ariadnes_string

Then, I picked up these as a pinch hit. I wrote them very quickly, so they are of questionable quality, but I loved looking at the Tommy/Alfie pairings (and thinking about how Alfie might have been involved with 1920s Palestine), and of course, Tommy & Ada :)

In the Year of the British Mandate (871 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Tommy Shelby, Alfie Solomons
Additional Tags: Canon Jewish Character, Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Alfie is a bit of a Zionist
Series: Part 1 of In the Year of the British Mandate
Summary:

Tommy wasn’t surprised when Alfie Solomons’ men jumped him a week after Epsom.

In the Year of the British Mandate (chapter 2) (873 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Tommy Shelby/Alfie Solomons
Additional Tags: Collection: Purimgifts Day 2, Guns, Alfie is a bit of a Zionist, Canon Jewish Character, Purim
Series: Part 2 of In the Year of the British Mandate
Summary:

“It’s Purim,” said Alfie, throwing out his arms expansively. “And I want to make some noise.”

The Four-Day Snowball Fight (810 words) by ariadnes_string
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Ada Shelby, Tommy Shelby
Additional Tags: Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Childhood Memories, Snow
Summary:

Tommy asks Ada for a favor.

Happy Halloween! It’s been a busy couple of weeks since I last posted.

On the 19th, I ran my second half-marathon. I trained much harder this year and…finished a whopping 5 minutes faster. A fast runner, I am not. But I felt good about it, and had fun—it was a beautiful day in my hometown, I saw friends cheering along the way, and, heck, anytime I run any distance at all, I’m surprised. (Me: Well, no matter what happens, I enjoyed the training; R: Enjoyed? You loved the training!; Me: Yeah, I did.)

Then last weekend, we went to Colorado to see Son #1. CO was as gorgeous as ever, and son #1 seems to be doing well, better than last year, which is excellent, but a bit bittersweet, since I miss him a lot. (The boys and I had the most fun going to this old-fashioned pinball arcade , “Where it’s always 1978.” Along with the pinball, they had ping pong, pool, and, best of all, a giant Connect Four set and a giant Jenga set. Still, the traveling, and seeing friends and family so intensely is…intense.

And thinking about Yuletide. Assignments went out yesterday, and while mine isn’t all that exciting, it doesn’t look that difficult, either. I also snagged one of the initial pinch hits, from a fandom I’d been eyeing anyway. I need to spend some time reviewing the sources for both, though.

What I’m Reading

Nothing in print right now, but I’m listening to The Fever, by Megan Abbott, because I read this great review article about it, and the library had an audiobook copy. It’s compelling, but a little…garish? hyperbolic? The subject can’t help but hover on the edge of the ridiculous, and this book sometimes teeters over. Plus, high school has clearly gotten worse since I was a teenager. The level of sexual shame is WAY higher than it was in the 80s—but maybe that’s just the book? The social media frenzy is well done, though.

I’m also listening to, but have gotten distracted from, the fourth Twelve Houses book, Reader and Raelynx

What I Just Finished

Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie. ( Read more... )

Euphoria, by Lily King (audiobook). ( Read more... )

Dark Moon Defender, Sharon Shinn (audiobook). As enjoyable as the first two!

What I’m Reading Next

I’m trying to find time to start Sarah Waters’ The Paying Guests, and I’m curious about Marlon James’s A Brief History of Seven Killings, which I have out from the library. But my parents are visiting this weekend, so who knows.

TV:

So, is anyone else watching Kingdom, the Direct TV show about MMA fighters, starring Frank Grillo as Alvey Kulina? ( Read more... )

And then there’s Tom Hardy as Alfie Solomons on Peaky Blinders S2, doing one of his cardiganed thug turns as a Jewish breadmaking gangster (do the baggy clothes, slump and facial hair muffle his charisma, or do they just amplify it?). I’m a week behind, but so far I’ve been really enjoying watching the show get its Godfather on, even introducing a Michael Corleone character—Polly’s long lost son, who’s entering the criminal life with a kind of steely watchfulness that would make Al Pacino proud.

I’m a week behind with Homeland, too. I’m enjoying it okay, though Carrie is the worst, most unbelievable Station Chief, ever. She’s a great agent—but leadership skills? People management? Not so much.

Happy Halloween, folks! Have a great time if you’re participating!

I have been remiss about reminders, but RUNNING HOT II is percolating along. deepbluemermaid has been posting some great H50 WIPs, which you can access via THE MASTER LIST and there are prompts galore in a plethora of fandoms at the prompting post, if you're looking for ideas about what to write this afternoon!

In the meantime, have some previews and sneak peaks.

Tom Hardy-at-Cannes goodness has been flooding tumblr this weekend click the tag and see how you feel about the beard.

( and the clip from Lawless looks awesome )

( And here is a clip of Ben Whishaw and Patrick Stewart in the upcoming BBC Richard II )

And if for some reason you haven't seen the Magic Mike international trailer, I think you owe yourself the pleasure (linking b/c I can't find one to embad.

In other news, I have seen the season finale of Grimm and 1x12 of the sadly cancelled Awake but I haven't seen the H50 finale or House 8x21 yet, but I'm thoroughly spoiled for all, so feel free to share your thoughts. And I'm off to Hunger Games movie now, so that too!