![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Saturday, June 7th, 2025 11:17 pm
yes, please!
(waves “Hi” to all)
(waves “Hi” to all)
Saturday, June 7th, 2025 05:19 pm
Idol is back and it's WHEEL OF CHAOS time! I'm in and I really encourage all of you to give it a whirl, too! It's fun, truly! And even when it's not, you're writing and isn't that what we're here to do?
therealljidol | The Wheel of Chaos Sign Up
Saturday, June 7th, 2025 07:31 pm
Greetings and salutations! This is my intent to sign up for the latest incarnation of LJ Idol—“The Wheel of Chaos!” chaos! chaos!
You too can sign up right here “https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1182845.html” (I hope I did that right) until June 21st. Hilarity and hijinks will surely ensue!
You too can sign up right here “https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1182845.html” (I hope I did that right) until June 21st. Hilarity and hijinks will surely ensue!
Saturday, June 7th, 2025 06:39 pm
Title: Interlude
Creator: alexcat
Universe: MCU
Pairing(s): Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 1281
Summary: The last person Steve expected to see in Berlin was Stark....
Author's Notes: From this prompt. I have no idea the source::
First time seeing each other after years ( for whatever reason, civil war, someone was in space etc..) they did not part on the best terms but neither expected to go this long without seeing the other
Creator: alexcat
Universe: MCU
Pairing(s): Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 1281
Summary: The last person Steve expected to see in Berlin was Stark....
Author's Notes: From this prompt. I have no idea the source::
First time seeing each other after years ( for whatever reason, civil war, someone was in space etc..) they did not part on the best terms but neither expected to go this long without seeing the other
Tags:
Saturday, June 7th, 2025 03:54 pm
I will be participating in the latest season of LJ Idol: Wheel of Chaos.
I invite everyone who is reading this to sign up as well! The word from Gary is, "The deadline to sign up is Saturday June 21st at noon ET. (but the first topic will be hitting before that)"
Happy idoling to all, and if you’re not able to sign up, I hope you at least enjoy my flights of fancy here.
Dan
I invite everyone who is reading this to sign up as well! The word from Gary is, "The deadline to sign up is Saturday June 21st at noon ET. (but the first topic will be hitting before that)"
Happy idoling to all, and if you’re not able to sign up, I hope you at least enjoy my flights of fancy here.
Dan
Tags:
Saturday, June 7th, 2025 02:43 pm
"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!"
In Dante's inferno, that was the inscription on the gates of Hell. It's fitting to have it inscribed here, on these massive gates in front of you today, these gates that lead you into the realm that is
I am Gary, your host, and in some ways, fellow captive here in the realm of Wheel of Chaos. Because this is like no other season of LJ Idol. It is like no other event.
Yes. There will be writing and I'd say focusing on your writing and making the deadlines is probably the smart way to go. Because the rest is being left up to a wheel filled with all of the most insane twists Idol has to offer. I won't even know what is coming week to week, until a few minutes before you do!
The FAQ is here: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1182638.html
The Sign up Sheet is here: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1182845.html
Maybe it will be fun. Maybe it will be exciting. Maybe it will be the worst train wreck anyone has ever experienced, Maybe it will be all of these things. If you think you have what it takes to navigate these waters, and just want an excuse to write, welcome!
Comment below to say Hi. If you're an Idol veteran - let people know what you've been up to since we last crossed paths. If you're a newbie, do the same, only we've never crossed paths so you've obviously got more to let people know about! :)
In Dante's inferno, that was the inscription on the gates of Hell. It's fitting to have it inscribed here, on these massive gates in front of you today, these gates that lead you into the realm that is
I am Gary, your host, and in some ways, fellow captive here in the realm of Wheel of Chaos. Because this is like no other season of LJ Idol. It is like no other event.
Yes. There will be writing and I'd say focusing on your writing and making the deadlines is probably the smart way to go. Because the rest is being left up to a wheel filled with all of the most insane twists Idol has to offer. I won't even know what is coming week to week, until a few minutes before you do!
The FAQ is here: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1182638.html
The Sign up Sheet is here: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1182845.html
Maybe it will be fun. Maybe it will be exciting. Maybe it will be the worst train wreck anyone has ever experienced, Maybe it will be all of these things. If you think you have what it takes to navigate these waters, and just want an excuse to write, welcome!
Comment below to say Hi. If you're an Idol veteran - let people know what you've been up to since we last crossed paths. If you're a newbie, do the same, only we've never crossed paths so you've obviously got more to let people know about! :)
Tags:
Saturday, June 7th, 2025 02:51 pm
We, the undersigned, hereby give ourselves up to the mercy of the Idol Gods and the realm of sheer chaos.
We enter, being of questionable mind and bodies that probably don't see a lot of sunlight, into this place of our own free will and will exit when we can take no more or those Idol Gods see fit to eliminate us.
We will keep our whining to be a minimum but our screaming in agony to the maximum to better please those horrible forces.
Mostly we will write and have a good time knowing that at the end of the day, it's only the single most important and meaningful thing that will ever happen, including our family and friends. Especially that one. You know which one I'm talking about. ;)
We will follow instructions - such as the ones here:
- Post a statement on your own DW/LJ/other Open ID blog stating that you will be participating in LJ Idol: Wheel of Chaos.
- Copy the link and post it into the comments below, which will officially sign you up for this "special event".
- Sit back and wait for further instructions for when the first Topic is posted and interact the Introduction post comment section and/or any "Green Rooms" that might be posted between now and then.
- Tell your friends and especially your enemies that their time of peace is now over and they should dive into this as well - if they can handle it!!! :)
I'll leave you to signing up, and will see you on the other side.
The deadline to sign up is Saturday June 21st at noon ET. (but the first topic will be hitting before that)
Tags:
Saturday, June 7th, 2025 11:43 am
I made a mistake the other day, the skeptics in the pub thing isn't today, it's Tuesday. In the meantime the band schedule for the North Beach festival has still not been announced and that's next week.
Friday, June 6th, 2025 10:31 am
Had some Yorkshire tea. They're doing another one of those deals in my apt bldg where they're giving out free food this afternoon, also I may be going to another skeptics in the pub thing tomorrow night, I have to wait to hear from somebody.
Friday, June 6th, 2025 10:28 am
Dawn Felagund is the featured author for Savannah Horrell's paper "By Guile Committed: Comparing Tolkien’s Thieves to Beowulf" for Mereth Aderthad 2025. Shadow spoke with Dawn about her story for Savannah's presentation, the juggling act of creating a fanwork for the event while also organizing it, and the power of reading Tolkien as a work of history.
Tags:
Thursday, June 5th, 2025 11:19 am
I had a great time yesterday, after me and my friend had lunch and went swimming we decided to spend the rest of the day together instead of my going to the piano thing and we met her boyfriend (who I'm also friends with) for drinks and then went to their place for a great dinner and hung out and had a wonderful evening.
Thursday, June 5th, 2025 11:53 am
Fandom 50
Kind of late for a first entry but here is one.
Has fandom changed or have I?
I was never in a fandom until the 2000’s. I did not know what a ‘zine was. I did not know what a con was. I never heard of fanfiction. I was a Star Wars fan from way back.
I got into the LOTR fandom right after the first movie came out. It was quite hostile, to be honest. There were wars between character writers and real person writers, between shippers of different pairings, between hetters and slashers. It was ugly. There was gatekeeping then, too.
I decided early on that I came into this not to fight but to enjoy and I did. I had my own website and ran a Yahoo group that hosted at least 100 stories a week in its heyday. I welcomed all. It wasn’t perfect but it was good.
Is today different?
I think so. I think we have a reflection of our divisive society in fandom. There are things we’re not ‘allowed’ to write now because they might upset someone. There are people who want to police Ao3 to make sure it doesn’t hurt their feelings and that it does reflect their ‘moral’ codes. An example is someone once complained because characters were eating meat and I did not warn for it.
Ao3 was born to combat gatekeeping and censorship in fandom. Other sites caved. Fanfic dot com made their site completely shite when they kicked all the adult stories out. I never bothered with them again. Livejournal was sold once then again to some Russian oligarch who decided to purge all adult anything, because there were rumblings of kiddie porn, and by that, I mean stories with underage fictional characters. Ao3 was born out of frustration over these events and others like them.
So what do you do about these things?
As of today, we do still have freedom of speech here in the US, where Ao3 is based. I say let people write what they will, as long as they are not inciting specific violence. Writers write violence, rape, child abuse out of a need for catharsis many times. Or maybe they are angry and rather than take it out on a real person, they write something violent. Let it be. We write for our own reasons and we don’t owe any explanations of those to anyone.
Oddly enough, the young seem to be the ones who want to gatekeep. Life is hard, kids. If you don’t want to read certain kinds of fiction, then DON’T CLICK ON IT. It’s that simple.
Fandom has changed but not that much. There will always be those who want more rules and to control others. That’s life. We must guard against that and keep fandom and fans free to express themselves.
*Crossposted at![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandom50challenge
Kind of late for a first entry but here is one.
Has fandom changed or have I?
I was never in a fandom until the 2000’s. I did not know what a ‘zine was. I did not know what a con was. I never heard of fanfiction. I was a Star Wars fan from way back.
I got into the LOTR fandom right after the first movie came out. It was quite hostile, to be honest. There were wars between character writers and real person writers, between shippers of different pairings, between hetters and slashers. It was ugly. There was gatekeeping then, too.
I decided early on that I came into this not to fight but to enjoy and I did. I had my own website and ran a Yahoo group that hosted at least 100 stories a week in its heyday. I welcomed all. It wasn’t perfect but it was good.
Is today different?
I think so. I think we have a reflection of our divisive society in fandom. There are things we’re not ‘allowed’ to write now because they might upset someone. There are people who want to police Ao3 to make sure it doesn’t hurt their feelings and that it does reflect their ‘moral’ codes. An example is someone once complained because characters were eating meat and I did not warn for it.
Ao3 was born to combat gatekeeping and censorship in fandom. Other sites caved. Fanfic dot com made their site completely shite when they kicked all the adult stories out. I never bothered with them again. Livejournal was sold once then again to some Russian oligarch who decided to purge all adult anything, because there were rumblings of kiddie porn, and by that, I mean stories with underage fictional characters. Ao3 was born out of frustration over these events and others like them.
So what do you do about these things?
As of today, we do still have freedom of speech here in the US, where Ao3 is based. I say let people write what they will, as long as they are not inciting specific violence. Writers write violence, rape, child abuse out of a need for catharsis many times. Or maybe they are angry and rather than take it out on a real person, they write something violent. Let it be. We write for our own reasons and we don’t owe any explanations of those to anyone.
Oddly enough, the young seem to be the ones who want to gatekeep. Life is hard, kids. If you don’t want to read certain kinds of fiction, then DON’T CLICK ON IT. It’s that simple.
Fandom has changed but not that much. There will always be those who want more rules and to control others. That’s life. We must guard against that and keep fandom and fans free to express themselves.
*Crossposted at
fandom50challengeTags:
Wednesday, June 4th, 2025 08:27 pm
The royal sactuary is arguably the most important chamber in the palace. It is here that, in former times, a sanctuarian priest held daily rituals designed to uplift the spirits of worshippers and – I am sorry to say – crush the spirits of slaves. The Emorians, rightly appalled by the Koretians' treatment of their slaves, built part of their new palace over the burning ground just outside the courtyard, which lay within easy sight of the sanctuary.
Despite its despicable misdeeds of the past, Koretia's priesthood has survived to the present day. The Jackal, who is also High Priest of Koretia, holds annual services to honor the slaves who served and died in Koretia; these services are often attended by the few slaves who survived their treatment. Some of these slaves remain dead in mind but come willingly to this service, drawn here by the Jackal, who is the god of death and who therefore watches over their spirits in the Land Beyond. To witness these dead-in-mind men and women gather around the Jackal is a deeply moving experience - a living monument to the Koretian belief that the gods can transform evil into good.
The royal sanctuary was desecrated at the time of the Emorian invasion of 961; the sanctuary was used to stable horses in the years that followed. After the Emorians withdrew from Koretia in 976, the chamber remained empty for many years. In 987, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Koretia's slaves by the Emorians, the chamber was rededicated under the name of the Royal Sanctuary of the Living Dead. It is now a memorial to the suffering of Koretia's former slaves.
Conveniently for visitors, the royal sanctuary can be visited separately from the rest of the palace. The sanctuary now has its own entrance, unconnected to the royal residence or any other portion of the Koretian palace.
[Translator's note: The Royal Sanctuary plays a dramatic role in Death Mask.]
Wednesday, June 4th, 2025 09:32 am
Looking forward to meeting a friend for lunch and swimming, then tonight I'm going to go get drinks and hear some piano playing.
Wednesday, June 4th, 2025 09:48 am
Sunny and lovely once again today; should be warming up later this afternoon but not terribly humid (yet). We have dined al fresco the past two nights and that trend should continue for the next two!
What I Just Finished Reading
The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett. Really unique worldbuilding, intriguing main characters. The sequel is already out and I have it on hold.
Bear Head, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Rereading a trilogy because the third book is coming out next week. This was published in 2021, eerily prescient! How did he even do that?
The Seventh Veil of Salome, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Sadly, this did not click well with me; I only finished it because it was for a Monthly Motif prompt and I couldn't find anything else. This is the second time in a row I've had this experience with her writing, so she will have to be moved to the Don't Bother list. For Montly Motif: No Business Like Show Business.
What I Am Currently Reading
Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand, by Jeff Chu. I originally selected this for the Goodreads "Rainbow Reads" Challenge, but I'm also using it for Curious Iguana's Read Broader This Summer "Biography or Memoir" prompt. I'm almost halfway through and it's a delight.
What Am I Reading Next
Wicked Bugs:The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects, by Amy Stewart, for A to Z Titles. And another bug book coming up soon for Read Broader! 'Tis the season, I guess.
What I Just Finished Reading
The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett. Really unique worldbuilding, intriguing main characters. The sequel is already out and I have it on hold.
Bear Head, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Rereading a trilogy because the third book is coming out next week. This was published in 2021, eerily prescient! How did he even do that?
The Seventh Veil of Salome, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Sadly, this did not click well with me; I only finished it because it was for a Monthly Motif prompt and I couldn't find anything else. This is the second time in a row I've had this experience with her writing, so she will have to be moved to the Don't Bother list. For Montly Motif: No Business Like Show Business.
What I Am Currently Reading
Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand, by Jeff Chu. I originally selected this for the Goodreads "Rainbow Reads" Challenge, but I'm also using it for Curious Iguana's Read Broader This Summer "Biography or Memoir" prompt. I'm almost halfway through and it's a delight.
What Am I Reading Next
Wicked Bugs:The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects, by Amy Stewart, for A to Z Titles. And another bug book coming up soon for Read Broader! 'Tis the season, I guess.
Tags:
Wednesday, June 4th, 2025 08:25 am
Fans of Tolkien will typically identify love, loyalty, nature, and hope as defining themes in his work. Less often do they see the legendarium as fertile grounds for exploring the use of science and technology. Cindy Gates, who has written under the pseudonym pandemonium_213 and retired from a scientific career last year, has written fanworks and meta for much of the SWG's history that do the opposite, presenting Middle-earth as a land where people face the same questions about science and technology that we do. Grundy spoke to Cindy about her upcoming Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation" and the many fruitful connections between the Manhattan Project and The Silmarillion.
Tags:
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025 08:48 pm
What is an FAQ? It stands for “Frequently Asked Questions”
Are these questions people have actually asked you on a frequent basis? No. It should probably be called, “things I think you would want to know, but even if I post them someone is going to ask me anyway. But at least when they do other people can point and laugh and say “It was in the FAQ, didn’t you read it?”
Will there be pointing and laughing? Probably. At very least one of those things.
What is LJ Idol? LJ Idol is a writing competition that I started back in 2006 combining my love of writing with my love of reality competition shows. It’s a game. It’s a community. It’s a way of life.
2006? Seriously? Yes. Seriously. Next year will be our 20th anniversary.
It’s called LJ Idol but it’s on Dreamwidth. Why? It started on Livejournal, but like a lot of people, it moved over here during the last big exodus. At this point LJ Idol is an established name, the brand would stay regardless of where we moved.
How does this work? You want to know how regular Idol works? I post a topic and give writers a deadline. They write and post it. I add all of those links to a poll and then people vote. Whoever has the least amount of votes is eliminated.
“Regular Idol”? Is this not regular Idol? Oh no. Not even close to “regular Idol” This is a “special event” . It's absolute chaos. It’s Idol on steroids mated with Calvinball and their kid shot out of a confetti cannon right at your head. This is THE WHEEL OF CHAOS!
Is there an actual wheel? Yes. Well, OK, it’s an online “random picker generation”. I am loading a bunch of topics into one and twists into another. Every week I will spin both. Whatever it tells me is what is happening that week.
Is it an actual 7 day week? No. It’s an Idol week. Which is from the moment I post the new topic to the moment the poll closes and someone is eliminated.
What sort of twists? Veteran players answer - it’s all of your favorites, and least favorites. Some new stuff. Newbies answer - Anywhere from how the poll is set up, how many people are eliminated to literal “game changing” options that will make you want to rage quit if you don’t decide to just go with it.
Will there be a “Second Chance Idol” for people previously eliminated to get back into the game *chuckles* Kind of.
How long will it last? Until there are fewer than 4 contestants OR until I decide to pull executive privilege and pull the ripcord to end things. It could last 1 week, we could be still playing this thing until the 30th anniversary. I have no idea. I do WANT to give people time to rest and recover before the big 20th anniversary season next year. So hopefully before that.
“Am I going to hate it?” Yes. You definitely will hate it. But hopefully you will love it more. I’m telling you at the onset that it’s not going to be regular Idol and that it’s going to be crazy. Take a box of Captain Crunch “Oops All Berries” and replace it with LJ Idol “Oops, All Twists” and that’s what you are getting yourself into.
“When is the Sign Up?” This weekend. Unless I roll a dice and the fates decide it’s sooner!!
Until then, ask me more questions then I can add “Questions That Were Actually Asked Once”!!
Tags:
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025 11:54 am
Had a great time yesterday with L., I miss them already.
I have been wasting time trying to make appointments with physical therapy over the phone, they never answer the phone, I leave messages, they never call back, I had to go to their office earlier this morning and even then I couldn't get an appointment for over a week and then I couldn't get enough of them. I used to book them for a two month block of time but apparently they won't let anybody do that anymore.
I burned the shit out of my thumb trying to make a hard boiled egg because the oven glove had a hole in it. I put some aloe vera gel on the burn but it didn't seem to help it much.
The scammer cretins are playing games with the phone again. They seem to have dropped the fake accident crap and are now claiming to be with the electric company.
I have been wasting time trying to make appointments with physical therapy over the phone, they never answer the phone, I leave messages, they never call back, I had to go to their office earlier this morning and even then I couldn't get an appointment for over a week and then I couldn't get enough of them. I used to book them for a two month block of time but apparently they won't let anybody do that anymore.
I burned the shit out of my thumb trying to make a hard boiled egg because the oven glove had a hole in it. I put some aloe vera gel on the burn but it didn't seem to help it much.
The scammer cretins are playing games with the phone again. They seem to have dropped the fake accident crap and are now claiming to be with the electric company.
Monday, June 2nd, 2025 11:44 pm
My grandmother died over the weekend. It still feels very ureal. I'm not particularly upset, just feeling a bit disjointed and out of sync with normal time somehow. But basically okay.
I did write a ficlet today, about a last meeting between Rory Brandybuck and old Bilbo at the long-expected party. You know, growing old vs. not, saying goodbye vs. not, all that kind of thing. I can't quite decide if it's just therapy by another name or if it's something I want to turn into a properly edited and published story. There's no rush on that. Mostly it feels good to have written again. I do wish I still was able to do that under normal circumstances.
That's the news from around here. I hope you all have a good week.
I did write a ficlet today, about a last meeting between Rory Brandybuck and old Bilbo at the long-expected party. You know, growing old vs. not, saying goodbye vs. not, all that kind of thing. I can't quite decide if it's just therapy by another name or if it's something I want to turn into a properly edited and published story. There's no rush on that. Mostly it feels good to have written again. I do wish I still was able to do that under normal circumstances.
That's the news from around here. I hope you all have a good week.