Hung out with my friend Nikki today! We met for the first time at a get-together for polerinas that my instructor put together. And we were comfortable with each other right away. Today, she had the day off for Christmas. We had lunch at a cafe, a hummus platter and a vegan banana walnut cake. She has similar gut issues as I do so we enjoy ordering food together; neither of us feels like we're making the other person miss out on something else they'd rather eat.

Afterwards, we went to the library. I finished reading the book I'd borrowed, and she browsed for a while before picking out a pile of books and then flipping through them to decide what she wanted to borrow. I borrowed Butter by Asako Yuzuki, and it's the specific edition that I'd been eyeing in Shelfish ever since I worked there and wasn't allowed to read the books. (You know, when you're not allowed to do something you want to doubly do it.) Is the fact that the library had it a Sign? Anything's a sign if you want to give it significance. I'm healing, so it's a Sign.

Nikki had wanted to go to Spinebreaker or Shelfish initially. I told her that both places had traumatised me and that it was a long story. She thought I was joking at first, but I didn't want to go into the whole history of both places and why I wasn't welcome at either. I told her that it was awkward telling people that I was traumatised by bookstores because, when I tell them I was traumatised by school for instance, they instinctively understand, but when I say I was traumatised by bookstores, they think I must be joking.

The part I didn't tell her is that when people react like this, it feels like they're laughing at what I experienced or trivialising my hurt, even though they mostly don't know enough to react aptly in the first place. It's just such a difficult thing to talk to people about that I wish it never came up in the first place. The emotional labour of explaining it and making them understand the impact it had on me just sucks, as a process. For a while, I've been thinking that they can't understand me as a person without knowing this about me, but maybe this isn't as big a part of my self as all that. At one point it defined everything about the way I was, but thankfully that time is behind me. As the heroine of the manhwa Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story says, people heal with time and people are more resilient than they think.

Current Mood: uplifted

vriddy posting in

anime_manga

I've fallen in love with this manga and am continually surprised at how few people seem to have heard of it, so here's my humble attempt to spread the word :D (This is a cross-post from my journal, where I'm also delighted to discuss this fandom anytime :D :D)

It only took one promo picture to get me to check it out:

A man with fluffy hair with bloodied face holding the cheek of a smoking woman with a bloodied face, text in English

...I didn't really ask any more questions after that. Bonus impact for stumbling on it in Japanese because the "kept pet" implied in the verb is lovely, and obviously plays with the K-9/"police dog" title.

Anyway, meet Oboro on the left - he's great - and Ren on the right - she's great. The art is beautiful, and everyone is very pretty.

About the world

Some people have special abilities, most of which are not well understood. Only one thing is known for sure: these abilities manifest after someone commits a crime. For example, the criminal from the first chapter is an arsonist and can control/become fire. (Somewhat unrelated, but this is pretty fun coming in from the Boku No Hero Academia world, because it's like a universe in which only bad guys get a quirk.) Here, these abilities are called "sins." In the Japanese, it's simply the kanji for crime with "sin" written in katakana beside it.

This seems pretty simplistic at first glance, but that slowly changes as we drill deeper into the worldbuilding and learn the nuances of these abilities and how they manifest. The implications are deeply fucked up, with often devastating consequences that I'm totally here for as my heart gets shattered again and again.

The story premise

Our plucky detective Ren is selected to join Division 9, a newly created division that pairs a detective with a sin user in order to fight fire with fire -- what could possibly go wrong?! I love her. She kicks so much ass.

Woman with a leg up kicking some dude in the face mid-stride

So, who's our main cast?

( Short character profiles )

Four characters looking way too cool as they step through a broken wall

TOGETHER THEY FIGHT CRIME! More specifically, crime related to sin users. But they also get their asses kicked and handed over to them quite a bit, haha.

( A bit more on the story and on them )

Where to read? How many chapters are out?

( 37 chapters, 3 volumes. Totally possible to catch up in a reasonable amount of time! )

Bonus scythe, for fellow appreciators of the Rule of Cool

vriddy

Wow, vriddy wrote a fic? Wonder what fandom it could be about...............

Good luck, Yuu-san | K-9 | Fujimaru Jin/Hizuki Ren/Kagari Yukito/Oboro Yuushirou | <700 words | rated T

Summary: Fujimaru accidentally discovers a new weakness of Oboro.

Read it on Dreamwidth or AO3.

nanila posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

vriddy

Community Thursday challenge: every Thursday, try to make an effort to engage with a community on Dreamwidth, whether that's posting, commenting, promoting, etc.

Over the last week...

Posted and commented on bnha_fans. The comm is really active in all sorts of good ways, which is LOVELY! :D

Commented on goals_on_dw.

Posted & commented on getting_started about whether image links also get redirected when using a rename token. The answer is YES which is pretty cool and good to know :D

Signal boosts:

Someone is asking about the kind of CSS allowed on Dreamwidth over at newcomers, in case any of you have more tips and paths to share.

cornerofmadness

After a rough start to the day (Dad naturally) the rest of the day went well. My brother and Sister in Law always come here for Christmas Eve dinner (and we used to do midnight mass but they only do mass here like around noon any more so...)

It was the feast of seven fishes...or in this case the four fishes (ah well) I made a salted anchovy bruschetta

( my recipe under here )

Current Mood: drunk
Current Music: NCIS

lovelyangel

Daiso A4 storage containers of 8x12 inch photos

Daiso A4 storage containers of 8" x 12" photos

I grew up in the era of film photography, and when rolls of 35mm film were developed we would get a set of 3 1/2" x 5" prints. Eventually, the standard became 4" x 6" prints. I have a lot of 4" x 6" prints.

In the era of digital photography, I didn’t have to get prints for failed photos. I would select the good ones and get 4" x 6" prints. But once I had online photo galleries, I didn’t even have to get prints.

It’s bad, though, to not ever print photos. Digital, online photos will all disappear at some point. I do print photo calendars every year, but that’s only 12 color photos – and I’d like to think I have more than 12 worthwhile photos in a year.

So, for many years, I would have selected images printed as 8" x 12" color photos at my local Costco. Every Costco had a photo center with a huge, industrial photo printer. The printed photos were great, and it was easy for me to swing by the store and pick them up. I have a nice collection of large prints. Recently, I discovered that Daiso A4 (paper) storage containers are ideal for holding 8" x 12" photo prints. Cool!

In 2021, Costco sent a notification that all store photo centers would close on February 21. If we wanted photos printed by Costco, we would have to do so through an centralized Costco online photo center. Prints would then be mailed to us. Ugh. But it still was the cheapest way to go, and that’s what I did. It worked OK.

In 2023, Costco sent a notification that its online photo center would close on January 27. Costco would then outsource online photo services to Shutterfly. We would get a special Costco discount at Shutterfly. I already had a Shutterfly account, as long ago I used them to print calendars for one year and a few photo books. I hadn’t used their services in quite a while, so my account was idle.

Yesterday, I realized I needed some 8" x 12" photo prints. I logged into Shutterfly and uploaded a few photos. Then I went to order prints – and was stopped dead in my tracks. Shutterfly offers 8" x 10" prints and 12" x 12" prints – but no 8" x 12" prints. Showstopper.

I went over to Mpix, who I use for framed photos and business cards. They do 8" x 12" prints, so I placed my order there. Mpix is a lot more expensive than Shutterfly – but they are said to have better quality prints. I’ve never had a problem with them. I should get the prints in a few days.

Afterwards, I did a little research on online photo print services. Mpix is still rated highly. Sources also recommended Printique, and I might give them a try next time.

Also, I need to research local print services, such as Picture Perfect and Pro Photo Supply.

Getting good 8" x 12" prints is getting harder and harder. I don’t need them often; however, in the past I’ve done some printing in advance of calendar preparation. I was pretty spoiled by Costco – but things change. I guess most people nowadays don’t print photos at all, so I’m probably an old Boomer outlier. Oh, well.

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3185/

https://xkcd.com/3185/

linky

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Want You Back Again

seleneheart

1. What have you recently finished reading?

The Covenant of Waterby Abraham Varghese. This has a vibe similar to 100 Years of Solitude, but without the magical realism (there was an attempt, but it ended up getting resolved by science). The story of one family that takes place over decades, as India moved from colonial rule to independence. There is a lot of death, but it was a page turner.

The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson. A twisty narrative for the people who prefer a ghost story with their Christmas cheer. It was only 104 pages, so I finished it in a day (yesterday).

2. What are you currently reading?

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh. I literally just started this morning, and have no opinions yet.

Empire of Grass by Tad Williams. Still reading

3. What will you be reading next?
I don't know, as I just started something.

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Abney Park - Through Your Eyes on Christmas Eve

vriddy

It's hard for me to figure out how to even start this post, because I was just presented with this picture:

...and I didn't really ask any more questions before reading the manga. Bonus impact for stumbling on it in Japanese because the "kept pet" implied in the verb is delicious, and obviously plays with the K-9/"police dog" title.

Anyway, meet Oboro on the left - he's great - and Ren on the right - she's great. The art is beautiful, and everyone is very pretty.