amberdreams | Network

Given the warmth and rains this year, already leading to record early appearances of annual blooms, it could be tempting to think that formal markers like the Spring Equinox are relics of a lost age and no longer meaningful descriptors of the natural world around us, let alone in distant places that will be locked in snow for weeks to come. But if the Spring Equinox was arbitrary, why would the Fairy Court have chosen that occasion to steal one of us each year--mere caprice? Actually, meteorology and temperament both considered, that does sound more likely, doesn't it?

---

LL#1370

james

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badfalcon

I've just renewed my premium paid account, so I should probably start using this thing again 😂 So starting with a little check-in of what's been filling my brain lately: books, tennis, studying, and small bits of everyday joy.

📚 Reading:

I've somehow ended up with a whole bunch of books in progress again, and I'm attempting to work my way through them with varying levels of success. The main ones at the moment are Deadline, Loathe to Love You, and Mosaics and Magic. It's a slightly chaotic mix of vibes, but that does seem to be my natural reading state these days.

🎧 Listening To:

A lot of old-school Good Charlotte lately. It's been a very nostalgic week - so many good memories of gigs and the general early-2000s pop-punk era.

📺 Watching:

We just caught up on the latest season of Great Pottery Throwdown, and I was absolutely thrilled that my favourite potter won! It's such a comforting show - wholesome, creative, and occasionally emotional when someone's glaze finally works. And I cry every time Keith does!

🎾 Tennis:

Jannik won Indian Wells! The statistics coming out of that run are genuinely ridiculous. He's now the youngest man to win all the North American hard court titles, the youngest to win all the hard court Masters, and the fastest to complete them - Djokovic took seven years, Federer took nine… Jannik did it in two. He's also the only player to have won two back-to-back Masters without dropping a set. Just absolutely absurd levels of tennis.

🖊 Writing:

Mostly working on my essay about gender in early modern Europe at the moment. Fic has taken a bit of a back seat this year - I've barely written any - but I do really want to get back to it once my brain has a little more space again. The Priest AU is starting to wave at me again.

🏫 Studying:

I'm very behind on my course right now and honestly pretty stressed about it. I have a two-week extension on my current essay, which is now due on Thursday. Once that's submitted, I'm planning to sit down and make a proper catch-up plan before the next assignment at the end of next month. One step at a time.

💭 Thinking About:

How to rebuild some kind of routine again. The last few months have been a bit all over the place, and I think my brain really needs some structure - even if it's just small, manageable blocks of reading, writing, and actual rest. I'm also settling into the new job and getting used to WFH full-time again. Naturally, I'll probably just find the perfect rhythm right before the contract ends in May.

📅 Planning:

This week is mostly about getting the essay finished and handed in, and then giving myself a little breathing room to figure out the next few weeks of study. I'm also quietly hoping I might find a bit of time to open a fic document again.

💖 Loving:

Planner joy! I've found a bunch of stickers I really like and I feel like I've finally figured out my style. Now when I look at my planner it actually makes me want to use it, which feels like a small miracle. Every page looks a little creative, a little chaotic, and very made-with-love. ( planner picture under the cut )

Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: Lunatica - Who You Are

shivver

Title: "Dead in the Water"
Fandom(s): Doctor Who
Characters: David Tennant, Will Sampson
Rating: T
Genre: General
Word Count: 8242

Summary: (The Actor AU #2) Nearly a month after "Sandcastles", David and Will are still at odds with each other. Perhaps getting out of the TARDIS and relaxing on a space cruise ship will help mend things between them.

Read it on AO3.

Author's Notes: You know, I only just realized that I don't have to tag Will as an "original character" in my own journal. I can list his name in the character list! I can also make him a tag! *evil giggle* Did you even know he has a last name? I also just realized that I still haven't, after nearly a decade, come up with a good name for this AU. :P

Anyway.

I finally wrote the resolution to David and Will's argument from "Sandcastles"! This story isn't what I had envisioned when I wrote that one years ago. I thought it would be just an argument scene, but though I knew how the argument was going to end, whenever I tried to picture what this discussion was going to look like on paper, I wanted to barf. People talking is boring. People arguing and trying to convince each other that they're right is even more boring. What I wanted was for Will and/or David to learn something about themselves that helps them resolve the problem.

I'd been envisioning the actual story here (without the argument) for years now and I realized it was exactly the right thing to teach them what they needed to learn. But I still sat on it because I had the beginning and the ending, but had no idea how to get them from A to B. Then my husband made a few suggestions of "let them go here first, and then over here later" and BAM! It came together.

Let me tell you, it was AMAZING having an idea I was passionate about and working on it for two weeks. My husband was actually concerned about how much time I was spending writing, because I haven't done it like this in a long time. And this piece is rather different from my other stuff, or at least very different from the tripe I've been putting out this last year. This has a plot. It has meaning. It probably isn't actually interesting to anyone else, but I'm rather chuffed.

Also, this is the first fic that I've used generative AI for! "Really? You had it write your fic?" I hear you cry. No, never. (Remember rule #2: Don't have AI do the things you enjoy doing.) I wrote the fic, from beginning to end. And then while editing, I found a word that I didn't like, so I asked ChatGPT to suggest an alternative, and it gave me a number of suggestions, with reasons why they might work better. I reviewed each one and eventually chose the one I liked. So yes, I used generative AI! And I'm not going to tag my fic with it! You are now challenged to identify which word it was. ;)

shipperslist

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musesfool

Oscar winner Michael B Jordan! Woohoo! I did not watch the Oscars but I am so happy for MBJ!

Also for Kpop Demon Hunters and "Golden!"

Here are two links I enjoyed this morning:

= Don't Fence Ted McGinley In (NYT gift link) (also, spoilers for aired episodes of Shrinking)

= 'The Pitt,' as Told by Its Patients

*

Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: Golden - Huntrix

trobadora posting in

c_ent

Guardian Reverse Exchange 2026. Image shows Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan facing each other, gripping the Sundial between them.

Links: General info/rules/schedule | Sign-ups on

sid_guardian

Description: A 镇魂 | Guardian fandom multimedia exchange covering the drama, the novel and RPF. Participants can offer and/or request fanfic, fanart, icons, vids, podfic, meta, a remix of an existing fanwork, or fanart for an existing fanwork. Or any combination of the above!

This is a reverse exchange with a two-part sign-up process: first you make your offer, saying what you like to create; then you choose three anonymised offers from the list and make your requests. (Only one of your requests will be assigned.)

Important Dates:
Sign-ups part 1 (offers): until Friday 27 March - sign-ups open now
Sign-ups part 2 (requests): Saturday 28 March - Friday 3 April
Deadline: 13 May
Reveals: 20 May (520 Day)

For more info, see the General info post.

mxcatmoon

I have a confession:

I am very fond of Tumblr.

Hear me out. It's not quite like other social media platforms. It's got its own vibe and personality, a quirky one. It's like the home of the misfits.

Case on point: Tumblr is experiencing some issues currently. When AO3 is done, everyone flocks to Tumblr to cry about it. There's even a blog dedicated to the issue. Where do they go when Tumblr is down? Downdetector! Yes, they're using it as a social media site and flooding it with comments. People will hang out there until Tumblr is back up.

I'm not saying it's perfect. You must curate your dashboard carefully to avoid wank and drama. I'm not on any of the other sites so I can't tell you what X is like except what I've heard (and that's very bad). I can tell you I used to be on Facebook but couldn't take it anymore and left. For me, Tumblr is different. And from what I understand, it's not making a ton of money for anyone, so it's kinda forgotten these days and isn't considered one of the Big, Important Sites. That's a good thing, because the more popular something is these days, the worse it is. I think a lot of people there are the type who avoid sites like X

But don't tell anybody. Because we like that everyone has forgotten Tumblr exists.

😉

Current Mood: amused

glitteryv

Every so often, Lindsey Buckingham (of Fleetwood Mac's fame) Leelee (his daughter) post reactions to different artists. Last November, they reacted to BTS' "Boy With Luv (featuring Halsey)" because of a small-yet-significant connection between Lindsey and BTS.

Although this is a v. mellow reaction, it's a positive one. I got a kick out of watching it, so here I am sharing it with y'all!

Watch on YouTube

pauraque

I liked this book when it was a fantasy noir starring a biracial knife-throwing assassin with magic hands in 1940s New York who's trying to get out of the business but keeps getting pulled back in. But that book wraps up about a third of the way through the actual book. Then it turns into a completely different book where the assassin moves upstate with her boyfriend and the story becomes about slimy small town politics and the characters' profound guilt for their actions in the city, and I became increasingly confused about what the book was trying to do and decreasingly satisfied with my reading experience.

Part of the problem is that Dev (the boyfriend) kind of rubbed me the wrong way and I didn't feel invested in the romance between him and Phyllis (the assassin), so shifting the focus more to their relationship was not going to work well for me. I actually liked both characters less and less as the book went on, and by the end I was feeling pretty fed up with both of them. A late promotion to the group of main characters is Tamara, Dev's ex, who comes to have a close bond with Phyllis as well. There is some interesting complexity to the dynamic of this trio, but I ended up frustrated with the way it was handled.

relationship endgame spoilers

It seemed to me that this was going in a poly triad direction, and then backed off of it. And I mean... it's not not poly. Phyllis, Dev, and Tamara have a one-night threesome, and Tamara also has a boyfriend who's deployed overseas, and in general it is not a book that assumes people only love one person at a time. I did appreciate that. What specifically threw me was this passage in Tamara's POV:

Sure, she and Phyllis had kissed that night with Dev and even now, in certain light, she didn't mind the notion of touching Pea [Phyllis] until she came. But the love she felt wasn't really that kind—it was a blood love, a bone love, and it ricocheted off of her other loves at unexpected angles.

Maybe I'm misreading the author's intention in pushing away the idea that Tamara's love for Phyllis is "that kind", or maybe I'm misunderstanding what "that kind" is supposed to be. But to me it read like the poly dynamic was being held at arm's length, which was not the direction I'd hoped it would go. I guess the Tamara/Phyllis relationship is ambiguous and not clearly defined as (queer)platonic or romantic, which sometimes I like, but the way it was presented here didn't land for me.

I also didn't understand what we were supposed to take away from the reveal of how the magic in the book works.

worldbuilding and plot spoilers

Only certain rare people have magic, and only people of color. It's eventually shown that the magic is a gift from their ancestors, who intended for their descendants to use it to fight white oppression. But if the ancestors are displeased with how the magic is used, the magic can turn against its holder or disappear completely. This explains why Phyllis loses control of her hands—the ancestors wanted her to assassinate the sadistic mob boss Vic (who is white), but by that point Phyllis wanted to stop killing so she didn't do it. She spends the rest of the book trying to make amends for the murders she's committed, yet her hands continue to torment her for not killing Vic, and she eventually sickens and dies. Dev, who also has magic, does kill Vic, and is tortured by guilt for the rest of the book, and he also dies. Tamara has magic too, and also becomes consumed with guilt because even though she never hurt anyone directly, she worked for Vic and looked the other way; she tries to sacrifice herself to save Phyllis but doesn't succeed.

To me it ended up reading like the characters were being punished for not living up to binding magical agreements that they never consented to or even knew about, which override their own agency and moral convictions. What are the ancestors trying to accomplish here? How does any of this help in the fight against racism? We're told that magic is getting rarer, but it's not really explained why. I know it's not because people of color in the 1940s don't need the help, and I can't imagine the author is saying it's because they're not worthy of it, but... what, then? Phyllis and Dev's daughter is supposed to have extraordinary powers, but I don't think that's explained either and I didn't have a clear sense of what she's expected to do. The whole cosmology of the book didn't make sense to me.

It sucks because I find Johnson's prose excellent, and the first third worked so well for me. I really didn't want to have to say I don't like this book! But alas, here we are.

prettygoodword

kigurumi (ki-guh-ROO-mee) - n., a full-body costume of a mascot or cartoon character; full-body cosplay of a human cartoon character with realistic proportions paired with an anime-style mask, or sometimes just the mask itself; a set of onesie pajamas of a cartoon animal.

All three types of costumes, and the word itself, come from Japan -- when I jotted the word in my queue, I was thinking of the last:

skunk kigurumi

Thanks, WikiMedia!

From Japanese, where it's usually written 着ぐるみ, from ki, clothes/wear + -gurumi, all over/complete.

---L.

duckprintspress

This Sunday, A Big Gay Market is back in 2026 and back in Troy at the Mount Ida Preservation Hall from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. I’ll be among more than 30 vendors there with our awesome wares (vendor list here!). I hope you’ll come say hi if you’re in the area.

firebatvillain posting in

fandomcalendar

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fandomcalendar

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full_metal_ox posting in

fancake

.Fandom: Original Work
Pairings: Gen
Characters:: OCs
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 1 panel
Content Notes: Nudity, although no breasts or genitals are visible.

Creator Tags: I kind of love the reverse mermaid, mermaids, my art, mermay 2021, I am ridiculous

Creator Links: (AO3)

Rubynye; (Dreamwidth)

minoanmiss; (Tumblr)

rubynye

Theme: Siblings, Non-Fic Recs: Fanart, Mythical Creatures: Mermaids, Non-AO3 Work, Original Work, Tumblr Work, Worldbuilding, Xeno/Alien Biology

Summary: Three mermaids of vastly different conformations sunning themselves together on a rock.

Reccer's Notes: An example of

minoanmiss’s exuberant, joyous, and cartoony artwork, informed by Minoan artifacts and Afro-Caribbean art. The picture is a spur to speculation, raising the question of the exact nature of the three mermaids’ sisterhood (and, if they’re direct birth siblings, exactly how the razzlefrazz the biology played out): a worldbuilding prompt asking to happen.

Fanwork Links: Three Sisters. For Mermay., by

rubynye.

Current Mood: bittersweet

beatrice_otter posting in

fancake

Fandom: the Goblin Emperor
Pairings/Characters: Ursu Perenched, Holitho Sevraseched, Nadeian Vizhenka, Shaleän Sevraseched
Rating: Gen
Length: 9k
Creator Links:

Akallabeth
Theme: siblings, minor characters, book fandoms, small fandoms, family, gen, female characters

Summary: Short scenes from the lives of four (half-)sisters, the unacknowledged daughters of the Great Avar.

Canon-compliant, to the best of my knowledge and ability.

Reccer's Notes: We only get a sentence in canon about each of these four sisters, but the details we get are really interesting. This is one of the best fics exploring the scant details we get.

Fanwork Links: Four Sisters

voidbeetles posting in

little_details

Hi!

I have a character in a sci-fi universe who ends up "shipwrecked" alone on a completely uninhabited planet for two years. The planet, and the specific environment he lands in, are perfectly habitable by humans (we are in soft scifi territory here, very Star Trek inspired) and he's able to survive with some effort. (The details of how are not really important to the story - I know at least that he's the kind of guy who'd be able to salvage some tech and emergency supplies from his wrecked ship, and I'm comfortable with brushing past the details of what exactly he brought with him - but if anyone's really interested in coming at it from that logistical angle, I won't stop you!)

What is more relevant to the story is how this experience would continue to affect him by the time he's back home safely. I think there are a bunch of possible avenues here and I'd love to see people's takes on how they would approach this or approach researching it. For example, here are some of my cursory thoughts:

PTSD is certainly a likely long-term complication
It's implied that his shipwrecking was not an accident/was engineered maliciously - I imagine this is something he has dwelt on heavily throughout the two years and will affect his ability to trust people (and to visit other uninhabited planets in the future!). Seems like it would be easy to get caught in delusional spirals in a situation like that.
I know that prolonged isolation can cause hallucination/psychosis in some cases, especially in solitary confinement, sensory deprivation contexts, etc. Is that as much of a risk in this case? And if so, do you think he'd still be experiencing psychotic symptoms after the fact?
One of his personality traits is that he's fairly attention-seeking - I think it's likely this incident will exacerbate that and make him more desperate for connection
It'll probably alter how he approaches social situations in the future in general; that's something I'll definitely be thinking about
Perhaps he got into the habit of talking to himself on the planet, and this never went away

beatrice_otter posting in

fancake

Fandom: Batman
Pairings/Characters: Jason Todd, Damian Wayne
Rating: gen
Length: 7k
Creator Links: the magpie said (hollowmen)
Theme: siblings,

Summary: Being a cat for three weeks has repercussions, it turns out.

Jason snacks his way through one of them. Damian reads books. Both of them drink a lot of tea. It's nice, mostly, which Jason finds highly suspicious.

Reccer's Notes: This is sweet and deeply in character for both of them

Fanwork Links: proper rites

(Note: other fics by this author have been recced, but under a different pseud--they used to be magpiemountains (hollowmen))

beatrice_otter posting in

fancake

Fandom: Persuasion
Pairings/Characters: Anne/Frederick
Rating: Gen
Length: 8k words
Creator Links:

rain_sleet_snow
Theme: siblings, book fandoms, old fandoms, minor characters, small fandoms, five things

Summary: Five people who were surprised by Anne and Wentworth's engagement, and one who wasn't.

Reccer's Notes: Anne's siblings (and siblings-in-law) are not the only ones reacting to news of the engagement in this story, but they are most of the people reacting. I love the way the news causes each of them to re-evaluate Anne, and what they thought they knew.

Fanwork Links: the natural sequel

lovelyangel

I confess to having a number of fast food apps – mainly for the purpose of getting discounts (replacing the old chore of coupon clipping). Sure, the companies track my redemption habits, but I don’t really care. If they keep wanting to offer me discounts, I’m frugal enough to keep taking them.

I provide my birthday to these apps as they give me special offers for my birthday. I thought I should itemize what I got this year for future reference.

( 2026 Birthday Offers, Under the Cut )

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amberdreams

February 2026

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Page Summary

scrubjayspeaks - Lake Lewisia #1370
james - Irons
badfalcon - Currently: Fics, Finals & Forehands
shivver - "Dead in the Water"
shipperslist - netflix works as a podcast, too (surprise!)
musesfool - we're going up, up, up, it's our moment
trobadora in c_ent - 镇魂 | Guardian: 520 Day Reverse Exchange 2026
mxcatmoon - Down Detector -- the hot new social media site! ;)
glitteryv - Fandom 50 S4 Post 3: An interesting crossover . . .
pauraque - Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson (2020)
prettygoodword - kigurumi
duckprintspress - Vending This Weekend: Mount Ida Preservation Hall in Troy, New York
firebatvillain in fandomcalendar - Multifandom: Bite-Sized Fandoms Exchange 2026 - Nominations Open!
embraidery in fandomcalendar - Flash Fiction Ex: Noms and Signups Open
full_metal_ox in fancake - Original Work: Three Sisters. For Mermay., by Rubynye.
beatrice_otter in fancake - Goblin Emperor: Four Sisters by Akallabeth
voidbeetles in little_details - Long-term psychological effects of physical isolation
beatrice_otter in fancake - Batman: proper rites by the magpie said (hollowmen)
beatrice_otter in fancake - Persuasion: the natural sequel by rain_sleet_snow
lovelyangel - Birthday Freebies

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Page generated Mar. 17th, 2026 01:46 am

Blood will Flow

when flesh and steel are one

Network

Lake Lewisia #1370

Irons

Currently: Fics, Finals & Forehands

"Dead in the Water"

netflix works as a podcast, too (surprise!)

we're going up, up, up, it's our moment

镇魂 | Guardian: 520 Day Reverse Exchange 2026

Down Detector -- the hot new social media site! ;)

Fandom 50 S4 Post 3: An interesting crossover . . .

Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson (2020)

kigurumi

Vending This Weekend: Mount Ida Preservation Hall in Troy, New York

This Sunday, A Big Gay Market is back in 2026 and back in Troy at the Mount Ida Preservation Hall from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. I’ll be among more than 30 vendors there with our awesome wares (vendor list here!). I hope you’ll come say hi if you’re in the area.

Multifandom: Bite-Sized Fandoms Exchange 2026 - Nominations Open!

Flash Fiction Ex: Noms and Signups Open

Original Work: Three Sisters. For Mermay., by Rubynye.

Goblin Emperor: Four Sisters by Akallabeth

Long-term psychological effects of physical isolation

Batman: proper rites by the magpie said (hollowmen)

Persuasion: the natural sequel by rain_sleet_snow

Birthday Freebies

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February 2026

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