#it might honestly be my favourite Trek series

[youngpettyqueen]

I cannot believe I seriously watched all of DS9 in exactly a month. I checked, I literally started it on November 2nd

for some context as to why this is surprising. TNG took me 10 fucking years to actually sit and watch all the way through

[whichcouldmeannothing]

big big marvey fic rec list

marvey is currently my most bookmarked ship, so trust me when i say i've been around the bend for marvey content. i have dug through a lot of it the past few months, so trust that these fics have been highly rated!

fics are loosely grouped, with the summary and my thoughts under the cut :3 no spoilers ofc bc i love you

MY PERSONAL FAVOURITES

A Specter-Ross Affair by @frivoloussuits (15k+, au)

“You ordered an ‘extra-hot, extra-wet cappuccino, single-origin, properly layered, to-go and ready five minutes ago to make up for your service speed or lack thereof.’” In which Mike is a barista, Rachel is a lawyer, and Harvey is paid excessive amounts of money to plan their joyous Christmas wedding.

"Love is just a particularly socially accepted form of fraud. It's a series of increasingly complex and fragile deceptions between two or more people, and, more alarmingly, between each participant and their own deluded subconscious."

i literally cannot recommend this fic enough. this might be my favourite read of the entire year, dead serious. this sounds fluffy but trust me, the pining and the angst go well like salt on a chocolate chip cookie: extremely decadent. everything about this fic goes insane and this should be your gateway drug into marvey, im so serious about this. READ IT. (weddingplanner!harvey)

of all the gin joints by @frivoloussuits (10k+, au)

Hanging around a neighborhood bar one night, Harvey befriends a guy named Mike after realizing they can both quote The Princess Bride on demand. In the law offices of Rand, Kaldor, Zane and Pearson, senior partner Harvey Specter takes on an unusual case, representing his managing partner's daughter as she divorces a Michael James Ross. Harvey sees no connection until it's far too late.

"They’re playing a virtuosic duet with inhuman ease, as if the intoxication has broken their boundaries and blurred them into a single entity."

this. obsessed with fics that really use the law in their plots, and this is a prime example. a lot of chemistry in this one that is described in a way that makes you jealous of the bond they share and there are still lines in this fic that i think about almost everyday but honestly, such a top-tier read. PLEASE PLEASE IF YOU LIKE SUFFERING ANF REALLY REALLY GOOD CHEMISTRY PLEASE

5U175 by Closer (26k, canon-adjacent)

Harvey sometimes moonlights as a Star Trek BNF. Mike might have an attitude problem on the internet. TiberiusGhost is strangely compelling, for a recluse who never goes to meetups, and Harvey's finding this kid Photohead vaguely familiar…

i know that the terminology in this one is hella old-school but trust me. as someone who doesnt read a lot of fandom fics, this fic has changed it all for me (also bc the author replied to my comment hehehe) stick with this fic because the way fandom weaves with the character development is absolutely delicious, i remember saying this in my og comment but this fic was written with love for fandom and you should definitely read it too!!! you'd absolutely love it! (also ben stans rise up ^^)

fics to sink your teeth into (20k+)

needs must by @melthemagpie (98k+, au)

When Grammy needs an upgrade in care, Mike knows that the usual one-off gig as a paid submissive won't be enough. He takes a job he's been refusing for a while - a long-term, full-time contract. He expects his client to be a sadistic asshole. He expects not to like it. He's wrong on both counts.

this is a fandom classic, every fic rec has this on the list (cw for dom/sub and prostitution, so if you're uncomfy please dont read) but i swear there are so many romantic moments in this one that make me swoon and the smut is very good, i usually tap out in long fics really quickly but this hooked me the whole way through twice. thats my ringing endorsement, READ THIS

Lobster and Other Catastrophes by @andthetardis (21k, canon-compliant)

After months of silence, Mike starts texting Harvey again out of the blue. Funny thing to do on his honeymoon, really.

BRO PLEASE. this was so good. angsty and pining-y enough even though it's mostly a text fic. text fics to me are more like comedic, but this one had substance and heart (and funny and enjoyable btw). pulls you in and really makes you want to stick it out and get to the beautiful ending <333 (harvey being soft is probably a category on its own :3)

The Game by @frivoloussuits (27k, hunger games au)

Harvey Specter and Donna Paulsen are efficient and elegant killers. They have trained since childhood, mentored personally by Jessica Pearson and marked for years as District 1's Tributes for the Hunger Games. Mike Ross is an orphan from District 12, a drug dealer, and an underage gambler. After years of scrutinizing the Hunger Games on TV to make savvy bets, he finds himself on the wrong side of the camera, now playing the odds just to survive. Harvey and Mike cannot, should not trust each other. Still, they strike a backroom deal.

"Because he’s clever and quick-thinking and he’s learned her main lesson well– don’t love anyone you wouldn’t be willing to see dead. Ideally, don’t love anyone at all."

I READ THIS WHEN I WAS REVISITING HUNGER GAMES AND OHHHHH THIS HAS THE ANGST. absolutely riveting. ths is the third fic im reccing from them bc i love frivoloussuits. i would die for them HHFSHFHKSDGDHFG i love the angst and the life-threatening situations that the hunger games provide and harvey as a career is correct. its just correct. everything here grips my soul

Disaster Stories by agatestones (22k, canon-compliant)

"Hold on," Mike asked, "you made Donna come into work in the middle of a blizzard?" "I don't make Donna do anything. Haven't you learned by now?" Harvey gave Mike a mean little smile, but under that was relief for anyone to see. "You, I can make come into the office in a blizzard."

reads like a novella to me, and it's really good!!! very episodic and you really feel like these are things that have happened in universe. its very slice of lifey and i reread it a lot as a comfort read, its like a big hug to me

Pizza and a Movie by Closer (30k+, au)

In an alternate universe, Harvey's still a lawyer but Mike's not a pot runner -- he's a deliveryman for Rollo's Pizza and Ribs, which happens to be Harvey's favorite pizza place. Once Harvey finds out his pizza guy is a genius, Mike's life takes a few turns he would not have expected...

i swear this is the most rom-commy fic marvey has to offer. i like aus that slap me in the face more with the alternate universe, but this is such a rom-com plot. fandom classic as well and it really reads like a hugh grant 90s movie and if thats not enough to pull you in idk what will tbh

Imprimatur by Closer (22k, au)

Mike was raised to believe Imprint was a life-changing event for those few lucky enough to experience it. Harvey was raised to believe it was a form of mental illness. When it actually happened, neither of them noticed.

this goes absolutely crazy. one of those fics where you read it and you almost want to throw your phone at the wall because the characters could make it so easy if they werent so stupid (but in a good way of course) but the way it was written, you feel the depth of the soulmate bond and why its so important (which a lot of soulmate aus forget to do loll) but goes down like an expensive and delicious dinner :)

afternoon reads (10k+)

Sony SRF-39FP by @frivoloussuits (11k+, canon-adjacent)

Anita Gibbs won’t settle for Mike, not when there are name partners within her reach. She offers only one deal– two years, no other charges against anyone else in the firm, as long as Harvey Specter turns himself in. And even as Donna and Jessica and Louis and Mike beg him not to, he jumps on the grenade. “Time to get busy living or get busy dying,” he remarks, and Mike gives a small chuckle. Then Harvey smirks, straightens his suit jacket, and strides into FCI Danbury.

“I can’t believe they’re trying to lock you in a box and forget about you,” Mike sighs as he leaves.

“Well, as long as you don’t forget me, I figure I’ll survive.”

“Maybe you haven’t noticed, but forgetting’s never been my strong suit.

cw for depersonalization and desc of solitary confinement, very very heavy but the way mike is there throughout everything makes my heart twinge. i really dont know how to describe this fic at all but its really good. it makes me cry a lot. also made me start listening to jazz which- uh

Here at the end of all things by @tattooedsiren (10k, au)

When he arrives at the Pearson Hardman building the lights are dimmed and the floor is deserted. His feet carry him to Harvey's office even though he expects it to be empty. Because Harvey probably fled the city via helicopter or teleporter or sheer force of will. But when he approaches the office he can see that Harvey is there. He has moved the couch so that it now faces the floor to ceiling windows and Mike silently sits beside Harvey, joins him in looking down at the chaos engulfing the city below. [Apocalypse AU]

I LOVE APOCALYPSE FICS UP UP UP badass!harvey makes me bark, but im a really big fan of people who find happiness in the worst circumstances and this fic does it so so so well. reminds me a lot of tlou episode like 2? the one with the strawberries. please this is what i revisit when i miss marvey and i dont have a lot of time because the world and the characters are jsut so delicious!!!

quick reads (1k+)

This Love is Silent by kim47 (8k, canon-compliant)

She should have known. She had known, that something was off, at least. She knew he was hiding something. She just never imagined it could be this. Despite Harvey's warnings, Mike tells Rachel the truth about everything. She's shocked, naturally, and more than a little angry, but she agrees to keep his secret, and even to date him. So when they break up, Harvey goes into damage-control mode.

RACHEL!! HELLO RACHEL!! im always up for smart and discerning rachel (this shows up in of all the gin joints too btw!!!) this runs realistic to me because it shows that rachelxmike arent some hopelessly wrong for each other couple, they have good and bad times. this feels more real to me than other fics bc its not like the world conspires for marvey to be apart, its just life. i know this makes it sound so sad, and it is, but trust me: this is really really really good i love this so much

an archive of harvey specter's expressions by @frivoloussuits (2k, canon-compliant)

Five old expressions that Mike rediscovers in new contexts once he and Harvey are (finally) together, and one that he sees for the first time. Alternatively titled “An Ode to Gabriel Macht’s Face.”

this was written for me. this is literally me. writing fic because gabriel macht is too pretty, like this fic is literally for me. a lot of peering at him to get this fic as masterfully written as it is, and i thank you author everyday for it. to me, this reads like it's been written with love and care and true adoration (Truly, like Mike)

Coffee-Cart Client Privilege by @frivoloussuits (7k, au)

Mike runs a coffee cart. The coffee cart.

"Why not? They're too big and dense to be a snack." So are you, Mike thinks, and yet.

IM SORRY I KEEP RECCING FRIVOLOUS SUITS THEYRE MY FAVOURITE WRITER IN THIS FANDOM HFBKABFDKHFBHKDSA this has the hand-wavy logic the show has itself but mike's internal monologue in this one is one of the best ive ever read and the way mike's integrated in the offices is just so well-done ahhhh

Objection by yeah its frivoloussuits again i feel bad tagging them like 7 times (2k, canon-adjacent)

When Mike announces he’s leaving, Harvey plans to hide the jagged pieces of his broken heart deep inside, where no one will ever find them. His heart would like to object.

BIGG fan of physical hurt/comfort!!!! also big fan of people absolutely freaking out in the hospital in fics, it makes me bounce of the wall!! very short but the angst and love really hits you quick and leaves you on the floor gasping for air. very good (also cant prove this but im very sure this is a scrubs reference.t hanks)

Excerpts From The Gospel of Harvey Specter, edited by Michael "Forever Awesome" Ross, 2011, 1st Ed, by @rcmclachlan (7k, canon compliant)

Mike can totally read people. Well, most people. Some people. Or maybe just Harvey, who's pretty much an open book.

this one's really funny! it doesent follow direct prose and instead plays a lot with the setting its in (where mike's a documenter of harvey) and its just so funny and adorable. has a lot of heart too, it isn't just crack or anything but you really feel everything mike does as he writes all this, read this!!1

One More Sleepless Night by @sal_si_puedes (9k, au)

Soul Bonds are one-sided – there’s usually mutual affection, but only one party feels the crippling need to be together as often as possible. If separated at length from their love, that party becomes crushed by longing, panic, and sheer hopelessness, and so it is illegal to forcibly keep Soulmates apart. Some days, Harvey Specter hates the Bond that skews his judgement and weakens his resolve, and he fears what would happen if anyone in his world ever discovers he is so compromised. He certainly never planned to disclose the Bond for the first time in the middle of Anita Gibbs’ office, in a last-ditch attempt to invalidate the deal sending Mike to prison.

HSDGFHSDKGHRLKGHK THIS FIC. i love fics that use more than just prose to tell their stories (see above fic) and this does my favourite thing that soulmate aus do, which is where they integrate in-universe explanations for the phenomenon. the amount of work and dedication put into this fic makes it absolutely sing and was absolutely lovely!!

also pspspsps

golden like the daffodils by @mini-mart (2k, canon-compliant)

Poetry holds meaning, for anyone who reads it. It obscures and dances around the literal and metaphorical, because it’s imbued with so much of something that it overflows out of any definition. It can make someone mad, or lovesick, or aroused, and the reactions would be absolutely warranted. Mike is poetry, to Harvey. - Harvey Specter could be a good politician, as he believes in pragmatism over poetry. He won't let his progress fall apart, won't let someone knock it down. And then someone unceremoniously cracks open a suitcase at his feet. Or: Harvey, pretty boys and poetry.

yeah yeah i wrote this yeah yeah self promo smth smth

there's a lot more that isn't here but i'll probably write a new one when i go for a deep dive through the ship tags again :3

^^ ao3 etiqutte applies! if you like the fic, kudos and comment and bookmark!! show your love! happy reading marveys! my gift to u :3

[meetinginsamarra]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I've been tagged by @totallysilvergirl and @calaisreno TYSM!!

1. How many works do you have on A03?

51 in total

12 "real" fics and 21 ficlets and 18 covers (I didn't know how to embed on AO3 back then)

2. What's your total A03 word count?

271.977

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Sherlock BBC

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Mutual Attraction , Learn My Scars, The toe that didn´t belong, The embers still glow when I´m sober , Gravity is missing from everything

The last three are in fact a series called Here I Am

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Of course! Always and quickly. I love comments, they make my day and fill me with happiness for hours. Not kidding!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

None of my fics end angsty. Some of my ficlets might, possibly Time

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

They all end happily.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

There had been a few very weird comments on "Mutual Attraction" that were rude or offensive. Some had been deleted by the cowards who posted them later.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes, I have written porn and enjoyed it. I also write gen and everything in between. Depends on the story.

10. Do you write crossovers?

No, because I define "crossover" as a mix of two existing universes, like Sherlock x Star Trek for example. I have written several AUs though. Alternate Universes with the same characters of my show but placed somewhere else.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have been offered three times but declined because I personally am not comfortable with it.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Johnlock

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have this fairy tale AU sitting in my drafts for literal years. 20k written and several attempts to take it up again, it is mostly plotted but just resists being finished. *sigh*

16. What are your writing strengths?

Learning by doing, I guess? I think of myself that I am versatile. Maybe writing movie-like action scenes. I remember that's been said in comments.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I honestly do not know. (Which is not me saying I can do everything perfectly!! I just try whatever I want.) Finishing the above mentioned fic possibly.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

If it fits the story, why not? I write in English which is not my native language, so I could do German and some French and Italian, too.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Sherlock BBC.

I've actually never written anything before I started with Sherlock fanfic. I got this idea and it grew and I began to write it down just for me so that I would not forget it. Then I thought, why not write it into a fic? I've been reading a lot fanfic already. Over the course of two years (writing on and off) the idea had turned into a 94k fic. I only started posting "Mutual Attraction" when it was completed on AO3.

I still think it's funny because just imagine this. Never wrote a word of fiction before, not even in my native language. Then, first thing I produced is a novel-length fic written directly in English. Still seems surreal to me.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I love all of my babies and will not choose a fave one. There are only faves in categories.

"Mutual Attraction" was my first and longest fic.

"Wretched and Divine" was the one that made me find my dear friend and beta @peageetibbs

Technically, I am most proud of pulling off "Learn My Scars" because it is 38k written under a huge amount of pressure due to daily posting for Whumptober 2022. Five weeks of intense writing madness but very rewarding, too.

AU and plot-twist wise it would be "The 13th Book ".

---------

So many people have done this but I think @shiplocks-of-love @shelleysprometheus @cumbercurlygirl have not been tagged yet. And anybody else who wants to share, please.

[theproblemwithstardust]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Tagged by @just-here-with-my-thoughts!! Thank you!!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

13 (meshurkaan) and 88 (the_problem_with_stardust)

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

111,654 under meshurkaan! I have no idea about the_problem_with_stardust since some of those fics were cowritten :D

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now Star Wars, but I’ve also written for star trek, the witcher, teen wolf, marvel… maybe some others?

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Under meshurkaan:

sand in the hourglass codywan, 2224 words shovel in the dirt crosshunt, 1366 words any way to baffle death (Part 3: ESU), foxfives, 27786 words close out the sun (Part 5: ESU), foxfives, 12114 words (WIP) a flint and a fire (Part 1: ESU), rexfox, 31627 words

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to! I love responding to people's thoughts and reactions XD

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hehehehehe a flint and a fire :) It’s part of a series though, so it’ll get fixed soon!

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably one bright morning? I wrote it the night before TBB series finale and I just wanted them all to be HAPPY

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Ah yes the mortifying ordeal of having your buddies read the porn you wrote. Um I think most of the time it’s fun and a little silly?

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don’t think I’ve written any crossovers?

11. (I kept your question XD) Which fic are you proud of but wish had gotten a bigger response from your readers?

Maybe only a call? It has some of my favorite moments in the ESU but it is also mainly worldbuilding so it might have only been fun for me XD

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

A few! Mostly teen wolf stuff from WAY back in the day

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I did some round-robin type fics, but I am not a good writing partner since I struggle a lot with schedules and deadlines

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I’m a chronic multishipper so it’s honestly the ship I am writing for at the moment (this morning it was RexFoxFives, this afternoon it is TechPhee)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I always plan to finish WIPs, no matter how old they are (stares at across the stars) but there is a codywan fic I started for the 2021 codywan big bang and didn’t finish. I still think about it ALL the time

16. What are your writing strengths?

Hmmm one thing that I've worked on a lot is structuring plot. In long fics I like to include off-hand details that then become relevant later. And I do put a lot of thought into characterization so hopefully that comes through in my writing >.<

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Endings! I sat on trying to find my way home for three weeks before I added like twenty words to the end and just posted it

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

It depends. I used to do it a lot but now that I primarily use screenreaders to edit, I don’t love it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

First published on Ao3? Star Wars (FinnPoe my beloved) But I was definitely writing little epilogues to each of the Chronicles of Narnia books at the age of 8

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Ummm maybe take the old, make it new? Or intersecting foliations? All of endless space unfurled? It’s hard to pick ^^’

No pressure tags: @whiskygoldwings, @cacodaemonia, @wolveria,

@catbuir, @loverboy-havocboy, @kartaylirnaak, and anyone else who would like to play?

[georgieluz]

Julian!! I’ve missed you!! Sending a virtual hug and a few asks for the ask game!

❤️💛💚💙🖤🎤🎵📺🔐🧟‍♀️🍇💌🖇️🔍🪐🌚

I just realized… there’s a lot… haha sorry about that 😅 hope you’re doing well!

hiiii!! i missed you too!!! first of all, lemme return the virtual hug and then i'll get to answering!!

❤️ how tall are you?

5ft4. guess i'm joining george, johnny, frank and harry in the smol boys club

💛 what is your favourite feature on yourself?

maybe my hair? idk i feel like so many people talk about how lucky i am to have such thick fluffy hair that if i didn't choose that it would be the equivalent of cursing them and all of their families

💚 where are you from?

dwi'n dod o gymru!! actually it's fitting that the emoji is green because green and red are the welsh flag colours and i'm welsh!

💙 do you have any siblings?

just me, unfortunately

🖤 favourite hobbies outside of your blog?

archery! i used to be on my university team and we would shoot three times a week but i've graduated now and feel like i'm cheating on them whenever i shoot with my local team

🎤  have you been to a concert?

yes! i've been lucky enough to go to quite a few. some of my favourite artists that i've seen live are: my chemical romance, the libertines, epik high, vixx, kim hanbin and day6

🎵 favourite artists?

the libertines, the strokes, pulp, the cure, epik high, kim hanbin, onewe, hoppipolla, sunmi and woodz!

📺 last show you watched?

transatlantic (i'm still a wreck bc of these characters)

🔐 something no one would guess about you?

ohh this might be the toughest one bc i don't actually know how people see me so i wouldn't know what they would guess about me but maybe that i studied and competed in dance my whole life? (if you can guess what styles of dance i'll give you a prize)

🧟‍♀️ scariest thing that’s happened to you?

i don't wanna make this too heavy so i'll leave out the actual scariest things but the other week i may or may not have had an encounter with a ghost in my museum which is said to be haunted

🍇 a word your friends would use to describe you?

texted two of my friends and one replied "unnecessary" and the other said "an idiot of an enigma" so that went well lmao

💌 why did you start this blog?

because it had been so long since i had friends who loved band of brothers and i missed having an online community where i felt comfortable and happy and enjoyed engaging with people in

🖇️ what are your favorite asks to answer?

honestly i like all of them! i love interacting with people and so any asks are fun! writing asks, character discussions, get to know me asks, i'll take the lot of them!!

🔍 what character do you enjoy writing for the most?

lately it's been eddie jones!! every single idea i've had lately spawns around him and forms its own little solar system that revolves around his existence. i think it's bc i'm a little bit obsessed, but i also think the themes i enjoy writing most work very well with him so it's just the perfect match. but i also adore writing nix, he's my favourite hot mess and i love writing him. harry and tab are two i love writing who i didn't realise i loved writing until i saw the amount of times i'd written something focused on them when the work wasn't supposed to be anything massively to do with them lmao

🪐 favourite shows / series of all time?

ohhh another tough one, but i'm gonna have to say band of brothers, star trek, and lost, but succession is probably gonna end up being up there eventually but i need to give it a few years to settle before deciding. there are definitely others but they go in and out of order a lot and those are the three that always stay at the top no matter what

🌚 a show you’d tell people to stay away from?

honestly idk i think it's down to individual taste so if i knew someone didn't like a certain genre i could tell them to avoid shows based off of that but i usually don't tell people to stay away from a show unless there's something genuinely harmful in it

thank you so much for asking all of these!! it was fun to answer them and hopefully i haven't rambled on too long!!

for this ask game!

[procrastinatorproject]

29, 39, and 40 for the Star Trek asks, please. ✨

Thank you so much for the questions!

29. Favourite and Least Favourite Episodes:

Ooooh, good question! Let's start with the negativity so we can end on a high note 😅

I... honestly would put most of Picard seasons 2 & 3 in the "least favourite" category 🙈 If I had to pinpoint some lowlights, it'd be "Fly Me to the Moon". It's not a bad episode in itself and in isolation, I might not mind it, but the two times I watched through season 2 in order, this was the episode where I found myself crying and/or shaking with rage and disappointment when it was over. Probably becuase it really drives home that they're serious about where they're going with this series I used to love and it's not somewhere I can follow.

Disregarding that... I have a terrible memory for this kind of thing 😅 And I guess it depends on what you mean by "least favourite".

I think one objective measure to use: I don't ever want to see the ENT mpreg episode again, where everyone acts like Trip Tucker having his bodily autonomy violated in a horrendous way is The Funniest Shit™. That has seared itself into my brain so much that when I was rewatching all of TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT to take notes for the holo-tech database, it's actually the only episode I wanted to skip.

There are also some real bombs in season 1 of TNG, and some of the Ferengi episodes in DS9 are firmly on my "no thank you" list. But yeah, I think the involuntary mpreg takes the cake, honestly.

Now for the much funner part: There are SO MANY episodes I truly love! DS9's "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" and "Badda-Bing Badda Bang", PIC's "Broken Pieces", VOY's "Concerning Flight" (which is apparently controversial?), "Drive", "Bride of Chaotica!", also any VOY episode that has Naomi Wildmann in it...

There are also A Ton of Deep and Dramatic episodes I love, but from my instinctive answers I'm realizing that what draws me to an episode as a "favourite" is apparently "It's fun!" (and likely involves the holodeck? 🙈🤣) So yeah, if we're talking favourite, not best, it's probably something along these lines.

39. You have to relocate to a planet other than Earth, which do you choose?

Hm, that's a tough one. I feel like not that many planets readily spring to mind, so I'll have to really think about this.

It'd probably be near the centre of the Federation for that sweet, sweet post-capitalist utopia (and also because my family is presumably still on Earth and I want to be able to visit Very Frequently.

Vulcan is a big No, because my body does not function above 25° C🙈 I love snow and ice, though, so Andoria might be a real option (though not technically a planet, I guess 😋).

Beyond that, I'm honestly drawing a blank. I think I haven't seen enough TOS/TNG in a while, so I don't remember too many worlds they visited. But yeah, probably somewhere that's close to the Sol, close to the centre of the Federation, has good temperate-to-colder climate to live in... In the end, it would probably very much depend on why I'm relocating and whom with.

40. If you got a Trek inspired tattoo, what would it be?

Another tough one 😅 I don't have any tattoos and don't think I'll ever get any. For one, I'm way too scared of that kind of long-term commitment, but also my skin has Issues™ and I don't know how long a tattoo would look decent.

If I were to get one, though? Let's be honest, it would be some version of the Sirena logo. That little ship has shaped my life in ways more profound than I can even say. Sirena and her crew got me to write again after over a decade, gave me so, so, SO much joy, not to mention all the incredible, wonderful friends I foud along the way (that's you!)

I think for me, Sirena stands for found family, friendship, healing, creativity, allowing myself to feel joy in my nerdiness and head for new adventures. So yeah.

If not that, probably some variation of IDIC, either the symbol or the saying in Vulcan script 🤔

--

This was fun! Thank you so much for the asks! And if anyone else wants to know more:

Send Me Star Trek Asks 💗

[ailendolin]

Thanks for tagging me @viola-halogen!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

199 at the moment. Which is a little insane.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,054,233

3. What fandoms do you write for?

At the moment, I mainly write for BBC Ghosts, Yonderland and Bill (2015) and Horrible Histories. I have posted a few Loki fics recently as well because the new season came out and inspired me but it's back to Ghosts now.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. When Sorrow Sang (6,806 kudos - The Witcher)

2. Helpless (2,215 kudos - Thor Movies)

3. For The Best (2,190 - Stranger Things)

4. Here With Me (1,952 - Thor Movies)

5. A Moment (858 - Loki Series)

All those fics were written for large fandoms so it's no surprise they gained more attention than, say, my Six Idiots fics)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Absolutely! Fandom thrives on interaction and the reason I post my fics online is because I want to talk about my favourite characters with other people! That's how I have found my closest fandom friends :)

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Mhm, I think my Capvers fic Missed Chances probably fits that bill. Also Attentions (Kendall/Ellis of Woolworth), my 1917 fic God is not here and my Hornblower fic Cast aside.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Since most of my stories end on a happy note, it's hard to pick just one out of the 199. I think I'll go with my Thomas-centric fic The Storyteller because it focuses on Thomas finding his place in his family through storytelling and ends on a very heartwarming note. The same goes for Renovations.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't so far, thank the gods. I honestly don't get why people would comment hateful things on something other people share for free. If you don't like something, just close the tab and move on. It's as simple as that.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No and I never will. I have alluded to it in some stories if it was necessary for the plot (like in Compromise which was all about Thomas and Julian needing different things from their relationship) but I have no intention of ever writing it in detail because it's just not my cup of tea.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I do - very rarely because I like to stay true to canon as much as possible. Crossovers or alternate universes often don't work for me because too much gets changed and the characters often become unrecognisable in the process. But I am very fond of my Button House Museum AU which is essentially a crossover between Ghosts and Night At The Museum where Button House is an old museum that comes to life every night thanks to ancient Stone Circle magic.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know.

12. Does not exist apparently

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Have I? I don't think so. I have collaborated with an artist before for an event but that's it, I think.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I don't have one all-time favourite ship because I don't move on from fandoms. Once I love something, I love it with my whole heart. There might come a point where it stops consuming my every waking thought but it will always stay with me. Some of my oldest ships are Janeway/Chakotay from Star Trek Voyager, Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill from Stargate SG1 and Mulder/Scully from the X-Files.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have had a third installment for my The Pacific series Moments of a Different Past planned years ago. A part of it is already written and I know exactly where I want the story to go but I'll probably never finish it which makes me a bit sad.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Oh this is difficult. I'd say conveying emotions and writing fics that feel like a warm hug? At least that's what people tell me they like about my stories - that they almost always end on a warm note and make them smile.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue, probably. Getting the voices right. English is my second language so dialects etc. often go straight over my head. Writing in a second language can be quite frustrating in general because you're aware your knowledge is limited and you keep catching yourself using the same phrases over and over again but don't really have the skills to shake it up a little.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I'm honestly not a fan of it. I think the odd word or phrase here or there is fine but as a reader, I find it very tedious to have to go to the end of a fic/chapter for the translation all the time so it's something I personally try to avoid (both when reading and writing).

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I honestly don't remember. Perhaps Digimon? Or Yu-Gi-Oh? Though tbf I've daydreamed fics even before I knew what fanfiction were or even thought about writing them down, so if we were to go that far back, it would probably be Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Oh, that's so hard to say because I pour my heart and soul into every fic I write. That being said, I am very fond of the multi-chaptered fics I've written, so Grace and This place (I never thought would feel like home) are definitely among my favourite BBC Ghosts fic. The Sound of Voices Two and The Rivers Between Us for The Pacific are two fics I also love to go back to and re-read. Sometimes, it's not a specific fic but rather the universe that connects them that I have created. My Yonderland fics fall into that category and it's always a joy to return to it.

Tagging: @magicaltear @ginevralinton and @i-am-a-world but as always no pressure💙

[ofsmokenandgold]

1. How many works do you have on AO3?:

53

2. What's your total AO3 word count?:

335,362

3. What fandoms do you write for?

For the longest time I only wrote for Star Trek AOS; with a fleeting dip into Sherlock. Then this year I started writing Star Trek Picard, and that led me down a rabbit hole to The Musketeers, so now I'm writing that too.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I've Been Chasing Grace Sherlock:John/Greg

A Vibration of Delight Pike/McCoy (ST:AOS)

Winged Desires and Veiled Persuasions Pike/Boyce/McCoy (ST:AOS)

Though My Soul May Set in Darkness Pike/McCoy/Kirk (ST:AOS)

Of Hopes and Fears and Twilight Fantasies Pike/McCoy/Kirk (ST:AOS)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always try to. Occasionally I will miss one, especially if it's on an old story, but I will try to get to those eventually. Comments are life.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

If This is Goodbye (ST:AOS)- a canon-compliant Pike/Boyce story set around Star Trek into Darkness, it makes people cry. Hell, it still makes me cry.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Done With Bonaparte (ST:AOS) The Pike/Boyce story that is an alternate ending to Into Darkness, defies canon and lets Chris live.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not so far and I've been doing this for decades.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Smut is pretty much my go to genre. My entire Weight of a Man Series is a glorious smut fest - with a lot of relationship-building. I am a little more into hurt/comfort right now, but there is a lot of smut built into the "comfort" part.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I do not, I generally can't write in more than one fandom at a time and now that I find myself equally obsessed with ST:Picard and The Musketeers I can't honestly figure out a way to do a crossover with them (I know, failure of imagination).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

My very first foray into fan fiction (long before the internet) was a round-robin story with three school friends that we kept going for five years (I still have the notebooks). It was based on The Quest - a very short lived US Western series with a gorgeous young Tim Matheson and equally cute Kurt Russell.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

If you look at my output it's clearly Pike/Boyce (ST:AOS). And they will always be my boys. But right now I'm all things Aramis and Aramis-in-space which has me shipping Rios/Shaw and Aramis/Athos and I think that will sustain my writing for quite a while.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I really don't like to abandon stories and that's why until recently I never posted anything until it was finished. So anything I have started on AO3 will get finished eventually. However, I have stuff in my WIP folder that might never see the light of day, including an early-career Pike/Boyce that is mostly written.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Details, I do details really well, I like to feel immersed in a place or a situation and I do that by giving as many details as feel appropriate for the story. Sometimes that requires a lot of research, especially for Star Trek, but it all adds to the texture of the story.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Adjectives - I use too many of them. I also have a tendency to have way too many run on sentences. Sometimes that's necessary for the pacing of the story, but I always consciously look for them when I'm editing so I can see if I can rework them to be more manageable.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I've only really started doing this with Aramis/Rios and I still don't do much of it, just to make a point. The context usually provides clues to the meaning, and if not then I write the meaning into the text somewhere.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

First - The Quest, and Blake's 7 - For public consumption, Star Trek AOS (first on Livejournal and then AO3)

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Winged Desires and Veiled Persuasions (ST:AOS) Pike/Boyce/McCoy I wrote it in a gift-exchange for my fabulous beta, and it just came together and works in a way that stories rarely do. It's a perfect little threesome smut-fest with lots of feelings.

If you’re reading this and want to play, I hereby tag you with no pressure. 🥳

[shinygoku]

CutCat’s ATLA Takes

Here I am, jotting them down before doing a series rewatch. This is gonna be a bit disorganised, so beware!

---

First I guess I oughta put a quick disclaimer in that Zuko is one’a my biggest Blorbos, comparible with Son Goku!  ...so like, you may notice me focusing more on him than other characters or topics or whatever lol

Also I am Not interested in the Comics or Korra series...s. The former for writing that is plain ass bad, and the latter for changing so much of the setting (not for better) and uhm, also less than good writing. If I want bad takes on Communism and Anarchy I can just go look at Twitter or some rubbish. Also I know Kyoshi novels exist. I’m just talking about the OG show, even if select pinpoints of the subsidiary installments have good moments.

This got PRETTY LONG and ain’t particularly coherent, so I’ll put a Cut in here ;3

Overall Show:

Not gonna lie, some’a the Book 1 eps get pretty throughly memoryholed, even what happens in the first two! They ain’t bad, but it does take The Storm for the series to really hit its stride with the delish Backstories.

Following that solid W of an ep is The Blue Spirit, and this is actually one of the best in the entire show. Seems they initially wrote it like it was a season finale to get more eps approved, and it worked! lol

I dig that all the characters get some character focus and growth even early on

...I’m mixed on my stance on Aang’s crush on Katara. If it was a one sided thing that started off quite strong and then de-intensified over the series, I’d find it very cute and endearing. But that sure ain’t the course they took lol, but I guess I’ll sum my thoughts on shipping in its own section later.

The real highlights of S1 are in The Storm, The Blue Spirit, The Northern Water Tribe and the Siege of the North 2-parter. All these have a lot of Zuko, fancy that XD

Also I like how early it’s set up how Built Different he is, especially them last three eps. Dude gets blown up, swim through long underwater tunnels in freezing water, barely wins a fight, treks out into the arctic, gets 1-shot in a fight, and THEN starts another fight, this time with Zhao. His only true weakness really is his mental state and lack of planning, innit!

Book 2 overall kinda bothers me. Objectively it has some of the strongest points, but so much of it feels like it’s dark and dingy or really damn slow to get moving.

Strongest points are of course Toph’s entire existence, the zigzags of Zuko’s arc, and Azula’s anatagonistic omnipresence

The rest of it, myeah... while it’s more focused on a through line plot, it feels a bit monotone until The Library and eventually The Guru and Crossroads

Zuko Alone might be the GOAT episode. It’s not my favourite but DAMN it is firing on all cylinders!!!

I also like Bitter Work a lot. Gotta eat up more Parallels Episodes, babes!

The “Brainwashing” / Sleeper Agents thing feels OP. I get ya need an antagonistic force different to the Fire Nation but myeahhh... not convincing me

But yeah, then there’s Zuko’s continued character thread with the Angst Coma and the dreams and then the REALLY WEIRD turn of him being all smiley and optimistic. It always felt really fake and non-Zuko-esque to me, but I can ‘get’ that given he’s trying hard to shift gears from the status quo of before, overcompensating in the process. What’s odder still is that Iroh doesn’t seem to question it...

Like, sure, he wants to settle down and Tea Shop it up, but even if he could get Zuko to stop pining for the position in the Royal Family, does he honestly believe a day of fever dreams will have had such a profound effect last longer than a few days of re-settling? Zuko’s actions feel like someone having decided to turn their entire life around starting tomorrow and then swiftly burning out as change is a slow and gradual process in reality, and shouldn’t be forced.

So what I think is going on is Iroh himself having become blinded by what he wants, rather than a more realistic outcome. And that could be fab gear writing! A reminder that Iroh too is not immune to bias and oversights, and is indeed a human who sometimes Dun Goofs. If it is what’s intended rather than lazier writing lol

Also yeah, Zuko’s almost- side switching, I’ll save that for later ;3

Book 3 is both a high point but again there’s some episodes that are pretty lame or have less to offer, but I feel more forgiving of this one as sooo much juicy Plot stuff actually unfolds~

Again it takes the Main Plot stepping up for the quality to rise with the Day of Black Sun, and then the episodes after all feature the long-awaited Redeemed Zuko, and those times ae Gooooooood

The stupidest moment I have to complain about though, in the DoBS, is when Azula “proves” she’s an expert liar by... saying she’s a giant purple bear thing? That’s not lying, it’s absurdism, and it’s incredibly easy to say dumb shit like that without any “lying tells” that polygraphs or Toph look for (keep in mind that irl Polygraphs actually suck, they’re a Stress detector but lying doesn’t always stress liars out... LIKE AZULA, but even the biggest ball of anxiety could say “Yeah I’m Barney the Dinosaur” without triggering anything. GRAAAAAGH)

Back on track, my only complaint with Zuko joining so late is that I want mooooore, all the eps with the ‘field trips’ are such fun AND such Character Building

Ember Island Players was a great ep, though I don’t need to see the closing scene used to draw comparisons to the live action movie any more. It’s been like 500 times.

I DON’T THINK AANG SHOULD HAVE KILLED OZAI

That would be proving Ozai’s point that Might makes Right, which of course is WRONG

The show has been leading up to non-lethal ethos

Taking Ozai’s bending is a good out.

BUT. Holy shit they fumbled the ball bad

Energybending has ZERO build up or allusions even when there were chances to sneak it in, like The Library or The Guru

Commenting on a picture of a Lion Turtle and having Lion Turtle background sculptures DOESN’T CUT IT

Because that is ALL we get!!

At least have the Lion Turtle picture say “They’re so ancient they’re rumoured to pre-date Bending” or something to hook interest in

And the Guru coulda been a great way to drop the 5th Element lore in

But they waste all chances they had to set it up despite claiming they knew from the beginning that there would be a peaceful out

The Rock unblocking Aang’s chakra is also pretty bad, but I’m more inclined to forgive a moment of luck if the Energybending wasn’t so bogus

But it could be improved if Aang like, deliberately earthbent the Rock and then used it as acupressure

Both the Energybending and Convenient Rock make Aang’s victory feel less earned, which is a huge shame as we’ve seen him actually try soooo much. But alas, that last hurdle and they resort to lazy ass writing

The lst Agni Kai rules though. It’s beautiful and tragic, showing how much Zuko has grown and Azula fell. And Katara’s finishing the fight so effectively is bodacious and actually feels really smart~

WHERE IS IROH AT THE CORONATION??!?!

The end is a cute scene that is then strangled by the Red String lol, but damn, what a cool ass show

 Characters:

Aang: He’s a cute protagonist, I’ve always liked the Cheerful and Highly Powerful archetype (cough cough Son Goku), though Aang is also heavily defined by his childishness, both a strength and a flaw. As much as I enjoy him, unfortunately I think he got a bit of the short end of the stick writing-wise, he can feel a bit Flat and, worse, like Bryke’s Pet. They lean too hard on letting him get what he wants, and we miss out of the development that coulda followed if the story didn’t twist itself to give him outs. Not unlocking his Chakras properly for selfish reasons should be punished. Finding an alternative to Murder should have had him Proactive. Not getting the Girl would have been a lot more realistic...! See the Shipping section for the latter...

Zuko: Holy rigatoni, man. Zuko is the bar by which Enemies to Friends, Redemption Arcs, Anti-Villains AND Anti-Heroes are all measured. His character has so much incredible nuance!! And yeah, maybe I too am weak to the dark and handsome and yet dorky type’a fella ;3c - I’m in the kinda situation right now where I find it hard to actually phrase everything I dig about him, but that’s from having too many thoughts and they all get crammed in the doorway between my brain and ability to type lmaooo

Katara: This girl is another high water mark (pun unintended) for how to Female Character. She’s the designated Mom of the team, but she ain’t defined by it, also being one’a the most capable fighters, having a hot temper and even a mean streak. It would really suck if she had just been written primarily to Love Interest (as the early drafts seem to imply...), but in the show, she has her own agency and goals that compliment the main quest, and she manages to be both a stable grounding force while having plenty of growth of her own.

Sokka: Again, I really wonder how it woulda turned out if the original plan had been followed; in Sokka’s case he was s’pposed to be the serious, stiffer contrast to Zany Playful Aang and Wide-Eyed Idealist Katara. But his VA is very naturally Funny, and so Sokka as we know him is a bodacious blend of Wacky yet also Level Headed. It’s an odd blend and many have tried and failed to replicate this delicate balance, but Sokka does indeed feel like a real person who seamlessly switches between being the group’s eccentric and also the one making all the plans.

Toph: ANOTHER amazing W for Girl Characters, Toph is such a delight and welcome shaking-up of the existing dynamics. She’s pretty consistently one of the most amusing and Real of the crew, while hilariously OP without it feeling cheap. It’s so weird to think she wasn’t in Book 1 at all, cause once she joins you sure as hell can’t imagine her being absent.

Iroh: Everybody loves this dude, and they’re right! What can I say about him that ain’t already been covered?? Maybe just that I do like that, as wise and benevolent as he is, there are still times where he’s allowed to be wrong or short sighted (see: my previous ramblings about Zuko’s very-un-Zuko behaviour), cause it allows him to feel more Real, and Human. That he’s speaking from experience and not from reading the script. That’s dope, man.

Azula: This is hard... I feel Azula is a massively polarising character, many people enjoy her but there’s too many people who either want to pretend she didn’t do horrible things, too many people who forget she’s also a victim, AND too many people who are just blindly like ‘woo, yeah! What a #Girlboss! Azula’s so cool and automatically wins at whatever”. Like, she’s one of the more nuanced characters but the surface level is indeed of hyper competence, it’s what’s below that veneer which is interesting. I kinda feel like more people oughta talk about the moment where she looks pleased, almost triumphant at Zuko being maimed...

And the rest: Oh god, I can’t talk about every semi-developed character as there’s a lot. Sorry Suki. You’re cool too! But most characters who appear in more that one episode see to be written pretty good, again, like People, rather than just plot devices in human skin. I like that.

...

Shipping:

lol. I think the BEST route would have been to not ‘canonise’ any ships of the ragtag group of kids and teenagers. Alas, we don’t live in that timeline and have dumb ass wars over it. Anyway, here’s my hot take:

Kaatang, while foreshadowed early on from Aang’s side, is a really lame route as Katara seems to have to loose her actual personality for it to work. Also, it jars with Aang’s role as both Avatar (while they’re allowed to Get Freaky, he was s’posed to be able to detach from Earthly attachments to gain the Avatar Powers), and as a totally-not-Buddist Monk, who are NOT allowed to get bizzay. So Aang too loses insteresting notions of Duty and being able to Mature cause he just gets what he wants without having to try. Lame.

Katara doesn’t have many moments where she even looks at Aang as something other than a Friend / Little Brother / Son?? type figure, there’s only brief moments where there is potential moments from her side, and they are far between and seldom deeper than her chemistry with the likes of Jet and Haru. The most I can speak for is the Day of Black Sun, where she’s taken aback by Aang planting one on her, but when he directly and Un-Classy-ly brings it back up in the Ember Island Players, she is quite rightly reserved and when he kisses her again without warning she’s angry! And that’s never resolved!! They just Mandatory Ship them together in the end because Bryke are biased and soooo intent of having their ship even though the writing hasn’t sufficiently built up to it. I don’t dig this, baby!

Maiko is also badly written and the comics make Mai unlikable. [slow sarcastic clapping]

So the ships I do like are:

Zutura - THEMATIC PERFECTION and not because of the red and blue, fire and water juxtaposition, but because Katara and Zuko are fundamentally so similar but coming from opposite sides and thus approaches. Both so kind at their cores but quick to anger or do something stupid on impulse, both so affected by the loss of their mothers and family-motivated. The fake out in Crossroads introduces a fascinating extra crease to their interactions that lasts, and the finale?? HELLO?!?! That’s legit one’a the most compelling Ship Fuel moments ever, baybeee! Other serieses would knaw off their own leg for material that rich!

Also yes, the red/blue, sun/moon, fire/water, and that they are pretty together lol. But still, there’s more in how they are a fantastic combo when on the same side, and also the meta reality that several writers and their own Voice Actors ship it. And they’re right to!

Zukka - The new darling of the fandom and while it doesn’t have as much going for it, I can see it. At it’s worst it feels like people desperately trying to rationalise the red/blue guys from Failtron Legendary Idiot Space Show, but when people who actually care about the characters here in ATLA and draw on their parallels and interactions I find myself enjoying it. Zuko goes well with the Water siblings I guess haha

Sukka - I don’t have much to say, I just like it lol

Also in the past I liked Zukaang but now I wanna redefine it as them being allowed to be Buddies and close friends and teammates, like what the Blue Spirit ep teased at but then didn’t really follow up on outside The Firebending Masters. I want more!! MOOOOORE!!!

...

But man this post is obnoxious and long enough already lol, thanks if ya endured it all~

[good-wine-and-cheese]

Hi!! I know you love Monster, but what are your other favourite mangas/pieces of media?

Oho, the elusive interests question! I have a hard time quantifying an exact order, so I'm just going to spew a ton of things haha

Manga/Anime

Huge fan of Urasawa's other work, for one. I haven't read all of them yet, but I can safely say 20th Century Boys is my favorite of his, (and has the best story and narrative pacing imo) and Master Keaton is a comfort anime/manga ☺️

Tiger & Bunny! I'll admit series 2 would take it down a few notches but series 1 as a standalone was just so good. Excellent character writing and a great time for dilf enjoyers. Series 2 still had great character writing, it was just really, really hard to follow the first act tbh.

Carole and Tuesday has a weirdly similar energy to T&B to me for some reason. Gives me the same type of joy. It's about struggling through the music industry and the culture of that and its BEYOND incredible.

I'm going to put Mushi-Shi and Moribito on the same talking point here because they have similar energies and similarly laid back protagonists in a fantastical world. Mushhi-Shi is, in my opinion, THE perfect anime. It's not my all time favourite, but it's the most well put-together for my tastes and great to soak up the atmosphere to. Moribito on the other hand is a beautiful story of found family, the dangers of imperialism eroding native cultures, and some coming of age. With a very good female protagonist might I add!

Currently I'm hopelessly obsessed with Kaiji. I dunno something about the battle of lowly peons against the capitalist hell machine is scratching an itch lol. It has tense and deeply flawed and honest human moments to rival Monster though, seriously.

Eureka Seven is another oldie I love, kinda a coming of age romance with mecha dressing that's steeped in music and counterculture. Naturally the OST is god tier and I have yet to find one that will ever match it.

I love the Ajin: Demi-Human manga. Wasn't as big a fan of the anime, but the art and characterization in the manga is really really strong.

Slowly, Blue Period is creeping into my favs. I just relate to its narrative about artists wanting to communicate and the struggle of non-linear skill progression, falling in and out of love with art, and there is a very interesting cast of fun characters.

There are others that are really good, but just don't speak so directly to me (or aren't on my mind right now LOL). Honourable mention to Mob Psycho 100 which is another near-perfect anime it just doesn't have the same level of resonance to me as these others on my list. Same for Legend of the Galactic heroes - really good media, but not QUITE speaking to me like these others.

I'll also put Mononoke (not Princess, just plain Mononoke) here too because my god is that ever an experience.

Non-Manga/Anime

So the biggest and oldest is Star Trek. I've been a Trekkie WAY longer than I was ever into anime. Spock, Data and Seven of Nine are my people. It was notably only 2020 when ifinalky watched Deep Space Nine and my FUCK is it ever the best of the bunch! Unparalleled character arcs my dude. It also manages to be the queerest and straightest Star Trek series at the same time.

Spiderverse! This movie was so absolutely bomb. I need to eat it again.

Entergalactic was similarly fucking GORGEOUS but followed a fairly standard, sweet romance. The characters were good and the music was REALLY good but it's the animation, man. That shit is such eye candy and will stick with me for a while I think.

Midnight Mass was very enjoyable. Excellent cast, excellent dialogue, my fav died first but that's just how it is for me

I honestly adored First Kill and am sad it got cancelled. It wasn't great media exactly but it was so fun and messy and I dig that lol. Calliope and her mom owned the whole show

The Boys is absolutely off the walls insane and even if the story weren't that great (it is, especially in later seasons) just the amount of bullshit that happens in it makes it a fun watch. EXTREMELY graphic and nsfw though. Like extremely, unapologetically, and unappealingly. In the Roberto way. You understand.

I've fallen out of love with it a bit, but Stranger Things season 1 will never not be incredible TV to me. Kind of in a similar way to Mob psycho. Eleven is my little child.

I used to be very into LOST and want to rewatch it at some point honestly, kid me was blown tf away and it introduced me to some very cool concepts of storytelling even if it went way off track lmfao

That's......all I can think of off the top? I like a lot of media! Again though its hard for me to quantify favs, just what speaks to me at a given time.

[professorsaber]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

No one tagged me for this, but I saw it posted by @walker-lister and wanted to jump on board.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

20

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

94,345

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Doctor Who (so far only the Twelfth Doctor [but caveat under question 14]) and Back to the Future.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Portraits of a Romance (Doctor Who)

Loose Ends and Loose Memories (Back to the Future)

The Post-Game Wrap Up (Back to the Future)

r/ThePinheads: Guys, Marty McFLy really *is* a time traveller!!! (Back to the Future)

Their Song Is Almost Over (Doctor Who)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always try! I love getting them, so it seems polite if nothing else. But on occasion I don’t have the time and then the notification gets buried in other emails and I forget to.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

“Their Song Is Almost Over” ends with both Clara and the Doctor dying after 20,000+ years together, which is probably the closest I’ve come. I suffer from major depression and so nothing I write has a negative/angsty ending.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Honestly I feel like I could say “Their Song Is Almost Over”! Clara and the Doctor have 20,000+ years together and an afterlife together, to boot. In the same continuity is also “That She May Find Her True Love First,” in which Clara reunites with the (original, non-canon, female) Fifteenth Doctor a few centuries after breaking up with her predecessor.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Once, on a fic I posted on FF.net and not AO3, someone just wrote “FAIL.”

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I’ve only written smut once—"I Need You, Now More Than Ever". To quote the summary, “Escaping a planet after a ‘date’ where everything went horribly wrong, the Doctor and Clara find comfort in each other.” So hurt/comfort with sex. There was a four-year gap between me writing it and posting it.

I might do something smutty for Marty/Jennifer one day, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Not anymore. The stuff I did as a kid was sorta a massive crossover between just about everything I was interested in, but I wrote little that could be called “fics.” Most of it was me and my friends doing what you call LARPing when you’re an adult. The universes involved a shitton of original characters on top of at least Pokemon, Sonic the Hedgehog, Star Trek, Animorphs, Men in Black, and Honey I Shrunk the Kids: The Series (when I could sneak it in).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really, though I’ve taken part in a Discord server game that involves writing a fic one line at a time. (Results here.)

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

The only ship I’ve ever actively shipped shipped is Whouffaldi, AKA Twelfth Doctor/Clara Oswald. All my DW fics involve them, though bits involve either Thirteen with Clara or later, original Doctors with Clara.

I have a soft spot for Marty/Jennifer in BTTF as well. That’s mainly the reason I’ve never been able to get through the “Marty gets permanently stranded in time” fics out there.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Oh dear god. First, none of them are posted—I strongly believe in posting only finished works. But in all probability I’d say I’m never gonna finish the Mire AU, a Whouffaldi AU that I wrote about 22,500 words for. It was supposed to be a preemptive fix-it for “Face the Raven,” but I later decided that I wanted my Whouffaldi fics to have Clara become a Time Lady instead of using the Mire kit.

Two BTTF ones—Meet the Family and Psychology 135—have been on the drafting board about ten years but are much, much more likely to be finished.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Shit, this is hard! I’ve been told though that I’m good at characterization, and also that I weave in just enough background detail to make it all seem real. So I’m going with that.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I spend far too much time on pointless background detail that I can’t fit into the story, I have difficulty finishing anything (especially of great length), and I think my descriptions can be too bland.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

In one of my BTTF fics just a few days ago, I decided that something Doc said was actually from his German grandfather, so I went to our Discord server and asked two German users for a translation. If there weren’t German speakers on our server, I might have used Google Translate and then double-checked with Wiktionary, but in all probability I’d have not done it at all.

BTW, it’s “Ein gesundes Maß an Neugierde ist immer etwas Gutes.”

19. First fandom you wrote for?

This is a complicated question, as you could say I wrote “fanfics” before I was aware of fanfiction or fandom as concepts (see question 10). In high school, c. 2005, I finished a Transformers: Beast Wars fic but never posted it, but I still think that’s the first.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I might also have to say “Their Song Is Almost Over”! To quote another one of these asks I did, “ wrote it in a single sitting, it’s epic in scope, [and] it gives a ship that got an at-best bittersweet ending in canon a gloriously happy ending.”

For BTTF, I’m not sure really. Perhaps “Moving Day”? Because I accomplished so much in such a brief space (compared to my previous BTTF fics), and I loved focusing on Jennifer.

Tagging @bg-sparrow, @daryfromthefuture, @synthsays, @mythical-bookworm, and anyone else who wants to do it!

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #575

Top Ten Years for TV

As it was prophesied, so it must come to pass; I am once again back on my temporal bullshit and ranking years in which stuff came out. Having ticked off the easier/funner ones (films and games), I’m now making life harder for myself by talking about TV. And next week – no spoilers – is going to be a nightmare. Honestly, I deserve the opportunity to refuse a knighthood for all of this psychological effort.

Insert Steve Buscemi Reservoir Dogs meme.

Right, so, the gist here is that I’m ranking the best years for TV in my lifetime. That is to say, what years did the best or even the most TV occur? What years pay host to the greatest amount of top telly? In which years did the gogglebox kick the most ass? Incidentally, you won’t find Gogglebox on here, because I can’t bloody stand that show. Sorry if you work on it.

This list – as with all my lists – is entirely subjective, and of course is heavily infused with strong nostalgia. It’s also proven very difficult because sometimes there’s one or two great shows – my favourite shows – that makes me want to rank a year a lot higher, but on balance there’s another year with, like, seven very good shows. Maybe I should have incorporated a scoring system, but I’ve only just thought of doing that and I’ve already written my list so it’s not going to happen.

Something I’ve discovered – apart from, apparently, not watching anywhere near as much TV as I did as a teenager – is quite how many critically-adored TV shows I’ve not seen. Yes, it’s a source of much hilarity that I never quite got round to The Wire or Breaking Bad. But I’ve hardly seen or never seen stuff like Fleabag, The Boys, Succession, Ted Lasso, Killing Eve, or Better Call Saul. Some of that is by design (I doubt I’d like The Boys); some of it is because I don’t have Sky or Apple TV; some of it is because, well, TV shows take ages to watch. Honestly, give me a one-off fifty-minute TV special like Werewolf By Night any day. So, yeah, that’s possibly another reason why more recent years are under-represented. But also the sheer weight of years of adoration will always make a show like The X-Files, The West Wing, or Batman: The Animated Series bubble up over even very good 21st Century shows such as The Mandalorian or Stranger Things. I have a feeling if I’d been a little bit more well-watched, so to speak, then 2016 might have been a bigger year.

Also, yeah, I’m a genre nut; there are some great comedies and the odd terrific doc on here, but for the most part the TV programmes that really, really make me fall in love with a year are the sci-fi/fantasy-tinged ones. At the moment I’m barely interested in watching anything that doesn’t take part in the Star Wars, Star Trek, or Marvel universes, which I acknowledge is a huge cultural failing on my part, but on the other hand lightsabers innit.

Oh, and I guess there is another important caveat here, which maybe is obvious but maybe not. Because I’m ranking these by the year the programme debuted; in the case of American shows, that’s its US debut, whereas obviously UK shows are going by when it first aired over here. It doesn’t take into account ongoing shows; so yeah, if Star Trek: The Next Generation started in 1987, it’s probably fair to say that it only became unmissable in maybe 1989. But I’m classing it as an ’87 show coz that’s when it started. And Encounter at Farpoint is a pretty decent first episode. That’s it, let’s get cracking.

1993: once again the year 1993 looms large (it was number 2 on my films list and number 8 on my games list); really one of the most important years of my life, culturally speaking. Anyway, one of the most important and influential shows of my life debuted this year – The X-Files. That show hovered over my teens like a UFO that somehow only Mulder notices; it changed the things I watched, the things I read, and maybe most importantly, the things I wrote about. ‘93 also saw the arrival of Deep Space Nine, although I didn’t really get into that until, er, last year; but it’s tremendous and vital for deepening and enriching the Star Trek mythos. Also Animaniacs, one of the wildest and funniest animated shows; Frasier, classic comedy and part of the whole glorious “comedy on Channel 4” era of my life; Reeves and Mortimer debuted both The Smell of… and Shooting Stars, and they were the comic gods of my childhood. Beavis and Butt-Head, Lois and Clark, and I also want to give a shout-out to the rather dark childhood serial The Animals of Farthing Wood, which traumatised kids up and down the land.

1992: two huge gaming-related shows came out this year: Bad Influence! and Gamesmaster. These were massive deals to little young me, as games – games! – were on the telly. It also saw the debut of two TV institutions in Later… With Jools Holland and The Big Breakfast. The Larry Sanders Show began in the US, but I can’t imagine I was watching it in ’92; famously its UK airings were very late and very sporadic, but I remember being blown away as a young teen by its scabrous nature and how well is parodied the talk show format (I actually thought it was real for a little bit the first time I caught an episode). I could also talk at length about X-Men, one of the most important animated shows, and superhero shows, of the era. But it – and everything else this year, almost everything else on the list – is dwarfed by another great animated show. Batman: The Animated Series was this year, and it’s amazing. One of the best incarnations of Batman, taking almost everything good about him, with stunning production design and a maturity of storytelling that belied that fact it was stuck on Saturday mornings over here. And it gave us Kevin Conroy, the definitive Batman, who channelled his own hurt into giving the character weight and gravitas, and who is much, much missed.

1999: there are two massively important shows this year that I didn’t watch from beginning to end but want to acknowledge: Queer as Folk and The Sopranos. For me, though, this was the year of The West Wing; probably on balance my favourite TV programme of all time. A superlative masterclass in scriptwriting, performance, and direction, and a joyous exploration of camaraderie, kindness, and the quiet heroism of the everyday. What else happened? Well, there were two great animated shows, Futurama and Batman Beyond; Jon Stewart began his era-defining stint on The Daily Show; and I really loved Walking With Dinosaurs. But let’s face it, it’s Bartlet’s year. Okay? Okay.

1984: yeah, it pleases me immensely to report that 1984 continues to be a banger year. The Transformers happened, and Jesus Christ, is there any way to downplay the importance of that show? Sure, it’s probably the comic that really took over my brain, but it all began here – for me – with the cartoon. There were other big cartoons for me too: GoBots, Muppet Babies, Thomas & Friends, Trap Door (Trap Door!). And some other stuff not really for kids: Spitting Image, for cryin’ out loud! Murder, She Wrote! V! Tripods! The Cosby Show! Er, okay, maybe in retrospect we forget about The Cosby Show.

1989: My policy of only listing a show when it first airs has a bit of a wobble here because of Blackadder Goes Forth. Do we count Blackadder as a series beginning in 1983? Or each separate season as its own separate entity? Anyway, Goes Forth is amazing and has a terrific ending. However, something that definitely for-real did begin in ’89 was The Simpsons (well, if you don’t include the Tracey Ullman shorts I guess). And The Simpsons is epoch-defining in its excellence, one of the most important TV shows to ever release in my lifetime. What else happened? Well, if Blackadder wasn’t enough Tony Robinson for you, Maid Marian and her Merry Men came out too (not on Pancake Day though). What’s the deal with Seinfeld too? But to be honest, outside of Springfield, the biggest deal for me was Quantum Leap. Oh boy.

1987: I’d love to sing the praises of the Beauty and the Beast series starring Ron Perlman and Kirstie Alley, but whilst I loved it as a kid I’ve not seen it in over thirty years so maybe it sucked? Something that definitely didn’t suck was Star Trek: The Next Generation. This was my Star Trek, and even though I didn’t fully engage with it (ho ho) till much later, I need to plant a flag in the year it began. You’ve also got the seminal Max Headroom, a childhood icon. And speaking of childhood, two of my favourite cartoons: Duck Tales and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latter of which was one of the huge sensations of my young life. Seriously, it’s, like, Turtles, Transformers, Ghostbusters, and Garfield.

2021: okay, this is gonna be a bit of a weird one. I’m sure lots of things came out this year. I’m sure, if I was inclined, I could Google the year (well Bing the year – gotta get my Microsoft Reward Points; it pays for Game Pass!) and find out lots of stuff. I could do my research; normally, I do do my research. But there’s no point, because 2021 is the year all the MCU shows started on Disney+, and that fact alone is enough to get it this high. WandaVision, Hawkeye, Loki, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, What If… am I forgetting one of them? It was a hell of a year, such a great way to kick off the whole shebang, even if some shows were better than others. Lots of things probably happened. But none of them were as good as that moment in the first episode of WandaVision where the boss starts choking and Wanda breaks character and the structure of the show starts to come apart.

2005: this is another year really defined by one show, and that show is the reboot/return/whatever you wanna call it of Doctor Who. Now, I think this really does count as the start of a new series, even if Who began in 1963; we’re still in the new Who era. And I bloody love it, warts and all, shittier series and all, the whole timey-wimey shebang. Other stuff happened, less exciting but still quite a big deal. Avatar – the best version of Avatar – began. My daughter would be most upset if I didn’t mention it. What else? The Thick of It, crucially important and hilarious comedy of the era. Grey’s Anatomy, one of my wife’s favourite shows and one that has a great deal of social worth and heft. Prison Break was cool, at first. And The Office, I suppose, but I never really got on with it, and now Ricky Gervais is a bellend.

1988: so there are two really important shows in my life that debuted in ’88, and I don’t know which to flag up the most: Red Dwarf and Garfield and Friends. I suppose really it should be the Boys from the Dwarf; their smegging antics became one of the most important comedy – and, indeed, sci-fi – shows of my teens. Garfield is a much bigger deal but I think even back then I preferred his comics and the TV specials; although Friends did give us Orson! There was also Duckula, another amazing animation; and the BBC’s classic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe adaptation, my introduction to Narnia. There was The Wonder Years, and The Kids in the Hall, and I guess Roseanne, even if the bloom’s gone off that rose a little bit. Whose Line is it Anyway was and is a comedy gem. And way back then I loved Denver the Last Dinosaur. What can I say? I was, like, six or something.

2019: this is another year where there are a few shows I’ve only seen bits of but which are worth mentioning for posterity: Catastrophe and Sex Education for instance. But there are other ones I’ve seen properly: Ghosts, which is funnier and sweeter than I’d have ever expected; What We Do in the Shadows which is good enough to live up to the superlative movie that spawned it; DC Super Hero Girls, which manages to combine a lot of the heart and aesthetic of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic with the wit and dynamism of Teen Titans; and Years and Years, the depressingly prophetic fable from RTD. But of course I’m burying the lede because the real highlight of 2019 is The Mandalorian, a tremendously stylish and atmospheric space Western that leans on the best Star Wars tropes to give us something surprisingly original and an excellent use of the TV format to tell a cinematic story. This is, indeed, the way.

[meetinginsamarra]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Ohh, I love these questions and am ready to play. Let's gooo!

1. How many works do you have on A03?

51 in total

12 "real" fics and 21 ficlets and 18 covers (I didn't know who to embed them at this time)

2. What's your total A03 word count?

271.977

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Sherlock BBC

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Mutual Attraction , Learn My Scars, The toe that didn´t belong, The embers still glow when I´m sober , Gravity is missing from everything

The last three are in fact a series called Here I Am

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Of course! Always and quickly. I love comments, they make my day and fill me with happiness for hours. Not kidding!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

None of my fics end angsty. Some of my ficlets might. Like "Time".

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

They all end happily.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

There had been a few very weird comments on "Mutual Attraction" that were rude or offensive. Some had been deleted by the cowards who posted them later.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes, male/male. I have written very porny porn. I also write gen and everything in between. Depends on the story.

10. Do you write crossovers?

No, because I define "crossover" as a mix of two existing universes, like Sherlock x Star Trek for example. I have written a lot of AUs though. Alternate Universes with the same charaters of my show but placed somewhere else.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have been offered three times but declined because I personally am not comfortable with it.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Johnlock

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have this fairy tale AU sitting in my drafts for literal years. 20k written and several attempts to take it up again, it is plotted but just resists being finished.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Learning by doing, I guess? Maybe writing movie-like action scenes. That's been said in comments.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I honestly do not know. Finishing the above mentioned fic possibly.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

If it fits the story, why not? I write in English which is not my native language, so I could do German and some French and Italian, too.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Sherlock BBC

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I love all of my babies and will not choose a fave one. There are only faves in categories.

"Mutual Attraction" was my first and longest fic (98k).

"Wretched and Divine" was the one that made me find my friend and beta @peageetibbs

Technically, I am most proud of pulling of "Learn My Scars" because it is 38k written under a huge amount of pressure due to daily posting for Whumptober 2022. Five weeks of intense writing madness but very rewarding, too.

AU and plot-twist wise it would be "The 13th Book".

Concerning hot smut, "The toe that didn't belong".

"Sherlock's secret laboratory journal" is pure crack.

tagging anyone who wants to share!!!

[dreaminginpastels]

Your bio says you only write for characters you know we'll. What ones are those aside from the ones in your masterlist? I don't wanna be awkward by requesting a character you don't think you can write for

hi lovely! thank you so much for asking ☺️

honestly it’s been kinda hard to come up with any kind of definitive list because I’m a part of a bunch of different fandoms and don’t really know which characters people might want me to write x reader stories for 😅

my favourite characters (who I will always be willing to write for) are:

♥︎ remus lupin (harry potter - marauders era)

♥︎ druig (marvel - eternals)

♥︎ spencer reid (criminal minds)

♥︎ peter parker

(tom holland or andrew garfield only, pre-no way home only as I haven’t seen that film yet, and am not as familiar with tobey maguire’s peter parker)

♥︎ newt (the maze runner)

♥︎ pat butcher (bbc ghosts)

♥︎ data (star trek: the next generation)

♥︎ michael mell (be more chill)

♥︎ newt scamander (harry potter - fantastic beasts)**

**prior to the newest movie only

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙ 

as a kind of general rule, I can write for any character from: 

- harry potter / marauders era / fantastic beasts and where to find them

(original movies/books characters only)

- marvel (especially eternals and avengers)

- criminal minds (seasons 1-4 until I catch up)

- the maze runner

- ghosts (bbc)

- star trek: the next generation

- dirk gently’s holistic detective agency (netflix series only)

- the back to the future trilogy

- narnia (movies only)

- dear evan hansen (musical)

- be more chill (musical)

PLEASE CHECK MY REQUESTING GUIDELINES BEFORE REQUESTING

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

I would say that the best option, however, would be to send me either a direct message or an ask to check if I write for any particular characters that you might have in mind (I’m very friendly and am super happy to discuss it with you! 😊)

I’ll do my best, but will let you know if I don’t feel comfortable writing for characters or if I’m not familiar enough with them to. 

I hope that this helps! 

this is by no means an exhaustive list, I’ve just kinda thought about the main fandoms I would love to write for (or feel like they’re underrated for fanfics) and I’ve probably forgotten a whole bunch) 🙈

thank you once again, and I hope you have a lovely rest of your day ☺️

- daniella 🤍

[blossom-adventures]

10 characters, 10 fandoms, 10 tags

Sorry for the delay, I was at work when I was tagged by @bougainvillea-and-saltwater to do this, thank you, it’s about time I post something on here (and not just hide behind a like button) and this is actually a good opportunity to show some of the fandoms I have interest in so here we go…

1. Ulfric Stormcloak, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Honestly… I could put a whole list of 10 of my favourite characters from Skyrim alone, but I put Ulfric, I’m currently writing an OC backstory which will end up in a relationship with him so I have him on my mind a lot at the moment 😅 (also I’m reading an amazing story about him at the moment by @thequeenofthewinter)

2. Guzma, Pokemon Sun/Moon. I don’t think I would have cared as much for this character if I hadn’t read the comics done by @elbdot also his theme music in game is incredible, I like the concept of his character being incredibly powerful despite being a bug type specialist (a notoriously weak typing)

3. Percy, Critical Role (Campaign 1 & Legend of Vox Machina). I started to watch Critical Role when it was on episode 50 of Campaign 1 and managed to catch up by their first live show, and Percy was always my favourite (with Grog a close second) Campaign 1 will always have a special place in my heart as it’s the one I always go back to when I’m feeling down. Percys natural smugness and amazing one liners just works so well, I love it

4. Loghain, Dragon Age. Ok this might be a surprise, most people go for people like Alistair, Anders etc. But my favourite character is Loghain, why? The Novel wrote by David Gaider, “The Stolen Throne” which focuses on the friendship between Loghain, Maric and Rowan during the Orlesian Occupation of Ferelden (sorry if you have no idea what that meant 😅) it’s an amazing book that I read a least once a year

5. Krasus (Korialstrasz), World of Warcraft. Ok, little confession… I’ve never played WoW, but I’ve read a lot of the books and whenever Krasus turns up in one of the novels I can’t help but smile, I’m a massive fan of the “War of the Ancients” Trilogy by Richard A. Knaak (I’d highly recommend them if you’ve not read them, I’ve read them twice since I got them in 2020)

6. Thorin, The Hobbit. I watched the first film of The Hobbit and instantly had Thorin as my favourite character, in the time between the release of the first and second films I read the book (having never read it before) and I won’t lie, I cried at the end, never cried at a book before then (have since… several times) Richard Armitage did such a good job as Thorin

7. Aragorn, Lord of the Rings. I’m that person who will remind you that Viggo broke his toe in that one scene 😆 I tried reading the books but I didn’t even get as far as Moria, but I adore the films and it’s soundtrack (my favourite used to be Legolas, but as I’ve got older it’s shifted to Aragorn) Viggo was perfect for the role

8. Link, Legend of Zelda. I know this is a little vague so I’ll narrow it down, I’ve played “Twilight Princess” & “Breath of the Wild” and I have started several others, I think it’s just the fact that I really enjoy the games so I’ve naturally got the PC as my favourite character

9. Obi-Wan, Star Wars. “Hello there” Finally a Sci-fi character 🤔😆 I grew up watching the original trilogy so Alec Guinness was always Obi Wan…. Then the prequel trilogy came out and Ewan McGregor was amazing, he played the part so well and he is BY FAR my favourite Star Wars character of all time, adding even more with his original series on Disney+ I quote Obi-Wan a lot too, and me and my brother get carried away and end up reciting most of his dialogue for fun. It’s one of the few Sci-fi things I watch (along with Star Trek) and I always watch them at least once a year

10. Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice. I never thought I’d say that one of my favourite characters would be from a Period Drama, I never used to like them, then my mum read the book and asked if we could watch it one day, that was the end of 2020, we seem to watch it once a month now 😆, Darcy is brilliant in the film (I haven’t seen the TV series) and played by a great actor (Matthew Macfadyen) the moment he walks through the fog, when the music picks up 💕🥰💕 (if you know, you know)

Honourable Mention: Lupin, Harry Potter. I love this character in both book and film and I was torn between him a Mr Darcy to put in my top 10

I don’t know enough people to tag 10 so I will invite people who see this to do one themselves as well as the previously tagged @thequeenofthewinter and @elbdot

[halfelven]

i started thinking about this again but like my gripe with lotr on prime? is that it's on prime by amazon

i'm not like omg we shouldn't have adaptations of anything. my entire opinion on adaptations is that we should have more of them! if I want to watch ten different versions of Jane Eyre, I can. I don't think it should be that different with Tolkien's works. (especially where he has so many events that are fascinating to expand on)

I honestly would love to see another lotr movie series or tv series. I would love an animated lotr and silmarillion and hobbit animated series that all work together (with music!)

what I'm upset about is that amazon literally has stated that the reason for their "content" is to get people to subscribe to amazon prime so that they will then want to get the "most from their money" and just buy a ton of stuff on amazon. and the company is rushing to try to monopolise pretty much every aspect of the usa (and expanding more and more into other countries). to be the source of entertainment, food, goods, and work for people, and of course to be rooted deeply in the government.

(side note I just watched an anti amazon documentary that was playing in the er and I was like good!!! because it was wildly manipulative in how it used music and everything like most documentaries are, but the information was solid)

they push out "content" to be "content" more so than art because they want to be streaming the /most/ movies and shows, without regard at all to quality (this is not unique to amazon, but my gripe with hollywood is too big to go all in about)

this is a deeply, deeply evil company with the goal to continue to become stronger and stronger. they skirt around the word monopoly because they don't want people to worry about them. they try to make themselves feel like one of the family :) with alexa and push products that are actively destroying our environment. the working conditions are inhumane to the point of death over and over, and they try to push that away with look how cool we are! :) it's just like star trek! you love star trek!

with the rings of power they're going you love lotr! :) we make lotr content for you! :) subscribe to amazon and buy more things so you feel like you're getting what you pay for (by spending more money) and with that they continue to put other business out of business so that they get a larger and larger share of the market

i'd feel the same way if wal mart or disney were making something like this. because it's literally just amazon throwing enough money around to grab at whatever people love and try to associate it with their company so that people will love them. it's like oh lotr is so popular and people love it so much let's make a series /exclusive/ to prime so then we'll get more subscribers and they're going to associate /us/ with their happy lotr feelings and also here's evil bad Sauron! >:( we know what the enemy looks like and it isn't us :)

like of course people are going to want to watch this. and talk about it. even if they pirate it they're going to want to talk about it and then their friends might not pirate it but instead subscribe to prime and it's just a mess because it's /exclusive/ to prime meaning you can't even just like... buy it.

like i can and have bought the lotr dvds. to watch this you'd need to keep your subscription to prime. like if this becomes your favourite show? I think amazon sells its original content as like online streaming so you don't have to pay every single month for prime, but you'd still have to keep your amazon account and you wouldn't own a physical copy or even a file. (I'm not even sure if they let you buy some things) and of course they want you to pay every single month for prime

anyway my gripe is they continue to use people's love for stories to mask how they are actively hurting people. they push more and more for being in control of... everything

(i swear they're going to use the rings of power and the three elf rings to somehow market their neighbourhood ring camera "security" system.)

also they are actively destroying the environment for profit which is literally everything that tolkien's work is against

in summary, I actually want more adaptations. I have entire gripes with movie rights and copyrights that I won't get into here because it's too long, but it sums up to I'm sick of only rich people being able to do anything. and also I hope Disney dies. (words cannot express how much I hate and have always hated Disney) stories should not be held hostage for only the rich to be able to play with. adaptations of stories is literally just most of human existence in how we relate to the world. and I hate amazon for being so evil and using all its evilly obtained money to pretend to be good and friendly by making things that will make people feel warm and happy inside

don't reblog but you can repost (and rephrase) something if it strikes you

i'm v sick and i have no energy to even remotely find the sources on these bc a bunch of it is literally just interviews with important ppl in the company :/