Reading

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: Munich

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Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (TV Series)

German-French channel ARTE also put up the complete Wolf Hall, so I was able to watch the six parter they did based on Hilary Mantel's third Cromwell novel at last. What I thought of the novel itself, its plusses and minuses and how it deals with the history, you can read here, so this review is mostly about how it fares as a book adaptation and tv miniseries.

( Spoilers have heretical opinions on Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell )

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tv in 2025

Stressed sisters and a show where some things go boom

The Better Sister - 1.3 Incoming Widow

( Read more... )

Countdown - 1.2 Dead Lots of Times (don't get that one, sorry)

(Surely all the British viewers are giving this an impromptu rendition of the quiz show of the same name’s theme music.)

( Read more... )

Current Mood: sad
Current Music: Bad (live) -u2

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life

if i could, i would let it go

Baby Miss L is super into Halloween and has two Hello Kitty dolls dressed like skeletons that dance! She might be a skeleton herself this year! Her costume has not been finalized, but there is time.

As I've mentioned, I was never big into Halloween - it was my mom's birthday, so a lot of the time I was home celebrating with her - but it's fun to see the baby into it.

Today is the 12th anniversary of my mother's death. That is a whole seventh grader! It makes me sad that my parents will never know Baby Miss L.

*

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Starfall Stories 49

rainbowfic piece I finally posted a couple of weeks ago:

Name: On the Interpretation of Dreams
Story: Starfall
Colors: Warm Heart #17 (Honesty)
Supplies and Styles: Nubs
Word Count: 1891
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Notes: Portcallan, 1313; Viyony Eseray, Osmer Nivyrn.
Summary: Proof that Viyony also takes Leion's advice from time to time.

On the Interpretation of Dreams

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fic: absence of cause or excuse

Also I forgot to link to this after reveals!

Title: absent of cause or excuse (8789 words) by Lirazel
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Jiang Yanli & Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian
Characters: Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Jiang Yanli, Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Marriage of Convenience - Marriage For Protection, solving plot problems with marriage
Summary:

“I’ve got an idea,” A-Cheng says finally. Then, with effort: “About A-Xian.”

“Tell me,” Jiang Yanli says.

“It’s crazy.” He hasn’t looked at her since he sat down, but now he glances at her out of the corner of his eyes, like he’s gauging her reaction.

She laughs, a little laugh. “It’s A-Xian,” she says, spreading her hands as though that explains everything. (It does. Nothing has ever been orthodox, not with A-Xian.)

The corner of A-Cheng’s mouth jerks up, but the smile doesn’t quite bloom. He shakes his head, the lock of hair falling back down to brush against his cheekbone. “What if I—” Shakes his head again, pulls his shoulders back like he’s pulling on his Zongzhu robes. “I’m going to marry him.”

-or-

Let's fix everyone's problems through marriage. Chengxian-style!

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fic: detect my sudden existence on your sonar

I'm not here, I'm still in Pittland writing fic.

Fic: detect my sudden existence on your sonar (25840 words) by Lirazel
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Pitt (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Melissa "Mel" King/Frank Langdon
Characters: Melissa "Mel" King, Frank Langdon, Samira Mohan
Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 01, Divorced Frank Langdon, Pining, Mutual Pining, (though mel doesn't know that), no seriously this is just mel pining and lusting for 20k+ words and thinking it's unrequited, Until suddenly it isn't, You Have Been Warned, this ship was made for pining, "never look away" by vienna teng, my mel&samira bffs agenda, santos is ready to kill a man, and we can have a little, mel and langdon are drift compatible, as a treat, god this got long, but there's just a lot going on in mel's head okay?
Summary:

She couldn’t say, I’m trying to figure out a way to live with all this longing, and in the meantime, I’m embarrassed and a little bit resentful. Not out loud.

Or:

Mel thought everything would get easier when he came back. Instead, it's a new kind of torture.

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Fic: 299 (1/1, all ages)

Title: 299
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters/Pairing(s): Donna Noble
Rating: All ages
Word count: 1,408
Spoilers: None
Summary: The intersection of coding and design satisfied Donna's restless brain in ways it hadn’t been satisfied since before ... well, before whatever she’d lost had left her adrift again and her mother and Gramps tight-lipped but supportive.

Author's notes: My last story for Keep Fandom Weird bingo, using the Bring Your Fandom to Work bingo square. I gave up the front-end development portion of my business about a decade ago to focus primarily on user experience strategy, but it's still something I know how to do, and it got me where I am today.

Anyway, wonder how Donna got so good at computers by the time "The Giggle" rolled around? This is my explanation.

Thanks to

platypus for the beta.

( fic, after the cut )

Films! Some Films!

Renfield - Nicholas Hoult! Awkwafina! Shohreh Aghdashloo! Talk about a movie that was less than the sum of its parts!

A Working Man - I have had a soft spot for Statham ever since Spy. This was fine, but the peak dumb Statham action flick is still the The Beekeeper.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods - A kid says a magic world and turns into an adult man with superpowers was a cute premise for a movie; a grown man says a magic world and turns into a different, worse adult man less so.

Thunderbolts - Er...why did this look like it was filmed in a cupboard?

Becky/Wrath of Becky - Killin' nazis in the woods!

Sisu - Killin' nazis in the snow!

Red Sonja - Was this film good? Good grief, no. Was the film excellent? Hell yeah!

Heathers the Musical - Candy Store is a bop. Do the kids still say bop?

What should I watch next? Killin' nazis optional but obviously preferred.

Current Mood: busy

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doctor who fic

I Keep Writing Twelve/Missy For This Exchange, And It Keeps Amusing Me

Since authors have been revealed now, I can admit to writing this little thing for the Just Married exchange:

Title: Maybe This Time
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters/Relationships: Twelfth Doctor/Missy
Rating: Apparently I rated it Teen, but it might not even merit that much.
Summary: Doctor/Master divorces: one. Annulments: several. Marriages: it seems even they've lost count. But, hey, at least this marriage wasn't their fault! Well, OK. It was only indirectly their fault.
Tags: Accidental marriage(s), Annulment(s), previous Doctor/Master divorce, Banter, Missy's time in the Vault, Humor, A little bittersweet at the end
Length: ~2600 words
Author's Notes: Written for natequarter for the Just Married exchange, for the absolutely delightful prompt suggestion of "accidentally got married yet again and are trying to annul the latest marriage, but can't get it done because all their other marriages keep on getting in the way."

Maybe This Time

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books

(no subject)

The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez:

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

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And now for Seren's Most Recent Moment of Clarity

Feel free to skip this as I'm still in the throes of working through STUFF. ( CUT FOR ALL THE STUFF )

Current Mood: satisfied
Current Music: Cowboys vs Bears on tv

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adventures in cooking

tips and overthrows - gotta have it

Yesterday evening, I made a lovely pan-seared steak for dinner, and today I roasted a chicken. It was more expensive, but I bought one that came already spatchcocked, which meant it cooked in about 40 minutes. I used this recipe and the white meat was quite juicy and good. It's annoying to have to flip the whole chicken in the frying pan though, so I don't know if I will do it this way again, especially since I don't really care about crispy skin since I don't eat the skin. [obligatory quote: "any demons with high cholesterol?... You're gonna think about that later, mister, and you're gonna laugh."]

I also did the first part of this chocolate chip cookie recipe and now they're in the fridge chilling. Tomorrow I will bake 2 off and then do the same thing for the next 3 days too, since it only makes 8 extremely large cookies and they are supposedly best when freshly baked. I will report back on how they taste!

Tomorrow, I plan to make a nice herb and cheese frittata for dinner and lunch for a couple of days too, and of course, there will be leftover roast chicken to eat too.

*

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Strictly launch show (2025)

( Read more... )

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Fic: A Family Affair (Winslow Boy)

As I mentioned about a month or so ago, I did some AU_gust prompts, starting with flash fic for the prompt Romance, using the UC generator to get a summary for The Winslow Boy. It was a bit of a complicated summary for flash fic, and it's just taken me about, um, seven weeks to straighten this out into being a reasonably more comprehensible bit of AU nonsense than it was at the start. idk why. Anyway, also for

genprompt_bingo & two

allbingo squares (for two different bingo fests of theirs, that is, I'm not cheating).

A Family Affair (1472 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Winslow Boy (1999)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Robert Morton/Catherine Winslow
Characters: Catherine Winslow, Robert Morton (Winslow Boy)
Additional Tags: AU-gust | August Writing Challenge 2025, Alternate Universe - Regency, Regency, Unconventional Courtship Generator, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Stranded
Summary: Catherine Winslow's day is getting worse by the minute.

Current Mood: exhausted

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The Pitt Fic: A World Aflame (Abbot/Robby, NC-17)

A World Aflame (45470 words) by Alethia
Chapters: 4/4
Fandom: The Pitt (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jack Abbot/Michael "Robby" Robinavitch
Characters: Jack Abbot (The Pitt), Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, Frank Langdon, Parker Ellis
Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 01, Complicated Relationships, Hiking, Cabin Fic, There Was Only One Bed, Grief/Mourning, robby has four days off, and is heading for the hills, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Guilt, First Kiss, First Time, Porn
Summary:

Robby frowned and looked at Jack. "Is it me or are you now off Monday through Thursday?"

"Yeah, I figure we can drive out Tuesday morning and come back in time for my shift Friday night."

Robby's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Did someone invite you to the cabin I rented?" Jack tilted his head and just looked at Robby, silent and expectant. After a long moment, Robby huffed a resigned laugh, like he wondered why he even bothered protesting. "Jack, would you like to come hiking with me?"

(no subject)

It apparently looks like it's possible to sign in with a Microsoft account to get the Extended Security Updates and then change the account back to a local one and still be enrolled.

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Mets losing to the Nats

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books: dungeon crawler carl

and that might have impact in the ninth

If you are interested in checking out Dungeon Crawler Carl but don't want to buy the first book (or the wait list at your library is very long), there's a webtoon version you can check out for free to see if it's up your alley. It's making me want to start a reread of the series even though I just read it last month. *hands*

*

Current Mood: bouncy
Current Location: on the train

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jane austen,
review

Miss Austen (Miniseries)

Miss Austen: is a delightful four part miniseries. Now with the exception of the excellent Miss Austen Regrets, featuring Olivia Williams as an older Jane A., biographical media on Jane Austen has suffered from the usual flaw of biopics or bio series focusing on female authors, i.e. insisting on inflicting plots of their most popular work on their life. Miss Austen also avoids this, not least by the fact the titular Miss isn’t Jane, it’s her older sister Cassandra, played in middle age by a superb as usual Keeley Hawes and in flashbacks when young by SinnØve Karlsen, who is so versatile that despite having seen her being very good as Clarice Orsini, Lorenzo de’ Medici’s wife in Medici and superb most recently as Bayta in Foundation’s third season, I didn’t recognise her until googling her. (In addition to great acting, I blame the regency outfit and hairstyle in the flashbcks. *g*) Jane Austen is played by Patsy Ferran who is also great, both when being mischievous and witty, passionate about writing and her sister, and depressed (for various reasons, not least the early lack of success). In fact, this miniseries has led me to the conclusion that Jane Austen is like Benjamin Franklin in that the best way to treat her is as a supporting character where she can shine and leave the audience asking for more, whereas when Ben or Jane get the main character treatment, the increased focus reduces their charisma and attraction.

(This is also why back in my Highlander days, I never wanted a Methos spin-off, despite being as fond of the character as any other fan. He is perhaps THE example of a character who needs to remain a recurring guest star in order to maintain what makes their charm and mystery.)

( Attend the saga of sisters and a sister-in-law… ) The script manages to avoid the obvious quotes while coming up for Austenish sounding things the characters to say, and does great both with the social comedy of manners and the emotional drama. All in all really superb. Anyone either German like me or French: I watched it on ARTE, which also offers the undubbed, original version. Enjoy!

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tv in 2025,
uk

The (totally accurate) Mitfords show

Outrageous - 1.2 Girl on the rebound

1932-33 was covered in this episode, I think. ( Read more... )

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book binding

Blergh, why do I pick hobbies that require items?

Maybe I should start sketching. That way I'll need a pencil and a sketch pad and go about my life. (LBR, lol.)

I lament this only because I decided to Invest in a punch cradle for signatures. I have weird texture issues with my metal ruler (which I've been using to mark signatures for punching) and I don't love having to flatten the bent signature so I can poke it. I've been wanting to get one since pretty much day one, but the only ones I could find were, like, $40 3d printed ones on Etsy. Which, that's a weasel farm I did not want to touch.

Anyway, I made my bi-annual order from azn (I don't love it, but there are things I'm too poor for morals about) and found one for $13. I also bought some shampoo (Neutrogena, why are you being dodgy about T-Gel again? I need you to ctfo), paper, and Swedish dish towels. Apparently they're compostable?

BUT. I've managed to put together ~5 new projects to work on. Some are multiple volumes! Well, kinda. I respect the hell out of people who write 400K+ stories, but that usually means splitting the work into multiples. The one I'm currently working on (FF.net is tougher to harvest stuff from, dammit!) is a 400K (unfinished) beast and it's set at three volumes. Luckily, the formatting's mostly fine, I just need to tab the paragraphs and do minor spelling corrections. Which doesn't sound like a lot, but each chapter has ~300-700 paragraphs that I need to find and hit the 'tab' button for each. Glad I found the way to strip out the formatting so I don't have to hit 'backspace' to eliminate the extra formatting space. I'm relearning so much about Microsoft Word hot keys and formatting rules.

Maybe I should go back to doing fic recommendation posts somewhere. There's so much good (and long) stuff out there that I don't know that anyone knows about! TBF, libraries and archives are always bad at marketing and are much more based around the X person wants to find a thing, we'll hold it until they come looking! model. It is what it is.

I do really need to work on getting better at covering books though. The endpages always come out wonky and I just don't know what to do to work on that? Especially as glueing the end papers to the cover has a bunch of variables happening while you're trying to get it done. Is the glue too much? Not enough? Can I get the bone folder at the right angle so the pressing doesn't rip? Is the spine spacing adequate or should it be bigger? WHY IS THE CURVED SPINE NOT CURVING FFS. And it's hard to practice THIS BIT a lot to get better at it because it's all time sensitive and to practice I'd have to cut a bunch of stuff a part and that feels wasteful and annoying on my end. BLAH. Also, I need to find the damn scoring thing

annieeats gave me last year that I "put somewhere for safekeeping" so I "wouldn't lose it". UGH, exacto knives are out for my fingers.

All that said, having a book press has made my life better by a factor of ten when it comes to binding. Especially with the post-bind pressing. Bleeeeeeesssssssss.