Gazing enviously at the posts from people who can draw - that's pretty much the only reason I started this account .... that and to see the prompts for writing weeks. I'm on Fanfiction.net and AO3.
The beloved actress starred in classic British sitcoms The Good Life and To The Manor Born.
The Good Life actress Dame Penelope Keith dies aged 86
Actress Dame Penelope Keith, best known for her roles in the classic 1970s British sitcoms The Good Life and To the Manor Born, has died at the age of 86.
A statement released on Monday on behalf of her family said: "We are deeply saddened to announce that Dame Penelope Keith died peacefully whilst living with cancer at her home in Surrey where she had lived for more than 50 years.
"The family is grateful for the care and support she received throughout her treatments, and ask that their privacy be respected at this time."
She famously played snobbish suburban neighbour Margo Leadbetter in The Good Life, as well as the widowed aristocrat Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in To the Manor Born.
'RIP dear Penny'
The Surrey-born actress joined the Royal Shakespeare company in 1963 and went on to win an Olivier Award for best comedy performance in 1976, for her role in the play Donkey's Years.
But she became a household name playing Margo in The Good Life from 1975, winning the Bafta TV award for best light entertainment performance in 1977.
She followed that by playing widowed aristocrat Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in To the Manor Born, which first aired in 1979.
She won another Bafta TV award soon after, this time for best actress for The Norman Conquests and Saving It For Albie.
Her other sitcom credits in the 1980s and 90s included Executive Stress, No Job for a Lady and Next of Kin.
The much-loved actress succeeded Laurence Olivier as president of the Actors' Benevolent Fund after his death in 1989.
This century, working largely in theatre, she played Madame Arcati in a 2004 production of Blithe Spirit and Lady Bracknell in a 2007 version of The Importance of Being Earnest.
She was a made a dame in 2014 for services to the arts and charity.
Former culture secretary Sir Jeremy Hunt led the tributes, posting on X: "Incredibly sad to hear of the passing of Dame Penelope Keith CBE. She was a neighbour and friend where she was dearly loved by all who knew her in Milford.
"She helped Britain laugh at itself, one of our best national qualities, and brought happiness to millions. RIP dear Penny."
Hey, so many of you are familiar with fix-it fanfiction, the superglue which holds together the hearts canon has shattered, right? Well, I have a point to make. As of right now (1-28-2020), there are 6,659 fanfictions in the Leverage category on AO3. You know how many of those are fix-it fics? 25. A measly 0.38% of Leverage fanfiction is tagged as fix-it. For comparison, 2.20% of MCU fanfiction and 1.25% of Supernatural fanfiction are fix-its.
So yeah, Leverage is so amazing that hardly anything needs to be fixed. But we already knew that. No, it gets better. Of those 25 fix-it fanfictions, 16 (64%) of them are actually fix-its for OTHER fandoms. Leverage has been used in fix-its for White Collar, The Walking Dead, Coupling (UK), The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Kings, Person of Interest, Pacific Rim, Once Upon a Time, The Losers, Merlin, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the actual 2016 US election (yeah, that).
The point here, being, not only is Leverage’s own canon one of the most perfect to grace television, it is so brilliant that it can literally bust in and fix everyone else’s canon as well.
Knitting finished as of last night! Still need to weave in a few ends, wash, and block.
Was aiming for 48” x 60”, came out 39” x 60” so far, but I’m hoping to be able to block it to a little wider and I’m ok losing a few inches of length for that
We are honored to announce the prompts for ROGUENETO WEEK 2026!! The fan week will consist of fanfiction, fan art, and any other creative creations revolving around our Master of Magnetism and his Southern lady. Any and all human-made submissions are accepted. ABSOLUTELY NO AI will be allowed.
This fan week will commence October 18-25, 2026.
The prompts are as followed:
Egypt
House of M
What If: Rogue Left the Savage Land with Magneto
Beach Day
Vampire AU
Wine & Coffee
Southern Comfort
Variant Covers
Similar to last year, we will have eight surprise drabble prompts that will be announced.
Special thanks to @linzebot for allowing us to use her art for this graphic, and thanks to @vanelilyskull for the graphic!
Sign-Ups are NOW OPEN for Swan Queen Supernova XI: Shoot for the Stars!
It’s time for our eleventh (!!!) round of SQSN! Read on to find out how to sign up for another round of writing, creating, editing, cheerleading madness.
Now, before you sign up, please:
Read the FAQ
Check the schedule
Join the Discord server and ask your fellow creators questions
And then, if you have any questions not answered by those methods above, please email us at [email protected], or DM us on Bluesky
Please don’t message us here on Tumblr for help - it is the worst way to get our attention, as we’re rarely on here!
Once you’ve read the FAQ and Schedule, it’s time to get this party started!
Sign-ups this year are open from May 18th - June 8th for all roles! Beta, cheerleader, and pinch-hitter sign-ups will stay open all challenge, but assignments go out at the beginning, so you’re more likely to get matched with a creator to help if you sign up early!
Once again, be sure you read the FAQ and SCHEDULE before signing up, but if you’re all ready to go:
CLICK HERE to sign up as an Artist or Author!
CLICK HERE to sign up as a Beta, Cheerleader, or Pinch-Hitter!
Sign ups for authors and artists close promptly at midnight, or just after 11:59pm Eastern Time, on Monday, June 8th, so don’t delay. And be sure to spread the word - the more, the merrier where Swan Queen is concerned!
Let us know if you guys have any questions that aren’t answered by the Schedule or the FAQ page, and happy Supernova Season to all!
periodic reminder that the queer liberation library is an awesome non-regional library you can add on libby to access hundreds of queer titles. NO LIBRARY CARD NEEDED. i just found an audiobook for a pretty new release on there with no waitlist. also everyone use libby for your local library too NOW
Fandom: Leverage: Redemption
Compilation: Moments in the Life of Leverage Fam
A/N: Catatonic_Dwam on ao3 wanted to see Astrid experience a Parker Christmas, so here is Astrid being repeatedly flabbergasted.
Astrid strides down the hallway, eager to get to her hotel room.
Her time in Singapore thus far can be described by one word: wet. It's very like England in a way, except that it's also warm, which feels strange. The moment Astrid opens her room door, she can feel herself relax with the promise of a quick shower and dry clothes.
"Sophie said you're not coming for Christmas."
Astrid jolts at the sudden voice. The room is still dark, and she has her gun in hand before she realizes what's happening.
"Parker." Astrid exhales sharply, trying to come down from the spike of adrenaline. She puts her gun in its holster and her card in the slot by the door, so the lights turn on. "What are you doing here?"
"Sophie said you're not coming for Christmas," Parker repeats.
"I'm working a big case," Astrid explains. "I don't have time to fly to America, and--"
"Yes, you do," Parker interrupts. "I had Breanna hack a few computers. Eliot punched some people. You're free now." She speaks so casually as though she's not skating over so many crimes.
"And did that get me any admissible evidence?" Astrid asks skeptically. "Because I can't use..." She trails off as Parker pulls a handkerchief from her pocket.
"Do you want to be conscious for the plane ride back or not?" Parker asks.
Astrid eyes the handkerchief warily, knowing it's probably laced with chloroform or the like, and accepts her defeat. "You want me there that badly?"
Parker scoffs. "I don't," she says, but Astrid doesn't believe her. "It's my Christmas gift for Sophie."
"I think you want me there," Astrid says, unable to stop herself from needling her former nemesis.
"No, I don't," Parker insists.
"I think you do," Astrid persists. When Parker lifts the handkerchief once again, Astrid sighs. "Okay, okay. Do I at least have time to pack?"
"I already did it for you," Parker says as if that's a totally normal thing.
Astrid is still processing that weird statement when she suddenly finds her holdall flying towards her face. She twists quickly, grabbing the bag from the air before it can hit her.
"Parker!"
...
"Astrid, you made it!"
There's not a hint of surprise in Sophie's tone, and Astrid realizes that even if she didn't have a hand in it, Sophie must've known what Parker was up to. That does nothing to diminish the joy in her voice, and Astrid decides that makes being kidnapped in the middle of a big case well worth it.
"Happy Christmas," Astrid says as she steps in for a hug.
The tender moment is broken by a scoffing laugh.
"Happy Christmas." Parker laughs again as she shakes her head. "Don't be silly. It's 'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy birthday, Jesus.' You can't just smoosh them together."
"Happy birthday, Jesus?" Astrid mouths to herself, slowly digesting the words. She supposes it's technically not wrong, but it's also not something she's heard people say. Although one could never know for certain with Americans. Astrid looks at Sophie in confusion.
"When in Rome, darling," Sophie says with an indulgent smile.
"Steal a painting," Parker finishes. "Or an antique, or a statue. Or all three. Why limit yourself?"
"Parker!" Astrid says before stopping as she remembers she's outnumbered.
Sophie's smile somehow manages to simultaneously be supportive towards Parker and sympathetic towards Astrid. She puts a hand on Astrid's back and leads her to the bar area. In the background, Parker flits up and down the stairs. Astrid does her best to ignore all the activity and concentrate on her stepmother.
Sophie explains that Harry Wilson is away with his daughter for the holidays. Hardison, Breanna, and Eliot have gone to Nana's. Parker is sticking around for some reason that is "definitely not Astrid." Sophie says the last bit with the winking sort of tone that indicates Parker is lying but doesn't want to admit it.
Briefly Astrid wonders what Sophie's plans would have been if Parker hadn't kidnapped her. Had she made any, or had she known what Parker would do from the beginning? Of course, that was all predicated on the fact that Astrid was busy with her case. Or did it not matter? Was Astrid going to end up in New Orleans no matter what? It's enough of a headache that Astrid stops thinking about it.
Finally, the reason behind all of Parker's activity is revealed. "Help me with the tree," she says, which is a perfectly normal statement coming from just about anyone else.
Astrid should've known better. She stares, jaw dropping at the boxes filled with millions of dollars of loot.
Parker haphazardly begins placing her loot on the tree. Astrid picks up the Lion of Gilgamesh and feels wrong, complicit somehow. She cannot bring herself to place it on the Christmas tree, tempted as she is to slip it into her pocket and smuggle it back to its rightful place. But there is so much loot. She can't do it with all of them. And besides, does she really think she could steal from a thief?
Astrid does feel a hypocrite, standing there as she is with a stolen diamond hung around her neck. But still, she had declined, quite vehemently, the stolen ring that Sophie had tried to give her for her birthday. She still has limits.
Doesn't she?
Sophie hasn't joined in. She remains seated at the bar, watching the dilemma clearly playing out on Astrid's face. "It's your choice, darling," she says.
It's not the first time Sophie has said as much to her, and it certainly won't be the last. Reconciling with Sophie had been one thing. They have enough history to build a bridge between their two sides of the law. But now here she is being adopted into Sophie's family of criminals. Astrid takes in Parker's expectant look and sighs.
She places the Lion of Gilgamesh on the tree.
...
Christmas, it turns out, is a big deal to Parker.
She's not being over-the-top and in-your-face to mess with Astrid. She treats Christmas like someone reclaiming the childhood wonder that was stolen from her and is apparently determined to have Astrid do the same. At one point, Astrid checks her phone for any updates on her case. Parker hisses at that. The next thing Astrid knows, she can't find her phone or her laptop anywhere.
On the night of Christmas Eve, Astrid literally gets roped into doing a rooftop tour of New Orleans. Parker claims they are scoping out the best routes for Santa. Astrid yelps a few times when Parker pushes her off a roof, but she's pleased that she never outright screams.
Later when Sophie asks, Astrid admits it was fun, certainly more adrenaline-inducing than the Christmas crackers of her youth.
They don't exchange gifts on Christmas morning. Apparently the crew had already planned to do it when Hardison, Breanna, and Eliot return on Boxing Day.
Astrid feels woefully unprepared. She hadn't known she was going to be in New Orleans for Christmas.
"You're here," Sophie says as if that's enough.
Astrid and Sophie don't quite manage a turkey, which Parker insists is a Thanksgiving dish anyway, but a hearty stew makes for a decent substitute along with some roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. Parker contributes a surprisingly accurate gingerbread replica of the Tretyakov Gallery.
When Hardison, Breanna, and Eliot return the next day, Parker finally decides that Astrid is allowed to resume working on her case. Along with her laptop, Astrid finds some intel that Breanna had found during her hack. She settles down at the bar and gets to work while the others do their gift exchange.
Parker sidles up beside her. "January 17."
"What?" Astrid looks back and forth between Parker and her laptop, wondering how it's relevant to her case.
"That's your Christmas present to me," Parker says. "I'm going to steal a Caravaggio from the Uffizi on January 17."
"And you're telling me because?" Astrid asks, all thoughts of her case now gone. She very much doubts Parker wants her to help in any way.
"I want the full works," Parker says as if she's ordering a pizza. "Thermal scopes, guards on overlapping and rotating schedules, everything. Do your best. Gotta make it epic for the hat trick." She slaps Astrid on the shoulder and then hops off the stool to go re-join Hardison by the Christmas tree.
Astrid rubs her shoulder--Parker is strong--and starts thinking about the Uffizi Gallery. There are three Caravaggio pieces there. Then Parker's words register.
