InstaRec + a plea for help

[sirona_fics]

You guys. Stop what you're doing right now and head over to this place I'm about to tell you all about. I just. I'm all sniffly and teary and there's this enormous grin on my face and HEARTSEYES FROM SPACE, OKAY.

If you love Canton Everett Delaware III, or if you've never heard of him but you love men in love forever, and romance, and wonderful fic, this is the place for you. Fifty-five years later, Canton and his beloved are finally getting that which he wanted bad enough to quit the FBI for once upon a time.

It's Only Time, Canton/David, PG, by pocky_slash.

My comment to her included the phrase "I'm reccing this to everyone I love", because this, this is pure joy. SO LOVELY, OH MY GOD. I am pretty sure that no one will ever love me like these two love each other, and yet that is okay, because I get to back in their incredibleness. This story, I am still sniffling, you guys. ♥________♥

And now for the help. Please, please save my sanity. I have been reading rather a lot of X-Men Charles/Erik fic, and I keep seeing German-speakers leaving comments on the language Erik uses, namely the use of the terms Liebling and Schatz. People keep saying they're old-fashioned, but see, here's the thing. All the research I've done (mostly on internet sites, admittedly, hence the plea for help), says that those two in particular are acceptable terms of endearment. Moreover, when I was on holiday just now, there was a German couple next door and I distinctly heard them call each other Schatz.

So. My question is this. Is what people are saying a legitimate grievance? Or is it just people's personal preference? Because if I see one more person say that, and I quote, "no one would use language like that", I may just scream.

And another thing. Thinking of Erik calling Charles Liebling -- well. IT DOES THINGS TO ME. SUCH THINGS, SUCH DIRTY, FILTHY THINGS, OKAY. And I want to make sure no one is going to fire off one of these comments at me. And also, if this is a legitimate complaint, then obviously I don't want to be a twat, either.

SO, PLEASE HELP ME, YOU GUYS. Three ways of Erik to call Charles 'darling'. Go!

I would be ETERNALLY GRATEFUL. This thing is eating at me something fierce. Also, that cop!Erik modern AU fic? 21K and juuuust nudging over half-way. WHAT HAVE I STARTED. Also, work is a NIGHTMARE today, and I think I shall be doing as much writing as I can fit in, to make myself feel better.

Comments

[alba17.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm going to read that pocky_slash fic. I know of her(?) fic from Torchwood. (how funny to see you rec'ing it when I know you from H50). I found Canton kind of fascinating.

I'm really looking forward to your cop!Erik AU. Where does it take place?

Er, know nothing about German. I've only read a bit of XMFC fic here and there, not jumping in wholeheartedly. I seem to prefer AUs that have nothing to do with the movie, or take place earlier in the movie. I'm not really into comics or superheroes, that's probably why.

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

I have adored his/her X-Men Daycare 'verse snippets to distraction, and just everything they touch turns to gold. THIS FIC, I AM SO IN LOVE WITH IT.

It takes place in Germany initially, our time, and then moves to Oxford and then to Westchester, and then-- but no, I shall give it away if I go on! :D /tease/ I... may have been a teeny tiny little bit overambitious with this fic. I will consider myself lucky if it ends up under 50K. >.> It's just there's so much I want to include, and bits come up practically by themselves, and above all, I am having RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF FUN, SO. :D Good thing my recipient is a patient, lovely creature who will not murder me for this!

I am pretty much only reading happy ending fics in the fandom. Because the film left me sad and depressed and bereft IN THE WORST WAY, but I have to tell you, the amount of ridicamazing AUs in this fandom is quite staggering. I will make a rec list for you if you like! Also, an admission -- I have never in my life not so much as picked up an X-Men comic. The blame for my current obsession can be traced back squarely to McFassy. THOSE TWO. #LIFE RUINERS.

[alba17.livejournal.com]

pocky's Torchwood fic was always well-regarded, but not Jack/Ianto shippy, which is mainly what I liked to read, so I actually haven't read much of hers. But the few things I did read were really good.

Oh, I"d LOVE a rec list, that would be lovely!

I will definitely read your fic whenever you post it - sounds really interesting. It's for an exchange fest or something? My main interest is Fassbender, honestly. He just blew me away in the movie and I think he's devastatingly sexy. But I do really like the Erik/Charles relationship.

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, you'd better be sure what you're letting yourself in for! :D I go a bit overboard with recs. >.>

It is actually for help_japan! My recipient has been beyond patient with me! And she's thrilled about this one, so naturally I immediately offered it to her! :D This idea just completely blindsided me as I was reading a completely unrelated book, and before I knew it I had almost 15K! :D

To me it's the two of them, that un-fucking-believable chemistry between them, and just how much the film left unexplored while still outlining their characters pretty well. If this isn't a fandom tailor-made for AUs, I don't know what is.

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

Here you go, honey! A long-ass list of my favourite XMFC Charles/Erik AUs! Enjoy! <3

[altri-uccelli.livejournal.com]

Oh, Sirona, thank you for this rec. I have no idea who Canton and David are (although my kids are big DW fans so I know about Rory, Amy, the TARDIS, etc.) but that didn't prevent me from turning into a misty-eyed pile of goo at the love and affection and familiarity. I wouldn't have come across this without your rec so ♥thank you♥

Returning the favor, I read a fic last night that I can't stop thinking about and even though I have Things To Do (did you know I'm writing for a fest? O_o ) I think I'm going to put it on hold and devour all 61K words again right now. It's The Eagle fandom but it's modern AU and it reads (or can read) like orig!fic. Except that, you know, it's better than 99% of published romance out there. It starts with a short kinkmeme fill here and then frackin_sweet continued it with One Percenters.

I know you have tons on your plate with reading and writing in multiple fandoms, but put it on your 'to read' list. I really loved it. And, as with the best AUs, I learned about a world--professional motocross racing--that I barely knew existed before.

Hugs to you, darling!

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

Any time, honey! ♥ Your kids will tell you exactly who Canton Everett Delaware III is (a.k.a. Most Popular Minor Character Ever)! :D THIS FIC OWNS MY HEART. pocky_slash OWNS MY HEART, FULL STOP.

Ooooh!! I'll be honest, I have been avoiding that fandom because of the slavery subtext, which is one of the few things I won't read. But I'll definitely give this a go!! &your recs;

Also, have you seen wemyss's new fic? I am stupidly excited about that, especially since he said this will appeal to those of us left dry by the Potter's Lock ending! \0/ It's 60K-odd; I'm totally bookmarking for a rainy day! :D

[altri-uccelli.livejournal.com]

Yeah, no slavery at all. Very little of the original details remain except an injured leg and Marcus' career in law enforcement (although thinking of the Legionaries as 'law enforcement' makes me giggle).

Wemyss: yes, saw it, and read the last 5-odd K to see how it ended. I had talked to Femme (whom I met a few weeks ago!) and she had beta'd it; she told me I didn't have to worry. He does try to have Harry explain the ending of Potter's Lock, but as you know my emotions ran, and still run, high about that. I may or may not give this one a go. If you do read, let me know what you think. :)

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

I shall, love! I am a little trepidatious myself, because I get so terribly involved in his fics, but I think I shall give it a go, if only because I love his writing style so much! And this time, I can at least be prepared.

Oooh, meeting Femme! Brilliant! :D I bet she's utterly lovely in person!

[gothikmaus.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about Liebling, as I've mostly heard and used it in compounds (like "Lieblingsband", which means "favourite band), but I've heard people say Schatz or Schatzi quite often. The only other word that comes to my mind right now is "Mäuschen" or "Mausi" (literally "little mouse"), but I don't know how often it's actually used.

Here, this link may help you?

http://german.about.com/library/blliebe2.htm

Also, according to this page, the most popular German term of endearment is indeed Schatz.

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

Thanks, hon! I have actually been to those two sites, which is why I am just so confused when I see comments like those. I just hate it when people say stuff like that, based on a personal preference, and make it sound like the lost gospel or something. :/

[gothikmaus.livejournal.com]

Well, it may be a regional thing, maybe people from different areas use different words, but I've travelled quite a lot through Germany and heard people use "Schatz" all over the place, so, yeah, that's weird.

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

Point. This could totally be a regional language preference issue! But I just wanted to know that I'm not completely going against the German Language by using them, and in this case, I am totally going to.

[demiana-kassio.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not on your friends' list, but I just scrolled passed this and I'm German so I figured, why not.

>So. My question is this. Is what people are saying a legitimate grievance? Or is it just people's personal preference? Because if I see one more person say that, and I quote, "no one would use language like that", I may just scream.

I seriously don't understand why people would say that those terms are outdated. "Schatz" is probably THE most frequently used term of endearment amongst couples.
"Liebling" is, I guess, slightly less frequently used and possibly the teensy-tiniest bit old-fashioned, but that depends very heavily on your personal point of view.
To me, these are perfectly fine, and now that I think about it, I "Liebling" is probably the most used translation of "darling". So, it's all good.

And now I'm trying to think of other ways to call someone "darling" in German, but I'm somewhat at a loss. There are endless numbers of (mostly rather ridiculous) petnames, but I'd always go for "Liebling".
There are variants, like "Liebster", but that one I would definitely call old-fashioned.

I hope that was of some use to you.

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BUTTING IN!! :D

Yeah, comments like that leave me so confused, and a bit angry, passing off someone's opinion as the truth. I mean, I know exactly 20 words in German, and I can probably order a pint if pressed, and there's just no way that I can verify this myself. But seeing something like this -- it makes me terribly uncomfortable, if I'm honest, because I'm a bit OCD about research, and someone yelling UR DOING IT WRONG makes me feel physically ill.

So seriously, again, thank you. I am going to go ahead and use those terms, now that I know they're not strictly speaking really wrong.

[demiana-kassio.livejournal.com]

Gern geschehen (you're welcome). :)

My mind is still a bit boggled. Maybe those commenters are just so used to calling everybody "baby" all the time, even in Germany, that they're not used to the German terms anymore. Whatever.

The only thing that irks me in fic is when people don't make sure they use the correct spelling. I can't remember what word it was, but I distinctly remember reading something and literally staring at a 'German' word for like a whole minute because I couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be. I tried saying it out loud, and after a while I got it, I think, but it was just very weird.

And there's still at least one instance in X-Men (the actual movie) where I needed the English subtitles because I couldn't for the life of me understand what Shaw (poor Kevin Bacon, having to learn so many lines of foreign dialogue) was saying.

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

Maybe they're just young? And they're not using those 'outdated, adult' terms of endearment anymore? It might explain it. That, or someone pointed out it could be due to regional differences. As someone quite fond of archaic Britihisms, this is dually bothersome.

Oh god, yes, if you're going to use a foreign language in fic, particularly not one you speak fluently, make sure you get it right! God, it's not hard. /editor/ Asking for help is okay!

[theellibu.livejournal.com]

There's nothing wrong with using Schatz or Liebling, I'd say both are quite common. I'd use Schatz, purely down to personal preference.

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

Thanks, honey! You guys have all been ridiculously helpful! <3

[kaiserkuchen.livejournal.com]

Another random German-speaking person cruising by randomly and chiming in here: not only do I agree that Liebling and Schatz(i) are some of, if not THE most common German endearments, they are just about the only ones I can legit believe Erik actually using both as a man and as a man born in that era. Other common ones mostly are cutesy versions of animal that are often used for children too like Maus(i), Schnecke(snaiiiil!), Spatz, Hase/Hasi, ueber ridic and "modern" ones like Zuckerschnute ("sugar-pout/lips") or idek SCHATZIPUTZIMAUSI and outside of crack comic art or fic, I sure as hell cannot see Erik ever seriously referring to Charles in such a manner. It would be interesting to research regional endearments back in the 60s though...

Also mainly I always mentally raise my eyebrows a bit when the endearments aren't capitalized, but that is mostly more of a quibble.

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

That's the thing, though -- I'm looking for something I can use in a modern setting, not the 60s anymore. But people have been fantastically helpful, so I'm going to stick with Liebling and Schatz without feeling that I'm just blundering my way through! :D

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

I looooove Mark Sheppard! *bookmarks rec*

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

jaghjfghjahg I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. IN EVERYTHING EVER.

[silmanumenel.livejournal.com]

Alright, you already got some great comments, but I guess the more the merrier, and as I'm German too, I just thought I'd add my opinion as well. I really don't know what kind of people would say Liebling and Schatz are old-fashioned.
Schatz is THE most used endearment here, almost everyone I know calls their partner that, even my brother. Liebling is not as common, but it's still used and certainly not outdated.

There are of course other petnames, but I find most of them rather silly and wouldn't use them. Things like "Mausi" or "Bärli" or "Schneckchen" (why would I want to be called snail?) or "Hasi". What I still find acceptable are for example "Spatz" (sparrow) or "Schnucki" (which I honestly can't translate, I don't think it's even a real word).

So if you want to use Liebling, do it. It's perfectly fine, and anyone who gives you grief over it is a schmuck (as Danny would say).

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

*smishes* Thanks, honey!! I am totally going to use both! :D And I'll admit -- I am definitely going to put in a warning that I am not at home to those kinds of comments, so. If that makes me a bitch, so be it!

[gehirnstuerm.livejournal.com]

Yup, like the others said: "Schatz" is veeeeery common, for all ages. Even couples who don't like pet names start calling each other "Schatz" or "Schatzi" sooner or later :D

In my opinion, "Liebling" is a bit old-fashioned or at least less common, though. I often hear it on TV (like someone else said, it's the most common translation for "darling"), but I don't really hear it from younger people in RL. Or maybe the term just isn't en vogue in my circles, I don't know :D Either way, "Liebling" is definitely great in a 60s setting, but I wouldn't mind it in a modern setting either.

Anyway, I love you for asking! I wish more XMFC writer would do this. I may be slightly traumatized by reading cringe-worthy dirty talk in awful German ;)

[sirona-gs.livejournal.com]

Babe, I'm ALL about the research! My beta will tell you I am terribly anal about getting shit right. My #1 rule when writing is 'Don't do a half-arsed job. If you do it, at least do it properly!' So yeah. I was always going to ask (it's been bugging me for over a week now), and I'm so lucky about having all you wonderful people to set me straight! <3

I am definitely going to use both terms. IDK, there's just something about Erik calling Charles 'Liebling' that makes me go all nnnnnngh fuck yes. And I can see Erik as a little bit more conservative, even if I'm setting the story in modern days, what with the background I'm giving him, so. \0/