#and i do think it’s fitting and all that (it’s a good ending dw. faith has been through enough)

[colorfulnickellandgarden]

we have officially hit 50 outlined chapters

[ruby-whistler]

Srry but i noticed in one of ur dream posts u Referred to tommy's cat as hope. I must correct u, that cat was born pussbou and died pussboi. /lh Also tommy killing that cat was nothing compared to dream killing mushroom henry in exile btw just wanna say Also for ur posts about dreams trauma or wilbur manipulating him can u provide links to vods or other proof? Srry if i seem rude i mean that in a "genuinely curious way"

Aaa sorry if my ask came off as rude im just genuinely curious :(((

hi! dw, you don't seem rude at all, and i'm extremely happy someone with a different perspective has found my blog! i really appreciate that sort of attitude and am happy to answer :]

/dsmp /rp

the cat was called pussboy by tommy, but dream only called it "the cat" and then said that "it was hope", which is why it sort of became a symbol (his hope is dead, basically) - that's why i kind of made its name capitalized, because it was more of a metaphor than anything.

most c!dream fans call the cat hope because it's just really nice and really symbolic, and also really sad when you think about it. that's why the name was used in the essay, just to clear up the confusion!

tommy killing that cat was nothing compared to dream killing mushroom henry in exile

i don't really think so? mooshroom henry was entertainment more than anything, and even if it was bad, when watching the stream i don't remember seeing him mourn that much - on the other hand, dream was very quickly and very obviously attached to the cat, with it being his only companion in months of isolation, along with the hope that even when tommy left it would keep him company.

keep in mind c!dream has been deprived of stimuli and human contact for so long it's officially classified as psychological torture at that point.

i don't mean to compare trauma or even compare deaths - because honestly, what c!dream and c!tommy have gone through individually is incomparable and i think neither should be diminished in favor of the other since they're both terrible situations.

that's why i disagree that it "was nothing compared to" - it had an obvious effect on c!dream, and was still c!tommy killing an animal specifically to hurt him, no matter what reasons he had.

when i'm talking about effects people's actions have had on c!dream, i'm not talking about those people. i'm talking about him. :) /lh

as for the trauma, a lot of people agree that a lot of the things he says or does are trauma responses, and hence it's very possible that he's had trauma before he went into prison!

this includes being repeatedly called a tyrant via propaganda by about half of your friends who decided to betray you, trying to keep peace and being pushed deeper into villainy instead, repeatedly being put in between a rock and a hard place in order to make sure the people you care about don't start killing each other, then being betrayed by your closest friends after merely trying to keep peace (sapnap & george) and just in general having no control over your life or image and grasping at straws to gain it back.

i know a lot of people with trauma who heavily relate to certain trauma responses, which aren't always just shaky breaths and flashbacks, but trauma often also manifests itself in extremely ugly and destructive ways, both inwardly and outwardly.

trying to control the people around you is also very often a response to going through trauma, as well as emotional repression which is... rather evident on c!dream during season two. it only seems to get worse with repeated abandonment.

in the end, during the vault scene, the way he acts really just isn't at all the way a healthy person would act, and a lot of his really bad mindsets come from the way he was taught by the world around him.

the character is very reserved however, and since we don't have his pov we can't really say for certain - a lot of people claim it in good faith because they have a lot of evidence for it, and i think they're certainly valid in that.

that is just before the prison, however. from what happened during the prison arc? there is no denying he's traumatized at this point.

he's been emotionally and physically abused by c!sam since the very beginning of being imprisoned, and being in solitary confinement for over two weeks is generally considered psychological (and maybe also physical?) torture. that alone shows up in a lot of symptoms of his mental deterioration while in pandora's during people's visits, and quackity's "sessions" just absolutely drove the point home.

what he's gone through during this arc is absolutely incomparable to anything others charactes have faced before, and it's just plain suffering being endured by someone who is, despite everything, still a human being.

as for the wilbur manipulation thing!! it's talking about the whole vassal scene (though even beforehand a lot of their interactions are pretty iffy), and here's a post about that :]

I also have a small question about the analysis u last reblogged cus it says "why dream needed lmanburg gone rightfully" and like. The house analogy is poor because for one cus the land is infinite. And 2 cus punz's yard was literally larger then lmanburg. And also stuff about dream being a mediator? Can u provide examples?

i wouldn't say it was poor. dream's said a lot of times that he didn't care in the slightest about the land - a lot of his problems with l'manberg arose with the fact that wilbur basically built it on lies and tried to disallow half of the server to come there. c!dream was mad about the division and the fact that wilbur wanted "freedom" to have authority in his lands - over others, as can be seen in this post also.

the table analogy was fitting not because dream was some overlord, but because these were literally friends he invited to hang out and live in a place he wanted to call home. claiming a part of it for yourself and saying people of a certain nationality can't come in is directly opposing those goals.

in the early days of the smp, dream's always been a mediator between his friends - sapnap and george, who would often get into fights and go around killing each other! he would always do his best to stop the conflict, which continued after tommy joined when he took him to court and then later tried to mediate conflicts he was a part of, which resulted in tommy killing him unprovoked, stealing his gear, and starting the disc wars when dream was trying to get his stuff back. later, during pogtopia, he is also most concerned with peace over everything, and this seems to continue indefinitely after.

Today i was thinking about how messed up the final control room was. Like. Dream arranged the betrayal and punz and sapnap killed tommy and tubbo who like. Were literal children and their pals (because the author, wilbur soot, is dead/j but srsly if u take the streamers words tommy said he was 9 during the revolution sooo)

Sorry im gonna ramble about how dumb canon ages are for a second cus like. Streamers can say the characters are one way or another (wilbur saying he is mentally 30-something, etc.) But in the end the characters act like they(or at least their streaming personas) do.

i... honestly don't find it that bad? they were in a war, and the final control room was basically just supposed to end it quicker. the l'manbergians made it clear they were going to fight to the death, so they really left c!dream no other choice. and it's not like he didn't give them chances to give up.

also yeah the 9 year old thing was retconned, because in that case c!dream would've been 14 and i don't think that's true.

c!tommy and c!dream were both young and once again, in a war. the final control room was an attempt to assure victory, which both sides would've taken if possible, but only c!dream saw he had the option.

i do agree the whole child soldier thing was bad but... complain about that to c!wilbur, methinks. he talked naive kids into fighting for his personal power. however, the age argument isn't really valid either way. they had enough agency to sign up for it, and whether or not c!wilbur pushing the intense nationalism onto them had something to do with that is another debate entirely.

Bacl to final control room cus like??? Also fun fact punz took 2 of wilbur's canon lives. And like that probably is what started wilbur's paranoia which later lead to his spiral and i. Many thoughts full of lmanburg today.

i'm pretty sure cc!wilbur said what lead to c!wilbur's spiral was a "dark, twister view of possessions" and "disregard for his fellow citizen whom he claimed to love so much", but i really wouldn't say it was the control room; if anything the sudden loss of power after the elections seems to me like the trigger for his spiral.

I watched the exile arc live and. I feel dirty almost for feeling little to no sympathy for c!dream (srry ive been forgetting to add that aa) because of his actions toward c!tommy and like. The whole probation was so humiliating and unfair and c!dream was planning to frame him for the crimes he and puffy did under the the guise of "pranks" and c!quackity was planning to seize the vice president role.

i mean... to be fair, if you didn't watch the prison arc much yet or only watch tommy's perspective i understand not feeling that sympathetic - however, i encourage you to maybe watch a few prison visits, since they could help you see the whole picture better!

i also watched it live, and i also thought it was terrible, but i share very much the same sentiment for the prison arc because. absolutely no one should have to go through either of those things, you know?

i don't think probation was that humiliating? he was just. being asked to not start conflict with the other factions for two weeks. of course, what happened as a result is in no way justified, but i don't think probation itself would've been bad at all. either way yeah the framing and c!quackity's behaviour was. very yikes, i agree.

Also c!tommy antis are dumb because they say "he deserved exile angry emoji" i dont see u saying that about ranboo. Just say you hate cc!tommy and go. Also people say c!tommy was just as toxic to c!dream and i??? No. One is the victim and one is the abuser and like. :/// man. This part is rambly srry

i wouldn't say they hate cc!tommy? cc!tommy has a persona who people think is annoying at first ( but then they subscribe because he is super entertaining big man! ) but a lot of c!tommy's actions are straight up toxic to certain characters, such as c!funndy and c!jack. he has a very dismissive attitude towards others and their trauma and it does affect the people around them very negatively.

examples; his repeated bullying and behavior towards fundy:

Tommy: “Fundy, I’m just here to kinda let you know that I – if you weren’t Wilbur’s son, you would be out of L’manburg, alright? Just remember – you need to keep that relationship with your father. I saw how asshole-y and bratty you were acting in the courtroom the other night. You need to pull your shit together young man.”

......

Fundy: “I’m wearing glasses…are you making fun of my eyesight?!”

Tommy: “Yes.”

Sapnap: “Your father would be very disappointed.”

Fundy: “Wh – disappointed for wearing glasses?!”

Tommy: “You got glasses, like what are you wearing…”

Fundy: “What do you mean?”

Tommy: “Sapnap, Sapnap, over here. Fundy, Fundy, Fundy, I’m really sorry to say this – I’m just here to publicly denounce you.”

Fundy: “…What?”

( credit for transcript: @/findingjoynweirdstuff )

he's also responsible for a big chunk of c!jack's trauma, both with actions and words, and that's why i think certain people might dislike the character, and i don't think that's wrong of them. anyone can dislike any character they want if they don't attack people for liking them, in my opinion.

also c!tommy was most definitely toxic against c!dream in the cell. it's of course understandable but that doesn't change the fact he was constantly hitting and insulting him (without dream doing anything back for a long while until he snapped) which is toxic behaviour.

i wouldn't say he was "just as" though, so i agree with you on that. they're different and they behave differently.

i made a dream blob keychain today. Is it possible to send images if u wanna see? Idk cus i havent used tumblr before. I think that's all for now. Thx for letting me talk :D peepoShy -curious anon (but fr a connoreatspants c!dream redemption arc would be cool)

yooo that's cool! i don't really,,, know if it's possible to send images? try it out and if it isn't i'll try find a way to turn it on.

also, no problem! just please remember this is a c!dream sympathetic blog, and me as well as my followers are uhh,, oftentimes emotionally attached / personally relate to the character, so if you could avoid sending hate on the character (not that you have or that i expect you to, just a friendly reminder) in the asks that would be great! we already see a lot of it unwillingly so, i'd rather not see more, but as long as the discussion is civil i'm absolutely ok with you asking more and with me answering more questions if you'd want to! :)

if anyone else would like to reblog this and add some things i might've missed with my answers, feel free to, just go easy on her (she uses she/her pronouns!) and keep it factual.

i hope u had a good or at least ok time at school today :D

thanks! i gtg now because exam tomorrow but i'm going to try write the redemption essay tomorrow as well because ohhh boy i have a lot of ideas about what all i could write around the concept.

also sorry this was long, i can't keep my tongue on the leash :[

[the-archlich]

Would you prefer a DW game to be completely Historic without any fictional aspects like characters like Diao Chan and battles like Hu lao gate or do you like that DW leans heavily on the fictional aspects of the Three Kingdoms ?

Take from this answer what you will. My opinion on any semi-historical adaptation is as follows: (this turned into a long, kind of rambling essay.)

First and foremost, I think it is the responsibility of anyone adapting something from history to represent the real people involved with integrity. People who did terrible things shouldn’t have that covered up for the sake of the narrative. People who did heroic deeds shouldn’t have their efforts dismissed. Even if used fictitiously, these were real people. Their hopes and dreams were real. Their suffering and struggles were real. And if you’re doing any kind of adaptation it is important to represent those things honestly. You have a duty to show people for who they were - or, more practically, who you perceive them to be.

Obviously the easiest way to do that is to stick as close to recorded facts as possible. The less you deviate from the truth, the less you have to worry about. If the narrative just doesn’t let you incorporate something factual, then it’s your responsibility to try to get as close as you can. The Sanguo Yanyi usually has Taishi Ci die heroically at Hefei. And while that didn’t happen it does show him as a brave man and a powerful warrior whose unexpected death is widely mourned. That’s now how it happened, but it at least represents the spirit of the man faithfully.

And sure, there’s room for ambiguity. Who is the “hero” in a story about Wei’s Zhengshi period? What were someone’s real motives? What were they really like? Our records only show certain sides of people. That’s okay. That ambiguity is where you have room to improvise and build a historical figure into a character. But if you’re taking advantage of ambiguities to wave away serious problems, you’re not acting in good faith

There is a lot of ambiguity, for example, in the Zhengshi period. At the same time, there are some interpretations that are simply not made in good faith. I don’t believe that anyone can look at Sima Yi’s actions and honestly believe that they were selfless, taken only in the interest of preserving Wei. You could argue that they were justified and logical, but saying that he was doing it all for “the greater good” would be dishonest. Depicting Cao Shuang and his group as innocent victims attacked senselessly by a jealous rival who just wanted to seize power is just as dishonest, as it requires one to ignore the efforts they made to consolidate power. You can build a good character in the ambiguities and the things left unsaid, but it should always come from a place of honesty.

This is a roundabout way of saying that the most important thing to get right - the thing that matters to me more than anything else in adapting a story - is representing the people involved with honesty and integrity. They were real and whether you see them as heroic, villainous, or elsewhere or that spectrum (most people were, of course, in the gray area between) it is important to show them honestly.

The easiest way to do that is, as I said, to stick as close to recorded facts as possible. The more inventions you toss in, the farther from the truth you’ll wander. You mentioned Diao Chan and Hulao, and those are actually two good examples on the opposite ends of this continuity.

Hulao is, of course, a fictional battle. It is often preceded by a battle at Sishui (which appears to have been another name for the same mountain pass) and followed by a battle where Cao Cao gets ambushed and is no longer able to pursue Dong Zhuo. The Sishui battle is pretty directly inspired by the battle at Yangren, the battle at Hulao is inspired by Sun Jian’s battle against Dong Zhuo at Dagu Pass, and the ambush is inspired by the battle at Xingyang between Cao Cao and Xu Rong, which actually happened before Yangren and Dagu.

As an adaptation of those three historical events (Xingyang, Yangren, and Dagu) Hulao is terrible, particularly at the Sishui and Hulao portions. at Yangren, Sun Jian defeated Lu Bu and killed a staff officer named Hua Xiong (a man of no special importance. Then at Dagu he defeated Dong Zhuo himself and drove him off to Chang’an. At Sishui, however, Sun Jian is unable to accomplish anything and Hua Xiong cuts through many fictional characters before being killed by Guan Yu - who was not at Yangren, the battle that inspired it. At Hulao, Lu Bu does the same feat before Guan  Yu, Zhang Fei, and Liu Bei fight him to a draw. Again, none of those men were actually present at Dagu. That was all Sun Jian.

So in adapting Yangren and Dago into Sishui and Hulao to better fit the narrative, Luo Guanzhong completely cheats Sun Jian out of all credit. He was the only character to have success against Dong Zhuo, but he is rendered a minor figure and upstaged by three men who didn’t even fight against Dong Zhuo (they were in Qing or You at the time, nowhere near the campaign against Dong Zhuo). This is an adaptation with no integrity. Sun Jian is robbed of his heroic accomplishments and glory is showered on people who did not earn it.

The Diao Chan story, on the other hand, is a pretty fair adaptation. The woman herself is fictional but the events the story depicts are reasonably close to the truth, if a bit embellished. There was a rift that formed between Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu - and while it wasn’t due to both desiring the same woman that rift was very much a real thing, brought about in large part due to Dong Zhuo’s terrible treatment of Lu Bu (even throwing a halberd at him once). And Wang Yun did take advantage of this rift to turn Lu Bu against Dong Zhuo. This allowed him to arrange Dong Zhuo’s assassination by Lu Bu’s hand - all of which does happen in the fictionalized version of the tale with Diao Chan. My only major qualm is that it writes out Shisun Rui, who was another major architect of the plan, but he didn’t want credit for it anyway so I can let it slide.

What I’m saying is, it’s all about integrity. It’s easiest to represent people honestly when you just stay close to the truth. Inventing and embellishing things is fine - that’s how you get a story instead of an essay. But those inventions and embellishments should serve to reinforce who these people really were, not cover it up.

So what I ask from any adaptation of any historical period - Dynasty Warriors or something else - is this integrity. I don’t demand strict accuracy or realism but it’s easiest to achieve this integrity when you stick close to the truth.

One other thing I’ll add is that in most cases, and especially in the Three Kingdoms, I find the truth to be far more interesting than the stories made up later. I prefer that any adaptation/narrative about the period stay close to the truth not just to represent people with integrity but because the events that actually happened are usually more exciting than invented tales. And history can get away with things that fiction can’t. The story of Taishi Ci rescuing Kong Rong is downplayed in the Sanguo Yanyi because even for a novel like that, the truth seems hard to believe.

[chucklestheechidona]

Doctor Who: The Jodie Review

(Long post)

(Sorry)

Introduction

I decided, still being locked down, to watch some Doctor Who.

Hadn’t watched it in a while, told myself I’d always catch up when I had the time, and the universe decided to give me a lot of it.

I had stopped watching Matt quite some time ago, but caught up about 4 years ago to Capaldi’s first season. I had meant to carry on with it but slow-going times and I forgot and all the other jazz that fills in the space between not doing things.

But I thought I’d storm through them and get them over with. I had heard bad things going onwards, but hey, I’m one of those sad losers that LIKE Love and Monsters. It’s not great but I thought what it did well, it did great.

So, off I went to finally catch up on a show that formulated so much of my younger self, my love for time-travel, interesting sci-fi that ended up getting me into the genre, and a love for character interactions and lore.

I went through Capaldi, and his last two seasons, yeah, they had an odd episode here and there, Sleep No More is a disaster, but I carried on through. I’m a trooper, I got through Fear Her after all.

But I fell in love with the Doctor again. Heaven Sent is easily the best DW has offered so far, the character building with him and Clara and Bill and hell, Nardole, are superb. The stories were interesting, the Doctor was great and evolved, and the companions were the perfect fit for Capaldi.

And then, after a brilliant goodbye, he was gone.

“Be kind.“

And here we go, we’re with Jodie, she’s northern, she’s confused, and she’s in need of some pockets, falling through the sky, yeah, 200 degrees that’s why they call her missus fahrenheit-

Not Jodie, but Chibnall

I’m not going to drag this out too far, I ain’t gonna make you read this for ages just to see if I like it. If you don’t want to see me complain about two seasons, this is your point to head out.

I think these are the lowest series of Modern Doctor Who.

But like the title says, it’s not Jodie’s fault. She’s an amazing actress, and she plays the part well. Hell, so does Bradley, Tosin and Mandip. Each one of them is a good actor and when the scene calls for them, they pull it off well.

The issue here is the writing.

And I feel I should go through why I think that.

But first, I think I should point out the good.

The Good: On historical topics and representation

This is the most diverse Doctor Who has been in a while. It was pretty diverse before mind you, let’s not forget the Doctor seems a bit flexible, the companions have been a mix of sexualities, gender, age and race, and each one of them is loved by many. Hell, Jack Harkness was so popular he got his own tv show.

But Thirteenth has gone and made sure that there was more.

Characters just pointing out they’re gay and it’s just a matter of fact. It’s a statement, not an argument, not being out there or subvertive, it just is. People are more than fine with this. 

I’m surprised Graham the bus driver is so accepting of everyone at the start, but it speaks testament to his character. He fell in love with Grace, he raised a son with a disability, he stands up for those that dare have a go at any of that. Graham didn’t have to grow to learn this in the Tardis, he was accepting from the get-go. 

Well, there’s some conflict about Ryan blaming things on Dyspraxia in the first episode but it comes out of a place of fear of their lives. But any tensions between them are resolved quite well, to the point they can count on each other.

Either way, representation is important and Jodie’s season has it in spades.

As for historical topics, the Doctor tackles them quite well. Honestly, the episodes in the past are her strong suit. And as she’s a woman now, she has a new battle against her. History wasn’t always kind, and the gag of them addressing Graham each time is a genuinely good idea.

Also, Rosa had the opportunity to be butchered. It could have been written badly, it could have been handled with hardly any care, but it was the standout episode of the season. Each character gets some good lines, the gang has to face moral decisions and it’s a genuinely good look into a past that America would sometimes like to forget.

As an aside, I think Bill, even as one character, explored the sexuality thing more and the diversity she faced from it, I think thirteenth doesn’t do a bad job. I liked the astronauts as shown above quite a bit to be fair.

Graham

The standout star of the show.

This will be unfortunately brought up in my negatives for the show too, but this is the good side.

Graham’s lost his wife, he has to connect to her grandson, his cancer is a constant worry in his head and he comes with the Doctor in an attempt to escape/confront all three.

He is the one who evolves the most as a character in the first season, coming to terms with the death of Grace is something he battles with throughout, he still blames himself. For whatever reason, even in the Rosa Parks episode, he gets the most emotional writing. Ryan and Yaz do get good writing in the same episode mind you, (which is unfortunately one of the few times Yaz does) but it’s heartbreaking to see Graham realise what he has to do.

The Acting

I unfortunately have to put Ryan, Yaz and the Doctor here in one group category. and I hate to do that, but I feel it’d be a disservice not to mention them.

Their actors can act well. When the script calls for it, they do amazing work.

The scene where Jodie is angry and confused at the other Doctor, where Ryan is actually there to support his friend, when Yaz is comforting Ryan about America, where Jodie is fucking pissed at the Master, all good scenes.

But this is a perfect segway into -

The Bad: Asides the retcon

Holy shit where do I start.

I mean, we’ve got the good out of the way, so you know where I stand on the issues a bunch of people wrong accused the show of being. A female doctor is more than fine, the diverse cast is great, the topics of exploring the past is done good.

And I’m not going into the retcon just yet, I feel like going ITS BAD BECAUSE OF THIS ignores so much of the problems to be had

But let’s start with

The Doctor

This should have been her outfit just saying

I find the best way of describing most of this doctors run so far is...

Imagine, if you will, that you need to write a Doctor Who book. They’ve given you a plot to go with, but they haven’t told you which Doctor it’s for. But tight schedules and they still haven’t told you, so you write up a draft. A template. But you leave the Doctor’s text ambiguous. A template for a Doctor. With some work, you could make it the 12th, the 5th, the 1st, once you add mannerisms and how the doctor would react personally in a situation. So you write in this template Doctor and go to sleep. But you wake up and your assistant has only gone and submitted it.

The Doctor is kinder than any other iteration of her Doctor, but that’s it. I get why the natural progression from Capaldi, and Jodie sells a nice Doctor superbly, but ... 

There’s nothing really there to distinguish her as her own Doctor. She’s nice, a bit confused, LOVES things and calls people fam.

But like, that’s it. Where the 9th had coldness, 10 had eccentric, 11 had old man and 12 was furious, Jodie has... nice. But a Doctor needs an edge. 

She’s quiet about her home life and she doesn’t really talk much to her companions about it, but like, that’s understandable, she doesn’t really talk one on one to them or even much about their home lives.

She doesn’t get an arc until Spyfall, and even then it’s largely just turned into “She’s well moody”, and apparently well moody is just being kinda quiet. Jodie says it right when she shouts at them in one scene “You don’t know me!”

And she’s right, but then the companions trust her with everything and they’re part of a FAM and super close but they don’t really talk with each other. Jodie doesn’t have these quiet talks like the other Doctors would have with the companions, it’s just... not there.

And because it’s not there we’re supposed to believe they think of themselves as a tightly knit group but also very apart as characters. And the companions, to their credit, try and confront her on it, but the conflict is over so quick as to not be there at all.

Yaz and Ryan

This is the best scene of them in, and one of the rare times Yaz makes an impact on a story which isn’t just supporting the Doctor

What they did to these two actors is cruel.

Ryan at least gets to join in on Grahams arc, because it is Grahams arc, not Ryans, really. There’s a plot about his Dad that’s done quite well, so that’s why Ryan doesn’t suffer the same poor fate as Yaz does.

Yaz has absolutely no agency. She wants to be a successful Policewoman but it’s not really much addressed outside of the first episode and the dream episode (which admittedly, is a good episode and explores each character). She gets told by everyone she’s the heart of the team and super brave and like, she hasn’t got an arc, she pretty much blindly follows the Doctor, she has no reason to be there much other than her family’s a bit annoying.

Her actress plays the scenes well, and there’s some touching moments with her in Rosa and the dream episode about how she is the way she is, why she does the things she does. But 2 episodes out of 20 isn’t enough.

Ryan gets a couple of good episodes, a touching one especially comes with horrors of the future and not being there for his friends plaguing his mind, and he manages to get help for his depressed friend, which is touching.

But the two episodes? That’s kind of it.

Ryan gets a nice Dalek episode though.

Orphan 55

The worst episode in Doctor Who. Took any good faith from Spyfall and plonked S12 in bottom tier before we even got to the retcon.

If I talked about everything it did wrong here this would go on too long.

It was just the worst 45 minutes of DW

At least Sleep No More was just boring.

Character Arcs, What Are They

Graham’s arms give out in season 1 for carrying the team.

The Doctor against Tim Shaw is laughable, there’s no conflict past killing a couple of people, so Graham has to have that moral dilemma instead, Ryan manages to respect him and call him gramps, but that’s more Grahams arc than Ryans. Yaz has nothing, the Doctor learns nothing.

But series 2, the Doctor’s given an arc, which is something, considering that before this it was a throwaway line about Timeless Child from a piece of cloth.

Gallifrey is gone again, the insurance rates at this point are through the roof on this planet, she’s been told the Master did it for learning a terrible truth. But she of course doesn’t explore the ruins until she has to, but ah well, we can live with that, that’s fine in Doctor Who. I’m not even being sarcastic, the Doctor through all iterations isn’t very clever.

It gives her a bit of a mood that’s not really explored too much past that, but then we’re given Jo Martin as The Other Doctor

My opinions on throwing in Doctors from the past aside, (I love you John Hurt but damnit), Jo plays a competent Doctor, and her attitude clashes so well with Jodie that both actresses get to act well in good written scenes.

But then she’s just very confused until Gallifrey rolls around again.

We’ll ignore the retcon, again, but once she learns she gets super fucking pissed. And for good reason. Against the Master, against the Time Lords, against everyone, she’s shouting at everything, lost in her life.

But it’s sorted out very quickly by Jo intervention and then she’s much the same as ever.

Well, I say that, what I mean is “Willing to burn and kill all life on Gallifrey” with a button press. Yeah I know that the Time Lords are dead and the Master is about to kill everyone but you wouldn’t let a Spider be shot through mercy killing and you expect me to jump to “Would absolutely murder the Master and desecrate the bodies of the Time Lords”

It doesn’t matter anyway, for she has not the will to do so.

But she lets someone else do it

For fucks sa-

And at the end, what has she learned? That the thing she only knew half an hour ago shouldn’t affect her, so back to status quo

Wasted potential - Monsters

Imagine a super cool idea for a monster? Cool, add it into an episode.

And now get rid of it super quickly or butcher the premise.

REGENERATING CYBERMEN? Let’s have one shoot the other to show how bad it would be and then kill them immediately.

The Pting, capabale of disrupting a ships infrastructure an- Nah, just dick around with the lights.

A TIME TRAVELLING RACIST WHO KNOWS HOW TO FUCK UP THE TIMELINE

Let’s not even reference him 15 episodes later

Cyberman hybrid? 

You get the idea.

The Master, or rather, the Missy Issue

The Master is putting on his best Simms Master homage, and like, I get it. It’s a good Master, and Sacha really puts his all into it.

I can only hope that this Master is before Yana. Missy’s exit was poetic, done well. Of course, just when she could feel ok joining the Doctor, the obstacle in her way was herself. 

It’s not even the fact she died and why is he back now, it’s ... this Master has almost no nuance to him. He wants the Doctor to know the truth, which is at least some Master motives, but then its just wanton destruction for the sake of it. Like Simms but “what if we made him more crazy” The Master is more than this, can be more than this. It was nice seeing Jodie try and relate to him but this Master has thrown out three years of compelling evolution of the character. To throw it all out seems ... odd.

I can’t fault his performance though, he can be real damn quiet and sinister and really out there when he’s screaming at things.

The episodes themselves

Good cast, good side characters, good ideas, butchered in execution by not exploring the main cast, falling flat on the ideas and by the second season, losing the fun side characters.

Episodes I liked

Woman Who Fell To Earth

Rosa

Demons of the Punjab

WitchFinders

Takes You Away

Fugitive of the Judoon

Can you Hear me

Episodes I hated

Orphan 55

Arachnids

The Timeless Children

The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos (for cutting everything short)

Everything else was mostly unmemorable I fell asleep on Ascension of the Cybermen, had to rewind it.

The Retcon

You knew this was coming.

I put it last for I feel there’s a hundred and one issues here and it’d be cruel to just go for the obvious first. Maybe people would think I’d be against this one thing and that’s why I hate the rest. God no, I was so annoyed going into this episode, let alone for what it was about to deliver.

I don’t outright hate past Doctors. Hell, shove the brains of Morbius in there. It shits a bit on Hartnell and established lore a bit, but still.

“But the Brains of Morbius said-“

The eighth doctor said he was half-human, there are some bits of this canon we ignore.

But oh well, it’s not the main crux of the issue.

The Doctor, before this, was a Time Lord. He wasn’t much of a good one, by Time Lord standards at least. Ran from the schism, wasn’t as good as the Master in school, didn’t like the stuffy nature of his race, or their non-intervention policy. Ran off in a stolen ship with a knackered console and wanted to see the universe.

He flouted the rules. He stood up for people where Time Lords wouldn’t. Observe, don’t intervene. But the Doctor couldn’t, too curious, too inquisitive. He got a fondness for humans, god knows why. 

But this Time Lord was against his own people, he was kinder than them, but alien to us. He wanted to learn, and left his planet to see if there was good in the universe. He was a rather shit Time Lord but helped where he could, making a difference in other people’s lives, trying to be the best he could be, learning.

This got him into trouble with the Time Lords of course, but, hey, it’s a funny old universe.

And we like that, as British folk. An underdog common person just trying to help out and be good.

What we’re not a fan of is saying the the Doctor isn’t just some Time Lord that likes helping out, but a chosen one who is the reason that Time Lords exist in the first place and is of another dimensional world and there were 50 of them and they knew kung fu in the super secret Time Lord service but they wiped her mind because it was super secret guys and she can live forever and is immortal and-

I was annoyed when the 50th made a slight mockery of the Time War. I get we don’t always have to stick so closely to canon, but holy shit the Timeless Child.

The fact it was exposition dumped on us and then wrapped up 10 minutes after with NEW ADVENTURES AT CHRISTMAS was just the icing on the cake.

If you wanted to pull this off, this should have been the Doctor’s struggle for the next season, coming to terms that her life is missing, that the Time Lords did this, that she didn’t even know what was right or not

But no, resolved. Felt not like adding to the lore but upending it on its head to say he could.

It’s why I don’t blame Jodie, who does an excellent job. Or the cast.

I blame Chibnall.

And it wouldn’t be as bad if the writing leading up to it helped serve the episode. But there was nothing there. 

Conclusion

The writing is trash, the Doctor is underdeveloped, the cast outside of Graham aren’t explored, the setup for the finales are weak and uninspired, the retcons are going to cause major issues down the line and you’ve changed the very nature of the Doctor’s character and didn’t even have good writing behind it nor did much to explore it.

And I’m sorry it had to happen to such a good casting decision.

Here’s hoping you sign on to Big Finish and they give you some good storylines Jodie, you deserve it.

[sugar--pie]

Originally when I found out about the DW thing regarding this new season, and sooner came to discover the tweets from Barlee. I became really upset. I’m still upset.

Keith and Lance and their dynamic, has been one of the best things I loved about Voltron. But I know for a fact it was initially meant t happen. There’s way too much proof, even in season 7. Even if others didn’t see it.

So finding out that it might’ve just been tossed away because DreamWorks didn’t want it... or didn’t give permission... really hit hard.

But as I lay here, with my pillow being soaked with tears... I thought about Barlees tweets again.

Being fair, they couldn’t say all that much, so it’s very much obscure towards what it could mean. But I ... might be able to give some hope towards this. Even if I could be wrong.

First off, Barlee acknowledges that the situation isn’t good and that we have a right to be upset. And from OUR POINT OF VIEW it doesn’t look good. But there is more to the story.

Now I feel like some people are maybe taking her words of “they’re allowed to feel upset by the end result...” a little out of context.

I will dive more into this in a second, but I just want to quickly point out Barlee is being very clear in that the people who also work on Voltron, do care about proper rep and did want what was best for us.

This is where the idea of being Queerbaited came from. Overall Marketing and Netflix had minds of their own, and that’s where the “official videos being tagged Klance” and the obscure tweets by Netflix originally came into play, when they weren’t meant to. This is where the posters Netflix(?) made of Shiro with Adam behind him, and the Keith poster with Lance being behind him, came into action. They only watched the show like the rest of us, so assumed that was the direction as well. They probably had minimal insight into what’s going on, so If any queerbait was involved it was ultametly just the marketing team. Not the show runners themselves who didn’t have any say in what gets shown, tagged or previewed.

Now getting back into this, and why “they’re allowed to be upset with the final result” stands out to me.

A lot of people are saying that “patching up” the “incomplete story” is referring to making Allura and Lance endgame. Lance was promised one, so that’s what their doing. But in all honesty that doesn’t line up for me.

DreamWorks is believed to have not been allowing the team to go through with their original rep and storyline in the first place. It’s rumoured that Shadam and Klance were fought for, but were never allowed... until a certain point, that as Barlee says here, she didn’t even know about until right before the sdcc premier.

This here implies, that they were given permission for rep at some point in time, and not everyone who worked on Voltron were given this insight.

Now this could easily just be making Shiro the only rep, but when you consider them “patching up” after finally being allowed to put in rep, implies they are still fixing up a lot to include the rep, but what else would they need to patch up, if Shiro and Adam had nothing happen, nor did Shiro point out there’s more to him then we saw. That’s why so much changed easily just by allowing the rep to happen. That’s probably why Shiro was thrown in so quickly to being gay rep, and why there wasn’t any Adam and Shiro except a new recording.

I would like to remind you all, that there was another few recordings done for Shiro and Adam, and I believe an actual scene that was suppose to happen. (Don’t take my word for it). So they may have had scenes and audio ready, it maybe never got a chance to use them as they had to change things.

This is where the whole improvisation comes in. They had to improvise to make Shiro as gay. It’s not what we wanted nor was hyped up to be. They just fit it in cause they were only allowed to recently.

Coming back to this tweet. Barlee says that because of the improvisation, much of the rest of the creators didnt get to do everything THE WAY they planned. This is where I think Klance might still be happening.

“They did what they could to patch it up.”

Barlee never once in any of the tweets implies that they are pulling through with Allura being Lance’s endgame just cause it was promised he’d get one.

The Voltron showrunners were given permission for the rep. It may not be how it was originally planned, so that’s what they’re patching up.

That’s why this season doesnt make sense in terms of all the Keith and Lance interactions that demonstrated them being exactly what they were meant to be, a good team, and most importantly, together. There was more scenes of Keith and Lance, (and even one or two scenes heavily implying Lance where he is feeling something towards Keith), compared to the one or two Allura and Lance scenes implying a romance between them.

“They didn’t get to do everything the way THEY PLANNED.” Implying they’re still doing everything they originally wanted... but not in the way that they saw was more fitting. Combine this with the fact they were given permission for rep... I don’t think Shiro is the only rep allowed. Also combine that with the Keith and Lance heavily implied development this season ... both original planned reps were probably given...

Bro. I’ve stopped crying.

“I think they tried to patch it up as best they could once they were allowed to.”

This. Tweet. Right here. No where does it sound like Barlee is implying Lance isn’t getting an endgame with Keith. This is starting to look more like :

“Originally, what was planned was Keith and Lance from season 1-3. However it wasn’t allowed after that and they had to improvise. Eventually rep was allowed, and now they had to not only improvize but patch up anything to try and make sense of it again.”

I’d also like to include that Seaosn 8 isn’t finished yet, most likely BECAUSE they have to “patch things up.”

It isn’t going to feel satisfying because everything is so rushed, since they only got the okay to do it now. It’s not being made the way it was originally planned. So yes, Keith and Lance are still most likely going to happen. But it won’t be the way they originally wanted for the show or for us. That’s why everything is so quick and bumpy, and why Acxa (a side character who all of a sudden is brought in) and Allura (someone who just had their heart horrifically broken) are probably being implied as Romantic towards the two, Keith and Lance respectively.

I wouldn’t be surprised in Seaosn 8 if they pulled the lame use of Jealousy or pining to bring Keith and Lance together. It initially was meant to be slowburn — These two coming together throughout the story. But they had to, again, IMPROVISE.

Allura and Acxa are mostly likely a part of this “patching up” situation. And the ending won’t be satisfying because not only will these two probably be thrown somewhat under the bus... (hopefully respectfully), they will also make Allura realize feelings for Lance and him coming to realize, no, you’re not the one for me. They’ll also probably use Acxa as a segue to make Lance maybe jealous? Or realize his feelings as he assumes something is happening between her and Keith.

I of course do not like this sort of scenario at all. But that’s the only logical way I can see Acxa being brought into this and being implied to have a crush on Keith, and Allura suddenly has feelings for Lance. If they just wanted to have Lance end up with someone cause it was promised, they would’ve left Acxa out. Keith wasn’t promised an endgame. Throwing her in wouldn’t make sense, unless it was for this purpose.

“It won’t be satisfying to a lot of ppl, and I certainly do not fault them for that.if they had gotten to do what was originally planned, people would feel better about the season.”

So many people were disappointed that not only Lance and Allura being implied to be getting together even after Allura’s heartbreak (besides some of the actual shippers which, y’know, ship them), but also Acxa and Keith out of nowhere, on top of Adam dying without seeing Shiro. This isnt what was suppose to happen. But again, they’re patching up what they can.

—-

“...they’re allowed to feel upset by the end result...”

I’m bringing this back down, to tie all of this together. From everything I’ve gathered. Klance... is still pretty much happening. Or at least, 95% happening as this is sheer speculation on my part.

But to sum up, the showrunners wanted an actual LGBT based plot line, following Keith and Lance. That was initially the slowburn. And it still somewhat counts as slowburn, since they’ve kept the previous development and brought in more interactions and development for them, including the subtleties within Season 4, and end of Season 6 - more than I originally expected to see compared to Allura and Lance. It will feel rushed, but they had to improvise and patchup what they could because they only got permission to go through with it recently, and everything they wanted originally isn’t being done they way they planned.

Allura and Acxa may get thrown under the bus next season, but hopefully it’s not a disservice to their characters. And in terms of Adam and Shiro, people have a right to be upset about it. Ultametly, fans were queerbaited, but not by showrunners, they were baited by the marketing team who exploited not only the LGBT, but also the largest portion of the fandom, the Klance ship.

BUT THAT WAS NOT THE SHOWRUNNERS FAULT. They cared about Rep and they’ve always been advocates. They couldn’t give what they wanted from the beginning because they didn’t have a choice. And now they have permission, and have to do what they can to work back to what they originally planned in a short amount of time, and try to make sense do things again, even though it’ll be rushed and won’t be as satisfying as it should’ve been.

And they know we have a right to be upset with an unsatifying result. Even if it ends with Klance.

So. Did I manage to somehow restore faith for myself? Oh yes. But knowing the posts I make, this will get like 2 notes. But please! BOOST THIS. I think people need to think of this a little better.

And once again be patient. Patience yields focus.

Edit: So I have discovered that these did not refer to Klance. I admit I even took these out of context, HOWEVAH! I still made a post, and gUYS I HAD AN EPIPHANY TODAY AND I REALLY THINK YOU ALL NEED TO READ IT! Please!!! Because, even if it does not happen on canon, which seems like it might not, even though please consider reading!

Keith and Lance have had major roles in each other arcs, even if they weren’t romantic ones! But they have definitely grown into best friends at least, and that’s still a beautiful, beautiful thing! And they’ll be by eachothers sides even after the series ends.

Because that’s what Klance is. Keith and Lance, back to back.

[nancywheelxr]

okay this is probably a romcom plot, but: please imagine Brainy being set up on a dating app by someone, only he uses a fake name so nobody knows he's an alien, and at the same time, Kara gets convinced to join a dating app by Alex. Kara and Brainy end up matched with each other and agree to a date, hilarity ensues.

Are you kidding me? I absolutely love romcom tropes. Give me all the cliches. And the comedic potential of this one? Off the charts. The pining? Unbelievable.  love it.

“This is a terrible idea,” Brainy says, but makes no move to retrieve his phone from Winn’s clutches, only sighing in defeat when it chirps with a notification.

“Excuse me? This is an awesome idea,” Winn calls, not bothering to look up from the screen. There are a lot of fields to fill up and it’s kind of hard when you have to literally make half of it up as he goes. Dating apps were not made for people without a normal, sane, human backstory; for some reason, alien might be kind of a turn off for some people– or the beginning of a Criminal Minds episode, depending on your luck. “Are you sure we’re going with Barney, though? It’s a little too purple dinosaur, isn’t it?”

“But it’s my coffee and pizza name, and since you said my true name might be more of a third date thing,” Brainy makes a face as he recites his early argument. But it’s true, Winn’s right on that, this is a hill is prepared to die on, especially because it is a crucial part of their super secret plan. “It will be easier for me to answer to that, instead of a completely new alias.”

“Fine, fine,” he rolls his eyes. Thank god for mathematical algorithms that don’t take embarrassing names into account. The app promises to match people according to their interests and personality traits, bragging about connecting people with the love of their lives. It’s all very anti-Tinder, and Winn isn’t sure where he’s standing on that, but whatever. Who cares about morals, they have to think of the bigger picture here– the whole thing is useful and that’s what matters. “Here, you’re all set up. Now all you have to do is wait, soon enough the app will match you with a guy, gal, or non-binary pal. If you don’t like ‘em, swipe left and try again.”

“And this is supposed to show me my soulmate?” The disbelief is clear on his voice, matching with the unimpressed look he levels his phone.

“Well, not really, but you know. Someone, mathematically, it thinks would be good with you, someone you match with.” Winn shrugs, dropping his phone on his lap and standing up. He yawns, stretching, and starts slowly backing away to the door, “damn, look at the time, it’s so late, I should get going, but hey– don’t delete the app. Have some patience, ye of little faith.”

“Thank you, I suppose, although I did not ask you to do this,” Brainy pauses, frowning up at Winn. “In fact, you were the one that insisted.”

“And you’re welcome,” Winn salutes him, grinning like the cat who knows he’s got the cream, “I’m just looking out for you, man. That’s what friends are for, right?”

“Yes, indeed,” he agrees, watching him go with suspicion on his eyes and phone on his hand, “how thoughtful.”

“Yup, that’s me, Mr.Thoughtful. See you around, call if you need any help with the app!” Winn holds his breath until the cool, night air hits his face, then he breathes out, pulling up his own phone to text the eagle has landed.

we’re also a go here, is the answer a few seconds later.

great, operation stop the pining before we murder one of them is a go, he sends back.

yeah, we’re not calling it that

Im working on it, dw, Winn grins, already hailing a cab. He’s got some work to do at home.

*

“Alex, why do you hate me so?” Kara asks seriously, pillow hugged angrily to her chest, “this is a terrible idea! It’s literally how dozens of Law & Order episodes start. Or CSI. Or literally any other cop show.”

“Except Brooklyn 99,” Alex answers idly, more worried about setting up Kara’s profile on the app. “And don’t be melodramatic, there was no Tinder at that time.”

“It’s the same thing!” She whines from her side of the couch, “I’m your sister, why are you insisting on being accessory to my murder?”

“That’s incorrect, just because you’ve watched every season of Suits on Netflix, it doesn’t mean you know how to use legal jargon,” Alex types away, cleaning up her sister’s backstory so it fits better, nothing that could raise any potential flags. Just in case. They can never be too careful. “Here, it’s ready.”

Kara picks up her phone with the tip of her fingers as if it would suddenly blow up on their faces. She narrows her eyes, reading her brand new profile with judgemental eyes. “Not bad,” she says loftily, “but I stand by what I said. This is dumb. An algorithm can’t possibly know who I will or will not fall in love with– this is clearly preying on people’s desire to be loved, and on the whole myth created around true love, and–”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” she stops her tirade, easing the pillow from her fingers before Kara could rip something apart. “You don’t think it’s gonna work, that’s fair, I don’t think that either. But this is not about finding your one true love bullshit. It’s about you putting yourself out there and having some fun! And this app? It’s just going to narrow it down, make it a little easier for you, showing you people that share the same interests as you.”

The familiar, telltale crinkle dissolves from her face, but Kara still looks down dubiously at her screen. “Fine, ugh. But I’m giving it one go. If it crashes and burns like I know it will, it’s over. Deal?”

Alex grins, “deal.” She glances at the clock, startling when her own phone buzzes. the eagle has landed, the text reads. Alex bites back an even wider grin, texting back, we’re also a go here. “Hey, Kara? I think I’m heading home now, I need to swing by the grocery store.”

“Sure,” Kara replies easily, yawning and falling down on the empty spot on the couch, “I’ll call you if anything exciting happens, like my untimely murder.”

great, operation stop the pining before we murder one of them is a go, comes in the next text and Alex snorts, calling back distractedly, “yeah, yeah, you do that. Lunch tomorrow, don’t forget.”

“You’re way too blasé about this!” is the last thing she hears before the door closes. yeah, we’re not calling it that, she answers, rolling her eyes. Good, step one went down smoothly, now all they have left to do is wait, and hope Winn holds up his end of the plan.

Im working on it, dw

hack away, she sends, pocketing her phone. Step two is a go.

*

Barney, you have a match! Kara is waiting for you to say hi!

*

Kara, you have a match! Barney is waiting for you to say hi!

[memes-saved-me]

Song analysis:

It’s Never Too Late by Steppenwolf from 13x05’s final scene

(This will probs be very destiel, so if you don’t like that sort of thing don’t read or do. It’s you’re life)

So the show only used the last verse and chorus but I thought I’d look into the entire song to see what it’s meaning was and all that.

In my research I couldn’t find the song writer saying exactly what it ment but I did find someone’s interpretation that goes extremely well with the episode.

“This song is about how people react to their lives. They think that they are so far along that it is too late to change their direction. Like he says, man, "it’s never too late to start all over again”.“

Like I said it goes perfectly with where the boys are at this point. Especially Dean.

Anyway let’s go through the song,

Your eyes are moist, you scream and shout

This is a direct reference to Dean’s "but I can’t moment”. He does exactly what the line says.

As though you were a man possessed

This is almost ironic for both of them and for the series as a whole. Except in a metaphorical sense Dean is possessed by the grief of losing Cas and his mother. It again fits perfectly with the “but I can’t” moment.

From deep inside comes rushing forth. All the anguish you suppressed

Dean had kept his feelings suppressed just like he always does and eventually it all came out in a long emotional speech. The “but I can’t” moment again.

Up on your wall hangs your degree

Neither of them have a “degree” in anything except really saving the world. This line could be seen as them acknowledging what they have done but still feeling as if they’ve accomplished nothing because of what they lost to do it. That’s why it’s just hanging there on the wall.

Your parents craved so much for you

This is about Mary. She never wanted the boys to be hunters and yet they became the best known hunters ever. They save the world and yet they wish they had a normal life where someone else did.

And though you’re trained to make your mark

They have left their mark on the world but not so everyone can see it and know what they’ve done. This links to the carving “DW” and “SW” in the table scene.

You still don’t quite know what to do

They keep saving the world and yet they don’t know exactly who they are sometimes. Dean now more than ever.

I’m going to go over the chorus at the end so…

It’s never too late to start all over again

To love the people you caused the pain

And help them learn your name

Oh, no, not too late

It’s never too late to start all over again

Well, it’s much to late to start again

This is the way in which Dean now sees the world. “What gets burned, stays dead”. This time he doesn’t believe that Cas can come back and start again. The same goes for Mary. He’s lost faith.

To try and find a little bliss

Sam is trying to make good of Jack and Dean needs a win. They need something good to keep going.

So on your woman and your child

This is a major stretch but Jack is the child and I hate myself for saying this but Cas is the women. Dean needs to find a good thing but all he has is Jack just like Sam but he can’t even look at the kid nevermind use him to keep going.

You release your bitterness

This is Dean letting go of his hate for Jack. We’ve seen it in 13x04 and we’ll see it more throughout the season. Castiel coming back will only make that easier for Dean.

You drift apart some more each day

Dean is drifting apart from Sam and Jack as the days go on after Mary and Castiel die. He again does exactly what the line says.

You feel the guilt and loneliness

There isn’t even anything to say about this. It’s just how Dean is feeling.

And the God of your childhood you can’t find

Dean has lost faith and God isn’t answering his calls. The faith and push he had when he was younger is gone.

To save you from your emptiness

Dean is trying to convince himself that he’s useless and that he doesn’t matter but like Billy said he does. He’s trying to numb himself from the pain and emptiness by ignoring it and letting himself lose faith.

It’s never too late to start all over again

To love the people you caused the pain

And help them learn your name

Oh, no, not too late

It’s never too late to start all over again

You say you’ve only got one life to live

Dean believes this is his last go. No more do overs after this one. He wants to die just like Billy said. Also this is about the life in general. The two of them will always be hunters. They can’t live any other life.

And when your dead your gone

This again relates to Dean believing this is the end for everyone; himself, Cas and Mary. Also again “What gets burned, stays dead”

Your family comes to your grave

The burning of Cas and Kelly is what this line is about. Sam, Dean and Jack are Castiel and Kelly’s family.

And with tears in their eyes

Dean has cried multiple times since they burned the bodies. Even before. Jack has also cried.

They tell you, you did something wrong

Dean thinks Jack is to blame for Mary and Cas being dead. Also them both going after Lucifer was the wrong choice to make.

“You left us alone”

God has left them to pick up the pieces yet again.

This is where the lyrics begin playing in the episode so if you haven’t seen it then don’t let me ruin this amazing moment.

Tell me who’s to say after all is done

When will it be done? When can they retire in a sense. Leave the life.

And you’re finally gone, you won’t be back again

Again this is how Dean sees things now. Dead people don’t come back anymore, “what gets burned, stays dead”.

You can find a way to change today

Sam tries to cheer Dean up and help him deal with everything but Dean is over it and just tired of everything they have to deal with.

You don’t have to wait ‘til then

They don’t have to wait around for Castiel and Mary to come back but they are. Well Dean is. He can’t see a purpose without Cas.

This plays as Dean and Cas see eachother again for the first time. Also let me just emphasise on the fact they don’t show Sam’s reaction. Only Dean and Cas. Everything in this scene was planned and thought through so it isn’t just an accident that Cas only looks at Dean with tears in his eyes. I have no doubt that Sam and Cas are happy to see eachother and of course they care about eachother but the cinematography in this scene is so destiel heavy it hurts.

It’s never to late to start all over again

Like I said this plays when they see eachother again. Dean has faith and now knows he can start again. So does Castiel.

To love the people you caused the pain

Castiel’s death caused Dean a hell of a lot of pain and now he can be there for him. Along with the fact Dean will now forgive Jack and begin to trust him.

And help them learn your name

I’m not too sure about this line to be honest but all I can think of is Castiel again helping Dean with his pain and helping him find what he needs to do, along with who he is.

Oh, no, not too late

Again Dean’s idea of the world is changed within seconds upon seeing Cas.

It’s never too late to start all over again

I think if I say it again I’ll jump out of a window so I won’t bother with this last one.

I’d like to applaud the person who picked this song because it is absolutely perfect👏👏

Also if I missed anything or made any mistakes please say

A little destiel bonus:

Everything in a scene is thought through and designed so it is no accident that the phone box says “one” in this shot of Castiel looking at Dean with tears in his eyes.

[thekingofsadness]

I might as well write about this in one post since they’re very similar topics. Just as a summary though, I don’t think Huang Hao would work in DW at all. At best, MAYBE an NPC but not someone I want in the game as a playable character. Honestly, I’d like Liu Feng in the game because he acts as a good example of the change between Liu Bei’s rule to Liu Shan’s.

Why do I not want Huang Hao? Well he never really participated in any battles. By all intents and purposes he’s a coward: all bark and no bite, if you will, regardless of if we are talking about history or fantasy. More than that however, he undermines the principle of DW’s Liu Shan: that Liu Shan is not in fact a fool but instead a genius in his own right. He’s not Shu’s counterpart to Jia Chong, and he will never fill that role. Not in DW nor in history.

See, adding Huang Hao in other fictional adaptations is fine but in DW, this portrays Liu Shan in a negative light—the bad kind of negative light, that is. Huang Hao’s main role should he be in the game is to corrupt and sway Liu Shan’s opinions, blind the emperor from the true injustices of the world before him. But that’s not something that should be done in DW because it does not make for a good ending. The fight between Shu and Jin, between Liu Shan and Sima Zhao, that is the final boss battle. Two rulers of similar personality and backgrounds coming to two different conclusions, facing each other in the battle that will mark the beginning of the end. It’d only make sense to make Liu Shan slowly but surely become more confident in the role that he plays, a worthy opponent for Sima Zhao. Letting Huang Hao into the game and belittle the emperor strips the meaning behind this final confrontation. Letting Sima Zhao fight his intellectual equal is more satisfying than Sima Zhao fighting this idiotic emperor that believes whatever someone tells him.

While it is certainly possible to hint at the slow corruption of Liu Shan’s court, I think a better way to portray the fall of Shu is the decay of the people’s faith in Liu Shan as a ruler, the slow but sure realisation that Shu’s view of benevolence and restoring the Han has been corrupted. It starts with the death of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Liu Bei is forced to kill Liu Feng for not doing his duty, which of course traumatises Liu Shan. Then Liu Bei dies and the whole of Shu is in grief. Sun Shangxiang secludes herself, Liu Shan is forced to become emperor yet because of his age and the rumours surrounding him, nobody takes him seriously. Zhuge Liang steps in and eases the people’s suffering, becoming the unofficial leader until Liu Shan is ready.

It’s not that Liu Shan is a bad ruler but rather it’s the power of opinion. People think he is only a figurehead, only good at talking, and that leads people to do their own thing. Disobeying the emperor and following the advice of others (e.g. Jiang Wei, Zhuge Liang), Shu begins to crumble. I want Shu in DW to fall. I want Shu to be so blinded to the chaos around them that they lose sight of their true goal: peace, and benevolence. I want Liu Shan to know what needs to be done but unable to bring it fully into fruition, unable to truly bring over people to see the world from his eyes. People are fighting for Liu Bei’s ideals of benevolence instead of Liu Shan’s ideals of peace, and that makes Shu deteriorate.So how does Liu Feng fit into this? He’s basically like Sima Shi in role. He represents what could have been. A bright, strong, talented individual who wants to help his brother, his life cut short, his death the catalyst in letting his brother realise what it means to be a ruler. He comes in somewhere after Chibi in terms of timeline, helps out in a few battles as a general. Not too important but wise as well as strong, and always has something to say about the battle and always has some advice for his brother, who eats it up like candy and loves him like he’s his world. He buddies up with Guan Ping, they have some cool back-to-back moments together and then they both die. Liu Feng surrendered his life so that others may live. Liu Shan’s most ardent supporter, the only one who knew how smart Liu Shan is, dead. And with it dies Shu’s dream of peace. Everybody mourns Guan Yu and Guan Ping. Nobody mourns Liu Feng. And I want that moment to mean something, to let Liu Shan understand the concept of sacrifice.I think Liu Feng fulfills better the role Huang Hao could take in that he predicts the downfall of Shu. He knows when to surrender, knows when to give up when push comes to shove, and I want his surrender to echo what Liu Shan will later do. More importantly though, Liu Feng does this while still keeping a good light on Liu Shan.Basically, I want Liu Shan to be the antithesis of Sima Zhao. I want DW9 to concentrate on two opposing ideas for Shu and Jin and I want their leaders to epitomise it much like Cao Cao is all about ‘ambition’ and Liu Bei’s all about ‘benevolence’. Let Liu Shan be ‘peace’ and Sima Zhao be ‘necessary evil’. Those two have the most interesting dynamic in the game and, if done well, can make a really good final battle and a satisfying conclusion to DW’s story. That was a big tangent from what you said but I felt I had to explain my ‘grand vision’ if you will so you understand why I’m not too hot on Huang Hao being included. So many people hate Liu Shan already so anything that can be done that can make Liu Shan more likeable and interesting as a character is all I can really ask for.

[evieswritingjournal]

Please help me name my fic!

Usually I manage to work out a name for a WIP before I finish it, but a name for this one has alluded me despite being finished. So I thought I’d throw it out to my followers and anyone else that stumbles across this so give me a hand. If you can also point out any mistakes I’d appreciate it. This is also a sneak peek before I post it to Fanfiction and AO3!

This is a Holby City/Doctor Who crossover fanfiction, featuring Bernie Wolfe (HC) and Kate Stewart (DW) as twin sisters, with mentions of Kate/Osgood and Bernie/Serena.

I’ve only seen bits of Holby City so I hope I haven’t got Bernie’s character completely wrong, but the plot bunny bit so I had to write this (I’m such a hurt/comfort junkie).

My theory on the names based on Doctor Who canon - both of them changed their surnames so they could have their military careers without the influence of their father. Whilst Kate just dropped the Lethbridge, Bernie changed it to a variation of her childhood nickname (Kate was canonically called Tiger by her dad so Bernie being called Wolf would fit the theme). I’ve read other Holby City/Doctor Who crossovers where Kate calls Bernie ‘Wolfie’ which I loved so much I included the nickname here.

It was the incessant, rhythmic beeping that Kate Stewart was first aware of as she started to wake up. Second was the smell of antiseptic and bleach itching at her nose. Third, as she fought her way through the fog of sleep, was the vague feeling of pain radiating out from her left side, but was distant and disconnected, as if the pain belonged to someone else.

She blinked open her eyes, confused to be staring up at a strange white ceiling far above her. This was not her bedroom. Where was she?

The beeping started to speed up as she struggled to lift her head, automatically trying to search for danger. There was movement to her right, a figure standing, and she flinched away, pain suddenly spiking from her side.

The figure moved closer and sat at her pain free side, hands restraining her shoulders.

“Easy, Tiger,” said the figure in a calm and soothing voice. “You’ve been banged up quite a bit.” Kate tried to focus on the face of the figure and was surprised to find it one she knew. There were only two people in the world who called her Tiger and one was her late father.

“...Wolfie?” It was Bernie, her twin sister. What was she doing here, wherever here was?

“Hi Kate. What have you been up to this time?” Kate relaxed back onto the bed, the beeping slowing once more, and looked around, trusting her sister to keep her safe. She was lying in a bed, attached to several machines and she had an IV line snaking out from her left forearm. Either side of her were blue curtains, blocking her view to the rest of what she assumed was a ward. It was quiet and the lights were dimmed. Bernie, sat on the bed next to her hip, was wearing dark blue scrubs and her blond hair was a mess, as per usual.

“Where am I?” She asked.

“Holby City Hospital, Trauma Unit. Do you remember what happened to you?”

“No. I…” she paused and tried to get her foggy brain to cooperate. “Bernie…?” Kate reached out towards her twin, seeking comfort. “It’s ok,” said Bernie, taking her sister’s hand and rubbing the long fingers with her own. “The morphine is making you confused.”

“Was there an explosion? I think I remember fire, and then pain.” Bernie nodded in confirmation.

“You had the worst injuries out of the five that were hurt. You had a piece of shrapnel lodged in your side but surgery got it out. You’ll be as good as new in a few weeks. The others were all left with cuts and bruises, nothing serious. Osgood told me the basics of what happened, once I managed to persuade her that I did have the right clearance level, whilst you were in theatre. She’ll fill you in with more detail in the morning.”

“Osgood?” Kate suddenly remembered that her faithful scientist was at her side just before the explosion hit. “Where is she? Is she ok?”

“I managed to persuade her to have a nap in the on-call room, she was exhausted. After being patched up in A&E she refused to leave your side.” A sly smile spread across Bernie’s face. “Is there something you haven’t told me about the two of you?”

“Wolfie, we are just colleagues and good friends.” Kate pauses, a warm smile spreading across her own face. “Although there certainly is potential for more.”

“So why haven’t you done anything about it. You both obviously have feelings for each other.”

“We’ve been too busy. Though after this perhaps I should make the first move.”

“Make sure you do. Don’t make me pretend to be you and ask her out. I still haven’t got you back for doing that to me when we were 12. I would have asked Jenny out eventually!”

“No you wouldn’t, Wolfie. You were always a bit shy when it came to feelings. Remind me how long it was before you admitted your feelings to Serena?”

“Too long, I get it. Just don’t don’t make my mistake with Osgood.”

“I won’t. I’ll drag her into my office by that darn scarf and I’ll tell her.” Bernie lets out a surprised laugh.

“Kate, you’re too doped up to be having this conversation. If I keep going you’ll probably tell me stuff you’ll regret when the morphine wears off, if you haven’t already!”

“Hmmm, probably.” Kate shut her eyes, a smile on her face, overtaken by a floating feeling of calm.

“Go to sleep, Tiger,” said Bernie, pressing a kiss to her sister’s forehead. “I’ve got to get back on shift. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kate faintly hums back, breaths already lengthening into sleep and hand slackening within the grip of her twin’s.

Bernie took one long last look at Kate before leaving, relieved that she was safe, if not entirely sound, then goes back to the rest of her shift.

~End.~

[winchester-writes]

Fearful Love Part 9

Jared Padalecki x Reader

Word Count: 1,325

Warnings: nothing really....

Summary: I’m horrible at these so I’m not even going to give one for this part.

A/N: So what you’re about to read is actual shit. I almost deleted the whole thing idk how many fucking times....anyways...I kept my promise on getting something out tonight even though it’s absolute trash....beta’d by the @mamapeterson (honestly I wouldn’t have posted if she didn’t fix all of the horrible mistakes) and feedback(negative or positive) is greatly appreciated!!

Fearful Love Masterlist

Later that night, Jared kept his promise and took you out to dinner at the steak restaurant the two of you would go to with everyone else. Picking that place again strictly because he knew how much you loved the macaroni and cheese. 

“Uhm, is there a possibility to get bacon added into the mac ‘n cheese?” You questioned the waiter who gave a funny look, but wrote it down on his notepad regardless. “Thanks!”

Jared couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he tried not to laugh, sitting in a high class restaurant and bursting into a fit of laughter wouldn’t be ideal.

“What? What’s so funny?” you asked, trying not to laugh yourself.

“Just his face when you asked for bacon, no one has probably asked that before. I’ll be surprised if they actually do that.” Jared chuckled as he reached across the table to hold your hand, “You’re definitely one of a kind Y/N, that’s why I love you so much.”

You blushed under his gaze, turning your own towards the table before looking up at him through your lashes. “Thank you.”

After the perfect dinner, Jared didn’t want it to end just yet, deciding to take you out on a walk around the lake that’s about two blocks from the apartment. Finding a bench close to the water, he pulled you close and leaned his cheek against the top of your head. “Ya know, I’ve never been happier than when I’m with you. Out of everything that’s happened in my life….I never pictured getting such a beautiful girl to love me.”

Jared looked down at you the moment you looked up at him, a look of pure adoration was sparkling in his eyes, almost taking your breath away, “R-really?”

“Really Y/N.” Jared’s hand came up to cup your cheek as his face got significantly closer to yours. “And after everything we’ve been through, I’m surprised she doesn’t see how much I really do love her.” You had tried to interrupt him, but it’s almost like he read your mind. “Even if she is slightly ‘broken’.”

The moment Jared’s lips touched yours again it was like a fire igniting throughout your entire body. Your world was made right and you never wanted it turned upside down again. A moan...yes, a moan actually escaped your lips. You’re not sure how long it’s been since something like that had come out but it felt nice and if that was the only way to let him know then so be it. You felt him smirk against the kiss before pulling away so his lips could make their way down your neck. Luckily not a lot of people were out walking the lake this late at night.

As Jared’s lips came into contact with your pulse point your breath hitched in the back of your throat, “Jared…”

“Mmmm?”

“Take me home and….” You breathing had become labored as you thought about the words that were about to leave your mouth, “T-take me home and love me.”

The way Jared pulled back and looked at you told you that he knew what you meant. “A-are you sure? I mean….we don’t have to go so fast, we can take things slow and if you’re not ready then we-”

You nod furiously, “Yes, yes, take me home and love me all night.”

Jared smiled wide before grabbing her hand walking back over to the car. His heart rate accelerating just thinking about how he was going to be spending the rest of his night.

Jared sat up in bed in the middle of the night, looking over at the other side of the bed and seeing your bare back facing him as you slept on your stomach, your beautiful face turned towards him, and your hands cuddling the pillow under your head. If his smile could’ve gotten any wider it would have been at that sight. You looked absolutely gorgeous and he hated that he had to get up.

Texting Jensen, he made sure he was waiting outside. Once he got that confirmation he was getting out of the bed as quietly as he could. Jared quickly threw on some clothes and a pair of shoes before making his way downstairs. Making sure to grab his wallet and that note before completely leaving the building.

Both men start to make their trek down to the police station to hopefully get this whole stalking situation taken care of. Once the note was taken in by the police chief, he said he would try his best to figure out what was going on. Jared accepted that, told the chief thank you, and was soon on his way back to his apartment with Jensen. Lucky to have a friend that would stay up half the night just to do this.

Jensen gets a confused expression when he heard a sniffle but realizes what’s going on the moment he looks over at Jared, “Dude are you crying?”

“I just...I’m sorry man. Y/N...she’s just my everything and seeing what that dick has done to her, emotionally and physically. I want nothing more than to carry that burden for her but she’s so stubborn she barely let’s me in. She’s just now accepting the fact that I love her. She keeps repeatedly telling me how broken she is and that I shouldn’t but after tonight….I think she finally might have a firm grip on what’s true.”

Jensen reached out and gave Jared a giant hug, letting him get all of his emotions out without any judgement, like a good friend should. After pulling away and patting a hand on his back they started walking again, “So what happened tonight?”

Jared cleared his throat, “Uhm...we kinda...we uh...slept together.”

“Whoa dude, nice one!” Jensen laughed as Jared blushed, thinking about the event that had occurred just hours ago.

The two boys split ways after a while of talking on the corner of the street. Jensen heading down the opposite street towards his apartment.

Right as Jared got to the corner diagonal from his apartment, he saw a black van screech to a halt in front of the doors. A tall red headed woman dressed in black stepped out of the drivers side as three men completely dressed in black and ski masks get out from the side door. Jared rushed over a pile of bushes as his heart rate picked up, hiding behind them, watching the three men run inside while the woman watched over the van. He was curious as to what they were doing, afraid to step in just in case they were armed. However, he did get their license plate number to give off to the police later on.

What he saw next though he wasn’t prepared for. The three men were carrying out a giant blanket but it was thrashing about. Was that a person kicking about in there? Then he heard a scream before they threw the blanket wrapped person inside of the van. Right as they were about to shut the door he heard another scream and then complete silence. The scream was his name. That was Y/N screaming for him to save her.

When the van took off, Jared ran out from behind the bushes, screaming, “NO!” Jared ran and ran down the street until his body gave out on him, collapsing onto his knees in the middle of the street, tears streaming down his face. He had no idea who these people were, if they even knew you, or just picked a random room in the apartment building to kidnap someone from. All he did know was that you were now missing and gone without so much as an inkling as to where you might be.

Fearful Love Tag List **CLOSED**(If you’re crossed out it wouldn’t let me tag you): @abaddonwithyall, @pada-ackles, @balthazars-muse, @bookshido, @sincerelysaraahh, @demondean-for-kingofhell, @oriona75, @kittenofdoomage, @faith-in-dean, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @writingbeautifulmen, @waywardlullabies, @one-shots-supernatural , @winchesterenthusiast, @manawhaat, @aprofoundbondwithdean, @fangirl1802, @bringmesomepie56, @paigeinastory, @dancingalone21, @jerkbitchidjitassbutt, @latinenglishfandomblog, @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid, @mysteriouslyme81, @tardis-is-mine, @lunatrixlupin, @angel-allie-winchester, @http-loveyou, @spn-dw, @pretty-odd-jen, @faegal04, @jared-padaloveme, @savvythedork, @crossroads-deanmon, @nicolejones412, @fabthemunster, @iamnotsaneatall, @evyiione, @skathan-omaha, @fandom-whore2point0, @atc74, @xtina2191, @arrwow, @deaninathighholster, @too-much-winchester, @smoothdogsgirl, @blacktithe7, @moose-lyfe, @crzcorgi, @waiting4thedoctor, @jpadjackles, @impalaimagining, @deanwinchesterisamazing, @wrong-universe, @elliewinchesterr, @supernatural-jackles, @sortaathief, @gecko9596, @ambocalypse, @sherrilynn67, @jensen-gal, @demonic-meatball, @nothin-after-79, @maui137, @ellen-reincarnated1967, @arryn-nyx, @love-kittykat21, @iamnotsaneatall, @jayankles, @devilgirlsarah, @poukothenerd, @moonstar86, @allieyolo123, @delessapeace-blog, @missdestiel67, @fangirlingfanatic2442, @bemyqueenofdarkness, @hexparker, @missdestiel67, @malecsunshine, @piketori1432, @charliebradbury1104, @mogaruke, @thewhisperingfox, @evyione, @thevioletthourr

[lifes-a-dick]

The Pilot (a wholock meta)

[I wrote these thoughts after watching Doctor Who ‘The Pilot’ last week and meant to post this. This is really just for myself so sorry in advance if I don’t make tons of sense here. I would say I’’m gonna write something about each ep but I usually don’t stick to what I say I’m gonna do haha so anything could happen]

Oh jeez where do even I start? The Pilot (!). Called as much supposedly because this DW episode can be watched by people new to the show. But me thinks that’s not all there is to it. There’s the flight of the dead and Girl on the Plane from TFP, the “Landing” as johnlock going canon ...and there’s also a Sherlock Pilot. Planes are ships. Pilots are the ones in control of that ship. It crashes, or it lands safely. There’s no planes in this DW episode (there are spaceships tho). But there’s a ‘ship’.

So Bill and Heather are John and Sherlock, obviously yes? But the mirroring works so both Bill and Heather are constantly both John and Sherlock for different sort of threads of the subtext. Heather even has a black coat and scarf in the pic above but then shortish blond hair like John. 

Like @jenna221b said the “defect” in the eye that Heather wants to “fix” is sentiment (nice one), while Bill thinks it’s beautiful (“it looks like a star”). Sherlock thinks this is his weakness that needs to be fixed. But John sees that in him and loves him for it. 

But were you not also reminded of Ben C’s eyes and his heterochromia?? I was. Her eyes were blue and green and gold. It would reinforce the Sherlock mirror. I wouldn’t put it past them because I’ve seen other character mirrors in other DW episodes given the names and traits of ben, martin and amanda because Moffat uses johnlock mirrors in SO many episodes that he must run out of ways to code them.

Heather was coded as suicidal - she in fact DID take her own life. I didn’t see this the first time. DUH! “Everywhere I go I just want to leave”. Then the puddle gets her and she does “leave”, because the puddle gives you what you want. 

I have a feeling that the episode name is a sherlock clue on an extra level. What if it’s also about the Gay Pilot?? I think we’re seeing John and Sherlock where they were at the beginning of their journeys 

(what if this doctor who season somehow takes us through a johnlock romance arc somehow with different mirrors every time?? Might not happen but would be neat. Bonus for any clues about what the heck sherlock s4 was). 

Sherlock in ASiP wants to “leave” like Heather does in this “Pilot”, taking the cabbie’s pill gambling his life on a 50/50 chance. And John with his gun in his drawer, contemplating it for a moment at the beginning of ASiP. By TLD Sherlock’s gotten to the point where he realises, possibly even surprising himself, that he doesn’t want to die. That’s the end of his character arc though. But here we see Heather willingly let the puddle invite her in, just as Sherlock brings the pill up to his mouth in ASiP.

Maybe this is the significance of the chips. In TLD Sherlock gets chips for Faith because she’s suicidal, and Bill “Serves chips”. She keeps people from taking their lives. Sort of foreshadowing John’s arc, and how John saves Sherlock from that by giving him a reason to live (thats what boyfriends do, they feed you up).

We also have the “can I show you something?” “God, yes!” between Heather and Bill. Another pilot reference.

Heather’s last thought was of Bill, so once this evil alien puddle thingy had taken her, she pursued Bill to the farthest reaches of the universe (please stop me thinking of that johnlock fanvid and the song lyric “anywhere I would have followed you”).

And what the hell happens next is confusing but there’s a little metaphor in there and maybe a HLV and a TRF reference too (the Fall and Fall 2.0).

Bill: Oh my god, I understand. Doctor: You what? Bill: The last thing she said to me. She promised she wouldn’t leave without me.

In T6t we hear all this business about Sherlock’s vow. That it was apparently to protect Mary. It’s a TRICK! Word play. And Sherlock never actually said that before T6T began. T6T was Mary as storyteller, twisting Sherlock’s words to fit her own evil narrative. What he did say that I talked about here , was that he would always “be there”. Just that, that’s it. He promised he wouldn’t leave. 

(this gets cooler if you think about EMP starting when Mary shot Sherlock because Sherlock’s vow he made at the wedding was ONE OF THE LAST things he ever said to John before the day of CAM tower) Bill about Heather: “The last thing she said to me. She promised she wouldn’t leave”

The Doctor tells Bill that she needs to release Heather from her promise, to let her go. So she does. They sort of...break up? 

You have to let me go. You have to let me go. I will. I will. I really liked you. I really liked you.

In TRF Sherlock sort of breaks up with John before he jumps from the roof by telling John he was a fake. To maybe somehow attempt to release John from what was between them. But of course it didn’t work very well. And then there’s this parallel too...

Then Bill and Heather grab onto each other.

Doctor: Don't, don't! Bill, let go! Bill, listen to me. Whatever she's showing you, whatever she's letting you see. It's a lure, it's a trap. She's making you part of her, and you can never come back.

So what the hell happens here exactly? I have one idea that’s a bit trippy.

This brief kind of random scene is full metaphor for queerness, and the two opposing ways it is viewed: from the outside in, and from the inside out.

It’s also about John’s fear and internalized homophobia.

From the outside, those who fear it and are against it see it as something dangerous and terrifying, something that spreads and infects and marks you forever. 

From the inside queerness is beautiful, good, and human.

Bill hesitates then grabs a hold of Heather, subconsciously drawn to this “danger” in front of her. We think she’s in danger because in that moment we the audience are seeing queerness from the outside in. But Bill isn’t in danger at all as we find out a moment later. Heather transports her to another world and Bill is sort of filled with a feeling of ecstasy. She doesn’t look scared, she looks happy.

Bill: I see what you see. It’s beautiful. 

But on the outside the Doctor is terrified and thinks she’s in danger.  Doctor: Whatever she's showing you, whatever she's letting you see. It's a lure, it's a trap. She's making you part of her, and you can never come back.

Bill mirrors John here, wanting to enter this world with Sherlock but feeling afraid, with the voice of his internalized homophobia telling him he’s being lured and trapped. That’s why Bill lets go, because she’s afraid. It’s suddenly Sherlock and John reaching for each other again, but that distance between them coming into focus and ripping their hands apart.

Bill: I saw it all for a moment ... everything out there. She was going to let me fly with her. She was inviting me. - But I was too scared.

Check out Moffat’s specific and meaningful word choice bolded above. Out there (out of the closet). Fly (because falling’s just like flying). And a reminder that John’s afraid. 

So often with villains or monsters in DW, they simultaneously mirror something beautiful and something threatening. It’s the danger of those things that we long for but which could also hurt us. It’s a truth that will either kill you in trying to uncover it, or will set you free.

(there’s loads more i know. @jenna221b covered a lot of it. i just wanted to add these few details. thanks for reading. Here’s a Bill x Heather fanvid I found)