#it's so funny when you read about characters in a british setting

[xiuhunsoo]

forgot for a moment that thong can also be a word for flip flops outside of british english and that would've just changed the fanfic scene so much i'm ngl bc taking off a thong does become a completely different thing then too you see

[lovifie]

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Hi, this a post about callsigns characters could have because I love "cool" sounding nicknames with the most stupid backstory:

Rat: Because when you first entered the team you were so shy that when you weren't on a mission they could only see you scurrying out of a room whenever they entered like a little mouse. Plus, Gaz keeps saying you look like the rat from the Wallace and Gromit movie when eating breakfast.

Knockout/Knock: Because Soap and you were playing around, he was following you and you were running so fast you didn't notice the door was locked and you ran into it so hard you knocked yourself out.

Icarus: You made fun of Ghost for being British and about how they always burn when they tan only for you to go and get such an aggressive sunburn you were required to take medical leave for two weeks.

Pudding: After a mission you were craving it so bad that you didn't care that the only one left was way past its recommended date for eating. And after reassuring them that you would be fine you ended up throwing up so hard late at night that you woke up everybody.

Mole: Because when you are not wearing your glasses you are so blind they wonder how did you even made it into the military. Many people think you are just a spy that the task force kept as a pet.

Pierrot: Which is a sad clown, often pining for the love of Columbine, who usually breaks his heart and leaves him for Harlequin. And since that's basically a compilation of your love life that became your name, a sad clown but in Italian.

Anakin: You tried to download one of the Star Wars movies from a not-so-trustworthy website, you ended up downloading such a massive amount of viruses that you were almost the reason for the downfall of the whole military because of how aggressive the hack attack was. You now have parental control on everything that has internet access.

Navi: As in the fairy that travels with Link on the Legend of Zelda. Because every time that you would try to de-escalate an argument you would start like: "Hey, listen, we are all tired." "Hey, listen, let's all take a breath." "Hey, listen, we are all adults."

Gecko: Because while sleeping on deployment a gecko fell on your face from the ceiling, and you became so terrified of them that you barely slept for months after that.

Baby: Do you know when you accidentally call your teacher "mom"? Well, it happened to you, but you called Price "dad" and he didn't skip a beat before answering "Yes, babygirl?"

I could go on and on with these, I hope you find it at least half as funny as I do. Feel free to use them however you want and to add to the list as well, please I'll love to read them. 🩷🩷

Also, I would definitely be Mole, my blind ass would shoot and wish for the best. Which one would you guys be?? Also, Knockout and Icarus are my favourite ones and the reason I made the post hehe

Also, the rat I mentioned:

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[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of The Star Beast - Part Ten

Excerpt from Benjamin Cook's article in DWM 596:

When I catch up with Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons, they’re still raving about their day on set, at a cold, wet Uskmouth Power Station, with spin-off show Doctor Who Unleashed. “It was really quite something,” says Pat. “A bit overwhelming, actually.” “We were so well looked after,” says Dave, “and absolutely thrilled by what we saw. It’s incredibly flattering, all the attention we’re getting.” Well, let’s give them some more. Pat, now 74, is the ‘godfather of British comics’, creator of 2000 AD, and a major player in the development of Judge Dredd. Dave, also 74, has depicted the adventures of Superman, Batman, Dan Dare, Green Lantern and scores of other legendary characters, but is best known for co-creating – with writer Alan Moore – landmark 1980s comic Watchmen. And together they’re responsible for one of the most fondly remembered DWM comic strips ever: 1980’s Doctor Who and the Star Beast. [...] DWM: Were you surprised when you were approached about this? Pat: Completely surprised. A BBC producer got in touch. It came out of the blue. Dave: It was a very uncomplicated, very positive enquiry, which isn’t the sort of thing you’re used to in comics, you tend to be ridden over a bit roughshod, so to have somebody be respectful and polite enough to say what they wanted to do, and ask us how we felt about it, and to talk about renumeration for it – Pat: Which helps. Dave: – you think, yeah, maybe these guys’ hearts are in the right place. The word is respect. They’ve been so respectful of what we tried to do. Pat: It was so different to most of my experiences [with screen adaptations of his work]. It’s all we want, is just a little bit of respect. And we got more than that. You saw on our day on set, it was wonderful. DWM: David Tennant says that your Doctor Who Weekly strips were “better than the telly at that time”. Dave: What a nice man. Pat: I like him. DWM: He read The Star Beast as a kid. Forty-odd years later, he’s playing the Doctor in the TV adaptation. That’s mad. Dave: Yeah, look how he’s thrown his life away. DWM: The comic starred the Fourth Doctor as played by Tom Baker. From what you saw on set, how do you think David’s Doctor measures up? Dave: I know the Doctor is always larger than life, but there’s something about them both that’s particularly larger than life. Tom Baker brought a manic energy to the Doctor. From the point of drawing him, he’s an absolute gift, because he’s got the curly hair, the big nose, the double chin, and a huge, huge grin. I’ve never drawn David Tennant, but he’s got that same animated quality – exaggerated, funny, ridiculous, clownish – but also at the heart of it something quite hard and serious.

Additional parts of this set are in the #whoBtsBeast tag. The full episode list is [ here ]

[thighguys]

Phan Fic Recs #3!!

here is the requested long fic list! these are all 100k+, not all of them are finished (i didn't put any on here that aren't actively updating tho) and all of them are SO good so i hope you enjoy :)

Silver Arrows To The Heart by @evermorepeyton (137k WIP)- this one is a duplicate from the other list but there might be a few on here, ignore that<3 anyway this fic is AMAZING!!! dan and phil formula 1 drivers au- they're both on Mercedes and lots of awesome teammates to lovers hijinks ensue<3 this one gets a special shoutout for having some fantastic female characters (who are dare i say just as intriguing as dnp themselves?) and also bc the author is a beautiful human who i love<3 a super fun fic and very in character for both of them (somehow lmao, you wouldnt expect it with racecar drivers but somehow it works so well)

dancing on the blades (you set my heart on fire) by kishere (123k)- imagine all the 2009 phan lore but if dan and phil were figure skaters. yep, it's a yuri on ice au where dan scores a spot in the famous Lester training gym and meets phil, who is one of the most well known figure skaters in england<3 fantastic fantastic fic, such perfect vibes and lots of great lester family cameos<3

Strictly Come Dancing but make it GAY! by @natigail (176k)- the final duplicate from the medium list<3 this fic is AMAZING!!!! this is the one that got me back into phanfic in general afterhaving not read any for about 6 years, it's a strictly come dancing au where phil is a hot pro dancer and dan is a celebrity/gay activist, and they accidentally become the first gay couple to compete in scd<3 FANTASTIC outfit and dance descriptions, i listened to all the songs while reading it and it was honestly so lovely i felt like i could see it so clearly<3 also- the lore references are AMAZING lol i felt like a pro every time i found a little easter egg. amazing fic, i HIGHLY recommend it<3

A Semester Abroad by @everything-is-as-it-was (162k WIP)- this one is really fun!! lots of domestic phouse vibes as it is about an american college student who gets stranded in England after a study abroad housing situation falls through and who gets accidentally taken in by these two random british guys with a REALLY weird house... sooo funny, it's really quite cute and i highly recommend giving it a read! I love outsider pov and this has an abundance of funny moments because dnp are Weird

Broke, Gay and New in Town by @natigail (347k)- do you want the softest, cutest, most magical and compelling story to ever exist??? literally look no further because right here is the dan and phil stardew valley au and it is SO CUTE!!! dan inherits a farm from his grandfather and decides to ditch his boring life to go and run it, and he has so many adventures along the way. oh yeah phil is there too and hes SO CUTE and they fall in love :3 seriously so cute, also you don't need stardew valley knowledge to enjoy this it is independently perfect (i have never played the game and actually learned what it was From this fic so ur good lol)

linger on by dizzy, waveydnp (184k)- this one is so so so sweet... non youtuber au where 33yo phil has been living with his parents, but when his dad dies his mom decides to sell the house and phil has to find somewhere new to live. so ofc he becomes roommates with some guy called dan, and ummm they fall in love? honestly they are SO perfect in this fic, i adore it<3 highly recommend

L'Histoire Française by danfanciesphil (105k)- suuuuper fun teachers au! phil is a history professor and dan is his TA. this fic is SO FUN!!!! genuinely adore it lol, it's one of the first phan fics i ever read and it has stayed with me forever<3

So Many Stars by transdimensional_void (152k)- another teachers au :) dnp meet when they both become english teachers at a school in japan and this is VERY cute <3

okay there's the list!! sorry this one is shorter than the others haha, there are too few long fics in the phandom :( but all of these are so so lovely and i hope you enjoy! lol some distractions may be needed during these trying times <3

[fangirltothefullest]

Hey. Hey you. Yes you! If you are planning on having kids or if you already do and they are young (as in they're 3rd grade and younger) read your kids stories. Stop handing them the internet and READ THEM STORIES.

Bored? Grab a book.

Don't know what to do? Give them a book.

Read to them while they draw or colour.

Still little? Read to them while they are taking a bath.

Read to them once a week on Fridays for Story Night.

Read to them before bed.

Read to them at breakfast.

Whenever you can, read to them!

Curriculum doesn't teach your children how to have morals and how to problem solve, books with interesting stories do. Parents are super busy and juggling all the moral teaching is hard when you're busy- have them read! It does some of it for you!

Want your kids to do better than the generation I'm teaching? Read to them. Read to them whenever you can so they learn to love it. Make books of all kinds available. Make them read fantasy, make them read fiction, make them read science fiction, make them read realistic fiction, make them read about dragons and heroes, friends and dilemmas, make them read about warrior cats and the children of gods, heroic mice and people overcoming bullies, teen dramas and kid crushes, knights and cursed princes, faerietales and stories about princesses saving their brothers from being swans. Books with worm professors and spooky stories for the campfire that walk about lawn weenies and plonking children down the slide, stories of British children stranded on an island, and people cursed being set free with true loves kiss. Stories with mermaids and krackens or a dog thats a cowboy who saves the day. Stories of small mice having adventures or people with hidden secrets. Stories of children going through tough childhoods and children finding themselves or new understanding. Stories of funny little women who defeat the oni with laughter or what's beyond Z for Zebra.

Children are force-fed information-based/fact-based readings in their classrooms, filling their minds with the ability to parse data from what they read and answer it word for word on a test.

But the morals, the learning how to navigate life with each other, the building of relationships ships be it friend or foe, context ans meaning come from reading stories and relating to or understanding the characters, context and subtleties of emotions they face in books.

It's been this way since the dawn of time.

Please for the love of all that is good, don't slap a screen in front of your child to occupy them. Give them a book and let them get lost in a story. It's way healthier and helps them read better, helps them understand speech patterns, helps them understand spelling intuitively, helps them problem solve, helps them understand how to people, helps them with right and wrong, helps with morality, helps with contextualizing, helps them differentiate between real vs fake people and how to empathise with something even if its not real, helps them navigate the world with a broader and more open mind.

All tiktok and the internet/social media does is provide eons of the worst unfiltered, non-kid-friendly drivel and cruelty you could ever imagine.

I'm begging you to please think of their future because I'm teaching children raised on screens and so few books and they do not know how to people and they're so far behind in literacy at all and they open a book and if it's not immediately interesting on the first sentence it's "boring" and ignored.

I sound like a boomer but please I'm begging you make your kids read books from the time they are little.

[should-know-better]

I think that Silverscreen is about that horrible interview

I've looked at the lyrics to Silverscreen over and over again, and just couldn't relate to them being about Alex or Hannah. Something just didn't feel right. For a start, when the song was written, Miles and Hannah hadn't broken up - in fact, they were together for another four months - so although the song appears to be about acting, I felt it couldn't be about her.

Then, there was consideration, that it could have been about Alex and the façade of his straight behaviour but the line 'patent boots, lipstick rouge' didn't fit (interestingly years later, Alex did have some patent boots for The Car tour).

I think that this is Miles' angry song about the RB interview in Spin Magazine (I refuse to even use her name).

Two-faced Johnny, hotel lobby A two-faced person is someone who is not sincere and says complimentary things to your face, but horrible things behind your back. 'Johnny' or 'Little Johnny' is a character often used in funny jokes or anecdotes, so Miles is creating a juxtaposition here. The interview did take place in the lobby of the Bowery Hotel in New York. In many of Miles' songs, he sets the scene in the first line.

I won't go up without you This is similar to what she reported he'd said. Growing up, Miles and Alex would have seen many British tv shows which had many double entendres in them (the Carry On films, Open All Hours, Are You Being Served to name but a few), and much of this humour is seen throughout their interviews. It's of a specific time and it's difficult for some non-UK people to fully appreciate. This is why she took the quip the wrong way. When interviewers say that Miles and Alex are talking in their own language, I feel that they don't realise that they are quoting different comedy lines to each other, to make each other laugh.

Patent boots, lipstick rouge, For the first time today, I looked up online pictures of RB and discovered that she does indeed wear bright red lipstick. There's black boots, but too difficult to say if they are patent.

hang on the edge of champagne flutes She works by writing about people who are rich and successful, literally, a hanger-on to the music industry.

Misdemeanour, gossip cleaner, She's made out that he has done something wrong, and she's created gossip. 'Cleaning up' is a phrase that means making money.

overacting table reader. Ego driver, loose-lip liar A table read is a run through of the script, done by actors just speaking the lines, i.e. there's no action. Nothing happened. She's making it out to be more than it actually was, (building up her ego) by suggesting that a rock star would try to seduce her. She's a liar.

driving my head in A colloquialism - 'doing my head in' is a phrase used in the North of the UK, meaning, it's making me so angry, I can't stop thinking about it.

I can't see silverscreens, He's saying to her, it's no good acting, this is not a film

you won't leave it alone, I don't care what you mean, I don't buy your next scene She repeatedly interpreted aspects from the interview the wrong way and he can't believe what she's written about him. Also, the repeat of 'you won't leave it alone' could refer to that it was reported that she didn't accept his apology.

Surface tension, I won't mention, liar, liar, liar ha This either refers to the tension in the interview itself, or the tension that the interview has created afterwards for Miles. She lied about it and made his comments out to be more than they were.

Dirty finger, constant linger, driving my head in A dirty finger means 'fuck you' as in when you show the middle finger to someone. Miles is still angry about this interview, months later, when he's writing the song. The interview was in March, he wrote the song in September. Perhaps the repeated phrase of 'you won't leave it alone,' also is him talking to himself. He can't get over it and he thinks about it a lot.

We know that Miles says that he is truthful in his lyrics, but in the John Kennedy interview, he says: "yes, it's a real angry one, it's like, I wanna keep a bit of the mystery there..." knowing full well that bringing this up again would do him more harm than good.

As usual, these are just my thoughts and interpretations on the lyrics and I don't mean to open up a can of worms about the RB interview again. Any comments are welcome 😊

[somekindofcontraption]

"Acceptable Violence" in OFMD Season 2: deconstructing violence within the context of the show's parameters

I've been doing a lot of thinking about violence and the second season of Our Flag Means Death. I've come to some conclusions that I would like to share, but I would like to preface my thoughts with a disclaimer or two:

I did not like the second season, for myriad reasons, some of which I will outline here. But I am not here to attack you if you liked the season. I am not here to make commentary on who you are as a person or your personal taste if you liked the season. My not liking the season does not mean you can't like the season. In short: my dislike of the season is not about you at all! Also, this is not an academic paper. Which doesn't mean I might not do that in the future, but for now this is just an assembly of analysis and thoughts. If you do not care to read analytical criticism of something you deeply enjoyed? I invited you to scroll onward. If you liked the second season but would like to hear some of the reasons why many, including myself, didn't - carry on! The rest is under the cut.

The first season of Our Flag Means Death dips its toes into the world of piracy by following the unfolding story of Stede Bonnet, the newly minted former aristocrat-turned-pirate who dreams of a new sort of piracy; a gentler, more polite means of pirating. Things, as they said, did not go according to plan. The first season does an excellent job of laying the complex groundwork for an in-world set of principles which tell us what sort of violence is "normal" or "acceptable" in the context of the show and what isn't. (Please assume from here on out that when I say acceptable and normal the "quotes" are implied, as I am not talking about what is acceptable and normal in real life.) It does this through narrative framing, by softening more intense instances of violence through comedy and by pushing it off-screen, and by establishing who is a good guy and who is Not. Unacceptable: Stede Bonnet getting beat on, tied up, and bullied by the Badmintons and their ilk as a child. He's soft and likes flowers! He's got a mean dad! No one likes bullies! It's framed as a negative, it's not super funny (the camera cuts to Stede's face both in the past and present looking distressed, and Stede is the hero, so this can be generally accepted as bad.) This leads us to: Acceptable: Badminton getting whacked over the head and falling on his own sword. This I would categorize as what people have been referring to as "looney tune violence." He was a bully! He's part of a colonial navy! He was being absolutely horrible to Stede! It's funny that Stede is so inept!

Stede feels guilty about it, it causes him trauma, but that trauma is treated, quite often, comedically (see Badminton's "ghost" taunting him, characters treatment of his breakdown, etc). The context clues for whether or not this is acceptable violence are baked right into the writing, too. Oluwande says - claiming that Stede killed Badminton on purpose would gain him the respect of his crew. This is violence that in-world is both acceptable, expected, and also respected for the captain of a pirate ship. (See also: Murdering and/or tying up the remaining British navy crew and putting them through the same thing Stede went through. It's framed as triumphant, Stede having been vindicated, the crew celebrating it as a victory.) Unacceptable: Stede's concept of "soft piracy" of course comes crashing down when his whimsical attempt to woo the Spanish navy is cut short by his getting gut-stabbed.

Stede and the crew are being framed as the heroes of the story and the Spaniards are framed as the bad guys; this setup is why this violence, while totally within the realms of something our crew would do, is categorized as unacceptable. It's also important to note, however, that while it could have been quite a bit more graphic and disturbing if shot differently, the swelling symphony, the comedic cuts of the Spaniards triumphantly getting their ass kicked, softens the blow. Other acceptable instances of violence: The snail fork - horrifying if you think about it, but the narrative softens the blow. The guy was just really racist, giving us a sense of vindictive pleasure, and the violence is all off-screen (we don't actually have to see someone getting skinned with a snail fork). The French ship - again, horrifying if you think too much about people trapped on a burning ship in the middle of the ocean. But, they had all just been huge racist shit-heads who had harmed our heroes. In the context of the narrative, it is framed as being justified. We also don't actually see anyone burning to death, and we get a very funny shot of Ed looking at Stede in awe, and Stede looking very please with himself, confirming in-narrative that this was okay. Other unacceptable instances of violence:

Karl the bird - Jack is framed as an antagonist; he comes between Ed and Stede, obstructing the narrative subplot. Buttons, and by extension Karl, are part of the crew, the heroes. When Karl dies Buttons is devastated, everyone looks uncomfortable, and it's the last straw for Stede to kick Jack off the ship. Plus, there's the an "innocent character" thing similar to Stede as a child getting bullied; Karl was an animal, with no defenses, who did nothing wrong.

Finally, of course, we arrive at the moment that Lucius is pushed from the ship. Unacceptable: By all accounts, pushing people from ships is probably not outside the realm of things that pirates Definitely Do. But here we have another great instance of framing heroes and bad guys. In this case, we have a hero (Ed), seemingly killing another hero (Lucius), who was not only just trying to help him, but was absolutely not expecting violence. We also have a "death" that happened off-screen. We don't see Lucius "drowning." Had Lucius actually died, I think this would have been horrifying. Narratively and thematically, it would not have fit into the spirit of the show, because you could no longer frame Ed as a hero. There would be no real way that I can see to meaningfully redeem him in the context of a comedy, even a "black comedy" (which I do not believe OFMD is). And genuinely, I don't know anyone who thought Lucius was actually dead, so while what Ed did was horrible and awful and needed to be atoned for, it wasn't Final. It wasn't Irredeemable. He didn't become a capital v Villain. The rules of the first season made sense to me. Everything that happened fit narratively, was thematically appropriate, and established a certain set of rules and conventions to follow. It gets dark, and it does push the envelope of what I could bear in a "romantic comedy." Ed cutting off Izzy's toe is tempered (cutting off his littlest toe with a comedically large pair of scissors) but feeding them to him is disturbing. Izzy was an antagonist, not a villain, so giving him treatment reserved for, say, the British navy characters, and doing so graphically and on-screen, was A Lot. This coming from me, who really, REALLY hated Izzy at this point in time. But I think there was an underlying sense of hope that things would improve, resolve, and move forward through character growth and narrative. Stede was coming back to make amends; maybe Ed would find his way back to normalcy, and they'd meet in the middle. It was expected that apologies would be made and Ed could come back from the unacceptable things he did to Lucius, to the Crew, and to Izzy especially. That there would be character and interpersonal growth for them.

Unfortunately, the second season is where the show's parameters around acceptable and unacceptable violence absolutely falls apart. It's never quite clear why something is acceptable vs not, and we never see the character and interpersonal growth "promised" by the narrative which would redeem the dark tonal shift and veer the story back towards comedy. In order for Ed to be redeemed, the violence being framed as unacceptable during his Kraken era could not be so unacceptable that it crosses the line into irredeemable. Ed could not cross the line in the minds of the audience from "hero" to "villain." But the first three episodes of the season... were dark. They crossed the line. It felt like a character assassination to me. Ed's abuse of the crew, the continued maiming of Izzy (who at this point is hurdling into a sympathetic character arc of growth and redemption,) the self-harm, the attempted murder-suicide of his crew... most of it was on-screen, not at all tempered by comedy, and brutal. It wasn't heroes vs villains, it was supposed hero causing extensive harm and trauma to other heroes. The writing in these episodes were narratively cohesive and well-paced. They were not, however, thematically appropriate to a romantic comedy. At this point in the season I still felt like it was building towards a breaking point where Ed would come back to himself, where character growth would be achieved, and amends would be made. I was willing to hold tight.

But it didn't work in terms of the story that was setup in season one. It would have taken an incredible amount of character growth to even begin to come back from that; but I trusted the narrative to deliver. However, the real problem is that this season tried to rewrite the in-show parameters of what constitutes acceptable violence in ways that are uncomfortable and contrary to reality in ways that I find harmful. (I will be clear, in reference to recent discourse, I do feel the head-butt was comedic. It was looney tunes violence, it was well within the context of a romantic comedy, and it worked for me tonally, even though it's obviously not appropriate in real life.) Ed's chair throwing in the context of a man who had spent three episodes inflicting increasingly terrible domestic violence on people who loved and cared for him, who stuck by him -- in the larger context of him doing all this just because he felt rejected by a romantic partner -- is presented as in-show acceptable violence. It's presented as falling within the parameters. Proof? We are expected to still like Ed, and root for Ed, and want Ed to get better, and cheer for the romantic pairing "getting back together," and everything else. He is still presented as a hero. Sure, the show is telling us that what Ed did in his Kraken era is bad; but not so Bad that we shouldn't forgive him for it when he has made no real move to make amends for what he did. Like the crew, and Izzy specifically, we are meant to simply... move forward. That line about "getting away with it" without consequences I thought was a commentary on how Ed would not get to do that, actually was just... what happened. The season also wants me to believe that in the in-show parameters that Ed would hurt absolutely anybody but DEFINITELY NOT Stede, because Stede is his ultra super special soul mate and he would never do him any harm. This is not how things work in real life, and it is not a disbelief I am willing to suspend uncritically. Do I believe Ed, in the context of the show, would hurt Stede? Nope. I think it's more likely Stede would hurt Ed than the other way around. But I don't like the message that this in-show parameter sends, about how violence, particularly DV, is inflicted. I don't like being told that there is a super special person that this person who has abused others won't hurt. It's a bad message, and bad writing, and bad in-show precedence to set.

I'm not going to say all this without mentioning the stereotypes surrounding men of color, particular Indigenous men, which paints them as abusers. These stereotypes have been mentioned in regards to people talking about Ed's abuse this season. It's important to examine and be critical of oneself as a white person, and look long and hard at these biases. I don't want to fall into the trap of racist biases, and I don't want it to go unmentioned. I have thought long and hard about this. I've done a lot of self-examination on the subject of Ed and abuse. It has brought me back to my point of character assassination; I think the show fell into those stereotypes itself. I think Ed's characterization this season was problematic, and a disservice to the character as laid out in season one, and that's a big part of my disappointment with this season. (I also have a lot of thoughts on how Stede's character, who has been handed an immense amount of power over Ed and his agency as a character, is also extremely problematic. I will get into that in another post; it needs its own. So I'm not here to say Stede himself is not a Problem because he absolutely is and I will shout it from the rooftops.) "But somekindofcontraption," you say! "Ed has trauma!" Yes. That is very true. And it certainly explains some things, but as in real life, it absolutely does not excuse them. Ed's narrative was all about the perpetuation of trauma, particularly generational trauma, with absolutely no criticism or breakage of this cycle in any meaningful or productive way. It set up the story and did no work to resolve it. Ed was simply fixed because he and Stede said I love you and kissed a few times. The romance's "resolution" was unearned and unsatisfying. Neither Stede nor Ed were held accountable for what they did.

Then there was Izzy, who spent the whole of his arc being redeemed, moving forward as a character. He was the only character, I would say, with any meaningful growth. He's also the only one whose story was explicitly about being queer and queer discovery, rather than queerness merely being and incidental part of it. He's the only one who shows any accountability. Right up until the point that he died, his story was the best-written out of all of them. Then he dies. Izzy's death, and the ways that tonally it does not fit into the narrative, is another post onto itself. For now, I'll leave you with all of these rambling thoughts, condensed down as best I could into this tumblr post. If you have any further thoughts, I would love to hear them in good faith. For now, I say, that it's okay to be disappointed. This story was so meaningful to so many, and to be so thoroughly let down is hard. Grief is grief. Take care out there, and be kind to yourself, and be kind to those that are grieving.

[gulliblelemon]

Hey Kate 💛,

🍒🥭🍈 for the writers asks

Hi Sophia!

🍒 What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic, specific or general!)

Romantic if it’s Wilmon, other than them I’m not really interested in writing it, I don’t know what it is about those two (well I do, it’s their ridiculous chemistry, but they’ve broken my brain a little bit in terms of genre enjoyment 😅). But other than that, either siblings or really close friends. I really enjoyed making up a family for Ayub, even if I didn’t write much of them. I like writing Simon and Sara, and Wille and Erik, and Simon, Rosh and Ayub, and Wille and Felice. That’s not one, that’s like… 6, but you know ����🏼

🥭 Rank from most enjoyable/fun to write to least: Fluff, Smut, Angst, Crack.

[fluff after angst] > angst > fluff > crack > smut

I’ve finally admitted that I do write angst, and I think I can also admit that it’s my favourite thing to write. I find it easiest, and whilst I don’t mind a challenge sometimes, I’m not specifically looking for a challenge when I write.

Fluff is nice too, I sometimes struggle with how to not make it boring, or same-y. But I ADORE it after some angst (so I added a category 😇)

Crack is not really my thing. I love reading it, and I love to laugh. But I am… not funny. Sometimes humour might accidentally happen in a fic, but I cannot set out to write a funny fic.

Smut writing is also not really my thing. I cannot make it not feel weird to me. Also, the words are always wrong, because British anatomical words are rarely used in fic but I would never say some of the words I’m so used to reading in real life. In one of my fics, I changed it from ‘ass’ to ‘arse’ more times than I could count and they both felt wrong.

🍈 Who’s your blorbo and what are some of your favorite headcanons/ideas about them that repeatedly show up in your fics? Free pass to rant about blorbo opinions.

Wilmon. Always and forever.

I’m not sure what always show up in my fics. Maybe someone else could tell me? That they are interested in each other really quickly? And aren’t shy about it. But imo that’s just canon.

So… headcanons: Simon prefers Wille’s hair long because it reminds him of him of falling in love but he’d never say anything because he wants Wille to have ownership of his own appearance; they’d have cats but definitely aren’t averse to dogs; Simon doesn’t care about clothes but is accidentally incredibly cool (plaid pants defender til the day I die); Wille likes baths and Simon doesn’t (unless Wille gets in with him 😉); Simon can game for hours but Wille gets bored and becomes a distraction; both of them are messy; Wille would learn a fibre art, probably knitting. And probably a million other things that I write into fics every time without even realising.

Thanks for sending the ask!

[yawnderu]

I only have the courage to ask this because it is a good 1:30AM as I am writing this and the sleep deprivation is hitting me hard so I am sorry that you have to suffer through my ramble

Anywho, I think we should encourage more people to make COD OCs because it is so fun to see how people would interpret how their OC would react with the in game characters. I feel like most people do not one to do it due to the stigma associated with it and self inserts but OCs can be so fun

For example, I want to know more about Stray and learn everything I can but that may just be my Autism and my hyperfixation on talking about OCs I find interesting. I remember reading the post you had done for her after you reblogged it and it made me want to redo the biographies I had done for my two major COD OCs as I just loved it

We also need more trends for OCs. When I get round to posting about mine I want to try and make a trend where other creators can post ideas about skins their OC or self insert would have if they were in multiplayer since I myself love thinking of outfit designs as they can show so much of the OC's personality. Or a trend where we get to see OC voice lines if they were in the games and voice lines of them talking to other characters as I love when OCs have beef with the in game characters as it is just so fun

Since imagine if Stray and König had a matching skin set similar to how König and Horangi have a matching skin set

I just wanted to bring it up to you because you are one of the only few creators I follow that have a COD OC and I thought you may like a ramble. As you can probably tell I have a love for learning and talking about OCs, mine and others

Also for the ask game I want to know the answer to question 11 as I love hearing about OCs and their weapons especially if they customise their weapons

Have a good night wherever you are and please get some rest and I apologise about this ramble

I was literally laying in bed watching Naked and Afraid but this got me so excited that I got back on my PC to answer BHJEHBKEFKJHB

Yes yes!! I'd absolutely love to see more people creating their COD ocs, I have quite a lot of fun creating mine. OCs are definitely a lot of fun, you're basically creating a character from scratch AND you get the choice to make them look and act the way you want, as well as giving them any backgrounds and relationships you could possibly want!!

You can ask me anything about Stray!! I absolutely adore talking about my OCs, that also includes K-9, though I haven't made an official Military Personnel Profile for her yet!

AHHH yesyes!! Especially the skins would be interesting to see since the military has quite a lot of regulations, but I adore seeing characters in more casual clothes and what they'd dress like normally, little details such as masks and even weapon attachments could give them so much charisma.

Funny thing about the voice lines thing!! I was actually planning on making that for Stray since I have a professional microphone, but I got kinda lazy on creating voice lines to do the VA work HBJEFBHJ

Ahhh absolutely!! Even if it's something small, she definitely enjoys matching with König, so I can imagine her wearing a similar mask or maybe even a mask created by him because at the end of the day, they're spec ops and they need to maintain their privacy.

Question 11!!

What is your OC's weapon of choice? Have they ever actually used it? As it is used by both the German and British military, her weapon of choice is the AWM sniper, as it has a pretty precise and effective firing range. Although with the 141 she doesn't get the chance to be a sniper much and has become more hands-on, she used to work with the AWM quite a lot back in the German military and after being recruited as a KorTac member.

You too!! Don't apologize, I absolutely adore talking about my OCs and as someone who's also autistic, this itched a special part of my brain<333

[topazadine]

Writerly Questionnaire

Thanks to @the-golden-comet for the tag! I enjoyed reading your answers, especially the part about your characters!

Alright, here goes.

About Me

When did you first start writing?

I wrote my first story at age 7, started my first book at age 12 (no you can't read it, it's terrible) and published my first poem at age 15.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

Despite writing fantasy, I actually don't read much of it myself. My undergrad career focused most on British literature (specializing in Victorian lit) so that's what I'm most familiar with and what I like the most.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

I don't really seek to emulate anyone because I have my own unique voice, and I don't really get compared to anyone else either. If you have suggestions of what I might sound like, fire away lmao, because I don't really know who I emulate. However, I take a lot of inspiration from Willa Cather for atmosphere and Emile Zola for realism.

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

I exclusively write at my desk. My setup looks like this:

I need my little guys and my Emotional Support Stuffed Cow (her name is Bluebell the Moobell because she has a little bell in her). Note the knitting I'm procrastinating on at the bottom right lmao.

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Funnily enough, I often get inspiration from my day job as an SEO writer, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with the types of stuff I write. Sometimes I'll just be hammering away at a Construction Accident Personal Injury Lawyer page and it strikes me that I need to kill one of my characters.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Sort of. I have this thing I do where I like to mentally walk through buildings I used to visit as a relaxation activity, like my childhood elementary school, so that's given me a good memory of how places are laid out. As for actual settings? No, most of those are just made up of pictures I've seen of different places that I've never visited.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Some of my recurring themes include: Degradation/transformation of memory Struggling against fate/the unknowability of fate Found family Abusive relationships Moral relativism Satisficing (choosing between multiple suboptimal outcomes to pick the least harmful option) None of them surprise me; I recognize where they come from. For example, my obsession with the degradation and transformation of memory comes from my own struggles with dissociative amnesia, and my interest in satisficing comes from my International Relations degree. My concerns about the unknowability of fate come from the fact that I had a premonition that I'd die of a heart attack at 42. And I'm 32 right now. You can imagine that this influences my process lmao.

My Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

As a lesbian, I am not ashamed to say that I am deeply and passionately horny for Uileac (who you can meet in "Cachaille" or read about in 9 Years Yearning). Like how can you not go crazy for a man who thinks this is the perfect declaration of love?

He's so scary and so devoted, yet also very chill and laid-back? And funny? And athletic? And protective of his lil sis? He's just ... (screams into pillow)

Which of your characters do you think you’d be friends with in real life?

Ono. He's a Sinan royal guard who is just so sweet but also kinda dumb.

There's a scene where he has to ask Cerie what kind of menstrual products she needs for their trip, which is both mortifying and really adorable. He's just a really gentle and nice guy who I think would get along with damn near everyone.

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

I think Mordrek would scare the absolute shit out of me ngl. Like ... bro just ... does this kind of shit on the regular

Tell me about the process of coming up with of one, all, or any of your characters.

Uileac, Orrinir, and Ono were heavily inspired by Uguisumaru, Ookanehira, and Omokage from Touken Ranbu and I don't apologize for that. Obviously they are a bit different, but their personalities are quite similar. Cerie was developed from a roleplay where I was playing as Uguisumaru's made-up sister, so that's why she's Uileac's sister in Poesyverse. Haniya, Cerie's love interest, was made up by using personality testing and astrology to come up with Cerie's Perfect Match. No one knows where Mordrek came from. He just kinda showed up.

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

They all have daddy issues. Every single fucking one of them.

How do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc.)

All the art I have for my characters was made with AI before I realized AI was absolute garbage shit, so I'm not showing it, but I did commission a painting of Cerie from the amazing artist Caleb over on Twitter:

My Writing

What’s your reason for writing?

For me, that's kind of like asking why a bird sings. It's just what I do and what I have always done.

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

Definitely when someone says that my writing helped them or resonated with them. My writing gives me catharsis and it feels really good when other people say they got that same sense of catharsis.

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

As someone who takes risks that pay off.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Depicting trauma without being melodramatic.

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

People have told me they like how meticulous and carefully set up my stories are without infodumping or being boring. They appreciate the work that goes into planning things, how it all pays off in the end and comes together nicely without plot holes.

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.)

I think I've come a long way and continue to improve, which is what is most important.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

The last Kauaʻi ʻōʻō still sang until the end. So yes.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

I write whatever the hell I feel like when I feel like it. People tend to like it, but if they don't, I enjoyed making it anyway.

Open tag!

[sincerelyhannahx]

rereading 'a good girl's guide to murder'

i did this for my first time read of 'a curse for true love' and actually really enjoyed the process, so welcome to my thoughts rereading 'a good girl's guide to murder' for (i want to say fourth?) time. obviously there will be spoilers ahead, so you have been warned.

RAVI <333

'i pacifically think you're better off without him' 'i antlantically think so too' i'm convinced this is a conversation taken directly from my gc.

lauren, you are not a girl's girl. i hope the heartbreak stings </3

stanley, why have you got to be a racist and then go and make me feel sorry for you later? it'd be so much easier if characters were one-dimensional.

how is ravi already so 😍🥰😭

PIKACHU ONESIE WITH A TUTU ARE YOU KIDDING??? this whole thing is just going to be me screaming over ravi and i am not sorry.

'one of his perfect smiles' pip its chapter six you can't be this down bad already. ik i am but that's different.

leslie - what i'm about to say i want you to know i mean it with my whole heart - i despise you.

TALK NERDY TO ME <333

sorry since when does ravi work at the pub???

i'm eternally grateful that holly jackson is british.

'when are the boys getting here?' lauren you couldn't be more of a pick-me if you tried.

'Stop digging, Pippa.'

BECCA WAS SEEING STANLEY??? HOW DID I FORGET ABOUT THAT???

help the liking photos from five years ago - that's rule one of internet stalking.

and at long last we start to board the 'max hastings is a dirty piece of shit' train. all aboard!!!

pip trying to buy drugs is so funny.

PIPPA FITZ-AMOBI YOU ARE EVERYTHING I ASPIRE TO BE AND MORE.

pipravi <333

'You stupid bitch. Leave this alone while you still can.' Was this Elliot? Because I know he's got a lot to lose but 'bitch' seems a bit out of character. Wait, Nat's note in Andie's locker also said 'You stupid bitch', so maybe it was her. I can't remember.

PIPRAVI <333 where do i find a ravi singh? please universe send one to me.

'REAL MEN WEAR FLORAL WHEN TRESPASSING' FUCK YEAH THEY DO!!!

help ravi's scared of cats i didn't remember that either.

ravi singh i am humbly asking for your hand in marriage.

i am officially a member of the 'nat da silva deserves better' party.

'who's taking the picture?' has to be up there with top ten plot twists of all time LIKE ITS SO CLEVER AND SO GOOD!!!

i'm also a member of the 'sal singh deserved so much better' party. ugghhhhh it actually makes me so mad.

BARNEY :((

DON'T HURT RAVI; THAT HURTS ME :((

holly jackson, i will be invoicing you for my therapy bills.

'hello, trouble' AND SUDDENLY ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD AGAIN I AM GIGGLING KICKING MY FEET TWIRLING MY HAIR OVER RAVI SINGH ONCE MORE!

i'm so dead serious - where do i find a ravi?

the fact she's been setting up clues for book three this whole time is astounding. how does she do it? i'm genuinely asking, holly jackson, please teach me your ways.

becca bell i'm so sorry.

the fact we skipped the start of pipravi's relationship will never not leave me asking for more LIKE WHO MADE THE FIRST MOVE? WHAT WAS THEIR FIRST DATE? GIVE ME THE DETAILS!

'i'm ravishing' RAVI SINGH WE DO NOT DESERVE YOU <333

the fact max hastings walks free represents everything wrong with the world. but where we don't have justice, we have pippa fitz-amobi.

[disappointingcabbage]

I was talking about this a bit on twitch but I didn’t want to spoil anything without a warning that you have to like actively click to bypass so I’m posting it here. Anyways here are my thoughts on Still Wakes The Deep.

Love the Scottish setting, it’s so rare for me as an American to see popular media to have characters with accents and cultural backgrounds that aren’t just American and sometimes British.

Also I think the fact that the captions essentially translate some of the Scots terms into more common English is so funny. Like hearing the characters say “aye” and then reading “yeah” in the captions had me losing it laughing

I think the oil rig was a really cool setting and I love the themes of capitalist greed and I feel like the game was practically screaming at its audience to unionize which is awesome lmao

I also love how detailed the graphics were, parts of the game seemed almost like a movie

Personally I think that there should have been a bit more variety with the appearances of the people-turned-monsters (rather than having them all look and act basically the same)

Like I get that all the people got turned into monsters by the same creature but I just think there could be more variety in how each of them looks and behaves now that they’ve been monster-ified, yknow?

Also I wanted to see like a Cthulhu esque being as the One Big Monster that started this

Speaking of the thing that caused the whole plot, I think it should be made more explicitly clear that the monster thing tearing apart the rig was caused by the workers being forced to drill into it despite warning their boss that something was wrong. Like we get the idea that the drill hit something but it’s not made clear what was hit.

Specifically I think seeing the monster or at least part of it rise from the deep at the beginning of the game when the player character falls off the rig would have been so dope

That said, I love that no one has any fucking clue what’s going on. There’s no lore dump about the monster itself or why it seemingly is either made of or lives in/thrives on oil and I appreciate that bc it makes the situation seem more unexpected and organic.

Also I would have loved to see a segment (maybe dlc or secret ending) where you dive into the water in a diving bell and fight the monster somehow

I understand that the Whole Point of the plot is that the player character can’t manage to redeem himself no matter how hard he tries but from a perspective of I Love Spooky Shit rather than a narrative perspective I wanna see more monster and maybe fight it

Also I think there should be a speedrunner Easter egg where if you get to Roy on the roof of accommodation fast enough you can actually save him. Like it would have to happen too fast for a casual player to be able to do it and it would have to not change the ending but it would be cool if a speedrunner could.

[dwcmarshalarts]

hey dwc! or is marshal ok? second ask ive sent you want but wanted to learn about it in your one piece i recall in the background seeing a UN blue armband with white cross which is your stand-in for the red cross which is pretty neat more recently you make an improved rank system however there was one issue i noticed, in that piece with the armband i recognised that the soldiers (enlisted) had different rank badges (in another older piece too) and was wondering if you could share a similair explainer for those too! officers granted are cool but its always neat to hear more about the military proletariat that make up the 99%, especially when they're the critical backbone like sgt's, and was wondering how you approached warrant officers if you went with a more american or british style (fellow worldbuilder here for a more cold-war era setting with some retro-futuristic undertones: not throwing shade but hearing about the enlisted is pretty cool, especially since i wanna know how the poor enlisted sailors, marines, soldiers & airmen get treated within the confines of the icc's military) additionally: in one of your other pieces for a comission i rememeber some destinctly british styled uniforms and was wondering if those were one-offs for that comission or those were the "space british" in the westminster area of the icc

being of (nominally) british origin / brought up in a country that uses the same rank insignia i've always had a soft spot for it and like to hear about our shared representation across space thats normally overlooked for more american influences i intend to ask in the future so prepare yourself for 8 trillion character long asks :ppp hope your having a good day <3

Many questions, but good ones nonetheless. Thanks, to start off with, your attentiveness to detail and dedication to following along enough to notice these things! Let's break it down one by one.

What about the rank system?

I'm presuming you mentioned this:

These are indeed enlisted, non-commissioned officer ranks. They also appear in similar, but different concept here:

As my story focuses on mainly commissioned ranks, I haven't really had much time to do/focus on the enlisted as much, as they (so far at least) have only had occasional appearances. Whenever I get to the meat of Season 2 and 3, they'll be featured more prominently.

That said, I haven't really nailed down the Enlisted rank system as much. Though I'm working with a friend to formalize it!

What about the Warrant Officers?

So, funny story. Years ago when I was much younger, I was obsessed with Civil War History. Still am, though maybe not to the same degree. I learned the command structure of commissioned ranks through reading the Orders of Battle and whatnot. To my surprise, that order has largely remained the same to this day, down to the insignia per rank. That's the springboard I jumped off when I set about assembling the ICC's Armed Forces, Ground Forces in particular.

The thing is, I'd overlooked Warrant Officers- since their institution was entirely predated by the 1860s by a whole 30-something years. As a result, I haven't really thought about where they would be. In my head, a lot of the specialist jobs held by them though would be taken by lower ranked Commissioned Officers (Junior or Senior Lt's.) But it'd make sense if they were around as well.

In any case, I have a clear idea for where we could see them pop up in Xever's story.

Treatment of the Enlisteds

The Interstellar Cooperation Circuit isn't the Galactic Empire. The I.C.C. is indeed geo/stellarpolitically predatory, but it generally treats soldiers within its ranks *fairly* alright, and not as disposable pawns like the Imperial Military/Stormtrooper Corps/(insert evil empire troopers from x sci fi series here). Mileage varies between the branches though.

Ground Forces I don't have any exact numbers, but the Ground Forces would by far be the largest branch in the Circuit military. The name "Ground Forces" would seem to imply they'd be analogous to modern "Armies." While they're largely inspired by that, and you'd be able to trace their in-universe lineage to them, they actually handle plenty more than just literal ground operations. The official name of Ground Forces is "Terrestrial Operations," which refers to any military action taken on a planet's surface. While this does predominantly consists of traditional, ground-based combat, this also does include terrestrial/surface navy and planet-specific air power components. Ground Forces's mission is long-term accomplishment of the Circuit's Foreign Policy objectives and spearhead of most terrestrial missions.

That all said, that means they have the most severe case of logistical sprawl. On the books, the Circuit has rules and regulations that protect individual servicemen from harsh treatment, unethical conduct, etc. The basics. But, especially for units in further off parts of the ICC reach, supplies can be short.

On top of all of this, Ground Forces are expected to handle a myriad of different climates, environments, and exposure to various degrees of colonization, urban development, etc.

There'd be no simple answer to how Ground Forces enlisteds are treated, as inner-system bases closer to the Circuit core would be better off than outposts in the peripheries, etc.

ICC Navy The ICC Navy, in sharp contrast to the Ground Forces, is proportionally better funded, better equipped, and frequently paraded.

Originally having started off as a glorified Merchant Marine, the ICC Navy eventually take from domestic Naval forces and became a formalized Military Branch some time in the 23rd century.

Since protection of Interstellar Trade and the power of keeping commercial lines open, as well as inter-system border security and Circuit defense was what allowed for Ground Forces to operate at all, the Navy became increasingly crucial. Life aboard the Circuit's fleets was, by comparison to the barracks on dingy outposts, a little bit more bearable. For Naval personnel, they didn't have to worry about the rocking of traditional, terrestrial boats, nor did they have to worry about favorable weather conditions. Their equipment didn't break down as easily, and outside of the rare, pre-war battery exchanges, any fighting that was done by the Navy was handled by the Naval Marine- which were significantly better equipped and trained than the Ground Forces, largely due to their much smaller size and specialized focuses.

Before the Second Galactic War in 2365, the ICC Navy expected such little, major combat that higher ranking officers frequently attended work in their dress uniforms instead of combat fatigues, as the job was largely more management than direct operations.

The Voidfarers The runt of the litter and the most recently added branch to the ICC's military, the Voidfarers are the ICC"s dedicated, independent starfighter corps. To separate them from Navy starfighters, the Voidfarers have "permanent" bases on planets or orbital stations, and their mission is less to engage in any potential heavy combat (unless directed to support Naval operations), and more to plug in the gaps not covered between the obligations of Ground Forces and Navy, such as protection of trade routes where sending a large naval vessel wouldn't make sense, or providing air support where Ground Forces may be lacking. As such, the Voidfarers have the least amount of resources, but are designed to function without too much support outside of hardware maintenance. Voidfarer units are usually quite small, and sparsely positioned, so a large part of the Voidfarer identity is how rare they are compared to the bigger two branches.

Day to day life for Voidfarers can comfortably be considered mundane- for even disparate/far off postings, action is seldom had.

Commonwealth of New Westminster

The British-inspired military uniforms you might be thinking of, while used in a commission, are indeed in-universe designs.

The history here is that the CNW was an area of space largely settled by Commonwealth Nations (predominantly the UK) during early space colonization in the 20th and 21st Century. Instead of steadily forging their own identity like Greksil (the crucial ICC Founding Member), they more closely followed their Old Earth institutions and still regarded the reigning monarch as their Head of State. During the First Galactic War between Old Earth and her colonies against Greksil and her allies, the CNW sat out, and when the war was over, served as the refuge for an escaping Royal Family when order on Old Earth began to collapse.

Ever since then, the CNW has been on a largely independent streak- partaking in interstellar deals while still refusing to kowtow. When the ICC was formed, they waited a couple decades to join, and would only do so on the conditions that they maintained a high degree of autonomy, including their own separate currency and military while also helping train and organize the nascent Circuit Armed Forces.

Hope that clarifies some things!

[kao-tika]

I’m finally doing fic recs!! I’m splitting it into five categories on a future masterpost , but this post only has the first one. Although some of the fics will have my own appreciations in addition to the author's description, it will not be applied in all of them (I have read so many that there are several that I don't remember in detail lol) feel free to message me for the links or have a chat 💌

🌷All time favorites/classics🌷

☆ Soft Hands, Fast Feet, Can't Lose by dolce_piccante

American Uni AU. Harry Styles is a frat boy football star from the wealthy Styles Family athletic dynasty. A celebrity among football fans, he knows how to play, he knows how to party, and he knows how to fuck (all of which is well known among his legion of admirers).

Louis Tomlinson is a student and an athlete, but his similarities to Harry end there. Intelligent, focused, independent, and completely uninterested in Harry’s charms, Louis is an anomaly in a world ruled by football.

A bet about the pair, who might be more similar than they originally thought, brings them together. Shakespeare, ballet, Disney, football, library chats, running, accidental spooning, Daredevil and Domino’s Pizza all blend into one big friendship Frappucino, but who will win in the end?

notes: this is a fic that I constantly come back to, although the plot can be a little cliche (guilty pleasure) it doesn’t fall onto one dimensional characters and as it develops you can feel the depth of the story, the laughs and the sexual tension are UNMATCHED

☆ Unbelievers by isthatyoularry

It’s Louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. However, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifyingly uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life just that much worse. Mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.

Or: The one where Louis and Harry definitely aren’t friends, and football is everything.

notes: BRACE YOURSELF FOR THE FIRST LINES OF THIS FIC other than that, i really enjoyed this story. A classic enemies to lovers and super funny. The story is told by Louis pov, but the author also later released the fic from Harry’s pov (bloodsport) and I’m still waiting for the epilogue :(

☆ Relief Next To Me by dolce_piccante

AU. What happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific Craigslist post? Fate, friendship, food, and maybe more.

notes: a very wholesome (and spicy) fic. If you want to read something with no angst and just enjoy your time I definitely recommend

☆ Flightless Bird by audreyhheart

AU where Louis Tomlinson is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. When his rival from ballet school, moody dance prodigy Harry Styles joins the company, old wounds are reopened and old passions reignited. During the company's production of Swan Lake the secret that doomed their love is finally revealed, but will it be too late?

notes: I did enjoy this fic but read with caution because it has MAYOR TW (grooming, rape, assault) if you want to read some angst I recommend

☆ Tired Tired Sea by MediaWhore

As a B&B owner on the most remote of all the British Isles, Louis Tomlinson is used to spending the coldest half of the year in complete isolation, with his dog and the sea as sole companions. Until, one day, a mysterious stranger on a quest to rebuild himself rents a room for the winter.

notes: a famous non famous AU that I really love, all of the story just irradiates cozy and soft <3

☆ Young & Beauitful by Velvetoscar

Louis, to his horror, attends an elitist university in which the name Zayn Malik means something, Niall Horan doesn't stop talking, there are pianos everywhere, and Harry Styles, only son of a drug-addled, clinically insane ex-rocker, has a perfect smile and empty eyes.

notes: if you want dark academia old money vibes y&b is for you, definitely NOT a light read but definitely worth it

☆ One More Time Again by orphan_account

Harry looks down to where Louis is cradling his hand between his own. Louis' hands are slender, the bones delicate, the nails bitten short. The 2-8 on the backs of his fingers is gone, but the faded scar from a skateboarding mishap in Year 7 is still there.

Harry's hand is awkward, knobby-boned and naked, no rings, no tattoos. It's too big for his wrist and his wrist too big for his arm. Yet it still somehow fits in Louis' in the painfully perfect way it always did.

He blinks back the sting in his eyes.

On the morning of his second sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden, Harry wakes up to find that he's sixteen years old, on The X Factor, and that he has a chance to make things right.

notes: a canon compliant time travel fic. SOO well written I’ve read this fic a dozen times and don’t get sick of it. you got your fluff, your soft, your friends to lovers, your angst and with a plot twist so good in the middle of the fic, cannot recommend it enough PLEASE READ IT SO WE CAN SUFFER TOGETHER

☆ For as long as I can remember ( it's been December) by green_feelings

After recovering from a severe accident that causes Harry to lose his memory of three years, he moves to London to start his life over as a star chef. Little does he know that when he falls in love with Louis at first sight, it’s not the first time they meet.

Featuring an unintentional game of hot and cold, Harry chasing memories that won’t come back, Louis burying himself in work to try and forget what he can’t forget, Liam being torn between two of his best friends, Zayn as a moral compass and Niall saving the day with good music and brutal honesty.

notes: an angst with a happy ending, really wholesome overall, prepare to shed some tears.

☆ Escapade by dolce_piccante

In the grand scheme of things, finding a date for a wedding should be no problem for Louis Tomlinson. He's rich. He's handsome. He's reasonably well behaved. But when the wedding is for his lifelong best friend (and former boyfriend), and is happening in under a month, finding a date for the ceremony and accompanying festivities becomes more of an adventure than he ever could have planned for.

notes: BIG ROMCOM VIBES love the work of this author and once again she doesn’t disappoint. As funny as it is spicy, a lot of tension between the main characters

──⋆˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆˚｡⋆──

[mercurygray]

❄️❄️Fandom Snowflake Challenge #6 ❄️❄️

Every year, the good folks at @snowflakechallenge encourage fandom folks to introduce themselves a little more and reflect on what fandom is for them. They have a series of challenges throughout the month of January to prompt sharing more about yourself!

Challenge #6: In your own space, share a favorite piece of original canon (a show, a specific TV episode, a storyline, a book or series, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much.

I wrote more about the scene here back in 2020, but I'm sharing it again because I still love it a lot.

One of my favorite scenes in Band of Brothers is actually in the first episode - the unit's made it to England, and are now running field exercises in and around the tiny English town where they're living. In the course of one day's exercise, they accidentally involve one of the locals.

I really liked this scene as I came back to the show in 2020 because it's just funny, but it gave just the tiniest peek into ground that a bunch of other dramas that are less well known with American audiences cover - the British home-front perspective. These men were very much a part of this community for a good seven months, and when you read many of the books that have been written about the 506th, they talk much more about the village and the people that lived there. It just adds such an interesting dimension to the story, and it's something I chose to play a lot with in my own writing.

[alexsfictionaddiction]

Review: High Vaultage by Chris and Jen Sugden

I am not a big sci-fi reader but I do really enjoy funny sci-fi. Douglas Adams, Becky Chambers and Red Dwarf never fail to make me laugh, so I was excited to dive into a new kooky, tongue-in-cheek sci-fi and I was even more intrigued when I learned about the added mystery element. Thank you to the lovely people at Gollancz for allowing me to be a part of the blog tour.

In Even Greater London, the Tower powers every intricate mechanism while engineers demolish and rebuild whatever they want to. In an alternate 1887, Even Greater London is also the home of Fleet-Entwhistle Private Investigations, made up of veteran, semi-retired (sort of) police inspector Archibald Fleet and the tenacious journalist Clara Entwhistle. When the police are stumped by a series of bank robberies, a kidnapping isn't really something that they have time to investigate. This is the perfect crime for the Fleet-Entwhistle collaboration to finally show everyone what they can do.

In Even Greater London, healthcare basically consists of replacing faulty body parts with machinery. This means that humans with mechanical parts are extremely common and in fact, Queen Victoria is one of them. This steampunky element to the book conjured up such a silly, fun atmosphere and I loved how we occasionally got reminders that several characters in the story were not exactly flesh and blood.

I found it hilarious that even in a London that is seemingly so different to the one that we know, etiquette still dictates that eye contact with strangers must be avoided. Some things are so ingrained that they can never be erased, no matter how many madcap ideas you throw at it.

The language, dialogue and humour is also wonderfully British and while as a Brit, I adore this, I'm always wary that it might not translate well to other cultures. In short, British humour is satire of often very trivial matters and it is perhaps not for everyone. It is definitely for me though!

Clara was definitely my favourite character and I felt like a fangirl following her favourite superhero around this crazy city, which I definitely got lost in multiple times. In fact, my biggest criticism of the book was the complex setting. I struggled to picture Even Greater London as it almost certainly was supposed to look because I couldn't get my head around the mechanics and landscape. Perhaps it doesn't matter and the city can look however you want it to look but I can't help feeling that I was missing out on becoming fully immersed in the setting.

High Vaultage is a fast-paced, intriguing mystery with some really interesting, unique steampunk influences. If you love a Victorian mystery with automatons, ridiculousness and constant innovation, it's a must read for you.