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lettersmod posting in

Unsent Letters 2026 will run according to the schedule below:

2026 Schedule

Nominations: Feb 18 - Feb 25
Sign-ups: Feb 26 - Mar 7
Assignments out by: Mar 9
Assignments due: Apr 25
Collection opens: May 2
Authors revealed: May 9

All deadlines are 11:59pm UTC.

Exchange rules, including the epistolary format categories, can be found here.

See you at the post office!

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/02/08/monsters-of-ohio-done/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=59387

And what is Monsters of Ohio? Why, it’s my 20th(!) novel.

What’s it about? Well, if the title is to be trusted, it’s about monsters! In Ohio!

How would I describe it? Two words: “Cozy Cronenberg.”

When can you have it? November this year.

I like it. I hope you’ll like it too.

More to come about this. Stay tuned.

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/02/08/monsters-of-ohio-done/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=59387

sakana17

The final leg of

thevetia's and my trip to China in December 2025. We took a highspeed train from Hangzhou East Railway Station (where I finally saw a Zhu Yilong ♥ billboard ad) to Shanghai Central Railway Station, a 1.5 hour trip.

( Shanghai )

( Logistical stuff )

primeideal

[Edit to add: Last week I lost my wallet on the bus. Reported it to lost and found right away, but no luck. It wasn't stolen/no unexpected credit card transactions, just made me feel like an idiot. But I was able to start the ball rolling on getting stuff replaced, and debit card I was able to get in person rather than by mail, so that was great. I almost mentioned it in the first draft of this post but it's like...it's fine now, I'm not worried.

Then I wrote this entire post and only later did I realize I might. Have left my e-reader with all the annotations/highlights/stuff to remember I just made. On the train. aaaAAAa I will call the lost and found tomorrow but, really feeling like an idiot again. D: ]

Very close to hearing back on the thing I've been working on for the last few months. If it's a rejection I know I'll get over it eventually, but just the nerves of being on tenterhooks for the last few days.

A couple weeks ago we had a snowstorm that, while not as epic as anticipated, was still enough to require a lot of road thawing, so I got two and a half days off of work, which was great. The joke is that I make fun of people out here for not being able to drive in the snow, because where I grew up, most people can and do drive in the snow. "But you can't drive in the snow either." Right, but I also can't drive at all, so that's totally different :P

Anyway, obviously this was a good excuse to revisit "The Worst Journey in the World" and have emotions about it all over again! Maybe this time around I will even get to writing kinkmeme fills because I have a lot emotions, but it's just so hard to keep all the details/canon review stuff in my head at once...

This is probably going to repeat myself from several previous posts (see, "polar nonsense" tag), but I wanted to have it in one place:

( tl;dr )

immortalje posting in

dailyicons

Today's prompt is: torn apart

• You have 2 days time to submit an icon for this prompt (in other words, until prompt 2755 gets posted)!
• Prompt 2751 have been closed.
• If you have any questions regarding the prompt, feel free to ask in a comment.
• To submit an icon you simply reply to this post with the following information:
Icon:
Claim: (only necessary if it's a specific claim)
Status: (e.g. #1/10 - number of icon completed/table size)

Pre-formatted

senmut

AO3 Link | Long Distance Force Calls (842 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Darth Vader & Ahsoka Tano
Characters: Darth Vader, Ahsoka Tano
Additional Tags: Telepathy, Force Bond
Summary:

They never severed the bond...

Long Distance Force Calls

The first time her meditations took her deep enough that the lock slipped from the training bond, Ahsoka almost metaphorically ran away and slammed the gate shut. She was still on the run, still trying to figure out where she could belong that would make a difference, and there was this swirling storm of rage and pain.

Before she could, he took notice of her, and for a moment, she felt him push the anger away to hold on to her as something of his own.

~You left me.~ The accusation burned blue-white in her mind, as the anger rose higher than the possessive love.

~I would be dead if I hadn't and you know it,~ she shot back, but there was a piece of her that did feel the guilt of the galaxy burning down because of her choice.

~I could have protected you!~

~Really, Skyguy?~ She deliberately let him see as she stood looking over the markers made for the 332nd.

It was him that closed her out … after she tasted his own sense of failure to those that had trusted them both.

She had not been meditating that deeply when she knew that he was touching her mind. The whirls of anger were almost steadying, given how enraged she'd been by the Alliance ignoring her advice. They would not do so again — but too many had paid the price.

She locked that, all of her other activities, deep inside, protecting them behind shields he could not penetrate. That the anger was tied so deeply to pain, unending pain, was a moment's curiosity before she acknowledged him in her mind.

~Snooping on me, Skyguy?~

~Your irreverence only grows,~ and the voice was far more resonant, deeper, carrying a darker flare than ever, but she thought there was something desperate in how it sounded.

~Did they all die?~

She hissed in a breath, needing to protect those few men she knew to be free of the Empire, the ones safe from the nightmare… and grieving for all those she had not been able to save.

~If, Apprentice, you should find others, they still age.~

Her hesitation to tell him made those words come across as cold as space, and yet, even as he left her alone in her mind, she noted he had told her the important part. Somewhere, deep inside the man that had become her worst nightmare, he still cared about the men. And she would see what she could do to fix it, another testament of who they had been, when they had been together, protecting the men.

She was injured, almost to the point of needing trance to hold it at bay until her operatives made the pick up.

She didn't want to risk being that vulnerable, even as she reached for the fury-laced-with-pain that smoldered in the corner of her psyche.

~You are hurt.~

The surprise, followed by almost overwhelming anger directed at whatever had harmed her was almost touching, but Ahsoka had to keep that away from her heart. She brought her irreverence to her own defense.

~You are always in pain, Skyguy. Surprised your handler didn't get that fixed.~

That was better, a sharp spike in the anger, the deeper presence of darkness — it helped her maintain the illusion that they could never be anything but enemies now, even as neither of them severed their bond.

~There was not much of me to heal,~ being the next honest thought set Ahsoka back on her proverbial heels.

~Ultimate power, with access to a master cloning world, and he couldn't get you body parts cloned? Organs? Whatever it is that you need to not be… like this? Skyguy, your contract with this guy is worse than mucking eopi stalls.~

She didn't expect him to hold onto the link after that.

~Perhaps. But there is no alternative.~

Those words, contemplative, almost calm, sent a chill down Ahsoka's spine, but before she could think her way to a witty comeback, he locked her out again.

~There have been a number of times I thought you were a figment of my imagination.~

That calm entry into her mind, backdropped against the abyss of ever-present pain, set Ahsoka on edge. They'd been entirely too close in physical space this day.

~I wish I had words to convince you that we could make a better reality than what we have.~

She kept it to a surface emotion of wishfulness, holding back every other emotion that had surged in her soul during the near encounter.

~Wishes have never been a good plan of attack, Apprentice.~

She closed her eyes, gave him her regrets for the past, and locked him out of her mind, shoring up her shields against the man she missed, that still existed in a monster that had destroyed everything resembling peace.

Here they were, face to face…

…and even all the moments of the years apart that had led to words and emotions shared, they both knew.

Today, what they had been would either be destroyed forever —

— or reforged.

rekishi

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

serrico

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: mellow

cupcake_goth

We're going to a superbowl gathering today. It's with the usual suspects, so it'll be a nice social gathering, which is the reason I'm going. I'm going to settle in a corner of the living room with my hand sewing project and be utterly confused by what is happening on screen; to say I'm not a football person is an amazing understatement.

---

I'm starting to feel much better thanks to the THIRD FUCKING ROUND of steroids and antibiotics. Everyone cross your fingers that this takes care of it all. But I still have to remind myself that I'm recuperating, and I've got :: waves hands vaguely :: the back thing, so I have to be even more mindful of what I do and how I move. I am very bad at remembering all of this.

---

OH MY GOD I WANT TO DYE MY HAIR. But it's fascinating to see how much white has taken over the front of it.

prisca posting in

fandom_empire

Hiatus List
Everyone who has not posted at least one work during this round until week four is moved on the Hiatus List.
Don't see this as a punishment - it's just to make the playlist clearer.

The dice are not rolled here!
You can still jump into the game by using your Joker Card. For three tokes, you can create two works for two different missed prompts. Check our previous playlists for more prompts.

( Hiatus List )

prisca posting in

fandom_empire

Week 5
is started now. Good luck, everyone!

Under the cut, you find the weekly playlist. To check out what prompts/minimum/points are waiting for you this week, please visit the Board.

If you can't find your name on this list, you might be moved to the Hiatus List.
This is not a punishment, but helps to make the playlist clearer.
You are always welcome to jump back into the game. Use three tokens to post two of your missed prompts.

In case you have missed a week or you don't like your prompts, remember your Joker Card. Every Joker Card comes with 15 tokens.
Use three tokens, and you can create two extra works for two missed prompts.
Use two tokens to roll the dice again.
Use five tokens to move to any square of your choice (exception: go!, chance, jail)

To re-visit the rules go here.

( Weekly Playlist )

There is a chance for even more points for those who did sign up for the Team Challenge.

Post all your finished works at

fandom_empire_workplace until Sunday, February 15, 18.00 UTC, but I will allow belated works until I've made the closing post Countdown here.

purpleyin posting in

holly_poly

Hi everyone!

The 2025 Holly Poly collection is no longer anonymous! Did you like what you got and want to check out everything your gift creator ever made? Now's the time!

Thank you for participating! Be on the lookout for our Feedback post in the future.

The archive is not being closed, so please feel free to post any additional treats that you may wish to create (this also applies to anyone who needs to post a treat for eligibility reasons.)

Remember to kudos/comment on your gift before April 2nd 2026 to thank your gifter! (Per our rules, this is a requirement to participate next year)

As always, if you have any questions or issues, please e-mail us at holly.poly.exchange@gmail.com.

Collection: https://ao3.org/collections/holly_poly_2025
Tag Set: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/25541
Tumblr: https://holly-poly.tumblr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/holly_poly_ex
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/holly-poly.bsky.social
Google Groups - Holly Poly Updates: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-updates
Google Groups - Holly Poly Pinchhits: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-pinchhits

prisca posting in

fandom_empire

Posting for week 4 is closed now. Thank you to everyone participating this week.

Regular Challenge
We have had a total of 18 participants this week.

Maximum points:

peppermint_shamrock reached a maximum of 9 points.

Catching up:

endlesstwanted caught up with one week by using three tokens.

Team Challenge
Team Alpha
3 participants
22 team points in total

Team Omega
4 participants
line finished: red
3 participants earned some individual points for 'red' fills
21 team points in total

To check out all scores, have a look at the Google Highscore Sheet. If you find an error or have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

The playlist for week five will be online soon!

rekishi

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

twistedchick

Start with the possibility of the stupid SAVE Act being passed by the Senate, requiring anyone who ever changed their name away from their birth name to bring stacks of ID, then add to that the possibility of ICE at the polls. Can you spell 'disaster for American election'?

violateraindrop posting in

fandom_icons

[3] The Diplomat
[6] Heated Rivalry
[5] KPop Demon Hunters

Here at

iwillnotdance

violateraindrop posting in

graphics

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

oursin

Last week's bread held out very well and there was even enough crust left to cut up and fry with onion and garlic to make frittata for Friday night supper.

Saturday breakfast rolls: basic buttermilk, 3:1 strong white/buckwheat flour (I was actually going to do rye, but it was rather long past its best before).

Today's lunch: this was actually a change of plan, because for last night's evening meal we had Waitrose Slow-Cooked Gammon Shank which turned out to be Rather A Lot, so quite a bit left over, which I therefore recycled into a sort-of cassoulet-type-thing with Belazu Judion Butter Beans, garlic, thyme, and panko crumbs; served with tenderstem broccoli tips, trimmed fine green beans and chopped Romano peppers white-braised, but with lazy chopped ginger rather than star anise for a change, and chestnut mushrooms sauteed somewhat after the recipe in Dharamjit Singh's Indian Cookery, with onion salt, ground black pepper, basil, a dash of cayenne, and lime juice.

jesse_the_k

Every week for most of the last 30 years, I have volunteered as an English language partner. Since 2024, I’ve treasured my time with two people who’ve learned English as a foreign language. I get to spend time with people who have weirdly requested that I correct their pronunciation and grammar. It’s a pleasantly zen task: listening carefully then offering precise feedback about a language I love. In return, I’ve enjoyed learning their stories from Chile and Taiwan/Germany/hiking world-wide.

( how I found people ready to learn )

selenak

I am really torn about this one. On the one hand, all the downsides I assumed when first hearing about this and when watching the trailer turned out not to be the case. On the other hand, something I hadn't expected did happen - two somethings, actually - and both to my favourite character from the original, and I'm still massively annoyed about this.

What I thought/feared: because The Night Manager had been such a success, they'd simply go for the (unnecessary) repeat sequel formula, with Jonathan Pine motivated by personal loss and vengeance (again), and the two new characters, arms dealer Teddy Santos, as a Richard Roper copy, and the sole woman focused on in the trailer, Roxana, in the role of beautiful girlfriend of the villain falling in love with our hero. This turned out not to be the case, though the first episode seemed to indicate it would be, with just enough differences to make it entertaining. Then more episodes happened, and I sat up and thought: Oh. Oh. That....is actually a really clever twist on the formula. Or several. But also, come episode 3, the first of the two things happened. And, well, I can't talk about this without spoilers....

( Spoilers think that if the original version was more optimistic than Le Carré's novel, this sequel decided to go all in with the cynism (though not nihilism) )

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: Bamberg

Go ahead - fascinate me!

Unsent Letters 2026

2026 Schedule

Monsters of Ohio: Done!

Trip, part 3

I Regret To Inform You That I Am Once Again Back On My Penguin Bullshit

Prompt 2753: Torn Apart

Today's prompt is: torn apart

GenPrompt Bingo: Wild Card (Telepathy)

Olympic commentary woes

Theremin!

(no subject)

Monopoly 01.26 - Hiatus List

Monopoly 01.26 - Week 5

Creator Reveals!

Monopoly 2026 - Weekly Score 4

Why already Sunday? Who allowed it to be Sunday already??

(no subject)

14 icons

14 icons

Culinary

Why I love being an English language partner

The Night Manager (Season 2)

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