I think one of the big strengths of fanfiction as a medium is that it can, on average, assume the reader has a way higher degree of familiarity with canon than like…canon can. If you’re in the Star Wars AO3 tag you probably like Star Wars enough to remember more things about it than the average Star Wars-enjoying-ten-year-old. Which makes it way easier for fanwriter a to get to the juicy stuff and really engage with the worldbuilding or minor characters without having to spell out like. Who Wedge Antilles is for everyone who forgot or never noticed him in the first place. You could write a book about Wedge in the old EU because EU readers could also be assumed to be serious fans, but you can’t make a new canon Disney+ show about him. Those cost money to make and are intended for a broader audience.
And all this means that like. A good fic writer can and often will surpass canon when it comes to like. Thematic resonance and stuff, because they can really dig into something. Star Trek 2009 gave Kirk a new, more generic tragic backstory because it couldn’t expect the average moviegoer to be familiar with Kirk’s old, way more interesting tragic backstory. (Frankly, I’m not sure jj abrams knew about TOS Kirk’s backstory) whereas I have read a LOT of well-written, interesting, deeply resonant fanfic examinations of Tarsus IV, and what it means for Kirk’s character that he’s a genocide survivor. Star Trek 2009 answers the question “why did Kirk cheat on the kobayashi maru?” With “‘cause his dad crashed a spaceship when he was a baby.” A close examination of TOS canon implies the answer is “because he lived through a real-life Kobayashi that did have a win option, but which wasn’t taken.” BUT—and this is significant—even the TOS canon movies can’t really assume knowledge of the full TOS tv show, so that implication is never examined or made explicit. Instead it’s fanfic (and maybe spin off novels? Idk I’ve only read 2 trek books, if there’s one out there that covers this that would be really cool) where we get dives into that thread, where Kirk gets a commendation for original thinking because he can look a testing board in the eye and say “I’ve seen what happens when someone is entrenched in this kind of thinking, and I cannot let it happen to me. I understand the lesson, but it’s not hypothetical anymore and it never will be. I did what I had to do.” And that’s interesting! That’s meaningful! That can’t happen in a summer blockbuster. But it can happen in fic, easily, and that’s a strength of fic, I think.
This is mesmerizing to watch.
💥🙌👏
i think that the "i do not control the ____" memes are generally tame and do not lend enough credence to the genuine absurdity of the original line that is
What do the Fifth House actually do?
Sure, yes, ghosts and tradition and the Heart of the Emperor, and Watchers Over the River - but none of those things give you the kind of assets that mean you can dress your cavalier in a coat that "probably cost more than the Ninth House had in its coffers" for a dinner party.
It's made clear very early on that the Fifth are a power to be reckoned with. When they first receive the letter about the Lyctoral pilgrimage, Gideon assumes it would be on the Third or Fifth. Harrow, meanwhile, has frequently-repeated anxieties about the Ninth being subsumed by the Third or Fifth, to the point that she worries that the anniversary party invitation may be an attempt to wipe out the other Houses. Teacher describes the Fifth's relationship with the Fourth as "hegemonic". The Fifth loom so large in the cultural imagination, they even inform the name of the made up porn magazine that Gideon offers to Crux.
The links between the Third and the Fifth that both Gideon and Harrow make seem to reflect both the fact that these two Houses have particular power and influence, but also that they frequently cooperate. Judith writes about the close cooperation of the Second, Third, and Fifth, a relationship which becomes a source of tension as the scions seek to establish authority after the Fifth are murdered. Judith says:
“The Fifth are dead. I take authority for the Fifth. I say we need military intervention, and we need it right now. As the highest-ranked Cohort officer present, that decision falls to me.” “A Cohort captain,” said Naberius, “don’t rank higher than a Third official.” “I’m very much afraid that it does, Tern.” “Prince Tern, if you please,” said Ianthe.
Which makes it sound as though Abigail might technically have been considered the highest ranking person at Canaan House (likely because she was head of her House and not an heir in waiting like Judith or Coronabeth), and that following her death there is some question as to whether the Second or the Third should take control, but notably no suggestion that anyone else might.
We know what the Second do: they are the leaders of the Cohort and the Bureau, the military and intelligence that forms the core of imperial expansion. Most of the information that we get about the other Houses talks only about their cultural or ritual roles in the empire - we get very little in the way of gritty details of what happens outside of the Dominicus system.
We know a little bit about what the Third does - according to Tor they are cultural trendsetters and players in soft power, but the one detail we get in GTN itself is revealing: when Gideon imagines her glorious future in the Cohort, one of the assignments she considers boring is the prospect of being "in some foreign city babysitting some Third governor." Which makes it sound rather like the Second are conquering the planets and the Third are then running them. But the books are even lighter in details about what the Fifth do, beyond ghosts and manners.
However, there is one suggestive detail: an important topic in HTN is stele travel - the necromantic FTL used by the Nine Houses. And Mercymorn, in describing a stele, specifically states that Fifth House adepts are required for their construction. Which rather makes it sound like the Fifth have a monopoly on the manufacturer of the technology required for FTL travel. Now that in and of itself could be the basis of their enormous wealth - selling aerospace tech to an ever expansionist military is probably quite lucrative.
But there's another element of House imperialism that only gets mentioned in passing that doesn't seem to be entirely accounted for, which Judith describes in As Yet Unsent:
"Their other line of attack is the business contracts. They claim that the services asked of them by the Emperor were set down in lifetime contracts by previous generations, who assumed the contracts would be terminated upon the Emperor’s death."
There are obviously some unanswered questions about the imperialist project of the Nine Houses - both Augustine and Coronabeth question quite why it works the way it does - but from the above it sounds like in many respects it functions exactly as you would expect an empire to: as a vehicle for the exploitation of others' resources.
Perhaps the Cohort themselves administer these business contracts. Perhaps they fall under the purview of the Third House planetary governors. But if you're exporting resources from the living planets of your empire to the mostly desolate planets of the Dominicus system, you're going to need some FTL ships and a whole lot of bureaucracy.
And if there's one other detail that we get about the Fifth, it's that there is something significant about the political power of their bureaucracy. As Judith puts it: "Quinn himself is a Fifth House bureaucrat with all that entails."
Are the Second, Third, and Fifth so close and so powerful because they form the bedrock of the empire: the conquest, control, and exploitation of planets beyond the Dominicus system?
▷Cure ◁
Ahhh so much fic!!! #Marvey #Mike x Harvey #Suits #Fanfiction list
I decided to compile all the marvey fics I love!!
Imperfect Perfection – Skara_Brae
The Strange Courtship of Mike Ross – Skara Brae
Walk Away If You Can Serie – Blue_Five Probably Me Safe In Your Soul
End of the World (as We Know It) – leista
Here at the end of all things – tattooedsiren
Plant My Apple Tree – FightFireWithFire
Shackled and Drawn - batty4u
And I did happen to you - thesetemplebones
awake & unafraid – turnyourankle
Bullshit - lagirl266
Every Second - tattooedsiren
Feels Like Rain - nevergone
the spaces grown between us - CS_WhiteWolf
Pineapple Apology - Frozen-Void
Predictable – inflowers
Unpredictable (Sequel of Predictable) – inflowers
Priorities - LethalTraps
5 times Mike sat in Harvey’s lap by necessity and one time he did it just because he could - Unspoken0dreams
between hot it is and how it should be (or: Five times people confuse them for a couple and one time they’re right) – foamskyandsea
Call Me Maybe (or: 5 times Mike Ross texted Harvey Specter, and the one time the tables were turned) – malawi
Childish Things (or: Tree times Mike is ridiculous and immature [and one time Harvey is, too]) - blue_wo1f
Complimentary colors (or: Five times in which Harvey and Mike match) - foamskyandsea
Five Times Harvey and Mike Proposed to Each Other, and One Time Someone Said Yes - bookem_assbutt
Five Times Harvey Showed he cared – Splotcher
Five Times Harvey Surprised Mike - Dahlia_Moon
Five times Harvey witnesses Mike gets handsy, and one time he experiences it himself – mackietommo
Five Times Mike Is Sporting Wood in Harvey’s Presence and One Time Harvey Does Something About It – tardisonameter
Five Times Mike Makes Harvey Laugh – And The One Time He Makes Him Smile - sal_si_puedes
Five Times Mike’s Phone Sort of Gets Him Into Trouble and One Time It Really, Really Doesn’t - Robin Gills (Akiseo)
Harvey Ain’t no White Rabbit (or: Harvey Specter waits for anybody, except Mike – Four times others notices, one time Mike did) – TheGroupofOne
Heart of Gold (or: Five times Harvey said no and the one time he didn’t) – shotstorylong
I like the way you move (or: Harvey is an awesome dancer. Mike finds out and is astonished) - alerie
I Can Barely Say (or: there are certain times for which words could never be enough) - emms14
in the other hours (or: Five times Mike couldn’t sleep and the one time he feel asleep when he really shouldn’t have) – tattooedsiren
in•somnia (or: Five times Harvey only mostly fails at that whole “not caring” thing, and one time he falls spectaculary) – myystic (neoinean)
Only When We’re Drunk (or: 5 times Harvey has seen Mike drunk, and one time Mike schemes to get it the other way around) – purpleushi
Say it ain’t so, I will not go (or: Five times Harvey sees Mike dressed casually) - foamskyandsea
Sleep is a Symptom of Caffeine Deprivation (or: 5 times Harvey watched Mike sleep, and one time Mike watched Harvey sleep) – PhoenixFlame
The Five People that Mike Didn’t Know Loved Him and the One Person He Loved Back - Tigress33
The Agreement (or: Mike needs a way to relieve stress. Harvey can provide it) – joannereads
The Art of the Unexpected (or: 5 Times Harvey kissed Mike unexpectedly and 1 time Mike kissed him) – butterflycell
The Five Times Harvey and Mike Slept Together (and the one time they acknowledged it) - LeahxLeah
the pieces that make up the whole (or: Five times Mikes learned something about Harvey) - waywardrenegades
The Truth About Us (or: Five times someone find about the true nature of Harvey and Mike’s relationship and the one time that they told someone) – AmorVerdan
Three Times Harvey Accidentally Hit On Mike And One Time He Did It On Purpose – GotTheSilver
Three Times Harvey Asked Mike to Marry Him (and one time Mike said yes) – skyenapped
Under Control: The Four People Who Noticed Harvey Noticing Mike and The One Person Who Totally Didn’t – cimera
We’ve all been there (or: Five times they think they’re obvious, and the one time they really are) – foamskyandsea
You mend my heart with a rose (or: Four times Mike got Harvey a rose and one time Harvey returned the favor) – whittyrabbit
Mike
Betrayed - harvey-bangs-mike
Bravery - Rayrawl
Hearts Will Hold - rories
Midnight Encounter – laughter_now
Harvey
New Pathways - jonius_belonius (Joni_Beloni)
Silent Vigil Serie – laughter_now Silent Vigil Getting it Right
take your time cause you’re up against space – emms14
Anniversary
Anniversary - lostinspacexx3
One Month – lionessvalenti
Room 2005 - Snowball’s-Chance
A win-win situation (?)
A Little More – uptopcomeon
Driving a Harvey - flamyshine
Coming Home
Be Home For Sunday – KaliTracer
Easy As Breathing – butterflycell
Faster Faster - carnifax
Midnight Calls - lostinspacexx3
No More Trips – skyenapped
The Verdict - Sairyn
When the Heart Yearns - Boondock Winchester
Coming Out
Strictly Ballroom - sal_si_puedes
Deprived Domesticity - Beautiful_lies_x
Getting Married & Honeymoon
Can’t help falling in love - flamyshine
Interlude - suitsfan
my love is like that - neverphemeral
Pretty, Pretty Please? -FarAwayInWonderland
Thankful - hana-to-mame
Having a “date”
Green Wine and Pizza – turnyourankle
Yippe-ki-yay motherf**ker – whittyrabbit
Having fun and “fun” –wink–
A Hot Shower - lostinspacexx3
C'mon Fire Me Up - Peace. Love. And Other Things
Laughing So Hard Your Face Hurts - lostinspacexx3
Say Goodnight - suitsfan
Skeletons in the Closet - carnifax
Upside Down and Inside Out - mskatej
Jus the why they’re together
An Ordinary Day - adaycertain
Body Language Serie – thesetemplebones communicate something incommunicable reveals of our most secret self
Domo Arigato, Mr. Spectro - smartalli
Easy Like Saturday Morning - TheMastress
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Mike and Harvey and a Few Things You Didn’t – bballgirl3022
Falling In Love - lostinspacex
Metaphors – makingitwork
Mike’s Smile - lostinspacexx3
Most of all – inflowers
Nights Like These - Xazz
old words – tattooedsiren
Pretty Roads - lostinspacexx3
Rain On A Tin Roof - suitsfan
The Daily Grind - townpariah
The Rainbow Series – accol
The Right Words - hana-to-mame
Untitled Rainbow Ficlets - vaguesalvation
With You I Fall So Fast - VerityFrancesB
Moving in together
Home - lostinspacexx3
Home Sweet Home – ProLazy
Moving In - harvey-bangs-mike
with wild hope - tattooedsiren
Secretly Married
Exclusively Yours Verse Serie – tattooedsiren Exclusively Yours love consists in this A Series of Small Things There It Shall Remain Forever The True Measure of Love Yours Alone
Mr Specter - Olor et Luna
Where Harvey just doesn’t accept they have a relationship (but in the end he does, like “oh my god, I love him”)
A pragmatic romance - inflowers
Body Heat - Enigmaforum
Disturbing the Peace - Grim Lupine
Gatekeeper - SodiumBicarb
Sometimes Mike just wants flowers - whittyrabbit
Nop, sorry, you’re not healthy anymore… diabetes
A New Cure - suitsfan
Books - lostinspacexx3
Calling Out - lostinspacexx3
Late Night Trips - lostinspacexx3
Perfect Price - lostinspacexx3
Off the Clock - Ella Dean Pendragon
One peaceful afternoon – flamyshine
Saturday Morning - lostinspacexx3
Waltz - lostinspacexx3
Ugly Issues
Stronger Than Superman - fortgetyouinsiberia
Slowly development using the “canon”
altering life by holding it still - tattooedsiren
An Expression Of Feelings - LiliFayre
even the impossible is easy – Anonymous
if ever I was running - tattooedsiren
Just A Little Fire - Anonymous
Lit Up - phreakycat
something inevitable – tattooedsiren
Stay With Me - nevergone
the indispensable first step - tattoodsiren
this tornado loves you - liketheroad
Where both Harvey and Mike don’t clearly understand – or choose to ignore – their feelings and ignore they have something (because they’re idiots, but in the end they get their shit together but sometimes they don’t)
All I Ever – nevergone
Change is Only Natural - 1stBonesFan (1stBonesFan_is_SterekGirl)
Continental Drift - townpariah
For All of the Plans We Made - foamskyandsea
I Know Who I Want - foamskyandsea
I told YOU – blackeyedsoul
Lie To Me - nevergone
Make me Nervous - brilligspoons
Monochrome - carnifax
Sleep Tonight - suitsfan
Surprises - suitsfan
The Least They Ever Gave You (Was the Most You Ever Knew) – skyenapped
your broken crown – tattooedsiren
Where Harvey has an “existential crisis” (and you only think “oh, Harvey finally”)
I Wanna Hold Your Hand – VampirePam
Third Definition – khasael
Turn of Events - bballgirl3022
Where Mike doesn’t notice Harvey’s feelings until the very end (because he can be an idiot too… oh, and he also has existential crisis, a “oh my god, what did I do?” crisis)
All My Fortunes At Thy Foot I’ll Lay - tattooedsiren
And We’ll Pretend - goblinish
Blackmail - Sairyn
Confessions – Sairyn
finding the way - smatalli
Harold’s Secret - pineapplesandcanopeners
Just a Kiss - suitsfan
Mike’s secret admirer - flamyshine
Some Guys Don’t – Love2Slash
The Red Earth of Tara – sal_si_puedes
Truth or Dare - purpleushi
Vinyls – aspirateurkilleuse
Where Mike has enough
Getting Rid Of A Distraction – ShadowMoon
I’ve got a feeling – inflowers
The Art Of Lying - LeahxLeah
You read this and you’ll get diabetes… yummy
PrettyHandsome Kindergarten – flamyshine
Reason 10 - The-Fall-Season
The Way You Look Tonight - Bontaque
Warm hands on my heart - flamyshine
all the words in the world may not be enough - tattooedsiren
Marvey - FarAwayInWonderland
Snapshots - tattooedsiren
What if? – machtaholic (cinderella81)
A Charmed Life - DizzyDrea
something strange (or: Five ways Harvey and Mike spend Halloween) - cuddlebuck
Would It Be So - flitterflutterfly
The Haunting of Penthouse B - Skara_Brae
What Dreams May Come - tattooedsiren
Advocatus Diaboli - sal_si_puedes
All But Memories – pageleaf
Love thy neighbor - flamyshine
Read My Mind - makingitwork
Reverse Polarity - machtaholic (cinderella81)
The Cat That Walked By Himself - Xanthe
Obviously Oblivious - Leista
The Puppy, the Five Frogs, and the Not-So-Charming Prince - triskadekaphobicnazi
The Marvey Chronicles – flamyshine
Fair Winds and Following Seas Serie – lilgirllost (lil_grl_lost) Of All the Gin Joints Here’s Looking At You, Kid The Thing That Keeps Him Going
High Speed - machtaholic (cinderella81)
For You – Blue_Five
Mike’s Cravings - DinoMoMo
Though the Stars Walk Backwards – UchiHime
Beginning Serie – penguino3782 Boring Parties Chats and Mrs Butterworth’s Dad, Not Father Daddy Anxiety Complications
Mike and Harvey
Crescendo - smatalli
Mike
Mike + The Harmony – Sauffie
Streed Kid Serie – veritas_st Looking Sharp (Not Looking for Love) You Sound Like Music The Initial Response
Mike
76 & Lexington – widnst
Harvey
when our stars collide - tattooedsiren
Everything Good In The World – skyenapped
Take Your Daughter to Work - bballgirl3022
this life, this love – tattooedsiren
Window Shopping - lostinspacexx3
Casual Encounters - Attorney C (arh581958)
I Now Pronounce You Mike and Harvey - aLLiCaT225
Limited Parthership – Pookaseraph
Speaking of Happiness – machtaholic (cinderella81)
whatever the question – tattooedsiren
Wear My Name – Lunarflare14
“With Plot”
Curious George - Anonymous
Inseparable – BatSuitsCrazy (McDanno50)
Slow - sal_si_puedes
The Prince and the Prostitute - forever_bright
Reward - Cashay
Without Plot
Hold Your Breath - dedougal
Interpretation of Love – quodpersortem
Sensitive - BearHatter
The Prada Tie - samspecter
The Video - jaraismylife
Ties - GoreBeeCormick
We will not be using my tie for that - accol
BDSM (or “I’ll teach you a lesson” porn)
Mr. (Hardass) Harvey Specter – MajicViolin
Obedience - hardeight
Step Two - jonius_belonius (Joni_Beloni)
Riot or Revolution - forever_bright
Mike
call me maybe – frozensight
The Luck of the Draw - Enigmaforum
Still I Fly – Anonymous
Harvey
Friends? I’d Say Family – mockturtletale
Mike is the student
Dedication to My Love WIP - writeaddict
Five things to do before graduation – whittyrabbit
Harvey and Mike are students
Swingin’ in the Halls Serie – agrajag Swingin’ in the Hall Burn Brighter
Harvey is the teacher and Mike his assistant
Barely Legal WIP – Kitty Howell
Dolce Far Niente - EvavH
Imprimatur - Closer
Something Stupid Like Fate – smartalli
all straight lines circle sometime – liketheroad
Do You Harvey Specter… - Sairyn
1500 Years – AngularNotions
Five Times Mike Ross Was a Terrible Vampire and One Time He Wasn’t - ladyknightanka
Barista/Coffee Shop
Every Sunday They Go Back To Monday - rories
Grande Soy Triple Dirty Chai – friskaz
Incidental Music – turnyourankle
Too Young For Me - Bontaque
Deliveryman
Pizza-Verse Serie – Closer Pizza And A Movie The Secret Life Of Lawyers A Series Of Covert Disasters
Doctor
Fate’s Decree Serie – in_the_bottle A Bit Less Ordinary In Totidem Verbis From the Ashes Four First Impressions of Dr Michael Ross From the Ranks of Pearson Hardman Break Me With Ice Time Unfolds
Grocery Store/Cashier/Owner Store
20 Items or less – checkmatey
No Shoes, No shirt – Hardwood_Studios
Vinyl Advice Serie – mockturtletale Vinyl Advice: Stop, Look, Listen Vinyl Advice: Wrong From Right
Second Spin - machtaholic (cinderella81)
Hot Dog Guy
Hot In the City - escribo
Nanny
Falling In Love To The Sounds of the City – GotTheSilver
Photographer
Unspoken - Sauffie
Tailor
You’d Look Good On me – VerityFrancesB
You’ve Got Me Now Under Your Thumb (Sequel of You’d Look Good On Me)– VerityFrancesB
Teacher
In Love With The Teacher - Sauffie
Tennis
untitled tennis star Mike ficlet – thatotherpery
In the Air (And Breathing) - escribo
Like Gravity - kaylin_neya
Konkurrenz belebt das Geschäft Serie – FarAwayInWnderland Hear Me, I’m Calling Your Name Regret Is For Fools (And Sometimes For Me) I´m The Queen Bee And I´ll Make You Dance For Me Thoughts On The Matter
Waiting Just For You WIP- FarAwayInWonderland
all the way home – tattooedsiren
by my side - tattooedsiren
The Star Of His Own Halloween Special - team_freewill
7,776,000 - tattooedsiren
1 + 1 = (Sequel of 7,776,000) - tattooedsiren
Working Toward Informed Consent between 1x02 - 1x05 – 1shinymess (magpie4shinies)
Tied Together With An Easy Thread 1x07 – Stone_Princess
Invincible 1x09 – BatSuitsCrazy (McDannon50)
ex fide fiducia 2x01 - kim47
Fallen face first into love 2x01 – flamyshine
till the lights go out - foamskyandsea
Indirect Kiss 2x02 - suitsfan
The new best closer in the office 2x02 - flamyshine
A little puppy in the big scary city 2x03 - flamyshine
All You’re Giving Me Is Fiction 2x06 - anaeifly
Tongue Tied 2x06 - nuspock
I Could Not Kiss, Just Regress 2x07 - IrishFrenchy
A romantic confession 2x12 - flamyshine
2x12
Sometimes You Get What You Need 4x15 - inflowers
The Deal 5x15- Sauffie
Harvey/Mike - tattoedsiren
Alphabet Suits - LaylaBinx
Golden Threads – FarAwayInWonderland
Donna Sees All – butterflycell
Donna’s Intervention - oldsouls2302
landmarks to a treasure - tattooedsiren
My Give-A-Damn Clock Is Broken Between The Hours of 12am And 10pm - mistressofmythology
The Care & Keeping of Harvey Specter’s Puppy – smartalli
You Can Leave Your Hat On – laughter_now
Aww this is so funny lol ♡
my muse and I
The fact that the villains really like Tim Drake
(SOUND IS CRUCIAL) this video is has murdered me dead the music the editing the way information is slowly revealed about the two of them the plot twist the breaking bad images. WILLIAM WILLIAM WILLIAM. all over minecraft parkour someone help im seizing