astolat's livejournal

Transformers: Chasms (Megatron/Orion Pax)

2021-03-28T02:26:21Z

Happy Passover to any of you celebrating! Hope you have or are having a good seder. <3 I am very full of flourless chocolate cake and disinclined to move, so I have taken the night off and polished up this little story I never quite finished, it's based on the IDW 2019 comics reboot, or more accurately, off this one very happy-making panel that you can see in this tumblr post.

Chasms (1746 words) by astolat
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transformers (IDW 2019)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Megatron/Orion Pax
Characters: Orion Pax, Megatron
Additional Tags: Transformers IDW 2019 Issue 6: Orion Pax: Free Fall, Threefold Spark, First Time
Series: Part 19 of Transformers works
Summary:

Megatron was almost intolerably annoying, and almost unbearably dazzling, all at the same time.

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

[Transformers] Fool's Hope (Optimus/Megatron)

2021-02-22T02:53:29Z

LOOK, a STORY, it's almost like I have any free time 😭

Fool's Hope (38490 words) by astolat
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transformers Generation One
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Megatron/Optimus Prime, Elita One/Optimus Prime
Characters: Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream (Transformers), Elita One (Transformers), Ultra Magnus, Thundercracker
Additional Tags: End of the war, Protector of Cybertron, Quintessons - Freeform
Series: Part 17 of Transformers works
Summary:

There was very little hope to be found within the Darkmount cell. What there was, Optimus clung to, for as long as he could.

I feel seriously emptied of inspiration lately (WHAT COULD BE GOING ON HMMM) and the prompt for this one really helped me get the engine going, so I mention, I would totally love MORE prompts if anyone had them to toss out and didn't mind the extremely great likelihood that in fact what happens is I disappear for another 19 months of radio silence and when reappearing turn up in a completely different fandom six places over. ;___; I MISS YOU GUYS You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Any french speakers around?

2020-09-22T15:49:00Z

Are there any native French speakers out there on my flist who could give me a quick consult on a line? I want a teenage character saying something roughly like: "How did he make them come apart like that? I have absolutely no idea. I was sure he was about to die." Ideally in a casual/slangy way, not a literal translation or anything. *peers around hopefully* You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Help with Chinese poetry recs?

2019-09-11T15:59:30Z

So I have a character in a book who wants to write poetry, only she's a native Mandarin speaker who grew up from birth to 13 somewhere not far from Shanghai.

I need help figuring out some poetry and literature she would have read and finding decent English translations. Does anyone have any recs for either? Or for any favorite Chinese-to-English poetry translators in general?

Also hey in other news I'm in Lisbon this week for Comic-Con Portugal! Lmk if you're in the vicinity. :D

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Game of Thrones: Pride (Jaime/Brienne/Cersei)

2019-05-20T14:50:51Z

No s8 spoilers here, it diverges mostly after the Red Wedding and was mostly written before s8 started. But I especially wanted to finish it off after the just-delivered load of rubbish, lol. (Beware spoilers in comments though! I suspect many other people have Strong Feelings at the moment. :P)

Pride (22745 words) by astolat
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Game of Thrones (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth, Cersei Lannister/Jaime Lannister, Cersei Lannister/Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth, Cersei Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Characters: Jaime Lannister, Brienne of Tarth, Cersei Lannister, Sansa Stark, Grey Wind
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Queen in the North, the wall - Freeform, Winter, House Lannister
Series: Part 10 of Game of Thrones works
Summary:

Jaime didn’t understand why Cersei suddenly insisted on trimming his hair and shaving his beard, but he also didn’t care to fight her on it, even though he’d just as soon have kept the beard: it was bitterly cold in the small tower room with its arrow-slits. At night, even curled together under the two blankets they’d been allotted, it took the better part of an hour before their bodies could warm the bed enough to sleep.

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Game of Thrones

2019-05-16T18:37:16Z

I've been ranting over on tumblr at length, but I figured I would also just throw out for the record my final depressed predictions for the season finale:

What I think will happen, all of which I very much DNW:
- Grey Worm dies trying to save Dany
- Arya kills Dany
- Dany has dying vision of being with Drogo again
- Bronn kills Tyrion with the crossbow
- Arya goes back to the Faceless Men
- Jon Snow being unhappily crowned king with Sansa smiling in the crowd
- Drogon flies off and lays dragon eggs as final scene

Minor alternative options:
- Arya kills Drogon instead
- Jon kills Dany and takes the black and goes north
- bewildered Gendry is crowned king as Robert's only heir
- less-bewildered Tyrion is crowned as Cersei's only heir
- Sansa ends up as queen either herself or by marrying one of them

What would actually be interesting:
- attempts to kill Dany fail
- Dany executes everyone who tried
- Dany ends up crowned queen and we all hate it, thanks

In retrospect that would be a really brilliant way to do Dany getting the throne--which on the face of it seemed from the moment she set sail with her three dragons and massive armies like the stupidly obvious outcome--but in a way subverts traditional storytelling and fantasy tropes of the noble destined king. Taking away her legitimacy WOULD mean something then; that story is better and more true to GOT if she's not actually the rightful heir to the throne, if she takes it with the excuse of being close enough and with sheer brutality and by beating everyone else in the death count, if the show doesn't let us CHEER for her getting the throne, if the show is teasing us with noble Jon Snow only to yank him away like Lucy with the football: ha ha you thought nobility and honor and right means shit?

Even if that does happen, it won't repair the garbage writing of this season, and they could have gotten here so much more skillfully, but at least it would be SOMETHING. So it won't happen! :P

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Adam Lambert memorabilia?

2019-03-30T19:02:10Z

Is there anyone on my flist who would find joy sparked by a free box of Adam Lambert memorabilia? I am kondoing my space and would happily ship it to anyone who would enjoy it. It's mostly shortly-after-Idol-era magazines, signed Idols tour stuff, CDs.

Comments screened, drop me an address, first person gets it. :)

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Transformers Prime: The Parent Trap (Megatron/Optimus)

2019-02-21T03:20:58Z

Here is the teenager story, because the other TFP one decided it was NOT finished after all. :P

The Parent Trap (17924 words) by astolat
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transformers: Prime
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Megatron/Optimus Prime
Characters: Megatron, Optimus Prime, Arcee, Ratchet, Original Cybertronian Character(s)
Additional Tags: Teenagers, Cybertronian Parenting, Sparklings
Series: Part 16 of Transformers works
Summary:

“Oh my God, are you saying that Megatron had Optimus’s baby?” Miko shrieked piercingly.

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Signal Boost: The Self-Curated Vidshow Challenge!

2019-02-10T01:44:33Z

This was really neat to do, and I'm having so much fun going through the vidshows!

trelkez posted: The Self-Curated Vidshow Challenge!

In January I asked vidders to make vidshows using only their own vids. A whole lot of you did! There are 47 vidshows by 31 different vidders, all ready for browsing here:

The Self-Curated Vidshow Challenge

You can browse the vidshows by vidder name, either off the main list or in the top navigation. If you're not sure how to watch the shows, check the about page for tips. There are content notes available for most shows in a separate table beneath the vidshow playlist, so if you don't see them at a glance, scroll down.

I called mine Conversations, because I discovered while poking around for a theme that I had this bunch of vids that all have (at least for me) a strongly defined narrator voice talking to a second character.

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

I think I failed this test?

2019-02-10T01:35:26Z

Ultimate Fanfic Tropes Showdown 3.1

I feel like my final list is not actually true because I change my mind on what each trope means depending on context, which in this case was the trope it was matched up against!

Rank Name
1 Snowed-In Cabin/Isolated Together For Extended Period of Time
2 Enemies to Friends to Lovers
3 Magical Connection (Telepathy, etc)
4 Fake Dating/Fake Marriage Accidentally Turns Into Feelings
5 Fairy Tale/Mythology AU

6 Daemons
7 Royals/Political Marriage Turns Into Feelings
8 Seemingly Unrequited Pining
9 Soulmate Identifying Marks (Tattoo, Red Thread of Fate, etc)
10 Adopting/Raising a Baby
11 Friends to Lovers
12 Vampires/Werewolves AU
13 Supernatural Creature/Human Romance
14 Hogwarts AU
15 Accidentally Fell In Love With The Mission Target
16 A/B/O
17 Found Families
18 Loyalty Kink
19 Pride and Prejudice AU
20 'Everyone is Evil'/Mirrorverse AU
21 'Groundhog Day'/Karmic Time Loop
22 Characters Swap Roles AU (I don't mean in the bedroom)
23 'Falling For A Coworker/Teammate Is A Bad Idea' Except This Is Fiction So It Works Out
24 Amnesia Fic
25 Hurt/Comfort
26 And They Were Roommates!
27 Body Swapping
28 Hot Single Parent(s)
29 They Break Up (but then They Get Back Together)
30 Unusually Specific Occupation AU, Like, The Author Clearly Has The Same Job
31 Actually Unrequited Pining
32 Reincarnation/'25 Lives' AU
33 Polyamory
34 'They All Work In An Office' AU
35 High School/University AU
36 Coffee House AU/Food Service AU
37 Selfcest (possibly due to time travel)

but the real list is more like:

1) Competence (how! how can they not have included competence!)
2) Fealty (their linked definition of Loyalty Kink is REALLY not the same as mine)
3) Antagonist/counterpart romance
4) Bonding (really any imposed connection) develops into chosen connection
5) AUs that create interesting new stakes and worldbuilding

10) Isolated together
11) Huddling for warmth
12) Family/kid fic
13) Hurt/comfort

the others are in here in a vague cloud, happy to read them, wouldn't immediately jump

100) Artificial conflict/misunderstandings
1000) Unhappy endings
1,000,000) Mundane AUs

But the REAL real answer is that it totally depends on the fandom! What I want is different depending on the fandom and the pairing. But OKAY fine, that is much less interesting for quiz purposes, I GRANT YOU.

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

SignalBoost bookmarklet update! Now boosts HTML

2019-02-08T17:11:15Z

I am using the signal boost bookmarklet to signal boost this update to the signal boost bookmarklet and if any of you signal boost this and someone boosts that then eventually clearly we will create a vortex in the space-time continuum. :P

astolat posted: SignalBoost bookmarklet

I've now updated the bookmarklet so that it preserves the HTML encoding in the selected text, so for instance if you select a chunk of text that includes an image or links to an AO3 story or to another DW post, the links will be preserved. It does NOT work on embedded video, sorry. :(

javascript:void%20function(){function%20e(){var%20e=%22%22;if(%22undefined%22!=typeof%20window.getSelection){var%20n=window.getSelection();if(n.rangeCount){for(var%20t=document.createElement(%22div%22),o=0,r=n.rangeCount;r%3Eo;++o)t.appendChild(n.getRangeAt(o).cloneContents());e=t.innerHTML}}else%22undefined%22!=typeof%20document.selection%26%26%22Text%22==document.selection.type%26%26(e=document.selection.createRange().htmlText);return%20e}function%20n(){return%20document.getElementsByClassName(%22access-filter%22).length%3E0}function%20t(){var%20e=!n();return%20e||(e=confirm(%22Post%20is%20access-locked.%20Continue%3F%22)),e}function%20o(){var%20n=e(),t=c.substr(0,c.indexOf(%22.%22));t=t.substr(t.lastIndexOf(%22/%22)+1);var%20o=document.title;o=o.substr(o.lastIndexOf(%22%20|%20%22)+3);var%20i=%22%3Cp%3E%22;i=i+'%3Cuser%20name=%22'+t+'%22%3E%20posted:%20',i=i+'%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca%20href=%22'+c+'%22%3E'+o+%22%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%22,i=i,n.length%3E0%26%26(i=i+%22\n%3Cblockquote%3E%20%22+n+%22%3C/blockquote%3E%22),i+=%22%3C/p%3E%22;var%20a=%22Signal%20Boost:%20%22+o;r=r+encodeURIComponent(i)+%22%26subject=%22+encodeURIComponent(a),window.location=r}var%20r=%22https://www.dreamwidth.org/update.bml%3Fevent=%22,c=window.location.href;t()%26%26o()}();

You can just copy and paste that code from the textarea into the URL field of the bookmarklet to upgrade it.

Also here's the underlying javascript in much more readable/editable form for anyone who wants to muck around with it: signal_boost.js on Gist

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Signal Boost: Chocolate Box pinch hits up for grabs

2019-02-08T15:44:19Z

dorinda posted: Chocolate Box pinch hits up for grabs

If you feel like writing a story of at least 300 words by Tuesday, consider pinch hitting for Chocolate Box! It's a relationship-based challenge (/ or &), so keep that in mind when reading the requests.

The easiest way to browse the pinch-hits is by just looking at the comm, chocolateboxcomm ; they're up in two recent posts, "pinch hits 28-50" and "pinch hits 51-73". That way you can just skim the fandom names.

But if you'd like direct links to the full posts: one and two.

eta: Fanartists, many of these prompts are for sketches/fanart too! Take a look if you can!

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Transformers Animated: A Degree of Compatibility

2019-02-06T21:54:41Z

la la la it's the consort fic that ALL OF YOU WANTED FIRST, lol <3

A Degree of Compatibility (8500 words) by astolat
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transformers Animated (2007)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Megatron/Optimus Prime
Characters: Optimus Prime, Megatron
Additional Tags: consort, Arranged Marriage, Light Masochism, Consent Issues
Series: Part 15 of Transformers works
Summary:

“And what’s the price for a Decepticon leader’s help these days?" Optimus said. "Head of his captor on a pike?”

The Councillors started falling over each other hurriedly protesting, no, no, of course not, how could Optimus think, never—and Megatron laughed over them all and said, “It’s not your head I want to mount. I have demanded you as my consort.”

“Okay, well, that’s—unexpected,” Optimus said, blankly.

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Signal Boost: Markdown Simplifies Formatting Your DW Posts

2019-02-04T02:51:49Z

jesse_the_k posted: Markdown Simplifies Formatting Your DW Posts

Markdown is a silent feature inside Dreamwidth's HTML editor. You turn it on by making the first line of the post:

!markdown

Now Dreamwidth interprets any Markdown you type.

I did not know that you could use Markdown in DW! Super cool. (Much more info about Markdown and how to use it in that post.)

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Signal Boost: federated fandom

2019-02-02T01:28:48Z

arduinna posted: federated fandom

So then I clicked a link in cesperanza's comments and signed up for what seems to be the current fannish-testing-ground on Hubzilla, fandom.stopthatimp.net.

... Seriously, I had NO INTENTION. But here I've been for the last few days, and I gotta say, I'm pulling for Hubzilla to be the next big thing. I'll leave the technical stuff to other people, and just tell you why I'm liking the system as a user.

Lots more details in arduinna's post and I am lazy so I will only point over there and say I'm there too!

http://fandom.stopthatimp.net/channel/astolat

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Transformers: Excessively Clever (Megatron/Optimus)

2019-01-31T20:02:02Z

hahaha I had fun writing this :P

Excessively Clever (18605 words) by astolat
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transformers Generation One, Transformers - All Media Types
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Megatron/Optimus Prime
Characters: Swindle, Megatron, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee (Transformers)
Additional Tags: POV Outsider, Accidental Voyeurism, Non-Accidental Voyeurism, mining
Series: Part 14 of Transformers works
Summary:

“Don’t let this become one of the occasions you get excessively clever, Swindle," Megatron said. "My patience for the current situation is highly limited.”

With many thanks to monicawoe for beta! All fb loved! <3 :D

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Transformers: Arena (Megatron/Orion Pax)

2019-01-28T04:20:52Z

OK! The voters have spoken (well, they HAD spoken and then Swindle caught up, but TOO LATE because I was already doing the last bits of proofreading on this one)! Feel free to keep voting, I have a lot more of these to go, lol.

Arena (8616 words) by astolat
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transformers Generation One, Transformers - All Media Types
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Megatron/Orion Pax, Ariel/Dion/Orion Pax
Characters: Orion Pax, Megatron (Transformers)
Additional Tags: Victory Condition AU, Gladiators, Revolution
Series: Part 13 of Transformers works
Summary:

“You wouldn’t want to miss that match," the administrator said.

(Also in the comments there is a tiny bit of extra-story explanation about what happened to Brickbat in the Champion universe.)

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

IMPORTANT POLL

2019-01-27T02:41:01Z

So I am doing this thing again I seem to do in Transformers fic where I am having a burst of ~~procrastination~~ WRITING ENERGY and working on multiple stories at the same time and I don't want to stop long enough to actually POST them as I finish them? So:

View poll: HELP

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

SignalBoost bookmarklet

2019-01-16T14:56:37Z

Okay, here is the little bookmarklet -- it's pretty limited, but it serves my own laziness, so I share it FWIW and if anyone has the time and wants to upgrade it, go for it and drop me a comment and I'll (ha ha) signal boost any new versions!

Here's the underlying javascript in much more readable/editable form for anyone who wants to muck around with it: signal_boost.js on Gist (now 1.4 by lj_writes)

Create a new bookmark on your browser's bookmarks bar, then edit it. Copy and paste the code from this textarea into the URL field (sorry I can't make a draggable version here on DW as the javascript is being yanked, understandably).

eta: melannen has already made the first improved version, which now warns you if you try to signal boost an access-locked post!

eta2: I've now updated the bookmarklet so that it preserves the HTML encoding in the selected text, so for instance if you select a chunk of text that includes an image or links to an AO3 story or to another DW post, the links will be preserved. It does NOT work on embedded video, sorry. :(

eta3: v1.4 with fixes and stripping excess Signal Boost: prefixes from melannen, more support for non-DW sites and better formatting from lj_writes!

javascript:(function()%7Bvar%20postURL%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dreamwidth.org%2Fupdate.bml%3Fevent%3D%22%3Bvar%20curURL%3Dwindow.location.href%3Bfunction%20getSelectionText()%7Bvar%20text%3D%22%22%3Bif(window.getSelection)%7Btext%3Dwindow.getSelection().toString()%7Delse%20if(document.selection%26%26document.selection.type!%3D%22Control%22)%7Btext%3Ddocument.selection.createRange().text%7Dreturn%20text%7Dfunction%20getSelectionHtml()%7Bvar%20html%3D%22%22%3Bif(typeof%20window.getSelection!%3D%22undefined%22)%7Bvar%20sel%3Dwindow.getSelection()%3Bif(sel.rangeCount)%7Bvar%20container%3Ddocument.createElement(%22div%22)%3Bfor(var%20i%3D0%2Clen%3Dsel.rangeCount%3Bi%3Clen%3Bi%2B%3D1)%7Bcontainer.appendChild(sel.getRangeAt(i).cloneContents())%7Dhtml%3Dcontainer.innerHTML%7D%7Delse%20if(typeof%20document.selection!%3D%22undefined%22)%7Bif(document.selection.type%3D%3D%22Text%22)%7Bhtml%3Ddocument.selection.createRange().htmlText%7D%7Dreturn%20html%7Dfunction%20isLocked()%7Breturn%20document.getElementsByClassName(%22security-protected%22).length%3E0%7Dfunction%20confirmBoost()%7Bvar%20doPost%3D!isLocked()%3Bif(!doPost)%7BdoPost%3Dconfirm(%22Post%20is%20access-locked.%20Continue%3F%22)%7Dreturn%20doPost%7Dfunction%20strip(s%2Cy)%7Bif(s.includes(y))%7Breturn%20s.substr(s.indexOf(y)%2B2)%7Dreturn%7Dfunction%20until(s%2Cy)%7Bif(Boolean(s)%26%26s.includes(y))%7Breturn%20s.substr(0%2Cs.indexOf(y))%7Dreturn%20s%7Dfunction%20esc(s%2Cf%2Cr)%7Bif(s.includes(f))%7Breturn%20s.replace(f%2Cr)%7Dreturn%20s%7Dfunction%20getUserName(sD%2CsN%2CfU%2CsFU%2CsSFU)%7Bvar%20sdun%3D%5B%22blogger.com%22%2C%22deadjournal.com%22%2C%22dreamwidth.org%22%2C%22insanejournal.com%22%2C%22livejournal.com%22%2C%22tumblr.com%22%2C%22wordpress.com%22%5D%3Bvar%20fun%3D%5B%22deviantart.com%22%2C%22facebook.com%22%2C%22instagram.com%22%2C%22medium.com%22%2C%22pinboard.in%22%2C%22plurk.com%22%5D%3Bif(sD!%3D'lj'%26%26sN!%3D'rossia.org')%7Bif(sN.includes('blogspot.co'))%7Breturn%20sD%7Dvar%20i%3D0%3Bwhile(i%3Csdun.length)%7Bif(sN%3D%3Dsdun%5Bi%5D)%7Bif(sD%3D%3D''%7C%7CsD%3D%3D'www')%7Breturn%7Delse%7Breturn%20sD%7D%7Di%2B%3D1%7D%7Dif(sN%3D%3D%22archiveofourown.org%22)%7Bif(Boolean(fU)%26%26fU%3D%3D'users'%26%26Boolean(sFU))%7Breturn%20sFU%7Delse%7Btry%7Bvar%20a%3Ddocument.querySelector('a%5Brel%3D%22author%22%5D').getAttribute('href')%7Dcatch(err)%7Breturn%7Dvar%20aSplit%3Da.substr(1).split('%2F')%3Bif(aSplit%5B0%5D%3D%3D%22users%22%26%26Boolean(aSplit%5B1%5D))%7Breturn%20aSplit%5B1%5D%7D%7D%7Delse%20if(sN%3D%3D%22etsy.com%22)%7Bif(Boolean(fU)%26%26fU%3D%3D'shop'%26%26Boolean(sFU))%7Breturn%20until(sFU%2C'%3F')%7Delse%20if(Boolean(fU)%26%26fU%3D%3D'listing')%7Btry%7Bvar%20a%3Ddocument.querySelector('link%5Bhref%5E%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.etsy.com%2Fshop%2F%22%5D').getAttribute('href')%7Dcatch(err)%7Breturn%7Dif(Boolean(strip(a%2C'%2F')))%7Breturn%20until(strip(a%2C'%2F').split('%2F')%5B2%5D%2C'%3F')%3B%7D%7D%7Delse%20if(sN%3D%3D%22fanfiction.net%22)%7Bif(Boolean(fU)%26%26fU%3D%3D'u'%26%26Boolean(sSFU))%7Breturn%20sSFU%7Delse%7Btry%7Bvar%20a%3Ddocument.querySelector('a%5Bhref%5E%3D%22%2Fu%2F%22%5D').getAttribute('href')%7Dcatch(err)%7Breturn%7Dvar%20aSplit%3Da.substr(1).split('%2F')%3Bif(aSplit%5B0%5D%3D%3D%22u%22%26%26Boolean(aSplit%5B2%5D))%7Breturn%20aSplit%5B2%5D%7D%7D%7Delse%20if(sN%3D%3D%22medium.com%22)%7Bif(Boolean(fU)%26%26fU.charAt(0)%3D%3D'%40')%7Breturn%20fU.substr(1)%7Delse%7Btry%7Bvar%20a%3Ddocument.querySelector('link%5Brel%3D%22author%22%5D').getAttribute('href')%7Dcatch(err)%7Breturn%7Dreturn%20a.substr(a.indexOf('%40')%2B1)%7D%7Delse%20if(sN%3D%3D%22ravelry.com%22)%7Bif(Boolean(fU)%26%26fU%3D%3D'designers')%7Breturn%20sFU%7Delse%7Btry%7Bvar%20a%3Ddocument.querySelector('a%5Bhref%5E%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ravelry.com%2Fdesigners%2F%22%5D').getAttribute('href')%7Dcatch(err)%7Breturn%7Dif(Boolean(strip(a%2C'%2F')))%7Breturn%20strip(a%2C'%2F').split('%2F')%5B2%5D%7D%7D%7Dvar%20i%3D0%3Bwhile(i%3Cfun.length)%7Bif(sN%3D%3Dfun%5Bi%5D%26%26Boolean(fU))%7Bif(sN%3D%3D%22instagram.com%22)%7Btry%7Bvar%20a%3Ddocument.querySelector('link%5Brel%3D%22canonical%22%5D').getAttribute('href')%7Dcatch(err)%7Breturn%7Dvar%20strippedA%3Da.substr(a.indexOf('%2F')%2B2)%3Breturn%20strippedA.split('%2F')%5B1%5D%7Dreturn%20fU%7Di%2B%3D1%7Dif(sN%3D%3D%22journalfen.com%22)%7Bif(Boolean(fU)%26%26fU%3D%3D'users'%26%26Boolean(sFU))%7Breturn%20sFU%7D%7Dif(sN%3D%3D%22last.fm%22%26%26Boolean(fU)%26%26fU%3D%3D'user'%26%26Boolean(sFU))%7Breturn%20sFU%7Dif(sD%3D%3D%22lj%22%26%26sN%3D%3D%22rossia.org%22%26%26Boolean(fU)%26%26Boolean(sFU))%7Bif(fU%3D%3D'community'%7C%7CfU%3D%3D'users')%7Breturn%20sFU%7D%7Dif(sN%3D%3D%22youtube.com%22%26%26Boolean(fU)%26%26Boolean(sFU)%26%26fU%3D%3D'user')%7Breturn%20sFU%7Dreturn%7Dfunction%20boost()%7Bvar%20selectedText%3DgetSelectionHtml()%3Bvar%20subjectText%3Bvar%20strippedURL%3Dstrip(curURL%2C'%2F')%3Bvar%20serverDomain%3DstrippedURL.split('%2F')%5B0%5D%3Bvar%20fU%3DstrippedURL.split('%2F')%5B1%5D%3Bvar%20sFU%3DstrippedURL.split('%2F')%5B2%5D%3Bvar%20sSFU%3DstrippedURL.split('%2F')%5B3%5D%3Bvar%20serverDomainParts%3DserverDomain.split('.')%3Bif(serverDomainParts.length%3C%3D1)%7Breturn%7Delse%20if(serverDomainParts.length%3D%3D2)%7Bvar%20sD%3D''%3Bvar%20sN%3DserverDomainParts%5B0%5D%2B'.'%2BserverDomainParts%5B1%5D%7Delse%20if(serverDomainParts.length%3E%3D3)%7Bvar%20sD%3DserverDomainParts%5B0%5D%3Bvar%20sN%3DserverDomainParts%5B1%5D%2B'.'%2BserverDomainParts%5B2%5D%7Dvar%20curTitle%3Ddocument.title%3Bif(sN%3D%3D%22dreamwidth.org%22%26%26curTitle.includes('%20%7C%20'))%7BcurTitle%3DcurTitle.substr(curTitle.lastIndexOf('%20%7C%20')%2B3)%7Dvar%20linkText%3D%22%22%3Bvar%20userName%3DgetUserName(sD%2CsN%2CfU%2CsFU%2CsSFU)%3Bif(Boolean(userName)%26%26userName.length%3E0)%7Bif(userName.charAt(0)%3D%3D'%40')%7Bvar%20userName%3DuserName.substr(1)%7Delse%20if(userName.substr(0%2C2)%3D%3D'u%3A')%7Bvar%20userName%3DuserName.substr(2)%7Dvar%20userTagSiteAttribute%3DsN%3Bif(sN.includes('blogspot.co'))%7Bvar%20sN%3D'blogspot.com'%3Bvar%20userTagSiteAttribute%3D'blogger.com'%7Delse%20if(sN.includes('pinterest.co'))%7Bvar%20sN%3D'pinterest.com'%3Bvar%20userTagSiteAttribute%3D'pinterest.com'%7Dvar%20linkText%3DlinkText%2B'%3Cuser%20name%3D%22'%2BuserName%2B'%22%20site%3D'%2BuserTagSiteAttribute%2B'%3E%20posted%3A%20'%7DlinkText%3DlinkText%2B'%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22'%2BcurURL%2B'%22%3E'%2Besc(curTitle%2C'%40'%2C'%26commat%3B')%2B'%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3E'%3Bif(selectedText.length%3E0)%7BlinkText%3DlinkText%2B%22%5Cn%3Cblockquote%3E%20%22%2BselectedText%2B%22%3C%2Fblockquote%3E%22%7Dif(!curTitle.includes(%22Signal%20Boost%3A%20%22))%7BsubjectText%3D%22Signal%20Boost%3A%20%22%2BcurTitle%7Delse%7BsubjectText%3DcurTitle%7DpostURL%3DpostURL%2BencodeURIComponent(linkText)%2B%22%26subject%3D%22%2BencodeURIComponent(subjectText)%3Bwindow.location%3DpostURL%7Dif(confirmBoost())%7Bboost()%7D%7D)()

Go to a Dreamwidth post that you want to signal boost. You have to be ON the post itself; sadly this doesn't work from within your reading list. Also, you need to be logged in.

If you want an excerpt, select some text in the post.

Click the bookmarklet. You should be taken to the Dreamwidth post form with the signal boost content prefilled. You can add any other content you want, copy and paste the content to create posts with multiple signal boosts, etc. Whenever you're happy, you post it like any other post.

eta2: Safari for iOS install instructions by gingicat and Chrome for Android install instructions by falena!

Pre-Github versions preserved:

1.1, access lock, no HTML copying

javascript:void%20function(){function%20post(){var%20t=%22https://www.dreamwidth.org/update.bml%3Fevent=%22,n=window.location.href,o=e(),r=n.substr(0,n.indexOf(%22.%22));r=r.substr(r.lastIndexOf(%22/%22)+1);var%20c=document.title;c=c.substr(c.lastIndexOf(%22%20|%20%22)+3);var%20i=%22%3Cp%3E%22;i=i+'%3Cuser%20name=%22'+r+'%22%3E%20posted:%20',i=i+'%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca%20href=%22'+n+'%22%3E'+c+%22%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%22,i=i,o.length%3E0%26%26(i=i+%22\n%3Cblockquote%3E%20%22+o+%22%3C/blockquote%3E%22),i+=%22%3C/p%3E%22;var%20d=%22Signal%20Boost:%20%22+c;t=t+encodeURIComponent(i)+%22%26subject=%22+encodeURIComponent(d),window.location=t}function%20e(){var%20e=%22%22;return%20window.getSelection%3Fe=window.getSelection().toString():document.selection%26%26%22Control%22!=document.selection.type%26%26(e=document.selection.createRange().text),e}var%20isMobileVersion=document.getElementsByClassName(%22access-filter%22);if(0==isMobileVersion.length)post();else{var%20check=confirm(%22Post%20is%20access-locked.%20Continue%3F%22);1==check%26%26post()}}();

1.0, no access lock check

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

sharing a post

2019-01-14T03:24:54Z

I am noodling a super basic little bookmarklet to make it easier to signal-boost posts, and here is a post I wanted to share that I have used it on! :)

doctorsidrat posted: thinking about comms

I have some more thoughts re: communities. Specifically, there were a lot of comments wishing they were more active, but not sure a) how to get them to be active, b) what purpose a community serves in modern fannish times, and c) not sure how to run/start a community successfully. And that led to this collection of thoughts about communities!

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Snowflake day 2: recs!

2019-01-09T02:45:11Z

I am doing Snowflake completely out of order, but hey!

Day 2

Rec at least three fanworks that you didn’t create. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

First, a post: cesperanza linked recently to this evergreen post of hers from 2006 about the NEXT story, which you should totally read if you are ever feeling inhibited or discouraged about writing.

everything, even ourselves (11080 words) by ohdeariemegoodness
TF:G1, Ultra Magnus & Optimus Prime, Soundwave/Ultra Magnus, Ultra Magnus/Bureaucracy (lol)

my rec: this is just hilarious and great, and poor Ultra Magnus is clearly in for a confusing and difficult time. (Also I totally see pre-Megatron/Optimus in this story. ;) Also read her other TF stories, they are super fun; where we had thought to find is actually an AU of And I Alone Have Escaped To Tell You. :D

The Field Ballad (1809 words) by AltraViolet
TF: IDW G1, Megatron/Rodimus

my rec: okay so tbh I am not into IDW's Autobot Megatron at all, or the entire Lost Light concept at all for that matter, but this story is great! I love the whole concept of the field ballad and even if Autobot Megatron is not Megatron, he is an interesting character and I love Rodimus and their interaction in this too.

and a bonus, my own awesome gift from the Secret Solenoid exchange:

Wiser Eyes (4712 words) by Harutemu
Transformers: Prime, Megatron/Optimus Prime

my rec: OK so I have to preface this by saying that I have massive problems with the TF:Prime backstory (which is either completely out of control of its own politics or deliberately ultra-right-wing or BOTH), so essentially what I am always looking for in a TFP story is anything that fixes that, and this story did just that! \o/

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Dear Chocolatier

2019-01-07T06:08:27Z

Dear Chocolatier,

What I'd love is if my prompt does for you the thing that makes me so happy when a prompt does it for me, namely it unlocks either a story that's been trying to happen, or shows me how to finish a story that's somewhere halfway, or gets me working or playing in a different direction in a fandom or pairing, leads me somewhere that I wouldn't have gone without that spark coming in from outside. And if what comes out doesn't exactly match what I asked for, that's fine! Please take my requests as input and not as instructions. :D

Also I am absolutely equally happy for art and fic!

So I've got separate prompts for the Transformers canons but I'm also perfectly happy to have them mashed up or crossed over or fused or IDK what one would even call it -- I tend to harvest elements from different canons and throw them in myself.

G1: Megatron/Nightbird, Megatron/Optimus -- I loved the Nightbird episode SO MUCH as a small astolat and I still love it unironically now. I found the episode with the female Autobots incredibly irritating -- the chauvinism of Optimus insisting he has to leave Elita behind because it's too dangerous for her to come with him to Earth (wtf) masquerading as chivalry -- and by contrast this one where Megatron literally sends Nightbird off to face all the Autobots, threatens to make her 2nd in command, and where she basically does wipe the floor with all of them -- little Megatron-loving me was SO HAPPY, okay.

And as you can probably see if you look at my TF stories, I've gone whole-hog Megatron/Optimus lately; I am always a sucker for antagonist ships (conflict! in my romance! awesome!), and you really don't get more antagonist, lol. Anyway I mentioned the sex pollen trope in the prompt because I feel like it's a fun way to rapidly send the relationship careening off in a new direction, but any way you want to mash them together will make me happy. I'd say, I like the most when they're both "right" in their own ways and it's all nicely tragic, rather than Good Autobots vs Evil Decepticons (or for that matter Evil Autobots vs Good Decepticons).

TFA: Megatron/Optimus -- in most canons, Megatron is pretty much obsessed with Optimus, so I love that in this one he's all "who?" and Optimus is so young and uncertain that he's so much more approachable. Also the size difference. cough.

TFP: Megatron/Optimus -- and here, it's the total opposite, I could literally write volumes about the issues I have with Optimus betraying the revolution and so clearly could Megatron, lol, but I feel like you sort of have to get past the show TOTALLY FAILING TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF THEIR POLITICS OMG--er sorry--and just enjoy the delicious angst of the two mechs who were in love and perhaps still can't bring themselves to kill the other and maybe something happens to force them either to admit their love or to push them together?

D&D Cartoon -- It's all Eric, all the time! I really just love him and want anything!

X-Men Original Movies -- Logan/Rogue, man, how sad am I that the movies did NOTHING with Rogue or this relationship after the first one where it was the absolute heart of the thing! And wasting all the time on the Logan/Jean/Scott triangle, where I'm sorry I spend the entire time yelling at Jean "SCOTT, SCOTT, ARE YOU CRAZY, STOP BLOWING UP YOUR LIFE, SCOTT" and also get deeply irritated about how these movies really don't want to give women power and agency. ANYWAY -- Logan/Rogue! They were so great!

And my crazy hail-mary crossover prompt: Lucard/Lacroix, Lucard from Dracula: the Series which five other people have even seen, and Lacroix from Forever Knight, because I love incredibly powerful five-hundred-year-old vampires running into EVEN MORE powerful thousand-year-old vampires and I feel deeply that this would be awesome even though I haven't been able to write it myself.

And hey, I can totally count this list as requests for the snowflake challenge day 6! :D

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Holiday food!

2019-01-03T20:06:35Z

So I have been quiet around here lately because I cooked ALL THE THINGS for ALL THE HOLIDAYS, including:

The best latkes ever for Hanukkah, which sadly were not the best latkes ever this year because I foolishly tried some random farmer's market potatoes instead of yukon golds. We still ate them because you can't really make these latkes BAD, but it was not the glory of old. :'(

Latke tips:
- Grate the potatoes into a big sack of CHEESECLOTH, not a kitchen towel or paper towels. So much easier and you can reuse it.
- Grate only slightly more than half of each potato (until it gets inconvenient) and toss the remaining bits into a bowl, then puree them along with the onion using an immersion blender or food processor and mix with the rest. <-- tip I got from justacat many years ago!
- Put a bit of the white starch from the drained liquid back into the grated potatoes.

Then there was Hypatia's six layer rainbow birthday cake with swiss meringue buttercream frosting. I have tried now four different vanilla cake recipes for the cake base and remain unsatisfied, so if you have a top-notch one that stands up to lots of stirring please point me at it!

In the Polish tradition, we have no meat on Xmas Eve, so I made salmon en croute mashed together from like ten different recipes. My filling was spinach wilted with garlic, then mixed with dijon mustard, butter, lemon zest, salt and pepper. I used puff pastry for the crust.

PS: WHENEVER A RECIPE TELLS YOU TO ROLL OUT DOUGH DO IT BETWEEN SHEETS OF PLASTIC WRAP OR PARCHMENT PAPER. Having seen a tip for this recently, I am now 1000% convinced that everyone who ever writes recipes about rolling out dough is doing some version of this and just not MENTIONING it, because it is SO MUCH EASIER. I have never before understood the phrase "easy as pie" because PIE IS NOT EASY, YOU ARE COVERED IN DOUGH AND IT STICKS AND HOW DO YOU GET IT IN THE PAN, unless you are doing it between plastic wrap, in which case it is--you guessed it--EASY AS PIE.

Then I made roast goose for Xmas Day by mashing up Serious Eats' roast goose and the cooking time/temp from this recipe for slow-roasted goose recipe -- steaming the goose the night before and dry-brining it worked great; one of the commenters in the Serious Eats recipe had the smart suggestion to steam the goose by filling your SINK with boiling water, which seems to me much less hazardous than dipping it in a boiling pot on the stove.

Finally, our New Year's Eve playdate menu, which was almost completely made-ahead the day before so I could run a D&D game for the kids:

* Braised short ribs a la Daniel Boulud -- made these with La Vielle Ferme Red the night before, and they came out super good, but tip, you do not need to double the rest of the recipe if you are doubling the meat :P and also it needs at least an hour and not half an hour to rewarm at 325.

* Make-ahead mashed potatoes which I made with Yukon Golds, nom nom

* Sauteed wild mushrooms (Hen of the Woods/Maitake and Portobellos) -- I made these with the same red wine from the short ribs instead of white.

* A mess of roasted cauliflower, broccoli, baby brussel sprouts, carrots, shallots, and garlic, which I cut up the night before; the day-of I just tossed them with olive oil and salt and pepper and herbs and threw in a sheet pan and roasted at 400*F for roughly an hour, occasionally stirring.

* Mini-pavlovas baked the night before (I have become an old hand at making swiss meringue now for frosting purposes, and this time I just piped it and baked it) and filled at the table with whipped cream and fruit. Did you know that you are supposed to chill your bowl and whisk before you make whipped cream? I did not but every recipe says to do it so I obeyed and noticed no difference. :>

And then I got my Secret Solenoid story done! :P

*falls over*

Also, go sign up for Chocolate Box! No one but me has requested/offered any of my fandoms so far! :sad emoji: Only 300 words, you can do it! details on chocolateboxcomm

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Transformers Prime: Coming Home (Megatron/Optimus)

2019-01-02T02:17:04Z

Coming Home (21430 words) by astolat
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transformers: Prime
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Megatron/Optimus Prime, Megatron/Orion Pax
Characters: Megatron, Optimus Prime, Ravage (Transformers), Knockout, Predaking (Transformers)
Additional Tags: Post-Predacons Rising (Prime Movie), Pining, Post-War, Rebuilding, Aftermath of Possession
Series: Part 12 of Transformers works
Summary:

Megatron went back to Kaon.

For entangledwood in the Secret Solenoid gift exchange!

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Signal boosting!

2018-12-21T15:18:19Z

Signal-boosting among the holiday frenzy:

chocolateboxcomm is currently running nominations! This is a pairings-based exchange (gen & shippy both) and you can request crossover pairings.

pornday just ran a fest and there are works up, also I am feeling the spirit of this comm under the circumstances. :P

purimgifts is gearing up for their annual exchange of works featuring characters who are any of women, jewish, and/or persecuted by evil viziers. \o/

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)