eye_of_toad | Reading

~ Simone Ashley in a suit - gif set
~ Cate Blanchett in a suit - photo
~ Halle Bailey looking like a real life barbie doll - photos

~ James Stewart and Hedy Lamarr in COME LIVE WITH ME (1941) - gif set
~ Narnia: The Magician's Nephew in production - wiki link
~ let's talk about Emperor Palpatine's last week leading up to the conclusion of Episode IV - text post

~ Modern day chatelaine with tutorial - pictures and text
~ Better late than never (Saiyuki [Manga]) - fic link
~ A doctor starts seeing patients as people and taking notes - text post, poignant

~ Hellboy cosplay - video
~ Art by Science - video

I'm back! There's probably way more than three things I should post about, but I'm going to try to keep it short because...

Thing 1: I have a draft of all but the last scene of my Yuletide story! It's going to end up about 3000-4000 words, which is all it needs to be to tell this particular story, and I'll no doubt be polishing it up at some point post-deadline, but I'll have a slightly-better-than-bus pass thing ready to submit by the deadline. Which was not entirely certain to be the case because...

Thing 2: The weekend after Thanksgiving I came down with a really bad head cold. But of course it was not so bad I couldn't go to work. I had field trips/presentations/tours every day that next week, and there was no one who could step in since the other educator had her own set of field trips and tours every day that week. And it snowed, but never enough to give the schools a snow day until Wednesday of this week, when I had to go into work anyway because we had an Important Staff Meeting. So I pushed through every day and then came home and collapsed, and it wasn't until Thursday of *this* week that I truly felt like myself again. I never had a full day where I could just stay home and be sick and sleep it off, even on the weekend, because...

Thing 3: Starting with the week after Thanksgiving, Magpie and JuneBug have concerts of some form or another every other night, and for several days in a row in JuneBug's case, as the high school madrigal singers visit nursing homes, elementary schools, churches, and businesses. It's taking 3 full-ass adults to get them everywhere they need to be. I mean, it's lovely, and there's so much great music and performing happening and they're growing right in front of my eyes! But it is A Freaking Lot. And it meant that even when I had some energy that could go to writing, I had to spend it instead at cello/youth choir/madrigal/middle school concerts. Last night Magpie had a solo--"Naughty" from Matilda. It was the perfect song for her, she had it completely memorized, and she just got more and more expressive and revolutionary as she went along. All her friends sitting on the risers behind her started waving their hands in time with the song and she didn't even know, but it was the most adorable thing ever. I flat-out sobbed, I was so proud and impressed.

And now her dad is texting me about chauffeuring the kids around for the beginning of this week because my sister has to go back to Omaha for a funeral (her high school BFF's sister died of cancer at 34. She was in a trial at Walter Reed last spring when the funding for the research got cut and they sent her home. Don't even get me started). So I will cut this off. But hi, I'm still here! Just a little overwhelmed by all the pre-holiday stuff and grateful that it's so cold today that everything got canceled and I had time to flesh out that story. Whew!

AO3 Link | Dreams of Lost Chances (100 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Essalieyan Universe -- Michelle West
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Gilliam of Elseth/Stephen of Elseth [Essalieyan Universe]
Characters: Gilliam of Elseth [Essalieyan Universe], Stephen of Elseth [Essalieyan Universe]
Additional Tags: Drabble, Present Tense, Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death
Summary:

Gil, Stephen, a moment that can never be

Dreams of Lost Chances

"This is just a dream. You're not really here. You ... you left me."

"No."

"I lost you!"

"Even if I am only a dream, I am a part of you. Or ... do you still hold yourself back from all we could have been?"

The snarl is familiar, ripping out of Gil's throat moments before the Hunter is upon the Huntbrother. Lips, tongue, teeth move with fierce possession over skin, met with something not truly submissive but giving ground. What was denied by death finds voice and passion here, now, a stolen moment in effigy.

It is all Gil can have.

2016 - Okay this year is a rough one for me to think on. But let's see how the movies went.

oh my, only three?

Star Trek: Beyond -- I am never not gonna be pissed that the franchise for this set ended here. Because, you see, while Urban and Yelchin stole my hearts from day one, it was THIS MOVIE that felt like everyone had fully found a way to bring the roles to life with the spirit of their predecessors and their own takes merging BEAUTIFULLY. Then again, losing Yelchin... maybe it's best.

Hidden Figures - HISTORY! Dramatized! Could have done without the shift on the white guy getting the bathroom policy changed from real life, BUT! The whole film introduced me to fuller stories for names I'd only known in passing, as it made me dig in and find historic accounts! Also, hot damn that is one beautiful cast.

Star Wars: Rogue One - This? This was Star Wars in a way I had not felt Star Wars since RotJ. It was about hope, it was about quick-knitting hero teams, it was about giving your all, no matter the cost, to end the evil. To say Rogue One belongs with the OT for me is no hyperbole. I love everything it did to enhance the mythos.

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GetYourWordsOut: Year Eighteen!
Pledges & Requirements | getyourwordsout.net

I did't do this last year but I've done it most years since 2017. For the last few times I've been doing habit goals instead of word count goals (counting days you write instead of words) but this time I'm going back to counting words for added motivation - I hope.

Current Mood: excited

Kitten updates: everybody hung out in the living room together with a minimum of fuss last night! Mirage still keeps running up to Springs and Springs still keeps hissing and chasing her away, but if they're able to sit 3-4 feet apart with no growling, I think they'll be at the peaceful coexistence stage in a day or two. (Which would be nice, because the complicated dance of "don't let the cat out of the bedroom"/"don't let the kitten out of the bathroom" is a real pain in a small apartment. Also, they've both started loudly crying at opposite sides of whatever door is closed.)

Writing updates: hahaha I've barely managed to eat dinner the last two nights. It's like babysitting, but the babies have claws and can jump six feet straight up. Maybe I'll get something written tonight? I'm leaving early because I have to go sign some apartment paperwork, so maybe I can grab coffee or a quick snack on my way home.

Current Mood: chipper

AO3 Link | Scheduling Time (312 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: DC Comics (General)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Diana of Themyscira & Lois Lane
Characters: Diana of Themyscira, Lois Lane
Additional Tags: Epistolary, +Modern Age (1986-Present), Post-Crisis
Summary:

Lois and Diana have a back and forth email chain

Scheduling Time

To: Diana Prince@embassy.thm
From: Lois Lane@thedailyplanet.com
Subject: Reschedule?

I know it's short notice, but I'm sure you saw the small invasion of Mole Men from last week. Turns out their exodus turned over a few leads for me. Maybe Tuesday after next?

To: Lois Lane@thedailyplanet.com
From: Diana Prince@embassy.thm
Subject: Re: Reschedule

I look forward to the story you publish… and the other bits when we do meet up. However, can we shift that to the Thursday of that same week? I am giving a small talk at Bryn Mawr on the topic of holding out hope to others.

To: Diana Prince@embassy.thm
From: Lois Lane@thedailyplanet.com
Subject: Re: Reschedule?

Oh I hope they record it so I can download it after. Thursday of that week is great. I told Clark he could go hang out with the boys while I have a ladies' day to myself.

Okay, autocorrelate might be… no, that's not the word… ugh, Perry's yelling.

To: Lois Lane@thedailyplanet.com
From: Diana Prince@embassy.thm
Subject: Re: Reschedule

I can guess what you were going to say. I find the auto-correct function useful for highlighting the changes in spelling and grammar since my mother taught me English. As there have been shifts in the decades since she had learned it.

Following up to let you know that your co-worker, Miss Grant, could learn to be less inciting in her choices of words for interviews.

To: Diana Prince@embassy.thm
From: Lois Lane@thedailyplanet.com
Subject: UGH Cat

I'm sorry. I didn't even know that interview was happening or I would have put a stumbling block in place.

Did you read my exposé?

To: Lois Lane@thedailyplanet.com
From: Diana Prince@embassy.thm
Subject: Article

Very nice work. It seems the Mole Men had true reason.

See you on Thursday!

but

james Krampus is so adorable - why would I want to escape?
Thank you for the awesome and adorable card ♥

Current Mood: thankful

I've been talking about getting Mirage a little friend for a while, and finally decided it was time. Meet Springs (short for Springer, because all of my cats are named after robots).

She's about eight months old. Her leg had to be amputated when she was first brought in to the shelter - it was broken too badly to heal - but it doesn't particularly slow her down, as far as I can tell!

So far, she's not thrilled with Mirage, though she's not too dramatic about it - a little bit of hissing and growling when Mirage gets too close or sticks her paws under the door, and that's it. So she's been staying in the bathroom until I think they'll both be okay interacting (Mirage is very confused as to why she's being hissed at, so I can't rely on her to pick up on unsubtle social cues!). But I think they'll be tentatively okay with each other by the weekend.

Current Mood: cheerful

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Keep an eye out for kitten pictures tonight. I have made a decision two weeks early, but all of my pictures are either blurry or terribly lit.

(Mirage is, as far as I can tell, absolutely thrilled to have a new friend in her house. The new friend is less thrilled. Introductions so far have been cautious.)

Current Mood: excited

kalloway! Thank you for the card and stickers!

AO3 Link | Useful Gathering (300 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Partners in Crime [TV - 1984]
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sydney Kovack & Carole Stanwyck [Partners in Crime]
Characters: Sydney Kovack [Partners in Crime], Carole Stanwyck [Partners in Crime]
Additional Tags: Triple Drabble, Event - Funeral, Community: ladiesbingo
Summary:

Sydney and Carole are holding a second funeral for their mutual ex, mostly to preserve their business.

Useful Gathering

Sydney carefully adjusted her skirt as she stood up, hand not holding the handkerchief going out to catch Carole's.

"Why did we agree to hold a wake for him?"

Carole gave a reserved smile to one of the businessmen here to pay respects.

"To help us keep the business running," Carole answered after she was certain no one else would be listening. "Besides, were you ever any good at saying 'no' to Jeanine?"

Sydney made an indelicate sound at that, and covered by bringing the handkerchief up to dab at her nose. "Were you?"

Carole had to bite back the unseemly laughter that came with it. "We need his contacts, to get the agency in the black, and start paying off that mortgage."

"Can't just ask some of your old polo pals to lend a hand, oh wait, you just take their pictures now."

That lit Carole's temper, but she gathered it back in check, and squeezed Sydney's hand. "One way or another, Sydney, we can make this work for us. Neither one of us is the woman he married any longer, but I think we can find a place for ourselves anyway."

Sydney took a deep breath, then smiled sadly at another pair of suits walking past them. "You're right, and I'm sorry for the dig. We'll get through the speeches, cut to the meat of promising to help them for standard fees going forward, and make the agency solvent.

"Just, don't leave me alone with any of them? I'll point out the fanny-patters and lewd ones as we mingle."

"And if they're the older ones, I'll tell you how Raymond got his hooks into them," Carole promised in turn, steeling her spine for the possibility of dealing with 'old friends' from the failed marriage.

"We have each other."

You know, I didn't realize how nostalgic I was for the days when Tumblr was dangerous to scroll through in public until I realized they're back. God bless you, random mutual who suddenly got extremely into the gay hockey show.

(It's fine, the building's mostly empty today and nobody's actually looking at my phone. Probably should have seen that coming, LOL.)

Current Mood: amused

Greetings, fellow travelers on this rocky fitness road!

Now is the time when every media outlet is publishing their "best of" lists and retrospectives of the year, and it makes me feel like I should be doing something similar with our little community, as well, but honestly, I probably won't. So, I do encourage you, if it's your thing, to look back over where you've been in the context of where you are fitness-wise, and, of course, feel free to apply that to where you're going, as well.

Otherwise, please, as always, share how the week has gone for you and what, if any, plans you have for the week ahead in terms of fitness (or in any other aspect of your life, if you're so inclined to share).

( My Week in Review )

As ever, I am sending you all the good vibes I can spare, friends!

Life is hectic, so let's do a quick one!

phone screenshot shows a 4x5 grid of people represented by emojis, labeled with names and professions, stating logic clues such as row 3 is the only row with exactly 3 innocents

phone screenshot shows a 4x5 grid of people represented by emojis, labeled with names and professions, stating logic clues such as row 3 is the only row with exactly 3 innocents

Clues By Sam is a logic game where you have to deduce who is a criminal and who is innocent in a grid of 20 people. Everyone tells the truth (i.e. criminals don't lie) and people's professions aren't hints (i.e. "sleuths" and "cops" can be innocents or criminals). Random guessing is not allowed; the game will only let you convict or exonerate someone if the clues you've uncovered give enough information to be certain.

I am not super great at this kind of formal logic puzzle, but I'm trying to get better, and I think this is a good one for people who are learning. The daily puzzles get harder throughout the week (Monday is the easiest) and if you're stuck you can get hints that highlight which clues you should focus on. There are options for better colorblind visibility but I'm not sure if the game is compatible with screenreaders or not.

The game is free to play in your browser, but there are also two puzzle packs you can buy. If you sign up for the dev's email newsletter, there are also some free extra puzzles in there. Thanks to

sineala for the recommendation!

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You may know Joyce Hindman as LionHeart Distribution or as Requiem Publications, publisher and seller of zines and as Bast Ravenshadow's publishing partner, or you may know her for her four tables at Media West, or as the artist with the little boxes and jewelry and other fun beaded stuff in the Media West art show, or as the fic writer Sekhmet.

She is now a senior citizen (over 70), and on social security after years on disability, along with her husband who is also a senior with health problems.

This has been a particularly tough year as far as health problems and medical expenses. Her husband was hospitalized with pneumonia. She needed rotator cuff repair on her dominant arm and additionally shortly thereafter broke the humerous bone near her shoulder on the same side.

She and her husband are now trying to cope with many medical bills for surgeries and physical therapy at a cost of thousands of dollars. With fixed incomes, and looking at increases in insurance premiums, food costs, et cetera, and with her husband's part-time job offering no work for two months now, they are very uncertain about how to pay these bills.

If you can donate anything to the Hindman GoFundMe, please do so at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-joyce-overcome-medical-expenses . If you would rather donate privately as I did and you have PayPal, you can PayPal Joyce at jersey dot lion at gmail dot com.

Current Mood: supportive
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

AO3 Link | Cat and Bird (300 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: DC Comics (General)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Selina Kyle & Dinah Lance
Characters: Selina Kyle, Dinah Lance
Additional Tags: Triple Drabble, Post-Crisis, +Modern Age (1986-Present)
Summary:

Selina's in the neighborhood

Cat and Bird

"Hey there, little birdie," came a voice from above Dinah, and she looked up to see her friend Selina on the roof. That made Dinah's mood much better, and she hastily made use of the fire-escapes — and walls — to get up there.

"Hey yourself, tabby cat," she said with a grin, barely breathing hard for that exercise. "A bit out of your territory, aren't you?" She plopped herself down on the roof-edge next to the other girl.

"Hmm, came to check on one of the ones that got adopted out, make sure it was on the up and up."

"This neighborhood? It better be, or word will get around. Bunch of nosy people around. And Dad hears all the rumors like that."

"Nice older couple, and the kid was from their faith. How he wound up in a Catholic orphanage is anyone's guess," Selina said, giving Dinah the clues to keep her own ears out for the kid.

"Glad you decided to stick around when you got done," Dinah admitted, leaning over against Selina.

"Knew you'd be out sooner rather than later. Make any money today?"

"No; this tutoring is a trade. I help the blockhead learn, Mom gets her bad cooler fixed for free."

"You seem to be the one giving up time and effort a lot for these trades," Selina said, disapproving.

"Family business, Selina. Have to support mom somehow, and Dad uses it as an excuse to keep her off my back when I go out in the evenings." She slung her arm around Selina's shoulders and squeezed. "I get what I need."

"If you say so." Selina shrugged. "C'mon. I know who's working the door at the Regal. We can catch a movie and be irresponsible teenagers for once."

Dinah considered, then grinned broadly. "Sounds fun!"

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Good Enough is Enough

Reading

Various Links 12/7 - 12/13

3 French Hens or something

For my Wife

Fandom Fifty: #42

1990's children PSA commercials.

2026 Get Your Words Out Sign ups are open!!!

(no subject)

LadiesBingo: Epistolary fic: Emails, letters etc.

mail!

Springs

Winter has arrived

(no subject)

Mail Call

LadiesBingo: Funerals and Wakes

(no subject)

Fitness Fellowship 2025: Check-in 49

Clues By Sam (2025)

CSI: Cross-Jurisdictions

Fannish 50 Challenge 2025: Post # 43: Help Joyce Who Has Given So Much to Fandom

LadiesBingo: Teenagers

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June 2025

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