sholio: Gurathin from Murderbot looking soft and wondering (Murderbot-Gura)
[personal profile] sholio
This particular prompt was just too Murderbot not to write.

No. 4: “Don’t be scared, I’ve done this before.”
Non-Human Whumper | Iron Rod | Loss of Powers

Murderbot & Gurathin h/c, gen, 1500 wds (TV-verse or books, set after Fugitive Telemetry, probably)
Also posted on AO3 as Educational

1500 wds under the cut )

Shipping Meme

Oct. 3rd, 2025 11:37 pm
soc_puppet: Two girls in highschool uniform staring in awe; their hands are pressed together, and imaginary roses are blooming behind them. Above them is a crude drawing of an umbrella topped with a heart and the words, "A happy ending". (I ship it)
[personal profile] soc_puppet
Shamelessly stolen from this post by [tumblr.com profile] human_otp_prompt_generator:

Silly Competitive Scenarios for Your OTP

They compete to see who can:

1. Give the other the most surprise hugs/kisses
2. Make the best meal for the other person
3. Go the longest without touching the other person
4. Buy the best gift for the other person with the least amount of money
5. Stay cuddled the before they have to get up
6. Stay awake the longest during movie night
7. Leave the most hickeys on the other person
8. Answer the most questions about the other person correctly
9. Outdo the other person on celebrating their mutual friend's birthday
10. Do the most daring dares during Truth or Dare
11. Tell the most embarrassing truths during Truth or Dare
12. Find out if they're right about some insignificant topic
13. Write the best poem or song about the other person
14. Win at a sport or game
15. Come up with more compliments about the other person

Responses for BingQiu (plus one BingYuan) )

I plan to come back and do this for Avery and Zeek as well, but this is who we get today!

Stage-Land

Oct. 3rd, 2025 11:47 pm
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] book_love
Stage-Land by Jerome K. Jerome

A work in which Jerome scores off the stereotypes of theater in his day. Those who have read Three Men And A Boat will recognize the style and humor.
[personal profile] tcampbell1000 posting in [community profile] scans_daily
At [personal profile] iamrman’s request, I’m doing a few posts this week picking up where he left off in the DeFalco era of the Fantastic Four.

I will not be doing this issue by issue because I value my sanity. But #399 included an exceptional scene that brought a long-running sub-theme to a close, so I will throw a spotlight on that, and its follow-up the issue afterward.



What the double-dash INDEED! I didn’t even know 'death-struggle' was a VERB! )

Old books and old ships

Oct. 3rd, 2025 11:48 pm
bunn: (Default)
[personal profile] bunn
I read some old books about boats (and ships) and decided to ramble about them here.

Read more... )

One thing all these books had in common was that they are print format, so I can read them 3 inches from my nose. I am definitely struggling a bit to read stuff at laptop screen distance at the moment, so I have been to the optician and ordered, with some fear and dread, some varifocal glasses. I hope I like them, they cost enough!

Spider-Man ‘94 #1

Oct. 3rd, 2025 01:20 pm
cyberghostface: (Spider-Man)
[personal profile] cyberghostface posting in [community profile] scans_daily


"The 1990s Spider-Man animated series has become a beloved part of Spidey lore—it was the introduction to Peter Parker and his universe for an entire generation—and I’m delighted to be diving back into that universe. We’re treating this as the next season of the show, which means introducing new villains, new challenges, new adventures for Peter—while doing our best to remain true to the creative spirit that John Semper and Company established with the original show." -- J.M. DeMatteis

Scans under the cut... )

Dear Festividder

Oct. 3rd, 2025 10:27 am
starlady: Kermit the Frog, at Yuletide (yuletide)
[personal profile] starlady
 Letter TK
tropicsbear: Woman scientist flexing with background text "Science builds the future" (Science builds the future)
[personal profile] tropicsbear

Robots & Artificial Intelligence Short Stories

(I bought this 100% because of the pretty hardcover with the shiny foil. The picture doesn't do it justice.)

It took almost three years for me to finish this 💀 In my defense, I kept putting down and ignoring this for long stretches of time whenever I was in the middle of a story that I didn't vibe with. I'm not gonna rate the collection as a whole because I think it makes more sense to rate per story ... but I'm also too lazy to rate per story.

I'll settle for listing my favorites in no particular order:

  • "Demeter's Regard" by Deborah L. Davitt
  • "Owen" by Bruce Golden
  • "The Dancing Partner" by Jerome K. Jerome
  • "The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant" by Rachael K. Jones
  • "Dispo and the Crow" by Rich Larson
  • "I, Coffeepot" by David Sklar

Problem that I didn't anticipate with this book: How absolutely unengaging I would find some of the older stories. Those were usually the ones I needed to drag myself through because the completionist in me wasn't bored enough to skip anything. I don't know if it's because the style of prose just doesn't jive with what I'm used to or if it's something else. The worst ones (in terms of keeping my attention) were "The Steam Man of the Prairies" by Edward S. Ellis, and "Frank Reade Jr. & His New Steam Man" and "Frank Reade Jr. & His New Steam Horse" by Luis Philip Senarens.

(It also didn't help that they were very racist towards the characters of color. I thought it was weird that they had a foreword and a publisher's note for the collection but neither one included any warnings about it, like the Warner Bros. one for their old cartoons.)

I have a couple more collection type books in my to-read pile to go through, but I think after those I'm done with collections.

stubbleupdate: (Default)
[personal profile] stubbleupdate posting in [community profile] scans_daily
Shortbox Comics Fair launched on the first of October. It ends when November arrives.

The SCBF used to be physical comics, and is where you'll have seen books like I see a Knight by Xulia Vicente, the story of a woman followed throughout her life by a headless knight that only she can see. It is excellent. Or Joe Sparrow's Homunculus, which made me cry in a coffee shop. Or Lissa Tremain's Minotaar, about two friends confronting what lies at the heart of a Scandinavian influenced flat pack furniture store.

SBCF has made the move to digital only, as their official bluesky says Over 140+ all-new, original comics created by artists from around the world, gathered exclusively in one place -for October only!

And it's all online, with all digital comics: no shipping, no waiting, no travelling.


You can, if you wish, buy the entire catalogue at the touch of a button. It only costs £997.89!

My first browse of the store has yielded a basket of 13 books for the bargain price of £92. Maybe I'll prune that list, maybe I'll add to it.

It includes...
Knightfall by Rowan Fartousi
The plan was simple: sneak into the Knights’ headquarters, steal what they need, and get out before sunrise. On the run and running out of time, Blue clings to a crumbling plan and a partner who barely believes in him. But when the past catches up in the form of the boy he left behind, Blue must confront the memories that refuse to stay buried.
I do love a heist. And I DO enjoy knights.

War and the Maiden by Riotbones
War and a historian meet in a library at the end of the world: what follows is a reckoning between memory and myth. As ruins smoulder beyond the walls, they trade stories—the historian, relentless in remembering and cataloguing every atrocity, while War, ageless and unrepentant, offers only more questions.
In the previews for SBCF, this book stood out as an obvious buy on sight.

Wide Open Spaes by Lara Joven
A coming of age short comic about two friends facing adult life in two very different ways, so different that it tears them apart without them even knowing. A story not only about friendship but also about how insecurities can blind us.

Summer of the Wondrous Salamander
A narrator's reminiscence on a strange childhood summer spent with a creature that eludes both definition and the authorities. Also a story not-quite about a grandmother, and a house.
Now THAT's how you title a comic book!

Laura by Marty Tina G
Ten years after the vampire Carmilla has been killed, Laura (her former prey) continues to be haunted by her ghost. How vivid can an apparition get? What do you do when you can’t find escape from grief?
Laura is a gothic horror comic directly inspired by the 1872 vampire novella Carmilla. It can be enjoyed as a standalone story even by people who haven't read the book.
Marty Tina G is AKA Geezmarty. She's very good. I've commissioned a few pieces from her in the past and always been delighted with the results.

Ladies of the Living Princess by Theo Stultz
The ladies of the living princess serve their mistress in the cloistered halls of the mysterious innermost castle. Ursa, ostracized by the others, carefully tends to the most respected young lady among them, Genevieve, who has been abandoned by her friends after being struck with a sleeping curse. But when those responsible for the curse seem to turn their attention to Ursa, a strange power makes itself known…
The Queen of the Underworld is dead, the dead spill vengefully upon the living. A medieval haunted-house fairytale about weird girls winning.

This looks weird, and maybe a little bit Ninth House. I love it.

How to be a good human by MIUWN
Three tablespoons of flour, two-and-a-half cups of baking soda, and a teaspoon of butter... if only being human was as simple as following a recipe. The official human guidebook is rather complicated, but as long as the instructions are followed carefully, everything will turn out well, won’t it?
The blurb didn't inspire me, but the art does. Nothing looks like this. I'm delighted by the idea.

A Little Beauty by Laura Knetzger
After an ordinary woman brings home a huge ugly bouquet of flowers, her personality changes. Suddenly intensely interested in creativity, she throws herself into making art and worshipping the bouquet as her muse. As she spirals further into obsession, her son has to choose between destroying his mother’s joy or saving her ‘normal’ life.
This sounds weird. I love it.

Judas of the Opera

Oct. 3rd, 2025 09:56 pm
tropicsbear: A woman with her hair floating around her head surrounded by glowing magenta and teal orbs (Woman: Surrounded by glowing orbs)
[personal profile] tropicsbear

Judas is the demon I cling to
Inside my mind

megan_moonlight: (fenris)
[personal profile] megan_moonlight
(A letter for Dragon Age Poly Exchange 2025)

Hello, Author!

I'm very glad we were matched :) Below you'll find information about my likes and dislikes, and in case you need inspiration, prompts for each requested ship (feel free to mix and match as you please, I want you to have fun, too!). I hope you'll find the letter helpful.

My general likes and dislikes:

LIKES: fluff, hurt/comfort, humour, action/adventure, friendships, found families, fics about asexuality/asexual characters, AUs (especially library/bookshop!AU, flower shop!AU, werewolf!AU) and happy endings.
For ship!fics, my favourite tropes are: first times, fake relationships becoming real, resolved misunderstandings, banter, meeting the family/friends, and curtain!fics.

DO NOT WANTS: Rape/non-con, queerphobia, genderbend, slavery/slavery au, A/B/O, pregnancies/kid!fic, feminization kink, character/ship bashing, underage, abusive relationships presented as romantic, infidelity, harming/death of animals (including hunting etc.), heavy angst without happy ending, unrequited love/Hanahaki Disease, de-aging, historical AUs, soulmate!AU, major character death/death!fic, break up!fic, amnesia!fic, mentioning pairings not listed, 1st/2nd person POV, any variation of the word "come" spelled as "cum", word "panties".

DRAGON AGE specific DO NOT WANTS: Cullen Rutherford and Cullen ships appearing, siding with templars/templar apologists, Chantry-positivity/Chantry apologists, Solas/Inquisitor, Alistair/Warden, female!Hawke, Fenris/Isabela, Carver/Merrill, Anders bashing, Fenris bashing, Bull’s Chargers being dead.

Treats of all kinds welcome! The Veilguard spoilers welcome!

Pairings (in alphabetical order):

Blackwall/The Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus )

Cole/Lucanis Dellamorte/Spite )

Cole/Lucanis Dellamorte/Spite/Emmrich Volkarin )

Cremisius Aclassi/Male Cadash/Cole )

Fenris/Male Hawke/Donnic Hendyr/Aveline Vallen )

Lucanis Dellamorte/Male Qunari Ingellvar/Spite/Emmrich Volkarin )

Lucanis Dellamorte/Male Human Thorne/Spite/Emmrich Volkarin )

Lucanis Dellamorte/Spite/Emmrich Volkarin )

Male Adaar/Blackwall/Davrin )

Male Adaar/Blackwall/The Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus )

Male Amell/Zevran Arainai/Nathaniel Howe )


That would be all, I think. Thank you again for signing up, and I hope you'll enjoy creating.


After Yom Kippur

Oct. 3rd, 2025 10:14 am
naraht: Moonrise over Earth (Default)
[personal profile] naraht
The only two things certain in life are death and taxes. In the hangover from Yom Kippur I've just finished filling out my Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, which I loathe with a passion. But death seems more significant this year.

Last night I got back from Yom Kippur services exhausted and still a bit light-headed from the twenty-five hour fast. The first thing I saw was an email from my mother about "the attack on Manchester." Amazingly it was the first I'd heard of it. The security people at the synagogue must have known but I don't think most people did. I should have realised when I saw a police car outside in the afternoon that something must have happened.

This is apparently "the first deadly attack on a British synagogue" and the deadliest attack ever on a place of worship outside Northern Ireland. (Per a useful thread by Sunder Katwala.) Also last night one (1) of my colleagues sent me an expression of sympathy, for which I was, and am, ridiculously grateful. Local and national Muslim leaders have also posted statements of solidarity, but taking the mood as a whole right now it's easy to feel (and maybe this is because I'm still exhausted, but I feel I've been exhausted for a long time) that most non-Jews are not interested in solidarity with the Jewish community right now because they don't think it's compatible, rhetorically at least, with being against what Israel is committing in Gaza. (And the ones who are, are interested for the wrong reasons.)

Hearteningly, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez did post a statement of sympathy – but most of the comments (on BlueSky! not even on X!) were variants on "Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism" or "Criticism of Israel is legitimate." I would be a whole lot more convinced by the former if comments like this didn't keep cropping up on posts about Jewish holidays and/or the death of Jews.

(Feminism isn't transphobia, but you'd be amazed how many purported feminists haven't got the memo. Being anti-crime isn't racist or anti-immigrant, in theory, but you'd be amazed by how many people use one thing as cover for the other. I could go on.)

Anyway, the other email I came home to was from Caledonian Sleeper, saying that my journey to Aberdeen this evening has been cancelled due to a storm. I managed to quickly rebook, so I'm now going straight to Inverness on Monday for my writing retreat at Moniack Mhor. It's a shame I'm going to miss my weekend in Aberdeen but maybe I needed the rest. And it doesn't seem so important right now. I would really like to wear my little magen david necklace up to Moniack Mhor but it gives me pause that so many people seem to be unable to distinguish "I am proud to be Jewish" from "I support genocide."

Like I said, I'm exhausted.

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