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Ray

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Greetings from your super secret Santa! Wishing you a great start to the end of the year. I'd love to know a bit more about your takes on your character and pairing choices.

What sort of relationship dynamic do you enjoy seeing most? Is there a fanwork that you think flawlessly portrays a character/pairing?

Perhaps you have a hot take headcanon?

How about a few songs from your playlist that in your opinion would make for a perfect soundtrack to a character/pairing?

Can't wait to get the ball rolling for you xx

Hi Santa and thank you!

My preferences when it comes to relationship dynamics aren't exactly set in stone and I enjoy seeing different takes. In general I like slow burn because I think the setting calls for it, what with the literal warzone of it all combined with DADT and the general 'warrior culture'. Fanworks that acknowledge how this environment makes it difficult to act on, or even just admit any feelings even if there's chemistry will therefore usually be a hit with me. More character-specific, I enjoy dynamics that go into exploring the difference in viewing the Marines as your career like Brad does, or as a shorter chapter of your life as it is with Nate and Ray.

Not sure if it's a particularly hot take, but I disagree with the description of BradNate as parent figures wrangling their unruly Marine children together. Mostly because Wright already reserves that description for Brad and Ray, but also because I just don't see Nate as fitting into that role. He's too young, and I find that this description erases Mike Wynn as his right-hand man.

I'm not very good at curating my music so I'm not sure how suitable for a themed soundtrack. With that being said I guess I have some songs that remind me of characters/pairings:

-The Truck Got Stuck by Corb Lund for BradRay. Mainly because I really really like thinking about Brad's reaction to Ray singing this in the Sabka field, but also because I could probably make a whole Gen Kill playlist from Corb Lund songs.

-Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots performed by The Lucky Bullets makes me think of Brad

-Hound from Hell by Mustasch, as another Brad song

-Stuck in the Middle With You by Stealers Wheel, for BradRay

-Unintended by Muse for BradNate

-Lost On You by LP as an unhappy BradNate song

-We’re All Stuck Out In The Desert by Jonathan Rice, as more of a general song

I hope some of this was helpful, but if not I can promise that I'll probably like anything you decide to make for me! :)

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Alexander Skarsgård in Straw Dogs (2011)

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I want to sign up for the holiday exchange because fandom community events are always such fun and I want to participate. On the other hand, every time without fault I get so stressed about potentially disappointing someone that I always end up agonising about the whole thing :'(

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Thank You for Participating in the Department of the Navy's Long-Range Silent Partnered Communication Program — by siegeofangels

1/? FIC AS FILM (inspired by)

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[it’s all relative.]

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Generation Kill + scenery 🌈

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Soiree

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I'm not really in the habit of sharing wips, but when I was making sure their hats had the same colours I accidentally aligned my two windows like this and I found the results amusing enough to share.

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me when i am assured of jack shit

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✨poetic cinema✨

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for the ask game -- "you and I both know that the house is haunted" ?

Send me a fic of mine and I'll answer...

My favorite scene

I actually really like the very beginning, when Mac and Evan start out on their road trip and camp out and Mac kind of has no idea where they’re going and just has to trust that Evan knows what he’s doing… and then slowly you as the reader are like, ‘Holy shit, this guy is in charge?  He seems super fucked up????’

My favorite chapter (if it's a multichapter)

This is funny, because I really struggled with the decision to flip from Mac’s to John’s POV halfway through the story.  It felt a bit like a cop-out.  But the second chapter from John’s POV I think actually lands so well – not necessarily because it’s the best standalone, but because it throws all of Mac’s assumptions into context in an incredibly jarring way.  There are the funny things, like finding out about the real personal lives of the two fourth grade teachers, but also real things, like seeing how concerned somewhat informed adults are about Evan’s behavior and its impact on Mac – and how resistant John is to allowing anyone else to help him help Evan.  

Hardest scene to write

Oh God, the scene where John and Q-tip finally talk.  That was hell.  

Favorite character to write in the fic

Mac and Darius.  Getting inside their heads and thinking about what was important to them was an important (and fun) part of making this fic work.  Mac has a very incomplete picture here of what’s going on with the grown-ups… but that doesn’t mean her view of the world has blank spaces.  She’s filling those spaces with things that matter to her!  Figuring out the rules of a new school.  Finding someone to be her new best friend.  Establishing her space and her routines.  Frankly, getting shallow shit that she just wants, like cool sneakers or preferred foods.  This is a thing I think fic writers often miss about kid POV.  

Favorite dynamic to write in the fic

I just adored writing Mac and Evan’s relationship.  I wanted to make it clear that his problems were affecting her, but also that he really loved her and was trying his absolute hardest to give her the stability she deserved.

Why I chose that title

I wanted the title to echo the first fic in the series.  Tear Down the House is an Avett Brothers song that’s kind of about no longer feeling at home in the place where you grew up… and that’s what the first fic was about, too: John coming home and finding how much he’d changed.

You and I Both Know That The House Is Haunted by Shakey Graves isn’t quite as perfect a fit, but it’s close – this one is kind of about Evan and John’s shared home being ‘haunted’ because they won’t properly acknowledge the past.  Mac doesn’t know what’s haunting them – but she sure as hell knows something is up.

A fun fact about the fic

I had been trying to write a sequel to Tear Down the House ever since I published it.  At that time, though my own process was far less traumatic than John’s, I was in that very early adulthood moment of not feeling ‘grown up’ but also no longer fitting into your childhood spaces in your home and your family, so I could relate to him in that way.  All of the ‘time jump’ sequel efforts shared a common theme of Evan kind of turning up on John’s doorstep after years of estrangement, but none of the previous ones involved Evan being a father, and they all fell flat on their faces.  I abandoned the series (and fandom) for about 8 years.  It wasn’t until I’d grown up a lot (and spent a lot of time working with children) that Mac sort of strolled into my head, fully formed, and demanded that I write this fic.

I’m so glad you threw this in my Ask Box – this one doesn’t get a lot of attention, and it’s a personal favorite of mine!

Answers for “Rites of Passage” coming up!

This ask meme is still open!

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Top 15 HBO War characters voted by our followers: ↳ #5 Brad Colbert | 39 votes

Gentlemen, we just seized an airfield. That was pretty fucking ninja.

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Generation Kill | Bomb in the Garden

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me: what kind of canon-era story could i write that would be interesting and historically accurate?

wikipedia and the bbc: during the 2003 assault on baghdad, american troops rounded up lions from the baghdad zoo in armored vehicles.

me: what kind of canon-era story could i write that would be interesting, historically accurate, and wouldn't require a cosmic suspension of disbelief?