libbi | Reading

A couple of days I ordered a Hong Dian M1 fountain pen. For those of you who didn't follow the link, it's an aluminum travel-travel fountain pen that's just over 4 inches long when closed. This is the third travel-sized fountain pen I've bought, and if I'm not happy with this one, then I'm going to write off travel-sized fountain pens entirely.

Anyway, it arrived today, and it looked great, so of course I had to fill it so I could see how it writes. I had a bottle of Noodler's waterproof ink that hadn't really worked with my Lamy Safaris, so I decided to try it with the Hong Dian. And it might have worked, except that the converter wasn't fully installed, so when I tried to fill it, then pen fell off the converter and into the bottle of ink. So I carried the bottle of ink into the bathroom, got a paper bowl, and poured the ink into the bowl so I could get the pen out. Once I had the pen out and cleaned, I tried pouring the ink from the bowl back into the bottle, but my hand slipped and I ended up pouring the whole bottle down the sink.

After cleaning the sink, I installed the converted and filled the pen is Pilot Iroshizuku ink. It worked well, and I'm very happy with it so far.

Also in pen news, Lamy has introduced the 2026 Special Edition Safaris. Apparently their theme for this year is "1983," because the colors of fluorescent yellow and fluorescent pink.

luthien

Six-ish sentences from 'Angry Kitten', which I would really like to finish sometime soon.

(Oh hey, I got the thing to format!)

pauraque

In this point-and-click adventure from Czech studio Amanita Design, you play as a robot who's been banished from a robot city for mysterious reasons and thrown on the junk heap. Sneaking back in, you learn that the city has fallen under the control of a trio of criminal robot goons (not these guys, but something like that) who are making everyone's lives miserable. Fortunately you're a clever little robot, well-equipped to defeat the big bullies through the power of logic puzzles and lateral thinking.

robot stands on one side of a chasm with a retracted drawbridge and a guard tower

robot stands on one side of a chasm with a retracted drawbridge and a guard tower

The game is wordless (and I seem to be having an era of wordless media) with characters' dialogue conveyed through little animations in speech bubbles. The hand-drawn art and unusual setting give the game a unique aesthetic that I really liked. I thought "this would be a cool screenshot for my review" so often that I think I screenshotted almost every room.

( cut for length )

Machinarium is on Steam and on GOG for $19.99 USD, but with the GOG release you also get the soundtrack, concept art, and other goodies thrown in for free, while on Steam they cost extra. (Steam has a free demo, though.)

princessofgeeks

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luthien

Not much to say except that I've been writing a lot. I'm actively working on three fics at the same time, which is something I never, ever do. And yet I'm doing it, switching from one to the other to the other every other day. This includes a fic that I'm not even sure I'm going to post. And it doesn't include a couple of other WIPs that are still on the table and which I'll probably get back to once at least one of the current active ones is done.

But yeah, eventually I'll finish something and post it. In the meantime, this fandom seems to truly be one in which I just write for myself.

Okay then. Time for tea and more words.

pauraque

This wordless graphic novel follows a man who travels to a new land in search of a better life. He doesn't speak the language or recognize the strange foods and fantastical creatures he encounters, and has to rely on kind locals and other immigrants to help him find his way.

huddled masses arrive on a steam ship to a harbor with a giant pair of statues shaking hands

huddled masses arrive on a steam ship to a harbor with a giant pair of statues shaking hands

Setting the story in a fantasy world is obviously intended to help the reader understand how confusing and disorienting the immigrant experience can be. But although the language, culture, and animals are alien, the people are all ordinary humans, and the focus is on common humanity transcending our differences. The protagonist encounters people who tell harrowing stories of having survived war and escaped slavery, but the immigrant characters don't seem to experience much discrimination beyond locals sometimes getting frustrated with them for not understanding things, so I think there is an aspirational element. Coming to a new place is always going to be hard, but we don't have to choose to make it harder for people than it already is.

I have a hard time following wordless sequential art, so I'm sure there are aspects of the story I missed or misunderstood, but I think I got most of it. The detailed pencil art is beautiful to look at. You can see some more of the illustrations on Tan's website.

This is one of the books that sat on my shelf unread for years (and I just moved my bookcase so I am now highly conscious of that category). I have no idea why I have it! But now it has been read, so check that one off.

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angrboda

Flisters, we have had results at last! The Great Cat Hunt has been on since Easter, but it's really hard to find a suitable indoor cat when all the shelters insist on the cats should have outdoors access. Because of living on a road with a good deal of traffic, that's just not something we dare offer them. (I mean, it seems to be going okay for the neighbours' cat who come into our garden a lot, but I really don't have that sort of bravery) And on top of that, there's the added difficulty of finding one that can be put together with an older cat and preferably not look like the older cat OR the cat that came before it. It has not been easy!

HOWEVER! Yesterday the God of Cats finally smiled down on us, and we drove nearly two hours each way, coincidentally to the same shelter that Holly came from. (And you know what, now that I think of it, I'm not entirely certain, Holly did not actually live in that very same cage...)

So here's Daisy! She's 27 weeks old and seems to be settling in. She has not yet met Holly (who is protesting wildly against the closed door), but she is interested in her surroundings and has had a good long nap on Husband's lap today. If she continues to settle in well, we will probably try to let them meet briefly on Sunday and see how that goes. Tonight, they will swap ends of the house, so Holly can get a good sniff at Daisy's smell and Daisy can explore the rest of the house before meeting Holly.

princessofgeeks

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elrhiarhodan

Title: From All The Spaces Between Times
Chapter: Chapter 82 — I Heard the Bells Ringing in the Religion of Time
Author:

elrhiarhodan /

elrhiarhodan
Fandom: Star Wars, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars — Obi Wan Kenobi (TV), Star Wars — Jedi Apprentice Books
Characters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, The Force as a Sentient Character, Watto, Quinlan Vos, Padmé Amidala, Sabé, Darth Maul, Yoda, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, Quinlan Vos, Professor Huyang, The Force, Plo Koon, Vokara Che, Siri Tachi, Aayla Secura, Bant Eerin, Bruck Chun, Xanatos du Crion, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Hego Damask II | Darth Plagueis, Komari Vosa, Bail Prestor Organa, Breha Organa, Bail Antilles Prestor, Rael Averross, Nim Piana, Ahsoka Tano, Sifo-Dyas, Reva Sevander, Lene Kostana (mentioned), Savage Opress, Pong Krell, The Traitor, Original Characters, Other Characters To Be Added
Pairings: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Shmi Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon Jinn (yes, we’re arrived). Bail Prestor Organa/Breha Organa
Word Count: ~ 6600 this chapter
Spoilers: None
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: Brief, non-graphic mention of prior sexual assault, non-graphic mention of child murder

Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi has never known it, but he has always been the Force’s Champion, destined to suffer infinite sadness in defense of the Light. On his last turn on the wheel, responsibility for The Chosen One, the false child of prophecy, had been thrust upon him with no warning, and Darkness held the upper hand.

But this time, the Force has marshaled its power and will protect its Champion until the time is right, no matter how long Obi-Wan has to wait and how much he has to suffer.

Or,

Obi-Wan is reborn as a twelve-year old.

He wakes up on a slavers’ ship, with all of his prior life’s memories intact, and he’s bound for Tatooine with a Force-inhibitor collar around his neck, a bomb implanted in his spine, and no way of knowing what state of the Galaxy is in.

Just another day in the life of the Force’s Champion.

Chapter Summary: So many problems that need to be solved, and so little time to solve them.

From All The Spaces Between Times: Chapter 82 — I Heard the Bells Ringing in the Religion of Time (On AO3)

( Meta — I Heard the Bells Ringing in the Religion of Time )

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brithistorian

The other day on Facebook I read a post that was a repost of an earlier conversation from Tumblr (I'm sure you've all seen this sort of thing). Anyway, the topic was a discussion of whether or not a vampire policeman (a la Forever Knight) could use a judicial warrant to force you could grant them permission to enter your house. The discussion seemed to divide into two camps:

Yes, they can.
No, they can't, because the permission forced from you by the warrant is not a true expression of your will.

Recently I've been reading Seanan McGuire's October Daye series (highly recommend, if you haven't read them), which contain a lot of this sort of verbal jiggery-pokery tied into the magic system. This got me to thinking further about the vampire policeman problem and how, as the person in the house, it seems like there's got to be some combination of words that you can say which will simultaneously keep you out of trouble with human law (by honoring the validity of the warrant) while at the same time protecting yourself from the vampire (by indicating to the vampire that you do not freely give permission for them to enter your house), and which further could be stated in such a way that a bystander who is not aware of the existence of vampires/fairies/etc. would not find anything amiss in what you said. I was mulling this over while doing some chores and listening to some music when the Grateful Dead's "Trucking" came on and (in my opinion) handed me the answer on a silver platter[^1]: "If you've got a warrant, I guess you're gonna come in." It simultaneously acknowledges that the warrant grants the power of entry and fails to grant your open personal permission to enter.

[^1] Upon writing it here, I'm wondering if "on a silver platter" has any relevance to faerie. Expect a post on that in the future.

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pauraque

Éalú (Irish for "escape") is a puzzle game where you play as a mouse trying to find a way out of a diabolical maze. What caught my eye about it is that it's stop-motion animated—not digital art in the style of stop-motion, but actual video clips of physical hand-built rooms and models made of wood and wire.

wooden mouse with a wire tail examines a wooden puzzle box with three symbols and three buttons, with closed doors beyond

wooden mouse with a wire tail examines a wooden puzzle box with three symbols and three buttons, with closed doors beyond

It's a simple one-click interface where you just interact with things. The puzzles are, unsurprisingly, of a very concrete physical nature: Turn a handle in this room to change something in another room, or press buttons on a box to rotate a mechanism until things line up. Successful puzzle solves unlock doors to new areas. Thorough exploration is rewarded, as you may find clues to puzzles in distant rooms—but also punished, as seemingly innocuous and even attractive objects may instantly kill you and send you back to the start of the maze. (If you cannot handle the thought of the cute wooden mouse dying, do not play this game.) But you get unlimited second chances, armed with new knowledge each time you venture out again.

( cut for length )

Éalú is on Steam for $14.99 USD. It's advertised as taking 2-4 hours, which is probably about right. I completed it with all achievements (well, except the one achievement that's currently bugged) in a little under three hours, but I've played a lot of puzzle games. The price may seem high for the duration, but on the other hand, stop-motion animation is incredibly laborious, so I feel like it's fair to give some leeway for that, and I don't think it feels incomplete or needed to be more than what it is.

Dreams become decisions when you cultivate them

Fountain pen geekery

Six Sentence Sunday

Machinarium (2009)

TV

Storrie on Criminal Minds

aside

Still here

The Arrival by Shaun Tan (2006)

Good Omens finale

Heated Rivalry rec

(no subject)

Heated Rivalry fic Christmas

Star Wars Fic and Meta - From All The Spaces Between Times - Chapter 82

OMG no

Heated Rivalry rec

There's magic in finding the right words

LEGO is my other fandom

Greece 2026

Heated Rivalry rec

Éalú (2025)