halves of nothing at the center of time
Apr. 19th, 2026 03:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
musesfoolI realize I never followed up on the vanilla cupcakes and they did stay moist for 4 days in an airtight container and didn't get that weird texture where you can tell they're going bad, nor did they dry out, so. A++ on the hot milk method. So I am making them today, as well as my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe (it is actually a cake recipe but it makes 40 mini cupcakes as written) and then tomorrow I will make whipped ganache for the vanilla and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream for the chocolate, and bring them to work on Tuesday, since one of my attorneys is pregnant, and this is likely the last time she'll be in the office with us until the fall. She was all, "no need to make a fuss!" but my boss was like, "Cupakes? :D :D :D" so of course, I was also like, "Cupcakes! :D :D :D"
*
Today's poem:
Mother, Kitchen
By Ouyang Jianghe
(Translated from the Chinese by Austin Woerner )
Where the immemorial and the instant meet, opening and distance appear.
Through the opening: a door, crack of light.
Behind the door, a kitchen.
Where the knife rises and falls, clouds gather, disperse.
A lightspeed joining of life and death, cut
in two: halves of a sun, of slowness.
Halves of a turnip.
A mother in the kitchen, a lifetime of cuts.
A cabbage cut into mountains and rivers,
a fish, cut along its leaping curves,
laid on the table
still yearning for the pond.
Summer's tofu
cut into premonitions of snow.
A potato listens to the onion-counterpoint
of the knife, dropping petals at its strokes:
self and thing, halves of nothing
at the center of time.
Where gone and here meet, the knife rises, falls.
But this mother is not holding a knife.
What she has been given is not a knife
but a few fallen leaves.
The fish leaps over the blade from the sea
to the stars. The table is in the sky now,
the market has been crammed into the refrigerator,
and she cannot open cold time.
***
*
Today's poem:
Mother, Kitchen
By Ouyang Jianghe
(Translated from the Chinese by Austin Woerner )
Where the immemorial and the instant meet, opening and distance appear.
Through the opening: a door, crack of light.
Behind the door, a kitchen.
Where the knife rises and falls, clouds gather, disperse.
A lightspeed joining of life and death, cut
in two: halves of a sun, of slowness.
Halves of a turnip.
A mother in the kitchen, a lifetime of cuts.
A cabbage cut into mountains and rivers,
a fish, cut along its leaping curves,
laid on the table
still yearning for the pond.
Summer's tofu
cut into premonitions of snow.
A potato listens to the onion-counterpoint
of the knife, dropping petals at its strokes:
self and thing, halves of nothing
at the center of time.
Where gone and here meet, the knife rises, falls.
But this mother is not holding a knife.
What she has been given is not a knife
but a few fallen leaves.
The fish leaps over the blade from the sea
to the stars. The table is in the sky now,
the market has been crammed into the refrigerator,
and she cannot open cold time.
***
🔊 Daily music
Apr. 19th, 2026 09:49 ambluapapilioI tried to forgive them
I triеd to forget
Though they had forgotten
I am sorry I can't
Now I'm both thе victim
And I am to blame
For all the things that I am
I am🎤
Kalandra - I Am
I triеd to forget
Though they had forgotten
I am sorry I can't
Now I'm both thе victim
And I am to blame
For all the things that I am
I am🎤
Kalandra - I Am
The Testaments 1.04 and For All Mankind 5.04
Apr. 19th, 2026 03:21 pmselenakThe Testaments 1.04: again, my only nitpick with this wasn't about the episode itself but solely source material related, as in, my favourite element of the source material is still not in it. As an episode buildng on the first three, it's tops, acting and script wise, continues to flesh out the two woman characters, heightens the stakes, and does, in fact, a better job with one of them than the book did. (I thought this in the first three eps as well.) I'm also intrigued by some of the chances due to what they could mean long term. ( Spoilers beneath the cut. )
For All Mankind 5.04: In which we get introduced to a new cast member and learn an old acquaintance is on their way. Also: (some) answers about the latest dastardly scheme.
( Spoilers wait with their reveals until after mission launch )
For All Mankind 5.04: In which we get introduced to a new cast member and learn an old acquaintance is on their way. Also: (some) answers about the latest dastardly scheme.
( Spoilers wait with their reveals until after mission launch )
(no subject)
Apr. 19th, 2026 05:09 pmtropicsbearI was cleaning up some of the older tabs on my phone when I came across this. I’m pretty sure someone on my reading list shared this way back when, but I can’t remember who did.
The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly
Simply read my name three times into any mirror or other reflective surface and I will return her to you for the extremely reasonable tithe of nine (9) years of your life.
Lowkey tempted to write something for Queen Jaref/Constance Connelly. Unsure if I want to follow the epistolary format or not 🤔
Recent Reading: The Salt Grows Heavy
Apr. 18th, 2026 09:42 pmrocky41_7 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
booksToday while waiting for my car’s brake pads to be replaced, I finish The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw. This is a short (fewer than 100 pages) fairy tale-inspired horror story about a mermaid and a plague doctor who get wrapped up in the sick games of a village they pass through.
I liked the idea of this story a lot more than the execution. Have you ever had the sense a book really wanted to say something profound about human nature? This book felt like that constantly. It also felt like the author desperately wanted the reader to be impressed with her large and esoteric vocabulary. Things were phrased and rephrased in ways that felt keenly like they were only there so the author could use a specific word. Which, fair, we’ve all done it, but the scaffolding showed so plainly here it felt very clumsy. I’m not usually one to fuss too much about purple prose, but the language here often felt decorative enough that meaning was obscured rather than clarified.
I like the vibes in this book, and the two main characters were engaging (although I felt like the half-mermaid children were a pretty glaring dropped thread) and the plot interesting, and some of the writing was beautiful, but more often it was distracting. I never sank into the book, which was too bad, because there were some cool moments.
Can’t say I’m inclined to look into more of Khaw’s writing, because I think her style is just not for me. I don’t think I wasted my time with this book, but I don’t need to see more from her.
Fic: Learning the Steps
Apr. 18th, 2026 09:12 pmbeatrice_otterTitle: Learning the Steps
Author: Beatrice_Otter
Fandom: The Goblin Emperor
Pairing: Csethiro/Maia
Written for:dontstophernow in fffx 2025
Rating: Teen
Length: 10k
Summary: As the wedding day approaches, Csethiro and Maia get to know each other better
At AO3. On Squidgeworld. On Dreamwidth. On tumblr. On Pillowfort.
AN: The Tale of the Loathly Lady is a real story which crops up in Arthuriana and other places. It's the Wife of Bath's tale in the Canterbury Tales, and it was told on its own as Gawain and Lady Ragnell.
***
The original proposal—Csethiro did not know who had made it, whether her father or the Emperor or some nameless secretary—was for the wedding to take place on Nan'desazh, the spring lambing festival. This was the most auspicious date for a wedding in the whole year; unfortunately, it was also a mere three months after the contracts had been signed, and there was simply no way to arrange things in time. Csethiro was not often grateful to her stepmother, but she was in this; the Marquise Ceredaran had flatly refused to contemplate so early a date.
The spring equinox had been suggested instead; it was almost as propitious as Nan'desazh, and would give them an extra month to plan. Besides, there was a certain symmetry in it; Edrehasivar had been crowned just before the fall equinox, and his birthday was the winter solstice, and so to marry him on the spring equinox seemed to Csethiro (and many others at court) to be a harbinger of good fortune.
It was still ruinously short. The preparations for Csoru's wedding had taken a full year.
( Read more... )
Author: Beatrice_Otter
Fandom: The Goblin Emperor
Pairing: Csethiro/Maia
Written for:
dontstophernow in fffx 2025Rating: Teen
Length: 10k
Summary: As the wedding day approaches, Csethiro and Maia get to know each other better
At AO3. On Squidgeworld. On Dreamwidth. On tumblr. On Pillowfort.
AN: The Tale of the Loathly Lady is a real story which crops up in Arthuriana and other places. It's the Wife of Bath's tale in the Canterbury Tales, and it was told on its own as Gawain and Lady Ragnell.
***
The original proposal—Csethiro did not know who had made it, whether her father or the Emperor or some nameless secretary—was for the wedding to take place on Nan'desazh, the spring lambing festival. This was the most auspicious date for a wedding in the whole year; unfortunately, it was also a mere three months after the contracts had been signed, and there was simply no way to arrange things in time. Csethiro was not often grateful to her stepmother, but she was in this; the Marquise Ceredaran had flatly refused to contemplate so early a date.
The spring equinox had been suggested instead; it was almost as propitious as Nan'desazh, and would give them an extra month to plan. Besides, there was a certain symmetry in it; Edrehasivar had been crowned just before the fall equinox, and his birthday was the winter solstice, and so to marry him on the spring equinox seemed to Csethiro (and many others at court) to be a harbinger of good fortune.
It was still ruinously short. The preparations for Csoru's wedding had taken a full year.
( Read more... )
Humble Bundle: Kana Manga Mini-Bundle
Apr. 18th, 2026 08:23 pmsoc_puppet posting in anime_mangaKana Manga is here this time, bringing a manga mini collection!
This bundle includes:
Eden of Witches, volumes 1 thru 6
Leviathan, volumes 1 thru 3
Manhole, volumes 1 thru 3
You can get the entire bundle of manga in PDF form for only $18 USD. Unlike most other Humble Manga Bundles, this one is only available as the full set, so you cannot, for example, buy the first volume of each series for $1 USD.
This bundle supports Book Industry Charitable Foundation, which has helped bookstore and comic book store employees and owners who encounter unexpected financial crises. The Binc Foundation works to keep book people in their homes, in their jobs, and with their families – stabilizing the brick and mortar bookstore community. With some bundles, you can pick which charity you want your donation to go to, but that doesn't seem to be the case with this one. If you scroll down on the right hand side of the Humble Bundle page, you can also find an area where you can adjust how much of your purchase goes to which organization (the charity, the publisher, and Humble Bundle, respectively), with a minimum mandatory amount to Humble Bundle as the host.
This bundle is available for the next 16 days.
This bundle includes:
You can get the entire bundle of manga in PDF form for only $18 USD. Unlike most other Humble Manga Bundles, this one is only available as the full set, so you cannot, for example, buy the first volume of each series for $1 USD.
This bundle supports Book Industry Charitable Foundation, which has helped bookstore and comic book store employees and owners who encounter unexpected financial crises. The Binc Foundation works to keep book people in their homes, in their jobs, and with their families – stabilizing the brick and mortar bookstore community. With some bundles, you can pick which charity you want your donation to go to, but that doesn't seem to be the case with this one. If you scroll down on the right hand side of the Humble Bundle page, you can also find an area where you can adjust how much of your purchase goes to which organization (the charity, the publisher, and Humble Bundle, respectively), with a minimum mandatory amount to Humble Bundle as the host.
This bundle is available for the next 16 days.
April Manga TBR 6
Apr. 18th, 2026 06:44 pmbluapapilioUsed my manga TBR boardgame.
I read 20/21 on my last board in one week and honestly it wasn't too much of a struggle, I did end up only reading mostly one chapter for non-BL again though. There were some really enjoyable things in this batch. ☺️ I don't know if it's any more efficient than smaller batches at a time, maybe I should try and keep it around 15 this time.
Avatar:
Natsume
Skill: Re-draw a prompt once
Roll #1:
A 4, prompt: entertainment industry - On Doorstep.
Roll #2:
A 3 and the trap tile. Went back and new roll is a 5, prompt: manga based on a webnovel - Men of the Harem.
Roll #3:
A 6, prompt: _verse. I couldn't find a Gudieverse I wanted to went with Omegaverse in Kashikomarimashita, Destiny.
Roll #4:
A 3, prompt: sex friends become lovers - Fuck Buddy.
Roll #5:
A 5, prompt: mystery element - Chess Isle.
Roll #6:
A 4, prompt: manga by a woman that got an anime - Blue Exorcist.
Roll #7:
A 6 and the trap tile, went back and rolled a 2, prompt: BDSM - Brand-new Star.
Roll #8:
A 6 and generate from CR tile, #36 which is Junjou Romantica.
Roll #9:
A 4...trap tile...again. I'm trying to keep this under 15 hereee. New roll is a 6, prompt: romance element - Mine.
Roll #10:
A 1, prompt: read a manhwa - Legroom.
Roll #11:
Aaand the trap tile again with a 5. (: New roll is a 3, prompt: non-human/animal companion. I need to read more Shugo Chara!.
Roll #12:
A 4, read a popular mannga - Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Roll #13:
A 2, prompt: witch/etc - Witch Hat Atelier!
Roll #14:
A 1, prompt: royalty/nobility - Basara.
Roll #15:
A 5, prompt: longest titled - Touken Ranbu Anthology: SquEni Formation.
Roll #16:
A 1 and the generate from TBR tile... #1274 and oh, it's another Nitta Youka - Otoko ga Otoko wo Aisuru Toki.
Roll #17:
A 5 and generate from CR list. #94 - Wizardly Tower!
Roll #18:
A 6 aand the end. Reward is Wind Breaker!
~Manga TBR List~
[BL/Romance] On Doorstep ✔️
[Reverse Harem/Politics] Men of the Harem ✔️
[BL/Romance] Kashikomarimashita, Destiny Drop
[BL/Smut] Fuck Buddy
[Action/Mystery] Chess Isle
[Action/SPN] Blue Exorcist
[BL/Smut] Brand-new Star
[BL/Romance] Junjou Romantica
[GL] Mine
[BL/Horror] Legroom
[School Life/Fantasy] Shugo Chara!
[Action/SPN] Kimetsu no Yaiba
[Fantasy] Witch Hat Atelier
[Fantasy/Adventure] Basara
[Fantasy/Slice of Life] Touken Ranbu Online Anthology: SquEni Formation
[BL/Romance] Otoko ga Otoko wo Aisuru Toki
[Adventure/Fantasy] Wizardly Tower
[Slice of Life/Action] Wind Breaker
x3 shoujoi/josei, x6 shounen/seinen, x7 BL, x1 GL, x1 other
I read 20/21 on my last board in one week and honestly it wasn't too much of a struggle, I did end up only reading mostly one chapter for non-BL again though. There were some really enjoyable things in this batch. ☺️ I don't know if it's any more efficient than smaller batches at a time, maybe I should try and keep it around 15 this time.
Avatar:
Natsume
Skill: Re-draw a prompt once
Roll #1:
A 4, prompt: entertainment industry - On Doorstep.
Roll #2:
A 3 and the trap tile. Went back and new roll is a 5, prompt: manga based on a webnovel - Men of the Harem.
Roll #3:
A 6, prompt: _verse. I couldn't find a Gudieverse I wanted to went with Omegaverse in Kashikomarimashita, Destiny.
Roll #4:
A 3, prompt: sex friends become lovers - Fuck Buddy.
Roll #5:
A 5, prompt: mystery element - Chess Isle.
Roll #6:
A 4, prompt: manga by a woman that got an anime - Blue Exorcist.
Roll #7:
A 6 and the trap tile, went back and rolled a 2, prompt: BDSM - Brand-new Star.
Roll #8:
A 6 and generate from CR tile, #36 which is Junjou Romantica.
Roll #9:
A 4...trap tile...again. I'm trying to keep this under 15 hereee. New roll is a 6, prompt: romance element - Mine.
Roll #10:
A 1, prompt: read a manhwa - Legroom.
Roll #11:
Aaand the trap tile again with a 5. (: New roll is a 3, prompt: non-human/animal companion. I need to read more Shugo Chara!.
Roll #12:
A 4, read a popular mannga - Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Roll #13:
A 2, prompt: witch/etc - Witch Hat Atelier!
Roll #14:
A 1, prompt: royalty/nobility - Basara.
Roll #15:
A 5, prompt: longest titled - Touken Ranbu Anthology: SquEni Formation.
Roll #16:
A 1 and the generate from TBR tile... #1274 and oh, it's another Nitta Youka - Otoko ga Otoko wo Aisuru Toki.
Roll #17:
A 5 and generate from CR list. #94 - Wizardly Tower!
Roll #18:
A 6 aand the end. Reward is Wind Breaker!
~Manga TBR List~
[BL/Romance] On Doorstep ✔️
[Reverse Harem/Politics] Men of the Harem ✔️
[BL/Romance] Kashikomarimashita, Destiny Drop
[BL/Smut] Fuck Buddy
[Action/Mystery] Chess Isle
[Action/SPN] Blue Exorcist
[BL/Smut] Brand-new Star
[BL/Romance] Junjou Romantica
[GL] Mine
[BL/Horror] Legroom
[School Life/Fantasy] Shugo Chara!
[Action/SPN] Kimetsu no Yaiba
[Fantasy] Witch Hat Atelier
[Fantasy/Adventure] Basara
[Fantasy/Slice of Life] Touken Ranbu Online Anthology: SquEni Formation
[BL/Romance] Otoko ga Otoko wo Aisuru Toki
[Adventure/Fantasy] Wizardly Tower
[Slice of Life/Action] Wind Breaker
x3 shoujoi/josei, x6 shounen/seinen, x7 BL, x1 GL, x1 other
April Manga Wrap-Up 5
Apr. 18th, 2026 05:21 pmbluapapilio
Read Aimai na Wolf and rated it 9.5/10!! 
Read A Story of a Lonely Fox Seeking Love + After Story and rated it 5/5!!. Read. ep. 2-4 of Chess Isle. I read Our Sunny Days and it got a 10/10!!!. Read Nekasenaide and rated it 7.5/10. Read ch. 12-13 of Yugioh Duelist. Read Anniversary, rated it 3/5. Read ch. 182 of Kimetsu no Yaiba, finishing this manga may kill me. 😫 Read ch. 949 of One Piece. Read ch, 6 of Touken Ranbu Anthology: SquEni Formation. Read Eien no Shichigatsu, rated it 6.5/10. Read ch. 173-174 of Wind Breaker! Read Cardcaptor Sakura, ch. 40-41. I read Kare no Shousou to Koi ni Tsuite and rated it 8/10! Read Brave 10 S ch. 3! Read ch. 76 of Blue Exorcist! Read ch. 1 of Silver Diamond! Read Nanji Ware wo Kouryaku Seyo, rated it 7/10. (Re)read ch. 3 of Ookiku Furikabutte! Read ch. 2 of Magic Knight Rayearth.the greenest saddest strongest kind of hope
Apr. 18th, 2026 05:40 pmmusesfoolToday's poem:
A Certain Kind of Eden
by Kay Ryan
It seems like you could, but you can't go back and pull
the roots and runners and replant.
It's all too deep for that.
You've overprized intention,
have mistaken any bent you're given
for control. You thought you chose
the bean and chose the soil.
You even thought you abandoned
one or two gardens. But those things
keep growing where we put them—
if we put them at all.
A certain kind of Eden holds us thrall.
Even the one vine that tendrils out alone
in time turns on its own impulse,
twisting back down its upward course
a strong and then a stronger rope,
the greenest saddest strongest
kind of hope.
*
A Certain Kind of Eden
by Kay Ryan
It seems like you could, but you can't go back and pull
the roots and runners and replant.
It's all too deep for that.
You've overprized intention,
have mistaken any bent you're given
for control. You thought you chose
the bean and chose the soil.
You even thought you abandoned
one or two gardens. But those things
keep growing where we put them—
if we put them at all.
A certain kind of Eden holds us thrall.
Even the one vine that tendrils out alone
in time turns on its own impulse,
twisting back down its upward course
a strong and then a stronger rope,
the greenest saddest strongest
kind of hope.
*
LuluttoLilly ambush
Apr. 18th, 2026 01:49 pmstepnix posting in anime_mangaI'd heard that Studio Pierrot was doing a new magical idol anime for the first time in almost twenty years, and then forgot to follow up on it, and then saw that it's on youtube in English now. get hype. It's making some very clear callbacks to Creamy Mami, but the music design honestly reminds me of more modern American cartoons. bee and puppycat. idk. Real interested to see where this goes.
Media consumption: Jigokuraku S02
Apr. 18th, 2026 10:35 pmtropicsbear⚠️ Series warnings (but not discussed in this entry): Implied past sexual assault; non-sexual and sexual nudity; non-explicit consensual sex; body horror; blood; gore
Personal rating 9/10
Growing impatient, the shogun orders a second group made up of Yamada Asaemon and Iwagakure ninjas to go to Shinsenkyou and find out what happened to the vanguard party. Meanwhile, on the island, the remaining vanguard party members finally regroup and try to figure out their next steps.
( Cut for length and spoilers. )
Random stuff:
- Can’t wait to see more of the additional landing party and their abilities. I find Isuzu and Shugen the most intriguing so far.
- Jikka being excited to clock out and leave this island 😂 It’s me past 2:00 PM on a weekday.
- Thank you, animators, for all the moments where Gantetsusai is just in fundoshi and the moments where he takes off his top so I get to see peekaboo glimpses of his hips/thighs because of his hakama. Thank you as well for Shugen’s biceps and Ran’s muscles.
- Lowkey shipping Eizen/Shugen but not currently motivated to actively search for content.
- Very glad I stumbled across the ちょびっと！じごくらく！ shorts on YouTube! They’re a goldmine for the type of trivia and/or fun facts that inspire fanworks. (Like, what do you mean Fuchi gives all the Yamada Asaemon nicknames because he sees them as family? 😭😭😭)
- Honestly, Fuchi in general was so cute?? The way his ahoge flicked back-and-forth as he spilled Sagiri's crush, the way he got hyped about getting to study Tensen bodies and Gantetsusai’s new look, the way he kind of skip-hops in lieu of running omggg
- I can’t find any news re: the air date for S03, but if we’re following the wait time between S01 and S02, we’ll get S03 (probably the final season since the manga’s done) in 2029.
Game Check-in: "18TRIP" Chapter 1 A1-5
Apr. 18th, 2026 09:21 ambluapapilio
Chapter 1
001-A01:
Inauguration for HAMA's new mayor, Kafka. His surgery and rehabilitation went well. There is some dissent from the people but it goes through. Things are dire so everyone thinks HAMA will go under soon. Kafka's first declaration is that they will no longer be monetarily supporting the metropolitan government?
001-A02:
Kafka explains that he invested in a new travel agency affiliated with HAMA18 called Hama Tours. The profits will be used to financed tourism in HAMA. He got the support of the president of HAMA's biggest bank with all that he owns on the line.
The logo for the company is supposed to be a dog but it looks weird lol
001-A03:
MC visits the flower guy, Hachinoya Nagi, at Flower Laundry, to buy some flowers for the company's opening. Nagi gives her a rose as a bonus...and puts a happiness spell on it?? Like, he literally glowed. Do people have powers in this world or is it just him?
Oh, the company is the building they used to look at the view in the prologue!
A Kamina Yukikaze texts MC saying they look forward to seeing them. 🤔
While taking shelter from the rain, MC sees a man standing in it.
It's that Nishizono Renga guy from the airport... He looks like he just came from a funeral. He took MC's rose. He's one of the tourism district's heads.
001-A04:
Oh, Daniel is working there now too! Aw that's nice, they'll have a friend to work with. He's department head.
Head of accounting is Kitakata Nayuki, a friend Kafka made in the investment world. Where did Kafka find the time to meet all these people? He was stuck in a hospital room!
Nayuki launched the largest metaverse, mahorova as COO at 12?!. If that's like VR, maybe they met there?
The last founder is a guy with a weird voice. LMAO Sakujiro is hilarious. The clumsy guy's name is Fuefuki Yachiyo.
There's a mascot dog name Shuumai. MC found him injured near the hospital and Kafka took him in.
MC is so oblivious, maybe willfully so, Kafra might seem like he's playing around but he really means those flirts towards the MC.
001-A05:
So there was a tourism boom when machines took over jobs? I assume people got paid still and that's how they could afford travel...
Tourist areas can get support from the national government but are placed under strict supervision of the 23 wards. The one who oversees their area is the mayor of Tokyo's 8th ward aka Shigematsu Hakkei, the guy who was at the inauguration ceremony.
HAMA's decline happened because there were too many visitors and the quality declined. HAMA has 18 districts but only 3 have district heads, they're focusing on those first. The four outside of Kafka and MC will be 'conductors', supporting the 18 districts divided into four pieces of the board.
Things are definitely getting interesting, I suppose we'll meet all the district heads again soon.
