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Bundle of Holding: Ironsworn-Starforged

Ironsworn, Starforged, and Sundered Isles, tabletop roleplaying games of perilous fantasy, space opera, and seafaring adventure by Tomkin Press.
Bundle of Holding: Ironsworn-Starforged
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Sonali Dev, Fantasy, & More
The Ruin of a Rake

GUEST RECOMMENDED: The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian is $1.99! We had a guest review of this one from Heather Morris and they gave it an A-:
That quibble aside, there are so many things little things that I loved. Platonic male-female friendship. Sharpshooting and fake duels. Seduction-by-bookkeeping. A frankly excessive amount of kittens.
Rogue. Libertine. Rake. Lord Courtenay has been called many things and has never much cared. But after the publication of a salacious novel supposedly based on his exploits, he finds himself shunned from society. Unable to see his nephew, he is willing to do anything to improve his reputation, even if that means spending time with the most proper man in London.
Julian Medlock has spent years becoming the epitome of correct behavior. As far as he cares, if Courtenay finds himself in hot water, it’s his own fault for behaving so badly—and being so blasted irresistible. But when Julian’s sister asks him to rehabilitate Courtenay’s image, Julian is forced to spend time with the man he loathes—and lusts after—most.
As Courtenay begins to yearn for a love he fears he doesn’t deserve, Julian starts to understand how desire can drive a man to abandon all sense of propriety. But he has secrets he’s determined to keep, because if the truth came out, it would ruin everyone he loves. Together, they must decide what they’re willing to risk for love.
There’s Something About Mira

There’s Something About Mira by Sonali Dev is $1.99 on Amazon! I believe this is Dev’s latest release and features main characters who are trying to track down the owner of a ring.
From USA Today bestselling author Sonali Dev comes the heartfelt story of a woman determined to reunite a lost ring with its owner, who ends up finding herself along the way.
Mira Salvi has the perfect life—a job she loves, a fiancé everyone adores, and the secure future she’s always imagined for herself. Really, she hasn’t a thing to complain about, not even when she has to go on her engagement trip to New York alone.
While playing tourist in the city, Mira chances upon a lost ring, and her social media post to locate its owner goes viral. With everyone trying to claim the ring, only one person seems to want to find its owner as badly as Mira journalist Krish Hale. Brooding and arrogant, he will do anything to get to write this story.
As Krish and Mira reluctantly join forces and jump into the adventure of tracing the ring back to where it belongs, Mira begins to wonder if she is in the right place in her own life. She had to have found this ring for a reason…right? Maybe, like the owner of the lost ring, her happy ending hasn’t been written yet either.
A Duke in the Rough

A Duke in the Rough by Trisha Messmer is $2.49! This is book one in a historical romance series and features a new duke hiding his identity.
How can a newly minted duke escape title-seeking debutantes? Lie, of course!
Lady Honoria Bell never recovered from her broken heart. Fending off suitors her marquess father forces in her path, she’s put aside hopes of marriage. However, word of a house party hosted by the new, eligible Duke of Burwood brings a renewed gleam to her father’s eye. But regardless of the new duke’s appeal, Honoria knows he won’t fill the void Drake Merrick left.
If there’s one thing Drake Merrick knows, it’s that aristocratic women care more about a title than they do love. Losing the love of his life because he was a lowly groom proved it. So, when a twist of fate makes him the new Duke of Burwood, he’s determined to choose a bride who wants him—not his title.
Switching places with his man of business seems like the perfect plan to test the affections of eager debutantes. Until it backfires the moment Honoria arrives, and he realizes his heart will always be irrevocably hers.
But will his deception allow her to prove her love? Or will his lies destroy it?
The Rook

RECOMMENDED: The Rook by Daniel O’Malley $2.99! Carrie loves the series, especially the sequel Stiletto. It’s urban fantasy set in London with a badass cast of characters. But some found the book to have a lot of info-dumping. Have you read The Rook?
“The body you are wearing used to be mine.” So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.
She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.
In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.
Filled with characters both fascinating and fantastical, THE ROOK is a richly inventive, suspenseful, and often wry thriller that marks an ambitious debut from a promising young writer.
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Fic anniversary
(This is really not meant to encourage anybody to go read that story, because I put it on AO3 for what felt like historical reasons, but I do not in any way think it's GOOD.)
I'm still happy to be here.[waves at old and new friends]
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Clarke Award Finalists 2009
Which 2009 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Song of Time by Ian R. MacLeod
1 (3.2%)
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
26 (83.9%)
House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
9 (29.0%)
Martin Martin's on the Other Side by Mark Wernham
0 (0.0%)
The Margarets by Sheri S. Tepper
6 (19.4%)
The Quiet War by Paul J. McAuley
7 (22.6%)
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2009 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Song of Time by Ian R. MacLeod
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
Martin Martin's on the Other Side by Mark Wernham
The Margarets by Sheri S. Tepper
The Quiet War by Paul J. McAuley
With an * on the McAuley because it was too grim and I didn't finish it.
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International Incidents
What do you get when you go into a Mexican bakery, where they speak English, and ask them - in Spanish - to write "Happy Birthday" in English?
I mean, besides confused.
You get this:

Which, if I remember my 1st grade Spanish, means "The Happy Complaining Eagles."
Wait.
I took French.
[Googling]
Ah. "Happy Birthday English!" I guess that does make more sense.
Or...
What do you get when you go into a Chinese bakery and ask them to write "Congratulations Ian!" in both English and Chinese?

You get some reeeally enthusiastic “Englrsh chunese”, that's what.
Hey, I'm actually starting to feel a bit better about U.S. bakeries! Maybe we're not the only wreckerators out there. Maybe there are places even worse off in the wreckage department!

Never mind. Feeling's gone.
Thanks to our wrecky ambassadors Chris L., Mary S., and Kendra P. for fostering international unity. In wrecks.
*****
P.S. Here's a (hilarious) reminder that English is almost as confusing as these cakes:

P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever
*****
And from my other blog, Epbot:

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Cover Snark: How Do Legs Work? (Diagrams Included)
Welcome back to Cover Snark!
Amanda: Does she have to pee?
Claudia: Yes! Also, his left pant leg is missing?
Sarah: Why is the perspective weird? Their legs look so short and their heads are so large?
Okay taking another look, I think the angle of her hip looks too low.
So it looks like her legs are short and her midsection is bizarro long, and her head is sized correctly, just looks out of whack with the leg.
Sarah: So frame one is where her hips likely are, and frame two is where it looks like her hips are because of her leg position.
Elyse: That’s like the walk you do when your period gushed and you’re trying to get to the potty without spillage.
Sarah: COME ON. YOU’RE NOT EVEN TRYING.
Tara: This is so bad it might actually be…perfect?
Sarah: It reminds me so much of 2010s web design when folks were going for an 80s aesthetic updated.
Tara: It also feels like one of those “which mood are you?” memes. Yesterday I was a bottom right, but today I’m a bottom left.
Sarah: Oh my gosh you are RIGHT.
A continuation from last Snark’s Hanover Square romance:
From Susie: Do all these heroes in this series have a Leg Thing? I mean, no shame, but that last one is giving me pause. Like even that horse is offended.
Sarah: She’s not really on that horse, is she?
Elyse: The horse is like “WTF. Why am I involved in this?”
She is floating in the air next to that horse.
Amanda: Pall Mall like in the cigarettes?
Sarah: OH MY GOOD GOD HOLY HELL
Y’all are not going to believe this one.
LOOK at that fucking guy.
Elyse: How long is her upper leg? How is her knee attached? What in the orthopedic hell is happening here?
How. Just how.
Sarah: this is going to be a “trying to figure out how legs work’ cover snark
The outward curve of purple fabric near or at her hip is disorienting.
Elyse: Maybe she has backwards knees like the horse her sister is inexplicably floating next to it.
Sarah: All these folks have leg fetishes. Or specifically behind-the-knee fetishes.
Elyse: Has this artist not actually seen a human leg before?
Sarah: The over-the-shoulder, fondling the back of her knee cover is giving me SO MUCH ICK.
Kiki: Is she even conscious?!
Amanda: Well, I admire the consistency.
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A few unrelated questions
1. People often do say that the English subjunctive is in decline. However, literally nobody I've ever heard say this has provided any sort of evidence. Is there any data on this other than "yeah, feels that way to me"?
1a. I've also heard that the subjunctive, or at least some forms of the subjunctive, is more common in USA English than UK English, from somewhat more authoritative sources but with roughly the same amount of evidence.
2. I got into it with somebody on the subject of "flammable/inflammable". I am aware that there are signs that warn about inflammable materials, and also signs warning about flammable materials. Is it actually the case that anybody has ever been confused and thought they were being warned that something could not catch on fire? Or is that just an urban legend / just-so story to explain why the two words mean the same thing and can be found on the same sorts of signs?
3. Not a language question! I've recently found one of the Myth Adventures books in my house. Gosh, I haven't re-read these in 20 years. Worth a re-read, or oh god no, save it for the recycle bin?
( Read more... )
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Nominations for 2025 are closed! 🥳
A huge thank you to the tagmods for helping me tackle our massive nominations dashboard! We have over 3,000 nominations and I would not have been able to climb that mountain as quickly as I did without you. You have been a tremendous help. ♥
*
In the meantime, please have a look at the tagset, specifically what you're interested in requesting and offering, and let me know if you see any errors such as duplicates or strange typos by Tuesday 12 August at 11:59pm EDT. [ In your timezone. ] The tagset will be finalised by this time and will not be changing for any edit requests.
When flagging errors, please provide the fandom and the nomination as it sits in the tagset so I can easily find them! Thank you to everyone who has already flagged duplicates and errors!
Sign-ups will open on Wednesday 13 August, time unspecified. Please be aware that Tuesday 12 August at 11:59pm EDT. [ In your timezone. ] is the deadline for 2024's participants to have commented on their gifts from that round. Here is a handy link for the 2024 collection. (If your nominations are fine, perhaps have a look around at our previous collections and comment on some of the gifts! We have fantastic works in our collections!)
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Thoughts on fandom
Fantastic Four (2025) vs Marvel Cinematic Universe
I have several nominations for Fantastic Four: First Steps characters, but we have them split across MCU and FF:FS in the nominations dashboard. Did the nominators—or those who are interested in requesting/offering—oppose me placing them under "Fantastic Four (2025)"? I know that this movie is technically in the MCU, but as it takes place on another Earth, I'm considering accepting it as a different "continuity" to the other MCU relationships.
All the nominations that have been submitted for this sub-fandom are approved, even though, at the publishing of this post, I have not officially approved them yet. I just need to know where to put them.
*
Rejected nominations
If you oppose a rejection because it's eligible or I've made a mistake (it happens—I have been hit with AO3's "Retry Later" and "You're clicking too quickly" messages repeatedly over the last 48 hours that has reset my progress when approving nominations 😫), please let me know before 11:59pm on Tuesday 12 August so these nominations can be reinstated into the tagset.
These nominations were rejected during the last round of nomination review:
Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood (HP) - Over 250 works.
due South
Benton Fraser/Margaret Thatcher - Over 250 works.
Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Eleven | Jane Hopper/Maxine "Max" Mayfield (Stranger Things) - Over 250 works.
Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair (Strainger Things) - Over 250 works.
Quantum Leap (TV 1989)
Sam Beckett/Al Calavicci - Over 250 works.
Thank you!
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Congratulations to the 2025 Aurora Award Winners!
Best Novel: The Siege of Burning Grass, Premee Mohamed, Solaris
Best YA Novel: Heavenly Tyrant, Xiran Jay Zhao, Tundra Books
Best Novelette/Novella: The Butcher of the Forest, Premee Mohamed, Tordotcom
Best Short Story: “Blood and Desert Dreams“, Y.M. Pang, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 408
Best Graphic Novel: Star Trek Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way, Ryan North, art by Chris Fenoglio, IDW Publishing
Best Poem/Song “Cthulhu on the Shores of Osaka“, Y.M. Pang, Invitation: A One-shot Anthology of Speculative Fiction
Best Related Work: Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Two
Stephen Kotowych, editor, Ansible Press
Best Cover Art/Interior Illustration: Augur Magazine, Issue 7.1, cover art, Martine Nguyen
Best Fan Writing and Publication: SF&F Book Reviews, Robert Runté, Ottawa Review of Books
Best Fan Related Work: murmurstations, Sonia Urlando, Augur Society, podcast
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Into the woods

191/365: Industrial remnants, Wyre Forest
Click for a larger, sharper image
I had a quiet Sunday, which was fine by me, but I did go for a fairly long walk in the afternoon. This took me off the beaten track in the Wyre Forest -- although there were footpaths, I met one person (and his quiet dog) in at least half an hour, and this on a dry Sunday in August. Anyway, I went looking for structures I remembered from several years ago, and happily I found them. These are almost certainly relics of the once-significant charcoal burning industry in the forest, which survived into the early 20th century. The flat light makes it hard to see, but there's a second octagonal, brick-sided structure behind the main one. Perhaps they were part of small kilns, or perhaps they held pools to wash charcoal. I don't know.
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Stressed about stress tests
So I'm sitting here running some diagnostics and seeing if I can fix the problem. Hopefully I don't need a new computer.
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Wamono: the Art of Japanese Rare Groove
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Ever since Murasaki closed last year, I've been glad that I got a chance to take
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The music schedule was Japanese vinyl from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and we arrived during the 70s section, took our bentō and out complimentary drinks, and sat down on one of the high tables.
It was a lot of fun!
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I need to keep better tabs on his sets. The only problem is that they're mostly only announced a short time beforehand, and having Laila means we can't exactly drop anything and head out on a moment's notice. But right now we almost never get a date night, and that's definitely not helping things. It'll be better when Laila's speech is better, because right now
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Wheel of Fortune (1987)
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Wheel of Fortune is a letter-guessing game based on the long-running US game show. It's like Hangman, or if the kids don't play Hangman anymore then it's like Wordle. The added strategy element is that before you guess a letter you have to spin the wheel to determine how many points your guess will be worth if it's right. The wheel also features bad outcomes like skipping your turn or losing all your points.

This DOS version of the game is very easy and probably aimed at children. You can play hotseat multiplayer, otherwise the game provides NPC opponents who don't exactly pass the Turing Test; I found it difficult to lose to them even when I tried. They'd cheerfully guess Q or Z for no reason, even while R and T were still sitting there like so many low-hanging consonant fruits. Poor pixel Vanna White always kept a professional smile on her face as she clapped encouragingly for each spin of the wheel, but I know she was secretly judging us, languishing in her pixel heels as she waited for someone to guess a right letter so she could awkwardly shuffle over there and turn it already, for God's sake.
The reason I was trying to let them win was that I was curious what would happen. When a human player wins, they get to do a solo bonus round. Would it make me sit through the computer doing it too?
( Let's find out )
I don't think I played this game very much as a kid. Even in 1987 there were more engaging options. But if you're like me and have been holding onto memories of it in some dusty disused corner of your hippocampus, you can play Wheel of Fortune in your browser.