Deep Conversations

🎃So excited to have earned this rank flash *points to icon* at the looselipssinkships Band of Brothers/Generation Kill prompt meme. But super sad that the meme closed down :( It was one of my favorite things about HBO war fandom. The biweekly newsletter always gave me new fic to check out and new prompts to consider writing. I rushed my last two fics a little, but that Brad/Nate fic about hooking up and then ditching each other was a WIP for a long time. And I loved that Johnny/Bull prompt about tattoos - I always mean to write more of them but then I get worried about getting Bull's accent right.

🎃I signed up for TWO different Sam/Bucky bingos! One is exclusively halloween themed which is a whole lot of fun. I love all of the new! exciting! Sam/Bucky love, but I also feel unreasonably possessive about this ship in general... it's hard to explain but I don't exactly want to be in another mega-ship. Stony and Merthur sort of burned me out on that mega-ship life.

( Cards under here )

🎃Really looking forward to Holiday exchanges this year, but I don't want to overbook like I did last time. I will definitely do Yuletide, and the Band of Brothers exchange if there is one. I will probably choose between Merlin Holidays and Stony Holiday Exchange. Not sure if there will be a Teen Wolf/Thiam related exchange like last year.

🎃kinkalot 2021 came to an end. What a whirlwind of writing. My team, the Knights, tied for first place! And I tied for third during the individual competition of week 2, which means I accomplished my goal of placing at least one round. And with a non-merthur fic! I wrote 4 bingo fills (Gwen/Morgana and Merlin/Gwaine) and one poem, so I'd call that a success.

An introductory post for the HBO mini-series Generation Kill
This seven part series originally aired in 2008. The series follows a group of US Marines during the 2003 American invasion of Iraq. It is based on the writing of Evan Wright, who embedded with the First Reconnaissance Battalion and Bravo company specifically. The whole series takes place "in country," following the Devil Dogs on their journey through "Mesopotamia" as they call it.

If you like detailed modern war epics, this series is for you. If you like snarky and buff military boys singing early 2000's jams, this series might also be for you. If you like the other HBO war series, I think there's a good chance you'll like it. It's grittier and more upfront than Band of Brothers, but less depressing/dark than The Pacific imo. The language used is very crude (and probably true to life) so there are some potentially triggering comments relating to homophobia, misogyny, racism, and xenophobia. However, the show does not sugarcoat any of that behavior, nor is it depicted as idealic. I think the language serves a purpose - mostly to highlight American Masculinity TM and how the military industrial complex works within that type of hyper-masculine culture.

The series was created by Burns and Simon, the creators of The Wire, and stars Alexander Skarsgard, James Ransone, Lee Tergesen, and a ton of supporting characters. The actors were actually trained by real life Devil Dogs Eric Kocher and Rudy Reyes. Reyes plays himself in the series!

In true HBO war fashion, it is sometimes hard to keep track of the characters and the command structure, so here's a list. The series won Emmys for outstanding visual effects, outstanding sound mixing, and outstanding sound editing. The cinematography is beautiful and the linear nature of the show is easy to follow - it feels like a seven hour movie. Four of the episodes are directed by Susanna White. The entire series is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.

The canon is composed of Wright's articles, which were eventually compiled into a book called Generation Kill, published in 2004. 1st LT Nate Fick, a prominent character in the show, wrote a book called One Bullet Away after he left the Marine Corps, which I highly recommend. The book covers his experiences and leadership in the modern US military as a whole, and Fick is a smart and thoughtful writer who isn't afraid to offer criticism.

And now the main reasons to love this show...

( Onto my main BAEs )

( And some resources )

Stolen from a couple of people. Goodbye 2018!

1. Your main fandom of the year?
Marvel Cinematic Universe. And Teen Wolf (even a year after it ended!)

2. Your favorite film you watched this year?
Maze Runner: The Death Cure. Yay, an action packed blockbuster with my aesthetic! I thought they made a lot of great additions to book canon and O'Brien was quite impressive (and hot, dayum).

3. Your favorite book read this year?
Song of Achilles or City of Heavenly Fire because I'm a sucker for a tragic romance, apparently.

4. Your favorite album or song to listen to this year?
5 Seconds of Summer's Youngblood Album - got to go to their concert this year and had a great time. I didn't spend that much time searching for new music this year as I normally do, though. Monster Among Men is my favorite.

5. Your favorite TV show of the year?
Letterkenny! I discovered it this year, and I can't even believe how funny, witty, sarcastic, and socially conscious it is. And now it's all on Hulu!

6. Your best new fandom discovery of the year?
Shadowhunters! Although Letterkenny is a close second, it's not as active as Shadowhunters. SH has a pretty big fanbase and super talented fanartists. I do wish there were more fic exchanges/challenges/diverse writing though.

7. Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?
Shadowhunters getting canceled :/ Also, some parts of Infinity War. That plot was all over the place.

8. Your fandom boyfriend of the year?






9. Your fandom girlfriend of the year?


10. Your biggest squee moment of the year?
Tony pulling out the flip phone in Infinity War (but then not dialing??? Torture). Also, watching Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural and seeing the boys share. a. bed. Tropes in real life - count me in. Also, Shane Madej talking to demons gave me life.

11. The most missed of your old fandoms?
Smallville. I started a rewatch and even wrote a Clex fic, but then the news broke about Allison Mack and I felt bad about the whole fandom :/ I may continue my rewatch, because boy do I still adore Welling's Clark and Rosey's Lex.

12. The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to?
Well, not sure really. Maybe All American because of Cody Christian, although I don't really want another teen drama in my life. I definitely want to watch all of the movies in The Conjuring franchise, because I watched the first one this year and loved it.

13. Your biggest fan anticipations for the coming year?
Shadowhunters 3B and Avengers: Endgame.

As for my writing: ( End of the Year Writing Meme )

(List of Kinks)

Humiliation: I Fucking Dare You, MCU, Sam/Bucky
Rimming: Waiting Out the Storm, Generation Kill, Brad/Nate
Marking: Fireproof, Shadowhunters, Simon/Isabelle