water
Apr. 30th, 2026 10:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nerdsorrowonce upon a time I don't want to say how long ago I visited a friend in new york city, and I brought home a great big 2l bottle of their tap water.
It's been sitting around waiting for me to make bagels again and I just gotta finally use it up. I'm making sake.
But after measuring it out I had enough left over for one small glass and oh my god it's so crisp the tap water here sucks so bad I'm so jealous.
It's been sitting around waiting for me to make bagels again and I just gotta finally use it up. I'm making sake.
But after measuring it out I had enough left over for one small glass and oh my god it's so crisp the tap water here sucks so bad I'm so jealous.
D&D
Apr. 30th, 2026 11:04 amsettiaiWelp. D&D certainly happened last night.
It started out with us rolling initiative (which was expected considering how the previous game ended), so we knew it would be pretty much nothing but combat. The DM consistently rolled high, though, while the rest of us rolled low on everything including initiative. Add in the fact that all of the enemies had flight capabilities while only two of the group did, two of the people on the ground had no distance attacks, and the other two depended on magic against enemies who cause double spell slots to be expended within 100 feet of them... well, needless to say, things didn't go well.
By the end, the sorcerer/cleric was dead, one paladin was unconscious, the fighter/warlock was unconscious, the NPC who'd banished several enemies from the field lost concentration and those additional enemies returned, the other paladin was in the single digits after being brought back up, and my cleric was at almost full health but 100+ feet away from the rest of the group (as she'd gotten boxed in by some enemies near her who she'd just managed to kill). So the wizard decided to say "fuck it" and pull six cards from the Deck of Many Things mid-combat in the hope of getting something helpful.
Of course, he only got to pull five cards (none of which were particularly helpful), because the fifth one was Donjon and he immediately disappeared to an extradimensional sphere. 🙃
At that point, it was looking like my cleric might be the only character who'd have any chance of surviving as she was far enough away not to have to use double spell slots as the enemies she was fighting were down, and she did have Dimension Door so she could potentially run. The only other PC still on their feet was the paladin, who decided to take a page from the wizard's book and start pulling from the deck as well.
He pulled the Fates, which essentially lets you pick any moment in time and undo it.
... yeah, needless to say we stopped the game at that point, because that's going to be something to figure out before next week. We're definitely going to undo this combat. The question is what specific point in time do we want to pick as the changing point in the hope it will give us a better chance of surviving (and hopefully winning).
It started out with us rolling initiative (which was expected considering how the previous game ended), so we knew it would be pretty much nothing but combat. The DM consistently rolled high, though, while the rest of us rolled low on everything including initiative. Add in the fact that all of the enemies had flight capabilities while only two of the group did, two of the people on the ground had no distance attacks, and the other two depended on magic against enemies who cause double spell slots to be expended within 100 feet of them... well, needless to say, things didn't go well.
By the end, the sorcerer/cleric was dead, one paladin was unconscious, the fighter/warlock was unconscious, the NPC who'd banished several enemies from the field lost concentration and those additional enemies returned, the other paladin was in the single digits after being brought back up, and my cleric was at almost full health but 100+ feet away from the rest of the group (as she'd gotten boxed in by some enemies near her who she'd just managed to kill). So the wizard decided to say "fuck it" and pull six cards from the Deck of Many Things mid-combat in the hope of getting something helpful.
Of course, he only got to pull five cards (none of which were particularly helpful), because the fifth one was Donjon and he immediately disappeared to an extradimensional sphere. 🙃
At that point, it was looking like my cleric might be the only character who'd have any chance of surviving as she was far enough away not to have to use double spell slots as the enemies she was fighting were down, and she did have Dimension Door so she could potentially run. The only other PC still on their feet was the paladin, who decided to take a page from the wizard's book and start pulling from the deck as well.
He pulled the Fates, which essentially lets you pick any moment in time and undo it.
... yeah, needless to say we stopped the game at that point, because that's going to be something to figure out before next week. We're definitely going to undo this combat. The question is what specific point in time do we want to pick as the changing point in the hope it will give us a better chance of surviving (and hopefully winning).
Community Recs Post!
Apr. 30th, 2026 10:49 amglitteryv posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
recthethingEvery Thursday, we have a community post, just like this one, where you can drop a rec or five in the comments.
This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)
(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)
So what cool fics/fanvids/fanart/other kinds of fanworks/fancrafts/podfics have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.
BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here.
This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)
(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)
So what cool fics/fanvids/fanart/other kinds of fanworks/fancrafts/podfics have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.
BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here.
Ooof!
Apr. 30th, 2026 10:10 amconulyFriday, overnight to Saturday at usual house.
Saturday, overnight to Sunday at usual house.
Monday, overnight to Tuesday at new house.
Tuesday, overnight to Wednesday at new house.
Wednesday, run home, get four hours of sleep, run back to work for 4-12 shift, ask N if he can stay late so I can leave early because I'm doing the overnight at the new house. Thank goodness the bus gets me right there.
That's seven shifts. Today I sleep, and tomorrow night I do it again because I do actually need cash this week and next.
(This other house has a cleaning checklist for the overnight shift. The manager assured me that it's not really intended to be all done each night except the laundry. Good to know, because I did none of it last night. All of it the night before, none of it this night so I could be more awake and focused for the morning part of the shift, the part that involves dealing with the people.)
Incidentally, anybody who tells you that working with intellectually disabled adults is super rewarding or inspiring is just lying. It's mostly laundry, and there's just nothing inspiring about laundry.
It's a necessary job, and I like helping people, but during the work part of work? Mostly I'm doing their laundry. Sometimes making their beds, or helping them shower, or making lunches.
Saturday, overnight to Sunday at usual house.
Monday, overnight to Tuesday at new house.
Tuesday, overnight to Wednesday at new house.
Wednesday, run home, get four hours of sleep, run back to work for 4-12 shift, ask N if he can stay late so I can leave early because I'm doing the overnight at the new house. Thank goodness the bus gets me right there.
That's seven shifts. Today I sleep, and tomorrow night I do it again because I do actually need cash this week and next.
(This other house has a cleaning checklist for the overnight shift. The manager assured me that it's not really intended to be all done each night except the laundry. Good to know, because I did none of it last night. All of it the night before, none of it this night so I could be more awake and focused for the morning part of the shift, the part that involves dealing with the people.)
Incidentally, anybody who tells you that working with intellectually disabled adults is super rewarding or inspiring is just lying. It's mostly laundry, and there's just nothing inspiring about laundry.
It's a necessary job, and I like helping people, but during the work part of work? Mostly I'm doing their laundry. Sometimes making their beds, or helping them shower, or making lunches.
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Day 6
Apr. 30th, 2026 04:36 pmsoricelToday, my Random Community Quest has brought me to...
birdfeeding
This is cool! A community for people interested in all sorts of bird-related activities and issues. Lots of posts about bird spottings and weather reports, and some nice pictures too.
As with most nature-related things, I feel like I've always had a vague interest in birdwatching, but I've never really gotten into it...though there are some real cuties and beauties near where I live. I love seeing blackbirds running full steam ahead across my path, and catching glimpses of what I think are Eurasian Jays is always a treat. There's also a Scops Owl that I've gotten used to hearing on summer evenings, and I'm looking forward to hearing its distinctive, kinda sad call again this year. Anyway, peeking at this community just now was a good opportunity to reflect on these little sources of bird-related delight in my neighborhood.
birdfeedingThis is cool! A community for people interested in all sorts of bird-related activities and issues. Lots of posts about bird spottings and weather reports, and some nice pictures too.
As with most nature-related things, I feel like I've always had a vague interest in birdwatching, but I've never really gotten into it...though there are some real cuties and beauties near where I live. I love seeing blackbirds running full steam ahead across my path, and catching glimpses of what I think are Eurasian Jays is always a treat. There's also a Scops Owl that I've gotten used to hearing on summer evenings, and I'm looking forward to hearing its distinctive, kinda sad call again this year. Anyway, peeking at this community just now was a good opportunity to reflect on these little sources of bird-related delight in my neighborhood.
April 2026 in Review
Apr. 30th, 2026 09:37 amjames_davis_nicoll
22 works reviewed. 12 by women (55%), 10 by men (45%), 0 by non-binary authors (0%), 0 by authors whose gender is unknown (0%), and 9 by POC (41%), one of which was my 1000th work by a POC. Also, I was nominated for two awards.
April 2026 in Review
Thankful Thursday
Apr. 30th, 2026 03:20 pmmdlbearToday I am thankful for...
- Having the good sense to recognize that I probably shouldn't have a second cup of coffee today. (We'll see later whether it was a mistake.)
- Cat fud, snacks, and other staples that come in boxes that can be hot-glued together to make storage compartments for small objects. Also hot-melt glue, because I'm too lazy to use white glue and clamp things properly.
- Cats. Special thanks for Ticia-snuggles, and Bronx learning to be somewhat more gentle. Now if only he would learn to sit on my lap instead of my keyboard.
- Our Dutch bookkeeper and our US financial advisors.
- Spreadable blue cheese and good whole-grain bread.
NO thanks for getting old, with its associated ailments and disabilities. I think Ticia (who turns 20 sometime this year) would agree with me.
Steph Who? LeBron Who?
Apr. 30th, 2026 10:38 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
daily_otter_feedVia Oregon Zoo, which writes, “Positive-reinforcement training like this basketball practice plays a critical role in animal well-being, and helps keep the sea otters healthy and active as they age. Rip (Tide) City!”
You showed me how to not throw my troubles away
Apr. 30th, 2026 02:10 amsovaytl;dr my body is chewed up by medical conditions and their treatment and I have not slept more than two or three hours in five nights, but this afternoon I had to walk into Davis for a prescription and I photographed some flowering things along the way. The cherries are still blooming.
( One step over the line. )
I am still watching almost nothing in the way of movies, butspatch and I are enjoying the introductory riffs on weird New England in Widow's Bay (2026–). The series so far feels more like a collection of strange stories than a puzzle-box, off-kilter without tipping as far as spoof. I hope it can hold. I'd had no idea I should have been following Matthew Rhys for his powers of +10 mortal fear. In other art, I had missed the gloriously angular revival of the Pylon Reenactment Society's Magnet Factory (2024). I believe moon_custafer that this musician is doing his impressive best in the absence of his natural frog form. The doom-folk of Jim Ghedi's "Wasteland" (2025) once again suggests a Cloudish cinema.
( One step over the line. )
I am still watching almost nothing in the way of movies, but
spatch and I are enjoying the introductory riffs on weird New England in Widow's Bay (2026–). The series so far feels more like a collection of strange stories than a puzzle-box, off-kilter without tipping as far as spoof. I hope it can hold. I'd had no idea I should have been following Matthew Rhys for his powers of +10 mortal fear. In other art, I had missed the gloriously angular revival of the Pylon Reenactment Society's Magnet Factory (2024). I believe moon_custafer that this musician is doing his impressive best in the absence of his natural frog form. The doom-folk of Jim Ghedi's "Wasteland" (2025) once again suggests a Cloudish cinema.
[#299 | Uprising] Challenge Post
Apr. 30th, 2026 12:09 amfanweeklymod posting in fandomweekly| Challenge 299: UPRISING |
It’s dangerous. Even success will probably result in some collateral damage, and failure could have catastrophic consequences. But sometimes, things are just so bad that there’s really only one way out: rising up and doing something about it, no matter the costs along the way. Would your characters participate in an uprising, given the chance? Would they lead it? Or would they try to stop it, for whatever reason? How does it work out for them? Write a story about an uprising. If your submission features this line, it will earn an extra point to be tallied in voting! |
| Challenge ends Monday, May 4 at 9:00PM EST. • Post submissions as new entries using the template in the profile • Tag this week's entries as: [#] submission, 299 – uprising • If you have questions about this challenge, please ask them here |
[#298 | Disappearance] Results Post
Apr. 30th, 2026 12:08 amfanweeklymod posting in fandomweeklyHere are this week's votes tallied, and below the cut are our winners for Challenge #298 – Disappearance!
( This week's finalists are... )
Total Challenge Words Written: 3751
Congratulations to all this week's participants, and thank you to everyone who took the time to cast their votes!autobotscoutriella will be making this week’s banners, so keep an eye out for those.
You may now post your Challenge 298 entries to any additional communities, blogs, archives or sites as you'd like! We also have a FandomWeekly AO3 Collection if you'd like to add your stories there.
( This week's finalists are... )
Total Challenge Words Written: 3751
Congratulations to all this week's participants, and thank you to everyone who took the time to cast their votes!
autobotscoutriella will be making this week’s banners, so keep an eye out for those.You may now post your Challenge 298 entries to any additional communities, blogs, archives or sites as you'd like! We also have a FandomWeekly AO3 Collection if you'd like to add your stories there.