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inevitably-johnlocked · 1 year

Note

Hello Baby! Would you recommend johnlock fics where Sherlock and John are not in a relationship or know their feelings until almost the end? something like a long series

Hey Lovely!

Ah, I think you'll enjoy my Slow burn fics the most for this kind of thing! Gonna use your ask for my Part 5, so I hope you don't mind! If anyone has any they want to suggest, please do!

SLOW BURN / DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIP Pt. 5

See Also:

Love Confessions / Slow Burn / Dev. Rel. (Fluff Version)

Falling In Love / Slow Burn / Dev. Rel. || [MOBILE POST] (April 2019)

Slow Burn / Dev. Rel. / Falling in Love Pt. 3 (Nov. 2019)

Slow Burn / Dev Rel. Pt. 4 (Apr 2020)

Relationships are Obstacles to Johnlock || [MOBILE]

Burn So Slow it Hurts

Upon This Throne by ifonlynotnever (T, 1,773 w., 1 Ch. || Pre-TRF, Angst, Romance, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Introspection, Imagery, Pining Sherlock, Drug Use, Passage of Time) – Inside Sherlock's mind is a Palace. Inside the Palace are many rooms. Within the largest room is the Throne. Upon the Throne sits the King.

This Year by DiscordantWords (T, 6,283 w., 2 Ch. || TEH Divergence / No Mary, New Year’s Eve, John’s A Mess, Jealous John, Awkward Conversations, Trapped in a Closet, Estranged After Return, John POV, Semi-Reunion, Angry John, First Kiss, Reconciliation, Clueless Sherlock, Happy Ending) – Last year, Sherlock Holmes showed up at the Landmark with a fake moustache and a bad French accent and threw John's entire life into disarray with two words: "Not dead." This year, there are more surprises in store.

holding steady by darcylindbergh (E, 12,724 w., 4 Ch. || Post S4, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Growing Old, Gone Fishing, Mood without Plot, Soft Sherlock, Caring Sherlock, POV John Third Person, Anxious Sherlock, First Kiss / Time, Touching, Feeling Old, Sherlock Worship, Crying Sherlock, Cuddles, Comforting, Introspection, Retirement, Hand Holding, Forehead Kisses, Caring John, Bed Sharing, Emotional Love Making) – Sitting on a thick wool blanket at the end of a rickety dock side-by-side, legs dangling over the edge, a styrofoam container of wet, dark dirt between them, they’re fishing. John knows what this is about. This is about finally figuring it out.

A Hooligans’ Game Played By Gentlemen by scullyseviltwin (E, 15,213 w., 1 Ch. || First Time, Rugby as Foreplay, Porn with Lots of Plot, John POV, Ogling, Body Appreciation, Cranky Sherlock, Slow Burn, Bed Sharing, Cuddling, Touching, Heavy Petting, Blow Job, Botttomlock) – In which John wants to get back in shape, does so, joins a rugby league and has sex with Sherlock Holmes. In that order.

A Gossamer Dream by CarmillaCarmine (E, 15,985 w., 4 Ch. || Writer/Teacher AU || First Meetings, Friends to Lovers, Writer John / Teacher Sherlock, Fluff, London, Holding Hands, Online Friendship / Romance, Phone Sex, Anal Sex, Happy Ending, Alternating POV, Scottish John, Online Relationship, Internalized Homophobia, Hand Holding, Forehead Touching, First Kiss/Time, Texting/Sexting, Rimming, Toplock, Sherlock Speaks French) – Sherlock had never realised one could care so much about someone they'd never met in person. Now he is about to meet the friend with whom he's been chatting online for months and his anticipation is reaching a crescendo.

Permanent Fixture by vitruvianwatson (E, 18,836 w., 9 Ch || Post-S4, Parentlock, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, They’re Good Parents, Blushing Sherlock, First Kiss/Time, Explicit Consent, Sexual Content, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Big Feelings, Crying, First Kiss, Fluff, Anxious Sherlock, Inexperienced Sherlock, Emotional Communication, Love Confessions) – Now, as Rosie sat curled up against Sherlock’s side, John watched and wondered exactly how he had ended up here. Domesticity had never suited him before, not at any point in his life. His disastrous marriage had been proof of that. But somehow, here in the warmth and safety of 221B Baker Street, here with Sherlock Holmes reading medical jargon to his daughter, Sherlock’s bony feet nudging against his leg, John couldn’t imagine anyplace that would make him happier.

Division by MrsNoggin (E, 19,542 w., 11 Ch. || Coffee Shop AU || First Kiss/Time, Fluff, Barista Sherlock, Clingy Sherlock, POV John, John’s Limp, Bed Sharing, Fluff, Sleepy Cuddles, Sensuality, Touching, Virgin Sherlock, Insecure John) – John likes mysteries. And every morning he dips into the local independent coffee bar with his newspaper and ponders another... one Sherlock Holmes.

How To Unfold a Heart by elwinglyre (E, 25,477 w., 7 Ch. || Post S4 Fix It, BAMF John, Mentioned Eurus, POV First Person Sherlock, Case Fic, Fluff, Slow Burn, Topping from the Bottom, 3 Yr Old Rosie, Introspection, Sexual Fantasies, John Worship, Ogling, Hand Holding, Kidnapping, Domesticity, Sherlock Whump, First Kiss/Time, Doctor John, Caring John, Soft Sherlock, Sensuality, Touching, Crying, Love Confessions, Anxious Sherlock, Rimming, Toplock, Fingering, Bossy Bottom John) – To Sherlock’s dismay, John’s return to Baker Street with Rosie is only temporary. Sherlock’s daily visits to Regent Park with John and Rosie illuminate his lost childhood memories and missed opportunities. But with each trip to the park, Sherlock also feels a growing sense of hope. That is until the past horrors return unexpectedly in a cryptic note folded in the shape of a heart. To decipher the message, Sherlock must uncover the nature of the hearts around him, including his own.

Rupert Street by WritingOutLoud (M, 27,262 w., 9 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting || Case Fic, Sexuality, Demisexual Sherlock, Drugging, Smart John, Sherlock Has Internalized Biphobia, Fluff, Angst with Happy Ending, Gay Bar, Flirting, John Manipulates Sherlock to Eat, John Deduces, Arguments, Kidnapping/Torture, Hospitalization, John Whump) – Discharged from the war with nothing but the clothes on his back and a realisation of his bisexuality, John Watson has to learn who he’s become. He can’t afford London on an army pension, but the city is the only friend he has. In an effort to understand his newfound queer identity, he heads to a bar one night, where he stumbles across a mysterious stranger who turns his life upside down. ‘I dug around inside myself, and I'm not quite sure what I found, but it was beautiful and terrifying all at the same time.’

Insanity in the Middle by DotyTakeThisDown (E, 28,010 w., 8 Ch. || Equestrian Sports AU || Alternate First Meeting, POV John, Pining John, Bottomlock, Clueless Sherlock, First Kiss/Time, Passionate Kisses, Hand Holding, Caught Making Out, Bed Sharing, Spooning, Blow Job) – John is a world-class eventing rider with a gold medal and several four-star wins to his credit, but he's never won at Rolex. Sherlock is an up-and-coming rider taking the sport by storm.

Sunday Evening 6 p.m. by Silvergirl (E, 30,712 w., 6 Ch. || Post-TRF / TEH Divergence, Grief / Mourning / Stages of Grief, Mutual Pining, Dreams, Reunion, Love Confessions, First Kiss / Time, Alternating First Person POV, Smart John, BAMF Boys, Emotional Love Making, Song Fic, Referenced Suicide, First Kiss / Time, Touching, Sleepy Sherlock, Blow Job, Villain Mary) – Six months after Sherlock jumped, he learns that John is dedicating songs to him on a requests-only radio programme. Is John just working through grief? Or is he—communicating? Fixes the hell out of S3 by pre-empting it altogether. Remember, as TAB told us, John is Pretty Damn Smart.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by SilentAuror (E, 50,635 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4/S4 Divergence, Case Fic, For a Case / Reverse Fake-Relationship, Conferences, Marriage Equality, Travelling / New York, Pride, Homophobia, Bottomlock, Marriage Proposal, John POV, Sexuality, Love Confessions, Emotional Love Making, Public Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Passionate Kissing, Needy/Clingy Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Touching / Hand Holding, Bed Sharing, Little Spoon Sherlock, Intense Orgasms) – John and Sherlock go to New York to attend a conference run by the National Defence of Traditional Marriage Coalition in order to investigate the potential bombing of the annual Manhattan Pride parade. As the conference unfolds, John finds himself repulsed by the toxic ideology being presented, which becomes relevent to his own unacknowledged issues and his friendship with Sherlock...

The Hollow Woman by ScopesMonkey (M, 51,335 w., 22 Ch. || Post-TRF, Major Character Death, Mystery, Romance, Friendship, Family, Angst, Crime, Reunion, First Kiss / Time, Nightmares, Doctor John, Jealous Sherlock, Jealous John, BAMF John, Angry John, Dub-Con, Rough Sex, Bottomlock, Possessive John, Villain Mary, Open Ending) – Forced to return to London sooner than expected, Sherlock falls into a case too close to home. Part 1 of the Hollowverse series

Gold Rush by ShirleyCarlton (E, 71,783 w., 17 Ch. || Post S3 / No Mary, Friends to Lovers, Mentions of Past Sexual Abuse, First Kiss, Case Fic, Slow Burn, Alternating POV, Switchlock, Angst with Happy Ending, Marriage Proposal, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Abduction, Anxious/Insecure Sherlock, Miscommunication, Emotional Lovemaking) – John has divorced Mary and pops round to 221B one evening to find Sherlock in the middle of a case. As Sherlock tries to find the identity of a young woman’s stalker, John realises he can no longer deny his feelings for Sherlock – which then, to their befuddlement, turn out to be mutual. Shy kisses and tentative embraces ensue. But will Sherlock be able to cast off a shadow from his past that he thinks might prevent John from wanting to stay?

Repairing the Broken Things by BakerTumblings (M, 75,252 w., 15 Ch. || S4 Compliant, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Trauma, Hospitals, Big Brother Mycroft, Misunderstandings, Realizations, Severe Accident, John Whump, Pneumonia, Medical Procedures, Bed Sharing, First Time, Healing, Happy Ending) – "I'm calling today to notify you that there's been an accident."

Bakers with Benefits by Raina_at (E, 88,130 w., 14 Ch. || Great British Bake Off AU || Strangers to Lovers, Switchlock, Friends with Benefits, Mentions of Alcoholism / Past Drug Use, Banter, Flirting, Fluff, Light Angst, Semi-Public Sex, Past Sherlock/Victor, Mutual Pining, POV Sherlock, Obsessive Sherlock, John’s Bum) – Sherlock Holmes has a successful YouTube baking channel, but what he really wants is his own bakery. When an old friend sends him a call for the very first Great British Bake Off, he seizes the opportunity to finally win a sponsor for his bakery. Here's the plan: Win Bake Off, get the bakery, don't fall in love with the handsome Army doctor at the neighbouring station. Easy.

Kintsukuroi by sussexbound (E, 91,823 w., 20 Ch. || S4 Compliant / Post-TLD, Grief / Mourning, PTSD, Internalized Homophobia, Therapy, Past Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Anxiety, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, Cuddling, Suicidal Ideation, Masturbation, Minor Character Death, Sexting, Frottage, Inexperienced Sherlock, Rimming / Anal / BJ’s, Emotional Turmoil, Finding Each Other) – “I love you.” Sherlock sees the words hit John with almost physical force. He reels back a little, jaw twitching and eyes filling. “I love you,” he repeats, a little softer, a little more gentle, as earnest as he possibly can. Because they’ve been teetering on the brink of this thing for years, and it had become painfully obvious over the last few months that they were at a tipping point. This had to happen. Now it has. Now they can see where they end up. The tears in John’s eyes spill over, and he wipes at them angrily. “Do you even know what that means?”

Northwest Passage by Kryptaria (E, 95,157 w., 27 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Canadian AU || BAMF!John, Canadian John, PTSD, Anal / Oral Sex, Rimming, Emotional Hurt / Comfort, Drug Rehab, Falling in Love, Pining Sherlock, Love Confessions, Sherlock’s Violin, Panic Attacks, Switching, Anxious / Protective Sherlock, Hugs for Comfort, Suicide Mentions, Healing Each Other) – Seven years ago, Captain John Watson of the Canadian Forces Medical Service withdrew from society, seeking a simple, isolated life in the distant northern wilderness of Canada. Though he survives from one day to the next, he doesn't truly live until someone from his dark past calls in a favor and turns his world upside-down with the introduction of Sherlock Holmes." Part 1 of Tales from the Northwest

Drawn to Stars by Silvergirl (E, 109,272 w., 60 Ch. || S4 Compliant to TLD / TFP Doesn’t Exist, Sherlock’s Italian Adventure, Sherlock/OC and Johnlock, Jealous John, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings, First Kiss/Time, Idiots in Love, 3 Part Story, Slow Burn, Inexperienced Sherlock, Bottom Sherlock, Introspection, Multiple Alternating First and Third Person POV, Separation and Reconciliation, Emotional Love Making, Love Confessions via Letters, Angst with Happy Ending) – After the Culverton Smith case Sherlock is clean, working, and looking for a romantic partner—since John has told him that’s what he needs. Shame John didn’t mention he was interested in that role himself, before Sherlock went off to Rome with a gorgeous Italian copper to try to fall in love and become a complete human being. Part 1 of the Drawn to Stars series

The Lost Special: Family Matters (As Do Relationships) by ShirleyCarlton (M, 144,688 w., 40 Ch. || S4 Fix It Fic / Meta Fic, Unreliable Narrator, John’s Mind Bungalow, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Demisexual Sherlock, Holmes Family, John Whump, Gay Mycroft, Misunderstandings, Drug Addiction, Parenting, TFP is a Nightmare, Virgin Sherlock, Slow Burn, Minor Character Death, Switchlock, John’s Past, Sherlock’s Past, Eurus, Love Confessions) –Sherrinford is not really the name of some high security prison. That was just a figment of John’s frantic coma dream. And Eurus is not actually Sherlock’s sister. That’s just something random she said to John before shooting him. Sherlock and John were never actually estranged. That was just their act to cover up what really happened to Mary – or Rosamund Moran, as her real name has turned out to be. Sherlock does have a secret sibling, though, and his name is Sherrinford. After finally eliminating Moran – though in a rather dramatically different way than they had envisioned – and exposing the truth about Eurus, John encourages Sherlock to delve into his past and to find out whether the reasons to keep Sherrinford away from Sherlock were the right ones, and to discover what really happened in 1981. Along the way, Sherlock and John gradually, finally, stop keeping each other at a distance, and eventually become a proper family of their own.

Against the Rest of the World by SilentAuror (E, 151,714 w., 20 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-TRF, Hiatus Fic, POV First Person Sherlock, Present Tense, First Kiss/Time, Big Brother Mycroft, Escaping from Capture, Soft Sherlock, Toplock, Insecurity, Infidelity, Travelling, Introspection, Pining Sherlock, Depression, Fantasies, Yearning for the Past, PTSD Sherlock, Suicidal Ideation) – Sherlock has been away from London for nine hundred and twelve days and counting, and has no idea what sort of reception to expect when he finally returns.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #slow burn fics #my fic recs #developing relationship fics #long post

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sarah-aliterarylife · 1 year

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Books I Couldn't Finish

As you may recall from one of my previous posts, it takes a lot for me to break up with a book.

In fact, there are few things I dislike more than admitting to myself things just aren’t working out.

It doesn’t happen often, but admittedly post-2020 I have become slightly more discerning in terms of doing things that make me happy, and not continuing with things that don’t. Life is simply too short.

So with some regret, here is a short list of books I couldn’t finish.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Over the last few months, I have been working my way through all 100 books recommended by Oprah Winfrey as part of her Book Club. This book is (so far!) the only one I could not bring myself to finish.

Set in 1956, it takes the form of a letter from the elderly Reverend John Ames to his young son. In the letter, the reverend reflects on his life, his Christian faith, spirituality, community, love, death and loneliness. The book is largely a religious text (or at least that’s how it seemed to me) and the plot is minimal.

Gilead started off well, but I soon found that every few pages my mind would begin drifting onto other subjects such as work, my to-do list or what to make for dinner. Sometimes, within a few minutes I drifted off to sleep. That is not a good thing at 3pm in the afternoon! Ultimately, after 110 pages, I’d got the gist.

Shortly afterwards, I was slightly horrified to find that the book was part of a series, and four were recommended by Oprah as part of her reading list! Sorry Oprah, I don’t think I’ll be revisiting Gilead any time soon.

2. Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

This book is a semi-autobiographical account of the Dresden fire bombing by British and American air forces in 1945. That’s the first I’ve heard of it.

I don’t remember where I was or what I was doing when I read Slaughterhouse 5. What I do remember is that somewhere around page 30, I realised that I had no idea what was going on or what the book was about.

I put it down and have never looked at it since!

3. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

In fairness, this one started off well – I took it with me on a work trip to Stavanger in 2018, and devoured the first few chapters quickly. But there was no movement in the plot and I quickly realised that each evening, the same events were going to happen. Settling down each night in my hotel room, I would have no idea in what order events were taking place, I would wonder if I’d missed something important, and the main character would begin to irritate me after about 10 minutes.

I persevered until about halfway through, before I couldn’t take it anymore and found something else to read instead.

4. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

I tried. I really did.

I read this at the close of 2019, at the beginning of a long period of illness. At the time, I wasn’t sleeping or eating very well, and my mind was heavy with worries. I tried my best to focus my mind on the exciting tale of Captain Ahab and his quest to kill the whale, Moby Dick, but I just couldn’t do it. There was simply no room in my brain for such a complex and intricate novel. Of course, I didn’t realise this at the time, and I became angry with myself for failing to grasp the language or the plot.

Perhaps now that my brain is back to full capacity, I will revisit Moby Dick and give it another go.

5. Every text on the Medieval Literature module of Newcastle University’s BA English Literature course

Yes, you read that correctly.

I have never struggled with so many books as I did on the unfortunate occasion I chose to study Medieval Literature at university. Reading them back to back was an absolutely Herculean task. I struggled with the intricacy of the language, the themes, the plots, and even the online study notes were not helpful.

In my defence, at the time I was also working nearly 30 hours per week, struggling to support myself and in an unhappy relationship that I didn’t know how to end. Unfortunately, I didn’t have space in my brain to also decipher The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Morte D’Arthur. I still have no idea how I managed to pass the module!

What are some books you couldn’t finish?

#book blogs #books and literature #books and reading #literature #unfinishedbooks

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13yearslater · 3 years

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Successful trans men (pt 3)

Part 1 Part 2

Brian Michael Smith African American actor. Smith studied acting and video production at Kent State University and began teaching drama classes before moving to New York to train at at William Esper Studio. He obtained a number of small roles in shows such as Blue Bloods, Girls, Person of Interest and Law & Order: SUV before making his break in the role as Toine in Queen Sugar. Since then, Smith has become a series regular in 9-1-1: Lone Star, claiming the title of the first black transgender man to star as a series regular in a network TV show.

Blas Radi Argentinian professor of philosophy at the University of Buenos Aires. Radi is a researcher, activist, professor of the Chair of Gnoseology and Feminist Philosophy, and attached to the Chair of Fundamentals of Philosophy. He is an activist speaking and writing on cissexism, trans rights and trans issues and was part of the National Front for the Gender Identity Law 2012.

Ash Palmisciano British actor. Palmisciano worked as an actor at Warwickshire Castle and at the Royal Shakespeare Company where he was the first transgender actor to appear on stage. He landed a few small roles over the years, including BBC’s Boy Meets Girl before landing the role as a series regular in ITV soap Emmerdale as both the first transgender character and actor to appear in the show.

Eddie Ayres English musician, teacher and radio presenter. Ayres graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music and went on to study in Berlin, England and Australia. His career has taken him around the world, from teaching in Australia and Afghanistan to spending eight years as a member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra along with presenting the breakfast show on Radio Television Hong Kong. Ayres is now an Australian citizen and presents the Classic Breakfast show on ABC Classic.

Jake Zyrus Filipino singer and television personality. After finding some fame after placing third in a Filipino talent show, Zyrus later reached worldwide recognition after videos of his performances began to gain popularity on YouTube. He began receiving invitations to perform on a number of popular British and American talk shows which ultimately lead to his role in Glee as Sunshine Corazon along with a career in music that has seen him release six studio albums.

Patricio Manuel American boxer. Manuel is the first transgender boxer in US history to fight professionally. He was a five-time USA female national amateur boxing champion before his transition in 2013. Upon returning to boxing in 2018 to fight as a man he won his first fight against Hugo Aguilar by unanimous decision and later became the face of Everlast boxing equipment.

Amos Mac American writer, photographer, writer and publisher. Mac co-founded Original Plumbing in 2009; the first magazine for and by transgender men. His photography centres around trans lives and has been exhibited internationally and featured in The New York Times, Vogue Italia, BUTT Magazine, and OUT. Mac is also a writer for the forthcoming series of Gossip Girl and is currently working on a young adult novel.

Freddy McConnell English journalist. McConnell studied Arabic at the University of Edinburgh and went on to work for NGO Skateistan providing education and empowerment to children in the form of skateboarding. He began writing for The Guardian in 2013 and has since written for the likes of Vice, Pink News and The Washington Post, along with providing trans inclusive guidelines for the NHS. His journey to becoming a dad was featured in the 2019 documentary Seahorse and his battle to be legally named as his son’s father has been widely publicised.

Ian Harvie American stand-up comedian. Harvie began his comedy career in 2002 performing in both Maine and Massachusetts before moving to California in 2006 where he began touring with Margaret Cho as her opening act for the following three years. He has also had small TV roles in shows such as Transparent, Will & Grace, Mistresses and Young & Hungry. He continues to perform stand up comedy, often to raise money for causes such as recovery centres and houses, abortions rights, and numerous LGBTQIA causes.

Nic Brennan English firefighter and personal trainer. Brennan began transitioning on the job as a firefighter but fearing the reaction of his employer and colleagues he was unable to tell anyone. Upon coming out, he realised the reaction was much more positive and supportive than he expected and Brennan is happy to be “finally living my life as who I am meant to be, not just existing.” His experiences and the lack of role models have driven him to come out publicly and speak of his experiences to help fill that void himself.

#ftm #transgender #trans #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtqia #transition #transman #trans man #successful trans men

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rainandhotchocolate · 4 years

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Masterlist

Wow I’m the biggest idiot of all time and lost my masterlist post for mobile LEL anyways its back now thanks everyone for messaging!!!

ADVENT CALENDAR 2019

- 25 fics in 25 days

General headcanons

Marauders at a gig x reader

Marauders at a BLM rally

Sirius x reader

SMUT

I’ve got you (Smut - Virgin Reader, cute)

All Alone (Fluff city + smut city)

My Girl (smutty smut) The Morning After (fluff)

Something about you (Smut - Virgin reader)

Golden Couple (Cute, long-term couple smut)

Honeymoon Part 2 (long fic) - Sirius x Y/N, go away for a weekend before their wedding, with sexual tension on high with their promise to have no sex in the weeks leading up to the wedding

Room of Requirement The Morning After

- Some Christmas Smut :)))))

FLUFF

Tattoo (Fluff - Getting a tattoo)

Black Dog

- A large black dog has started keeping Y/N company in the middle of the night…

Birthday Girl

- Y/N comes from a very famous muggle family, and Sirius decides to throw her a surprise birthday party, pure fluff

Coffee and Books

- Y/N works in the bookstore next to Sirius’ coffeeshop. Y'all know what happens here

Dinner Party

- Sirius has set up a little Christmas surprise for Y/N… pure romance and gooeyness

Admitting

- Sirius finally admitting his feelings for Y/N (a lil sexy but not really)

Christmas Day

- Sirius and reader spending their first Christmas together

ANGST

Goodbye Part 2 (Sirius’ dad’s death)

Guilty (Sirius being an idiot in a relationship with Y/N & screwing it up, realising later that he regrets it big time)

Coming out (Coming out as Bi to Sirius)

Come Home (Returning from Askaban) Part 2 (Smuttttt)

Rejection

- Sirius accidentally makes like hell for Y/N in Seventh year at Hogwarts. But what happens when they bump into each other a few years later?

The Wrong Kiss (Sirius gets a little bit jealous when James kisses Y/N)

Triwizard Champion

- Reader is a triwizard champion, and needs to find something that means the most to her

About what I said Last Night (Yes this is the same name as a series but is different lel)

- Sirius and reader get into a fight right before she gets requested to go on a serious mission

SERIES

Marbles Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 (Finished Series)

- Sirius and Reader were best friends until the incident.

One Life Stand Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 (Finished Series)

- One night stand, but Sirius wants more

Tension Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 (Coming Soon)

- Sirius x Malfoy/Slytherin! Reader - Classic hate to love series

About Last Night Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 (Coming soon)

- Sirius x Y/N, College AU, texting trope, Y/N texts the wrong number thinking it was Marlene

Blackout Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11(coming soon)

- Sirius rushes Y/N to the hospital after a bad fight with the Order. Things don’t go well

Movie Star Part 2 Part 3 (Coming Soon)

- Y/N finally got a job in a tv series… only to find out later who her romantic interest is going to be

HEADCANONS

Sirius x touch-starved reader HC

Sexy times

James x reader

SMUT

His Jersey (Smut - Wearing his Quidditch jersey)

In his arms

FLUFF

Stop The War (Fluff - A moment of peace during the war)

Breathe (Being James’ GF and having him calm your panic attacks)

The girl next door (James has a little (HUGE) crush on the muggle next door)

SERIES

Getting over you Part 2 Part 3 (James x reader, realising he’s in love with you not Lily)

HEADCANONS

Hugging

Dancing

Remus x reader

SMUT

Can’t get enough (Smut - affirmation kink)

FLUFF

Panic (Fluff - Calming down your panic attacks)

Maladies (Fluff - Taking care of you when sick)

Merry Christmas (Fluff - Reader and Remus being cute af with marauders)

Lily x reader (girl/girl)

SERIES

Tutor’s Pet Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 (finished series)

- Lily is asked to tutor Reader so she can join the year above her in potions, but they are both a little devastated when the sessions have to end…

Lily x James

FLUFF

Away (Fluff, Lily being delayed on a mission)

Lily x Sirius

SMUT

Infidelity

- Lily and Sirius started hooking up before she fell for James… but it’s been hard to stop (SMUTTTTTTTT, also references to cheating)

Lily x Narcissa

SMUT

Winter Ball

- Narcissa and Lily get a little hot and heavy during a particularly boring winter ball (so much smut)

NO ROMANCE

Last Christmas

- Sirius and Remus spend their first Christmas without Lily and James (taking care of Harry)

Letters he’ll never send

- Sirius wrote some letters when Lily and James were no longer there

Duel

- Remus proving himself in class, duel style

Hermione x Reader

FLUFF

Secrets (Fluff, Weasley!Reader)

Harry x Reader

FLUFF/ANGST

Meeting the parents (Y/N finally gets to meet Lily and James, but unfortunately their not the only people she meets)

Teddy Lupin x Reader

SMUT

Ice Blue The Morning After (warning - getting drugged, vomit)

- Reader is best friends with Teddy, and would never expect to act on her long harbouring crush… that is until she wakes up in Teddy’s bed after an awful night out.

Kaz Brekker x Reader

Unexpected

- Reader is girly, frivolous, and fun, and Kaz completely underestimates her

#rainandhotchocolate #sirius black #james potter #remus lupin #maruaders #sixofcrows #teddy lupin #sirius x reader #marauders x reader #remus x readers #james x reader #lily x reader #lily evans #teddy lupin x reader #sirius black x reader #marauders imagine #james potter x reader #remus lupin x reader #kaz x reader

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spnfanficpond · 3 years

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Pond Diving - negans-lucille-tblr

Welcome to today’s Pond Diving Spotlight! We hope that you enjoy this little insight to our members and perhaps even find some useful tips for your own writing. Happy reading!

Want to volunteer, send us an ask! We’re looking forward to learning more about all of you! Not sure what PD is, you can learn more here.

“Don’t Be Koi About It” - All About You

Name: Bee

Age: 27

Location: Wales, UK

URL: @negans-lucille-tblr

Why did you choose your URL: I had 0 intentions of using my tumblr, as I was posting on AO3 at the time. My user on there used to be negans-lucille, so when I joined tumblr I added the tblr on the end as n-l was taken. And that is how my ridiculous username was born and I’ve regretted it ever since :’)

What inspired you to become a writer: I have a dissociative disorder called Maladaptive Daydreaming, which, put simply, is excess and intensive daydreaming. I live in a dream world 95% of my life, and I realised it was nice to curb that into writing. I wrote my first book at 12, and my English teacher at the time and now friend, encouraged me to keep writing. And now here we are :)

How long have you been writing: I’ve been writing fiction since I was 12, and I ventured into fanfiction at 14 for the McFly fandom (my favourite band). I wrote for them for 7 years before taking a break and coming back to FF with Negan.

What do you do when you are not writing i.e. Job/Hobbies etc? I am the company director at my family business, but I now only work part time as I have a 2 year old son. When I’m not writing or looking after him, I enjoy writing and playing music, playing board games (huge board gamers in this house), and watching crime documentaries mainly.

How long have you been in the SPN Fandom? I joined in 2019, but it’s like I’ve always been here. I am very late to the party, but I at least got to watch the finale at the same time as the rest of the world luckily!

Are you in any other fandoms and do you write for them? The Walking Dead, Walker and The Boys (they are givens I feel) and I dip my toe into Marvel and write for all of those characters (Sometimes) Other fandoms I don’t/no longer write for are McFly, The 1975, Red Dwarf & Harry Potter

Do you do any writing outside of fanfiction? If so, tell us about it? I have written a book called Who Said Love is Perfect? The book opens with the main protagonist, Xanthe being arrested for murdering her boyfriend Mark. The rest of the story is all the events leading up to Mark’s death, including his drug addiction, abusive behaviour, and his cousin Mikey who Xanthe takes quite the liking to…

I have also just finished turning my fic His Property into an original fiction to print and sell (depending when this is posted it might be available now!) and I’ve been working on turning Safe into an original fiction also. I prefer writing fanfiction, though - so that takes up the majority of my time!

Favorite published author: Malorie Blackman (I realise she’s a teen fiction writer but I still adore her)

Have you ever read a book that made an impact on your life? Which one and why?: Broken by Shy Keenan - it’s an autobiography about her horrific childhood, but the end of the book sees her finding peace and happiness and was incredibly uplifting. At the time it inspired me to believe things do get better - sorry that was a heavy answer 😅

Favorite genre of fanfic (smut, angst, fluff, crack, rpf, etc): Smut is definitely my home and anyone who has spoken to me for more than five minutes will know that. I am definitely not discreet about it - but there’s something to be said for a good bit of angst. Also I love putting a dark twist on most if not all of my work.

Favorite piece of your own writing: My Wincest series, “Normal” which you’ll find on my masterlist.

Most underrated fic you have written: Safe or Loyalties Lie

Story of yours that you’d most like to see turned into a movie/tv show: His Property

Favorite Tumblr Writer(s): @little-diable, @firefly-in-darkness and @kittenofdoomage

Favorite fic from another writer: Dirty Little Secret by @pink1031 has never left me alone.

Favorite character to write: Dark!Sam is always fun, as is Negan. But fluffy Dean might just take it.

Favorite Pairing to write: Almost all of my fics are reader insert, but if we’re going for OTP then J2 or Wincest

Least favorite character to write (and why): Castiel - purely because he has a very unique personality and I don’t feel I can capture it as well as other writers.

Do you have anyone you consider a mentor? Outside of Tumblr, my former English teacher, I wouldn’t be here without her. On tumblr - @kittenofdoomage is a sweetheart for answering all of my questions, I’ve definitely always looked up to her. But honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without @mummybear listening to me ramble about my fics 24/7 and helping me figure stuff out.

Do you have any aspirations involving your writing? I’d love to have a published fic and continue to do well with my fanfiction. One day I’d love to earn enough money from writing alone to not have to “Work”

How many work-in-progress stories do you have: I try and keep that number to one as I don’t like to spread my focus too thin. I have several ideas waiting to be written - maybe 8 or 9.

What are you currently working on? I’m currently writing the sequel to Absent, Too Close.

“Pond Diving” - All About The Writing

What/who has had the biggest influence on your writing? I recently read a Wincest fic on Ao3 called The Bright Lights of Disturbia, and that writer’s style really struck a chord with me, and I’ve found it’s really helped shape my writing into something better than before.

Best writing advice you've been given: Write what you’re inspired to. If you are on a roll but a scene isn’t working, make notes and come back to it. I’ve become a big fan of the square brackets. [they argue some more]. You can find and replace when you’re done :)

Biggest obstacle you’ve faced in your writing: The balance between pleasing myself and pleasing my audience. Writing for me and writing for notes/followers. We all want to do well with our writing, but we need to nurture our muse to keep it alive.

What aspects of writing do you find difficult when you write fanfiction? I really struggled with fluff for a long time, but when I had to stop writing smut for the month in Jan, I tackled a fluffy series, and now I’m far more comfortable with that genre. Writing canon within SPN is not my cup of tea, it stresses me out as I’m so bad with things like lore.

Is there anything you want to write but are afraid to (and why): I feel I’m pretty brave in what I’ll write. I used to be against writing real couples, but I had the urge to write something that’s Jenneel x Reader recently, so I broke my own rule and wrote some! It wasn’t as scary as I thought and I’m happy with the result!

What inspires/motivates you to write: My MaDD plays a big part, but also, my husband is a great cheerleader. All my followers and friends on here too - they are definitely the reason I keep writing and posting.

How do you deal with self doubt: Usually whine to my friends about it until I give myself a kick up the backside and remember that I am my worst critic. It’s never as bad as you might think it is.

How do you deal with writer's block: I force myself to write literally anything. Even - Once upon a time Sam was in the kitchen making a sandwich when Dean entered. Don’t be afraid for it to be terrible, you can edit and delete once you’ve unstuck yourself.

Do you plan/outline your story before you start: I don’t necessarily have a proper system. In the past I’ve totally winged one story but then planned chapter for chapter for the next story. My general process nowadays is to wing the first little while, having a general idea of how I want the story to go (it never works out that way), and then once I get more towards the end I might plan the remaining chapters as I’m anal about my stories ending on a chapter that’s a multiple of five 😅🤣

Do you have any weird writing habits: Not necessarily. Thanks to my MaDD I get ticks which means I’ll randomly put my laptop down, stand up, jump around the room and then sit back down. If anyone watched me when I’m alone they’d think I was insane 🤣 I also tend to pull the faces of my characters as I’m writing. Which means I’ve seductively bitten my lip at my computer screen many a time.

Have you ever received hateful comments on your fic and how do you deal with it? Oh yeah, a few. What everyone has to remember is that you are not going to please everyone all the time. We are all unique human beings with unique tastes and you and yours just might not fit someone else’s. That’s okay! And just remember that they are the one with the issue, enough to take time out to post something negative about you/your writing when they could’ve been far more productive with their time. Just keep doing you, and you’ll attract the type of people who do like you and your work.

Conversely: what’s been some of your favorite feedback on your fanfic? I love when someone reblogs with feedback almost as long as the fic, picking out sentences and phrases and commenting on them. I love when people articulate something that I was hoping to portray in a roundabout way because it proves I did my job correctly. People yelling at me is always fun too. I love to tease and I do love a cliffhanger. Some of my favourite feedback has come from @waywardbaby @donnaintx and @samwinchesterjaredjensen

If you could give one piece of advice to a new and/or struggling writer, what would it be? Don’t worry about what you think people want to read. Worry about what you want to write. Some of my best and most popular fics have been stories that were completely self indulgent. I think it shows in your writing that you enjoyed writing it. Especially as a new writer, I know the temptation to write what’s “popular” to build your following is strong, but if you always set out and write the type of stories you enjoy, you will build a following of people who enjoy reading those types of stories! As hard as it is to put into practice, try to not get bogged down in the idea that notes = quality of writing. That is not the case. Some of my favourite fics have a low note count, but are better than some fics I’ve seen/read that have 100s of notes 😘

#pond diving #spnfanficpond

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sanctus-ingenium · 3 years

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Heya! Your last few pieces have been incredible as always! I wanted to ask: how long have you been working on this current project? I've been a fan for a long time but with varying times of activity and so I recognize oc names I'm just curious if they've always been a part of this current plot or if they've been inserted into different settings throughout the years. Feel free to answer this privately or not at all if its too personal!

hiiiiii (u caught me scrolling tumblr mid-lecture, don't tell my prof)

for the last few pieces.. the reason i'm able to do a bunch of big illustrations is because i'm already finished with the setting. i wrote the 3 inver books over the course of roughly a year and tbh all of the content in them was new for the books and didn't have any recycled content aside from some minor details. the main 3 characters were from a dnd oneshot in 2019 but i didn't do much with them until i decided to write about them in an original fantasy setting in may-june of 2020. last book was finished in june of 2021. unlike a lot of my previous stuff, this story had a distinct end. all the character arcs are done, the plot is finished. it was a big deal for me because i usually never wrap up stories lmao

however

in the last like 10 chapters of more than 100 total i introduced pascal, who is literally a clone who had to kill & replace god just to survive his original self (félix) turning human again. then the books ended. and i realised that because this guy was immortal, he was going to persist and have a much longer life, so his story wasn't all wrapped up neatly like everyone else's - he didn't want to become immortal, he just wanted to not disappear, and now he's stuck like This while the happy ending he wanted so much was handed to a different version of him who got to become human and get married and so on. he didn't get those choices - it was either stop existing or become the boss púca and be cut off from humanity forever. and while he did maintain a friendship with a lot of the human characters after the 1860s (post-canon), human lifespans are short. everyone he knew died and left him alone, and in his otherworld barrow he would have no one to interact with but himself.

i haven't written any structured prose about him BUT i do have the beginnings of a story set in the 21st century that picks up with him, mostly about a corruption arc/his descent into becoming the worst version of himself as a result of isolation making him massively self-centered... so i guess it's more like a bad end au for félix (the actual main character of the inver books), only because of the clone situation i get to write him both good and bad endings. so basically i've been working on that for about a month but as a character he's less than a year old

anyway. for "inserted into different settings over the years" well!!!!! yeah i do that. all the inver characters are new for their setting but the mez characters certainly aren't... i wanted to focus on worldbuilding and mechs and engine stuff and didn't have any characters to populate it all, so i just yoinked them from my very first writing project - a book series i started in 2008. that's why those characters are familiar. oddly enough it makes them harder to insert into a closed story because i have to go through every version of them to pick and choose wtf i'm keeping and what i'm discarding. but also one of the characters from that 2008-era setting is john who you may be familiar with (lol). john's twin brother, invented for dnd, is félix. and pascal is félix 2. so in answer to your question: yes but also no? but also yes and no.

ftr my favourite character of all time is also félix and pascal is just him again but minus the humanity so that's also why i have dedicated a lot of time to thinking about him. also he is easy to draw

#sorry i take so long to get to the point i am literally obsessed with talking about this subject

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jacaranda-bloom · 4 years

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October Fic Rec

I’ve been super slack in doing my monthly fic recs of late (sorry!) so this list covers the last 3 months and there’s lots of lovely fics to devour!

In this instalment, there are fics from @lesbianiconharrystyles @kingsofeverything @mediawhorefics @lululawrence @harryanthus @evilovesyou @fallinglikethis @cocoalou @gaycousinlarry @comebackassholes @daggerandrose @allwaswell16 @sadaveniren @all-these-larrythings @wait4ever @jaerie @laynefaire @harrybridgers and @missandrogyny.

Thank you to all the writers for sharing their wonderful talent with us. Please don’t forget to leave kudos and a comment if you enjoy their work. 💜

New Reads

💜 Ever Since I Tried Your Way | @lesbianiconharrystyles / flowercrownfemme | E | 26k | June 2020 | 1940′s/50′s, farm/ranch, farmer Louis, farmer Harry, virgin Harry, gay cowboys, repression, internalised homophobia, hurt/comfort, gender exploration, marriage kink, feminisation, romantic face shaving, body worship, country music | As soon as I started this fic I knew it wouldn’t be able to put it down. It’s just... gosh. The writing is stunning and I was completely immersed from the first page to the last.

💜 Have Love, Will Travel | @kingsofeverything | E | 97k | Sept 2020 | road trip, camping, friends to lovers, smut, humour, youtube, POV Louis, slow burn | God, this story was everything I wanted it to be and so much more. Amazing relationship building and great communication. Hilarious, brilliant dialogue, heartwarming.

💜 Love You In The Dark | Perzikje | E | 10k | Oct 2020 | wedding night, arranged marriage, smut, dubious consent | Sexual exploration and first times. Check authors note.

💜 All These Lights | @mediawhorefics | E | 35k | Nov 2015 | ABO, X Factor, consensual under age sex, omega Harry, alpha Louis, angst with a happy ending, smut | I’m a sucker for a good ABO fic and this one didn’t disappoint.

💜 I Go Down Blazing, Feeling Like I’m Going Crazy (series) | @lululawrence | NR | 30k | Niall / Rory McIlroy | Oct 2020 | soulmates, famous/famous, singer Niall, golfer Rory, pining, diet angst, no smut, heartbreak weather, based on Dear Patience and Bend The Rules | This was my first time reading Niall/Rory and I adored it. Brilliant take on the soulmate trope too, heartwarming and tender.

💜 Who Do You Burn For | @harryanthus | NR | 4k | Oct 2020 | strangers to lovers, implied/referenced drug use, references to addition | I am such a massive fan of this author and I will inhale anything they publish. More like poetry than prose. So evocative.

💜 Point. Drop, Call. | @evilovesyou / 4ureyesonly28 | G | 1.6k | Jan 2020 | summer, best friends, summer romance, first kiss, party games, mutual crushes, coming out | This was absolutely adorable and managed to provide a whole-ass story in 1,610 words. All the summer feels.

💜 Eat Your Vegetables | bananaheathen | M | 9k | Aug 2020 | soccer player Louis, nutritionist Harry, shopping, banter, sexual realisation, smut | This fic sucked me in from the very first page, so much so that when I went back to grab the link to add to this post I ended up re-reading the entire thing. So witty and sweet and all the goodness in the world.

💜 For Wanting | anonymous | E | 5k | Oct 2020 | post mpreg Louis, male lactation, body worship, lactation kink, strangers to lovers, neighbours, dirty talk | Really sweet and hot, beautifully written.

💜 Pillow Talk | @fallinglikethis | E | 26k | Feb 2016 | friends to lovers, sexuality crisis, first time, mutual pining | I have no idea how I’ve never read this fic. Such a clever plot and perfectly delivered. Hot and funny and sweet and all the loveliness.

💜 The End | @harryanthus | T | 5k | Aug 2020 | post-war, selectively mute Louis, soldier Harry, psychological trauma, hopeful ending, non-specific time period | This is everything I usually avoid reading but this writer’s words just do something to my brain and I let down all of my protective barriers and dive in not caring about what I’m going to be faced with. I’m yet to be disappointed. When I read their fics I always feel like I’m floating or drowning or... I don’t even know how to describe it, but yeah. Wow.

💜 The Anticipation of Knowing You | @cocoalou / sweetrevenge | T | 13k | Sept 2020 | strangers to lovers, neighbours, pen pals, love letters, baked goods as a wooing technique | This was all kinds of lovely and funny and sweet. The premise is brilliant and I understand that we’re to be blessed with parts 2 and 3 in the near future, so yay!

💜 It’s Halftime. Are You Ready To Go? | @gaycousinlarry / momentofclarity | E | 12k | Oct 2017 | friends to lovers, awkward boners, pining, banter, flirting, dirty talk, body worship, smut, watching football as a seduction technique, Niall texts Harry terrible sporting innuendos to make him sweat, jockstraps | So fucking good. Sexy and cute and funny. Could read this one again and again.

💜 Salvation Let’s Their Wings Unfold | twoshipstiedup | M | 14k | May 2019 | angels and demons, heaven and hell, angel Louis, demon Harry, humour, fluff, romance | So much love for this fic. Way less heavy than the tags suggest. Niall is both supremely unhelpful and the captain of the ship as always. Fluffy and fun and romantic.

💜 Dom Louis (series) | @comebackassholes / dimpled_halo | E | 12k | Mar 2020 | dom Louis, sub Marcel, BDSM, kink negotiation | God. This series is amazing. Hot and sweet and nnnrrgggh. Really hope we get more in this universe.

💜 For You I’d Bleed Myself Dry | @daggerandrose / amomentoflove | E | 50k | May 2019 | vampire Louis, human Harry, soulmates, king Louis, angst, depression, blood drinking, past abuse, past kidnapping | I absolutely loved this fic. Beautifully written and so thick with emotion. Check tags, summary and author notes.

💜 Fellowship of Eroda | @sadaveniren | E | 5k | Feb 2020 | dungeons and dragons, gaming, hate to love, BDSM, face slapping, facials, wrestling, choking, spanking, Louis is a brat, so is Harry a bit | Adored this. Such a clever plot and the writing is amazing as always.

💜 Brooklyn Saw Me | alreadyhome | E | 29k | Nov 2017 | homeless Louis, uni student Harry, no-graphic violence, homophobia, angst, slow burn, hurt/comfort, NYC | Painfully beautiful and so well written. Loved it from start to finish.

💜 It Feels Different When You’re With Me | @all-these-larrythings / rearviewdreamer | M | 45k | May 2020 | deaf Louis, sign language instructor Harry, slow burn, mentions of major character injury in the past | God. This fic is amazing. Gorgeous writing and so romantic and sweet.

💜 We’ll Be Alright | @jaerie | E | 20k | Feb 2020 | ABO, alpha Harry, omega Louis, major illness, sick Harry, sex therapist Louis, dubious ethics, sexual dysfunction, depression, recovery, mating, knotting, unplanned pregnancy | Gosh. So good. So hot. So lovely.

💜 Let Me Be Your Everlasting Light | @laynefaire | M | 12k | Aug 2020 | established relationship, northern lights, Norway, romance, proposal | Loved every beautiful word of this. So romantic and sweet. Can I go to Norway please?

Re-Reads

💜 Here In The Afterglow | @harrybridgers / fondleeds | E | 89k | Dec 2016 | 1970′s AU, small town America, gay rights movement, period-typical homophobia, strange to friends to lovers, angst, hurt/comfort, bullying, high school | Re-read of an old fave which hits differently each time I revisit it. Hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking in some parts, but ultimately uplifting and hopeful.

💜 Led By Your Beating Heart | @missandrogyny | E | 30k | Oct 2015 | famous Harry, non-famous Louis, Call or Delete, Cute Lou from the Loo, coming out, smut, banter, romance | Still one of my all time faves. The plot is delicious and the flow of the whole story just makes me smile throughout. I find myself going back to this one every few months. Romantic and fluffy and sexy as all hell.

💜 Is This Seat Taken? | Lainy122 | E 35k | Dec 2015 | famous Harry, non-famous Louis, popstar Harry, seat-filler Louis (eventually), Louis and Zayn make bets, penis-shaped cashew nuts, miscommunication, shitty PR tactics | One of my all-time fave fics. I must’ve read this one more than ten times by now and it never disappoints. Funny and sweet and hot.

💜 When The Sun Won’t Let You Sleep | @allwaswell16 | E | 30k | July 2018 | enemies to lovers, scientist Louis, scientist Harry, Antarctica, sexual tension, smut, diet angst | Such an interesting plot that is handled so beautifully. I adore all of this authors work but this definitely up there with my faves.

#November 1 2020 #fic recs #ficrectag

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hlupdate · 4 years

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The relationship between A-list muse and lauded designer is nothing new. But few have been as serendipitous that of Harry Styles and Alessandro Michele: the pop star’s solo career coincided neatly with the designer hitting his stride as the game-changing creative director of Gucci. Theirs is a mutually beneficial partnership that has elevated the former to new echelons of style, while the latter has become something of an icon to an unexpected fandom.

Unlike the large-scale productions of recent show seasons, Michele first presented his vision for Gucci with a quietly confident collection on 19 January 2015 — reportedly pulled together in just five turbo-charged days. The collection had all the signifiers of the retro-inspired aesthetic that has since become Michele’s beat, introducing the fur-lined loafers, pussy-bow blouses and florals that still form the backbone of his work today. A 20-year-old Harry, meanwhile, was still a long-haired One Direction member set to embark on the band’s biggest ever — and as it turned out last— tour. Just as One Direction’s days were winding down, Michele was picking up speed. Gucci reported a five per cent rise in sales in the last three months of 2015, amounting to 1.1 billion Euro in the final quarter.

Stylist Harry Lambert, who had been working with Harry for a few years by then, decided it was time for the boy-bander to try something new. A floral suit – that floral suit – from Michele’s spring/summer 2016 collection would be just the ’fit for the American Music Awards in November 2015, they decided.

Looking back it was a “very bold move,” Lambert admits. Styles was the first to take one of Michele’s full menswear looks from the Gucci catwalk and wear it on the red carpet. “It was very exciting to see everyone’s responses, but also how great he looked in it,’’ Lambert told Miss Vogueof what he still views as a turning point in his client’s fashion journey. This winning suit encouraged Styles and Lambert to pull more Gucci, and Harry gave his final performance as a member of One Direction wearing a suit in the retro petal print that defined Michele’s early collections.

In fact, Gucci was just about the only thing that the 1D alum carried over to his solo career. Even his shoulder-length curls were shorn. The music videos that accompanied Styles’s eponymous number one album, released in April 2017, all incorporated Gucci, as did his appearances on the promo trail. A navy tailored coat floats through the sky in the video for “Sign Of The Times”, and he wears floral tailoring in the clip for “Kiwi”. When the time came for Harry to take his record on the road, he wore countless bespoke Gucci suits on stage. Most were floral brocade with flared trousers, and paired with pussy-bow shirting.

By June 2018, the relationship had been formalised. Styles was revealed – in a series of photos taken by Glen Luchford in the suitably English setting of a chip shop – as the face of Gucci’s tailoring campaign. Two more campaigns followed, in which Styles models the most exuberant of Michele’s creations without ever sacrificing his schoolboy cheekiness, not even with a lamb slung around his shoulders. The campaigns, two by Luchford, a third by Harmony Karine, helped to usher in a new dawn in menswear advertising.

A year later Harry was unveiled as part of a diverse line-up in the campaign for Gucci’s Mèmoire D’une Odeur — the near century-old house’s first gender-neutral scent. Yes, he was the main event, but Styles shared the spotlight with other creatives in what became an unavoidable campaign, covering buildings, beauty counters, column inches and iPhone wallpapers across the globe. Styles has since quipped that he wears it to bed,making a bottle a necessary purchase for even half-dedicated Harry fans.

That Harry’s work with Gucci has proved so popular with his dedicated fanbase is a key component in the success of their collaborations. Though — and again, this is likely owing to Harry’s own allegiances — his followers do tend to have a keen interest in fashion compared to other fandoms, it’s down to their idol that Harries know the artistic director by his first name alone. “It is really exciting for us fans to see another facet of Harry as a creative individual, and his Gucci partnership cultivates that and gives us an even more in-depth perspective of who he is,” Nadhila, a 26-year-old fan in Indonesia told Miss Vogue.

Nadhila, who has been a part of the team behind the Twitter account @HSNewsUpdate since 2011, believes that the fluid nature of Michele’s vision has contributed to the interest in Harry’s Gucci looks. “There are no boundaries on what he might come up with, so fans are always excited to see what look [Harry] might step out in next,” she says. Styles’s efforts to be a fan-focused, ethical pop star – his motto is “treat people with kindness” – are relevant, too. “He has inspired us to be bold, unique and unafraid to experiment when it comes to fashion,” she adds. “He has shown us that there is no such thing as too feminine or too masculine, we can be both and we can be ourselves.”

Another of Harry’s biggest fan accounts, @TheHarryNews, is run by four women in their mid-twenties: Annie, Océane, Lena and Rachel. “You can really see the confidence he’s gotten from working with Gucci,” they share collectively over email. “[He’s] taking more risks and letting more of himself show… In a lot of ways we’ve seen Harry really come into his own. I think that really resonates with people, especially his fans, who get tiny pieces of [who he really is] through fashion.”

Two fans who have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of this fashion partnership are the transatlantic duo behind @HSFashionArchive. Since April 2016, London-based Lu and Washington DC-based Alex have documented every look worn by Harry in meticulous detail, all to act as “a resource for fans”. Its posts lets his followers know how they might go about procuring these items, but also sheds light on key house codes – thus enabling fans to quickly identify which of Harry’s looks are Gucci, and which aren’t. “We have noticed that fans buy the Gucci pieces that Harry has worn,” 29-year-old Alex explained. “Though some pieces are pricey, we’ve seen people buy the loafers, boots, and bags that Harry has sported over the years. Lots of our followers bought the £34 Gucci lipsticks he wore in Beauty Papers.”

The pair believes that the relationship works because Gucci is able to offer Harry such a broad spectrum of looks to choose from. “Gucci’s looks range from wearable to outrageous, so Harry’s continued partnership with Gucci guarantees both attainable style and flashy moments. There’s nothing like seeing him in a wild new outfit that we couldn’t have anticipated.” And though one might assume the scene-stealing suits are most popular with fans, according to Nadhila, they like his low-key looks best, given that “they show a more casual and intimate look into who he is as a ‘normal’ person”.

Of course, there is a notable exception: the 2019 Met Gala. For the opening evening of the “Camp: Notes On Fashion” exhibition Michele and Harry acted as co-hosts, and arrived on the pink carpet together. “After such a colourful tour wardrobe it was nice to do something a little unexpected,” Lambert told Miss Vogue of the black blouse Styles wore. “[It was about] taking traditionally feminine elements like the frills, heeled boots, sheer fabric and the pearl earring, but then rephrasing them as masculine pieces set against the high-waisted tailored trousers and his tattoos. Camp, but still Harry.” Lambert explained at the time: “We met up earlier this year to share mood boards with the Gucci team. We had pages of printed references all on the table from Alessandro, myself and Harry, then we edited them down.” Today, the @HSFashionArchive duo agree the night “was a massive deal amongst fans”.

There was the now pearl earring-wearing fashion darling of the music world, standing alongside the closest thing to a rockstar the fashion industry has at present. “I love dressing up and he loves dressing up,” Michele told The Face in 2019. “The moment I met him, I immediately understood there was something strong around him. I realised he was much more than a young singer. He was a young man, dressed in a thoughtful way, with uncombed hair and a beautiful voice. I thought he gathered within himself the feminine and the masculine.”

Since the Met, the relationship has continued to go from strength to strength. Styles wore a custom look on the cover of his second record, Fine Line, shot by Tim Walker, and Michele and Styles collaborated on a T-shirt to coincide with it, with a percentage of the sales going to the Global Fund For Women. Gucci’s high-waisted trousers, cropped blazers and dazzling shirting now takes up even more space in Styles’s wardrobe, and bring as much attention to the star as his sophomore record’s commercial and critical success.

Sightings of Styles in Gucci have become a source of comfort for fans in a turbulent 2020. From his Mary-Janes at the Brits to his oversized turquoise blazer and crochet gloves in the “Golden” video, by way of outré sunglasses and floral sunglasses in the clip for “Watermelon Sugar”, Harry’s recent sartorial choices have managed to be pleasingly familiar, while simultaneously keeping his followers on their toes.

A bit like the chicken and the egg conundrum, the question remains: is Harry very Gucci, or is Gucci very Harry? The verdict is out. But without each other, both might be missing a little something.

#harry styles #articles #111120

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travel-hopefully · 3 years

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A collective post of everything I watched on Netflix in 2020

I finally found the watch history function on Netflix which I wanted in order to reminisce over the TV/film I watched over the last year, including the good and the bad. I’ve included a little round-up of my thoughts for each, as lockdown has got me with plenty of time on my hands. If anyone has watched any of the below feel free to give me a message- happy to discuss anything!

Travelers (season 3) - this was an unforgettable show with some great characters and definitely put me through hell (in a good way), I am a David x Marcy shipper for sure!

IT Crowd (season 4 & 5) - my favourite comedy show ever, and I mean the UK version

Explained (random episodes) - interesting bite-sized episodes on a variety of topics

Sherlock (season 3 & 4) - it kinda went downhill from season 4...and doesn’t help that there is no season 5 in sight

Unforgettable - must be pretty forgettable cause I couldn’t remember watching, a typical revenge plot romp I think

The Mind, Explained - same as for Explained above, except more pyshcological

You (season 2) - binge-worthy! I love to hate Joe Goldberg.

Don’t F**k with Cats - wow, this was disturbing but so gripping.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - geniunely a good remake and rather amusing

Sex, Explained - as for Explained but a little more intriguing ;)

The Stranger (season 1) - full of suspense and a good binge watch but ultimately full of plot holes with an unsatisfying conclusion

Gavin & Stacey (season 3) - a classic which I only started watching in 2019

Sex Education (all of it) - comedy gold!

Unbelievable (limited series) - very harrowing, an emotional rollercoaster based on a real-life rape case

Atypical (all of it) - light-hearted and fun to binge

The Sinner (season 1) - it was okay... wasn’t spectacular compared to other similar dramas I’ve seen

Love Is Blind (season 1) - cringey but satisfying

In the Shadow of the Moon - I hardly remember this one :)

Dunkirk - a stand-out historical movie

The Stepfather - typical killer stepfather plot but rather enjoyable

The Super - an interesting premise, but not that super

Saw VI - all gore not much plot

Doctor Who (random episodes) - no words needed :D

Louis Theroux and Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends (random episodes) - I love his style of interviewing - what a man!

The Revenant - a lot of... well, not much

Nightcrawler - it was decent, but something was missing which I couldn’t put my finger on

How To Get Away With Murder (seasons 1-5) - probably my biggest new watch of the year, a rollercoaster of suspense, drama and murder, another season to go...

Ocean’s Eleven - fun but cheesey

Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare - creepy faces and an interesting ending

Eli - it started one way then went another, I wasn’t convinced

Star Trek (2009) - I couldn’t really get into this one...

In the Tall Grass - a lot of running around in grass

Bloodride (season 1) - i loved this, a quirky idea, i binged it

Apostle - intense, a satisfying religious cult horror

The Platform - great idea, not sure on the ending

What Keeps You Alive - what happened in this one again?

History 101 - didn’t watch many episodes :P

The Prodigy - a decent child possession horror

Into the Night (season 1) - really enjoyed this, a highlight of the year for me, hoping for a season 2

It - pretty chilling and creepy, but a tad cheesey

Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - the first one has a brilliant dinosaur fight scene, the second one has too many plot holes and inconsistencies to take seriously

Knowing - a Nicholas Cage sci-fi/apocalpytic classic, pretty decent

Stranger Things (random episodes) - i tried to get my bf into the show but sadly he still isn’t much of a TV fan

Miranda (random episodes) - such fun!

Black Mirror (seasons 1 & 2) - another one i introduced the bf to, i got a bit further with him on this one, the very first episode being the highlight

The Last House on the Left - a decent remake, but nothing outstanding

Dark (season 3) - this, my friends, is one of the greatest shows of all time. want a timey-wimey story where everything is connected and has an amazingly satisfying conclusion? this is the show for you!

The Silence - a bad ‘A Quiet Place’

Geostorm - i’m a fan of disaster movies but this one wasn’t in the same league as some of the greats

Panic Room - a mum and kid hides in the panic room when a group of thugs break into the house, it was enjoyable but not all that memorable

Prisoners - a very long film with some enjoyable parts but overall unsatisfying

Girl on the Third Floor - it was okay, i can’t remember much of it

The Woods (season 1) - another Harlan Coben adaptation- not as good as ‘Safe’ or ‘The Stranger’ but still a gripping thriller

Time Trap - a fun time-travel film with some interesting turns of events

72 Dangerous/Cutest Animals (random episodes) - just ‘cause i love animals

Slasher (all of it) - some very gory deaths, especially in season 3. quite disturbing but keeps the suspense up throughout.

2012 - a guilty pleasure of mine, realistic or not

Kingsman: The Secret Service - a fun spy film, will be looking to watch the second one soon

Blackfish - this was harrowing, it really made me think, but overall i’m on the side of tilikum

Unsolved Mysteries (season 1 & 2) - watching some of these my jaw dropped, love theorising on this kind of stuff

Down to Earth with Zac Efron (season 1) - Zac is great in this, he seems so chill and literally ‘down to earth’

The Call - I love this film, seen it 3 times now

Contagion - very relatable right now, interesting to see the parallels with todays situation

Next in Fashion (season 1) - i didn’t get too far with this, i found it a little superficial

Searching - another of those internet web-cam based films. decent but not memorable.

Non-stop - another Nicholas Cage classic, this time a suspense thriller

Freaks - as the title suggests this one was rather weird, i didn’t quite gel with it

The Perfection - wow, that was an experience. definitely memorable, even if some characters make questionable decisions...

Extraction - not usually a fan of action-type thrillers, but i actually enjoyed this one, plus it has Chris Hemsworth in it!

Line of Duty (season 2) - full of suspense, a great build-up in the first 5 episodes, but the way they tied it up really grated on me

Insidious - watched this one with my sister. a genuinely good horror film on rewatch with an amazing cliff-hanger

A Quiet Place - another one watched with my sister. labelled a horror but its more sci-fi, either way its a classic. bring on the second film!

The Dark Tower - disappointing mostly.

Gladiator - i’d never seen this before and now i understand the hype- what an epic movie!

Criminal UK (season 2) - didn’t disappoint following the exceptional first season

Venom - a fun comedic marvel film, definitely need to watch more from Marvel in the next year- i need an order to watch them in as don’t know where to start

Our Planet (season 1) - chill David Attenborough to put on in the background

The Equalizer - a great action revenge thriller plot with a badass Denzel

Merlin (random episodes) - who doesn’t love a trip down memory lane with some nostalgic bbc merlin?

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) - pretty scary remake

The Witcher (season 1) - rewatched in order to familiarise myself again before season 2 - i didn’t realise how funny the show was until this time round, gotta love Jaskier!

American Murder: The Family Next Door - this was haunting

The Haunting of Bly Manor - phenomenal, emotional, creepy, heartbreaking - i much preferred it to Hill House

Abducted in Plain Sight - seriously, how naive are the parents in this? i could have a rant for hours about this!

The End of the F***ing World (seasons 1 & 2) - very bingeable, Alyssa makes me laugh too much, i love how relatable the show is

Fractured - didn’t expect much from this consipiracy-type film but it kept me guessing right till the end

The Ripper (limited series) - very intriguing, but the mysogyny in this was shocking

Inconceivable - a typical mother looking for her baby revenge plot but still entertaining

The Midnight Sky - i’d heard rave reviews for this but was disappointed by a lacklustre plot which was sacrificed for award-winning cinematography

Killer Women with Piers Morgan (season 2) - a pyschological interview series which looks into the mind of murderers, rather interesting

May the Devil Take You - scarier and jumpier than i thought it would be!

So 2020 obviously gave me a lot of time to watch a s**t load of stuff and looking back at it i feel like i got a decent amount of my watch-list ticked off! And obviously this is not including shows watched on other media so there’s that too (a special shout-out to the William Hartnell era of Doctor Who which I watched this year on BritBox). In all, 2020 has definitely introduced me to a few new fandoms and progressed my love for others.

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putschki1969 · 3 years

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Wakana e-onkyo Interview English Translation

Note: The first interview with Wakana regarding her cover album. Some juicy details so be sure to check it out!! A little highlight: Hitoshi Konno provided his violin playing for the album!! As always, take everything you read with a grain of salt, my Japanese is by no means perfect. If you want to use this translation or parts of it, be sure to CREDIT me and LINK to this post.

■ SPECIAL INTERVIEW ー with Wakana

Wakana debuted in 2008 as a member of Kalafina. In February 2019 she made her debut as solo singer. Her cover album "Wakana Covers ~ Anime Classics ~" has just been released. It features anime songs in a classic arrangement. Be smitten by Wakana’s charming and expressive vocals, she adjusts her voice to fit the mood of each song. Also pay attention to the unique sound which perfectly conveys the image the different arrangers envisioned. We talked about the songs, her singing, the arrangements and the overall sound.

── I think everyone has long been hoping for you to release an album with the concept of covering anime songs with a classical arrangment. What inspired you to pick this particular timing?

Wakana: It was partly because I appeared in my producer’s event "Satoshi Takebe Premium Duo Session Special Vol.9 Satoshi Takebe x Wakana" last November. Takebe-san suggested we should do some covers and I told him I would love to sing some Ghibli songs. That’s how we ended up performing a Ghibli medley which was a lot of fun. Having had that amazing experience, I was planning to do a series of live performances starting this spring where I would cover anime songs in collaboration with a female group called 1966Quartet.

── Unfortunately all plans for spring this year were ...

Wakana: Yes, the live was cancelled before it even got announced. However, I had planned to hold the second instalment of that concert series in December anyway so we decided to just start from there.

── So were you planning to announce the release of the album during the spring live and then accompany the release with the winter live! Was it supposed to be like that?

Wakana: Actually, at the beginning, it was only a live project, I had no plans to release an album. However, during the stayhome period while I was filming videos for my fan club, I asked the fans, "are there any songs you want me to sing?" There were many people who mentioned anime songs, especially Ghibli songs. Needless to say, I loved all the suggetions and I realised that fans would probably be very happy if I released an album in advance of the live. So, while secretly starting the album production, I uploaded some covers on YouTube to get everyone excited. Eventually I was able to announce that, “yes, I am actually working on an album!”

── When it comes to the production of an album like that, the most difficult thing is selecting songs.

Wakana: If the choice had been up to me only the album would be full of Ghibli *laughs*, in order to prevent that I gathered the opinions of everyone around me and this is how we ended up with the final tracklist. For example, I came up with the idea to include a "Doraemon" song and some newer pieces from Makoto Shinkai movies but "Yatsura No Ashioto No Ballade" and "Get Wild" are songs that I wouldn't have suggested myself. I didn't think I would ever cover a song like "Get Wild".

── With so many Ghibli songs to choose from wasn't it particularly difficult to decide which songs to include in and which songs to give a pass?

Wakana: It was!! For example, I was adamant about having “Kaze no Toorimichi” on the album but that forced be to remove “Teru no Uta” from my list because both songs have a similar atmosphere. Then there were songs like “Kimi wo Nosete”. When I performed it together with Takebe-san at this live it left such a strong impression on me. Plus, I have always liked it so I KNEW I had to have it on the album. In fact, this song came to my mind first when thinking about the selection of songs for this album, I was literally crying removing song after song from my list of candidates but I comforted myself with the thought that I would eventually use all those songs for my live performance in December!

── How did you arrange each of the songs once you managed to select them?

Wakana: I asked three arrangers to help me this time, Shin Hashimoto, Miki Sakurai and Shu Kanematsu. According to the image I wanted to convey with each song, I gave it to one of my three arrangers. We held many remote meetings where I first talked about the image I had in mind for the individual songs and in response to that, the arrangers sent me their suggestions... Everyone came up with absolutely wonderful arrangements that go far beyond anything I could have ever imagined!

── I think that deciding on the key is also a problem for a cover song. Did you decide that after consulting with your arrangers?

Wakana: It's not as simple as to just change a male singer's song into a key that is easy for women to sing, after all, you don’t want to ruin the atmosphere of the song by changing the key too much. To begin with I sent sample recordings of me singing certain patterns for each song to the arranger and then arranger would suggest a key they found fitting. I asked them to send me accompaniment that matched their preferred key and then I re-recorded my singing with their accompaniment to get a feel for the overall atmosphere. So with that sort of exchange between myself and the arrangers we selected the perfect key that would suit each song.

── When you say that you don’t want to ruin the atmosphere of a song by changing the key, what exactly do you mean by that and could you name a song where this applies?

Wakana: Take "Rain" for example, the key is a little too low for me which doesn’t exactly make it easy for me to sing but I think that singing it with this key will bring you closer to the world created by Senri Oe and Motohiro Hata. A world that’s filled with tears, tears by men.

── "Rain" is a song with particularly strong emotions from a male perspective.

Wakana: It took a while to get into the lyrics. Kanematsu-san who was in charge of the arrangement helped me interpret the song from a male perspective. Towards the end of the lyrics there is a line that says "Whistling, I follow". Why does he whistle in this moment? I didn't understand. So when I asked Kanematsu-san, he said, "I think the man in this song is trying to appear cool." And indeed, when I read other phrases such as "incapable of words" or "in front of the eyes of the world" at the beginning it suddenly made sense. Once I had challenged myself with this song I came to the conclusion that I want to sing more manly songs from now on. This song truly taught me the pleasures of reading and singing certain lyrics.

── And then on the contrary, we have a song like “Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta Nara” which is sung from the point of view of a little girl.

Wakana: I knew I had to give this song to Sakurai-san to arrange, it needed a woman’s touch. That image of Kiki flying though the sky and that final scene where Tombo finally flies on his very own machine. This song has such a refreshing vibe and a sense of speed, it’s transporting you right into the future. It was not my intention to change those images, I wanted to stay very faithful to the original atmosphere. That’s why I asked Sakurai-san to keep the refreshing vibe and only make some other slight changes.

── Being overwhelmed with love for a song like this, did you have trouble approaching it as a singer?

Wakana: When I went to see one of Yumin-san's live performance, Yumin-san said, "I'm so happy that I am still in love with the world I envisioned as a girl." This brought tears to my eyes. There is still so much love. You have believed in God since you were little and you want to do your very best without ever giving up just like Kiki! That’s it!! That's why this song has such a girlish cuteness and innocence! But how to best express it through my own singing? I worried quite a lot about this. I consulted with Sakurai-san and Shin Hashimoto-san, who was in charge of the direction of all the songs, and somehow we decided on a singing style that all of us liked.

── Although it is faithful to the world of the song, it does not really resemble Yumin's singing style. For example, Yumin is applying a lot of vibrato starting from the first few lines but you are stretching out your notes in a calm manner followed by a bit of vibrato.

Wakana: That way of singing is unique to Yumin. I was not trying to simply copy the original songs, nor was it my intention to surpass them. I just love these songs so much which is why I tried singing them with as much joy and carefreeness as possible. I think I was able to do that because I had lots of time to face each song during the stay home period.

── So you were able to sing these songs you love so much without putting too much effort into it?

Wakana: In terms of singing, I was working a lot on my breathing technique this spring, so I guess the results of that came out while I was working on the album. My vocal coach said, "humans do not consciously inhale or exhale. If you exhale naturally, you will inhale naturally so there is no need to overthink it. This was especially true for “Toki ni wa Mukashi no Hanashi wo”, when I want to sing as if I'm talking, I don't want to put consciously add a breath. After all, I don't think about breathing when I'm talking. So I just let it happen naturally.

── Is there anything we should pay attention to in terms of the sound of the arrangement?

Wakana: Everything really. But there is maybe one thing I would like to point out ... I was surprised that Kanematsu-san suggested we arrange "Inochi no Namae" with only strings and no other instruments. Listening to this song by itself is amazing but hearing it alongside the other tracks is quite fascinating because there is an audible change due to the lack of other instruments. In addition, the beautiful atmosphere from the recording studio is conveyed wonderfully through the music. When we were recording it felt like time had stood still.

── Are there any other things that impressed you when you were present at the recordings?

Wakana: “Ai ni dekiru koto wa mada aru kai” was arranged for piano, violin, and cello but we used the main area of Victor Entertainment’s largest studio to have Okuizumi-san play all by himself on the cello while Shin-san on the piano and Konno-san on the violin were recording in adjacent booths. We wanted the sound of the cello to be heard clearly since it takes up such a big portion of the song. Speaking of sound, “Yatsura No Ashioto No Ballade” is rather simple and only consists of my singing and a piano accompaniment. We did a very basic racording and kept it quite raw without adding too much sound components to the song. I wanted to create a special atmosphere for the recording so we darkened the room, and I sat in a chair. All of a sudden I was becoming aware of sounds I had never noticed before, the creaking of the chair, my clothes rustling. I didn’t want these noises to be included in the recording because I feared it would end up being too raw so I made a lot of effort to record it while making as little noise as possible *laughs*.

── I was surprised by the arrangement towards the end of “Get Wild” since you didn’t add a semitone-upward key change.

Wakana: …… Ahh! Now that you mention it.

── But it didn’t take away from the enjoyment since the tension was still incredibly high from the interlude, I didn't even realise at first that there was no modulation *laughs*. Besides, if you had transposes it up a semitone according to the original song, it would have sounded too pop-like and the classical atmosphere would have diminished.

Wakana: Regarding "Get Wild", I was particularly worried that the charm of the song would be lost by using a key more suited for a female singer. So I was adamant to make this song the most powerful out of all tracks. I asked the members of 1966 Quartet to record it because I wanted this song to have a sprinting vibe reminiscent of their Beatles and other UK rock covers. As for my singing style, unlike "Rain" which I sang in the early stages of production with gradually strenghtening, I sang this song with a lot of strength from the get-go both in the verses as well as in the choruses.In the original sample I sent my singing was still quite soft but then I realised that wouldn’t work, I needed something different so I decided to sing in a fierce manner from the first note onwards. The arrangement is also based on that.

── In your YouTube videos - including a recording of “Get Wild”- you are using Victor's new model "HA-MX100V" as monitor headphones.

Wakana: Those headphones have a really clear sound and I am not only using them for vocal recording but also for track down, mastering check, home recording and video editing. Also, in the latter half of the recording, I started using Shure headphones recommended by Kanematsu-san and my engineer. When using them, you hear the exact same thing in the recording booth and control room !

── You use Victor and Shure for your work. What about headphones outside of work?

Wakana: When I am travelling by train or car I like to listen to music. So Sony's noise cancelling headphones are my favourite. Even when I am travelling on a heavy rainy highway, the sound of the rain and the roaring noise in the tunnel are all cancelled out! I also have wireless earphones and use them quite a lot.

── Good headphones are becoming more appealing than ever for music fans especially now with the ever-increasing number of live streams.

Wakana: That’s true! If you are using wireless headphones, you may be worried about the synch-gap between the video and audio so I think that a pair of high-quality wired headphones is perfect for a live stream. For my upcoming live "Wakana Anime Classic 2020" the audience capacity has been halved so we also decided to offer a live stream option.

── That’sgreat news!

Wakana: I think that some people find it difficult to attend the live because of the distance to Tokyo and the fact that they do not want to worry about getting sick in the current situation. So I'm very happy that everyone can enjoy it in the form of live stream. Since this is my first attempt there is still a lot to learn but with the help of many people around me we are trying to think of various things to make this experience enjoyable for everyone. There a re a lot of things to consider after all, things such as stage sets and video production.

── You mentioned that you would be singing songs that didn’t make it to the album?

Wakana: Definitely! And of course the songs from the album but I would like to sing them with a unique arrangement that can only be heard during the live performances. Please look forward to all of it!

── I'm looking forward to it!

Wakana: And there is something that’s actually still a secret ...

── What is it?

Wakana: Four Hippos will be the appointed image characters for my live! Since I am only doing covers I thought it would be fitting to use hippos as motif. [Note: “hippo” in Japanese is read the same way as “cover”]

── Thank you.

#kalafina #wakana #my translations #my translation #Wakana Covers～Anime Classics～#anime classics promo campaign #hitoshi konno #what's with all the product placement at the end? XD

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johannesviii · 3 years

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Top 10 Personal Favorite Hit Songs from 2020

You know, when I finished my latest list and realised every decade had the same pattern and that we were slowly going towards a series of great years for pop, I didn’t realise how good that year would be.

What’s at the top? Am I boringly predictable because I already said I loved that song all the way back in January 2020? Let’s find out.

Disclaimers:

Keep in mind I’m using both the year-end top 100 lists from the US and from France while making these top 10 things. There’s songs in English that charted in my country way higher than they did in their home countries, or even earlier or later, so that might get surprising at times.

Of course there will probably be stuff in French somewhere on this post. We suck. I know. It’s my list. Deal with it.

My musical tastes have always been terrible and I’m not a critic, just a listener and an idiot.

I have sound to color synesthesia which justifies nothing but might explain why I have trouble describing some songs in other terms than visual ones.

So. Uh. How was your 2020?

Mine was actually surprisingly good, considering. I’m lucky enough to have a job that I can partially do from home, and I was extremely paranoid from the get-go and nobody got sick under this roof so far. Turns out I’m even better at my job from home and I got permission to work from home one day per week even after the health crisis is over! My first name was also finally officially approved and I can’t tell you how happy I feel about that. I almost feel bad to have had such a good year considering the circumstances. I feel like an asshole just because I’m happy, haha.

The only frustrating part was that I was supposed to see Hatari in concert in Paris in early April which, as you can guess, was cancelled. I’m not too mad about it though, since their tour was called “Europe will crumble” and the message saying the tour was cancelled started with “since Europe is actually crumbling due to Covid-19″ and that’s hysterical.

Good or interesting albums that came out in 2020 now, let’s see.

Nightwish released Human/Nature, which was a huge letdown compared to their previous album, but I will relisten to it at some point to make sure I wasn’t just in a bad mood that day.

The Birthday Massacre released Diamonds, which might be their weakest album since their debut, but contained some real gems (I listened to The Last Goodbye on a loop, it floored me. Flashback and Enter are also very good).

The 1975 released Notes On A Conditional Form, and let’s be real, it’s a f█cking mess. You could cut half the tracks and end up with an excellent album, but as it is it’s like, yes, a collection of notes ; however there’s some truely excellent shit on it (see unelligible songs).

Thanks to a friend on a discord server I was exposed to Dorian Electra’s music and I haven’t been quite the same ever since. I’m so happy to be alive to see other enbies making such great music with an insanely good aesthetic surrounding it and asking so many interesting questions about gender. Also the arc the ‘gentleman’ character goes through over the course of the entire tracklist of the 2020 My Agenda album is absolutely hilarious, don’t @ me.

I also discovered 100 Gecs this year. Why are most of you guys saying it’s unlistenable garbage. It’s just as abrasive and over the top as industrial music is, but with none of the edginess or drama. I love it. What the hell. But yeah Tree of Clues was released this year. Good.

Speaking of industrial, in March 2020 Nine Inch Nails were like “hey remember when we released Ghosts I-IV a decade ago entirely for free and how amazing that was? Well we’re all in lockdown and bored as hell so here’s Ghosts V-VI and it’s also free. Enjoy” and I f█cking died instantly. And it’s even better than I-IV. What the hell was that year

Jonsi released Shiver. It’s strange and highly experimental. I’m pretty sure it’s a good thing I was into hyperpop this year, otherwise going from his previous material straight to this album would have been brutal.

Yadda yadda yadda After Hours by the Weeknd good yadda yadda.

I’ve joked about that already but if you had told me in 2019 that 2020 would have fires, a pandemic, riots, monoliths appearing and disappearing, and also a super good Machine Gun Kelly album, guess which part I would have found the most ridiculous. But yeah uh. Tickets to my Downfall good

So uh this year I tried to listen to some hyperpop and liked it a lot, and I also dipped my toes timidly into screamo and listened to Svalbard, who released When I Die this year, and the entire album was a very beautiful, very intricately decorated punch to the face. It sounds like God Is An Astronaut except with a shit ton of yelling. I love it. Open Wound is my favorite track on it.

But no, despite all of this, my album of the year was from a band I had never even heard about before that year, called Spanish Love Songs. The album is titled Brave Faces Everyone and it’s line after line after line of extremely relatable generational angst but yelled with complete sincerity and it’s so propulsive and energetic you can’t help but feel both exhausted and ready to fight the entire universe. I don’t know how it works, but it’s incredible. The entire album is wonderfully brutal, so it’s kind of difficult to pick my favorite songs on it, but Beachfront Property and the title track stand out.

Unelligible songs, now, and there’s, uh, quite a few of them too so I’m also gonna use bullet points. Good lord this post is gonna be long.

First, let me say I have literally no idea why Midnight Sky by Miley Cyrus wasn’t a bigger hit. It’s not on the year-end US top 100 and it feels extremely wrong. Would have made it to #4 on this list otherwise.

I still entertain the vague hope that stuff from Machine Gun Kelly will chart higher in 2021 but I doubt it will happen so I might as well tackle it now and say that Bloody Valentine and especially Forget Me Too are both excellent and that it’s a shame radios aren’t playing them more often.

Heaven by the late Avicii featuring Coldplay should have charted in 2019 and still didn’t chart in 2020 and that’s a real shame.

If the world was a bit less unfair, Lovesick Girls by Blackpink would have been a hit rather than the awful Ice Cream.

One day I will stop complaining about my bafflement concerning the lack of mainstream pop charts success of The 1975. Today is not that day. I just love how they keep making songs about extremely awkward relationships full of weird details, and I haven’t grown tired of that yet. So yeah If You’re Too Shy is about a guy who’s crush is asking him to get naked on Skype in his hotel room and he’s, uh, not too sure about that idea.

And Me & You Together is about a guy who never finds the right moment to tell his best friend he’s in love with her, and he manages to do so at the end and it’s cute as hell. My fave part is “I'm sorry that I'm kinda queer / It's not as weird as it appears / It's 'cause my body doesn't stop me (Stop me) / Oh, it's okay, lots of people think I'm gay / But we're friends, so it's cool, why would it not be?”. Relatable as f█ck.

And now for an international hit that should have been bigger in the US and/or in my country but wasn’t: Head & Heart by Joel Corry and MNEK.

I’ve heard Nos Célébrations by Indochine extremely often on French radio for months now so I was very surprised to see that it didn’t crack the local year-end list. What happened.

I can finally hear the appeal of Bring Me The Horizon. It took me ages. And also Death Stranding. The song Ludens isn’t in the game per say, but it’s among the ones you can pick to broadcast briefly when people drive by your constructions, and long story short it's been living rent-free in my head for months now.

Phew.

It’s time for a round of Honorable Mentions for elligible songs, containing a couple of guilty pleasures, which is saying something considering the kind of shit I put on some of my previous lists.

Ne Reviens Pas (Gradur et Heuss l’Enfoiré) - Heuss is a French artist that kept baffling me while making my lists for the previous years, and I was like “??? ok, that’s it then, I guess I’m getting too old to get what teenagers find funny”. This one worked for me, though. And the music video doesn’t hurt. Really dumb and really fun.

Adore You (Harry Styles) - Perfectly good little pop song, very pleasant to listen to, never outstayed its welcome for me.

Mood (24kGoldn) - This doesn’t sound like a very good relationship, my dude, but that’s still a super pleasant song.

WAP (Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion) - This song is absolutely hilarious and I will hear no argument from any of you.

Control (Zoe Wees) - Was clearly a hit here. Should have been even bigger though. What a powerful but comfy voice. If I had better taste it would be on the list.

Hot Girl Bummer (Blackbear) - I. Uh. Listen. I keep saying I have bad taste and nobody believes me. Do you believe me now. But yeah. “F█ck you, and you, and you~, I hate your friends and they hate me too” is gonna pop in my head every single time someone is being a jerk anywhere near me now. It’s been happening all year already. Someone trashed my documents at work? Someone isn’t wearing a mask in public? That guy has filled his car with rolls of toilet paper? Brain goes “F█ck you, and you, and you~”. Every. Single. Time.

Come & Go (Juice WRLD & Marshmello ) - Damn, that’s a pretty good little song. I’ve seen plenty of people saying it’s ruined by the drop, but may I remind you I’m the person who loves Blue by Eiffel 65 with all my heart. If the song was ramping up consistently until the end instead of ending like that, it would have made the list, definitely.

And now, the actual list. This one actually feels pretty solid, I genuinely like everything on it, there’s no filler here for once.

10 - The Box (Roddy Rich)

US: #3 / FR: #23

Now this is a weird case, because for the longest time I couldn’t figure out why this song was so popular and I was completely neutral about it. Then, one morning in September, my mental jukebox (which always, always puts a song on a loop in my head when I wake up) decided to play it. And I was like oh wow?? I never noticed the atmosphere in that song before? It’s so great. And that hook too. Let’s listen to it.

So yeah, I don’t know what happened. It just clicked one day and everything fell into place, I guess.

9 - Alane (Wes & Robin Shulz)

US: Not on the list / FR: #93

Come on. You can’t do a remake of one of my previous #1 songs and let it chart in 2020. That’s cheating. Even with this subpar drop, I have to put it on the list, now.

I’ve already said my piece about the original, so I’m just going to send you back to my 1997 list.

8 - Kings and Queens (Ava Max)

US: Not on the list / FR: #76

[BBC documentary voice] After Lady Gaga decided to make piano balads and left her musical niche vacant, Ava Max quickly took her place as the top predator pop diva. Even after Lady Gaga was re-introduced to her natural habitat in 2020, she still hasn’t fully recovered in Europe, where Ava Max still reigns supreme on the charts -

(tldr I think it’s hilarious that this isn’t on the US Billboard while Lady Gaga isn’t on the French year-end top 100)

7 - Roses (Saint Jhn & Imanbek)

US: #19 / FR: #3

What an earworm. It doesn’t even bother trying to have an intro or an outro, so it loops almost perfectly. It’s like entering a party that started long before you arrived, and it will go on long after you leave it to go back home. Kind of hypnotic in a way.

And yes, my mental jukebox was very fond of using it to wake me up this year, so this is another song that’s here almost solely because of that.

6 - Physical (Dua Lipa)

US: Not on the list / FR: #69 (hehehe)

“Hey I’m not that old” says the guy who’s definitely a sucker for this kind of retro throwback that was so popular this year. Oh well.

I don’t have anything interesting to say about this one, though. Apart from the fact that everyone seems to have a different fave song on that album. Guess that’s quality for you.

5 - Rain on Me (Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande)

US: #48 / FR: Not on the list

That is far from being Lady Gaga’s best song, but it was a joy to listen to everytime it was on the radio anyway. Also Ariana Grande has surprisingly good chemistry with Gaga! This year was full of strange duets mostly made for commercial reasons, and this one isn’t an exception, but unlike a lot of them, it really, really works.

4 - Dynamite (BTS)

US: #38 / FR: Not on the list

I’m still not 100% sold on k-pop even if a ton of it sounds super good, but come on. Even if some bits of this song (especially the beginning of the second chorus) sound a bit like they were made on autopilot, it still sounds just as happy and fun several months after I first heard it and I never got tired of it. That’s quality. You hear it and you can’t help but tap your feet and smile.

Actually, I’m sure there’s people somewhere that don’t smile when they hear this song. And they must be avoided at all costs.

3 - Godzilla (Eminem ft Juice WRLD)

US: #62 / FR: Not on the list

What are you doing so high on this list, old man. Why are you still here in the year 2020. I thought we left you in the previous decade. Who gave you the right.

I’m gonna tell you who did, and it’s actually Juice WRLD. Because that chorus is incredible, and like a lot of people I’m pissed off because the guy died super young and this shit shouldn’t happen to anybody. No, his early material wasn’t great, but I’m sorry I’m gonna say it again: have you heard this damn chorus? It’s suspenseful and dark, it’s got this lowkey menacing quality, it’s an earworm and a half, and it’s more convincing in like six lines than Eminem’s own flexing is in the entire song.

The beat is extremely good as well, and the flow, obviously, impressive. The weakest link is Eminem’s writing, which is as usual full of puns and weird wordplay, except here a lot of it isn’t great, and that last ultra fast part at the end is technically impressive but it also drives the song up a cliff and stops it dead in its tracks once it’s over. But frankly the lines fly by so fast it’s difficult to be too annoyed by them.

Can I sincerely put this extremely flawed song so high on my list? A better question would be “did I spend hours trying to learn how to sing this shit without choking on my own spit?”. The answer is yes. To both.

2 - Heartless (The Weeknd)

US: #28 / FR: Not on the list

I’ve said it on my 2015 and 2016 lists already, but just for the record I’ll say it again: it took me ages to like The Weeknd, mostly because I found most of his songs fairly boring, or disliked the lyrics, or both. Also I never really liked the general vibe of his “sexy” songs like The Hills, they felt dark but in an unpleasant creepy way. Felt like miserable hedonism, if that makes sense.

So, because I’m a person with extremely consistent and logical tastes, here’s the exact same shit he was making before, except that this time I absolutely adore it.

What is he doing differently that makes the whole After Hours album click for me whereas almost all of his previous material failed to do so? Is it the energy? Is it the reverb? Is it the fact that the narrator sounds properly unhinged and, frankly, scared to be spiralling out of control? Why are the colors so beautiful yet full of anxiety? Why is that bridge so fantastic? How can you make your voice look like a glowstick in the dark?

I give up. I have no clue. At least I’m done talking about-

Oh.

1 - Blinding Lights (The Weeknd)

US: #1 / FR: #1 (listen sometimes something’s just that good, ok)

Surprise. Or not.

Wow, look at that, Johannes has put this year’s number one pop song at number one on their personal playlist. The audacity. The edge. What a hot take.

I discovered that song when it first came out at the end of 2019 and I adored it instantly. And I was so scared it wouldn’t be a hit. Which means I’m a f█cking dumbass considering it ended up breaking all sorts of records in 2020. But what can I say, overplay can be a blessing when you love a song that much.

Like every single song I put at number one on one of my lists, I will draw this one at some point and you will understand how incredibly satisfying it is to listen to a song called Blinding Lights, talking about city lights looking blurry when you’re driving at night, while looking itself like a bunch of blurry city lights passing by super fast. Perfect in every way.

Also it sounds exactly like A-ha, and that never hurts.

See you next year! Pretty sure it will be even better music-wise.

#Johannes’ bad not good pretty terrible music lists #music #long post #eye contact tw

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hanaasbananas · 3 years

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Fanfic Year in Review 2020

thanks for the tag @2manyfandoms2count! This took me a while to get to but here we are!

Ok I feel like this is just gonna end up being a post where I just gush about Phantoms in the Dark but like...c'mon

This is gonna get long so i've put it under the cut:

1) List of fics completed this year in the order they were finished:

Most of my stories are one shots of varying lengths, but I did actually finish quite a few so we have:

A Chance Encounter and So it Goes- both zenmaster fics for That 70s Show

Touch the Rain: I honestly forget I wrote this last year, it feels like I wrote it years ago but it's just a standard identity reveal in the heat of an argument type thing.

Ladybug Luck? What's That? The fic that really started my spiral into writing for the ML fandom, and the birth of the Bollywood Playlist series.

Post reveal, where they didn't know each other irl, Marinette sees Adrien at a Gabriel party, realises who he is, and does some property damage in the process.

our eyes speak (but on our lips is silence) At a wedding where Adrien is best man and Marinette is a guest they immediately recognise the other as their partner. Pure fluff and giddiness ensue

The Seduction of Marinette Dupain-Cheng Post reveal-Chat bets Ladybug that he can woo her as a civilian, employing good old fashioned tactics like flowers and poetry

Pink Snapshots of an Adrinette relationship. I just wanted to see if I could write an entire fic with no dialogue whatsoever, and this one got a huge surge in popularity recently so...guess I can!

Exposed Another fic where they don't know each other as civilians. When their identities are revealed in the worst possible way, Ladybug and Chat Noir hide out in a hotel room as they try to process the situation.

This Red Love My first enemies au! In which Adrien joins Hawkmoth from the beginning, but still goes to school and ends up dating Marinette. When he realises who she is, he has to re-examine everything he thought he ever wanted.

i have found someone (like a nomad finds a home) In the last one, Adrien willingly sided with Gabriel, but in this one, he is forced to after Stoneheart. Years later, he meets Marinette, who makes him feel like he isn't a monster.

Memory Chat Blanc in the aftermath when there is nothing left.

Phantoms in the Dark My biggest accomplishment last year! And the longest story I've ever written at 30k words. A historical marichat story based off my favourite poem The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. I'm currently working on the sequel.

I only bow down to worship (but I come to a stop when I see you) In which Adrien knows Marinette is Ladybug, and she knows he knows. However, he hasn't told her he's Chat Noir. This is just cute relationship stuff in the same vein as Pink

Collect your Courage, Loyalty, I'll never be the thief (to bring in hot scattered hell) Thought I'd branch out to other fandoms and landed on ATLA. This is a series (eventual zutara) where Zuko realises almost immediately post banishment that he can't follow in his father's footsteps and rebels.

Dancing Lessons Chat Noir and Ladybug decided to reveal their identities at age 20, and now Chat has chosen the venue as well. The only problem is he needs to teach Ladybug how to dance first.

Wish Ok I hurt a lot of people with this one but it's one where in the final fight, Adrien is mortally wounded and Marinette uses the miraculous to save his life, forfeiting her life in the process.Flashes back and forth between her death and how Adrien is coping in the aftermath.

2) Number of words written: 79663. I actually wanted to hit 100k by the end of the year but as those in the guild know, I spent most of December doing kitchen renovations and being pissed about my lack of free time lmao

3) Your most popular fic: Phantoms in the Dark. it has yet to surpass my all time most popular fic it's all a game of chance (they say in wonderland), but it's catching up

4) Your personal fav: Dancing Lessons I wrote this way back in July last year but only posted it in December and I just, it's so sweet I really like it with the flirty banter and just the two of them being SO CUTE

5) Your fav scene: The scene at the end of ch6 of Phantoms where Marinette and Chat talk after their kiss and realise they both are very much into each other.

6) A fic or scene that challenged you:

I am really bad at action sequences, and even though in Phantoms Adrien was out fighting people on the regular, I just sort of...glossed over them. Except for in chapter 8, where I wrote a proper duel between Chat and someone he was robbing.

What I struggled with was describing the movements, not wanting to make it too complicated whilst not having it be 'he feinted and stabbed' or something really simplistic. There was a lot of pen acting involved, but I think the end result is quite good, if I do say so myself.

7) A line of writing you’re proud of: From Phantoms (of course)

In every lifetime, in every land, we shall find each other.

8) A comment that touched you:

I love every single comment that I get, but someone left this on my musketeers fic Going Through the Motions (posted as a series on ao3 to motivate me to finish the fic but when it was done I compiled all the parts and posted it on ffnet as a oneshot lol and one of my absolute fave fics I've written-no surprise that it's historical 😅) on ffnet, which was a HUGE compliment:

"I like the way you wove dialogue from the series with your fiction. Your story gives us a more complete picture of Bonacieux and explains why Constance rejected D'Artagnan, which we did not get from the series. Your version is better. Well done!"

9) Something that inspired your writing:

I mean...I have an entire series on ao3 that is just fics inspired by bollywood songs/scenes-and those were my main inspiration for so many things. (I actually realised the other day that a scene from the movie Kalank is what inspired me to write Wonderland lmao)

10) Your proudest accomplishment (that one scene; finally finishing that one fic; posting your first fic; etc):

Honestly, just writing consistently! I graduated in 2019 and in the past, I've started and abandoned so many projects and ideas, and even the first fic I posted on ao3-it took me a year to get the second chapter up and then I only finished it because I wanted to post other stuff but didn't feel like I could until I finished that one lol.

So yeah, that, and of course, actually writing and finishing Phantoms instead of abandoning it like so many of my other ambitious projects. I'm really proud of the 30k I wrote for that story because it's the most I've ever written for a single thing

11) Do you have any writing goals for the next year?

I want to finish Forgotten Promises, and the third story in the series. I have the vague plot for that one, and know what's going in the epilogue to end the series but I just need to get there.

Oh! and see 100 ways to say I love you to the end.

This was fun! I tag @theanxiouscupcake @an-elysian-tree @quarantined-fics and anyone else who wants to have a go!

#will i ever shut up about phantoms in the dark?#no. the answer is no.#lol but honestly this was fun i didn't even realise how many fics i wrote last year #my posts #ask game #writing #fanfiction #miraculous ladybug #atla #marichat #adrinette #ladynoir #2020 year in review

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neighbourskid · 3 years

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2020

What a year, huh? Surely not anything anyone has expected to happen when we woke up on this day a year ago. I certainly haven’t. I’m not even sure, now, where to begin to sum up this year like I’ve done years prior. But then again... I may just as well just dive right into all the media I consumed this year, as I have done every year. I haven’t kept track as detailed as I have last year, but my year was definitely punctuated by pieces of entertainment that have come into my life.

Continuing on from 2019, my obsession with Good Omens was still going strong. Which was ideal, since I was gonna spend the first half of the year writing my Bachelor thesis on it. The intensity of the obsession may have waned a bit since, but I still love that show and book dearly and hold it close to my heart, and I don’t think that will ever stop. But while Good Omens was certainly an overall theme throughout my year, there were some other things that actually stood out.

With January came new episodes of Doctor Who, and having returned to that particular bandwagon the year prior, I was all about that. Jodie’s second season finally brought what I had longed for in her first--a darker kind of Doctor. She wasn’t quite as bubbly anymore, you could finally see some of the depths in the character that I loved so in the previous regenerations, which made me love Peter’s Doctor so incredibly much. In this season, I felt, Jodie was finally becoming the Doctor. Overall, that season catered to me personally every single episode. So many of the time periods they visited were of people I loved, and the introduction of Sacha Dhawan as the Master was absolutely....well, masterful. Sacha is brilliant in that role and I am utterly stunned by his talent. Although both John Simm and Michelle Gomez brought things to the Master that I liked, it’s Sacha’s completely unhinged take on it that made me finally like the character. He’s a madman and I love it.

The next major thing was The Good Place. I tend to have a talent of getting into shows just as they either ended their entire show, or the final season is just coming up. It’s happened quite a bit, and it was the same with this. I finally binged the show early in January and it would end its final season at the end of the month. True to form, I was completely obsessed with it for about a month, before I only occasionally thought about it again. But, thinking back now, I get this incredibly fond feeling for this show, and I remember that the finale absolutely wrecked me and I basically ugly sobbed through the entirety of it. Also very true to form, actually. I want to rewatch it again some time, but honestly preferably with someone who has never seen it before. Which, obviously, is a difficult thing to do given, well, everything.

Next up is something that surprised me a lot. In the middle of having to write my BA thesis, my procrastination thought it would be a great idea to rewatch and catch up on the entirety of Criminal Minds. And so I binged 15 seasons of that instead of writing my thesis. Which, coincidentally, had also just aired its final season not long before I started my binge in March. Rewatching this, I realised just how little I took in of the actual, like, stuff in the show when I first watched it as a teen. Although I mostly cared about the characters and their found family this time around--although I do find the cases really fascinating most of the time too--I noticed just how much I am not watching this for the fact that they are in the FBI. I was hyperaware of how often they shot at people before doing anything else, how many of the suspects died before ever being questioned or being brought in, and it made my skin crawl. I am aware how fucked up the criminal justice system is, and especially in the US, how the police functions and how incredibly glorified they are in the media. But rewatching this show, I realised how little I actually paid attention to anything when I was younger. Big yikes. Still, I remembered my love for these characters, and I really enjoyed that rewatch a whole lot. Found family will always get to me.

Once I finished writing my thesis and handed it in early in July, I then found my next momentary obsession: Community. The show had finally come to Netflix earlier in the year and a friend of mine had watched it then. I remember watching that pilot episode back then and being completely uninterested in watching it. The comedy felt like it wasn’t quite up my street, the characters were entirely unlikeable, and I especially disliked Jeff who the show was more or less centred around. I binged Criminal Minds instead, but then decided to give it another try. And, well, I watched it twice through without taking a break to watch something else in-between. Ironically, and maybe actually unsurprisingly, Jeff ended up being my favourite and I found myself relating a lot to him and his arc throughout the series. I even found myself writing some short ficlet-like things in the notes app on my phone. I made an attempt at starting a third watch, but I guess then the month was up, and my brain decided it was time for something else. My hyperfixations usually tend to die out after about a month. Which is why my complete devotion to Good Omens was a pleasant surprise. I did, however, end up watching quite a bit of Joel McHale and Ken Jeong’s The Darkest Timeline podcast throughout August.

Early in September, while already preparing for the new term at uni, and my first semester in my Master’s studies, I then turned to New Girl. Friends of mine had seen it and recommended it, and I remember watching probably the entire first season on TV while I was in San Diego the first time around back in 2016. Or at least I think it was the entire first season. Either way, I binged that whole thing, realised through Nick Miller that the go-to character I am drawn to and tend to project on in any piece of media is usually what I like to call “the garbage man,” which Nick is a prime example of. And although I spent a month watching the show in-between starting university again and volunteering at a film festival, I didn’t spend much time afterward thinking about it and moved on to other things rather quickly. I enjoyed watching it, that much I remember, and I’m pretty sure I cried at the finale because it was done wonderfully, but seeing as another month was up, my brain was probably like “okay fine that’s enough”.

I then spent most of fall and early winter watching every single bad Christmas movie available on Netflix, which was quite fun. In that moment of festivity, I also watched a movie I found absolutely brilliant and fell in love with immediately. It’s a beautiful movie called Jingle Jangle, it has a magnificent soundtrack and is absolutely incredible. I had no idea Forest Whitaker could sing and he completely blew me away. If you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend it. It doesn’t matter that Christmas is already over, it’s beautiful either way.

By the time December finally rolled around, I was already over the whole Christmas thing, to be honest and I turned away from festive movies or shows, and eventually ended up finally picking up a gem I had heard much about and had been meaning to watch for a while. A show which, as it were, also aired its final season earlier this year. This little show is Schitt’s Creek. I will be going on about what this show means to me probably in another post at length, but for now just let me say: if you haven’t seen it, find some place to watch it, and put this beautiful show in your eyeballs. I am on my second run through already (although I’ve seen the second half of the show a second time already while watching it with a friend on their first run through), and it brings me so much fucking joy. It’s a gift, this show. And it will likely stay with me for a very, very long time.

That’s about it for the big things. I also watched a whole lot of other stuff, including entirely new things, or just newly released seasons of things I was already watching. Here’s what I can remember off the top of my head:

Charlie’s Angels (2020). The Night Manager. The Witcher. Dolittle (2020). The Librarians (rewatch). Harley Quinn (2020). Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). The Chef Show (S1 part 3, S2 part 1). Avenue 5. Money Heist (part 4). The Good Fight (S4). Brooklyn Nine-Nine (S7). DuckTales (2017 reboot). Frankenstein live. Staged (2020). Hamilton. Sense8. Julie and the Phantoms. The Boys in the Band. One Night in Miami. Enola Holmes. Supernova. His Dark Materials (S2). Happiest Season. The Great Canadian Baking Show.

I also got some reading done in-between what I had to read for my thesis in spring, and then for regular university courses in fall. Here’s some of what I can remember:

Anthony Horowitz, The House of Silk. Ramona Meisel, Sunblind. Donna Tartt, The Secret History. Good Omens novel and script book. Matt Forbeck, Leverage: The Con Job. Keith R.A. Decandido, Leverage: The Zoo Job. Greg Cox, Leverage: The Bestseller Job. Greg Cox, The Librarians and the Lost Lamp. Greg Cox, The Librarians and the Mother Goose Chase. Greg Cox, The Librarians and the Pot of Gold. Neil Gaiman, Marvel 1602. Christina Henry, The Lost Boy. Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology. John Green, An Abundance of Katherines. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh. Maria Konnikova, The Confidence Game.

Having mulled over all this entertainment I consumed in 2020, there are also some non-tv or book things I need to point out. As many, many other people around the globe, I have also spent a large amount of time this year on my Nintendo Switch, playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It is a game I have waited for since the Switch was first announced, and I fell in love with it from the moment the first trailer dropped. It has brought me great joy in this weird fucking year, and I have more or less consistently played it since it came out in March. I ended this year with the in-game New Year’s Eve celebration and I feel like that summed up this year quite neatly and appropriately.

This year also brought with it another game very close to my heart: Super Mario Sunshine. With their release of Super Mario 3D All-Stars in September, Nintendo finally brought my all-time favourite Mario game to my all-time favourite console, and I played the entire game through in the first week of owning it, in-between university courses and volunteering at the film festival. Also contained in that package was Super Mario Galaxy which I have also played through in its entirety since. All that’s left for me now is Super Mario 64, which I am excited to play through in the coming year.

And to round off my year of entertainment, there are two more things I would like to mention. First, David Tennant Does A Podcast With..., which released its second season this summer. It is one of the only, if not the only podcast I keep up to date with and listen to immediately whenever a new episode drops. I’ve loved the first season dearly, and David came back with some incredibly fantastic guests for the second season as well. I can’t wait for what the podcast will bring in the future, but I will wait patiently until it is time. I can highly recommend it for everyone who likes interesting conversations between lovely people who clearly adore each other a whole lot.

And finally, while this year brought a whole lot of bullshit with it, it also gave me something I never thought possible and did not even dare to imagine in my wildest dreams. My all-time favourite show announced that it would be rebooted with the same main cast (minus one), a new wonderful member, and involvement of the original creators, and even started filming already in summer. Leverage is coming back. I still cannot believe it. I hoped for a movie, always. That maybe one day, they might bring the gang back together, for one last job, just one more encore. But to get a whole new tv-show with Aldis, Christian, Gina and Beth returning? With the addition of Noah Wyle? I can’t wrap my head around it. I am so excited for this. I predict that I will ugly sob through the entirety of the pilot episode, if not the first season, and will have to rewatch every episode because of it, but I have no doubt that it will be brilliant and wonderful.

True to form, I have now gone on about tv shows and movies for far too long, and haven’t really said anything about this year at all. 2020 was fucking weird. And I don’t think 2021 will be much different quite yet. I wrote an entire BA thesis in 2020. I successfully finished by Bachelor’s degree and started my Master’s studies and even got some excellent first grades in as well. I was lucky enough to be able to see some friends and family throughout the year, and even celebrate my birthday with a small circle of friends. I’ve become closer with friends, shared experiences I wouldn’t trade for the world, and, I think, maybe also grown a bit as a person.

I started this year excited to finally be able to start taking testosterone in February, and to finish the first part of my studies by summer. Although I did both of these things, they didn’t happen quite how I imagined them, but I am glad that I could do these things nevertheless.

2020 was a hell year, for sure. But there were some moments in there that I wouldn’t want to lose.

I’ve tried very hard to not be optimistic about this upcoming year, and rather take a more realistic, even pessimistic approach. But I can’t help but be hopeful. Hopeful that this year will be kind to us, and if it isn’t, that at least, we’ll be kind to ourselves and each other. It won’t be easy, and not much will change, I think. But we have to approach the coming time with kindness and compassion. That’s where I’m at currently. And I think that’s all for now.

Be well, friends, and take care.

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swissmissficrecs · 4 years

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Most kudoed Sherlock (BBC) fics in 2019

Sherlock fics from 2019 with more than 1000 kudos on AO3*

1. Riptide Lover by jinglebell - 4011 kudos 114K, E, Johnlock, John/others The year is 1866. When John becomes swept overboard, he never expects to encounter a living creature of myth. When the merman absconds with John, the lost sailor must use every tool at his disposal to convince Sherlock not to kill him. But it seems that killing John Watson is not what the deadly, beautiful creature has in mind at all...

2. The Only Unproblematic Slash Fic by songlin - 2641 kudos 554 words, M, Johnlock I decided to write this after being OUTRAGED by the number of highly problematic and abusive fanfics I see on this site! Honestly I shouldn't even post it here at all, since AO3 is complicit in LITERAL SEX TRAFFICKING and ABUSE by allowing just anyone to post whatever they want. But it's the best website for posting fic. What am I supposed to do, raise money to pay for servers and use AO3's entirely, 100% open source code to start a new site that upholds REAL MORALITY? Anyways here's my fanfic.

3. A different kind of adventure by curiousbees (orphaned) - 1996 kudos 27K, E, Johnlock A series of rash experiments at twenty-three left omega Sherlock unable to form a bond or have a child. He never particularly cared, even if he sometimes caught himself wishing after meeting John. Now at 36, this inability is simply another part of who he is, like his intellect or his tendency for addiction. So after one night's loss of logic with his married best friend, he doesn't think to question it. In hindsight, he really shouldn't have taken it for granted.

4. What We Could Be by Mottlemoth - 1908 kudos 46K, E, Mystrade Ficlets and short stories featuring Mycroft Holmes and Greg Lestrade. Fluff, smut, humour, a little well-marked angst... and of course, lots and lots of romance.

5. East End Boy by Mottlemoth - 1620 kudos 192K, E, Mystrade "You fear becoming the plaything of a powerful man." Greg Lestrade might have risen to the rank of Detective Inspector, but he's still just an East End boy at heart. That's why this arrangement with Mycroft Holmes, power incarnate, is starting to feel so weird—if only Mycroft weren't so hard to resist.

6. Minutiae (Or 156 Things I Know About You) by AtlinMerrick - 1572 kudos 105K, E, Johnlock Here, in no particular order, are some of the things John has learned about Sherlock, and some of the things Sherlock has learned about John.

7. A Novel Romance by EventHorizon - 1511 kudos 357K, M, Mystrade Mycroft Holmes is a successful, yet reclusive, mystery writer. His agent nearly had to resort to torture to persuade the writer to allow a studio the rights to film one of his books. The studio wants the highly profitable and extremely sexy Greg Lestrade for the role, but Mycroft isn’t happy with the choice. The studio sends him to Mycroft’s remote country home to do some persuading. Once there, after getting to know the secretive, brilliant and slightly-eccentric Mycroft Holmes, Greg isn’t certain which ranks higher on his persuading list - him getting a role he dearly wants or him getting a man he dearly wants.

8. Sensory Science by sussexbound (SamanthaLenore) - 1439 kudos 80K, E, Johnlock John Watson has been invalided home from Afghanistan and is struggling with anxiety, depression, PTSD and insomnia, when an old friend from med school recommends something that might help: An ASMR YouTube Channel run by a friend. One session in and John is hooked, not only by the way the ASMR seems to calm him after nightmares, and help him sleep, but also by the mysterious man who runs it.

9. White Knight by DiscordantWords - 1360 kudos 69K, M, Johnlock Sherlock needs to fake a relationship for a case. He doesn't ask John.

10. Just To Hold You Close by sussexbound (SamanthaLenore) - 1324 kudos 70K, E, Johnlock When a woman is murdered and the last person to see her alive is recently invalided army vet turned reluctant (and prickly) professional cuddler, John Watson, Sherlock Holmes is pulled into a world of intimacy and intrigue he never could have imagined.

11. Proving A Point by elldotsee, J_Baillier - 1296 kudos 186K, E, Johnlock Invalided home from Afghanistan, running out of funds and convinced that his surgical career is over, John Watson accepts a mysterious job offer to provide care and companionship for a disabled person. Little does he know how much hangs in the balance of his performance as he settles into his new life at Musgrave Court.

12. Dearest Life by InnerSpectrum - 1265 kudos 276K, E, Johnlock / Warstan / Mystrade Sherlock is forced to marry John, a wealthy Alpha doctor, who is married to Mary, an infertile Beta. Both of whom hide dark secrets from each other.

13. Soul Mate by Mottlemoth - 1258 kudos 4K, T, Mystrade The words appeared on Mycroft's arm aged fourteen, foretelling the first thing his soul mate would ever say to him—and horrifying his respectable parents. He's now lived with the unfortunate words all his life, not certain that he even wishes to meet his soul mate if that's how the man talks. But when Sherlock befriends a Scotland Yard inspector named Lestrade, Mycroft might just change his mind.

14. Isosceles by SilentAuror - 1212 kudos 56K, E, Johnlock and Sherlock/OMC After solving a case for a major celebrity, Sherlock gets himself asked out. When John asks, he discovers that Sherlock has no intention of going, at least not until John agrees to coach him through whatever he might need to know for his date...

15. Beloved Baker Street by LadyLibby - 1164 kudos 203K, T, Sherlock/female!Reader / Warstan / Mollstrade / John/OMC Y/N Hudson grew up in America, daughter to a loving British mother and the leader of a notorious drug cartel in Florida. She grew into a brilliant and yet compassionate young woman with a penchant for solving mysteries. Accepted into the forensic department at Scotland Yard, Y/N never expected to be swept up into the whirlwind life of Sherlock Holmes....

16. It takes John Watson to save your life. by Sparkypip - 1135 kudos 105K, T, Gen A series of One shots where John saves Sherlock's life in so many ways.

17. The Bells of King's College by SilentAuror - 1131 kudos 64K, E, Johnlock It's only been two weeks since Eurus Holmes disrupted their lives when Mycroft sends John and Sherlock to Cambridge to pose as an engaged couple at a wedding show in the hopes of solving six unsolved deaths...

18. And if it begins anywhere, it begins here by Salambo06 - 1080 kudos 26K, E, Johnlock When Sherlock finds a letter in his bedroom, he doesn't expect to read the words of another version of himself from a parallel universe. What he expects even less is to read Sherlock Watson-Holmes at the bottom of the letter.

19. Pink, Purple and Blue by Mottlemoth - 1044 kudos 5K, T, Mystrade After eight years of failed marriage to a woman, with his boyfriends now a distant memory, Greg feels unwelcome in his own sexuality. Fallen between two factions, it seems like he belongs to neither. Comfort and reassurance come from an unlikely source.

20. Better Late Than Never by sussexbound (SamanthaLenore) - 1020 kudos 3K, T, Johnlock He suddenly wants John Watson out of his bedroom, out of his flat, out of his life, because he has been lying to himself these last few months, he realises. He doesn’t want John here, not with the way things are. He doesn’t want to keep being so careful, so generous, so, so…

* And now for the caveats:

- I’ve cut some of the summaries down because they were way too wordy. Sorry, authors. Write shorter summaries. It’s an AO3 blurb, not a dust jacket. - The kudo count is as of 2 January 2020. Obviously, fics that started posting earlier have the advantage, since they had a longer time to gather kudos. - For this list, I disregarded all fics tagged with multiple fandoms, since their popularity may be due to those other fandoms. - Fics may get - or not get - kudos for various reasons. This is not intended to be a rec list per se, and being on or off this list is not a statement on the quality of any given fic.

#rec list

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jovialyouthmusic · 4 years

Text

Silver Service

So, this is the final chapter. Have we seen the end of Anton? Will Olivia say yes? At last the answers are here!

Word Count 2592

WARNING Death of a major character (but no suprise)

A/N You haven’t seen the last of the characters in this series, but this is the end of the story for now, and many loose ends are tied up and stowed away. The very first chapter of the prequel ‘Protect and Serve’ was posted in April 2019. That means I’ve been writing about Bastien and his LI Sophia for 17 months, and possibly around 200k words. I’ve already written some shorts and short series about the continuing adventures of ‘Basphia’, and I will go on doing so - but this series finishes here. Thanks for reading!

22 This is the End, my friends...

The last day of the Winter Games and Fair dawned in Lythikos. Olivia stirred, feeling Liam’s arm thrown over her hip, and groaned, reaching out to the bedside table for a dry biscuit to quell the nausea she felt. She sat up, munching away and making sure the crumbs stayed on the bedcover and not on the sheets. Liam rolled over onto his back and turned his head to gaze at her. He stayed silent as she finished the biscuit, then sat up beside her

‘Is that herbal remedy not working?’ he asked. She shook her head

‘I had the last of it yesterday, and Lucretia refuses to get me any more. She says a little suffering is good for the soul’ Liam raised his eyebrow and made a wry face.

‘I’m sorry to hear that’ he said. She drew a deep breath and turned toward him, her face grave.

‘I’ve made my decision’ she said, and Liam’s eyes widened. ‘I will be your Queen’ He let his breath go, and picked up her hand to kiss it.

‘You make me so happy’ he said, smiling broadly ‘I know it won’t be easy – we both need to work at this, but I think we’ll be good together. And our child will be cherished’ he gently put his hand on her belly. ‘I’d like to announce it at the closing ceremony’

‘Of course’ she said, placing her hand over his ‘and the pregnancy?’

‘Not just yet’ he replied ‘We can deal with any speculation about that later’

-------

The day progressed well, excitement growing as the finals of each event was held, and the stallholders had one last chance to sell their dwindling wares, happy at their success. At midday, Liam received news that the machines had been turned off at the hospital, witnessed by Lord Rashad. The press asked him for a statement, and he made sure to inform them that the decision had been taken by the Council, with he and Olivia abstaining from the vote.

‘It is with a heavy heart that I hear that Lord Anton has been taken off life support this morning. The Council was assured that his quality of life was very poor. There is a very small chance that he may survive independently, but it was thought it would be a mercy not to let him linger further, with no family or loved ones to care for him. I await to hear of his final passing, and will mourn for a young man who lost his way in fighting for what he believed in. He will be made as comfortable as possible, but that is all that can be done. I thank you for your attention. May he find peace at last.’

Thankfully, Anton’s situation did not mar the tone and excitement of the day, and the finals were followed and enjoyed avidly. The medal ceremonies were watched by a huge crowd who waited for the final speeches. Olivia made another stirring address about harmony between all the duchies which was well received with much cheering and applause, but everyone was eager to hear the King speak. He began by praising both participants and sponsors and congratulating the medal winners. He echoed Olivia’s sentiments of Cordonian unity and at last he came to the moment he had been hoping and planning for the last few days.

‘Citizens of Cordonia, I have an announcement that I hope all of you will rejoice in. It has been but a short time since I learned I was to be your King in my brother’s stead, and even less since I announced that I would take no Queen. I know that many of you feared for the succession and continuation of the Monarchy, and for that I apologise. As you know, I plan to hand over much more power to you, my loyal subjects, and am working on legislation to make this a reality. However, over the last few weeks I have realised that having a Queen by my side would be beneficial to both myself and to the country. To that end, I have asked Lady Olivia to rule with me, and she has consented’ a murmur ran through the crowd, and he paused to let his words sink in. The murmur grew louder, and people started to rise to their feet, at first clapping, then raising their voices, cheering, stamping and shouting congratulations. Liam’s throat tightened, and he held out his hand for Olivia to take and stand close to him. She smiled broadly and waved as the crowd went wild, and any further words from him were impossible. The press surged forward and cameras clicked and flashed and clicked again, capturing the moment as Liam turned to Olivia and kissed her on the lips. She willingly melted into it, drawing him closer as her Lythican spirit kicked in. Finally nothing more could be said, and the two of them retreated to the Lodge with the help of the King’s Guard. Bastien drew them aside into Olivia’s office.

‘My sincere congratulations your majesty, Lady Olivia.’

‘Thankyou Bastien. I think the wedding will have to be held very soon, and I have yet to work out when to announce the pregnancy’ Liam replied. Olivia looked happy but pale.

‘I’m sure you will come up with a good plan, but I am at your service and will offer advice if you need it’

‘Is there any more news of Severus?’ Olivia asked

‘It appears he is slowly deteriorating. May I ask permission to visit him in hospital?’

‘Of course. I don’t think it’s appropriate for either of us to go, but I’d like to have a reliable witness at his end. Of course, any member of the Guard is sufficient, but you may feel some satisfaction in being there.’

‘Thankyou Sir, I shall indeed. I’ll leave shortly.’ Bastien bowed and left the room to make his way back to the Capitol.

-------

‘Are you sure about this?’ Sophia asked, Bastien at the wheel as they travelled the long road back. She had already been packed ready to leave the next day, and it only took Bastien a moment. They didn’t know how long Bastien would be at the hospital, so he had to be prepared to go wherever the King was.

‘Never more sure of anything, theá mou’ he replied ‘I will get closure, and can report back to the King when he’s finally gone’ He briefly turned his head toward her. ‘You know I will never forgive him for his crimes, most of all for what he put you through’

‘Agapé mou’ Sophia said softly. ‘I won’t come into the room with you, but I’ll be nearby. I can bring you coffee, and we can be together when it’s finally over’

‘Yes’ he replied ‘But if you need to rest, get one of the guards to drive you back to the Palace’

‘Bas’ she said, and her tone made him listen carefully ‘Does this mean you’ll be resigning as Captain?’

‘Formally, yes. I’ll be sworn onto the Council at their next scheduled meeting. That’s not for a week or so, so if you like, we can take a short break’ Eyes on the road, he heard her gasp.

‘Oh Bas, that would be wonderful’ she breathed ‘I’d love to be near the sea’

‘Greece is still warm’ he said ‘It’s not too far, so if I’m needed…’

‘You won’t be’ she said firmly ‘If I have to throw your phone into the sea, we’re going to have time completely to ourselves.’ He chuckled softly.

‘My foster parents have a villa on the coast’ he replied ‘I’m sure they’d love to meet you – they don’t travel far now my foster mother’s in a wheelchair, but she could manage that’

‘I’d really like that. Mum and Dad have been hinting that they could visit us in December, so that would fit in nicely’

‘You don’t want to visit them instead?’ he asked

‘I’d rather go in Spring, make sure we have plenty of time. Now would be too rushed. I have so many places I want to show you’

‘And I you’ he smiled. ‘The sea will still be warm, so we can go swimming’ They reached the outskirts of the city, and Bastien set his face into his grim work expression. ‘We’re nearly there. Be strong, my goddess’

-------

Six hours later Bastien rose to stretch his stiff limbs, the steady bleep of the heart monitor slow and monotonous. There was no movement apart from the shallow erratic rise and fall of Anton’s chest. He was still attached to drips for hydration and pain relief, and Bastien fought the impulse to tear out the medication tubes. He found himself hoping that even though he was shielded from physical pain, some part of his mind and spirit suffered torment. He remembered the words of the King, diplomatically expressing sorrow and regret. He knew he could never feel those things for the prone figure, and could manage only neutral words or silence when asked his opinion. The Captain of the Guard would never voice his thoughts to another living creature. He intended his role to end the second Anton’s last breath faded, so he sat again and waited, silent and watchful.

He jerked awake, his head falling forward as the muscles in his neck went slack. He blinked and registered the change in the heart monitor. It was definitely slower, and Anton’s closed eyes had somehow opened, staring blankly at the ceiling. Bastien sat up straight and called a nurse in to sit vigil with him. There was a CCTV camera in the room recording all that happened, but for this vital moment he needed another human to witness that he did not approach the bed or rise from his chair two feet away save to leave the room for a bathroom break or walk the length of the room to restore his circulation.

The nurse leaned over the bed and closed his eyes again, but as she stepped away, horribly they slowly opened again, his eyes still fixed on the ceiling. She stared at him in disbelief.

‘I’ve never seen that happen before’ she said ‘But then they say it’s a Lythican poison, so goodness knows…’ her voice trailed away.

‘Indeed’ Bastien said ‘The Council thought it merciful to let him slip away’ The nurse jumped as Anton’s body suddenly jerked, and the heart monitor shrieked its alarm as it lost signal. His back arched off the bed and she ran over to hold him down, pulling the alarm cord, and staff rushed in to help her. Bastien stood back, determined to have no part in the unfolding drama. Just as suddenly as he had convulsed, Anton’s body went limp, and the beep of the flatlining heart monitor echoed around the room, the shocked medical staff stepping away. At last Anton’s body lay lifeless on the bed and Bastien felt a ton weight lift from his shoulders. Still he sat for another half hour before he rose and left, leaving the body of Anton Severus alone and unmourned.

------

The news reached Lythikos, where Olivia and Liam sat waiting to hear. Olivia broke into tears, weeping uncontrollably while Liam held her.

‘He’s really gone’ she said ‘At last that monster is dead. He can’t hurt us any more’

‘We can go forward now’ Liam said gently ‘This is a new era for Cordonia – one of peace and diplomacy, with our two families united.’ He lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes. ‘You’re the strongest person I know, Livvy – but you can let your guard down with me. Any burden you bear, I bear it with you. We stand together, whatever life brings us’ Olivia smiled through her tears. Truly Liam was the only one she could be herself with, and although she hadn’t declared her love for him, she felt that might come with time. He had called her loyal, and that was a quality they shared. He had always stood up for her when they were children, and they may have lost touch for a while as teenagers, but he was coming full circle, and she hoped that would continue into the future.

‘Liam, you don’t have to demonstrate your statesmanship with me’ she said ‘You can just be Liam, and I can be Olivia. It’s that simple’ Liam relaxed suddenly, letting his forehead rest against hers.

‘You’re right, Livvy’ he replied ‘That’s what being King is like. I have to think about everything I say before I utter a word’ She laughed

‘Whereas I say what I think. Perhaps you should teach me about diplomacy. I’ll have to start by keeping my mouth shut.’

‘Passion has just as much a place as restraint’ Liam smiled ‘you just need to channel it’

‘It comes naturally to you’ she sighed ‘I’ll have to work hard at it’

‘I’m sure you’ll rise to the challenge. After all, Nevrakis always succeed at whatever they do’ Olivia made a sour face.

‘Then let’s hope Lucretia decides that you making me Queen is enough for her not to plot against you’

‘I told you, she won’t be the first or the last’ he assured her ‘Bastien may be retiring, but Lewis is a superb replacement and I’m sure we’ll rule together for a long time. I’m handing over more responsibility to the Council, so hopefully we’ll have more time to ourselves than my father ever had.’

‘You’re such an optimist’ Olivia smiled ‘Perhaps you can teach me that too’

--------

Anton was buried next to his father, last of his line and mourned only for show by Liam, Rashad (as a representative of the Council) and Lewis. Hints of a large power base held by the Sons of the Earth had dissolved, as had that organisation, disappearing like a puff of smoke. Claudius and the other men arrested at Valtoria awaited trial although most of them co-operated once they knew Anton was dead.

The Charity tour came to an end, and Liam and Olivia went back to the Palace, now clear after extensive security sweeps. The Royal Wedding and Olivia’s coronation was planned in one ceremony, and it was decided that the pregnancy would be announced soon after. Olivia visited Lucretia and the old woman grudgingly congratulated her niece on her elevation to Royalty, but Olivia did not trust her to be out where she could harm Liam. She was charged with treason before it was decided that she was to be kept in a maximum security prison with strictly limited visitors awaiting trial.

Bastien did at last resign his position and take up his place on the new Cordonian Council of Citizens, but not before taking Sophia on a well earned break to meet his foster parents. Drake and Riley went on a trip to New York and Texas after the Royal Wedding, but decided to return to Cordonia while they worked out where their relationship was taking them.

By the time Olivia’s pregnancy was announced, the country had taken her to their heart, and few people criticised her for jumping the gun. The fact that there would be a new heir filled the gossip magazines, and the Royal Couple were in demand on front pages everywhere – not just in Cordonia, but Europe and further afield. It really was a new dawn for the country, and although all was not plain sailing, King Liam’s reign was set to be peaceful and prosperous.

THE END (for now)

@sirbeepsalot @stopforamoment @drakesensworld @katedrakeohd @texaskitten30 @be-still-my-aching-heart @hopefulmoonobject @dcbbw @classylady1234 @rainbowsinthestorm @kimmiedoo5 @bascmve01 @ibldw-main @addictedtodrakefanfic @trappedinfandoms @ravenpuff02 @kingliam2019

#silver service #liam x olivia #bastien lykel #OC x Bastien #the end!#tw death

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