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Original Works Opportunity 2025

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Fic In A Box 2025

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tv:foundation

Foundation 3x03-06

This season continues to be definitely Something.

( Spoilers )

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It's kinda been a minute

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highlander

Highlander: Ten unfavorite episodes

Here's the promised other half of my listmaking. Again, there's no order and I didn't select based on any criteria other than my heart sinking as I eyeballed the list or a frequent skip reflex. However, I will say one nice thing about each unfavorite, because I love this show. There is no episode of Highlander wholly lacking in redeeming features. I never engage in those thought exercises about "if you could make a perfect 12 episode season, which ones do you keep?" I keep them all, for cumulative effect. ( Read more... )

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fanfic:murderbot

Murderbot TV fic: Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek (5088 words) by Sholio
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Murderbot (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Murderbot & PreservationAux Survey Team (Murderbot Diaries)
Characters: Murderbot (Murderbot Diaries), Dr. Mensah (Murderbot Diaries), Dr. Gurathin (Murderbot Diaries), Dr. Ratthi (Murderbot Diaries), Pin-Lee (Murderbot Diaries), Dr. Arada (Murderbot Diaries), Dr. Bharadwaj (Murderbot Diaries)
Additional Tags: Friendship, Post-Canon, Banter, Fluff, Team Bonding, Hide and Seek, background tv-verse canon pairing (pin-lee/arada)
Summary: Murderbot thinks its humans need more practice not dying under field conditions. The answer is obviously a staged war game, modified for Preservation concerns. (TV-verse with a few minor book elements.)

Apparently I need to write something like this in every fandom I'm in that has some kind of organized team.

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Reading Frenzy Reboot Part Whatever

A lot of reading I did this summer was for class, but I also managed to read a bunch of other stuff.

I read Shakespeare's 3 Roman plays, as mentioned in the last Reading Frenzy Post, this year's choices for Shakespeare Summer: Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra. The first two were re-reads for me; the last was a first-time read. I'd seen Antony and Cleopatra performed, but had not actually read it, so this was a first-time read for me on that. The choice of these plays for this summer were spot on, and the specific timing of Coriolanus for Pride Month was *chef's kiss*.

News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media by Juan González and Joseph Torres: this was the recommended book for the Race, Media, and International Affairs 101 class that I talked about briefly here, and select chapters were used in the class. I highly recommend this book (and the class has been excellent, too -- it goes through the end of August). The ebook is nearly 500 pages and thoroughly researched. It's a great and informative read and provides a solid primer of the background of media and its development in the U.S., how it was influential in pushing colonialism, shaped attitudes toward race and perpetuated stereotypes, often fomented violence; as well as exploring the history and information that was suppressed, and events that were all but erased. And it gives homage to the legacies, sometimes limited, of foreign-language press in the U.S., including Spanish-language papers, Chinese-language papers, etc., as well as non-white journalists and writers, many who are not remembered.

Dracula My Love by Syrie James: Dracula told from Mina Harker's point of view. I was not as thrilled with this as I expected to be. The beginning was interesting, but as it went on it felt too long -- though it's possible that it felt that way to me because I already knew the twists and turns of the plot. It wasn't a terrible read, but I just came away from the book feeling meh about it.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford: This book was so good. Told from the point of view of Henry Lee, a Chinese-American who grew up in Seattle's Chinatown during World War II, the book opens in 1986 at the Panama Hotel, once a part of Seattle's Japantown and now re-opened under new ownership after being boarded up for decades. The new owner of the hotel has discovered a basement full of belongings of Japanese families who were sent to internment camps during World War II and left their belongings that they couldn't take for safekeeping. Henry is part of the crowd that witnesses the owner announcing what she found and displaying one of the items she found. The novel then moves back and forth between 1942, detailing the bonding and blooming friendship forged between Henry and Keiko Okabe, a Japanese schoolmate whose family is eventually evacuated to an internment camp, and 1986 and the Panama Hotel, where Henry gets permission to explore the basement and search for Keiko's family's belongings. It's a beautiful story, beautifully written, and really worth reading.

( this is getting long so putting the rest under a cut )

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fan fiction,
memes

Because I never met a writing meme that I didn't like...

I hath stolen this fic writer questionnaire from

maevedarcy:

Which of your fics is your pride and joy?

Uhhhhhhh... not sure! I still think Two Truths and a Lie (Oz) is the best fic I've ever written.

But I have a really, really big soft spot in my heart for the absolutely redonk crackfic that is Squid Pro Quo (Forever Knight). Not even close to the best thing I've ever written, but it has a colossal tentacle monster and I am just not sure anything will ever make me happier than that.

What are your top three most commonly used tags on AO3?

Counting only the non-character, non-ship tags: Drabble (most from like 20 years ago for

hardtime100), Case fic, and Flashbacks.

What’s something you learned while researching a fic?

A few things:

In the 1950s, KY was by prescription so... writing 1950s smut problems lol.

Also, unrelated, I learned that originally, female RCMP officers had very different uniforms than the male officers. The female officers did not like them and in the 90s, they were permitted the same uniforms.

I have learned a lot about the history and government of Renaissance-era Venice.

Is there a character or ship you’d love to write for, but haven’t yet?

Fleur from Forever Knight.

What makes a fic ‘successful’ in your opinion?

If I enjoy reading it. I do actually go back and read my own fics from time to time. Operating in tiny fandoms, my expectations for kudos/comments are low (though FK and Oz fans tend to be generous <3).

What makes you happiest? New fic comments, kudos, bookmarks, user subscribers, story subscribers, or Tumblr asks?

New fic comments, 100%. (I don't actually know what "Tumblr asks" are to have an opinion about that.)

Does anyone you know in real life know you write fan fiction?

Yep.

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

No, but now I feel like I should.

What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

A Grantchester "Christmas episode" fic. They only ever did one set at Christmas and I would enjoy that kind of thing again.

Do you ever prep your fics with outlines or warmups before you start writing, or do you just dive right in?

I'm all over the place in how I approach things.

How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

3.25 million times. Plus one more time. Plus again even after I post it.

A character you enjoy making suffer.

Well... I really hated Thomas Monroe from the Forever Knight episode "Faithful Followers" and enjoyed having a giant squid shove him in its gaping maw.

A character you want to protect.

Leonard Finch (Grantchester). At all costs.

What is your favorite fic to get comments/messages on?

I don't have a favorite per se. It is fun to get comments on the really, really old stuff though.

What fic took you the longest to write?

Dust to Dust (Forever Knight). It was a long story so it took me a while to write it. Off and on, over a year. I have another I've been working on (again, off and on) for over two years, but I swear it shall some day see the light of day.

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Highlander Ficlet

But Why Not (600 words) by Sharpest_Asp
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Highlander The Series
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Amanda Darieux, Rebecca Horne [Highlander the Series]
Additional Tags: Missing Scene, Slice of Life, Teacher & Student
Summary:

Rebecca has to deal with a student clashing with her own current ideals.

But Why Not

"But why not?"

There were days, Rebecca decided, that it wasn't enough to try and understand the cultural mores as they shifted. What was taboo in one land or century might be a requirement elsewhere and when.

No, it was also needful to stay abreast of how mortals themselves shifted, adapted, changed. Her latest foundling, a thief, was one such. Completely lacking in shame or guilt, Rebecca decided, and yet… there was a burning bright mind, the basis of a potential survivor in the Game.

Utter poverty, lack of resources, restricted chances for social mobility, and a complete attempt to prevent literacy while also stomping on oral traditions older than the province they were in had produced this young woman. Rebecca had trouble seeing her as more than girl, honestly, with the way she acted half the time. But maybe it was a bit like the tales of whipped hounds, that finding a safer master, reverted to more playful and rash behavior once they knew they were safe.

"I am not saying that it is never right to steal. I am saying it is not right to steal here, in this place," Rebecca told her.

Amanda was not convinced, so Rebecca dove in further. "One, theft is a good way to bring attention to your nature. Because if caught, you could be killed, except you won't stay dead, unless they use an axe."

"But I don't get caught… usually. Or stay caught if I am."

"Which is the second part, and the larger one of why I am counseling you," Rebecca answered. "Look around, my student. Actually see the people and the shape of this hamlet."

There was a cursory look around, then Amanda's eyes came right back to her and there was a shrug of uncaring.

Had she chosen poorly, Rebecca wondered, trying to find the striker to light a sense of compassion in this one.

"A person who takes from those who barely have enough to survive is already on the path of being corrupted by immortality," Rebecca said bluntly, then walked away in a different direction, her thoughts turning to gathering her pack and the jack she'd found half-starved at a burned out farm. Either her words or her leaving prompted Amanda to call after her, start her way… and then stop.

Where the main track through the homes became the rougher trail of an occasionally used trade route, Rebecca turned, and saw that Amanda was actually studying the people around her.

Well. Maybe she'd stay one night at the camp they had made before coming in to see if there was grain to barter for.

It was almost raining, a damp misery on top of the cool night air when Amanda showed up. She had half a loaf of bread and a rough-made crock of cider.

"I didn't steal them," she quickly said at Rebecca's look. "I taught some of the children how to set snares, and their mother insisted I take these for payment. I found out most of the men of age were dragged off for war."

"So the women are having to handle all aspects of life," Rebecca said with a sigh. "It will be the same through the region. We should move on to other lands."

"We can?" Amanda asked, lightly stressing the first word.

"Promise me to abide by my rules?"

"Teach me when stealing isn't offensive to your ideas?" Amanda countered.

Rebecca smiled and then opened her arm so her waxed cloak had room under it for Amanda, who swiftly took the offered spot.

"We have a deal, my student."

I love the new Fantasy Life i photo mode!

My player character with three important characters from the original Fantasy Life in Fantasy Life i: Olivia, the governor of Port Puerto (left), Laura, the princess of Castele (middle), and Damien/Daemon, the sultan of Al Maagik (left).

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ST:TOS - Dwellers in the Crucible (new chapter)

Annealed but to What? (4304 words) by Sharpest_Asp
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: TOS - Dwellers in the Crucible - Margaret Wander Bonanno
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: T'Shael, Amanda Grayson, Cleante al-Faisal
Additional Tags: Female-Centric
Summary:

In the aftermath of Dwellers in the Crucible, T'Shael is attempting to pick up her life, as Cleante is away with her mother. As a Vulcan, she expects this to be a logical step.

In the meantime, Amanda Grayson, mother of the one whom T'Shael served for, has put in place further protections for the introverted one.

Chapter Two is new with 1,041 words.

Annealed but to What?: Chapter Two

Tell me about your parents. I've told you about Mother, and the stories she told me about my father.

T'Shael even remembered Cleante's provisional words on that matter, if she remembered the correct one and wondered at the need to know more of T'Shael's family. Was it to fulfill an emotive need for something she had lacked, or merely a course to better understanding T'Shael? Were there lessons that T'Shael herself could learn by revisiting the past of her childhood dedication to her father, of telling Cleante about the woman that had rarely been present, and found her daughter lacking?

On another day, T'Shael had answered, knowing that she would soon receive the few belongings that had been held for her. With the physical reminders of specific points in her life, it would facilitate speaking of the past, of the two people who had created T'Shael and shared so little in the way of common cause.

Love. Cleante had asked her to speak of love, once, before their abduction, of love among Vulcans, and now T'Shael had a firmer grasp on the concept, understood that yes, it was an emotion, yet it was also a duty and choice. She had come to love by her own definition of it, with the need to see to Cleante's welfare, to share her life as long as possible, so that they experienced freedom and learning together.

Had her parents loved? Had it merely been duty? They had been traditionally wed, much as she had been to Stalek. Unlike with herself and Stalek, T'Pei would have known of Salet, as the man had already become a known entity with his calling to music. That they had never severed the bonds between them, even when their lives frequently left no time for cohabitation, spoke of something enduring, yet it might have only been tradition.

T'Shael consciously pulled in a deep breath, forcing herself to come away from thinking deeply — turning inward Master Stimm would say — and focused on true meditation instead. The belongings would arrive, and then she would answer Cleante's questions.

"My mother was a scientist, eminent in her field," T'Shael began, having neatly placed the holo-cube on the table after painstakingly setting it for voice cues to her script. The images were of T'Pei at work, conferences, even one aboard the ill-fated Intrepid. "She, and father, were from traditional families, and had been betrothed according to custom, much as I was to Stalek."

The image showed first the boy that had been chosen for her, and then the man at one of his own conferences.

"You didn't know him at all," Cleante said, remembering that terrible time of the burning fever within her friend.

"No. But I made it a point, during my time on Vulcan, to learn what he had become, to … what is it you say? Keep his memory alive? I believe he and I would have become as my own parents, pursuing our own lives, save for necessary times of cohabitation."

Cleante shook her head at that. "I mean, I know. In your culture, it works. Clan ahead of home, duty over companionship. It's still very odd to me, and … I don't want to be like that."

The last words were said with hesitation, and emotional weight, T'Shael realized, and had to take the time of silence after to consider the correct response for her human companion.

"I do not foresee a necessity of separate lives, until such time as you grow away from me," T'Shael finally said, before Cleante could jump up and pace, or perform some attempt at humorous deflection.

That got an impulsive reach for — and quick change of target — so that Cleante tangled her hand in the flowing sleeve of T'Shael's robe.

"Good.

"And your father?"

T'Shael remembered her script, and moved back to that. "Salet, master musician. You asked me once to speak of Vulcan love. And my father, I think, embodied that emotion, bringing it to his music, to his life in the perfection of instrument and harmony that he sought."

The holo-cube showed imagery of Salet in concerts, among the instrument makers, allowing Cleante a glimpse of younger versions of the people T'Shael had introduced her to. It ended on one of Salet in his bed, wasted by the illness, because that too was a part of T'Shael's experiences to share.

"Such opposites," Cleante said, and T'Shael could not disagree.

"My mother stated once that he indulged me, and she was not incorrect," T'Shael said. "But it was I to whom much of the labor of his care fell to. The community could only do so much, given propriety and privacy.

"I learned much, young. And chose to take the precision of my mother's analytical nature to guide me into teaching, where I could then foster the sharing of culture as he had."

"Which is how you came to be an instructor for us off-worlders, despite being young for it?" Cleante asked.

T'Shael paused, and looked at it from the human point of view, given that Cleante did know her age from discussion, albeit in very clinical words, of how T'Shael had not yet been fully wed.

"An accurate summation, yes."

Cleante studied the last image, one of T'Shael at a young age with both of her parents standing to either side, slightly behind her. T'Shael knew what she was seeing, that Salet had a hand on her shoulder, while T'Pei stood with both hands behind her, far more formal and fully Vulcan in her seeming.

"You are more than the sum of your parents," Cleante finally said, "but in the time I have known you, I can see the care for your heritage and culture that came from your father, and the adherence to duty that was probably your mother's nature.

"It is shaped by loss. I think you spent much time alone with your duty, but now? Now you can learn to share that, if you want, and we'll face the rest of it together."

T'Shael inclined her head, having come to acceptance of this in her soul-searching while separated from Cleante. In time, it would be another loss, but as with her father, she would face that ending when it came.

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journal: off my chest (affectionate)

what.

I was out grocery shopping and wearing a Stargate: SG1 t-shirt (it's cute! It's got the SGC logo, a bunch of flowers and P90s on it, and the gate + its chevrons surrounding it with the caption "Gate Team Member in Training") and this family I passed started loudly whispering about the design and debating among them if it was satanic, settling on "probably, yes."

???

Guys I am right here.

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postcards/work/pain

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(no subject)

I've not been posting or even keeping up with people so much because I've largely been wiped out for one reason or another or prioritising something else with the reduced summer PC time - sorry. This will continue for a little while yet, until it is eventually replaced by my usual slightly less flakeyness.

* The other week I managed some flash fic/scribblets for AU_gust (AU August) on tumblr. I've only managed to tidy up and post one of them since, & there are 2 others to follow once I tweak them a bit, as well as 1 more that I don't know if is worth proper posting & a drabble I still need to type up. But this used up my posting energy for now, so they can wait.

Anyway, in a shocking attempt at pandering to what might pass as popular demand among my works, I committed another Miss Marple + supernatural fic(let):

Tea on Sunday (572 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Miss Marple - Agatha Christie
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Jane Marple, Griselda Clement
Additional Tags: Ficlet, Alternate Universe, Witchcraft, AU-gust | August Writing Challenge, Community: allbingo, Community: 100_women, Community: 100fandoms, Miss Marple is a witch
Summary: Miss Marple's secret is out.

* In other writing, before summer got underway, I typed up the bulk of the longest continuous sequence I'm doing for the current arc at

rainbowfic, and then ever since have been scraping away at finishing it and editing it, and I am nearly there, although I suspect it'll still take another week or two before I have the first section ready to post. (I knew this would happen, so I also started two shorter pieces, but one of them, which is more or less done, has just been even harder to edit because tiredness etc. and the other one is still stuck at only two paragraphs, so that plan went well. Summer brain is not up to much. That was why I had to silly no-pressure AU ficlets my way back to life and even then summer rudely and immediately interrupted all over again). But there has been writing of sorts even so.

(The long sequence was one of the very first bits of this arc that I drew up, which is very funny because I essentially set up a sort of grand house murder mystery affair except that then everything changed so much that now my main characters aren't bothering taking part in the murder bit so am not sure if it will read ok (hopefully when edited) or if I committed Worst Murder Mystery ever as a result. I think probably I will also write a note on the header when we get there saying that One Day I Will Come Back, yes, one day I will come back, until then all 2 or 3 of you should go forward in all your beliefs about how people shouldn't wave a murder mystery at you and then literally run away from it, and I will eventually demonstrate that what is going on is in fact an Apocalyptic Overarching Plot, so there. And edit, of course.)

* I am currently listening to: a 1989 BBC Radio adaptation of Wilkie Collins's No Name I was delighted to find, starring Sophie Thompson as Magdalen, Jack May (as Captain Wragge), Eleanor Bron (as Mrs Lecount) & Robin Ellis (as Captain Kirke). I'm going slowly, but have just started part 3. It's very good and they're making excellent use of the epistolary bits, which is where radio has an advantage over TV. Mrs Lecount and her sinister toad have just turned up and Eleanor Bron is obviously a v good choice.

* I have watched some things, which, aside from what I've already mentioned, and a ridiculous amount of TV detectives, includes these:

The Tribe (1998), The Halfway House (1944), A Matter of Life and Death (1946), The Admirable Crichton (1957), Creation (2009), Cause Celebre (1988) & Eye in the Sky (2015), all of which were either v good or worth talking about anyway. (Creation and Eye in the Sky have brought me very nearly to the end of my Jeremy Northam's viable CV, so I'm a little bit in mourning now; I suppose a new blorbo will come along in time. Talking of which, I found that the iPlayer had the BBC 1970s All Creatures on it, so finally got around to seeing Suzanne Neve's episode of it, which would be the one thing I would certainly have watched with her when I was a child to see if I had shadowy feelings and indeed, as soon as she appeared, before even I saw her, the set was suddenly Significant in the back of my head, so yeah. I think I can prove childhood imprinting on all my top faves and that's what the thing is about, and why even when I'm so ill they reach me in ways that other people, no matter how much I enjoy them in things, don't unfortunately.)

(Hopefully I will get to talk about some of them properly, but I am happy to attempt such talk in comments if wanted, although sense is not guaranteed, and it is true that at least one or two I watched in a fugue state that all I can say is, well, it was good and I watched it very slowly in bits and there we are, but, yes it was good /o\)

* Also random funny thing. My old housemate N lent me a DVD (!!) of The Residence (was not joking about the sheer amount of detectives watched this summer), which I enjoyed so much I recced it to my Dad. A couple of weeks later we had this conversation:

Dad: I've been watching that medical drama you recommended, but it's not that great, really, so I've stopped.

Me: ... Medical drama??

(It turned out he'd found The Resident on one of the back Freeview channels, so I emailed him a trailer of the 2025 Netflix detective show that I magically got lent on DVD as if it was 2015 or something. He found a pirate source and then lost it again, but he definitely liked what he watched so far a lot better than the Resident).

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X-Files Drabble

It Was a Sore Subject (100 words) by Sharpest_Asp
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: X-Files
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Dana Scully [X-Files], Fox Mulder [X-Files]
Additional Tags: Drabble, Prompt Fic
Summary:

Fox drags in on Monday worse for wear

It Was a Sore Subject

"Don't ask."

Despite that warning, Dana followed Fox into their office, highly concerned about his disheveled clothes, the scruffy cheeks, and most of all, the black eye coming in vividly.

"I think this is one time I can safely assume there weren't any aliens involved," she quipped at him, to try and set a better mood.

His wan smile only highlighted how tired he was on top of it.

She raised an eyebrow, obeying the 'don't ask', knowing he'd cave.

"Frohicke took me to a con. There was a scuffle."

"At a convention?"

"Comic book fans can be very violent."

Entry tags:

tv:foundation

Foundation 3x01-02

Watched the first couple of episodes of the new season!

( Spoilers )

If you're watching it, no spoilers beyond episode 2, please!

Entry tags:

highlander

Highlander: Ten favorite episodes

I decided to make another fannish list, this time without ranking. What it says on the tin! For this, I chose purely based on individual episodes which I look forward to on every watch. They are not necessarily the "best" but they each hold a special place in my heart. Cut for length. ( Read more... )

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fan fiction,
fandom

Here's a fun challenge: 1character

If you're like me and enjoy low-key fandom challenges,

1character looks to be a fun one. (Thanks

trillingstar for sharing about it.)

You claim one character, pick a theme set (each set contains 50 prompts), and write 50 sentences inspired by the prompts in the theme set.

You can kinda do whatever you want with it. Write a story that incorporate the sentences. Or just write a single sentence for each prompt, not connected to any story. Sentences can be in any order. Once you claim a character, you get 3 months to finish.

Straightforward, low presh, my kind of thing.

And BTW, no one has claimed any FK characters yet.