New Year's Resolutions 2025: Round-Up

Nov. 14th, 2025 11:19 pm
morbane: uletide mod image of guinea pig among daisies (Yuletide)
[personal profile] morbane posting in [community profile] yuletide
We opened the New Year's Resolutions 2025 AO3 collection on 1 January and closed it on October 24 when Yuletide assignments went out.

This year's collection had 25 works total (mostly fic - but not all), in:

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Alien (Prequel Movies 2012 2017)
Barely Lethal (2015)
Betrayal at Krondor (Video Games)
괴물 | Beyond Evil (TV)
Brave (2012)
Creep (Movies 2014 2017)
For All Mankind (TV 2019)
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom - Halsey (Album)
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Video Game)
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
The Secret Garden - Simon/Norman
Slow Horses (TV)
승리호 | Space Sweepers (2021)
Star Wars - All Media Types
Star Wars: The High Republic: Phase I - Various Authors
Strange Way Of Life (Short Film 2023)
Super Powereds - Drew Hayes
Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Transistor (Video Game)
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley
Winslow Boy (1999)
ヲタクに恋は難しい | Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii | Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (Anime)

Thank you to everyone who contributed a make-up story, to people fulfilling other personal challenges, and to everyone who simply felt inspired.

Click this details tag for more information about the works, in reverse order posted.
hearts still burn the same (1244 words) by thewomanupstairs
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Strange Way Of Life (Short Film 2023)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sheriff Jake/Silva (Strange Way Of Life)
Characters: Silva (Strange Way Of Life), Sheriff Jake (Strange Way Of Life)
Additional Tags: Body Worship, Injury Recovery, Possessive Behavior, "love is a game and i'm playing to win" vibes
Summary:

Even with having so much time between then and now to think on it, Jake was never able to answer the question of whether the pain of being with Silva outweighed the pain of being without.



Hairy situation (1001 words) by Fiore01
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Brave (2012)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Elinor/Fergus (Disney: Brave), Elinor & Merida (Disney)
Characters: Elinor (Disney), Merida (Disney), Fergus (Disney: Brave)
Additional Tags: Domestic Fluff
Summary:

The guilt of what she had done still hit her hard.



after the end (1366 words) by computational
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 괴물 | Beyond Evil (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Han Juwon/Lee Dongsik (Beyond Evil)
Characters: Kang Minjung (Beyond Evil)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Grief/Mourning, Flowers, Han Juwon Loves Lee Dongsik (Beyond Evil), Domestic Han Juwon/Lee Dongsik (Beyond Evil), Canonical Character Death
Summary:

A year after everything, Lee Dongsik starts talking to plants. Juwon listens, and learns.



What's Built To Last (2795 words) by platinum_firebird
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Alien (Prequel Movies 2012 2017)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Katherine Daniels/Walter
Characters: Katherine Daniels, Walter (Alien Series)
Additional Tags: Fix-It, Post-Canon Fix-It, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Specifically Walter, Alien Planet, New Planets, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Holding Hands, Healing, Developing Relationship, Grief/Mourning
Summary:

After surviving the death-trap of Planet 4 together, Walter and Daniels make a start on the cabin by the lake.



borage and soapweed and arnica (2166 words) by Pure_Anon
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Secret Garden - Simon/Norman
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dr. Neville Craven & Mary Lennox
Characters: Dr. Neville Craven, Mary Lennox (The Secret Garden)
Additional Tags: Men Crying, Angst, Complicated Relationships, Hopeful Ending
Summary:

Neville stumbled out blindly, uncaring, unthinking of where he would go, only knowing he could not remain in Lily’s garden with its atmosphere of oppressive joy, a place where he was so clearly not wanted.



Houston (1027 words) by crazykookie
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: For All Mankind (TV 2019)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Margo Madison & Aleida Rosales, Margo Madison & William "Bill" Strausser, Margo Madison & Wernher von Braun
Characters: Margo Madison, Aleida Rosales, William "Bill" Strausser (For All Mankind), Wernher von Braun
Summary:

Houston, NASA, and the years of Margo's life



[Art] Riddle Chest (0 words) by Hekachoc
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Betrayal at Krondor (Video Games)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Owyn Beleforte & Gorath
Characters: Gorath (Riftwar Saga), Owyn Beleforte
Additional Tags: Art, Humour, Riddles, Crack, Banter, Meta


Becalmed (575 words) by Age or Wizardry
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Llewyn Davis
Additional Tags: time loop (implied), questioning the efficacy of timeloops as a tool for changing behavior, doing something with the movie's references to The Odyssey
Summary:

The purpose of a time loop is supposed to involve the person realizing they're in one.



Coffee Talk (20088 words) by C-chan
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: ヲタクに恋は難しい | Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii | Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (Anime)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Momose Narumi/Nifuji Hirotaka, Nifuji Naoya/Sakuragi Kou, Kabakura Tarou/Koyanagi Hanako, Momose Narumi & Nifuji Naoya, Kabakura Tarou & Koyanagi Hanako & Momose Narumi & Nifuji Hirotaka & Nifuji Naoya & Sakuragi Kou
Characters: Momose Narumi, Nifuji Naoya, Nifuji Hirotaka, Koyanagi Hanako, Kabakura Tarou, Sakuragi Kou
Additional Tags: References to Coffee Talk (Video Game), Coffee Shops, Marriage Proposal, Plans For The Future, Collab Cafés, anime and gaming references, Canon Compliant, Community: smallfandombang, Canon pregnancy
Summary:

After watching Narumi play Coffee Talk, Naoya is inspired to open a café that specifically caters to an evening crowd. In order to get an idea of what's out there, he invites Narumi to visit various cafés with him to better understand the coffee scene outside of the [off-brand Starbucks] chain in which he's currently employed. (Narumi... maaaayyyyy use this as an excuse to take him to various collab cafés and get more of the collectable goods, but hey! They're still technically cafés, right?) Oh, and also, Naoya is planning on proposing to Kou after beating her at a video game, despite being the worst gamer ever. Which means Narumi needs to find a way to help him out. Too bad that Hirotaka's clearly not working on the same excuse.

Expect a lot of café culture, tons of nerdiness, and the occasional burst of romance and introspection as Narumi helps her future little brother in law make his dreams come true.



At the Threshold (5150 words) by edwardianspinsteraunt
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Winslow Boy (1999)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Robert Morton/Catherine Winslow
Characters: Robert Morton (Winslow Boy), Catherine Winslow, Desmond Curry
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Kissing, Vulnerability, questionable decisions, Confessions (of various sorts), semi-resolved sexual tension, Angst with a Happy Ending, past Catherine Winslow/John Watherstone
Summary:

Catherine learns earlier of Sir Robert's sacrifice - a discovery that has surprising results.



go down with the ship (880 words) by facingthenorthwind
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars: The High Republic: Phase I - Various Authors, Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Hedda Casset, Burraga Agaburry
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Book: Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi - Charles Soule, Hedda Casset Lives, Survivor Guilt
Summary:

The staff had suggested that the bridge crew who had been so miraculously rescued by the Jedi meet their rescuers, which Hedda would have been far more enthusiastic about had she been able to have any peaceful sleep or feel anything except the crushing guilt of being alive. The least she could have done was go down with her ship. The least she should have done.



Mr. Campbell Goes to Washington (1941 words) by MehitableCressens
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Super Powereds - Drew Hayes
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alice Adair/Nick Campbell
Characters: Alice Adair | Legacy, Nick Campbell (Super Powereds), Blaine Jeffries | Zero, Sean Pendleton | Wisp
Additional Tags: Humor, Las Vegas Wedding, Politics, Missing Scene, And they plotted happily ever after, Family
Summary:

A wedding between subtlety majors was going to result in multiple subtle plots being advanced, whether they be for amusement or to begin taking over Washington. Blaine Jeffries really, really wished that Scotch was on menu when Nick Campbell came over to "network."



Sick Day (1318 words) by Rodo
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 승리호 | Space Sweepers (2021)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Captain Jang Hyun Sook, Kang Kot Nim | Dorothy, Tiger Park | Park Kyung Soo, Kim Tae Ho (Space Sweepers), Bubs (Space Sweepers)
Additional Tags: Sick Character, Post-Canon
Summary:

“I think Kot-nim’s sick,” Bubs said.



and everybody's mother's child is going to spy (to see if reindeer really know how to fly) (2566 words) by Morbane
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Barely Lethal (2015)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Liz Larson/Megan Walsh
Characters: Liz Larson, Parker Larson, Megan Walsh
Additional Tags: Fluff, Christmas Fluff, Feelings Realization, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Winter
Summary:

Sure, Liz had expected Megan to be all in on Christmas: especially on getting to experience it as Megan, not just 83. But in at least one aspect, Megan was already one step ahead.



Duet() (610 words) by Hekateras
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transistor (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Red/Sybil Reisz
Characters: Red (Transistor), Mr. Nobody | Man Inside Transistor, Sybil Reisz
Additional Tags: During Canon, Canon Compliant, Obsession, Canon-Typical Tragedy, The Process, unusual formatting
Summary:

With every blow she strikes, the Empty Set sings back to her with her own voice.



Worth Staying For (1240 words) by Hekateras
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dys/Sol (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)
Characters: Dys (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist), Sol (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)
Additional Tags: male!Sol, During Canon, Angst, Hopeful Ending, Glow Month, angsty fluff, Hugs, Kissing under the Void, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:

Dys has come to say goodbye, but Sol is nowhere to be found.



a space, a drop, a cloth (the comfort of frailties in me) (6238 words) by saturni_stellis
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: David Bowman/HAL 9000, David Bowman/Frank Poole
Characters: David Bowman, HAL 9000, Frank Poole
Additional Tags: Angst, Blood and Injury, Masturbation, Canonical Character Death, Voyeurism, extremely dubious voyeurism tbh, Watching Someone Sleep, Robot/Human Relationships, Robot Feels, Unhappy Ending, but also..., Ambiguous/Open Ending
Summary:

Hal processes at lightning speed, but what can only seem like a second in human time, can feel like an eternity to him. After all, he can record, replay and recount every single miniature motion of someone’s expression, someone’s words and the cadence of their voice.



Colors of a Melody (1439 words) by Bodldops
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Keita Mori/Thaniel Steepleton
Characters: Keita Mori, Thaniel Steepleton
Additional Tags: Synesthesia, Slice of Life, Keita Mori's inherent resistance to asking for nice things
Summary:

Thaniel did tell Keita about being able to see sounds - he just didn't think that comment would be remembered. As if Keita hadn't been planning for this for decades.



the furthest stars came thundering at the door (4461 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Winslow Boy (1999)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Robert Morton/Catherine Winslow
Characters: Robert Morton (Winslow Boy), Catherine Winslow
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat, Edwardian Period, with World War I approaching like the down express, Trains, Smoking, Post-Canon, Scandal
Summary:

Catherine and Sir Robert find themselves on the same train, but travelling in quite different directions.



Mr. Lamb and the Wolf (1441 words) by Calacious
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Creep (Movies 2014 2017)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Aaron (Creep), Josef (Creep)
Additional Tags: Kidnapping, Drugging, Post-Canon, Alternate Ending, bound and gagged, Threats of Violence
Summary:

Instead of killing Aaron, Josef decides to take him.



These Cloudy Skies Are Not Forever (3713 words) by Wu_Ya_Zui
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo/Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn, Mutsu Ten Mei | Mù Tiān Mìng/Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo, Mutsu Ten Mei | Mù Tiān Mìng/Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo/Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn
Characters: Ryouga | Líng Yá, Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo, Mutsu Ten Mei | Mù Tiān Mìng, Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn
Additional Tags: Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Season/Series 01, Fluff and Angst, Sick Character, Character Study
Summary:

Shang Bu Huan falls sick from a cold, and Lang Wu Yao awkwardly helps Mu Tian Ming take care of him while Ling Ya sits back and enjoys the show.



Her joe (5331 words) by featherxquill
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Slow Horses (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jackson Lamb/Diana Taverner
Characters: Diana Taverner, Jackson Lamb (Slough House)
Additional Tags: Femdom, very mild foot worship, Face-Sitting, Shameless Smut, Banter, Lamb scrubs up well, Lamb has a priase kink and he's exactly as happy about that as you'd expect, Yuletide Treat
Series: Part 1 of The Lady and the Tramp
Summary:

Diana Taverner's admiration for Jackson Lamb's intelligence is matched only by her disgust for his appearance and general air of filth. When Lamb agrees to go undercover for her, however, he gets a new suit, has a shower and is given a shave and haircut, which complicates matters somewhat. Since he's going to be her joe, Diana visits his undercover hotel room digs. They review files and speak of country matters.



How to Pop the Question (1470 words) by atamascolily
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ken San Un | Juǎn Cán Yún/Tan Hi | Dān Fěi
Characters: Ken San Un | Juǎn Cán Yún, Tan Hi | Dān Fěi
Additional Tags: Marriage Proposal, Relationship Advice, Humor, Fluff
Summary:

Uncertain how to ask Dan Fei to marry him, Juan Can Yun draws on the wisdom gleaned from his travels with the One-Eyed Impaler, the Enigmatic Gale, and the Edgeless Blade.



Know the Newspaper’s (Not) Always Right (262 words) by YellowMagicalGirl
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hopeless Fountain Kingdom - Halsey (Album)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Luna Aureum, Solis Angelus, Original Photographer, Original Reporter
Additional Tags: Canonical Character Death, Background Character Death, Gun Violence, Newspapers, Epistolary, Song: Now or Never (Halsey), i wrote this intead of studying, Biased Narrator, Deleted Scenes, specifically deleted from another fic of mine, the narrator of the scene was pro-cop enough that it hit a DNW
Summary:

A newspaper article detailing the shootout from "Now or Never".



Genre Savvy (1431 words) by atamascolily
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rin Setsu A | Lǐn Xuě Yā/Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn
Characters: Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn, Rin Setsu A | Lǐn Xuě Yā
Additional Tags: Metafiction, Fun with Tropes, Fourth Wall, Humor, Parody, There Was Only One Bed, Frank discussion of sex
Summary:

Lin Xue Ya knows how to please his audience.



Enjoy! And if a treat grows out of control this Yuletide, it has a home when the main event is over.

In which we do the show right here

Nov. 12th, 2025 05:21 pm
spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
[personal profile] spiralsheep
- Film: I watched a documentary, The Golden Spurtle, about the international porridge making championship held annually for the last 30+ years in Carrbridge village in the Scottish Highlands, and the film is an ideal combination of quirky Scottish villagers, international porridge-cooking contestants, and Australian filmmakers. 5/5 would watch again.

- Film: on 11-11-25 at 11am I saw Alan Bennett the Musical, sorry, I mean The Choral, which is about a northern English choral society in 1916. It tackles some (still) controversial themes, mostly class related, but also manages to comfortably embrace cliches such as The Scene Where Everyone Sings and, of course, Let's Do The Show Right Here. The themes are outsourcing of labour by the English ruling classes: the hardest and most dangerous physical labour historically demanded from the white working class, the emotional and sexual labour expected from women, and interestingly the outsourcing of conscience to homosexuals and non-white people. I have to admire Bennett's enduring passion for satirising hypocrisy, and his ability to be simultaneously amusing and devastating. My only reservation is the character assassination of Edward Elgar but I took that more as social commentary about selling one's soul to The Establishment in exchange for "honours", which Bennett has earned the right to make due to turning down at least two we know of including a knighthood. 4/5 but once was enough.

Quote of the film is itself a quotation: “A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful [...]” - well-known German person Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

- Pleasing occurrences: Mr Crepehanger Radiographer who did my scan can kiss my optimist ring cos my next neurology appointment has been adjusted from only a two month gap to the more usual three. \o/

- Accountability catch-up )

Le Grand Paris au jour le jour

Nov. 12th, 2025 10:13 am
[syndicated profile] onethinginaday_feed

Alors que l'hiver arrive sur Paris, je vous raconte quelques épisodes de la vie quotidienne typiques du Grand Paris. Le Grand Paris, c'est Paris et la banlieue, c'est aussi un projet administratif, un projet de transport et une nouvelle façon de vivre. 

Chez nous, le Grand Paris donne lieu à de nombreux travaux dans le quartier (des immeubles de bureaux, des habitations, une nouvelle gare), mais aussi des entreprises qui ont leur siège social et donc des travailleurs qui vont et qui viennent. 

Et puis, la nature est un peu plus présente qu'à Paris, on a droit à quelques visiteurs surprise ! 

Découvrez mes lettres de Paris, une manière différente de progresser en français tout en se cultivant : www.onethinginafrenchday.com

Babylon 5 fic: To Your Health

Nov. 11th, 2025 11:41 pm
sholio: (B5-station)
[personal profile] sholio
Fixits will continue until morale improves.

To Your Health (Babylon 5, 4500 wds)
The dinner party on Minbar in 5x21: Objects At Rest goes a little differently. Canon-divergent AU.

Recent Reading: Flight of the Fallen

Nov. 11th, 2025 03:32 pm
rocky41_7: (Default)
[personal profile] rocky41_7 posting in [community profile] books
It’s been a bit! Timing conspired to prevent me from reviewing my last audiobook (Katherine Addison’s The Grief of Stones), but I’m here with the conclusion of the Magebike Courier duology by Hana Lee, Flight of the Fallen.

On the whole, I think if you liked the first book, you’ll like the second. It’s more of the same, which is no complaint from me. Lee digs only slightly more into the worldbuilding of the Wastes, but as with the first book, it’s clear that’s not where Lee’s strengths or interests lie, and so she doesn’t overreach herself there, which I think is best.

The main trio—Jin, Yi-Nereen, and Kadrin—continue to be fun and engaging characters, although Jin’s self-pitying act that began at the end of book 1 grows a little tiresome, even if it is understandable. (Fortunately, she gets over it and her best traits--her courage, her determination to keep trying, her capacity to love--win resoundingly in the end.) Making a surprisingly delightful reappearance is Sou-zelle, who actually threatens to usurp our lovers as the most interesting protagonist for the first third of the book. Book 1 did a good job of making Sou-zelle a more dynamic character than merely Yi-Nereen’s jilted fiancé, and book 2 continues to give him more depth.
 
Read more... )

movies

Nov. 11th, 2025 11:13 am
snickfic: b/w still of Grace Le Domas in her wedding dress (Grace Ready or Not)
[personal profile] snickfic
A lot of meh here.

Crash (1996). A man and his wife get involved in the car crash fetish scene. I really don't think "erotic thriller" is adequate preparation for this movie, but then again I'm not sure what is. I recently saw this described as "a series of sex scenes separated by car crashes," and that's about right.

I liked:
- The completely normalized polyamory. This married couple get off on fucking other people and telling each other about it, good for them.
- That it was a lot gayer than I expected, especially for 1996. Both m/m and f/f scenes (even if the latter felt a bit out of nowhere).

I was disappointed by:
- James Spader. THIS is James Spader? This is the guy everyone is low-key obssessed with? This gormless Zach Gilford lookalike?
- How we open with the wife, but the husband gets all the development, and she just gets pulled along in his wake. She seems to enjoy it, but I wanted to see her take some initiative, too.
- Somehow I'd osmosed that there was like car-related body mod stuff, like Cronenberg's version of Tetsuo: The Iron Man. The one gal with the leg brace was not really sufficient for my tastes.

--

Predator: Badlands (2025). A Yautja runt goes on a quest to kill an unkillable monster to avenge(?) his brother's death at his father's hands, and ends up teaming up with a Weyland-Yutani synth (Elle Fanning) with no legs.

This is by the same guy who directed Prey, Dan Trachtenberg. The writing felt more obvious and more cobbled-together than that movie, probably because it was trying to do more. I got tired of people stating the same obvious story beat multiple times.

I think this is the first time the Yautja have been humanized to nearly this degree, right? I've only seen Prey and the AvP movies, so I may be missing some lore. I'm not sure what I needed from a race of big game hunters was daddy issues, but otoh murderous patriarchy does go hand in hand with the big game hunting, I guess. IDK, I wanted the Yautja in general and our specimen in particular to be weirder.

However, I eventually enjoyed Thia the synth, who has a kind of anti-Gamora/Nebula relationship with a fellow synth. It passed the Bechdel test, good job! And the movie had some fantastic deadly alien fauna. Just completely bonkers creatures that want to kill you in the most unlikely ways. A+.

--

Die My Love (2025). A woman (Jennifer Lawrence) moves with her husband (Robert Pattinson) to his rural family home, has a baby, and has a mental breakdown.

My impression of this movie from the trailer was that this was maybe about a couple's relationship slowly escalating to bonkers attempted murder. (Pattinson's presence definitely contributed to my impression of it being bonkers.) There was no baby in the trailer I saw, and if there had been I wouldn't have gone to see it. That said, I don't know that it was ABOUT motherhood or post-partum depression or about the marital relationship. Frankly, I cannot confidently say what it was about. The choice of first and last shots suggest it's about the house?

I can't say it's not bonkers, but more in terms of its storytelling choices than its content as such. The timeline is weird and confused, but not in an interesting way. We learn literally nothing about the main character's background until about the 80% mark. (She was orphaned at age 10? Might be good to mention that earlier??)

Some of what we see on screen probably isn't happening. The ending, where she walks naked into a forest fire, I feel almost certainly didn't happen. There's a recurring theme where she prowls around on the ground but also might be pretending to be a horse? Also there's a horse that just wanders around and which they hit with their car at one point? (To be fair, it's not the first movie this year where a thematically significant horse just wanders through now and then. Looking at you, On Swift Horses.)

To be honest, JLaw was the biggest draw of this movie for me, and I did get plenty of her. It's a JLaw showcase, and I also enjoyed Sissy Spacek in a supporting role. But overall, man. I ventured outside my usual genre, and I had regrets!

Holiday Cards 2025

Nov. 11th, 2025 10:04 am
superbadgirl: (Default)
[personal profile] superbadgirl
Anyone want a card? I honestly can't remember if I even asked last year and can't bother to go look. Comments screened, so drop a note with current address if you'd like a tangible bit of holiday cheer from me. Reciprocal cards are not mandatory or expected so don't let that stop you.

I only use my powers for good, so your names, addresses and any personal details will not be sold or traded away. Pinky swear.

In which there was an Armistice

Nov. 11th, 2025 02:39 pm
spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
[personal profile] spiralsheep
Armistice, by Paul Dehn*

It is finished. The enormous dust-cloud over Europe
Lifts like a million swallows; and a light,
Drifting in craters, touches the quiet dead.

Now, at the bugle’s hour, before the blood
Cakes in a clean wind on their marble faces,
Making them monuments; before the sun,

Hung like a medal on the smoky noon,
Whitens the bone that feeds the earth; before
Wheat-ear springs green again, in the green spring

And they are bread in the bodies of the young:
Be strong to remember how the bread died, screaming;
Gangrene was corn, and monuments went mad.

----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
* Yes, the same Paul Dehn as Mrs Ravoon - he had quite the range.

the mummy (1999)

Nov. 10th, 2025 01:34 pm
splatstick: (𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗂𝗅𝗅.)
[personal profile] splatstick posting in [community profile] icons

275 icons
HERE @ [community profile] sousaphone

Book Poll

Nov. 10th, 2025 10:36 am
rachelmanija: (Books: old)
[personal profile] rachelmanija
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 127


Which of these books would you most like to see reviewed?

View Answers

Red Rising, by Pierce Brown. SF dystopia much beloved by many dudes.
18 (14.2%)

Lone Women, by Victor LaValle. Fantastic cross-genre western/historical/horror/fantasy.
32 (25.2%)

The Lout of Count's Family, by Yu Ryeo-Han. Korean isekai novel.
21 (16.5%)

The Haar, by David Sodergren. Cozy/gory/sweet horror about an old Scottish woman and a sea monster.
27 (21.3%)

The Everlasting, by Alix Harrow. Very unusual Arthurian AU time-travel fantasy.
57 (44.9%)

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, by Stephen Graham Jones. Fantastic historical horror about a Blackfeet vampire.
38 (29.9%)

Best of all Worlds, by Kenneth Oppel. Another absolutely terrible children's survival book, what the hell.
21 (16.5%)

The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker. Coming of age at the end of the world; Ray Bradbury vibes but girl-centric.
24 (18.9%)

Surviving the Extremes, by Kenneth Kamler. A doctor for people in extreme climates/situations analyzes their effects on the body.
33 (26.0%)

When the Angels Left the Old Country, by Sacha Lamb. A Jewish demon and angel leave the old country; excellent voice, very Jewish.
52 (40.9%)

An Immense World, by Ed Yong. Outstanding nonfiction about how animals sense the world.
44 (34.6%)

Combat Surgeon: On Iwo Jima with the 27th Marines, by James Vedder. What it says on the box.
15 (11.8%)

Slewfoot, by Brom. Illustrated historical dark fantasy set in early American colonization.
9 (7.1%)

Animals, by Geoff Ryman. Animal zombie horror, at once deeply sad and utterly bonkers.
22 (17.3%)



Anyone read any of these?

Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait samedi soir?

Nov. 10th, 2025 10:49 am
[syndicated profile] onethinginaday_feed

Nous sommes cinq dans la famille, mais nous avons passé trois soirées différentes. Ce n'est pas comme ça d'habitude. D'habitude, nous faisons nos pizzas maison et nous regardons un film ensemble. Mais pas cette fois. 

Un groupe est resté à la maison et a travaillé sur le problème de Monty Hall. Un autre groupe est parti salle Gaveau à Paris écouter la chanteuse Maïra Kerey. Enfin, un dernier groupe a enchaîné deux soirées différentes. 

Peu après minuit, nous étions tous de retour à la maison. 

Découvrez mes Lettres de parisiennes sur www.onethinginafrenchday.com, une autre façon de progresser en français. 

 

Strange Houses, by Uketsu

Nov. 9th, 2025 10:25 am
rachelmanija: (Books: old)
[personal profile] rachelmanija


This is such a fun, unique book. The opening grabs you immediately: Uketsu shows an architect friend the floor plan of a house that his friends are considering buying. The architect spots a number of odd elements that aren't just bad planning, but suggest a very carefully planned and bizarre MURDER HOUSE!

The floor plan of that house and two more come into play repeatedly as Uketsu and his friend investigate, unraveling a truly weird and sometimes spooky mystery via a series of interviews. This book breaks all sorts of rules - it's entirely told rather than shown, a lot of it is exposition, the author appears as a character, and that's not even mentioning the very large role that floor plans play - and I could not put it down.

Is the solution to the mystery absolutely nuts? Sure. Is the book a whole lot of fun to read? Absolutely. Will I recommend it to my customers? You bet!

Translated from the Japanese by Jim Rion, who has a nice afterword about translating it.

Apparently Uketsu is a Japanese YouTuber who only appears wearing a mask, like Chuck Tingle if his thing was drawings and creepy mysteries rather than horror and getting pounded in the butt. I can't wait to read Uketsu's other book, Strange Pictures.
pauraque: drawing of a wolf reading a book with a coffee cup (customer service wolf)
[personal profile] pauraque
This is a collection of short stories set in the fictional Central European country Orsinia. Most of the stories are new for the book, though a couple were published previously, and the invention of the country itself was one of Le Guin's first creative writing projects. It's basically an alt-history Czechia or Hungary, borrowing from real wars and political events; stories set in the Cold War era show Orsinia as a satellite state of the Soviet Union. Aside from the alternate history, the stories have no speculative elements.

I hadn't read this before because it didn't sound like it was up my alley. But it was next up in my chronological read of Le Guin's books, so I gave it a chance, and guess what? It wasn't up my alley!

I freely admit that a big part of the issue is that I'm the wrong audience for what she was trying to do here. A number of the stories are the sort of litfic where the entire plot is family/relationship drama and everyone is miserable, which is a genre that I find deadly dull even if Ursula Le Guin writes it. But I also don't think the prose is up to her usual standard. It's more reminiscent of her early work, and some of it openly is early work! But even the stories dated 1976 read like revisions of something pulled from the previous decade's drawer.

What surprised me the most is how generic I found the worldbuilding to be. It comes off like she wanted to write about Central Europe but didn't have the depth of knowledge to write about any specific country, so instead we have this Ruritanian stand-in that does not have any real weight to it or any distinctive qualities or culture. The stories I enjoyed the most were the ones set prior to the 20th century, which at least took me to an interesting time if not to an especially compelling place.

So yeah, this wasn't for me. Oh well, at least it was short.
sholio: murderbot group from episode 10 (Murderbot-family1)
[personal profile] sholio
I was too busy to notice when it happened, but [community profile] trickortreatex revealed authors this morning, which means I can 'fess up to my (not at all predictable) ToT offering.

The Preservation Harvest Festival (4989 words) by Sholio
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Murderbot & PreservationAux Survey Team (Murderbot Diaries)
Characters: Murderbot (Murderbot Diaries), Dr. Mensah (Murderbot Diaries), Dr. Ratthi (Murderbot Diaries), Dr. Gurathin (Murderbot Diaries), Amena (Murderbot Diaries)
Additional Tags: Halloween, Holidays, Trick or Treating, Friendship, Bonding, get loved idiot
Summary: Murderbot vs. Halloween.
sholio: (B5-station)
[personal profile] sholio
No. 22: “All the battles I want to win, nothing matters but giving in.”
Self-Sacrifice | Collar | Hunted for Sport

Babylon 5, Cartagia arc [800 wds] - also on Tumblr

800 wds under the cut )
sholio: Gurathin from Murderbot looking soft and wondering (Murderbot-Gura)
[personal profile] sholio
The post-October Whumptober catchup continues, with more of the ones I wrote last month, but wasn't sure about.

No. 27: “Would you even want me, looking like a zombie?”
Surgical Scars | X-Ray | Bedside Vigil

Murderbot TV, Gurathin & Bharadwaj gen, 800 wds
Also on Tumblr

800 wds under the cut )
possibilityleft: (cat eye)
[personal profile] possibilityleft
It's been a long week, with the time change, but now I get to read in the evening on the warm couch with a nice book, so not all is lost.

*****

books! )

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