skygiants | Network

Binti
by Nnedi Okorafor

This novella follows Binti, a young woman who is the first of her people to attend the presitigious intergalactic Oomza University. However, the university has wronged the Medusae, a jellyfish-like people, and when Binti's ship encounters them, things go sideways. As the sole survivor of the Medusae attack, it is up to Binti to find a path forward that does not plunge everyone into a bloody war. Then, she has to settle into her first semester of college.
I liked Binti a lot. She had both a strong connection to and love for her culture, but was also curious and willing to step outside of her comfort zone. She is brave and capable, but not necessarily a super tough badass. Okorafor comes up with some really cool details for her imagined sci-fi future - I especially liked the almost magical way math works. I am very eager to continue the series.

Current Mood: crappy

senmut

Apparently a Podfic thing went live today, and OH I got so lucky!

( 4 podfics )

juushika

Title: Who Goes There?
Author: John W. Campbell Jr.
Published: Wildside Press, 2022 (1938)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 537,090
Text Number: 1967
Read Because: these boys are old but it's fiction now (pop culture depictions of the Antarctic came up in "Placing Women in the Antarctic Literary Landscape" by Elizabeth Leane), borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: This make the adaptation look like a masterwork, scaling back the technobabble, landing on iconic images, preserving the important thrust of the plot. But I still enjoyed this! Campbell's prose is delightfully overwritten, for better ("No thing made by intelligent beings can tangle with the dead immensity of a planet’s natural forces and survive.") and worse (the flamethrower scene); dialog is no exception. And yet, the premise endures, and the bombast suits the Antarctic, the social tensions, the terror of the unknown, of contagion. Unique to the original story is that until threatened with harm, the thing passes as, it entirely is whatever it's shaped itself to be; scarier than the uncanny is the total conviction of a man the moment before he turns out to be a monster. Let Golden Age SF try too hard, okay? It's more fun than obnoxious.

wtfjht_feed

Posted by Matt Kiser

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/06/18/day-1611/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=daily_update

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/06/18/day-1611

1/ Trump approved U.S. strike plans on Iran but held back a final order, calling it his “ultimate ultimatum” for Tehran to dismantle its nuclear program. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, however, rejected Trump’s demand for an “unconditional surrender” and warned that U.S. intervention would bring “irreparable damage.” While Trump hasn’t made a final decision about whether to strike Iran, he suggested that “the next week is going to be big” and said “I like to make a final decision one second before it’s due, you know, because things change.” Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters: “I may do it, I may not do it. Nobody knows what I’m going to do.” The U.S. military, meanwhile, sent a second carrier strike group and F-22 fighters to the region. Trump said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “keep going” and claimed Iran is “defenseless” under Israeli pressure. (Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post / CNBC / Axios / CNN)

2/ The Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors, clearing the way for similar bans in at least 24 states to remain in effect. Tennessee’s law prohibits treatment “for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex” at birth. The 6-3 ruling rejected claims that the law violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause, with Chief Justice Roberts writing that “the Equal Protection Clause does not resolve these disagreements” over transgender care and that such questions belong to “the people, their elected representatives and the democratic process.” Justice Sotomayor dissented, saying the court “abandons transgender children and their families to political whims” and accused the majority of enabling “sex-based classification that is plain on the face of this statute.” (Associated Press / NPR / NBC News / Politico / CNN / Washington Post / ABC News / New York Times)

3/ The Trump administration ordered the national suicide hotline to shut down its LGBTQ youth services. The Department of Health and Human Services claimed it would “no longer silo LGB+ youth services,” omitting the “T” in its announcement, and said the program’s $33 million in congressionally directed funds had run out. The Trevor Project, which handled the calls, said it served over 231,000 LGBTQ youth through the 988 hotline last year, and warned the cut “could halve the number of people we serve.” The service will be shut down on July 17. (New York Times / Mother Jones / The 19th / Salon / Axios)

4/ The FDA approved a twice-yearly injectable drug that nearly eliminated new HIV infections in two clinical trials. The drug, sold as Yeztugo, is more effective than existing oral prevention drugs, but will cost $28,218 per year in the U.S. before insurance. It also arrives as the Trump administration has proposed a 35% cut to HIV prevention funding and shut down key CDC and NIH programs. (NBC News / Associated Press / New York Times)

5/ The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 4.25% to 4.5% and raised its inflation forecast, but signaled that it still expects two cuts later this year. Hours earlier, Trump called Fed Chair Jerome Powell “a stupid person” and demanded a 2.5-point rate cut, which would be one of the largest in Fed history. Powell said the Fed needs “more confidence about the path of inflation” and pointed to Trump’s tariffs as a key obstacle: “Without tariffs that confidence would be building.” Seven of the 19 Fed officials now expect no rate cuts in 2025, up from four in March, and the Fed raised its inflation forecast from 2.7% to 3%. Despite Trump’s public pressure, Powell said the Fed’s priority is a “solid American economy with a strong labor market and price stability.” (Politico / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNBC / CNN / NBC News / New York Times)

The Senate passed the GENIUS Act in a 68-30 vote, creating the first federal rules for stablecoins. The legislative also clears the way for Trump to profit from his crypto ventures while in office. The bill requires stablecoins to hold dollar-for-dollar reserves in short-term government debt and allows oversight by state or federal regulators. Lawmakers, however, rejected amendments to block Trump and other public officials from profiting off crypto ventures. The House must now choose to pass the Senate version or negotiate its own. (Bloomberg / Axios / New York Times)

6/ Social Security and Medicare will run out of reserve funds sooner than expected. Social Security’s combined trust funds are now projected to be depleted in 2034 – one year earlier than previously estimated – while Medicare’s hospital insurance fund is set to run out in 2033, three years earlier than last year’s projection. The shift follows a bipartisan law passed in 2024 that expanded benefits for nearly 3 million public-sector workers, along with revised assumptions for lower fertility and slower wage growth. If Congress doesn’t act, Social Security will only pay 81% of scheduled benefits and Medicare 89% once the trust funds are exhausted. (Politico / NPR / CNN / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)

The midterm elections are in 503 days.

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https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/06/18/day-1611/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=daily_update

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/06/18/day-1611

lauradi7dw

Flo (and B) had twins yesterday. Arthur and I and B's parents were down the hall in the waiting room as it happened. I was surprised to learn that I did indeed feel compelled to pace a little bit, as one used to see in the movies. It didn't take long - due to their positions, it was a scheduled Caesarean section, very efficiently done. Over quickly, but recovering will take Flo quite a while - it is major abdominal surgery, after all. So far so good.

phys_environment_feed

https://phys.org/news/2025-06-global-carbon-emissions-track-exhaust.html

The central estimate of the remaining carbon budget for 1.5°C is 130 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) (from the beginning of 2025). This would be exhausted in a little more than three years at current levels of CO2 emissions, according to the latest Indicators of Global Climate Change study published in the journal Earth System Science Data, and the budget for 1.6°C or 1.7°C could be exceeded within nine years.

https://phys.org/news/2025-06-global-carbon-emissions-track-exhaust.html

summersgate

Taken during a walk to the lake last evening. The lake really is that green. Probably because of the fertilizer coming down from the field above. But it's pretty.

A misty evening. Our corner of PA is very saturated right now. Every step you take sinks into the soft ground a little bit.

I took my painting satchel down to the creek this afternoon and laid everything out on the picnic table. I'm happy that I have all I need and I can travel with it.

Back porch wet rainbow flag.

Clover Abstract. I came home and added Winsor and Newton gold ink to finish it.

I finished watching all the Love on the Spectrum shows on Monday. I wish it could go on and on. I loved seeing those people so much.

j_crew_guy

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

china_shop posting in

sid_guardian

Poll #33265 Helpful Hallows?

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 4

View Respondents

When were the Hallows most beneficial?

View Answers

Sundial allowing Li Qian's grandmother to protect Li Qian (ep 2)
1 (25.0%)

Sundial giving a hint about where to find the Awl (ep 5)
0 (0.0%)

Sundial acting as locator device for Wang Zhang in the Hanga caves (ep 10)
0 (0.0%)

Awl making Wang Zheng an energy being (ep 10, flashback)
0 (0.0%)

Awl imprisoning revenge-rampage!Sang Zan (ep 10, flashback)
0 (0.0%)

Awl giving visions of the sub-zero lab (ep 19)
1 (25.0%)

Sundial shielding Zhao Yunlan from Ye Zun's energy attack (ep 20)
2 (50.0%)

Sundial exchange restoring Zhao Yunlan's eyesight (but corrupting Shen Wei's energy) ep 20
0 (0.0%)

All four --> time travel! (ep 34)
2 (50.0%)

All four --> time travel back! (ep 35)
3 (75.0%)

All four imprisoning revenge-rampage!Ye Zun (ep 35, flashback)
0 (0.0%)

All four facilitating the Skype call to YOHE (ep 38)
1 (25.0%)

The Lantern (with bullet) making a booby-trap for Ye Zun (ep 39)
0 (0.0%)

All four lighting Dixing (ep 40)
2 (50.0%)

other (please specify in comments)
1 (25.0%)

When Shen Wei heals himself in ep 2, it seems to cost him significantly more effort than any other time we see him do healing, because

View Answers

he's healing himself instead of someone else
0 (0.0%)

it's a physical injury rather than a failing life force (cf Teacher Zhang, Butler Wu)
1 (25.0%)

the injury hurts, owwww
1 (25.0%)

he's left it so long since the injury was incurred
1 (25.0%)

he's alone and doesn't have to hide his effort
2 (50.0%)

other (please specify in comments)
1 (25.0%)

Credits:
1. Thanks to

autodach for the Hallows spreadsheet where I sourced most of the answers to question 1. <3 <3 <3
2. Question 2 was first posted on my journal in 2020, inspired by a discussion with

laireshi. <3 <3 <3

beccaelizabeth

I had a really excellent realisation today
that made a story click together so neatly it made it look planned
which is always very nice

but

in order to convey it to an audience
I would somehow have to unpack and explain
the super mega crossover of doom
running in my head now
for decades
(probably for life, but I don't remember what toddler me was writing. probably it had more talking animals in it back then.)

So I do not currently see how to make that story emerge
but it was really neat in my head...

hurtcomfortexmod posting in

hurtcomfortex

Please leave a comment with what pinch hit you would like to claim, and your ao3 username, or e-mail us at hurtcomfortexmod@gmail.com with the same information. All rules which are relevant for regular assignments also apply to pinch hits.Including the rule that the freeform must be indicated in some way

PH 15 - NCIS: Los Angeles, Twin Peaks (TV 1990), Crossing Jordan, RoboCop (Movies 1987-1993)

PH 16 - Dragon Ball

( Additional Fandoms for PH 16 - Disgaea (Video Games), Metal Gear (Video Games) )

adrian_turtle

I have bifocals now. After more than 10 years of changing back and forth between reading glasses and distance glasses, I have to learn a whole different set of reflexes for looking at things. When to move my eyes. When to move my head and NOT my eyes.

I was fine with carrying reading glasses with me, even though it meant I couldn't just go out with what fit in my pockets. But it's tricky to change glasses while wearing an N95 mask and a broad-brimmed hat, especially when I don't have a table or even a lap where I can put down the pair I'm taking off. So I spent a lot of time in the wrong glasses. Unable to read the bus schedule on my phone or unable to see the bus stop sign telling me which direction the bus is going. Unable to find my way into the supermarket, or unable to read package labels. I appreciate how labels are color-coded and otherwise designed for the convenience of people who cannot read! But it's frustrating how often I bought the wrong thing, or had to ask for help.

Adjusting is ... not great
I woke up with a migraine 5 days in a row.
I stumbled and fell on a trolley platform yesterday. I very nearly fell off the trolley platform, so it was much more upsetting than it might be. I wasn't really hurt, but it was scary. It wasn't even one of the transit stops where the footing is particularly bad.

But the bifocals are great! They're great in the ways I had thought they would be. Even better, because my old distance prescription wasn't right. I can read my phone and read the labels on groceries and also see street signs. I can even see leaves in trees!

The problem is that I don't know how to look where I'm going, literally. When I wore plain distance glasses, my eyes were often aimed at the ground I was about to walk on. Especially when I was walking on rough ground, and most of the pavement in this neighborhood counts as rough ground. The line of the bifocals hides that "3 steps away" ground, and the "next step" ground I can see through the reading window feels harder to focus on than when I just walked around in reading glasses. Is this a solved problem? I presume some of you wear bifocals and look where you're going...do you tuck your chins or something?

primeideal

Hello! I'm also primeideal on Ao3. This is an all-Stormlight Archive signup, and I'm requesting both fic and art for all ships! Some of the freeforms will lend themselves more to certain ships than others, but feel free to mix and match.

Requested ships:

Dalinar Kholin/Navani Kholin
Hesina/Lirin
Kmakl/Fen Rnamdi
Lunamor/Tuaka
Masha-daughter-Shaliv/Szeth-son-son-Vallano
Palona/Turinad Sebarial
Renarin Kholin/Rlain
Shallan Davar/Adolin Kholin

General art likes:

black and white art
bright/bold colors
traditional or digital art
objects that represent/are strongly associated with characters
fantastic/speculative worldbuilding elements
in-universe artifacts/sketches that the characters might have drawn (similar in spirit to the snippets between chapters, although I'm not expecting Shallan-level expertise!)

General art dislikes (please don't consider these binding DNWs: if your interests or preferences lie strongly along these lines then feel free.)

pastel-heavy palettes
deliberately wildly disproportionate/chibi-like characters
completely non-representational art

General fic likes:

Anything leaning into the weird worldbuilding, culture, and magic of Roshar! For this exchange, I'm mostly imagining something canon-compliant, but if you have AU ideas (Dalinar lives? Shallan and Adolin don't get separated?) feel free.

DNWs:

explicit sex (but fade-to-black or innuendo is fine), explicit depictions of genitalia in art
eye trauma
underage characters having sex
rape/noncon
second person POV (in "normal" prose, happy with it in IF or the like)
moralizing/didactic stories (characters Learning An Important Lesson about the value of tolerance, etc.)
non-canonical allegories of current events and/or contemporary politics (Dalinar complains about the squabbling princedoms: fine; Dalinar complains about the squabbling princedoms and this is a metaphor for the 21st century US Congress: no thanks.)
character bashing
cliffhanger endings
themes of cynicism or futility, or that the (canon's) main plotlines "are for nothing"

Requested Prompts:

Historical - Bard Immortalizes Wedding In Ballad To Couple's Delight Or Embarrassment
- You know Wit would. And knowing him it would wind up as a traditional ballad in another place/time/somewhere else in the Cosmere. Or maybe the listeners adding to their traditional list of songs.
Supernatural - Familiar/Magical Companion's POV on Human's Spouse
- Doesn't literally need to be from the other character's POV, but something about the developing relationships between the spouse and the spren/other being. Adolin and Pattern? Shallan and Maya? Masha interviewing Nightblood for her book? The Sibling and the Stormfather bickering about how humans are the worst, and now they're inlaws?
Wedding - Marriage Traditions in Different Cultures
- Do peakspren ever show up to crash Horneater weddings? Palona is wearing a Herdazian marriage garment--more about that! What does a traditional Shin wedding look like for Masha and Szeth?
Wedding Ceremony - Magic-related accidents during wedding
A/B Read In-Universe RPF About Their Wedding
Epistolary media coverage/social media reaction/etc.
In-Universe Rumors About A/B Secret Marriage
- These would work well for Dalinar/Navani. (Especially "oh no Dalinar can read now, so much for secret women's documents.") But also, are there rumors about Renarin/Rlain? What do the common people of Thaylen think of the Prince Consort?
Widowed - Marrying Sibling's Widow
Established Marriage - Old Married Couple
Established Marriage - Partners Can’t Keep Their Hands Off Each Other Even After Years Together
- Fen and Kmakl definitely have this effect on people as they're pushing seventy.
Anniversary: Tenth
- We know ten is a very important number in Roshar lore. For Palona/Sebarial, their anniversary will be right around the end of the "timeskip" between books five and six--what's changed on Roshar in that time? Shallan and Adolin's will be slightly earlier than that--are they celebrating even when apart, or is Shallan working on a completely different calendar by now? Navani reflecting on most of ten years without Dalinar? The other couples, presumably having somewhat more mundane times to celebrate in?
Proposal - Post-canon
- I imagine Masha is the one who proposes to Szeth and it takes a while for him to be convinced "this is real, she doesn't see me as the Assassin in White, she knows who I am and loves me exactly as I am." But anything about how they got together!
Marrying for Love - Getting Married After Having Been Together For Many Years
Proposal - "We Could Be Dead Tomorrow So Let's Get Married Today"
- Something finally convinced Palona and Sebarial that they should make it official. Is Sebarial just worried about the class difference, and all the other social changes convinced him it wasn't a big deal? Did they just want a really great wedding night before the battle of champions? What happened?
Wedding - First Legal Marriage Of Its Kind
Political Marriage - Emergency Same-Sex Marriage Exception to Avert Imminent War
- We know that Alethkar/Urithiru has some form of same-sex marriage (Drehy and his husband), but maybe the idea of same-sex marriages (or formal long-term relationships in general?) is new to the listeners. Either way, Renarin/Rlain are going to get a lot of questions from both cultures. What happens then?
Wedding Ceremony - Watching A Friend/Family Member Get Married
- Especially for Adolin/Shallan, there's so much going on there. How are Shallan's brothers feeling? Do they recognize Chanarach? What's going on with her? Adolin chose to wore Kaladin's gift sword among the dozens other gift swords he had--what's with that?
Established Marriage - Slice Of Married Life During Wartime
- Lunamor and Tuaka have six kids--what's it like for her when she's waiting for news? Hesina and Lirin worried about their boys? Learning that they're going to have another baby and dealing with that shock during everything else that's going on? Being doctors at Urithiru?
Newlyweds - Helping New Spouse Settle Into Their New Clan/Village/City/Country
- Hesina isn't originally from Hearthstone--what was the culture shock like for her? Where do Renarin and Rlain wind up geographically and what adjustments do they have to make?
Established Marriage - Expectant Couple Prepares for Baby
- What are the pregnancy traditions for Horneaters? Hesina and Lirin, either earlier in their marriage with Kaladin and Tien, or later with Oroden?

Again, don't feel limited to these specific prompts, anything involving these characters and tropes will be great. Thank you for creating for me!

marycatelli

Kill the Villainess, Vol. 2 by Haegi

The story continues.

( Read more... )

phys_environment_feed

https://phys.org/news/2025-06-climate-depopulation-main-affecting-mountain.html

In Europe, mountain areas account for about 36% of the total territory and are home to 16% of the population, but they are crucial for the continent as a whole. The availability of basic commodities, like water, depends on them; they play a key role in carbon sequestration, and are areas of biodiversity.

https://phys.org/news/2025-06-climate-depopulation-main-affecting-mountain.html

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3104/

Numbers can be tricky. On the day of my 110th birthday, I'll be one day younger than John Tukey was on his.

https://xkcd.com/3104/

ranunculus

Yesterday morning Firefly and I went for our first real trail ride together. Carrie came over on Juno and we rode up the driveway, down Woodcutter's Ridge and then came back the same way. On the way out Firefly was full of energy and wanted to either walk really fast or trot. We walked, taking the lead on the trail. On the way back Firefly was suddenly not so enthusiastic and strolled along. Very like her, she loves getting out and always wants to do more. It was a good ride. Yes she is still pretty green and needs to learn a lot, but she never really put up a fuss.

In the afternoon M flew in from Alaska. On the way to Santa Rosa to get him I dropped off the pole saw, which is very broken. It will get a complete tuneup and a quick look at the leaking chain oil chamber. I also took one of the weed whackers down. Darren fixed it on the spot, replacing a bent pin that was preventing the knob that selects for Off-Start-Run from working. The machine also got a new plastic casing, as one part was destroyed. While chatting with Darren I learned: fuel mix (the oily fluid I mix with gasoline to make two cycle fuel) does not go bad. Yes, I can use that container of fuel mix that is several years old. Also learned that why one should keep a chain really sharp. Dull chains drag through the wood heating up both the chainsaw bar and the motor. A sufficiently hot motor warps everything inside it and stops working. Good sharp chains not only keep the saw cool, but they cut a heck of a lot faster. I'm SLOWLY learning to hand sharpen chains in a reasonable length of time.

Chena is very, very glad to have M back. He plays with her all the time. I'm happy to have him here too.

unendingwanderlust posting in

unconventionalcourtship

Title: Ave Caesar
Author:

unendingwanderlust
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Pairing/Characters: Buffy Summers/Rupert Giles
Rating: Explicit (NC17)
Length: 2,685 words
Summary: For ex-cavalry officer Rupert Giles, duty always comes first. His task to escort the Roman emperor's latest captive should be easy. But one look at his fiery slave and Giles wants to put his own desires before everything else. For Buffy, her powerful, battle-honed captor has her head in conflict with her heart. Bound by a new-found bondage of emotions, it's not long before Buffy wonders whether she wants to come out of this perilous journey to Rome with her virtue intact!

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66336622

Current Mood: happy

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/06/18/mixology-monday-at-salar/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56115

If you’ve been reading my posts for a bit, you may remember me doing a piece or two over my favorite restaurant, Salar. The posts I’ve done have been featuring their wonderful monthly wine dinners they host, but today I’m here to talk about one of their other monthly events I enjoy: Salar’s Mixology Monday!

This was the second Mixology Monday I’ve attended, the theme of this one being “Blended Beverages.” Listen, I’m a basic white girl, you already know I love a fun, blended bevvie. What I dislike, though, is the sound of a blender, especially if I’m dining at a fine establishment. It totally ruins the vibes and detracts from the classy aura of a really nice restaurant.

Fortunately, our lovely mixologist for the evening feels the exact same way, and the event was held on the secluded back patio of the restaurant so we wouldn’t disturb other guests. Salar’s back patio is my favorite patio in Dayton. It has a beautiful pergola, pretty string lights, and tons of plants that make it feel vibrant and lush.

Check out the mixologist’s setup:

A bar-station set up on one of the patio's tables. There's several different bottles of liquor, a bucket of lemons and limes, fresh herbs and sliced berries, and a thing of tajin and black volcanic salt for rimming glasses.

I thought it was odd there was a dish of poppyseeds, but upon closer inspection it was black lava salt for rimming the glass. My (silly) mistake!

Since Salar is a Peruvian restaurant, I started off with a blended Pisco Sour, which I was informed is the national drink of Peru.

My blended pisco sour, frozen and icy with four drops of bitters on top.

This was so light and refreshing, the fact it was all icy and frozen only added to that refreshing-ness. She actually let me mix this myself, which was fun.

One of my favorite things about Salar is that when you dine here, their version of “bread for the table” is housemade pita and hummus, which was served at this event, as well:

A white bowl holding some triangular pieces of pita, and there's a smaller black bowl in the middle containing the hummus, which is green in color due to the herbs they use in it. It sits atop a bed of spinach.

Their hummus is so unique, it’s super herbaceous and fresh tasting, and their pita is perfectly golden brown and crisp. I love that they start you off with something so fun compared to just regular bread and butter (not that I don’t also love good bread and butter).

Unlike their monthly wine dinners, where everyone is served their own plate per course, the Mixology Mondays have a smaller crowd (only about ten people) and are more casual in tone, so the food is served family style on larger platters that get passed around, and you just take however much you want and put it on your own plate.

Here’s some roasted veggies we were served:

A big white bowl full of roasted squash, roasted bell pepper, green beans, mushrooms, all that good stuff.

There was also a salad with grilled chicken, elote, and some kind of really yummy green dressing over top, but I failed to get a picture of that one. I do, however, have a picture of the tofu dish the kitchen made for someone with dietary restrictions, and that looked tasty:

A small grey plate with some salad, topped with two giant chunks of tofu that are dark orange in color, probably have been marinated and grilled the same way the chicken was.

Actually, I now notice that the salad the tofu is sitting on top of is definitely the same salad mix that the one with chicken had, so just imagine that salad but with chicken on top instead and that’s what I had.

Of course, gotta get our second bev going:

A super cute pineapple shaped glass filled with a reddish pink liquid. The drink is topped with a blackberry and a raspberry, plus a pineapple frond for garnish.

I absolutely love this pineapple glass it was served it, plus the pineapple toothpick and pineapple frond decoration was so cute. This drink was made with blackberries, raspberries, I honestly don’t remember what else but it was so fruity and totes delish! I felt transported to a hammock on a beach.

Even though I came alone, everyone was sat at one long table and I ended up having some great conversations with my tablemates. It was so fun chatting, sharing food, sipping our drinks, it was definitely more friendly and chill than I was expecting. Good vibes all around.

And to finish the evening, a strawberry margarita made with Mezcal, with a tajin covered lime for optimal enjoyment:

A short glass filled with pink liquid. The drink is topped with a lime wedge that is covered in tajin.

As you can probably tell, it was pretty warm out so the drinks did tend to melt kind of quickly, but they tasted just as good in liquid form as frozen form, so I can’t complain too much.

All in all, both the food and the drinks were super summery and tasty, the conversation was easy-going and fun, and it was just a pleasant way to spend a Monday evening. I look forward to the next one of these I attend.

What’s the best complimentary bread and butter you’ve had at a restaurant? Do you like pisco sours? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!

-AMS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/06/18/mixology-monday-at-salar/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56115