trobadora: (Discworld: Hogfather)
([personal profile] trobadora Nov. 20th, 2025 09:19 pm)
[community profile] fandomtrees posts have been going up, and mine was in the most recent batch, yay! This is one of my favourite events of the season (next to Yuletide) - I loved [livejournal.com profile] fandom_stocking back in the day, and this is still just as much fun.

Here's my tree, and this is what I'm requesting this year:
  • Grimm
  • 镇魂 | Guardian (TV)
  • Grimm/Guardian crossover
  • 镇魂 | Guardian RPF
  • Legend of the Seeker
  • Sherlock (BBC)
  • 绅探 | Detective L
  • 山河令 | Word of Honor, 天涯客 | Faraway Wanderers
  • Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
  • Chinese fic recs
  • food or cooking icons
Hoping to see some of you there too! Especially since this is one of those events where you're doing people a favour by signing up - the more requests there are, the more other people can find someone to create something for. :D
trobadora: (McShep bronzed by ahkna)
([personal profile] trobadora Nov. 19th, 2025 10:23 pm)
According to Gateworld, Amazon (which owns the franchise now *sighs*) has greenlighted a new Stargate series! And it's not a reboot!

I was never into SG-1, and I still resent Brad Wright and Joe Mallozzi for the way they ditched SGA in favour of SGU, dumped on SGA's female fans, and then were offended when SGA fans weren't interested in SGU. But I really loved Stargate Atlantis. It was my main fandom for many years, and I have so many fond memories both of the show and the fandom. I haven't rewatched it in a while, but it's one of the things on my list that I definitely want to go back to when I have some time and no energy for new stuff.

My main ship was McShep, but even more than that, Sheppard was my favourite character, and I loved reading Sheppard gen. My secondary ship - a tiny pool noodle of a rarepair - was Teyla/Bates, and I still wish it had been more popular. (Maybe if I'd written fic myself? Unlikely, but ... *g*)

Still, even though I was very active in SGA - I co-ran [livejournal.com profile] sga_newsletter, co-modded [community profile] mcshep_match and [livejournal.com profile] mensa_au and [livejournal.com profile] teyla_bates, among other things - I never wrote any fic for it. Part of it is that I got into SGA during my three-year writers' block (which Doctor Who eventually broke), but even afterwards, despite my brain being constantly full of scenarios, they never crossed that line into writing. Possibly in part because the fandom was big and kept me busy! But surely that can't explain it entirely, and I'm honestly not sure what other reasons there might be. (Why do some fandoms never make me write? A mystery for the ages! *g*) Anyway, it'll be interesing to see, when I eventually rewatch again, whether that'll change ...

And it's very unlikely the same magic will happen twice, but when/if a new Stargate show does happen, unless the premise is itself unappealing, I'm absolutely giving it a chance.
trobadora: (Sheppard \o/)
([personal profile] trobadora Nov. 13th, 2025 10:03 pm)
Bad things:
  • Ten-hour days at work.

  • Brains that are mush and will not word.

  • Too many appointments next week, on top of work.

Good things:
  • Super mild November weather that let me ride a bike today (during my lunch break) without getting chilled. And tomorrow again, it looks like!

  • Delicious home-cooked food from the freezer that only needs heating up with zero effort on my part. (Thanks, past me!)

  • [community profile] ficinabox has a two-week extension! Now I can expand that thing I wanted to expand. :D

  • [community profile] fandomtrees is open for sign-ups!

In conclusion, the good things are better than the bad things are bad. Yay? *g*
trobadora: (terrible)
([personal profile] trobadora Nov. 12th, 2025 10:00 pm)
In order of deadlines:
  • Fic in a Box: I'm deep into the rewriting/editing and can't talk about any of it without breaking anonymity. *g* Reveals were supposed to be Saturday night, but we'll know by tomorrow morning whether there'll be a delay. It's looking very likely, and honestly, I'm not complaining.

  • Yuletide: Only a very vague idea so far. Once FIAB is over I'll do thorough canon revision (thankfully it's not one of the fandoms where that would take me fifty million hours), hammer out a proper plot, and then there'll be plenty of time left to actually write. It helps that December will be less busy at work again!

  • Five Figure Fanwork Exchange: Until today I only had a very vague idea of "I want to do something in that era of canon that my recipient mentioned", but today I went on a walk during my lunch break and a concept popped into my head fully-formed. I still need to figure out about half the plot, but that's for after Yuletide. (Unless it just pops into my head like this too! I wouldn't complain. *g*)

  • Other writing: Ahahaha, what other writing? I have no time and so many things to do. RL is so busy right now ... /o\
System Collapse - Martha Wells
A Taste of Honey - Kai Ashante Wilson
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Stone and Sky - Ben Aaronovitch
Archangels of Funk - Andrea Hairston
Princess Princess Ever After
Revolutionary Acts: Love and Brotherhood in Black Gay Britain - Jason Okundaye

Kalyna the Soothsayer - Elijah Kinch Spector
Vellum - Hal Duncan
The Last Soul Among Wolves - Melissa Caruso
The Hermit of Eyton Forest - Ellis Peters
Road to Ruin - Hana Lee
Queen Demon - Martha Wells
A Drop of Corruption - Robert Jackson Bennett
One Morning Sun - Avi Silver
The Lure of Stone - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
To Clutch a Razor - Veronica Roth
Publishing Beyond the Market: Open Access, Care, and the Commons - Samuel A Moore

OK, last time's resolution didn't quite come off, but I've written up three November books already, so maybe next time.

Revolutionary Acts: Love and Brotherhood in Black Gay Britain - Jason Okundaye (five stars)Revolutionary Acts: Love and Brotherhood in Black Gay Britain
Non fiction about the experience of Black gay men in Britain, mostly in the 80s and 90s but occasionally spilling out beyond that, told through interviews with seven men with experiences with different facets of Black gay culture. I absolutely loved this, not just for the fascinating content but also the gorgeously readable prose and the clear affection that Okundaye developed for his interviewees (which complements beautifully the theme of community that kept coming up). It covers some serious topics but also emphasises that pleasure, fun and care were important parts of the community too: I especially liked that Okundaye was careful to mention that although one of his interviewees in the social/political half of the book had strong political disagreements with the other two, all three had a great deal of personal respect for each other and for each other's achievements.

Bonus novella that I read an ARC of a while back, now available to buy:

All is Bright - Llinos Cathryn Thomas
Absolutely lovely f/f novella set in Wales at Christmas. The characters are beautifully and warmly drawn, and their character arcs and developing romance work so well. The setting is rich and atmospheric, and the characters really feel like part of that setting - it's important to who they are as well as being a joy to read about in their own right. It's also structured so you can read it advent calendar style, a chapter a day, and I really recommend it, it adds even more depth to them and their story (as well as being an excellent way to round off your day). I was lucky enough to be able to read an ARC that way last year and cannot wait to do the same this year.

Didn't finish:
Sunrise on the Reaping - Suzanne CollinsSunrise on the Reaping - Suzanne Collins
I actually DNFed this in August but forgot to add it to that post, oops. Anyway, I loved the original Hunger Games trilogy, but I feel like the bloom is off the rose for me at this point. The prose felt really clunky, Haymitch just read like a generic teenager, and while I'm sure Collins was going somewhere with having his girlfriend basically be Lucy Baird 2.0 I could not hack another book of Manic Pixie Dream Girl (Romani Stereotypes Edition).

Revisiting this a few weeks later, I do want to add that this isn't a bad book, per se - the Reaping scene in particular was very effective - it just wasn't giving me anything I wanted in a prequel and apparently I was in a mood about it.
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