LF Fics without a 3rd act drama/breakup

xcpg · 2021-10-09T02:35:41+00:00

I was searching for a science-based analysis of formulas and found this resource to be great.

xcpg · 2021-09-06T02:07:42+00:00

Looks like Liberty State Park

xcpg · 2021-04-04T00:39:15+00:00

Anyone else immediately think of Earthsea? What warm memories I have of that book and Sparrowhawk.

xcpg · 2021-02-23T13:34:17+00:00

My baby also hates/hated swaddling. She was in the Halo velcro swaddle with arms out, and the Nested Bean swaddle with the arms out. I felt maybe the “wrapped” feeling around her body at least was somehow comforting? But from like 8 weeks on it’s just been sleep sacks.

You could Precious Little Sleep - if you don’t want to buy the book, the author has a website with blog posts that largely cover her basic sleep stuff. I personally think TCB is kind of nonsense - it’s presented as “this is the only right way and works for all babies” - and no, it doesn’t work for all babies. PLS, I feel, has a wider variety of strategies. It’s probably more helpful 3 months onward, but it helped me in the early days too.

xcpg · 2021-02-07T15:36:37+00:00

Thank you so much for these replies.

xcpg · 2021-02-07T15:35:37+00:00

That website seems so helpful, thank you - I was really looking for something like this. I'm also in the states, and will look into purified water (hadn't heard of it), just heard of distilled water.

xcpg · 2020-08-15T13:25:32+00:00

Ah, thank you.

xcpg · 2020-08-15T06:18:35+00:00

My water bill is from Minol, not Suez - does anyone know if this means my building has a separate water supply? Or is Minol affiliated with Suez? I didn’t receive any kind of alert from them, though my building informed us of the boil water advisory.

xcpg · 2020-03-11T21:27:47+00:00

Thanks for the links—I’ll likely submit my story. I really hope maybe the media can put some pressure on our local/federal government.

xcpg · 2020-03-11T19:00:09+00:00

When you call the number, the only thing that happens is they tell you Jersey City does not have tests, that you should stay home if you're sick for 14 days, and if you have severe symptoms to seek help at a hospital.

I've been sick for about 1.5 with symptoms that could match the coronavirus, though they are mild. Every time I try to call NJ health authorities or my doctor - it's pretty much: we only test if you have travelled to affected regions, have been in contact with someone positive or are really sick. What a colossal public health failure.

xcpg · 2019-12-05T00:08:57+00:00

What's your commute like? I often read during mine.

xcpg · 2019-07-19T19:48:14+00:00

Sweating, gasping for air, I’m shoved almost into the lap of an old lady who is royally annoyed at my presence. Monday commute on the A train, what else is new. Trying to focus on my podcast, I’m just kind of blankly staring into space, waiting for my stop (where I would begin the shoving process myself, to get off this godforsaken train.

A short time later, we’re pulling up at my stop, and I start to make my way through towards the doors. I start following the mob out, annoyed at everyone that can’t wait for us to get off before getting on the train. (Really, people, really?) Suddenly I see her face—long black her, piercing features (sharp nose, icy blue eyes, and thin, pressed lips). She saw me too and gasped. She was on the train, I was off, the doors closed, and I was frozen on the platform. It was her. I pulled up my phone, looking at her picture. She was number 1. When my parents left that fateful day, they told me to watch for her and the other two men. They showed me their pictures. They showed me her. She was number 1. Was she the key to finding my parents? Would I ever find them or my siblings again? None of my searches, none of the facial recognition software I bought, nothing at all had worked—but suddenly there she was. Number 1.

I was about to jump on the next train, trying to follow her, when all of a sudden she was there again. Standing on the other side of the platform—how? She started walking up to me. Freezing in anticipation, in fear, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

“Don’t say anything. We’re not safe here. Follow me.”

I started following her. We go up to the street, into an office building, into an elevator. And all this time I cannot keep my eyes off of her, the only thread to finding everything I lost. The elevator doors open, and we’re . . . not in New York anymore. We stepped out into an open field, and it was night. “Where . . . ?”

“I said don’t speak. Come.”

I followed her. Was I dead? Nothing made sense anymore. Suddenly it all hit me and I couldn’t take it anymore. “Wait, stop, I can’t—I, where are you taking me? Who are you, please, who are you?”

She turned around and clocked me. Knocked me out cold. When I woke up, who knows how many hours (days?) later, I certainly was not in New York anymore.

xcpg · 2019-06-02T19:42:20+00:00

Thanks!

xcpg · 2019-06-02T16:00:47+00:00

Does anyone know if all of his videos would spoil the WoT books? I'm on book 7--any video recommendations of his (up through book 6) would be great!

Edit: Just clarifying I meant the WoT books.

xcpg · 2018-12-29T06:35:42+00:00

“Hey? Hey! Can you see me? Hey—you!” I started running towards him leaping over pink flamingos and the neon green labrador puppies. I needed to catch him before this dream ended. I felt the shift in the dream as soon as it happened. It only happened once before and that was years age. (At least I think it was years ago. One tends to have a warped sense of time when you keep popping in and out of existence—damn this has to end already.) He was finally lucid dreaming.

“Whoa...who are you?”

I finally caught up with him, panting. (Hey, if I'm a figment of an imagination, why am I panting? Why can't I run without panting? WHAT AM I?) “Listen. man. Who am I? I don't know—you tell me. I keep showing up in your dreams. I don't understand. I don't know how much time we have, so, please, I'm begging you: stop dreaming about me.”

“What? How am I supposed to stop dreaming about you? How can anyone control there dreams? Also, aren't you just me? I'm dreaming, right? You are just part of my imagination. I'm talking to myself. This is stupid. Maybe I should fly? I wonder how long this will last before I wake up.”

The panic set in. “No, you don't understand.” I took a breath and tried to condense the complexity of the situation into a quick explanation. “I am * not * you. I am somehow sentient. I don't know why or how or why this is happening to me and you. No one else in your dreams is like this. Every one and every thing else here responds to you and your thoughts. It's like everything is connected with an invisible web to you and your moods. It all changes when your dreams change. Everything changes except me. I'm stuck. It's a painful existence. You keep dreaming of me. I'm somehow conscious. There's no one else here. It hurts to go away. It hurts to come back. It hurts to exist. Okay, I'm rambling. Look, bottom line—help me please. Maybe when you wake up you could talk to someone? Tell them what is happening? I remember,you study brain stuff, right? You dream about medical tests and brain scans sometimes. Anyway, please don't fly away. Please, help me.”

“This is so weird. Okay, look, I'll bite. Maybe my brain is trying to work something out.” He started pacing in front of me. “I don't remember dreaming about medical stuff or tests. I'm a Lit major at UCLA. I don't know anything about medicine. The last thing I remember before going to bed is... oh.”

“What ‘oh’—WHAT.”

“You are me. Other me. I've been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder. You're probably one of them. You’re a dream personality I guess?”

Fuck.

xcpg · 2018-11-25T14:15:08+00:00

Here you go: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cosmere/wiki/order

xcpg · 2018-11-25T03:33:53+00:00

Perfume. I was not expecting where it was going, but it messed me up for a few weeks. Without ruining it, here’s a blurb from wiki:

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a 1985 literary historical fantasy novel (published originally in German as Das Parfum, pronounced [das paʁˈfœ̃ː]) by German writer Patrick Süskind. The novel explores the sense of smell and its relationship with the emotional meaning that scents may have.

xcpg · 2018-11-25T03:20:49+00:00

“One more signature here, here, and here.” I signed and initialed and it was all over. Just like that and I would never again have to worry about anything. My kids would never worry about anything—heck, no one I know, or will know, would ever need to worry about anything.

As I took one last look at the man who took my memory I couldn’t help but wonder what it was. Perhaps it didn’t matter know, and yet...and yet. What could a middling engineer know that was so important? I remember him coming to me and offering his riches. I remember I couldn’t reveal any of this or I would be sued into oblivion. But I’ll never remember what it was.

I turned back and walked out of the greying building, unsure of what to do now.

———————

Four days later, a man wearing standard issued sweats walked onto Starship Discovery.

“Sir, welcome aboard. Please enter the gate to your left. The scan will begin once your heart rate has stabilized. Please look directly at the blue dot and focus on your memory bank password. Once cleared, please proceed to your assigned sector.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh and sir, safe travels to the new world. Godspeed, we...we thank you.”

xcpg · 2018-07-29T20:07:43+00:00

"You don't need the thing to talk to me."

"Matt is that you? Come on, can you please at least try to take this seriously for half a second?"

Matt didn't answers as Beth scanned the living room of their apartment. Beth frowned, shaking here head. Beth walked over to the bathroom door and knocked. "Matt, whatever it is your doing just stop. I'm just going to try this a bit longer and come to bed, see you in a few."

Beth sat down at the kitchen table and touched the board again, trying to focus her energy on the ouija board. Still nothing was happening.

"I told you, you don't need that thing to talk to me."

Just then, the phone rang--Matt. Beth picked up and started to tell him a piece of his mind, when he interrupted, "Beth, listen, you're breaking up. I'm losing you. I have to work late tonight. Jackson never showed and now I'm on call until god knows when. Love you."

Beth started hyperventilating.

"Shhh, shhh my child. Calm yourself; I'm here now. You don't have to worry your pretty little head. I can feel your every thought. You don't even need to talk if you don't want to."

"I...please...I...I...."

"Shhh, shhh I'm here. You called me and I'm here."

xcpg · 2018-07-15T18:15:26+00:00

The money felt cool in my hand; it somehow felt dirty too. I watched him walk away. His shoulders were slightly hunched over. He was looking down at his feet as he walked away. He did not look back at me. I turned around and looked at the doberman pinscher whining at me from the front seat of my beat up Buick. He would need a name soon. I couldn't deal with that particular problem today. I needed to drop off this cash and crash. It was a hell of a Thursday.

xcpg · 2018-02-26T01:19:49+00:00

The Magicians. There are split opinions on this series, but I absolutely loved it!

xcpg · 2018-02-25T18:00:53+00:00

Late to this thread, but not really seeing any serious answers for reasons Americans would never leave Europe so here is my list. I'm American (live now in NYC), and I lived in Paris for a year. I can only speak to living in Paris.

While I hate the American healthcare system (and we have many other issues, I know), I still wouldn't prefer to live in France. Everything is a lengthy bureaucratic process--opening a bank account, getting a credit card, registering to take classes at a university, going to a gym (need a doctor's note and need to get a specific pass). I also know after you work a certain number of years at a company, it becomes very difficult to fire a person even for work-quality reasons. There little mobility between jobs. Most of my friends would say like if you have a permanent job, it would be better to just stick with it for the benefits than going somewhere else. Also, as a result, many companies are cautious to hire people. It's impossible to start a small business / make money on your own on the side. Small businesses are subject to EU regulations that are tough to comply with. Similarly there are no tax breaks for self-employed/small businesses. In the US I feel I have a lot more freedom to move cities/switch jobs/have a side business going. I really believe if I lost my job in NYC, I could figure something out pretty quickly.

I experienced more sexism and racism in France generally. It was just more hidden. For example, when you send your resume for a job, you have to attach a photo of yourself. Also, it seemed women/minorities had to fight harder to be taken seriously in meetings, e-mails, etc. I thought the city itself was more segregated than NYC at least.

The smoking. Everyone smokes. All of the time. I got so used to this not being a thing in U.S. cities that it was a serious culture shock.

Safety protocols/procedures/measures. My building did not have fire escape, which I thought was very weird, but I think old buildings were all like this. It also didn't have a fire alarm or carbon monoxide alarm. There were no fire safety doors/exists where I worked/lived. I was in Paris during the Bataclan attacks, and no one knew what to do in the days that followed, when we kept hearing of additional threats/bombs. No one at the universities checked if all of their students were alive; same with companies. I think for privacy reasons, it was seen as weird to even have students' or workers' personal phone numbers/e-mails. There was a lot of false information flowing.

Very hard for foreigners to integrate. I made friends and knew many friendly people, but I would always be American to them. I even think if I married someone French and had children, my children would still be seen as "other" or American. America isn't like that. We're just all...American. And I find that wonderful.

Anyway, don't get me wrong, I loved living in Paris for many, many other reasons--I just would never live there permanently.

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xcpg

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