rafiwinters | Network

Hello, everyone. I’m

simplyn2deep, and I’m back to host another week!

Today’s theme is fables and fairy tales, stories most of us grew up with in one form or another, no matter where we come from. For me, many of them came through the familiar lens of Walt Disney, with their bright colors and reassuring endings. But fairy tales haven’t always been so gentle. Writers like Aesop, Oscar Wilde, and J.K. Rowling remind us that these stories often carry darker truths. Tales of Baba Yaga from Russia frightened generations of children, and even Hans Christian Andersen reportedly revised the ending of The Emperor’s New Clothes after reading it aloud to a child.

Just a few rules:
No more than five prompts in a row.
No more than three prompts in the same fandom.
Use the character's full name and fandom's full name for ease in adding to the Lonely Prompts spreadsheet.
No spoilers in prompts for a month after airing, or use the spoiler cut option found here.
If your fill contains spoilers, warn and leave plenty of space, or use the above mentioned spoiler cut.

Prompts should be formatted as follows: [Use the character's full names and fandom's full name]
Fandom, Character +/ Character, Prompt

Some examples to get the ball rolling...
+ any, any, The Boy Who Cried Wolf
+ any, any, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
+ any, any, The Princess and the Pea

We are now using AO3 to bookmark filled prompts. If you fill a prompt and post it to AO3 please add it to the Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2026 collection. See further notes on this new option here.

Not feeling any of today’s prompts? You can use LJ’s advanced search options to limit keyword results to only comments in this community. Fret not, DW members; we are working on a way to search through old entries for prompts for you! As of right now, the best way to search for a lonely prompt on DW is to search the community’s archive, which can be found [[HERE]].

While the use of LJ's advanced search and DW’s archive are options, bookmarking the links of prompts you like might work better for searching in the future.

As a friendly reminder about our schedule, Lonely Prompts and sharing completed fills are encouraged on Sundays, while new themes and prompts are posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Saturdays are a Free for All day. We'll share our posts on DW and LJ for everyone's convenience. Keep an eye out for notifications!

If you have a Dreamwidth account and would feel more comfortable participating there, please feel free to do so…and spread the word! comment_fic

tag=fablesfairytales

cakewrecks_feed

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/lean-on-me-2026

Everybody clap your hands and sway a little, k?

Some guys and their wives
See only shame
See only sorrrrrow

But if they are wise
they know that wrecks
Are so much more, oh!

Lean on me
When you're stacked wrong!

And I'll be your end
I'll mock you WITH this song

For
It won't be lo-oo-ong
Until gravity

Makes sure that you're cleeean gone!

Please, don't tell the bride
If it's a wreck, it needs no intro

For
no one can tell; maybe she'll need
something sweet to throw!

Lean on me!
When you're stacked wrong

And I'll be your end
I'll mock you WITH this song

For
It won't be long
Until gravity

Makes sure that you're clean gone!

You just call on your mother
When you need a hand

These cakes need somebody to leeeean on!

I just might have a Pisa
That we never planned

These cakes need somebody to leeean on!

Just faaaalll free!
(If you need to end)
Faaaaallll free
Oh, wreck it, now!

Faa-AAA-aalll
free-ee-eeeeee!!

Thanks to Steve, Deanne M., James N., Rachel O., Jessica R., Carol Anne, Kat B., Richard B., Anony M., & Rebecca Z. for the wedding crash course.

[Get it? Instead of 'main course?' Eh? OH C'MON THAT WAS AWESOME.]

*****

P.S. Anyone want to bring vintage style pins back? Because this entire set of 7 lovelies is only $12:

7 Pc Women's Brooch Set

OooOOOooh. I think the owl is my favorite. And the peacock. And the dragonfly.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/lean-on-me-2026

arstechnica_feed

Posted by Liza Gross, Inside Climate News

https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/02/15-state-attorneys-general-sue-rfk-jr-over-anti-science-vaccine-policy/

Scientists have long warned that a warming world is likely to hasten the spread of infectious diseases, making vaccination even more critical to safeguard public health.

And though most scientists hail vaccines as one of public health’s greatest achievements, they have provoked fear, distrust, and contentious resistance since Edward Jenner invented the first vaccine, to prevent smallpox, in the late 1700s.

Yet, until now, the United States never installed an outspoken vaccine critic like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a top health official with the power to upend federal childhood vaccine recommendations. Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy and other top officials in the Trump administration have waged an “unprecedented attack on the nation’s evidence-based childhood immunization schedule,” a lawsuit, filed by 15 states, charged on Tuesday. Their actions will make people sicker and strain state resources, the suit claims.

Read full article

Comments

https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/02/15-state-attorneys-general-sue-rfk-jr-over-anti-science-vaccine-policy/

arstechnica_feed

Posted by Michael Teo Van Runkle

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/02/2026-subaru-uncharted-first-drive-fwd-might-be-the-biggest-selling-point/

Much of the Subaru Uncharted makes very little sense. The “new” EV clearly resembles the Solterra, upon which Toyota and Subaru jointly developed the Uncharted and the bZ Woodland as a continuation of a partnership that stretches back to 2012 with the FR-S/BRZ/86. This time, a fifth sibling joins the platform: the Subaru Trailseeker, which arrives simultaneously with slightly more power, capability, and a larger rear canopy (but you have to wait until March 2 to read more about that one).

Most surprisingly, the Uncharted is the first front-wheel-drive Subaru sold in the United States since the Impreza switched to all-wheel-drive for model year 1997. The base FWD Uncharted will therefore offer a class-leading range estimate of 308 miles (496 km), while the Sport AWD trim can do 287 miles (462 km). Subaru has reportedly partnered with Panasonic to develop solid-state batteries for a Solterra replacement, but that project is still in development.

Does the above make the Uncharted a bad car? Not at all. Instead of throwing money and resources at more kWh during this liminal phase of EV adoption, sticking with the Solterra’s 104-cell 74.7 kWh battery helps keep the starting price for a FWD Uncharted at $34,995 while also avoiding the vicious cycle of compounding mass by reducing the curb weight. A Premium FWD weighs just 4,145 lbs (1,880 kg), and stepping up to AWD adds fewer than 300 lbs (136 kg). And as with the Solterra for 2026, the Uncharted features a NACS charging port to allow access to more than 25,000 Tesla Superchargers—revealing that, at the very least, Subaru and Toyota can accept the reality of the situation.

Read full article

Comments

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/02/2026-subaru-uncharted-first-drive-fwd-might-be-the-biggest-selling-point/

arstechnica_feed

Posted by Stephen Clark

https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/02/ula-isnt-making-the-space-forces-gps-interference-problem-any-easier/

DENVER—The Global Positioning System is one of the few space programs that touches nearly every human life, and the stewards of the satellite navigation network are eager to populate the fleet with the latest and greatest spacecraft.

The US Space Force owns and operates the GPS constellation, providing civilian and military-grade positioning, navigation, and timing signals to cell phones, airliners, naval ships, precision munitions, and a whole lot more.

One reason for routinely launching GPS satellites is simply "constellation replenishment," said Col. Andrew Menschner, deputy commander of the Space Force's Space Systems Command. Old satellites degrade and die, and new ones need to go up and replace them. At least 24 GPS satellites are needed for global coverage, and having additional satellites in the fleet can improve navigation precision. Today, there are 31 GPS satellites in operational service, flying more than 12,000 miles (20,000 kilometers) above the Earth.

Read full article

Comments

https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/02/ula-isnt-making-the-space-forces-gps-interference-problem-any-easier/

brickhousewench

I called mom and dad last night. Just to follow up on mom's call about the storm. She's said she was going to call back to find out how much snow we got, and neither of us thought to do it on Tuesday. I really just wanted to let her know that even though RI got three feet, I was fine. And had gotten less snow that other parts of Lowell.

dredpiratebunny lives on the other side of town and said the snow was up to her knees (She's over six foot tall). A coworker in Dracut said she got at least a foot of snow. So I guess Frogholm really did manage to miss the worst part of the storm somehow!

james_davis_nicoll

"What is this thing, and where the heck did it come from?" is a great way to start any story!

Five Science Fiction Stories About Investigating Enigmatic Artifacts

brumeier posting in

small_fandoms

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

badly_knitted posting in

small_fandoms

Title: Connected
Fandom: War of the Worlds (1988-90)
Summary: The tracker Harrison and Suzanne have developed works, but using it has some downsides.

( Connected... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

prettygoodword

eprouvette (ay-proo-VET) - n., a fixed-elevation mortar formerly used to test the strength of gunpowder.

Used from the 17th to mid-19th century -- put in a standard shot and standard charge, and see how far the standard mortar flings it. Also done with small-arms powder with a standard pistol, but the mortar is better known form. From French éprouvette, from éprouver, to test, from Old French esprover, reconstructed Vulgar Latin form *exprobare, from Latin ex- + probare, to try/prove.

---L.

glitteryv posting in

recthething

Every Thursday, we have a community post, just like this one, where you can drop a rec or five in the comments.

This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)

(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)

So what cool fics/fanvids/fanart/fancrafts/other kinds of fanworks/podfics have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.

BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here.

hughville posting in

abc_onceupon

mcsweeneys_feed

Posted by Tim Latterner

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/you-think-new-york-is-bad-try-living-in-roku-city

I read the news. I hear the cries for help. “New York has a housing crisis.” “The cost of food is too high in New York.” “Crime is too high in New York.” “Crime is too low in New York.” “Zohran will save us.” “Zohran will kill us all.” And to this I say: “You have no fucking idea.” I recently saw a place wracked with so much pain, destruction, corruption, and unease that it makes our home here look like a shining city on a hill. It’s not too far either—so close in fact that traveling there feels as simple as traveling to one’s own living room. The citizens of this town have something real to fear. Their issues aren’t mired in political discourse, but live on the surface of their streets every waking moment.

That is because they live in Roku City.

Some of you are familiar. You have seen the woes of their not-so-sleepy town from the idle revolutions of your TV screens. And yet others remain skeptical that their plight is far less than the average New Yorker’s. You see their still-working movie theater and their two cafés and think all is well. I’m here to tell you: Roku City is on the brink of ruin, and it’s up to you to help curb this chaos with a low membership fee of just $25/month to support their cause.

Look past their recreation of the Golden Gate Bridge. Do you not see the kraken emerging from behind it? What about the giant robot stomping around, crushing things? Even if the people were to ignore the ever-erupting volcano, the nearby city of Oz—yes, that Oz—is still drawing all the tourism revenue away from the small-business owners in the town. And yes, rampant political spending continues to cripple their economy. Rather than fight any of these issues, the mayor’s office invested in a Ferris wheel to provide a view of the alien attacks.

And look, I get it, of course we have a housing crisis in New York. There are 8.5 million New Yorkers and only 3.7 million apartments. But guess what? There are 50 million Roku users and only three apartment buildings. Four, if you count the former warehouse that looks like they’re converting into lofts. It’s supply and demand. A one-bedroom apartment is currently listed at $45,000/month.

The city is on the verge of bankruptcy. Not from natural disasters or economic depression (though those factors aren’t good), but because they love re-creating supertall office buildings that look exactly like other famous office buildings. If it were just a few, I’d understand. Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, the Freedom Tower in New York, and even Big Ben in London. Fine. Everyone loves an icon. But the AT&T Building in Nashville isn’t famous enough to re-create. Also, did they need to build an Empire State Building when they knew another King Kong lived just behind those mountains? These are the basic city-planning fuckups that could have been avoided with the right kind of leadership.

It’s not that I think we need to step in and tell the Roku City council how to run their town. But I think a few sound-minded points from people who care will go a long way here. For instance, if they were to cut funding to get rid of the nuclear power plant and land the Hindenburg-sized airships floating around, they probably wouldn’t need to spend money on all that explosion security. They could use that extra money to give people health care, build a school, or offer universal pre-K.

Riverboat gambling is apparently still legal in Roku City, too, and for what? So residents can have a better view of the island prison? If we can help elect a new government, these gambling vessels and pirate ships will be transformed into free ferries to get across the bay fast enough that the sea kraken cannot catch them.

Where there is darkness, there must also be light. While Roku City is calling out for our help, they still have something that even New York has let fall by the wayside, something we can learn from them: a classic diner.

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/you-think-new-york-is-bad-try-living-in-roku-city

heleninwales

The GYWO challenge is working well for me and I'm glad I chose the habit pledge rather than word count. Although adding words to the draft is fundamental to writing a novel, there is much more to the process than that. There is revising of course, but there's all the organising and tracking too. I've created a database of all the characters in the fantasy trilogy. So far I've listed 72, but they're not all in there yet. So far only those who appear in the final book are included. I'll add the remainder as I begin to revise Book 1 and work my way through the whole thing. I also have a very sketchy map of the country showing the places where events happen and the distances between them. These planning and tracking activities take time and the habit pledge means I can count them for the challenge.

However, right now I'm struggling with writing a transition. There are some exciting scenes to come, but there needs to be what I always think of as a "joining bit" where the characters are very busy, but it's all boring planning meetings and making preparations. I find transitions particularly difficult to write and make interesting.

james_davis_nicoll

What better cure for melancholy than to serve under a captain whose obsessed pursuit of a leviathan will surely doom all involved?

Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall

spiralsheep

[/prompted by a conversation with another disabled person this morning]

Just because a doctor suggests a test doesn't mean you have to do it. Always ask how the results might effect your treatment or health outcome and if there isn't a satisfactory answer then refuse any test that is painful, or expensive, or might have some other negative outcome outweighing any positives.

Example from my actual life (paraphrased but I swear this is an accurate summary):

Doctor: The scan showed you have [damage]. The next step is to give you the [electric shocks from a cattle prod] test.

Me: But y tho?

Doctor: ::explains how test is conducted by giving the patient electric shocks from a cattle prod::

Me: Yes I understand, but y tho?

Doctors: To measure the ability of your nerves and muscles to conduct electricity.

Me: Yes, but y tho?

Doctor, beginning to sound less assured: Because it's a standard test?

Me: And how would the results effect my treatment / outcome?

Doctor: ... ... ... It wouldn't?

Me: So, imma gonna skip the electric shocks from a cattle prod test, 'k thnx!

In conclusion specifically: after this bizarre conversation I checked the more sensible patient-centred discussion websites, as one does, and discovered long comment sections full of people I can summarise as "It hurt and made no difference to anything" with a few people saying they'd been through this test more than once! I'm sure there must be some actual medical purpose for which these tests give valid and useful results (or there were at some time in the recent past) but without in-depth research I didn't find any. Basically, if you have numbness or pain and can verbalise this clearly then telling the doctor is as much use as them electrocuting you with a cattle prod, and probably more use because patients are likely to be more accurate (e.g. it would be easy to misplace an electrode and get a false negative).

In conclusion generally, I repeat: just because a doctor suggests a test doesn't mean you have to do it. Always ask how the results might effect your treatment or health outcome and if there isn't a satisfactory answer then refuse any test that is painful, or expensive, or might have some other negative outcome outweighing any positives. OBV.

mific posting in

fancake

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Rating: Explicit
Length: 18,910
Content Notes: No AO3 warnings apply
Creator Links: crysothemis on AO3, nny (villainny) on Audiofic Archive
Themes: Inept in love, Friends to lovers, First time, Humor, Pining

Summary: John never sleeps with anyone twice.

Reccer's Notes: Rodney (who's attracted to John) bumps into a few women, and then Ronon, leaving John's quarters. He clumsily asks John about these goings on, and mostly accidentally challenges John to have sex with him (because why not with Rodney if everyone else gets to?). It doesn't go swimmingly so Rodney demands a do-over, then another do-over, and another, because there's always something wrong with their encounters. This is partly as Rodney's bisexual and he mistakenly thinks John must be as well, and Rodney also manufactures "mistakes", until they're both entirely hooked and John's joining in with the pretense enthusiastically. It's hot, funny, and clever - a great read.

Fanwork Links: Do Over
And there's a podfic by nny

shipperslist

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

badly_knitted posting in

fan_flashworks

Title: Towards A Common Purpose
Fandom: The Fantastic Journey
Author:

badly_knitted
Characters: Varian, Willaway, Fred, Liana, Halyana, Others.
Rating: PG
Setting: Turnabout.
Summary: The travellers must work together, alongside Queen Halyana’s people, to deal with the Complex and the computer’s mobile protectors.
Word Count: 350
Content Notes: Nada.
Written For: Challenge 507: Amnesty 84, using Challenge 65: Teamwork.
Disclaimer: I don’t own The Fantastic Journey, or the characters. They belong to their creators.
A/N: Triple drabble and a half, 350 words.

( Towards A Common Purpose... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

badly_knitted posting in

small_fandoms

Title: Stories To Tell
Fandom: The Fantastic Journey
Summary: There would be a lot of tales for Scott and his friends to tell about his adventures.

( Stories To Tell... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

Profile

Rafi Winters

April 2017

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
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2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
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Page Summary

simplyn2deep in comment_fic - Thursday :: Fables & Fairy Tales
cakewrecks_feed - Lean On Me
arstechnica_feed - 15 state attorneys general sue RFK Jr. over "anti-science" vaccine policy
arstechnica_feed - Badge engineering could be worse than this: The 2026 Subaru Uncharted
arstechnica_feed - ULA isn't making the Space Force's GPS interference problem any easier
brickhousewench - Called home
james_davis_nicoll - Five Science Fiction Stories About Investigating Enigmatic Artifacts
brumeier in small_fandoms - Drabblethon: Making A (Haunted) House A Home, 2.26
badly_knitted in small_fandoms - Drabblethon: Connected: War of the Worlds (1988-90)
prettygoodword - eprouvette
glitteryv in recthething - Community Recs Post!
hughville in abc_onceupon - February 26, 2026
mcsweeneys_feed - You Think New York is Bad? Try Living in Roku City
heleninwales - Keeping track of the details
james_davis_nicoll - Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall
spiralsheep - In which you can just refuse
mific in fancake - SGA: Do Over by crysothemis
shipperslist - Reading Wednesday 2026, #8
badly_knitted in fan_flashworks - Teamwork Challenge: The Fantastic Journey: Fanfic: Towards A Common Purpose
badly_knitted in small_fandoms - Drabblethon: Stories To Tell: The Fantastic Journey

Style Credit

Style: Over The Hills for Bannering by branchandroot
Resources: OpenClipart

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Page generated Feb. 26th, 2026 03:37 pm

Since I Am Loved

Thank You for the Music

Network

Thursday :: Fables & Fairy Tales

Lean On Me

15 state attorneys general sue RFK Jr. over "anti-science" vaccine policy

Badge engineering could be worse than this: The 2026 Subaru Uncharted

ULA isn't making the Space Force's GPS interference problem any easier

Called home

Five Science Fiction Stories About Investigating Enigmatic Artifacts

Drabblethon: Making A (Haunted) House A Home, 2.26

Drabblethon: Connected: War of the Worlds (1988-90)

eprouvette

Community Recs Post!

February 26, 2026

You Think New York is Bad? Try Living in Roku City

Keeping track of the details

Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall

In which you can just refuse

SGA: Do Over by crysothemis

Reading Wednesday 2026, #8

Teamwork Challenge: The Fantastic Journey: Fanfic: Towards A Common Purpose

Drabblethon: Stories To Tell: The Fantastic Journey

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April 2017

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