rocky41_7: (Default)
[personal profile] rocky41_7 posting in [community profile] books
You know that feeling where you're enjoying inhabiting a book so much you don't want to reach the end? This week I finished The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison, and that's how I felt.
 
Witness is a companion novel to Addison's breakout novel, The Goblin Emperor (TGE), which I read for the first time last year and never got around to reviewing. You don't need to have read TGE to enjoy this one at all; Witness focuses on a minor character from TGE and his adventures after the events of that novel. Thara Celehar is a prelate of the god Ulis, and his role in elven society is something like a cross between a priest and a private detective. He has the ability to commune, in a limited fashion, with the dead, and he is employed by the city to provide this service to the people. This may involve reporting a deceased's last thoughts to a mourner, asking a deceased to clarify a point on their will, or seeking answers from a murder victim to bring their killer to justice.

Read more... )
 

Lake Lewisia #1272

Jul. 2nd, 2025 04:50 pm
scrubjayspeaks: Town sign for (fictional) Lake Lewisia, showing icons of mountains and a lake with the letter L (Lake Lewisia)
[personal profile] scrubjayspeaks
Something small and light flitted among the heavier tomes in that Accidental Library, only a few pages thick and folded up like a praying mantis. The zines were not juveniles, nor were they parasites, for all that they liked to populate the small, unused corners of the colonies and often built themselves from scraps and remnants of the bigger books. They were, perhaps, best understood as distant relations, ones with punk tendencies and transient habits, united nonetheless by their hearts of knowledge.

---

LL#1272
sovay: (PJ Harvey: crow)
[personal profile] sovay
I was so transfixed by the Bittersweets' "Hurtin' Kind" (1967) that I sat in the car in front of my house listening until it was done. The 1965 original is solid, stoner-flavored garage rock with its keyboard stomp and harmonica wail, but the all-female cover has that guitar line like a Shepard tone, the ghostly descant in the vocals, the singer's voice falling off at the end of every verse: it sounds like an out-of-body experience of heartbreak. The outro comes on like a prelude to Patti Smith.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard two songs about mental unwellness within the same couple of hours, actually I'd be swimming in nickels, but I appreciated the contrast of the slow-rolling dread-flashover of Doechii's "Anxiety" (2025) with Marmozets' "Major System Error" (2017) just crashing in at gale force panic attack. Hat-tip to [personal profile] rushthatspeaks for the former. I must say that I am missing my extinct music blogs much less now that I spend so much time in the car with college radio on.

"Who'll Stand with Us?" (2025) is the most Billy Bragg-like song I have heard from the Dropkick Murphys and a little horrifically timely.

Non-musically, I think I might explode. The curse tablets are not cutting it.
bluedreaming: (pseudonym - deathskirts)
[personal profile] bluedreaming posting in [community profile] fan_flashworks
Fandom: Stoker
Rating: M/R
Length: 100 words
Content notes: references to past canonical major character death (murder), callous reflections on bodies and decomposition, no sexual content
Author notes: The title is from SCIENCE FICTION by Les Murray and ON LEAVING THE BODY TO SCIENCE by Claudia Emerson.
Summary: In which India thinks about her uncle.

Read more... )

Sunshine Revival Post

Jul. 2nd, 2025 01:23 pm
yourlibrarian: Every Kind of Craft on green (Every Kind of Craft Green - yourlibraria)
[personal profile] yourlibrarian
1) As part of [community profile] sunshine_revival's first challenge: "Creative Prompt: Shine a light on your own creativity. Create anything you want (an image, an icon, a story, a poem, or a craft) and share it with your community."

I just shared some necklaces I made a few months back over at [community profile] everykindofcraft. I did a lot of beading in the first 13 years after I took it up, but things have been rather start and stop in the last 10. A craft store closeout + a challenge from a relative got me making some new things in the last few months. That probably also contributed to my starting [community profile] everykindofcraft here, because I saw various people posting wonderful stuff that not many people were seeing, whereas on Pillowfort some general craft communities there are always getting posts.

Hopefully we can get more crafters sharing here!

2) Have been watching a slew of Apple+ shows as our subscription cutoff nears. The miniseries Disclaimer was framed in an interesting way, one which I suspect had a lot more clarity in multimedia than in the book, but perhaps not. It uses multiple narrative voices and POV for the narration, including second person, first person, and some omniscient narrative. This was pretty relevant because of who was being framed (literally) and who actually got to have their voice(s) heard. Read more... )

3) Surface is a story told in a much more straightforward manner even though it also involves an unreliable narrator of sorts in that our central character had memory loss and is trying to piece together her past which also involves a parental mystery. Read more... )

4) Also saw the movie Wolfs, which is fine but largely a vehicle for us to watch Pitt and Clooney do fun stuff. Read more... )

5) Finished The Big Conn and Cowboy Cartel, two documentaries about big crime. I found the former much more interesting, even though I'd heard about the case before. What was probably the most striking about both was the role of the media in precipitating change. Read more... )

6) Careme was marketed as the story of the first celebrity chef, who served Napoleon, Tallyrand and others. It was certainly about far more than cooking. Read more... )

Poll #33317 Kudos Footer-529
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Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 4

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Monthly dS Art Digest (June 2025)

Jul. 2nd, 2025 08:22 am
mortmere: (Default)
[personal profile] mortmere posting in [community profile] ds_noticeboard
Oh dear, I had everything ready waiting for the turn of the month and then I practically slept trough yesterday, Canada Day of all days! Anyway, June is history, here's the art:
 
 
ARTIST: capispaghetti
 
RayK and Fraser
 
A RayV meme
 
 
ARTIST: gjdraws
 
A documentary by Diefenbaker (Fraser/RayV)
 
 
ARTIST: look_turtles
 
Love Amidst The Cherry Blossom (fic cover)
 

ARTIST: mariemeetsmisery
 
Ray K’s outfit in I Coulda Been A Defendant
 
 
ARTIST: mortmere
 
[ART] Lupine Bond (F/K)
 
[ART] A Smart Animal Trying to Make a Living in Tough Conditions (F/K)

Challenge 484: Science

Jul. 2nd, 2025 11:25 am
china_shop: Close up of the two of them, with Zhao Yunlan looking at Shen Wei. (Guardian - two shot)
[personal profile] china_shop posting in [community profile] fan_flashworks
Our new challenge is:

SCIENCE



As always, you can interpret the prompt literally or figuratively, in whatever way works for you.

Each work created for this challenge should be posted as a new entry to the comm. Posting starts now and continues up until the challenge ends at 4pm Pacific Time on Thursday, 10 July. No sign-up required.

Mods will tag your work with fandom and challenge. When you've posted entries to three consecutive challenges, you will earn a name tag, and we'll go back and tag all your previous entries with your name.

All kinds of fanworks in all fandoms are welcome. Please have a look at our guidelines before you play. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact a mod. And if you have any suggestions for future challenges, you can leave them in the comments of this post.

Also, keep an eye out for the next [community profile] ffw_social post, which will go up in the next couple of days. If you haven't joined the [community profile] ffw_social comm, it's never too late to come and check it out. (Posts are locked, which means you have to join to see them.)

Admin: Challenge closed

Jul. 2nd, 2025 11:21 am
china_shop: Bert and Ernie have a rubber duck (Bert & Ernie with rubber duck)
[personal profile] china_shop posting in [community profile] fan_flashworks
Our eightieth Amnesty challenge is now closed. Here are the entries:

Je Ne Regrette Rien Challenge: Madagascar 3: wallpaper: no regrets by [personal profile] lilly_c
Background Challenge: S.W.A.T.: Fan Fiction: No Longer In The Background by [personal profile] darkjediqueen
Pink Challenge: FAKE: Fanfic: Pink Shirts by [personal profile] badly_knitted
Animal Challenge: FAKE: Fanfic: Animal by [personal profile] badly_knitted
enemies challenge: star trek voyager: wallpaper: prayin’ on my downfall by [personal profile] lilly_c
Resolutions challenge: star trek voyager: wallpaper: burned with desire by [personal profile] lilly_c
Restraints: Original Fiction: Inappropriate Use of Rune-Carved Cuffs by [personal profile] analogbasilisk
Yarn/Charity Challenges: Miss Marple: Fanfic: An Act of Charity by [personal profile] smallhobbit
Nap Challenge: FAKE: Fanfic: Different Strokes by [personal profile] badly_knitted
Trapped: due South: Fanfiction: Closeted by [personal profile] lucy_roman
Double: "Harry Potter": Fanart: Double Date by [personal profile] digthewriter
Teaching Challenge: Stargate SG-1: Fanfic: Necessary Skill by [personal profile] badly_knitted
Sign Challenge: FAKE: Fanfic: Just Married by [personal profile] badly_knitted
Nightmare: Original Fiction: The Past Lives In The Shadows by [personal profile] analogbasilisk
Dragon Challenge: Sherlock Holmes (ACD): Fanfic: A Tolerant Landlady by [personal profile] smallhobbit
Swallow: Original Fiction: A Question Older Than Time by [personal profile] analogbasilisk
Sorry Challenge: Stargate SG-1: Fanfic: Accepted by [personal profile] badly_knitted
Family Challenge: Adventure Time: Fanfiction: Families are Tricky by [personal profile] infinitum_noctem
Yellow Challenge: Stargate SG-1: Fanfic: Too Alien by [personal profile] badly_knitted
Diamonds and Pearls challenge: Law & Order: fic: strung together by [personal profile] lilly_c
The Last Word: xxxHoLiC: Fanfic: death as a perfect circle (that elusive object) by [personal profile] bluedreaming
Mischief Challenge: Stargate SG-1: Fanfic: Prank by [personal profile] badly_knitted
Spy Challenge: Spooks (MI5): Fanfic: The picture in Vogue by [personal profile] smallhobbit
Finger Challenge: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fanfic: Battle Wounds by [personal profile] badly_knitted
Feed: Original Fiction: Melancholic, And Hungry by [personal profile] analogbasilisk
Nap: Tokyo Mew Mew Olé: Fanfic: Interrupted Cat Nap by [personal profile] soullessserenity
School Challenge: Torchwood: Fanfic: Treasured by [personal profile] m_findlow
Rainbow Challenge: FAKE: Fanfic: Pride At Work by [personal profile] badly_knitted
Cave + Nightmare + Spark Challenges: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fanfic: Flicker of a Dream by [personal profile] veronyxk84
Bounce: Original Fiction: the key to bonding is at the base by [personal profile] analogbasilisk
Influences Challenge: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fanfic: Bad Influences by [personal profile] badly_knitted
Dragon: The Double: Dragon and Phoenix by [personal profile] teaotter
Hit the Wall Challenge: Greek Myth: Fanfic: Be Well by [personal profile] drabblewriter
Borrowed Title: Guardian: fanfic: Pages for You by [personal profile] china_shop
Dust Challenge: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fanfic: Dusted by [personal profile] badly_knitted
Red challenge : Iron Man comics : icons : Shiny Red by [personal profile] highlander_ii

Also, congratulations to [personal profile] bluedreaming, who earned a name tag.

\o/ \o/ \o/

Thank you to everyone who participated! You're now free to post your entries to your journal or wherever else you'd like. If you're archiving on AO3, you can add your work to our fan_flashworks collection there.

New challenge coming right up.
highlander_ii: Tony in the Iron Man suit minus the helmet ([MCU] 005)
[personal profile] highlander_ii posting in [community profile] fan_flashworks
Title: Shiny Red
Fandom: Iron Man / Marvel comics
Rating: PG
Content notes: None apply
Summary: icons of Tony Stark / Iron Man - armor, bath towels, even shirts for racquetball - all red


Shiny Red )
sovay: (Otachi: Pacific Rim)
[personal profile] sovay
Rabbit, rabbit! I had to go for my annual physical this afternoon, but I stopped by Porter Square Books afterward to collect a book for my mother and look what was part of their summer sea-display:



I had wanted to write about so many queer films for June, but the month disappeared. Fortunately before we ran out of the formal observance of Pride, [personal profile] rushthatspeaks and I made it to Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Querelle (1982) at the Coolidge. It was adapted from the 1947 novel by Jean Genet, but I have never seen anything onscreen that more resembled the novels of Chip Delany. Meant in sincere compliment, it is one of the sweatiest films I have ever seen. It looks like it smells like a porno theater. Its antihero is straight out of Tom of Finland with his sailor's tight, tight white trousers and muscular cleavage revealed by the barest excuse for an A-shirt, his boyish, chiseled, louche face under his insolently cocked bachi in the sullen, enticing haze that never varies from the sodium-smoke of just after sunset or just before dawn, a perpetual cruising hour. The sea-wall of its fantasized Brest is studded with stone phalli, anatomically complete with slit and balls. All graffiti in town is dicks. The chanteuse of the dive bar sings Wilde like Dietrich, but some of the construction workers with their buff hard hats are playing video games while the naval lieutenant who pines for Querelle records his poetically criminal obsessions into a portable tape recorder. The bare-chested, leather-vested cop at the bar actually is a cop outside of it, where he looks just as fetishistic in his fedora and black leather trenchcoat. Every interaction between men looks like a negotiation or a seduction whether it is one or not, although on some level it always is, regardless of the no-homo excuses manufactured to allow their bodies to meet. Constantly, metaphysically, literally, this movie fucks. Its hothouse, bathhouse sexuality must have come in just under the cutting wire of AIDS. I have no idea what it would offer a viewer with no sexual or aesthetic interest in men except its philosophy, although as my husband notes the philosophy is actually quite good, deconstructing its hard masc signifiers as much as it gets off on them, dissolving in and out of the words and ultimately the life of Genet; the theatricality of its interlocked sets and swelteringly flamboyant lighting would look entirely natural on the stage. It quotes Plutarch and stages a hand job that without a glimpse of cock would have caused mass apoplexies in the Breen office. (Send it back in time, please.) It was my introduction to Fassbinder and if I had seen it as an adolescent, I imagine it would have had much the same effect as Tanith Lee. It was introduced by the series programmer wearing leather in its honor and a T-shirt for Kenneth Anger's Scorpio Rising (1963). It made a superb date movie.

Content License

Jul. 1st, 2025 03:42 pm
badly_knitted: (Rose)
[personal profile] badly_knitted posting in [community profile] fan_flashworks

Title: Dusted
Fandom: BtVS
Author: [personal profile] badly_knitted
Characters: Buffy.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 200
Spoilers/Setting: Early Season 2.
Summary: Vampire dust goes everywhere.
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 483: Amnesty 80, using Challenge 439: Dust.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters.
A/N: Double drabble.



Dusted... )
china_shop: Two Chinese men (the Envoy and Kunlun) in historical dress sit facing each other. Blue background with a pink heart sketched in it. (Guardian - bb!Envoy/Kunlun heart)
[personal profile] china_shop posting in [community profile] fan_flashworks
Title: Pages for You
Fandom: Guardian (TV)
Rating: T-rated
Length: 1,767 words
Notes: Title from a novel by Sylvia Brownrigg. Much thanks to [personal profile] trobadora for beta. <3
Tags: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Post-Canon, Everyone Lives AU, Established Relationship, Domesticity, Fade to Black
Summary: Over the course of the evening, an impulse had taken root, and now Shen Wei submitted to it. He switched on his desk lamp, laid out several large sheets of paper and quietly ground some ink. If Zhao Yunlan wanted to read of their time together through the eyes of a Dixingren soldier, who better than Shen Wei to write an account—to show Zhao Yunlan exactly how much his arrival had meant to the war effort and to Shen Wei himself.

Pages for You )