Chapter 4 of @imaginelndnblog's and my fic is live!
Bas/Taggie - Kitchen Confidential - Chapter 4
Summary:
When Bas offers his assistance with Taggie’s recipe for the Women’s Institute, the two share a private moment in the Priory kitchen, and Taggie gets more than she bargained for in her new sous.
In the weeks that follow, they find themselves entangled in more moments, with less privacy, and Taggie grapples with the realization that her feelings for Rutshire’s two most notorious rakes are about as easy to clarify as a consommé.
I've started something new, for any historical romance AU fans. :)
Bed Me, Basil
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: Rivals (TV 2024), Rutshire Chronicles - Jilly Cooper
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Basil "Bas" Baddingham/Taggie O'Hara
Characters: Taggie O'Hara, Basil "Bas" Baddingham
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Regency, Smut, Marriage of Convenience, Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending
Summary:
Taggie's life fell apart two years ago, during the season of 1817, when she was jilted by the love of her life. Now, two years later, both her parents are dead, the family estate is bankrupt, and she knows she has no chance of marriage, children, or a life of her own. So, when her brother Patrick hosts a shooting party and invites a slew of gentlemen, Taggie sees an opportunity. Who better to bed her, to give her a single meaningless night of experience, than Basil Baddingham, infamous philanderer and the man who showed her kindness at her lowest moment?
A notorious rake with dubious parentage and a fat bank account, Basil Baddingham knows what he wants. And he very much wants the lovely, naked, bewildering girl who appears in his bed at a country shooting party. When this mystery woman's identity is revealed, Bas discovers a new fondness for country air and finds himself warming to the idea of matrimony. Then, when tragedy strikes, marriage--something Bas has avoided his entire life--suddenly becomes not just a convenience, but a necessity. All that remains is to convince Taggie, the only woman he wants to marry, that being bad isn't all he's good for.
Hii it's me again, and I am literally starving for more tasil fanfiction T_T I have read 21 of the 37 on ao3 and CANNOT get enough. I keep coming back to The best angel. I hope your pillow is cold on both sides 😭😭
Also if you're open to requests and may be writing more tasil fanfiction in future- i'd love to see their relationship developing by sneaking around during venturer meetings to do all kinds of and rupert noticing that taggie starts to care less about him which drives him crazy and then BAM- climax where taggie puts him in his place.
You are amazing<3
berry
Thank you so much! Especially for the pillow blessing lol! 🙏🥰
As of right now, I'm not taking requests, but this would be such a fun fic idea! I'm also starved for more Tasil content, so fingers crossed more writers take up the mantle! :)
Hi! I just wanted to say that I'm obsessed with your series! I first read it last december, then when season 2 came out I read it again...since then I've been reading it almost every day (YES IM DESPERATE FOR PART 2 TO COME OUT😩) Honestly, after reading your series I'm rooting for tasil more than rutag, so much so that i'm worried i'll get disappointed when part 2 comes out and they eventually put an end to the chemistry they built for tag and bas in part 1. I'm also hoping they don't assassinate bas' character just to prove that rutag's endgame😭
Lastly, no pressure whatsoever, but i'm excited to see more of tasil's life in argentina, especially with the twins coming! 💓💓💖
Thank you! I'm so happy you enjoyed the series! I promise I have the next chapter of an update drafted, and I promise I'll post it soon! There will be drama and there will be fluff, and in a future chapter maybe eventually a return to Rutshire for a chaotic visit lol. I just have to finish editing!
I'm also desperate for part two (this split season over six months is insane)! So far, I've been happy with how the writers have built the chemistry well, and even in interviews, they continue to refer to Bas as "wonderful" and "kind-hearted" (even while calling him a love rat lol, which he is). I just want Taggie to be happy and have nice things, and she's done enough suffering without an ooc Bas as a sleazy villain/secondary love interest who violates her trust, etc. (in the book, they're on the same page re: being nothing serious, so this would be a big and imo not-improving deviation that would erode Taggie's agency/growth). They've written Bas to be so charming these last two seasons, that I think that sort of pivot would be comically Jekyll-Hyde-like lol. So I'm going to have cautious faith. 🤞🤞
I loved your tasil fic 😭, I have not binge read anything like I read this. I love the dynamic between them (very adorable). I live for the domestic fluff, you're a great writer <3
Thank you so much!! I'm so happy to hear people enjoy reading about these two as much as I enjoy writing about them. :)
Hi!!! I came from your fic and omg… I was hoping someone would give me an amazing Tasil fic and boy did you deliver. I originally read it bc I just dislike Rupert but you have SOLD me dude
I'm so happy you enjoyed it! 🥰 Welcome to the Tasil-verse.
It happens after the Hunt Ball. Rupert sees Bas flirting with some random girl and assumes that he’s already messing around on Taggie. So of course Rupert flips out and attacks Bas, not realizing that Taggie had already ended things between them.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Passenger Princess
Rating: E
Chapters: 1/?
Summary:
Tired of feeling like Bottom, Taggie leaves Bar Sinister with Bas and decides to take a detour.
"Tequila Taggie seemed to be having a much better time than you are now.”
She buried her face in her hands. Tequila Taggie. “God,” Taggie cringed, “I must have looked ridiculous.”
“No,” Bas shook his head, his voice dropping an octave, along with the mischievous smirk that had been plastered across his face. “No, you looked enchanting.”
The few seconds of silence that followed crackled with a heady tension. Taggie glanced at the clock on the dash- it was already past midnight.
“Did you mean it?” she whispered. “What you said about tomorrow?”
“I did.” Bas nodded soundly, like it was the easiest answer in the world. “You could have anything you like, Taggie.”
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
CHAPTER 1
And anything you need, I will provide
A ride home or an alibi
i’m so sad… i know tasil was never going to be endgame, but they could’ve just let them fizzle out after a sweet fling or something. i just know they’re gonna make bas do or say something stupid and have rupert be the hero - defending her by punching bas. already sick of this storyline :(
Oh, do I have thoughts!! (Essay below the break lol)
I'll be honest--when I first saw that punch in the trailer, I laughed my ass off. One of my favorite things in media (and in Rivals) is grown men acting like idiots, so a punch-out between these two over Taggie is right up my alley.
But my second thought was exactly what you mention here: What is the way they resolve this love triangle is via Bas character assassination? What if they take this charming, sincerely kind man and turn him into some sort of Latin Lover stereotype (I mean, in the current plot, Bas does already kind of serve this narrative purpose, even though I eat it up lol) and make him suddenly a sleazy, self-centered asshole to establish that Taggie needs to end up with Rupert, rather than making it about Taggie and Rupert building and maintaining a meaningful connection that binds them together and stands and shines on its own? (This is probably my least favorite way to resolve a love triangle trope, even if it might be common in media.)
I spun out about this for about an hour, then a friend talked me off the ledge, and I've decided to not catastrophize. (Although, I am a deeply cynical person, and if they'll real-assassinate Monica, character assassinating Bas doesn't seem impossible to me, even if unlikely lol.)
Here is the logic my friend explained, which is imo solid:
Yes, Bas is a slut like everyone else in Rutshire, but so far, in both seasons, he's one of the few people who demonstrates real emotional intelligence and who seems sincerely kind. Making him suddenly a gross, unkind asshole would be wildly out of character, given how he's been written.
Also, upon re-watching the punch scene, it looks like Rupert and Bas are clearly not in Rutshire (polo trip to Argentina, perhaps?) and are talking in the middle of a party. I can totally see Rupert finding out that Bas and Taggie hooked up or have a thing and having a proper meltdown, and Bas, being Bas, rubbing it in. I think we got the seeds of this on Taggie's birthday, as there was definitely a territorial vibe. In this case, Rupert probably wouldn't need much motivation at all to fly into a jealous rage and throw hands. Just knowing Bas and Taggie had crossed a line into non-platonic territory would be enough. I think Rupert never really saw Seb as a threat (for good reason lol), but someone like Bas (read: a man) represents a very real threat in all sorts of ways.
Or, the punch may be related to goings-on with Perdita, who seems to be there, too, and giving Rupert the eye. It may be a red herring (but I suspect it's Taggie-related).
So, to summarize, do I think the writers might character assassinate my best boy? Maybe. If they do, I'll be disappointed, but not entirely surprised. As a cynic, I need to be prepare myself for worst-case scenario lol.
But do I think it's more likely just 30-something men being idiots instead of properly expressing and processing their feelings? Probably.
At least, that's more consistent with all of our characterizations thus far and frankly, more complex and engaging storylines. So I'm going to stick to this vision for the second half of season two. (This is also more consistent with the book, where Bas does want to sleep with Taggie, but even there, he isn't an aggressive sleaze to the point where he gets punched, so imo, more evidence to support "simple jealous rage" hypothesis rather than "sins of Bas.")
Them's my thoughts! I'm curious what others think, too!!
Hiya lovely, I absolutely love your Taggie/Basil fics on Ao3. I left a swooning comment already but I couldn't help myself from following you on Tumbr. Your fic completely changed my perception on Taggie/Basil and utterly won me over. The little dribbles from the last few episodes has me so excited!
I’m thinking of writing my own fanfic and was wondering if you would know any interested Beta readers? I have the first chapter complete and a synopsis!
The Rivals fandom seems so small (which I find so ridiculous because it’s amazing!). I’ve written a few fics already for other fandoms, but nothing with as much emotional depth that I want to pull out in this one, nor any of the more saucy details. My author name on ao3 is DarkEagles if you want to check out my work.
Keep up the good writing. Will be dialling into each chapter ❤️
Thank you!! I'm so happy you enjoyed the fics! And I am THRILLED that you're planning to write for the fandom. I agree - it's way too small, given the absolute treasure trove of material to work with!! WELCOME ABOARD. WE NEED ALL THE AUTHORS.
I don't know of any beta readers off the top of my head, but maybe someone reading this might be interested? Any Tasil-heads out there interested in being a beta?
Otherwise, there's the list on @needabeta here on Tumblr (although it seems to be temporarily down) and I know people have had some success on the /fanfictionexchange and /fanfiction subreddits!
