v3launchunit | Reading

Today's theme is Homestuck.

100quadrantedships -- Because We Don't Have Enough Of Quadrants
Quadrants, homestuck, shipping.
[Somewhat active with last post in May.]

addme_fandom -- addme fandom
Find friends who share your fannish obsessions.
[Active with one post in July.]

unconventionalcourtship -- Unconventional Courtship
Brooding Strangers! Secret Pregnancies! Enigmatic Rakes! All those tropes (or conventions, if you will) you love to hate (until you discover their secret, tragic backstory and fall head over heels for them) are here, ready to be used for humour and awesomeness in a new fic about your favourite star-crossed lovers. 'Unconventional Courtship' is a panfandom challenge that aims to produce fics longer than 1,000 words based on a Mills & Boon/Harlequin novel summary.
[Active with multiple posts in July.]

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Sunshine Challenge 5: Carnival Barker

Journaling prompt: Be a carnival barker for your favorite movie, book, or show (or any other of your choice - game, comic, anything else)! Write a post that showcases the best your chosen title has to offer and entices passersby to check it out.

Creative prompt: Write a fic or original story about a character reluctantly doing something they are hesitant about.

Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Folks have mentioned an interest in questions and conversations that make them think. So I've decided to offer more of those. This batch features hobbies.

Makeup art is a hobby that spans branches such as facepainting, bodypainting, cosplay, special effects, theatrical makeup, drag, kink, otherkin, gyaru, boudoir, glamour, and more. It all depends on what you want to make up yourself or a playmate as.

On Dreamwidth, consider communities like

daily_gyaru,

edgoreyanfashion,

justcreate,

sw_costumes, and

thefreaksclub.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

kossai

funny situation this is - originally post here on dreamwidth under access list last week , just now crosspost to tumblr , and now port back over to dreamwidth because this version is slightly different from original with hopefully better clarity .

think about how to try and word something , which is ... just hate agab as this cornerstone of identities and definitions . might work out fine for some people with really clear agab , but not everyone do . frankly , even those who do have binary classification might still have traits which break these expectations , which can massively complicate relationship with internal gender .

can not say one perfect answer to what trans definition should be , literally just some guys online here , but would much prefer to see focus on subversion of what others expect gender to be . that would mean everyday social factors , presentation , and more - agab and legal identification only one slice of that , and ideally would not be near as much of factor in future , if at all .

consider : two boys can grow up to be men with very different ideas of what manhood feel like , despite genders that apparently start out identical . so too is true of girls who become women , let alone boys who become women , girls who become men , and literally any other permutation out there , binary or not . seem weird to define transness by agab with considerations like this .

would that in effect widen what trans means ? maybe so . but would that really be so bad ? think , like plurality , transness is very much framework that everyone should get to personally define relationship with - certain experiences obviously major hallmarks , but that should only be start of considerations , not end .

not really big believer in idea of " normalise " when prefer for ideas of normal to not exist in first place . so maybe kossai just have faerie bias , but would like to have world where these kind of definitions become much less impactful on everyday life . not big deal to come out , not big deal to change , not difficult to gain access to chosen hormones and surgeries - freedom to do anything , and be anything , just simple facts of life .

( hm . maybe should get little graphic of intersex flag with faerie wings . )

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: dawn dance ~ david arkenstone

ysabetwordsmith

The Thunder of Bison Finally Returns to the Osage Prairie

60 million American bison, commonly known as buffalo, once thundered across the prairies of North America — until 1889, when they were almost driven to extinction.

These mighty giants terraformed the land, diversified prairie ecosystems, and sustained many native tribes across the continent. Now, tribes and conservationists join forces to bring the species back from the brink, finally returning the American bison to their native grasslands.

The Osage Nation in Oklahoma, with help from allies at the Nature Conservancy and the Bronx Zoo, are reviving their cultural and spiritual connection to buffalo by rebuilding a herd that once shared their land. By reigniting traditional land management practices like prescribed fire, the Osage support the herd as it continues to grow, which in turn, restores natural balance that helps the entire prairie ecosystem thrive.

As a keystone species, buffalo restore prairie habitat to health. They also help restore the tribal nations who depended upon them.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Cognitive collapse and the nuclear codes: When leaders lose control

A shocking study reveals that many leaders of nuclear-armed nations—including US presidents and Israeli prime ministers—were afflicted by serious health problems while in office, sometimes with their conditions hidden from the public. From dementia and depression to addiction and chronic diseases, these impairments may have affected their decision-making during pivotal global crises.

Hardly a surprise. Sanity isn't often a requirement of leadership. Venereal transmission only requires falling out of the right vagina; election only requires being popular.

Have you ever wondered how you'd handle the gold-madness of Thror? Consider that in this context. And then compare the effects of a dragon to those of a bomb.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

These dogs are trained to sniff out an invasive insect—and they're shockingly good at it

Virginia Tech researchers discovered that everyday dogs can be trained to effectively sniff out destructive agricultural pests.

Dogs trained by everyday pet owners are proving to be surprisingly powerful allies in the fight against the invasive spotted lanternfly. In a groundbreaking study, citizen scientists taught their dogs to sniff out the pests’ hard-to-spot egg masses with impressive accuracy. The initiative not only taps into the huge community of recreational scent-detection dog enthusiasts, but also opens a promising new front in protecting agriculture. And it doesn’t stop there—these canine teams are now sniffing out vineyard diseases too, hinting at a whole new future of four-legged fieldwork.

If you feel helpless against environmental threats, here's one thing you can do about it, if you're a dog lover. Dogs excel at finding things -- pretty much anything with a scent can be made interesting to a dog if you attach a reward to it.

Also, when it comes to invasive species? Never underestimate humanity's ability to destroy things.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is mostly sunny, humid, and hot. It rained copiously yesterday.

The internet serviceman came out today and installed some new equipment, which will hopefully fix the problems we've been having. We went outside to look at that. The antenna is now atop the bathroom roof, much higher and pointing south instead of east, so we have a better signal already.

My partner Doug had already started bushwhacking a path to the east edge of the yard, where the old antenna pointed. We still want to finish that for the sake of edge access. It didn't get mowed last year. We expected it to be full of weeds. We did not expect it to be full of 10-12' high hackberry and walnut saplings that obviously show multiple years of growth. :/ I strongly suspect that they waded into that position. I told them very firmly to move it or lose it, because we are serious about restoring that path.

I have not yet fed the birds. I have seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a mourning dove at the feeders. A cardinal was trying to get through the living room window, so I had to shut my office door to block the false flyway between the south living room window and the north office window.

I fed the birds.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/17/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/17/25 -- I planted 2 wild senna, one under the contorta willow and one under the apricot tree. The ones in the wildflower garden are blooming. :D I sowed seeds of apricot, white peach, and cherry plum. The latter look like beach plums to me -- they're smaller than apricots -- and we got a whole carton of them. It will be interesting to see if they sprout.

I've been hearing thunder.

EDIT 7/17/25 -- I took some pictures around the yard.

EDIT 7/17/25 -- I refilled the birdfeeders.

EDIT 7/17/25 -- I potted up 3 apples fallen from the birdgift tree.

I've heard a red-winged blackbird and a house wren, but didn't see them.

Cicadas are singing. Fireflies are coming out.

EDIT 7/17/25 -- It's raining, so I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Since some people persist in denying the existence of the Anthropocene, I've been keeping an eye out for hard evidence, especially geologic evidence.

A Mysterious New Rock Is Forming on Earth

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

amiserablepileofwords posting in

eggbug_writes

Monster who can't move on

amiserablepileofwords posting in

eggbug_writes

Girls who smoke stogies

kitarella_imagines posting in

little_details

I write RPF and due to sheer stupidity thought a guy (L) was Australian but he's from New Zealand 🤦‍♀️ Is there anyone who could translate these Australianisms (which I really love and got from Home & Away and Neighbours) into New Zealandisms? I don't watch any NZ soaps.#

JUST TO ADD: this is a fun, fluffy story, nothing gritty, angsty or serious. It is only just in the T rating, mainly because of a few dodgy comments. It could pass as G probably but better safe than sorry.

Also, do New Zealanders play keepy uppy? When you bounce a football on your knee and see how many times you can do that without dropping it. A well known British game but maybe it's called something different in New Zealand?

~~~

“G’day mate,” said the Australian. “Sorry, we're playing keepy uppy and the ball got away from us.” He was smirking as he picked up the football.

“Don't be such a flaming galah.” L threw the ball at N.

“Strewth mate, that’s 50 already.”

“Here we are,” said L. “Enjoy, you pair of hoons.”

Current Mood: embarrassed

ysabetwordsmith

Wait...The Worst Possible US Disaster Just Got EVEN WORSE?!? (Cascadia Megaquake)

Every once in a while, I see a more realistic extrapolation of the dangers in the Cascadia Subduction Zone, compared to the usual drastic underestimations. This video looks at some chain-reaction problems such as wildfires and chemical spills that can cause secondary waves of casualties.

You can read my thread about the Big One, but bear in mind that Terramagne-America has much better disaster preparedness than here, and local-America's scenario would be much worse.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

The Hardest Problem Evolution Ever Solved

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

These are the setting and content notes for "Beautiful, Damn Hard, Increasingly Useful."

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

These are the notes for "Beautiful, Damn Hard, Increasingly Useful."

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem came out of the July 15, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by

bairnsidhe and

siliconshaman. It also fills the "Cool Water" square in my 7-1-25 card for the Western Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the Kraken thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows "But an Empty Shell" ($280) -- which, oops, hasn't been sponsored and posted yet.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

How Dinosaur Extinction Gave Us Fruit

I found this video entertaining for its discussion of r-strategy vs. k-strategy reproduction in plants. Interestingly, during the time of large sauropods, they broke up the forests so much that most plants preferred to make many small seeds rather than fewer large seeds. They had to capitalize on the disturbances to find a place and sprout. In other words, most or all of the plants in those forest behaved like weeds, which are designed to cover disturbed ground as fast as possible.

Later on, after the sauropods died out, the forest canopy became closed rather than open, the forest floor darker. The animals were much smaller, and well suited to distributing seeds. So plants began making larger fruit to bribe the animals to carry their seeds around.

An interesting fork appears before us now, as humans have wiped out almost all large animals. Normally this would lead to dense dark forests, and thus, more and larger fruits. But humans are more disruptive than even the sauropods. We are creating conditions that favor the weed strategy again. Except for the bit where we really love large, sweet fruits and will go farther than any other species to propagate plants that we like. That makes it rather a toss-up how plants will respond.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

While out running errands today, we stopped at Smoothie King. My partner Doug got the Island Impact as is: Pineapples, Mangoes, Papaya Juice Blend, Apple Pineapple Juice Blend, Protein Blend. I added vanilla frozen yogurt to mine. These things cost as much as we usually spend at a sit-down restaurant. But. You get what you pay for. It is indeed a meal's worth of healthy produce plus protein. It's also the best smoothie I have ever put in my mouth.

20 minutes later: Why am I suddenly wide awake and fizzing with energy? Is this what coffee feels like to normal people?

... oh right, also a big cup of life energy from all that fresh fruit.

I really do want to try their Gut Boost probiotic add-in some time, and hopefully that won't overload me on life energy. Maybe take a closer look at some of their other options too. There are a lot of options you can add once you find a base combination that you like, although some things (like the protein powder) that are usually add-ins are in the original combos.

Current Mood: busy

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3116/

This is almost as bad as the time I signed up for a purely partisan fishing expedition.

https://xkcd.com/3116/

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Follow Friday 7-18-25: Homestuck

Sunshine Challenge 5: Carnival Barker

Hobbies: Makeup Art

some thoughts on freedom from agab

Conservation

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Invasive Species

Birdfeeding

Anthropocene

Making Up Monsters #690

Monster who can't move on

Eternal Sapphtember #290

Girls who smoke stogies

New Zealand slang needed please 🙏

Earthquakes

Evolution

Setting and content notes for "Beautiful, Damn Hard, Increasingly Useful"

Character notes for "Beautiful, Damn Hard, Increasingly Useful"

Poem: "Beautiful, Damn Hard, Increasingly Useful"

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