7 Days, 7 Stories
Apr. 26th, 2026 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thispatternismineThis week I've been busy. I signed up for the 7 Days 7 Stories challenge on ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
getyourwordsout.
getyourwordsout.
There was a lot of trial & error involved. My plan was to select a bunch of fanfic ideas sitting in my notes & work them into story outlines. How much of an outline I'd get would vary of course. A multi-chapter longfic or a oneshot with a lot going on would get a bulletpoint summary of the plot, while a shorter/simpler oneshot might get a very very rough 'insert cool stuff happening here later' draft.
Because I couldn't be sure which ideas would work out, I didn't select a week's worth of idea's in advance. There were a couple that were promising because I'd worked on them enough that they had taken up their own section in the notes app because they needed multiple pages to cover the planning, & a few that had individual notes pages because they'd come from Tumblr posts that had gone into some detail on suggestions for the prompt, & then there was a page of miscellaneous ideas. I just created a new section in my notes, copied a bunch of ideas pages over, then culled anything that was too vague (there were a bunch of 'ideas' that were basically intriguing Ao3 tags I'd found) or was more an idea for something that'd be cool to include within a larger fic. And that was my pool of ideas to work through.
( Day by day )
So I have a bunch of stuff ready to be worked on, which should hopefully encourage me to get writing them, simply by having an outline ready, so there's less initial work to do.
I might actually do this again. There are a couple of ideas still left in my notes. Plus my Tumblr has a 'writing ideas' tag full of posts where people suggested interesting ideas, that I could go through & decide if they'll actually work. I do have things to do this week though, so it'll have to wait.
Tarot prompt meme? Tarot prompt meme!
Apr. 26th, 2026 02:43 pmashelterofpagesWhy yes, I am behind on many things and will be making another post later, but for now...
goodbybird has inspired me to join in the tarot fun and do prompts for Three Weeks For Dreamwidth!
Leave a comment with a request for one of the following decks and anything up to 4 cards and I'll draw some for you! You can ask for more than one prompt, but please do so in a separate comment and maybe give me a few days before you do.
The decks on offer- :
- Dark Wood Tarot
- Ghosts and Spirits Tarot
- Hayworth Tarot
- Embroidered Graveyard Oracle
- Outgrow Yourself Oracle
- Wild Unknown Archetypes
Feel free to use them in any way you like, and definitely come back here and show me! I'm so excited to see what people do with these!
goodbybird has inspired me to join in the tarot fun and do prompts for Three Weeks For Dreamwidth!Leave a comment with a request for one of the following decks and anything up to 4 cards and I'll draw some for you! You can ask for more than one prompt, but please do so in a separate comment and maybe give me a few days before you do.
The decks on offer- :
- Dark Wood Tarot
- Ghosts and Spirits Tarot
- Hayworth Tarot
- Embroidered Graveyard Oracle
- Outgrow Yourself Oracle
- Wild Unknown Archetypes
Feel free to use them in any way you like, and definitely come back here and show me! I'm so excited to see what people do with these!
Birdfeeding
Apr. 26th, 2026 12:29 pmysabetwordsmithToday is sunny and mild.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel.
I put out water for the birds.
I set out some of the potted plants in flats.
4/26/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
4/26/26 -- I planted 4 petunias, 4 blue lobelia, and a 'Dusty Miller' artemesia in the blue chalk horse pot.
2/26/26 -- I planted two pots, each with 2 petunias, 4 white alyssum, and a 'Dusty Miller' artemesia. I put the last 'Dusty Miller' into the previous pot of yellow-and-white flowers.
When making a container garden of different flowers, it helps to create some unity by repeating elements. I do that with the fillers: 'Dusty Miller' artemesia, alyssum, and lobelia.
2/26/26 -- I potted up the three ice plants for the new picnic table garden. This concludes the batch of plants from DeBurh's.
2/26/26 -- We picked up dead weed stems from the edge of the south lot. We filled the wagon and only cleared about 3-4 feet by maybe 20 feet. :/
2/26/26 -- I got the groundcloth laid out; it's still flyaway and fragile, but at least on a calmer day I got it pinned down good enough for government work. I hauled out the solid-top pallet and sprayed the top side with waterseal.
2/26/26 -- I sprayed the underside of the solid-top pallet.
We rolled up the hose.
My partner Doug is going out to mow the little bit we got cleared.
.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel.
I put out water for the birds.
I set out some of the potted plants in flats.
4/26/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
4/26/26 -- I planted 4 petunias, 4 blue lobelia, and a 'Dusty Miller' artemesia in the blue chalk horse pot.
2/26/26 -- I planted two pots, each with 2 petunias, 4 white alyssum, and a 'Dusty Miller' artemesia. I put the last 'Dusty Miller' into the previous pot of yellow-and-white flowers.
When making a container garden of different flowers, it helps to create some unity by repeating elements. I do that with the fillers: 'Dusty Miller' artemesia, alyssum, and lobelia.
2/26/26 -- I potted up the three ice plants for the new picnic table garden. This concludes the batch of plants from DeBurh's.
2/26/26 -- We picked up dead weed stems from the edge of the south lot. We filled the wagon and only cleared about 3-4 feet by maybe 20 feet. :/
2/26/26 -- I got the groundcloth laid out; it's still flyaway and fragile, but at least on a calmer day I got it pinned down good enough for government work. I hauled out the solid-top pallet and sprayed the top side with waterseal.
2/26/26 -- I sprayed the underside of the solid-top pallet.
We rolled up the hose.
My partner Doug is going out to mow the little bit we got cleared.
.
1character theme set beta (margaux)
Apr. 26th, 2026 02:41 pmexistence101| 01 | Package | 02 | Obscure | 03 | Skeleton | 04 | Nurse |
| 05 | Domino | 06 | Thaw | 07 | Waves | 08 | Burglar |
| 09 | Frame | 10 | Carpet | 11 | Insect | 12 | Mentor |
| 13 | Spirit | 14 | Wax | 15 | Trash | 16 | Womb |
| 17 | Burn | 18 | Flash | 19 | Anima | 20 | Gamble |
| 21 | Statue | 22 | Perfume | 23 | Wine | 24 | Reflection |
| 25 | Take | 26 | Magic | 27 | Fragment | 28 | Cats and Dogs |
| 29 | Hum | 30 | Flinch | 31 | Rush | 32 | Jester |
| 33 | Haven | 34 | Dusk | 35 | Chord | 36 | Indulgence |
| 37 | Freezer | 38 | Passage | 39 | Coast | 40 | Keepsake |
| 41 | Morbid | 42 | Shipwreck | 43 | Socks | 44 | Sand |
| 45 | Coin | 46 | Guile | 47 | Eyelash | 48 | Drive |
| 49 | Net | 50 | Destination |
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Architecture
Apr. 26th, 2026 01:45 amysabetwordsmithThis year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert.
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 2: Architecture
Architecture is the art of designing and building structures, such as houses, offices, churches, or skyscrapers. It goes back only a little less far than humanity does. People have always needed shelters and event spaces, and started making their own rather early on. Here on Dreamwidth, check outfarmhouseprints, flaneurs, photographic_i, and urban_photos.
( Read more... )
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 2: Architecture
Architecture is the art of designing and building structures, such as houses, offices, churches, or skyscrapers. It goes back only a little less far than humanity does. People have always needed shelters and event spaces, and started making their own rather early on. Here on Dreamwidth, check out
farmhouseprints, flaneurs, photographic_i, and urban_photos.( Read more... )
Trying to document a writing-related feeling around project transitions
Apr. 26th, 2026 07:22 amvriddyIn theory, I was planning to start on the structural edits tomorrow; in practice I feel like I'm being clever "cheating" by starting today. No, I have no external deadline. This is just My Brain vs My Brain and winning š (maybe???), lol.
The feeling most at the surface at the moment seems to be a kind of terror, which obviously is not nice to feel but I'm also fascinated by it. Why do I feel like this? This is the first round of editing. I'll have at least the prose edits later to refine stuff, and proofreading, and then whatever changes happen after beta-reader feedback. That means while there's a ton of work immediately ahead, there's also not as much pressure around "MUST GET EVERYTHING RIGHT LAST CHANCE!!!" Yeah there's a lot to do, but I've been working on the Cursed With for nearly 3 years. I know I can put in the work. I'm using a new method of editing based on that workshop, but normally I'm excited to try new things, especially related to something I know I have difficulties with (clearly my way of doing structural editing for the witch wasn't good enough, considering how much structural rework I had to do again after beta-reader feedback). Is this overwhelm? Is this because, while I was proofreading the witch and noticing different ways subplots or other arcs could have been worked, I kept thinking "Well, at least I'll do it better for the Soul Thief!" and now I feel some kind of pressure around it?
I noticed before that when I transition between projects, there's always a few days feeling out of balance, paddling frantically without finding my footing. Sometimes it's because I'm doing something new, like figuring out how to handle beta-reader feedback when there is a ton of it and some of it requires massive rework. But even when I know how to do something, like the proofreading of the witch earlier this month, there's still a similar adaptation period, even knowing what I wanted to do (use text-to-speech) and having previous experience doing it.
It's interesting to reread that post about implementing feedback because I suspect I wrote the post with the same kind of feeling I'm swimming against today. So I must have started writing the post, and then I made a list of what I intended to do. And today I want to break things down like that as well. There's so much to do, and the very first chapter in particular needs a ton of changes.
( The Plan! )
Okay, self. You got this. And look: there's still a bit of "oh-no-this-is-new-i-don't-know-how-to-do-this" dread, but nothing terror-like anymore. There's a plan! You follow the plan. And if it doesn't work, then you learn something from it and make a new plan.
The feeling most at the surface at the moment seems to be a kind of terror, which obviously is not nice to feel but I'm also fascinated by it. Why do I feel like this? This is the first round of editing. I'll have at least the prose edits later to refine stuff, and proofreading, and then whatever changes happen after beta-reader feedback. That means while there's a ton of work immediately ahead, there's also not as much pressure around "MUST GET EVERYTHING RIGHT LAST CHANCE!!!" Yeah there's a lot to do, but I've been working on the Cursed With for nearly 3 years. I know I can put in the work. I'm using a new method of editing based on that workshop, but normally I'm excited to try new things, especially related to something I know I have difficulties with (clearly my way of doing structural editing for the witch wasn't good enough, considering how much structural rework I had to do again after beta-reader feedback). Is this overwhelm? Is this because, while I was proofreading the witch and noticing different ways subplots or other arcs could have been worked, I kept thinking "Well, at least I'll do it better for the Soul Thief!" and now I feel some kind of pressure around it?
I noticed before that when I transition between projects, there's always a few days feeling out of balance, paddling frantically without finding my footing. Sometimes it's because I'm doing something new, like figuring out how to handle beta-reader feedback when there is a ton of it and some of it requires massive rework. But even when I know how to do something, like the proofreading of the witch earlier this month, there's still a similar adaptation period, even knowing what I wanted to do (use text-to-speech) and having previous experience doing it.
It's interesting to reread that post about implementing feedback because I suspect I wrote the post with the same kind of feeling I'm swimming against today. So I must have started writing the post, and then I made a list of what I intended to do. And today I want to break things down like that as well. There's so much to do, and the very first chapter in particular needs a ton of changes.
( The Plan! )
Okay, self. You got this. And look: there's still a bit of "oh-no-this-is-new-i-don't-know-how-to-do-this" dread, but nothing terror-like anymore. There's a plan! You follow the plan. And if it doesn't work, then you learn something from it and make a new plan.
Today's Adventures
Apr. 25th, 2026 11:11 pmysabetwordsmithToday we went to the Douglas-Hart Nature Center for their Earth Day celebration and native plant sale.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Philosophical Questions: Different
Apr. 25th, 2026 11:10 pmysabetwordsmithPeople have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.
What would be different if the 9/11 terrorist attack never occurred?
We would have a lot more freedom, privacy, and civil rights. I might still be willing to use airports.
The terrorists may have missed the White House, but they scored a direct hit on the American way of life. It's among the most effective terrorist attacks in recorded history, and it's still working.
What would be different if the 9/11 terrorist attack never occurred?
We would have a lot more freedom, privacy, and civil rights. I might still be willing to use airports.
The terrorists may have missed the White House, but they scored a direct hit on the American way of life. It's among the most effective terrorist attacks in recorded history, and it's still working.
it was a sunday |
Apr. 26th, 2026 04:27 amexistence101
Iām in the frustrating situation that I donāt have a computer right now. My laptop had issues with its keyboard, so itās in for repairs. It has been a week now, can be as much as three. In the meantime, I have my phone and an old iPad, but itās just not the same. Writing is mostly done by hand, then laboriously copied into a note on my phone for spell check and just the extra processing. In itself, itās doable. I can live with this for a limited amount of time - but the freedom of my own laptop with the programs I know and all my stuff? I miss that desperately.
In the meantime, itās back to being creative in more analogue ways. I do some collage things, scrapbooking. Cut a whole bunch of La Sylphide stuff out of old programs and books I had lying around from my balletomane days and although a part of me finds it sacrilegious to cut in these things, I donāt look in them otherwise. At least this way, I get to use the images for inspiration again.
I have signed up to write 50 one-sentence stories about La Sylphide at
1character and am really excited for this challenge. Hoping to be able to combine at least some of my fills with prompts from 25poemsamonth. Thatās a status and some upcoming things for the next week, at the least.
You Don't Have to Stay
Apr. 25th, 2026 08:40 pmysabetwordsmithThe Game Is Rigged And You Don't Have To Stay
Most people don't leave because they think they can't. Not because of money. Not because of the kids. Because nobody ever said out loud that leaving is a rational choice.
If you are unhappy with your life, do something about it. If you only have one or a few issues, then it makes sense to try fixing them first. But if you hate most or all things about your job, where you live, your family, whatever -- then leaving IS a rational choice. See Introduction to Goal-Setting Frameworks for ideas about making logical decisions. As long as you are a legal adult, you have the right to leave situations that don't suit you. It's not selfish to stay alive.
( Read more... )
Most people don't leave because they think they can't. Not because of money. Not because of the kids. Because nobody ever said out loud that leaving is a rational choice.
If you are unhappy with your life, do something about it. If you only have one or a few issues, then it makes sense to try fixing them first. But if you hate most or all things about your job, where you live, your family, whatever -- then leaving IS a rational choice. See Introduction to Goal-Setting Frameworks for ideas about making logical decisions. As long as you are a legal adult, you have the right to leave situations that don't suit you. It's not selfish to stay alive.
( Read more... )
One of my absolute favorite etymologies is "snoop"
Apr. 27th, 2026 09:40 pmconulyFrom Dutch snoepen (āto pry, eat in secret, sneakā)
How often were the Dutch eating in secret that they decided they needed a verb for it!?
**********
( Read more... )
How often were the Dutch eating in secret that they decided they needed a verb for it!?
( Read more... )
Science
Apr. 25th, 2026 08:00 pmysabetwordsmithScientists just discovered Africa is closer to breaking apart than we thought
East Africa may be cracking open—and the same forces tearing it apart could be why we have such a vivid record of human origins.
Beneath East Africa’s Turkana Rift, scientists have found the crust is thinning to a critical point, suggesting the continent is gradually breaking apart. This “necking” process marks an advanced stage of rifting that could eventually lead to a new ocean forming millions of years from now. Surprisingly, the same geological forces that are splitting the land may also explain why the region holds such a rich fossil record. Instead of being the birthplace of humanity, Turkana may just be where the story was best preserved.
... or the rift could rip open suddenly and unexpectedly quite a bit sooner. Say, if some other part of the crust made a massive shift to release pressure. I wouldn't want to live or work near there. It's fascinating to watch from a safe distance though.
East Africa may be cracking open—and the same forces tearing it apart could be why we have such a vivid record of human origins.
Beneath East Africa’s Turkana Rift, scientists have found the crust is thinning to a critical point, suggesting the continent is gradually breaking apart. This “necking” process marks an advanced stage of rifting that could eventually lead to a new ocean forming millions of years from now. Surprisingly, the same geological forces that are splitting the land may also explain why the region holds such a rich fossil record. Instead of being the birthplace of humanity, Turkana may just be where the story was best preserved.
... or the rift could rip open suddenly and unexpectedly quite a bit sooner. Say, if some other part of the crust made a massive shift to release pressure. I wouldn't want to live or work near there. It's fascinating to watch from a safe distance though.
Birdfeeding
Apr. 25th, 2026 02:30 pmysabetwordsmithToday is sunny and mild. It rained on and off yesterday.
We went out early to catch the native plant sale at Douglas-Hart Nature Center. Then we had more errands to run.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
I set out some flats of pots and watered them.
EDIT 4/25/26 -- I planted four Burpless Cucumbers in pots, two on the old picnic table garden and two on the new picnic table garden.
EDIT 4/25/26 -- I planted four chocolate cherry tomatoes in pots, two on the old picnic table garden and two on the new picnic table garden.
I planted a garden sage and a variegated sage in a trough pot, and a cilantro in another trough pot, at the new picnic table garden. I still need to do more with the troughs because their soil level is low.
EDIT 4/25/26 -- I topped up the trough pots, sowed 'Slow Bolting' cilantro around the potted cilantro, and watered the recently planted things.
EDIT 4/25/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 4/25/26 -- I planted the catnip. This completes the flat of small square pots. \o/
EDIT 4/25/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
I've seen a male cardinal and a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
We went out early to catch the native plant sale at Douglas-Hart Nature Center. Then we had more errands to run.
I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
I set out some flats of pots and watered them.
EDIT 4/25/26 -- I planted four Burpless Cucumbers in pots, two on the old picnic table garden and two on the new picnic table garden.
EDIT 4/25/26 -- I planted four chocolate cherry tomatoes in pots, two on the old picnic table garden and two on the new picnic table garden.
I planted a garden sage and a variegated sage in a trough pot, and a cilantro in another trough pot, at the new picnic table garden. I still need to do more with the troughs because their soil level is low.
EDIT 4/25/26 -- I topped up the trough pots, sowed 'Slow Bolting' cilantro around the potted cilantro, and watered the recently planted things.
EDIT 4/25/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 4/25/26 -- I planted the catnip. This completes the flat of small square pots. \o/
EDIT 4/25/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
I've seen a male cardinal and a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
God, I hate talking about overnight shifts
Apr. 26th, 2026 10:49 amconulyDon't get me wrong, I love doing them - five hours of reading, three hours of work, what's not to love? - but talking about them? Don't get me started. Every single time it's a back and forth to confirm the actual day the shift starts.
I got a shift through the staffing agency, and I say "So, to confirm, I go to work at midnight Monday?" and he goes "No, Sunday". "So, I leave my house at 11:30 today...?"
No, he meant midnight Monday to 8am Monday.
Every time I look at the schedule at the usual place I find myself momentarily baffled by the fact that the overnight shift is at the top, as the first shift of the day.
Also, literally as I typed that last sentence a spam text came in with the word "lpuuuu", which seems low effort even for a spam text. I get that their business model depends on weeding out everybody smart enough to say "Seems fake!", but seriously?
I got a shift through the staffing agency, and I say "So, to confirm, I go to work at midnight Monday?" and he goes "No, Sunday". "So, I leave my house at 11:30 today...?"
No, he meant midnight Monday to 8am Monday.
Every time I look at the schedule at the usual place I find myself momentarily baffled by the fact that the overnight shift is at the top, as the first shift of the day.
Also, literally as I typed that last sentence a spam text came in with the word "lpuuuu", which seems low effort even for a spam text. I get that their business model depends on weeding out everybody smart enough to say "Seems fake!", but seriously?
I think I reached the end of the internet
Apr. 25th, 2026 03:29 pmathaiaI finally realized why the internet has almost completely lost its luster for me: the thing that kept me online were the internet fora — the places where people actually talked to each other! Due to the different time zones, there were always new posts when I logged on, and when I wrote something, people actually answered, and we had a conversation!
Nowadays, the only sites that come close to it are Reddit and Ecosophia, but on Reddit, I rarely get an answer, and if so, no conversation develops from it. Ecosophia is the same, only worse. And on Dreamwidth, I almost never get a reaction if I post something there. Even when I comment on someone else’s post, I might get an answer from the poster, but not from the other commenters, and then the thread dies down at that point.
I have no idea where all the people went who could spin a conversation for dozens, sometimes hundreds of posts. Maybe they were all reprogrammed to either hit the ‘like’-button, or to not react at all.
And maybe this development is good for me... makes me stay offline and live in the real world again. Though looking at the real world... uh... well, there's books to hide in...
Event: Three Weeks For Dreamwidth, starting today!
Apr. 25th, 2026 07:25 amvriddy3weeks4dreamwidth is celebrating Dreamwidth's anniversary!Come join in for fun, memes, activities, and more ā„
The three weeks event celebrating Dreamwidth is starting today!! \o/ There's already a fresh friending meme posted over the comm thanks to
matsushima!Over at
bnha_fans, we're running a Rec Fest again, and I posted the announcement on the first day for the first time in what feels like 70 years ;v; XD Sadly, it seems like the bug in which, if a journal or comm is set to default to nsfw/18+, it won't show up on the Latest Page feed for the event even if the post itself is marked "No Ages Restriction". Sad that the comm contributions won't show up there, but since this post will be, hey! Boku no Hero Academia/My Hero Academia fans out there, we're running a Rec Fest if you're looking for new fanworks or have some you'd like to rec! :DLooking forward to see the various ways people participate this year! :D If this is your first time (or not, for that matter), you might enjoy the blogging questionnaire
ysabetwordsmith shared a few years ago. That was a good time, replying to a question a day and reading people's answers!