Me-and-media update
Dec. 3rd, 2025 03:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
china_shopPrevious poll review
In the Subscriptions poll, 27.1% of respondents have cancelled a subscription for political reasons lately, and a further 6.2% are thinking about it. That is a large proportion! Also, 35.4% agreed with "grar at everything".
In ticky-boxes, hard copy media came second to hugs, 39.6% to 68.8%. Lemurs got 31.2%. Thank you for your votes!!
Reading
Still reading Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers (an engaging shaggy dog story, so far). Nothing really in audio.
Kdramas
A few episodes into Knight Flower and enjoying it very much. The male lead is whatever, but the female lead is 100% delightful.
We finished Typhoon Family. Unfortunately it felt like it got shaggier and more shambolic as it went along, so that was a little unsatisfying. The least good Junho drama of the four I've seen.
Pru and I are making our way through Family by Choice, ahhh I love this show!!
Other TV
It feels like we're watching a ton of currently airing things, but now we've finished Typhoon Family, it's really just Down Cemetery Road (excellent) and Pluribus, which is a metaphor for half a dozen different things (Covid, grief, AI, et al).
We also still have Prehistoric Planet on the go, and last night we watched the first two episodes of the new season of Stranger Things, though I ended up colouring in and just looking up from time to time. Not super in the mood for watching people in peril. (At some point we'll probably watch the whole show right through, so I can always catch up properly then.)
Audio entertainment
Letters from an American, Cross Party Lines, some 99% Invisible. And a bunch of episodes of Shell Game, in season 1 of which, the podcaster makes some AI agents with his voice and deploys them at various people (including at his partner and friends). I thought this might be interesting because, while I've listened to a bunch of stuff about how AI is personally, politically and existentially terrible for our selves, societies and planet, I hadn't heard much about the experience of using it. I expected Shell Game to document the fact that it's just kind of crap. But although an "AI agent" is just a voice simulator reading ChatGPT outputs full of made-up nonsense, the podcaster seems weirdly invested in seeing them as mini-mes. Ot1h, using it to engage with scammers and spammers? Sure, why not? Otoh, sending his AI agent to AI therapy?? And then real therapy with a human therapist?? Very strange choices. I kind of want to shake him and remind him that there is NOTHING IN THERE!! (Maybe he reaches that conclusion in the final episode? I'm not there yet.) In season 2, he creates a start-up that is staffed entirely by himself and a bunch of AI agents. I'm not sure this is for me.
Guardian/Fandom
( Rambling about Guardian. )
Writing/making things
Working on my Yuletide fic. It's slow going, but I'm enjoying it. Need to think of something for the new![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fan_flashworks round (prompt: Boss).
Link dump
ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, According to a New MIT Study (Time Magazine, Jun 24, 2025) | New Zealand chant (Reddit). :D :D :D
Good things
The boy, the cat, the house. The public health system (what's left of it). Online and offline friends. All the media, everywhere, all at once. Fandom, Guardian, Yuletide, squee. Starting and finishing this post all in one day.
In the Subscriptions poll, 27.1% of respondents have cancelled a subscription for political reasons lately, and a further 6.2% are thinking about it. That is a large proportion! Also, 35.4% agreed with "grar at everything".
In ticky-boxes, hard copy media came second to hugs, 39.6% to 68.8%. Lemurs got 31.2%. Thank you for your votes!!
Reading
Still reading Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers (an engaging shaggy dog story, so far). Nothing really in audio.
Kdramas
A few episodes into Knight Flower and enjoying it very much. The male lead is whatever, but the female lead is 100% delightful.
We finished Typhoon Family. Unfortunately it felt like it got shaggier and more shambolic as it went along, so that was a little unsatisfying. The least good Junho drama of the four I've seen.
Pru and I are making our way through Family by Choice, ahhh I love this show!!
Other TV
It feels like we're watching a ton of currently airing things, but now we've finished Typhoon Family, it's really just Down Cemetery Road (excellent) and Pluribus, which is a metaphor for half a dozen different things (Covid, grief, AI, et al).
We also still have Prehistoric Planet on the go, and last night we watched the first two episodes of the new season of Stranger Things, though I ended up colouring in and just looking up from time to time. Not super in the mood for watching people in peril. (At some point we'll probably watch the whole show right through, so I can always catch up properly then.)
Audio entertainment
Letters from an American, Cross Party Lines, some 99% Invisible. And a bunch of episodes of Shell Game, in season 1 of which, the podcaster makes some AI agents with his voice and deploys them at various people (including at his partner and friends). I thought this might be interesting because, while I've listened to a bunch of stuff about how AI is personally, politically and existentially terrible for our selves, societies and planet, I hadn't heard much about the experience of using it. I expected Shell Game to document the fact that it's just kind of crap. But although an "AI agent" is just a voice simulator reading ChatGPT outputs full of made-up nonsense, the podcaster seems weirdly invested in seeing them as mini-mes. Ot1h, using it to engage with scammers and spammers? Sure, why not? Otoh, sending his AI agent to AI therapy?? And then real therapy with a human therapist?? Very strange choices. I kind of want to shake him and remind him that there is NOTHING IN THERE!! (Maybe he reaches that conclusion in the final episode? I'm not there yet.) In season 2, he creates a start-up that is staffed entirely by himself and a bunch of AI agents. I'm not sure this is for me.
Guardian/Fandom
( Rambling about Guardian. )
Writing/making things
Working on my Yuletide fic. It's slow going, but I'm enjoying it. Need to think of something for the new
fan_flashworks round (prompt: Boss).Link dump
ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, According to a New MIT Study (Time Magazine, Jun 24, 2025) | New Zealand chant (Reddit). :D :D :D
Good things
The boy, the cat, the house. The public health system (what's left of it). Online and offline friends. All the media, everywhere, all at once. Fandom, Guardian, Yuletide, squee. Starting and finishing this post all in one day.
Poll #33911 Mind's eye
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5
How vivid is your mind's eye?
View Answers
IMAX
1 (20.0%)
pretty vivid
2 (40.0%)
I can visualise if I work at it
0 (0.0%)
it's a bit patchy / vague
1 (20.0%)
no mind's eye (isn't that just a metaphor?)
1 (20.0%)
other
0 (0.0%)
ticky-box full of detective fiction
2 (40.0%)
ticky-box full of paper drifts all over my desk
3 (60.0%)
ticky-box of being able to easily name most of the characters from Winnie-the-Pooh
3 (60.0%)
ticky-box full of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves
4 (80.0%)
ticky-box full of hugs
2 (40.0%)
Happy Holidays!
Dec. 2nd, 2025 07:06 pmdisney_dark posting in holiday_wishesI am in the United States (NJ) and live with my finicky cat. I appreciate anything you might do/get for me! If my address is needed, please message me!
My wishes:
1) a cat toy for an 8 year old finicky cat who hates balls, springs, wands, and bird toys that chirp and "fly"
2) an extra long pink fitted sheet with deep pockets
3) large statement earrings or Christmas earrings
4) cards for Christmas or my Birthday (12/21)
5) some love for my fics at https://archiveofourown.org/users/Disney_Dark if you like any
6) anything Disney Princess, tangible or not
7) meal ideas for a fruitarian diet (not overly high in calories, fat, or extreme sugar)
8) Disney songs played on a piano or other instrument that I can use in Youtube videos (with credit)
9) any from my Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3BQYW1LIXKIK8
My wishes:
1) a cat toy for an 8 year old finicky cat who hates balls, springs, wands, and bird toys that chirp and "fly"
2) an extra long pink fitted sheet with deep pockets
3) large statement earrings or Christmas earrings
4) cards for Christmas or my Birthday (12/21)
5) some love for my fics at https://archiveofourown.org/users/Disney_Dark if you like any
6) anything Disney Princess, tangible or not
7) meal ideas for a fruitarian diet (not overly high in calories, fat, or extreme sugar)
8) Disney songs played on a piano or other instrument that I can use in Youtube videos (with credit)
9) any from my Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3BQYW1LIXKIK8
Poem: "User Interfaces"
Dec. 2nd, 2025 05:59 pmysabetwordsmithThis is today's freebie. It was inspired by a prompt from fuzzyred. It also fills the "Magical Power" square in my 11-1-25 card for the Fairy Tales and Fantasy Stories Bingo. This poem belongs to the series LIFC.
( Read more... )
fuzzyred. It also fills the "Magical Power" square in my 11-1-25 card for the Fairy Tales and Fantasy Stories Bingo. This poem belongs to the series LIFC.( Read more... )
GenPrompt Bingo Card Round 29
Dec. 2nd, 2025 06:00 pmsenmut| Housewife / Househusband | Tragedy | Freestyle crossover | Vignette | Women Being Awesome |
| Five Things | Contemporary AU | A Moment of Understanding / Clarity | A Strange Friend | First person narration |
| Steampunk AU | Horror | Wild Card | Second person narration | Drama |
| Crossover: TV shows and movies | There is No Escape | A Test of Worthiness | Reality is Illusion | Taxes |
| High School / College AU | Humour | Teenagers | A Blessing is Bestowed | Furnishing the Home |
Rare Femslash Exchange Nominations are Open!
Dec. 2nd, 2025 03:36 pmrfemod posting in girlgayrarefemslashexchange is a multi fandom exchange focused on f/f ships with two or more female characters (canon or genderbent) and/or genderqueer characters that you feel would fit in a f/f exchange, with less than 250 works on AO3- completed, in English, using the otp:true filter. The minimum requirements are either a 500 word fic or a nice sketch. Nomination guidelines are here.
2025 Links
Tag Set | AO3 Collection | Rules & Guidelines
2025 Schedule
Nominations: December 1-10th (closes at 10PM PST) [ Countdown to nominations closing ] | [ In your timezone ]
Sign-Ups Open: December 13th
Sign-Ups Close: December 27th, 10PM PST
Assignments Out: approximately December 30th
Assignments Due: February 6th, 10PM PST
Assignments Revealed: February 13, 10PM PST
Creators Revealed: February 20th, 10PM PST
[Bingo 2025] Row
Dec. 2nd, 2025 06:01 pmcornerofmadness posting in lyricaltitlesTitle: Pushing Up the Ante
Author:cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Husk, Arackniss and Rosie
Rating: teen
Warnings: gambling with souls
Artist: Motorhead
Prompt: a fast song
Song: Ace of Spades
Title: Master of Puppets
Author:cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Husk/Angel, Charlie/Vaggie
Rating: teen
Warnings: mind control, betrayal, physical assault, drug use
Artist: Metallic
Prompt: song with multiple singers
Song: Master of Puppets
FREE SPACE
Title: Never Gonna Give You Up
Author:cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Husk/Angel, Charlie/Vaggie
Rating: teen
Warnings: depression, alcoholism, feelings of betrayal and rage
Artist: Rick Astley
Prompt: a meme song
Song: Never Gonna Give You Up
Title: Rosie Had Everything Planned
Author:cornerofmadness
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Rosie, Alastor
Rating: teen
Warnings: cannibalism, violence
Artist: Supertramp
Prompt: Song with a name in the title
Song: Rosie had everything planned
Find my card here.
Author:
cornerofmadnessFandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Husk, Arackniss and Rosie
Rating: teen
Warnings: gambling with souls
Artist: Motorhead
Prompt: a fast song
Song: Ace of Spades
Title: Master of Puppets
Author:
cornerofmadnessFandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Husk/Angel, Charlie/Vaggie
Rating: teen
Warnings: mind control, betrayal, physical assault, drug use
Artist: Metallic
Prompt: song with multiple singers
Song: Master of Puppets
FREE SPACE
Title: Never Gonna Give You Up
Author:
cornerofmadnessFandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Husk/Angel, Charlie/Vaggie
Rating: teen
Warnings: depression, alcoholism, feelings of betrayal and rage
Artist: Rick Astley
Prompt: a meme song
Song: Never Gonna Give You Up
Title: Rosie Had Everything Planned
Author:
cornerofmadnessFandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Rosie, Alastor
Rating: teen
Warnings: cannibalism, violence
Artist: Supertramp
Prompt: Song with a name in the title
Song: Rosie had everything planned
Find my card here.
My fandom tree is live!
Dec. 3rd, 2025 11:39 amchina_shopMy fandomtree is live! Here it is! I've requested:
(As may be obvious, my romanisation of Korean names is wildly inconsistent. I have hyphenations, no hyphenations, smooshing, u = oo, or eo = u. Idk! I mostly get names from asianwiki.com and AO3, but where relevant, I tend to change the second part of a hyphenated name to lower case, for aesthetics.)
(As may also be obvious, I got rather carried away. Hi! :D)
(As may also also be obvious, my preferred solution to love triangles where they all care about each other is SMOOSHING. :D)
fandomtree is live! Here it is! I've requested:- Guardian (TV) - many and various pairings and characters
- Guardian (novel) - Shen San/Shen Wei & Da Qing, Shen Wan/Shen Wei & a previous incarnation of Guo Changcheng/the wick
- 김과장 | Good Manager - Kim Sung-ryong/Seo Yul, team (especially Choo Nam-ho and Yoon Ha-kyung)
- 당신이 잠든 사이에 | While You Were Sleeping - Han Woo Tak/Jung Jae Chan/Nam Hong Joo
- 내 손끝에 너의 온도가 닿을 때 | The Time of Fever - Go Hotae/Kim Donghee
- 기름진 멜로 | Wok of Love - Dan Sae-woo/Doo Chil-seong/Seo Poong
- 왕은 사랑한다 | The King in Love - Eun San/Wang Rin/Wang Won
- Desperately Seeking Susan - any combination of Roberta, Susan, Dez, and Jim
- Bluey (TV) - Bingo (art only, incl. crossovers with Guardian)
(As may be obvious, my romanisation of Korean names is wildly inconsistent. I have hyphenations, no hyphenations, smooshing, u = oo, or eo = u. Idk! I mostly get names from asianwiki.com and AO3, but where relevant, I tend to change the second part of a hyphenated name to lower case, for aesthetics.)
(As may also be obvious, I got rather carried away. Hi! :D)
(As may also also be obvious, my preferred solution to love triangles where they all care about each other is SMOOSHING. :D)
Linguistics
Dec. 2nd, 2025 03:11 pmysabetwordsmithYet More on Ancient Greek Dildos
This is one of those delightful linguistic deep-dives so beloved of classical philologists. Nelson considers the use of classical Greek ὄλισβος (olisbos) as meaning “dildo” within the context of its other meanings and of other words for dildo and concludes that not only was “dildo” not the primary meaning for the word, but that it also wasn’t the standard/default term for such an instrument. Rather, the modern scholarly assumption that olisbos=dildo derives from the use of the word in Aristophanes and the tendency of the works of Aristophanes to dominate understandings of Greek usage of his time.
Just in case you want some words that modern censors are unlikely to recognize. :D Or you just like ancient sex toys.
This is one of those delightful linguistic deep-dives so beloved of classical philologists. Nelson considers the use of classical Greek ὄλισβος (olisbos) as meaning “dildo” within the context of its other meanings and of other words for dildo and concludes that not only was “dildo” not the primary meaning for the word, but that it also wasn’t the standard/default term for such an instrument. Rather, the modern scholarly assumption that olisbos=dildo derives from the use of the word in Aristophanes and the tendency of the works of Aristophanes to dominate understandings of Greek usage of his time.
Just in case you want some words that modern censors are unlikely to recognize. :D Or you just like ancient sex toys.
Challenge 417: Due South: G
Dec. 2nd, 2025 03:57 pmlove_jackianto1 posting in anythingdrabbleApples and Turtle (200 words) by look_turtles
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: due South
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Benton Fraser, Turtle (due South)
Summary:
( due south )
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: due South
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Benton Fraser, Turtle (due South)
Summary:
Benton and Ray’s turtle eat apples.
An: Written for the anythingdrabble prompt: Juice( due south )
Some highlights from my Spanish classes so far
Dec. 2nd, 2025 09:20 pmbuttonsbeadslace- Doing a grammar exercise with an example sentence that mentions "calling Jesús". Classmate rephrases this sentence in a way that is very much not what the teacher intended- he was picturing "calling Jesús" not as getting on whatsapp to talk to a guy, but instead as going to church and praying.
- We look at a list of words that were selected as the prettiest words in Spanish by an online poll. Teacher is amazed by the fact that none of us like any of the words on the list. Student says that words with the letter Z in them are "aggressive", teacher laughs his ass off.
- The word for bedsheet is mentioned in passing, teacher asks us if any of us can explain what it means for the students who don't know it. After some uncertain attempts, the best explanation any of us can come up with is "clothes for the mattress".
- We look at a list of words that were selected as the prettiest words in Spanish by an online poll. Teacher is amazed by the fact that none of us like any of the words on the list. Student says that words with the letter Z in them are "aggressive", teacher laughs his ass off.
- The word for bedsheet is mentioned in passing, teacher asks us if any of us can explain what it means for the students who don't know it. After some uncertain attempts, the best explanation any of us can come up with is "clothes for the mattress".
Gen Prompt Bingo Round 29
Dec. 2nd, 2025 08:38 pmpurplecat posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_community_promo
genprompt_bingo is a low commitment multi-fandom, multi-media bingo challenge.Its aim is to provide bingo cards of gen-style prompts to be used as inspiration in creating fic, images, meta, fanmixes, vids or any other kind of fannish activities. Although the prompts themselves are "Gen" (i.e., no prompts are specifically about romance or sex) fills may be of any genre, style or rating.
Prompt lists are renewed at the start of December and April. New cards can be claimed then even if a previous card has not been completed.
Round 29 is open
Impending weather | Impending purple | No-longer-impending Advent chocolate
Dec. 2nd, 2025 04:30 pmumadoshiThe season's first storm is heading our way, although our bit of the province is expecting way more rain than snow. (Now it rains. But I think it mostly hasn't been too cold yet, so hopefully the rain will help the water table etc. recover some more after the summer/fall drought.) Maybe scruloose can get the hoses indoors (or drained, if that's the plan) when they get home from work, before the weather arrives.
I've finally gotten weary enough of my natural hair color to buy permanent OTC dye, as opposed to the semi-permanent attempts I've made since it became obvious that covid has settled in for the long haul. ( TL;DR: purple permanent dye has been purchased but not yet applied )
C&Ping and expanding on a bit from Bluesky last night: ( an Advent calendar + supplementary chocolate )
scruloose can get the hoses indoors (or drained, if that's the plan) when they get home from work, before the weather arrives.I've finally gotten weary enough of my natural hair color to buy permanent OTC dye, as opposed to the semi-permanent attempts I've made since it became obvious that covid has settled in for the long haul. ( TL;DR: purple permanent dye has been purchased but not yet applied )
C&Ping and expanding on a bit from Bluesky last night: ( an Advent calendar + supplementary chocolate )
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Admin Post: GYWO 2026
Dec. 2nd, 2025 03:00 pm![[admin post]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/entry/admin_post.png){kind=small}
gywomod posting in getyourwordsoutPledging for GYWO 2026 opens Dec 12, 2025. To become a member for 2026 you will need to:
The community is manually moderated and most of our moderators are in GMT -5, so please bear with us and know we'll add you to the community (and post 2026 tracking materials) as soon as possible on January 1st.
Comments are disabled on this post so the mods can focus on getting 2026 materials prepared, which will likely answer many of your questions. If you have a burning question, start by checking out our website, or you can email gywomod at gmail. (You can DM or leave a comment on thegywomod journal, but an email usually gets a faster response).
- Read our 2026 Pledges & Requirements post. (Coming December 12.)
- Make a pledge via the GYWO 2026 Pledge Form.
- (optional) Request membership to the GYWO Dreamwidth community and/or GYWO Discord server. (Links to both are included in the Pledge Form.)
- Have patience! New members for 2026 will be added to the community on January 1, 2026.
The community is manually moderated and most of our moderators are in GMT -5, so please bear with us and know we'll add you to the community (and post 2026 tracking materials) as soon as possible on January 1st.
Comments are disabled on this post so the mods can focus on getting 2026 materials prepared, which will likely answer many of your questions. If you have a burning question, start by checking out our website, or you can email gywomod at gmail. (You can DM or leave a comment on the
gywomod journal, but an email usually gets a faster response).What even is a GCOP
Dec. 2nd, 2025 07:41 pmoursinI'm pretty sure this is some kind of phishing scam, because I think an email from Esteemed Academic Publishing Conglomerate would have a more professional style about it:
[Nothing in the way of branding heading or footer...]
Hi [Name],
Welcome to the [Name of Publisher] GCOP! To get started, go to https://[name of conglomerate].my.site.com/gcopvforcesite
Username: [part of my email address].netmya
The email is from [name][at][conglomerate's address].
Bizarre.
***
Also bizarre: partner has signed up for a hearing test in conjunction with forthcoming eye-test, and has received this upselling email (does not at present have any kind of hearing-aid) for an exciting new model on which they are offering A Deal:
Key Features:
Advanced Voice AI for natural, personalised sound
Waterproof design for everyday confidence
Built-in Smart Assistant & Telecare AI, providing on-the-go adjustments and support
Language translation & transcription capabilities
Step tracking, fall alerts & balance assessments
Customisable reminders for daily tasks
Hands-free phone calls for complete convenience
I'm sure I have encountered several of those 'key features' in dystopian sf???