Half-Price Sale in Not Quite Kansas
Feb. 14th, 2026 07:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThe February Poetry Fishbowl made its $300 goal, so there will be a half-price sale in Not Quite Kansas from Monday 16-Sunday 27. Mark your calendars accordingly, and I hope to see you then!
This series has about half a dozen poems available. Here are a few previously posted poems:
"Cruel Intentions and Difficult Truths"
"The Ramifications of That State of Mind"
"The Conditions of Your Selfhood"
This series has about half a dozen poems available. Here are a few previously posted poems:
"Cruel Intentions and Difficult Truths"
"The Ramifications of That State of Mind"
"The Conditions of Your Selfhood"
What EUROPE Just Did for Ukraine… Will Go Down as the DEFINING Moment of the War
Feb. 14th, 2026 05:50 pmoverwhelmed to play, overwhelmed to restart
Feb. 14th, 2026 07:14 pmasuraidaw man i shouldnt have booted up my new horizons island, id feel bad nuking everything on new horizons ... forever torn between nuking it all and beginning from zero, and just pushing through ... but i havent touched my island in literally. 4 years ...
wish you could just back up the island somewhere to have it in case you want to go back to an old save, but i feel like i should bite the bullet and just begin from zero; i look at my hybrid flower breeding field and almost feel dread, plus at the emptiness of some of the houses i set up for villagers that have no decorations, half finished rooms in my house bc i speedran the room expansion thru turnip selling hell ...
i have some rlly cool areas tho like a lil mini cafe in front of the mayor hall, i think i finished most of my museum, have a lot of villagers i adore and lost so much fucking time rerolling the campgrounds/inviting stuff to get raymond on my island but--its like coming back to a work in progress 4 years later and not being sure what u wanted to do. actually its kinda funny, i made my... island on sylvie's bday of march 20th, and in 2020 as well
i know there's the reset option that got introduced but i think i have a 'villager' i made for this place, and i kinda wanna make sylvie in here instead (which yeah yeah if i lose muse for sylvie then im stuck being named as sylvie but like eheheurhugh i have a lot more fun playing as my OCs now than myself)
... shame you cant change your name w/o a full reset LMFAOOO augh this fucking suckss IF I COULD BACK IT UP THEN I'D BE FINE. who knows, maybe i'll restart it march 20th so i can just have the same date again as sylvie's bday lmfao, it'll give me enough time to kinda work thru my new leaf game as well
wish you could just back up the island somewhere to have it in case you want to go back to an old save, but i feel like i should bite the bullet and just begin from zero; i look at my hybrid flower breeding field and almost feel dread, plus at the emptiness of some of the houses i set up for villagers that have no decorations, half finished rooms in my house bc i speedran the room expansion thru turnip selling hell ...
i have some rlly cool areas tho like a lil mini cafe in front of the mayor hall, i think i finished most of my museum, have a lot of villagers i adore and lost so much fucking time rerolling the campgrounds/inviting stuff to get raymond on my island but--its like coming back to a work in progress 4 years later and not being sure what u wanted to do. actually its kinda funny, i made my... island on sylvie's bday of march 20th, and in 2020 as well
i know there's the reset option that got introduced but i think i have a 'villager' i made for this place, and i kinda wanna make sylvie in here instead (which yeah yeah if i lose muse for sylvie then im stuck being named as sylvie but like eheheurhugh i have a lot more fun playing as my OCs now than myself)
... shame you cant change your name w/o a full reset LMFAOOO augh this fucking suckss IF I COULD BACK IT UP THEN I'D BE FINE. who knows, maybe i'll restart it march 20th so i can just have the same date again as sylvie's bday lmfao, it'll give me enough time to kinda work thru my new leaf game as well
[ 719 ]
Feb. 14th, 2026 04:56 pmkatara posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ebookreview
The Poet Empress by Shen Tao
Genre:
Romance, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Asian Literature, Historical Fantasy, Romantasy
Publication Date:
January 20, 2026
Page Numbers:
400
Read/Finished Date:
February 11th, 2026 - February 14th, 2026
Rating:
Premise:
Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun.
In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful.
Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves.
Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House.
But in a twist of fate, the palace stands on the knife-edge of civil war with Wei trapped in its center…at the side of a violent prince.
To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death...and love.
The Poet Empress is an epic fantasy that explores darker themes, subjects, and scenes that may not be suitable for all readers. Please see the author's content note at the beginning of the book.
Review:
TCS
March 2026 Book Voting
Feb. 14th, 2026 06:41 pmseleneheart posting in bookclub_dwPosting on behalf of orangeblossomteas, who is the host for March.
Here are the options for the March book:
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher, 341 pages, "A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and terror in this gripping new novel." Warnings: Ableism, Cheating, Alcohol consumption, Drug use mentioned, Blood & gore depiction, Body horror, Death of a child, Gun violence, Torture, Animal death
Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis, 160 pages, "In nineteenth-century Angland, magic is reserved for gentlemen while ladies attend to the more practical business of politics. But Cassandra Harwood has never followed the rules..." Warnings: None that I could find
The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai (translated by Jesse Kirkwood), 201 pages, "The Kamogawa Food Detectives is the first book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold." Warnings: Grief, Death, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Dementia, Alcohol, Cancer
orangeblossomteas, who is the host for March.Here are the options for the March book:
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher, 341 pages, "A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and terror in this gripping new novel." Warnings: Ableism, Cheating, Alcohol consumption, Drug use mentioned, Blood & gore depiction, Body horror, Death of a child, Gun violence, Torture, Animal death
Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis, 160 pages, "In nineteenth-century Angland, magic is reserved for gentlemen while ladies attend to the more practical business of politics. But Cassandra Harwood has never followed the rules..." Warnings: None that I could find
The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai (translated by Jesse Kirkwood), 201 pages, "The Kamogawa Food Detectives is the first book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold." Warnings: Grief, Death, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Dementia, Alcohol, Cancer
Poll #34222 March 2026 Book Club
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8
What book should we read in March?
Poem: "If You Don't Fall Down"
Feb. 14th, 2026 05:28 pmysabetwordsmithThis is the freebie for the February crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by "One Who Falls and Gets Up" by gs_silva. It also fills the "Helplessness" square in my 2-1-26 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the webcomic Alien Romance by gs_silva.
( Read more... )
crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by "One Who Falls and Gets Up" by gs_silva. It also fills the "Helplessness" square in my 2-1-26 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the webcomic Alien Romance by gs_silva.( Read more... )
for this was on seynt Valentynes day
Feb. 14th, 2026 01:41 pmmuccamukkNenya's summary of an early account of St Valentine's Day as a romantic festival: "So it was RPF written during lockdown, which contained endless jousting sprinkled with #relatable? Whomst among us?"
Wild tonal shift to follow:
It's also the day that Frederick Douglass chose as his birthday, which is very sweetly illustrated here: What, to a Country, Is a Child’s Birthday? | Talk & Draw with Liza Donnelly & Heather Cox Richardson (video: 3 minutes).
Yesterday, we went to a No More Stolen Sisters march, which was very touching, especially given how many women were their with pictures of missing and murdered relatives. A lot of red cloaks and traditional woven cedar hats.
It was organised by the student union, and I appreciated how much care they put into cultural safety and looking out for family members.
We listened to the DNTO podcast "The Story She Carries: Lorelei Williams and her fight for justice" for class, and my professor said she'd gone to residential school with Williams' mother. It's all very close here.
Wild tonal shift to follow:
It's also the day that Frederick Douglass chose as his birthday, which is very sweetly illustrated here: What, to a Country, Is a Child’s Birthday? | Talk & Draw with Liza Donnelly & Heather Cox Richardson (video: 3 minutes).
Yesterday, we went to a No More Stolen Sisters march, which was very touching, especially given how many women were their with pictures of missing and murdered relatives. A lot of red cloaks and traditional woven cedar hats.
It was organised by the student union, and I appreciated how much care they put into cultural safety and looking out for family members.
We listened to the DNTO podcast "The Story She Carries: Lorelei Williams and her fight for justice" for class, and my professor said she'd gone to residential school with Williams' mother. It's all very close here.
Art: Mo Dao Zu Shi fannish Valentines
Feb. 14th, 2026 04:00 pmxinger posting in beagoldfishTitle: Mo Dao Zu Shi fannish Valentines
Fandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi
Character(s): Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji
Summary: Two MDZS Valentines postcards, created from donghua screenshots, overlaid with the same text in Chinese and in English.
Link to Valentines: dreamwidth
Fandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi
Character(s): Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji
Summary: Two MDZS Valentines postcards, created from donghua screenshots, overlaid with the same text in Chinese and in English.
Link to Valentines: dreamwidth
Monopoly 26.01 - Challenge Reminder
Feb. 14th, 2026 09:32 pmprisca posting in fandom_empireWe already have 8 participants in the regular challenge and 1 participant for Team Omega. But there are still about twenty hours until the end of week five. Jump into the game and earn some points!
Remember your Joker Card if you don't like your prompts. For two token you can roll the dice again!
If you have used your Joker Card to catch up with a previous week, you can still post up to two works for this week!
Post all your finished works atfandom_empire_workplace until Sunday, February 15, 18.00 UTC, but I will allow belated works until I've made the closing post Countdown here.
Remember your Joker Card if you don't like your prompts. For two token you can roll the dice again!
If you have used your Joker Card to catch up with a previous week, you can still post up to two works for this week!
Post all your finished works at
fandom_empire_workplace until Sunday, February 15, 18.00 UTC, but I will allow belated works until I've made the closing post Countdown here.(no subject)
Feb. 14th, 2026 06:40 pmshadowhiveSo yesterday I had intended to go to town to see Whistle and Send Help, but that didn’t end up happening cause I woke up in the morning and it was raining, and raining hard. Another storm hit and stayed around all day so that wasn’t happening.
I think cause of the weather (and it messing up my plans) I was low energy all day. I didn’t do much, though I did watch Seapeekay’s stream, cuddle Midna and watch the Winter Olympics (or rather half watch).
That did mean though I watched team go get our first medal! We got a gold in the skeleton bob! The thought of it is so terrifying down a track (?) on what’s essentially a tray fast first. I can’t imagine doing it myself but it was awesome to see how fast they went (and yay our guy getting the gold!)
It’s tour fair this weekend and there was Mandalorian And Grogu merch reveals which look cool. We finally have a name for Sigourney Weaver’s character (Colonel Ward) and it looks like she gets to fly an x-wing! Also there’s cute lil guys and a hot new unnamed droid.
Last night, after going on Dead By Daylight, I watched the first ep of The Beauty which seems pretty good so far. The hottest thing Evan Peters has done so far is speak French fluently. Plus I’d no idea till the credits that it’s based on a comic which is pretty cool.
Today the weather was much better. I had considered going to the cinema today I’d the weather had been bad yesterday but when I woke I wasn’t feeling it too much. Until mum (whips I must’ve mentioned it too) called me up and I felt that I should.
So I went. I didn’t do much in town, I posted off my package, checked in smiths for stickers (alas none) and found the record store that’s getting record store day (alas I didn’t have chance for a proper look, maybe next time). They are getting Sleep Token’s one though yay!
So it’s half term here which I guess is why there’s only showings of horror films in late afternoons/nights this week. So despite wanting to see Whistle and Send Help yesterday I was unable to see either today (if it wasn’t for MCC I might have but…) so instead I saw Looney Tunes and Kangaroo, which have the complete and total opposite vibes to what I’d hoped to see yesterday
(I am considering doing a night trip to see them both, but I’m hoping they’ll be showing on Friday so I can see one with Cold Storage.)
Trailers, just gonna do nee to me cause some (The Magic Faraway Tree, Hoppers, are ones I’d seen before)
Arco - looks pretty and I’m kinda curious about it
The Land Of Sometimes - Looks like a fun little thing and the titular land looks pretty
Thoughts on both ahoy.
( Read more... )
On the return train back I read the Ghostwatch article in sfx. Apparently there’s a new blu ray version coming which is what the article is about (it ends saying it’s getting a release soon in Australia which seems odd). One thing that’s cool is they’ve got ceefax subtitles that they retrieved from recorded tapes. I had no idea that tapes had that stuff in recordings!
I got some cheap stuff from the co-op, then the Lego Star Wars magazine from somewhere else, before coming home and now I’m flop watching The Masked Singer/MCC. I might watch something tonight but who knows what.
I still need to do the week 2 of the stuff I love too oop. I might have done it yesterday if I wasn’t so drained.
I think cause of the weather (and it messing up my plans) I was low energy all day. I didn’t do much, though I did watch Seapeekay’s stream, cuddle Midna and watch the Winter Olympics (or rather half watch).
That did mean though I watched team go get our first medal! We got a gold in the skeleton bob! The thought of it is so terrifying down a track (?) on what’s essentially a tray fast first. I can’t imagine doing it myself but it was awesome to see how fast they went (and yay our guy getting the gold!)
It’s tour fair this weekend and there was Mandalorian And Grogu merch reveals which look cool. We finally have a name for Sigourney Weaver’s character (Colonel Ward) and it looks like she gets to fly an x-wing! Also there’s cute lil guys and a hot new unnamed droid.
Last night, after going on Dead By Daylight, I watched the first ep of The Beauty which seems pretty good so far. The hottest thing Evan Peters has done so far is speak French fluently. Plus I’d no idea till the credits that it’s based on a comic which is pretty cool.
Today the weather was much better. I had considered going to the cinema today I’d the weather had been bad yesterday but when I woke I wasn’t feeling it too much. Until mum (whips I must’ve mentioned it too) called me up and I felt that I should.
So I went. I didn’t do much in town, I posted off my package, checked in smiths for stickers (alas none) and found the record store that’s getting record store day (alas I didn’t have chance for a proper look, maybe next time). They are getting Sleep Token’s one though yay!
So it’s half term here which I guess is why there’s only showings of horror films in late afternoons/nights this week. So despite wanting to see Whistle and Send Help yesterday I was unable to see either today (if it wasn’t for MCC I might have but…) so instead I saw Looney Tunes and Kangaroo, which have the complete and total opposite vibes to what I’d hoped to see yesterday
(I am considering doing a night trip to see them both, but I’m hoping they’ll be showing on Friday so I can see one with Cold Storage.)
Trailers, just gonna do nee to me cause some (The Magic Faraway Tree, Hoppers, are ones I’d seen before)
Arco - looks pretty and I’m kinda curious about it
The Land Of Sometimes - Looks like a fun little thing and the titular land looks pretty
Thoughts on both ahoy.
( Read more... )
On the return train back I read the Ghostwatch article in sfx. Apparently there’s a new blu ray version coming which is what the article is about (it ends saying it’s getting a release soon in Australia which seems odd). One thing that’s cool is they’ve got ceefax subtitles that they retrieved from recorded tapes. I had no idea that tapes had that stuff in recordings!
I got some cheap stuff from the co-op, then the Lego Star Wars magazine from somewhere else, before coming home and now I’m flop watching The Masked Singer/MCC. I might watch something tonight but who knows what.
I still need to do the week 2 of the stuff I love too oop. I might have done it yesterday if I wasn’t so drained.
Birdfeeding
Feb. 14th, 2026 01:51 pmysabetwordsmithToday is cloudy and chilly.
I fed the birds. I've seen a small flock of sparrows. I heard a cardinal singing but didn't see it.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 2/14/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
I put out more birdseed and a fresh cake of peanut suet.
EDIT 2/14/26 -- I spread a bucket of mulch around the apricot tree.
EDIT 2/14/26 -- It's been drizzling here, just enough to wet things, not enough to leave puddles anywhere I've seen.
EDIT 2/14/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
It is now raining enough to leave a few tiny puddles on the patio.
I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a small flock of sparrows. I heard a cardinal singing but didn't see it.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 2/14/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
I put out more birdseed and a fresh cake of peanut suet.
EDIT 2/14/26 -- I spread a bucket of mulch around the apricot tree.
EDIT 2/14/26 -- It's been drizzling here, just enough to wet things, not enough to leave puddles anywhere I've seen.
EDIT 2/14/26 -- I did more work around the patio.
It is now raining enough to leave a few tiny puddles on the patio.
I am done for the night.
Moment of Silence: Spikedluv
Feb. 14th, 2026 01:49 pmysabetwordsmithI came across a reference that spikedluv has passed away. There are comments under the last post to this effect.
spikedluv has passed away. There are comments under the last post to this effect. animal crossing new horizons...
Feb. 14th, 2026 01:30 pmasuraidoh the dangerous temptation to begin my new horizons game again after this video ... i love new horizons, and mine is a first day island, but the issue is the game is overwhelming to me because of all the custom designs and pathing and everything, so making a full island without paths (outside maybe a few), no codes, and so on ... may revive my interest in it. issue is the fact im already playing new leaf ... like yeah switch =/= 3ds and the 3ds is more on hand to keep around, but my brain ...
art: Murderbot fannish Valentines
Feb. 14th, 2026 11:58 ammarcicat posting in beagoldfishTitle: Murderbot fannish Valentines
Fandom: The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells)
Summary: Three Murderbot Diaries Valentines postcards. Base images are the cover art by Jaime Jones for Network Effect, Rogue Protocol, and Rapport, all by Martha Wells.
on dreamwidth
Fandom: The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells)
Summary: Three Murderbot Diaries Valentines postcards. Base images are the cover art by Jaime Jones for Network Effect, Rogue Protocol, and Rapport, all by Martha Wells.
on dreamwidth
