efw | Member Posts

Books

Finished listening to the audiobook of Monkey King (abridged, Monkey-centric, version of Journey to the West translated by Julia Lovell, narrated by Kevin Shen.) It was very fun.

Tech
Dug out the soldering iron etc that I bought years ago with the annual intention of learning electronics this year. Now to check whether they work and haven't become damaged over two moves and mumble years of storage.

cupcake_goth

Edinburgh has been good so far! Our hotel is lovely, the food is good, and it has an elevator and working a/c, yay!

My pain levels with my back and hips fluctuate, and sometimes for no discernible reason. BUT! One of the things we were wondering about appears to be true: I’m far less inflamed and in general background pain, and it’s almost certainly due to the food. This is something I’ve read a lot about; people with some sort of chronic pain issue finding it eases up when they’re eating outside of the US. Hell, it turns out that the bun of the breakfast sandwich I’ve eaten for the past three days has traces of corn in it, and I’ve had no reactions. And I’m less bloated. That’s it, moving to the UK to live off salads, black pudding, and scones with clotted cream.

—

As is traditional, I went to Marks & Spencers and bought a lot of underthings. I may hit another M&S to buy additional bras, because the two I got are fantastic.

—

Proof that I can go out in the sun and not immediately die!

cupcake_goth

Booooooo I didn’t get to do anything I planned for today because I woke up with a “pray for a coma” migraine that had the bonus fun of chills. London is suffering a heatwave, and I spent the first half of the day bundled under two duvets. I’m mad about all of this.

But! We leave for Edinburgh tomorrow, and that will be fun!

rebelsheart

I'm wrapping up Visions of Mana very soon. To that end, I'm looking at what should take it's place on my Thursday night streams.

Trials of Mana: I've played this before, but a single playthrough only covers half the characters. I'd play as the other three!
Echoes of Aincrad: The demo of the first ever Sword Art Online game where you're not playing as a main character from the anime but instead as an original character has received mixed reviews, but I enjoyed it. I'm going to play it either way, but do you want to see me play it? Comes out July 9 and I would do a mega stream on the 11th to launch it.
Splatoon Raiders: The fourth entry in the Splatoon Franchise, and the first to focus on a single-player, offline experience. While it offers a cooperative mode, and a mechanic where you can request or provide support to others players, I'd be focusing on the single-player experience. Comes out July 23.

rydra_wong

Update:

The Lefebvrians have issued the most hilarious, sanctimonious, jaw-droppingly egotistical, self-martyred, AND THEN YOU'LL BE SORRY response to their excommunications imaginable:

https://skythread.mackuba.eu/?author=clairewillett.bsky.social&post=3mpresjigf22z (thread)

okay on today’s episode of “Give Us Thia Day Our Daily Thread,” guys the official response from SSPX to their excommunication is fucking hilarious. absolute whiny baby shit

“you are so mean and unfair, yet we heroically forgive you for it with our saintlike forbearance” girl please

Commentary:

https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3mprgjiy73k2h

Possibly if you thought the church needed you so badly you should not have spent the last 40 years screaming "You're not my REAL Pope" at the guys who were, in fact, your real Popes

https://bsky.app/profile/azasloth.bsky.social/post/3mprfzbkikk2s

You EXCOMMUNICATE Miette like the heretic? Oh! Oh! Jail for Mother Church! Jail for Ten Thousand Years!

Also now I'm hung up on the egg thing:

https://bsky.app/profile/malachitetiger.bsky.social/post/3mprkixqaos2r

I love how badly this metaphor got away from them.

What exactly do you need an egg for so bad that would nevertheless result in you *returning the egg later*??

rydra_wong

https://skythread.mackuba.eu/?author=clairewillett.bsky.social&post=3mpp226iwoc2j

I just think in my heart of hearts that Christofascists don’t ever expect to face consequences because it doesn’t happen nearly as often as it should

https://skythread.mackuba.eu/?author=irimtated.bsky.social&post=3mpns6zsf3s2q (thread)

I've been thinking about how I've been feeling about this, and my friend and I feel slightly guilty about being *so happy about this*. And I wonder if part of it is that we (particularly as brown women) are always asked to bend & build bridges to people who think of us as less than human 1/

https://bsky.app/profile/hammancheez.bsky.social/post/3mpnzbdcnrs2a

Pope : with mercy and love and deep regret, i must call this a schismatic act

Half of bluesky with their shirts off and earrings out ready to brawl outside applebees : GET THEIR ASSES WOOOOO

https://bsky.app/profile/mostlybree.kitrocha.com/post/3mpp4xs7bfk2n

We're so starving for consequences we're reading Vatican press releases

https://bsky.app/profile/neolithicsheep.bsky.social/post/3mpoyyzxtek2v

It's not that I am suddenly embracing Roman Catholic doctrine wholesale, it's that I am suddenly embracing the amount of spite Bob from Chicago is bringing to the function, as it were.

vass

Books
Short fiction: read Malka Older's 'Narrative Disorder' (2017) and Samantha Mills' '10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days' (2025).

Apart from that, I've been reading audiobooks lately:

Read Rick Morton's My Year of Living Vulnerably, about CPTSD and the meaning of love, and had emotions.

Read Casey Johnston's A Physical Education, about her journey from a very unhappy relationship with her body/food/exercise to something much happier, via weightlifting.

I expected a lot of information I already had, of the "Women! Scared lifting weights will make you 'too bulky'? It won't, and here's why..." kind. It did contain that, but also more interesting (to me) reflections on the politics and class aspects of lifting, and physical coordination in compound lifts (I was already on board with the importance of squats and deadlifts, but this particular angle on them, of one's body communicating with itself, was one I hadn't encountered before, and I'm intrigued.)

Read Randolph Stow's 1980 novel The girl green as elderflower. The only Stow I'd read before this was his Midnite.

The girl green as elderflower is odd (approving). It's haunting. It draws heavily both on Stow's own experiences of having both malaria and a mental breakdown in Papua New Guinea, and on the mediaeval folklore of Suffolk (as recorded by Ralph of Coggeshall et al.) It's very funny in parts. It's deeply about trauma, spoken and unspoken, and the shape of the unspoken trauma is definitely related to his sexuality.

It's also deeply about the weird thing that is the relationship/connection/thing many people of British (acknowledging the complexity of using that term, but I really don't know what word to use) descent, born in former British colonies, have with the lands our settler ancestors came from.

Started reading Monkey King, Julia Lovell's modern, lively, and very heavily abridged translation of Journey to the West, narrated by Kevin Shen, who does all the voices.

I've never read Journey to the West before, and this is a very fun introduction.

Weather
Wetter and colder. I'm not in one of the parts of the state that's currently under flood warnings, so that's something to be grateful for.

Games
Mainly playing little puzzle games on my phone. Sliding blocks, word games, sudoku etc.

Misc
Got out some rope and an online guide and spent half an hour or so trying to brush up on my knots.

Went to Naarm/Melb to visit a friend for her birthday.

News
*wince*

Tech
On a whim dug out my old iPhone from eleven years ago and charged it up and turned it on.

Not having any internet access, it thought it was still 2015. My own little time capsule.

It was very plus ça change etc. I had been reading about trauma, reading the news, playing little puzzle games, and trying to brush up on my knots...

Cats
Dorian's been trying to perform an intervention on me re screen time. It's not going well, but I appreciate the care.

cupcake_goth

The good:

I slept on the plane!
Even more shocking, I fell asleep around 10:30pm the first night and got ten TEN! hours of sleep. A miracle.
We went to a highly recommended place to have “full English” breakfasts, and my god have I missed black pudding.
We went to the V&A and ogled the jewelry.
We met up with a dear friend and had a fancy high tea, then went to see the Beetlejuice musical!!! eeeeeeee!

The bad:

We’re on the 4th floor of our hotel. There is no elevator. My legs HATE me.
My body clock refused to believe that I needed to fall asleep last night so I finally drifted off around 3:30am.
The Stroppy One is sleeping worse than I am, and he’s meeting with M:tG fans to do the signatures and sketches thing.
I’d somehow forgotten that most tube stations don’t have elevators, and many don’t have escalators. Did I mention my legs hate me? Yeah, so does my back.
I PACKED MY LIGHTEST WEIGHT WARDROBE, DAMMIT, I SHOULDN’T HAVE OVERHEATED THAT BADLY.
The fashion exhibit at the V&A is closed until 2028. Booooo!

And that was the first day and night. Today I’m doing nothing but working in the hotel room, so hopefully my legs and back will forgive me and I’ll be ready to go wandering. Tomorrow’s plans: go to The Last Tuesday Society, and then hit Accessories of Old, which is someplace the Stroppy One saw a sign for when he was walking back to the hotel after getting snacks. The Stroppy One won’t be with me when I hit the Accessories of Old, and has told me to only buy “truly exquisite things”, and that if I have any doubts I am to text him photos for a judgement call. This may seem harsh, but it’s not: my magpie brain is easily dazzled, and the local friend who’s going with me has never qualified as a designated adult in his life and will all too readily encourage nonsense. Wheeee!

ravan

Summer used to be one of my favorite times of year. No school, my birthday was right in the middle of it, etc. Bracketed by Memorial Day on one end, and Labor Day on the other. Parades, barbecues, etc. were the rule.

Then, I grew up. I still had my birthday, and various conventions between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Not always other vacations, especially after the stroke. My anniversary was August 1, and my spouse's birthday was in late June. Pride month is June. All good.

Fast forward to now. My late spouse's birthday was in late June. Ouch. Pride is bittersweet with all of the anti-trans cruelty from the administration, and Project 2025 wanting to take away non-het folks right to marry. Baycon is now July 4th weekend. My birthday is still in the middle of July. My anniversary is still August 1, and SJ's deathiversary is July 26. So now summer is a roller coaster of emotion.

I'm still going to Baycon, although I am not dealing this year. Too much scramble from SJ's death to get registered, plus my roomie Fuzzy has had health issues of his own this year. It's hot enough that even with a bit of A/C I still get heat rash under and between my oversized boobs that I wish I could be rid of. (I've been trying for years to come up with good sweat absorbers for D+ cups. If I could patent a thing that actually worked, I could probably make a mint.)

Current Mood: discontent

redbird

Now that I'm sure my Teva sandals fit well enough for me to walk to the store and back, I have ordered a second pair online, as planned. This pair is purple, which they didn't have at the brick-and-mortar store. Mail order has real advantages, but shopping in person let me try them on. This is one of four or five different styles I tried on that afternoon.

Yesterday was the first time I'd walked any distance in these sandals. I grabbed them while pulling on clothes and hurrying out before it got too hot (extreme heat warning starting at 10 a.m. yesterday).

For my reference, these are Teva Tirra sandals in a women's 9.

rydra_wong

a) IT'S OFFICIALLY A SCHISM!!!

b) Excommunications for EVERYBODY!!! Not just the consecrators/consecrated!

Not just official members of the society, either, but anyone who formally adheres to them:

https://www.ncronline.org/vatican-declares-sspx-bishops-priests-schismatic-says-lay-faithful-risk-excommunication

Though the statement did not define what constitutes formal adherence to the schism for laypeople, it explicitly upheld a 1996 note from the then-Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, which said formal adherence to the schism was comprised of two elements: consciously choosing adherence to the society over obedience to the pope, and "exclusive participation in Lefebvrian 'ecclesial' acts, without taking part in the acts of the Catholic Church," referencing the group's founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Details on what people need to do to get un-excommunicated: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2026-07/fraternity-saint-pius-x-ways-to-repent-return-full-communion.html

This is a Big Fucking Deal.

And all sacraments administered by the priests from now on are invalid, including marriage and confession.

c) The Vatican is now being very consistent in referring to them as "Lefebvrians" just to make sure everyone knows we're talking about the followers of this antisemitic piece of shit:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/feb/19/richard-williamson-lefebvre
https://www.ncronline.org/news/lefebvre-movement-long-troubled-history-judaism

d)

synecdochic is awake: https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3mpod4qebxk25

and explaining things: https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3mpojo257e22r (thread)
https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3mpokam4ft22r (thread)

Conclusion of thread: https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3mpos4ov4t22r

No more His Holiness Nice Pope indeed. Benedict and Francis tried the carrot. Leo is bringing the Chicago baseball bat of loving fraternal correction to the problem now.

e) For anyone catching up, Claire Willett has been providing invaluable Schismwatch reportage:

https://skythread.mackuba.eu/?author=clairewillett.bsky.social&post=3mpkuvtp2ms2s
https://skythread.mackuba.eu/?author=clairewillett.bsky.social&post=3mplzv67h7s2j
https://skythread.mackuba.eu/?author=clairewillett.bsky.social&post=3mpnitsarss2h

also in case you have missed the excellent memes about this in the replies:

yes, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith did in fact used to be called the Inquisition

you may be familiar with their earlier work

f) Also I need to make sure that everyone knows the schismatic act had MERCH:

https://www.ncregister.com/cna/sspx-consecrates-bishops-in-defiance-of-rome-s-schism-warning

For the occasion, the SSPX even sold commemorative items, including an exclusive 75 Swiss franc box of wine — about $92.50 — called “Cuvée des Sacres,” featuring pinot noir, syrah, petit arvine, and fendant, with each bottle decorated with the image of one of the consecrated bishops.

Also white baseball caps printed with "Écône 2026" were distributed at the entrance, apparently.

rydra_wong

The Guardian: ‘Get away from there – run!’ The stunning film about love blossoming amid the carnage of Aleppo

Like Boulos, I also covered the siege of Aleppo from afar. Every day, I would check the shifting frontlines and where bombs had dropped via real-time maps, exchanging messages and voice notes with civilians and activists, getting to know a place and its people intimately, but through a screen. The documentary is the best depiction I’ve come across of the powerlessness and guilt that those of us on the other end of a shaky internet connection feel while friends and loved ones in besieged and blockaded places go through hell.

They talked about the traffic light footage classification system in the Q&A, but I didn't know they'd actually had a psychotherapist involved. In the Q&A they said part of the function was to avoid traumatizing their editor too; they had extensive discussions in advance so the editor didn't even have to see any red footage unless they were certain it was necessary for him to.

https://www.birdsofwarfilm.com/ -- has listings for where it's showing in the UK and Ireland

ravan

My roomie came off with this:

Donald Trump is Jack The Slob's Grandson

Current Mood: amused

rydra_wong

synecdochic is explaining Catholic Church inside baseball again:

https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3mpj5yrntqc2v (thread)

Previous rounds of Pope-exegesis:

https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3loqsfhswjk2r
https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3m3eovdxmwk2z

redbird

This is mostly just to say "hi, still here." There's not much going on here.

After the cats' annual checkup, it turned out that one of them (Molly) has a urinary tract infection. We gave the vet the OK to run more tests using the same blood sample, to identify the pathogen.

It's some form of E. coli. I picked up the pills on Saturday, while cattitude was out of town doing family stuff. He got home late last night, and we just gave Molly the first of seven pills. Once we've done that, they want us to bring Molly back so they can draw more blood to check that the antibiotic did the job.

Adrian and I took the opportunity of Cattitude being away to cook and eat mushrooms: stuffed mushrooms Friday, and a mushroom-barley casserole Saturday. We agreed that the casserole was easier, and it was less work, so we're unlikely to make stuffed mushrooms again. (Adrian pointed out that the stuffed mushrooms weren't difficult, it was the difference between "easy" and "very easy.")

wide_worlds_joy

Its no real surprise that I identity strongly with Stoic Philosophy. So recently I found myself listing these out, just as a guideline for me, and a bit of "skullsweat required" for those I teach. Over a while I had developed an architectural metaphor that makes it all work.

So I share this with all you:

Building the Parthenon

I. The Foundation (The Stylobate)

The internal rules of self-mastery, truth, and mindset that support everything else.

The Anchor: The only thing you can control is yourself.

The Mirror: Speak the truth, if only to yourself.

The Empty Cup: You cannot learn if you think you know it all and if you stop learning, you cease to grow.

The Unshackling: Do not cling to a bad decision simply because you spent a long time making it.

The Ego: Own your own expertise without diminishing another's expertise.

The Stewardship: Never let others make decisions for your life; you alone will pay the price for those choices.

The Yield: Your life returns exactly what you invest it in. Ensure you want the harvest.

II. The Pillars (The Colonnade)

The outward-facing strategic rules for handling conflict, opponents, and action.

The Cornered Beast: Never leave an opponent with nothing left to lose; by definition, they risk nothing to win.

The Funnel: By removing choices from your opponent, you accurately predict their next move.

The Compass: Assume people generally act according to what they believe serves their interests. Understand those interests before judging their actions.

The Reality: Hope for the best, plan for the worst, and deal directly with what is in front of you.

The Paradox of Armor: Excessive preparation is just fear in disguise. A flawless defense is worthless if you never take the field.

The Clock: Opportunity is a decaying asset. Claim the choice while it is yours, or time will make it for you. Once the door closes, it will not open again.

The Sovereignty: Never claim another’s work as your own; it steals their power and undermines your authority.

III. The Roof (The Entablature)

The highest level of wisdom regarding legacy, time, perspective, and the cosmos.

The Currency: No amount of money ever bought a single moment of time.

The Scale: Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't and is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

The Current: All things pass, both good and bad; ensure your character is worthy of both.

The Balance: Sometimes you must actively serve as the instrument of Karma; other times, you must yield like the falling leaf that does not disturb the air.

The Poison: Release resentment; it is a toxin you drink while hoping your enemy dies.

The Final Audit: You are the sum of every choice you have ever made. Be worthy of them.

IV. The Apex (The Pediment)

The final expression of a life: what remains when the person who lived it is no longer present.

The Reflection: Legacy is not your self-image; it is the story you leave in the minds of those who survived you.

The Witness: Others cannot see your intentions; they can only judge your display. You are the only person who tracks your potential.

cupcake_goth

- I just realized that I’ll have to take the 24/7 mess of talisman pendants off to go through security, because even tho’ they’re sterling silver and I only take them off for baths or showers, the clasps are magnetic. Hmmph.

- I have unfollowed two people on Tumblr. I plan on refollowing them when we get back from the UK, but they always manage to have gifs of the latest episode of The Vampire Lestat at least two days before the show airs in the US. While I generally don’t care about spoilers, I’m going to miss three episodes while I’m away, so I don’t want everything spoiled.

- The weather in the SeaTac area is having rapid mood swings, and damn, my body doesn’t approve. Today is a day of massive pain, but no migraine :: knocks wood ::

- I can’t find the package of extra large pill containers that I bought at the beginning of the month, grrr. I did the wasteful but easy solution of ordering some more, and they’ll be here tomorrow. When I eventually find them, I’ll use them for bead storage.

cupcake_goth

BPAL HAS RELEASED AN OFFICIALLY LICENCED LINE OF SCENTS INSPIRED BY THE VAMPIRE LESTAT!!!!

(Okay, I had secret insider knowledge about this two days ago. :D )

And there *may* be more scents in this collection to be released. Maybe. ;-p (BRING ME THE LESTAT SCENT, which I'm betting I'll adore and need to put it in my coffin perfume locket.)

---

While I was in the bath last night, I realized that the main reason of feeling awful yesterday was a very slow-moving migraine. I threw a bunch of meds at it and pretty much passed out once I turned out the light. Now I'm in the rebound headache stage, and while it's better than last night's migraine, it's still making me incredibly fuzzy headed. Can I tap out of work? No, not unless I want to work tomorrow. Which actually may be a better idea, because I can't fucking think right now. But I have to stick around to do the final push of yesterday's OMG DROP EVERYTHING DO NOW project.

---

My plan for the UK trip is to download some books from my TBR stack to my Kindle, because I always read for an hour (Or until the Stroppy One tells me that I need to put it down and turn out the light), and maybe being on vacation means I won't be as stressed all the time, thus having the brainpower to focus on new books, instead of comfort fanfic or rereading The Vampire Lestat & Queen of the Damned yet again.

---

UK trip packing dithering: Do I want to use my Dr. Marten heart purse for the trip, or do I want to bring a smaller purse? The heart purse has more room, but that always tempts me to Carry More Things. On the other hand, some of my outfits don't have pockets (there's no way to add them to the Selkie-inspired blouses), so I'll need to put my phone and fan somewhere.

(I also need to decide which fan to bring: regular sized, or one of the oversized fans?)

cupcake_goth

The Stroppy One is at an event in Las Vegas, which means my sleep is primed to be Not Great. But last night was BAD. Not only did I keep waking up every 90 minutes or so to stay awake for another 30, but when I went to the bathroom before settling down (ha) for the night, I ended up having to beat a spider to death. Hello adrenaline, how are you? Which means today is awful; on top of the bad sleep, there is an all hands on deck, this must be done by end of day project that involves QA on the entire help site in French. I do not have the brain for this, but I will muddle through. And try not to drink more than two cups of coffee.

---

The Vampire Lestat isn't currently being shown in the UK, which means I will miss two episodes while we're away. I know, I know, this is a ridiculous thing to whine about, and I'm not really whining (much). I don't care about spoilers, so if I do look at Tumblr while we're in the UK, it won't matter if I see things from the episodes.

(While the Stroppy One is away I am probably going to rewatch these first three episodes every night. BECAUSE I CAN, DAMMIT.)

---

Uggggh I feel awful.

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weary acceptance of the inevitable

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weary acceptance of the inevitable

Member Posts

Things

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New Game for Streaming?

"We had asked for an egg, promising to return it as soon as possible"

Part of why we're all enjoying the Chicago baseball bat of loving fraternal correction so much

Things

Hello from London!

June, July, and August

sandals

Chicago pope with a baseball bat

Birds of War

Snide remark for filker fen

"for everyone who is rubbernecking the 'big boat stuck' of the ex-Catholic world"

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New thoughts on Personal Journies

Things

will my toesies ever touch the ground

I tried to write you the prettiest song in the world but I got distracted

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May 2026

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