nishatalitha

On Friday night, October 31, I celebrated Halloween candy consumption by eating a few dark chocolate chips after dinner. There used to be trick-or-treating in the apartment complex, but that was years ago.

Saturday evening, I saw several adults in costume; there seems to have been a big costume party in a neighboring building.

james_davis_nicoll

In case the image does not load or someone cannot read it: it is a Bluesky post reading "I firmly believe the Jays would have won had Diefenbaker not cancelled the Avro Arrow."

There are 7 reposts, 2 quotes, and 48 likes.

pronker posting in

fancake

Fandom: Dark Shadows

Pairings/Characters: Barnabas Collins, Roger Collins, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Angelique Bouchard Collins, Elliot Stokes, Julia Hoffman, David Collins, Hallie Stokes, Maggie Evans, Willie Loomis

Rating: T

Length: 102,807

Creator Links: SusanRains | Archive of Our Own

Theme: Mystery & Suspense

Summary: Four strangers converge on Collinsport. But maybe one of them is coming home.

The vicious killing of two young boys has Barnabas convinced that a vampire preys upon Collinsport. His suspects are four newcomers: three strangers, and an enemy from his own past, long believed dead.

Reccer's Notes: Though it may be read separately without much fuss, this fic follows Lunatic Yarn, recc'd a few days ago. Blood Levy details the goings on of the ever-put-upon Collins family as they struggle to maintain their reputation while wringing a little love and enjoyment out of ~Life. It's a fine mystery using all the familiar TV show performers, the main ones in their regular roles, while various supporting performers Author has envisioned as original characters. Beginning with sudden action, continuing in an eerie atmosphere, well, could we expect anything else?

Fanwork Links:
Blood Levy (Dark Shadows 1971) Book 3 - Chapter 1 - Carey Kasdot (SusanRains) - Dark Shadows (1966) [Archive of Our Own]

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: comatose in bed
Current Music: birdsong

oglaf_comic_feed

https://www.oglaf.com/flittermouse/

james_davis_nicoll

Was Fred Halpern the boy space hero the papers believed him or the headstrong fool his teachers saw?

Moon of Mutiny (Jim Stanley, volume 3) by Lester del Rey

sraun

We passed out 32 full-sized candy bars between 6:30-9:00. We turned off the lights about 10:00.

kingstoken posting in

fancake

Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (tagged both books and Granada)
Pairings/Characters: Holmes/Watson
Rating: T
Length: 11,539 words
Creator Links: Unpainted Canvas (RatTale)
Theme: mystery & suspense, casefic

Summary: During a hard case Holmes and Watson part ways after an argument, and now Holmes suddenly has more to worry about than missing children.

Reccer's Notes: After they have a terrible row, Watson is kidnapped by bad guys to prevent Holmes from pursuing a case. The entire story is from Holmes POV, and there is a lot of worry and tension as Holmes tries to solve the disappearance of his friend. It's a good casefic, as well as the circumstances leading to realization of feelings by Holmes.

Fanwork Links: AO3

china_shop

(Okay, semi-random. I had it as part of the rewatch post, but I just swapped it out for a different one, and now I have to post this one somewhere, because asdkfhaskdfjhasd! /dork)

Zhao Yunlan crouched on a table, reading a case file, while Da Qing looks on with popcorn.

Zhao Yunlan crouched on a table, reading a case file, while Da Qing looks on with popcorn.

james_davis_nicoll

You too can be one of the legions of James Nicoll Review supporters, financing my slow but steady advance towards review aleph null!

November 2025 Patreon Boost

runpunkrun posting in

fancake

Moody photograph of the ocean from an outlook. In the foreground, two dirty hands claw their way up over the edge toward the viewer. Text: Mystery & Suspense, at Fancake.

Spooky season's not over yet because our theme for November is mystery & suspense!

The tag for this round is: theme: mystery & suspense

If you're just joining us, be sure to check out our policy on content notes. Content notes aren't required, but they're nice to include in your recs, especially if a fanwork has untagged content that readers may wish to know about in advance.

( Rules! )

( Posting Template! )

( Promote this round! )

Reblog on Tumblr | Reskeet on Bluesky | Retoot on Mastodon

james_davis_nicoll

Five works new to me: two horror, one and a half science fiction, one half fantasy, and one TTRPG that's hard to classify. Two could be said to be series works.

Books Received, October 25 — October 31

Poll #33785 Books Received, October 25 — October 31

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 41

View Respondents

Which of these upcoming books looks interesting?

View Answers

Dreamland by Olivie Blake (August 2026)
12 (29.3%)

Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey (May 2026)
15 (36.6%)

Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Three edited by Stephen Kotowych (October 2025)
17 (41.5%)

Palaces of the Crow by Ray Nayler (March 2026)
16 (39.0%)

Outgunned Adventure by Riccardo“Rico” Sirignano & Simone Formicola, with art by Daniela Giubellini (October 2024)
9 (22.0%)

Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.4%)

Cats!
30 (73.2%)

china_shop

My writing goals for the second half of October were: don't stuff up my arms, finish my flashfic, finish a treat I started for

guardian_wishlist, sign up for Yuletide, and write something for the

fan_flashworks amnesty round. I managed 2/5, but I'm calling it a win. (My game, my rules. :-)

Goals for November!

post at least one media update (in my head, I still call these "weekly updates", lol)
write my Yuletide assignment fic
maybe a treat or two? or flashfics for things in the Yuletide tagset that I like but no one requested ;-p
finish the thing I'm currently working on
write something else
don't stuff up my arms again
if LWS have another 24-hour sprint, go to some of that

Today I went for a walk and saw a huge eel and some cute dogs and lots of trees. I did a little alibi editing on my WIP, posted a Slo-Mo Rewatch post to

sid_guardian, and a 1000-word comment on that. Not sure if I'm going to write some more this evening or read or watch more A Hundred Memories (on which I have about 2 episodes to go).

(Will I keep posting tiny daily life updates? Who knows?!)

pronker posting in

fancake

Fandom: Dark Shadows

Pairings/Characters: Barnabas Collins, Julia Hoffman, Elliot Stokes, David Collins, Elizabeth Collins, Roger Collins, Angelique Bouchard Collins, Harry Johnson, Willie Loomis, Maggie Evans

Rating: T

Length: 37,304

Creator Links: archiveofourown.org/users/SusanRains/pseuds/Carey%20Kasdot

Theme: Uncommon settings

Summary: A dumbwaiter system found in the house unleashes a baffling illness which turns pleasant friends into infatuated screwballs. Meanwhile, games with the dumbwaiter bring Hallie and David nights of terror. With the addition of an afghan that roams the house at will and a houseguest no one wants, Collinwood hits the height of mayhem.

Reccer's Notes: You'd be pretty hard put to discover a stranger, more unsettling setting than a dumbwaiter in which an intrepid soul or two ventures to travel. Add to this Halloween rec the inimitable spookiness of the great estate of Collinwood and you've discovered a delightful read with stellar characterizations and the usual undercurrent of Things Unseen in the fandom.

Fanwork Links: The Lunatic Yarn (Dark Shadows 1971) Book 2 - Carey Kasdot (SusanRains) - Dark Shadows (1966) [Archive of Our Own]

Current Mood: peaceful
Current Location: comatose in bed
Current Music: birdsong

ndrosen

This morning, I went to the medical clinic, and saw my primary care physician, who was dressed as a giraffe; it is, after all, Halloween, and I presume that she has young patients. I got an influenza vaccination, some blood was taken for testing, and I am to see a gastroenterologist for a colonoscopy, since it’s been ten years since my last one. Also, my doctor will be going into semi-retirement, and she recommended another physician at the practice for my future checkups.

ndrosen

An amendment has appeared on my Amended docket; I have not yet worked on it.

I finished an Office Action on my oldest Regular New case (not a Request for Continued Examination case) earlier this week. I have been working on a Request for Continued Examination case that is on my Regular New docket, and have made progress, but have not finished writing the Office Action.

I also confirmed abandonment of a case on my Rejected docket, which I rejected more than six months ago.

I have applied to work part-time, which means that I will not have to churn out as many Office Actions, and I will be paid less. Keeping up with the Red Queen has been difficult enough; the people appointed by the current administration have announced changes that will make it harder, in an effort to squeeze more production out of examiner, and reduce the backlog of unexamined cases. These are not illegitimate goals, but it remains to be seen whether they can be attained, or if making it harder for examiners will result in more of them quitting, taking retirement earlier than they had planned, or being fired. Compared with some people in this country, I don’t have much to complain of personally, but I have expressed unfavorable opinions of Dishonest Donald and his crew of myrmidons on other grounds, and now I am not happy with what they are doing at the Patent Office.

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3162/

Even geology papers about Heart Mountain are like, "Look, we all agree this 'volcanic gas earthquake hovercraft' thing seems like it can't possibly be right, but..."

https://xkcd.com/3162/

full_metal_ox posting in

fancake

Fandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi
Pairings/Characters: M/M; Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian; Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, Lan Sizhui, Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling, Wen Qing, and others.
Rating: Explicit
Length: 193,252
Content Notes: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, animal death, body horror, bullying, conspiracy, domestic violence, Scenery Porn, Scenery Gorn, Smut
Creator Tags: Horror, Spooky, Opposites Attract, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Ghosts, Necromancy
Creator Links: (AO3)

darkterrible; (Threads) tucsonodd; (Twitter)

darkterrible666

Theme: Uncommon Settings, Casefic, Canon LGBTQ+ Characters, Cops & Crime, Fandom Classics, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery & Suspense, Novel-Length Fic, Psychic Powers, Uncommon Settings, Urban Fantasy, Worldbuilding

Summary: Wei Wuxian can see the dead. Weird happenings ensue.

Author’s Notes: I really struggled with putting this back up again (sorry I know I'm a flake) I have a love/hate relationship with it. But here it is.

This is a repost (it's all over the internet in various formats and languages) but it is mine.

I wrote this a looong time ago, before I really had a GREAT understanding of the naming conventions used in the untamed. Some of it might be incorrect.

Reccer's Notes:: Although November’s Mystery & Suspense theme would apply, I’m using Uncommon Settings to shoehorn in this beloved modern-with-magic paranoir fic in time for Halloween; the intrigue-haunted waterfront city of Lotus, patterned after Venice, is very much a character in its own right. (Note that, despite the geographical inspiration, nobody seems to have been whitewashed.)

medium blues has a history as cryptic and elusive as its subject matter: for various reasons (including having been targeted in the fandom’s 2020 cyberbullying scandal) the author—along with this fic—has periodically vanished and resurfaced under a succession of pseudonyms.

Here are the author’s original summary and tags:

( Continue. )

Fanwork Links: medium blues, by

darkterrible.

(Wayback Machine): https://web.archive.org/web/20220625040644/https://archiveofourown.org/works/39589791?view_adult=true&view_full_work=true

(Archive.today): https://archive.ph/cJARF

Frontispiece by

mojoflower, from her review on

wangxianficrecs: https://wangxianficrecs.tumblr.com/post/643044937390325760/medium-blues-by-darkandterrible-e

james_davis_nicoll

James Nicoll Reviews saw its 3000th review on the 17th.

23 works reviewed. 12.5 by women (54%), 10 by men (43%), 0.5 by non-binary authors (2%), 0 by authors whose gender is unknown (0%), and 10.5 by POC (46%).

More stats and a big chart here.

james_davis_nicoll

A stranger comes to Little Marigold.

M. F. K., volume 1 by Nilah Magruder

mific posting in

fancake

Fandom: due South
Characters/Pairings: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Diefenbaker, Victoria Metcalfe, original characters
Rating: Explicit
Length: 19,093
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings
Creator Links: thehoyden on AO3, luzula on the Audiofic Archive
Themes: Uncommon settings, Friends to lovers, First time, Working together, Complete AU: academia

Summary: "What the hell is this, an Austen novel?"

Reccer's Notes: Complete AUs are unusual in due South, and this is that rarity, a dS AU set in academia. Fraser is a new professor, looked down on by his colleagues as he's from the University of Guelph, and only Ray Kowalski, a punky, nonconformist professor, befriends him. They both have offices on the unpopular top floor (Fraser as he's bottom of the pecking order, and Ray as he likes to get away from the rest of the department), which helps kickstart their friendship. The story is about the highs and lows of academic life and there are some great sections showing Ray's unconventional teaching style which the students love, and Fraser's more traditional, but solid, approach. There's academic politics and also drama with the return of Victoria, Fraser's ex and his academic rival. It's about character development, and about Fraser and Ray's friendship which blossoms gradually into much, much more. The fic's beautifully written, and an extremely good read - highly recommended.

Fanwork Links: Academic Punk on AO3, and the excellent podfic by luzula is here

Halloween Related

This went over well

Dark Shadows: Blood Levy by Susan Rains/Carey Kasdot

Flittermouse

Moon of Mutiny (Jim Stanley, volume 3) by Lester del Rey

Halloween

Sherlock Holmes: Bad Dog by Unpainted Canvas

Random Guardian screencap

November 2025 Patreon Boost

Round 180: Mystery & Suspense

Books Received, October 25 — October 31

November writing goals

Dark Shadows: The Lunatic Yarn by Susan Rains/Carey Kasdot

Annual Physical

The Red Queen’s Race

Heart Mountain

Mo Dao Zu Shi, Chen Qing Ling: medium blues, by darkterrible; art by Mojoflower.

October 2025 in Review

M. F. K., volume 1 by Nilah Magruder

due South: Academic Punk by thehoyden

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