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We got to check out the first episode of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 at this year's Anime Expo.
rpgsite_feed 
Trans men in lesbian spaces, micro identities, label shenanigan
Jul. 9th, 2026 07:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
michifuguSorry for talking about LGBTQ discourse, but I am interested.
The Twitter discourse surrounding trans men in lesbian spaces is interesting, to say the least. It might sound too Anglo-centric, but the idea that a butch lesbian who transitions into a man/transmasc and still wants to be in lesbian spaces because they have an attachment to the community and feel deeply connected to the label on a personal level does make sense, and it's not hard to see this happen in a lot of regions.
( Read more... )
The Twitter discourse surrounding trans men in lesbian spaces is interesting, to say the least. It might sound too Anglo-centric, but the idea that a butch lesbian who transitions into a man/transmasc and still wants to be in lesbian spaces because they have an attachment to the community and feel deeply connected to the label on a personal level does make sense, and it's not hard to see this happen in a lot of regions.
( Read more... )
Here's lookin' at you, kid, missing all the things we did.
Jul. 8th, 2026 07:46 pmkicksforsocks posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
bakerstreetMAFIA ROMANCE
Some people inherit family businesses. On occasion, that inheritance comes in the form of organized crime. Hey...a job's a job.
Whether your character was born into the life, dragged into it kicking and screaming, or just made the mistake of falling for someone with too many expensive suits and more enemies: ciao. This meme's got dramatic glances across smoky restaurants, deals that go sideways, fake engagements that get inconveniently real, bodyguards with no sense of personal space because who needs it, rival families, loyalties you struggle to keep straight, and romance that probably needs a lawyer on retainer.
Play it straight or melodramatic or so full of yearning it could power this murky city's grid. Historical, modern, cobbled together from every crime movie you've watched at two am? Doesn't matter. Thread it out. Do Pacino proud. Slice-of-life with a criminal empire in the background works. For the record, so does a full-on blood feud.
RULES
• Comment with your character and preferences. Nothing novel.
• Tag around.
• Specify if you prefer gritty realism, complete melodrama, or pure romance.
• Apply content warnings if needed for gore, violence, etc.
( Read more... )
• Tag around.
• Specify if you prefer gritty realism, complete melodrama, or pure romance.
• Apply content warnings if needed for gore, violence, etc.
The Slave Auction Meme
Jul. 8th, 2026 05:46 pmmemester posting in bakerstreet( Read more... )
* Leave a comment with the character's name, fandom, and whether your character will be playing the part of 'slave' or 'master', plus preferences for scenarios if you have any.
* Respond to others with one of the scenarios below or feel free to make up your own.
* Please remember to be respectful of others while you play
Warning: Be aware that this meme deals with dark subjects like slavery and may also contain non-consensual/dubiously consensual sex, violence, and kink.
( Prompts )
Day 1996: “A lot of love.”
Jul. 8th, 2026 04:40 pmwtfjht_feed
Today in one sentence: The U.S. launched a second round of strikes against Iran after Trump said the ceasefire was “over”; the White House announced 25 “Freedom Fuel” gas stations selling gas at $3.47 a gallon “for our 47th President” as oil prices jumped more than 5% and gasoline remains well above its pre-war level; Trump left the NATO summit claiming there was “a lot of love” and “tremendous unity” after saying “I’m not happy with NATO”; Affordable Care Act health insurance plans are expected to increase about 14% next year; Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear asked Mitch McConnell to publicly update Kentuckians on his health and ability to serve after the 84-year-old senator has spent more than three weeks in a hospital for undisclosed reasons; and Graham Platner is reportedly refusing to quickly drop out of Maine’s Senate race after a woman accused him of rape.
1/ The U.S. launched a second round of strikes against Iran after Trump said the ceasefire was “over” and warned that “it will get much worse” if ships in the Strait of Hormuz are attacked again. U.S. Central Command said the strikes were meant to “further degrade” Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the strait. The U.S. said the attacks were retaliation for strikes on three commercial vessels. Iran hasn’t claimed responsibility for those attacks, but said it targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after earlier U.S. strikes. Despite a memorandum of understanding last month to reopen the strait and keep negotiating toward a permanent ceasefire, Trump said dealing with Iran was “just a waste of time,” calling its leaders “scum,” “liars,” “sick people,” and “vicious, violent people,” before saying: “I’m not sure I want to make a deal with them […] Let’s just finish the job.” (Associated Press / Reuters / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / NPR / CBS News / CNBC / CNN / Bloomberg)
2/ The White House announced 25 “Freedom Fuel” gas stations selling gas at $3.47 a gallon “for our 47th President” as oil prices jumped more than 5% and gasoline remains well above its pre-war level. The stations, 20 in Pennsylvania and five in New Jersey, are privately owned and not federally subsidized. In a video posted by the White House, customers thanked Trump for cheaper gas, saying “Thanks, Trump, for saving me some money.” Regular gas averaged about $3.80 nationally Wednesday, down from its May peak of $4.56, but still above the $2.98 average before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February. (The Hill / CBS News / USA Today / Axios / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Politico)
3/ Trump left the NATO summit claiming there was “a lot of love” and “tremendous unity” after saying “I’m not happy with NATO,” scolding France, Germany, Italy, and Britain for not joining the war against Iran. During the summit, Trump – again – insisted that the U.S. “need[s]” Greenland, and ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cut off U.S. trade with Spain over Madrid’s refusal to commit to NATO’s new 5% defense spending target. “Spain is a wasted cause. We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore,” Trump said, later calling Spain a “terrible partner” and telling Bessent: “Don’t even talk to them.” It’s unclear how the order would work because Spain is part of the European Union, which controls trade policy for its member states and EU customs rules prevent singling out one country. NATO leaders nevertheless reaffirmed their “ironclad” commitment to Article 5’s collective defense and pledged about $80 billion in military aid for Ukraine this year and next. Trump also told Volodymyr Zelensky that the U.S. will allow Ukraine to manufacture U.S.-designed Patriot missile interceptors, saying “We’ll show them how to do it” and “This way, you can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough.” It’s unclear, however, how quickly Ukraine could produce the interceptors needed to stop Russian ballistic missiles. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised Trump’s “leadership” and tried to cast the summit as proof of “a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO.” (New York Times / Associated Press / Bloomberg / Washington Post / New York Times / The Hill / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Reuters)
- Trump will remove Syria from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. The U.S. first designated Syria a state sponsor of terrorism in 1979, after its then-government sided with Palestinian militant groups. (Semafor / Bloomberg)
4/ Affordable Care Act health insurance plans are expected to increase about 14% next year – a year after rates rose 20%. KFF’s analysis of 77 insurer filings in 16 states and D.C. found that premiums are expected to rise more than 33% between 2025 and 2027, driven by higher hospital prices, specialty drug costs, inflation, and a smaller, sicker risk pool after healthier enrollees dropped coverage when enhanced subsidies expired. ACA enrollment fell to 19.2 million from 22.1 million a year earlier, and insurers estimate the worsening risk pool alone will add about four percentage points to next year’s premiums. (Reuters / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Axios / The Hill / Bloomberg / USA Today)
The 2026 midterms are in 118 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 853 days.
✏️ Notables.
-
A federal judge ordered Trump’s $5.8 million to be released to E. Jean Carroll after the Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal of the 2023 civil verdict finding that Trump was liable for sexually abusing and defaming her. Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected Trump’s argument that the money, which Trump had deposited with the court while he appealed, couldn’t be paid out while he asked the justices to reconsider. Trump is separately appealing an $83.3 million defamation verdict Carroll won in 2024. (Associated Press / New York Times)
-
A federal judge threw out Trump Media’s $3.8 billion defamation lawsuit against The Washington Post after finding the company failed to show the newspaper acted with “actual malice” when it published a 2023 story about financing for Truth Social. U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber granted summary judgment to The Post, saying Trump Media hadn’t produced evidence that would allow a jury to find the newspaper knowingly published false claims or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. (CNN / Washington Post / The Guardian)
-
A federal appeals court refused to restore Trump’s name on the Kennedy Center while he appeals a lower-court order requiring its removal from the building and website. The three-judge D.C. Circuit panel said the administration failed to show the center would be irreparably harmed without Trump’s name, which was removed last month after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked plans to close the center for renovations. (Reuters / CNN / NPR)
-
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear asked Mitch McConnell to publicly update Kentuckians on his health and ability to serve after the 84-year-old senator has spent more than three weeks in a hospital for undisclosed reasons. McConnell’s office hasn’t said why he was hospitalized, what treatment he’s receiving, or when he might return to the Senate other than he “continues to improve” and is working with staff while the Senate is out of session. (New York Times / Associated Press / CBS News / NBC News)
-
Graham Platner is reportedly refusing to quickly drop out of Maine’s Senate race after a woman accused him of rape. The Maine Democratic Party faces a Monday deadline for him to drop out so they can pick a new nominee. Platner’s campaign, however, has texted volunteers asking for feedback on the nomination process and said it would collect responses for “the next 48 hours” The Maine Democratic Party, meanwhile, accused Platner of “continued efforts to manipulate this process” and said he will have “no role” in choosing the next nominee. (New York Times / CNN / Wall Street Journal / NPR / Politico / Washington Post)
- Today last year: Day 1631: "Hubristic and senseless."
- Two years ago today: Day 1266: "We have one job."
- Six years ago today: Day 1266: "A campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation."
- Seven years ago today: Day 900: Pathways.
Support today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
Reading Wednesday
Jul. 8th, 2026 07:59 pmtroisoiseauxFinished Summer Light, and Then Comes the Night by Jón Kalman Stefánsson, a slice-of-life novel set in "a village of four hundred souls" in '90s(?) Iceland, narrated in a sort of anonymous, collective community voice (opening line: "Now, we'd almost written that what made our village unique was that it wasn't unique at all, but apparently that isn't true"). Something of a short story collection feel in the way each chapter does follow a different, specific story arc/plotline from beginning to end, but even then, there's a meandering, kaleidoscopic feel— I'd say it's somehow both sprawling and narrow in focus?— and a few running plot/story threads throughout. (I've seen the author described as an Icelandic Charles Dickens; I found myself thinking more of South Riding.) Particularly enjoyed this for having recently traveled to Iceland, because although we only drove past/through the type of very small, rural town/village where this is set, I did have enough of a sense of the buildings and landscape and the vibes to picture it as I read. (More than if I had read this before I went to Iceland, anyway...)
Finished Buffet for Unwelcome Guests by Christianna Brand, a collection of short stories categorized into "Cockrill Cocktails" (featuring her recurring detective Inspector Cockrill), "Entrees" (longer stand-alones), "Petit Fours", and "Black Coffee." There was something generally flippant about the "Petit Fours", including two separate stories that made me think of the Mmm Whatcha Say SNL sketch, only one of them was about a jewel heist* and one about blackmail and murder; the latter also featured some cheerfully callous children, making two for two on a reaction of o__O towards the children in Brand's mystery stories, which does make me curious about the vibe of her novels for children. The "Black Coffee" stories were, as the name suggests, just plain dark: ( ... ) Bit of a grab bag, quality-wise, and I did skip a couple of stories— one had such a baffling opening sentence that I was like, you know what? I'll come back to this and then I didn't; one was just virulent fatphobia for the first couple of pages and I safely assumed it would not improve— and it ended on a sour note, since the second-to-last story hinged on an intentionally false accusation of sexual assault in a way that has aged extremely poorly. (Not sure when it was written, but this collection was published in the early '80s?) There were some good stories, though— particularly among the Cockrill ones, where I found I liked him more than in Brand's novels— so not an entirely disappointing experience.
* Actually, on double-checking, that one was filed under "Something to Clear the Palate" rather than a "Petit Four"— presumably as the one story in the collection that did not involve murder?— but I don't want to rewrite that whole sentence at this point.
Finished Buffet for Unwelcome Guests by Christianna Brand, a collection of short stories categorized into "Cockrill Cocktails" (featuring her recurring detective Inspector Cockrill), "Entrees" (longer stand-alones), "Petit Fours", and "Black Coffee." There was something generally flippant about the "Petit Fours", including two separate stories that made me think of the Mmm Whatcha Say SNL sketch, only one of them was about a jewel heist* and one about blackmail and murder; the latter also featured some cheerfully callous children, making two for two on a reaction of o__O towards the children in Brand's mystery stories, which does make me curious about the vibe of her novels for children. The "Black Coffee" stories were, as the name suggests, just plain dark: ( ... ) Bit of a grab bag, quality-wise, and I did skip a couple of stories— one had such a baffling opening sentence that I was like, you know what? I'll come back to this and then I didn't; one was just virulent fatphobia for the first couple of pages and I safely assumed it would not improve— and it ended on a sour note, since the second-to-last story hinged on an intentionally false accusation of sexual assault in a way that has aged extremely poorly. (Not sure when it was written, but this collection was published in the early '80s?) There were some good stories, though— particularly among the Cockrill ones, where I found I liked him more than in Brand's novels— so not an entirely disappointing experience.
* Actually, on double-checking, that one was filed under "Something to Clear the Palate" rather than a "Petit Four"— presumably as the one story in the collection that did not involve murder?— but I don't want to rewrite that whole sentence at this point.
The Mass Effect Kink Meme is Moving to AO3
Jul. 8th, 2026 06:33 pmao3_news_feed
The Mass Effect Kink Meme a prompt meme for the Mass Effect games, is being imported to the Archive of Our Own (AO3).
In this post:
- A bit of background explanation
- What this means for creators who have works on The Mass Effect Kink Meme
- And what to do if you still have questions
Background explanation
The archive is being imported to AO3 to preserve the works and make them available to a wider audience.
The purpose of the Open Doors Committee’s Online Archive Rescue Project is to assist moderators of archives to incorporate the fanworks from those archives into the Archive of Our Own. Open Doors works with moderators to import their archives when the moderators lack the funds, time, or other resources to continue to maintain their archives independently. It is extremely important to Open Doors that we work in collaboration with moderators who want to import their archives and that we fully credit creators, giving them as much control as possible over their fanworks. Open Doors will be working with Liara!Mod to import The Mass Effect Kink Meme into a separate, searchable collection on the Archive of Our Own.
We will begin importing works from The Mass Effect Kink Meme to AO3 no sooner than August 2026. However, the import may not take place for several months or even years, depending on the size and complexity of the archive. Creators are always welcome to import their own works and add them to the collection in the meantime.
What does this mean for creators who have work on The Mass Effect Kink Meme?
Most fanwork fills on The Mass Effect Kink Meme were posted anonymously. All the anonymous fills will be imported to AO3 using the collection's archivist account. If the creator of a fill chose not to post anonymously, however, and if they have an email address listed on their Dreamwidth or LiveJournal profile, we will send an import notification to that email address.
We'll do our best to check for an existing copy of any works before importing. If we find a copy already on AO3, we will invite it to the collection instead of importing it. All fanworks archived on behalf of a self-identified creator will include their name in the byline or the summary of the work.
All imported works will be set to be viewable only by logged-in AO3 users. If you claim your works, you can make them publicly-viewable if you choose. After 30 days, all unclaimed imported works will be made visible to all visitors.
Please contact Open Doors with your LiveJournal or Dreamwidth pseud(s) and email address(es), if:
- You'd like us to import your works, but you need the notification sent to a different email address than you used on the original archive.
- You already have an AO3 account and have imported your works already yourself.
- You’d like to import your works yourself (including if you don’t have an AO3 account yet).
- You would NOT like your works moved to AO3, or would NOT like your works added to the archive collection.
- You are happy for us to preserve your works on AO3, but would like us to remove your name.
- You have any other questions we can help you with.
Please include the name of the archive in the subject heading of your email. If you no longer have access to the email account associated with your LiveJournal or Dreamwidth account, please contact Open Doors and we'll help you out. (If you've posted the works elsewhere, or have an easy way to verify that they're yours, that's great; if not, we will work with the Mass Effect Kink Meme mods to confirm your claims.)
Please see the Open Doors Website for instructions on:
- importing your works to AO3
- adding your works to the new collection The Mass Effect Kink Meme
If you still have questions...
If you have further questions, visit the Open Doors FAQ, or contact the Open Doors committee.
We'd also love it if fans could help us preserve the story of The Mass Effect Kink Meme on Fanlore. If you're new to wiki editing, no worries! Check out the new visitor portal, or ask the Fanlore Gardeners for tips.
We're excited to be able to help preserve The Mass Effect Kink Meme!
- The Open Doors team and Liara!Mod
Commenting on this post will be disabled in 14 days. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding this import after that date, please contact Open Doors.
The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, OTW Legal Advocacy, and Transformative Works and Cultures. We are a fan-run, donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.
Blue Mosaic Mix and Filigree Slides
Jul. 8th, 2026 06:37 pmyourlibrarian posting in everykindofcraft
I had the tubes of this stone for some time and came across the balls during a trip to Minnesota in 2024. Combined them with some gold and multi color E beads to echo the colors in the stone. It's so lovely to look at, I wanted it to stand as alone as possible in the necklace.
( Read more... )
Fic: Color Therapy
Jul. 8th, 2026 05:33 pmandersenmomTitle: Color Therapy
Rating: G
Type: Fic
Size/length/word count etc.: 763
Prompt: 059: Rose
Fandom/Ship: Xdinary Heroes, Seventeen; Kwak Jiseok | Gaon, Lee Seokmin | DK
Notes/Warnings: (eg. spoilers, triggers, warnings etc. or CNTW)
Summary: Jiseok just wanted some sort of peace.
( Colors helped. )
Find the table with the list of fics here
Rating: G
Type: Fic
Size/length/word count etc.: 763
Prompt: 059: Rose
Fandom/Ship: Xdinary Heroes, Seventeen; Kwak Jiseok | Gaon, Lee Seokmin | DK
Notes/Warnings: (eg. spoilers, triggers, warnings etc. or CNTW)
Summary: Jiseok just wanted some sort of peace.
( Colors helped. )
Find the table with the list of fics here
Sensual
Jul. 8th, 2026 06:33 pmrepost posting in bakerstreet |
For when you yearn for the pining, slow burn. HOW TO PLAY - Comment with your info, preferences, and anything else you want the class to know. - Reply to others. - Apply prompts as needed. ( prompts ) |
I will throw myself out the window, I said calmly
Jul. 8th, 2026 06:11 pmiamthesockpirelestat posting in bakerstreet
The Defenestration Meme
...it seemed like a good idea at the time.
de·fen·es·tra·tion
noun
the act of throwing a thing or especially a person out of a window: the defenestration of the commissioners at Prague.
( Read more... )noun
the act of throwing a thing or especially a person out of a window: the defenestration of the commissioners at Prague.
gardening
Jul. 8th, 2026 06:43 pmflamingstumpySpent a little bit of time today trimming back the ornamental grass in our backyard with my mom. It was kind of nice to do some yard work.
So!! Finished watching a decently-thorough playthrough of Chapter 5 of Deltarune!
( DELTARUNE CHAPTER 5 SPOILERS I'M NOT KIDDING )
So!! Finished watching a decently-thorough playthrough of Chapter 5 of Deltarune!
( DELTARUNE CHAPTER 5 SPOILERS I'M NOT KIDDING )
A trek amongst the stars...
Jul. 8th, 2026 06:50 pmxenobotanist posting in bakerstreet - The Star Trek AU Meme -
You are now a native of the Star Trek universe and bound to its laws. Let's get to work!
You are now a native of the Star Trek universe and bound to its laws. Let's get to work!
Permaculture
Jul. 8th, 2026 05:36 pmysabetwordsmith“IMPOSSIBLE!” No Work Food Gardens Based on Wild Edible Ecosystems
About 20 years ago, after I first started studying Permaculture, I went to work for a very sustainable Permaculture-oriented CSA farm. One day, after working all morning painfully tending, pruning, and weeding a patch of cane berries, I went for a bike ride along my favorite trail. Black raspberries were in season, so I went home, grabbed 3 3 gallon buckets and filled them up with raspberries.
That was when it hit me. NOBODY was working tending these, except for perhaps the deer and birds fertilizing them. Meanwhile, my own hands were covered with scratches from my morning work.
This is an example of humanity's earliest agriculture: encouraging plants we find useful in places where we go, and occasionally ripping out ones we don't want there. Wild plants can mostly take care of themselves. You don't have to fuss over them like delicate domestic fruits and vegetables.
My approach to laissez-faire permaculture is similar. I plant new things that seem promising. I try to help them establish. They live or die. The ones that live, I expect to take care of themselves. Some of what I grow is really good at that. \o/
About 20 years ago, after I first started studying Permaculture, I went to work for a very sustainable Permaculture-oriented CSA farm. One day, after working all morning painfully tending, pruning, and weeding a patch of cane berries, I went for a bike ride along my favorite trail. Black raspberries were in season, so I went home, grabbed 3 3 gallon buckets and filled them up with raspberries.
That was when it hit me. NOBODY was working tending these, except for perhaps the deer and birds fertilizing them. Meanwhile, my own hands were covered with scratches from my morning work.
This is an example of humanity's earliest agriculture: encouraging plants we find useful in places where we go, and occasionally ripping out ones we don't want there. Wild plants can mostly take care of themselves. You don't have to fuss over them like delicate domestic fruits and vegetables.
My approach to laissez-faire permaculture is similar. I plant new things that seem promising. I try to help them establish. They live or die. The ones that live, I expect to take care of themselves. Some of what I grow is really good at that. \o/
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (2021)
Jul. 8th, 2026 06:16 pmpauraqueIn this sequel to A Memory Called Empire, Ambassador Mahit Dzmare and her imperial liaison/maybe-kinda-girlfriend Three Seagrass travel to the front lines of an interstellar war on a mission to try to decipher the alien enemy's language and establish diplomatic relations. What Three Seagrass doesn't know is that Mahit is also on a covert mission to sabotage diplomacy and keep the Teixcalaan Empire mired in an endless, unwinnable war.
I was so-so on A Memory Called Empire. I would say I had a stronger reaction to the sequel, both positive and negative.
First, the positive: I loved Nine Hibiscus and Twenty Cicada, new characters in this installment. She's the passionate, brilliant captain of the flagship, he's her loyal, cerebral first officer who adheres to a stoic alien philosophy. They deal with high-stakes ethical quandaries as the lives of millions hang in the balance, and they love each other with an intensity that goes largely unspoken. Is this aspect of the book pandering to people who love Kirk and Spock? Perhaps, but I had a great time being pandered to. I wanted the entire book to be about these two.
I mostly liked the stuff about establishing communication with the aliens too, which is also classically Star Trek in tone and approach. (It bugged me a little that the linguistics wasn't more realistic, but you rarely get that in SF and it isn't really the point here.)
Unfortunately, the things I liked were pretty definitively outweighed by all the half-baked themes, garbled political messaging, and many characters' infuriatingly stupid choices and baffling cluelessness. It wasn't quite throw-the-book-across-the-room level, but at certain moments it got close.
- I don't get the way the Mahit/Three Seagrass relationship is written at all. In the first book, they liked each other from the start and then nothing happened with it until suddenly they kissed at the end. In this one, they have a stupid fight at the beginning and feel weird and uncomfortable around each other for hundreds of pages until suddenly they fuck. This didn't work for me. It especially didn't work because I felt like I was supposed to side with Mahit in their argument, but I didn't, because Three Seagrass doesn't know what Mahit is mad about and Mahit refuses to tell her. Mahit's narration is explicit that she wants Three Seagrass to know what's bothering her without being told, so basically she's punishing Three Seagrass for not being fucking psychic. Am I the only one who thinks it would have been more interesting if they'd actually ever talked about any of the issues between them, rather than just winding themselves up about it in their heads?? By the end I wasn't rooting for them to get/stay together at all, so when Mahit ran away from the relationship (again) I didn't even care.
- I felt the lack of gender stuff in the first book was a missed opportunity. In this book, the author seems to be strenuously trying to miss that opportunity as hard as she can. There is one scene where Mahit (in their shared consciousness) accuses Yskandr of not understanding fashion for "female-bodied people." It's brushed off. There's another scene where Three Seagrass says she wasn't sure if Mahit liked people of her "gender and sex," and several where Three Seagrass silently wonders if she had sex with Mahit, or with Mahit and Yskandr, or just Yskandr. No further discussion of these points. I truly don't understand what Martine is going for here. She chose to create a protagonist who is a woman sharing a mind and body with a man. She seems dimly aware that there might be interesting things one could say about this. She apparently doesn't want to say any of them.
- Even leaving aside the gender issues, I think there's a lot more that could have been done to explore the mindsharing scenario. Yskandr often reads like an invisible sidekick who just pipes up now and then to give Mahit some information, advice, or a snarky comment. What is his experience/consciousness/sense of embodiment like? We don't get his own internal monologue, just the things he "says" to Mahit. It doesn't feel as weird and alien as it seems like it should.
- Mahit and Twenty Cicada should have talked! He's assimilated to Teixcalaan in some ways but maintained his cultural distinctiveness in others; doesn't that seem like an extremely relevant perspective for Mahit to hear? The books act like Mahit is the only one in the galaxy who has mixed feelings about Teixcalaan imperialism, but surely she can't be.
- On a larger level, these books are about an absolutist expansionist empire and the vulnerable republic it threatens, and nothing about any of that is resolved or even really explored all that much. Eight Antidote is an interesting character and he's trying to do the right thing, but there's so much more going on here that can't and won't be resolved by a kid with some moral backbone taking the throne. Having a relatively nice emperor does not solve the problems of imperialism. In this book we learn more about how systemically fucked up Lsel is too, and nothing happens with that either. The plot doesn't even make it hard for Mahit to decide whether to stay loyal to Lsel, since there are power-mad authorities on Lsel who want to KILL HER. No wonder people were expecting a trilogy here; this book does not wrap up a single loose end.
Okay, that's probably more than enough of a rant. TL;DR: Book dances around a lot of interesting speculative and interpersonal possibilities and solidly lands on very few of them.
I was so-so on A Memory Called Empire. I would say I had a stronger reaction to the sequel, both positive and negative.
First, the positive: I loved Nine Hibiscus and Twenty Cicada, new characters in this installment. She's the passionate, brilliant captain of the flagship, he's her loyal, cerebral first officer who adheres to a stoic alien philosophy. They deal with high-stakes ethical quandaries as the lives of millions hang in the balance, and they love each other with an intensity that goes largely unspoken. Is this aspect of the book pandering to people who love Kirk and Spock? Perhaps, but I had a great time being pandered to. I wanted the entire book to be about these two.
I mostly liked the stuff about establishing communication with the aliens too, which is also classically Star Trek in tone and approach. (It bugged me a little that the linguistics wasn't more realistic, but you rarely get that in SF and it isn't really the point here.)
Unfortunately, the things I liked were pretty definitively outweighed by all the half-baked themes, garbled political messaging, and many characters' infuriatingly stupid choices and baffling cluelessness. It wasn't quite throw-the-book-across-the-room level, but at certain moments it got close.
Ranting and spoilers
- How can it possibly take SO LONG for the characters to figure out that the aliens are a hivemind???? It's not just that it's a basic SF trope and obvious to the reader from literally the first page of the book. It's also that all the prompting the characters need to make the leap is right there in front of them the whole time! Mahit herself has Yskandr's mind in her head, there are the Sunlit guards and the Shard pilots who share their perceptions through technology... To these characters, the existence of a species with a shared consciousness shouldn't even be surprising. But it still takes them 400 fucking pages to figure it out, and they act like it's a galaxy-shattering shock. This makes no sense whatsoever and it makes most of the characters look inexcusably dumb.- I don't get the way the Mahit/Three Seagrass relationship is written at all. In the first book, they liked each other from the start and then nothing happened with it until suddenly they kissed at the end. In this one, they have a stupid fight at the beginning and feel weird and uncomfortable around each other for hundreds of pages until suddenly they fuck. This didn't work for me. It especially didn't work because I felt like I was supposed to side with Mahit in their argument, but I didn't, because Three Seagrass doesn't know what Mahit is mad about and Mahit refuses to tell her. Mahit's narration is explicit that she wants Three Seagrass to know what's bothering her without being told, so basically she's punishing Three Seagrass for not being fucking psychic. Am I the only one who thinks it would have been more interesting if they'd actually ever talked about any of the issues between them, rather than just winding themselves up about it in their heads?? By the end I wasn't rooting for them to get/stay together at all, so when Mahit ran away from the relationship (again) I didn't even care.
- I felt the lack of gender stuff in the first book was a missed opportunity. In this book, the author seems to be strenuously trying to miss that opportunity as hard as she can. There is one scene where Mahit (in their shared consciousness) accuses Yskandr of not understanding fashion for "female-bodied people." It's brushed off. There's another scene where Three Seagrass says she wasn't sure if Mahit liked people of her "gender and sex," and several where Three Seagrass silently wonders if she had sex with Mahit, or with Mahit and Yskandr, or just Yskandr. No further discussion of these points. I truly don't understand what Martine is going for here. She chose to create a protagonist who is a woman sharing a mind and body with a man. She seems dimly aware that there might be interesting things one could say about this. She apparently doesn't want to say any of them.
- Even leaving aside the gender issues, I think there's a lot more that could have been done to explore the mindsharing scenario. Yskandr often reads like an invisible sidekick who just pipes up now and then to give Mahit some information, advice, or a snarky comment. What is his experience/consciousness/sense of embodiment like? We don't get his own internal monologue, just the things he "says" to Mahit. It doesn't feel as weird and alien as it seems like it should.
- Mahit and Twenty Cicada should have talked! He's assimilated to Teixcalaan in some ways but maintained his cultural distinctiveness in others; doesn't that seem like an extremely relevant perspective for Mahit to hear? The books act like Mahit is the only one in the galaxy who has mixed feelings about Teixcalaan imperialism, but surely she can't be.
- On a larger level, these books are about an absolutist expansionist empire and the vulnerable republic it threatens, and nothing about any of that is resolved or even really explored all that much. Eight Antidote is an interesting character and he's trying to do the right thing, but there's so much more going on here that can't and won't be resolved by a kid with some moral backbone taking the throne. Having a relatively nice emperor does not solve the problems of imperialism. In this book we learn more about how systemically fucked up Lsel is too, and nothing happens with that either. The plot doesn't even make it hard for Mahit to decide whether to stay loyal to Lsel, since there are power-mad authorities on Lsel who want to KILL HER. No wonder people were expecting a trilogy here; this book does not wrap up a single loose end.
Okay, that's probably more than enough of a rant. TL;DR: Book dances around a lot of interesting speculative and interpersonal possibilities and solidly lands on very few of them.
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[ SECRET POST #7124 ]
Jul. 8th, 2026 06:21 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #7124 ⌋
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