bikeshare rant, and library stuff
Jun. 11th, 2025 08:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mindstalkNothing deep here, just griping about today.
Avi and I set out to the Drexel Museum of Natural History. I took Indego ebike, to not worry about leaving my bike out locked, and to keep up with him. That was mostly okay, though my bike started making rattlings sounds on the way, and 20th has so many potholes, and manholes that are deep enough to potholes. I am once again baffled by how the US goes all-in on car dependency, yet can't keep the streets smooth.( Read more... )
To leaven the negativity: the museum was decent. Nice hall of dinosaur fossils (or their casts), and a lot of good dioramas. OTOH even making a second pass, I'd basically squeezed it dry in 2-2.5 hours, and our first pass took just 1.5 hours. Is that good value for $22 full-price ticket? I doubt. Fortunately we weren't paying full price.
Logan Square was kind of nice, with its flowering bushes and water fountain, and I finally checked out the main library of Philadelphia. Was nice to be in a big library again, and I accidentally found a shelf full of bicycling books, several of which I checked out.
But Philadelphia hasn't gone in on the sort of checkout technology where you can 'turn off' a book after checking it out, so that it doesn't set off the detector. At my branch library (which has no self-checkout), the librarian gives my books to me after I've gone through the detector. At the main library, you need to have brought your printed receipt with you; I ran into a bit of trouble because I'd actually turned in some other books I checked out, to make room in my backpack for the bike books, and didn't keep the first receipt for the remaining book from the first set. Fortunately the guard decided I probably wasn't doing an elaborate scam to steal one book.
High in the Clean Blue Air - Chapter Thirty Two
Jun. 11th, 2025 06:54 pmstarsprayRating: T
Characters: Maglor, Elrond, Maedhros, various others
Warnings: References to torture and trauma
Summary: Maglor keeps a promise, and comes to Valinor, only to find the ghosts he thought he'd left behind are alive and waiting for him.
Note: This fic is a sequel to Clear Pebbles of the Rain, which is itself a sequel to Unhappy Into Woe.
Prologue / Previous Chapter
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Reese by Dawn
Jun. 11th, 2025 09:03 pmdaughterofshadows posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
silwritersguild
Back in March, we spoke with polutropos' about her presentation on the "kidnap fam" trope and its broad appeal in the fandom. Few episodes in the legendarium provoke such fascination and range of interpretations. Reese is the featured author for polutropos' Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium." Dawn spoke to Reese about her story, which is an epistolary found fiction, and the appeal of alternate universe, mythology and Tolkien and the many fruitful connections they share, the kidnap fam trope—and how the silences in all of these invite storytellers to fill the gaps.
Blorboposting again
Jun. 11th, 2025 10:50 amrocky41_7Since I did one for Minthara - here are the things that I love about Lae'zel's romance:
- Her first encounter with Tav is trying to kill them, and then they end up together agkjkgf Forgotten Realms meet-cute.
- She does NOT pussyfoot around about her interest in Tav. She's into them and not afraid to declare it. Bold move when they have to continue traveling together for days/weeks/months regardless of how Tav reacts.
- The way she tells Tav where to kiss her during the sex scene. Yes.
- When Shadowheart asks if Lae'zel didn't consider it "beneath her" to share a night with Tav, Lae'zel responds "They were beneath me, at times. But also above me. And standing, at certain points."
- The fight. That she gets so worked up about having a crush on Tav and can't think of any way to deal with those feelings but fighting. "Get out of my school" energy. Nevertheless, whether Tav wins or loses, Lae'zel declares she doesn't really want to hurt them--she wants to protect them, and wants them to protect her.
- How she has to brace herself to ask for softness and affection from Tav, after potentially scoffing at Tav's earlier request for cuddling. It's scarier for her to ask for a gentle touch from Tav than it was to proposition them.
- Her FACE when Tav asks to kiss her publicly for the first time adjngkj She talks SUCH big game when they're in private but the moment Tav wants to publicly show affection for her she's O.O
- Waking Tav up to watch the sunset with her!! Lae'zel is someone who rarely does things purely for the pleasure of it and at the beginning of the game, I'm sure she would have considered this a waste of time. But now she finds pleasure in it, and she wants to share it with Tav. "This couldn't wait" she says!
- Her entire speech during the sunset scene is so incredibly touching. Her whole life has been about war--she'll boast about having killed classmates growing up because they weakened the githyanki as a whole--but now she sees another path, and she wants to share it with Tav.
- "You showed me freedom." I will not quote the entire thing but this is so core to Lae'zel's feelings about Tav and her new friends and Faerun--this is the first time she's been shown another viable way of life besides the one she was raised in, and she likes it--even though she's good at the githyanki way of life.
- The moment where she acknowledges her flaws, but also insists on her virtues. Lae'zel knows she is hard to get along with for Faerunians--but she also knows she has value.
- How she struggles to define exactly how she feels about Tav ("There's more, but I don't know how to say it. I don't know what to call it.") She doesn't have the words, but she recognizes the feelings--she knows she feels something special for Tav.
- Related to the above - her banter with Gale where she admits she'd never heard any other githyanki talk about being in love. She literally has no cultural script for what's happening, but she cares enough for Tav to push through these scary unknowns.
- The forehead kiss!
- How "source of my bruises" becomes "source of my joy" TT_TT
- If she's turned against Vlaakith, she and Tav can leave to join the githyanki revolution together. Either a gith!Tav and Lae'zel, having saved a foreign world, now set off to save their own, or Lae'zel, having saved her lover's world, now brings her lover with her to save her own people.
- Related to the above - her helping Tav onto the red dragon with her at the end! Lae'zel has dreamed of riding a red dragon her whole life, and the first time she does is with Tav.
- If the egg from Creche Y'llek is taken, Lae'zel and Tav can raise it together. Lae'zel names it "Xan" for "freedom."
- Gith!Tav and Lae'zel returning for the reunion as leaders among their people and of Orpheus' rebellion.
Day 2 (Leathercraft) Round-Up
Jun. 11th, 2025 08:19 amchestnut_pod posting in tolkienekphrasisweek- Shoes to Fill, by
Chestnut_pod. One-shot, 2,206 words.
- "Elwing’s feet hurt. Her lungs hurt from the smoke, her eyes hurt from crying, and her throat hurt from stifling a scream until Adlannfer found her in the collapsed canopy of her bed, where she had hidden from the monsters until it buckled under her weight. But it was her stinging feet that made her stumble and yelp little cries in spite of herself as Adlannfer pulled her along Doriath’s paths, which had always been smooth before, but tonight were thorny, stony, broken."
- Grave allegiances, by
- “After Celegorm’s death, Amras wants to keep something of him.”
- Carry Him With You, by
- "Faramir meets the new king. He recognizes the vambraces that Aragorn wears."
Thanks to all the participants, and looking forward to tomorrow!
The power of one-lane streets
Jun. 11th, 2025 12:37 ammindstalkI want to talk about one-lane city streets: streets with only one travel lane (and are thus also one-way, at least for cars.)
Advantages:
- They're great for pedestrians, with only 3 meters to cross to get out of the active car zone. (A pedestrian refuge between each lane would give similar benefit; in reality you'd likely only get that in a one-lane-each-way street.)
( Read more... )
High in the Clean Blue Air - Chapter Thirty One
Jun. 11th, 2025 12:38 amstarsprayRating: T
Characters: Maglor, Elrond, Maedhros, various others
Warnings: References to torture and trauma
Summary: Maglor keeps a promise, and comes to Valinor, only to find the ghosts he thought he'd left behind are alive and waiting for him.
Note: This fic is a sequel to Clear Pebbles of the Rain, which is itself a sequel to Unhappy Into Woe.
Prologue / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter
( Read more... )
two-lane street: Christian
Jun. 10th, 2025 08:03 pmmindstalkI previously talked about different bidirectional two-lane streets in Berkeley/Albany. Gilman, which was narrow, and annoying and crossable; Marin, which was wide (parking, bike, wide travel, plus turn lanes), and a high-speed stream of death. Tonight I'll talk about Christian, also two-lanes, and even narrower than Gilman since there is parking on only one side[1]. It is objectively much more crossable than Marin, but has felt more annoying than Gilman, such that on my casual walks with no destination, I will often avoid crossing it. Why should this be the case? I don't know, but some ideas. ( Read more... )
Day 1 (Dance) Round-Up
Jun. 10th, 2025 08:35 amchestnut_pod posting in tolkienekphrasisweek- It needn't be first to be important, by
- "I did not see the first steps you’ve taken nor held your hand hands as you tried to follow the music’s rhythm for the first time, but as your feet mimic the movement of mine, eager to learn the pattern of this dance, it feels as though I was there for every important milestone of your life."
- Footsteps, Vanishing, by
- "Luthien’s dancing.
Reflections on transience." - all that is gold does not glitter, by
- “All that is gold does not glitter - set to music. A poem, reimagined. A song, a dance, perhaps.”
- what fate chooses to play, by
- "Dior wants to be like Lúthien."
- This Wordless Joy, by
- "Glorfindel teaches Olórin to dance in his new embodied form."
Thanks to all the participants, and looking forward to tomorrow!
Blorboposting again
Jun. 10th, 2025 07:30 amrocky41_7Things that make me insane about Minthara's romance(s):
- "I wanted this, for myself." Even in the midst of her total brain fog by the Absolute, she knows she wants to be close to Tav. Even when she's been manipulated not to merely serve, but to serve in ecstasy, she wants to be near Tav and that is the one thing she chooses to pursue for her own ends--which are purely pleasure and comfort.
- This could have easily been a victory bang one night stand, which might have tracked with her being the "evil" companion, but it clearly meant more to her from the very beginning. She stays with Tav after the sex, she snuggles, and she willingly bears her heart to Tav about her fears and anxieties regarding the Absolute and her place on the surface.
- If Tav pries into her thoughts while she's sleeping, they see "the scars of a life spent anticipating betrayal." Life in Menzoberranzan trained her to expect a knife in the back constantly, and she remains paranoid about this even on the surface. But even so, she takes this moment with Tav, seeking to overcome her own fears about intimacy.
- The skill check you have to pass to convince her not to kill Tav? 2. She is looking for a reason to not have to kill Tav, even if Tav spoke complete heresy to her. She wants to let Tav live, she wants to see them again at Moonrise.
- Obviously, the big sad puppy eyes when she turns to see Tav during her castigation in Moonrise. Worst moment of her life and who steps through the door? The one person she has wanted to be close to maybe since she left the Underdark.
- The way the two gnomes torturing her call out her "longing for acceptance and affection from a mortal," which confirms that her night with Tav always meant more to her than just a hook-up. She wanted more than just physical intimacy--she wanted something emotional. And that is what is being highlighted in her torment as one of her worst failures--that she, essentially, wants to be loved.
- Related to the above - after Orin is killed, Minthara sort of laments that if not for Tav's strange act of mercy in saving her from Ketheric and Z'rell, she would have been just one more casualty in Tav's quest to destroy the Absolute, and "nobody would remember me."
- "You came. I prayed that you would." I am howling at the moon. Minthara, the paladin, prays for Tav. For Tav to come rescue her. Minthara, who spurned Lolth, who has realized the Absolute was a lie, prays for Tav to come and save her.
- The interplay between Minthara and a Dark Urge's respective relationships with Orin--how Orin's brainwashing and torment was what set Minthara on her quest for revenge against the Absolute, and how Durge was perhaps the very first of the cult's victims and all the amnesia they've struggled with throughout the game the result of Orin's torture.
- Related to the above - if Minthara is the one kidnapped by Orin in Act III, that once again Orin has taken Minthara captive and once again Tav will free her.
- The way Minthara tries to pry into Tav's mind again in Act III, only to quickly withdraw and apologize for not asking first. Minthara! Apologizing! That instead of letting it go, she still asks if she can be allowed to look into Tav's mind, because she is so desperate to see how Tav sees her. If Tav says they'd rather just use words to tell her, Minthara insists that the parasite connection is more true and accurate, and she wants to see that.
- That she is hoping Tav sees her like a lover, and is openly disappointed if that's not the case. (Tie back to point 5.)
- The way she begs to see herself through Tav's eyes, because "without Lolth, without the Absolute, without my home, I do not know myself." Her sense of self is so tenuous that she turns to someone else to help her understand herself--and that person is Tav, possibly the only person in the world she trusts.
- The adoring look she gives Tav after some of their kisses, followed by the throaty "thank you." Thank you! She thanks Tav for their gestures of affection! (Tie back to point 5.)
- That she is quietly poisoning Tav to build up their resistance in case they ever go to her homeland.
- "I have never needed anyone, but I want you."
- The way she is so all-in once her romance is locked in. Tav can become the Slayer, become Bhaal's chosen, become a mind flayer, choose to enslave the brain, choose to destroy the brain, go to Avernus--no matter what they do, Minthara is with them. They are her Person.
- Related to the above - if Tav does become a mind flayer and tries to leave her on the grounds that they're a monster, she says "So am I, my love. Let us be monsters together." She "mourns" the loss of the parasite, because she yearns to share minds with Tav in their new state.
- If a mind flayer Tav tells her they need to figure out who they are alone, without her, she pleads for just one day to change their mind.
- If romanced by a Karlach origin who chooses to die rather than return to Avernus, Minthara is in tears as she promises to stay with Karlach until the end.
- If Tav proposes they return to Menzoberranzan and conquer it after defeating the Netherbrain, Minthara casts off Baenre and declares "their" new house will be named after Tav.
- During the epilogue, she seems rather keen to leave, and no matter what dialogue option is chosen, she admits to a romanced Tav what bothers her: she's afraid no one there likes her.
Reminder: Free Rein Art Due June 14!
Jun. 9th, 2025 08:19 pmgrundyscribbling posting in tolkienrsbMereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Kai by Shadow
Jun. 8th, 2025 11:31 pmdaughterofshadows posting in silwritersguild
Kai is a Tolkien artist whose work captures both the dramatic moments of the legendarium and the moments of friendship and love between characters that drove these storied events. Kai's work often captures light and radiance, making him fitting as a featured artist for Maglor's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "Gil-galad was an Elven King: Kingship and Personhood in the last High King of the Noldor." Kai spoke with Shadow about how Maglor's topic was instantly inspiring, his range of interests over the years in the legendarium, and the meaning behind the painting he made for Maglor's presentation.
pastrami disappointment
Jun. 8th, 2025 02:25 pmmindstalkAfter visiting the Jewish museum Friday, I found myself wanting pastrami. BOP Kosh (nee Koch?) deli was a block away, and had a good price ($12), but no pastrami in stock at the moment. Oh well.
Today I set out around my neighborhood, having asked Google Maps for candidates. ( Read more... )
Call for Fandom Promo Post Volunteers
Jun. 8th, 2025 10:40 amgrundyscribbling posting in innumerable_starsLast round's promotion of the "small" fandoms was a success. We not only had more nominations for those fandoms, we also had more fanworks for them! So we are planning to do another round of promo posts this year - ideally fresh ones, not just recycling last year’s posts.
We're looking for volunteers willing to write a promo post for one or more of the fandoms on our small fandoms list - meaning any fandom with less than 100 works posted to AO3. We'd also be very excited if anyone wants to promo the fandoms newly added this round - unlike the others, they don't have any posts from previous rounds to fall back on if there are no volunteers.
The promo posts will be posted on Tumblr and Dreamwidth to get people looking at the fandoms in advance of nominations. Your post should answer the following in your own words:
- Summary - what is this fandom about?
- Why should I check out this canon?
- Where can I get this? (The mods are able to assist somewhat with this.)
- What fanworks exist already? (We have links to the tags on AO3, but people who are into the fandom can probably add a bit more - you probably know better than we do if there is more to be found and where.)
- Optional: provide an image (The image must be either your own work, or a stock photo/other image that allows posting - no copyrighted images, please.)
Note: If you would like to suggest a fandom to be added to Innumerable Stars, now is the time! We are open to adding fandoms based on material written by Tolkien or media adaptations thereof. (Musicals, operas, movies.) We do not add new fandoms once nominations open.
Our small fandoms list is below. Bolded fandoms are new this year - we really need promo posts for these fandoms! The links in most cases go to the works for the fandom on AO3; in a few cases, they go to the work itself. Please note the numbers were accurate at the time the list was compiled, but it's possible more works may post before nominations begin.
( Fandoms List )
Comment Bingo Round 7 Sign-Ups!
Jun. 9th, 2025 09:58 amIf you haven't claimed your Round 6 banner, please go here.
This is the sign-up post to get a bingo card for the seventh round of Comment Bingo. Please leave the username(s) that you will be using to comment and you will be assigned a card. You don't need a Dreamwidth account to participate. If you want more details (including opt out rules), the following links should hopefully clear things up.
There is also a 'question' thread in the comments that you can reply to for any lingering doubts or queries.
It was inspired by the Comment Bingo that
We all know how good comments can make a creator feel, and even a 'this is great' can sometimes brighten their day. Whether you're a newbie or been in fandom for years, don't comment at all, sometimes comment, or comment all the time, this is for you. Maybe it will help you discover stories you wouldn't have otherwise, ones that you loved and forgot about and/or fics you somehow missed. Forgot to leave a comment before? Want a reason to comment again? Now is the time!
Rules | Prompts | List of Comms | Commenting Resources
( sample card )
This round will run until October 31st, 2025.
Promote the round: