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FIC: Emorian borderland (Tempestuous Tours)
Dec. 8th, 2025 11:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
duskpetersonThe Emorian borderland, like the remainder of the borderland, is famed for the friendliness of its villagers. Despite that, do not be surprised if you are asked to pay for your room and board. Past foreign visitors have often taken advantage of the villagers in order to escape the high price of inns elsewhere in Southern Emor.
In the westernmost villages, you will find a blend of Emorian and Daxion life; though no bards live here, villagers can often be heard singing. As you travel further east, the singing will slowly cease, replaced by talk of blood-lineages and the seven gods and goddesses. You are now in the portion of the Emorian borderland that lies north of Koretia.
The borderland is the only part of Emor where vineyards can be found. Despite the relative coolness of the Emorian borderland, Emor's wines are among the best in the Three Lands. Especially popular is sweetened wild-berry wine (don't try the unsweetened variety unless you enjoy bitter drinks, which you probably do if you're Koretian) and wall-vine wine, made of a mild-tasting grape that grows only in the Emorian borderland.
Farming is also common here. Eastern mainlanders who farm will find much to interest them in these lands that have been plowed since ancient times.
Travelling east, you will eventually reach a crossroads. To travel on to Emor's capital, turn left.
[Translator's note: Hidden Blade shows life in an Emorian borderland village.]
trying to change momentum
Dec. 7th, 2025 07:25 pmmusesfoolAnyway, after waiting a bit, I made the scones and they turned out well (pic - that is also my new grey "spatter" pattern quarter sheet pan, lined with parchment).
I didn't make the glaze because I'd planned to sprinkle the scones with cranberry orange sugar, but then I forgot to do that. *hands* They still taste good!
I also made that garlic and bread soup again, but I got distracted and burned my croutons. *sadhair* Soup is still delicious, though. I wish I'd remembered to buy some arugula so I could have soup and salad, but alas, I didn't think of it when I was putting my grocery order together.
Speaking of grocery orders, when did Costco stop selling the 3 lb brick of Philadelphia cream cheese? I need it for the frosting for the red velvet cupcakes for Christmas, but I guess I will have to spend a little more and get what I need from Stop and Shop instead. *hands*
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on the first roll of the dice
Dec. 6th, 2025 08:25 pmmusesfoolI also made another 2 lbs of candied pecans, so I have six jars filled and have to wash the other jars so they can also be filled.
Then I took a nap that felt way longer than it was, and so even though it's only like 8:20 I keep thinking it's 11:30 pm or something. Time is so weird.
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Gardening hits and misses
Dec. 6th, 2025 07:40 pmmab_browne
so he takes it to the net
Dec. 4th, 2025 09:15 pmmusesfoolOutgoing CEO keeps trying to orchestrate the first half of 2026 and my boss and I are both like, wtf? but incoming CEO seems to be okay with going, nah, we're not doing that. I haven't been in those meetings, but the stuff coming out of it makes me feel like she's trying to prop up other internal candidate who wasn't chosen to be CEO, which would be 100% on brand for both of them.
In better news, my raise was in my check today, and allegedly the catch-up payment (it's retro to July 1) will be coming in the next pay period, just in time to start paying off Baby Miss L's Christmas gifts. I got a most delightful video of her singing "Let It Go" last night. <333 She's so cute!
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FIC: From Daxis to Emor (Tempestuous Tours)
Dec. 2nd, 2025 10:09 pmduskpetersonNorth of Border Port lies a beach. Its serene beauty belies its bloody history.
It is here that, on half a dozen occasions, the Daxions beat back the Emorian armies that were intent on conquering Daxis. Finally frustrated by all these attacks over the border, the Daxions undertook an amazing task of landscaping, bringing the Western Ocean several miles inland from where it had lain before. Once the Daxions were finished, their border with Emor had narrowed to a brief passageway between a mountain and the deep Ocean.
Guarding the border has been exceedingly simple since then. Indeed, on the one occasion on which Daxions permitted Emorian soldiers to cross the border – in 976, when Daxis agreed to allow the Emorians to travel south in order to attack the Koretian capital from its naked back – it took so long for Emor's vanguard to pass over the border, one horse at a time, that a concerned Koretian borderlander was able to alert Koretia's council in the south to the coming attack. Alas, his message was not heeded, and Koretia fell to the Emorians.
The Daxions, on the other hand, have not been attacked from the north since they persuaded the Ocean to guard them. Their true vulnerability lies now to the east, which is why Daxis attempts to maintain good relations with Koretia these days.
Because the border is so narrow, you will likely have to wait several hours to cross the border into Emor, during the busy season. You may wish to spend your time exploring the caves nearby.
[Translator's note: That narrow little border causes some trouble for travellers in Breached Boundaries.]
duskpeterson
ONLINE E-BOOK (html, epub, mobi, pdf, and xhtml)
Free at my website.
The Motley Crew (The Thousand Nations). When a young man named Dolan flees from the north, he faces danger on all sides. The Northern Army wants him back. The Empire of Emor wants him dead. His native homeland of Koretia may not want him at all. And his only protection is a man with motives that are mysterious and possibly deadly.
New installment:
2 | Flight Through the Forest. When you're fleeing from high danger, you have little choice in your companions.
EARLY ACCESS
My readers at Patreon and Ream get the first look at Twisted (The Thousand Nations: The Motley Crew side story). That short story will go into general release next month.
BLOG FICTION
Tempestuous Tours (Crossing Worlds: A Visitor's Guide to the Three Lands #2). A whirlwind tour of the sites in the Three Lands that are most steeped in history, culture, and the occasional pickpocket.
New installments:
NEWS & UPCOMING FICTION
As some of you already know, I posted last month's update two days after I tripped on an uneven sidewalk, banged my head three times against a metal fence, and acquired a concussion, not to mention a broken leg. (I consider that update to be one of the greatest accomplishments of my life.)
Unfortunately, the concussion delayed my completion of "Heir" and its accompanying Blood Vow omnibus, since putting together an omnibus requires a concentrated mind I just don't have at the moment. I've moved those two projects to next year's schedule. In their place, I've juggled my release schedule in order to offer my Ream and Patreon readers a side story this month from The Motley Crew.
The timing of my next e-book installment release is a little uncertain at the moment, since my recovering head is still at the stage where, every time I edit a story, I introduce more errors than I correct. However, I hold out hope that I'll be able to get a new e-book installment out in January. In the meantime, as you can see, I'm continuing to bring out blog fiction.
Fortunately, the concussion hasn't stopping me from writing stories. Among other things, I've finished composing Motley Mayhem, the third novel in the Thousand Nations series.
it's picked by the veteran
Nov. 30th, 2025 09:07 pmmusesfoolunfitforsociety has been updated for November 2025 with 11 recs in 4 fandoms:* 7 Batfamily, 1 Batfamily/Criminal Minds crossover
* 1 The Bear, 1 Star Wars, and 1 Stranger Things
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I also made a cute little chocolate cake with chocolate ermine frosting (pic). I'm happy with how it came out. It's just enough cake for 1 person for like 5 days (refrigerated).
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Stranger Things, season 5, episodes 1 - 4!
( spoilers )
I think this "drop 4 episodes, then do another 2-3 episodes 2 more times" is the worst of all possible distribution patterns, but I guess Netflix will never do a weekly series, which I can honestly say after years of binge-watching seems preferable to me. But at least it's all within a month instead of half in August and half in November or whatever. As much as I dislike the amount of time it's taken for them to put out each season, I am still enjoying the show and want to see how it all wraps up.
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Recipe: Agua de Jamaica (Mexican Hibiscus Tea, sometimes simply referred to as Jamaica)
Nov. 29th, 2025 08:18 pmrebelsheartThis recipe will produce 2 quarts of the drink.
Ingredients
- 50 grams flores de jamaica (flores de jamaica = hibiscus flowers)
- These can be fresh flowers or dried. Dried results in a stronger flavor.
- Fresh flowers are best-sourced from a local Mexican grocer. Stores such as Natural Grocer have the dried.
- These can be fresh flowers or dried. Dried results in a stronger flavor.
- 3 cups will need to be measured, the rest does not if you have tap water available
Directions
- Add the flowers a medium-to-large bowl that can be sealed, or a pot with a lid, and cover with water.
- Seal the bowl or pot, then shake to rinse dirt and similar from the flowers.
- Strain the flowers. This water will not be used.
- It is recommended that you do this no more than twice, as the potential flavor is rinsed away with the contaminants.
- In another pot capable of holding at least 4 cups (1 quart), bring the 3 cups of water to boil, then reduce to simmer.
- Dissolve the sugar in the water.
- Add the flowers to the sugar water and just barely bring to a boil, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and allow the flowers to steep for 25-30 minutes.
- Strain the liquid into a 2 quart pitcher, then add water to get to 2 quarts.
Notes:
- This is generally enjoyed chilled, but can be consumed warm.
- If your household regularly has some sort of sugary (or fake sugary) grape-flavored fruit drink available such as Kool-Aid or Crystal Light, this can be easily mistaken for it - label if needed.
Thank you to Geist for sharing his family's recipe with me.
start back the other way
Nov. 29th, 2025 02:34 pmmusesfoolThanksgiving dinner itself was also lovely, though since one of my cousins invited herself since she had nowhere else to go, we were better behaved than we might normally be.
I once again floated the idea of pajama Christmas, which my sister and niece were 100% into, but my brother-in-law was not, so unfortunately, much like apps and dessert Christmas (my other perennial suggestion that gets ignored), I don't think it's going to happen.
Then I came home yesterday morning and napped for like 3 hours, and then I watched the third period of the Rangers game and the Bears-Eagles game, so it was kind of a weird day - was it Friday? Was it Sunday? It was hard to tell.
I did finally open the box of mason jars I ordered to use for my work holiday gifts and realized I ordered 8oz jars instead of 16oz ones, so I only need half as many pecans as I thought. Which my wallet appreciates. I'm running the first set through the dishwasher, and then I need to do a test run of the recipe to make sure I know how to do it - the comments recommend using ziploc bags instead of bowls and that seems like a wise plan to me, but I also think maybe a bowl for the egg whites and a bag for the sugar might be the way to go, using a slotted spoon to transfer from bowl to bag.
We'll see how it goes.
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Holiday Love Meme
Nov. 27th, 2025 06:30 pmdonutsweepermy thread here
Everyone go throw your names in the hat so you can get some holiday love too! :)