smallhobbit: (Lucas 2)
[personal profile] smallhobbit posting in [community profile] ficlet_zone
Title: Like Rain at a Picnic
Fandom: Spooks (MI5)
Author: smallhobbit
Rating: G
Challenge: #91 - Clint Black - Like the rain
Spoilers: None
Summary: Lucas feels his presence will be unwelcome

Like Rain at a Picnic

[#279] The Village Library (Original)

Oct. 25th, 2025 02:08 pm
badly_knitted: (Rose)
[personal profile] badly_knitted posting in [community profile] fandomweekly

Theme Prompt: #279 – Haunted Library
Title: The Village Library
Fandom: Original.
Rating/Warnings: PG / None
Bonus: No
Word Count: 1000
Summary: It’s a lovely little village library, and a valuable local resource for all residents, including those in the cemetery next door.




tielan: a vivid quilt in a rainbow of colours (quilting)
[personal profile] tielan
On Saturday, I had a Frocktails event in town, and was trying to work out what I could wear. I briefly contemplated this dress which I made back in 2018 and wore for a 'Frocks and Croqs' event (croquet).

Finish along Q4 2018


However, seven years have passed since those days and I no longer fit into the dress:
Lacing a dress


and herein lies a tale )

I think I'm going to have to do this with other dresses that I don't fit into any more. At least one, if I still have it (I have a feeling I might have given it away).
fanweeklymod: (Default)
[personal profile] fanweeklymod posting in [community profile] fandomweekly
Challenge 279:
HAUNTED LIBRARY
Books as far as the eye can see, neatly maintained shelves with just the occasional hint of dust, the gentle murmur of whispered conversation. It’s a good place to do some research, a little light reading, or just some relaxing – quiet, peaceful, pleasant.

Maybe a little bit too quiet. Those conversations should be audible, but somehow they’re always just a little too low to hear. There’s a few lights burned out, but some of the shadows are just a little too deep, just a little too impenetrable. And – hey, didn’t the library close twenty minutes ago?

Write a story about a haunted library.

BONUS GOAL: Bats in the Belfry

If your submission features bats, it will earn an extra point to be tallied in voting!


Challenge ends Monday, October 27 at 9:00PM EST.
• Post submissions as new entries using the template in the profile
• Tag this week's entries as: [#] submission, 279 – haunted library
• If you have questions about this challenge, please ask them here

[#278] Appetizer (Darkwood)

Oct. 22nd, 2025 08:06 pm
skysedge: (Default)
[personal profile] skysedge posting in [community profile] fandomweekly
Theme Prompt: #278 - Dark forest
Title: Appetizer
Fandom: Darkwood (videogame)
Rating/Warnings: R - unsettling/horror imagery, implied violence, mentions of death, spoilers for the Wolfman's quest line
Bonus: No
Word Count: 315
Summary: The Wolfman doesn't want to be hungry forever.

(This is my first time posting to this comm, hope I've done everything okay!)

Read more... )
imhilien: Lady Riding (Lady Riding)
[personal profile] imhilien posting in [community profile] fandomweekly
Theme Prompt: #278 - Dark forest
Title: The Distant Forest
Fandom: Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey
Rating / Warnings: PG
Bonus: No
Word Count: 399
Summary: The Pelagiris Forest was far away, but still had an influence on Jeren's village.

Read more... )

[admin post] Admin Post: [#278 | Dark Forest] Amnesty

Oct. 20th, 2025 11:45 pm
fanweeklymod: (Default)
[personal profile] fanweeklymod posting in [community profile] fandomweekly
It is once again mini-amnesty time! Toss your Dark Forest fills (and just for fun, let's say any fills for other #270-anything prompts) at the community until Wednesday at 9pm, or whenever after that your friendly neighborhood mod has a chance to get the new challenge up.
m_findlow: (Wolf)
[personal profile] m_findlow posting in [community profile] fandomweekly
Theme Prompt: #278 - Dark forest
Title: Watching the Watch
Fandom: Game of Thrones (ASOIAF)
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Something is lurking out in the depths of the forest, watching the Night's Watch.

Read more... )

From Porto to home, with pics of Bath

Oct. 19th, 2025 07:17 am
tielan: lorne (Angel - Lorne)
[personal profile] tielan
All right. I haven't been very good about posting here while I was away - not enough time, brainspace, or even a mouse with which to copy-paste the photos in.

From Derbyshire to Bath was just a train trip, and the canal boat where I was staying was fairly close to the station and the town. It was easy enough to find...I just walked right past it!

Bath, bed, and beyond!
The bedroom of the canal boat where I stayed in Bath.

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I didn't take any other photos of the place. It was a very individual space, and the host made no effort to vanish the way so many other hosts seemed to do. I don't know if it's a memo that's gone out where the people who live in the house are instructed to vanish as much as possible so they don't have to interact with the guests, or the guests don't have to see them or what, but I found that most hosts on my travels tended to vanish into their rooms.

David of the canal boat did not. He and his partner were very friendly and chatty, checking in if we wanted cups of tea or a drink or breakfast. He made me breakfast on the morning I left (because I had to leave before sunrise to catch a morning train into London to catch the flight to Porto) and was exceedingly kind and polite.

After staying in the canal boat, I have realised that I may be a little bit claustrophobic. The place was lovely, but I felt crowded in all the time with the low roof and everything. I could deal with it, but it got vaguely on my nerves.

This is another canal boat, but not the one that I stayed in. Mine was wider - this one pictured is a narrow boat, but the guy who owned the boat I was on had the boat specially made so he could fit a grand piano in it!

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Bath is on a river and all through the UK there are locks that allow for boats to move up and down different water levels. On the Saturday after the P&P pilgrimage, I went for a walk up the canal and past the locks. And spotted several different kinds of 'wildlife':

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Bath has plenty of Georgian-Regency architecture (of course), with a heavy emphasis on classical style and design.

A building near the original springs that gave the town its name, and Bath Abbey (also near the original springs).
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Ginormous thing, isn't it?

I did a session at the spa on Saturday morning and it was SOOOO GOOOOOOOOD. I tried to book a massage but there weren't any times or sessions available. But the sessions were pretty much the use of any of the pools, steam rooms, saunas, and suchlike in the building for a two-hour period.

Frankly, I'm surprised I wasn't more pruney by the end of it. All the water was heated - apparently it comes out of the springs at around 46C and they just let it cool to a more comfortable temperature. Also, chlorinate and generally clean, because the colour of the water that comes from the spring is a distinct greenish colour and it might be a little disconcerting. (Not to mention people will accidentally get some of it in their mouths and it's not exactly tasty.)

I think the spa day helped significantly in easing the twitches that my butt and hip were giving me after the long walks of the P&P pilgrimage. So good.

Then there's the actual springs from which the city gets its name. The Romans built an entire complex around the springs, including a temple for the goddess Minerval Sulis (Sulis was the local deity, who got merged with Minerva, the Roman version of Athena).

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Of course the Georgians did it up...in the Greek/Roman classical style. Which is pretty much what we're seeing today.

Fish and chips in Bath:
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Stourhead Gardens on Sunday (with my cousin and his wife). Some guy who was an architect to the rich and famous of the day bought this place up and basically got it fully landscaped, then built all kinds of grottoes with statues and springs, and a couple of temple structures in the Greek classical style because: why not?

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If you recognise the temple structure, it was used in the 2005 P&P movie for the 'unwelcome first proposal' that Darcy makes to Elizabeth. You know, the classic scene in the rain and the wet...

My cousin didn't know this when he suggested Stourhead, but was tickled when he learned about it. It was so commonly asked that the National Trust member who was at that site had an ipad with the scene stored on it!

And a set of windows that made me think 'Hobbiton'. I really do need to make it to NZ one of these years.

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Bath to London Gatwick, and off I was flying to Porto.

--

Porto was the section of the trip i was most uncertain about. The friend I'd been planning to visit wasn't in town and I'd never been before, so had no idea of what to expect.

Frankly, I needn't have worried.

A port with port
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More than enough buildings and history and city tours to keep me occupied, and that was without the port or wine options. I did take a visit to the Douro Valley and it was amazing.

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Daniel also had fun and was greatly admired:
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Big walking tour with a historian on Wednesday, up and down and through and through the stairs and spaces of the city:
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And a 'lego' John the Baptist. Not appreciated by the locals.
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Sunset over the river from the Jardim do Morro. And I got dinner, too. It was a surprisingly excellent dinner given the location was a big tourist point. Usually the touristing is good and the food is crappy. The food here was good.

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Lots of murals and brightly-coloured walls. Also tiling decorations, just casually there. Which, of course, Porto is known for - their regional train station (different to the urban one) has entire murals that were glazed into the tiles when the place was first built a couple of hundred years ago. I do not have photos of this.
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And finally in Porto at one of the restaurants I was at: a slice of fandom on a condensed milk mousse!

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--

There was a small bit of drama getting from Porto to the Netherlands. Due to Reasons, my flight was 90 minutes delayed. I only had 70 minutes to make my connecting flight at Frankfurt. That said, I was booked on the same airline for the connecting flight and they (luckily) had a later flight that day, but instead of arriving in Amsterdam Schiphol at 6pm, I wouldn't make it there until 10:30pm. And then I had to get to my lodgings!

I communicated with the host I was staying with, and they were very good about my late arrival. And fortunately Dutch public transport is very safe and very efficient. Within an hour of landing, I was at my lodgings, and my host was letting me in.

But a trip that was supposed to take about 6 hours from start to finish ended up taking more than double that. Oof.

--

The point of the Netherlands was to see family and friends. So Saturday was with my stepbrother A, his wife A, her cousin V, and my nephew L. L is about 3, and adorably funny. He was a bit shy to begin with, but got the hang of me by the end of the day (my willingness to make dinosaur noises helped immensely). And by Sunday night we were making silly faces for photos. (If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!)

Netherlands, family, and friends
On Saturday we did a Van Gogh experience in Utrecht and walked around the city.

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Then walked around Utrecht, which I'd seen before on at least one tour, but really wanted more time to explore.

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Sunday I spent with just the stepbrother and nephlet walking around Rotterdam. Nephlet and the SIL and cousin V were heading off to Paris on the Monday, and I had plans to spend Monday with a friend who I've known for over twenty years, since the old Stargate SG1 days.

Behold! Our lemmings, Daniel and Heimdall!

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Tuesday, we went out and down to Zeeland, the bit of the Netherlands best known for the building of dykes, and for agricultural produce.

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Veere is a town that was thriving in the 16th Century-ish, before a sandbar developed at the main entrance to their port and rendered them unable to take the big shipping boats. It was so huge because this was the major port for the Scottish in the Netherlands. Which remains in such small details as carvings of sheep and thistles in the housing, and a Scottish flag hanging outside one of the older buildings.

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The old Town Hall. Note the empty niches in the building front? I'm always curious about those and what statues used to stand there. Patron saints? Local magnates? Sheep?

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Wednesday I had lunch with my stepbrother and we talked about the family and his plans for the future.


--

The flight to Toronto was uneventful. 7 hours, quite a long time, but pretty ordinary.

I wrestled my bag onto the airport train and then onto the Toronto metro. And then onto a street tram. I love public transport.

The place I was staying seemed like a good neighbourhood - a high school nearby with an athletics field, a the trams run in to the city one block away, and there were plenty of restaurants and quite a few painted murals around the street.

colourful and interesting
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The host had a friendly cat that looks like my Maladicta:
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She also seemed like a bit of a fannish type - once upon a Harry Potter, if you know what I mean, as well as the Sarah J Maas series and other series I've heard mentioned in the romantasy line of things. But I didn't really get to ask many questions, she kept mostly to herself.

In Toronto, I was hoping to go and see Niagara Falls, but didn't realise it was an entire day trip. And then I didn't like the timing of any of the ones that were offered. So instead I spent the day in the city, just exploring with a walking tour and wandering around.

Sculptures in the city:
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The CN tower in reflection, with Daniel and Li'l Pig.
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And apparently someone...likes dwarves? As building decorations?
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IDK. Can you explain it? I haven't looked it up, but I sure am curious!


I arranged to meet up with [personal profile] jenab on Saturday morning for brunch and we sat and talked for at least two, maybe three hours? It was lovely to meet and eat and talk with a fannish friend before I headed off to the station.

--

Caught the train to Ottawa. Very comfy, if a bit expensive because I only booked the week before. Do it way earlier and you save something like $100! Anyway, I really have to do more travelling by train in Canada... Maybe next year? *weak smile*

Staying with [personal profile] alphaflyer, and got to celebrate a Canadian Thanksgiving on Sunday night. My very first Thanksgiving. (We don't do it in Australia, it's just Christmas for our family/feast get-togethers, although my family also does Chinese New Year in late January/early February.) It was delightful! The turkey, the pies, the food prep. Very familiar processes, but very different fillings, if you understand what I mean!

Look, I love a good feast with friends. The actual food doesn't matter, so long as there's much of it and people are comforted and satisfied by it. It could be a salad feast (with tasty salads, mind you, not the bland awful shit) and I'd still be good with it.

Outside (and inside) OttawaAnyway. Have a pic of Daniel and Li'l among the decorative gourds.

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Pie. I got the crust recipe too. Must try it sometime!
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Tilly the cat
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And the Ottawa countryside was spectacular that weekend!
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Mind you, some things are inexplicable to the Australian mind. An open BBQ fireplace in the middle of the woods? Do you WANT the country to go up in flames?

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But there were also beaver swamps and slow-running rivers:
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And me, taking photos in the woods while [personal profile] alphaflyer's husband went rock fossicking in an old mining gully and [personal profile] alphaflyer rested up in the car.

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On Tuesday, my flight out wasn't until 6pm-ish, so I didn't have to be at the airport until 4pm. So in the morning we went to the National Art Gallery in Ottawa!

Overhead sails:
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Indigenous modern art:
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And an entire rebuilt chapel tucked away in one corner of the wing!
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A quick diversion to see the rock sculptures of John Ceprano in the Ottawa River - he's been doing them for 35 years!

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And then it was hugs and time to say goodbye.


--

The travel time from Ottawa to Sydney was 24 hours. Not counting airport time either side. From Vancouver to Sydney took 16 hours alone.

It's a long trip. Longer than from San Fran (14 hours) but unfortunately not doable this time around due to authoritarian regimes etc. So Vancouver it was.

Those 24 hours also didn't count the redirection from Sydney to Brisbane because Sydney was fogged in and we were running out of fuel. So we had a six-hour detour; landed at Brisbane, refuelled, and came back without leaving the plane. Well, except for the person who had a medical situation: they had to call ambos (EMTs) on to check them out before escorting them off.

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I arrived in Sydney 6 hours after planned. I'd sent the parents home, so I had to wrestle my luggage (all just-under-23kg, plus the backpack - at least 10kg, plus the satchel handbag - at least 3kg) on to Sydney trains and get to a home station before asking mum to pick me up.

But home! Home sweet home!

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What a trip! I enjoyed every place I went (not so much the flights there maybe), but by the end of week 6, I was really ready to come home.

--

I did several loads of washing over Thursday and Friday. Ran errands right, left, and centre. B1 went into surgery for her hand and came out fine, just grumpy that she can't do half the stuff she's used to doing (and she has a bad habit of not asking for help).

I slept badly on Thursday night. Woke at 1am and doomscrolled until daylight.

Went to sleep around 10:30pm on Friday night, woke 5am on Saturday morning.

And then decided I was going to remake the back of a dress so it would lace up and I could fit into it for a party that was at midday...

[admin post] Admin Post: Admin Post: Year-End Marathon 2025

Oct. 18th, 2025 01:24 pm
gywomod: (Default)
[personal profile] gywomod posting in [community profile] getyourwordsout
At the end of the year, it can be tempting to give up on your writing goals. But giving up is not the Get Your Words Out way! We believe in writing. We believe in trying. We believe that any progress is good progress. So even if your big writing goals are out of reach, you can still reach a goal.

Let's set that new goal today.

Join us for the Year-End Marathon. And this is a special party, because we are inviting everyone!

Everyone—whether you're a current or previous GYWO member or have never even heard of this thing (is it a writing community? how do you pronounce "GYWO" anyway?)—EVERYONE is invited to join the 2025 GYWO writers in this marathon to the end of the year.


What Is the Year-End Marathon?

The Year-End Marathon begins Nov 1 and runs through Dec 31.

Make a pledge to write 15 Days each month (a total of 30 days) or 15,000 words each month (a total of 30,000 words).

Join other writers with the same goals on the GYWO Discord server in a set of channels exclusive to the YEM challenge where the moderators will be hosting special discussion topics and challenges for our YEM writers. YEM writers will also have access to GYWO writing sprints hosted on our Discord.

This year, we’re incorporating public, unlocked Dreamwidth discussion posts for you to participate in, as well as extra challenges and discussion posts on Bluesky, and a 30K leaderboard on Trackbear.

If you're new to GYWO, this can be a way to see if this community is right for you before our pledge drive for 2026 begins. And if you're a GYWO 2025 writer, this can be a chance to seize your goals and put in some concentrated effort at the end of the year so you can start 2026 on the right foot.


What Are the Requirements?

🤝 Like writers who sign up for the year-long GYWO challenge, you must have an account on Dreamwidth or through OpenID. GYWO usernames are based on Dreamwidth or OpenID usernames. New writers signing up for the Year-End Marathon will not have full access to the GYWO Dreamwidth community at this time, but there will be two unlocked discussion posts per month that YEM members may participate in. We hope you understand keeping our naming system consistent means the mod team doesn't have to sort duplicate usernames.

✍️ Write your words! The whole purpose of this challenge is to develop and maintain your writing life, so write something! All words and time counted toward your pledge progress must be your own work. Use of generative AI or passing off the work of a collaborator as your own is against the spirit of Get Your Words Out. See our website for an overview of what words count for the word count pledge and what activities count for a habit pledge.

🌈 Be a rainbow, not a pain-bow. We would love for you to participate in our Discord community and basically ask that you not be a jerk when doing so. Disrespect of the community and its members, along with hate speech, harassment, abuse, and endangerment may result in your removal from the community. We're pretty chill and ask that you be chill, too. (Also, if you have a problem with a member or find a conversation veering into uncomfortable territory, alert a moderator and we'll be on it as quick as can be.)

A monthly check-in specific to the Year-End Marathon will be posted for your own accountability, but attendance will not be taken and it is not a required part of your membership.
(Current GYWO writers—you're still responsible to check-in as part of your GYWO 2025 membership. Attendance is taken there, not on the Year-End Marathon check-in, so make sure to check in as usual.)


How Do I Participate?

To participate in the Year-End Marathon, complete the Year-End Marathon Pledge Form.

If you choose to join our Discord server, once your pledge has been processed, a moderator will assign you a pledge role to give you access to the YEM-exclusive area and writing sprints channel. Join other YEM writers to chat about the challenge, writing in general, and your writing life in particular.

On Discord: each week, moderators will post either a discussion topic or a writing activity for YEM writers. You can respond directly to the moderator as a reply or join in the wider discussion with other writers, depending on your comfort level.

On Bluesky: each week, moderators will post either a discussion question or writing challenge. Feel free to reply, quote post, tag us at getyourwordsout.bsky.social, or use the #gywo hashtag.

On Dreamwidth: twice a month, moderators will post discussion posts where you can talk about your progress and chat with fellow YEM participants.

All moderator-led engagement is crafted to support a wide range of writers, so whether you're writing fiction, nonfiction, or poetry or you engage in horror, romance, absurdism, or fanfic we do our best to find something to support your writing life.

✅To participate in the monthly check-in specific to the Year-End Marathon, you'll need to have access to the GYWO Discord server. The link to check in for the YEM challenge will only be posted on Discord. Check-in is optional but recommended.


Have you picked your pledge for the Year-End Marathon?
Remember, your choices are 15 Days per month (30 days total) or 15,000 Words per month (30,000 words total).

Pledging for the GYWO Year-End Marathon Ends Nov 7, 2025.

Pledge for the Year-End Marathon


If you have any questions, we're happy to answer them!
For more information about Get Your Words Out, please visit our website. Pledging for 2026 will open around December 12.

It's Agatha Christie time!

Oct. 18th, 2025 08:42 am
scaramouche: Gene Kelly dancing in the rain, from Singin' in the Rain (singin' in the rain - umbrella)
[personal profile] scaramouche
I might've waited longer to make a post, but I just finished The Listerdale Mystery, which is a collection of twelve short stories, and I had such a fun time I had to post ASAP! It's different from the previous short story collections I've read in that only one is a proper murder mystery, while the rest are murder without the mystery, murder adjacent, or do not come anywhere near murder at all! (Look at me being so excited, when it may turn out Christie has plenty of these.)

Some of the stories were centered on a twist that, by virtue of being a short story, made the twist far more important to the story itself, like anthology episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents or Twilight Zone (in terms of story structure, but with mundane concepts instead of fantastical). By the time I got to story ten there were some tropey repeats, especially featuring a man being pulled into an adventure by mysterious girl, but overall it's a fun mix and I really enjoyed myself.

Only caveat I would say that classism is particularly strong throughout in terms of justification for certain characters' successes or assumptions being proven right, but sometimes it seems earnest and others it seems ironic. I say that because another repeated topic of the stories is to not believe that people are who they say they are without proof, but the working class characters who get scammed this way tend to be rescued by their honesty, while the upper class characters who get scammed are either able to brush it off or are able to notice just enough truth through the scam to be rewarded by it.

Particular shoutouts to:
  • The opening "The Listerdale Mystery", about a widowed mother who finds a house for rent that seems to good to be true; the story is, if you think about it for two seconds, a ridiculous concept, but it's a particular kind of romantic id that you'd be well used to if familiar with Bollywood films and I found it kinda charming for that;

  • "Philomel Cottage", the most Alfred Hitchcock Presents of the bunch, with a recently-married woman realizing that her new husband might be planning to murder her;

  • "Accident", where a retired inspector suspects that a neighbour is a twice-murderess who is going to kill her current husband and wants to try to prevent it, spoilers )

Besides that, I've also read two more Christie short story collections, both of which are Poirot collections and thus more traditional mysteries: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and Murder in the Mews. The best thing about short Poirot stories is that Poirot can show up at a scene of the crime, take one turn of it and solve the mystery immediately. Which is neat!

In Christmas Pudding, I did like the one about the elderly estranged twin men, which kind of deceives you into thinking it'll be a switcheroo between the twins but is actually a switcheroo of a different kind. But quite a few (three, I think) stories involve disguises to make the murder appear to have happened differently or at a different time, and it kind of kicked my disbelief a bit too hard, especially the one that hinges on the murderer leaving it to chance that another character won't see the body after the murder.

Murder in the Mews has four short stories, with three being meatier than the fourth, and they’re kind of bound together with the theming of the "crime" isn’t exactly what it looks like. Well, the third one, "Dead Man's Mirror" is way more in line with Christie's precise murders, right down to the layout of the room being key to what's happened, but all of them are in the same realm. The only qualm I'd have is with the last one, "Triangle at Rhodes" which is the shortest of the lot and the assumptions are a bit of a stretch for me, in terms of what Poirot observes of the relationships that's happening vs. what we the reader are shown of those same relationships.

[#278] Into The Forest (Original)

Oct. 17th, 2025 01:55 pm
badly_knitted: (Rose)
[personal profile] badly_knitted posting in [community profile] fandomweekly

Theme Prompt: #278 – Dark Forest
Title: Into The Forest
Fandom: Original.
Rating/Warnings: PG / None
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1000
Summary: There were no trees in sight when they’d parked, but now there’s a whole forest…




Amadeus

Oct. 17th, 2025 11:34 am
scaramouche: Freddie Mercury in profile, with "Hello again, my beauties" in text (freddie hello my beauties)
[personal profile] scaramouche
A friend and I had a loose resolution to check out more non-pop orchestral performances next year (since the ones we've gone to so far have all been for pop culture music, eg. movie and video game soundtracks), so she shared the 2026 season for the Malaysian Philharmonic and I thought maybe I'd check out their upcoming Mozart concert which is in conjunction with his 270th birthday.

Coincidentally, or maybe not because of said birthday, there's a new adaptation of Amadeus! Looks like a miniseries instead of a movie, but still, excitedly hopeful!

badly_knitted: (Ficlet Zone Mod)
[personal profile] badly_knitted posting in [community profile] ficlet_zone

This month's challenge is:






Click on the challenge, pick any song title, or more than one, as inspiration, and start writing!


Reminder of Rules

Entries can be any length you like. You can post as many entries to each challenge as you're inspired to write.
If posting direct to the community, please place the body of your entry behind a cut.
Tag with the appropriate Category, Challenge, Fandom, Type, and Ratings tags. If a tag for your fandom doesn't exist, leave a request on the Tag Request post and I'll create the tags you need. You can request as many fandom tags as you want.
You don't need to use the challenge word or phrase in your fic, though you can if you like. Please include the song or episode title you use in your header.
Suggestions for future challenges are welcome on the Questions & Suggestions post.
There is no deadline for entries.

Have fun!




we are now at the dizzy stage

Oct. 16th, 2025 05:02 pm
tielan: (trek)
[personal profile] tielan
I woke up ~6am Tuesday in Ottawa.

It is now 5pm Thursday in Sydney and I have not yet had a good night's sleep. A few hours here and there but otherwise...

I can't math right now, but the world is seriously floaty.

But it is kind of nice to be home again.

Then again: my garden has gone seriously out of whack. :(

[#278 | Dark Forest] Challenge Post

Oct. 15th, 2025 11:21 pm
fanweeklymod: (Default)
[personal profile] fanweeklymod posting in [community profile] fandomweekly
Challenge 278:
DARK FOREST
Some forests are peaceful, beautiful places, perfect for a romantic walk or a quiet camping trip – but not this one.

Legends swirl about ghosts or monsters, ancient stories of something sinister waiting under the trees. Unknown creatures howl at night, and the shadows seem darker even at the forest’s edge. Sometimes people who go into the forest don’t come back at all – or they come back changed.

Write a story about a dark forest.

BONUS GOAL: “You’re going in there? Alone?”

If your submission features this line, it will earn an extra point to be tallied in voting!


Challenge ends Monday, October 20 at 9:00PM EST.
• Post submissions as new entries using the template in the profile
• Tag this week's entries as: [#] submission, 278 – dark forest
• If you have questions about this challenge, please ask them here

brumeier: Trixie Belden and Jupiter Jones (Trixie-Jupiter)
[personal profile] brumeier posting in [community profile] ficlet_zone
Title: On Little Cat Feet
Author: [personal profile] brumeier
Challenge(s): #90 The Equalizer - Shades of Darkness
Fandom(s): Trixie Belden Mysteries/The Three Investigators
Series: The Inconsistent Witch
Pairing(s): Trixie Belden/Jupiter Jones
Wordcount: 2,924
Warning(s): inferred animal strangulation, recovery from psychic trauma

Summary: The incident with the dark spellbook has sapped Trixie of her confidence as a witch. When something dark shows up in her yard, she needs Jupiter's help to recover her belief in herself and find a way to dispel the darkness.

Book Log: Where am I Now?

Oct. 15th, 2025 03:14 pm
scaramouche: Kerry Ellis as Elphaba from Wicked (elphaba reaching)
[personal profile] scaramouche
I must've gotten Mara Wilson's memoir Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame during one of my trips to UK, because it has a price tag in pounds, but heck if I can remember when. What I do remember is that I put the book at the back of the drawer because I was annoyed and/or upset at her for something she'd said online. I no longer remember what it was! So I suppose it's time to be reading.

There is a feeling at the start that Wilson was way too young to be writing a memoir, but upon reading it it does make sense, because the bulk is about her time as a child actress and the fallout of that into the neuroses of teenhood and young adulthood. And going through that same thing we all do, where in growing up we become conscious of certain kinds of privilege we don't have and having to reckon with that, except Wilson's realization of the importance of looking traditionally pretty isn't just about trying to fit in and get friends, but also to get acting work. (Ow.) She namechecks as specific examples her peers Kristen Stewart and Scarlett Johansson who beat her to roles and did get to make the transition to acting adults, and her raw frustration that this was not something she could balance out with talent.

Tangled up in that is the intense celebrity-adjacent subculture of growing up in Burbank, California surrounded by peers who want to "make it" into the business and thus have feelings about those who do when they do not. Mean girl culture in a greater Hollywood setting, baby! (Ooofff.) This is probably the most fascinating section of the book to me, of how that world warps the expectations of children and teenagers who feel they're in the pipeline to showbiz greatness. Also, by her reckoning, there's lore than the Californian school subculture of show choirs that she participated in was what inspired Ryan Murphy to make Glee, though that may be more guesswork than cold hard facts.

Wilson specifically lived through some rough times (including the early death of her mother), but she got out of showbiz with relatively less trauma than other child actors, but it's still only other child actors who could understand what it was like to grow up in that environment and have so much of your personality and looks dissected by people who don't know you. Also, to have creepers think it's fun to ask a child questions about mature topics they haven't yet grappled with. Toxic and sadly familiar.
enchanted_jae: (Default)
[personal profile] enchanted_jae posting in [community profile] ficlet_zone
Title: Too Much Like Work
Author: [personal profile] enchanted_jae
Fandom: Cal Leandros
Author's note: In a perfect world, we would all treat one another with kindness and respect, our pets would live as long as we do, and Niko would never have cut that glorious long blond fall of his hair.
Characters: Cal, Niko
Rating: R
Warning(s): Violence, language, first person pov (Cal's)
Word count: 100
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of Rob Thurman, et al. This drabble/fic was written for fun, not for profit.
Written for: [community profile] ficlet_zone Prompt No. 90 – The Equalizer episode titles. I chose: Unnatural Causes, Shadow Play.
Summary: Duty calls

Too Much Like Work

[admin post] Admin Post: [#277 | Abandoned Mansion] Amnesty

Oct. 13th, 2025 11:40 pm
fanweeklymod: (Default)
[personal profile] fanweeklymod posting in [community profile] fandomweekly
Hi all, as we only have two entries this week, we'll be running another mini-amnesty! Please feel free to post any further fills for Abandoned Mansion over the next couple days; your next challenge will be up on Wednesday at the regular time.

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