indybaggins | Reading

Always happy to do a Friday Five.

1. What type of hair do you have?
It has been communicated to me by hair-styling professionals that I have very thick, thin hair. So I have a lot of it, but the strands themselves are thin? I have no choice but to believe them. My hair is very frizzy with strange chunky curls that occur when I let it air dry, especially in the back, though the hair underneath closest to my neck is very straight.

2. What color is your hair currently?
Dirty blonde, which feels like an insensitive way to describe things. It's like blonde on its way to brunette.

3. What colors have you dyed/highlighted your hair?
I don't think my hair could tolerate any coloring. I once had it chemically straightened and it revolted.

4. If you could dye your hair any color, what would it be?
Maybe blonde-purple or red.

5. What is your hair's length?
Wet, it's a couple inches past my shoulders. Dry, it's an inch or two below my shoulders. I had long hair forever and then spent a few years trying to get curly cuts with it much shorter and now I've given up. I'm growing it back out so it can weigh itself down again.

Current Mood: cheerful

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Current Mood: hopeful

Thank you to

thatjustwontbreak for suggesting Buddy Wakefield. I confess spoken word poetry is not an area I know a lot about but that should change :)

Watch on YouTube

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Wednesday's word is...

...quiddity.

1. whatever makes something the type that it is: essence
2. a: trifling point, quibble
2. b: crotchet, eccentricity

---

I remember this word from Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers. This is such an excellent speech by Lord Peter. The audiobook version of this resides in my head.

“Well, I’m glad the little man has so much of an alibi,” said Lord Peter, “though if you’re only glueing your faith to cadaveric lividity, rigidity, and all the other quiddities, you must be prepared to have some sceptical beast of a prosecuting counsel walk slap-bang through the medical evidence. Remember Impey Biggs defending in that Chelsea tea-shop affair? Six bloomin’ medicos contradictin’ each other in the box, an’ old Impey elocutin’ abnormal cases from Glaister and Dixon Mann till the eyes of the jury reeled in their heads! ‘Are you prepared to swear, Dr. Thingumtight, that the onset of rigor mortis indicates the hour of death without the possibility of error?’ ‘So far as my experience goes, in the majority of cases,’ says the doctor, all stiff. ‘Ah!’ says Biggs, ‘but this is a Court of Justice, Doctor, not a Parliamentary election. We can’t get on without a minority report. The law, Dr. Thingumtight, respects the rights of the minority, alive or dead.’ Some ass laughs, and old Biggs sticks his chest out and gets impressive. ‘Gentlemen, this is no laughing matter. My client—an upright and honourable gentleman—is being tried for his life—for his life, gentlemen—and it is the business of the prosecution to show his guilt—if they can—without a shadow of doubt. Now, Dr. Thingumtight, I ask you again, can you solemnly swear, without the least shadow of doubt,—probable, possible shadow of doubt—that this unhappy woman met her death neither sooner nor later than Thursday evening? A probable opinion? Gentlemen, we are not Jesuits, we are straightforward Englishmen. You cannot ask a British-born jury to convict any man on the authority of a probable opinion.’ Hum of applause.”

“Biggs’s man was guilty all the same,” said Parker.

“Of course he was. But he was acquitted all the same, an’ what you’ve just said is libel.”

[of course what Parker has just said is slander not libel]

Reading

I'm having a hard time figuring out what book I want to read next, so of course that means I haven't read anything but fic this past week. In that, I have read a ton of JunDylan, because rewatching ThamePo really sparked something for me lol Currently I'm reading lightning (never) strikes twice by praystation , which I'm really enjoying :)

Watching

The roommate and I finished Ossan's Love. It was very goofy and I kind of hated the main character (soooo immature and stupid in frustrating ways), but overall a pretty good show.
The roommate and I started watching Head 2 Head. I was really excited for another SeaKeen show, and they have definitely not let me down so far! It's a very interesting premise that reminds me of a couple other shows we've watched, so I'm interested to see how it turns out.
The roommate, best friend, and I watched the latest episode of Goddess Bless You From Death. Shit's finally going down! Very exciting and gross and I'm loving it.
The roommate, best friend, and I watched the last episode of Me and Thee. What a fucking good show <3 I am kind of devastated it's over, but they have announced a special episode (or episodes? unclear), so hopefully sometime this year we'll get that.
The roommate, best friend, and I watched the latest episode of Melody of Secrets. It continues to be kind of incomprehensible in ways that I'm starting to worry are not going to come together in the end...
The roommate, best friend, and I watched the latest episode of Dare You to Death. I'm very intrigued by the mystery, but also definitely enjoying the JoongDunk of it all.
The roommate, best friend, and I finished 4 Minutes. That uhhh sure was a show. Very odd and I do not see how they're doing a sequel from here, but I did really enjoy JesBible.
The roommate, best friend, and I started watching Kidnap. A rewatch for the roommate and I and I'm loving it! This was one that really grew on me more afterwards, so it's very fun to see it again.

Listening

Little bit of T-pop here and there, but haven't had much time for music this week.
Caught up on some more Ouija Broads episodes.

Writing

I wrote one of my two overdue holiday card ficlets.

Learning

Had to return Pimsleur's Thai to the library (already back on hold), so nothing really this week.

This is my second post about As the Earth Dreams, though these are the first stories in the book. I missed the book club meeting when they were discussed, so I'm afraid you'll only be getting my thoughts on them.

I also read the introduction and learned that it offers a one-sentence synopsis for each story, so I guess I can use those when I can't come up with a better one and/or don't understand a story's plot.

"Ravenous, Called Iffy" by Chimedum Ohaegbu

( A masseuse attends her mother's fourth funeral, a prelude to her latest resurrection, only to encounter family she's never met. )

"The Hole in the Middle of the World" by Chinelo Onwualu

( In a dystopian future, a refugee sells her memories. )

"A Fair Assessment" by Terese Mason Pierre

( An antiques appraiser summons spirits to learn more about the objects, and encounters her ancestor. )

✓

kingstoken's 2026 Book Bingo: eBook/Audiobook

That's a Great Question, I'd Love to Tell You is a 2025 memoir by comedian/musician/online personality Elyse Myers. It's a collection of essays, free verse poetry, and lists that take a humorous but heartfelt look at formative and vulnerable moments in her life, with a retrospective understanding of the anxiety and undiagnosed neurodivergence that often shaped them.

Stories include a childhood fixation on a Magic 8 Ball, overthinking and missing the obvious during a teenage game of Seven Minutes in Heaven, college panic attacks, Parisian dates gone awry, beach encounters gone sour, and conquering the mysteries of gravel roads. Anyone familiar with Elyse Myers' work online knows she has a way of telling a story and getting a laugh while also not being afraid to be earnest. If you haven't seen her videos before, you can check her out on TikTok or on Youtube.

I don't listen to a ton of audiobooks, my main exception being memoirs that are read by their authors. That usually works out for me, but in this case I really wish I'd gone with the print book for three reasons:

1) It turns out the print edition is full of little illustrations and creative formatting that brings a lot to some of the pieces.

2) One of the things I enjoy about Myers is her more freeform and sometimes frenetic delivery, but this was a more sedate and traditional audiobook performance.

3) Related to #2, several stories triggered some secondhand embarrassment for me and having to listen to that be slowly relayed instead of being able to read faster during those was rough.

( An Excerpt )

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Current Mood: accomplished

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Current Mood: accomplished

letter tiles in columns drop into a lower grid to spell out words in a newspaper headline

In this daily puzzle game, the goal is to spell out the words in a newspaper headline by choosing letters to drop down from the columns above. The headline starts blank, so you have to figure it out based on possible English words, syntax, and context. (E.g. If there's a one-letter word and the possible letters you can drop are A, G, and X, well...) When you've filled in the headline you get to read a short news article from the cozy fantasy realm of Yliad, where arcane scribes study at rival magic schools. Each week's puzzles form a story arc, and the arcs gradually piece together the worldbuilding.

I saw this game linked in the Clues By Sam newsletter, and I've added it to my morning round of daily puzzles. I find it pretty easy, but word puzzles are definitely more in my wheelhouse than logic puzzles, and there's nothing wrong with a quick warm-up before your brain is fully in gear. The little stories are on the cutesy side, so, you know, don't expect epic tales of blood and sacrifice or anything. The narrative just adds some interest and flavor to your standard drop-quote puzzle. And it's queer-inclusive so that's a plus!

The Daily Spell is free to play in your browser. ✨

Snowflake Challenge: A mug of coffee or hot chocolate with a snowflake shaped gingerbread cookie perched on the rim sits nestled amidst a softly bunched blanket. A few dried orange slices sit next to it.

Challenge #9

Talk about your favorite tropes in media or transformative works.

Are there any trope I don't like? I'm not a fan of kid!fic (where the characters are children) or high school or university AUs or enemies-to-lovers/hate sex, but most of the rest of them are interesting.

I have read and/or written most of them.

I like genderswap. The first couple of years of writing fic I wrote nothing but genderswap BBC Sherlock.

I like supernatural AUs, werewolves, vampires, ghosts, tentacles, shapeshifting (especially wolves or dogs), animal hybrids.

I like Omegaverse, Coffee shop AUs, Detective/PI AUs. Sentinel 'verse.

There was only 1 bed. Trapped in an elevator or snowed in a cabin. Unexpected heat. Sex pollen. Hurt/comfort. Amnesia fic. Found family. Poly ships. Soulmates. Incest. Lingerie. Someone gets a puppy. Mpreg.

As a ficcer, I have come to appreciate having a friendship pairing which is as important/deep as the romantic pairing in the same fic. Also, I have a thing about, for a given sex scene, not handing out orgasms like party favors. Not everyone has to have one!

Snowflake Challenge: A flatlay of a snowflake shaped shortbread cake, a mug with coffee, and a string of holiday lights on top of a rustic napkin.

Challenge #9

Talk about your favorite tropes in media or transformative works. (Feel free to substitute in theme/motif/cliche if "trope" doesn't resonate with you.)

Honestly, trope doesn't entirely resonate. I can remember years ago, seeing something about tropes and just not relating to any of all that forced to share a bed/enemies to lovers/coffee shop AU stuff. But I do have a theme, which is alternate timelines. What if So and so never died? What if the villain made the obvious choice that the original writers seem to have somehow totally missed? What if Character X was the one to move from his cancelled spinoff to the main show? I have done them all.

The first series I ever saw to completion was Once Upon a Time, where Jafar was the one to move across from the Wonderland spinoff to the main show (imagine his lamp ending up in Gold's shop and Zelena accidentally letting him out). Another one was The Flash, where Eobard manipulated Nora into giving Barry the metahuman cure and the finale showed a dystopian 2049 that resulted from this (at the time I started that, I was convinced that was the route canon was going to take; to this day, I still don't get why the writers wasted time on Cicada rather than pursuing this route and just letting Eobard be the bad guy). I've saved Sun, Jin and Sayid on Lost several times over (and after a prompt in last year's three sentence ficathon, I was even tempted to expand on my attempt at Smokey McSmokeFace going back to the classical Roman era to get off the island while he was still human).

And yes, I have a few ongoing such works which I'm determined to finish. The School Spirits one where Mr Martin chooses to possess Emilio instead and the impact this has on Charley and Yuri is barely started (the upcoming new season may help with that), and I am determined I will push past my mental block on a) the Lost series where Sun joined the others in 1977 (I lost heart after the decision in canon to kill her off, which I still strongly disagree with 15 years on) and b) the Dark series where Ulrich successfully rescues Mikkel from 1986 (at this rate, I think I'm actually going to end up going down the Choose Your Own Adventure route, one where Ulrich and Mikkel get their happy ending and the minimum of characters are erased from existence, and one where Claudia gets hers.)

Watch on YouTube

Challenge #8

Talk about your creative process.

Ideas for fic or collages sometimes just come to me. Sometimes I get ideas from Youtube videos or something I read or the seasons or holidays. I suppose my creative process is 'parody until it's mine.' Meaning, I try to follow something (a collage by a Youtuber or a source AU like a film or novel or short story) and then usually somewhere between halfway and two-thirds into it, the collage, the fic, I stop paying attention to the guide (or whatever I am trying to mimic) and just keep going. It's like the training wheels fly off and I'm coasting on my own speed.

I did learn over the winter that I feel grumpy if I don't collage (or something else crafty) at least once a week. Earlier, I had regarded it a hobby I could take or leave but I think it's become more important to my equilibrium than that.

Also, creating for someone (gift, card, gift fic) is much more motivating than creating for myself.

Challenge #6

Top 10 Challenge. The category(ies) you choose are up to you. You can give top 10 Fics you read last year, the top 10 songs to create to, the to 10 guest stars on your favorite show, top 10 characters in your favorite book series, top 10... well, you get the idea.

10 happy times

1. Quiet mornings before my wife gets up when I can read, write and update my DW with Ella nearby.
2. Hammock time with Ella.
3. Browsing in a bookstore.
4. Cooking for my parents and/or wife.
5. When I'm in the midst of a solid piece of writing that is flowing.
6. Puttering around outside looking at trees and rocks.
7. Listening to music, discovering new-to-me music, talking to people about music.
8. Sending and receiving snail mail, whether it's Postcrossing or mail to/from people I know.
9. Figuring things out, making something new, having to work out how to put something together.
10. When you see something or hear something and it sparks an idea.

Challenge #7

LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.

I like my ability to be all in and focused in a conversation with a student, especially when it comes to their writing.

I like how I can chain together random things and make something beautiful.

I like my purple glasses.

Challenge #8

Talk about your creative process.

I keep copious notes on my phone and in commonplace books of raw material for writing. I collect stories from people, interesting words, bits of poetry, images, etc. When I have an idea for something, I page randomly through all of that and see what if anything sticks. Then I do an enormous amount of research (my favorite part of the process) and start a google doc with research notes and chunks of writing. Sometimes I do a sketch to help visualize the motion of the plot. When I wrote a crossover that involved House of Leaves, I sketched the house I was using as my setting so I could keep the physical space in front of me.

Then I write from both ends and the middle in pieces that are gradually stitched together. I'm not great at plots; I let the imagery and characters do the heavy lifting.

Once I have a draft, I rewrite it obsessively until I'm happy with it.

( pics )

I also generally carry sticky notes and have a lot of things jotted on those. I've been keeping commonplace books since middle school (they were spirals back then), so I have a lot of material. Honestly, I never have used most of it directly in my writing, but I feel like the ideas I have tried out in those pages are like training for when I do write a completed pieces. And sometimes I just enjoy writing short pieces that no one else will ever see, just for me.

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Snowflake Challenge: A warmly light quaint street of shops at night with heavy snow falling.

Challenge #5: Wish List
In your own space, create a list of at least three things you'd love to receive, a wishlist of sorts.

One of my favorite challenges! Which doesn't mean it's not somewhat difficult, but I do like thinking about what kinds of things I really want to ask for and also looking at other people's lists.

More fanworks for Thundercloud Rainstorm. I watched this a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it, but I've been sad to see there are less than 10 fics! I'd love to see more fics, but also art and edits and meta and anything else.

Tarot, oracle, playing card, rune, or other magical reading. I do tarot readings for myself occasionally, but I rarely have the chance to have a reading done by someone else! If you do readings that are a little less than standard, whether that's in medium or interpretation or whatever, I'd especially love one.

Artwork of my D&D characters. I play in a few different campaigns at the moment, and I'd love to have artwork of my characters! Under the cut I have descriptions and reference pictures.

( Read more... )

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indybaggins

August 2025

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thatjustwontbreak - Friday Five (Hair!)
walgesang - Snowflake Challenge #5: Wish list
stonepicnicking_okapi - Poet's Corner: We were emergencies by Buddy Wakefield
delphi - FIC: Safe Harbour (Our Flag Means Death, Archie/Fang/Frenchie/Izzy/Jim)
stonepicnicking_okapi - Word: Quiddity
reeby10 - Wednesday What I'm...
pauraque - As the Earth Dreams, ed. Terese Mason Pierre (2025) [part 2]
delphi - What I'm Reading: That's a Great Question, I'd Love to Tell You by Elyse Myers (2025)
walgesang - Snowflake Challenge #4: Rec the contents of your last page
walgesang - Snowflake Challenge #3 - Write a letter to fandom
pauraque - The Daily Spell (2025)
stonepicnicking_okapi - Snowflake Challenge #9
tellshannon815 - (no subject)
stonepicnicking_okapi - Music Monday: Samurai's Day off (chill hop! ha!)
stonepicnicking_okapi - Snowflake Challenge #8
used_songs - Snowflake Challenge #6
used_songs - Snowflake Challenge #7
used_songs - Snowflake Challenge #8
delphi - Six Sentence Sunday
reeby10 - Fandom Snowflake Challenge #5

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