buggs

13x Transformers IDW (first continuity), 10x Kill Six Billion Demons, 7x The Power Fantasy, 3x Scarlet Witch, 1x Monstress and 1x Tigress Queen over here.

38 icons over here.

65 icons over here.

Yesterday's board meeting went well, even though I ended up not going in person due to persistent nausea and other stomach troubles. Bleh. As much as I appreciated not having to schlep, I also did not like not being in the room at certain points, even though Assistant J did well.

And now I'm off today and tomorrow - I have historically tried to take the day off after these meetings but it hasn't always worked out. Recently, my boss suggested it as something we should do regularly, so I took her at her word (and I have the time) so... yeah.

This morning, I had my follow-up appointment with the optometrist, and before she dilated my eyes again, she did that thing where they take a picture of the back of your eye? And lo and behold, this time she could see the spot I had been talking about and she showed it to me on the picture, and I was like, "yes! that is the shape!" Weirdly, I had stopped seeing it very often after the last time she dilated my eyes back in August - I still see it occasionally, mostly when my right eye is closed and my left eye is open, which is not something I do except to see if the spot is still there. Then she dilated my eyes and did all the bright lights - so much so that i actually cried, which has never happened to me before (and for which she apologized profusely) - and was like, "yes, I can see it now, it was probably too small back in August - you'd said it had just started?" and I was like, "yeah, about a week before my appointment."

She said there was no sign of any kind of tear or hole in the retina, and that it is likely just a floater - that as the eye ages, the collagen in the vitreous can clump sometimes, and that is what a floater is. *hands* My dad had them also, so it may also be hereditary. Anyway, I have to go back in February for another follow-up to keep an eye on it. (and if it gets worse, many more show up, etc. I should go back earlier.)

I did ask about the field of vision test, as mentioned by serricoj, and the doctor said that would have been the next step if we hadn't identified the floater, but she'd have had to refer me out to an ophthamologist for it, so I'm glad it wasn't that.

So that is a relief.

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This is the official post for the seventh annual Chromatic Characters Podfic Anthology! This year, the anthology contains 59 podfics, featuring 52 characters of color, read by 19 podficcers.

This year's optional theme was: creation.


cover art by silverandblue


Listening options:

• The Chromatic Characters Podfic Anthology VII podbook, (m4b format, 63 kbps, 156 mb, 05:37:11), with chapter stops for individual podfics

• A zip file (337 mb) with all the anthology podfics in mp3 format

• A spreadsheet with direct audio links or links to the AO3 pages where you can download individual anthology podfics and leave feedback

Links to the text of the fics, where you can go to leave kudos and comments for the wonderful authors, can be found in the "comments" section in the metadata of each mp3 file as well as in the spreadsheet. Thank you to deathtongue, Flowerparrish, godoflaundrybaskets, wilfriede0815, and wjgravity for technical beta. We also thank the 4 contextual content betas who lent their time and knowledge to this anthology.

The bonus collection for podfics longer than the maximum for the CCPA and/or extra submissions can be found here.

You can find the full AO3 collection for this year here. Please feel free to leave feedback/comments on this post! You can also follow the podficcers to their individual AO3 accounts to find more of their work: AppleSapling, blackglass, Cailynwrites, cheesecake3, deepestbluesky, DevilWithABirdDress, FaerieFey13, flamingwell, flowerparrish, J0305, kbirb, LittleRedRobinHood, MistbornHero, peasina, pezzax, Poots, Ravin, Tipsy_Kitty, and wilfriede0815.

September recs update:

unfitforsociety has been updated for September 2026 with 20 recs in 4 fandoms:

* 17 Heated Rivalry
* 2 Batfamily
* 1 The Pitt/Ride or Die crossover

✭

Hockey returns tonight and so it's the one day a season I allow myself to feel optimistic about the Rangers. If a whole laundry list of things goes well, they could be back in the playoffs this year! If not, alas, another lost season.

In other news, I have my board meeting tomorrow night (in person, ugh), and then I'm off Thursday and Friday. I've got a follow-up at the eye doctor on Thursday morning and my covid and flu jabs on Friday morning, so no sleeping in for me. Sigh.

✭

I made Smitten Kitchen's chewy granola bar recipe this morning and it turned out pretty good (pic), even if the center pieces didn't hold together as bars. I want to make note of the choices and changes I made for next time:

- olive oil for melted butter
- brown sugar instead of white (only 1/2 cup, might use less next time)
- added almond extract in addition to vanilla
- added allspice in addition to cinnamon
- used almond butter instead of peanut butter
- used maple syrup (and replaced the corn syrup with maple syrup)
- used dried cranberries, dried cherries, sunflower seeds, and mini chocolate chips as add-ins

I think next time I will skip the chocolate chips, and maybe do honey with sesame seeds and dried apricots and raisins (or maybe chopped up dates? or ooh, dried figs) along with tahini in place of almond butter, pistachios, and maybe some orange zest and cinnamon. I'm definitely thinking about it.

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There is some wild stuff happening at work that I can't talk about yet, but it is exhausting. But people liked the cupcakes! I found the whipped ganache/cream cheese frosting combination kind of meh overall - the cream cheese overwhelmed the chocolate and mostly what I got was sweetness instead of flavor, so I'll have to try something different if I do the 2-flavors-in-1 thing again. All the cupcakes themselves were good, though. I'd recommend any of the recipes I linked to on Sunday, though I did find that I didn't get equal amounts of chocolate and vanilla batter so there was always more of one left at the end, even when I did more vanilla and less chocolate in each cupcake (which is how it's probably supposed to be, I think).

Anyway, I won't be back there again until late October, so I think for that I might go with orange cranberry and a different apple cider recipe than I have been using the past few years, and really lean into fall flavors. I guess we'll see! Because my niece also wants to get together one day next month to bake so if it's that weekend, well, I will choose that over baking for work. (Meanwhile, another niece wants us all to learn to play mahjong? which I am not opposed to, but I'm also not going to make an effort to figure out the scheduling. I'll just show up when they tell me when and where. I'm just glad they want to hang out with me.)

Today, I tried that SK pizza recipe again, and I didn't put the cheese on until 10 minutes in, but it still overcooked. I guess next time I'll try putting it on with only 10 minutes left. I still have half an open jar of passata, and it's so easy to make, so I don't see why I wouldn't try again. I whisked the dough together at the end of my lunch hour and let it rise from 3 - 4:30, then did the second 30 minute rise, so it went in the oven at around 5 and was ready to eat at 5:30-ish (I let it cool for about 10 minutes first so I could handle it). You use so much olive oil that it just lifts right out of the skillet, too. It's beautiful and delicious! I Just wish the cheese didn't get so overdone.

And somehow, I still don't have a pizza icon! I should fix that.

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I spent yesterday making 3 different mini marble cupcake recipes* and then today, I logged off early to make vanilla cream cheese and whipped chocolate ganache frostings (pics). The whipped chocolate ganache is a lot of trouble, because I never get the temperatures right - this time I had to refrigerate it for 15 minutes before it would finally whip properly. But it finally worked and I was able to fill smaller piping bags with each kind and put them into one big bag with the tip installed, and thus, got a chocolate and vanilla swirl on each cupcake! It's like magic!

Tomorrow, I will take them into the office and hope people like them.

Now I'm resting a little before I make dinner and refill the dishwasher before the Giants game.

*the cupcake recipes: life love and sugar, chelsweets, and Sally's Baking Addiction

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Made Smitten Kitchen's simple crispy pan pizza this afternoon, and 30 minutes at 450°F is slightly too long in my oven for the cheese (pic). The crust is nicely crispy, and I spread some fresh burrata on top of the slices I ate, but I think maybe 5 minutes less, or maybe add the cheese 10 minutes into cooking to keep it from being too well-done, would work better.

In the middle of that, I tried starting on one of the cupcake recipes I wanted to try this weekend (my Instacart delivery arrived with my eggs early on in the delivery window), but I got distracted and did something wrong while weighing out my ingredients (I didn't hit tare at the right time and ended up not adding the right amount of flour, I think?), so I just pitched the half-made batter. I'll start over tomorrow and pay closer attention. *hands*

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What do we think about this Greta Gerwig adaptation of The Magician's Nephew?

I admit I'm kind of intrigued! I don't know how this is all going to work, but just the prospect of Daniel effing Craig as Uncle Andrew hitting on Jadis of Charn just charms the fuck out of me.

Here's at least one teaser photo

Also it's the sort of production that is guaranteed to piss off the super-religious fans who loathe rthstewart's stories (as a for example).

Thoughts? rants? Let's chat!

It cooled off a little but now it's warmed up and gotten all sticky, plus I've got poor unhoused bees buzzing around my window, so I've put the AC on again this evening. Also, why do people think it's okay to teams me after 5 pm on a Friday about something that is in no way urgent and could wait until Monday since it's not relevant until 2027??? Plus, my groceries arrived without the eggs I ordered, which has made me cranky, because I now have to put in an Instacart order so I can do the baking I planned on this weekend! I only have 2 eggs in my fridge atm and I need at least 3 more! ALSO, last evening, I tried to order a muffin pan of the type I prefer (Trudeau Structure 20 cavity mini muffin pan, which they seem to have discontinued, unfortunately) from a website that turned out to be shady (I GUESS) because my bank refused the transaction and cancelled the credit card to prevent any further fraudulent charges, and now I have to wait for them to send me a replacement credit card with a whole new number. Just. Wtf??? I did find one on Poshmark, though, which I ordered successfully. And the bank did provide a list of vendors where I'll have to update the card number, but still, that was a surprise!

What I am trying to say is that I am sweaty and cranky and so glad it's Friday. Whew!

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