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amaebi

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musesfool

I made this black cocoa loaf cake yesterday, and followed it exactly as written despite some skepticism, which turned out to be warranted, because the middle of the loaf collapsed as it cooled. Even as I was measuring out 1 TBSP of baking powder(!!!), I was like, this seems excessive, but maybe it's because the cocoa is so alkalinized??? So I might cut that back slightly to 1.5 or 2 tsps if I make it again, which I might, because the flavor is good, despite all that baking powder. I didn't bother with the ganache since I don't have room in the fridge for the cake. But it would also disguise that kind of collapse, so if I were serving it to other people I probably would make it.

It's been gray and cool since last night, but it hasn't rained yet, so I've been able to keep the windows open. I did have to use the AC a couple times last week, especially to sleep, and I'll put it on again when necessary, but it was nice just using the fan last night.

Anyway, work remains busy, the world is on fire, but the Mets stay winning! Gotta take the little joys while you can...

*

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Shake It Out = Florence + the Machine

fatalfae posting in

su_herald

Forrest: Whoever he was, the guy was big.
Graham: Strong, too.
Riley: Whoever... Or whatever.
Walsh: I'm not interested in guess work, gentlemen. Call me old-fashioned. I like results. This report reads like a child's riddle book. Agent Finn, tell me something good. My implant?
Riley: The implant works. Hostile 17 can't harm any living creature, In any way, without intense neurological pain. We'll bag it.
Walsh: Yes, you will. Dismissed.

~~The Initiative~~

[Chaptered Fiction]

Legados dos Sobrenaturais: Landon Kirby A Fênix Mutante ( Fanfic LGBT), Chapter 8 (Portuguese, Multiple Crossovers, M) by Roxenazuliano
Hold Fast the Thread, Chapter 23 (Giles/Faith, BtVS Ensemble, M) by SchrodingersKatInABox
Shadows of Paternity, Chapter 4 (BtVS Ensemble, Angelus, M) by Noctiluna (Wynterstorm), Wynterstorm
today doesn’t count, Chapter 19 (Spike/Buffy, Dawn, M) by modestlobster
One Track Mind, Chapter 11 (Multiple Crossovers, E) by TBJRomeo
Shadow Over Hellmouth, Chapter 135 (BtVS & AtS Ensembles, E) by Tuxedo_Mark
The Slayer From Another Dimension, Chapter 5 (BtVS & AtS Ensembles, M) by alsmith786

Time to Heal, Chapter 13 (Spuffy, Unrated) by spuffybaby

Dead Poet's Inheritance, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, Scoobies, Joyce, NC-17) by Soulburnt
What Do You Know About Finances?, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, Angel, Ensemble, NC-17) by Slushpuppy_2

Meta: Buffy Slays, Chapter 18 (Buffy/Spike, BtVS Ensemble, PG-13) by violettathepiratequeen

[Images, Audio & Video]

GIFset: Kennedy + Outfits (SFW) by clarkgriffon
Artwork: I recently watched Buffy for the first time in my life (Spuffy, SFW) by wakkass
Image: Obsessed (Faith, mostly SFW) by slaymaster-general
Artwork: a low res Buffy, in regular type pen (SFW) by latchkeychampion

Short: Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Filming Location (SFW) by Mystery Coordinates
Short: the Kendra Young look - a beauty breakdown on Buffy the Vampire Slayer S2 (SFW) by cutcreaser
Video: The Top 10 Changes Buffy Needs for Its Reboot to Stay Fresh and Relevant (SFW) by Veneto
Video: “Inside the Actor’s Chair Adam Busch Breaks Down His Career, Chicago PD & Buffy Secrets Catalano TV (SFW) by Catalano TV

[Reviews & Recaps]

Reaction: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 3 Episode 9 - The Wish - show reaction - Willow A Vamp again! by Mia Daviesz
Reaction: Angel 4x22 Home Reaction by Jules Reacts

[Recs & In Search Of]

Rec: so i took a small break with the buffy comics by professeurm

ISO Opinions: Best way to incorporate Angel into my Buffy rewatch? by General-Apartment237

[Fandom Discussions]

i love how buffy asks spike if the whole patroling/ramones singing/warehouse outing in crush is a date. by socratesgirlnextdoor
The best love stories start with two people beating the absolute hell out of each other by maxdibert
Being a spuffy shipper is so fun by no-resolution
saw someone ask where the joy is in s7. by camellcat
alright, joining in on the group rewatch! by juanabaloo
y'all I used to be normal about xander harris. by camellcat
Nothing makes me say "well that person doesn't have a great understanding of canon" than the take that Riley Finn is bland or boring. by riley-summers
Spike fully has no business being so intense and I am here for it by spuffybaby
I'm on my Buffy rewatch and I've made it through most of the traumatic season 5 parts by spuffybaby
jenny isn't dead to me :) by lenaluthorssuitcollection

Why wasn’t another slayer called? by thatprickagain
Buffy is so cute yet so so so bad at being undercover :D by Acceptable-Kiwi-9251
what opinion has you like this in the fandom by youseebutyouonlysee
Angie Hart on collaborating on "Blue" for CWDP by Tuxedo_Mark
Giles Is like the Watcher Version of Zordon by Chef-Bubbly
An opinion about Sunnydale… by KENZOKHAOS
Theme song by styxxx80
My friend's hot take watching for the first time by supermario69
Since most people seem to generally divide the show into two eras (S1-S3 and S4-S7 with S4 sometimes by HomarEuropejski
Anybody else going to Hellmouth Con this weekend? by Proof-Put8182

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oracne

Love for our Elders is a program to send handwritten letters to older adults. "Our mission is to alleviate social isolation among older adults through handwritten letters and intergenerational connections."

cimorene

Currently, Wax and I are the little old ladies who only drive once a week. We live in a tiny town whose downtown is only a few streets across, on a small island, and we typically drive to the supermarket to get groceries once a week, not because walking there takes more than ten minutes, but because bringing a week's worth of groceries home (without a sled and a bunch of snow, or a little red wagon that we don't have) is uncomfortable on foot. Several winters in a row we have caused problems for our poor car by not driving often enough or for long enough when it was cold.

On the other hand, we have to have the car now for when we do need to leave town (buses into Kaarina and Turku from here are a pain; the regional 24h veterinary ER is on the other side of Turku, so we definitely did drive there at like 3 am one time when Snookums had a seizure).

I used to kind of enjoy driving, and I drove frequently aged 16-21, but only automatic transmissions.

waxjism had an old car when I first moved here, but it was stick shift and I couldn't drive it and she couldn't teach me. We eventually got rid of it, and I never swapped my US driver's licence for a Finnish one (you can when it it hasn't expired yet).

Wax, who has never liked driving, has been urging me to learn to drive and get a license since we moved here and got the car.

Well, apparently, because I have at one time had a driver's licence from another country it's impossible to apply online for a learning-to-drive permit like everyone else can; I have to go in person to the office in Turku. I guess I'm doing that this week.

jadelennox

For reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, I made a GF variant of Emma Goldman's blintz recipe this morning. (It's because for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, I happened to have farmer cheese in the house.)

When I went looking for something snappy to turn my blintzes into a post, the first quotation on wikiquote is from a newspaper report after her arrest:

I feel sure that the police are helping us more than I could do in ten years. They are making more anarchists than the most prominent people connected with the anarchist cause could make in ten years. If they will only continue I shall be very grateful; they will save me lots of work.

Anyway I am not an anarchist by any measure whatsoever, but I have generally found reading Emma Goldman to be informative and fulfilling (My Disillusionment in Russia is gutwrenching and honestly I think keyboard warriors should read it). Her wikiquote page is so chock full of evergreen statements that I can't even cherrypick anything else to quote. But how about this one?

The very proclaimers of "America first" have long before this betrayed the fundamental principles of real Americanism...the other truly great Americans who aimed to make of this country a haven of refuge, who hoped that all the disinherited and oppressed people in coming to these shores would give character, quality and meaning to the country.

You can make blintzes vegan, too, if you use banana instead of the egg and flip the blattlach very gently. That can be potato or blueberry blintzes, although I've seen a recipe for blintzes with cashew cheese.

In conclusion, blintzes! Mine had strawberries.

Current Mood: peckish

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kaberett

Reading. FINISHED:

Furiously Happy, Jenny Lawson. I can see why people like her! I have also remembered why I wound up unsubscribing from her blog. Very interesting proof of concept in re audiobooks, though.
Prophet, Helen MacDonald and Sin Blaché. Very enjoyable reread in which many things landed differently, in service of...
a word you've never understood, rydra_wong. EXACTLY the post-canon follow-up I wanted but would have absolutely failed to articulate. Have already tried to lure one more person into reading the book so I can then make them go read the fic. Now I just selfishly want Even More Of It.
Pain is really strange, Steve Haines. Reread for the purpose of making notes, this time. Sparked at least one useful thought. Following up references is a work in progress.
How to cook... Desserts, Leiths Cookery School. Read all the way through for the purposes of EYB indexing first pass! Go me.

STARTED:

Adventures in Stationery, James Ward. Borrowed from library on a whim for low-brain non-fiction.

Writing. First pass through indexing a cookbook on EYB!

Some Actual Notes re pain for The Book, including (and I am very proud of myself for this) actually writing down my questions alongside the bare "here's what it contained".

Watching. Murderbot S01E01. I am dubious but expecting to keep watching. If you encourage me I might say more when it is not past curfew.

Cooking. ... apparently I have not managed Much Of Note this week.

Eating. POTATOES at the ALLOTMENT courtesy of ALLOTMENT FRIENDS. Also finished my choi sum and had my first AMAZING broad beans and nibbled kohlrabi speculatively, all on Tuesday.

Today I have nibbled: a cherry; the first few redcurrants; a pod's worth of Kelvedon Wonder peas; half a tiny tomato.

Making & mending. Made some progress on A's left glove. Realised, belatedly, that I'd done the same thing with picking up stitches unevenly along the two sides of the palm. Ripped back most of the way to where I started from and Sulked. BUT HEY I've remembered the pattern and where I'd stowed all the bits for it!

Growing. See Eating for my biggest excitements. Sugar Magnolia (purple sugar-snap pea) now setting pods; my main intention with it this year (given that I planted a whole packet of seeds and have wound up with ...fewer plants than that) is just to get myself sorted with a significantly larger number of seeds for next year, but hey, maybe they'll all be super productive and I'll actually get to eat some too.

Stockings now at the plot to go onto the cherry tomorrow, hopefully.

Tomatoes planted out when tiny not doing so great (i.e. have mostly disappeared). Tomatoes planted out when larger Actually Flowering. Desperately need to stake the lot of them.

Tiny single solitary surviving oca has started to Go.

V grumpy about how poorly the squash I got started A While Ago have coped with getting put outside given that they are in biodegradable fibre pots so I'm not even disturbing their roots. Getting the rest of them in the ground AND THEN SOWING MORE very much also high on tomorrow's priority list. (And the beans, augh.)

Observing. Met a neighbour!

thenewbuzwuzz posting in

su_herald

Amilyn: Ooh. Ah. Ow. Ooh. Ooh. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ooh. Ugh. Ah. Ah. Uh. Uh.

~~Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

I Write Sins, Not Tragedies by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Poetry: today doesn’t count - Chapter 18 by modestlobster (Spike, Buffy/Spike, Dawn, M)

The Plan, Ch. 21 by NotYourGrave (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)
Solemates, Ch. 8 (COMPLETE!) by Maxine Eden, ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)
For Research Purposes, Ch. 3 by shekissedmedead, William Pratt (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)
The Worst Hope, Ch. 4 by TwilightChild (Buffy/Spike, R)
Strong Anthropic Principles, Ch. 26–31 (COMPLETE!) by acekoomboom (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Witchfinder, Ch. 27 by JoeB (multiple crossovers, FR15)
Akashic Advantage. Ch. 52 by beanseh (OC, Scoobies, multiple crossovers, FR18)

Fleur Emphemere, Ch. 4 by Maxine Eden (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Amilyn aka Lefty from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) by bonkerbuster69 (worksafe, cartoon gore)
Gifset: he's so good, it's bad... by clarkgriffon (Buffy/Spike, canon-typical sex scenes)
moodboard: willow & giles by courtillyy (worksafe)
Gifset: You've got to leave... by detectivedawnsummers (Buffy, worksafe)
Captioned screenshots: whirlwind/fanged four textposts by instant-star-59 (worksafe, mild sexual references)
Drawing: Tell me all the time not to worry... by o-cm-draw-o (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)
AU Angel headcanons and sketches by pzyii (worksafe)

Comic: Buffy doesn't show up by drawandpaintbyfire (Buffy & Joyce, the Master, worksafe)

‘BUFFY’ print by zoecsarts (Buffy, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

What was the message in "Ted"? (cont'd) by CardboardGhost

[Recs & In Search Of]

question for any Tarot people out there by paint-me-in-watercolour

LadyLongLimbs seeks Buffy Crochet Patterns

[Community Announcements]

BtVS Weekly Group Rewatch: Witch on Monday June 9

2025 Drabblemania Event Announcement

A new ats/btvs discord server, "the bronze"

[Fandom Discussions]

Angel on BTVS Vs Angel on ATS by FallenAngel00, vampmogs, sybil

June Scoobies of the Month interviews: lilacsandorangeblossoms, Slaymesoftly

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

James Marsters Vampire Fan Weekend NJ 2025 Reports, Pics & Videos via dontkillspike

James talking about the Buffy sequel via authenticriver

James Marsters HellmouthCon 2025 Schedule via jamie_marsters

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angelcage posting in

endings

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niqaeli

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magnavox_23 posting in

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20 icons featuring actor Zahn McClarnon

Check out the rest, here. <3

azurelunatic

I got the standards and brackets for that shelf system, and we are currently at Home Depot, after buying what I sincerely hope is the right configuration of board feet for eight shelves. It's secured to the roof and we're using surface streets.

It's too close to bedtime to start on repair plating the 8 foot boards to the 2 foot boards, probably.

siderea

2025 Jun 7 11:40 am:

benjalvarez1 on Twitter:

WATCH THIS: https://x.com/BenjAlvarez1/status/1931375699786334704

Click through to see the video. You really, really should. Sound is irrelevant.

Text: "Tanks, fighting vehicles and howitzers arrive in Washington, D.C. ahead of next week's military parade. They departed from Texas on June 2." Two minutes and forty seconds.

Allegedly that train is a mile long and is transporting:

• 28 Abrams tanks (M1A2 main battle tank)
• 3 armored recovery vehicles (M88)
• 28 Bradleys (M2A3 infantry fighting vehicle)
• 5 Paladins (M109A7 self-propelled howitzer), and
• 28 Strykers (infantry carrier vehicle)

Source: 2025 Jun 6: @USAMilitaryChannel on YT [not official military channel]: "1-Mile Military Train -Texas to D.C. with Tanks, Armor, and More for Army's 250th Parade". I do not know if that source is reputable or if that inventory is accurate.

USA Today is reporting that "The military vehicles will be joined by 1,800 soldiers". (Source: 2025 Jun 6, USATODAY on YT: "Watch: Tanks, fighting vehicles head to DC for Trump's military parade", CW: face full of Trump, alt: screenshot).

I dunno, maybe it's just me, but I'm thinking that maybe the guy who attempted one coup already bringing a well-armed military force into our capitol city and, crucially, within artillery-range of the Pentagon, is just throwing himself a birthday party, but also maybe not.

ETA: For those of you confused by this, thinking, but doesn't he already control the military? You might want to watch this video about the rise of Xi Jinping.

Now, obviously, Trump would never play a long game like Xi did. But, 1) there are other ways to achieve the same end and 2) he doesn't have to, because his buddies, the Dominionists, did.

musesfool

I used decaf to make coffee granita last night, and I had it for dessert this evening along with a dollop of homemade whipped cream, and it seems to have worked out all right - no late evening side effects of caffeine that I can feel. And I think it's better later in the day as a treat than as my morning coffee, because I eat it so quickly and also it's sweet. I don't put any sugar in my regular coffee, but granita requires it so it doesn't freeze solid. I used vanilla sugar but can't really detect the vanilla (or, rather, differentiate it from the vanilla in the whipped cream).

Also, they were on sale, so I bought a pack of paper plates and they made cleanup after cooking so easy that I remembered why I used to use them regularly back before I had a dishwasher. My plan to replace my dead dishwasher is to try the 4th of July sales - Friend L is going to join me at the store to see if the model I want (Bosch) actually fits in the space I've got (and if it goes on sale - it did not for Memorial Day, that I saw, but maybe I don't need the more expensive/top-of-the-line model? It's just that it has something that will allegedly turn the machine off if it senses a leak, which seems like a good thing to have, especially when you live in an apartment above other people and are responsible if any leakage causes damages below you). Anyway, July is a three-paycheck month, which gives me some leeway for paying most of it off ASAP and not increasing my credit card debt any more than I have to.

*

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Mets vs Rockies on tv

eratoschild posting in

fancake

Fandom: Trails of Cold Steel
Pairings/Characters:
Laura S. Arseid/Duvalie, Ines/Ennea, Victor S. Arseid/McBurn
appearances by other assorted Cold Steel characters and hints of other ships Rating: M
Length: 22442 words
Creator Links: Rosie_Rues
Theme:
Grief/Mourning, Dreamsharing, Recovery, Enemies to Lovers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, changing roles in life, loss of limb
Summary: With the Great Twilight over, Duvalie follows Laura home to Legram. She's not entirely sure why she's here, or when she's going to leave, but she can't bring herself to regret her choice.

Meanwhile, Victor's dreaming of the only man in the universe still willing to offer him a challenge...

Reccer's Notes: While I have read this fic several times, the most recent was some time ago, I always remember it as being roughly half of one ship and half of another- I note this here because one of those ships is M/M. In my rereading, I see the balance is more 2/3 to 1/3, with the bulk of it being the theme-compliant Laura/Duvalie, who begins as something of a lost and reluctant guest in Laura's home in the wake of the loss of the woman who saved her. The emotional metamorphosis of Duvalie's canonical hostility towards Laura- already very much blunted as the story opens, turn to friendship and later towards attraction is an absolute treasure. There are many smaller moments of many relationships of varying sorts between her and otter female characters throughout the story, some of which absolutely beg for stories of their own.

The M/M ships is Victor/McBurn, and they are a prominent part of the story- really a story occurring in parallel, but separately- until it suddenly isn't. While I don't want to dwell on them in this post as they are not germane to the theme, it bears mentioning that they are there in case they would turn anyone off from reading. But I will say that their development is quite astounding, a sword master who has lost an arm, a god who has lost his world and any connection to it and what they become to each other.

This fic deals with grief in many forms, over many different kinds of loss, from loss of friends, comrades in arms, loss of a limb, loss of connection to oneself and an entire world. It's all very sensitively written, and even the absolutely fantastical loss of a god from another dimension with his entire world somehow becomes much less fantastical than one might expect.

There are also themes of many different changes in life that come with time passing and with dealing with these griefs. Oh, and the very cracky-sounding, but utterly sincerely dealt with coping with the shock of learning that your father is banging the demon god from another dimension. (that needs to be a tag, ok)

This is just one of my favorite ever fics, by one of my favorite authors.
Fanwork Links: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45897169

kaberett

goslings! (Canadian; one still very yellow and fluffy, several more rather larger.)
SNAILS. so many excellent snails. we went out on a couple of stupid little walks and saw MANY snails.
ate the last of my birthday cake, with discounted raspberries courtesy of one of said stupid little walks. <3
the post brought Several more books for me (two pain-related, ...some cookery) and I am very pleased with them. particularly looking forward to warm bread and honey cake, though given that I've still not actually read Salt Fat Acid Heat I don't rate my chances of getting to it any time soon...
current borrowed-on-a-whim-from-the-library book: Adventures in Stationery, James Ward. First chapter was paperclips; current chapter is a whistlestop tour of The History Of The Pen, including a much more loving biography of the BIC Cristal than I am normally exposed to via fountain pen fandom!

veronyxk84 posting in

su_herald

SPIKE: I'm in. Everybody okay with that?
LOOSE-SKINNED DEMON: Ante up.
BUFFY: You play for kittens?!
SPIKE: So, who's gonna advance me a tiny tabby, get me started? Come on, someone's gotta stake me.
BUFFY: I'll do it! What, you thought I was just gonna let that lie there?

~~BtVS 6x05 “Life Serial”~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Wrecking Ball (Buffy, PG-13) by veronyxk84

Belated Calvary (Angel & Kate, Cordelia/Doyle, G) by InsaneTrollLogic
phone calls (Willow & Buffy, Giles & Buffy, T) by mistyintherivers
Faith: Overboard (Buffy & Faith, Faith/Connor, Buffy/Connor, T) by StrangeBint
For you, the living, this mash was meant (pre Drusilla/Spike/Buffy, T) by tenderjock