hi! Andor 2x07 and 2x08 rewired my brain and now I've fallen down the Keero rabbit hole and I can't get up (playlists made, fic written, song lyric gifsets wished for because I don't make gifs â the brainworms are VERY active), so thank you for this blog being such a gold mine for these two and their deeply layered, messed up, delicious dynamic. đŠľ
Thank you so much!! Welcome to the rabbit hole! It's great in here đ
It's so exciting to see new people get into the ship and create for them. I'm still processing all the amazing new stuff out there while also trying to make my own (I have several song lyric gifsets on the way đ). Despite the Tragedy Of It All it really is a great time to be a Syril x Dedra shipper.
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You're so right, getting to see the show is a huge privilege no matter what the surprise songs are!!! I went to KC night 2, and Last Kiss was the least surprising surprise song ever, but it's so far the only time she's played the koi fish guitar during the acoustic set (and it's always been one of my faves on Speak Now) so it was still really special. I don't bother wishing I'd heard Nothing New or NBNC live even though I love both because if you'd told me a year earlier I would see a Taylor show at all I would not have believed it. We're some of the luckiest fans of any artist ever.
Yeah and like Iâm not talking about people talking about the setlist over all bc we all do that even people who donât see the show (like jokes about speak now and debut not getting enough love) but likeâŚidk itâs way more of a tik tok and twitter thing I feel like but it always feel like people want to compete with who got the best surprise song and just complaining about that or not getting long live bc you went to an earlier show just feels like. Sorry if it was the rep tour and basically everyone who wanted tickets could get them pretty easily and resale prices were not insane I wouldnât think it was as annoying but I just think knowing how many people couldnât see the show but wanted to like you can keep the complaints in the private messages lmao.
For the "500 words or less" director's cut prompt, which I missed because of the holiday: this 409-word bit of TTOU chapter 31 that surprisingly does not include Nicola, as much as I love her, but does include my favorite confused and well-meaning alien blorbo.
âWalshâs sister is in government and her brother-in-law was private-sector for a long time,â Fajr explained from the front passenger seat. Gordon was driving, leaving her free to talk without the fear of distraction. âI donât remember precisely what either did, since Iâm not well-versed in those parts of Human society, but itâs been able to help them afford this neighborhood without an issue.â
âNo one needs to be that well-versed in Human society,â Malcolm assured her. âHer sisterâs probably a high-ranked civil servant, impossible to get rid of no matter the government, and heâs probably some energy-sector or banking fuck. I met so many back in my former life that they all blended together after a while. You donât need to worry about them.â
âI might, but that would all depend on what happens during the debriefing.â The satnav instructed Gordon to turn and he did so, pulling into the drive of a house more grand than what was likely all four of their salaries put together. Once the car was parked, they got out and went to the front door as a group, where they were greeted by Walsh herself.
âThank you for coming on such short notice,â she said, ushering them in. Looking over her shoulder, she then shouted into the house, âTheyâre here, Nick! Four of them!â An unintelligible shout answered her and Walsh brought the guests into an elaborate sitting room, where tea was already laid out. âSorry about the pretenses, Kate. Nickâs place isnât exactly what most people would call humble.â
âYouâve been able to recoup hereâthatâs what counts,â Kate replied. âOh, you remember Fajr Bismuth? Sheâs now our Head of Security and Surveillance.â
âI thought Frank still had a few years left on his contract,â Walsh said, pouring tea. âWhatâd you do to convince him to step down?â
âHe didnât,â Fajr said. She tried to keep eye contact with Walsh, but couldnât. âFrank Hughes was one of the first people the insurgents killed upon capturing Mainframe UK. I⌠I couldnât save him.â
âYou saved others though, from what Iâve heard, and we canât fault you for doing all you could,â Walsh said. âHeâd be proud to know youâre his successor.â
âYou think so?â Gordon asked, relief in his voice. âThere are some people who are upset that itâs not me.â
âDo you want the position?â Walsh asked.
âNot yet; eventually, but Fajr was next in line.â
âThen let it be Ms. Bismuth.â
AAAHHHHH YEAH THIS BIT more about this bit under the cut.
Have a fic excerpt you want me to break down? Go ahead and let me know!
Okay, so, this bit! I wanted to keep the possibility of Nicola and Walsh being not-related while also teasing it for as long as possible, which brings us to Bismuth being the one who is giving the infodump. If Malcolm did any sort of looking-into Walsh's sister's background then he'd know instantly what was going on, but for now it's just this posh as fuck neighborhood with Walsh going "yeah sorry my sister's place is kinda extra".
'Cause here's the thing: Nicola Murray is rich. She and her husband both have high-paying jobs, can send multiple children to private school, and she seems to have just the right amount of reality disconnect in relation to others while still caring about people to insinuate that she's always been on the wealthier end of things. Shit, it's implied that her husband makes enough that she doesn't have to work, but does anyhow for both self-fulfillment and because she loves helping people. It also wouldn't surprise me if she and/or Mr. Nicola came from money to start, since this is also the UK we're talking about. So yeah. Posh as fuck.
And then Walsh is there! Doing some more misdirection bc Beck and Nick being nicknames for ladies in male-dominated jobs isn't anything, nooooo. I found it really important to me that we expressly lay out Walsh and Gordon's acceptance of Bismuth as the successor to the Security Head's role for a lot of reasons. Here's what we know of Fajr Bismuth thus far:
She is a Zygon.
Her grasp on Human culture is... strained at best.
They just are recovering from the Zygon Insurgency, where Bonnie and Company murdered a bunch of UNIT people including the man Fajr is replacing. The amount of symbolism there is intentional.
She is supposed to be the new Head of Security. So, being in charge of preventing something like that happening again. Everything depends on her loyalty to the Tripartite, which is not exactly something in good standing at that moment.
Her name is awesome but it's also very specifically non-English. It's a feminine Arabic name that means "dawn, beginning", and is a time for observant Muslims to pray during the morning twilight (fajr and four other daily prayers are part of the Five Pillars/Ten Practices of the Religion in Sunni/Shia Islam). Her having a name that can be a Briton's, but is not considered British is symbolic of her status as someone who is stuck between worlds and cultures as someone who might actually be named Fajr would. It is just as intentional. Bismuth just was also an element near [Themba] Astatine on the periodic table that I thought sounded cool with Fajr, since I like giving Zygons elemental names.
So now you've got all of that, and we're in this posh as fuck house, having a conversation with someone who very well could lobby to scuttle the concept of Bismuth having such an amount of power, especially with the resistance that has been seen within the other Departmental Heads. Like, if anyone can make or break this position for Bismuth from within Mainframe UK, it's Walsh. It was her command that was obliterated. She's the one with potentially the biggest stake in that game when it comes to whether another Human heads Security or a member of the extraterrestrial species that caused the entire mess to begin with... and... she... just... accepts once she has all the pieces she needs. You have to remember that Walsh is on a mental sabbatical--once things were over she had a fucking breakdown. Her approval means a lot.
...and Gordon's a good boy he's not gonna fuck this up for Bismuth he knows better than that.
Yes. All the time. Constantly. Whether it's because I'm continuing said fic or I just want to read it. This is why fic must almost always be self-indulgent, because if you're not writing the stuff you want to read, then what's the point? Sometimes I'll find old typos and may or may not fix them dependent on my mood lol.
17. Whatâs something youâve learned about while doing research for a fic?
A lot of what I've done is built a lot of extra bulk in subjects I already knew stuff about, such as the effects of WWII on the UK or cryptids/fantasy creatures, but then also gain completely new things like Scots Gaelic. Kinda. Tha beagan GĂ idhlig agam. What hinders me is spelling lolololol orz
18. Whatâs one of your favorite lines youâve written in a fic?
There are a lot of ones, honestly (like the entirety of in Want of An Heir lol), but I'll go with a more recent fic: Father Like Son, Mother Like Daughter, Parent Like Child. There's an entire exchange between Luffy and Law early in the fourth chapter that I just really, really like, but this one in particular gets me, where Law gets in Luffy's face and hisses this line:
âNow you also know what itâs like to lose a sibling too soon. Do not disappoint me.â
...because at this juncture, neither of them know the depths of the other's losses. It's part of an exchange that's coming directly after both characters go through a major [partially mutual] loss that they promised themselves would never happen again. It's right before the timeskip too, with them both mourning with very different results, and it's just so fcking good since it shows off not only their mutual ignorance, but how cruel Law is and can be, especially towards Luffy.
23. How do you choose where to end a chapter (if you have multi-chapter works)?
It's like cooking: you do it by feel. Wish I could be more help.
A lotâs been going on since I last updated this series. For posterityâs context, I posted chapter fifty-seven almost twenty-one(!) months ago. Since then (while not suffering a relapse in manga brainrot) Iâve been trying to light a fire under the ass of my beta reader to actually get caught up to date so I can start throwing things around. Weâre a little over halfway right now. PLUS, there is a certain individual, @fajrbismuth who has been writing me fic, and since I need to get back to writing this anyhow, I feel like gifting some fic is a great way to do it.
1878 words; another audio-only script fic like Inspections and Prototypes was, because I donât write enough scripts; let us all pretend I would ever know what the inside of the Mecca Wishaw looks like, which will likely never happen even if I lived in Wishaw (oh and there is a bit about how shit of a name it is so yeah); oops sorry new OC just dropped; takes place in some nebulous time in 2016, around chapter 51/52; just kinda ends like the other one does, which is why itâs a snippet lol
-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Footsteps in an office buildingâitâs the general ringing of phones and shuffling of papers and indistinct chatter that only middle-management and pencil-pushers can accurately replicate. A door opens up and SAM chuckles.
SAM: Now what do we have here?
JAMIE: Donât you say it, Sammyâdonât you fucking say it.
SAM: Itâs good to see you havenât changed.
JAMIE: You wound me⌠and after I got you in here, gave your lad an opportunity to grow up in a fucking sane environment?
SAM: There are worse places than Aylsham.
JAMIE: You had the commute of a bloody American.
SAM: My uncleâs had worse.
JAMIE: My point proven.
A knock on the door.
JAMIE: Fuck in or fuck off!
The door opens.
JAMIE: Oh, Bismuth, great timing! Nothing in this bloody place is fucking set up right.
BISMUTH: That is⌠sort of why Iâm here. At least you know what Wi-Fi is.
JAMIE: You sound troubled, pet. Who do I need to have a fucking shout at?
A beat.
BISMUTH: Iâm⌠not a⌠petâŚ? WhatâŚ?
SAM sighs, exasperated.
SAM: You donât have someone like Jamie in your department, do you?
BISMUTH: Iâve been told itâs a blessing.
JAMIE: Ha! Iâm sure Malcâs been talking me up like Iâm the Third Coming, with him as the Second.
BISMUTH: Actually, no. We are here to secure your new offices, as well as your homes. You are going to be allotted two members of Security and one member of IT. Until we can get your permanent setup, some of us from the Mainframe shall be here to configure everything.
JAMIE: Huh. Sounds like a lot of fucking trouble to go through. Canât the shits you hire for this joint set it all up?
BISMUTH: You require what I understand to be a âlitanyâ of upgrades that need to be done, and none of them should be done by new hires. Itâs no different than needing to inspect Kernow when they integrate new technology.
JAMIE: âŚand yeh canât just, I dunno, delegate? Just inspect the job later?
BISMUTH: Protocol is protocol and this is what happens when we set up a new office branch, due to expansion or renovation.
A mobile pings. Keys on the screen are tapped.
SAM: Thatâs not a good look.
BISMUTH: Whatâs not a good look?
JAMIE: Your face, pet. Human expressions give away a lot, you know.
BISMUTH sighs.
BISMUTH: What is a Mecca Bingo?
JAMIE: Mâneighborâs only real reason for not offing herself once her husband kicked it. They donât open for three more hours⌠though I donât think youâre gonna get a game in with fancy lads until later in the eveningâŚ
BISMUTH: We still have to go there. Now.
JAMIE: And whyâs that?
BISMUTH: This is why.
There is a pause, during which both JAMIE and SAM audibly cringe.
JAMIE: Thought I told Malc I had enough of playing Scotsomer Shitesteries for the rest of the decade.
BISMUTH: We donât get to decide that. Now are you the one in charge here or are you going to let what Iâve heard described as a âcircusâ occur?
JAMIE groans.
JAMIE (grumbling): Ah, feck.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-
The soft rumbling sound of being in a moving car now can be heard. There is also the shuffling around of clutter.
SAM: Donât worry; itâs not that far now.
BISMUTH: Thank you again for the lift.
SAM: Any time.
She pauses.
SAM: You alright back there?
JAMIE: Why is this your bairnâs fecking garbage dump? I feel like weâre going to get there and Iâll pop out the Toxic Avenger.
SAM: Youâre just a big baby. (She puts the turn signal on.) Iâve seen your office, you know.
JAMIE: Thatâs organized! It makes sense!
SAM: Mmmhmm⌠oh⌠shitâŚ
SAM puts the car in park and kills the engine. Soon as the doors open, there is a large commotion of sirens idly warning people to stay back and said people talking. The three shut the doors and make their way through the crowd.
JAMIE: Oi, we need to get through!
OLD WOMAN 1: Keep your fucking shirt on, lad. Not like we can get through.
JAMIE: Except thatâs our job. We need to get through.
OLD WOMAN 2: Well, soâs that for us, but itâs not like weâre getting in any time soon.
JAMIE: Aye, youâll get there; now just let us pass.
BISMUTH: Maâam, the sooner we can get our jobs done, the sooner you can get to yours.
OLD WOMAN 2: Mmm, right, but youâre not going to get told off because the toiletâs not cleaned.
OLD WOMAN 1: At this rate, we wonât get in there until half-twelve, andâŚ
SAM: Donât worry! Weâll have it all under control! Our colleagues are taking care of things as we speak!
OLD WOMAN 1: They better!
The three make their way through the crowd. A siren whoops and there is plenty of murmuring.
BISMUTH: Ketja! Think we can get through?
There is now a new voice, deep and masculine and vaguely Slavic.
KETJA: Oh! A pleasant surprise, Director! Oi, look alive; weâve got Mainframe brass!
The crowd gets fainter as KETJA brings them towards the building.
KETJA: What brings you up this way, maâam?
BISMUTH: Iâm here to set up the new communications hub, but when I got a text from Arwell about the situationâŚ
KETJA: Understood. Are you the new local Communications Director?
SAM: Iâm flattered, butâŚ
JAMIE: Thatâs me; now who are you and what sort of fucking mess am I explaining away?
KETJA: Iâm Major Ketja, the military liaison for the Glasburgh Auxiliary. That must mean you are Jamie and you are Sam. Apologies, but Iâve been a bit busy to hang around the base and meet people.
BISMUTH: Ketja has taken over a series of cases from the local authorities, which is why UNIT has responded to the scene.
JAMIE: âŚand why I gotta be here if all I need is some photos and details passed my way? So that thereâs someone on-site to handle the fucking cunts that come sniffing about?
KETJA: It would be nice.
They go through an automatic door, the noise from outside fully being left behind them as they enter the casino. Idle slot machines on the far side of the room chirp cheerfully their wee slogans while UNIT members mill about.
JAMIE: Sweet Mary, what the fuck is that?!
KETJA: It used to be a Silurian who worked on the machines and cleaned overnight. As you can see, canât really say its such anymore.
JAMIE: That wasnât the photo you fucking showed me!
BISMUTH: I needed to make sure youâd come.
JAMIE growls in irritation.
SAM: âŚand you said this is the latest in a series?
KETJA: Correct. Arwellâs been doing a decent job of keeping it under wraps for us, but this is the most public one to-date. I believe you were there at the first one, were you not?
JAMIE: That time Malc stole mâcar and took off to fucking Sterling with me still inside? Thought that was a Zygon, not a Silurian.
A beat.
JAMIE: Should that bit be that color?
BISMUTH (deadpan): Yes.
JAMIE: Fuck. I gave up smoking for this?
KETJA clears his throat.
KETJA: Victims have all been non-Human Tripartite, all who were occupying spaces they normally would alone, all having been viciously and repeatedly stabbed and mutilated. Maâam, Iâm going to need you to assist with authorizing and initiating security protocols, as this might require getting the Tripartite fully involved.
BISMUTH: All while MacDonald runs damage control?
KETJA: Precisely.
JAMIE: Iâm on it, pet.
BISMUTH: You willingly let him recruit you, knowing heâs like this?
SAM: Pays well and doesnât treat me like garbage. What can I say?
BISMUTH sighs and we hear her and KETJA walk away, their footfalls heavy with their boots on tile. JAMIE harrumphs.
JAMIE: I thought His Malcness said she was one of the more normal ones. Oh⌠yeah⌠thatâs right⌠we can grab a wee bite here when the place opensâŚ
SAM: Focus⌠we need to figure out what weâre going to tell the paps outside, as well as the Mecca corporates.
JAMIE: As far as theyâre concerned, any publicity is good publicity, especially since the poor bloke didnât die during business hours.
He hums thoughtfully.
JAMIE (shouts): Oi! Was this a bloke?
FORENSICS YUTZ (far off, bored): Signs point to âyesâ.
JAMIE: Okay, so, the bloke wasnât vivisected during business hours, so they wonât give a fuck in the end. They probably wouldnât even give a fuck if he was, since he looks like he was the overnight caretaker, despite the fact those are some of the ones they need to give a fuck about the mostâŚ
SAM: Do you think we can spin this as an anti-immigrant attack if the paperworkâs right? Make it look like some arse got a bit carried away?
JAMIE: For now⌠bloody fucking Tories wouldnât blink twice calling it an isolated incident. We can run with that as the prevailing theory. Oi, you; yeah, Iâm talking to you, Brown Eyes. You got a report for me to run off?
BROWN EYES: Uh⌠yeahâŚ
JAMIE: Thanksâyouâre a peach.
Papers rustle.
JAMIE: Oh, good; Kateâs lot had him down as being a recent immigrant from Hyderabad with no family. This makes my life a piece of fucking cake. Might even be able to get this out of the news cycle by teatime AND not terrorize the Desis, since they have enough to fucking deal with.
SAM: Shit⌠yeah⌠anything else we can pull instead?
JAMIE: Thatâs what we gotâmight not be completely ethical, but itâs the best we got to work with. The fact he worked here might keep any nosy fucks from poking around too much.
A pause.
SAM: Okay, you actually lost me this time.
JAMIE: When was the last time you saw a headscarf in a Mecca?
A much longer pause.
SAM: Do we need to go over how many layers of stupid that was?
JAMIE: Well, do yeh?
SAM: Itâs got itâs own orogeny named for it, Jamie! Thereâs striations! Should I go on?
JAMIE: Well, itâs not my fucking fault that the cunts couldnât name the business for the life of them!
SAM groans loudly.
SAM (quietly): I gave up Broadland for this for fuckâs sakeâŚ
JAMIE: Youâre playing Motherwell Rules now, mate.
SAM: I bet if we looked up âMotherwell Rulesâ, thereâd be nothing about acting like a knob.
JAMIE: Look at me, Samantha⌠Iâm a wee fucking cunt. If I donât play the part, then Iâll be considered to be scheming, and thatâs at-best. You really think I want to put ideas in their fucking heads?
SAM: Well, what would worst-case be?
JAMIE: That Iâve gone fucking soft. I plan on making this gig where I turn into the fucking bogeyman, and what sort of bogeymanâs softer than a geriatric tit?
SAM: Still, I want you to be careful, because you have the ability to insult hijabi and Irish grans who protect their permanents at the same fucking time. Jesus Christ.
JAMIE (smugly): Iâm just that talentedâyou know that.
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From the list of questions for fic writers (way late on this one): What do you wish someone would ask you about TTOU? Answer it now!
Aaaaah, you are not too late! By all means, I love asks/ask memes, so the more the merrier. :D
What's a question I wish someone asked me about The Thick of UNIT? Hmm... that's a good one.
Aside from, you know, asking something that sort of uncorks the block I've got in the story writing process (*Sign of the Cross*), I guess it would be something about how UNIT is structured and how it fits within the current UN's system. I have lore. Did you know that the TTOU-verse UNIT is actually UNIT 3.0? Yes, there were two short-lived prior versions of UNIT within-universe... and that's only the tip of the iceberg. You can get some hint of lore in the author's notes of Rocks Are Dumb and So Are Lizard People, but that's neither here nor there. Anyhow, there's a lot to consider, and while I haven't considered everything, I have taken lots of thought into shit.
Want one of these fan fiction questions answered? I'm still taking asks!
