Entry tags:

Fic Rec: a queen for all seasons by Selkit (Midsommar, gen)

a queen for all seasons by
Selkit
Word Count: 4,212
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Midsommar (2019)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Dani Ardor, Hanna (Midsommar), Siv (Midsommar)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Misses Clause Challenge, Yuletide 2021, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Worldbuilding
Summary:

In her dreams, dark smudges crowd the edges of the world. One looms larger than the rest, twisting into impossible shapes, morphing into a figure with many faces, all of them howling with rage.
When she jolts awake, the dream-figure lingers. She tries to ignore it. She’s no stranger to nightmares. Her whole life has been one ever since her family’s deaths.
But things are different now. This is a new life. A new family.
Right?

━━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━━

I love seeing what happens with Dani after the events of Midsommar, and this is such a good look at the continued ritual of being the May Queen! I am a ho for ritual after all, but especially building off of the existing worldbuilding in such a believable way. I really enjoyed seeing more of Dani interacting with the other women of the Hårga as she learns to be part of her new family and culture. Plus the parts with Maja’s (and Christian’s) daughter were just perfect.

The ADHD lifetime experience is impulsively booking travel on your phone at 4am and immediately&hell

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787542733488340992

The ADHD lifetime experience is impulsively booking travel on your phone at 4am and immediately opening a spreadsheet to plan it out in granular detail.

I have enough air miles for a free ticket from Chicago to Rome and return from Amsterdam to Chicago. So the plan currently is to fly to Rome in early December, spend five days going to museums and attending holiday markets and speaking offensively bad Italian, fly to Helsinki and the same day catch the overnight train to Rovaniemi, high-five Santa and cross the arctic circle, fly to Amsterdam, and fuckin FISTFIGHT THE RIJKSMUSEUM.

That’s a joke. The Rijksmuseum and I are in a feud but I am prepared to make peace. My only demand is a stroopwaffel.

Anyway from there I will fly home to Chicago.

So far I’ve booked mostly refundable things – an apartment in Rome, an overnight in a studio with a private sauna in Rovaniemi, and a canal houseboat in Amsterdam. It’s shocking how reasonable it all is, relatively speaking; the houseboat was one of the cheaper options and the sauna studio is outside the city center so it was cheaper than most others.

*cracks knuckles* time to Plan. The last trip to Europe was The Cheese Tour for reasons having actually very little to do with cheese. I think I will call this one Highway To Helsinki. Which is ironic because of the ten days I’m traveling, I will spend less than six hours actually in Helsinki.

I’m a little bummed that AS Roma will be playing an away game while I’m in Rome, but my lodgings in Rome are in Testaccio, which is a Roma stronghold, and I’ve been informed of exactly which bar I should go to in order to be amongst la mia famiglia del calcio.

I’ve got lists on lists already, but I welcome suggestions for weird fun things to do in Rome, Amsterdam, or Helsinki.

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787542733488340992

Phoebe

I got a call a few days ago that my friend Phoebe needed a hand-truck, did I have one. I do, or at least M does. Phoebe and her daughter (Luna) are moving out of a two bedroom apartment. Luna is moving to Humboldt State University, into a dorm room. Phoebe is moving to Oakland (CA) into a studio apartment, so there is a lot of sorting out of stuff and getting rid of things. Phoebe is not the kind of person who is comfortable loading a truck so she asked if I could come down today. Donald and I went down this morning. Luna was good help. We talked about weight distribution and keeping fragile things safe I packed things very tightly and showed Luna how to attach and work a ratchet strap. We put two of them on the load. I don't really think both were absolutely necessary, but they will keep things together a bit better. The whole thing only took about an hour and a half. Phoebe was happy and Luna very grateful that she didn't have to do most of it by herself.

The garden is starting, slowly to produce summer's abundance. We have had the first two yellow summer squash. Various cucumbers have set fruit, but nothing is even near harvest size. That is because I got most things planted so late. I've picked the first two larger tomatoes, Tim's Black Ruffles {Edit: I'm not at all convinced that this tomato is actual Black Ruffles, looks too smooth. It was a pack of complimentary seed so who knows}. The plant is in a 5 gallon bucket. Cherry tomatoes have started to produce. The first flowers are visible on Moon & Stars watermelon, though nothing has set yet.

Did a little cleanup in the shop today. There is a steady stream of stuff coming from SF to Ukiah that needs to be put away -- somewhere.

this is incredibly charming and reminds me of an old new yorker cartoon:

https://bomberqueen17.tumblr.com/post/787522626087206912

hoot-alex:

this is incredibly charming and reminds me of an old new yorker cartoon:

“Country Noises,” The New Yorker, February 12, 1979 - Saul Steinberg Foundation

https://bomberqueen17.tumblr.com/post/787522626087206912

Potential Client: Why should I pay for this? What’s the difference between your services and t

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787525114199719936

lawschoolruinedme:

Potential Client: Why should I pay for this? What’s the difference between your services and these online AI tools?
Me, a Lawyer with ~10 Years Experience: First of all, my hallucinations are managed by medication

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787525114199719936

Last night I went to bed with the camera still on the tripod and then started to feel guilty for&hel

Posted by vinceaddams

https://vincentbriggs.tumblr.com/post/787533293611532288

vincentbriggs:

I made a little bed for my camera. I use it so frequently that it would be annoying to keep it in the camera bag, and I don’t like setting it down on hard surfaces with the quick release plate always on it. Most of the time when it’s not on a tripod it’s either sitting on top of my ironing board or my sketchbook, but now it finally has a designated place to sit.
The bottom is the back cover from an old picture book about cats, the walls are 2 layers of corrugated cardboard with a layer of thinner card on either side to smooth it out, and the padded part is cotton batting scraps on another piece of thin cardboard with fabric around it. I used 2 different cotton fabrics and some trim from my stash (all from the thrift store originally) and used bookbinding glue for some bits and wood glue for others. It’s 2 rows of the same trim, I just took the beads off the top one.
I figured I’d make it to match the recently painted filing cabinet, since that’s the most sensible place in the room to keep it.
I wish I’d made the inside wall coverings just a bit higher so there wasn’t a gap in between them and the second row of trim. And the top edge is a little bumpy, but overall I’m mostly happy with how it turned out.
Normally I’d have glued a piece of stiff paper or felt to the bottom but I didn’t want to cover up the kitties.

Last night I went to bed with the camera still on the tripod and then started to feel guilty for leaving it there, especially on the first night of its having a bed. So I got up again and tucked it in nicely with the lens cap on and the screen facing inwards.

https://vincentbriggs.tumblr.com/post/787533293611532288

Entry tags:

work

I'd rather be the one giving the speech than the paragraph in the brochure about it

I have to write a bio to advertise a keynote speech I've agreed to deliver later in the summer.

I'm finding that coming up with more than one sentence to describe myself/my job is probably a lot harder than the speech will be itself!

Entry tags:

Interview with DeWanda Wise

For Murderbot Day, a great interview with DeWanda Wise, about playing NavigationBot in The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon:

https://www.nexuspointnews.com/post/interview-dewanda-wise

I had worked with Paul on Fatherhood. He literally texted me and was like, "do you want to play a murderous robot?"

Entry tags:

travel

Girls weekend: ships and skating

Uni buddy R and I made it to Portsmouth last night, despite the best efforts of signal failures to scare us off. (Half the trains were showing as cancelled around 3pm; by the time we actually got to Cambridge station at 5pm things were looking better; by the time our train got to Finsbury Park it looked like service was nearly restored and we continued to change at Three Bridges as originally planned.)

I was working up until about 4pm, with a couple of colleagues very amused that a) I didn't start packing until a gap between meetings at 2pm, and b) my "girls weekend" consists of naval museums and ice skating.

We had an easy walk to our hotel in the midsummer twilight, and settled in to our respective rooms. I'm doing admin until R texts me she's ready for breakfast. And then: the Mary Rose! (who else has formative childhood memories of watching it being raised?)

Hello, Gustave.

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787455139209428992

Hello, Gustave.

Just got out of the Caillebotte exhibit that has finally arrived at the Art Institute. It’s huge and very evocative; extremely well done. It’s almost too much to take in on a single visit. But I got to meet some new (to me) works and say hello to some old friends, and welcome some of them home, so I’m satisfied…although if they put a bench in front of The Floor Scrapers I might never leave.

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787455139209428992

Dearborn can’t believe it has come to this. Reblog if you, too, can’t believe it has com

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787452134428983296

copperbadge:

Dearborn can’t believe it has come to this. Reblog if you, too, can’t believe it has come to this.

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787452134428983296

I made a little bed for my camera. I use it so frequently that it would be annoying to keep it in&he

Posted by vinceaddams

https://vincentbriggs.tumblr.com/post/787448594320031744

I made a little bed for my camera. I use it so frequently that it would be annoying to keep it in the camera bag, and I don’t like setting it down on hard surfaces with the quick release plate always on it. Most of the time when it’s not on a tripod it’s either sitting on top of my ironing board or my sketchbook, but now it finally has a designated place to sit.

The bottom is the back cover from an old picture book about cats, the walls are 2 layers of corrugated cardboard with a layer of thinner card on either side to smooth it out, and the padded part is cotton batting scraps on another piece of thin cardboard with fabric around it. I used 2 different cotton fabrics and some trim from my stash (all from the thrift store originally) and used bookbinding glue for some bits and wood glue for others. It’s 2 rows of the same trim, I just took the beads off the top one.
I figured I’d make it to match the recently painted filing cabinet, since that’s the most sensible place in the room to keep it.

I wish I’d made the inside wall coverings just a bit higher so there wasn’t a gap in between them and the second row of trim. And the top edge is a little bumpy, but overall I’m mostly happy with how it turned out.

Normally I’d have glued a piece of stiff paper or felt to the bottom but I didn’t want to cover up the kitties.

https://vincentbriggs.tumblr.com/post/787448594320031744

Entry tags:

list

Here's some nonsense

I refuse to talk about work again, and nothing else happens to me lately, but luckily here is a giant meme from used_songs:

( 80 questions! )

The Chicken Salad War: Epilogue

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787435382479405056

Here is the final chapter of The Chicken Salad War! As with my previous books, I’m making a draft of the novel available for public commentary, so that you all can help make it awesome. Constructive criticism is welcome! Tell me what you liked, what you didn’t, where my typos are.

I’m way behind on comments but this weekend I will get to go through them all. There’s great feedback coming in and a few spirited discussions, and I love that!

Epilogue At AO3

Epilogue at Google Docs

And as usual here’s a treat now that we’ve finished – the short story

International Diplomacy (And Pride Pins)

about what Michaelis, Jes, Noah, Ephraim, and Joan got up to while visiting Galia for Pride.

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787435382479405056

I don’t know if you like Bluesky; I think you said you didn’t like Twitter and I don’t remember if t

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787434524284993536

Oh man that sounds AMAZING. I'll have to keep an eye out for it, even though it sounds like it'll be a minute before it's out. Maybe I'll have a peep at Lavin's previous books to see what they're all about.

I was a hater of Twitter since long before the right got a real beachhead. I think it was lost when my LJ was hacked but years ago, right when it started, I wrote an essay about not liking the way it flattened discourse and turned talk into sound bites. Real red ball of apollo stuff. Of course I can't find it now, but perhaps that's just as well, smug is rarely a good look on me.

I just...never found any use for it other than 1. getting the attention of customer service for companies that wouldn't respond any other way and 2. complaining, in a way that made me not like myself much. Some people are SO good at that short format, like it's not that you can't be both intelligent and entertaining in 160 characters, but I just couldn't. I need more room to breathe.

And also there were the Nazis, eventually.

I'm trying to be better with bluesky, but I mostly use it for yelling trivia at podcasters.

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787434524284993536

hmm no wikipedia i didn’t know that. i mean that’s pretty high praise tho how impressive

https://bomberqueen17.tumblr.com/post/787432004976345088

archouai:

eatelonmusk-deactivated20231217:
hmm no wikipedia i didn’t know that. i mean that’s pretty high praise tho how impressive could it beOH GODDAMNIT IT’S THE COOLEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE
Watch on YouTube
[ID: screenshot of a Wikipedia factoid that reads, “Did you know that Script Ohio has been called one of the most impressive examples of American folk art in existence?”
The video shows the Ohio State University Marching Band performing its traditional Script Ohio routine, in which the drum major leads the band single-file to form an enormous cursive Ohio on the field. The crossovers require absolute precision timing. It is a FEAT. At the end, the drum major leads out a sousaphone player, who kind of high-kicks his way to dot the I. (Wikipedia calls it a “bounding goose-step.”) He gives a sweeping bow to each side of the stadium. The band then sings “Buckeye Battle Cry” while accompanied only by the sousaphone. Here’s the Wikipedia article, which has a much better description than mine. ]

https://bomberqueen17.tumblr.com/post/787432004976345088

I’ve been thinking about looking around for a new job. Much as I love my job, I’d like t

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787424425024864256

I’ve been thinking about looking around for a new job. Much as I love my job, I’d like to move into the private sector and earn a little more money. I’m not hurting, but I could be much more comfortable. And it kind of stalled out, I was struggling to get motivated, and I wasn’t sure why; part of it was for sure that it’s hard to find a private sector job with my somewhat niche skills and experience, but I’ve done more with less before.

But today I was researching employee philanthropy initiatives at a couple of companies – some companies match donations, some give paid time off specifically for volunteering, some offer donations to a nonprofit if a staff member volunteers there for X amount of time. And the philanthropy benefits page of one company linked to their “Here are all the benefits we offer” pamphlet PDF, like health insurance, life insurance, 401K plans, etc.

And just scrolling through it, remembering all the times I’d been given something like it at a new job, just gave me this huge whack of anxiety. I remembered that feeling of anxious excitement from having a new job, not knowing what it would be like yet, but only the anxiety came back so viscerally. Because I don’t like changing jobs, I don’t like the uncertainty and having to figure out office politics and social situations all over again. And the last time I changed jobs I only did it because I was working in such a hellishly abusive environment that anything else would be better. It worked out great, but it was an act of desperation to begin with.

So, on the one hand, maybe it’s not time to change jobs. Money isn’t everything. But on the other, money is a lot, and maybe it’s time to sit with that fear a little and figure out how to get round it so I can actually get on with the task of sourcing a bigger paycheck.

https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787424425024864256

Entry tags:

wednesday what i'm

Wednesday What I'm...

On Thursday, whoops.

Reading

Still reading Lirael by Garth Nix, but I'm super close to the end now.
Also still reading New World Witchery by Cory Thomas Hutcheson. It feels a bit like I'm reading a textbook, but in a good way. I feel like I'm learning a lot! And getting some fic inspiration, but that's beside the point lol
Ficwise, I'm still in Gradence land. Currently rereading the Picture Book series by dontyoudarestiles and pineapplegraveyard . Such a good fic, especially since I'm usually extremely not into infidelity.

Watching

The roommate and I finished The Following! Love this show so much and I remain forever disappointed it didn't get a fourth season and it never got very popular in fandom spaces. I really should write more fic for it, like my version of what would happen in the next season we never got. Hmm.
The roommate and I watched Midsommar in celebration of... well, midsummer. This was a rewatch for me, but she'd never seen it before, so that was very fun. Still a wonderfully beautiful and upsetting movie <3
AEW as usual. They're starting to announce more of the All In card, which is very exciting since I'll be there in person.

Listening

Nothing.

Writing

For my goal of writing a fic for every book I read this year, I wrote a fic for Wolf Queen by Tanith Lee and one for Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasch.
Also wrote a couple of poems. The Gradence fics I've been reading have me all in my feels, and it shows in what I'm writing lol

Entry tags:

Can you just send thoughts?

So DLB (my ongoing dressage clinician of eight years whose compassionate and thoughtful guidance has led us to... the depths of dressage skill that we currently exhibit) is in the hospital with serious pneumonia and she's been intubated. This ain't great. She's, I guess, some form of immuno-fucked-up because of Lyme Disease, so any time she gets sick it's worse than for the average person. So yeah, definitely not great and she's been in hospital for four weeks and she's gotta be over sixty years old. None of that bodes well.

Look. Intubation is a definitely not great thing for someone with a respiratory illness. If the medical folks want to intubate you, your O2 sat is probably shit. To be intubated, you have to be sedated, which further depresses your breathing and stuff. You are FOR REAL sick if you're intubated for a pneumonia thing. (I am not a doctor or a person in the medical field. This is just my take based on what I remember of covid era stuff.)

( Read more? Warning, it is all about me, as usual. )

Entry tags:

books: fantasy

Wednesday reading

One book finished in the past fortnight: Aftermarket Afterlife, by Seanan McGuire, the 14th volume in her InCryptid series of fantasy novels. I was disappointed by this one: there were too many ghosts and too few cryptids, and the ending seemed abrupt, even given that this is number 14 in a loose series. I'm not a big fan of ghosts, and the book is narrated by Aunt Mary, the Price family's ghost babysitter. The ebook also contains "Excerpt from Mourner's Waltz," about a bit of Verity's life, as the superintendent and only human resident of a Manhattan apartment building. The novel and short story both contain massive spoilers for at least the two previous books in the series.

I gave up on Twelve Trees (mentioned in the previous post) because the printing was hard on my eyes, and since it's a hardcover rather than an ebook, I can't change the font or print size, and I have to take it back to the library.