#[Darrow -commentary-]

[soulsxng]

^ Is arguably worse than his mentor, in that he teases, and taunts, and seduces, and then disappears for hours (or more) to actually go through with whatever nastiness. And then steals some of their stuff, or otherwise messes with them, before skipping out entirely-- preferably when they're asleep.

All that to say, he's a very content fox right now, and is about to steal something of Prince Zhaohui's. He smelled Pythius pass nearby a little while ago anyway, so he should probably catch up.

[libraryscarf]

i am 25% of the way through red rising and here is an incomplete list of what has made me sigh/eyeroll/say “oh jesuschrist”/rip out chunks of my own hair:

• “my name is darrow. i am 16 years old with rust red hair and rust red eyes and i’m the best helldiver there’s ever been and i’m the handsomest too. why? well. don’t ask. (it’s because i’m pierce brown’s self insert) also i’m a real asshole who needs women to die to motivate me, but don’t fuckin worry because we’re about to…”

• fridge the 14-year-old pregnant wife.

• the colors are so funny. hey guys what if we made society color-coded. (like racial segregation?) no not like that, more like classism (but you keep referring to people by their colors, and the colors have different eugenic characteristics, that sounds kind of racial—) HEY you wanna talk about piss instead?

• there’s like…a lot of talking about piss. it’s entertaining so like, don’t stop, but also why is your mc so determined to pee himself 💛

• the women are written so devastatingly one-note, it would almost be funny if it weren’t infuriating. adolescent childbride has the most character development so far, and hers was delivered in the course of a single speech to the protagonist before she offs herself by singing the Forbidden Song Of Rebellion (to motivate him to save the world. she quite literally says this)

• The Sermons. there is a sermon every chapter on how the society stands for evil and must be destroyed. every character wants to give darrow a sermon, either on why the society is evil, or why it is great. darrow also loves to give sermons, when he isn’t gratuitously threatening violence towards anyone who looks at him. REMEMBER THAT HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE 16.

• this y’all’s social commentary?

“a good man who will have to do bad things” seems to be the only reason this book was written, except he forgot to write the “good man” part and wrote “piss-covered child” instead

[blodgmonster]

Tandem reread of Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn commentary. Part of one of several I assume.

I've never done the tandem read before. It should be interesting and take some of the sting out of Tower of Dawn. Reading about Chaol when I know Aelin is suffering innumerable tortures was difficult to handle.

-- Erawan has shed his Duke Perrington skin.

-- why would Darrow turn down Aelin? Yeah, she's not the perfect princess and has a past and her court is a bit sus. But she's also the only living Galathynius, a magical powerhouse, and willing to fight for her country, for her world. Don't those things outweigh the negative?

-- Chaol's paralysis is handled in a slightly...ableist manner isn't it?

-- "I assume she has the misfortune of sharing your bed these days." Sick fucking burn, Yrene!

-- "So you, Granddaughter, will not die for this but one of your Thirteen will." Fucking bitch.

-- Fam, I am STRUGGLING with this tandem reread. I get going with EoS and get into it and then I have to switch to ToD (time of death), my least fave of the series (I know that'll piss off some folks) and it's like pulling teeth.

-- Yrene holding the crying healer's hand. I love Yrene. She deserves so much better than Chaol.

-- I LOOOOOVE the Baast Cats

-- oh shit! I forgot that the healer Yrene comforts in the baths is the one who gets killed.

-- Aelin roasting that asshole commander from the inside out is priceless.

-- "'She's not Valg is she?'

A low laugh. "No. As cold as one but no." DING DONG YOU WERE WRONG, BRANNON.

-- I forgot about the overseer from Endovier and Erawan peeking out through his fucking chest.

-- some fanart has ruks with four legs. I thought they were just massive eagles with two legs. I wonder which is correct. Either way, I love them.

-- "'Bring my body back to the cabin.' Something in Manon's chest broke — broke so violently that she wondered if it was possible for no one to have heard it." That's LOVE, babygirl

-- " Manon met Sorrel's eyes, then Astrin's. And Manon gave the Thirteen her final order. 'Run.' Then Manon Blackbeak whirled and brought Wind-Cleaver down upon her grandmother."

-- This bitch killed Manon's mother (her own child), Manon's father, made Manon into a weapon, mutilated Asterin, wants to kill Abraxos, and is in the process of trying to kill Manon. Fuck her.

-- "A Crochan Queen." Fucking game changer.

-- I looooooove that Manon hears a solitary boom and KNOWS it's Abraxos coming for her and TRUSTS enough to throw herself off the balcony. Their bond is off the charts.

-- Man, I reeeeeally don't want to switch over to ToD. I like Yrene and Nesyrn and Sartaq and the ruks and the baast cats. But Chaol.

-- Yrene is struggling to ride a horse at a walk, grabbing the saddle horn and freaking out at any unexpected movement. I swear her and Chaol have a horse race later in the book. When did she suddenly become a good enough rider to gallop flat out across the desert?

-- the young healers dragging Chaol around like a Ken doll...

-- "they will try to move you somewhere else. Never let them do it."

-- Abraxos is the BEST mother hen. I love him so, so, so much.

-- Chaol's brother is named Terrin and unless I'm mistaken SJM'S son is named Taran. Very similar.

-- "He wished he'd been able to walk. So she could see him crawl toward her." Chaol, boy!!!!!! Improvement in more than just your feet!

-- "She was fine with it, she told herself. She had been a replacement for not one, but two of the women in his life. A third...She was fine with it." Nesryn, baby girl, you deserve soooo much better. And is name is Sartaq.

-- "He should have been better. Treated her better." DO YA THINK!??? He regrets treating Nesryn poorly and so he treats Yrene shittily. Chaol, I take it back, you're still a dipshit.

-- "'Don't you waste one heartbeat being afraid of a coward who hunts women in the darkness,' Chaol snapped at her." Chaol, make up your mind. Do you suck or are you alright?

-- Elide tells Lorcan her uncle locked her in the dungeon and there's a surge of dark power that sacres everyone around them. Delicious.

Mmmmkay, I'll start a part two. I'm starting to warm up to the tandem read a bit. But it's still a bit of a slog.

[darrowsrising]

I have reasons to believe that Alexandar was a hat of death draw and I obviously cannot help wondering how Light Bringer would have looked like with Alex in it.

I made commentaries when IG released about Alexandar reminding me of Cassius and Lysander of Darrow. Just like the latter pair came to hate each other, I think Alex would have had mad attitude with Cassius AND Diomedes. As per Reaper's philosophy, he would have find ways to work together and gain some trust, but the process would have been HILARIOUS.

Most importantly, Darrow would have Alex safely beside him. A balm over his heart.

[captainsspnanon]

The Kingsley Commentary

My rants about Kingsley, removed from the main reaction post

Putting in the obvious disclaimer that this is all my personal opinion and my interpretations of a character may not match the interpretation that you have of the character.  Feel free to think that I am wrong as much as you like!  But holy shit I needed to VENT.

With the Beau and Kingsley conversation before break

“I can see Jester, I can see Fjord, I can see Caduceus” fucking where?  I’m believing that this is fully pulled from Beau’s/Marisha’s ass, as Kingsley is all the worst parts of Molly and Lucien without having the benefit of being a fun villain.  He smarmily backtalks every line, he’s made it pretty clear that he doesn’t really like Jester or Fjord much and is heavily dismissive of them (and he’s done it loudly enough and constantly enough that it feels like the ‘i’m making a Joke TM but it’s actually true’ versus a friend just picking at each other.  Yes, I did still try to look at this aspect without bias – it’s INCREDIBLY different than when Veth and Fjord pick at each other, versus how Kingsley does.)  *watches more of the conversation* Well, there’s confirmation Kingsley doesn’t have respect for Fjord.  And I call bullshit on the respect for Jester.  Then again, I’ve lost my attempted non-bias at this point.  Kingsley ‘taking care of the crew’ is technically true, though I have no clue how much of it is actually taking care of them or just trying to undermine Fjord – cause part one made it feel 98% undermining Fjord.  Even his asking about Molly is based in “I want to be better than the other two” but in a way that feels arrogant rather than anything else.  YES THIS IS INCREDIBLY SUBJECTIVE OF ME I DON’T CARE

Plank King ending

No.  Fuck you.  I hate this ending because it is the most unearned bullshit ever.  

Percy and Vex’s ending?  Earned, because we followed their entire story through the campaign, see every step and struggle they take, and getting the Good Ending is narratively earned.  

The endings from the very end of C2, where Kingsley joins the Revelry, NOT becoming Plank King (I still can’t find how the hell this entered fan consciousness, as 141 and the wrap up never ever state it), and the rest of the Nein have quiet, normal-ish lifes?  Fucking earned to hell.  In a narrative that was NOT about the big heroes, their biggest reward was being happy.  Even the recap epilogues here which are basically the same thing as 141 are perfect.  But in 141, Kingsley becomes part of the Revelry?  Worked because it matched with his personality (and lol this two shot proves that even more) because he wants to sail and adventure (and steal and kill and be a cruel dick to people that he doesn’t give two shits about).  

Being the Plank King though?  Sitting on a throne while people just bring him treasure, and he has to essentially govern the whole Revelry (even though it’s more of a laissez-faire thing?)  That doesn’t seem to match with his character at all.  

ALSO is the fact that it’s narratively completely unearned.  A character that shows up for two full episodes and I dunno, maybe half an hour in the main campaign?  Suddenly in the ruler of a whole big plot setting from early in the campaign?  Feels like grubby grabby hands gimme the coolest ending.  Not only that, but give me a position of authority that can show up in future campaigns even though I’m still essentially a complete unknown.  Oh, and let’s not fucking forget the “I wave my hand and wipe away a big conflict from the campaign with absolutely no real resolution whatsoever aren’t I so awesome?” No, and fuck this ending forever.  I don’t care if it’s canon, I’m full on headcanoning it away because fuck that shit.  You know what this feels like?  You want to know???  It’s like if fucking Darrow of the Stubborn Stock suddenly sent Caleb a message going ‘no worries, have taken down the Cerberus Assembly, you’re fine!’ It’s not fucking EARNED.  Beau and Caleb slowly slowly slowly taking down the Assembly, or even just clearing out maybe one or two more people?  Fucking earned!  Darrow?  HOW MANY OF YOU ACTUALLY REMEMBER WHO DARROW IS???  But he’s been around for just as long as Kingsley, if not fucking longer.

I went into the two shot giving Kingsley a chance and I’ve ended up fully fucking hating him, officially what I consider to be the worst part of the entire campaign.  Probably even the worst part of ALL campaigns.

[mecommentating]

So I never actually finished edgedancer because I’m lame and I got distracted by a new book *drum roll* 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

First of all wow.

Second of all... 😭 this is one of the most well written dystopias I have ever read. Why is it so good.

Most if the decisions the main character makes are perfectly logical and normal decisions for someone in his position to make. He isn’t noble, he isn’t heroic, he’s HUMAN. And I freaking love it.

Plus it’s just really well written and its conflict isn’t black and white and I just ah. Highly recommend.

[darrowwyrlde]

Shared some thoughts on discord about Stan's attitude during Weirdmaggedon and thought it deserved repeating.

I personally think Stan acting all dismissive was him just trying to cope with the situation.

We all know he keeps up that gruff exterior even though he isnt all that. I headcannon that when he was acting dismissive, he was trying to reassure himself and the kids that Ford was fine, as well as keep his focus on his priority: the kids. If Dipper and Mabel weren't so determined and hadn't so endeared themselves to the townsfolk, earning the backing of the rest of the survivors, I can easily see Stan enforcing the "bunker down where its safe" while he struggled to think of a what to do next. Obviously, he would want to try to save Ford but at that point what is he going to do?

Seriously, while Stan had been prepping to some extent for some form of world ending disaster, he was NOT prepared for THAT. Even with his knowledge of the weird paranatural world and some idea of multiversal powers at play, he did not know nor could've expected anything from Weirdmageddon.

Yes, he is scared for and worried about Ford, but he cannot afford to risk his neck when he has other people to consider. While Ford is and has always been high on Stan's list of concerns, Dipper and Mabel rank higher and that's the simple truth.

One might say that this is because he is closer to the kids at this time, and that may be an element, no denying that. But you cannot forget that they are also children. Stan can put more trust in Ford protecting himself than the kids, which sounds cynical but it's a fact.

Have you've ever been asked or have pondered on your own the question: If my family and/or best friends were trapped in a burning house, who would I save first? It's a painful scenario to contemplate, and you'll probably have a bad taste in your mouth and a twinge of guilt if and when you reach a conclusion. Now apply that sort if thinking to Stan's situation during Weirdmageddon.

People often say that Stan is selfish, and yes he is. But he is not self-centered. His priority is and has always been the welfare of his family.

During Weirdmageddon Stan is absolutly overwhelmed, out of his element, stressed beyond belief and trying to deal with things how he sees is best for his family's overall safety. He's going with the flow and simply trying to cope with the nightmare scenario.

[mrs-underhill22]

Blake’s 7. Rumours of Death DVD Commentary

PAUL DARROW:  Forres is also the place where the beginning of the Scottish play... they are off to meet the king.

JAN CHAPPELL:   Yeah, Forres, that's right - it's cultural...

PAUL DARROW:   Banquo's  opening line.

OMG, it’s real! Paul Darrow still calls it “the Scottish play”. And I thought it was just a joke from Blackadder!  

[youaremysunshine-court]

'Lo, Howler! I am curious about your opinion about the second trilogy, so what do you think about it?

Lo Howler!

I have so many thoughts on the second trilogy oh my you have opened Pandora's box!

It actually took me a while to get into DA, because imo Darrow was being thick and insensitive, and also because the change in viewpoint from the first trilogy (not just the pacing, but how everything went from it being a very narrow view to suddenly there were more far reaching consequence that I did not expect.)

I'm just going to say it now - I think IG was better than DA. but, in terms of plot and narrative, the second trilogy has more potential than the first. The first did have better characters and person to person interactions tho.

Once I actually got into DA though, I adored the wide-view shift. We're not only seeing how it affects this one perceived Gold, we are also seeing it affect Lyria, Ephraim, Bitchsander and everyone around them too. That was a good storytelling choice for me.

The large scale battles were a bit of a problem for me because my mind can't cope with planet sized warships and just huge! Battles! Like super large! I'd love to see schematics and plans for each battle, because even now they all sort of blur into one big gunfight.

IG was a lot better than DA purely because I was just so happy Darrow got over himself and went home with a good plan. (I'm a complete Darrow apologist, but DA Darrow made me so angry for some reason. I was yelling throughout the book YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO VIRGINIA! THINK ABOUT YOUR SON! HE NEEDS A FATHER!! Just a lot of feelings about absent parent Darrow lol.) And ofc I get that making a better future means a sort of shittier present, but like IG without pig-headed Darrow convinced he was doing the right thing would have been so much easier on my heart. When Sevro finally went home, I was just so so happy!

Overall there were so many memorable scenes in the second trilogy, but a lot less gore. Or if there was gore, it was the rushed battle gore not the psychological-put-him-in-a-box type gore. I really really enjoyed teh wider perspective and the multiple POVs and just!!! STRONG WOMEN! IN BATTLE! MY JAM!

So yeah, I enjoyed the 1st trilogy purely for Darrow, but during teh 2nd trilogy, I started paying more attention to the social commentary and just overall enjoying the worldbuilding, characters, and message.

Thank for the ask! I’m sorry I took so long to answer but it went into the black hole of my drafts and I only just remembered it. <33

[read-watch-listen-17]

SPOILERS - Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass book 7)

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It took a lot longer for me to process everything that happened in this book than I thought it would and then Christmas happened so here are some of my final commentary/thoughts on this book.

Aedion talking to Evangeline and Lysandra 💔

Manon showing up with the Thirteen and the Crochans, I felt like I was watching the scene from LOTR when they’re at Helms Deep and the Elves show up, and I’m not mad about it. That’s one of my favorite things. ❤️❤️❤️

😭😭😭😭😭 It was sad enough when I thought Abraxos was going to die, but then the Thirteen went and sacrificed themselves. My heart is broken for Manon. But it does sound like the wastes are coming alive again. So suffering, but we’re happy about it?

Okay now that my emotions have settled after that rollercoaster of Lock forging. I was hoping the same thing Rowan was. That if Aelin and Dorian did it together it would only take half their magic, but of course there’s a loop hole kind of. She lied to Rowan 🥺 but she did it. With a little help from Mala of course, but had she not asked about Elena that may not have happened. I think it’s sad that her power is basically gone now though. She’s permanently Fae which isn’t a bad thing. How are they going to destroy all the valg without her fire though? Not to mention Erawan and Maeve? I feel like we took one step forward and two steps back.

Evangeline and Darrow were adorable, and that he gave Aedion back the sword and reconciled with Lysandra AND asking Evangeline to be his heir ❤️❤️❤️

THIS IS SO INTENSE!!!!

NOOOOO!!! GAVRIEL!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

I had to put down the book after that and I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to be able to pick it back up.

Aelin spilling all of Maeves secrets and plans to Erawan was hilarious!

THEY DID IT!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳 THAT WAS SO INTENSE!!! 

I love that Fenrys got to stab Maeve, and that Aelin told her to go to hell.

I don’t know what the right word to describe it is, but the fact that Aelin doesn’t set foot inside the city, her home, until the final battle is over, just...I don’t know how to describe it. It just gets to me, like it fits, it’s right. And that conversation between her and Darrow when she reaches him. That Aelin told Evangeline to win her back her throne and she kind of did. It was all very well thought out.

Aelin and Aedion’s reunion 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️

Aelin giving Gabriel the blood oath even in death 😭😭💔💔

Lorcan and Elides conversation, and Lorcan saying he’ll bind his life to hers so neither will have to live without the other!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I love that Aelin keeps her word to Aedion and she gives him the blood oath in front of everyone at her coronation just like he wanted 🤣 and the Little Folk give her Mabs crown again. Which fits perfectly with her other crown. ❤️

Everyone gets to go home, including the witches who received proof the lands are no longer dying. Lorcan and Elide get married. Aedion and Lysandra engaged, and Yrene promises to return when Aelin is pregnant ❤️

And of course one thing I’ve been waiting to see since it was first mentioned. Aelin looks out her balcony one morning to see everything covered in blooming Kingsflame. All her hard work and everything they’ve all been through, she gets confirmation that the better world she was working toward is theirs.

This book, this whole series was just amazing. I can’t believe it took me so long to read it. Now all I want is to read it again, but it’s so long and I have other books I want to read as well. Including A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City. I don’t know how anything can compare to Throne of Glass though. I’m almost afraid to read anything else. Although my TBR list has exploded recently, thanks booktok. Now that I’ve semi recovered from Throne of Glass I guess it’s time to start ACOTAR. Crossing my fingers it’s as good as people have said.

[madeofitzits]

In honor of the impending return of Brooklyn 99, here are 99 reasons that...

1. He was precocious enough to know, at 5 years old, that he wanted to change his name (x)

 2. He has a bunch of nicknames: Sandy Amberg, Young Sandwich, etc. but the most endearing one is 'Droidy', his family's name for him (x) 

3. He is still super close friends with people he's known since: Elementary School (Chelsea Peretti) (x)...

4. Junior High/High School (Kiv and Jorm) (x) 

5. … Summer Camp (Irene Neuwirth) (x)

7.  ...and Film School (Chester Tam) (x)

8. Before he met Joanna, he dated other famous ladies but - out of respect - he never discussed it/them (x) 

9. He loves turtles and tortoises. When he was a kid, he had a pet turtle that he named 'Squirt' because the first time he held it, it peed on him. His Mom, Margie, accidentally killed Squirt when Andy was at Summer camp... (x)

10. … Maybe this is why, when shooting 'Popstar', Andy fell hard for Maximus (Conner 4 Real's turtle). He says they "had a good thing going" and that he wanted to adopt him. In the end, he decided against it because there are a bunch of coyotes in his neighborhood and he was worried the little guy wouldn't be safe. (Popstar: DVD Commentary)

11. Speaking of his Mom, despite being a super private person, he appeared on 'Finding your Roots' so that he could help her track down her birth family (x)

12. When he succeeded he cried (although we never got to see it on camera) (x)

13. That's because, like all good boys, he loves his Mama which is why - as part of the same episode - he said "My mom is basically the kindest person I know… and many people would corroborate that" (x)

14. Andy's Sisters, Hannie (Johanna) and Darrow, used to make him wear diapers and put his hair in pigtails until he was 5 years old. He says he didn't mind because he just liked that they were paying attention to him (x)

15. That's why he sees his identity in comedy as being 'America's kid brother'. When he was young, he would annoy his sisters until they laughed and he claims to have been replicating that approach to entertainment ever since

16. Although a bunch of his characters have 'Daddy Issues', Andy definitely doesn't. He's super close with his Papa (Joe) and has said "he's a good man" and "the best Dad in the world" (x) 

17. Joe was Andy's youth soccer coach and in one scene in 'Hot Rod', Joe's favorite photograph can be seen in the background. It shows a very young Andy posing with a soccer ball, after "scoring the winning goal against Mersey" (x)

18. He's been a loyal Golden State Warriors fan since he was a little kid, living in Oakland (then Berkeley) and, in 2010, he correctly predicted that they would "win a Championship in my lifetime" (x) 

19. The proceeds from his Umami Burger ('The Samburger') went to a deafness early detection program in Berkeley. This cause is close to his heart because Margie uses hearing aids and used to work in the special needs program, teaching deaf kids (x)

20. He, Kiv, and Jorm have made multiple donations to their old school district, including $250 000 to its theater program (x)

21. On the subject of The Lonely Island; Andy always goes out of his way to make sure that everyone knows how much he owes to his buddies. For instance, he told Marc Maron, during his WTF appearance, that "I get a lot of credit for what Kiv and Jorm have done" (x)

22. He makes this face when he knows he’s said something naughty…

(Gif credit: @andrewsambags)

23. During his 'Wild Horses' appearance, he said that he can't watch scary movies because they freak him out too much. He told 'Complex' that he's still scared of 'The Shining' (x)...

24. … Similarly, when he was at UC Santa Cruz he worked at the Del Mar movie theater and he had a hard time coping with screenings of 'Species 2' (x)

25. He fell in love with Joanna, the moment he met her, when she greeted him by addressing him as 'Steve the C**t' (x)

 26. He listened to 'Ys', everyday for a year, before he and Joanna started dating (x)

27. He bought the original portrait that was used as the basis of the cover art for 'Ys' and gave it to Joanna as a Christmas present, so that she could hang it in her music room (x)

 28. He loves birds and goes hiking and birding with Joanna (x)

 29. Every new comment he makes about Joanna becomes an instant contender for 'most beautiful thing a person has ever said about their spouse' (x)

30. For example, he readily admits that Jake's iconic heart eyes are the result of him thinking about his amazing wife (x)

31. There are many stories about how incredibly romantic Andy and Joanna's wedding was and Jorm has said that it featured "the most magical vows I've ever heard" (x)

32. The Newsombergs now live in Charlie Chaplin's old house (x)

33. On the Emmys Red Carpet (2015), the year he hosted, they took a momentary break from posing for the world's press to whisper 'I love you' to each other (x)

34. At last year's Vanity Fair party, Andy carried Joanna's purse for her so she could grab a snack (x)

35. He was a semi-permanent fixture in the audience for her recent run of shows for the 'Strings/Keys Incident' tour, even officially confirming his status as the 'President of her Fan Club' (x)

36. He used his Golden Globes monologue to call out the government for framing and murdering the Black Panthers (x)

37. On the Carpet for the Guy's Choice Awards, he called the event "a ridiculous farce", adding that "men already have it so easy - it's insane that there's a show that celebrates them". That makes sense when you consider that he, Kiv and Jorm have made an entire career out of parodying toxic masculinity (x)

38. He once said that only "idiot-ass men" think that women aren't funny (x)

39. He’s been wearing glasses since 7th Grade and he has the most heartbreakingly cute habit of nudging them up his nose, (especially when he wears his Sol Moscot frames) (x)...

40. ... and of rubbing his eyes under them (x)

41. He barely ever wears glasses for roles but he also avoids contacts (because he doesn't like touching his eyeballs) which means he's almost always 'acting blind' (x)

42. He has worn his glasses in character a few times - as 'himself' ('Lady Dynamite'), as 'Paul' ('I Think You Should Leave') and during a very small number of SNL sketches (e.g. during his one appearance in a 'Gilly' with Kristen Wiig) (x) 

43. He can't tolerate glare and when that makes him squint it's a sight that's too cute for words (x)

44. He owns about six outfits and has been rotating them for well over a decade (x) 

45. He barely ever breaks during shooting/while performing, so when he does it's aggressively adorable. (x), (x)

46. He's a grown ass man who persuades people to come with him to the bathroom because if he goes by himself he'll get lonely (x)

47. He didn't announce he was leaving SNL, until after his last appearance, selflessly choosing not to detract from Kirsten Wiig's huge and emotional send-off (x) 

48. He undertook a quest to smell like Lorne Michaels (x) 

49. He's ageing like a fine wine (x)

50. To protect their daughter's privacy, Andy and Joanna never announced that they were expecting. They've never released their little girl's name or date of birth and most news outlets still report that they became parents in August 2017 (even though that's inaccurate) (x)

51. Although he's careful not to talk about his daughter often, sometimes he can't keep from gushing about her. For example, when asked about his first year of fatherhood he said: "It’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Just like a beautiful, incredible dream. It has surpassed every expectation I ever had. It’s definitely been very blissful" (x)

52. After their daughter was born, Andy and Joanna spent the first 40 days at home with her (in a practice known as 'confinement'). He's described it as being "a really special time". (x) 

53. Andy is famously mild-mannered but, when asked about what triggers his 'Dad claws', he admitted that if anyone attempted to touch his daughter, without permission, he'd "probably sock them hard in the face"…

54. ...Characteristically, he went on to add that he hopes that never happens, since he hasn't been in a fight since 6th Grade (x)

55. Cyndi Lauper was his first celebrity crush and he plays her record ('She's so unusual') for his daughter all the time. (x)

56. His is the very definition of a precious laugh (x)...

57. It's made even more wonderful by the way it makes his voice go high-pitched (x)

58.  … and the way it causes his eyebrow to rise involuntarily  

59. It's impossible not to smile at his impression of his Mom (x)

60. And laugh at his impression of John Mulaney (x)

61. He was so convinced he wouldn't win the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical, that he didn't prepare a speech. Instead, as he explained to David Letterman, he "just went… and started drinking". The resulting list of improvised 'thank yous' was perfect in every way (x)

62. As producers, Andy, Kiv and Jorm have given life to some amazing projects ('Alone Together', 'Brigsby Bear', 'I Think You Should Leave')...

63. … and gone out of their way to support women in comedy ('Party Over Here', 'PEN15') (x)

64. As well as being a comedy legend, he's a super-talented dramatic actor, who gave the performance of a lifetime in 'Celeste and Jesse Forever' but, after the movie wrapped, and it was time to do press for it, he was straight back to goofing around (x) 

65. His lip bite should be illegal (x)

66. Even though he wears the same vanishingly small number of outfits, over and over, he has a vast collection of the most excellent socks (x)

67. He always gives 'editing notes' during his own interviews (x)

68. He has a super sweet and sincere way of thanking interviewers when they compliment him (x)

69. He adjusts his hoodie constantly (x)

70. The two most perfect Jake laughs in b99 are actually real Andy laughs 'https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W38A_xuXaeg https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sVm9nYrTWRQ

71. Virtually everyone who has ever worked with Andy has talked about what a wonderful person he is. This explains why so many of them have been involved with more than one of his projects (x)

72. It's not only his colleagues who talk about what a delight he is (x), (x)

73. This lovestruck fool wore his own wife's merch when he went out to dinner (x)

74. No one else uses the word 'dinky' quite like Andy (x). The same goes for 'snacky' (see point 70)

75. He does this with his tongue (x)

76. He still likes to play soccer but his eyesight is so bad that he has to keep his glasses on for it

77. When he lets his gorgeous floofy hair grow a little it sits perfectly over the arms of his glasses (x)

78. He gifted the world with Jakey's little curl (x)

79. At the James Franco Roast, he couldn't bring himself to be mean to anyone except himself (and Jeff Ross, a little!) (x)

80. In fact, he's always been willing to laugh at himself (x) and he still is (x)

81. He changes b99 scripts to make them more feminist (x)

82. Despite their humble insistence that they just benefited from 'good timing', the reality is that Andy, Kiv and Jorm (along with Chris Parnell) revolutionized digital media, when 'Lazy Sunday' popularized YouTube, increasing its traffic by 85% overnight (x)

83. He once attended the Vanity Fair party because his Mom told him to (x)

84. He has an amazing way of subtly but firmly shutting down inappropriate questions, like when this interviewer suggested that Holt being gay was something that could have been played for laughs https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=idQsYQfkR5o

85. He auditioned for SNL at the same time as Bill Hader. Hader thought he'd blown it because Andy had a bunch of props and Bill had none. In the meantime, Andy thought he'd blown it when he saw Hader and realized 'this guy doesn't need any props' (x) 

86. His bromance with Seth Meyers is one for the ages (x)

87. Every single second of this video is proof of why Andy, Kiv and Jorm deserve the world (x)

88. He once dragged Mulaney up on stage for SNL Goodnights, even though writers weren't allowed to join in (x)

89. He has a hilarious phobia of pooping anywhere except his own bathroom (x) 

90. His beautiful, beautiful, face: His smile (radiant), his eyes (caramel - hella disarming), his ears (adorably asymmetrical), his nose (perfect), His chin (the dimple… *swoon*), his jaw (could cut glass), The 'Sambeard' (another amazing layer of pretty) (x)

91. His body: His butt (x), his thighs, (x) his soft lil tummy (The ‘Sambelly’) (x), his hands. (x), his arms (x), his hips…

(Gif credit: @amystiago /@badpostandy on Twitter)

92. All signs point to the fact that, like Jake, Andy uses his glasses case as a wallet (x) 

93. Jake's "cool-cool-cool-cool-cool-cool" is an irl Andy-ism that the writers worked into b99 scripts. What's even better is that Joanna does it, too (x)

94. He has a really good arm and is low key competitive, which is super hot https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e32K_nBDy3Q

95. He's one half of the cutest Red Carpet pose of all time (x)

96. He barely ever seems to get mad but if angry Jake is anything to go by, maybe he should... (x)

97. He's a huge nerd, who geeks out over GOT, LOTR, 'Star Wars', 'Alien(s)' and anything relating to time travel (x), (x)

98. He has a gorgeous speaking voice, especially when he’s tired or a little sick. (Bonus points for any time he uses the word ‘correct’. See point 30) (x) 

99. He’s still so committed to his b99 fans and fam, even after all this time and is as excited as the rest of us that...

[soulsxng]

"Zhaohui does realize that Ativere can be his home too, doesn't he? There's nothing wrong with having more than one place that you consider home."

"Maybe he doesn't think he'll be welcomed if he wants to live here with everyone...I know it was really nerve-wracking when I first decided to do it."

"That could be...I'd ask him about it, but with everything he's dealing with right now, I don't want him to feel like I'm forcing--"

"You don't get to comment, you're being just as difficult about this as he is. Really, one moment you two are stuck together at the hip, the next you're being awkward about the most random things. If I didn't know any better, it would almost remind me of a--"

"Whatever you're about to say, don't. You're trying to make me embarrassed again."

"Zhao-ge's gonna live with us? Yay! I'm gonna pick lotsa flowers for him!"

[jaelijn]

The Darrow Westerns - Words from the Author

A little while ago, for the Gauda Prime Day Calendar, I wrote a little something about a series of B7-avatar novels I had discovered, the Darrow Westerns by Gillian F. Taylor. My little self-indulgent review reached the author, and now, I am thrilled to share with you a piece Gillian Taylor wrote specifically for all of you about her experience of writing Westerns in general and the Darrow Westerns in particular. As someone who always thought that books should come with “DVD commentaries” too, I am more than happy to receive and be able to share these insights.

You will find the piece below, under a cut purely for length and for the sake of better separating it from my introduction. I have done the most minor of formatting for the sake of Tumblr readability, but all else is exactly as Gillian Taylor shared it with me. All pictures were provided by Gillian Taylor. Enjoy, and feel free to pass on your appreciations to the contact provided!

Gillian - thank you so very much for doing this for us!

Image: One of the covers of Darrow’s Gamble, showing a coach drawn by four horses rocketing towards the viewer.

I began writing westerns by accident. I saw the film ‘Young Guns’, loved it, and needed to write the story about what happened to the characters afterwards. I wanted to be a writer, had written some bits and pieces in the past, so when seized with the urge to write about those characters, I did, more as practise than anything. Having ended up writing an entire novel, I looked to see if anyone was still publishing westerns in 1991. It turned out that there was just one publisher, but you didn’t need an agent to submit to them, so I reworked my story, giving the characters new names, changing the location and making it my own story, not just a recognisable fanfic. It was too long for that publisher, Robert Hale, and not their style, but they were encouraging. I started over, using just two of the characters to write what was basically the beginning of my overall story. Rocking W was accepted, and I became a published author.

 It took some trial and error to learn what sort of stories Robert Hale wanted for their westerns, which were aimed at the library market.  I wrote a sequel to Rocking W, which was accepted, but the pay was very low, so I determined to write quickly, producing a 40,000 word novel in two months from start to finish. I succeeded, with The Horseshoe Feud, and set about writing another. I was getting more confident in writing something Hale would accept, so decided to do something a little different to the previous, cowboy-based stories.

 I’d been a fan of Blakes 7 right from when the first series was aired. I had all the monthly magazines, the annuals and the novelizations. I was a member of Horizon, looking forward to receiving the thick magazines when they appeared. My friend, Alyson, was a Blakes 7 fan too, and we hired the videos from the local video store to watch together. At some point, I remembered an anecdote by Michael Keating in an interview in the second Blakes 7 monthly mag: in his bio for the BBC, Paul had said he wanted to act in a western, so Michael said he wanted to act in a western with Paul Darrow. Well, I don’t make western films, but I was now writing western novels, so I could put Paul and Michael, in the form of Avon and Vila, into a western that way. I was aware of Tanith Lee’s book, Kill the Dead, so I figured that if a pro writer like her could do it, so could I.

Image: Gillian Taylor in Western costume, photographed in Durango, with a fellow writer.

(Here be some minor spoilers throughout for character development)

 When planning the book, I knew I had to work within the style that Robert Hale wanted for the Black Horse Westerns line. They were very traditional in format: there had to be plenty of action and the protagonists had to be good guys: tough and determined heroes. No way would Hale accept a story about a pair of criminals, even if they did occasionally do the decent thing. So I made ‘Avon’ and ‘Vila’ into lawmen, albeit somewhat reluctant lawmen.

 Avon was an Alpha, clearly one of the elite. By making Sheriff Darrow a Southern aristocrat, who had lost everything in the civil war, he had the privileged background, but also a reason to need a job and a reason for his cynical and sometimes sour take on life and human nature. Vila was a Delta grade, though he claimed it was through choice – he’d bribed someone to get the classification he wanted. His inclination was away from the pressured and mannered world of the Alphas, and towards the outcasts and undesirables. I had a book on English gentlemen in the wild west. Some were there for adventure and wealth: others were ne’er-do-wells, sent abroad by their families to commit their indiscretions far away from polite society. So I made Hugh Keating into an English aristocrat with Vila’s laziness and reluctance for physical danger, but also his charm, loyalty and sleight of hand.

 If I was having Avon and Vila, it seemed logical to have Servalan as the villain, so I created Isabel Montague. She was beautiful and ruthless, out to gain control of the town, which brought her into direct conflict with Darrow. I didn’t really think to include avatars of anyone else from the Liberator/Scorpio, as I was just writing a story about ‘Avon’ and ‘Vila’ in a specific setting, rather than planning to transplant most or all of the ships’ crews. It would have been particularly difficult to represent the women and to do them justice as the equal-opportunity fighters that they were. A gun-toting female deputy modelled on Dayna or Cally was pushing the boundaries of reality too far for me. A woman using a gun for hunting, or self- defence, is one thing: a professional law-woman was just too far outside the norm, even for the wild west. Nor I didn’t want to reduce any Cally or Jenna avatars to be standing around, looking after the office while the men got all the adventures.

 I did take the opportunity to drop in a couple more Blakes 7 references. I named a saloon keeper, Nation, after Terry Nation, and included a visiting speaker named Blake, who lectured on prison reform.

 While the Darrow novels are about lawmen, who deal with crime, they still needed to serve the demands of the traditional western genre. This meant a regular flow of action in the form of fight scenes, with the book almost always ending in a shoot-out of some kind. This meant Hugh had to be hands-on involved in combat somewhat more than Vila tended to be.

 The required emphasis on action meant that there wasn’t as much room for character exploring as I would have liked. The books are barely even long enough to qualify as a proper novel, rather than a novelette. There was a set maximum of 45,000 words, so the size and production would be uniform across the entire range – Hale issued between 10 to 6 Black Horse Westerns each month, the number declining gradually over the years as demand from libraries dropped. Therefore, the stories had to be pacey, with little time to explore the characters. The same is also true of most of the individual television episodes. There were exceptions, like ‘Trial’ and ‘Sarcophagus’, which explored motivations and interactions, but most were more like ‘Gold’ or ‘Redemption’. And of course, there are only four novels in the end, but 52 TV episodes, allowing much more overall time for characters to develop and be revealed.  

 I didn’t start with an overall plan for the novels. I wrote the first one almost as an indulgence, wondering if I could get away with introducing two favourite characters from a favourite TV series into a western. I had no long-term plan for the characters as the book was written as a one-off. I did achieve my plan to write it in two months, though that was possibly the last time I ever achieved that kind of speed of production.

 Hale accepted the book, though with some reservations about Hugh. John Hale, the managing director, described him as a twerp – “most of the time”. There was also a mention of “an element of humour” – relating to Hugh – which was “unusual in most westerns”. I felt this was a rather narrow-minded attitude, but I was thrilled at having another book published, and especially one with Blakes 7 woven into it. When it was published, I sent a copy to Paul Darrow, with an explanation of putting Avon in it, in tribute to his love of westerns. He wrote me a lovely letter in return, saying how much he’d enjoyed it, and that he wished he were as charismatic as Sheriff Darrow.

 After Darrow’s Law was accepted, my next book was based on a light-hearted roleplaying game that I ran one evening for four friends. The game was a very enjoyable success, and I couldn’t resist making it into Cullen’s Quest, with four principal characters named for the people who played them.  It features a group of travellers on a stagecoach, being harassed by Comanches, with a subplot at finding the stolen map for a silver mine.

After that, I had been re-reading my first two books again. These took the characters up to the point where my first, unsuitable manuscript began. I suddenly knew how the whole story ended, some ten years on, with one character coming back to confront his past. This was written up as San Felipe Guns, making a complete trilogy. With those stories told, it was time to see what Darrow and Hugh were doing next.

 I’d watched ‘Rio Bravo’, where the sheriff and deputies were essentially under siege, holding onto a prisoner who has allies trying to free them. I liked this as a basis for a plot and combined it with the isolation of the Long Winter from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book. Having the town isolated by snow was a reason for the lawmen not to be able to get their prisoner to a proper jail and added the pressures of shortages and trouble within the town, as food ran out. The prisoner, Beatrix, is a charming and beautiful young woman, used to manipulating men to get her own way. Hugh is susceptible, but Darrow, like Avon, is no sucker. Beatrix was not from Blakes 7, but inspired by a pretty, young student I knew at the time, who took advantage of men and gave little in return beyond a smile.

 Minnie, whom Hugh had met in the first book, stayed in the story, partly because I liked her, and also as she made a good contrast to self-centred Beatrix. As the story developed, I had to make a decision about the relationship between Hugh and Minnie. Vila, famously, turned down a chance for love, knowing he would never settle into an ordinary, steady life. If Hugh did choose to marry Minnie, it would alter his path away from Vila’s life. But while Hugh has many of Vila’s qualities, he does not have the compulsion to steal (he couldn’t, as a hero in a Black Horse Western). So Hugh makes a different choice.

 I struggled a little with the title for the book. I wanted to use the Darrow name again, to link it to the first book and attract readers who had enjoyed it. Paul Darrow always insisted that if Avon gave his word on something, he would keep it (the hard part was getting him to make the promise in the first place). I had Sheriff Darrow make a vow about getting his prisoner to jail properly and I wanted to reflect that aspect of the character in the title. ‘Darrow’s Vow’ and ‘Darrow’s Promise’ both sounded too much like romance novels, so the book became Darrow’s Word.

 This time, John Hale wrote that Hugh was perhaps too unsympathetic a character to play the part of a hero or joint hero – he did note that this was a personal opinion. Fortunately, even though the lack of ‘action’ was remarked on, Hale still found the book very enjoyable, and was happy to publish it. ‘Traditional’ western or not, I now had my second Blakes 7-inspired book to look forward to.

 When Darrow’s Word was accepted, Cullen’s Quest had been published, so I read that again. Two of the characters had formed an alliance in the book, and I saw there was a story about what they did next. So Hyde’s Honour was about Hyde and Cullen’s struggles to develop the silver mine, with the Hyde struggling with the temptation to betray his friend for the money.

 After that, I rewrote an earlier story, again centred on two friends, who end up in trouble. This was Navajo Rock, a stand-alone story which remains a favourite of mine. When that was accepted in its revised form, I started thinking about Darrow and Hugh again. I was just thinking about the characters in general, and what was happening in their lives, what were they up to after the end of Darrow’s Law. Well, Hugh was going to marry Minnie, so I was imagining their wedding, and Minnie being presented with beautiful jewellery belonging to Hugh’s family, and the culture shock for her. It was all rather domestic and lovely, but not exactly material for an exciting western. I was telling this to my friend, Sarah, who was also a Blakes 7 fan, and she said, “What if someone steals the jewels?” So there was the plot I needed.

 When thinking about Sheriff Darrow and his world again, I felt that the little, one-horse town of the first novel had probably grown and was starting to flourish. Up to now, Darrow and Hugh had been principally occupied with keeping the law in the town, Govan. In fact, as a sheriff, Darrow was responsible for an entire county, including mining camps, ranches, and other towns. Realistically, there was too much work in the town alone for just two lawmen. I’d introduced Josh Turnage, the town undertaker, in Darrow’s Word, and had him acting as a temporary deputy when extra manpower was needed. Now it was time for a permanent second deputy, so I turned to Blakes 7 again, for Deputy Pacey.

 Pacey is an ex-soldier, handsome, confident and dashing – Hugh naturally dislikes him. Like Tarrant, his self-confidence caused clashes with Darrow/Avon and led him into charging headlong into situations that got him into trouble. I had fun creating Hugh’s older brother, Richard, and his wife, Louisa, but they are original, and have no Blakes 7 predecessors.

 The four jewel thieves were also original characters. Irish is big, bulky and mild-looking but is based on the appearance of a friend of mine: it never occurred to me that he could be taken for a Gan avatar. With the B7 avatars, I was working to keep them as much in character with their originals as possible within the context of the setting. With Irish, he was just himself and I never tried to match him to Gan’s personality and quirks – possibly because there is so little of Gan to go on, beyond the limiter.

 I made the leader of the outlaws, Black Elliot, mixed-race, to show some of the diversity on the frontier. I had a couple of non-white townsfolk already, a Chinese cook and a black livery barn owner, and a few non-Americans, like Queenie (English) and Mrs Irvine (Irish). Elliot’s skin colour was meant to be more of a simple fact, rather than a defining characteristic. However, it seemed plausible that Elliot would have suffered prejudice from people of Darrow’s class, and so he would be keen to make the sheriff suffer in retaliation.

 Darrow’s history with slavery is not mentioned in my books. He certainly would have grown up in a family that owned slaves, as household staff at least, though they were not necessarily plantation owners. Avon very much valued his independence, and rarely harmed the helpless (except, maybe, Vila). Darrow would have been courteous to slaves, aware of how dependent they were on him, unless they caused harm by carelessness or neglect. He fought in the civil war, but more to preserve the independence of the southern way of life, than because he wanted to keep slaves. Some of his bitterness after the war was not only the loss of family, wealth and status, but because he knew in his heart that slavery was wrong, and the war had forced him to face up to it. Like Avon, Darrow doesn’t talk much about his past or his motivations and there wasn’t enough room to explore all this in an action-packed western as demanded by the publishers.

 I had fun putting Darrow’s Badge together, though progress was hampered by my health and major work being done to my flat. In spite of the difficulties, the characters really came to life and delivered some of my favourite lines. I even managed to reuse a joke that Paul Darrow and Chris Boucher had contrived to get into ‘Deliverance’, which itself had been borrowed from ‘The Magnificent Seven’ (It may even have been in ‘The Seven Samurai’ first, for all I know – the film that was Westernised as The Magnificent Seven). Blakes 7 and westerns have a long history together!

 Darrow’s Badge was finished and accepted not long before I attended the Star One convention, in April 2004. John Hale still made comments in the acceptance letter about wanting plenty of hard action but at least there were no comments on Hugh, or on the humour.

 For my next book, I went back to a story I’d tried to develop a couple of years earlier, and this time made it work. Two-Gun Trouble was, at the time, a stand-alone story, though I did write another about same characters a few years later. Then, having got away with indulging myself in writing a western with Blakes 7 characters, I thought I’d try the same with favourite characters from another fandom of mine. I like Star Wars too, and I’m a particular fan of the X-wing pilots, especially as written about in the EU (now Legends) novels.

 I took four pilots, led by Wedge Antilles, and made them into a Sheriff and his three deputies. I set them in Colorado, rather than Wyoming, and a few years later than the Darrow novels. Sheriff Lawson (named for Denis Lawson, who played Wedge), and his men were all former soldiers, and had a rather more professional attitude to the work than Darrow and Hugh. There were still plenty of humour with the action and I was very pleased with Silver Express. The fellow pilot-fans I sent copies to enjoyed it very much too.

 After this, I read Hyde’s Honour again, and started thinking about the two characters, Cullen and Hyde. Somehow, a bit of Blakes 7 crept into idle thoughts, and I imagined the two colleagues facing one another, with one demanding to know:

 “Have you betrayed me? Have you betrayed me?”

As soon as I imagined that scene, I knew I had to write the whole book.

 The real drama was that Hyde, who had kept his word and not betrayed his friend in the previous book, should now be the one falsely accused of something he’d been sorely tempted to do, but resisted. I built a story basically to get to that scene between Hyde and Cullen, and that question. Thinking about a famous betrayal for thirty pieces of silver, I came up with the title for a book about fallings out over a silver mine: The Judas Metal.

 With those stories set down and out of the way, there was another story about Darrow and Hugh that had been waiting some time for attention. For some time, I’d been visualizing a scene where Darrow let his emotions get the better of him, causing him to charge recklessly towards an enemy, with unhappy consequences. I also had a rough idea about the sheriff being ambushed and left for dead. It took some time to flesh out how to make these things work together – the details of building the plot from A to B.

I realized that Darrow couldn’t go off in pursuit of his attacker in the new story: he had duties as sheriff, plus Hugh would want to stay close to town, as he had a new baby. I’d got very fond of Tomcat Billy and Irish, from Darrow’s Badge, who had potential for plenty of adventures of their own. They’d been arrested and jailed at the end of Darrow’s Badge, so I somehow had to get them released if I was going to write more stories about them, as I wanted to keep continuity in my world. These two situations came together nicely. Darrow could arrange for Tomcat and Irish to find the outlaw attacker, in return for a pardon. The bad guy could be brought to where Darrow could deal with him and my two genial outlaws could become free men, ready for their own adventures. And to keep up the Blakes 7 references, the villain is named Croucher.

 As well as the main story, the character’s lives had moved on. Hugh’s life has diverged considerably from Vila’s now. He becomes a father in this book and is very happy settling into his new, domestic life with his family. There’s no such prospect for Darrow; he seems fairly indifferent to the ladies of the town, no matter how many baked goods they send to the office at Christmas. Thanks to Hugh’s observation, and understanding of the sheriff, we do learn that there was a woman in his past, who was important to him, but no details.

  The working title, almost until the manuscript was submitted, had been ‘Darrow’s Debt’. As the story evolved, that didn’t seem to fit any more, even though I liked it as a title. The book became Darrow’s Gamble, putting emphasis on the risk he takes with relying on Tomcat and Irish to help and not simply vanish, once released from jail. And of course Sheriff Darrow, like Avon, does not like to have to rely on others. The stress of having to wait for Tomcat and Irish to do their job is what drives Darrow into recklessness.

 It took a long time to wrestle the book into shape – the plot was gappy, the pacing of the first part was hard to get right, it was too long, and the characters had their own ideas about what they were going to do. Irish and Tomcat developed their own, personal storylines which had to be resolved too, rather than simply serving Darrow’s plot. When I finally got it together, I was very pleased with it. I love the character interaction, especially between Darrow and Hugh.

 By the time I submitted Darrow’s Gamble, John Hale had retired from day-to-day work, so the response came from the editor, Gill, who said it was an excellent western and they wanted to publish it. The company had been gradually moving into the 21st century. I was submitting books by email, which was a whole lot quicker and easier than printing out each page, assembling them into a manuscript and carting the parcel down to the post office. Hale had even started putting out some of the westerns as e-books. They still wanted action, but at least humour seemed to be more acceptable – that, or they had just given up on trying to discourage me.

 As soon as Darrow’s Gamble was accepted, I had to get on with writing some actual Blakes 7, a novella for the Big Finish book, Anthology, which was a joy. Next, I went straight into a second story about my other lawmen – the X-wing pilots. Dynamite Express came together well and is a favourite of mine. My writing then slowed, after doing those three projects one after another. I did complete a third Sheriff Lawson story, Outlaw Express, but Hale rejected it.

 Not too long after that, the publisher, Robert Hale, closed down when John Hale retired fully. Their non-fiction imprints were bought by another independent publisher, Crowood Press, who decided to keep on the line of Black Horse Westerns as well. Not being such a traditional company, Crowood were open to a wider range of storytelling, which was exciting. I sent Outlaw Express to them, crossing my fingers that they would have a less hidebound attitude, and it was accepted.

 With three Express novels done, I switched around and wrote a sequel to Two-Gun Trouble. I liked my handsome, vain bounty hunter and the feisty prostitutes he’d befriended (the women are named after friends of mine – with their permission). I knew they had more stories and came up with The Sins Of Motherlode. Then it was back to Sheriff Lawson and the Express series. The next story expanded as I developed it, and there was too much material for a single 45,000 word book. I split it up into three books, each of which would work on their own, but which would link closely together. The first part was written and eventually published as Gunsmoke Express.

 I then took advantage of Crowood’s willingness to accept less formulaic stories, and decided to revise and submit a much earlier story that Hale had rejected. I hadn’t expected Hale to like a western about a character with supernatural abilities, but a song, ‘Faith Healer’, by the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, had just triggered the character. I wrote the book quite quickly; it just flowed out because Healer Man had to be written. I was going to be busy with real life stuff after Gunsmoke Express, so I quickly revamped Healer Man and submitted it as a placeholder, so I would have something out that year, while I took time over the next two Express books.

 Crowood loved Healer Man, especially because it wasn’t a formulaic western. However, shortly after its acceptance, they first announced they weren’t taking any more manuscripts for a while, then, sadly, closed the Black Horse Westerns altogether. They were produced for the library trade, but sales had been declining, and the e-book sales weren’t enough to make the westerns viable. As well as the two other Sheriff Lawson books I had planned, I’d outlined a third Motherlode story for the bounty hunter and the prostitutes, had the basis of a story for Tomcat and Irish – following up on the job offer they get via Hugh at the end of Darrow’s Gamble, and finally had the seed of an idea for a new story about Sheriff Darrow and Hugh. It’s highly unlikely that any of these will see the light of day now.

   I gave Paul a copy of Darrow’s Word soon after publication. It wasn’t until 2016 that I managed to give him the final two books, Darrow’s Badge and Darrow’s Gamble, when I met him at the Supreme Cat Show. He was as charming as usual and seemed pleased to find there were more books to help him fulfil his Western fantasies.

  Image: Paul Darrow at the Supreme Cats Show 2016, smiling towards the camera while petting a white shorthair cat.

All the Darrow books are out of print. If you are in UK, you may be able to find them in a library – if not in your local branch, then somewhere in your district’s network. Darrow’s Badge is available on the Kindle. Copies of the four titles, Darrow’s Law, Darrow’s Word, Darrow’s Badge and Darrow’s Gamble, can be found via Amazon, Abebooks and on Ebay. Some over-optimistic sellers are asking silly money but there are usually some about at a reasonable price. I have brand new copies of Darrow’s Badge and Darrow’s Gamble available at only £5 each, plus postage. I will happily sign them for you if you buy direct from me. If you are interested, or just have questions about the books or my writing in general, just email me at skiffle[DOT]cat[AT]gmai[DOT]com.

 I hope you have found this interesting, and a useful insight into a piece of Blakes 7 fandom that you never expected, as well as the process of writing series of books.

[alectology-archive]

Question for ya:

In your Eo reaper fic is Eo still pregnant after the sons rescue her? If so what would happen to the baby?

I’m not sure whether you found my tentative fic ideas or @roboticscales’s which I think is more likely (which is this one and sounds super rad already!!) but in my version, at least, I’m going to have Eo go for an abortion. The whole thing with Eo being revealed to be pregnant in Golden Son was mostly there to serve Darrow angst which was kind of annoying to me. But with my (pretty ruthless) version of Eo as the protagonist, I think I’d like to introduce the fact that she had to get an abortion because:

there’s some room for commentary on how she chooses her duty to the rebellion above anything she might actually want.

also to effectively emphasise how it’s super vile that the Gold’s system of forcing Reds to effectively “breed” would get a girl as young as 16 pregnant (although more of an observation that people around Eo make).

I think there’s some complexity that comes with being born a Red where you’re taught to value your family above all else, so Eo’s probably going to be constantly conflicted about whether she's truly as heartless as a Gold - whether she has any claim to being a Red anymore, and whether she deserves to be one since she chose the rebellion over her family (which sounds kinda iffy, but I’m just going with what’s there in canon and I promise I’m going to squash that thought at the end). 

Besides, I think Dancer wouldn’t have the patience to wait a full year for the kid to be born so that she can be carved, so while she does have agency in the matter, she also really... doesn’t? Which - more complexity, which I’m all for. 

I also like to imagine that despite pushing for the abortion herself (for the sake of the rebellion), Harmony has very conflicted feelings about it too since she lost both her kids. So that would be pretty cool to explore too.

Also because I’m mostly aiming for an Eo x Virginia fic, and I just want happy things for them.

And really just. Eo’s way too young. 

[darrowsrising]

Red Rising Re-Read:

(yes, I still have thoughts about my re-read, but I had to collect some quotes before delving back into commentary):

No wonder Darrow is so unbothered by a razor in his lung in Dark Age. When he was 16-17 he looked at videos of his carving process 'to distract himself' from the post operating pain.

Mickey carves me again. The agony is beyond language or comprehension. I watch videos of it afterwards to distract me from the residual pain. He uses a vibroScalpel to slice the flesh of my thigh down the middle. He parts my muscle and skin with clamps to expose the bones of my legs. Then he peels off layers of the bone with a bonepeeler and paints new layers with his improved-bone recipe.

The next day, he opens my arms. Then he does my ribs, my spine, my shoulders, my feet, my pelvis, and my face. He also alters the tensile qualities of my tendons and inserts biocultures to increase the density of my muscle tissue Mercifully, he does not let me wake from this last surgery for several weeks.

As someone who sort of tries to connect with the feelings of a first person narrator, this had me shiver from the sort of trauma that must have caused. No wonder he calls anyone who hasn't gone through a literal Carving (twice!) a Pixie! Well, we all know he is just teasing and joking, but still - Darrow shrugs at a razor in his lung while Lysander needs Kalindora (who is missing an arm) to support him while walking after his eye got burnt. And this passages explain it.

[introvertguide]

King Kong (1933); AFI #41

The latest movie for review was the one and only creature feature on the AFI top 100 list, the iconic Kong Kong (1933). This was the equivalent of a blockbuster for the time as it was first presented at Radio City Music Hall for 4 days and all shows were sold out. The film incorporated layering technology that had never been utilized before, which I assume made the experience of watching in a 9,000 attendance capacity crowd on a 30 foot screen an amazing experience. The film did not win any awards, but has since been recognized as a defining film for special effects in Old Hollywood. I was able to track down a version of the movie with commentary by Ray Harryhausen and I want to discuss what was revealed about the film production, but we should do a quick summary of the film first. I will not go into too much detail since the film has been remade three times now and most everybody knows the story, but I still need to do the standard...

SPOILER WARNING!!!! I AM GOING TO GIVE AWAY THE PLOT OF A MOVIE THAT IS 90 YEARS OLD AND HAS BEEN REMADE TWICE!!! IT WON’T EVEN BE THAT IN DEPTH, BUT I GET IN TROUBLE IF I DON’T SAY SOMETHING ABOUT SPOILERS!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

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The film starts out with a movie director named Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) who is looking to discover an actress. He has a map to a secret island and he wants to shoot a film there. He hired a ship with a crew and his producer has secured a camera, but an actress is still needed. Denham scours the streets looking for a pretty new face that is desperate enough to not ask questions. He quickly discovers Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) as she is trying to steal an apple from an apple cart. He pays for her, gives her some food, and whisks her away on the boat.

On the ship, it is revealed that only Denham knows where they are going. He has a hand drawn map to a place called Skull Island where there is a giant wall that contains a world of monsters. Ann Darrow falls in love with the first mate, Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot), by the time boat makes it to the island. A large group goes ashore and they run into natives in front of a huge wall with a giant door. There seemed to be some sort of ceremony involving the sacrifice of a young girl, but that changes when the natives see Ann and they want to take her for their ceremony. The group from the boat decides it is a good idea to get off the island, so they row back to the ship. In the night, a group of natives spirit away Ann and her absence is quickly noticed. 

Fires and celebration light up the sky and the crew figures out that the natives stole their actress. The tribe is then shown opening up the giant door, tying Ann to some rocks inside the enclosure, closing the doors leaving her alone, and then hitting a gong to summon the beast.  The sailors all run up on the natives right as Kong appears and takes away Ann. The group including Denham and Driscoll open the door and half the group chases after Kong deep into the enclosure. 

All of the men who go inside are slowly picked off by either Kong or dinosaurs that live in the enclosure, which turns out to be somewhat of a Jurassic jungle. Kong has to constantly fight off beasts that want to steal Ann from him including an allosaur, pterodactyls, and what appears to be the Loch Ness monster. With the constant barrage of predators, the chase team of sailors is whittled down to just Driscoll and Denham. Denham goes back to the gate and Driscoll goes after Ann. During one of Kong’s monster distractions, Driscoll is able to steal Ann and they flee back to the gate with Kong following behind. Everyone gets out of the enclosure successfully, but Kong is so mad he breaks down the gate and wreaks havoc on the native village killing many. Our three main characters and a few of the sailors that stayed behind to guard the gate run back to the boats with Kong following, but Denham is able to throw a gas bomb in the face of the giant gorilla and he is subdued.

The beginning of Act 3 has the hardest cut between settings of any movie I have ever seen, yet it makes sense in the movie. Kong is somehow transferred to New York from Skull Island where the beast is chained up. Time has passed (I am not sure how much) but the giant ape will be revealed to the public at Radio City Music Hall. Denham has made $10,000 in one night in ticket sales to see the beast and gotten ahold of the press to document the occasion. It turns out that Driscoll and Ann are about to be married as well. All of this is neither shown nor explained outside of about 1 minute of dialogue. Anyway, back to the film...

Kong is being displayed for the public and Driscoll and Ann are dressed in their best that Denham has bought for them. The couple are introduced on stage and then the press is brought in to take pictures of the beast. Kong becomes so enraged by all of the flashing that he breaks his bonds and escapes. He is somehow able to get out into the streets where he stomps on people and destroys an elevated train. Ann and Driscoll escape and hide in a hotel which Kong is able to find. He does pick a lady out of the wrong room initially and he just drops her to her death. Second attempt gets a jackpot and Driscoll basically faints while a giant hand steals Ann. 

After some more destruction, Kong takes Ann and climbs the Empire State Building. They get to the top and planes are sent in to shoot Kong off the building. Eventually he falls and dies on impact. Ann and Driscoll are OK and Denham walks out of the crowd to see the body of Kong at the base of the giant building. The movie ends with Denham saying the famous line. “Twas beauty that killed the beast.”

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First, let me say what an absolute treat it was to watch this film with the commentary from the great Ray Harryhausen. That man is a class act with so much great insight into film making during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was apparently 13 when the movie was released and he saw it in theaters on many occasions. The work of special effects director Willis O’Brien and producer Merian Cooper in King Kong influenced Harryhausen when he made The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, and Clash of the Titans. The special effects in these films then influenced a huge list of great directors like James Cameron, Guillermo Del Toro, Tim Burton, Peter Jackson, J.J. Abrams, Wes Anderson, and George Lucas. I learned so much about the connection between King Kong and my favorite movies, it was just a great watch.

King Kong was actually made in three different sizes and there were multiple models of each. One giant gorilla head, which was manned by three men, with a single giant foot and a single arm with a hand, were made for the close up interaction shots with the actors. The fingers and toes on the full sized limbs had to be moved by hand (many very strong hands presumably) so there is no movement from the digits in these shots. A bunch of 2 foot wire framed puppets of Kong were made that could interact with the dinosaurs and the buildings around New York. Finally, a couple of six inch puppets were made to superimpose onto stock shots of the Empire State Building for the famous ending shots of Kong climbing the giant building.. 

Almost every shot in the film that didn’t involve a simple human interaction was created through layered shots. All the shots of the island, any shots of King Kong or any monsters, many shots of the jungle, and many shots of King Kong interacting in New York. The use of matte paintings in the far background with paintings on glass in front of those made all the shots seem deep and lush. In front of these were layered the stop motion puppets of Kong and the monsters and at the very front were humans and directly interactive props (cars, plants, huts, etc.). I never realized how much work went into every single shot of this film and I can see why it is so famous.

Another note is the direct influence on some of the most famous films of all time. The approach of King Kong started with sounds, went on to the effect of the great apes weight hitting the ground, and ended with the giant figure coming out from the trees. This method of introducing a monster has been highly copied, most notably the T-Rex in Jurassic Park. 

The film was somewhat risque at the time and some of the film was cut on first release. Kong biting people and squashing natives was not originally included. There was a scene in which Fay Wray fell into water in her ripped white dress and that was not included. Also, Kong picks up a lady from the hotel that Ann is in and promptly drops her (she wasn’t blond so she has to go), which was harsh enough to be cut from the original release. None of this seems that bad today, but there were no restrictions on film in 1933 and studios didn’t know what would upset audiences. 

One thing that struck me as funny while watching (and the commentators noted this as well) was how every character immediately loved and was willing to die for this blond white lady. Denham just found her on the street and the entire crew didn’t think she should be on board for about 3 minutes, then suddenly Driscoll loved her and the entire crew was willing to die horribly to save her. The natives took one look at her and thought she would make a better sacrifice then the young girl they had. Kong was willing to fight off all forms of monster to protect her. I thought he might have simply wanted a companion, but he tossed that other poor woman from the New York hotel down off a building. At the end, men shot the ape off the Empire State Building sending bullet spray everywhere in an effort to save the girl. I honestly don’t think she was worth it, but that is just one man’s opinion. 

So is this film worthy of being on the AFI List? Absolutely yes. It does not have great acting, but the contribution to American cinema through the effects, the story, and the pure ambition is well worth a spot on the list. Would I recommend it? Across the board yes with no hesitation. I especially recommend watching with the commentary, if that is your thing, because watching this film and listening to Ray Harryhausen tell stories is an absolute treat. Definitely one of the best film watching experiences I have ever had.