mindstalk | Reading

name: folie (she/they)
age group: 20s
country: usa
subscription/access policy: new to this site!! subscriptions encouraged :D i'm not sure if i'll give anyone access tho ahaha. minors please dni :)
interests: music, concerts, fall out boy, green day, simple plan, pop rock/rock music, alternative music, emo music, my chemical romance, l.s. dunes, the sound of animals fighting, hyperpop, 100 gecs, frost children, jane remover (i'm a normal fan i promise), underscores, pierce the veil, sleeping with sirens, concerts (i attend Many...), books, video games, dragon age (inquisition) (i'm normal about this. not really), uncharted, minecraft, stardew valley, inscryption (one of my favs), slay the spire, pokemon, movies (my top 4: saw, brokeback mountain, handmaiden, and 28 days later), horror, saw (2004) (the entire series actually) (i'm normal about it), creep, scream, cult horror, science, cats, rock climbing (my new hobby), bass guitar (my second newest hobby), food, cooking, art, drawing, tv shows, interview with the vampire, it's always sunny in philadelphia, breaking bad, anime, manga, youtube, dan and phil, vanillamace.

i post about: media i'm currently consuming/enjoying, life events, braindumps, etc. i review a new album every day if you are interested in expanding your music taste! i listen to all genres of music :) i'm planning on mostly using this blog as a personal diary, but i am interested in engaging with the community on this site and making some friends! i may occasionally post some original writing or things about my original characters :P
about me/other info: mentioned previously but i'm new to this site!! i will do my best not to abandon this account but no promises... i am looking to make friends! feel free to interact with me if we have interests in common :) i am a lesbian, i am emo, and i am a scientist. in my free time, i like to draw, play video games, and watch bad movies (please give recommendations!). my icon is my fursona hehe

Current Music: outbound by after

This post is a response to a guest post by Nandwich on the Neotenous Barnacle, a blog which sometimes isn’t not about ttrpgs. You can find that post here: https://nandwich.substack.com/p/bad-guys-in-d-and-d-should-chase

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Except I think that my pupil distance was 56 instead of 55, and also the bridge seems a bit flimsy. That, I don't like, but it may be my amorphous anxiety talking.

In other news, Moonpie has completely scratched and licked up her nipples and now they're bleeding and infected, and apparently the vet prefers to do a blood test at this age, but as the blood test is $400 we declined. (E asked if I thought they judged us for that, lol, sweetie, I always think everybody judges me for everything, but that's not a rational mindset, so no, upon reflection I don't think that. We're hardly the only family to make petcare decisions based on affordability, and even if they do judge us, great, they can pay for this bloodwork themselves.) Also, NYC now mandates a new vaccine for cats and dogs. They can mandate what they like, but they can't make people follow that law. However, after the vet explained that this disease spreads pretty easily and now is spreading to humans, in whom it can cause kidney and/or liver failure, I decided, reluctantly, to make vaxxing the cats a priority. Which means full vet appointments for each one and new rabies shots as well. It's not going to be a quick process, is what I'm saying. (And we still need to replace those water heaters before they break!)

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Here we infer that LUCA lived ~4.2 Ga (4.09–4.33 Ga) through divergence time analysis of pre-LUCA gene duplicates, calibrated using microbial fossils and isotope records under a new cross-bracing implementation. Phylogenetic reconciliation suggests that LUCA had a genome of at least 2.5 Mb (2.49–2.99 Mb), encoding around 2,600 proteins, comparable to modern prokaryotes. Our results suggest LUCA was a prokaryote-grade anaerobic acetogen that possessed an early immune system. Although LUCA is sometimes perceived as living in isolation, we infer LUCA to have been part of an established ecological system.

I'm now reading a pair of books that I am happy to continue with, though I'm still fairly early into both. Each offers me a bit of a view into a different time and culture.

I have Julia Lovell's abridgement and translation of the Chinese classic, Monkey King: Journey to the West. Excellently, it is small enough to fit into the lower-inside pocket of my coat which makes it ideal for bringing along with me, including on my commute. Just earlier today, I found myself wishing I'd brought it when I found myself facing an unexpectedly long queue in the post office. It's fun and I appreciate a touch of absurd satire.

I also picked up the previously mentioned Credo by Melvyn Bragg. It's a nice change for me to read material set in the Dark Ages and, so far, I find it interesting and engaging; it handles the religious side well. As a hardback, it's a rather weighty tome: I am happy to read it at home but it's certainly not routinely accompanying me on travels.

Many television reality competitions have a format where they start with many contestants and eliminate one-ish each episode. Once we get to the last small handful, we hold the final.

One thing that surprised me at first but seems commonplace is the idea that the semifinal is before the final, then before that is the quarterfinal, etc. I can understand that in two-contestant-trial knockout matches, as one can find in some tournaments between sports teams. Then, the teams in the quarterfinals are in the final for a quarter of the teams, the teams in the semfinals are in the final for half (semi) of the teams, etc. However, this model doesn't fit the current reality shows at all.

Perhaps my reasoning fits the original meaning, then the typical thing happened where a precise word was broadened into becoming rather less useful. Or, I was just mistaken from the start.

Six books new to me: two fantasy, one science fiction, one that seems to be a mix of both, one horror, and one non-fiction.

Books Received, November 1 - November 7

How is it November already?

Poll #33815 Rings of Fate by Melissa de la Cruz (January 2026)

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 34

View Respondents

Which of these (mostly upcoming) book look interesting?

View Answers

Rings of Fate by Melissa de la Cruz (January 2026)
5 (14.7%)

Foundling Fathers by Meg Elison (June 2026)
14 (41.2%)

Letters From an Imaginary Country by Theodora Goss (November 2025)
15 (44.1%)

The Essential Horror of Joe R. Lansdale by Joe R. Lansdale (October 2025)
3 (8.8%)

Fallen Gods by Rachel van Dyken (December 2025)
7 (20.6%)

The Lost History of the New Madrid Earthquakes by Conevery Bolton Valencius (May 2024)
21 (61.8%)

Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.9%)

Cats!
26 (76.5%)

Nine years and eight months ago, I earned my black belt in shōrin-ryu karate.

Today, I became a second degree black belt.

It was supposed to happen sooner. But right when the head of my dojo began saying that maybe it was time for me to prep for testing, a pandemic started. Which put a dent in my training. And even once classes began again, various factors meant I wasn't able to go regularly. And then 2024 was, in hindsight, a rather abysmal year for my health. And and and, spring of this year rolled around, and I realized I was in danger of it being ten years since my previous test, and dammit, I did not intend to let that milestone pass without me at least trying to take the next step.

There were more than a few hurdles along the way. I've had wrist problems for years that meant I hadn't been doing kobudo (weapons training), but you're expected to do that as part of your test. So starting in August I began a crash course, scraping the rust off the sai kata I was expected to perform -- not too bad; it was one I used to know well -- and, uh, learning from scratch a long and difficult bo kata that I did not know in the slightest. I went so gung-ho on that, in fact, that I managed to give myself a repetitive stress sprain in my right ankle five weeks before the test (bear in mind that sprains take about six weeks to heal . . .). And then, to put the cherry on top of that sundae, I caught my big toe against the mat nine days ago and basically re-activated the hellacious sprain I had in that joint some years previously.

As I put it to several people, by the time I got to the test, I felt like I was being held together by chewing gum. Not even duct tape: that would have been an upgrade.

But these higher-level tests can only be done when our dojo's founder is in town (he moved back to Okinawa a few years ago), and his next visit will likely be for the seminar in April of next year. That would be past the decade mark I was determined to beat. So, come hell or high water, I was going to drag my sorry carcass through the test -- and I did! And, barring a couple of utterly bone-headed errors brought on by nerves (which got knowing nods of "yep, that happens" from other black belts later), I did acceptably well. I faced down literally an international panel of seven sensei -- Shihan being in from Okinawa, and also we have a contingent of Germans from one of our sister dojo here for the fall seminar -- whose collective belt rank totaled well over forty degrees, and I achieved ni-dan status.

You don't get a new belt, of course. It's still the same black belt as before. But there's kind of a joke that a truly experienced black belt becomes a white belt again, because over time the black threads fray and break, revealing the white canvas core underneath, so that a truly high-level sensei's belt can be tattered indeed.

And this afternoon, after I passed my test . . .

. . . I glanced down at my belt . . .

. . . and I found a tiny frayed spot on the corner of one end where the white canvas is peeking through.

I consider it my ni-dan badge. ^_^

(originally posted at Swan Tower: https://is.gd/u7LBNv)

Nearly all of the essays for the New Worlds Patreon this month are going to be talking about genitals or other explicit topics, beginning this week with circumcision. You have been warned; now comment over there!

(originally posted at Swan Tower: https://is.gd/hYcOsz)

Name: I go by Jess mainly but you can call me Ondine as well
Age group: I'm 17, will be 18 in March. I know a lot of people don't want minors on their journal so yeah, be warned. Of course I don't mind older folks as long as you aren't weird towards me.
Country: "U! S! A! U-U-U-U! S! A!"
Subscription/Access policy: None at the moment because I don't have any locked entries, and I don't forsee myself really having any.

Fannish interests: Fanart, fic reading/sometimes writing, selfshipping/yume/riako/whatever stuff, oshikatsu culture
What I like to post about: Long form rambles about my life, ideas I have about media I like
Fandoms: Mostly Blue Lock, Cookie Run (CRK/CROB), YGO, rhythm games (PJSK/Enstars to be specific), Vocaloid, and Trauma Center. I mostly post about Blue Lock because I've been very hyperfixated (I'm autistic) for about 4 months at this point. I'm trying to branch out and get into more things as well.

About me: I've used DW for about 3 or so years but this is a new journal, I've had other journals in the past. I've never liked mainstream social media. Problem is I'm only now really figuring out how to properly engage with this site and maybe get some eyes on my journal. I like talking to myself but it gets a bit lonely. By the way, I hate discourse and I'm not pro or anti or neutral anything. If I see something I don't like I block it. And I would assume I needn't say this but just in case, bigots of any kind are not welcome around me.
Other hobbies: Music (I love Interpol), drawing, crafts, reading
Looking for people who are: Also neurodivergent, in the same fandoms as me

Journal info: My entries are pretty long, and I don't cut them unless they contain some kind of sensitive content. I do vent but it's nothing too serious, anything I think would warrant a content warning has one and goes under a cut. I haven't posted much fandom-related content but will definitely do so eventually, so stay tuned...

Current Mood: calm

Author: Himring
Title: Soup or Stew
Characters: Original Female Character (Noldorin Elf)
Pairing: n/a
Text type / Format: ficlet
Source / Fandom: Lord of the Rings; Silmarillion
Rating: PG
Warnings: allusion to war conditions
Word Count: c.170
Summary: Narye (former Feanorian housekeeper) cooks for the troops of Rivendell during the War of the Last Alliance.
Author notes: For the November Challenge (thematic prompt)

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"And yet you're still breathing?"

Discovering what she expected to be a lucrative new job is instead an internship, Ropa Moyo tries to pay her bill by resorting to her avocation of detective.

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments (Edinburgh Nights, volume 2) by T. L. Huchu

What I go by: Ren (they/them)

Bit About Me: Nonbinary, bisexual, old (okay, over 40), parent, writer, admin worker and disabled, living in Wales.

Where else I can be found online: so many places lol

What I post about: Art, writing, fanfic, mostly my life in general - my kids, my health, my hobbies

Hobbies & Interests: I like to write, to draw, archery, colouring, gaming (I have a swtich and a PS5), fanfiction. This is one of the few places, as well as pillowfort, where my fandom side and my actual life intersect.

Fandoms/characters/ships if fannish: I like Stargate, Star Trek, Rizzoli & Isles, Dr Who, Castle, NCIS, Bones, MCU, Dragon Age. I dabble a lot and hope around a lot - I mostly write in whatever I'm watching at the time. I prefer femslash, I dislike m/m.

Other things I want you to know about me: I have two kids, both girls, one is a cancer survivor and had a liver transplant. I've been married for 13 years to my American wife.

What I'm looking for in friends/blogs to follow: Anyone who still loves Stargate as much as me, but anyone who's into the same stuff as me, or happens to be a geeky parent.

It was a penny more than the old ones, so there's that. (But I paid for super expedited shipping, so actually it's like $40 more.)

They're green. I'm not so sure about this, but there will be NO MORE TAKE-BACKS. I triple checked that they weren't safety glasses with the things on the side, which would've been great if I was in a field where I needed those but, as it is, was unwearable, and they're the exact same measurement as my old glasses, I checked that as well.

I liked it, but that was because I liked laughing at how stupidly oblivious the protagonist was to his not-rival's extraordinarily obvious crush on him. And also because I like most things I read.

But then, here I was, 20 minutes from the finish line, our two dudes are about to finally resolve all their deep-seated personal issues that have kept them apart - and my coworkers start a loud conversation right next to me and they will not shut up. I did, eventually, have to ask them to please stop for half an hour so I could finish my book.

******************

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I had my twice-a-year appointment with the neurologist. All the low-tech neurology stuff was fine, with little change from the previous exam. We are reducing my dose of gabapentin, which we talked about last time, and I told him I want to give that a try.

( Paladin's Legacy - Elizabeth Moon ) Not Moon's best work, but I very much enjoyed these; more than I did the first time around.

( 100. The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense - Suzette Haden Elgin ) I have read enough agony columns to know that people like this do exist, so maybe I'm just lucky enough to have avoided them...

( 102. The Reign of George III - J Steven Watson ) Still enjoying getting more of this big-picture view of history; it's not my usual preference, but it does make me think differently.

( 104. Aunty Lee's Chilled Revenge - Ovidia Yu ) I continue to enjoy this series; Aunty Lee is a great detective.

( 105. The Mountain in the Sea - Ray Nayler ) This seems to have been a polarising book, and the rest of my book group weren't keen, but I thought it was doing some worthwhile things.

( 108. Deeds of Honor - Elizabeth Moon ) Enjoyable for completists.

( 109. Connexions - LA Hall ) Just such a charming series, full of genuinely decent people.

( 110. The Death I Gave Him - Em X Liu ) Cool concept, hated it.

( 111. Winter's Gifts - Ben Aaronovitch ) Surprisingly charming, considering all the horrific elements.

( 112. The March North - Graydon Saunders ) I do love this series.

It's been a day for weird email interactions.

First up is Silent Book Club Singapore. Silent Book Club Singapore contacted me about "highlighting" Unjust Cause (a curious choice being the second in a somewhat unpopular series) for their November 15 gathering. Of course, the inital email mentions no fees, but I could smell it on them. There are plenty of legit places that will offer to have you Zoom in to a club meeting, so I was a tiny bit hopeful. Hope springing as it does, eternal, I wrote back and said, sure, tell me more...

Alas.

The second email was immediatly, "for the low, low price!" ($100, not actually low, friends.)

So, fellow authors? Beware. They're not legit.

Next, when I should be working on the sequel to Boy. Net, I wandered over to my ancient Hotmail account to clean it up. It occured to me that I actually have a lot of mail from many years ago on just stilling unread on Hotmail (now Outlook, but it still functions) and it behooved me to start trying to clean that stuff up. So, I'm clicking away, registering names only long enough to determine whether or not the email is worth saving, and there, in the middle of 2020 is an email from an old high school friend. The email came to me shortly after George Floyd's murder and it's from the one high school friend that I really, really wanted to have reconnected with. I had two besties in high school and one of them completely disappeared on me... and here she was, reaching out FIVE years ago. She wrote to ask after good places to donate post-the uprising and, I guess to make the email feel worth it, tell me about how her children (and dad and dog) were surviving the pandemic and lockdown.

Both of these emails were deeply demoralizing.

I sent my old high school friend a "hey, I guess I ghosted you five years ago? Hey, awkward, but I didn't mean to," email from my real gmail account, but I'm not expecting a reply. I've actually tried to reconnect with this particular friend several times over the years and have gotten zip. I suspect that I was just a sudden "Oh, I know someone in Minnesota I can ask about good charities" stray thought and not a real desire to reconnect, since... well, I did write several tims over several decades. And, maybe those also ended up in email accounts barely checked? But, also? I'm not actually hard to find. I mean, I guess Googling "Lyda Morehouse email" you do get directed to my Hotmail, something I should figure out how to correct that, but dang.

Anway both interactions I kind of made me feel... I don't know, not "used," but definitely not loved for myself.

lcohen pointed out last night when we were chatting that I have been posting a lot of things lately that make it seem as though I'm down on myself (or my writing career,) and I just want to assure you all, I'm doing fine. There is, alas, an ebb and flow to one's writing career and I've been in the ebb (whichever one is the lowest) for a long, long time now. So, that does wear on me? But, it's also just where I am. Tomorrow or in five years, maybe I'll be back in the flow. You never know.

But sadly, the ebb is where all the scammers find you and try to prey on you.

And I dunno, missing an email from my friend just sucks.

Miss the action movies of the recent past? Now you and your fellow gamers can recreate them.

Outgunned by Riccardo “Rico” Sirignano & Simone Formicola (Translated by Caterina Arzani)

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Page Summary

foliea in addme_fandom - a figment of your imagination...?
contrarianarchon - Why things do not at present chase in D&D that I run
conuly - Well, I like them well enough
james_davis_nicoll - The nature of the last universal common ancestor and its impact on the early Earth system
mtbc - Books that I am reading
mtbc - Elimination competitions
james_davis_nicoll - Books Received, [strike] October 1 — October 7[/strike] November 1 - November 7
swan_tower - The No Longer Littlest Black Belt Takes the Next Step
swan_tower - New Worlds: Circumcision
ondiine in addme_fandom - Not sure if I'll have much luck, but...
hhimring in tolkienshortfanworks - Soup or Stew, by Himring
bunsen_h in girlgenius_lair - Friday's comic: My young apprentice, though boorish...
james_davis_nicoll - Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments (Edinburgh Nights, volume 2) by T. L. Huchu
renfys in addme_fandom - hello
conuly - Well, I've picked out a new set of frames
conuly - I used the election to read In Other Lands
redbird - neurologist
wychwood - booklog: second half of September
lydamorehouse - Weird Email Day
james_davis_nicoll - Outgunned by Riccardo “Rico” Sirignano & Simone Formicola (Translated by Caterina Arzani)

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