rocky41_7: (Default)
rocky41_7 ([personal profile] rocky41_7) wrote in [community profile] books2025-04-22 06:39 pm

Recent Reading: The Starless Sea

The most recent commute audiobook was The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, of The Night Circus fame (although admittedly I have not read that one yet). This is a fantasy novel about Zachary, a young man swept into the drama of a secret underground society and the mysterious figures who surround it.
 
I finished this book on Sunday morning, catching the last 7 minutes of a whopping 19-hour runtime over breakfast, and since then I've settled into a relative disappointment. On paper, this book has so many things that should make it an ace in the hole for me: Book lovers! Cats! Secret magical societies! Queer characters! Women who are something Other taking control of their destinies! And yet, overall, this book just did not land for me.
 
As is a risk, I think, with all stories that are about the power of stories, The Starless Sea comes off a little pretentious and self-important. It is a book lauding the unmatched importance of books. I felt aware at various points throughout the book of how hard it was trying to appeal to people like me, who would enjoy the idea of a dark-paneled underground room with endless books and an on-demand kitchen, and this sense of pandering did take away from it at times.
 
However, it also does some interesting things with regards to what it is like to be the person in a story (such as the fate of Eleanor and Simon, once their part in the story is done) as well as the risks of valuing preservation over change and growth. Without giving too much away, there is a secret society in decline, and a woman so determined to prevent its downfall that she ends up causing significant harm to the organization she's trying to save because she is unwilling to accept that an end comes for all things. I enjoyed this theme and I felt like it was echoed well throughout the story, and in many ways it's easy to sympathize with her ultimate goals, if not her methods.
 
 

setsuntamew: (Madara → Halloween・Rendezvous)
Killian ([personal profile] setsuntamew) wrote in [community profile] iconic2025-04-21 12:33 pm
violateraindrop: (Star Wars: Grogu)
violateraindrop ([personal profile] violateraindrop) wrote in [community profile] iconic2025-04-21 05:49 pm

(no subject)

[8] Lockwood & Co.
[4] Ghost (band)



Here at [community profile] iwillnotdance
lilly_the_kid: (Default)
lilly_the_kid ([personal profile] lilly_the_kid) wrote in [community profile] vidding2025-04-21 04:07 pm
Entry tags:

New Vid: Deadpool & Wolverine "Something Good"

Title: Something Good
Fandom: Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool movies
Music: Something Good by Herman's Hermits
Pairing: Deadpool/Wolverine
Summary: something tells me I'm into something good
Warnings: violence, blood

Here on AO3

oryndoll: (Default)
oryndoll ([personal profile] oryndoll) wrote in [site community profile] dw_community_promo2025-04-19 09:40 pm

Baldur's Gate 3 Fanfic Community



Hi! I created a community to share + discuss fanfiction for Baldur's Gate 3. 

Find it here:  [community profile] bg3fic 
  
brokenframe: (Default)
broken frame ([personal profile] brokenframe) wrote in [community profile] vidding2025-04-19 05:30 pm

New Vid: Garak/Bashir Fan Video - Across the Universe

Title: Across the Universe
Characters: Elim Garak and Julian Bashir
Fandom: Star Trek
TV Series: Deep Space Nine
Song: Across the Universe cover by Fiona Apple
Length: 4:09
Streaming/download at: DW | Tumblr
speperteristico: Cropped shot of Xavier de Rosnay (left) and Gaspard Augé (right) leaning in to light their cigarettes together (Et Justice pour tous)
speperteristico ([personal profile] speperteristico) wrote in [community profile] dreamwidthlayouts2025-04-19 02:41 pm

[Tabula Rasa] No Style Please



Code here [personal profile] speperteristico

Title: No-Style-Please
Base style: Tabula Rasa
Type: CSS
Tested in: Firefox, Firefox mobile
Features: Minimalistic, mobile friendly, automatic light/dark palette switch to match the browser's preferred color scheme
ysabetwordsmith: (Crowdfunding butterfly ship)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote in [community profile] crowdfunding2025-04-19 12:17 am

Creative Jam

Welcome to the 142nd Crowdfunding Creative Jam! This session will run Saturday, April 19-Sunday, April 20. The theme is "Empowerment."

Crowdfunding Creative Jam

Everyone is eligible to post prompts, which may be words or phrases, titles, images, etc. Prompters may request a specific creator, but everyone else may still use that prompt if they wish. Prompts may specify a particular character/world/etc. but creators may use the prompt for something else anyway and post the results. Prompters are still encouraged to post mostly prompts that anyone could use anywhere, as this maximizes the chance of having creators make something based on your prompt. Please title your comment "Prompt" or "Prompts" when providing inspiration so these are easy to find.

Prompt responses may also be treated as prompts and used for further inspiration. For example, a prompt may lead to a sketch which leads to a story, and so on. This kind of cascading inspiration is one of the most fun things about a collective jam session.

Everyone is eligible to use prompts, and everyone who wants to use a given prompt may do so, for maximum flexibility of creator choice in inspiration. You do not have to post a "Claim" reply when you decide to use a prompt, but this does help indicate what is going on so that other prompters can spread out their choice of prompts if they wish.

Creators are encouraged, but not required, to post at least one item free. Likewise, sharing a private copy of material with the prompter is encouraged but not required. Creative material resulting from prompts should be indicated in a reply to the prompt, with a link to the full content elsewhere on the creator's site (if desired); a brief excerpt and/or description of the material may be included in the reply (if desired). It helps to title your comment "Prompt Filled" or something like that so these are easy to identify. There is no time limit on responding to prompts. However, creators are encouraged to post replies sooner rather than later, as the attention of prompters will be highest during and shortly after the session.

Some items created from prompts may become available for sponsorship. Some creators may offer perks for donations, linkbacks, or other activity relating to this project. Check creator comments and links for their respective offerings.

Prompters, creators, and bystanders are expected to behave in a responsible and civil manner. If the moderators have to drag someone out of the sandbox for improper behavior, we will not be amused. Please respect other people's territory and intellectual property rights, and only play with someone else's characters/setting/etc. if you have permission. (Fanfic/fanart freebies are okay.) If you want to invite folks to play with something of yours, title the comment something like "Open Playground" so it's easy to spot. This can be a good way to attract new people to a shared world or open-source project, or just have some good non-canon fun.

Boost the signal! The more people who participate, the more fun this will be. Hopefully we'll see activity from a lot of folks who regularly mention their projects in this community, but new people are always welcome. You can link to this session post or to individual items created from prompts, whatever you think is awesome enough to recommend to your friends.
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
marycatelli ([personal profile] marycatelli) wrote in [community profile] books2025-04-18 11:42 pm

Chancy

Chancy by Louis L'Amour

Adventure in the Wild West.

Read more... )
rocky41_7: (tlt)
rocky41_7 ([personal profile] rocky41_7) wrote in [community profile] books2025-04-18 05:28 pm
Entry tags:

Recent Reading: Untold Night and Day

Book #7 from the "Women in Translation" rec list: Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah, translated from Korean by Deborah Smith.
 
Trying to accurately describe the plot of this book is an exercise in futility, so I'm not going to bother. All I can say is it centers around Ayami, a woman who is an actress, or maybe a poet, or possibly both, and is on her last day of work at an audio theater for the blind in Seoul.
 
This is a book I feel like I'd have to read at least one more time all the way through to be able to really discuss the themes and motifs at play. It's an incredibly cerebral novel that never gives up a clear answer about what's happening. What's real or not real changes from scene to scene. Is Ayami an orphan? Did she have a wealthy aunt? Is she the poet from Buha's youth? Is the director the bus driver? Who really got hit by the bus, and who was the murdered woman in the attic? Is Ayami Yeoni? The book leaves you to your own conclusions.
 
 
Read more... )
reeby10: Zachary Quinto and Christ Pine standing next to each other with "xoxox" at the bottom (pinto)
Reeby ([personal profile] reeby10) wrote in [site community profile] dw_community_promo2025-04-17 03:46 pm
Entry tags:

celebrity20in20 Round 13



Link: Round 13 Sign Ups | Round 13 Themes

Description: [community profile] celebrity20in20 is a 20in20 community dedicated to making icons of actors and actresses. You have 20 days to make 20 icons about a celebrity of your choice, based on a set of themes for the round.

Schedule: Round 13 sign ups are open NOW. Icons are due May 7, 2025.
doranwen: Elliot with Olivia pressed up against him, her hand on his shoulder as she looks down (EO from SVU)
Doranwen ([personal profile] doranwen) wrote in [site community profile] dw_community_promo2025-04-17 12:01 am
Entry tags:

EO/Bensler fan community (SVU)

I realized there was nowhere on Dreamwidth for SVU fans who love EO/Bensler (the Elliot/Olivia ship), so I created [community profile] bensler. I've kickstarted it with a post or two of my own, but I'd love other EO fans to join and post as well!

Tagged for adult content because the community is marked 18+ in order to be open to explicit fic and art.
sireesanwar: (SGA: Gate Infinity and Beyond)
sireesanwar ([personal profile] sireesanwar) wrote in [community profile] dreamwidthlayouts2025-04-16 03:31 pm

116. Revolumna Inspiree for Transmogrified

 
 

Title:
 Revolumna Inspiree
Credit to[community profile] layoutlounge 
Base style: Transmogrified > Basic
Type: CSS
Best resolution: 1600 x 900 + (works with 1280 x ?)
Tested in: Firefox & Edge
Features: Default userpic image, semi-responsive, Gray and white contrast
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
marycatelli ([personal profile] marycatelli) wrote in [community profile] books2025-04-15 10:32 am

Under the Sweetwater Rim

Under the Sweetwater Rim by Louis L'Amour

Adventure, danger, action in the Wild West.

Read more... )
purplecat: A narrow street with plastered houses and an archway at the end.  The word Bingo! (genprompt_bingo)
purplecat ([personal profile] purplecat) wrote in [site community profile] dw_community_promo2025-04-12 04:09 pm

Gen Prompt Bingo Round 28


A narrow street with plastered houses leading down to an archway with Gen Prompt Bingo  Round 28 and the url genprompt_bingo.dreamwidth.org superimposed over it.


[community profile] genprompt_bingo is a low commitment multi-fandom, multi-media bingo challenge.

Its aim is to provide bingo cards of gen-style prompts to be used as inspiration in creating fic, images, meta, fanmixes, vids or any other kind of fannish activities. Although the prompts themselves are "Gen" (i.e., no prompts are specifically about romance or sex) fills may be of any genre, style or rating.

Prompt lists are renewed at the start of December and April. New cards can be claimed then even if a previous card has not been completed.

Round 28 is open
wickedgame: (Ivan & Patrick | Elite)
wickedgame ([personal profile] wickedgame) wrote in [community profile] iconic2025-04-12 11:53 am

multifandom icons.

Fandoms: Agatha All Along, Alma/The Girl in the Mirror, Bed Friend, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Dead Boy Detectives, Derry Girls, DOC - Nelle Tue Mani, Elite, Hawaii Five-0, Jane the Virgin, Locke & Key, Maxton Hall, Neumatt, Once Upon a Time, Rescue: HI-Surf, Six is Not a Crowd, Supernatural, Superman & Lois, The Great, Triage, XO, Kitty, Young Royals, Zorro

xokitty-2x01a.png chicagopd-7x04a.png lockekey-3x01a.png
rest HERE[community profile] mundodefieras 
 
rocky41_7: (tlt)
rocky41_7 ([personal profile] rocky41_7) wrote in [community profile] books2025-04-11 08:13 pm

Recent Reading: A Dowry of Blood

My latest commute audiobook was A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson, a vampire novel that strides along at a brisk 5 hours run time. I have to admit upfront I did not have high hopes for this book. I somewhat warily added it to my TBR list, but I feared tired romantasy tropes that don't hit for me, and that the queerness which had landed it on my radar would turn out to be little more than additional titillation for a straight audience looking for a tale of decadence and indecency. I'm quite pleased to report neither of those concerns came to fruition!
 
As the title might suggest, there's a level of melodrama in this book you have to accept to enjoy the story. It reminded me in some ways of AMC's Interview with the Vampire in its shameless embrace of all those usual vampiric tropes and in the extravagances of its characters and its prose. Throughout the introduction, I was trying to decide if this was fun, or overwrought. I came down on the side of fun.
 
 
Read more... )
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
marycatelli ([personal profile] marycatelli) wrote in [community profile] books2025-04-10 01:08 pm

High Lonesome

High Lonesome by Louis L'Amour

Adventure in the Wild West. An outlaw band gets supplies at a place where an old gunman and his daughter pass by.

Read more... )
kaiyote: (MISC ▪ 💋)
kaiyote ([personal profile] kaiyote) wrote in [community profile] vidding2025-04-10 03:10 am
Entry tags:

vid. tw | like you

title. like you
fandom. teen wolf
pairing. stiles/peter
song. "trust" by sophie lowe

"I don't want to be like you." You think you know who you are — you didn't fool me at all. Steter vid.

ao3 | dw | tumblr | youtube