Books | Reading & Just Finished

Jan. 8th, 2026 12:52 am
flareonfury: (Voidwalker)
[personal profile] flareonfury
Crossposting my comment from [community profile] booknook. If I can remember to keep this up for every "Wednesday Reading Progress" that would be great or maybe every other week. I don't normally post comments on Goodreads just ratings so this might be a good way to remember my feelings about a particular book/author. Please note that I mainly read Romance books, other genres are usually secondary.

In this case, some of my thoughts were already posted in a previous post.


Currently Reading:
currently reading... )

Just Finished:
just finished (today)... )

Finished within the last week:
finished within the last week... )

Lake Lewisia #1353

Jan. 7th, 2026 04:39 pm
scrubjayspeaks: Town sign for (fictional) Lake Lewisia, showing icons of mountains and a lake with the letter L (Lake Lewisia)
[personal profile] scrubjayspeaks
She stepped onto the stage, wide-eyed and white knuckled around the gathered black plastic bag in her hands, and tentatively shuffled into the sizzle of the spotlight. Applause burst out from the audience, visible only around the very edges of the light as shadowy wings and horns, at the sight of her in her moth-eaten sweater and her coziest slippers. When she had stepped through her apartment door to take out the trash, she had expected to enter a hallway, rather than an elaborately dressed stage in mid-production somewhere in the fae realms, and she had no idea what to expect when she made it all the way to stage right.

---

LL#1353

Stargate Fic: Risk

Jan. 7th, 2026 07:01 pm
renfys: (Default)
[personal profile] renfys

Title: Risk
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Rating: G
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Summary: "You think in every reality we're together?"
Notes: 1889 words. Set after Point of View to Small Victories

My Site // A03


Snowflake

Jan. 7th, 2026 01:06 pm
author_by_night: (zoeserenity by hobbitseeker)
[personal profile] author_by_night
Challenge #4: Rec Your Last Page

Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!

I would like to defend two sites I think get a bad rap: Reddit and tumblr. (I say this as someone who rallied against tumblr for years.)

 
Don't get me wrong, the criticisms are not without merit. There are a lot of weirdo incels on Reddit, and a lot of the advice subs are pretty much, well...

Q: My aunt and I got into an argument over her rosebushes. What should I do?

A: Your aunt is a malignant narcissist. You should immediately cut all contact.

Yet sometimes, you'll get...

Q: AITA? My aunt started chasing me with hedge trimmers.

A: YTA. You're a malignant narcissist.

And of course, half the stories are probably fake. 

AITA for robbing a Build-a-Bear during an orphan's birthday party?

I mean. 

Tumblr has similar flavoring when it comes to people  having very disproportionate responses. There's a lot of "how dare you say we piss on the poor". Then there's weird fandom drama, and my sense is that I've only seen the milder weird fandom drama, so I can only imagine what the rest of it is like.

That said, I've been Very Online for a very long time. Most spaces have things like what I mentioned above. Overreactions, gatekeeping, really bad advice, fandom drama. (fandom_wank existed for a reason.)

Moreover, I've found community for things that I'm interested in. I've seen people actually get a lot of support. Cliche though this advice is, you really do need to curate your experience. I stepped away from a fandom I felt was becoming too toxic. I stopped reading the relationship advice and AITA subreddits, although I do like BestofRedditorUpdates. 

And I like that where tumblr is concerned, it reminds me a lot of old school LJ. Probably because a large portion of the populace are former LJers. I mean sure, that's also why the drama can be beyond, but it's also very quirky and fun and SLIGHTLY CHAOTIC.

So yeah. Reddit and tumblr are definitely imperfect. Lots of pissing on the poor to be had. But curating my experience has helped a lot. 

BtVS Double Drabble: I Spy…

Jan. 7th, 2026 05:43 pm
badly_knitted: (Rose)
[personal profile] badly_knitted
 


Title: I Spy…
Fandom: BtVS
Author: 
[personal profile] badly_knitted
Characters: Buffy, Angel, Drusilla.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 483: Shiver at 
[community profile] drabble_zone.
Spoilers/Setting: Lie To Me.
Summary: Buffy sees something she really wishes she hadn’t
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters.
A/N: Double drabble.
 
 


I Spy… )

FAKE Double Drabble: A Simpler Job

Jan. 7th, 2026 05:33 pm
badly_knitted: (Dee & Ryo black & white)
[personal profile] badly_knitted
 


Title: A Simpler Job
Fandom: FAKE
Author: 
[personal profile] badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: There are times when Dee almost wishes he’d chosen a less stressful career.
Written Using: The dw100 prompt ‘Mechanic’.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: Double drabble.
 


 

Double Drabble: Mental Incapacity

Jan. 7th, 2026 05:24 pm
badly_knitted: (JB Weird)
[personal profile] badly_knitted
 


Title: Mental Incapacity
Author: 
[personal profile] badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 899: Fog, at 
[community profile] torchwood100.
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Ianto has a question.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Double drabble.
 
 


Snowflake Challenge #2

Jan. 7th, 2026 09:33 am
imhilien: Snowflake Challenge (pic#18233990)
[personal profile] imhilien
Challenge #2: Pets of Fandom

Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!

When I was a kid, I had a pet rabbit that lived in a hutch outside. Later on, I had budgies and goldfish as pets.

Mum and I were allergic to cats, so sadly I've never had any. 

I like cats in fandom though - there's Data's cat Spot in ST:TNG and Uncle Rogi has Maine Coon cats in the Galactic Milieu book series by Julian May.

Candy Hearts Exchange Letter

Jan. 4th, 2026 03:24 pm
saraisa: Leia smirking (Default)
[personal profile] saraisa
Thanks for creating for me or considering creating for me! This is a list of my likes, DNWs, and some thoughts on each of the specific ships I requested.

General Likes
  • All the awkwardly-shoved-together situations: forced proximity, huddling for warmth, magically bonded, on the run/stranded together, only one bed, snowed in
  • Animals and nature - of all kinds (I really like birds and snakes in particular)
  • Canon divergence
  • Character studies
  • Codas
  • Espionage and intrigue
  • Explorations of power/class/culture/gender dynamics
  • Hurt/comfort
  • Identity porn
  • In historical canons specifically, where lgbtq pairings and characters are concerned: internalized homophobia and period-typical homophobia (and similar -ias and -isms). It does not have to be a major focus by any means, but I like when it's more realistic about who would be supportive or understanding, and the hangups some characters would have about their own feelings. Racism is a bit more of an outright no in any instance though.
  • Mishaps leading to tropeyness with something like a magic spell, an invention, etc., depending on the canon, as a driver of the plot
  • Non-human, magical, and otherwise powered characters being general oddities, with a focus on their abilities
  • Nuanced dynamics and shades of grey in characters, their beliefs, and their actions
  • On the run
  • Other sides to people, such as a typically nice character having an edge of cruelty, or a villainous character showing a vulnerable side
  • Physical affection, both romantic and nonromantic
  • "Relationship structure happens before the relationship itself" tropes: accidental marriage, fake marriage, fake relationship
  • Seasonal themes (for the northern hemisphere)
  • Somebody lives/not everyone dies
  • Strong platonic relationships
  • Telepathy and mental connections
  • Time travel and dimension travel shenanigans: time travel fix-it, time loops, multiple selves running around
  • Traumatized people bonding with each other
  • Weird, humanizing quirks
  • Worldbuilding
NSFW Likes
  • Banter during sex, laughter during sex
  • Biting, bruising, marking - particularly scratching up someone's arms or back
  • Body worship
  • Fighting as foreplay
  • Fingering
  • First time, together or in general
  • Forced but by an outside party: bad guys made them do it, fuck or die, sex pollen
  • Frottage
  • Hair play (lightly messing with or pulling)
  • Light blindfolds and restraints
  • Lingerie and other skimpy clothing
  • Magic/power/other ability use during sex
  • Manhandling
  • Oral sex: blowjobs, cunnilingus, face-fucking, face-sitting, cockwarming, nipple licking, etc
  • Orgasm delay/denial
  • Word preference: clit, cock, come (spelling preferred for both noun and verb), cunt, entrance, hole
General DNWs
  • Amnesia
  • Animal abuse (eating meat is fine, though)
  • Breakup then makeup
  • Cannibalism
  • Character bashing
  • Eating disorders
  • Excessive gore (I'm not against there being violence or blood, but as soon as it gets to viscera I'm a bit picky)
  • Found family groups being boxed into nuclear family roles (this essentially means don't call someone the group mom or dad)
  • Genderbends
  • Hanahaki
  • Infidelity
  • Jealousy as a major plot point
  • Major character death (unless exempted in signup)
  • Mundane and setting change AUs
  • Non-canon nicknames
  • Omegaverse
  • Pregnancy
  • Self-harm specifically by cutting or burning one's own body
  • Soulmates
  • Therapy and therapy-speak
NSFW DNWs
  • Age play
  • Anything to do with cervixes or urethras
  • Breeding kink
  • Fisting
  • Loud sex where others can hear them
  • Mommy/daddy kink
  • Object insertion (beyond a strap or dildo, which is fine)
  • Oviposition
  • Piss/scat/emetophilia
  • The phrases "good boy/girl" or "you're mine"
  • Rape/noncon
  • Spanking
  • Spitting in mouths (spit as lube is fine)
  • Structured BDSM (basically anything more than informal d/s) - biologically, explicitly designated roles, 24/7, at a club, stoplight system
  • The term "intersex" used to describe fantasy dualsex anatomy, i.e. there is a separate vulva and penis and all of it is functioning, though I generally only like this anatomy on non-human characters anyway
  • Underage sex below 16
Fandom-Specific Requests

Below are some of my thoughts on each ship I requested, or else some potential prompts and jumping-off points, if you feel inclined to use them.

Persephone - Song

Narrator/Persephone
I was going through my music for songs to nominate and settled on this one, which was particular earworm for a while. The snapshot of story we get is enough to leave you wanting more - who is the narrator running from (husband, boyfriend, dad?), and will they ever stay with Persephone? For this one, some homage to the Montreal setting would be cool, though not at all required. I'd also be okay with an experimental style. On the other hand, as I mentioned in the signup, I DNW direct mythological Persephone allegories, since that's a bit of a notp for me.

Star Wars Original Trilogy

DNW: any romantic ships for these characters, beyond past Anakin/Padmé; narrative Jedi bashing; random Mandalorian culture; sequel trilogy compliance/tie-ins; Tatooine slave culture fanon

Leia & Luke, Luke & Vader, Leia & Vader, Leia & Luke & Vader

For this one, I'm always down for OT-era Skywalker family drama (even though yes, Leia doesn't consider herself one), whether that's digging into Luke and Leia's connection, Luke and Vader's push-and-pull between love and anger, Leia and Vader's mutual hatred of each other despite some bare-bones personality similarities, or all of them mixed up into one. I'm especially into various takes on them finding out they're related to each other, and the "forced into a room (or even mental headspace) together" type of thing.

Stranger Things

For all of these, I'm interested in post-canon and fill-in-the-blanks for season 5, as well as s4-5 time skip "quarantine" fic, but I'm also interested in larger-scale canon divergence: what if the apocalyptic rift in s4 was actually as bad as it seemed, and it spread far and wide? What if the Mind Flayer isn't truly dead, given the mist that leaves the kids at the end? And other 

DNW: El/Mike, (requited) Will/Mike, Steve/Eddie, Eddie in general

Eleven "Jane" Hopper & Kali Prasad
The only acceptable ending for me is where El and Kali both made it out. These two abused girls who had to "die" to escape the endless cycle of abuse, but did (in my mind). How do they pick up the pieces? Or, if things are worse, how do they hold on to their hope in a dire situation?

Eleven "Jane" Hopper/Maxine "Max" Mayfield
While I love Lucas/Max, I'm happy with what we got in canon for them, while my El/Max heart was disappointed by their overall lack of interaction relative to seasons 3 and 4. Some ideas: the two of them having a mental link in the time skip period - whether El is able to reach Max and it becomes canon divergence, or El just acts as a lifeline for her; Max post-canon looking for El; El doesn't have to fake her death and they head to college together, plus or minus some extradimensional horrors.

Eleven "Jane" Hopper & Will Byers

They consider each other siblings, or at least good friends, by the end of it, but they never actually had all that much solo interaction together. But there's so much to work with: the elephant in the room about Mike, Henry influencing their childhood trauma, the powers (which I don't really buy were all Henry/Mind Flayer caused, or that one or both of them would lose post-canon).

Henry Creel | One | Vecna & Will Byers
Fascinated by the connection between them on every level, really. Similar in some ways, different in others, unwillingly connected on Will's end. Henry does this whole gaslighting thing trying to convince Will he's weak, but he's not, and there was a reason he chose him...so why? I particularly like when Will gets to do more with this connection and his powers than he did in canon, and if he has powers that are a bit more expanded than explicitly because of Henry.

Holly Wheeler & Maxine "Max" Mayfield
Once I got over Holly's aging-up, I really enjoyed her as a character and her relationship with Max. While not everything in fandom has to be a familial relationship, I enjoyed the way Max seemed to like taking care of her and watching out for her like a big sister would. While she only had Billy, who terrified her, she got to be a comforting presence for Holly, and Holly gained some real self-confidence with Max's help. More of this dynamic - whether in-canon or post-canon - would be great.

Nancy Wheeler/Robin Buckley
Forever obsessed with them, no matter what. I was pleasantly surprised that Nancy ended up with neither Steve nor Jonathan, and they are all amicable with each other, because it's the perfect setup for these two. Alternately, I would enjoy Nancy and Robin getting together in the season 4-5 time skip and how that happens.

Trigun

Legato Bluesummers/Millions Knives
They are just so fucked up, and I think they would be great being fucked up together. I like when there's an (admittedly ooc) smidge of requitedness on Knives' end, without making them any less messy than they canonically are. They both have twisted - but understandable, from their perspectives - ideas about morality, relationships and presumably sex, and their own roles in the world. Mostly, it's so compelling to me because Knives' whole thing with Legato seems to be purely vibes and whims-based in a way he isn’t with others, even when he hurts him and is abusive to him.

Meryl Stryfe/Milly Thompson
The insurance girls! I love them together, but want them as more than a background ship to enjoy them. They can both hold their own in their messed-up world, they're a kind of hilarious representation of bureaucracy, they're headstrong and loveable.

Millions Knives & Vash the Stampede
Obsessed with how complex they are. Knives is the definition of "great point, still murder though" because he's not exactly wrong about Plant exploitation, but still made the situation worse and continues to make it worse. Vash is such a good depiction of a pacifist but ends up having to break that, and not even because of Knives. They both hate and love each other and I am always invested in those kinds of relationships, where nothing will ever be like it was again but they both might secretly wish it was. Some ideas: post-canon but Knives doesn't die, and this then creates the issue of what the two of them can even do; mental communication over the years; there's an outside/third threat that forces them to work together temporarily.

Crossover Fandom

Dana Scully/Nancy Wheeler

Based on their canonical birth dates, Scully is only a few years older than Nancy. For this one, I imagine Nancy still hunting monsters of all varieties into the 90s, which is when she stumbles upon Scully (and Mulder, maybe, but Scully is the important part). As I said in the overall ST request, I am fine with general divergence from the show's ending to keep some Upside Down elements into the next decade; meanwhile, the lighter on the X-Files lore it is, the better, given its inconsistency.

Jason Grace/Will Byers
This was an extremely random nomination on my part, but the general logic was: Will reminds me somewhat of Nico in storyline -> I like Jason's friendship with Nico and how he was supportive of him -> still in denial about Jason's death -> Jason could be crossover-portaled to Stranger Things universe when he dies, especially given there are now canonical wormholes to other dimensions -> I'm always entertaining Will pairings and I think there's something to bond with re: traumatized kids, iffy to outright bad dads, and powers, but also they're different enough in personality to not feel like the same people from different canons meshed together.

Luke Skywalker & Vash the Stampede
Two of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy protagonists tied to loose cannon murderous family members who they both love and hate. Also blonds (well, Luke only arguably) who get dismembered by said loose cannon family members. They're similar enough, but their philosophies are not the same, and I want them to meet and see how that goes.

Nico di Angelo & Piranesi | Matthew Rose Sorenson
I loved the one fic of them that exists, which is where I got the idea for this nomination - but don't want an exact replica, of course. In particular, I like tying the House's labyrinth to the mythological labyrinth, given Nico's experience with it. The statues as representations of concepts is also something that stuck with me.
badly_knitted: (BSP 5 - Dee & Ryo)
[personal profile] badly_knitted
 


Title: At The Deep End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: 
[personal profile] badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee, Bikky.
Rating: PG
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: Being promoted to detective had been a steep learning curve for Ryo.
Written Using: The dw100 prompt ‘Curve’.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: Double drabble.
 


 

Doctor Who: Knowledge

Jan. 6th, 2026 05:12 pm
badly_knitted: (Eleven & TARDIS)
[personal profile] badly_knitted
 


Title: Knowledge
Author: 
[personal profile] badly_knitted
Characters: The Doctor.
Rating: G
Written For: Challenge 989: ‘Glean’ at 
[community profile] dw100.
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: In his travels, the Doctor is constantly learning and discovering.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Doctor Who, or the characters.
 
 


Double Drabble: Like A Fog

Jan. 6th, 2026 05:04 pm
badly_knitted: (Broken)
[personal profile] badly_knitted
 


Title: Like A Fog
Author: 
[personal profile] badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Gwen.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 899: Fog, at 
[community profile] torchwood100.
Spoilers: Set post-Exit Wounds.
Summary: Grief is hanging over the Hub like fog.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Double drabble.
 
 


Unsatisfying

Jan. 6th, 2026 04:33 pm
lea_hazel: Don't make me look up from my book (Basic: Reading)
[personal profile] lea_hazel
By some chain of events that I'm not 100% clear on, on Saturday afternoon/evening, I went down a rabbit hole of searching for female-led fantasy books. Again. I can't count how many times I've done this, and yet the results are most often frustrating and unsatisfying, in a way that makes me feel like a weird gremlin.

Part of that is that I'm incredibly persnickety about what I'm looking for, and none of the people who have tried recommending books to me really gets it.

a random sampling of some of my idiosyncrasies: )

So on a whim, I started reading Michelle Sagara's Cast in Shadow (published in 2005). I daresay it's quite a good book. It's well-written, and the worldbuilding is intriguing. Various mysteries are laid out meticulously and answered piecemeal. Conflict abounds. If I didn't have a series of incredibly specific sensitivities, I probably would have enjoyed it greatly. Followed by enjoying the next 15-20 books in the same series. About one a year since the first one, maybe? Anyway, it's a lot of books.

But 2005 wasn't a very good year for me, and something about the context of the book sent me back there in a way that I didn't care for. I didn't finish it.

I can neither recommend, nor counter-recommend it.

To The Fandoms I've Only Observed

Jan. 6th, 2026 07:51 am
author_by_night: (I really need a new userpic)
[personal profile] author_by_night
 Snowflake Challenge 3: Fandom Love Letter

You know, I struggled with this one, because I've already said so much before. Then it hit me.

The poem below isn't my best poetry. It's more vibes I'm going for.


To The Fandoms I've Only Observed

I was very lost when it came to LOST
An island, a guy named Locke
"Stop comparing it to Survivor, I beg of you"
Every day saw new userpics, tags, memes
Then cries of rage when the final episode aired
I listened and nodded in sympathy

Supernatural: This one I sometimes watched
Hopping in the Chevy Impala
With Sam and Dean
Bobby, John, Castiel
I kept a quiet distance, true
Yet even I shipped Destiel

I learned it was Downton Abbey, not Downtown Abby
(Sweet summer souls)
Stranger Things  happened, and the internet
Excitedly gabbed and wrote about Mike, Will, Steve and El
MCU took center stage, with its heroes and villains
What We Do in the Shadows remained a mystery to me
But it certainly sounded entertaining

Now Heated Rivalry's the talk of the town
Fans declaring their love for Ilya and Shane
We mustn't forget Scott and Kip's smoothies
Hockey might be on ice, but there's plenty of heat
According to the folks on tumblr


No, these fandoms are not mine
They may be one day - but also
May never be of further interest
Yet I have a soft spot for them
Or at least, what I know of them

I love ships I've never set foot on
I love blorbos I've never met
I love that I can know these people
The joy, excitement, heat is infectious
Making me smile, giving me light
It's a pleasure to come along for the ride



Snowflake Challenge #3

Jan. 6th, 2026 12:18 pm
evandar: (Snowflake Challenge)
[personal profile] evandar
two log cabins with snow on the roofs in a wintery forest the text snowflake challenge january 1 - 31 in white cursive text

Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.

Read more... )

2026 Prediction Meme

Jan. 6th, 2026 12:03 pm
evandar: (Eddie)
[personal profile] evandar
This little book meme is shamelessly lifted from [personal profile] calliopes_pen.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Turn to page 126
3. The 6th full sentence is your life in 2026.


My nearest book is The Shining by Stephen King, so we're off to a great start before I've even opened it.

I'm going to include the following lines since this is actually a bit of dialogue followed by a lovely little sinister premonition.



"I doubt it," Ullman repeated, and he sounded sad. "The place in Florida is a dump, if the out-and-out truth is to be spoken. The Overlook is my real job. Take good care of it for me, Mr Torrance."

"I think it will be here when you get back next spring," Jack said and a thought flashed through Danny's mind.

(but will we?)


So, what this reads as to me is reluctantly turning over responsibility of something to someone else and it all going to hell in a handbasket.

Lake Lewisia #1352

Jan. 5th, 2026 05:25 pm
scrubjayspeaks: Town sign for (fictional) Lake Lewisia, showing icons of mountains and a lake with the letter L (Lake Lewisia)
[personal profile] scrubjayspeaks
This is the time of year when many will fall victim to predatory prognosticators, claiming to have the ability to foretell your fate in 2026. We recommend only consulting officially licensed prophets, seers, and fortunetellers, whose respective governing bodies monitor accuracy, timeliness, and ethical methodology. And remember, anyone who claims the future is both knowable and unchangeable has clearly never encountered even a basic temporal anomaly, so how much can they really know about the world around us?

---

LL#1352

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