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travllingbunny · 6 years ago

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The 100 rewatch: episodes 3x03-3x05

I’ve finished the rewatch of season 3, but being way behind with these rewatch posts due to being too busy with actual work, I’ve decided to cover the rest of season 3 with big posts covering multiple episodes, rather than a post for each individual episode. My initial idea was to cover 3x03-3x10 in one post – and would be convenient because a lot of the storylines and issues discussed spill over from one episode to another, and I thought it would also be fitting to cover the worst part of the season in one post (and it says a lot that the “worst part of the season” is half of it). But it got too long, so I decided to split them into two posts.

Not that all these episodes are bad, some are pretty good, some are average, some are on the bad side, but while all of them have at least something worthwhile in them, none of them is free of at least some of the BS – a bunch of plot holes, inconsistent storytelling where it seems like the show can’t decide what it’s trying to do with certain storylines, the tone deaf way the show handled such things as racial or LGBT issues…

I’ve tried to go into the rewatch with an open mind and try to watch the show in the Watsonian way, as much as possible, and try to purge my mind of the bad but popular fandom takes, behind the scenes stuff , fandom crap that has been going on to this day and that I know was even worse at the time… but it’s hard to stop going Doylist and wondering “what were they trying to do with this?”, “are we supposed to like/approve of this? Or should I stop asking these questions, because It doesn’t matter”, “to what extent is show itself to blame for the bad fandom interpretations and how much did they create the mess that the fandom turned into with their terrible handling of so many issues?”, :who thought this storyline was a good idea? Did the writers really never hear about the Bury Your Gays trope?”.. “is this storyline really , really racist, or was it just written by a bunch of people who never spent 5 minutes in any fandom and were not thinking about how this is going to be received and that it’s going to encourage racism in the fandom?” “Did people making this scene/storyline realize that this is rape, or not, and what the heck were they trying to do here?” and so on.

I’ll do my best to not rant much about any of these things, just so it wouldn’t overshadow everything else. And sometimes I’m genuinely not sure if, say, the interpretations that drive me nuts – like trying to demonize the show’s protagonists, people from Ark, as “colonizers” (which is so stupid that I can almost feel a few of my brain cells exploding every time I type it) – are just fan things? It’s really hard to figure it out sometimes, because season 3 feels so schizophrenic, like there are two or three completely different stories being told and clashing. There’s a really good story somewhere out there, maybe, and all of this could have been good if done better… And there were some things I appreciated the first time and some I liked better on rewatch. Even putting aside the problematic stuff, there are plenty of plot points that just plain don’t make any sense.

I wanted to get all of that out first, so I don’t have to go too much into it in the episode reviews.

Spoilers up to the end of season 5 and maybe the season 6 trailer. I have seen the leaked first two episodes of season 6, but will not be spoiling anything from these episodes.

3x03 Ye Who Enter Here

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here…” The 100 really loves its references to Dante’s Inferno!

This episode is one of those I find really hard to rate. It has really beautiful cinematography and music, it’s very intense and has complex relationships, drama and twists, and I liked it much better the first time I watched it. But it seems much worse in the context of the entire show, now that I know where some of these storylines go, what happens in the rest of the season and the show, which makes me think “if the writers knew they were going to do that thing later, why did they do this?” Is this the problem with this episode, future episodes, or both?

One of the things that confuse me in the “what were they trying to do with this” is the way the relationship between Clarke and Lexa is portrayed. Their dynamic here is very dark, complicated and interesting. But knowing that they are going to have a romantic relationship in just 5 episodes, which is regarded as the show’s great romance by many, and that the cast and crew have done a lot to promote it that way – why would you write that dynamic this way? The characters have chemistry and a bond, but after the betrayal in 2x15 and the way it triggered events that emotionally damaged Clarke so much, I was wondering how the show was going to make a romance in season 3 convincing (since I had always been spoiled on CL and Lexa’s death). In general, however, it would have been possible to do a really good storyline about making amends and forgiveness, which I would have loved. But did it have to happen by one character having the other kidnapped (even if you may argue that Lexa, the character, didn’t have other options at that point, it’s a writing choice to play the Abduction as Romance trope straight – since this dynamic doesn’t get overturned at any point, Clarke eventually agrees to do what Lexa wants her to do and things progress from there), keeping her imprisoned for a week while she refuses to see her, and then, instead of apologizing for her betrayal, giving a speech about how she must forgive her because she’s also done bad things? I found all of Lexa’s lines in that scene infuriating, especially when she brought up what Clarke did in Mount Weather to try to argue that Clarke would have done the same and that there was nothing wrong with her decision. People, this is not how you should try to get someone’s forgiveness.

On the plus side, Clarke isn’t taking any of that BS and cuts it all down, pointing out such facts as that Clarke was left with no choice and it was exactly because of Lexa’s decision. But seeing how Clarke’s thinking changed over the course of the show, I can’t help but think that Clarke started believing on some level that she really was a bad guy due to Mount Weather, and that everyone else was also just doing things “ for their people” (which a bunch of people keep telling her this season to justify their own crappy actions by throwing MW in her face), so if everyone was a bad guy, morality didn’t matter anymore.

Roan, who’s unhappy with Lexa for not lifting his banishment yet, tries to use Clarke’s anger and pain to make her kill Lexa, giving her a knife and telling her to take her revenge. Clarke realizes that he is trying to use her for his political ends, since his mother, Queen Nia, is Lexa’s rival, and observes that Nia is, as far as she’s heard, even worse than Lexa. Roan claims it’s just because she’s been getting Lexa’s biased POV. Except in this case, it’s true, Nia is worse, as she’ll show in this episode.

Clarke actually decides to try to kill Lexa (which is a really desperate move – she must have realized that she’d be dead soon, too, if she killed the Commander, but it shows in what bad state she was), before realizing that she can’t go through with it. Lexa, on her part, wasn’t trying to defend herself – which she could have easily done, as Clarke didn’t exactly make a smart play to kill her from the ambush, it was more about Clarke’s anger and Lexa waiting to see if Clarke would really try to do that. She was probably more concerned about Clarke wanting to do it than worried about her succeeding. And in that moment, Lexa does finally say she’s sorry – that she never wanted to damage Clarke like that. It’s, however, not a full apology, because she doesn’t say she’s sorry for what she did, just that she didn’t intend that consequence. And this is the last time they’ll discuss their history – they’ll never talk about Mount Weather or Tondc during Lexa’s life. Clarke will get a real apology from Lexa for betraying her at MW only years after her death, from Flame!Lexa through Madi, in 5x12. We find out in that episode that she really did regret her decision – it was the biggest regret in her life. So why can’t she tell Clarke that now? I think it’s because she feels the need to constantly be in control, and she doesn’t allow herself to question her decisions. Nevertheless, Lexa’s semi-apology and the sadness she shows instead of her earlier smugness seems to get to Clarke and makes her cry.

And when she finally allows Clarke to go home, Clarke agrees to go along with Lexa’s suggestion to bow to her publicly and help her make the Sky people her 13th clan. As Clarke later explains to her mother, when she meets with her and Kane in Polis, she believes that to be the best way to save the Arkers – or the only way: either we become the 13th clan, or we get killed. (Join or die. Sounds very similar to what they know to be the fate of the 13th station before the other 12 joined to form the Ark.) Bleak view, but probably close to the truth – and it shows Clarke starting t get back to her old self a bit and think rationally about how to solve political problems.

A bit before that, there was the infamous scene of Lexa pushing the Azgeda ambassador from the tower, in front of other ambassadors, after he challenged her authority. I now notice that she did it immediately after he called her weak, so I think she did it as a demonstration of strength, to convince others that she isn’t to be messed with. For Grounder leaders, especially the Commanders, nothing seems more important than the appearance of strength – because if your rivals start thinking you’re weak, you may lose your position and your life. Everything is calculated to demonstrate power and authority – the outfits, the war paint, the throne, the speeches… There’s a certain duality about Lexa, as if she’s two people – there are times in private she seems vulnerable and warm, which may be closer to what she would be like if she were not a Commander (and she seems to be more like that when she’s in the Flame – as in season 3 finale or when she ‘talks’ to Clarke through Madi in S5), but whenever she feels the need to be the Commander, she goes back to the cold, ruthless, authoritarian persona. She wants to make amends to Clarke and get back her trust/win her love, but she is only able to do that on her own terms.

And here we first meet Titus, her Flamekeeper/mentor, and getting to know him and see their relationship explains a lot about who shaped her most with his teachings. The relationship between Commanders and Flamekeepers is quite interesting, but I have more to say about that in relation to future episodes. Titus already shows he’s worried and unhappy about Clarke’s potential influence on Lexa.

Later that night, when Clarke does publicly bow in her Grounder-style Wanheda costume, and Kane gets branded as the representative of the Sky people, Clarke tells Abby that she needs to stay to make sure Lexa keeps her promise to protect the Arkers. This creates or continues a very lopsided power dynamic, where Clarke agrees to stay in Polis, far away from her people, surrounded by people who are wary of her, where she has no friends except Lexa, devotes her energies on trying to convince Lexa to do or not do things, and depends on Lexa to help decide the fate of her people.

So, people seem to disagree on what the main or all of Clarke’s motives were for staying in Polis, instead of coming back to Arkadia, after you-know-what hit the fan and Mount Weather blew up. I would point to what Clarke herself said, having to make sure Lexa keeps her promise, since Clarke was aware she was the only one of the Sky people with that kind of clout with Lexa. Some people argue that Clarke also just wanted to hang out with Lexa in Polis because she was into her, or even already in love with her. Now, Clarke had, no doubt, some complicated feelings for Lexa, but IMO, it’s very hard to make a case for her being in love with her, in the usual sense of that word, at this point, seeing how she didn’t trust Lexa yet, told her she had no honor, was seriously considering murdering her at one point, told her “if you betray me again..”, and generally didn’t look happy with her. Besides, it’s been demonstrated before (especially with Finn’s death) that Clarke doesn’t make huge political decisions just based on who she has romantic feelings for. But I do think, after seeing the following episodes, that there was another reason Clarke stayed – because just political reasons don’t explain her reluctance to go back to Arkadia, and neither do feelings for Lexa, since, at this point, she should have been still been able to go back to Arkadia to talk to her people, explain things to them, do something for better communication between Polis and Arkadia, and then she could go back to Polis to stay there for more time. And the first time she does go back to Arkadia, in 3x05, she was unsure how she even felt about it and if she still considered it home, after how much she had changed. I think, she was still running away, just like she did in the season 2 finale, because she still wasn’t able to face the past and look them into the eye, those people that she did so much for, committing a couple of mass murders to save them. It was convenient to stay away while doing something to help them. Which also explains her inability to talk to Bellamy and tell him anything other than “I’m sorry” when he asked her to come back.

And that’s a problem in itself: Clarke thinking that she can act as a representative of Arkadia, and make decisions about their future, in spite of the fact that she hasn’t been there for months or spoken to anyone other than Kane and Abby. Kane and Abby’s authority to make these decisions is also pretty questionable, seeing that 1) neither of them is an elected Chancellor (Kane admits that, noting that he and Abby have been handing the Chancellor title to each other back and forth, which they also do here – basically it’s You’re awesome and should be our leader! No, it should be you, you’re awesomer!), 2) they haven’t consulted with anyone, 3) as we see in the following episode, they did a terrible job of explaining this decision to anyone back home.

According to what Kane tells Abby at one point, they were also supposed to negotiate a bunch of issues, such as trade routes, Lincoln’s kill order, Clarke’s return… Clarke decides to stay, we later learn that Lexa had revoked Lincoln’s kill order, but it seems that nothing else has been resolved before the meeting got interrupted, or at least we never learn about it – things like trade routes that would allow Arkadia to be self-sustaining. If Kane had gotten some concessions, he could have done a better job of convincing people that joining the Coalition was a good move.

After the ceremony, Lexa surprises Clarke by bowing to her in private and taking a vow to treat her people as hers and do what’s best for them. The scene looks very romantic – this is generally the case with the Polis setting, with candles and all, and you can see it as a kind of deliberately invoking betrothals or marriage proposals. But it happens only after Clarke had already publicly bowed to Lexa as the Commander, in the name of her people. And since Lexa’s vow takes place in private, it means nothing to anyone other than her and Clarke – especially since no one else even knows about it (and won’t know, since Clarke is not even going back to Arkadia to try to persuade people about this course of action).. A public vow might have done something to convince the people in Arkadia, but it never happened, whether it was because Lexa didn’t want risk looking “weak” in the eyes of other Grounder leaders, or for whatever other reason.

Meanwhile in Arkadia, we see the last harmonious and happy scene between the Blake siblings, just before a character from season 2 returns… oh look, it’s Echo! Whose name we only now learn. She pretends to be helpful, warning Bellamy about a plot by the Ice Nation to attack the summit in Polis, and she tells him exactly what he wanted to hear – that some Grounders, including her, felt bad about the betrayal at Mount Weather – to manipulate him into helping the actual Ice Nation scheme to blow up Mount Weather, with a bunch of Arkers who had just moved in there. But that’s the twist that comes later. First, Bellamy convinces Pike to trust Echo, based on his history with her – that they saved each other’s lives in MW, and they go to Polis to save everyone, only to learn that they were duped and that a bunch of people just died because of it. Raven and Sinclair are the only ones who survived, while Gina was killed by the Ice Nation assassin while trying to stop him.

Gina’s death was something that already pissed me off the first time I watched this. Not because I was attached to her – that was impossible, since she was so underdeveloped that she was barely a character. But that’s exactly why – they introduced this female character that was completely underdeveloped and gave Bellamy Time Jump off-screen Girlfriend (No 1), just to fridge her in episode 3. Was this even necessary? Bellamy would have still felt terrible that his mistake got so many people killed, people he felt responsible for. And while I’m sure he cared about Gina, the show didn’t even try to pretend that he was super in love with her: here he didn’t even ask about her when he heard that MW blew up, or seem to register the fact that she was dead, instead focusing on asking Clarke to come back. (Raven!ALIE also commented on that in 3x11 saying “Too bad you were never that devoted to Gina”.) At least – and that was a big relief in the next episodes – they didn’t try to make it look like the cliché “They killed my girlfriend, so I want reveeeenge!” It was more that Bellamy felt guilty and concerned about making the same mistake again, which made him reluctant to trust Grounders again.

And this is one of these times when I have to wonder “why did the writers decide to do this?” Did they already know they would put Bellamy in a relationship with Echo a couple of seasons later? Did they actually plan to do it since season 2? Or did they just decide “Oh yeah, this would be a great idea” at some point? In any case, I’m scratching my head. I know that The 100 writers love to build relationships from messed up and antagonistic beginnings, and they love the Enemies to Lovers trope, but this is not how you do that. That’s about people from different sides learning to see each other’s point of view, not about two people from different sides meeting and apparently finding understanding, just for one of them to horribly betray the other, use his trust to kill his girlfriend and a bunch of other innocent people, trigger the worst part of his life, try to kill his family and friends and finally become Time Jump Off-screen Girlfriend No 2. It almost seems like the writers think that betrayal, murder of loved ones etc. is not something to overcome, but a good or decent enough set-up for a romance in itself, because the forgiveness/redemption part and actual development of the relationship may happen completely off-screen. Now B/E may be a relationship that the writers don’t care much about and never really give much narrative weight to (just as they never did to Bellamy/Gina – but that was never going to be so grating to the viewers as those two did not have that kind of bad history), and that they clearly don’t intend for viewers to get all that invested in, but it’s still a part of the story, so why so badly written?

The ending is the big villain reveal – Echo reports to her master, Queen Nia, who’s pretty much your classic Evil Queen figure, and they are revealed to be working with no other but Emerson – which makes sense, because who else would have had the codes to blow up Mount Weather? We don’t find out how that alliance started – whether he approached them, or they caught him and he proposed them a deal – but for Emerson, it may be about revenge, since he thinks for some reason he has a right to it. But it’s really interesting that we see that the Ice Nation leaders, and “just following orders” Echo, who was literally kept in a cage in Mount Weather and got super close to getting strung up, drained and killed, have no problem working with the one of the guiltiest Mountain Man, or all people, a guy who participated and orchestrated in all sorts of crimes against Grounders. I guess the “Blood must have blood” motto falls by the wayside in favor of political expediency. It’s pretty funny that such a big deal was made out of the Grounders supposedly having a problem with Arkers moving into Mount Weather because of their bad history with the place, and the Ice Nation ambassador even smugly said “You shouldn’t have moved into MW” at the summit… well, yes, they shouldn’t have – but not because Ice Nation leaders gave a damn about their history with the Mountain Men, but because they probably didn’t want Arkers to get too powerful, and they also knew how to blow up Mount Weather! And we find out that it’s all a part of a scheme to wrestle power from Lexa and assassinate her. Which goes nowhere since Nia dies in the next episode. But let’s just note that this mass murder, which was about blowing up a bunch of innocent civilians, wasn’t committed because anyone didn’t have a choice nor because anyone believed they needed to do it to protect their people. It was all about getting more power. Something to keep in mind when people try to make comparisons between various characters’ actions.

Timeline: The episode starts a week after 3x02. As most episodes, it seems to last about a day.

Body count:

Ice Nation ambassador, thrown from the tower by Lexa

Two guards in Arkadia, presumably killed by the Ice Nation

Two guards on the way to Polis, shot by Bellamy

the Ice Nation assassin, killed by Raven to save Sinclair

49 Arkers killed by the Ice Nation assassin at Queen Nia’s orders, including Gina, who was directly killed by the assassin, and 48 more, including 35 from the Farm Station , who died in the explosion. (That means that only about 30 people from the Farm Station are still alive, out of the 180-190 who landed on Earth.)

Rating: 6.5/10

3x04 Watch the Thrones

I’ve always considered this one of the worst, possibly the worst episode of the entire show (it just narrowly avoided that in this rewatch – I’ve rated it as second worst) and this is where season 3 really starts going wrong. This is mostly due to just how bad the Polis storyline is. I roll my eyes and feel embarrassed watching it, so I’ll just sum it up in a few bullet points:

This is so why I watch TV for, half an episode full of trash 1980s fantasy aesthetics and people with fake tans and pseudo-medieval garb, and Game of Thrones-type Strong Female Characters. *sigh*The show’s obsession with pretty white girls waving swords around and fighting as the ultimate expression of female empowerment became really blatant around season 3.

Nia and Ontari (who is first introduced here) are completely one-dimensional and uninteresting villains. Their motives, as we know it, are just that Nia really loves power, and Ontari loves power and is crazy. At least Nia dies and the show gets to focus on her more interesting son Roan, but Ontari is going to get worse.

This plot is centered around a fight between Lexa and Roan, which is supposed to be great, but it’s actually terribly choreographed and hard to take seriously. They’re both spinning around for no reason and waving their spears around for show, as I it’s all just for entertainment – and at no point does it remotely look like a death match.

Lexa was way more interesting in season 2, as a morally ambiguous leader/politician that we almost never saw physically fighting, before the show started celebrating her as the greatest most badass fighter. Having a character win a fight and giving them cool superhero beauty shots during/right after the fight is generally a cheap way to try to make the audience like/root for/adore a character. (It also here works in-universe, since Clarke first starts giving Lexa heart eyes while watching her fight Roan and kill Nia.)

The shift in Clarke’s and Lexa’s relationship is too sudden and early to feel convincing. It’s been a day since Clarke was calling Lexa someone without honor and seriously considering killing her for revenge, and now they’re already super friendly since the start of the episode, and Clarke has apparently fully forgiven her by the end of the episode. Even though all that Lexa has done so far is get Clarke to agree to her plan to make Skaikru the 13th clan, and kill Queen Nia – which works for the benefit of Clarke’s political goals (since Nia engineered a terrorist attack and killed a lot of Arkers and is generally likes killing Arkers), but was also Lexa getting rid of her political rival and solving her own problem.

In her conversation with Clarke after the fight, Lexa explains the actions of Ice Nation saying they were just doing what was good for their people, and Clarke doesn’t disagree. This is the beginning of show’s tendency to equalize every action through this kind of moral relativism BS (they repeat the “doing for their people” thing ad nauseam throughout season 3, and it continues later), as if, say, defending yourself and your people from being horrifically killed is the same thing as blowing up a bunch of civilians as a part of a scheme to get more power. Now, it’s good to have moral complexity, like trying to understand every

However, the other half of the episode, which takes part in Arkadia and starts the Chancellor Pike storyline, is way more interesting and complex. Unfortunately, the Polis storyline also manages to make this storyline much worse. Like I said, season 3 often feels like it’s contradicting and clashing itself, and here there are two conflicting stories one that’s very complex and morally grey and interesting and pretty good – and then there’s another, which is pretty bad (and full of unintentionally racist and anti-democracy messages) that the fandom read into it, where Sky people are the bad guys, Pike is the evilest villain ever with no redeeming qualities, Bellamy is a villain or a misguided stupid guy, Lexa is the hero of the story who could single-handedly save everyone and install peace, and Clarke is her love interest/sidekick. But while the show seems to have been telling the former story, the way it framed some things was playing into the latter one and giving it life: since the Polis storyline frames Lexa killing Nia as something we should cheer for as the solution to every problem (and Clarke’s responses are giving us clues how we’re to react), we’re immediately alerted that Pike is bad news and a fly in the ointment.

But as far as can see, everyone in this episode makes some really terrible decisions, which all make sense to them from their specific worldview and/or emotional state at the time:

Lexa decides to send an army to protect Arkadia. And I’m watching the scene and going: shouldn’t you first talk to the people of Arkadia/their representatives about that, or at least inform them well beforehand? (Or maybe she did but Kane was terrible at doing his job.) With the history you have with these people, you really shouldn’t be surprised if they don’t trust you. And no, Clarke does not count as their representative. But maybe Lexa thinks about it the way Grounders seem to – if the leader, official or symbolic (Kane or Clarke) decide something, everyone else will follow? Not realizing that this isn’t how ti works.

It’s harder to understand why Clarke doesn’t seem to understand that. It’s like she’s entered a bubble where she really thinks that all problems can be solved by her and Lexa as the ‘leaders’ of their people, or she thinks Kane and Abby can solve anything back home. Much as I love Clarke, she should have realized she couldn’t play that role, since she hadn’t been to Arkadia even once in 3 and a half months and has no idea what’s going on there. If this were full capacity Clarke, she’d have negotiated the heck out of this alliance, gotten some really good concessions for Sky people, then gone back to Arkadia and given speeches and convinced people why it’s a good idea to join simply by listing the benefits and explaining how bad it would be for people to stay out of the alliance.

Pike is someone spent almost four months in the woods as a leader of a group of guerrilla fighters, after the Ice Nation kill about 2/3 of people from the Farm Station, so he thinks that he thinks Arkers are under constant threat from the Grounders and that taking up weapons and killing everyone that seems like a threat is the only way to defend his people. He doesn’t think about the fact that this kind of policy is not likely to lead to anything but constant war and destruction and loss of life, but he is convinced that his is the only approach that is realistic, that war has been going on from the start and will never stop, so it’s “kill or be killed”. I’ve seen people accuse him of “manipulating” Bellamy and using Bellamy’s emotional state after his losses – but what does that mean? Pike also lost a lot, he had opted to trust Echo’s intel because Bellamy argued she was trustworthy, and 36 more of his people from the Farm Station were killed as a result. You can say a lot about him, but not that he doesn’t honestly believe in what he’s saying –, he’s a very “what you see is what you get” kind of guy, who’s motivated by the desire to protect his people, but his inflexibility, inability to see another POV or question himself will lead him to very dark places. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

(I don’t know why most of the fandom treats this character as if he was a one-dimensional villain like Nia or Ontari, when he’s actually one of the antagonists who are very morally grey. I certainly don’t know why people say that the show supposedly didn’t explain his motives, or even Bellamy’s motives, when both are really easy to understand, and they’re actually spelled out several times throughout the season, starting with this episode. I’ve seen many fans say that his flashbacks from 3x13 should have happened much earlier, to make him a more sympathetic early on before making him an antagonist. Now this may be a good point, because people react much differently to things that are shown rather than told, and the fact we get told the backstory of the Farm Station people but don’t see it on screen is certainly a factor, though I think it’s mostly because everything happens so fast and we’ve already been signaled who and what we’re supposed to be rooting for, with how the Polis story was framed. I certainly can’t accuse the show of trying to make him one-dimensional- and if anything, the show went a bit overboard with the whole ‘everyone thinks they’re doing the right thing for their people” theme.

Kane is at the other end of the spectrum from Pike with his earnest desire to make peace and build bridges with other groups of people. But in some ways, the reality he lives in in his head seems as skewed as Pike’s. Now, I do really like Kane, he’s in my top 10 characters, but he’s always had a naïve, moralizing streak – he says things that are perfectly reasonable (why can’t we hold a trial for Finn and the Grounders recognize the ruling? Why can’t the Mountain Men let us donate bone marrow? Why can’t be all live in peace?), but he doesn’t seem to understand that he’s in a post-apocalyptic world, surrounded by people who distrust and hate each other, not among a bunch of diplomats or college kids from before apocalypse , chatting over multiculturalism. His main problem is – he really can’t read his audience, and he’s terrible at selling his point of view to the masses, because he doesn’t even understand their issues. Hey. Kane, how about explaining to people why it’s good for them to become the 13th clan and accept the authority of the Commander who had, up to that point, been at best a dubious and occasionally treacherous ally to them, or why they should trust her army to protect them rather than attack them? People in Arkadia don’t have the benefit of watching the show and seeing the superhero shots or knowing that the Commander is positioned as the main character’s new love interest, so we should trust her promises… and they also haven’t seen any promises, as none of them were public. How about asking for some public assurances and vows, instead of just getting a brand? Unlike the Grounders, the Arkers do know pre-apocalypse history, and people getting branded doesn’t have nice associations. (No surprise at all that Pike destroyed him in the public opinion there.) How about not telling people that they’re just “collateral damage” in the war between Ice Nation and Trikru, because that’s terrible and only likely to get people angry and scared. How about announcing beforehand the fact that a Grounder army is going to come to camp right outside Arkadia, to protect them from potential further attacks by the Ice Nation? Instead, someone saw an army outside when they were already there and everyone freaked out, because OF COURSE PEOPLE WOULD FREAK OUT THAT THERE’S SUDDENLY AN ARMY RIGHT OUTSIDE THEIR DOOR! Armies feel like a threat, even if they are supposed to have a peacemaking or protective mission – especially since they could get other orders any moment, as far as anyone knows. And finally, just how dumb is it to hold an election right after a huge terrorist attack/mass murder, while everyone is reeling from the tragedy?

Abby is not even a political entity this season, she pretty much just agrees with Kane and doesn’t do anything political. To be fair, she soon gets to be involved in a different storyline – the City of Light.

Bellamy’s arc in season 3 proved, on my first watch, to be a nice surprise, since I had been warned that he supposedly undergoes “character assassination”, which I didn’t find to be the case at all. I had also been scared, after seeing 3x03, that the show was going to do that cliché fridging story where he finds out his girlfriend is dead and then he’s all about revenge (ugh), so I was really relieved it wasn’t portrayed like that. It’s about Bellamy feeling guilty because a lot of innocent people he felt responsible for (including Gina) died because of his mistake - which was to trust Echo, a Grounder he believed he could trust because they had saved each other's lives. So, he stopped trusting the part of himself that was ready to trust and expect good from people, Grounders specifically, after two betrayals that really stung, and started believing that war and “kill before they kill you” was the right way to go, and that this was the best way to protect his people.

Like Clarke, Bellamy had already been damaged by what they did in Mount Weather in the season 2 finale, even though he didn’t show it as obviously as she did, but instead kept it inside while do his duty and have a normal life for 3 months, but the pain and anger was already simmering (and we saw it explode in the scene with Clarke in the next episode). But one thing I’m sure he didn’t feel about Mount Weather is that it was a mistake – he was tormented by how awful it was that they killed children and people like Maya, but he knew there was no other choice. But the second Mount Weather tragedy, the one from 3x03, made him distrust himself and his own leadership decisions, so, like Clarke, he let someone else lead – in his case, Pike.

And Pike works really well as Bellamy’s Shadow character – he is similar to mid-to-late season 1 Bellamy, taken to extreme – he seems like what, perhaps, Bellamy may have become over time without more pacifying influences and experiences. But, unlike Pike, Bellamy questions himself all the time, agonizes over every bad decision and every person he killed that he may not have had to, and as a result of that, he has a much greater ability to grow as a person. Season 3 is crucial for Bellamy’s overall arc as this is where he has to make the choice between two different paths, and Pike and Kane, as his alternative father figures, are embodiments of those two different paths. (Which doesn’t mean that Bellamy becomes just like Kane – I hate it when people claim that season 5 Bellamy was the new Kane. Wrong.)

But while the overall beats of the story work for me, in execution it has some serious problems. One is that the scenes that show Arkers’ prejudices towards Grounders are some of the most on-the-nose, cliché stuff out there (this is a problem throughout this arc), and, what particularly annoyed me, this storyline turns Lincoln into little more than plot device to show said prejudice and create tension between Pike, Bellamy and Octavia. Ricky Whittle even looks bored throughout season 3, and I can’t blame him, with the tiny amount of lines and even less focus that his character got.

Here, they show this through another new character, Gilmer, a Farm Station guy who aggravates the tensions and throws a stone at Lincoln just because he hates all Grounders (he continues to act this way in the following episodes, too). At this point, his action is condemned, which shows how much things will escalate even by the next episode, when this kind of behavior becomes pretty much accepted in Arkadia. Pike tries to somewhat defend Gilmer by pointing out that he lost his son in the Mount Weather explosion, but that doesn’t change much in Gilmer’s overall portrayal as the typical minor bigoted a-hole character. His prejudice goes further than anyone else’s – at this point, Pike tries to stop the crowd from turning against Lincoln, and argues that the threats are outside the camp, and that people shouldn’t start accusing people in the camp. (He’s going to change that opinion big time in a few episodes.) But he and Hannah already become unhappy with Lincoln when he opposes Pike’s policy and plans to kill Lexa’s army – Hannah even sarcastically says “so much for the good Grounder”. Still, I gotta be fair to the show – it’s not like every so-called villain in this story was a POC, they did make the character who is the most bigoted a white guy. Even if a big part of the fandom treated not just Pike, but even Bellamy (the main target of hatred for some fans for… reasons) as if he was just like that Gilmer dude, which led to some lovely examples of fans indulging in real life racism against real people, under the excuse they were so upset by fictional “racism” against fictional Grounders… (I really tried to rant less about the fandom, I swear.)

This is where Pike suggests his plan to kill the Grounder army, explaining that all they need is 10 people with semi-automatic guns… Really? That doesn’t seem like a feasible plan to me. But more about that in comments on 3x05.

Another character introduction: The vigil for the Arker victims of the Mount Weather attack is when we first meet Bryan, Miller’s boyfriend.

Lexa’s mentee/preferred heir, little Aden, is also introduced, and we first hear about the Nightblood, but we still hadn’t learned at that point how exactly one becomes the Commander (killing a bunch of other kids), so this relationship used to seem far less creepy than it does now.

Jasper and Monty were the best part of the episode. An intense, emotional confrontation between old friends, two people who deeply love each other, but who cannot fully understand each other because they react to trauma in such different ways. Jasper cannot understand how Monty can endure everything that has happened to him and that he has done, and soldier on – but that doesn’t mean that Monty doesn’t have strong feelings about all of it. And Monty, on his part, eventually gets angry and has enough of Jasper’s complaints and accusations, and doesn’t know how to deal with his best friend’s mental state. Jasper is developing the dark, nihilistic view of the human race that he will express in his letter, and he quotes Maya’s line “None of us is innocent” (which actually quite changes its meaning).

Finn gets a lot of mentions in season 3, including this episode, where Jasper talks about him and unintentionally ends up spilling his ashes, which he intended to give to Raven.

Timeline: probably not long after 3x03, since there is a vigil for the dead. So maybe a day after, or a couple of day after? Which should mean it has been about 10 days since the beginning of the season.

Body count:

Queen Nia, killed by Lexa with a spear throw from a distance

Rating: 3.5/10

3x05 Hakeldama

I liked this episode more during my first binge. Probably because it was right after and before episodes that I liked far less, so it looked better in comparison, and it has one of the best scenes in the entire show – the Bellamy/Clarke argument, plus a really amazing closing scene with Raven. But other than that, I’m not sure if it’s quite as good as I initially thought. I’m still rating it high, but I thought I would give it a 9/10. Some of the other stuff was pretty good or decent (Clarke/Lexa scenes, Murphy/Emori, the City of Light stuff) but there’s also some more on-the-nose, mediocre writing of the Arkadia plot that we’ve already seen in 3x04 – Lincoln used as a plot device to show that prejudice towards Grounders, moments that seem like the writers may be going for dubious political parallels that they really didn’t think through (let’s have some talk about “internment” of sick Grounders, a loaded real life word – even though the Arkers are the refugees in this story who have been constantly attacked by the majority population since they landed, so anyone trying to make that parallel is getting it all ass-backwards… and also isn’t it cool that one of our main antagonists in this story is an East Asian woman, played by a Japanese actress. Because why not go for a full deck, we already have Pike and Bellamy, so it’s ironic or something? I don’t know what they were going for here. OK, Gilmer is still there, I’ll give you that.) And the plot is built on one of the biggest plot holes in the show, the 100’s version of GoT’s 20 Good Men:

How exactly do 10 people with guns manage to kill 300 Grounder warrior without even getting injured? Were the Grounders knocked out on horse tranquilizers? I’ve had people try to convince me that this makes sense, but they’ve failed. None of the Grounders woke up in time to warn the others, yell, shoot an arrow at them, throw a spear, attack them? It’s 300 people, they aren’t going to be sleeping on a heap, that’s quite an area you have to walk around and shoot each one of them. It’s not like Pike’s group was positioned somewhere above and shooting people with snipers. How does any of it work? I suspect that’s exactly why it’s off-screen – I can’t even imagine how they would ever make that work on –screen. Sure, guns are powerful weapons, sometimes it seems like the writers of The 100 believe that they have downright magical abilities.

Before my first binge of season 3, I was terrified of what awful things Bellamy does this season, since I’ve heard so much ranting about what terrible things he does and how he shouldn’t be forgiven, or people complaining that he was “character assassinated” etc. So when I finally saw season 3, I was relieved: “That’s it?” I mean, of course participating in the killing of 300 people, who weren’t guilty of the specific thing Pike was suspecting them of (planning to attack Arkadia) is a very bad thing, but this is a show that has 2-3 mass murders per season, and where people have done much worse, like killed helpless civilians, killed children… Just two episodes before this, we saw the Ice Nation blow up a bunch of civilians just as a part of a scheme to take power over the coalition. But it’s killing of armed soldiers, who seemed like a legitimate threat, that the fandom has decided is the Worst Thing Ever that anyone has done on the show? Really? Surprise attacks at dawn, trying to catch the enemy (or the perceived ‘enemy’) unaware, aren’t a rare thing in war, Trikru tried to do exactly that to 80 Delinquents in season 1. And the show makes sure to emphasize that Bellamy didn’t lose his moral code, because he was the one who argued against killing the wounded, but couldn’t outvote the other 9 people in the group, including the Chancellor. He only managed to get them to spare Indra.

Bellamy is obviously very bothered by the killing, and he voices his misgivings to Pike: “We went too far”. But this arc tends to have Bellamy being unsure about what they are doing, trying to convince Pike to back down on some of the more extreme actions, and usually failing at it and going more or less along with his decisions. He clearly has a problem with how sick Grounders are treated, and tries to interfere when Gilmer the resident a-hole attacks Lincoln and to stop the fight, but only ends up getting punched by Lincoln, and it all ends up with Pike arresting Lincoln after Lincoln gives Gilmer a beating, even though Gilmer was the first to attack. But when Kane or Octavia confront him, he defends his support of Pike and Pike’s decisions. And things is, they both do have legitimate reasons to distrust the coalition. I don’t know why people say the show didn’t let Bellamy explain his POV – he did, and he makes a good point when he tells Kane that his “Azgeda bad, Trikru good” simplification isn’t quite right, because “Trikru killed 37 of my friends before you even touched the ground”.

I’ve seen people say that Bellamy telling Octavia to stop playing a Grounder is inconsistent with what he told her in 3x03, that he was OK with her choices. But it is not – the reason he tells her this now is because he sees what the current atmosphere in Arkadia is like and how anti-Grounder it has become, so he is worried about her safety.

The scenes between Clarke and Lexa were more in tune with Lexa’s characterization from season 2, and their dynamic was portrayed in more similar to the way it was treated as it was in S2 or in 3x03, and far less romanticized than in 3x04 or in 3x06-3x07. At the beginning of the episode, they are riding towards Arkadia and smiling and congratulating each other on ‘solving’ the problem, by virtue of Lexa killing Nia: “We bring them peace”. Clarke says she isn’t sure that Arkadia is her home anymore, since she’s changed so much since she was last in Camp Jaha. How much of that is Lexa’s influence and how much is Clarke’s discomfort with facing her friends after Mount Weather? But the moment that Lexa hears about the killing of her army, she goes back into the mode of the Commander from S2, who wants to call the leaders of all clans, go to war and kill all Arkers. When Clarke tries to argue against it, and suggests to go to Arkadia to talk to Bellamy and try to fix things, Lexa reminds her of the current power dynamics between them, ordering her not to go. Clarke is shocked: “So I’m a prisoner now?” and Lexa coldly replies “Yes”. She relents in the end, after Clarke pleads, and lets her go to Arkadia, but she warns her “You’ve been living with the enemy. If it were me, I would kill you on the spot”. Does she really believe that? It doesn’t fit with the fact that she let her go back to Arkadia in 3x07 and didn’t try to argue that. Or is she just saying that to try to dissuade Clarke from going?

Indra tells Lexa they would have to start using guns if they are to beat Sky people. She’s changed her views on the use of guns, and she’ll use them in the season 3 finale.

I like that Octavia, who explained the situation in Polis, called out Clarke on the fact that she doesn’t have a clue about what’s happening in Arkadia because she hasn’t been there.

The 4+ minute scene between Clarke and Bellamy is certainly the most memorable thing about this episode, and one of the best scenes in the show. It’s incredibly raw and emotional, one of those rare moments where characters simply let it all out without a filter, and the acting is amazing. They have only seen each other twice since Mount Weather – they were desperate to save each other in 3x02, then they had just one brief conversation and a lot of misunderstanding in 3x03, and now Clarke comes in and starts talking about business, telling Bellamy that she needs him to prevent the war. And this makes Bellamy go ballistic and let it all explode, pour all the pain and rage inside. It doesn’t really matter if his accusations against Clarke are fair or not – he wouldn’t make them in other circumstances anyway, but what this is all about is really the fact that she left, and he didn’t understand why, and now she’s come back, acts as if they have nothing personal to discuss, and nothing about their painful history: Mount Weather, Tondc (when Clarke let people die and put Octavia in danger, which Bellamy has a right to be angry about – even though she did it mostly to protect him, which he may not be fully aware of) - the things Clarke has been trying to put behind her, unsuccessfully. In Polis, she adopted Lexa’s way of dealing with things – avoid bringing up the past, not talk any of it through, just look ahead and try to solve things as they happen. She’s just put a Band-Aid over her wounds, but they are too deep and can’t heal that way, and now Bellamy has ripped it off, and Clarke is left vulnerable, facing up to the pain she’s been running away from. His accusations must have stung, but his anger and the realization how much pain he has been in over Mount Weather, and how much she’s hurt him by leaving and not being there for him, probably stung even more. I never blamed Clarke for leaving – people have the right to deal with their own trauma the way they decide, and at the time, Clarke was a mess, did not see any other way to function except running away and isolating herself, and probably thought she would be a burden if she stayed. But Bellamy, who doesn’t have Clarke’s tendency to isolate himself when he’s in pain, never understood why she couldn’t accept his emotional support and let him help her the way she helped him in season 1, And her leaving left him without the person he really could help him go through his own trauma (Kane couldn’t do that, even though Bellamy obviously talked to him about his feelings over Mount Weather, Octavia and Bellamy don’t have that kind of relationship, and he didn’t seem able to be that emotionally open with Gina). Clarke never realized this, because she thought he was strong enough to take care of the Delinquents in her absence, and didn’t realize that he needed her.

They are both crying, Clarke says she’s sorry, and then his raw confrontation turns into an incredibly intimate moment when Bellamy approaches Clarke, takes her hand in his and they both go on to caress each other’s wrists, gazing into each other’s eyes. Clarke is surprised and smiles through her tears – this is only the second time Bellamy has made such a gesture of intimacy (after stroking her hair in 3x02, but that time, she had no time to react). But the look in Bellamy’s eyes is darker and you can see that he still feels angry and doesn’t trust her. And then the infamous moment happens, as the music turns from soft and romantic to dramatic, and he handcuffs her and walks out. I don’t know at which point he decided to handcuff her, but I’m sure the moment between them was genuine –it’s not like he needed to go that far just to manipulate her, and it really doesn’t seem likely. But I think he was thinking that he shouldn’t allow feelings to prevent him from what he thought he should do, arrest Clarke, which he imagined to be the right way to protect her, as he later tells her while taking her to Pike. But I don’t like people doing things against someone’s will, even if it’s with the idea “I’m doing this to protect you, because I know what’s best for you”. I didn’t approve when Bellamy was overprotective of Octavia that way, I don’t like what he does here, and I didn’t like it when Clarke had him kidnapped and chained in the bunker in season 4 to save him, either. Also, I think Bellamy was wrong to assume Clarke would be safe in Arkadia –while Pike wouldn’t shoot her as Lexa said, I’m sure he would have arrested Clarke. And then there would have been no one to go and convince Lexa not to start a war. So she did well when she used the opportunity, while Bellamy was distracted, by Octavia, to electrocute him and run away.

It’s kind of to see Clarke reduced to someone who can only get anything done by going around and pleading with people and trying to change their opinion, going from Lexa, who tells her she’s her prisoner, to Bellamy, who handcuffs her and tries to arrest her, and then back to pleading with Lexa. But if she failed to convince Bellamy, she does a really good job of persuading Lexa to change her policy and decide not to start killing her people. She does it by telling her that she can choose what kind of a leader she wants to be, and urging her to be a new, different one, who will stop the cycle of violence.

Lexa changing her mind and deciding to accept Clarke’s suggestion and declare that “blood must not have blood” is a huge turning point, but there’s a lot of moral greyness in this moment, because the fact is still that she plans to enforce her new, peaceful policy as a tyrant (I’m not bashing her here – that’s a fact, it’s what all Commanders have been. Their society doesn’t exactly do democracy). When Indra tells her that her people wouldn’t accept that, particularly Titus, Lexa replies angrily that they are all her subjects and must do as she tells them to.

This episode has some fun Memori scenes. They run a scheme together to rob the passers-by. Even though their relationship has developed pretty fast, the same as most romances in the show, it works because it’s not written in the cliché CW romance way. They may be in love, but that doesn’t mean they quite trust each other. The main reason for strife, however, is Emori’s association with ALIE and the City of Light, which Murphy doesn’t want anything to do with. She wants to go find her brother, but he doesn’t want to go with her and be sucked into any of the COL stuff, and he doesn’t really trust her to come back for him or prioritize him: “When people leave, they don’t come back” -“I did” -“Not for me, I just happened to be there”. (There’s even a slight parallel here with the Bellamy/Clarke argument.)

A minor thing I found funny – one of the Grounders says “Stealing in Commander’s woods is punishable by death”, which sounds a lot like the old English laws about hunting in King’s woods, which we know well from medieval stories like Robin Hood.

The COL storyline gets major development – Jaha returns to the camp, bringing ALIE with him, and starts preaching about the City of Light and explaining the chip will help people by taking away their pain. It fits with the overall episode as consequences of pain and trauma are one of the main themes. He talks about how pain damages our ability to function and our relationships with loved ones, friends and family – which is something we certainly see throughout the season - but he neglects to mention that the chip also takes away memories of loved ones and anything that is important to you.

Raven, the first one who confronts Jaha, is the one ALIE wants to get to her side. Raven’s intelligence and talents probably remind ALIE of Becca, and she sees Raven as the key to gaining more followers. Raven is also a character who has suffered so much both physically and emotionally and who is struggling with physical pain and disability, so it makes sense that this storyline revolves around her so much. The ending scene of Raven taking the chip and meeting ALIE is incredibly well done, thanks in large part to one of the best uses a song in the show - “Thousand Eyes” by Of Monsters and Men.

Timeline: 24 hours after the last episode, which would make this 11-12 days since the start of the season by my count

Body count:

Around 300 Trikru warriors;

Otan (Emori’s brother), killed by Gilmer in a very stupid skirmish, because Gilmer hates Grounders, in case you haven’t realized that yet. (But Otan is still “alive” in the City of Light.).

While this certainly didn’t happen during 3x05, Abby asking Jaha what happened to the people who left with him on the road trip in season 2 (“You left with 12 people!”) may suggest that the six people who decided to go back to the camp instead of continuing the trip died on the way and never came back?

Rating 8.5/10

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shieldfansunite · 6 years ago

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Fanfic Questions

Taken from @ao3commentoftheday

Fandom Questions

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Heroes of Olympus !! Yup I started writing fanfic for the HoO fandom.

2. What is your latest fandom?

The Hunger Games. Right now I'm writing with a Hunger Games OC <kinda oc kinda just merged fandoms>

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

This is hard, I think HoO, just because people interacted a lot with my writing. I love the AOS fandom but not a lot of people comment.

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

Kane Chronicles. I only write stuff for it for like 2 months, and now I have no inspiration for it. Yet a lot of people keep asking me to write more.

5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

Heroes of Olympus, Percy Jackson, Hunger Games, Agents of SHIELD, and Kane Chronicles. I can't think of anything else.

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

I have a "one OTP per fandom" rule so here's the short list.

PJO - Percabeth

HOO - Jasper

KC - Sadie and Anubis

7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

As far as NOTPs go I've really only had them for SHIELD. And they are Fitzaida and Skimmons.

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

Honestly I just went "I want to rewatch Hunger Games and read the books" and next thing I know I'm writing OC fanfics about them.

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

Shield is my current fandom and I think the few people who do comment really leave long meaningful comments instead of small things.

10. Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

Marvel. I've never written something from Marvel but I want to.

Ship Questions for your Current Fandom

11. Who is your current OTP?

Fitzsimmons obviously.

12. Who is your current OT3?

Not romantic but the Bus Kids. Daisy, Jemma, and Fitz.

13. Any NoTPs?

Fitzaida and *romantic* Skimmons.

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

Fitzhunter

Fitzenoch

Fitzdaisy

Skimmons

Fitzdeke

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

I love Raina and Gordon, and the Coulson and Audrey *the cellist.*

16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

Skyward, it used to be a NOTP but at this point I just don't like it.

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Fitzsimmons and yes. Forever and always.

18. What ship have you written the most about?

Hehe Fitzsimmons.

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

Philinda. I mean it has cute moments and everyone loves them but I just, they're meh for me. I really want to be hyped for them but I'm not.

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

Dekedaisy. Or Lemonsquake. Honestly I don't like how much I like it 😂

Author Questions

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

It was a multi chapter one shot fic collection for HOO. I believe.

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Yes. 2 fics. Horus' Heir, and Ocean's Twins. Neither are finished and I hate how I left them but don't have the effort to finish them.

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

From the Rubble. It's a AU version of season 5 episode 22 and I love it because it challenges me to have to look up things and is emotional and angsty.

24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

So I am rewriting one right now. *From the Rubble.* Also I want to rewrite some of my WIPs and finish them.

25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

A Heroes of Olympus dabbles collection fic on wattpad with 106k views.

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

I have NO clue. I just think if random ideas till something sticks.

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

Summaries. Because I want to have something catching to make people read, without spoiling things.

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

I would LOVE a sketch of From the Rubble. With Jemma by his beside, where he's asleep or awake and they're looking at his x-ray. Or when he's in a wheelchair and yeet.

29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

I have one for From the Rubble, Bella. Just so I can make sure it's good and emotional and flows.

30. What inspires you to write?

A lot of things. My fandoms. Prompts. Au ideas I think of etc.

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

That I could write an episode of SHIELD. I cried.

32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

I do. I have different playlists for characters. *Some are my OCs, some are canon* and I'll listen to it when writing about that character.

33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

I try and challenge myself to write all. But more my One Shots become multi chapter and my multi chapters become huge epics 😂

34. What’s the word count on your longest fic?

23,764 words and counting for my fic From the Rubble, and I'm only on chapter 3. I probably have longer ones on wattpad but idk. Also

35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

I usually find dialogue prompts and write a drabble based on it when I'm in a writers block rut. Usually Fitzsimmons though.

36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

I love writing angst. Whoops.

37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

Usually third person, but when I am doing more emotional based things first. Basically if there's action, third. If its little action and mostly emotion firt.

38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

Both. I usually write canon character but try and expand on OCs on occasion.

39. What is you greatest strength as a writer?

How fast I can write. I can usually write 5+ pages or more in an hour if I'm really focused.

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

I struggle with revising and editing because I get excited to share my work.

Fanfiction Questions

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

1. https://archiveofourown.org/works/16032374/chapters/37421072 *consequences*

2. https://archiveofourown.org/works/3711769 *actually haven't technically started this one*

3. https://archiveofourown.org/works/10702368 *because little Fitz*

4. https://archiveofourown.org/works/7252501/chapters/16466803 *I started this forever ago*

5. https://archiveofourown.org/works/18466984/chapters/43752301 *promised a friend I'd read this*

42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

This is hard because I don't read fanfic as much as I write. But Nindragon on Ao3 and biochemsimmons on Instagram. I can't think of any others I have read. Sorry.

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

I mean this is hard. A lot of writers really I aspire me. But I think Bella does the most. Just because we share angst ideas and I get muse from them.

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

PLEASE write more Deke and Daisy stuff people. I'm begging.

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

Consequences *link above*

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

From the Rubble. Because it's an idea I'm committed to so I am putting a lot of effort into it. I'm making myself edit it a lot and writing longer chapters. I think it's the best I've done.

47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

Ao3. I hardly use tumblr and fanfiction.net confuses me and I forgot it existed.

48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

I try to! I know how important they are to writers so if I like the fic I try and say something about it. Even if it's small.

49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

I love when people share my work with others. Comments mean so much to me and the more comments I get the more dedicated I am to a fic.

50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

Um I read HOO and had to wait for the next book. No one I knew liked it so I started looking for things relating to it, like edits. Stumbled on fanfiction and thought "I like writing. I'll try this."

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

I hate when I work really hard on a fic and no one really tells what the think. And if I get a comment its "update." Because I want to know how my reading affected you. I also love being able to change different things I don't like in my favorite show 😂

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justanothercinemaniac · 7 years ago

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Epic Movie (Re)Watch #239 - The Muppet Movie

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: No.

Format: DVD

1) The prologue.

How this film opens - with an assortment of Muppet characters getting together for a private viewing of The Muppet Movie - does well to establish tone. It’s pretty much the filmmakers telling the audience, “You don’t need to take this too seriously, it’s just a fun movie.” It reintroduces us to The Muppets who we know but in a way where this could be someone’s first Muppet film and you understand the role of each character. Not only that, but Kermit’s response to Robin’s question of if this is how the Muppets actually met enhances the meta tone.

Kermit: “Well it’s sort of approximately how it happened.”

2) “Rainbow Connection”

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“Rainbow Connection” might be up there with “It’s Not Easy Being Green” as the song most associated with The Muppets, and there’s a reason for it. The song is timeless, fitting in during any era (much like the characters themselves). It is a beautiful, optimistic, and imaginative song that not only sets up Kermit’s character well but the theme of the film. It has that daydreamer element that The Muppets are essentially founded on. If you haven’t heard it before I recommend taking a listen.

3) When I was young I had no idea who all these celebrities were or that they were celebrities. Now that I’m older I can notice them in what I call “Cameo Watch!” Like this first cameo. CAMEO WATCH: Dom Deluise

4) This film has an incredibly sharp wit to it shown through its dialogue, humor, and characters.

Dom Deluise: “I have lost my sense of direction.” Kermit: “Have you tried Harry Krishna?”

5) Kermit the Frog as a character.

Okay, let me just say, it feels really weird to talk about The Muppets as characters. Because it’s hard to think of them as characters being written. They’re The Muppets! They’re Kermit and Fozzie and Ms. Piggy and they just are themselves. This mere challenge speaks wonders to the consistency of writing and performance given by the Muppeteers. Kermit for example: Kermit is totally unselfish. His entire motivation for going to Hollywood isn’t fame/fortune on its own but the opportunity to make, “millions of people happy.” He’s a pretty down to earth, reasonable frog who tags along with a bunch of nut cases and does his best to reign in the insanity. He’s lovable, he’s sharp, he’s funny, he’s Kermit the Frog. I don’t know what else to say.

6) With the film’s budget Jim Henson wanted to really push the limitations of puppeteering. One of the most difficult effects (whose deceptively simple appearance speaks well to the talent of the filmmakers) is Kermit the Frog riding a bike. I don’t even know how they did that.

7) The El Sleazo Cafe is Kermit’s first stop on his road trip/odyssey of sorts. It’s an environment which A) he is not used to and B) kind of is his contrast. Yeah he’s from a dirty swamp but this is a different kind of dirty. This is mean people who like to fight, not Kermit. Seeing this frog out of water creates a nice energy to the scene and a first good stop on the film.

8) Cameo Watch: James Coburn, Madeline Kahn, Telly Salva, Carol Kane and Paul Williams all appear in the El Sleazo scene.

9) I feel like sometimes I’m Kermit.

Kermit [about Fozzie]: “This guy's lost.” Waiter: ��Maybe he should try Hare Krishna.” Kermit: “Good grief, it’s a running gag.”

10) Fozzie Bear.

The Costello to Kermit’s Abbott, I struggle to talk about Fozzie in much the same way I did with Kermit. Because what is there to say? He’s a bit of a dork but a funny, good hearted/good natured one. He’s funny, his relationship with Kermit is one of the things that keeps the franchise going as strong as it does, I don’t know what else to say. He’s Fozzie Bear.

11) Something I will say it is a testament to these performers that each Muppet feels so naturally alive. You never look at any of them and think, “That’s a lifeless bit of felt.” Not only do the likes of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, and the other Muppeteers do well at creating an individual character but distinguishing characters. These performers are working as multiple characters in a production and while older audiences might recognize the similarities in voices you don’t look at Rowlf the Dog and think, “Yep, that’s Kermit,” or at Miss Piggy and think, “Yep, that’s Fozzie.” They’re legends and it’s no mystery why.

12) Doc Hopper is actually an excellent villain for The Muppets to face off against.

The reason Doc Hopper is so effective is because he’s the total antithesis of The Muppets. He’s a greedy, conniving, insincere, manipulative sellout of a man. His dreams don’t involve making people happy they involve making himself rich and anything he can’t have he’ll destroy. Henson and crew - despite the success of The Muppets - were never doing anything because of the mainstream appeal. They had a ton of bizarre, unique, and wonderful flops under their belts (see: Labyrinth). It’s almost like Doc Hopper represents mainstream showbiz wanting them to sellout and the journey is about staying true to your dream. I love that.

13) “Movin’ Right Along”

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There’s not really a bad song in the film (although there is one I really just hate but that doesn’t mean it’s bad per say, more on that later). Although none are as praised as “Rainbow Connection”, “Movin’ Right Along” is an excellent second number. It has the same amount of hope and optimism to it that infects the film, with the idea of progress and moving forward at the heart of it. It’s a great buddy song for Kermit and Fozzie, with the same amount of wit and heart that the film prides itself on.

13.1) I’d be remised if I didn’t mention two of my favorite gags in the film. The fork in the road…

And a very special cameo.

14) Not that he cares, but wouldn’t Doc Hopper using Kermit’s likeness on a billboard without his permission illegal?

15) I’m a sucker for any movie that has a moment where a character reads the script for the movie.

16) “Can You Picture That?”

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In my opinion, this could possibly be the most underrated song in the Muppets’ musical canon. It stands up well against “Movin’ Right Along” and “Rainbow Connection” with its energy and positivity. Basically it’s a song about challenging your imagine and even though the lyrics can feel nonsensical that’s sort of the point. It’s about thinking of things, picturing unique things that might not make sense. But just because something doesn’t make sense doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.

17) And disguising the car worked for a grand total of 7 seconds.

Max [after being told to look out for a frog and a bear in a brown colored Studebaker]: “Gee Doc, all I see are a frog and a bear in a rainbow colored Studebaker.”

18) Gonzo the Great.

It is like each character you meet in this film is increasingly crazy. Kermit, then Fozzie, then Dr. Teeth and his band, and now the personification of Muppet weirdness times ten: Gonzo! Gonzo is fun, funny, insane, and just perfectly random enough to give the group an extra oomph. There’s a chance this weirdo might be my favorite Muppet character! Maybe, maybe not. It’s hard to pick a favorite.

(GIF originally posted by @nostalgicgifs)

19) Cameo Watch: Milton Berle.

20) Cameo Watch: Elliott Gould.

Okay, I thought I remembered all the cameos but I 100% forgot about Gould’s appearance. It actually made me jump.

21) Cameo Watch: Ed Bergen.

This scene was shot shortly before the legendary puppeteer’s death in 1978. His appearance in the movie held particular weight for Jim Henson, as Bergen and his wooden sidekick (Charlie McCarthy) influenced his interest in puppetry. The film is dedicated in Bergen’s memory.

22) I low-key love that Miss Piggy wins a beauty pageant and no one really bats an eye at it. Take that conventional standards of feminine beauty!

23) “Never Before, Never Again”

God I hate this song. I usually skip it. It’s just so awkward and uncomfortable for me to watch, but I think that’s the point. I think it’s supposed to be funny, Frank Oz singing this sweeping love ballad as Miss Piggy. And it taking itself seriously is part of the joke but it is part of that seriousness which makes me hate it. I actually wrote in my notes, “Wake me when it’s over.” I think it’s objectively a good song and good part of the film, I just flat out don’t like it. The one weak link for me in this excellent picture.

24) Wait, is Ms. Piggy meant to be the Yoko Ono of The Muppets in this movie?

25) Cameo Watch: Bob Hope and Richard Pryor both show up at the county fair.

26) The scene where The Muppets chase down Gonzo on his balloons is a fun bit of fast pacing “action” to add to the film. It’s hard for a Muppet movie to have non-musical related set pieces but the balloon chase feels appropriately Muppety while being different enough to add some variety to the story.

27) Miss Piggy.

Miss Piggy is such a larger than life character and perhaps the character with the most to do in the series. She is a diva with aspirations of being famous, but she also knows characters and any time The Muppets need a fight scene they bring in Miss Piggy! As mentioned above, Frank Oz does a great job not only breathing life into the character but making her so different from Fozzie.

28) Cameo Watch: Steven Martin.

Steve Martin might do the most with his cameo. He is an over the top frustrated waiter, something anyone who’s ever worked in food service can relate to. Steve Martin is pretty much great in anything though.

29) The dinner date between Kermit and Miss Piggy is actually really nice, makes me understand why they date.

30) Rowlf the Dog.

Possibly the most interesting thing about Rowlf is how people have noted his personality matches Jim Henson’s the closest out of all of Henson’s characters. In recognition of this, Rowl didn’t speak in his film appearances for a while after Henson passed away. He’s a fun character already, but I think this detail adds a nice layer of heart to it.

31) “I Hope That Something Better Comes Along”

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In typical Muppet fashion, something as relatable and common as heartache is turned into an upbeat bar tune. It’s one of the nicest songs in the film and a real ear worm. It is also essentially Jim Henson singing with himself so take a moment to let that set in.

32) Cameo Watch: Mel Brooks.

Okay, Mel Brooks might do the most with HIS cameo. Brooks commits to the comedy and insanity of the performance just as he would in any of his own films (Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs) and it really adds a shot of energy to the scene. Brooks is so active, he does so many little things to add to his character/performance/comedy. I wonder how much of it was improv.

33) So I feel like the filmmakers didn’t know how to get from Miss Piggy ditching Kermit for a gig to Miss Piggy rejoining the group on the road, so they literally decided to stop the movie and let the audience breathe for a moment. I love that.

34) “I’m Going To Go Back There Someday”

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This is such a beautiful and bittersweet melody. It comes at the film’s low point, when the group thinks their dreams are done for. But the song is just so lovely it makes my heart warm. The lyrics are wonderful and I think it’s an amazing ballad. I love it.

35) Life lessons from Kermit the Frog.

Kermit: “I can’t spend my whole life running away from a bully.”

36) Oh quick, the film is almost over! Let’s get Bunsen and Beaker in at the end!

37) Kermit’s heartfelt plea, of choosing happiness over money and finding family/friends, is great. But Doc Hopper’s response to it is so sad.

Kermit: “If what I'm saying doesn't make any sense, well then... go ahead and kill me.” Doc Hopper [after a moment to think, reluctantly]: “All right boys. Kill him.”

38) Deus Ex Animal.

39) Cameo Watch: Cloris Leachmen.

40) Cameo Watch: Orson Welles.

Welles’ character’s name Lew Lord is actually a reference to real-life Producer Sir Lew Grade. When Jim Henson was trying to find a producer to make The Muppet Show, no American network was interested in the concept. Grade recognized the potential in the idea and helped make the show happen.

41) Ah, if only it were this easy.

Lew Lord: “Prepare the standard ‘Rich & Famous’ contract.”

42) The finale of this film, “Magic Store,” is a fun final number. It shows The Muppets have made it, they’re doing what they love. It’s the culmination of everything up to this point and even when things don’t go as they plan they’ll roll with it. And we’re given a great final message.

Kermit: “Life’s like a movie, write your own ending…” Muppets: “Keep believing, keep pretending; we've done just what we've set out to do, thanks to the lovers, the dreamers, and you!”

The Muppet Movie might still very well be the best film to feature the classic characters. It has their trademark heart, humor, and imagination all in top form. You can watch it at any time, it ages very well. So whether it’s your first or last time putting it in, I’d say give The Muppet Movie a watch.

#The Muppet Movie #The Muppets #Kermit the Frog #Jim Henson #Ms Piggy #Epic Movie (Re)Watch #The More You Know #Movie #Film #GIF

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invidiosa · 7 years ago

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Fanfic asks: 1, 5, 11

1. Do you have a word-count goal for 2018?

Writing would be a goal, let alone a word count.

5. Which WIP is first on your list to complete this year? Will you post a snippet?

Complete? Unlikely I will complete either. With Damn, Damn the Circumstance I got to the end of my outline and I haven’t figured out what to do after that. I thought it would come to me as I wrote it, but here we are. With Damsel in Distrust, I was just writing it by the seat of my pants. Every time I think I know where I’m going with it, I second guess myself. However, I have actually started the next part of DiD. I’ve added a bit under the cut below.

11. Would you like to try any new fanfic genres or tropes in 2018?

Well, I’ve already done pretending to be in a relationship and then falling for each other in DDtC. And it looks like CC is doing as many tropes as he can as he wraps up XF. Also, I’d have to get writing again to try a trope. Care to give me a challenge?

Thanks for asking! Now here’s a snippet of the next part of Damsel in Distrust here:

Keith’s image stared back on the screen. His pause was so long that Veronica thought there was a lag in the chat. Finally, Keith let out a long exasperated sigh. “That’s it?”

When Veronica meekly shrugged, Keith shook his head. “Honey, you leave me a note on the kitchen counter saying you’re going to find Logan Echolls, of all god damned people. Next thing I know, I get a call that Scotland Yard has you in custody. I didn’t even know you’d left the country! And if I didn’t know Greg Lestrade personally, I doubt I would even hear any updates from you at all. And you wanna know how the dog is?”

“Has he been a good boy?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I know I haven’t been a model father, but I have always been a worried father. Give me some assurances and just the gist of your current situation so I’m not on the next flight to London.”

“Dad, I’m okay. I swear. I’m staying with a really nice lady, Mrs. Hudson – a friend of Mr. Lestrade. She’s taking care of me.” No sense mentioning the other friends of Lestrade. After all, they were a whole other floor away and Keith would never have to know about them.

“And what about Logan?”

“I haven’t – I’m close.”

Keith tapped his fingers. “Veronica, assurances?”

“I can’t. Not yet.” Maybe not ever.

Keith threw his hands up. “For Chrissakes, throw your old man a bone.”

Okay, just a bit of the truth. “Kane Software.”

Keith shook his head vehemently. “Nope. Nope. What’s my Expedia password?”

“Dad! I’m helping them this time.”

“And you think that makes Jake Kane, or God forbid, Clarence Wiedman any less dangerous?!”

Veronica hoped her poker face was firmly in place and that the laptop camera didn’t catch her inward flinch. Dad always got too close to the heart of the matter, which made her wonder what he already knew.

“What’s Detective Inspector Lestrade told you?” Veronica asked.

Keith couldn’t hide his smirk. His fatherly pride always overtook his other concerns when Veronica figured things out. “He told me to read this guy’s blog. John Watson. Do I need to ask what’s going on there?”

Well, god damn it. Does everyone read his blog? “He’s a doctor and amateur detective who’s helping me?” Why did it come out as a question?

“And that’s it? Because he sounds like he’s pretty interested in doing more than helping.”

Veronica set her mouth in a straight annoyed line, but didn’t reply. It was enough to glare.

When Veronica didn’t reply, Keith asked, “And what about this partner of his – the one with the ridiculous name?”

“We’ve already established I’m here to find Logan, right?” She blurted that out a little too quickly.

“And I repeat, do I need to ask what’s going on there?”

Veronica inhaled sharply. “What do you want me to say, Dad? Nothing about this is going to make you happy. You know Logan. You know what his situation is. He’s got no one else.”

Keith took a long moment before he nodded. “All right. You’re there for Logan. Much as I don’t like it, at least he’s a known variable. And it means you’ll come home after you’ve saved him from whatever mess he’s gotten himself into this time and I don’t have to worry about amateur detectives with absurd names.”

#fanfic #meme #doctorhelena asked #sorry it took me so long #vm fanfic #veronica mars fanfic

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induratis · 8 years ago

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Alright so update on The Tot:

My laptop screen broke like two fucking months ago. And they keep fixing it, yes, but the new screens are all defective so I’m gonna fucking kill someone. Anyway. I work tutoring kids M/W/F and go to class T/TH. I’m really busy and tired all the time. I thought joining group verses would help my muse but it’s only made everything even more stressful. I will be talking to the moderators of all the groups I’m in (I think it’s just HP and Friends) and see where I will go here from now. I have felt really dragged down on all my profiles due to expectation and the emotions of others. I understand that to people on here that I am a person that gives good advice and you would like to be my friend our of character. But this is not why I come online. I don’t enjoy socialization. I don’t benefit from it when it comes to analyzing my characters. My thoughts and emotions get tainted by the opinions of others and it distracts me from getting into character. That’s just the way I work. I don’t mind chit chatting. But I’m not social. I’ve never been social. I’m funny and outgoing but I am very very introverted. I get overwhelmed very easily. And I am guilted into things all the time because I’m still learning to find my voice. Only just watching the SDCC panel and S5 preview has made me realize that I want to focus on the heart of my characters. I will be changing to an EXTREMELY strict canon representation of Clarke. I will not be roleplaying anything from prior seasons anymore. It doesn’t interest me. I want to develop my character forward, not back. The only things I will do of the past are pre-show things, since we did not get to explore much of the Ark before Clarke’s incarceration. I will still have a modern verse and a twin/clone verse but those will not be my main focus. I will also be very selective with who I decide to do Hunger Games and Harry Potter themed threads with. Those verses will most likely be private. I will be switching to be a plot-heavy profile, but leave room for spontaneity. One liners will remain one liners and be in the moment. They will be dropped once the night/day is over because the moment will no longer apply. As for Octavia ( @hisprometheus ) I will be leaving all groups I have joined. I will be switching her over to a more meme-based blog rather than threads, unless the threads are plotted. I will also not be accepting continuing memes on ANY of my profiles any longer. Octavia is my babe. I want to be challenged when I write against people. I do not and will not woobify or erase Octavia’s ugliness to suit your shipping needs. She is really not the girl from season one anymore, and playing solely that side of her doesn't interest me whatsoever, even though I know it's an aspect of her. She is stubborn, she is constantly grieving, and she is not a consistently likable person. I will not bend my character to make you happy. I will not be shipping with her except for a select few already established verses, of whom I will contact once I finish this giant mega post of my thoughts and emotions, lol. In canon, the only person she loves, that is alive, is Bellamy. Indra and Kane take a low seat under that. And then she moderately cares for, respects, etc, the rest. My Canon Octavia will NEVER be with anyone from Sky Crew. Ever. If she were to be with someone, it would be a grounder. And it would be mostly physical, rather than emotional. But just because she might fuck your character, does not mean I want to ship. The only place I would consider mildly shipping is in a modern verse. The same ideas applys to Octavia as they do to Clarke. I will not be doing any AUs other than light modern stuff, or heavily plotted modern worlds. If there is no world logic, I cannot play within the world. It’s not the way my mind works. The only things that interests me on Octavia right now are things within The Bunker or things on The Ark/Skybox. I’m actually hella craving Skybox things for Octavia but I might just write a series of drabbles. I will not be playing anything else on her. Hunger Games and Harry Potter verses will be private singular threads. I will not be playing Bellamy ( @mythosraised ) within The 100 fandom anymore. I will be making him a main mythology verse that will take precedent. This means disbanding PraimParadise, which most likely fell apart anyway, though I would like to explore that world more but I might just write a fanfic instead. He was intended to be VERY private profile and due to how much attention he was getting, I decided to expand him further. But that will not be the case now. I will be reducing who he talks to within t100 way way down. His purpose for me will serve to be as a safe haven away from my Clarke and my Octavia when I just want to do my own fandomless things. I don’t have the time/pathos/effort to cater to the people that use ships to fulfill a lack in their own life, or people that want to date Bellamy/Bob in real life and play against my Bellamy as a self-insert vessel for that. The reason I play Bellamy is for Bellamy. Because he is there in my head and wants to be heard. When I envision Bellamy, he only wants to talk to his two Octavias (Kate's and Jasmin's), to bother Katie Bell (heyo Dani) and meet all the Greek Gods and Goddesses. In this mythological verse, he is a reincarnated version of Hades' son and that will be his main verse so I can get a new perspective. Otherwise, he's mildly interested in modern things and some Harry Potter stuff. And if I do decide to do t100 stuff, it will be post-s4 during the 6-years and then post the six years as well. And while I ship Bellarke, I can't delve into it on his profile any longer. It does me a disservice. If I do decide on changing this, I will be single ship Bellarke. But I haven't found anyone I'd be willing to do so with that fits the way I want to play my Bellamy.

#psa.

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jenmedsbookreviews · 7 years ago

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So this is the blog post that isn’t meant to happen but I had a couple of hours in between events so here we are. What a week this has been, what a rare mood I’m in. Why it’s almost like being … contented I think is the word. After an all to brief round trip to Dublin on Monday to deliver a bit of training, I have finished off my week up in Dundee and Aberdeen combining necessary annual work trips with a touch of blogger heaven a.k.a. Granite Noir.Now I may at some stage regale you all with my tales of what I did and saw but then again I may not. I attended many panels (well a few) spoke to and hugged many authors (well a few) and got some signed books (less than a few). The panels I attended were fabulous and the authors and speakers highly engaging and entertaining including Thomas Enger, Mari Hannah, Sarah Ward, Val McDermid, Karen Sullivan, MJ Arlidge Stefan Ahnhem, Craig Sisterson, Johana Gustawsson, Clare Carson, James Oswald and Will Dean. I also attended a workshop on creating compelling characters with Melanie McGrath which was really informative and made you think about the importance of clarity and coherence in character. The weekend has been, in a word, awesome.

The weekend was made ever more special by my getting to spend time with some truly fabulous people, namely Alison Baillie, Sharon Bairden, and Mary Picken and to meet Claire MacLeary and Kate Noble. Yes … I finally got to meet The (Not So) Quiet Knitter. She is sooooo lovely (if a little shy) and actually very chatty.

As I write this I have two more events left, Words and Music with Thomas Enger and Noir at the Bar. I am looking forward to both of them but hoping I don’t have too late a night as I am due up at 05:00 to be in Portlethen by around 06:15. Then it is the small matter of the 8+ hour drive home with a small diversion to Airdrie. I am so lucky. Actually I am but don’t tell work that. They may think I want to be there …

The best news of the evening – Granite Noir will be back on 24th February 2019. Watch this space folks. And for those of you wanting a much better flavour of what this weekend has been all about then check out Granite Noir TV for some of the panels that were recorded over the weekend.

Signed book wise I was very restrained. Only the two. Killed by Thomas Enger and Eeny Meeny by MJ Arlidge. I still have some more to buy this coming week though as I attend the Orenda Roadshow in Warwick on Wednesday. Cannot wait. To those poor Orenda authors who have been at Granite Noir this weekend, I am not stalking you (much) I am acting as chauffeur for my sister. Honest.

All this travel has been both good and bad for reading and book buying. Aside from the two books above, I may have bought a couple of other titles and I might have received a teeny bit more book post … Book post wise I have received The Lost Girl by Carol Drinkwater and The Language of Secrets by Ausma Zehanat Khan so thank you to Penguin and No Exit Press for those.

Book purchase wise, clearly being at a literary festival has curtailed my spending. As a result I have only bought Letters To My Daughters by Emma Hannigan; Dark Pines by Will Dean (seemed rude not to); The Devil’s Dice by Roz Watkins; The Lincoln Rhyme Collection Books 1-4 and 5-8 by Jeffrey Deaver (possibly inspired by watching The Bone Collector the other evening – I do love Denzel …); Hold My Hand by MJ Ford; The Bone Keeper by Luca Veste; The Sweetheart Killer by Arlene Hunt; Lucky Ghost by Matthew Blakstad; Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan; In Bitter Chill by Sarah Ward and Sewing the Shadows Together by Alison Baillie. Not a lot of books at all really.

Whoops. Reading wise it’s not been too bad I suppose. I’ve managed a few books and an audio book so I can’t really complain.

Books I have read

Silent Victim – Caroline Mitchell

Emma’s darkest secrets are buried in the past. But the truth can’t stay hidden for long.

Emma is a loving wife, a devoted mother…and an involuntary killer. For years she’s been hiding the dead body of the teacher who seduced her as a teen.

It’s a secret that might have stayed buried if only her life had been less perfect. A promotion for Emma’s husband, Alex, means they can finally move to a bigger home with their young son. But with a buyer lined up for their old house, Emma can’t leave without destroying every last trace of her final revenge…

Returning to the shallow grave in the garden, she finds it empty. The body is gone.

Panicked, Emma confesses to her husband. But this is only the beginning. Soon, Alex will discover things about her he’ll wish he’d learned sooner. And others he’ll long to forget.

A dark and tense thriller with a protagonist with a very terrible secret. I blasted through this in a day as it was the kind of read which just compelled you onwards. It is released on 1st March and you can order a copy here.

…

Bring Me Flowers – DK Hood

She didn’t know he was watching. Until it was too late.

She’d walked this path hundreds of times before, she knew every twist and turn. But today was different. She didn’t know someone was waiting for her, hidden away from view. She didn’t know this was the last time she’d walk this path.

Hidden deep in the forest, schoolgirl Felicity Parker is found carefully laid out on a rock with nothing but a freshly picked bunch of flowers next to her lifeless form. Detective Jenna Alton is called in to investigate the gruesome discovery.

With the body found just off a popular hiking route, Jenna believes the killer is a visitor to the town… until a second local girl is discovered.

Within days, Kate Bright, a school friend of Felicity’s, is found brutally murdered at the local swimming pool and once again, the killer has displayed his victim in a terrifying manner and left flowers at the scene.

The town is gripped with fear and Jenna and her deputy, David Kane, now know that the killer is living amongst them, and that he’s picking off school girls one by one. But they don’t know who is next on the list.

As the trail goes cold, Kane and Alton are forced to sit and wait for the killer to make his next move. But now he has a new victim in his sights, and he’s looking much closer to home …

If you love Robert Dugoni, Karin Slaughter and Rachel Abbott you’ll love this nail-biting thriller from D.K. Hood.

This is the second in the series and I think it will help readers to have consumed book one, but is not essential. Set in small town America there is a chilling and merciless killer on the loose in a story which will have you locking up your daughters. You can preorder a copy here.

…

The Visitor – KL Slater

He’ll make sure she never wants to leave…

Holly never thought she’d move back to her home town, but then something terrible happened. She doesn’t know if she can recover. But she knows she can never tell another soul.

People say her neighbour, David, is “different”. He doesn’t go out much, and never after dark. But in David Holly finds just what she needs: a friend. Someone who’s always there.

No one knows Holly’s secret, or where she lives. She has left the past behind. She is sure of it. So why does she feel as though she’s in terrible danger?

An absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller, from the bestselling author of Blink and The Mistake. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train and The Couple Next Door.

A gripping thriller which has you wondering just which way is up. So many possible outcomes in this book and an undercurrent of unease which will have readers in a spin. You can preorder a copy here.

…

The Babysitter – Sheryl Browne

You trust her with your family. Would you trust her with your life?

Mark and Melissa Cain are thrilled to have found Jade, a babysitter who is brilliant with their young children. Having seen her own house burn to the ground, Jade needs them as much as they need her. Moving Jade into the family home can only be a good thing, can’t it?

As Mark works long hours as a police officer and Melissa struggles with running a business, the family become ever more reliant on their babysitter, who is only too happy to help. And as Melissa begins to slip into depression, it’s Jade who is left picking up the pieces.

But Mark soon notices things aren’t quite as they seem. Things at home feel wrong, and as Mark begins to investigate their seemingly perfect sitter, what he discovers shocks him to his core. He’s met Jade before. And now he suspects he might know what she wants …

Mark is in a race against time to protect his family. But what will he find as he goes back to his family home?

A true cuckoo in the nest kind of thriller this may well have you losing your mind. Tense and occasionally skin crawling if you are a cat lover you may want to look away … You can preorder a copy here.

,,,

Anatomy of a Scandal – Sarah Vaughan

A high-profile marriage thrust into the spotlight. A wife, determined to keep her family safe, must face a prosecutor who believes justice has been a long time coming. A scandal that will rock Westminster. And the women caught at the heart of it.

Anatomy of a Scandal centres on a high-profile marriage that begins to unravel when the husband is accused of a terrible crime. Sophie is sure her husband, James, is innocent and desperately hopes to protect her precious family from the lies which might ruin them. Kate is the barrister who will prosecute the case – she is equally certain that James is guilty and determined he will pay for his crimes.

Oh my life this is such a brilliant book. I’ve had it on my biggest regrets pile for a while so the long drive up to Scotland gave me just the excuse I needed to ‘read’ it at long last. Clever, observant and so brilliantly topical this is a fabulous book which you can order here.

…

Blog has been busy enough, all things considered, and you can find the highlights below (or links to the posts even). I did take part in a Writing Challenge as part of Rachel Abbott’s blog tour so if you are really bored, do go and take a look. You’ll have a chance to vote on your favourite challenge entries soon so keep an eye on Rachel’s Twitter and Facebook feeds for more details.

Guest Post: CJ Harter author of Fitful Head

#BlogTour: The Little Cottage on the Hill by Emma Davies

#BlogTour: Come a Little Closer by Rachel Abbott

#BlogTour: #TheLastLaugh by Tracy Bloom

Review: Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer

Clearly as I am cutting back on the blogging this year, I have nothing in the diary for the week ahead. Well … apart from blog tours for SE Lynes’ The Pact; BK Duncan’s Found Drowned; Peter Ritchie’s Evidence of Death; Aidan Conway’s A Known Evil; Caroline Mitchell’s Silent Victim; DK Hood’s Bring Me Flowers and KL Slater’s The Visitor. It seems to be all about the initials this week. Do join me if you can.

I am looking forward to another brilliantly bookish week. See you all again soon…

Jen

Rewind, recap: Weekly update w/e 25/02/18 So this is the blog post that isn't meant to happen but I had a couple of hours in between events so here we are.

#Rewind Recap #Weekly Round UP

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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Arsenal vs. Liverpool almost broke my brain

These are the thoughts of a delirious Arsenal fan during the best game of the Premier League season.

The Man with the Iron Fists is such a weird movie. Japanese characters speaking English in a movie that’s set in Japan and is supposed to be a stereotypical martial arts movie just feels wrong. It should be in Japanese with subtitles. Oh, the Arsenal and Liverpool game is on, I forgot that was today. Probably my brain trying to make sure I missed it after the last few matchups scarred me emotionally. Might as well put it on since it’s my job to put myself through emotional pain and write about it.

40 matches over the next 14 days is absurd. The Premier League definitely needs a winter break, putting players through that schedule is inhumane. Profit rules everything around sports and everything else in this world but there has to be a limit eventually. The games aren’t good because players are tired and everyone else not in England seems to recognize that letting human beings who play almost 60 combined games a season a bit of rest in the middle of the year as a good thing. What the hell are Liverpool wearing? Bold Citrus? That sounds like something a designer says to scam a corporation out of a bunch of money to just company the worst Barcelona kit from a few years ago.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles looks like a concerned citizen who is worried about the crimes of Jack the Ripper. Whys is Mo Salah one on one with him? This won’t turn out well at all.

Why did Mesut Özil send a corner out to Nacho Monreal at the edge of the box? Monreal, of all people. I would rather you just kicked it out of play from the corner. English commentators really hate zonal marking, almost as much as they hate foreign managers. Shut up, Jamie Redknapp. His voice sounds like austerity. I love how Özil lets the ball run across his body, even when he’s not really under any pressure, it gives him a chance to scan the field without having to concentrate on controlling the ball. It’s up there with his Cruyff turns.

Arsenal have the most handsome striker depth. Alexandre Lacazette, Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck are better looking than every other team’s strikers. More diverse too.

Jordan Henderson looks like a working class Harry Kane and runs like he’s fighting and losing against the effects of late-stage capitalism. Oh he’s injured. Who’s coming on? James Milner lacks so much sauce that he should be out in the streets begging for a drip of it. He needs every bit he can get. He looks like Major Chip Hazard from Small Soldiers. Or the human form of Hephaestus.

Alex Iwobi runs like his shoes are too small and passes as well as a Nigerian man lies about the second family that he has in another country. Not well. Alexis Sanchez never actually jumps for a header, he just jumps into the defender. Short people. Laurent Koscielny is such a boss, what a clearance to stop that Andrew Robertson. I’m so glad he plays for Arsenal, I remember when people doubted how good he is. Oh to be young again. Feels like just yesterday oh shit Roberto Firmino just dispossessed him. What was Koscielny doing in midfield to begin with? That’s not your job, bro.

Granit Xhaka should definitely not be the supporting midfielder for Maitland-Niles, he doesn’t even pretend to care about defending. He just does that thing where he bends his knees and shifts his body to look like he’s defending without doing anything dynamic. He’s the “yeah I know Excel” of defending.

I’m so glad Arsenal have Petr Cech, that Firmino header would have been a problem with any of the previous keepers. When Firmino smiles, a bird falls out of the sky after being blinded. You can only approach Firmino while holding up the same shield that Perseus used to kill Medusa.

Glad to see Alexis and Lacazette combining. Lacazette is so good with his feet unlike that other guy and oh, another Firmino header. That was close. Maitland-Niles needs to stop thinking about his objections to Edgar Allan Poe’s poems and concentrate on defending that back-post, please.

Oh wow, Coutinho scored.

A lovely looping header from Philippe Coutinho! #ARSLIV #YNWA http://pic.twitter.com/qckAOGS3gU

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 22, 2017

Was that after a throw-in? What the hell was Koscielny doing? Did Salah threaten him with exile if he engaged him outside of the box? What the hell was Xhaka doing? He stayed with Coutinho throughout the entire play and stopped right before he headed the ball? Did Xhaka have an existential crisis in the middle of the box? Screw Kierkegaard, challenge the damn runner. Xhaka always has at least four “what the hell are you doing” moments in a game. Sometimes it’s his defending, sometimes it’s the passes, sometimes both but he always meets the quota.

Oh dear God, that Salah and Mane counterattack is scary. It should be illegal to have both of them in the same team. I hope Liverpool gets investigated and forced to sell one of them.

Alexis loves giving the ball away as much as he loves his dogs. Iwobi loves giving the ball away and passing out of play as much as he likes running like the floor is lava.

How did Monreal go in late on Mane and he’s the one injured? Guess it’s actually serious, he’s still down. Emre Can looks like a Spanish Jordan Henderson, and he’s German which makes it more hilarious.

Xhaka gives the ball away again. Someone please put “Xhaka gives the ball away again” on my gravestone. Arsenal’s midfield is playing like they were all out clubbing last night and had to hide behind the trash can after because Jack Wilshere thinks that works to keep them from having their pictures taken.

Salah is fast as hell. How is anyone that fast? He’s like a mouse when you turn the light on. Hector Bellerin is going to be so good after he finally avenges the death of his father at the hands of Silver Lion and Bronze Lion and can concentrate solely on soccer.

Holy shit, is Koscielny match-fixing? How do you slip there out of all places, to let in Mo Salah of all people? Of course Mane went for the spectacular. The man has the sauce. When you have the sauce you’re compelled to do the cool thing over the sensible. He couldn’t have brought that down and shot normally if he wanted to. The man doesn’t have a long part in his hair to do boring Milner things.

Xhaka gives the ball away again. This is how I die. Oh now Özil gives it away twice in a row. He’s definitely doing a performance art piece on how Xhaka plays.

Mustafi is coming on? I guess that Monreal injury was serious. I love that he prays before coming on, I should do something on the religious rituals that players have before and during games. Hopefully he prayed for Arsenal’s midfield.

Shut up, Jamie Redknapp.

Goodness Christ that Mane and Salah counterattack is going to kill me before the new year. Please stop Salah from running. Wilshere please. Just foul him. Slide. Do something. No, don’t go to Firmino, follow the guy that’s going towards goal and not the one on the sideline. Why is there three people on Firmino when he’s on the damn sideline. Someone please step onto Salah, don’t give him space, don’t give him space, please don’t give him space and of course he scored you idiots. I told you to not give him space. I hate this team so much. SANCHEZ!

Alexis I love you so much! You beautiful waxed man! The greatest Chilean since Isabel Allende. I’ve always loved you, even when I said that you should be put on both team sheets since you love to give the ball away so much, it was out of love.

Xhaka please don’t shoot this, YOU GORGEOUS MAN! What a cannon!

I’ve never loved another human being as much as I love you. The gods carved you out of marble and gave you a rocket for a left foot. Shoot everything, always. I don’t care. Look at Simon Mignolet flapping at the shot, Liverpool should probably think of getting a keeper who can actually save shots.

Look at Özil leading the resurgence. And they said he disappears in big games. Love to see him and Lacazette combine and OH MY GOD. ÖZIL!

My one and true son! I would sacrifice all of my other sons for your sake. I love no one but you and only you. You wonderful angel. Look at the gang sign. Look at the knee slide. Look at the hair. Everything is perfect.

Coutinho is so good. A damn outside of the boot pass across the field to Mane. Thank goodness for Cech.

Xhaka, what the hell are you doing? You don’t tackle people from behind. Look at Özil again, if Lacazette plays a one-two with him instead of backheeling that pass to Wilshere, they would have recreated the earlier goal. Please don’t pass it to Jack when Özil is open, Lacazette. You have to know these things.

Shut up, Jamie Redknapp. I’m pretty sure the last image I’ll see before I die is Mane and Salah running at the Arsenal defense.

Why is Firmino wide open at the top of the box? Why is Firmino wide open at the top of the box? I’M SORRY, WHY IS FIRMINO WIDE OPEN AT THE TOP OF THE BOX?

The goal that made @Arsenal v. @LFC 3-3 #ARSLIV http://pic.twitter.com/fFuPWNUc1j

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 22, 2017

What is Koscielny doing? Who is he even looking at while Firmino is right next to him? I hope Netflix is paying him good money for this comedic performance. He’s literally looking running to defend time and space instead of the forward right next to him. Oh wow, Cech saved it. What a wonderful keeper. Cech you absolute scrub. You just went full Manuel Almunia huh? How do you save the shot into your own goal? 15 points a season my ass.

This game is not good for my health. I should start going to therapy and bill Arsenal for it. I can’t believe that he saved the ball into the goal. Oh yes cech, kick the ball back to Liverpool. That’s exactly what we need right now.

What a touch by Iwobi. And now he’s coming off for Danny Welbeck, the sixth best black man alive, after me/Idris Elba (same person), Mahershala Ali, Jay Z, Barack Obama and LeBron James.

How happy is Georginio Wijnaldum to have escape Newcastle? Probably as happy as the Arsenal defense is to see that Mane is going off.

How did Özil slip under no pressure there? Is the spirit of Steven Gerrard haunting this field? If we lose because of a slip, I’m never watching soccer again. I swear to Paolo Maldini.

Oh look, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the man with the name of the Chief Constable who assures Maitland-Niles that he will catch Jack the Ripper in no time. The Judas. Jezebel. The sycophant.

Xhaka, what the hell are you doing? Please stop doing these things.

Wonderful, now that Mane is off, Gini wants to counterattack with Salah. What is Koscielny doing? Why are you running towards Gini when SALAH OF ALL PEOPLE IS RUNNING ACROSS YOU? THERE’S THREE PEOPLE CHASING GINI ALREADY! Who replaced Koscielny with Johan Djourou?

I don’t want to see Theo Walcott do anything. It takes him six touches to do something a good player could do with two. He’s the eternal youth player.

What a wonderful pass from Wilshere to Özil and Özil completely blows the cross. Oh my goodness that almost went in. How did it come down at that angle? That’s wild. I’m sure he meant it. Özil doesn’t make mistakes.

Huh, Firmino and Coutinho have the same tattoo under their ear. That’s pretty cute.

Thank goodness this game is over. I don’t ever want to watch another match like this again. That made no sense. My head hurts. Of course Milner thought Liverpool should be more boring, the man probably thinks paste is seasoning. He’s worse than the boring Milner meme because that’s satire and he’s utterly serious. I hate him so much.

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