#you should check out deadloch

[booasaur]

Hi boo, I don't know if you've seen the revelation that the warrior nun writers had to trick Netflix in order to be able to make avatrice canon. This is to me at the very least concerning and does not make me very hopeful for anything coming from them for the foreseeable future

I did see it, from this tweet:

https://twitter.com/OCSConclave/status/1665443709142302723

It's actually extremely discouraging and eye-opening, tbh! As much as I point out where I think networks and writers have done something homophobic, I try to presume so much good faith, that it's from a place of ignorance or only seeming as bad as it does because of a larger pattern, that mostly it's a few individuals and companies themselves are just hands-off but like, this is pretty bad?

People defend decisions like this by claiming that it's just business, these companies only care about money and it's not their fault that so much diverse stuff fails, but they were trying to shut down the f/f content BEFORE it aired, before it was shot and they had any idea of how it'd be received.

It's just ridiculous that actually, I bite my tongue to stop myself from criticizing more! I pull myself BACK, and still I know that to some people I'll come across as aggressive and obsessive and looking to be a victim, but how can one look at the spate of cancellations and think it's just an innocent coincidence, and now what possible other reason is there for this? Homophobia in deciding what to make, who to cater to, and who to shun.

I don't think we'll see no f/f at all going forward on Netflix, but it's definitely going to be tough times ahead.

[ghostsandmermaids]

What To Watch If You Miss OFMD

I can't believe season 2 is over already 😭Here are some shows I think you should watch after OFMD 🏴‍☠️

Good Omens:

1/3 of OurGoodShadows

Queer angels and demons

Basically bible fanfiction

What We Do In The Shadows:

1/3 of OurGoodShadows

Queer vampires

Mockumentary

Deadloch:

Queer, feminist and funny af

Best murder mystery I have ever seen

Madeleine Sami (aka Archie) plays one of the main characters

People of Earth:

David Jenkins' first show!

About a support group for alien abductees

Queer aliens

Galavant:

Musical fantasy sitcom

Feels like a very silly fairytale

Music by Alan Menken (known for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin)

Ghosts:

Haunted house sitcom

Queer ghosts

Found family

A League of Their Own:

Baseball in the 1940s

Everyone is queer

Queer and BIPOC history

The Owl House:

Did I only put this on here because it's one of my favorite shows? Yes. But do I genuinely think OFMD fans would enjoy it? Also yes.

Super queer and diverse

Fun adventures in an amazing fantasy world

Found family

Do you have any other recommendations?

(Also, if you want OFMD to get renewed for season 3, check out renewasacrew.com!)

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

05/27/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Kristian Nairn; Tell Tale Awards; Articles; New SOFMD Event Calendar; FanSpotlight: Cast Cards; Never Left Podcast; Our Flag Means Fanfiction; MerMay; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys giving us a little preview of their upcoming Cryptid Factor Episode!

And just a reminder from Rhys' Twitter, you can still buy tickets for To23AndBeyond going on June 7-8!

Source: Rhys Darby's Twitter

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian posted with his next two con appearances in the UK!

Comic Con Yorkshire - 22nd & 23rd

June Comic Con North East - 26th & 27th October

Source: Kristian Nairn's Twitter

== Tell Tale Awards ==

Reminder that you can vote on the Tell Tale Awards every day!

The Tell-Tale TV Awards votes are up! There are several categories with Queer shows so if you have the time please take some time to fill them in! You can vote for up to 3 per category. Not only does OFMD show up, but Good Omens, Deadloch, Dead Boy Detectives, etc.

OFMD Categories Below:

Favorite Cable or Streaming Comedy Series (Round 1) - Our Flag Means Death

Favorite Performer in a Cable or Streaming Comedy Series (Round 1) - Rhys Darby / Ruibo Qian

== SOFMD Event Calendar ==

New Event Calendar today!

== Articles ==

5 canceled shows from 2024 that Amazon should save (although it's unlikely)

More Under the Cut: Long Post Is Long

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

Woohoo! Today's Cast Card from @melvisik is Alex Sherman! Famously known for #AssTonight, and all around "porn of my coworkers" supporter!

Source: @melvisik's Twitter

= Never Left Podcast =

There's a new episode out of Never Left Podcast! This one is focused on the fandom! Check out their Linktr.ee for your favourite place to listen!

Source: Never Left Podcast's Instagram / Artwork by @ AmysBirdHouse on Instagram

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

A new mini episode of Our Flag Means Fanfiction is available! Check it out on your favourite platforms here!

Source: Our Flag Means Fanfiction Instagram

== MerMay ==

= Deanbird_ao3 =

Today we have a new spotlight for mermay-- @swashbuckling-sweethearts aka DeanBird on Instagram and Twitter! They're going to be bringing their mermay work to tumblr soon, but they were kind enough to allow me to share a preview of them. Absolutely stunning work for @bizarrelittlemew's Mermay prompts of Rescue and Bioluminescence! They have several more on their IG and soon on their tumblr, feel free to check them out!

= Snejpowa =

More SOFMD Mermay prompts by the lovely @snejpowa! I'm digging that the marmalade is by Jenkins & Crew <3 Day 27: The Chain / Day 28: Marmalade

= Blueberreads =

Some more lovely prompts by our talented @blueberreads! The foot touch, the marmalade, excuse me while I weep over here. They are so sweet. Day 27: The Chain / Day 28: Marmalade

= Eros The Artist =

Another previous days prompt by the fabulous @erostheartist! Loving the metaness of it all! Day 17: Have you ever been sketched?

= Spencer Does Artt =

The fantastic SpencerDoesArtt is still at it for Mermay! I'm absolutely adoring the Ed wink for The Chain.

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies. I'm continuing to have a bit of a rough time with personal stuff so I'm delayed on a lot of things. Just want you to know I'm thinking of you, and you're doing a great job. Sending some other folks words today. Take care Crew <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by julie | self love & mental health art (@gladyourehereco)

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Today's theme is Tongue. Gifs courtesy of the marvelous @sherlockig and @meluli -- many thanks for their contributions to this fandom's thirstyness.

[laiqualaurelote]

so there's this fic rec podcast @ficclique and in their latest episode they discuss my Ted Lasso heist AU they will see us waving from such great heists at length! what's especially amazing about this is that two out of three of the hosts have never seen Ted Lasso but nevertheless they liked the fic enough to talk about it for nearly half an hour (also one of them thought for a while that Trent Crimm was played by Brett Goldstein. This is deeply hilarious to me.)

Anyway it's high time I made an FAQ about this but this is how you pronounce laiqualaurëlótë (which is Quenya Elvish for "green gold flower"):

laiqua - lai-kuh, like the camera Leica

laurë - lao-reh with the 'r' rolled, as in Italian 'laurea'

lótë - lo-teh, as in Spanish 'elote'

Should I have chosen a handle that was easier to spell/pronounce/remember? probably. I came up with it when I was a bored 14-year-old in computer class and now it's stuck.

As to the question of "what AU would you be in if you were in an AU fic", I would be in a historical detective mystery AU. I should like to be the glamorous gunslinging detective but realistically I would be the chaotic ingenue, à la Maud Blyth in @fahye's The Last Binding trilogy or Abby Matsuda in Deadloch.

Thank you to Reid, Brenna and Nicole for choosing Such Great Heists for your podcast, and to the mysterious M for reccing it to them! The other two fics recced sound fantastic (Sherlock/OMC and Dracula/Barbie, both are Choices) and I look forward to checking them out.

[transgenderer]

i sit at a bus stop. my phone is low on battery so im prudently staring at the building across the street. the stranger, @fruityyamenrunner asks me some questions, and im grateful for the distraction

favorite color: green :) oh and ultramarine. any green is great if its the color a plant could be. i love plant color. any super-bright color is great. we need more bright colors, the sun hates us by dulling colors.

currently reading: i just finished lagoon by okorafor, it was good but uh...unpolished. maybe a translation thing. also tahitians by levy, the total art of stalinism, fields on the hoof. and just started service model by tchaikovsky. i tend to slowly nurse on harder books and burn through fun fiction. i think there's other ficiton in my pile im partway through

currently watching: not really watching anything longform rn, on the side while i type this im watching jenny nicholson's patreon ramble on her star wars hotel video. greg egan said decameron is good so i might go back to that, his deadloch rec was really good

last song: checked itunes, robots.txt by joco. or wait actually it was some set my friends had on the tv last night. that was really good i need to figure out what it is.

currently craving: i need breakfast! i need peanut butter.... oh fuck and my special bakery bread. i love my bakery bread. i wish i could get proper bakery bread at the grocery store here you have to go to a bakery

coffee or tea: i dont get tea! i really like coffee! coffee has so much diversity for fun way sto flavor it. i always take my coffee black at home, but i love sweet drinks at starbies and such. HOWEVER in germany they did a lot of lattes and such with no mocha flavoring. which i kept ordering cuz i was like ooooh a sweet treat. but its not really a sweet treat its just bleh milky flavor. i love mocha

hobby i want to try: i wanted to get into drumming but i think my rhythm is too ass. i really should try making weird avant garde music. it will suck but i will feel like a person who could make music. i think that's a capacity i COULD have but dont have. itd be cool to feel i have that capacity.

fyr's bus arrives, and he gets on. i wait a while longer, and some new people sit down on the bench. i decide his questions should be shared with them: @synoddiane, @xenostalgic, @cali, @maklodes, @oscillatingheatpipe, @markadoo

[thefoxtrot008]

Things that can throw off a case

A missing item. (This one is good.) Especially if the item is something the deceased carries with them all the time. And everybody knows they don't go a day without it. Great examples: Duke's phone + gun: The Glass Onion. In this case, someone takes it because it could contain vital info. as to who the killer is. Or as to why they died. Deadloch is a tremendous example, because things go missing in that town all the time. A phone, a mast, a body, a car. It's great.

A person's alibi. (This one is pretty self explanatory, but there are different ways to use this one. Someone could be lying to cover or the timeline is fucked up)

NOT doing background checks on everyone that's a suspect. (Again, different ways to perceive this one.) I have to say though the cops in DEADLOCH really screwed this up. They only included like half the town. However, it was written in such a way it was brilliant. (SPOILER: they didn't even know their main suspect was DEAD) Also, Death in Paradise, is semi-guilty of this one too.

Not interviewing everyone equally. Usually, in this one, the cops will have their main suspects to focus on and dismiss the rest. This leads up to whoever they interviewed the least ends up being the killer (somethings it's a close friend or even a family member). Again, DEADLOCH is guilty of this one, but it's so GOOD.

Dismissing evidence early on. It's the small things really. Something could be out of place, the detective points it out, none of the suspects know anything of it, everyone thinks they're nuts... and then they leave it out until the very end which is where the detective pieces it all together. Death in paradise, is very guilty of doing this move too. Again, it's done in a creative manner.

Rivalries. This one might seem dumb, but if you don't get along well with your partner, who is fighting you every inch of the way, then you can't get anything done can you?

Inconsistencies. If a body is murdered differently than all the others... Or if the evidence doesn't add up... Pretty self- explanatory. You've got to be really creative to put these together and make sure they make sense for the audience.

Not knowing how the murderer committed the crime. This is pivotal. If you don't start with this one, then what are you doing?! How can you possibly manage to solve the crime? Have a starting point, a theory, and then go from there.

Not paying attention to people's words! The characters could say that the victim was absolutely lovely and in reality everyone actually hated them. Or they could slip up a person's alibi. Different ways to use this one for sure.

Video cameras. Pretty self-explanatory. Could give you a lead in a dead end.

Not knowing what the murder weapon is or where it is. If it's missing that should be a top priority! They could use it again or hide it; could come back to find it, nearly getting caught while doing so. Examples: death in paradise, midsomer murders, deadloch, liar's beach, the other half, etc.

A character's past. If, it's a movie or tv show, we can see certain movements where the character does something sinister. Like sneaking around, a character hiding something.. Or it can be a motive for murder. Yes, I'm looking at you Deadloch.

The point of the game/playing the game. Once a character figures out why they're there, all hell breaks lose. People start dying off one by one and they've got to solve it before they die too. Usually, in this one, everyone dies except the main character. Examples: she started it, their vicious games, the hunger games, coraline, + you're so dead... just to name a few. I really love this trope, it's just a puzzle and you've got it figure it out in order to survive. It tests the very strains of humanity too.

Leaving something behind. This can tie with the missing item ,but it is rarely shown. It can show a person's character, or a clue, if done right. If found, can make the detective question everything that they know.

Where someone was murdered/found. The victim can be placed in someplace where they hated/loved. Or can question why they where even left there in the first place.

The time of introducing the characters. In some cases, the murderer won't be shown until a few chapters in or at the very beginning. It all depends on the story.

_____________________________________________________________

And that's it! Although I would like to mention that I include Deadloch in here quite a lot, it's because it's a brilliant show, if you like murder mysteries, of course. It turned out to be quite a guessing game as to who the killer is. Would highly recommend, 10/10. And I'd also like to note that the show pretty much does everything on this list, but it all pans out.

[dead-loch]

It's going to take me longer to finish up the next chapter for Missing Time, so I thought I'd share what I have so far. I personally never read WIPs so I feel like I'm torturing people with something I myself would hate (not nice at all). Read below but only if you've read the initial chapter (previously two chapters) on AO3. There's about 4k words below the cut.

As before, the AO3 version may be slightly different following edits. Aussies: I've used a few terms here that are used in the show but which are unfamiliar to me (cheese toasties, mob, fuck up) so please let me know if it's reading oddly. (*edit: I obviously know the term fuck up lmao, what I mean is that over here we typically say "shut the fuck up" which I BELIEVE is what simply "fuck up" means)

Missing Time (Chapter 2)

“We should probably talk,” Dulcie says, once Eddie has disappeared up the stairs. Despite what Cath said to her in the barn, she knows they have a lot to work through, and they can’t go on ignoring it. Dulcie has spent the past five years in Deadloch allowing Cath to dictate their lives like she’s a piece of driftwood caught up in Cath’s current, and she knows she’s as much to blame for that as Cath is.

After Sydney, and after Hannah, Dulcie’d thought the only way she could make up for her infidelity was to say yes to anything Cath wanted from her. She’d stepped down from her position as detective, hardly put up a fight when Cath had suggested they move to Deadloch, and since arriving in Deadloch, Dulcie can admit that she’s been checked out.

Trent’s death had been like someone blaring an air horn directly into her ear. She’d stepped right back into the role of detective as though she’d never left it, like she was waking from a years-long coma. It’d felt so good to follow her gut again, and she’d realised how much she’d been actively repressing her desires since they’d left Sydney. Those same desires had led to her fucking her colleague, after all, and nearly cost her her marriage.

But blaming Cath for her decision to coast along hadn’t been fair. Prior to the murders, Dulcie had convinced herself she was content being Senior Sergeant in the sleepy town of Deadloch and playing house with Cath until they died. Instead of treating Cath like a partner, one she loved and respected, she’d treated her like an overbearing parent she’d had no choice but to put up with.

“I meant what I said, sexy,” Cath says, sitting on the sofa. She motions for Dulcie to join her, then reaches down to give Fern a scritch as the dog settles down at her feet. “My home is wherever you are. I don’t want to stay in Deadloch if it makes you unhappy.”

“I don’t think it’s Deadloch that’s made me unhappy,” Dulcie says, reaching for Cath’s hand. “I was doing what I loved in Sydney, but we were busy, and stressed, and arguing all the time. I chose not to deal with it then, and I hurt you. I’ve made that same choice again and again over the last 5 years, not only hurting you but myself as well.” Tears stinging her eyes, Dulcie presses a kiss to Cath’s hand.

“I knew you hated choir,” Cath says, sniffling. “I took advantage of the fact that you weren’t saying no.” She shakes her hair out of her eyes, and Dulcie cups her cheek with her free hand.

“But you’ve also been clear with me about what you’re feeling every step of the way, and I should have done the same,” Dulcie murmurs, smiling softly. “You’ve always communicated with me and although you’ve sometimes chosen the wrong time to do so, I had many opportunities to reciprocate.” Dulcie takes a deep breath before continuing. “But if I’m going to return to being a detective, and if I’m going to continue working with Eddie, I do need you to trust me, love… I understand that you’ve been much happier since you stopped practising, but I need you to see the value in what I do.”

“I know,” Cath says, wiping her eyes. “But I need you to talk to me, Dulce. I don’t know that I can move past these insecurities if I feel you pulling away from me again.”

Dulcie nods, pulling Cath closer until she can wrap an arm around her shoulders, and Cath presses her wet face into her neck. They’ve been unfair to each other, she thinks, and although there’d been many complicated reasons for her affair with Hannah, those reasons had seemed so inconsequential in the face of losing Cath. The last several days had only served to prove to Dulcie, once again, how much she loved her.

They’re interrupted by a yell and a loud thud from upstairs. Dulcie quickly extricates herself from Cath, and she’s nearly reached the bottom of the stairs when Eddie comes flying down.

“That GREMLIN,” she yells, pointing back at Angela who’s standing at the top of the stairs, looking down, “has just fouled up the room!”

Dulcie cocks her head to the side, confused, and glances back at Cath to catch her slap a hand over her mouth to hide a laugh.

“Eddie, I’m so sorry!” Cath cries, still visibly trying not to laugh. “Angela’s got overactive anal glands and Claire’d been watching her after I was arrested, and she ignored my very specific dietary instructions!” Cath hurries upstairs, sparing Angela a quick scratch, to survey the damage. “Oh, it’s not even that bad!” she calls down, giggling to herself. Evidently, Angela had been scooting across the hardwood floor and expressed. Nothing a quick pass of the mop wouldn’t fix. Stepping carefully, Cath begins opening windows to air out the smell. She imagines that’s what woke Eddie.

Downstairs, Eddie’s got her arms folded across her chest and she’s glaring at Angela, who’s climbed down a couple steps to keep Eddie in her sight. Dulcie glances between the two of them, lips pursed. “Mattress alright?” she finally asks, bringing Eddie’s attention her way.

Eddie’s silent for a moment, holding onto her anger. She can still hear Cath laughing to herself upstairs, and the gremlin is staring at her as though she hasn’t just released a scent like rotten fish from hell. Eddie’s finding it difficult to stay angry with that smooshed face pointed in her direction, though, and she rolls her eyes, turning to face Collins.

“Mattress is fine,” she replies shortly, eyebrows pulled into an exaggerated frown.

From upstairs, Cath calls down for a mop and without thinking, Eddie moves to grab the one she’s seen in the kitchen. She passes it to Cath, who disappears again. When Eddie turns to look at Collins again, she’s fighting that damn smile.

“Think this is funny, do you?” she asks, crowding in closer to Collins, until she needs to tilt her head back just to keep watching her.

“Yes, actually,” Collins says, smirking now. Eddie narrows her eyes at her, staring until Dulcie huffs, “It’s probably best that you experienced a disgusting accident early on, if you’re going to be staying here,” she shrugs.

Eddie doesn’t seem to have an argument for this, and she moves away to lean against the staircase balustrade. Dulcie waits for a moment, then turns to go upstairs to see how Cath’s getting on.

Once Collins is out of view, Eddie bites back a smile and shakes her head. When she looks around to see where the gremlin’s gone off to, the dog has migrated downstairs and is sniffing around Fern, who’s flopped onto her side, her tail swinging back and forth.

Eddie moves to the kitchen and pulls open the refrigerator, looking for something to drink. She’s surprised to find several cans of coke within. Snatching one, Eddie shuts the doors just in time for Cath and Collins to return, Dulcie carrying the mop now and making a beeline for the sink.

“Sorry, Eddie,” Cath says, as Eddie pulls the tab on her can of coke, snapping it open. “I’ve opened the windows in the room so I don’t think the smell will linger. Should be good by the time you go back up.”

Eddie grunts, taking a gulp of coke. She moves back to the living room, Cath following right behind her and Collins appearing a few moments later. When Eddie sprawls in one corner of the sofa, the little gremlin jumps up next to her, placing one paw delicately on her thigh.

“I think Angela’s taken a liking to you,” Cath says, joining Eddie on the sofa and carding her fingers through the long fur on Angela’s back. Cath looks back at Dulcie, a fond smile growing on her face. Dulcie can’t keep from huffing a laugh. Eddie seems immensely confused by the dog’s attention and she’s still for several long seconds, staring at Angela, who stares right back. Finally, Eddie takes a slow sip of her coke, and Angela relaxes, settling down in Eddie’s lap.

-

Dulcie makes cheese toasties for dinner that evening. Eddie scarfs one down whilst waiting for the rest to be made, and another once they’re all seated at the dining table. They discuss how long it might take for new officers to be hired and at one point, Eddie notices that the little gremlin is lying down directly beneath her chair. She tips herself sideways to give a little pat to the dog’s bum before straightening again.

Abby returns from Sharelle’s as they’re cleaning up. She’s gone home for a change of clothes and arrives clutching her backpack. Eddie ushers her into the living room without comment, pushing her to sit on the sofa.

“Sharelle asked how you were feeling, ma’am,” Abby glances at Dulcie, “I told her you were doing well, considering.” As they get comfortable in the living room, Dulcie nods her assent “Thank you for letting me stay here, Cath,” Abby turns her mournful gaze on Cath, and Eddie, suddenly, vividly remembers why she’d compared Abby to a traumatised bush baby and why her nickname is ‘Big Eyes’. Those eyes are weapons of mass destruction, she thinks.

“How’re Sharelle and her mob?” Eddie asks, scratching her chin and forcing herself to stop thinking about Abby’s massive fucking eyes.

“They’re fine, ma’am,” Abby starts, but she’s stopped when Eddie waves a hand and shakes her head.

“Don’t need to call me that,” Eddie says, gruff. “Eddie’s fine.”

“Um, okay, they’re fine, m– um, oh! Tammy and Miranda described an antique gun Margaret had at the cemetery and I was sure I remembered reading something about an antique gun somewhere, but I couldn’t remember where. I called Fay, and she’s convinced it’s the gun that Margaret accused Sharelle’s mum, Wendy, of stealing.”

Cath jolts up from where she’s seated, gasping. “Sharelle told us about that gun when we were being held at the footy club!” Her expression darkens and she looks at Dulcie. “Do you think I should offer to represent her?”

Dulcie hides a wince, shrugging. She knows Cath means well, but she’s unsure how Sharelle or Wendy would receive the gesture. “Maybe we ask Sharelle once things have settled down a bit,” she says softly, patting Cath’s knee.

They chat for a bit, the conversation eventually turning to Abby’s move to forensics. “Sven’s put in his notice, and I’m going to speak to Kate before putting in mine,” Abby’s saying, her gaze bouncing between Eddie and Dulcie as though expecting them to tell her she can’t or shouldn’t move forward with this. When neither of them object, she continues. “I imagine we’ll be seeing a lot more of Kate, with James… currently out of commission.”

Eddie wishes she could find any satisfaction in James losing his tongue, but it’s difficult to feel vindicated when she remembers the slick sound it’d made when Abby had caught it. She shivers, shaking her head to clear it.

Collins and Abby start discussing logistics of a transfer and Eddie drifts. She’s well-fed, warm, and for the first time in days her mind isn’t racing to process increasingly stressful and terrifying information. She barely notices when Angela jumps up onto the armchair with her and wedges herself between Eddie’s thigh and the armrest.

When Abby starts yawning, Cath runs upstairs to find her a pillow and a blanket for the sofa. Dulcie gently nudges Eddie out of the chair and up the stairs, her hand on Eddie’s back so that she doesn’t stumble. She doesn’t speak, amused by Eddie’s uncharacteristic silence. In Eddie’s room, Dulcie quickly shuts the windows and then shakes out a thick comforter over the inflatable mattress.

She hears Eddie sigh and turns around to find her rolling her eyes. “I can do that,” Eddie says, shooing Dulcie away from the bed and out the bedroom door. Dulcie rolls her eyes but allows it. Before Eddie can shut the door, Angela scampers into her room and onto her bed. Dulcie listens to Eddie mutter through the door, and she only steps away when she feels Cath’s hand at her back.

“Abby’s tucked in downstairs,” Cath whispers, guiding Dulcie to their bedroom. Dulcie smiles, puts her arm around Cath and presses a kiss to her hair.

-

Eddie wakes the next morning to her phone vibrating beneath her pillow. She grunts, reaching for the phone and sliding her finger across the screen to answer it.

“G’day,” she husks, running her tongue across her teeth and grimacing. Who the fuck is calling at the arse crack of dawn? There’s silence on the other end until she hears a familiar chuckle, one she hasn’t heard in a very long time. Holly. Eddie sits up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. How the fuck has she forgotten about Bushy? She presses a closed fist to her forehead, angry at herself. But Holly doesn’t sound angry.

“Heard you closed the case,” she’s saying, amusement clear in her voice. And pride. Eddie could cry. She hasn’t heard Holly sound like this since before Bushy’d died. Holly had ignored her calls, dozens of them, and later Eddie might find it in herself to be annoyed about that, about Holly believing the load of shit the department had fed her about Bushy’s death and how it’d been Eddie’s fault for not being there. But right now she’s just relieved.

“Ah, yeah, told you I would, didn’t I,” Eddie replies, smug, just like old times. Holly laughs again. The silence that follows is comfortable, and Eddie listens to Holly’s breathing. She can hear rustling in the background and she imagines that Holly is sitting in her backyard, probably in one of the old camping chairs they used to sit in while they ate and discussed whatever case she and Bushy were working. “How’d you hear?”

“Little thing, dunno if you’ve heard of it, it’s called the internet,” Holly snarks, and an aching hope blooms hot in Eddie’s chest.

“Fuck up,” she mutters, grinning. At the foot of the mattress, the little gremlin has begun to wake up, stretching and yawning. Eddie balances the phone between her ear and shoulder and carefully rolls out of bed to land with a soft thump on the floor, then pushes herself to her feet. She takes a deep breath, steeling herself, before asking, “anything new about Bushy?”

“Nothing,” Holly sighs, and Eddie can picture her rolling her eyes. “It’s being investigated as a homicide, but they’ve lost a lot of time believing the crock about the croc.”

Eddie hums and pulls on a clean pair of undies, courtesy of Dulcie or Cath, who own more undies than she’s ever seen in her life, probably. She makes a mental note to go shopping for clothes. “I’ve been asked to stay on down here,” she says, feeling like she owes Holly an explanation of why she hasn’t taken the first flight directly back home. “Just until they can hire some new cops,” she assures, pulling on a shirt and pants with some difficulty. Once she’s dressed, Eddie makes her way downstairs, the gremlin at her heels.

“Not sure how long that’ll be, but I’ll come back as soon as I can to help.” She doubts she’ll be allowed to help in any kind of official capacity, given she was Bushy’s partner and the entire force had turned their backs on her. But she doesn’t care. Technically, Collins hadn’t been operating in an official capacity either at the end, but they’d still managed to do more than the Commissioner and his band of idiots.

“I hope you’re looking after yourself, Eddie,” is the only thing Holly says in response, and Eddie’s momentarily caught off guard. She freezes in the doorway to the kitchen, unsure how to reply. It’s only Cath appearing and pushing a steaming mug into her free hand that has her moving again, and she clears her throat.

“I’m fine,” she says shortly, nodding her thanks to Cath and taking a sip of coffee, sweetened to perfection. “I’m okay,” she tries again, softer. She watches as Cath putters about, getting both dogs ready to go outside for a morning walk. Holly’s silent for several seconds, until Eddie catches herself and says, “I hope you’re doing the same.”

“I am.”

They chat for a bit as Eddie finishes her mug and Holly updates her on how things have been going in Darwin, aside from the discovery of Bushy’s body. Eddie tells Holly about Deadloch and its population of lesbians, being as crass as she possibly can just to hear Holly laugh. Collins steps into the kitchen as Eddie’s telling a particularly offensive joke and pins Eddie with A Look until Eddie has the grace to look ashamed. Kind of.

When their conversation dies down again, Eddie makes Holly promise to keep her apprised of any changes in Bushy’s case, and Holly makes her promise in turn that she’ll let her know as soon as she’s able to come home. They say their goodbyes as Collins takes a seat across from Eddie, and Eddie stuffs her phone into a pocket.

“How’d you sleep?” Dulcie asks, cradling her own mug of– Eddie wrinkles her nose in disgust– tea.

“Good,” Eddie says. “Very well, actually, because that dog of yours kept her disgusting fluids to herself.”

“I’m not sure I would call her my dog–”

“That’s your wife,” Eddie interrupts, pointing in the direction of the front door, “Who’s adopted that dog, ergo, that is also your dog, whether you asked for it or not.”

Collins rolls her eyes but before she can say anything else, Cath’s come back in with the dogs. They listen to the door clatter and a few moments later, both dogs run into the kitchen, their nails clicking on the floor. Fern makes her way to Dulcie’s side, resting her snout on Dulcie’s thigh and gazing up at her. Angela the Gremlin sniffs at Eddie’s legs before curling up beneath her chair, and Dulcie has to fight another smile.

And yes, fine, Fern and Angela might be her and Cath’s dogs, but she doesn’t think Eddie’s realised, yet, that Angela is also her dog. Or, perhaps more accurately, that Eddie is now Angela’s human.

-

Dulcie and Cath make breakfast while Eddie and Abby sit outside with the dogs, Eddie bundled up in freshly cleaned polar fleece and another pair of cargos. Eddie throws a ball for Fern and Angela, neither of whom seem particularly interested in playing fetch. Angela brings the ball back to Eddie once, but on the next throw neither of them can be arsed to go running after it and the ball remains where it lands.

They eat outside, enjoying the morning sun, and Cath makes plans with Eddie to drive to Hobart so that Eddie can purchase some necessities, since she’d decided to come to Deadloch with all of one stubby holder to her name and only the clothing on her back. Now that she’s not running after a serial killer, Eddie thinks she might want a few creature comforts for the remainder of her time in Deadloch, like maybe her own toothbrush instead of the cheap one she’d taken from the Bush Wolf. And a few more pairs of underwear.

“We can stop by Centrepoint, Eddie, which should have anything you need, and I’ll need to stop by the pet supply shop, too,” Cath is saying as she starts clearing their plates. Eddie jumps up to help, wrestling the plates from Cath’s grip. She shoots a look towards Dulcie and Abby before hurrying away, into the house.

“I’ll come, too, love,” Dulcie says, and she hooks her foot around Cath’s ankle when Cath sits down again. “Abby, maybe you could stay with the dogs?”

“Uh… sure, ma’am, I mean, Dulcie, but I’ve never–”

“They’ll probably just sleep,” Cath assures Abby, before she can begin to spiral over the responsibility of two dogs being in her care. This doesn’t seem to give Abby any comfort.

When Eddie comes back, she picks up the gremlin and holds her aloft directly in front of Abby’s face. “If you start smelling something like rotten fish guts, it’s this one,” she says, and Abby wrinkles her nose in disgust and jerks back. Angela seems unbothered by the accusation.

Tutting, Cath reaches over to give Angela a comforting pat as Eddie takes her seat, the dog perched in her lap again. “Angela’s on her high-fibre diet and shouldn’t have any more accidents,” she says, prompting Eddie to roll her eyes.

“We’ll see,” Eddie mutters, stroking the gremlin’s flank.

As midday approaches, it becomes more and more obvious that Dulcie has very little idea what to do with herself if she’s not working. She cleans the kitchen, starts the laundry, and begins tidying the living room, feeling unmoored.

Abby and Eddie remain outside, even once both Dulcie and Cath have gone inside, discussing the Deadloch Police Department hiring new personnel.

“I can’t imagine anyone in Deadloch wanting to join,” Eddie’s saying, sitting low in her chair with her legs akimbo. Angela is lying precariously across her stomach.

Abby nods, fidgeting in her seat. “I hope the Commissioner isn’t staying long,” she confesses and Eddie can’t help it, she laughs.

“Sorry, sorry, Big Eyes, it’s not you,” she says, waving a hand. “I’ll never be able to look ‘im in the face without seeing him yell like an angry child over Phil,” Eddie explains, and now they’re both chuckling. Eddie feels like if she doesn’t laugh, she’ll throw something. The thought of that fuckwit being her boss makes her want to scream.

“He’ll probably be gone by the time we go back,” Eddie says, shrugging. “Can’t see him staying around when he’s got very important Commissioner-y things to be doing elsewhere.” Eddie strokes Angela the Gremlin’s back, watching as Abby relaxes upon hearing this. She wants to ask how Abby’s feeling about the whole… James-losing-his-tongue thing, but she doesn’t know how. She seems to be doing alright, considering, apart from not wanting to go home. Eddie imagines that’s because she doesn’t want to be alone with her thoughts at the moment, and she can’t blame her.

Eddie doesn’t want to be alone with her thoughts, either. Ever. But especially not right now.

“You set up a meeting with Kate, yet?” she asks, changing the subject, and Abby latches onto it eagerly.

-

Cath spends 15 minutes following Dulcie as she tidies a house that doesn’t need tidying. “Sexy,” she says, finally, placing her hand on top of Dulcie’s where she’s reaching for a broom. “You’re meant to be taking some mental health rest. Rest, Dulce.”

Dulcie wants to argue, but once she gets a good look at Cath’s face, the urge to fight leaves her. “Right,” she says, dropping her hand. “I’m not completely sure what that means,” she offers, half-smiling. Cath smiles back, pulling Dulcie into a side-hug.

“Well,” Cath says, “Skye texted me to invite us to dinner this evening.” At the mention of Skye’s name, she feels Dulcie tense and start to pull away. Cath grips her tighter, leaning back a bit so that she can look at her face. “Alright, she said it was Nadiyah’s idea, but I think it’d be good for all of us, sexy.” Despite the fact that Skye and Dulcie’s relationship was in tatters at the moment there was a reason Dulcie was Tom’s godmother and Cath hates seeing them fight. “They’ve invited Eddie and Abby, too,” she says, hoping this might convince Dulcie.

Sighing, Dulcie rolls her eyes at the obvious manipulation, but she has to admit that it does help. “Fine,” she says, “But you’re telling Eddie.”

Cath grins, giving Dulcie a quick squeeze and standing on her toes to give Dulcie a kiss on the cheek. “This will be a good thing,” she announces as she pulls away and turns to go find Eddie and Abby outside.

Dulcie watches her go, unconvinced.

[buckieduckie2]

if you havent watched deadloch (its on amazon prime btw) then you should it definitely temporarily fills that void (its a mystery dark comedy typa thing)

lmaoooo yeah maybe ill check it out sometime. im watching shameless rn lol

[nevertrustanoracle]

Decided to watch Deadloch because I’d seen some posts about it here and thought “female-lead, Australian crime drama? Sure, I’ll give it a shot”. Well I’m three episodes in and it’s just reminded me why me watching crime drama isn’t always a great idea: I will find something to argue with it about.

My big three so far, one each episode:

Ep 1 - A choir doesn’t sound like that in an outdoor environment like that. Not really an issue, but it did ruin my immersion just because I’ve spent enough time in choirs for it to sound unsettlingly wrong.

Ep 2 - There’s not many women in forensics? Are you sure about that? As a woman who studied forensic science in Australia, that felt weird. We way outnumbered the guys in my classes at uni. Maybe it’s different once you get into the job, but it still felt like a stretch. Sounded like a writer’s assumption, really.

Ep 3 - Ok, here’s the rant. Two points actually, though they’re connected. That thing about how men vs women kill is pretty sus, definitely not something to base an entire investigation on. But the big one, is “OMFG, if you have a DNA sample, YOU CAN TELL THE SEX OF THE PERSON!” (*Assuming they’re cis and not intersex of course.) Like, realising the victims were drugged/poisoned should not be when you go “omg! The killer is a woman!” They should have already known from the DNA of the blood sample that they’ve been hanging everything on. DNA testing is not a machine popping out a “no match/yes match!” message. It produces a graph that shows the alleles that it tests for. Including the X and Y sex chromosomes. You find matches by comparing those graphs. Whoever was doing that should have been able to instantly tell that the mystery DNA was from a woman and that all the samples they were sending to compare were from men. THAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU CHECK!