potentiality_26

I love writing holiday/seasonal fics and I usually try to get at least a couple in every year (admittedly sometimes in July).  I thought I'd do a masterlist of my holiday fics from recent years before things really get rolling.  Also it's tumblr log-off day, and some of you here might find something fun.

Christmas Fics

Brand New Start (The Musketeers, d'Artagnan/Athos/Constance) Constance always has trouble with the holidays. This year may or may not be worse than usual.

The Brightest of Signs (Kingsman, Harry/Eggsy + Roxy/Merlin) Harry talks Roxy through a mission just before Christmas.

The Calm (Kingsman, Harry/Eggsy) An interlude while in the field.

Carols and Pomegranate Seeds (Identity, John/Martha) John reflects, and pays Martha a visit.

Takeout Christmas (Wild Wild West, Artie/Jim) Jim and Artie are next door neighbors.

Through the Years (Kingsman, Harry/Eggsy) Across three Christmases.

Wasting Time (Thorne, Phil/Tom) Phil gets a boyfriend. Tom gets a clue.

New Year's Fics

Bubbles (Identity, John/Martha) Martha has something to tell John.

To Make a Beginning (Kingsman, Harry/Eggsy + Tilde) Villains are thwarted, a princess rescues Eggsy more than the other way around, and Harry is a bit difficult- so probably a pretty average New Year's Eve, all things considered.

Winter & Huddling for Warmth Fics

A Room for the Night (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Childermass/Segundus) After a trying day, Childermass and Segundus secure a room at an inn. Things transpire.

Baby It's Cold Outside (Cormoran Strike, Robin/Cormoran) After Warmth, one thing leads to another.

Chill (Wild Wild West, Artie/Jim) Artie warms Jim up.

Feels Like Home (Kingsman, Harry/Eggsy) Harry learns to like holding Eggsy- perhaps too much.

Frozen (Wild Wild West, Artie/Jim) Jim runs into Artie at Christmas.

In Winter (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Emma/Arabella) Something warm.

Out of the Cold (Kingsman, Harry/Eggsy) A mission gone wrong.

Snowbound (Kingsman, Harry/Eggsy) Considering how many times Harry has almost died in the field, it would be silly to call this his worst mission. It rather feels like it is, though.

To Make Dreams Truths and Fables Histories (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Childermass/Segundus) Segundus' attempt to cure a toothache with magic goes somewhat awry.

Warmth (Cormoran Strike, Robin/Cormoran) Strike and Robin help keep each other warm.

Misc.

Getting It Right (Kingsman, Harry/Eggsy) Five times Eggsy gets Harry to kiss him for the wrong reasons (and one time he gets it right).

Sunshine and Snow (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Childermass/Segundus) Segundus runs afoul of some weather magic.  Technically a summer fic but I swear it counts. 


If anyone has any holiday ficlet prompts, feel free to hit me up!  I'm already working on a couple of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Sherlock Holmes, and Raffles fics, but the more the merrier. 

Since I now have multiple questions from two people, I thought I would alternate between them to change things up a bit.  So, from verdande_mi:

Which is your favourite Red speech/monolouge in The Blacklist?

This is such an interesting question!  I always love it when he tells stories, so it's a little hard to single one out.  The one I feel most strongly about isn't quite in the same vein as most of them, but it's what springs to mind.

It's the time toward the end of "The Mombasa Cartel" when he basically explains Dembe's backstory.  It was so moving and emotionally charged (I've always found the times when Red goes after someone for personal reasons really fascinating, especially when it's because of Dembe), but at the same time, I originally thought it was a little bit out of nowhere, and so I spent a lot more time thinking about it than I have any of Red's other monologues.  I could probably do a whole post just about how much I came to love it and how perfect I figured out it was, and it's definitely one of the moments that resonated most with me overall.

It's a really good example of the writers giving James Spader actually very little to work with and him just bringing it across so incredibly well.  I think that's true of Red and Dembe in general too.  There's not much ultimately spelled out, but for me it's still one of the most important relationships on the show.

On an unrelated note, I went to the movies this weekend instead of watching the Superbowl.  I saw Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  The short version is that I enjoyed it immensely, but I'll try to do a reaction post about it at some point.
 

(Oh boy did I ever have a "fuck, how do you spell 'eighth'" moment there.  I did it right, right?  Spellcheck has ruined me and for some reason LJ isn't doing it for me anymore)

Also from verdande_mi: Do you have any theories as to what the fulcrum is/contains and why it means to much to Red?

I won't see the latest episode until tomorrow, and for all I know this will be explained, although it's way more likely that it won't be until the finale, if that, so I need to get myself together and take a stab at this.  But I want to say, before I do, that when theorizing about the Blacklist, I rarely want to be right.  I always want the answer to be some mindblowing thing I've never thought of.

Anyway.  I think it's basically a blackmail file.  It has something to do with the big secret international organization, but I'm not sure if it's information about them, or information that they had about other people.  On the one hand, it seems pretty clear to me that whatever it contains would, if made public, also reveal them to the world at large.  But on the other hand, it seems to me that they want the fulcrum back as much because it contains information that they want as because they don't want Red- or whoever they believe has it at the moment- to have it.  So maybe it's both?

But what it actually technically is?  No idea.  It could be information on really powerful government officials, who allow this organization to exist because that information cannot get out (that seems plausible to me), but I'm really not sure, and it could be something else entirely.  The main thing is that these people, whoever they actually are, need to either have it or know for sure who does.

*shrugs*  That's about all I've got.  It's a very interesting concept, though, and I can't wait to learn more.
   

I'm caught up with Britain on The Musketeers because the BBC keeps having hiatuses and so far BBCA hasn't- who knows if that will last.

I was all caught up on The Blacklist until today, and I should watch the new episode tommorrow.  I missed Forever and Agent Carter last week because for whatever reason I could not get reception on that station for anything.  I watched both this week and went back and watched the episode of Forever that I missed.  I haven't been able to get up the energy for Agent Carter, though.  I just don't love it, and the kind of militant "watch this show or it will be your fault it failed" attitude I've seen over the internet about it is making it even harder to watch, frankly.  I don't even really have much to say about it.

( The Blacklist )

( Forever )

( The Musketeers )

I also watched Death Comes to Pemberley recently.  Could it have been much more like fanfic?  I mean, I knew it was.  I knew it was a mystery P.D. James wrote with characters from Pride and Prejudice- but I don't mean the general premise.  I mean all the angst and the unnecessary romantic misunderstandings (which I assure you I ate up with a spoon).  Fanfic, I tell you.

Has anyone been watching Sleepy Hollow?  How's it doing?  
   

Auld Lang Syne (Elizabeth Keen/Raymond Reddington) PG-13 | 437 words | Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, New Year's Eve | Not one of Liz's better ideas.
  

I am most proud of my fortitude.

I don't have a lot to say about it otherwise, except that I think it's been a better year for films than previously.  Often the Oscars are coming and none of the movies I know will be nominated look at all good to me; this year there are quite a few that I think look great, which is encouraging.

Also, I saw a lot of promos for The Blacklist.  I'm so excited for it to be back!
  

I already caught all my shows this week!  I have... somewhat mixed feelings- general good impressions jumbled up with some meh.

( Agents of SHIELD )

( The Blacklist )

( Sleepy Hollow )

My Tuesday watching was especially busy.  I only caught some of Selfie- essentially the same ep. I already saw, so no worries there- but after Agents of SHIELD I did watch Forever, mainly because the couch was comfy and why get up when I could just... stay.  I didn't dislike it, and I do so love Ioan Gruffudd, but I'm very, very tired of the same 'immortal dude' plotline by writers who never take any risks.  I need to not do this to myself.  He's not gonna be bi, I need to not hope, but goddamnit it's nearly 2015!
    

So, I ended up watching four shows premiering this year from beginning to end, which is really sort of unprecedented for me.  Anyway, some of them finished their seasons quite a while ago, but I wanted to post on them all at once.

So, without further ado:

( Agents of SHIELD )

( Almost Human- warning: my opinion was not always favorable )

While I'm on the subject of SF, though.  I want a sci-fi show, you guys.  Specifically, I want space ships.  I want aliens and ships in space.  It's part of why I'm so unenthused by this Stargate reboot news.  For one thing, I'm tired reboots, but mainly- I didn't like early Stargate all that much.  When I think of Stargate, I think of the huge world they built over the seasons, with the Asgard and the Wraith and the Ancients.  I love all the cool tech they accumulated.  I love the fact that these characters started out as regular 20th centuries humans and became part of this giant universe.  How can anyone expect me to be excited about them taking it all away again?  In the movie, the universe was tiny, and it's not what I want to see.  I want them add more to what they built, not knock it all down again.

Anyway, moving on.

( The Blacklist )

( Sleepy Hollow )
  

Also from verdande_mi, Reddington

How I feel about this character: I think he's really awesome- perhaps the most awesome new character on TV this year.
My het ship: Again, I'm sort of withholding judgement here, perhaps until we're clear on who is related to whom here.  It amuses the heck out of me that though there are plenty of people who aren't really shipping anything just yet, there's a big Red/Lizzie shipping camp, and a big "Red is Lizzie's father" camp.  I'm not sure I especially want either to come to pass, unless I could be a fly on the wall of the opposing group when one of the two happened.  Does that answer this question?  Probably not.  I do find the way Red talks about women very un-obnoxious, which is refreshing.
My fem/slash ship: There isn't much happening here fannishly, but Red/Ressler has totally had potential since "Anslo Garrick" happened.
Any OTP? Nope.  I'm waiting to see what transpires.
My non-romantic ship for this character: I really enjoy how things have been progressing in his dynamic with Lizzie.  I hope he isn't her father, but I also hope they keep getting closer.  They're wonderful when they work as a team.
Any unpopular opinions? Except that I am firmly in the not-Lizzie's-father camp, none.
My favorite plot-line for this character: I'm really enjoying how his relationships with both Lizzie and Ressler have been developing. 
Something I wish would happen/had happened to this character: I'm not sure.  This is a show where I very much feel along for the ride; I can't begin to guess what's next.
A crossover ship or interaction I would love to see for this character: This is a tough one.  I can't think of one in particular, but I think a lot of crossovers would certainly be interesting.  Having Red interact with another cast of characters would be so much fun.
A head canon fact: I got nothing, at this point.  I'll get back to you when we have a more solid picture of his past.
 

I liked it, and I'm excited that we're finally going to get into the Tom storyline- but I've got to say I was hoping the judge plotline would go a little differently.

( Spoilers )