cimorene | Reading

So, there was the one where Naomi Wildman's mother doesn't die but we never see her again, which is kinda weak as episodes go but which does set up Naomi becoming Seven's little duckling.

We skipped the ice episode - I mean, it's a great episode, I just wasn't feeling it - and went on to Seven's multiple personality episode, or as I call it, "Jeri Ryan is an amazing actress". Like, wow.

This is another episode in which the crew has seemingly forgotten the concept of diplomacy. Okay, you have a Borg device with a computer virus that kills lots of Borg. The people who invented the thing obviously want it put back in space, intact, so it can kill even more Borg. You don't want to do that until you've cured Seven - great, wonderful. Have you considered asking them if there is anything they might accept in trade? Like, I don't know, information about the Borg? They only met the menace four years ago! Sure, they've made remarkable strides in killing them since them, but they'd surely like to know more about your novel approach of deborgifying the drones? They could get some of their own people back if they tried that approach, and that'd surely be better than killing them all? More information so they could pursue multiple goals can only be a good thing, especially as the Borg are bound to adapt to any one approach sooner or later.

But no, nobody even suggests it. Geez, these people. (And also? Maybe information on this virus would've been a good thing to trade for. You don't need people to sacrifice themselves. If the virus is nonfatal but persistent you can just infect people prophylacticly and hope for the... uh, best? Worst? You can hope that if the worst ever happens, at least you'll take some Borg out with you.)

And we wrapped up with the episode in which the Doctor creates a holographic Cardassian war criminal as a medical expert with whom to confer. So-so writing, honestly - the themes deserved better, and it's only saved by the acting.

aethel

1. One alarming thing I heard recently: Endless Thread podcast: consensual doxing. Makes me want to delete everything I ever posted online. /o\

2. I know antishippers still exist because sometimes I search for recent mentions of Fanlore on social media and find people using it to argue over the definition of proshipper.

3. I finished reading Band Sinister by KJ Charles the other day. It was fine. I liked Amanda more than her brother. The more Regency-era romances I read, the more it feels like Regency England (1811-1820) is a fantasy setting overrun with dukes and rakes where everyone is forever recovering from the war with Napoleon, rather than a very short period of time in the real world that everyone lived through and then moved on. (To be clear, Band Sinister is atypical, but having a large number of characters with modern sensibilities running around highlights how fantastical the setting is. Here is a more enthusiastic blog post about the book.)

4. I started poking around AO3 for KJ Charles fic and found a podficcer called jennisaisquoi. I also found an exchange. Most popular ship: Will Darling/Kim Secretan.

cimorene

A couple of months ago, I don't know when exactly, I saw a link on Tumblr to an article about a "new summer trend" of not wearing mascara that the youths were (allegedly) referring to as "ghost eyelashes" (let's take the rant about the majority of people not wearing mascara as a given). Even though I find this kind of reporting (on beauty trends) mostly annoying, I frequently also find it... amusing, in an annoyed way, so I clicked to read it on the strength of my giggling bemusement at the headline.

The angle this beauty journalist chose to take was a Generational Divide one, pointing out how the trend was very young and positing that people older than their mid-20s would be uncomfortable with the shocking exposure of their natural eyelashes in full sun, and the article was peppered with links to other articles in the same website about generational trends that were so outrageous that I did what she wanted and clicked on them:

This publication has alleged in the past that wearing tapered or straight-leg jeans is an embarrassingly Millennial trait (no mention given of older generations: possibly the youth in question have forgotten that there are plenty of members of Gen X just among their own generation's parents, and obviously nobody older than their own parents is relevant, lol).

I went on an emotional journey of laughing, boggling, and remembering how in the mid-90s when the 70s-bellbottom revival was in full swing it became nearly IMPOSSIBLE to buy tapered jeans or even straight ones for a brief time, and how my friends and I used to refer to extant surviving tapered jeans as "boa-constrictor-ankled". Of course since everyone my age was growing extremely rapidly throughout the period from 1995-2001, it was impossible for any of us to own old pairs of jeans that still fitted that we loved; in high school, you're lucky if you fit jeans for more than a calendar year at a time. Everyone who had jeans that were ten years old or older was an adult, and their clothes were a minority of the clothes we saw closely enough to pay attention to, which made them stand out, I guess. I remember being actively amused by tapered jeans in the late 90s. And I clearly remember the few years before 2010, in my 20s, owning lots of pairs of bootcut jeans that were in some cases 10 years old and still fit me, and finding it necessary to get out the sewing machine to make several of them into skinny jeans (but the earliest ones, say, pre-2000, were unsalvageable then, because I couldn't consider wearing mid-high-waisted jeans ca. 2007, when waistbands were super-low). So the end of this emotional journey was laughing again.

Another article in this publication alleged that the crying laughing emoji is also an embarrassing Millennial trait. Apparently nobody who isn't a Millennial would use this emoji. The article didn't contain a lot of detail - I would've loved statistics about emoji use frequency, or a detailed look back at the pre-emoji days of emoticons. I was a heavy user of "XD" before the crying laughing emoji, which is supposed to be a cartoon of it (although IMO XD does not imply tears on its own; that's what X.D is for). But anyway, I have been remembering this stupid article every time I used that emoji for weeks now.

Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Location: hey finally a post that's PERFECT for this icon
Current Music: I Say It's Spinach (and to Hell with It)

conuly

A maverick is, literally, an unbranded cow. Sam Maverick refused to brand his cattle. Mommy just could not get over that semantic drift.

******************

( Read more... )

conuly

while denying that it was in any way wrong to act like that.

But now I'm not sure where I read that. Does anybody have a link?

torachan

1. Second day of soft open was a wild ride. People lined up before the store opened. We made double the sales of yesterday. All without any advertising about the soft open. The only advertising was about the grand open tomorrow.

2. Some of you may remember a couple years ago I was working on a project to transition to a new inventory system at work and really dialing back my area manager duties to focus on that. Then they put it on hold because they were redoing the whole thing from scratch. Now they are back at the point where the IT side needs feedback from store operations, and they need more time devoted to it than anyone can do while juggling other job duties, so I was told today that I will be fully working on that for the next year or so and only lightly helping out with area manager stuff (currently there is no one who can actually take my place). I will get a bigger raise than the small annual raise I just got, and I can work from home if there's nothing I need to go in to the office for. I will miss all that audiobook time from driving but will not miss all the actual driving.

3. Look at that perfect Molly curl!

conuly

Not as hot as the Primaries, god that was hellish, but still plenty hot.

****************

( Read more... )

ao3_news_feed

https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/32026

Organization for Transformative Works: Election News

The election season is in full swing! As part of the election season, we have a chat with our candidates coming up soon. You can also find links to the candidates' answers to your questions at the bottom of this post.

Chats

There will be one public chat with all three candidates that will last 90 minutes. Chats will take place in our public chatroom (Discord).
It is scheduled for:

Saturday, August 2, from 21:00 UTC to 22:30 UTC – Live chat with all candidates (What time is the Candidate Chat where I live?)

During this chat, chat attendees will have the opportunity to ask the candidates questions not already covered in their platforms, bios, and Q&A, as well as to ask individual questions of specific candidates. New questions will only be accepted for the first hour of the scheduled chat time to make sure candidates have time to finish them all.

We hope that you can join us for this chat!

Please note that though the link to the public chatroom is already active, chatting capabilities will not be enabled until approximately half an hour before the chat begins.

Read on to learn more about using Discord.

On the login page, you'll need to provide a screen name.
Once you enter the server, you'll find a list of users on the right and a list of chat rooms on the left. Settings are available via the gear icon on the lower left, near your screen name; there you can choose, among other options, whether you prefer a dark or light chat room appearance.
There are three rooms available to chat attendees who are not candidates or Elections Committee volunteers: general, candidate_chats, and open_chat.
- General is where you'll find a list of rules for the chats. Please read through these carefully before entering the other two rooms.
- Candidate_chats is where the candidates will answer questions and debate amongst themselves. Only the candidates and moderator will be able to chat in this room.
- Open_chat is where all attendees can participate and talk to each other. We ask that you try to stay on topics related to the election. A moderator will be in the room, so if you have a question for the candidates, you can signal the moderator with o/, the candidate's name, and the question. Use o// if it's a follow-up question to the current discussion.

Q&A

When we posted the Board candidates’ bios and platforms, we asked the public to submit additional questions for them. Once again, our sincere thanks to everyone who did so! We have already posted candidate answers to Q&A questions.

To navigate answers by individual candidate, please use the links below:

C. Ryan S.

Elizabeth W.

Harlan L.B.

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/32026

twistedchick

An immigrant experience of 83 years ago, compared with today.

cimorene

I was taught to sew as a kid in the 90s by my mom (an artist who can do every kind of art and craft practically, and also fix plumbing and electricity and do carpentry). My first clear sewing memory is making myself a gown (of leftover printed cotton curtain fabric) for an ice sorceress costume that I designed and made myself and wore to NASFiC/Dragoncon as a con costume when I was twelve I think - so 1995, maybe? I made myself shorts and a vest that I used to wear to school in the seventh grade (from a pattern), hemmed my cadette girl scout uniform skirt from knee to mid-thigh (and then did the same for two other members of the troop) at age 14, and at 16 made my sister, then 7, a copy of the allover-studded suede jacket worn by Christina Aguilera in the "What a Girl Wants" music video (also from a pattern, and not from real suede, but I did have to buy a literal Bedazzler). LOL that I did that, in retrospect.

Anyway, I learned to sew on my mom's old Singer, but since moving to Finland I have had the good fortune to enjoy the nearly-permanent loan of my MIL's sewing machine (ours since her death; but she didn't feel like sewing anymore before that), a Bernina 1004 made in Switzerland in 1989, fully mechanical, and basically free from problems (apart from those caused by user error). Until a few months ago.

I tried cleaning lint from around the bobbin case, and not only did that not help, but after it the machine stopped advancing unless you manually turn the wheel with great force. So of course I immediately panicked that I had broken it and became afraid to investigate further because I was afraid I'd find out it was all my fault.

But when I finally got around to watching a couple of videos (because I really wanted some new pajama pants and I can't buy any that meet my standards), I realized there's absolutely no way I caused this! But also it definitely is something with the main bit of the motor, and you have to take the thing completely apart to fix that. So it has to go to a repair shop that specializes in Berninas.

There's only one in Turku, and they closed for the month of July the day before I googled them. 😭 Also you have to book the service in advance and can't just drop machines off. The next nearest specialist is... nowhere near.

But I'm very motivated now, because it's been warm, and every day

waxjism wears her percale gingham hobbit (cropped) summer pj pants and looks adorable while I'm suffering with one old pair that are falling apart and are a synthetic blend. And neither of us has pockets!!!

otw_news_feed

Posted by callmeri

https://www.transformativeworks.org/2025-candidate-qa-and-chat-round-up/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=266153

The election season is in full swing! As part of the election season, we have a chat with our candidates coming up soon. You can also find links to the candidates’ answers to your questions at the bottom of this post.

Chats

There will be one public chat with all three candidates that will last 90 minutes. Chats will take place in our public chatroom (Discord).
It is scheduled for:

Saturday, August 2, from 21:00 UTC to 22:30 UTC – Live chat with all candidates (What time is the Candidate Chat where I live?)

We hope that you can join us for this chat!

Please note that though the link to the public chatroom is already active, chatting capabilities will not be enabled until approximately half an hour before the chat begins.

Read on to learn more about using Discord.

On the login page, you’ll need to provide a screen name.
Once you enter the server, you’ll find a list of users on the right and a list of chat rooms on the left. Settings are available via the gear icon on the lower left, near your screen name; there you can choose, among other options, whether you prefer a dark or light chat room appearance.
There are three rooms available to chat attendees who are not candidates or Elections Committee volunteers: general, candidate_chats, and open_chat.
- General is where you’ll find a list of rules for the chats. Please read through these carefully before entering the other two rooms.
- Candidate_chats is where the candidates will answer questions and debate amongst themselves. Only the candidates and moderator will be able to chat in this room.
- Open_chat is where all attendees can participate and talk to each other. We ask that you try to stay on topics related to the election. A moderator will be in the room, so if you have a question for the candidates, you can signal the moderator with o/, the candidate’s name, and the question. Use o// if it’s a follow-up question to the current discussion.

Q&A

To navigate answers by individual candidate, please use the links below:

C. Ryan S.

Elizabeth W.

Harlan L.B.

https://www.transformativeworks.org/2025-candidate-qa-and-chat-round-up/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=266153

conuly

I'm a little relieved. I mean, not very, I'd rather have the job, but if I'd gotten it then I'd maybe have had to interact with him again and who needs that?

************************

( Read more... )

torachan

1. The first day of the new store's soft open was a huge success. We didn't advertise it at all, but the store was very busy all day (only open from 10-4) and we made over three times as much as the first soft open day of the store that opened in December, so hopefully that is a sign that this store will be a success.

2. Look at Tuxie in his little house! He doesn't sleep here at night and doesn't ever seem to use it during the day, but sometimes he likes to go in there in the early morning between waking up and leaving wherever it is he sleeps at night and coming up to the porch for breakfast.

conuly posting in

agonyaunt

1. Dear Care and Feeding,

I’m getting married next year, and my mom is helping me with a lot of the planning. She’s great at this stuff, and super excited to help (and I’m glad to have her—she’s one of my best friends!). But we’re worried about squabbling—or to be honest, yelling at each other—during the process. We’re VERY close, but prone to fighting about nonsense things. Any tips for avoiding a repeat of my (very loud) teenage years while we plan?

—My Fiancé is Very Calm, By the Way

( Read more... )

**************

2. Dear Prudence,

I am an only child and my mother has always been … let’s call it “involved” with my life, and I have done my best to deal with it. Two years ago, I met my now-fiancée, “Arista,” and we are getting married in November. Last week, my mother came to me demanding that I call off our engagement. As it turns out, she had had a professional background check done on Arista, and she really did not like what she’d found.

After her little snoop-about, my mother discovered that she used to be in adult entertainment. The thing is, Arista was up front with me about this early on in our relationship and it doesn’t matter to me. However, I had intended to not say anything to my mother because I knew she would react like this, but more importantly, it wasn’t her business.

When I told my mom as much, she blew up and told me that I couldn’t sully our family by “marrying a whore.” I told her this wasn’t her decision and that she could either treat my future wife with the respect and decency she deserves or sit out the wedding. Now she’s told everyone in the family. Many are supportive and think she’s nuts, but some have shared her reaction. Is this grounds for removing her from my life for good?

—Pilloried By the Past

( Read more... )

conuly posting in

agonyaunt

My mother-in-law, “Hannah,” is a retired pediatrician, and self-appointed captain of our kids’ health care. Whenever we take our kids to the doctor, we have to have a post-visit debrief with Hannah, who demands every detail before offering her own (unsolicited) advice. Often, her advice contradicts the pediatrician’s recommendations, and she will get upset when we take the doctor’s side over hers.

My husband, “Tom,” says it’s better to humor her and pay lip-service to following her recommendations. I get that it’s his mom, but I’m the one fielding the questions! (Tom does what he can, but I’m usually the one taking them to the doctor and talking to her after.) I’m just sick and tired of dealing with this.

—Enough

( Read more... )

conuly

Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan dies at 71

firebatvillain posting in

agonyaunt

Dear Carolyn: I have five children, two daughters. “Lynn” is 40, and “Emma” is 29. Lynn got married 15 years ago, and since she was the first bride of the younger generation, a big fuss was made over her wedding by me, my two sisters and especially my mother.

Emma is getting married next month, but since she is the fifth and last bride in our family, it’s not as big a deal. That’s the way it was in the previous generation, too, because this happened to my sister, the sixth bride that time around.

Complicating matters is the fact that Lynn is a stay-at-home mom of four whose husband recently left her for another woman. She is in a tailspin and requiring a lot of support. The whole family of women are pulling together for her, cooking, cleaning, taking turns sleeping at her house, etc. Except for my mom, we all have full-time jobs, which two of us didn’t have 15 years ago.

All that leaves us with little time or energy to focus on Emma’s wedding, which I thought she would understand. When she asked when we would all be making the usual desserts and decorations for the reception, no one felt they could commit.

Emma was hurt and pointed out what everyone did for Lynn, but we can’t even “do the minimum” for her. I was blindsided by her anger. I’m sorry we did more for her sister and cousins, but Lynn has the greater need right now.

I told Emma her father and I are paying for everything just like we did for her sister, and she could ask her friends to help.

Am I/are we being unfair to Emma?

— Blindsided

( Read more... )

elf

Last night, bluesky exploded with the discovery that itch.io has delisted/shadowbanned pretty much all its "adult" games - they don't show up in a search anymore, even if you have the 'show me adult content' turned on, even if you are the game's creator.

They are still listed on the creator's pages; they are still in the bundles they've been in, and the "search title/author/tag" on the bundle pages still works.

Some games have been removed entirely - with a claim that they violate the TOS and therefore the creators can't receive payment, so itch will be just keeping their money thankyouverymuch.

After a mad scramble to figure out "what's going on and why," Itch mentioned payment processor issues on its Discord (which is going wild with drama; it does NOT have enough moderators for this), and eventually released a statement:

We have “deindexed” all adult NSFW content from our browse and search pages. We understand this action is sudden and disruptive, and we are truly sorry for the frustration and confusion caused by this change.

Recently, we came under scrutiny from our payment processors regarding the nature of some content hosted on itch.io. Due to a game titled No Mercy, which was temporarily available on itch.io before being banned back in April, the organization Collective Shout launched a campaign against Steam and itch.io, directing concerns to our payment processors about the nature of certain content found on both platforms.

Itch instantly caved to their "Warriors for Innocence."

( Specific game info )

cimorene

I just realized that all my most favorite savory foods are based on lemon or lime. Also all the cocktails I've liked (though I don't try many because I'm not big on them). I also love every lime or lemon dessert I've had mostly, but they're not my favorites (my most favorite desserts are apple- or coffee-based). It's just weird that it took me so long to notice that.

pauamma posting in

dw_volunteers

26 years ago today, I was putting out what turned out to be my last cigarette.

How's everyone else doing?

Profile

Cimorene

July 2025

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Page Summary

conuly - Got through a few episodes of Voyager with E
aethel - 4 things
cimorene - Generational Trends
conuly - My mother's favorite word etymology - and I agree it's pretty nifty - was maverick
conuly - So, I thought Gaiman had confirmed the literal facts of the (first) accusation
torachan - Daily Happiness
conuly - Hot today
ao3_news_feed - 2025 Candidate Q&A and Chat Round Up
twistedchick - New Substack post
cimorene - sewing machine repair
otw_news_feed - 2025 Candidate Q&A and Chat Round Up
conuly - Well, that job with that hiring manager I thought didn't like me did not pan out
torachan - Daily Happiness
conuly in agonyaunt - Two more wedding letters
conuly in agonyaunt - (no subject)
conuly - JFC, famous folks are dropping like flies!
firebatvillain in agonyaunt - Carolyn Hax: LW thinks fifth bride in family's wedding is not as big a deal
elf - Itch.io Is Having Its Strikethrough Moment
cimorene - lemons and spicy lemons
pauamma in dw_volunteers - Volunteer social thread #156

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Style: Practically Dracula for Practicalitesque - Practicality (with tweaks) by cimorene
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Other People

Reading

Got through a few episodes of Voyager with E

4 things

Generational Trends

My mother's favorite word etymology - and I agree it's pretty nifty - was maverick

So, I thought Gaiman had confirmed the literal facts of the (first) accusation

Daily Happiness

Hot today

2025 Candidate Q&A and Chat Round Up

New Substack post

sewing machine repair

2025 Candidate Q&A and Chat Round Up

Well, that job with that hiring manager I thought didn't like me did not pan out

Daily Happiness

Two more wedding letters

(no subject)

JFC, famous folks are dropping like flies!

Carolyn Hax: LW thinks fifth bride in family's wedding is not as big a deal

Itch.io Is Having Its Strikethrough Moment

lemons and spicy lemons

Volunteer social thread #156

Profile

July 2025

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