Poetry Fishbowl Open!

Jan. 6th, 2026 01:11 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cats playing with goldfish (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "short forms." I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.

I'll be soliciting poetic forms of 60 lines or less, so basically below my epic range rather than only the short-short length of 10 lines or less. Free verse below the length limit is also fine. Here are 15 short forms with descriptions. Among my favorite short forms not listed there: hexaduad, indriso, sestina, villanelle. This list of 168 forms is alphabetical. Poets Garrett has my favorite list of forms, including a list of repeating-interlocking forms. Their main page has links to poetic forms of 3-10 lines. Plus a few of my own: A darrow poem is a short, haiku-like musing by dark elves. A khazal is a Whispering Sands desert poem in couplets. A moose track is a repeating-interlocking form. A tweet wire is a tiny 10-line poem designed for Twitter. Some short forms, like haiku and tanka, work well as verses in a longer poem. I have The New Book of Forms by Lewis Turco so most forms should be in there. You can also prompt with a link to any exotic form you find; I collect these things.

In addition to forms, I also need topical prompts. One-word or short-phrase framing will assist in keeping them small enough to fit within the theme. Here is a huge list of common themes. This page of idioms has alphabetical and topical listings. I love writing poems about an individual word; see The Phrontistery (WARNING! Black hole caliber time sink ahead!) for glossaries. Have an orientation that is not well represented in literature? Ask for a sexual, romantic, or other orientation! If it's not on any of my lists, just include a description or link to one. I also list gender identities and my characters with disabilities. Want to help me play with my bookshelf? :D I have The Conflict Thesaurus, The Conflict Thesaurus Volume 2, The Occupation Thesaurus, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, The Urban Setting Thesaurus, The Rural Setting Thesaurus, The Emotion Thesaurus, The Positive Trait Thesaurus, The Negative Trait Thesaurus, and The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus. Simply click "Read Sample" and view the table of contents for a list of cool ideas. You can prompt a sestina with six end words; I usually pick 5 short flexible words and one long exotic word, but I'll work with whatever I get. Favorite characters, threads, series, settings, etc. are also fair game but this is NOT the time for long plotty prompts. Consider combining a name or title with a short form, theme, or idiom. If you like to prompt with photos, this is a great opportunity for that. Just type in a topic (see above for possibilities) and click the Image link in your favorite search engine.

Read more... )
rachelmanija: (Books: old)
[personal profile] rachelmanija


Once upon a time, the moon Panga was industrial and capitalist and miserable. Then robots suddenly and inexplicably gained self-awareness. They chose to stop working, leave human habitation, and go into the wilderness. The humans not only didn't try to stop them, but this event somehow precipitated a huge political change. Half of Panga was left to the wilderness, and humans developed a kinder, ecologically friendly, sustainable way of life. But the robots were never seen again.

That's all backstory. When the book opens, Sibling Dex, a nonbinary monk, is dissatisfied with their life for reasons unclear to themself. They leave the monastery to become a traveling tea monk, which is a sort of counselor: you tell the monk your troubles, and the monk listens and fixes you a cup of tea. Dex's first day on the job is hilariously disastrous, but they get better and better, until they're very good at it... but still inexplicably dissatisfied. So they venture out into the wilderness, where they meet a robot, Mosscap - the first human-robot meeting in hundreds of years.

I had previously failed to get very far into The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this novella. It's cozy in a good way, with plenty of atmosphere, a world that isn't quite perfect but is definitely one I'd like to live in, and some interesting philosophical exploration. My favorite part was actually Dex's life as a tea monk before they meet Mosscap - it's very relatable if you've ever been a counselor or therapist, from the horrible first day to the pleasure of familiar clients later on. I would absolutely go to a tea monk.

I would have liked Mosscap to be a bit more flawed - it's very lovable and has a lot of interesting things to say, but is pretty much always right. Mosscap is surprised and delighted by humanity, but I'm not sure Dex ever shakes up its worldview in a way it finds true but uncomfortable, which Mosscap repeatedly does to Dex. Maybe in the second novella, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy.

And while I'm on things which are implausibly neat/perfect, this is a puzzling backstory:

1) Robots gain self-awareness and leave.

2) ????

3) PROFIT! Society goes from capitalist hellscape to environmentalist paradise.

Maybe we'll learn more about the ???? later.

But overall, I did quite like the novella. The parts where Dex is a tea monk, with the interactions with their clients and their life in their caravan, are very successfully cozy - an instant comfort read. And I liked the robot society and the religious orders, as well as a lot of the Mosscap/Dex relationship. I'll definitely read the sequel.

5soulmates table

Jan. 6th, 2026 12:28 pm
green: pink colored steter scene - peter "lifting" stiles from his knees with claws beneath his chin (teen wolf: steter)
[personal profile] green
This is my prompt table for [community profile] 5soulmates

Table #0 - Custom
01. soulmates "live" each other's lives in their minds when they bond 02. empathic connection 03. first words 04. only one of the reincarnated soulmates remembers their past life 05. accidental soulbond

Pass It On 6

Jan. 6th, 2026 01:11 pm
innitmarvelous_og: (Default)
[personal profile] innitmarvelous_og posting in [community profile] iconthat


LINK: https://i.imgur.com/V5e1tWp.jpg

Next: Andor Season 2 (Star Wars)

just putting this out there

Jan. 6th, 2026 10:04 am
muccamukk: Woman with 1960s hair and make up looks at camera over the rim of her large coffee mug. (Misc: Mugging)
[personal profile] muccamukk
(Which is def not me procrastinating on homework on the second day of a new term.)

If you use a rich text editor to post to DW so that it does all the coding for you, and you don't have to worry about it, it has the potential to make your posts very difficult to read without clicking through to see the journal in your style. A lot of the rich text editors override the page layouts and styles selected by the user (ie, in this case, me, who is not very tech savvy, so apologies if the terminology is wrong, please correct me in comments!).

To show you what it looks like... please click through, rather than expanding the cut tag )

It could also be an issue if you force your font to a particular typeface or size, which overrides people who set their journal style with a typeface/size that they need for accessibility reasons (e.g. low vision or dyslexia).

I'm not trying to call anyone out! (The styles are made up examples.) I don't want to discourage using rich text editors, which make posting so easy for people. I just think that everyone is maybe not aware that this is how their posts look on people's reading page.

I've never used a rich text editor, so I have no idea how to tell it just to post text without modifying the colour/size/typeface, but maybe someone in comments can let me know?

There's probably also a way to make my browser strip out people's customisations, though times I've tried that it's ended up with some pretty odd results, so I gave up on it.
duckprintspress: (Default)
[personal profile] duckprintspress
A photograph showing a tablet on top of piles of books. The book cover on the tablet is Scholarly Pursuits, showing a dragon in a candle-lit room full of books, three bats in the background and a mouse atop a pile of books engaged in conversation with the dragon. One of the piles of books is also topped with the Scholarly Pursuits cover. Text reads: Now available! Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories.

Our most recent anthology, Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories, is now available for general sales. Miss the Kickstarter and want to get a copy? Hearing about it now for the first time? You can buy Scholarly Pursuits from the Duck Prints Press webstore, request it from your library, order it at your local bookstore, or purchase it from one of the many retailers who sell our books!

Blurb:

Duck Prints Press presents 22 delightfully fluffy, happy, odd, snug, and cozy stories about queer characters pursuing academic excellence! From field research shenanigans to cooking adventures, from space station education departments to eldritch libraries, creators brought their vivid imaginings to life in these charming fantasy and science fiction stories. Settle into your favorite research carrel or prepare to read on the sly under your desk as you join us for “Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories.”

Buy your copy, as an e-book or print book, today!

We also have limited quantities of leftover merchandise from the crowdfunding campaign!
A graphic with text in the middle that reads "Scholarly Pursuits Merch!" The text is surrounded with smaller images. Top row, left to right: an enamel bookmark with artwork of a bird school in a glass dome; a rectangular art piece in deep browns and golds showing a person in a library descending a staircase while holding a candelabra; a pencil case with an argyle pattern and cute pride-flag-colored academia motifs; and a bookmark showing books and manuscripts and a bright moon through one window. In the middle, beside the text, is a black duck standing atop a pile of books. At the bottom is a tote bag with duck prints on it; artwork of a dragon working at a wooden counter while surrounded by books; and a library "due by" grid.


If there was any merch you wanted, there’s no time like the present to make sure you get it before supplies run out.

This, and lots of other awesome anthologies, books, stories, and bookish and queer merch are available on the Duck Prints Press website!

rionaleonhart: okami: amaterasu is startled. (NOT SO FAST)
[personal profile] rionaleonhart
This was so much fun to write.


Title: The Fic That Goes Wrong
Fandom: The Goes Wrong Show
Rating: G
Wordcount: 1,400

Good evening, and welcome to another edition of 'Fic of the Week'. I am Chris Bean, the author.

Tonight’s story is a classic tale of huddling for warmth. The cast is a little tighter than most of our works, but I think that will ultimately make for a more focused piece. I have taken every possible measure to ensure that everything will run smoothly.

Please enjoy tonight’s work of fanfiction, 'Two’s Company'.



The Fic That Goes Wrong )

Plywood Palace in Moquah, Wisconsin

Jan. 6th, 2026 12:00 pm
[syndicated profile] atlas_obscura_places_feed

Street view of the Exterior

Three hours northeast of Minneapolis, the Moquah Bar gained the affectionate nickname "Plywood Palace" as a result of its less-than-sturdy construction. After a fire took the original bar down, lovable owner "Bud" assembled the bar with little more than scrap wood.

Inside, you'll find dollar bills (and underwear) taped to the ceiling, inscriptions on the walls from just about every drunken passerby, and a beer that's still three bucks. Cash only, of course.

Come for a scene out of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," stay for a conversation with the surprisingly friendly bar-goers. They, like you, are just visiting.

ugh

Jan. 6th, 2026 12:13 pm
watersword: A laptop, a cup of tea, and glasses, with the word "online" (Stock: online)
[personal profile] watersword

I'm not dead; I've taken today & tomorrow off work and would not be surprised if I call in sick Thursday & Friday as well; I'm in less pain than I was, but I'm still pretty uncomfortable; mostly stopped coughing but my head is full of goo, which may honestly be worse. I felt marginally better yesterday, and thank goodness I took advantage of it to change my bedlinens and run the robovac, because today the prospect of taking the dirty linens down to the basement to wash them is making me quail. (ETA: 1/3 accomplished.) Naptime now.

Fandom Snowflake Day 3

Jan. 6th, 2026 10:05 pm
swingandswirl: text 'tammy' in white on a blue background.  (tammy)
[personal profile] swingandswirl
two log cabins with snow on the roofs in a wintery forest the text snowflake challenge january 1 - 31 in white cursive text



Challenge #3: Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.

Wow. Where do I even start with fandom?
 
Fandom changed the course of my life, for the better.
 
Fandom was how I, a sheltered teen growing up in a conservative country, encountered gay couples for the first time, when shipper drama had me fleeing to the slash side of HP fandom. [personal profile] senmut and [personal profile] ilyena_sylph introduced me to poly couples with Happy’Verse, and I’m still friends with both of them to this day. The very kind encouragement of the folks in the World’s Finest Superbat comm gave me the courage to publish my own fic, first Harry Potter and then Superbat. And then Numb3rs fandom (and specifically numb3rs100 and its weekly prompts) taught me how to write. And then my beloved co-writers taught me how to write things longer than drabbles.
 
I’ve lost a lot of those old fannish friends, whether they moved on from a fandom or I did, or when platforms shut down. But I’ve been lucky to keep some incredibly dear ones, and make excellent new friends, too. /waves to [personal profile] rhi and [personal profile] draconis, among others/
 
Speaking of new friends, I want to talk about one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced, fandom-wise. 
 
Numb3rs will always be the fandom of my heart. But it was never a particularly big show, and by 2022, the fandom was pretty much dead. And then someone (Hi Byrne!) wrote, and posted, an incredible story. Which inspired me to rewatch the series, and start writing again. And pull others in, too. And while Numb3rs will never be as active as it was, it’s still really cool to see the part I played in resurrecting it a little bit. 
 
Another really awesome thing about fandom? Exchanges, and how much they’ve gotten me to push my limits. If it weren’t for exchange prompts, I would never have written To The Sticking Place, about Percy Weasley (and NOT a story I could have written in my 20s or without years of reading fic and meta). I definitely wouldn’t have been brave enough to think I could replicate Jane Austen’s style well enough to attempt thy love like a mark is stamp’d (I am a Jane/Colonel Fitzwilliam shipper to the end. Sorry, Bingles.) Or, even after shipper nonsense annoyed the fuck out of me, take on the challenge of writing The Goblin Emperor fic. Or write 10k of smut for an upcoming challenge, despite being ace. 

Fandom also had me reading things I never would have encountered otherwise. Not just slash, although that's part of it. Thanks to fandom, I discovered drabbles, my beloved random fact fics, fic in the form of in-universe documents or meta, and a whole host of other things. I found writers who put the pros to shame, fics that made me gasp at the brilliance of their creators. I can safely say that reading fic has been an education, as much in what I should strive for as what not to do. 
 
Fandom also helped me reclaim my identity. When Numb3rs first aired from 2005-2010, I explained away some of the egregious errors in the show’s depiction of Amita (who was a Tamil American character played by a very westernized half-German actress) by making her half-Rajasthani. (It still didn’t fix everything, but it was better than nothing). When I returned to writing Numb3rs in 2022, I made a decision. Amita would be 100% Tamil Brahmin, and that would be enough. 
 
Never mind that Hollywood thinks all Indians speak Hindi, love Bollywood, and subsist on naan and butter chicken. Never mind neither the showrunners nor the actress bothered to give Amita a defined backstory until s4, and even then, they chose the most goatfucking stupid way of going about it possible. I would write Amita as she should have been written, like the second-generation Tamil American daughter of immigrant parents with a connection to the old country the show said she was while failing utterly to depict it accurately. 
 
That conviction led to me writing saaptiya and 25 Random Facts About Amita Ramanujan, two fics I’m incredibly proud of, with the support and encouragement of non-Desi friends. And in doing so, I healed a wound that I never realized had been hurting me for nearly two decades. 
 
So yeah. Thank you, fandom. For everything.
 
 
 

Icon Pass It On 6

Jan. 6th, 2026 09:06 am
luminousdaze: Tamatoa the Crab from Moana, winking (disney so glam)
[personal profile] luminousdaze posting in [community profile] iconthat
fOamZ9S.png
https://iili.io/fOamZ9S.png

Alternate

fOamLS2.png

Next picture: Raya and the Last Dragon
Characters: Sisu and Raya
rayalastdragon animationscreencaps.com 5570

Dear Purimgifts Author

Jan. 6th, 2026 12:00 pm
kass: a present, giftwrapped (gift)
[personal profile] kass
Dear Purimgifts Author,

Thank you so much for writing me a story! I love all of these things and I know that whatever you write for me, I will love it too.

In general I am a big fan of: chosen family, happy endings, competence, characters being awesome, theology, snark and banter, kindness. I'm happy with anything that feels right to you given the characters at hand. If you want to cross a given fandom over with Megillat Esther, or with Tanakh in general, that is always my jam. (But you don't have to if you don't want to.)

Write something that makes you happy, and it will make me happy.

Please, no betrayal or unquenchable angst or people being awful to each other or grisly death or anything like that. There's enough of that in RL. Thank you kindly.

In closing: yay Purim! Yay you! Thank you so much!

Kass

My requests: Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal, Parks and Rec, The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn, Murderbot, The Diplomat, Stardew Valley )
[syndicated profile] dorktower_feed

Posted by John Kovalic

Most DORK TOWER strips are now available as signed, high-quality prints, from just $25!  CLICK HERE to find out more!

HEY! Want to help keep DORK TOWER going? Then consider joining the DORK TOWER Patreon and ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF DORKNESS TODAY! (We have COOKIES!) (And SWAG!) (And GRATITUDE!)

[syndicated profile] dorktower_feed

Posted by John Kovalic

 

(This was originally a bonus strip that ran New Year’s Eve for Dork Tower Patreon backers.)

Most DORK TOWER strips are now available as signed, high-quality prints, from just $25!  CLICK HERE to find out more!

HEY! Want to help keep DORK TOWER going? Then consider joining the DORK TOWER Patreon and ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF DORKNESS TODAY! (We have COOKIES!) (And SWAG!) (And GRATITUDE!)

 

TV Tuesday: Hiding in Plain Sight?

Jan. 6th, 2026 10:55 am
yourlibrarian: DeanGetsaGrip-roseyarts (SPN-DeanGetsaGrip-roseyarts)
[personal profile] yourlibrarian posting in [community profile] tv_talk

Laptop-TV combo with DVDs on top and smartphone on the desk



End of year is a time for 2025 lists. The Guardian came out with Top 5 TV Shows & Hidden Gems of 2025. Can a gem be that hidden if it’s on a list of top shows? What makes something a “hidden gem” to you?

I try to do this once a year:

Jan. 6th, 2026 10:17 am
tommx: (Default)
[personal profile] tommx posting in [community profile] addme
Name: Tom

Age: 58

I mostly post about: Day to day life, random thoughts, whatever I'm watching/reading, etc. It's more or less stream of consciousness, though I try to link certain items that I consider relevant; books, restaurants, significant locations, etc. In the past, I've used Amazon to link them, but as I have grown to really hate Jeff Bezos for what he's done to the Washington Post, I now use Barnes and Noble for book links.

My hobbies are: TTRPs (primarily Dungeons and Dragons), community theater, cooking, hiking, camping, wine collecting, computer programming (also my profession but I like to code for fun as well), writing, reading, building things, tinkering, drawing, and more things I generally have no actual time for.

My fandoms are: Star Trek, Doctor Who, Marvel (Silver Age), A Song of Ice and Fire, Remembrance of Earth's Past aka The Three Body Problem, et al. Some of my favorite authors include Douglas Adams, George R.R. Martin, James S. A. Corey, Tanith Lee, Michael Moorock, Brad Meltzer, John Steinbeck, and William Gibson. There are more, but that's who comes to mind.

I'm looking to meet people who: are basically cool and like to interact. I have a presence on other socials but I don't like using them because they either have become echo chambers, or are trying to push things on me in which I have no interest. I'm not looking to share memes and I have no interest in someone's OnlyFans page. I have nothing against people who have that sort of thing, but it doesn't interest me. I'd rather interact with someone who might want to discuss the Medici family of Renaissance Florence, or discuss the actual mechanics of LLMs rather than rant about how AI is going to destroy the world. Want to talk meaningfully about physics, archeology, musicology, mythology, literature, or the nature of consciousness? You might be someone I'd like to know.

My posting schedule tends to be: It's been kind of sporadic over the last year, but I'm looking to make a fresh start this year. I won't post daily, probably, but weekly at least.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: If you're MAGA, move on. I probably represent everything you hate, and I don't have time to educate people in a cult. I do not tolerate hate speech, homophobia, transphobia, incels, etc.

Before adding me, you should know: I'm an atheist for starters. I don't have a problem with people of faith, provided they don't try to rub my nose in it. I don't generally countenance evangelicals or fundamentalists, or anyone who feels the need to inject some performative demonstration of their supposed piety into literally every situation. I've known many people like this, and I lose patience with them very quickly.

I'm a 2 time cancer survivor. The last bout was diagnosed 4 years ago, and nearly killed me. I've written about some of the experience here, but may expand on it more in the future, now that I feel like I'm in a reasonably good headspace to think about what I went through.

I try to be polite and respectful of everyone with whom I interact. I expect the same from others. Slurs, insults, etc., are not tolerated. The basic rule of interacting with me: Don't be a dick. It's pretty much the closest thing I have to a philosophy of life.

Most of my journal is friends locked, but I'm happy to add people if they're interested. I've met some wonderful people here, and am always happy to meet more.
[syndicated profile] atlas_obscura_places_feed

Moulay Tayeb Al-Darqawi (aka Mawlāy at-Tayyib ad-Darqāwī) was the son of the renowned Moroccan Sufi leader Muhammad Al-Arabi Al-Darqawi (1760–1823). It would be more accurate to refer to this structure as the Mausoleum or Shrine of Moulay Tayeb Al-Darqawi, however, on most maps, it is commonly identified simply by his name. This could be considered an odd detail of negligible importance, but there is another peculiar fact pertaining to this site: although there is a wealth of documentation regarding his father, there is virtually no information at all on Moulay Tayeb Al-Darqawi apart that he was his father’s successor as the head of the Darqawiyya order in Morocco. This is basically an obscure misnamed shrine honouring an obscure person. 

Another significant reason why this shrine is little-known is that it is located in the Rif Region, which is a sparsely populated rural area with limited public transport – only shared taxis come this way. It is only 135 km north of Fez, but the route mainly consists of narrow, crumbling roads winding up and down this section of the Middle Atlas. With no major settlements nearby, this shrine stands out in the middle of farmland. This shrine was erected in this particular place because the Al-Darqawi family was originally form the Rif Region. 

The shrine exhibits all the typical characteristics of shrines in the region.  The base is rectangular, and it is capped with a dome roof that symbolises the heavens. Along the perimeter of the dome are decorative crenelations, which are also quite widespread.  Large sections of the plaster that once covered the whole shrine peeled off, revealing red bricks and earth. The cracks and other signs of natural wear suggest that this shrine was been neglected for quite a long time. 

The inside of the shrine is equally dilapidated, but there are still some elements of interest. The floor and part of the lower walls are still covered with traditional Moroccan tiles called zellige. Light enters primarily from the main arched door and the two sizable windows on its sides. Opposite, there are two more small windows with the shutters closed. The inside of the dome reveals the intricate brinkmanship that went into this structure.  Visible is also a delicately decorated fragment of plaster on the domed ceiling, all the remains of tadelakt (polished lime plaster) that probably covered the whole ceiling.

Restoration work of Moulay Tayeb Al-Darqawi was planned to start in 2020. Since then, the dirt road linking the shrine to the main road has been improved, and the outer wall around the shrine was demolished, however, as of 2025, there is no sign of further restoration work. The construction warning sign is still standing but so faded that it is basically unreadable. 

Today it did snow

Jan. 6th, 2026 03:17 pm
oursin: Brush the Wandering Hedgehog by the fire (Default)
[personal profile] oursin

Though by now it's mostly dispersed - still lying in parts.

***

Yesterday had that exasperating thing of asking what I thought was a question for very specific thing (not even for myself, for someone who didn't have access to this particular knowledge-resource) and got, okay, one really good response that was right on point, and several which demonstrated that actual humans are quite capable all by themselves of hallucinating what the question actually was and providing answers entirely tangential and Point Thahr Misst.

***

I have had to do with this campaigner: ‘Women have to fight for what they want’: UK campaigner’s 60-year unfinished battle for abortion rights over archives of campaigns she was involved in (I even, as I recollect, suggested an appropriate riposte - a bouquet of parsley - to some weird hostile message sent to her by the notorious Victoria Gillick.)

Pretty much her contemporary, I don't think I ever met the recently-deceased Molly Parkin, but I certainly read various of her writings, including most of her various 'bonk-busters' - I'm not sure they entirely fit that category - which seem to have fallen out of print, at least, they do not seem to have enjoyed e-revival.

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