#Also the good news is that my parter was there! 9 years ago they were on shift in a city 2 hours away

[lesquatrechevrons]

I want to go back in time to 2015 me and grab me by the shoulders and shake me a bit and tell myself: “you will fall again, and you’ll sprain your ankle, again (other one this time). But at least time time you won’t be hobbling alone and your bedroom is not up a flight of stairs. But it’s still going to suck because you don’t get to play DAV”

[silversatin2105]

Shaman king: Hao meeting his queen

Hi I have taken a little bit of a break from writing Akina’s story just to do three parter ficlets, This one will cover him meeting his future wife and their first year together , In this I have decided to give her the name Usagi as suggested by one of my followers and she will be an Itako from the Patch tribe, If you like this content please drop it a like and reblog and if you don’t ignore it.

Shaman king: Hao meeting his queen

It was a new day for Usagi in Patch village, She knew that the shaman tournament was about to start as strange faces from all around the globe started to appear, She had been busy perfecting her skills and making sure she had plenty of trinkets to sell the newcomers, On that day the weather was nice and warm as she left the hut she shared with her carer.

“What a nice day” the red head remarked as she went down to the river side to collect water for her cooking as it was her turn to make breakfast, from her backpack she took a ceramic pot and filled it with water that she would use to make porridge for the youngsters, A task that she enjoyed.

As she prepared to carry the pot back to her hut she heard a commotion in the village centre, being the inquisitive type she approached the crowd, to her surprise was a big group of new shaman following a guy with long hair and star shaped earrings, “Who is that ?” she thought as she watched them walk on by, As soon as they went she was approached by Silva.

“I want you to stay away from that shaman Usagi” Silva warned in a strict tone as he gently guided her from the crowd and back up to her hut, Silva had been watching over Usagi ever since her parents were murdered just five years ago, the elder shaman helped her prepare breakfast, Usagi tried to clear her thoughts of the mysterious stranger but the more she tried to push it from her mind the more she wanted to know who he was.

“Breakfasts ready” Usagi called out to the youngsters as they all came out from where they were and took a seat at the central table, She busied herself serving out the porridge to each child before taking her own and sitting down at the table.

Before eating they thanked the great spirits for the food they were about to eat, a mark of respect to nature for providing another day of peace and equanimity, After breakfast she washed the dishes and got her stock ready to go into the village and sell them for money to pay for tomorrows set of meals.

By the time she arrived in the village centre it was 9 o’clock, She took out her goods and arranged them by type, first was the oracle bell accessories, second was a set of woven necklaces that she had spent most of last night finishing and lastly was the key rings and charms she had prepped a few days ago, when she was sure all looked right she took a seat and did her cash float.

“The store is open “ Usagi called out with enthusiasm, She served her first customer and did her usual customer service greetings, At that moment the mysterious figure she saw earlier approached her stall and browsed the collection of trinkets on offer, after a while he looked at Usagi picking up a pentacle necklace.

“How much for this ?” the figure asked with a kind smile looking over its craftsmanship, Usagi looked up at him and stood up clearing off her dress whilst looking at him with her amber shaded eyes.

“It will be 20 dollars, I also have a shaman tournament deal on that you will receive a lucky charm for 5 dollars” Usagi spoke out the price ready to haggle if she needed to as the price of that necklace and charm could feed the youngsters for two meals.

“Oh do I look like the type who needs a lucky charm? “ The figure questioned in a playful tone looking the girl in front of him up and down almost judging her every move and testing her resolve, Usagi just raised her eyebrow and looked at the stranger in front of her.

“Look it’s a deal we have ongoing at the moment and I think everyone participating will need some amount of luck, trust me I have looked into the history of past tournaments and lets just say its no game of red light/ green light” Usagi explained to the guy in front of her making him laugh in response he was amused by her concern for the contestants of the tournament.

“A ha I see well I don’t need it, I bring my own luck” The long haired shaman retorted looking at Usagi with a curt smirk, At that moment Usagi was getting frustrated with the strange shaman in front of her, She went to speak but he cut her off almost beating him to the punch.

“I will however buy the necklace and offer the five dollars as a satisfied customer” He spoke taking the money from his pocket giving it to her making her even more suspicious, Usagi crossed her arms at that moment looking at him.

“Why was there such a commotion surrounding you earlier?” Usagi questioned looking at him determined to get her answer, this guy had ticked her off and her curiosity from earlier had been quelled but not cured.

“Well you see the reason there was such a commotion earlier is that I will be the future king” the figure answered looking at the girl with a peaceful smile before going to leave her stall, Usagi was peeved at this to her this seemed like a mocking answer and overly confident at that.

“Don’t you think its conceited to crown yourself king before you’ve actually won the tournament, let me give you a piece of advice drop the cocky attitude and you may make friends around here” Usagi warned the guy as he spun round pinning her to the wall looking into her eyes with anger almost as if she had said something taboo.

“Listen here girl you should watch who your speaking to, What if I wasn’t a nice shaman, What if I could end your life and destroy your soul at the same time, think before you…..” The figure warned before usagi cut him off looking into his eyes with a glint of anger at what he was doing.

“No you think before you speak, I was giving you advice for life around here and you took it like a petulant child, You look what fourteen years old well I am about one year your senior so cool it” Usagi schooled him making him step back in surprise, He had not been spoken to like that in all his years of being on this earth.

When the silence had cleared the figure burst into fresh laughter confusing Usagi, It was true laughter as he held his side looking up at the girl as she uncrossed her arms looking at him as if he was insane.

“you’re the first one in a while to talk to me like that, You seem strong willed I like that what’s your name girl?” the guy questioned her after regaining his composure at that moment Usagi had let her guard down a little more.

“The names Usagi, I live in the west corner of the village” Usagi introduced herself leaning against the nearby wall whilst straightening out her hair with her fingers, the figure stood by her with a smirk.

“Nice to meet you Usagi, My name is Hao…Remember it well and I do suggest you decide your loyalties, just a piece of advice” Hao trailed off before leaving her stall leaving her confused, What a weirdo she thought as she went back to selling her goods.

At the end of the working day she had managed to sell all her necklaces, Perfect that will do for meals for a couple of days was her thoughts as she made her way home to greet her guardian, He had already prepared the evening meal.

“Wow Silva this looks great” Usagi complimented him before tucking in, He looked at her with a kind smile and sipped his tea before taking a seat by her as she ate.

“Thank you, How was the sales today?” He questioned looking at her coin purse before taking another sip of his tea as she took the pouch from her side and continued eating her meal; she then took a sip of her own tea.

“The takings are well, we will be able to buy food for a couple of days” Usagi proudly spoke as Silva looked over the stock noticing that she had undersold on charms today, He raised an eyebrow looking at her with crossed arms.

“I see that you have undersold on charms today, the tournament is coming up and the contestants will need all the luck they can get, Have you been offering them like I suggested” Silva questioned her looking for an honest answer.

“I did as you suggested but that strange shaman didn’t want to buy one, said he already was lucky and get this he already thinks he has…” Usagi went on to say before being cut off by her guardian he looked at her with a grimace, this was a situation he didn’t want happening.

“I specifically told you not to get involved with him, what did he tell you?” Silva questioned sternly as if the fate of the earth depended on her answer, this was out of character for Silva as he usually respected her judgment on things, something was wrong this time around as Silva looked like he might break from his anger.

“He didn’t say much, All he said is that he will be the future king and when I called him out on it he threatened me, He told me he could destroy my body and soul he was quite rude so I told him off again and he oddly started laughing he then asked me my name and greeted himself as Hao and before leaving he told me to sort out my loyalties” Usagi told him everything and most of the truth each word adding to his anger, He looked like he might explode at any moment.

“That bastard, From now on your job of selling trinkets is temporarily revoked, That job will be given to kalim and you are not to leave the village alone” Silva ordered her as he stood up and walked towards the door as Usagi stood in protest looking at him.

“Silva that’s unfair I want to help out in anyway I can” Usagi protested to him making him turn round to look at her with a growl, what had him so enraged she thought before he spoke to her again.

“I have spoken, Godiva will be told of the new rulings, till then I will look for jobs you can do and I suggest you do your best to put that guy out of your mind, it will do you no good Usagi” Silva said before heading out to make his reports leaving her confused and upset, What was the issue was her thoughts.

And with that the night had came to a close as flared anger caused misunderstandings, What was going to happen next ?

[afaimsarrowverse]

Arrowverse Season 2021/22 Overview:

„Supergirl“‘s and „Stargirl“‘s 2020/21-Seasons are still running, which is very strange, but I wanted to make on of those anyways before the new Seasons are starting to air, so I will just include „Supergirl“ in it for one last time, I guess. But with the upcoming Five Episode Event I felt like I had to do one.

 Supergirl:

„Supergirl“ Season 6 is still airing, and even though the season does actually belong to the 2020/21-Season while the 2021/22 Season is about to start, the show will be around for two more months. The Finale will air on November 9th, it will be a two hour event, so to speak, however it is currently unknown if the last two episodes are an actual two-parter or if they are just airing on the same day for scheduling reasons.

We have reached the second half of the season, which will include the guest appearances of well known faces, starting with Mxyzptlk and John Diggle in the current episodes. Mxy will of course return in later episodes to wrap up his storyline. Lex and Lillian will also make their return. Odette Annable was supposed to return somewhen this season, but since we have not heard anything about that anymore, it might have fallen through. However we will see Eliza Danvers and our boys again. Eliza as well als James, Winn and Mon-El will be in the Series Finale and some of them might drop in sometime before that. Nyxly and her hunt for totems will be the main story arc in the upcoming episodes, with each episode focusing on one totem and its trait and a Superfriend, who does represent that trait. Also, both Kelly and Lena will embrace their newfound destinies, while William will be tasked with Andrea’s Superfriends focused news stories.

Hopefully we will get so see M’gann somewhen before the show wraps again and get an explanation for her absence since Kara has returned, but this is not confirmed. Also John Diggle might be the only guest appearance from other Arrowverse Shows for the Final Season. In theory Clark, Lois and Barry could show up, however only if they would have filmed those scenes around the time their respective Seasons wrapped and before they went on leave. It does however seem that we will see the return of Overgirl in the Finale. There is going to be an epic battle (or a couple of battles) that will involve pretty much everyone (including James, Winn and Mon-El) and there will be a funeral. But don’t worry, oddly enough pretty much everyone will be attending this funeral, so … could it be Supergirl’s funeral and the way to end the show, with Kara either power-less or leaving for another place? Also, we might get a wedding in the Finale as well.

With the end of „Supergirl“ Melissa will be done with the Arrowverse for a while, however Chyler will be back in the weeks after on „The Flash“, and we might get to see Kelly and Nia as well the other shows after the Finale has aired.

 Batwoman:

Season 3 of „Batwoman“ will start airing on October 13th on The CW, so yes, the show will move to Wednesdays at 9:00 pm.

Ryan, Alice, Luke, Mary and Sophie are all back. The first trailer already dropped and does explain how and why Alice is still on the show. Meanwhile there is no word on Jacob. However Season 3 will add Robin Givens as Jada Jet, Nick Creegan as Marquis Jet and finally (sadly two seasons too late) Renee Montoya played by Victoria Cartagena to the Main Cast. Montoya will be a former Police Officer in this version, continuing the Police and Armed Forces Corruption Trend into Season 3, as she did quit for ehtical reasons. She will now run a „Freak Divsion“ for the Mayor’s Office, and we might even get the Question already. Maybe.

The Jets on the other hand are a rich and powerful family, with mother Jada running Jets Industries. Son Marquis on the other hand will be the typical good-for-nothing playboy at constant war with his mother. Now I will just have to admit that I have stopped watching „Batwoman“ and don’t intend to return to watch it ever again outside of Future Crossover Episodes (maybe), but it looks like the Jada is maybe Ryan‘s birth-mother and that this is the connection of those characters to Ryan. If that isn’t the case … well, then there is another first-born child Jada had to give up and is guilting on about, so … yeah, make of this what you will.

Bigger news are the villains. Every one and their mother did hear about Poisin Ivy showing up this year. Bridget Regan will play her, and she has history with Batman, so she will be Poison Ivy already. Also Mad Hatter will appear this season, and so will Killer Croc it seems. The show may also feature Penguine, but don’t hold your breath for that.

Now, production-wise Season 2 lost it’s final episode. It is unknown if 3.01 will just be that one, or if they like after Season 1 just put it in the trash and completley re-wrote it. Also according the the Director’s Guild Season 3 will wrap in December, which means The CW probably only ordered 13 episodes. Now, they may extend that order to something between 15 and 18 Episodes, but it does seems likely that they are planning to replace „Batwoman“ with either „Superman & Lois“ or „Naomi“ in early 2022, so it might really be a 13 Episodes Season.

However, we will see Ryan Wilder interact with someone else from the Arrowverse this year, but not on „Batwoman“. She will guest star on Season 8 of „The Flash“, meaning that there will probably be a Ryan-less or Ryan-light episode somewhere in the middle of this 13 episodes, so be ready for that.

 Legends of Tomorrow:

Legends of Tomorrow will return from their shortest break in-between seasons ever on October 13th and will air on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm.

The first trailer dropped already and confirms what we have been told at ComicCon and seen in the Season 6 Finale:  Yes, the Legends (minus Mick and Kayla) are stranded in 1920s with a broken or destroyed Waverider. They have to deal with this, when Season 7 begins.

John Constantine has left the show, but Matt Ryan hasn’t. He will play a new character this season. A scientist called Gwyn Davies, who is probably related to John Constantine and might have something to do with the key John gave to Zari. He will be the only hope for the Legends to ever get out oft he 1920s it seems. The other new-old addition to the main cast will be fleshy Gideon, we learned. Given what happened to the Waverider, it will be interesting to see how this comes about, however the 100th Episode is a good guess to when it will happen.

Now, given that Season 6 just finished airing a few weeks ago, we don’t know much about Season 7. We have the titles of the first six episodes, Episode 3 is the 100th and will be directed by Caity Lotz (funnily enough it’s her third episode as well!), Episode 5 will probably focus on Gwyn Davies, and according to the Director’s Guild „Legends“ is supposed to wrap in December, which means it finally happened - we will get only 13 Episodes this year. However, The CW may extend this order, they have done so several times in the past, and if we are lucky and keep our fingers crossed they may extend their oder to 15 or maybe even 16 episodes again. However just like in the case of „Batwoman“ the show is probably supposed to be replaced by either „Naomi“ or „Superman & Lois“ at the Mid-Season, so it really depends on the 2022 schedule and on how fast the production goes on and on well … the question if this will be the show‘s last season.

But before we deal with that one, let’s deal with the other open questions. We are supposed to see Dom again in Season 7, he and Phil made a handshake deal on that. But will it really happen? I have no idea, because like everyone else, I have no idea what the falling out was actually about (my best guess is that they wanted him for half a season and he was not to pleased with that idea in the middle of a pandemic), but the travelling restrictions are lifted for vaccinated people at least, so if we are lucky this might just work out. However I have no idea when, how often, and in what order his appearances or his appearance will happen. And yes, traditionally it should be the 100th Episode, but I have no idea if there are special guest stars in there. If there are, other than Mick, the best guess to who it might be would be Ray Palmer and John Constantine. Brandon Routh will appear as Ray Palmer in Season 8 of „The Flash“, meaning that he went to Vancouver to shoot stuff, so he could have been there longer already and shot something for the 100th Episode, but the timing does not seem right, we might get to see him in another episode of Season 7 instead or we might not see him at all. As for John, Matt Ryan is still on the show, and yes, the did say time and time again that Constantine’s story on the show is done, but his last scene was very strange and left many unanswered questions, he cleary was from a point in the future and knew about the cliffhangar, plus we never saw him get out of the Fountain, which was kind of strange, so maybe they will actually wrap up his story in Season 7. Now, Matt Ryan did post a picture of Constantine walking away some days after the Finale of Season 6 had aired, but he could have posted this after he had just shot his last appearance as John Constantine. But even if they wrap up these open questions or reveal that the person in that last scene was not John at all and he is actually still dead or something like that, they might not do in the 100th Episode but at a later point. Or they might not do it all. They had two seasons to make Charlie and Amaya meet and did not do it, it is very possible that we actually did saw the last of John in Season 6.

So now to the question we don’t want to think about: Will Season 7 be the final Season? I have said time and time again, that „Legends“ is the one Arrowverse-Show that could go on forever, if they wanted to. The ever-changing cast would make it possible. Even if Caity Lotz were to leave, they could just make another character the new Team Leader, they could even go as far as to make it Nia Nal or Nora West-Allen. However I don’t really think The CW thinks like that. Now, the show is still around because the producers are doing what they can to reduce the cost of it. „Superman & Lois“ is the Arrowverse-Show with the biggest budget, but it get’s money from HBOmax, as does „Batwoman“ or so they say, however „Legends“ does not, and it is show that costs the network the most. The have to recreate several different time periods on a weekly basis and are an ensemble show, do the maths. Also this season will include the 100th episode, and while streaming changed the television landscape up quite a lot in the last couple of years, old pratices are still a factor in the mind of Network Executives, meaning they want 100 Episodes but often don’t really care about the seasons after this point.

However, The CW and Mark Pedowitz really want to do another Crossover, if they can get one. And the Five Episode Event on „The Flash“ won’t really be that. And after „Supergirl“ is finished, „Legends“ and „The Flash“ will be the only Arrowverse-Shows from good old times, whose characters do know and like each other. While everyone knows Superman, they are still keeping this show apart from the rest of the Arrowverse, so I do think that if „The Flash“ gets a 9th Season, they are probably going to give „Legends“ an 8th Season, if Caity Lotz stays on the show and ratings are at the usual level. However I might be wrong there.

But if they are axing the show or ending it, we will probably be informed about it before Season 7 starts airing. If Season 7 is the last one, the writers should know that by now. And I also think that if Season 7 is the last one, they might just add a couple of episodes to it in order to make a Finale.

So yeah, I don’t know, we really have to wait and see, but the show will in any case get a proper ending, that much is for sure.

 The Flash:

Covid delays lead to a later than usual start for the shooting of Season 8. So while „Batwoman“ and „Legends of Tomorrow“ have already done around 7 episodes each, „The Flash“ is still on Episode 3, which is why the season will only start airing on November 16th.

The season will start of with „Armageddon“ – a Five Part Special Event, that will involve various guest stars and might or might not be based on the Comic-Event with the same name. „Armageddon“ will feature Ray Palmer (the Atom), Jefferson Pierce (Black Lightning), Alex Danvers (Sentinel), Mia Queen (Green Arrow), Eobard Thawne (Reverse-Flash), Damien Darhk, Ryan Choi and Ryan Wilder (Batwoman). Yes, most of those characters are from former shows (even though „Supergirl“ will just end the week before this event starts airing), but the new Batwoman is in it, so it is an actual Crossover with an on-going show. It will be the first time Ryan Wilder gets to interact with any Arrowverse-Characters outside of „Batwoman“. The villain of the piece will be Despero. Tony Curran will play the villain in probably both alien and human form. He might or might not team up with Eobard and Damien Darhk, who by the way was dead and in hell the last time we saw him, which combinded with Mia Smoak here leads into the idea that time travel might play into „Armageddon“, which will feature an Alien Invasion too big for Team Flash to handle alone, which is where all those guest stars come in. „Armageddon“ will also feature Deon Owen, Sue Dearborn and Jay Garrick. And Kristen Kramer, if Eric Wallace is to be believed, because the first few episoded of this season are supposed to explore her powers.

Now, there might be even more guest stars in „Armageddon“, but we can expect those who were announced to be the big ones. Everyone else is probably only doing a couple of scenes or a cameo. However let’s go through a list of likely suspects, who might also show up:

Kelly Olsen is of course the first, who comes to mind, she is only just becoming Guardian on „Supergirl“ now, the actress did stick around in Vancouver, and it would be weird if Alex was in those episodes but Kelly wasn’t. However, given that she was not announced, they either did not do that because they did not want to spoil her Guardian-Storyline (which just started a while after the guest stars were announced) or because she plays only a very small part in the storyline. Or she really is for whatever reason not in it. Next on the list would be Nora Darhk; with both her husband and her father showing up, it would be weird for her not to appear, but other than with Kelly there could be pratical reasons for that, namely Courtney‘s and Brandon’s son Leo. However with no Quarantine for vaccinated travelers from the US anymore, the whole family could have gone to Vancouver for a couple of days or weeks, so maybe she will show up. Then there is John Diggle. David Ramsey is directing Episode 2 of Season 2 of „Superman & Lois“, meaning he is in Vancouver, so in theory he could appear. I am compileing this before his last guest appreance on „Supergirl“ airs, when  the whole Green Lantern thing is still up in the air, so maybe we will get Green Lantern-Diggle in „Armageddon“ after all. And then there is of course Superman. „Superman & Lois“ did just start filming Season 2, so the main reason Tyler is not among these guest stars is probably scheduling. However he might be able to film a cameo or even a couple of scenes, so there is hope, just remember that they would have announced it, if he would play a big part in it.

Now Bart and Nora West-Allen are confirmed to be in this season, however it is unknown if they are in „Armageddon“. Scheduling is a conflict there for Jordan Fisher, who has a Broadway Show upcoming soon, so I am not sure when Impulse and XS will show up, however it would be more logical for them to be around at the beginning of the season rather than in the middle or at the end. Also Iris‘ Time-Sickness is not cured and will factor into the season, however Eric Wallace stated this would come into play after „Armageddon“, so maybe her kids will factor into that storyline.

After „Armageddon“ we will return to the Horror-Gerne it seems, with a villain that will make Barrys and Iris‘ life into a living nightmare. Whatever that is supposed to mean. There are guesses around who this villain is, but no one really knows. It also is a problem that Eric Wallace tends to talk very much without saying anything and often misleads people with his discription of up-coming storylines so … I would say think about the Bloodwork-Arc, it might just be something along these lines, or maybe it just is the person, who causes Iris to be time-sick (whatever that actually means) and Westallen will spend most of Season 8 apart again, because this is just the way Wallace writes them in order to keep their relationship interesting.

There will also be a storyline for Frost and Caitlin, that was supposed to be in Season 7, and maybe if we are very lucky that will finally be the one about their Mother and her Ice Powers. Joe will also get a storyline, which … I have no idea … might continue his strange Season 7 Storyline about being or not being a cop. Or he might just marry Cecile and that’s it, like I said Wallace ha a strange way of teasing upcoming storylines.

As for the Ralph-Question, no news there, as for the „Will we see Cisco this season?“-Question, also no news. Now, Rick Cosnett said something about returning to „The Flash“, however he might not have meant Season 8, if the season is not the last one, he might have referred to the same storyline Tom Cavanagh talked about a while back - the Final Storyline. And yes, there was talk about the return of Zoom, but this was more an actor wanting to return to a show than anything planned, so don’t expect him to show up anytime soon either. As for Bloodwork and Goodspeed, I have no idea if and when their storylines are going to be resolved, but the chances for Goodspeed are slighty better, I think.

Now, finally: Will Season 8 be the Last Season of „The Flash“? That really is up to Grant Gustin and what he signed on for when he signed up for Season 8. Despite Season 7 The CW still wants the show as long as possible around. If Grant sigend up for Season 8 and 9, there will be a Season 9. If he only signed up for Season 8, it depends on a decision he should be making soon. In any case, if Season 8 is the last Season, we will learn that before it starts airing aka in the next couple of months. And they will know long enough beforehand to do their planned Final Storyline.

Given they only began filming in late August and that they are taking their time with the Event, Season 8 will be shorter again. It will probably be around 18 Episodes, maybe if we are lucky, they will get to do 20, but a full 22 Episode Season is rather unlikely to happen.

 Superman & Lois:

„Superman & Lois“ will return in 2022. The Second Season will feature Natalie Irons played by Taylor Buck as a member of the Main Cast. Sofia Hasmik was also promoted to the Main Cast. Tal-Rho will still be part of the show, however I am not too sure about him still being part of the Main Cast in Season 2. However both he and Leslie Larr will figure into the season.

The main villain won’t be Kryptonian this year. We will learn Tegan Wickhem’s backround (and which Flash Villain she is related to, I hope), Jordan will have to decide if he tells Sarah about his secret or not, and might not agree with his parent on that matter. John Henry will get to parent again, while Intergang and Killgrave will get new allies.

David Ramsey will be directing Episode 2 of this season, but this does not mean that John Diggle will return to the show. Given that this is „Superman & Lois“, even if he is going to guest-star this season, he won’t do that in Episode 2, but rather a couple of episodes later, when he is finished with the directorial stuff.

The Director’s Guilt Date does indicated that Season 2 is aiming for 13-16 Episode Season again. The only just started filming and plan to wrap in April, and there will be a Christmas Break, and thanks to Covid most seasons will be shorter this year again anyways. The CW might of course extend their Episode Order again, but keep in mind that if they do that, they have the problem of having to start shooting Season 3 later again, so the show might settle for 15 Episode Seasons as their normal lenght in the end.

And while it is not confirmed that there will be a third season, it is very likely that the network will order one.

They are probably planning to have „Superman & Lois“ replace „Batwoman“ or „Legends“ in early 2022, but it will be months before we will know the exact start-date.

There will be a panel at DC-Fandome, hopefully we will get some sort of trailer with footage from the first couple of episodes and some information what the season is actually going to be about then, but for now this is sadly all we know about Season 2.

 I am still not covering „Stargirl“ as it hasn’t crossed over with the Arrowverse yet and I am alos not doing „Naomi“ because it won’t be an Arrowverse-Show. So that was it for this one.

[yeonchi]

Doctor Who Hiatusbreaker Update 2

Although the premiere of Doctor Who Series 13 is still a while off, let alone the announcement of a premiere date, there are a few things I’d like to talk about before that time comes. Let’s get right into it.

Filler series plans to talk about Series 1-10

Some time ago, I had plans to make a ten-part series talking about Series 1-10 in detail, but because I had a lot of stuff going on, those plans were reduced to something I call Doctor Who 10 for 10 - 10 Things for 10 Series, which was to state ten things about each series with at least 4 to 6 of these things being my opinions on each series. This was intended to be a filler series to bide the time before Series 13 comes out, but that may have to come at another time. I’m also continuing with Kisekae Insights if anyone wants to check it out.

The post-Series 13 forecast

Since Series 13 would be Jodie Whittaker’s third series as the Doctor, signs are pointing to this being her final series. There are also rumours stating that there will be two specials in 2022 that would serve as her final episodes. If this is the case, then it means that Jodie Whittaker would have been the Doctor for five years; a five-year-long ordeal of pain because series seem to be released pretty much every other year as a result of the almost-year-long gaps between them, not to mention the fact that less episodes are being produced as time goes on. Whether Chris Chibnall will be remaining on is still unknown at this time. Frankly, I’ll be glad when this is all over because I (and many other fans) have been kept hanging for so long. I just hope the Timeless Child payoff will be worth it.

At this point, the only reason why I’m still watching the series is mainly because I want to know how the Timeless Child arc plays out. The initial shocks have come and gone, but now this is where we wait and see if the aftershocks are as worse.

When I started my Thirteenth Doctor Reviews, I made a pact that I would cut off all ties with the series going forward if the Fourteenth Doctor was another female. Given the Timeless Child arc and the rumours that Olly Alexander would replace Jodie Whittaker (which would make him the first gay actor to play the Doctor) that came and went because his agent stated that he was focusing on music for the time being, I’ve honestly stopped giving a shit at this point. I’ll probably continue being a casual fan of Doctor Who, watching episodes as they come out, but regardless, all that this series will be to me is like what the Koei Warriors series has degraded itself to over the past decade. I’ll still be grateful for all the inspiration and opportunities it has provided me with over the years, but I’ll probably accept that the series has gone on a downward spiral with seemingly no way of coming back up. But hey, all will be revealed in due time, so the forecast isn’t that bleak for now.

The first look into Series 13 (added 26 July 2021)

So just today, two days after I originally published this post, the teaser trailer for Doctor Who Series 13 was released following the 2021 San Diego Comic Con@Home. Aside from the Doctor, Yaz and Dan, the only other character we see is Vinder, a recurring character throughout the series who will be played by Jacob Anderson. Recurring character, you say, and that’s because Series 13 will apparently be a single serialised story. This brings callbacks to The Trial of a Time Lord or more loosely, the multiple two-parters of Series 9. We still don’t get an exact premiere date, only that it will premiere “later this year”, but given that Series 11 and 12 took about 10 months to film, we can predict that filming of Series 13 will likely be wrapping up in the next month. Whether there will be a shorter run of five or six episodes (thereby reserving two of those episodes for the 2022 specials, assuming they won’t be filmed separately to Series 13) is unknown, but regardless, I’m looking forward to watching and reviewing the series for myself.

Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall leave Doctor Who (added 30 July 2021) 

In news that will surprise no one, Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall have announced that they will be leaving the series in 2022. Technically, the news isn’t much of a surprise in terms of Whittaker than it is for Chibnall, as Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat have been showrunner for two Doctors each. But hey, with this, it means that my Thirteenth Doctor Reviews will also be a review of Chibnall’s run as showrunner.

My initial thoughts on this, which may or may not change coming up to Whittaker’s final episode - it was an okay run while it lasted, but honestly, good riddance. How’s that five year plan of yours going, Chibnall? If your plan was to divide the fanbase and leave them hanging with gaps between series, then you’ve really done it.

On top of this, Series 13 will be six episodes long, with the remaining two episodes to be broadcast as specials in 2022. The first of them will be a New Year’s Special (surprise surprise) and the second will follow in Spring 2022 (Northern Hemisphere). The Thirteenth Doctor’s final episode will premiere in Autumn 2022 (Northern Hemisphere) as part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations. Some tentative dates I’m predicting are 18 October 2022, the 100th anniversary of the BBC, 23 November 2022, the 59th anniversary of Doctor Who, or 1 January 2023, which would make it another New Year’s Special (I’m not discounting 25 December 2022, I just think it’s less likely given how this era has been).

With this, the Fourteenth Doctor is expected to debut in 2023, the 60th anniversary year of Doctor Who. I just hope the new production team doesn’t disappoint the fans with that.

In terms of statistics, Jodie Whittaker has played the Doctor for 31 episodes, making her run the second shortest behind Christopher Eccleston. Peter Capaldi played the Doctor for 40 episodes, Matt Smith for 44 episodes and David Tennant for 47.

My hopes for Whittaker and Chibnall’s final episodes haven’t changed; I want to see what happens with the Timeless Child arc (and also Ruth). Whether the Fourteenth Doctor will be male or female (or played by a non-binary or trans actor), I have a few basic preliminary hopes for the next run; make each series 13 episodes again with a Christmas Special each year and put the series back on Saturday nights, like it was before Whittaker and Chibnall. Also, can we go back to filming in the 16:9 ratio? I can never get over how weird it looks on my screen (at full screen, it doesn’t look so weird when I have it playing on half screen, which is what I usually do when I write my reviews).

Jay Exci - The Fall of Doctor Who

Yes, it has been a while and I know I could have told everyone about this earlier, but better late than never I suppose. A couple of months ago, Jay Exci did a 5-hour long critique of the Chibnall era in his video, The Fall of Doctor Who. For some reason, there are those who see it as controversial because they’re NPCs who don’t want to hear criticism of the Chibnall era or they’re spergs who aren’t mature enough to sit through a 5-hour video they can watch in chunks, but hey, it’s pretty good. This is more in-depth than the reviews that people like Bowlestrek or Nerdrotic make, which essentially put Jay on their level in the eyes of the NPCs despite denying that they are on their level and being a sperg about how they’re better than them. Welcome to the party, Jay, you can check out anytime but you can never leave. 

Anyway, you can check out the video below. Even if you don’t feel like watching the whole video, I highly suggest that you watch section 4.2 onwards (timestamped link here) as it does resonate with my feelings on the Timeless Child arc. I swear, this is just like Dynasty Warriors 9 all over again. I know the feeling.

Cancel culture comes for Noel Clarke and John Barrowman

The thing about cancel culture is that people can be petty about things other people have done or said years ago and they can justify it with the excuse that they’re doing it to hold those people accountable. Depending on the context, it can expose the fact that that person is a major piece of shit or it can be an overreaction to something, which in the minds of today’s society is normally the latter.

Around the time that Noel Clarke was nominated for a Bafta at the end of March, allegations emerged of abuse and sexual misconduct against him. 20 women came forward with their stories and as a result, the final episode of Viewpoint was pulled from broadcast (but still released on Blu-ray and DVD) and Bulletproof was cancelled before filming on the fourth series would begin.

In May, video emerged of Clarke at Chicago TARDIS in 2014 talking about how John Barrowman would expose his genitals and slap it on people and things. This led to allegations about Barrowman surfacing, resulting in him apologising for his actions even though he had already been reprimanded for them over a decade ago and apologised in November 2008. Despite this, his contribution to the immersive theatrical event Doctor Who: Time Fracture was pulled and Big Finish have decided to shelf the release of Torchwood: Absent Friends, which would have featured David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.

Now, I don’t care about Noel Clarke by any means, but this situation is honestly sad for John Barrowman because it shows that cancel culture spares no victims and leaves no fossil undiscovered. These PR stunts have clearly shown that the spineless people involved with those productions are so concerned with saving face that they are unable to just overlook these transgressions for the sake of fans who actually wanted to see him reprise his role as Captain Jack Harkness. But hey, what do I know? I don’t really care for anything other than the TV series, but it really shows how shameless corporations can be.

Once again, we don’t exactly know when Doctor Who Series 13 will premiere, but if you ask me, I predict that it will premiere in October or November. I’ll see you all again around that time.

[dreadnought-dear-captain]

You Asked, I Told and Update

CW: Spoilers for Baghdad Waltz up to chapter 36 and some non-graphic discussion of childhood sexual abuse 

Hello!!!

Wow, I am so, so sorry for falling off the grid like that. I thought I was going to have WAY more time in October/November to work on the fic and work on fandom stuff in general, but my professional life threw me a huge right hook and I got completely sidetracked for weeks. So I’m off schedule a bit, in terms of having the next chapter. I’m sorry for the delay. 

I’m done with the full draft of Chapter 37 (about 23k - “short” but emotionally very dense) and am working through final revisions now. However, I also had to do an extensive amount of 9/11-related research for it, and part of that research has been reviewing oral histories of New Yorkers from the day of the attacks, and I came to the shocking realization that much of the prologue is historically inaccurate. Moreover, it’s shamefully inconsistent with the way that New Yorkers would respond to such an event. I’m embarrassed by how shoddy of a job I did with it.

Thus, I’m also going to be rewriting the prologue and including more accurate details, both historically and in terms of character dynamics. I mean, there’s no way Bucky could even live in Brooklyn and be a first responder at Ground Zero! All the bridges and tunnels were shut down. Shame on me. There will be ripple effects throughout the entire fic. Sigh. This is just round one of the massive amount of revisions I will be doing to the early chapters of the fic, which I wrote years ago now. I was going to wait to post both at the same time, but I don’t want to make you wait that long. I’ll just give you a notification when I finish the prologue revisions, and it’ll be like a little bonus chapter.

Anyway, here are some asks! Starting with a two-parter

First, thank you for the kind words. I’m glad you’re finding this fic moving. It’s definitely an emotional rollercoaster for these characters, and my hope (I guess?) is to have that be a parallel process for the readers. I think you hit the nail on the head that this relationship is exhausting. And you’re also right that not everyone would have the perseverance to keep coming back to it. It would be so much easier to amputate, pack up and go home. But once these characters get back into each other’s orbit, it’s very challenging for them to not keep crashing back into each other. It’s partially because they just love each other so much, but it’s also because they have an unhealthy relationship dynamic that sets them up for these toxic cycles. This will become especially apparent in the next chapter. They love each other, yes, but they also use each other to fill the gaping holes and insecurities they have within themselves. And they’re horrible communicators to boot. It’s a perfect storm. But at least they are going to try out some of this therapy crap maybe…?? We’ll see!

Along a similar line…

Thank you so much. That is so lovely of you to say, and I’m happy that I have your trust with this story. That said, I don’t know if it’s weakness if you’re not willing to run yourself through a miserable gauntlet of suffering the way Steve and Bucky are doing in this story. Would we call Rikki weak for drawing a boundary and stepping away from Bucky when his alcoholism was destroying their family? Some people used other words, but I’m not sure if weakness is the thing that might make someone walk away from a relationship like this. Just because you love someone doesn’t mean you should keep slamming your face against the same wall until you’re black and blue. This is a highly dysfunctional couple, and these men have serious issues they are grappling with personally that make them ripe for this kind of relationship. Bucky is an open wound, crippled with shame, desperate to do anything to feel better. Steve has deep attachment injuries from his chronically ill mother and deadbeat dad, as well as major control issues, and he wants to latch on and fix and make right, and if he manages every variable just right, he really thinks he can do it. And then throw in a fuckton of PTSD and TBI and alcoholism and physical injuries on top of it. So no, I wouldn’t rush to judge yourself for not envisioning yourself gutting it out in this grim scenario. 

But I also think we can identify with at least one of these characters, and we can root for people who want to overcome the shit that life has thrown at them to be with the person they love. Because they really do love each other. There’s just so much noise that it’s hard to tease out the signal sometimes. 

Good call on Bucky being a notoriously unreliable narrator, and he’s someone who is likely to underreport his suffering. Aside from his war-related injuries and his psychological struggles, Bucky’s most symptomatic issues are his GI problems. He has both peptic and esophageal ulcers, which are slightly different creatures. Peptic (stomach) ulcers, in Bucky’s case, have been caused by H. pylori and exacerbated by smoking and drinking. The esophageal ulcer was most likely caused by an excess of stomach acid due to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and, once again, exacerbated by drinking. Both of these have led to nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite, and weight loss. They have really emerged since Bucky got out of the military and pursued drinking with renewed vigor. Though he wouldn’t know it at the time because he doesn’t keep up with these things, his GERD is very possibly linked to acute, high dose exposure to the exceedingly toxic “dust” from the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. It’s one of the most widespread chronic health ailments of those exposed, aside from lower respiratory problems.

And now for some heavy-ass questions from licketysplittt — see CW above.

Yes, I am going to talk more about the context of Bucky’s abuse for sure, so I won’t go into the depths here. But I will say now that you are absolutely right that he has complex feelings for his abuser. I think it would have been easy to write him as just being unidimensionally angry or ashamed, but I know that’s not the experience of everyone who has experienced sexual abuse. This is especially the case if the person who commits the abuse it is a family member or caretaker or friend or trusted religious figure or someone who’s not just a “stranger in the bushes” type. I wanted to try to capture that experience in this fic. Bucky has also been multiply victimized by multiple people over the course of his life, which adds to this complexity and creates an internal narrative for him. Like what does it mean that this keeps happening to him? This is also not an uncommon experience for people who have been abused as children. And there’s also the added piece of this that Bucky’s gay, right? So he’s got this very, very young sexuality that’s on the verge of blooming (your Disney sexuality perhaps, sitting close, holding hands, etc) and this older male is making sexual advances toward him, and so he might ask if this person “saw” something in him aside from his social isolation that made him choose him. These are certainly questions he’s tortured himself over. I will get more into all of this, I promise. 

Winnie and George undoubtedly knew that their kid wasn’t a very popular one. But perhaps they always knew that he was a kid who wasn’t destined to have many friends because he’s “sensitive” or however they would characterize him (I’m sure they had different ways of viewing him). And I think it’s important to take into account the type of household that Bucky was in and the way he would shape his behavior. George was this total wildcard — “Best Dad in the World” most days but a screaming, violent tyrant at these odd, unpredictable times that were fucking terrifying for everyone in his path. This is a house where it’s best just to shut up and create as few problems as you can, because you don’t want to be the one that dad is gonna flip his shit at. And so everyone is walking on eggshells and Bucky is going to get very good at lying about how bad things are. And oh! Jamie finally has a friend, how wonderful. There will be more details in upcoming chapters about how this all transpires, but I think the dynamics at home made it possible for a lot of this to happen. And you’re right that these were not the most skillful parents, and their marriage was very strained and stressful for everyone. And these fictional assholes also frustrate me! The emotional content can be hard to write. It’s one reason these past few chapters have taken me soooooo painfully long. 

Great questions! You are all so thoughtful and kind. Sorry again for getting so terribly sidetracked. I am going to keep plugging away at the chapter and at comments and asks. I’m optimistic that I will have the next chapter for you within the next two weeks. I am pleased with this chapter and hope you’ll like it. Thank you for being so patient!!! 

[bronyinabottle]

Post-Series Finale Mod Note

Well, the series has finally wrapped up. And I felt like it’d be proper to let you guys know’s what I’m doing next and also my thoughts on some of the episodes since the last update.

I want to rest assure that I still have plans to continue this blog for a decent while and in fact hope to have another big story akin to Return to Saddle Arabia sometime next year that addresses some things that never got mentioned in the show that would be relevant to the story of Genie Twilight (Ex: Spike when he was just an Egg prior to Twilight hatching him). In terms of more near future stuff though, I will probably do a little episode response to the final episode of the series.

Anyway, regarding the finale itself. I felt it was AMAZING. I’ll probably get to doing a my thoughts on post for the two-parter and the epilogue episode all on it’s own. Because I really want to focus, re-watch, and gush about so many details of those last 3 episodes. How much did I like the finale? Can I just tell you that the two-parter alone is actually challenging Twilight’s Kingdom for my new favorite episode of the series? It’s outright awesome the series got to end with a bang like this. The epilogue episode was also great, very bittersweet in parts, but I’d say it’s also within the Top 10 of the series and the ending song I’m sure made just about every fan in the series well up in tears.

After the break though, I’ll be giving some thoughts on the episodes since then as I want to just entirely focus on Finale stuff. If you want to hear some of my opinions regarding any specific things in the finale faster though. Feel free to sound off an ask over on my mod blog. But for now, here’s some thoughts about episodes 14-23 of Season 9

THE LAST LAUGH

It was quite cool to see Weird Al come back one more time to the series. Of course, this wasn’t as jam packed with awesome music and moments as his character’s debut performance back in Season 4. But it was a fun episode, though I wonder if they should of put a little more hints regarding something that comes up in the Series Finale. (Though perhaps the Pinkie plush we see in Cheese’s room might be something)

2, 4, 6, GREAT

Yeaaaaaah... if every season has their dud(/s) this is probably Season 9′s for sure. Once again Rainbow’s more dickish then she should be at this point of the series. And while I can understand that they’re different characters. I can’t help but be reminded of Human Rainbow in Friendship Games when she was doing her song for the pep rally. That very much felt like what a Rainbow Dash should actually be doing if they’re hired to lead a cheerleading squad. Kind of sucks though that Rainbow often does seem to get a dud episode in many seasons of the show (Mare-Do-Well Season 2, Rainbow Falls Season 4, 28 Pranks Later Season 6, Non-Compete Clause Season 8). Rainbow’s still my 2nd favorite pony, but sometimes that becomes hard to say after particular episodes.

A TRIVIAL PURSUIT

I’m a little mixed on this one, it’s fun to see Twilight freak out again. But something about this episode screams “Wrong season”. Especially since the very next episode gets into how Twilight has matured as she is closer to taking the role of ruler of Equestria. This kind of episode might of been fine if it had been made anywhere between Season 2-Season 5. Not the final season where she’s heading towards being the new ruler, it’d be kind of worrisome to know your next leader went bonkers trying to win a game of trivia.

THE SUMMER SUN SETBACK

Now this was a good one! A nice setup with the villain trio messing with the Mane 6′s Summer Sun celebration plans while they try to get information about Grogar’s bell. And while it became slightly muddled by the trivia episode prior to this, the note about Twilight’s character development is nicely appreciated. It’s kind of a shame that besides the opener, only this episode and Frenemies were the episodes that built up to the two-parter later. Said two-parter is still one of the best of the series, but it may have helped to have a little more build-up to it during the Season then it actually did.

SHE TALKS TO ANGEL

This was a fun Fluttershy episode for certain, we get to know exactly what Angel feels even if that’s through Fluttershy’s own body. So we can get a sense of really of what Fluttershy’s had to deal with for years heh. Also, the “I wanna marry Discord” off-hand line is pretty funny. Even if now it drives shippers crazy. You either take it that Angel is trolling, or Angel knows something that we don’t. Doesn’t help that something in the finale might of left things very ambiguous on this front.

DRAGON DROPPED

I think it’s actually good that Spike’s essentially outgrew his devotion to Rarity. Of course he’s still willing to help her from time to time as in the ending, but it’s great that he can kind of explore other things he wants to do and/or meet new friends. On a side note though, the first time Rarity’s practicing her apology had to have been one of the funniest moments in a while.

A HORSE SHOE-IN

The final Starlight episode gives her role as being promoted to being the new headmare of the School of Friendship. Which is a fair role to give her though I don’t know if that actually might feel a little underwhelming for fans of her. I mean, I’m glad she’s not like.. going to become a Princess herself as those were exactly the worst fears everyone had about Starlight. But it’s certainly a strange journey to go from a season-long villain, Twilight’s student for one season and the openers and finale of that season being more about her then it was Twilight and the others, to simply being in charge of a school at the end. That school’s still important, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that everything with Starlight doesn’t seem easy to explain as it still stems that we practically got nothing substantial about her after her rather quick turnaround in the Season 5 finale. I’m still as lukewarm as ever with Starlight. I do wonder if there will be a Starlight in G5, she may instantly have a better reception since G4 Starlight has quite the baggage.

On the episode itself though, it feel weird to have this moral of “Don’t hire your friends” only for Starlight to do exactly that by hiring both Sunburst and Trixie. Granted, Sunburst is probably competent. But I think I would of liked to see more of how Trixie would do as counselor more then just standing up for Gallus that one time. Just doesn’t feel right. I think I enjoyed the episode to some extent still, but it probably would of been better if Sunburst was part of the process. So maybe you can an addendum to the moral that sometimes your friends can also be good for the job while others aren’t

DARING DOUBT

Daring Do episodes are almost always fun. Though I do gotta say it’s weird to go with the whole Ahuizotl was misunderstood thing when I believe one of his thing was to try to make 800 years of unrelenting heat? What exactly was that about. But eh, might just have to be pushed with the pile of stuff like Marble and Big Mac.

GROWING UP IS HARD TO DO

It was pretty fun to see the CMC as grown-ups (Even though how funny would it be that we’d get to see that anyway during the finale. I wonder if perhaps this episode came into development simply because they planned the finale to be a timeskip long ago and decided to have a little more use for the flash assets of the adult CMC in a proper episode). A little more bittersweet when you look at Scoots though as you see that she still has small wings, nice attention to detail on her disability though.

THE BIG MAC QUESTION

And the final regular episode of the show is dedicated to getting Big Mac hitched and crazy Discord shenanigans. All I can say is it was a fun episode through and through and even brought back the sort of reality show interview stuff we saw in that one Season 6 Rarity episode

SEASON 9 THOUGHTS OVERALL

I still want to give the Finale it’s own thought section because I think it really deserves attention on it’s own. I thought I’d just give a general thoughts on Season 9. Besides the finale, Season 9 actually felt kind of on the underwhelming side of things. There are definitely good episodes popping up there and there, it just felt like it wasn’t really feeling like most of the episodes were taking any credence to how the show was wrapping up soon. Thankfully the Finale more then makes up for it, but it felt like a lot more could of been done to set things up for the big finale. The finale will no doubt be Season 9′s crown jewel and I do want to share as much thoughts as I possibly can about them when I get to it.

Regardless, this has been a fun series to keep watch on. Hopefully many of us still have some fandom things to look forward to making and/or seeing even as of course with our main show over we’ll see even less productivity at least until we see what Generation 5 will be like. See you guys again soon for when I have a response and big thoughts for the finale episodes!

[dreameater1988]

My Top 10 Twelfth Doctor Stories

I’ve seen other people do this, so I decided to make my own Top 10 of Twelfth Doctor stories.

10. Flatline

I have a soft spot for stories in which the Doctor gets in a bit of a situation and putting him in a shrinking TARDIS was a hilarious plan. I have to admit, I wasn’t that fond of the episode when I first watched it, but to be quite honest, I love it a bit more with every rewatch. I think this really is one of those episodes that you have to watch a couple of times to really appreciate it. I’m also glad that the Boneless were picked up again in one of the comics because who doesn’t love a recurring monster? They were creepy, they were threatening and quite difficult to defeat - which the Doctor eventually did while giving an amazing speech. I think it was the first Twelfth Doctor speech that really struck me because of how fierce and powerful it was. And a cute bonus: Doctor Oswald. All of these things definitely put Flatline in my Top 10.

9. The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion

Another thing I love about Doctor Who? Kate Stewart! So it would be a shame not to include one of her stories in my Top 10. I have always preferred two-parters over single episodes because of that little heart attack causing “to be continued” thrill and these episodes do it quite brilliantly. The Zygons as monsters aren’t exactly my favourites, but they were really well used in this case. I really enjoyed the storyline and the many jokes that were put in the episodes (Why do you have a Union Jack parachute? - Camouflage. - Camouflage? - Yes, we’re in Britain.) There really are so many things I love about this two-parter: the Doctor’s emotional speech, Jenna marvellously playing two different characters, Kate tricking the Zygons, . . . The final product is a thrilling episode and wonderful entertainment.

8. Dark Water / Death in Heaven

The finale of S8 has to be on this list for one reason alone: Missy. Michelle Gomez really, really rocked that part and I will love her forever for it. I never really liked the Simm!Master because of various reasons (mainly cause his version of the Master collided with the version in a book I’ve read and loved). Yet the Twelfth Doctor and Missy really brought that “true friendship gone horribly wrong” part across. There was also the storyline of Clara losing Danny and later losing the Doctor by letting him go which I think shaped her S9 character to a large degree that I really, really love. The Cybermen were less creepy in this episode than in others (the S2 two-parter has scarred me forever), but this story wasn’t about the Cybermen or an invasion at all, at least it’s not how I see it. This two-parter is about loss and friendship. And it contains yet another Twelfth Doctor speech that I will love until the day I die. He’s my idiot with a box and a screwdriver. 

7. Oxygen

I feel obligated to put at least one episode from S10 on my list and since this was the only one that really stirred something in me, here we go. I loved the space station setting (because I’m a sad sci-fi nerd), I loved the dystopian “oxygen on sale” bit, but you know what I loved the most? The Doctor going blind. Oh my God, how I loved the big reveal in the end when he said he still couldn’t see. The Doctor is a Time Lord surrounded by humans, he is always superior to them simply because of the fact that he’s (like he said to Clara in FtR) “less breakable”, but finally, we get to see that he is breakable after all, that he’s vulnerable, that he’s no longer the superior hero. I love that bit. Sadly, the episodes that followed didn’t really put this plot twist to use in my opinion.

6. Mummy on the Orient Express

Who wouldn’t want to go on a trip on the space Orient Express with the Twelfth Doctor? This episode was beautiful from start to finish: the setting, the costumes, the dialogues, the storyline, the tension between the Doctor and Clara. Every moment of this episode was wonderful and a pure joy to watch. It was also a big turning point in the relationship between the (new) Doctor and Clara because, for the first time, she saw him for who he really was. Now, a couple of weeks ago I bought Doctor Who - The Complete History and I read about the making of this episode and I have to admit that I probably would have loved the original script (in which the Mummy is a life-extending body suit that won’t let people die and Clara briefly gets turned into one) a little bit more because it contains more sci-fi elements than the version they ended up using. But hey, I’m not complaining. The episode is awesome.

5. Into The Dalek

“I see into your soul, Doctor. I see beauty. I see divinity. I see hated.” Just hearing these words in my head gives me goosebumps and I think that is a very good sign that this episode definitely belongs in my Top 10. A lot of things have been done with Daleks over the past 50+ years, but miniaturizing the Doctor and putting him inside one is definitely one of the more brilliant ideas. I also really love the early version of the Twelfth Doctor, I love my grumpy, old alien and he’s at his peak in this one. But he’s also still struggling to find out if he is a good man or not and I really enjoyed that conflict that we saw in Peter’s first season. Rusty the Dalek plays a big part in that conflict and their dialogue makes me shiver even after watching it about 30 times.

4. The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witch’s Familiar 

The Doctor riding a tank into a medieval castle while playing the electric guitar! Do I need to say more? Yes, I’m definitely going to say more, but, oh my God, that was probably one of my favourite moments of the entire show. I sat in front of my telly, gawking at the screen. There will never be a season opened better than this. You won’t believe how much I enjoyed watching it the first time and how much I am still enjoying it every time I watch this episode. The rest of the two-parter is anything but a let-down. I loved the Twelfth Doctor/Missy interactions in this one because up until the end of the episodes you can really see the former friendship, you can see just how long they have known each other, how much they meant to each other back then (I live for this kind of thing). Also, bringing back Davros is always a nice touch. Bringing back Skaro was amazing (and seeing the fear in Missy’s eyes when she realized where she was). The Clara/Missy duo was amazing. The Doctor pleading for Clara’s life on his knees when he thinks he’s about to lose her. Honestly, there isn’t anything that I don’t love about this two-parter. Add “The Doctor’s Meditation” to this and you’ll get 10 minutes of pure, silly fun as well.

3. Listen

This episode was the one where I decided that Twelve was my Doctor. In fact, it was the pre-intro scenes with him that showed him sitting on the TARDIS roof and talking to himself by candlelight that got me. But that’s not why I loved the episode. It was properly creepy. I love the creepy episodes the most and sadly, there has been a bit of a lack in those in recent years, but Listen was definitely one of the best. I first watched the leaked black and white version and even then it gave me chills. This episode also showed how much of an impact Clara really had on the Doctor (apart from getting him to save Gallifrey and asking the Time Lords to help him). She saw him as a young, frightened boy and she put those thoughts in his head that would accompany him for the rest of his life. It was a wonderful, little twist. I also really enjoyed the fact that we never got to know what the monster actually was. I love that some people believe it’s a kid under a bedspread and some (like me, cause I’ve paused and seen a screenshot of what looked like Voldemort) think it was an actual monster. Whatever it was, I’m glad we never got the solution handed to us. That makes it even more interesting to me.

2. Under the Lake / Before the Flood

I don’t think I’ve said it enough, but this two-parter is actually perfect. Everything about it is perfect. The Doctor and Clara are at their peak, they’re having their “glory years”. It’s very likely that there was a large time span between TMA/TWF and this two-parter because we see them in full action, we see them incredibly bonded, we see them trust each other completely. This is the first time we see how intense their relationship actually is (“If you love me in any way, you’ll come back”, “I’m changing history to save Clara.”). They are the perfect TARDIS duo in this one, but we also get a sense of foreshadowing as to what is going to happen to Clara in the future. The minor characters in this story are all perfect as well, I can’t say a single bad word about them. I normally don’t care about minor characters because I’ve learned that many of them end up dead anyway, but in this one, I can’t help but feel for them as well. As for the storyline and plot twist, it was a two-parter full of exciting moments and surprises with a lot of laughs and emotions thrown in as well. And the Fisher King was a great monster. Perfect television entertainment for a Saturday night that almost ended up being Nr 1 on my list.

1. Heaven Sent / Hell Bent

Heaven Sent is, in my opinion, Steven Moffat’s masterpiece and always will be. It felt like he was working his way up from The Eleventh Hour to culminate in the S9 finale with two episodes that actually managed to blow my mind. I am very critical when I’m watching TV and I’m not so easily impressed, but Heaven Sent actually blew my mind. Heaven Sent, an episode that is longer than usual, that features only one actor in only a handful of rooms and it’s the best damn thing I have ever seen on TV. During S10 I often complained about seeing the “plot twist” coming, but this one took me completely by surprise and broke my heart in the process. Oh, the tears I’ve shed over Heaven Sent! It’s that moment the Doctor realizes what he’s doing, what he’s been doing and for how long that always breaks me and it’s underlined by the most perfect Murray Gold score I’ve ever heard. And of course the big reveal that Gallifrey was waiting on the other end. 

I think Heaven Sent / Hell Bent are the perfect depiction of the stages of grief in the Doctor’s 4.5 billion years quest to save Clara. And oh, how he did it! It’s not a secret that Clara has been my favourite companion from the moment she appeared on screen and after watching her become more and more like the Doctor over the course of the seasons, it was such a satisfaction to see her get her own TARDIS and run away. There is something so bitter-sweet, so emotional about this series finale and at the same time, it’s so full of twists and turns and surprises. It’s devastating and uplifting at once. In one word: perfect!

[verdigrisprowl]

April 7 Bevel’s Movie Night - Star Trek: TNG and Steven Universe

We watched the first episode, with Q. Prowl said almost nothing because I can’t fucking stand Q.

Bevel 7:51 pm *don't anyone mind the scattered machine parts and tools, she's in the process of moving them off important surfaces like couch seats and trying to make the place look a little more presentable, hope everyone likes the broken engine with a long flat piece of metal welded atop it, it's the new table* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:02 pm *Gave up on fixing the engine, did she? Soundwave stretches feelers down to see the, uh. New furniture. Before moving to his seat.* Bevel 8:02 pm *she might have broken it permanently by mistake while trying to fix it* *it's ok, she's building a new one upstairs* Bevel 8:05 pm Hi, Soundwave. *she tries to wave and nearly drops the armful of items she's carrying over to a crate* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:06 pm *Soundwave nods.* [[In a mood for romantic music, are you.]] Omicron 8:08 pm *Icy stumbles in, and pretends she didn't, nope, she's a strong predacon thank you* Bevel 8:08 pm *shrugs and dumps her armful* Sometimes it is really nice sounding. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:10 pm *Soundwave politely pretends her pretense worked.*

[[It is, at that.]] Bevel 8:10 pm *sticks her tongue out at him and then sings quietly along to the Song of Durin while she finishes cleaning up* Omicron 8:11 pm hello friends 😀 *yes is grinning, good mood almost rolling off Icy, chirps at Bevel!* Bevel 8:11 pm *chirps back* Omicron 8:13 pm ((icy's redesign is almost done...well the first stages is)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:13 pm [[Good evening, queen.]] Bevel 8:13 pm ((congrats, hope it goes smoothly Love songs. *amused look at Soundwave* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:15 pm [[What.]] Omicron 8:15 pm to you as well soundwave, *shakes a wing and shakes Racer down, but catching him to let him run along after as she finds a place to settle* Bevel 8:16 pm ((gonna start after this song is over if that's ok? Omicron 8:16 pm (yep) VProwl 18:16 pm *appears* Ratchet 8:16 pm *pops in* Omicron 8:16 pm Racer: *startled meep at the appearances* Bevel 8:17 pm *waves to Prowl and Ratchet* Ratchet 8:17 pm *waves* Bevel 8:18 pm *watch your steps, she might have missed a tool or twelve* Omicron 8:18 pm *Ice Queen lifts a wing to them and lays down in her beast mode, pauses and gets up to pick up a tool and lean over and hand it back. yay for long necks* Ratchet 8:19 pm [[ did that say micheal bell ]] [[ is ratchet gonna think someone sounds a lot like prowl ]] ItsyBitsySpyers 8:20 pm ((it is exactly who you think it is)) ((he's in ds9 too)) Omicron 8:21 pm ((I never realized that)) Bevel 8:21 pm ((I love Star Trek guest stars VProwl 18:22 pm ... Is this the beginning of their serving together? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:22 pm [[For this crew.]] Omicron 8:22 pm Racer: *sniffing pedes if its okay* VProwl 18:22 pm Mm. Ratchet 8:22 pm [[ isn't this like episode two or three ]] Bevel 8:23 pm ((It's the 1st and 2nd episode. Omicron 8:23 pm [oooh god XD] .....the frag ItsyBitsySpyers 8:27 pm [[As bad as the greyfaces.]] Omicron 8:27 pm Who is that? *icy frowns* Bevel 8:27 pm Queue? Omicron 8:28 pm Racer: *puzzled, but sniffing to look for prowl if aloud* VProwl 18:29 pm *back by Ratchet.* ((i'm sorry i just. i hate q so much.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:29 pm ((feel free to yell ooc)) Omicron 8:29 pm ((you're not the only one)) Bevel 8:29 pm ((or ic if need be VProwl 18:29 pm ((i don't even want to yell i just hate it)) Ratchet 8:30 pm [[ i also hate q ]] Omicron 8:30 pm Racer: *pats at Prowl's pede once finding it* (he's such an aft) Bevel 8:31 pm ((*loves him* >_> Ratchet 8:32 pm [[ i wish they had kept the cute miniskirt uniform forever ]] VProwl 18:32 pm ((i prefer them to have gender-neutral uniforms)) ((therefore: i'll accept the miniskirt only if spock wears it too)) Omicron 8:32 pm (he's a well written character, I'll admit, for what he's supposed to be but...meh) Ratchet 8:33 pm [[ what no i meant the one that male crew member was wearing ]] VProwl 18:33 pm ((oh i thought you were talking about tos)) Bevel 8:33 pm ((there's only one more Q episode I'll be showing after this two-parter, much as I love most of the Q episodes, so y'all won't have to suffer too much TNG with him. Omicron 8:36 pm ...what the frag? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:37 pm ((god)) VProwl 18:37 pm ((no, yeah, i can see this in 20 years)) ((ten. ... five. five years.)) Bevel 8:38 pm ((next week? Omicron 8:38 pm ((ews)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:38 pm *Soundwave blips. How dramatic.* VProwl 18:38 pm ((i read that as soundwave bleps and it was adorable)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:38 pm ((LMAO)) Bevel 8:38 pm ((awww ((was just thinking this would remind Prowl so much of a Quintesson courtroom Omicron 8:39 pm ((that would be awesome for soundwave)) Racer: *sitting on a prowl pede if needed?* VProwl 18:40 pm *...... reaches down to awkwardly pet?* Omicron 8:42 pm RAcer: !! *loves touch, but has a present* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:42 pm *Tired thought-mumbling.* [[Mockery court.]] Omicron 8:43 pm *Icy rumbles an agreement to soundwave, reminded of predacons being judged for their more primal ways* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:45 pm *Perk.* [[Pleasant.]] *Not often a gift like his is shown.* Omicron 8:47 pm are all of that race that...aftish Bevel 8:48 pm I never met an alien like that. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:49 pm ((michael bell everyone)) Ratchet 8:52 pm [[ GEORDI ]] [[ i love ]] Bevel 8:56 pm It can not be that hard to reconnect the two sections. VProwl 19:01 pm ((he looks like such a dweeb)) Bevel 9:02 pm ((Who? VProwl 19:02 pm ((riker)) ((a shaven-faced dork)) Bevel 9:02 pm ((He looks so much better with the beard Omicron 9:02 pm (XD) VProwl 19:02 pm ((yep)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:02 pm [[Ah! The Doctor Bones.]] VProwl 19:03 pm *ugh.* Omicron 9:03 pm *Icy tilts her head* VProwl 19:04 pm *anyone who hates mechs AND Vulcans is someone who gets absolutely none of Prowl's support.* Omicron 9:07 pm Racer:: *been trying to get something unstuck from his teeth, and pops out one of his crystal shards, offers it to prowl* VProwl 19:08 pm ... *did he take it out of his mouth* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:09 pm ((i forgot how rough the pilot was))

*Soundwave looks at Racer's crystal shard from afar. He's offering mouth gunk?* Bevel 9:10 pm ((1st season in general is a little rough Omicron 9:11 pm That's one of the crystals he dug up in the mine, he keeps getting things stuck in his fangs. *Icy glances over, its not gunk, racer has no subspace access yet* Bevel 9:11 pm ((ah yes when the ferengi were still supposed to be threatening VProwl 19:11 pm ((*ferengi waving chainsaw* "Capitalism!")) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:11 pm ((LOL)) Bevel 9:12 pm ((lol Ratchet 9:12 pm [[ i keep falling asleep...... ]] ItsyBitsySpyers 9:12 pm ((fabu go sleep)) Bevel 9:12 pm ((*pats Fabu* Omicron 9:12 pm Racer: *drops the crystal shard, picks it up after licking it clean, then offers it to prowl* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:12 pm ((Friday the 13% Interest Rate)) Bevel 9:12 pm ((omg cro *whistles* Omicron 9:13 pm (*offer blanket for snugles*) VProwl 19:13 pm *kind of, stares it.* ... I see. Omicron 9:14 pm he's been learning how to give gifts, if you don't like it set it aside and offer it back after a time VProwl 19:15 pm *No, Data, you should never want to give up being what you are to be an organic. You're fine the way you are.* Oh, is that what—? All right. *Better help him learn about gift-giving. He takes it and sets it next to himself.* Thank you. Omicron 9:17 pm RAcer: *excitedly dances in place, not on prowls pede, and sits very proud of himself, meeping a welcome attempt* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:18 pm ((oh hey so fun fact: when i was little i used to take this hairclip my mom had and wear it and pretend to be geordi because i thought it looked like his visor. a couple years ago i found out his visor is literally that kind of hairclip painted.)) VProwl 19:18 pm ((oh wow)) Omicron 9:19 pm (that's awesome) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:19 pm ((it's not easy to see through, for the record.)) VProwl 19:19 pm ((it must not have been functioning correctly)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:20 pm ((LMAO)) Bevel 9:21 pm ((they also designed it like that so Levar could see some, earlier versions were so hilariously bad looking VProwl 19:21 pm (("god i can't see a thing" "good, you're already getting in character")) Omicron 9:21 pm they need a living ship, doesn't matter if the sparkling touches anything...most of the time Bevel 9:21 pm ((omg ItsyBitsySpyers 9:22 pm *He feels Picard's frustration.* Omicron 9:22 pm though messing with captain chairs isn't wise VProwl 19:24 pm (("as my son tries to tell you" yeah how dare the captain express immediate concern over a fucking child ignoring an instruction not to touch things and messing with the buttons on his chair, this literal military officer should be grateful at this civilian minor casually inserting himself into the chain of command.)) *... picks up the crystal to look at it.* Omicron 9:29 pm hmmm VProwl 19:33 pm ((I CAN' F UCKING STAND THAT PIECE OF SHIT)) Omicron 9:33 pm *its a relatively large sodalite slice, a sliver-white-blue* VProwl 19:33 pm ((T)) ((I WANT TO DRIVE A PICKAXE INTO HIS STUPID LITTLE CHIN CLEFT UNTIL IT CLEAVES HIS HEAD IN HALF)) Omicron 9:33 pm ((*offers and anger pop-stick*)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:34 pm ((my goodness)) Bevel 9:35 pm ((it's ok, this episode is almost over and then it's just one more episode with him after that ((but that episode also has Guinan and stuff VProwl 19:35 pm ((daft, smug, sanctimonious, arrogant little shit)) ((i spelled EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE WORDS WRONG MORE THAN OCNE)) Metrotitans. Alien metrotitans. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:37 pm [[Hmm?]] Omicron 9:37 pm ....living ships *Icy purrs fondly at that idea* VProwl 19:37 pm The ship and the city are independent sentient beings. Bevel 9:37 pm Oh! VProwl 19:38 pm *Was kind of obvious the first time Zorn started talking to his surroundings, but the ship made it obvious.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:38 pm *He thought perhaps there was someone camouflaged hiding in the room.* Omicron 9:39 pm can we get Primus, somehow to be aware of this...Q thing? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:39 pm [[And do what?]] Omicron 9:39 pm Flick him? VProwl 19:40 pm ... It's a prisoner. Bevel 9:41 pm Space jellyfish. Omicron 9:41 pm jellyfish ship VProwl 19:41 pm ((jellyship)) Omicron 9:42 pm ((Rapture would love to meet them...and try to snuggle them)) VProwl 19:43 pm ((Q YOUR COMMENTARY IS COMPLETELY FUCKING UNNECESSARY JUST GET OUT OF THE SCENE AND LET THEM TALK ABOUT THE JELLYSHIP)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:44 pm *...It's kind of pretty, for an organic. It has good taste in limbs, anyway.* VProwl 19:44 pm ((YOU'RE CONTRIBUTING NOTHING BUT SNEERS)) Bevel 9:44 pm ((color coded pink and blue jellyfish so you know one is a girl and the other is a boy space jellyfish ItsyBitsySpyers 9:44 pm ((soundwave's ultimate forms)) Omicron 9:44 pm [let primus flick the anoyance far, far away on the godly scale of things] VProwl 19:45 pm ((I CAN SEE YOU MOVING YOUR SHITTY MOUTH Q)) ((KEEP IT SHUT)) Bevel 9:45 pm ((omg puff Omicron 9:45 pm aw, look at the squishy happy jellyfish ships VProwl 19:46 pm ((FUCK OFFFFFF)) Bevel 9:46 pm ((Q plz VProwl 19:46 pm ((UGH)) Bevel 9:47 pm ((I'd try to explain him but yeah. ((Onto better, non-Q things Omicron 9:47 pm at least their Captain has a good head and spark Bevel 9:48 pm I like Picard a lot. Omicron 9:50 pm *Icy nods, lets Racer climb over her to find another stashed crystal, resigned a long time ago for letting hatchlings hide things on her* Bevel 9:51 pm ((i want that backpack so bad sometimes Omicron 9:53 pm Racer: *inching over to Bevel, pads at what he can reach with a small paw* Bevel 9:53 pm *reaches down to pat him* VProwl 19:54 pm ... How did he successfully throw the sweaters across. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:54 pm [[Good arm strength?]] VProwl 19:55 pm The vortex should have pulled them down too. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:55 pm [[Perhaps it only registers living things.]] VProwl 19:56 pm The red one threw a rock. Omicron 9:56 pm Racer: *happy muffled meep, drops two shines and offers one to Bevel* Bevel 9:56 pm Garnet. VProwl 19:56 pm Gourmet. Bevel 9:56 pm *accepts with a smile* Is this for me? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:56 pm ((whoops i forgot the rock)) ((i'm not multitasking or anything no)) [[They're gems. It could mistake a rock for one.]] Omicron 9:58 pm RAcer: ya! -bounces and flaps a wing, then nuzzles against her- ItsyBitsySpyers 9:59 pm [[No, you broke it.]] Bevel 9:59 pm Thanks, Racer. I will have to get you something too next time you are here. VProwl 19:59 pm TECHNICALLY he didn't break it. He just completely failed in completing the one simple task that could have prevented it from breaking. Bevel 10:00 pm At least he tried. Guess he got too excited. VProwl 110:00 pm He should be blamed, but not for the thing he didn't do. Omicron 10:00 pm I have a feeling that might be my life when this one, or his clutch mats get older Bevel 10:01 pm *she tucks the shiny away into her subspace* Omicron 10:02 pm Racer: *happy hatchling, and picks up the other shiny, tail waves* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:05 pm [[It's like dealing with Smokescreen.]] Omicron 10:05 pm reality breaking somehow? VProwl 110:05 pm And here I was, trying to like him. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:05 pm [[Oh. He apologizes.]] Bevel 10:06 pm *giggles* Omicron 10:06 pm Racer: *paw pats at Soundwave's pede now* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:07 pm *Glances down.* Omicron 10:07 pm Racer: *offer the last crystal shine to him* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:08 pm *Soundwave accepts the shard and offers Racer a tiny pat.* *All right. Maybe he can relate to Garnet a little after all.* Omicron 10:09 pm Racer: *purr attempt at the pat* Bevel 10:12 pm ((wow sorry if i deafened anyone there Omicron 10:12 pm [its okay] Bevel 10:14 pm This looks like fun. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:14 pm [[...It does.]] VProwl 110:14 pm ... The instructional infographics are insufficient to describe how to accurately replicate the desired moves. Omicron 10:14 pm RAcer: *bounces around to the music, icy might be bobbing her head to it too* Bevel 10:14 pm I could find a version for Dancitron? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:15 pm [[He thinks they are reminder only. It looks like the main figure does the full moves.]] [[...And he would appreciate that. Take it to Arcade if you do.]] [[Rumble and Frenzy would appreciate it, he's sure.]] *Cover cover.* VProwl 110:15 pm Then you don't know what you're supposed to be doing until the exact moment you're already supposed to be doing it. Bevel 10:15 pm I will. *she's going to Earth anyway, might as well grab some game stuff for Arcade to play around with* VProwl 110:16 pm Unless there's an entirely separate training program. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:16 pm [[There might be. It could also be a matter of repeat exposure. Hmm.]] Bevel 10:17 pm Even mistakes are fun though. Omicron 10:17 pm true VProwl 110:18 pm *"mistakes are fun" what in the hell is bevel talking about* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:18 pm *She gets a lot of weird ideas. Blame her creators.* Omicron 10:19 pm Soundwave? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:20 pm [[Hmm?]] Omicron 10:21 pm I have an insecticon that wants to meet you at some point. she asked me to tell you that. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:21 pm [[...Why.]] *If this is going to be a joke at his expense about Insecticon queens...* Bevel 10:21 pm *oh teaching song, sits up* VProwl 110:22 pm *Prowl's not going to be around for that meeting.* Omicron 10:22 pm She heard you got racer to eat silver, it's made her life easier. I think its to give a thank you Bevel 10:23 pm Does Racer not like silver? Omicron 10:23 pm He didn't not like it, he wasn't sure it was something to eat until soundwave said so giving him a bit Bevel 10:24 pm Oh ok. I thought maybe he did not like it like how I do not like latinum. VProwl 110:25 pm ((does she think latinum tastes... too rich)) Bevel 10:26 pm ((lol Omicron 10:26 pm since Racer is the oldest, if he's eating things the other sparklings on the ship are interested it it too. Doesn't matter if me or their sires are eating things too ItsyBitsySpyers 10:27 pm [[Then he is glad to have helped so much. A little silver is a good treat now and then, he's told.]] [[And helpful for forming new plating.]] VProwl 110:28 pm ((*hears the Robot Words*)) ((ariel is a transformer now)) Bevel 10:28 pm ((yes Omicron 10:28 pm yes, or coating other metals to get them to eat something that's not just gold sweet ItsyBitsySpyers 10:29 pm *He's feeling personally attacked by this one.* [[Indeed.]] Bevel 10:29 pm *sorry Soundwave* *not intentional* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:30 pm *He's so sure.* Bevel 10:30 pm *makes a face at mention of gold* Omicron 10:31 pm ...? Bevel 10:31 pm Too sweet. Omicron 10:32 pm ah, yes at times Bevel 10:32 pm *doesn't like sweet things* Omicron 10:33 pm do you like copper or nickle wire? *yes she knows she has a bad habit of chew on those* Bevel 10:35 pm *shrugs* I like rust sticks if I am gonna snack on something, but I usually just eat or drink energon instead. My frame-type uses a burns a lot of energy. VProwl 110:35 pm *sometimes prowl is reminded that, to most people that aren't him, most of the environment around them is at least partially edible* Bevel 10:36 pm I eat treats other people make sometimes though. It is nice eating something else. VProwl 110:36 pm *hearing them talk about eating wires is one such reminder.* *it's wild.* Bevel 10:36 pm *Cybertronians evolved from scraplets?* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:36 pm *DON'T YOU START ON THAT* Bevel 10:37 pm *"there's still scraplets how could we have evolved from them?"* Omicron 10:38 pm I don't know why, human refined copper just... tastes really good. so do some of their cars ItsyBitsySpyers 10:38 pm [[...You consume their cars?]] Omicron 10:38 pm .......not all the time? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:38 pm ((did frasier ever have a musical episode and if not WHY NOT listen to him)) Bevel 10:38 pm Earth cars are not sentient. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:38 pm *...What is this.* Bevel 10:39 pm ((it did not but Niles and Fraiser did sing a few times ItsyBitsySpyers 10:39 pm *...Is this language humor.* Bevel 10:39 pm *yes* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:39 pm *Scoot scoot.* Bevel 10:39 pm *she found it when she was struggling with learning English* Omicron 10:40 pm *knows its bad but sometimes can't help chewing on old cars when on earth....junk food like craving* VProwl 110:42 pm *... this video is stressful* Bevel 10:42 pm *oh Prowl* Omicron 10:42 pm ....huh VProwl 110:43 pm *there's a whole lot of moving things to read, it switches fast, and words are hard* Bevel 10:43 pm *yeah Bevel didn't learn much from it until she listened to it a buncha times* Bevel 10:51 pm ((didn't think y'all wanted to sit through a 20m version of the Misty Mountain song ItsyBitsySpyers 10:51 pm *Soundwave's very... VERY very tired from recent events, and his ability to mask in public is running thin. He'll probably leave shortly. But not until after this song.* VProwl 110:54 pm *he's not alone.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:55 pm *Soundwave stands and dusts himself off, as though he'd been sitting there long enough to collect any.*

[[He appreciates the look into the Picard human's life, but he requires recharge.]]

*Nodding to each one in turn.*

[[Prowl, Ice Queen, Bevel. Goodnight.]] VProwl 110:56 pm @S «... Can I come over?» Bevel 10:56 pm *waves goodbye* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:56 pm @P: [[Without question.]] Omicron 10:56 pm have a good evening VProwl 110:56 pm @S «I'll meet you there.» Bevel 10:57 pm I will not be able to show anything for a little while since I am leaving soon. I tried to get Rolodex to host but *she shrugs* VProwl 110:57 pm *he slides his crystal gift into a thigh compartment, and disappears.* *the crystal clatters down onto his seat.* *he has apparently forgotten things don't come with him when he disappears* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:58 pm @P: [[All right.]]

[[The ingrate. Good luck with your... mission.]]

*Soundwave moves over to where the seat was, picks up the crystal, opens a bridge and trudges through it. He's too tired to even take the opportunity to fly.* Bevel 10:58 pm Thanks. Omicron 10:59 pm good night *chirps at Bevel, standing up* Bevel 11:00 pm *chirps back* Omicron 11:01 pm *icy gets up, with racer on her back and gives a head bump, remembers the stress she had before* Omicron 11:02 pm (thanks for the stream) Bevel 11:02 pm ((np!

[ithoughtyouweredifferent]

Part 8: New York New Me

Requested by: Sort of @ocean-marina Line Request: “No fucks given. Next please,” and “Just come home alive…okay?” @i-cant-even-superwholock-anymore A/NL yes, this was formerly posted on @imagineimeliza but was removed-I am ImageineI’mEliza but because this fic was going on for so long, it doesn’t belong on a one-shot maybe 2 parter blog! Word Count: 2,800ish

Chapter 7

Table of Contents  

Chapter 9(link also at bottom)

When Lin had gotten on a plane bound for London, you were certain that you’d never see him again, you doubted you’d ever contact him again, and you found it unlikely he would even hold true to his offer of listening for better job openings for you to apply to. You were wrong on all accounts but one. Email became your friend once again as you talked to him while he was across the sea he would complain about this and that but then tell you a piece of overwhelmingly excited news and for the first few months there was a link to so a friend he had somewhere that had an opening for a job he thought you might want to take and you sent in your resume to all of them, you got more calls back than you had dreamed of.

You weren’t surprised when July came with a letter saying that you had been let go from the school. You got the letter the same day that you were due to set out for a fancy schmancy museum up north that seemed fairly promising. Knowing you weren’t going to have a check coming in anytime soon was worry some but motivated you all the more to exceed expectations and land this position. It had excellent opportunities for growth, it was by far better pay than what you made now even factoring in the higher cost of living, hopefully, it would be something you would do for a long time.

With a lovely letter that summed up to say “you’re out of a job,” on the counter, you threw your bag into your backseat and hit the road, a fifteen-hour drive to a fifteen-minute interview that hopefully would come through. You had a small hotel room booked in advance that you wouldn’t get to until 1am at best but it would be somewhere to sleep and then freshen up for the interview and wait at for the next three days while attending a few other promising interviews in the area. Lin promised that the people at all four for the places you had on this trip were relatively fast working and you would know if you’d made the cut within the week.

It was with confidence and hope fueled by reopened dreams you had all but abandoned that you had landed your job as a curator for the New York Historical Society. You had a week to get settled here before you started. It turned out to be more of an overpaid intern position beneath the real curators, but you would grow and prosper here. When you got the call saying you had the job it was disheartening to realize that you didn’t have anyone to share the good news with. All you did was send an email to the friend who got you here, a friend probably asleep due to time zone differences, a friend who now that he had fulfilled his promise to listen for an opening for you would fall out of touch. But it was a friend for now and that knowledge only strengthened your resolve to make this new position in this new city something you would share with others

“T 23 15, ivory and ink, hand-crafted maybe late 18th-century cup, 3 cm tall five cm diameter at rim and base seven cm diameter at largest,” you looked at the small sketch you had made beside the location and description biting your lip. You had been trying to find this piece for a good twenty minutes, it wasn’t on the shelf it was supposed to be, not the entire case that it might be, you’d gone down the case in front of, behind, to the left, and the right of where it was supposed to be just in case it had been originally put in the wrong place but now you were going to have to add it to the list of artifacts that you would have to look for when you searched the entire room top to bottom for items that had been completely misplaced.

Three years you’d been in the city, two and a half years you’d fit in with your coworkers and enjoyed life, two years without talking to anyone but them - people from your teaching days had faded out of your life just like people from college had. Almost immediately.

“Hey Y/N, we’re all headed out for lunch today, you coming?” Tanya called popping her head in, she had become one of your best friends quickly and easily.

“Ummm I’m actually a bit behind, who’s turn is it to stay  today?” You asked, “Joe right?” she nodded, “Tell him I’ll cover him today if he’ll take it from me next time,” you offered and she gave you a thumbs up, before darting out the door while you went back to inventory. There were so many amazing things here and they were always rotating in and out so there was always more to find. You thought that the idea of enjoying your job was nothing more than that, an idea, but you were wrong. You enjoyed coming to work every day, when you skipped going with friends to lunch it wasn’t because if you left you would be miserable the whole time knowing you had to come back, it was because you didn’t want to leave. Of course, there were downsides, but you loved enough of it that those didn’t matter. You had a routine and you were happy with it.

Looking back at your clipboard you began looking for the next item which was where it belonged thankfully. As were the next several, you had gotten back into your rhythm when you heard the bell over the door jingle, they shouldn’t be back so soon,

“Hello, is anyone in here?” you heard someone call, not many people knew about this door,

“Yes, I’ll be with you in just a moment,” you told them wondering who was using the back door that didn’t already know the place like the back of their hand.

“How can I help you today?” You asked as you rounded the corner,

“Yes I was wondering if-,”

“Lin?” you gasped in shock when you looked up at his face for the first time and he looked you over in confusion for half a second before you found yourself engulfed in a smothering hug, “oh my,” you yelped in shock but hugged him right back

“Y/N? I can’t believe you’re here, what’re you doing?  How’ve you been? Are you-”

“Woah one question at a time, I can’t handle three years of questions in one breath,” you said pulling out of his hug, he smelled exactly like you remembered,

“God I’ve missed you,“

“Same here, wow three years. Doesn’t feel like three years,” he said blinking rapidly

“It feels like just a minute has passed but at the same time, I was teaching down south at least a lifetime ago, maybe two. What’re you doing here? Last time we talked you were finishing up in London and off to work in animated films - getting an EGOT with that. Hell, you were sponsoring on toothpaste and cereal commercials for a while and then you just stopped. Fell off the face of the earth. What happened for almost two years that had you hiding in some sort of underground cave?”

“You can ask me to sum up, three years in one breath but I can’t ask that of you? That’s not fair, I’m wounded,” he teased and you rolled your eyes, “If you must know, I’ve been doing research and writing,”

“How many months worth of paychecks is it going to take for me to get tickets?” You sighed,

“I don’t have any idea yet, but how are you doing?”  

“Pretty great, I’ve actually fallen in love with the city and the job and, you’re going to be proud of me, they’ve got me playing at charity dinners and things, and wait for it,” you paused, “Introductions, presentations singing and playing in the background, the whole nine yards,” suddenly your feet were off the ground and behind you spinning, “Lin! Put me down,” you laughed, smacking his shoulder as he spun you,

“I am so happy for you, that’s wow,” he paused and seemed to think for a second, “You wouldn’t happen to be playing at a ceremony Thursday night would you?” you narrowed your eyes,

“Actually, I am, the coordinator of the ceremony is supposed to come in later today,” he grinned wide at your answer, “Why,” he pursed his lips trying to suppress a smile and shook his head, “Lin-Manuel what is going on in that brain of yours?”

“Later today might be sooner than you thought,” he said and your eyes went wide as you looked around frantically as if someone was going to suddenly appear from behind one of the many artifact shelves, you hurriedly patted your hair down and straightened your shirt that Lin’s hugs had wadded up,

“What? I can’t mess this up Kathrine’ll kill me if I lose this one, its some big deal hotshot that we need to keep things going and not get wiped off the pages. Some guy probably filthy rich probably so full of himself he can’t see right from left” you groaned in frustration and he laughed heartily at your worry,

“I think you’ll be okay, You’re such a goof,” he said, “’sometime after 11′,” it’s almost 12, isn’t it?” he checked,

“What? They’ll be here sometime after 1,” you ran over to the computer that was at least as old as some of the objects in the back of this room, “Nononono,” you groaned, “the screen’s fuzzy I misread it Oh god ah okay Lin,” you took a deep breath and shook your head, “Okay sorry, I’m a mess. What did you come in here for in the first place?”

“To talk about a ceremony Thursday night,” it clicked in your mind all at once and you wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor

“You can’t be serious,”

“as a heart attack,”

“I uh..oops?” you giggled, “can we forget that I said anything? Like pretnd you just walked in the door and I didn’t stereotype the no-name leader of Thursday Nights ceremony at all?”

“Oh you mean the pat where I’m rich and so full o myself I can’t see up from down,” you thought he was joking but you were very hesitant and unsure,

“yes?”

“I don’t have any idea what you are talking about, I just got here,” he told you smiling and you breathed a heavy sigh immensely relieved to know that you hadn’t just ruined everything.

“So anyway, I got called in to do something because of Hamilton again, and it’s lost a bit of its hype, not much but some so why not? Plus I might be planning a bit of a surprise like one I did a while back,” he grinned, "You know how I promoted Hamilton at The White House when I was supposed to do something for Heights,”

“You are not!”

“Oh I am so!” his smile was infectious, “But you can’t tell anyone - it’s gonna be a surprise and if I chicken out I don’t want people hounding me about it,”

“You’re not going to ‘chicken out,’” you promised, “Now that you’ve told me this, you’re stuck,” you stuck your tongue out at him, "If you want to sit down we can go ahead and start going over the plan for Thursday night, it needs to run with as few hitches as possible, you’re going to throw it off a bit if I’m the only one allowed to know about your plan of change of plans but no fucks given, next order of business would be the order of introductions, we have a pretty standard template of order of importance but…” and just like that you managed to get down to business and plan out the evening,

“That sounds perfect. I don’t think a meeting like this has gone this smoothly in…I don’t even know how long. What are my chances of having lunch with you now, to catch up and interrogate you?” he asked and you smiled,

“Everyone else should be getting back from lunch any minute now, it was supposed to be Joe’s day to stay back and watch over stuff back here but I offered to stay instead,” you said, “But how would dinner sound?” and he nodded,

“I was planning on meeting up with a bunch of old friends tonight, that’d be excellent,”

“Great, I can’t wait,” he wrapped you in a short hug that lasted only a few seconds, you both already pulling back when Tanya and the others came in all laughing until they froze in the doorway seeing the two of you locked in a hug,

“Well, it was really nice seeing you again,” you said your face scarlet red, as you looked between Lin and your coworkers

“Yeah, back atcha Socrates,” he said and hurried out the door,

“What. Was. That?” Tanya asked,

“That was an old friend who helped me land this job in the first place dropping by for a visit…and to go over the plans for Thursday night,” you told her as calmly as you could in your flustered state, the others had all scattered almost instantly but would hound you later.

“Y/N, you were broken when you came here, you never said that the Lin that you were friends with that had told you about this job that had faded from your life leaving you dead inside was the Lin-Manuel Miranda. I don’t want to see you like that again,” you tried to protest, you weren’t broken, and even if you had been, it wasn’t because of him in the least, “I mean it, be careful, Thursday night is a big deal for us, important people will be there, important people with deep pockets,” you knew what she meant by that all too well: money was always what things boiled down to in any business and boy could you use some of it right now,

“I’ll be fine, we’re just two good friends that have found ourselves working on a project together. I’m meeting him and a bunch of friends tonight for dinner. Friends.” you stated as many times as you logically could.

“Just come home alive, okay?” she asked, “If you come to work next week like a dead zombie because of him  I will personally see to it that he doesn’t get another gig as long as he lives, And don’t you fall for him again tonight, you better be sober and chipper tomorrow morning or I will get Katherine to pull both of you out of the banquet ceremony on Thursday,”

“Yes mom,” you mocked

“Good. Now then, inventory.” Tanya was your best friend. You knew that she only had your best interests at heart and she was right. You couldn’t let yourself get involved with him again because he needed to chase his dreams all over the planet and you just couldn’t do that. You needed a stable environmnet where you knew what was going on and that just wasn’t something you owuld be able to have if for whatever reason old flames re sparked. But it was only a short fling before and besdies, it’s been three years. He probably found someone else and you had both moved on. He was your friend. That’s how it is and that’s how it is going to stay.

Chapter 9

So that’s not what I originally had in mind for “No Fucks given next,” I actually had an audition thing going on that was half-written mentally and I didn’t have any idea what to do, neither of the two characters in this series are likely to be in a particularly high risk situation.

[armyhealth9-blog]

Episode 405 - Robb and Nicki Q&A #9

We're back with Q&A #9 with Robb and Nicki.

Remember to submit your own questions for Robb and Nicki to answer on a future show here: https://robbwolf.com/contact/submit-a-question-for-the-podcast/

Show Notes:

1. [2:06] Kidney Stones

Krisztian says: I've been mostly Paleo for about 5 years now based on one of your piror books.  Overall, it has worked well for me, with one exception.  I started to develop kidney stones on a regular basis.  I finally had them analyzed and they turned out to be calcium oxalate stones.  Upon reading up on this condition, it stems from a high amount of oxalate in the diet.  Unfortunatley, most of the foods I liked on Paleo happen to be super high in oxalate... spinach, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, sweet potatoes.  The other wammy here is that I was initially avoiding dairy on Paleo which turns out to be worse for stones because one way to counteract high oxalate intake is to match it with high calcium to avoid stone formation.  I've since gone back to eating plenty of cheese and high fat dairy in my diet.

I'm curious if this is a common issue that you've seen and I'm wondering if this is something that might be helped by going to a keto diet.

2. [5:33] Sugar addiction Kathryn says: Hey Robb, I am really hoping you can give me some insight into why I can't seem to fully recover from sugar addiction. I have had a sweet tooth my whole life, but in recent years I have learned that I have a true addiction to sugar. In the last four years or so, I have studied a lot of nutrition, functional medicine and ancestral health perspectives and gone on a strict paleo diet for months at a time. In almost every way, a clean diet of whole foods makes me feel amazing (better sleep, clearer skin, joints and movement feels better, etc.), except, I become very depressed. It's not a mopey, weepy kind of depressed, it's literally a depression of all feeling, like I feel very little at all. But I do sometimes feel really, really irritable, or sometimes bouts of rage that don’t match the situations they arise in. But most of the time, I just feel blah. I thought this would go away after a couple of weeks or even a month or two of eating clean, but it didn't. In happy or exciting moments, it was like I just couldn't feel those emotions fully. I also noticed that I didn't crack jokes like I usually do or feel like being social. All my feelings were dulled. Even sad ones. And when I did fall off the diet, and eat sugar, I immediately felt cheerful again. To me, it seems that the years of sugar abuse have altered my brain enough that without sugar, I can't feel normal emotions anymore. So my question is concerning healing my brain. Is it possible to reverse these effects? The longest I have gone on a strict paleo diet is three months. I admit it was hard to keep going when I just didn't see myself ever feeling happy again. If it's possible to heal my brain and increase its capacity for proper dopamine signaling again, are there certain therapies or supplements that can precipitate and accelerate that healing? Perhaps I am ignorant of some other factor or mechanism at work here. I would be grateful for any insight or help you can give. Thanks for the incredible work you do to bring to light the truth about human health and nutrition.

Notes:

Carb 22: https://carbsyndrome.com/nutraceuticals-new/

STEM Talk Episode 69 (David LeMay): https://www.ihmc.us/stemtalk/episode-69/

3. [11:32] Metabolic Flexibility and Weight Loss/Maintenance Julia says: Robb and Nicki, I am very interested in the concept of metabolic flexibility and eagerly waiting to hear your upcoming lecture on this topic. Intuitively it makes sense that given variation in season and climate that humans would have relied on a menu of macronutrient combinations. My question is: how can developing metabolic flexibility be used as tool for weight loss/maintenance? I have been about 90% ketogenic for the past 28 months; the other 10% would be high carb meals which I have allowed as a metabolically flexible person. I can swing in and out of ketosis with ease; however, I have noticed that if I go through periods of higher carb, it does result in weight gain which is tough to lose even when reentering ketosis. I do crossfit almost daily and practice the 18:6 IF schedule, and I don't notice either of those things affecting my performance. Thanks!

4. [16:31] Low afternoon energy

Laura says: Hi Robb and Nicki, Thank you both for all you do! I've been a huge fan since 2010 and admire your relentless pursuit of the truth when it comes to health and nutrition.

My question is about my extremely low energy in the early afternoons. I know it is a common complaint, but I feel like I've done everything I can to fix the common mistakes  that lead to the afternoon slump, and I also feel like my exhaustion is too extreme to be normal for my age and health status.

I'm 32 years old, I eat low carbish (75-100g most days), have toyed with keto, eat mostly paleo with the addition of some dairy and occasional non gluten grains. I do crossfit 3x/week and spend most of my time chasing my 2 year old around. My sleep is good most of the time, and I do not have any major life stressors that effect me currently. No diagnosed health conditions, no rx meds.

I had bloodwork done recently, and my doctor was very impressed with the results, especially my blood lipids. A1c was 4.8, C-reactive protein 0.8, no thyroid antibodies present. Fasting blood sugar 78. The only things that were slightly out of range were homocysteine (slightly low at 4.6), Uric acid low at 2.4, serum iron slightly high at 148, and my free T3 was a little low at 2.5. Another Doctor years ago prescribed me naturethroid but I never took it.

Ive tried changing my diet in every way imaginable to try to combat a possible hypoglycemic or food sensitivity related slump after lunch.  I've eliminated various foods that people can be sensitive to,and ive even tried more carbs in the morning, but that leads to blood sugar imbalance and cravings all day. As a result, my breakfasts and lunches would fall under the keto umbrella, as I feel better when I eat carbs later in the day.

The only thing that seems to slightly help is not eating at all, but I just get so hungry! My activity level is fairly high and I don't feel like I'm a great candidate for intermittent fasting at this point.

My mom, who has had MS for about 30 years, does not eat all day and only eats dinner because she's says eating makes her tired. I just can't handle not eating at all, and I do feel fatigued and hypoglycemic if I try to skip meals.

Thanks for reading and for all you do!!

5. [23:08] Carb test and ketosis

Carl says: Hey Robb,

I read Wired to Eat while I was pretty deep into a ketotic cycle, so I didn't immediately get to the 7-day carb test. Years of self-experimentation have led me to a relatively low carb (<50g/day) Paleo diet with an occasional 48 hour fast, an occasional ketotic cycle, and a very occasional carb re-feed. Genetic testing revealed some SNPs that predispose me to insulin resistance, and others that positively affect my fat metabolism, reinforcing the fact that I look, feel, and perform better eating in this fashion. I do enjoy my occasional carb binges, so I'd like to perform the carb test in order to whittle my food selections down to those least damaging to my metabolism; but I'm concerned that my postprandial blood glucose readings will be skewed upward because I don't regularly eat more than ten or fifteen grams of effective carbs at a time. Should I bring my daily and per-meal carb intake up for a certain period of time before starting the carb test, or is a 50 gram bolus of carbs small enough to give me a true measure of glucose tolerance for the purpose of food selection? Thanks in advance.

6. [27:30] Creativity and Writing Process

Peter says: Robb,

I hope all is well. I'm a big fan of the Podcast and excited about the Q & A return.  I have a two-parter both within the same general idea.

FIRSTLY: I'm a writer and I am alway curious about how others approach the creative process.  I was curious if you could elaborate on how you approach writing and creativity in regards to balancing an active lifestyle? And how a typical day when writing might look.

For example -- Do you do things like meditate? What time of the day do you write? Where do you write? If you write in the morning how do you reconcile with hanging outside first thing in the morning to get some sun?  If you do Jujutsu around noon and roll for 2 hours how do you write around it?  You've mentioned eating big meals in the morning, if you're in a heavy writing period, is this a habit you stick with? Oh by the way, you have a wife and kids... how do you balance it all?

Do you still do caffeine?  Do you force yourself to take breaks during writing?  How do you avoid sitting for 5/6 hours straight?

Sorry for all the questions, I've just been thinking about this a lot lately as I enter into a career pursuing my passion as a writer while trying to balance and prioritize my health.  As I am sure you can attest, writing can be all consuming if you let it and setting boundaries is vital -- though difficult, especially if you're in "the zone."  So I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[33:18] SECONDLY:  I'd love to get your thoughts on the mechanisms at play when writing or doing anything else that requires intense mental focus in regards to willpower.  Correct me if I am wrong, but it feels like for me, many aspects of writing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle (choosing healthy food over shitty stuff, hitting the gym, walking, etc.) can drain from the same willpower tank (if not just psychologically, and physically -- physiologically as well).  This isn't to say that both can't exist -- rather does one need to be given priority based on ordering of events throughout the day? 

For example, I feel my creativity comes to me first thing in the morning.  If I were to wake up and hit a Metcon first thing, I feel my creativity gets depleted from the shared willpower tank.  I feel this to be true with little things that chip away at my early morning start time as well.  For example, taking the time to make a big healthy breakfast, sitting in the sun, even a short walk, all delay me tapping into when I feel I am creatively primed -- but is it worth the sacrifice of my health?

I was curious if you have any thoughts on when or how you prioritize creativity.  Or maybe this is all just a bunch of bullshit like Robert Rodriguez says -- and our creativity is totally out of our control. 

Anyways, love the show and everything you do.  If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.

Regards, Peter

Source: http://robbwolf.libsyn.com/episode-405-robb-and-nicki-qa-9

[abumblebeeat221b]

I knew this was eventually going to happen, but something is telling me that this is the very last Steven Moffat interview he’ll be doing in which he is talking this much about Doctor Who  - and which I’ll add to my interview archive.

So, please do me the favour and treat it nicely.

Steven, I think I'm right in saying that this year's Doctor Who Christmas special has begun production.

No, we've got the read-through on Thursday. I'm just doing a new draft at the moment, which I hope to finish tomorrow. I'll get that to the production office for Monday morning and then probably fiddle around with it a bit. Then I think we start shooting a week on Monday.

I've misunderstood. So pre-production started a couple of weeks ago.

Yes.

Once you've finished this draft, what else is there for you to do as head writer on Doctor Who?

Oh, we have to make the show! I mean, it's not that I write it down and we just sort of stop at that point. We've got to get the whole show made. The actual shooting of Doctor Who is monstrously complex. It's the most complex show I've ever worked on. Every day you've got something like green screen, prosthetics or a stunt scene. There's hardly ever just people sitting round tables talking – which I intend to write for the rest of my life. That's much easier. So it's a long, complex process and the script keeps... Well, it's hardly my only job but the script will have to stay flexible throughout that process as things fall out or don't work, or as new ideas happen. So there's quite a lot to do. And then there's endless post-production. On Doctor Who, that's like making a whole other show. The show we actually shoot can look terrible – just Peter Capaldi shouting at a green curtain. That's what you get for an hour and you have to sign it off and say, “Yeah, that looked fantastic!” Then all the CGI comes in, they grade it and score it and eventually it looks like proper television. But the Christmas one won't be that terrifying because, unusually for us, the new team take over after that and we've got really quite a lot of time to work on this one. But Episodes 11 and 12 of this series of Doctor Who going out now are nowhere near completion. Episode 8 is on shortly – I expect you all to leave this interview at a designated moment to go watch it. Episodes 9 and 10 are finished, and then with episodes 11 and 12 we're still getting effects through, and we're still scoring them. It's very close to the wire.

Do you know when your last day will be?

Yes, but I've forgotten. I think 11 July is when we stop shooting but that's hardly the end of everything. If I were to nominate the very last time I turn up and do a showrunnery thing for Doctor Who, that will be the press screening of the Christmas episode. By then, Chris [Chibnall] will be working with a new Doctor and a new production team, so I'll be like a live archive, a fossil, revived and lurching round the place, hanging desperately on to former glory and launching the Christmas special. I think that screening might be on 15 December, and that will be me absolutely finished – in every sense.

What do you know about what's to come after that?

Oh, practically nothing. One of the very few bits of advice I gave to Chris was, “It's almost impossible to keep a secret on Doctor Who but rule 1 is that you don't tell anybody anything unless they absolutely need to know.” In this case, I don't need to know what they're up to. They're zeroing in on their casting choice, scripts are in the works and, to be honest, Chris is already really the showrunner and I'm the relic. I've got one episode to worry about but he's got years of Doctor Who ahead, so he's really doing the job now. I'm just going round waving at the crowd. When I first took over from Russell [T Davies], he was doing all the public stuff and I was doing the job. I remember thinking – as I think now – that that's a good division of labour. One person can go round being fatuous in interviews and the other person can do the actual work. I prefer the fatuous bit.

As if Doctor Who wasn't hard enough, you thought, “Let's do another show at the same time...” But Sherlock has come to a natural break if not an end, so what are you going to fill your time with?

Holidays. Drinking... I don't know that Sherlock has finished. People keep saying that, and that it's come to a natural end. But what does that mean on a show that we hardly ever make? Just that it gets marginally slower in production. I kind of assume that at some point we'll show up again, but that's what I assume at the end of every series. When Sue [Vertue, his co-producer – and wife] has to reassemble Sherlock, it's like arranging a reunion party. It's, “Hello, how are you? What's your diary like?” When you're talking to [stars] Benedict and Martin that can be an issue. But I assume we'll go again. We didn't end it on a big cliffhanger this year. I suppose that's the only difference. But more or less everyone's alive that needs to be, so if we want to go again we absolutely can.

Is there a project waiting for you that's not Doctor Who or Sherlock?

It would be pretty grim if there wasn't, wouldn't it? But I haven't a specific one. I've had a particularly hard year on the two shows. I've done three new Sherlocks and 14 new Doctor Whos in the space of about a year. That's madness so I just want to go and lie down. I do have a few things in mind, though I haven't chosen one yet. Mark [Gatiss] and I have a project that we won't do next, either of us, but that we're very excited about. We've spoken to various people about that and they're pleased with it. That's not the same as Sherlock or any part of his world but I suppose you could view it as a a stable-mate. So we have another project, another joint piece of absolute nonsense, that we both fancy working on, but neither of us will work on that next. Our brains need a bit of a rest.

Can I take you back to when you started work on TV Doctor Who? What happened in December 2003 – did Russell ring you, or speak to your agent, to see if you were free for the Christopher Eccleston episodes you wrote?

Around the time that Russell was announced as doing the new series, I got his email address from Paul Cornell and emailed him my congratulations in the hope that he would remember my address. He emailed straight back saying, “Look, if it goes for more than six episodes” – ha ha, six episodes! – “then I'd like you to write some.” I didn't take it that seriously but thought, “Well, that would be great.” Then I got the phonecall from my agent – it's about the only time my agent has been the person to tell me I've got a job. I was asked if I'd do the two-parter, which became The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances. That was thrilling. I can tell you exactly when that was: it was 10 December, the night of the British Comedy Awards, which we were just leaving for when I got that call. A long time ago now. I was genuinely so excited.

You won an award that night [Best TV Comedy for Coupling].

Yes.

And also met Doctor Who.

That's right, I also met Peter Davison that night. But I couldn't tell him, or anyone, that I'd just got this job. I couldn't tell Doctor Who, so I just came across to him as a slightly crazed fan – an opinion that I don't think he's ever had occasion to revise. So yes, that was a brilliant night and as you say we won an award. But it was nothing compared to, “I'm actually going to write, 'Interior: TARDIS'.” I was properly excited about that. Above all, more than getting the big job on the series afterwards or anything else, it was that moment, when I knew I was actually going to write proper television Doctor Who. I'd done The Curse of Fatal Death, the Comic Relief sketch, many years before – again, with Sue. One of the main reasons I went hell for leather on that was that I thought it would be my one and only chance to write Doctor Who. In a lifetime of bad predictions, that might have been my worst. But yeah, that was a brilliant night.

I remember speaking to you in a pub in 2005, about three weeks before the first episode of new Doctor Who went out. We asked how you thought it would do, and you said something like, “Well, we're proud of what we've done and the hope is that by the time we get to my episode, Doctor Who hasn't been shunted to Sundays – that it's gone down okay and is still on a Saturday night.” How surprising was its success?

That's probably a better question to ask Russell, Julie and Phil [the executive producers of the 2005 series], who were much more in the firing line in those days. I sort of had the absolute conviction that it would be a success because I wasn't right in the firing line in the way that they were. I'm sure they were properly terrified. I think we all knew that the first episode would get a big audience because every time they hauled out anything with the name Doctor Who on it, it would get, I don't know, around 10 million viewers. So it felt like it was going to be a hit. But it became bigger than we thought it would. I remember Russell saying at the press screening for the last episode, The Parting of the Ways, “Oh, we'll get 10 years out of this.” We're at 12 years now, which is fairly extraordinary. And yes, by the time it came to my one, it wasn't on a Sunday and I'd already done a draft of my next Doctor Who. And we'd already lost a significant cast member. That kind of thing was terrifying – again, more for Russell and Julie, who knew more about it. They had this huge monster hit and they knew they had to find a new lead. Nowadays, we're all used to the idea – everyone is used to the idea now of regenerating the Doctor. But can you imagine? You're one series in and you have to change the lead! Absolutely terrifying.

Speaking of changing leads, when did you know, or first start hearing whispers, that you'd be the one to replace Russell?

Honestly? I'd worked it out. Sue kept saying, “Oh, they're going to make you do that bloody job.” I think that was around the time of The Empty Child. I was like, “No, why would they ask me?” I sort of didn't want to think about it. But as I looked around the room, I thought it would probably be me. That sounds grotesquely conceited, but I just thought, “It's me, isn't it?” Then I stopped thinking about it because I was really, really enjoying the job of showing up just once a year on Doctor Who, doing a lot less work than Russell. I'd watch him being shunted out of rooms and into other rooms. Just as he'd be walking towards you, saying “Hullo!”, he'd be dragged off to do some other work. That's my life now and Chris's life in the immediate future. So I thoroughly enjoyed those days. But I just didn't get it when it came. I think they spoke to me twice before I really tuned in on what was being said. Jane Tranter [the BBC's then Controller of Drama Commissioning], I think at the read-through for Voyage of the Damned [which took place on 2 July 2007] came up to me and said, “At some point, you and I will have to sit down and talk about the next five years...” Again, I told Sue this. I said, “They're very keen on me at the BBC.” But I hadn't realised that of course she meant Doctor Who and I was being offered the job right there. Then Julie Gardner started talking about Russell leaving and what they were going to do next, all while looking very hard at me. That was in LA at some point – I think it was the TCAs [the ceremony for the 23rd Television Critics Association Awards was held on 21 July 2007]. But it wasn't until I got the enormously long, persuasive email from Russell that I realised what was actually happening and I had to start thinking about it. You'd think that would be an incredibly easy choice because it was the job I'd wanted all my life, I already loved the show and it was a huge hit. But it paralyses you when that email arrives. You're aware what it's going to do to your life – and I wasn't wrong about any of that. I remember that about a week before getting that email I saw David Tennant at a concert and said, “It must have been great when you were offered Doctor Who. You must have been so excited.” And he said, “Um... It's more complicated when it's real.” “Oh, bollocks,” I said, “you were just thrilled, weren't you? You just said 'yes' straight away and were on to designing your costume.” He said, “I didn't, I didn't – I was just confused.” About a week later I was in the same state of confusion. I don't know that it's meant to happen, that when you're in your 40s – as I was then – the job you specifically wanted when you were eight shows up. That's ridiculous. That's like discovering that, yes, you can be Santa's elf. It's unusual.

You said most of your predictions about the job were right. What do you wish you could have told or warned yourself at the time?

I'm not sure because I had watched Russell go through all of that. For him, I think some of it probably came as a bit of a surprise. For me, I was at reasonably close quarters and saw someone I knew reasonably well going through exactly what I was about to. Helpfully, he'd written his utterly terrifying book, The Writer's Tale, with Ben Cook. If you've not read it, it's about his time making the show. That was like moving into a really creepy mansion and discovering the diary of the previous occupant, and it's like, “Dear god, they were never found again!” I suppose there was part of me that was so shocked and horrified at all the work I would have to do that I kind of just did as I was told. I slightly worry that – he says, sitting here – keeping a lower profile might have been more agreeable for someone like me. You get very visible in a job like this and I'm not absolutely sure how much I like that. But I say that in front of an audience. When it comes down to it, I've been through this thought experiment. I sat with Chris on the night I was talking him into taking the job, saying, “Here are the things you will really need...” I'm not telling you what they are but they're all very dull, just how to organise your life a bit – or how to fail to organise your life but in the most constructive manner.

You had to recast the Doctor. Was it a given that David Tennant was leaving?

It was. The first thing I was told was that David was leaving with Russell and Julie. They had – as they put it, cheerfully – a sort of suicide pact. That was great: “Welcome in, we've got a suicide pact and there'll be plenty of space for you.” But then that got taken away again because David phoned me up and said, “So, you're taking over...” I said, “I thought you were leaving.” He said, “Well, maybe. But maybe I'm not.” He went through a huge, prolonged wobble, really. I chatted to him a lot and in the end he listened to my ideas and decided not to do it. (Laughs) He went and did a show by Chris Chibnall instead – and quite right. I think he'd 90 per cent made up his mind but because we're quite good friends there was a moment of thinking, “Should I or shouldn't I?” Eventually he decided that it was time for him to go. Three years seems to be the amount of time Doctors do these days – and I suppose mostly it was in the old days as well. But that does mean I took his resignation. I was the person who received David Tennant's resignation. And Matt Smith's resignation. And Peter Capaldi's resignation. There should be some sort of special therapy for a grown-up Doctor Who fan whose heroes resign to him. I don't want any more Doctors to quit. It's terrifying. It's like Santa saying, “I've had enough!” “No, Santa, that's terrible – come back.”

Are the resignation letters long? I'm sure you can't share what's in them.

They weren't letters but meetings. I had a phonecall with David, I went out for a boozy lunch with Matt and I had dinner with Peter. Obviously, in Peter's case I was already off so that was slightly different. But it is quite a thing when you have to sit opposite someone who is tearing themselves apart about leaving this role they love so much. But you're saying, in all three cases, “Are you sure? What else will be as good? It'll all be despair and misery after this. You'll just be doing ads. You'll be doing Tom Baker's voiceovers. Think again.” None of them has not regretted it.

Let's talk about the casting of Matt Smith. He auditioned for the part of Watson in Sherlock.

Yes, the first time I met Matt Smith, I think he was the very first person through the door for Dr Watson on Sherlock. We'd already cast Benedict and Matt came in. He gave a terrific audition but of course he's far more Sherlock Holmes than Dr Watson. He just doesn't seem like a Dr Watson. But I was looking for a new Doctor at the time, and the idea of him as Doctor Who did flit through my brain a little bit. But the thing about Matt is... Well, Mark Gatiss said at the time, “Matt's  absolutely nuts. He's completely barmy.” Of course, he fitted the other role on Sherlock perfectly. So the very first time I met him, I turned him down. A few days later, he was either the second or third person through the door for Doctor Who and just stormed it. He just romped it. There was never a question after he gave his audition. We should have stopped at that point because it wasn't going to happen again with anyone else. And he'd barely seen the show! He just came in and he was Doctor Who straight away. I'd been bracing myself for months of it and there he was, on the first day.

At that point you'd written at least some of The Time of Angels – the first episode you shot. That has all the stuff between the Doctor and River Song, so were you thinking of an older Doctor who'd be more of a match for Alex Kingston?

I assumed that we would go older. But remember, David was in his 30s when he did Doctor Who and nearly 40 by the end. It's not like the Doctor is incredibly young or anything. I think by then I'd written almost three episodes – The Eleventh Hour, The Time of Angels and most of Flesh and Stone. Yes, you are thinking, “What's it going to be like?” I think I sent an irritated email to everybody about the names we had on the casting list saying, “Look, you're sending me all these youngsters. There isn't a 27 year-old on the planet who won't look as though he'll just get stuck in Alex Kingston's teeth.” And there wasn't – it was a 26 year-old. I was like, “Is that going to be okay? I don't know.” But then it's meant to be a ridiculous relationship and it sort of works. And such is the schedule of Doctor Who, Matt only looked 26 for about two production blocks. You go look at him in The Time of Angels and compare him to, say, The Vampires of Venice, and you'll see the truth of our schedule etched savagely on his face.

When Matt left, I was working on a kids' magazine and we did a spread of all the regenerations. What that means is you see, right next to each other, all the Doctors when they began and when they left. You go, “What have they done to these poor men?”

One of the very last things that David Tennant did as the Doctor was some promo photographs for his last episodes. He was telling me this, I think at a Radio Times party. He said to them, “Ah, come on, why am I doing this? I just do this [strikes a pose], then I do this [strikes another pose] and then I do my hands in my pockets. I've only got three poses so why are you bothering to photograph me again? Just put a different background in.” And the photographer said, “But David, you look so much older. Look at your face.” David's standing there going, “That's my life you're casually referring to!”

Matt Smith's first series ran from April 2010, and Sherlock started later that year, so were you making the first series of Sherlock at the same time as Doctor Who?

Yes, and that's an incredibly bad lifestyle choice. Yes, there was a moment where – I had it last year as well – I was doing both. It's horrific. There's nothing good about it. By the time you get to the end of your rushes – you watch all the rushes from Doctor Who and then all the rushes from Sherlock – half the day is gone. I always tried to be really careful about rushes, which is the stuff we shoot on a daily basis. I found it very difficult. There's nothing clever about doing that.

They were shot in the same studios, so were Matt Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch meeting up, going for drinks...

What a lovely impression you have of the studio we shot in. I suppose they could have nipped down to the garage and bought a Topic together. It wasn't really like that. It was a big blue shed on a wintry hill somewhere and I assure you that neither Matt Smith nor Benedict Cumberbatch socialised much in that area. But there were two great things I remember about that. There was the TARDIS in one studio and in the neighbouring studio had 221 Baker Street. I remember Mark and me wandering from one to the other and he grabbed my arm and said, “It's a map of our brains!” I've also got a really bad photograph of Benedict and Martin sitting in the TARDIS – but it's really atrocious. And then I've got the only photograph that exists of Benedict in costume and Matt in costume together, with me spoiling it in the middle. We were doing a photo shoot for Sherlock of all of us, but mainly of Martin and Benedict. This was long before we knew Sherlock was going to be a hit, and before Matt had been on television. And Matt came through the studio in his full regalia as Doctor Who heading for his set. I knew it would be the only time it ever happened so I said, “Can I have a photograph?” So I've got a photograph of me standing there between the two of them, spoiling it. That photograph is regularly available on the internet, but do you know what they do? They cut out my face so you can put your face in. Not Benedict's face, not Matt's face, just my face, carved lovingly out. A space for anyone. A disposable element to this photograph. I was so proud. Thank you, the world.

I'd put my face in there. I'm glad to learn of these photos, because there's a photo from the 1980s when there was a fire alarm at TV Centre, and Sylvester McCoy and the Doctor Who cast are mixed up with the cast from Allo! Allo! But my favourite example is the film Frankie and Johnny, where they wanted Al Pacino to open a door and react with surprise. So they went into the next studio and got Kirk and Spock from the Star Trek film shooting there to stand, in costume, behind the door. So Al Pacino opens the door and does a brilliantly confused face...

Really?

Yeah. And nobody thought to take photographs, so I'm very glad to hear there are photographs of this meeting. Anyway, Matt Smith was a very successful Doctor and you then had to recast him. Peter Capaldi visited the set of An Adventure in Space and Time in, what, January or February 2013 and had a long chat with David Bradley about having always wanted to visit the TARDIS. Did you know at that point Capaldi was going to be Doctor Who?

He was in our minds but he certainly had no inkling of it. I think we had the first, vague conversations about who it was going to be... I independently asked Mark to give me a list of people. I'd thought of Peter Capaldi and Mark drew up a long list with Peter's name at the top and a big space underneath because he thought it should be him. But Peter had no clue nor any suspicion that he was under consideration while he was farting about posing with Daleks and the TARDIS. Obviously, I knew he was going to have plenty of opportunity to do that.

I should be handing this over to the audience, and I'm sure there are people who'll want to  ask about Bill, the companion from this year. Where did her character derive from? I assume the first thought with a new companion is that she must not be like the last one. But Bill being a black gay woman made headlines, so at what stage did that come in?

It didn't arrive like that. Honestly, as most writers would attest, it started with a tone of voice. I wasn't thinking of a contrast with Clara particularly but I thought there was something about Peter's Doctor and Jenna's Clara that was, in a very attractive and charming way, quite rarefied when they were together. They were quite regal, these two super-brains off being rather refined. They probably read poetry at each other, albeit she'd do it in a Blackpool accent and he's Scottish. But you had that slight sense so I wanted an earthier tone of voice. Before I thought of anything else, I wanted somebody like that. So I started messing around, writing scenes. Separately, looking at our record, our skinny white cast, I also thought, “We can't keep doing this so let's just make the decision that she is not going to be white. Just not – we won't even look at anyone who is white.” But that wasn't an element of the character, it was just, “Come on, we have to sort ourselves out on that.” As for the gay thing, it would have been an absolute cliché to say, “Let's cast a black lesbian.” I never thought of it that way. I'd written a scene for the audition where she talks about a boy she fancies but that didn't feel right. I didn't know why it didn't feel right so I kept on messing around with it. The way you hone in on a character is like that. I tried making it a girl she fancies – and the scene worked. It was actually quite good. So for that reason and no other she became gay. But what we said at that point was, “We don't even use the word.” She's completely relaxed and casual about it, as most young people are. They're much smarter than we are and have ceased to worry about any of this nonsense. I was worried at the very beginning because it became a newspaper story when Pearl happened to mention it in an interview. It caused far more of a storm than we intended or planned. Anything that happens, you can more or less be certain was not what we planned. I thought maybe that's what would happen: people would just write about Bill as “the gay one”. But they didn't. Well, the Daily Mail did but that's what the Daily Mail does. Every other paper did exactly what we hoped, which was to mention she was gay but she wasn't “the gay one”. She is Bill who is funny. I don't think I've seen the word gay applied to her for weeks now, so that's great. And she's absolutely charmed the nation, she's become a star in a few weeks. I saw Pearl presenting a BAFTA just recently. That's astonishing when you see that happening – absolutely amazing.

I could carry on nattering but I'll open it up to the audience. Is anyone feeling brave? There's a very keen hand over there.

I don't mean to make everyone's hands go down, but there are two questions that we're not doing. No, there will never be a Doctor Who/Sherlock crossover and I have absolutely no idea who the new Doctor is going to be – or what they're going to be. It's not my business. So those two, you're not allowed to ask!

[Question] Have you ever considered making the Doctor a woman?

That's what I just said – I'm not answering. (Laughs) Listen, I'm quite serious about this. Obviously, I made the Master into a woman and so it's part of the continuity of the show. But can you imagine for a moment being Chris Chibnall right now? I know what it's like so I don't have to imagine. The entire world is shouting in your ear about who or what or why should be playing Doctor Who. Shut up and let him get on with it! It's really stressful. If you get that decision wrong, you're beheaded – by the Queen. That's the law if you get the wrong Doctor Who. So let them get on with it and I am not expressing any opinions out of deference to my good friend and successor. It's his problem.

[Question] Do you think you'll ever come back to write an episode or two of Doctor Who down the line?

I can't predict the future but I probably won't. I'm quite surprised to be saying that but it feels like an ending, like I'm done. Maybe in a few years I'll suddenly want to. In the short term, which is really quite long, Chris has to get on with it. Imagine if you've been the boss of something for a while and someone else takes over. You can't loiter round their office saying, “Can I do that bit?” You let them have a fresh take and get away from the relic from the archives claiming that everything has gone to crap now they've left. You don't want that. So maybe some time in the future.

You made a point of asking Russell to write for you, didn't you?

Yes, and Chris has been on at me. Look, the moment you're stuck with the prospect of having to get all those Doctor Who scripts in, you're not saying no to anybody you think might be competent or able. You say, “Please, for god's sake.” Russell's a genius so I wanted him but he was tired and made it clear from the outset that he wasn't going to do it again. I thought, “You bastard.” But now I'm in the same position, I'm thinking, “Well, time's up.” I've done my bit. I don't know that I've got anything else left. Such as it was, that's what I have.

[Question] Do you have any plans for what you're going to be doing after Doctor Who?

Hawaii. And probably quite a lot of gin and tonic.

[Someone shouts out] What about LA [for conventions]?

I don't know. I will be in LA and I'll be in San Diego. In terms of projects, I've got the thing with Mark that might happen when we want to do it. But I was trying to work out with Sue when the last time was that I didn't have a deadline. It's certainly over 10 and probably over 12 years ago. When I say “have a deadline”, I mean “find myself already late for a deadline before I start”. I arrive at the beginning of a script saying, “How many days late am I already?” So I'm quite looking forward to that not being the case, and a chance to just sit and think. There are things in my head and I'm looking forward to writing something that isn't either Doctor Who or Sherlock – because that will be the first time since about 2008.

[Question] How did you come up with the names for the Sycorax, the Adipose and Raxacoricofallapatorius  – if you did come up with them?

Well, I didn't. Russell did. Do you mean how did he think of the names, or the ideas for those monsters? The names. Adipose, Sycorax, Raxacoricofallapatorius  – I said it! Russell loves a tongue-twister – and that's not just scandalous gossip, I'm referring to the words. You just think of cool names. I haven't come up with any names as good as those so the next time I see Russell I'll ask him how he came up with those ones. I'm much more prosaic: Weeping Angels.

[Question] Will you watch the new series of Doctor Who with Chris Chibnall as showrunner?

Of course I'll watch the new series of Doctor Who! I know why you ask. Will it suddenly seem like I've been displaced and what the hell is this show doing without me? I was fairly used to watching it before I did it, so that's not a problem. But yes, I think there'll be a few moments where I go, “Oh god, I was that dispensable.” Of course, you wouldn't be human if you didn't do that. At the same time, Doctor Who, personally and professionally, has always meant far too much to me for me to allow it to become some sort of open wound that I can't ever go anywhere near again. I want to get back behind the sofa and watch it with the rest of you. I want it to be something lovely in my life because it has been, as a show both to watch and to make. I'd like it to be the show I used to make that I still love. So yes, you bet I will.

[Question] How do you make the decision to do something scary – the behind the sofa thing – without it being too terrifying for children? I watched the episode with the statues and, frankly, I was petrified!

Well, I'm a coward. I can't actually watch properly scary movies. Mark Gatiss loves them and is always recommending really scary films to me. I'm always saying, “Why would I watch that? I'd be frightened and I don't enjoy being frightened.” So I think if it's scary for me, that's probably all right for an eight year-old. You're referring to the Weeping Angels in Blink, and I suppose they're not scary to me because I made them up and yes, people seem to have been scared. But at the same time with the scariness in Doctor Who, it's not just about monsters. It's about the man who fights monsters without becoming one. Now, that's a very important story to tell children. Children already have monsters in their nightmares, whether or not Doctor Who is on. All that Doctor Who adds is a man who fights them without being one. I think that's the most important story you can tell. We haven't added monsters. And honestly, pull yourself together – it's for eight year-olds. Really, sort yourself out. The Weeping Angels, are you kidding? “We'd invade Earth but a moth saw us and everything's off. Don't look at me! Too late!” Ridiculous.

[Question] Do you think you'll do any cameos in Doctor Who?

No. It would spoil it for me and for you. I am really terrible at acting. It would be an offence to me. Many years ago, I did a kids' show called Press Gang and they made me go around in the background in a couple of them. Oh, I hated it. They make you do stuff over and over again. I just got so bored. I kept trying to escape. Then Peter Davison made me “act” – I use the word in its broadest definition – in his beautiful The Five(ish) Doctors. I was in that as myself, a part that proved to be out of my range. I hated doing that. I discovered I couldn't learn lines. I spent the entire thing with a clipboard that I pretended to consult, which had all my lines written on it. But I did discover something else. The people around me on that had worked for me for years – years! – and it was the first time they ever called me “sir” or got me a cup of tea. Being an actor was much nicer in that sense. It was suddenly, “Mr Moffat, would you come to set now?” It was like, “You've known me for years! A cup of tea? Wow!”

[Question] I always enjoy the historical stories – Pompeii, Shakespeare, things like that. Is there a historical period you would have liked to have done an episode about but never got round to?

Well, I always try to avoid the historical ones because they meant I had to go and read something – you couldn't just make it up. Of course, the first two I did were World War Two and then Madame du Pompadour. I had to read, oh, several lines – it was shocking. Even then, I think I got everything wrong. I think they were great great settings but I was always that particularly lonely kid who only wanted Doctor Who to have more spaceships in it, more silvery things, robots and uniforms, and people going, “Stop those robots!” But without doubt, some of the best episodes are things like Vincent and the Doctor.

[The person who asked this question] That's my favourite.

Yes, it's a beautiful episode by Richard Curtis, it's wonderful. You're right to like them but I was never desperate to do the research.

[Question] Would you consider returning to sitcom?

Possibly. I did quite a few years of that, and I've now done quite a few years of Doctor Who and Sherlock. I'd quite like to write something completely different, only because – it's a weird thing – expertise makes you dull. The longer you do something, the more on-the-shelf solutions you have to all the problems you face. You get very expert and slick but you also lose that becoming rawness you had when you were just messing about at the beginning. I vividly remember writing The Empty Child, which was the first non-sitcom I'd written in probably a decade, and having absolutely no idea what I was doing. I was wondering how a fright worked, how you constructed a fright, how you did this kind of exposition, how you constructed a scene without a punchline, and trying to use what limited comedy skills I had and apply them. I was thinking, “Well, you need a punchline but it's not a funny punchline.” I remember working out that a fright is like a joke: it's concealed set-up, concealed set-up, predictable but surprising result. That's how a fright works, with exactly the same structure as a joke. I'd quite like to do something so different that I'm floundering again, that I have none of my microwaveable meal plot solutions. That's making me sound really cynical and I don't mean to be. The more you do something, the more expert you get but you can get duller as well. I'd like to test myself again.

[Question] How do you start scriptwriting?

Do you mean how do you start writing a script, or how do you become a scriptwriter? In one sense, you've never had it so good if you want to make a film. If you have an idea for a script, you were always able to write it – just write it. But now, if you want to make it, you've got more camera and editing equipment on your smartphone than we used to have to make Doctor Who until quite recently. If you make a really good film, you've got somewhere to put it. You don't have to get a distributor, you can go to YouTube or any of the other online services. Look at me, talking about the modern world as if I knew anything about it! You can do all those things, so don't hang about. The measure of being a writer, a scriptwriter, a film-maker or TV-maker isn't whether you get paid for it but whether you make it. If you want to do it, what's stopping you? Why are you sitting there listening to me? Go and do it. I used to make little films on 8mm. They were rubbish, absolutely terrible, but they did feature a Doctor Who/Sherlock crossover – the only one I'm ever going to make – with my sister playing both parts. Go do it. In one sense, you've never had it so good. In another sense, you've got a lot of people who aren't really experts lecturing you from the internet every day. Turn that off. But go make it.

[Question] Where did the idea for Heaven Sent come from, a Doctor-only episode?

Heaven Sent was a Peter Capaldi solo episode, where he's trapped in a giant castle and has to punch his way through a diamond wall for 4.5 billion years. Now I say that out loud, what was I thinking? It had always bothered me about teleporters in sci-fi that it seemed you just got burned up and a copy of you was made. But then that's what happens in real life anyway, over time. You're not made of the same stuff you were a mere seven years ago, so that's kind of okay. I'd also always had the idea of repairing yourself with a teleporter. And I started to think, “What can we do with Peter? What's specific about him?” I'd written the big speech he makes in The Zygon Inversion and I thought, “If there's ever a character who could be on their own for an episode just talking to themselves, it would be the Doctor.” The Doctor's always talking to himself, whether or not there's someone else in the room. I felt that if anyone could pull that off, it would be Peter Capaldi. He could suffer enough for an entire cast, with one anguished look from beneath those brows. So I thought that could work. And again, a little like I was saying earlier, I wanted to do something so difficult I didn't know how to do it, so I'd have to invent a way to write it in the hope that it would be good. I'm not saying it was but it was different. It's one of those episodes no one ever gave a bad review to because they were frightened. They just thought, “It looked awfully difficult so I can't criticise that. That person worked tremendously hard: well done. But I hope it's normal next week.”

[Question] Who do you prefer out of Smith and Capaldi?

[After a horrified “Oooh” from the audience.] There is no possible preference. They are better than each other. No, you don't need to make a list. You're going down the fan route. Don't ever make a list of preferences, just say they're all brilliant. They're all equally great. Or, if you must have a preference, how about a different one every day? Today is a Jon Pertwee day! Today is a Tom Baker day! You don't have to have one. Personally, I could never choose between them. They're all brilliant and the genius of Doctor Who is that it allows the character to change so much that it is maximised for each successive Doctor. Genuinely, hand on my heart, my favourite Doctor is Doctor Who. Have you seen the other doctors? They all just cure illnesses and hang around hospitals, and never fight marauding aliens. They wouldn't know what to do with a robot. So no, no preference. I couldn't have one. They're both amazing.

[Question] What's your favourite monster that you created and what was the inspiration for it?

I'd have to say the Weeping Angels because they were so successful. That's an influence. I really liked the Silents and the idea of monsters you can't remember. And I quite like the monks that we're all missing on television at the moment. But no, I think it's the Weeping Angels. Where did I get from? We were at a hotel in Dorset and there was a graveyard next to the hotel. The church was closed down and the graveyard gates were all chained up with a big sign saying, “Unsafe structure.” That seemed really frightening. I went over and looked inside, and saw all these leaning gravestones and one lamenting, weeping angel. I thought that was really creepy and strange, and wondered if that was the unsafe structure. So a few years later I wrote it up as Blink, including the chained-up gate which we had at the very beginning. A few years after that, I said to my son Joshua, “When we're back at that hotel, let's go and look at that graveyard because in there is the original Weeping Angel.” But it wasn't there! I'm not making this up. It was gone – oh no! Now, there are two possible explanations. One is that Weeping Angels are real and we're all doomed – unless a moth sees them. Or, I misremembered and in my fake memory created the Weeping Angel in that graveyard. Maybe I saw it somewhere else. Assuming that was the case, I looked up “weeping angels” on Google Images. But all I ever get are pictures from shows I've made. So I don't think I invented the Weeping Angel, that idea of the angel with wings, and its holding its face in its hands. I saw that somewhere but I can't find it now because I cannot get through the forest of Doctor Who photographs to the original. So that's where it came from – or possibly it's real. She [the woman who asked the earlier question] would be in trouble.

[Question] Can you describe what it was like being the showrunner during the 50th anniversary and writing the special?

It was hell. It was awful. I remember going to a meeting where I said – and if you're ever at a meeting like this, don't say this – “It'll be this year's Olympics!” But without the money.” The level of expectation from just about everybody was so insane. The BBC were saying, “Well, obviously, this is going to be huge – but you can't have any more money.” Every fan in the country – and I know a lot of Doctor Who fans – was raging at me about not including William Hartnell. I was trying to explain that he just doesn't answer his texts. He doesn't; I've tried to get in touch. I was so stressed and miserable when trying to write that episode, trying to make it both a party and a decent story with some dramatic integrity to it, and trying to satisfy all the different Doctors. Matt and David had very big roles, but David would say, “Am I just the comic relief in this?” And Matt would say, “David's got all the jokes!” So I'd say, “Do you want to swap?” And they'd say, “No!” I can't remember anything so stressful. There was a moment one evening when I was going to phone up Ben Stephenson [who'd succeeded Jane Tranter as Controller of Drama Commissioning] at the BBC and say, “I can't finish this. I don't know what I'm doing.” Sue persuaded me to wait until the next day. Sadly, I listened and continued to work. I can just about watch it now without wanting to vomit but it was terrifying. I was very relieved that it went down so well. That was a lovely thing.

[Question] Do you have a favourite episode from your time in charge?

Oh god. I love Vincent and the Doctor. That's a wonderful episode. There are lots I really like. Maybe I'd choose Vincent and the Doctor because it was such a tremendous thrill to get Richard Curtis to write Doctor Who. But there are quite a few... Tonight's! That's my favourite. Get out and watch it. Go and watch tonight's – the one that's on right now, which I am competing with. Me and Britain's Got Talent are ranged against Doctor Who tonight. Please all watch it before 2 o'clock in the morning because that will count in the overnights.

[Question, from a child] What's your second most favourite monster?

Okay, right. I haven't actually told you what my favourite monster is. I said that my favourite monster I've created is the Weeping Angel but my favourite monster overall is of course the Daleks, because they're best. And they're here and I don't want to argue with them. My second favourite monster isn't the Weeping Angels, either. The Cybermen are my second favourite monster. I'm a traditionalist, you see. I don't hold with all this new Doctor Who malarkey, I like the old show. What's your favourite monster?

[The child] It's either a Weeping Angel or a Dalek.

You're wrong: it's the Dalek. No, thank you. I'm very flattered and pleased that you think the Weeping Angels might be as good as the Daleks. They're not but I'm glad you think so. What do you think of Cybermen?

[The child] I don't really think I've watched that one.

[From next to the child] He's only just starting watching.

Oh right. But they're all on iTunes. Come on!

[From nearby] He's only seven.

Yeah, that's enough time.

[From nearby] Could you choose one for him?

Oh. Maybe The Tomb of the Cybermen, with Patrick Troughton from 1967. Yes, Cybermen are great. They'll be on in a few weeks, the Cybermen. That's quite a good episode. Look out for Cybermen. And watch lots more Doctor Who. Education? No, Doctor Who.

[Question] Were there any episodes that didn't turn out how you originally envisaged them?

Well, I suppose that's true to a greater or lesser extent of all of them. At some point, every writer on Doctor Who envisages 18 million clanking monsters coming over the hill. And then it's one monster coming over the hill, saying “You 18 million, stay back there – and keep your helmets on for no particular reason. I will go and discuss this with the Doctor.” So to some degree all of them. But the amazing thing about the Doctor Who production team is that they pretty much do anything we ask. Very often, things come out better than I thought they would. As I was saying earlier, it's hard on Doctor Who. When they finish just shooting and editing it, it looks terrible because it then needs so much repair work from the CGI, the lighting, the sorting and grading, and the music to make it the bold and brilliant show that we know. There have been some, though I'd never name them, where I felt they weren't what we set out to make. If I say what those episodes are I'd upset people – including me. I'd probably just cry in front of you. But there are other episodes that came out much better. They soared. I remember being worried about The Doctor's Wife for a while and suddenly it just zoomed to the front. So mostly it's better than I think and those occasions when it's worse I'm not telling you. I'll leave a note after my death.

We've time for one last question, so can we hear from Doctor Who right at the back?

His beard isn't canonical.

[Doctor Who] The beginning of this year's series didn't have monsters in, it had oil that wanted to get home and badly programmed robots. Was that a concious decision, not to have a monster-of-the-week?

Well, it did have monsters. It had a rationale for the monsters. If you saw a puddle that followed you home, you'd think it was a monster, Doctor. If you saw smiley-faced robots that turned you into skeletons, you'd probably think that was a monster, too. I've never really understood the idea – and think it's bad writing – when you say the monsters are just evil. When as a writer you decide the monsters are just evil, you have not shown up to work. A monster wants something that it probably shouldn't want. Why and what for and what's happening? If monsters are essentially just coming in and shooting everybody, the Doctor has to become a soldier and that's his least interesting look. If the monsters seem to be soldiers rolling and clanking over everybody else but the Doctor is clever and says, “No, look at it from over here, from their point of view,” and you see that while what they're doing is evil they are something much more interesting and intractable than evil, then they have a point. Understanding that the people opposed to everything about you and your way of life may have a point is far more terrifying than believing in evil, and puts the Doctor at the heart of the story as opposed to just running around blowing things up. Which I also like. But also, at the beginning of this series he offers the universe to Bill. He says, “Come with me, I'll show you the wonders of the universe.” And it occurred to me that in most Doctor Who stories what he then does is lead companions down tunnels where people try to kill them. So I thought it would be fun if she saw the nicer face of the universe first and the Doctor in his most loveable form, where he's the man who repairs that which has gone wrong, before we introduced her to really, really nasty stuff. Again, I always say, I want to know why the monsters want that. The stupidest fairy tale of all is evil. It's not that there aren't evil things happening but saying that people or monsters do evil things just because they're evil isn't writing and isn't clever, because that's not how anything ever works.

Thank you very much, Steven Moffat.

[blog-optimisticcoffeestuden-blog]

Saint Paul Minnesota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 55170

"Saint Paul Minnesota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 55170

Saint Paul Minnesota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 55170

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Saint Paul Minnesota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 55170

Saint Paul Minnesota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 55170

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thanks

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Tips for a 17 year old MALE driver to get his CAR INSURANCE premiums below 2000?

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How much does health insurance cost?

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How much (approx) is THIRD PARTY insurance on a small used car of value around $2500?

(in australia)

Saint Paul Minnesota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 55170

Saint Paul Minnesota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 55170

Is $600/year normal price for insurance if the car is 10 years old?

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In Canada not US

How much will insurance go up?

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Why are NYS auto insurance rates so high?

I live in NYC, and have taken over my late Dad's auto insurance. I was looking up quotes from other insurance companies (currently have Geico), and all the quotes are the same as I pay now, or more. My own license is clean, no accidents, violations, tickets, etc. I just want to know why NYS auto insurance rates are so high?""

Cheap bikes to insure ?

I'm trying for my a2 license this week, and was wondering if anyone had done any research in 33bhp insurance, I have compared 3 bikes but was wondering if anyone could tell me some bikes they have found cheap to insure I am currently paying 400 for a 2009 aprilia rs50 A 2009 rs125 750 A 2009 ninja 250 2500 Could you give me prices for other bikes with your age, ncb and location so I have a rough idea of the price for me I'm 17 in London""

How do I get car insurance?

I am 18. I am not in college nor do I have a diploma. I don't start college till Fall 2011. Is it possible that I can still get car insurance? If so, how?""

How much insurance cost for 350z?

how much does it cost for insurance on a 350z for a 19yr old guy clean driving record in Texas?

Fire Insurance...?

which Company offers lowest rate for fire insurance excluding the liability?

Why do companies that claim to offer them the best insurance quotes sell leads?

I was shopping around for insurance quotes on my home and cars. Many of the websites that I came across claimed to offer the best quotes from different companies thereby getting me the best price. I started filling out a few forms and, for once, I decided to read the fine print ( you know that small font form we all click agree on). Basically what I found was that the company used 4 agencies that paid them to contact me. What the site was trying to advertise to me was that i would have he best possible quote in the world without having to call up the many insurance agencies around me individually. In reality the fine print ( which in the case of the Internet can be 25 clicks hidden) states that they offer quotes from companies that pay them. Why not state that the information I'm giving them is a lead and that people that get it pay for my information and those that don't do not get it. What about some insurance company that can't afford to pay for my information but can offer me cheaper insurance than those that do pay hat site? I wouldn't be so ticked off if these sites simply stated that they sell our information. Rather than try to make it seem as they find you the best price. False advertising is a cancer. http://www.4freequotes.com/web2000/agents/ http://www.netquote.com/about/media-kit.aspx http://www.netquote.com/affiliate/ http://www.2insure4less.com/insurance-leads http://adrianasinsurance.com/about_adrianas/terms/ Go to any free quote webite and read their privacy policy and the page that's made for affiliates/agents, you will clearly see how your information is sold.""

Does anyone know where to get affordable insurance rates for high risk drivers?

Any insurance companies offering affordable insurance for high risk drivers

What types of car insurance are there?

I'm a confused soon-to-be licensed driver. My mom just got my sister (who is 18) some type of insurance for driving. From what I know, it's expensive. But I know that our car has insurance. What kind of insurance did my sister possibly get and how does it differ from the insurance for the car itself? Is there personal insurance for each driver? Is it required or is the car insurance only the main requirement? Which type of car insurance/s is required???...(sorry if my question doesn't make sense. I dont know how else to word it lol)""

""After a year of insurance, i heard it gets a little cheaper the next year. is this true?

i also heard if you get car insurance it will be cheaper after you had motorcycle insurance.

If i have one product insurance with two companies can i claim both?

I lost a mobile phone. I have insurance from my bank and network provider, so can i claim from both of them?""

Hi how much does it cost for a moped licence in spain and how much is insurance?

im 15 and i know you can get a licence at 14. do you have to take a test?

Registering a car without insurance--California?

with our old car we had we were able to register it back in jan without having insurance, they said we can still register but have to get insurance and provide proof within so many days. well we got into a bad accident with that car and we now have no car, or insurance and we are planning on buying a used car tomorrow from a friend, can we register it without having insurance right off the bat? just asking maybe laws have changed. i can not seem to find my answer on the dmv web site. thank you..im in california""

TRADE INSURANCE..................?

is it safe to buy an insurance for a trade insurance owner as if he then puts your name in his policy and drive your own car for social purposes?

Do i have to inform my car insurance company if i move?

I'm under my dad's insurance. He is listed as the primary driver. My mom and I are under the same policy. It expired on 10/15 and we renewed the policy the same day for another 6 months. Well, I am moving tomorrow to another county about 30 miles away and we didn't think about the insurance. I am also about to turn in to the DMV a notice of change of address. Do I need to notify the insurance company? Since I am living on my own, will it force me to be on my own policy? Another sideball question: I am in ownership of my mom's car and my dad is in ownership of my car (my car is newer so Dad wanted cheaper insurance). However policy does match me driving the newer car. How could we do this with me moving out with the new car (not the car that I own under DMV).""

Should I do something to this company insurance?

Some how Bank of America took my personal information and gave to this company insurance that covers medical thing. They have my personal Banking information. I canceled the insurance policy on August 15 and they took out 29.99 out of my bank and I now have 60.98 in my checking account. Should I do something about?

Insurance after admitting responsibility car crash?

i have admitted responsibility at the scene when i crashed my car into someone elses. i have since found out that it will make my insurance go up horrendously. yikes!! how much is my insurance likely to go up? im worried

Car Insurance -civil court?

My friend was at fault as she rear end another vehicle causing minor damage to the vehicle in front of her. She is now being sued by the insurance comp of the other driver in the civil court for driving in a negligent manner. Wouldnt this be covered under her insurance company? Why is she paying for the insurance in the first place?

How much would my car insurance cost?

i am a 17 year old girl with a car in insurance group one was wondering how much it is going to cost to insure???

Will Progressive insurance do this for me?

Progressive advertises that they show you the rates of other insurance companies as well as theirs. I am a current long time customer of Progressive and want to shop to around for cheaper options. If I call Progressive, will they give me the quotes of other insurance companies without me having to shop around?""

How do you get health insurance?

how do u get health insurance if u cant afford it my bf cant get health insurance cux the health insurance ppl say he makes too uch money to have it but he doesnt make enought to afford it how did u get it then

Should I call my insurance company?

Last fall I hit a raccoon really hard and it ruined my front spoiler and my radiator, the damage was under my deductable so I decided to just buy the parts on my own. Since I don't drive the car in the winter I parked the car over the winter I decided to just put the car into storage and buy the parts in the spring, so I bought the parts, installed them and now I found out that my motor is ruined from the car overheating after I hit the raccoon. and its going to cost a ton of money to get everything fixed on this car. Would I be able to claim something like this even though it happened 6 months ago?""

Do you know how to find a cheap auto insurance online out there?

Where can I get the cheapest online auto insurance?

Saint Paul Minnesota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 55170

Saint Paul Minnesota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 55170

Is there a age limit to qualify to get car insurance in California?

I am 17 1/2 years old, and I just saved up enough money to buy my own car. Can I insure the car by myself??""

Do I have to notify my auto insurance company if I was in a wreck?

Do I have to notify my auto insurance company if I was in a wreck AND it was NOT my fault? This is what happened: I was completely stopped because everyone else in front of me stopped in the middle of the road (some idiot in the front slammed on the brakes). A lady rams my rear end because she wasn't paying attention. My car got damaged, her's didn't. How do I go about claiming it? Is her insurance company going to pay for my repairs? Do I need to contact my insurance company at all? I don't want to pay anything and I don't want my rate to go up. Something I was planning to do way before all this happen was to change insurance companies because I can get the same coverage for less with someone else. Now if I tell my current insurance company that I was in a wreck and it was not my fault, would my new insurance company give me a higher rate than what I would've gotten if I didn't tell my insurance company?""

How can i get cheap car insurance?Compare website's don't work for me?

hi there i want the cheapest car insurance that you can get i have already used comparing websites but the quote's are too much! Is there any other website that can help me get them quotes get knocked down or another way to get around it?

""How much is insurance for two adults, two small kids under 10, and two cars?""

I know for each company, it's different and varies, but how much do you guys pay personally for your company? Also, do you have to notify insurance after getting married. what happens if you forget? Do they call you personally or do you get fined?""

How much is insurance for a road legal buggy? Or how much would you guess?

I'm 22 and only just got my drivers licence. The buggy I'll get will probably be about 250cc. Probably second hand and worth around 1500-1750. If you have the answer that'd be great, but mainly I just want to know whether it'll be significantly lower than it is for males my age to get car insurance. No need to mention getting quotes from websites, I've already thought of it.""

""Which insurance company is BETTER in Naples, FL -- UHC or CIGNA?

Planning to get an individual insurance and those two are one of the good ones. I'll also get a Dental Premier (ppo) and Vision Plan. A bit worried on the dental though coz there are only few who has affiliation with insurance companies. HEEEEEEEELP. Which one is better?

How much will car insurance pay for my accident?

I live in Logan, Utah and I was stopped at a red light when a car rear ended me going about 35 to 40 mph. I got whiplash and my neck, back and shoulder's have been hurting since. I also have headache's. The insurance company that will be paying for my injuries is allstate and they said they won't pay for excessive bills. How can I tell which bills they will count as reasonable and which bills aren't. I don't want to end up paying for anything, but I need to go see someone. Will they pay for chiropractors? massages? going to the doctor? I just don't know. I am also wondering how much money they will pay me once I settle. I'm not able to go to work because I'm a hairstylist and I can't hold my arm's up very long. I already tried to go to work, but I just couldn't do it so i came home early. Please Help! This is my first accident and I don't know what to do""

What's more expensive in America? Healthcare or Health Insurance?

I keep hearing Americans spend more on health care than other industrialized countries. and I also hear they spend more on health insurance. So my question is: On average, do we spend more on Healthcare or Health Insurance than other countries? Or de we spend more on both?""

How much cash will be taken due to the Affordable Health Care Act?

I ask how much cash will the IRS deduct from my refund due to me not having any health insurance? OK I know its bad that I have no health care but I just found a full time job a month ago that provides health care that I can afford and use. I did not have any health insurance for the 2012 year and just learned that the IRS will take cash from you refund due to the poor, i.e, me, not having insurance. So can somebody tell me (who is actuality intelligent and knows taxes) how much cash I will loose for this B.S. Law? P.S. Please don't comment just to tell me I'm a lazy jerk who just won't spend the money to get health insurance. I work very hard and work two part time jobs just to have food and shelter. I understand that insurance is high due to people getting hurt and can't afford the bill so it gets written off. When I get hurt or sick I stay at home and heal myself, I don't abuse the system! I just can't afford the monthly payment for health care with my other bills!""

Can I cancel my car insurance?

I took out car insurance with Direct Line in July paying in monthly instalment by direct debit. I am now getting rid of my car so want to cancel. Will there be a cancellation fee? Will they make me pay what is left for the year?

How much would insurance cost for a 2003 bmw 330 ci? 17 years old?

How much would insurance cost for a 2003 bmw 330 ci? 17 years old?

Can i register a car under my name but put it under my parents insurance?

hi i live in New York and am about to buy a car but im not sure how to insure it. im am currently under my parents insurance as a secondary driver. if i register the new car under my name can i stay a secondary driver or will i have to change to primary driver? being a secondary driver is obviously way cheaper than primary. also does anyone know how to transfer ownership of the vehicle when i buy it? i know i need a bill of sale but how to transfer the title? and is there anything i need to do? i went to the DMV website but its pretty confusing. thanks in advance

What are the pros and cons of national health insurance?

It's going to be a hot topic in the next Presidential election. What do you think?

Why is health insurance important?

Why is health insurance important?

Can I own a car without insurance in NY?

I recently moved to New York from Illinois due to family issue. I am overwhelmed by the heavy traffic and how difficult it is to drive in NY. Fortunately the public transportation is convenient enough so I don't bother driving my car at all and about to sell it. However, my insurance is about to expire in days and I won't be driving this car until someone buys it. The car is registered in Illinois. Can I still keep my car in NY without insurance? What do I have to do with my license plate? What procedures do I have to follow if I sells my car in NY? I've been working very hard try to earn enough money to put my family together, any pennies less to spend is very helpful to my current situtation. Please if anyone can answer it! Much appreciated.""

How much is home insurance for a log cabin in North Georgia?

I'm interested in purchashing a log cabin in the North Georgia mountains. How much would home insurance cost if the home is approximately $160,000?""

Health insurance .?

hello...i am 33 year old and going to school full-time. anyone out there know any cheap health insurance that i can apply for? i am mostly healthy but just in case. plus does the government support full-time students with at least health insurance? i am from memphis tn are. thank you!!!

""Cheap auto Insurance in miami, fl?""

I recently moved here and need to buy insurance for my car. Ive been searching on-line and i am overwhelmed on how expensive the rates are here in fl compared to California where i use to live. I have never had quotes in the 100's. so do u know a cheap auto insurance company here in miami, fl I have a 95 ford mustang cv""

How do I apply for free health insurance when I have a terminal illness but am still able to work?

I have a terminal illness but I am still able to work, however, I am on COBRA because my last job wrongly fired me. I am not poor but I simply cannot keep paying for COBRA. I cannot go for Medicaid because my good doctor does not accept Medicaid and I do not want to owe lots of money and have to worry about paying it off. I heard there is a program with either Social Security or Medicare where all you need to do is fill out a few forms and get a letter from your doctor stating that you have a terminal illness. Then you will receive health insurance for little or no cost and your doctor has to accept the insurance. Does anyone have any info on this? I am not disabled to the point where I cannot work, but my bills are a lot of money even with the COBRA coverage.""

California insurance testing help!!! Please! ?

I've been studying for the California life health and accident license and I haven't been able to pass. I'm rescheduling and I wanted to know where I could find more information or ways to study. Where can I find tests similar to the actual one and so forth. Please this means alot and hopefully I can finally pass.

Failed to prove car insurance at a traffic stop.?

I was pulled over for my license plate not being visible, and I did not have my insurance slip on me. The police officer wrote me up for the license plate not being visible and failed to prove insurance . Can somebody please tell me how much will these tickets cost me and how can I go about fixing them?""

Can getting on-line auto insurance quotes adversely affect one's credit history?

Since insurance companies do pull one's credit history. Thanks. GG_007

Insurance??? serious question?

Why is insurance higher for males if females are the worse drivers

Does auto insurance cover a person or an automobile?What if someone drives your insured car and they have none

If you drive someone's car who has insurance on their car but you don't have any auto insurance and you get in a wreck does their insurance cover it or could you get a ticket for driving without insurance? Would you be an uninsured motorist even if the car you drove was covered by someone elses insurance?

Does auto insurance cover a person or an automobile?What if someone drives your insured car and they have none

If you drive someone's car who has insurance on their car but you don't have any auto insurance and you get in a wreck does their insurance cover it or could you get a ticket for driving without insurance? Would you be an uninsured motorist even if the car you drove was covered by someone elses insurance?

Saint Paul Minnesota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 55170

Saint Paul Minnesota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 55170

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-my-car-insurance-going-up-peter-cook/"

[junker-town]

Tennessee football is retooling for 2017, but that might not be a bad thing

Will slightly lower expectations mean happier fans by season’s end?

It wasn’t the biggest story of 2007, but amid all the other swirling story lines of college football’s craziest fall, Tennessee won its fourth SEC East title in 10 years. The Volunteers began in shaky fashion, losing at No. 12 California by 14 and at No. 5 Florida by 39, but they won eight of nine, taking down ranked Georgia and South Carolina teams at home, then scaring the daylights out of eventual national champion LSU in the SEC title game.

Phil Fulmer’s Vols ranked ninth in S&P+ that year, completing a rebound — after ranking in the S&P+ top 10 six times between 1993-2001, they had averaged only a No. 27 ranking from 2002-05. This was their second straight season in the top 10.

Fulmer was a tremendous coach who proved he could again find the course after he ran off it. And in 2008, the Vols ran off course once more after losing quarterback Erik Ainge. Jonathan Crompton and Nick Stephens struggled behind center, and Tennessee was held to 14 or fewer points in seven games. The Vols lost twice while allowing 14 or fewer, got thumped by resurgent rivals Georgia and Alabama, and finished 5-7.

That November, Tennessee and athletic director Mike Hamilton panicked. And the program hasn’t been the same since. Hamilton pressured Fulmer to resign and replaced him with that year’s hot name, Lane Kiffin, who left after one 7-6 season. Louisiana Tech’s Derek Dooley took over and went 6-7, 5-7, and 5-7. Jones replaced him and has averaged 7.5 wins per year over four seasons.

In the 10 seasons since Tennessee won the East and 10 games, the Vols have done neither. Patience is a virtue in college football; it’s also nearly impossible to execute.

After a five-win first year, Jones has taken the Vols to three straight bowls and two straight ranked finishes (22nd each year). At the least, he has brought the program back to Fulmer’s 2002-05 levels. Does he have a 2006-07 run in him?

2016 was supposed to be the year. The Vols started ninth in the polls after going 9-4 with four gut-wrenching losses to good teams (by a total of 17 points) in 2015. They clammed up with late leads, but the way 2016 began, it seemed like the demons were getting exorcised. They survived a massive challenge against Appalachian State, rode early turnovers luck to an easy 45-24 win over Virginia Tech, kept Ohio at bay (again with turnovers luck), beat Florida for the first time since 2004, and took down Georgia in one of the best games of the season.

Throughout this impossible run, however, the injuries were piling up. Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin made it just four games. Running back Jalen Hurd played just seven. The offensive line started eight guys at least twice. A whopping nine regulars on defense missed at least four games.

The offense reinvented itself late in the year and soared, but the defense fell apart. After the 5-0 start came a three-game losing streak and a season-ending loss to Vanderbilt, the Vols’ third in five years. An easy bowl win over Nebraska sent quarterback Josh Dobbs out in style, but Tennessee wasn’t supposed to settle for being happy with a No. 22 ranking.

Now what? Dobbs is gone, as are running backs Hurd and Alvin Kamara, leading receiver Josh Malone, tight end Jason Croom, and four of the top six from the makeshift defensive line. There is still undeniable talent, but the offense is getting reinvented, and following last season’s collapse, the defense sort of is, too.

Jones has done a pretty good job, but in the most frustrating possible way. The needless conservatism of 2015 held back a brilliant season, and his defense fell apart just as his offense found fifth gear in 2016. That the Vols won nine games in each year is good; the regrets, however, are obvious.

It’s not too late. There are former star recruits everywhere you look, and both the offensive line and defensive back seven boast swaths of experience. Now that the pressure of 2016’s preseason rankings are off the table, maybe the Vols can relax and play football. But the pressure’s never fully off in Knoxville. Tennessee voluntarily sent an excellent coach away 10 years ago; every year since has been a desperate quest to get back what the Vols had.

2016 in review

2016 Tennessee statistical profile.

Tennessee’s 2016 was a three-parter: chaotic success, funk, and reinvention.

First 6 games (5-1): Avg. percentile performance: 70% (70% offense, 58% defense) | Avg. score: UT 34, Opp 27 | Avg. yards per play: UT 5.8, Opp 5.4 (plus-0.4)

Next 2 games (0-2): Avg. percentile performance: 29% (22% offense, 24% defense) | Avg. score: Opp 37, UT 16 | Avg. yards per play: Opp 6.3, UT 3.6 (minus-2.7)

Last 5 games (4-1): Avg. percentile performance: 75% (92% offense, 47% defense | Avg. score: UT 48, Opp 28 | Avg. yards per play: UT 8.5, Opp 6.1 (plus-2.4)

It took some smoke and mirrors to get to 5-0, and when the Vols fell to Texas A&M in overtime, the wind left the sails immediately. UT got destroyed by Alabama, then suffered an upset at the hands of South Carolina and its new quarterback, Jake Bentley.

The Tennessee Tech game was incredibly well-timed. The Vols got to relax after the loss to the Cocks, and with a fading defense forcing them to take more offensive risks, they exploded. They averaged 10.2 yards per play in a 49-36 win over Kentucky and 9.1 in a 63-37 win over Tennessee. Of course, they also allowed at least 600 yards against UK, Mizzou, and Vandy, and it caught up to them against the Dores.

Still, with the season teetering, Tennessee rallied, at least on one side of the ball. It could have been worse.

Offense

Full advanced stats glossary.

The late-year explosion made things almost more frustrating. The Vols’ formula on that side of the ball had been mostly about the end game: score a certain number of points, build a lead of a certain size, and pack it in. And despite dual-threat back Kamara (5.8 yards per carry, 40 receptions), Jones and coordinator Mike DeBord continued to ride the ineffective Hurd (3.7 yards per carry) until it was no longer an option.

Hurd’s injury forced UT to give the ball to Kamara, but then Kamara got hurt and missed two games . The pieces didn’t come together until Kamara came back and the defense made it clear that the Vols were going to need to score a lot.

And then, poof, Tennessee briefly had the best offense in the country. Oh, what could have been.

Of course, none of that matters now. All the major players are gone, and if you subscribe to the “new blood probably isn’t a bad idea” theory, then boy, are you in luck. Jones allowed DeBord to leave for Indiana.

New coordinator Larry Scott is a new coordinator, having spent the last 11 seasons as a position coach at USF, Miami, and Tennessee. The new quarterback will be either junior Quinten Dormady (39 career passes) or redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano (zero). If you don’t subscribe to the new blood theory, then this is pretty scary.

Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

John Kelly

Ignoring for a moment that the two new heads of the offense are green, other important figures on the offense are exciting.

Running back John Kelly emerged as an exciting complement to Kamara, rushing for 630 yards despite almost no action over the first half of the season. He was easily more efficient than either Kamara or Hurd, gaining at least five yards on 44 percent of his carries (Kamara was at 38 percent, Hurd 33) and generating nearly as much explosiveness as Kamara.

Receiver Jauan Jennings, once a top dual-threat quarterback prospect (he ranked ahead of Lamar Jackson, among others), became a solid No. 2 behind Malone last year. Malone’s production (19.4 yards per catch, 61 percent success rate) will be incredibly difficult to replace, but Jennings (14.5, 51 percent) was no slouch.

If the injury bug ever stops biting, the line has talent and experience. Guard Jashon Robertson enters his fourth year as a starter, and center Coleman Thomas and left tackle Brett Kendrick have been in plenty of battles. And former star recruits Jack Jones and Drew Richmond have plenty of time to prove their potential.

Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Jauan Jennings

Of course, the injury bug hasn’t stopped biting — tackle Chance Hall was recently lost for the season with a knee injury, and other linemen have been sidelined with minor ailments.

Plus, one has to wonder about depth in the receiving corps. Malone and Jennings were the only wideouts with more than 15 catches last year, and while sophomores Tyler Byrd and Brandon Johnson both looked excellent in small samples (combined: 34 targets, 22 catches, 302 yards), it’s never a guarantee those rates will remain when given more targets. Sophomore Marquez Callaway, meanwhile, is an explosive athlete, but one with just one career catch to his name.

There are fewer worries about running back depth: four-star sophomore Carlin Fils-Aime got his feet wet last year, and four-star freshman Ty Chandler joins the rotation (as will two other freshmen, evidently).

Still, the primary concerns are the most obvious ones. What identity will Scott pursue? Will bare-minimum conservatism rule again? And regardless of what Scott wants to do, does he have a QB who can do it?

Defense

I think I might have billed it (with) some unrealistic expectations, and when we got guys injured, maybe the guy calling the shots was a little bit stubborn right there, me. I really wanted to force-fit, this is my style of defense or whatever. I probably didn't do a great job at times of tailoring things."

— Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop

As a coordinator, you spend two-thirds of a year putting together a plan for how your defense will look and how it will limit what you assume to be your opponent’s strengths. And then your two-deep gets detonated, and you find yourself either having to jam square pegs into round holes or scrounge around for round pegs. Neither is preferable.

Jones dumped John Jancek as DC after UT ranked 18th in Def. S&P+ in 2014 and 20th in 2015. It was a risky move, and on paper, he hit a home run by landing Shoop, the engineer of excellent defenses at Vanderbilt (sixth in Def. S&P+ in 2011, 27th in 2012) and Penn State (third in 2014, 16th in 2015).

Shoop didn’t suddenly forget how to coach defense as his first Vols defense sunk from 20th to 54th, but he struggled to adapt to injuries. You could make the case that the two best offenses in the country in late-November were Tennessee and whoever Tennessee was playing. And star ends Derek Barnett and Corey Vereen (combined: 30.5 tackles for loss, 20 sacks, nine passes defensed) weren’t among those missing time with injury.

The two-deep again got detonated in the offseason up front — ends Barnett, Vereen, and LaTroy Lewis are all gone, and tackle depth was already a mess when 2016 ended — but you have time to prepare a solution in that instance.

It won’t hurt that the back seven is well stocked.

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Colton Jumper

The top four linebackers return, including seniors Colton Jumper, Cortez McDowell, and Elliott Berry. They combined for 10.5 TFLs last year, and junior Darrin Kirkland Jr. added five more in just eight games. If he can stay healthy (he has dealt with a couple more ailments this offseason), he could live up to his four-star billing. The same goes for sophomore Quart’e Sapp, an athletic specimen who has battled injuries for two years and approaches 2017 at far less than 100 percent.

The secondary struggled mightily in dealing with injuries to players like corner Cameron Sutton, nickel Malik Foreman, and safety Evan Berry (yes, both Berrys are Eric’s brothers). Foreman and Sutton are now gone, as is safety Stephen Griffin, but there’s a solid combination of experience and young potential.

At safety, the Vols have juniors Micah Abernathy and Rashaan Gaulden and seniors Todd Kelly Jr. and Berry. The foursome combined for 12 TFLs and 14 passes defensed and will get a push from blue-chippers Nigel Warrior (sophomore) and Maleik Gray (freshman).

At corner, the pickings are a little more slim, but seniors Emmanuel Moseley and Justin Martin are still joined by sophomore Baylen Buchanan and Louisville graduate transfer Shaq Wiggins. Wiggins and Moseley are good at taking risks and getting hands on passes (and occasionally seeing those risks backfire).

Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Rashaan Gaulden

All eyes are on the line, though. The Vols still have sophomore Kendal Vickers and giant former blue-chippers Reginald McKenzie Jr. and Shy Tuttle at tackle (along with 336-pound, four-star freshman Eric Crosby). And it’s not too late for two more former blue-chips — juniors Kyle Phillips and Jonathan Kongbo — to put the pieces together at end. But the proven quantities are gone.

There are enough raw materials here that Shoop could certainly piece together a top-20 level defense. Step one in that regard will require most of the intended starters to remain on the field.

Special Teams

The Vols have some of the best legs in the country. Punter Trevor Daniel averaged nearly 45 yards per kick and ranked seventh in punt efficiency, while place-kicker Aaron Medley is automatic inside of 40 yards and landed half of his kickoffs for touchbacks. That’s a strong field position combination, and Evan Berry is one of the scariest kick returners in the country.

Punt returns are a mystery — Kamara is gone, but Marquez Callaway took one of his two punt returns against Tennessee Tech to the house — but this should easily be one of the best special teams units in the SEC and among the best in the country. It’s nice having that in your back pocket.

2017 outlook

2017 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 4-Sep vs. Georgia Tech 31 2.6 56% 9-Sep Indiana State NR 35.4 98% 16-Sep at Florida 15 -9.1 30% 23-Sep Massachusetts 111 25.6 93% 30-Sep Georgia 20 0.4 51% 14-Oct South Carolina 36 7.0 66% 21-Oct at Alabama 1 -25.3 7% 28-Oct at Kentucky 41 2.8 57% 4-Nov Southern Miss 84 19.4 87% 11-Nov at Missouri 53 4.8 61% 18-Nov LSU 4 -9.6 29% 25-Nov Vanderbilt 63 11.3 74%

Projected S&P+ Rk 24 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 26 / 38 Projected wins 7.1 Five-Year S&P+ Rk 9.3 (30) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 14 / 13 2016 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* -2 / -3.4 2016 TO Luck/Game +0.5 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 51% (42%, 61%) 2016 Second-order wins (difference) 8.0 (1.0)

Jones inherited a program that had, over its previous three seasons, averaged 5.3 wins per year with an average S&P+ ranking of 42.

Since a 5-7 debut, he has averaged 8.3 wins and a ranking of 26. That is undeniable progress.

But the missteps of the last two seasons, combined with Tennessee’s decade-long quest to fix its own mistakes, have created a uniquely tense, high-pressure environment.

Turnover has led to lowered expectations this season, but if the Vols find a quarterback and deal with fewer injuries, they could make a nice go of 2017. S&P+ forecasts only one sure loss (at Alabama) and four likely wins, with five more games between 51 and 66 percent win probability. Exceeding their No. 24 projected ranking could mean nine wins again.

But those are significant ifs. A more conservative, seven- or eight-win expectation feels right.

Well, it feels right to me, anyway. Nothing will feel right to Vols fans until they at least get back to 2007 levels.

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[suicidaltennissers]

Stay calm, and listen to this:

I love coffee and I get distracted easily. On top of that I have a profession that requires a (high) level of concentration. Thank god for podcasts :))) without them I would'nt get anything done. I want to share with you some of the things I've been listening to;

Guys we fucked, the anti-slutshaming podcast

Don't assume this podcast is ‘just’ about sex, because it's about much more than that. Hosts Corinne and Krystyna are comedians from New York, and every week they invite a guest that has a special story. This might mean they have a conversation about the life of a transgender performer one week, and polyamorous relationships the next. It's about openness, feminism and ending taboos on many levels, but all in a funny and light way.

In The Dark, season 1

An APM reports podcast about the mysterious abduction of Jacob Wetterling in 1989. This case was unsolved for 27 years though the producers believe it could- and should have been solved a long long time ago. In this 9-episode podcast we learn about the terrible thing that happened to poor Jacob, and how it lead to stranger danger around the rural Minnesota area and far beyond. If you liked the 'Paradise Lost' trilogy and 'Making A Murderer', you're really going to devour this one. Well written, well produced and I love it that the host really takes a stand, flat out telling police they suck at their job!

Missing Richard Simmons

This podcast is one of my absolute favorites! It is about the outrageous fitness guru Richard Simmons who, in 2014, stopped teaching his regular exercise class, cut off his closest friends and disappeared from the public eye completely. The host tells personal stories about how Simmons touched and changed lives, all the while he tries to find out what was really going on in the guru's sensitive mind. A very cheerful and sweet way to show the flipside of success, and it curiously made me want to join a gym......(!) Binge it, it’s fun!

Last Podcast On The Left

A loud and funny podcast about crime, mysteries and conspiracies, hosted by the wonderful Ben Kissel, Henry Zebrowski ( --> podcaster crush <3 ) and Marcus Parks.This one is a bit on the hysterical side, I have to warn you. When I first started listening to it, I turned it off because it made me lose my concentration on the spot! But then I saw they did a three parter on Jeffrey Dahmer (my eternal fascination) and I was sold. Besides the 'heavy hitters' as they call it, I have also learned a lot about chemtrails, MK-Ultra mindcontrol, chaos Magic, Jack Parsons, various religious cults and other dorky subjects. Very informative and sooooo funny, it really cracks me up. And if you dig it, there are over 250 episodes to bingelisten to... yessss!

My Favorite Murder

You could call this an oxy-fuelled teaparty for true crime nerds hosted by the very charming Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Both have an anxiety disorder, which is why they're actually super scared of getting murdered themselves. Each episode they prepare for the worst, by sharing scary stories about true crime. In the mean time they drop killer one-liners such as 'you're in a cult, call your dad' and 'stay sexy, don't get murdered'. They do very little research on the subject but are successfully winging it every time. I have to admit that 69 episodes later, it feels like we have become friends. Which is nice :) because studiolife gets lonely sometimes...

Someone Knows Something

This canadian podcast is brilliantly produced and written. It is hosted by documentarian David Ridgen who has a beautiful soothing voice. In the first season he takes the listener back to 1972, when the five year old Adrien McNaughton dissappeared on a fishing trip in Ontario. He talks to all the people that were involved at the time and tries to find out what happened to this poor boy. Even though he doesn’t actually reveal the truth, he does uncover new evidence in the case. And we get to go on a walk with an actual cadaver dog, which made my armchair detective heart pump faster. Though a story like that makes you kind of sad, the producers of this podcast actually want to give peace to Adriens family. And it must give them some kind of relief to talk about it after all these years.

(season two is also very good, but there has been a long time in between posting of episodes as that investigation is still ongoing)