh there are OH so many.
this Abney Park one isn't a happy one per se. Robert hasn't talked much about it but some of his stories and songs suggest he grew up in an abusive situation
And Reba had a lot of them. This one had me writing some romance story about a guy named Chance Deveroux back when I was in college but I never finished because I was told guys can't be part of the main focus of a romance. It had to be all the woman's pov (I know better now of course but it was most likely a horrible story anyhow)
But I was trying to find a little joy in the day and I did get paid for my short story today. That's great. I've been waiting for MONTHS on this, literally at least 6 months and I've been wondering when we were going to market it. Turns out next month and it'll be out in January.
In the opposite of joy my gastric paresis is acting up so bad. Ate and apple, puked in my office trash can and then my blood sugar dropped out because lunch was in the trash. F.U. life.
But in better news, the blood from my dexcom wasn't from infection. The skin had broken down under the glue so it's getting a rest.
Music Monday, prompt - a song that tells a story. Oh there are OH so many.
this Abney Park one isn't a happy one per se. Robert hasn't talked much about it but some of his stories and songs suggest he grew up in an abusive situation
And Reba had a lot of them. This one had me writing some romance story about a guy named Chance Deveroux back when I was in college but I never finished because I was told guys can't be part of the main focus of a romance. It had to be all the woman's pov (I know better now of course but it was most likely a horrible story anyhow)
Poem: "Rigor, Innovation, Accessibility, and Accountability"
Nov. 24th, 2025 10:29 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the May 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from fuzzyred and dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "Power(ful)" square in my 5-1-24 card for the Superpower Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred and librarygeek. It belongs to the Finn Family thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
( Read more... )
fuzzyred and dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "Power(ful)" square in my 5-1-24 card for the Superpower Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred and librarygeek. It belongs to the Finn Family thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.( Read more... )
Poem: "To Form a New Idea"
Nov. 24th, 2025 09:41 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the June 4, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from mama_kestrel. It also fills the "Nonbinary / Intersex" square in my 6-1-24 card for the Pride Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred and librarygeek. It belongs to the Finn Family thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
( Read more... )
mama_kestrel. It also fills the "Nonbinary / Intersex" square in my 6-1-24 card for the Pride Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred and librarygeek. It belongs to the Finn Family thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.( Read more... )
emotional support spinning
Nov. 24th, 2025 09:14 pmyhlee
I'm informed this is a 1981 Ashford Traditional. I pounced on the secondhand listing as spinning wheels in working order (especially modern-ish wheels) are very scarce in my region, especially at a low price point. She's in incredibly good condition and spins beautifully! She's my first Saxony wheel, to go with the Ashford Traveller. I'm also told the bobbins ought to be inter-compatible (I have bobbins for both the larger and smaller flyers).
The pink-magenta is IxChel's North Ronaldsay blend (North Ronaldsay Sheep 40%, Blue Faced Leicester 30%, Silver infused Seaweed 10%, Mulberry Silk 10%, Cashmere 10%).
Poem: "No Trouble So Great or Grave"
Nov. 24th, 2025 08:49 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the November 5, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "Chamomile" square in my 11-1-24 card for the Sleepytime Bear Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred and librarygeek. It belongs to the Finn Family thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
Warning: This poem contains some intense topics. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes digestive upset, reference to human trafficking, implied mayhem, emotional upheaval, exhaustion, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "Chamomile" square in my 11-1-24 card for the Sleepytime Bear Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred and librarygeek. It belongs to the Finn Family thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.Warning: This poem contains some intense topics. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes digestive upset, reference to human trafficking, implied mayhem, emotional upheaval, exhaustion, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
( Read more... )
Superman (2025)
Nov. 24th, 2025 08:07 pmlannamichaelsAs superhero movies go, this is a very good superhero movie. As regular movies go, I kept being annoyed about the seriously compressed timeline and some really basic suspension of disbelief, like "is anyone going to say Lex Luthor is lying about translation" because, uh. Also, how does anyone know Kryptonian? So many little things just drove me up the wall.
However! It was a good movie, and the Clark/Lois stuff was very well done, I actually really loved their interview/fight because it worked so well in with characterization, it didn't strike my "I cannot, I cannot, I cannot" that I tend to have about couples arguing.
The main effect of the movie was, after it was revealed that Lex had people going over every inch of every Superman fight so he could get a single strand of Superman's hair so he could clone him -- I went and reread some old favorite Smallville fics. Good times.
The movie also did something I noticed with the Knives Out 2: Glass Onion film, where it made the Cool Evil Rich Villain... not come off very compelling on the slash goggles. I did not walk out of this movie shipping Clark/Lex, even though I ship Clark/Lex. Lex Luthor, played by Why Do I Recognize Him Oh That's The Boy From About A Boy, is very well done and very well performed and is not a magnificent bastard and he has zero chemistry with Clark, but not in a way that detracts from the film. This is not a film where Clark and Lex have ever been on good terms; this is not a film where they even ever knew each other. There was nothing about the movie that was in the same flavor or theme as Smallville, but hey, always fun to go reread some stuff.
But for a movie that did Lois so well, did we have to have Eve The Awful Clingy Obsessive Wannabe Girlfriend with Jimmy who did not want to date her, just wanted info from her? That was so hard to endure. I think worse of the movie for making that decision, it casts a long tail on the movie even a week after I finished it, like "oh yeah so that was a movie that made me go reread some old fics from 20 years ago, and also had this unnecessarily misogynistic sideplotline played for laughs (?)".
Nathan Fillion also appeared to be treating this film as "I will do bad acting on purpose to show that my character is a buffoon" but mostly it just came off annoying.
I also have a nit to pick with this movie that is solely from watching it with the DVD closed captions, which kept noting when the main Superman theme was playing, which is: the soundtrack to this movie is ... well, it's got some perfectly acceptable pop songs peppered in. But the rest of it is just so bland.
But this movie is better than every MCU movie I've seen, with the exception of Captain America 2: A Good Spy Movie With I Guess Absolutely Zero Repercussions For The Worldbuilding Oh Well.
wherein Liz buys stuff (at a con and then at IKEA)
Nov. 24th, 2025 07:38 pmedenfallingThis weekend (Friday through Sunday) I helped staff a table at Fables and Flames, a romantasy fiction con in its first year. Vicky has an ongoing m/m romantasy series (branching out in new directions from her contemporary m/m romance) and got an author invite, but it's hard to staff a vendor table alone so I helped set up/take down the displays, provided some company, and held down the fort when she wanted to go do some other con activities. I handed out a lot of cards and flyers, and even sold a few books!
(I also picked up cards for every other author present and bought more things -- scented candles, weighted plushies, scrunchies, a 3D-printed fidget toy -- than was probably wise, but that is only to be expected at a con. Also I love my new plushies with fierce devotion, so there.)
Word is that the con either broke even or came very close, which is excellent for a first-year event. Hopefully that means they will run it again next year. :)
Anyway the con was a lot of fun but also very tiring -- and I didn't even have to be "on" most of the time. Also once we packed up early on Sunday afternoon, we drove across the street to IKEA and spent a couple hours looking at sofa beds and other assorted things. As is typical for a trip to IKEA, I came away with more than I meant to buy. I am now the proud (?) owner of a slightly dinged-up "as-is" desk, a coat stand, two wooden storage crates, a bath mat (that was probably intended as a hand towel but pssht like I care), and a $5 print of a botanical illustration of a fig. And also a pack of cinnamon rolls, because reasons.
So that was my weekend.
(I also picked up cards for every other author present and bought more things -- scented candles, weighted plushies, scrunchies, a 3D-printed fidget toy -- than was probably wise, but that is only to be expected at a con. Also I love my new plushies with fierce devotion, so there.)
Word is that the con either broke even or came very close, which is excellent for a first-year event. Hopefully that means they will run it again next year. :)
Anyway the con was a lot of fun but also very tiring -- and I didn't even have to be "on" most of the time. Also once we packed up early on Sunday afternoon, we drove across the street to IKEA and spent a couple hours looking at sofa beds and other assorted things. As is typical for a trip to IKEA, I came away with more than I meant to buy. I am now the proud (?) owner of a slightly dinged-up "as-is" desk, a coat stand, two wooden storage crates, a bath mat (that was probably intended as a hand towel but pssht like I care), and a $5 print of a botanical illustration of a fig. And also a pack of cinnamon rolls, because reasons.
So that was my weekend.
(no subject)
Nov. 24th, 2025 04:45 pmysobelBack in 2018-19, Loki spent about 9 months in a cone, because he wouldn't stop killing his tail. ( cw: mention of medical saga )
And then randomly, he stopped. Since then he does still attack his tail sometimes (occasionally seeming extremely annoyed by it) but without making it bloody. I sort of get the impression he doesn't really understand that his tail is even attached to him, let alone part of him. Sometimes he shoves his tail down, stalks to a different bed, and gets upset that it followed him. Sometimes it feels like, to him, he bites the wiggly thing and then it bites him back.
But regardless, he wasn't doing serious damage.
Until last week.
We noticed a spot on the underside of his tail that he seemed to have licked bare. Then it bled a bit. So Friday was Vet Day. They shaved the area, cleaned it up, and gave him an antibiotic shot because it looked like he had just ... chomped way too hard.
So he's back in a cone. Hopefully it's just for the 10-14 days recommended by the vet. But. It's a different spot, but he does have history with, erm, tail issues.
If he continues with his tail the way he did in 2018... ( cw: mention of potential medical procedures )
Right now the dogs are banished from my bedroom so that Loki can have easier access to food/water and to litterbox. They are confused by this. Loki has been extremely clingy, jumping on my lap pretty much every time I'm in there and sleeping on me probably 80% of the night. I don't actually mind providing extra cuddles! But I think all of us will be happy when things go back to normal...
And then randomly, he stopped. Since then he does still attack his tail sometimes (occasionally seeming extremely annoyed by it) but without making it bloody. I sort of get the impression he doesn't really understand that his tail is even attached to him, let alone part of him. Sometimes he shoves his tail down, stalks to a different bed, and gets upset that it followed him. Sometimes it feels like, to him, he bites the wiggly thing and then it bites him back.
But regardless, he wasn't doing serious damage.
Until last week.
We noticed a spot on the underside of his tail that he seemed to have licked bare. Then it bled a bit. So Friday was Vet Day. They shaved the area, cleaned it up, and gave him an antibiotic shot because it looked like he had just ... chomped way too hard.
So he's back in a cone. Hopefully it's just for the 10-14 days recommended by the vet. But. It's a different spot, but he does have history with, erm, tail issues.
If he continues with his tail the way he did in 2018... ( cw: mention of potential medical procedures )
Right now the dogs are banished from my bedroom so that Loki can have easier access to food/water and to litterbox. They are confused by this. Loki has been extremely clingy, jumping on my lap pretty much every time I'm in there and sleeping on me probably 80% of the night. I don't actually mind providing extra cuddles! But I think all of us will be happy when things go back to normal...
Women's Soccer RPF: Fanfiction: Magnetized
Nov. 24th, 2025 08:00 pminfinitum_noctem posting in fan_flashworksTitle: Magnetized
Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF
Pairings: Hope Solo/Kelley O'Hara
Characters: Hope Solo
Rating: G
Length: 100 words
Summary: Hope is worried when the newest member of her backline falls in front of her.
( Read more... )
Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF
Pairings: Hope Solo/Kelley O'Hara
Characters: Hope Solo
Rating: G
Length: 100 words
Summary: Hope is worried when the newest member of her backline falls in front of her.
( Read more... )
30 in 30: ST:TNG
Nov. 24th, 2025 06:31 pmsenmutAO3 Link | Training Opportunity (100 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Tasha Yar, Worf
Additional Tags: Drabble, Slice of Life
Summary:
Yar circled to the left, and Worf watched as he adjusted himself. When she lunged, he was as ready as he could be, and still she managed to foul his leg, and get him off balance. From there it was only two quick moves and he stumbled out of the circle they had made.
"You are a formidable warrior."
"So are you, but you're not accustomed to smaller, faster opponents who know how to use their body," Yar said. "So, joining my class?"
"Yes."
She smiled, then beckoned him in for another round. He took the invitation, eager to learn.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Tasha Yar, Worf
Additional Tags: Drabble, Slice of Life
Summary:
Yar shows Worf a flaw
Yar circled to the left, and Worf watched as he adjusted himself. When she lunged, he was as ready as he could be, and still she managed to foul his leg, and get him off balance. From there it was only two quick moves and he stumbled out of the circle they had made.
"You are a formidable warrior."
"So are you, but you're not accustomed to smaller, faster opponents who know how to use their body," Yar said. "So, joining my class?"
"Yes."
She smiled, then beckoned him in for another round. He took the invitation, eager to learn.
Early Humans
Nov. 24th, 2025 04:29 pmysabetwordsmithWhy did ancient people build massive, mysterious mounds in Louisiana?
Hunter-gatherers at Poverty Point may have built its massive earthworks not under the command of chiefs, but as part of a vast, temporary gathering of egalitarian communities seeking spiritual harmony in a volatile world. New radiocarbon data and reexamined artifacts suggest far-flung travelers met to trade, worship, and participate in rituals designed to appease the forces of nature.
Note that we already have extensive evidence that the trade network of Turtle Island spanned all four coasts. This makes large trading posts / events highly plausible.
Hunter-gatherers at Poverty Point may have built its massive earthworks not under the command of chiefs, but as part of a vast, temporary gathering of egalitarian communities seeking spiritual harmony in a volatile world. New radiocarbon data and reexamined artifacts suggest far-flung travelers met to trade, worship, and participate in rituals designed to appease the forces of nature.
Note that we already have extensive evidence that the trade network of Turtle Island spanned all four coasts. This makes large trading posts / events highly plausible.