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x-men: ensemble

Tradition

Title: Tradition
Team: X-Men
Challenge: XMen100: Costumes
Universe: Comic!verse 316 - Uncanny X-Men 2025
Pairings: Ensemble
Rating: G/K
Warnings/Spoilers: N/A
Notes: In which the Outliers have earned their colors.

( Read more... )

The Friday Five for 17 October 2025

These questions were originally suggested by

sumrsue79.

1. How long ago did you join LJ (or DW)?

2. How did you find out about LJ (or DW)?

3. If someone introduced you to LJ (or DW), is s/he still on your friends list?

4. Have you introduced anyone to LJ (or DW)?

5. Is your LJ (or DW) public or friends only, and why?

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.

If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!

Current Mood: pleased

Entry tags:

Mainly a tiny bit of posterity: Thanksgiving dinner

I somehow mentally misplaced a week when we were booking our covid/flu shots and I was looking at the last market date of the season for the little one on the corner. Unsure how my brain concluded that they were on the same day. (Market's last day is tomorrow, shots are a week from tomorrow, so it's FINE, just...odd.)

The rest of this is entirely about what we did for our little Thanksgiving dinner (with a bit of blood glucose talk), so it's going under a cut. ( cut! )

Entry tags:

Sport for fun and sport for - not

Though even conkers people take seriously apparently: 'King Conker’ cleared of cheating at World Conker Championships (Is nothing sacred?)

However, this sounds like it brings a certain anarchic spirit to the business: ‘Cheating is encouraged’: nut crackers at Peckham’s Conker Championships go for the fun

But apparently the TikTok generation post videos of gently unpeeling them???

The conkers danger is actually a Top Elf'n'Saftee Myff: 10 ridiculous Health and Safety myths debunked.

Am not sure why conkers should be having a moment just now, because they were dropping off the local trees several weeks ago, and are surely now past.

But at least the people playing conkers seem to be having fun: apparently - and counter to all those exhortations to do this thing for the good of your mental health - doing marathons has a downside: One in four endurance runners displays ‘worryingly high’ levels of anxiety and depression.

One wonders how far it's the obsessive dedication as much as any physiological factor that has an adverse effect.

Entry tags:

organisational october

Organisational October - Day 17

So my Organisational October is going about as well as the September Stampede! How are things going for you? I hope everyone else is having a more successful month than I am and managing to keep on chipping away at that list of things that need doing. Tell us what's been going well, and feel free as well to talk about the less successful part of your month. What are the stumbling blocks in your life right now that are making things more difficult?

Always keep in your mind that if you have a bad day or week or month (or year in my case), the beauty of our bite-sizing community is that every day is a new day and you can start again today or tomorrow or when life permits. I have to keep reminding myself that just because I've had a run of bad days, I mustn't give up and call it quits, I just need to start with a little bit of getting things done today or tomorrow. These aren't new year's resolutions, it's a daily resolution and so every day we can have a fresh start and while we can be proud and celebrate if yesterday went well, we don't have to give up if it went badly.

So here's the daily plan - don't forget it's fine to tweak the suggestions to better work for you if something doesn't quite hit what your situation needs, you can skip a day, pick a different day, stick with a task from an earlier day that you need a bit longer to finish - it's all cool here!

This post will remain the place to comment until I next get chance to put up a post. I encourage you to tell us how you are getting on and to cheer on fellow posters.

( Daily Challenge Table shown below the cut )

Hopefully there's enough information in the table to give you a general guide without being too restrictive - feel free to adapt the suggestions and change out days that don't feel relevant or aren't what you most need. Really importantly, PLEASE do not forget we are all about bite-sizing so we're not aiming to get the whole of a room done, we're looking to target a key area within a space or within a task to make progress on it - this is about starting the process and knowing that we can move towards our goal step by step - not in massive jumps when life, health & energy conspire!

Wishing you all a great weekend.

Entry tags:

As The Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories edited by Terese Mason Pierre

A selection of speculative fiction stories by Black Canadians.

As The Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories edited by Terese Mason Pierre

Entry tags:

If anyone would like to distract me by giving me opportunities to talk about hyper-fixations

that would be greatly appreciated.

Currently trying to support a friend in a Very Bad Situation and it's desperately anxiety-inducing and my brain is trying to eat itself, which also makes me less useful as support, which is bad.

So if anyone would like to ask or discuss anything about Prophet or Dark Souls or IWTV or climbing or, you know, any of the somewhat cheering topics I sometimes ramble about, PLEASE DO. "More of a comment than a question" questions also very welcome.

I cannot guarantee replies in a timely or consistent manner (because of the Situation and also the bad state of my brain) but it would be deeply appreciated nonetheless.

(no subject)

Happy birthday,

susanstinson!

Current Mood: calm

Entry tags:

books,
read25

2025/162: Magic Lessons — Alice Hoffman

2025/162: Magic Lessons — Alice Hoffman

A streak of independence and a curious mind meant trouble. In Martha’s opinion, a woman who spent her time reading was no better than a witch. [loc. 3165]

Prequel to Practical Magic (which I haven't read since the last millennium), The Rules of Magic and The Book of Magic (which I don't think I've read at all), this novel explores the roots of the curse on the Owens women.

The novel begins in Essex, England ('Essex County', hmm) in 1664. Maria is found as a baby, abandoned in the snow, with a crow keeping her company. She's taken in by spinster and wisewoman Hannah Owens, who teaches her the 'Unnamed Arts' -- herbalism, midwifery, and the importance of loving someone who will love you back. These are troubled times, though, and solitary women are suspect: ( Read more... )

Entry tags:

Review: Jinkies and Minority Monsters

There's 2 more works from the itch Curated Collections About LGBTQIA list that I want to highlight.

Jinkies! A Daphne/Velma Zine by Elise Schuenke

More an art book than a story but it contains utterly adorable snippets from the life of 2 gorgeous and adventerous women. There's fun encounters, domestic scenes and bonus Buzzfeed Unsolved references. I am 100% here for these feels.

If you like Elise's style I also recommend her other works Starcrossed and Still Here.

Minority Monsters by Tab Kimpton

Description: Greetings explorers, and welcome to Alphabet Soup Land! Want to learn about the not-so-invisible Bisexual Unicorn? The secrets of the Asexual Succubus? Or the previously unfathomable fathoms of the Genderqueer Merperson? If so, you’re in the right place! Packed full with comics of mythical monsters, field notes and information sections; this spotters guide of LGBT* and Queer creatures is the perfect companion for any adventurer.

Review: This is such a wholesome and fun approach to describing the different flavours of humans. But it's also quite nuanced and introduces some of the common mythconceptions and misunderstandings around different identities. The art is fun, colourful and inclusive. It might read a little condescending at times, but I mostly read that as minority fatigue. For an entry price of pay what you want it's worth checking out, even if only for a moment of dopamine.

Current Mood: cheerful

TV night again

My alarm went off at 10:00 and I turned it off and slept til 12:00. Finally got up and had breakfast and coffee. Took a shower and dressed.

Before I left to go to

mashfanficchick's, I got my Halloween decorations out of the front closet, and I switched the Wallflower I was using in the bathroom, a goldfish, ith the one I have for Halloween, an owl.,

Then I left the apartment and found the mailman was there filling the mailboxes, so I waited for him. Eventually he asked my apartment, and gave me my mail which I put away in the apartment. I thanked him and then I left.

Took the bus, there were hoards of school kids just getting out of school by then, and a cranky lady on the 44 bus yelling at two kids who were sitting in front seats, which are marked as "Please give this seat to the elderly or disabled". I ignored it.

Got to

mashfanficchick's, and we hung out for a few hours, then had a snack of cheese, crackers, and pepperoni. Ze gave me some bananas that ze was getting rid of. They are still good but so soft that ze doesn't like the texture. So I had a banana too.

At 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB from my phone, until just before 911. Then at 8:00 we watched it. Pretty good episode.

At 8:30 uring the commercials I called Middle Brother. He was quite excited, they had a Halloween party, a bit early, but he enjoyed it.

Then at 9:00 the new 911: Nashville. I like the rescue stuff, but it is awfully soapy.

After that ze turned on the Mariners/Blue Jays ball game and we watched that while we had dinner. Big bowls of salad, and shrimp cocktail. Delicious.

Finally I Ubered home, and here I am.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Fun TV.

3. Halloween is coming.

4. Shrimp.

5. Middle Brother well.

6.

mashfanficchick

Current Music: Desperate Journalist, "Silent"

I had no inkling of just how far the plates of our continents would crack

This week having in the main sucked on ice, I am on Cape Cod drinking hot water with lemon from a tall mug hand-painted with a sea-green octopus and the call sign for WCAI. The hope for the next couple of days is a profound amount of nothing, with sea. I have already eaten some slightly fancy tinned fish.

Current Music: Wet Leg - Angelica

Entry tags:

music

My life in music

When I have disposable income, I spend it on concert tickets.

So back in January I went to see Irish country-pop singer CMAT live. My friends and I were the oldest people in the room and we all got covid, and it was absolutely worth it. In terms of "best gigs I've been to", I'd put it on par with Florence + the Machine as The Actual Best, only at a fraction of the scale and price.

Her new album came out at the end of August, and I have an embarrassing number of feelings about the title track. Embarrassing because I was a fully grown adult and also Australian when the Celtic Tiger collapsed, but growing up in suburbia and feeling like your whole generation has been fucked over by neoliberalism is A Mood.

Watch on YouTube

She's touring early next year, and I have tickets secured and a note in my planner to get a covid booster three weeks before the date.

( This got long and has more embeds, so... )

Entry tags:

bundle of holding

Bundle of Holding: Eclipse Phase 2E (from 2022)

The tabletop science fiction roleplaying game of transhuman survival from Posthuman Studios.

Bundle of Holding: Eclipse Phase 2E (from 2022)

(no subject)

I've been re-reading Musketeers fic this last week or so. I started due to whumptober, but as that's not as busy as usual in the fandom, I've been re-reading some favourites, too. I haven't got there yet, but suspect a Dragon Riders series re-read will be in my future soon.

I've also read an ER/The Pitt cross I enjoyed, where John Carter and Robby discover they're half brothers after an unexpected meeting. They're not fandoms I usually read it -- I saw the rec on my network -- so suspect this could be a common thing, but I enjoyed this take on it Like Brothers We Meet.

Rosie cancelled class yesterday due to being ill, so I had an unexpected free morning. James was off too, and normally we would have gone to the cinema or for a walk/drive, but he'd scheduled his annual long term condition nurse review for midday. Of course, three different nurses completely failed to get any blood out of him, so he's back tomorrow, so a doctor can try.

That's after we both go to the chemist to get our flu jabs, but not Covid boosters this time, as it seems the vast majority of people in the UK don't qualify for them now. So chemist, doctors, then home as the tumbler drum has stopped turning, so the repair guy is coming out late morning. Hopefully, it's just a snapped belt, and it can be fixed as the machine itself is still heating up, so *fingers crossed*

I also watched Bodhi for an hour late afternoon as her mams went to her first parents evening. She's doing well at school, starting to recognise and write quite a few letters, though her teacher said she's very quiet. Which made me laugh as she literally didn't stop talking once the whole time I was there.

We played superheroes with Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America and Hulk action figures. They had quite the adventures, especially when they met a herd of dinosaurs. Though, poor Hulk seemed to spend a disproportionate amount of time on the naughty step.

Entry tags:

Excursed

Went out this pm: had to make a trip at some point to Institute Whereof I Have The Honour To Be A Fellow to pick up the ID card I muddled the info about where and when to pick up on the day of the welcome reception -

- and discover that due to the systems upgrade in progress which also means a delay in allocating new fellows institutional email addresses, mine has not yet actually been processed anyway, ooops ooops, they will post it to me, much apologies.

So I got in a nice bit of flaneuserie down Alfred Place Gardens as aforementioned herein, and I also, since I was in the area, took in this exhibition: The Word for World: An exhibition and book presenting the maps of Ursula K Le Guin, which I'm not sure I'd have made a special expedition to see, but as it was in an adjacent Bloomsbury Square, fitted in very well.

(Adjacent Bloomsbury Square in which the riffraff do not have access to the central gardens, only keyholders, mutter mutter.)

Nicely done, but I fancy I would have made more of it had I read the works to which the maps related a bit more recently than I have (Le Guin re-reads having been a bit of a back-burner project for a while).

Current Mood: distressed

Entry tags:

Weekly Drabbles #297 — Empty Vessels — BtVS / Spike [PG-13]

Title: Empty Vessels
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters/Pairing: Spike (implied Spuffy)
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: grief, some coarse language
Word count: 100 (Google Docs)
Setting/Spoilers: Set between S5 and S6, shortly after ep. 5x22 “The Gift.”
Summary: Spike visits her grave.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created for fun and no profit has been made. All rights belong to the respective owners.

Challenge: #471 - I Know That by

drabble_zone
Challenge: #410 - Toe by

anythingdrabble
Prompt: #464 - Eulogy by

100words
Crossposted: Sunnydale After Dark

—
( READ: Empty Vessels )

Entry tags:

The Moon Goddess and the Son by Donald Kingsbury

The American orbital transfer station offers employment to Byron McDougall, a chance for Charlie Bond to search for an alternative to MAD, and for Diana Osborne, escape from her violently abusive father.

The Moon Goddess and the Son by Donald Kingsbury

(no subject)

Happy birthday,

desayunoencama!

Current Mood: good

Entry tags:

books,
read25

2025/161: Bliss and Blunder — Victoria Gosling

2025/161: Bliss and Blunder — Victoria Gosling

Sometimes he’ll be mopping the floor and listening to a couple of the regulars, and he knows it’s not from now. It’s from before. What’s more, time is supposed to be sequential, right? One thing happening after another. Things further back receding, more recent things feeling, well, more recent. Not for Wayne. [loc. 1637]

The Matter of Britain meets Jilly Cooper! The setting is the medieval town of Abury, in Wiltshire: the characters drink at the Green Knight, where Vern the landlord has an odd agreement -- 'anything you gain you give to me' -- with Wayne the barman. Arthur is a tech billionaire, Lance is a veteran with PTSD, Gwen is an influencer, Mo was adopted from a Bangalore roadside, Morgan is ... vengeful.

( Read more... )