Sunday Sweets: C'est Bon!

Posted by Lindsey

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/sunday-sweets-cest-bon-2025

Bonjour, mon amis! Today's sweets are mostly inspired by Marie Antoinette, so you know what that means: Prepare your eyeballs for an over-the-top feast of excessiveness!

(And no, we won't be having any gruesome headless sweets commemorating Marie's rather gruesome end. Sheesh. Get your mind out of the guillotine.)

Yep, it's all decadence and girliness from here on out! And yay for that, because have I mentioned I've been helping my husband Matt at football camp all week? Yes, I've been sharing a house with 25 teenage boys for the last five days. I could use a little girliness up in here.

Fortunately this first beauty is a sight for my pink-deprived eyes:

By Cakes By Tess

And how appropriate that it includes a fabulous fondant fan, because I'm already feeling the need to fan myself!

[Swoon!] Such loveliness!

And here's the lady of the hour herself...

By CakeCentral member Lindasuus

...sweetly putting to shame every Barbie-torso-stuffed-in-a-cake ever made.

This one is so absolutely flawless and stunning, I'm convinced it doesn't really exist.

By Cake Coquette (More detail shots at the link)

We've all just collectively dreamed it or something. (We have excellent imaginary taste, you and I!)

Now here's a solution to that pesky problem of how to hide plastic cake pillars: Simply pipe a decorative cage of icing between the tiers for an elaborate camouflaging exoskeleton of awesomeness!

By Edible Art by Kate

Er, on second thought, you might want to just leave that to the pros.

I thought this Fabergé Egg cake was a winner on its own ... (Seriously, doesn't it look like a 1st place trophy to you? Or is that the football camp talking?)

...but then I scrolled down and realized the egg was only one quarter of the whole cake!

By Fire and Icing

Wow. The layers look like carved marble or porcelain, and I love those unique shapes, too. It's hard to believe the tiers wouldn't shatter when you went to cut a slice!

I think more food should be adorned with edible pink tassels, don't you?

By Deborah Hwang Cakes

I love this color scheme so much; fun, flirty, and fit for a queen. I bet ol' M.A. would lose her head over it!

Oooh, sorry Marie. Too soon?

Submitted by Anne Marie B. and made by Rosey Confectionary Sugar Art

Oh, don't stare at me with that doleful expression. Turn your attention instead to the amazing miniature dessert table in your boudoir. And hey, is that rug edible too? Incredible.

Here comes another amazing egg cake. I'm not really sure if fancy eggs are a Marie Antoinette thing, but they're both similarly lavish, so it works for me.

By Cakes Du Soleil

Just gorgeous. If I was serving this cake, I don't think I'd let them eat it, youknowwhatI'msayin?
(Like "Let them eat cake?" Marie's famous line? You know? Yes? Never mind.)

This is probably my favorite cake today:

Submitted by Devon C; by Cake Opera Co.

I thought it was Marie masquerading as a... um... masquerader, while holding a kangaroo for fun, but the website informs me that this is actually an 18th century French figurine, masked to conceal her illicit rendezvous, and juxtaposed by the fawn in her arms meant to represent birth and innocence.

So, I was close.

All of these fanciful confections make me want to host a Marie Antoinette party! How about you? Here's a checklist of everything we need:

By Cakes by Erin

Powdered wigs, macarons, frilly shoes, masks, more fancy eggs (I guess they really are a thing) tiny top hats, (pretty sure that's NOT a thing, but I'll go with it), and of course, cake!

Does this cake remind you of a hot-air balloon, too?

Submitted by Promise W. and made by Ganache Patisserie

And did you know that the first manned hot-air balloon ride took place in front of Marie Antoinette and the French court? And that it was "manned" by a sheep, a rooster, and a duck?

True story.

Here's another one: this cake is fantastic! Do you see the little movie-scene applique? Too cool.

I'm not sure how inspired by Marie Antoinette this final cake is, but it's incredible. At over three feet tall and almost two feet wide, I'm pretty sure this is the cake they serve you when you die and go to heaven:

By Sweet Thing Black Orchid

Oh, wait. Actually this is the signature cake for the Hilton Hotel in Silver Spring. Which, after a week at football camp, sounds enough like heaven to me.

Happy Sunday!

*****

If today's Sweets are right up your style alley, then I have JUST the tea for you:

Nina's Marie Antoinette Tea

This blend is made in France using the roses and apples grown in the Versailles palace garden. Omigosh! If that's not tea fit for royal-tea, I don't know what is. Plus it comes in that gorgeous pink tin. Talk about a perfect gift for any tea-lover.
******

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/sunday-sweets-cest-bon-2025

Episode 2647: Pwned For Pound

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2647.html

Episode 2647: Pwned For Pound

Cry "Havoc!", and let slip the dogs of yore.

Characters in games can have pets too.

Or they could be pets. Imagine a game where everyone is playing a domestic cat or dog. Or perhaps a bird. Something's going on in the neighbourhood and the humans are blissfully unaware, so it's up to the pets to go out and fix things up.

aurilee writes:

Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie)

I guess Dagger Bar is a franchise. Or is a fixation of Jim's. Or maybe both at this point!

Time for Chewie and Rey to get captured then? It seems odd that it would only be Chewbacca that gets noticed and captured as he's not Force Sensitive at all. And if the Knights of Ren are actively looking for everyone, why wouldn't they have spotted Rey as well?

Hopefully the whole group doesn't get captured. That'd cause a big mess of the plot from what I can see, and we've hardly gone anywhere as it is!

Transcript

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2647.html

Irregular Webcomic! #2824 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2824.html

Oops. Looks like James Clerk Maxwell was about to record his unified field theory.

2025-07-13 Rerun commentary: Farmers who raise both sheep and cattle in the one grazing area also operate on a unified field theory.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2824.html

Today In “Prices Aren’t Real”

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/07/12/today-in-prices-arent-real/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56396

So, if I want to buy a 100 Grand candy bar (or an Almond Joy, or a Heath Bar, or whatever), and I go to the candy aisle in the local gas station, or the one in the IGA, the candy bar will cost about two bucks, give or take. But! If I go to the local dollar store to buy the same brand of candy, packaged as four to six “fun sized” individually wrapped bars, each of these packages are $1.25, or $5 if I buy five. The aggregate amount of candy by weight is pretty much the same as if I bought the full-sized candy bar, but because they are packaged differently, it costs half as much. Does this make sense? No! It does not! I mean yes, I understand that one is positioned as an impulse buy and one is not, I do understand the psychology of the supermarket. I get it, truly I do. But it still boggles my mind.

Likewise if I go to the store to buy a 12-pack of Coke Zero, it will be somewhere between $8 and $10, but if Krissy goes to Kroger on a particular day and shows them her Kroger card (or whatever) then she can get the “buy two, get three free” discount, which again means the actual cost of the 12-pack is 40% of what its usual cost is. It works similarly for lots of other things, including things that are not junk food or drink.

“Congratulations, Scalzi, you’ve discovered coupons,” I hear you say. Look, I’m not saying any of this is new. But it does seem to me the variance in pricing is more significant now than it was before. I’m not exactly what you would call a price-sensitive individual these days, but I still finally broke down and got myself a CVS card because the difference in cost between having that card, and not, was high enough that my brain rebelled against needlessly spending that much more.

(Yes, I’m aware that CVS, Kroger, et al are data farming what I purchase. As a practical matter, I don’t really care if CVS learns I’m buying Doritos; they were tracking the UPC when I went to check out anyway. And as a general matter I’m not purchasing anything in a supermarket or pharmacy that I want to hide from data crunching.)

I know this is a bit of an aimless rant, but I think what I’m really getting at is that the answer to the question “why are things so expensive right now” really is “because fuck you, that’s why.” That candy bar quite evidently doesn’t need to be $2; that 12-pack of soda doesn’t need to be $8, and there are a lot of people who can’t afford the clearly arbitrary high prices that things have, who have to pay them anyway. It’s annoying for me, but for someone else it might mean skipping a meal or two, or more, here and there. It doesn’t seem fair, and it doesn’t seem right.

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/07/12/today-in-prices-arent-real/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56396

Irregular Webcomic! #2823 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2823.html

The Mars Rover was first seen way back in strip #370. Back then that strip was topical, as the real life NASA Mars rover Spirit had just experienced difficulties and a two-day communication blackout, which at the time was feared might be the premature end of its mission.

That was January, 2004. Over six and a half years ago. Spirit landed on Mars on 4 January, 2004. It was designed for a mission lasting 90 Martian days (or sols), or a bit over 92 Earth days. NASA lost communication with Spirit on 21 January, 2004, just 17 days into the mission. Through the efforts of NASA engineers, communication was re-established on 24 January and Spirit rebooted. Over the next few days, the engineers carried out remote diagnosis of software problems on board Spirit. This was when strip #370 appeared - when it was unclear whether Spirit would be able to resume its mission.

As it turned out, Spirit's memory problems were fixed and the rover resumed normal operation on 6 February, 2004. It celebrated by performing the first ever controlled grind of a rock on Mars, using its specially designed Rock Abrasion Tool. Spirit went on to exceed its planned 90-sol mission and continue travelling, performing experiments, taking pictures, and sending valuable scientific information back to Earth for the next five years.

In May, 2009, Spirit became stuck in some loose Martian soil, and, try as they might, mission engineers could not drive the rover's wheels in a manner which could get the rover moving again. The efforts to get Spirit moving again lasted for the remainder of 2009. Finally, on 26 January, 2010, more than six years after it landed on Mars, and after a period 24 times as long as its planned mission length, NASA declared Spirit would not move again, and would continue operating only as a stationary observation platform.

On March 22, 2010, Spirit stopped transmitting. No word has been heard from the rover since. However, NASA has not given up on the rover, and continues transmitting diagnostic commands every day. It is currently winter on Mars where Spirit is, and there is a reasonable expectation that Spirit may have gone into a hibernation mode to conserve energy, and will wake up again in the spring as it receives more sunlight on its solar panels. If this happens, it will respond to the diagnostic commands and communication will be re-established. We can only wait and see.

But Spirit wasn't the only part of the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover Mission. The mission had two Mars rovers. Spirit's twin rover, Opportunity, landed on Mars 21 days after Spirit, on 25 January, 2004.

And, as of today, Opportunity is still fully operational.

It continues to travel across the surface of Mars, seeing new and previously unexplored Martian terrain, investigating the soil and rocks, taking pictures, making measurements, and communicating all of this valuable information back to us on Earth. For the past two Earth years it has been driving, slowly, towards the large crater known as Endeavour, making scientific measurements along the way. Barring disaster, it should reach Endeavour some time in the next few months.

90 days NASA designed these rovers to work for. Opportunity is still going strong after close to seven years. You can follow its progress and cheer it on here.

2025-07-12 Rerun commentary: Contact was never regained with Spirit. However, Opportunity lasted almost another eight years after this comic was first published. It continued to travel across Mars and perform experiments until 10 June, 2018, when communication was lost during a large planet-wide Martian dust storm. Its total active time on Mars was an astonishing 14 years and 136 days, over 58 times its planned mission length.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2823.html

Bakery Math

Posted by john (the hubby of Jen)

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/bakery-math-2025

One ugly 8-inch round flower cake:

$6.00

Five ugly 8-inch round flower cakes:

$30.00

Five ugly 8-inch round flower cakes plopped on

styrofoam and cardboard stands:

$235.00

The look on the bride's face?

Priceless.

There are some things money can't buy...

but a decent wedding cake isn't one of them.

Thanks to Melinda W., Holley W., Kae B., Liz Q., Meghan F., Nikki G., and Lainey M. who thinks we should start investing in styrofoam and cardboard.

*****

P.S. I found something for the bride who wants to wear something old, something new, something borrowed, and something poo:

Unicorn Poop Earrings

Don't stop believing, y'all. Dreams do come true.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/bakery-math-2025

dinosaur comics predicting supersonic hovercraft by the time this century is out. i stand by this p

http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=4353


archive - contact - sexy exciting merchandise - search - about

"It ain't over till the fat lady sings" comes from opera - in particular, operatic sopranos - but opera is not as popular a medium these days as film! I therefore suggest "Not over until the second post-credit scene" as an update. "Not over until the copyright warning" is also viable

← previous

July 11th, 2025

July 11th, 2025: TOMORROW (Saturday!) at Emerald City Comics in Clearwater Florida: it's a FANTASTIC FOUR #1 signing! I'll be there from 11-2 and hopefully I will see YOU there too!

– Ryan

http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=4353

Irregular Webcomic! #2822 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2822.html

The water elemental is a reader donation, from the same generous reader who supplied the fire elemental and earth elemental.

2025-07-11 Rerun commentary: In my gaming experience, water elementals are some of the nastiest to come across. Yeah, sure, fire is dangerous and all, but the water elementals are sneaky.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2822.html

The Big Idea: Sara Omer

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/07/10/the-big-idea-sara-omer/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56391

When you see a possibly terrifying mythical creature, is your first thought, I’m totally gonna pet that? If so, then Sara Omer, author of The Gryphon King, might have something in common with you.

SARA OMER:

At its core, The Gryphon King is about a horse girl on a quest for vengeance versus a man with cat-related PTSD. But before I can get into the infernal horse and lion biology at play, I have to gush about the monster-riding story more generally.

Just as children wish for puppies, children reading fantasy books wish for dragons. The unbreakable bonds between fire-breathing beasts and reluctant heroes populate epic fantasy stories, but if giant flying lizards aren’t your style, there’s any number of mythic monsters that might be mountable (monster romance implications of that statement aside). I love a dragonrider story as much as the next person, probably more than most people, but there’s a whole ecosystem of underutilized fantastic monsters out there that deserve some time in the spotlight. In the empire of Dumakra in The Gryphon King, there is at least one stable full of flying horses that didn’t ask to be ridden into battle or form lifelong bonds with power-hungry morally gray disaster princesses, but we can’t always fight the fate we’re dealt.

Growing up, having my own horse was as much a fantasy as having my own dragon, but I like to think I lived a tangential horse girl experience. I wasn’t yet in kindergarten when I learned to ride horses, taught by the grandfatherly carriage driver Mr. “Grandpa” Clint, who drove his carriage around the town square. After learning how to drive a carriage at an age that was definitely not road legal (to the chagrin of many other children), Grandpa Clint taught me how to ride a horse at his stable. The horse for the job was an ancient old white gelding living a life of comfort in retirement, and who I enthusiastically urged to a flying gallop my first time on the trail. I had a wonderful time as my mom and Mr. Clint raced after, concerned I would be terrified or die, probably. Surprise, I lived. I think everyone should experience that exhilaration, and a few hundred feet off the ground while you’re at it.

I had a formidable collection (army) of Breyer horses, although unlike Nohra in The Gryphon King, I didn’t grow up with an imperial stable. But some family friends had their own horses and boarded them nearby. Sometimes I would get to go ride or hang out at the stable and in the pastures. Rambo, their stubborn paint gelding, was barely tall enough to even be considered a horse rather than a pony, and I vividly remember a time he got kicked, presumably for being an asshole, and the bloody branding of the hoof that slowly healed. For this and other reasons, I’m convinced every horse is a little like a dragon.

There are multiple breeds of mythic horses I added to the bestiary that is The Gryphon King. Because why stop at sky horse when you can have water horse? And when I really got to thinking about the biology of pegasuses, I wanted to explore their avian side. What better way to celebrate the incredible Eurasian horses and the birds of prey in the region than combine them into one omnivorous monster that has an appetite for blood? As if horses weren’t already dangerous enough, now they really, really want to eat your fingers and the barn cats. And—oh, look—the battlefield became good grazing once the fighting’s quieted down. Really, pegasuses are a little terrifying, and they’re not even the most threatening strain of horse in Dumakra.

The moral is that if you make a bird big enough, humans begin to look like the small animals scurrying through the tall grass, evading tooth and talon. And what’s more terrifying than horse-eagle? Lion eagle.

I have utmost respect for anyone who can make a big cat with a massive wingspan seem docile and friendly; I just think, considering the injuries a falconer could incur and compounding those with what might befall your average lion tamer, you should have to sign a few release waivers to approach a gryphon.

Maybe I made all my animals ferocious because nature is ferocious and dangerous, and when people play at power, they don’t come close to the might of beasts. But their actions have often irreparable impacts on nature nonetheless.

Fear and respect can coexist. Add a little human curiosity, and I would never fault anyone who decided to ride a murder horse. The Gryphon King is for the readers who would go out of their way to pet a man-eating monster, who would risk it all to bond with a creature that could kill them a few different ways on purpose or by accident—I’m a little scared for your wellbeing, but I respect the drive and share the dream.

The Gryphon King: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|Powell’s

Author Socials: Bluesky|Instagram|Twitter

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/07/10/the-big-idea-sara-omer/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56391

Wreck-A-Bye Baby

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/wreck-a-bye-baby-2025

Sometimes I like to think this blog might have a positive influence on current baking trends. (Oh, stop laughing. A girl can dream.) So, what do you say we mosey on over to a few of our nation's baby showers and see how things are going?

Wonderful!

I mean, sure, "beby" is misspelled, and there's a giant funky headboard thing happening, and the doll is staring at me all creepy-like, but the baby itself is not edible. That's progress, people!

Hey, a lot of those letters are right.

In fact - and feel free to correct me here if I'm wrong - I think "cohgrautions" may be the Canadian spelling.

You might be wondering how many tracts of land they had to search to find these two peas in a pod, or why the baker didn't make the "peas" green. That said, it's not a pregnant torso cake.

Plus it makes me want to start singing "Keep Walking" by the French Peas, so that's a "win" all 'round.

This next one may cause a bit of a flap, but I'll have no truck with such negativity:

After all, nothing drives home the beauty of motherhood quite like a pregnant mudflap girl. Eh? Eh? Am I right?

Well, my friends, I think I've made my point: baby shower cakes are getting better! And all because of me! ME, I SAY!! BWAHAHAHAAA!!

AHAHAHAAAHAA!!

BAHAHAHAA...

...huh?

AAAAAUUUGGHH!!

[blink blink]

Well.

Back to business as usual, then?

Thanks to Sose K., Krista M., Susan M., Bob S., & Carly A. for dashing my dreams. You cruel, cruel wreckporters, you.

******

P.S. Watch me un-creepify this post by going from creepy baby cakes to baby beef cakes:

The Buff Baby Rattle

This is hilarious. And a real thing! Amazon helpfully suggested I pair it with the "Do You Even Lift?" baby onesie and now I wish I had a weightlifting friend with a baby to give this to.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/wreck-a-bye-baby-2025

Irregular Webcomic! #2821 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2821.html

What possible harm indeed?

2025-07-10 Rerun commentary: Seriously. I should be writing time travel stories for Doctor Who.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2821.html

Episode 2646: Discontent Creator

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2646.html

Episode 2646: Discontent Creator

If you want an interesting dilemma for a party, have one of them notice something incredibly interesting while they're in a rush to get away from danger. If it works right, they might even want to split the party.

aurilee writes:

Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie)

Yeah, the party might as well use Ochi's ship. It's not like he's going to miss it, after all. That said, I wonder if it still works. Star Wars's theme is "used and worn" outside of Imperial/First Order things, but this thing looks really heavily sanded. Maybe they'll use it to crash land near the Falcon?

Interesting though, if Kylo only just showed up now, that means those troopers were already nearby the planet. I wonder how they got the info that the party was in the area. Did Poe actually raise enough of a ruckus that the troopers came to check the place out? Or were the troopers already hunting for Lando and the party drew suspicion off of him as part of a deal?

Buuuuuuut speaking of feeling personally attacked, I should probably clean some things up. Don't want to get to the point where I'm a joke like this as well!

Transcript

https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2646.html

The OTW is Recruiting for Fanlore Social Media & Outreach Volunteers, Policy & Abuse Volunte

https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/31894

OTW recruitment banner

Are you interested in social media, community management or outreach? Or would you like to assist AO3 users by resolving complaints? Do you want to create videos and connect with fellow fans on TikTok? The Organization for Transformative Works is recruiting!

We're excited to announce the opening of applications for:

Fanlore Social Media & Outreach Volunteer - closing 16 July 2025 at 23:59 UTC or after 40 applications
Policy & Abuse Volunteer - closing 16 July 2025 at 23:59 UTC
Communications TikTok Moderator - closing 16 July 2025 at 23:59 UTC or after 60 applications

We have included more information on each role below. Open roles and applications will always be available at the volunteering page. If you don't see a role that fits with your skills and interests now, keep an eye on the listings. We plan to put up new applications every few weeks, and we will also publicize new roles as they become available.

All applications generate a confirmation page and an auto-reply to your e-mail address. We encourage you to read the confirmation page and to whitelist our email address in your e-mail client. If you do not receive the auto-reply within 24 hours, please check your spam filters and then contact us.

If you have questions regarding volunteering for the OTW, check out our Volunteering FAQ.

Fanlore Social Media & Outreach Volunteer

Do you have an interest in fandom history, or in fannish culture and the different tropes, ships, communities and viewpoints that make up fandom? Are you interested in social media, community management or outreach? The Fanlore committee is recruiting for Social Media & Outreach volunteers!

Fanlore Social Media & Outreach volunteers are responsible for writing and editing Fanlore's promotional posts on social media, planning and running Fanlore's editing challenges, maintaining Fanlore's social media channels, and thinking of ways to reach out to and engage with new corners of fandom.

No extensive experience required—only reliability, teamwork, good communication skills, and an interest in fandom and Fanlore in particular. Join us!

As part of our application process, candidates who pass the initial review will also be asked to create a sample social media post for Fanlore consisting of a 280-character tweet and a 100-word Tumblr post promoting a Fanlore article. Further directions will be given upon applying.

Applications are due 16 July 2025 or after 40 applications

Apply for Fanlore Social Media & Outreach Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.

Policy & Abuse Volunteer

The Policy & Abuse committee (PAC) is responsible for addressing questions and concerns about potential violations of the AO3 Terms of Service. We determine whether reports are about legitimate violations of the Terms of Service, and what to do about them if they are. PAC volunteers correspond directly with AO3 users and collaborate on projects both within PAC and with other OTW committees.

Our main goals as a committee are:

to adhere to the AO3 Terms of Service
to make our reasoning and processes as clear and transparent as possible
to handle all user reports consistently, no matter which volunteer is doing the work
to keep every case we work on completely confidential

We are seeking people who can:

Commit to working on cases regularly
Be patient with rephrasing explanations
Ask for help when needed
Collaborate both inside the team and with other committees
Act in accordance with established rules, policies, and procedures
Treat confidentiality and user privacy as a priority

You must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. While English proficiency is required, we welcome applicants who are fluent in other languages, especially Spanish (Español), Brazilian Portuguese (Português brasileiro), Russian (Русский), Chinese (中文), or Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia).

Applications are due 16 July 2025

Apply for Policy & Abuse Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.

Communications TikTok Moderator

Do you use TikTok? Do you like making videos? Do you want to connect with your fellow fans?

OTW TikTok Moderators create content for the OTW TikTok account, including drafting scripts, recording and editing videos, and reviewing other moderators' scripts and videos. Moderators address user comments on videos by responding to user questions, removing comments that violate our policies, and flagging comments for video topics. Moderators also try to regularly engage with fandom on TikTok by interacting with relevant, appropriate videos and liking, reposting, and/or commenting.

You must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. We are looking for volunteers familiar with TikTok and passionate about outreach on the platform. They should be able to maintain a consistent level of work, collaborate inside the team and with other committees, ask for help when needed, and commit to making fair decisions about how to handle comments.

Applications are due 16 July 2025 or after 60 applications

Apply for Communications TikTok Moderator at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/31894

Into the Woods

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/07/09/into-the-woods/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56385

Krissy is off visiting friends for a couple of days, and so it falls to me to take the dog for her daily walk through the local nature preserve. I mean, I could not do it, but then I would disappoint Charlie, and, look, you just do not want to disappoint a dog. She will look at you all mopey and sad for the whole rest of the day. No thank you. A walk is vastly preferable. Plus, you know. I need the exercise too.

How has your Wednesday been?

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/07/09/into-the-woods/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56385

Meanwhile, at the Unintentionally Erotic Bakery... (Part 2)

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/meanwhile-at-the-unintentionally-erotic-bakery-part-2-2025

"Deb, everyone keeps laughing at our new spiral donuts. Any idea why?"

"Really? Still? Drat. I even added a sign - I thought that would help."

"Yeah, about that....I'm not sure we should be telling customers to not get their "panties" in a twist. Could you change that?"

"Oh, sure."

"And make sure the new sign mentions we can heat the donuts up, too."

"You got it!"

_____________________________________________________

Attention, customers: THEY'RE JUST DONUTS.

Don't get your p***s in a twist.

P.S. Available Hot...

or Cold!

Thanks for the dough nuts, Sophie F.!

*****

Good news, there's a Volume 2!

Exceptionally Bad Dad Jokes, Vol II

This one has the word "spiffing" in the title AND comes with a lovely green-and-gold cover, so folks will recognize your sophisticated taste while begging you to stop telling these terrible, TERRIBLE jokes.

*****
And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/meanwhile-at-the-unintentionally-erotic-bakery-part-2-2025

how to be utterly unique

http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=4352


archive - contact - sexy exciting merchandise - search - about

SCIENCE CORNER: technically rocks can't yearn for anything, up to and including the gentle touch of meat

← previous

July 9th, 2025

July 9th, 2025: TONIGHT at The Beguiling: it's a FANTASTIC FOUR #1 signing! I'll be there from 4-6 and hopefully I will see YOU there too!

– Ryan

http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=4352

Irregular Webcomic! #2820 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2820.html

Some people can talk for what seems like forever.

2025-07-09 Rerun commentary: I've never really thought about why there's a crystal ball on Hitler's Brain's stand. Maybe it's a glass bowl that's a bit more spacious and he moves over there sometimes to relax.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2820.html

Wait…is this going to work?

Posted by thebloggess

https://thebloggess.com/2025/07/08/wait-is-this-going-to-work/

https://thebloggess.com/?p=43161

I have not been ignoring you but my blog has been broken and giving error messages every time I try to write, but I think maybe it’s fixed? I guess we’ll see if this goes through. I’m too tired to be entirely cohesive or funny but I wanted you to know that Hailey is homeContinue reading

https://thebloggess.com/2025/07/08/wait-is-this-going-to-work/

https://thebloggess.com/?p=43161

The Future's So Brite...

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/the-futures-so-brite-2025

With graduation season over, you might be tempted to revel in the heady hopes of a brighter tomorrow, what with all these freshly educated, newly degreed youngins descending upon our workforce and all.

I'm here to fix all that.

This cake was supposed to say - I kid you not - "It's a girl."

That apostrophe placement will be haunting my dreams tonight.

Of course, it's also possible to get the spelling and punctuation perfect, while still completely missing the point:

Granted, this could be a "he said, she said" issue.

Hey, remember when preschoolers were taught to put the square blocks in the square holes, and the round blocks in the round holes?

Do they not do that anymore?