#unrecognisable fanfic

[digital-corruption]

Unrecognisable Epilogue

I suppose if you're happy with how things finished, you don't need to read this part. This is for those wanting that bit more. ;)

Three years past and though I was given a new identity in a no-name town in the dead middle of the United States, my past still haunted me. There were memories I just couldn’t get over and to make matters worse, I couldn’t tell anyone about them. My own therapist didn’t even know. Try getting therapy when you can’t even talk about the reason you’re there. All she was allowed to know was that I was drugged and forced to participate in a horrific torture and that was just one of the many reasons I had a new identity.

Of course that meant I wasn’t allowed to get in contact with anyone from my past life, not my friends here or overseas, and not even my own family. I don’t even know what they were told. Did they think I was dead? Does that mean there was a funeral? Did anyone even show? Or did they all think I was still on the run? Dan would’ve told the others that I was apprehended at least. I just hoped they didn’t think I was ghosting them by choice. Damn, I missed talking to them so much.

And it went both ways. No one told me how Jake was doing. If he was improving and getting better. If he was healing. It probably didn’t matter. Agent West said Jake was never going to see the outdoors again. They used the incident with Richy to ensure the court ordered he stay in that facility. Argh, he must be so pissed at me. I know what it looked like, and it looked like I dumped him at the facility and fled, giving him up at the first threat that came my way. Though I don’t know what he expected when he put all that money into my account. Of course it was going to look bad for me!

My new “friends” tried to help me adjust to my new home, but this new life didn’t fit me. It felt like I was wearing someone else’s clothes, squatting in their house, working their dead-end job, telling their made-up story, with nothing but fake friendships. I had absolutely nothing of my past or anything that made me me. The FBI, for all their promises of a normal life again, failed to deliver on every aspect. Everything was empty and meaningless.

One cold evening in the middle of December I sat in a casual restaurant with yet another of my friend’s well-meaning blind dates. This date was telling me his entire life story at length and I think I was meant to find it impressive. He rattled off his high school and university accomplishments. I know he told me what he did for a living, but I forgot as soon as he told me. It wasn’t his fault, really. He had the appearance of a clean, well-adjusted individual with a decent salary. As usual though, he bored me. I could almost predict his every sentence.

“Gosh, I’ve been talking about myself all night,” he laughed. “What about you? Tell me something about yourself.”

“Um, I don’t know,” I shrugged while pushing the remains of my dinner around my plate.

“Oh come on, Sharon! You look like a woman’s that lived a little!” he smiled.

Christ, that name makes my skin crawl.

“What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?” he pushed.

I’m not sure you’re ready for that answer, buddy.

“Uh, I think I might have trashed a room once when I was drunk,” I said in a low voice.

Well, that’s sort of true.

“We all have our stories, don’t we?” he mused. “Ok then. Let me ask you this, do you like to travel?”

“I did,” I slipped.

“You did?” he asked confused. “What happened? Drank some bad water?”

“Uh, no. It’s just… it’s just I can’t anymore,” I admitted.

“What are you talking about? Sure you can!” he exclaimed.

I stuck my leg out from underneath the table and lifted my pant leg to reveal my unique ankle wear, “No, I can’t. Not unless you call going to the state border ‘travel’.”

His face turned white, “How badly did you trash that room?”

I shoved my leg back under the table and picked up my glass of wine. I chugged the remaining half in one go before responding, “Depends who you ask, really. I’d argue not enough.”

“But it’s a temporary thing, right?” he leant back in his seat.

I could see in his face he was already trying to distance himself from me. I felt there was no point holding back anymore.

You don’t have the balls, do you, to handle the whole package?

“Oh no, I’m permanently on the no-fly list, John,” I boasted.

“It’s Tom. And for what, trashing a room?” Tom looked at me bewildered.

“No, for fornicating with a known terrorist in that said room. Well, penthouse really,” I chuckled. “Apparently that makes me a terrorist too.”

Jo- Tom’s face went white.

Knew it! Another one bites the dust!

“You know what, it was a pleasure to meet you, but I just remembered I forgot to feed my cats. I’m sure they’ve torn up my apartment by now,” Tom lied. He stood up, pulled out a fifty and threw it onto the table. “Good night. It was, uh, it was a pleasure meeting you.”

I watched as he hastily left the restaurant, then glanced back at the fifty. I wished I could say I was surprised, but nearly every date ended up this way. As soon as they heard ‘terrorist’, they were gone. It was like nothing I said or did mattered. I was a marked woman. It was better to get rid of them quickly though rather than let any emotions build up. This way no one got hurt in the process. Especially me.

Soon the waitress came around with the bill and gave me a sympathetic look. I shoved cash into the folder, and she returned to take it to the register. While she was getting me my change, I put down an ample tip for the staff that night. I didn’t want them thinking they had anything to do with it.

Bundling myself up for the brisk night, I exited the restaurant onto the street. As a flurry of snow had just started it was almost a picturesque scene. The small town street was lined with the small shops and streetlamps decorated for the holidays.  Couples walked hand-in-hand everywhere, which made the sting of loneliness hurt even harder than usual. Glancing across the road I swear I saw someone watching me in the shadow between the streetlamps, but after a couple walked past me, the silhouette was gone. I shook my head and decided my mind was playing games with me again.

Pulling up my coat’s hood, I slowly made my way down the road towards the parking lot on the corner. People brushed past me as if I didn’t even exist, which pissed me off more than usual. When the next asshole refused to move to the side, I threw my shoulder into them. The couple gave me angry looks and asked what my problem was. While I considered where to begin, they walked off.

My phone buzzed to let me know my “friend” Carmen had messaged me.

Carmen: ?

Sharon: No. More. Dates.

Carmen: That bad? 😩

Carmen: Damn, I thought he was really promising.

Carmen: Well, forget him.

Carmen: I just met some of my boyfriend’s cousins and WOW 🤩

Carmen: And SINGLE! 😱

Suddenly my phone rang and “FBI” appeared in the middle of my screen. I was so surprised, I stared at it confused for a few rings before accepting the call.

“Agent Kilmer. Or are we Bale today?” I teased.

“MC, this is serious. Yesterday we received word from our associates in Germany that Jake broke out four days ago,” he said abruptly.

“And you’re only telling me now because?” I frowned.

“Look, I’m as pissed as you are. The hospital failed to report his disappearance. We only know because last night Interpol detected his presence in Heathrow,” Agent West sighed. “Then in Newark this morning.”

I had just turned the corner and could see my car at the back of the lot, but I stopped dead in my tracks. Every hair on my body stood on end. Sure, the air was cold, but my blood was colder. Even though the lot was empty, I knew I wasn’t alone.

“MC, please do not go out tonight. Lock up tight and do not answer the door for anyone. I am sending a squad to keep 24-hour surveillance on you,” Agent West explained.

Slowly I stepped towards my car. The light layer of snow melted beneath my feet. There weren’t any tracks leading to my car, but that’s not where he was. I knew someone was following my every footstep, stepping where I had stepped so he didn’t leave any evidence.

“Don’t worry about it, Agent West,” I tried to keep my voice calm. “And I want to thank you for all your service for this country.”

“MC! Get out of there!” he screamed over the phone.

I hung up and handed it to the person standing behind me. He took my phone and dropped it on the ground, then smashed it underneath his boot. I took out my keys and turned to face my stalker.

“You can drive,” I smiled as I held out the keys.

His face was nearly completely obscured by his hood and mask, but I could see the glimmer of his eyes. They contained no malice.

“First thing’s first,” Jake crouched down in front of me and gestured to my ankle. “No one shackles you-”

“But you?” I mused.

Jake didn’t respond; he looked up at me stoically. I lifted my pant leg so my ankle tracker was accessible for him. Jake took my foot and rested it onto his knee. Feeling off balance. I reached out and held his shoulder. He didn’t flinch. Instead Jake pulled out his handheld device to deactivate the RFID. Then he took out a couple of picks from his backpack and had the lock undone within seconds. I watched in amazement as the bane of my existence for the past few years dropped to the ground so effortlessly.

Before I could pull my foot away, Jake held my calf with one hand, keeping it in place. He pulled his mask down with his other hand, then ran it up my thigh before pressing his face into my leg to inhale my scent.

“Fuck, I missed you,” he closed his eyes briefly.

“You’re not mad?” I asked nervously.

“Mad? No! If anything, I am thankful. If it wasn't for you, I would never have entered that facility. Dr. Cumming's help has been tremendous. Everything is so much clearer now,” he answered honestly.

“But I told the FBI where you were,” I admitted.

“You did what you had to do to survive,” he smiled. “It was as I had intended.”

“Wait, framing me, that was part of your plan too?” I frowned.

“You would never willingly give me up to protect yourself, so I made sure you had a push in the right direction,” he shrugged. “Don’t worry about the money though. They couldn’t find the rest of it.”

“Jake, I can’t do this again,” I sighed.

“Have your feelings for me changed?” he narrowed his eyes.

“I do still have feelings for you, I just… I just want a quiet life now,” I explained. “One where I don’t have to look over my shoulder every second.”

“You don’t have to look over your shoulder because I’m here now, watching your back,” he argued. “Anyway, what about our plan of going where they can’t reach us.”

“That money you stole…” I thought out loud. “You stole all that so we could flee?”

“I have a nice place picked out. It’s not a deserted island, but very few people live on it and they’ll never bother us. It’ll be like they don’t even exist,” he grinned. “I would like to show it to you, if you would have me.”

Absolutely speechless, I watched as Jake lowered my foot back onto the ground, then bent over to kiss my boots.

“I’m at your mercy, MC,” he kept his head down and waited for me to act. “I no longer carry the weight that tortured me all those years ago.”

“To be honest,” my voice shook. “I missed you, Jake. This world, this life, is so empty and so fake. Everything is meaningless. I feel so dead inside. Yet looking at you now, my heart beats again.”

Jake stood up and stepped within inches of me. I could feel his warm breath on my lips. I wanted nothing but for him to devour me right then and there and become lost in him again. Where my mind faltered, my body instinctively raised my hand and handed the keys of my car to him.

“Take me there, Jake,” I mumbled.

“To the island?” he questioned.

“To your world and throw away the key,” I rubbed the tip of my nose teasingly against his.

Jake smiled and lowered his lips to meet mine. Instantly the flame of my cold heart had been reignited. His tenderness was soon replaced with a primal hunger. He pushed me back against my car door and pressed his body into mine. His hands ran up and down my body, unable to decide where to rest as he wanted all of me. Parting my lips, I let him into my mouth and he took my breath away. I melted into a puddle before him. By the time he pulled away, I lost the ability to think straight.

“Let’s go before they try to stop us,” he smiled.

And so on that cold December evening, we vanished into the night. The next day, the FBI would discover my abandoned car on the side of the road over 300 miles away, but that was the last they found of us. They had assumed Jake killed me out of revenge and ditched my body somewhere deep in the forest. All the while we were living on a small island in the Caribbean where they would never find us.

A/N: Thank you everyone for reading, liking and commenting on this incredibly long journey! Your support leaves me speechless! ❤️ Now for some bright, happy rainbows and unicorns! 🤣

[scorpiusmalfoylovesoscarwilde]

NAH NO ABSOLUTELY NOT TELL MEEE TEEEELLLLL MEEEEEEE WHY I WAS PEACEFULLY SCROLLING TIKTOK AND I SEE ONE COMMENT SECTION FLOOODEEDDD WITH SHIT LIKE "astoria greengrass hate club lol" "astoria haters ⬇️⬇️⬇️" "I can't stand astoria" WHAAATTT WHAT THE FUUCCKK WHAT ARE YOU EVEN ACTUALLY FUCKING TALKING ABOUY WHTA THE VBGAGSJSLW I CANNOT EVEN COMPREHEND WHAT THE FUCK YOU ARE ON ABOUT IM GONNA FUCKINGFHFHFJFUFKM WHAT DO YOU EVEN MEEAAANN SHUT THE FYCK UPP OH MY GOD WHAT WHAT DID SHE EVER DO?????

anywayz number one astoria greengrass defender love her so much I will skin your whole body with my teeth if you try and fuck with her that is MY GIRL <3<3<3

[coline7373]

[prokopetz]

The relationship between shipping and fanfic is so much more than a binary choice between "niche ship where it's impossible to find anything" and "popular ship where it's impossible to find anything readable". There's also "niche ship that has thousands of fics because it's captured the imagination of an extremely specific kink subculture that you're not into at all", "popular ship whose writing community became established during an early hiatus and never incorporated any subsequent developments, instead diverging into an alternative canon that's unrecognisable to fans of the actual source material", "moderately well-represented ship where literally everything seems to have been written by a single impossibly prolific author whose grammatical quirks drive you up the wall", etc.

[lurkingteapot]

Every now and then I think about how subtitles (or dubs), and thus translation choices, shape our perception of the media we consume. It's so interesting. I'd wager anyone who speaks two (or more) languages knows the feeling of "yeah, that's what it literally translates to, but that's not what it means" or has answered a question like "how do you say _____ in (language)?" with "you don't, it's just … not a thing, we don't say that."

I've had my fair share of "[SHIP] are [married/soulmates/fated/FANCY TERM], it's text!" "[CHARACTER A] calls [CHARACTER B] [ENDEARMENT/NICKNAME], it's text!" and every time. Every time I'm just like. Do they though. Is it though. And a lot of the time, this means seeking out alternative translations, or translation meta from fluent or native speakers, or sometimes from language learners of the language the piece of media is originally in.

Why does it matter? Maybe it doesn't. To lots of people, it doesn't. People have different interests and priorities in fiction and the way they interact with it. It's great. It matters to me because back in the early 2000s, I had dial-up internet. Video or audio media that wasn't available through my local library very much wasn't available, but fanfiction was. So I started to read English language Gundam Wing fanfic before I ever had a chance to watch the show. When I did get around to watching Gundam Wing, it was the original Japanese dub. Some of the characters were almost unrecognisable to me, and first I doubted my Japanese language ability, then, after checking some bits with friends, I wondered why even my favourite writers, writers I knew to be consistent in other things, had made these characters seem so different … until I had the chance to watch the US-English dub a few years later. Going by that adaptation, the characterisation from all those stories suddenly made a lot more sense. And the thing is, that interpretation is also valid! They just took it a direction that was a larger leap for me to make.

Loose adaptations and very free translations have become less frequent since, or maybe my taste just hasn't led me their way, but the issue at the core is still a thing: Supernatural fandom got different nuances of endings for their show depending on the language they watched it in. CQL and MDZS fandom and the never-ending discussions about 知己 vs soulmate vs Other Options. A subset of VLD fans looking at a specific clip in all the different languages to see what was being said/implied in which dub, and how different translators interpreted the same English original line. The list is pretty much endless.

And that's … idk if it's fine, but it's what happens! A lot of the time, concepts -- expressed in language -- don't translate 1:1. The larger the cultural gap, the larger the gaps between the way concepts are expressed or understood also tend to be. Other times, there is a literal translation that works but isn't very idiomatic because there's a register mismatch or worse. And that's even before cultural assumptions come in. It's normal to have those. It's also important to remember that things like "thanks I hate it" as a sentiment of praise/affection, while the words translate literally quite easily, emphatically isn't easy to translate in the sense anglophone internet users the phrase.

Every translation is, at some level, a transformative work. Sometimes expressions or concepts or even single words simply don't have an exact equivalent in the target language and need to be interpreted at the translator's discretion, especially when going from a high-context/listener-responsible source language to a low-context/speaker-responsible target language (where high-context/listener responsible roughly means a large amount of contextual information can be omitted by the speaker because it's the listener's responsibility to infer it and ask for clarification if needed, and low-context/speaker-responsible roughly means a lot of information needs to be codified in speech, i.e. the speaker is responsible for providing sufficiently explicit context and will be blamed if it's lacking).

Is this a mouse or a rat? Guess based on context clues! High-context languages can and frequently do omit entire parts of speech that lower-context/speaker-responsible languages like English regard as essential, such as the grammatical subject of a sentence: the equivalent of "Go?" - "Go." does largely the same amount of heavy lifting as "is he/she/it/are you/they/we going?" - "yes, I am/he/she/it is/we/you/they are" in several listener-responsible languages, but tends to seem clumsy or incomplete in more speaker-responsible ones. This does NOT mean the listener-responsible language is clumsy. It's arguably more efficient! And reversely, saying "Are you going?" - "I am (going)" might seem unnecessarily convoluted and clumsy in a listener-responsible language. All depending on context.

This gets tricky both when the ambiguity of the missing subject of the sentence is clearly important (is speaker A asking "are you going" or "is she going"? wait until next chapter and find out!) AND when it's important that the translator assign an explicit subject in order for the sentence to make sense in the target language. For our example, depending on context, something like "are we all going?" - "yes" or "they going, too?" might work. Context!

As a consequence of this, sometimes, translation adds things – we gain things in translation, so to speak. Sometimes, it's because the target language needs the extra information (like the subject in the examples above), sometimes it's because the target language actually differentiates between mouse and rat even though the source language doesn't. However, because in most cases translators don't have access to the original authors, or even the original authors' agencies to ask for clarification (and in most cases wouldn't get paid for the time to put in this extra work even if they did), this kind of addition is almost always an interpretation. Sometimes made with a lot of certainty, sometimes it's more of a "fuck it, I've got to put something and hope it doesn't get proven wrong next episode/chapter/ten seasons down" (especially fun when you're working on a series that's in progress).

For the vast majority of cases, several translations are valid. Some may be more far-fetched than others, and there'll always be subjectivity to whether something was translated effectively, what "effectively" even means …

ANYWAY. I think my point is … how interesting, how cool is it that engaging with media in multiple languages will always yield multiple, often equally valid but just sliiiiightly different versions of that piece of media? And that I'd love more conversations about how, the second we (as folks who don't speak the material's original language) start picking the subtitle or dub wording apart for meta, we're basically working from a secondary source, and if we're doing due diligence, to which extent do we need to check there's nothing substantial being (literally) lost -- or added! -- in translation?

[1dcommunityficrecs]

Historical AUs!

We have 26 incredible fics submitted to this list, stretching from the fifth century up to the 1990s. We have stories that fit into just over 2,000 words, and others that are more than 200,000! This list includes one LiLo fic, and we also have our first ever non-English rec, with a French language fic -- truly the language of love.

To all my fellow history lovers, it's time to go apeshit. Read, reblog, comment, kudos, bookmark, tell your friends, all that jazz -- your local fanfic writer appreciates it!

Here In The Afterglow by fondleeds (88649, Not Rated, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post Warnings: Violence, bullying, homophobia, slurs

1970’s AU. In a tiny town in Idaho, Louis’ life is changed forever by the arrival of a curious stranger.

Reccer says: The beautifully chosen words, the captivating story, the queer joy!!!

Unrequited by babyhoneyhslt (144000, Mature, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

Omega Prince Harry is send to France to marry Prince Louis, but instead of the nice boy he knew when they were children, he is met with a cold and distant husband and no idea as to why.

Reccer says: It was so interesting to follow along with this and try to figure out why Louis was behaving this way. And then later see them fall in love. Really liked it and can't recommend it enough.

Danger I can’t hide by CelticSky (227290, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) Warnings: War, homophobia

Flying Officer Styles and Sergeant Tomlinson would have likely never crossed paths in a time of peace, their lives laid out neatly, predictably before them. But then the world became unrecognisable. Too soon they grew accustomed to fear, surrounded by death and destruction, not even their freedom a certainty any more. Until they found each other. Comfort. Companionship. Understanding. Another person to lose.

Reccer says: It's one of those fics that I'd describe as monumental, masterful, epic. In my opinion, it should be made into a film, and brought to everyone's attention. The script is brilliant and relentless. The characters are subtle and nuanced. The writing is exemplary. A masterpiece.

Secrets in Winter by softfonds (82582, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

If Harry Styles thought he was going to have a peaceful winter while staying far away from the rake who lived across the street, he was sorely wrong on two fronts. A Victorian AU.

Reccer says: I loved the plot and the character development of the main pairing.

A cycle of recycled revenge by Brokenbeaks (103302, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

Foxburgh, England, 1983. In the heat of summer, wreathed by pastures, rolling knolls, and thatched-roof cottages, Louis takes on a new job: caretaking for a recently blinded man named Harry. As it begins, what seems like a simple task turns into a quest that costs him every last bit of his pride and tolerance. Harry is, in practice, a two-legged curse. And Louis is just gonna have to put up with it. Or: The one where Harry likes to infuriate Louis almost as much as he enjoys straddling his lap.

Reccer says: Absolutely excellent. I was a bit worried about how Harry's blindness would be handled, but it was done wonderfully. Perfect fic. Perfect writing. Perfect plot.

Through Lonely Streets and Neon Lights by Sweetly_disposed (25107, Mature, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson)

1920's era, Great Gatsby inspired. Harry is a poor boy living in the South Village. Every night he watches the North City come alive and longs of crossing the river to be a part of it and escape his dreary life. The infamous Mr Tomlinson lives across the river from Harry. His parties are the stuff of legend; people on both sides know about them, and all Harry wants is a chance to go to one. When fate swings his way and he finds himself in Mr Tomlinson's house, he gets much more than he could ever have bargained for.

Reccer says:

Chasing empty spaces by Lis (Domesticharry) (79028, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson)

The year is 1934 and Harry Styles was to inherent the largest tobacco firm in the south. His parents have picked out the “perfect” girl for him to marry and he has the privilege of receiving the highest education possible. The problem was, Harry hadn’t realized he didn’t actually want any part of that future until he met a mechanic named, Louis Tomlinson.

Reccer says: This fic is simply magnificent. A must read

An invincible Summer by Brooklyn_Babylon (44627, Explicit, Harry Styles Louis Tomlinson)

Never content to stay in one place for long, a few months down south researching for his novel seemed like an idyllic, slow-paced summer to Louis. He wasn't ready for the blistering heat, the backbreaking work of watermelon picking, or how stifling the attitudes in rural Georgia would feel. And he definitely hadn’t anticipated falling in love with the farmer’s son. The summer of 1946 would turn out to be everything worth writing about.

Reccer says:

Box of Rain by Indierection (amandamoraisa) (26631, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson)

1970 AU, Louis is a boxer and Harry a ring boy

Reccer says: The era is well transcribed (the way of life, the music), and the story is very charming.

Cela aussi passera (French-language fic) by Hazzunah (110721, Not Rated, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson)

1993: Louis is 16. It's summertime, by a lake in France. He meets Harry. 1999: Louis is in Japan; he hasn't seen Harry for 6 years, since that fateful summer. He thought he'd lost him forever.

Reccer says: For years, I've been reading only in English, but there's still the odd French fic that I come across that's really good. "This too shall pass" is one of them. It's set in the 90s, it's beautifully written, it's moving, and the characters are well characterized. For me, it's a gem. So I recommend it. For anyone who can read in French.

You Make The World Taste Better by LiveLaughLoveLarry/loveislarryislove (10000, Mature, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post Warnings: Harassment and threats from the rival baker, culminating in physical violence and a grisly end in keeping with the fairy tale

A twist on Hansel and Gretel as a rivalry between bakers, based on Hans Traxler’s fictional non-fictional text "The Truth About Hansel and Gretel"

Reccer says: This fic is such a wild adaptation of a story almost everyone knows, capturing both the sweet (literally, since Harry is a baker haha) elements and also the darkness of the tale.

No One Like You by myownspark (20000, Mature, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles were noted painters in the 19th century. Louis was a Neoclassicist, Harry a Romantic -- totally different, nothing in common, no connection. But centuries later, art historians Niall and Liam find something that suggests perhaps the two were more intertwined than people think.

Reccer says: I love the parallel timelines, watching Louis and Harry's relationship develop and fracture and heal at the same time as watching Niall and Liam discover things. We see pieces of history they're trying to puzzle together, and then we see the history as it happened, what it really was and what it meant to them.

Bloom by LadyAJ_13 (28909, Teen, Liam Payne/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post Warnings: Non-graphic violence, period-typical attitudes

In early 1970s Oxford, Detective Sergeant Louis Tomlinson has to deal with the dual pressures of a case that hits too close to home, and the arrival of new colleague Liam Payne.

Reccer says: This was an incredible, atmospheric, moody historical mystery fic. Topped off with a lovely, happy ending that had me tearing up.

Under Electric Candlelight by littleroverlouis (5051, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

In the 1970s, small town veterinarian Louis moves to NYC and meets a beauty at the bar named H who sometimes goes by Lola.

Reccer says: So immersive you feel like you're in 1970s Manhattan. The characters are truly electric and lovely.

this is my jam by disgruntledkittenface (4513, Mature, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

Harry goes to a gay bathhouse for the first time. 90s AU.

Reccer says: This story is so much more than it first appears. I could feel the atmosphere and the emotion of the moment of the characters finding a freedom that didn't exist for them outside of the bathhouse's walls. It's an absolutely beautiful (and hot) exploration of such a specific time and place. So layered and thoughtful and hopeful and real.

After Dark, After Light by QuickedWeen (71440, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post Warnings: Kidnapping, battlefield

Louis Tomlinson is the mysterious commander of the Sutherland army sent back with Harry on orders from his laird to help shore up Clan Edwards' defenses. As the winter draws nearer by the day, the two are thrown together to prepare for the invasion that they expect as soon as the ground thaws.

Reccer says: This fic just sweeps you away to the Scottish Highlands! Such a fun historical romance!

the sanctity of patience by scrunchyharry (22521, Teen, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

When young Lord Harry was chosen by King Louis of Bavaria to become his husband and prince consort, Harry thought all of his dreams had come through. His illusions came crashing down when he understood it meant living in isolation in the alpine castle of Neuschwanstein with a husband who turned out to be far from what he had hoped for.

Reccer says: The writing is gorgeous and immersive. The characters are so vivid and I loved the way their journey to love played out.

Ace of Spades by allwaswell16 (78000, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post Warnings: depictions of violence, drug use

Louis is a pirate, Harry is his captive, and no one is who they say they are.

Reccer says: Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. The plot twists! The suspense! The intrigue!

Adore You by Isthatyoularry (66979, Mature, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson)

Arrange marriage AU, Harry initially hates Louis and their arrangement but goes along with it for the summer. Louis is perfect for him tho, as much as harry hates to admit it. They last.

Reccer says: The word building. Stubborn harry. Pining louis. Catching feelings. Hate to love.

We Can Find a Place to Feel Good by yeah_alright/uhoh-but-yeah-alright (8000, Teen, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

1960s AU inspired by Treat People With Kindness. Harry attends school dances over the years, meeting Louis and learning more about himself and what he loves.

Reccer says: Just so completely sweet and hopeful! Captures the vibe of the song so well!

The Garden Part 1 by Throwthemflowers/hazzabeeforlou (13000, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post Warnings: Major character death, war

Biblical AU - 5th Century. A prince (Louis) falls in love with his father’s musician (Harry) in the midst of war.

Reccer says: This story is so hard to describe (it's Part 1 of a truly incredible 3-part series) but it's intense and brilliant and epic. The love here is all consuming and it comes through in the writing. Completely unique.

Ever Since I Tried Your Way by fairytalefemme (25896, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) Warnings: internalized homophobia

40s/50s AU. Harry leaves his bride-to-be at the altar, runs away from his life, and finds a kind farmer who lets him stay.

Reccer says: Such a sweet, tender exploration of love and self.

With Words Unspoken by jacaranda_bloom (18000, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

Older Louis and Harry. 50ish Louis returns to a cabin he'd visited many years before and it's a hippie commune type place where he finds Harry.

Reccer says: It just made me SO HAPPY. Peaceful and lovely.

1957: here to take my medicine by zita17/louisandtheaquarian (2652, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) - fic post

Beat poets Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles blow off some steam before a reading.

Reccer says: Literally transports you to this particular time and place. And so so hot.

The murmur of yearning by Mediawhore (93300, Mature, Harry Styles/ Louis Tomlinson) Warnings: Rape/non-con attempts, death of character, slurs etc

Harry upon the death of his husband he was forced to marry find companionship and support in the arms of Land steward mr. tomlinson. Together they try to prove harry didnt murder his husband.

Reccer says: Regency era. Dark academia. Mystery and suspense. Forbidden love trope. The angst and mutual pining. Harry in corsets!

Love you in the dark by Perzikze (9225, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) Warnings: Dubious consent i think, loss of virginity

Story of a historical wedding night. Innocent Harry has no idea what goes down during the wedding night; Louis eases him through it.

Reccer says: Innocent harry. Supportive Louis. It's adorable and sexy at once!

Stay tuned for the next list theme! It's similar... but different... ;)

[shibaraki]

I like ‘bad’ fanfiction I like crackfic and silly AUs I like fic that diverges so far from canon that it’s practically unrecognisable and fic that is blatantly self indulgent I like fanfics with no plot and cliches and predictable twists and repeated tropes! not every fanwork has to be a bestselling novel every single fic has a place and a purpose and sometimes I want to come home and read something that doesn’t require me to think! sue me

[young-royals-confessions]

Hope it is ok to send in a fanfic prompt in the hopes someone will adopt it

Couldn’t help but think about what would have happened if the video showed Wille being clearly visible but Simon being unrecognisable other than him being clearly a boy.

Could be interesting to explore maybe

🤳🏻

[digital-corruption]

... Screw it. Yes, I'm starting a new multi-part fanfic right before episode 10. 🤪

In this version of events, Jake disappeared right before the end of whatever happens without a trace. It is now 5 years later. MC has moved on (?).

Unrecognisable Part 1

⚠️ This fanfic has strong language usage.

⚠️ This fanfic features a**hole!Jake.

------------------------------------------------

“I wish I found the Man Without a Face instead.”

I never thought I'd ever say those words, but as they say, “expect the unexpected.” They also say, “never meet your heroes.” For good reason too.

Where to begin? I'm sure you know the story about Hannah Donfort. Who doesn't by now? It was all over the news and social media. Not a story I enjoyed repeating. Thankfully only a few people knew I was even involved as my name was left out of the news. And of the people I did tell, many claimed I lied for the attention. As if I wanted to be associated with that nightmare? No, thank you.

The only thing that kept me sane was my memories of the people I met along the way, especially HIM. Not many people are aware that the #IAmJake trend and the events surrounding Hannah Donfort were actually connected. Not even the conspiracy theorists were able to make that connection. I suppose it was good in a way - good for HIM. I wouldn’t be able to tell you because before it was even over he disappeared without a trace. Yes, like the Avatar, only he wasn't encased in ice.

To make matters worse, all of our history with him was gone. Even the photo he had sent to Lily and the backup she had saved. As it turned out the photo contained a trojan, which meant he could get to it on any device. Of course the one personal item he volunteered had strings attached. If it wasn’t for the fact Lily had printed a hard copy of the photo, we wouldn't had anything to go on, but even then, it wasn't enough. It’s not like you could identify him from an old photo of his mother. It's not like I could hack into the world’s most sophisticated international facial recognition software and search for matches.

Honestly though, I was pissed, no livid with how he disappeared. At first I was optimistic he would return, but as the days and weeks passed without a word, it was clear it was never going to happen. And as bad as it sounds, there were times I wished he was either dead or captured. The sting of him leaving wouldn't hurt so much then. Something told me he wasn't though. Somehow I knew he got what he wanted and was now in the wind. After a while, I had a friend of mine so a sweep of my computer and phone. Both had so many backdoors open for the right hacker to walk right through any time he felt like it. I was so disgusted with the gall of him. I immediately got a new phone and computer, and didn't touch my old accounts ever again. An absolute fresh slate. No more prying whenever you felt like, Jake. He would have to reach out to me the old-fashioned way.

So when I received the coded email from an unknown sender five years after he disappeared, you could imagine my surprise. I suppose an average person would have deleted it or marked it as spam. I just knew there was something about it though. I looked up all sorts of ciphers and encryptions. I ran it through online parsers. Surely if it was intended for me it wouldn't require too much deciphering, right? What I understood about the highest level of encryptions was they required a key to interpret the information, but I didn't receive anything else so I was baffled for days. Then I remembered that scavenger hunt he had sent me and Lily on, and that dumb phrase he kept repeating.

“You are the key.”

I tried my first name. I tried my last name. I tried them together, I tried them in reverse. I threw in my date of birth for kicks. Nothing. I nearly gave up, but then I saw a video on my feed mention how identity theft can occur from just having your social security number.

Bingo.

The parser confirmed that the decryption worked and returned to me two decimal numbers. At least I had watched enough mystery shows and played enough games to immediately recognise them as GPS coordinates, so you can stop shouting at the page now. (Who hasn't yelled at TV shows for spending more than a second working that out?)

And that is how I ended up at that abandoned building in a faraway city of a country I had never been to before. Then thing is, no one knew I had gone overseas. It wasn't so much of an issue with my work or my family. However, lying to my boyfriend was the hardest. He sincerely thought I was visiting my sick aunt. How was I to explain this to him? That I was chasing down a clue that may or may not lead to this guy I once had feelings for. I figured I'd work out an explanation afterwards. For now, I didn't want the interference, I just wanted to be able to focus on following the clue. I had to admit, as I pryed the boards off a broken window with a disused pipe I had found, I was beginning to have doubts about my interpretation of the message, but what else could it have been?

Even though it was the middle of the day outside, the old office building was dark as little light got past the boards. I had to use my phone to illuminate the hallways as I walked through them. There was only four stories, but when you don’t know what or who you were going to be finding, it felt like a never-ending labyrinth. Still, I carried on while trying to work out the best excuse to give the police if they had found me first and arrested me for trespass. They could speak English, right?

As I entered one of the offices on the third floor, my phone was suddenly knocked out of my hand. Before I could react, I was slammed face first into the wall painfully. Someone grabbed my hand and twisted my arm painfully against my back. Then I heard the click of a gun's safety being disengaged before the muzzle was shoved against my head.

“What the fuck are you doing here!?” a male voice grunted with an European accent.

My mind raced. Had I gotten the message wrong? Was I not the intended recipient? But it was my social security number that was the key! No, it had to have been for me.

“I-I followed the GPS coordinates in the email!” I stammered.

“What email!?” he pressured.

“Can we do this without the gun?” I pleaded.

“No! Answer the fucking question!” he snapped.

“I received an encrypted email from an unknown sender. All it contained though were GPS coordinates for this building!” I explained. “Please, you’re hurting me!”

“I’m hurting you? I'm hurting you?” he stressed. “Fuck! It’s people like you that keep the Nigerian prince scam going! You blindly following that email is going to get me killed! I should just shoot you and leave your body for them to find! Teach them to fuck with me!”

“I don’t understand!” I started to tear up. “You didn’t send me the email?”

“NO!” he yelled. His voice echoed off the walls. “At what point in entering this building did it seem like I wanted guests!?”

He pulled the gun away and shot my phone lying on the floor. The gun had a silencer on it, but the sound of the phone shattering still caused me to jump.

“Now what do I do with you?” he purred. “Do I leave you in the dumpster out the back? Or should I hang your body in the foyer?”

“Please...” I sobbed. “It was just a misunderstanding, ok? I thought you were someone else!”

“Yes, I know. You thought I was... what name did I use again? Oh, that’s right. You thought I was Jake,” he laughed.

My blood ran cold, “Jake?”

He spun me around and slammed me back against the wall. I started to cry out in pain when he smashed his lips against mine. I was in so much shock that all I could do was stare into his icy cold eyes that peered out from underneath his hood. He readjusted his face mask to cover the lower half again.

“What’s wrong? Was that not how you imagined our first kiss?” he chuckled.

I immediately slapped him across the face. “You can’t be...” I mumbled.

“Oh, but I am,” he sneered. “I am Jake!”

[shsl-roomba]

the dr fandom cant handle wlw ships in any other context than background fluff with no depth

i like sakuraoi and tsumioda ect but they always get woobified and mellowed out like did they SEE 1-4??? aoi did not pull all that to get sidelined as a supportive background lesbian in your ishimondo fanfic

and don’t get me wrong. my girls need a break sometimes fluff is great i don’t have a problem with it. but it’s the constant sidelining of wlw ships in favour of het/mlm ships in pretty much any fandom that gets to me.

and how wlw ships are only acceptable in the community when they don’t have any dysfunction or toxicity, and if the ship does have even the slightest hint of the above qualities it is either mellowed out to the point of being unrecognisable or dumped on with thinly veiled misogyny and homophobia and when i say slightest hint i mean the literally slightest hint. like the girls will argue once and the fandom will label the ship toxic while shipping. fucking kuzupeko or something.

wlw ships are seen almost entirely as a way to get female characters out of the way of mlm ships. in het ships the female character is a tool to develop the male character. they show significantly less depth and probably dies to forward the male character’s development (sound familiar?)

in any situation female characters are characterised by their relations to male characters. a female character’s (usually romantic, or at least interpreted as such) relationship with a male character is their defining characteristic. if said female character is in a wlw relationship they are reduced to their most basic traits while male characters are explored and given depth, and exist in the story only to offer support to the male characters.

i haven’t even mentioned how female characters must be in a relationship to be even remotely relevant in a story, but that’s a rant for another time.

grrah the way that female characters mirrors how wlw ships are treated by the community, and that characters/ships that aren’t completely perfect and deemed acceptable by the community are dumped on by the larger dr community while worse ships or characters are welcomed because they happen to contain a male character is gonna be my 13th reason istg.

anyways this rant is getting long but in summary danganronpa fans hate women and they hate wlw relationships that they can’t jerk off to.

[moonlightdancer26]

I have such complicated feelings about Sirius Black...I hate him, but I'm always disappointed if he isn't there especially in Severitus fanfic. There's just something fascinating about Harry's relationship with his two father figures who love him and he loves them back but they absolutely hate each other and are constantly trying to usurp each other by painting the other in the worst light and limiting access.

Literally same 😭 he’s one of the most infuriatingly awesome characters I’ve read and my feelings for him are always so intense. I’m so passionate about him I just 😍😍

And I agree, he’s one of the highlights of Severitus fanfics, I love seeing Harry be conflicted, I love seeing Snape and Sirius constantly bicker about Harry, I love seeing Sev and Sirius both want what’s best for Harry and attempt to be civil towards each other for his sake, I just love all the angst and conflict that happens in those fics.

And nothing infuriates me more than Severitus fics where Sirius is overly bashed. I love the ones where Harry becomes much more objective in his judgement of Severus and the Marauders’ past because Severitus fics are obviously friendly towards Sev’s character and so they tend to include more criticism towards the Marauders. But I dislike the ones where Sirius (and Remus) is bashed and villainised to the point where his character is unrecognisable, he’s still Sirius, he still loves Harry, he’s still extremely loyal to his friends, he still has a lot of trauma. He obviously has a lot of flaws, but he’s not evil. And seeing him be portrayed in such a shitty way really upsets me and ruins some Severitus fics for me. In my eyes, accurate portrayals of characters is one of the most important things about a fic; seeing it done badly can completely destroy a fanfic for me.

[darkurgetrash]

WIP Tag Game ♥︎

Thank you for the tag, @dutifullylazybread! If you guys haven't read Darcy's fic 'Deeply and Immovably So', you need to, it's slow-burn and angst to the max.

I'd like to tag @charmedcleric, @graysparrowao3 and @viennacherries - plus anyone who is currently writing Rolan fanfic, I'm always looking for more recommendations for fluff in particular! [No pressure.]

As for my current WIP, I'm working on Chapter 12 of Lead Me Through the Dark. I only just posted Chapter 11 yesterday, so make sure to check that out BEFORE reading this WIP (and be sure to read the content warnings as it is graphic)!

Thanks to everyone that decides to take a read. Spoilers ahead...

CW: graphic depictions of violence.

Time froze as Rolan beheld Tav's torn-apart body on the shattered floorboards before him. Blood seeped in a pool around her - staining her light hair a dark red, soaking her clothes. She was looking at the Talonites in front of her, her face contorted in pain; an unrecognisable mask of agony. He had only seconds to act, he knew this, but he was paralysed - able to do nothing but stare at her eyes, her beautiful eyes that held a horrifying glazed-over expression, unseeing, fluttering closed…

She was dying.

The room seemed to shrink around him, the air becoming thick with the metallic tang of her draining life; the stench of violence. His fist clenched tightly in rage, his nails drawing blood from his palm as they dug into his skin.

"I'm n-nobody..."

Her shallow breathing echoed in the silence, each one failing to move him from his paralysing fear, his mind reeling in disbelief. Not Tav... It couldn't possibly be Tav before him.

No time. 

There was no time.

All of a sudden, he felt the weave rush to his aid, imploding within him and seeping out through the ridges on his skin, bubbling behind his fingertips. It screamed for control, taking over his entire body.

“DOLOR!”

A green bolt the colour of death shot from his hands as the words fought their way out of his lips, hitting the elven woman squarely on her back and turning her to nothing more than ash. Immediately, the Weave took payment and Rolan felt his body weaken, but he couldn’t give in yet. There was still one left.

He regained control of his mind, moving himself out of his stupor. He had such little energy left but he needed to use it all, every single ounce. He moved forward just as the orc lunged, narrowly avoiding the edge of his blade as he thrust his own hand against the man’s chest.

“Fulgo!”

The spell hit as Rolan had intended, directly to his heart. He rose from the floor, body spasming with the magical electricity which fed on him, before dropping dead at Rolan’s feet. The energy of the Weave ricocheted through the room, demanding its dues, but Rolan couldn’t pay them - not yet, please not yet, not when he had to save her.

[prokopetz]

Categories of people who point at the main character two thirds of the way through a movie and ask "who's that guy":

Tired

Easily distracted

Simultaneously consuming another, unrelated piece of media and thinks they're much better at multitasking than they really are

Has trouble with faces and needs clarification regarding which of several characters with vaguely similar haircuts they're currently looking at

Needs to consume media in ten-minute stretches with rest breaks in between or else their brain gets full and starts discarding information at random

Mentally left the room 45 minutes ago and is only now returning

Gets films mixed up with such striking efficiency that they've already confused the plot of the movie they're currently watching with the plot of a completely different movie featuring one or more of the same actors

Started writing fanfic in their head while they watched, then returned their attention to the film only to discover that their headcanons have diverged so rapidly in that brief span that the source material is now unrecognisable

Watches with perfect attentiveness, but fundamentally does not experience film as a medium which relates a connected narrative; each scene is a moment in time, bare and gleaming, with no necessary relation to what's come before and no necessary import with respect to what comes after

Knows perfectly well who that guy is; is just trying to annoy you

[tennessoui]

The way your snippet through me back into the hunger games au, and I LOVE it

I need an obi wan pov because they both have rose tinted glasses for each other in this au to an extent and we can all see how obis glasses are rose tinted (to ignore the blood splatters), but I need to see how low-key psycho obi is in realityyyyy

I think my fav joke of any fanfic is Anakin in that first snippet with the “ethics board”, don’t know why but I was laughing so hard at that.

(Remember when you said if you finished one WIP you might have room for more…)

Love the idea of in quarter quell one tribute sees obi wan, back turned, he could totally knife him, and then remembers during training how Anakin had stormed in, taken out a slew of the hologram men without breaking a sweat in under 10 seconds flat, and then grabbed obi wan and kissed him in front of all the mentors, tributes and peacekeepers, before glaring at everyone in the goddam room. It took an hour for anyone to move, and no one is going after obi wan after that, never mind how all their mentors went white at the mention of Anakins name.

Then Obi wan snaps in the arena and badges someone face in so bad he’s unrecognisable and everyone decides they value life too much for the crazy that is those two

I’m in love with them both being a little psychotically in love with each otherrrr

This comment is already too long (I have so many thoughts about this au I love it so muchhhhhh (Anakin murdering children then sleeping soundly at night, while obi wan shoulders all his crimes as his own guilt is SO obikin, but he’s also out here low-key psychotic as well (cough cough TCW obi wan with his goddamn war crimes) I love ittttt

I feel like there are so many good options for a hunger games au obi-wan pov!!! Off the top of my head: obi-wan when anakin kisses him for the first time, obi-wan as the mentor when anakin is in his games, trying to convince possible sponsors that anakin loves Robin but also that he’ll go far in the games and they should support him (&the pain of having to really pretend the only person to love him loves someone else), obi-wan volunteering for anakin even though he made anakin promise not to volunteer for him during the quarter quell reaping, obi-wan’s pov of immediately afterwards too when anakin corners him to scream and yell and cry at him and wondering if this is what fear of anakin feels like because anakin has never looked at him so meanly with so much promised violence, obi-wan’s pov of the games and killing people because he wants to come back to anakin as much as he wanted anakin to come back to him a year ago……..

Soooo many options for a good obi-wan pov especially of obi-wan having his own perceptions of anakin ripped away from him during anakin’s games and the lead up to anakins games but then also being a different kind of psychotic himself because he can’t imagine giving up a love as addicting as anakin’s now that he’s found it

[9leaguesofmirrors]

Revenge Fuel (a Ross Gaines x Joseph Lisgoe fanfic)

Ages ago, I wrote a fic called Paranoia Fuel. Well, I've finally decided to write a sequel to it. While this can be read as a standalone, I've linked Paranoia Fuel here so you guys can read them back-to-back

I really hope you guys enjoy this one!

CONTENT WARNING: Contains depictions of violence and threats

Hammonds was a man that nobody in Royston Vasey ever saw, but if they did they'd be unable to scrub the image from their minds. Unruly hair, stubble and a generally scruffy demeanour: the mere sight of him told you everything you needed to know - 'this is an unpredictable man'

As usual during the night, he was sat on one of his leather seats watching TV, fully intending on having a quiet night in

Had he been a little more alert, he'd have noticed the figure moving swiftly towards his house

The figure making his way to the window and looking inside, waiting for a sign that someone was home

The figure with a gun in his pocket and was not, in the slightest, happy to see him

In fact, he only noticed someone was there when he heard the door being slamming. Once he went and opened it, he raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw who it was. The rest of his face was still

"Lisgoe."

"We need to talk."

Hammonds stepped aside and watched Lisgoe as he walked through like he owned the house, making his way to the living room. He was followed by Hammonds like prey being hunted

Not that he behaved like there was danger

"Didn't expect you to live this nice."

"What is it, Lisgoe? I was busy."

"Doing what?"

Hammonds glared pointedly for a few seconds, then sat down

"Don't waste my time. Make it quick."

"Stand up."

"Lisgoe," Hammonds leaned forward, squinting his eyes and baring his teeth "when have I ever taken orders from someone like you?"

"Fucking stand up."

"Don't swear at your boss, Lisgoe."

"You're not my boss." Lisgoe sneered "We're outside of office hours, you're just some guy."

There was a moment of pause, both of them stared at each other with unreadable expressions

"I'm not dealing with you anymore, Hammonds."

"You what?" He wasn't scared or angry, his voice was closer to mockery

"You heard me. I'm not sitting pretty while you talk to me however you want."

"Don't worry Lisgoe, you couldn't be pretty if you tried. You have a face like a smashed-in beehive."

"This is exactly what I mean." Lisgoe's voice melded into a snarl "It's boring, Hammonds. The constant bullshit has gotten old and I'm not putting up with it anymore."

"Oh, I am sorry!" Hammonds ramped up the mockery to a degree that really pissed Lisgoe off "I'd hate to hurt your precious feelings."

Hammonds finally stood up and walked towards Lisgoe, towering over him like an overarching thunderstorm. The tone of his voice became more like harsh daggers

"You think I'd answer to a single demand someone like you would make?"

Lisgoe didn't respond, he just stared back in cold defiance

"I could bash your head into the pavement until it was an unrecognisable pulp of blood and broken bones." His voice was calm, but the look on his face made it very clear Hammonds was enjoying the image "They wouldn't be able to tell you apart from dog meat."

There was no doubt in Lisgoe's mind that this wasn't an empty threat, but he wasn't going to let that show on his face. His boss was the only person he knew that would actually follow through with his promises - he'd proven that several times. It made his hairs stand up on end, but he held his ground

Until Hammonds took it too far

"And what about that Ross? What do you think will happen to him?"

For the first time since he entered the living room, Lisgoe stared down at the floor. The very way his partner's name was spat out of Hammond's mouth made his stomach coil

"Could visit him personally, show him exactly what I could do to him. Exactly how I could make him hurt. Damage him beyond repair."

Upon hearing that, Lisgoe's head shot up to face Hammonds. There was a burning eclipse in his eyes that shut out any sort of critical thought, leaving only a buzzing and frothing pit of primal aggression

"Maybe," Hammonds continued "I'll make you watch as I teach Ross a lesson in-"

"Don't say his name unless you plan on putting some fucking respect on it."

Hammonds was taken aback by Lisgoe's sudden lack of containment, he knew the man was volatile but he'd never lost it like this around him. What gave him the right?

"Why should I? Just because you're having sex with him, doesn't mean I have to care."

"You don't have to give a shite, but you need to respect him."

"I don't 'need' to do anything. Why should I show an ounce of respect to some lowlife greasehead that you decide to bum every so often-"

Something snapped

The room burst into shades of red and orange

Lisgoe had ripped his belt from its loops and shoved Hammonds backwards until he collided with the floor, holding it up and thwacking it down hard on him. The force and lack of control caused it to hit the light on the way down, shattering it and making it rain down like hellfire

"You fucking try it!" Lisgoe screamed, as if he were talking to anyone other than his boss "Just fucking try and lay a finger on him." He got right in Hammonds' face, teeth bared and eyes blazing "I will rip you a new asshole and fuck you with it!"

Hammonds wasn't going to let himself be bested by this scrawny upstart, and he stumbled his way to stand - not seeming to care about the broken glass under his feet. Without a second of hesitation, he grabbed Lisgoe by the chin

"You've got steel balls, haven't you?"

Maybe it was pride and arrogance, or maybe it was delirium, but Lisgoe couldn't help but laugh

"Guess that's why Ross likes me so much."

That was rewarded with a harsh shove to the floor, which effectively snapped Lisgoe out of it. He scrambled for the gun in his jacket pocket and held it at Hammonds' head, who's face slowly merged into one of silent, underlying rage

"Is that my gun, Lisgoe?"

"Wanna look down the barrel and find out?"

Hammonds launched for it, but Lisgoe held on tight. They scuffled for it on the floor, barely registering the click of the holster. Too busy trying to dodge and navigate the violent frenzy of limbs to realise the gun was active

Until someone grabbed it and shot twice

The air grew thick as the two were still. For all that build-up, the ending felt so sudden it was almost an anti-climax. Not that it mattered now. Not with a smoking gun and a dead body

Lisgoe felt himself slump backwards, his breath escaping him in ragged pumps. His fist loosened around the gun and his eyes closed. A look of pure relief ghosted his face

How's that for a smashed-in beehive?

Chuckling to himself, he stood up to look at the lifeless body of his boss that had falling on glass-riddled flooring. Two clean hits right in the jugular. Not bad

He let himself out of the backdoor and headed for the garage, as casually as brushing his teeth, to search for some form of toolbox. It didn't take long for him to find what he was after, and then he called his partner as he rummaged

"Ross? ... Yes, I know I'm late. ... I'm OK. I won't be home for a while," at least, he pulled out a small pair of pliers "it's impossible to find anything in these shops! ... I'll let you know when I'm back. ... Right, bye."

Once Ross hung up, Lisgoe called up a friend

"Mark, do you and Steve still have that business? ... Good, I want something made."

*********************************************

Lisgoe let himself in, holding a bag of shopping in his hand

He was met in the living room by Ross, who didn't look impressed

"Is there a soap shortage? Have people around here finally understood concept of hygiene?"

"Knowing the thick twats here, they're probably drinking it." Lisgoe put the bag down on the sofa and took something out, handing it to Ross "I saw this. Thought it was cool."

Ross took the bracelet in his hands, very surprised by the gift. Being a debt collector, Lisgoe was stingy with money, this felt slightly frivilous on his end. That wasn't to say he didn't appreciate it though

He ran his fingers along the plaited leather, dark brown and high quality. What also struck his eye were the little charms embedded into it

They looked exactly like human teeth

"It came with something else," Lisgoe took a chain from the bag and handed it over "shopkeeper was a pushy git. Would let me go until I got it."

They moved to their bedroom and stood in front of their mirror. As Ross put the bracelet on, Lisgoe went behind him and looped the chain round his neck

Ross reached up to touch the two bullets hanging from it

He wasn't stupid

"Joseph, where did you get these?"

"A couple of mates of mine make jewellery."

"I meant the charms. The teeth and the bullets, where did you get them."

Lisgoe looked at Ross' reflection and said nothing

"Did they deserve it?"

"It was Hammonds."

A few seconds of silence passed. Then Ross turned to face his partner with a dark smile

"I'll save them for a special occasion then."

A/N: As much as I love exploring different aspects of Gainsgoe, we can't forget that they're actual sickos - especially Lisgoe

[derpcakes]

Okay, I’m never actually going to write this (for reasons I’ll go into in a moment) but do know that a few years ago I was playing with a fanfic idea where a glitched out Holy Grail manifests in rural New South Wales. An ordinary teenager just trying to scrape by ‘til graduation in this tin-pot dairy town is out on a beer run for some crappy country high school party when two supernatural beings crash through the bottle’o wall, one with a spear and one with a pair of shiny, impossibly fast pistols. She survives being caught in the fight but inevitably ends up on her arse looking up at the glowing gunslinger, who says something about being a Heroic Spirit needing a Master. Our heroine then replies “Yeah nah, get fucked”. Nonetheless, she’s dragged into this battle, and the adventure begins from there.

I had most of a cast of Servants laid out: some smartypants mage decides to summon Ned Kelly--an Australian Heroic Spirit if ever there was one, and who is naturally depicted as a hot lady--before remembering that Ned Kelly was famous for being an outlaw who embodies the quintessential Aussie lack of respect for authority. Summoned as the Archer, Kelly has a degree of independence but ultimately needs a human to keep her anchored, hence going “wait, shit” after breaking her own contract, then reluctantly teaming up with our country town hero in the scene above. Since Ned Kelly’s homemade armour is so famous (to the point where a lot of art just depicts the armour, and it’s way more recognisable than his actual face despite photographs of him existing!) the armour would be constantly on, but invisible, in the same way that Arturia obscures Excalibur. Plenty of potential here for dramatic reveals, not to mention the Themes and Motifs. 

I also liked the idea of each Master having a kind of disjointed cultural relationship with their Heroic Spirit, e.g. a young mage who’s grown up as part of the Greek diaspora in Australia summons a hero from Ancient Greek legend; a character whose noble family fled Russia during the revolution (and hasn’t lived there since) summons a staple of Russian folklore like Baba Yaga (as Rider, you know, for her walking house). These old stories are part of these characters’ heritage, but the versions that exist in lore and legend are unrecognisable from anything they’ve known due to the passage of time and the transformation of culture through the immigrant experience. I thought that could be a fun thing to play around with, you know? Especially with the Australian setting.

I also messed around with the idea that someone summons what they think is a Valkyrie (back before they turned up in FGO!) but, in a third act reveal, turns out to actually be Loki in disguise. Loki would be Very Gender and extremely fun as an amoral pseudo-villain who gets into some cheeky chats with Ned Kelly about the way humans mythologise their troublemakers while also shooting them down.

Oh! It was also going to be gay. At least, in terms of the rowdy teen heroine having a female love interest (in the form of a traumatised but deeply powerful girl from an abusive, traditional mage family. She was gonna be full of plants. The heroine was going to throw it all away and go feral to save her in the end, probably punching God in the face to do it. Do you see what I’m doing here? You gotta have the archetypes).

Anyway, while there were some Cool Ideas floating around here, I ultimately shelved and buried this thing. a) it was going to be a SUPER research intensive project, not only in reading up on the myth and history to get the Servants right, but getting my head around the intricacies of Nasuverse worldbuilding not only enough to understand it but enough to mess with it in way that would be satisfying to the reader. These plot bunnies were bouncing around my head when I was in the middle of my Honours year, and heading towards my doctoral studies, so unfortunately, much like real bunnies in Australia, they were deemed an invasive species that would suck up too many of my resources. 

And I was alright with this, because b) I realised that the thing about Fate that makes me want to write fic is its characters, not its world. So staying in the world but taking the characters out felt... well, not like my kind of creative direction. And I would need bucketloads of passion to get me through this thing, because naturally as the story of my very own Grail War it would need to be at least novel-length. And not a thin novel, either...

I thought to myself “If I’m going to do this much worldbuilding and develop this many OCs for a novel-length fic, I may as well be writing my own original fantasy novels”. Which I’m doing! Some ideas that started here have ended up being folded into other, more successful projects. My interest in exploring a trickster god character flowed right into my PhD work, which is largely about trickster god characters; and I’ve nicked and repurposed a few other elements, too, like the idea of a mage family who get their mana from a freaky symbiotic relationship with plants that they grow in their own body. I feel like my angry, take-no-shit, typically Aussie Ordinary Heroine--the girl I placed in Shirou’s archetypal role--will wander into an original project too, since she has a lot of presence and I think would be really fun as a protagonist. 

Anyway--I’m not going to come back to this, but the idea echoes in my brain every now and then, so I figured I’d share it here. What do you all think? If you could devise your own Grail War from the ground up where would you set it and who would you throw in the ring?