the_old_guard | Member Posts

I wrote most of this fic before the Fest opened for prompt claims, and just had to give it a final read-through. I'm excited to finally share it with you. I hope you enjoy it!

Title: The Mystery of the Purloined Coin
Author: Spikedluv
Fandom: Murder, She Wrote (tv)/The Unusuals(tv)
Rating: PG13/Gen
Pairing/Characters: Jessica Fletcher & Jason Walsh (appearance by Casey Shraeger)
Length: 3,785 words
Spoilers: Takes place post-season eight of Murder, She Wrote and no particular time in The Unusuals. Very possibly post-series.
Summary: Jessica Fletcher runs into trouble when she takes a day to do some sightseeing in NYC.
Author’s Notes: Written for Round 37 of

smallfandomfest for the prompt: Murder, She Wrote (tv)/Unusuals, The (tv), Jessica & Jason, Solving a mystery together.
Feedback: Would be greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me.
Posted: May 27, 2025

Read Fic @ AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/65941696

spikedluv

Happy (belated) Memorial Day! My deepest thanks to all who served.

I hit Walmart while I was downtown and got in a walk around the park. Yes, you read that right! Just one lap, so a short one. I’m really out of walking shape after 8 weeks of zero walking and weeks before that of only doing a limited number of walks due to cold/snow and my foot hurting.

(Saturday I wore sneakers out of the house (instead of the walking shoe on one foot). I’m still wearing the walking shoes at home because I don’t normally leave the sneakers on, and the slippers I’d wear don’t offer much support. I expect I’ll stop doing that after Friday’s final follow-up appointment with the surgeon. Maybe.)

I hit Stewart’s (for milk) on the way home. I did three loads of laundry (including bed sheets, so also stripped and remade the bed). I did the usual amount of hand-washing dishes, as well as a load in the dishwasher, and scooped kitty litter. And I did mow the lawn! While I didn’t need the scarf and gloves, I did need the sweatshirt.

I watched some HGTV programs (I have a backlog of House Hunters International) and read some more. (Another group of shows I like to watch are the heavy duty tow shows on TWC (Highway Thru Hell, Heavy Rescue: 401, and the new Rocky Mountain Wreckers. I like to have them on as background noise when I’m playing games or writing, and I can glance up to watch as much of it as I want. I record them because they don’t air at convenient times.)

I grilled steak for Pip’s supper. (I had Cheerios. o_O)

Temps started out at 48.7(F) and reached 73.2. We had sun most of the day, but there was a chill breeze. We got surprise rain storms around 5pm that lasted several hours, then the sun came out again.

beanside

It's a Tuesday that's going to be like a Monday! Work is going to be so psychotically busy today. It always is the day after a holiday. At least the day is going to go quickly. Tonight is the farmer's market, so I'm definitely going to go pick up some tasty treats.

Yesterday ended up being a mixed bag. Work was feast or famine. Some of it, I was sitting twiddling my fingers, but then some of it, I was stuck on the phone for a full hour with one oncology coworker scheduling 17 patients. I ended up with 29 for the day, which is a lot.

After that, it was onto our Arvandor game, which went really well. People got to be sneaky, and Jess' character had a good backstory reveal. And then, dracolich. I killed a player's character. Don't worry, they got better, but they were fully dead for a few seconds.

Tomorrow, the check will come! And I will put it in my bank account. And then, I will see how long they want to hold it.

I'm plotting what to do with some of the ill gotten gains. I mean, I'm definitely paying off my car. Aside from that, vet visits for both animals. And then we shall get a few things for the apartment, and then we shall have a lovely lunch with our friends, and then, we shall go see Ghost.

And with $448 less a month that I shall have to pay, I shall actually be able to get ahead of my bills. I'm so excited about this. I'm looking forward to being mostly debt free. That's going to be amazing. Maybe, I can rebuild my credit some!

Okay, time to get myself together for work. Everyone have an amazing Tuesday!

china_shop

I haven't done one of these in a couple of weeks, so this got long. I'll use cut-tags.

Previous poll review
( Read more... )

Reading
( Read more... )

Kdramas
( Read more... )

Other TV and movies
( Many and various. Includes some Murderbot thoughts. )

Guardian/Fandom
( Read more... )

Audio entertainment
Writing Excuses and Fansplaining.

Online life
( Read more... )

Writing/making things
I posted four substantial fics in the space of a week (which, being me, meant frantic last-minute edits on all of them), two for Unsent Letters, and two for 520 Day. Now I'm not sure what I'm doing (other than catching up on email and weekly updates and general life stuff). I wish I could remember even half of the writing theory I applied to my 520 Day assignment, because though the first draft wasn't perfect, it was about 80% of the way there, and that's not nothing.

Anyway, now I have a little flashfic at beta for the Nap round on

fan_flashworks, but other than that, I'm contemplating which of my many WIPs to try to actually knock off ~~before guardian_wishlist rolls around~~.

Most likely options

the prehistoric curtain fic, started in 2021, which foundered on the shoals of Ye Zun characterisation; can't remember what was going to happen, but I think I know the ending; currently an unfinished draft of ~17k
the Guardian-fic-using-a-Kdrama-trope fic, started in who even knows at this point; my WIP folder contains 21 related files, many of which are versions of retro-engineered outlines, rejigged outlines, new first chapters, an attempt at a complete rewrite with alternating POVs, more draft outlines (and this isn't counting the previous versions of the actual draft, which are archived); foundered on the shoals of Plot Is My Nemesis; I do have a complete draft (40k), but it doesn't work. Maybe the beta feedback I received lo those many years ago could combine with all the writing theory to help me fix it? if I could remember any of the writing theory
post-canon everyone-lives AU that tries to tackle, among other things, the problem of Ye Zun; started in 2021, currently 8k, no idea where I was going with it, but I like what I have so far; bonus: already has a title
SID team missing scene shenanigans, got distracted/interrupted, will probably get lots of theory thrown at it to firm up the structure/arc, which means it won't be a quick finish; started last year I think? currently 13k
the unicorn final part of my time travel series, started in 2018; has undergone multiple rewrites already, lots of ideas but no shape; I weep for the tens of thousands of words wasted on earlier drafts; current easiest-to-find version is 5k, unfinished, plus a million billion notes, argh.

So, idk. Probably #4 to start with, but if you have thoughts, feel free to weigh in.

Life/health/mental state things
I think I need a holiday to re-set my sleep cycle.

House
( Read more... )

Good things
Online and offline friends. Podcasts, books, libraries, fanfic, tv, youtube, such a ridiculous wealth of information and media at my fingertips and earholes. Seeing Julia Clarke speak about the colours of extinct-dinosaur feathers, the kinds of noises extinct dinosaurs would have made, and why a T-Rex would not have roared while chasing its prey. Writing. Fandom. Biking. Hot chocolate. Walnuts. Typing in Korean. My impending junk cupboard.

Poll #33171 Detectives

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 18

View Respondents

Fictional detectives

View Answers

hardboiled
6 (33.3%)

softboiled
7 (38.9%)

scrambled
6 (33.3%)

sunny-side up
5 (27.8%)

over easy
3 (16.7%)

poached
2 (11.1%)

ingredient in alcoholic beverages
8 (44.4%)

deviled
4 (22.2%)

none
1 (5.6%)

other
1 (5.6%)

ticky-box full of dinosaur feathers
11 (61.1%)

ticky-box full of wingless bird people flying into the sky and exploding
4 (22.2%)

ticky-box of puffins making a low-budget horror movie called Jonathan Killingston Seagull
7 (38.9%)

ticky-box full of over-the-counter supplements
3 (16.7%)

ticky-box full of amulets and talismans woven from grass and daisies under a new moon
10 (55.6%)

ticky-box full of hugs
16 (88.9%)

delphi

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

silver_chipmunk

Got up this morning after somewhat broken sleep. Got out of bed at 10:30, had breakfast and coffee, then showered, washed my hair, and dressed. I wore my Old Navy flag tee shirt, and the flag silk scarf (not real silk) that came from Oldest Brother.

Was originally supposed to meet

mashfanficchick at around noonish, but ze was held up by busses being canceled due to a Memorial Day parade near zer father's, where ze was staying. So I took my time getting ready.

Left the apartment at a bit before 1:00, and got to the Starbucks near zer a bit before 2:00, where I waited for zer.

We met up and went to the apartment and got ready for our picnic. We had lots of good stuff, largely fruits, vegetables and cheese. We packed a blanket and I had my folding chair. We went to Forest Park, and found a nice shady spot, and settled down.

By very pleasant coincidence zer friend Matt-Rob happened by, and he stopped, and stayed with us for the afternoon. So there were three of us, and that was nice. We talked and ate, and had a good time.

Finally it got to be about 6:30, and getting chillier. We packed up and said good bye to Matt-Rob, and headed back to the apartment.

We got there just in time to catch the very end of the Mets game, a 2-1 win over the White Sox.

I stayed talking til 8:30, then I Ubered home.

The FWiB has gotten his IMac working again, and we were able to Team. Though it turns out that Teams is not compatible with IMac, and he had to use the IPad, while using the IMac to look things up. But we got to see each other, which is the main thing.

Then it was pet feeding time, so I fed the pets, and got started here.

A satisfying day.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB got his computer fixed.

2. The many who died for this country.

3 Forest Park.

4. Good food.

5. My cat.

6. Friends.

Current Mood: thoughtful

walgesang

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

smilebackwards

Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Intense depiction of the failures of a group project (survival on deserted island). Shocked to discover this does not actually have cannibalism, although there is the strong implication that there would have been cannibalism if the events of the last chapter went differently.

White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky. A Russian man meets a woman waiting for her fiance to return after a year. I wanted to like this more but I just found it so rambling and repetitive.

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein. A man raised on Mars returns to Earth and tries to understand it. I found the disconnects between Mike and humanity compelling and this did have some things to say about religion and society but it is really obviously written by a dude in the 60s and it's very sexist and explicitly homophobic.

I need to go read some more books written by women now.

petra

Vid: One Night Fandoms: A Tribute to Yuletide (1596 words) by eruthros, thingswithwings
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Multi-Fandom, Yuletide - Fandom
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage Sex
Additional Tags: Yuletide, One Night Stands, Bondage, Weddings, Vampires, Musicians, Dancing, Impact Play, Gags, we watched so many things for this vid, basically no fandom gets more than twenty frames, Fanvid
Summary:

Just call me angel of the morning, angel.

*

I revisited this masterpiece today because I accidentally wrote cheek-touching in last night's story, and a friend asked, "Not what you were going for? Or...more like the equivalent of waking up, rolling over, seeing a story in the cold, revealing light of day, and scrambling to get dressed before it wakes up?"

And what better way to get Angel of the Morning stuck in my head than this gorgeous vid?

Current Mood: charmed all over again
Current Music: I won't beg you to stay

petra

( Slow Horses s4 )

Current Mood: oh no
Current Music: And they have a plan (unlike Ron Moore et al.)

sylvanwitch

Hereabouts, it's a long weekend, and we had Friday off, as well, so that has meant indulging a little but has also meant long rambles between raindrops and today's gardening-palooza. Once again, I'm reminded forcibly how important it is for me to be active and outdoors. The snakes in my brain are significantly less hissy when I get outside and exercise.

What do you do to help your mental health? If you feel like sharing, please do. As usual, please also share how you are doing on your fitness goals. And, as always, know that you can change those goals at any time.

( My Week in Review )

May the week be a good one for us all!

siria

( ER, Seasons 9-11 )

( The Librarian: Quest for the Spear )

shadowhive

So in the last non fic post I hoped I’d watch the last Stranger Things but that didn’t happen. It’s not happened partly because of tiredness/eyes aching, feeling flop causa the weather and speedrunning the ESO quests for the free reward (of a fancy house). So hopefully I’m gonna watch it this week most likely tomorrow.

But also yay I did actually manage to do some ficcing at last which was unexpected but at least it’s something (and I am pleased how it’s worked out).

The last few days haven’t been too exciting though, bar watching various things on tv. Good things have been a travel documentary with David Suchet where he follows Agatha Christie’s travels, Walking With Dinosaurs (with a cute lil triceratops) and Death Valley which was a fun new detective thing. And also I’ve been back to listening to a bunch of Night Vale eps too which has been fun.

Mums friend was meant to be coming Saturday which was a concern (especially cause it was a last minute thing) but she also cancelled last minute so thst was good.

Saturday was spent sidetracked by Wallace And Gromit (and Shaun The Sheep) on bbc1. It’s funny to have found out that the mention of Wensleydale in A Close Shave actually ended up saving the company (which was close to closing). The Shaun the sheep ep was a fun lil multiverse one and then there was Vengeance Most Fowl which I still say is one of last year’s best films cause it’s so funny. (And Feathers McGraw manages to be an amazing villian despite having no lines.)

Sunday ended up being one of those weird low energy Sundays, which was annoying but at least there was a good tv.

Then today I had to run down and take back one of the things mum picked up last week (which didn’t fit) and pick something up but it was tiring and I got hit with rain ugh. But at least I got a cool mandalorian mystery mini (of Bo Katan) and aldi had the nice mayonnaise I’ve been missing.

(As always I’m sure I’m missing something I meant to say but…)

And now the, slightly belated, thoughts on Doctor Who, Wish Wirld.

( Read more... )

Also I’ve got a £5 Amazon prime video credit randomly so does anyone have any recs?

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Seapeekay stream

scrubjayspeaks

Have you grown frustrated by all the tracking and data mining, impossible to opt out of, being done by your digital devices and accounts, but you’re not ready to take the leap of becoming a wood hermit to escape it? Consider the advantages of letting one of the many types of modern fae, who have embraced rare earth minerals as they once shunned cold iron, have unfiltered access to your data as well. Within a week, their mischief will have turned your algorithms into a mess of butter-churning videos, pranks to play on your cattle, avant-garde fashion, and increasingly obscure true crime accounts, rendering you useless--or at least unsettling--to all those advertisers monitoring you.

---

LL#1256

purplecat

I'm behind, so sue me.

( All the things under the Cut )

spikedluv

I have rewatched the next few MSW episodes and I wanted to share some thoughts with you. The eps in question are: 2.07 A Lady in the Lake, 2.08 Dead Heat, 2.09 Jessica Behind Bars. With bonus comments on the fourth book in the series!

( all comments back here )

What are your thoughts on these eps? And the bonus book?

spikedluv

Sunday is generally one of my least busy days because I don’t go downtown. I did get two loads of laundry done. One of what I call ‘dog sheets’ (that cover the furniture) and the other ‘dog towels’ (used to protect furniture and dry the dogs off when it’s wet outside – as you can imagine, they’re currently getting very wet). I usually don’t mention the number of times a day I handwash dishes (it’s more than four) and the daily scooping of kitty litter, but I’m mentioning it now.

We finished off the BBQ chicken quarters for lunch and I did pork chops in the oven for supper.

I finally watched the current ep of The Last of Us (just in time for the next ep to air tonight) and some HGTV programs, did some more reading, and held my daily telephone conversation with my mom.

I noticed yesterday (but thought it was a one-off) and again today that I’ve been having ‘sour burps’, as I did with the Ozempic. This is the first time I’ve noticed any digestive issues with the Trulicity. I hope it doesn’t continue.

Temps started out at 48.7(F) and reached 65.4. There was a teensy bit of sun, but also a breeze, so it was chilly outside. I’m going to have to mow the lawn tomorrow, and I really hope that it feels warmer otherwise I’m going to need a scarf and gloves in addition to my sweatshirt.

beanside

It's Monday and I'm up early for 4 hours of work. I don't really mind helping out oncology, and I really like the benefits, which work out to double time and a half (1.5 wages, plus 4 hours PTO). I figure they must really be struggling for them to pay for us to work like this. I mean, it's only two of us, so it's not a ton, but it's still money out of there budget.

Tomorrow, they'll overnight the check to me, and on Wednesday I shall have it. I'm getting excited about paying off all my shit, and being able to finally get a free-standing pantry and some shelves for the kitchen. And pay off the couches! It'll be lovely. I am assuming that the bank is going to hold it for 7 business days, which should put us right about June 9th.

It's also the farmer's market tomorrow, should Door dash ever take the hold off that they put on my card. I have $108 held up on a $54 grocery order. They did three charges, which they've never done, and It's pissing me off.

Yesterday was a mostly quiet day. In the morning, I slept til nearly 8, and relaxed until about 10, when I started making cinnamon rolls. By 11:20, I was a little concerned, because the dough hadn't risen much. Then, I assembled them, spreading the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and rolling them, and set them in the oven to rise again, and started playing a game. That time was the charm, as they got huge. Bigger than fist size when I checked them on bio break. So the oven was preheated and they went back in for 20 minutes to bake while I whipped up the cream cheese frosting. And still got back to game in time.

Twenty minutes later:

A few minutes beyond that:

They turned out light and fluffy and enormous, and I was very happy with them.

Once game was done, I loafed like a motherfucker, made dinner and went to bed. A very relaxing day.

After work today? Probably more relaxing. I'm not feeling particularly ambitious.

For now, though, it's time to take a nice hot shower. Everyone have a lovely Monday!

vriddy

I just posted the last story for the hurt/comfort series! I started writing this sometime in... February? When I was just trying to find the joy of writing again in the middle of personal and world overwhelm. And slowly, I got back to where I wanted :) As noted by a friend, the series has 25 stories (which is absolutely coincidental but I will pretend was Totally The Plan, 25 for 2025 yay XD), and nearly 40k words. I think one of the things I wanted to teach myself with the series is also that not everything has to be edited to death. Everything having to do with editing started to feel like an gigantic, impossible ordeal after how long it took for the original novella.

I have some ideas about what I'd like to work on next (back to the Cursed Witch, hopefully! 🤞), but we'll see what happens :)

( 6 prompts, 7 stories, 3 ships )

minoanmiss

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: cheerful

Profile

We're not meant to be alone.

We're not meant to be alone.

Member Posts

Fic: Murder, She Wrote/The Unusuals: The Mystery of the Purloined Coin (Jessica & Jason; PG13)

The Day in Spikedluv (Monday, May 26)

With these words at hand, the future is a foreign land, so let's pray for more in 2024

Me-and-media update

Izzy Hands Bingo 2025

Memorial Day

Black Birders Week 2025!

where have you buried your best days?

Recommendation: One-Night Fandoms, the 2008 Yuletide Vid

Ow, my embarrassment squick

Fitness Fellowship 2025 Check-in 21

2506 / ER, Seasons 9-11; The Librarian: Quest for the Spear

Tables don’t work like that

Lake Lewisia #1256

The Well

Monday [Fandom] Madness! The Murder, She Wrote 2.07 & 2.08 & 2.09 Comments Edition (& Bonus Book)

The Day in Spikedluv (Sunday, May 25)

I think I'll try defying gravity, kiss me good bye, I'm defying gravity and you won't pull me down

Hurt/Comfort series 2025: Complete!

Three new housemates

Profile

Most Popular Tags