L.J. Writes

Into the Badlands

Really good post-apocalyptic wuxia with big-stakes political/military intrigue and a compelling cast of characters. There are amazingly choreographed action sequences in the best tradition of Chinese action movies. I love how diverse the cast is, too, with many interracial relationships and a canon queer relationship. I'm almost done with this one and am hanging onto the last three episodes mainly out of a reluctance to let the show go. I'll finish when I'm in the mood.

Star Trek: Discovery

I have mixed feelings about this one. I love Michael Burnham and the Season 2 storyline is intriguing, but I'm still disoriented by the tight focus on the main plot and cast, resulting in a lack of the ensemble feel and leisurely pace that I'm used to with Trek.

The going is slow on this one because I'm watching this together with Mark and we both have to find time to sit down together, mainly while folding laundry. We haven't done this in a while, and the living room sofa is a jumble of clean laundry XD

Good Omens

This was all the rage on Tumblr for a few weeks and I still see quite a bit of content. I never could get into the book, and it sat on my shelf for years unread after my then-boyfriend lent it to me. Then we got married and I returned it to him as part of my move-in luggage. Neither Terry Pratchett nor Neil Gaiman ever quite gelled for me and the two of them together weren't a particular improvement, it turns out.

My husband loved the book, though, and wanted to watch the show with me, so we watched Episode 1 together. It's funny, I guess? I'm still meh on it, but it's easier and more passive than reading the book.

Black Lightning

I was stalled on Season 2 for a while before I started again recently. I haven't watched a lot of superhero shows but I like this one, with its intimate portrayal of a family threatened from the outside and dealing with their own internal turmoil and conflicts. And I am so rooting for Anissa/Grace even though I don't think Anissa has a very good track record when it comes to treating women well. (Chenoa did nothing wrong!) I'm sure she'll grow as a character and am looking forward to how it might happen.

There's about a day remaining on wipbigbang signups and I'm pondering whether to enter. I do have a Finnrey AU WIP that I'm interested in finishing, but a) I'm not sure where to take the story and b) I'm not sure it would reach 7,500 words even if I do finish it. I tend not to write longfic these days so it's the one idea that could possibly reach that length, unless I decide to write out my The Last Jedi same-plot rewriting exercise which is a possibility though I am hesitant to offend people who actually like TLJ. I'll have to try outlining and brainstorming both ideas before I decide whether to sign up.

I've been seeing people talk about reading fics for works they haven't seen, and in a sort of twist of that I've been beta-reading a fic chapter that takes place after episodes I haven't yet caught up on. The fic is OrmondSacker's Where Once Was Light (SPOILERS for Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery). Even discussing who it's about is spoilery, so the rest is below a cut.

( Spoilers for Discovery Season 2 )