#1x07 bad to be good

[teenagemutantninjafangirl]

[isagrimorie]

Star Wars Ahsoka, 1E07 - Dreams and Madness

It's like, for the first time in many years, Ahsoka can breathe again.

Bonus:

The box of Anakin's memories.

[cleo-serotonin]

moon spell is SO FUNNY i wish watching it didn’t give me severe second hand embarrassment on emma’s behalf

[imminent-danger-came]

Crying and shaking knowing that an MK V Sun Wukong fight is in the cards for us

[astral-herald]

arcane's depiction vs. endorsement and why it flopped

~ i think i'm finally ready to complain ~

My general opinion of season 2 is potential squandered. My recent post about Viktor's storyline as an intentional tragedy lets ya'll know that I did, for the most part, enjoy his arc (hot take, I know, and I know lots of people disagree with me, and I fully understand). If he'd gotten the screen time necessary to pull it off, it would have been legendary in my book. But the lack of screen time, even in the case of the season's eventual BBEG, speaks to my greatest issue with Arcane: no commitment.

(Critical) Discussion of Jinx, Ekko, Sevika, Vi, and Viktor below!

Arcane, as a tragedy (I've said this word too many times to count smh), asks the plot, "what is the worst thing that could possibly happen to this character?" and answers in kind. This is why we get Viktor's lost agency until the very end (and like I've said in the past, I completely understand and hold space for those who dislike this route).

If we ask this same question of the following characters, the scope of loss and despair innate to Arcane's final narrative is made very clear:

Sevika: a revolutionary forever devoted to the cause, not the individual, is nominated as an individual to represent the masses in a governmental body that has no interest in her class-conscious ideal.

Ekko: the people's hero in every sense of the word who never sees the fruits of his labor/sacrifice and who goes without the acknowledgement he deserves (more than any other Arcane character).

Vi: the ultimate victim of Piltover police brutality coerced, through grief, trauma, and loss, into working for the system that oppressed her. Even Caitlyn, for all her good intentions, seems incapable of ever understanding this.

Viktor: a genius hellbent on ending the same suffering he endured at the hands of Piltover's oppression has his agency revoked, driving him to inflict the same choicelessness he endured on Zaunite innocents.

On paper, these arcs are devastatingly sensical. And we don't always need happy endings in our stories (I'd sure like them, more often than not, of course). We can and should witness the harsh realities of class oppression if we don't experience them ourselves. The writing team painstakingly crafted and foreshadowed these worst-case scenarios throughout season 1. For example, in 1x07, Ekko being immediately shot at by Marcus at the bridge confirms our suspicions that Piltover Enforcers are a lost cause, not just full of bad apples but internally broken beyond repair. It felt that, despite all the hope, this struggle was doomed, and we were careening toward something dark - "In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good."

Had these arcs been successful, audiences would be confronted with the systemic issues we see today that implicate the physical and mental health of downtrodden individuals on account of lazy, prejudiced leadership. This actively happens. It is actively happening, sans the fantasy of it all. This is where Arcane should have shined: they depict the tragedy of these characters, but DO NOT endorse it.

But Arcane chickens out and the entire thing fails. Here are the Flop Era Spark Notes:

Maddie is the egregious bad apple stereotype that absolves all other agents of the regime. She clearly is not a stand-in for Enforcers at large because, all of a sudden, they're capable of coordinated artillery strikes that are necessary to the defense of Piltover, which the viewer must suddenly and abundantly care about. So glad she died. Also, Arcane, you cannot introduce abject warfare in the last 30 minutes of your show successfully.

Jinx's "revolutionary" plot was a red herring, and Sevika humbly vying for the spot was never delivered upon. They pay lip service to the Undercity organizing, but the scene is interrupted for larger (messier) plot concerns almost immediately. No commitment. No depiction to even refrain from endorsing.

Ekko and the Firelight Tree. Clearly this was set up as a means of showing how Piltover's mistakes were physically seeping into the only sanctuary left in Zaun. Yet this is just...never resolved? If someone has some insights into this, please let me know. No depiction. No discussion about endorsement.

What could Vi specifically gain by aligning with the Enforcers/Piltover? Human connection with Cait, sure, but why return to them in 2x06? Vi's character begged all season for development, but she kept returning to her nonsensical error of her ways (looking backwards) until the very end, and this is basically what "kills" Jinx. This is a nod to her lonesomeness post 1x03, sure, but to what end? Again, why the Enforcers?!? Oh, because now that Cait has been redeemed and Sevika is in Piltover to save the day, there are no systemic issues left to fix? Sure, Riot.

WHY DEVELOP VIKTOR'S ENTIRE HEXCORE ARC OFF SCREEN?I'M ADMITTEDLY BIASED ABOUT THIS, BUT THE AMOUNT OF DISCUSSIONS I'VE HAD WITH VIKTOR NATION ABOUT THE DEGREE TO WHICH HE WAS INFLUENCED/MANIPULATED BY THE HEXCORE (now that we know Sky was a manifestation of his humanity, not her Actual Self) IS DESPICABLE. HIS COMPROMISED AGENCY NEEDS TO BE FRONT AND CENTER AND OBVIOUS, OR ELSE IT SURE SEEMS LIKE RIOT IS ENDORSING THE LACK OF AGENCY IN VIKTOR'S STORY. I shouldn't have to make 1k word posts to explain this. I'll do it because I love him with my whole heart, but still.

I begged and pleaded for months for BBEG Viktor (I'm really proud of my predictions from October), but by introducing a villain/conflict beyond the Piltover/Zaun dichotomy, Riot severed all threads of class conflict that were so rife and exciting in season 1. The proletariat and the bourgeoise will never coalesce like they did by the end of 2x09 without systemic revolution. Sevika is just one individual. Ekko's people need him. Jinx and Viktor are gone. Vi is downtrodden, and we have SO LITTLE to show for it.

In summary, we just didn't get enough explicit explanation of any character development to make Arcane-As-Tragedy successful. They did not stick the landing. The finale leaves us all with various bad tastes in our mouth. Instead of lamenting the harsh reality of oppression, I'm confused about what Riot prioritizes and agrees with, what they aim to criticize, and what they condemn.

I'll die on the hill that revoking Viktor's agency has the potential to be one of the greatest tragic hero storylines I've ever seen, but it's a lonely hill because I'm fighting against the writing team's consistent flops. At least Balayage Viktor was so gorgeous.

shameless self plug for my earlier discussion about the innate political clashes in season 1 that were abandoned for flashy fantasy fights in season 2:

[ghost-bison]

1x12 episode of doctor who "bad wolf" is such an interesting episode, i just realized. not just because it's fun and fast-paced or because there's suspense, but also because, think of the actual plot of the episode.

the human race of 200 000 years into our future is forced to take part in games that were already in session in the 21st century.

we have big brother - a reality show which has the same name as the oppressive force that dictates your life and watches everything you're doing, violating your privacy, drawn from a dystopian book written to criticize this exact kind of behaviour. and what did capitalism do with it? a reality show. where people stand behind a screen, stalking on and dissecting your life. the participants are forced into reshaping their personality into what the audience (society) wants it to be. if they lose this game, they lose society's approval and that means they lose their sense of self. which ironically is what 1984 by george orwell criticizes.

then we have the weakest link - interesting choice yet again, because it's not the only television game show out there right? but that's the one they chose because its name tells you all you need to know: your ability (or lack thereof) to answer questions about specific topics, oftentime topics that aren't necessarily academic or even interesting (who cares about what year katy perry released her debut album or how many children this actor has, honestly?) to measure your intelligence. richard feynman said "never confuse education with intelligence, you can have a phd and still be an idiot". people who take part in tv game shows aren't chosen because they're geniuses, simply because it is not designed to be understood or played by a genius: it's made to entertain regular people and make them feel good about themselves, so that they don't try to be smart. it normalizes bullying and prevents you from using critical thinking by making you believe trivia equals intelligence, and if you don't have it, then you are, literally, the weakest link.

finally, we have what not to wear: a reality show where contestants (mostly women) are selected by people they know - as in, friends or family who call them out for their unfashionable dressing style, which is already fucked up as it is - and are videotaped and followed around for two weeks as they go from store to store to get a makeover. their taste is exposed by the camera crew, exposing them to bullying and more generally to criticism from anyone watching the show.

the episode explores those games 200 000 years in the future, where people are selected against their will, and moreover, the stakes of the games are now their own life. you lose, you die. Life is now nothing more than a bet, or russian roulette. which is... kind of how life works, actually: a game of pretense, you never know when it could stop. it's mostly not up to you, your only options are to give up and die, or go on and pray for it to work out. and if you don't fit into the mold, it just takes the decision away from you because life is unliveable when you don't fit in.

there are a few interesting ties between this episode and 1x07 the long game (and when you think about it, even the title was a clue as to what would come next), and it's not just the fact that they're both set on satellite 5, with 1x12 happening 100 years after: it's the consequences of the doctor's actions, and adam mitchell.

so in 1x07, the doctor thwarted the editor's and the jagrafess' plan and put an end to the hidden dictatorship. which was very similar to the one in 1x12, wasn't it? rewarding people who play along so they won't question the system.

there is, however, the additional touch of terror in 1x12 which, in 1x07, is only revealed to those who try and go against it, like poor suki who got turned into an icicle soon as she got to floor 500.

upon returning to satellite 5, just 100 years into the future, the doctor finds out that what he did actually put a halt to humanity's evolution, as the radio signals stopped emitting and humanity found itself isolated from the rest of the universe, but this time with no one to lead them. the reason being this: the doctor never stays.

the doctor is, himself, without command. but what differentiates him from the humans, though, is that... well... he is not human. isolation was imposed on him after he lost his entire species, the only ones who could truly understand him.

and while he travels with a human at his side, he is always very careful of whom he chooses to share his lifestyle with: the doctor doesn't abide by the rules, but neither does jack. and rose, although not as openly rebellious as the other two, questions those rules. what's more, she's curious and has a deep need for more than her regular life. but there is no hidden motive behind that curiosity, she is doing it for herself.

which leads us to adam mitchell, the wannabe companion of 1x07: technically a genius, adam manages to hop onboard the tardis after the doctor realizes that, maybe, adam is just like himself. a belief that is quickly debunked in the outcome of the episode, after adam prioritizes capital over his growing relationship with rose and hers and the doctor’s trust, risking breaking fixed points in time just to make money and gain fame and recognition, something the doctor is fundamentally against.

adam is academically smart, but what is it if not fatally dangerous when it is not met with common sense? I think it’s why the doctor left him with the chip in his head. he said it: adam would have to lead a very quiet life in order not to end up getting dissected. it’s not just a petty punishment or consequence for his actions, as i used to think it was, but a security, because adam’s intelligence is corrupted by modern day society and without retrains, it could have devastating consequences.

thus, the doctor calls himself the doctor because he wants to help people, yet he doesn’t have a degree to “earn” that title. it just means healer, and that's what he tries to be. as we learned in series 6, he is probably the reason this word even exists in the first place.

in 3x01 smith and jones, martha refuses to call him doctor as, for her, you need to earn that title. this probably influenced his decision to bring her along, not just because she met his criteria for a companion, but to prove her wrong and broaden her mind.

he wants to make her understand that theory isn't enough to become something so important. he understands that true intelligence comes from experience and what you choose to remember from said experience, like wisdom and compassion. he isn’t much into theory, because he learns by being curious: what makes people tick, what they like and don’t like, and in the process, he learns about himself, who he wants and doesn’t want around him.

in 1x12, the doctor knows the disintegrator bim won't be used on him because he is not afraid of difference; he is profoundly aware of his own difference, and therefore, he isn't compatible with the game.

rose laughs and ridicules the game; she doesn't see the point, as, contrary to other team players, especially rodrick, she's not driven my money or the need for approval, as the doctor taught her what life lived to its fullest looks like behind all the pretense and make-believe.

the doctor, rose and jack are to themselves a pretty cool representation of what society should be about

[ae-azile]

Untitled Fadel/Style Fic Preview: Post 1x07

Style meant it when he said he deserved to die at Fadel’s hands. He never wanted any of this to happen. He could have told Fadel that he never personally spoke to the cop and didn't even know about Kant being coerced into becoming an informant or Fadel being a hitman until after they started dating. He could say that he simply agreed to seduce Fadel in exchange for a car.

Somehow, that sounds just as bad. And if he puts all the blame on Kant, that makes him more of a snitch. Style never even wanted to be a snitch.

“I really do love you,” Style says to him, keeping his eyes on the road, “Even when you point your gun at me, my heart flutters in my chest-”

“Shut up,” Fadel says, pressing the gun further into his side.

Style rolls his eyes at the order. As if Fadel would shoot him when he's the one in control of the car.

“I can't be quiet on car rides,” Style says, “It makes them go by too slowly. The music is great, but we already established that we have different tastes. Let's talk-”

“Style-”

“Fadel,” Style counters, “I’m bored. Let's talk.”

“I'm not going to talk to some fucking snitch.”

Style groans at that, “Whatever you tell me will die with me! You’ll make sure of that!”

“No.”

Apparently, Style will just have to deal with Fadel’s decision, so he focuses on the road until sunset. It's only when they are running on fumes that he pulls over.

“Did I say you could stop?” Fadel asks as Style pulls into the parking lot of a fuel station.

“I'm sorry,” Style says, hopping out, “I didn't realize your car runs on psychological, emotional, and sexual tension! You should have told me you were this environmentally friendly.”

“Get back in the car.”

“I'm serious. I'm proud of you,” Style says as he pulls his card out. He is a gentleman, after all. He is going to pay for everything on this impromptu trip, “Regular, right? Some people think they are pampering their car by getting a higher quality than they need. It's truly unnecessary. Please tell me you're not one of those people.”

Fadel says nothing. Maybe he is that kind of person and is just embarrassed. Style won't call his boyfriend out on it.

“I got you,” Style says with a grin, “You just relax!”

“Do not use your card.”

Style lets out a scoff, “I am a gentleman! I want to pay, I mean it-”

“So that your location can be tracked through your purchases?” Fadel asks suspiciously.

Oh. Style truly didn't think of that. This is another reason he loves Fadel. He's smart.

“Well, then how else am I supposed to take care of you?” Style asks, “I mean it, Fadel! I am a mechanic! Masculine and tough. A true man! It’s in my nature to take charge-”

“I have cash,” Fadel says, getting out as well, “Walk into the store. I am right behind you. Don’t think of doing anything stupid to try and get away from me.”

“That would be stupid because that's the last thing I want to do,” Style says, putting a hand on his hip. Despite this being the honest truth, Fadel looks unimpressed and continues to look that way until they pay in cash and go back to the car. Then, Fadel gets back in the passenger seat so that Style can take control as every higher being in existence intended. He presses Regular Unleaded, lifts the nozzle, and inserts it into the jeep. He then flicks the lever so it will automatically fill the tank and walks over and rests his arms on the rolled down window before smiling at Fadel adoringly. Because that's what he truly feels. Adoration and love, even now.

Maybe especially now.

“I really do love you,” Style says gently, “I'm sorry if my initially uninformed involvement in spying on you broke your heart and made you think otherwise. This is why I wanted you to tell me about your real career yourself! I wanted to help you out of whatever life you found yourself in! We could have run away together. Fled the country. I think Japan would have been good. I could work for Toyota there. You think they’d hire me?”

Fadel still says nothing. He's a man of such few words. Then again, Style likes that. If Fadel talked as much as he did, they would be interrupting each other all the time. He wishes Fadel would talk a little more though. Share things with him. Be vulnerable with him. Fadel might need a good cry. Once that thought enters his brain, Style knows it to be true. Maybe that should be his mission, to get Fadel to have a cathartic sob-fest where Style comforts him and tries his absolute best not to crack jokes.

“I think they would hire me,” Style continues, “Pa, too. I would need to bring him with us. He really likes you, you know! He likes you better than any other guy I’ve dated and he has happened to cross paths with. I mean…it's not hard. I’ve dated a couple of assholes. But he recognizes a good person when he sees one. He even told me he approved of you and wanted you around more often. He thinks you're a good influence and that you balance me out.”

In response, Fadel points the gun at Style’s face. Style smiles and kisses the tip of it sweetly. It's only then that Fadel jerks the gun back and looks at Style as if he has lost it.

He has lost it. For Fadel. This hiccup isn't going to get in the way of what he feels. He was afraid when he woke up by the pool, but now he has come to a decision. He's spending this trip with three goals in mind.

1. Find Kant - preferably not dead or seriously injured - and ensure he makes it home safe.

2. Find Bison and talk him down. He's pretty sure Bison is more dangerous than Fadel is. His prettiness and petite stature are both incredibly disarming and work in his favor. Style respects it.

3. Make it clear to Fadel that Style is unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him, like Bella was in love with Edward in Twilight. Their relationship probably isn't even as toxic as theirs. There is no creepy, Italian vampire council or ninety year age gap, although Fadel may currently thirst for his blood. But that doesn't matter. If Bella and Edward can overcome all those things and magically conceive a child, then Style and Fadel can too.

“Why are you just staring at me? Why did you kiss my gun? What is wrong with you?”

Style snaps out of his dreamy thoughts and ambitions as he meets Fadel’s glare.

“I was just thinking of us magically conceiving a baby.”

Fadel’s glare turns into a bewildered, slightly disturbed gawk. He's warming up to him again. Style is sure of it.

[i-smoke-chapstick]

damn ur last pengy smut was 🔥🔥🔥 in those 3 imagines with him ive read u write the character so fucking accurate like u actually feel him. can we have more of a needy bird boy? smth with him being all pent up but not wanting the reader to think he only sees her like that? powerful men are hot when vulnerable😈

'CURTAINS,

-GOTHAM!OSWALD COBBLEPOT X READER-

⋆ 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 ; really just oswald and reader fucking.

⋆ tags/warnings. small GOTHAM!oswald x female reader. SMUT!!!! Somewhat of a character study but not really. Oswald wants to be a gentleman so bad. Inspired by Frankie Carbone's death scene in 1x07. Oswald being needy. Bondage. Oswald's canon praise kink. Lots of open-mouthed kisses because he can't help himself.

♫ “It's not over till it's over baby. / I stepped outside myself so transcending. / The lights go dim and every sin, that ever was, will always be a perfect part of me.” Curtains by Jackie Vae

He can't help it. He never can. Deep down he's just a silly, love-starved little boy. You've struck him, amused him, amazed him. How could he not gift you with whatever you wish? His true love. How you stay with him enthralls him everyday. Maybe that's why he can't help himself.

He was raised to be a gentleman. He was supposed to be saving himself. For marriage. He dreamed of that night for so long. Perhaps, it's came a bit early.

Every bit of you is on fire. Your arms tied to the bedframe, chained together by his own sleeve garters. You watched as he took every inch of you in, savoring you like the wine he adores. Enchanting blue-green eyes mesmerized by your every breath, every moan, every sound he elicits with every thrust.

The way he speaks. Murmured praises on his parched lips, aching to speed up.

"Good girl." He whispers, half-incoherently, expression twisted into a grimace of pure ecstasy. His chest rises and falls as he pants on top of you, hanging onto threads of self-control.

"So good to me. So precious, baby. So good." He's babbling, moving as slow as he can, feeling his cock piercing you deep. When you cry out, trying to bounce against him through your restraints, body begging for more friction, he has the kindness to offer you a quick chuckle.

"Patience, my dear." He whispers against your lips, coming down to kiss away your eagerness. His tongue sweeps the bottom of your mouth, begging to taste you. It feels warm and wet, the way he worships you.

"I have no more patience." You whimper, yelping against him and his defiance. He half-heartedly rolls his eyes, clicking his tongue. Such a brat. He thinks. His beautiful brat.

His hand traverses up your body, jaw-clenched tight as he moves against you; still inside your core. He grabs your face in his fingers, offering you just a taste. A particular hard thrust causes the both of you to moan, his hips stuttering. He throws his head back as he groans, taking the time to savor the feeling.

He wants too speak. Talk down to you. Tell you you're behaving like a slut, a hussy, but he knows it'd be hypocritical, seeing as how he's tied you up like his own personal gift. He cringes in pleasure before opting to take the leather between his teeth- keeping eye-contact with you, as he pulls away to untie your restraints. Self-control be damned.

Those big beautiful colorful eyes of his, they never leave your own. Now untied, your hands immediately go to his back, forcing him up and down. His pace finally speeds up.

The world around you is a blur as he cradles your head. He looks down at you, his mouth open and eyebrows together. He pounds into you- and you feel the mattress shake. You watch his face contort in euphoria, and scrunch together with a sharp intake of air as he reaches his orgasm.

As you both cum, sticky ropes filling you up, he leans in. An intimate kiss placed to your lips, slow and all-consuming. And another, placed to your forehead. He rocks back and forth as finishes, gently hushing you and your cries of pleasure through his own shakiness. You feel how he pets your hair, still fucking you through your orgasm.

He finally rests his forehead against your own- breathing against your mouth, still kissing and sucking the ghosts of kisses on your lips.

He can't help himself. He never can. You're too lovely.

[cateyeswrites]

Not gonna lie Karadec was so supportive 😭 he obviously is doing his job by playing devils advocate with Morgan about Sam because sometimes good people do bad things but he wanted to believe in Morgan and Sam and I think the actor who plays Karadec does a great job with the expressions!

Maybe I’m insane

Anyways watch me write 1000 fanfics about 1x07

[geronimomo-spd]

and there we go! the full Confidential Archive!

here are all the episodes, according to tardis wiki list, including all of the mini specials and chrismas specials and most if not all in good quality! the full list of everything is under the cut because yeah, its a longgg list!

all in order, including some youtube videos and dvd rips hehe, all according the the tardis wiki list

SERIES 1 -

1x00 - A New Dimension (a prolog to season one, narrated by David Tennant)

1x01 - (rose)

1x03 - (the unquiet dead)

1x04 - (aliens of london)

1x05 - (world war 3)

1x06 - (dalek)

1x07 - (the long game)

1x08 - (father's day)

1x09 - (the empty child)

1x10 - (the doctor dances)

1x11 - (boom town)

1x12 - (bad wolf)

1x13.1 - The Ultimate Guide (another little documentary right before

parting of the ways, about key aspects about filming the season)

1x13.2 - (parting of the ways)

1x14 - Backstage at Christmas (the nine minutes they gave us from some of behind the scenes of The Christmas Invasion)

SEIRES 2 -

2x00 - One Year On (a general preview for season 2, including the series 2 press launch, a lot more behind the scenes of The Christmas Invasion and some Torchwood stuff)

2x01 - (new earth)

2x02 - (tooth and claw)

2x03 - (school reunion)

2x04 - (the girl in the fireplace)

2x05 - (rise of the cyberman)

2x06 - (the age of steel)

2x07 - (the idiot's lantern)

2x08 - (the impossible planet)

2x09 - (the satan pit)

2x10 - (love & monsters) - (featuring the winning of the contest of designing a monster)

2x11 - (fear her)

2x12 - (army of ghosts)

2x13 - (doomsday)

2x14 - Music and Monsters (the behind the scenes of doctor who's first music show, including some behind the scenes stuff of The Runaway Bride)

SERIES 3 -

3x01 - (smith and jones)

3x02 - (the shakespear code)

3x03 - (gridlock)

3x04 - (daleks in manhattan)

3x05 - (evolution of the daleks)

3x06 - (the lazarus experiment)

3x05 - (42)

3x06 - (human nature)

3x07 - (the family of blood)

3x08 - (blink)

3x11 - (utopia)

3x12 - (the sound of drums)

3x13.1 - (last of the time lords)

3x13.2 - Children in Need Special (the behind the scenes of the special where 10 meets 5, really cute stuff)

3x14.1 - Kylie Special (series 3 christmas special. version 1 - the full version in less of a good quality i found on youtube, bless this youtube channel honestly)

3x14.2 - Kylie Special (series 3 christmas special. version 2 - the shorter version that was up on iplayer)

3x14.3 - Kylie Special (series 3 christmas special. version 3 - the version i edited to include the low quality parts that were missing with the good quality shorter version)

SERIES 4 (INCLUDING THE SPECIALS) -

4x01 - (partners in crime)

4x02 - (the fiers of pompaii)

4x03 - (planet of the ood)

4x04 - (the sontaran stratagem)

4x05 - (the doctor's daughter)

4x06 - (the posion sky)

4x07 - (the unicorn and the wasp)

4x08 - (silence in the library)

4x09 - (forest of the dead)

4x10 - (midnight)

4x11 - (turn left)

4x12 - (the stolen earth)

4x13 - (journey's end)

4x14.1 - The Journey (So Far) (a documentary about the entire show so far)

4x14.2 - Confidential Christmas 2008 (behind the scenes of The Next Doctor christmas special)

4x14.3 - Doctor Who: Top 5 Christmas Moments (a sort of confidential behind the scenes clip show of all of the episodes set at christmas)

4x15.1 - At the Proms 2008 (behind the scenes of doctor who at the proms 2008)

4x15.2 - The Eleventh Doctor (the special they used to announce Matt Smith as the new doctor who)

4x15.3 - Desert Storm (behind the scenes of Planet Of The Dead)

4x16 - Is There Life on Mars? (behind the scenes of The Waters Of Mars)

4x17 - Lords and Masters (behind the scenes of The End Of Time, Part One)

4x18 - Allons-y! (behind the scenes of The End Of Time, Part Two. version 1 - full dvd version)

4x18 - Allons-y! (behind the scenes of The End Of Time, Part Two. version 2 - shortend higher quality version from iplayer, this version has a song in the soundtrack that is diffrent from the dvd version, this is the most accurate version to what aired on tv at the time)

SERIES 5-

5x01 - (the eleventh hour)

5x02 - (the beast below)

5x03 - (victory of the daleks)

5x04 - (the time of angels)

5x05 - (flesh and stone)

5x06 - (the vampires of venice)

5x07 - (amy's choice)

5x08 - (the hungry earth)

5x09 - (cold blood)

5x10.1 - (vincent and the doctor)

5x10.2 Monster Files: The Daleks (a little documentary about victory of the daleks/daleks in general)

5x11 - (the lodger)

5x12 - (the pandorica opens)

5x13 - (the big bang)

5x14.1 - Monster Files: The Weeping Angels (a little documentary about the weeping angels episodes this season)

5x14.2 - Monster Files: The Silurians (a little documentary about the silurian episodes)

5x14.3.1 - Monster Files: The Alliance (a little documentary about the alliance of monsters from the pandoica opens)

5x14.3.2 - Backstage at the Doctor Who Prom 2010 (behind the scenes of doctor who at the proms 2010)

5x14.4.1 - Charlie McDonnell - Runner (the first Charlle behind the scenes videos, pretty quiet - Currently not up on the archives as Charlie has expressed the need to remove her old videos)

5.14.4.2 - Charlie McDonnell - TARDIS (another Charlie video, she explores the tardis set this time -Currently not up on the archives as Charlie has expressed the need to remove her old videos)

5x14.4.3 - Charlie McDonnell - Decorating Bus (another Charlie video, she decorates the food place with christmas decorations, i liked them Charlie - Currently not up on the archives as Charlie has expressed the need to remove her old videos)

5x14.4.4 - Charlie McDonnell - Christmas Presents (badger) (the famus Charlie video where she brings the cast and crew presents! this is where Matt gets his badger puppet - Currently not up on the archives as Charlie has expressed the need to remove her old videos)

5x14.5 - Christmas Special 2010 (behind the scenes of A Christmas Carol)

SERIES 6 -

6x01.1 - (the impossible astronaut)

6x01.2 - My Sarah Jane: A Tribute to Elisabeth Sladen (a special memorial for the late Elisabth Sladen 😭😭)

6x02 - (day of the moon)

6x03 - (the curse of the black spot)

6x04 - (the doctor's wife)

6x05 - (the rebel flesh)

6x06 - (the almost people)

6x07.1 - Charlie McDonnell interviews Neil Gaiman (Charlie interviews Neil Gaiman, appewrently causing some ruckes on Charlie's blog at the time hehe - Currently not up on the archives as Charlie has expressed the need to remove her old videos)

6x07.2 - (a good man goes to war)

6x07.3 - The Monster Files: The Silence (a little documentary on the silence, thank god because i needed that)

6x07.4 - The Monster Files: The Gangers (a little documentary on the gangers, my beloveds)

6x07.5 - Charlie McDonnell Becomes A Dalek (the last Charlie video, released late because it had the 1-4 tardis set, also she gets to ride a dalek in this one - Currently not up on the archives as Charlie has expressed the need to remove her old videos)

6x08 - (lets kill hitler)

6x09 - (night terrors)

6x10 - (the girl who waited)

6x11 - (the god complex)

6x12 - (closing time)

6x13.1 - (the wedding of river song)

6x13.2 - The Monster Files: The Antibodies (a little documentary on the antibodies from lets kill hitler)

6x13.3 - The Monster Files: The Cybermats (a little documentary on the little adorable cybermates because awww)

6x14 - The Nights' Tale (a little documentary on on the nights mini episodes! the last confidential stuff ever made rip)

[vegancas]

MISHA COLLINS as HARVEY DENT in GOTHAM KNIGHTS ↳ 1x07 BAD TO BE GOOD

[piratekane]

what r some of ur fav kacy moments?

a FANTASTIC question. here's a top ten in no particular order:

the parking lot scene. kate is not the bad guy! let's kiss under the parking lot lights! they did not go get that beer and i love that for them.

that one scene in season 3 where kate is bringing ernie mochi and lucy says that kate is looking fantastic today. something about that whole interaction just... got me. the grin on lucy's face. the way kate smiles back over her shoulder. pls tell me about your acting choices and why they made that 15 second scene endearing.

first date reenactment. those freakin dorks, i swear to god. kate's "well, i don't seem like a lot of things" lives rent-free in my head.

OF COURSE the scene in 3x04 where they have to dip into that storeroom to avoid the bad guy and they're, like, 2 inches away from each other. maybe i've watched that a few times.

the first kiss in the pilot. i'm split equally between the original airing with the smash cut kiss and the extended scene because i originally thought that lucy initiated the kiss, but finding out that kate was the one... mind-blowing.

the 2x01 episode kisses (plural!) because i love domestic kacy. i could write about that allllll day. i was not expecting lucy to straight up (ha) get into kate's lap at the outro of that episode. sigh. that was such an opening episode.

kate waiting at lucy's desk in 1x10 after the whole finger business. i just loved how kate said she was more comfortable with things at dinner and then just casually sits at lucy's desk waiting for her to come back (which is why 1x11 is so fucking crushing).

the scene in that episode in season 2 where lucy is helping Joe, the sailor with the memory problem. and joe elbows her in the jaw and lucy and kate are in the kitchen in the office and kate is snippy because she's worried. i'm not mad kate says, definitely not happy.

and speaking of lucy being beat up... the scene in 1x07 (? maybe) where lucy agrees that secrets can be fun and kate ducks her head and says something like, "want to tell me more about secerts" or whatever (i am not searching for the lingo, sorry). like, goodness. kate. relax.

the 'move in' scene where kate is so far behind on the conversation and she's just blinking as lucy explodes. i love a good "why are we fighting?" "we're not!" in shouty volumes and then the break in the tension where they realize they're definitely arguing scene. and they did this one perfectly.

okay, that was a nice little walk through my mind. now i need to go watch all these scenes (shoutout to the people who upload their scenes to youtube, they're the real ones).

[cuddlytogas]

an incomplete list of terrible but extremely popular Our Flag Means Death takes that I would like to never see again please

(and I do mean popular, as in, lots of people seem to think they're canon, to the point where I feel slightly insane and like I was watching a different show to everyone else)

1. Ed's mum was loving and nice and supportive, if hampered by her bad situation

this comes up more in fic than analysis, to be fair, but good god, what show were some of you watching? this isn't to vilify her, because yeah, she's clearly a product of colonialism, white christian supremacy, and domestic abuse, but like. that doesn't make how she raised Ed good. clearly she was trying to keep him safe, but "we don't deserve nice things", and especially "it's not up to us, it's up to god", speaks to me of someone who squashes down any ambition on her son's part, has fully bought into the lies of christian colonialism, and tries to pass them down to her son.

as does happen in colonised communities, particularly among older generations. I know us white people like to think that every indigenous person is a perfect left-wing anti-imperial activist, but that's simply not the case, and Ed's mum is so clearly an example of an older conservative christian indigenous parent who had to believe the lies told by their coloniser in order to survive, but is now passing on that trauma to their children. and I just...

if I read one more fic where Ed's mum is a perfect loving supportive angel who always believed in her kid and always supported and protected him, I'm gonna scream. yes, it's sweet, and it's fun to sometimes veer from canon and give your blorbo nice things, but it's still veering from canon. and yet, I see very few people acknowledge that, or actually talk about the nuances of Ed's mother, and how she definitely tried to protect him, but was far from sweet, doting, and unconditionally supportive.

2. Ed's loving look when Stede is picking food from his beard in 1x07

like most of these things, I enjoyed it as a joke or exaggeration at first, until I realised that people were actually being serious. but every time I watch that scene, I see Ed looking absently-mindedly over Stede's shoulder, because a) that's what you do when someone leans in to pick something off you, and b) surely the point of the scene is that they're so comfortable and easy together that they don't notice the intimacy of what they're doing, but Lucius, an outside observer, thinks it's obvious. right?? I can't be the only one seeing it???

[sigh]

anyway. finally, the really really big one:

3. Ed is a soft uwu babygirl princess femme bottom sub who loves her cat collar and is teaching Stede how to dom him in the "say you're the captain" scene

I mean, there's not much to say except to link to duke's absolutely phenomenal twitter thread about "how the 'babygirlfication' and infantilization of ofmd ed teach is an extension of racist perceptions of indigenous men being inherently violent and thus needing to be emasculated to be considered sympathetic"

but especially That One Fucking Scene, good lord. talk about taking shit out of context. everyone looked at a slowed-down gif of one shot in the trailer and cried "babygirl!! he's such a simp, he just wants to be dommed!!", when actually that scene is about how a) Stede is cringefail and terrible at being a typical harsh, commanding pirate, and b) Ed is lovingly embarrassed by this. he encourages Stede to assert himself (and give Ed something to do during his probation/help him make amends with the crew), but like. normally. he's acting perfectly normal in that scene, and mostly annoyed by the outfit and embarrassed by how badly Stede fails. but just because he's sitting down while Stede is standing, and he happens to take a breath in that one shot (because, you know, people breathe sometimes), everyone's doubled down on their "submissive babygirl" bullshit, and I can't get the fuck away from it.

which - listen, it's fun for me, too! it's fun to explore exaggerated aspects of a character, it's fun to read/write/draw that angle in smut, I get it! but I keep seeing people keep claim it's literally canon, and I cannot stress enough that that is Straight Up False. for the love of god, please just watch the show without your (potentially kinda racist) bias glasses on, and remember to treat the characters with respect instead of projecting onto their every interaction a shallow dom/sub binary just because you find it hot.

Our Flag is a show very specifically about masculinity, and what it means to be a man; how assumptions about that can harm and restrict men; and how men can grow beyond them. it's a nuanced and sympathetic examination of this. the whole point is that Ed is allowed to like nice fabrics and be tired of violent piracy and still be a man. the point is that two men fall in love - equal, honest, sincere love - and are still men, still exactly who they are.

(on that note, insisting that Ed is canonically trans or femme because of these things often ends up just leaning into gendered stereotypes: men are harsh and active and dominant, and women are soft and passive and submissive, and if Ed's not the former, he must be the latter, right? it also tends to hetero-ify the central relationship, casting Stede as "the boy" and Ed as "the girl", needing one to be masc and one femme. not always, and again, I understand and have enjoyed transformative works that take those elements and run with them, and explore what the story could be like if Ed were trans/nb/etc - but it's still a transformative interpretation. it's not canon.)

relatedly: those fucking wedding toppers! it seemed blatantly obvious to me that half the point of those scenes was that Ed is distraught and blaming himself for Stede leaving because he wasn't the ideal partner. it's his entire arc for the first half of season 2! Ed hates himself and believes there's something wrong about him that makes him unlovable. so he keeps and then discards the wedding toppers, painting himself onto one of them, because he's projecting himself onto an image of ideal/successful romantic love that he thinks Stede wants, and in which he doesn't fit. he's trying to mould himself into someone else to make himself lovable, not realising that Stede already loves him for himself.

so it's important to the whole narrative that Ed's yearning for/projection onto the wedding toppers is false, and born from his insecurity. he gets drunk, and play-acts a stereotypical image of romantic happiness into which he doesn't fit, but real love looks nothing like that, because real love isn't found in stifling hegemonic cultural structures, but honest, emotional connections between people allowed to be their whole, vulnerable selves. Stede is not like the groom, and Ed is not like the bride, because they shouldn't have to be. Ed should not (and does not) have to warp himself into a demure bride in order to be worthy of love: he's already lovable and loved exactly as he is! that's the point!! of the scene!!!!!!

like, it's important that the groom figure isn't actually like Stede, either. yes, it's blond and has a nice, peach-coloured suit, but a) Stede was very specifically unhappy in the posh, heterosexual, married state the figures represent, and b) Stede by this point looks nothing like that figurine. it's directly contrasted with the image of him in the rowboat, scruffy and plain and earnestly in love, rather than fancy, cold ceramic.

[EDIT 29/12/24: I ended up writing a whole Twitter essay about the wedding cake toppers that I then gussied up for Tumblr; so if you want a clearer, more substantial, and better supported argument about those, check that out!]

but no, I have to wade through swathes of art and fic and meta about how badly Ed wants to be a sweet little demure kitty princess, how he wants a wedding night and a ring to prove he's Stede's property, and acting as if this is somehow canon, because people on the internet have zero reading comprehension and are scared of brown men.

the whole point of Our Flag is that you don't need to compress yourself into prescribed social roles, and in fact, doing so will only make you miserable; and that racist, patriarchal, colonial institutions should be resisted and dismantled at every opportunity.

so tell me again why the ultimate message is that Ed and Stede should get married under an arch in front of an altar and their lined-up friends, with flowers and rice falling around them, all dressed in white, one in a suit and one in a dress, with rings and a kiss and a honeymoon after, before they move into a detached house with a yard and a fence and re-adopt the kids that Stede abandoned? and this isn't about promises, fidelity, or even monogamy - I'm specifically talking about everyone in this fandom who seems to think that the ultimate goal is the most stereotypical 20th century cisheteropatriarchal christian wedding, but with the name "matelotage" slapped on top, as if that takes away all of the underlying baggage.

just - I know we're all meant to hate men and masculinity and yadda yadda yadda, but actually, to be earnest for a second, men deserve respect too, because all people and all genders do. and two men are allowed to be in a relationship and still both be men - complex men, with their own, layered relationships to their gender - without having to fall into neatly-arranged dom/sub masc/femme roles, or seal the deal with a hegemonically-approved ceremony.

so please, stop reducing an indigenous lead character to a caricature of a femme uwu princess bottom just because he has long hair, wore a robe once, and you're too scared of brown men to imagine him with proper agency. and then please, for the love of god, stop claiming that that interpretation is canon.

[lucianalight]

Magic, storytelling, Time and Death

or my scattered thoughts on Agatha All Along 1x07

"The felow of time is an illusion."

"Your path winds out of time."

This is consistent world building. Sth mcu lacked for a long time. Now I don't know whether this was planned or not. But the way they handled Lilia's connection to time, is consistent with Loki Series and general world building of mcu.

For someone out of it, time is an ever changing chaotic tree. The flow of it is only felt by people who live in it. And for each of their choices a new timeline appears. And if someone go back in time, they can't really change their past because then their future becomes their past and a new timeline appears which wouldn't be theirs.

I spent some time thinking about whether what happened to Lilia was time slipping the same as Loki. It's not. Loki could move through time and space and could cause changes and control the events to a certain point.

Lilia's task is not to control but to see. She can glimpse through her life but can't change anything. Which brings us to one of the central themes of Loki series this episode touched: The connection between magic and storytelling. The safe passage spread is basically a cycle of hero's journey. And in this trial the hero is Lilia. As the coven are the travellers in the Road and as Agatha is the protagonist of the story.

What makes Loki the god of stories in mcu is his ability to rewrite the story, the story being the singular "sacred timeline", by letting everyone write their own stories. Therefore what a divination witch can do is reading others' stories as well as writing their own.

This connection to stories also shows itself with the theme of the trial. Sure it's because of the stereotypes Lilia hate too but it also speaks of the power of stories. I found it interesting that all of them were cosplaying as classic evil witches except Lilia who I assume is Glinda. A hint to their personality? Like the new Maleficent movies show her as a character who is both a hero and a villain. Perhaps hinting at the same potential for Billy/William and his identity issues? Not to mention there's sth weird going on with Billy and the Road as others mentioned before. Billy starting all the trials. Lilia appearing just a he wished she was there. The blue lighting in the road. Lilia's cryptic "because you need me now". It could simply be sarcasm but it could mean sth more.

But then this means Jen would be evil? And I'm highly doubtful of that. She isn't set up like that. It would be a good twist though. What is certain about her is that she is the path ahead. Seems like she plays a vital role in future episodes and possibly gets her powers back. (She's also Lilia's sister in craft. Not just as a witch. I think that broom exchange possibly creates a deeper bond. Another evidence against her being evil).

The destination is Death. I'm curious about how they're going to explore the concept of Death as the original green witch. She's set up to be an antagonist and seems like to be the big baddy at the end. I have some doubts though. All roads lead to Death(unless you're Loki :D) but it's not necessary a bad thing. Why Death would be the antagonist? Isn't meeting it what we all have in common as Lilia's teacher said? And that in a larger scale makes all of us, all the living, a coven? "We are one" etc? Someone said Rio Vidal means the river of life. It is such a poetic take on Death to make it what brings everyone to the hypothetical sea. I don't know why she would be a villain and not a neutral entity.

Speaking of Death, is Wanda really dead? Yes, no, maybe(Thor's answer every time someone asks him whether Loki's dead :P :D ). The only other person aside from Agatha who we are sure saw her body is Rio. But she never said Wanda's dead, she said "that witch is gone". Maybe this means the scarlet witch is gone but Wanda survived?

If she returns though she's going to have to deal with Billy's new mom, her ex bestfriend turned enemy turned adoptive mom to her son and Billy's mommy issues with two of his moms.

Before the destination though there will be a great transformation. It was about Lilia in this episode but also it's about Agatha our main protagonist who is being more truthful and visibly protective and lowering her walls and yet Billy doesn't trust her and questions everything and it hurts her. She represented the obstacles in tarot. Her grief, sorrow and heartbreak are her obstacles.

The episode takes us through the story of its hero in a nonchronological order as she experienes it. And the hero goes through her journey and bravely faces her fear and overcomes it as she forshadows what's about to come. It's starts and ends with falling. A full circle. A story arc within a story arc.

[aralisj]

hi umm if you wouldn't mind......... would u drop the "carmy is autistic" list..... because you're so right he's so autistic-coded but i want to compare notes

You don't know the can of worms that you just opened. Know that I cracked my knuckles and kicked my feet excitedly when I got this ask and I would LOVE to hear your insights too.

This is pretty much the format I used for myself, so I do apologize if there's something wrong with it. Also, this is only my appreciation of it and autism is a spectrum, etc.

Difficulty socializing - Imitating forms of communication (sign for "sorry", cursing) - Unable to read when he's being rude (shitty) and need for external confirmation from Sydney - Uneasy in group gatherings (not joining the rest of the staff for family during his first weeks at The Beef), avoiding social events (never been to a party, misses family reunions) - Can be gregarious when masking/using costumes - specifically the scene with him pretending to be Logan at the party - "And [Mikey] had this amazing ability. He could just, he could walk into a room, and he could take the temperature of it instantly. You know, he could just, he could dial it. And, um… I'm not built like that, man. I, um… I didn't have a lot of friends growing up. I had a, a stutter when I was a kid. I was scared to speak half the time. And, uh, I got shitty grades 'cause I couldn't pay attention in school. I didn't get into college. I didn't have any girlfriends. I don't think I'm funny."

Problems with body language - Cannot read easily when he's being teased/mocked and when he isn't: - He gets really defensive when Mikey and Richie mention Claire even if they're being genuine and doesn't calm down until Stevie says so. - He doesn't realize Sydney is joking at first in the alley scene or her outright mocking him in the S3 trailer ("I can sense the sarcasm" "No, no, no. Not sarcasm, snark, contempt even.") - Asking Sydney constantly what's wrong - he listens intently which suggests that he cares but he genuinely can't pick up on what the problem is - Lack of eye contact, especially at the beginning, giving priority to looking at the food than whoever he's talking to. He seems more comfortable with looking at Syd and Richie in the eye than the rest.

Difficulty making friends and navigating relationships - No romantic relationships before Claire (we assume 🤷🏻‍♀️) - When Claire called him and told him that Fak said he was his best friend, Carmy took a second to process and then agreed. He genuinely has no idea. - The whole "a girl who is a friend" debacle

Stimming - Fiddling with his spoon, shaking hands and blinking hard - Arguably, also smoking

Routine -~Consistency~ - "And the routine of the kitchen was so… consistent and exacting and busy and hard and alive" - Wears almost the same outfit every day (white t-shirt, slacks, coat, apron) - Doesn't deal well with change

Special interests - Cooking, drawing, (vintage) fashion - he's really out there cooking in hundred dollar t-shirts and gifting Thom Browne chef whites - Creative and flourishing in his chosen field ("I felt like I could speak through the food, like I could communicate through creativity. And that kind of confidence, you know, like I was finally… I was good at something, that was so new, and that was so exciting") - Understanding the world and other people in terms of food

Abnormal sensory response - Cannot stand certain sounds (~ball breaker~) and doesn't mind others (alarm) - Possibly heightened sense of taste/smell?

From childhood and more notorious overtime - Described as weird and shy even as a child - Stutter - Bad at school

More notorious under stress - Meltdowns and lashing out (1x07, 2x10) - Gets overwhelmed when plans change - Shutdown/anxiety attack after sleeping with Claire

Not playing cooperatively - Individualistic and cutthroat in the kitchen - VERY task focused (when he’s cooking HE IS COOKING) - Territorial over his things (knife) - He has a hard time finding a managerial style that suits him, delegating, and motivating the staff

Detail oriented - Toothbrush cleaning - The bowl thing in S3 trailer - His ~everything~ tbh

Depression, anxiety and APD comorbidity - Having special interests/happy stimming/needs shut down at a young age resulting in a pessimistic mindset (waiting for the other shoe to drop), anxiety attacks and unhealthy attachment styles - His trauma plays a huge role in this too but autistic children are particularly prone to suffering abuse in silence/staying in toxic environments and relationships

Insomnia

Alexithymia - "I Googled fun." - "I guess all the time I feel like I'm kind of trapped because I can't… Describe how I'm feeling. So to ask someone else how they’re feeling, that seems, uh… I don’t know, insane?" - "I hate this feeling" "What feeling, Carm?" "Uh, I'm not sure."

Black and white thinking - Difficulty focusing on more than one thing at a time, a very clear example is the majority of S2 when he's trying to juggle a relationship with Claire with opening the restaurant, while actively compartimentalizing the two of them, ignoring Syd's calls while he's out, then Claire's when he's at the restaurant - At the beginning of S1, he's hanging onto the idea that there's only ONE way to properly run a restaurant - Whatever "advice" he gets from Al Anon meetings is taken to the extreme, causing most of his fuck ups of S1 (more on this) - In the same vein, my boy can't understand a metaphor to save his life

I'm keeping track of the list (more or less) here

[i-believe-in-melinda-may]

Okay, i really enjoyed that: thoughts on 1x07

THIS Is what 1x06 should have been, an episode where you learnt the characters backstory and yet still moved the story forward. SPOILERS BELOW

"Want a straight answer ask a straight lady" that was epic

I LOVED that the one thing Agatha said Billy can't ask about is Rio.

'What can i say, i like the bad boys..." Agatha you are my queen.

I really like the Jen/Lilia bonding, Jen pisses me off a lot but i really liked her in this episode.

I will have to give a couple more re-watches to get it all but i like how they tied everything from the past together.

Rio as Death was EPIC

"HEARTBREAK"- For Agatha... oh this is going to hurt.

"When she calls you coward hit the deck"-that's going to be Rio saying that isn't it....

I am sooo sad about Lilia, i loved her so much, i don't know if i am going to be able to keep her alive for the story i am writing but i'll see.

Tarror proving that Agatha is telling the truth... interesting.

There was a noticeable pause between EX and Friend when talking about Wanda... .right.

I did love Jen being so confused but just going along with everything

Jen becoming High Prentiss, ohhh that is good.

I figured about half way through that Lilia was dead/about to die, but i was still holding out that she wasn't. RIP Lilia i love you.

Rio not being in this episode actually made sense and i didn't hate as much, BECAUSE we still got the others.

I'll watch again later today to see if there is anything else i wanted to talk about.

SO 1X08 IS GOING TO BE AGATHARIO HISTORY RIGHT?? RIGHT???