froodle | Reading

Title: The Easy Way
Fandom: FAKE
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG
Setting: After Like Like Love.
Summary: Dee and Ryo are going on a cycling vacation.
Written Using: The dw100 prompt ‘Cycle’.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: Double drabble.

( The Easy Way... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

badly_knitted

Title: Cramped
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 862: Small at

torchwood100.
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: The first time Ianto spent the night with Jack, he found Jack’s cot rather too small for two.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Double drabble.

( Cramped... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

solarbird

Last night – Tuesday night – Gamers Nexus posted a three hour deep dive on how Trump’s tariff regime is completely fucking one segment of the computer industry: custom computers and components including gaming PCs.

I have now watched all of it.

IT IS WORTH YOUR TIME.

I never say that shit about a video this long but it is a documentary of goddamn note. I haven’t seen anything else close to this, showing not just numbers, but how those numbers compound – 145% isn’t a limit, some of the tariffs are additive on top of each other – and most of all how stupidly complicated they’ve made it.

Let’s say you’ve got a power supply. Let’s say it’s at 145% as a base unit, ’cause right now it probably is. That’s not the only tariff – that’s just one of them. Percentage aluminium by weight? You’ve got to figure that out, and you need to know where it came from, because that’s an additional tariff. Sometimes. Percentage steel by weight? Same question, same fluctuating situation.

How the fuck do you figure out where the aluminium legs on a resistor came from?

The transparency from Hyte in particular – it’s stunning. They’re just dumping pricing and strategy trade secrets in this video because they literally can’t do business in the US as things stood at time of shooting. They’ve cancelled all shipments to the US and once they’re out of stock already in country, they’re out of stock.

As they say, most people won’t really notice until shelves go empty.

And this is just one industry.

$600 for a PC case, anyone?

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

spikedluv

I’ve now seen the first three eps, which were all dropped at once. (Future eps will be once a week from here on out.) ( spoilers )

sabotabby

Just finished: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad. I don't know what else to say about this scathing, perfect little book beyond that I wish I could make everyone in so-called Western civilization sit down in a chair with their eyes forced open, Clockwork Orange-style, until they'd read it. Until they make this atrocity fucking stop. It's one impassioned cry in the midst of genocide but it's a very powerful cry.

The Dragonfly Gambit, A.D. Sui. I have mixed feelings about this novella, which is a military sci-fi about a pilot, sidelined after a career-ending injury, who plots an elaborate revenge against the empire that blew up her planet. I first encountered the author at the same event where I first encountered Suzan Palumbo, and this could be a paired reading with her book Countess, only I read Countess first and preferred it. Which is not to say that this book isn't good, because it really is, but it's a bit inevitable to compare two anti-colonialist lesbian revenge fantasy space operas that end in tragedy that came out the same year, y'know?

My main criticism is that it suffers from the same issue that a lot of space opera suffers from, which is that there's a big universe and a limited cast of characters, doing all the things. The genre wants scrappy underdogs with interpersonal drama, but it also wants its protagonists in positions of power, which you can do in longer-form work but is challenging in a first-person novella. The Third Daughter is very hands-on, and it's implied that Mother is as well, but at least the former is ludicrously incompetent for someone running a massive empire. Which is to say that if you've blown up someone's planet, you probably shouldn't promote three young people, all of whom are childhood friends, from that planet into critical military positions. Especially if you're going to fuck at least two of them.

That said, I like the romance in this one more, if you can call it a romance; it's wonderfully toxic. And the ending is a gutpunch.

Currently reading: Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons From Marine Mammals by Alexis Pauline Gumbs. This continues to be excellent. One thing that I think is really cool about it, among the many things that are cool about it, is that she's decided to capitalize the word Black in all instances, not just where it applies to humans. Which has the intended effect of anthropomorphizing the creatures she writes about in a way that identifies them as the racialized Other, and thus part of the struggle for liberation. Look, this is poetry about marine biology, I'm going to basically love everything about it.

Lost Arc Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa. I just started this one last night but we have a future Lagos that is mostly underwater, save for five skyscrapers. Which is a cool enough concept that I'll overlook that the book starts with both a dream sequence and the main character dressing for work. I'm into the worldbuilding so far.

seawasp

Stephanie doesn't know there's plotting and scheming...

( ... but she has problems of her own... )

That's certainly the way to bet...

spikedluv

What I Just Finished Reading: Since last Wednesday I have read/finished reading: Mourn Not Your Dead (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) by Deborah Crombie, Gin and Daggers (A Murder, She Wrote Mystery) by Donald Bain, and Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea (Tomes and Tea Series) by Rebecca Thorne.

What I am Currently Reading: Dreaming of the Bones (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) by Deborah Crombie (with The Nightmare Before Kissmas (A Royals and Romance Novel) by Sara Raasch on the back burner).

What I Plan to Read Next: I have another book out from the library.

Book 15 of 2025: Mourn Not Your Dead (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) (Deborah Crombie)

I enjoyed this book. The case was interesting. ( spoilers )

I have the next book in the series out from the library already, so I'm going to continue reading it for now; I liked this book enough to give it five hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥

Book 16 of 2025: Gin and Daggers (A Murder, She Wrote Mystery) (Donald Bain)

Wow, was this bad. I recall reading a later book in the series for a book bingo square and I didn't remember it being this bad, so hopefully he improves quickly. There were a lot of inconsistencies with the tv series and he really doesn't have a feel for the characters. Yet. (I talked specifics at this week's Monday [Fandom] Madness post, if you're interested in reading more.)

If I weren't reading this series for the sole purpose of seeing what details he adds to Jessica's life, I'd probably quit now. (I read a blog post that mentioned Jessica and Frank living someplace else before they moved to Cabot Cove, which made me curious if it came from the books and what else might be in them.) I'm only giving this book two hearts.

♥♥

Book 17 of 2025: Can't Spell Treason Without Tea (Tomes and Tea Series) (Rebecca Thorne)

I really enjoyed this book!( spoilers )

I'm looking forward to reading the next book (when the two libraries that have it take it off the ‘new and popular' list); I'm giving this book five hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥

conuly

Late in May as the light lengthens
toward summer the young goldfinches
flutter down through the day for the first time
to find themselves among fallen petals
cradling their day's colors in the day's shadows
of the garden beside the old house
after a cold spring with no rain
not a sound comes from the empty village
as I stand eating the black cherries
from the loaded branches above me
saying to myself Remember this

*******

Link

conuly

Watch on YouTube

conuly

Clicky!

Also, I meant to say re: the utilities that you are all the best and I absolutely love you :)

(Still need to call National Grid and still don't wanna.)

argentum_ls

In the early days of the bantering and brainstorming that would become Highlander: the Agent, Tornis had given in to the pull of the muses and started writing scenes from a casefic. As much fun as it was to have near-daily additions to the story to look forward to, I started to feel guilty about not contributing anything of my own. In order to ease myself into the universe, I decided to write a story capitalizing on one of the recurring jokes we'd developed.

( The cat )

As all Highlander backstories need the Reveal Scene, that's also what I wanted to do: The one where we get to see how the family dealt with the news and what put the first pieces into place that would lead to the Matthew that we met in "Manhunt."

( From here to 'Manhunt' )

And thus was born:

Title: Reconcilable Differences
Word Count: 8750
Characters: Matthew, Original Characters, Corwin the Cat
Rating: T (I think there's a swear)
Summary: The year is 1989, and Matthew has been happily married for almost two decades. Recognizing that his lack-of-aging is catching up to this life, he realizes it's time to have the talk with his family.

This also marks the first of the extras that I wrote, and the first one posted on our new schedule of releasing extras on Wednesdays.

yuuago

As mentioned previously, after watching the film, I decided to check out Conclave by Robert Harris.

There are a few differences between the novel and the film, but mostly they're minor changes (Lawrence = Lomeli in the novel, Benitez is Filipino in the novel rather than Mexican, etc). I do seem to recall that the turtle scene wasn't in the book; I'm kind of surprised that they added that for the movie, but it was a lovely character moment and Benitez looks kind of like a romance film protagonist in that scene, so I'm certainly not complaining.

Some of the scenes were more effective in the movie than the novel, I think. But that could be due to acting and directorial choices and so on. The one that comes to mind is the saying grace scene after Benitez is introduced to everyone - in the novel, Benitez just says the whole thing, and that's that. But in the film, he pauses after saying the usual spiel, and everyone thinks he's finished and starts to sit down - but then he continues, thanking the Sisters and reminding the others of the impoverished etc, and the effect is very striking.

There are some differences between the novel and the film that I did find interesting, even if the change doesn't affect the overall plot.

( Continued, spoilers )

Overall, I wouldn't say that the novel is a must-read if you liked the film, but I enjoyed it a lot and I think that if you wanted more after watching the movie, it's a good direction to go. Plus you get more into Lomeli's (Lawrence)'s head, etc. On the reverse, I don't think I would actually recommend it without seeing the film first, because the film really is rather good and there are a few things that I thought it did better. (Though I might be biased.)

sonofgodzilla

Whilst she is presently in the same city as me, I thought I should take a moment to talk about former Team 8 member, Yokoyama Yui.

Yoko-chan

Not to be mistaken for the similarly name yet slightly differently spelt former member, Yokoyama Yui, who graduated in December 2021, Yoko-chan joined AKB in 2014 as Team 8’s Aomori representative, joining the group alongside Kuranoo Narumi, Oguri Yui, Oda Erina, and many others we’ve already spoken about here. Together, the team debuted with their revival of PARTY ga Hajumaru yo, going on tour together soon after, taking AKB out into the cities and countryside beyond Akiba anew.

By 2017, she had earned herself concurrent membership of Team K as part of management’s plan of taking the popularity garnered by the team and drawing that back into the existing teams, soon amusingly finding herself oft reported of as ‘Tano Yuka’s daughter’. With their reputation of being athletic and sporty, I always thought K was a good fit for Yoko-chan given her passion for dancing, yet it wasn’t until 2021, the year she graduated, that her talent really made an impact on me.

A lot was going on during the release of Nemohamo Rumor! Almost immediately after the announcement of Kashiwagi Yuki’s WACK collaboration, she was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome prompting a seven-hour operation and a long recovery time. Because of this, aspects of the new single had to be reshuffled with Yukirin unable to participate in the demanding choreography for the song. Yoko-chan stepped in, filling in for Yukirin’s parts during early performances, and whilst initially this happened without comment, a performance in which she wore a facemask due to having a cold on the day soon sparked a whole conversation online, the mask lending her air of mystery and later becoming a part of her outfit for future performances. Far from being a Team 8 aficionado, certainly this was the moment that really made me sit up and take notice, Nemohamo Rumor as a whole striking a note that continues to ring even now, and I feel a sense of regret that it took so long for me to notice the hard work that Yoko-chan was putting into making the group what it was, not just in terms of her Team 8 history but in how her dancing and talent shored up the group during the rough waters of these years, how her talent was instrumental in reminding others of AKB’s primacy as an idol group, constantly working hard, constantly improving. Whilst a member of Team 8, she appeared in a number of plays with her peers.

Yoko-chan

Following her graduation, she has continued to appear on stage, staring in an adaptation of Frankenstein in both Osaka and Tokyo in 2021, appearing as central character Lily in a production of Spy Room, which has a great premise even if it doesn’t always follow through, and, at last, as Usagi Tsukino for the performances of the Sailor Moon convention set piece, The Super Live, now just having wrapped up at KOKO in Camden. I have some mixed feelings about this performance and the way it was handled and how much the tickets cost, but I have faith this won’t be the last time we see Yoko-chan on stage and hope it won’t be the last time we see her in the role of Usagi.

Current Mood: awake
Current Location: somewhere
Current Music: Oozing Wound - Total Existence Failure

bubblesbrnaid

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: tired

devilc

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

sabotabby

This one was clearly ripped off the Ashley Madison hack, with a weird reference to Rohinie Bisesar (the woman who stabbed a stranger to death in the PATH Shoppers Drug Mart). The latter is even name-checked in the show, which I'm kind of surprised is legal.

The plot is needlessly convoluted. A hacker gets the database for Not!Ashley!Madison Dot Com, and appears to be blackmailing either the owner or someone in the database. People in the database include a well-regarded judge and a pastor of a megachurch. She's about to reveal the identity of someone in the database to her married best friend, but will only do it in person. They agree to meet in their usual spot in the PATH, but the hacker, who arrives first, is being followed. She makes her way to a Shoppers, where she's stabbed to death by a masked assailant.

( you know the drill )

tozka

Good afternoon, happy Tuesday! I finally spotted the morning doves again-- well, actually, one of the landed on the back porch and made eye contact with me through the sliding glass door, and then another dove dive-bombed the first one and they both flew off. Fun!

Got some links for y'all here! I'm experimenting with formatting this time. Is this easier to read, or worse?

siderea did an informal poll about some of the differences in educational systems in the US, with regards specifically to when civics was taught.

I did most of my schooling in Maryland and I took a civics class in 9th or 10th grade, but I'm pretty sure we went over some stuff before then in elementary school/middle school. We had mock presidential elections, for instance, so I'm sure we at least went over the stuff about voting.

I also remember seeing the Schoolhouse Rock video about how bills are passed, but I honestly can't remember where along my educational timeline it happened. I AM fairly certain a teacher showed it to us, though!

( More links under here )
Need more stuff to read? I've compiled all previous linkspam posts here on my website or of course you can explore the linkspam tag below.

pushkin666

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: calm
Current Location: on my Chandler/Joey chair

sholio

As is my usual practice, my latest book as Lauren is available for download for my DW circle for the next week or so!

Download from Bookfunnel.

The download will be up until the book goes live on Amazon on May 2.

(Technically this is Shifter Agents #6, but it's a standalone that shouldn't require any context to read.)

spikedluv

I enjoy this show. I'm glad I started watching it last year (when I caught up on seasons 1 & 2) and that my source is still supplying it. I do wish it was more than 4 eps, though. ( spoilers )