dmarley | Reading

james

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prisca posting in

dw_community_promo

Fandom Empire's last challenge of this year is:

August 27 - September 10: Sign-up
September 7 - December 7: Challenge open
December 8 - December 14: Final scores

At the end of the challenge, there will be banner/badges for everyone and 50 DW points for three randomly chosen regular (2 missed weeks maximum) participants.

Check out the information post here.

I would be glad to have you around. If you are interested, don't hesitate to sign up here.

shmaylor posting in

pod_together

"Your body or mine?" [text, audio] (The Magicians (TV))
written by

OfTheDirewolves, performed by

Koschei_B
Summary: Eliot Waugh got kicked out of Brakebills right after coming back from South which means he wasn't there to greet one Quentin Coldwater.
Brakebills Student Quentin Coldwater meets Hedge Witch Eliot Waugh and somehow that makes all the difference

The Lady's Favor (Check Please! (Webcomic))
written by

Denois, performed by

MistbornHero
Summary: Working at least three jobs at the faire doesn't leave a lot of time in Will's schedule, but it's pretty rewarding. Especially when he meets the lovely and serious Lady Isabella and is granted her favor before his job as a tournament knight.
Derek only has certain times that he can manage to flirt as a prince of the faire, but he's determined to make it work this time by giving Sir William a special favor before the tournament. Obviously, his plan is flawless and his flirtations will finally work.

The Nomadic Tea Shop (Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartoon 2005))
written by

Burdenedwithpointlesspurpose, performed by

thunder_of_dragons
Summary: Spending some downtime with Aang, who is very happy to talk about tea with his Uncle, Zuko reflects a bit on how his life has turned out. Sure, it sounds boring and mundane, traveling around the world selling tea, but it’s a simplicity he greatly enjoys. Quite the contrast to being the sitting Fire Lord… and the Avatar’s soulmate. Luckily, there is tea for that, that they can happily share.

and the first time that you kissed me i drank dry the river lethe (Good Omens (TV))
written by

shadoweddepths, performed by

Elle_dubs
Summary: Aziraphale turns his head at just the right moment, just the right angle – and Crawley leans in with just the right intention – that what would have been a friendly peck on the cheek, a perfectly respectable human custom of farewell, turns into –
Into a kiss.
A real, honest-to-God kiss.
It’s –
Warm.
He discovers that Crawley’s lips are warm and soft and achingly gentle. That he takes a sharp breath when he’s caught by surprise, a puff of air that Aziraphale can feel against his skin. That he leans into the contact, into that brief, tantalizing touch, before his whole body stiffens and he pulls away.
five times Aziraphale and Crowley kiss, and the one time it matters

You're Just a Chance I Take to Keep on Dreaming (All For The Game - Nora Sakavic)
written by

Opalsong, performed by

flowerparrish,

mistbornhero,

opalsong, and Sophie
Summary: Jean was gorgeous on his knees. Jeremy had to keep it together and not dissolve into a puddle of gay desire as he taught his ex-Raven switch!teammate that kneeling didn't require pain and came with the promise of boundaries and respect. He didn't expect for Jean to eventually turn the tables on him and show him that Jeremy wasn't really a brat. Just a very gay sub who also needed respect during a scene.

Late shift [text, audio] (Naruto (Anime & Manga))
written by

Big_bunbun, performed by

AppleSapling
Summary: Iruka gets a visitor on his late night shift.

better days (are coming) (山河令 | Word of Honor (TV 2021))
written by

coffee_and_cardamom, performed by

Gavilan
Summary: Grief, Wen Kexing, has discovered, is a funny thing. Oftentimes, it doesn’t look that different from joy. It creeps up on you, quiet and sneaky as an assassin of the Window of Heaven, and then stays there, lying in wait until you are at your most vulnerable. One moment, you’re doing fine, and the next you’re curled up, because there is glass in your throat and you can’t breathe.
That is the thing about turning your grief into revenge. What do you do when it’s over? When you’ve killed them all, and the only person left standing is you?
Or: Wen Kexing, and Zhou Zishu through the years.

Stuck in the Middle With You (Supernatural (TV 2005))
written by

darali_starscream,

jinkieswouldyoulookatthis, and

Sam_Is_My_Safe_Word, performed by

talltalesandbedtimestories
Summary: Sam and Dean have been told, time and time again, that they argue like an old married couple. It used to bother them. But when you spend your life with someone, regardless of who that someone is, you’re bound to have disagreements about things like money—how you get it and what you spend it on. Here are three little moments over the years when money was an issue and how priorities change when you learn to accept and appreciate what you’ve got.

A Picnic in the Arboretum (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
written by

RisalSoran, performed by

BardicRavenReads
Summary: Garak has finished his work for the day; his feline companion, Jade, has made it clear that she does not want him to begin the next day's work; and Julian has stopped by with a most ... interesting ... suggestion: that the two of them participate in the rather ridiculous human tradition of packing food merely to eat it out-of-doors while sitting on the floor. Yet perhaps bringing food to eat while one happens to be out-of-doors for the purpose of participating in another activity - such as walking through a garden and caring for its plants - even if it were someone silly to do while the 'outdoor' location is merely a simulation of such a location - may not be such a silly idea, after all ... and even it is, participating in such an activity because one's ... dear Doctor wishes to do so may not be such a bad idea at all.

The Apple of Knowledge (Batman (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Batman - All Media Types)
written by

Dokuhan, performed by

NotBatman52
Summary: Ra's made Tim an offer he couldn't refuse, and it backfired on him as expected.
It's even worse when the family finds out.

Smoke and Mirrors (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling)
written by

cardoon, performed by

mangotart_reads
Summary: The Mirror of Erised is a powerful tool, and Dumbledore wields it deftly, using the haunting image of Lily's eyes to guilt Severus first into forgiving, and then befriending, Lily's son.
But soon, that very same mirror may drive Snape and Harry apart. When it appears in an unused classroom, both Snape and Harry are determined to have it to themselves. But who will win that argument -- who has a stronger claim to Lily's gaze?
And will their relationship survive the conflict?

Clorox as a Love Language (방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS)
written by

strangecobwebs, performed by

celli
Summary: Hoseok tossed his bag on the floor and put his (empty, broken) travel mug on his desk. He carefully pulled off his dripping wet coat so he didn't splatter raindrops all over his monitors and desk, and hung it on the hook on the back wall of his cube. Once that was done, he stood directly in front of his chair (if this chair rolled out from under him during his little fit, he might actually cry) and dropped down into it with an audible, "Hmph," and a pout.
Yoongi was picking up something from the printer that sat right outside Hoseok’s cube and looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "Everything okay?" he asked.
Hoseok groaned and dropped his head onto his desk. "No, everything sucks today," he whined.

james

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

klb posting in

pod_together

System Hack (The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells, 나 혼자만 레벨업 | Solo Leveling (Cartoon))
starting text written by

Opalsong, with pensieve podfics by

CarCrash_Pods,

GodOfLaundryBaskets,

ChaosKiro,

bluedreaming,

litra, and

Tipsy_Kitty
Summary: The only good thing about the new universe I found myself in was that it had all new media. It definitely didn't make up for the fact that this universe's humans were even weirder than usual. They had powers. Fully magical powers. Like something out of a historical high fantasy serial. I've seen a human shoot fire out of their hands. And then there were the dungeons, wormholes to other dimensions with monsters. Physics decided to power down apparently.
I'd appeared next to the epitome of fluffy and prone to throwing themself into danger, which I knew because the human was absolutely covered in blood. I was also given false hope for the technological level of this new world because this human had a system of some kind constantly pinging them when they were clearly unconscious. I didn't know what kind of system it was. At the time I had no idea that it was a manipulative game system.
I still don't know exactly why or how I got here but I'm pretty sure that this System made it happen.

Steve Harrington Patron Saint of Baby Nerds (Stranger Things (TV 2016))
written by

Vamprav, performed by

steddiestories
Summary: Eddie gets accosted by Steve Harrington when he goes to get ice cream on a hot summer day. Things kind of escalate from there.

Freedom lived on the ninth deep space station (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
written by

Lavendelhummel, performed by

horchatapods
Summary: Kira Nerys, Jadzia Dax and Julian Bashir feel and think about freedom at various points of their lives. What does that mean and how can one feel it?

chemical reaction (Red White & Royal Blue (2023))
written by

masked_madness, performed by

KitKaos
Summary: He finally put the phone down.
Dumbest. Fucking. Idea. Ever.
Why the fuck had he downloaded that stupid app again?
Ah, yeah. Of course: Nora.
He should not forget to thank her for the stress and the headaches and the— the— everythi—
His phone buzzed, and he grabbed it with much more speed than he would ever admit to.
Captain.Wentworth: That, my dear, entirely depends on how good you are at wagging your tail.
Alex blinked, once, twice— then burst out laughing.
Okay, maybe not the dumbest idea ever.

for reasons wretched and divine (魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù)
written by

iicaru2, performed by

Wonderlandian_Geek
Summary:

“For the love of—” The man who looks an awful lot like Jin Ling throws his hands in the air in a gesture of frustration. “I swear, every time something goes wrong nowadays, it’s Jingyi’s fucking fault, I’m gonna strangle that little—”
“A-Ling,” The man who greatly resembles Lan Sizhui says mildly, one hand hovering over the other’s shoulder, “you can kill Jingyi later. We have to find a way back to our time first.”
Lan Jingyi, personally, would like to know why two grown-up versions of his friends are standing in front of him, and how the hell it’s all his fault.

(Or: The time travel incident, in which Lan Jingyi learns much more about his friends than he ever needed or wanted to know. Namely, that they’re just as bad as Hanguang-jun and Wei-qianbei— no, worse. Definitely worse.)

Painted Pawn (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling)
written by

cardoon, performed by

SerenaEW and

mangotart_reads
Summary: As far as Harry is concerned, Voldemort's death should've resolved everything. But there's a lot of strangeness still afoot -- and it isn't the Death Eaters. It's McGonagall. It's Dumbledore's estate making mysterious payments to unknown persons. The threat is gone, but the beehive is still buzzing. Why?
Harry goes to Snape's portrait for answers, and Snape is more than willing to give him a peek into Pandora's box.

acceptable passes (All For The Game - Nora Sakavic)
written by

travvymybeloved, performed by

boywonder
Summary: Meeting Kevin and learning he had no clue who his soulmate was was a reprieve. Kevin cared far too much about exy and history class to prattle on about whoever ‘Neil Josten’ was. His soulmate tattoo ran along one of his left ribs, and sometimes when he was panicking, he would clutch the spot as if it were burning. Or, maybe, as if he was protecting it. He had let Andrew touch it, the one time Andrew had cared enough to ask. It was flat to the skin, no raised ink like a real tattoo, and there was no special temperature or texture or anything of interest. It was just skin, like the birthmark on Andrew’s shoulder blade or the moles dotting Nicky’s skin. The shiny curls of scar tissue that curled around Kevin’s hand were more interesting to explore.
The first time Kevin came to him, holding a file for a high school exy player with the name ‘Josten’ written in sharp capitals across the top, Andrew knew he was standing on the ledge of a cliff with Kevin offering to push him off.

Once Upon A Question Asked (One Piece (Anime & Manga))
written by

Scarletsorceress, performed by

Stereden
Summary: In the beginning, there was a person.
A very unfairly pretty person, but a person none the less. But then, as all good tales include, a child got curious.
Curious enough to follow this person on a rooftop, but that’s besides the point! The point is; a curious child asked a question. And now, that question has been answered.

a day in a life of an artefact (The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells, The Magnus Archives (Podcast))
written by

Koschei_B, performed by

Rosemarycat5
Summary: SecUnits watch their clients. That's the point.

Speedrunning Sibling Bonding (Batman - All Media Types)
written by

BookGirlFan, performed by

BubblesKat
Summary: Bruce Wayne has a completely normal day. Damian's day is anything but normal.

The Combine is Coming [text, audio] (Sunrise On The Reaping - Suzanne Collins)
written by

BurdenedWithPointlessPurpose, performed by

2Nienna2
Summary: Chicory is mystified by Lou Lou. She doesn’t know how to absorb the new information, that this little girl is likely one of her own. District Eleven, through and through with the fondness she remembers their home through an unknown amount of torture. It’s an honor she can’t seem to shake, along with the hope that someone with heart makes it out of the arena.

someone to match your steps (一拍即合) (天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tiān Guān Cì Fú - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù)
written by

insane_falcon, performed by

MathematicalSparkles
Summary: Hua Cheng sneaks into a masquerade party to dance with Xie Lian.

Log: Reports of an Object in Two Different Perspectives (Stargate SG-1)
written by

prueturner, performed by

Cait_does_Podfics and

wjgravity
Summary: After making contact with a potential ally, the members of SG-1 must figure out the purpose of an unknown object.

resonant

I start my new job tomorrow! My brain is a hive of bees.

I've been out of work since I was laid off in July 2024. It would have been really inconvenient to be working for a lot of that time, as I was helping my brother see our mother through her decline and death from dementia and also having some serious health issues of my own. (And Mom left me some money, which allowed me to say "I'm too stressed to job-hunt" and then not job-hunt, a rare luxury that I'm very grateful for.)

But I have to admit I've also been bored and restless and lonely. It will be nice to have co-workers, and tasks, and a paycheck again.

On the other hand, it's been thirteen months since I consistently had to be any place in particular in the morning. And the cat is going to be sad.

shmaylor posting in

pod_together

A Deed Without A Name (The Locked Tomb Series | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir, Sleep No More - Punchdrunk)
written by

AirgiodSLV,

kitkat50311, and

minnabird, performed by

AirgiodSLV,

CompassRose,

elle-ja-bell,

epaulettes,

kitkat50311,

mahons-ondine,

minnabird, and

sisi_rambles
Summary:
“Nigella is gone.”
The words hit you hard in your chest as you try to get your bearings. You’re in the atrium of a large house. The water is softly burbling in the fountain. And Nigella is gone.

How now, you secret, black, and midnight ~~hags~~ Saints? What is ’t you do?

Stephen (The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner)
written by

Lalaith_Quetzalli, performed by

froggyfun365
Summary: The war is finally over, WCKD has lost. The time has come for the survivors to move on, for the world to be rebuilt. But for that to be possible, first everyone involved with WCKD must be made to pay for their crimes. For all those they kidnapped, hurt, tortured, all the lives they ruined, that they took. Like that of the young man who only ever wanted to do what’s right, even if he didn’t really know how…

The Piper and the Rat-Speaker (The Saint of Steel - T. Kingfisher)
written by

MimiHylea, performed by

edible_chemistry
Summary: A tale of greed, of wondrous children, and of helpful rats uniting helpful people.

Hardware Store (Stranger Things (TV 2016))
written by

grovestep, performed by

Ceewelsh
Summary: In which Robin Buckley finds herself clueless in a hardware store, until Nancy Wheeler comes to the rescue.

The days float through my eyes (But still the days seem the same) (Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types)
written by

little_dumpling, performed by

Kittona
Summary: Anakin meets Padme and falls in love… only, she’s a horse.

detective nona and the proper way to ask questions (The Locked Tomb Series | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir)
written by

hopelessgemini, performed by

wilfriede0815
Summary: nona closes her eyes and burrows back into the pillow, and this is the moment that camilla chooses to come back into the bedroom. she curls her fingers around the duvet in the vain hope that it won’t be pulled off. she is, of course, forced to suffer for her naivety.
“good morning,” cam says, a little brusquely.
“mmmgh,” nona says. cam pats her consolingly on the shoulder.
“come on, you can nap all the way through first period. let’s get you dressed.”

or, nona and the family, mysteries, and a lesson in asking questions first, panicking later.

answer my call (and i'll set you free) (陈情令 | The Untamed (TV))
written by

coffee_and_cardamom, performed by

Gavilan
Summary: Three women that Lan Wangji summons with his Inquiry, and the one man who refuses to show up.

it's what you do when you love someone [text, audio] (Merlin (TV))
written by

withhardshipease, performed by

AppleSapling,

BardicRavenReads,

CarCrash_Pods,

Flowerparrish,

lilolilyrae,

Nymphie_Wolf,

pass_the_salt,

pezzax_multivoice,

ReformedTsunderePodfics,

robinfaipods, and

septemberbells
Summary: an epistolary retelling of merlin, where fate is a touch kinder than it once was.
or: merlin writes letters to will, hunith gives morgana a much-needed haircut, and they all share custody of aithusa.

What Are You, Dean Winchester? (Supernatural (TV 2005))
written by

Masoena, performed by

Tipsy_Kitty
Summary: Dean is kidnapped right out from under Sam’s nose while they’re having a few drinks to celebrate a successfully completed hunt in Louisiana. He’s not missing for long, though, as the vampire captures Sam also, hopeful that he’d taste as good as Dean. Sam swiftly becomes the vampire’s pet. Dean is immune to the vampire’s glamor; he can’t escape because he’s kept restrained by none other than Sam, brainwashed to do so. A situation without hope until one detail gives Dean the leverage he needs.

behind the curtain [text, audio] (Criminal Minds (US TV))
written by

unitaryexectheory, performed by

frozen_ivy_trellis
Summary:

Rent Emergency Omega (Batman - All Media Types)
written by

Sivan325, performed by

Ravin
Summary: Dick should have thought twice before lying to his family and telling everyone he had an omega.
He really hoped they wouldn't find out he hired an omega for the Gala.

Entry #47 (Life Series | 3rd Life SMP Series)
written by

travvymybeloved, performed by

CrimsonMoonn,

travvymybeloved, and

CodaVivace
Summary:
ABOUT AN HOUR AFTER LEAVING CLEO’S APARTMENT.

Lizzie wasn’t sleeping. Just… resting her eyes.

Just In My Nature [text, audio] (Star Trek, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TV))
written by

foundbyjohndoe, performed by

foundbyjohndoe and

twtd
Summary:
Attending Notes: Hey Doc, this idiot jumped in front of an acid-spraying flower that was aiming for a certain First Officer of ours. She’ll be fine, but will have to keep the grafts out of the sun on her next shore leave, which totally ruins our beach day plans! Totally rude, if you ask me. When she’s off the drugs, ask her why the hell she took corrosive acid to 15% of her body for the woman who can literally survive anything. Thanks! Chapel out.

A La’An/Una epistolary fic from M’Benga and Chapel’s POV.

klb posting in

pod_together

Reprise in a major key (Sunset Boulevard - Black/Hampton/Lloyd Webber, Hadestown - Mitchell)
written by

lc2l and

klb, performed by

ShakespeareStoleMyURL,

horchatapods,

klb,

wilfriede0815,

TheArcher,

v0lumnius,

Poetry, and

lc2l
Summary: This is how a story ends: with blood, and lights, and cameras.
This is how a story starts: with a road to Hell, and a railroad line.
This is how a story changes, plants roots, grows into something new.
Joe is missing. To find him, Norma and Max must follow the path down. Way down.
A Hadestown/Sunset Boulevard podfic musical.

Playfully Planned Parenthood (Sherlock (TV))
written by

ChrisCalledMeSweetie, performed by

GhostOfNuggetsPast and

Juulna
Summary: Returning home from the registry office, newlywed husbands Sherlock and John launch into an increasingly fanciful discussion of their potential parenthood. John is giddy with the joy of having just married the love of his life, while Sherlock is doing his best to pretend he isn’t every bit as giddy.

Performance Practicum (The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types)
written by

brighteyedjill, performed by

Poluche
Summary: Professor Julian Alfred Pankratz understands what the students of Oxenfurt’s Bardic College need to know to succeed, as his own illustrious career demonstrates. His advanced composition students are perhaps less interested in his artistic process than they are in his muse, the famous White Wolf. But as Jaskier lectures about the many artistic liberties he takes with the truth, who should show up but the subject of Jaskier’s recent, regrettable song, “Burn, Butcher, Burn?” It’s the famous witcher Geralt of Rivia, whom Jaskier last saw at the top of a certain dragon-infested mountain. Geralt has come to tell Jaskier how he feels about this latest composition.

Bonding the Tsakarem Way (Avatar (Cameron Movies))
written by

BurdenedWithPointlessPurpose, performed by

J0305
Summary: Tsireya finds herself in awe of all that Kiri is. She considers her friend inspirational. Maybe together, they can build a strong bond between both Eywa and each other.

Just a Bit of Skulduggery (Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston, Red White & Royal Blue (2023))
written by

DizzyMissLizzie, performed by

kittyq
Summary: "Did you shag our darling Alexander in the break room?" Pez asks, mischief in his eye.
Henry thinks about denying it for a moment.
"The first chance I got," He smiles and Pez slaps his shoulder.
---
June is so excited to introduce Alex to her new favorite book and record shop, Skulduggery.
The eclectic store and its owners surprise Alex in all the best ways.
Alex finds himself begrudging friends with the owner’s brother.
Henry recommends a book for Alex and Alex recommends an album.
Their choices say so much more than either could express.

Truth Be Told [text, audio] (Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV), Star Wars Prequel Trilogy)
written by

wanderingjedihistorian, performed by

NotBatman52
Summary: As the blinding light faded, Din immediately registered that something was wrong. He hadn’t previously been standing in what was clearly a crashed ship. He put himself in front of Grogu, just to be safe, while he attempted to figure out what had happened.
“Who are you?”
Din turned in the direction of the voice.

Suddenly Stevie (Stranger Things (TV 2016))
written by

ArtaxLivs, performed by

Pennyplainknits
Summary: The guy playing Seymour in Little Shop is adorable and Eddie kinds of want to eat him. Not in an Audrey II kind way, more like in the way that he wants to suck him off.

5 Times Merthur Weren't Together + 1 Time They Were [text, audio] (Merlin (TV))
written by

TrebleMaker07, performed by

429_CarCrash
Summary: Arthur and Merlin have been best friends for years. However, Arthur soon comes to the realisation that maybe there's more going on than he initially bargained for.

Cloud Recesses Student Radio, Second Semester (魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV))
written by

LadyEn,

Foundbyjohndoe,

Liadantaru,

Rionaa,

daisydiversions,

Nonplussed,

XxMiserySmilesxX, and

Flamingwell, performed by

esbielle,

sunkitten_shash,

nonplussed,

kisahawklin,

Foundbyjohndoe,

Semperfiona,

flamingwell,

KeriArentikai,

ImpureLily,

LadyEn,

Wonderlandian_Geek,

Foundbyjohndoe,

sisi_rambles,

Rionaa,

kealdrakemna,

Jennisaisquoi, and

bunknuckles
Summary: The juniors need to create another radio show for school credit. This time they bring the multi-verse to them.

The Zagreus Archives (Hades (Supergiant Games Video Games))
written by

timegoesby, performed by

contritecactite
Summary: The saga of Prince Zagreus’s attempts to escape the Underworld, as told by the beleaguered Shade whose job it is to put his permanent record together.

Monster, I + Podfic (X-Men - All Media Types)
written by

Sivan325, performed by

prueturner
Summary: Scott isn't handling well his new reality. Luckily, he has an amazing boyfriend.

Starting Playback… (The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells)
written by

coyotecrackers, performed by

edible_chemistry,

blackglass,

Cait_does_Podfics,

olive2read,

Ravin_Pods, and

wjgravity
Summary: SecUnit did something horrible, but its memory of the event was completely wiped. All that’s left is a volatile audio file. If it wants to know what happened, it will have to listen to the file the old-fashioned way—out loud.

The Never Again Job (Leverage (US TV 2008), Leverage)
written by

FlutterFyre, performed by

BubblesKat
Summary: After losing everything, Eliot gives up, only to find that second chances really do exist.

james

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

mark posting in

dw_maintenance

Per the dw_news post regarding the MS/TN blocks, we are doing a small code push shortly in order to get the code live. As per usual, please let us know if you see anything wonky.

There is some code cleanup we've been doing that is going out with this push but I don't think there is any new/reworked functionality, so it should be pretty invisible if all goes well.

denise posting in

dw_news

A reminder to everyone that starting tomorrow, we are being forced to block access to any IP address that geolocates to the state of Mississippi for legal reasons while we and Netchoice continue fighting the law in court. People whose IP addresses geolocate to Mississippi will only be able to access a page that explains the issue and lets them know that we'll be back to offer them service as soon as the legal risk to us is less existential.

The block page will include the apology but I'll repeat it here: we don't do geolocation ourselves, so we're limited to the geolocation ability of our network provider. Our anti-spam geolocation blocks have shown us that their geolocation database has a number of mistakes in it. If one of your friends who doesn't live in Mississippi gets the block message, there is nothing we can do on our end to adjust the block, because we don't control it. The only way to fix a mistaken block is to change your IP address to one that doesn't register as being in Mississippi, either by disconnecting your internet connection and reconnecting it (if you don't have a static IP address) or using a VPN.

In related news, the judge in our challenge to Tennessee's social media age verification, parental consent, and parental surveillance law (which we are also part of the fight against!) ruled last month that we had not met the threshold for a temporary injunction preventing the state from enforcing the law while the court case proceeds.

The Tennesee law is less onerous than the Mississippi law and the fines for violating it are slightly less ruinous (slightly), but it's still a risk to us. While the fight goes on, we've decided to prevent any new account signups from anyone under 18 in Tennessee to protect ourselves against risk. We do not need to block access from the whole state: this only applies to new account creation.

Because we don't do any geolocation on our users and our network provider's geolocation services only apply to blocking access to the site entirely, the way we're implementing this is a new mandatory question on the account creation form asking if you live in Tennessee. If you do, you'll be unable to register an account if you're under 18, not just the under 13 restriction mandated by COPPA. Like the restrictions on the state of Mississippi, we absolutely hate having to do this, we're sorry, and we hope we'll be able to undo it as soon as possible.

Finally, I'd like to thank every one of you who's commented with a message of support for this fight or who's bought paid time to help keep us running. The fact we're entirely user-supported and you all genuinely understand why this fight is so important for everyone is a huge part of why we can continue to do this work. I've also sent a lot of your comments to the lawyers who are fighting the actual battles in court, and they find your wholehearted support just as encouraging and motivating as I do. Thank you all once again for being the best users any social media site could ever hope for. You make me proud and even more determined to yell at state attorneys general on your behalf.

klb posting in

pod_together

Saving Haven (9-1-1 (TV))
written by

embracedself, performed by

Ceewelsh
Summary: Hen got baby fever. A safe haven baby was surrendered.
Are these two things connected?

Fascinating Knowledge (Warehouse 13)
written by

Lavendelhummel and

lilolilyrae, performed by

Lavendelhummel and

lilolilyrae
Summary: Myka was just trying to do something nice for Claudia when she encouraged her to continue her education... She didn't sign up to be on a podcast in Claudia's stead, and oh no, her co-host is really hot!

lie to me, lie to me (Bridgerton (TV))
written by

theyarnmaidstale, performed by

robinfaipods
Summary: “You think you can pull off sideburns but you really, really can’t!”
The words spill from Penelope’s mouth before she has a chance to stop them, her hand clamping across her lips as her eyes widen in shock.
Still in the doorway of his home, Anthony blinks. Once. Twice. Eyes narrowing as he appraises her. “I beg your pardon?”
He doesn’t even look like he disagrees with her (which, she supposes she should feel grateful that even Anthony was aware of how much his sideburns made him look like a prick out of a shitty period piece). Behind him in the doorway, Kate snorts out a laugh and makes no effort to hide it as Anthony spins back to shoot her a look as well.
“They…were not your best look, darling.”

Engineered Sweet, Produced Sour (Mickey 17 (2025))
written by

WaldosAkimbo, performed by

Dr_Fumbles_McStupid
Summary: Mickey Barnes is the only expendable on the ship, and he has survived weird experiments and messy deaths. But his biggest problem is hiding a secret; he's registered as a beta, but if he plays his cards right, nobody should find out he's actually an omega.
But after Mickey 17 Is presumed dead , he gets to meet Mickey 18, who is the science team's latest experiment. And also an alpha. And he thought the multiples violation was going to be a problem.

The Diary of a Ship Cook in Unwilling Service to Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies))
written by

PresidentHades, performed by

Venbeth
Summary: A ship cook unwittingly tags along on Jack and Will's adventures during "Curse of the Black Pearl." The cook changes absolutely nothing about the plot, but somehow they become invaluable to our swashbuckling heroes (or to their stomachs, at least).

Smooth Sharks (Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett)
written and performed by

lilolilyrae
Summary: Crowley has the brilliant idea to start a podcast, because everyone who's anything has one of those nowadays, don't they? Aziraphale agrees that it's a splendid idea, a way to share knowledge can only be a wonderfully nice and angelic pursuit... Of course, as soon as he hears that opinion, Crowley immediately has to prove his angel wrong with some bouts of fun misinformation!

places meant for wings (The West Wing)
written by

hurricanearia, performed by

Cinnamonbunprotectionagency
Summary: Charlie Young applies, as many do, for a Supreme Court clerkship.

The Yaatree: Letters From Elsewhere (Original Work)
written by

KitKaos, performed by

BardicRavenReads and

OneGoldenRaptor
Summary:
O dearest brother mine,
I sincerely hope you’re still alive to read this letter – if it finds you at all. I don’t know if you can receive anything from the outside right now, even though I used the same messenger service as before. I have a pretty good idea that you’re right in the middle of it all, as always, following that captain of yours to the end of the universe and beyond, if needs must. It’s just that you care too much – that’s always been your problem.

Almost, Always (The Wedding Mishap) (Stranger Things (TV 2016))
written by

patientanxiety, performed by

steddiestories
Summary: A cringe-fest of Steve bringing a date to Dustin & Suzie's wedding while Eddie is in the corner, in love with him.

built on stolen parts (The Magnus Archives (Podcast))
written by

Lua, performed by

darnacles
Summary: Mary was not a caring mother, Gertrude was not a trustworthy person and Gerard was a bit of a fool.

Letters in the wind (Nosferatu (2024))
written by

Otaku_girl, performed by

GarlicKip
Summary: Five letters Friedrich sent while Thomas was off attempting to secure his fortune, and one that he sent after deciding to take action.

Sat Next to a Shy Nerd Who Has a Crush on You (JSMR Layered Sounds and Whispering) (NCT (Band))
written by

hopeboos, performed by

pezzax
Summary:
Jaeminventures followed you back!

He makes a strangled sound in his throat that catches Mark’s attention.
“What?”
Jeno clicks through to make sure he’s not dreaming. Sure enough, the profile that has followed him is Jaemin’s, with over two million followers, his YouTube channel linked in his profile.
“Jaemin just followed me.”
or
Jeno is an ASMR youtuber with a secret, and Jaemin is an adventure youtuber with fresh grief. They find each other at the perfect time.

Pucker Up (Teen Wolf (TV))
written by

ReformedTsundere, performed by

CrimsonMoonn
Summary: Stiles can admit, even though he doesn't want to, that the first kiss he and Derek share isn't one. Technically.
or:
5 Times Stiles Kisses Derek + 1 Time Derek Kisses Stiles

scaramouche

I was in the city over the (last) weekend, which meant that although I have an on-going resolution to not buy any books until I've cleared my still-unread book stack, this was an exception. A big exception! But an exception all the same because I rarely go into the city, so I got a whole bag of books that I will rotate in reading with the still-unread book stack, and one day, maybe, I will clear all of them.

Rick Astley's recent autobiography Never was not on my to-read list, but I picked it up on a whim, and as soon as I got home, apparently it was the one I was most excited about starting, so I did. I think because I'd recently enjoyed his cover of Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club", plus Dave Grohl mentioned him in his autobiography when I read it (and had to dig it up to reread his version of the same meeting that Astley mentions in his book).

So like, comparing to the handful of other musician autobiographies I've read (specifically: Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and Phil Collins), Astley's is very different in the sense that he really is Just Some Dude. He loves music and loves making music, but he isn't POSSESSED by the urge to make&perform music the way that's very clear for those other musicians I've mentioned, and since he got swept up in the commercial music-making machine when he was young (not very young, but young enough), he didn't get to cut his teeth performing on the circuit and figure out his own strengths. All musicians may be limited by commercial interests, but it seems to me that a consequence of that, plus the lack of a mentor, Astley didn't get much of a voice of his own that first time round as he exploded as a pop star, which gave a specific kind of hit to his confidence and perception of self (which isn't imposter syndrome, but something else). Boy was convinced most of the "genuine" musicians around him hated and/or wanted nothing to do with him, despite being proven wrong again and again.

By Astley's own admission he feels that he doesn't "deserve" to write an autobiog because he doesn't have that much music out, but that's just not true, man. His experiences are fascinating because it really is a case of luck coming in to revive his career (he had juuuuust the amount of psychological understanding of the Rickroll to, uh, roll with it, which took off after he dipped his toes back into the industry), and although he can't go back to the heights of the 80s, his second go-round has been firmly on his own terms and been so much more freeing for him to express himself, through writing and producing his own music, performing as a drummer again in his punk band, and embracing nostalgia performances. Which is neat! And reading about that is also neat.

Though also reading about the 80s pop machine from someone who lived it is also super neat and actually terrifying, which is the meat of the book. He's really lucky in that he got out of it relatively unscathed (which he's well-aware of) and that glimpse into how easy it is for a sheltered person to be dumped into a world you don't understand and be taken advantage of because you just don't know any better and don't even know you can say no to things -- it's a tale as old as time, but still good to read the someone's actual lived experience in a specific place and time period.

While reading the book, I listened to some of his newer tracks, and I quite like some of 'em! Most of them recorded at home and with him performing all the instruments, even.

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: full
Current Music: Rick Astley - Letting Go

flareonfury posting in

dw_community_promo

mcu100 is a weekly drabble challenge for the Marvel Cinematic Universe!

o1. Join the community & you can JOIN AT ANYTIME!!
o2. Read the rules/FAQ. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
o3. Once you're a member and have read the rules, be prepared to join a team.
o4. Start writing once the prompt is posted! & Earn points for your team to win!
o5. If your team wins, you get a badge!

This first prompt will last two weeks, from August 16th to 30.

james

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

klb posting in

pod_together

Come Away With Me (Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston, Red White & Royal Blue (2023))
written by

DizzyMissLizzie, performed by

fullofhope137
Summary: Runaway groom Henry finds himself in front of Captain Alex Claremont-Diaz.
“I will pay you a fortune to take me anywhere in the world except here."
“Are you asking me to run away with you, sweetheart?”
-or-
Alex is the captain of a private yacht and Henry runs away from his wedding.

Our Sacrifices (The Iliad - Homer, Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)
written by

GwenChan, performed by

ReformedTsundere
Summary: In Pat's defense, it was Nestor idea. When investigating a fair, the hunter notices a she-vampire in the crowd. He can't let the chance slip by.
Unfortunately for him, the she-vampire is not alone
Luckily for him, he isn't either

Mascot Dating Profiles (Men's Hockey RPF)
written by

FandomisOhana, performed by

eafay70
Summary: How some mascots might talk about themselves in their dating profiles!

Some Rules Are Meant To Be Broken (Stranger Things (TV 2016))
written by

MeggieJolly, performed by

ohhellofox
Summary: Ten years after the events of season 4, everyone has long since left Hawkins, except for Steve. He's still stuck.
Until Dustin and Robin convince him to come to a Corroded Coffin concert in Indianapolis as a sort of reunion with everyone in their monster hunting family.
Steve is reluctant, because he has been hiding an embarrassing crush on Eddie for a long time and seeing him perform live would certainly reveal that secret.
But maybe he isn't the only one with a long time crush...

Jin-woo Sung is an accidental flirt. A social media case study. (나 혼자만 레벨업 | Solo Leveling (Cartoon))
written by

Syr, performed by

Opalsong
Summary: POST 2 (flirty level 0/10)
My sister, Jin-ah, sent me a meme to create a playlist. I think it’s call a “collage portrait mix-tape” or something like that. I’m supposed to ask ten people for a song that describes our relationship.

Local Network [text, audio] (The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells)
written by

theleakypen, performed by

blackglass
Summary: "And when it wakes up we'll be here to help it," Mensah says, "in whatever way it wants. We'll do it right this time."
Ratthi and the rest of the PresAux survey team do their best to assist in SecUnit's recovery after the events on TranRollinHyfa.

I Left You But You Never Left Me (Twister (Movies 1996 2024))
written by

nineofhearts, performed by

buries
Summary: Tyler was the first person on scene after Kate survived the EF5. At the time, he was a stranger who drove her to the hospital. After the incident she moved to NYC. Years later she agrees to return to Oklahoma for a week at Javi’s insistence.

Night and Day [text, audio] (Agatha Christie's Poirot (TV))
written by

septemberbells, performed by

lilolilyrae
Summary:
Note: This case remains unpublished in its current iteration because several figures in it have proclivities deemed by society to be wrong. I hope, that maybe there will be a more enlightened time when readers may peruse the story without judgement, even perhaps with the joy of seeing themselves and their lovers on the page.

Stray Kittens (Stray Kids (Band), Stray Kids RPF)
written by

FlutterFyre, performed by

pezzax
Summary: When life gives you lemons, they say to make lemonade.
But what if life gives you kittens?

Pried (Teen Wolf (TV))
written by

Definitively_Different_Drivel, performed by

Jetainia
Summary:

The sun shone down on. Stiles as he lay on a bench in bright pink shorts and a rainbow tank top. Gaudy shades protected his eyes beneath an equally pink baseball hat. The weather was gorgeous, and his phone was loaded up with music. People passed in twos and threes as they walked the shallow trail that skirted the preserve. He checked his watch with a grin.
Show time.

In which the month of August is the perfect excuse to incite others to join Stiles in his mission which just so happens to involve bench vandalism.

Slipping Sideways (Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types)
written by

eustaciavye, performed by

asterroc
Summary: Ventress and Obi-Wan see the aftermath of Dooku's vicious attack on the Nightsisters, and make their response.

The First Shot (Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types)
written by

TsarinaTorment, performed by

Stereden
Summary: The new camper is tiny, but the impression he leaves is huge.

we feel each rock so differently (Dead Boy Detectives (TV))
written by

Stratisphyre, performed by

boywonder
Summary:
When Crystal appeared one late evening to announce that a group of friends had invited her to accompany them along to the Paris Catacombs, she did not care for Edwin's immediate reply of, “Absolutely not.”

ysabetwordsmith posting in

dw_community_promo

allbingo provides a space for creative people to share their work, using bingo cards for inspiration.

crowdfunding is a community for creators, patrons, and fans of cyberfunded creativity.

Further details below ...

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

wwdn_feed

Posted by Wil

https://wilwheaton.net/2025/08/thats-what-i-do-i-blink-and-i-type-things/

https://wilwheaton.net/?p=9654

I am at my desk, staring at the blinking cursor in my text editor for what feels like an hour. If I were in a movie, the camera would do that Ferris Bueller’s Day Off thing they did with Cameron in the museum, with his eye and the eye in the painting, but with me and the damn cursor.

It just cheerfully sits there, like, “are you doing to do anything? I can blink all day, my dude. I’ll just be sitting here, blinking and waiting. I wait a lot. And I don’t want to make it weird but you’re always staring right at me and not doing anything and it’s kind of creepy. So are you going to actually write anything? Or — oh, hey! Here we go! WHEEE I’m moving to the right an– oh, you stopped. Okay, that’s fine. I’ll just blink while you — WOOOAHHHH now I’m going backward so fast! Oh I think I’m going to be sick!”

After a couple of dry heaves, it continues: “No, no, just more blinking. Okay. Let me catch my breath for a seco- OH GOD WHY DID YOU SELECT ALL OF THAT TEXT I CAN’T EAT ALL OF THAT!

“Gulp, gulp, gulp, burp.” Exhale, gasp. “Oh god that’s a lot. Okay. Okay. You didn’t like those words, I get it. I don’t judge, but if I’m being honest, I didn’t feel them, either. It’s okay, you’re still figuring out these beats. I’m ready when you are. Blink. Blink.

“Oh, you’re getting up and … okay, you’re dusting the bookshelves. Okay, that’s good. You go ahead and I’ll be here when you get back. Just … just blinking. Just blinking because … that’s what I do. I blink and I type things.”

And so it goes, over and over for most of the day. My bookshelves are fucking SPOTLESS.

If we were still doing this with a typewriter, or a yellow pad, my room would be a paper ball pit. Which actually sounds kind of fun, if I’m being totally honest.

Anyway, this is a long way to go so I have something to post today, and it’s a long way to go to say “I eventually got about 190 words that I may even keep, and that’s good enough for me.”

As my dear friend Will says, Onward!

https://wilwheaton.net/2025/08/thats-what-i-do-i-blink-and-i-type-things/

https://wilwheaton.net/?p=9654

klb posting in

pod_together

let our hearts, like doors, open wide (open wide) (Good Omens (TV))
written by

shadoweddepths, performed by

fullofhope137
Summary: “I choose you, Crowley. I’m not – I’m not leaving you.” And then, reverently, Aziraphale adds, “I love you.”
There’s a moment of silence. Aziraphale hardly breathes, scared beyond reason that somehow Crowley won’t love him back, won’t want him like that, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
“No,” Crowley says, and then he’s shaking his head, arms tightening around himself. “No, you don’t, you – you’ve never –”
Oh, my darling, Aziraphale thinks. Because this is – this is Crowley. So incapable of understanding that his love might be returned, that Aziraphale might feel the same for him.
Well. He’ll just have to do something about that, won’t he?

In which Aziraphale makes better life decisions.

The Orbital Radio Hour (Jeff Satur - Works & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, ก่อนที่เธอจะลืมฝัน | Lucid - Jeff Satur (Music Video), ดึมดึม - เจฟ ซาเตอร์ | Dum Dum - Jeff Satur (Music Video), Steal the Show - Shaun x Jeff Satur (Music Video), The Kingdoms Concert (Jeff Satur), Far - SILVY ft. Jeff Satur (Music Video), Ride or Die - Jeff Satur (Music Video), Space Shuttle No. 8 - เจฟ ซาเตอร์ | Jeff Satur (Album))
written by

BluestJayy,

ValhallaForDucks,

shubaka, and

AirgiodSLV, performed by

minnabird,

AirgiodSLV,

shubaka,

BluestJayy, and

Annapods
Summary: A collection of radio plays written by the mortals of The Other Side Anthology about their gods.

i'll crawl home to him (Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV))
written by

sorlian, performed by

Froggyfun365
Summary: After the final entry, fans demand Sherlock Holmes to return, quickly becoming the bane of Arthur Doyle's existence as they round the streets.

Back in the quiet of Baker Street, Watson finds his prayers answered to the letter.

Pod_Together Rolling Remix
written and performed by by

PhoenixFalls and

sanguinity,
Summary: A Rolling Remix project by PhoenixFalls and sanguinity, created for Pod-Together 2025. Eight stories and six fandoms, wherein each story reimagines the story that went before.

tell the world (I'm coming home) [text, audio] (9-1-1 (TV))
written by

embracedself, performed by

frozen_ivy_trellis
Summary: Bobby Nash wakes up.
Things get more difficult from there.

Mission and Damage report - Incident 0110930 - B - 01 (Young Justice (Cartoon))
written by

Litra, performed by

Denois
Summary: Post mission report for episode 12 season 1 - Homefront

Solemnities (Star Wars Prequel Trilogy)
written by

Chantress, performed by

LenaLawlipop
Summary:

Breathing in the scent of night-blooming flowers, Obi-Wan set his mind on calmness, balance, the ebb and flow of the Force around and through him. The first lesson in meditation: focus only on feeling your breath and the movement of the Force.
As his breath evened out and his heartbeat slowed, Obi-Wan imagined his Master sitting there with him, nearby but not quite touching, breathing in the same rhythm. They had sat this way together many times before, in the Temple and on transports and during missions, the Force connecting them more deeply than touch could hope to.
This version of Qui-Gon, though, bridged the space between them.

A lighthearted proposition on a mission prompts Obi-Wan to consider what he truly wants.

we can still make the good things happen, piper (we just have to try) (Charmed (TV 1998))
written by

withhardshipease, performed by

Nymphie_Wolf
Summary: Prue's life, from start to finish, as told through a series of her diary entries.

Pentimento [text, audio] (Deltarune (Video Game))
written by

ColourfulVoid, performed by

v0lumnius
Summary: They saw it. Kris did, behind the tree. And they can't, won't, say a thing. If you keep doing the same thing, will anything change? Can it stay the same as it was? You don’t have to speak. It’s okay to draw. What if Kris can’t even do that?
- - -
A story about art therapy, the investigation into Dess's disappearance, and Kris at the center of what remains.

a helping hand in hard times (Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021))
written by

milomie, performed by

ReformedTsundere
Summary: “Aren’t you supposed to be a demon?” Jayce looks the decidedly humanoid figure up and down. The demon (if that is indeed what he is) arrows his eyes. The strange, seductive glamour around him wavers.
“I am a demon. A tentacle demon, if we are going to be technical about it.”
“It’s just… You don’t look like a tentacle demon.”
“Oh, I am sorry, let me just—” The self-proclaimed tentacle demon rolls his eyes. In the next moment, his form seems to unfurl, and he unleashes his— well, his tentacles. His sclera darken to a deep, inky black, and his shadow fills the room. If the demon’s expression weren’t so deadpan, Jayce might have pissed himself in fear. As it is, the demon’s tentacles wiggle limply in a poor approximation of jazz hands, as if to say ‘ta-da!’
Slow, horrible realization creeps over Jayce. He just microaggressed a demon. He's a monster. Worse, he’s… rude.
--
or, jayce is a graduate student down on his luck. viktor is a tentacle demon who feeds on lust. can i make it any more obvious?

Hope Runs Thin (Batman - All Media Types)
written by

Yuurei, performed by

Flowerparrish
Summary: It has been a very long night, one of many, and Tim is ready for it today to be finished.

opportunity doesn't strike twice (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
written by

insane_falcon, performed by

ohhellofox
Summary: Steve loves acting, but he’s starting to feel weighed down by everyone’s expectations and the feeling that he could be doing something more. Something better. So when the chance to make an actual difference—heading his own entertainment label—Steve seizes the opportunity. In doing so, his path collides directly with James Barnes, a man he despises for making a fool out of him three years ago.

Souls, split and whole (Doctor Who)
written by

FallenSoFar, performed by

robinfaipods
Summary: The first thing the Doctor learns about humans is that they only have one heart.
Later, when he learns about dæmons, he thinks they should have led with that instead.

james

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

klb posting in

pod_together

Beneath the Weight [text, audio] (Star Wars: Rebels)
written by

wanderingjedihistorian, performed by

Flowerparrish
Summary: There was a group of Wookiees being moved to Kessel and Hera Syndulla desperately wanted to find them.
More, it was imperative that…mission happen exactly as it had. Without everything that happened during that operation, Kallus didn’t know if Ezra would choose to join the Ghost crew and let Kanan train him. Above all else, that needed to happen.

D's bring about change (One Piece (Anime & Manga))
written by

Lerya, performed by

GodOfLaundryBaskets
Summary: Law never knew what the will of D meant. He suspects he doesn't have it as much as others do.
Then he meets Monkey D. Luffy and knows for a fact that this man does have it. There is no other reason why he would go around punching Celestial Dragons and declaring war on the World Government. It's entertaining as hell though.
Sticking around, he's with Luffy when Kuma sends him and his crew away, leading to an extra ally in Marineford which will bring about another change.

A Matter of Blood (The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner)
written by

Lalaith_Quetzalli, performed by

farkenshnoffingottom
Summary: They make it to the Safe Haven. Against all expectations and seemingly insurmountable odds, they do. At first all they can do is rest, recover, grow used to being truly free. But once the fear has truly passed, once they begin to settle. That’s when the time comes for the questions, and some answers none of them ever saw coming…

Our Place (Magic Kaito)
written by

Dokuhan, performed by

Nymphie_Wolf
Summary: Sometimes, the smallest comforts can help the largest emotional hurts.
In their childhood, Aoko has a bad day and Kaito does what he can to help. Years later, Aoko returns the favor.

Two Sides of a Trick Coin (One Piece (Live Action TV 2023))
written by

estelraca, performed by

GodOfLaundryBaskets
Summary: Everyone assumes Zoro and Luffy have a psychic connection.
They don't, and they really hate it when they finally do.
Sometimes all you need to do is see another person to know them.

the company job (Leverage (US TV 2008))
written by

BubblesKat, performed by

ShakespeareStoleMyURL and

BubblesKat
Summary: The Leverage team gets a new client. The marks own a theatre. The only logical solution is to do a long con production of the musical Company.

The House That Waited [text, audio] (Stranger Things (TV 2016))
written by

patientanxiety, performed by

Jet_pods
Summary: They meant it to be a routine check. One last run-through of Hawkins' dark landmarks, just to be sure. No more Upside Down. No more gates. Just overgrown lots and burnt-out memories. But the Creel House still stood, its silhouette jagged and resentful against the evening sky.
Eddie and Steve soon find out that a routine check on the Creel House turns into a fight for their lives.

Between Worlds [text, audio] (Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartoon 2005), Andromeda (TV))
written by

Nicky_Gabriel, performed by

429_CarCrash
Summary: Yue and Bato’s life changing conversation about life, the universe and everything. As they are trapped in the fourth dimension, facing the evilest being that ever existed, the answer is not always 42. Fortunately, they are the luckiest people in the Universe.

The Inheritance of Dreams (One Piece (Live Action TV 2023))
written by

estelraca, performed by

kaisicle-podfics
Summary: At first Garp doesn't believe that Red-Leg Zeff might actually be trying to settle down and open a restaurant, but as the two exchange letters, he starts to believe maybe it's possible for a pirate to change his stripes.

So Long and Lost (The Devil Wears Prada (2006))
written by

schwanenkoenigin, performed by

wilfriede0815
Summary: Miranda writes a letter to her late wife, Andrea.

Put up with the rain (Ultraman Arc (TV))
written by

alchemicink, performed by

bluedreaming
Summary:

"Looks like the storm ought to blow over quickly."
"That's good."
Shu is about to just go back up to the office to wait, but then Yuma plops down on the top step, which is still shielded from the rain by the overhang above. He glances upwards towards Shu with a friendly smile that pierces right through his dreary mood.
"You can wait with me if you want, Mr. Ishido."

Five rainy days Shu experiences in Hoshimoto City

write to me, in time [text, audio] (9-1-1 (TV))
written by

coffee_and_cardamom, performed by

42donotpanic
Summary: Buck and Eddie write letters across time. Or: The Lakehouse AU.

I'm sorry, did I stutter when I said to shut up or? (Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010))
written by

Yuurei and

kbirb, performed by

kbirb
Summary: Breaking News: Trans Crimelord Hates Transphobes!

wwdn_feed

Posted by Wil

https://wilwheaton.net/2025/08/a-clever-and-interesting-title-that-draws-the-reader-in/

https://wilwheaton.net/?p=9650

It’s been one of those days when I do an incredible amount of creative work, but it looked like I spent the whole day just cleaning and unfucking my office while I watched and listened to the latest episode of The Record Junkies, followed immediately by the entire Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

Yes, to the untrained eye, it would appear that I didn’t do any writing work today. But! The creatives among us already know what I’m going to say next: the entire time, I was creating space for the writer’s assistant who lives in my brain (Damon Knight calls his “Fred”, mine is currently unnamed) to help me figure out how to get through this block that’s vexing me. He did a ton of work, pitched a lot of ideas (some of them were even kinda good), and threw away a lot of stuff that’s been cluttering up the space between my idea and a draft I don’t hate. We got a lot accomplished. Maybe tomorrow we’ll actually make words happen.

Then, at the end of the day, I went to the pharmacy and got my flu shot.

I’ve been getting the flu shot every year for as long as I can remember, and I can’t remember the last time I had the flu. I feel like these two things may be related. I have a lot of travel scheduled during cold and flu season, and I’d like to keep my streak alive.

Here’s a thought, that came up while I was getting ready to hit publish:

I haven’t written a blog post like this in years. Somewhere along the way, I decided that everything had to be just so, you know? I really got in my own head and in my own way. It doesn’t have to be huge essays or perfect, or some minimum length. It can just be my blog.

Writer’s Block and Creative Paralysis Hate This One Weird Trick!

I’m gonna try to remember that one way to just post more stuff in my blog (because it makes me happy to do that) is to just post more stuff in my blog (because it makes me happy to do that).

https://wilwheaton.net/2025/08/a-clever-and-interesting-title-that-draws-the-reader-in/

https://wilwheaton.net/?p=9650

scaramouche

Another weathered book from the back of the unread books drawer, and not very thick, so it's a light read I finished pretty much over a weekend I was away from home. John Michael Greer's Apocalypse: A History of the End of Time follows the history of what he describes as "the apocalypse meme" (the book was published in 2012), as in the infectious idea of the apocalypse, which Greer argues originated proper by Zarathustra, by adding the idea of "An End" to the understanding of the the cyclical nature of the seasons, years, and cosmic movements.

Very fun read, as Greer goes all the way from Zoroastrianism to the 2012 Mayan calendar scare (that really was everywhere for a hot minute), covering various famous and some less-famous (to me) apocalyptic movements in history, including Millerism, Heaven's Gate, Y2K, Kurzweil's Singularity (is that tied to the current AI movement? I should look it up). Though because Greer gave good early depth to apocalyptic concepts as developed by post-Babylon exile Judaism and later New Kingdom Christianity, I thought he would do the same for Islam and other Eastern beliefs but uhhhhh no, the book is Western-centric, I don't know why I keep playing myself.

But still a good, brisk read, and I do like that he explores exactly (though not too deeply) what it is about the apocalyptic meme that attracts people so, with the promise of justice in an unfair world, and being able to let all of your problems go to the promise that it will all be resolved by someone who is not me/you/us. And with that note he ends quite critical of that, by arguing that we need to help each other and protect each other, which is difficult work but necessary every day.

Current Mood: awake

shmaylor posting in

pod_together

Here is the 2025 Posting Schedule! The mods will reveal the work on AO3 on your posting day; participants should plan to update the posting date on their work so it'll show up on fandom RSS feeds and at the top of the fandom tag when sorted by date. Unfortunately, AO3 won't let you list a posting date in the future so you'll have to manually change it on your reveal date. (We'll send you an email reminder about this on the day of your reveal.)

For now, the links on this schedule will just take you to unrevealed posts, but once each day is revealed, the links will take you to the projects and this post will double as a masterlist for all our 2025 projects!

Reminder #1: Party Favors are due September 6th, and will be revealed September 7th. To submit a Party Favor, simply publish it to the Pod_Together 2025 AO3 collection

Reminder #2: To those participants with extensions, please remember that your due date is our agreed-upon extension date, not your posting date. However, if you would like to turn in a complete, postable version at your deadline and then update it between then and your posting date with changes, you may.

Reminder #3: Don't forget to give your partner(s) some appreciation for the awesome creations you made together!

( 2025 Posting Schedule )

Please leave a comment here, or email the mods, if there are any conflicts or issues with your posting dates or if any info on this posting schedule is incorrect and needs to be fixed.

We're so excited to reveal all of your projects!

wwdn_feed

Posted by Wil

https://wilwheaton.net/2025/08/want-to-watch-stand-by-me-with-corey-jerry-and-me/

https://wilwheaton.net/?p=9646

Next year, Stand By Me will turn 40.

I know. Take all the time you need to absorb and deal with that. It kinda snuck up on me, too.

We filmed Stand By Me in the summer of 1985, mostly in and around Brownsville, Oregon. At the end of production, we moved down to Burney, California, where we filmed the train trestle sequence. Then we wrapped, we all went home, and waited a year for the movie to be released. During that year, they changed the name from The Body to Stand By Me, and recast Richard Dreyfuss as the narrator.

During that year, I just waited. It never occurred to me to consider that it wouldn’t be released, though that was a very real possibility. In fact, when Stand By Me turned 25, Jerry, Corey, and I sat down with Rob Reiner and Richard Dreyfuss to revist production, Jerry told us that he didn’t think it would ever come out, because his dad had told him that most movies that are filmed don’t actually get released. I can’t imagine that year for him, feeling like all the work was going to go into a warehouse to be overseen by top men. I can’t imagine what all of our lives would we like if it had.

I’ve been thinking about production a lot this summer, because it’s wild to me that I know pretty much exactly where I was and what I was doing 40 years ago to the day, when I had no idea that … everything that happened would happen. It’s wild to me that I turned 13 FORTY years ago. It just doesn’t feel that far away.

ANYWAY. This is happening:

STAND BY ME: The Film and Its Stars 40 Years Later‍
‍A Night of Reflection, Connection, and the Friendships That Shape Us
with Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, and Wil Wheaton
‍
‍Some stories don’t fade with time—they grow deeper. For 40 years, Stand By Me has spoken to something timeless in all of us: the wonder and heartbreak of growing up, the bonds we form in childhood, and the way those moments stay with us long after the journey ends.
Join us for a deeply special evening honoring one of the most beloved films of a generation. Experience Stand By Me on the big screen once more, followed by an intimate, long-awaited reunion and live, in-person conversation with the stars who lived it—Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, and Wil Wheaton.
Together, they’ll revisit the summer that changed everything—on set and on screen—sharing memories, laughter, and secrets behind a film that still brings people together after all these years. The evening will also include heartfelt reflections on working with their friend and co-star, the late River Phoenix, whose iconic performance continues to resonate with audiences around the world.
‍“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve.”

‍This night is for anyone who knows exactly what that means.

Tickets are available for two screenings:

These two events will obviously be extremely special to me (I don’t want to speak for the other guys, but I strongly suspect they would say the same thing), and we are doing them with an eye toward doing screenings in a few different cities next year. These screenings will tell us what we need to know, so we can plan accordingly. I have SO MANY ideas to do some genuinely special things, so cross all your fingers.

https://wilwheaton.net/2025/08/want-to-watch-stand-by-me-with-corey-jerry-and-me/

https://wilwheaton.net/?p=9646

denise posting in

dw_news

I'll start with the tl;dr summary to make sure everyone sees it and then explain further: As of September 1, we will temporarily be forced to block access to Dreamwidth from all IP addresses that geolocate to Mississippi for legal reasons. This block will need to continue until we either win the legal case entirely, or the district court issues another injunction preventing Mississippi from enforcing their social media age verification and parental consent law against us.

Mississippi residents, we are so, so sorry. We really don't want to do this, but the legal fight we and Netchoice have been fighting for you had a temporary setback last week. We genuinely and honestly believe that we're going to win it in the end, but the Fifth Circuit appellate court said that the district judge was wrong to issue the preliminary injunction back in June that would have maintained the status quo and prevented the state from enforcing the law requiring any social media website (which is very broadly defined, and which we definitely qualify as) to deanonymize and age-verify all users and obtain parental permission from the parent of anyone under 18 who wants to open an account.

Netchoice took that appellate ruling up to the Supreme Court, who declined to overrule the Fifth Circuit with no explanation -- except for Justice Kavanaugh agreeing that we are likely to win the fight in the end, but saying that it's no big deal to let the state enforce the law in the meantime.

Needless to say, it's a big deal to let the state enforce the law in the meantime. The Mississippi law is a breathtaking state overreach: it forces us to verify the identity and age of every person who accesses Dreamwidth from the state of Mississippi and determine who's under the age of 18 by collecting identity documents, to save that highly personal and sensitive information, and then to obtain a permission slip from those users' parents to allow them to finish creating an account. It also forces us to change our moderation policies and stop anyone under 18 from accessing a wide variety of legal and beneficial speech because the state of Mississippi doesn't like it -- which, given the way Dreamwidth works, would mean blocking people from talking about those things at all. (And if you think you know exactly what kind of content the state of Mississippi doesn't like, you're absolutely right.)

Needless to say, we don't want to do that, either. Even if we wanted to, though, we can't: the resources it would take for us to build the systems that would let us do it are well beyond our capacity. You can read the sworn declaration I provided to the court for some examples of how unworkable these requirements are in practice. (That isn't even everything! The lawyers gave me a page limit!)

Unfortunately, the penalties for failing to comply with the Mississippi law are incredibly steep: fines of $10,000 per user from Mississippi who we don't have identity documents verifying age for, per incident -- which means every time someone from Mississippi loaded Dreamwidth, we'd potentially owe Mississippi $10,000. Even a single $10,000 fine would be rough for us, but the per-user, per-incident nature of the actual fine structure is an existential threat. And because we're part of the organization suing Mississippi over it, and were explicitly named in the now-overturned preliminary injunction, we think the risk of the state deciding to engage in retaliatory prosecution while the full legal challenge continues to work its way through the courts is a lot higher than we're comfortable with. Mississippi has been itching to issue those fines for a while, and while normally we wouldn't worry much because we're a small and obscure site, the fact that we've been yelling at them in court about the law being unconstitutional means the chance of them lumping us in with the big social media giants and trying to fine us is just too high for us to want to risk it. (The excellent lawyers we've been working with are Netchoice's lawyers, not ours!)

All of this means we've made the extremely painful decision that our only possible option for the time being is to block Mississippi IP addresses from accessing Dreamwidth, until we win the case. (And I repeat: I am absolutely incredibly confident we'll win the case. And apparently Justice Kavanaugh agrees!) I repeat: I am so, so sorry. This is the last thing we wanted to do, and I've been fighting my ass off for the last three years to prevent it. But, as everyone who follows the legal system knows, the Fifth Circuit is gonna do what it's gonna do, whether or not what they want to do has any relationship to the actual law.

We don't collect geolocation information ourselves, and we have no idea which of our users are residents of Mississippi. (We also don't want to know that, unless you choose to tell us.) Because of that, and because access to highly accurate geolocation databases is extremely expensive, our only option is to use our network provider's geolocation-based blocking to prevent connections from IP addresses they identify as being from Mississippi from even reaching Dreamwidth in the first place. I have no idea how accurate their geolocation is, and it's possible that some people not in Mississippi might also be affected by this block. (The inaccuracy of geolocation is only, like, the 27th most important reason on the list of "why this law is practically impossible for any site to comply with, much less a tiny site like us".)

If your IP address is identified as coming from Mississippi, beginning on September 1, you'll see a shorter, simpler version of this message and be unable to proceed to the site itself. If you would otherwise be affected, but you have a VPN or proxy service that masks your IP address and changes where your connection appears to come from, you won't get the block message, and you can keep using Dreamwidth the way you usually would.

On a completely unrelated note while I have you all here, have I mentioned lately that I really like ProtonVPN's service, privacy practices, and pricing? They also have a free tier available that, although limited to one device, has no ads or data caps and doesn't log your activity, unlike most of the free VPN services out there. VPNs are an excellent privacy and security tool that every user of the internet should be familiar with! We aren't affiliated with Proton and we don't get any kickbacks if you sign up with them, but I'm a satisfied customer and I wanted to take this chance to let you know that.

Again, we're so incredibly sorry to have to make this announcement, and I personally promise you that I will continue to fight this law, and all of the others like it that various states are passing, with every inch of the New Jersey-bred stubborn fightiness you've come to know and love over the last 16 years. The instant we think it's less legally risky for us to allow connections from Mississippi IP addresses, we'll undo the block and let you know.

james

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

wwdn_feed

Posted by Wil

https://wilwheaton.net/2025/08/the-cool-kids-call-it-a-blog/

https://wilwheaton.net/?p=9640

August 23 is WWdN’s official birthday. It was 24 years ago last week that I finished building a website from scratch (in notepad, using raw html), after about 6 weeks of intensive study, and many late nights of trial and several errors, and turned the lights on here, for the first time. Sadly, the earliest capture I can find at the Internet Archive is from 2002, but this is pretty much what it looked like for most of its first decade:

You’ve come a long way, baby.

Almost a quarter of a century, man. Twenty-four years. And to think that it had only been a few weeks earlier that I used Geocities to make my first website that I called Where’s My Burrito? I started my blog with this:

So the votes are officially in.
Out of the total of 4 votes I got, all of them said it would be cool to have an online journal, so here it is.

Extra special thanks go to loren who directed me to blogger, a website that will hopefully make this whole weblog (the cool kids call it a “blog”) easy and painless.

I’m off now to make dinner for the family. You know what we’re having tonight?

Burritos. No shit.

*I could have sworn I made my first posts in 2000, but it wasn’t until 2001, a few days before my birthday.*

“The cool kids call it a blog.” Heh.

What a journey, huh? From there to here, in so many ways, even if I did have total access to the part of me that puts words together, I don’t know that I could fully communicate what it has all meant. I guess it’s a quarter century of growing up, becoming who I always wanted to be, and all the joys and sorrows along the way. I mean, I don’t have to tell you; a lot of you reading this today were also reading that, all those years ago.

I’m going to pause a moment to clearly and loudly say thank you to everyone who supported and encouraged me, then and now and in between. It’s been about 8300 days since I cut the ribbon here, and looking through my archives, I saw that I wrote this in on my blog’s birthday in 2019, after about 6500 days:

28 year-old me was struggling so much, in those days. He was trying so hard to be a good husband and stepfather with pretty much no support from his narcissist parents who weren’t thrilled about him marrying a woman with children. He struggled with undiagnosed depression, Anne’s vindictive and destructive ex-husband, and not meeting the extremely high expectations he had for himself. He has some real painful days ahead, but he gets through them with the love and support of his phenomenal wife, who he still can’t believe picked him, out of all the humans on the planet. He doesn’t know it, yet, but writing this blog is going to change his life, save his life, and make it possible for him to find his own dream, instead of trying (and failing) to live someone else’s.

I have grown and healed so much since 2019, in spite of the chaos, trauma, and cruelty we have all been subjected to since 2016, and I’m almost as proud as I am grateful.

I wanted to write something last week to mark this moment, but just couldn’t find the words, so I celebrated the moment quietly, which is how I’ve been doing basically everything for the last couple of years, while I am intensely focused on my own recovery. I don’t think I even mentioned to Anne that the date had passed.

That’s kind of where I’ve been, creatively and energetically, for this entire year. I mentioned in an Instagram reel that I haven’t had access to my creative self all year, I think largely because of the shock and trauma of America’s dumbfucks voting to put a fascist tyrant and his administration of incompetent criminals back into power, after we all saw how incompetent, evil, cruel, destructive, and violent they are.

Really great work, everyone. Especially everyone who was really worried about the cost of living, you know, the milk and eggs crowd? How’s that working out for you? And all the Walk Away people must be sleeping so well these days. Just fantastic fucking work all over the place, you fucking chuds. They are planning to ban the Covid vaccine, so those of us who want to protect ourselves from all the stupid conspiracy theorist dipshits who think bullshit and science are just “opinions” are just fucked, now. You’ve doomed us all to the world you alone deserve. I, for one, will never forget what you did to us, and I will never forgive you. I hope you spend the rest of your miserable lives ostracized, alone, and afraid. May you never know a moment of peace. May you wear your support for this petty little tyrant like a scarlet letter, so everyone knows who you are and what you did.

Anyway, as you can see, I’ve been distracted and preoccupied with all of this endless horror. I’m just exhausted by ten in the morning every day, and try as I might to find other things for my attention and time, I keep getting drawn back to the news, hoping I’ll see The Headline, or some indication that the entire Republican party, its punditry, and its media echo chamber have finally stopped being singularly focused on protecting and covering up for a pedophile rapist and his child sex trafficking pals. And I haven’t even touched on the endless attacks on innocent people who have been declared Enemies of the State because of who they love or the color of their skin. It’s fucking disgusting, deplorable, infuriating, and has ripped the mask off of much of America. It’s been really hard for a lot of us who grew up reciting and believing “liberty and justice for all”.

That’s my head, every day. I’m worried for the people I love, I’m sick to my stomach as I watch six unelected, transparently corrupt, Christian Nationalists issue unsigned decrees that overturn the will of the voters as they hand more and more unchecked power to a criminal and his criminal organization.

It is so hard to tell stories, to find the joy and release in creative writing, when I feel like the world outside my window is on fire. Sure, my privilege currently protects me, but Timothy Snyder pointed out that if we have to remind ourselves of all the ways we are currently safe from political lawlessness, we are already living in an autocracy. That’s scary as fuck to me.

For a lot of us who are survivors of abuse, every day with this motherfucker making everything about him and his fragile little ego is jabbing a finger into a deep bruise that can’t ever fully heal. For a lot of us who have worked so hard to leave and overcome our abusers, to live our lives as fully as possible in spite of our experiences, it is an endless struggle of flashbacks and nervous system dysregulation, while we remind our bodies that we aren’t trapped with our abuser anymore. Thank god for EMDR. Thank god I can afford regular mental health care. Thank god he’s going to die and hopefully soon.

I haven’t wanted to write anything in my blog because what I just wrote is all I have been able to write. When I want to tell a fun story about playing Mysterium with my family, taking my son axe throwing for his birthday, celebrating my son earning his Master’s Degree and starting his PhD, or any of the things I couldn’t wait to write Before All This, I stare at an empty document while I write and erase ten words over and over again, hoping these will be the ones that grant me access to my Creative Self. And the harder I try to find them, the more effectively they hide from me.

I have also felt like I shouldn’t write in my blog, while I have been struggling to write and turn in two pieces that I agreed to write last year. One is an introduction to a book, and the other is a short piece of fiction. Last week, I finally broke through on the introduction. After almost a full year of struggling and failing, I found it. It was so much fun to work on, so deeply satisfying to finish, and such a relief to turn in. I have never been this late on anything. I hope I’ll never be this late on anything again. I hope nobody notices that I’m writing in my blog when I haven’t finished the other thing, which I have started and abandoned too many times to count. I have probably written ten thousand words or so, trying to find the approximately 700 or so I committed to assembling into a story. I’ve tried to come at it so many different ways, from big ideas to small ideas, from limited points of view to omniscient points of view, and nothing is sticking. It just feels like I’m writing with someone else’s hands that don’t fit quite right. Maybe writing here today will help me find my own fingers again.

Maybe I needed time away, and that’s why I didn’t write anything in my blog for over a month, not even on the day that was a cause for celebration, the anniversary of the moment I took my first big step into the world that had always been hidden from me, or made inaccessible, by my dysfunctional family and abusive parents.

And I know that it is weird to hear a 53 year-old man talk about his parents and his childhood so much. I see pretty cruel commentary about that online, and while I don’t take it personally, I do compassionately hope that the kids who are saying it only do so because they haven’t experienced what I have, so they can’t understand. I get it; in a lot of ways, I feel like I’ve only been living my own life since I quit drinking in 2016 (hell of a year to start rawdogging reality, wil), and I’ve only been doing the work to recover from and manage CPTSD for a couple of years.

I don’t know how to do any of this, but I’m trying to figure it out. I know that writers get stuck and find their way out of it, and I’ve been doing my best to give myself patience and grace and space to figure it all out … I’m just growing impatient, is the thing.

I have a great story just sitting here, inches away from my fingertips, and I can’t figure out how to grasp it.

So I guess I’ll remind myself that I’ve been putting words together in public for about 8500 days, I’ve written a bunch of books — including a New York Times bestseller! — and that whatever it takes to do it is in me. It’s just doing a very good job of Not Being Seen.

But this feels like something of a start, anyway. I forget that it’s okay to make short, silly, 50 word posts here. I forget that I don’t have to follow up every long absence with something profound and carefully edited.

I’ve been doing this for almost 25 years, and I still forget. But today, I remembered.

Thanks for listening to me.

https://wilwheaton.net/2025/08/the-cool-kids-call-it-a-blog/

https://wilwheaton.net/?p=9640

bethbethbeth

On May 8th, I offered to read the first five books people recced - assuming they were available (preferably from the library) - and I'd give a short review [https://bethbethbeth.dreamwidth.org/701769.html].

This is the ninth recced book review.

America (1986), by Jean Baudrillard (recced by Hannah on dreamwidth)

(Note: I read this at least a month ago, but I forgot to post the review!)

America is two entirely different books. If I hadn't felt compelled to complete America (I started it four times before I could move beyond the fifth page), I would have given up the ghost by the end of chapter one. There's no denying that it's beautifully written, poetic, philosophic, deeply thoughtful at times. I have no particular problem with his critique of America - even in what he sees as its "banality." But god, did it feel pretentious and oddly incoherent for the longest time.

It's also weirdly racist. when it most tries to be anything but, and so much of it feels just...wrong. Take his observations of New York City, for example. Yes, much is "fast" about NY - both literally and metaphorically - but of all things, cars aren't the things that are faster (those of you who have experienced an Uber taking 20 minutes to drive from 2nd Avenue to 8th Avenue know what I mean). And eating alone in New York? It isn't incredibly "sad" as Baudrillard suggests... far more often it's a way to feel a moment of pleasurable solitude in a city of so many millions of people.

Some of what I perceive as wrongness in the book could be that Baudrillard is writing about the America of the 80s, yet treating it as if that's all there is of the America of past and future instead of it being a snapshot of time. Or it could be as simple as the translation missing the point at times (although, I suspect that's not the case). But one way or the other, this America seems not just subjective, but far too often like a work of fiction.

There are also an incredible number of similes...sometimes a half dozen per page. :)

Anyway, once America hits the "Utopia Achieved" chapter, it morphs into something both readable and insightful. I'm not sure how that happened. It might possibly have been magic.

I'm not entirely sure it made up for the first 3/5 of the book, however.

james

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klb posting in

pod_together

Hey all, tomorrow is the podfic deadline! As long as your project is submitted while it's still August 24th anywhere in the world, you're on time!

If you don’t think you’ll be able to finish in time, read over the rules and request an extension. Please email us today if you need an extension instead of waiting until tomorrow.

Here is a checklist of everything you need when turning your project in!

If the text and podfic are in a single post:

Add every group member as a co-author on the AO3 post

Include a download link for the podfic at the TOP of the post

Include a streaming link for the podfic at the TOP of the post (either embedded streaming, or a link to where people can click to stream the podfic)

Make sure the post is published in the pod_together 2025 collection (don't just save it as a draft!)

Contact the mods to let us know you're finished!

If the text and podfic are in separate posts:

Create and publish an AO3 post for the podfic in the pod_together 2025 collection (don't just save it as a draft!)

In the podfic post, include a link to the text post at the TOP of the post

In the text post, include a link to the podfic post at the TOP of the post

In the podfic post, include a download link for the podfic

In the podfic post, include a streaming link for the podfic (either embedded streaming, or a link to where people can click to stream the podfic)

Contact the mods to let us know you're finished!

Also, if your project centers one or more characters of color, please feel free to add it to our Pod_Together Characters of Color Love collection to make it easier to find for listeners who would like to prioritize listening to those stories first!

Final stretch! Good luck to all, and don't forget to give your partner(s) some appreciation once everything's all done!

maevedarcy posting in

dw_community_promo

Caroline from The Vampire Diaries. On the bottom half it read "vampire media"

Description:

vampiremedia is a community for all things vampires! Recs, discussion, meta, transformative works. If it's got vampires, we want it. Membership is open and all members can post. Currently hosting a vampire fandom recs event.

james

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