Ao3 Meme
Nov. 21st, 2025 08:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thisbluespiritPicked up from a few people a little while ago, but then I was ill(er) again. I'm pretty sure I have done this once before, but not for years, so...
From your AO3 Works page, look at the tags and find the answers to these questions.
Current number of works on AO3: 711
1. Under what rating do you write most?
Ratings break down like this:
General Audiences (563)
Teen And Up Audiences (147)
Mature (Mature)
(I was curious for a minute as to what the mature one was and then remembered it had to be the EatD one with the German Generalmajor and the English Major General, and that's mainly for the suicide warning, but, er, the whole thing really.)
2. What are your top 3 fandoms?
Doctor Who (1963) (231)
Doctor Who (2005) (98) --> obv as this is all DW, plus also some BFA, and take away any tagged with both, so I got up the meta tag results within works and came up with DW = 293
Sapphire & Steel (88)
Blake's 7 (62)
I like my old time Brit TV SF? XD I need to get back to my B7 rewatch soon. I miss it when it's been so long since I've watched it or written it. Which explains a lot about the tags.
3. Which character do you write about most?
Silver (Sapphire & Steel) (55)
Followed closely by Sapphire (44) & Steel (42). That's what you get when your most prolific fandom has umpty million characters across 60+ years and various spin-offs and different media and my second has 4 main canonical characters, only 3 of whom turn up more than once in canon. (Kenny Phillips still shows up disproportionately at (29), which is because I once claimed him for 30ficlets. Claims are hard. Even if I love a character, after about 10 pieces in a row, I want to write about somebody else!)
4. What are the 3 top pairings you've written?
The top is actually OFC/OMC, which is not fandom-specific, so have the top four.
Original Female Character(s)/Original Male Character(s) (11)
Elizabeth of York Queen of England/Henry VII of England (11)
Ruth Evershed/Harry Pearce (9)
Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart/Liz Shaw (9)
I suppose this could be correct. It doesn't feel correct, but I think that's because I always have a crisis when tagging Sapphire/Silver/Steel, because I know full well my definition of it mostly would count as gen for many people so I panic and wildly select either & or / or both or something. Otherwise I feel like that would beat 11. Although it could just be AO3's counting, which definitely used to be very off in these side-bars.
I didn't know I'd done that much Ruth/Harry, but there have been a few little ficlets over the years and I suppose they added up! I had a very intense Brig/Liz period ages ago, so that's no shocker at any rate. Most of my shipping is very much one or two and move on, with a few exceptions. *points*
5. What are the top 3 additional tags?
Ficlet (214)
Crossover (143)
Humor (126)
Not accurate at all, lol. /o\ I mean, I feel like I've been a lot less funny lately, and written a lot less prompt ficlets and a lot less crossovers, but me writing crossover crack ficlets played straight for prompts from the flist is a lot of my fannish life, it's true. No regrets. Even the Steed/Baldrick one. XD
The rest are:
Alternate Universe (68)
Meme (65)
Drabble (46)
Post-Canon (45)
Community: hc_bingo (42)
Fluff (30)
Flash Fic (30)
Which, yeah. The AU is largely the AU meme - I have done a lot of that one over the years! It's fun, though. Not done drabbles so much lately, though. And![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
hc_bingo has closed down, alas. I'm really surprised Hurt/Comfort didn't make it in. Er, HOW did I write 42 works for hc_bingo but not then 42 works tagged Hurt/Comfort? AO3 counting or my failure to make it properly h/c enough to tag, but just enough to count? Tbf, that did happen a lot with that one, but... surely, given lots of Hurt/Comfort written outside the bingo, it should even out? I suspect foul play here...
From your AO3 Works page, look at the tags and find the answers to these questions.
Current number of works on AO3: 711
1. Under what rating do you write most?
Ratings break down like this:
General Audiences (563)
Teen And Up Audiences (147)
Mature (Mature)
(I was curious for a minute as to what the mature one was and then remembered it had to be the EatD one with the German Generalmajor and the English Major General, and that's mainly for the suicide warning, but, er, the whole thing really.)
2. What are your top 3 fandoms?
Doctor Who (1963) (231)
Doctor Who (2005) (98) --> obv as this is all DW, plus also some BFA, and take away any tagged with both, so I got up the meta tag results within works and came up with DW = 293
Sapphire & Steel (88)
Blake's 7 (62)
I like my old time Brit TV SF? XD I need to get back to my B7 rewatch soon. I miss it when it's been so long since I've watched it or written it. Which explains a lot about the tags.
3. Which character do you write about most?
Silver (Sapphire & Steel) (55)
Followed closely by Sapphire (44) & Steel (42). That's what you get when your most prolific fandom has umpty million characters across 60+ years and various spin-offs and different media and my second has 4 main canonical characters, only 3 of whom turn up more than once in canon. (Kenny Phillips still shows up disproportionately at (29), which is because I once claimed him for 30ficlets. Claims are hard. Even if I love a character, after about 10 pieces in a row, I want to write about somebody else!)
4. What are the 3 top pairings you've written?
The top is actually OFC/OMC, which is not fandom-specific, so have the top four.
Original Female Character(s)/Original Male Character(s) (11)
Elizabeth of York Queen of England/Henry VII of England (11)
Ruth Evershed/Harry Pearce (9)
Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart/Liz Shaw (9)
I suppose this could be correct. It doesn't feel correct, but I think that's because I always have a crisis when tagging Sapphire/Silver/Steel, because I know full well my definition of it mostly would count as gen for many people so I panic and wildly select either & or / or both or something. Otherwise I feel like that would beat 11. Although it could just be AO3's counting, which definitely used to be very off in these side-bars.
I didn't know I'd done that much Ruth/Harry, but there have been a few little ficlets over the years and I suppose they added up! I had a very intense Brig/Liz period ages ago, so that's no shocker at any rate. Most of my shipping is very much one or two and move on, with a few exceptions. *points*
5. What are the top 3 additional tags?
Ficlet (214)
Crossover (143)
Humor (126)
Not accurate at all, lol. /o\ I mean, I feel like I've been a lot less funny lately, and written a lot less prompt ficlets and a lot less crossovers, but me writing crossover crack ficlets played straight for prompts from the flist is a lot of my fannish life, it's true. No regrets. Even the Steed/Baldrick one. XD
The rest are:
Alternate Universe (68)
Meme (65)
Drabble (46)
Post-Canon (45)
Community: hc_bingo (42)
Fluff (30)
Flash Fic (30)
Which, yeah. The AU is largely the AU meme - I have done a lot of that one over the years! It's fun, though. Not done drabbles so much lately, though. And
hc_bingo has closed down, alas. I'm really surprised Hurt/Comfort didn't make it in. Er, HOW did I write 42 works for hc_bingo but not then 42 works tagged Hurt/Comfort? AO3 counting or my failure to make it properly h/c enough to tag, but just enough to count? Tbf, that did happen a lot with that one, but... surely, given lots of Hurt/Comfort written outside the bingo, it should even out? I suspect foul play here...
Update + (Half) a Watching Post
Nov. 18th, 2025 06:23 pmthisbluespiritI've not been around so much again, because I had to go out and have a filling amongst other things, and ME/CFS and anaesthetic do not play well together. The rest of the time, when I had energy, in fannish things, I have been mainly focused on making sure I get my yuletide fic typed up. Anyway, as of yesterday, I have a first draft and am not too far off a bus pass version even (\o/), so I shall try and be a bit less faily at keeping up around here again.
I had half a watching post done, and it was already quite long actually, so I will just post that here:
Some more summer watching! This isn't the order I watched them in, but I made my way through two more cosy crime series, and some of Jeremy Northam's remaining CV.
The two BBC cosies were Ludwig starring David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin, which was very good although an odd mix of tone that is exactly encapsulated by the two leads. Some parts of Ludwig felt like the kind of tense, proper crime drama with bent coppers and the like in which you might expect to find AMM and others were more of an outright comedy than most, as seems only right with David Mitchell. It was a strong entry, though! David Mitchell is a reclusive puzzle-setter ("Ludwig"), John, whose identical twin brother James is a police detective who has vanished. His sister-in-law Lucy manages to prise John out of his house to come and help - by pretending to John. Cue John getting a) extremely stressed by all of this and b) distracted by the need to solve the murders that he's sent to deal with, all the while trying to find out why James has disappeared and help out Lucy and his nephew.
Anyway, there should be a s2, with hopefully less stress for John helping the police as a consultant now, rather than trying to pretend to be his twin brother and panicking a lot. I look forward to seeing how that goes.
Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders have been on my radar for a while because people kept mentioning them, so nearing the end of the summer of the cosies, I thought, why not go for broke, and watched it too. These were really great! They were one serialised mystery per series, rather than case of the week, but Lesley Manville is crime editor Susan Ryeland, whose star crime writer gets murdered. In the course of trying to find the missing chapter of his otherwise complete last manuscript, she inadvertantly winds up on the trail of his killer. The really fun/clever thing about this series is that as she reads the last novel, we follow the fictional detective Atticus Pünd in his investigations, which parallel hers and which are a pastiche of a golden age detective series. Occasionally, she imagines discussing the murder with him, so they meet in dreamlike sequences. Tim McMullan as Pünd is really great - I hadn't come across him before, and it's a lovely performance. Conleth Hill is also fun as the late Alan Conway. Moonflower Murders follows the same pattern, as someone else has noted Alan Conway's spiteful tendency to put real things he oughtn't into his books and pays Susan to investigate the parallels between an earlier book in the series and a death at their hotel.
There's supposed to be a third series to come, so I'll look forward to it, although I understand that it's supposed to have a different writer (as in not Alan Conway in-narrative, not irl - they're all adapted by Anthony Horowitz who wrote the original books), and we'll see how that goes. But it was really unusual and fun.
Creation (2009) Biopic about Charles Darwin, starring Paul Bettany. ( This got quite long )
yuletide fic typed up. Anyway, as of yesterday, I have a first draft and am not too far off a bus pass version even (\o/), so I shall try and be a bit less faily at keeping up around here again.I had half a watching post done, and it was already quite long actually, so I will just post that here:
Some more summer watching! This isn't the order I watched them in, but I made my way through two more cosy crime series, and some of Jeremy Northam's remaining CV.
The two BBC cosies were Ludwig starring David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin, which was very good although an odd mix of tone that is exactly encapsulated by the two leads. Some parts of Ludwig felt like the kind of tense, proper crime drama with bent coppers and the like in which you might expect to find AMM and others were more of an outright comedy than most, as seems only right with David Mitchell. It was a strong entry, though! David Mitchell is a reclusive puzzle-setter ("Ludwig"), John, whose identical twin brother James is a police detective who has vanished. His sister-in-law Lucy manages to prise John out of his house to come and help - by pretending to John. Cue John getting a) extremely stressed by all of this and b) distracted by the need to solve the murders that he's sent to deal with, all the while trying to find out why James has disappeared and help out Lucy and his nephew.
Anyway, there should be a s2, with hopefully less stress for John helping the police as a consultant now, rather than trying to pretend to be his twin brother and panicking a lot. I look forward to seeing how that goes.
Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders have been on my radar for a while because people kept mentioning them, so nearing the end of the summer of the cosies, I thought, why not go for broke, and watched it too. These were really great! They were one serialised mystery per series, rather than case of the week, but Lesley Manville is crime editor Susan Ryeland, whose star crime writer gets murdered. In the course of trying to find the missing chapter of his otherwise complete last manuscript, she inadvertantly winds up on the trail of his killer. The really fun/clever thing about this series is that as she reads the last novel, we follow the fictional detective Atticus Pünd in his investigations, which parallel hers and which are a pastiche of a golden age detective series. Occasionally, she imagines discussing the murder with him, so they meet in dreamlike sequences. Tim McMullan as Pünd is really great - I hadn't come across him before, and it's a lovely performance. Conleth Hill is also fun as the late Alan Conway. Moonflower Murders follows the same pattern, as someone else has noted Alan Conway's spiteful tendency to put real things he oughtn't into his books and pays Susan to investigate the parallels between an earlier book in the series and a death at their hotel.
There's supposed to be a third series to come, so I'll look forward to it, although I understand that it's supposed to have a different writer (as in not Alan Conway in-narrative, not irl - they're all adapted by Anthony Horowitz who wrote the original books), and we'll see how that goes. But it was really unusual and fun.
Creation (2009) Biopic about Charles Darwin, starring Paul Bettany. ( This got quite long )
Tags:
Pinch Hitter Prompts 2025
Nov. 16th, 2025 05:11 pmyuletidemods posting in yuletide_adminEvery year, well over a hundred pinch hitters take on extra assignments. Many of these pinch hitters are signed up to Yuletide, with an assigned writer and recipient from the start. Some are not!
Though these supporting pinch hitters are not guaranteed a gift, we'd like to make it a possibility. On this post, we're collecting prompts from the pinch hitters who are not signed up to Yuletide, so that others may give them treats.
To writers
Please consider writing a treat for a pinch hitter! See instructions for how, where, and when to post a treat. Full-length gifts for pinch hitters are welcome in the Main collection.
To pinch hitters
If you are signed up to Yuletide this year, this post does not apply to you, but we still hope you enjoy your gift(s).
If you are not signed up to Yuletide this year but you have claimed or posted a pinch hit, please comment to this post with your requests! Please limit yourself to Yuletide-eligible fandoms, but you can ask for more than 8 different fandoms.
Yuletide 2025 tag set on AO3
Tag set as a browser app
You can treat your comment as a Dear Writer letter, with likes and prompts, or include a link to a letter. Either way, please include the following information when you comment:
-your AO3 name
-your requested fandoms [please format the fandoms exactly as they are in the tag set if possible]
-your requested characters
and, optionally, ideas for what you would like to receive, DNWs, and/or (a) link(s) to other places where you have written about what you would like. You're welcome to comment on mini-challenge posts!
Thank you, pinch hitters! And thank you to anyone on the lookout to pick up a pinch hit - we will post them atyuletide_pinch_hits throughout the exchange.
Schedule, Rules, & Collection | Contact Mods | Participant DW | Participant LJ | Pinch Hits on DW | Discord | Tag set | Tag set app
Please either comment logged-in or sign a name. Unsigned anonymous comments will be left screened. And specifically, if you would like to get a treat, we need your AO3 name so we know whom to give it to!
Though these supporting pinch hitters are not guaranteed a gift, we'd like to make it a possibility. On this post, we're collecting prompts from the pinch hitters who are not signed up to Yuletide, so that others may give them treats.
To writers
Please consider writing a treat for a pinch hitter! See instructions for how, where, and when to post a treat. Full-length gifts for pinch hitters are welcome in the Main collection.
To pinch hitters
If you are signed up to Yuletide this year, this post does not apply to you, but we still hope you enjoy your gift(s).
If you are not signed up to Yuletide this year but you have claimed or posted a pinch hit, please comment to this post with your requests! Please limit yourself to Yuletide-eligible fandoms, but you can ask for more than 8 different fandoms.
Yuletide 2025 tag set on AO3
Tag set as a browser app
You can treat your comment as a Dear Writer letter, with likes and prompts, or include a link to a letter. Either way, please include the following information when you comment:
-your AO3 name
-your requested fandoms [please format the fandoms exactly as they are in the tag set if possible]
-your requested characters
and, optionally, ideas for what you would like to receive, DNWs, and/or (a) link(s) to other places where you have written about what you would like. You're welcome to comment on mini-challenge posts!
Thank you, pinch hitters! And thank you to anyone on the lookout to pick up a pinch hit - we will post them at
yuletide_pinch_hits throughout the exchange.Please either comment logged-in or sign a name. Unsigned anonymous comments will be left screened. And specifically, if you would like to get a treat, we need your AO3 name so we know whom to give it to!
Yuletide 2025 Beta Readers
Nov. 15th, 2025 08:54 pmyuletidemods posting in yuletideIt is time once again to organize beta readers for Yuletide! Beta readers can check your fic for style, language issues, canon compliance, specialized knowledge of various kinds, and making sure the whole thing makes sense. Being a beta reader yourself is a fun way to contribute to Yuletide--even if you're not writing a story!
If you're interested in beta reading somebody else's story, fill out the form HERE It will ask about what fandoms you are willing to beta for, as well as other kinds of expertise you're willing to offer. Note that you will need to enter an email address, which will be visible to other users, but we will hide this information after Yuletide 2025 is over. After you've filled out the form, you'll get an email containing your responses and a link you can use to edit your answers.
If you need a beta, check the spreadsheet HERE. All responses will be visible in the tab "Form Responses." We’ll be copy-pasting information from there into the other tabs as we’re able to make them easier to find. Find someone offering the kind of help you need (make sure it's not your recipient!) and contact them directly. If no one is offering what you need, you can also comment anonymously on this post to see if someone can help, or you can sign onto the Yuletide Discord and contact a hippo.
If you’re asking for a beta, it can often be helpful to be clear about what types of feedback would be helpful to you. Examples could be that you’re looking for thoughts on characterization and story structure; or you'd particularly like feedback on whether your story successfully avoids topics your recipient doesn't want; or maybe you specify that you would like a check of spelling, punctuation, and grammar (SPAG) but are specifically not interested in feedback on wording choices.
It’s also courteous to ask your beta reader if they would like to be credited when you post your fic, and if so, how. Some people appreciate public thanks in an author’s note, while others may prefer not to be named.
If you have any questions, comment on this post or email the mods at yuletideadmin@gmail.com. (The beta post is an unofficial aspect of Yuletide. Mods had time to put it up this year, but we don’t mean to take it over, so we hope a non-mod participant can put it up in 2026.)
Whether you're volunteering as a beta, or considering future coordination, we appreciate you a lot! Thank you for helping out.
Also please feel free to share any tips you may have about what makes a good beta experience (either as a beta or when seeking a beta's help).
If you're interested in beta reading somebody else's story, fill out the form HERE It will ask about what fandoms you are willing to beta for, as well as other kinds of expertise you're willing to offer. Note that you will need to enter an email address, which will be visible to other users, but we will hide this information after Yuletide 2025 is over. After you've filled out the form, you'll get an email containing your responses and a link you can use to edit your answers.
If you need a beta, check the spreadsheet HERE. All responses will be visible in the tab "Form Responses." We’ll be copy-pasting information from there into the other tabs as we’re able to make them easier to find. Find someone offering the kind of help you need (make sure it's not your recipient!) and contact them directly. If no one is offering what you need, you can also comment anonymously on this post to see if someone can help, or you can sign onto the Yuletide Discord and contact a hippo.
If you’re asking for a beta, it can often be helpful to be clear about what types of feedback would be helpful to you. Examples could be that you’re looking for thoughts on characterization and story structure; or you'd particularly like feedback on whether your story successfully avoids topics your recipient doesn't want; or maybe you specify that you would like a check of spelling, punctuation, and grammar (SPAG) but are specifically not interested in feedback on wording choices.
It’s also courteous to ask your beta reader if they would like to be credited when you post your fic, and if so, how. Some people appreciate public thanks in an author’s note, while others may prefer not to be named.
If you have any questions, comment on this post or email the mods at yuletideadmin@gmail.com. (The beta post is an unofficial aspect of Yuletide. Mods had time to put it up this year, but we don’t mean to take it over, so we hope a non-mod participant can put it up in 2026.)
Whether you're volunteering as a beta, or considering future coordination, we appreciate you a lot! Thank you for helping out.
Also please feel free to share any tips you may have about what makes a good beta experience (either as a beta or when seeking a beta's help).
New Year's Resolutions 2025: Round-Up
Nov. 14th, 2025 11:19 pmmorbane posting in yuletideWe opened the New Year's Resolutions 2025 AO3 collection on 1 January and closed it on October 24 when Yuletide assignments went out.
This year's collection had 25 works total (mostly fic - but not all), in:
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Alien (Prequel Movies 2012 2017)
Barely Lethal (2015)
Betrayal at Krondor (Video Games)
괴물 | Beyond Evil (TV)
Brave (2012)
Creep (Movies 2014 2017)
For All Mankind (TV 2019)
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom - Halsey (Album)
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Video Game)
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
The Secret Garden - Simon/Norman
Slow Horses (TV)
승리호 | Space Sweepers (2021)
Star Wars - All Media Types
Star Wars: The High Republic: Phase I - Various Authors
Strange Way Of Life (Short Film 2023)
Super Powereds - Drew Hayes
Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Transistor (Video Game)
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley
Winslow Boy (1999)
ヲタクに恋は難しい | Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii | Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (Anime)
Thank you to everyone who contributed a make-up story, to people fulfilling other personal challenges, and to everyone who simply felt inspired.
hearts still burn the same (1244 words) by thewomanupstairs
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Strange Way Of Life (Short Film 2023)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sheriff Jake/Silva (Strange Way Of Life)
Characters: Silva (Strange Way Of Life), Sheriff Jake (Strange Way Of Life)
Additional Tags: Body Worship, Injury Recovery, Possessive Behavior, "love is a game and i'm playing to win" vibes
Summary:
Hairy situation (1001 words) by Fiore01
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Brave (2012)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Elinor/Fergus (Disney: Brave), Elinor & Merida (Disney)
Characters: Elinor (Disney), Merida (Disney), Fergus (Disney: Brave)
Additional Tags: Domestic Fluff
Summary:
after the end (1366 words) by computational
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 괴물 | Beyond Evil (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Han Juwon/Lee Dongsik (Beyond Evil)
Characters: Kang Minjung (Beyond Evil)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Grief/Mourning, Flowers, Han Juwon Loves Lee Dongsik (Beyond Evil), Domestic Han Juwon/Lee Dongsik (Beyond Evil), Canonical Character Death
Summary:
What's Built To Last (2795 words) by platinum_firebird
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Alien (Prequel Movies 2012 2017)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Katherine Daniels/Walter
Characters: Katherine Daniels, Walter (Alien Series)
Additional Tags: Fix-It, Post-Canon Fix-It, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Specifically Walter, Alien Planet, New Planets, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Holding Hands, Healing, Developing Relationship, Grief/Mourning
Summary:
borage and soapweed and arnica (2166 words) by Pure_Anon
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Secret Garden - Simon/Norman
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dr. Neville Craven & Mary Lennox
Characters: Dr. Neville Craven, Mary Lennox (The Secret Garden)
Additional Tags: Men Crying, Angst, Complicated Relationships, Hopeful Ending
Summary:
Houston (1027 words) by crazykookie
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: For All Mankind (TV 2019)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Margo Madison & Aleida Rosales, Margo Madison & William "Bill" Strausser, Margo Madison & Wernher von Braun
Characters: Margo Madison, Aleida Rosales, William "Bill" Strausser (For All Mankind), Wernher von Braun
Summary:
[Art] Riddle Chest (0 words) by Hekachoc
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Betrayal at Krondor (Video Games)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Owyn Beleforte & Gorath
Characters: Gorath (Riftwar Saga), Owyn Beleforte
Additional Tags: Art, Humour, Riddles, Crack, Banter, Meta
Becalmed (575 words) by Age or Wizardry
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Llewyn Davis
Additional Tags: time loop (implied), questioning the efficacy of timeloops as a tool for changing behavior, doing something with the movie's references to The Odyssey
Summary:
Coffee Talk (20088 words) by C-chan
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: ヲタクに恋は難しい | Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii | Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (Anime)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Momose Narumi/Nifuji Hirotaka, Nifuji Naoya/Sakuragi Kou, Kabakura Tarou/Koyanagi Hanako, Momose Narumi & Nifuji Naoya, Kabakura Tarou & Koyanagi Hanako & Momose Narumi & Nifuji Hirotaka & Nifuji Naoya & Sakuragi Kou
Characters: Momose Narumi, Nifuji Naoya, Nifuji Hirotaka, Koyanagi Hanako, Kabakura Tarou, Sakuragi Kou
Additional Tags: References to Coffee Talk (Video Game), Coffee Shops, Marriage Proposal, Plans For The Future, Collab Cafés, anime and gaming references, Canon Compliant, Community: smallfandombang, Canon pregnancy
Summary:
At the Threshold (5150 words) by edwardianspinsteraunt
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Winslow Boy (1999)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Robert Morton/Catherine Winslow
Characters: Robert Morton (Winslow Boy), Catherine Winslow, Desmond Curry
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Kissing, Vulnerability, questionable decisions, Confessions (of various sorts), semi-resolved sexual tension, Angst with a Happy Ending, past Catherine Winslow/John Watherstone
Summary:
go down with the ship (880 words) by facingthenorthwind
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars: The High Republic: Phase I - Various Authors, Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Hedda Casset, Burraga Agaburry
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Book: Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi - Charles Soule, Hedda Casset Lives, Survivor Guilt
Summary:
Mr. Campbell Goes to Washington (1941 words) by MehitableCressens
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Super Powereds - Drew Hayes
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alice Adair/Nick Campbell
Characters: Alice Adair | Legacy, Nick Campbell (Super Powereds), Blaine Jeffries | Zero, Sean Pendleton | Wisp
Additional Tags: Humor, Las Vegas Wedding, Politics, Missing Scene, And they plotted happily ever after, Family
Summary:
Sick Day (1318 words) by Rodo
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 승리호 | Space Sweepers (2021)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Captain Jang Hyun Sook, Kang Kot Nim | Dorothy, Tiger Park | Park Kyung Soo, Kim Tae Ho (Space Sweepers), Bubs (Space Sweepers)
Additional Tags: Sick Character, Post-Canon
Summary:
and everybody's mother's child is going to spy (to see if reindeer really know how to fly) (2566 words) by Morbane
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Barely Lethal (2015)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Liz Larson/Megan Walsh
Characters: Liz Larson, Parker Larson, Megan Walsh
Additional Tags: Fluff, Christmas Fluff, Feelings Realization, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Winter
Summary:
Duet() (610 words) by Hekateras
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transistor (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Red/Sybil Reisz
Characters: Red (Transistor), Mr. Nobody | Man Inside Transistor, Sybil Reisz
Additional Tags: During Canon, Canon Compliant, Obsession, Canon-Typical Tragedy, The Process, unusual formatting
Summary:
Worth Staying For (1240 words) by Hekateras
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dys/Sol (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)
Characters: Dys (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist), Sol (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)
Additional Tags: male!Sol, During Canon, Angst, Hopeful Ending, Glow Month, angsty fluff, Hugs, Kissing under the Void, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:
a space, a drop, a cloth (the comfort of frailties in me) (6238 words) by saturni_stellis
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: David Bowman/HAL 9000, David Bowman/Frank Poole
Characters: David Bowman, HAL 9000, Frank Poole
Additional Tags: Angst, Blood and Injury, Masturbation, Canonical Character Death, Voyeurism, extremely dubious voyeurism tbh, Watching Someone Sleep, Robot/Human Relationships, Robot Feels, Unhappy Ending, but also..., Ambiguous/Open Ending
Summary:
Colors of a Melody (1439 words) by Bodldops
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Keita Mori/Thaniel Steepleton
Characters: Keita Mori, Thaniel Steepleton
Additional Tags: Synesthesia, Slice of Life, Keita Mori's inherent resistance to asking for nice things
Summary:
the furthest stars came thundering at the door (4461 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Winslow Boy (1999)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Robert Morton/Catherine Winslow
Characters: Robert Morton (Winslow Boy), Catherine Winslow
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat, Edwardian Period, with World War I approaching like the down express, Trains, Smoking, Post-Canon, Scandal
Summary:
Mr. Lamb and the Wolf (1441 words) by Calacious
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Creep (Movies 2014 2017)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Aaron (Creep), Josef (Creep)
Additional Tags: Kidnapping, Drugging, Post-Canon, Alternate Ending, bound and gagged, Threats of Violence
Summary:
These Cloudy Skies Are Not Forever (3713 words) by Wu_Ya_Zui
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo/Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn, Mutsu Ten Mei | Mù Tiān Mìng/Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo, Mutsu Ten Mei | Mù Tiān Mìng/Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo/Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn
Characters: Ryouga | Líng Yá, Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo, Mutsu Ten Mei | Mù Tiān Mìng, Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn
Additional Tags: Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Season/Series 01, Fluff and Angst, Sick Character, Character Study
Summary:
Her joe (5331 words) by featherxquill
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Slow Horses (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jackson Lamb/Diana Taverner
Characters: Diana Taverner, Jackson Lamb (Slough House)
Additional Tags: Femdom, very mild foot worship, Face-Sitting, Shameless Smut, Banter, Lamb scrubs up well, Lamb has a priase kink and he's exactly as happy about that as you'd expect, Yuletide Treat
Series: Part 1 of The Lady and the Tramp
Summary:
How to Pop the Question (1470 words) by atamascolily
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ken San Un | Juǎn Cán Yún/Tan Hi | Dān Fěi
Characters: Ken San Un | Juǎn Cán Yún, Tan Hi | Dān Fěi
Additional Tags: Marriage Proposal, Relationship Advice, Humor, Fluff
Summary:
Know the Newspaper’s (Not) Always Right (262 words) by YellowMagicalGirl
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hopeless Fountain Kingdom - Halsey (Album)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Luna Aureum, Solis Angelus, Original Photographer, Original Reporter
Additional Tags: Canonical Character Death, Background Character Death, Gun Violence, Newspapers, Epistolary, Song: Now or Never (Halsey), i wrote this intead of studying, Biased Narrator, Deleted Scenes, specifically deleted from another fic of mine, the narrator of the scene was pro-cop enough that it hit a DNW
Summary:
Genre Savvy (1431 words) by atamascolily
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rin Setsu A | Lǐn Xuě Yā/Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn
Characters: Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn, Rin Setsu A | Lǐn Xuě Yā
Additional Tags: Metafiction, Fun with Tropes, Fourth Wall, Humor, Parody, There Was Only One Bed, Frank discussion of sex
Summary:
Enjoy! And if a treat grows out of control this Yuletide, it has a home when the main event is over.
This year's collection had 25 works total (mostly fic - but not all), in:
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Alien (Prequel Movies 2012 2017)
Barely Lethal (2015)
Betrayal at Krondor (Video Games)
괴물 | Beyond Evil (TV)
Brave (2012)
Creep (Movies 2014 2017)
For All Mankind (TV 2019)
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom - Halsey (Album)
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Video Game)
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
The Secret Garden - Simon/Norman
Slow Horses (TV)
승리호 | Space Sweepers (2021)
Star Wars - All Media Types
Star Wars: The High Republic: Phase I - Various Authors
Strange Way Of Life (Short Film 2023)
Super Powereds - Drew Hayes
Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Transistor (Video Game)
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley
Winslow Boy (1999)
ヲタクに恋は難しい | Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii | Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (Anime)
Thank you to everyone who contributed a make-up story, to people fulfilling other personal challenges, and to everyone who simply felt inspired.
Click this details tag for more information about the works, in reverse order posted.
hearts still burn the same (1244 words) by thewomanupstairs
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Strange Way Of Life (Short Film 2023)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sheriff Jake/Silva (Strange Way Of Life)
Characters: Silva (Strange Way Of Life), Sheriff Jake (Strange Way Of Life)
Additional Tags: Body Worship, Injury Recovery, Possessive Behavior, "love is a game and i'm playing to win" vibes
Summary:
Even with having so much time between then and now to think on it, Jake was never able to answer the question of whether the pain of being with Silva outweighed the pain of being without.
Hairy situation (1001 words) by Fiore01
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Brave (2012)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Elinor/Fergus (Disney: Brave), Elinor & Merida (Disney)
Characters: Elinor (Disney), Merida (Disney), Fergus (Disney: Brave)
Additional Tags: Domestic Fluff
Summary:
The guilt of what she had done still hit her hard.
after the end (1366 words) by computational
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 괴물 | Beyond Evil (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Han Juwon/Lee Dongsik (Beyond Evil)
Characters: Kang Minjung (Beyond Evil)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Grief/Mourning, Flowers, Han Juwon Loves Lee Dongsik (Beyond Evil), Domestic Han Juwon/Lee Dongsik (Beyond Evil), Canonical Character Death
Summary:
A year after everything, Lee Dongsik starts talking to plants. Juwon listens, and learns.
What's Built To Last (2795 words) by platinum_firebird
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Alien (Prequel Movies 2012 2017)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Katherine Daniels/Walter
Characters: Katherine Daniels, Walter (Alien Series)
Additional Tags: Fix-It, Post-Canon Fix-It, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Specifically Walter, Alien Planet, New Planets, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Holding Hands, Healing, Developing Relationship, Grief/Mourning
Summary:
After surviving the death-trap of Planet 4 together, Walter and Daniels make a start on the cabin by the lake.
borage and soapweed and arnica (2166 words) by Pure_Anon
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Secret Garden - Simon/Norman
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dr. Neville Craven & Mary Lennox
Characters: Dr. Neville Craven, Mary Lennox (The Secret Garden)
Additional Tags: Men Crying, Angst, Complicated Relationships, Hopeful Ending
Summary:
Neville stumbled out blindly, uncaring, unthinking of where he would go, only knowing he could not remain in Lily’s garden with its atmosphere of oppressive joy, a place where he was so clearly not wanted.
Houston (1027 words) by crazykookie
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: For All Mankind (TV 2019)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Margo Madison & Aleida Rosales, Margo Madison & William "Bill" Strausser, Margo Madison & Wernher von Braun
Characters: Margo Madison, Aleida Rosales, William "Bill" Strausser (For All Mankind), Wernher von Braun
Summary:
Houston, NASA, and the years of Margo's life
[Art] Riddle Chest (0 words) by Hekachoc
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Betrayal at Krondor (Video Games)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Owyn Beleforte & Gorath
Characters: Gorath (Riftwar Saga), Owyn Beleforte
Additional Tags: Art, Humour, Riddles, Crack, Banter, Meta
Becalmed (575 words) by Age or Wizardry
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Llewyn Davis
Additional Tags: time loop (implied), questioning the efficacy of timeloops as a tool for changing behavior, doing something with the movie's references to The Odyssey
Summary:
The purpose of a time loop is supposed to involve the person realizing they're in one.
Coffee Talk (20088 words) by C-chan
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: ヲタクに恋は難しい | Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii | Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (Anime)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Momose Narumi/Nifuji Hirotaka, Nifuji Naoya/Sakuragi Kou, Kabakura Tarou/Koyanagi Hanako, Momose Narumi & Nifuji Naoya, Kabakura Tarou & Koyanagi Hanako & Momose Narumi & Nifuji Hirotaka & Nifuji Naoya & Sakuragi Kou
Characters: Momose Narumi, Nifuji Naoya, Nifuji Hirotaka, Koyanagi Hanako, Kabakura Tarou, Sakuragi Kou
Additional Tags: References to Coffee Talk (Video Game), Coffee Shops, Marriage Proposal, Plans For The Future, Collab Cafés, anime and gaming references, Canon Compliant, Community: smallfandombang, Canon pregnancy
Summary:
After watching Narumi play Coffee Talk, Naoya is inspired to open a café that specifically caters to an evening crowd. In order to get an idea of what's out there, he invites Narumi to visit various cafés with him to better understand the coffee scene outside of the [off-brand Starbucks] chain in which he's currently employed. (Narumi... maaaayyyyy use this as an excuse to take him to various collab cafés and get more of the collectable goods, but hey! They're still technically cafés, right?) Oh, and also, Naoya is planning on proposing to Kou after beating her at a video game, despite being the worst gamer ever. Which means Narumi needs to find a way to help him out. Too bad that Hirotaka's clearly not working on the same excuse.
Expect a lot of café culture, tons of nerdiness, and the occasional burst of romance and introspection as Narumi helps her future little brother in law make his dreams come true.
At the Threshold (5150 words) by edwardianspinsteraunt
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Winslow Boy (1999)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Robert Morton/Catherine Winslow
Characters: Robert Morton (Winslow Boy), Catherine Winslow, Desmond Curry
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Kissing, Vulnerability, questionable decisions, Confessions (of various sorts), semi-resolved sexual tension, Angst with a Happy Ending, past Catherine Winslow/John Watherstone
Summary:
Catherine learns earlier of Sir Robert's sacrifice - a discovery that has surprising results.
go down with the ship (880 words) by facingthenorthwind
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars: The High Republic: Phase I - Various Authors, Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Hedda Casset, Burraga Agaburry
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Book: Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi - Charles Soule, Hedda Casset Lives, Survivor Guilt
Summary:
The staff had suggested that the bridge crew who had been so miraculously rescued by the Jedi meet their rescuers, which Hedda would have been far more enthusiastic about had she been able to have any peaceful sleep or feel anything except the crushing guilt of being alive. The least she could have done was go down with her ship. The least she should have done.
Mr. Campbell Goes to Washington (1941 words) by MehitableCressens
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Super Powereds - Drew Hayes
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alice Adair/Nick Campbell
Characters: Alice Adair | Legacy, Nick Campbell (Super Powereds), Blaine Jeffries | Zero, Sean Pendleton | Wisp
Additional Tags: Humor, Las Vegas Wedding, Politics, Missing Scene, And they plotted happily ever after, Family
Summary:
A wedding between subtlety majors was going to result in multiple subtle plots being advanced, whether they be for amusement or to begin taking over Washington. Blaine Jeffries really, really wished that Scotch was on menu when Nick Campbell came over to "network."
Sick Day (1318 words) by Rodo
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 승리호 | Space Sweepers (2021)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Captain Jang Hyun Sook, Kang Kot Nim | Dorothy, Tiger Park | Park Kyung Soo, Kim Tae Ho (Space Sweepers), Bubs (Space Sweepers)
Additional Tags: Sick Character, Post-Canon
Summary:
“I think Kot-nim’s sick,” Bubs said.
and everybody's mother's child is going to spy (to see if reindeer really know how to fly) (2566 words) by Morbane
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Barely Lethal (2015)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Liz Larson/Megan Walsh
Characters: Liz Larson, Parker Larson, Megan Walsh
Additional Tags: Fluff, Christmas Fluff, Feelings Realization, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Winter
Summary:
Sure, Liz had expected Megan to be all in on Christmas: especially on getting to experience it as Megan, not just 83. But in at least one aspect, Megan was already one step ahead.
Duet() (610 words) by Hekateras
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transistor (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Red/Sybil Reisz
Characters: Red (Transistor), Mr. Nobody | Man Inside Transistor, Sybil Reisz
Additional Tags: During Canon, Canon Compliant, Obsession, Canon-Typical Tragedy, The Process, unusual formatting
Summary:
With every blow she strikes, the Empty Set sings back to her with her own voice.
Worth Staying For (1240 words) by Hekateras
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dys/Sol (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)
Characters: Dys (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist), Sol (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)
Additional Tags: male!Sol, During Canon, Angst, Hopeful Ending, Glow Month, angsty fluff, Hugs, Kissing under the Void, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:
Dys has come to say goodbye, but Sol is nowhere to be found.
a space, a drop, a cloth (the comfort of frailties in me) (6238 words) by saturni_stellis
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: David Bowman/HAL 9000, David Bowman/Frank Poole
Characters: David Bowman, HAL 9000, Frank Poole
Additional Tags: Angst, Blood and Injury, Masturbation, Canonical Character Death, Voyeurism, extremely dubious voyeurism tbh, Watching Someone Sleep, Robot/Human Relationships, Robot Feels, Unhappy Ending, but also..., Ambiguous/Open Ending
Summary:
Hal processes at lightning speed, but what can only seem like a second in human time, can feel like an eternity to him. After all, he can record, replay and recount every single miniature motion of someone’s expression, someone’s words and the cadence of their voice.
Colors of a Melody (1439 words) by Bodldops
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Keita Mori/Thaniel Steepleton
Characters: Keita Mori, Thaniel Steepleton
Additional Tags: Synesthesia, Slice of Life, Keita Mori's inherent resistance to asking for nice things
Summary:
Thaniel did tell Keita about being able to see sounds - he just didn't think that comment would be remembered. As if Keita hadn't been planning for this for decades.
the furthest stars came thundering at the door (4461 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Winslow Boy (1999)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Robert Morton/Catherine Winslow
Characters: Robert Morton (Winslow Boy), Catherine Winslow
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat, Edwardian Period, with World War I approaching like the down express, Trains, Smoking, Post-Canon, Scandal
Summary:
Catherine and Sir Robert find themselves on the same train, but travelling in quite different directions.
Mr. Lamb and the Wolf (1441 words) by Calacious
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Creep (Movies 2014 2017)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Aaron (Creep), Josef (Creep)
Additional Tags: Kidnapping, Drugging, Post-Canon, Alternate Ending, bound and gagged, Threats of Violence
Summary:
Instead of killing Aaron, Josef decides to take him.
These Cloudy Skies Are Not Forever (3713 words) by Wu_Ya_Zui
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo/Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn, Mutsu Ten Mei | Mù Tiān Mìng/Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo, Mutsu Ten Mei | Mù Tiān Mìng/Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo/Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn
Characters: Ryouga | Líng Yá, Rou Fu You | Làng Wū Yáo, Mutsu Ten Mei | Mù Tiān Mìng, Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn
Additional Tags: Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Season/Series 01, Fluff and Angst, Sick Character, Character Study
Summary:
Shang Bu Huan falls sick from a cold, and Lang Wu Yao awkwardly helps Mu Tian Ming take care of him while Ling Ya sits back and enjoys the show.
Her joe (5331 words) by featherxquill
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Slow Horses (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jackson Lamb/Diana Taverner
Characters: Diana Taverner, Jackson Lamb (Slough House)
Additional Tags: Femdom, very mild foot worship, Face-Sitting, Shameless Smut, Banter, Lamb scrubs up well, Lamb has a priase kink and he's exactly as happy about that as you'd expect, Yuletide Treat
Series: Part 1 of The Lady and the Tramp
Summary:
Diana Taverner's admiration for Jackson Lamb's intelligence is matched only by her disgust for his appearance and general air of filth. When Lamb agrees to go undercover for her, however, he gets a new suit, has a shower and is given a shave and haircut, which complicates matters somewhat. Since he's going to be her joe, Diana visits his undercover hotel room digs. They review files and speak of country matters.
How to Pop the Question (1470 words) by atamascolily
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ken San Un | Juǎn Cán Yún/Tan Hi | Dān Fěi
Characters: Ken San Un | Juǎn Cán Yún, Tan Hi | Dān Fěi
Additional Tags: Marriage Proposal, Relationship Advice, Humor, Fluff
Summary:
Uncertain how to ask Dan Fei to marry him, Juan Can Yun draws on the wisdom gleaned from his travels with the One-Eyed Impaler, the Enigmatic Gale, and the Edgeless Blade.
Know the Newspaper’s (Not) Always Right (262 words) by YellowMagicalGirl
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hopeless Fountain Kingdom - Halsey (Album)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Luna Aureum, Solis Angelus, Original Photographer, Original Reporter
Additional Tags: Canonical Character Death, Background Character Death, Gun Violence, Newspapers, Epistolary, Song: Now or Never (Halsey), i wrote this intead of studying, Biased Narrator, Deleted Scenes, specifically deleted from another fic of mine, the narrator of the scene was pro-cop enough that it hit a DNW
Summary:
A newspaper article detailing the shootout from "Now or Never".
Genre Savvy (1431 words) by atamascolily
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rin Setsu A | Lǐn Xuě Yā/Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn
Characters: Sho Fu Kan | Shāng Bù Huàn, Rin Setsu A | Lǐn Xuě Yā
Additional Tags: Metafiction, Fun with Tropes, Fourth Wall, Humor, Parody, There Was Only One Bed, Frank discussion of sex
Summary:
Lin Xue Ya knows how to please his audience.
Enjoy! And if a treat grows out of control this Yuletide, it has a home when the main event is over.
Snow No One Seemed to Be Expecting
Nov. 12th, 2025 03:32 pmyourlibrarian1) Maybe given that Sunday morning's snow was light and disappeared when it hit the ground, no one was expecting it to stick. But it sure did. As a result, our complex had not salted stairs or sidewalks and had not plowed parking lots. And the local roadways hadn't been either.
The stairs had snow 2 inches deep on them, so I descended carefully Monday morning. The snow was very powdery so it brushed off the car easily. Funny thing though, the snow came from the southeast side. The other side of the car? Completely clear, no snow at all. ( Read more... )
I was thinking of how booking your own appointment online is rarely the convenience it's supposed to be. It's never worked for me at my medical group because I can't do it without inputting a mobile number. When I was trying to do it for car maintenance appointments, it would turn out the appointments didn't sync with the in-office calendar they had. And here, had I spoken to a person they would have known the doctor wouldn't be in on Monday at all.
2) Watched a multi-episode documentary on Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. I suspect that the various revelations would be unlikely to emerge with any living subject, or without the sort of research that went into it while they were still alive. ( Read more... )
3) First posted over attv_talk, Paramount has just cut 1000 jobs and 1000 more job cuts are expected. They want to reach "$2 billion in expense cuts across the company." That's more than most companies and some countries are worth.
Job cuts after an acquisition aren't surprising. It usually happens in a frenzy, and some positions come back once the losses start leading to problems. But a line in this news story, as well as another article coming out the same day, made me start thinking about where big cuts are likely to come from.
"More than 800 people — or about 3.5% of the company’s workforce — were laid off in June, prior to the Ellison family takeover. At the time, Paramount’s management attributed the cuts to the decline of cable television subscriptions and an increased emphasis on bulking up its streaming TV business. In 2024, the company eliminated 2,000 positions, or 15% of its staff." (emphasis mine) ( Read more... )
4) Speaking of TV habits, a study about people's searching behavior finding content on streamers indicated 46% of those surveyed are having more trouble finding what they want, and are more willing to cancel their subscriptions because of the difficulties. Searching time can run from 12 to 26 minutes. Many users also use the Internet to find information rather than the apps themselves.
The answer for many companies is to embed more AI with an eye to making their services able to answer general questions as well as viewing related ones.
5) More streamers are using pause ads. Personally I don't mind these, especially if they only take over the screen as an opt-in feature. I pause stuff often for different reasons, and as long as the ads aren't interrupting my viewing, they can have the screen.
That said, there are plans afoot to use AI to tie ads into the show action as well as localize your viewing. "Amazon has begun to offer the format to local and regional advertisers, says Jenn Donohue, director of local ad sales at Amazon Ads. Commercials from regional banks or community grocery stores can often be extremely meaningful to viewers, she says, and “there’s nothing more important than making it very relevant to the experience that I’m having as a viewer.”"
The stairs had snow 2 inches deep on them, so I descended carefully Monday morning. The snow was very powdery so it brushed off the car easily. Funny thing though, the snow came from the southeast side. The other side of the car? Completely clear, no snow at all. ( Read more... )
I was thinking of how booking your own appointment online is rarely the convenience it's supposed to be. It's never worked for me at my medical group because I can't do it without inputting a mobile number. When I was trying to do it for car maintenance appointments, it would turn out the appointments didn't sync with the in-office calendar they had. And here, had I spoken to a person they would have known the doctor wouldn't be in on Monday at all.
2) Watched a multi-episode documentary on Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. I suspect that the various revelations would be unlikely to emerge with any living subject, or without the sort of research that went into it while they were still alive. ( Read more... )
3) First posted over at
tv_talk, Paramount has just cut 1000 jobs and 1000 more job cuts are expected. They want to reach "$2 billion in expense cuts across the company." That's more than most companies and some countries are worth.Job cuts after an acquisition aren't surprising. It usually happens in a frenzy, and some positions come back once the losses start leading to problems. But a line in this news story, as well as another article coming out the same day, made me start thinking about where big cuts are likely to come from.
"More than 800 people — or about 3.5% of the company’s workforce — were laid off in June, prior to the Ellison family takeover. At the time, Paramount’s management attributed the cuts to the decline of cable television subscriptions and an increased emphasis on bulking up its streaming TV business. In 2024, the company eliminated 2,000 positions, or 15% of its staff." (emphasis mine) ( Read more... )
4) Speaking of TV habits, a study about people's searching behavior finding content on streamers indicated 46% of those surveyed are having more trouble finding what they want, and are more willing to cancel their subscriptions because of the difficulties. Searching time can run from 12 to 26 minutes. Many users also use the Internet to find information rather than the apps themselves.
The answer for many companies is to embed more AI with an eye to making their services able to answer general questions as well as viewing related ones.
5) More streamers are using pause ads. Personally I don't mind these, especially if they only take over the screen as an opt-in feature. I pause stuff often for different reasons, and as long as the ads aren't interrupting my viewing, they can have the screen.
That said, there are plans afoot to use AI to tie ads into the show action as well as localize your viewing. "Amazon has begun to offer the format to local and regional advertisers, says Jenn Donohue, director of local ad sales at Amazon Ads. Commercials from regional banks or community grocery stores can often be extremely meaningful to viewers, she says, and “there’s nothing more important than making it very relevant to the experience that I’m having as a viewer.”"
Poll #33829 Kudos Footer-550
This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8
Want to leave a Kudos?
Initial Pinch Hits!
Nov. 10th, 2025 09:07 pmthemorikelife posting in tltfandomexchangeAssignments are OUT! Initial Pinch Hits are INall claimed!
Pinch hits are claimed on a first-come-first-serve basis. You do not have to be signed up for the exchange to claim a pinch hit.
To claim: comment on this post (comments are screened) OR send us an email at tlt.fic.exchange@gmail.com. In both cases, please include your AO3 username AND include the username and/or Pinch Hit number (i.e. PH 69) of the request you're claiming.
This pinch hit is due with the rest of the assignments on December 27, 2025 at 11:59pm PST.
Request 1
Rating: Explicit
Medium: Fic
Relationships: Group: Pyrrha Dve & Camilla Hect & Nona & Dulcinea Septimus & Palamedes Sextus; Group: Pyrrha Dve/Palamedes Sextus/Dulcinea Septimus
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting; Explicit Sexual Content; Polyamory;Relationship Study; Transfeminine Palamedes Sextus
Link to full request
Request 1
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Medium: Fic
Relationships: Group: Harrowhark Nonagesimus/Gideon Nav
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University; Angst with a Happy Ending; Fluff
Link to full request
Pinch hits are claimed on a first-come-first-serve basis. You do not have to be signed up for the exchange to claim a pinch hit.
To claim: comment on this post (comments are screened) OR send us an email at tlt.fic.exchange@gmail.com. In both cases, please include your AO3 username AND include the username and/or Pinch Hit number (i.e. PH 69) of the request you're claiming.
This pinch hit is due with the rest of the assignments on December 27, 2025 at 11:59pm PST.
PH 1 - mediocrebones
Request 1
Rating: Explicit
Medium: Fic
Relationships: Group: Pyrrha Dve & Camilla Hect & Nona & Dulcinea Septimus & Palamedes Sextus; Group: Pyrrha Dve/Palamedes Sextus/Dulcinea Septimus
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting; Explicit Sexual Content; Polyamory;Relationship Study; Transfeminine Palamedes Sextus
Link to full request
PH 2 - Ravioli_Gone_Rogue
Request 1
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Medium: Fic
Relationships: Group: Harrowhark Nonagesimus/Gideon Nav
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University; Angst with a Happy Ending; Fluff
Link to full request
Unofficial Fandom 50: Inferno recs [1b/50]
Nov. 10th, 2025 05:40 pmthisbluespiritA little bonus for Inferno - some (good!) Inferno-related fanworks:
Fire (182 words) by UnpublishedWriter
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Doctor Who (1963)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Summary: The emotional toll of 'Inferno.' One-shot.
Concerning Multiverse Theory (1665 words) by StuntMuppet
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Third Doctor/Section Leader Shaw
Characters: Third Doctor, Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw
Additional Tags: Het, Episode Tag, Math, sex but not porn
Summary: He indulges, for a moment, in abstraction. Third Doctor/Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw (from Inferno), and the equations of possibility.
What the Thunder Said (4390 words) by eponymous_rose
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Third Doctor, Elizabeth Shaw, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, John Benton
Additional Tags: 1000-5000 Words, Alternate Universe, Canon Compliant, POV Third Person, Canon - TV, Angst, Drama, Humor, Episode Related, Episode Tag, Action/Adventure, Science Fiction, Apocalypse, Character Study
Summary: A doomed world, only slightly more lost than our own; through the eye of the Inferno and into the realm of memory. Time's end.
Namesake (3023 words) by JohnAmendAll
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Liz Ten, Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw
Additional Tags: Community: dw_straybunnies
Summary: A Royal audience for Section Leader Shaw.
Inferno (ART) (0 words) by OxideBlack
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Brigade Leader Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, Liz Shaw (Doctor Who), Third Doctor (Doctor Who), Petra Williams (Inferno Earth), Greg Sutton
Additional Tags: Mirror!Brigadier, Digital Art, Doctor Who Art
Fire (182 words) by UnpublishedWriter
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Doctor Who (1963)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Summary: The emotional toll of 'Inferno.' One-shot.
Concerning Multiverse Theory (1665 words) by StuntMuppet
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Third Doctor/Section Leader Shaw
Characters: Third Doctor, Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw
Additional Tags: Het, Episode Tag, Math, sex but not porn
Summary: He indulges, for a moment, in abstraction. Third Doctor/Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw (from Inferno), and the equations of possibility.
What the Thunder Said (4390 words) by eponymous_rose
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Third Doctor, Elizabeth Shaw, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, John Benton
Additional Tags: 1000-5000 Words, Alternate Universe, Canon Compliant, POV Third Person, Canon - TV, Angst, Drama, Humor, Episode Related, Episode Tag, Action/Adventure, Science Fiction, Apocalypse, Character Study
Summary: A doomed world, only slightly more lost than our own; through the eye of the Inferno and into the realm of memory. Time's end.
Namesake (3023 words) by JohnAmendAll
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Liz Ten, Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw
Additional Tags: Community: dw_straybunnies
Summary: A Royal audience for Section Leader Shaw.
Inferno (ART) (0 words) by OxideBlack
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Brigade Leader Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, Liz Shaw (Doctor Who), Third Doctor (Doctor Who), Petra Williams (Inferno Earth), Greg Sutton
Additional Tags: Mirror!Brigadier, Digital Art, Doctor Who Art
Indivisible and Tuesday's elections, and #WhatsThePlan for 2026
Nov. 9th, 2025 10:18 pmmecurtinAs usual I attended and liveblogged Thursday's What's the Plan? Indivisible meeting, and instead of reporting on all of it I'm going to pull out some parts that I think are super important and illuminating. So I guess this is more journalism than just straight liveblogging.
Ezra and Leah said that Tuesday's Blue Wave election results were the best they've seen since they started Indivisible in 2016, victory after victory in states all around the country. What was the difference? The largest peaceful protest in American history 2 1/2 weeks before the election! The organizing and community-building we did to put on #NoKings all across the country, and then the people came out and showed our strength (we have friends everywhere!), that built to these victories.[1]
Looking forward, we *know* that the Regime is going to try to steal the 2026 election. And we know, from talking with experts on authoritarianism and how it plays in other countries is that a hinge point where you have the choice to go full authoritarian or swing back toward democracy is a national election. And the way you swing back is a *massive* popular response.
So #WhatsThePlan for the next year is to build toward that point, because we *know* it's coming.
We redistrict the blue states we can, to counter Texas and other red state gerrymandering. California has shown the way, IL is talking about it, VA now has a chance, we're pushing MD. NJ & NY can't do it this cycle, but we can push them to threaten it.
And now primary season is beginning. Local Indivisible and other groups get together, look hard at your Democratic Reps and Senators, especially the ones in safe Dem seats, and say, is this person actually *fighting* for us? The Democratic Party is incredibly unpopular, less popular than the actual fascists! We need to start building a party that people can believe in, and that is a fight-back party.
The next big #NoKings event will be in the spring (stay tuned!), we'll continue to organize, build community, make sure everyone knows that the regime is planning to steal the election because they know they can't win it fairly. Be the public outrage arm of the fight. Be the force to run up the margins to not just one House seat or 2 or 3, but 10 or 20, too many for them to easily steal. And then if they do try something, we'll have built up the organizational muscle that we can call on a mass mobilization to say No, you can't steal this election, we the people won't put up with it.
You can watch Thursday's What's The Plan? here on YouTube; the transcript is here.
[1] they didn't mention it this time, but when people have talked about the results they've noted support for CA's Prop 50 was notably wide, in many reddish counties as well as the blue ones. In the build-up to #NoKings II Ezra&Leah said the CA protests were all going to be Prop 50 events--and there were #NoKingsII protests all over the state, not just in the blue areas. We have friends everywhere.
Ezra and Leah said that Tuesday's Blue Wave election results were the best they've seen since they started Indivisible in 2016, victory after victory in states all around the country. What was the difference? The largest peaceful protest in American history 2 1/2 weeks before the election! The organizing and community-building we did to put on #NoKings all across the country, and then the people came out and showed our strength (we have friends everywhere!), that built to these victories.[1]
Looking forward, we *know* that the Regime is going to try to steal the 2026 election. And we know, from talking with experts on authoritarianism and how it plays in other countries is that a hinge point where you have the choice to go full authoritarian or swing back toward democracy is a national election. And the way you swing back is a *massive* popular response.
So #WhatsThePlan for the next year is to build toward that point, because we *know* it's coming.
We redistrict the blue states we can, to counter Texas and other red state gerrymandering. California has shown the way, IL is talking about it, VA now has a chance, we're pushing MD. NJ & NY can't do it this cycle, but we can push them to threaten it.
And now primary season is beginning. Local Indivisible and other groups get together, look hard at your Democratic Reps and Senators, especially the ones in safe Dem seats, and say, is this person actually *fighting* for us? The Democratic Party is incredibly unpopular, less popular than the actual fascists! We need to start building a party that people can believe in, and that is a fight-back party.
The next big #NoKings event will be in the spring (stay tuned!), we'll continue to organize, build community, make sure everyone knows that the regime is planning to steal the election because they know they can't win it fairly. Be the public outrage arm of the fight. Be the force to run up the margins to not just one House seat or 2 or 3, but 10 or 20, too many for them to easily steal. And then if they do try something, we'll have built up the organizational muscle that we can call on a mass mobilization to say No, you can't steal this election, we the people won't put up with it.
You can watch Thursday's What's The Plan? here on YouTube; the transcript is here.
[1] they didn't mention it this time, but when people have talked about the results they've noted support for CA's Prop 50 was notably wide, in many reddish counties as well as the blue ones. In the build-up to #NoKings II Ezra&Leah said the CA protests were all going to be Prop 50 events--and there were #NoKingsII protests all over the state, not just in the blue areas. We have friends everywhere.
Unofficial Fandom 50: Inferno [1/50]
Nov. 9th, 2025 08:58 pmthisbluespiritI've been thinking for a while of doing Fandom 50 or Fannish 50 and just doing posts on what some fandoms/parts of fandom I like are and why I like them, but then I felt too flaky to sign up. So this is me doing but not doing it. It gives me something to aim for, but not to worry if I don't make it - or if I want to continue. Also I don't have to decide which of those two is best to sign up for - it's very confusing!
I was thinking about doing something like this for ages, because I love manifestos, but there are so few of us left in these parts, it would be ridiculous to expect to get people into things, so they'd just be annoying. But it's always useful to explain exactly what things are again, and it means I can hopefully spend a bit more time chatting about things I love.
(Anything above any cut text should be safe from any major spoilers; if I feel the need to get spoilery in my love, that will always go under a cut).
Obviously, I had to start with Doctor Who, but since that would be a very big post as a whole, I shall probably mainly pick some serials/episodes in between other fandoms. This might be more useful anyway, because while DW, even in the older eras does have some continuity and context and development, it is nevertheless, even in modern eras, still the nearest thing to an anthology show the BBC have left, so if anyone gets curious, there's no reason not to just watch most individual installments.
So I thought I'd remind myself how much I love Doctor Who by talking about one of my absolute favourites, which is from my "least favourite"* Classic Who era - the Third Doctor's run, because DW is awesome generally.
Inferno (BBC 1970)
gifset (by timelordinaustralia)
What is it?
The seven-part** final serial of the Third Doctor's first season, written by Don Houghton & directed by Douglas Camfield (& producer Barry Letts for eps 5-7, as Camfield suffered a minor heart attack during recording) & guest starring Olaf Pooley, Derek Newark, Sheila Dunn & Christopher Benjamin. The show had lately been reinvented in a swither by the BBC between that and cancelling it, and so returned that season in colour, with a new Doctor (Jon Pertwee), now exiled to Earth and stripped of the ability to pilot the TARDIS,working for the military outfit, UNIT, aka the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) and his handful of men, along with brilliant Cambridge scientist Dr. Liz Shaw (Caroline John).
Inferno finds UNIT safeguarding Professor Stahlman's project to drill through to the Earth's core in search of a new energy source he believes he will find there (Stahlman's Gas). The Doctor, meanwhile, is using Stahlman's reactor to power his experiments to get the TARDIS working again. But the project's computer is predicting catastrophe if the core is penetrated, Stahlman is refusing to listen, people are turning into monsters, and the Doctor's test TARDIS trip takes him sideways, leaving him trapped in a fascist parallel earth where Stahlman's project is hours ahead of the one in our world - and things are turning apocalyptic fast...
Why do I love it?
7 episodes is a hard length to pull off (see the rest of the season, even though I love it all), but Inferno does it beautifully - it gives the story sufficient time to allow us to understand and care about what's going in the 'real' world and the parallel Earth, the characters and their parallel world counterparts, and give the fates of both the weight needed, while tension is maintained by the constant hum of the drill - the mounting, unheeded sound of the world ending. The Doctor, the Brig and Liz are a really strong trio and this is not only another great story for them, but lets us see alternate versions of the latter two. Among the guest characters, Greg and Petra (particularly the parallel universe versions) are favourites.
It has that very UK 70s TV thing that always gets me so hard of being simultaneously one of the most bleak and optimistic DW serials ( Vaguely spoilery details ) ♥
On paper it's got a whole lot of would what become very typical Third Doctor era ingredients (unwise 70s scientific projects! green slime! HAVOC!***), but in practice, it truly is something special, and I love it.
ETA: An Inferno-related fannish recs-list.
* It's comparative. Like, yes, but also. It's DW. I love it anyway.
** Seven parts here = 7 x25 mins (although minus the intros/outros and 5 episode recaps and often with shorter runtimes - most given DW serials are about the same length as a regular/shortish film, the six-parters as a long film. It's just that some of them also feel like wading through porridge).
***HAVOC = stunt outfit run by Derek Ware. I think they were HAVOC officially by this point, but at any rate, they were definitely present and correct, pulling off the then record for highest UK TV stunt fall during the course of it, and in another case, getting accidentally actually run over by Pertwee in the course of duty). Also, of course, not that I am saying there is anything wrong with lots of green slime, dodgy scientific projects causing trouble and HAVOC. Obv all top notch ingredients!
I was thinking about doing something like this for ages, because I love manifestos, but there are so few of us left in these parts, it would be ridiculous to expect to get people into things, so they'd just be annoying. But it's always useful to explain exactly what things are again, and it means I can hopefully spend a bit more time chatting about things I love.
(Anything above any cut text should be safe from any major spoilers; if I feel the need to get spoilery in my love, that will always go under a cut).
Obviously, I had to start with Doctor Who, but since that would be a very big post as a whole, I shall probably mainly pick some serials/episodes in between other fandoms. This might be more useful anyway, because while DW, even in the older eras does have some continuity and context and development, it is nevertheless, even in modern eras, still the nearest thing to an anthology show the BBC have left, so if anyone gets curious, there's no reason not to just watch most individual installments.
So I thought I'd remind myself how much I love Doctor Who by talking about one of my absolute favourites, which is from my "least favourite"* Classic Who era - the Third Doctor's run, because DW is awesome generally.
Inferno (BBC 1970)
gifset (by timelordinaustralia)
What is it?
The seven-part** final serial of the Third Doctor's first season, written by Don Houghton & directed by Douglas Camfield (& producer Barry Letts for eps 5-7, as Camfield suffered a minor heart attack during recording) & guest starring Olaf Pooley, Derek Newark, Sheila Dunn & Christopher Benjamin. The show had lately been reinvented in a swither by the BBC between that and cancelling it, and so returned that season in colour, with a new Doctor (Jon Pertwee), now exiled to Earth and stripped of the ability to pilot the TARDIS,working for the military outfit, UNIT, aka the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) and his handful of men, along with brilliant Cambridge scientist Dr. Liz Shaw (Caroline John).
Inferno finds UNIT safeguarding Professor Stahlman's project to drill through to the Earth's core in search of a new energy source he believes he will find there (Stahlman's Gas). The Doctor, meanwhile, is using Stahlman's reactor to power his experiments to get the TARDIS working again. But the project's computer is predicting catastrophe if the core is penetrated, Stahlman is refusing to listen, people are turning into monsters, and the Doctor's test TARDIS trip takes him sideways, leaving him trapped in a fascist parallel earth where Stahlman's project is hours ahead of the one in our world - and things are turning apocalyptic fast...
Why do I love it?
7 episodes is a hard length to pull off (see the rest of the season, even though I love it all), but Inferno does it beautifully - it gives the story sufficient time to allow us to understand and care about what's going in the 'real' world and the parallel Earth, the characters and their parallel world counterparts, and give the fates of both the weight needed, while tension is maintained by the constant hum of the drill - the mounting, unheeded sound of the world ending. The Doctor, the Brig and Liz are a really strong trio and this is not only another great story for them, but lets us see alternate versions of the latter two. Among the guest characters, Greg and Petra (particularly the parallel universe versions) are favourites.
It has that very UK 70s TV thing that always gets me so hard of being simultaneously one of the most bleak and optimistic DW serials ( Vaguely spoilery details ) ♥
On paper it's got a whole lot of would what become very typical Third Doctor era ingredients (unwise 70s scientific projects! green slime! HAVOC!***), but in practice, it truly is something special, and I love it.
ETA: An Inferno-related fannish recs-list.
* It's comparative. Like, yes, but also. It's DW. I love it anyway.
** Seven parts here = 7 x25 mins (although minus the intros/outros and 5 episode recaps and often with shorter runtimes - most given DW serials are about the same length as a regular/shortish film, the six-parters as a long film. It's just that some of them also feel like wading through porridge).
***HAVOC = stunt outfit run by Derek Ware. I think they were HAVOC officially by this point, but at any rate, they were definitely present and correct, pulling off the then record for highest UK TV stunt fall during the course of it, and in another case, getting accidentally actually run over by Pertwee in the course of duty). Also, of course, not that I am saying there is anything wrong with lots of green slime, dodgy scientific projects causing trouble and HAVOC. Obv all top notch ingredients!
Doctor Who and Related Fandoms Festivities Exchange Pinch Hits Due 22nd November
Nov. 9th, 2025 12:53 pmparanoidangel posting in pinchhitsEvent: This is an exchange for Doctor Who and all its many related fandoms. It's low pressure, with a minimum of 300 words or a nice sketch on plain paper. Reveals are 23rd November to celebrate Doctor Who's birthday.
Event links: Dreamwidth, AO3 Collection
Pinch hit details: https://tardis-festivities.dreamwidth.org/17726.html
PH1: Fic. The Stranger (BBV Series), Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio), Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who: Unbound: Doctor of War (Big Finish Audio), Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure - Dicks (Play 1989)
PH2: Fic. Torchwood, Doctor Who (Comics)
Due date: 22nd November 12pm UTC
Event links: Dreamwidth, AO3 Collection
Pinch hit details: https://tardis-festivities.dreamwidth.org/17726.html
PH1: Fic. The Stranger (BBV Series), Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio), Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who: Unbound: Doctor of War (Big Finish Audio), Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure - Dicks (Play 1989)
PH2: Fic. Torchwood, Doctor Who (Comics)
Due date: 22nd November 12pm UTC