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Friday off-topic: Origami in space!

Sometimes, people ponder profound questions like: "What's the meaning of life?", "Are we alone in the Universe?", or "What happens if you throw a paper airplane from the International Space Station)?"

Luckily, we now have an answer to the third one, because eventually, someone was bound to try it:

Could a Paper Plane Thrown From The International Space Station Survive The Flight?

Oh look, there's even an illustration! And it looks very science-y:

And a Youtube video of course:

VIDEO

Consider yourselves educated. You're welcome!

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"The Tyrant Baru Cormorant" by Seth Dickinson

Today I finished the latest book in the Baru Cormorant series (fourth book remains to-be-released), The Tyrant Baru Cormorant. Y'all, Baru is so back.

! Spoilers for books 1 & 2 below !

If you've looked at other reviews for the series, you may have seen book 2, The Monster Baru Cormorant, referred to as the series' "sophomore slump." I disagree, but I understand where the feeling comes from. The Monster feels like a prelude, a setting of the board, for The Tyrant. The Monster puts all the pieces in place for the cascade of schemes and plays that come in The Tyrant. They almost feel like one book split into two (which is fair—taken together, they represent about a thousand pages and would make for one mammoth novel).

If you felt like Baru was too passive in The Monster and that there wasn't enough scheming going on, I can happily report those things are wholly rectified in The Tyrant. Having located the infamous and quasi-mythological Cancrioth at the end of The Monster, Baru wastes no time in whipping into full savant plotting mode.

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Filk: Star Trek TOS: HR Violations on the USS Enterprise by indeedcaptain

Fandom: Star Trek TOS
Pairings/Characters: Kirk/Spock
Rating: G
Length: 1 min 41 sec
Creator Links:

indeedcaptain
Theme: Working together, outsider POV

Summary: the flagship may not be all it's cracked up to be

Reccer's Notes: Have you ever wondered what it's like to work with a commanding officer who has zero judgment when it comes to the captain and who does shit like almost kill him while under the influence of Vulcan mating hormones? Or how about working under a captain who has zero judgment when it comes to his first, and is always doing shit like risking his life and the ship to save his first's life? This short song captures what that must be like. It's the little things like trying to get your damn performance review submitted to Starfleet.

I'm not super into filk, but this one is well-written, with fun rhymes and nice progression from beginning to end. It'll put a smile on your face.

Fanwork Links: HR Violations on the USS Enterprise

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SGA: Nils Nisi Bonum by Dossier

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: Genfic. John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, Elizabeth Weir, Rodney McKay, Aiden Ford, Steven Caldwell, Jack O'Neill, Cowen
Rating: G
Length: 27,574
Content Notes: Major character death. John has no special relationship with Atlantis and dislikes the city's voice in his head. Dossier's original Notes are here.
Creator Links: dossier on AO3
Themes: Working together, Character development, Teamwork, Action/adventure, Genfic

Summary: I had set the galaxy afire because she had given me her loyalty and trust.

Reccer's Notes: Yes, it's MCD, but hear me out. Dossier creates an AU story of Sheppard as Laurence of Arabia, eventually saving Pegasus from the Wraith. Like Laurence, he dies in a motor vehicle accident, which happens right at the start so you know what you're in for. The structure works well - a 3rd person account of his death, then the story itself from the expedition's arrival in Atlantis, told in John's first person POV like T. E. Laurence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom", then a last 3rd person section about his death and the birth of his legend. Sheppard doesn't mercy-kill Sumner in this - he remains ostracised and mistrusted by the mainstream military and carves out a role for himself by "going native" and working together with Teyla and the Athosians, and eventually other Pegasus peoples, finally masterminding an alliance that destroys the Wraith, but being wounded himself and losing 20 or so years from a Wraith feeding. As with Laurence, he's ultimately tormented by the deaths he feels responsible for along the way, especially the massive genocide of the Wraith, and he dies on Earth, alone and largely unrecognised. But in Pegasus, it's a very different story. Not a comfort read, but a powerful and well-told story that fits Sheppard's character.

Fanwork Links: Nils Nisi Bonum

Entry tags:

drugs

The global Fentanyl crisis

Over the last decade, fentanyl and its analogs, extremely potent synthetic opioids, have overtaken prescription painkillers and heroin to become the leading cause of overdose deaths, especially in North America. In the US, synthetic opioids now account for the majority of drug-related fatalities among those ages 18–45, with over 100,000 overdose deaths in 2021 and 2022 alone.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-north-american-fentanyl-crisis-and-the-spread-of-synthetic-opioids/

These lethal drugs don't just appear out of nowhere. Trafficking networks orchestrate a 3-part supply chain: precursor chemicals (largely sourced from China) fuel large scale laboratory production, often in Mexico and Canada, before distribution into the US and beyond. A major Reuters investigation found that China's lax chemical regulations have enabled these precursors to be shipped widely, sustaining the epidemic.
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/drugs-fentanyl-supplychain/

( Read more... )

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Star Trek AOS: Wrote the Book by insaneidiot and Reena_Jenkins

Fandom: Star Trek AOS (Reboot)
Pairings/Characters: Kirk/inappropriateness, hints of Kirk/Spock
Rating: Teen +
Length: 3,235 for the fic, 23 minutes for the podfic
Creator Links:

insaneidiot

reena_jenkins
Theme: Working Together

Summary: The crew of the Enterprise is subjected to a compulsory seminar on Inappropriate Workplace Behavior, and Jim Kirk finds this to be particularly challenging.

Content notes: In addition to Kirk being inappropriate in the ways one might expect from canon, the seminar leader is stereotyped in a way that might be considered offensive.

Reccer's Notes: I'm reccing both the story and the podfic here because the story is only on LJ, and the writer does not seem to be active anymore. The podficcer, however, is still around, and the pod is hosted on AO3, which may be more accessible for some. It is also the way I first encountered this story.

Now that we have all that out of the way, I can gush about how hilarious this story is because Jim Kirk + Starfleet bullshit is fertile territory, and I always laugh really loudly when listening to the podfic. Jim is so deeply wounded by any attempt to rein in his obnoxiousness, inappropriateness, and mouthiness. The best thing about this fic, though, is Jim's relationship with his crew. Throughout the seminar, we see the dynamics play out, and it becomes clear that the seminar was put together for a very different kind of workplace and a very different kind of crew. As Jim puts it: "All the team unity and 'synergy' exercises in the universe aren’t going to build real trust or strong relationships amongst a crew."

As you might expect, Jim gets kicked down a couple notches by the seminar leader, but the tables turn in an unexpected way by the end of the seminar.

Reena, as usual, does a wonderful job with the podfic.

Fanwork Links: Wrote the Book fic at LJ and Wrote the Book podfic at AO3

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Current Music: Alluded to in the title.

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DC Universe, Sandman: We could be heroes, just for one night, by Leigh Woosey.

Fandom: DC Universe; Sandman
Pairings/Characters: Gen; Morpheus, Alan Scott, Tomar-Re, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, OCs by the billions (including Reader?)
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 297
Content Notes: Nothing icky happens, but the story references Neil Gaiman’s Endless mythos;(1) dream transcript.
Creator Links: (Website): https://leighwoosey.co.uk/; (Instagram)

leighwoosey; (LiveJournal)

woogledesigns; (Twitter)

Leighwoosey

Theme: Working Together, Action/Adventure, Gen, Just Plain Fun, Non-AO3 Fics

Summary: One for Sandman fans: I had a dream of Morpheus, who saw an invasion of earth that would go through the dreaming to reach target. Morpheus, who foresaw the plan even as it was being dreamt up by the aliens, was obligated to mount a defense. He recruited two sleeping Green Lanterns, one of Alan Scott of Earth and one Tomar-Re.

Author’s Notes: People are always telling me to keep a dream diary, this is a concession.

Reccer's Notes: Raw dream content notoriously tends to be some-assembly-required narrative material, but in a 29 August 2010 LiveJournal post(2), Woosey described this downright jackpot he received from Dreamland: a cool premise complete with plot, grand spectacle, a firm grounding in the canon lore (note the smooth incorporation of the various Elseworlds Batman scenarios), implicit invitation to the audience (what would you have been doing during the Big Event?) and a clear if haunting resolution. The title is my own

metaquotes header.

Fanwork Links: We could be heroes, just for one night, by Leigh Woosey.

(1) Note that some commenters envisioned Morpheus from The Matrix.

(2) The entry has since been deleted; archived here: https://web.archive.org/web/20170821194033/https://woogledesigns.livejournal.com/69811.html

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reveals

Jukebox 2025 is Live!

Thank you, everyone!

Please enjoy:

The collection, with works

Tables of lyrics, videos, and audio tracks

A YouTube playlist for the songs/MVs that have been created for - put it on shuffle and find the related works!

Thank you to everyone who has created for this event!! We hope you enjoy the works - please let the creators know if so.

Works are anonymous until 12 July, 2pm EDT. Please don't repost/share your work, or publicly acknowledge it as yours, until then.

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Star Trek AOS: One Foot in Front of the Other by Lazulisong

Fandom: Star Trek Reboot (AOS)
Pairings/Characters: Gen
Rating: Teen
Length: 1390 words
Creator Links:

lazulisong
Theme: Working together

Summary: Winona is called to fix the cock-up of the Yorktown's engines. She uses one of the science-bitches to help her do it.

Reccer's Notes: This fandom has many versions of Winona Kirk. The one you get here is the engineer who does NOT fuck around and can fix anything you throw at her. She is irreverent and badass. And, in this particular story, she is wonderfully, delightfully contrasted with Spock, who is helping her fix the Yorktown engines. Yes, Spock is the science bitch.

I really can't say much more because I'm laughing too hard rereading the story in order to write this rec. Laz perfects the art of proving that swearing isn't what you do when you lack imagination. Every cuss word in this fic is a brilliant gem of hilarious, creative, and accurate speech.

Like every ridiculous fic that is very, very good, this one makes you believe that this Winona Kirk is not only possible, but is absolutely in character. It also makes you believe that this Spock is possible and will call Winona Overlord and let her call him Tiny Science-bitch.

Fanwork Links: One Foot in Front of the Other

Entry tags:

offtopic,
science

Friday offtopic. Time is three dimensional?

Mankind is wrong since 1905 ― Experts detect the real dimensions of time

This guy has an interesting theory, and claims this time it can be tested. In a nutshell, he argues time is three dimensional and space is just a consequence of that, so a byproduct. Which in essence turns General Relativity on its head. Literally.

The three dimensions of time he posits:

1. The first line, which would be the direct line that we know.
2. The second would allow us to access alternative versions of the same moment. It would be as if we could revisit an ordinary day and discover what it would have been like if we had made different choices.
3. And the third temporal dimension would allow the transition between these different possibilities.

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Admin Post: Drawing Challenge #72 - What Makes You Happy

Thanks to mekare, who suggested a version of this prompt.

alt

Challenge #72: What Makes You Happy

We all need some positive vibes these days, so this month the challenge is to draw or paint anything that makes you happy, or that makes your favourite characters happy. It could be a person, a place, a garden, a cup of tea or coffee, a pet, a stack of books - anything at all!

If you're into Star Trek, Spock could be what makes Jim happy, or for Blackbeard, it might be Stede. You can draw something fannish, or something personal, as long as it makes you or your characters happy.

A round-up post for submissions to this challenge will be done at the end of July.

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Admin Post: Drawing Challenge #71 (Pride!) - Round-Up Post

Congrats to those who took part in this challenge!

drawing of a group of smiling, diverse people holding up the pride flag, and smaller asexual and bisexual pennants. Two women are kissing. Text at right says: Pride - Drawesome Challenge 71.

drawing of a group of smiling, diverse people holding up the pride flag, and smaller asexual and bisexual pennants. Two women are kissing. Text at right says: Pride - Drawesome Challenge 71.

Entries submitted for Drawing Challenge #71 - Pride:

Caeneus/Riddy sketch by mekare - Kaos, G
Show Your Colours by mific - Stargate Atlantis, G
Jim by goss - Our Flag Means Death, G
Joan and Meredith by mific - Stargate Atlantis, G
Goodbye Kiss by mekare - Star Trek: Discovery, G

As usual, this challenge as well as all of our previous challenges will remain open, so you can continue to submit entries to the community any time after the Round Up date. Be sure to tag your art post with the challenge name, so that it can be added to the list.

Thanks to all who participated in this challenge! :)

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"The Witness for the Dead" by Katherine Addison

You know that feeling where you're enjoying inhabiting a book so much you don't want to reach the end? This week I finished The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison, and that's how I felt.

Witness is a companion novel to Addison's breakout novel, The Goblin Emperor (TGE), which I read for the first time last year and never got around to reviewing. You don't need to have read TGE to enjoy this one at all; Witness focuses on a minor character from TGE and his adventures after the events of that novel. Thara Celehar is a prelate of the god Ulis, and his role in elven society is something like a cross between a priest and a private detective. He has the ability to commune, in a limited fashion, with the dead, and he is employed by the city to provide this service to the people. This may involve reporting a deceased's last thoughts to a mourner, asking a deceased to clarify a point on their will, or seeking answers from a murder victim to bring their killer to justice.

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Beta Reader Call!

Hi friends! I’m looking for a beta reader (or two) to give feedback on my VERY rough completed first draft of a contemporary queer romance/WLW novel. It’s a heartwarming, emotional, and intimate story about two best friends who end up in a surprise Vegas marriage—only to discover they’re expecting a baby.

Genre: Contemporary WLW Romance / Queer Domestic Drama

Length: Approx. 60,629 words (I’m looking to get it up to 70k)

Content Tags: Accidental pregnancy, friends-to-lovers, secret marriage, queer rep, chosen family, birth scenes, emotional healing, moderate spice, single-parent backstory, hurt/comfort

CW: Pregnancy complications (non-fatal), difficult ex, fertility struggles (in epilogue)

Looking for feedback on:

Character development + emotional arcs
Pacing and structure
Believability of relationship progression
Any parts that felt confusing, repetitive, or lacking payoff
General impressions and reactions

Continuity

If you love messy love stories, slow burn emotional intimacy, and queer joy with a sprinkle of angst and domestic fluff, this one’s for you.

Note: I’m chronically ill and have been writing this story in pieces since 2022- some things may not make sense or line up due to my illnesses and how I’ve been writing (damn brain fog and forgetfulness). Continuity checking is important.

I cannot provide swap services at this time. I work and I’m in school on top of being ill.

I’m a sensitive person when it comes to my art. Offer me advice wrapped up in praise and not just harsh red pen all over my work.

Just drop a comment or DM me. Thanks in advance for your time and support!

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Sherlock Holmes: A lesson to live by RatTale

Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (tagged both Books and Granada)
Pairings/Characters: Holmes & Watson
Rating: T
Length: 2743 words
Creator Links: RatTale
Theme: working together

Summary: After a long day of seeing patients, Doctor Watson is on his way home when he gets pulled into an alleyway to help one more patient for the night.

Reccer's Notes: When Watson has an unexpected patient, in an unexpected place, Holmes gets roped into helping. They have to work together for the benefit of the patient. It's very nice to read a story where Watson is the competent medical professional and is the one in charge instead of Holmes.

Fanwork Links: AO3

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Round 176: Working Together

Photograph with added text: Working Together, at Fancake. Workers in India use wide wooden paddles with long handles to shove a huge yard of drying grains into big piles. The grain, most likely rice, is a beautiful golden color, and there's a mix of western and traditional clothing among the seven men and women.

Our theme for July is working together!

This round is for fanworks that feature characters working together to achieve a common goal or—and this is not necessarily the same thing—fanworks set in the workplace.

The tag for this round is: theme: working together

If you're just joining us, be sure to check out our policy on content notes. Content notes aren't required, but they're nice to include in your recs, especially if a fanwork has untagged content that readers may wish to know about in advance.

( Rules! )

( Posting Template! )

( Promote this round! )

Reblog on Tumblr | Reskeet on Bluesky | Retoot on Mastodon

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Entry tags:

poll,
topic

Monthly topic

All right folks, because it's a new month now, we should keep our tradition with the Monthly Topic. The one you guys chose for July was:

AI Regulation: Striking the Balance

And here is the poll for August.

What should be the next monthly topic?

1) Weaponised Nostalgia: The Politics of the Past

2) Techno-Authoritarianism

3) Deglobalisation: Retreat or Realignment?

4) Youth and Dissent: Gen Z vs the System

5) Conspiracy Theories We Kind of Wish Were True

(Feel free to suggest more topics)