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shutterbug-12 · 3 months

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Title: Take the Long Way Home

Fandom: Ripper Street + Ashes to Ashes

Pairing: Edmund Reid/Alex Drake

Characters: Edmund Reid, Alex Drake, Dick Hobbs; mentions of Mathilda Reid, Bennet Drake, Jane Cobden, Homer Jackson, Molly Drake, Gene Hunt, Sam Tyler

Summary: After being shot in the head, Edmund Reid finds himself in Alex Drake’s police station in 1994. Under Alex’s guidance, he must come to terms with his worst demons, if he has any chance of returning to his own time—and to the daughter he only just recovered. (Thank you to @olivelune for the inspiration!)

Excerpt:

“Drake? Your name is Drake?”

“My ex-husband’s name.”

“Ah. I knew a—know a Drake.” Bennet came to mind, and Edmund fell silent, withdrawing into memory. After Bennet came Rose, came Susan, then Jackson. Jane. Mathilda. His sweet girl, finally returned, and now, again, separated from him. She, with Jane, and he, in what appeared to be another world. Another time, impossibly. He fixed this D.C.I. Drake with an investigative gaze. “And you are a police officer?” At her raised eyebrows, he added, “Please excuse me. You are the first female police officer I have ever met.”

“Right, because women had not entered the force yet,” she whispered, as if to herself, before she refocused her eyes on him. “I hope this isn’t a problem for you.”

“Not at all. I think it is remarkable. Extraordinary.” He did not say the other word that sat on his tongue: bewildering. He scanned the room and saw a calendar on the desk, half-covered by papers and folders. The year: 1994. His eyes darted to Drake’s face. D.C.I. Alex Drake, female police officer, in the year 1994. 100 years. 100 years? He pointed. “Is that truly the current year?”

#Fic #ripper street #ashes to ashes #Edmund reid #Alex drake #crossover #fanfic #fanfiction #rs fic #rs fanfic #rs fanfiction #just having some fun #couldn’t resist bringing in Hobbs #my sweet baby Hobbs #ed in the 90s is going to be fun #stay tuned for more!

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angelic37 · 1 year

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The Choice by lastincurableromantic *

Completed. Words: 207770. Rating: Explicit. Relationships: Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor & Mickey Smith

After GitF, the TARDIS brings the Doctor, Rose and Mickey back to Earth to solve an emergency involving the TARDIS herself. But when they see a familiar face, the face of someone who should not exist, they realize the crisis is much deeper than they thought and is one that could endanger the Doctor's very existence.

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justviwriting · 4 months

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'Shame'

Fandom: Ripper Street Characters: Edmund Reid, Deborah Goren Pairing: Edmund/Deborah Rating: G Words: 1.670 Summary: Edmund’s musings as he walks Deborah back to the orphanage at the beginning of 4x05.

A/N: Found this in my drafts - I've apparently written it back in 2016, but I thought I might edit and share it^^

[you can also read it on AO3]

Edmund was trying to sooth her, grabbing her arms perhaps a bit too violently – but he needed her to calm down, and he needed to get her far away from this place. He was aware of the pain she must feel, but screaming at Bennet would not help anyone.

Eventually, she gave up, burying her face in between his shoulder and neck, and allowing him to slowly guide her backwards, away from the scene. The mass of people that had gathered parted carefully to let them pass. Edmund could see their curious looks and hear the quiet whispers. They would undoubtedly continue talking about what they had just witnessed, but he did not care. He knew that she would have never been able to leave Thomas on her own. With a firm grip and steady pace, he tried to get her away from the crowd and back to the orphanage as quickly as possible.

Leaving the crowd behind, they came to a halt eventually. Edmund loosened his embrace, but let one of his hands gently rest on her back – to carefully guide her back to the orphanage, but also because he feared she might faint after the shock. And perhaps, his light touch might grant her some comfort as well, easing the pain.

Some part of him hoped that Deborah would just tell him that she was fine and he did not need to accompany her all the way back to the orphanage. He knew it was selfish, but he had been afraid to face her – afraid to talk to her – ever since Isaac had been hanged. All he needed was a single word from her, and he would leave immediately.

But Deborah remained quiet, silently letting him guide her back to the orphanage. And he knew that he could not leave her now. She had loved that boy, and after everything that had happened with Isaac, the pain might be too much to endure, even for her.

Therefore, they were slowly walking along the street in silence.

It was rather curious how they had met one another through Thomas Gower again – although perhaps not unlikely. When they had been looking for the boy, Edmund had been certain they would find him at the orphanage – just like they had done all those years ago. Back then, Deborah had hidden a boy, convicted of murder, while lying to the police. He should have felt wary about her then, but instead he had admired her.

And he had been right in admiring her. Despite her initial mistrust, she had ended up saving his life. After the attack that night, when all the children had gone to sleep, she had tended to the wound above his eye. He could still feel her cold fingers touching his face. Being this caring to someone she had considered an enemy just mere hours before this, had left him feeling amazed by her.

It had taken him a while to realise that it had not just been admiration he had felt in her regard. Only until he had seen her together with Emily in that shelter had he realised how fond he was of her. And from that moment on, it had been difficult to ignore his feelings of guilt in relation to her – difficult, but not impossible.

Finally, they had reached the orphanage. The children were playing outside – some of the older ones were standing at the side, whispering. When they arrived, the older children looked at them curiously but kept quiet.

Deborah took a couple steps to the side, out of his reach, before she turned to face him. The tears had dried but her eyes were still swollen. There was exhaustion on her face, and the fury and desperation he had seen on it earlier had vanished. In some ways, she appeared almost numb.

This presented the perfect opportunity for him to leave now. However, instead he found himself saying, “May I ask you some questions inside? Perhaps over a drink?”

She was looking at him quietly for a short moment, but then she nodded.

She went upstairs then and inside the building as he followed her.

This was not the first time he had been following her inside the orphanage with a heavy heart. Eight years ago, when he had to tell her that he knew the truth about Joshua Bloom’s murder but could do nothing about it, he had feared her reaction. Years later, a similar situation had fallen onto his brother – and again, there was nothing he could have done. And again, he feared her reaction.

They arrived inside the main hall and she took a bottle of vodka and two glasses. As they sat down opposite each other, he watched her hands open the bottle and pouring a drink for them both. Small, soft hand who were probably as cold as they had always been – cold, but gentle. Just like they had felt all those years ago, when she had accidentally discovered his scars. They had also shared a drink at this table back then, as she had patiently listened to his pain and guilt.

Now, he tried to keep their conversation casual, hoping it might comfort her. But naturally, the inevitable happened: she asked him why he had not visited her after Isaac’s death.

Her eyes were staring at him now and it took him by surprise. Months ago, when she had visited him, asking for his help to save Isaac, she had constantly been avoiding his eyes. Back then, he had wanted her to look at him – had wanted her to feel welcome at his home. Now, he wished she would look away again. Her gaze was piercing through him, making him feel almost exposed. He looked down then, staring at his hands.

It was a genuine question and he could not blame her for asking it. He was not afraid of her anger. He had never promised her anything, after all, and he had seen her anger more than enough times before – the very first time they had met, she had been shouting at him: “Shame!”

He knew her anger well – what he feared was her disappointment. And he also feared her grief, knowing he was the cause of it.

Eight years ago, at this very table, he had allowed her to see his grief. And it had not been the last time he had shared his grief with her, nor the last time they had shared a drink together. And neither had it been the last time he had felt the touch of her cold but gentle hands.

He could still picture himself inside the small, stuffy room – her head lying on his good shoulder as her hands were drawing circles around his scars. It had brought him great comfort back then, but he knew that he could not give her the same now. Too much pain had been caused.

After everything that had happened eight years ago, he had never visited her – had never asked about her wellbeing, nor how Emily’s fate might have affected her. He was certain it must have pained her almost as much as him. And he felt guilty and ashamed.

Shame was, perhaps, a good word to describe his obscure feelings.

“I felt … shame,” Edmund said then.

“Because you could not save Isaac?”

It was both – a question and a statement. She was still looking at him, and the tears began to dwell up in her eyes again. Unable to bear her grief, he looked back down.

Without another word, she stood up then, and only when she had her back turned, did he dare to look back at her.

She had gone to retrieve some picture for him – drawings of the Whitechapel Golem, made by the children of the orphanage within the last month. Edmund looked at them curiously. He had always believed for Isaac to be innocent, and this might be proof of his conviction.

Now was perhaps a good time to leave. She appeared to be as fine as one could be in a situation like that.

As Edmund was about to walk out the door, Deborah suddenly called him back – telling him to be wary about Miss Castello’s friendship with his daughter.

He had always known that he should be careful in Miss Castello’s regard, but had never prevented Mathilda from seeing her, as his daughter barely had any women to talk to in her life.

He was grateful to Deborah for sharing this with him, and he told her so. He had always admired her loyalty, and knew that it must not have been easy for her to warn him about someone she considered a friend.

Edmund walked towards her then, voicing his gratitude. As he came closer, she lowered her gaze again and then slowly raised her hand – possibly to prevent him from coming to close. He halted but Deborah’s hand lingered on his chest, softly brushing along the fabric of his vest. He could not feel her touch through the thick layers of his clothes, but he did not doubt that her hands were as cold and gentle as they had always been.

Edmund was staring at her face, breathing softly. She appeared to be lost in thoughts for a moment, and he hoped his gaze would prompt her to look back up at him – why, he did not know. He only knew that he had been longing for the comfort and intimacy he was feeling right now, looking at her face as she was standing close enough for him to almost feel the warmth of her body.

Then, Deborah looked back up at him – but only for a second. She pulled away her hand as her eyes left him, staring past him as if he did not exist anymore.

He continued looking at her for another moment, but as her face remained blank and there was no attempt to say anything, he supressed a sigh before he turned around, leaving this place.

#ripper street #fanfiction #edmund reid #deborah goren

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scienceoftheidiot · 1 year

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Links to all my writing works - Fics and original :

Each link leads to a masterlist of posted works (on AO3 or elsewhere)

Original writing - (OCs masterlist)

Fma ( Royai)

Daredevil

Ripper Street

#writing #masterlist #original writing #fma #royai #ripper street #daredevil #fanfiction #pinned post

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lilgrimmapple · 2 years

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“Good day,” the mouse who called himself William Saddler gave a slight tip of his hat to the pair before going his merry way out of the park. “Good day…” Basil returned, though with less enthusiasm. His eyes stayed narrowed with suspicion, though he had no clear excuse as to why he felt this way. Basil relied on logic and facts rather than pure gut feeling, but for some reason, his insides were twisting and tensing with strong distrust and dislike for this stranger. Was it the tacky way he dressed? Was it his pompous smile? Was it the fact that Saddler had scolded him for allowing Anna, a lady to wait for Basil without an escort out in public? Basil had no idea, but whatever it was, it really got his tail in a twist. The detective walked over to Anna, who didn’t seem to share the same sentiment as Basil. On the contrary, she seemed rather charmed by the gentleman- which in turn made Basil even more irritable. Basil bit back a growl and possessively hooked her hand onto his arm instead of politely offering his arm to her. He didn't even glance down at her as he pulled her after him, wanting to put as much distance as he could between them and Saddler. ((Borrowed the background from some anime, I don't remember which. Lol. It was just lying around on my computer.)) _____ Basil © Disney's "The Great Mouse Detective" William Saddler © Lilgrimmapple

#my art #The Great Mouse Detective #Bloody Bill #William Saddler #Jack the Ripper #Basil of Baker Street #Basil #Willaim #fanart #fanfiction #Silver and Gold #Disney #anthro #mice

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corpyburd · 4 months

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I wish this fandom had more fics 🥹 any recommendations?

Hello Nonnie👋AO3 is where most RS fanfic lives (apart from in our heads!)

But what's your RS favorite ship?

#ripper street #fanfiction

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brazenedminstrel · 2 years

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Chapters: 36/? Fandom: Ripper Street Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Susan Hart/Raine Thornell, Ida/Charity Characters: Susan Hart (Caitlin Swift), Susan Hart, Raine Thornell, Rose Erskine, Lucy Eames, Ida, Charity, Mags, The rest of Raine's group, Original Female Character(s), Edmund Reid, Homer Jackson Additional Tags: Alternate Universe: Raine Lives, Strangers to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, brief blood, Blood and Injury, Major Character Injury, Trauma, Injury Recovery, Feelings Realization, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, long fic

Chapter excerpt: Abigail spoke up. Ever since going to a proper school, the same one Raine taught at, she had become well-spoken for a girl of fourteen, sharp beyond most of her peers. “Miss Susan, we were talking with Miss Raine the other night. See, most of us don’t have a last name or don't know ours. Sir MacIntyre and the office up on Fort William have been lenient with not pestering Miss Raine about it, but it’ll be no good when we need to find jobs outside of Miss Raine’s property,” she said, switching between pulling threads out of the carpet and looking Susan hesitantly into her eyes. “Now Miss Raine, she doesn’t want us to take hers, because she, uhm …”

“She said she wants the name Thornell to die,” Mercy piped up loudly.

Smothering a laugh, Susan nodded. “Yes, that sounds like something Raine would say.”

“So we all thought we could perhaps… take yours?” Abigail looked up, green eyes full of hope.

It was a look that Susan had seen seemingly so long ago, back in London when Raine spoke of the life they were living now. She understood why Raine had denied their request, given her hatred for her father’s name, but her own was a complication she did not often think about anymore. Smiling wryly, she sighed. “My name is not my own, children,” she said. “It was a farce to ensure my safety long ago, and though it feels more like me than my old one ever did, I’m not sure if that is something you would want to take over from me.”

This is the pre-final chapter! I’ll write the last one slowly, as I’m also slowly getting back into writing after taking a break :)

#you understand me #my fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #ripper street #susan hart #raine thornell #raine/susan #thornhart #susan/raine

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superexplosive · 5 months

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Finishing up my fifth (final?) complete run of Cyberpunk 2077, my first ever Street Kid (usually I default to Nomad because I legit have actual real world rally racing opinions).

Spoilers ahoy!

Still going with the Nomad Happy Ending because it's the least hopeless. Currently in the middle of an alt manual save detour through the end of Phantom Liberty to finally lock down the King of Pentacles and Tower achievements. Will then hop back to the original save where all the gigs and side jobs are already done with the least hopeless outcomes available, thus canonically fixing Night City forever, you're welcome.

From there, we betray Reed and send Songbird to the Moon WHERE SHE'S FINE AND BEST FRIENDS WITH LUCY WHO IS ALSO FINE BY THE WAY. Then it's finally time to Meet Hanako at Embers and do the Nomad Happy Ending so Panam can marry V and Judy and live happily ever. Lest you think this is spiraling into the realm of the fanfictional — the mortality of V's condition is oversold to the player by a couple characters who are just spitballing from incomplete information.

Vik is a great ripper, no question, but he is not a neuroscientist and he's never encountered anything like the Relic. And, yes, Hellman designed the Relic, but they never tried plugging one into a living person and then killing them in a way that also damaged the Relic just to see how that turned out. Of course these guys would look at the, whatever, NeuroStability progress bar on V's bioscans and conclude from Number Go Down that she must be dying. The game is full of narrators who don't know they're unreliable.

As is clear through the actual gameplay, V's consciousness and Johnny's are simply converging. They become more aligned in thoughts, deeds, and goals as the story progresses. The game demonstrates this to us in a couple super obvious ways: there is no reason for V to reload the Malorian like that, and it's easier for Johnny to "take the wheel" every time. The game even gives us the means to demonstrate this: whomst among us has never set up a costume slot with all the iconic Johnny-wear? Or killed Adam Smasher with the Malorian while wearing it?

It has always been meaningless to distinguish between them — Johnny is already an integral part of V's neurobiology by the time Tak finds you in the trash. The fact that we ever see and hear Johnny as a separate entity is mostly for the player's convenience — it would be less satisfying and probably alienating for us, the audience, to experience this story from V's perspective if Johnny has no tangible on screen presence for 100+ hours.

Eventually the Relic will "finish" and Johnny will be V as much as V will be Johnny. This is no more a death than when you read a book that changes how you think about life.

#cyberpunk 2077 #the fem v panam judy throuple is not fanfiction it is real #okay if it IS fanfiction it is corrective and therefore the superior read #roaming the american southwest is always the ideal outcome for any story anyway

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thecat-isblogging-blog · 1 year

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Tag Game - Fandom Edition

Thank you @ashesandhackles

Your Name: Cat 🐈

First Fandom: I would say Naruto, it's where I actually interacted with the fandom itself.

Current Fandom: My most invested ones: Harry Potter, Naruto. Ones I'm sort of part of: Once Upon a Time, Fruits Basket, Beastars🐱, Ripper Street, Our Flag Means Death, Greek Myth, Rings of Power, Wheel of Time

How did you first get into fandom? I discovered Naruto fanfiction early on, but only got properly sucked into fandom at 21 when I discovered Tumblr and Once Upon a Time. A combo that almost got me failing exams.

How long have you been engaging in fandom spaces? Recently, since 2019. Before then I was more lurking.

How often do you read fanfic? It comes and goes! It depends on my interest in specific characters.

Top three characters from your current fandom? Lupin, Yamato, Tobirama

Have you ever written a fic for a fandom and if so, shout it out! Cat is writing over here

Have you ever drawn fan art for a fandom? Cat is drawing here!

Share a personal headcanon that you feel strongly about:

Lupin is so disgusted by himself that physical intimacy doesn't come easily to him.

Lupin has spent so many years not feeling fully human, like referring to himself as a creature, that physical intimacy doesn't come easily to him. He feels too disgusted by himself for both being wanted and also fearing letting go of his control.

You’re trying to convince a friend to get into your current fandom(s) with you. what episode, clip, or scene are you showing them? For Naruto, I'm going to sit you down with a bowl of Ramen and we'll start with episode one because who would jump to the middle of a season? Nonsense.

And finally, what does fandom mean to you? Going to agree with Ashes and say community.

@bluethepineapples1 @kald-dal-art @alohaemora @dragonlordette

#asks

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hms-tardimpala · 1 year

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I finally figured out why I enjoy long-running bad shows better than the majority of Good Shows™ I watch. And it's not because I have trashy taste (although I do, I'm at my happiest raccooning the bins).

It's true that no show over 10 seasons is of good quality. But when a show carries on past its expiration date, it ceases to be a story and becomes a box. A box of potential, in which you can do whatever you want with the characters. Who knows what's going to come out of the box next? Not you, and often not the writers. Shows (especially actual TV shows and not streaming platforms shows) acquire some measure of safety if they run long, and the teams behind them feel comfy enough to try stuff.

A show in its box stage is free to do a lot of fun shit. Meta. Parody. Zany episode concepts not bound to the overarching plot where you can tell the actors are just having a blast at work. Musical episodes. Shark-jumping because it's fascinating to put the characters in a situation, logic be damned. It's borderline fanfiction at times!

I'm not all that interested in plot, really. I love a good story, but my thing is characters and spectacle. I'd take a show going ham over a tight plot taking itself seriously any day. It's probably linked to my taste for absurdism. And cringe doesn't bother me as it used to.

When all the plot potential has run its course and been exhausted, characters are what the team making the show are left with. Having worked on them for years, writers and actors have a lot of love for their characters and it comes through. Good character writing is like necromancy: it can keep my interest in a show alive years after it stopped being "good".

The best examples of this box effect in my favorite shows are Supernatural and Hawaii 5-0. I love that when you put an episode on, you don't know what crazy shit you'll be seeing today.

Am I saying that these shows are better than Black Sails, Ripper Street, Succession or The Terror, short series that I've watched in recent years and that really marked me and changed me as a viewer? Hell no! They don't compete. But these masterpieces don't evoke the same passion in me. They don't make me get tattoos or write fanfic. Short shows have little time, so they focus on the story they have to tell and can't go on these wild tangents I love.

I have appreciation for a good story, I have passion for a good box.

#rambling #read that in two years and see if you've changed your mind Sloan #tv shows #spn #h50 #queued

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homerjacksons · 1 month

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Top 5 fanfics you’ve read for any fandom

Argh I don’t even know how to begin to answer this so I’m basically going with the ones that first come to mind

1. Marry Our Fortunes - Ripper Street (Homer Jackson/Edmund Reid)

I am obsessed with this lmao this is my canon and I accept nothing else thanks.

2. Away Childish Things - Harry Potter (Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter)

I hate that JK Rowling being the worst person has made me feel so conflicted about reading and loving HP fanfic but fact remains this is an all time fave and I still think about it regularly.

3. Winterheart - Marvel Cinematic Universe (Loki/Tony Stark)

Obsessed is an understatement. I have a PDF of this saved on my phone and laptop. I stealth printed this out at work so my mum could read it. I fucking ADORE this fic. I DON’T EVEN SHIP IT BUT FUCK ME IT IS A COMPELLING STORY ugh

4. Every Dog Has Its Day - Law and Order SVU (Rafael Barba/Sonny Carisi)

The most wholesome fic. My ultimate feelgood fic. Which is a reminder I need to reread this now, it’s been a while.

5. Mode & Moment - Law and Order SVU (Rafael Barba/Sonny Carisi)

God this series. This beautiful, painful, unfinished series. Will it ever be finished? Unlikely. That doesn’t make it any less fucking incredible. It’s one of the most hauntingly beautiful things I’ve ever read.

#asked and answered #ripper street #homer jackson #edmund reid #jackmund #harry potter #draco malfoy #drarry #marvel #frostiron #loki #tony stark #law and order svu #rafael barba #sonny carisi #barisi #fanfiction

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shutterbug-12 · 2 years

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Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

Whew, okay, from oldest to newest! (This was quite difficult.)

Eden Sank to Grief

Fandom: House M.D.

Summary and Info: Once upon a time, House and Stacy made a good team. These are the moments that defined their relationship. (I finished this in 2009, but it still owns a very special place in my heart.)

2. Accidental Metamorphoses

Fandom: The West Wing

Summary and Info: Josh had just confessed his best-kept secret of the last four years and he wanted to act on it. (A Josh/Donna story, set several days post-canon.)

3. Marry Our Fortunes

Fandom: Ripper Street

Summary and Info: When Jackson is exiled to America, Reid decides to follow him. (AU from the "Jackson and Reid's heart-wrenching farewell" scene in the series finale.)

4. Flowers in the Dirt

Fandom: Ripper Street

Summary and Info: It has been two years since Edmund was reinstated as the head of H Division. Without notice, a face from Edmund's past reenters his life and requests his help. (Set post-series, 1902. Ed/Jane.)

5. Taste Test

Fandom: Ted Lasso

Summary and Info: The gang prepares a taste test to change Ted's mind about tea. (An absolute delight to write. I've been told it's also fun to read.)

---

Bonus/Cheating

6. Sweetheart From Another Life

Fandom: Ripper Street

Summary and Info: September 15, 1888 changed Edmund and Emily's lives. But in the eleven years before that day, they shared a life of ordinary joys and disappointments, built upon what they believed was an extraordinary love. (I had to mention this one, even though it's unfinished. I have been thinking about it a lot lately and will be finishing it soon. Not a popular pairing, Ed and Emily, but I needed to write this because I am 100% sure they had a lovely marriage before things went horribly wrong and was tired of seeing Emily and their relationship hated on so much. And this is full of lovely moments that I enjoyed writing.)

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mechanicalinertia · 1 year

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STMPD Recommends Bubblegum Crisis Fanfiction: Innpchan's Remembrance Day

Remember AD Police Files? The Bubblegum Crisis spinoff series everyone seems to have kind of collectively forgotten about, and for good reason? The series I once called "High Impact Sexual Violence The Animation" and meant it?

Well, it's been on my mind lately, for various reasons. I'll detail them below the fold, but suffice to say that ADP's weirdness and lack of spark parallels its fanfiction - of the half-dozen that can be found on that old Usenet archive, all but one are mediocre in a way that made me put them down before finishing them, save a different one that I read and didn't really enjoy.

All But One.

Yeah, that's right, motherfuckers, the beautiful mind behind Dance of Armor, before he embarked on writing the never-published sequel Arms of the Maiden, wrote this short little squib of a fic, detailing another deployment gone bad and bloody for Tactical Officer Jeena Malso, the somewhat-present heroine of AD Police Files. The prose is delicious, the action is nasty, the tone is full of bleak pale life.

It's midnight in Megatokyo. The streets teem with life that does not live. The AD Police keep order. Or so they tell themselves.

Okay. So. Why ADPF?

Well, I've been thinking a lot about the prospect of a Bubblegum Crisis B-Team. I had this idea back when I started that Anatomy of a Lovedoll that telling stories about the different side characters / guest stars of the various 2032 episodes might be a cool way to explore uncovered sides of Crisis, and flesh out my own understanding of my 206X verse. Sylvie's one, Reika was to be another (and might still be, some many years down the line, I don't really know, it depends on whether or not Witch of Tranquility takes off, or if I decide to go back to Divine Patronage, or or or), and I have two separate ideas for potential stories I could tell centering around Lisa Vanette and Kate Madigan respectively. And then... then there's Jeena Malso. Or, well, Gina Marceau makes more sense as a name to me.

(I also was thinking about Caroline Evers, the Ripper from ADPF, but honestly there's not a whole lot you can do with her.)

She's not really much of a character in ADPF beyond 'borderline psychotic Big Tiddy Tomboy'. Her story is not the one told past the Phantom Woman episode, she's tangential at best. And yet she's by far the most memorable part of the series simply by being big and loud and having a cybernetic arm and saying weird things about women that only a really horny dude (see: Tony Takezaki) would write. (The Boomer went insane because it was a woman, and emotions run high in a woman during sex? Damn, bro, that's some Women Be Shopping right there.)

Then there's the question of Where Is She Now. Obviously since she was conceived of in the middle of BGC's run, she couldn't exactly be a presence in Crisis up until 1990 when ADPF was released. Moreover, since the distributors of ADPF and Crisis were different megacorps - Bandai and Toshiba EMI, respectively - that sort of crossover was restricted solely to Leon being in both series. (Crash, then, was published by Polydor, btw.) Now, granted, there was a manga that was supposed to resolve ADPF as well as hint at the origin of Largo called Dead End City, but the only way I read it, years ago, is through a VK photoalbum that is rather hard to use now because they keep pestering you to make an account. Anyway, in that case, if I recall correctly, Gina had her cybernetic arm attacked by Largo's predecessor entity, had to rip it off, and the day was saved to a degree.

Now, Black Knights Steel Hearts had Gina show up as a merc working for the Super Cool OC, but most of what I remember from that part was her trying to pair off Priss and Leon in the clunkiest way possible. And I don't seem to remember any other fics that are Crisis-centric where she shows up, although the RPG proposed roughly the same path for her, ie going into private investigation or security consulting, only with one arm. I'm not so sure about that. Gina never struck me as the most mentally stable of characters. I can see her becoming a Cyberpunk 2020-style cyberpsycho, you know? Yeah.

Anyway. Where was I? Oh. Right. Remembrance Day. It's really fuckin' good. I'm going to hold off on quoting it verbatim because you just have to read it yourself.

The story itself is incredibly short and simple. Gina and company are assigned to take on a group of rampant construction Boomers who attacked a nightclub and now have fled into an abandoned, semi-flooded shopping arcade. Gina wants to bring in heavy ordnance. Her superior goes against it, but her troopers bring the big stuff (a PIAT? Whuh?) in anyway.

But all the same, they're ambushed. Slaughtered. One trooper, referenced at the beginning of the story, loses her spine but still has enough of herself intact to scream and cry out for revenge and it's just the most poignant scene you ever could see. The op goes bad, the Boomers kill most of the squad, Gina retreats and is marked for 'mutiny' - and, in the locker rooms, freaks out hardcore at poor old Nene Romanova when the news that Gina is likely going to lose her badge is told to her. It's... sad. Again, it's pretty much the only fic that makes me feel for Gina as a miserable person watching everyone die around her. That's why I say unto you: Read this fic.

...You know what, I should make a throwaway google account so I can make a throwaway VK account so I can view Dead End City without a big blue MAKE AN ACCOUNT bar blocking my viewing experience. There's an idea.

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Update 2/12: Investigation by some Discord buddies of mine reveals something I'd forgotten: The PIAT is a real thing, a spring-launched recoilless rifle that was the British answer to the bazooka during World War Two, standing for Projection, Infantry, Anti-Tank:

youtube

Now, you might think 'what in the heckledy feckledy is the ADP doing using an almost century-old weapon?' and we came up with the answer to that, too: it doesn't have to be a good anti-tank weapon, because Boomers (usually) less armor than a tank. But the ability to get a big explosive shell in the face of a combat model without backblast would be a deal-sealer, don't you think? You get a big boom, probably bigger than a 40mm grenade launcher (a 55C can tank something like that, if I had to guess), but it's directed enough that collateral isn't a big concern.

Also, there is a gif of an ADP officer using one in Blow Up you can find a little ways down on my feed. I misattributed it to a Carl Gustaf a year or two ago, but the way the trooper is holding it makes it clear. It's something without blast vents, so it's a PIAT, though it's such a blink-and-you'll miss it moment I'm amazed Innpchan found it and did something with it. No, really. It's incredible.

#stmpd reviews bgc fanfic #stmpd reviews fanfiction #bubblegum crisis #bgc #ad police files #fanfic rec #fanfiction #Youtube

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