theladysnarkydame

While we're waiting for h/c-ex to reveal in July, this just showed up on EAD ...

ANNOUNCING TERRIBLE TEMPERATURE TROUBLES FLASH FEST: a multifandom flash fest for all your terrible temperature troubles!

Nomination & Sign-ups: Now-June 30.
Assignments Out: July 2.
Works Due: July 10.
Work Reveals: July 11.
Creator Reveals: July 17.
All times at 11:59 PM Eastern.

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/temptroubles2025/profile
https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/23809

Hypothermia ... heatstroke ... etc ...

(And it's one of those 1-fandom minimum request/offer exchanges, I'M JUST POINTING THIS OUT, IN CASE IT IS RELEVANT TO ANYONE.)

I realize this would be a terrible time for me to sign up for anything because I'm leaving tomorrow and I'll be gone until July 4 (Mom stuff again), but there's still almost a week of writing time after that.

marthawells

Great interview with Murderbot executive producer Andrew Miano:

https://www.nexuspointnews.com/post/interview-murderbot-ep-andrew-miano

First and foremost, my partner Paul Weitz read the book for pleasure, not with any eye towards adaptation, and came in with it and said, "this would make an amazing TV show." We all read it and really sparked to it and thought it was unique and special and funny, which is not something that you always get in a lot of sci-fi. [It is] also very meaningful and emotional. It was the whole package so it was very exciting and we went about it. We met Martha... One of the biggest things to focus on is how do you honor the book? How do you translate that to the screen? It's not easy, but I'm very fortunate to have Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz — two smart, talented partners — creating and running the show with their guidance and Martha's support and involvement to sort of capture and stay true to the books.

sholio

Okay, the previous post has the non-spoilery intro to the series, so this is the one with all the spoilers. I finished book 3 this evening (of seven books so far), and I'm still having a terrific time.

( Spoilers )

sholio

Thank you so much to everyone who left comments on my solstice/anniversary post. ♥ ♥ ♥ I don't know whether I'll manage to reply to you all individually, but I have been loving reading them!

turps

We're finally out of a run of 29c temps here and while it's warm today, it's nicely so. Poor James really didn't cope with the heat wave. His meds mess with his temperature regulation anyway, so he was like a wrung out rag for a lot of the time.

Things I've done in the last few days.

Went for a walk along the riverside to check out two new Ray Lonsdale sculptures. Photos on my insta if interested.

Went along the coast to go and spot seals at St Mary's island, and actually saw them, which was cool.

Walked at the Wetlands.

Went to class and my one to one check in with Rosie -- I plan on posting a flocked post about that later.

Went to Pauline's for tea.

Went with James to two hospital appointments in one day, hours apart.

Went to meet the in laws at an Italian restaurant for a birthday dinner for my niece.

Had a very frustrating Thursday.

Went to see Twenty Eight Years later, which I actually enjoyed despite me being a wuss. While it's not my usual genre of film I watch, a lot of it was filmed in my localish area, so it was fun spotting places I knew.

Tried to keep up with the garden, including making my own banana plant water, which is apparently good for the tomatoes. Sounds exciting, but it's just me shoving banana peels into water and letting them seep.

Okay, the Thursday ( cut for length ).

James' hospital appointments were both routine, one to check his new splint and take the old one in to be adjusted as a spare. The other to see his AMC consultant, which I also expected to be an in and out, but he was sent to x-ray to see why he still can't get his hand to his mouth. Apparently there's a build up of bone around his elbow joint, and she thinks it could help with the movement to get it chipped away, but only if the build up is at the front of the bone and not the side, so he needs a CT scan to find out which it is.

Honestly, I'm wary of him having the op even if it is in the front. It's his dominant arm and James has always said no more operations unless emergencies and while a minor op, this one would stop him driving for a while, which deeply depressed him last year. But, guess we'll see after the scan, and obviously, it's his decision.

To end this sum up, have some hot cats from yesterday ( behind here )

sholio

In 2000, I was married on the summer solstice, and we decided at that time that the solstice would forever be our anniversary, no matter what day it fell on. This year is our 25th - silver! we made it to a valuable metal! - and we met at the place we were married (Pioneer Park aka Alaskaland, a local park with food concessions) to revisit the pavilion in which we were married, and have a takeout dinner (halibut/Thai/Brazilian fusion tacos; it was delicious). We took a number of terrible selfies, and completely by accident, especially given that it was taken on a timer with my phone which was propped up in a crack in a picnic table, we achieved what may be my favorite picture of us in all the time we've been together.

A man and woman in ordinary street clothes stand beneath a high wooden pavilion, kissing. He is much taller and she is standing on her tiptoes. Trees and summer background.

I never realized that I lift my heels off the ground when I kiss him, but apparently I do. That's what a foot of height difference will do for you.

We came home to ash and charred needles dropping on my car hood from a wildfire north of town.

Yesterday we had a fire evacuation scare, and still have the fully packed bags sitting in our living room. Today we're fine, despite a gentle rain of ash. I can't wait for the next 25 years.

sholio

Continuing, as in most new fandoms, to write All The Tropes for them ...

As Far As You Can Go (gen, 3000 words)
Also posted on AO3
Summary: Set a little after "No Surrender, No Retreat." Still trying to figure out how to navigate their new truce, G'Kar has the unpleasant experience of having to rescue Londo from a situation of his own making.

( As Far As You Can Go )

sholio

The show is feeding me well.

( Spoilers )

sholio

helen_keeble recommended this LitRPG series, and I am having a GREAT time, although I'm only about 80% of the way through the first book (but honestly I don't expect my opinion to change a whole lot; it might really surprise me later, but this strikes me as a series where what you see is basically what you get).

But what you get is really a lot of fun - light, entertaining, very funny, with a lot more humanity and a darker edge than I was expecting. Also, it's a good Baby's First LitRPG (a genre I've bounced off repeatedly in the past) because there's a solid in-universe explanation for the stats, leveling, and other aspects of the genre.

Basically, Earth is now an alien reality game show.

In one moment, the vast majority of Earth's population is exterminated (everyone who was indoors or inside a vehicle or other contained space - they're all recycled by an alien resource development company, along with just about every other human-made thing on the planet). Everyone else finds themselves plunged into a world-sized dungeon with nothing but whatever they happen to be wearing at the time, where they must compete against an escalating series of challenges, televised for a galactic audience and run by a psychotic AI with a foot fetish and a ruthless alien corporation. The hero - Carl - was outside in a freezing night in order to rescue his ex-girlfriend's pedigreed Persian cat Princess Donut from a tree. Now he's in a dungeon, forced to compete against all too real enemies as well as fellow contestants, with a mind-controlled virtual pop-up display giving him descriptions of his and his opponents' stats, and a virtually unlimited inventory space. Princess Donut almost immediately gains a level-up bonus to human-level intelligence and becomes Carl's partner in the dungeon crawl, a squishy mage with sky-high Charisma next to Carl's tank. Who knew all that time playing first-person shooter games with no company except his cat was going to pay off ...

( More about the book (no big spoilers )

sholio

Over at

recthething, I posted a few recs for

diagetic_exchange (Babylon 5, Murderbot, Megamind). Diagetic Exchange is for in-universe fic/RPF/etc; I did not participate in this one, although I enjoyed the results!

Meanwhile in exchanges I did participate in,

whumpex author reveals happened tonight. I wrote two things:

Mission of Mercy (Biggles, gen, 5800 words, Flies East AU)
My assignment! Rather than just letting it go, Biggles becomes determined to find EvS's crashed Bristol fighter. Is this really just an excuse to write EvS suffering the effects of a crash and heatstroke? Mmmmaybe.

A few ending-spoilery author's notes on the story

My biggest problem, once I'd started writing it, was figuring out a way for EvS to get away given how I had set up the situation. I had trouble with Biggles just letting him go, at this point in time, but no ending that involved him being taken back to be tried and interrogated or shot felt good either. Eventually, I came up with the eventual sort-of compromise that involves Biggles finding a way to justify (to himself) letting EvS plausibly-deniably escape. (For certain values of plausible.) It is really interesting to write them when they're so young!

High G Maneuver (Babylon 5, Londo & Vir, 1700 words)
This was a treat for a recipient who had requested (among other things) a "Dust to Dust" tag in which Vir stays on the station longer so they can deal with the events of the episode.

A few notes

I've been wanting to write more about aftermath from that episode, so I immediately jumped on that prompt. But I realized when I started writing it that this is actually a really difficult time in canon to write emotional h/c for, because Londo is so closed off, and really doesn't start opening up to people, including Vir, until a season or so later. And he's going to be even more shut down in the wake of being physically and mentally hurt as badly as he is in the episode. I ended up wrapping it in a metaphor about Centauri fighter pilots, as a way of getting at the emotions that they won't talk about.

sholio

1. Vir and Delenn

From the "Only One Bed" meme (which at the moment has gone the way of most of my attempts at memes, alas), for a request for Vir and anyone.

( 700 words of Vir and Delenn )

2. Basking Narns

Posted as commentfic as a result of a comment discussion about cool-blooded Narns. (Also posted on Tumblr.)

( 400 words of basking Narns and Londo not being normal about it )

3. Ta'Lon and Vir

From a request on Tumblr for anything about Ta'Lon which actually ended up being not that much about Ta'Lon and more about the new ambassadors post-canon.

( 1000 words of Ta'Lon and Vir )

marthawells

Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology

Out in ebook and paperback on July 1. My story is "Data Ghost"

https://bookshop.org/p/books/storyteller-a-tanith-lee-tribute-anthology/a74b320486117220?ean=9798992595406&next=t

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/storyteller-a-tanith-lee-tribute-anthology?sId=e0bafab6-32a8-4ffb-9436-2dcda473349c

Edited by Julie C. Day, Carina Bissett, and Craig Laurance Gidney. Stories by Martha Wells, Andy Duncan, C.S.E. Cooney, Nisi Shawl, Mike Allen, Alaya Dawn Johnson, CL Hellisen, Maya Deane, Rocío Rincón Fernández, Theodora Goss, Getty Hesse, Starlene Justice, Amelia Mangan, Michael Yuya Montroy, Marisca Pichette, KT Wagner.

Sixteen new stories from some of today's most renowned authors. All inspired by the master storyteller Tanith Lee.

Drowning cities and unicorns. Burning deserts and forgotten gods. Golems, elf warriors, and inner-Earthers. Alien lifeforms and museum workers. Ancient plagues and the future of humanity. The familiar and the fantastical. Each story in this anthology is both unique and compelling: from fairy-tale retellings to romance-tinged high fantasy, from nihilistic horror to gripping science fiction. Immersive, wide-ranging, and sublime, Storyteller features worlds and characters that are sure to travel with you long after the last page has been read.

***

Short Story: "Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy" by Martha Wells

will be available on Reactor Magazine on July 10

Illustrated by Jaime Jones
Edited by Lee Harris

Perihelion and its crew embark on a dangerous new mission at a corporate-controlled station in the throes of a hostile takeover...

***

Summer of Science Fiction & Fantasy: Martha Wells in conversation with Kate Elliott

https://www.clarionwest.org/event/summer-of-science-fiction-fantasy-martha-wells-in-conversation-with-kate-elliott/

July 30 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm PDT

The Clarion West Summer Reading Series will be held virtually and streamed live over Zoom during the Six-Week Workshop.

Join us for our final event, a conversation between Martha Wells and Kate Elliott!

This event will begin with a conversation between Martha and Kate. There will be time to take questions from the audience. Participants will be able to submit questions in the webinar.

***

The New Yorker announced "Platform Decay" will be the next Murderbot novella. No word on publication date yet.

***

Grimoire: A Grim Oak Press Anthology For Seattle Worldcon 2025

https://grimoakpress.com/products/grimoire-a-grim-oak-press-anthology-for-seattle-worldcon-2025

My story is a fantasy called "Birthright" which is reprint that's not currently available anywhere else.

***

Queen Demon, the sequel to Witch King, second book of the Rising World, is up for preorder and will be released in ebook, audiobook, and hardcover on October 7.

From the breakout SFF superstar author of Murderbot comes the remarkable sequel to the USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling novel, Witch King. A fantasy of epic scope, Queen Demon is a story of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose.

Dahin believes he has clues to the location of the Hierarchs' Well, and the Witch King Kai, along with his companions Ziede and Tahren, knowing there's something he isn't telling them, travel with him to the rebuilt university of Ancartre, which may be dangerously close to finding the Well itself.

Can Kai stop the rise of a new Hierarch?

And can he trust his companions to do what's right?

Bookshop.org https://bookshop.org/p/books/queen-demon-martha-wells/21751501?ean=9781250826916

B&N https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/queen-demon-martha-wells/1146167707?ean=9781250826916

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/queen-demon

Audiobook Libro.fm https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781250291981-queen-demon

Bakka-Phoenix (indie bookstore in Canada): https://bakkaphoenixbooks.com/item/3Czr8TaWU9-_fwJ25ytSCw

marthawells

In ‘Murderbot,’ an anxious scientist and an autonomous robot develop a workplace-trauma bond

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-06-13/murderbot-episode-6-alexander-skarsgard-noma-dumezweni

Leading a TV series is a first for Dumezweni, who has previously been cast in smaller roles. She wasn’t convinced by the initial pitch at first because sci-fi hasn’t traditionally had a lot of major roles for actors of color.

“Usually I’d come in and play the receptionist,” she says. “I love to watch sci-fi. But I wondered: Who am I going to be in this sci-fi world?”

However, once she learned more about the world and the character, the actor changed her mind.

“It was an absolute joy to discover that there was nothing that Chris and Paul had to change to make it representational,” Dumezweni says. “It’s lovely not to have to fight for people’s positions in the world based on their skin color.”

ETA: Wanted to add this one real quick from BlueSky:

Vestal Magazine: Noma Dumezweni -- Off Canvas

https://www.vestalmag.com/noma-dumezweni

Set in a near future where the line between machine and human is increasingly blurred, Murderbot explores themes of identity, autonomy, and what it truly means to be alive through the eyes of a self-aware security android. Adapted from Martha Wells’s beloved The Murderbot Diaries novels, the series blends gripping sci-fi action with sharp, witty humor. At the heart of the story is Noma Dumezweni’s portrayal of Dr. Ayda Mensah, the thoughtful leader of a pacifist civilization struggling to uphold her community’s ideals amid a universe dominated by corporate greed and political tensions. Noma brings to the role a grounded strength, embodying the delicate balance between idealism and pragmatism as her character wrestles with the burdens of leadership and moral compromise. The parallels between Noma and Ayda run deep: both choose to lead with heart, courage, and conviction. “Your head will try to talk you out of that feeling of expansion. It will tell you, ‘You can’t do this,’” Noma says. “Trust your body, trust your instinct. Your body knows the truth.” That instinct and bravery have guided her career, from becoming the first Black actress to portray Hermione Granger on stage, a landmark moment for representation in theater, to winning two Laurence Olivier Awards and becoming a beacon of inspiration for a new generation of actors. Like Ayda, Noma has forged a path not only of leadership, but of quiet, transformative power.

Lovely photos in this!

turps

It was Kayleigh and Lucy's wedding anniversary on Saturday, so I've been on cat and tortoise watching duty while they've had a weekend away at a fancy spa hotel. They're back today though, so the last cat visit will be this morning.

They've also decided to get two new kittens. I suspected they'd get another cat after losing Aeriel, but not this soon and certainly not two of them. Thankfully, they're not arriving until the end of the month, so my pet sitting duties have been pretty simple.

James starts his annual leave today, so between that and his usual days off he's not back at work for a fortnight. We can't afford to go away this year, but will be having day trips out on some of the days.

Over the weekend, we saw How to Train Your Dragon, which I enjoyed. Went for walks at the country park, the beach, and yesterday, Beamish again. Though, yet again the place was really busy, so once we'd done our walk we just left, going against the tide as many many more people were queuing to get in. Even the staff were surprised how busy it was, but I guess between it being a lovely sunny day and Father's Day, people just wanted to go somewhere nice.

Pauline invited us to tea, so we'll be going there later. First though, it's class this morning, the first one for a fortnight. As it's getting warm already, I suspect I'll be scooping my sweaty self off the floor once it's finished. Then, after class finishes, we both have a check in and weigh on Rosie's fancy scales. It's unofficial as we've both technically graduated the programme, but it'll be nice to see where we're at and have a talk.

I mentioned we had a beach walk, well, it was a cold, foggy day that day, but that meant the dolphins came into Roker bay. I stood watching them for ages, there was such a big pod, and they only left when word must have got out and lots of boats came into the bay. ( a couple of photos )

sholio

Treats welcome!

I would be perfectly happy if you swap tags between requests. I think all my requests are pretty similar, and if a different request's tags give you an idea, please go for it with my enthusiastic consent.

I would love to receive any of my requests equally, and optional details aside, the tags are the primary prompts; please feel free to do what you like with them.

( Relationship likes and dislikes )

Fandoms

( Babylon 5 - TV )

( Biggles books - W.E. Johns )

( Agent Carter - TV )

sholio

justmarriedexchange signups are open through the 22nd. I immediately pounced on it, to no one's shock, but I SWEAR this is the last thing I'm signing up for until I at least get my casefic and Summer of Horror written.

Also,

hurtcomfortex is having a long reveals delay (until early July) in case you might want to treat someone. Hurt/Comfort-Ex requests on the AO3 app.

roga

I am so, so over this thing ugh. But am safe, as are family. Someday I will write real posts again I hope, le sigh. PS I am also on bluesky these days, not posting much, but more then here.

Hoping for as easy a weekend as possible to all.

marthawells

* Interview with Sue Chan, the production designer:

https://filmstories.co.uk/news/murderbot-designing-a-future-world-that-doesnt-look-like-alien/

“I started out by taking the most ancient societies on each continent – Etruscans, Asian, European, and African cultures,” Chan tells us. “I looked at the most fundamental motifs and gathered them into a bible, then asked my team to imagine 100 generations from now, when the diaspora of Earth have chosen to live together in society. How would they evolve a unified set of symbols? A language that really honours where they came from.”

This informed the alphabet that can be seen in the decoration painted across the otherwise grey, corporate habitat the PresAux crew are leasing. At the same time, acknowledging how much of the crew is queer and polyamorous, the colours of the rainbow are also entwined into their decorations.

“All of that is mashed up but it has a fundamental logic to it,” says Chan.

* Interview with Akshay Khanna (Ratthi):

https://squaremile.com/style/akshay-khanna-murderbot-actor-interview/

I’m incredibly excited for people to watch Murderbot on Apple TV+. Sci-fi has been my favourite genre by a country mile forever, and being on a show like this has always been a career goal of mine. Frankly, I had too much fun filming that show, and getting paid to do it constantly felt like I was getting away with something on set.

And the show is just so good. I can confidently say it’s fantastic – and if you don’t like it, then I would gently tell you that it’s OK to be wrong sometimes.

* Interview with Sabrina Wu (Pin-Lee):

https://www.autostraddle.com/sabrina-wu-interview-murderbot/

And then once I got the role, I read the books and I was legit just blown away at how funny the books were. I just haven’t seen such a dry sarcastic sensibility with this kind of hero sci-fi stories. And then I also just really liked that it was in the tradition of I felt like Octavia Butler, where it’s like, “oh, this is a queer imagining of the future.” So I don’t know. I just thought it was a really sweet, funny, different world. I also, obviously every comedian who becomes an actor, their dream is to get to work on something with action to move beyond an It’s Always Sunny kind of comedy. I believe there was already an opportunity for me to be in a spaceship and shoot guns, and it just made me happy that it was genuinely funny source material.

* Video interview with Tattiawna Jones (Arada) and Tamara Podemski (Bharadwaj):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NllgfEekw9s

* And a video interview with Noma Dumezweni (Mensah)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZpigqUqZXQ

* and a video interview with Noma and David Dastmalchian (Gurathin)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=361cKOujISE

* And a video interview (with a transcript) with Alexander Skarsgard, Jack McBrayer, and Paul and Chris Weitz:

https://collider.com/murderbot-alexander-skarsgard-jack-mcbrayer-creators-paul-weitz-chris-weitz/

* And there is a profile of me in The New Yorker (!!)

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/do-androids-dream-of-anything-at-all

* ETA: In ‘Murderbot,’ an anxious scientist and an autonomous robot develop a workplace-trauma bond

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-06-13/murderbot-episode-6-alexander-skarsgard-noma-dumezweni

Leading a TV series is a first for Dumezweni, who has previously been cast in smaller roles. She wasn’t convinced by the initial pitch at first because sci-fi hasn’t traditionally had a lot of major roles for actors of color.

“Usually I’d come in and play the receptionist,” she says. “I love to watch sci-fi. But I wondered: Who am I going to be in this sci-fi world?”

However, once she learned more about the world and the character, the actor changed her mind.

“It was an absolute joy to discover that there was nothing that Chris and Paul had to change to make it representational,” Dumezweni says. “It’s lovely not to have to fight for people’s positions in the world based on their skin color.”

*
ETA: Wanted to add this one real quick from BlueSky:

Vestal Magazine: Noma Dumezweni -- Off Canvas

https://www.vestalmag.com/noma-dumezweni

Set in a near future where the line between machine and human is increasingly blurred, Murderbot explores themes of identity, autonomy, and what it truly means to be alive through the eyes of a self-aware security android. Adapted from Martha Wells’s beloved The Murderbot Diaries novels, the series blends gripping sci-fi action with sharp, witty humor. At the heart of the story is Noma Dumezweni’s portrayal of Dr. Ayda Mensah, the thoughtful leader of a pacifist civilization struggling to uphold her community’s ideals amid a universe dominated by corporate greed and political tensions. Noma brings to the role a grounded strength, embodying the delicate balance between idealism and pragmatism as her character wrestles with the burdens of leadership and moral compromise. The parallels between Noma and Ayda run deep: both choose to lead with heart, courage, and conviction. “Your head will try to talk you out of that feeling of expansion. It will tell you, ‘You can’t do this,’” Noma says. “Trust your body, trust your instinct. Your body knows the truth.” That instinct and bravery have guided her career, from becoming the first Black actress to portray Hermione Granger on stage, a landmark moment for representation in theater, to winning two Laurence Olivier Awards and becoming a beacon of inspiration for a new generation of actors. Like Ayda, Noma has forged a path not only of leadership, but of quiet, transformative power.

Lovely photos in this!

ETA:

Great interview with Murderbot executive producer Andrew Miano:

https://www.nexuspointnews.com/post/interview-murderbot-ep-andrew-miano

First and foremost, my partner Paul Weitz read the book for pleasure, not with any eye towards adaptation, and came in with it and said, "this would make an amazing TV show." We all read it and really sparked to it and thought it was unique and special and funny, which is not something that you always get in a lot of sci-fi. [It is] also very meaningful and emotional. It was the whole package so it was very exciting and we went about it. We met Martha... One of the biggest things to focus on is how do you honor the book? How do you translate that to the screen? It's not easy, but I'm very fortunate to have Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz — two smart, talented partners — creating and running the show with their guidance and Martha's support and involvement to sort of capture and stay true to the books.

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theladysnarkydame

Black Ink on White Paper

July 2021

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Oh what a world my parents gave me

Still, I think I'm doin' fine

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New Interview

Dungeon Crawler Carl books 1-3

Thank you!!

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Solstice 2025

Babylon 5 fic: As Far As You Can Go

Murderbot 1x07

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

Recent exchange fic

Recent Babylon 5 ficlets from various places

Things Coming Out Next

Another Murderbot interview

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