thisbluespirit | Reading

Alright gang, looks like Fic_Rush 158 will be next weekend, 20-22 February! I'm not available for the beginning of the Round, so someone else will need to start the Rush. Mods, please confirm your availability for any of our lovely anchor Hours, or general flitting about, and now's a great time to join the Mod Squad if you're interested!

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alchemicink posting in

halfamoon

After much waffling, I decided to pick a character whose "ruler" role isn't metaphorical. In the epilogue to this series, Kudelia finally ends up with real political power to make change on her world. Like many of the other characters I chose to write about this year, I love her determination 😊

Title: The fight goes on
Fandom: Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
Character: Kudelia Aina Bernstein
Rating: G
Length: 150 words
Summary: Kudelia sits at her desk with the weight of a new title on her shoulders
Link: here on ao3 or you can read it under the cut below

( Read more... )

graycardinal

ADVISORY: This is not the post you may have been looking for....

////

I have, over the last few months, arguably spent more time on YouTube than one should (specifically, in a couple of specific corners of YT that are not at all relevant to the present inquiry).

However, YT being YT, it is all too easy to be lured into other corners of the videoverse in the process...

...and thus did your correspondent discover the vast yet singularly redundant swampland in which one finds AI-generated revenge-fic. Herewith a very brief description of this sea of mire, madness and muckraking for those not familiar with the concept:

Your narrator, you learn at once, has been horrifically ill-used by those around him. He (or she) may be:

a hard-working child whose parents liked their other offspring best

a gifted technical genius cast aside by an employer out to profit massively from their breakthrough

a highly decorated but now-retired member of an elite or classified military unit

a newcomer to or neighbor of an HOA ruled by a "Karen" who recognizes no authority beyond her own, who destroys all who won't submit to her will

What none of these villains realize is that their plans have been foreseen, their schemes laid bare, their crimes anticipated, their every move planned for. For just as they swoop in to claim their unjustly gained rewards, Our Hero smiles a thin, calm smile and confronts them with reality:

the inheritance they anticipated belongs to the child they ignored

the patents they thought they owned are in Our Hero's name

Our Hero has bought the company from the villains under their very noses

Our Hero's former co-workers in black ops have assembled evidence to have the villains put away (or, occasionally, neutralized the villain's Evil Empire)

the newcomer to the neighborhood is a Senator/Mayor/Police Chief/etc. (who owns the land "Karen" has been trying to co-opt, and/or is the parent of the child they've bullied or injured)

Which is to say that the formula for these things is extremely, well, formulaic. And yet the genre garners tens of thousands of views, and is thereby (at least in theory) tremendously profitable for its creators, who have built the vids almost entirely with AI narration, a handful of still images, and a means of putting narrative text on top of the images they've used.

And there is, evidently, a market for these things, such that people are evidently making considerable money off of revenge channels nowadays.

////

Which makes one wonder...

How hard would it be for a veteran fic-writer to whip out a dozen or so revenge yarns with just a little more creativity than the formulas have so far demonstrated? To download the software the current creators are using? To set up a YouTube channel of this sort of thing that would, perhaps, be just a bit more, well, creative than that now dominating the current swamp? Could one make enough money at such a game to retire, if not to the French Riviera, at least to a corner of Darkest Suburbia with better bus and train service than he has now?

Inquiring minds want to know what your humble narrator is missing in this equation....

senmut

AO3 Link | Malachor Reset (4003 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars [2008] - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano
Characters: Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader, Ahsoka Tano
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Timey Wimey Stuff, Codependency, Ensemble Cast, Kriffing Sith Plans, Minor Character Death, character tagging is on purpose
Summary:

Fulcrum has to win, and unwittingly brings Anakin to her side...

...which will change everything.

Malachor Reset

She had to save Ezra and Kanan. She could not let them die here. That pulsed through her as she focused on getting back to the fight above, shaping the waves of the dark Force all around her. It was not enough that she'd faced the Inquisitors and Maul alike; she had to face him. She could no longer deny just who that was in the suit —

— and he was her mistake made form, the end result of walking away from the Jedi Order, leaving Anakin Skywalker alone in the death spiral of the Republic.

Ahsoka Tano, now only called Fulcrum, had the memory of the offer of the beads on her mind as she raced back up to protect the only other Jedi-trained person and his student that she knew of. Kanan wasn't strong enough. Ezra… was young enough to be captured, remade as a new Inquisitor. There was no way she would allow that to happen, as all of the what-ifs of that long gone day fluttered in the fusion of darkness and light.

Two warriors, trained since childhood and annealed in war, kissed by the Force's own avatars, pulled at the power of the ancient Sith and Jedi who had fought and died here. As Fulcrum rushed back into the fight, her thoughts of her master twined in her drive to save the other pair, the threads of the Force wove their own path through time and space.

Words, blows, the building energy of the mass shadow generator blended into the desperation of one former padawan and the determination of a man who had nothing but the illusion of power. Twist, parry, retreat, attack — and the dance changed as Fulcrum launched an all but suicidal new attack on the Sith.

When she landed from the attack that had sliced into his mask, an explosion of the Force itself threw both combatants back… and a new body was in the midst, dropping a set of silka beads to grab for his lightsaber at the sheer reek of the Dark Side, a red lightsaber visible… and his Snips' voice calling his name.

"YOU!"

The brief connection between the monster in the armor to the padawan-no-more was broken and despite the labored breathing, despite the damage done, Darth Vader moved to destroy the weak, useless being he'd once been without stopping to think about the repercussions.

Anakin, despite being caught flat-footed by the Force, was meeting that fury with his own skill fueled by the sheer amount of not wanting to be here, wherever here was…

… and then a pair of shining white lightsabers were at his side, wielded by a woman that he somehow knew was his Snips. When the black-armored menace fell, the Temple had already sealed itself off, with Kanan and Ezra away from this impossible meeting.

"I… you?" Anakin asked, feeling something in his head lurch as life left the monstrosity.

Fulcrum powered down her lightsabers, and then flung herself into his space, once his own was off.

"Anakin."

The whirlwind of a life lived, the ache and guilt and honestly deep love for Anakin in this woman his padawan had become left him mentally astonished, but he held onto her.

"Snips."

The call of a convor, distant, held meaning for her, and Fulcrum squeezed tight, once, before making herself step back.

"Don't become him."

Her eyes were so sad, and Anakin wanted to know why, wanted to deny that he could ever be something that riddled by the Dark Side.

He didn't get the chance, as the temporary breach of time reverted, placing Anakin on the steps, watching a padawan-no-more leave him behind.

And in the Sith Temple? A woman closed her eyes while the universe rewrote itself.

The beads were no longer in his hand, and he collapsed to a knee, his cybernetic hand supporting him to keep him from falling flat on his face.

The sound drew her attention, and then she was running, Force-fast, and sliding in to further support him. He didn't care, he wasn't going to be stoic, he'd almost lost her, he would lose himself, leave her to become a woman with the weight of the galaxy riding her —

His arms wrapped around her, and Anakin just breathed, falling back on his rump and dragging her closer, holding on. Ashoka's concern spiraled higher, and he didn't try to hold back the strange — vision? Force experience? — from her. In the close contact, with their training bond intact, she saw/felt/heard it all, and she gasped in … worry? For him? The made him cling tighter. She did love him, was connected as deeply to his soul as his Angel, as he wished his Master was.

"I lost your beads there."

She shook her head, trying to burrow into his skin, all of her plans to leave falling to the wayside.

"I… don't want to be a part of this Order, but I cannot leave you to face that," she murmured.

"I can't lose you, Snips. I was willing to let you leave, if you just had to, because… everyone should be free to choose. But now? I need you at my side. Please?"

"Promise me we'll only stay until that monster can't be reality, until I can't be that woman with too much grief in her lekku," she asked, almost demanded, and he squeezed his arms around her.

"Let's win the war, and then we'll steal the men and run away to fight the real dangers in the Rim?"

She laughed, weakly. "Not sure your Senator will like that plan, but … as long as after is different, I don't care. Because Barriss wasn't wrong in what she said, just what she did."

"I agree completely."

"Ahh, Anakin, my young friend," Palpatine called as Anakin strode into the man's office, following his habits of checking in with the man before going back to the fighting. "I am surprised to hear that the child has opted to return to the war, despite her harrowing trials."

Anakin scowled, as much for the reminder as because… something in the words felt wrong. Was this a side-effect of whatever had shifted in him when he killed his future self?

"She's a solid Jedi," Anakin said firmly, "and even more committed to being my padawan, helping to end this war." Like himself, Ahsoka had not been a child in a very long time, though at least in her case, he had felt it was her need to protect others that had pushed her to mature too early. The tangled ties of their newly reinforced bond had revealed many truths between them.

"Well, she could not hope to have a finer example to look up to," Palpatine told him, and again, the words felt false, possibly layered, and that was putting Anakin on guard. There was definitely something here, something that was not true friendship. He had that now, with Ahsoka, and this felt… tainted.

"We are leaving today to rejoin our unit. I just wanted to wish you well," Anakin said, rather than mention any of the other pieces of business he might have in the past.

"Until our next meeting, then, when I do hope you will have time to look over my own ideas, possibly present them to Amidala in a way that stops her from objecting so much?"

Threat. There was definitely threat in those words, but Anakin hid his awareness of it and nodded once.

"I'll try to help her see clearly." He strode back out, and once he was out of sight, he sent an encrypted message to Artoo.

::Angel needs to join us immediately. Sabé acceptable if can't. En route to our drop ship.::

Ahsoka had already pre-flighted, and Artoo gave Anakin the affirmation that they would soon have company. The droid checked the ship over — again — and warned Ahsoka when he was turning the anti-spying measures on, moments before Padmé, in nondescript clothing, came aboard. Artoo had learned Togruta specifications, and would take care of her as he did his other organics. That meant telling her if noises in her hearing range would happen.

"I need you to be very careful, I want you to actually dig into the Chancellor's background, and above all else, do not take any risks for a while," Anakin told his wife in a quiet, intense voice. "I have reason to believe something is wrong.

"He's tired of fighting your opposition to his suggestions, and I am asking you to tone that down to a more token defense until your staff figures this out."

Padmé blinked, then opened her mouth, but something in Anakin's eyes was terrifying… in a different way than she was used to.

"I will do my best," she agreed. She subtly glanced forward to where Ahsoka was, but Anakin dipped down and kissed her deeply despite the girl's presence.

"No more secrets with her," he murmured. "I think… she's helping me see some truths."

"Alright, Ani. I should go, so you can get away. The captain himself escorted me, so I will be safe." Gregor Typho was a devoted public servant, and a personal friend to Padmé, after all.

"Good." He kissed her one more time, reluctantly letting her go, and went to take over the cockpit. Padmé hurried off, understanding why Anakin had wanted to say it in person, and went to get to work.

Ahsoka smirked Anakin's way from the co-pilot seat, and he gave a wry grin.

"I like the way she makes you feel in the bond," Ahsoka said, smiling as they left the planet.

"I knew she and I would be together since I was just a kid."

"How many ways are you and I alike, Skyguy?"

Anakin stared at her once he didn't have to pay as much attention to traffic. "What? WHO?!"

"Unh-uh, not telling because they're not ready for us to be a thing," Ahsoka answered. "Just, when it does happen, you don't get to give us grief."

"Alright, Snips."

She frowned when she glanced at the settings once he laid in their hyperspace course. "That's not where the Resolute is," she commented.

"We're not going to the Resolute." Anakin sent them on their way, and let hyperspace fold around them before he finished. "We're going to go to Master Koon, and I need you to be strong with me for what needs to be done there." He knew the Master had gone straight back to his unit, and would already be settled in by the time they arrived.

"It… it's not going to be pretty. You might have to see or hear some things that are pretty horrible, because… I can't do this without you." He looked over at her, half-afraid the deep bond had led him astray, that maybe he was asking too much.

She reached over, lacing her hand in his. "Skyguy, after what you showed me? After all you have done for me? You don't have to worry about it at all. Master Plo might have issues letting me be there to support you, but we'll make it clear it has to be both of us."

"Yeah," Anakin agreed.

Plo settled back from removing over a decade's worth of harm from Skywalker's mind, and saw that he'd collapsed with his arms still around Ahsoka, head in her lap, with her face tear-tracked. He would have preferred not to take her into the healing, but as strongly as Anakin's mind had resisted releasing the compulsions, he had to admit that he could not have done it without her.

She was too young to be caught up in this level of destiny, and he had only barely scratched the surface of making amends for the recent events on Coruscant.

"You should both rest."

"We can rest in hyperspace," Ahsoka said, coaxing Anakin into letting go. "I… think our men need us there. In a way that feels like the Force still having opinions."

Plo sighed, even as Anakin groggily dragged himself to his feet, braced himself, and helped her up from the decking.

"I'm done ignoring the whispers of the Force," Anakin said. He then inclined his head to Plo. "If you have a secure way to let the Senator of Naboo know about the tampering, please do. I asked her to begin investigating more closely, but… we don't know what traps he has yet to reveal. So caution is needed."

"I shall see to it. May the Force protect you both as you walk its offered path."

"And you, Master," Ahsoka said, steadying herself once the blood had returned to her cramped legs.

When the division of forces happened to take down the Seppies on the satellite, Ahsoka felt a tiny premonition. She was so glad she and Anakin had managed to sleep all of the trip back to the 501st, because this was an all-out offensive.

"Master Tiplar, I'll join your part of this push," Ahsoka said, managing, barely, to make it sound like a volunteering request instead of the demand it needed to be. Anakin frowned a moment; he was hesitant to have her out of sight, but at the same time…

… she had said they needed to get back to the men fast.

"Alright, Snips," he made himself say. "Master, she's got the best track record against Separatist commanders out of all of us," he added ruefully, a slight stretch, but Ahsoka had battled Grievous and Ventress to a stalemate and escaped to tell the tale both times.

"I will be glad to have the small huntress join me," Tiplar said, making herself smile, having heard of recent events and she was thoroughly disapproving of how callous it had all seemed. They divided the men out, and Ahsoka made herself listen harder to the Force, rather than just rely on her battle skills.

It was that, her touch on all of their men, with the Force as the backdrop that gave her a moment's warning, a single moment in the breather before they breached the command center, to protect herself. One of her men was not there, and she was turning as Tup strode toward her and Tiplar. Force-guided instincts had her shoto coming up despite her disbelief.

The blaster bolt was glancing as it deflected partially, and Fives was in motion then, but Ahsoka had pushed too hard for too long and an injury to her lekku was that step too far.

"…up, little one," was Ahsoka's first awareness that she had made it out.

"Tup?" she asked, not liking the haggard look in Anakin's eyes, even as she felt the vibrations that said the Resolute was in hyperspace to her.

"In the brig. We were going to send him to Kamino for evaluation when neither Rex nor I got good answers, but Fives pointed out you turned before Tup moved. And who trusts longnecks?" The bond whispered that Anakin had felt something against that choice for handling Tup. She sent wordless agreement, and made herself sit up, not surprised when he helped her.

"I need to see him. With you is fine, but I need to figure out what I felt," Ahsoka said, before wrinkling her nose at the bacta bandage around her lek.

"Kix will probably have words for me, and I know Vasq will, but Coric's on duty and he believes Jedi make their own rules," Anakin told her, setting her clothing on the med-berth and turning his back to give her nominal privacy. He winced at her hiss when she did have to move the injured lek, but waited until she slid off the berth into her waiting boots to turn back. He steadied her, a hand under her elbow, and walked her out of medical with barely a nod from Coric… and a frown, because he did care about the both of them.

Anakin watched as Ahsoka entered the brig, and Tup lunched towards her, but Ahsoka had Tup in the air and held before Anakin had to intervene.

"This is not you. This is something else. Come back to us, Tup."

"Good soldiers — " Tup's face twisted in pain, and Anakin could actually feel his man there, emotional weight dropping on him. Ahsoka felt it too, and set him back on the berth in the brig.

"Commander?" Tup asked in a scared voice.

"Go to sleep, Tup." Anakin's voice was the one laden with the Force suggestion, and Tup crumpled into unconsciousness.

"He wasn't there, then he was, just like at the fight, but in reverse?" Ahsoka reasoned out.

"We don't know that he wasn't controlled specifically to get to you, since we know he wants you out of my life. We saw, in that vision of mine, what happens if we break apart, and I just cannot lose you, Snips.

"I don't think anyone since Padmé has put as much faith in me, and been so loyal as to hold guilt for how many ever years that older version of you was harboring. We have to see this to the end, together."

Ahsoka nodded, walking over to the unconscious man, hand touching his face, moving, seeking any answers.

"Skyguy, I promise you I will keep myself alive, and I will not leave. But that means we need a medic with Jedi equipment, I think. Because something's wrong here," and she pointed, "but Kix hasn't ever noted it on the med records. I know; I always scan over the men's charts when we go from the fire into the frying pan, to know who might need boosted."

Anakin smiled, nodding at that. He did the same thing, and he knew Tup's chart had no indication of a lasting brain injury, just a minor note of headaches that were recurrent with no cause found.

"I'm not on great terms with the healers, so you set that up, okay?"

"On it."

Anakin felt a moment of panic as Obi-Wan joined him and Ahsoka at the command center; Ahsoka just moved closer to him, backs of hands touching in the way the men did for reassurance.

The bond whispered of all the ways that Obi-Wan had been the target of Sith manipulations, and Anakin managed to put his shoulders back down. That let Ahsoka move to give Obi-Wan the better vantage, even as both knew the senior Jedi was studying them.

"Master Yoda and Master Windu are in agreement that Operation Debug will need to be delayed for the Guard until we are ready for the Senate to lay the accusation," Obi-Wan said, before pointing out the various approaches.

"There's a technical access here," Anakin said. "That's where the ones going for the Sith need to be, the ones that will engage if and when he shows his true colors."

"Master Tiin is of a mind to stage as many defensive fighters among the Senatorial pods as we possibly can, using the same allies who mean to present the evidence," Obi-Wan mused. "He also suggested that you be given the choice of where to stage from, with me at your side, as our Battle Meditation meets his approval."

Anakin hesitated, eyes finding Ahsoka's.

"I'm going in, yes, but Master Obi-Wan is right. You and I don't usually fight side by side."

She could feel Obi-Wan weighing that.

"Anakin, if you have any reservations, we can put the request to Masters Plo and Kit, or Mace and Yoda?" Obi-Wan said. "I know I made many mistakes, and I am very sorry for choices made."

Anakin's breath rushed out as it all clicked into place against what Plo had found. "No. Your choices… were as badly influenced as mine. And I can find the flow with you, I promise. Snips? You do what you do best, so I don't worry."

"Got it, Skyguy," Ahsoka assured him, and left Obi-Wan wondering even more at their rapport having grown so deep.

"Then we'll be at the tech access," Anakin said firmly.

Obi-Wan was down. The Sith was in front of him, his cybernetic arm wasn't responding, fried by the Force lightning. He could not really tell what else was happening, know who could reach him.

Obi-Wan was down, and Anakin didn't know if he was going to get back up.

Fear and anger and memory collided into a whirlwind in his mind, slipping his grip on the Light.

Almost instantly, the part of him that had anchored in the padawan bond, was wrapped tighter by Ahsoka's awareness.

~We are together.~

The fear faded back, shoved back by his reckless padawan. The anger was refocused, sharp as her teeth for the author of their miseries. The memory — his pain was dampened, gently, by her acceptance of all he was, her willingness to coach him through seeing his mistakes as a path to trying to be better.

He caught the next lightning strike on his blade, stalking toward the Sith. At the first use of the Choke, he dipped back into the Dark and returned the favor, but let go as soon as Sidious faltered in his attempt. Ever closer, eyes locked on his target, making Sidious pay attention to only him as a threat.

A blazing red sabers on his blue, too close now for the lightning to be effective, and Anakin leaned hard into Ahsoka's shield of loyalty and faith, keeping Sidious contained, giving more time for Senators to be evacuated, longer for the Guard to shake off the effect of the chip-killing signal and see what was happening, to act for the Republic.

His defense faltered under a battery of blows and he was falling back, that red saber darting in right behind to take advantage —

— and Sidious was pulled back by his robe, off-balance as Ahsoka, concentrating fully on the fight, attacked with telekinesis rather than jump in recklessly. Before Sidious could recover, Obi-Wan was at Anakin's side again, limping, but ready.

"Shall we?" Obi-Wan enjoined, a devilish grin in place, and Anakin answered it in full, before they rushed the Sith, one goal in mind.

Anakin stood on the steps of the Temple, Ahsoka at his side. Behind them, they could hear Obi-Wan calling out to them.

"This feels familiar," Ahsoka said, testing the fit of her new robes, trying to decide how to make them work for her or if she would bother except on this planet.

"Yeah, but maybe we shouldn't make him chase us, when he probably hasn't rested that leg much," Anakin replied, confident in who they were and a future in motion as the Jedi Order evolved.

As one, with perfect synchronization, they turned to see Obi-Wan.

"You know I could hear you both," Obi-Wan said dryly. "And I have been resting. Someone's Captain sicced my Commander on me.

"I wished to greet you both, Knight Tano and Master Skywalker, officially."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, but it was with a grin. Anakin actually ducked his head and gave the shyer smile he used.

"I couldn't let them elevate me, and not highlight what she did to make it possible," Anakin said, "but thank you, Master."

"I just played a trick on him," Ahsoka said, but she was proud of having helped end a Sith, permanently.

"And protected my mind," Anakin insisted.

"Couldn't let him win even if you beat him, Skyguy."

"What now for the two of you?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Sith hunting," they said in unison, before laughing brightly.

"We're doing the same with her that you did with me. Making a rapid response company out of her mean, until either they get big enough to split off, or we find and end the threat of Dooku and his minions," Anakin continued.

Obi-Wan nodded, then sobered up. "I am relieved you both chose the Order. It needs strong Jedi, willing to find a new way."

"That's sort of what we decided, and the men need us anyway," Ahsoka agreed. "Force be with you, Master. We need to go be diplomatic in the Senate."

"May the Force continue to be with you both."

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shroomystar posting in

100ships

Title: chiaroscuro
Rating: Gen
Category: F/F
Fandom: X-Men (Comicverse)
Author: shroomy(y)star
Ship/Characters: Emma Frost/Kitty Pryde
Warnings/Notes: from the ashes era, smoking
Word Count: 1235
Summary: In the half-dark, Kate’s face is a study in chiaroscuro.

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veronyxk84 posting in

halfamoon

Title: Buffy Summers: the Weight of a Slayer’s Crown
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Character: Buffy Summers

Content: Meta (590 words)
Written for:

halfamoon, a great fest celebrating female characters
Theme: Day 13: The Ruler

Other links: Crossposted to SquidgeWorld

( Buffy Summers: the Weight of a Slayer’s Crown )

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Arcane, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (x2), A Discovery Of Witches
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire, The Punisher, Star Wars: Ahsoka, Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)

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hamsterwoman

2. Elis James and John Robins, The Holy Vible – so this is the book Elis & John wrote together in ~2017 and toured in 2018. I actually bought it and started reading it really early in my Elis & John journey – May 2024 – because I thought it would be a “concentrated” way to get a feel for them as a duo. And it kind of works in that regard, but only to a point – some stuff is more reliant on already knowing the inside jokes, and most of it is enhanced by being able to hear certain key phrases in their voices (they recorded the audio book version, which I do think would be fun, especially for certain chapters, but I don’t think this is something I need to experience twice). Anyway, I started reading it back in May 2024, while I was still trying to figure out/decide how to catch up on the back catalogue, and fairly quickly decided this was not the best way. But I’ve now listened back to before this book was published, and that seemed like a very good time to go back to the rest of it, especially when I wanted something undemanding and light. ( More, with… spoilers of sorts, I suppose? )

This was definitely a better time at which to read this book, and I’m glad I can say I have done so now :) Probably audiobook would’ve been the better way to go from the start, but on the other hand, I already have hundreds of hours of audio content, and being able to change it up with the written word was probably good :)

*

Speaking of addenda to other media I’m consuming, after I watched The Goes Wrong Show, YouTube helpfully popped up the BBC broadcast version of the play Peter Pan Goes Wrong, and I watched it too. It was interesting to see this bunch / this humour at much longer form – the TV episodes are <30 min and the play was over an hour, so it was a slightly different vibe. ( More, with SPOILERS )

I then also watched A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, which was shorter and felt closer to the show, but I still like the show more. ( More, with spoilers )

*

Week 2 of Stuff I Love: Top 10 Edition (hosted by

dreamersdare here) is Series. For week 1’s “Standalones”, I’d chosen to focus on SFF stories because I tend to favor SFF series. So I’m thinking of doing basically the opposite, for the same reason, for this week – usually if I read/watch a series, it’s almost certainly going to be a SFF series because it’s a chance to spend time in a constructed world, get to know magic rules or alien races, maybe even learn a bit of an invented language. So it’s much rarer for me to have a series I love that isn’t SFF – and that’s what I decided to go with here (partly because, y’all already know what my favorite SFF series are, it’s basically all my tags :)

Again, not trying to rank these:

( Top 10 NON-SFF series I love )

thisbluespirit posting in

starfall_stories

Main Introduction & 1337 Arc

Aimon Merner is sent to Starfall Manor by the High Council in Portcallan. He's only meant to be checking the accounts, but finds himself embroiled in far more than he ever expected or wanted.

Marran Delver, Governor of North Eastern District is also travelling to the Manor, but his reasons are a mystery to everyone but himself.

And at Starfall, Leaira Modelen, the Manor's librarian, can't understand why Governor Delver behaves as if he knows her, or what this sequence of events is going to lead to for all of them...

Star Storm (G, 501 words. Aimon Merner on his way to Starfall.)
Open and Above Board (G, 1245 words. Aimon Merner, Cam Tolling, Tannis Kellen, Arin Teykal)
Signs and Wonders (G, 1083 words. Aimon Merner, Leaira Modelen, Arin Teykal.)
Dreaming in Ice (G, 397 words, the Ice Prince.)
First Frost (PG, 1760 words. Leaira Modelen, Aimon Merner, Rion Wolmer, Tannis Kellen.)
Boundary Break (G, 2011 words. Lyel Nanoller, Kaia Aemullens, Cam Tolling, Tannis Kellen, Arin Teykal, Aliyna Dimue, Garner Rulwarch, Osmer Nivyrn.)
Morning Walk (G, 1236 words. Aimon Merner, Imiya Sarno).

Guessing Game (G, 1099 words. Rodern Ylie, Fena Modelen, Tana Veldiner.)
Make A Wish (G, 498 words. Zila Fayne.)
Sweets From Strangers (PG, 1496 words. Zila Fayne, Tana Veldiner.)
Pawn in Play Teen, 3926 words. Zila Fayne, Marran Delver.)
Breakfast in Portcallan (G, 1970 words. Zila Fayne, Marran Delver.)
Wayside Moment (G, 653 words. Zila Fayne, Marran Delver.)
Wrong Key (G, 1691 words. Zila Fayne/Laonna Torwell.)
Personal Delivery (G, 1402 words. Zila Fayne/Laonna Torwell.)

Unwelcome (G, 780 words. Tannis Kellen, Marran Delver, Pen Stolley)
Say My Name (G, 1515 words. Leaira Modelen, Marran Delver, Tannis Kellen, Secretary Stolley, Osmer Nivyrn, Aimon Merner.)
Reject (G, 1355 words. Aliyna Dimue, Osmer Nivyrn, Tannis Kellen).
A Study in Grey (G, 1708 words. Leaira Modelen, Marran Delver, Aimon Merner.)
Overdue (G, 1251 words. Aimon Merner, Evornan Hoall, Diessa Tarvinian, Leaira Modelen, Aliyna Dimue).
Best Foot Forward (G, 1709 words. Leaira Modelen, Marran Delver, Aimon Merner, Aliyna Dimue.)
Partners in Crime (G, 1539 words. Leaira Modelen, Marran Delver.)
In the Depths (PG, 3381 words. Marran Delver, Zila Fayne.)
Paper Trail (PG, 1551 words. Leaira Modelen, Aimon Merner.)
Point of No Return (Teen, 3247 words. Leaira Modelen, Marran Delver.)
now the whole house is rocking (PG, 4399 words. Zila Fayne, Aimon Merner, Aliyna Dimue, Pio Caffsley, Tannis Kellen, Kaia Aemullens, Osmer Nivyrn.)
Fine Feathers (PG, 2929 words. Zila Fayne, Pen Stolley, Sy Halsay. 1337, 1316, 1321, 1325.)

Background pieces/additional:
Into the Light (G, 824 words. Leaira Modelen. 1322)
something that's all mine (G, 504 words. Leaira Modelen, 1335.)
stories we tell ourselves (PG, 4x 100 words. Aimon Merner, Leaira Modelen, Pio Cafflsey, Kaia Aemullens, Osmer Nivyrn).

Winter in the Wastelands

Leaira finds herself back in 1317, trapped in a fort in the Wastelands, facing the worst winter of her life with only a man who doesn't know or trust her yet for help. And the longer she stays, the less she can remember of her real life in the future - if she can survive long enough to return.

Point of No Return (Teen, 3247 words. Leaira Modelen, Marran Delver.)
Winter in the Waste (PG, 1902 words. Leaira Modelen, Marran Delver, Ennan Hilten, Jaian Fyler.)
Snowed In (PG, 1625 words. Leaira Modelen, Marran Delver, Jaian Fyler, Tol Anness.)
Establishing Credentials (PG, 2352 words. Leaira Modelen, Tamman, Marran Delver, Bryoll Kilvern.)
Round in Cicles (Teen, 5587 words. Leaira Modelen, Ennan Hilten, Tol Anness, Tamman Fortens, Allian Otlevo, Duza Eisterwill.)

and this is my only country (PG, 100 words. Marran Delver.)
Illusions in Ice (PG, 200 words. The Ice Prince.)

astrogirl

The

threesentenceficathon is still ongoing -- well, technically it's always ongoing, I suppose, as it never closes for fills -- but after a several-days-long burst of activity on it, I kind of petered out and never got around to going back to it, so I suppose that means it's time to repost what I wrote for it here.

Unsurprisingly, it's mostly Gravity Falls stuff, as GF is still firmly holding onto its Current Obsession status, but I at least managed a few other things, as well. Note that the GF stuff in particular is mostly super spoilery and some of it is maybe a bit dubconny.

Anyway, here we are, my Three Sentence output:

( Disco Elysium )

( Doctor Who )

( Gravity Falls )

Current Mood: relaxed

wickedgame posting in

retro_icontest

rest HERE @

mundodefieras

( URLs )

elisi

But here are two petitions:

Tell Keir Starmer: Cancel All Contracts with Palantir

Stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline

Also, have the funniest ever explanation for Darcy's proposal. (Link goes to Instagram. With thanks to Promethia.)

Current Mood: tired

purplecat

A stone wall with evenly spaced alcoves, apparently set into a hillside.

Chesters Roman Fort

brumeier posting in

small_fandoms

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lovelytomeetyou posting in

halfamoon

Day 12 - Her Sanctuary

Title: Inside a Spiral
Fandom: Naruto
Characters: Kushina Uzumaki/Namikaze Minato
Rating: Gen
Summary: If someone were to tell the young Kushina who recently arrived at Konohagakure, that her son would be named after food — one of her favorites, to be fair — and after a book from a sketchy writer at best, that someone best grit their teeth because a punch was soon to follow. Or: Kushina dealing with Kyuubi being difficult and Minato is there for her.

Story in ao3

This was a story written last year that fit today's theme.

huxleyenne posting in

fic_promptly

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rfemod posting in

pinchhits

Event: Rare Femslash Exchange
Event link:

rarefemslashexchange
Pinch hit link: Pinch Hit Post
Due date: February 18th, 10PM PST/UTC-8 [Countdown] [In Your Timezone]

Rare Femslash Exchange is a multi fandom exchange focused on f/f ships with two or more female characters (canon or genderbent) and/or genderqueer characters that you feel would fit in a f/f exchange, with less than 250 works on AO3- completed, in English, using the otp:true filter. The minimum requirements are either a 500 word fic or a nice sketch.

There are three post deadline pinch hits that can be claimed at the post.

Pinch Hit #19 (fic, art): アキバ冥途戦争 | Akiba Maid War (Anime), かげきしょうじょ!! | Kageki Shoujo!! | Opera Girl! (Anime), ちはやふる | Chihayafuru (Anime & Manga), ユリ熊嵐 | Yuri Kuma Arashi

CLAIMED! ~~Pinch Hit #27 (fic): The Game and the Candle - Eleanor M. Ingram, Don Estevan's Honor - Eleanor M. Ingram, Lucifer's Wife - Eleanor M. Ingram~~

CLAIMED! ~~Pinch Hit #28 (fic, art): The Magnus Archives (Podcast), 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game), Original Work, Stranger Things (TV 2016)~~

smallhobbit posting in

small_fandoms

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le_gaosaure posting in

small_fandoms

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fabiadrake

(I think perhaps I should make one of those pinned friends-only style posts for introductions, except I have no plans to make this journal friends-only.)

tinny posting in

retro_icontest

go here for all 46 icons: https://tinny.dreamwidth.org/803657.html

https://tinpix.de/2026/nothingbut04_42.22crc.png
https://tinpix.de/2026/wulei_405407_03bcr.png
https://tinpix.de/2026/heated.rivalry.102_14.31a_cr.png
https://tinpix.de/2026/wulei_gy1i9u0kb.png
https://tinpix.de/2026/snowstorm127_07.42.png

tinny

The current round at

retro_icontest is the Icon Crossing round from

somein30. I had been working on sets for 2023 and 2024 already, but never finished them. I'm using this round to post those icons I made then, along with the new ones. I also randomized new pairs for 2025 and made new crossover icons for those. As suspected, this was so much fun, and I made a lot more icons than expected. In fact, I don't think I've ever made this many icons for a contest in one month before. Some of them are hilarious crack! :D Luckily, retro_icontest has no upper limit, so here you go:

Enjoy!

05.

31.

32.

( 40+6 icons!! - Lots of Wu Lei PLUS 2 Heated Rivalry, 3 DMBJ, 2 Zhu Yilong, 1 Guardian, and 1 Bai Yu )

Comments are love - and concrit, too. <3 Take and use as many icons as you like, credit is appreciated. Texture and brush makers: here in my resource post.

Previous icon posts:

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thisbluespirit

February 2026

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Page Summary

xandromedovna in fic_rush - Round 158 Schedule
alchemicink in halfamoon - Day 13: Fic - Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans - Kudelia
graycardinal - Question for the gallery: Is the revenge worth taking?
senmut - Star Wars: TCW/R fic
maythe4th in maythe4thbewithyou - Sign Ups Are Open!
enchantedsleeper in small_fandoms - Drabblethon: Regrets (I've Had a Few) (We Are Lady Parts)
sockshuppet in fandomcalendar - Pokémon: Perished Pidove Exchange 2026
shroomystar in 100ships - [#47 Frostbite, X-Men, Emmakitty] chiaroscuro
veronyxk84 in halfamoon - Day 13: Meta - BtVS - Buffy Summers
alexia_drake in screen_icons - Challenge 31: In the Scene
hamsterwoman - Reading and watching roundup, and Stuff I Love: non-SFF series
thisbluespirit in starfall_stories - Story Arc Masterpost
astrogirl - Three Sentence Fics
wickedgame in retro_icontest - Round #35 - somein30 - Icon Crossing
elisi - I feel like I am behind on everything...
purplecat - Random Roman Remains
brumeier in small_fandoms - Drabblethon: Making A (Haunted) House A Home, 2.13
lovelytomeetyou in halfamoon - DAY 12 - FIC - NARUTO - UZUMAKI KUSHINA
huxleyenne in fic_promptly - Friday, February 13 - Tender Moments
rfemod in pinchhits - Rare Femslash Exchange Post-Deadline Pinch Hits Due Feb 18th 10PM PST
smallhobbit in small_fandoms - Drabblethon: The Midnight Bell in Summer - Ernest Ralph Gorse
le_gaosaure in small_fandoms - Drabblethon: Night comes. And comes. And comes. (Knock-Knock – Ice-Pick Lodge)
fabiadrake - (no subject)
tinny in retro_icontest - Round #35 - somein30 - icon crossing
tinny - 40+6 icons for retro_icontest

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Page generated Feb. 14th, 2026 04:34 am

Beyond the Roundels

Reading

Navigation

Round 158 Schedule

Day 13: Fic - Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans - Kudelia

Question for the gallery: Is the revenge worth taking?

Star Wars: TCW/R fic

Sign Ups Are Open!

Drabblethon: Regrets (I've Had a Few) (We Are Lady Parts)

Pokémon: Perished Pidove Exchange 2026

[#47 Frostbite, X-Men, Emmakitty] chiaroscuro

Day 13: Meta - BtVS - Buffy Summers

Challenge 31: In the Scene

Reading and watching roundup, and Stuff I Love: non-SFF series

Story Arc Masterpost

Three Sentence Fics

Round #35 - somein30 - Icon Crossing

I feel like I am behind on everything...

Random Roman Remains

Drabblethon: Making A (Haunted) House A Home, 2.13

DAY 12 - FIC - NARUTO - UZUMAKI KUSHINA

Friday, February 13 - Tender Moments

Rare Femslash Exchange Post-Deadline Pinch Hits Due Feb 18th 10PM PST

Drabblethon: The Midnight Bell in Summer - Ernest Ralph Gorse

Drabblethon: Night comes. And comes. And comes. (Knock-Knock – Ice-Pick Lodge)

(no subject)

Round #35 - somein30 - icon crossing

40+6 icons for retro_icontest

Profile

February 2026

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