Daily life
Feb. 23rd, 2026 10:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
melaganI just spent 10 minutes looking for a screw.
It was a tiny thing and the only one I had that fit an electric outlet plate. Yes. That kind of screw.
I had it taped to the plastic outlet plate. Taped to it so I wouldn't lose it.
While rummaging in my toolbox for pliers for...(that's another story), I came across the bare, naked, screwless plate. I did eventually find the screw, and this time plate and screw are in a ziplock bag.
Huh. I wonder if that has anything to do with the explicit- definitely got screwed - fic I just posted? Balance in the universe and all that.
As long as no minor is reading over your shoulder, you can read it here.
It was a tiny thing and the only one I had that fit an electric outlet plate. Yes. That kind of screw.
I had it taped to the plastic outlet plate. Taped to it so I wouldn't lose it.
While rummaging in my toolbox for pliers for...(that's another story), I came across the bare, naked, screwless plate. I did eventually find the screw, and this time plate and screw are in a ziplock bag.
Huh. I wonder if that has anything to do with the explicit- definitely got screwed - fic I just posted? Balance in the universe and all that.
As long as no minor is reading over your shoulder, you can read it here.
Call the Midwife S15E01 got the history irritatingly wrong (spoiler under cut)
Feb. 23rd, 2026 07:56 ambrightknightieI watch Masterpiece on PBS Passport streaming these days, not over the airwaves, but I still watch on Sunday nights, wrapping up the weekend as I have since at least Downton Abbey. Last night, I watched the finale of season 6 of All Creatures Great and Small (set at the first Christmas after WWII), which was a solid and satisfying, if busy, episode, and also the premiere of season 15 of Call the Midwife (set in 1971), which was also busy, but neither solid nor satisfying.
(On broadcast, Call the Midwife won't premiere until March 22 in North America. Come, support PBS and watch a month early!)
I love historical fiction, but I do need it to get the history mostly right. We all make mistakes sometimes! It's so easy to fall for an urban legend historical fallacy! But. This show has an entire staff, any of whom could have used even just Wikipedia at any point to spot-check this particular item and learn that it's not only false, but a deliberate slander/sarcasm against what the episode was trying ineptly to celebrate and ended up trivializing. Not every historical fiction show can be The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles for citations, but I remember when Doctor Quinn: Medicine Woman would sometimes end on a screen with a simple text paragraph about the real history of whatever the episode was depicting. Movies depicting real historical people do that regularly. And some novels. Maybe all historical fiction should try that, just to prompt someone to double-check.
Call the Midwife was so exceedingly excellent in its earliest days, when it was still directly based on the memoirs of the real Jennifer Worth. The farther it gets from that -- now in season 15! -- the more often it trips. ( Spoilers for what this episode messed up )
(On broadcast, Call the Midwife won't premiere until March 22 in North America. Come, support PBS and watch a month early!)
I love historical fiction, but I do need it to get the history mostly right. We all make mistakes sometimes! It's so easy to fall for an urban legend historical fallacy! But. This show has an entire staff, any of whom could have used even just Wikipedia at any point to spot-check this particular item and learn that it's not only false, but a deliberate slander/sarcasm against what the episode was trying ineptly to celebrate and ended up trivializing. Not every historical fiction show can be The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles for citations, but I remember when Doctor Quinn: Medicine Woman would sometimes end on a screen with a simple text paragraph about the real history of whatever the episode was depicting. Movies depicting real historical people do that regularly. And some novels. Maybe all historical fiction should try that, just to prompt someone to double-check.
Call the Midwife was so exceedingly excellent in its earliest days, when it was still directly based on the memoirs of the real Jennifer Worth. The farther it gets from that -- now in season 15! -- the more often it trips. ( Spoilers for what this episode messed up )
40 Days of Drabbles > Updated
Feb. 22nd, 2026 12:57 pmflareonfury
Inspired by
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
adventdrabbles, I will be posting daily prompts at 40daysofdrabbles from Ash Wednesday to Easter, prompts will mostly be winter/spring themed things. Any fandom (minus RPF/Reality TV), pairing or rating is allowed. Feel free to combine with other challenges! Minimum word count is 100 words, but no maximum.
Our first five prompts are now up! Feel free to start writing or follow us incase a prompt jumps out at you!
Or want to suggest prompts? Have questions?
So check out
40daysofdrabbles!!The original purpose
40daysofdrabbles is just to write 40 drabbles about whatever you want to focus on, or ask your friends for prompts/ships/fandoms - this is open year-round although it originally started as a personal challenge ages ago for Lent. This still applies if you want to combine the two events.Check out the profile page for more information!
candyhearts ex works (2 buck/eddie)
Feb. 21st, 2026 06:07 pmsvgurlcandyheartsex had creator reveals and this is what I wrote. :)Title: i don't want anybody (but you)
Fandom: 9-1-1 (TV)
Pairing/Characters: Buck/Eddie
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1821
Summary: The real reason Eddie doesn't date.
Title: not an ending (just a new beginning)
Fandom: 9-1-1 (TV)
Pairing/Characters: Buck/Eddie, Christopher
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1565
Summary: When Buck watches Abby leave, he doesn't expect to immediately run into the two people who will be his future.
(no subject)
Feb. 21st, 2026 08:36 ammelaganOver the last few days, I had fangirls come to visit! wyndwalker stayed with me, and goddess47 popped over every day to encourage us to stay out of trouble or possibly to create trouble. I get those two confused.
Much popcorn was eaten and much figure skating was watched (along with other Olympic sports. Double Luge anyone?
We had some great fandom conversations over cake and coffee. These are the kind of conversations my family members couldn't care less about, but are bread and butter to me.
We held each other up over the shock ofspikedluv's passing, along with other fandom peeps lost through the years.
We wrote, read fanfic, ate a lot and when asked what quirky thing I'd watched lately...(I'm always watching stuff off the beaten path) I could recommend Jules.
wyndwalker stayed with me, and goddess47 popped over every day to encourage us to stay out of trouble or possibly to create trouble. I get those two confused.Much popcorn was eaten and much figure skating was watched (along with other Olympic sports. Double Luge anyone?
We had some great fandom conversations over cake and coffee. These are the kind of conversations my family members couldn't care less about, but are bread and butter to me.
We held each other up over the shock of
spikedluv's passing, along with other fandom peeps lost through the years. We wrote, read fanfic, ate a lot and when asked what quirky thing I'd watched lately...(I'm always watching stuff off the beaten path) I could recommend Jules.
Romancing McShep Happy-ending Fest 2026
Feb. 20th, 2026 01:17 pmmelaganThe fest is open until the end of the month. If McShep is your jam be sure to check out the
Romancing McShep 2026 collection
I'm still working on my story. Yes, I thought I'd be done and have it posted by now. The story thought differently *shrug*
I'll just be making another cup of coffee and staring at the bloody thing until the words form into something comprehensible.
Or type something. That's probably a better plan. :)
Romancing McShep 2026 collection
I'm still working on my story. Yes, I thought I'd be done and have it posted by now. The story thought differently *shrug*
I'll just be making another cup of coffee and staring at the bloody thing until the words form into something comprehensible.
Or type something. That's probably a better plan. :)
current fandom events
Feb. 19th, 2026 02:52 pmsvgurlfanmix_monthly is a fanmix & mixtape community that also has optional monthly prompts comicsfanfiction is a community for posting fanfiction based on comicsvoiceinmyear is a community to share any kind of audio-based narrative entertainment10trueloves is a low pressure multi-fandom community dedicated to creating works for your favorite character and 10 different shipsfiachairecht is running bring her bleeding heart to me, a dark femslash commentfic meme for femslash february. highadrenalineexchange, an exchange where you have two weeks to write 10k (or draw a 25-panel/10-page comic) and one week to edit, is open for nominations until February 20th, 9:59PM EST. They will reopen when sign-ups do. the_mane_event, a multifandom gift exchange for all things hair-related, is accepting nominations until February 22nd, 11:59PM UTC.unsent_letters_exchange, an epistolary fic exchange, is accepting nominations until February 25th, 11:59PM UTC.goreswap, a multifandom exchange dedicated to gore, has opened sign-ups until February 25th, 11:59PM EST.firstandlastalexchange is running a 2026 multifandom omegaverse Kink/Prompt Meme. Prompting will be open until the end of the year and it will be open for fills indefinitely.The 40th anniversay of The Legend of Zelda is this weekend
Feb. 19th, 2026 08:09 ambrightknightieThis Saturday, the day after tomorrow, is the 40th anniversary of the release of the original The Legend of Zelda game. If a US company owned it, something big would be in store for the celebration. The rest of this year would be full of releases and nostalgia and hype, culminating in the live-action movie (2027) or in a not-yet-teased new 3D game, or both. But Nintendo is very much not a US company. And, unlike Pokémon (hitting its 30th anniversary at the end of this month), ownership of TLOZ is not shared. Nintendo does exactly what it wants with TLOZ, only rarely* pressured by even sales results, much less anything else.
Speculation has been rampant for months. Actual leaks seem to have begun squishing out this week, maybe. I'm lightly ducking them, but at the high level of subject lines and headlines, they sound much like the speculation, though narrowed down to one consensus prediction. No Nintendo Direct, much less Zelda Direct, is scheduled (only the Pokémon event at the end of the month). Two days ago, some modest quality-of-life updates released for BOTW and TOTK (which is remarkable, right? BOTW released in 2017!). Saturday is not a prime day for marketing announcements.
We would all love a teaser for an upcoming new game, not only a remake, however much we'd all like a remake (OOT and TP are the big candidates, of course). I think it's too early for an actual release announcement with a date; it's been only three years since TOTK (and two since EOW (Grezzo) and one since HW:AOI (Koei Tecmo)). I think most of us would also like a trailer for the upcoming movie, though an entire year out is a bit early in the hype cycle for that, too. It seems to me that it's not impossible that Nintendo will actually let the TLOZ anniversary pass unremarked, or all but unremarked, and then do something on its own time, perhaps with barely a nod to the anniversary, later in the year, after the Pokémon anniversary hoopla is over.
* At release, the market choked on Wind Waker's "childish" art style. Sales were infamously disappointing. Twilight Princess then followed with more the look and feel of an animated Peter Jackson LOTR movie, to great sales worldwide. However, time has redeemed Wind Waker; today, both fans and experts regard its art as "timeless," transcending the tech of its era.
Speculation has been rampant for months. Actual leaks seem to have begun squishing out this week, maybe. I'm lightly ducking them, but at the high level of subject lines and headlines, they sound much like the speculation, though narrowed down to one consensus prediction. No Nintendo Direct, much less Zelda Direct, is scheduled (only the Pokémon event at the end of the month). Two days ago, some modest quality-of-life updates released for BOTW and TOTK (which is remarkable, right? BOTW released in 2017!). Saturday is not a prime day for marketing announcements.
We would all love a teaser for an upcoming new game, not only a remake, however much we'd all like a remake (OOT and TP are the big candidates, of course). I think it's too early for an actual release announcement with a date; it's been only three years since TOTK (and two since EOW (Grezzo) and one since HW:AOI (Koei Tecmo)). I think most of us would also like a trailer for the upcoming movie, though an entire year out is a bit early in the hype cycle for that, too. It seems to me that it's not impossible that Nintendo will actually let the TLOZ anniversary pass unremarked, or all but unremarked, and then do something on its own time, perhaps with barely a nod to the anniversary, later in the year, after the Pokémon anniversary hoopla is over.
* At release, the market choked on Wind Waker's "childish" art style. Sales were infamously disappointing. Twilight Princess then followed with more the look and feel of an animated Peter Jackson LOTR movie, to great sales worldwide. However, time has redeemed Wind Waker; today, both fans and experts regard its art as "timeless," transcending the tech of its era.
Canon vs Fanon
Feb. 19th, 2026 10:09 ammelaganFrom Fanlore:
I would love to know your favorite piece of Fanon. Or many pieces of Fanon. There's no need to pick just one!
Fanon is any element that is widely accepted among fans, but has little or no basis in canon.
Sometimes it's a small event in canon that gets exaggerated; sometimes it's something in a fanfic story that gets picked up on and repeated by other writers until it's so common that newbies might think it's a canonical fact.
A variation of fanon is "personal canon" or "headcanon," which is a set of "fanon"-like facts that are accepted as canon by an individual fan or a smaller group of fans, sometimes in the making of a shared universe.
I would love to know your favorite piece of Fanon. Or many pieces of Fanon. There's no need to pick just one!
fresh femslash salad bar table
Feb. 18th, 2026 10:40 pmsvgurlThis is my table from elasticella's Fresh Femslash Salad Bar Event.
svgurl's salad bar
elasticella's Fresh Femslash Salad Bar Event. svgurl's salad bar
| salad 1 | waking up together & 3500 words |
| salad 2 | snowed in & 2500 words |
| salad 3 | cuddling & 2000 words |
| salad 4 | hair braiding & 4000 words |
| salad 5 | cooking together & 5000 words |
| salad 6 | first kiss & 1000 words |
| salad 7 | stargazing & 1500 words |
| salad 8 | renovations & 5500 words |
| salad 9 | slow dancing & 3000 words |
| salad 10 | second chance & 4500 words |
candy hearts gift fics (1 buddie, 1 diana/natasha, 1 clark/lois/oliver)
Feb. 18th, 2026 09:57 pmsvgurlcandyheartsex revealed their collection a few days ago and this is what I got. Title: Love me for a reason
Author:
Fandom: 9-1-1 (TV)
Pairing/Characters: Buck/Eddie
Rating: General
Word Count: 2367
Summary: Buck is sad. Buck wants to have a Valentine. Eddie overhears and decides to do something about it. If it leads to feelings realization and a move in the right direction, well, he wouldn't mind.
Aww, I love a soft Eddie wanting to make Buck happy.
Title: Finding You After So Long
Author:
Fandom: Crossover (DCEU/MCU)
Pairing/Characters: Diana (Wonder Woman)/Natasha Romanov
Rating: General
Word Count: 300
Summary: Natasha falls through a portal and sees someone she had given up hope finding.
Love a reunion, even if the ideal circumstances are the less than ideal :)
Title: Group Movie Night 2: the Return
Author:
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing/Characters: Clark/Lois/Oliver
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 2748
Summary: Lois decides that their group movie night deserves a redo.
Beyond thrilled to get fic for this trio and it was a lot of fun, with some feelings thrown in
Fannish Fifty Challenge 2026: Post # 9: This One's for the Amigurumi Fancrafters
Feb. 18th, 2026 05:29 pmride_4everHere's what happens when fandom and amigurumi collide: Crochet Your Celebrity Crush by Lee Sartori, ISBN 9780760393659.
FKFicFest 2026 pre-game survey is open through Feb 27
Feb. 18th, 2026 07:55 ambrightknightieI posted the fkficfest "2026 Pre-Game Survey" yesterday. It's open through February 27. Twelve folks have responded already (including two names new to me) so the ten-day opportunity may be longer than needed! Current writer tally: Six yes, six maybe.
Please do comment there or here if you feel strongly or confusedly about any of the survey questions or game circumstances. As always, I reserve the right to do what I believe will work best for the fest community based on all evidence, not the pre-game poll alone. (And I might need to work around my own obligations.)
As "simple step one" in giving myself an easier time as mod this year, I'm not looking up canon quotations for the admin post subject lines. It's not that it was ever that big a chore -- I have a PDF of the forkni-compiled quotations Dorothy used to build her concordance tool so long ago -- but it had indeed become a chore.
fkficfest "2026 Pre-Game Survey" yesterday. It's open through February 27. Twelve folks have responded already (including two names new to me) so the ten-day opportunity may be longer than needed! Current writer tally: Six yes, six maybe.Please do comment there or here if you feel strongly or confusedly about any of the survey questions or game circumstances. As always, I reserve the right to do what I believe will work best for the fest community based on all evidence, not the pre-game poll alone. (And I might need to work around my own obligations.)
As "simple step one" in giving myself an easier time as mod this year, I'm not looking up canon quotations for the admin post subject lines. It's not that it was ever that big a chore -- I have a PDF of the forkni-compiled quotations Dorothy used to build her concordance tool so long ago -- but it had indeed become a chore.
FIC: Entrance to the Emporian palace (Tempestuous Tours)
Feb. 17th, 2026 06:21 pmduskpetersonThe Emorian Palace
Entrance to the palace
Do not be offended if you are denied entrance to the Emorian palace. The fact that you have come far enough to be denied that entrance shows that the Emorians' trust in you is high indeed.
The strong manner in which Emor protects its ruler, the Chara, is not evidence that the Chara is weak and frightened. Rather, it is a simple fact that being Chara is the most dangerous job in the Three Lands. Fully four-fifths of the Charas have died before their time, many from assassination. Few Charas live beyond the age of thirty.
(I should explain to any mainlanders who are puzzled at this point that noble peninsulareans have been known to live as long as one hundred years. Even commoner peninsularans often live till they are fifty. If you meet a thirty-year-old, he is not an elder; by peninsularean standards, thirty years old is barely out of one's youth)
Under these circumstances, it is only natural that the Emorians should seek to protect their Chara, giving him the opportunity to live at least long enough to father an heir. By Emorian law, the Chara may not leave his palace, except in wartime. The number of visitors who are allowed past the outer wall of the palace grounds is small. The number of visitors who are allowed past the inner wall of the palace grounds is even smaller. The number of visitors who are allowed inside the palace is very small indeed. And the number of visitors who are allowed inside the East Wing of the palace, where the Chara lives, can be counted without losing your breath.
In practice, this means that the only people who see the Chara are his council, officials from the palace and army, boys who are training to be palace officials, royal messengers, the palace guards, and honored guests, such as ambassadors.
And the servants. Everyone forgets the servants. If you want to see the Chara, I suggest entering into training for high service.
[Translator's note: The perils of living as a Chara can be seen in Empty Dagger Hand.]