System Collapse (Murderbot, volume 7) by Martha Wells
Jan. 15th, 2026 09:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
james_davis_nicoll
Murderbot and allies struggle to establish friendly relations with a rediscovered lost colony in time to protect them from a predatory company.
System Collapse (Murderbot, volume 7) by Martha Wells
updates
Jan. 15th, 2026 02:01 pmrmc28I am currently ill with my third cold since November. This is very boring, I am blaming uni open ice on Monday with all the students returned to Cambridge from all over the world. I am trying a radical new approach of "stop working, go to bed, do nothing but rest and hydrate and breathe steam at regular intervals". Attempting to push through the last two colds this winter just led to being subpar for days on end and missing a lot of hockey practice, and I really, really don't want that again.
The one hip bruise healed up enough by Saturday night that I could return to sleeping on that side, phew; the other is still making itself known, and is going a truly remarkable range of colours. (me to fanf: do you want to see my epic bruise? fanf: absolutely not)
Our trusty Pointer standard bike (not the cargo bike) failed catastrophically in December. fanf took it to the bike shop for assessment: minimum £350 to repair, it cost £500 new, lo these many years ago, a new bike of similar quality would be £700 now. We thought about it for a bit, and eventually I said Vimes boots theory also applies to bikes and so we'll order the good bike and hope it lasts at least another 15 years.
Warbirds (or Tri-Base 2 I guess these days) had a game in Peterborough Saturday night, and my teammate who lives nearby kindly drove me up, and gave me the cultural experience of visiting a huge Eastern European supermarket near the rink. We lost, again, but the bench atmosphere was good, the opponents were fun to play against, and I was reasonably happy with my play.
I joked in the car about Tony buying an expensive bike as soon as I left the country, and teammate said "uh, can't you use Cycle to Work?" and it turns out yes I can, and in fact the whole process was very straightforward. So now we'll pay for this bike in ten monthly instalments from my salary which brings tax savings but is also way easier to budget. The actual bike hasn't arrived yet, which is leading to some interesting logistics around work and school and who is where with what bike, but this too shall pass.
I may, or may not, be playing a game on Saturday for the uni. It's a challenge game against UCL, with players from both Womens Blues and Huskies, but there are way more players available than needed and the roster is still not out (eh, students). I hope I can kick this cold by then; if I'm not playing I'll do game ops as usual.
S.W.A.T.: Fan Fiction: Couldn't Wait
Jan. 15th, 2026 08:04 amdarkjediqueen posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fan_flashworksTitle: Couldn't Wait
Rating: R
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Fandom: S.W.A.T.
Relationships: Donovan Rocker/Molly Hicks
Tags: Established Relationship, Child Birth
Summary: Molly couldn't wait to be a mother with Donny.
Word Count: 2,746
Rating: R
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Fandom: S.W.A.T.
Relationships: Donovan Rocker/Molly Hicks
Tags: Established Relationship, Child Birth
Summary: Molly couldn't wait to be a mother with Donny.
Word Count: 2,746
( Couldn't Wait )
Book Review: Thérèse Raquin
Jan. 15th, 2026 08:04 amosprey_archerSometimes in one’s literary life one simply wants to suffer, and when this urge hits, I know where to turn: Émile Zola, the 19th century French naturalist writer who paints brutally frank pictures of people in extremis.
This time around I read Thérèse Raquin, Zola’s breakout hit which was anathemized in French literary journals as “putrid,” a “sewer.” If you’ve read any nineteenth century English or American novels, which tend to portray the entire field of French literature as a putrid sewer, you know that Théresè Raquin must be something really special.
Actually I thought Thérèse Raquin ends up pulling its punches in a way that Zola’s later novels don’t. Yes, the main characters behave abominably, but in the end they also suffer terribly for it, which has a moral neatness that you don’t necessarily find in, say, Germinal.
At the beginning of the novel, Thérèse Raquin is living a life of quiet desperation. Married to her sickly cousin Camille, she works all day in her aunt’s haberdashery, and her life seems likely to continue in exactly this dull routine for fifty years until she dies. Until one day when Camille shows up with a friend in tow: the healthy, vibrant Laurent…
Thérèse and Laurent begin a passionate affair. But when it becomes logistically impossible for the affair to continue, they hatch a plan: they’ll kill Camille! Then, after a suitable amount of time has elapsed, they’ll get married. (This is one of the great scenes of the book. They never entirely spell out that they have a plan, only comment wistfully that, after all, accidents do happen… but gazing meaningfully at each other the whole time, both knowing that accidents can be orchestrated.)
So they drown Camille on a boating expedition. No one suspects them, they wait for a year and a half, all is well.
But then they wed. And once they’re together… well… they discover that they’ve accidentally orchestrated the world’s most horrible OT3: Théresè, Laurent, and the ghost/hallucination of Camille’s drowned corpse, always with them whenever they’re alone together.
This book was apparently viewed as a horror novel in the 19th century and it retains that horrifying power: the inescapable waterlogged green corpse of Camille, which lies between Thérèse and Laurent in bed at night and floats in the corners of their bedroom and sits at the table with them whenever they’re alone.
However, this does make the novel in some ways less brutal than Zola’s later fiction. Even though Thérèse and Laurent are never arrested, they suffer unceasingly for their crime, tormented by their own minds. Zola is at pains to assure us that Théresè and Laurent definitely don’t feel remorse for their killing, that they wouldn’t care at ALL if it weren’t for the fact that they were suffering continual visions of the man they killed, but since they are suffering these continual visions and in fact kill themselves in the end in order to escape this continual torment… I mean, does it really matter if you don’t call it remorse if it works pretty much exactly like extreme remorse?
On the other hand, Zola is cruel enough to give Thérèse’s aunt a paralyzing stroke, and after she’s paralyzed and unable to speak, she realizes that her beloved niece and her niece’s equally beloved new husband in fact killed her son. Once they know that she knows, they give up all pretense and start screaming at each other about the murder every evening, and the paralyzed aunt has no choice but to sit there and listen. Nightmare fuel.
Amazing psychological horror. What a claustrophobic book. I wouldn’t call it a good time precisely, but it’s exactly the time you want if you feel like experiencing the literary equivalent of trying to claw through the wall with your bare hands.
This time around I read Thérèse Raquin, Zola’s breakout hit which was anathemized in French literary journals as “putrid,” a “sewer.” If you’ve read any nineteenth century English or American novels, which tend to portray the entire field of French literature as a putrid sewer, you know that Théresè Raquin must be something really special.
Actually I thought Thérèse Raquin ends up pulling its punches in a way that Zola’s later novels don’t. Yes, the main characters behave abominably, but in the end they also suffer terribly for it, which has a moral neatness that you don’t necessarily find in, say, Germinal.
At the beginning of the novel, Thérèse Raquin is living a life of quiet desperation. Married to her sickly cousin Camille, she works all day in her aunt’s haberdashery, and her life seems likely to continue in exactly this dull routine for fifty years until she dies. Until one day when Camille shows up with a friend in tow: the healthy, vibrant Laurent…
Thérèse and Laurent begin a passionate affair. But when it becomes logistically impossible for the affair to continue, they hatch a plan: they’ll kill Camille! Then, after a suitable amount of time has elapsed, they’ll get married. (This is one of the great scenes of the book. They never entirely spell out that they have a plan, only comment wistfully that, after all, accidents do happen… but gazing meaningfully at each other the whole time, both knowing that accidents can be orchestrated.)
So they drown Camille on a boating expedition. No one suspects them, they wait for a year and a half, all is well.
But then they wed. And once they’re together… well… they discover that they’ve accidentally orchestrated the world’s most horrible OT3: Théresè, Laurent, and the ghost/hallucination of Camille’s drowned corpse, always with them whenever they’re alone together.
This book was apparently viewed as a horror novel in the 19th century and it retains that horrifying power: the inescapable waterlogged green corpse of Camille, which lies between Thérèse and Laurent in bed at night and floats in the corners of their bedroom and sits at the table with them whenever they’re alone.
However, this does make the novel in some ways less brutal than Zola’s later fiction. Even though Thérèse and Laurent are never arrested, they suffer unceasingly for their crime, tormented by their own minds. Zola is at pains to assure us that Théresè and Laurent definitely don’t feel remorse for their killing, that they wouldn’t care at ALL if it weren’t for the fact that they were suffering continual visions of the man they killed, but since they are suffering these continual visions and in fact kill themselves in the end in order to escape this continual torment… I mean, does it really matter if you don’t call it remorse if it works pretty much exactly like extreme remorse?
On the other hand, Zola is cruel enough to give Thérèse’s aunt a paralyzing stroke, and after she’s paralyzed and unable to speak, she realizes that her beloved niece and her niece’s equally beloved new husband in fact killed her son. Once they know that she knows, they give up all pretense and start screaming at each other about the murder every evening, and the paralyzed aunt has no choice but to sit there and listen. Nightmare fuel.
Amazing psychological horror. What a claustrophobic book. I wouldn’t call it a good time precisely, but it’s exactly the time you want if you feel like experiencing the literary equivalent of trying to claw through the wall with your bare hands.
January London meetup
Jan. 15th, 2026 11:08 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
captainawkward_feedAnnouncement: the audience for these has changed, so I’m going to do them once every three or four months instead of monthly. So please come to this January one if you’re interested, there won’t be another until probably April.
24th January, 1pm, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, SE1 8XX.
We will be on Level 5 blue side (the upper levels are no longer closed to non-ticket-holders), but I don’t know exactly where on the floor. It will depend on where we can find a table.
I have shoulder length brown hair, and will have my plush Chthulu which looks like this:
Please obey any rules posted in the venue.
The venue has lifts to all floors and accessible toilets. The accessibility map is here:
The food market outside (side away from the river) is pretty good for all sorts of requirements, and you can also bring food from home, or there are lots of cafes on the riverfront.
Other things to bear in mind:
1. Please make sure you respect people’s personal space and their choices about distancing.
2. We have all had a terrible time for the last four years. Sharing your struggles is okay and is part of what the group is for, but we need to be careful not to overwhelm each other or have the conversation be entirely negative. Where I usually draw the line here is that personal struggles are fine to talk about but political rants are discouraged, but I may have to move this line on the day when I see how things go. Don’t worry, I will tell you!
3. Probably lots of us have forgotten how to be around people (most likely me as well), so here is permission to walk away if you need space. Also a reminder that we will all react differently, so be careful to give others space if they need.
Please RSVP if you’re coming so I know whether or not we have enough people. If there’s no uptake I will cancel a couple of days before.
kate DOT towner AT gmail DOT com
Sock: Spooks (MI5): Fanfic: Four Socks
Jan. 15th, 2026 12:19 pmsmallhobbit posting in fan_flashworksTitle: Four Socks
Fandom: Spooks (MI5) [Werewolf AU]
Rating: G
Length: 378 words
Summary: It often happens that when a dog has a leg wound a sock is worn to prevent the animal chewing at the wound. Of course, with a werewolf this proves more complicated.
Fandom: Spooks (MI5) [Werewolf AU]
Rating: G
Length: 378 words
Summary: It often happens that when a dog has a leg wound a sock is worn to prevent the animal chewing at the wound. Of course, with a werewolf this proves more complicated.
The Day in Spikedluv (Wednesday, Jan 14)
Jan. 15th, 2026 07:17 amspikedluvI had a chiropractic appointment and a pedicure this morning. I’d been doing a lot of reds, and last week was a dark purple, but I decided this week to lean into lighter, more spring-like colors. So I went with the periwinkle again, and she did a cute little flower design.
I dropped a book off at the library on my way to visit mom, did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter. I grilled Italian sausage for Pip’s supper, since it was so nice out (relatively speaking *g*).
I started Husband Material, and watched several shows I’d DVR’d: Fixer to Fabulous, House Hunters International, and Secrets of the Zoo. That’s the last of Zoo I have recorded, so it’ll be back to Zoo Tampa now.
You may recall me talking about numbness in my fingertips and the theory that it might be carpal tunnel, even though the braces didn’t help at all AND it’s worse when it’s cold out; today I discovered that Sister S also gets numbness in her hands that is worse when it's cold out. Might mean nothing, but I thought it was interesting.
Temps started out at 41.2(F) and reached 48.9 (that I saw; it may have gone up a degree or two after I left to visit mom, but it was already going down when I got home). Totally unexpected, even though it was supposed to get into the 40s today. There was wind and zero sun, though, so it wasn’t a ~pleasant 48. It started to sprinkle in the afternoon.
Mom Update:
Mom was doing well when I visited her. She’d had some protein drink before I arrived and finished the mac&chs while I was there. She planned to make a root beer float for a late afternoon snack AND have tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich (probably just half of one) for supper. Given how little she eats, I think she’s only going to do one of those things. I wrote out a check for her and stuck it in the mail and brought home laundry to do for her.
She had her first regular visit from the Hospice nurse, so I got to meet her. I stayed in the living room while they sat at the dining room table. I could hear them a bit, but I didn’t want to be right on top of them. Mom got to ask some questions she’d written down, so that was good.
I dropped a book off at the library on my way to visit mom, did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter. I grilled Italian sausage for Pip’s supper, since it was so nice out (relatively speaking *g*).
I started Husband Material, and watched several shows I’d DVR’d: Fixer to Fabulous, House Hunters International, and Secrets of the Zoo. That’s the last of Zoo I have recorded, so it’ll be back to Zoo Tampa now.
You may recall me talking about numbness in my fingertips and the theory that it might be carpal tunnel, even though the braces didn’t help at all AND it’s worse when it’s cold out; today I discovered that Sister S also gets numbness in her hands that is worse when it's cold out. Might mean nothing, but I thought it was interesting.
Temps started out at 41.2(F) and reached 48.9 (that I saw; it may have gone up a degree or two after I left to visit mom, but it was already going down when I got home). Totally unexpected, even though it was supposed to get into the 40s today. There was wind and zero sun, though, so it wasn’t a ~pleasant 48. It started to sprinkle in the afternoon.
Mom Update:
Mom was doing well when I visited her. She’d had some protein drink before I arrived and finished the mac&chs while I was there. She planned to make a root beer float for a late afternoon snack AND have tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich (probably just half of one) for supper. Given how little she eats, I think she’s only going to do one of those things. I wrote out a check for her and stuck it in the mail and brought home laundry to do for her.
She had her first regular visit from the Hospice nurse, so I got to meet her. I stayed in the living room while they sat at the dining room table. I could hear them a bit, but I didn’t want to be right on top of them. Mom got to ask some questions she’d written down, so that was good.
community thursday (dec. 25-jan. 8)
Jan. 15th, 2026 12:07 pmtozkaWelcome back to another Community Thursday! Original Community Thursday info here, if you're interested and want to participate, too.
This time I focused on posting to comms that haven't had a lot of engagement recently, partly just to show other people who may be looking that, yes, someone is interested in this topic! I'm going to keep doing it for January, too.
Posted/Commented
- Posted some podcast recs to podjoy (last post 236 weeks ago)
- Copied over a news post from Bookcrossing.com to bookcrossing (last post 391 weeks ago)
New-to-me Comms
- gamechangerhr -- a fan comm for Heated Rivalry/Game Changers
- bookclub_dw -- a monthly book club! The January book is The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst and the discussion goes up at the end of the month
- vintageads -- a community for sharing vintage ads from TV, magazines, etc.
Interesting Comm Posts
- bookscorpion posted these lovely photos of a cemetery covered in snow in common_nature
- wiscon has a form up for suggesting panels for this year's convention
- sixbeforelunch posted a nice reading journal setup in journalsandplanners
- unclutter is doing a January challenge; this week's focus is work spaces
- and here's some more fandom comm recs on fandom_on_dw
I'm becoming this, all I want to do is be more like me and be less like you
Jan. 15th, 2026 05:10 ambeansideIt's Thursday, or as I like to call it, Friday Eve. We're getting there! I'm really looking forward to relaxing for the weekend. I feel like that might help clear out the last of this crud. I'm defintely doing better, but I'm still coughing a bit and my voice varies between semi normal, gravel filled and hoarse and squeaky, sometimes all in the same sentence. It's annoying.
Yesterday was another busy day, though I spent some of it making outbound calls to fill in some slots and get some patients in sooner. Still, I kicked so much ass. One of my favorite things is playing tetris with the schedule. Sometimes, you'll have a 1/2 hour slot in a few days, and then two half hour slots with a patient in between them. So you're going to call that patient and move them. Preferrably to the earlier slot, but if not at least up or down 30min. So you end up with a 60 or 90 minute slot. I have very good luck at getting that 90 minutes. Case in point yesterday, where I opened up two hours (which coincidentally was how much we needed for a patient's MRI).
I got a bunch of clothes delivered from Thredup, which are all pretty nice. There's two pieces that weren't what I expected, so they go into the donate pile. Then, there's one I'm not sure of. But what I definitely got out of it is two fleeces, a cute orange cardigan, a swim cover up and a little black purse for the vow renewal that I absolutely love. Need to have my room key and inhaler with me when I'm out of the cabin.
Then, after work, there was an exciting thing. I was sitting and relaxing and I got a call from a 604 area code. Which is Vancouver, CA. I knew this from setting up stuff for the Alaska trip. So, I picked up. It was our hotel, the Pan Pacific calling to offer an upgrade for our room. Previously, we were staying in kind of the bottom tier of rooms. Still gorgeous, because it is a 5 star hotel, but their basic room. They offered an upgrade to the Club level for $50/night. I of course said yes. So now we're going to have breakfast, snacks, sodas and appetizers in our club lounge. I'm looking forward to trying it out. Looks like it's very nice. So that made me happy.
Something about speaking with an actual human made things feel more real. Like holy shit, y'all, I'm going to see the Pacific Ocean! It's been three years since we had a really good vacation at Disney, so this is very exciting. I've never seen another ocean, always the Atlantic. Even when I went out of country, I saw the other side of the Atlantic from the plane that took me to Scotland.
Today, I shall work, it will hopefully be a less busy day, and I will have some interesting projects.
Today, we have two packages coming. First one is from My Ireland Box. I had gotten my sister a box from Ireland for Christmas, but I ordered it too early and a lot of the baked goods had gotten moldy. (I wasn't sure about shipping time with the shit that was going on with the mail and tarrifs, so I ordered in November.) The second box is from Sitka Seafood. The Dungeness crab that came with our last monthly box was so good that I ordred more. We're going to invite the BIL over for a full out crab feast. It should be delicious, but I'm a little nervous about where we're going to put them while we wait for Feast Day. I need to get some good butter for dipping.
Payday was yesterday, so I paid all the bills this morning, whoo. It's nice not to have the car payment. I still owe money, but I'm paid up til 2027. I just keep putting some money down every month, so hopefully I'll have it paid off early next year. But the internet and car insurance are good.
I didn't end up doing the halibut last night, so I'll have to do that today. I wish I had a beer, so I could do a beer batter, but it's such a pain to order it and wait for delivery. It takes forever to get here. I could just run up the road to a liquor store and grab a six pack, or to the slightly further one and get an individual beer, but that seems like a lot of work. I'm excited to try halibut, as I have never had it before. I may just bake it, we'll see how it goes. I need to get some tartar sauce and lemon. I might make a lemon butter sauce. I'll source it from the internet how it's best to cook it.
This weekend, we have one game on Saturday and nothing else. That's probably for the best, since my voice is so unpredictable. I can get through DMing one game. Plus, it's Arvandor, which is a small party, which makes it a bit easier. Less talking over each other. There is one currently scheduled on Sunday, but that's dependent on howpoisontaster is feeling. And I'm not GMing that, so I don't have to talk nonstop.
Okay, time for me to hop off, and consider getting dressed. Everyone have a stellar Thursday!
Yesterday was another busy day, though I spent some of it making outbound calls to fill in some slots and get some patients in sooner. Still, I kicked so much ass. One of my favorite things is playing tetris with the schedule. Sometimes, you'll have a 1/2 hour slot in a few days, and then two half hour slots with a patient in between them. So you're going to call that patient and move them. Preferrably to the earlier slot, but if not at least up or down 30min. So you end up with a 60 or 90 minute slot. I have very good luck at getting that 90 minutes. Case in point yesterday, where I opened up two hours (which coincidentally was how much we needed for a patient's MRI).
I got a bunch of clothes delivered from Thredup, which are all pretty nice. There's two pieces that weren't what I expected, so they go into the donate pile. Then, there's one I'm not sure of. But what I definitely got out of it is two fleeces, a cute orange cardigan, a swim cover up and a little black purse for the vow renewal that I absolutely love. Need to have my room key and inhaler with me when I'm out of the cabin.
Then, after work, there was an exciting thing. I was sitting and relaxing and I got a call from a 604 area code. Which is Vancouver, CA. I knew this from setting up stuff for the Alaska trip. So, I picked up. It was our hotel, the Pan Pacific calling to offer an upgrade for our room. Previously, we were staying in kind of the bottom tier of rooms. Still gorgeous, because it is a 5 star hotel, but their basic room. They offered an upgrade to the Club level for $50/night. I of course said yes. So now we're going to have breakfast, snacks, sodas and appetizers in our club lounge. I'm looking forward to trying it out. Looks like it's very nice. So that made me happy.
Something about speaking with an actual human made things feel more real. Like holy shit, y'all, I'm going to see the Pacific Ocean! It's been three years since we had a really good vacation at Disney, so this is very exciting. I've never seen another ocean, always the Atlantic. Even when I went out of country, I saw the other side of the Atlantic from the plane that took me to Scotland.
Today, I shall work, it will hopefully be a less busy day, and I will have some interesting projects.
Today, we have two packages coming. First one is from My Ireland Box. I had gotten my sister a box from Ireland for Christmas, but I ordered it too early and a lot of the baked goods had gotten moldy. (I wasn't sure about shipping time with the shit that was going on with the mail and tarrifs, so I ordered in November.) The second box is from Sitka Seafood. The Dungeness crab that came with our last monthly box was so good that I ordred more. We're going to invite the BIL over for a full out crab feast. It should be delicious, but I'm a little nervous about where we're going to put them while we wait for Feast Day. I need to get some good butter for dipping.
Payday was yesterday, so I paid all the bills this morning, whoo. It's nice not to have the car payment. I still owe money, but I'm paid up til 2027. I just keep putting some money down every month, so hopefully I'll have it paid off early next year. But the internet and car insurance are good.
I didn't end up doing the halibut last night, so I'll have to do that today. I wish I had a beer, so I could do a beer batter, but it's such a pain to order it and wait for delivery. It takes forever to get here. I could just run up the road to a liquor store and grab a six pack, or to the slightly further one and get an individual beer, but that seems like a lot of work. I'm excited to try halibut, as I have never had it before. I may just bake it, we'll see how it goes. I need to get some tartar sauce and lemon. I might make a lemon butter sauce. I'll source it from the internet how it's best to cook it.
This weekend, we have one game on Saturday and nothing else. That's probably for the best, since my voice is so unpredictable. I can get through DMing one game. Plus, it's Arvandor, which is a small party, which makes it a bit easier. Less talking over each other. There is one currently scheduled on Sunday, but that's dependent on how
poisontaster is feeling. And I'm not GMing that, so I don't have to talk nonstop.Okay, time for me to hop off, and consider getting dressed. Everyone have a stellar Thursday!
35 Cute Cuddling Cat Photos for Working Pawrents Missing their Fur Babies
Jan. 15th, 2026 01:00 pmicanhascheezburger_feedThe working week is a big old drag. There is no denying that. Whether it is the commutes, the cutting words of your boss or simply the stupid amount of work you have to do it is no fun. But perhaps the worst thing about a working week is that you have to be so far away from your feline fur baby for five days out of the whole week. An immense period of time that quickly adds up, especially in cat years. Meaning that in all that time you are missing out on so many purrecious moments spent with your cat child as well as chances and opportunities to connect with one another.
So for each moment you might have missed with your cute cat companion today we have put a pic in this collection of cute cuddling cats to make up for the magic that has been lost. So sit back, prepaw to feel a little jealous, not every cat child is this cuddly or nice, and enjoy these comforting felines.
icanhascheezburger_feedThere are no bad cats - only cats who have it bad.
We know this is said about kids in one form or another, but hear us out - humans are not special in their capacity for good or evil, kindness or malice. Humans are complex enough not to be instinctively wired towards one way of behavior or another. People might exhibit certain unwanted behaviors because of reasons that can be treated with a lot of support, in many ways. But here's the catch - humans are not special. Other animals - who are also complex, intelligent, and emotional - subscribe to this concept very easily.
And when we talk about cats? This one pawrecious preincess is a purrfect example. Our hearts go out to this cat who had to spend months in a cage, just because the shelter people decided she was "mean", and even not eligible for adoption at all. But one person who entered the cat shelter proved them all wrong. You see, we don't believe the people who labeled her cage "don't touch" on a red sign are bad people - but they sure did display bad behavior. And that they did by not considering that this cat is not bad - she just displays bad behavior… that they had no clue how to deal with.
All it took was one person, one person, to show her love, care, and acceptance for her to turn from a spicy cat to a gentle, loving, warm kitty. All cats need is love, and love was given to this beautiful fluffy friend, who had to endure months of isolation. But it's all over now, in the best way pspspsible. She's in her forever home, enjoying the perks of being the house princess she was born to be.
A Purrfect Plate of 24 Funny Fluffy Felines to Press Fast Forward to a Whisker Filled Weekend
Jan. 15th, 2026 09:00 amicanhascheezburger_feedPlease can it just be Caturday already?
We have a hot take we need to get off our chests: Thursdays are the worst days of the week. Why? Because it's the day when you feel like the weekend should start tomorrow, but you still have one more day to get through before arriving at Caturday. How shall we navigate these 48 hours of mundane meetings, packed lunches from home, and endless emails? Well, the answer is obvious. Cats!
It's impawssible to count how many funny fluffy felines there are on the internet, but we know that there's enough to keep us purrfectly occupied until the whisker-filled weekend. This mix of meowrvelously funny memes and immaculate cat pics is sure to help you fast forward to Caturday in no time at all. You'll be so busy giggling your tails off that you won't even notice the time flying by! At least, that's what we tell ourselves.
If you're debating whether this is "ethical" to scroll through at work or not, never fear! Science has actually shown us that taking small, scheduled breaks after completing a certain number of tasks actually increases productivity. So, now that we have science and cats to back us up, there's no reason why you can't take a tiny little break to scroll through these hissterical kitties to actually improve your workday. With no excuses left, we'll leave you to enjoy your scroll. Have a great rest of your week, and may your Caturday come as swiftly as the zoomies!
2026/009: Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead — K J Parker
Jan. 15th, 2026 08:46 amtamaranth2026/009: Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead — K J Parker
...we dig up their filigree and cloisonné and their rusted-solid clocks, we conserve and steal their books, and we know deep in our hearts that there are some things -- a lot of things -- that human beings used to be able to do once upon a time but can do no longer: that as a species we've shrunk and diminished, and we'll never be smart like that ever again. [loc. 220]
I was a great fan of Parker's earlier work, but lost enthusiasm somewhere around Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City -- an enthusiasm that I have now regained, and look! one and two-thirds trilogies to catch up on! Not including the new trilogy that begins with Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead ...
The eponymous Sister is a former prostitute turned deadly assassin: our narrator, Brother Desiderius, is her partner -- in a strictly professional sense, of course -- and a talented forger. Unlike Sister Svangerd, he happens to be an atheist. ( Read more... )
For Whom The Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn
Jan. 15th, 2026 07:00 amsmartbitches_feed
Squee
For Whom the Belle Tolls
by Jaysea Lynn
January 28, 2025 · S&S/Saga Press
Contemporary RomanceRomance
This guest review is from Friday! Friday is a long-time fan of romance stories and adventure films, lurking on this website for many years. Currently living in North Queensland with an alarmingly large library, and no plans to stop buying and reading interesting books. She has travelled extensively with varying degrees of satisfaction and would like to do more. Friday is a woman who wishes that ballgowns and armour were in fashion for daywear, but laments the lack of wardrobe space for both. She demands a happy and enjoyable ending in all her stories, and if something explodes, all the better.
…
I’m giving it an A, I adored it, it contains bucketloads of my catnip, and I will be recommending it to every single person I can, keeping in mind that it may not be for everyone. I loved it so much I bought the ebook, the paperback, and the hard cover, and I hear the audiobook is excellent. (Also, the sequel is in the works 😊.)
TW: discussions of child molestation and abuse, religious trauma and related abuse, explicit and enthusiastically consenting sex, graphic depictions of battle, gore and violence, and puns. Dear god, so many puns.
This book only exists because of a fanfic (yes, I know) based off of a TikTok series (I KNOW), all written or performed by the same person who goes by Sea.ya.later. As the title and blurb suggest, this is not a book that is going to be dark and gritty, but you should absolutely, 100% be prepared for some tough scenes ahead. I’m going to try so hard to be objective about this, because I was introduced to the characters via the clock app, and have been following along with the ‘show’ for a couple years now. It’s safe to say I’ve formed an attachment.
The author is one of those Americans that you can tell has personally suffered the effects of Christian extremism, and has a significant amount of religious trauma because of it. It’s really not subtle: you are bludgeoned over the head with it throughout the entirety of the book.
But for me, it never felt like hate; it never even feels anti-Christian. Don’t get me wrong, it absolutely tears strips off the people who have weaponised their faith as a tool to excuse their bigotry, racism or lack of character, but there’s no hate for the faithful. (Our main character does spend a lot of time in Hell, so you can guess what kinds of people get sent to that place)
We’re introduced to main character Lily on the worst day of her life. Diagnosed with late stage cancer, she forgoes treatment because of the enormous financial burden it would place on her family, choosing instead to leave them with memories instead of crushing debt. The disease takes her in the second chapter, Lily feeling her own death approaching and slips away in her sleep. She describes the entry to the Afterlife as efficiently bureaucratic which…actually makes sense in the way that humans have put spirituality in a hierarchy almost universally.
On her way to Judgement (which determines where she will end up, in one of the paradises, or in a punishment realm) she and her guide Seidah, bump into Moura, one of Hell’s demons and they commiserate on enduring what is essentially a customer service job, thus making her first Demon friend. That leads to game nights, which leads to more demon friends and the first connection to what will eventually become our romantic hero Beleth (Bel to his friends).
Even though she passes Judgement into her own personal Paradise, Lily still feels a little adrift. Being able to relax is nice and all…but she’s so used to being busy she has no idea what to do with all this free time. A lifetime of being told she’s going to Hell for her behaviour, Lily takes herself there by choice and on her own damn terms. What she sees there is shockingly familiar.
Hell is basically hospitality. Service workers of the world will see the great irony of that.
Lily shocks them all by offering to help, and thus the Hellp Desk is created. (see? Puns) Only with this customer service job, she’s allowed to retaliate when a soul misbehaves. Which for Lily, is so satisfying. Have you ever worked a retail gig and been restricted by company policy, society and the law from doing what you really, really want to? Well, at the Hellp Desk, you can visit violence upon those who displease you as much as you desire. What a fucking dream, amiright?
We spend the rest of the book in the Afterlife, exploring the various realms, meeting and making friends with beings and deities of various cultures, and generally enjoying existence after a lifetime of retail work and personal struggle. There’s Trivia nights! Valkyrie workout sessions! Hacky sacks and dance offs at the gates of hell!
For a book that started as a series of skits for a lark, it’s not terribly surprising that main character Lily is a bit self-insert-y. As a result, some of Lilly’s internal examination feels a touch raw and personal. Like I’ve accidentally read a diary entry, or walked in on someone else’s therapy session. There are some truly horrifying depictions of what can happen because of religious fanaticism, and the consequences of it. In the earlier chapters, a teenaged Lily confides in her youth group leader for help, an adult she trusts, and is told it’s her own fault, it wouldn’t have happened if her faith was strong. This sets Lily up for what will become a core part of her personality for the entire book, something she has to unpack and deal with over the duration of the narrative.
For anyone who has felt, or is feeling invisible or forgotten about, anyone that society says is somehow simultaneously too much and not enough, you will feel both called out and recognised not only in Lily’s thoughts, but in her reactions, and her learned behaviours. Lily is someone who desperately longs for deep connection, who loves fiercely, but brushes off uncomfortable things like sincere compliments with self-deprecating humour. If anyone else bottled up their feelings the way she has, Lily would see how unhealthy it is – so why does she do that to herself?
In the safety of her Paradise, she realises that being a disappointment on purpose is safe: if people’s opinions of her are so low, why should she care about their opinion? Why should it matter?
However, being her genuine self, and disappointing someone whose opinion and respect she values? Devastating. She’s so accustomed to being unimportant in so many people’s lives that when her trust is reciprocated, it’s terrifying. She reacts like a cat confronting rain. Because now there are stakes, now there’s the chance that she will fail them – and that wound would cut deep.
There were times I had to stop reading for a minute, and just stare at the far wall, because having an ebook psychologically bitch slap me at 1AM was not something I was prepared for.
Mind you this is also the woman who unthinkingly tells sex jokes to deities she meets for the first time, sooooo I guess it balances out?
For Whom The Belle Tolls is refreshingly unique compared to current trends in romantasy. I found the world-building in this book so enjoyable because it’s an interesting take on the afterlife and all it entails, managing to incorporate a universally human experience like death with the numerous and varied ways in which humans describe the hereafter across cultures. These cultures are only touched on, as most of the book is from the Christian perspective, unsurprising, considering that was the culture in which the author was raised.
But I liked that the Afterlife is considered one whole, with many department branches, as opposed to different realms unrelated to one another, as has been depicted in other media.
Along with that, both our main leads are not hormone driven teenagers, but fully mature adults, with adult responsibilities and perspectives. That being said, they are hormone-driven adults, but they have a layer of emotional maturity that a character in their late teens or early 20s might not be realistically capable of.
There are two plots that exist equally side by side, with the subplot of the Big Terrible Thing (no spoilers!) lurking in the background. These are, respectively, the romantic relationship that Lily develops with Bel, and the familial relationship that Lily accidentally stumbles into with Sharkie, both of which are important.
Because Lily died as young as she did, one of her life dreams or goals was to be a mother, and due to circumstances, this never eventuated. The arrival of Sharkie, a little girl who dies in tragic circumstances, gives them both an opportunity to create something in death that they dreamed of in life: a family. Sharkie (a nickname she chose) is a secondary child character, thankfully not just some plot moppet to add colour to the story. She is a fully fleshed out, three-dimensional person within the scope of the story, with her own struggles and growth within the narrative. This is one aspect of the book that may be difficult for some to read, as the story gently explores what it’s like to care for a child who has been abused emotionally, physically and sexually. It doesn’t get too graphic, the details are glanced over, but it’s enough that some may be triggered by such content.
Lily’s interactions with Sharkie, from their very first meeting, force her to confront, and examine some of her own learned behaviour and reactions. As I said, lots of introspection. Never fear however, that this book ever feels like a preachy, feel-good, self-help memoir – there’s far too much smut in it for that. Speaking of…
Our hero is Beleth a seven-foot tall, winged, purple demon prince that has the personality of an anime himbo (Goku springs to mind). Do you remember Goliath from that old Gargoyles tv show in the 90s? Picture him, and you’re close. This is a man who matches Lily in personal strength, emotional intelligence, and love of terrible puns. Bel might be a himbo demon Prince and General in charge of 75 legions, but don’t make the mistake of thinking he’s a beefed up, shallow goofball. This hero takes pride in his military achievements for the safety of the realms, takes care of his family, supports and uplifts his friends, and has a lovely life philosophy of ‘find the beauty’.
Our main characters both have their baggage, as people who have lived for a while usually do, which puts some minor bumps in the burgeoning relationship. It’s mild angst (thank fuck), but there are hurdles that need to be addressed not just for the relationship itself, but for each of them to heal from past pain. Bel struggles with being left behind, and Lily has issues with being nothing more than a sexual partner, or surface-level friend.
But the pining. The LONGING. The yearningggggggg! They don’t even kiss until 260 pages in! This book is a chonky boi at 624 pages. You’d think it would make the romance drag on, but noooo! This is a slow burn, the sexual tension ratcheting up just a teeny bit more with every single encounter. It gives them time to become friends first, and they genuinely like one another. This is a relationship built on mutual respect, friendship, trust, and puns. Boy do they love their puns. I sincerely believe it’s their love language.
And the payoff after all that pining? Fucking magnificent.
Something I really liked and enjoyed was that Lily and Bel not only recognised that they both needed to be safe and comfortable in the relationship before proceeding to the next step, but to take those baby steps slowly and with lots of communication. They treasure their friendship, and treat the change in their dynamic with the greatest respect. They’ve got eternity, the last thing they want to do is mess up something so precious. Even if every hormone is screaming at them to do the mattress mambo – for them to actually pursue this as a relationship, the last thing they should do is give in to their horniness. And they stick to it. Chef’s kiss, top tier relationshipping. We should all be so damned noble.
But they are so horny for one another. There’s several chapters that really should be classed as foreplay, because my god the build-up of anticipation is so good.
I know I’ve banged on (heh) about the amount of sexiness in this book, but to be honest, it’s a very small part of the story. It’s the emotional connections that Lily makes with the people around her that really makes this book shine. This is slow burn love, found family love, platonic love, self-love, and it’s wonderful.
Given that this is a book that is set in, and depicts the Afterlife, one of the biggest themes (surprise!) is grief. Grief in all its forms. The grief of a life lost, a life with unrealised dreams and hopes, of missed opportunities. The grief of leaving loved ones behind is as acute and sharp as the grief felt by those who have been left behind.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but she made me cry about socks, you guys. SOCKS!
If you are a person of deep faith, this may not be the book for you. It does, at times, criticize the church, or at least, the people who run it, here on earth, but never the faith itself. I thought it was pretty fair to those who are of faith – but I am not part of that community so it is just a guess.
I’m not personally a particularly religious person, as I never found one that resonated with me, and have always been a little envious of those who have found peace in religion…but this has me hoping that a version of the Afterlife as Jaysea has described is real, and what we can expect when the time comes. With two recent deaths in my family, death, mortality, my own advancing age, and what it means to be human has been on my mind a lot of late. The comfort I found reading this book makes me wonder if this is what it feels like for those who are religious, and have faith. If it is, I’m glad I finally understand that feeling.
This is a book that regularly hits comedic absurdities, whilst balancing the emotional punches that come from discussing the hard and difficult topics. There are puns and horniness, but underneath it all is a warm hug from an author who has worked hard on herself, and come out with a healthier attitude to life in general.