autumnia | Reading

Wednesday's word is...

...prognathous.

being or having a jaw and typically a lower jaw that projects forward especially to an unusual degree

--

I found it in Midnight at Malabar House:

A short, plump man in his forties, balding, bespectacled and with a prognathous jaw that gave him a permanently disgruntled look.

Like Charles II.

stonepicnicking_okapi

1. I haven't written a single word of fic in more than a month! This is the longest dry spell I've had (I think). I know past!me would've been worried, and I am wondering if I have lost interest in it altogether. Hm. Slightly worried but past!me would've been genuinely panicked by now.

But I have been busy with work and getting ready for the BTS concert next month (planning freebies, using Canva for the first time to design my own photocard), and doing the usual Mom stuff, filling out forms and uploading documents for the boys' sports, and the ubiquitous housework.

I don't know. I have had spells of 2-3 weeks after an intense project concludes, but not this long. Will the muse return?

2. I am reading Midnight at Malabar House for the July DW book club, and it's good. And I'm listening to Murder at Holly House by Denzil Meyrick. It's okay. Police procedural set in York in 1952. Detective has a touch of the Bertie Wooster about him (just a touch). Not going to cure cancer but okay to have on in the background while I'm cooking dinner.

3. I have been liking the videos of a Tasmanian seal (Neil the Seal). He has gone back out to sea, but he likes to make mayhem all over a little town when he's in port, so to speak.

Watch on YouTube

stonepicnicking_okapi

I wouldn't be a very good ARMY if I didn't include this. Last night at the second concert by BTS in Munich, ARMY got the very first ever live performance of Louder than Bombs, which is the song ARMYs always ask for when BTS asks for requests and they never sing it because it's difficult (high pitched, falsetto, etc.) It was on MOTS:7 album (aka the pre-pandemic album) so it never got performed and Munich ARMY were (very rightly) going nuts.

There is a section of the concert where they play 2 old songs at random, different for every concert and as far as ARMY are concerned, Munich day 2 won the jackpot.

Watch on YouTube

stonepicnicking_okapi

My day in jazz calendar says yesterday was this man's birthday (Wikipedia disagrees) but either way, have a song from the Father of Texas Blues. And if your name is Blind Lemon Jefferson, well, what else can do you for living but sing the blues?

Watch on YouTube

vialethe posting in

narniaexchange

Assignments are out! Check your AO3/email to see what you've gotten.

As always, three things are required when writing your fics: it must be over 1,000 words, focus on the characters/ship requested, and not hit any of your recipient's DNWs. You're free to write any of your recipient's requests, not just the one you matched on! Prompts can be helpful but are ultimately optional; just try your best to write a story you think your recipient will love.

If you have any questions during the writing period, feel free to reach out to us: narniaficexchange at gmail.

Assignments are due Saturday, August 22nd at midnight EDT.

Happy writing!

syrena_of_the_lake

It's the most wonderful time of the year again, with another near-repeat of last year's letter! Consistency is the mark of a champion, right?

Dear Author, thank you in advance! Please feel free to mix and match elements from my different prompts and follow your heart's desire. Wherever you take it, I will be delighted to read your story — and I hope you have fun writing it!

Things I like:

Witty banter and humor
Competent, complex, multi-dimensional characters
Friendship, found family, friends-to-lovers, slow burn
Plot, adventures, space duels, intrigue, mysteries and spy stories
Nature, especially lakes, woods, mountain, prairies, and the night sky
Shipping preferences: m/f, f/f or gen
I prefer happy endings to tragedy, but I also have a soft spot for ambiguity and bittersweet. Eerie and eldritch is fun too. I am not big on straight-up horror, heavy angst or darkfic
A strong sense of place. The differences between places, the little things that set someplace apart or bind people together even across languages and cultures... Whether you want to delve into worldbuilding or just give me a glimpse, I'll love it.
Talking animals and mythological creatures, especially those with little screen time. Wolves and crows are particular favorites, but I’d love any creatures (real or mythological) you want to use to populate your story!
Sirens. See also: my username. (The Lorelei, Greek bird-women, mermaid-like, feral or sensual — any mythology or interpretation you like!)
World War II spy stories
AUs that hold true to both the spirit and setting of the original — canon compliant or divergent “what ifs” are wonderful, and I hold a special place in my heart for Everyone Lives, Nobody Dies (or Everyone Lives, Nobody Leaves). I’m not usually a fan of mundane coffeeshop-style AUs, unless set in modern!Narnia, a.k.a. Museumverse.
Stories with gloriously diverse characters, rich full lives in both Narnia and Spare Oom, filled with faith and hope but not dogma, intellectually enriching, and all the tapestry of creation in both worlds.
Speaking of which, re: other Narniaverses – I adore Rthverse, if you are so inclined (please check with Ruth)! Remember Kangarooverse or Museumverse? Me too, I love them! Want to expand on your own existing 'verse? Please feel free to do so!
Crossovers and fusions: I love them! I enjoy having all my favorite characters get together and explore new worlds and dynamics, with or without the conceit of magic rings and the Wood between Worlds.

Things I don't like:

Noncon, incest, gore

Compared to previous years, I have deleted my standard "character bashing" item compared to last year, because of one of my prompts. A nuance there: while I do take issue with the traditional "lipstick and nylons" variation on the problem of Susan, I love seeing other perspectives. So I will put it this way: if the story is set in *canon Narnia,* I'd prefer to avoid character bashing (e.g. depictions of Susan as a shallow woman fallen away from the grace of Narnia, or Aslan as a cruel, manipulative god). If your story is AU, though, or told from an outside or unreliable perspective, all bets are off! (E.g., Narnian mythos through Jadis' eyes - maybe she tells the true history and the one we know is mere propaganda, or maybe her version is wildly distorted, either is great!)

Basically, wherever the story takes you, I'll be very happy to go along for the ride. Thank you again!

edenfalling

Note: I am repurposing my stock Yuletide letter here, which is why some of the sections may seem slightly off-topic for a single fandom exchange.

Hi, and thank you in advance for writing a story for me! I'm pretty easy to please -- unless you write context-free porn, I'll be thrilled just to get a response to one of my prompts. *grin* But I realize that's not terribly helpful, so here's the (very!) long version. (I am sorry for the tl;dr, but I like to talk about things I love and I figure more details are better than fewer.)

---------------

( General Information )

Okay. On to specific prompts.

---------------

( Arthuriana & Morgan Le Fay )

---------------

( Journey to an Alternate Charn )

---------------

( Telmarine Aeneid )

---------------

( Sedoretu AU )

---------------

( A Mystery! )

---------------------------------------------

And that is that.

Current Mood: mellow
Current Location: minneapolis, mn

stonepicnicking_okapi

This is a 500 piece from Puzzlebug that I began on July 4th and finished yesterday. I do NOT recommend this brand. It really is a poorly constructed puzzle. One bump of the knee and your work is undone! This happened many times to me which is one reason it took so long. Really, the lock of pieces is absurdly flimsy. Also those pink bits all look alike, which contributed to the difficulty. And the pieces are only of two types, which wasn't very fun. I bought it at the yard sale to raise money for the Music Boosters at Minor's high school and paid 50 cents so that was about right.

stonepicnicking_okapi

Borahae to all the ARMY out there! 9 July is the day the BTS fandom was created (26 days after BTS debuted). And instead of a BTS clip, here's a clip of the Chilean ARMY in the streets a few days ago protesting the government's statement that the concerts (3 shows already sold out) were not confirmed yet and that the platform used by BTS were in danger of hurting the turf of the stadium and that the show would have to be moved to another venue.

It sounds like a shakedown for a bribe by the government. I hope they back down and approve the concert in the designated field and that ARMYs who have tickets go and enjoy. But see them protest peacefully. And ARMYs around the world stand with you!

Watch on YouTube

stonepicnicking_okapi

Onions By William Matthews

How easily happiness begins by
dicing onions. A lump of sweet butter
slithers and swirls across the floor
of the sauté pan, especially if its
errant path crosses a tiny slick
of olive oil. Then a tumble of onions.

This could mean soup or risotto
or chutney (from the Sanskrit
chatni, to lick). Slowly the onions
go limp and then nacreous
and then what cookbooks call clear,
though if they were eyes you could see
( Read more... )

stonepicnicking_okapi

Wednesday's word is...

...lathi

a heavy stick often of bamboo bound with iron used in India as a weapon especially by police (as in dispersing a crowd or quelling a riot)

...which I came across in the DW book club book Midnight at Malabar House:

And then independence had happened, and Seth --a tear-gas-and-lathi-charge officer, a man who had toed the British line, believing his duty to his uniform to supersede his duty to the cause of his countrymen-- had fallen from favour.

lotesse

Start clean-slated (659 words) by lotesse
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Jumanji (1995)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alan Parrish/Sarah Whittle
Characters: Sarah Whittle (Jumanji), Alan Parrish
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Growing Up Together, Childhood Sweethearts, Childhood Trauma, Time Travel
Summary:

All she has to do is wait for their future to unfold, and unfold herself into the person she was always meant to be.

stonepicnicking_okapi

1. Lovely happy mail from Tucson from

oldtoadwoman!

2. Gosh, I love Murderbot. I listened to Platform Decay (I am not going to return it. I am going to play it over and over until the library seizes it back. Sorry, next person in queue). How much I love this series always affirms my place on the ace spectrum and gives me hope that a compelling story can be told without a romantic component.

3. The DW book club book selected was Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan so join us at https://bookclub-dw.dreamwidth.org/ on 31 July for discussion. I have started it and am enjoying it.

4. I have 2 jigsaws going. My Inspector Rebus one and a small sushi board one that is very fiddly and is taking much longer than anticipated.

5. Minor ran a 10k on July 4th and placed 2nd in his age group (under 19) and won $20 (!!!). Cash prize! I am proud of him.

6. US out of the World Cup. My boys' father's favorite, Brazil, is also out. But he is still enjoying it.

7. I am going to set the weekend for trying to see if I can make my own BTS photocard to give out at the concert in August. If you've ever made your own photocards, PLEASE let me know any tips or resources. I got a book on Canva and I'm going to go to the Makerspace at the library to see if they have any ideas.

8. New client tomorrow. *cross fingers*

I'm late for work!

stonepicnicking_okapi

A reminder to me that there's always something new in fandom. BTS is on their world tour, in the European leg, now in London after performances in Brussels and Madrid, and their set list includes a space for two songs (different for every performance) from their discography. The second performance in Brussels this was one of the songs which is new to me, but I learned was one of the first that SUGA produced. Here's a performance of it from 2017 and we get Mint Hair!SUGA, which, as every ARMY knows, is the best SUGA.

Watch on YouTube

stonepicnicking_okapi

I just finished lighting all my sparklers. All day, I felt at war with myself. Part of me wanted to be lazy and part of me refused to let myself be lazy.

shallowness

The Copenhagen Test - 1.3 'False Flag'

( Read more... )

stonepicnicking_okapi

My sweet Thursday client gave me one of his Wildlife magazines with a really pretty photo on the cover (left).

shallowness

I realised after posting my last post that I should have posted this instead. I can be a bit slow about realising when a month comes to an end and a new one starts.

This month, I went to seen Tuner, ( Read more... )

I would have absolutely gone to see Disclosure Day had it been released a little sooner. But it’s been really busy, and I just haven’t got round to it.

stonepicnicking_okapi

Banneker by Rita Dove

Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), first black man to devise an almanac and predict a solar eclipse accurately, was also appointed to the commission that surveyed and laid out what is now Washington, D.C.

What did he do except lie
under a pear tree, wrapped in
a great cloak, and meditate
on the heavenly bodies?
Venerable, the good people of Baltimore
whispered, shocked and more than
a little afraid. After all it was said
he took to strong drink.
Why else would he stay out
under the stars all night
and why hadn’t he married?

( Read more... )

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Karen

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Journeys through a Wardrobe and Beyond...

Reading

Word: Prognathous

Views & News: a loss for words edition

Music Monday: Louder than Bombs by BTS

Music Monday: Black Snake Moan by Blind Lemon Jefferson

Assignments sent!

NFE 2026 author letter

Dear NFE Writer!

Puzzle: Sushi!

Happy ARMY day!

Poet's Corner: Onions by William Matthews

Word: Lathi

fic: Start clean-slated, Jumanji (1995), G

Views & News

Music Monday: Tomorrow by BTS

Happy 4th of July!

Notebooks, keys and a cane

Collage Journaling: Fireflies

Movies seen in June

Poet's Corner:

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