Reading

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interview

Two new interviews

In Psychopomp, with me, Wole Talabi and Alix E. Harrow:

https://psychopomp.com/fantasy/issue97/interview-with-world-fantasy-finalists-part-one/

And in Scientific American:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/were-light-years-away-from-true-artificial-intelligence-says-murderbot/

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Hazbin Hotel: VOXTEK Gift Baskets 2025

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The new Murderbot short story is up at Reactor Magazine:

Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy

https://reactormag.com/rapport-martha-wells/

Edited by Lee Harris, art by Jaime Jones.

And Murderbot was renewed for a second season!

https://deadline.com/2025/07/murderbot-renewed-season-2-apple-tv-1236453764/

“We’re so grateful for the response that Murderbot has received, and delighted that we’re getting to go back to Martha Wells’ world to work with Alexander, Apple, CBS Studios and the rest of the team,” Chris and Paul Weitz, said in a statement Thursday.

Current Mood: stressed
Current Location: new brighton, mn

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it is good that I never wanted to be a travel agent, because I would SUCK at it

Trip planning is HARD, you know?

I will be leaving on either Sunday or Monday on an approximately 2-week trip. The main point is a gathering of fandom friends in western Alberta, but I have planned my approach so as to have time to do One Thing in Winnipeg (Manitoba) the afternoon of my first travel day, and One Thing in Regina (Saskatchewan) the afternoon of my second travel day. Then the gathering, and on Sunday the 20th I will head to Drumheller to visit the Royal Tyrell Museum.

I THINK I have my itinerary roughed out for the following week.

-Monday 7/21, drive south across the Canada/US border to Glacier National Park, hike an easy trail

-Tuesday 7/22, drive west to Yakima, WA; no stops planned

-Wednesday 7/23, drive to Olympic National Park, hike an easy trail, look for banana slugs, etcetera, then overnight in Forks or Oil City

-Thursday 7/24, drive south on US-101 and stop at some point to get out and dabble my feet in the Pacific Ocean, before heading inland and stopping short of Portland, OR, probably in Beaverton; might also visit Tillamook Creamery if time permits

-Friday 7/25, drive to Boise, ID, possibly stopping at a winery or two along the Columbia River valley (more research needed)

-Saturday 7/26, drive from Boise, ID to Bozeman, MD, skirting the western edge of Yellowstone en route; might stop for photos but more likely will just drive on through

-Sunday 7/27, drive from Bozeman, MD to probably Dickinson, ND, with a stop en route to sightsee in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and hopefully see some bison and/or prairie dogs

-Monday 7/28, head home to the Twin Cities; no stops planned

This feels generally doable to me. None of the driving days are excessively long, none of the activities are excessively strenuous, and I will return home before August. Now I have to research national park admission policies and also start making motel reservations. Argh.

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2025,
pinch hits

Two Pinch Hits, One New (and likely delay)

Thank you to all our pinch hitters. <3 Remember that anyone who isn't signed up but is only pinch hitting can leave prompts at our treats for pinch hitters post! This is a great place to look if you're interested in creating treats.

Ideally, these would be due 18 July at 23:59 US Eastern time, one day before our planned reveals date. However, it's possible I'll have to delay the collection opening to make sure all participants are covered, so if you know you can take one of these pinch hits but will need longer than the 18th, please let me know, and we can discuss.

A delay looks likely at this time, and I'll make an announcement about that tomorrow.

If you can claim one of these, please comment with your AO3 name and the number of the pinch hit you want. All comments are screened.

( PDPH 10 - The West Wing, Neko no Ongaeshi | The Cat Returns, Severance (TV) )

( CLAIMED - PDPH 13 - Naruto (Anime & Manga), Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartoon 2005), Original Work, Gundam Wing, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, House of the Dragon (TV) )

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wednesday what i'm

Wednesday What I'm...

Reading

I've read nothing but fic this week lol Still on Gradence. Currently I'm rereading The Standard Book of Spells by canis_m , which I don't really remember, but I'm enjoying it.

Watching

I continued watching movies my roommate wouldn't want to watch. This week was:
- Bitten. I thought the premise of this movie was interesting, but the soul deep romance fell a bit flat. I also could not figure out who they thought the audience was, with the divorced middle aged man "fucking women amirite" jokes and the twelve year old boy poop jokes.
- Ghost Shark. Even more ridiculous than it sounds tbh, but overall pretty fun.
- Planet of the Sharks. Very interesting worldbuilding that I wish wold have gotten explored some more. They went hard on the climate change stuff, which was not bad.
- Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus. Pretty ridiculous, but about on par for what I expected from this franchise lol
- Hoax. I'm always down for a Bigfoot hunt, so pretty fun. I feel like the twist discovery at the end kind of ruined it a bit for me though, I don't love a cannibal redneck story.
- Ozark Sharks. A pretty fun movie cribbed very much from Jaws. But I liked the characters and relationships.
- Mississippi River Sharks. This was so funny to watch right after Ozark Sharks bc it's the same director and even uses some of the same b roll footage. It also has a character that ties the movies together, plus has a in canon shark movie series that shares names with the director's shark movies, so that was interesting.
I was craving a BL romance, so I started a Thai series called Your Sky. I stayed up until after midnight two nights this week because I didn't want to stop watching lol I also got the bff to start watching and she's obsessed as well. It's just so fun and so cute! And great side romances!
Watched one more PBS Nova episode, Lost Tombs of Notre Dame. Very interesting!
AEW as usual. Kyle Fletcher remains my favorite guy regularly on at the moment.

Listening

Been wanting some seasonal music, so I found a summer alt rock playlist. It was ok. I should probably just make myself one.

Writing

I wrote a poem for a NaPoWriMo prompt.

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sunshine challenge

Sunshine Revival Challenge #3

Journaling prompt: What are your favourite summer-associated foods?

Not so much food, as the memory of summer picnics. Which conjures up ideals of everyone sitting round a check tablecloth, relaxed and enjoying a selection of delicate foods. Whereas the reality is the wasps after everything sweet. The sudden gust of wind blowing over a tub of mini sausages and taking off with the pretty, carefully chosen, paper serviettes and causing children to rush madly after them, thus falling over and returning with muddy hands etc. Trying to drink a mug of hot tea, because the calendar might say July but otherwise you'd never know, and having hair blow in the mouth. And just when you think it's going to be okay after all, half the tablecloth blows up and falls on top of the iced cupcakes.

Of course, all this may be alleviated by sitting in the car because it's raining and still enjoying the bread rolls, packets of crisps and chocolate mini rolls - which certainly haven't melted.

Or even better, giving up on the whole idea and spreading the tablecloth out on the living room floor and picnicking at home!

Current Mood: tired

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Chapter 3 of Master Detective Archives!

Onto (with the slightly panicked vibe of a woman realising that she forgot to post several entries she totally planned to) chapter 3 of Master Detective Archives!

( Read more... )

That was another very good chapter! This game does fascinate me, even more now that I’m playing with the aid of beta blockers that are reducing my anxiety/depression haha. I think when you take it as a more straightforward mystery game it’s really good at laying out both that atmosphere and those mysteries, and I am definitely enjoying that. And am now over halfway through! So looking forward to seeing what comes next.

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Jane Austen Exchange - Nominations Open

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Incest Bingo Round 4

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UC-X-Men Prompt Meme: First Date

First Date (400 words) by Sharpest_Asp
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Marvels [2023]
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Hank McCoy/Maria Rambeau
Characters: Henry "Hank" McCoy | Beast, Maria Rambeau
Additional Tags: Drabble Sequence
Summary:

First Dates can be interesting.

First Date

Maria had spent time touching up her nails, dithering over which outfit to wear, deciding on the shoes that looked best with it.

Hank, for his part, had done all he could to tidy his appearance, currently stuck in 'blue', 'furry', and 'large', but he knew those factors didn't matter to her.

He showed up promptly — actually early but didn't approach the house right away — and rang the doorbell. She answered it, her smile lighting her eyes in a way that made Hank feel almost normal again.

"Shall we?" he invited, pointing to his car.

An explosion answered for her.

After dealing with the alien being chased by space cops — not Carol's set, thankfully — Binary and Beast sat up on a rooftop, drinks cups and to-go containers of food between them.

"For a date, it was a little rocky," she offered, smiling despite the bruise darkening her face.

"I promise you, I can do better," he replied, self-consciously smoothing singed fur on his arm.

She reached out and covered his hand. "Why don't you take me back to your place, and we'll see about the aftercare first?" Maria invited, and Hank had to suck in a deep breath of anticipation.

Treating each other's scrapes had led to their clothes being discarded, leading to a brazen challenge to see if they fit as well in a bed as they did in combat.

Hank was never going to feel anything short of awe for how easily Maria accepted his mutated appearance. He could only gasp and keep his hands on her lightly as she touched, petted, and kissed him. He laid back and let her have control… until she turned the tables, bringing his hand to her breast.

The half-slitted eyes gazing down as he touched her wrecked him, making her purr.

Maria could get used to the feel of Hank's body under her, the strength and dexterity he used in a fight leashed to their mutual desires. She might even welcome waking up with him… but she wasn't going to rush things. She knew he was struggling at times with who — what — he was.

She had experience managing that, and was still growing accustomed to her powers.

Now, resting in what was hopefully a brief respite, she ran a finger along his cheek fur, making him shift into the touch.

"Next date, fewer aliens."

He chuckled, and then saw to kissing her.

Written for uc_xmen drabble-a-thon/prompt meme on Dreamwidth, prompt: MCU - Hank McCoy/Maria Rambeau - (any), it was supposed to be date night

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Multifandom: Enemies to Lovers Exchange 2025

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New Multifandom Challenge Comm Signups Open NOW

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uc_xmen drabble-a-thon/prompt meme

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rl: internet

Heads Up!

sylph_and_asp is members-locked access now. Just. I've got a lot of political posts over there from previous years, plus, as good as dreamwidth does try to protect us from crawlers, I feel better locking my writing down.

July 4 Flood Relief

Kerr County Flood Relief Fund

The Kerr County Flood Relief Fund supports relief and rebuilding efforts after the flood of July 4, 2025. Your generosity helps our neighbors recover.

The Community Foundation - a 501(c)(3) public charity serving the Texas Hill Country - will direct funds to vetted organizations providing rescue, relief, and recovery efforts as well as flood assistance. The Fund will support the communities of Hunt, Ingram, Kerrville, Center Point, and Comfort. All donations are tax-deductible, and you will receive a receipt for your gift.

https://cftexashillcountry.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=4201

And Kerrville Pets Alive! is taking donations for rescue and fostering lost pets.

https://kerrvillepetsalive.com/?link_id=3&can_id=588b5a597b5d30fd7e36b213e5ba6987&source=email-freedom-is-fought-for-not-given&email_referrer=email_2803907&email_subject=how-you-can-help-texas-flood-victims&&

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Fic Promptly, a Comment Fic Community - Challenge Week 4

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Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Mortal Remains - Blackbriar

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GYWO Iron Chef Challenge - Sun (Masterlist)

So three weeks ago I asked for a prompt for this challenge (the challenge is to use the same prompt in multiple ways for multiple stories)

getyourwordsout is running and got: Sun.

(My first thought: so how many of my vampires can I write for this?) (I did write several. >.>)

I wrote seven stories and I've posted them daily this week! (Monday-Sunday)

a photograph with a brilliant white-yellow sun middle left, yellow-orange sky spreading above and orange-brown featureless landscape below; yellow text at the top and on the right reads: GYWO Iron Challenge - Sun Kalira 7 Stories Total wordcount: 6,580

a photograph with a brilliant white-yellow sun middle left, yellow-orange sky spreading above and orange-brown featureless landscape below; yellow text at the top and on the right reads: GYWO Iron Challenge - Sun Kalira 7 Stories Total wordcount: 6,580

( Monday - Morning Light (Bel Air) )

( Tuesday - Little Sun (Moon Child) )

( Wednesday - Goodbye (Kagen no Tsuki) )

( Thursday - New Light (Requiem et Reminiscence) )

( Friday - In (Out) of Sun (Underworld) )

( Saturday - Aesthetic (Vampire's Love) )

( Sunday - Sundown (Moon Saga Yoshitsune Hiden) )

I might have a little overlap in moods XP but I got seven stories done for the prompt! I'm pleased with that. ^.^

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Now Collected in One Post

Unwanteds (41367 words) by Sharpest_Asp
Chapters: 30/30
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s)
Additional Tags: Original Universe, Superheroes, Post-Apocalypse, Rebuilding, Asexual Character(s), Queer Relationships, Magic-Users, Future Technology, Age Difference
Summary:

In the aftermath of the Collapse, life finds new ways, making new paths, and there are heroes rising from the ashes --

-- just as villains remain to tear it all down again.

Content Notes: Fascism as history and antagonist, liberty with cultural mythology, comic-book level violence

Author's Note: This universe has been built from the ground up with many influences of pop culture and history. It was began in 2005. I posted the last main part of the story in 2023. There is a prequel and sequel both forming in my plans for the future. When I began crafting it... we were not so far down the fascism slide in real life. I very nearly did not touch it again after 2016. Ultimately though, I needed to let the good guys win.

On Dreamwidth, must join comm (Click and scroll to the bottom for the beginning. SqWA account needed to read it in chaptered format at link above)